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China proposes to complete Version 3.0 ASEAN-China FTA negotiations by 2024

Xinhua) 08:45, September 07, 2023

JAKARTA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- China has proposed to accelerate ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Negotiations and strive to conclude negotiations in 2024, said a list of China's cooperation initiatives for the ASEAN-related summits.

The list contains a total of 39 initiatives for the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit, which are expected to generate fruitful outcomes.

According to the list, China will promote mutually beneficial cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

China encourages ASEAN countries to make good use of the ASEAN-China Cooperation Fund and jointly work for high-quality implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

China is ready to take the lead in signing the Protocol to the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in support of ASEAN countries' efforts to build and maintain a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Southeast Asia.

China is committed to working with ASEAN countries for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and for progress in consultations of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC). China also works to strengthen practical cooperation in marine science and technology, environmental cooperation, safety of navigation, search and rescue, fishing, combating transnational crimes, etc.

China will make an additional donation to the ASEAN-China Cooperation Fund in 2024.

The list also said that China supports having capacity-building activities with the ASEAN Centre for Climate Change. China will launch the ASEAN-China Initiative on Climate-Resilient Friendship Cities and low-carbon community development projects so as to raise awareness of climate change in the public.

The 26th China-ASEAN Summit and the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit were held Wednesday in Jakarta, while the 18th East Asia Summit is scheduled to convene Thursday.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
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A New York judge on Wednesday again found Donald Trump liable for defamation against writer E. Jean Carroll, who has accused the US ex-president of rape, in a decision opening the door for damages to be awarded.

Trump, the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 White House race, was found liable in a civil trial in May for sexually abusing the onetime magazine columnist in 1996 and for defaming her in comments made last year. The former real estate magnate was ordered to pay her $5 million.

Carroll had also filed a separate civil complaint against Trump for statements he made in 2019 in response to the accusations of rape in her book.

Trump, 77, said Carroll, 79, had made up the story and was only trying to sell a new book, adding that the writer was not my type.

That case, beset by procedural delays, was finally scheduled to go to a jury trial in January 2024.

But now that jury will only decide on how much Trump owes Carroll in additional damages for the 2019 comments, after Judge Lewis Kaplans ruling Wednesday that, based on the May decision, the then-presidents statements were defamatory, false and made with actual malice.

Trump lawyer Alina Habba responded to the ruling, saying: We remain very confident that the (May) verdict will be overturned on appeal, which will render this decision moot.

The January jury trial is only one of several cases crowding Trumps calendar amid his presidential campaign, as the brash billionaire faces federal criminal charges for the mishandling of classified documents and conspiracy to defraud the United States in trying to overturn the 2020 election.

He also faces state charges for alleged hush money payments in New York and for pressuring state officials to overturn Joe Bidens 2020 presidential election victory in Georgia.
Malis military junta said it carried out air strikes on Wednesday against terrorist groups that were planning attacks in the north of the country.

Preventive FAMa (Malian Armed Forces) air strikes followed by an airborne operation targeted armed terrorist groups, including a wanted terrorist leader, the army said on X, formerly Twitter.

The terrorist groups had exerted pressure on peaceful populations 35 kilometres (22 miles) north of Timbuktu, the statement added.

Timbuktu has been under a jihadist blockade since late August, according to local officials.

The military said it destroyed a vehicle in the operation, and found manufacturing equipment for improvised explosive devices and large quantities of ammunition.

Since 2012, Mali has been in the grip of a deep security crisis that began in the north and has spread to the centre of the country as well as to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Malis junta, which seized power in 2020, has made sovereignty a key priority.

The 13,000-member UN peacekeeping force MINUSMA, which first deployed to Mali in 2013, is to leave the country by the end of the year at the juntas request.
What surprises me is Finance Secretary Benjamin Dioknos claim that we need all of Chinas investment and to have them reviewed undermines them

Santa Banana, China is not stopping with its former nine-dash line claim of the West Philippine Sea.

Now, its a ten-dash line claim of the entire South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea and even the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines.

We may protest all we like, but, my gulay, will China just ignore us as it has done more than a hundred times with Chinas bullying and harassment?

I guess not at the rate China seems determined to come out with a map indicating a ten-dash line in line with its aggressive expansion policy claiming all of the South China Sea.

My gulay, China in its map even included within its territory a province of India.

And India is protesting. So, what next?

The Philippines already won its 2016 case at the Arbitral Court at The Hague against Chinas nine-dash line, but did China care?

It continues with its bullying of the Philippines at the West Philippine Sea to the extent that China claims Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal) is within Chinas territory and sovereignty, to the point of even trying to prevent our vessels from sending supply missions to the grounded and rusty BRP Sierra Madre where a platoon of marine personnel had been assigned to emphasize our claim to Ayungin Shoal, west of Palawan and within our EEZ.

President Marcos Jr. had to go to Jakarta to attend the ASEAN Summit to inform the ASEAN on what China is doing.

Sure, ASEAN can perhaps condemn Chinas move, but will that stop China in its aggressive expansionism and bullying and harassment of the Philippines?

We can hope the ASEAN countries will condemn China for its aggressiveness as other countries around the world have done.

Well, my gulay, does China care a bit, the super-power it is?

What I am afraid of is that with its ten-dash line, Filipino fisherfolk would not be able to fish at the Philippine Sea unless they want to be harassed by Chinas Coast Guard vessels.

Santa Banana, that happens when you have as a neighbor a super-power like China. All we can do is just grin and bear it.

Review China investments

For quite some time now, there have been suggestions perhaps it was time for the Philippines to review all the investments to the Philippines by China following the renewed attempt of China to claim all of the West Philippine Sea, with its latest ten-dash line map, not in retaliation, but to take a second look at what kind of investments it has in the Philippines.

Santa Banana, recall that many of the Chinese investments are by state-owned companies, in which case, it is really China that has invested in many of strategic investments, thus threatening national security, the last of which is the joint venture with a local company to claim/reclaim a portion of Manila.

And, Santa Banana, this state-owned China Communications Construction Co. (CCCC), blacklisted by the US government for constructing those islands at the West Philippine Sea that have become strategic island ports and airfields, also intends to construct that strategic bridge connecting Cavite and Bataan across Manila Bay.

If I recall, Davao-based billionaire Dennis Uy, a friend of former President Duterte, had a joint venture with a Chinese investor to finance DITO, the third network.

Recall that state-owned Chinese companies are directly under the control of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

With these, China does not need to invade the country.

China is already here in strategic places, threatening national security.

What surprises me is Finance Secretary Benjamin Dioknos claim that we need all of Chinas investment and to have them reviewed undermines them.

Santa Banana, have we, as a country, become so desperate for Chinas investment that we would even sacrifice national security for Chinas money?

Since Chinas investment represents a minimal amount of the whole foreign investments. would Diokno sacrifice national security following what China is doing to the country?

NAIA bidding

Heres some good news.

The big group of the countrys conglomerates that gave an unsolicited bid to rehabilitate and operate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport that was earlier rejected by the government has reentered the bidding for NAIAs rehabilitation and operation by buying bid documents for the P171 billion contract.

The group of six conglomerates is headed by Aboitiz with other members of the consortium, like the AC Infrastructure of the Ayala group, Asias Emerging Dragon Corp., Alliance Global-Infracorp and the JG Summit Infrastructure Holdings Corp.

They had earlier offered an unsolicited bid for P267 billion, but was rejected by the National and Economic Development Authority, chaired by no less than BBM.

The NEDA would rather have NAIAs rehabilitation go through the bidding process for a rehabilitation-operate-expand-transfer modality in accordance with the Build-Operate-Transfer Law and its revised 2022 implementing rules and regulations.

The six-member conglomerate that will participate in the bidding had earlier included a well-known international airport operator group.

The DOTr said the bidder should have net worth of P20 billion and would be required to post security of P1.71 billion standby letter of credit as part of its bid proposal,

The bid schedule is on Dec. 27, 2023.

Whoever or whatever group will win the bid, theres now hope that finally NAIA will be rehabilitated and privately operated.

Taking over MRT 3

Another piece of good news.

Manuel V. Pangilinan or MVP, as he is known, of the Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) has joined forces with conglomerate Sumitomo to upgrade the operations of the Metro Rail Line (MRT 3). Sumitomo, the well-known conglomerate of Japan and the MVP-led Metro Pacific will undertake the rehabilitation of the 17-kilometer MRT 3 railway that traverses EDSA.

This project is part of a broader push into railways and transport infrastructure when the MVP conglomerate announced earlier it has also partnered with Malaysian railway pioneer Hartasuma SDN BHD to operate the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 and potentially build the Philippines first cable car system,

MVP is reportedly also keen on increasing its stake in the LRT-1 line in joint venture by buying out partners like Ayala, should they decide to sell.

Earlier, the MVP-led Metro Pacific turned to less regulated sectors such as agriculture and logistics.

This simply means while the Marcos administration may be facing threats and challenges in its efforts at food security, theres hope the road to economic recovery is not far from reality.

2 weeks leave of absence

This column will take a Leave of Absence for two weeks.

Ill be marking my 96th birthday on Sept. 15.

This column will be back on Sept 26, Tuesday.
A court of appeal in Nigeria on Wednesday September 6 rejected a petition by the Labor Party challenging the results of the February 2023 presidential election that brought Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in office since May, to power. This petition is declared unfounded, said one of the judges after more than six hours of detailed reading of the judgment. The judges rejected all the claims made by the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, who denounced fraud during this election, which was also challenged in court by another opposition party.

The court was also reading its judgement on a second opposition party petition, which is also expected to be dismissed. Filed by PDP candidate Abubakar, it lays out similar complaints against the February 25 election results.

No legal challenge to the outcome of a presidential election has succeeded in Nigeria, which returned to democracy in 1999 after three decades of almost uninterrupted military rule and has a history of electoral fraud. Atiku and Obi can appeal to the countrys Supreme Court to strike down the tribunals ruling. Any appeal must be concluded within 60 days of the date of the tribunal judgement.

Tinubus government had dismissed all claims of wrongdoing and appeared confident before Wednesdays decision. Currently, he is in India for the G20 summit, where he hopes to drum up foreign investments.
The United Nations Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has released another 6.5 million dollars (six million euros) for humanitarian aid to Mozambique, the Agency announced on Wednesday September 6.

In a statement, CERF said that this support is included in the disbursement of 125 million dollars (116.5 million euros) for humanitarian aid, particularly for refugees, in 14 countries in Africa (including Mozambique), Asia, the Middle East and South America.

According to data, CERF has two other funds under implementation in Mozambique, for programs to recover from the cyclones that affected the country in the first quarter, of 9.9 million dollars (9.3 million euros), allocated on April 5, and 4.9 million dollars (4.6 million euros), allocated on December 15, 2022, to support displaced people.

With the disbursement of these 125 million dollars to the 14 countries, CERF brings the total emergency fund support through its Underfunded Emergencies window to more than 270 million dollars (251.5 million euros) this year, the largest annual amount ever allocated to the largest number of countries, which according to the institution reflects a dizzying increase in humanitarian needs and the fact that regular donor funding is not keeping pace.

UN Humanitarian Affairs chief Martin Griffiths, who announced the disbursement, admitted that there is the cruel reality that in many humanitarian operations support agencies are working with very little funding at a time when peoples needs are forcing them to increase.

Thanks to the generosity of a wide range of donors, we can count on CERF to fill some of the gaps. As a result, lives are saved. But we need individual donors to step up too  this is a fund of all and for all, he said.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary for North Africa, Joshua Harris, reiterated, on Thursday, the United States support for the Morocco-proposed autonomy plan as a serious, credible and realistic solution to the dispute over the Sahara.

The United States continues to view Moroccos Autonomy Plan as serious, credible and realistic, the US Embassy in Rabat said in a press release following the talks Mr. Harris had with Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita in Rabat on Thursday.

He also affirmed full U.S. support for the UN Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy for the Sahara Staffan de Mistura.

The US official, who was accompanied by US ambassador to Morocco, Puneet Talwar, on the other hand reaffirmed the deep and historic partnership between the United States and Morocco.

Joshua Harris, whose visit to Rabat is part of a regional tour that will also take him to Algeria, underscored US appreciation for Moroccos crucial efforts on a wide range of regional and global challenges, including addressing instability in the Sahel, supporting Libyan elections, and promoting equal measures of freedom, security, and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians.
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Graphical abstract. Credit: Cell Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113074

One of the remaining mysteries of immunology is the exact mechanism that B cells use to generate millions of antibodies with different specificities to protect us from the plethora of pathogens in the environment.

Utilizing research expertise in antibody variation and 3D genome organization, researchers at the Babraham Institute have shown how unique DNA associations in each B cell lie at the heart of antibody variation. With further research, their findings could give insight into why antibody diversity declines with age and suggest interventions to address this to ensure improved health in later life.

A multi-disciplinary team of immunologists, bioinformaticians, biophysicists, and pioneers in 3D genome analysis led by Dr. Anne Corcoran at the Babraham Institute have discovered that the 3D organization of DNA in B cells from mice allows for genes that are physically far away from each other to come together during antibody generation and generate the diversity of antibodies needed for robust protection against disease.

Surprisingly, they found that every B cell folds this part of the genome differently, rather than showing some conserved folding, meaning there are endless ways to combine genes into a unique order.

"We wanted to understand the mechanisms behind antibody variety. One way the cell achieves this is cutting and pasting from a suite of options for the antibody genes, but the puzzling thing is genes that are far away from the location of this event are used just as often as ones close by, so there must be some way of bringing everything together and making sure that everything needed is at hand," explained Dr. Anne Corcoran, senior group leader in the Institute's Immunology program.

Until now, researchers lacked the tools to investigate these mechanisms, but there were two schools of thought; one said the arrangement of DNA would be flexible and the other thought there would be common principles to the folding. Thanks to the Corcoran lab's refined methodology, they have been able to map the chromosome interactions in high resolution for the first time and resolve the debate.

The team developed a next generation sequencing method that allowed them to gather a deeper level of DNA configuration information from B cells. The technique was a development of the enriched Hi-C genome analysis method developed at the Institute which identifies points of direct chromosomal contact across the genome at high resolution.

With this enriched data set, they were able to understand more about the looping of the DNA and chromosomal interactions. The Babraham team collaborated with Dr. Luca Giorgetti's lab at the Friedrich Miescher Institute (FMI) in Basel, Switzerland, to generate 3D simulations of thousands of gene structures to validate their findings.

As well as mapping the interactions of the antibody genes, the team also found associations between key genes that support the development of B cells in a developmental stage-specific and cell type-specific way. The team suggest that these chromosomal contacts may be important for the correct and coordinated regulation of gene expression as the B cell develops.

"We found that the antibody genes were in close proximity to a small proportion of other genes on different chromosomes. Once we characterized them we found that these genes were associated with B cell development," Dr. Corcoran said, "and that was very interesting to see because if we apply this approach to other cell types we might be able to find important chromosomal interactions that are unique to those cell types."

The team speculate that the DNA folding might influence the number of different antibodies produced by the body as we age. During aging, our bodies make a smaller range of antibodies, as B cells select fewer genes from the available repertoire. In particular, they use fewer of the ones that are more remote.

It is possible that this is due to changes to the DNA folding mechanism that mean some genes become 'unreachable' and are no longer selected for antibody generation. The next steps for this research will be to investigate the 3D organization of antibody-specifying genes in aging B cells.

The work is published in the journal Cell Reports.

More information: Olga Mielczarek et al, Intra- and interchromosomal contact mapping reveals the Igh locus has extensive conformational heterogeneity and interacts with B-lineage genes, Cell Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113074 Journal information: Cell Reports
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

This summer, viral misinformation claimed that the Amish did not vaccinate against COVID-19 and, as a result, had a death rate 90 times lower than the rest of the United States. Now, a Penn State study is the first to provide geographically broad and population-wide evidence that while the Amish-populated counties across the nation tend to have lower vaccination rates than other populations, they are not entirely unvaccinated.

The research was published recently in the journal Population Research and Policy Review.

The Amish are a distinctive Christian subculture that traces its roots to the 16th century Protestant Reformation. According to Cory Anderson, author on the study and postdoctoral fellow in Penn State's Population Research Institute, part of the Social Science Research Institute, medical documents typically don't include patients' religious beliefs, making it difficult to study the Amish and other religious groups from medical records.

Additionally, the researchers said, a low number of COVID-19 tests were taken in the Amish community during the pandemic, so assessing data on COVID-19 cases or deaths among this population is difficult.

"While there is relatively little quantitative data analysis on Amish vaccination, some local studies have suggested that Amish were vaccine hesitant before COVID-19," Anderson said. "With new population data on COVID-19 now available, we wanted to determine vaccination rates in counties with high Amish populations."

The researchers conducted an analysis of county-level data in Amish-prevalent counties. As the counties only showed the vaccination rates of the entire population, analyzing Amish-prevalent counties gave the researchers an estimation of Amish vaccination rates.

"We examined over 350 counties spanning 10 Amish-populated states from February 2021when the vaccines became availablethrough October 2022 to determine COVID-19 vaccination rates and other social demographic data from a variety of sources including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Religion Census, U.S. Census, American Community Survey, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Election Lab," said Shuai Zhou, postdoctoral associate in the Department of Global Development at Cornell University and former graduate student under co-author Guangqing Chi, professor of rural sociology and demography at Penn State.

They found that Amish populated counties had an approximately 1.6% lower COVID-19 vaccination rate than counties without significant Amish populations. Given that only three counties had an Amish population of more than 20%, this rate is notable, the researchers said.

The results suggest that higher percentages of Amish in a county significantly decrease the county-level vaccination rate while controlling for other covariates expected to also predict lower vaccination rates, such as political ideology, rural/non-rural status, household income and evangelical Protestant affiliation.

Specifically, on average, while holding all other variables constant in the model, the researchers found that 10% more Amish population corresponded to 16% less in the monthly county-level COVID-19 vaccination rate. All though not explicitly noted in the paper, the researchers' calculations suggested that in October 2022, Amish-populated counties exhibited an average daily vaccination rate of .06%, compared to the national average rate of .08%.

"The results support our hypothesis that Amish affiliation independently predicts vaccine hesitancy," Anderson said. "This finding supports our hypothesis that Amish are under-vaccinated for COVID-19, although not at the rate some recent commentators have suggested."

Anderson, who is part of the Amish community, said he saw at the beginning of the pandemic the Amish were side-stepping many preventative measures and hypothesized COVID-19 vaccination rates would be lower than the rest of the population. However, widely circulated commentary that no Amish were vaccinated were unsubstantiated.

The findings underscore the failure of public health outreach efforts to convince the Amish to accept COVID-19 preventative measures and vaccines, according to Chi.

"Health service providers working with the Amish need to realize that it takes time to build a collaborative and trustful relationship with them, and humility goes a long way," Chi said.

According to Anderson, the Amish community is unrepresented in higher education, therefore scientific knowledge about these communities is coming out of institutions they are not a part of.

"This has repercussions on their response when scientific knowledge is translated into public health policy," Anderson said. "Academia should continue to invest in resources to collaborate with this population."

Learning more about this community is important, Anderson said, because the Amish population is growing, and as it grows, the Amish will migrate to new places throughout North America.

"Their impact will be felt on rural communities, where population density is low and public resources are slim," Anderson said.

With this study complete, Anderson and his team will continue to analyze data to discover deeper cultural changes during the pandemic.

"Challenging times have a way of bringing to the forefront cultural patterns that are buried deeply when life is routine," Anderson said. "Challenging times reveal what a community is made of and can shape the culture moving forward."

More information: Cory Anderson et al, Population-Wide Vaccination Hesitancy among the Amish: A County-Level Study of COVID-19 Vaccine Adoption and Implications for Public Health Policy and Practice, Population Research and Policy Review (2023). DOI: 10.1007/s11113-023-09816-9
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University of Cincinnati engineers have developed a test that can warn consumers about periodontal disease, which if left untreated can lead to tooth loss, stroke, heart disease and other illnesses. Credit: Andrew Steckl and Daewoo Han

Engineers at the University of Cincinnati have developed a new device that can warn consumers about early risks of tooth decay from diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis.

Gingivitis, the earliest form of gum disease, is caused by bacteria. But not just any bacteria.

The problem for researchers was getting a device to single out the particular type responsible for the disease, said Andrew Steckl, an Ohio Eminent Scholar and distinguished research professor in UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science.

"It's been quite the challenge to get to the point where we can detect this toxin created by the bacteria responsible for gingivitis," he said.

Steckl and UC Senior Research Associate Daewoo Han collaborated with Sancai Xie, a principal scientist at Procter & Gamble Co., and described their results in a paper published in Sensors and Diagnostics.

Steckl's research team has been exploring biosensing for various applications. They studied stress hormones in sweat in collaboration with the Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Now they are studying saliva.

"There are good reasons to use saliva," he said. "It's relatively plentiful and easy to obtain through noninvasive methods. And saliva has a lot of important elements that can act as indicators of your health."

Bacteria from gingivitis can travel through the bloodstream, leading to cardiovascular disease and other serious health problems, Steckl said.

But saliva is a complicated biofluid, Han said.

"We wanted to target a biomarker in saliva. But saliva is hard to use," said Han, the study's lead author.

Researchers pretreated the sample using potato starch to remove a protein called amylase that could interfere with the test results. Their test uses antibodies that react to the endotoxins found in the bacteria.

Developing a sensor required precise selectivity and sensitivity, Steckl said.

"Daewoo worked very hard on many dead-ends before he had success," Steckl said. "I tell my students that research is search, search and re-search until you find the answer."

At-home health testing has been available for generations in niche uses such as detecting pregnancy. But the COVID-19 pandemic introduced a wide audience of consumers to the concept of monitoring their health with new technology.

The at-home testing industry is expected to generate $45 billion annually by 2031, according to Allied Market Research.

Steckl said he sees a lot of opportunity for new consumer products.

"Our results definitely show promise," Steckl said. "Sometimes it comes easy. Most of the time you have to persevere."

More information: Daewoo Han et al, Salivary endotoxin detection using combined mono/polyclonal antibody-based sandwich-type lateral flow immunoassay device, Sensors & Diagnostics (2023). DOI: 10.1039/D3SD00158J
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Transmission electron micrograph of RSV. Credit: CDC/ Dr. Erskine Palmer / Public Domain

Ask Danielle Palmieri when her newborn son contracted RSV, and she doesn't give a season or even a month. She knows the exact day.

Nov. 6, 2022. It was her 4-year-old daughter's birthday party at their Upper St. Clair home, and also the day she saw her 3-week-old son, Cameron, begin "belly breathing"where the undulations of chest and belly movements go out of sync as a sign of respiratory troublewith a hacking cough and "so much congestion."

Because she's a pediatric nurse, she noticed more subtle clinical signs of potential distress called retractions, where skin covering the ribcage is sucked in (slightly or profoundly) with each inhalation.

Her kindergarten-aged daughter had been sick when they brought the baby home. They had her wash her hands frequently, wear a mask near her baby brother and even change her clothes after school, but that wasn't enough to prevent what was later diagnosed as RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus.

"It was so stressful," she said. "I was worried that at any time it would take a turn for the worse, and we'd have to go to Children's Hospital."

She and her husband purchased monitoring and suction devices to manage the acute phase of his illness, which lasted a week or two. But the cough and congestion lasted about six weeks total, making her sleep deficit "times 20" even compared to ordinary newborn sleep chaos.

Despite the intensity of her own situation with Cam, she "can't imagine" the anxiety families feel when their young children are hospitalized with RSV.

In the U.S., those families account for 58,000 to 80,000 hospital admissions. Or they did, until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two new tools in the RSV-fighting toolkit.

With a vaccine for pregnant women capable of conferring protection to babies before they ever leave the womb and a monoclonal antibody able to protect children under 8 months of age for six months, those numbers are bound to drop.

But considering how new those weapons areapproved in July for babies and August for momsthe collaboration they require and that pesky issue of supply, medical providers have plenty of work ahead, with the beginning of RSV season looming less than one month away.

1 is greater than 10

Palmieri's situation with Cam would rattle any mom. The number of kids landing in the hospital each year because of RSV sounds huge. But considering that every child in the world contracts RSV at least once, and maybe twice, before their second birthdays, these families are in the minority.

"The majority of kids, more than 95%, will have no problem with RSV other than having a profuse runny nose, maybe a little fever and a little bit of a cough," said Joe Aracri, Allegheny Health Network Pediatric Institute system chair of pediatrics. "A small group of those kids will end up wheezing a little bit. They may end up coughing a lot, to the point of throwing up. But most will not be in respiratory distress."

It's "1% or even less" who end up needing supplemental oxygen, hospital-caliber nasal suction, IV fluids or more, he said.

For children born prematurely, or with heart or lung disease or a host of other differences that might put them at higher risk for severe outcomes, RSV protection has existed since 1998 with a monoclonal antibody injection called Synagis.

Rather than being a "vaccine" that teaches the immune system how to create antibodies to fight that particular virus, it simply gives those antibodies. And because of its nature, it allows for those kids to still be exposed to the viruseven catch it, which does inform the immune systembut prevents severe disease.

Synagis is still on the market, and is still protecting these vulnerable kids through the first two years of their lives.

If that sounds like two injections, think again. It's 10.

"Not having to come in every month for the five months of RSV season is a big advantage," said pediatrician and public health specialist Marian Michaels, who works on UPMC Children's Hospital's infectious disease team. "But it's expensive," at more than $1,000 per injection, depending on the pharmacy. "It's cumbersome. Accordingly, we used it for only the highest-risk babies."

This is where the new monoclonal for kids is different.

Beyfortus, developed by AstraZeneca and marketed in the U.S. by Sanofi, is one intramuscular injection per season, offering 70-75% protection versus a placebo. Per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions' recommendations, every American baby will be encouraged to receive this vaccine before 8 months of life, which will provide six months of protection. For more medically complicated babies, that coverage will repeat for one additional year.

And like Synagis, because it's simply handing the immune system weapons rather than teaching it to make them, the side effect profile is very friendly.

"This therapeutic is incredibly safe," Aracri said. "There are minimal side effects other than pain at the site of injection. We really think this is going to be a game-changer during RSV season for a lot of these babies."

Second, not second place

Just as American pediatricians were getting comfortable with the idea of Beyfortus, the FDA dropped a (welcomed) bomb last month.

The government body approved Pfizer's Abrysvo, a true vaccine against RSV given to pregnant women between 32 and 36 weeks gestation. It can cross the placenta and provide coverage to babies before they ever see the outside world, reducing the risk of serious disease by about 82%, as measured within 90 days post-birth. And since diseases like RSV can be more severe during pregnancy, it protects moms too.

It's a little sci-fi, but with plenty of precedent. This is exactly the mechanism exploited by vaccinating moms against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis/whooping cough (in a formulation known as Tdap), influenza and COVID-19.

All of these vaccines are considered safe based on observational data, but in a coup for would-be Abrysvo patients, this one was tested directly on pregnant women7,200 of them.

"This should lead to providers recommending the vaccine, having a higher level of confidence that when used during pregnancy, it's not going to produce adverse outcomes, and quite the contrary," said Richard Beigi, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center obstetrician and president of UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. "It should arm the providers with more confidence to give a stronger recommendation."

Art and science

Celebration over the now-overflowing toolbox against RSV is understandable, especially given last year's "tripledemic" of flu, RSV and COVID-19. But when the adrenaline wanes, there are unavoidable questions.

Chief among those: How will pediatricians and obstetricians collaborate? And since "8 months" doesn't align with any traditional infant check-up schedule, when will they actually receive the monoclonal?

"I don't think this is going to be black and white," Michaels said. "Black and white makes things much easier in terms of having recommendations go out, but in fact, I think there are nuances, and we need to be able to have a little bit of wiggle room for families."

Both UPMC and AHNand hospital systems across the countryare still deciding exactly how their cogs will align, but they agree the approach will be one of both art and science, though none of that can happen without adequate supply.

Speaking for AHN Pediatrics Institute on the availability of Beyfortus, Aracri said, "When I spoke with the manufacturer, they feel like they'll have no problem meeting demands here. The therapeuticwe know, we hopewill be ready hopefully by Oct. 1 for us."

Speaking for UPMC on the same topic, Michaels said, "We don't have the medicine yet. I keep looking at the calendar, and we're getting very close to RSV season. The company is really making a very big effort to try to make it available for this season. I'm cautiously optimistic, but there are some logistics we still need to work on."

Abrysvo must be considered by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) before clinical use recommendations are doled out. After that, highly respected professional organization the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) will also weigh in before American OBs will have all the information they likely wish to, a process that will last "a few months," according to Beigi.

But assuming there are no drastic changes, a baby's protection status from RSV will involve a cluster of facts: whether mom received Abrysvo, whether baby received Beyfortus, when those protections occurred and the time of year relative to RSV season.

Sometimes, all of those logistics will align perfectly, and those babies might never need an additional injection because mom, and lucky timing, took care of it. For the rest, physicians are weighing whether Beyfortus should be available in newborn nurseries within hospitals, versus waiting for checkups in pediatricians' offices, versus "shot clinic" environments, like those seen yearly for influenza vaccines.

Some of that will depend on cost and insurance.

The FDA has already noted that Beyfortus will be the first monoclonal antibody available via Vaccines for All, a federally funded program that provides vaccines/therapeutics to children whose insurance (or lack thereof) wouldn't provide for them. But when it comes to administration in newborn nurseries, Michaels feels cost might be a factor relative to reimbursement, since she understands the monoclonal will cost less than Synagis, but will still be "substantial" and "several hundred dollars."

Despite these brand-new tools, Michaels simultaneously advocates for RSV-preventing strategies with far less fanfare: hand-washing, avoiding sick people and staying up-to-date on other recommended vaccines.

They're certainly effective, but plenty of times, they aren't enough, as they weren't for the Palmieri family.

As a mom, she watched her newborn son work to clear an incredible amount of congestion compared to his tiny respiratory passages. As a pediatric triage nurse, she guides parents through middle-of-the-night calls sometimes about the very same thing, which is why she couldn't be more excited for her youngest patients and their families to potentially dodge this illness altogether.

But getting there is certainly a few steps away.

"There's a strong case to make that it's really going to be a two-pronged approach, really trying to maximize immunization in the mother, and figure it out from there," Beigi said. "But I really think part of the ACIP, and subsequently the ACOG's job, will be managing those two preventative treatments, which is a really great position to be in.

"It's a great problem to have."

2023 PG Publishing Co.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Premature infants often struggle with breathing and require ventilatory support and oxygen therapy. Unfortunately, this might lead to lung damage resulting in lifelong consequences and chronic disease.

Dr. Anne Hilgendorff's team from Helmholtz Munich and the LMU University Hospital developed a non-invasive method with no need for sedation using MR imaging to detect early signs of vascular disease associated with chronic pulmonary impairment in premature infants, offering new avenues for risk stratification and potential prevention of complications later in life. The study is now published in the European Respiratory Journal.

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), a form of chronic lung disease affecting newborn infants, is the most prevalent long-term complication of prematurity. Premature infants may have difficulty breathing on their own. However, prolonged use of oxygen and medical ventilation can cause damage to their developing lungs, leading to BPD, which in turn, give rise to pulmonary vascular disease (PVD), a condition affecting the blood vessels.

This impacts the majority of infants struggling with BPD to differing degrees. PVD often goes unnoticed due to a lack of proper diagnostic tools for its early detection and is associated with a significant risk to develop pulmonary hypertension (PH) later in life. With this life-threatening complication, formerly premature infants represent a significant patient population in today's PH clinics.

The development of sensitive yet routinely applicable diagnostic tools for early detection would open up a window of opportunity for a whole new set of therapeutic opportunities and risk-adapted monitoring, thereby ameliorating or preventing the patients' lifelong struggles.

Physician scientist Dr. Anne Hilgendorff and her team from Helmholtz Munich and the LMU University Hospital along with LMU Radiologists and Neonatologists as well as scientists from Leiden University dedicated their new study to the identification and validation of early indicators of lung vascular pathology in newborns with lung disease.

New method to detect early signs of cardiovascular pathology in premature infants

In the new study, the team of researchers presents a method for the noninvasive detection of early signs of cardiovascular pathology in premature infants with BPD. Their new method makes use of a specific cardio-pulmonary magnetic resonance (MR) imaging protocol, meaning the scientists applied MR imaging to asses both the heart and the lungs of premature infants with and without BPD, who are close to their expected birthdate. Notably, the infants are not sedated during the procedure.

Altered blood flow from the heart to the lung through the pulmonary arterial (PA) together with signs of changes in cardiac function were recorded. From the resulting data, the team formed a statistical algorithm for the identification of signs of PVD. With this new tool risk stratification in formerly premature infants, known for their increased risk of sudden cardiac death in later life, can be improved.

For the first time, advanced MR imaging techniques were used in premature infants born before 32 weeks of gestation to demonstrate the synergistic power of changes in PA flow and cardiac function under consideration of prematurity at the time of BPD diagnosis to detect pulmonary vascular pathology.

The characteristic changes in PA blood flow and cardiac function were successfully linked to increasing pressure in the pulmonary circulation, likely stemming from a rarefied and remodeled vascular bed. In the very heterogeneous group of infants with milder BPD, the algorithm successfully identified those cases with a significant risk for PVD.

The non-invasive diagnostic strategy can be easily applied in clinics

The early detection of signs of PVD in premature infants with BPD using MRI harbors the possibility of categorizing premature infants into different risk levels for PVD and subsequent PH development and even sudden cardiac death in later life. The non-invasive nature of the newly presented diagnostic strategy and the potential to use highly standardized protocols in spontaneously sleeping infants makes this method suitable for clinical application.

Future studies will track the identified, early signs of lung vascular pathology into (pre)school age and adulthood to evaluate risk-adapted monitoring and treatment strategies in BPD.
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Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common viral infection that affects people of all ages, with infants and older adults being particularly vulnerable to severe complications.

Preventing the spread of RSV requires a multi-pronged approach that includes vaccination, good hygiene practices and public health initiatives.

You may have seen recent reports about newly approved vaccines for RSV. One vaccine is approved for use between 32 and 36 weeks of pregnancy, to protect infants from birth through 6 months of age. There are also two RSV vaccines licensed for use in adults aged 60 years and older in the United States.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults 60 and older receive a single dose of RSV vaccine using shared clinical decision-making. This means you and your health care provider should have a conversation to decide if RSV vaccination would be beneficial for you.

RSV is a highly contagious virus that targets the respiratory system. While it often causes mild symptoms in healthy individuals, it can lead to more severe respiratory complications, especially in vulnerable people. Infants, particularly those born prematurely, and older adults with weakened immune systems or underlying health conditions are at the greatest risk for severe RSV infections. The consequences of RSV can range from mild respiratory distress to more serious conditions like pneumonia and bronchiolitis, making prevention essential to safeguarding public health.

Vaccination

Vaccinating seniors can help reduce the risk of complications. Encouraging older adults, especially those with underlying health conditions, to get the RSV vaccine can protect individuals from the potentially severe effects of the virus.

Pregnant women

In August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine that is administered to pregnant women to protect their babies from RSV through their first six months of life. The single shot spurs the production of protective antibodies that transfer from woman to infant through the placenta. It's the first vaccine that can protect babies from RSV.

Meanwhile, babies will also have a new option to reduce their risk of severe RSV. A new medication called Beyfortus was recently approved for infants younger than 8 months who are entering their first RSV season. Some high-risk infants may be eligible for a second shot the following year.

Home interventions

There are additional ways to minimize the spread of RSV with simple hygiene measures in your home.

They include:



Hand-washing: Frequent and thorough hand-washing with soap and water is a simple, yet effective, measure to prevent the spread of RSV. This practice should be emphasized for both adults and children, particularly after being in public places or in contact with individuals who may be carriers of the virus.

Sneezing/coughing etiquette: Teaching children and adults to cover their mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing can limit the spread of respiratory droplets containing the virus. Paired with proper disposal of tissues and regular hand-washing, this practice can reduce RSV transmission.

Don't get too close: Minimizing close contact with those exhibiting symptoms of respiratory illness is crucial. This is particularly relevant in settings where individuals are at higher risk, such as hospitals, day care centers and nursing homes.

Preventing other winter illnesses

RSV is not the only disease that can be tackled with vaccination. Vaccines are also vital tools in preventing both the flu and COVID-19, in addition to pneumonia.

As the flu season approaches, be aware that the flu vaccine is an important tool in preventing serious illness, especially for those with asthma. People with asthma are more likely to have serious health problems from getting the flu, yet most people with asthma don't receive a flu shot every year. If you have asthma, you need to take steps to prevent getting the flu. Respiratory infections such as the flu can affect your lungs, causing an asthma attack. The flu vaccine is the first and most important step you can take to protect yourself and your loved ones from this illness.

The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology encourages anyone who may be at risk for a respiratory infection to get a flu vaccine. Health care providers often ask those getting flu shots if they are allergic to eggs. Health care providers and people with egg allergy should know there is no need to ask this question anymore, and no need to take any special precautions. Overwhelming evidence has shown that a flu shot poses no greater risk to those with egg allergy than those without.

Finally, COVID-19 is surging again, and the elderly are particularly at risk. Check with your doctor to see if you are someone who should receive the new COVID boosters that should be available this fall. Protecting yourself against viruses this time of year is an important first step in keeping yourself and those around you healthy.

Copyright  2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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Circosplots of co-medication pairs with ORs >1 with known (left) or unknown (right) DDIs. Relations between an index drug and its co-medication are marked by connecting bands, with the width of each band proportional to the number of pairs found between two therapeutic groups (the thinnest ribbon represents one pair, e.g. C07-P01 in the set of known DDIs and A10-N04 in the set of unknown DDIs). The outer ring corresponds to the anatomical main groups, and the inner ring corresponds to the therapeutic groups. Color of connecting bands corresponds to the anatomical group of the co-medication. See color legend. The most abundant known DDI relations were observed between N05-N06, N05-N05 and B01-J01. Unknown DDIs mostly involved the therapeutic groups J01 (e.g. J01-A10), B05 (e.g. B05-N02), A12 (e.g. A12-R03), A10 (e.g. B01-A10), R03 (e.g. J01-R03) and M05 (e.g. B01-M05). DDI: drug-drug interaction. OR: odds ratio. Credit: Rodriguez et al, PLOS Digital Health, CC-BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Analysis of data from more than 1 million Danish inpatients identifies nearly 4,000 drug pairings that are associated with more frequent dosage adjustments when prescribed togetherpotentially hinting at previously undiscovered drug interactions. Sren Brunak of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues presented these findings in the open-access journal PLOS Digital Health.

In some cases, especially among elderly populations, a person may be prescribed several different medications at once in order to treat one or multiple health conditionsa phenomenon known as polypharmacy.

Polypharmacy is associated with increased health risks due to the potential for harmful interactions between different drugs. Polypharmacy research has typically focused on the number and type of drugs a patient receives. However, the dosage of each drug may also influence interactions and health outcomes.

To deepen understanding of polypharmacy in the context of drug dosage, Leal, Haue, Brunak and colleagues analyzed data from the electronic health records of more than 1 million patients admitted as inpatients in Danish hospitals from 2008 to 2016. They used a statistical approach known as Bayesian inference to identify drug pairings associated with more frequent adjustments to the dosage of the drugs.

Out of 77,249 total drug pairings, 3,993 were associated with more frequent dosage adjustments when given together. Further analysis showed that, of the pairs associated with more frequent dosage adjustments, 2,412 were also associated with hospital readmission, mortality, or longer hospital stays, and 308 were associated with worsened kidney function.

Many of the drug pairs associated with dosage adjustments have already been linked by previous research to potential harmful drug interactions.

However, 694 have not, and while this study does not prove any cause-effect relationships, the authors suggest that some of these drug pairings may involve previously undiscovered interactions. These are often given to fewer patients and therefore harder to detect in small scale studiescontrary to the 185 million treatment episodes used in this study. Future research will be needed to explore that possibility.

Overall, these findings help deepen understanding of links between drug dosage and polypharmacy, and could help guide future evaluation of drug interactions and efforts to reduce the risks of polypharmacy for patients.
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Graphical representation of AIB14 enabling DCIS invasion and metastasis. Credit: Oncotarget (2023). DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.28452

A new editorial paper titled "Subpopulations of AIB1 isoform-expressing breast cancer cells enable invasion and metastasis" has been published in Oncotarget.

In their new editorial, researchers Amber J. Kiliti, Ghada M. Sharif, Anton Wellstein, and Anna T. Riegel from Georgetown University Medical Center discuss potential mechanisms of breast cancer invasion and metastasis. Genetic and epigenetic events drive individual tumor cells to proliferate and expand into a heterogeneous mixture of cells that evade immune surveillance, acquire the ability to invade the vasculature and spread as metastatic seeds to distant sites. Organ metastasis contributes to more than 90% of all cancer-related deaths.

"The model of Darwinian evolution explains the stepwise selection of cancer cells capable of invasion and metastatic spread and an extensive body of work supports that cancer cell-autonomous features match the selected cancer cell 'seed' with the appropriate 'soil' of the target organ," the researchers write. Credit: Impact Journals LLC

However, this concept was challenged in a recent paper in Cancer Research. Sharif et al. observed that a subclonal population of cells in a heterogeneous tumor can significantly alter the growth characteristics, invasiveness and metastasis of an entire tumor through cell-cell crosstalk. These functionally relevant cell subpopulations are difficult to detect through bulk analysis though their presence may influence disease outcome and efficacy of treatments.

The researchers explain, "In their paper, Sharif et al. detailed how expression of a splice isoform of the transcriptional coregulator and oncogene Amplified In Breast Cancer 1 (AIB1) in a small subpopulation of cells can lead to increased tumor growth and invasion of surrounding tissues by ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) cells."

More information: Amber J. Kiliti et al, Subpopulations of AIB1 isoform-expressing breast cancer cells enable invasion and metastasis, Oncotarget (2023). DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.28452 Journal information: Cancer Research , Oncotarget

Provided by Impact Journals LLC
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Flowchart of the Literature Search and Study Selection ICD-10 indicates International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision; WHO ATC, World Health Organization Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Code.aeTable 4 in Supplement 2 presents the specific exclusion criteria for each of the 87 systematic reviews that were excluded during full-text screening.bOf the 165 systematic reviews, several were on the same medical disease. Therefore, we included only the largest systematic review for quantitative synthesis. Credit: JAMA Psychiatry (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.2983

Many people with diseases such as cancer or diabetes or those who have had a heart attack or stroke also suffer from depression. How effective are antidepressants for these patients? And are they just as safe for these people as for those without physical health problems?

Researchers from ChariteUniversitatsmedizin Berlin and Aarhus University in Denmark have teamed up to investigate these questions. They compiled and analyzed studies published over several decades from around the world in a systematic review. Their findings are highly relevant to clinical practice. They have now been published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

"About 20% of people with physical health problems also suffer from depression, and both should be treated," says Prof. Christian Otte, Director of the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences on the Charite Campus Benjamin Franklin.

"Contraindications and interactions with other medications that the patient is taking are important factors in choosing the right antidepressant. Luckily, though, there are many different antidepressants with different mechanisms of action these days, so there is at least one suitable medication to treat depression that is an option for people with almost any physical issue," Otte explains.

Even so, one question has thus far remained open for both patients and their doctors: Are antidepressants in fact effective and safe in these individual cases? "We didn't have a conclusive answer to that until now," Otte says. "After all, the studies that go toward approving antidepressants are performed almost exclusively in physically healthy subjects."

In-depth review of the existing research

To summarize the existing research from around the world, the team working on the study systematically searched several medical databases, looking at meta-analyses of clinical trials. The researchers applied strict selection criteria: "In our work, we only considered analyses that synthesize data from randomized controlled studies, since they are the best way to investigate a medication's efficacy and safety," says Dr. Ole Kohler-Forsberg, a depression researcher at Aarhus University.

"Overall, we identified 52 high-quality meta-analyses for 27 different physical health problems, especially cancer, heart and metabolic diseases, as well as rheumatological and neurological disorders."

Otte explains, "We were able to show that antidepressants are in fact about equally effective and safe in patients with both depression and physical health problems as in those without these physical health conditions." Antidepressants do cause a somewhat higher incidence of side effects than placebo treatment, but the researchers do not believe there are any general safety concerns about using these treatments for people with physical health issues.

Findings with high clinical relevance

"These findings are good news for people with depression and physical health problemsand they are highly relevant to clinical practice," Otte explains. "Quality of life is often severely impaired, especially by depression. We also know that the course of physical disease is worse in patients who also have depression, so treating those patients with antidepressants in addition to other therapeutic measures can really help."

The researchers expect the study results to be included in the Nationale VersorgungsLeitlinie (NVL), the German national disease management guidelines, for depression. These guidelines are a joint initiative by the German Medical Association (Bundesarztekammer), the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenarztliche Bundesvereinigung), and the German Association of the Scientific Medical Societies (AWMF) aimed at improving the quality of medical treatment in the country.

"We were surprised to see how few large-scale studies there are on this topic at all, especially in frequent combinations such as cancer with depression. We believe there is still a lot of research to be done in this area," Otte says. He and his team are already planning future projects to find out whether antidepressants might have other effects beyond improving depression and whether they could also alleviate individual symptoms of other physical health problems that are present at the same time, for example.

More information: Ole Kohler-Forsberg et al, Efficacy and Safety of Antidepressants in Patients With Comorbid Depression and Medical Diseases, JAMA Psychiatry (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.2983 Journal information: JAMA Psychiatry
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Recently published research from the University of Minnesota Medical School suggests individuals with hepatitis C should consider revaccination for hepatitis B. The study was published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

Previous research has shown individuals with hepatitis C infection have a lower response to the hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine.

"This study has broad implications for public health in hepatitis-infected individuals," said Jose Debes, MD, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Medical School and School of Public Health. "It is known that the hepatitis B vaccine is not as effective in those with hepatitis C. What was not known until now is that after treating hepatitis C the hepatitis B vaccine seems to be more effective in this population. This is important as many of these individuals are still at risk for hepatitis B infection."

Hepatitis C is caused by a blood-borne virus that leads to inflammation of the liver. Right now, there is no effective vaccine for hepatitis C. Globally, about 58 million people have hepatitis C, with 1.5 million new infections each year.

Hepatitis B is a liver infection that can be prevented with the HBV vaccine.

In this study, 34 patients who previously did not respond to the HBV vaccine were tested for hepatitis B surface antibodies. The study found that after treatment of hepatitis C, revaccination against hepatitis B among this group resulted in an improved response.

These viruses can have short or long-lasting effects. Having both hepatitis B and hepatitis C together raises the risk of severe issues like liver cirrhosis or cancer. In certain places, getting both infections is common and risky. Experts recommend changing how doctors handle such cases and conducting more tests to understand vaccine timing and effectiveness.

The research team recommends individuals with hepatitis C be checked for hepatitis B immune protection. If none is present, they should be offered a vaccine after treating hepatitis C.

Further research is suggested to conduct this study in a larger group, assess optimal time for re-vaccination and further understanding of immune pathways involved in this change of response.

More information: Jesse G Powell et al, Revaccination for Hepatitis B in Previous Nonresponders Following Hepatitis C Eradication, The Journal of Infectious Diseases (2023). DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiad301 Journal information: Journal of Infectious Diseases
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KaplanMeier curves with 52day and 1, 2, and 3year postdischarge allcause mortality. Credit: Journal of the American Heart Association (2023). DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.123.030414.

Patients who have suffered a heart attack should immediately be offered a combination of cholesterol lowering drugs with statins and ezetimibe, according to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The study showed that people with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), which includes those who have experienced a heart attack or unstable angina, are 47% less likely to die within three years if they start taking a high dose statin and ezetimibe straight away, compared to those only taking a high dose statin.

Researchers say that if treatment guidelines are changed to reflect these findings, it could prevent many thousands of deaths each year.

The research was led by Maciej Banach, Professor of Cardiology at the Medical University of Lodz, Poland, and Adjunct Professor at the Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, U.S..

The study included data on 1,536 patients with ACS who were part of the national Polish Registry of Acute Coronary Syndromes (PL-ACS). Half had been treated with a high dose statin only. The other half were treated with a combination of a high dose statin and ezetimibe.

It revealed that those who started taking a statin and ezetimibe straight away were less likely to die of any cause in following the three years. However, the risk of death was already lower after only 52 days of treatment. The results suggest that out of every 21 patients taking the double treatment for three years, one death was prevented.

Both statins and ezetimibe are widely available drugs that have been shown to effectively lower the amount of cholesterol in the blood. When people have high levels of cholesterol it can block their blood vessels increasing the risk of heart disease, stroke or peripheral artery disease.

ACS affects around seven million people worldwide, including around four million heart attack patients. Researchers say that ensuring that all those at risk are started on both treatments straight away could prevent an estimated 330,000 deaths per year.

Professor Banach said, "Patients with acute coronary syndrome, such as those who have already had a heart attack, face a much higher risk of further heart problems. Current guidelines, including those on prevention from the European Society of Cardiology, recommend a stepwise approach, first offering a statin only. This study shows that if we act quickly and decisively to lower patients' cholesterol with this combination of treatments, we can drastically reduce the risk of death."

"Around seven million people suffer acute coronary syndrome every year and the majority of cases are linked to high cholesterol and a build-up of fat in the blood vessels. We have effective cholesterol lowering treatments, but we must make sure the people who need them are taking them."

More information: Joanna Lewek et al, Intensive Statin Therapy Versus Upfront Combination Therapy of Statin and Ezetimibe in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis Based on the PLACS Data, Journal of the American Heart Association (2023). DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.123.030414 Journal information: Journal of the American Heart Association

Provided by Polskie Towarzystwo Lipidologiczne (Polish Lipid Association)
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

My family is gearing up for the new school year, and I'm a bit worried about how my kids will adjust to being back in the classroom after the summer break. They seem excited yet nervous, and I want to ensure they adjust smoothly. Can I use any strategies or tips to ease their anxieties and make this adjustment period as positive as possible, especially for the youngest entering kindergarten?

ANSWER: Back-to-school season can be an exciting time for students and parents. It's an educational milestone and another step closer to graduation, college or joining the workforce.

It's also a time for new beginningsmaking new friends, reconnecting with old friends, meeting different teachers and picking up school supplies.

As you have experienced, going back to school also can cause a lot of stress and anxiety. Most people get nervous when they face changes. Kids may worry about attending a new school, adjusting to a new grade, being accepted by classmates and teachers, getting good grades, or leaving the safety and familiarity of home.

While these emotions are common, there are things that parents and guardians can do to help their students adjust to the new school year.

Try these tips to get started:

Visit the school. Particularly for your youngest, who may be attending a new school, schedule a school campus visit if possible. Many schools will offer new students and their parents an opportunity to meet teachers before school starts and to see the new school. This also can be helpful for older students. Locating their classrooms, lockers, restrooms and other areas around the school on such a visit can help ease many first-day fears.

Talk about their worries. You can help by reassuring your children that anxious feelings are common and encouraging them to talk about what causes them. When kids think about or practice doing the things that make them anxious, they can learn to cope better with their feelings.

Review homework expectations. Identify a location in your home where children will do homework each day. This could be desks in their rooms, at the kitchen table or in another location. Talk about when they should start their homework. Some families encourage students to start right after they get home, while others allow a break. Review your expectations for grades and how the family will address academic challenges. Setting expectations before school starts will help you and your students.

Develop a good sleep routine. On average, children ages 6-13 require nine to 11 hours of sleep each night. Children who are 13-17 should get eight to 10 hours of sleep a night. Develop consistent sleep routines so your students can mentally and emotionally prepare for bedtime. For example, put all electronics away one hour before bedtime, and keep charging stations away from bedrooms to decrease distractions. Additional routine items may be taking a shower, reading a bedtime story, getting a drink or snack, and brushing teeth.

Eat a healthy breakfast each morning. Eating a balanced breakfast is an integral part of every day. For kids, breakfast is necessary to provide energy for the brain and body. Proper nutrition can help prepare them for learning. If they're hungry, they're more likely to have difficulty focusing.

Plan for school-related conflicts. School years allow students to learn how to navigate relationships outside of their family and prepare them for adulthood. That may sometimes mean working through a conflict or disagreement with a peer or teacher. Practice different strategies, such as taking deep breaths to cool down, asking questions and paraphrasing the other person's perspective, or brainstorming positive solutions that benefit everyone.

Keep in mind that the goal of parenting is to raise independent adults. It's a natural response for parents to want to step in and solve the problem to protect their children from conflict. However, stepping in too often decreases kids' ability to develop the skills and confidence needed to be independent adults who self-advocate. Giving them tools to process and develop solutions on their own builds lifelong skills and helps you more easily identify when an issue is serious and requires parental involvement.

Sometimes, routines and plans aren't enough. If your child's fears or anxiety interfere with daily activities and school, it's time to talk with a mental health professional.

2023 Mayo Clinic News Network.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
ZACC Events

The events are all free and open to the public. Go to zootownarts.org for a full line-up.

Indigenous art market: From 3-7 p.m. in the Show Room.

A walk for Mika Westwolf: Starting at 5:30 p.m., there will be be a #MikaMatters walk from the Peace Center to the ZACC in remembrance of Mika Westwolf, a 22-year-old woman who was struck and killed while walking along Highway 93 outside Arlee in March. Her mother, Carissa Heavy Runner, will be there, along with a display of some of Westwolfs writing.

After arriving at the ZACC at 6 p.m., there will be a welcoming prayer by Jesse DesRosier.

Music and storytelling: Following the art openings, at 8 p.m. Blackfeet musician and Montana Troubadour Jack Gladstone will perform.

MMIR silent benefit auction: In the Blackfoot Communications Gallery. Closes Sept. 30 at 6 p.m.

'How We Celebrate Our Families': In the Main Gallery, artwork by Indigenous artists on the theme of "How do you celebrate the relationships in your life, and how do you continue to honor those relationships positively, even if the person is no longer physically available to you?"

'Visible Voices: Contemporary Issues IEFA Mural Series': Murals by students from Frazer School on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation that relate to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls; boarding schools and the discovery of children's graves; and the proclamation of Indigenous People's Day.
A Helena judge has temporarily blocked a portion of a new law implementing charter schools in Montana from going into effect, finding the Republican-backed legislation potentially oversteps the constitutional authority given to the state's Board of Public Education and local school boards.

"Plaintiffs are likely to show in this litigation that in establishing choice schools, the state may not take oversight authority from the bodies constitutionally charged with supervising the public school system ... and give it instead to a body of the Legislature's own creation," Lewis and Clark District Court Judge Christopher Abbott wrote Wednesday, in his order granting a partial injunction against the law.

The Montana Quality Education Coalition, along with a pair of public school educators and the Montana League of Women Voters, filed the lawsuit in June.

"Diverting public funds to schools with no accountability will fundamentally change the nature of public education in Montana and we cannot stand for it, said Jessica Felchle, a Billings public school teacher who is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Both for my own children and the children I teach, I am incredibly relieved. And I am confident that the Montana Constitution will continue to protect us.

The office of Attorney General Austin Knudsen, which is helping to defend the lawsuit, declined to say whether they would appeal the injunction.

"We are reviewing the order to determine next steps," spokesperson Emilee Cantrell wrote in an email.

Gov. Greg Gianforte and Superintendent of Public Instruction Elsie Arntzen are named as defendants in the case. Arntzen's office didn't respond to requests for comment.

"The governor remains committed to empowering Montana parents to choose the education that best meets the individual needs of their child, including the option of public charter schools," Gianforte spokesperson Kaitlin Price wrote in an email.

House Bill 562 was passed by Montana's GOP-dominated Legislature near the end of the session earlier this year, and was signed into law by Gianforte in May. It allows "community choice schools" to operate independently from local school districts, with exemptions from certification requirements and other standards. The schools would be approved under a new commission within the Office of Public Instruction.

Legislative legal researchers flagged HB 562 for potential constitutional deficiencies after it was introduced early in this year's session.

One of the top Republican lawmakers, Senate Majority Leader Steve Fitzpatrick, acknowledged during the session he wasn't fully enamored with charter schools, but told his caucus at the time: "We need to get these issues resolved. We should pass this bill and let the courts decide if its valid or not.

The plaintiffs argued that an injunction was necessary to prevent the state from implementing a system in which they would have no say over public funds for traditional public schools being diverted to new schools, in which they would have no ability to vote for the trustees.

Abbott acknowledged that the "irreparable" injuries claimed by the plaintiffs mirror those claimed by the parents who are seeking alternative schools for their children.

"Just as House Bill 562 stands to alter the experience of children in traditional schools who cannot get that time in their education back, the same can be said for the impact of a failure to implement HB 562 on parents who want their children to be educated in an alternative model but who currently lack the time and resources to place their children in a private or home school setting," the judge wrote.

HB 562, sponsored during the 2023 Legislature by House Majority Leader Sue Vinton, was one of two charter school bills to emerge by the end of the session. The other was House Bill 549 from Rep. Fred Anderson, R-Great Falls. Abbott cited that other legislation in his ruling, noting that the lawsuit doesn't challenge HB 549, which allows school boards and the Board of Public Education to "innovate in many of the ways identified by the state" under the other bill.

The alternative charter-school bill was part of the reason, Abbott wrote, that the "balance of inequities tips in favor of the plaintiffs."

He denied the plaintiffs' request to block a part of the law that establishes a commission to implement the state's charter schools program. But he noted that commission is barred from approving applications for choice schools until the rest of the case is resolved.
I would like to take this opportunity to respond to a recent (Sept. 5) letter to the editor regarding the proposed development at Fort Missoula. There are a number of glaring omissions and incorrect statements and they deserve a response. Nobody that loves the Fort is in favor or allowing the Post Hospital to deteriorate in place and this is not the last chance to save the hospital. There are numerous examples of historic buildings at the Fort that have been restored and put to adaptive reuse. Several organizations and agencies at the Fort have been preserving buildings for decades, the grand buildings along Officers Row, the Company Barracks, the Quartermasters Storehouse, the Cell Blocks, the Quartermasters Stables and even the Water Tower all stand as examples of successful preservation efforts. The Forts success at historic preservation demonstrates that other options for the Post Hospital exist and should be considered before we allow a project that will have lasting, generational adverse impacts to the Fort.

The letter trots out the tired canard that nobody visits the Fort and that it is underutilized. My offices are on Officers Row and have been for the past 17 years; I have no idea what the author is saying. The two historic museums, the open space, the restored historic buildings, and the new regional park make the Fort one of the most used and heavily trafficked historic gems in our community. Birdwatching along the Bitterroot River and the riparian corridor is an increasingly vibrant activity at the Fort. The events at the two historical museums are a major attraction, bringing in thousands of visitors. Far from being underutilized, the Fort is one of the most vibrant hubs of activity in our community.

The attack on the historic museums display of Missoulas history is wholly unwarranted and deserves no response.

The letter deftly tap dances around the central point, the impact this development will have on the historic district. Historic preservation agencies and advocates from across Montana as well as in our community have noted the negative impacts from this development. Public comments from the State Historic Preservation Office, Preserve Montana, Preserve Historic Missoula and the local property owners all disagree with the assertion that this project is compatible with the historic district. As the lead author of the recent Fort Missoula National Register of Historic Places nomination, I completely reject the statements made in the letter. The author states the development while not entirely consistent with the historic Fort landscape, the proposal would add structures that are architecturally compatible with the existing structures.

This assessment is wrong and demonstrates a misunderstanding about what creates a historic landscape. The historic buildings are one part of the landscape; there is a tapestry of buildings, streets, sidewalks, trees, open space, view sheds that are woven together to create the historic landscape. The historic landscape also acknowledges the wide curved streets, the buildings set back from the street and the decorative plantings around the buildings that all merge into the landscape. The Forts historic landscape is one part of what makes the Fort such a special place.

This proposal is wholly inconsistent with the historic landscape and this proposal will add structures that are completely incompatible with the fabric of the historic district. The Post Hospital has a high degree of integrity and it is one of the anchors of the historic district. The townhouses will have an adverse effect on the Post Hospital. The development will have an adverse impact on the Forts historic landscape. Preserving the Post Hospital is a complex and costly effort and responsible preservation is something that we should support. This development is not that vehicle.
LENOIR  An infected bat found in Lenoir makes the third case of rabies in Caldwell County this year.

On Wednesday, Sept. 6, the North Carolina State Laboratory notified Caldwell County Animal Care Enforcement that a bat submitted for testing was infected with the rabies virus. The bat was found on Steeltown Road in Lenoir when it came into contact with two dogs.

Caldwell County Animal Care Enforcement will host a free rabies vaccine clinic on Oct. 21. Vaccines will be free for Caldwell County residents and $10 for non-county residents. Pets must be on a leash or in a crate at the event.

If there are any questions concerning rabies or receiving a rabies vaccination, the Caldwell County Animal Care Enforcement can be contacted at 828-572-4535. The department is at 180 Government Way, in Lenoir. Business hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If there is an emergency situation outside the departments business hours, notify the Caldwell County Sheriffs Office at 828-758-2324
State test results from the 2022-23 school year presented to the State Board of Education on Wednesday show that North Carolina students continued to recover ground lost to the COVID pandemic, with gains across virtually all grades, subjects and student subgroups.

In Burke County Public Schools, district leaders are celebrating how far students have come since COVID-19.

I am really proud of the progress our schools made this past school year. We have a lot to celebrate, BCPS Superintendent Dr. Mike Swan said. We have successfully moved four schools out of School of Improvement status. We doubled the number of B schools across the district, with four in the 2021-22 school year and eight in the 2022-23 school year. And three more schools exceeded growth in 2022-23 than in 2021-22, with 11 total schools exceeding growth.

The schools moved out of School of Improvement status are Mountain View Elementary, Hillcrest Elementary, Ray Childers Elementary and Hildebran Elementary. Each school, with the exception of Hillcrest, moved from a D to a C with Hildebran just a point shy of making it to a B. By Hillcrest exceeding growth, the school pulled out of School of Improvement status.

This came with a lot of hard work from our district level leaders, to principals and especially teachers and students, Swan said. Many of the schools that exceeded growth exceeded substantially with some schools above a 6.0 growth index. This is phenomenal work by our principals, teachers, curriculum leaders and students in these schools.

Burke Middle College achieved a School Performance Grade of A, and B schools include two traditional high schools  Draughn and Patton  as well as Heritage Middle and Liberty Middle. At the elementary level, Drexel Elementary School, George Hildebrand Elementary School and Mull Elementary School achieved B letter grades. Burke Middle Colleges cohort graduation rate remains 100%. District wide, the graduation rate dipped only slightly from 88 to 87.9. Burke Countys cohort graduation rate remains above state cohort levels, which are at 86.4%.

We will still have four schools that will be categorized as Schools of Improvement, but we have remedial efforts already in place to help each school move out of this status this year, BCPS Deputy Superintendent Dr. Karen Auton said. These measures will help kick-start the school year with a positive trajectory in student achievement.

Statewide results

Statewide, schools also showed progress on accountability measures, with more than 7 of every 10 achieving or exceeding their goals for academic growth, while the proportion of schools that did not meet growth expectations was just 1 percentage point higher than in the most recent pre-pandemic year of 2018-19. More than 1 in 4 of the states 2,598 public schools earned a School Performance Grade of an A or B, with nearly two out of every three receiving a C or better.

Because of disruptions in teaching and learning caused by the pandemic, the accountability report for the 2022-23 school year is the second since 2018-19 to feature all elements of the states accountability framework, including the calculation of growth designations and A-F School Performance Grades.

While school closures and remote learning resulted in unprecedented declines in end-of-grade and end-of-course test scores for the 2020-21 school year, results for the 2022-23 year show strong gains, particularly in math, with pandemic losses in some grades cut by more than two thirds. Reading scores also improved in all grades, with losses from 2020-21 cut by half, or more, in some grades.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt said last years accountability results show that schools remain on track to recover from the significant setbacks caused by COVID-19.

Its hard to overstate the impact of the pandemic, Truitt said, but teachers across North Carolina are working harder than ever to help students recover, and more importantly, advance in their learning. We owe them our gratitude for meeting this challenge to improve outcomes for students.

Weve now seen two consecutive years of gains that were greater than any of the several years preceding the pandemic losses, when year-to-year changes in average scores were generally flat, or in some cases, declining. Students and schools still have a way to go to catch up, but we have good reason to think that progress will continue, Truitt said. As more early-grades teachers adopt literacy instruction grounded in the science of reading, students will be stronger readers as they progress through elementary school and into middle school. Were going to see continued improvement in those test scores and others.

Results from the 2022-23 year reinforce findings of a recovery analysis this spring from the Department of Public Instructions Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration showing that students made significant gains during the 2021-22 school year. The analysis found students showed signs of academic recovery in nearly every subject, with the strongest gains measured in middle and high school math, with notable gains also found in third- and fourth-grade reading, eighth-grade science and high school biology. Only high school English (English II) remained unchanged from 2020-21.

The performance of North Carolina students during the 2022-23 school year also mirrors trends reported in recent weeks by several other states that showed gains last year, particularly in math and science, after sharp declines in performance levels in the wake of the pandemic.

Eric Davis, chairman of the State Board of Education, said that North Carolinas 2022-23 accountability results reflect the hard work and dedication of many educators and students to address the pandemics persistent effects on student learning.

There is clear evidence of the efforts of educators, students, and parents to close the gaps in academic learning created during the pandemic, Davis said.  We should recognize those efforts and support those efforts with the resources our students need to succeed.

The student achievement data for the 2022-23 school year are based on analysis of all end-of- grade (EOG) and end-of-course (EOC) tests, which are aligned to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study in English Language Arts (Reading) and Mathematics and the Essential Standards in Science for all public schools in North Carolina. The data provide the percentage of students who scored at Level 3 and above (grade level proficiency), at Level 4 and above (college and career readiness) and at each academic achievement level.

Tammy Howard, senior director of accountability and testing for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, cautioned that the 2022-23 test data must be considered within the context of all COVID disruptions, and though 2018-19 data is included in the report released today, it is not intended to be used as a comparison for the purpose of evaluating effort or drawing conclusions.

We are continuing to experience some of the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, Howard said. As we look at the data, the school performance grades and other information from the 2022-23 school year, its very important to note that while its informative, it is limited, and it is discouraged to make comparisons to 2018-19, which is prior to the pandemic. She said 2018-19 is provided as a reference point only, not for the purpose of drawing linear comparisons.

The A-F school performance grades that schools received for 2021-22 and in 2022-23 were affected by the formula used to determine those grades because student performance on the state tests far outweighs the credit schools earn for the progress students make on the same tests from one year to the next. Eighty percent of the grade is for the percentage of tests earning a score of at least grade-level proficient; 20 percent is for growth, measured by a statistical model that compares each students predicted test score, based on past performance, against his or her actual result.

Even as most schools achieved at least expected growth, the A-F performance grades of many schools were depressed by lower-than-usual percentages of students earning a score of grade-level proficient. With the weighting of 80 percent on the test scores and other achievement data, the school performance grades have shifted downward, consistent with the impact of the pandemic on test scores. For the 2022-23 school year, the percentage of schools with a grade of D or F decreased to 35.4% from 42.3% in 2021-22 but remained higher than the 21.8% in 2018-19.

While the number of schools found to be low performing under the state accountability system decreased, from 864 to 804 for 2022-23, the number remains greater than the 488 identified as low performing in 2018-19, largely due to lower test scores. Because of the overall drop in A-F performance grades since 2018-19 school year, the number of low performing schools has increased, even as they have met or exceeded growth expectations.

Low-performing schools are those that receive a performance grade of D or F and do not exceed growth. Low-performing districts are districts where the majority of schools received a performance grade and have been identified as low performing. For 2022-23, the number of low-performing districts decreased to 25 from 29 the year before.

High school performance grades were also impacted by a higher minimum ACT score now required for admission to University of North Carolina campuses. The percentage of students of reaching that benchmark score on the ACT, required of all 11th graders in North Carolina, is one of the factors used to determine each high schools A-F performance grade, along with EOC scores, 4-year cohort graduation rates and other indicators. The percentage of 11th graders achieving the UNC minimum of 19 was 41.1 in 2022-23, compared to 41.7% in 2021-22.

In terms of subject-specific performance in elementary and middle school grades, 30.9% of students in grades 3-8 statewide scored at a level 4 or 5 in reading, considered to be Career and College Ready (CCR), compared to 29.3% in 2020-21. When students who scored at a level 3 are included also, 50.2% of students in grades 3-8 were considered Grade Level Proficient (GLP), compared to 48.4% in 2020-21.

In math, 34.9% of students in grades 3-8 statewide scored at the CCR levels 4 or 5, compared to 32.1% in 2021-22, and 53% of students in grades 3-8 scored at the GLP level when scores at the 3 level were included, compared to 49.8% in 2021-22.

Scores increased from 2021-22 in all grade levels, 3-8, in both reading and math, at the Grade Level Proficient standard and at the Career and College Ready standard. Fourth-grade scores showed the strongest gains, both in reading and math.

Overall, math scores in elementary and middle school grades were up more significantly than reading scores. The scores on science exams, given at grades 5 and 8, showed gains from 2021-22 in 5th grade but a decline in 8th grade.

Among end-of-course exams administered in high school grades, scores on the NC Math 3 exam exceeded the 2018-19 pre-pandemic performance, while scores on NC Math 1 and biology exams improved from the 2021-22 year. Scores on the English II exam were up slightly at the GLP level and down slightly at the CCR level from the previous year.

The states 4-year cohort graduation rate, also a factor in determining high school performance grades, was 86.4%, unchanged from 2021-22, and was also largely unchanged from the 86.5% rate in 2018-19.
Atlantic Richfield reported Thursday that its Superfund design team continues to study company-owned property north of the Kelley Headframe for possible use as a wastes repository.

The design team is currently evaluating the Kelley Mine area as well as potential haul routes to that area, with an emphasis on safety and reducing traffic on public roads where possible, Atlantic Richfield said in a statement.

We expect the technical evaluation to be completed within the next few weeks and look forward to engaging with the Centerville and broader Butte community to discuss these findings soon, the company said.

A repository north of the Kelley Mine would have an anticipated capacity of about 1.1 million cubic yards. It would receive contaminated soils and tailings from sites in the Silver Bow Creek Corridor.

One key challenge would be transporting the wastes from the sites being remediated to the repository. Thousands of truck trips would be necessary.

A few years ago, Montana Resources agreed to accept wastes from the Parrot Tailings site, where remediation work was handled by the states Natural Resource Damage Program instead of EPA. Why not from the Silver Bow Creek Corridor area?

Mark Thompson, vice president of environmental affairs for Montana Resources, explained.

The Parrot Project was not conducted as a Superfund removal so the transfer of the material was fairly simple, Thompson said.

Once the material was brought to MR, MR took ownership of the material and is responsible for it under our mine operating permit. This includes long-term reclamation and maintenance.

But federal Superfund work, performed under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, or CERCLA, is a different animal.

Thompson said its his understanding that Superfund work supervised by the EPA and completed by Atlantic Richfield contractors requires a CERCLA wastes repository that will be managed in perpetuity.

So Atlantic Richfield cannot pass the material to Montana Resources, and Atlantic Richfield certainly does not want to manage a CERCLA repository in the middle of an active mining operation on property they dont own, Thompson said.

Montana Resources has offered access to its property for possible use by haul trucks headed to a repository.

If the repository north of the Kelley Headframe is selected, the haul truck route could theoretically pass behind the Montana Resources main office building, proceed on the haul road over the tunnel for the Berkeley Pit viewing area and then travel up to the repository.

One estimate has suggested roughly 850,000 cubic yards of material contaminated with heavy metals would be excavated from sites in the Silver Bow Creek Corridor, including areas such as Diggings East and Northside Tailings.

Atlantic Richfield said last week that both surface water and groundwater from the location north of the Kelley Headframe drain into the Berkeley Pit and would not impact Silver Bow Creek.

Mining wastes distributed across this location would be consolidated with the wastes excavated from the Silver Bow Creek Conservation Area project, graded, covered with soil and revegetated, Atlantic Richfield said.

Under Superfund law, Atlantic Richfield is considered liable to clean up the historic mining and smelting wastes in the region because it acquired the Anaconda Co., the original polluter, in 1977.

Last week, Leslie Houchin, who lives on North Wyoming Street, expressed concerns about potential impacts of the repository. She also noted that capping of wastes sites doesnt always yield good results.

History shows us they dont do a very good job of it, she said.

She is concerned also about the possibility of thousands of haul trucks traveling up from the Flats.

John McKee, co-owner of Headframe Spirits, which leases space in the Kelley Headframe complex from Butte-Silver Bow, expressed support for the wastes repository siting in a statement released Friday.

Our understanding of the plan thus far has us excited to be good neighbors to the project, McKee said. It has innovative solutions to keeping massive haul trucks off of city streets. It considers the health and safety of the repository locations neighbors and when completed the repository will be capped and revegetated, which was not the plan for this area previously.

McKee described the proposed repository site as a pragmatic solution to removing contaminated wastes from the center of town.

J.P. Gallagher, chief executive for Butte-Silver Bow County, said last week that the identification of a repository location and haul routes will be a fully vetted public process before a site is finalized.
The states highest ranking legal official this week became the subject of a 41-count complaint filed with the professional board well known by attorneys but rarely a subject of public discourse.

The Montana Office of Disciplinary Counsel has, occasionally, disbarred attorneys from practicing. More often it finds a resolution  be it rehabilitation, probation or a mentorship  before it reaches the point of a public, formal complaint like the one leveled against Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen on Tuesday. The crux of the complaint alleges Knudsen violated the professional rules of attorney conduct by repeatedly, in 41 alleged instances, attempting to undermine the public confidence in the judicial branch.

A spokesperson for Knudsen Tuesday said he looks forward to responding to the complaint, while GOP supporters like state party chair Don "Don K" Kaltschmidt quickly took to social media to disparage the complaint as a political stunt.

Chief disciplinary counsel Pam Bucy recused herself in this case, appointing Missoula attorney Timothy Strauch, in order to avoid that perception.

"Because I ran for attorney general as a Democrat (in 2012), I've worked at the AG's office for years as the chief deputy, so I didn't want this to be political in any way," Bucy said in a phone interview Wednesday. "That's why I recused myself and appointed a prosecutor."

Strauch was the first lawyer appointed to the position back in 2002.

"He's very knowledgeable about this process and that's why he was appointed," Bucy said.

In the regulatory structure governing attorney ethics and behavior, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel acts as a prosecutor before the Commission on Practice, essentially the court to hear and make a judgement in the case regarding resolutions or discipline. Those judgements that are ultimately upheld or modified by the Montana Supreme Court.

On average, Bucy said about 15 out of 400-some complaints reach for the formal complaint process, which can take a year or more. The vast majority are dismissed or entered into some diversion program before they reach the formal complaint process at which Knudsen now finds himself.

Prior to the Office of Disciplinary Counsels creation, the Commission on Practice served both functions, occasionally appointing private attorneys to serve in prosecutorial functions.

In December 2001, the Montana Supreme Court reworked its system to police lawyers' conduct, creating the Office of Disciplinary Counsel to investigate unethical behavior by attorneys. The Supreme Court appoints the disciplinary counsel, and its office is funded by fees assessed on lawyers practicing in Montana.

The process is similar to most licensed professions, in which a board of peers oversees their profession's practice and ethical obligations, Bucy said.

Billings attorney Mark Parker endorsed the system in the August edition of Montana Lawyer, a publication of the State Bar of Montana. Parker has represented "scores of attorneys" in such disciplinary proceedings, he wrote in the article titled "Lawyers are people too  the art of representing a peer."

"All in all, the new system works fine," Parker wrote. "The Chief Justice has done a good job of picking competent prosecutors. Although I disagree with them from time to time, I think they get it right in a large majority of cases."

Knudsen's shop quickly pointed to Strauchs past campaign contributions in decrying the complaint as a "political stunt" and Strauch as a "long-time Democrat activist and donor."

Records with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices show Strauch donated a total of $600 to seven different Democratic campaigns since 2000, most recently to Monica Tranel's 2020 bid for Public Service Commission. For some comparison, he's also donated $5,290 to nonpartisan judicial campaigns in the same timeframe.

Kaltschmidt, chairman of the Montana GOP, likewise sought to undermine Strauch after news of the complaint against Knudsen reached X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter.

"Meritless drivel from a partisan investigator  Shame on you!" Kaltschmidt wrote in a post.

Past cases may provide insight into what kind of road the Commission on Practice might be headed down. In 2018, Montana attorney Brian Miller was the subject of a complaint alleging he crossed the line in criticizing then U.S. District Court Judge Charles Lovell. Miller was the plaintiff's attorney in an insurance dispute and ultimately lost the case.

A complaint filed with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel after the ruling included an allegation that Miller had violated professional conduct rules by asserting Lovell altered testimony and created defenses on behalf of the insurance companies named as defendants, "with reckless disregard as to the truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity of Judge Lovell," according to records from Miller's case.

For this and two other violations of the professional conduct code, Miller was publicly admonished by the Commission on Practice.

A more serious discipline emerged from the case of Hamilton attorney Robert Myers in 2017. The Commission on Practice recommended Myers be disbarred for making statements "with reckless disregard for the truth" during his campaign for District Court when he accused the incumbent judge of drug use and presiding over cases in which there was an alleged conflict of interest.

The Montana Supreme Court upheld the commission's recommendations, disbarring Myers from practicing law and ordering him to pay the cost of the proceedings.
Episode 106: Across our nation, millions of students are heading back to colleges and universities, but there is plenty of disagreement about whether those degrees will help prepare young people for the work force.

Richard Kyte and Scott Rada discuss how different generations view the workplace and what responsibilities schools have in preparing students for the future.

Links to stories discussed during the podcast:

No wonder work ethic is waning. Colleges leave students unprepared. by Mitch Daniels, The Washington Post

3 in 4 managers find it difficult to work with GenZ, Resume Builder

About the hosts: Scott Rada is social media manager with Lee Enterprises, and Richard Kyte is the director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wis.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dear Journal-

Republican State Representative Taylor Collins must have tunnel vision. It seems all he can talk about and take credit for is tax cuts. (8/9/23 Muscatine Journal) Too bad for most Iowans they are regressive tax cuts- the lower your income the higher percentage you pay in taxes. What people pay in other states is irrelevant to Iowans.

Everyone knows that tax cuts don't pay for themselves. Ask anyone in Kansas or Louisiana. The Republicans there did the same thing and soon had a fiscal disaster on their hands. Based on what the Iowa Republicans did in the last legislative session here we can expect the same in the near future.

This state cannot grow without revenue. Republicans keep wanting to give the store away.

Their give-a-way to the religious schools will cost nearly a billion dollars for the first four years. Meanwhile they starve the public school system of needed funds.

Most Iowans care about the environment and clean water. In 2010 they approved the Iowa Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund Amendment. There has never been any money appropriated for it. This past session the Republicans even took funding away from the water quality monitoring system. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil!

It's clear Iowa is going in the wrong direction. The terrible fiscal policies combined with the shameful legislation against women, SNAP recipients, and youth makes it seem we're in a race to the bottom.

Don Paulson
On Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. Navy Hospitalman E3 Gary Ronzheimer was qualifying on the firing range at Camp Lajeune, North Carolina, when a friend who had a cell phone told him that an incident had happened in New York City.

Ronzheimer remembers at the time, technology wasnt where it is today and news was slow getting to the men. Later, the men gathered around a food truck and heard reports of the second tower being hit and collapsing. They would come to find out it was part of four coordinated Islamic suicide terror attacks on the United States. In addition to the World Trade Center towers, which were among the five tallest buildings in the world at the time, the terrorists also attacked the Pentagon and had planned to attack Washington, D.C. In all, 2,996 people died in the attacks.

At that point things changed in the military, he said. We changed our force protection at the time. We had to shore up security and shortly after, we were headed for Afghanistan and Iraq.

On Monday, Ronzheimer, now a Muscatine Fire Department battalion chief, will participate first in a ceremony shortly after 7 p.m. that will mark the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks. He will then run with his crew up 110 flights of stairs in honor of the first responders who responded to the World Trade Center.

The ceremony will honor the 343 first responders who died trying to get people out of the buildings as they crumbled. The public is invited to attend the ceremony that will be held in front of the fire station at the corner of Fifth and Cedar streets. The flag will be raised and lowered to half-staff in honor of the fallen and a moment of silence will be held.

Later that morning, at 8:52 a.m., a memorial stair climb will be held. Firefighters  some in 50-lbs plus turnout gear  will climb 110 flights of stairs in honor of the New York firefighters. That was a high as the rescue crews got before the towers collapsed. At press time, the location of the event had not been confirmed and will be posted as soon as it is available. Such events began in New York City as a way of remembering the fallen. The Muscatine Fire Department has done the event for about three years, although it skipped last year.

We started doing this just as a way for us to take a second and just think about the sacrifices that were made that day by our first responders and the sacrifices we make every day as firefighters,  Ronzheimer said. Law enforcement as well. It helps us remember why we do what we do. Its just one of those things  its pretty important to remember what can happen to any of us any day.

Photos: 9/11 tributes through the years
The Muscatine Housing Council, in coordination with Atlas Community Studios has moved on to the next step of its housing market analysis project.

Throughout the next six weeks, Muscatine Housing Council and Atlas Community Studios, an Iowa-based firm that specializes in strategic planning and economic development, will be conducting the research phase of this project. In order to get as much information as possible, the two groups are asking residents of Muscatine, Wilton and West Liberty to complete the online housing survey that is currently available at https://engage.atlascostudios.com/muscatine-county.

Residents are also asked to attend one of three upcoming interactive public visioning meetings. These meetings will be in-person and will run for up to 90 minutes, giving attendees an opportunity to share their thoughts on the future of housing in Muscatine County.

The first of these visioning meetings will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 5 p.m. in Wilton City Hall. The second will be at Muscatines Riverview Center on Wednesday, Sept. 13 at noon. The third meeting will be held on Thursday, Sept. 14 at noon at WeLead in West Liberty.

As stated by Atlas Community Studios, the 2023 housing market analysis project will focus on analyzing current housing markets in Muscatine County as well as its submarkets. Through this, the team at Atlas will then develop data-driven recommendations for new community programs and policies that will support the creation and preservation of a healthy housing market within the county, all while addressing the specific needs of each community. Project results are expected to be shared with the community in early 2024.

Growing trans population sparks need for senior housing geared to LGBTQ+ community
Africa has called for collective global action in resource mobilisation for both development and climate action.

African leaders challenged the global community to honor its commitments citing the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact.

The pact dictates that no country should ever have to choose between development aspirations and climate action.

Led by President William Ruto and AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki, the leaders urged development partners to align their technical and financial resources towards promoting sustainable utilization of Africas natural assets.

The declaration was made on Wednesday at the Africa Climate Summit, KICC, Nairobi, dubbed The African Leaders Nairobi Declaration on Climate Change.

We call upon the global community to act with urgency in reducing emissions, fulfilling its obligations, keeping past promises, and supporting the continent in addressing climate change, read a statement.

Presidents Salva Kiir (South Sudan), Julius Maada (Sierra Leone), Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia), Ismail Omar Guelleh (Djibouti), Isaias Afwerki (Eritrea) and Idriss Deby (Chad) and DRC Congo Prime Minister Sama Lukonde Kyenge were present.

Others were First Lady Rachel Ruto, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Angola Vice President Esperanca da Costa, Namibia Vice President Nangolo Mbumba, Commonwealth SSecretary-GeneralPatricia Scotland, former Nigeria President Olusegun Obasanjo and 66 ministers from different countries.

The African leaders appealed to world leaders to consider the proposal for a global carbon taxation regime.

The leaders also called for affordable and accessible finance for climate-positive investments.

President Ruto challenged the global community to address unjust international development financial institutions and governance frameworks.

He said reforms in the multilateral financial architecture and the mobilization of adequate financial resources were vital to the continents well-being and the success of climate action.

We have challenged the international community to exercise a level of imagination in governance and climate action that is commensurate with the imperative to overcome the immense existential challenges of our time,  he said.

The President observed that Africas vast resources makes the continent the future of climate action and green industrialisation.

He cited the continents incomparably young, resilient and motivated human capital, natural resource wealth and green energy potential assets that will drive the future.

Dr Ruto described the Africa Climate Summit as a success citing the move by governments, the private sector, multilateral banks and philanthropists to commit $23 billion for green growth, mitigation and adaptation efforts across Africa.

Africa has spoken. We have articulated clearly the way forward for our continent and the world, Ruto said.

The Nairobi Declaration, he added, has set the stage for a new phase in the global climate action and sustainable development agenda.

We have demonstrated to the world what we have and what we can do and also asked the world for what we need and what the global community can do, he said.

Mr Faki said the Nairobi declaration has been endorsed unanimously, demonstrating the continents desire to mitigate climate change.

The Africa Union will work out a road map for the implementation of this declaration, he said.

He called on African leaders to continue pushing for climate justice, concrete action and honouring of commitments.

Mr Faki called for teamwork and unity in ensuring Africas voice is heard.

Via the Presidential Communication Service(PCS)
The ODM party has imposed a fine on Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris for her dissenting vote on the Finance Bill, 2023.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the opposition party announced that Passaris must pay a fine of Sh250,000 for her breach of party discipline, and she is also required to issue a written apology within seven days.

That Esther Passaris, the Woman MP for Nairobi County be reprimanded for her outright defiance of the party position on the punitive Finance Bill 2023 and that she should issue a written apology to the party within seven days, the party said.

On top of this, Passaris should be fined Sh250,000 which should be paid within 60 days.

On the other hand, Rongo MP Paul Abuor and his Uriri counterpart Mark Nyamita were each fined Sh. 1 million, which they must pay within 60 days.

Passaris, Omondi, and Odhiambo publicly endorsed the Finance Bill 2023 when it was presented in Parliament.

ODM has also decided to nullify the nominations of Members of the Kisumu County Assembly (MCAs), namely Caroline Opar, Kennedy Ajwang, Peter Obaso, and Regina Kizito.

The party said the above-mentioned decisions were reached during a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) on Wednesday, presided over by the partys leader, Raila Odinga.

ODM explained that the NEC meeting was called following a sequence of meetings held by various party bodies, including the Central Committee, the Disciplinary Committee, and the National Elections Board. National Chairman John Mbadi presided over the meeting.
Stakeholders in the recently concluded Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya have committed to providing $23 billion (equivalent to Ksh 3.4 trillion) to support African nations in addressing the impacts of climate change.

During his concluding statement, host President William Ruto said that this funding will be allocated to initiatives focused on green development, as well as mitigation and adaptation efforts across the continent.

Africa is poised to benefit from several significant developments, including:

A transformative partnership committing $60 million over two years to expand grid access in rural Burundi. A substantial commitment of $4.5 billion from the UAE to bolster renewable energy initiatives. Substantial contributions from European nations and substantial investments from private sector entities like Masdar, PowerGen, Leapfrog, Cross Boundary, and Husk Power, all focusing on renewable energy projects. The signing of Kenyas Green Hydrogen Strategy with the European Union, expected to drive and accelerate green manufacturing, generate thousands of high-value jobs, and attract significant private investment. A noticeable increase in adaptation financing, reflecting a strong commitment to Africas sustainable future and energy systems, aligning with the ambitious Nairobi Declaration.

President Ruto said the Nairobi Declaration will set the stage for a new phase in global climate action.

The Nairobi Declaration, our common stand and firm resolution, reaffirms our determination and sets the stage for a new phase in the global climate action and sustainable development agenda, giving the future of socio-economic transformation a distinct and affirmative African character, the Head of State said.

Dr Ruto emphasized that the combined efforts made during the summit leave no room for doubt anywhere in the world: Africa is the future of humankind.

The President commended his fellow leaders for their active participation, highlighting that their presence has sent a resounding message globally that a new Africa has emerged, and it is fully committed to its goals and objectives.

Your participation in the Summit has further demonstrated your individual as well as our collective dedication to represent our peoples and champion their most important aspirations in every critical forum regionally, continentally and globally, the President said.
Two social workers at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital have been convicted of child trafficking and neglect of duty.

Fred Makallah Leparan and Selina Awuor Adundo, who are former employees of the now-disbanded Nairobi Metropolitan Services(NMS) were charged with the offences of selling children from the health facility in Embakasi Central within Nairobi two years ago.

In 2021, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired an expose in which the first accused, Fred Makallah Leparan, was caught selling a child who had been abandoned at the hospital for Sh300,000. Three children were transferred to the buyer who was a BBC undercover agent.

In her ruling, Nairobi Senior Principal Magistrate Esther Kimilu said the court was satisfied that the prosecution led by Caroline Karimi and Linda Ndambiri proved the case beyond reasonable doubt against the two accused persons.

The two knew they had a duty of care to the children but they failed the duty. I am satisfied that the prosecution has proved the case and find them guilty as charged, ruled Kimilu.

Fred Makallah Leparan was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit a felony, namely trafficking in persons, three (3) counts of trafficking in persons, and three (3) counts of child neglect.

Selina Adundo was convicted on three (3) counts of child neglect. The court acquitted her on a count of conspiracy to commit a felony, namely trafficking, as well as three (3) counts of trafficking in persons.

On the count of neglecting official duties, Awuor was found guilty of failing to stop Makallah from trafficking the three children despite being aware that he was engaging in child theft.

The case will be mentioned on 26th September, 2023 for mitigation and sentencing.
Worldcoin Chief Executive Officer Alex Blania has admitted that the contentious cryptocurrency firm is not duly registered in Kenya.

Appearing before the National Assembly Ad Hoc Committee of Inquiry into the firms activities in the country, Alex Blania was at pains to explain Worldcoins real intentions in Kenya, especially since they lack the necessary licensing to operate from the Data Commissioners office.

The Founder of Truth for Humanity, a Worldcoin subsidiary, also told the committee that Worldcoins primary focus is on verifying individuals humanity and categorizing them in a unique manner. Mr Blania also insisted that his company is not involved in data mining or the subsequent sale of data.

Yes, it is true that we are not registered in Kenya because the website of the data protection is not clear on data controlling companies and yes we can confirm that we are not seeking to harvest data from Kenyans. We are building something to protect privacy, the committee heard on Wednesday, September 6.

Blania at the same time refuted allegations that Worldcoin coerced Kenyans into undergoing iris scans by promising them a payment of Sh7,500. He described this amount as an incentive or token, similar to what other companies like PayPal might provide.

For example, Safaricom gives their clients Sh50 worth of airtime when they buy their lines. Does this mean that they are being coerced? No. And actually it was 25 free cryptocurrency tokens per person whose iris were scanned and not 70 as reported, he explained.

According to Worldcoin, their mobile application is designed to be user-friendly and includes step-by-step instructions to guide users, including obtaining their consent for usage.

The company also explained its decision to set up shop in Kenya, citing the countrys high level of technology adoption compared to other East African nations.

The Worldcoin CEO defended their activities and mentioned that they have partnered with several institutions and organizations in Kenya, including Strathmore University. He revealed that the institution has been conducting iris scans in Kenya since 2021.

The Worldcoin project rolled out globally on June 24 and so far we are in 17 countries including; Uganda, Germany, Spain Portugal, Brazil, India, Chile and the US. Our application is available currently in 168 countries, the committee heard.
Tuesday, Aug. 29

1824  Police cited a vehicle parked in a red zone on Kearney Street.

Download the Napa Valley Register's free news app Easily access the very latest local news that matters in an app built for you. Read, see, and hear exclusive commentary, stunning photography,

Wednesday, Aug. 30

0431  Police cited a driver and impounded a vehicle on Main Street.

0445  Medical aid for a woman with chest pain on Chiles Avenue.

0818  Police assisted after a two-car accident near Hunt Avenue. The parties were arguing over whose fault it was.

1537  Police were told to be on the lookout for an SUV hauling a boat near Highway 29 and Deer Park Road. The boat reportedly had an open luggage door that was hitting parked cars.

1606  Medical aid for a woman feeling ill on Main Street.

1708  Non-injury accident involving a bus and a sedan at Oak/Spring.

1936  Police contacted a distressed and intoxicated person.

2222  Police cited a driver near Main/Charter Oak.

Thursday, Aug. 31

0819  Report of a sheep in the roadway near Silverado/Pope. Police responded and notified the CHP.

0918  Report of someone using a gas-powered leaf blower on Hunt Avenue. The caller was referred to a complaint form on the citys website.

1218  Report of a suspicious man talking to himself and making weird hand gestures near Oak/Adams. An officer contacted the man, who moved along.

1703  Medical aid on San Juan Court.

1719  Report of a man and a woman screaming inside a silver Camry, with possible physical violence. Police responded and determined the dispute had been strictly verbal.

1756  A truck was parked on an Adams Street property, and the property owner wanted it gone. An officer contacted the trucks owner.

2112  Report of a suspicious man standing near a back gate on Starr Avenue and triggering a motion-activated light. He was last seen running toward Hunt Avenue. Police checked the area.

2226  A suspicious man had been offering pest control services in the Crinella/Park area earlier in the day. The caller thought he might have been casing the neighborhood to see who was going to be away for the holiday weekend.

2319  Following a traffic stop on Pope Street, police arrested a 46-year-old St. Helena man on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs. A 31-year-old El Sobrante man was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs and violating probation.

Friday, Sept. 1

0935  Police cited a driver near Charter Oak/Main.

1215  Non-injury accident on Adams Street.

2314  A caller said a Hunt Avenue store was refusing to sell her alcohol and accusing her of trying to buy alcohol to sell to minors. She hung up before dispatch could get more details. A store representative told police the woman had left the store very angry, along with a young female. Police checked the area.

Saturday, Sept. 2

0012  Report of juveniles knocking on the door of a Pine Street house and then running away. The caller said it had happened four times in the last hour and a half. The caller had asked them to stop. They were in a black SUV or Bronco. Police checked the area.

0906  Police cited a driver near Silverado/Deer Park.

1714  A dog was briefly reported missing from Pope Street, but it was soon found.

1828  An iPhone in a purple case was reported lost. The case also contained credit cards and identification.

2016  Report of a reckless driver who almost hit a pedestrian near Main/Charter Oak.

2213  Following a traffic stop on Sylvaner Avenue, police arrested a 52-year-old Newport, Rhode Island woman on suspicion of DUI.

2316  Juveniles wearing masks had kicked the door of a Pine Street house. They were seen leaving in a gray or dark gray vehicle.

Sunday, Sept. 3

0119  Following a traffic stop on Main Street, police cited a driver and two passengers for having open containers of alcohol.

1132  A person at a Pope Street apartment complex had reportedly thrown away a neighbors daughters bike without any notification. The neighbors eventually came to an agreement.

Monday, Sept. 4

1202  A car was parked in front of a hydrant on Hunt Avenue. Its owner agreed to move it.

1333  Police cited a driver for a stop sign violation on Charter Oak Avenue.

1432  Report of a sewage going out into the street on Allyn Avenue.

1528  Two dogs had reportedly been barking on Mitchell Drive since 6:30 a.m.

1857  Police cited driver for expired registration near El Bonita/Main.

2007  Report of a suspicious woman pounding on the door of a Church Street home.

2208  Menlo Park police asked St. Helena police to contact the owner of a car that was found abandoned and wrecked.

Tuesday, Sept. 5

0924  Someone left graffiti in the public restrooms between Oak Avenue and Money Way.

1045  Police cited a driver near Charter Oak/Main.

1309  A woman asked police to provide civil standby while she retrieved her car and keys from a property. A person she had a restraining order against was refusing to give them to her. Police responded and she was able to get her car back.

1324  Report of a loose pit bull lying in the grass near Adams Street. The dog was back with its owner when an officer arrived.

1359  Police cited a driver on College Avenue.

1523  Report of a solicitor asking people for money in the Main/Mitchell area. An officer contacted the man, who turned out to be asking for donations for a church.

1607  A caller from a Main Street business said a woman had come in for the second time asking employees to charge her phone and not buying anything. The business had had issues with the woman previously. An officer contacted the woman and admonished her for trespassing.

1705  Report of a woman sleeping in someone's front yard on Brown Street. Police arrested the 31-year-old Napa woman on suspicion of public intoxication and violating probation.

1712  Report of construction noise on Dean York Lane.

Wednesday, Sept. 6

0233  Police checked on an occupied vehicle at Meily Park and cited a 21-year-old Discovery Bay man for a misdemeanor warrant from Kern County.

0453  Welfare check/medical aid on Mitchell Drive.

PHOTOS: Training for an active shooter situation in St.Helena
Dodd contractor law signed by Newsom

Legislation from Sen. Bill Dodd to improve oversight and training of Californias nearly 300,000 licensed contractors has been signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Ensuring contractors work in a safe, competent and professional manner is at the heart of our commitment to Californians, the Napa Democrat said in a news release.

That can be done through better communication and education, as well as clear pathways for improvement when things go wrong. The new law will advance those principles among the licensed trades, Dodd said.

The Contractors State License Board (CSLB) regulates 44 types of contractors, including builders, plumbers, electricians and painters. To ensure compliance with performance and safety standards, the board can impose remedial training or payment of restitution to consumers.

However, completion of these requirements does not always happen in a timely manner. Senate Bill 630 streamlines this probationary process, ensuring contractors meet licensing obligations with fewer delays.

The CSLB sponsored SB 630. The Assembly and Senate approved it before the governor signed it late Friday.

Our agency does not currently have authority to re-impose discipline against a contractor for failure to comply with the terms of probation by completing specified training, said David Fogt, CSLBs registrar of contractors. Consumer protection will be enhanced by authorizing CSLB to re-impose discipline without having to file a new disciplinary case.
4.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Turkey

14 individuals were tortured, and 64 died on the move from Nagorno Karabakh. Foreign Ministry spokesperson

Council of Europe to prepare package of measures in response to refugee influx in Armenia

Mher Grigoryan and EU Ambassador exchanged ideas on regional developments

Minister of Defence had a meeting with the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of PRC

Yeremyan Projects has launched the regional first livestock complex in Tashir community

Rights of Karabakhs imprisoned former leadership are protected, Azerbaijan ombudsperson claims

Finance ministry: Armenia economic growth target will be maintained at 7% level in 2024

Elnur Mammadov: Most points in peace treaty have been agreed upon by Azerbaijan, Armenia

Statement: Alma-Ata Declaration has no mention of former union republics of ex-USSR

Dollar drops, euro rises in Armenia

Armenia defense sector capital spending planned in amount of around $1.4 billion in 2024

Lawyer: Maestro Sergey Smbatyan is acquitted

Premier: Armenia defense spending planned to be increased by 125% in 2024 compared to 2018

Armenia, Ukraine officials underscore Pashinyan-Zelenskyy first meeting

ReA15: 300 animation films, 30 guests from 40 countries, around 500 audience; Armenia international festival summed up

Russias Makhachkala airport resumes operations

Armenia's Pashinyan: There is serious progress in North-South motorway construction

Around 12kg narcotics attempted to be smuggled into Armenia from Iran

Armenia finance minister: Considerable part of 2.6 billion to be provided by EU is loan

Armenia official: We will not increase pensions, minimum wages in 2024

Armenia finance minister: National debt of more than $10 billion is safe

Pashinyan: Armenia government expects 7% economic growth in 2023

COAF secures 10M grant to transform education in Armenia's Syunik Province

RFE/RL: US supports EU monitoring mission in Armenia, embassy says

Hurricane Otis kills at least 48 people in Mexico

$135M to be allocated for needs of those forcibly displaced from Karabakh, Armenia PM says

Armenia nationals can now open bank accounts in Russia in simplified manner

Armenia MFA former spox shares video of Russian peacekeepers withdrawal from Karabakh

202-million-year-old dragonfly fossil discovered in UK

Armenia premier: I hope arrangements for opening border with Turkey will be implemented in near future

Pashinyan: Current world orders collapse is serious threat to Armenia

Armenia labor, social affairs minister is in Iran, memorandum to be signed on highly qualified workforce exchange

Armenia PM: 3 main principles of signing peace treaty with Azerbaijan have been agreed upon

Armenia defense minister attends Beijing Xiangshan Forum opening ceremony in China (PHOTOS)

Biden, Netanyahu discuss ongoing Israeli airstrikes in Gaza

Arab, Muslim users of social media unhappy with ongoing supply of oil from Azerbaijan to Israel

Attempts are being made to destabilize situation in Russias Dagestan from outside, leader Melikov says

20 people injured, 2 in critical condition after mass riots at Russias Makhachkala airport

Kamala Harris: US has no plans of sending combat troops to Israel, Gaza

Russia researchers develop water evaluation system using smartphones

Russias Makhachkala airport closed until November 6

France releases city electric cars that can be driven without driver's license

Thugs attack bus carrying women, children in Russias Makhachkala

Anti-Israel protest in Russias Dagestan, crowd storms into Makhachkala airport

Slovenia donates 120,000, through Red Cross, to forcibly displaced people from Karabakh

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
At Thursdays Cabinet meeting, the Armenian government decided to allocate around 8 billion 388 million drams (17,380,800 UK pounds or around $22 million) to purchase a five-story building in the center of London. It is intended for the Armenian embassy in the United Kingdom (UK).

St James's Square, where this building is located, is considered one of the most prestigious and expensive districts of the UK capital London, and it has a historical and cultural registration.

The explanation for the respective draft decision states that the current Armenian embassy in the UK has been located in the building provided by the Armenian House of London since 1992, which informed the embassy about the need to vacate the premises in 2024. In this building, the Armenian embassy occupies two small rooms, which, according to the explanation of the draft decision, "constantly considerably limited the working opportunities of the embassy."

Since April 2023, negotiations have been conducted by the Armenian embassy in the UK for the acquisition of real estate located at St James's Square, London. The said real estate is located in the central part of London, in the vicinity of a number of embassies, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, as well as the UK Foreign Office, Parliament, Prime Ministers Office, Ministry of Defence, Security Council, and some other government bodies with which the embassy is in active contact during its activities.

The building will be acquired by ownership. It has historical and cultural registration, is located in one of the most presentable places in London, consists of five floorssix, with a basement, and has a reception hall.

"It should also be taken into account that London is one of the most appealing real estate markets in the world, and the acquisition of real estate [there] can be considered as a profitable long-term investment. The total sale price of the building will be 17,380,800.0 pounds. According to the RA [(Republic of Armenia)] Government Decision No. 1324-N of August 3, 2023, the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs was allocated [Armenian] drams equivalent to 710,000.0 pounds as an advance payment for the building to be purchased, which was transferred to the addressee," also stated the aforementioned explanation.

At the time of publishing the 2022 annual report, the company announced that AGL was reviewing the use of the property. Options included selling or leasing to third parties. After careful consideration, selling the property was deemed more cost-effective as maintaining it for additional rental income would require considerable capital expenditure to provide energy efficiency and other improvements. As a result of the sale, the group expects to save approximately 1.5 million [US] dollars annually in administrative and financial costs," the explanation notes as well.
Former Armenian Ambassador to the Holy See, Mikael Minasyan, delivered an insightful presentation addressing the external challenges confronting Armenia, his homeland.

The ambassador emphasizes that the paramount issue currently under discussion in Armenia is the possibility of an impending war.

"Will Armenia face a war or not? This query has risen to prominence in recent days. Has the conflict truly ceased? 'Sev Lich,' Ishkhanasar, Vardenis, Sotk, Jermuk, the Karabakh blockade, and the escalating humanitarian crisiswhat else could this be if not war? Regrettably, the war has not abated, and today, Armenia teeters on the brink of yet another catastrophic chapter in its seemingly endless struggle. This assertion is substantiated by evidence from both official and unofficial sources, as well as official statements affirming the complete absence of diplomatic progress."

Minasyan observes that since 2018, the Armenian people, particularly its assertive and electorally dominant faction, has adhered to the narrative of "peace beyond our borders and perpetual conflict within our nation." Consequently, we find ourselves mired in perpetual warfare abroad and internal discord. It is imperative to discard the outdated, futile narrative and acknowledge that if a new phase of hostilities against Armenia ensues, with all signs pointing in that direction, it signifies the failure of international mechanisms. And, indeed, these mechanisms have proven ineffective.

"We must acknowledge that, despite its earnest endeavors, France lacks the capability to resolve regional issues. It is time to relinquish baseless optimism, long-standing infantilism, and the illusion that French support will miraculously materialize in the Armenian highlands. It must also be recognized that there exist two military entities capable of deterring our adversaries: the CSTO and NATO. Regrettably, hopes for NATO intervention are unfounded, and hysteria regarding the CSTO have persisted since 2018. Preventing the impending catastrophe is contingent on two stakeholders: the populace or the government, both of whom must confront reality," penned former Ambassador Mikayel Minasyan.

Minasyan underscores that Armenia stands at a critical juncture, faced with the choice of either sober reflection or a more extensive occupation. I implore for sobriety, fully cognizant of the slim odds.

"I issued this call prior to the 44-day war when euphoria reigned over the 'historic victory in the July skirmish.' I reiterated this plea in 2020. On November 9, even as 'victory' was declared in Armenia, I continued to voice this perspective following the 44-day conflict, and I reiterate it today. Armenia can no longer afford to indulge in infantile politics, unfounded optimism, or internal discord. What Armenia urgently requires is rational assessment, the judicious utilization of tangible opportunities, and a clear-headed awakening," he concluded.
In the four-plus years that Spencer Roberts has headed the staff responsible for digital initiatives and technologies at Emorys Pitts Theology Library, he has explored all pathways open to an academic librarian: not only does he support library staff and Candler School of Theology faculty, he also pursues his own research agenda.

Previous digital scholarship projects have found him working with an array of partners, including the David J. Sencer CDC Museum, the Justo & Catherine Gonzalez Resource Center, Brock University and Georgia State University.

His latest project has gotten him outdoors and well-acquainted with a chain saw as he helps lead efforts to restore and map a forgotten African American section of Penfield Cemetery in Greene County, as well as create an archive for Georgias historic rural churches.

Here is how the Penfield story began.

Whats in a name?

Documentary filmmaker Macky Alston grew up in Durham, North Carolina, wondering why so many of his Black classmates shared his last name.

Alstons forebears were slaveholders, and the families had blended in ways that some members on both sides struggled to acknowledge, as he documented in his 1997 award-winning film Family Name.

Delving into his family history did not stop there.

Alston is a descendant of the Baptist pastor, planter and slaveholder Billington Sanders, who served as the first president of Mercer Institute, which was founded in 1833 and became Mercer University in 1837. Also in 1837, the town of Penfield was established to serve the needs of local plantation residents.

Alston, his siblings and cousins inherited the Sanders home. During one visit there in 2019, Alston was invited to meet with a Penfield neighbor and board member of Penfield Cemetery, John Colclough, who said: Ive got some stuff to share before I pass out of this life.

Colclough, who is white, revealed the presence of an African American section of the cemetery that had been walled off, lost to time and the elements.

Alston contacted Mamie Hillman, founder and director of the Greene County African American Museum, and from there a network of universities, nonprofits and community members has mobilized to restore the cemetery, map its gravesites and slowly bring the lives of the residents buried there to light.

Hillman has found more than 30 African American cemeteries near where she grew up in Greene County. She describes the revelation of this forgotten space as heart-rending, noting that the lives of those men, women and children entombed in this cemetery were part of our humanity. They lived and were loved. Sadly, they experienced a demeaning, unjust and racist treatment by their community and its people. Nature did what it does. It reclaimed the sacred space.

A walls legacy of division

In 1948, for reasons unknown, a wall went up, placed there by the synod of Penfield Baptist Church. Before then, the cemetery was segregated but contiguous, Roberts says.

With the wall in place, burials in the Black section were reduced dramatically; the last dated headstone was placed in 1953. Beside a 1973 aerial shot that Roberts includes in the project blog, he notes that the Black section of the cemetery is indistinguishable from the surrounding forests.

Roberts first got involved with Penfield as an aspect of support that Pitts provides to Historic Rural Churches of Georgia (HRCG), founded in 2013 by Sonny Seals and George Hart, a 1964 Emory College graduate, to research, document and ultimately preserve historic rural churches across the state.

Penfield Baptist was one such church, and in March 2022 Roberts tagged along with Seals and others to see where connections could be made. What began as a meeting of a few individuals quickly scaled upward. We discovered that a variety of groups and organizations were working on this one space for a lot of different reasons, he says.

Spencer B. King Jr. Center for Southern Studies.

Its director, Douglas E. Thompson, is also a Mercer history professor. Mercer began its part in the cemetery project when we joined the Universities Studying Slavery consortium, Thompson says. Emory became part of the consortium in February 2021.

Inside the wall, Mercer founders and Penfield residents have been buried. We have uncovered that the brick wall went up in 1948 and that there was a 10-year process to discourage African Americans from entering the section of the cemetery where their loved ones were laid to rest, Thompson adds.

Mercer owns Penfields white cemetery; Fannie Rowe, a descendant of enslaved family members, owns the land in the African American section.

Opening the space  and minds

The first step in restoring the African American section was removing a portion of the brick wall to provide access for community members and volunteers. After Mercer approved creating a passage through the wall, the scope of documenting and restoring the cemetery became dauntingly clear.

Although Mercer's King Center provided funding to survey the cemetery, that work could not begin until someone cleared the fallen trees and limbs laying across gravesites and hiding markers.

Gamely entering territory foreign to most librarians, Roberts borrowed a chain saw.

The cleanup process is painstaking, as no chains or wheelbarrows can be used to haul out the logs once the trees have been cut. The pieces must be carried out to ensure that no further damage occurs to the graves.

Roberts created a Facebook page to coordinate the cleanup days, which have attracted a mix of community members both white and Black, descendants of enslavers and of people who were enslaved. Skip carousel (l-r) Greer Brigham, Alisha Zariwala, Mallory Holcomb, John Barrow, Bobby Theberge and Spencer Roberts taking a moment off from their labors at a Penfield cleanup day. Bobby Theberge, an expert in ground-penetrating radar, runs the machine that creates imagery of the subsurface. Assisting are Alisha Zariwala (far left) and Mallory Holcomb, both of whom are Georgia State anthropology students. (l-r) Louis Prendergast and Walker Boswell hauling out logs the only way they can  by hand  to preserve the integrity of the gravesites. One of Boswells descendants donated the funds in the 1940s that were used to build the wall. Another hero of this story is in the center of this photograph: the chain saw. A glimpse of the well-manicured white section of Penfield cemetery. PreviousNext

When Spencer began organizing Penfield Cemetery cleanup days, Mercer provided volunteers, says Thompson. The extent of the cemetery and its importance in Greene County make it necessary to have a large group of cooperating partners to help do this work.

The clearing is about two-thirds complete, but even as that work continues, Bobby Theberge has played a crucial role as both a scholar and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) expert who has worked for Bigman Geophysical for the past two years. This spring, Theberge completed his masters in archaeology, with a focus on geophysics, at Georgia State University (GSU); the Penfield Cemetery project is the subject of his thesis.

Funding for the work Theberge is conducting for Bigman Geophysical comes from Mercers King Center, GSU and Pitts. The benefits of GPR are that it is a nondestructive, nonintrusive method of using radar pulses to image the subsurface. A company such as Bigman can determine the distribution of burials and boundaries so that nothing is disturbed.

Theberge describes GPR as physically hard, meticulous work carried out by pushing a lawnmower-sized instrument in straight lines very close to one another to create three-dimensional imagery.

To begin to see burials where there is no surface remnant is very rewarding, Theberge says. The transformation will be years in the making, but we have made a good effort so far.

Penfield grave sites are categorized in four ways: as bearing no marker (which probably will account for 70% of the graves), having uncut field stones, having engraved field stones (most of these burials occurred between 1910 and 1920), or having metal plaques from funeral homes.

Though no one knows for sure while the work is ongoing, Theberge estimates that as many as 1,000 African American grave sites might be in this space. In addition to establishing the distribution and tallying the number of individuals in the African American section, Theberge also can address questions such as the chronology of the sites and groupings of families.

Digitize it  and they will come

Once Theberges work is done, a next step may be to investigate funerary records for what they reveal about burials in the section. Having a publicly accessible digital database is key to creating greater awareness and potentially connecting descendants to their loved ones. Roberts will craft that platform, with the goal of featuring storytelling and technology at their best.

Modest about his pivotal roles, Roberts says that the Penfield project has been a fascinating case study in how a larger network of universities, organizations and community members can unite to effect positive change.

His colleague, Brady Alan Beard, reference and instruction librarian at Pitts, puts the case more strongly, noting: The innovation and research eminence on display in this project is second to none, and I hope that the Emory community  and beyond  can learn about the important work that Spencer has done.

According to Hillman, whose museum site will be a link in the digital chain Roberts creates, The historical narratives of our communities must be acknowledged, documented, honored, celebrated and preserved. I am grateful to those who  present and future  have a clarity of heart, spirit and mind to embrace this mission.

The landscape, physical and metaphorical, already has changed substantially.

For instance, each fall incoming Mercer students make what is called Pilgrimage to Penfield, which brings them to the universitys original site. Last fall, Alstons mother spoke candidly with students about the historical record as they visited the Sanders home, and the students learned about the restoration of the African American section from Hillman.

Already, Hillman has been able to bring some descendants to their loved ones grave sites, including brothers James and Michael McWhorter who  visibly moved as they stood before their great-grandmothers grave  reflected, This person gave us life.

Alston and co-director Selena Lewis Davidson are at work on the documentary Acts of Reparation, which will be out next year. Framed by national and local events, the film will explore what we each need to do to advance the work of healing and repair, says Alston. He and Davidson will move across the country in conversation  a journey that began, in part, in Penfield.

The Penfield project is an excellent example of community-focused work often found at the heart of digital scholarship and libraries. The volunteers involved in the cemetery restoration have been willing to learn new skills, tackle new challenges and put in hours of exhausting effort. I am honored to collaborate with so many dedicated groups and individuals whose unique contributions have made this project a success, Roberts says.

Unlocking church histories

President Jimmy Carter contributed a foreword to the book published by the HRCG, Historic Rural Churches of Georgia. The dearth of knowledge about Georgias historic churches and cemeteries touched a nerve with him, says Seals.

Seals describes arriving at a love of history late in life after passing through Powelton, Georgia, and stumbling upon the gravesite of his great-grandfather in the cemetery associated with Powelton Methodist Church. He later found out from an aunt that this is where we came from.

The partnership between Pitts and the HRCG includes a recent Lettie Pate Evans Foundation grant of $150,000 to create a Historic Rural Church Archive. Led by Roberts, staff from Pitts will produce the digital platform that will combine collections from Pitts, the Jack Tarver Library at Mercer and the John Bulow Campbell Library at Columbia Theological Seminary.

There is nobody else doing exactly what we are doing. I have been so pleased with the respect we are getting. Hopefully, we will spawn similar organizations in other states, Seals says.

Our collaboration with the HRCG has provided opportunities to support exciting initiatives with library resources and expertise and to explore innovative solutions for engaging with rural history and communities, notes Roberts, who adds:

Both the Penfield project and the Historic Rural Church Archive demonstrate the vast potential found in partnerships among libraries, universities and community organizations.

Photo credit: Spencer Roberts
An index  done right  is a wonderful playground where one can explore answers to myriad questions, basking in the material as long as one likes.

Imagine the possibilities when the subject in question is Irish-born writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989) who, says The Guardian, is often recalled as the lonely genius of modernism but was also a convivial friend and collaborator. In the correspondence Beckett carried on with a wide circle of associates throughout his life, as the Sydney Review of Books noted, there is hardly any public posturing here but rather an increasing self-eschewal on facing fame.

All sides of Beckett are on display in the interactive index dubbed Chercher. Its name alludes to the opening of a letter  Cher ami (Dear friend)  and to the French verb to seek. Chercher impressively rounds out The Letters of Samuel Beckett project, which has served for decades as a laboratory for humanities research, building the scholarly careers of generations of Emory graduate students and creating a comprehensive research portal of importance to Beckett scholars worldwide, says Jennifer Gunter King, director of the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library.

The effort was one of many initiatives at Emory that helped to establish the Rose Library as a leading archival repository for the study of modern Irish poetry and literature, King adds.

With that history, it is fitting that the Rose will be the future home of the projects materials. According to King, The Rose Library will preserve the research files of the Beckett Letters project. The celebration of the projects launch is also an invitation to imagine  in partnership with Emory faculty who, like the Beckett project founders, are creatively driving research in the humanities  where we go next.

Activities beginning in September include:

The exhibit Selections from the Samuel Beckett Collections, Rose Library Screening and discussion of the film Waiting for Beckett, White Hall, Room 206 This documentary, made in 1995 for public television, will be introduced by Melissa Shaw-Smith, co-producer and co-director who worked with the films director, the late John Reilly. Hosts: Department of Film and Media, and Professor Jing Wangs class Documentary Film and Media Unscripted Wisdom: Mastering the Art of Interviewing on Film, Woodruff Library, Woodruff Seminar Room of the Rose Library (10th floor) The session  about conducting and using interviews within research projects  will include examples of recorded interviews from the Rose Librarys John Reilly Samuel Beckett audiovisual material collection as well as a Q&A with Melissa Shaw-Smith. Jonathan Coulis, oral history coordinator at Emory Libraries, and Gaby Hale, outreach archivist at the Rose Library, will lead the session. Edited film interviews on the Chercher website help personalize and contextualize some of the recipients of Becketts letters (e.g., Martin Esslin, Hugh Kenner, Raymond Federman, Linda Ben-Zvi, Mel Gussow, Edward Albee, Bill Irwin, Mary Manning Howe and James Knowlson). Launch of Chercher, Woodruff Library, Jones Room Refreshments at 5:45 p.m., program at 6:30 p.m. This overview of the project includes readings from Becketts letters by Brenda Bynum and Robert Shaw-Smith, as well as recorded cameos. Chercher is an open-access interactive index of The Letters of Samuel Beckett in Public Archives. It marks a collaboration of The Letters of Samuel Beckett project with the Emory Center for Digital Scholarship (ECDS) and the Rose Library. Come celebrate this partnership and the role that Emory students have played in its development. Events are open to all. For those who cannot attend the Chercher launch in person, there is a Zoom option. A recording also will be made for later use.

First came the books

It is worth recalling the projects origins. In 1985, Beckett authorized Martha Dow Fehsenfeld as editor and Lois Overbeck as associate editor to locate and transcribe his letters, which are scattered around the world.

A key proviso Beckett made was that the letters could not be published until after his death. He added: You will get round and see these people, wont you?

This was not a rhetorical question, and the editors readily assented. As Overbeck observed, this directive made all the difference. The result of this sweeping project of discovery and research is some 16,000 letters in public and private collections.

The editors were joined by George Craig (University of Sussex), who also served as French translator, and Dan Gunn (American University of Paris). Viola Westbrook (Emory) was the German translator for the edition and worked with the editors on German research. The Letters of Samuel Beckett was published in four volumes by Cambridge University Press between 2009 and 2016. The edition also has been translated into French and German, with Italian and Chinese editions still in process.

Beckett did not give interviews, but his letters present information about the origins of his works, their preliminary versions, publication and production history, translation and interpretation. According to Overbeck, Becketts letters reveal a man whose life and art offer paradigms for the cross currents of the 20th century, extending the limits of fiction, drama, poetry and criticism.

When the Irish Times reviewed the fourth volume in 2016, it said: So all praise to the editorial team: Fehsenfeld herself; Lois More Overbeck, the general editor; Dan Gunn, who contributed the magisterial introduction to this volume; and George Craig, with his brilliant French translators preface. No one will envy them their 31 years hard labour; all readers will appreciate their extraordinary achievement.

Similarly, a review in The Guardian held that the editorship of these letters provides a model of scholarship and a masterclass in selection. In 2021, founding editor Fehsenfeld received an honorary degree from Trinity College Dublin.

Then the leap to metadata

Although more than 16,000 letters were consulted and transcribed in the editing process, the selected edition could include only about 25% of them. Following publication of the final volume, the question arose of how to make the research of the project available to future scholarship, says Overbeck.

The project worked with Emory Center for Digital Scholarship (ECDS) to develop Chercher, a website both flexible and precise. Sara Palmer, digital text specialist at ECDS notes, Chercher realizes the potential of a successful partnership between subject experts and technologists and demonstrates the possibilities for research and teaching in digital scholarship.

In 2018, an online, open-access Location Register of Becketts Letters in Public Archives was established to preserve and disseminate the cumulative knowledge of this unique archive. Users can browse by recipient, physical description, sender and recipient addresses, language, repository, collection and previous publication. These features have been incorporated into Chercher.

Chercher indexes:

The content of each letter  persons, places, organizations, productions and publications; Becketts writing, translating, directing, reading and attendance at events; and References to artworks, music and world events.

In Chercher, the two primary search modes are Letter Data, which includes those in public archives along with their physical state and location, and Index, the people, places and things Beckett mentions in his letters.

Notes Overbeck, As a searchable data set, Chercher enables researchers to explore patterns and interrelationships within the letters, thus suggesting starting points for future research and analysis. Moreover, it will continue to grow as more letters enter publicly available collections.

Early reviews reveal grateful users. Matthijs Engleberts of the University of Amsterdam called the index fantastic and even more wide-ranging than just the letters (which is Herculean enough in itself).

And Gerald Dawe of Trinity College Dublin commented: My word, what an archive; I could be gone for months inside this.

And, throughout, an invaluable experience for students

Approximately 400 Emory students have been involved with the project, with many crediting it with developing a breadth of transferrable professional skills that have continued to shape their careers.

As The Letters of Samuel Beckett materials transfer to the Rose Library, an advisory board of Emory alumni associated with the project has formed. The advisory board will maintain Chercher by accessing and integrating new materials into the metadata as well as managing project outreach. Membership will rotate every three to five years.

Inaugural advisory board members include:

Patrick Bixby, president of the Samuel Beckett Society and associate professor of English in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University

Julie Gaillard, assistant professor of French at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Jason B. Jones, senior academic accreditation specialist at Woolf, an edtech software startup and global collegiate higher education institution

Kevin Lucas, Marion L. Brittain Postdoctoral Fellow at Georgia Institute of Technology, where he teaches in the writing and communication program

Derval Tubridy, professor of literature and visual culture at Goldsmiths, University of London

Now, be part of furthering engagement with Beckett

Housed at Emory over its long life, The Letters of Samuel Beckett project has achieved undisputed global significance. All members of the Emory community are welcome at the upcoming events, either to advance or begin their understanding of a writer held in highest esteem by a large and diverse international audience, says Overbeck.
PRNewswire Chandigarh [India], September 7: Chandigarh Welfare Trust (CWT) is set to organize a free mega multispecialty health camp on September 24, at Grain Market, sector 39, Chandigarh to serve all strata of society including elderly, women and children. The health camp, for which registrations have already started, will be held from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm where prosthetic limbs will also be distributed and fitted to the needy patients free of cost besides numerous health checkup camps. The health camp is a part of CWT's noble initiative of 15-day 'Sewa Pakhwada' which begins on September 17 in Chandigarh, on the occasion of 73rdbirthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The health camp aims to distribute free prosthetic hands and legs to those in need and all are welcome to benefit from the noble initiative. Notably more than 2,000 individuals have already reaped the benefits of free limbs during the previous camps organized by CWT and Chandigarh University. Overwhelming response by people Chandigarh University Chancellor & CWT founder Satnam Singh Sandhu, said, "The registrations for the health camp are open on the websitewww.chandigarhwelfaretrust.comand we are receiving an overwhelming response from the people." "We are committed to serve the people of Chandigarh and its surrounding areas, however, anyone from across the country can avail the free health checkup at the mega health camp. We are hopeful that a sizable number of residents will visit the camp and avail the benefit," he said while appealing to the needy people to get benefited from the camp. "The mega health mega multi-specialty health camp aims to provide free and quality healthcare services to the general public in Chandigarh and its nearby areas. This noble initiative also reaffirms our commitment to build a sustainable and progressive future for the people of the city beautiful," said Satnam Singh Sandhu. The mega health camp, Satnam Singh Sandhu said, is in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has given the mantra of 'One Earth, One Health' for the global health and wellbeing. "PM Modi has made healthcare accessible and affordable for all and this mega health camp is our contribution to towards the government of India's revolutionary vision of providing accessible and affordable healthcare to all," he said. Various health checkup camps Chancellor Chandigarh University & CWT founder, Satnam Singh Sandhu while sharing the details about the health camp said that "different types of camps will be held during the mega health camp which includes cancer screening camp, to apprise the citizens about warning signs of different types of cancer, and prosthetic limbs fitting camp where a facility of fitting artificial limbs will be provided to enable people with disabilities to lead a normal life. "Besides these, child healthcare camp, dental check-up camp, general medical check-up camp, mental health counselling, eye screening camp, health check-up camp, orthopedic camp and gynecology camps will be will be held," he said. While the prosthetic legs are distributed in association with rotary club Chandigarh Central and Rotary Club New Kalyan Maharashtra, the prosthetic arms will be distributed in association with rotary club Chandigarh Central and Rotary Club Poona Downtown. Satnam Singh Sandhu, Chancellor Chandigarh University & founder CWT urged the residents of the city to come forward and take full advantage of the number of health services provided at the mega camp. "The registration window is open now till September 16. There is no fee required to be paid for the registration. Hundreds of doctors and medicos along with the volunteers of CWT will be present at the camp," he said. About 15-day Sewa Pakhwada Guided by the spirit of selfless service, Chandigarh Welfare Trust (CWT) is organizing 15-day 'Sewa Pakhwada', which will begin with a multifaith prayers and blood donation camp at PGIMER on September 17, on the 73rdbirthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Later, the mega health camp is scheduled September 24, followed by a cleanliness drive on October 2, followed by Kanyavrat and Fit India events on October 4. About Chandigarh University Chandigarh University is a NAAC A+ Grade University and QS World Ranked University. This autonomous educational institution is approved by UGC and is located near Chandigarh in the state of Punjab. It is the youngest university inIndiaand the only private university in Punjab to be honoured with A+ Grade by NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council). CU offers more than 109 UG and PG programs in the field of engineering, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, journalism, animation, hotel management, commerce, and others. It has been awarded as The University with Best Placements by WCRC. Chandigarh University website addresshttps://www.cuchd.in/ About Chandigarh Welfare Trust ChandigarhWelfareTrustis a not-for-profit organization founded by Satnam Singh Sandhu committed to the city and citizens'welfareofChandigarh. The organization aims to improve the citizens' living experience inChandigarhand revive the city's historically endorsed model status to again serve as a benchmark for other cities in India, and those around the world. The organization aims to work together with key city stakeholders and develop pragmatic and sustainable solutions to critical challenges faced by the communities ofChandigarh. Chandigarh Welfare Trust website addresshttp://www.chandigarhwelfaretrust.com/ Photo:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204165/CU_Free_Multispecialty_Health_camp.jpg (Disclaimer: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
India PR Distribution San Jose (California) [US]/ Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], September 7: SA Technologies, a premier AI-focused IT consulting firm with significant operations in Bangalore, India, is thrilled to announce its accomplishment of obtaining the Capability Maturity Model Integration for Services (CMMI Services) Maturity Level 5 certification. This accolade underscores the pinnacle of process improvement and service excellence in the IT sector, solidifying their global presence. The CMMI Level 5 distinction marks SA Technologies unwavering commitment to delivering consistent, superior quality IT services. As the highest accolade within the CMMI framework, Maturity Level 5 demonstrates an organization's prowess in managing intricate projects, refining processes, and ensuring services meet the uppermost standards of quality and performance. Manoj Joshi, CEO of SA Technologies, stated, "Achieving CMMI Level 5 is not just a milestone for our team in San Jose but also a testament to the hard work and dedication of our expansive team in Bangalore. This certification embodies our relentless pursuit of innovation, customer satisfaction, and the zenith of service delivery on a global scale." Key Points of the CMMI Level 5 Certification: * Demonstrates consistent capability to deliver premier quality services. * Highlights dedication to process enhancement and customer contentment. * Underscores rigorous quality management practices in place across all global offices. With this remarkable achievement, SA Technologies continues to position itself as a trusted ally for businesses seeking avant-garde IT solutions and services in the era of digital transformation. Headquartered in San Jose, CA, with a pivotal research and operational center in Bangalore, India, SA Technologies stands as a vanguard in AI-driven IT consulting. Offering state-of-the-art solutions across myriad industries, their AI-centric approach fuels technological metamorphosis, enabling enterprises to thrive in the digital epoch. With a strong allegiance to excellence and a distinguished team of AI aficionados, SA Technologies remains the first choice for businesses seeking operational brilliance through the might of artificial intelligence. Press Contact: Kanak Sahoo, Public Relations SA Technologies Inc. (Disclaimer: The above press release has been provided by India PR Distribution. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
The country is celebrating Krishna Janmashtami, an auspicious occasion, with great fervour and devotion. Devotees visited Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi in Mathura and offered prayers. Lord Krishnas birthday falls on the Ashtami Tithi of Krishna Paksha in the month of Bhadrapad. Although the celebration takes place in different parts of the country, Mathura and Vrindavan hold a special significance. One being his birthplace and one where he spent his childhood and did his baal leela. Devotees flock to the Lord Krishna temples, especially the Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan and the Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple in Mathura. The temples were decorated with flowers and crystal chandeliers, and the idol of Lord Krishna were decorated with colourful clothes and jewellery. At midnight, a special ritual is performed when the idol of Lord Krishna is bathed in milk, yoghurt, honey, ghee, and water. During the Krishna Abhishek, bells are rung, conch shells are blown, and Vedic hymns are performed. After the bhog, Prasad is given to the worshippers, who stand out for hours for Krishna darshan and puja. Dahi Handi is also celebrated in numerous areas. One of the customary festivals of Krishna Janmashtami is Dahi Handi, also known as Gopalakala or Utlotsavam. Dahi is the name for curd, while a handi is an earthen pot used to store milk products. One of the biggest celebrations in Maharashtra is Dahi Handi. Lord Krishna is often referred to as makhan chor because he used to steal makhan. He organised a bunch of buddies to get milk from earthen jars dangling from the ceiling. They arranged themselves like a human pyramid to help Krishna reach the earthen pots and fill themselves with milk products. During the Dahi Handi ceremonies, the same is demonstrated. (ANI)
Ace choreographer and filmmaker Farah Khan met ex-Shark Tank judge Ashneer Grover in Baku, Azerbaijan. On Thursday, Farah dropped a video where she bumped into Ashneer and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover. In the video, Farah can be seen updating her fans that she is in Baku, suddenly, she bumped into Ashneer. As they were talking, Ashneer requested for a photo and Farah agreed and asked for a minute to get ready. While Ashneer offered his phone to click, she held it for a selfie but Ashneer went and posed with his wife asking Farah to click their picture. Farah gets angry looking at them asking to click the picture and runs away with Ashneer's phone. "Who would have thought this reel would ever happen? n that too in #baku ! @ashneer.grover ur a natural n now ur phone s with me," she wrote along with the post. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw4MGsmoPGC/ As soon as she posted the video, netizens flooded the comment section with laughing emoticons. Ashneer's wife Madhuri also shared some pictures with Farah where the trio posing with a smiling face for the cameras. She wrote, "What serendipity! Lovely meeting the bindaas and ever-charismatic @farahkhankunder in Baku (Azerbaijan). What a memorable dinner and fun time making the reel. Tops off a great trip to this amazing city." https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw4PiYIopfe/ Farah reacted to the post and commented, "Lovely meeting ul both.. n swapping stories.." Ashneer Grover gained a lot of popularity during his stint as a judge on Sony TV's 'Shark Tank India'. Based on the popular concept of the show of the same name - Shark Tank USA, 'Shark Tank India' launched its first season in December last year. The first season was a huge success and the show has been renewed for season two. Apart from Ashneer, the first season was judged by Shaadi.com Founder Anupam Mittal, Boat Co-founder and CMO Aman Gupta, Emcure Pharmaceuticals Executive Director Namita Thapar, Lenskart Founder & CEO Peyush Bansal, Sugar cosmetics Co-founder and CEO Vineeta Singh and MamaEarth Co-founder Ghazal Alagh. The show was hosted by Ranvijay Singha. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 20th ASEAN-India Summit, emphasizing the strong partnership between India and ASEAN as they enter their fourth decade of collaboration. Co-chairing the summit with President Joko Widodo, Prime Minister Modi commended the organization of the event and extended his gratitude to President Widodo and the capable leadership of ASEAN. PM Modi posted on X, We had productive discussions on enhancing closer cooperation in key areas to further human empowerment In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Modi offered heartfelt congratulations to Prime Minister Hun Manet of Cambodia, who recently assumed office, and welcomed Prime Minister Xanana Gusmo of Timor-Leste as an observer in the meeting. PM Modi said, Our partnership is entering its fourth decade. In this regard, co-chairing the India-ASEAN Summit brings me great pleasure. For the splendid organization of this summit, I heartily congratulate and express my gratitude to President Widoo. I also extend my congratulations to the capable leadership of the ASEAN group. I offer my heartfelt congratulations to Prime Minister His Excellency Hun Manet of Cambodia for recently assuming office. I also welcome Prime Minister His Excellency Xanana Gusmo of Timor-Leste as an Observer in this meeting. Highlighting the historical and geographical connections between India and ASEAN, PM Modi underscored the shared values, regional unity, and mutual belief in a multipolar world that binds the two entities. He reiterated India's strong support for ASEAN centrality and its outlook on the Indo-Pacific, acknowledging ASEAN as a prominent pillar of India's Act East Policy. Last year, India celebrated the India-ASEAN Friendship Year, elevating the relationship to a 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.' Prime Minister Modi emphasized the continuous progress and resilience of the partnership, even in the face of global uncertainties. The theme of this year's ASEAN Summit, 'ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth,' reflects the significance of ASEAN's voice in global affairs. India shares this sentiment with its G-20 Presidency theme, 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' or 'one earth, one family, one future. This is a testament to the strength and resilience of our relationship. The theme of this year's ASEAN Summit is 'ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth.' ASEAN matters because here everyone's voice is heard, and ASEAN is the epicenter of growth because the ASEAN region plays a crucial role in global development, said PM Modi. Prime Minister Modi acknowledged that the 21st century belongs to Asia and stressed the need to build a rule-based post-COVID world order. He expressed the importance of the free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the voice of the Global South for the common good. The Prime Minister concluded by reaffirming India's commitment to working alongside ASEAN countries, including Singapore as the Country Coordinator, and the upcoming Chair, Lao PDR, to strengthen the future of India and the ASEAN region. Prime Minister Modi said, The progress of a free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the Voice of Global South is in the common interest of all. I believe that today's discussions will lead to new resolutions for strengthening the future of India and the ASEAN region. Country Coordinator Singapore, upcoming Chair Lao PDR, and with all of you, India is committed to working shoulder to shoulder with you. Following the summit, Prime Minister Modi also participated in the East Asia Summit held in Jakarta, where discussions focused on enhancing closer cooperation in key areas to empower humanity and promote a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific. Arindam Bagchi, Official Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, posted on X, Imparting further dynamism to Indias Act East policy! PM Narendra Modi, participated in the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta today. In his address, the PM highlighted convergence on the vision for Indo-Pacific between India & ASEAN and underscored that ASEAN is the focal point of Quads vision. PM called for strengthening multilateralism and ensuring a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on August 8, 1967, in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. (ANI)
This event, scheduled for September 25th and 26th, will take place at the IAF's Hindan airbase in Ghaziabad and will feature live aerial demonstrations, stated a Ministry of Defence press release.

In India, the utilization of drones is on the rise, spanning across military and civilian applications.

Drone technology has rapidly transformed both civil and defense sectors, enhancing efficiency, reducing risk exposure, and elevating capabilities, said the press release.

The IAF has extensive experience in deploying Remotely Piloted Aircraft for Intelligence Surveillance and reconnaissance operations.

To harness the burgeoning drone technology sector in India, the IAF initiated the Meher Baba Swarm Drone competition, showcasing its faith in the nation's drone capabilities, according to the release.

Now, with 'Bharat Drone Shakti 2023,' the IAF is poised to further leverage this expertise.

'Bharat Drone Shakti 2023' promises to spotlight the full potential of the Indian drone industry, with an impressive lineup of over 50 live aerial demonstrations.

These demonstrations will encompass a diverse range of drone applications, including survey drones, agriculture drones, fire suppression drones, tactical surveillance drones, heavy-lift logistics drones, loitering munition systems, drone swarms, and counter-drone solutions, said the release.

The event will also witness the active participation of more than 75 drone start-ups and corporate entities.

Anticipated to draw approximately 5,000 attendees, 'Bharat Drone Shakti 2023' will serve as a convergence point for a wide spectrum of stakeholders.

Representatives from central government agencies, state departments, public and private industries, armed forces, paramilitary forces, friendly foreign countries, academic institutions, students, and drone enthusiasts are expected to grace the event, said the release.

This collaboration between the Indian Air Force and the Drone Federation of India underscores the commitment to advancing drone technology and its applications in India.

The event promises to showcase the capabilities of Indian drones and provide a platform for networking, knowledge exchange, and collaboration among industry leaders, innovators, and enthusiasts.

'Bharat Drone Shakti 2023' marks a step towards harnessing the full potential of this transformative technology for the nation's benefit. (ANI)
Reacting to the allegation of Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications Jairam Ramesh on the Parliament special session between September 18 and 22, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said that the summoning of parliament was the greatest boon in a democracy however, there was a lobby of compulsive contrarians who oppose the same. Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi taking to 'X' said, " Jairam Rameshs recent statements have been quite misleading. Hes twisting facts about constitutional provisions and parliamentary procedures. Lets set the record straight. Ramesh has been falsely claiming that the historic function in Central Hall on June 30, 2017, for the GST rollout, was a Parliament Session. Thats just not true! It wasnt a session under Article 85 of the Constitution." Pralhad Joshi said that it wascrucial to stop the spread of misinformation that scandalizes Parliament and its procedures. Responding to Jairam Ramesh, he said, "A session of Parliament under Article 85 of the Constitution is precisely that, and the agenda will be shared in accordance with established parliamentary practices. Now, lets address another misrepresentation. Ramesh mentioned a Special Sitting in Central Hall on November 26, 2019 for the Constitutions 70th anniversary. But, once again, it wasnt a parliamentary session under Article 85 of the Constitution." The parliamentary affairs minister said that it was important to differentiate between celebratory functions and formal parliamentary sessions. "Accurate information matters in maintaining the integrity of our democratic processes," he said. Pralhad Joshi said the Congress must focus on accurate information and not let misleading statements cloud the understanding of constitutional provisions and parliamentary procedures. "History proves it was your government known for subversion & distortion of Parliamentary democracy. People of the world's largest democracy have seen the imposition of emergency and how the rights of the people of this country and institutions were curbed by your government in 1975. Your governments strike rate is spectacular in dismissing democratically elected state governments more than 90 times misusing Art 356," he said. Earlier Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh in his tweet questioned Pralhad Joshi and said, "How much will you mislead Joshi-avare?" Jairam Ramesh had said that on each and every occasion of a Special Session, the agenda was well known in advance. "It is only the Modi government that routinely disrespects Parliament and distorts Parliamentary conventions. Past governments, including yours, have called many Special Sittings to commemorate the Constitution Day, Quit India Movement and other such occasions," he said to Pralhad Joshi. Earlier, the government announced a Parliament special session for five days between September 18 and 22. (ANI)
The successful lunar mission of India - Chandrayaan-3 made a landing at Chhattisgarhs 120 ft Ganeshotsav pandal that showcases the thrill of soft-landing of the mission on the Moon's South Pole. The pandal at Chhatisgarh imitates the model of Chandrayaan-3. A glimpse of this is also visible in the pandal being built for Ganeshotsav in Chhattisgarhs capital, Raipur. This year, Ganesh Utsav will start on September 19. Many big Ganesh Utsav committees in the capital are getting big pandals prepared on special themes. Like every year, this year a different type of pandal is being built in Kali Bari in Chhattisgarh. This time, a Chandrayaan-3 rocket-like pandal of 120 feet in height and 70 feet in width is being built in Kali Bari. Thirty artisans from Kolkata are working day and night to make this attractive pandal. The whole pandal is being made using bamboo. The main artisans say," Thousands of bamboo have been used in it, and apart from this, plywood is also being used. It would take about 45 days to complete it. We will complete it and hand it over to the committee two days before the installation of the Ganesh idol." Meanwhile, Jay Bhole Ganesh Committee member Vijay Baghel said that this will be the largest pandal in Chhattisgarh, in the form of Chandrayaan-3. It will be a grand and attractive pandal that will be discussed all over Chhattisgarh. "The idol of Lord Shri Ganpati Ji is to be installed in the Chandrayaan-3 pandal. The height of the idol will be 17 feet, and the width will be 26 feet, in which the form of nine planets will be given. There will also be a presentation of an attractive tableau in this pandal where aliens will stand on the moon waving the tricolour," he said. (ANI)
It is noteworthy that Mahasu Devta is considered the god of justice and the main deity of the village and its surrounding areas.

Taking to the social media platform X Dhami shared a photograph of him offering prayers at the temple and wrote in Hindi, Today worshiped with full rituals at Mahasu Devta Temple located in Lakhwad. On this occasion, prayed to Mahasu Devta for the progress of the state along with happiness, peace and prosperity of all the people of the state.

Earlier, on the auspicious occasion of Shri Krishna Janmashtami CM Dhami along with his wife Geeta Dhami participated in a program organized at Police Line Dehradun on Wednesday night.

Chief Minister and his wife witnessed the grand presentation of various events based on Lord Shri Krishna.

Every year, the festival of Janmashtami is celebrated by Hindus to mark the birth of Lord Krishna, the God who is the embodiment of playfulness and innocence. As per the Hindu calendar, Lord Krishna, an avatar of Lord Vishnu, was born on the eighth day of the month of Bhadra.

The day mostly falls in the months of August or September, as per the Western calendar. The festival of Janmashtami is celebrated by offering prayers to Lord Krishna, with beautifully decorated swings, dance and music performances, and the 'Dahi-Handi' competition. (ANI)
CM Khattar made the remark on a visit to Behbalpur village in Haryana's Hisar district where he reviewed the products made by local self-help groups.

Speaking to the reporters at the village, CM Khattar said, "We served the people of Haryana without any fear of favour since 2014. All services and benefits of schemes were made available to the people online. Targeted beneficiaries of welfare schemes are deriving the benefits without delay. Serving people has now been made easier throughfamily ID cards."

The family ID cards issued by the government are said to enable people to derive the benefits of the welfare schemes in a hassle-free manner.

"We are living in a technology-driven era and the country, as well as states individually, are making rapid strides through the use of technology. We recently became the first country to reach the moon's south pole," the CM added.

Haryana is scheduled to poll for the Assembly in2024.

In the 2019 Assembly polls, the BJP managed to win 47 of the 90 seats in the state, emerging as the largest single party.

The Congress, which had previously been in power in the state, had to settle for just 15 seats. (ANI)
Ahead of the G20 Summit which is set to begin in the national capital on September 9-10, Tibetan Youth Congress President Gonpo Dhundup on Thursday informed that a protest will be organized tomorrow in Delhi against China over the illegal occupation of Tibet. Speaking to ANI, Gonpo Dhundup said, "We are not protesting against India hosting the G20. We are very proud that India is hosting this prestigious G20 meeting in New Delhi. But our protest is against the Chinese Communist Government. Chinese Government illegally occupied our nation. Currently, the situation in Tibet is very critical." He further stated that through these protests they want to remind G20 nations about China that its diplomatic assurances are not to be trusted. "We want to inform the global community that China is not be trusted. For Indian security, Tibet's independence is necessary. Chinese CCP is a threat to the world. China's expansionist policy is creating disharmony and violence in the whole world. We must have a global collaboration to make China accountable. The Chinese president has no guts to come to India, no courage to show his face in a free nation," he said. "We want to put a reminder for all 19 nations that China is not to be trusted. We are the victims. So, we are organizing a protest tomorrow against the Chinese Govt," he added. Earlier on September 2 Tibetans-in-exile commemorated the 63rd anniversary of Democracy Day in Dharamshala which marks the inception of the Tibetan democratic system in exile. Leaders of the exiled Tibetan Government including Tibetan parliamentarians and other dignitaries gathered at the main Buddhist temple, Tsuglagkhang in the north Indian hill town Dharmashala on Saturday to commemorate the occasion. Delhi is gearing up for the 18th G20 Summit. It will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies. India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country. The Peoples Republic of China asserts that Tibet has been a part of China since the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.In 1951 Tibetan leaders were forced to sign a treaty dictated by China. The treaty, known as the Seventeen Point Agreement, professes to guarantee Tibetan autonomy and to respect the Buddhist religion but also allows the establishment of Chinese civil and military headquarters at Lhasa (Tibets capital).However, the Tibetan people including Dalai Lama consider it invalid and signed under duress.This has often been described by the Tibetan people as a cultural genocide. In 1959, following the Tibetan uprising, the Dalai Lama (spiritual leader of Tibetan people) and many of his followers fled to India.(ANI)
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Thursday said the Jammu and Kashmir administration is committed to "break the backbone of the terror eco-system" in the Union Territory. L-G also appealed to people to not provide any kind of "shelter to terrorists" or their associates."Leave rest to police and security forces". While addressing a public rally in Sopore, Sinha said, "Jammu and Kashmir's administration is committed to breaking the backbone of the terror eco-system, People have collectively decided to deal strictly with conflict profiteers". He further said that every village, district and city is important in the eyes of the administration in the "war against terrorism". Coming down heavily against separatists for misguiding the youth of the valley and Sopore for so many years, He said," "Those who misguided youth for decades and turned it into Kandahar (a city in Afghanistan) did great injustice to future generations of this place," he said. He expressed hope that Sopore will reclaim its lost glory, and emerge as the business hub of UT and the model town of the country. LG Sinha said the people of the region were living peacefully in the shadow of development brought about by the abrogation of Article 370. Urging people to cooperate with the government, LG Sinha said that India will be a developed country during the Amrit Kaal- period till 2047. A massive crackdown launched by investigating agencies against the terror supporters in Jammu and Kashmir post abrogation of Article 370, a temporary provision in the Constitution, has broken the back of separatists and terrorists sponsored by Pakistan. After August 5, 2019, when the Centre announced its decision to scrap the so-called special status of J-K and bifurcate it into two Union Territories, the security agencies launched an "Operation All Out '' to dismantle the terror ecosystem in the Himalayan region. Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh had said that a total of 186 terrorists, including 56 Pak-based foreign terrorists-- belonging to the proscribed outfit of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)-- were killed in the year 2022. (ANI)
Amid the controversy around the phrase "President of Bharat" in a formal invite from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to foreign delegates for a G20 dinner, leading to speculations of a proposed name change of the country in the upcoming Special Session of Parliament, the BJP's Andhra Pradesh Bharatiya chief Daggubati Purandeswari on Thursday said there was nothing wrong in renaming India as 'Bharat'. Speaking to ANI on Thursday, Purandeswari said the name 'Bharat' is inscribed in the Constitution. "I feel there is nothing wrong in renaming India as Bharat. Where's the problem with protecting our heritage and cultural roots? However, it's unfortunate that some people are finding faults with it." Also wading into the furore around Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin's 'eradicate Sanatan Dharma' rant, the BJP leader said, "No Hindu would welcome Udayanidhi Stalin's words (about Sanatana Dharma). Sanatan Dharma is part of our way of life and it should not be ridiculed." The BJP state president participated in the Janmashtami celebrations at Pedavadlapudi village in Mangalagiri Mandal in Guntur district, greeting locals on the occasion of the Hindu festival. She also expressed concern at the government's "policy of hiring non-Hindus" without checking their background in Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which runs the state's shrines, including the Tirumala Venkateswara temple. Picking on the formal invitation to foreign delegates for the G20 dinner, which was sent out in the name of the 'President of Bharat' and not India, the Opposition leaders in the INDIA bloc claimed that the BJP was nervous about the nomenclature. The leaders of the Opposition bloc alleged that the Centre was resorting to drama just because they came together and named their grouping INDIA. BJP leaders, however, strongly supported the Centre's wording of the formal invite to the G20 dinner. Udhyanidhi's remarks triggered a backlash from the BJP, which accused the DMK and the Congress, its partner in Tamil Nadu, of advocating the abolition of Sanatana Dharma. Speaking at the Chennai conference last week, Udhayanidhi said 'Sanatana' (Sanatan Dharma) is like malaria and dengue, which should not be merely opposed but eradicated. "A few things cannot be opposed but should only be abolished. We can't merely oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or corona. They have to be eradicated. Rather than merely opposing Sanatana, it should be eradicated," he said. (ANI)
Union Commerce Ministry on Thursday urged the Organic Agri industry to use the logo of India Organic to help promote the credibility of products in the international market. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said that there is a need to use the India Organic logo as this will help promote the credibility of the products. The Secretary said that the industry should also work on improving the quality and standards of these products. Secretary Barthwal said that there is huge potential to increase exports of organic agri products. "Organic food segment is an important area. We need to work on this. The world market is about USD 135 billion and Indias share is USD 700 million, so there is a huge potential in this. We are focusing on the sector," Barthwal said while inaugurating a fair of organic products titled Biofach India at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida. It was organised by APEDA. He also said that there is a need to promote Indian standards of these goods and comply with the standards of importing countries. He added that there are several goods that India is producing organically like avocado and passion fruit and there is a need to increase awareness about these in the domestic market. "Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) should run a campaign about these products which are available in India," Barthwal said, adding these exports can be further promoted through e-commerce medium and there is a need to establish the credibility of Indian organic goods. He announced that soon the Commerce Ministry would convene a meeting of all the stakeholders of the sector to resolve their issues, if any. Rajesh Agrawal, Additional Secretary, Commerce Ministry said that APEDA will play a critical role in increasing organic agri exports. Agrawal added that the ministry is working to create a platform for the sector where industry can flag their issues. About industry demands to increase the number of certification bodies, he said there are 30 and the ministry would look into the issue of increasing the numbers. APEDA Chairman Abhishek Dev said that they are working with the industry to promote exports. "We do hope that our exports will increase," Dev said adding the APEDA is implementing the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) which involves the accreditation of Certification Bodies, standards for organic production, promotion of organic farming and marketing. (ANI)
"This is the nervousness of opposition after the Mumbai meeting of the INDIA alliance this happened," Prahlad Singh Patel told ANI.

He further said that as far as Stalin's remark is concerned, they have challenged the Constitution

"As far as Stalin's remark is concerned, they have challenged the Constitution... The Constitution does not allow to end any worshipping practice or culture... This is the strategy of Congress... If they read history, they will know that people who kept us as slaves for centuries failed to harm Sanatana," he added.

Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks on 'Sanatana Dharma' sparked massive controversy across the nation.

Earlier in the day, Udhyanidhi released a statement clarifying his statements on 'Sanatana Dharma' and questioned the BJP leaders for twisting his speech as 'inciting genocide' and said that they are using it as a weapon to protect themselves.

Releasing a four-page letter on X, Udhayanidhi said, "Let us resolve to work for the victory of the ideologies of Periyar, Anna, Kalaignar and Perasiriyar. Let Social Justice flourish forever."

On September 2, speaking at a public event, Stalin called for the 'eradication' of Sanatana Dharma and compared the same with diseases like dengue, malaria etc. (ANI)
Based on inputs, a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) team raided the house, DRI said in a statement on Thursday.

Based on specific intelligence, DRI officers carried out the search of a premises at Bhubaneshwar. During the proceedings, 2.465 kg of foreign marked gold in the form of gold biscuits and Ten Tola bars were recovered, read the statement.

Accordingly, the gold has been seized and one person arrested in terms of the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, it said.

The arrested person has been remanded to judicial custody and further investigations in this matter are underway, the statement added. (ANI)
As the national capital gears up for the G20 Summit under India's Presidency, Special Commissioner of Police (law and order) Dependra Pathak on Thursday said that Delhi Police has a strong security arrangement in place. "Delhi Police has a strong security arrangement...As there are international and national ramifications of G20 it is important to examine border areas, pickets, communally sensitive areas or protest-prone areas, so the arrangements are made everywhere. Police also have strategic preparation in check," Special CP Law and Order Dependra Pathak told ANI. Earlier on Tuesday, the senior police officer said that the law and order arrangements during the mega summit would be flawless. Indiais all set to host the G20 Summit in New Delhi from September 9-10. India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country. The Group of G20 (G20) comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany,India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States along with the European Union. Currently, G20 members account for more than 80 per of the world's GDP, 75 per cent of global trade, and 60 per cent of the global population. Hotels have been booked across Delhi to accommodate world leaders. Preparations and security checks are underway in the national capital for the upcoming G20 summit. World leaders, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, among others, will be inIndiato attend the G20 summit. The summit is scheduled to be hosted at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan in the national capital. The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies. (ANI)
Tata Steel Special Economic Zone Limited (TSSEZL) Limited and Avaada GreenH2 Private Limited, the Green Hydrogen arm of the integrated energy enterprise of Avaada Group, on Thursday, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a green hydrogen and green ammonia project at Gopalpur Industrial Park in Ganjam district of Odisha. Under the definitive agreement, Avaada Group will acquire 120 acres of land in TSSEZLs Gopalpur Industrial Park (GIP), to set up a 0.5 MTPA green hydrogen/ammonia production facility. The MoU was signed between Manikanta Naik, Managing Director, TSSEZL, and Prashant Choubey, President, Avaada Group, in the presence of Hemant Sharma, Principal Secretary, Industries Department and Chairman, Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (IDCO) and Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Limited (IPICOL), Government of Odisha, and Bhupendra Singh Poonia, IAS, Managing Director, IDCO & IPICOL. Hemant Sharma, Principal Secretary, Industries Department and Chairman, IDCO & IPICOL stated, "Odisha's roadmap for the green fuels sector is both comprehensive and ambitious. The addition of Avaada Group to our partnership ecosystem is an endorsement of our strategy. We welcome Avaada to the Odisha family and look forward to achieving new milestones together." This green ammonia will be produced from green hydrogen, and the production facilities will be powered by renewable energy. The green hydrogen and ammonia produced at this facility will be exported to markets around the world from the existing Gopalpur Port facility. The Utility Corridor between Gopalpur Industrial Park and Gopalpur Port will provide a dedicated corridor for smooth logistics and pipeline connectivity. Manikanta Naik, Managing Director, Tata Steel Special Economic Zone Limited, said, "We are happy to sign the MoU with Avaada Group for their Green Hydrogen Project. This is the second investment we have attracted in the green hydrogen/ammonia manufacturing sector. Our industrial park continues to be a preferred destination for investors, given its conducive offerings for setting up a unit. We take this opportunity to once again thank the Government of Odisha for its progressive policies that are attracting investments to the state of Odisha." "We are eagerly looking forward to having more investors at the Industrial Park, which will add to the industrial development of the area", he added. Vineet Mittal, Founder and Chairman, of Avaada Group, said, We are delighted to announce the signing of a MoU today with Tata Steel SEZ, marking a significant milestone in our journey towards realising our green ammonia project within the Gopalpur Industrial Park. Green hydrogen and ammonia production is a crucial cornerstone in the global shift towards sustainable energy. Avaada is dedicated to contributing to India's aspiration to become a leading global green hydrogen manufacturing hub. " "Our gratitude extends to the Odisha government for their unwavering support, as it empowers us to take bold strides towards a greener and more sustainable future. We pledge to facilitate the transition towards a low-carbon economy, leaving behind a lasting legacy of value for our stakeholders and society", he added. TSSEZL signed one MoU with ACME Clean Energy Pvt Ltd on August 25, 2023, for the establishment of a Rs 27,000 crore green hydrogen and ammonia project later at the Gopalpur Industrial Park. ACME will acquire 343 acres of land in TSSEZLs Gopalpur Industrial Park and a 1.3 MTPA green ammonia production facility there. (ANI)
Airbus, a pioneer of the global aerospace industry, and Vadodara-based Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a holistic partnership that includes the development of academic curricula, faculty, industrial experience, training and scholarships, and collaboration with international institutes, Airbus said in a release on Thursday. The MoU was signed in the presence of Minister for Railways, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw. As per the MoU, Airbus and the GSV, a central university under the administrative control of the Ministry of Railways, Government of India, will collaborate in the fields of research, teaching, and training of students to deepen their understanding of the scientific, technological, and management topics pertaining to the aerospace sector. Both entities will work together to support the development of the academic curriculum as well as the executive programmes relevant to the sector. Additionally, they will explore potential synergies for joint research, partnerships with international institutes and internship and placement opportunities for the students of GSV, the release said. Speaking at the event, Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "We will be signing MoUs with other big companies engaged in logistics and transportation after Airbus as well. The course curriculum will be decided after consulting with the industries." "The first C-295 aircraft manufacturing facility that is being set up under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will need a skilled workforce of 15000 personnel who will be trained in Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya," the Minister added. Speaking at the signing, Rmi Maillard, President and Managing Director, Airbus India and South Asia, said, We subscribe to the Gati Shakti vision of seamless and efficient connectivity. We are committed to developing India as a global aviation hub and to further supporting the growth of the commercial aviation industry in the country. A core element of the aerospace ecosystem is talent development. Under this partnership with the GSV, we will bring in our global expertise to develop the best diverse talents in India and build a strong pipeline of skilled workforce for the sector. The Vice Chancellor of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, Manoj Choudhary, highlighted, Being an industry-driven and innovation-driven university, focusing exclusively on the transportation and logistics sector, this partnership with Airbus will very significantly enhance the aerospace and aviation sector in India through the creation of best-in-class talent and joint research programmes. Airbus shares a long-standing relationship of collaboration and symbiotic growth with India. For more than 50 years, technology and know-how from the company have catalysed the growth of Indias civil aviation sector and supported the modernisation of its armed forces, the press release said. Together with its supply chain, Airbus supports nearly 10,000 jobs in India. Airbus' local footprint in sourcing, engineering, innovation, maintenance and training services is a testament to its commitment to developing Indias aerospace ecosystem. The C295 Final Assembly Line being built in Vadodara is an example of this commitment as it is the first Make in India aerospace programme in the private sector that involves the development of a complete industrial ecosystem in the country. Airbus has developed pilot training capabilities in Gurgaon and maintenance training in Bengaluru. The collaboration with the GSV will further support in creation of a skilled workforce for the countrys booming aerospace sector, the release mentioned. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Indonesia to attend the 18th East Asia Summit and 20th ASEAN-Indian Summit in the early hours of Thursday. The Prime Minister was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Jakarta International Airport. PM Modi was received by I. Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati, Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Protection. At the airport, the Indonesian cultural dance was performed. "Good morning. We have just arrived here at Jakarta International Airport. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is about to depart from the plane. He's been given a warm ceremonial welcome here at Jakarta Airport," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, shared on his social media 'X' a video of PM Modi's arrival. "This is very early in the morning, but he has a packed schedule here. A few hours later, he goes for the India-ASEAN summit and thereafter for the East Asia summit. There are important engagements. Both these activities entail. He will thereafter come back here and take the flight back to New Delhi. So literally a few hours in Jakarta, but we look forward to a very productive day. Prime Minister has come here despite the busy schedule for the G 20 that starts effectively on Friday evening and just emphasizes the importance that you attached to this visit. We will continue to bring you updates on this visit as it unfolds," he added. Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived at the hotel Ritz-Carlton in Jakarta where he met the Indian diaspora. Members of the Indian community were all excited to welcome PM Modi. The Indian diaspora, waiting at the hotel, chanted "Modi, Modi," "Humara Neta Kaisa Ho, Narendra Modiji Jaisa Ho..." (What kind of leader should we have? should be like Modiji), and "Har Har Modi, Har Ghar Modi." "We are very excited to come here in the morning 03:00 now and now we are waiting eagerly for our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi," one of the members of the Indian diaspora said while waiting for PM Modi at the hotel. "We are from the Tamil Association. We have been waiting here since 10:00 pm to welcome Modiji. Very happy to welcome here. I am sure his visit between India and Indonesia will strengthen further. The whole community can see. We are excited to welcome him. Thank you so much for bringing him here we are," another member of the Indian diaspora said. Even children were waiting at the hotel to get a glimpse of PM Modi. Today, in Indonesia, PM Modi will participate in the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit. PM Modi took to his social media 'X', formerly known as Twitter, and said on Wednesday, "Leaving for Jakarta to take part in ASEAN related meetings. This includes the 20th ASEAN-India Summit, which focuses on a partnership we greatly cherish." "I will also take part in the 18th East Asia Summit, which focuses on important developmental sectors like healthcare, environment and digital innovations," he added. Earlier, in his departure statement, the Prime Minister said that he is looking forward to exchanging views with other leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address the global challenges. He also termed the engagement with the ASEAN group as an important pillar of Indias Act East Policy'. The Prime Minister is visiting Jakarta at the invitation of the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo. My first engagement will be the 20th ASEAN-India Summit. I look forward to discussing with ASEAN leaders the future contours of our partnership, which has entered its fourth decade. Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East policy. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership entered into last year has injected new dynamism in our ties, the Prime Minister said. After that, I will be attending the 18th East Asia Summit. This forum provides a useful opportunity to deliberate on issues of importance to the region including food and energy security, environment, health, and digital transformation. I look forward to exchanging views with other EAS Leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address these global challenges, he added. PM Modi will return to New Delhi on Thursday evening ahead of the G20 Summit, which will be held on September 9 and 10. (ANI)
The United States hoped that all the countries would sign the joint declaration in this week's G20 Summit in India but also signalled that it is difficult to get a consensus as countries like Russia and China are less likely to "sign on" it. John Kirby, National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for strategic communications, also pointed out that the G20 summit may also end without a joint declaration as Russia and the West continue to spar over the Ukraine war among other issues. Ahead of the highly-anticipated meeting in the Indian capital G-20 Sherpas are making a last-minute attempt to reach a consensus over the proposed Delhi Declaration to be adopted at the summit. Responding to a query by ANI regarding the US' optimism about the joint declaration in this G20, the top White House Official said that it is difficult to get "Twenty clocks to chime at the same time." The remark by Kirby comes before President Joe Biden departs for New Delhi on Thursday. The G20 Sherpas are trying to iron out the final declaration that will be adopted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders of G20 nations over the weekend. However, they face a tough challenge to create consensus. "We hope so. We certainly hope so. But, I mean, I think you know its difficult to get 20 clocks to chime at the same time, so were going to have to were going to work on this. We know that the Indians also would like to see a joint communique if you will, so well see where it goes," Kirby said. The main issue is the Ukraine war with the Western countries and Russia not being able to see eye to eye on the matter. "Often times the sticking point tends to be the war in Ukraine because countries like Russia and China are less likely to sign on to language that the rest of the international community is more uncomfortable signing on to, so well see where it goes. But wed like to see that, absolutely," he added. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who will represent Moscow at the meeting, said that Russia will block any summit Declaration that doesnt reflect Moscows views on Ukraine and other crises. India insists that agreement on a final communiqu is within reach, despite geopolitical friction. The G20 Leaders' Summit is scheduled to take place on September 9 and 10 in India and US President Joe Biden is slated to attend the event. He will start his visit to India on September 7. Talking to reporters during a press briefing at the Washington Foreign Press Center, Kirby said that the President is excited about the important initiatives that he will be championing at the G20. The NSC coordinator said that Biden's focus is going to be on delivering economic opportunity for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people, from climate to technology, and showing our commitment to the G20 itself as a viable, if not vital, forum to tackle these sorts of issues. "Were grateful for Prime Minister Modis leadership during Indias presidency of the G20, and the President is certainly looking forward to his bilateral meeting with the prime minister shortly after his arrival in New Delhi. Hes also looking forward to warmly welcoming the African Union as a permanent member of the G20, the newest permanent member. And we believe that the African Unions voice will make the G20 even stronger than it already is," Kirby said. Pointing out the main goals of the G20 Summit, Kirby continued, "So one of our main goals heading into the G20 is to help reshape and scale up multilateral development banks like the IMF, like the World Bank. We know that these institutions are some of the most effective tools for mobilizing transparent and high-quality investment in developing countries. And thats why the United States has championed the major effort that is currently underway to evolve these institutions so that theyre up for the challenges of tomorrow." He further said that the President will also be calling on G20 members to provide meaningful debt relief so that low and middle-income countries can regain their footing after years of stress on their economies and their people. "Well also be making progress on other key priorities, from climate to health, and as I said at the very top, the digital technology. In addition, well spotlight the progress that we've been making on the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment which the President calls PGII," he added. (ANI)
Nepal's Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud on Wednesday said that the country was fortunate to have neighbours like India. At the inauguration of the Himalaya Kiran Public Campus building, which was built with the help of India's financial assistance, Saud in his remarks noted that "it was a matter of pride and Nepal was fortunate to have neighbours like India who have contributed to the development of Nepal and its people," according to the statement released by India's embassy in Nepal. The campus building was inaugurated by the country's Foreign Minister and Indian ambassador Naveen Srivastava. The project was implemented under Nepal-India Development Cooperation,' as a high-impact community development project under an agreement between India and the Nepal government, at the cost of Nepal Rupees (NRs) 37.40 million. At the event, the Foreign Minister further added that this developmental project was particularly important as it would ensure education for generations of Nepali students and help them in their future careers. The scope of work included the construction of a triple-storied campus building with classrooms, a science lab, a computer, library rooms, a meeting hall and many more. At the event, India's Ambassador Srivastava highlighted that this project is an important part of the very robust development partnership between India and Nepal, which has made significant strides in recent years, spanning various priority sectors of the Government of Nepal and its people. He expressed the continued commitment of the Government of India to continue to bolster the development partnership as per the priorities of the Government of Nepal, for the benefit of the peoples of both countries. According to the statement, Himalaya Kiran Public Campus was established in 1949 as Himalaya Middle School. In 2005, the school was upgraded to conduct degree courses by naming as Himalaya Kiran Public Campus. This campus has the strength of more than 600 students of which 60 per cent are girls. This campus is offering the course of Bachelor in Management and Education, and Master in Education programmes at present. Since its inception, the college has achieved remarkable success in terms of quality education. Since 2003, India has taken up nearly 550 High Impact Community Development Projects in Nepal, of which 483 projects have been completed. Amongst these, 84 Projects are in Koshi Province spanning various sectors. In addition to these, the Government of India has gifted 974 ambulances and 234 school buses to various hospitals, health posts and educational institutions in Nepal on the occasion of Independence Day and Republic Day of India. Amongst these, 13 ambulances and 3 School Buses in Sankhuwasabha, to date, including one School bus provided to this Campus recently in July 2023. The project is a reflection of Indias development partnership with Nepal and complements the efforts of the Government of Nepal in augmenting infrastructure in the field of education in Nepal, as per the statement. (ANI)
The United States and the Association of Southeast Asia nations (ASEAN) support narrowing the development gap in the bloc and assisting the regions economic recovery. In the ASEAN-US Leaders Statement, both countries said that they will support narrowing the development gap in ASEAN, including the emerging gap arising from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and assisting the region's economic recovery to realise an inclusive, participatory, and collaborative ASEAN Community that is no longer divided by the development gaps among its members. US Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday to meet with leaders of the ASEAN, in a summit hosted by Indonesia. In a joint statement, the US and ASEAN said that they will Promote the stability, peace, prosperity, and sustainable development of the Mekong subregion through shared initiatives under the Mekong-U.S. Partnership (MUSP), which complements the Friends of the Mekong and supports the implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and the IAI Work Plan IV (2021-2025), in support of ASEAN Centrality and unity in promoting ASEANs sub-regional development; To achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, the US and ASEAN said that they will advance efforts to accelerate progress and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 by maximizing the complementarities between the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through cooperation in food security, health security and the building of resilient health systems, gender equality, human rights, clean energy and climate action, smart and sustainable cities, environmental conservation, transparency, and the rule of law as well as other SDG priorities. Further collaborate to accelerate clean and just energy transition and the fight against climate change; support the promotion of an inclusive community in ASEAN; and strengthen support for the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre), the statement read. The US commended Indonesias efforts as the Chair of ASEAN to elevate and mainstream the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) as a catalyst for cooperation with the United States and other dialogue partners across ASEANs political-security, economic, and socio-cultural communities; US and ASEAN affirmed the support for the objectives and principles of the AOIP, which provides a guide for ASEANs engagement in the wider Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean regions or the Indo-Pacific and a conceptual basis for growing cooperation between ASEAN and the United States via our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP); Both of them Emphasized that it is in the interest of ASEAN, with the support of external partners, including the United States, to remain at the centre of the regional architecture and shape its dynamics to bring about peace, security, stability and prosperity for the peoples in the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean regions, the statement read. Noting that the AOIP and the United States Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) share relevant fundamental principles, in promoting an open, inclusive, and rules-based regional architecture, in which ASEAN is central, working alongside partners who share these goals, it added. They also reaffirmed the importance of upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the ASEAN Charter, as well as upholding shared values enshrined in the Declaration on Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN), the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo- Pacific (AOIP). (ANI)
Filmmaker Vivek Aghnihotris 'The Vaccine War' created history on Tuesday by becoming the first Indian movie to have a song launch at Times Square. The film's title song 'Shristhi se pehele', which comprised of Shlokas from Rigveda, describing the creation of the Universe was performed in the form of Kathak in New York. At Times Square, a performance was performed by Actor Archana Joglekar and the students of her Dance academy and it was choreographed by legendary Kathak maestro. The performance was witnessed by thousands of New Yorkers from all walks of life. Before the release of 'The Vaccine War' in India in September, special screenings of the film have been conducted in the US under the India for Humanity Tour. A pre-release of The Vaccine War was hosted in New York to a full house. Welcoming director Vivek Agnihotri and producer and actor Pallavi Joshi. Speaking about the film's screening in the US, Agnihotri told ANI, "I wanted to showcase this great scientific achievement of India on the world stage. India and the US collaborated and there was this mutual understanding and cooperation between the two countries, and we have worked a lot towards helping lots of underdeveloped countries. So I thought it was very important since this (US) was the hub when COVID was happening. The whole world was looking at the USA with optimism, and India played that role as a democracy. So I thought it's good to start from here (US) and showcase it to people and get their reactions and then go and release it in India." One thing is for sure once the audience sees the film and walks out of the theatre they are going to walk out with their head held high. What our scientists have achieved during the period of lockdown when the pandemic had hit the world and especially the women who were not just working at home cleaning the house, cooking meals for the family but were also standing in the labs for 16, 17 & 18 hours at length and making that vaccine which saved the country of 135 crore people, said Pallavi Joshi. Edward Ridley Finch Cox an American Finance lawyer and the current chairman of the New York Republican State Committee attended both the events. Cox said that he has only now realized the power and diversity of India but also sees the importance of Indian Americans. He also urged all Americans to watch The Vaccine War. The New York events for 'The Vaccine War' were crafted and organized by Mohan Wanchoo, a successful software entrepreneur and philanthropist who is of Indian heritage. Vaccine War is about how India made the COVID-19 vaccine under unprecedented challenges, and later provided it free of cost to many countries throughout the world that were in dire need of this vaccine said Mohan Wanchoo. The movie celebrates the power of the fiercely driven and motivated women scientists of India who worked day and night to produce the COVID-19 vaccine. We are looking forward to a great success of Vaccine War, said Al Mason, a well-known New York global real estate Advisor and Entrepreneur, whom Mohan Wanchoo thanked for helping him to make both the New York events a mega success. The Vaccine War' will narrate the tale of the triumph of scientists and 130 crore people who fought the battle in the COVID-19 era. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday extended wishes to his Brazilian Counterpart Mauro Luiz Iecker Vieira and the people of the country on Brazils Independence Day. Taking to X, Jaishankar said, Warm felicitations to FM Mauro Vieira and the Government and people of Brazil on their Independence Day. In this historic 75th year of diplomatic ties, our strategic partnership and south-south solidarity continue to deepen. India and Brazil share a close and multifaceted relationship which is based on shared democratic values and convergence of views on many global issues, according to a release from the Ministry of External Affairs. The release added that the two countries cooperate not only bilaterally but also at plurilateral fora such as BRICS, IBSA, G-20 and in multilateral bodies such as the UN and WTO, among others. IndiaBrazil relations were elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2006, thereby heralding a new phase in bilateral ties. Indias relationship with Brazil has continued to grow over the past decade with various high-level exchanges and got further intensified in 2019 and early 2020 with the back-to-back VVIP visits. PM Modi met then President Jair Bolsonaro on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka on 29 June 2019. Key issues of bilateral importance were discussed during the meetings, opening up opportunities on both sides to take the strategic partnership forward. PM Modi also attended the XI BRICS Summit in Brasilia on 13-14 November 2019 and held a bilateral meeting with President Bolsonaro on the sidelines of the Summit on 13 November 2019. At the invitation of PM Modi, President Bolsonaro had paid a State Visit to India from 25-27 January 2020. He was the Chief Guest at Indias Republic Day Parade on 26 January 2020 Earlier last month, PM Modi and the Luiz Incio Lula da Silva the Brazilian President attended the BRICS summit hosted by South Africa in Johannesburg. President Lula of Brazil is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi for the G20 summit on Saturday. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the opening of Indias embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste while addressing the 20th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta Act East in action - Delhi to Dili! At the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta, PM @narendramodi announces decision to open our Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste, posted Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi on X after PM Modis announcement. Dili is the capital city of Timor-Leste, or East Timor, on the country's north coast. The city holds importance as it recalls the nation's struggles for independence from Portugal as well as Indonesia. India was one of the early countries to establish diplomatic relations with Timor Leste and was represented at its Independence Day celebrations in May 2002 by a high level delegation led by the then Minister of State for External Affairs. An MOU formally establishing diplomatic relations was signed on 24 January 2003. India's decision to open an embassy in Dilli its commitment to the Act East policy. Earlier in the day, PM Modi said that ASEAN is the central pillar of India's Act East policy and it has an important place in India's Indo-Pacific initiative. He also termed the engagement with the ASEAN group as an important pillar of Indias Act East Policy'. "Our history and geography unite India and ASEAN. Along with it, our shared values, regional integration, and our shared belief in peace, prosperity and a multipolar world also unite us. ASEAN is the central pillar of India's Act East Policy. India supports ASEAN's outlook on ASEAN-India centrality and Indo-Pacific," PM Modi said in his address in Hindi. In his departure statement, before leaving for Jakarta on Wednesday, PM Modi noted that engagement with the ASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East Policy, and said he is looking forward to exchanging views with leaders of the grouping on the future contours" of partnership which has now entered its fourth decade. My first engagement will be the 20th ASEAN-India Summit. I look forward to discussing with ASEAN leaders the future contours of our partnership, which has now entered its fourth decade. Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East' policy, PM Modi said. PM Modi, who is in Jakarta, will return to New Delhi on Thursday evening ahead of the G20 Summit, which will be held on September 9 and 10. (ANI)
Indonesia President Joko Widodo on Thursday thanked leaders of the East Asia Summit for making it a forum for all in order to strengthen cooperation. In his address to the 18th East Asia Summit that began in Jakarta today, Widodo said, "Essentially we acknowledge stability and peace as the main key to achieve prosperity. ASEAN is steadfast in making this vision an epicentrum of growth and therefore ASEAN will continue to work to play a role as country leader..." "ASEAN will really appreciate that if this East Asia summit can agree on a leader statement and its determination as the epicentrum of growth," Widodo said. Indonesia is the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year. The Indonesian President said that it is at this time when the international community will assess if "we are leaders with the wisdom to make the world a better place for all." "I thank once again the leaders of the East Asia Summit of making this forum for us to strengthen the cooperation. I call on all the leaders to show the wisdom, to show the leadership for the success of this," said Widodo as he declared the East Asia Summit open. The East Asia Summit would provide an opportunity for leaders of ASEAN countries and its eight dialogue partners, including India, to exchange views on issues of regional and global significance. East Asia Summit is the foremost of the ASEAN-centered mechanisms in the Indo-Pacific. Since its inception in 2005, it has played a significant role in providing a platform for dialogue and discussion on matters of strategic importance to the region. At this 18 th East Asia Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders will discuss ways to further strengthen the East Asia Summit mechanism, as well as exchange views on matters of regional and international interest. EAS consists of 10 ASEAN Member States (i.e. Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam), Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and the USA. East Asia Summit is an initiative of ASEAN and is based on the premise of the centrality of ASEAN. Prime Minister Modi attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit at the invitation of Indonesia's President Joko Widodo. The Prime Minister's visit to Indonesia comes ahead of the G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 underIndia's Presidency this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi who arrived inIndonesiaearly Thursday morning said that it is an "honour" for him to co-chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India summit. EarlierPM Modisaid he is looking forward to working with various leaders for making a better planet. He said, "Last year we celebrated the India-ASEAN Friendship Day and gave it a form of comprehensive strategic partnership..." TheASEAN-India Summitis the first summit since the elevation of the ties between India and the ASEAN bloc of countries to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022. Engagement withASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East policy,PM Modisaid in his departure statement. The 20thASEAN-India Summitis a greatly cherished partnership,PM Modi said in a post on X. (ANI)
Calling for joint efforts to strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea should be effective and in accordance with UNCLOS. In his remarks at the East Asia Summit on Thursday, the Prime Minister said that peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region is in the interest of all and the positive agenda of QUAD complements with the various mechanisms of ASEAN. There has been international concern over Chinas increasing military assertiveness in the South China Sea. India believes that the Code of Conduct for South China Sea should be effective and in accordance with UNCLOS. Additionally, it should take into consideration the interests of countries that are not directly involved in the discussions, the Prime Minister said. Peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, is in the interest of us all. The need of the hour is such that an Indo-Pacific - where international law, including UNCLOS, is equally applicable to all countries; where there is freedom of navigation and overflight; and where there is unimpeded lawful commerce for the benefit of everyone, he added. China had in 2016 rejected the award of the Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) in relation to its differences with the Philippines. The Prime Minister said India fully supports ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and there is unison in the vision of India and ASEAN for the Indo-Pacific. This underscores the significance of the 'East Asia Summit' as a crucial platform for implementing the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. ASEAN holds a central position in the vision of QUAD. The positive agenda of QUAD complements with the various mechanisms of ASEAN, he said. PM Modi said the East Asia Summit is a very important platform and is the only leaders-led mechanism for dialogue and cooperation on strategic matters in the Indo-Pacific region. Additionally, it plays a pivotal role as the primary confidence-building mechanism in Asia. And the key to its success is ASEAN centrality, he said. The Prime Minister said the present global landscape is surrounded by challenging circumstances and uncertainties. Noting that terrorism, extremism, and geopolitical conflicts are big challenge, he said multilateralism and rules-based international order are essential in countering them. The Prime Minister also reiterated his today's era is not of war remarks. It is imperative to adhere fully to international laws; And everyone's commitment and joint efforts are also necessary to strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. As I have said before today's era is not of war. Dialogue and diplomacy is the only path to resolution, he said. The Prime Minister said India's policy in Myanmar takes into account ASEAN's views. At the same time, as a neighbouring country, ensuring peace and security on the borders; And enhancing India-ASEAN connectivity is also our focus. The Prime Minister said that challenges pertaining to climate change, cyber security, food security, health, and energy are particularly impacting the Global South. During our G20 presidency, we are focusing on these important issues related to the Global South, he said. The Prime Minister reaffirmed India's commitment to the East Asia Summit process and assured support to Laos for its presidency. During his short but very productive visit to Jakarta, the Prime Minister participated in the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and 18th East Asia Summit. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 18th East Asia Summit on further strengthening of ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening cooperation covering connectivity, digital transformation, trade and economic engagement. PM Modi urged the summit to establish multi-modal connectivity and economic corridor that links South-East Asia-India-West Asia-Europe and Offered to share Indias Digital Public Infrastructure Stack with ASEAN partners, according to the release from the Prime Minister's office. PM Modi underscored the significance of digitalization and announced the ASEAN-India fund focusing on cooperation in digital transformation and financial connectivity. In the 12-pointers, PM Modi called for working together on Mission LiFE (LiFEStyle For Environment) and invited ASEAN countries to join the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine being established by WHO in India. PM Modi recognised the need for actions in disaster management and called for enhanced cooperation on maritime safety, security and domain awareness. He reiterated his call for a collective fight against terrorism, terror financing and cyber-disinformation. At the 18th East Asia Summit, Prime reiterated the importance of EAS mechanism and reaffirmed our support to further strengthening it. Prime Minister underlined Indias support for ASEAN centrality and called for ensuring a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific. Prime Minister highlighted synergies of visions for Indo-Pacific between India and ASEAN and underscored that ASEAN is the focal point of Quads vision. The Prime Minister also called for a cooperative approach to address global challenges including terrorism, climate change and resilient supply chains for essential items including food and medicines, and for energy security. He highlighted Indias steps in the area of climate change and our initiatives such as ISA, CDRI, LiFE and OSOWOG. At the summit, the ASEAN leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues. Indonesia is the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year. East Asia Summit is the foremost of the ASEAN-centered mechanisms in the Indo-Pacific. Since its inception in 2005, it has played a significant role in providing a platform for dialogue and discussion on matters of strategic importance to the region. The EAS is held annually by leaders of 18 countries of the Asia-Pacific region formed to further the objectives of regional peace, security and prosperity. The membership of EAS consists of 10 ASEAN Member States (i.e. Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam), Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and the USA. The first East Asia Summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 14, 2005. On Thursday Prime Minister Modi attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit at the invitation of Indonesia's President Joko Widodo. The Prime Minister's visit to Indonesia comes ahead of the G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 under India's Presidency this year. (ANI)
Recognising the inter-connectedness and vulnerabilities of the Indo-Pacific region in the face of regional and global challenges, India has committed to maintaining and supporting ASEAN as the epicentre of global growth and to increase concerted efforts in sustaining the food trade supply chain despite disruptions. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, India during the 20th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia agreed to collaborate on rapid actions to strengthen food security and nutrition in response to crises, including by ensuring unimpeded trade and flow of foodstuffs and other essential agricultural inputs, including the supply of fertilisers, pesticides, and their raw materials as well as enhancing market connectivity and distribution networks for agriculture and food products. India, thus recognizing the importance of joint efforts and mutual support in the region and beyond, Committed to maintaining and supporting ASEAN in the 20th ASEAN-India Summit as the epicentrum of global growth and to increase concerted efforts between ASEAN and India in sustaining supply in the food trade supply chain despite disruptions. They agreed to strengthen cooperation on food security and nutrition through promoting trade and investment, capacity building, research and development, technology and innovation, sustainable management, infrastructure development and sharing of information, experience and best practices in the food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors. The leaders of ASEAN and India exchanged information on national policy frameworks particularly for rice and other priority crop commodities as well as agricultural diversity to enhance food security and nutrition, and intensify coordination of food security and nutrition policies across ASEAN Member States and India, as per ASEAN-India joint leaders statement on strengthening food security and nutrition in response to crises. They acknowledged the nutritional richness, climate resilience, health benefits and ecological sustainability of millets, considering that millets are good for the consumer, cultivator and climate; and support efforts to mainstream the cultivation and harvesting of millets for ensuring global food security, promoting biodiversity and transforming agrifood system. They welcomed the ASEAN Leaders Declaration on Strengthening Food Security and Nutrition in Response to Crises adopted on September 5, 2023. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as he attended and co-chaired the ASEAN-India Summit, said that it is a testament to a shared vision. "Always a delight to meet @ASEAN leaders,"PM Modiwrote on X. He said, "The ASEAN-India Summit is a testament to our shared vision and collaboration for a better future. We look forward to working together in futuristic sectors which will enhance human progress." In his address to the Summit, PM Modi stated that the India-ASEAN partnership has reached its fourth decade and it is an honour for him to co-chair the Summit. He also congratulated Indonesian President Joko Widodo for organising the Summit. PM Modihighlighted the shared values, regional integration and shared beliefs in peace that unite India and the ASEAN. In his opening remarks at the 20th ASEAN Summit,PM Modisaid "This year's theme is ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. ASEAN matters because here everyone's voice is heard and ASEAN is epicentrum of growth because ASEAN plays an important role in global growth." He referred to 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -One Earth, One Family, One Future which is the theme of the G20 under the Indian presidency. The PM also attended theEast Asia Summittoday. Upon his arrival in the country earlier today,PM Modiwas accorded a ceremonial welcome atJakartaInternational Airport. Prime Minister Modi met members of the Indian diaspora who welcomed him. At the venue of the ASEAN Summit, theJakartaConvention Centre,PM Modiwas welcomed byIndonesian President Joko Widodo. Earlier, in his departure statement, Prime Minister Modi said that he is looking forward to exchanging views with other leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address the global challenges. He also termed the engagement with the ASEAN group as an important pillar of Indias Act East Policy'. This comes as the 9th ASEAN India Summit to be attended by PM Modi. The Summit is the first one after the elevation of India ASEAN relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership which happened last year. (ANI)
At the ASEAN-India Summit, the Prime Minister held extensive discussions with ASEAN partners on strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and charting its future course.

He reaffirmed ASEAN's centrality in the Indo-Pacific and highlighted the synergies between India's Indo-Pacific Ocean's Initiative (IPOI) and ASEANs Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).

He also emphasized the need to complete the review of the ASEAN-India FTA (AITIGA) in a time-bound manner.

Prime Minister presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening India ASEAN cooperation covering connectivity, digital transformation, trade and economic engagement, addressing contemporary challenges, people-to-people contacts and deepening strategic engagement.

In his remarks at the East Asia Summit, the Prime Minister said it is a very important platform and is the only leaders-led mechanism for dialogue and cooperation on strategic matters in the Indo-Pacific region.

He also said it plays a pivotal role as the primary confidence-building mechanism in Asia.

The Prime Minister said on X, formerly Twitter, that he met ASEAN and other leaders.

Had a very short but fruitful Indonesia visit, where I met ASEAN and other leaders. I thank President @jokowi, the Indonesian Government and people for their welcome, he said.

The Prime Minister returned to New Delhi ahead of G20 Summit which is being held on September 9 and 10. (ANI)
China ready to contribute more to drug control in Greater Mekong Subregion: police chief

Xinhua) 08:47, September 07, 2023

Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong poses for a group photo with the heads of delegations attending the 14th Ministerial Meeting of the Signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on Drug Control in the Greater Mekong Subregion prior to the meeting in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2023. Wang attended the meeting and delivered a keynote speech at the meeting. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlian)

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong said on Wednesday China is ready to make new and greater contributions to drug control and safeguard people's health and well-being in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Wang made the remarks at the 14th Ministerial Meeting of the Signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on Drug Control in the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Wang said that since the establishment of the drug control mechanism in the Greater Mekong Subregion 30 years ago, all parties have jointly promoted the healthy development of the mechanism and joined hands to deal with the regional drug problem, which vividly explains the profound friendship of all parties and their solemn commitment to going forward hand in hand.

China is ready to work with all parties to actively implement the Global Security Initiative put forward by China, comprehensively address the drug challenge, firmly oppose the "legalization" of drugs and the "politicization" of drug control, and firmly oppose interference in other countries' internal affairs, abuse of unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction" under the pretext of drug issue, said Wang.

The heads of delegations of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime also addressed the meeting.

It was announced that Myanmar will host the 15th ministerial meeting in 2025.

Prior to the meeting, Wang met with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang and other officials who are in China for the meeting.

Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong delivers a keynote speech at the 14th Ministerial Meeting of the Signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on Drug Control in the Greater Mekong Subregion in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlian)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth on Thursday highlighted Indias support seen in all sectors of the Mauritian economy and said that New Delhi was the first to sign an agreement with Port Louis the first country in Africa to sign Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). We can see the support of India in all sectors of the Mauritian economy. India has been accompanying us in the socio-economic development. Everywhere you go in Mauritius, you will see the imprint of the support of India, the Mauritian Prime Minister said. He said that India is assisting the East African nation in its socioeconomic development.On Mauritius-India trade relations, PM Jugnauth said, "India has signed first agreement with the first country in Africa with Mauritius. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is another testimony of the consideration that India has for Mauritius. This has now opened up new avenues for trade between the two countries...It is beneficial to both countries..." The Prime Minister gave the example of a few iconic projects. He said: There is the Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre. We had built the Cyber Tower, which has now become a Cyber City. And I must say that to honour the memory of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, we have named the Cyber Tower as the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Tower. He further said that with Indias support, Mauritius has built the new Supreme Court building. We have a new ENT hospital. The most prestigious project which has been realized is the Light rail metro project, he said. Jugnauth said that all these projects and particularly the Metro Express, have been a tremendous improvement in people's living standards. It has contributed to making a modern system of public transport and "of course, we are looking forward to more engagements and more support so that we keep on moving and progressing in the right direction." Stating that Mauritius has been classified as 13th in the whole world in terms of the last Ease of Doing Business ranking by the World Bank, he appealed to Indian entrepreneurs to use "Mauritius as a gateway to Africa..." On defence cooperation between Mauritius and India, Mauritius PM said, "...You can see the maritime area for us to Police is enormous and alone we don't have the sufficient resource to be able to do that. We have seen a number of illegal activities in the Indian Ocean - starting with piracy, illegal fishing, drug trafficking and smuggling of illicit goods." "We need to collaborate with other countries to see to it that Indian Ocean is a safe place. So, we have an agreement with India for maritime security and surveillance and it is not only with India. We have an agreement with France, with US and other friendly African countries. It is quite normal that when we share the same objective that countries come together in order to see to it that we protect the country and make the ocean a safer place," he added. Meanwhile, in 2023, India, and Mauritius celebrated 75 years of diplomatic relations. I think in itself, it is a milestone that needs to be celebrated and also a testimony of how this relationship has been strengthening throughout the years so that we have reached a situation today where I can say that never before has this relationship reached such heights, Jugnauth said. The Mauritian PM then went ahead to thank the Indian government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the countrys consistent support in Mauritiuss fight for decolonisation. Let me seize this opportunity to thank Govt of India, PM Narendra Modi for the staunch and consistent support that India has been extending to us in our fight for decolonisation. This has been a long-standing fight and India has supported us like so many countries..." he said while speaking on the Chagos Archipelago sovereignty issue. India and Mauritius share a colonial past and are joined by unique Diaspora ties. Both countries celebrate diversity of ethnicities, faiths, languages, and cultures, and draw strength from being inclusive democracies with independent judiciary and a vibrant media. We are very thankful for the role that India has played. I believe that with the influence of India, we have gathered even larger support and we are very convinced that we are progressing each time that we are moving forward, he said. Jugnauth on Thursday received a rousing welcome as he arrived at the New Delhi Airport on Thursday for the G20 Summit that will be held here in the national capital from September 9-10. He was received at the Airport by Shripad Naik Union Minister of State for Ports, Shipping. As he came out of the Delhi airport he was accorded with a traditional folk dance performance.India has close, longstanding relations with Mauritius, owing to historical, demographic and cultural reasons. A key reason for the special ties is the fact that Indian-origin people comprise nearly 70 per cent of the islands population. India has traditionally been the first responder for Mauritius in times of crisis, including during the recent Covid-19 and Wakashio oil-spill crises. India was the first country to supply Covid-19 vaccines to Mauritius. Meanwhile, New Delhi is geared up to host the G20 Leaders Summit in the national capital at the newly inaugurated Bharat Mandapam on September 9-10. This is the first time that the G20 Summit is taking place under Indias presidency. The event will be graced by many global leaders and delegates. Extensive preparations and arrangements have been made for the summit, with the intention of showcasing both Indias soft power as well as modern face. Formed in 1999, the G20 was formed to maintain global financial stability by incorporating middle-income countries. India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country. The 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies. A G20 Leaders declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the G20 Summit, stating Leaders commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings. The next G20 presidency is going to be taken over by Brazil in 2024, followed by South Africa in 2025. (ANI)
As New Delhi is gearing up to host the annual summit on September 9-10, India's G20 Presidency has resulted in many initiatives and achievements, sources said. India took the lead in the annual G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting by being the first to deliver a fully negotiated and embraced G20 Foreign Ministers Outcome Document and Chair Summary (FMM ODCS), sources said. The comprehensive document released after the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting highlighted critical themes relevant to member states, including the strengthening of multilateralism, countering terrorism, and addressing global health concerns, among others. As part of itsG20 Presidency, India played host to the inaugural 'Voice of the Global South Summit.' With participation from 125 nations across ten sessions spanning two days, this landmark event provided a platform for participants to voice their concerns, ideas, challenges, and priorities of the developing world. The G20 Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS), which was also held under Indias Presidency, supported the launching of Millets And otHer Ancient Grains International Research Initiative (MAHARISHI), which is an endeavour to develop mechanisms to connect researchers and institutions, encourage information sharing and organise capacity-building activities, among other across the G20 countries, according to sources. The inception meeting of the G20 EMPOWER (G20 Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Womens Economic Representation) group was also held under Indias Presidency. The G20 Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Womens Economic Representation (EMPOWER) is an alliance of G20 business leaders and governments, aiming at accelerating womens leadership and empowerment in the private sector, sources said. After the G20 Digital Economy Ministers meeting was held, a consensus was reached on creating the Digital Public Infrastructures (DPIs). In addition, there was consensus around Cyber Security in the Digital Economy and Digital Skills, according to sources. Also under India's G20 Presidency, the Meeting of G20-Chief Science Advisers Roundtable (G20-CSAR) was initiated. The meeting saw discussions on issues such as Opportunities in One Health for better disease control and pandemic preparedness, synergizing global Efforts to Expand Access to Scholarly Scientific Knowledge, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in Science & Technology (S&T) and an institutional mechanism for inclusive, continuous and action-oriented global S&T policy dialogue, according to sources. In an endeavour to reform and reinforce multilateralism, India also revitalised discussions regarding reforms of international institutions, including the United Nations Security Council and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), sources said. Further, an independent Expert Group was formed under India's G20 Presidency to provide recommendations for bolstering Multilateral Development Banks and improving its efficiency in confronting challenges faced during the 21st century. India is all set to host the G20 Summit in New Delhi from September 9-10. Notably, India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country. The Group of G20 (G20) comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States along with the European Union. Currently, G20 members account for more than 80 per of the world's GDP, 75 per cent of global trade, and 60 per cent of the global population. Hotels have been booked across Delhi to accommodate world leaders. Preparations and security checks are underway in the national capital for the upcoming G20 summit. World leaders, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, among others, will be in India to attend the G20 summit. The summit is scheduled to be hosted at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan in the national capital. The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies. A G20 Leaders Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi summit, stating the leaders commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings. (ANI)
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday said that the Hindu community in Bangladesh should not consider themselves as members of the minority community, reported Dhaka Tribune. She further urged them to live their life and enjoy equal rights in Bangladesh. Why would you call yourselves a minority? ..... There is nothing like minority and majority here. Rather, all citizens will live here enjoying equal rights. Dont undermine yourselvesas a minority. Why are you doing so when you are the people of this country? she said. Sheikh Hasina highlighted this concern while exchanging greetings with the Hindu community at her official residence Ganabhabans premises on the occasion of Janmashtami, Dhaka Tribune reported on Thursday. Commenting on the Hindu community, she said that those who were born on this soil, are the children of this soil and they have rights as the citizens of this soil.So, you will live accordingly", she said. She further said that her government always tries to maintain religious and communal harmony in Bangladesh and keeps social solidarity where one wont undermine another and all the people will lead life enjoying equal rights, reported Dhaka Tribune. We know there are some vested people everywhere, who want to create some problems. All will have to pay attention so that none can create the problems, she said. Bangladesh PM noted that some people are here in the country who malign Bangladesh going abroad. I would like to request all to be alert in this regard, she added. Furthermore, Bangladesh Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder, State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan and State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Swapan Bhattacharjee, among others also spoke on the occasion. (ANI)
Former Deputy NSA and Ambassador Pankaj Saran said that the absence of China's President from the G20 Summit, which is being held under India's presidency in New Delhi, is "Xi Jinping's loss". Chinese President Xi Jinping will not be attending the G20 Summit rather the delegation will be led by the country's Premier Li Qiang, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced. "So far as the Chinese case is concerned, the President should have come. I think his absence is going to be his loss, but he is sending his prime minister. So we will see," he said. Notably, the G20, which represents 80 per cent of the world's GDP (Gross Domestic Product), 75 per cent of global trade and 2/3rd of the global population, is one of the most influential forum for global governance "We hope that China will participate as an equal, constructive and positive participant of G20 because China's role in the global economy is important," he added. Earlier this week,Quoting foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China statement read, "At the invitation of the government of the Republic of India, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will attend the 18th G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi, India, on September 9 and 10." However, no reason was given in the statement about Xi's absence from the summit. Former Deputy NSA Saran further stressed that apart from the countries' leaders who are not coming for G20, India should also note the presence of other countries like Mauritius, Bangladesh and a few other nations. "I don't think we should read too much into the attendance, because on the one hand, you have some people not coming, but on the other hand, you have a lot of other invitees who are coming, the guests of the Indian presidency, such as Mauritius, Bangladesh and a few other countries. So it's a balance," he added. Moreover, he said that since the beginning, the Indian presidency has also said 'One World, One Earth, One Future', or 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', highlighting that India wants to reduce global tensions. "We want to bring everyone together because the world today is badly fractured. It is a tense world. The current international order is under strain, very severe strain. The global economic outlook is not good. So there are so many challenges. If this presidency and this summit can help to contribute to improving the overall atmosphere then we have done our job," he said. Earlier noting that Chinese President Xi Jinpings absence will not cast a shadow on the G20 Summit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said there have been presidents or Prime Ministers who for some reason have chosen not to come for global meetings and that country's position is reflected by the representative present on the occasion. I do not think it has anything to do with India. I. I think whatever decision they make, they would know best, Jaishankar said. In August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit during which he highlighted India's concerns over the unresolved issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), in Ladakh. The two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials "to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation". (ANI)
Russian President Vladimir Putin's absence from the G20 Summit, to be held under India's Presidency, on September 9-10, is basically a consequence of Moscow's current tensions with the G7, Former Deputy National Advisor and Ambassador Pankaj Saran said on Thursday. Speaking to ANI, Saran said he believes President Putin's absence at the G20 Summit has nothing to do with his relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or India. The G20 Summit under India's Presidency is scheduled to take place at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on September 9-10. In response to a question regarding the impact of the absence of four Heads of State in the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Pankaj Saran said, "You see, ideally you would like everyone to attend, but sometimes circumstances do not permit every leader to attend. And sometimes you may not get 100 per cent attendance, which is all right." Notably, the G7 had suspended Russias membership of the group due to Moscows annexation of Crimea in 2014. In the wake of this, the planned G8 summit that was to be held in June 2014 in the Russian city of Sochi was also cancelled. The Russian Foreign Minister on August 31 had informed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend the G20 Summit in India next week after President Vladimir Putin announced his plan to skip the leaders' Summit. Saran further said, "I know, for example, there is some concern here about the absence of Russia and China. But, on the case of Russia, I just want to clarify that I feel my personal opinion is that the Russian decision of the President not to come has nothing to do with their relationship with our Prime Minister or with India. It is basically a consequence of their current tensions with the G7. And that is why he is not coming." Earlier in August, PM Narendra Modi held a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which the two leaders reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation and exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual concern. During the telephonic conversation, Putin conveyed his inability to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi and informed that Russia would be represented by the countrys Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, a Prime Minister's Office release said. Expressing an understanding of Russias decision, PM Modi thanked Putin for Russias consistent support to all initiatives under Indias G20 Presidency, it said. According to the statement, released by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov is expected to attend two plenary sessions: on September 9, there will be the One Planet session on sustainable development and promoting steady economic growth, and on September 10, the Foreign Minister will speak at the One Future session highlighting key matters of promoting democracy and strengthening the role of the countries belonging to the global majority within global economic governance institutions, as well as achieving digital transformation. External Affairs Minister Jaishankar had stated that the absence of President Vladimir Putin and President Xi Jinping will not cast a shadow on the G20 Summit. He added that there have been presidents or Prime Ministers who for some reason have chosen not to come for global meetings and that country's position is reflected by the representative present on the occasion. Not really. I think at different points of time in G20 there have been some presidents or prime ministers who for whatever reason, have chosen not to come themselves but that country, and that country's position is obviously reflected by whoever is the representative on that occasion. So, you had some occasions where you had a president or two, sometimes three, who have not themselves come. My sense from talking to the ministers, certainly, and I know the Sherpas are in touch with each other, they are right now trying to hammer out the final document. I think everybody is coming with a great deal of seriousness, Jaishankar told ANI. Speaking about Chinese President Xi Jinping's absence from the G20 Summit, Pankaj Saran said that his absence is going to be his loss. He further expressed hope that China will attend the Summit as "an equal, constructive and a positive participant of G20." Pankaj Saran said "In so far as the Chinese case is concerned, the President should have come. I think his absence is going to be his loss, but he is sending his prime minister. So we will see. We hope that China will participate as an equal, constructive and a positive participant of G20 because China's role in the global economy is important." He further said, "So, I don't think we should read too much into the attendance, because on the one hand, you have some people not coming, but on the other hand, you have a lot of other invitees who are coming, the guests of the Indian presidency, such as Mauritius, Bangladesh and a few other countries. So it's a balance. And most important is whether we can actually address the problems that we face today in the global economy and whether India can provide the solutions to these problems. That, I think, is the main thing." Saran said that India's G20 Presidency from day one has been Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam which he noted wants to soothe and reduce global tensions. He said that India wants to bring together everyone as the world at the current time is badly fractured and called it a "tense world." "The Indian presidency from day one, we have said is one world, one earth, one future, or Vasudeva Kudnamakam, which is we want to soothe and reduce global tensions. We want to bring everyone together because the world today is badly fractured. It is a tense world. The current international order is under strain, very severe strain. The global economic outlook is not good. So there are so many challenges. If this presidency and this summit can help to contribute to improving the overall atmosphere then we have done our job," Pankaj Saran said. On September 4, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maon Ning announced that Premier Li Qiang will lead a delegation to the G20 Summit in India. She said that Li Qiang during the Summit will share China's views and propositions on G20 cooperation and promote greater solidarity and cooperation among G20 nations. While addressing a press conference on September 4, Mao Ning said, "As has been announced just now, Premier Li Qiang will lead a delegation to the New Delhi G20 Summit in India. The G20 is an important forum for international economic cooperation. China has all along attached great importance to and taken an active part in G20 events." She further said, "During this years G20 Summit, Premier Li Qiang will share Chinas views and propositions on G20 cooperation, and promote greater solidarity and cooperation among G20 countries and joint response to global economic and development challenges. We are ready to work with all parties to make the G20 Summit a success and contribute to the steady recovery of the global economy and sustainable development." India is hosting the G20 Summit in New Delhi from September 9-10. India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country. Hotels have been booked across Delhi to accommodate world leaders. Preparations and security checks are underway in the national capital for the upcoming G20 summit. World leaders, including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, among others, will be in India to attend the G20 summit. The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies. A G20 Leaders Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the Summit in New Delhi, stating Leaders commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings. The next G20 presidency is going to be taken over by Brazil in 2024, followed by South Africa in 2025. (ANI)
United States Joe Biden tested negative for COVID-19 for the fourth time on Thursday evening, a White House official said. This result came shortly before Biden's departure from Andrews air base on Airforce 1 for India to attend the G20 Summit, scheduled to take place in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. Beginning Friday, Biden has a packed schedule for three days. After he departs from the US, he will arrive in Ramstein, Germany on Friday for a brief stop-over and will arrive in New Delhi the same day. The US President is scheduled to participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, according to a White House press release. On Saturday, Biden will participate in an official arrival and handshake with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The US President will then participate in the G20 Leaders Summit Session 1: One Earth. Later in the day, he is slated to take part in the G20 Leaders Summit Session 2: One Family of the G20. Biden will also participate in a Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment event. His day will wrap with a dinner and cultural program with G20 Leaders. On Sunday, the US President will visit the Raj Ghat Memorial along with other G20 Leaders. Biden is then scheduled to travel from New Delhi to Hanoi, Vietnam. There, he will participate in a welcome ceremony hosted by General Secretary Nguyn Ph Trng of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Biden will participate in a meeting with General Secretary Nguyn Ph Trng of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The US President and General Secretary Nguyn Ph Trng of the Communist Party of Vietnam will deliver remarks, following which Biden will hold a press conference, the White House said. As per the White House official, Joe Biden and PM Modi are expected to hold a discussion on the agenda of G20, particularly the economic cooperation and multilateral investment opportunities, that stand before it and can be on the American leader's strong desire to see multilateral development bank reform and reshaping, a White House official said. John Kirby, National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for strategic communications, also pointed out that there is very little possibility that PM Modi and President Biden will discuss on climate and the ongoing Ukraine war. A cloud of doubt came over the B9iden's visit to India after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for Covid-19 but since that day the President has gone through tests every day and the result was negative. These results cleared the doubts over his visit to India. (ANI)
European Council President Charles Michel arrived on Thursday to participate in the G20 Summit, scheduled to take place in New Delhi on September 9-10. President Michel was received by Prahalad Singh Patel, Minister of Jal Shakti and Minister of Food Processing Industries at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here. Earlier in the day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also arrived in Delhi to participate in the G20 Summit. She was received by the Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Anupriya Singh Patel. India and the EU have a common interest in ensuring security, prosperity and sustainable development in a multi-polar world. Both India and the EU agreed to further build on these convergences and foster new synergies for jointly contributing to a safer, greener, cleaner, more digital, resilient and stable world, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. The EU is Indias 2nd-largest trading partner (after the US) and Indias 2nd-largest export market. India is the EU's 10th largest trading partner, accounting for 2 per cent of EU total trade in goods. Trade in services between the EU and India reached 40 billion euros in 2021. India has geared up to host the G20 Leaders Summit in New Delhi at the newly inaugurated Bharat Mandapam on September 9 and 10. Extensive preparations and arrangements have been made for the summit, with the intention of showcasing both Indias soft power as well as modern face. The 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies. India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country. Earlier, in an interview with ANI, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the G20 is not an international peace and security forum. The G20 is about global growth and development, so we will be taking a global view. Jaishankar further said that the world is changing and the G20 itself is actually the best statement of it, which is today viewed as the premier global forum. (ANI)
US First Lady Jill Biden tested negative for COVID-19 - three days after being tested positive for the infection, the First Ladys office said on Thursday. She was tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday. "This evening, the First Lady tested positive for COVID-19. She is currently experiencing only mild symptoms. She will remain at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware," her communications director Elizabeth Alexander said in a statement on September 4. Earlier, US President Joe Biden tested negative for COVID-19 for the fourth time on Thursday evening, a White House official said. This result came shortly before Biden's departure from Andrews air base on Airforce 1 for India to attend the G20 Summit, scheduled to take place in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. Beginning Friday, Biden has a packed schedule for three days. After he departs from the US, he will arrive in Ramstein, Germany on Friday for a brief stop-over and will arrive in New Delhi the same day. The US President is scheduled to participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, according to a White House press release. On Saturday, Biden will participate in an official arrival and handshake with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The US President will then participate in the G20 Leaders Summit Session 1: One Earth. Later in the day, he is slated to take part in the G20 Leaders Summit Session 2: One Family of the G20. Biden will also participate in a Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment event. His day will wrap with a dinner and cultural program with G20 Leaders. On Sunday, the US President will visit the Raj Ghat Memorial along with other G20 Leaders. The US President is scheduled to travel from New Delhi to Hanoi, Vietnam on September 10. (ANI)
United States President Joe Biden on Thursday (local time) departed for India to attend the G20 Summit. Biden departed from Andrews air base on Air Force 1 for India to participate in the 18th G20 Summit, scheduled to take place on September 9 and 10 at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. Beginning Friday, Biden has a packed schedule for the three days. After departing from the US, he will arrive in Ramstein, Germany, on Friday for a brief stop-over and will arrive in New Delhi the same day. The US President is scheduled to participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same day, according to a White House press release. On Saturday, Biden will participate in an official arrival and handshake with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The US President will then participate in the G20 Leaders Summit Session 1: One Earth. Later in the day, he is slated to take part in the G20 Leaders Summit Session 2: One Family of the G20. Biden will also participate in a Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment event. His day will wrap with a dinner and cultural program with G20 Leaders. On Sunday, the US President will visit the Raj Ghat Memorial along with other G20 Leaders. Biden will then travel from New Delhi to Hanoi, Vietnam. There, he will participate in a welcome ceremony hosted by General Secretary Nguyn Ph Trng of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Biden will participate in a meeting with General Secretary Nguyn Ph Trng of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The US President and General Secretary Nguyn Ph Trng of the Communist Party of Vietnam will deliver remarks, following which Biden will hold a press conference, the White House said. India and the US have a strong relationship but after PM Modi's visit to Washington, the ties between the two countries became more stronger. Recently, PM Modi reached the US for his first state visit where he gave a historical speech at the joint Congress and became the first Indian PM to address the Congress twice. Besides the speech and the state dinner, PM Modi also signed several deals to strengthen the defence, IT and aerospace ties and made the relationship between the two countries stronger. Since India chaired the G20, the US has shown its commitment towards making the presidency successful. Earlier on Wednesday, the White House official said that the US is committed to ensuring that India has a successful G20 this year. Responding to a query about US President Joe Biden's view over the achievement of G20 under India's presidency, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, "Look, we commend Prime Minister Modi, in his leadership of the G20 this year, and we are committed to helping ensure that India has a successful G20 host, as they host this year. And so that's going to continue to be our commitment during Minister Modi's visit here in June," Pierre said. "As you've covered very closely, the president and Prime Minister shared their determination to deliver on shared priorities at the summit. And so the President is very much looking forward to continuing that work with the Prime Minister and other leaders later this week as we head out tomorrow," she added. (ANI)
MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN)  When it comes to speeding, no area is immune to the problem. In Mt. Juliet, police told News 2 that neighborhood speeding is the number one crime they see.

Dannica Hill said shes petitioning for speed humps along her street because she pointed out that the 15-miles-per-hour sign is often ignored.

I think every house on our street has children, I think every house on our street has animals, Hill said.

RELATED: Murfreesboro police use website to help address traffic concerns

She also said drivers use her street as a pass thru considering it runs parallel with Mt. Juliet Rd.

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My biggest fear is that Im going to come out one day and find one of my animals which I find almost as equally as important as my child injured. It would be devastating if one child was injured or worse, Hill said.

Our number one complaint is speeding in neighborhoods beyond any type of criminal complaint, said Mt. Juliet Police Capt. Tyler Chandler.

To help curb those complaints, the Mt. Juliet Police Department looks through these online requests made by residents.

Our police officers made around 620 traffic stops, but out of those traffic stops only 193 citations. So thats what a 37% rate, Chandler said.

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Chandler said citations do not change dangerous driving behaviors, so Mt. Juliet PD created a neighborhood traffic unit three years ago.

Its a group of three police officers, Chandler said. They drive unmarked covert vehicles and when we identify neighborhood streets through our speed study device that show extreme speeds that need our attention desperately, these officers go out to those streets and do traffic enforcement.

Chandler said there are four neighborhoods that are on the enhanced enforcement list. Clear View Drive is on that list.

This is a black box that has a radar device in it, and it counts cars, and it lets us know the speed of that vehicle, so we get a report right here to show us how many vehicles drove at a certain speed, Chandler said.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

He said the data is crucial to help determine which neighborhoods need the extra police presence.

Hill said drivers need to form good habits. The community is growing, people are coming in. We dont want people to set bad habits if we can stop that as we are growing as a town, as a city.

See how communities are cracking down on drivers who treat neighborhoods across Middle Tennessee like race tracks in News 2s Neighborhood Speeders special report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Children and adolescents in the U.S. today reap the benefits of decades of medical and psychological research. We are able to diagnose and effectively treat mental health conditions to a degree that wasnt possible only a generation ago, with a wider arsenal of pharmacological options and increasingly targeted and sophisticated non-invasive therapies.

The quality of kids mental health should be trending up  but the opposite is happening. Kids today are struggling more than ever.

The pandemic dealt a significant blow to everyones emotional health, and reduced our support networks to Zoom squares on a screen. But the writing was on the wall before March 2020: Kids emotional well-being was already on the decline.

In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Data Summary & Trends Report, summarizing a decades worth of data. It found that the number of high schoolers reporting such persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year that they couldnt participate in their regular activities rose 40% between 2009 and 2019, and the number who had considered suicide rose 36%.

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In 2021, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory regarding youth mental health. The pandemic, he wrote, exacerbated the unprecedented stresses young people already faced.

The most recent Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey data, from 2021, show that suffering only increasing. The percentage of high schoolers who considered suicide rose again, from 18.8% in 2019 to 22.2%, and the percentage who attempted suicide rose from 8.9% to 10.2% in that two-year period.

Whats behind these startling numbers? For one thing, there is the ubiquity of social media, permeating every aspect of kids lives. Data indicates a correlation between social media use and mental health concerns, especially for teen girls.

There is also our unrelenting grind culture, pressuring kids at earlier ages to achieve and succeed at every undertaking so they can, in theory, eventually climb the ladder to wealth and a life free from worry.

It sounds counterintuitive, but when HuffPost asked child psychologists about the biggest threats to kids happiness today, they all mentioned parents relentless pursuit of their kids happiness  and how it can be counterproductive to their childrens well-being in the long term.

First, in presuming that kids are supposed to be happy all the time, we sometimes deprive them of opportunities to learn to cope with the full spectrum of human emotions in healthy ways. Second, in focusing so hard on our kids achievements and praising their success, we run the risk of them not knowing that we love and value them unconditionally.

Here are some ways you can avoid these pitfalls, and help lay the foundation for your kids emotional health and their capacity to experience deeper and more meaningful happiness.

Normalize feeling a whole range of emotions, not just happiness.

Its easy to take an idealized view of childhood as a carefree chapter of life, but we do our kids a disservice when we assume their days are worry-free.

Many [adults] may think that kids are just happy and have nothing to worry about, Ariana Hoet, pediatric psychologist at Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Ohio and executive clinical director of On Our Sleeves, told HuffPost. Unfortunately, that is not true  children feel strong emotions and difficult stressors just like adults do.

Instead of making kids feel like they should be happy all the time, we should focus on helping them recognize and cope with all the different feelings they may experience.

As adults, we must check in, normalize emotions, and find ways to build positive mental health habits in children just like we do for their physical health, Hoet said.

Jennifer Cruz, a child psychologist at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, explained to HuffPost: Shielding children from stress and tough emotions may keep them from developing resilience and make future challenges tougher.

Expect that your child will absolutely have a range of emotions in a happy life, Cruz said.

We can also teach children that even negative emotions have value. Fear can help protect us, anger helps us know we are being hurt, sadness can connect us to what is important, Cruz said.

She recommended that parents emphasize preparing [kids] to handle challenges and know[ing] when to ask for help, rather than shielding children from risk or tough emotions.

Its hard to watch your child hurting, and the instinct to make their pain go away is strong. But its important that we learn to sit with them and their tough emotions.

I think parents often interfere with their childrens happiness because they cannot let their children fail and/or tolerate disappointment, psychotherapist Jen Hartstein told HuffPost.

Children learn so much through failure and gain a sense of accomplishment and efficacy when they are able to pick themselves up and succeed, Hartstein said. That sense of accomplishment cannot be minimized.

Have daily conversations with your children.

One way to stay abreast of your childs emotional experience is through daily conversations. These might happen at the dinner table, at bedtime or while youre in the car. Checking in with your child allows you to help them recognize their feelings and find ways to cope with them.

Hoet explained that a healthy parent-child relationship is an important protective factor that acts as a buffer to lifes stress. Daily conversations or check-ins allow parents to create a healthy connection and relationship with their children, while also giving them insight into how a child is thinking and feeling about their day-to-day experiences, she said.

Rather than thinking about how to make kids feel happy, Hartstein said, I like to think of it as what habits can we build in children to help promote their mental health. These habits can build happiness, but they can also serve as buffers when difficult life circumstances happen.

Practice gratitude.

Another path to happiness is to help kids tune in to all the good in their lives.

By focusing on appreciation, Cruz said, parents can also help their children develop a mindset that encourages happiness.

A good way to do this is through modeling. When you have those daily check-ins with your child, take a moment to mention the things that you yourself are grateful for.

We can get stuck wanting our situation to be different, and our children see that, Cruz said. When we as parents practice our own gratitude, that can go a long way to help children develop an appreciation for what they have and who they are.

Show children that your love for them is unconditional, and their value isnt contingent on measures of success.

Jennifer Wallace is a journalist and author of the forthcoming book Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic  And What We Can Do About It. From a survey she conducted on the topic, and an extensive series of interviews with kids, families, teachers and psychologists, Wallace concluded that too many kids today perceive their value and worth to be contingent on their achievements  their GPAs, the number of likes they get on a post  not for who they are as people, deep at their core, she told HuffPost.

While no parent intends for their child to feel unloved, it can be an unintended consequence of focusing on their success.

Wallace recommended that parents use these four questions, from psychologist Tina Payne Brison, to help determine what kinds of messages they are sending to their kids:

How do you spend your money as it relates to your kids? What does your childs calendar look like? What do you ask your children about? What do you argue with your children about?

Many parents think theyre not overemphasizing achievement, but when they look at these four things, they can see how their behavior is telling their kids a different story, Wallace said.

You may love your teen unconditionally  but if their calendar is packed with expensive tutoring sessions and youre constantly nagging about homework, the message youre sending is that you value academic achievement more.

Keep comparisons to a minimum.

Another way we signal to our kids that we value their achievements over their innate worth is by comparing them to others, whether siblings or peers at school.

Comparisons are ubiquitous, and effectively amplified by social media. Not only do kids know their friends GPAs, theyve also seen the entire contents of their bedroom closets.

Comparisons about what we have, what we dont, how we are vs. how others are... it seems we cant get away from them, and our children are picking up on that too, Hartstein said.

It takes a conscious effort to move away from comparisons and toward a gratitude practice like the one mentioned above. But such a move can shift mindsets, and lead to more happiness in your home.

Rethink the way that you praise your children.

There is not one parent Ive ever met in my research or in my personal life that didnt fully, unconditionally love their child, Wallace said. But its how our words and our actions land on our children that can give kids the sense that their parents love is dependent on their achievements.

When we praise our kids achievements and their success, it can sometimes have the opposite of its intended effect.

One of the young students I interviewed said that praise made him feel like he had to continually perform in order to get [his parents] acceptance, Wallace said.

Instead of focusing on kids achievements, we can make comments that let them know we see their intrinsic worth. In her own home, Wallace said, she wants her kids to know they are valued for who they are at their core. So I try, at every turn that I can to, to emphasize what I see as their natural strengths... their empathy, their humor, their kindness, the fact that theyre great problem solvers.

On birthdays, for example, the family has a tradition of going around the table and each saying something positive (and non-achievement oriented) about the person whose birthday it is. She also highlights the positive things that teachers say about her kids in report card comments, such as them being helpful to others. This puts the emphasis on her kids personal strengths, not the grade they earned.

Show kids how much they matter  and give them chores.

Wallace determined that its a sense of mattering that helps well-adjusted kids stay psychologically healthy and experience happiness. The idea of mattering comes from sociologist Morris Rosenberg, who also popularized the concept of self-esteem.

Quite simply, Rosenberg found that kids who enjoyed a healthy level of self-esteem felt like they mattered to their parents, they felt they were important and significant. Subsequent studies of mattering identified it as a fundamental human need and a basic driver of our behavior.

Wallace defines mattering as the idea of feeling valued by family, friends and community, and being depended on to add meaningful value back to families, friends and communities.

In her interviews with kids, Wallace found that those who were doing well shared this sense of mattering, and that it acted like a protective shield against stress and setbacks.

One way to help kids feel that they matter in your family is to give them chores. If family dinner is an important ritual, then the person who sets the table has an important role. Others are counting on them. Volunteer work can have the same effect.

Creating a sense of mattering goes beyond loving our kids unconditionally, Wallace said. Its showing them in words and actions how valued they are.

If you or someone you know needs help, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for mental health support. Additionally, you can find local mental health and crisis resources at dontcallthepolice.com. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention.

Related...
The first Victoria's Secret fashion show since 2018 will begin streaming on September 26.

Models and celebrities attended a red carpet on Wednesday night to celebrate.

See-through dresses were especially popular at the event, as were lingerie-inspired looks.

Celebrities and models hit the red carpet on Wednesday to celebrate the return of the Victoria's Secret fashion show  or at least, a version of it.

"The Tour '23," a new take on the famous runway show, will stream on Prime Video beginning September 26. The show is said to be part fashion show and part documentary, and will feature stars like Adriana Lima, Gigi Hadid, and more, according to a clip posted on the brand's official Instagram account.

Both those celebrities and dozens of others attended the premiere in New York City last night, with each wearing daring ensembles for the occasion.

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Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon was one of the first to arrive on the Victoria's Secret red carpet on Wednesday night in a daring outfit.

Lourdes Leon attends the Victoria's Secret red carpet on September 6, 2023. Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Her black, netted minidress  designed by Natalia Fedner  resembled a spider web. It was entirely sheer, and worn only with pasties and underwear beneath it.

Leon completed the look with platform sandals and a few pieces of silver jewelry.

Gigi Hadid was also there. She wore a vibrant yellow gown that hugged her body.

Gigi Hadid attends the Victoria's Secret red carpet on September 6, 2023. Gotham/Getty Images

The ruched Ferragamo gown had asymmetrical sleeves and an ankle-length skirt, the latter of which showcased her black patent-leather pumps.

For accessories, Hadid wore only gold earrings.

Naomi Campbell rocked a golden, nude-illusion minidress.

Naomi Campbell attends the Victoria's Secret red carpet on September 6, 2023. Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Her halter, chainmail-style dress is the work of Bubu Ogisi for his brand IAMISIGO.

The designer said in an Instagram post that the garment was handmade in Nigeria and Kenya with bronze and brass pieces, and inspired by "the spirit of Yemoja," a patron saint of rivers.

While it looks like the metallic pieces covered her body, there's actually a piece of brown fabric underneath.

Emily Ratajkowski chose a leather getup that was simultaneously cool and bold.

Emily Ratajkowski attends the Victoria's Secret red carpet on September 6, 2023. Gotham/Getty Images

Her all-black outfit included high-waisted pants, a bralette worn as a top, and platform boots.

She wore the look with no accessories, neutral makeup, and a natural-looking hairstyle.

Lila Moss, the daughter of Kate Moss, donned sheer lingerie and wispy wings.

Lila Moss attends the Victoria's Secret red carpet on September 6, 2023. Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Her sheer minidress was embellished with beads and sequins in metallic shades, which matched the golden wings she wore on her back.

Moss wore both pieces over simple black lingerie, and completed the outfit with sandal heels.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas opted for a see-through slip over black lingerie.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas attends the Victoria's Secret red carpet on September 6, 2023. Gotham/Getty Images

Designed by Giambattista Valli, her sequin-covered slip had long sleeves and a deep slit in the middle of its bodice.

She wore the floor-length piece with a bikini-style bra, high-waisted underwear, platform sandals, and silver rings.

Winnie Harlow showed some skin in a metallic dress that was more like an art piece.

Winnie Harlow attends the Victoria's Secret red carpet on September 6, 2023. Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

The golden garment looked like netting wrapped around her body, with quarter-length sleeves, a bralette bodice, and a high-waisted skirt.

She wore the dress with flat sandals, no jewelry, and sparkling eye makeup.

Doja Cat stepped on the red carpet in a classic black dress with a daring neckline and back.

Doja Cat attends the Victoria's Secret red carpet on September 6, 2023. Gotham/Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

Her sleeveless gown had a deep-V neckline, a floor-length skirt with a short train, and a plunging back that revealed her Victoria's Secret-brand thong.

In a series of Instagram stories posted after the event, Doja Cat revealed that she apparently hated the outfit. She said it had "unadjustable straps," was uncomfortable, and that she'd be "feeding it to the moths."

Julia Fox complimented her semi-sheer, form-fitting dress with black wings.

Julia Fox attends the Victoria's Secret red carpet on September 6, 2023. Taylor Hill/Getty Images

The skirt of her sleeveless, iridescent gown reached the floor, while its bodice had a deep sweetheart neckline.

Fox also wore a unique hairstyle: a long, black mullet with short, wispy bangs.

Lori Harvey, the daughter of Steve Harvey, arrived wearing a leather trench coat and miniskirt with a Victoria's Secret bra.

Lori Harvey attends the Victoria's Secret red carpet on September 6, 2023. Gotham/Getty Images

Her outerwear and skirt were designed by Tod's, while her two belts from Streets Ahead USA were inspired by Michael Jackson, according to stylist Elly Karamoh.

Harvey also wore black heels with straps that wrapped around her ankles.

Read the original article on Insider
David, a boy from Donetsk Oblast who was first in the occupied territory and then taken to Moscow, has been brought back to Ukraine.

Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, reported about the boy's arrival in Ukraine.

Daria Kasianova, the head of the Ukrainian Child Rights Network, told the story of the child to Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia.

Davyd's large family moved from Donetsk Oblast to Lviv Oblast five years ago. The children's father serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Before the full-scale invasion, Davyd, who was 11 years old at the time, went to the Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk Oblast to visit his great-grandmother. After 22 February 2022, the child ended up under occupation.

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"He lived with his great-grandmother in the village of Staromlynivka, Donetsk Oblast. His mother, Liliia, and her three younger children lived in Lviv Oblast at the time. So the boy ended up in the temporarily occupied territory, and the family was divided by the contact line," writes Iryna Vereshchuk.

Then Davyd was taken to Donetsk, where his uncle was living, and he later took the boy to Moscow. The mother could not go and bring her son back because her husband was a military serviceman.

Davyd's uncle did not want to give him back, threatening to place the child in a shelter.

"Davyd really wanted to go to his mother and to Ukraine. The child is a patriot. His mother contacted the hotline of the Ministry of Reintegration, and we developed a plan to bring Davyd home," says Daria Kasianova.

Through joint efforts, the child was brought back to Ukraine.

"Now they are doing well. However, both the boy and the mother need psychological support," says Daria Kasianova.

Previously: As Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, reports, the Russians adopted 386 Ukrainian children who were deported to the aggressor country.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
A 14-year-old boy was injured Wednesday afternoon after being shot in Wilmington, police said.

Officers were called to the intersection of West 23rd and North Jefferson streets just after 5 p.m. for reports of the shooting. A neighbor told Delaware Online/The News Journal he heard about 10 shots.

A Wilmington Police Department news release said officers found the victim injured, though it's not clear exactly where. Radio scanner traffic indicated he may have been located elsewhere.

The boy was taken to the hospital, where he was listed as "stable," police said.

A 14-year-old boy was injured Wednesday afternoon after being shot in Wilmington.

Officers could be seen focusing their investigation near a brick home on West 23rd Street, near several shrubs located in front of a home. The neighbor who lives nearby where the shooting occurred said he was asleep when the shooting occurred.

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His alarm, he said, was set to go off 15 minutes later, but the gunshots woke him up instead.

Police wrapped up their investigation a little after 5:45 p.m., pulling crime scene tape from telephone polls. At least two patrol vehicles remained in the area.

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_

READ: An inmate escaped Chester County prison in May. A convicted killer used the same method

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Wilmington shooting leaves 14-year-old injured Wednesday
Several experts, lawmakers and activists are putting forward a legal argument that former President Trump could be disqualified from the 2024 ballot under the 14th Amendment for his alleged actions in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

At the center of the argument is Section 3 of the 14th Amendment  a Reconstruction-era clause aimed to prevent those who held roles in the Confederacy from becoming a member of Congress or of other elected offices.

Heres what you should know about the amendment:

What does Section 3 of the 14th Amendment mean?

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, following the Civil War, to outline the criteria for disqualifying someone from office.

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It states:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

How might it be used against Trump?

Some legal scholars have suggested Section 3 could be applied to the former president using the same arguments as in the Reconstruction Era.

Proponents of the argument suggest Trump may be disqualified from serving as president because of actions he allegedly took to remain in power after leaving the White House. They say those alleged actions fall under either engaging in insurrection against the Constitution or assisting others, resulting in him being disqualified from the ballot.

Has this argument been used before?

The legal argument for barring someone from office under this amendment has rarely been used since the period immediately following the Civil War. It has not been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.

Some of those in favor of using the amendment against Trump have pointed to a New Mexico official who was ordered to be removed from office last year over his participation in the Jan. 6 attacks. New Mexico District Court Judge Francis J. Mathew said Cowboys for Trump founder Couy Griffins decision to join the mob on Jan. 6 and trespass on restricted grounds constituted insurrection and disqualified him from holding federal or state office.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group, said it was the first time since 1869 that a court disqualified an elected official over the insurrection rule.

The argument has also been made by a liberal group, Free Speech for People, to attempt to disqualify former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from running for office last year. Cawthorns case became moot after he lost his primary.

A judge ruled Greene was eligible to run for reelection last year, saying that the group that filed the lawsuit citing the amendment did not produce sufficient evidence that Greenes actions before, during and after the attacks on the Capitol helped an insurrection that violated the Constitution.

Who is floating the 14th Amendment idea?

A growing number of Democrats, activists and even GOP presidential candidates have begun to back the idea. It gained attention after former federal Judge J. Michael Luttig and constitutional lawyer Laurence Tribe wrote an article for The Atlantic last month arguing the 14th Amendment could be used against the former president.

Two civil rights organizations have launched a campaign to push state governments to disqualify the former president from the ballot on 14th Amendment grounds.

Has any legal action been taken?

CREW filed a lawsuit Wednesday aiming to block Trump from the 2024 ballot in Colorado. The group alleged that Trump violated the oath of office by recruiting, inciting and encouraging a violent mob that attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in a futile attempt to remain in office.

A Florida lawyer also filed a challenge to Trumps ability to run for the White House last month on 14th Amendment grounds.

What are people saying about it?

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) both said Sunday the 14th Amendment may disqualify Trump from the election. GOP presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson has also said the former presidents alleged actions Jan. 6 likely violated the amendment.

Others are pushing back on this idea, saying state officials do not have the power to keep Trump off the ballot over the 14th Amendment. Arizonas Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) said he did not have the power to bar Trump from the ballot last month.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) also argued against invoking the amendment, saying that the issue should be left to the voters.

The Wall Street Journals editorial board criticized the push to keep the former president off the ballot, noting Trump has not been charged with inciting or engaging in an insurrection. The board, along with other critics of the 14th Amendment argument, also said Trumps alleged actions after the 2020 election do not meet the constitutional definition of insurrection.

Trump also dismissed the argument in a Truth Social post Monday, saying it has no legal basis or standing in connection to the 2024 election.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Massachusetts farmers who were adversely affected by extreme weather events this year can now tap into $15 million in natural disaster funds, the governor said Wednesday.

The funding from the Natural Disaster Recovery Program for Agriculture will provide financial relief to farmers impacted by the February freeze, May frost, and July floods so they can recover and rebuild their growing operations, Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement.

The climate crisis is here and farmers are bearing the brunt of extreme weather. With the heavy losses that our farmers have recently suffered, it is critical for us to support their recovery efforts, Healey said. These funds will help ensure our farms have the resources to salvage a difficult year and come back stronger than before. Were grateful to the Legislature for making these funds available to support our hardworking farmers.

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In early February, an arctic freeze plunged temperatures to subzero digits causing total damage to the stone fruit crop in Massachusetts, wiping out this years peaches and plums, Healey said. In May, a series of frost events when the temperature dipped below freezing on multiple nights caused severe damage to many fruit crops including apples, pears, and grapes. In July, unprecedented rainfall caused catastrophic flooding in Western and Central Massachusetts impacting more than 2,700 acres of crops at more than 110 farms across the region.

Our farms are key economic drivers in their local communities, contributing so much more than just the food and produce they grow, Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll said in a statement. A strong agricultural sector ensures job security, environmental resilience, and a robust local food system. Its essential that our affected farmers receive the aid they need in order to ensure their future production capacity wont be diminished by the recent natural disasters.

To be eligible to apply for these funds, a farm must be a commercial operation selling products to wholesale or direct to consumer markets and have suffered at least a 15 percent acreage crop loss from one or more of the three natural disasters in 2023.

As evidenced by this years extreme weather events, climate change has caused overwhelming damage to our agricultural production in Massachusetts, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said in a statement. This crisis underscores the importance of investments in resiliency and climate-smart agricultural practices, but we must also provide immediate relief to those who have been severely impacted by the effects of these recent natural disasters. This investment in our farmers provides a much-needed lifeline to allow them to survive through this challenging growing season.

State legislators said the funds will help farmers whose livelihoods were devastated by severe weather.

This funding will not only help farmers recover from devastating weather events, it will also protect the services that they provide for Massachusetts families, along with the vital role that they play in the Commonwealths economy, House Speaker Ronald Mariano said in a statement. I encourage those affected to apply for the available funds, and I would like to thank the Healey-Driscoll Administration, and my colleagues in the House and the Senate, for approving this critical support.

This critical funding stream will provide direct payments to farmers to cover losses, helping them to recover and remain a strong part of the local economy and our food system, State Representative Natalie Blais said in a statement.

Applications are available now and must be submitted through this online form and received by 4:00PM on Friday, September 29, 2023.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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The deaths of 16 people have been confirmed after an attack on the city of Kostiantynivka on 6 September. The police have ruled out the possibility that the Russians used artillery systems.

Source: Oleksandra Havrylko, head of the communications department of the Donetsk Oblast police, during the national joint 24/7 newscast

Quote: "The official data says that, as of now, there are 16 dead and 33 wounded. Initially, there was information about 17 people killed. When we conducted a thorough visual examination of the remains, we found 16 bodies. Almost all of them have now been identified, relatives have been found, and DNA samples have been taken from the victims and their relatives.

As of the evening, four bodies had not been identified. As of the morning, there is one person (the body of a man) whose relatives have not come forward."

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Details: Havrylko called on those who knew people who might have been under fire to contact the police.

She also added that the police have ruled out the use of artillery, which was reported earlier.

Quote: "At the moment, the examination is still underway. I can say that there are several lines of enquiry regarding the actual type of weapon. We are ruling out artillery for now, although initially we provided information about artillery fire. There are several options. The exact information will be available later."

Background:

The Russian military hit the town of Kostyantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, on Wednesday afternoon.

Initially, the media reported 16 killed. This information was later confirmed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Minister of Internal Affarirs Ihor Klymenko.

Anonymous Telegram channels claimed that there was a missile attack. Zelenskyy confirmed the attack. In a video posted by Klymenko on his social media, witnesses at the scene also reported an artillery attack.

After the rescue operation, Klymenko reported 17 killed and 32 wounded.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
An Indiana County man is behind bars after Pennsylvania state police say he sent a video on Snapchat threatening harm against a school district.

According to state police, Spencer Thomas Baker, 18, was charged with one felony count of terroristic threats after he threatened harm against the Homer-Center School District.

State police said around 8:45 a.m. Thursday morning, several students at the junior/senior high school at 70 Wildcat Lane reported to the principal that they were aware of a threatening Snapchat video that was sent to a student.

The video showed Baker holding a shotgun and indicating that he was arriving at the district, state police said.

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After receiving the information, the districts security officers instituted an enhanced exterior presence. The incident was then reported to state police.

Troopers found Baker in his home and took him into custody.

Baker is being held in the Indiana County Jail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19.

State police and the Homer-Center School District administration thank the students for their prompt report of this incident.

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Man loses life savings in elaborate scam, FBI says many in western Pennsylvania have fallen victim Man who drowned at local hotel saved 4 lives through organ donation Man allegedly caught with enough fentanyl to kill 35% of Pennsylvanians released from jail VIDEO: Driver involved in serious 2021 crash arrested after allegedly skipping court dates DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
This undated photograph released by the Compagnie Malienne de Navigation (COMANAV) shows their boat called Tombouctou at dock on the Niger River in Mali. A Malian government statement said the passenger boat was attacked near the village of Zarho, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) east of Timbuktu Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. Al-Qaida-linked insurgents killed 49 civilians and 15 government soldiers in two separate assault, the boat, and a military camp, the military said. (Comanav via AP)

BAMAKO, Mali (AP)  A military camp in Mali's restive north was attacked Friday, a day after two separate assaults by al-Qaida-linked insurgents killed 49 civilians and 15 government soldiers, the military said.

Response and evaluation in progress, the armed forces said in a brief statement about Friday's attack on a Malian military camp in the Gao region.

Thursday's attacks targeted a passenger boat near the city of Timbuktu on the Niger River and a military position in Bamba further downstream in Gao, the military junta said in a statement read on state television. It said responsibility for the attacks was claimed by JNIM, an umbrella coalition of armed groups aligned with al-Qaida. The group issued a statement Friday saying it also attacked the military camp.

The Niger River serves as an important transportation route in Mali, where roads are inadequate.

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Mali is ranked the sixth least developed nation in the world, according to the United Nations human development index. Nearly half of the West African countrys 22 million people live below the national poverty line. The situation is worse in rural areas where deadly jihadi attacks have threatened subsistence farming  many peoples only real option for making money.

Thursday's attack targeted a triple-decker passenger boat near the village of Zarho, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) east of Timbuktu. The statement said the government killed about 50 assailants while responding to the attacks. It declared three days of national mourning to honor the civilians and soldiers killed in the attacks.

Malian army spokesman Souleymane Dembele attributed the high death toll to the inability of some of the boat's passengers to swim, suggesting some might have drowned.

When the boat was attacked, the soldiers on board exchanged fire with the terrorists. Unfortunately, many civilians who couldnt swim jumped into the water, Dembele told The Associated Press.

Al-Qaida-affiliated and Islamic State-linked groups have almost doubled the territory they control in Mali in less than a year, the United Nations said in a report last month, as they take advantage of a weak government and of armed groups that signed a 2015 peace agreement.

The stalled implementation of the peace deal and sustained attacks on communities have offered the IS group and al-Qaida affiliates a chance to re-enact the 2012 scenario, the report said.

Thats the year when a military coup took place in the country and rebels in the north formed an Islamic state two months later. The extremist rebels were forced from power in the north with the help of a French-led military operation, but they moved from the arid north to more populated central Mali in 2015 and remain active.

In August 2020, Malis president was overthrown in a coup that included an army colonel who carried out a second coup and was sworn in as president in June 2021. He developed ties to Russias military and Russias Wagner mercenary group whose head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was killed in a plane crash in Russia on Aug. 23.

Timbuktu, a fabled desert city and a UNESCO World Heritage site, has been blockaded by armed groups since late August, when the Malian army deployed reinforcements to the region. The insurgents are preventing the desert city from being supplied with basic goods.

Over 30,000 residents have fled the city and a nearby region, according to an August report by the United Nations' humanitarian agency.

The number of those in Mali who are affected by the violent attacks and are in need of humanitarian aid has grown by 17% over the last year to more than 8.8 million people, one million of whom require immediate food and health assistance, according to Whitney Elmer, deputy regional director for West and Central Africa at Mercy Corps, which has been assisting those in need. It is a worsening situation, and it is hard to see things getting better in the immediate future, Elmer said.

The deadly attacks come as the U.N. prepares to withdraw its 17,000-member peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA, from Mali at the government's request. The pullout is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

The U.N. deployed peacekeepers in 2013 and MINUSMA has become the most dangerous U.N. mission in the world, with more than 300 personnel killed.

Growing insecurity in Mali has increased instability in West Africas volatile Sahel region. The military vowed in the two coups since 2020 to stop the jihadi violence.

-

Associated Press journalist Chinedu Asadu in Abuja, Nigeria contributed to this report.
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On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Two of Trump's Georgia co-defendants get a trial date

USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen looks ahead to the trial of two Trump co-defendants in Georgia. Plus, federal prosecutors intend to seek indictment of Hunter Biden by Sept. 29, USA TODAY Domestic Security Correspondent Josh Meyer explains how Russia is leaning on North Korea for help in Ukraine, the Biden administration cancels the remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic Refuge, and experts urge college students to secure passwords and monitor their credit after a massive data breach earlier this year.

Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here

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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Thursday, the 7th of September 2023. Today, a trial date has been set for two of Trump 's co-defendants in Georgia. Plus, we look at the latest on Hunter Biden's legal troubles, and is Russia turning to North Korea for help in Ukraine?



Two of former President Donald Trump's co-defendants in Georgia now have their trial date, but that's after arguing unsuccessfully that they should hold separate trials. I spoke with USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen to learn more. Thanks for hopping on, Bart.

Bart Jansen:

Thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

So Bart, before we get to the judge's decision here, what arguments did Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro make for wanting separate trials?

Bart Jansen:

Kenneth Chesebro, he's been called the architect of the scheme to field alternate electors, or fake presidential electors, who would've supported Trump in Georgia and a half dozen states, despite the fact that President Joe Biden won the state of Georgia. He's got one set of charges against him. He has pleaded not guilty. He has said that he was just a lawyer giving advice. The other defendant, campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, has been accused of tampering with election equipment in Coffee County, Georgia. She and others, what they're each arguing is that their charges are so different from each other that there is no overlap and so they should not be considered during the same trial. In addition, both have asked for speedy trials. They both want to get their trials over with as quickly as possible. And so the judge decided to start them both on October 23rd in the same trial. The dispute about that is that they had each argued that they should have separate trials. They each wanted to be tried alone because they don't have similarities with each other.

Taylor Wilson:

What arguments did the judge put forward for having them be tried together?

Bart Jansen:

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee basically ruled that the typical arguments you'd have for separating defendants from a joint case didn't really apply in this case because they weren't going to have antagonistic arguments against each other and the lack of overlap on the evidence against them actually ruled in the favor of having the trial happen together. The fact that they were siloed, you don't get to separate your case just because you have different evidence. The argument would be whether the other person's evidence might hurt your reputation in some way. But the judge found that the accusation is a broad, wide-ranging conspiracy, and so he thought it would be okay to have both of those defendants tried at the same time.

Taylor Wilson:

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump last week asked to separate his case from co-defendants who won a speedy trial, that includes Powell and Chesebro. What's the strategy from the Trump camp on this?

Bart Jansen:

Well, that's right. Trump has tried to slow down the prosecutions in each of the four criminal indictments he faces. He's proposed to have some of the federal cases delayed until after the 2024 election. For right now, they're each slated to go before the election. But in this Georgia case in particular, Trump has said his lawyer says he needs a lot more time to prepare a defense, that it's a 98-page indictment. It cites 161 acts and 41 charges against 19 co-defendants. He happens to face 13 charges, and his lawyers say that they need way more than the next six weeks to prepare for that trial. So they have asked to be separated from anyone wanting a speedy trial because of that need for extra preparation.

Taylor Wilson:

As you mentioned, this trial date for Powell and Chesebro has been set for October 23rd. Bart, what will their cases tell us about how these proceedings might go for other co-defendants in Georgia and for Trump himself?

Bart Jansen:

The trial - as now scheduled to start October 23rd, according to prosecutors - is going to show us the entire case. If Trump is allowed to postpone the start of his trial, and if this one for Chesebro and Powell goes off on time, prosecutors have said they're going to bring the entire case. They want to show the overarching conspiracy. The defense lawyers say, well, you wouldn't need to do that. You can just focus on the few charges against each of them, the half dozen conspiracy charges against each of them. So in the case of Sidney Powell, her lawyer, Brian Rafferty, said that he thought her trial could be over in three days. Prosecutors do not agree with that. Prosecutors say they want to show this entire conspiracy to show how they were part of this attempt to basically overturn the 2020 election.

It's going to give a preview for anyone who's not part of this October 23rd trial, and the judge hasn't really said yet how many people might get lumped onto October 23rd. He has asked prosecutors to file paperwork by Tuesday arguing why all 19 should be tried at the same time. Prosecutors have argued that. They want to try them all in one case. But whoever goes later is going to get a chance to see a lot of the evidence that will play out against them in a future trial.

Taylor Wilson:

USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Bart Jansen, thanks as always.

Bart Jansen:

Thanks for having me.



Taylor Wilson:

Federal prosecutors said yesterday that they intend to seek another indictment of Hunter Biden by September 29th after a plea deal fell apart on earlier tax and gun charges. The President's son was set to plead guilty in July on two misdemeanor charges for not filing taxes in 2017 and 2018, which he has since paid. He was also set to enter a pretrial program for a gun charge, which would've led to the charge being dropped if he complied with the program's requirements. But a U.S. District Judge refused to accept the plea agreement because of disputes between Biden's lawyers and federal prosecutors about the terms.



As the war in Ukraine drags on into its 18th month, Russia is turning to North Korea for help. That's as the U.S. has unveiled a new aid package for Ukraine. I spoke with USA TODAY Domestic Security Correspondent Josh Meyer for the latest. Hey, Josh.

Josh Meyer:

How are you doing, Taylor?

Taylor Wilson:

Good. Thanks for hopping back on. It's been another violent week in Ukraine after a Russian missile killed at least 17 civilians in the eastern part of the country yesterday. And that attack came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the country on a secret visit where he also unveiled a new aid package. What's in this aid package and how might it help Ukraine ramp up its counter offensive?

Josh Meyer:

This is a big one. We've given a lot of aid to Ukraine over the past 18 months. Blinken used his unannounced visit to pledge more than a billion dollars in additional aid for Ukraine. And this financial package includes funds for equipment to clear mines laid by Russia, which is a big problem for Ukraine's military and the counteroffensive obstacles that have impeded Ukraine's progress, as well as $203 million to root out graft in Ukrainian institutions. And again, that's a big deal because President Zelenskyy has had to fire a few people, key people in his security apparatus because of corruption, suspected counterintelligence operations, people secretly favoring Russia and so forth. The counteroffensive has been really tough going for them. And even though the U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $40 billion in military aid since the start of the war, this is a big package and they're hoping to make the most of it.

Taylor Wilson:

Russian President Vladimir Putin is now reaching out to North Korea for help. How have these two countries cozied up to each other in recent weeks?

Josh Meyer:

They've had an on again, off again relationship for decades, but in recent weeks, actually in recent months, they've gotten a lot closer. I mean, Kim Jong Un will take any added stature and alliances that he can get, because North Korea has been such a sanctioned state that they've been basically isolated by the world leaders. And so the question is why would Putin be reaching out to North Korea? And the answer, it appears, is that he's running out of ammunition, that he needs North Korean ammunition, much of it that's been laying around there since the Cold War because North Korea hasn't been in any military conflict since then. But they also could be providing missiles, they could be providing other material. And as the White House said in recent days, it could be even just more broad efforts to help the military industrial complex in Russia fight the war in Ukraine next door.

Taylor Wilson:

I may be asking the obvious here, Josh, but how do U.S. officials feel about this relationship between two adversaries?

Josh Meyer:

Oh, they don't like it at all. In fact, one of the concerns is that there's sort of a new axis of evil forming. The big concern is that both North Korea and Russia are cozying up to China and that the three of them together could be creating some sort of anti-Western alliance. And if that's the case, that could cause a lot of problems for the United States and its allies.

But even just the alliance between North Korea and Russia is a problem as well because there's a lot of things that they can be sharing. I mean, North Korea is one of the best manufacturers of tactical and intercontinental ballistic missiles. They could be providing that kind of technology to Russia. Russia in return can be providing North Korea with submarine technology and other high tech equipment and technology. And so there's just a lot of concern about what these two countries might be getting themselves into. I mean, you have two leaders there, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, who are very, very untrustworthy and don't like the United States to begin with. So together, it's not really clear what they'll do, but we don't like the alliance at all.

Taylor Wilson:

Josh Meyer, thanks as always.

Josh Meyer:

My pleasure.



Taylor Wilson:

The Biden administration yesterday canceled the seven remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The move comes after the same administration earlier this year approved a major project from ConocoPhillips that could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day in the state. Litigation over approval of that so-called Willow project is still pending. As for yesterday's decision, Biden said, "Alaska's home to many of America's most breathtaking natural wonders and culturally significant areas. As the climate crisis warms the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, we have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages." Many Republicans didn't speak as fondly of the move. The state's Republican governor, Mike Dunleavy, slammed it and threatened to sue.



Experts are urging college students to update their passwords and keep a close eye on their personal information after a massive data breach. Software development company Progress announced in May that unauthorized users exploited vulnerabilities in a ransomware attack, and at-risk clients of the company included the National Student Clearinghouse, UnitedHealthcare Student Services, and the Teacher's Insurance and Annuity Association, or TIAA. The organizations house all kinds of personal information, from social security numbers to addresses and health information. The vulnerability affected colleges in eight states from Georgia to New York and Oklahoma. Experts urge everyone to use two-factor password verification whenever possible, and for students possibly affected in the breach to monitor their credit.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. If you like the show, please subscribe and leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. And if you have any comments, you can reach us at podcasts@usatoday.com. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump co-defendants get trial date, Hunter Biden update: 5 Things podcast
A section of Yosemite National Park in central California near a historic hotel has been closed as officials examine a 200-foot crack that opened up on the western side of the Royal Arches formation.

The area of Yosemite Valley includes the Serenity Crack and Super Slide rock climbing areas and also a section of the Yosemite Valley Loop Trail and the eastern portion of the parking area at The Ahwahnee Hotel, which was built 100 years ago.

The National Park Service was alerted to a crack last week and found it had partially detached a large pillar of rock, and that cracking was actively occurring.

As such, the area was closed to visitor use in order to reduce risk from rockfalls or a potential rockslide.

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The closure includes all routes between and including Peruvian Flake West to the Rhombus Wall and is in effect until further notice.

The group Yosemite Climber Stewards posted pictures of the crack, which looks like a dark shadow of a line several inches thick jaggedly running up the vertical face of the cliff. The group also cited a park geologist who said there were rock chips rattling through the upper crack and falling out the lower crack.

Sketchy.

A map of the affected area can be found on the National Park Service website.

Rockfalls arent new to Yosemites granite cliffs.

In 2016, the Los Angeles Times reported that so called exfoliations were falling in Yosemite at a rate of one a week.

In 2017, the park service recorded 85 instances of rockfalls, rockslides and debris flows, according to The Fresno Bee.

In 2022, there were 52 rockfalls documented, according to the National Park Service. The most notable was a 180-ton rock that fell from a canyon east of the Arch Rock Entrance Station and sent dozens of boulders onto El Portal Road. One boulder struck a car, killing its two occupants.
A 2024 expedition hopes to pick off unattached objects from the sunken Titanic, including the ships radio.

The U.S. government has taken RMS Titanic to court over the plan.

The international agreement that treats the Titanic as a sacred burial site is the basis for the effort to stop the expedition.

Picking off items from the sunken Titanic wont happen if the U.S. government gets its way. But that position has gone to court as RMS Titanic Inc. (RMST), the Georgia company with salvage rights to the Titanic, plans to go ahead with a May 2024 expedition to film the ship and recover any unattached wreckage artifacts.

According to a Norfolk, Va., U.S. District Court filingas reported by the Associated Pressthe government wants to stop RMST from heading to the wreckage. But the company says it isnt impeding on any federal laws or international agreements by doing so.

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Therein lies the conflict.

The U.S., United Kingdom, France, and Canada all entered into an agreement to treat the wreckage as a sacred burial site in attempt to fend off looters and salvagers. With roughly 1,500 passengers perishing in the tragic 1912 sinking, government officials wanted to protect the sanctity of the site. Federal U.S. law further strengthens that agreement.

No person shall conduct any research, exploration, salvage, or other activity that would physically alter or disturb the wreck or the wreck site of the RMS Titanic, the law reads.

RMST, which in 1994 entered into an agreement with the ships owners, Liverpool and London Steamship Protection and Indemnity Association, to be the exclusive salvor-in-possession of Titanic, says it has no plans to alter the wreck. Instead, RMST says the plan includes taking images of the wreck where deterioration has opened up new ways to get a remotely operated vehicle inside the hull.

The company would also recover free-standing objects inside the wreck, according to the AP, which could include objects from inside the Marconi roomthe room that held the ships radioif the objects arent affixed to the wreck.

The U.S. isnt convinced. RMST is not free to disregard this validly enacted federal law, yet that is its stated intent, documents filed in court read, according to the AP.

An RMST-announced plan in spring 2020 had the company looking to extract the radio, even if that meant cutting into the ship. The U.S. government challenged the plan in court, but a judge sided with RMST because of the historical and cultural significance of the telegraph that could be lost to decay. The pandemic delayed any actual effort.

The argument continues, with government lawyers saying RMST needs approval and permits to go to the site and RMST countering that it has the salvage rights of a wreck in international waters.

Since the 1994 salvage rights granting, RMST has gathered thousands of items and put them on view for millions to see. The company will continue its work, respectfully preserving the memory and legacy of Titanic, her passengers, and crew for the future generations, a RMST spokesperson tells AP.

It may be the courts that decide if thats the case or not.

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JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla.  Authorities in Florida said a toddler died after being left inside a hot vehicle in a church parking lot on Tuesday, the latest child added to a tragic statistic across the United States.

Officers responded to Bethlehem Lutheran Church and Preschool at about 2:40 p.m. Tuesday in reference to a child found unresponsive. When officers arrived, they found the toddler dead outside the property, according to the Jacksonville Beach Police Department

Jacksonville Beach police spokeswoman Tonya Tator confirmed with the Florida Times-Union, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the investigation revealed the child, a 2-year-old, was left in a personal vehicle in the parking lot of the church.

It's unclear if the incident was accidental and no one is currently detained, according to the police department.

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"This is a great tragedy," Tator said, according to WJAX-TV. "It affects everybody, it affects not only the parishioners, but it affects the community, it affects the officers."

The case is one of several across the country this year where young kids have lost their lives in hot cars when being left behind by their parents or guardians.

Seven children have died in a hot car in Florida this year, according to Kids and Car Safety.

24th child to die in a hot car nationwide in 2023

The latest tragic death  the 24th child to die in a hot car nationwide this year, according to Kids and Car Safety  is leading child safety advocates to elevate demands for auto companies to build detection devices in vehicles. The proposed devices could make it so that drivers are alerted before leaving their cars to check their back seats for their children.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is required to enact a rule mandating the alert system in new cars by November per the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Jannette Fennell, the founder and CEO of Kids and Car Safety, says it couldn't come soon enough.

"Automakers do not have to wait for the final regulation to be issued requiring technology; they can add occupant detection technology to their vehicles today," wrote Fennell in a news release. "And occupant detection and alert system could have gotten assistance to this sweet angel before it was too late."

Heat waves have made it more dangerous. Hot car deaths in 2023.

How can parents and guardians prevent hot car deaths?

Nationally, more than 1,050 children have died in hot cars since 1990, according to Kids And Cars Safety's database. About 87% of children who die in hot cars, according to the organization, are age 3 or younger and majority (56%) were unknowingly left by a parent or caregiver.

Temperatures are higher on average across the nation this year compared to years past, leaving kids especially vulnerable.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends a few ways that parents can prevent leaving their kids in their cars, especially on hot days:

Leave a necessary item they'll have to grab before walking away, like a phone or wallet, in the backseat of their car

Never leave a child in a vehicle unattended for any length of time.

Ask your childcare provider to call if your child doesnt show up for care as expected; and

Write a note or place a stuffed animal in the passenger's seat to remind you that a child is in the back seat.

What can be done? Well-meaning parents' mistakes kill thousands of kids each year.

Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@usatoday.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @kaylajjimenez.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hot car deaths 2023: 24 children have died in America this year
About 25,000 Ukrainian citizens can be considered missing under special circumstances, i.e. as civilian hostages and in Russian captivity.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine with reference to Dmytro Lubinets, Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights

Quote: "Regarding civilian hostages, as per my information, approximately 25,000 Ukrainian citizens can be considered to have gone missing under special circumstances. The situation here is not changing, it is extremely terrible: the Russians detain civilians in temporarily occupied territories practically every day, thus adding to this list."

Details: Lubinets also said that the Russian side does not provide official information about Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Khyliuk. Khyliuk was abducted by Russian servicemen in the village of Kozarovychi in Kyiv Oblast on 4 March 2022 and has been held in captivity for more than a year and a half.

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Background:

Dmytro Khyliuk, a journalist of the UNIAN news outlet, is being held in a penal colony in Vladimir Oblast of the Russian Federation, although Russia denies that it is holding him captive.

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!






One of Ukraines wealthiest people, Ihor Kolomoisky, will be held in custody for two months. The court allowed him to post a bail of UAH 509 million ($13.8 million) but he refused to do so. NV Business compiled everything that is known about this high-profile case.

Read also: Influential oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky charged with fraud, money laundering  NV source

Dnipro businessman Kolomoisky found himself in an unusual role: since last Saturday, he has been officially charged with fraud.

On Sept. 2, Ukraines SBU security service, the Economic Security Bureau (ESB) and the Office of the Prosecutor General served Kolomoisky fraud and asset laundering charges.

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It has been established that in 2013-2020, Ihor Kolomoisky legalized more than half a billion hryvnias by transferring them abroad, using the infrastructure of controlled banking institutions, the SBU said in a statement.

On Sept. 3, the court ordered Kolomoisky be held in custody for a period of 60 days unless he posted bail of UAH 509 million. In addition, Kolomoisky was ordered to hand over his passports [1] and not communicate with witnesses. His lawyers can appeal the decision within five days.

Kolomoisky, however, is refusing to post bail, his lawyers said. The oligarchs attorneys assert that his arraignment was made with a number of violations, and they were not given time to collect materials on the case, and are now preparing an appeal.

Why is one of the richest Ukrainians under investigation, and what threatens him? As always, it's about big money.

The dark streak in Kolomoisky's life began at the end of 2016, when the government decided to nationalize PrivatBank, the country's largest bank, owned by Kolomoisky and his longtime partner Hennady Boholyubov. To save the bank, the state had to bail it out to the tune of more than UAH 155 billion ($4.2 billion).

Then the U.S. Department of Justice accused Kolomoisky of siphoning funds from PrivatBank, which, according to their investigation, were then laundered through companies in the United States. The oligarch denies all accusations, claiming that he "made all investments from his own funds." However, on March 5, 2021, the United States imposed sanctions against Kolomoisky and members of his family.

In addition, PrivatBank lawyers in London accuse the banks former owners of taking out $1.8 billion through shell companies. About 500 lawsuits related to the former owners of PrivatBank are also ongoing in Ukraine.

Read also: PrivatBank generated about half of $920 million banking sector net profit for Q1

The Privat saga is not the only reason why Ukrainian law enforcement has been going after Kolomoisky. On Nov. 7, 2022, the state seized the property of five strategically important enterprises, in particular Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta, which were also partially controlled by the former owners of the bank.

In Sept. 2022, Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities accused eight people of embezzling more than UAH 13 billion ($351.4 million) of Ukrnafta funds. Kolomoisky and his partners, as owners of about 42% of the company's shares, held influence over its management, the investigation believes. Because of this, the businessman has already been questioned by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) several times, but the matter has not yet led to an indictment.





What is known about the new case against Kolomoisky

An informed legal source of NV Business said that the new case against Kolomoisky is connected with financial relations between the businessman, PrivatBank, and the Neftekhimik Prykarpattya oil refinery, as a result of which Kolomoisky allegedly embezzled $27.3 million.

This information was confirmed by Censor.net, which released a copy of the indictment issued to Kolomoisky.

Kolomoisky, named as a citizen of Israel and Cyprus, is suspected of taking possession of other peoples property by deception (fraud) committed by a group of persons on a large scale by prior agreement, that is, of committing a criminal offense.

The materials of the investigation indicate that the oligarch conspired with unidentified employees of PrivatBank in order to seize the property of Neftekhimik Prykarpattya. His accomplices allegedly began to implement their plan on Dec. 31, 2013.

Read also: Bad Luck London: New court ruling against Kolomoisky reveals sale of Kryviy Rih mine for $926 to Russian citizen Voevodin

According to the investigation, the first step of this plan was allegedly as follows.

1. Kolomoisky simulated depositing UAH 949 million ($25.7 million) at the main office of PrivatBank.

2. An employee of PrivatBank, through the Promin system and the banks information and dealing service, confirmed that these funds were deposited by the oligarch, although in fact this did not happen.

3. These funds in a non-cash form were credited to Kolomoisky's account in PrivatBank.

4. On the basis of four loan agreements dated February 5, 2013, March 18, 2013, April 18, 2013 and April 19, 2013, where Kolomoisky personally acted as a guarantor, a PrivatBank employee transferred UAH 600 million ($16.2 million) from the oligarchs account containing fictitious funds, to the account of Neftekhimik Prykarpattya. This created a debt of this enterprise to Kolomoisky personally.

Read also: PryvatBank has good arguable case against Kolomoisky & Bogolyubov  Israeli court

5. Further in the period 2014-2020. Kolomoisky sent a number of demands to the Neftekhimik Prykarpattya plant regarding the repayment of this debt.

6. The company, acting at the request of Kolomoisky, from May 22 to Oct.16, 2020, transferred UAH 572.24 million ($15.5 million) of artificially created debt from its accounts in iBox and Concord Bank to Kolomoiskys account in iBox Bank.

Context. On March 7, the National Bank of Ukraine revoked the license of Ibox Bank due its dangerous activities in servicing the gambling market. The license of Concord Bank was revoked on Aug. 1, for similar reasons.

Second phase:

1. Kolomoisky instructed Ibox Bank to buy euros with money received from the Neftekhimik Prykarpattya plant.

2. On behalf of Kolomoisky, the euros purchased were transferred by iBox Bank to foreign accounts of other persons for the provision of legal services, in particular:

 EUR 433,439 to the account of Marks and Sokolov LLC at PNC Bank N.A. (USA);

 EUR 4.014 million were transferred by Hugnes Habbart and Reed LLP (USA) to Societe Generale (France);

 EUR 20.966 million to the account of Fielfisher LLP in Lloyds Bank (UK);

 EUR 100,000 to the account of NOMEA Law Firm in UBS (Switzerland).

Thus, according to investigators, the businessman laundered about EUR 25.5 million.

Article 209 of the Criminal Code (legalization [laundering] of property obtained by criminal means) provides for punishment of 8 to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property, while article 190 (fraud) carries a punishment of up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.

What is known about Neftekhimik Prykarpattya

This company owns the property of the Nadvornyansky oil refinery. The business had processed oil since Soviet times, but has been idle in recent years. According to its 2022 finances, the company suffered losses of UAH 147.19 million ($4 million).

The State Property Fund holds a 26% minority stake in Neftekhimik Prykarpattya. Therefore, by stealing its funds, Kolomoisky could have caused harm to the state.

The key owners of the plant are the companies of the Privat group of Kolomoisky and Boholyubov. According to the state register, WEAVERNAL HOLDINGS LTD owns 19%, DENEIRO VENTURES LTD holds 19%, ROMANNOR INVESTMENTS LTD holds another 19%, and DOMENNIUM ENTERPRISES LTD owns 14%.

According to the Opendatabot service, the ultimate beneficiaries of Neftekhimik Prykarpattya are Dmytro Potishman, Svitlana Delhi, Oksana Palitsa, Zakhar Palitsa, Uriel Zvi Leiber, Korf Mordechai Judah, Yuriy Kiperman, Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov, Oleksiy Buynis, and Evhen Krichevsky.

Leiber and Mordechai appear in the PrivatBank v. Kolomoisky case before the Chancery Judge of Delaware in the United States. The lawsuit alleges that billions of dollars were laundered through Delaware shell companies that bought businesses and commercial real estate in the United States on behalf of Kolomoisky and Boholyubov.

Read also: Oligarch Kolomoisky charged with embezzling $250 million from PrivatBank

PrivatBank, in an official statement on the claim, asserted: By filing this claim with the American court, PrivatBank seeks damages in the amount of several hundred million U.S. dollars, which, according to the bank, it has suffered as a result of various illegal actions committed against it by its former owners, their associates Mordechai Korf, Chaim Shoshet and Uriel Leiber, as well as certain companies registered in the United States, in whose activities these individuals take and took part.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A 3-year-old was evacuated from the Idaho backcountry by air ambulance after a rattlesnake bit the child on Tuesday afternoon, officials said in a news release.

The Idaho County Sheriffs Office said it received a call from an emergency beacon device shortly before 3 p.m. The caller reported that the child had been bitten at White House Bar, a sandy beach area along the Salmon River west of Grangeville.

The circumstances surrounding the incident werent immediately clear. Sheriffs office administrator Monica Walker told the Idaho Statesman in an email that the individuals involved might have been on a rafting trip. The area is also popular for camping or day use.

According to the news release, an air ambulance landed at the site around 3:30 p.m. and the child was taken to a hospital. Walker said the sheriffs office did not have additional information on the childs condition.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides a list of safety precautions to help people avoid rattlesnake bites, and what to do if it happens.

Precautions

Wear over-the-ankle boots, thick socks or loose, long pants whenever hiking. Never wear sandals or go barefoot when hiking through the wilderness.

Stick to well-used trails and avoid walking through long grass, where snakes could be resting or hiding.

Always watch where you are putting your hands and feet, especially if climbing up a rock face.

If a fallen tree is in your path, dont step directly over it in case a snake is on the other side; step on top first and make sure you wont be walking into danger.

Dont turn over logs or rocks unless necessary, and only do so while wearing thick gloves. Also, check stumps before sitting down and shake out sleeping bags before getting inside.

Dont grab random sticks or branches when in the water  rattlesnakes can swim.

What to do for a rattlesnake bite

Immediately call dispatch or 911 and stay calm. A higher heart rate will pump the venom through your bloodstream faster.

Wash the bite gently with soap and water if possible, and remove any tight clothing or jewelry around areas that may swell.

Keep the bite below heart level if possible. This will stop the venom from reaching your heart as quickly.

Do not restrict blood flow by applying a tourniquet, or icing the wound. Many of the amputations that come from rattlesnake bites occur because the wound was iced or blood flow was restricted.

Do not try to suck the venom out with your mouth. The venom could possibly enter a cut in your mouth or be swallowed.
In this photo provided by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, a partially submerged catamaran is shown during a rescue of 3 sailors in the Coral Sea, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. Three sailors from Russia and France were rescued on Wednesday after the inflatable catamaran they were trying to navigate from Vanuatu to Australia came under attack from sharks, authorities said. (Australian Maritime Safety Authority via AP)

CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Three round-the-world sailors reached land safely Thursday after sharks nearly sank their catamaran in the Coral Sea.

Both of the inflatable hulls on their 9-meter (30-foot) boat were damaged in several attacks by what were thought to be cookiecutter sharks  a small species not considered dangerous to people. Aerial photos of the men's rescue showed major damage to the boat, which was nearly submerged and a front section of one hull was completely missing.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority coordinated the rescue of the two Russian and one French sailor after they activated an emergency beacon early Wednesday 835 kilometers (519 miles) southeast of the Queensland state city of Cairns. The three were rescued by a Panama-flagged freight ship, which landed them at Mooloolaba Harbor on the Sunshine Coast north of the Queensland capital Brisbane on Thursday, the authority said.

Rescued sailor Stanislav Beryozkin said he suspected the sharks mistook his boat for a whale.

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He said the crew had prepared for sharks, but not for such numbers. There were many. Maybe 20, maybe 30, maybe more, Beryozkin told Seven News television.

They had used double-layered material to protect the inflatable hulls. But some of them jump and bite above the double material, he said.

Beryozkin, Evgeny Kovalevsky and Frenchman Vincent Thomas Garate had left St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 1, 2021, and had been sailing from Vanuatu to Cairns when they got into trouble.

Cookie cutter sharks grow to between 42 centimeters and 56 centimeters (17 inches and 22 inches) long and are named for the circular holes that bite in prey.

Joe Zeller, duty manager at the maritime agencys Canberra response center, said the emergency beacon had saved the sailors lives.

The emergency beacon absolutely saved their life. It enabled the Rescue Coordination Center to identify the precise location and tailor the most appropriate and quickest response to rescue them, Zeller told Australia Broadcasting Corp.
Donald Trump , Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, all of whom are running for president. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images; Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images; Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

With the Iowa caucuses approaching, this fall is perhaps the last opportunity for a Republican insurgent to wrest the presidential nomination from former President Donald Trump.

Alternatively, the next few months could be the time when Trump proves that none of his rivals can possibly convince his loyal supporters to vote for anyone else.

By early 2024, the quick succession of caucuses and primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina will make it much harder to alter the trajectory of the race because by then, many donors and voters will have chosen their preferred candidate.

With that in mind, here are three things to watch for in the coming months, as the more than a dozen Republican candidates campaign feverishly and prepare for the second debate, which will take place on Sept. 27 in Southern California (the first debate took place last month in Milwaukee; a third debate is planned, but the time and place have not been announced).

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Read more from Yahoo News: Mike Pence goes after Trump and 'imitators' for shifting GOP from its roots, via NBC News

1. Is Trump inevitable?

Trump campaign workers at a cattle barn at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Aug. 11. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

When he announced that he was seeking the presidency for the third time, Trump seemed to many observers like a has-been. Candidates he had endorsed performed poorly in the 2022 midterms and his focus on pushing lies about the 2020 election was turning off all but the most committed followers.

Old Man Trump Is Looking Weaker and WeakerSad! went a Daily Beast headline from December.

But then, something changed. A series of federal and state indictments have allowed Trump to portray himself as the victim of powerful forces hellbent on stopping his political movement. It was the same grievance-laden argument that worked in 2016 but was more difficult to make in 2020, when he was running as an incumbent holding the most powerful elected office on the planet.

It seems to be working again, however. Trump, who has held onto a massive polling lead over his Republican rivals for months, increasingly looks like the prohibitive favorite to win the primary.

The moon and the stars will need to be aligned for Trump to be defeated, Republican pollster Frank Luntz told the Associated Press in July. So far, no such luck. New polling from the Wall Street Journal has about 60% of Republicans preferring Trump, an astonishing turnaround from only months ago.

But how deep is that loyalty? And how broad? Will it hold as Trump becomes more deeply embroiled in legal challenges? Will it hold among Iowa evangelicals and New Hampshire independents?

And while Trump is currently polling competitively in a general election, many Republicans feel certain hell lose to President Biden once again should he become the nominee. A mailer sent by an anti-Trump conservative group put the matter bluntly: IF TRUMP IS THE GOP NOMINEE ... WE COULD LOSE EVERYTHING.

Whether that message resonates with voters next year, however, is yet to be seen.

Read more from Yahoo News: Should Trump be disqualified from running for president?

2. Can DeSantis rescue his faltering campaign?

DeFuture, the New York Post declared on its front page after Gov. Ron DeSantis won a commanding reelection contest in last years midterms, which were otherwise bleak for the Republican Party. Many establishment Republicans saw the young governor as Trumps successor, able to unite the GOPs warring factions and lead the party to victory over President Biden in 2024.

Then he started campaigning. There was the disastrous Twitter launch, the awkward interactions with voters, the bristling at questions from reporters, the threat to start slitting throats once he goes to Washington.

For months, DeSantis has seen his poll numbers plummet  and donors abandon his campaign.

His diminished status was apparent in last months first GOP presidential debate, where he receded into the background and seemed, to his critics at least, incapable of straightforwardly answering questions.

For all that, DeSantis remains second to Trump in most national polls. And his campaign coffers are brimming. His strategy, it seems, is simply to outlast every other candidate, including Trump, to persevere in the face of defeats and humiliations. And it could just work.

Read more on Yahoo News: Why has Ron DeSantis been such a flop?

3. Can anyone else break through?

From left, contenders for the Republican presidential nomination: Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

With hopes of a DeSantis revival fading and Trump showing no signs of losing support, many mainstream Republican leaders are desperate to find a new candidate to take on Biden.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is running as a traditional, pre-Trump conservative. At the same time, former South Carolina governor and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley impressed many with her seriousness and substance at the Milwaukee debate. In the key state of New Hampshire, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is gaining in the polls. And entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has won over some voters by running as a charismatic, Trump-like maverick.

But there is no agreement about which of those candidates should be anointed the anti-Trump candidate. If the field remains divided, he will likely benefit, just as he did in 2016.

Read more on Yahoo News: First GOP primary debate fails to land on alternative to Trump
A man has been arrested in connection to the murder of another man that happened last month, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Edwin Garcia Alonzo was arrested last week and charged with the murder of Mateo Gomez Lucas.

On August 18, the Jefferson Police Department requested the GBI to assist with an investigation of a man shot near the intersection of Business Hwy 129 and Storey Lane.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Gomez was found unconscious from his injuries, according to the GBI.

It is unclear what led up to this shooting.

Gomez was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, where he died from his injuries.

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Alonzo was arrested on Aug. 27 in Hall County.

TRENDING STORIES:

The GBI is continuing to investigate Gomezs death.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Jefferson Police Department at 706-367-5231 or the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Athens at 706-542-7901.

Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

IN OTHER NEWS:
4 buses were driven from London to Ukraine to become a field hospital and rest areas for soldiers fighting Russia

One of the donated buses has been turned into a field hospital for troops. The Go-Ahead Group

A UK transport company donated four buses to Ukraine to support its war effort.

One Go-Ahead bus has been turned into a field hospital with beds and medical facilities.

The others, which used to ferry passengers to an airport, are now rest areas for troops.

Buses that once transported passengers from a railway station to an airport near London have been donated to Ukraine and turned into a field hospital and rest areas for troops.

Go-Ahead donated four buses and volunteers drove them to Calais, France, where drivers from Ukrainian agencies took over for the four-day journey across Europe.



Andrew Clark, Go-Ahead's corporate affairs director, told Insider: "These buses have done years of duty shuttling holidaymakers up and down a steep hill at Luton airport. They're now retired from airport duty and we're glad they can be put to good use, as a small contribution to Ukraine's war effort."

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The buses are no longer needed as they've been replaced by a new rail connection between Luton Parkway station and Luton airport.

Seats were taken out of one bus to convert into a field hospital for Ukrainian soldiers. It now has three beds, heart monitors, oxygen cylinders and drips, a freshwater tank, a bathroom and a generator.



Soldiers are now using the other three buses as rest areas, and to transport Ukrainians to and from military training sites.

Last month another company, First, donated two buses to transport medical equipment across Europe to Ukraine. The buses left Plymouth, England after being loaded with medical aid and driven to Kiev and Lviv.

Volunteers with one of the buses donated to Ukraine. Go-Ahead

Craig George, an organizer of the initiative, said in a press release that the buses would be used by volunteer medics to provide help as well as to evacuate people from areas under attack.



"Imagine people on the ground having their lives turned upside down, living near the frontline, and wondering if they are the next target, or shells falling from the sky around them, to see one of these buses come round the corner to help take them to safety away from the area, is immeasurable," he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
In 1979, teenagers in Morton Grove, Illinois, often hung out by a river in a patch of woods. They would smoke pot there or just goof around, generally away from authority figures.

But on Sept. 5 that year, the community was shocked when two 17-year-old girls were found shot dead there. The girls, friends Eyvonne Bender and Sue Ovington, were well-liked, and homicides were almost unheard of in the north suburb.

Forty-four years later, the case remains unsolved. Family members are frustrated that no charges have been filed and little information has been shared about the case. Ovingtons parents went to their graves not knowing who did it, and Benders parents remain suspicious of various people connected with the case.

Now, a family friend has come forward and offered to increase the Cook County Crime Stoppers reward in the case to as much $10,000. Tom Sprague, who like the girls was a senior at Niles West High School, said he remains haunted by the tragedy.

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I think a better word is, it angers me, he said. Its horrifying. Its the fact that it happened and the Police Department, at least from the outside looking in, is doing nothing.

Morton Grove police dispute that, and issued a news release publicizing the reward and laying out what they have been doing, stating, The investigation has remained open, and ongoing leads have been investigated.

The case originally was investigated by department detectives and reviewed by them with investigators and forensic specialists from the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force in the 2000s.

In 2005, the department and the Cook County states attorneys office cold case unit continued a joint investigation and reviewed all leads. Since 2020, police said, Morton Grove detectives have been actively working on this case, following up leads, and interviewing witnesses across the country.

The police denied a request by family friend Paul Meyer to see the case file under the state Freedom of Information Act. The Illinois attorney generals office ruled the department should share the file with its office and explain why it shouldnt be shared with Meyer. Morton Grove Chief Michael Simo replied in a letter that the investigation was active and could be compromised by divulging information that could invite false confessions, as already happened once, or could give the offender ways to avoid prosecution

There have been 34 interviews conducted in the case, most recently in March 2023, with 62 more interviews planned of friends or suspects or persons of interest in the near future, Simo wrote.

Simo disputed claims the police havent had the funding to conduct the investigation, writing that detectives have traveled to multiple states to conduct interviews, have been paid significant overtime, with significant spending on private labs. There also is a commitment for future funding for additional advanced testing of items to help identify a killer or killers.

There is real actionable intelligence in this case that could lead to the arrest of the offender(s), Simo wrote.

Detectives continue to meet with DNA experts from the Illinois State Police, Northeast Illinois Regional Crime Lab and FBI to review and reexamine DNA evidence.

Police said they also continue to consult with the states attorney, the FBI Behavior Analysis Unit and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Private laboratories such as Bode Technology in Lorton, Virginia, continue to analyze DNA evidence. Federal and private grants have been applied for to fund additional testing and analysis.

Simo, who joined the force in 2014, said he has experienced investigators on the case, including the head of forensics for the regional violent crimes task force.

Though I understand that some people might be frustrated with what happened in the past, he said, all we can do is go forward, and do the best we can now.

Surviving family members were upset that the department initially investigated the case without the help of more experienced investigators from Chicago. Sprague, whose father was an officer on the Morton Grove police force and who says he is pro-police, called it a Barney Fife investigation, referencing a bumbling TV cop.

One of the Morton Grove investigators who originally worked on the case, Stanley Kubas, who later became a forest preserve ranger, was convicted of poaching deer in a forest preserve and received probation for possession of a pound of cocaine.

Family members described the two girls as bubbly and friendly. Ovington had tried out for the cheerleading team and didnt make it. She worked at a store not far from the homicide scene. Bender taught Sunday school.

The day of the killings was to have been the first day of school at Niles West, but classes were canceled due to a teachers strike. Ovington, who lived nearby in Morton Grove, and Bender, of Skokie, were last seen about 2:15 that afternoon when they left in Benders car to go shopping.

After Ovington didnt show up for a 5 p.m. date with her 22-year-old boyfriend, Joe Majerus, he found her car at a shopping center at Waukegan and Dempster roads. Their purses were inside the car, with money inside.

Benders 22-year-old boyfriend, Larry Olker, of Palatine, told the Tribune at the time that he became worried after Bender hadnt returned home by 8 p.m. He and Majerus organized a search party of friends, who found the bodies around 9 p.m. that night in St. Paul Woods Forest Preserve near the same intersection.

Police said the victims were killed along a bike path behind a Goldblatts department store, and dragged behind brush near the North Branch of the Chicago River, at a popular spot for teens. The girls had been shot in the head and body with a .38-caliber gun, which was not recovered, and they were partially clothed, according to news accounts.

Several of the boys in the search party owned large-caliber guns and turned them over to investigators. Police said they dragged the river three times but found no weapon. They questioned all the youths twice about how they were able to find the girls in the dark.

Majerus had been dating Ovington for three years after theyd met at a gas station where they worked. In his wallet, he carried a picture of her with the inscription, Ill love you until the day I die, a Lerner newspaper reported. Olker said he met Bender through Majerus, his childhood friend.

Police at the time said they were checking for any possible connection with a rape that occurred about a mile away less than two weeks previously, when a man forced a 15-year-old girl off Dempster Street and into the woods at knifepoint.

Sue Ovingtons brother, Dick Ovington, of Crystal Lake, said Majerus was a trusted boyfriend to his sister. Ovington was upset that police wouldnt share information in the case after so long that might help shake loose new leads.

Were getting the same story for 44 years, he said. Theyre talking to people, theyre interviewing people. It got to the point where my dad just told them, dont bother calling anymore unless they have someone in custody.

Benders older sister, Sharon Peterson, who had to view both victims at the county morgue, said the killings and aftermath were a huge burden for family members.

Im hoping that someone eventually will have a guilty conscience and say I know who did this, she said. It would be great to have closure, because my mother has never been the same since then.

Anyone with information connected to the Morton Grove case is asked to call the police tip line at 847-663-3828.

While cold cases are notoriously difficult to solve, the murders of seven people at a Browns Chicken in Palatine in 1993 was solved nearly nine years later when one of the killers was implicated by his girlfriend.
Former FTX executive Ryan Salame pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges on Thursday.

The plea further isolates Sam Bankman-Fried, who is scheduled to go to trial in October.

Salame was one of FTX's and Bankman-Fried's political fixers.

Former FTX executive Ryan Salame pleaded guilty to fraud and campaign finance charges Thursday afternoon, the latest twist in the saga of the cryptocurrency exchange's collapse.

Salame is the fourth top official in the exchange to plead guilty to charges brought by the US Attorney's office in Manhattan. Sam Bankman-Fried, the company's former CEO and founder, is scheduled to go to trial on fraud and conspiracy charges in October.

In Manhattan federal court, Salame pleaded guilty to defrauding the Federal Elections Commission and to illegally making a campaign contribution on behalf of a company.

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"I made $10 million in political contributions and called them loans, which I never intended to repay," Salame told US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, according to Inner City Press. "This was supported by Sam Bankman-Fried. I knew it was prohibited."

Prosecutors say Bankman-Fried and other executives defrauded FTX investors and depositors by commingling funds with Alameda Research, a hedge fund Bankman-Fried also controlled. News about the mixed use of funds led to the collapse of the exchange and wiped out the value of its in-house proprietary tokens.

Former Bankman-Fried lieutenants Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh have all previously pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department in its investigation. Salame is not cooperating, according to The New York Times.

Salame, a native of the Berkshires in Massachusetts, has made a name for himself as an investor in the restaurant industry there. His restaurants, branded as the Lenox Eats collective, include Firefly Gastropub and Olde Heritage Tavern  favorites among locals and seasonal residents alike.

Within FTX, Salame connected Bankman-Fried to political power brokers and helped try to legitimize cryptocurrency in the corridors of Washington, DC. While Bankman-Fried poured millions into causes associated with Democratic candidates, Salame did the same for Republican candidates.

In addition to fraud and conspiracy allegations, federal prosecutors previously brought charges alleging Bankman-Fried participated in a straw donor scheme. They dropped that part of the indictment in July because of the United States' extradition treaty with the Bahamas, where Bankman-Fried was first arrested, which does not cover the charges.

As part of his plea deal, Salame agreed to pay back $5 million to creditors trying to pull money from the ruins of FTX. The exchange declared bankruptcy after Bankman-Fried resigned from the company. Salame is also required to pay $6 million in fines to the US government and give up his Porsche and properties in Massachusetts.

"Ryan looks forward to putting this chapter behind him and moving forward with his life," his attorney Jason Linder of the law firm Mayer Brown said in a statement.

Salame was released Thursday on a $1 million bond. Kaplan said he would be sentenced in March 2024.

Bankman-Fried, meanwhile, remains in federal jail in Brooklyn ahead of his trial. His lawyers have argued that, under custody, he has too little time and opportunity to review the evidence prosecutors collected for their case.

This story has been updated. Haven Orecchio-Egresitz contributed reporting.

Read the original article on Business Insider
President Biden is set to travel to the Group of 20 (G20) summit Thursday, a high-stakes meeting that will take on a new look with Chinese President Xi Jinping skipping the event.

The summit is an opportunity for Biden to show leadership on the international stages and further warm relations with India, the host of the high-profile summit.

Here are five things to know about the meeting.

Xi not attending

Chinese President Xi Jinpings decision to skip the event might be the biggest news at the G20.

Xi is sending the countrys premier, Li Qiang, to India on his behalf  and China has not given a reason why, calling the G20 an important forum for international economic cooperation.

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Biden, who met Xi at last years G20 meeting in Indonesia, said he was disappointed that Xi will not be attending. National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the two leaders will meet in the months ahead.

The White House says the U.S. work at the summit wont change because of Xis absence.

Sadanand Dhume, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, noted that the snub from Xi comes as the rift between the U.S. and its allies on one side, and China and Russia on the other, is just huge and growing.

Biden has no plans to meet one-on-one with other divisive leaders such as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman or Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Sullivan, however, said a last-minute decision could change those plans.

A focus on World Bank reform

One of the administrations top priorities at this weeks summit will be to win support for reshaping the World Bank  an effort meant to counter China by providing an alternative means of financing separate from Beijing for development projects.

Sullivan told reporters that U.S. officials will look to deliver on an agenda of fundamentally reshaping and scaling up the multilateral development banks.

The White House last month asked Congress to approve $3.3 billion as part of a larger supplemental funding request to expand infrastructure financing through the World Bank. Sullivan said he hoped to see other nations follow Bidens lead in allocating more funds for World Bank financing.

World Bank CEO Ajay Banga, whom Biden nominated to the post in February, has pushed for the institution to expand programs to fight climate change and address global hunger, and to increase the banks lending power.

Sullivan on Tuesday pushed back on the notion that the U.S. should be reluctant to fund a multinational entity like the World Bank when it has its own budget problems domestically, arguing that global problems have a way of inevitably impacting Americans.

Our perspective is that for a modest investment  from the point of view of the overall size of the U.S. budget  to put into ensuring greater stability, greater prosperity, greater capacity in the rest of the world, that is going to end up reducing the costs and burdens on working people in Scranton or Minneapolis or any of your alls hometowns, Sullivan told reporters.

COVID precautions after first ladys positive test

Bidens health will be closely watched throughout his trip, after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. Biden, 80, tested negative for COVID-19 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden will wear a mask while around others indoors and that the president and staff and aides traveling with him will be tested again before leaving for India.

She added that the president will be on a regular testing cadence, and that Biden is not experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19.

When asked about contingency plans, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that he didnt have anything to announce but noted to reporters, Weve seen various leaders at various times participate virtually in events.

Biden is under constant scrutiny from Republicans over his health and his age, with conservatives questioning his physical and mental stamina at times. The summit, in that context, will be seen as another test of Biden on the job.

India relations and human rights

Bidens visit to India for the G20 summit comes on the back of a state visit to the U.S. by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year.

Chinas absences represents an opportunity of sorts for Biden to improve relations with India at a time when there are frictions between it and Beijing.

According to Dhume, U.S.-India relations are warmer than they have ever been, despite significant disagreements over Indias unwillingness to condemn the Russians for their invasion of Ukraine. Both have reasons for carrying off a successful summit this week.

The U.S. recognizes India as a pivotal part of its wider strategy in the Indo-Pacific. And India recognizes that it can only ward off a rising China with the help of the United States, Dhume told The Hill.

Indias G20 presidency has also brought to light growing schisms within Indian society that may be difficult for Biden to avoid.

While the administration has concerns about human rights and press freedom issues, including the treatment of Muslims and LGBTQ minorities in India, U.S. officials have sought to downplay those differences in the interests of cultivating a strategic relationship with New Delhi.

There are certainly civil society groups and human rights groups  as well as parts of the Democratic Party  that would like to see the Biden administration be much more vocal. But its very clear that the U.S. has decided that India is an important swing power. Washington wants to woo New Delhi, and even if they may have concerns with domestic developments, theyre not going to play those up, Dhume added.

White House makes push in Indo-Pacific

Bidens travel to India and Vietnam comes on the heels of Vice President Harriss own trip to Indonesia for the ASEAN Summit, a reflection of the emphasis the White House has put on building relationships with nations in the Indo-Pacific region in order to counter Chinas influence.

Besides Bidens hosting of Modi during the official state visit, the White House has revived the Quad alliance of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia to strengthen its presence in the Indo-Pacific.

Sullivan pointed to Bidens trip to Vietnam this weekend as another key example of the administrations efforts in that regard.

This visit is a remarkable step in the strengthening of our diplomatic ties, and it reflects the leading role that Vietnam will play in our growing network of partnerships in the Indo-Pacific as we look to the future, Sullivan told reporters.

Harris traveled to Jakarta this week, where she met with leaders from Southeast Asia and discussed efforts to boost the regions economy, as well as develop more climate-friendly policies.

It marked Harriss fourth trip to the Indo-Pacific since taking office.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Changes are coming to a statewide program that helps people with disabilities and the elderly live independently in their own homes.

Aging and disability advocates are worried that the changes may make it harder for the elderly and disabled to live in their own homes, if any cutbacks result in people losing critical services.

For years, the program, called Family Care, was managed by nonprofit organizations based in Wisconsin.

Now, two national, for-profit health insurance companies have bought the two largest of the Wisconsin nonprofits that manage Family Care.

"We're seeing something like what we feared is actually happening," said Lynn Breedlove, former executive director of Disability Rights Wisconsin. "Now we are going to have a sizeable part of our long-term care system run by companies that are not based in Wisconsin."

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Here's what to know about the changes.

What is Family Care and how does it help the elderly and disabled?

Family Care is a state Medicaid program that helps low-income people with disabilities and elderly people live as independently as possible in their own homes and out of nursing homes.

The program costs more than $2 billion in state and federal dollars to run each year.

It pays for the caregivers and other help that some people with disabilities and elderly people need to go about their daily lives. If someone in Family Care needs to live in a group home or go to an adult day care center during the day, Family Care can pay for this.

How many people are in Family Care and who are they?

More than 53,000 people are enrolled in Family Care and include some of the most vulnerable people in the state.

They are people who are low-income or impoverished, including those who cannot physically work and those who have used up all their savings and can no longer pay for the kind of care they need.

They include people born with severe physical or cognitive disabilities, people paralyzed by spinal injuries or strokes and elderly people who need help getting dressed, bathing, using the bathroom and doing other everyday tasks.

Who is involved in the changes in Family Care?

Health insurance corporations Humana and Molina Healthcare have bought two nonprofit corporations with a long history of managing the Family Care program.

A subsidiary of Humana, iCare, bought Inclusa, one of the nonprofits in June. The other nonprofit, My Choice Wisconsin, was bought by Molina on Sept. 1.

Both Humana and Molina already contract with the state to manage the medical care of people covered by BadgerCare Plus and other Medicaid programs. With these purchases, the health insurers became certified to manage the long-term care of three out of five people in the Family Care program, or more than 30,000 people.

What will this mean for people in Family Care?

State health officials say the quality of care will not change under Humana or Molina and that they do not expect any cuts to the service network.

But many aging and disability advocates are not so sure. They worry that the health insurers might deny needed care to people in the program in order to save money or boost profits. They also worry that providers of long-term care services, such as assisted living homes or group homes, may suffer financially if the health insurers choose to cut the rates they pay them, and that providers will shut down.

State officials say the health insurers must meet the state's quality expectations and contractual obligations. They also have adjusted the state's contract with the health insurers to try to address advocates' concerns.

What do experts say?

Long-term care researchers have said that large health insurers like Humana and Molina are difficult to monitor and that rigorous enforcement is needed to catch problems.

Some researchers were pessimistic about the future of Family Care.

"It will run the serious risk of losing its community and state identity (under for-profit health insurers) and its responsiveness," said Larry Polivka, professor emeritus of aging studies at the University of South Florida.

Others had higher hopes.

John Bowblis, an economics professor at Miami University in Ohio, said national health insurers could save taxpayers money if they can deliver long-term care services more efficiently than the nonprofits.

What have Humana and Molina said?

Both health insurance companies declined requests for interviews, but provided brief statements.

"Together, Humana and Inclusa have the expertise and resources to continue to deliver excellent person-centered care and supports to members and remain strong partners in our communities," a statement from Humana said.

A Molina spokesperson said that buying My Choice Wisconsin aligns with Molina's mission of providing quality care to aging and underserved communities.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What to know about changes to a Wisconsin program for the elderly, disabled
The Benton Franklin Health District gave failing grades to seven Tri-Cities restaurants and one other business serving food at an event during food safety inspections from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1.

The worst score of 90 red points went to a Kennewick restaurant where a worker touched food with a bare hand and meat was kept for more than week.

The health districts food safety team gave passing grades on 23 inspections, with 14 earning a perfect score. Most of the inspections with perfect scores were at restaurants or other businesses specializing in Mexican food.

In the districts routine inspections, businesses or organizations that receive at least 35 points for the more serious red violations are required to have additional inspections and must meet a tougher standard on those.

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To pass followup inspections, they must have fewer than 25 red points and fewer than 10 red points for previous issues.

Red violations are those most likely to cause food-borne illnesses, such as improper temperature control of food, lack of handwashing or bare-hand contact with foods.

Blue violations are low risk factors related to the cleanliness and physical condition of an establishment.

No notice is given before the inspections.

Inspection results are posted online so residents can look up the status and the details of any violations of individual restaurants or check other businesses.

Go to bit.ly/BFHDinspections. Click on the business name and then on the date of the inspection on the right half of the next page. Look for the Violations tab.

Failed inspections

Casa Mia, 607 George Washington Way, Richland, Routine Aug. 31 (40 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Improperly disposing of potentially unsafe food, improper hot holding (130F-134F), room temperature storage or improper use of time as a control.

Donitas Tacos, Pasco, Event, Re-inspection Sept. 1 (25 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Improper reheating procedures for hot holding, improper cold holding (>45F).

El Charrito, 130 N. 10th Ave., Pasco, Follow-up Aug. 28 (80 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Lack of active managerial control, improper cooling procedures, improper hot holding (<130F), room temperature storage or improper use of time as a control.

Five Guys Burgers & Fries, 2671 Queensgate Drive, Richland, Routine Sept. 1 (55 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Lack of active managerial control, improper hot holding (<130F), room temperature storage or improper use of time as a control.

Masala Indian Cuisine, 3321 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick, Routine Aug. 29 (35 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Improper cooling procedures, improper cold holding (>45F).

Some Bagels Too, 810 S. Washington St., Kennewick, Routine Sept. 1 (90 Red, 3 Blue)

Notes: Lack of active managerial control, improper hand washing, bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods, improper produce washing, improperly disposing of potentially unsafe food, improper cold holding (>45F), accurate thermometer not provided or used. The business is required to send the health district its policy for keeping cream cheese and meat for more than seven days and any studies showing that is safe.

Tacos Super Uno, 2417 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick, Routine Aug. 29 (40 Red, 5 Blue)

Notes: Food worker cards not 100%, improper cooling procedures, improper cold holding (>45F).

Taqueria Las Marias, 1501 W. Sylvester St., Pasco, Follow-up Aug. 28 ( 25 Red, 0 Blue)

Notes: Improper cooling procedures.

Passed inspections

Bougie Brunch, 3320 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick, Routine Aug. 29 (10 Red, 0 Blue)

Carniceria 3 Pueblos (Commissary), 2446 W. Kennewick Ave., Kennewick, Routine Aug. 29 (Routine, Commissary 0 Red, 0 Blue) (Follow-up, Restaurant 0 Red, 0 Blue)

Casa Blanca (Mobile), Event, Routine Aug. 28 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Desert Heat, 707 W. Court St., Pasco, Routine Aug. 29 (10 Red, 0 Blue)

Don Rubio, 1515 N. 4th Ave., Pasco, Follow-up Aug. 28 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

El Antojito Mexicano Restaurant, 1915 W. Court St., Pasco, Follow-up Sept. 1 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Kennewick Bottle and Food (Deli), 325 S. Union St., Kennewick, Follow-up Aug. 29 (15 Red, 0 Blue)

La Palma Market, 2120 E. Lewis Pasco, Routine Sept. 1 (0 Red, 0 Blue) (Coffee 0 Red, 0 Blue) (Meat 0 Red, 0 Blue) (Store 0 Red, 0 Blue)

Lampson Stadium Concession 2, 505 S. Garfield St., Kennewick, Routine Aug. 29 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Monarca Ice Cream, 1830 W. Court St., Pasco, Follow-up Aug. 28 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Papa Johns Pizza, 125 Gage Blvd., Richland, Routine Sept. 1 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

Pizza Hut, 1902 George Washington Way, Richland, Routine Aug. 31 (0 Red, 0 Blue)

ROMA House, 617 The Parkway, Richland, Routine Aug. 31 (25 Red, 0 Blue)

Round Table Pizza, 1769 Leslie Road, Richland, Routine Sept. 1 (30 Red, 5 Blue)

Seven Eleven, 2411 George Washington Way, Richland, Routine Aug. 31 (Deli 15 Red, 0 Blue) (Store 0 Red, 0 Blue)

T/C Kart Club Concessions, 3329 Twin Bridges Road, Richland, Routine Aug. 31 (10 Red, 0 Blue)

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LOS ANGELES (AP)  That 70s Show star Danny Masterson could get as much as 30 years to life in prison at his sentencing Thursday for the rapes of two women two decades ago.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo is set to sentence the 47-year-old actor after ruling on a defense motion for a new trial that shes very likely to reject, and after hearing impact statements from the victims.

A jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty of two counts on May 31 after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in Mastersons Hollywood-area home in 2003, when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom That 70s Show.

The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.

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The verdict came in a second trial after a jury failed to reach verdicts on three counts of forcible rape in December and a mistrial was declared.

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Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his prominence in the Church of Scientology  where all three women were also members at the time  to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks.

The women blamed the church for their hesitancy in going to police about Masterson. They testified that when they reported him to Scientology officials, they were told they were not raped, were put through ethics programs themselves, and were warned against going to law enforcement to report a member of such high standing.

They were raped, they were punished for it, and they were retaliated against, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told jurors at the trial. Scientology told them theres no justice for them.

The church said in a statement after the verdict that the testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs during the trial were uniformly false.

The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone  Scientologists or not  to law enforcement, the statement said.

Masterson did not testify, and his lawyers called no witnesses. The defense argued that the acts were consensual, and attempted to discredit the womens stories by highlighting changes and inconsistencies over time, which they said showed signs of coordination between them.

The women whose testimony led to Mastersons conviction said that in 2003, he gave them drinks and that they then became woozy or passed out before he violently raped them.

Olmedo allowed prosecutors and accusers to say directly in the second trial that Masterson drugged the women, while only allowing the women to describe their condition in the first.

Masterson was not charged with any counts of drugging, and there was no toxicology evidence to back up the assertion. The issue could be a factor in a planned appeal from the defense of Mastersons conviction.

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say theyve been sexually abused.

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Masterson starred with Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace in That 70s Show from 1998 until 2006.

He had reunited with Kutcher on the 2016 Netflix comedy The Ranch, but was written off the show when an LAPD investigation was revealed the following year.

While that investigation began before a wave of women shook Hollywood with stories about Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, the conviction and sentencing of Masterson still represents a major #MeToo era success for Los Angeles prosecutors, along with the conviction of Weinstein himself last year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com.
That 70s Show star Danny Masterson has been sentenced to life in prison for the rapes of two women two decades ago.

He will be eligible for parole after serving 30 years.

The sentence was handed down on Thursday (7 September) by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F Olmedo, after she had rejected a defence motion for a new trial.

Mr Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another persons choice and voice. Your actions 20 years ago today were criminal, and thats why you are here, Judge Olmedo said.

The sitcom actor, 47, was found guilty of two counts of forcible rape by a jury of seven women and five men on 31 May, following seven days of deliberation.

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Masterson had initially been accused of drugging and raping three women at his home between 2001 and 2003. He was convicted of raping two of the women in 2003, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the third allegation from November 2001, brought forward by a former girlfriend.

His first trial ended in a mistrial in December, with jurors hopelessly deadlocked on all three counts.

The Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is a member and all three women are former members, has played an even larger role in the second trial than it did in the first.

During the trial, prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his prominence in the church to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks.

Danny Masterson (2017 Invision)

The women had blamed the church for dissuading them from reporting Masterson to police. They testified that when they reported him to Scientology officials, they were told they were not raped and were sent through ethics programs and warned against going to law enforcement to report a member of such high standing.

They were raped, they were punished for it, and they were retaliated against, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told jurors at the trial. Scientology told them theres no justice for them.

After the verdict, the church said that the testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs during the trial were uniformly false.

The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone  Scientologists or not  to law enforcement, the statement said.

Masterson, maintains his innocence, did not testify, and his lawyers called no witnesses. The defence argued that the acts were consensual, and attempted to discredit the women by arguing that their stories had been tweaked in their favour.

Mastersons attorney Philip Cohen fought back against prosecutor Ariel Ansons drugging claims in his closing arguments, claiming there was no tangible evidence to support drugging allegations.

Miss Anson presented a case as if she was arguing a drugging case, Cohen said. Maybe its because there is no evidence of force or violence.

Mastersonwas not charged with any counts of drugging, and there was no toxicology evidence to back up the assertion.

Following his sentencing, one of the women addressed Masterson and the courtroom, saying: I dont have to carry around your shame around with me. Now, you have to carry it. You have to sit in a cell and carry it.

Your emptiness and your cowardice will be your true legacy. You are pathetic, disturbed and extremely violent. The world is safer with you behind bars.

Masterson is best known for his starring role alongside Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace in That 70s Show from 1998 until 2006.

He had reunited with Kutcher on the 2016 Netflix comedy The Ranch, but was written off the show when a Los Angeles Police Department investigation was revealed the following year.

While that investigation began before Hollywood was shaken with stories about Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, the conviction and sentencing of Masterson still represents a major #MeToo era success for Los Angeles prosecutors, along with the conviction of Weinstein himself last year in 2022.

Additional reporting by Associated Press.
Actor Danny Masterson arrives at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles on May 31, 2023. / Credit: Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Actor Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison Thursday after a jury convicted him earlier this year of raping two women 20 years ago, according to the Los Angeles district attorney's office. Prosecutors said the rapes occurred in 2003 while Masterson, now 47, was starring in the hit sitcom "That '70s Show."

"This has been a long and arduous road for the victims of Mr. Masterson," Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement to CBS News after the sentencing. "They not only survived his abuse, they also survived a system that is often not kind to victims."

Masterson was convicted in May of raping a 28-year-old woman in April 2003 and a 23-year-old woman later that year, according to prosecutors. Both incidents happened at Masterson's Hollywood Hills home.

Actor Danny Masterson arrives at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles on May 31, 2023. / Credit: Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

CBS Los Angeles reports Masterson has been in custody since his conviction. No cameras were allowed in court during Thursday's sentencing. According to The Associated Press, Masterson wore a suit in court as his accusers addressed him directly.

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"When you raped me, you stole from me," said one of the women who Masterson was found guilty of attacking, according to the AP. "That's what rape is, a theft of the spirit."



"You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent," she said. "The world is better off with you in prison."

The other woman told Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo, "I knew he belonged behind bars for the safety of all the women he came into contact with. I am so sorry, and I'm so upset. I wish I'd reported him sooner to the police."

Masterson declined an offer to address the court, according to Reuters. His attorneys said what happened between him and the women was consensual. According to the AP, Masterson plans to appeal and he maintains his innocence.

Before announcing the sentence, Olmedo addressed Masteron, saying he might feel "victimized by a justice system that has failed you" because of his "claims of innocence," according to the AP.

"But Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim here," the judge said. "Your actions 20 years ago took away another person's voice, and choice. One way or another you will have to come to terms with your prior actions, and their consequences."

The jury didn't reach a unanimous decision on a third count that alleged Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend. Deliberations lasted for more than six days before Masterson was convicted on the two other counts.

Following Thursday's proceedings, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told reporters prosecutors wouldn't seek a new trial for the count that deadlocked the jury. He also said he wasn't concerned about Masterson's appeal plans.

Mueller said he was happy that Masterson's accusers "got their justice."

"This is a day for them," the prosecutor said. "This is a moment for them."

Gascon said the three women were brave for coming forward.

"Their courage and strength have been an inspiration to us all," Gascon said in a statement after Masterson was convicted. "While we are disappointed that the jury did not convict on all counts, we respect their decision."

Late last year, Olmedo declared a mistrial after a different jury couldn't reach a unanimous verdict on any charges. In this year's trial, Masterson didn't testify, and his lawyers didn't call any witnesses.

Masterson and his three accusers were all members of the Church of Scientology at the time of the incidents. The women testified that they reported Masterson to Scientology officials but were discouraged from going to the police and feared being excommunicated. The church denied blocking anyone from cooperating with authorities.

"I think the jury believed that, they believed the narrative that the Church of Scientology and its members would have retaliated against them if they had reported this," CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson said following Masterson's conviction. "And that's why they waited, and that's why they interacted with Danny Masterson in different ways and continued to interact with him."

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(NewsNation)  The husband of a Utah mom and YouTube content creator facing child abuse charges denies he had any role in his wifes alleged activities, according to the mans attorney.

Kevin Frankes wife, Ruby Franke, was charged after neighbors found one of her sons with duct tape on his ankles and lacerations that authorities believe were from being tied up with rope. Another child was described as being malnourished.

Randy Kester, Kevin Frankes attorney, denied the childrens father had any role, saying he was not living in the house where the alleged abuse occurred.

Mom had the kids for the summer and went out of the county with the kids, and if he had known of or thought there was abuse going on, he would have been all over it, Kester said Tuesday on NewsNations CUOMO. (The alleged abuse) happened in a house that was a couple hundred miles away from where Mr. Franke was.

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Ruby Franke, a member of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, is a mother of six from Utah. She and her husband ran a YouTube channel called 8 Passengers about life with their children, who currently range in age from 10 to 20. At the peak of the channels popularity, the family had more than two million followers.

8 Passengers garnered controversy for showing the children in vulnerable moments and for what Ruby Franke called her strict parenting style. Those who spoke out against the channel said she was openly abusing her children. The channel was removed from YouTube this year.

After the channel was removed, Ruby Franke launched a new one with a business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, called ConneXions Classroom, focused on mental health and counseling. Hildebrandt has also been charged with child abuse.

Police say Hildebrandts neighbors called 911 after Frankes 12-year-old son escaped from a window of her house. The child was taken to a hospital for treatment due to his deep lacerations from being tied up with rope and from his malnourishment, according to an arrest record.

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When police went to the Hildebrandt home, they found Frankes 10-year-old daughter, who was described as being malnourished. Frankes two other minor children were located at the Franke home and all four children were placed under the custody of family services.

It is not clear why Ruby Franke and two of the children were staying with Hildebrandt.

Kevin Franke has not been charged, and police have not disclosed whether he was living in the home at the time. Kester, Frankes attorney, says he wasnt.

In a statement to Page Six last week, Kester said Kevin Frankes goal is to keep the children together.

If the allegations are true, my client has never supported, condoned or even acted in a physical way toward these kids, Kester told NewsNation. Hes a good dad, hes a very humble guy, and he needs to get these kids back to be able to kind of get them out of the media and get their lives back to normal. Thats his objective.

NewsNation digital producer Stephanie Whiteside contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
California laws banning people from openly carrying handguns in public without a license are under greater legal threat after a federal appellate court decision Thursday.

A conservative three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that a lower court "abused its discretion" when it declined to halt state enforcement of the laws while their constitutionality is being challenged.

The higher court's ruling did not conclude that enforcement should be halted, instead sending the case back down to the lower district court for another analysis. However, it did provide "instructions" on how that analysis should be conducted, with language that will make it more difficult for the state to prove its laws are constitutional, legal experts said.

"The court seems to think that California can't meet this burden," said Jake Charles, an associate professor at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law and an expert in firearms law.

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Amy L. Bellantoni, an attorney for Mark Baird and Richard Gallardo, the plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit challenging the state's laws, said they were "very pleased" with the decision and "look forward to a swift reevaluation by the district court."

California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta's office, which is defending the state's laws in court, said in a statement that it was "reviewing the decision and will respond appropriately." The statement added that it is "important to note that criminal penalties for the unlicensed open carry of firearms remain in effect."

The case  Baird vs. Bonta  is one of many challenges to California gun laws that got a major boost after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that firearm restrictions violate the 2nd Amendment if they arent deeply rooted in the nations history or analogous to some historical rule.

The "Bruen test," as it has become known after the case New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. vs. Bruen, radically altered the legal process by which gun regulations are scrutinized when individuals challenge them as unconstitutional. Rather than considering the public good of such gun laws, courts are now weighing whether laws aimed at governing modern firearms like assault rifles are sufficiently similar enough to centuries-old weapons laws to be considered historical and therefore constitutional.

Read more: Thanks to the Supreme Court, California gun cases hinge more on history than modern threats

California generally bars people who live in counties with more than 200,000 residents from openly carrying handguns, though there are some exceptions. People who live in jurisdictions with fewer than 200,000 residents, such as Baird and Gallardo, can apply for open-carry licenses from local law enforcement, but such licenses are also difficult to obtain.

Baird and Gallardo first sued over the laws more than four years ago, alleging they violate their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms for self-defense.

In his decision Thursday, Circuit Judge Lawrence VanDyke, a Trump appointee, wrote that the lower court must consider the likelihood that Baird and Gallegos would ultimately prevail in their claim that the bans are unconstitutional.

However, the lower court did not do that, VanDyke wrote. Instead, he said, it simply denied the injunction on the grounds that it could "endanger public safety" by temporarily depriving California of its "primary means of limiting public handgun carrying to 'ordinary, law-abiding citizens.'"

VanDyke wrote that if the lower court determines that California's licensing laws impact rights covered by the 2nd Amendment, the lower court must then apply the Bruen test.

Legal experts said that if VanDyke had stopped there, the decision would have been less important than procedural. However, they said, VanDyke went a step further by offering a standard for how California might meet Bruen's requirements that was even stricter than what the Supreme Court articulated.

With Bruen, the Supreme Court said that gun laws are legitimate only if they existed or are sufficiently similar in some way to laws that existed in 1791, when the 2nd Amendment was passed, or 1868, when the 14th Amendment was passed. The latter amendment prohibits states from depriving people of property without due process of law.

The Bruen decision was sufficiently vague that judges have been interpreting it in different ways since. Many are closely watching a case the Supreme Court will hear soon that deals with laws restricting gun possession by domestic abusers, to see if the nation's high court will provide any additional instructions on how to apply Bruen.

Conservative judges have generally applied Bruen more strictly than liberal ones, and VanDyke's ruling Thursday was no exception.

VanDyke wrote that because states were already grappling with gun violence in 1791 and 1868, California had to show a "distinctly similar" historical law to its current open-carry laws in order for the latter to be constitutional today  and not just "any general firearm regulation California might unearth" from the past.

He said the historical law must be similar in "how" and "why" it "curtailed individuals right to carry firearms" in order to be relevant in the current case.

Citing other strict applications of Bruen in appellate courts elsewhere in the country, VanDyke wrote that "in short," California "must identify a historical analogue that curtails the right to peaceably carry handguns openly for self-defense to a comparable degree, with a comparable severity, and with a comparable blanket enforcement to Californias open-carry ban."

VanDyke was joined in his ruling by circuit judges N. Randy Smith, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, and Kenneth K. Lee, a Trump appointee.

Adam Winkler, a UCLA law professor who focuses on 2nd Amendment law, said the ruling clearly shows the way things are trending with gun laws in the post-Bruen era.

"It's getting harder and harder for legislators to defend gun safety laws," he said.

Bellantoni, the attorney for Baird and Gallardo, said California's open-carry bans have no basis in history and should be overturned.

"Californias open-carry regulations are repugnant to the plain text of the 2nd Amendment and a preliminary injunction should follow," she said.

VanDyke urged the lower court to "swiftly" reconsider and rule on the injunction request given the underlying litigation is already more than four years old and the Bruen decision was issued more than a year ago, but he did not set a specific deadline.

Thursday's decision could be appealed, as could any new decision by the lower court.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Actor Danny Masterson will spend 30 years to life in prison for raping two women inside his California home in 2003. He is best known for his role as Steven Hyde on the television sitcom That 70s Show.

On Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Masterson received the maximum sentence for his crimes. The 47-year-old was convicted of two counts of forcible rape in May and had been in custody since, according to the Associated Press.

The actor can file a notice of appeal within 60 days, according to Deadline. As it stands now, he will be eligible for parole upon serving 25 years in jail.

After hearing statements from the victims describing the suffering they experienced in the years following the rapes, Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo addressed Masterson as she read her sentence. I know that youre sitting here steadfast in your claims of innocence, and thus no doubt feeling victimized by a justice system that has failed you, Olmedo said. But, Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another persons voice and choice. One way or another, you will have to come to terms with your prior actions and their consequences.

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Three womenall members of the Church of Scientologyhad accused Masterson of raping them at his home between 2001 and 2003, and he was arrested in 2020. A deadlocked jury led to a mistrial in the case in November 2022, but prosecutors moved to retry the actor earlier this year. Masterson was found guilty of two counts in the retrial, while the jury couldnt reach a verdict on the third.

Masterson has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying the acts were consensual. However, prosecutors argued he put drugs in the womens drinks and that the actor used his connections within Scientology to evade consequences, according to AP.

In addition to That 70s Show, Masterson also appeared in the TBS comedy Men at Work from 2012 to 2014 and the Netflix series The Ranch from 2016 to 2018. The streaming service fired the actor several months after the allegations surfaced in March 2017.

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Jason Miller, a longtime adviser to former President Trump, said Wednesday the former president does not need to debate until his GOP rivals show they belong even on the same stage.

[Trump is] up by a lot, I dont think he needs to [debate] right now. I think hes in the drivers seat, Miller said in an interview on NewsNations The Hill. And  until some of these guys actually show that they belong even on the same stage as him, then I would say he doesnt need to.

Echoing the same argument Trump used when he skipped the first GOP primary debate, Miller pointed to the former presidents strong lead in the Republican primary polls. Recent polling from Morning Consult shows 3 in 5, or 60 percent, of potential GOP primary voters back Trump, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis trailing far behind at 15 percent.

Trump has maintained this lead in recent weeks, despite his mounting legal challenges.

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Earlier Wednesday, Trump was asked by radio host Hugh Hewitt if he would attend a debate in Alabama, to which the former president said, Ill make that decision, I would love to go to anything involved with Alabama.

The question came amid reports that the University of Alabama may host the third Republican presidential debate.

When asked if debating is back on the table for Trump, Miller said, President Trump has said that hes not going to be doing the debates, and I would take that at face value until he says something differently.

Miller also noted Trumps desire to debate President Biden, who Miller said does not look so good these days.

When it comes to Joe Biden, I tell you, President Trump is chomping at the bit to get Joe Biden on that stage, Miller said. Sleepy does not look so good these days, and we saw where hes wandering out of the military ceremony, not looking good, Miller continued, in reference to Biden appearing to walk out of a U.S. military medal ceremony Tuesday.

In the weeks leading up to last months GOP primary debate, Trump signaled he would not attend, citing his lead in the polls days before the debate as a primary reason. Trump announced on social media he would skip the debate and instead sit for an interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson.

Carlsons interview with Trump was released at 8:55 p.m., five minutes before the debate in Milwaukee kicked off.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A lawsuit filed in August in Fulton County on behalf of the district attorneys from the Augusta Judicial Circuit, Towaliga Judicial Circuit, Dekalb and Cobb Counties, against five members of the Prosecuting Attorneys Oversight Commission, contends that S.B. 92, the law that created the commission and allows members to discipline and remove district attorneys, chills prosecutors from articulating their philosophies to their communities."

Among the affidavits filed as part of that lawsuit is one by Coco Papy, director of public policy and communications at Deep Center, a creative arts and social justice nonprofit focused on youth advocacy and legislative reform.

In the affidavit, Papy alleges that projects brought forth by Deep Center to the Chatham County District Attorney have stagnated due to S.B. 92. Among those projects:

The Chatham County Jail case backlog, which came as the result of COVID-19-induced delays and assistant district attorney staffing shortages, has not been fully-addressed, even as the DA has secured American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to hire more ADAs by the county, according to the affidavit. More specifically, a rapid trial docket which would rely on ADA discretion to dispose of cases more quickly and leniently has not come to fruition.

Deep Centers pre-arrest diversion program  which would divert people cited or charged on a first offense or on a quality-of-life offense, such as disorderly conduct or vagrancy, into programming  has stalled, despite initial support and apparent funding from the DA, according to the affidavit.

Two fines and fees projects have also stalled, according to Papy. The first version encouraged District Attorney Jones office to wipe away any discretionary fine or fee that would negatively impact an individuals financial well-being. Following the introduction of S.B. 92, the DAs office expressed reluctance to work on the project. In response, Deep Center suggested a modified project, which "asked to focus on the creation of a form assessing the financial status of a defendant. The form is meant to gauge the impact of a fine or fee and be used to inform decisions made by either the ADA or the court or both."

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Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones participates in a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters at the Coastal Georgia Center.

Jones take on the situation is different from Papys, however. After reviewing the affidavit, which she said she was unaware of and that Papy did not consult on with her, Jones responded via text:

I will say that SB92 has certainly had a chilling effect on prosecution but not in the ways Ms. Papy has outlined. So, I agree with part of the statement, but have a different view on the underlying facts, Jones wrote in a series of Aug. 28 texts. Cash bail, pre-trial diversion and [fines] and fees dont have anything to do with SB92 in my opinion.

"As the District Attorney, she's certainly welcome to hold that opinion," Papy said in a Sept. 6 phone call. "Given the work that we have done on S.B. 92, and how much we pushed back on it during session, we think that any piece of legislation or any law that sort of infringes upon a prosecutor's independence on what they can and cannot do based off of any partisan position just feels dangerous."

Jones among those calling S.B. 92 'unconstitutional'

Gov. Brian Kemp signed S.B. 92 at the Chatham County Sheriff's Office on May 5, at a time when Jones faced increased scrutiny for pleading down, or reducing, murder convictions to lesser charges, such as manslaughter. Soon after the bills signing, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr held a meeting of his statewide anti-gang network with coastal law enforcement officials. Jones was noticeably absent among the attendees.

Since taking office in January 2021, Jones has faced a backlog of cases, exacerbated by the COVID-19 shutdown of courts, staffing shortages  including the resignation of seasoned assistant district attorneys  and accusations of fostering a discriminatory culture within the office.

Jones has been a vocal critic of S.B. 92, calling it government overreach at a roundtable discussion of legal issues hosted by the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus at Savannah State University on July 21, according to a Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) report.

On Sept. 5, Jones joined 84 current and former prosecutors, attorneys general, U.S. attorneys and Department of Justice officials, in signing an amicus brief as part of the lawsuit that urges the court to declare S.B. 92 unconstitutional.

There are no hearings scheduled yet in the case.

Drew Favakeh is the public safety and courts reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at AFavakeh@savannahnow.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Chatham County District Attorney says S.B. 92 has had chilling effect
The three-day African Climate Summit concluded in Nairobi Wednesday as the continent's leaders announced their support for a global carbon tax regime  a tariff system they hope will disincentivize the fossil fuel use that is primarily causing global heating. In the process, however, the politicians underscored the rifts within the movement to address climate change.

The support for global carbon taxes was announced by Kenyan President William Ruto, who explained that the joint declaration among the African nations would serve as the basis of their negotiating position in November's COP28 summit. In addition to advocating for global carbon taxes, the Nairobi leaders argued for debt relief for African nations and further investments into their respective economies. They also argued that, when it comes to climate change, the African nations would through their own actions serve as a model for the rest of the world to follow.

"We can be a green industrial hub that helps other regions achieve their net zero strategies by 2050," Ruto said at the summit. "Unlocking the renewable energy resources that we have in our continent is not only good for Africa, it is good for the rest of the world."

Not everyone was happy with the document, with some arguing it did not do enough to advance the interests of low-income Africans. Africa is expected to suffer a disproportionate blow from climate change, including losing all of its glaciers. Large parts of the continent will be uniquely vulnerable to compound drought and heatwaves events as well, all while temperature records continue to shatter as climate change spirals out of control.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta condemned the Rocklin Unified School District board of trustees Thursday for its approval of a parental notification policy that would require district staff to inform a students parents if their child requests to change their name, gender expression, or pronouns.

Despite our ongoing commitment to stand against any actions that target and discriminate against Californias transgender and gender-nonconforming youth, Rocklin Unified has chosen to endanger their civil rights by adopting a policy that forcibly outs them without consideration of their safety and well-being, Bonta said in a statement.

I have said it before and I will say it again: We will not tolerate any policy that perpetuates discrimination, harassment, or exclusion within our educational institutions.

Four members of the five-seat board voted in support of the policy after hearing several hours of public comment late Wednesday night, much of which was against the measure. Protesters from the local and state teacher unions, as well as LGBTQ people and supporters, rallied outside the district office before the meeting.

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Parents rights advocates, many of whom also spoke Wednesday night after standing in line for hours to do so, say the measure simply keeps parents informed of important, life-changing decisions their students are making. Opponents of the measure, including Bonta, say it will harmfully out trans and gender non-conforming students.

Bonta wrote a letter to the RUSD board on Wednesday before the meeting, sharing his serious concern with the proposed policy.

In addition to infringing upon student privacy, forced outing of students to their parents is very likely to result in significant emotional, mental, and even physical harm and subject students to discriminatory harassment, he wrote.

He warned members that he will not hesitate to take legal action if they pass the measure  a process his office has already started with the Chino Valley Unified School District in Southern California. The Chino Valley school board passed a similar measure in July, and in August, Bonta filed a lawsuit against the district. On Wednesday afternoon, a San Bernardino Superior Court Judge issued a temporary restraining order against the measure.

My office has a substantial interest in protecting the legal rights of children in California schools and protecting such children from trauma and exposure to violence, Bonta wrote to RUSD board. I will not hesitate to take action as appropriate to vigorously protect students civil rights.

The Sacramento Bee has reached out to RUSD and the Attorney Generals office for comment.
Get ready to Dance, Dance when Fall Out Boy comes to the Steel City next year.

The rock band will be stopping at PPG Paints Arena on March 27 during their newly announced So Much For (2our) Dust.

Jimmy Eat World, Hot Mulligan and CARR will be joining Fall Out Boy during their Pittsburgh tour stop, according to the bands website.

Tickets go on sale on Friday, Sept. 15 at 10 a.m.

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The Air Force has posted video footage of a German-supplied Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery system shooting down Shahed attack drones in Odesa Oblast on the night of 6-7 September.

Source: Air Force on Telegram

Background:

As a result of the Russian Shahed drone attack in Odesa Oblast, civilian and port infrastructure, a grain silo and an administrative building were damaged.

The prosecutor's office posted images pf the aftermath of the Russian night attack on the south of Odesa Oblast and also reported that two people were wounded.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!






WASHINGTON  The U.S. Air Force still hopes lawmakers will approve a proposal allowing armed services to start work on new programs before a budget is passed, a move that could ease problems brought about by a continuing resolution.

Andrew Hunter, the Air Forces assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics, said Tuesday that the so-called quickstart legislative proposal would allow the service to progress with initial contract work and early-stage program activities  even if a budget isnt yet passed and the military was forced to operate under a continuing resolution, or CR, limiting its spending to prior year levels.

In an interview at the Pentagon with Defense News, Hunter described complications that CRs present when the Air Force tries to launch new programs. Under a CR, he said, the Air Force can hold informal talks with industry. But arranging contracts and setting up vendor pools is trickier if a formal budget isnt yet passed, he explained.

The quickstart proposal could change that, he argued.

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Getting to the point where you can actually get on contract and initiate early-stage programmatic activities, thats what that legislative proposal is really optimized for, Hunter said. Thats one reason why were continuing to aggressively pursue that with Congress.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall first described this proposal to reporters in April, noting it would only allow program offices to perform preliminary work, such as early requirements studies, risk reduction and design activities.

The original version of the proposal backed by Kendall would have allowed services to use up to $300 million to start new programs before a budget was passed. It was originally in neither versions of the National Defense Authorization Act proposed to Congress. But Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., brought the proposal up for a floor amendment to the Senates NDAA version in July.

The version that ultimately made it into the Senate NDAA was a slimmed-down approach to the first proposal, allowing to use $100 million for new-start funding across the Defense Department. Hunter said the Air Force will continue talking to lawmakers during the conference process to resolve differences between the two NDAA versions in hopes the proposal makes it into the final bill.

Hunter said the inclusion of the proposal in the Senate NDAA was wonderful, from an Air Force perspective. And when asked if $100 million was enough, he replied: Its a good start.

I would hesitate to say its not enough until Ive [proved] that its not enough, by executing up to the limit, Hunter explained. Having said that, the $100 million isnt just for the Air Force, sadly; its for all of the services. So well have to see how intense the competition is to use the authority. And if its really intense, well have to revisit the proposal.

Hunter noted this proposal could come in handy to start up Project Venom, a proposed $50 million program that would allow the service to upgrade six F-16 fighters with autonomous software and experiment with the aircrafts self-flying capabilities.

If the legislative proposal passes, Hunter said, the Air Force could readjust funding to start working on modifying those jets before a budget is officially passed. The money could pay for procuring physical parts for the modified F-16s, he added, as well as design and software work.

A proposed experimental operations unit, which would help develop the tactics and procedures to fold autonomous drone wingmen  also known as collaborative combat aircraft  into a squadron, would be harder to fund under the quickstart proposal, Hunter said.

So much of the work there [in the experimental operations unit] is people, Air Force personnel, and organizational, Hunter said. I wouldnt say theres not any application to it, but its a little more tenuous.

When using that authority, he added, the Air Force would have to be cautious not to start something it would be unable to finish.

He also said House lawmakers and staffers have expressed concern to the Air Force about the potential effect this proposal would have on the budgetary process.

Some of the changes the Senate made to the proposal when including it in the chambers NDAA may address concerns in the House, increasing its chances for passage, according to Hunter. He described the other changes to the proposal, besides the lowering of the funding limit, as clarifications that didnt differ greatly from what the Air Force intended.

Its my hope, and my message to the House folks has been, that we think a lot of the concerns that led to this not being in the House version of the NDAA were addressed in the provision that was adopted by the Senate, Hunter said. We think its ready to go.

If the $100 million version of this legislative proposal passes, Hunter declined to say whether the Pentagon is likely to pitch another version next year that would expand it beyond the current limit.

Right now, my job is to persuade them to adopt the authority and then to show them what it looks like in execution, Hunter said. Im going to stick with that for the time being.
The Air Force launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean in a routine test early Wednesday, the service said in a release.

The missile was fired from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, around 1:30 a.m. local time, and traveled about 4,200 miles to the Marshall Islands, where the U.S. has conducted nuclear weapons tests for decades.

Test launches ensure Americas land-based nuclear missiles are still viable after more than 50 years, and are a chance to vet upgrades or different methods of controlling the weapons. They also serve as a warning shot to deter aggression against the United States.

These test launches verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system, providing valuable data to ensure a continued safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent, the Air Force said in the release.

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This weeks Minuteman III was capable of carrying three nuclear warheads  a design that would allow a single ICBM to hit three separate targets with one launch. The Air Force occasionally tests that configuration but does not use it on its active arsenal of missiles, which each carry one warhead.

The Air Force cautioned that Wednesdays event was not held in reaction to current world events. It has test-launched two other ICBMs so far this year.

Still, the trial run came shortly after the head of Russias Roscosmos space agency announced Sept. 1 that the country had deployed a new Sarmat long-range ICBM that is capable of carrying multiple warheads and can evade surveillance.

A U.S. official also said Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this month, a move experts told the Associated Press could open the door to greater sharing of sophisticated weapons technologies.

North Korea has test-launched more than 100 ballistic and cruise missiles since the beginning of 2022 to protest Americas military ties with neighboring South Korea and Japan.

Four hundred nuclear-tipped ICBMs are currently in service in underground silos across the continental U.S., where airmen sit in bunkers around the clock in case the president issues launch orders.

The Air Force plans to replace the Minuteman III fleet with the LGM-35A Sentinel, a modern missile that the Pentagon has estimated may cost around $264 billion over the course of 50 years. The weapons are slated to enter service starting in 2028.
A judge Wednesday issued felony warrants for an Alabama doctor charged in a traffic crash that killed her 10-year-old daughter while fleeing police earlier this year.

Sarah Kathleen Cumbest Mullican, an anesthesiologist, is charged with reckless manslaughter and felony attempting to elude in connection to the July 22 wreck, Mountain Brooks police said.

The single-vehicle wreck took place just before 5:30 p.m. in Mountain Brook, an upscale suburban neighborhood in Birmingham, and claimed the life of Annabelle Mullican.

On Thursday, police said Dr. Mullican was not yet in custody.

Father charged in son's shooting death: A loaded gun, 2 brothers left in a car, a single shot fired and a father arrested for murder

A speeding white SUV

On the day of the fatal crash, police said, an officer observed a white SUV traveling at a high rate of speed on Old Lees Road and attempted to conduct a traffic stop after it turned onto Cherokee Road.

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The area is near a golf club about five miles southeast of downtown Birmingham.

But the SUV continued to travel at a high rate of speed, the officer reported, and an occupant threw two items out of a drivers side window. Police did not say what the items are but said detectives collected them as evidence.

"Within fourteen seconds of activating their lights and siren," the department reported, the officer watched the SUV leave the road, strike a tree and roll onto its roof before landing in an embankment.

Prosecutors on Sept. 6, 2023, issued felony warrants for an Alabama doctor charged in a July 22 traffic crash that killed her 10-year-old daughter while fleeing police.

Paramedics responded and three people inside the SUV  identified by police as Mullican, Annabelle and another daughter  were taken to a hospital. Annabelle later died, police said.

Results of investigation presented to DA

On Wednesday, police said detectives presented results of their investigation to the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office and warrants were issued for her arrest.

Joe L. Roberts Chief Deputy District Attorney Joe L. Roberts told USA TODAY prosecutors could not comment on pending cases.

According to the local Press Register, Mullican graduated from the University of Mississippi medical school and from the University of Alabama anesthesiology residency program and is a board certified anesthesiologist.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior correspondent 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: Sarah Mullican, Alabama doctor, charged in crash that killed daughter
This is the second story of a three-part series. Click here to read the first, and click here to read the third.

Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified the origins of a propulsion system, which will include American and British technology.

WASHINGTON  It will take two decades for Australia to operate the nuclear-powered submarines designed and built under a new arrangement with the United States and the United Kingdom, unveiled six months ago.

Even so, a flurry of activity meant to get the undertaking off the ground has already begun, and experts say its critical to the programs long-term timeline that the three countries meet these initial goals.

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Australia, the U.K. and the U.S.  or AUKUS  have begun overhauling a submarine-industrial base in Western Australia; designing Australias future attack submarine SSN-AUKUS, that will incorporate American and Australian technology into a British attack sub design; and eyeing investments in all three countries submarine-industrial bases meant to make them more resilient and tightly interwoven.

Thats very much the vision, said Capt. Lincoln Reifsteck, the AUKUS integration and acquisition program manager, that all three countries become stronger militarily, that we become stronger industrially, that all of us move forward together, and that those partnerships, those alliances, make us all better.

The countries in March laid out a three-phase plan to achieve these goals. Australia will host American and British submarines out of a base in Western Australia in 2027, helping maintainers there learn to support nuclear-powered vessels. The U.S. will then sell Australia three to five Virginia-class attack submarines in the early 2030s, allowing Australia to start crewing and operating its own interim fleet. Finally, Australia will field a fleet of attack subs specifically under AUKUS in the early 2040s.

These are aggressive timelines. They should be aggressive timelines; if youre going to provide your close partners a game-changing capability, you should do this as fast as possible and work as hard as possible to do that, Reifsteck told Defense News.

Two experts explained to Defense News these aggressive timelines are achievable, but said political pushback is likely the most significant potential obstacle.

Heres a look at the status of each phase, as well as how Congress is backing the trilateral effort.

The linchpin

Australia is renovating facilities at its HMAS Stirling submarine base to ensure its ready to host foreign subs by 2027.

As many as four American Virginia-class subs and one British Astute-class sub will form Submarine Rotational Force-West. They will operate out of Stirling for several years at a time, and their crews will include Australian sailors.

Reifsteck said U.S. Indo-Pacific Command previously committed to sending American attack submarines to port visits in Australia once a year. With AUKUS in place, that will increase to two or more port calls to Stirling each year.

The Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Warramunga is berthed at HMAS Stirling on Aug. 11, 2021, in Garden Island, Australia. (CPOIS Damian Pawlenko/Australian Defence Force via Getty Images)

As Australian maintainers become qualified in U.S. Navy standards and procedures, theyll increasingly use the port visits to participate in small pierside maintenance activities, Reifsteck said.

And as new facilities go up at Stirling to support the nuclear-powered Virginia-class and future AUKUS-class submarines, the port visits will allow for beta tests of the new facilities.

Reifsteck said the port visits can include drills for fires, hazardous material leaks and natural disasters.

As the piers, maintenance facilities and training facilities get built, the workforce at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii will begin training their counterparts at Stirling on American procedures for maintenance and test events.

Bryan Clark, director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at Hudson Institute think tank, said training Australias workforce on U.S. nuclear and submarine safety standards by 2027 would be a challenge, but noted there are ways to mitigate this to stay on schedule.

If needed, Australian workers could start with repair tasks unrelated to the nuclear propulsion plant or so-called SUBSAFE components. These more sensitive repairs could be done by American workers in Australia, at repair facilities in Guam or Pearl Harbor, or using a submarine tender sent to Australia until the workforce at Stirling is fully trained.

Capacity concerns

The U.S. Navy will sell three to five Virginia-class submarines to Australia to give the ally an interim capability while the SSN-AUKUS undergoes construction.

But the state of Americas submarine-industrial base has left some lawmakers uneasy about this piece of AUKUS. The U.S. Navy already has a shortfall of attack submarines, with 49 in the fleet instead of the 66 to 72 required by a 2021 force structure assessment. Those attack subs are also less prepared than the Navy wants, with 33% of the fleet undergoing or awaiting maintenance instead of the 20% the service expects.

A rendering of the SSN-AUKUS. (Business Wire)

The submarine-industrial base plays a role in both problems. Suppliers are struggling to deliver parts on time, and delayed parts can throw off delicate production line schedules as well as delay maintenance for the in-service fleet.

The U.S. government has invested $2.3 billion to strengthen the submarine-industrial base and has committed to spending $1.6 billion more  in addition to a $2.4 billion pledge specifically to bolster submarine sustainment. These combined efforts are flooding suppliers with money and workload, allowing them to invest in the people, facilities and processes to more efficiently produce more parts.

Rep. Joe Courtney, a Democrat whose Connecticut district includes the General Dynamics Electric Boat shipyard, wrote a July 27 memo to convince his colleagues that previous investments are making a difference and that continued spending will ensure the submarine sale to Australia wont hurt the American fleet.

Still, Clark said, this phase is the most at risk of being skipped over.

It is an open question whether Australia will still want to spend [$3 billion or more] per submarine on SSNs in that time frame, and the U.S. Congress may resist selling ships out of a small inventory of ready boats, he noted, saying its possible the allies may ultimately bypass this interim fleet and wait for the arrival of SSN-AUKUS if both governments cannot overcome the political hurdles.

The U.S. Navy acknowledges AUKUS will put additional strain on the industrial base. Still, it estimates the vendor base will be back on track building American submarines by 2028 and will have additional capacity in the 2030s when it sells submarines to Australia.

Reifsteck said Australia has very sophisticated manufacturing capabilities for certain kinds of parts and could take on work for the collective AUKUS nuclear sub supply system. The three navies are in talks with their sectors to match interests and needs as well as identify the best opportunities for Australian involvement in the collective supply base.

Weve started working with the Australians on how we certify our vendors, how we do our quality control, how we certify that a part can go onto our submarine, so that we can quickly identify where the best pilot activities are going to be, he said, with a goal to get those parts into Virginia [submarines] immediately and have that industrial base revved up to support Australias Virginia-class and SSN-AUKUS subs.

By the end of this decade, he added, Australian workers at HMAS Stirling could perform maintenance on American submarines and install Australian-made repair parts, as the two countries merge their supply systems.

A brand new boat

Though the first SSN-AUKUS boats wont hit the water for another 15 years, the design must be done by next year.

A U.K. team is designing SSN-AUKUS. Boats built in the U.K. by BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce will replace the Royal Navys Astute-class submarines. Boats built in Australia, with some manufacturing assistance from companies in the U.K., will form the next-generation undersea fleet for the Royal Australian Navy.

The nuclear propulsion system will leverage both British and American technology.

And the combat system and weapons systems will feature much American technology. In some cases, such as the MK 48 heavyweight torpedo, the Australian naval force already uses the American weapon and is familiar with its fire control system, making it an easy decision to include these in the SSN-AUKUS design.

Reifsteck said the British designers are still weighing a few major decisions about which technology to use from which country, seeking to pick the best of breed from across their inventories.

Then the U.K. will begin building its first boat later this decade. Australia will follow very shortly thereafter, he added.

The U.K. production line will stay a bit ahead of its Australian counterpart, allowing the more experienced workforce to learn lessons about building this new class and share those with the Australian production line. The first U.K. boat should deliver in the late 2030s, and the first Australian boat in the early 2040s.

Near-term challenges

Despite the early activity, roadblocks remain, particularly for lawmakers to address.

Courtney told Defense News a package of legislative proposals from the Defense and State departments have really given Congress a to-do list in terms of making AUKUS work.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 48-0 in late July to support the sale of Virginia-class submarines to Australia. Despite the unanimous vote, there are lingering concerns about further shrinking the size of the American fleet due to this sale  though Courtney said hes optimistic the measure will be passed into law this year.

Theres also a change to the Defense Production Act that would allow suppliers in the U.K. and Australia to be considered domestic sources of materials in the U.S.  a designation from which Canada benefits.

And then theres the U.S. export control policy, International Traffic in Arms Regulations, or ITAR.

From left, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrive for a news conference after a trilateral meeting during the AUKUS summit on March 13, 2023, in San Diego, Calif. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

The good news is that the State Department actually did come forward with an ITAR reform plan, Courtney said, though the House Foreign Affairs Committee narrowly passed a version of this reform along party lines. Courtney called on lawmakers and the State Department to remain engaged and get the reforms passed this year.

Reifsteck said the ITAR reform is primarily important for AUKUS second pillar  an agreement for the three countries to share high-end technologies like quantum computing, artificial intelligence, hypersonics, unmanned systems and more  but also has some implications for the submarine collaboration in the first pillar.

Between 1,000 and 2,500 Australian ship maintenance workers will need to come to the U.S. and learn to work on nuclear-powered boats. Several of the legislative proposals, including the ITAR reform and the submarine sale authority, must pass so Australian nationals can train in the U.S. and repair Virginia-class submarines here and in Australia.

Lauren Kahn, a senior research analyst with the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University, praised the AUKUS plans consideration of how to speed up a partners preparedness to deal with these capabilities by focusing on all the things they can do in the meantime before they have the physical capabilities, such as building up the workforce, the infrastructure and a cadre of nuclear-trained sailors.

But she also noted the challenge of bureaucracy. Beyond passing ITAR and Defense Production Act reforms, she said there are several ways Congress and the Defense Department need to open up the flow of information and the sharing of technology so the allied navies can seamlessly operate together at sea once the hardware arrives.

Courtney said Congress, even as the AUKUS details were being finalized, passed a measure last year allowing Australian sailors to attend the U.S. Navys Nuclear Power School in South Carolina, setting a precedent of Congress allowing Australia access to closely held nuclear propulsion technology. The first three Australian naval officers graduated from the program in July; six more are enrolled, and more were selected to attend the school soon.

Kevin Rudd, the Australian ambassador to the U.S., said during a recent visit to HIIs Newport News Shipbuilding submarine construction yard that AUKUS would be a very large transformation with equally large challenges.

Rudd noted the three governments are working to turn the vision into reality. And that reality requires legislation through the Congress; it also requires active collaboration with the United States submarine-industrial base.

These are large undertakings, but our cause is large as well: to sustain the peace and stability of our wider region in the Pacific, he added.

This is the second story of a three-part series. Click here to read the first, and click here to read the third.
Summer has begun to wane but South Carolina still has plenty of festivals in its near future.

As fall fast approaches and temperatures begin to drop, South Carolinians will have a host of festivals to try, much like they did during the summer. From celebrations for all things okra to BBQ cook-offs and beer fests, there should be a festival for almost everyone.

Here are five of the best South Carolina festivals slated for September.

Charleston Beer Fest

When: Saturday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Where: Riverfront Park, 1061 Everglades Ave., North Charleston

Website: https://www.chsbeerfest.org/

The annual Charleston Beer Fest returns with more breweries, music, food, games and activities. More than 50 breweries will be represented at the event. When visitors check in, theyll get a mug for beer tasting samples. You can purchase additional tickets for 14-ounce pours for $5 each.

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Pets and people under 21 years old wont be allowed into the event.

To purchase tickets to the event, click here.

Columbias Greek Festival

When: Sept. 14-17

Where: Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral at 1931 Sumter Street, Columbia

Website: http://columbiasgreekfestival.com/

The popular annual Greek Festival in Columbia has returned for another celebration of Greek culture. Visitors will have four days to enjoy live Greek music indoors and outdoors, a variety of Greek foods and presentations on Greek culture, history and heritage.

Sooie. BBQ Cook-off

When: Sept. 15-16

Where: Mauldin Cultural Center Outdoor Amphitheater at 101 E Butler Road, Mauldin, SC

Website: https://mauldinculturalcenter.org/events/festival-season/mauldinbbq/

Barbecue fans should check out the 13th annual Sooie. BBQ Cook-off. Produced by the city of Mauldin, the annual festival showcases the communitys heritage through food and music. The event will feature more than 20 cookers from across the Southeast who will compete for best BBQ. If you want to sample some of the best BBQ the Southeast has to offer and vote on who is number one, then this event will be your chance.

Uniquely Union Festival

When: Sept. 15-16

Where: 207 South Herndon Street, Union, SC

Website: https://www.uniquelyunion.com/default.asp?sec_id=180004355

Prepare for two days of family fun, live music and tasty food at the 23rd annual Uniquely Union Festival. The festival began as a BBQ cookout, but began expanding in 2013 to include live music and other activities. This year the event will have free live music throughout the festival, featuring special guests Mighty Mcfly and Bryce Leatherwood, winner of The Voice season 22.

The Irmo Okra Strut

When: Sept. 29-30

Where: Irmo Community Park at 7507 Eastview Drive, Irmo, SC

Website: https://okrastrut.com/

Now in its 49th year, the Irmo Okra Strut is a must-visit event for all fans of the small vegetable. Its a popular event, regularly drawing 25,000 a year on average and sometimes as many as 60,000 visitors, according to the festivals website. However, the festival is about a good deal more than okra tasting. It also features live bands, a parade, arts and crafts, amusement rides and all kinds of festival foods.
Former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis close their eyes during the first Republican presidential primary debate, Aug. 23, in Milwaukee.

Former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis close their eyes during the first Republican presidential primary debate, Aug. 23, in Milwaukee.

The death penalty has long been the dirty secret of America. Politicians have steered away from addressing the topic publicly while using it behind the scenes to advance agendas. According to The Associated Press, capital punishment has not been a major campaign issue in a presidential election in 30 years.

The 2024 election cycle is shaping up differently, as capital punishment is rising to the forefront of GOP politics. In the 2024 cycle, American voters will have to address the death penalty.

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Several GOP presidential candidates have commented recently on the issue  most notably Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump . Both the Florida governor and the former president have made it clear they are some of the most pro-death politicians in contemporary politics.

In the 2023 legislative session, Florida, at DeSantis urging, passed two bills that positioned Florida as arguably the most pro-death state in the U.S. First, Florida reduced the standard for imposing a death sentence to the lowest in the country, requiring that only eight of 12 jurors vote to recommend a sentence of death. Before, Florida required a jurys unanimous recommendation for death  which is the standard in all other death penalty states (save Alabama, where the jury vote requirement is 10-2).

Second, Florida expanded the death penalty to non-homicide sex crimes against children aged 12 or younger, in a move that is directly at odds with standing U.S. Supreme Court precedent. In 2008, the Supreme Court held in Kennedy v. Louisiana that imposing a sentence of death for non-homicide crimes violates the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. In approving the law, DeSantis said he believes Kennedy was wrongly decided, and that he hopes the new Supreme Court will reconsider. In other words, DeSantis has no problem defying precedent and pushing well-established boundaries to appear tough on crime.

So far in 2023, DeSantis has directed Florida to carry out a spree of executions, completing five. A sixth execution is scheduled for Oct. 3, just two days after Floridas new capital sex crime law goes into effect.

DeSantis recent spree of executions appear to be an effort to support his tough on crime platform in his bid for the White House. At a press conference in early May, just ahead of signing the warrant for Floridas fourth execution, DeSantis indicated that his administration would continue executions at a normal pace. He said that capital punishment is the law of the land, which he is going to make sure ... is followed. Since capital punishment also remains on the federal books, voters could expect the same from a DeSantis administration in the White House.

DeSantis pitch to Make America Florida is not just a slogan. Its what DeSantis seeks to achieve with a presidential bid in 2024. Indeed, in presenting Floridas new capital sex crime law, DeSantis said that Floridas bold agenda is setting the terms of debate for the country.

Trump has a similar record. He directed an unprecedented string of 13 executions in his last six months in the White House. Under his administration, the federal government completed its first executions in 17 years. Since leaving the White House, Trump has urged the return of barbaric execution methods like the guillotine. Most recently, he called for the immediate death penalty for anyone involved in human trafficking  which would also contradict the 2008 ruling in Kennedy.

Mike Pence, another presidential hopeful, said in June that he supports a death penalty that is swift and certain. This week, Trumps former vice president called for an expedited federal death penalty for anyone engaged in a mass shooting.

In 2024, voters will no longer be able to ignore that capital punishment remains an active element of American life. In contemplating the death penalty, voters must consider more than whether they morally agree with capital punishment.

Ramping up the death penalty puts a significant burden on taxpayers without any real deterrent effect. Studies from across the country have shown that the death penalty is highly expensive for taxpayers, even compared to prison sentences of life without parole. There are additional expenses even before an execution, related to legal costs, pretrial costs, jury selection, trial, incarceration and appeals. As to the actual execution, the American Civil Liberties Union reported that the Federal Bureau of Prisons spent close to $1 million on each execution carried out in the summer of 2020  more than it costs to incarcerate a federal prisoner for 25 years.

Further, data shows that the death penalty does not have any true deterrent effect, which was Pences cited reason for supporting it. In 2021, the Sun Sentinelreportedthat annual murder rates are consistently higher overall in the death penalty states than in the 22 without capital punishment. According to the Gun Violence Archive, in the more than 100 mass shootings that took place in the first 10 weeks of this year, 82% of the resulting fatalities were in death penalty states.

Ultimately, pro-death policies do little more than impose further trauma on victims and the people involved in the criminal justice system  all of whom must participate in the drawn-out process created by a death sentence that often does not result in an execution.

Related...
(NEXSTAR)  An American speleologist exploring the Morca Cave in Turkey is currently trapped at a depth of more than 1,000 meters after becoming ill during the expedition.

Mark Dickey, 40, was co-leading an expedition on Saturday, Sept. 2, to map new passages within the Morca Cave  Turkeys third-deepest  when he became severely ill, according to Gretchen Baker, the National Coordinator of the National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC), an all-volunteer organization based in Huntsville, Alabama.

Dickey, from New York, is the NCRCs international exchange program coordinator, and has been teaching instructional classes on cave-rescue techniques for 10 years, Baker told Nexstar.

Currently, Mark is improving and is not as sick, said Baker, who did not provide additional details on the cause of Dickeys illness.

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3 sailors safe after sharks nearly sink catamaran on round-the-world trip

The European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) provided slightly more information, publicly stating that Dickey had experienced a bout of severe gastric pain at a depth of around 1,040 meters.

He [had] gastrointestinal bleeding and when the report was received, he was clearly unable to leave the approximately 1,000-meter deep cave on his own, the ECRA wrote. (Baker said it would take an experienced spelunker around 15 hours to exit the cave from Dickeys position.)

Rescue crews from Hungary descended to Dickeys location on Sunday to set up a tent and provide emergency care, the ECRA wrote. This included emergency blood transfusions, a representative for Hungarys team told the Associated Press. His circulation has since stabilized, the ECRA confirmed.

Additional teams from Turkey, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, and Poland are assisting with the rescue, the outlet reported.

Baker told Nexstar that the NCRC estimates the rescue to take between four and eight days, as the Turkish-led rescue teams will need to enlarge some of the tightest passageways in the cave to accommodate the stretcher that Dickey will need to be carried out on.

Yusef Ogrenecek, a representative for the Speleological Federation of Turkey, wasnt quite as optimistic, telling the AP it could take weeks before Dickey is brought to the surface.

Marks condition continues to improve, the federation tweeted. Doctors will decide whether it is possible for him to leave without a stretcher.

National parks can ban you from visiting: Heres how

The ECRA has set up a page for those who wish to donate to Dickeys rescue efforts, and to the rescue teams directly.

The leaders of the expedition asked for international help through Turkish federation of speleology and Turkish cave rescue, which are members of ECRA, the organization wrote. Rescue missions from such deepness are very rare, extremely difficult and need many very experienced cave rescuers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
What are the limits of the human body? How much pain and suffering can our bodies withstand? What would we be willing to endure for our loved ones? Is solidarity something natural, or does it come to us only in certain moments of our lives?

These questions do not have one answer. They are the subject of numerous discussions and interpretations, and have been asked in countless groups, societies, cultures and civilisations, becoming the topic of both scholarly and everyday debate. When faced with tragic situations, people have been forced to confront them in some way, though often with varying degrees of success.

Disaster

13 October 2023 marked 51 years since an incident that thrust some of the issues raised above into the limelight.

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Uruguayan Air Force flight 571, chartered by a rugby team and their friends and family, was flying to Chile for a friendly fixture. It never reached its destination. After an accident in the Andes Mountains, the remnants of the fuselage were left at an altitude of 4,000 metres, among mountains and towering, mile-high peaks, in the midst of snowfalls not seen for decades and temperatures hovering around minus 40 degrees Celsius.

In the surrounding area there was not even the faintest hint of civilisation, nor any chance of communication (the radio was broken, there was no satellite tracking, GPS or phones), nor anywhere to find even a scrap of food once the scarce provisions (a few chocolates and some wine) were finished. This place known as the Valley of Tears was extremely hostile to any kind of life.

Of the 45 passengers and crew, only 16 survived. Some died in the accident. Others shortly after from their injuries. More subsequently died in an avalanche that occurred in the days following the planes initial impact against the mountains. This event, and what happened in the weeks and months after, came to be known in the Uruguayan and international press as either The Andes Flight Disaster or The Miracle of the Andes. What we have seen thus far was the disaster. The miracle is what came after.

View of the monument commemorating the Andes tragedy. In the distance, behind the monument, you can see the mountain that some of the comrades climbed in their last effort to reach rescue. BoomerKC/Wikimedia Commons

Miracle

The group who managed to hold out young men for the most part, in good physical shape, from upper middle class Uruguayan families and members of a religious school survived in these harsh conditions for 72 days.

After hearing on a transistor radio that the search was over, with both Uruguayan and Chilean authorities presuming them dead, one of the survivors addressed the others and announced that this was good news. To his companions confusion, he stated that they were going to get out on their own. And they did.

It is at this point that we can begin talking about aspects such as resistance, creativity, solidarity, fraternity, empathy, resourcefulness and even utopia. These uniquely human ways of surviving are what make us so extraordinary as a species.

Making warm clothing from what was left of the seat covers, sharing what little they had and eliminating any trace of selfishness, conflict, individualism or privacy were necessary to overcome the desperate conditions of cold, hunger, tiredness, weakness, fainting, pain and constant fear.

They even went to such lengths of determination as to eat the flesh of their dead friends in order to survive, to the point of scraping their bones to obtain calcium. This was the subject of much subsequent debate among wider society, some of whom branded them as cannibals.

Two of the survivors, Fernando Parrado and Roberto Canessa, together with the mule driver Sergio Catalan, who found them lost in the Andes after ten days walking through the middle of the mountain range. Hector Maffuche/Wikimedia Commons

The Society of the Snow was the name given by the survivors themselves to this form of coexistence that was born among them. An entirely new way of imagining society became necessary, as the rules of the previous world had vanished without a trace. At the end of the day, as Spinoza said, no one knows what a body can do, and the most fully human thing is to push boundaries.

Two of the survivors walked through the mountains in search of help for 10 days without anything that even resembled climbing equipment. They travelled 60 km to finally reach the valleys of Chile where a mule driver spotted them on the other side of a river and was able to begin the rescue.

In the helicopters that took those two friends to join their companions, the pilots remarked that it was impossible to travel that route on foot, or to survive so many days of snowstorms without food or proper warm clothing.

Physical ability and the spirituality professed by some of the survivors were some of the causes given for their survival. There are many other factors, of course, that have to do with the human ability to press forward. As a species we push limits, we are creatures capable of making and keeping promises and looking to the future. Care according to Heideggers three principles of possibility, the fact of existence and falling is what makes us fully human by affirming that a group, simply by being a group, has a common goal.

From The Impossible to Society of the Snow

Society of the Snow is also the title of a book which features the survivors testimonies and has recently been adapted for the big screen in a film directed by Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage, The Impossible, A Monster Calls)

What took place half a century ago serves as a reminder that impossible is nothing more than a word that someone, at some point, will ultimately banish from our vocabulary.
WASHINGTON  Defense technology company Anduril Industries agreed to acquire Blue Force Technologies, a maker of uncrewed aircraft based in North Carolina.

Anduril didnt disclose the terms of the deal, which it announced Sept. 7. Chief Strategy Officer Christian Brose told C4ISRNET that Blue Forces emphasis on UAV hardware development and digital engineering aligns well with Andurils investments in mission autonomy software and its vision to field large quantities of uncrewed systems.

The acquisition of Blue Force Technologies and the additional investment that we will provide to scale up the work that team is doing, as well as the future work that were already starting to do together  all of that is something we believe in to our core, Brose said in an interview.

Blue Force has been developing its Fury uncrewed system, which is designed to perform fighter aircraft-like missions. Anduril in May unveiled its Lattice for Mission Autonomy software platform, a hardware-agnostic capability that can link various autonomous systems to perform complex operations.

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Andurils acquisition of Blue Force follows its purchase in June of solid rocket motor manufacturer Adranos, significantly broadening the six-year-old technology firms scope. Brose said the company is at the beginning of our journey, and hinted at future acquisitions.

It all is in the service of this vision of a larger scale, larger quantity fielding of autonomous capabilities in all domains, he said. Were going to continue that journey, not just through the work that were doing at present in terms of autonomous undersea vehicles and now autonomous fighter aircraft and solid rocket motors and weapons and loitering munitions, but additional things that are yet to come.

The companys near-term growth comes as Congress and the Pentagon emphasize the need to field large quantities of commercially available systems, particularly drones and AI capabilities.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks unveiled Replicator, a plan to field thousands of attritable drones over the next two years, late last month. The Defense Innovation Unit  which helps push commercial technology to DoD users  is crafting a plan to deliver off-the-shelf tech in larger quantities. And House lawmakers are pushing for $1 billion in the fiscal 2024 spending bill to fund a hedge portfolio made up of commercially available systems like low-cost drones and satellites and agile communication nodes.

A lot of the moves that are emerging in this years legislative cycle are incredible, the Replicator initiative is fantastic, Brose said. Of course, the devil is going to be in the details, making sure that the department completes the swing, that it requests the right amount of resources, that its not just kind of putting old wine in new bottles.

In the coming months, he said hell be closely watching DoDs plans to procure Replicator drones and create incentives for a different kind of industrial base to meet its needs.

The only thing that is going to matter in that respect is the amount of resources the department and the Congress are committing to the procurement of these types of systems, Brose said.

As for Andurils role in the departments vision, Brose said he thinks the company has a lot to contribute.

It seems very clear that this is where we want to go, he said. Were going to do everything in our power to help them get there.
Students for Fair Admissions dropped its lawsuit challenging Yale Universitys race-conscious admissions policies after the Supreme Court gutted the practice in June.

The anti-affirmative action group and the Ivy League school voluntarily agreed to drop the case after Yale agreed to make several updates to its admissions process ahead of the fall 2023 undergraduate admissions season.

Key context: SFFA filed its challenge in February 2021, but the lawsuit was paused as the Supreme Court weighed the groups challenges against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. In a ruling divided along ideological lines, the high court's six-justice conservative majority found that the universities discriminated against white and Asian American applicants by using race-conscious policies that benefited applicants from underrepresented backgrounds.

The lawsuit against Yale was similar to the one against Harvard and UNC, but stemmed from a Trump administration challenge that SFFA fought to keep alive in the courts. The Trump administration filed the lawsuit in October 2020 following a two-year investigation into the Ivy League institution's admissions practices. It was the strongest move by the Trump administration to rebuke the use of race in university admissions, and the Education Department and Justice Department investigation found that Yale discriminated against Asian American applicants.

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Yale's response: "We are pleased that, after hearing Yales description of the steps we will take to comply with the Supreme Courts ruling, SFFA has decided to dismiss its case against Yale," the university said in a statement."

"Yales priorities remain unchanged: fully complying with the law, continuing to support a diverse and inclusive community, and maintaining a world-class admissions process that considers each applicant as an individual. We are confident that we can preserve these priorities going forward."

Admissions changes at Yale: The joint stipulation filed Thursday in the United States District Court of Connecticut outlined the changes the university agreed to implement in light of the Supreme Court case and the voluntary dismissal. SFFA and Yale, according to the document, discussed the institutions response to the Supreme Court case and Yale provide supporting documentation of its changes ahead of the dismissal. Heres a rundown of the changes:

 Yale said it has updated its training materials to make clear that race cannot be used as a factor in admissions decisions.

 The university agreed to take technological steps to ensure that no one involved in admissions decisions has access to race data or a race check-box at any time during the admissions review cycle.

 Yales admissions office also agreed to not run any reports during the review cycle that would provide any aggregate data of the racial composition of admitted students.

 Race will also not be considered when calculating or awarding financial aid at Yale.
Folsom police and the FBI are investigating Thursday four incidents of antisemitic graffiti and flyers found in the citys Lexington Hills area as a hate crime, authorities said.

Vandalism containing hate speech has been found since Monday on the southeast side of the city in the corridor between Mercy Hospital of Folsom and Oak Avenue Parkway, according to Folsom Police Department spokesman Detective Andrew Graham.

Police said three of the incidents contained graffiti and a separate fourth incident, though not considered vandalism, consisted of flyers posted in the Lexington Hills neighborhood.

Graham said all of the incidents have been consolidated into the same case, which is being investigated as a hate crime.

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Community members said the graffiti and flyers contained swastikas and recruitment efforts to join hate groups.

When asked if the vandalism contained any speech regarding recruitment, Folsom police said it would refer to the FBIs investigation of the incidents.

FBI officials in Sacramento declined to comment Thursday on the matter.

Chris Patterson, a retired Folsom resident, said he saw an incident of graffiti reported on a neighborhood community app and decided to spray paint over it. While on the trail, he noticed additional graffiti and reported it to the Police Departments non-emergency line.

I just dont want to tolerate this stuff, Patterson said. Its beyond kids being kids, which is what everybody likes to say.

City officials said the city manager was contacted in other instances of graffiti, and staff were able to paint over it within a few hours.

People can report any additional instances of hate speech to the Folsom Police Department at 916-461-6400.
Admittedly, I havent always been proud to be from Appalachia. For much of my life, it was instilled in me to get out of Eastern Kentucky and never look back. With little to no career and economic prospects, the idea of escaping from here seemed like the best opportunity to make something of myself. Further complicating my feelings was my own struggle with my sexual identity in an area that lacked LGBTQ+ acceptance, let alone representation. It wasnt until I moved to other areas of the country at different points in my adult life that I came to appreciate my hometown.

For all its beauty, there is also heartache being from here. Marginalized community members, including those like me, have a complicated relationship with the region. For myself, its been difficult to love something that hasnt always reciprocated the same love back. As president of Pikeville Pride, I have been ostracized from my community for being a proud gay Appalachian. I wont lie, it hurts; especially because I am still much the same person I was before I came out. However, other marginalized individuals have faced much worse, including direct harm and/or violence for being different than the perceived norm.

Nevertheless, many who are affiliated with marginalized groups have stuck around. We have attempted to carve out our own community in Appalachia and weve had a lot of success in this endeavor. Since its founding, Pikeville Pride has grown from a dedicated group of 10 volunteers into a bigger organization that is currently planning to host its fourth Pride event later this month in downtown Pikeville. Other organizations have invested time and resources into cultivating lasting relationships in Appalachia, including the STAY Project. This regional organization seeks to connect young people (ages 14-30) together to retain our youth and make them proud to call Appalachia home. Its the work of many that pave the path forward in Appalachia  one that is actively redefining the narrative of rural America from hostile to hospitable.

The consequences of promoting an inaccurate narrative about Appalachia are vast. It has shaped rhetoric that far-right political groups have adopted to recruit members from our community, attempting to further create divisions based on race, class, religion, gender, and sexual identity. This is evident in a lot of ways  from the slew of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that has been passed into law by state legislatures across the country (including Kentucky), to the distribution of anti-Semitic literature in neighborhoods across Kentucky, West Virginia, and beyond. Recently, a group of advocates, artists, and creators known as the Waymakers Collective had their annual gathering at the Pine Mountain Settlement School in Harlan county disrupted by angry protesters in the community. These trespassers, leaning into this narrative and their Christian identity, forced this diverse group to flee from the site in fear of their safety and well-being. Unfortunately, due to political dog-whistles and fearmongering, more attacks like these will be present in our region if we dont speak up and denounce them.

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Rural areas, much like Appalachia, are not monoliths. In fact, according to the Center on Rural Innovation, more than 22% of people living in rural America are people of color. Likewise, it is reported that nearly 3 million people identify as LGBTQ+. Yet, the narrative is much the same that rural America is predominantly occupied by white people, lacks diversity, and is unable to coexist with people from different backgrounds. The intentional erasure of marginalized communities within Appalachia is harmful to all and excludes some of the most vulnerable from important conversations about policies that directly impact their daily lives.

As proud Appalachians, we must act now. To remain silent is to be complicit, and we owe it to ourselves to unite to fight for all of us. Harking back to the rallying cries of our ancestors, many of whom fought oppressive coal companies that exploited their labor, land, and dignity, we must commit ourselves to standing in solidarity with one. Our literal lives depend on it.

Cara Ellis is a regional activist and organizer in Appalachia currently serving as President of Pikeville Pride, a non-profit dedicated to highlighting the visibility and inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in eastern Kentucky.
STAUNTON  A woman sentenced two years ago in Augusta County Circuit Court to 30 years in prison for allegedly being the ringleader of a methamphetamine-dealing organization will be retried after an appeals court ruled that her guilty verdicts be set aside.

Priscilla A. Holmes, 53, was convicted by a jury in August 2021 on two counts of racketeering. Months later, a judge sentenced her to three decades behind bars.

But in November, the Court of Appeals of Virginia upheld a portion of her appeal and ordered a new trial.

Holmes appealed a handful of issues  claiming insufficient evidence and citing three jury instructions that were omitted. The appeals court ruled that the omission of two jury instructions was warranted, and also said "the record contained sufficient evidence to convict Holmes of racketeering."

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However, the appeals court ruled the trial court erred by omitting a third jury instruction "in refusing to caution the jury about convicting based on the uncorroborated testimony of accomplices." Three alleged dealers who reportedly worked for Holmes testified against her during the trial.

The trial court stated that the testimony of the witness itself can contain the corroboration and in this case there was ample corroboration of the cases." The appeals court disagreed, sending the case back to trial.

"We, therefore, hold that the trial court erred in refusing to give the cautionary instruction," the ruling said.

Augusta County Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Holly Rasheed said in 2021 that the drug ring allegedly headed by Holmes moved more than 55 pounds of meth into the area from July 2017 until December 2018. The drugs reportedly came from Atlanta, Georgia.

Rasheed said Holmes allegedly used rental cars to have the meth shipped from the Atlanta area to Augusta County. Authorities arrested Holmes in December 2018 at an Augusta County residence where she had gone to collect drug money, according to Rasheed.

Each pound of meth was sold for $14,000 to $15,000, Rasheed said, meaning Holmes was suspected of moving nearly $800,000 worth of drugs.

Holmes is from Atlanta, Rasheed said at the time, but had family in the area.

Circuit Judge W. Chapman Goodwin, who is now retired, sentenced Holmes to a total of 80 years in prison on the two felony charges and suspended 50 of those years, giving her a total of 30 years behind bars.

A two-day jury trial had been set to begin Wednesday in Augusta County Circuit Court. However, a new trial will now begin April 4.

Holmes, represented by H. Eugene Oliver III, is being held at Middle River Regional Jail in Verona.

We Are Here!: Mary Baldwin exhibit shows value of a visual arts degree

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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: Augusta County racketeering case headed back to trial following appeal
A worker uncovers a mummy belonging to the pre-Inca Ychsma culture buried in a shallow funeral chamber. Photo by CRIS BOURONCLE/AFP via Getty Images

Researchers in Peru found a buried mummy that could date back a millennium.

The body was found in a shallow grave sitting up right and buried with ancient artifacts.

The remains were discovered at an archeological site in the middle of Peru's capital city of Lima.

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient mummy with a head full of hair buried in a cemetery in Peru's capital city of Lima.

The remains were found at the Huaca Pucllana archeological site in the wealthy Miraflores neighborhood, the dig's head archeologist Mirella Ganoza told Reuters this week.

The ruins are believed to have been a cemetery once used by the Ychsma people who are credited with building at least 16 pyramids along the central coast of modern-day Peru, before the Incas arrived in the region, according to The Washington Post.

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The mummy most recently discovered at the site could have lived as long as 1,000 years ago, Ganoza said.

"This is an adult individual in a sitting position with bent legs," she told Reuters.

The body still had a thick head of long brown hair and a jaw that was almost entirely intact, the outlet reported. Researchers are not certain yet of the individual's gender, La Republica reported, per The Post.

The remains were buried alongside ceramic vessels and textiles representative of the residential Huaca Pucllana site which dates back to around 500 AD. Multiple other mummies and ancient discoveries have previously been unearthed there.

A general view of Huaca Pucllana, an archaeological site in a residential neighbourhood where the remains of a 1,000-year-old mummy were discovered, in Lima, Peru, September 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda

"I find it quite interesting that right in the heart of Miraflores, in the middle of the city, surrounded by modern buildings and constructions, an important site is still preserved, the Huaca Pucllana ceremonial center," Ganoza told Reuters.

There are approximately 400 huacas, or archeological sites, scattered throughout Lima, the outlet reported.

In June, archeologists discovered a 3,000-year-old mummy under heaps of trash in Lima. Researchers said the mummy was a likely sacrifice of the Manchay people, who lived in modern-day Lima from 1500 BC to 1000 BC.

And in March, Peruvian police found an ancient mummy believed to be 600 to 800 years old when they searched a drunken man's cooler bag while he and his friends were at an archeological city in Puno.

Read the original article on Insider
By Echo Wang and Svea Herbst-Bayliss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp's Arm Holdings Plc on Thursday told potential investors in its roughly $5 billion initial public offering that cloud computing expansion and royalty revenue represented major growth areas for the chip designer.

In a gathering of more than 100 investors at one of New York's most luxurious hotels, Arm Chief Executive Rene Haas and his management team gave details on the company's prospects beyond the mobile phone market, of which it already commands a 99% share, people who were in attendance said.

Weak mobile demand during a global economic slowdown has caused Arm's revenue to stagnate. Overall sales totaled $2.68 billion in the 12 months to the end of March, compared to $2.7 billion in the prior period.

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Arm is seeking a valuation on a fully diluted basis of $50 billion to $54.5 billion, less than the $64 billion SoftBank assigned to it in a transaction last month with the $100 billion Vision Fund that it manages.

While some investors and bankers that Reuters spoke with after the presentation were upbeat, it remained unclear how strong the IPO's reception would be. Arm has already secured the participation of several customers, including Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and Alphabet Inc, as investors in the IPO. It is scheduled to close the books and price the offering on Sept. 13.

Arm told potential investors on Thursday that the cloud computing market, of which it has only a 10% share and therefore more room to expand, is expected to grow at an annual rate of 17% through 2025, partly thanks to advances in artificial intelligence. The automotive market, of which it commands 41%, is forecast to expand by 16%, compared with just 6% growth expected for the mobile market.

"They said that Apple use 100% Arm architecture (because of Arm's dominance in smart phones). The future growth driver is to expand market share in the Windows PC market," said Ryuta Makino, a research analyst at Gabelli Funds.

Arm also told investors its royalty fees, which account for most of its revenue, were accumulating since it started collecting them in the early 1990s. Royalty revenue came in at $1.68 billion at the latest fiscal year, up from $1.56 billion from a year before.

An area of scrutiny for investors has been Arm's exposure to China, given geopolitical tensions with the United States that have led to a race to secure chip supplies. Sales in China contributed 24.5% of Arm's $2.68 billion revenue in fiscal 2023.

Virtually all of that revenue comes from Arm China, an independent entity with exclusive rights to distribute Arm's technology in the country and is Arm's largest customer. ARM China has a history of late payments and presents "significant risks" to Arm's business, the company's IPO filing said.

Arm said in the filing that it was owed $386.9 million by Arm China as of the end of March. Arm's chief financial officer has told investors during the marketing of the IPO that the company was not concerned about being paid back.

(Reporting by Echo Wang and Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York; Additional reporting by Max Cherney in San Francisco; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Richard Chang)
Armenia has delivered its first humanitarian aid to Ukraine since Russia's invasion, donating over a thousand smartphones, laptops, and tablets to Ukrainian schools, Ukraine's Education Ministry reported via Facebook on Sept. 7.

The aid was delivered by Anna Hakobyan, wife of Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan.

Read also: Azeri flag set on fire at European Weightlifting Championships opening ceremony in Armenia

These gadgets are primarily intended for children in oblasts where most schools are operating online, the ministry said.

Read also: Russia has attempted to illegally adopt nearly 400 Ukrainian children in act of genocide, confirms Ukraine

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These are children who had to leave their homes due to active combat, children with disabilities, children from low-income families or those deprived of parental care.

Read also: Armenia wont arrest Putin despite ratification of Rome Statute, vice speaker says

Each of these oblasts will receive an equal number of devices  80 laptops/tablets and 68 smartphones. Laptops and tablets will be allocated to educational institutions, while smartphones will be given as personal gifts to students of vocational-technical education institutions from low-income families.

Armenia has publicly taken a neutral stance on Russia's war against Ukraine but has stated that it will not assist the Kremlin in circumventing international sanctions.

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
Anna Hakobyan, wife of the Prime Minister of Armenia, has delivered Armenias first humanitarian aid for Ukraine since the war started  devices for school students.

Source: European Pravda, citing the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine

Details: Hakobyan handed over humanitarian aid for online learning  over 1,000 smartphones, tablets and laptops for schoolchildren.

These devices are primarily intended for children from those oblasts where most schools are delivering education online. These are children who have had to leave their homes due to combat action, children with disabilities, children from low-income families, and children deprived of parental care.

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Each of these oblasts has received the same quantity of devices  80 laptops/tablets and 68 smartphones. The laptops and tablets will be given to schools and educational institutions, while the smartphones will be gifted to students from low-income families who are studying at vocational and technical institutions.

"Its important to understand that devices for children are not just about access to online classes. They also enable them to communicate with their peers, learn new information, and socialise. We are delighted that together with our partners, we can give children such opportunities," Ukraines Education Ministry stated.

The media had previously confirmed that Armenia has sent aid to Ukraine for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated earlier that Armenia does not support Russia in its war against 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!
With one month remaining in fiscal 2023, data obtained by Army Times indicates in previously unreported detail that Army recruiters are collectively failing to reach their quotas for fiscal 2023, raising questions about whether the service will meet projected accessions numbers shared by senior leaders.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth previously said the service will miss its fiscal 2023 recruiting goals, and she said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on July 20 that the service will beat its fiscal 2022 active duty totals by several thousand. The service previously refused to release detailed in-progress recruiting numbers, though Wormuth said she believes the service will bring in between 50,000 and 55,000 new active duty soldiers out of a goal of 65,000, according to Stars and Stripes.

Army Times obtained internal Army Recruiting Command figures that indicate the service has reached approximately two-thirds of its combined active duty and Army Reserve enlisted contract goals as of Sept. 1. The command issues internal contract goals that differ from the Armys official accessions goals, explained Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, who authenticated the numbers.

According to the internal document obtained by Army Times, the command intended to sign nearly 94,000 active and reserve applicants before Sept. 30. But as of Sept. 1, with one month to go in the fiscal year, only around 62,500 recruits (or two-thirds of the contract target) had signed up. Pre-training losses winnowed that number to just under 60,000, or approximately 63.7% of the signing goal.

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The contract mission goes beyond the Armys annual goals and takes into consideration multiple factors, Castro said, including the following years accessions mission, along with required entry pool. She also highlighted leaders dedicated efforts to transform Army recruiting.

The document does not separate active duty and Army Reserve totals. Personnel from the recruiting command find troops for both components, and the internal report is intended to compare recruiting brigades performance rather than analyze which recruits are heading where.

But according to the Defense Departments most recent public totals, which tracked fiscal 2023 accessions through May, the active duty Army has fared better than the Army Reserve but much worse than the Army National Guard.

As of June 1, the active duty Army had more than 25,000 new soldiers and was on track to attain 68.15% of its accessions goal, the Army Reserve was on pace for 61.59% of its recruiting mission, and the Army Guard was on pace to reach 96.75% of its target.

Its not clear whether the respective components have maintained those paces  and even that may not be enough to meet the projected totals shared by Wormuth. If the active duty Army were to finish around 68% of its 65,000-soldier goal, its annual total would land slightly lower than fiscal 2022s 45,000 new recruits.

But the service is relatively optimistic. Castro, the Army spokesperson, argued that momentum continues to build with the services recruiting push, and celebrated an increased number of applicants seen so far in the final quarter of fiscal 2023.

Although Army leaders insist the service has not lowered standards in order to make its recruiting quotas, its Future Soldier Prep Course has accepted recruits who didnt meet fitness or testing standards and helped them improve in order to enter the Army. Since its inception, the largely successful course has graduated 95% of its attendees, netting 10,000 recruits who moved on to basic training. Officials recently announced it will be a permanent part of the services entry training apparatus.

The course is one of many efforts the Army launched in response to the crisis. Other programs include recruiting referral awards, increased bonuses and contract options, and a nine-figure marketing rebrand.

Its also unclear if or when the service will be forced to make major force structure cuts in response to flagging recruiting. During summer budget hearings, lawmakers appeared skeptical of the Armys ability to maintain its current posture, and Wormuth discussed how that process might occur in an exclusive June interview with Army Times. But leaders have projected confidence in their ability to maintain 31 active duty brigade combat teams.

Expert Michael Linnick of the RAND think tank suggested the time for cuts may be at hand unless the Army changes how it handles unit readiness.

At some point the Army must choose between lowering requirements for soldiers  reducing force structure  or accepting the readiness challenges of having more requirements than it can fill, given the shortages in recruits, Linnick said via email. If the Army assesses that the current recruiting environment is the new normal, force structure may almost have to come down or the Army will have to adopt a fundamentally different approach to manning units and maintaining unit readiness.
Army investigators have determined that Pvt. Ana Basaldua Ruizs death at Fort Cavazos, Texas, on March 12 was a suicide, according to their report obtained exclusively by Noticias Telemundo.

The report does not state the 20-year-old had been the victim of sexual harassment, as her family has claimed, but it cites diary entries, texts and conversations with friends and family in which she made allegations of a physical assault from a fellow Soldier and harassment within her unit, according to a summary of the probe conducted by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division.

Testimony given by co-workers and friends and family suggest that Basaldua struggled in her short-lived Army career both in her personal and professional relationships, and was worried about a pending separation from the Army for failing a drug test and for allegedly shoplifting from the Main Post Exchange at the base.

Her final internet search was what happens when you get a dishonorable discharge, according to the investigation.

Ana Fernanda Basaldua Ruiz. (Courtesy Basaldua Ruiz family)

In the first quarter of 2023, the Army documented 94 suicides among active duty members across the U.S., a 25% jump from the same period in 2022, when 75 soldiers died by suicide.

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Basalduas death thrust Fort Cavazos, previously named Fort Hood, back into the spotlight following the 2020 grisly murder of Spec. Vanessa Guillen at the same post. The investigation of Guillens case found that she had reported sexual harassment, but unit leadership had not taken any action. The failure of the facilitys leaders to fully investigate led to a scathing report that condemned the culture of command at the military post, saying it allowed an environment for sexual assault and harassment.

During the 2022 fiscal year, the Department of Defense received 8,942 sexual assault complaints from members of the Armed Forces  eight out of 10 cases occurred during military service  a slight increase from the previous year.

The majority of sexual assaults in the military go unreported: Only 1 in 10 men and 3 in 10 women who experience sexual assaults report them, according to estimates by the Defense Department.

The investigation into Basalduas death brought forth investigations of at least two sexual harassment complaints she had made  one against a team leader and another against an arresting officer  but neither was upheld.

In addition, the Armys examination of Basalduas diaries turned up a Dec. 10, 2022 entry in which she wrote that a soldier with whom she had a relationship choked and slapped her.

He was choking me and I couldnt move, and he thought that was super fun, she wrote, though she did not report the incident.

I felt really bad and I didnt know how to leave, she wrote. A friend of Basalduas had text messages showing she had contacted the friend asking for a call to leave the room the day of the choking, because she felt uncomfortable around the soldier after the incident.

That soldier, who is a sergeant, told investigators that he slapped and choked Basaldua Ruiz during sexual intercourse; he further admitted he choked her another time, but said he did it in a playful manner, according to the report. He said that Basaldua did not let him know it had bothered her, according to his statement to investigators.

Basalduas father told investigators that his daughter had mentioned those incidents, and at least one other incident of a man coming to her room uninvited and trying to kiss her.

Baldo Basaldua, el padre de la soldado Ana Basaldua, asegura no estar satisfecho con la investigacion que el Ejercito realizo sobre la muerte de su hija en Fort Cavazos, Texas. El quiere saber que paso en las horas inmediatas a la muerte de la joven, el 12 de marzo de 2023. (Ronny Rojas / Noticias Telemundo)

According to the report, along with her allegations of harassment and assault, Basaldua was dealing with an Article 15, a military charge for disciplinary infractions after she tested positive for THC, the ingredient found in marijuana. Also, in January 2023 she was in the process of Chapter 14 separation from the U.S. Army, which is issued for disciplinary infractions or misconduct.

Family and friends interviewed by investigators said that while she had wanted to leave the Army at some point, in the days before her death she was hoping she would be able to stay.

Her father, Baldo Basaldua, told Noticias Telemundo he does not believe his daughter died by suicide; her mother, Alejandra Ruiz Sarco, who lives in Mexico, also took issue with the report findings.

My daughter did not commit suicide; my daughter was suicided, Ruiz Sarco said in Spanish.

When Ana joined the Army, she was a happy, energetic young woman with unlimited dreams and possibilities. Those are now gone. We have not received an explanation regarding her treatment in the days and hours prior to her death and what steps the Army took or didnt take to prevent her death, said Ryan Guilds, the familys attorney.

The Armys criminal investigation division confirmed in a statement to Noticias Telemundo that it has completed its investigation of Basalduas death. It said the division has taken into account all possibilities, circumstances, relevant evidence, and incidents associated with the tragic death of Basaldua. The findings have been transferred to the military command, investigators stated.

Fort Cavazos officials have not responded to questions sent to them by Noticias Telemundo about the reports findings.

The investigators who looked into Basalduas death stated that the military base launched an investigation in June 2022 into a sexual harassment complaint by Basaldua about a team leader, who had been her sponsor and was assigned to act as a mentor and counselor.

Investigators did not conclude sexual harassment occurred. They found there had been an inappropriate relationship and undue familiarity between her and the leader. The leader denied the allegations and said he was the one uncomfortable with Basaldua; he said he asked that she be transferred, according to the investigation report.

Before the sexual harassment complaint was complete, Basaldua was transferred to another platoon and the leader was promoted in rank.

Army investigators did not identify the soldier who was the subject of the sexual harassment complaint. Fort Cavazos has not responded to questions on the case.

At least four other military personnel told investigators that Basaldua had told them of problems with her team leader. One said Basaldua told her he would flirt with her and make comments about her appearance and come unannounced to her barracks to hang out.

Others interviewed by investigators said Basaldua had shared text messages of her team leader harassing her for talking to others and making her uncomfortable by staring at her while she was in the gym.

A sergeant major who recruited Basaldua in California in 2019, and whose identity is not disclosed in the report, said that he was in contact with her and knew she felt she was being harassed by her co-workers at the base.

The recruiter said hed warned Basaldua of the realities of entering a male dominated MOS (military occupational specialty) as a female when she picked her job, the investigation report said.

Another soldier told investigators that a sergeant of his platoon asked him to escort Basaldua to a vehicle yard because the mechanics would make inappropriate comments toward females and make them uncomfortable.

Other friends and co-workers interviewed said they had not seen evidence of sexual harassment, the report states.

Basalduas mother rejected the investigation results and criticized the decision of the base to transfer her daughter and to promote the team leader after her sexual harassment complaint.

How is it not harassment?  Of course it was harassment! Obviously, it was harassment  I wouldve demoted (the soldier) or stripped him of his rank, her mother said. My daughter was not responsible for provoking anyone  By the end of January she complained: Mom, why did you make me pretty? Its like its a sin to be pretty. You have to go unnoticed, so they dont bother you.

Basalduas life at the military base turned even more difficult in the months before her death.

A sergeant who was her friend at Fort Cavazos told investigators that Basaldua looked depressed and sad when he saw her in January. The friend told investigators that Basaldua hated being restricted to the base as punishment for testing positive for drugs, and appeared depressed and wanted to be done with the Army.

The report said the soldier said he thought his unit failed Basaldua by not giving her a second chance after she tested positive for drugs.

Basalduas father said she told him that a sergeant had told her that he could make the urinalysis results go away if she had sex with him, but he did not identify the sergeant; the investigation didnt find any evidence regarding the fathers allegation.

On Feb. 21, Basaldua told a therapist on base that she wanted to stay in the Army and expressed hope that she would be allowed to continue in the service. On March 8, in another therapy session, she seemed happy and said she believed her commander would allow her to continue in the military, according to the investigators report.

On March 11, 2023, Basaldua and two other soldiers were arrested by military police after they tried to take six perfumes and one lip gloss from a store located inside Fort Cavazos. The value of the items they attempted to steal was $346, according to the incident report.

Basaldua admitted her guilt. Im willing to do anything I can to fix [this] and Ill take my punishment for my actions, and Im really sorry for what I did, the young woman wrote in the affidavit she gave to the military police.

The same day, after 9 p.m., the young woman spoke by video call with her father and told him about the incident, saying that it had been bad, but that the police had been nice to her.

La madre de Ana Basaldua, Alejandra Ruiz, acaricia el feretro con los restos de su hija, junto al padre de la joven, Baldo Basaldua, el jueves 30 de marzo en el aeropuerto de Los Angeles. (Cortesia de Honoring Our Fallen)

On Sunday, March 12, she reported to work at 9 a.m. and was released from her duties an hour later. It was the last time she was seen alive, according to the report.

Soldiers interviewed by the investigators said Basaldua was distraught over the possibility of being isolated from the Army after her arrest. Analysis of her phone records showed that her last internet entry was at 9:30 a.m. that Sunday, when she searched: What happens when you get a dishonorable discharge?

Ten minutes later, she sent her last text messages to her dad: My whole life is wrong. She also wrote to him that she wanted to die, although her father interpreted it as just an exaggerated expression.

I took them as her normal responses: Shes angry, shes tired. I never felt like it was something she was going to do, Baldo Basaldua said.

An earlier version of this story was first published in Noticias Telemundo.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Aziz Umerov looks at a portrait of his sister Leniye Umerova, arrested in Russia in Kyiv

Aziz Umerov looks at a portrait of his sister Leniye Umerova, arrested in Russia in Kyiv

By Lucy Papachristou and Filipp Lebedev

(Reuters) - Timofei Rudenko can't seem to stay out of jail.

The 30-year-old was arrested and detained five times in the space of two months over the summer for a series of misdemeanours including swearing at passers-by and disobeying police officers, according to Russian court records.

On each day he was released, after serving sentences of between 10 and 15 days at a petty crimes jail in Moscow, he was promptly picked up for a new minor offence and returned to custody, a review of the publicly available documents shows.

Rudenko's mother Yulia Kiselyova said she saw her son being apprehended for the fifth time on July 7, seconds after leaving the jail: "They put him in a car right there and took him to a new court," she told Reuters, insisting he hadn't done anything wrong and was targeted because he'd posted criticism of the war in Ukraine on social media in recent months.

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Two weeks later, the stakes leapt.

Rudenko, a former Russian military psychologist, was arrested for a sixth time on July 21 - this time for allegedly justifying terrorism on the internet, a more serious crime punishable by up to seven years in prison, according to court records, which give no further details about his alleged offence pending a trial.

Kiselyova said her son, now locked up at a pre-trial detention facility in Moscow, denied all the alleged crimes.

Reuters was unable to independently verify Kiselyova's version of events or to contact Rudenko in detention. Rudenko's lawyers declined to discuss his case, while Russian police and prosecutor authorities didn't respond to requests for comment.

A Reuters review of Rudenko's social media account on Telegram didn't find any messages critical of the war. "There are no posts anymore," Kiselyova said, without elaborating.

Three Russian human rights lawyers described Rudenko's experience as an example of "carousel arrests" - multiple busts for minor offences, with each arrest carried out on the same day a suspect finishes serving a jail term, keeping them in near-constant custody. They said the practice was one of the tools being deployed by Russian authorities in their clampdown on popular dissent against the 18-month-old conflict in Ukraine.

Russia's top investigative body, the Investigative Committee, the Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor General's Office didn't respond to requests for comment on the phenomenon of carousel arrests or individual cases.

Consecutive jailings aren't illegal, as Russian law allows judges to order "administrative" detentions of up to 30 days for minor infractions.

Nonetheless, carousel arrests can buy investigators time to dig into a person's past and online activity to potentially open more serious criminal cases, according to Russian rights group OVD-Info, whose data on detentions of anti-war protesters is widely cited in international media and provides a rare independent barometer of the scale of Russia's crackdown.

"The pressure on opposition-minded and anti-war activists is growing before our eyes," said Ivan Vtorushin, who oversees a team of more than 400 volunteer lawyers defending freedom of expression cases at Moscow-based OVD-Info.

A Reuters review of Russian court records identified seven cases of carousel arrests this year, with the suspects involved arrested and jailed between two and five times in succession.

Valeriya Vetoshkina, a lawyer with First Department, a Russian rights NGO specialising in the legal defence of people accused of espionage or treason, said she knew of about 10 examples of carousel arrests so far in 2023, including the seven identified by Reuters. She added that the true figure was likely to be higher.

PUTIN: 'PEOPLE WHO HARM US'

Since Russia invaded Ukraine - in what Moscow describes as a special military operation - its laws have been tightened to curb public criticism of the conflict. For example "discrediting the army" and spreading "fake news" about alleged Russian atrocities in Ukraine, two new crimes placed on the statute book in March 2022, can land dissenters in prison for years.

In December, opposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for spreading fake news about the army over a YouTube video released in April in which he discussed evidence uncovered by Western journalists of a Russian massacre of Ukrainians in Bucha, near Kyiv, and cast doubt on Moscow's claim that such reports had been fabricated.

In April this year, Russia's parliament voted to extend the punishment for treason to life imprisonment from 20 years, with lawmakers citing unprecedented threats to Russia from Ukraine and its Western allies. Justifying terrorism, the charge levelled at Rudenko, criminalises public comments supportive of groups or individuals deemed terrorists by Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, when asked by reporters in late July whether he was alarmed by the arrest of Russians who had "doubts" about the war, suggested the crackdown on dissent was justified at a time of national peril.

"I think that there should be a certain attitude towards those people who harm us inside the country," Putin said. "We must bear in mind that in order to achieve success, including in the conflict zone, we need to follow certain rules."

Carousel arrests aren't a wholly novel phenomenon, according to the three lawyers who said the practice was less common before the war and largely confined to dissidents such as Alexei Navalny, opposition politicians like Yashin and members of punk protest group Pussy Riot, rather than ordinary citizens.

The use of carousel arrests reflects how authorities are experimenting with different tactics to curb dissent though remain intent on prosecuting cases by the book, said Lauren McCarthy, an associate professor of legal studies and political science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who has researched wartime protest laws in Russia.

"Russian authorities aren't dragging someone off the street and sticking them with a criminal charge," McCarthy told Reuters.

BALLOON STUNT MAN 'SCARED'

Leniye Umerova, a marketing executive for a fashion brand in Russian-annexed Crimea, was arrested and detained four times between December and May for a series of minor, or administrative, offences including disobeying a police officer's request and border-crossing violations, according to court records. Then on May 5, the Federal Security Service (FSB) flew her to Moscow and arrested her on espionage charges, the documents show.

The 25-year-old's brother Aziz Umerov said she was now in Lefortovo prison in the capital. He said his sister, who had declined to take a Russian passport after the 2014 annexation of Crimea, was innocent of any wrongdoing and he believed she had been targeted because she had criticized the Ukraine war online and had posted information on social networks about the persecution of Crimean Tatars in Crimea after the annexation.

"Even after the very first administrative arrest in December last year, I knew that all this would not end quickly for my sister," he told Reuters.

Reuters was unable to contact Umerova in detention or independently verify her brother's assertions about the reasons for her arrests. The FSB didn't respond to questions about her case.

A Reuters review of Umerova's Instagram account found several messages critical of the Russian invasion and supportive of Ukraine. "The world has to stop Putin. Right now is the time to act," she said in one post on Feb. 24 last year, the date of the full-scale invasion. Her page also featured pictures of people killed in the war and footage of a pro-Ukraine rally.

Not all "carousel" arrests lead to more serious criminal charges, and for some detainees, time spent behind bars is frightening enough.

Gevorg Aleksanyan, a Moscow-based lawyer working with OVD-Info, defended a man arrested in May after he tied helium balloons to a flag of the Freedom of Russia Legion, designated a terrorist organisation by Moscow, and set it aloft. A video of the stunt went viral on social media. The Freedom of Russia Legion is a Ukrainian-based paramilitary group of Russians who oppose Putin and the invasion of Ukraine.

After serving 15 days on hooliganism charges over the stunt, Dmitry Golovlyov was detained again as he was leaving jail and sentenced to another 15 days for "demonstrating extremist symbols," according to Aleksanyan, and court records confirmed.

Golovlyov, a 34-year-old builder, didn't respond to a Reuters request for comment. He was not charged a third time, Aleksanyan said. "He is very scared after this situation," the lawyer added.

Meanwhile, ex-military psychologist Rudenko, who had been working as a mechanic after leaving the forces in 2015, remains in custody in Moscow. A date has yet to be set for his trial for justifying terrorism. His mother Kiselyova isn't hopeful.

"As the proverb goes: prepare for the worst," she said.

(Editing by Mike Collett-White and Pravin Char)
T-Mobile and Pano AI are helping Washington Department of Natural Resources fight wildfires with the use of 5G and artificial intelligence.

Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz gave an update on how the technology can be used to attack wildfires as soon as they start on Thursday.

With wildfire every second counts, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz said. Increased early detection through deploying technology like Pano AI means we can respond faster while fires are still small  saving lives and property while reducing costs, which is crucial as wildfire seasons get longer and more challenging.

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The cameras provided by Pano AI use an artificial intelligence program to recognize the start of a forest fire. The early detection system then notifies the fire department and local officials.

Nine ultra-high-definition, 360-degree cameras have already been installed across the state with 12 more expected by the summer of 2024.

The cameras are specifically looking for distant flames and smoke in order to pinpoint the location of the fire. The signal is then sent through T-Mobiles 5G network.

We are honored to be working with Pano AI and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to help fight the growing threat of wildfires in our home state, said John Saw, EVP and Chief Technology Officer at T-Mobile. Our 5G network is built to support innovative and groundbreaking use cases like this, providing robust connectivity where its needed most.

The DNR says that it is committed to using this technology to keep firefighters safe while keeping wildfires from being as devastating in the future.
Atlanta Rapper Quavo says hes going to take on a new role next year: College student.

The rapper, whose real name is Quavious Keyate Marshall, told Vibe Magazine that he plans to enroll at the University of Georgia in his hometown of Athens sometime next year.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Quavo made the announcement while promoting his new hats that pay homage to the UGA Bulldogs. The rapper has collaborated with hat company Lids for a limited-edition release of two snapback hats that have new details added by the rapper.

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Quavo has already designed Lids hats honoring the 2021 Atlanta Braves World Series win.

Next year, Im going to enroll myself into University of Georgia. Im going to be a student on campus, the rapper told Vibe. Im from Athens, you know what Im saying? I love UGA to the fullest. I just want everybody to rep this hat and put it on their head, because we aint capping about our rap. We coming hard this year and we going three-peat.

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Quavo has not revealed what he plans to study at UGA.
One of the fake Republican electors in Michigan explained in December 2020 that the plan to use fake electors to certify a win for Donald Trump in their state arose from conversations with "some very incredible constitutional attorneys" from the former president's campaign.

Meshawn Maddock, one of 16 false electors in Michigan charged in July for the alleged plot, described the Trump campaign-headed plan in detail during a Dec. 16, 2020, radio interview, recalling that the decision on which electors to use would be left to a constitutional attorney, then-vice president Mike Pence and Congress, according to a CNN KFile review of the interview. The newly uncovered conversation exposes Maddock's extensive knowledge of the Trump campaign's role in the scheme to usurp Joe Biden's electors and contradicts her previous comments claiming a "vague" recollection of the plot when questioned about CNN's reporting on the campaign's involvement last year.

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Maddock has previously said that the fake Republican electors were not intended to replace the legitimate pro-Biden electors, but her comments about Pence in the 2020 interview demonstrate her understanding that the fake slate could have overtaken the legitimate votes on Jan. 6, 2021. Despite the former president losing Michigan by over 150,000 votes, Maddock and the 15 others fake electors signed certificates falsely asserting their legitimacy in the state just days before the interview and attempted to enter the state capitol to deliver the votes.

"I'm no constitutional attorney," Maddock said in the interview with local radio host Steve Gruber. "I'm an elector for Donald Trump from the Michigan Republican Party. I along with the other 15 electors were guided by legal minds  attorneys for our president, some very incredible constitutional attorneys  I've never in my whole life appreciated legal minds and attorneys before."

Maddock did not name the Trump attorneys she referenced, CNN reports.

Despite showing in the interview that she understood the specifics of the fake electors plot, Maddock has more recently claimed that she doesn't recall many of the details.

"I can tell you that in the last few weeks, just some incredible minds," she added. "And from what I understand, you know, you have the federal constitutional law, and then you have state statutes, um, and they're two different things. So, what we did, uh, along with seven other states, really send in dueling electors, and that will be there before, um, you know, a federal constitutional attorney, and it'll be before, uh, Mike Pence and Congress to make that decision."

Maddock, who is also the spouse of a conservative state legislator, went on to become the co-chair of Michigan's Republican Party following the 2020 election and presided over the group's 2022 losses during the midterms. She regurgitated some of Trump's most contentious false voter fraud claims and eventually deleted a tweet spreading an unfounded conspiracy theory that Dominion Voting Systems had altered votes during the 2020 election.

She declined CNN's request for comment.

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"Dark" right-wing network recruits MAGA "army" to replace 50K federal workers Trump plans to purge

In the December 2020 interview, she also referenced the 1960 election in Hawaii where pro-Kennedy electors were sent to the National Archives alongside Republican electors, an example Trump campaign attorneys used to support their argument in memos detailing their fake electors plans.

However, the differences between Michigan's 2020 election and Hawaii's 1960 election are significant. Richard Nixon's win in Hawaii was reversed after a recount  in which John F. Kennedy and Nixon were separated by less than 150 votes  thus handing its electoral votes to the Democrat. In Michigan, Biden had over 150,000 more votes than Trump and the results were never a question.

Despite showing in the interview that she understood the specifics of the fake electors plot, Maddock has more recently claimed that she doesn't recall many of the details.

"A lot of that is still vague to me. And I don't have any email communications with any of these people," Maddock told Gruber in a separate July 2023 interview when asked which attorneys asked her to sign the fake election certificates.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

She then seemingly pushed responsibility onto the last state party chairperson, Laura Cox, saying that "somebody from her staff contacted all of us, asked us to be at the Michigan Republican Party office at 2 pm."

In a deposition with the House select committee, which investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Cox said the Trump campaign asked her to "facilitate having the electors meet and sign some sort of document." The request, she explained, made her uncomfortable.

"So, we came up with a document that we would have them have a ceremonial meeting, and one person would sign a document stating that if perhaps something were to happen in the courts, they were willing and able to serve as electors from Michigan for Donald Trump and Mike Pence," Cox said.

Maddock and the 15 other fake electors were charged in July for their roles in the Trump campaign plan to overturn the 2020 election results in the state by enlisting the help of false electors. Each indicted individual was charged with eight state felonies: two counts of forgery, one count of conspiracy to commit forgery, one count of publishing a counterfeit record, one count of conspiring to publish a counterfeit record, two counts of election law forgery and one count of conspiracy to commit election law forgery. All 16 pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Read more

about fake electors case in Michigan
(Bloomberg) -- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will visit Beijing to meet with the Chinese governments senior leadership before the end of 2023, in the latest sign of warming relations between the two nations.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Albanese confirmed the trip would take place this year after meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the Asean summit on Thursday in Jakarta. The Australian leader described his discussions with Li as frank and constructive.

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China welcomed Albaneses upcoming visit and stands ready to make full preparations for this visit together with Australia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

While Albanese didnt reveal a date, he did say it would commemorate the November 1973 state visit by then-Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam , the first trip to China by an Australian leader. That suggests similar timing.

The Australian leader initially intended to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Group of 20 Summit in India later this week. However, with Xi no longer attending that gathering, Albanese instead met with Chinas second-in-command on Thursday morning.

Ties between Australia and China have been steadily improving since the election of the center-left Labor government in May 2022. This includes the resumption of senior ministerial meetings and the relaxation of a number of trade sanctions imposed by Beijing at the height of tensions in 2020.

Albanese said he and Li talked about the remaining tariffs on Australian wine exports to China, as well as consular cases and human rights. We discussed and shared perspectives on regional and international security issues, he said.

Li told Albanese that China was willing to work with Australia to safeguard peace and stability in the region, according to state-run news agency Xinhua, and noted that there was positive momentum in diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The meeting in Jakarta took place as Australia and China held their first High-Level Dialogue in three years in Beijing, led by former Trade Minister Craig Emerson and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Zhaoxing.

--With assistance from Lucille Liu.

(Updates with Chinas MOFA comments in third paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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Ronnie Ramsey, left, hugs Tiffany Acker, during a vigil for Tiffany's younger sister Asia Allen-Bookman on Sept. 7 in West Compton. Asia was one of the two people killed in a crash earlier this week. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

Authorities on Thursday identified the man who was killed when the car he was driving slammed into a firetruck in West Compton this week.

About 12:31 a.m. Tuesday, a Los Angeles County Fire Department truck on Avalon Boulevard was hit by a Chrysler PT Cruiser going through the intersection at a high rate of speed on Compton Boulevard, according to California Highway Patrol spokesperson Angelia Gonzales. Three other cars were involved in the crash.

The people inside the Chrysler  a man and woman  were pronounced dead at the scene. Four firefighters in the firetruck were hospitalized with minor injuries. No one else was injured.

Family and friends held a candlelight vigil for Asia Allen-Bookman. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

The man was identified Thursday as Montae Cook, 27, by the Los Angeles County coroner's office, which listed his cause of death as "blunt force injuries."

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The woman was identified as 25-year-old Los Angeles resident Asia Allen-Bookman, according to her sister Tiffany Acker. The coroner's office hasn't officially released Allen-Bookman's identity, citing pending family notification.

Read more: Car that crashed into firetruck in Compton was being chased, not racing, says family of woman killed

Acker said that although some media outlets cited a witness and the CHP as saying the car her sister was in was involved in a street race, Cook was actually being chased by an ex-girlfriend shortly before the crash.

Allen-Bookman, according to Acker, met Cook about two to three weeks ago, and they were likely driving back from a video shoot and dropping her off at work. Allen-Bookman called a friend in a panic during the drive and told her they were being chased by Cook's ex-girlfriend and needed help, Acker said.

Read more: Two killed, four injured when speeding car slams into firetruck near West Compton

She was hysterically crying, Acker said about her sister. Im assuming that my sister was seeing her life flash before her eyes. She knew there was no way out.

Family and friends hold a candlelight vigil for Asia Allen-Bookman at the location of the accident that took her life in West Compton. (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)

The car chasing them was a white or silver car of unknown make and model, according to Acker.

Cook's foster parent, Marie Pilloud of Nebraska, said Cook lived with her until he was 20 or so. He grew up in Pilloud's home with three foster siblings and attended Iowa Western Community College for two years before moving to Las Vegas to pursue a career in music. He then moved to Los Angeles to further his career as a rapper and was getting traction on TikTok with his music, she said.

Read more: 'Sir, you hit my car': Woman says Gary Busey rear-ended her, then ran. So she chased him

"He could be a difficult kid here and there, but there was always something so special about him," said Pilloud, 68. "He had a great heart and he loved music."

Pilloud last spoke with Cook last week, when he contacted her asking about his birth certificate. They spoke for a while until Pilloud said she couldn't talk anymore and that she would call him back in a few days.

"He had a tough childhood," she said. "He always told me he was going to make it big, buy me a house and take care of me. We had a great relationship. He was always in my life and I was always in his."

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.
Authorities in Washington, D.C., are searching for a homicide suspect who escaped police custody at the George Washington University (GW) Hospital, prompting an hours-long shelter-in-place order on GWs campus.

The Metropolitan Police Department said 30-year-old Christopher Haynes escaped police custody at the 900 block of 23rd St. NW shortly after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

A spokesperson for the Secret Service said Wednesday night there are temporary, precautionary closures around the White House, adding that the agencys Uniformed Division is assisting in the search.

An emergency shelter-in-place order was issued for GWs Foggy Bottom campus around 4:00 p.m. Around 6 p.m., university administration sent text message alerts saying the order would continue and that all in-person evening classes, events and activities scheduled for Wednesday night were canceled.

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The shelter-in-place order was lifted around 8:15 p.m., with a message from GWs alert system advising members of the community to exercise caution moving around campus.

All of the universitys in-person evening classes, events and activities remained canceled, while the Foggy Bottom metro stop stayed open.

In an initial post regarding Haynes, police said the suspect has black hair and brown eyes and was last seen wearing a black T-shirt and gray shorts underneath a white bodysuit.

In an update on X, formerly known as Twitter, police said Haynes was last seen with black handcuffs hanging from his right wrist and is possibly wearing one red shoe. The police also posted an updated picture of Haynes, where he appeared to be wearing no shoes.

Police warned individuals to not engage with the suspect and to instead call 911.

Those with information on Hayness whereabouts are asked to call police at 202-727-9099. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the departments text tip line at 50411.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
VENICE, ItalyOrigin, the new film by Ava DuVernay, is essentially an exploration of the genesis of and ideas in Isabel Wilkerson s 2020 non-fiction book, Caste: The Origins of our Discontenta text which argues that caste is a more useful organizing concept to describe power hierarchies around the world, than race and racism. Thats a bold and perhaps controversial contention, which makes it a tricky subject for a narrative film, as opposed to a documentary. The films disjointed execution bears that fear out, in a series of vignettes stuck together with glue and masking tape, taken from history, academia, and Wilkersons own life. To say that that makes for a film of variable quality would be an understatement.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor plays Wilkerson, a Pulitzer-winning writer (we know this because people say to her, You are a Pulitzer-winning writer!) who is inspired to write the book by the killing of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman in 2012. A journalist friend passes her the as-yet unreleased recordings of the event, asking her to write an article about it for his newspaper: Wilkerson, going through difficulties with her aging mother and the sale of her house, is instead moved to start work on a far more expansive work. The film then depicts her arguing, to a white friend at a party, that racism is a limited and limiting concept, because it describes too many functionally different attitudes and behaviors.

Origins quite mealy explication of the text on which it is based frequently impairs the film, such as in a scene where Wilkerson explains to friends that, whereas the swastika is illegal in Germany, in the United States the confederate flag, which is the United States equivalent of the swastika, can still be seen in many places, including the then official flag of Mississippi. Her friends solemnly explain that, on the contrary, Germany no longer contains any monuments to Nazism. This all feels quite Racial History 101: Who are these grown-up people having this sort of conversation over dinner in the 2010s? The film repeatedly oversimplifies Wilkersons polemic, dumbing down the argument for an audience that may well start to feel patronized.

At other times, the film leaves us with more questions than it can answerlike Wilkersons apparent contention (which the film does not criticize or deepen) that the Holocaust was not rooted in race, since Jews are mostly white; therefore, Nazis had to racialize them in order to attack them. Considering how contentious this discussion can befigures like Whoopi Goldberg have come under fire for such assertionsthat Origin fails to engage with it further is a glaring issue, indicative of a script that doesnt want to probe more deeply into Wilkersons actual ideas.

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Lubo Proves Franz Rogowski Is Cinemas Next Great Lead Actor

Origin cant pick a mode and stay with it, so it leaps between Wilkersons life with her white husband, Brett (Jon Bernthal, reliably good) and her investigation of casteism in India, or visits to the Judisches Museum in Berlin, where Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor duly walks around with sadness in her eyes. In between these scenes, we get reconstructions of examples of caste as figured in the book: the lives of a Jewish/Gentile couple in Nazi Germany, and a look at the research on southern race and class in the 1930s by the Black anthropologist Allison Davis. Neither of these segments properly come to life, because they are so fitful and inconclusive; a similar passage about the exclusion of a Black child from a swimming-pool in the 1950s, should by rights be unbearably poignant and hard-hitting, but DuVernay drops the ball by filming the sequence in honeyed, glossy tones, and having Wilkerson lie down next to the child in the sun, in an imagined moment of contemplation. That is too syrupy by far, for a book with bold, unflinching ideas.

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor gives a strangely muted, inexpressive performance as Wilkerson, who seems rather dreamy and drowsy throughout, reacting very slowly or even imperceptibly to various developments and revelations. The film indulges in a similarly milky tone when looking at Wilkersons life, especially her relationship with her mother, which is all misty gazes and fondness. Surely somebody in the family had a scintilla of life force?

Drive My Car Directors Latest Film Is Another Oscar-Worthy Triumph

Not everything in Origin is disastrous: There are fine, lived-in supporting performances by Audra McDonald and Niecy Nash-Betts, and one does intermittently get the sense that Wilkersons book must have some stimulating ideas. But overall, there is a lack of flavor here, a lack of shape too, and too much extraneous faffing around with scenes where autumn leaves fall in slow motion. A documentary, examining the eight pillars that Wilkerson describes as holding up caste systems worldwide, investigating Nazi Germany, the deep South in America, and the Varna culture of India, could have made for a riveting watchbut instead, were doomed to watch Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor scrawling Dehumanization on a white board.

Liked this review? Sign up to get our weekly See Skip newsletter every Tuesday and find out what new shows and movies are worth watching, and which arent.

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By Martin Quin Pollard

BEIJING (Reuters) - Proposed changes to a Chinese public security law to criminalise comments, clothing or symbols that "undermine the spirit" or "harm the feelings" of the country have triggered the concern of legal experts, who say the amendments could be used arbitrarily.

The changes were first made public last week as part of a mandatory "soliciting opinion" process, as concerns mount about the increasingly authoritarian and nationalistic rule of President Xi Jinping .

This week, several legal scholars and bloggers wrote editorials and social media posts calling for the removal of certain articles in the draft.

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The scholars and commentators also encouraged citizens to give their feedback on the draft, and so far around 39,000 people have done so via the website of China's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC).

"Who confirms the 'spirit of the Chinese nation' and according to what procedure? Who recognises the 'feelings of the Chinese nation' and according to what procedures?" wrote Tong Zhiwei, a constitutional studies scholar at the East China University of Political Science and Law, on his Weibo social media account.

"If the NPC Standing Committee adopts this article as it is now drafted, law enforcement and judicial work will inevitably lead to the practical consequences of arresting and convicting people according to the will of the chief, and there will be endless harm," Tong added.

Parliament's Standing Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Many people took to Chinese social media to express their worries that the amendments could lead to more censorship.

"Today they can prevent you from wearing certain clothes, tomorrow they can prevent you from speaking, then the day after they can prevent you from thinking," wrote one user on Weibo.

The 2005 "Public Security Administration Punishment Law", which mainly covers minor offences, is being revised to make it more applicable to current social realities, the Global Times newspaper said, without giving details.

(Reporting by Martin Quin Pollard; editing by Miral Fahmy)
BALTIMORE  Immigrants rights activists rallied outside of Baltimore City Hall Thursday morning, calling on President Joe Biden to extend temporary protected status for people who fled their home nations to escape political persecution and destruction caused by natural disasters.

Baltimore is a welcoming city, said Baltimore City Councilwoman Odette Ramos , a Democrat representing District 14. We made that official many years ago to say that we want, we need, we have to have immigrant community in our city and we welcome everyone.

Ramos and Catalina Rodriguez-Lima of the Mayors Office of Immigrant Affairs joined advocates from CASA of Maryland and immigrants and their families to ask Biden to extend temporary protected status to people fleeing Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Cameroon and Nepal, and to grant the status to Guatemala.

Temporary protected status is a designation granted by the Department of Homeland Security to immigrants from countries that are not safe to return to due to civil war or natural disasters. Once a person has been given temporary protected status, they are not able to be removed from the United States by their country of origin, are able to work once they obtain employment authorization documentation and are ineligible to be detained by the Department of Homeland Security based on their immigration status.

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Ramos said Thursday that she intends to introduce a resolution later this month calling on Biden to extend temporary protection status for people from Central America, Nepal, Cameroon and others that need that status.

We as a council think that this is very important, and Im honored to be able to introduce this resolution calling on the president to do the right thing, she said.

There are currently 16 countries whose citizens have been granted temporary protected status by the Department of Homeland Security.

Cameroonians will lose their temporary protected status in December. El Salvador will lose its protected status in Spring 2025. Honduras, Nepal and Nicaragua will lose theirs that summer. Guatemala does not have temporary protected status.

Please dont allow us to get deported to our deaths, said Denis Taponju, who fled Cameroon to come to the United States after he was arrested and accused of treason for advocating for the rights of English-speaking Cameroonians.

Taponju said was detained for days and was almost killed by the Cameroonian military.

[Temporary Protected Status] for Cameroon comes as a savior for thousands of Cameroonians, and to me and my family, in particular, he said.

Olga Urbina left Nicaragua with her husband and three children because a group of people called the colonos were killing people in her area and taking their land. She said her family lives in fear of being deported, returning to Nicaragua and being killed.

My family and I had to leave behind our lives, our home and my father there alone to save ourselves, Urbina said through a translator. In my country, there is no freedom.
SAN DIEGO (Border Report)  The city of Mexicali announced a giant addition to its Mexican Independence Day celebration lineup next week.

The city, located about 120 miles east of Tijuana, will be hosting Banda El Recodo, one of Mexicos most iconic and popular bands, for a free concert on the evening of Friday 15.

The group will perform at Mexicalis Civic Center during the nights festivities.

The performance will be streamed and shown during Mexico Citys own celebration on the same evening.

Mexico celebrates its independence with iconic chile dish

This band will give us goosebumps as we celebrate, said Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda. This is open to anyone who wants to join us.

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Banda El Recodo has been around since 1938 when it was founded in Mazatlan, Sinaloa. It was named after the hometown of its founding member, Cruz Lizarraga.

Since then, its members have changed, but its style, acclaim and popularity have remained.

Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border

According to Wikipedia, it was the first Mexican brass banda to perform in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North and South America, and is said to have been the first Mexican band to ever play in Hawaii.

In 2004, Banda El Recodo became the first band to be invited to perform at the White House in front of United States President George W. Bush, during the festivities for Cinco De Mayo.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
Damage done

I read the Aug. 31 front-page story, Kansas Citys Plaza could be closed to cars under proposal, about the proposal to revitalize the Country Club Plaza and almost laughed out loud.

The Plaza was ruined for me when the powers to be decided it was a good idea to surround the area with high-rise buildings. They sucked the charm out of the area  traffic or no traffic.

- Julie Whitley, Olathe

Grocery fairness

Rep. Jake LaTurner of Kansas toured the Balls Price Chopper grocery store in Leavenworth earlier this month at a make-or-break moment for independent grocers in this country. He not only listened but seemed to truly understand the economic challenges were seeing on both sides of the cash register.

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Like most grocery stores, the Price Chopper in Leavenworth operates on a razor-thin margin that barely covers salaries and operating costs. That store is surrounded by superstores and big chains that are far more profitable because theyre so big they can unfairly dictate their prices to manufacturers.

Smaller stores then pay a higher price to cover for the deals that are made for the chains.

Thats not only unfair, its against the law. The Robinson-Patman Act of 1936 protects small businesses from such tactics by large companies.

Grocery stores are the heart of American communities, but were not looking for special protection.

Were looking for fairness, and the laws are already in place. They just need to be enforced and updated, and we sincerely hope that Rep. LaTurner can spread that message in the nations capital.

- Jon McCormick, President and CEO, Retail Grocers Association of Greater Kansas City, Lenexa

Enough already

I am a Christian, church-attending law-abiding grandmother well over the age of 70, again facing another election season. I worked hard at my job until retirement, and I love my country, family and friends.

Its recently occurred to me that according to Republican campaign literature mailed to our home and filling the internet over the years, if I even think about voting for a Democrat, I must be all of the following: socialist, communist, atheist, welfare queen, satanic, slacker and baby killer.

This kind of dishonest, hate-mongering propaganda from the GOP started decades ago and has been going on for way too long.

Enough! Its no wonder we have a divided nation.

- Genie Park, Shawnee

Time to act

We are frustrated. All we read and hear about is the damage caused by gun violence. We talk among ourselves that thoughts and prayers are not enough. Why cant politicians do something? Anything.

I think we need to ask ourselves, What have I done?

It takes about 10 minutes to call your senators or representatives and tell them what you would like them to do. How much do we really care if we arent willing to spend 10 minutes letting our representatives know how important the issue of gun violence is to us?

To find contact information for your elected officials, go to usa.gov. Please make the effort.

- Frank Fernholz, Overland Park

Burning burnout





The inhumanity of the Burning Man festival! (Sept. 4, 6A, 1 dead as flooding at Burning Man festival strands tens of thousands at Nevada site)

Less than an inch of rain fell on the festival site, creating mud that stuck to the soles of the festival goers Guccis and Birkenstocks.

Im sure the folks on Maui, Hawaii, and in the Big Bend area of Florida feel your pain knowing that your Mercedes Sprinters cant get traction in the muck.

The round-the-clock coverage of celebrities having to hoof it for a couple of hours to a road to find their limos was riveting.

- Paul G. Comerford, Blue Springs
A grizzly bear that fatally mauled a Derby woman on a forest trail west of Yellowstone National Park in July has been killed after it broke into a house near West Yellowstone over the weekend, Montana wildlife officials said.

Amie Adamson, 48, of Derby, was killed in July. She was a former English teacher and was working in Yellowstone for the summer.

Early Saturday, a homeowner reported that a bear with a cub had broken through a kitchen window and taken a container of dog food, park officials said in a news release Wednesday.

Later that day agency workers captured the cub and shot the 10-year-old female grizzly with authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, because grizzly bears are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

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Through genetic analysis and other identifying factors, the bear was confirmed to have been involved in the July 22 fatal attack on Adamson about 8 miles from West Yellowstone. Efforts to trap the bear at that time were unsuccessful.

The bear, which had been captured in 2017 for research purposes, was also involved in an attack in Idaho that injured a person near Henrys Lake State Park in 2020, according to the Associated Press.

The park is 16 miles by road from West Yellowstone. Both encounters with people were believed to have been defensive responses by the bear, officials said.

The bears 46-pound male cub is being held at the state wildlife rehabilitation center in Helena while arrangements are made to transfer it to a zoo, the AP reported.

Contributing: Associated Press and Michael Stavola of The Eagle
By Geert De Clercq

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium's justice minister had not been aware that three of his friends had urinated against a police vehicle during a party at his house, he told parliament on Thursday, and also denied joking about it afterwards.

Belgium has been rocked by what media have dubbed "pipigate" after news outlets published security camera images showing three of Vincent Van Quickenborne's guests peeing against the van of police assigned to protect the minister's residence.

Opposition politicians and police unions have also expressed outrage over footage in which Van Quickenborne appears to mimic his guests' actions and joking about it at the end of the party for his 50th birthday.

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At a parliament hearing, Van Quickenborne apologised and said he had not been aware of the incident the night it happened.

"I am ashamed that people I invited at my house peed against a police van, not once, but three times. It is disgusting, especially considering why the van is there," he said.

Van Quickenborne has round-the-clock protection following a failed attempt to kidnap him last year.

He denied CCTV footage showed him mocking the incident later that night as he stood outside with one guest.

Van Quickenborne said he had no access to police video, but in parliament he played footage of cameras at his house.

"Some say these images show me in the act of mimicking the act of peeing. The person I was accompanying thinks ... it is an air guitar solo ...I admit I play air guitar some times ... It is possible, I honestly do not know," he said.

He added that prosecutors have opened an investigation.

Opposition politicians blasted Van Quickenborne.

"You have given a whole new dimension to the concept of the Belgian joke," said opposition party N-VA's Yngvild Ingels.

(Reporting by Geert De Clercq; Editing by Josie Kao)
University of Florida President Ben Sasse has a vision for what the future of school should be; It's just unclear exactly what that entails.

The No. 1 public university, according to The Wall Street Journal, has managed to keep Sasse's strategic plan out of the public eye during his seven-month tenure in Gainesville.

UF published a news release Thursday that gave a more in-depth description of his 10-year plan, though the full plan still has yet to be released publicly.

Sasse, who was installed as UFs president in February after a contentious search that resulted in him being the lone finalist, initiated the process of creating the plan by engaging with faculty right when he took the job, the release said. He further discussed it in a closed-door presentation to faculty and deans of each of the 16 colleges over the past three weeks and briefly spoke of it during his State of the University Address on Aug. 24.

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We started with these as off-the-record conversations because I wanted people to be able to speak freely, Sasse said during his speech. I think theyve been incredibly constructive. Ive learned a lot; Ive enjoyed them. Ive benefited from your counsel and wisdom.

A woman walks past a University of Florida welcome sign on the UF campus off University Ave., in Gainesville, Fla. on September 5, 2019.

As outlined in the release, the plan places an emphasis on what he calls 10x10x10  10 areas where UF should aim to rank in the top 10 over the next 10 years.

The priorities include artificial intelligence, agriculture, space and engineering, among others.

Following the earlier weeks of presentations, some professors left unsatisfied with Sasses vision and spoke critically of the plan to The Independent Florida Alligator newspaper.

Professors told the outlet about Sasses comments, which included lowering tuition rates, his mission to reduce the number of university departments and keeping track of tenured faculty members who dont teach or produce research.

WSJ: University of Florida ranked No. 1 amongst public institutions in the nation

Sasse later disputed the report at his address, calling the professors remarks bad faith readouts, adding that most faculty were receptive to his ideas.

In Thursdays release, Sasse said he has no plans to eliminate any departments. The Florida Legislature controls public universities tuition rates, which Sasse has no official say in.

University of Florida President Ben Sasse speaks during UF's university-wide commencement ceremony at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL, on Friday, May 5, 2023.

Sasse has been an advocate of tenure, he said, but also sees the value in post-tenure review, a state process requiring tenured facultys position to be reviewed every five years, which he believes will boost rigor and productivity. He believes so-called quiet-retiring is a widespread issue at UF, he said.

I am strongly in favor of tenure, but a defense of tenure is not a defense of lack of rigor, Sasse said. Post-tenure review will help us get at pieces of that.

Glowing remarks

Initial faculty comments also werent a unanimous consensus.

The release highlights two glowing remarks from professor Chris Curran, an associate professor of educational leadership and policy, as well as Forrest Masters, interim dean of UFs Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.

We are fortunate to have a historian at the helm, Masters said in the release. Universities are long-lived, operating on generational scales. Ben isnt only looking at a snapshot of UF circa 2023. He seeks to understand where our programs were 20 years ago ... and where they should be 20 years from now.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: UF President Ben Sasses to begin 10-year plan for campus
Reality TV has given pop culture some truly iconic moments. From the meme-worthy, to those that produced one-liners to use when talking to your friends, reality TV has nestled itself into so much of everyday life. A lot of those moments came from Black women, who have single-handedly held down the culture of reality television. The shows that air today wouldnt be the same without the influences of people like Tiffany Pollard and NeNe Leakes.

As an ode to the pop culture moments from Black and multicultural women, here are some of the best from reality TV.

Tiffany Pollard

It is extremely important to start this list off with Tiffany Pollard, aka New York, who got her start on The Flavor of Love. Her role in reality television was crucial as she was one of the first Black women to step into the space when it was first being built and create an empire off of her unforgettable personality. Her time on the dating show, centered around finding love with rapper, Flavor Flav.

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She was able to star in two seasons of the show and receive three seasons of her own spin-off I Love New York. Since then she has had several other reality TV opportunities resulting in other memorable moments.

But perhaps one of her most unforgettable sayings comes from her first season on The Flavor of Love. She and her cast member, Hottie, got into an argument. In the heat of battle, Hottie mentioned that people think she looks like Beyonce and Pollards reaction was priceless. Her Beyonce?! line is used to this day, almost twenty years later.

Nene Leakes

NeNe Leakes is next up on the list. Her breakout work on the Real Housewives of Atlanta really set the standard for Black women on a new network. Bravo has had a history of working with white reality stars with some Black women here and there before she arrived on the scene. Nenes influence in pop culture has landed her several gigs within the reality TV space.

One moment that lives in infamy, is a clip of her going to visit her cast member, Kenya Moore at her apartment. She didnt like the area. The entire walk from the car to the building she just kept commenting on how ghetto it was. Social media users use the clip on a regular basis to this day, you may even hear people use the phrase in casual conversation as well.

Cardi B

Cardi B is one of Love and Hip Hops most successful cast members. Although she didnt get her start on the show, it definitely catapulted her music career to help her get to where she is today.

One moment that stands out during her time on the show was when she met up with her friend, DJ Self, for a studio session. The two discussed how he was acting at an event that she didnt necessarily like. She explained that if someone has beef with her, they are going to have beef foreva. That line went on to become the inspiration for one of her first hit songs, Foreva, which led to her hit single Bodak Yellow.

The post Best Moments From Black Women On Reality TV appeared first on 21Ninety.
Flu season is just around the corner, and the time is fast approaching for residents to consider getting their annual vaccine.

While the flu is often relatively mild, infection can carry dangerous  and even deadly  consequences for some. And that risk is one of the major reasons health officials encourage most everyone to roll up their sleeves and try and stymie the spread.

Here's a primer on flu shots, based on information shared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

When is the best time to get a flu shot?

September and October are ideal times to get the flu shot. But if you miss that window, it's still helpful to get it later in the cold-and-flu season, even through January or later.

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Read more: A 'tripledemic' of flu, RSV and COVID is feared in California

What kind of flu shot should I get?

Health officials suggest that those age 65 and older get either a higher-dose or "adjuvanted" flu shot. An adjuvant is an ingredient that helps create a stronger immune response.

When it comes to the flu vaccine, there are three types that are recommended for older people, all with long, complicated names: HD-IIV4, or quadrivalent high-dose inactivated influenza vaccine; RIV4, or quadrivalent recombinant influenza vaccine; and aIIV4, or quadrivalent adjuvanted inactivated influenza vaccine.

But don't sweat it if none of those are available. The CDC says any other age-appropriate flu shot is also acceptable.

Who should get the flu shot?

Everyone age 6 months and older, with rare exceptions.

Can you get the flu shot and a COVID vaccine at the same time?

Yes.

Can you get the flu shot if you are sick with COVID-19?

People who are at least moderately sick with COVID-19 should wait until they're recovered before getting a flu shot.

And for people who are mildly ill or have no symptoms, a person might want to wait "to avoid confusing illness symptoms with vaccine reactions," the CDC said.

Read more: With coronavirus uptick, should I get a COVID shot? When are new vaccines available?

If I'm going to travel, how soon should I get the flu shot for it to be fully effective on my trip?

Ideally, get the flu shot two weeks before leaving for the trip.

Is there an alternative to a flu shot?

Yes, there's a nasal spray flu vaccine, which can be given to healthy people between the ages of 2 and 49. The spray is not an option for those who are pregnant, however, or for people with weakened immune systems.

Should pregnant people get the flu shot?

Yes. Getting vaccinated for flu helps protect pregnant people from becoming seriously ill, while also helping protect the baby from infection for a number of months after birth.

Can the flu shot give me the flu?

No, it's impossible for a flu shot to give you the flu. Flu shots are made using either killed flu viruses or don't contain any virus at all.

The nasal spray flu vaccine does contain weakened viruses, but they do not cause flu illness and are designed not to multiply in relatively warm places like the lungs.

Why are flu shots needed every year?

There are different kinds of flu, and the flu shot is reformulated annually to protect against the dominant versions expected to circulate each autumn and winter. Your immune protection from the flu, given through the flu shot, also weakens over time.

Seasonal vaccines are designed to protect against both infection and illness. Studies indicate that getting vaccinated against the flu reduces the risk of illness by between 40% and 60%, the CDC says. One study, published in 2018, suggested that adults who got a flu shot reduced their risk of getting admitted into an intensive care unit by 82%.

Read more: RSV season may have already begun, CDC warns, with early activity in the Southeast

Why should I consider getting the shot?

The flu is no mere cold. Generally, the flu is more severe and can cause an abrupt onset of symptoms  including fever, aches, chills, fatigue, weakness, chest discomfort, cough and headache  that are sometimes serious enough to require a hospital stay. Flu can also be associated with serious complications like bacterial infections.

Recovering from flu can take days or even a couple of weeks, "but some people will develop complications (such as pneumonia) as a result of flu, some of which can be life-threatening," the CDC says. Flu can also trigger inflammation of the heart, brain or muscle tissues.

Over the decade that ended with the 20192020 season, an average of about 35,000 Americans died from the flu annually.

Who is most at risk?

People at highest risk from flu include people older than 65; those with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes, or heart disease; pregnant people; and children younger than 5, especially those younger than 2.

But even young, relatively healthy people can fall seriously ill. And, officials note, they can unwittingly spread the flu to someone who is less equipped to fight off the infection.

Read more: FDA approves first vaccine for RSV after decades of attempts

What other viruses should I be aware of?

Flu presents a recurring, if somewhat predictable, healthcare challenge. But last year saw an unusual convergence  a 'tripledemic' when flu season arrived at the same time as an onslaught of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV; as well as a resurgence of COVID-19.

Hospitals were quite strained last autumn and winter due to respiratory illnesses. Initial estimates suggest there were somewhere in the range of tens of thousands of flu deaths nationally, along with hundreds of thousands of flu hospitalizations.

This year, protection against RSV for the first time is available in the form of vaccinations for people age 60 and older and monoclonal antibodies for babies and young children, which are recommended before a possible infection. Administration of those could help reduce the impact of RSV this year.

Updated COVID-19 vaccines  formulated, like the flu shots, in hopes of providing protection against the dominant circulating strains  are also expected to be available, perhaps as soon as next 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.
Migrants navigate around concertina wire along the banks of the Rio Grande after crossing from Mexico into the U.S. on Aug. 1 in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Eric Gay / Associated Press)

The Biden administration is considering forcing some migrant families who enter the country without authorization to remain near the border in Texas while awaiting asylum screening, effectively limiting their ability to travel within the United States, three U.S. officials told The Times.

Administration officials have been considering the idea as a way to stem recent increases in the numbers of migrant families crossing the southern border, which reportedly reached an all-time high last month. Supporters of the remain-in-Texas idea, which has yet to be finalized, hope that it would help the administration advance its goals of quickly deporting families who fail initial asylum screenings and deterring other families from crossing in the first place.

But the proposal, which recalls President Reagan's efforts to limit asylum seekers' movements in the late 1980s, is likely to draw fierce opposition from immigrant rights groups and border-state officials. Since 2022, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has bused thousands of migrants out of his state to Democrat-run cities such as Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C.

The Biden plan would force certain migrant families to remain in Texas  or possibly other border states  by tracking their location through GPS monitoring devices, such as ankle bracelets, according to the three officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The families would be put through an asylum screening process to determine whether they could stay in the U.S. and proceed with their claims. Officials have discussed working with local organizations to provide housing for the families.

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If the families failed their initial screenings, they'd be easier to deport because they'd be close to the border.

Read more: News Analysis: Why the border may 'never go back to what it was before Trump'

Migrant families are generally harder to arrest in the interior of the U.S. because of the complicated logistical planning needed to apprehend children and their parents. Migrant family deportations are historically lower than those of single adults seeking asylum in the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security officials have discussed targeting Central American families in the program, because those are countries where the U.S. can deport significant numbers of people.

"DHS continuously holds policy and operational discussions on how to leverage our authorities to ensure a fair, humane and effective immigration process that efficiently removes those without a lawful basis to stay in the country," a department spokesperson said.

If implemented, the plan would mark the latest expansion of a Biden administration program known as Family Expedited Removal Management, which imposes curfews and GPS monitoring on migrant families traveling to large cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington.

Administration officials had hoped that the FERM program, together with videos and news releases highlighting families being deported, would help deter additional families from entering the U.S. without authorization.

In July, however, Border Patrol encountered more than 60,000 families crossing the border  making up almost half the number of those who crossed the southern border that month. Border Patrol has yet to release that number for August, but the Washington Post reported last week that it was more than 91,000, an all-time record.

Families have accounted for a large portion of the overall increase in crossings since May, when administration officials thought that Biden's new limits on asylum had finally made a dent in border-crossing numbers.

The Biden administration's treatment of migrant families has come under criticism from immigrant advocates, who say the families do not have reasonable access to attorneys or time to prepare their asylum cases.

Families are rushed to removal within weeks of their arrival to the United States, without a fair opportunity to present their cases, and often without understanding the proceedings unfolding around them, the National Immigrant Justice Center wrote in a policy brief last week blasting the curfew program.

Read more: Asylum seekers from Muslim-majority countries disproportionately imprisoned at Texas border

Robyn Barnard, director of refugee advocacy at Human Rights First, said the remain-in-Texas proposal was misguided.

"People should not be punished for their manner of entry to seek asylum," she said.

U.S. officials have long implored migrants to enter the U.S. only via legal pathways. Those include setting up appointments at a port of entry or applying for a program that allows certain migrants to come to the U.S. if they have a financial sponsor and can pass security checks.

"People who do not use available lawful pathways to enter the U.S. now face tougher consequences, including a minimum five-year ban on reentry and potential criminal prosecution," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in May.

But the administration has thus far refused to revive the Trump- and Obama-era practice of detaining migrant families at the border.

We have no plan to detain families, Mayorkas said in April. As I mentioned, we will be employing alternatives to detention, including some innovations in that regard, and we will on a case-by-case basis use enhanced alternatives to detention as warranted.

The idea of forcing migrant families to stay near the border hasn't been tried in decades, said Yael Schacher, director for the Americas and Europe at Refugees International and a historian of U.S. immigration.

"There hasnt been an attempt to force asylum-seeking families to remain in border towns for 35 years," she said.

In the late 1980s, the Reagan administration forced thousands of migrants to apply for asylum near where they crossed in south Texas, and receive their decision there as well. Officials were clear at the time that the policy was intended to deter families from crossing.

"At first we may see a slightly higher number of aliens in the area, but that will soon taper off as soon as word gets back to Central America," an immigration official told the Associated Press at the time.

The migrants lived in church shelters or set up camps in parking lots or abandoned buildings while awaiting their initial asylum interviews. "Clearly these people are experiencing difficulty and hardship," a visiting United Nations official told the Associated Press.

Local officials, incensed, even tried to evict federal immigration officials from the office they were using to process asylum claims. At one point, a Texas state judge blocked federal officials from operating their office in the south Texas city of Harlingen.

In early 1989, a federal judge ordered immigration officials to let migrants leave south Texas while he decided how to rule on the new policy, and the camps began to empty.

As the migrants waited to be processed so that they could head elsewhere in the U.S., Texans stepped in to feed them. I figure weve fed four or five hundred, Dolores Muniz, a volunteer, told The Times' J. Michael Kennedy in January 1989. Its our obligation as Americans. This country was founded by immigrants. The Statue of Liberty says we should bring them in.

Get the best of the Los Angeles Times politics coverage with the Essential Politics newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Biden administration has a message for Chinese tourists: Please come back.

Even as as anti-China rhetoric ratchets up in the U.S., and Washington and Beijing butt heads on everything from trade restrictions to relations with Taiwan, the U.S. is laboring to lure back travelers and students from China after a precipitous drop since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The economic impact would be substantial: If we just return to the 2019 levels of Chinese visitors to the U.S, that would generate $30 billion in GDP and more than 50,000 additional American jobs, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters recently before heading to China for high-level talks.

Raimondo is the point person for the Biden administrations efforts, which included an Aug. 29 meeting with Chinas Culture and Tourism Minister Hu Heping, where they agreed to hold the 14th U.S.-China Tourism Leadership Summit in China in the first half of next year, the first such gathering since 2019 in Seattle. The two sides are now discussing arrangements for the summit, although neither Raimondo nor Heping have yet committed to attending.

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But Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, praised the development as a positive step for the bilateral relationship, which hit a low point earlier this year after the discovery of a Chinese spy balloon traversing U.S. airspace.

"Tourism has always been an important part of people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States. It has played an irreplaceable and unique role in strengthening communication between the two peoples and building public support for bilateral relations," Liu said in an email.

Chinese visitors  a broad term that encompasses both tourists and longer-term students  were at the forefront of a boom in international travel to the United States in the decade before the coronavirus pandemic hit. They spent a record $34 billion in the United States in 2018 and another $33 billion the following year.



That fell sharply as both governments clamped down on travel during the pandemic. Chinese spending in the United States plummeted to about $11.4 billion by 2021, nearly all by Chinese students at American colleges and universities. It rebounded slightly to around $14 billion last year, with education still accounting for most of the expenditures.

Pre-pandemic, the Chinese traveler was absolutely crucial to the U.S. travel economy, said Geoff Freeman, CEO of the U.S. Travel Association. They were by far our highest-spending travelers, in addition to being one of the biggest groups of foreigners to visit the United States, he said.

Americans, meanwhile, spent roughly $5 billion annually visiting China, pre-pandemic, but just $462 million last year.

To see a return to those kinds of numbers, Liu said the two sides will have to address several "difficulties," including the small number of direct flights between China and the U.S., the high price of those flights and the cumbersome U.S. visa application process.

Liu also urged the State Department to "adjust" its current advisory against U.S. citizens traveling to China  due to the risk of wrongful detention and other factors  "as soon as possible."

One big obstacle that Liu didnt mention: the state of the Chinese economy, which has seen its growth slow dramatically since 2020. Chinese consumers  scarred by long and grueling lockdowns during the height of the coronavirus pandemic  have piled even more of their income into savings to be prepared for any new hard times that lay ahead, leaving less, potentially, for luxuries like international travel.

At a virtual press conference on Tuesday, Yang Fan, counselor at the Chinese embassy in Washington, pushed back on perceptions of weak Chinese consumer spending with a slew of statistics aimed to show soaring domestic demand. Still, many analysts say Chinese revenge spending after the pandemic has been far less than expected.

Chinese tourism is particularly important to California, which welcomed more than half of the 2.8 million Chinese travelers that came annually to the United States before the pandemic.

There were many family-owned restaurants and hotels in cities like Rosemead in my district that relied on contracts with tour groups from China, said Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.). When those contracts were canceled, first because of the pandemic and then because of the drop in Chinese tourists, it really hurt the local economy.

Chu applauded Raimondos recent trip, which was part of the Biden administrations efforts to stabilize relations with China amid growing mistrust on each side. But the eight-term congresswoman said she still worries a great deal about increased tensions with Beijing that could discourage Chinese travel to the United States.



We need to have a more nuanced approach to our relations with China. We can protect U.S. workers and businesses from unfair trade practices, stand up for human rights and safeguard national security without cutting ties to the Chinese people, she said. "And I think having those ties can only help in terms of spreading our message of democratic values and economic openness."

However, the pandemic didnt just disrupt the stream of Chinese tourists visiting California and other U.S. hot spots. It had a devastating impact on all travel to and within the United States after ten years of solid growth, the Commerce Department said in a recent report.

The number of trips that Americans took domestically dropped nearly 32 percent, while international visits to the U.S. plunged nearly 76 percent. And the loss of 4.4 million jobs in travel and tourism accounted for nearly half of the entire employment decline in the United States, the Commerce report said.

Beijing finally ended its strict zero-Covid policy at the end of 2022, setting the stage for normal travel to resume. However, a spike in cases prompted the U.S. government to temporarily reimpose a requirement that travelers from China have a negative Covid test or proof of recovery before boarding a flight to the United States. That was lifted in March.

China took another big step in August by ending restrictions on groups visiting the United States and other destinations, a move that Raimondo attributed to months of very hard work between the Commerce Department and the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

That was incredibly welcome news, said Adam Burke, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board. Before the pandemic, L.A. welcomed about 1.2 million Chinese visitors annually, most of them arriving on group tours, he said.

They have a significant impact on businesses across the greater L.A. region. I think its not overstating it to say that we will not see full economic recovery in Los Angeles without seeing full recovery of Chinese visitation, Burke said.

LA Tourism has had offices in China for 17 years and kept them open during the pandemic. The state tourism board led a delegation of travel professionals to Beijing and Shanghai in late August to help reignite the market. Even amid national challenges, all signs point to quick and full recovery of inbound Chinese tourism to California especially now that borders have fully reopened, Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of Visit California, said in an email.

Still, hurdles remain. Before the pandemic, the United States and China allowed more than 100 weekly passenger flights on each side between the two countries. As of August, there were only 12 weekly flights on each side, although U.S. and Chinese officials recently agreed to increase the number to 24 on each side by the end of October.

Also, Russia forbids American carriers to fly over its airspace, but does not impose the same restriction on Chinese airlines. That gives Chinese carriers a big competitive advantage because they can offer flights that are as much as four or five hours shorter than their American counterparts.

But in a sign that the two sides are working hard to boost tourist trade, Chinese carriers agreed not to fly over Russia so that they could be on a level playing field with U.S. carriers, Burke said. With more flights resuming and group tours allowed again, L.A. hopes to see as many as 400,000 to 500,000 Chinese visitors this year, he said.

Another big obstacle to increased Chinese travel to the United States are visa delays, which the State Department blames on personnel shortages.

Right now the wait times are inching up to 160 days, Freeman of the U.S. Travel Association said. That's extremely concerning, because we know that we are failing the traveler in other markets to the tune of 500- 600- 800-day weights in Colombia, India and other markets. If that's the path we're on in China, we're in for a world of hurt.

About 8.9 million Chinese also hold 10-year visas to visit the United States, most of which come up for renewal at the end of next year. The U.S. travel industry, fearing a crush of reapplications that could worsen delays, wants the State Department to extend a soon-to-expire waiver that allows those 10-year visas to be renewed without an in-person interview.

The long-term visas are especially important for Chinese students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities, which provide a bedrock of Chinese spending in the United States.

Despite the increased friction between Washington and Beijing in recent years, China remains the number one source of foreign students in the United States. However, Chinese enrollment on U.S. campuses dropped 22 percent in the 2021-22 academic year, from the record high level of 372,532 students set in 2019-20.

The pandemic caused some of the decline, which has cost American higher learning centers about $15 billion of lost revenue. But U.S. attitudes toward Beijing have also hardened in recent years. In contrast to the sharp drop for China, enrollment from India, South Korea and most other countries on U.S. campuses actually increased last year.

The loss of such a large number of Chinese students is a big concern for California colleges and universities. "They were seeing such healthy enrollment by the students. But now this has to be rebuilt," Chu said.

Phelim Kine contributed to this report.
President Joe Biden boards Air Force One for a trip to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden wants to show the world at the Group of 20 summit in India and during a stop in Vietnam that the United States and its like-minded allies are better economic and security partners than China.

White House officials said Biden, who departed Thursday evening for New Delhi, will use the annual G20 gathering as an opportunity for the U.S. to highlight a proposition for developing and middle-income countries that would increase the lending power of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund by some $200 billion.

That is an attempt to offer a significant, albeit smaller, alternative to China's massive Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, which the U.S. views as a Trojan horse for China-led regional development and military expansion. Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to skip the summit, where Premier Li Qiang will represent the country.

After the summit, Biden and Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong will meet in Hanoi and are expected to announce plans to tighten economic cooperation.

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Vietnam and China have robust trade relations, but also deep differences. Vietnam, like Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei, has been in a tense territorial standoff for decades with China, which has claimed authority over waters in the South China Sea that are hundreds of miles from the Chinese coastline.

I think Xis absence at this particular summit, if that comes to pass, really is a big missed opportunity for the Chinese, said Colleen Cottle, deputy director at the Washington think tank Atlantic Councils Global China Hub. And I think it affords the Biden administration even more of a chance to go on the offensive in terms of stepping up and showing ... what their value proposition is to the Global South.

Leaders of the U.S., India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were working to finalize a joint infrastructure deal that could be announced in New Delhi, according to an official familiar with the matter.

If it comes together, the arrangement would involve ship transit between India and Saudi Arabia, then trains through Saudi Arabia and the UAE, likely to Jordan, then ship transit to Turkey and onward from there by train, according to a diplomat familiar with the negotiations.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said he could not confirm the deal. He said the initiative is something that we've invested effort into with our partners.:

We believe that connectivity from India across the Middle East to Europe is incredibly important and would bring a significant number of economic benefits, as well as strategic benefits, to all of the countries involved, he told reporters accompanying Biden aboard Air Force one.

Heading into the summit, the U.S. has criticized China for reducing the transparency of its reporting on basic economic data in recent months and for cracking down on companies in China that had been providing such data.

At the same time, the White House has tried to improve ties. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who recently returned from China, was the latest administration officials to engage Beijing amid disputes over technology, security, Taiwan and other issues.

Raimondo told The Associated Press that the world is looking for the U.S. and China to responsibly manage our relationship. She said the administration's goal is to have a stable economic relationship in which there is consistent engagement. But Xi's decision to not attend the G20 shows that we have work to do regarding communication between the countries, she said.

Communication is of course, a two-way street, Raimondo said. Communication does need to lead to action.

Biden said he was disappointed that Xi will not be in New Delhi, where the summit is expected to focus on climate, development and the future of the grouping of leading economies.

The U.S. has criticized Chinas lending practices under Belt and Road as "coercive," saying the $1 trillion infrastructure effort that provides Chinese loan assistance to poor countries often comes with strings attached that restrict the restructuring of debt with other major creditor nations. China also frequently retains the right to demand repayment at any time, giving Beijing leverage over other countries.

A recent Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China, including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Laos and Mongolia, found paying back that debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of tax revenue. Countries in APs analysis had as much as 50% of their foreign loans from China and most were devoting more than one-third of government revenue to paying off foreign debt.

Sullivan said the effort to bolster the lending capacity of the World Bank and the IMF would provide a "credible alternative" to China.

Biden included $3.3 billion for both institutions in the supplemental budget request he has sent to Congress. The administration said the money would help leverage nearly $50 billion from the U.S. alone in lending for middle-income and poor countries and up to $200 billion around the world.

We believe that there should be high-standard, noncoercive lending options available to low- and middle-income countries, Sullivan said

Xi is trying to navigate through one of the most turbulent moments for China's economy in decades.

The Chinese economy is weighed down by a property bubble, local government debt, high youth unemployment and a broader inability to rebound as expected from pandemic lockdowns. Added to that is the longer-term challenge of China's population starting to decline due to aging and lower birth rates.

Most conventional economic analyses assume the U.S. economy and its allies are largely insulated from a Chinese slowdown. There are supply chain risks if factories close in China and global growth struggles. But so far this year, the U.S. economy has outperformed expectations as the Chinese economy has underperformed.

Xi countered in a speech published last month that the U.S. and its allies cannot curb the greedy nature of capital and cannot solve chronic diseases such as materialism and spiritual poverty. He suggested his model of a government with centralized power will do more to serve the interests of the vast majority of people."

How China navigates through its economic headwinds is a big question for the White House. The administration has tried to have a stable trade relationship, even as it has frustrated China by restricting imports of advanced technology for national security purposes. U.S. officials have emphasized the importance of an ongoing dialogue between the governments of the world's two largest economies.

G20 leaders will also discuss the global impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and joint efforts at combating climate change. Any summit agreements on the climate front are expected to be incremental at best. G20 climate and environment ministers, at their July meeting, were unable to agree on a goal of peaking emissions by 2025, moving to clean energy and a tax on carbon as a way to reduce emissions.

Biden is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Modi's residence after he arrives in India on Friday evening.

Biden has put much effort into bolstering his relations with Modi, a conservative Hindu nationalist leading the world's most populous country. The U.S.-India relationship will be vital in coming decades as both sides deal with an ascendant China and the enormity of climate change, artificial intelligence, supply chain resilience and other issues.

Biden hosted Modi in June for a pomp-filled state visit.

___

AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee and Associated Press journalist Tracy Brown contributed to this report.
For two days straight, the White House told anyone who would listen that President Joe Biden was taking his Covid exposure seriously by following a strict set of public health precautions.

Then Biden strode into a room full of people on Wednesday and reduced those precautions to a punchline.

Ive been tested again today, Im clear across the board, Biden said, smiling as he held up his face mask. They keep telling me, because it has to be 10 days or something, I gotta keep wearing it. But dont tell them I didnt have it when I walked in.

The joke earned muted laughter from the audience. But outside the State Dining Room, it served as further confirmation of what many public health officials and outside experts have long come to believe: The president who once pledged to eliminate Covid altogether has grown significantly less worried about it. And may be all but over it on a personal level.

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Its unfortunate, said Michael Osterholm , an epidemiologist and former Covid adviser to the Biden transition. Because as we begin to see the number of deaths rise in the country, Covid is still with us."



The episode marked the second day in a row that Biden appeared to disregard his own administrations pandemic protocols. On Tuesday, barely a day after the first lady tested positive for Covid, aides insisted the president would wear a mask while around others at a Medal of Honor ceremony. But Biden removed his face covering to give opening remarks and never put it back on  even as he stood inches away from 81-year-old honoree Larry Taylor. He then left the event, maskless, by walking through the crowd.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre later said Biden's abrupt exit was meant to limit his exposure to the other attendees, though it came at the tail end of the nearly 20-minute ceremony.

Biden dispensed with even that minimal show of caution for Wednesdays White House event, focused on ports and supply chains, once again contradicting assertions that Jean-Pierre made hours earlier by refusing to wear a mask throughout the entire session.

The nonchalance may have reflected the larger societal desire to move past the stricter health precautions that defined the early Covid era  precautions that once served as a point of pride for a newly inaugurated Biden administration.

But it still alarmed some public health experts who had once cheered on Biden's Covid response for adopting a mantra of "follow the science," and now worry that the president is undermining his own public health messaging amid an uptick of cases. It also reflected lingering tension within the administration over how to approach an issue widely regarded as a political loser  even as it remains an ongoing health threat.



The government is due to roll out its latest round of Covid vaccines as early as next week, which it has urged people to get on the basis that the virus still poses a serious danger. Biden's behavior risks eroding the high ground that Democrats have claimed on public health issues, experts warned, where they've portrayed Republicans as anti-science for flouting basic Covid precautions.

This reflects the mood of the public, Kavita Patel, a primary care physician and former Obama-era health official, said of Biden's casual attitude toward the virus, but sets a dangerous precedent for careless Covid behavior."

The White House did not directly address Biden's decision to go maskless, though it disputed the notion he doesn't take Covid seriously and noted he's so far tested negative. In a statement, spokesperson Kelly Scully also touted the effectiveness of the administration's Covid response.

When President Biden took office, he committed to leading with science, getting Americans vaccinated against COVID-19, opening our nations schools for in-person instruction, and saving lives from the virus," Scully said. "Because of this whole-of-government strategy, we have more tools and systems available today to protect communities this fall and winter season, including updated vaccines that will be available mid-September, widely available tests, and effective treatments.

Well before this week, Biden and his administration have signaled a desire to follow much of the public in moving past the Covid era. The White House earlier this year dismantled its Covid response team and allowed a three-year public health emergency declaration to expire with minimal fanfare. It also adopted an increasingly relaxed approach toward Covid, insisting the virus poses little threat to most people as long as theyre vaccinated and seek out treatment.

The administration has continued to work extensively behind the scenes to monitor Covid and bolster its broader pandemic defenses, including pursuing a range of next-generation vaccines.



But Bidens own exposure and the resurgence of the virus have put the White House in more of a bind: juggling the need to tout best practices with the political reality that few Americans still rate the virus as a top concern.

Inside the administration, some senior officials have argued in favor of minimizing the amount of time the White House itself spends publicly talking about Covid issues, said two Democrats familiar with the dynamics who were granted anonymity to speak freely. They maintain that Biden should devote his attention to more politically advantageous topics like the economy, leaving the Covid messaging to his health officials.

But others countered that the White House can't stop talking about the virus altogether and risk appearing caught off-guard by new developments.

Bidens own exposure was seen by some in that group as an opportunity to reinforce the administrations central Covid accomplishment: Thanks to the vaccine, the biggest concern for the 80-year-old president exposed to the virus is not whether hell survive it, but whether it might derail his trip to the G-20 summit in India later this week.

Instead, Biden, who prides himself on his instinct for gauging the public mood, went his own way.

If it were me, I would have still worn my mask, said Osterholm. When were talking about respiratory etiquette  thats just a courtesy to others as much as it is your responsibility.
President Bidens reelection campaign dropped a new ad highlighting his leadership on the global stage amid the war in Ukraine, ahead of Bidens trip to the Group of 20 (G20) summit in India.

The one-minute spot outlines Bidens surprise and historic visit to Kyiv in February. The ad will run on CBSs 60 Minutes on Sunday in battleground states, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, while Biden is at the summit.

It was the first time in modern history  that an American president went into a war zone not controlled by the United States, the ad says.

He entered Ukraine under the cover of night, and in the morning, Joe Biden walked shoulder to shoulder with our allies in the war-torn streets, standing up for democracy in a place where a tyrant is waging war to take it away, the ad says, showing a photograph of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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The ad includes photographs and videos of Bidens overnight trip into Ukraine and his visit on the ground with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In the middle of a war zone, Joe Biden showed the world what America is made of  thats the quiet strength of a true leader who doesnt back down to a dictator, the ad reads.

It aims to draw a contrast between Bidens commitment to democracy and the MAGA Republicans dangerous foreign policy positions, including siding with Putin over the Ukrainian people, according to the Biden campaign.

The president has worked throughout the war in Ukraine to display his leadership on the world stage and push the idea that the U.S. is leading Western allies in helping Ukraine resist Russia.

Biden is set to leave for the G20 later Thursday.

The ad is part of the Biden campaigns 16-week, $25 million advertising campaign to reach voters in battleground states.

It comes amid a series of disappointing polls for the president.

His approval rating dropped to 39 percent in the latest CNN survey, the lowest in CNN polls this year. The same survey showed that more than half of Democrats are seriously concerned about Bidens age heading into next year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Black and Latino voters have long been stalwart Democratic Party voters. Is that still the case? Maybe not. President Biden is "underperforming among nonwhite voters" in a series of polls, The New York Times reported. Among those voters, Biden leads Donald Trump  the likely GOP nominee  by an average of 53 to 28 percent. That might sound like a lot, but Biden won 70 percent of those voters in 2020. That shift could make a critical difference in the 2024 election.

"Black voters played a large role in rescuing Biden's struggling 2020 presidential campaign in the South Carolina primary," Reuters reported. But there have long been signs of dissatisfaction since he arrived in the White House. Democrats in Congress failed to get voting protections or police reforms passed while they held control, leading some Black voters to "lose faith" in the party. "They don't follow through," one voter told Reuters about Democrats.

The latest poll numbers are part of a trend, The Washington Post reported. Black voter turnout dropped 10 percentage points between the 2018 and 2022 midterm elections. That has Democrats alarmed heading into 2024: Biden's victory in 2020 depended on narrow wins in swing states like Georgia and Wisconsin, after all. "Democratic activists are cautioning that the party can't afford to let support from Black voters slip."

Indifferent voters?

"Democrats have grown increasingly identified with policies and rhetoric that appeals to college-educated voters, who are disproportionately white," Jonathan Chait wrote at New York. It's difficult for Dems to conceive that "Donald Trump, of all people, is going to register gains among racial minorities," but there really is a risk that Black voters and other minorities "will vote for the opposing party." The shift away from Biden is easier to understand if you realize that nonwhite voters "are less liberal than the party's white voters, not more liberal."

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"Voters are in a sour mood about all politicians," Juan Williams wrote for The Hill. The good news for Democrats is that Black voters still rank Biden "more highly than Trump." But Black voters lived through the Barack Obama era, when promises of "hope and change" didn't do much to change problems with police brutality and high poverty rates in their community. The result is that those voters have "little reason to think any politician, be it Obama or Biden, will rescue them."

Black voters won't necessarily become Republican voters, Philip Bump wrote in The Washington Post. "It may be that those potential voters simply don't vote at all." And voters who are indifferent to Biden aren't necessarily going to become Trump fans. That may not matter: If Trump can't flip Black voters he'll be happy if they decide to stay home rather than vote for Biden. Trump would love to have those votes, but he "would not complain loudly if Black turnout was down substantially next year."

A more potent message

"Democrats are stressing the need to appeal early to Black voters," The Hill reported. There is a consensus among party strategists that they'll need more than "an anti-Trump message to inspire and motivate a diverse electorate." That's why some Democrats are moving now to talk up Biden's record: Black unemployment has fallen, investment in historically Black colleges and universities is up, and Biden nominated the Supreme Court's first Black woman justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson. But it's not clear those efforts have moved the needle. "Black voters like Joe Biden," said one observer. "They like him, but they are still frustrated."

Biden may not have much choice but to rely on anti-Trump messaging then, The New York Times reported. "My dad used to say: 'Joey, don't compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative,'" the president has said frequently. And the White House hopes that some of its initiatives to reduce student loan debt and address racial disparities in home appraisals and maternal mortality will have an effect. Said one administration official: "I do believe when the rubber hits the road, people will pay more attention to these dramatic investments in their quality of life."

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Li urges Asia to focus on peaceful development

08:52, September 07, 2023 By CAO DESHENG in Jakarta ( Chinadaily.com.cn

Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday called for Asian countries, including members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, to focus on the overall interests of Asia's peaceful development and jointly address various risks and challenges in a bid to promote regional prosperity and stability.

Li made the remarks when addressing the 26th ASEAN-China, Japan and ROK (10+3) leaders' meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The premier said that the ASEAN Plus Three cooperation mechanism has undergone numerous crises and tests in the past 20 years, but it has played an important role in promoting regional development and prosperity. "The more difficult it is, the more we need to seek solidarity and cooperation."

As the world is entering a new period of turbulence and changes and global development endeavors face tremendous challenges, Li emphasized the need to prioritize development in regional cooperation, eliminate all kinds of interference, tap into cooperation potential and strive to explore a more stable, vibrant and inclusive development path.

China is willing to work with all parties to take the implementation of the new ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation Work Plan as an opportunity to promote regional economic integration and connectivity, enhance partnership in innovation and the digital economy, and strengthen sustainable development and poverty reduction efforts, Li said.

He called for further releasing the dividends of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and promoting the free flow of factors of production to expand and upgrade trade and investment.

"We hope that all parties will support Hong Kong's accession to the RCEP as one of the first new members," he added.

The premier also emphasized the need to leverage the strengths of geographical proximity and economic complementarity to optimize and upgrade industrial and supply chains in the region.

"China is willing to deepen cooperation with all parties in areas such as the digital economy, clean energy and new energy vehicles to promote the development of emerging industries and cultivate more new economic growth points together."

During the meeting, Li reiterated China's position on the issue of Japan's discharging of nuclear-contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, urging Japan to faithfully fulfill its international obligations and engage in full consultations with neighboring countries and other stakeholders to handle the issue in a responsible manner.

While attending the 26th China-ASEAN leaders' meeting earlier on Wednesday, Li commended the development of ties between China and ASEAN, and said that over the past decade, China and ASEAN have maintained a relationship characterized by sincerity, mutual assistance, mutual benefit, mutual coordination and inclusiveness.

They have worked together to forge a path of long-term good neighborliness, friendship and shared development and prosperity amid the evolving global landscape, he added.

Li underlined the need for China and ASEAN to promote cooperation in emerging industries, such as new energy vehicles, photovoltaics and artificial intelligence, expand people-to-people exchanges and enhance cooperation in fields such as culture, tourism, training and youth.

Noting that China and ASEAN are inseparable neighbors, brothers and partners, the premier emphasized the importance of maintaining regional peace and stability by actively advancing consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and cooperating in combating telecommunication and cyber fraud.

The leaders of ASEAN countries attending the meeting highly praised the achievements of ASEAN-China cooperation, saying that the comprehensive strategic partnership between ASEAN and China has brought great benefits to the people of the region and promoted regional peace, development and stability.

ASEAN countries welcome the progress made in formulating the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and look forward to the early conclusion of the negotiations on upgrading the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement, they added.

During the meeting, a joint statement was issued on strengthening alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific for mutually beneficial cooperation.

The meeting also adopted a number of documents on cooperation between China and ASEAN in the fields of agriculture, e-commerce and scientific and technological innovation.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Photo: The Canadian Press Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Pletcher talks outside the federal courthouse, about the guilty plea of Leonard Francis, known in military circles as Fat Leonard, on bribery charges involving U.S. Navy officials.

The felony convictions of four Navy officers in one of the worst bribery cases in the maritime branch's history were vacated due to prosecutorial misconduct Wednesday, the latest misstep in the government's years long efforts in going after dozens of military officials tied to a defense contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard.

U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino called the misconduct outrageous and agreed to allow the four men to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a $100 fine each.

The surprising turn of events occurred at a sentencing hearing in federal court in San Diego for the former officers.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Ko, who was brought on after the officers were tried last year, admitted to serious issues with prosecutorial misconduct and asked the judge to vacate the men's convictions.

He said his office does not agree with all of the allegations of misconduct but some were true.

There were pretty obviously serious issues that affect our ability to go forward defending the convictions or seeking a new trial, Ko told the judge.

The officers  former Capts. David Newland, James Dolan and David Lausman and former Cmdr. Mario Herrera  were previously convicted by a federal jury on various counts of accepting bribes from foreign defense contractor Leonard Francis, who admitted to bilking the Navy out of more than $35 million by buying off dozens of top-ranking officers with booze, sex, lavish parties and other gifts.

On Wednesday the four men pleaded guilty to a charge of destruction of government property, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Defense attorneys had long accused the prosecution of lying to the court and unfairly pressuring witnesses to testify on the stand to a narrated script.

Francis fled from house arrest in San Diego nearly a year ago in what was also seen as a misstep by the prosecution for allowing him to not be held behind bars. He was later captured in Venezuela, where he remains.

More than two dozen Navy officials, defense contractors and others have been convicted on various fraud and corruption charges in the case, which spanned years. It was not immediately clear whether Wednesday's development may jeopardize the other convictions.

A decade ago, Francis was arrested in a San Diego hotel as part of a federal sting. Investigators say he and his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, bribed officers so he could overcharge for supplying ships or charge for fake services at ports he controlled in Southeast Asia.

The case, which delved into salacious details about service members cheating on their wives and seeking out prostitutes, was an embarrassment to the Pentagon. The U.S. attorneys office handled the prosecution, offering independence from the military justice system.

The U.S. Attorneys office in San Diego did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Associated Press also left messages with lead prosecutor Mark Pletcher and two other prosecutors involved in the case.
NEW YORK  President Joe Biden is expected to miss the annual ceremony on Monday in New York City marking the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks amid a nasty feud with city and state officials over the growing migrant crisis.

Biden will attend a commemoration of 9/11 with military families in Anchorage, Alaska, as he returns from a previously planned state visit to Vietnam on Sunday, meaning he wont attend the solemn event in lower Manhattan for the second straight year.

The alternate 9/11 commemoration plan means Biden will avoid appearing with Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul as they both feud with the White House and one another over the flood of migrants that have turned into a political hot potato for New York city and state.

Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff are expected to appear at the lower Manhattan event on Monday marking the 22nd anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on American soil, which killed nearly 3,000 people.

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The White House has been locked in an increasingly ugly three-way feud with fellow moderate Democrats Adams and Hochul over how to cope with an estimated 110,000 migrants sent to the Big Apple in recent months by Republican-run Texas.

The White House notes Biden had long planned to attend the G20 summit in India, which ends late on Saturday. He suggested in July that he planned to visit Vietnam, an additional stop that made it all but impossible for him to attend the a 9/11 event in New York.

Bidens event in Alaska was officially announced on Aug. 28 along with the Vietnam visit.

With New York City shelters and schools bursting at the seams, Adams wants to force upstate cities to take in migrants, a move Hochul is resisting.

The mayor says he needs much more financial help from the feds and Albany, warning that the city could otherwise plummet into a fiscal collapse.

Adams amped up his rhetoric on the issue Wednesday, saying the growing migrant problem could destroy New York City.

_____
FILE - Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 17, 2015. President Joe Biden says he will nominate the former Obama administration official to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, nearly six months after his first choice for the job withdrew in the face of Republican opposition. The White House said Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 that Biden will nominate Whitaker, currently the chief operating officer of a Hyundai affiliate working to develop an air taxi aircraft. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, file) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

President Joe Biden on Thursday nominated a former Obama administration official to lead the Federal Aviation Administration after his first choice withdrew in March after running into opposition from Republican senators.

The White House said Biden nominated Michael G. Whitaker, a former deputy administrator at the FAA. He is currently the chief operating officer of a Hyundai affiliate working to develop an air taxi aircraft.

Whitaker's nomination had been expected for months, and Biden's announcement was praised by several industry and labor groups.

The FAA, which regulates airline safety and manages the nation's airspace, has been run by back-to-back acting administrators since March 2022.

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The agency faces a number of challenges including a shortage of air traffic controllers, aging technology, and alarm over close calls between planes at major airports. In addition, Congress is deliberating over legislation that will direct the agency's operations for the next five years.

Whitaker worked as a lawyer for TWA, which was absorbed by American Airlines, spent 15 years at United Airlines, where he became a senior vice president and oversaw international and regulatory affairs, then moved to InterGlobe, a travel company in India.

He was deputy FAA administrator  a job that does not require Senate approval  from 2013 to 2016. He is currently the chief commercial officer for Supernal, a Hyundai subsidiary that is working on an electric-powered air taxi  which would need FAA certification to fly in the United States.

The White House said Whitaker holds a private-pilot license.

Last year, Biden nominated Denver International Airport CEO Phillip Washington, but he withdrew in March after his nomination stalled in the Senate Commerce Committee. Republicans and independent Kyrsten Sinema argued that Washington lacked adequate aviation experience  his background is mostly in city transit systems, having held the Denver airport job only since mid-2021.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who led the GOP opposition to Biden's first pick, gave a noncommittal statement about the second choice.

We must carefully evaluate Mike Whitakers qualifications, experience, and temperament to determine whether he is the right person to lead the agency at this critical juncture, Cruz said.

The FAA has lacked a Senate-confirmed leader since early last year, when Stephen Dickson, who was chosen by President Donald Trump, quit midway through his five-year term.

Since then, the agency has been run by two successive acting administrators. The first, Billy Nolen, who left FAA in June to join another air taxi company, Archer Aviation, praised Whitaker's nomination in a recent interview. I cant think of a better choice, he said. He will do an amazing job.

Earl Lawrence, a former senior official at the FAA who now works for Xwing, which is developing pilotless planes to carry cargo, said Whitaker's appointment would be a win for companies making drones and autonomous aircraft  in part because of Whitaker's time at Supernal.

He knows how to support the airlines because he worked at the airlines, and he has worked with the drone folks, Lawrence said. He will create the environment that it's OK to move forward with new technologies.

A range of industry groups praised Whitaker as somebody they can work with  which could raise questions about FAA independence from the companies it regulates.

Nicholas Calio, president of the trade group Airlines for America, said Whitaker has extensive experience including on modernizing the air traffic system. He said Whitaker appreciates the collaborative partnership between industry and government to keep air travel safe.

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, urged the Senate to confirm Bidens pick quickly. Whitaker has the experience to step into the role and immediately lead us forward, she said.

___

This story has been corrected to note that FAA has been run by two successive acting administrators, not three.
President Biden on Thursday announced he will nominate Michael Whitaker to serve as administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a lack of leadership at the top of the agency amid ongoing issues with air travel.

Whitaker is the chief operating officer of Supernal, a Hyundai Motor Group company designing an electric advanced air mobility vehicle. He previously was deputy administrator at the FAA during the Obama administration from 2013-16.

The FAA has been beset with high-profile mishaps such as an alarming uptick in close calls at U.S. airports and a national flight grounding in January.

Prior to his time at the FAA, Whitaker served as group CEO of InterGlobe Enterprises, an Indian travel conglomerate and operator of the airline IndiGo. He also spent 15 years at United Airlines in various roles, including senior vice president.

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He began his aviation career as a litigator and as assistant general counsel of international and regulatory affairs at Trans World Airlines. And he is a private pilot and is on the board of Flight Safety Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes aviation safety globally.

The FAA has been without a permanent leader since March 2022, when Trump-appointed administrator Steve Dickson stepped down.

Biden announced in June that deputy transportation secretary Polly Trottenberg would serve as interim head of the FAA as he struggled to get a permanent administrator in place. His last nominee, Phil Washington, withdrew his nomination in March amid criticism that he doesnt have the proper experience.

With no permanent FAA administrator in place, responding to air travel problems has largely fallen to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Airlines for America, the lobbying organization for the major U.S. airlines, applauded the move to nominate Whitaker on Thursday; CEO Nicholas Calio said he has extensive experience working on priorities of major airlines.

He has a deep understanding of and appreciation for the collaborative partnership between industry and government that is necessary to ensure air travel remains the safest mode of transportation in the world, Calio said, urging the Senate to move quickly on confirming Whitaker.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
President Biden on Thursday tested negative for COVID-19 as he prepared to take off for India for the Group of 20 (G20) Summit and as he has shown limited regard for safety protocols the White House said he would follow.

The White House shared the news of Bidens latest negative test roughly an hour before he was scheduled to depart for India, where he will spend the next few days. He will also travel to Vietnam before returning to Washington, D.C., next Monday.

Biden has tested negative for the virus four consecutive days after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. The two were together in Rehoboth Beach, Del., over the weekend, and both the president and first lady traveled to Florida last Saturday to survey damage from Hurricane Idalia.

The White House had said Biden would be be tested regularly by his physician in light of the first ladys positive test, and that the president would wear a mask while indoors and around others in order to limit his exposure to others because of his close contact with the first lady.

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Biden on Tuesday initially wore a mask to a Medal of Honor ceremony, though he removed it to make remarks, and he did not put his mask back on when he stood next to the honoree, Capt. Larry Taylor.

The president Wednesday did not wear a mask as he entered the room to make remarks about a new contract for union workers at ports on the West Coast.

Let me explain to the press: Ive been tested again today. Im clear across the board, but they keep telling me, because this has to be 10 days or something, I got to keep wearing it. But dont tell them I didnt have it on when I walked in, Biden said with a laugh.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Nia Vardalos has opened up about the reality of her early years in the acting industry, revealing the hurtful comments she received from her first agent.

The 60-year-old Canadian actor is best known for writing and leading the early Noughties romcom My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) opposite John Corbett. The two have since reprised their roles in the 2016 sequel and the third Greek Wedding movie, releasing on Friday (8 September).

Sometimes Im depicted as this very strong person who was rejected by Hollywood and therefore created my own story, Vardalos told MovieMaker magazine in an interview conducted before the ongoing actors and writers strikes.

However, before she found her breakthrough success with the trilogys debut film, she was told by the first agent she approached after moving to Hollywood that I wasnt pretty enough to be a leading lady and not fat enough to be a character actor.

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People were not even shocked, Vardalos said of peoples reaction to the story. They would say, Oh yeah, my agent told me the same thing. I realised that story and that negativity was going to drag me down.

She continued: I had to turn the experiences into something, so I borrowed a friends computer and wrote the screenplay for My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

The reality is that it hurt to be told that my ethnicity and my looks were the problem. I never had my looks categorised as being detrimental to my career. So, anyway, F her, because look how it turned out, the My Life In Ruins star said. Vardalos is of Greek and Canadian descent.

Nia Vardalos (Getty Images)

The final film of the Big Fat trilogy comes more than a year after Vardalos first announced they had begun production in June 2022. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 also marks the first film Vardalos has directed in the franchise.

The forthcoming movie comes six years after the second debuted in 2016, of which you can read The Independents two-star review here.

The hit original, which also featured the late Michael Constantine, earned Vardalos an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Constantine died in 2021, aged 94, of natural causes. His death came before he was able to begin shooting the third film.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 releases in cinemas on Friday.
Bill Pullman transforms into Alex Murdaugh for new Lifetime movie

The Murdaugh trial is officially getting the Lifetime treatment.

The cable channel released its fall slate of shows on Sept. 6. revealing that its 500th original movie will be "Murdaugh Murders: The Movie."

In it, actor Bill Pullman is playing Alex Murdaugh, the former South Carolina lawyer who was found guilty earlier this year of killing his wife and youngest son in 2021. And potential viewers don't have to wait to see Pullman's transformation into the convicted murderer.

Murdaugh Murders (A and E / Lifetime Entertainment)

Lifetime released a photo along with its announcement of Pullman as Murdaugh gripping who appears to be one of his sons.

Wallis Annenberg And The Annenberg Foundation Host VIP North American Premiere Of Sebatiao Salgado's

The two-part movie will premiere Oct. 14 and 15 on Lifetime, beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

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Alex Murdaugh was found guilty on March 2, 2023 of killing his wife, 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, and his 22-year-old son, Paul Murdaugh, in June 2021.

Alex Murdaugh (Joshua Boucher / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

He received two back-to-back lifetime sentences without parole and is currently in custody in a maximum-security prison in South Carolina. His attorneys continue to maintain his innocence and appeared on TODAY on Sept. 6, 2023, after they filed a motion of a retrial and accused the county clerk of jury tampering.

Alex Murdaugh is additionally facing 22 fraud and theft charges related to a number of instances, including the allegation that he cheated his late housekeeper's family out of her estate.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
A Ukrainian serviceman carries a 155 mm artillery shell before firing at Russian positions from a U.S.- supplied M777 howitzer in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Thursday, July 14, 2022.

This story has been updated with new figures about European contributions to Ukraine.

The United States has sent billions of dollars' worth of aid to Ukraine in fight against a Russian invasion. Now, President Biden is seeking another $24 billion.

The source of that aid  from a combination of defense stockpiles and several parts of the federal budget  reveals the complex nature of America's foreign aid.

Some of the funding has been appropriated by Congress while other pieces have come from executive action. This week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken took an unannounced trip to Ukraine to announce more than $1 billion in aid.

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Heres how the funding has broken down so far:

How much is the U.S. supporting Ukraine?

The roughly $76 billion in support to Ukraine has broken into military, humanitarian and financial aid. The financial piece is supported by the Economic Support Fund, which is a large State Department fund aimed at foreign policy assistance. The two largest military buckets are the Presidential Drawdown Authority and the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

PDA allows the Pentagon to transfer old military gear and ammunition, which might otherwise go unused, from depots and warehouses. The USAI modifies existing Defense Department contracts to send equipment to Ukraine.

The State Department has a detailed tally of the military gear shipped to Ukraine. Among the items:

300,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades

One Patriot air defense battery and munitions

12 National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and munitions

198 155mm Howitzers and more than 2,000,000 155mm artillery rounds

31 Abrams tanks

186 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles

500+ Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles (MRAPs)

In addition, Congress appropriated $4.65 billion in Foreign Military Financing, which allows Ukraine or allied partners grants or loans for military gear.

That leaves two buckets: Foreign Military Sales, those from the U.S. government; and direct commercial sales, U.S. companies selling to approved foreign governments. The U.S. sends about $600 million in each category.

How do direct commercial sales relate to Ukraine?

More than 14,000 entities in the United States are approved by the State Department to provide military-grade weapons and gear to foreign governments, including Ukraine.

USA TODAY had a behind-the-scenes look at one recent shipment of .50 caliber bullets that flowed from an ammunition manufacturing plant in Missouri to Poland and eventually Ukraine.

The State Department approved $608 million in private sales to Ukraine last year. That's far less than private sales to some other countries: The top approved recipient of private sales was Singapore at nearly $6 billion including aircraft parts and components.

How does the U.S. contribution compare to other countries to Ukraine?

According to new data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy released Sept. 7, Europe has now overtaken the United States in total commitments to Ukraine, with commitments of about $167 billion dollars by all main European contributors.

Calculated by percentage of GDP, some smaller nations stand out, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. Estonia has contributed 1.46% of its entire GDP to Ukraine or roughly $420 million.

How does aid compare to other U.S. budget items?

The $76 billion is an enormous figurebut hard to put in context. The Council of Foreign Relations, a non-partisan think tank, recently compared the amount to other high profile spending initiatives. Its much less than the $2.2 trillion spent on Coronavirus aid, or the hundreds of billions authorized for the Troubled Asset Relief Program to shore up the U.S. banking system after the Great Recession in 2008.

Nick Penzenstadler is a reporter on the USA TODAY investigations team. Contact him at npenz@usatoday.com or @npenzenstadler, or on Signal at (720) 507-5273.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How much money has the U.S. given to Ukraine? The numbers, explained
Smoke and steam rise from distillery at Bajaj Hindustan Sugar factory, one of Asia's largest ethanol (biofuel) manufacturers in Meerut, India, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. India, the current president of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing nations, has proposed a global biofuel alliance that seeks to accelerate sustainable biofuels deployment to support the global energy transition. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

BENGALURU, India (AP)  India, the current president of the Group of 20 industrialized and developing nations, has proposed a global biofuel alliance that seeks to accelerate the development of sustainable biofuels to support the global energy transition.

The alliance is likely to get an official announcement at the G-20 summit that opens this week in New Delhi, and it's expected that more than 15 countries will sign up to be part of the alliance.

The United States, Canada and Brazil are among a few of the countries expected to join India in such an alliance.

WHAT ARE BIOFUELS?

Any fuel produced from agricultural produce or organic waste is a biofuel.

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Humans have used biofuels since time immemorial  for example, burning wood and manure for cooking, heating and light.

They've gained popularity in recent decades for their potential to deliver cleaner energy than some other sources.

Biofuels are categorized based on their source, with each category known as a generation. First-generation biofuels are derived from food crops like corn and sugar cane, second generation from inedible vegetation and agricultural waste and third-generation from algae.

Popular types of biofuels such as ethanol, biodiesel and biogas can be produced from any of these sources and are classified based on the source from which they are produced. For example, ethanol produced from farm-grown corn is classified as first-generation ethanol.

ARE BIOFUELS ALWAYS A SOURCE OF CLEAN ENERGY?

Not always. It depends on how it's produced. A biofuel made from waste or inedible vegetation, with renewable energy to power the production, would have little or no greenhouse gas emissions, making it a clean fuel. But when crops are grown explicitly to produce biofuels  such as making ethanol from corn, soybeans, sugar cane or palm  all the fertilizers and fossil fuels needed to grow, cultivate and process the fuel give it a much larger carbon footprint.

If you look at the full life cycle of producing biofuels, its many times not clean, said Lydia Powell, an energy policy analyst at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, who has followed developments related to biofuels for over two decades.

Biofuels can also mean land that could have produced food is instead being used for energy. And they can add to deforestation when land is cleared for their production.

Powell noted Europe's imports of palm oil from Indonesia and other East Asian countries to make biodiesel for cars and trucks. Those imports dropped sharply after European Union regulations banned the sale of palm oil and other commodities when they could be linked to deforestation.

"They were destroying natural forests to plant palm trees so you produce oil to export to Europe. When you destroy forests, you destroy large chunks of carbon sinks, Powell said.

Those issues have clouded the picture of exactly how sustainable biofuels are, and led to skepticism of them as a clean energy option.

WHAT ARE BIOFUELS USED FOR?

Transportation, including passenger vehicles, but also transport  trucking, shipping and aviation.

Once they're made, experts say, biofuels have advantages over pure fossil fuels by contributing little to no emissions at the tailpipe. The same can't be said of the gasoline and diesel they are blended with.

But there's a hope that the biofuels might completely replace fossil fuels in the future in aviation and in certain kinds of ships. And if the biofuels were derived from organic waste and inedible crops grown on wasteland  not on land reserved for food production, or on deforested land  it would be cleaner.

They are one option among a larger set of solutions, said Jane OMalley of International Council on Clean Transportation, a Washington-based independent nonprofit.

OMalley, whose research includes fuel life cycles and exhaust emissions, said the key is to use the right kind of biofuel for the right purpose. O'Malley said it's essential for countries using biofuels for transportation to move as quickly as possible to producing them with little or no emissions.

Experts say biofuels can also contribute to employment and energy security, especially if the crops used to produce them are locally grown.

____

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.
Photo: The Canadian Press American caver Mark Dickey, left, 40, talks to a colleague inside the Morca cave near Anamur, southern Turkey, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023.

Rescuers from across Europe rushed to a cave in Turkey on Thursday, launching an operation to save an American researcher who became trapped almost 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) below the cave's entrance after suffering stomach bleeding.

Experienced caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly became ill during an expedition with a handful of others, including three other Americans, in the Morca cave in southern Turkey's Taurus Mountains, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said.

In a video message from inside the cave and made available Thursday by Turkeys communications directorate, Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts.

The caving world is a really tight-knit group and its amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface," said Dickey.  ... I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge.

Dickey, who is seen standing and moving around in the video, said that while he is alert and talking, he is not healed on the inside and will need a lot of help to get out of the cave. Experts said the rescue operation could take days or even weeks depending on conditions.

Dickey, who had been bleeding and losing fluid from his stomach, has stopped vomiting and has eaten for the first time in days, according to a New Jersey-based cave rescue group hes affiliated with. Its unclear what caused his medical issue.

The New Jersey Initial Response Team said the rescue will require many teams and constant medical care. The group says the cave is also quite cold  about 4-6 C (39-42 F).

Communication with Dickey takes about five to seven hours and is carried out by runners, who go from Dickey to the camp below the surface where a telephone line to speak with the surface has been set up.

Dinko Novosel, a Croatian cave rescuer who is head of the European Association of Cave Rescuers, said it will be a challenge to successfully rescue Dickey.

The operation to bring him up from the depths involves rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Turkey.

Dickey was described by the European Cave Rescue Association as a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself who is well known as a cave researcher, or speleologist, from his participation in many international expeditions. He is secretary of the associations medical committee.

Dickey was on an expedition mapping the 1,276-meter (4,186-feet) deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association (ASPEG) when he ran into trouble about 1,000 meters down, according to Yusuf Ogrenecek of the Speleological Federation of Turkey.

Ogrenecek told The Associated Press later Thursday that Dickeys condition had stabilized and was improving. He said the American was in good spirits and doctors would decide if Dickey can leave the cave on a stretcher or under his own power.

Turkish disaster relief agency AFAD and rescue team UMKE are working with Turkish and international cavers on a plan to hoist Dickey out of the cave system, the rescue association said.

The rescue effort currently involves more than 170 people, including doctors, paramedics who are tending to Dickey and experienced cavers, Ogrenecek said, adding that the rescue operation could take up to two to three weeks.

Justin Hanley, a 28-year-old firefighter from near Dallas, Texas, said he met Dickey a few months ago when he took a cave rescue course Dickey taught in Hungary and Croatia. He described Dickey as upbeat and as someone who sees the good in everyone.

Mark is the guy that should be on that rescue mission thats leading and consulting and for him to be the one that needs to be rescued is kind of a tragedy in and of itself, he said.

Hanley said he had talked to Dickey about a month ago about the mission in Turkey and that the aim of the expedition was to survey, collect information and set up camps in the cave.

A team of rescuers from Italys National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Team will be flying to Turkey on Thursday night. A total of around 50 rescuers will be at the entrance of the cave early Friday ready to participate in the operation directed by Turkish authorities.

Marton Kovacs of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said that the cave is being prepared for his safe extraction. Narrow passages are being widened to accommodate a stretcher, and the danger of falling rocks is also being addressed.

The rescue teams hope that the extraction can begin on Saturday or Sunday. Kovacs said that lifting Dickey will likely take several days, and that several bivouac points are being prepared along the way so that Dickey and rescue teams can rest.

The cave has been divided into several sections, with each countrys rescue team being responsible for one section.

The Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, made up of volunteer rescuers, was the first to arrive at Dickeys location and provided emergency blood transfusions to stabilize his condition.

___

Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, Darko Bandic in Zagreb, Croatia, Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, Aritz Parra in Madrid, Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, and Patricia Thomas in Rome, contributed to this report.
Seventeen years ago, an elephant named Zahara was born through artificial insemination.

Now, Zahara has made history by giving birth to her baby boy, who was also conceived via artificial insemination, according to the Indianapolis Zoo.

This was the first time in history that an elephant born through the procedure delivered a calf also born through the technique, zoo officials said.

Her calf, who has yet to be named, was born shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 4, according to a news release from the Indiana zoo.

This Labor Day was history-making for the Indianapolis Zoo with first-time elephant mother Zahara bringing a male calf into the world, the zoo said.

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Zahara delivered the boy after only about 20 minutes of labor, according to the release. He weighed 262 pounds  a healthy weight for a newborn African elephant.

Zaharas mother Ivory is known for her short labor times, and this baby came quickly as well, Niki Kowalski, assistant curator of elephants, said in the release.

About 10 minutes after the strong calf was born, he was standing up on his own, the zoo said.

The baby boy is adventurous and playful, Kowalski said in the release. He is very active and curious about all those around him  elephant and human alike!

Meanwhile, his mom has been a very attentive and gentle mother, and she continues to check on him, according to the zoo. She and her calf have also started figuring out how to successfully nurse.

Photos from the zoo show the baby boy staying close to his mom, including when she eats.

The newborn calf is the beginning of a third generation in the Indianapolis Zoos elephant herd, adding to a natural and healthy social setting for the elephants, according to the release. The first and second African elephants born through artificial insemination were at the Indianapolis Zoo in 2000.

The two species of African elephants  the African forest elephant and the African savanna elephant  are considered critically endangered and endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The elephants are threatened by poaching and habitat loss.

Watch first playtime of baby monkey  named for his brightly colored fur  at UK zoo

Meet the redhead with bedhead. See adorable photos of Orangutan and her newborn girl

Baby red pandas make their debut at SC zoo  and yes, theyre adorable. Take a look
When youre getting your hair braided, scalp grease feels like heaven. Unfortunately, most grease can actually be doing more harm than good.

Greasing the scalp clogs hair follicles because they arent getting enough oxygen, and they literally cannot push past the heaviness of the product to encourage growth, senior brand marketing manager at Mayvenn Hair, Brittany Johnson, told 21Ninety. [The scalp] can get clogged, just like the pores on our face.

So, next time you hop in the salon chair  or sit on your cousins floor  try a scalp oil or serum instead. But, make sure to heed Johnsons warning. The marketing manager said, just like with any product, its important to follow the manufacturers directions and cleanse your scalp often so that you can [avoid] product buildup.

How does hair grease clog hair follicles?

Some hair greases contain petroleum jelly and others use beeswax. Both of these substances can enter into the hair follicles and clog them, causing slow growth, cosmetologist, and beauty consultant for The Right Hairstyles, Ghanima Abdullah told 21Ninety. If these are used on the scalp over a long period of time, they can also contribute to hair loss.

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The cosmetologist noted that while making the parts in the hair with a braid gel can give a very neat appearance, it can seriously damage the hair follicles.

Braid gels are made with a high percentage of plastifying ingredients like copolymers, Abdullah said. These are more dangerous to the hair follicles than hair greases because they clog the follicles more easily and cause hair loss quicker.

Grease vs. Oil: Which one is better for your scalp?

According to Abdullah, oil is a much better substitute for hair grease.

Its even better if the oil contains ingredients with hair growth properties to counter the damage that can be caused to the scalp from tight pulling, the beauty consultant exclaimed.

Johnson explained that an additional benefit of using an oil or serum is that you can still get the same feeling of scalp relief, without the clogged follicles.

Between the two experts, oils like jojoba, rosemary, castor, argan, rosemary, lavender, and peppermint are recommended for the scalp. They can all moisturize and/or stimulate the scalp without clogging your hair follicles.

Girl+Hair RESTORE+ Hair Treatment Balm

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Girl+Hair RESTORE+ Hair Treatment Balm is one of Johnsons favorite products. The Daily Hair Balm is everything and my go-to after a braids appointment, or any time I want a soothing scalp massage.

Its a 3.4-ounce bottle that comes with a nozzle that makes it easy to apply. Infused with shea butter, castor oil, sunflower oil, and olive oil it will keep your scalp happily moisturized.

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Donnas Recipe Sweet Potato Pie Hair & Scalp Oil is a whipped product that moisturizes the hair and scalp. Its formula contains expert recommended ingredients like castor and rosemary oil. Plus, you can use it on your hair when its out of a protective style, too.

Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil Pure Butter With Lavender

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One oil thats very similar in texture to hair grease is Sunny Isle Jamaican Black Castor Oil Pure Butter With Lavender, Abdullah said. The beauty expert explained that its simple ingredient list of castor oil and lavender oil make it a great option to use in place of your other grease. Its excellent for hair growth and for strengthening the scalp, the cosmetologist explained.

PATTERN by Tracee Ellis Ross Jojoba Hair & Scalp Oil Blend

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The PATTERN by Tracee Ellis Ross Jojoba Hair & Scalp Oil Blend is a lightweight customer favorite that highlights the expert recommended ingredient of jojoba oil. It moisturized the hair and scalp without any stickiness. So, you can use it while getting your hair installed or for daily maintenance.

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SUNDAY II SUNDAYs Hair Flourish Biotin Infused Scalp Serum is another Johnson favorite. It works well for providing relief and leaves a cool feeling because of its peppermint oil formulation, the marketing manager stated. Along with its relieving benefits, this lightweight serum has biotin which strengthens your natural hair while the remainder of the serum moisturizes your hair.

Our editors love finding you the best products and offers! If you purchase something by clicking on one of the affiliate links on our website, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The post Black-Founded Products to Grease Your Scalp Without Clogging Your Follicles appeared first on 21Ninety.
GOP candidate Blake Masters is reportedly planning to run for Senate again in Arizona.

But two of his closest ideological allies  Josh Hawley and JD Vance  declined to formally back him.

"I've got to focus on my own race," said Hawley. Kari Lake may also run for the Arizona Senate seat.

If Blake Masters mounts a second campaign for Senate in Arizona, he may be going it alone this time.

The 2022 GOP Senate nominee  who lost to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly by nearly five percentage points last year  is planning to run for Senate again, according to the Wall Street Journal and POLITICO.

Masters won the GOP primary in 2022 with the endorsement of not just former President Donald Trump , but Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who Masters has frequently named as being the senator he most agrees with.

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"Josh Hawley is calling me saying, 'give me some backup!'" Masters told attendees at an event in Apache Junction last year while condemning Big Tech. "He's the only one in the US Senate who really understands this stuff."

But Hawley, who encouraged Masters to run last cycle, told Insider that he hasn't spoken to the Arizona Republican about a second campaign, and was unaware that he planned to run again. And he said that while he's a "big fan" of Masters, he'd be "really surprised" if he got involved in the Arizona Senate race this cycle.

"I've got to focus on my own race in Missouri," he said. "I wasn't up for re-election last time."

"I thought he was a great candidate, I thought he worked really hard," Hawley also said. "I wish he were here serving."

Masters did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

Both Masters and Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio won their primary elections in 2022 with the help of billionaire Peter Thiel, who spent tens of millions of dollars funding super PACs supporting each candidate. But Thiel has recently indicated that he plans to withdraw from political spending.

Thiel, Hawley, Vance, and Masters are each affiliated to some extent with the "New Right," a growing populist movement within the Republican Party that's critical of corporate power and the excesses of capitalism, more openly nationalistic, and more socially conservative than other strands of Republicanism.

But Vance isn't ready to endorse Masters either, despite calling him a "good friend" and acknowledging that Masters is "thinking hard about" mounting a second campaign.

"We have not talked details about him running this cycle, but I think that he's a great guy that has a great future in the party, and in the movement," said Vance. "Let's see what he actually wants to do first, and I'll make decisions about who I'm endorsing once candidates actually enter the race."

One of those candidates  and the elephant in the room in any discussion about the 2024 GOP primary for Senate in Arizona  is Kari Lake.

'Still a lot of time for that race to shape up'

Lake, the failed 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee and Trump acolyte who has contested the results of her own election, remains popular with the Republican base. She has repeatedly said that she's considering a Senate bid, and earlier this year, she met with several GOP senators in Washington as she mulled a run, including Vance.

A Masters campaign could put him on a collision course with Lake, an erstwhile ally during the 2022 campaign. Still, the 2024 election could offer the GOP nominee a better chance at winning a Senate seat in Arizona than last time.

While incumbent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has not said whether she will seek re-election, she's fundraising as if she is, and the race could ultimately develop into a three-way contest between the Democrat-turned-Independent, a Republican, and presumptive Democratic nominee Rep. Ruben Gallego.

However, Masters' campaign was seen by some as the embodiment of Senate Republicans' "candidate quality" problem in 2022, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has frequently mentioned Arizona as being among the states where Republicans failed to nominate the right candidate.

"We underperformed among independents and moderates because their impression of many of the people in our party, and leadership roles, is that they're dogged in chaos, negativity, excessive attacks," McConnell told reporters in November. "And it frightened independent and moderate Republican voters."

Masters, for his part, recently argued that Republicans  including himself  did not raise enough money to compete in the state.

"I needed to raise a lot more to be competitive, and I will in any future race," said Masters. "But part of it is on the Republican Party and its affiliated super PACs and donor networks."

Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana, the chairman of Senate Republicans' campaign arm, told Insider that he'd spoken to Masters about running but otherwise said little about the Arizona Republican's potential candidacy.

"Arizona is going to be one of the most competitive Senate races in the country," said Daines, adding there's "still a lot of time for that race to shape up."

And Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Ted Cruz of Texas, both of whom campaigned for Masters after he became the nominee, also demurred when asked about a second run.

"That'll be for the voters of Arizona to decide," said Cruz.

"Seems like a nice guy," said Graham, adding "I don't know, I hope so" when asked if Masters can win.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Terry Gilbert, a civil rights attorney, is a founding partner of Friedman, Gilbert, and Gerhardstein with offices in Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Once again, in Ohio, a reckless and preventable police shooting shocked and outraged a family and the community. This time a 21-year-old pregnant black woman, TaKiya Young, was gunned down on August 24 after two white police officers confronted her as she sat in her vehicle at a shopping center parking lot in Blendon Township near Columbus.

Luckily, the incident was captured on video, through bodycams.

The police chief, in a statement, focused not on the police misconduct but the reaction of TaKiya for not exiting her vehicle when repeatedly and angrily shouting orders to comply.

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The unnamed shooting officer claimed she tried to run him over.

In police jargon that means moving the car while the cop stupidly puts himself in front of it  with his gun drawn.

Aug 25, 2023; Columbus, OH, USA; Friends, family and activists gathered to protest the shooting of 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young, who was shot and killed by Blendon Twp. police outside the Sunbury Road Kroger on Thursday. Ta'Kiya was pregnant with a girl and due in November, according to family.

The police chief seems to blame TaKiya, for disobeying orders to get out of the vehicle, without mentioning the blatant misconduct of the cop who fired a shot into the windshield.

Ta'Kiya Young bodycam footage released: Ta'Kiya Young's family, police react to bodycam footage of fatal Blendon Township shooting

Retired officer: TaKiya Young shooting video shows incompetent, potentially criminal acts

These kinds of official responses are all too frequent: A scripted narrative of skewed facts and calling out the victim for causing police to shoot, usually African Americans who resist police commands for trivial offenses and routine traffic stops.

In the moment of confusion, justified fear, and mistrust of police, compliance might be difficult as the realization of impending arrest or worse, sets in.

FOP VP: Racism claims in TaKiya Young shooting by police not logical, irresponsible|

These scenarios are fueled by a long history of racially charged and aggressive policing, and a failure to adopt rational de-escalation training methods.

Authorities attempt to placate the public by assuring a thorough and unbiased investigation, yet the officer is not arrested, nor disciplined, for what appears to be a crime.

The officer is placed on paid leave, as months go by without any information being released. Assurances are made that the case will be presented to a grand jury, but that process is controlled by either a local prosecutor or a special prosecutor employed by the attorney general, who have spent their careers working closely with police.

Their hope is that citizens will be patient and not take to the streets, while the interest of the media wanes over time. And when the secret grand clears the cop, there is no announcement of what evidence was presented.

Deadly force can't be the only option: Shoplifting shouldn't have escalated to death in Ta'Kiya Young police shooting | Robinson

Accountability is hard to achieve, but police shootings can be prevented if training is followed

Ohio has experienced a troubling series of fatal shootings of Black people as well as numerous incidents of police brutality.

After the George Floyd murder in 2020, our governor made promises to create statewide mandatory policies and ongoing police training, but with no action to date.

Police shootings in Ohio: Columbus police shootings most frequently involve Black males, data since 2012 shows

Efforts to hold police accountable are often given lip service, without any teeth.

According to the Police Violence Report, there were 1,200 killings by police across the country in 2022, where a substantial number of these shootings could have been prevented if specific policies and training were followed.

Clearly, if the cop who killed TaKiya had followed generally accepted protocols, she would be alive today and looking forward to her new child.

Aug 20, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, United States; Nadine Young, grandmother of Ta'Kiya Young, speaks to the media about her granddaughter during a press conference about the fate police shooting of Ta'Kiya Young.

As a lawyer who represents victims of police misconduct, our clients have faced multiple layers of legal roadblocks with unfair outcomes in favor of the police.

Police accountability is hard to achieve with embedded laws, customs, and outdated procedures like qualified immunity, along with a culture which supports unique deference to police over the average citizen.

The Blendon Township police department and the police involved need to be held accountable with an outcome that will provide equal justice for TaKiyas family.

Terry Gilbert, a civil rights attorney, is a founding partner of Friedman, Gilbert, and Gerhardstein with offices in Cleveland and Cincinnati.

Terry Gilbert, a civil rights attorney, is a founding partner of Friedman, Gilbert, and Gerhardstein with offices in Cleveland and Cincinnati.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Police shoot pregnant woman in Ohio. Where's the accountability?
Antony Blinken , US Secretary of State, has visited the positions of Ukrainian border guards on the second day of his stay in Ukraine. The United States plans to supply the border guards with American MRAP armoured vehicles in the future.

Source: The American Secretary of State wrote about this on Twitter, reports European Pravda

Quote: "Visited Ukrainian border guards to see how they continue to protect Ukraines territory and people. We are providing $300 million in new funding to Ukraines law enforcement sector to continue this important work. The United States remains united with Ukraine," Blinken said.

Visited @MVS_UA border guards to see how they continue to protect Ukraines territory and people. We are providing $300 million in new funding to Ukraines law enforcement sector to continue this important work. The United States remains united with Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/glvvb31iOO  Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 7, 2023

According to CNN, Blinken visited the military facility of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine on the outskirts of Kyiv.

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Quote from Bridget Brink, US Ambassador to Ukraine: "The United States will give 190 MRAPs to enable Ukraine's brave law enforcement officers to protect civilians  especially those near the frontlines."

Details: Serhii Deineko, Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, discussed with Blinken the implemented projects to strengthen the capacity of border guards, as well as further support.

Photo from 

The delegation of the US State Department and the US Embassy in Ukraine got acquainted with the tasks of the border department and the assistance received by the State Border Service as part of joint projects on the example of one of the units.

"If not for the help of international partners, in particular INL, our losses would have been much greater. Because border guards received bulletproof vests, protective helmets, etc. from our partners on time," Deineko said.

Photo from 

The delegates saw weapons, equipment, night vision devices and UAV systems used by border guards, fragments of downed strike drones and missiles and trophies captured from the Russians.

Blinken was shown US-provided surveillance drones and four MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles, as well as several downed Russian drones.

He remarked on the remarkable organisation for the use and enforcement of the assistance received by border guards from the United States. He also personally got behind the wheel of a Roshel Senator MRAP armoured car, received by units of the State Border Service of Ukraine as part of the implementation of assistance projects.

In the guest book, Blinken wrote: "To the Ukrainian border guards and national police, with admiration for your extraordinary courage and service to your country and our partnership."

After that, the Secretary of State visited the Ukrainian demining centre.

Though the overall effort will take years, courageous Ukrainians are working now to clear their roads, parks, and playgrounds from mines and unexploded ordinances. The United States is supporting their efforts with $90.5 million in additional demining assistance. pic.twitter.com/a8HB9EupXK  Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 7, 2023

Background: Antony Blinken arrived on an official visit to Kyiv on Wednesday morning.

While in Kyiv, Blinken said that Washington sees progress in the Ukrainian counteroffensive, and the US will ensure that Ukraine receives the necessary support both now and in the long-term.

He also announced that Washington will allocate over US$1 billion to help 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!






US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has visited the village of Yahidne in Chernihiv Oblast, which became known because the Russian occupiers kept several hundred civilians in the school basement.

Source: European Pravda, referring to the US State Department press service

Details: During the visit to Yahidne, Blinken said that he was most impressed by the terrible consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Quote: "It all comes down to the human dimension, to the lives, the stories of men, of women, and children - like the men, women and children who are imprisoned in the basement of this building next to us... And this is just one building in one village, in one community in Ukraine, and this is a story that weve seen again and again and again," the state secretary noted.

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He emphasised that the Russian occupation army continues to commit atrocities on the territory of Ukraine and recalled yesterday's shelling of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast, which killed 16 people.

Quote: "But we are also seeing something else that's incredibly powerful, and that is the extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian people... Ukrainians are coming together to get rid of the ordnance, to get rid of mines, and to rebuild - to literally recover the land that was taken from them. We're very proud to be partners with Ukraine in all of these efforts," Blinken emphasised.

For reference: The village of Yahidne in Chernihiv Oblast was captured by Russian invaders in March 2022.

When the Russian troops entered the village, they drove the men, women and children out of the houses, threatening them with weapons, and took them to the basement of the local school, where they were held for four weeks. For 28 days, from 3 March to 31 March 2022, more than 350 residents of the village were in the basement, with an area of 197 square metres. 10 people died during their stay in the basement.

Background:

Earlier, Blinken visited the facility of the State Border Service of Ukraine on the outskirts of Kyiv.

The US Secretary of State arrived in Ukraine the day before. While in Kyiv, Antony Blinken stated that Washington has seen progress in the Ukrainian counteroffensive and that the US would ensure that Ukraine receives the necessary support both now and in the long term.

Blinken also announced the allocation of over US$1 billion to help 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!








Artist Maria Timchenko was planning to open an art gallery to show her works in Kyiv when she found herself facing criminal charges for allegedly distributing pornographic content.

After someone shared her erotic paintings on the Telegram messaging app, the 37-year-old artist says she was looking at up to three years in prison and $1,800 for the distribution of pornography. Her plans shattered, she left Ukraine to settle in Germany.

Producing and distributing pornography is currently illegal in Ukraine. Broad interpretations of the law mean that even sharing a nude photograph with a partner can land a person in jail.

In 2023 already, 699 cases have been opened over the distribution, sale, and production of pornography, not including cases of child pornography.

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In one case in July, a court in Poltava Oblast fined a woman almost $1,000 for sending two videos to her boyfriend. Meanwhile, in Sumy Oblast, a man was convicted to three years in prison with one year of probation for sending intimate photos and videos via a dating website.

Lawmakers and advocates say this has to change. In their view, the decades-old prohibition of pornography harms ordinary citizens by going after them for consensual sexual content, wasting state resources in the process.

Read also: Oligarch Kolomoisky is behind bars. How did he get there and can he find a way out?

The law is also economically backward given erotic content already generates revenue for the state budget despite being illegal, those who favor changing the law say.

OnlyFans, one of the worlds largest platforms for erotic content, has already generated more than Hr 34 million ($920,000) in tax revenue to Ukraines state budget from value-added tax in the first six months of the year, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak, who has been spearheading the latest effort to legalize porn, told the Kyiv Independent.

It's stupid to collect taxes for that and say it's criminal at the same time, Zhelezniak said. If we decriminalize porn, it means less corruption and more taxes for the budget.

A draft law submitted by Zhelezniak and other lawmakers from various factions in parliament doesnt apply to child pornography, prostitution, or human trafficking  cases that should be the priority of law enforcement instead of private nude photographs, Zhelezniak says.

Potential millions in tax revenue

Dmytro Horiunov, an expert from the Kyiv-based think-tank Center for Economic Strategies says the production of goods and services that don't hurt anyone shouldn't be banned nor prosecuted by the law.

And business is good for the production of pornography.

OnlyFans generated just north of $1 billion in global revenue in the last fiscal year, with 15% coming from Europe.

The platform reported $5.55 billion in total spending by users, with creators taking home nearly $4.5 billion of that, according to a regulatory filing by its parent company Fenix International.

If, as Zhelezniak says, OnlyFans has already generated $920,000 to the state budget in taxes this year, then with a 20% VAT tax, OnlyFanss content creators in Ukraine have made some $4.6 million.

We estimate that tens of thousands of people (in Ukraine) actively work in this industry, maybe hundreds of thousands, from full-time on webcams to OnlyFans from time to time, Ihor Samokhodskyi, head of the IT bureau at Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), an independent think tank focused on reforms, told the Kyiv Independent.

Read also: Ukraine imposes sanctions on petty pro-Russian politicians, yet ignores most high-profile ones

A quick Google search shows that some agencies offer up to $2,000 a month in a studio and $700 a month at home for webcam models. Studios openly advertise in every big city in Ukraine, despite being illegal.

Based on the estimated number of people working in webcam studios, taxing the legal porn industry could bring billions of hryvnias per year to the state budget, Samokhodskyi estimated.

The bottom threshold could reach Hr 1 billion ($27 million) in tax revenue the first year if studios come from the dark market to the legal one, he said, possibly increasing up to $2.7 million per following year.

It could bring billions of hryvnias in taxes over the span of several years, he said.

Pornography is also popular in Ukraine. We criminalize porn, but we are in the top 20 of Pornhub watchers, Samokhodskyi said.

Ihor Samokhodskyi, head of the IT bureau at Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), estimates that tens of thousands of people (in Ukraine), maybe hundreds of thousands, actively work from full-time on webcams to OnlyFans from time to time. (Illustration: Lisa Kukharska)

Abuse and waste of resources

The shadow market allows for all kinds of abuse from law enforcement authorities, from petty corruption to sexual abuse.

We have problems with investigators who use it to control the shadow market and corruption is rising, according to Zhelezniak.

There are thousands of cases where policemen not only ask for money but also for sexual services in cases involving pornography, he said.

Webcam studios have also been coerced into paying law enforcement officers for protection, extorting money from studio owners in exchange for the ability to continue working.

An investigation by Ukrainian outlet Zaborona back in 2020 showed that webcam studios are easy prey for blackmail from corrupt police officers.

Samokhodskyi and Zhelezniak believe fighting consensual porn and personal nudes is a waste of resources, and authorities need to get their priorities straight.

Law enforcement's resources dedicated to consensual porn, qualified under art. 301, should be used to fight access to child pornography, qualified under art. 301-1, lawmakers argue. Statistics show that child pornography represents at least double the cases compared to consensual porn creators or people who share intimate pictures. Before 2022, the Prosecutor General's Office did not differentiate such cases.

Law enforcement spent more than 80,000 hours over the span of the last year on cases of consensual porn and personal pictures shared online, according to Samokhodskyi's estimates.

Ukrainian judges also tend to refer to the International Convention on the Prevention of Circulation and Trade in Pornographic Publications, turning 100 years old this year, to sentence people. Ukraine, however, never signed the convention after the fall of the Soviet Union.

The war shouldnt stop Ukraine from reforming its approach to consensual porn, Samokhodskyi said. On the contrary, last fall, a petition for the legalization of erotica and pornography garnered the necessary 25,000 signatures for presidential consideration when the war was even more active, he said.

Horiunov said law enforcement doesnt have the means to enforce the current law.

Theres no chance for law enforcement to track (every case of pornography), and every time, a random person is going to be charged, he said.

Lawmakers and think-tanks argue that Ukrainian artists and entrepreneurs like Marina Timchenko leave the country because they face charges over an outdated law, creating a brain drain. (Illustration: Lisa Kukharska)

`My body, my business

Tax revenue aside, Zhelezniak says his main goal with this new draft law is to protect the rights of people for private life.

Oleksandra Mavka, a 26-year-old model taking part in the TerOnlyFans movement, told the Kyiv Independent that she supports the law because it increases liability for things like revenge porn and child pornography while allowing people to freely send intimate pictures to their partners or earn money from their content.

TerOnlyFans, a movement in which volunteers collect money for the military through nudes, has sent more than $866,000 to the army since its creation in March 2022.

Read also: Saving Ukraine with nudes: Ukrainians raise $700,000 for military selling erotic photos

The name is a play on words with OnlyFans but unrelated to the platform. Mavka says she got around the law by posting relatively chaste photographs.

The current law prohibits ones free use of his own body that doesnt harm anyone, she said.

Legalizing the porn industry wouldnt just bring money. Ukrainian entrepreneurs and artists, such as Timchenko, could return home to pursue their work legally.

I would like to return home, find a place for a gallery again, and develop erotic art specifically in Ukraine because it is about beauty, will, and desire, Timchenko said.

If I want to take pictures and distribute them, that's my choice, Mavka said. My body, my business.

For the moment, the fate of the porn industry in Ukraine remains in the balance. Polls from ZN.ua and RFE/RL show that the Ukrainian public is relatively divided over the issue.

Zhelezniak, for his part, hopes the new law will pass in the nearest month.

Read also: Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly  Issue 100

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
A man with ties to a right-wing extremist group advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government was sentenced this week on a terrorism charge relating to what authorities said was his role in a plot to firebomb a power substation near a Black Lives Matter protest in Las Vegas.

A state judge sentenced Stephen T. Parshall, also known as "Kiwi," on Tuesday to life with the possibility of parole for assisting, soliciting or conspiring to commit an act of terrorism as part of a guilty plea agreement.

Parshall, 39, is a former Navy enlistee and faces additional time for federal charges relating to sexual exploitation of children, the U.S. Department of Justice announced in March. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police originally charged Parshall with four felonies but boiled it down to one as part of the agreement.

He self-identified as a member of the "Boogaloo" movement, according to court records.

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"His ultimate sentencing is a step he feels is in the right direction of seeking closure for him and his family," his attorney Robert Draskovich told USA TODAY.

A member of the Boogaloo group attends a protest outside of the Michigan State Capitol building in downtown Lansing on Jan. 17, 2021.

What is the Boogaloo movement?

The Boogaloo is a movement that started online in white power and anti-government spaces in the early 2010s, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Members of the movement seek to overthrow the government and create societal collapse in anticipation of another Civil War.

Members notably wear Hawaiian shirts and carry weapons.

Dozens of supporters of the ideology have been arrested on charges ranging from terrorism to conspiracy, and there have been at least two deadly shootings by alleged Boogaloo members.

In December, three men were sentenced to seven to 12 years in prison in connection with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Prosecutors said the men were seeking to inspire a U.S. civil war known as the boogaloo.

Authorities investigate Parshall, others following tip about terrorist activity

Las Vegas FBI agents began investigating Parshall, Andrew Lynam Jr., 26, and William L. Loomis, 43, in April 2020 after receiving a tip that the three men, who are white, were planning "terrorist activity," according to a 2020 two-count complaint filed in the U.S. District Court of Nevada.

An unnamed confidential source met Lynam and Parshall during a Las Vegas rally that sought to reopen businesses during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, the complaint says. Lynam told the source the Boogaloo group is for those who wish to violently overthrow the U.S. government.

The source was told about plans to attack a U.S. Forest Ranger station near Lake Mead. But, instead of attacking the forest ranger station, the three made plans to firebomb a power substation during a Black Lives Matter rally protesting the death of George Floyd, who was killed in Minneapolis police custody. The FBI alleged in the complaint the group sought to create civil unrest and riots throughout Las Vegas.

The trio were arrested during the May 30, 2020, protest in Las Vegas while Parshall was ripping rags and dousing them in gasoline to make a Molotov cocktail. None of the explosive detonated.

Loomis was sentenced in January to four to 20 years in a Nevada prison after agreeing to plead guilty in October to providing material support for the commission of an act of terrorism.

Court records indicate Lynam also agreed to a deal and was sentenced to four to 20 years in a state prison.

In response to George Floyd's death in police custody, demonstrators raised their fists and chanted in solidarity during a Black Lives Matter march through Las Vegas on May, 30, 2020.

Parshall also sentenced in sex crimes

Parshall was also sentenced in March to 33 years in prison after pleading guilty last October to one count of coercion and enticement, one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography and two counts of sexual exploitation of children.

Law enforcement charged him after discovering imagery of child sexual abuse and "erotica" on Parshall's phone during a search of his devices in relation to the terrorism charges he faces.

The DOJ said it discovered several social media accounts Parshall had where he spoke with multiple victims and persuaded one to take sexually explicit pictures, which they shared with him. They also learned he traded sexual images of children with other users.

Contributing: Khrysgiana Pineda, USA TODAY; Ed Komenda, Reno Gazette Journal; Associated Press.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Boogaloo member Stephen Parshall sentenced for explosion plot
Border guards of the Offensive Guard brigade have raised the Ukrainian flag in the "grey zone" settlements of Stroivka and Topoli near the border with the Russian Federation after demining the territory.

Source: State Border Guard Service of Ukraine

Details: Soldiers from the Stalevyi Kordon (Steel Frontier) Assault Brigade recently entered the settlements of Stroivka and Topoli located near the Russian state border in the so-called "grey zone" in Kharkiv Oblast.

The border guards explain that no one entered this territory after the liberation of Kharkiv Oblast due to significant mining, but now the soldiers of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine have paved a safe way.

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The first thing the border guards did was raise the flag 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!






SAN DIEGO (Border Report)  Three years ago, the U.S. Border Patrol announced a plan to build a span that would connect one side of the Tijuana River canal with the other side just north of the U.S.-Mexico boundary.

The structure would include a 20-foot-wide roadway, lights and bollard fencing running down to the river bottom.

It would also have gates that would be open to allow water and debris to flow.

But almost immediately after the project was made public, environmentalists criticized the idea, saying the bridge and its supports would not be able to withstand the surge of water and sediment.

U.S. senators ask for millions to prevent Mexican sewage from flowing into California

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Despite the opposition, work began on the project last November.

Since then, a study conducted by Zeppelin Floods, a flood prevention consultant, showed the bridge could cause flooding in the downtown Tijuana area. The study was commissioned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Support columns for a bridge that will span the Tijuana River canal are under construction. (Salvador Rivera/Border Report)

In an article published by the Voice of San Diego, Jochen Schubert, a hydrologist from Zeppelin Floods, said, Theres an elevated risk of flooding because the system hasnt been managed correctly.

Due to the channels current state, Schubert believes the proposed project could generate flooding south of the border in the event of a power outage, gate malfunction or delay in opening the gates during strong rains.

As the flow comes down the channel, it hits this wall of sand and dirt, elevating the flow in the channel so it backs up into Tijuana and could increase the risk of the levee overtopping, Schubert said.

The study shows water would back up and flow into neighborhoods directly south of the area, including Tijuanas famed Zone Norte, where many bars, nightclubs, brothels and strip joints are located.

Through a spokesperson, Border Patrol said it would not be speaking on the Channel Project at this time.

Monsoon rains blast through special border-wall gates on southern Arizona creek bed

Three years ago, U.S. Border Patrol Agent Justin Castrejon told Border Report the bridge is needed because in this channel there is no physical barrier preventing people from making illegal entry.

He also stated that where there is border infrastructure in place, it does help out tremendously. He a bridge is a great tool for us to mitigate those illegal entries.

Officials in Tijuana have not said anything about the possibility the structure would flood areas of the city, but the Mexican Consulate in San Diego has said, there is concern about the possible flooding that could be created by the U.S. infrastructure project.

Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the United States-Mexico border

So far, crews are in the process of building the support columns that will hold the bridge in place.

Work is expected to be done by next year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik said on Thursday that police in Bosnia's Serb-dominated region have been instructed to arrest and deport an international peace envoy if he enters the Serb Republic.

Bosnian Serbs say they do not recognise German government ex-minister Christian Schmidt as Bosnia's international High Representative because he was not endorsed by the U.N. Security Council.

The post of the international envoy was drawn up in the Dayton peace accords that ended Bosnia's devastating war in the 1990s to oversee peace in the Balkan country, split into two autonomous regions - the Serb Republic and the Federation dominated by Bosniaks and Croats.

Dodik, who is president of the Serb Republic, has long advocated the secession of the Serb-dominated region from Bosnia.

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"The instruction has been sent to the field today," Dodik said at a news conference held along with Bosnia's Security Minister Nenad Nesic, a Serb, who supported his initiative.

On Wednesday, announcing the ban, Dodik said: "If he comes to a meeting in Republika Srpska (Serb Republic), he will be thrown out. As soon as the police find out that Schmidt is in Republika Srpska, their task will be to organise a unit to expel him."

Schmidt's office did not immediately comment.

In July, Schmidt, who has powers to impose laws and sack officials seen as obstructing peace, revoked two laws signed by Dodik which suspended decisions made by Bosnia's constitutional court and by Schmidt.

In August, Bosnia's prosecutors charged Dodik and another official with defying the High Representative's decisions, an offence punishable by up to five years in jail.

In response, Dodik's supporters last week organised protests across Bosnia at administrative boundaries between the two regions, waving flags featuring Russian President Vladimir Putin and further raising ethnic tension.

Pro-Russian Dodik has been taking steps to separate the Serb Republic from Bosnia since 2021 but had to halt activities due to the war in Ukraine.

The European Union and Germany have halted funding of projects in the Serb Republic over his policies but Dodik said he would turn to other countries, such as China, for investment.

(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Boston Public Schools students head back to the classrooms after Mayor Michelle Wu declared a two-day heat emergency.

Boston Public Schools opened on one of the hottest days all summer and Mayor Wu and School Superintendent Mary Skipper greeted the students outside the buildings as they handed out school supplies.

Superintendent Skipper even gave some buildings air conditioning units but says there are still about a dozen buildings with no air.

Ensuring fans in those sites dont have A/C. Make sure the room temperatures are as cool as possible, said Skipper.

Boston Teachers Union President Jessica Tang says she has been working closely with the district to close the gap on rooms with no A/C.

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The good news is the vast majorities of the schools we visited to have the a/cs in place and they are so relieved. It makes such a difference. The heat is no longer a distraction and they are able to focus on their learning, said Tang.

Last year on Bostons first day of school, the superintendent was not in place and the MBTAs Orange Line was shut down for repairs. Mayor Wu says this year is off to a stronger start.

Everything has been months, almost a full year in the planning, to make sure we had the best possible start to this year. I think we are going to feel it with the great results, said Wu.

In a one-on-one interview later in the day, Superintendent Skipper said they did extensive amount of re-building this year especially with communication between her office and each school.

We are at a stage now, a foundation, where we feel good about many of our systems, our hiring and transportation, our food, our kitchens, a lot of the operational sides and now we can really focus on our academics, said Skipper.

The superintendent also says because Mayor Wu declared a heat emergency, more cooling locations will be open across the city.

Boston declares 2-day heat emergency, opens cooling centers as students return to school

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MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A Memphis bride is experiencing a whirlwind of emotions after her car was stolen in Downtown Memphis with her wedding dress still inside less than 24 hours before her big day.

Nakeisha Green, a wedding decorator and coordinator, says that Wednesday night, bride Krystal Bridgeforth called her in distress, saying her Nissan Maxima with her $3,000 wedding dress inside, was stolen from Monroe Avenue and Second Street during her rehearsal dinner.

She had her bridal dress, marriage license, shoes everything in the car, and she stepped away for 30 minutes trying to get ready to check into the hotel and upon coming back to the location where her car was at, it was gone, said Green.

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Shots fired inside FedExForum during Lil Baby concert in Memphis

Green says this is the second time the bride has fallen victim to the citys surge in car thefts.

This is not the first time, thats the sad thing. Her car was stolen in June while I was working with her, and then it happens again on [her] wedding eve and so she was devastated, said Green.

Green says Bridgeforth was considering driving to Nashville hours before walking down the aisle to find a new dress.

Its devastating. Shes been planning on this for over a year. Youve paid for a venue, you paid for caterers, photographers, decorators such as myself, photographers, said Green.

Thieves steal $200K worth of Nike merchandise from employee store

Thanks to social media, the bride has a new dress, and the wedding will still take place Thursday afternoon.

While unexpected, she says Bridgeforths something borrowed came in the blessing of a dress.

Jessie Woodsen from Brookhaven Circle donated her the dress. She altered it this morning, said Green. Its just a blessing from the wedding community, wedding industry, vendors, people beyond Memphis wanting to donate or provide a dress. It just worked out.

Police are still looking for the vehicle. If you know anything call CrimeStoppers at (901) 528-CASH.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
By Maggie Fick

LONDON (Reuters) -British health and beauty chain Superdrug said on Thursday that the amount of weight-loss drug Wegovy it has so far received is "a very small fraction" of what would be needed to fulfil its swelling waiting list.

More than 20,000 people had registered an interest in buying Wegovy from Superdrug even before Novo Nordisk launched the drug in Britain on Monday, and the waiting list has increased since then, a spokesperson told Reuters.

The very small volume of the drug, which is delivered by monthly injection, received by the company may stoke concerns expressed by doctors and medical experts this week that UK demand will immediately outstrip supply.

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Novo said when announcing the launch in Britain that Wegovy will be available through the National Health Service's weight management scheme and on the private market.

Superdrug and other large pharmacy chains, such as Walgreens Boots Alliance, have online weight-loss management clinics that have begun dispensing Wegovy.

But the websites of Superdrug and Boots say limited stocks mean the companies' doctors can only provide the treatment to those who are among their existing weight-loss patients.

Saxenda, a daily injection which is Novo's older weight-loss treatment and which is less effective than Wegovy, is already in shortage, according to the UK's health regulator.

Ozempic, which contains the same active ingredient as Wegovy but is approved in the UK for treatment for type 2 diabetes, is also officially in shortage.

Advocacy group Diabetes UK told Reuters this week that Ozempic's increasing "off-label" use for weight-loss has hurt people with type 2 diabetes who have been prescribed the drug but have struggled to fill their prescriptions.

Novo said on Monday its launch in Britain would be "limited and controlled" due to supply constraints that have also affected the other four markets in which Wegovy is available, including the United States.

When asked for comment on Superdrug's statement on Thursday, the Danish drugmaker reiterated its statement on Monday that a proportion of available supply has been allocated for use only within the NHS, and said it could not comment on supply figures.

Superdrug did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how many prescriptions it had so far dispensed.

Boots did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how much stock it had so far received.

(Reporting by Maggie Fick; Editing by Catherine Evans and David Evans)
LONDON  The British military is turning to the ArmaLite rifle to boost the lethality of some of its specialist forces, according to a deal announced Sept. 7.

An initial 15 million ($19 million) order for 1,620 KS-1 weapons has been placed by the British, with options to procure up to 10,000 systems at a total cost of 90 million over the next decade.

The weapons will initially be fielded by the British Army Special Operations Brigade (ASOB), but Royal Marine Commandos are also in line to get the weapon as part of a wider modernization of their capabilities.

To be known as the Alternative Individual Weapon System, or L403A1, in British service, the weapons will be manufactured in the United States by Knights Armaments, but assembled in the U.K. by Macclesfield, northwest England-based arms company Edgar Brothers.

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The British company is responsible for sourcing and assembling the sub-systems that make up the weapon.

British Army Ranger regiments are scheduled to start receiving the new rifle by the end of the year.

The L403A1 is the latest variant of the SR-16 ArmaLite assault rifle fitted with a muzzle signature reduction system and an improved optical sighting system developed by Vortex Optics of Wisconsin.

The magnified optic enables users to engage threats from greater distances while the signature reduction system helps mask the weapon from detection.

The weapon replaces the SA80/L85 series of rifles and Colt Canada L119s currently used by the Rangers and elements of the Royal Marines.

British Army program official Lt. Col. Gareth Davies said the new L403A1 weapon is a significant step up in capability.

It offers a marked increase in lethality, and the system includes one of most capable day sights currently available. Importantly the weapon system will be further enhanced by our newest generation of night optics, with which the ASOB are already equipped, he said.

Purchase of the weapons comes as the British are in the early phases of a program, known as Project Grayburn, to replace thousands of SA80 rifles used by the military.
Brockton officials have placed two school department employees on administrative leave amid the revelation that the school district has a $14 million budget deficit.

Aldo Petronio, the chief financial officer for Brockton Public Schools, and Chris Correia, the school districts deputy financial officer, have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation, Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan said in a statement on Wednesday.

As we move forward with the external independent audits and reviews by relevant state agencies, my administration will continue to be fully cooperative and transparent, Sullivan said. We trust that those responsible for these unacceptable budgetary failures will be held accountable.

As the mayor and as a parent of children in city schools, Sullivan said he was shocked to learn about the FY2023 school deficit. He said he was notified of the shortfall on Aug. 8 by Petronio and Correia. The next day, Sullivan said he met with the both Petronio and Correia, the citys chief financial officer, and the schools superintendent, Mike Thomas, who confirmed the deficit.

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One day after Sullivan shared the news, school committee members voted unanimously during an executive meeting to hire an outside firm to perform an independent audit of the schools finances. Dr. James Cobbs was also named interim superintendent while Thomas is on medical leave.

I am outraged that this was allowed to happen and was not reported sooner by the financial and administrative professionals my administration relies upon to be responsible stewards of taxpayer funds, Sullivan said in his statement.

To ensure that nothing like this will ever occur again, Sullivan said he has taken the following steps:

1. At my direction, the Citys Chief Financial Officer has expanded his system of oversight and budget management to include the School Department. This action will monitor all expenditures of funds and a review of all contracts.

2. I have spoken to the Lieutenant Governor, apprised her of the situation, and she has provided the City advice and support.

3. I have reached out and engaged with the MA State Auditor and the MA Inspector General to seek their assistance, and guidance.

4. The City is working with the Department of Revenue to assist us in finding solutions to our immediate budgetary needs.

Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan

Sullivan said he has also contacted Commissioner Jeff Riley of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and spoken with him multiple times. He has agreed to provide resources to the Brockton Schools to assist us with the current situation.

In addition to the independent external audit authorized by the School Committee, Sullivan said he is in the process of identifying and retaining a firm to conduct a financial audit of the city and the School Department.

The mayor said he is working diligently with Acting Superintendent of Schools James Cobbs and School Committee members to ensure a smooth transition as we begin the school year.

Supporting our students, teachers, staff, and parents with the appropriate resources is our top priority, he said. I am committed to determine the facts and to continue implementing safeguards so we can focus on having a productive and successful school year for our students, faculty and parents/guardians. I am confident that we will get through this serious situation together and come out as a stronger Brockton!

Jess Silva-Hodges, a spokesperson for Brockton Public Schools, said in a statement on Wednesday, Our schools are the cornerstone of the city, and student success is powered by strong engagement from all stakeholders- staff, students and families. We support their right to ask the tough questions, advocate, and demand transparency. The school district has a long way to go to earn back the communitys trust, but we are fully committed to that work.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Clarck Paul murdered Lamont Smalls in cold blood, jurors agreed Thursday. He did it less than an hour after murdering another man, Carlos Senluis, on Aug. 5, 2018.

But he does not deserve to die, the jury decided.

The decision to spare Pauls life came even after the state made it easier to condemn a killer to death in Florida than anywhere else in the country  Florida requires a majority of just eight jurors (out of 12) to recommend a death sentence.

That threshold was set by the Florida Legislature this year after juries rejected the death penalty in several high-profile cases in recent years. Before the Paul case, a Florida jury would have to recommend death unanimously in order to send an inmate to death row. The three men convicted of ambushing and murdering Broward Sheriffs Deputy Brian Tephford were spared under that standard, as was Parkland gunman Nikolas Cruz, who murdered 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

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Paul, 35, was the first convicted killer in Broward to test the new law, and the jury proved just as reluctant to condemn him to death. The defendant mouthed a silent thank you three times to the jury after the decision was read.

Prosecutor Stephen Zaccor said Paul killed Smalls in Lauderdale Lakes because he wanted to prevent Smalls, 22, from testifying against him in an attempted murder investigation. Senluis, 25, was shot to death in a road-rage incident in Pompano Beach shortly before Paul drove to Lauderdale Lakes to kill Smalls.

Both those factors could have been used to justify a death sentence. The jury, which in May had convicted Paul of Senluis murder, said prosecutors failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Paul was trying to silence Smalls.

Its not clear that would have made a difference. The jury did not disclose the breakdown of its vote, but deliberations lasted only 15 minutes, making it unlikely there was a contingent in favor of the death penalty strong enough to put up much of an argument.

Defense lawyers Kaitlin Gonzalez, Lien Lafargue and Maury Halperin argued that Paul suffered from a variety of mental health conditions that precluded a death sentence as a just punishment.

The verdict leaves Broward Circuit Judge Martin Fein with no choice but to sentence Paul to life in prison for Smalls murder. The murder of Senluis carries a maximum sentence of life, and Paul was also convicted of several related charges.

Fein set sentencing for Oct. 20.

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are postponing eight shows this month as Springsteen is treated for a health condition, according to a post on his website.

Springsteen, who turns 74 this month, is being treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease, the post said, and his medical advisers decided to postpone the rest of the September shows.

In the post, Springsteen said he and the band were heartbroken to have to postpone.

Bruce Springsteen performs in Elmont, N.Y., on April 11, 2023. (Kevin Mazur / Getty Images file)

"First, apologies to our fabulous Philly fans who we missed a few weeks ago. Well be back to pick these shows up and then some," he said. "Thank you for your understanding and support. Weve been having a blast at our U.S. shows and were looking forward to more great times. Well be back soon."

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Springsteen postponed two concerts last month in Philadelphia because of an unspecified illness.

The decision affects eight shows, including Thursday's performance at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York, and Saturday's concert at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

Other postponed shows had been set to take place in Pittsburgh; Uncasville, Connecticut; Albany, New York; Columbus, Ohio; and Washington, D.C. Ticket holders will be informed about new dates.

Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their 2023 tour in February in Tampa, Florida. They toured internationally for three months and had started the second North American leg of the tour in August.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR)  Bruce Springsteen announced that he will be postponing all of his September concerts, starting with his show scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 7 at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York.

Springsteen, 73, announced on his Twitter that he is being treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease, and his medical advisors decided he and the E Street Band should postpone their September shows.

Those with peptic ulcer disease experience painful sores or ulcers that develop in the lining of their stomach or the first part of their small intestine, according to Cleveland Clinic. While one in 10 people will develop an ulcer, research has shown the two main causes of ulcers are H. pylori bacteria and pain medications like aspirin, naproxen, ibuprofen, and prescription NSAIDs.

Smoking, drinking alcohol, having untreated stress and spicy foods can make ulcers worse, the Mayo Clinic explains. Treatment can vary but typically includes taking medications to address the H. pylori bacterium or acid production.

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Details about Springsteens condition werent immediately available.

Over here on E Street, were heartbroken to have to postpone these shows, Springsteen said in a statement released Wednesday. Weve been having a blast at our U.S. shows and were looking forward to more great times. Well be back soon.

Springsteens tour started in Tampa in February, and the group recently returned from a European leg in August.

September tour dates included stops in not only Syracuse but Baltimore; Pittsburgh; Uncasville, Connecticut; Albany, New York; Columbus, Ohio; and Washington, D.C.

No makeup dates have been announced, but ticket holders will receive information about rescheduled dates once they are available.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com.
FILE -Passengers walk through a quiet Brussels Midi Station during a train strike on Wednesday, April 22, 2015. Belgium acknowledges that its major rail gateway has become a festering sore of drug abuse, poverty and violence. The Brussels Midi Station is a major stain on a nation preparing to take on the presidency of the European Union next year. (AP Photo/Thierry Monasse, File)

BRUSSELS (AP)  Belgium acknowledged Thursday that its major rail gateway, the Brussels Midi Station, has become a festering sore of drug abuse, poverty and violence that is a major stain on a nation preparing to take on the presidency of the European Union.

The government vowed to tackle the problem, but some critics say action is coming way too late, while others say that any cleanup operation will only push the big-city problems to other neighborhoods.

Belgium, one of the wealthiest nations in the world, with a major tourism industry, has neglected the once-stately Midi Station for decades. It has become a symbol of dysfunctional government as increasingly many of the 160,000 daily commuters and tourists no longer fully feel safe.

The increasing spread of crack cocaine and open dealing and use of drugs in the neighborhood over the past year have exacerbated an already bad situation to the point that petty theft, fights and harassment of tourists have become everyday headline news in the nation of 11.5 million.

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Belgium takes on the presidency of the 27-nation EU in January for six months. Governments who hold the presidency typically use the opportunity to bask in the global attention to promote their nation.

Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said at a news conference Thursday that he felt he had to take action and no longer leave security at such a key time to a warren of local authorities who had proven they were not up to the task.

The challenge is one of security that we owe to everyone passing through Brussels. It is about the livable conditions in the neighborhood, and of course, it is about the image of Brussels and the image of our nation, he said Thursday.

As an immediate measure, it was announced that a special police station will be set up at the existing station at the train station to make interventions easier.

But far more fundamental issues are at stake, said historian, former politician and Brussels pundit Luckas Vander Taelen.

Nobody has done anything for years. So this problem gets always worse. And thats what happens today  everybody seems concerned. But I wonder what is going to change here," he said.

Vander Taelen blamed Belgium's Byzantine political structure of overlapping local, regional and national authorities who he said all too often blame each other instead of actually doing something in unison.

There are too many levels of power in Brussels and that paralyzes everything, he said.

As criticism mounted, police organized highly publicized raids through the massive railway station, picking up and detaining several people while a cleaning team did away with much of the muck and dirt. Those are only stop-gap solutions though, said Ariane Dierickx of the l'Ilot aid group, which provides services for the homeless and needy.

It was shocking to see that all these people that have been rejected by society are being picked up by police vans while they are not criminals, she said. It shows how inadequate the response is. Dierickx said it would only move the problem to other areas.

Belgium's image is being soiled in other places too, De Croo's critics say, since problems at the Nord Station, another major train hub in the capital, haven't been much better.

One of the major issues has been the rise of drug trafficking and its accompanying violence in Belgium. The northern port of Antwerp has turned into a main gateway for Latin American cocaine cartels into the continent and cocaine seizures there have more than doubled in the past half decade, according to customs officials.

Because of that, relatively inexpensive cocaine has boomed in Brussels and crack cocaine has become a massive security issue, especially around the Midi station.
The trial of Aaron Moton, accused of one of the most brutal child murder cases in years, is now in the hands of a Fresno County jury.

After more than a week of testimony, the jury must decide if the 24-year-old food processing plant worker is guilty of beating his girlfriends 2-year-old so severely that he split the toddlers liver, ruptured his vertebrae and caused massive internal bleeding.

Xander Villalobos was just three days away from turning 3 when he was killed Oct. 5, 2021. Xander and his mother, Nikkey Rojas, lived in a west-central Fresno apartment along with Moton.

Moton has denied hurting Xander, a child he helped take care of when he moved into the apartment in 2021.

Prosecution closing argument in murder trial

Prosecutor Amy Cobb and defense attorney Scott Kinney delivered their closing statements Wednesday in a courtroom packed with friends and relatives of Xander.

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Cobb, a senior deputy district attorney, made it clear to the jury that the fatal injuries did not come from an accidental fall. Xander died at the hands of a human: Moton.

A forensic pathologist testified that the only other thing that could have caused the massive injuries was a high-speed collision, she said.

But he was not in a high-speed accident, Cobb said. This happened in the home and within a short time period.

Detectives believe Moton caused the childs death within the span of about 10 minutes when Rojas left the apartment to meet her sister, who was dropping off a pair of Xanders shoes.

When Rojas returned, Xander was nearly lifeless. His body was limp, his eyes were closed and his breathing was labored. Rojas asked Moton what happened, and he said he did not know, according to her testimony.

Rojas called 911 and Xander was taken to Community Regional Medical Center, where he died.

Cobb was adamant that Moton was the only one in the room who had the opportunity to hurt Xander. She reminded the jury of Motons past that includes a conviction for battery and accusations he tried to choke an ex-girlfriend.

Aaron Motons defense in murder case

Kinney, Motons attorney, said the prosecutor failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. He reminded the jury that Rojas was initially a suspect along with Moton.

He suggested Rojas was the alleged killer and not his client. Kinney found it hard to believe that Rojas did not notice the bruises all over Xanders body.

Photos taken at the childs autopsy revealed a series of new and old bruises on his legs, back and head. When questioned by Kinney, Rojas said she did not notice the bruises.

How come every other person clearly saw bruises? Kinney asked the jury. What does that mean? It means she is a liar and you should throw out her testimony.

Kinney suggested that the reason Rojas did not mention the bruises to investigators was because she would then have to explain how the child became injured.

Who is she protecting? She is protecting herself, Kinney said.

If convicted, Moton could face up to 25-years-to-life in prison.

The jury will continue deliberating Thursday.
Kyrylo Budanov , Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) Head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, thanked his fellow comrades-in-arms and greeted them with an explosive cake video on Military Intelligence Day.

The video shows Budanov blowing out candles on a cake, followed by an explosion.

"Successful combat missions behind enemy lines, special operations, the release of hostages and prisoners of war make the contribution of intelligence officers in the struggle for sovereignty, territorial integrity of the state and freedom of millions of Ukrainians invaluable," he said in his Sept. 7 post on Telegram.

Read also: Ukraine obtained valuable intelligence from Mi-8 defection special operation

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Ukrainian Special Forces raised the state flag in Crimea, a Ukrainian territory that has been under Russian military occupation since early 2014, during a bold raid on the Russian forces in the area. The successful HUR operation destroyed 30 occupiers and four boats.

Another HUR operation codenamed Nightingale was a meticulously planned and expertly executed mission by Ukrainian military intelligence. The result was the defection of a Russian pilot to Ukrainian territory, along with an Mi-8AMTSh PKS RF helicopter laden with components for combat aircraft. Two Russian crew members were eliminated, and Ukraine received an intact helicopter and obtained a significant amount of valuable intelligence.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A bunch of current and former Disney execs reportedly think Bob Iger's 'end game' is to sell the company to Apple

Disney CEO Bob Iger had a long standing relationship with Apple's Steve Jobs. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Former and current Disney execs told CNBC they think Bob Iger's plan is to one day sell to Apple.

Analysts have speculated about an Apple acquisition of Disney for years.

Iger himself wrote that he thinks the two companies would have combined if Steve Jobs were still alive.

As questions circulate about what lies in store for Disney's future less than a year after Bob Iger returned as CEO, speculation about a potential Apple acquisition has surfaced yet again.

Over a dozen past and current Disney executives told CNBC for a recent behind-the-scenes report on Disney's bumpy CEO succession that they think Iger's ultimate "end game" is to stay on and eventually sell Disney to Apple.

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Analysts have theorized about a possible Apple acquisition of Disney for years now, though Apple rarely makes major acquisitions and has never done one at such a scale  the company's biggest buy to date is still its 2015 acquisition of Beats for $3 billion. Whether or not a mega-deal with the iPhone maker would get regulatory approval is another question.

Neither Disney nor Apple immediately responded to Insider's request for comment ahead of publication.

Iger returned to the CEO position last November  ousting his hand-picked successor Bob Chapek  supposedly just for a two-year reset for the company initially. But Disney announced in July that the company would add an additional two years to Iger's contract, giving him more time to shape the future of the company, especially given internal turmoil in the company and current instabilities in the industry with the ongoing writers' and SAG-AFTRA strike, which Iger has already drawn criticism for calling "unrealistic."

The Disney CEO has already made clear that the door is open for potential sales of non-core Disney assets, including ABC and cable networks like FX and National Geographic. He's also floated the idea of an ESPN spinoff, though he's expressed a preference for bringing on a strategic partner.

Iger himself had a long-standing relationship with Steve Jobs, as did Disney with Apple. Following Disney's acquisition of Pixar in 2006, Jobs became Disney's largest shareholder in the wake of the deal and was a member of Disney's board of directors until his death in 2011. Iger joined Apple's board shortly after Jobs' death in 2011 until 2019, when he stepped down over a potential conflict of interest as Apple confirmed its venture into the content business with the launch of Apple TV.

In Iger's 2019 book "The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company," the Disney CEO wrote that if Steve Jobs were still alive, the two companies may have combined.

"I believe that if Steve were still alive, we would have combined our companies, or at least discussed the possibility very seriously," Iger wrote.

Analysts have suggested that an Apple acquisition of Disney could benefit both companies.

Needham analyst Laura Martin previously told Insider that Apple should buy Disney to grow its content streaming business, and that such a deal could add 25% to Apple's valuation. Both companies have dedicated fans and consumers as well as global scale and influence  Martin asserts that a merger of the two companies would strengthen these assets.

More recently, Iger announced a major partnership between Disney and Apple with Apple's upcoming Vision Pro headset. The streaming service Disney+ will be available from the beginning of the Vision Pro's launch  Apple has said the immersive headset will begin shipping in early 2024.

Read the original article on Business Insider
FILE - Assemblywoman Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City, receives applause as she is introduced during an Assembly session in Sacramento, Calif., on April 7, 2022. Lawmakers on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. debated legislation that would require courts to consider whether a parent affirms their child's gender identity in custody introduced by Assemblywoman Wilson and other cases. It was one of dozens of bills that got a vote in the Legislature as lawmakers speed toward a Sept. 14 deadline. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  California could soon require judges to consider whether a parent affirms their childs gender identity when making custody and visitation decisions under a bill that cleared the state Senate on Wednesday.

The vote was split almost entirely along party lines, with Democrats arguing the legislation would help to protect the well-being of LGBTQ+ children whose parents are going through a divorce. Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener , who represents San Francisco, said the bill was a proactive measure.

This is about not having to get involved after a child has been beaten and had their arm broken, or after theyve been kicked out, Wiener said. This is about trying to make sure that something terrible does not happen to them.

Every Republican in the state Senate voted against the bill, with state Sen. Kelly Seyarto, who represents Murrieta in Southern California, arguing that lawmakers were interfering too much with how parents choose to raise their children.

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Inserting this into the mix is going to pit one parent against the other and make things worse, Seyarto said.

The vote comes amid intense political battles across the country over transgender rights, including efforts to impose bans on gender-affirming care, bar trans athletes from girls and women's sports, and require schools to notify parents if their children ask to use different pronouns or changes their gender identity.

The California bill would make gender affirmation one factor among many that courts already have to consider in custody proceedings, including whether a parent has been abusive and how much contact the child has with the parents. If the state Assembly agrees to amendments made to the bill, it would still have to be signed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom to become law.

The bill would not require judges to prioritize whether a parent affirms their child's gender identity over other factors. What affirmation looks like varies depending on the particular child and their age, said Assemblymember Lori Wilson, a Democrat who introduced the bill. She has an adult son who came out as transgender when he was a teenager.

Wilson said gender affirmation could include letting children play with toys associated with their gender identity, getting their nails painted or wearing their hair at a length that feels comfortable. The bill does not lay out specific requirements related to gender-affirming surgeries, which minors in California cannot undergo without a parents consent.

A child whose parents are going through a divorce is going through probably one of the worst and most challenging experiences of their life (up) to that point, said Alexis Sanchez, an advocate with the Sacramento LGBT Community Center. The bill could lead to better outcomes for those children in the future, Sanchez said.

It was one of several bills that lawmakers introduced this year aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ children. The state Senate also approved legislation Wednesday to keep documents related to a gender change petition for a minor out of the public record.

California lawmakers have fewer than two weeks to vote on hundreds of bills before adjourning for the year.

RESTRICTIONS ON GUNS

One of the longest debates of the day was over a resolution asking the Congress to change the U.S. Constitution to restrict how people can buy guns. Newsom is pushing for a 28th amendment to the Constitution to require universal background checks, and to ban assault weapons, as well as guns to anyone under 21, and to impose a waiting period on all gun purchases.

To be successful, 33 states would have to pass resolutions asking Congress to call a constitutional convention. California could be the first state to do that. The state Senate passed the resolution, and it now heads to the Assembly.

We must go further than thoughts and prayers, said Democratic state Sen. Aisha Wahab, who said her father was murdered by gun violence.

But Wiener, the San Francisco Democrat, voted against it, saying he is concerned a constitutional convention could lead to other, unpredictable changes to the constitution that would go beyond gun policy. He said he supports all of the proposals to restrict gun sales.

The resolution lawmakers approved on Wednesday calls for a limited constitutional convention that does not allow Congress to consider any amendments other than those relating to gun sales. State Sen. Shannon Grove, a Republican from Bakersfield, said she didnt think other states would agree to that.

This could open up a pandoras box on the Constitution, she said.

DECRIMINALIZING PSYCHEDELICS

California could become the next state to decriminalize the possession and use of magic mushrooms and other plant-based psychedelics for adults over 21 under legislation approved by the state Assembly Wednesday. Oregon and Colorado have already approved similar measures.

The bipartisan California bill would not legalize the sale of the drugs. A coalition of veterans who support the proposal say they rely on plant-based psychedelics to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

While pharmaceuticals certainly have a benefit to some people, its not having a benefit on all society, Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli said. If theres scientific data, which there is, to suggest that these could be promising therapeutics, I think people deserve an opportunity to seek those.

The bill would require the states health agency to study and make recommendations on the therapeutic use of psychedelic substances.

___

Associated Press writers Adam Beam and Tran Nguyen contributed.

___

Sophie Austin is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin @sophieadanna
California lawmakers will send a state excise tax on guns and ammunition to Gov. Gavin Newsom after years of failed attempts by Democratic legislators.

The Senate voted 27-9 on Thursday to approve Assembly Bill 28, which would require manufacturers, vendors and dealers to pay an 11% tax on guns and ammunition to fund violence prevention efforts. The bill passed with exactly the two-thirds threshold needed for approval of a tax.

Gun and ammunition-sellers would pay the new state tax on top of the 10 to 11% federal excise tax they already pay to fund wildlife conservation efforts.

Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, D-Woodland Hills, authored the bill after former Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, failed multiple times to get excise tax bills through the Legislature.

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Prior to Levines attempts, at least three other lawmakers had pushed similar taxes on guns and ammunition since 2013. Gabriels bill was the first of its kind to pass out of the Assembly.

When the assemblyman first put the bill forward, there were questions about whether it was in the realm of possibility, he said after the Senate vote.

I introduced this bill at the very beginning of session, Gabriel said. A few weeks later, we have mass shootings in Half Moon Bay and in Monterey Park and in all these places.

Frankly, I think part of the reason the bill passed is the public is demanding this of us, he added. They are demanding that we have more solutions that will do more to protect their kids, to protect their communities.

Lawmakers debate tax effectiveness

Many senators on Thursday cited their children and grandchildren and school safety concerns in their arguments for backing the bill. Floor debate lasted for about an hour before lawmakers voted.

Sen. Angelique Ashby, D-Sacramento, urged her colleagues to support AB 28 as a mechanism to address gun violence. She made her plea in the name of her school-age daughter and California children, as well as Amber Clark, a Natomas librarian who was fatally shot in 2018.

Like so many Americans, I do hug my little daughter each morning as I drop her off at school, Ashby said. And as I drive away, I push out of my mind the unthinkable. Otherwise, it would be impossible for me to face the tasks Im responsible for every day.

But Republicans, and a handful of Democrats, said the tax would do little to prevent gun violence, and retailers would pass on the added cost on to customers. In this way, it would penalize law-abiding firearm owners, hunters and students taking part in shooting sports, they said.

When you add another 11% on, all its going do is decrease the number of hunters, said Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa. Sooner or later, this will be like the tobacco tax. And sooner or later, this moneys going to go down, down, down.

Gun control groups cheered AB 28s passage and urged Newsom to sign it.

This bill is an innovative approach in tackling gun violence and a crucial step to improve the safety of all California families, said Cassandra Whetstone, a volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, in a statement.

Gun rights advocates said they plan to sue the state over the legislation if the governor makes it law.

The passage of this bill will be seen for what it is ... an unconstitutional tax on an enumerated right, said Rick Travis, legislative director for the California Rifle and Pistol Association, in an email.

The measure now heads to Newsom, who must sign or veto bills by Oct. 14.
Published with permission by Capital and Main, a nonprofit news group in California.

Margarita Garcias COVID-induced absence from her Subway sandwich maker job left her without wages for 11 days in 2021. With her family dependent on her income, she said, the absence of sick pay forced the San Jose resident to borrow from friends and family to cover rent and food.

Last winter, she filed a wage claim with the state labor commissioner, seeking $930 in unpaid sick pay, mandated by a COVID-era law. She also made a $5,487 claim for over a year of missed breaks.

A year and half later, Garcia is still struggling to recover those funds. California fast-food franchise owners are allegedly short-changing workers out of overtime and minimum wages in a way that officials say is difficult to combat. They are taking advantage of a common business arrangement: operating restaurants using multiple limited liability companies. That allows them to configure themselves as multiple small businesses instead of a single larger one, or to pay individual workers with checks from two different entities.

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Operating a portfolio of restaurants under multiple limited liability companies is a tactic used by many businesses to reduce legal exposure. By structuring operations in this way, an operator can shield its restaurant group from lawsuits that arise from customer complaints and employee disputes. When businesses use that structure to violate the law, it presents a special burden to the states labor enforcement agency, which must pour investigative and legal resources into these cases.

The California Labor Commissioners Office confirmed that fast-food franchise owners have used this business setup to sidestep labor regulations, denying workers overtime, minimum wages and breaks.

Garcia claims her former boss falsely portrayed himself as having fewer than 26 employees, which would exempt his business from the states COVID sick pay law, which guaranteed up to 80 hours of paid sick time. During a conference call with a deputy labor commissioner, her employer, Rajiv Kohli, said that Garcia was one of about 16 workers employed by Alameda Subs LLC, according to her complaint.

Garcia alleges Kohlis Subway franchise is run by multiple limited liability companies, or LLCs, to divide the numerous Subway shops he owns into separate legal entities.

Reached by phone, Kohli said he would not comment for this story.

When he applied for pandemic assistance in 2021, Kohli maintained on some loan applications that he had 115 employees. His Subway group benefited from almost $1.2 million in paycheck protection loans, according to Garcias complaint.

The notoriously backlogged Labor Commissioners Office, which has wait times for addressing claims of more than two years, must pour extra resources into taking actions against employers using such schemes. Each investigation requires more investigative legwork and more legal firepower.

Garcia, interviewed through an interpreter, said in Spanish that Kohli would often tell us he had 14 restaurants. Garcias case is still under review.

When franchise restaurant groups parcel out stores to individual LLCs, it adds additional complexity to the already fragmented fast-food industry. The franchising model of most fast-food outlets shields major brands like Subway, Burger King and McDonalds from legal responsibility for their workers, because they are directly employed by individual franchise owners, not the corporate parent.

Meanwhile, franchisees shield their investment from legal claims by operating restaurants using multiple LLCs. Franchised restaurants that exploit this structure to breach labor laws not only place a burden on Californias labor enforcement agency, it also disempowers workers, who frequently hesitate to voice any complaints.

And fast food is not the only industry to evade labor laws by masquerading as a small business or by paying individual workers with checks from different legal entities controlled by the same owner. This practice has surfaced in the restaurant industry more broadly and in the residential care industry, which includes nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Large employers may circumvent minimum wage requirements by representing themselves as smaller employers, according to the Labor Commissioners Office. When the state increased the minimum wage in 2013, it permitted small employers to implement the raise more gradually. For example, the employer may apply a lower state minimum wage that applied to small employers until January 1, 2023, as each location employed fewer than 25 workers at a time, the Labor Commissioners Office wrote in an email.

Wage and hour investigators have also encountered employers using multiple legal entities to skirt overtime rules. Jose Luis Aguilar, a former Jack in the Box worker, alleged his employer was engaged in such a scheme in a 2021 complaint he filed with the Labor Commissioners Office.

Fast-food workers drive though a McDonald's restaurant demanding a $15 hourly minimum wage in East Los Angeles, Friday, March 12, 2021. California lawmakers adjourned this year's legislative session, Wednesday Aug. 31, 2022, leaving Gov. Gavin Newsom with 30 days to sign or reject hundreds of bills including a bill to give a half-million fast food workers more power, protections and wages.

Aguilar worked shifts at both a Jack in the Box in Castro Valley and another about seven miles away in San Leandro. (He was subsequently transferred from the San Leandro outlet to another in the same town.) The restaurants were owned by different LLCs (Kahani Restaurants LLC and Dhillon & Hurtado LLC) but operated in fact by Priya Dhillon, according to Aguilars complaint filed with the Labor Commissioners Office.

Aguilar alleged that he worked 16-hour days but did not receive overtime pay because his workday was split between two restaurants.

Aguilar also alleged that for several years he worked a double shift at the Castro Valley location, but his paychecks came split among the two entities  with no overtime pay. Aguilar now lives in Mexico and could not be reached, according to Ingrid Vilorio, a former co-worker. Vilorio said Aguilar took on this schedule after the manager found out that he was working another job at a restaurant unconnected to Jack in the Box.

The extra shift was presented to him as a favor, a way to save on gas and commuting time, said Vilorio. But the arrangement allegedly led to grueling working conditions. I often worked double shifts (16 hours per day) straight through with no rest breaks or meal breaks, five days a week, Monday through Friday, Aguilar wrote in his complaint. His claim to the Labor Commissioners Office: more than $59,000 in unpaid wages, not counting penalties. He reportedly settled his case with the owner, Priya Dhillon, whose office did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Many low wage workers do not complain about wage theft because they fear retaliation. A Subway worker who declined to be identified said she is working a double shift at two restaurants owned by the same owner without receiving overtime. She has not filed a complaint with the Labor Commissioners Office: This is my only support, she said. What am I supposed to do?

The extent of the practice is unknown because the Labor Commissioners Office does not track it. The office said it is committed to investigating these cases, although they present a burden to the office. The office has the task of bringing to bear complex legal theories that complicate an otherwise straightforward evidentiary hearing. Before leveling any charges, the Labor Commissioners Office says it must establish that these multiple entities operate as one and that interconnected companies are responsible for each others actions. It may even be required to prove that the individual companies constitute a single tax filer.

Susan Pace Hamill, a law professor at the University of Alabama and an expert in limited liability companies, suggested that updating California law could streamline the enforcement of such cases. The Labor Commissioners Office shouldnt need to prove that a group of businesses represent a single tax filer to hold them accountable for wage and hour violations, she said. That has nothing to do with where the levers of power are, Hamill said.

Regardless, three and half years later, Garcia is still in debt. I knew that the government was supposed to be helping people, but I wasnt getting any of that help, she said.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: California fast food restaurants are taking advantage of this loophole
SAN DIEGO (Border Report)  California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he is deploying more National Guard troops to the border to help fight the opioid crisis.

According to the governors office, anywhere from 40 to 60 additional soldiers will be sent to the four U.S. ports of entry along the California-Mexico border to support the interdiction of illicit drugs, especially fentanyl.

Newsom believes U.S. Customs and Border Protections narcotic search operations require further support in light of nearly a six-fold increase in the amount of seized fentanyl in California last year.

The troops will operate vehicle X-ray systems used for detecting the transportation and concealment of narcotics and will not be involved with the interdiction or processing of migrants.

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Texas National Guard member suspended after wounding man in cross-border shooting, Mexico says

Last year, according to the governors office, CalGuards efforts helped law enforcement seize 28,765 lbs of fentanyl in California, an amount with an estimated street value of more than $230 million.

The seizures represented a 594 percent increase since California troops were sent to the border five years ago.

As of July 1, CalGuard helped seize over 11,760 lbs of fentanyl so far this year.

Lawmakers want $4 billion for border security, migrant processing

A majority of fentanyl is smuggled into the U.S. at ports of entry by U.S. citizens, not by migrants seeking asylum, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Fentanyl is a deadly poison ripping families and communities apart, said Newsom. California is cracking down and today were going further by deploying more CalGuard service members to combat this crisis and keep our communities safe.

Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border

California National Guardsmen were first sent to the border by then-Gov. Gerry Brown in 2018.

Their deployment is being funded through a $30 million investment proposed by Newsom and enacted in the state budget to expand the departments existing drug interdiction efforts.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
Millie Bobby Brown, here at the 26th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2020 in Los Angeles, is part of the Chicago Humanities Fest. The actor known for the Netflix series "Stranger Things" will talk with Greta Johnsen (of WBEZs "Nerdette" podcast) about her debut novel "Nineteen Steps." (Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Turner)

The fall lineup for the 2023 Chicago Humanities Festival is here, but before you poke around its ambitious sprawl of 50-something events, spread over two months (Sept. 17 to Nov. 15), before you eye-pop at Millie Bobby Brown (Sept. 17) or plan autumn weekends around the relentless ignorance of our politicians (Andy Borowitz, Oct. 28) and the history of sketch comedy (Keegan-Michael Key and wife Elle Key, Oct. 5), consider the stresses of piecing together such a festival:

Theres the artist who requires 30 minutes of complete silence before stepping on stage. The coastal agents who just do not think of Chicago as a viable market for their clients. The nationally-renowned scholar who doesnt see the point of adding a Chicago academic to a panel discussion. Theres the audiences who will not venture north of Madison. Or drive south of Roosevelt. You are a Midwestern organization with a roughly $4 million annual budget, but you are still a nonprofit and some of those big names you want to book insist on quite the entourages. Also, actors, being on strike at the moment, will not discuss on stage, you know, the things we know them from. Should you worry that Trump-centric comedian Sarah Cooper (Oct. 14) is scheduled so close to Fox Newss Bret Baier (Oct. 14)? Will they run into one other? You want a smart festival addressing social issues of the day  this year, its the rise of AI and the impact of climate change  but you might need to land the Fonz (Henry Winkler, Nov. 4) to help subsidize a panel on the links between Chicago public art and environmental justice (Oct. 14).

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Oh, the agita.

You thought planning a dinner party was hard?

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Thurston Moore in conversation during the Great Escape Festival at Old Market on May 11, 2019 in Brighton, England. (Tabatha Fireman/Getty)

Try planning one that lasts 60 days and seats Sonic Youths noise merchant Thurston Moore (Nov. 1) and provocative essayist Roxanne Gay (Nov. 5) alongside a fair number of elderly attendees. The Chicago Humanities Festival was initially a one-day fall thing. Its now in its 34th year and, at its most sprawling, once offered about 130 events a year. These days, the festival is year-round and puts on roughly 100 events. Like other cultural institutions, its also smaller. Attendance is about 50,000, closer to its post-COVID 2019 number, said Phillip Bahar, executive director. But like other cultural groups reliant on constituencies, membership (its key financial support) has fallen  Bahar expects membership to be 35% lower than pre-COVIDs 2,500 members.

The good news is, that the audience is younger than a decade ago, when the festivals membership rolls, like other Chicago theater companies and musical arts organizations, looked overly gray.

Lauren M. Pacheco, Phillip Bahar and Michael Green of the Chicago Humanities Festival in 2022. (David Kindler / HANDOUT)

If Lauren Pacheco has her way, that change will continue.

If were feeling different this year, if were visibly looking different, thats because we are moving in a different direction, said Pacheco, now in her second year as co-creative director with Michael Green. Michael and I have a vision and were still getting to know each other and find our alignments, and like other cultural organizations, we recognize a need to cultivate a younger audience, and a more diverse audience, and also addressing the relevant issues. What does that mean in the long haul here? I think it means were going to be a bit playful  experimental.

And, for lack of a better word, more Chicago.

First lady M.K. Pritzker greets lawmakers before Gov. J.B. Pritzker delivered his annual budget address to a joint session of the General Assembly on Feb. 15, 2023 at the Illinois State Capitol. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Variety-wise, this years festival resembles past festivals. You get A-list cultural voices: Bob Odenkirk and daughter Erin discussing their new book (Oct. 14); a tribute to Philip Glass (Nov. 5); author Zadie Smith (Sept. 19); poet Tracy K. Smith (Nov. 5). And a handful of A-list political names: Rachel Maddow (Oct. 19), former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger interviewed by journalist (and Chicago native) Jonathan Alter (Nov. 5). Plenty of national thought leaders: Matthew Desmond on poverty (Oct. 14); Walter Isaacson on Elon Musk (Oct. 14); Naomi Klein on our online hall of mirrors (Sept. 19); David Brooks on the importance of being seen (Nov. 5). And one or two left field surprises: Controversial Harvard physicist Avi Loeb on the existence of aliens (Nov. 5); Illinois first lady MK Pritzker on renovating the Governors Mansion (Oct. 14).

There are deep-dive chats on AI: AI and creativity (Oct. 28), AI and criminal justice (Nov. 5). And climate change  climate change and morality (Oct. 21), climate change and Chicago (Nov. 5).

But then, theres Sebastian Hidalgo (Oct. 28), the native Pilsen photographer who made a name depicting the effects of gentrification; Chicago chef Rick Bayless (with San Francisco chef Anna Voloshyna) on Ukrainian food (Oct. 14); Chicago fashion designer Chelsey Carter (Oct. 28); South Side police shootings and the making of film that uses police bodycam footage (Nov. 5).

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We want to bring the best scholars from across the country, Pacheco said, but at the same time we are in this amazing city and we need to figure out how to better leverage what it offers.

One way to do this, said co-creative director Green, is put more attention on live performance and experiential events  such as Chicago-based Fulcrum Point New Music Project performing minimalist composer Le Monte Young (Nov. 16). That, alongside the Philip Glass event, for instance, you get kind of this miniseries of informal learning on minimalism.

About a year and a half ago, Green and Pacheco replaced Alison Cuddy as creative director. Green was a public events programmer at the Museum of Contemporary Art and veteran of the education department at the Art Institute of Chicago; Pacheco was a longtime arts administrator and grassroots organizer, at, among other places, Indiana University and University of Chicago.

A couple of autumns later, the Humanities Festival will still unfold in the usual places  the Loop, Hyde Park, Evanston. But Green and Pacheco plan to expand it routinely into far more places around the city. Last spring, for instance, they programmed a day of events at the Epiphany Center for the Arts on the West Side that included acclaimed authors Brandon Taylor and Aleksandar Hemon. Pacheco, citing census data and the growth of Latino populations across Chicago, is now eyeing events on the Far Southwest Side as well as nontraditional venues around Little Village and outdoors. Her dream, she said, would be a Humanities Festival at Guaranteed Rate Field, playing a broader audience. One day, if we keep this excitement going, I hope, youll see a few low riders pulling up to something at the Chicago Humanities Festival.

The Chicago Humanities Festivals Fall Festival runs Sept. 17 to Nov. 15 at various venues; for schedule and more information at www.chicagohumanities.org

cborrelli@chicagotribune.com
A judge in San Bernardino, California, has temporarily blocked a school district policy that requires parents to be notified when their child asks to be recognized by a different gender identity or pronoun than they were assigned at birth.

Superior Court Judge Thomas S. Garza issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday against portions of the Chino Valley Unified School Districts new policy that address gender and sex out of an abundance of caution, saying the case must be handled delicately going forward due to its sensitive nature.

The concern is, how do we safeguard these students that identify as LGBTQ? Garza said in court. And in my view, its a situation that is singling out a class of protected individuals differently than the rest of the students.

The ruling comes after California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the school district last month over the policy, which was adopted in July. Bonta slammed the forced outing policy as a threat to the wellbeing of non-conforming students who lack an accepting environment in the classroom and at home.

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Bonta praised the Wednesday ruling in a statement, saying it rightfully upholds the state rights of our LGBTQ+ student community and protects kids from harm.

While this fight is far from over, todays ruling takes a significant step towards ensuring the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of transgender and gender-nonconforming students, the attorney general said.

In a sign the issue is expanding in the state, another school district near Sacramento voted to approve a policy similar to the one in Chino Valley on the same day the judge issued his ruling.

The new Rocklin Unified School District policy requires parents to be notified within three days of when a student requests to be identified as a gender other than the childs biological sex or gender or asks to be addressed by different pronouns.

All were doing is adding parent notification, parent communication, keeping those people involved, district trustee Dereck Counter said shortly before voting for the measure.

Jessica Hardy, a third grade instructor who is the districts Teacher of the Year, told the board the policy could destroy the sense of trust between children and teachers.

Well truly hit a milestone in our district when sensitive issues arent sensitive at all, and these children can choose to simply exist exactly how they are, Hardy said.

The policies are among several similar measures being implemented in other states, including in Texas and New Jersey, and comes as conservative lawmakers nationwide move to limit LGBTQ peoples rights to access health care, use bathroom facilities and participate in sports, among other everyday activities.

Portions of the Chino Valley district policy that address parental notification regarding suicide attempts, threats and bullying are not impacted by the judges order and remain in effect.

Chino Valley school district spokesperson Andi Johnston said its staff respects the judges order and will continue to fulfill its purpose of creating and maintaining a collaborative relationship between school and home.

School district president Sonja Shaw has previously defended the policy and denied concerns that it could harm students.

If a child is coming to their teacher and asking to be called something other than what they were born as, theyre already asking to be out in the public about it, Shaw said last month. The parent has every right to know about that.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled on October 13.

CNNs Andy Rose contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
A Northern California man who used bear spray on police officers and encouraged rioters with a megaphone during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection will serve 78 months  6 years  in prison, a federal judge decided Thursday.

Sean Michael McHugh will also have three years of supervised release, pay a $5,000 fine and pay $2,000 in restitution to the Architect of the Capitol, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates said Thursday. The 35-year-old must also pay $200 in court fees.

McHugh, a construction worker from Auburn, was convicted in April of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon and obstruction of an official proceeding. He has been held in custody since May 27, 2021; those approximately 27 months will offset some of the prison sentence.

Bates said McHugh regretted his actions, still he wasnt convinced of the California mans remorse.

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McHugh admits to a lack of judgment, Bates said, though not the magnitude of his actions.

A federal complaint filed against Sean Michael McHugh, 34, of Auburn said that McHugh sprayed U.S. Capitol Police officers with an unknown chemical substance and assaulted them with a metal sign during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He was convicted and sentenced to 78 months in prison for his role during the riots.

McHugh was one of the first to breach the police line at Capitol Hills West Plaza, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynnett Wagner said Thursday. There, he injured and impeded police officers by wrestling for control of a barricade, dispensing bear spray and helping use a large metal sign like a battering ram. The prosecutor said that McHugh intended to prevent Congress certification of the electoral college vote based on his social media posts in the days prior.

Apologizing, McHugh called Jan. 6 a dark stain on our nations fabric Thursday.

Had he known what Jan. 6 would turn into, McHugh claimed, I would not have gone or put my mothers well-being in danger.

Officer sprayed by McHugh forced to retire

The bear spray injured and temporarily prevented a couple of officers from defending the Capitol. He came prepared for violence, Wagner said.

Later, McHugh bragged about it in a direct Facebook message saying he got three of them down really really good.

McHugh said Thursday the message was a moment of bravado  he said he was trying to look cool.

Seeing a fellow rioter get hit in the face with a rubber bullet and his mother in pain from apparently being struck led McHugh to dispense the bear spray to push people away, the defendant said. Bates countered that McHugh and his mother could have simply walked away from the situation.

McHugh did not enter the Capitol building, but he brought a megaphone and urged fellow rioters to push forward and hurled insults at police officers.

Bates called McHugh a verbal leader of the confrontation.

Two Capitol police officers wrote court statements. Capitol Police Inspector Tom Loyd sent a statement read by one of the prosecutors about the toll Jan. 6 took on his officers.

A federal complaint filed against Sean Michael McHugh, 34, of Auburn shows the bear spray that he used on U.S. Capitol Police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Retired Lt. Dennis Kelly, whom McHugh had sprayed, described Jan. 6 as a physical and chemical attack. He and his daughter, who he said had become a caretaker for him, were affected while decontaminating clothes from McHughs bear spray. Since then, Kelly has had two episodes of aphasia, a loss of ability to speak or comprehend speech. He said his family was the unseen and unheard victims of that day.

The emotional and physical toll Kelly took on Jan. 6 forced him into an early retirement.

Mr. McHugh played a prominent role, Kelly said, adding that McHugh was intentionally trying to harm us.

McHugh apologized to Kelly: I made a mistake and you didnt deserve that.

Attorney says McHugh had weak-mindedness

McHughs attorney, Joseph Allen, said that McHughs small and weak-mindedness led him and others to take former President Donald Trumps violent rhetoric and lies seriously.

I dont mean to be disparaging, Allen said of McHugh and other rioters, but theres a difference between me and them. Allen said people like McHugh were more susceptible to Trumps lies about the 2020 election blasted on the 24/7 news cycle.

A third of Americans still believe Trumps false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

Seans mind is not like the rest of us, the lawyer said, adding McHugh was infected by political rhetoric.

McHugh was again riled up by Trumps speech at the Ellipse before moving toward the Capitol, Allen said, where Congress was scheduled to certify Joe Bidens presidential victory.

Allen claimed his client was sleep-deprived and used poor judgment that day, but his worst actions were reactionary. McHugh was not part of the Proud Boys or Oath Keepers and did not plot an insurrection with either group, he said. Rather, he went with the intention of exercising his First Amendment rights on Jan. 6.

McHugh brought bear spray, Allen said, in case he needed to defend himself from Antifa counter-protesters. Bates said that he did not believe that: McHugh brought the bear spray to use as a weapon, he said, and committed a very serious assault on officers.

By bragging about his participation online after Jan. 6, McHugh showed he lacked remorse, Wagner said. To this day, Wagner said, a fundraising site set up on his behalf claimed that other rioters were patriots and that he did not hurt anyone, indicating he did not feel remorseful.

Prosecutors wanted 10-year sentence

The fundraising effort was organized by Amy Hunt, McHughs fiancee, which was described as help with funds for legal fees and bills. McHugh said the effort had raised about $74,000 and that $50,000 had gone to paying Allen. He told the court that Hunt had spent an unknown amount on family emergencies and bills.

On Thursday, Allen argued that McHugh should receive a 70-month sentence that the probation office recommended.

Federal prosecutors had wanted the judge to sentence the Auburn construction worker to 10 years and three months in prison and higher fines. If it had been granted, the sentence would have been among the longest incarcerations connected to Jan. 6. Almost 1,100 people have been arrested for the Capitol riot. More than 300 have been sentenced to incarceration with former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio receiving the longest sentence  22 years.

McHugh, one of four Sacramento-area defendants in the Jan. 6 riot, was the only one to remain in jail during trial, and the last to be sentenced.

Jorge Aaron Riley, an Army veteran from Sacramento, was sentenced to 18 months on Wednesday. Valerie Elaine Ehrke of Arbuckle received probation. Tommy Frederick Allan of Rocklin is serving a 21-month sentence at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.

Bates said he hopes that McHugh can one day rejoin as a productive member of society. He hopes his sentence will afford deterrents for him and others.

Said Bates, The events of Jan. 6 were a very serious threat to our democratic values and institutions.
Physicians, surgeons, dentists and psychiatrists who work in Californias state hospitals and prisons have struck a deal with the state that will put double-digit raises and five-figure bonuses in some workers pockets.

The agreement between CalHR and the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, which represents about 1,700 medical professionals in state service, averts a strike that union members authorized last month and arrives just days before the Legislatures deadline to close out deals with state workers before lawmakers session ends. CalHR estimates the deal will cost the state about $227.5 million.

The two-year contract awards a general salary increase of 3% backdated to July 1 and 2.5% in 2024, which aligns with what the state has offered to other unions this year. But a plethora of bonuses, differentials, special salary adjustments and range increases will boost some workers pay by 15% or more.

I feel good about it, said Stuart Bussey, the unions president. Everybody got a little something.

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The biggest financial victories went to state psychiatrists who work at least 50% of their hours on-site. A CalHR analysis of the deal shows that psychiatrists will net bonuses each month worth 15% of their salaries. And starting six months after the contract is ratified, psychiatrists will have the opportunity to take on additional casework at a rate of 135% of their per-hour base pay. The premium pay for extra hours will hopefully reduce the amount of work given to external contractors, Bussey said.

With an advertised starting salary of about $286,000, psychiatrists are guaranteed at least nearly $42,900 in annual bonuses on top of any other differentials they might be eligible for, such as those for specific facilities.

It came down to the very last couple of hours, lead negotiator Patricia Hernandez said of the 15% bonus. She added that shed spoken to union-member psychiatrists who were ready to quit their state jobs and look for work in the private sector if the state didnt meet their offer.

The state knew that we were ready to strike, and we let them know that we had to have movement on that additional money, Hernandez said.

Many job classifications will receive special salary adjustments, and bumps in the maximum salary range will give experienced employees an extra boost. Sixteen roles, including podiatrists, public health officers and medical consultants, are on deck to receive 5% pay increases on top of the across-the-board raise. Physicians and surgeons will earn a 3% boost in their maximum salary range, and dentists will earn a 5% adjustment.

All employees are also eligible for a new longevity pay system that grants an extra percentage of base salary for each year the worker spends in the job. After 12 months of service, an employee can earn an additional 1%, all the way up to seven years at 7%. Employees with more than seven years of service will receive a one-time payment of $10,000.

Members of the union would also be eligible for a new family leave policy that would grant six weeks of 50% paid leave to new parents and employees who are caring for seriously ill family members. Workers can supplement the plan with accrued leave to reach 100% pay.

The union was prepared to go on strike as late as last Wednesday, Bussey said. Union leaders sent a letter to CalHR on Aug. 28 that stated their intent to follow through with a work stoppage if the state couldnt come to an agreement that week.

It is clear that the UAPD and the state are at an impasse, read the letter, reviewed by The Sacramento Bee, which was signed by Bussey along with R. Douglas Chiappetta, the unions executive director, and Hernandez. We are putting you on clear notice that we intend to strike.

Earlier in August, the physicians union had notified the Public Employment Relations Board that they intended to strike. PERB subsequently notified Gov. Gavin Newsoms administration that it could seek an injunction that would require essential employees to remain on the job, according to filings obtained through a Public Records Act request.

Bussey said he was glad the union didnt have to go through with the work stoppage. The sticking point was that 15% pay differential for psychiatrists.

Its the hardest job in our union, Bussey said of the psychiatrists. They just want to be recognized for their work.

In addition to the financial perks, the contract includes various opportunities for members to help shape policies that affect their workplace. Bussey pointed to language that requires calls made to on-call doctors be for emergency or urgent purposes only. That way, the on-call personnel can still get some sleep, he said. The state will work with the union over the next few months to define what urgent means.

Other than the money, your voice in how this place is run is really important, he said. They wanted their voice heard.

Legislators and union members must ratify the contract, and Newsom must sign it, before it can take effect. The physicians union is the second-to-last union to reach a deal with the state. The union representing state scientists has yet to reach a deal.
The Chino Valley Unified School Districts policy of outing transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming students to their parents or guardians has been put on hold by a judge.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Southern California district last month in San Bernardino County Superior Court, saying the policy violates rights to privacy, equal protection of the laws, and freedom from discrimination under various California laws and the state constitution.

Superior Court Judge Tom Garza Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order keeping the policy from being enforced for a limited period. Garza scheduled a hearing for October 13 to consider a preliminary injunction, which would be a longer-term block on it.

Chino Valley was the first school district in California to enact such a policy. Adopted by the school board in July, it requires schools to inform parents or guardians, with minimal exceptions, whenever a student requests to use a name or pronoun different from that on their birth certificate or official records, even without the students permission. It also requires notification if a student requests to use facilities or participates in programs that dont align with their sex on official records.

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Opponents of the policy have pointed out that some young people have parents who arent supportive of their gender identity. Bonta had sent a letter of warning to the district about it. California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond spoke against the policy at the meeting where the Chino Valley board adopted it, and he was ejected.

San Bernardino Superior Courts decision to issue a temporary restraining order rightfully upholds the state rights of our LGBTQ+ student community and protects kids from harm by immediately halting the boards forced outing policy, Bonta said in a press release. While this fight is far from over, todays ruling takes a significant step towards ensuring the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of transgender and gender-nonconforming students. As we continue challenging the policy in court, my office will continue providing our unwavering support to ensure every student has the right to learn and thrive in a school environment that promotes safety, privacy, and inclusivity.

Bonta has denounced what he calls copycat policies in three other California school districts  Anderson Union, Temecula, and Murrieta Valley.
Jorge Riley is seen in the bottom left corner of an image taken from U.S. Capitol Police video inside Statuary Hall on Jan. 6, 2021. Riley, an Army veteran who was seen participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, is expected to be sentenced in court Wednesday. (U.S. Capitol Police via U.S. Attorney's Office)

A Sacramento man who was among the first to enter the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection will serve 18 months in prison, a federal judge decided Wednesday.

Jorge Aaron Riley, an Army veteran and the former corresponding secretary of the California Republican Assembly, will also serve two years of supervised release, pay a $100 fine and pay $2,000 in restitution to the Architect of the Capitol, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta said.

Whether Riley thought what he was doing was righteous then, Mehta said, Riley should know the consequences the insurrection had on the people who were at the Capitol and the country now. By now, the judge said, Riley should recognize how entering the Capitol during the certification of Joe Bidens presidential victory was interfering with a long-established democratic process.

The things you stood for are the very things you cast aside, Mehta said before delivering the sentence.

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Riley, 45, told the court Wednesday that he was speaking on behalf of all the patriots and that GOP legislators should have adjudicated the 2020 election results  then protesters would not have felt the need to come to the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Former President Donald Trump has repeated false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. A third of Americans still believe him.

But, Mehta countered, regardless of which politician Riley supports, the election results were adjudicated in courts across the country. Repeatedly, judges  some appointed by Trump  denied finding election fraud. He and others should have let the judicial process play out rather than entering the Capitol and delaying the certification of results  in which, Mehta said, Republican lawmakers were expected to claim the election was stolen like Riley and others had wanted them to.

Riley like a tourist on Jan. 6, lawyer says

Leading up to Jan. 6, 2021, Riley posted about going for the war for Trump. He bought six ninja combat throwing knives. He left a form of will to someone he had described as a sister, including anything in my house and the knives, before traveling to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5.

There is no evidence that Riley brought the knives with him, but buying them and using language referring to war paint that Riley posted online demonstrated violent intent, Mehta said.

Youre a veteran, Mehta said. You understand what it means to be armed.

After attending Trumps Ellipse speech, Riley donned what he called war paint and marched to the Capitol on Jan. 6. Riley was one of the first rioters to walk into the building, prosecutors showed in court documents.

Inside, he marched around former House Speaker Nancy Pelosis office where, unbeknownst to him, staffers were hiding under desks and tables. He roamed the building, ignoring police orders to leave, and left an hour after entering.

His lawyer, longtime Sacramento defense attorney Tim Zindel, said during Wednesdays proceedings that Rileys actions equated to the actions of a tourist. Riley did not know staffers were crouching, the Capitol was jam-packed, making it impossible to get out, and he did not engage in any violence or vandalism.

He pointed to the adage, Actions speak louder than words.

Prosecutors cite a lack of remorse

Federal prosecutors had asked for a 21-month sentence and three years of supervised release for his actions. Assistant U.S. Attorney Troy Edwards argued Wednesday that Riley had lacked remorse for his actions. In the days after Jan. 6, Riley posted over 150 messages, photographs and videos to Facebook in an album called Whos House? OUR HOUSE.

After he pleaded guilty, Riley proclaimed he wore his best Trump tie. Riley then attended a vigil for Jan. 6 defendants outside the D.C. Jail where he stood under a Prisoner of War  J6  You Are Not Forgotten flag.

Riley pleaded guilty to a single felony count of obstructing an official proceeding in March.

While the plea might register a form of remorse, Edwards said, he emphasized Rileys lack of remorse in his statement on Wednesday: Riley called rioters patriots and claimed that they felt the need to take matters into their own hands without apologizing for breaching the Capitol that day.

He may not have been violent, Edwards said, but Riley contributed to the mayhem. He also pointed to Rileys intent posted to social media before the insurrection.

Trying to stop the presidential transfer of power is not a good intention, Edwards said.

Zindel blamed Trump and the media for convincing Riley and rioters that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent, and for inciting words of violence.

While Zindel said he and Riley differ greatly on the political spectrum, they have seen eye-to-eye in preparing for the case: We have to accept that people see the world differently.

Riley came from turbulent past, judge says

Riley, who is expected to surrender for incarceration once the Bureau of Prisons sets his prison location and date, was the third of four Sacramento-area Jan. 6 defendants to be sentenced.

Sean Michael McHugh, an Auburn construction worker, was sentenced Thursday to 78 months for his role in the riots and for using bear spray on Capitol police.

Valerie Elaine Ehrke of Arbuckle received probation. Tommy Frederick Allan of Rocklin is serving a 21-month sentence at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.

Zindel had asked the judge in a memo before Wednesdays sentencing to incorporate the 36 days Riley already served into his sentence and to have him serve the remainder in home detention to continue his rehabilitation from a difficult past and military service.

After the sentencing, Zindel said he was very disappointed with the result.

As a child, Riley, an American Indian who never knew his father, grew up in an abusive household where he and his mother were beaten by his stepfather, Zindel wrote before Wednesdays sentencing. Riley had to parent his own siblings as an elementary student. Also, Zindel said Wednesday, Riley has at times been homeless and was physically and mentally disabled from his four years in the Army.

Now, Riley provides home care for his girlfriends two sons from a previous relationship and their daughter. Zindel argued that it would not serve Riley or his family to go to prison, where he would not be able to continue his growth since Jan. 6.

Mehta, the judge, praised Riley for his progress since his difficult childhood and military service, Riley having been the first in his family to graduate high school and pursue higher education. But, Mehta said, thats why he was all the more disappointed that Riley still did not acknowledge that Jan. 6 was not in the best interests of the country.

I think youre better than that.
A California bill that aims to protect workers from violence within their workplace has cleared a major hurdle and is headed toward a full state Assembly vote.

Senate Bill 553 would require all employers statewide to establish, implement and maintain a workplace violence prevention plan that employees will have a hand developing.

https://ktla.com/news/california/california-bill-aims-to-limit-renters-security-deposits/

The measure was introduced by Sen. Dave Cortese (D-San Jose).

The bill defines workplace violence as any act of violence or threat of violence that occurs in a place of employment, which includes but is not limited to threat or use of physical force against an employee and incident involving a threat or use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon.

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Democratic lawmakers in the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to advance the measure with amendments. Some employers exempt from the bill include businesses with less than 10 workers and remote employees working from a location that their employers do not control, according to the bills text.

California bill aims to limit renters security deposits

Similar protections have been in place for health care workers since 2007.

The California Chamber of Commerce, which lobbied for changes to the measure, withdrew its opposition due to the recent amendments.

A study from Californias Department on Industrial Relations found that 57 people died from workplace violence, and nationally, an average of 1.3 million nonfatal violent crimes in the workplace occurred annually from 2015 to 2019.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy holds a news conference at the Capitol in Washington as the House prepares to leave for its August recess. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

The kudos for Kevin were short-lived.

Last spring House Speaker Kevin McCarthy rightly got props from folks across the political spectrum, myself included, for compromising with President Biden to raise the nations debt limit and thereby avert economic armageddon. But that meant, of course, that the uncompromising far-right flank of his Republican caucus, which has the power to hold McCarthy hostage to its demands, was apoplectic.

The troublemakers neednt have feared.

The proverbial ink on the debt deal was hardly dry before McCarthy started backtracking. Astoundingly, he assured the wacky House Freedom Caucus that spending levels in the dozen bills that fund the government would be lower than what hed just agreed to in the debt limit deal with Biden and senators of both parties. This sort of double-dealing is what happens when a leader feels beholden to anti-government zealots to keep the job he coveted for so long.

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McCarthy also signaled his openness to letting the culture warriors tack onto the spending bills their pet provisions against abortion rights, transgender kids and more  nonstarters in the Senate. Oh, and he promised to pursue Bidens impeachment  allegations and evidence TBD. Yet when the House returns from its summer break next week, it has all of 11 working days to pass its funding bills and settle the bills differences with the Senate and the president before Oct. 1, the start of the next fiscal year.

Or else the government shuts down.

Even those of us who dont usually agree with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell have to acknowledge that he best described what Congress faces this month, thanks yet again to House Republicans. Honestly, its a pretty big mess, he said back home in Kentucky last week.

Read more: Calmes: In the debt limit showdown, both Biden and (surprise!) McCarthy are winners

McConnell made clear he was not pleased that McCarthy had essentially reneged on the deal theyd all agreed to just three months earlier, a deal that should have eased the budget-writing and removed any shutdown risk.

And yet, McConnell, Biden and the Senate majority leader, New Yorks Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, have no choice but to cut another deal with McCarthy, which likely will take until December, when Congress deadline-busting drama finally runs up against lawmakers holiday plans.

To buy that time, McCarthy has floated the idea with Schumer that Congress pass a resolution extending government funding for a few months. Further complicating the pretty big mess are separate contentious proposals for emergency funding for Ukraine, the border crisis and states hit by natural disasters, along with must-pass farm and air-transportation bills.

Read more: Calmes: Bidenomics just had its first birthday. Why are so few people celebrating?

This is all pressing business, but its not what is front and center for House Republicans. That would be an attempt to impeach Biden  impeachment theater, as one congressman calls it. The show will go on despite the fact that there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Biden after months of investigation, no House majority to actually approve articles of impeachment and no chance that the Senate would convict even if it did receive a resolution.

But heres what there is: a threat to McCarthys beloved job. As Florida Man Rep. Matt Gaetz this week told a conservative radio host, If Kevin McCarthy stands in our way, he may not have the job long. To which the host replied, Matt, Im so glad to hear you say that.

So McCarthy has adapted the Roman emperors palliative for the potentially mutinous mob: Give the people bread and circuses. And McCarthy is using the impeachment circus to entice rebellious Republicans to support funding the government as well.

If we shut down, all of government shuts down  investigations and everything else, McCarthy said on Fox News last week.

Read more: Calmes: Kevin McCarthy's clowns wasted your tax dollars and Congress' time this week

Amid the coming spending debates, expect to hear a lot of Republican condemnations of Democrats profligacy. And when you do, keep in mind Nikki Haleys slapback during the recent Republican presidential debate at her rivals who blamed Democrats for the nations debt: The truth is that Biden didnt do this to us. Our Republicans did this to us, too.

Or heed Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, who said back home in a Salt Lake City TV interview last week, When President Trump was president, you didnt hear anything from we Republicans about how we were spending too much and trillion-dollar deficits. Quiet as little lambs! Now President Biden is president  Oh, we're going to shut down government if we don't rein in spending.

He added: A little less hypocrisy would be a good thing. Better yet: a lot less.

The next few weeks will be an interesting test for McCarthy and the House Republican majority, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the House Democratic minority leader, told The Times in a meeting Tuesday. He seems to expect a short shutdown, thanks to the uncompromising demands of what he and other Democrats have taken to calling the extreme MAGA Republicans.

Given all the examples of the last three decades of Republicans paying a political price for shuttering the government  and thereby disrupting public services, benefits, payrolls, projects and so much more  youd think no one would be so stupid as to openly provoke a shutdown. Remember, however, that an unusually large number of House Republicans, 52%, have come to Congress only in the last four years; theyre inexperienced. And they are generally more radical than their predecessors.

That is who and what McCarthy is dealing with. Its almost enough to make you feel sorry for him. Except that hes become one of them.

There are no kudos for that.

@jackiekcalmes

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.
The rural Ohio River community of Lewis County is one of the most Republican counties in Kentucky. It hasnt voted for a Democrat for president in the last 36 cycles, since Samuel J. Tilden in 1876.

Its also home to one of the more prominent Republicans in American politics in Fourth Congressional District Congressman Thomas Massie , who says Republicans there are still missing one thing: a leader in Frankfort.

To a Republican crowd gathered in a pew-style meeting hall on the third floor of the cavernous Lewis County courthouse, Massie stated that while state policymaking has been controlled by veto-proof legislative supermajorities in the statehouse, the party needed to elect GOP gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron.

You may say weve got super majorities and the Senate in Frankfort, and they can override Andys veto  which, thank goodness they have so many times  so why do we need the governor? Because we need a leader, which we dont have a leader in Frankfort. We need somebody at the top. You cant push a string up a hill, somebodys got to pull it, Massie said.

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Republicans in Kentucky, as well as the official Republican Party of Kentucky (RPK), have not had a consistent single elected leader in Frankfort in recent history. Kentucky voters have never let a Republican governor hold the office for more than one term. In part because of that, de facto leader of the party for decades, per most Republicans, has been Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConell, R-KY.

Though hes better known worldwide as one of the most important Senators in Washington history, McConnell has been deeply involved in party-building in Kentucky  RPK headquarters is named after him  since becoming the only statewide elected Republican in 1984. Since then, Republicans have gained control of most every political lever of power at the state level short of the governors chair. McConnell is now facing questions about his fitness for both his leadership post and Senate duties following two public freeze ups in front of cameras.

So Cameron is not only applying for the states top job. Hes seeking to lead a party that, now dominant in Frankfort, has its fair share of growing pains.

20 county parties have formally censured Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, Factions within the ballooning 80-member House GOP caucus have begun to form, rural Republicans have regularly been outnumbered on issues related to public goods, and some of Camerons competition in his landslide primary win have turned their backs on him.

At the end of the day, when there are no enemies left to fight you end up fighting yourselves. Its natural. Ive seen it happen in multiple states and it happened with the Democrats here for years, Tres Watson, a Republican operative and former RPK spokesman said.

Is Cameron the one to get all the Republicans on the same page? He seems to think so.

I hope that Im a unifying presence. I think, based on the number that we came out of the primary, were well on the way to making sure that everybody comes into this tent, Cameron said at an event in July.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, with his wife Makenze and son Theodore, attends the 59th Annual Country Ham Breakfast at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023.

Whos with you?

Camerons appearance with Massie was one of many hes done or planned with all five of Kentuckys Republican congressman all over the Commonwealth.

Its served as a show of unity in place of one that never happened.

Two weeks before Camerons primary win, RPK Chair Mac Brown wrote that the GOP would host a unity event where we hope each gubernatorial candidate will attend and show their support for the nominee. That event never occurred, and Camerons three top competitors in the race  who garnered about 45% of the primary vote, collectively  have either fallen publicly silent on the general election race or outright turned their backs.

Though he gave his full support to Cameron in the immediate aftermath of his second-place finish Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles has punted on offering a full-throated public endorsement in two major political speeches since then. It is widely rumored that Quarles, who holds a doctorate in higher education, is seeking the presidency at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). Strong partisanship is likely to be discouraged in the hiring process, which is overseen by a board populated with appointees of both political stripes. Quarles did not return a request for comment on the matter.

Kelly Craft, meanwhile, has been largely absent from Kentucky politics after her third-place finish in the GOP gubernatorial primary  even when shes technically making moves. She and her husband, GOP megadonor and coal entrepreneur Joe Craft, were not present when they joined in on a $10 million charity bid to buy the ham at this years Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast.

Shortly after the loss, Craft posted on social media that supporters should stay tuned for her next move, but has not yet signaled what that next move may be. In her concession speech, she told her supporters to come together to beat Beshear, but she also decried the attacks on her during the primary  many of which were proffered by a pro-Cameron PAC. Craft did not respond to a recent question on what she thinks about the race and whether or not shell support Cameron.

Fourth-place finisher Eric Deters was previously all in for Cameron, but has changed tune in recent weeks. In a video explaining why his far-right event Freedom Fest was canceled  Cameron previously said he was excited to go, but backed out after pressure from Massie, who Deters is challenging next year  Deters dropped that hes not longer backing Cameron.

Just because Im a Republican doesnt mean I have to support Daniel Cameron. Im not going to support, to vote for, Beshear, but Im not going to support Cameron. Im done, Deters said.

Sixth-place finisher Alan Keck, the mayor of Somerset in bright red Pulaski County, has held strong in his support of Cameron. He said that Cameron stands at a pivotal moment in history, with the potential to finish off Democratic power in the state and steer a ship thats sailing in choppy waters.

I think the party is growing to a place in Kentucky to where its unstoppable. Andy, to me, is the last viable Democrat for the next 30 years. And Kentucky is going to be ruby red, its just a question of whether or not its going to be functional, Keck said.

Camerons most politically important endorsement has been that of former president Donald Trump . Though his campaign fully embraced Trumps backing during the primary, the messaging around him has fallen off. Former Republican Secretary of State Trey Grayson said thats likely because Trump, with his recent indictments, is a political unknown in a general election governors race despite winning by 26 percentage points on 2020.

The wildcard is and all this is the Donald Trump factor. Especially in Eastern Kentucky, Trump is still popular. Somehow they need to play the Trump card, if you will. But that ones tricky because if you play the Trump card, can you play it one area but not the other? The Trump card probably hurts you with the suburban voters, Grayson said.

Gubernatorial candidate Daniel Cameron speaks briefly and greets supporters after securing the Republican primary election at an event at the Galt House in Louisville, Ky., Tuesday, May 16, 2023.

Election pitch

On paper, a fair bit of math is on Camerons side in his general contest election against Beshear. Kentucky hasnt elected any Democrats for U.S. Senator or president since the 1990s, the state legislature is now dominated 80-20 by Republicans, and even the GOPs loss last gubernatorial cycle offers some hope. Matt Bevin, who was months before the election polled as the least popular governor in the United States, only lost Kentucky by about 5,000 votes, or 0.4 percentage points.

But Beshears governorship has offered him ample opportunities to brand himself and to message to voters  whether in response to COVID-19, floods or tornadoes or while announcing historic economic development deals. Hes become the most popular Democratic governor in the nation, defying political gravity in such a red state, in part because of those appearances.

And a poll from GOP-aligned Public Opinion Strategies bears out what some say is his greatest strength relative to Cameron: crossover appeal. In June, an Republican-aligned pollster found that 15% of Republicans said they would vote for Beshear while only 5% of Democrats said they would back Cameron.

Persuadable voters seem to be the main problem for Cameron thus far, per University of Kentucky political science professor D. Stephen Voss.

Camerons problem is that a lot of people who normally vote Republican are reasonably happy with Beshear and dont dread four more years of it. Theyre not conservative enough to jump his way because of a couple of issues like abortion or wokeness in schools. Theyre not partisan enough to jump his way because hes got an R by his name, Voss said.

Daniel Cameron is not only applying for the states top job. Hes seeking to lead a party that, now dominant in Frankfort, has its fair share of growing pains.

The McConnell effect

During the late primary stretch, Cameron made headlines at a Northern Kentucky event  the region is a hotbed of a usually anti-McConnell strain of Liberty Republicanism  stating in response to a question about his McConnell ties that his only allegiance was to the constitution. The attitude helped land the endorsement of Chris Wiest, an attorney in Northern Kentucky best known for leading lawsuits at the state and federal level against COVID-19 restrictions.

Wiest claimed in a splashy endorsement post to Facebook that Cameron defied McConnell in joining COVID-related lawsuits and running for governor.

Some observers have characterized Camerons selective embrace of Trump and distancing from McConnell, one of the nations least popular senators despite his electoral successes, while enjoying the benefits of his massive statewide network as savvy political maneuvering.

But its not enough for Andrew Cooperrider, a semi-celebrity in GOP Liberty circles and recent second-place finisher for state treasurer. Cooperrider had the backing of Massie in his 2022 primary run for a Lexington-based state Senate district.

Cooperrider said that Camerons decision to bring on Terry Carmack, McConnells former chief of staff, on loan from the senator to the campaign as well as the involvement of McConnell ally Scott Jennings has left him unsure if hell even vote for Cameron.

I think Cameron bringing on Carmack was a huge mistake I think that if Cameron loses, that specific decision will be the number one reason why. Because all during the primary, he tried to distance themselves from McConnell and now he brings in McConnells chief of staff in a key campaign role, Cooperrider said.

Wiest  a closely-followed figure in the Liberty movement, a strong Massie ally and a backer of insurgent GOP candidates in the region  said the Carmack decision may be one of those unforced error moments, as it turned off a small but energized portion of the Republican base. Hes actively supporting Cameron and said that hes trying to bring the group upset by the decision back into the fold.

These are principled people. The thing that worries me is that this is 3,000 or 4,000 folks that are plugged in  thats probably what I think that might swing  and, geez, if this is a nail biter like 2019, that might make the difference, Wiest said.

McConnell himself is not bashful about his admiration for Cameron as a politician and as a man. The two met when Cameron was 18 years old, a freshman walk-on and McConnell Scholar at U of L interning at the leaders office. To a crowd of Republicans before Fancy Farm, the states marquee political event, McConnell waxed confident about Cameron.

The speech urged the hundreds gathered there in Graves County to finish the job and cement GOP control in the state by electing Cameron.

Ive watched him over the years and now you have. Youve seen his leadership skills and his ability to rally people together. We are dominant but we havent completed job We owe it to the next generation of Kentuckians to finish the job this November, McConnell said.

In doing so, voters may just anoint a new de facto party boss to replace McConnell.
(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau s government has called a judicial inquiry into allegations that foreign countries interfered in recent Canadian elections, a decision that comes after months of pressure from opposition parties.

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The controversy has dogged Trudeau for most of the year, primarily due to a steady flow of leaked intelligence documents to media outlets claiming China meddled in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections to try to elect Beijing-friendly candidates.

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After several months of negotiating with opposition parties on the terms of a public inquiry, Trudeaus government announced Thursday that Justice Marie-Josee Hogue of the Quebec Court of Appeal will lead the probe.

She will be able to undertake her important work with the full support of all recognized parties in the House of Commons, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters in Ottawa. Our work together sends a clear signal to Canadians that democratic institutions are strong and are resilient.

Hogue will be asked to examine interference by not only China, but also Russia and other foreign state and non-state actors in the last two Canadian elections, he said.

LeBlanc didnt specifically name any other countries, but a previous motion passed by opposition parties in the House of Commons singled out India and Iran as potentially having interfered in Canadas affairs.

The justice will have full access to all relevant cabinet documents, as well as all other information she deems relevant, he said. She will also look at the flow of information to senior Canadian decision makers, including elected officials.

Her first report will be due at the end of February, and her final conclusions are expected by the end of next year.

Senior Judge

LeBlanc said opposition parties agreed on criteria that would be important for the person chosen to lead the probe to meet. Hogue was selected because she is a senior judge in one of Canadas most important courts and is fluently bilingual in French and English.

She doesnt have detailed national security experience, but the countrys most senior jurists supported her selection, LeBlanc said.

Trudeaus first attempt to manage the issue became a fiasco after he appointed former Governor General David Johnston as a special rapporteur to review the intelligence and recommend a course of action.

Johnston advised against holding an inquiry, but the opposition parties refused to accept his impartiality due to his involvement with a charitable foundation named after Trudeaus father, former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and other personal connections. Johnston resigned in June.

In his first and only report on the issue, Johnston said foreign governments are indeed trying to influence candidates and voters in Canada. But he said theres no convincing evidence that Trudeaus government knowingly failed to act on national security intelligence about the issue.

A poll published by Bloomberg found that a majority of Canadians believe Trudeau has botched responding to the allegations of Chinese interference. Only 14% of respondents gave Trudeau positive reviews on the topic.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Media company CEOs are preoccupied with quarterly results, to the exclusion of the longterm health of the TV and film business. (Bebeto Matthews/AP)

Do the CEOs of todays media companies even like movies and television?

Hollywood writers and actors have been wondering this aloud and its a fair question. Because if were talking about perceptions? It seems like these highly paid executives could be selling furniture or cars, for all they care.

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But even CEOs of furniture and car companies understand you have to actually make a product. Hollywoods head honchos have been betting otherwise, which is why the work stoppage resulting from the writers and actors strike is nearing sixth months. Earlier this week, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said the company is taking a $300 million to $500 million hit in 2023 as a result. Seems like a compelling reason for the studios to negotiate to a contract that gets everyone back to work.

And yet 

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Shall we note that Zaslavs performance-based bonus package (and that of other executives at the company) was tweaked back in March, tying it to free cash flow? Cash that would have  should have  been spent on making TV and film. Week after week, when CEOs fail to resolve the strikes, its hard not to be cynical about all of this.

David Zaslav is the president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery. (Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty/VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS)

But then, these are the same Hollywood decision makers who embraced the dreaded IP doom loop  rehashing intellectual property and serving it up on an endless conveyor belt. It is a hedge against risk, and it is shaped by a near-obsessive focus on Wall Street. Which is why theres little appetite among studios to green-light the once-respectable mid-budget film. Meanwhile, network TV has become a wasteland of cop shows, while streaming has become a race to the middle.

TV critic Maureen Ryan is the author of Burn It Down: Power, Complicity, and a Call for Change in Hollywood and she recently made this observation: If I were a shareholder or board member of one of these companies, I would have questions about paying these dudes tens of millions (if not billions) to drive the whole industry into a ditch and then set the ditch on fire.

But CEOs arent rogue actors here. The boards they answer to are just as complicit in this obsession with the short term; driving the industry into a ditch and setting it on fire is a future problem for someone else to worry about. All they care about is the stock price going up next quarter, even if it means no one is actually making any TV and film in the near future.

Andrew A. Rosen writes a newsletter called The Medium, which covers media companies from an investors point of view. Were at a crossroads, he told me. On one hand you have to manage one to two quarters ahead to keep shareholders happy. But on the other side, the guys who are really good at that are really bad at building streaming business models that are profitable. Everybodys losing money. But they also dont understand how to build a product. Im talking about a piece of software that people engage with that creates delight and is personalized to each subscriber. Thats really hard to do.

Heres what he means: With so many titles to choose from on any streaming app, how do you discover anything? Figuring that out is the brass ring for streamers. Specifically, predicting what each viewer might be drawn to and getting those titles in front of them. It could potentially cut down on churn. But not enough streamers have figured out how to personalize the algorithm to quite that extent, Rosen said.

And none of these guys  the CEOs  have built software products before. And they dont really want to learn, they just want to get the right story out to make the shareholders happy.

So, chaos reigns.

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That was underscored last week when a conflict erupted between Disney and Spectrum, the second largest cable company in the U.S. Its a battle between the old model (pay TV) and the new model (streaming). The latter has seen Disney funnel its marquee efforts away from linear TV and that shift has helped accelerate cord-cutting. You can see why the two companies are at loggerheads.

Spectrum is owned by Charter Communications, which was paying Disney $2.2 billion a year in carriage fees. Disney wants more. Charter says it would have to pass that cost to customers, so it wants something in return: Make the ad-supported tiers of Hulu and Disney+ available to cable subscribers for free. Disney balked and pulled its linear channels off Spectrum, which means ABC, ESPN and FX are currently blacked out to subscribers. Neither conglomerate inspires sympathy. Meanwhile, its the viewer who suffers.

In this Aug. 8, 2017 photo, the Walt Disney Co. logo appears on a screen above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. (Richard Drew / AP)

Even Wall Street seems unimpressed. Finance reporter Joel Baglole singled out three media stocks to sell as the Hollywood strike drags on: Disney (trading at its lowest in nine years), Paramount Global (which is reducing the dividend it pays out to shareholders) and Warner Bros. Discovery (its share price is down 50% from last year).

Theres a lot of head-scratching going on at these media corporations, trying to figure out how to get out of the hole they dug themselves in, Tom Fontana, the TV writer and creator of HBOs Oz, told the Washington Post last week. Part of the way they want to get out of the hole is to make us pay for it.

They made mistakes, and they want us to pay for them.

What would Irving Berlin make of all of this? Hollywood was no less dastardly a place when he wrote the lyrics for Theres No Business Like Show Business almost 80 years ago. But lets go on with the show takes on a different sort of resonance when media CEOs seem willing to do just the opposite.

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Nina Metz is a Tribune critic.

nmetz@chicagotribune.com
Carnival Cruise Line is returning to Mobile after a year-long absence  this time with a longer commitment.

According to WALA in Mobile, Mobiles City Council will vote next week on a 5-year contract for a new berthing agreement in which Carnival would pay the city $8 per passenger with a 3 percent increase every year. The contract also could be extended by two additional years by mutual agreement.

Carnival Cruise Line had already announced in May that it would be returning to the Mobile port with the Carnival Spirit, a much larger cruise ship, to replace Carnival Ecstasy, which was relocated from the Mobile port last October.

When Carnival Spirit arrives for her first season this year and then returns for the cruises were announcing for next year, she wont just be bringing a newer and larger ship experience to the port, shell deliver more opportunities to visit beautiful destinations compared to our past operations there, Fred Stein, Carnivals vice president of revenue planning and deployment, said in a press release in May.

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Carnival Cruise Line has previously offered cruises out of the Mobile port since 2001, but a new 5-year contract would be one of its longest continual stretches of cruise offerings.

Carnival left Mobile in 2011 and did not return until 2016, despite high demand for cruises, citing fuel costs and the inability to raise prices. Carnival then paused its offerings in 2020 due to the pandemic and again last year as the Ecstasy left.

In the past, Carnival cruises out of Mobile followed four and five-day itineraries, mostly to three locales. The Spirit will be able to embark on longer journeys of up to 12 days and visit more destinations, but it will only operate from October through March.

The Mississippi Coast could see some benefit from these new Carnival Cruises as Mississippians will once again have the opportunity to take cruises out of both New Orleans and Mobile.

Cruises out of Mobile provide opportunity for our friends and neighbors to have a close-by vacation experience and for tourists to have a pre- or post-visit to the Coast, said Coastal Mississippi Chief Executive Officer Judy Young. Theres multiple positive impacts including an increase in jobs and higher quality of life.

According to Young, 2023 has been a good year for cruises, as they are finally rebounding from the pandemic. She said the Port of New Orleans has seen 155,000 passengers and 39 vessel calls as of March.

Cruise offerings on the Carnival Spirit from Mobile are on sale now and will operate in the fall 2024 and spring 2025. Here are examples of some of the cruises available:

Eight-Day Exotic Western Caribbean Cruise departs Mobile on Oct. 26, 2024, and visits Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan; Belize; Costa Maya and Cozumel, Mexico.

Eight-Day Bahamas Cruise departs Mobile on Nov. 9 and Nov. 23, 2024, and visits Key West, Fla.; Freeport, Nassau and Half Moon Cay, Bahamas.

Eight-Day Western Caribbean cruise departs Mobile on March 15, 2025, and visits Grand Cayman, Cayman Island; Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Cozumel, Mexico.

Six-Day Western Caribbean Cruise departs Mobile on several dates, including Nov. 11, 2024, Nov. 17, 2024, Dec. 1, 2024, Dec. 15, 2024 and Dec. 29, 2024, as well as Jan. 12, 2025, March 23, 2025 and April 20, 2025, and visits Belize and Cozumel, Mexico.

Six-Day Western Caribbean Cruise departs Mobile on April 6, 2025, and visits Cozumel, Mexico and Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan.

Five-Day Western Caribbean Cruise departs Mobile March 10, 2025, and visits Yucatan (Progreso), and Cozumel, Mexico.

12-Day Carnival Journeys Cruise departs Mobile Jan. 18, 2025, and visits several spectacular Caribbean destinations, including Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos; Aruba; Curacao; Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
Drivers in London will now face financial penalties if their cars don't meet emissions standards. While the proposal isn't without merit, it's unlikely to make a difference even as it penalizes motorists.

In April 2019, the British capital instituted an Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in central London. The rule required all vehicles to meet certain emissions standards. Certain vehicles, including taxis or certain historic vehicles, were exempt; for most noncompliant vehicles, drivers would face a fine of 12.50 pounds ($15.56 USD) per day. The rule is enforced by cameras that capture license plates.

Mayor Sadiq Khan's office touted the rule as "the world's toughest vehicle emissions standard." Khan referred to the city's air quality as an "invisible killer" that is "one of the biggest national health emergencies of our generation." At the time, Silviya Barrett, research manager at the Centre for London think tank, told the BBC, "The ULEZ is really needed especially to help poorer Londoners who live in urban areas with high pollution," though its effect was "limited at the moment due to its small area." It was later expanded in 2021 to cover about one-fourth of the city.

Transport for London (TfL), the city's transportation authority, expanded the ULEZ to the entire city on August 29, 2023. All noncompliant vehicles traveling within the cityincluding those not registered in the U.K.will now have to pay the daily fine. Notably, the city already assesses a 15-pound ($18.69 USD) daily Congestion Charge to all motorists who drive in central London during peak hours.

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The city is bullish on the proposal: In 2020, Khan's office released a report showing that at the end of the ULEZ's first 10 months, measured concentrations of nitrogen dioxide were 44 percent lower than was projected without the ULEZ, with an average compliance rate of 79 percent.

In February 2023, the office released another report, showing the results since the ULEZ expanded to cover 44 percent of the city's population. It estimated that nitrogen dioxide levels were 46 percent lower in central London, and 21 percent lower in the other covered areas, than if the ULEZ had never been implemented.

But not everyone agrees. A 2021 study by the Centre for Transport Studies at the Imperial College of London found that the reduction in nitrogen dioxide was considerably smaller, perhaps less than 3 percent. "As other cities consider implementing similar schemes," its authors concluded, "this study implies that the ULEZ on its own is not an effective strategy in the sense that the marginal causal effects were small."

In a 2022 impact assessment, the mayor's office claimed that expanding the ULEZ citywide would result in an annual savings of 214 "life years." But Channel 4, the state-owned but privately funded network, noted that spread out across London's population of 8.8 million, 214 life years means that the ULEZ adds about 13 minutes to each Londoner's life per year.

And the proposal is not universally popular with the citizenry, either: Last week, Sky News reported that Londoners had stolen or damaged ULEZ cameras more than 500 times in the last few months. In the days immediately after ULEZ went citywide, activists smashed cameras, clipped their power cables, and spray-painted the lenses.

The Imperial College study did note that while air quality did improve overall since the ULEZ was introduced, "the ULEZ is one of many policies implemented to tackle air pollution in London.Thus, reducing air pollution requires a multi-faceted set of policies that aim to reduce emissions across sectors with coordination among local, regional and national government."

Mitigating emissions that cause climate change is a noble and essential goal. Ironically, the ULEZ is one of the less intrusive solutions: Earlier this year, the European Parliament banned the sale of vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2035. The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that two-thirds of all cars sold in the U.S. by 2032 should be electric.

A more effective and less proscriptive solution would be a more narrowly tailored system where users pay in direct proportion to their output. In a 2013 Cato Institute report, Bob Litterman wrote, "Relying on prices to allocate scarce resources is vastly superior to the commandandcontrol approaches of current policies, which rely on public subsidies and mandates to use particular alternatives to fossil fuels."

The post Cars That Don't Meet London's Emissions Standards Now Subject to Daily Fines appeared first on Reason.com.
My rural community in Rockingham County is being threatened with the possibility of a large casino. I have yet to speak to anyone in the county who is in favor of this besides the politicians.

Its part of a plan by Republican leaders in North Carolina to open up four casinos across the state  in Rockingham, Anson and Nash counties and one run by the Lumbee Tribe.

Elisabeth Corona

Much to my dismay in Rockingham County, our county commissioners, who all campaigned on conservative values, are all for having a casino in our county. Theyre not listening to the voices of the people at all. In July, our planning board voted 5-2 against rezoning land for the casino. Weeks later, our county commissioners ignored them and voted unanimously for it.

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North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger, a powerful politician who represents our county, favors it too. So does Reece Pyrtle Jr., our state representative. Theyre not listening to we the people.

There are numerous reasons why allowing a casino is a bad choice for any county in North Carolina.

Unfortunately, studies have shown that casinos attract crime, which after a few years can devastate the community for several miles around. Drug and alcohol abuse rises, prostitution is readily available, break-ins can become more frequent, and drunk driving accidents increase.

Gambling in and of itself is addicting. It is now officially recognized as an addiction by the American Psychological Association. It has the highest rate of suicide among any addictive disorder.

When someone becomes addicted to gambling, it affects their whole family. Their free time is now spent at the casino. Their money is now spent on the false hope that maybe today will be the day that it all pays off.Yet, studies show that casino gamblers lose almost 90% of the time. They get deeper in their financial hole and it often tears their families apart. This has long lasting effects on them and future generations who reap the painful consequences of the gamblers addiction.

We must prevent this cycle from getting a foothold in our communities and our state.

REVISED for accuracy and provided source: Our politicians say having casinos in our state will increase our tax revenue. According to a national report by the Rockefeller Institute of Government gambling operations may generate short-run increases in public revenues, but those slow and decline making the long-term revenue uncertain.

Businesses in our state are already struggling to find enough workers. If a casino opens, it could entice workers from other small businesses, forcing them to close  and the county and state would lose that tax revenue. And residents disposable income will be spent at the casino instead of at local restaurants and other businesses.

I received a list of myths about casinos recently from Stop Predatory Gambling. It said two-thirds of citizens who never gamble foot the bill for the inevitable budget deficits produced by casinos.

The casino companies say that they will hire 1,750 people in our area with an average salary of $50,000 per year. That is very deceptive. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for gambling services workers in May 2022 was $31,290, which means half the workers earned less than that. The lowest 10% earned less than $20,710. According to BLS statistics, gaming dealers are among the 50 lowest paying jobs in the U.S., with a median hourly wage of just under $10 an hour. The few higher paying jobs will likely go to experienced casino workers brought in from out of state.

I owe it to my children and grandchildren to fight this push for casinos in North Carolina until it is exposed for what it is. I urge N.C. residents to contact their state representatives and senators. Tell them to vote NO to casinos in North Carolina.

Elisabeth Corona lives in Stokesdale in Rockingham County and has been speaking out on behalf of plans to locate a casino there.
Archive folders line the shelves at the Documentation and Archive Foundation of the Vicariate of Solidarity, in Santiago, Chile, Tuesday, July 25, 2023. The shelves preserve thousands of instances of human rights violations during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP)  Lined up like soldiers guarding a nations treasures, dozens of shelves preserve an archive that gives account of a painful episode in Chiles history: 47,000 instances of human rights violations during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet .

The documents were gathered between 1976 and 1992 by workers of the Vicariate of Solidarity, a human rights organization founded by Chilean Cardinal Raul Silva Henriquez. Led by social workers, lawyers, archivists and physicians, it provided support to those harmed by the regime.

The archive gives an account of how the repression occurred, said Maria Paz Vergara, executive secretary at the foundation created to preserve the documents after the Vicariate was closed.

The protection that Silva Henriquez provided for Pinochet's victims had no precedent in Latin America. In neighboring Argentina, where the military also took power in the 1970s, the Catholic Church distanced itself from the general public and remained close to the government and upper-class sectors.

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In Chile the response to help the victims was immediate, said Chilean historian Maria Soledad del Villar. And not only from the Catholic Church, but from other churches as well.

Soon after a military coup deposed President Salvador Allende on September 11, 1973, Silva Henriquez led efforts to create the Committee of Cooperation for Peace. As part of the inter-religious group, Christians, Jews and other faith leaders provided spiritual, judicial and financial support for victims until it was dissolved due to government pressure in 1975.

Immediately after, Silva Henriquez established the Vicariate of Solidarity in the Archdiocese of Santiago.

This was a great move because, as an institution of the Catholic Church, Pinochet did not have the power to close it down, Del Villar said.

During 16 years of service, the social workers and lawyers of the Vicariate comforted mothers whose children did not come home from a protest. They gathered files to back the claims of daughters whose parents disappeared after leaving work. They searched for economic resources to travel to prisons far from Santiago and asked for news about loved ones who were unfairly detained.

All of this while being cautious for their own safety. Many were harassed by telephone calls or followed in the middle of the day. A few were killed.

This job gave meaning to my life, said Maria Luisa Sepulveda, who was a Vicariate social worker. The organization closed in 1992, two years after Chile regained its democracy. Since then, Sepulveda has extensively advocated for human rights and worked to solve cases of political imprisonment and torture under the former regime.

People first heard about the Vicariate through their local parishes. When victims approached a priest saying that a relative was taken away, he advised: Head to the archdiocese and they will help you.

Once there, the first contact was a social worker like Sepulveda. She took notes and assessed the situation. If someones life was threatened by the military, she would try to find a safe place or a visa to get the person out of the country. If the victim was in custody, she would pass information on to a lawyer who would prepare court proceedings.

On certain days, her job involved heading to the morgue. She saw corpses whose faces and fingertips were ripped off to avoid identification; pregnant women whose abdomens were severed.

The worst, Sepulveda said, was the uncertainty among the families. People were totally disoriented by the unprecedented situations, she said.

By being backed up by the cardinal, the Vicariate of Solidarity was able to support victims all over the territory. The religious metaphor that fueled its work is the story of the Good Samaritan, said historian Del Villar.

According to the biblical story, a man finds an injured person, and instead of passing by, he stops and heals his wounds. Under this principle, the Vicariate assisted all those in need  regardless of their faith  and organized activities, such as ollas communes (soup kitchens), labor exchanges and fasts to denounce disappearances.

Nowadays Chile has one of the largest number of religious disaffiliations on the continent and the Catholic Church never recovered from allegations of clergy sex abuse that erupted in 2010. During the dictatorship, though, it was a well-respected institution. Pinochet attended Mass every Sunday and said the Our Lady of Mount Carmel saved him from a murder attempt in 1986.

The church was trying to help Chileans reconcile because the horrors we saw were tremendous, said Guillermo Hormazabal, a journalist who served as communications director for the Vicariate and later managed a church-owned radio station.

Although the investigative police kidnapped him in 1980, he was released within 24 hours thanks to media pressure exerted by the radio station where he worked.

The church was the only counterweight to the dictatorship, he said. It was a church that was not in the sacristy, but with the people.

Until democracy returned to Chile in 1990, the churchs social work was a headache for the government. In 1989, a military prosecutor knocked on the door of the Vicariate and demanded that Bishop Segio Valech hand over their files. The bishop refused.

When the Vicariate closed, the fate of the disappeared was unknown, said Vergara, the executive secretary of the archive. Seeing the importance of historical memory and educating on human rights, the cardinal thought that all documentation would be essential for actions of justice and reparation.

He was right. Thanks to the archives and the work of the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, many cases were reopened. Survivors and relatives of victims still request documents allowing them to ask for reparations, such as pensions and priority medical care.

There are also victims who come to remember what happened, Vergara said. Others seek to share their story with their children.

She recalls a man whose father was arrested in 1973. The son had never met his father, but years later he got to see photos of him thanks to the archives. Looking at his fathers likeness for the first time, the son and his wife  now adults with a boy of their own  were struck by how much their son resembled his grandfather.

The archive has a legal fund compiling more than 85,000 documents, including judicial files and affidavits on deaths, kidnappings or torture, as well as photographs, press clippings and films on human rights.

The government was saying, This person has not been arrested. And even went so far as to say that some had no legal existence, Vergara said. The committee kept documents that made it impossible to deny the facts.

According to Sepulveda, almost 70% of the victims were registered during the first three months of the dictatorship. Thats key to understanding why our society was hit so hard, she said.

Pinochet died in 2006 without being convicted of any crimes. The foundation continues to seek justice by keeping the archive safe and promoting the legacy of the Vicariate.

In addition, many have never wanted to recognize the seriousness of the coup or the violations of human rights, Sepulveda said. They say, Lets forget.

For thousands like her, its impossible. I would have liked these 50 years to have been different, that society would have understood the need to have a real commitment to human rights and democracy, that the coup would have been rejected by the majority of society.



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.
An Orange County firefighter is recovering after he suffered second and third-degree burns on the job.

Only Channel 9 spoke with Lieutenant Kelvin Vargas at his home as he continues to get better.

Orange County Fire Rescue said Vargas was part of the team responding to the fire at the Center Arena church on Aug. 22.

Luckily, no one was killed in the fire, but Vargas was separated from his crew and trapped inside after the churchs roof collapsed.

It was the scariest thing thats ever happened to me, Vargas said. Im thinking about the people I would leave behind, like my son.

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Read: Orange County firefighter trapped by collapsing roof as church destroyed by massive blaze

Vargas was rescued but spent 11 days in the hospital recovering before he was allowed back home.

I didnt feel my legs being burned, but I definitely felt the wrists-- It was the hottest Ive ever been and the most intense pain that Ive ever felt, said Vargas.

Vargas said other firefighters have been a significant support in the weeks since. Theyve brought him meals, offered to cut his grass, and even set up this GoFundMe page.

Read: Hurricane Lee intensifies from Category 2 to Category 4 storm; Tropical Storm Margot forms

Vargas will be readmitted to ORMC later this week, where hell undergo additional treatment for his burns.

He is on workers compensation and says its likely a long recovery road ahead. But hes eager to be back on the job.

I love what I do-- and yeah, I just cant wait to get back, said Vargas.

Read: Hoos there? Winter Park firefighters rescue owl stuck in roof rack









Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity (COHFH) held a dedication celebration in northwest Oklahoma City on Thursday afternoon for a house built primarily by woman volunteers as part of the organizations annual Woman Build event.

The new homeowner, Blair R., was handed the keys to the house by COHFH Chair/CEO Ann Felton Gilliland during the dedication. She works as a research products coordinator at the Oklahoma Blood Institute, where she ships blood products around the world.

Straight up, I could not have done this without Central Oklahoma Habitat, Blaire said. There was just no way. I made some bad decisions early on with credit cards and I didnt have the money for a down payment or closing costs.

Blair also encourages other potential homeowners to apply with Habitat for Humanity.

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I encourage people to do what I did, Blair said. Honestly, I didnt think I would qualify, and here I am moving into my new home! All you can do is try.

It was just a little feller: Moore PD catches opossum inside womans home

Thursdays home dedication celebration marks the 1,084th home built for limited-income families and individuals since 1990.

With the help of volunteers, donors and staff, COHFH helps qualifying families and individuals buy new homes without paying closing costs or a down payment. To see if you qualify, visit https://cohfh.org/get-qualified/.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Last fall, a TV series premiered about a man in New York City whose wife has disappeared without a trace. He searches for her in vain, both longing for his lost love and furious with her for her transgression against him and their children. As he embarks upon this quest, the very cityscape of Manhattan turns itself upside down, a repeated cinematographic trick meant to visually emphasize the degree to which this mans reality has been unsettled by loss. As viewers, we are so close to his perspective that his anger and his grief are palpable; they are the ground upon which we walk.

But then, theres a twist! In the penultimate episode, we see the shows events from the point of view of the lost wife. In place of this mans story of abandonment and betrayal, we see a womans story of pain disbelieved, of subjectivity unrecognized, of trauma ignored. The man, it turns out, was the source and amplifier of this womans anguish rather than the hero seeking to save her from it. The twist comes late enough that we end up spending much more time with that guy anyway, but still: The story you thought you were watching was not the story you were actually watching all along.

The show Im talking about, of course, is FXs Fleishman Is in Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akners 2022 comedy of manners about wealthy New Yorkers in crisis, but nearly every description Ive offereddown to the topsy-turvy camera gimmickmight also apply to Apple TV+s new horror-drama The Changeling. The show is an ambitious, and relatively faithful, adaptation by veteran screenwriter Kelly Marcel of Victor LaValles acclaimed 2017 novel of the same name, and its characterized by the novels signature melting pot of cultural, historical, and mythical references. Nominally the story of a couple going through the turmoil of new parenthood, its also, explicitly, a fairy tale, replete with witches and mole people and fairies.

Like Fleishman, the show is centrally concerned with modern parenthood, but The Changeling intermingles the mundanities of child-rearing with the marvelousness of folklore. So, alongside contemporary tales like the heros journey of the good dad and the almost supernatural, enforced invisibility of womens pain, we have Scandinavian mythology, urban legend, and even social media typologies. North Brother Island in the East River becomes a locus of sorcery and enchantment; the nurseries and playgrounds of infanthood attain the same level of magic and dread by association.

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But, also like Fleishman, The Changeling tells the story of a womans pain by way of her husband. In Fleishman, the real story was always that of a woman erased, not a woman missing. We are meant to be chastened as viewers when we realize how credulously we had believed the mans version of events. The Changelings tale of a womans pain is less hidden from us than it is smothered by a television series too busy, too pleased with its own bravado, to give it the time and attention it deserves. Why are we spending so much time inside the Trojan horse?

The Changeling begins in 1968 with the meet-not-so-cute of white parole officer Brian West (Jared Abrahamson) and recent Ugandan immigrant Lillian Kagwa (played by Alexis Louder in flashback and Adina Porter in the present). Brian asks Lillian out on a date, and she refuses him, but he persists, asking and asking until she finally relents nearly 10 years later. They marry and have a son named Apollo. Thirtysomething years later, Apollo (played by a number of actors at different ages but finally LaKeith Stanfield in the present) has his own chance encounter with the lovely, hard-to-get Emma (Clark Backo). Their early relationship uncannily echoes that of Apollos own parents: Emma, like Lillian, agrees to her suitors overtures only after multiple rejections; on the first date, Apollo, like Brian, very bluntly declares that his main goal in life is to have children and be a good father; both couples appear to fall instantly in love. You may find these gestures a bit aggressive, though its sometimes unclear whether the show finds them romantic, threatening, or some mixture of both.

The wrinkles in these parallel stories are the source of the shows main mysteries. In the earlier timeline, the main puzzle is Brians abandonment of Lillian and Apollo, as well as the later arrival of a box of his belongings labeled IMPROBABILIA, which contains, among other things, an eerie childrens book about fairies who like eating babies. The wrinkles in the present timeline both focus on Emma. In between her first date with Apollo and their eventual marriage, Emma goes on a months-long journey to Brazil. There, against the advice of locals, she visits a witch who ties a red string around her wrist and grants her three wishes. Upon her return, Emma relays this story to Apollo, who utters his catchphraseI am the god Apolloand cuts the string from her wrist. With me, all three of your wishes will come true, he tells her. Again, it sounds like a threat.

The two soon marry, and Emma announces shes pregnant. In a harrowing and surprisingly funny set piece, Emma gives birth in a subway cara crew of subway dancers provide moral and logistical supportbut life after baby is no fairy tale, or at least not a Disney one. After her brief parental leave, Emma begins to exhibit symptoms of postpartum depression, anxiety, and even psychosis. She also begins to receive strange text messages with pictures of her baby that appear to have been taken from a distance, and which disappear from her phone before she can show them to anybody. During this time, Emma comes to believe that her son has been replaced by unseen forces, and that the baby she and Apollo now care for is a changeling.

Clark Backo is very simply an electrifying actor. When The Changeling is able to pull off its magical realist gambit, it is almost always because of Backos versatile performance. Emma visits a priest and schedules a baptism in the last-ditch hope that maybe the Holy Spirit can intercede in whatevers going on in her life. We see her pitch the idea to Apolloa god, but also an atheistand later we see her meet the priest in flashback. In both scenes, we watch Backo alternate between the scary certainty of a mind possessed and the unnerving chaos of a mind ill-at-ease. These interpretations flit visibly past each other on Backos faceboth conveying the reality of a woman in the midst of a real-life horror story and making us question what is true.

But The Changeling is not a show about Emma; its a show about her disappearance. And so, after she commits a horrifically violent act (off-screen, thank goodness) and subsequently vanishes, the show follows Apollo on his search for her. He finds a rare book, meets and joins forces with a troll, and he discovers a colony of feminist witches in the East River. Amid these incredibly confusing events, he shows an extraordinary lack of curiosity, rarely asking his captors and interlocutors the questions heand we as viewersneed answered in order to move forward. His egotism and myopia further blur our view of the larger puzzle. He exudes an unshakable confidence in his own righteousness, whether he is flashing back to Emma telling him what a good father he will be or winning over the witches with his dadly energy. Youre a good man, one of them tells him, for seemingly no reason at all other than that he showed up.

On its own, this might be a keen insight about contemporary parenting, that women have to work three times as hard to be seen as competent parents, while men are greeted as feminist heroes for solo outings with their infant children. But the show doesnt exactly go in that direction: While The Changeling spends a good amount of time on the various betrayals and complex ethical negotiations that define good motherhood, Apollos status as a good father is relatively unquestioned. The Changeling wants toand frequently doesuse Emma to tell a knotty, empathetic story about the violence and longing inherent in motherhood. Apollo, meanwhile, declares his intention to be a good father in the pilot, and the show simply grants his wish.

In a great 2018 essay, the critic Lili Loofbourow describes a media environment well aware of the grip the male gaze once had on Hollywood. Filmmakers and showrunners might want to avoid the lurid objectification of women, but they have replaced that gaze with what she calls the male glance. Instead of being leered at, women are simply ignored, not attended to at all. Rather than linger lovingly on the parts it wants most to penetrate, Loofbourow writes, the male glance looks, assumes, and moves on. It is a means of dismissing womens stories as not worth the trouble, forgetting to zoom in, as Loofbourow elsewhere writes. Rather than settling into voyeurism, we dont watch at all.

Sometimes, then, narratives about womens painchildbirth, routine medical procedures performed without anesthesia, the disbelief and dismissal that greets women suffering from postpartum depression, anxiety, or psychosiscome to us initially through the stories of their husbands or partners. Granted this cultural power of magnetism and capaciousness, a canny writer might wonder if that male magnetism was enough to draw viewers into womens stories they might not otherwise encounter; what if that capaciousness were enough to hold them? So, up rolls the Trojan horse.

To The Changelings credit, it does not simply sign over Emmas story to Apollo. We certainly view her own experience earlier and more often than Fleishman allows. But its not only Apollo working to avert our eyes from Emma: Her horror story frequently gets lost beneath the spectacle of all this revisionist mythmaking. Though sometimes we encounter a thrilling admixture of myth and reality, each episode calls upon so many different touchstones with such frenetic frequency that it cant possibly do them all justice. One episode hopscotches between the 1968 New York City garbage strike, a shadow play of the Ugandan genocide, and a mournful fantasy about the early AIDS crisisall as background for the story of one marriages dissolution. The show simply doesnt have enough time to do more than transform these events into metaphors at best or background scenery at worst. As visually striking as it is, its hard to feel that the scene in which two Lena Horne impersonators sing the entirety of Stormy Weather to a naked man dying of AIDS is an earned moment, considering that the AIDS crisis has no overt bearing on the rest of the plot, and the man himself is a figment of another characters imagination.

In a version of this series that accomplished all its trying to do, every one of these fantastical diversions and gritty realities would play into one another, each reinforcing some unexpected other element of the story, producing a sense of organic connection, of historical and spiritual transcendence. As one character explains, the new fears are the old fears, and the old fears are ancient. More often, though, the show feels distracted by all of its elements. Their resonances come off as strained or thin rather than revelatory, their invocations neither infectiously playful nor movingly serious.

Both for its promise and its missteps, then, The Changeling can be a frustrating show to watch. The witch whom Emma eventually meets in the middle of the East River promises her, and all the other women she finds there, a place where they will be believed. The show believes Emma, too; it just wont stay with her, for reasons both fantastical and familiar.
Wildlife cameras often pick up unexpected things in the wilderness, but a body was discovered as one person checked their cameras in northeast Georgia, police say.

It happened around 1 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 4, on a dead-end road in Lavonia, according to a police department news release. Lavonia is about 95 miles northeast of Atlanta near the South Carolina state line.

A citizen checking wildlife cameras discovered a deceased person in the area of David Ave., near I-85, Lavonia police officials said.

The citizen immediately called 911. At this time the deceased person has not been identified, nor has a cause or manner of death been determined.

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A autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death, officials said.

The area where the body was found is just east of Interstate 85, in a rural area that has a mix of mobile homes and large stands of forest growth, maps show.

Wildlife cameras, also known as trail cams, are a popular tool used by hunters and nature enthusiasts to track and record activity in wilderness areas.

Investigators did not report whether the cameras recorded footage of the person found in the area.

Woman orders lunch, mistakenly gets handed bag of cash at drive-thru, Georgia cops say

Deputy chief of police from Georgia jailed in Florida prostitution sting, sheriff says

Missing 14-year-old girl was lured to mans Georgia home via dating app, reports say
Charlotte, a Venezuelan immigrant, stands in silhouette holding a baby doll as her family and others take shelter in the Chicago Police Department's 16th District station on Monday, May 1, 2023. Chicago has seen the number of new arrivals grow tenfold in recent days. Shelter space is scarce and migrants awaiting a bed are sleeping on floors in police stations and airports. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

CHICAGO (AP)  Nearly 1,600 migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. will be relocated from Chicago police stations to winterized camps with massive tents under a plan by Mayor Brandon Johnson , according to a report released Thursday.

The relocations will occur before the weather begins to shift and change, Johnson said in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times.

The tents could hold up to 1,000 migrants, he said, and the camps would provide meals and recreational and educational programming.

Sixteen city shelters now house 13,500 migrants, with more arriving every day, at a cost to the city of about $30 million per month the newspaper reported.

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Johnson's administration is working with the state and Cook County to create more shelters to relieve some of the pressure on Chicago, he said.

These families are coming to the city of Chicago. . . . If we do not create an infrastructure where were able to support and, quite frankly, contain these individuals who have experienced a great deal of harm, individuals who are desperate . . . that type of desperation will lead to chaos, Johnson said.

Earlier this week, several migrants were arrested in separate incidents on suspicion of threatening or battering officers at a police station.
No need to skip the fries during your next Chick-fil-A order  next week theyll be free.

Chick-fil-A will give free waffle potato fries between Sept. 11 through Sept. 16 at participating Dallas-Fort Worth area locations.

A free small or medium order of waffle potato fries will be offered through the Chick-fil-A mobile app.

The promotion, which is meant to show appreciation for loyal Chick-fil-A customers, is valid while supplies last.

Guests can claim the offer by opening the app and redeeming the reward at a Dallas-Fort Worth area location. Free fries are limited to one per person and per Chick-fil-A One account, which is made through the app.

We are excited to thank our guests for their continued support with this free side, Joshua Calva, local restaurant operator of Chick-fil-A Elm St. In-Line, said in a statement. We hope our community swings by a restaurant near them to enjoy this snack on us.
Families load onto a bus outside of the Office of Emergency Management migrant center in El Paso, Texas, on Oct. 7, 2022. This center serves for the staging area for migrants before leaving El Paso on free buses bound for Chicago, Miami, and New York City. (Ivan Pierre Aguirre/The New York Times)

When a bus packed with migrants pulled into downtown Los Angeles in mid-June, it caused a local stir: In a city with one of the countrys largest immigrant populations, this was the first busload to arrive courtesy of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

This week, the 12th such bus arrived in Los Angeles, part of the Texas governors determination to share the responsibility of caring for newly arrived migrants with Democratic politicians who have supported a more welcoming national immigration policy.

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Both the Texas governor and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida have offered migrants free rides from border towns to New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and several other cities since last year. The arrivals have overwhelmed the resources of some cities, straining shelters and aid resources.

It is abhorrent that an American elected official is using human beings as pawns in his cheap political games, Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles said of the busing program in June.

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But the reality is that the number of migrants offered free passage from Texas over the past year is a fraction of those who regularly make their way from the southern border to cities around the country  to places where there are jobs, family connections and networks of other immigrants from their homelands. And it has been that way for years.

Of the roughly 11 million immigrants now living without legal permission in all 50 states, according to demographers estimates, most began their new lives with a trip from a border city or airport  usually paid for by a relative, an aid group or their own savings, not the Texas governor.

What was Abbotts plan?

Intent on highlighting the large number of people crossing the border in recent years, which he blames on the Biden administrations immigration policies, Abbott devised a plan to approach migrants after they had been processed by the border authorities and offer them free rides on chartered buses.

Im going to take the border to President Biden, he said at a news conference after introducing his plan in April 2022.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during a campaign event ahead of the 2022 Midterm Elections in San Antonio, Texas, on Oct. 24, 2022. The Texas governor has been offering migrants free rides from border towns to New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and several other cities since last year, and the arrivals have overwhelmed the resources of some of them. (Christopher Lee/The New York Times)

Many migrants have been grateful for the free transportation, because they often have little money left by the time they complete a monthslong trek to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Lever Alejos, a Venezuelan delivered to Washington, D.C., last July, said, I feel fortunate the governor put me on a bus to Washington. He has found work and started sending money and gifts to his young son back home. He recently bought a car.

Does everyone ride the buses?

No. In fact, the migrants boarding the Texas-funded buses represent only a fraction of the thousands arriving at the border each month, and some migrants are wary of accepting a free ride.

The Texas busing program has sent about 34,740 migrants to other states since April 2022, enough to populate a small city. But that is a paltry subset of the hundreds of thousands who have crossed the border during that period, most of whom have probably also made their way to destinations outside Texas.

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New York alone has received more than 100,000 migrants in the last year; only 13,100 were sent on buses provided by the state of Texas.

Whats more, many migrants are crossing the border every day in Arizona, California, New Mexico and even parts of Texas where no free bus service is available. After being released by the border authorities, they typically arrange travel on their own to their U.S. destinations.

Thousands of immigrants a year take Greyhound buses from Tucson, San Diego and San Antonio, and some of them take commercial flights, which they can board as long as they have identification. They pay for the transportation themselves, or relatives or friends already in the country buy tickets for them. In some cases, charity groups or volunteers offer money or mile vouchers for migrant travel.

Then why is there such a sudden strain on resources in some cities?

Migrants arriving on the free buses tend to be needier than others. That reflects a change in the composition of migrants who have been crossing the border over the past two years. A large share of those riding the Texas buses are Venezuelans fleeing economic hardship and political turmoil.

In contrast to Mexicans and Central Americans, who have been migrating to the United States for decades, Venezuelans are unlikely to have friends and family members to receive them because their wave of migration is a new phenomenon.

With no money and no family, Venezuelans have overwhelmed nonprofit organizations and volunteer groups since spring last year. Because they have no connections in the United States, Venezuelans are also more likely to want to travel to a big city, like New York, where they expect to find jobs and assistance.

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A group of migrants retrieve their belongings from a bus as they arrive at the Ramada Inn hotel in Albany, N.Y., on July 5, 2023. New York alone has received more than 100,000 migrants in the last year; only 13,100 were sent on a bus provided by the state of Texas. (Cindy Schultz/The New York Times)

Venezuelans comprise the majority of migrants staying in homeless shelters in New York. They continue to arrive, although numbers have dropped in recent months.

The large numbers of Haitians arriving recently have also proved taxing for some cities, because many of them also arrive with few resources of their own.

New York City and Massachusetts are especially strained by the influx of migrants because they have right-to-shelter laws requiring the provision of shelter to people who request it, although in Massachusetts, it applies only to families with children, and to pregnant women.

Why are some migrants remaining in homeless shelters for months?

Most migrants who cross the border are seeking asylum in the United States, but they are not eligible to apply for work permits until about six months after they have filed petitions requesting protection. The large number of applications has also created a backlog.

Without employment authorization, it is difficult to secure work. Some migrants find jobs in the informal economy or are paid cash to do blue-collar work. But even then, it takes time for them to save enough money to rent a place, and landlords often require proof of income and other documentation that they do not have.

What other assistance do the migrants receive?

Families can receive food, medical care and other assistance, depending on the state. Children, regardless of immigration status, are entitled to enroll in public schools everywhere.

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For New York alone, the cost of assisting the migrants is in the billions of dollars. The financial burden imposed by the newcomers has prompted leaders in New York, Illinois and Massachusetts to declare states of emergency, urging the federal government to provide resources.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Madison Morris left her room inside the Ronald McDonald House of Kansas City, and she walked down the hallway to ensure she could reserve a spot.

It was 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, still two hours before a mystery guest was scheduled to arrive.

Well, the guest was mostly a mystery. A morning email had provided some clues.

I called my Grandma and was like, Im about to meet a Chiefs player, Morris said.

Sure enough, just after 11:30, Chris Jones strolled into the building, taking a tour that included autographs, selfies, Big Macs and a happy birthday jingle.

After his last-minute Kansas City appearance, weve talked mostly about Jones ongoing holdout from the Chiefs, which he discussed in an unusual news conference before walking in the building. But I did want to highlight the ensuing the hour, even if thats part of the design of the trip.

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The Ronald McDonald House provides residence for the families of sick children while they receive care at locations nearby, commonly Childrens Mercy.

With a black apron twisted and tied around his waist, Jones handed out food to kids and their families, pausing for pictures along the way. One kid, 8-year-old Jaxon Kress, dressed the part  a Chiefs jersey, gloves, a gold chain with a gigantic Chiefs logo for a pendant. When Jaxon saw Jones, he rolled his hand around his ear, mimicking Jones attempt to louden a crowd.

Morris, who sat in the back, has been here for seven months, to the point that it feels like a second home. And lets be clear: No one would want to call this place home.

Joining her on the two-hour wait: a book, green and white across the cover, with a framed picture in the middle.

Its six-month Kingston, her son, who was born without a right hand or left foot. He is also missing part of his jaw, and his opposite hand is not fully developed, either.

He has spent his life as a patient in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

My miracle baby, Morris calls him.

Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones signed his autograph for Madison Morris on a picture book of her son, Kingston.

Twenty weeks into her pregnancy, Morris learned through a scan that the challenges of her motherhood would entail a few extra layers. A team of doctors at Childrens Mercy delivered Kingston with a rare procedure.

Truth be told, they didnt know if Kingston would survive birth. She had braced herself for that, but had a feeling he just might.

Theyre shocked at his progress now, improving every day, she frames it before reciting a couple of his favorite toys. He is on the verge of sitting up on his own.

Many of his physical limitations, though, will be permanent.

Im always sitting in the hospital, and Im constantly checking on him, so this is where I take time out and try to take my mind off it, said Morris, from Milan, Missouri.

In walked Jones.

While Milan is more than a two-hour drive northeast of Kansas City, her family, she says, is comprised of a collection of diehard, watch-every-game Chiefs fans. Shes one of them.

An email announced an unidentified guest in the morning, hinted it would be a Chiefs player, and she knew she needed something for him to autograph.

Jones excursion through the first floor of the house spanned nearly 45 minutes before he reached Morris. After a hug, she asked for a selfie and then an autograph.

The book.

Jones pulled out a black sharpie, then scripted his signature on the front.

Its been a long journey, Morris said. But today makes you smile.
Twelve-year-old Brent Sullivan was found dead two years ago from a fentanyl overdose in a shed on his grandmothers property in Carlsbad.

Both his mother Alexis Murray and grandmother Kellie Smith were subsequently charged with child abuse resulting in death as investigators believed they supplied the fatal drug to the child and neglected him through multiple overdoses before it proved deadly on Sept. 28, 2021.

In the two years since the boy was found dead, the trials for both Murray and Smith faced several delays and continuances, but the trial for Murray was scheduled to begin Monday while Smith was expected to go before a Jury Nov. 6.

More: Trial delayed for Alexis Murray, mother of Brent Sullivan who died of fentanyl overdose

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If convicted of the first-degree felonies in the jury trials, both women could face life in prison.

They were also charged with child abuse not resulting in death, a third-degree felony, for allegedly using and trafficking the drug in the home where Murrays then-18-month-old daughter was present.

The trial against Murray was likely to begin with jury selection on Monday morning in Fifth Judicial District Judge Lisa Rileys courtroom, with opening arguments later that day, and then proceed for the next four days to reach a verdict.

More: What to know as Brent Sullivan's mother faces trial for son's death from fentanyl overdose

Heres what to know about the case ahead of the trial.

Why was the case most recently delayed?

Murrays trial was initially scheduled for May 9 but was pushed back four months after the defense argued it had not received requested cellphone evidence from the prosecution.

The motion came after a 113-person jury pool was summoned, and amid the selection process.

Fifth Judicial District Attorney Dianna Luce said in May that her office informed the defense on Feb. 16 it would need to supply the prosecution a terabyte hard drive to comply with the request but did not hear back from defense attorneys until the day of the scheduled trial.

More: With fentanyl deaths rising, New Mexico lawmakers look for solutions to fight trafficking

That evidence included calls and text messages gathered by police from Smiths and Murrays phones, Luce said.

Riley granted the defenses motion for a continuance and rescheduled the trial for Monday.

Jury trials in the case were also scheduled, then postponed from July 1, 2022, Oct. 3 and Oct. 24, 2022, Jan. 3, 2023, and April 4, 2023.

More: Carlsbad grandmother charged with grandson's death back in jail after violating bond

Who is expected to testify at the trial?

Kelli Smith, Murrays mother also charged in the death of Sullivan, was listed on the prosecutions witness list along with the infant daughter, now age three, who police said was living at the home where fentanyl was used and sold by Murray and her mother.

John Rauch, who investigators believe was one of the last people to see Sullivan alive, was also listed to be called as a material witness.

Records show Rauch, who is facing unrelated charges in Weatherford, Texas and refusing extradition, allegedly found Sullivan unconscious the day he died, calling 911 and then running from the residence.

More: Brent Sullivan's death has been ruled an accident. It's unclear if that will affect his family's trials.

A warrant was issued for the Carlsbad Police Department to take Rauch into custody to ensure his attendance as a witness at Murrays trial.

Witnesses from the neighborhood where Sullivans body was found used by the Carlsbad Police Department in the investigation were also listed to be called by prosecutors as was Heather Jarrell and Daniel Gallego of the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) in Albuquerque as experts in anatomic and forensic pathology.

Carlsbad Police Detectives Joey Landgraf and Tim Nyce were listed as witnesses, along with several officers from the Carlsbad Police Department, Eddy County Sheriffs Office and the Tucumcari Police Department.

More: Court documents reveal details of Brent Sullivan's death as his mom and grandmother remain in jail

Eddy County Detention Center Warden Billy Massingill was listed as a witness, along with OMI field investigator Rick Wiedenmann.

In total, 35 witnesses were listed for the trial by the prosecution in its latest list submitted Aug. 29.

Heres what Alexis Murray is accused of, according to the arrest affidavit

On the day of his death Sullivan was first found unresponsive in a backyard shed at a home in the 2400 block of Western Way, and his grandmother and owner of the home Smith confessed at the scene that both she and Murray, Sullivans mother, had drug problems, court records show.

More: Alexis Smith to face jury trial in fentanyl overdose death of son following probable cause ruling

She told police Murray was using fentanyl, and that Sullivan was stealing the drug from her for months, read the affidavit, and that he had overdosed previously.

When Murray arrived at the scene, she at first denied that the fentanyl Sullivan used when he overdosed was hers, police said.

She later told police Sullivan overdosed three times before his death, and was administered Narcan, but medical treatment was never sought, the affidavit read.

More: Drug use among Carlsbad's youth: Here's what the data shows

Murray told investigators she sold fentanyl for her mother, Smith, and recently received about 300 pills but was unsure if those were the pills Sullivan took.

Smith admitted she was present for all of Sullivans overdoses but never took him to a medical facility for treatment, read the affidavit.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Trial starts Monday for mother of boy who died of fentanyl overdose
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Select Chilis locations nationwide will feature guest artwork outside their buildings as part of the Create-A-Pepper program, which benefits St. Jude.

During September, customers at participating Chilis can buy a Create-A-Pepper coloring sheet, with all proceeds going to the advancement of St. Judes treatment research.

Teen flying around the world to raise money for St. Jude

Guests can decorate the paper proudly and display it on Chilis walls. They might even have a chance for their artwork to replace the logo outside the restaurant.

This is the first time in 12 years the restaurant will change its logo.

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Building on the excitement of our $100M milestone reached in December, we are honored to kick off our 21st year of partnership with St. Jude and bring back Chilis Create-a-Pepper program to continue our brands commitment in supporting St. Jude and the incredible work they do, said Chilis Chief Marketing Officer, George Felix.

Chilis also partnered with streetwear designer Dan Gamache and Dallas Cowboys running back and former Memphis Tiger Tony Pollard to create a limited-edition pair of cleats.

The shoes feature St. Jude artwork and will be worn by Pollard during warm-ups on Sunday, September 10.

After two decades and $100 million raised, our great friends at Chilis have taken their incredible support of St. Jude to an even higher level, said Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital

The annual program started in 2002 when a Memphis area Chilis employee wanted a unique way to give back to his community.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
China's is expanding its influence in Central Asia, and pushing out Russia, an expert said.

Russian influence is waning despite formal alliances and the old ties of the Soviet Union.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine worsened relations with its near allies, boosting China's efforts.

Russian influence over its closest allies is waning as China and Turkey step up their efforts, supplanting a Russia distracted by its invasion of Ukraine.

Thomas Graham, cofounder of Yale University's Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies program, told Insider that in Central Asia and the South Caucasus "dynamics are changing."

It's there that the countries with the closest historical, cultural, and financial ties to Russia are located, including lands once dominated by Moscow as parts of the Soviet Union.

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It is also home to most members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO): Russian President Vladimir Putin 's equivalent of NATO.

The CSTO is made up of Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Cracks in their friendship have been exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, experts previously told Insider.

Russia's influence on them is also being weakened by more countries competing for their attention, Graham said. Meanwhile Russia is focused on its invasion of Ukraine, which is exposing both weaknesses in its military, and its capacity for brutality towards a neighbor.

"If you're sitting in Moscow you have to be concerned about growing Chinese influence."

China and Turkey have stepped in

"Chinese influence is growing in all the central Asian states, and that has to be of some concern to Moscow because to some extent it comes at Moscow's expense," Graham told Insider.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping attend a reception in Moscow REUTERS

He said China has been building its commercial links with Russia for years, noted how last year overtook Russia as Central Asia's main trading partner.

China has made its intentions clear too.

Graham pointed to Chinese President Xi Jinping choosing Kazakhstan in 2013 as the first place to announce his Belt and Road project  a sweeping geopolitical initiative to connect the world through transport and telecoms links built by China.

He noted that some of the transport links go through Central Asia but circumvent Russia, sweeping towards Europe through the likes of Iran and Turkey.

China was also constructing gas pipelines that don't rely on Russia, Graham said, threatening the fossil-fuel exports that are the core of the Russian economy.

Graham noted that China has continued financially supporting Russia and has not tried to isolate it diplomatically  suggesting it has no desire to anger or confront Russia.

But its efforts in the region undermine Russian dominance, and give China a relatively free run as Western countries are largely uninterested.

General Secretary of the CSTO Stanislav Zas, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon pose for a picture during the CSTO summit at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia in May 2022. Sputnik/Anton Novoderezhkin/Pool via REUTERS

"They try to ease Russia's concerns about this, but the facts are the facts: that Chinese influence is growing and it's not growing in Central Asia at America's expense, it's growing at Russia's expense," Graham said.

He said Turkey is doing the same thing, albeit on a smaller scale: "Turkish influence has grown in that part of the world. Again, at Russia's expense, it is building up its commercial ties with Central Asia."

China and Turkey's efforts "have negative consequences for Russia's global standing. At least that's the way they would think about this in the Kremlin," Graham said.

Russia's woes in Ukraine deepen the problem

Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, resulting in its political isolation from much of the rest of the world.

Its military  the bedrock of Russia's pre-eminence in the CSTO  has also been a source of embarrassment as it failed to overrun a smaller and weaker enemy.

This humbling spectacle weakened CSTO members' reliance on Russia, experts previously told Insider.

It has also given China and Turkey less opposition there, Graham said.

Destroyed buildings in the city of Bakhmut on February 27, 2023. AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images

One example is the disillusioned reaction of CSTO member Armenia, which Russia declined to support with troops in its long-running border dispute with Azerbaijan.

Graham said it was "not accidental" that Azerbaijan made the move when Russia was focused on Ukraine, sensing an opening.

He said that "Russia's operation in Ukraine is undermining, eroding its ability to maintain its influence across the former Soviet space."

And while these countries are still deeply reliant on Russia and unlikely to formally break any ties, things are changing.

"Counties of this region, given what's happening in Moscow, have incentives to look elsewhere," Graham said.

"You're seeing the slow erosion of Russian influence."

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Julie Zhu and Kevin Yao

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) -China has in recent weeks widened existing curbs on the use of iPhones by state employees, telling staff at some central government agencies to stop using their Apple mobiles at work, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Against a backdrop of tensions between Beijing and Washington, the extension of a ban imposed more than two years ago signals growing challenges for the U.S. company, which relies heavily on China for revenue growth and manufacturing.

Staff in at least three ministries and government bodies were told not to use iPhones at work, said the sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation.

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One of the sources said they had not yet been given a deadline to cease their iPhone use.

Apple shares were down over 3% in early trading on Thursday, after ending 3.6% lower in the previous session when China's move to ban the use of iPhones by certain officials was first reported.

Apple and China's State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the government, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

It was not immediately clear how widely the ban was being enforced, with a third source at one of the three ministries saying he was still using an iPhone and had not yet heard about the restriction.

A fourth source, at a Chinese regulatory body, said they had not been explicitly barred but were told they would be held responsible should any issues emerge with their use of iPhones.

A fifth source at another regulatory body said senior staff had two years ago already been required to swap their iPhones for locally made brands such as Huawei Technologies.

In 2020, state-owned Chinese financial publication Economic Observer reported that some government agencies had implemented rules to ban officials from using iPhones due to Apple's strict privacy rules that make it difficult for anti-corruption officials to access and investigate suspects' phones.

Apple's shares slipped on Wednesday and Thursday after the Wall Street Journal first reported the move, amid fears of tit-for-tat action as Sino-U.S. tension rise.

Bloomberg on Thursday reported that China planned to broaden the ban to state firms and agencies, citing sources.

STRONG SALES

Citi analysts noted that the news had also weighed on the shares of Apple suppliers and said the market may have "have overreacted to the news flow amidst weak confidence overall," citing how shares in suppliers of U.S. automaker Tesla tumbled but quickly recovered after reports of China restricting its cars from entering military complexes in 2021.

China is one of Apple's biggest markets and generates nearly a fifth of its revenue. Apple together with its suppliers employs thousands of workers in China and CEO Tim Cook stressed its long ties with the country during a March visit to Beijing.

Apple has been enjoying strong sales in China, ranking in third place in overall smartphone shipments in the second quarter according to consultancy Canalys, partly thanks to the hit to Huawei's mobile business from U.S. sanctions, which has left it the main premium smartphone maker in China.

"We believe the restrictions have the potential to slow Apple's sales growth in China," D.A. Davidson analyst Tom Forte said.

"This could provide an additional challenge for the company, as its revenues from China have already been negatively impacted by a challenging macroeconomic environment in that country."

China has increasingly emphasized using locally made tech products, as technology has become a major national security issue for Beijing and Washington.

Government agencies and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in both countries have been the first and most important areas to push forward such a campaign.

A major part of the campaign centred on requiring government departments and SOEs to replace foreign-made products in their IT systems with domestic alternatives.

The replacement effort accelerated this year in China after an order was issued to SOEs by the state asset regulator, which required they complete the replacement tasks by 2027 in critical IT infrastructure such as office software platforms.

Chinese rivals to Apple include Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.

Huawei last week unveiled its latest Mate 60 Pro smartphone that teardown firms say contains a domestically developed advanced chip and could bring it back to rivalling Apple.

(Reporting by Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai Newsrooms; Additional reporting by Yuvraj Malik and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Alexander Smith and Shounak Dasgupta)
BEIJING (Reuters) - China said on Thursday that 90 countries have confirmed attendance for its Belt and Road Initiative conference being held in October,

The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) will be held in Beijing in October, the foreign ministry has previously said, with 2023 marking the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Several foreign leaders are expected to attend, including Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Argentine President Alberto Fernandez, state media reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also has a scheduled visit to China in October when the country hosts the One Belt One Road forum, Putin's aide Yuri Ushakov said recently, according to Russia's state news agency TASS.

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"We have received an invitation and plan to go to China," Ushakov said, according to a report from the Global Times.

China's foreign ministry said the country has signed Belt and Road cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations, according to Xinhua.

"Over the past decade, Belt and Road cooperation has achieved fruitful outcomes," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin recently said at a press conference, adding that it has established more than 3,000 cooperation projects and galvanized nearly $1 trillion of investment, state media reported.

Critics see the ambitious Belt and Road initiative - billed as recreating the ancient Silk Road to boost global trade infrastructure - as a tool for President Xi Jinping's China to spread its geopolitical and economic influence.

Debate in the West over economic dependence on China has cast a shadow over longer-term trade and investment relations with Beijing. Italy, the sole Group of Seven nation in Belt and Road, said the decision by a previous government to join had been "atrocious".

(Reportin by Andrew Hayley; Writing by Bernard Orr; Editing by Alison Williams and Kim Coghill)
(Bloomberg) -- US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan denounced as irresponsible any bid to link action on climate change to access to semiconductors, saying that President Joe Bidens administration would reject such attempts.

Most Read from Bloomberg

I think the idea of holding climate hostage to a particular countrys priority on some totally separate issue is not the height of responsibility, Sullivan told reporters on the plane to India for the Group of 20 nations summit.

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We have a climate crisis and it should not be a source of leverage, he said. It should be a source of urgency for countries to actually come to the table and try and solve it.

Sullivan was responding to a Bloomberg News report that China had raised the issue of improved access to semiconductors in international discussions over progress on tackling climate change in the run-up to the G-20.

Chinese officials brought up the prospect of developed countries delivering more financing and technology  including chips  to aid efforts to combat global warming, according to people familiar with the summit preparations. All asked not to be named discussing negotiations that are ongoing and private.

Fraught talks

Ive said many times that the PRCs effort to link climate to Americas actions on other issues is not a game we are going to play, and thats true in the G-20 context as well, Sullivan said, referring to Chinas formal name, the Peoples Republic of China.

Chinas Foreign Ministry didnt respond to questions.

Negotiations on climate action are among the most fraught in the run-up to this weekends meeting in New Delhi, which Chinese President Xi Jinping has opted to skip amid tensions with both India and the US.

Xis administration has repeatedly condemned US moves to tighten export controls on leading-edge chip technology to China on national security grounds, saying it amounts to containment of the worlds second-largest economy. Chinas gambit in talks with G-20 counterparts, including the US and other chip powers such as Japan and South Korea, suggests that those restrictions are hurting.

Efforts to roll back restrictions on access to chips and chipmaking technology are highly unlikely to succeed, not least because revelations that Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co. produced a smartphone with an advanced processor at its core have prompted concern in Washington that the existing controls are not stringent enough. All the same, China may simply have raised the issue to highlight its complaints.

Chips are used in applications that are required to speed the energy transition, such as electric vehicles and wind turbines. In an April speech outlining US industrial policy and Washingtons competition with China, Sullivan warned that clean-energy supply chains are at risk of being weaponized, similarly to oil in the 1970s.

--With assistance from Philip Glamann.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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(Bloomberg) -- China plans to send its second high-profile delegation to North Korea in less than two months, just before an expected journey by Kim Jong Un to Russia that could touch on arms deals.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The group led by Politburo member Liu Guozhong will travel to North Korea for celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of the countrys founding on Saturday, Pyongyangs Korean Central News Agency said in a brief notice.

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing Thursday in Beijing that the visit reflects our profound friendship and the high importance we attach to bilateral ties.

The delegation from North Koreas biggest benefactor follows China sending a group including Li Hongzhong, also a member of the 24-member Politburo, to Pyongyang for the anniversary of the end of the Korean War in July. That visit included representatives from Russia and was the first to head to North Korea since Kim closed his borders at the start of the pandemic. It indicated Kim was ready to ease up on curbs aimed at limiting the spread of the coronavirus that hurt trade with his two powerful neighbors.

Read: Kim Jong Un Shows Nuclear Missiles to Russia, China at Parade

It is unclear exactly why Liu, who also holds the title of vice premier, is traveling to North Korea, though he works on health and agriculture issues. He has also held posts in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces, which are both near North Korea, and has sought deeper ties with Pyongyang. North Korea has battled chronic food shortages for decades.

The delegation could give Chinese President Xi Jinping a chance to communicate with Kim before the North Korean leader is expected to travel to Russia next week for a meeting in Vladivostok with President Vladimir Putin .

Russias ambassador to North Korea, Alexander Matsegora, promised significant participation from his country in the celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of North Korea, he told state news service Tass. Sanctions imposed on the two in no way affect Moscow-Pyongyang ties, he added.

See: North Koreas Kim to Visit Russia as US Warns of Arms Deal

White House officials have said they believe talks between Kim and Putin will focus on arms transfers from North Korea to help the Kremlins war machine in Ukraine. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned Pyongyang it would pay a price for providing weapons.

North Korea holds vast stores of munitions that can be fired from the Soviet-era weaponry that Russia relies upon for its war, now in its second year. The New York Times has reported Kim is looking for food aid from Russia and help building a nuclear-powered submarine and deploying spy satellites.

More: Why Putin and Kim Becoming Pals Is a Danger to World: QuickTake

--With assistance from Xiao Zibang, Se Young Lee, Sangmi Cha and Lucille Liu.

(Updates with remarks from Chinas Foreign Ministry.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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The Chinese hackers who breached senior US officials emails in May and June were able to do so by first stealing sensitive data from a Microsoft engineer, the company revealed Wednesday.

Multiple mishaps, including the crash of an internal Microsoft system in April 2021 and the hack of the engineer, gave the Chinese hackers coveted access to a cryptographic key that was later used to break into the US officials email accounts, the tech giant said in a blog post.

The statement sheds new light on a cyber-espionage campaign that has caused a furor in Washington. The hackers had breached the email accounts of US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, in advance of Raimondos trip to China.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who has been critical of the Chinese government, said he was also breached by the hackers..

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Chinese government officials have responded to the hacking allegations by accusing the US government of conducting cyberattacks against China.

Microsoft has been under scrutiny from US lawmakers and officials who have demanded more information on how the alleged Chinese hackers broke into the email accounts. The Department of Homeland Security-backed Cyber Safety Review Board  a panel of US government and private experts  is investigating the root causes of the breach.

Microsoft said Wednesday that it had corrected the technical issues that allowed the hackers to obtain the cryptographic key from its internal system.

Microsoft is continuously hardening systems as part of our defense in depth strategy, the company said.

The alleged Chinese hacking campaign came at a particularly delicate time in US-China relations, as Secretary of State Antony Blinken prepared to make a high-stakes trip to China in June. As CNN previously reported, the Biden administration believes the Chinese hacking gave Beijing insights about US thinking ahead of Blinkens trip.

Though the State Department confronted the Chinese government about the hack, a senior National Security Agency official, Rob Joyce, has described the activity as standard espionage.

Thats what nation-states do, Joyce said in July. We have to defend against it, we need to push back against it. But that is something that happens.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Unused rental cars are parked in an overflow lot at Kahului Airport in Kahului, Hawaii, on Aug, 14. 2023. (George F. Lee/AP)

KAHULUI, Hawaii  Richie Olsten has been in Mauis helicopter tour business for a half century, so long hes developed a barometer for the tourism-dependent economy: rental cars parked at the islands airport.

There are so many since wildfires killed 115 people in the historic town of Lahaina that Olsten is worried about a full-blown economic catastrophe. Restaurants and tour companies are laying off workers and unemployment is surging.

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State tourism officials, after initially urging travelers to stay away, are now asking them to come back, avoid the burn zone and help Maui recover by spending their money. Airlines have started offering steep discounts, while some resorts have slashed room rates by 20% or are offering a fifth night free.

I know what a terrible disaster that was. But now were in crisis mode, Olsten said. If we cant keep the people that have jobs employed, how are they going to help family members and friends that lost everything?

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The number of visitors arriving on Maui sank about 70% after the Aug. 8 fire, down to 2,000 a day.

Olstens Air Maui Helicopters now flies one or two flights a day, compared with 25 to 30 before the fires.

As Air Mauis director of operations, Olsten said his company has laid off seven of its 12 dispatchers. Pilots have been spared because they only get paid when they work. Typically, they fly eight times a day, four to five days a week. That has fallen to one day a week, and only one or two flights.

Many Maui hotels are housing federal aid workers and Lahaina residents who lost their homes. Even so, only half of available hotel rooms are occupied, said Mufi Hannemann, president of the Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association.

Even those in South Maui, 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Lahaina, are half empty. Hannemann called the situation pretty grim.

One of Mauis most venerable restaurants, Haliimaile General Store, laid off about 30 workers and temporarily closed after business shrank to one-tenth of pre-fire levels.

It just fell off a cliff, said Graeme Swain, who owns the place with his wife, Mara.

They cut staff to preserve cash and spare Haliimaile the fate of the San Diego software company Swain was running in 2008. When the housing bubble burst and the U.S. plunged into recession, he kept all employees to the bitter end, crushing the business.

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Swain wants Haliimaile  which was founded as a general store for pineapple plantation workers a century ago and became a restaurant in 1987  to last decades more.

It takes a lot of soul-searching of whats the right thing to do to protect that place, said Swain, who plans to hire everyone back. He aims to reopen next month.

Mass layoffs are showing up in government data. Nearly 8,000 people filed for unemployment on Maui during the last three weeks of August compared with 295 during the same period in 2022.

University of Hawaii economists expect Mauis jobless rate to climb as high as 10%. It peaked at 35% during the COVID-19 pandemic, but in July was just 2.5%. And this time, there are no pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program loans for businesses, nor any enhanced unemployment checks for the jobless.

Clothing designer Gemma Alvior estimates that locals make up almost all the clientele at her Kahului store, Pulelehua Boutique. But that may not shield her in a place where the tourism industry accounts for 75% of private sector jobs.

If they dont have a job, theyre getting laid off, how are they going to buy stuff? she said. What do they need to buy clothes for if theyre not working?

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One reason visitor traffic plunged is that Hawaiis leaders, joined by Hollywood celebrities, told travelers to vacate the island.

The day after the fire, the Hawaii Tourism Authority, a quasi-state agency, said visitors on non-essential travel are being asked to leave Maui and that non-essential travel to Maui is strongly discouraged.

The agency said the community needed to focus on recovery and helping those who had to evacuate.

Around the world, people saw video and photos of travelers jamming the Kahului airport to board flights out.

That message has since changed.

Mauis not closed, Mayor Richard Bissen said in a recent interview.

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People shouldnt go to Lahaina or the surrounding West Maui area  Its not a place to stare, Bissen said  but the rest of Maui needs tourists. Respect the West, visit the rest, is the motto some have adopted.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority drafted and publicized a map showing Lahaina and West Maui in relation to the rest of the island, highlighting just how much was still open. The authority is also launching a $2.6 million marketing plan to lure tourists back.

Two days after the fire, Jason Momoa, a Hollywood actor and Native Hawaiian, told his 17 million Instagram followers, Do not travel to Maui. More recently, he advised: Maui is open. Lahaina is closed.

Travel to areas outside West Maui should return to pre-fire levels by Thanksgiving, predicted Carl Bonham, an economics professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Discounted airfares and marketing appeals should help, he said.

Its not clear, however, when travel to West Maui will resume. The area, which includes beach resorts in Kaanapali, north of historic Lahaina, has 11,000 hotel rooms. Thats half Mauis total.

The disaster prompted state officials on Wednesday to lower their 2023 economic growth prediction for the entire state to 1.1%, down from 1.8%. Next year, they expect 1.5% growth instead of 2%.

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State tax revenues are also expected to take a hit, which could require Hawaii to cut spending. The Council on Revenues, which produces tax revenue forecasts, was scheduled to release new estimates on Thursday. Bonham, who sits on the council, believes the state could lose $200-$300 million during the current fiscal year.

The governor and lawmakers are required to use the panels forecasts to draft their budgets.
GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie said former President Trumps latest attack makes him really concerned for his mental health.

When he says stuff like that about somebody who supported him in 2016, prepared him for the debates with Hillary Clinton , supported him in 2020 and prepared him for the debates with Joe Biden  if I was so useless and dumb and deranged, how did all that stuff happen? Christie said late Wednesday on Newsmaxs The Balance with host Eric Bolling.

Its sad. Hes under a lot of stress and a lot of pressure, and saying these things makes me really concerned for his mental health, Christie added.

Christie was responding to a handful of attacks Trump dished out during a radio interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show early Wednesday. Trump called Christie a crazed lunatic and took shots at him over his time as New Jersey governor.

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I couldnt care less. I think hes not a very smart person, Trump said when asked about whether he is afraid Christie will come after him. I think hes a very disturbed person. He and maybe deranged Jack Smith should get together for dinner.

Christie also said Trump did not think he was unqualified when he asked him to be a part of his administration numerous times.

I feel bad for Donald. I really do. You know, hes on there saying that Im not very smart, that Im very deranged, he said.

Look, he didnt think that, Eric, in 2018 when he offered the White House chief of staff, he said. He didnt think that in 2016  when he made me chairman of his transition, he didnt think that in 2017 when he made me chairman of his opioid commission. He didnt figure it out when he offered me secretary of Homeland Security twice, and secretary of Labor.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Sept. 6 (UPI) -- The Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced Wednesday it would be suspending visitation "until further notice" at prisons in the state while staff focuses on other measures to curb alleged contraband.

"Due to the fact staff will be concentrating on these search efforts, visitation will be canceled until further notice. Inmates will still have access to the phone system and tablets," the TDCJ said in a statement.

"Once these comprehensive searches are complete, normal operations will resume."

Prison officials said that the volume of narcotics entering the prison system has "substantially increased" in the last five years and that the rate of homicides in Texas prisons has risen this year.

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The statement did not include precise figures but KFDM reported that there have been at least 16 inmate-on-inmate homicides so far this year.

"It is believed that the majority of the incidents are tied back to illegal drugs," prison officials said in the statement. It was not immediately clear how many instances of contraband have occurred.

Measures being taken during the lockdown include "intensified searches" of both inmates and prison staff "to intercept and confiscate contraband," officials said.

Prison officials will also roll out a digital mail program in which mail sent to prisoners, with the exceptions of legal and media mail, will be sent to a facility to be scanned and converted into a digital format that can be viewed by prisoners on tablet devices.

"These messages and photos will be scanned in color and can be saved to the tablet to be permanently available for the inmate to enjoy," officials said in an announcement of the program. "Inmates who do not have a tablet will receive black and white printed copies of their correspondence."

The physical copies of the mail will only be stored for 30 days before they will be thrown away by prison officials, unable to be kept by the prisoners.

"Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in paper soaked in K2 or methamphetamines coming into our facilities," prison officials claimed. "The digital mail program will halt this contraband being sent through traditional mail."

Prison officials will also increase searches with drug-sniffing dogs and other technology at all facilities.
Known for harnessing extraordinary power from water and wind, the Netherlands could become a leader in geothermal energy production by using heat from a volcano.

Bolsward, a city near the northern coast in the province of Friesland, is exploring using heat from the extinct Zuidwal volcano under the Wadden Sea to warm homes, according to the Guardian.

The undertaking is in its initial stages, and the first heat supply is projected for December 2025.

It started as a crazy idea, Ynze Salverda, a board member of the community initiative Stichting Ontwikkeling Geothermie Friesland, told the Guardian. The initiative is also known as Stogef, and its name translates as the Geothermal Development Friesland Foundation.

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These big wind turbines put a lot of pressure on our landscape, Salverda said, but when there is no wind, we have a problem. I have a background in the oil and gas world; I knew that there were a few volcanoes, and the [increased] temperature is going to the coast.

Holland  home to more than 13,670 miles of dikes and 1,000 windmills  already has 26 geothermal projects underway. Energie Beheer Nederland, an energy company, has said that 25% of the countrys heat demand could be met by geothermal energy, the Guardian reported.

Stogef is investigating the possibilities of sustainable heating and power generation by means of ultradeep geothermal energy, according to the translated version of the initiatives homepage. With geothermal energy we can get rid of gas, and it is an alternative to wind turbines. In this way, we save the landscape and the living environment.

Based on the proposed projects website translation, water at 284 degrees would be extracted via a production well from a depth of about two miles. Exchangers would remove the heat from the water and transfer it to a network before the water is sent back where it came from via an injection well.

Bolswards move to explore geothermal energy is part of its pivot to become natural-gas-free by 2030. The city has a heat transition vision, and an average deep well can deliver the more affordable energy to about 8,000 to 10,000 homes.

An ultradeep well can also drive a steam turbine to generate electricity, according to a translation of Stogefs website. This allows us to provide a constant flow of energy day and night without creating bottlenecks on the electricity grid, such as when using solar and wind energy.

The timeline for the venture includes locating drilling sites by the end of this year. Construction is scheduled to begin in May 2024, with the test-drilling of the first well expected in the second half of 2024.

Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the coolest innovations improving our lives and saving our planet.
Russian military helicopters attacked parts of Kharkiv Oblast overnight on Sept. 7, injuring one resident and causing significant property damage, reported Kharkivs Regional Military Administration head, Oleh Synehubov.

A 25-year-old civilian was wounded in the village of Hlushkivka, Kupyan district, and is in a serious condition at a local hospital, Synehubov said.

Nine residential buildings were damaged in Kozach Lopan, Kharkiv district, as were three buildings in the village of Synelnykove, Chuhuiv district.

Multiple regions of Ukraine came under attack last night, including Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. No casualties were reported in that attack.

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Russia also attacked the border territories of the Sumy region, where the communities of Krasnoilsk, Velyka Pysarivka, Novoslobidsk, and Seredyna-Buda came under fire.

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
Clay County voters will decide Nov. 7 whether to pay a monthly fee on wireless phone bills to fund the regional 911 call system.

If the ballot question is passed, a $1 monthly fee will be added to all wireless phone bills in the area to reduce the amount the county must fund.

The fee will help both pay the bills for the 911 system and fund future improvements, including better software to locate callers, the ability for dispatch centers to accept photos and vidoes and enhanced cybersecurity.

A tax on landline phones has funded the 911 call system in Clay County since 1993, but as landlines have become less popular, the county has needed to pull more of its own funds to pay for the resource. Wireless devices were used to make about 80% of 911 calls in Clay County in 2022.

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In 2023, Clay County will pay more than $1.1 million for its share of the regions emergency communications system, which is managed by the Mid-America Regional Council. Fees from landlines and state assistance will cover about $258,000, leaving the county to pay more than three-quarters of the expense.

County leaders say they expect the share they pay to increase each year.

If the measure passes, the fee for landline users will be eliminated.
The Earth just sweltered through its hottest June-August on record. Also in the news: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says the state will appeal a federal ruling that orders the removal of floating barriers on the Rio Grande and Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv to unveil a hefty aid package.

 I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Here's my dispatch from inside The Rolling Stone's "Hackney Diamonds" launch event in London.

Now, here we go with hurday's news.

New data shows record-busting summer temps

The year so far is the second-warmest on record behind 2016, when there was a powerful El Nino, according to new data from global scientists at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

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Our planet has just endured a season of simmering  the hottest summer on record," United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. "Climate breakdown has begun."

August had the warmest global monthly average ocean-surface temperatures on record, at nearly 70 degrees (F). Sea ice in Antarctica also was at a record low level for August, with a monthly value of 2% below average.

Scorching temperatures are expected to linger through Friday in the U.S. mid-Atlantic and Northeast and through the weekend in Texas and adjacent states, the National Weather Service said.

Unusually warm ocean water strengthens storms. Forecasts from experts have Tropical Storm Lee as likely to become a "very dangerous major hurricane" by the weekend.

More weather news: Maps show unhealthy air quality for states impacted by Canadian wildfire smoke.

Judge orders Texas to remove floating barriers aimed at discouraging migrants from entering US

Gov. Greg Abbott and the state of Texas must remove  at least temporarily  the buoys placed in the Rio Grande as part of the state's effort to control the border with Mexico, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, marking a win for the Biden administration. The governor ordered the 1,000-foot string of oversized orange floating devices placed in the international river near Eagle Pass ostensibly to help discourage migrants from entering Texas without legal authorization and to combat cross-border drug trafficking. In a statement Wednesday, Abbott said the state will appeal the ruling. Read more

Americas state supreme courts are looking less and less like America.

In challenging Texas use of the buoys, the Justice Department accused the state of putting a barrier on the international boundary without permission.

More news to know now

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

Escaped killer 'crab-walked' up prison wall

The convicted murderer still on the loose after escaping a Pennsylvania prison last week broke free by "crab-walking" up a wall, pushing through razor wire and running across a roof, officials said Wednesday. Danelo Cavalcante, 34, escaped the morning of Aug. 31 while his prisoner block was outside in the exercise yard and an officer in a tower didn't see him slip away, acting warden of Chester County Prison Howard Holland said at a news conference. It's the second escape from the facility in recent months and the local area has been swarmed with law enforcement amid the exhaustive search to find Cavalcante. Read more

October trial for two of Trump 's Georgia co-defendants

A Georgia judge agreed Wednesday to start the trial Oct. 23 for two of Donald Trumps co-defendants charged with racketeering for trying to overturn the 2020 election, but hasn't yet set a schedule for the other 17 co-defendants including the former president. Lawyer Kenneth Chesebro and lawyer Sidney Powell each asked to separate their trials from the others and to have them as fast as possible. Trump has already opposed trying all 19 defendants at the same time, with his lawyers saying they don't have enough time to prepare for such a complicated case. Read more

Federal prosecutors intend to seek indictment of Hunter Biden by Sept. 29.

Five political parties?

A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll takes a rare look at the views of unlikely voters. No surprise that these Americans want to have more choices. Only about 1 in 6, 17%, say the Democratic and Republican parties do a good job of representing the nation's political views. Twenty percent say a third party is necessary; even more, 44%, endorse the idea of multiple parties. Read more

Can't read this story? This articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here.

Is Putin getting desperate in Ukraine?

A potential high-stakes meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin is just one of several indications that the Russian president may be getting nervous  even desperate  as Moscow's war in Ukraine grinds on into its 18th month. Putin is trying to double down on his alliance with North Korea  a pariah state sanctioned and shunned by most of the worlds nations  in an apparent attempt to get more ammunition and weapons for use in Ukraine, U.S. national security officials said. Read more

Deadly missiles slam Ukraine market while Blinken pledges $1 billion in aid on Kyiv visit.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, walk at the Alley of Heroes at the Berkovetske cemetery in Kyiv Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Quick hits

Photo of the day: Naomi Campbell launches New York Fashion Week

Naomi Campbell kicked of New York Fashion Week 2023 with a runway show featuring her collaboration with fast fashion brand PrettyLittleThing. The show at Cipriani Broadway in lower Manhattan featured a cascade of models in figure-hugging designs embedded with crystals or made of sparkly metallic textures. Read more

Designers Victor Anate, left, Naomi Campbell and Edwin Thompson walk the runway at the PrettyLittleThing x Naomi Campbell Spring/Summer 2024 fashion show as part of New York Fashion Week on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023 in New York.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this  subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Daily Briefing:
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the CSTO welcoming ceremony in Yerevan, Armenia, in November 2022. Contributor/Getty Images

Armenia will host a joint military exercise with the US later this month.

The country is a longtime Russian ally but has repeatedly expressed its frustration with it.

This includes threatening to leave the Russia-led CSTO and refusing to host its military drills.

Armenia, long considered a close Russian ally, will host a joint military exercise with the US later this month, the latest in a series of apparent snubs by the country toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Armenia's defense ministry said the exercise, named "Eagle Partner 2023," is designed to help prepare its forces to join international peacekeeping missions, and will take place between September 11 and 20.

A US military spokesperson told Reuters that 85 US soldiers and 175 Armenian soldiers will take part in the exercise.

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Russia and Armenia have a decadeslong relationship, with Armenia once being part of the Soviet Union and now part of many Russia-led international groups. Armenia also hosts a Russian military base.

But Armenia's frustration with Russia has been evident over the past two years.

Armenia asked the CSTO, Russia's equivalent of NATO, of which it is a member, for assistance during recent border clashes with neighboring Azerbaijan. The Russia-led alliance didn't send military help, angering the country's prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan.

Pashinyan called the response "depressing" and "hugely damaging to the CSTO's image both in our country and abroad" and he physically distanced himself from Putin in a group photo and refused to sign a draft declaration during a summit.

In May, he said Armenia could leave the alliance if its benefits to his country weren't proven.

In January, Armenia canceled military drills with Russia, and in June Pashinyan said that his country was "not Russia's ally in the war with Ukraine" and that it felt trapped in the middle between Russia and the West.

Pashinyan said this month that relying on one nation to provide security, in his case Russia, was a "strategic mistake."

Experts have told Insider that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated former Soviet Union member countries' frustrations with Russia, sparking doubts in those countries over whether Russia could protect them, and even fears they could become Russian targets themselves.

The invasion has accelerated the weakening of Russia's influence in the region, boosting Chinese and Turkey's efforts there, Thomas Graham, cofounder of Yale University's Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies program, told Insider.

Jaroslava Barbieri, an expert on Russia and post-Soviet states at the University of Birmingham, told Insider that Russia's regional reputation as a security provider has been left "in tatters."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the latest development was concerning, "especially in the current situation. Therefore, we will deeply analyse this news and monitor the situation," according to Reuters.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Elon Musk secretly instructed his engineers to turn off Starlink satellite communications near Crimea last year to prevent a Ukrainian submarine drone attack against Russian military ships, CNN reported on Sept. 7, citing an excerpt from an upcoming book by Walter Isaacson.

As the drones loaded with explosives approached the Russian fleet, they "lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly," Isaacson reportedly wrote in a biography titled "Elon Musk," to be released on Sept. 12.

According to the author, Musk's decision was driven by fear of Moscow's nuclear retaliation, sparked by the billionaire's conversations with senior Russian officials.

Ukraine's Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov then reportedly pleaded with Musk to restore the drones' connectivity.

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The billionaire himself later denied that he had Starlink deactivated near Crimea, saying it had not been active in that region in the first place. However, he also said that there was a plan by Ukraine to strike at the Russian fleet near the occupied peninsula's coast, which Musk prevented.

"There was an emergency request from government authorities to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol," Musk claimed on his social media platform X.

"The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor. If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation."

The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claim.

Musk's SpaceX began providing the Starlink satellite internet system to Ukraine shortly after the Russian full-scale invasion in February 2022. The system has kept many Ukrainians online despite power outages and Russia's attacks on the country's internet infrastructure.

In October 2022, Musk said he could no longer keep Starlink in Ukraine operational due to high upkeep costs and requested funding from the Pentagon. The billionaire later changed his statement and said Starlink will stay online regardless of the Pentagon's support.

According to an article by The New Yorker published on Aug. 21, Musk held conversations with Vladimir Putin  though the billionaire denied talking to the Russian president  which had an effect on Musk's change of position regarding Ukraine.

Read also: How Ukraines prodigy minister is innovating the battlefield

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Western officials gathered in the United Arab Emirates to discuss sanctions against Russia amid fears that certain technology exports could be weaponized by the Russian military in its war against Ukraine, CNN reported on Sept. 6.

Representatives from the U.S., the U.K., and the EU discussed strategies to counter sanctions evasion and prevent Russia from obtaining advanced AI technology.

The UAE is working with its friends and allies to address any concerns with regards to sanctions on Russia, an official from the UAE told CNN.

Certain goods and technologies that are classified as "dual-use," meaning they have both civilian and military applications, have been able to bypass restrictions on weapons sales to Russia. A Telegraph investigation found that China has been sending Russia goods that are officially labeled dual-use but are clearly meant for war, such as helicopters, drones, and optical sights.

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According to CNN, new concerns have emerged over a microchip manufactured by tech giant Nvidia that is used for generative artificial intelligence.

The U.S. has added licensing restrictions on the chip for buyers in the Middle East, which serves as a business hub and maintains economic ties with Russia.

The US has in the past sanctioned entities in the UAE for assisting with transfers of Iranian weapons to Russia.

The UAE strictly abides by UN sanctions and has clear and robust processes in place to deal with sanctioned entities, which has been exercised against a number of companies, the UAE official told CNN.

The arrival of Western officials in the UAE comes soon after the country was invited to join BRICS, the geopolitical bloc led by China and Russia.

Read also: Worlds first ladies, gentlemen discuss mental health at Zelenskas summit in Kyiv

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The U.S. Coast Guard is ending its search for a man who disappeared from a Carnival Cruise ship earlier this week, authorities said Thursday.

Around 11 a.m. Monday, the coast guard was alerted that Kevin McGarth was missing from Carnival Cruises Conquest, which was on a three-day trip scheduled to dock at PortMiami hours after his disappearance.

Over the span of 80 hours, the coast guard noted that they scoured about 3,300 square nautical miles looking for the 26-year-old.

The search for McGarth hasnt completely ended, however. Miami-Dade police told the Miami Herald theres still an open case on his disappearance.

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Surveillance cameras and devices on the cruise ship had indicated he didnt go overboard.

On the day he went missing, McGarth was supposed to meet his family for breakfast before disembarking the ship  but never showed up. His brother was the last to see him in his cabin around 2 a.m.

READ MORE HERE: A Carnival cruise passenger is missing. Cameras dont show him going overboard, cops say

The public is still being asked to help find McGarth, who is a five-foot-nine, 170-pounds.

Anyone who has information on where McGrath might be can contact Miami-Dade police special victims bureau/missing persons squad at 305-715-3300 or Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade & the Florida Keys either online or at 305-471-8477 (TIPS).
Luci Baines Johnson looks at the desk on May 16, 2023, on display at the LBJ Presidential Library, that President Lyndon B. Johnson sat at in the President's Room at the U.S. Capitol to sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965, on Aug. 6, 1965. (Stephen Spillman/AP)

WASHINGTON  Concern for U.S. democracy amid deep national polarization has prompted the entities supporting 13 presidential libraries dating back to Herbert Hoover to call for a recommitment to the countrys bedrock principles, including the rule of law and respecting a diversity of beliefs.

The statement released Thursday, the first time the libraries have joined to make such a public declaration, said Americans have a strong interest in supporting democratic movements and human rights around the world because free societies elsewhere contribute to our own security and prosperity here at home.

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But that interest, it said, is undermined when others see our own house in disarray.

The joint message from presidential centers, foundations and institutes emphasized the need for compassion, tolerance and pluralism while urging Americans to respect democratic institutions and uphold secure and accessible elections.

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The statement noted that debate and disagreement are central to democracy but also alluded to the coarsening of dialogue in the public arena during an era when officials and their families are receiving death threats.

Civility and respect in political discourse, whether in an election year or otherwise, are essential, it said.

Most of the living former presidents have been sparing in giving their public opinions about the state of the nation as polls show that large swaths of Republicans still believe the lies perpetuated by former President Donald Trump and his allies that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Trump, a Republican, also has lashed out at the justice system as he faces indictments in four criminal cases, including two related to his efforts to overturn the results of his reelection loss to Joe Biden, a Democrat.

Thursdays statement stopped short of calling out individuals, but it still marked one of the most substantive acknowledgments that people associated with the nations former presidents are worried about the countrys trajectory.

I think theres great concern about the state of our democracy at this time, said Mark Updegrove, president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation, which supports the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. We dont have to go much farther than January 6 to realize that we are in a perilous state.

Efforts to suppress or weaken voter turnout are of special interest to the LBJ Foundation, Updegrove said, given that President Lyndon Johnson considered his signing of the Voting Rights Act his proudest legislative accomplishment.

The bipartisan statement was signed by the Hoover Presidential Foundation, the Roosevelt Institute, the Truman Library Institute, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, the LBJ Foundation, the Richard Nixon Foundation, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, the Carter Center, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, the George & Barbara Bush Foundation, the Clinton Foundation, the George W. Bush Presidential Center and the Obama Presidential Center. Those organizations all support presidential libraries created under the Presidential Library Act of 1955, along with the Eisenhower Foundation.

The Eisenhower Foundation chose not to sign, and it said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press: The Eisenhower Foundation has respectfully declined to sign this statement. It would be the first common statement that the presidential centers and foundations have ever issued as a group, but we have had no collective discussion about it, only an invitation to sign.

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The foundation said each presidential entity had its own programs related to democracy.

The push for the joint statement was spearheaded by David Kramer, executive director of the George W. Bush Institute. Kramer said the former president did see and signed off on this statement.

He said the effort was intended to send a positive message reminding us of who we are and also reminding us that when we are in disarray, when were at loggerheads, people overseas are also looking at us and wondering whats going on. He also said it was necessary to remind Americans that their democracy cannot be taken for granted.

He said the Bush Institute has hosted several events on elections, including one as part of a joint initiative with the other groups called More Perfect that featured Bill Gates, a member of the board of supervisors in Arizonas Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. The county, its supervisors and its elections staff have been targeted repeatedly by election conspiracy theorists in recent years.

Gates and his family have been threatened by people who believe false allegations of election fraud.

We wanted to remind people that those who oversee our elections are our fellow citizens, Kramer said. Some of them told stories that are almost heartbreaking about the threats they faced.

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He said he hoped the joint statement would generate wide support, but he added: Its hard to say whether it will or not in these polarized times.

Melissa Giller, chief marketing officer at the Ronald Reagan Foundation and Institute, said the decision to sign on was a quick one. The foundation was approached shortly after it launched a new effort, its Center on Public Civility in Washington, D.C. She said the statement represents everything our center will stand for.

We need to help put an end to the serious discord and division in our society, Giller said in an emailed response. America is experiencing a decline in trust, social cohesion, and personal interaction.

Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama who is now CEO of the Obama Foundation, said the former president supported the statement.

This is a moment where we could all come together and show that democracy is not about partisan politics, she said. Its about making our country strong, making our country more decent, more kind, more humane.

Jarrett said one of the foundations priorities is trying to restore faith in the institutions that are the pillars of society. To do that has meant taking on disinformation and creating opportunity where people believe that our democracy is on the up-and-up.

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She said Obama has led a democracy forum and is planning another later this year in Chicago.

I think part of it is recognizing that we are very fragile right now, Jarrett said, citing the fact that we didnt have a smooth orderly transition of power in the last election along with peoples mistrust of the court system and elected officials.

The wheels on our democracy bus, she said, feel a little wobbly right now.
Todd Asin chuckles good-naturedly when I tease him about a potential headline idea for this article.

A rather cynical one.

Something like: Another #@$%in bar to open near 6th and Main streets? Perfect. Just what downtown Boise needs!

Heres my rebuttal, though, explains Asin, who plans to open The Stag Bar in the former Idaho Blueprint and Supply building. What else do you put there? Its a giant building with a mezzanine. Its surrounded by college bars. ... Its basically the last building on that strip that is not a restaurant and bar.

Consequently, here comes The Stag Bar  intended to attract a college-age, 21-and-older crowd.

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It just makes sense to do it, Asin reasons. Its, like, lets take the numbers and peel out the demographic, which ones the largest one down there, kind of a deal.

Idaho Blueprint was one of Boises oldest businesses when it shuttered last December after 113 years. Local developer Jay Story bought the 7,724-square-foot building at 619 W. Main St., according to previous Statesman reporting, and made it available for lease. Its tucked between Humpin Hannahs bar and Coa de Jima restaurant.

The permitting process has begun to reopen the former Idaho Blueprint & Supply building as The Stag Bar.

Calling it a great location, Asin will transform it. An experienced bar owner, he also operates the small, charming Atlas Bar a few blocks west in downtown Boise, plus the Royal Cocktail Co. in Hyde Park (with a partner) and the new Alpine Bar in Meridian.

Over the years, downtown Boise has become less retail-driven and more powered by restaurants and bars. Still, based on that location, Asin doesnt think the former Idaho Blueprint buildings situation is as optimal for a restaurant as it is for a bar.

Its, like, nobody wants to walk out of a fancy meal or something and be surrounded by college kids, he says. (And we mean that in the fondest way possible, students.) Also, Asin is a bar owner, not a restaurateur. ... I definitely dont want to do food. Its a whole different beast.

So  college bar it will be. A two-level destination, The Stag will have a main bar on the first floor serving liquor, beer, wine and other beverages. A DJ will spin tunes for ambiance, he says.

Meanwhile, the mezzanine upstairs will be outfitted with pool tables. Drinks will be served from a second bar up there.

The Stag wont be anything crazy, he says. Im not trying to go for a nightclub or anything like that. Just a fun environment to go hang out.

The goal? To open by the end of the year.

And why name it The Stag Bar? Dont overthink that. Like opening as a college bar in the first place, it just made sense.

I need you to be able to say it, remember it and spell it, Asin says.
Two Colorado legislators are demanding a full environmental review of a proposal to expand a Utah oil transport facility  plans they believe could endanger their states residents across the border.

Because the potential expansion of the Wildcat Loadout is located on federal land, Sen. Michael Bennet (D) and Rep. Joe Neguse (D) appealed to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in a letter on Thursday, requesting a full and robust environmental impact statement (EIS) that takes into account all the risks posed to Colorado.

The proposed Wildcat Loadout expansion would increase the facilitys capacity to ship waxy crude oil from Utahs Uinta Basin on a route that would run for more than 100 miles alongside the headwaters of the Colorado River, the lawmakers argued.

The Colorado River, they stressed, provides water to more than 40 million Americans across seven states and 30 tribal nations, while irrigation millions of acres of agricultural land.

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Bennet and Neguse previously raised similar concerns about a related railroad proposal  the Uinta Basin Railway  an 88-mile-long project that would seek to connect the Wildcat facility to the national rail system.

Last month, a federal court overruled the Surface Transportation Boards (STB) approval of the railway and required a new environmental review of the associated proposal.

In light of the courts decision, the BLM should not repeat the STBs mistakes, and instead conduct a robust environmental review, Bennet and Neguse wrote Thursday.

The lawmakers stressed the BLM would not be able to sufficiently account for potential harms by conducting only a cursory environmental assessment, which requires less public involvement and analysis.

The proposed expansion would involve boosting Wildcats capacity from the current 30,000 barrels of oil per day to 100,000 barrels per day. This increase, the lawmakers explained, would be equivalent to an additional 1 billion gallons of waxy crude oil each year.

Bennet and Neguse cited concerns from Coloradans that heightened train traffic from the Wildcat Loadout expansion and the Uinta Basin Railway construction could exacerbate the risk of railway accidents and pose a threat to water resources and wildlife.

We urge BLM to prepare a full EIS that accounts for the full risks of the Wildcat Loadout expansion to Colorados communities, water supplies, and environment, the lawmakers stated.

The Hill has reached out to the BLM for comment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Columbia County man was recently sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for creating sexually explicit images of children.

Edmund Brown, 36, of Martinez, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after previously pleading guilty in March to two counts of production of child pornography, according to Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court.

Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Brown to pay more than $113,000 in restitution, serve 20 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender upon completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Agents from Homeland Security Investigations reviewed images found on multiple electronic devices seized from Brown in May 2022 and discovered he used his cell phone and a hidden camera to capture sexually explicit images of two children for more than 2 years old, according to a news release.

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"Every time one of these disturbing images is shared or viewed it revictimizes a helpless child and prevents them from healing, said HSI Atlanta acting Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations operations in Georgia and Alabama.

Anyone with information on suspected child sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678, or report.cybertip.org.

18-year-old inmate dead: Female inmate dies after 'self-inflicted injury' at Augusta detention center

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Martinez man sentenced to federal prison for child porn
After months of confusion and inconsistent enforcement, the Columbia Police Department says it will crack down on the sale of delta-8 and delta-10 hemp products, which are considered illegal by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Early this year, Columbia police began telling tobacco and vape stores that some of their hemp products were illegal because they contained unauthorized forms of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), a psychoactive compound found in hemp and marijuana, The State reported in February.

Columbia Police Sgt. Lance Reeves at the time told The State the department would be cracking down on all products containing delta-8 THC. But since then, store employees at numerous shops say nothing has happened, and theyve continued selling delta-8, delta-10 and other products.

Now, police have sent those stores a letter formally telling them to stop selling those products.

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It has been I guess loosely addressed, said Sgt. Joe Richburg with Columbia Police Departments Organized Crime and Narcotics Unit. Law enforcement has a whole lot of stuff going on with other crime, staffing, etc. Its one of those things that kind of fell to the wayside, but were trying to get caught up.

Thirty-four letters were delivered either by mail or by hand to Columbia vape shops informing them they may be out of compliance with state law, according to the Columbia Police Department.

Delta-8 THC, Delta-10 THC, and any other isomers of THC outside of the above definition per state law is an illegal substance under South Carolina Statute 44-53-370(b)(2) and is considered a Schedule I controlled substance, the letter, first obtained by WIS News, reads.

We are providing you this information to educate and inform you that possession of these items is in direct violation of the law, and to ensure that your business does not have any compliance-related concerns, the letter adds.

The letter includes contact information for Richburg and says the department wants to maintain positive relationships with local businesses.

The stores that sell these products have been split on their reaction. Visits to several downtown Columbia vape shops showed that at least a handful were still selling delta-8 products as of Tuesday.

What does the law say?

Police in February told The State they were basing enforcement on an Attorney Generals opinion that declared delta-8 illegal in 2021.

Its not law, but its the guidelines were going to use going forward, Reeves told The State at the time.

The police department is now saying it is codified law.

Understanding which hemp-derived products are legal to sell in South Carolina has been a source of confusion since hemp was legalized by South Carolinas Hemp Farming Act in 2019.

Hemp can be used to make fiber, for textiles, but it can also be used for the cannabinoids, which are types of chemicals, it contains. The cannabinoid delta-8 THC naturally occurs in small amounts in both hemp and marijuana.

Part of the confusion from law enforcement has been that while THC is a controlled substance in South Carolina, the 2018 federal Farm Bill and South Carolinas 2019 Hemp Farming Act both permit a small amount of delta-9 THC to be present in hemp.

Those laws dont address other THC variants such as delta-8 and delta-10, both of which have grown in popularity and can give the user a sense of euphoria or sedation similar but less intense than marijuana use.

Many in the hemp industry argue that because the law does not forbid other variants of THC that can also be derived from hemp, including delta-8, its not illegal.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has said delta-8 derived from hemp is not a controlled substance, but synthetic delta-8 is a controlled substance. A federal court in California has agreed that hemp-derived delta-8 is legal under federal law, in part because federal statute is silent with regard to delta-8 THC.

But in South Carolina, law enforcement agencies were having a hard time understanding what to enforce. So in 2021, SLED asked for clarity from the state Attorney Generals Office.

To answer SLEDs question, the Attorney Generals Office issued an opinion that delta-8 is not legal under the state Hemp Farming Act, since the act only expressly allows small quantities of delta-9.

Our office agrees with SLEDs essential analysis that the Hemp Farming Act did not legalize THC except as defined in lawful hemp, the attorney generals opinion reads. If the General Assembly intended to undertake legalization of THC on the scale that the industry posits, they would have done so expressly and unambiguously.

Richburg stressed that the Columbia Police Department isnt making new laws, but its job is to enforce the laws passed down by the state legislature, and to follow the guidance of SLED when in doubt.

Next steps

Several downtown vape stores were still selling delta-8 products as of Tuesday. At least one store had removed the delta-8 products while a corporate lawyer analyzed the police departments letter, a store employee confirmed.

Vape shop employees say having to remove all delta-8 and delta-10 products could bankrupt some businesses, and employees at all shops visited by The State said a large portion of sales come from customers buying delta-8 and delta-10.

Employees at these stores spoke to The State about their store operations, but declined to be named on the record.

All employees also said this isnt new for them.

Several other South Carolina jurisdictions have taken actions in the past to try to curtail the sale of delta-8 products.

In 2021, a Lexington vape shop was shut down for selling the products.

The Columbia Police Department is not planning any immediate enforcement actions, Richburg said.

Were not planning on following the letter with kicking in any doors or anything. Were going to give them time to evaluate it  and get their businesses in order, he said.

Im open to communication from any of them, thats why my phone number was on (the letter), he added.
Major General Konstantin Ogiyenko, the Russian commander of the 1st Special Purpose Air and Missile Defence Army, which protects Moscow from airstrikes, has been remanded in custody for his involvement in a bribery case.

Source: Kremlin-aligned media RIA Novosti; Russian media outlet Meduza

Details: The investigation materials indicate that Ogiyenko, together with Major General Dmitry Belyatsky, Commander of the 4th Air Defence Division, received 500,000 roubles (about US$5,000) as a bribe from a citizen for "helping" her to acquire a plot of land adjacent to the military unit. The officers extorted 30 million roubles in total.

The plot in question is Russian Defence Ministry land in Dolgoprudny and Lobnya near Moscow and had been earmarked for development.

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Beliatsky partially admitted his guilt and agreed to a deal with the investigation; he was placed under house arrest.

Ogiyenko says he is not guilty and has been detained until 27 November.

For reference: Ogiyenko, who has served as the commander of the 1st Order of Lenin Special Purpose Air and Missile Defences Forces Army since 2021, was dismissed after the criminal case was opened in July. He faces between 8 and 15 years of imprisonment.

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!
Lawmakers returning to Washington are far apart on a series of must-pass health care bills that could have far-reaching consequences on local health centers, federal authority and pandemic preparedness.

The bills will be part of a post-recess scramble as the House and Senate return ahead of a Sept. 30 government funding deadline.

The White House has called on Congress to pass a short-term funding bill, which could buy time for further negotiations on some of the pricklier issues. But the coming weeks will signal whether Democrats and Republicans can find common ground on extending critical health programs.

The biggest looming issue is massive funding bills for agencies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

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The bills are tied up in the House amid disagreements over abortion policies and spending levels. The Senate is moving ahead to pass its own bipartisan version, starting with a minibus package that includes the FDA.

Funding for community health centers also continues to be a sticking point in the Senate.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), wants a major hike in funding for community health centers  $20 billion a year over the next five years  and Republicans remain opposed to his demands.

Discussions over community health centers continued during the August recess, but Republican staffers say there has not been a breakthrough.

Here is where things stand on the must-pass bills:

Community health centers

Sanders and HELP Committee ranking member Bill Cassidy (R-La.) have introduced competing legislation to reauthorize funding for the Community Health Center Fund that was established through the Affordable Care Act.

Cassidys office said in July that he introduced his reauthorization bill due to a lack of progress in negotiations with Sanders. A GOP staffer on the HELP Committee told The Hill last week that little has changed in negotiations with Sanders.

The bill introduced by Cassidy would increase community health center funding from $4 billion to $4.2 billion a year for the next two years, compared to Sanderss plan to quintuple annual spending.

One roadblock to Republican support for Sanderss $100 billion plan is identifying offsets to his investments. Sanderss office did not have any update when asked about the ongoing talks.

Appropriations

The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced the funding bills for HHS and FDA before the recess, with members agreeing to leave out any poison pill measures.

The House appropriations bill for HHS hadnt even made it to the chambers Appropriations Committee before recess. A bipartisan agreement appears out of reach as House Republicans seek deep spending cuts for both HHS and FDA as part of efforts to tackle wasteful bureaucracy.

While the Senate advanced a reauthorization that raised FDA spending by $20 million over last year, the House Appropriations Committee advanced a highly pared down spending bill along party lines that provided $8 billion less than what was allotted for the agency in 2023.

Democrats took issue with both the proposed spending level and two riders that would limit or reverse FDA decisions. The GOP-led bill included provisions that would block FDA from banning menthol in cigarettes and reverse the decision to allow the abortion treatment mifepristone to be sent through the mail.

Pandemic preparedness

Committees in both chambers advanced their respective bills to reauthorize the Pandemic All-Hazards Preparedness Act before the August recess, but a stark difference remains in the two versions.

While the Senate advanced a bipartisan bill that was agreed on ahead of a July markup session, the House bill was advanced by Republicans on the Appropriations Committee along party lines.

The primary disagreement is over drug shortages. The GOP-led version of the bill excluded measures to expand FDA authority in order to better address drug shortages, with Republican members saying the issue could be revisited later.

The Senate version included a measure that would give FDA the ability to require notice from drug manufacturers that experience increases in demand likely to stretch their production capacity, to identify potential shortages sooner.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A docuseries airing on conservative media streaming platform DailyWire+ that revisits the Manitowoc-area murder case popularized by Netflix's "Making a Murderer" premieres Friday.

"Convicting a Murderer" aims to include evidence that was not addressed in "Making a Murderer," according to a news release from DailyWire+.

Both shows spotlight the murder of Teresa Halbach, a 25-year-old freelance photographer from Green Bay. On Oct. 31, 2005, Halbach went missing after shooting photographs on assignment for a magazine at Avery's Auto Salvage, a family business in Two Rivers.

Steven Avery, 43, was arrested and convicted of Halbach's murder, along with his teenage nephew, Brendan Dassey, who was also convicted of sexual assault and mutilating a corpse.

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It wasn't Avery's first time sentenced to prison  he spent 18 years behind bars for a sexual assault he didn't commit, and was released after DNA evidence exonerated him in 2003. Since his arrest for Halbach's murder, Avery has argued he is innocent and was framed.

The Calumet County case received international attention after "Making a Murderer" premiered in 2015. While the show garnered supporters who advocate for Avery's and Dassey's releases, some critics say it is biased and did not portray all evidence in the case.

RELATED: Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey remain imprisoned. Here's where their court proceedings stand.

How can you watch 'Convicting a Murderer'"'?

The first episode of "Convicting a Murderer" will premiere Friday on X, formerly Twitter, beginning at 8 p.m. Central Time. It will remain available to anyone on the platform "indefinitely," according to a DailyWire+ news release.

The first three episodes will also be available on DailyWire+ on Friday  the first two episodes free, and the third available to subscribers. The remaining seven episodes will become available to subscribers of the streaming service one by one, each Thursday for the next seven weeks. By Oct. 26, the full series will be streamable on DailyWire+.

How long is the show?

The docuseries will have 10 episodes, with each episode one hour long.

Who will be featured in 'Convicting a Murderer'?

"Convicting a Murderer" is hosted by conservative political commentator Candace Owens, who is also a producer on the show.

According to DailyWire+, it will feature "exclusive interviews with subjects not included in the Netflix show, including law enforcement officers, family members, and fans-turned-investigators whose lives have been profoundly impacted by the case."

How long has 'Convicting a Murderer' been in the works?

Director Shawn Rech has been working on "Convicting a Murderer" for years. In 2018, Rech told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin he was in the process of conducting interviews for the docuseries in Appleton.

The Daily Wire announced it had acquired the series in April.

RELATED: 'Convicting a Murderer' gets streaming deal, to counter Netflix series 'Making a Murderer'

RELATED: 'Convicting a Murderer' series on Steven Avery, Brendan Dassey convictions will premiere in September

Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ArseneauKelli.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: 'Convicting a Murderer' series on Steven Avery case premieres Friday
Cameron Bean last saw her mother in 2017 when they went to a nail salon in Sumter County the day before her graduation.

A man who said he wanted to marry her mother drove them there in a Chevrolet Avalanche.

Bean believes the man was Rex Heuermann, who has been charged with murder in the deaths of three women on Long Island, New York. Heuermann bought property in Chester County in South Carolina in 2021.

The Sumter County Sheriffs Office issued a statement saying they spoke with Cameron Bean and then called the Federal Bureau of Investigation to pass on the information in the case of missing woman Julia Ann Bean.

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FBI spokesman in South Carolina Kevin Wheeler said they are aware of the case but as is their practice they cannot confirm or deny whether they have launched an investigation.

He referred questions to Suffolk County, New York, law enforcement, who did not respond to questions. Among them are whether Heuermann had ties to South Carolina before he bought the Chester County property that could have enabled him to meet Bean in 2017.

Cameron Beans friend Heidi Kovas told Ashleigh Banfield on the News Nation program Banfield that Bean is certain her mother was with Heuermann. She never saw either one again.

Recently, Bean saw him on the news when he was arrested and sent a text message saying, I have chills  Ive seen him. That was the last man I saw her with personally.

Kovas talked to Sumter investigators, who in turn contacted Cameron Bean. She verified the story.

The Sumter sheriff has said investigators have not found any evidence linking the accused serial killer to Julia Ann Beans disappearance.

Similarly, Rock Hill police looked at Heuermann earlier this year in connection with the disappearance of 18-year-old Aaliyah Bell, missing since 2014. But they found no ties. Bell was walking the half-mile from her uncles to her grandmothers on a rainy evening. She disappeared without a trace..

Since 2017, the Sumter County Sheriffs Office has extensively investigated Ms. Beans disappearance, the office said on Facebook. Investigators are interviewing individuals and investigating reports that she may have been seen with Rex Heuermann. Her case will remain open until she is found.

Bean, who was also known as Julie, was last seen in Sumter County on May 31, 2017.

Kovas said Cameron was concerned when her mother did not attend graduation. Bean had three children; Cameron, now mother to three children; Carson, a Marine: and Cayleigh, a college student in Texas.

Cameron reported their mother missing on Nov. 18, 2017.

Heuermann owns about 18 acres beside a string of small, secluded ponds in Chester County where neighbors told The State he planned to buy everyone else out and retire.

The property in Mirror Lakes subdivision is shielded from the lake and road by a thick growth of trees and shrubs. Chester County property records show Heuermann bought the property on July 28, 2021 for $154,351.

The property was searched by the FBI, New York law enforcement agencies and Chester County Sheriff deputies in July, and a Chevrolet Avalanche was seized.

The truck  or a similar one taken from Heuermanns Massapequa Park, New York, residence  factors into the murder investigation because an associate of one of the women told police he had seen a vehicle like it at the time of her murder.

Heuermann, an architect, is charged in the deaths of three of 11 women whose remains were found buried along a stretch of Gilgo Beach beside the Atlantic Ocean in Babylon, New York in 2010 and 2011.

Heuermann is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello, according to an indictment unsealed in Suffolk County Criminal Court.

He is also considered the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.

Kovas said the Bean family just wants answers.

We want to bring Julie home, she said.
Beatriz Ponce de Leon, deputy mayor for immigrant, migrant and refugee rights, left, speaks as Ald. Bill Conway, 34th, listens during a Sept. 6, 2023, meeting about the planned housing of migrants in the Parthenon Guest House on South Halsted Street. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Downtown residents expressed reservations Wednesday night about a migrant shelter thats set to reopen next week in Greektown, but many also wanted to know how they could help asylum-seekers who would be staying in the facility.

Lisa Bowling, 59, used her minute at the microphone during the community meeting for just one question: Where can I go to find out how I can help?

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Bowling told the panel of representatives from the city of Chicago that she wasnt computer savvy, but that as a retiree, she had time and wanted to use it to assist the migrants who will soon be staying at the Parthenon Guest House in the 300 block of South Halsted Street.

About 200 people attended the meeting at the Merit School of Music to hear how the city would administer the shelter, which Ald. Bill Conway, 34th, said would open Sept. 15.

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The Parthenon was used as a migrant shelter from October 2022 through February 2023, according to a statement from Conways office.

The meeting was the latest in a series of community meetings being held in neighborhoods across the city, where residents have pushed back against the citys plans to house new arrivals in shuttered schools, Park District field houses and hotels.

Like residents in other parts of the city, attendees shared questions and concerns related to public safety and health, how long it would take for migrants to apply for and receive federal work permits and questioned how the city was allocating resources among newly arrived migrants versus other populations that need support, like disabled veterans and victims of gun violence.

They wanted to know what food the new arrivals would eat, where they would spend time during the day, whether they would learn English, where their children would go to school and whether theyd be vaccinated.

Area residents listen during an informational meeting at the Merit School of Music about the planned housing of migrants in the Parthenon Guest House on South Halsted Street on Sept. 6, 2023, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Jamie Brown, 35, wanted to know if migrants would be background checked prior to being placed in a city shelter. She said she has a son in day care next door to the Parthenon and wanted to ensure the area remained child-friendly.

I also like to know what the citys end game plan is, Brown said to applause from other meeting attendees. Are we going to continuously open shelters in hopes of work permits (being) eventually awarded?

Applications for asylum can take years to process, she observed, before adding that she was also concerned about the capacity limits in the building.

Deputy Mayor for Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights Beatriz Ponce de Leon said she could not guarantee that shelter residents would receive a background check. But she said the vast majority of asylum-seekers were not involved in criminal activity: (They) are doing what they need to be doing, and they are people that we can be comfortable with, she said.

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Deputy police Chief Stephen Chung emphasized that city shelters would have an 11 p.m. curfew in response to other questions about public safety. Beth Giltmier, commander of the 12th District, said police would provide security at the new shelter around the clock.

Department of Family Support Services representative Danny Castaneda said new arrivals would be educated about what we expect in terms of our cultural norms and what we expect in terms of respecting the space in the community.

Many residents asked how they could assist the city.

Brenda Magnetti, 58, inquired about the No. 1 action we should take as a good neighbor.

Dean Maragos asked about ways to establish stronger lines of communication between communities hosting shelters and the city.

Where to house the waves of migrants that have been arriving in Chicago since last year has been a contentious question at times while nearly 1,000 asylum-seekers continue to sleep on floors of Chicago police stations as the city grapples with finding and equipping buildings to become adequate shelters.

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Several park facilities, including the Leone Beach Field House in Rogers Park, Brands Parks field house in Avondale and at Piotrowski Park in Little Village, have been turned into makeshift shelters, while shuttered schools in South Shore and Woodlawn have also been turned into shelters despite community resistance.

Meanwhile, dozens of migrants have been sleeping at OHare International Airport while they await placement at a Chicago-run shelter. Some say theyve been there for weeks.

Conway said at the meeting that the migrant crisis wasnt a problem with roots in Chicago.

There are leaders in other parts of the country who have tried to make a political spectacle out of a humanitarian crisis and sow division in Chicago, the alderman said in a statement released Wednesday. This is not just a local issue, but a federal one, and we are going to need resources and collaboration from all levels of government to develop a long-term solution to this problem.

Mayor Brandon Johnson, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Democratic members of the Illinois congressional delegation last week asked the Biden administration for significant support and immigration policy changes to expedite work permits for migrants and ease pressure on the city.

Johnson warned the city of Chicago cannot go on welcoming new arrivals safely and capably without increased aid from the federal government.

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Conway said Wednesday night that he shared neighbors frustrations with the short notice about the shelter reopening. He also expressed pride in residents initial response to the news, observing that the question most frequently submitted was about where to go to volunteer time and resources.

The city will assess how the shelter is working after six months, Ponce de Leon said.
A lone protester wishing to remain anonymous stands at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City Oct. 16, 2013. He was protesting the government shutdown and the lack of benefits to veterans. Could a shutdown happen in 2023? | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Its budget season and Americans are growing anxious amid the looming possibility of a government shutdown.

Every year, Congress has to appropriate funding for different federal agencies in 12 different spending bills. When these bills arent passed on time, it leads to a government shutdown, where all nonessential functions are seized.

In case of a shutdown, federal public employees working for agencies from transportation to the national parks are told not to work. Americans continue receiving Social Security and Medicare, which arent a part of the annual budget, but the offices that provide these services work in a limited capacity.

Roughly 8 in 10 voters say that such a shutdown should be avoided because of its negative effects on the economy, according to a poll conducted by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Meanwhile, 7 out of 10 say a shutdown is a distraction from the countrys fiscal problems.

Will there be a government shutdown?

Whether or not there is a shutdown depends on the progress made by congressional lawmakers.

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Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said the possibility is very likely.

The Senate is ahead in the budget process compared to the House. With the help of bipartisan support, the upper chambers appropriations committee has already passed all 12 spending bills.

With the Senate back in session this week after an August recess, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y., said he plans to hold a vote in the full Senate on three of the bills next week.

The Senate appropriations process is a lesson in how governing should work, Schumer said, adding that disagreements between parties should not paralyze the process.

Meanwhile, the House, which wont return until next week, has not moved forward on any of the bills.

Schumer pointed out that both chambers only have until Sept. 30, when government funding expires.

Theres only one way, one way, that this will happen: through bipartisanship. Neither party can afford to go at it alone if we want to avoid a shutdown, Schumer said.

Meanwhile, House Republicans are adamant about cutting spending levels lower than $1.586 trillion, which was negotiated by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this year as a part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

A group of conservative Republicans dont want to spend over the 2022 level of $1.471 trillion, according to a letter sent to McCarthy in June.

But some Senate Republicans seem frustrated with GOP representatives who are threatening a government shutdown.

I dont think there is any reason for a shutdown. Im opposed to a shutdown. Period, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Punchbowl News. This way of doing business where were in constant brinkmanship and real people suffer is just bad news.

And Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., also said he didnt want to see a shutdown.

Meanwhile, Romney told reporters Tuesday that it is a losing strategy for House Republicans.

If you look at the prior shutdowns, Republicans basically just gave in and the shutdown didnt save any money. It actually cost more money, Romney said.

But Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., said lawmakers shouldnt fear a shutdown, even though that isnt the ultimate goal.

Meanwhile, various federal agencies are already prepared to carry out contingency plans in case funding expires. For example, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation would not allow any employees to work, while the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board plans to keep 39 people onboard.

Could a continuing resolution prevent a shutdown?

The pressure continues to rise on McCarthy, who has suggested extending the current funding through a continuing resolution.

The resolution, a temporary spending bill, is expected to extend funding until December, giving lawmakers enough time to complete the appropriations for 2024.

The White House is also pushing Congress to pass a continuing resolution while lawmakers negotiate over their disagreements

Although the crucial work continues to reach a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills, it is clear that a short-term continuing resolution will be needed next month, a spokesperson for the Office of Management and Budget told CNN.

But McCarthy has to tread carefully, as House GOP lawmakers threaten to take away his gavel.

Some Republicans are using the delicate situation to try to set the lower chambers priorities  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she wont support government funding if an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden isnt launched.

If lawmakers dont finish negotiations before the end of the year, government spending across the board  from the Pentagon to the Department of Education  will experience a 1% cut, sending ripples across the U.S. economy.
The graduate student accused of fatally shooting a UNC professor on campus last week is in the United States on a student visa, Orange County District Attorney Jeff Nieman said  likely requiring an exception under federal law to legally purchase or possess a handgun.

It was unclear whether the alleged gunman qualified for any of those exceptions. But the local sheriff said Tailei Qi did not obtain or apply for a concealed carry permit in Orange County. Nor did Qi seek a permit to buy a handgun before state lawmakers ended that requirement in March, Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said.

Qi faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of Zijie Yan, a professor in UNC-Chapel Hills Department of Applied Physical Sciences.

The death led to a three-hour lockdown of campus on Aug. 28.

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Both men worked on the same research team, in a lab run by Yan. Qi, 34, who is from China, also faces a misdemeanor charge of possessing a firearm on educational property.

Someone here on a nonimmigrant visa is not legally permitted to purchase or possess firearms, and he was here on a nonimmigrant visa, Nieman said.

But that federal law allows for exceptions, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, such as a valid hunting license or permit, admitted for lawful hunting or sporting purposes.

Nieman could not say whether Qi met any of them. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorneys office for North Carolinas Middle District said they could not comment.

The murder weapon, a 9 mm pistol, had yet to be recovered as of Thursday, Nieman said. He declined further comment on how Qi may have obtained a gun.

While federal law allows legal immigrants to purchase and possess firearms, nonimmigrants in the U.S. on study visas are generally excluded.

Federal law also makes it a felony for a foreign national in the country on a nonimmigrant visa to purchase or possess a firearm. Anyone who knowingly sells or gives a firearm to someone on a nonimmigrant visa can also face a felony, said Andrew Willinger, the executive director of the Duke Center for Firearms Law.

He said those federal laws are facing some uncertainty following the U.S. Supreme Courts Bruen decision last year that struck down New Yorks strict law limiting the right to carry firearms. That decision has brought new challenges to laws that limit gun possession.

Gun permits and background checks

Qi had been working for the Applied Physical Sciences department at UNC since 2022 after earning his masters degree from Louisiana State University. He received his undergraduate degree in physics from Wuhan University in China, according to his lab profile.

Blackwood said Qi had not obtained or applied for a handgun permit before state lawmakers  over Gov. Roy Coopers veto  ended the handgun permit requirement that included background checks by sheriffs offices. Qi also hadnt sought a concealed carry permit, which remains on the books, the sheriff said.

That leaves gun dealers with the responsibility for background checks, using the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System. That system can flag would-be buyers who hold nonimmigrant visas.

Gun safety advocates say the federal system has flaws and loopholes, such as allowing private sales without background checks. North Carolina is seeing spikes in gun thefts, particularly from unlocked cars, putting more guns on the black market.

Republican lawmakers who control the General Assembly have passed measures to make it easier to purchase and carry handguns over the past decade. The new law ending the pistol permit system includes an educational campaign to persuade gun owners to secure their weapons, but there is no penalty for those who leave guns where they can be easily stolen.

Lawmakers also have also not taken up legislation requiring stolen guns to be reported to police.
SOUTH BEND  The St. Joseph County Council will vote Sept. 12 on a resolution asking Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner to take one of many steps toward breaking off and creating a separate South Bend school district  ultimately to save Clay High School.

The resolution, originally introduced by council member Amy Drake, who represents a district that includes Clay, encourages Jenner to conduct a study. The study would look into the creation of a new school corporation  apart from the South Bend Community School Corp.  to serve the unincorporated parts of St. Joseph County.

The resolution also states that the state secretary of education can reorganize and divide a school district if its needed to improve educational opportunities, citing Indiana Code 20- 23-4-38(b).

Aug. 9, 2023: Save Clay group seeks county council's help to ask for new school district, accountability

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Clay is due to close at the end of this school year, a decision that the South Bend school board made with a 4-3 vote in April.

Robert Smith, a board member of the group Save Clay, emphasizes that the resolution only calls for a study, not for the county councils endorsement of a separate district. On June 15, the resolution states, Save Clay had asked Jenner to do the study. The council's action would support that request.

He said its just trying to investigate all of the possible angles.

But, as much as its just a request, it would mark these county officials first formal step into advocating in South Bend school issues. Drake and fellow Republican Carl Baxmeyer, president of the county commissioners, have been meeting with the Save Clay group since their campaigns for election last fall. Both are sympathetic to Save Clays concerns about the loss of a school and their questions about how the district has been handling its efforts to rightsize the district.

Now, fellow Republicans on the council are listed as co-sponsors for the resolution, including Joe Thomas, Dan Schaetzle and Randall Figg.

And this isnt the very first foray into seeking a separate district. As The Tribune reported in June 2022, a small group of Clay High alumni, led by Josh Gobel and Patrick Malloy, were consulting with leaders in the only other Indiana school district to successfully make such a split: southern Indiana's former West Clark Community Schools. But, unlike South Bend, that was an amicable split with interest on both sides.

June 8, 2023: Could Clay Township become its own school district? Heres what it would take for a split.

The reality, as the story pointed out, is that the effort for Clay would likely be a long, uphill battle, possible only after seeking multiple layers of local, state and federal support.

South Bend school board President John Anella told The Tribune recently that he didn't think creating a new school district is "in the best interest" of Clay Township and its existing schools. He said it isnt "sustainable" to keep Clay High open while hundreds of student seats are open, especially if it means pouring millions into building upgrades. He noted that more kids in the Clay district go to Adams High School than to Clay.

South Bend Community School Corp. Board President John Anella

And Anella pointed to Swanson Traditional School as a National Blue Ribbon School and Darden Elementary and Clay International Academy as "thriving schools in the township.

After the boards April vote to close Clay, Gobel and Malloy stepped away from the district-splitting effort because Gobel was focused on his career and Malloy was in Indianapolis. Smith said that Save Clay is now leading that effort.

The group would seek a separate, independent district to encompass Clay High, Clay International Academy, Swanson and Darden.

Superintendent Todd Cummings from the South Bend Community School Corp.

Drake said one original part of the resolution has been deleted: It would have asked South Bend schools Superintendent Todd Cummings to meet with the council and answer its questions about plans for school closings and the districts overall stability. Cummings and Anella did that promptly at the councils Aug. 22 meeting.

Aug. 23, 2023: St. Joseph County Council hears from South Bend superintendent about closing Clay

South Bends rightsizing has included closing or repurposing seven other schools since 2018 and moving to close its downtown administration center. As of this spring, it had lost more than 1,700 students in 17 years, causing a $12 million drop in its budget. Although Clay would close, district officials said theyd also fulfill public requests to create a career center and expand pre-kindergarten programs.

Cummings has said the massive facilities plan began with 92 community meetings and 17 surveys to be sure were not spending money on empty seats.

In 2020, voters approved a $220 million dollar bond referendum, raising taxes to generate money for building upgrades, teacher raises and new literacy specialists, among other things.

Meanwhile, there are filings in federal court that allege that Clays closure could violate the federal court-ordered consent decree governing racial balance in South Bend schools. They were filed by the law firm of local attorney Pete Agostino, a Save Clay member. The school district has filed counter-claims. Oral arguments will be heard in federal court on Sept. 26.

The council will meet at 6 p.m. Sept. 12 in the downtown County-City Building.

South Bend Tribune reporter Joseph Dits can be reached at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: St. Joseph County Council to vote on study Save Clay school district
Emma Giantisco and Dylan Marton had a connecting flight canceled on the way back from Singapore.

They bought tickets with United, but the canceled flight was on the airline's partner Lufthansa.

The couple's rebooked tickets kept getting deleted, so they gave up and spent $3,153 to get home.

Home was close for Emma Giantisco and Dylan Marton.

The couple had spent two months traveling around Southeast Asia and were finally making the long journey home to Lambertville, New Jersey, on August 17, Giantisco told Insider.

They booked their flights months in advance with United. The itinerary viewed by Insider would have taken them on a United flight from Singapore to Munich, Germany; then, they'd fly with Lufthansa (one of United's partner airlines) to New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport.

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The couple successfully made it to Munich, but before taking off to New Jersey, they were informed by the Lufthansa crew that their next flight was canceled due to weather, leaving them stranded in Munich for three days.

Between the two airlines, the couple said, they were rebooked multiple times, but their tickets kept disappearing from the Lufthansa and United apps. Ultimately, the couple gave up on rebooking through the airlines for free and bought new tickets home for $3,153 out of pocket.

"We spent hours on the phone talking to countless representatives explaining our situation dozens of times," Marton told Insider of the experience. "It was exhausting."

Lufthansa did not respond to requests for comment from Insider.

After their canceled connection, the couple thought they'd be on a flight the next day

Emma Giantisco and Dylan Marton on their two-month trip. Emma Giantisco and Dylan Marton

After a stress-free flight from Singapore to Munich, the couple boarded their connecting Lufthansa flight from Munich to New Jersey.

They sat on the tarmac for three hours, the couple said, because thunderstorms in Germany had caused a delay and the flight crew timed out for the day. Ultimately, their flight was canceled.

Travelers were told to head to the airline's service desk for rebooking, the couple said, but their flight wasn't the only one canceled, and Giantisco estimates that there were over 1,000 people waiting in line to speak to a Lufthansa representative.

"Mathematically we're going to be here for 15 hours," Giantisco said she remembers thinking. So, they ditched the line and opted to call and chat with the airline instead.

On Lufthansa's chat feature, Giantisco said they received a message about rebooking the canceled flight for free. A representative told them that the next available flight wasn't for two days later on August 19, so they accepted the flight and planned to spend time exploring Munich.

Giantisco said they received a confirmation for the new flight via chat, but when they pulled up their account, there wasn't any indication they had an upcoming reservation  the first of many such incidents, they said.

"We didn't get any tickets, we didn't get any confirmation, and we didn't get anything," Giantisco said.

She added that without an active reservation, they called United since they purchased their original tickets from that airline. Giantisco said United told them that they could get them on flights the next day: Giantisco would fly through London, and Marton would fly through Houston.

While they weren't thrilled they weren't on the same flight, they were willing to do whatever to get home, Giantisco said. The couple confirmed the flights, logged onto their United app, and saw active reservations.

Excited to be home one day later than planned, they found a hotel and headed to bed.

The next morning, however, when Marton and Giantisco went to check in for their flights (which were scheduled with Lufthansa) on their United app, they said all their flight information had disappeared, and there wasn't any indication they had tickets or a reservation. Without the necessary flight confirmation, the couple said they were starting again from square one.

In a statement sent to Insider, a United representative said, "After receiving a new itinerary from their canceled Lufthansa flight, the customer called United to explore their options and we rebooked them on a new flight the following day. When the customers did not show for this flight, they reached out to Lufthansa instead."

The couple says neither airline took responsibility for their rebooking issues

Terminal 2 at the Munich International Airport. Insights/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Giantisco said she called United about the disappearing reservations, and an agent told her, "Lufthansa has taken control over the ticket. We can't do anything and don't own your ticket anymore."

So, they called Lufthansa. But Lufthansa told them the opposite.

"They say, 'No, we can't do anything, you booked through miles with United, and we can't do anything,'" she said.

Frustrated, Marton called Lufthansa back, and Giantisco called United.

When both agents told them that it was the other airline's responsibility, the couple put them on speakerphone so the agents could chat with each other.

"They start arguing back and forth," Giantisco said. "Lufthansa keeps saying that United needs to confirm a new ticket, and United is saying we don't have control over the ticket."

After 45 minutes, Lufthansa offered to book the couple on a flight to Newark out of Frankfurt, Germany, for August 20  three days after their original flight was meant to take off. The airline also booked Giantisco and Marton on a train to Frankfurt from Munich, and while the situation wasn't ideal, the couple told Insider they were willing to get home whichever way the airline provided.

A few hours later, Giantisco opened the United app, and she said her tickets for both the train and flight were once again no longer there.

They called Lufthansa and were told once again that United needed to book them on a flight home, Giantisco said.

After arguing with Lufthansa representatives, the airline rebooked Giantisco for a fourth time on the same train and flight out of Frankfurt. Those reservations, too, disappeared from Giantisco's account a few hours later.

After multiple attempts and back-and-forths with representatives, Giantisco and Marton said they were finally booked and checked into a train to Frankfurt and a flight back home  only for these tickets to also disappear into the void.

Several rebooking attempts, multiple days, and dozens of phone calls later, enough was enough.

The couple spent thousands buying new tickets themselves

Emma Giantisco and Dylan Marton on their two-month trip. Emma Giantisco and Dylan Marton

The disappearing reservations, Giantisco said, were frustrating and made their situation feel hopeless.

"There was a heart-sinking feeling that seemed to be more intense every time it happened because the more it happened at later and later dates, it just felt more and more like we were never going to get home," Marton said.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of all was that neither airline took responsibility, the couple said. News stories of partner airlines not receiving ticketing information or airlines losing reservations have gone viral this summer. For example, one family traveled to Nigeria and spent $4,000 out of pocket to get home to North Carolina when an airline didn't issue tickets to its partner. Similarly, a group of 31 students, teachers, and parents were stranded in Japan after challenges with a partner airline. These stories have left travelers wondering who is at fault when something goes wrong.

Giantisco and Marton ultimately decided to buy their own flights home. The couple booked a Lufthansa flight out of Munich that connected through London and finally landed in Newark on August 20.

The couple spent $3,153.50 on two tickets they believe Lufthansa or United could have booked for them free of charge from the very beginning.

Finally, they made it to New Jersey  but the saga wasn't over. The couple's luggage is still MIA.

Giantisco said the aftermath of their return trip didn't end when they landed.

The last time the couple saw their luggage was in Singapore, they said, and there's still no indication of where it might be.

"We've been calling United just about every other day," she said. "They said they've put in a notice at the Heathrow, but we feel like they should put in the notice with Munich and Houston and Frankfurt and the train station."

In a statement sent to Insider, a United representative said: "Lufthansa currently has their baggage, and we are reaching out to the customer to discuss next steps."

Giantisco said she reached out to the airlines for a refund on all their purchases. She was told that they would be fully reimbursed for the flights, hotels, taxis, train rides, meals, and items they purchased during the layover without their bags, but Giantisco said she doubts it would be an easy process to get her money back.

Altogether, the couple say they've spent $4,430.79.

On top of the money, Giantisco said both she and Marton were operating in fight-or-flight mode for days, and it's a feeling that didn't go away the moment they got home.

"For three days afterward, the lack of safety and uncertainty persisted," she said. "We would wake up and be like, 'Are we home? Are we able to get home?'"

"It doesn't sound terrible to be stranded in Munich," she said. "But it wasn't great."

Do you have a travel nightmare to share? Insider would like to hear from you. Email mhumphries@insider.com.

Read the original article on Insider
A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday ordered the state to remove buoys it set up in the Rio Grande to deter migration as part of its Operation Lone Star.

The order came as part of a lawsuit filed by the Biden administration against Texas, arguing in large part that the state had no right to install structures in federal navigable waterways.

Governor [Greg] Abbott [R] announced that he was not asking for permission for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas constructed the floating barrier, District Judge David Alan Ezra wrote.

Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nations navigable waters.

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Texas is ordered to remove the buoys by Sept. 15, but Abbott indicated just minutes after the ruling that the state plans to appeal the decision and will continue to use other strategic barriers.

The floating buoys cover 1,000 feet in the Rio Grande with anchors in the riverbed. They are arranged in a chain stretching up- and down-river, each separated by a rounded blade with serrated edges similar to a circular saw.

The buoys were put in place around July 10, installed just days after four migrants, including an infant, drowned trying to cross the river.

The installation was one of several measures taken by Abbott as part of Operation Lone Star, but it has proven the most controversial, creating significant tensions with Mexico.

Ezra noted Mexicos formal diplomatic complaints on the matter in his decision as a factor in establishing the harm caused to the plaintiff justifying an injunction.

The ruling was deeply critical of Texass arguments to defend the installation, in particular the idea that the state is allowed any means to respond to any act it considers an invasion.

And all Texass new argument does is ask the Court to take the additional step  beyond the nonjusticiable question of whether the federal government has failed to protect Texas from invasion  of sanctioning Texass assertion of plenary power to declare and respond to all types of invasions, including invasions from non-state or quasistate actors,' Ezra wrote.

Under this logic, once Texas decides, in its sole discretion, that it has been invaded, it is subject to no oversight of its chosen means of waging war. Such a claim is breathtaking.

Abbott said Wednesday Texas would continue to use other shows of force at the border and criticized President Biden, claiming, Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along.

This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal. We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers, Abbott said.

Our battle to defend Texas sovereign authority to protect lives from the chaos caused by President Bidens open border policies has only begun. Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Department of Justice in late July had urged a judge to order the buoys removed within 10 days.

Governor Abbotts suggestion that Texas can violate the [Rivers and Harbors Act] in service of its own policy priorities inverts the Supremacy Clause and controverts Supreme Court precedent recognizing the federal governments plenary power over immigration and foreign affairs, the Justice Department wrote in the filing.

 Updated at 5:32 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
A new surge in COVID infections and hospitalizations  and first lady Jill Biden s positive test  is putting a focus on the lingering risks of the coronavirus, particularly for an elderly political class in America.

The White House on Tuesday said President Biden, 80, will resume wearing a mask when indoors and near infected people. Biden has tested negative to date, and experienced mild symptoms when he was infected in 2022.

Biden is one of several elderly politicians in key positions of power. Hes likely to face GOP front-runner former President Trump, who will be 79 by Election Day next November, in what would be the oldest presidential match-up in history.

The average age of senators is 65, the highest on record. Senate Republicans are led by 81-year-old Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who has twice made headlines this year for freezing while speaking to reporters.

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is 90, and has experienced severe health complications after a prolonged absence recovering from shingles.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill), who is 78, has suffered three COVID-19 infections in the past year. Still, the No. 2 Senate Democrat told reporters Tuesday that he doesnt think there will be any additional precautions in the chamber.

Durbin acknowledged he is concerned about attendance issues, as an ill-timed absence could cost Democrats a key vote given the partys slim majority. But he indicated its not a new issue and leadership can devise workarounds.

Public health experts say despite the emergence of new variants, theres no greater risk today to an 80-year-old getting COVID-19 than there was a year or two years ago, assuming people are up to date on vaccinations.

Theres always going to be a new variant. Fourty years from now there will be a new variant of COVID. Evolution is not going to stop, said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security.

And the risk is really based on what underlying conditions may be present in people. So thats the main issue, and this is true not just of COVID but if you look at influenza, the deaths tend to cluster in the elderly. Look at RSV, Adalja said.

While age isnt the only risk factor, older people have weaker immune systems, making it harder to fight off an infection. They are also more likely to have underlying conditions.

The older you are, the less cushion you have to fight diseases. As we get older, that cushion gets thinner and thinner. So a small event can have a big impact as we get older, said Sharon Brangman, chief of the geriatrics department at SUNY Upstate Medical Center in New York.

Still, a 70-year-old with no underlying conditions, for example, is less at risk than a morbidly obese 35-year-old.

But public health experts say anyone at higher risk for severe disease  including Biden and other aging leaders  should think about taking precautions like masking indoors in large crowds and testing regularly.

If you want to reduce the transmission, you should test to make sure youre not carrying it, and you should wear a mask in areas where there are crowds of people, Brangman said.

Now whether people want to do this or not starts to get gnarled up with politics.

There are no mask requirements in the House or Senate, and lawmakers rarely wear them.

Cameron Wolfe, an infectious disease specialist and an associate professor at the Duke University School of Medicine, said older people absolutely need to be viewing their own situation as different.

Without speculating about specific politicians and their personal health conditions, Wolfe said it is a more compelling argument to me that someone whos 75, for example, not only takes the vaccine when it becomes available in the next month, but also has available rapid tests and sort of a plan to say, Heres how Id go about getting an antiviral if I test positive.'

The antiviral Paxlovid can reduce hospitalization up to 90 percent in unvaccinated patients, but it remains underutilized.

The federal government is on track to approve an updated COVID-19 vaccine as early as next week. Immunity from last years bivalent booster shot has waned, and a new shot is needed to target new variants. Health officials are urging everyone to get a new booster when it is available, regardless of age.

Aside from vaccines and antivirals, the other tool experts and officials stress is testing.

I think that testing is going to be part of our prevention moving forward, because people have to be able to test to make sure theyre not infected so that they can decide how to move around in crowded areas, Brangman said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden will be testing regularly due to his recent exposure as he heads to India and Vietnam for the Group of 20 summit.

The president has tested daily since Monday night, but Jean-Pierre has not disclosed if that will be the case going forward, or even what Bidens regular testing cadence is.

COVID-19 testing sites in the Capitol complex closed at the end of May.

Limited COVID-19 tests may still be made available for members who want them as part of their official duties or travel, but otherwise offices rely on tests in the community, which are no longer widely available for free.

Adalja said it makes sense that Congress doesnt offer tests.

Offices never had testing for influenza. Offices never had testing for RSV. Offices have never had testing for strep throat, he said. COVID-19 is increasingly being handled like other respiratory viruses.

Al Weaver contributed reporting

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A pack of coyotes chased down Ohio residents at night, biting a child, police and family said.

Columbus residents reported seeing multiple coyotes pursue people near Southpoint Boulevard around dusk on Sept. 6, a spokesperson for the Columbus Police Department told McClatchy News.

One person was bitten near an apartment building, sustaining a leg injury, Andy Chow, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, told McClatchy News.

The victim, who was not identified by officials, was then transported to a nearby childrens hospital, Chow said.

When dispatched to the scene afterwards, a Division of Wildlife officer did not locate any coyotes, Chow said.

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Be careful if you live in south end of Columbus. ... My (3-year-old) daughter was attacked by a coyote this evening at the park in our apartments around 6 p.m. Facebook user Mandi Nicole, a local resident, wrote in a post sharing photos of her daughters injury.

The animal tried dragging her daughter, the woman wrote, adding, these things happen so so fast.

What to do if you encounter a coyote

Coyotes are commonly found throughout Ohio, Chow said. If residents encounter them on their property, they should remove garbage before nightfall and keep small animals indoors.

Clap your hands and shout in a stern voice to scare off coyotes that are investigating your yard, Chow said.

If the animals cant be scared off, residents should contact a nuisance trapper, Chow said. In rural parts of the state, they can be legally hunted.

There has only been one recorded case of a person being killed by a coyote in the United States, according to the Humane Society.

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Chinas wisdom, energy, win-win mindset appreciated by Indonesian people, creates model for global cooperation: Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia

09:01, September 07, 2023 By Hu Yuwei and Zhao Juecheng ( Global Times

Editor's Note:

The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway (HSR), a landmark project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is undergoing intensive joint commissioning and testing, paving the way for commercial operations scheduled to begin soon this year.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang aboard a bullet train during a trial run on Wednesday during his official trip to the ASEAN summit in Indonesia from September 5 to 7, Reuters reported.

The Jakarta-Bandung HSR is the first high-speed railway line in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, connecting Indonesia's most densely populated areas.

As the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway line is set to open, Global Times reporters Hu Yuwei and Zhao Juecheng (GT) interviewed the Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Lu Kang (Lu), who is also a former spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Lu believed that the Jakarta-Bandung HSR will bring tangible benefits to Indonesia, while expecting the project to become a new growth point and create a high-speed railway economic corridor. He argued that the consensus reached by the heads of China and Indonesia further illuminates the direction to be taken and injects strong momentum into future relations. China supports Indonesia's chairmanship of ASEAN and is willing to deepen comprehensive strategic partnerships with ASEAN members.

GT: What changes will the Jakarta-Bandung HSR bring to Indonesia? What are local people's expectations?

Lu:The opening of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR will bring many tangible benefits to Indonesia such as more efficient travel conditions. The travel time from Jakarta to Bandung will be reduced from three and a half hour to just 40 minutes, effectively alleviating commuting traffic pressure between the two cities.

In the long run, the project will further boost investment and create employment opportunities for the people, and drive commercial development and tourism along the route. It may even become a new growth point, accelerating the formation of a high-speed railway economic corridor.

On June 22, I was invited to take a trial ride on the train together with Indonesia's Coordinator for Cooperation with China and Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil, and president of railway operator China State Railway Group Liu Zhenfang. During the trial ride, the train reached a speed of over 355 kilometers per hour, surpassing the current fastest commercial speed of any high-speed railway in the world, which amazed our Indonesian friends and earned praise for Chinese-made high-speed railway technology.

On that day, I also noticed that many locals were watching the train along the way. I was told that Indonesian people take videos of the passing trains along the high-speed railway every day, which reflects their high expectations for the project.

GT: The construction of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR marks the first all-round implementation of Chinese high-speed railway technology abroad, from the whole system and all of its elements, to the whole industrial chain. Does it mean a big step for China's high-speed railway manufacturing going global?

Lu:The Jakarta-Bandung HSR vividly embodies the concept of "extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits" under the BRI framework and has important reference significance for us to carry out other similar projects.

The successful completion of the Jakarta-Bandung HSR directly proves that Chinese manufacturing technology is mature, efficient, internationally standardized, adaptable to local environments, and actively integrated into the development plans of the host country. This will greatly facilitate China's manufacturing going global and inspire developing countries to have confidence in pursuing development paths that suit their own national conditions.

GT: According to your observations how has the BRI benefited livelihoods and brought tangible benefits to the Indonesian people?

Lu:Taking infrastructure connectivity as an example, since the proposal of the BRI, China and Indonesia have cooperated to build a number of high-quality projects, covering areas such as power plants, roads and bridges, dams, and telecommunication networks, making positive contributions to Indonesia's passion to become a traffic hub.

A series of iconic projects have been completed, such as the Suramadu Bridge, the longest sea-crossing bridge in Southeast Asia, the Tayan Bridge, the longest corbeled stone-arch bridge in Indonesia, and the Jatigede Dam, the second-largest dam in Indonesia, bringing convenience to the local populations.

Chinese-funded enterprises in Indonesia have not only provided a large number of job opportunities for the locals but also contributed to the development of local livelihoods through knowledge and technology sharing. Taking the Jakarta-Bandung HSR as an example, over 75 percent of the services and procurement for the project are sourced locally in Indonesia, significantly boosting the local supply chain and employment. It is estimated that the project will create 30,000 job opportunities in Indonesia.

GT: Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo On July 27 in Chengdu when Widodo visited China. How do you evaluate the achievements of President Widodo's visit to China this time?

Lu:This is the third face-to-face meeting between the two heads of state within a year, which reflects the high level and special nature of China-Indonesia relations. As President Xi said, on the path to national modernization and rejuvenation, China and Indonesia share highly aligned visions and present opportunities for each other's development, are like-minded companions, and good partners.

This further clears the direction and injects strong momentum into the future friendship between China and Indonesia. After the meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of multiple bilateral cooperation agreements, including agricultural product exports to China, health cooperation, joint research and development, as well as the construction of the new Indonesian capital and the "Two Countries, Twin Parks" project, achieving significant practical results.

GT: This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI and the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Indonesia. We have noticed that President Widodo's "Global Maritime Fulcrum (GMF)" strategy resonates with China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative. How do you envision future cooperation between China and Indonesia with synergy of strategies?

Lu:In November 2022, Chinese President Xi and Indonesian President Widodo reached an important consensus on building a community of shared future between China and Indonesia. They agreed to take the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Indonesia in 2023 as an opportunity to create a new pattern of high-level cooperation.

The two sides signed a cooperation plan under the framework of aligning the BRI with the GMF concept, and significant progress has been made in its implementation. The Jakarta-Bandung HSR is one of the flagship projects.

In July this year, the two heads of state met again in Chengdu and reached an important consensus on deepening strategic cooperation between China and Indonesia.

We will take the 10th anniversary of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and the first year of the China-Indonesia community of shared future as a chance to promote deeper and higher-level strategic cooperation between the two sides, injecting more certainty and positive energy into the region and the world.

GT: How do you evaluate the current level of cooperation between China and Indonesia in the fields of economy, trade, and investment? What suggestions do you have for further enhancing bilateral economic and trade cooperation?

Lu:In recent years, with the comprehensive integration of the BRI and Indonesia's GMF, China-Indonesia economic and trade cooperation has achieved fruitful results. China has been Indonesia's largest trading partner for 10 consecutive years. In 2022, the bilateral trade volume between China and Indonesia reached $149.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 20.16 percent. Investment cooperation is also a highlight of the two countries' economic and trade cooperation. In 2022, the Chinese mainland's investment in Indonesia reached $8.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 156.25 percent, maintaining its position as the second-largest foreign investor in Indonesia.

According to the consensus reached by both sides earlier this year, China is willing to further expand the importation of Indonesian bulk commodities and high-quality agricultural and fishery products according to market demand.

The Chinese government encourages its enterprises to invest in Indonesia and expand cooperation in infrastructure, green development, the digital economy, healthcare, and other fields. We aim to create highlights in maritime cooperation and promote the resumption of fisheries cooperation.

GT: In the current tense geopolitical situation, ASEAN members have become objects of competition for major powers. Indonesia is the key member of the ASEAN. How can China-Indonesia cooperation better deal with geopolitics challenges and achieve long-term stability?

Lu:This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. As President Xi once said, the Asia-Pacific is no one's backyard and should not become an arena for big power contests and no attempt to wage a new cold war will ever be allowed by the people or by our times. This is the inevitable requirement for maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the common wishes of people in the ASEAN and other countries.

One important reason why the ASEAN can maintain its central position in the regional architecture is its long-standing commitment to independence, non-alignment, and neutrality. The ASEAN has repeatedly stated that it will adhere to openness, inclusiveness, dialogue, and cooperation, and focus on economic development without aligning with or targeting any party.

In the process of achieving national modernization and rejuvenation, China and Indonesia have highly compatible ideas that present mutually beneficial development opportunities. They are like-minded partners and good companions.

China supports Indonesia's role as the rotating chair of the ASEAN this year and is willing to deepen comprehensive strategic partnerships with ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, and jointly create a positive energy.

GT: Shortly after taking office as Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia in 2022, you opened a Twitter account. Do you have any interesting or memorable stories to share with us about your interactions with locals on social media?

Lu:Since opening my Twitter account over a year ago, I have been able to interact closely with Indonesian and global netizens through this platform, and I am deeply impressed by their interest in China.

A friend once told me that the Indonesian people seem less interested in politics, but the content I shared on Twitter about President Xi's activities and the interpretation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era have received widespread and positive responses.

In the comments section, many Indonesian netizens have expressed their appreciation, saying that Indonesians like to cooperate with China for development and that cooperation with China is friendly trade, not a command.

Such enthusiastic feedback was unexpected but reasonable. China's wisdom and solutions have made it possible to solve more global issues and inject new energy into global development.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
People sit on a vehicle roof in celebration of Mexican Independence Day on South Michigan Avenue on Sept. 16, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

The city of Chicago is warning revelers planning to attend next weeks Mexican Independence Day festivities to keep roads clear and refrain from drag racing and other illegal activity ahead of the Sept. 16 holiday, after last years celebrations were marred by two men getting shot and others being robbed and carjacked.

The Office of Emergency Management and Communications said in a statement Wednesday that those commemorating the holiday this year must be respectful of their neighbors and communities, as well as workers at critical facilities such as hospitals. They should also be mindful of first responders and emergency vehicles that are required to pass through areas where celebrations are occurring citywide.

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Car caravans that create a threat to public safety will not be tolerated, spokesperson Mary May said in the statement. We also remind everyone that drag racing and drifting are not only illegal, but dangerous. Anyone in violation of the ordinance will be held accountable.

Raul Perez wears a Latin American wrestling mask in celebration of Mexican Independence Day while in a car on Chicago's East Jackson Boulevard on Sept. 16, 2022. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

Each year, tens of thousands of revelers and cars donning Mexican flags and the red, white and green colors of Mexico gather downtown during the weekend in celebration of the global holiday. Mexican independence has special resonance in the Chicago area because it is home to one of the nations largest populations of Mexican immigrants.

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But last year, car caravans and drag racing left the Loop in gridlock and jammed up workers trying to get to their destinations.

The chaos culminated that Saturday in early morning shootings, brawls with cops and a robbery and a carjacking. The next day, Chicago police brass announced some road closures to prevent further nights of gridlock, but downtown roads remained congested at night for the rest of the weekend.

The city said this year, however, it is taking the appropriate measures to ensure the safety of all residents around Mexican Independence Day commemoration activities that have long been a cherished tradition in Chicago, both downtown and in Mexican American enclaves such as Pilsen and Little Village. The Chicago area is home to nearly 3 million Latinos and 75% of them are of Mexican descent, according to a report by the University of Illinois at Chicago and Metropolitan Family Services.

[ We are going to make adjustments: Top cop following carjacking, robbery, shootings, gridlock that marred pre-dawn Mexican Independence Day celebrations in downtown Chicago ]

Afternoon Briefing Weekdays Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

The consul general of Mexico in Chicago, Reyna Torres, said in a statement Thursday that those participating in Mexican Independence Day events should do so responsibly.

Please be mindful of your neighbors, respect traffic regulations and follow the safety measures put in place by local authorities, Torres said. We are festive, proud and respectful. We know how to celebrate, and we know how to do it responsibly. Viva Mexico!

The Little Village Chamber of Commerce will host its annual parade down West 26th Street at noon Sept. 16  the first time the chamber is celebrating on the actual date of the holiday, and this year participants will represent the state in Mexico they hail from in their floats, outfits and more. The parade, one of the largest in the Midwest, begins at the Little Village Arch on 26th Street and South Albany Avenue before heading west.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 15 Mirella Padilla encourages her daughter, Quetzali, 3, at the start of the Pilsen Mexican Independence Day Parade on West 18th Street, Sept. 10, 2022, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

We are looking forward to celebrating such an important event with the community for the first time on Mexican Independence Day, Sept. 16, said Blanca Soto, former chief operating officer of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce. Safety, like every year, remains our highest priority and we plan to deliver a safe and fun parade for our residents and visitors to enjoy.

Traditionally, jubilant cruising was focused throughout city neighborhoods. But during President Donald Trumps administration, many revelers began to drive downtown to Trump Tower with Mexican flags waving and Spanish songs blasting from speakers as a stand against his anti-immigrant rhetoric and comments about Mexican immigrants.

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Mexican Independence Day is a day of commemoration of culture and the City of Chicago encourages those celebrating to do so safely and responsibly, the city wrote.

ayin@chicagotribune.com
A Colorado federal judge ruled that Cuba must pay $2.59 billion in damages to the children of Gustavo Villoldo Argilagos, a prominent businessman with dual Cuban and American citizenship whose sons said was harassed and forced to commit suicide by Fidel Castros close ally Ernesto Che Guevara in 1959.

The default judgment granted by District Judge Nina Wang was a legal victory for brothers Alfredo and Gustavo Villoldo, who had spent several years trying to collect on an original $2.79 billion judgment against the Cuban government issued by a state court in Florida in 2011. The new ruling, signed on Sept. 1, would allow the brothers to collect on the state court judgment in Colorado, where they say Cuba has assets.

Cuba did not defend itself in court. The Cuban embassy in Washington did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

This is a photo of Gustavo Villoldo Sr., who committed suicide in the early days after the Cuban revolution.

In March, Judge Wang had sided with the Villoldo brothers and agreed Cuba was liable for the death of Villoldo Argilagos and the torture of his son Gustavo, but was not convinced about the torture allegations against his brother Alfredo. She raised other legal questions she asked them to address in a new filing.

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Because Cuba has not paid, the brothers, now in their eighties, have sought to collect the money by going after assets supposedly owned by the Cuban government in the United States. Still, several attempts in different states have failed.

Gustavo Villoldo, who lives in Miami, said he could not comment on the ruling because the litigation is ongoing.

Villoldo Argilagos, the son of an American mother and Cuban father who was given U.S. citizenship at birth, was a successful businessman who had studied law at Harvard University and business at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania before amassing a fortune as the owner of one of the first General Motors dealerships in Cuba. But soon after Castro took power in January 1959, he was targeted because of his American citizenship and wealth, the original complaint says.

Members of Castros security forces led by Ernesto Che Guevara repeatedly accosted Mr. Villoldo and his family members at home and at their businesses, the complaint says. Che Guevara, members of the rebel army and members of the Ministerio del Interior continued to threaten Mr. Villoldo, and they forcibly removed him from his home with machine guns held to his throat on several occasions.

Castros forces arrested his two sons and beat and tortured Gustavo, the complaint adds.

Guevara accused Villoldo Argilagos of treason, and he was told his family would be killed if he didnt renounce his properties and kill himself, according to the allegations. He was found dead by apparent suicide on Feb. 16, 1959.

In her 2011 ruling, Miami Circuit Judge Beatrice Butchko found those acts amounted to terrorism and torture, which allows U.S. citizens to sue foreign states in U.S. courts despite a general principle of immunity granted by law to foreign governments.

All of Villoldos businesses, real estate properties, bank accounts and a farm were confiscated by Castro.

Gustavo Villoldo, ex agente de la CIA muestra fotos del cadaver del Che Guevara. NURI VALLBONA/TMH

His sons fled to the United States after their fathers death, and Gustavo went on to take his revenge as a senior CIA operative who helped the Bolivian government track and kill Guevara in 1967. That, in turn, made him a target for assassination attempts allegedly orchestrated by Castros men, he told the Miami court.
The Cuban government says it's cracking down on efforts to recruit citizens to fight with Russia.

Criminal proceedings have begun against a network blamed for recruiting mercenaries.

But Cuba experts say it's likely that Cuba, a longtime Kremlin ally, was involved in these efforts.

The Cuban government says it has begun legal proceedings against a group that recruited Cuban citizens to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine.

But the crackdown is likely just for show, Cuba experts say.

On Monday, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement it was working to dismantle a "human trafficking network" operating in Russia to recruit Cubans to fight in the war. The statement followed reports of several social media groups offering cash for Cubans willing to fight in Ukraine.

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However, the idea that a group in Cuba "could be running a mercenary ring without the government's knowledge is ludicrous," Chris Simmons, a Cuban spycraft expert and former counterintelligence officer with the Defense Intelligence Agency, told NPR.

"I think the easy, short explanation" for why the Cuban government issued a public statement condemning the mystery group "is because they got caught," Simmons said in the interview. "This is just the latest in a long series of criminal enterprises run by the Cuban government. And any time they've gotten caught, historically, their first act is to deny it and then imprison some individuals as proof that they had no knowledge."

Simmons pointed to the Cuban government's history of involvement in civilian affairs. For example, about a million of its citizens work with the government in a neighborhood watch program called the Committees and Defense of the Revolution.

"It's absolutely impossible for major criminal enterprises to exist without the Cuban government's knowledge and involvement," Simmons said, per NPR.

Though the statement from Cuba didn't outright credit Russian leaders, hacked emails obtained by The Intercept link at least some efforts to a Russian officer in the Western Military District. The emails revealed more than 100 contracts promising 195,000 rubles, about $2,000 USD, for signing on to serve in Ukraine, plus monthly payments starting at about the same amount, per the Intercept.

Andres Albuquerque, a Miami-based political analyst, said it's also possible Russia worked alongside the Cuban government to recruit citizens. He told The New York Times that if Putin was behind the efforts, it's unlikely the Cuban government was not involved: "In Cuba that does not exist," Albuquerque told the Times.

The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The recruitment in Cuba  as well as similar efforts in June in Kazakhstan  comes as Russia faces a manpower crisis. British officials recently said Russia was struggling to recruit soldiers and that every week, about 100 Russian soldiers are convicted for going AWOL.

Cuba has decades-long ties with Russia. Their friendly relationship dates back to the Cuban revolution, after which communist leader Fidel Castro sided with the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Cuba has also abstained from UN resolutions denouncing the war in Ukraine. Just this past June, Cuba's Army Corps General Alvaro Lopez Miera met with his Russian counterpart, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in Moscow. Shoigu shared a warm message following their visit.

"Our Cuban friends confirmed their attitude toward our country, including demonstrating a full understanding of the reasons for the start of a special military operation in Ukraine," Shoigu said, per the Russian state news agency Tass .

Read the original article on Business Insider
A father and son were killed in an airplane crash near an airport in southeast Texas, according to state and federal officials.

The pair were on board a Cessna 150, a small, single-engine plane, when they went down at about noon on Sept. 6, at the Huntsville Municipal Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a news release.

They were practicing landing and taking off, according to the FAA.

The plane crashed near the runway, shortly after takeoff, according to investigators.

Records show the plane was registered to Elijah Bishop, 43, of Montgomery.

Bishops son, Ethan Bishop, 20, was the pilot, the Texas Department of Public Safety told McClatchy News. Ethan Bishop died at the crash site while his father was pronounced dead at a hospital, DPS said.

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While the cause of the crash is still under investigation, the FAA says the airplane fell shortly after takeoff, during the initial climb phase.

Video from the scene shows the planes cockpit was smashed, rendered nearly unrecognizable, while the tail was torn and bent sideways. Debris littered the grass around the plane.

Both occupants were trapped inside the wreckage when first responders arrived at the scene, The Huntsville Item reported, adding that fuel was leaking from the plane.

The crash is being investigated by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board, the FAA said.

The Huntsville Municipal Airport is roughly 70 miles north of Houston.

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GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WATE)  Wildlife officials are once again urging people in Sevier County to keep their distance from bears after a concerning video from Gatlinburg over the weekend.

The video shot on Sunday, Sept. 3 in downtown Gatlinburg shows people getting a little too close for comfort to a black bear.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) said there are proper steps you should take if you find yourself in this situation.

While spotting a bear in Downtown Gatlinburg is not uncommon, TWRA spokesperson Matt Cameron said some of the people in the video were dangerously close.

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Three-legged bear breaks into Florida home, drinks White Claws

When they started approaching it and chasing it with the camera and all that, it really put them in a dangerous situation, Cameron said.

He said that this is the time of year when youll see more bears as they look for excess food and prepare for hibernation season.

Other than it being in the middle of town, it acted normal to me. Once again, it was looking around and looking for a place to where it could just get away from all these people and it didnt feel comfortable where it was at and a lot of times when you surround an animal like that and corner it, it can attack.

Dean Schapiro is from Indiana but was visiting Gatlinburg with family and shot the video.

I was up there for my sons birthday. I took him up there and the bear came running out onto the boardwalk and Im glad that I shot that video, Schapiro said in a phone interview.

 Have breaking come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts 

You can hear him call out the one woman who jumped in front of the bear as it tried to escape.

She gonna run right in his path, he said in the video.

At first, it was out of amazement but like I said, Im glad it was shot, Schapiro said. It shows that theyre being forced to come into the human population.

Schapiro said he goes to downtown Gatlinburg around four times a year and seeing a bear isnt uncommon for him.

Ive seen them behind the hotels and in the parking garages, he said.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Just back away and give it a clear escape route, Cameron said when asked what to do if you see a bear. They saw that bear and I think anyone would have been intrigued by it. It showed up in an unusual spot. It looked like the people were from somewhere else and maybe it was the first bear theyd ever seen. So, people kind of lose common sense when it comes to that. We would just encourage people to once again just back away from it to not approach it and give it a clear escape route.

Cameron added that that particular bear didnt look like it had any tags or markings that could identify it. So hopefully this interaction scared it enough to keep it from making its way downtown again.

TWRA explained that if a bear is a danger to the community, they will try to relocate it but a lot of time, relocation doesnt work and the bear will have to be euthanized.

Cameron said do your part and stay away from the bears if you see one. For more information about East Tennessees bear population, you can visit BearWise here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Actor Danny Masterson arrives at court in downtown L.A. in May. On Thursday, he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women in the early 2000s. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

After a pair of trials focused on the Church of Scientology's alleged attempts to shield one of its celebrity members from prosecution, actor Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison on Thursday morning after having been convicted of raping two former members of the church.

Masterson, 47, was convicted of two counts of rape in May, and a jury deadlocked on a third woman's accusations. The assaults took place in the early 2000s, but Masterson's victims said they waited years to come forward because Scientology doctrine forbade them to report a fellow member to police.

The sentencing played out in a packed courtroom that included Masterson's wife, Bijou Phillips; his family; actor Leah Remini, a former Scientologist turned advocate who has worked alongside the victims throughout the trial; and Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the lead singer of the Mars Volta and former Scientologist whose wife is among the accusers.

Because Masterson was convicted of assaulting multiple women, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo could sentence him only to either 15 years to life or 30 years to life in state prison. The judge gave Masterson 15 years to life on each count, ordering the sentences to be served consecutively.

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Masterson has long denied any wrongdoing and alternately painted the accusations as a smear campaign against Scientology and a baseless attack launched by ex-paramours. Before handing down the sentence, Olmedo rejected the idea that Masterson had been convicted on "rumors, innuendo, gossip or speculation."

Your actions 20 years ago took away another persons voice, and choice," Olmedo said. "Your actions were criminal. And thats why you are here.

Masterson, who entered the courtroom in a gray suit with slicked back hair and a full beard he has grown since the trial, did not speak at his sentencing and did not testify in his own defense at either trial.

During testimony, each victim described in graphic detail violent assaults at Masterson's Hollywood Hills home during the height of his fame, when he starred as the mercurial Steven Hyde on the popular sitcom "That 70s Show." All of the women said they fell prey to Masterson after he served them drinks that made them disoriented and nauseated. Each accuser was identified in court only by a single initial and either their first or last name.

Read more: Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. His battles with the church arent over

Chrissie B., a former girlfriend of Masterson, said they were involved in a tumultuous and abusive relationship that started after she moved to Los Angeles to pursue modeling. Masterson, she alleged, repeatedly spat on her, called her white trash and initiated sex with her while she was asleep. One night in November 2001, she awoke to Masterson forcing himself on her. When she said no, he pinned her down and raped her, she testified.

Jen B. said she became weak and woozy after having a drink with Masterson, who then brought her to his home and raped her while wielding a gun and suffocating her with a pillow. N. Trout described a similar experience, saying Masterson isolated her at his house once she grew weak after being served a drink. As she lost the ability to fight, Trout said, Masterson groped her and digitally penetrated her while she was in a shower before raping her so violently that she vomited.

Read more: Actor Danny Masterson convicted of two counts of rape at second Los Angeles trial

In their victim impact statements, the women Masterson was convicted of raping recounted how much speaking out had cost them.

A second-generation Scientologist, Jen B. knew that by speaking out against Masterson she would be in effect excommunicated from both the church and her family. When she reported the assault to the Los Angeles Police Department in 2004, Jen B. said, the church barred all of her relatives from communicating with her but made an exception for her parents because they had donated millions to the organization.

Jen B. said that her father died in 2010 and that her mother disavowed her shortly before prosecutors brought charges in 2020.

She texted me and told me to never contact her again," Jen B. said. "She had warned me ahead of time she wanted to see Danny Masterson locked away for what hed done to me, but not at the expense of her religion.

N. Trout said she's been tormented by the church for speaking out against Masterson, but the conviction made the alleged stalking worth it.

Since the week I came forward to police I have been terrorized, harassed and had my privacy invaded daily by the cult of Scientology for almost 7 years now," she said. "But I dont regret it.

Masterson, she said, delighted in inflicting pain on her.

You relish in hurting women," she said. "It is an addiction. It is, without question, your favorite thing to do. ... Your sickness is no longer my burden to bear.

Jurors ultimately deadlocked on the charges linked to Chrissie B. but convicted Masterson of assaulting Jen B. and N. Trout. Prosecutors do not plan to take Chrissie B.'s allegations before a third jury.

An earlier trial, in late 2022, ended in a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a verdict on any count, although a poll of the deadlocked panel revealed at least seven of them were considering an acquittal on each count. The panel was tilted 10 to 2 toward acquitting Masterson on one count, jurors said.

Mastersons defense team on Thursday issued a statement maintaining that Masterson is innocent, saying they have identified a number of significant evidentiary and constitutional issues which they will address in briefs to both state and federal appellate courts.

The errors which occurred in this case are substantial and unfortunately, led to verdicts which are not supported by the evidence, the statement said. And though we have great respect for the jury in this case and for our system of justice overall, sometimes they get it wrong. And that's what happened here.

In court, defense attorney Shawn Holley asked Olmedo to sentence Masterson to 15 years to life, the only other option available under the law. Holley cited Masterson's lack of criminal record and history of philanthropic actions, drawing a sharp rebuke from Deputy Dist. Atty. Reinhold Mueller.

The manner in which this defendant committed his acts  it was violent, it was targeted in some instances, surreptitiously drugging his victims so they were incapacitated when he committed these assaults," he said. "Its heinous. And to suggest, under all of these circumstances, that 15 years to life ... is enough and thats fair and just? Absolutely not."

The church has repeatedly denied that it has a policy barring members from reporting one another to police. But at a preliminary hearing, Mueller read passages from "Introduction to Scientology Ethics," a 528-page tome by church founder L. Ron Hubbard that discourages Scientologists from reporting fellow parishioners to police. One victim testified she understood the book to be official church doctrine. Olmedo agreed and ruled the church had such a policy.

Church of Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw blasted the introduction of church doctrines at trial as an "unprecedented violation" of the 1st Amendment. The church did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

The church's legal entanglements in L.A. are only just beginning. Masterson's accusers have a pending civil lawsuit against him and Scientology, litigation that can now go forward as the criminal proceedings have closed. Remini has also sued the organization for harassment, alleging that it has spent years trying to intimidate her into ceasing her activism.

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.
LOS ANGELES  That 70s Show star Danny Masterson was sentenced Thursday to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women more than two decades ago at his Hollywood Hills home.

Masterson, 47, showed no visible emotion after Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo threw the book at him.

"Mr. Masterson, I know that youre sitting here steadfast in your claims of innocence and thus no doubt feeling victimized by a justice system that has failed you," Olmedo said just before she dispatched Masterson to prison. "But Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim here."

Masterson's wife, Bijou Phillips, a model and actor who was a constant presence at her husband's trials, quickly donned a pair of sunglasses after Olmedo announced the sentence. She left the courtroom without a word.

Danny Masterson speaks during a launch event for Netflix

Masterson was hit with the staggering sentence four months after he was convicted on two of the three rape counts he faced at his retrial in Los Angeles. He had been charged with raping three women  identified at trial as Jane Doe #1, Jane Doe #2 and Jane Doe #3  from 2001 to 2003.

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Masterson, a once-popular sitcom star, did not take the stand at either of his trials. He has, through his lawyers, repeatedly denied sexually assaulting the women.

Neither did Masterson make any statement at his sentencing. Instead, he sat silently as the two women he was convicted of raping, as well as a former girlfriend whose rape accusation the jury deadlocked over in May, took turns urging the judge to hit him with a harsh punishment.

When you raped me, you stole from me, Jane Doe #2 told the court. Thats what rape is, a theft of the spirit.

You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent, she said. The world is better off with you in prison.

Jane Doe #1 said Masterson has not shown an ounce of remorse for the pain he caused.

"I knew he belonged behind bars for the safety of all the women he came into contact with," she said. "I am so sorry, and Im so upset. I wish Id reported him sooner to the police.

Jane Doe #3 said Masterson's actions sentenced her to viewing my body as a crime scene my entire life.

In a post-sentencing statement, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said he applauded the women for "coming forward and participating in this process."

"My hope is that this sentence will somehow bring them peace and that their bravery will be an example to others," Gascon said. "One of my top priorities is to ensure that Los Angeles will no longer be a hunting ground for Hollywood elite who feel entitled to prey on women.

Shawn Holley, one of Masterson's lawyers, said in a statement the legal battle is not over.

"And though we have great respect for the jury in this case and for our system of justice overall, sometimes they get it wrong," Holley said. "And thats what happened here."

"Mr. Masterson did not commit the crimes for which he has been convicted and we and the appellate lawyers  the best and the brightest in the country  are confident that these convictions will be overturned."

Mastersons first trial ended in November with a mistrial, with jurors leaning toward acquittal. His second trial ended with his being convicted of raping Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 but not Jane Doe #3 because the jurors could not reach a decision.

All three accusers are former members of the Church of Scientology, to which Masterson belongs.

Both trials focused unwanted attention on the controversial church, which the women have accused of trying to cover up the allegations.

At the retrial, Olmedo stressed that Scientology was not a defendant. But she allowed witnesses to testify that church officials pressured them not to talk to police about the rape allegations.

Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw repeatedly denied those allegations and insisted that church doctrine requires members to abide by all the laws of the land.

After Masterson's sentencing, the church released a statement that did not mention Masterson by name; it said the prosecution's "introduction of religion into this trial was an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment."

"The Church was not a party to this case and religion did not belong in this proceeding as Supreme Court precedent has maintained for centuries," it said.

CORRECTION (Sept. 7, 2023, 6:33 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the outcome of Mastersons retrial in May. He was not acquitted of the third count of rape; the jury was deadlocked on that count.

Angela Yang and Diana Dasrath reported from Los Angeles. Corky Siemaszko reported from New York City.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Danny Masterson, star of That 70s Show, could get as much as 30 years to life in prison at his sentencing today for the rapes of two women two decades ago.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo is set to sentence the 47-year-old actor after ruling on a defence motion for a new trial that shes very likely to reject, and after hearing impact statements from the victims.

A jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty of two counts on 31 May after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in Mastersons Hollywood Hills home in 2003, when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom.

The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.

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The verdict came in a second trial after a jury failed to reach verdicts on three counts of forcible rape in December 2022 and a mistrial was declared.

Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his prominence in the Church of Scientology  where all three women were also members at the time  to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks.

Key Points

Actor Danny Masterson could get as much as 30 years to life in prison at his sentencing

47-year-old found guilty of rapes of two women twenty years ago at his Hollywood Hills home

Jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count

Verdicts came in second trial after first jury failed to reach unanimous verdicts

Prosecutors allege Masterson used position in Church of Scientology to avoid consequences

Crimes occurred in 2003 at height of his fame in Fox sitcom That 70s Show

How did Mastersons lawyer challenge allegations?

17:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Mastersons attorney challenged his former longterm girlfriend during her testimony at the trial as to why new details had emerged in her account of when she claimed the actor raped her in 2001.

Read more...

Danny Masterson lawyer challenges new details in rape story

What happened during deliberations?

17:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Jurors deliberated for more than a week before reaching a verdict.

Actor Danny Masterson's rape retrial sees deliberations drag on again

Who is Danny Mastersons wife, Bijou Phillips?

16:55 , Oliver O'Connell

The trial and conviction of Bijou Phillipss husband Danny Masterson joins a long list of scandals she has encountered throughout her life. For those who arent familiar, heres a little background on the sitcom stars wife.

Who is Danny Mastersons wife, Bijou Phillips?

Have Mastersons former co-stars spoken about the case?

16:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Actor Ashton Kutcher, who starred alongside Masterston on That 70s Show and The Ranch, commented on the case back in January.

Ashton Kutcher (Getty Images)

16:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Who were Mastersons accusers?

16:08 , AP

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they were victims of sexual abuse.

The first accuser

One of the women Masterson is convicted of raping was born into a Scientology family and was part of Mastersons circle of friends. Nearly all of those closest to her were members, including the late Lisa Marie Presley, who also left the church long before her death in January.

The woman said that when she stopped by Mastersons house to pick up a set of keys in 2003, he gave her a drink that left her sick and badly disoriented, and raped her in his bedroom upstairs. She first filed a police report, which did not lead to an arrest, in 2004. She returned to authorities in 2016.

Jurors found her account credible and convicted Masterson based on her allegations.

The second accuser

A model and actor who was Masterson's girlfriend from 1996 to 2002 took the stand to open the trial. She previously testified that Masterson grew increasingly physically and sexually abusive in their years together. She said that it eventually led to him raping her twice late in 2001, though he is only charged with one instance, a morning when she woke to find Masterson raping her. She would go to the police 15 years later.

Jurors could not agree on a verdict on her allegations, deadlocking 8-4 in favour of conviction.

The third accuser

The third woman at the centre of the trial had only recently met Masterson through mutual friends in the church, which she had joined as a teenager. She testified that in 2003 that Masterson invited her to his house, where they were alone. She said she was clear that she wanted no sex, but he convinced her to get into his jacuzzi and then took her to his bed, where he raped her. She went to the police in 2017.

Jurors convicted Masterson based on her testimony.

Who is Masterson?

15:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Masterson, 47, an actor since childhood, got his major break when he was cast as Stephen Hyde on the retro sitcom That 70s Show, which also starred Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace and would run on Fox from 1998 until 2006.

At the time of the alleged assaults, his career was at its peak, and his house near Hollywood with a backyard pool and Jacuzzi was a social hub. It was also, according to prosecutors, the scene of all three crimes. Masterson had pleaded not guilty and his lawyers have repeatedly denied all of the allegations.

AP

What were the allegations and could Masterson appeal?

15:53 , Oliver O'Connell

Masterson did not testify, and his lawyers called no witnesses. The defence argued that the acts were consensual, and attempted to discredit the womens stories by highlighting changes and inconsistencies over time, which they said showed signs of coordination between them.

The women whose testimony led to Mastersons conviction said that in 2003, he gave them drinks and that they then became woozy or passed out before he violently raped them.

Olmedo allowed prosecutors and accusers to say directly in the second trial that Masterson drugged the women, while only allowing the women to describe their condition in the first.

Masterson was not charged with any counts of drugging, and there was no toxicology evidence to back up the assertion. The issue could be a factor in a planned appeal from the defence of Mastersons conviction.

AP

Did Scientology play a role in the aftermath of rapes?

15:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his prominence in the Church of Scientology  where all three women were also members at the time  to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks.

The women blamed the church for their hesitancy in going to the police about Masterson. They testified that when they reported him to Scientology officials, they were told they were not raped, were put through ethics programs themselves, and were warned against going to law enforcement to report a member of such high standing.

They were raped, they were punished for it, and they were retaliated against, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told jurors at the trial. Scientology told them theres no justice for them.

The church said in a statement after the verdict that the testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs during the trial were uniformly false.

The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone  Scientologists or not  to law enforcement, the statement said.

AP

Sitcom actor Danny Masterson faces sentencing today

15:22 , Oliver O'Connell

That 70s Show star Danny Masterson could get as much as 30 years to life in prison at his sentencing Thursday for the rapes of two women two decades ago.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo is set to sentence the 47-year-old actor after ruling on a defence motion for a new trial that shes very likely to reject, and after hearing impact statements from the victims.

A jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty of two counts on 31 May after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in Mastersons Hollywood Hills home in 2003 when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom.

The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.

The verdict came in a second trial after a jury failed to reach verdicts on three counts of forcible rape in December and a mistrial was declared.
Thursday is the second day this week Wichita residents and visitors will see air quality considered unhealthy.

As of 9 a.m., the air in Wichita measured 152 on the Air Quality Index, which measures the pollution levels. Going on an hour-long walk outside in the city Thursday would be equivalent to smoking 0.13 cigarettes, according to one AQI calculator.

While pollution in the air remains at unhealthy levels, it is measuring less than Wednesday, which saw an 166 AQI at 10 a.m.

The poor air quality was due to wildfires burning in the Northwest, specifically Oregon, Washington State and Canada. As of Thursday morning, a northwest fire tracking agency was still reporting 18 fires in the area.

How long will unhealthy air quality last in Wichita?

Were thinking its going to thin out a little bit during the daytime ... but return back later this evening, tonight, National Weather Service forecaster Christian Williams said Thursday morning of the poor air quality. Its going to linger especially across southeast Kansas and parts of eastern Kansas.

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When it comes to the usual cases of poor air quality in Kansas, wildfires are a common cause, Williams noted.

Smoky skies from wildfires across Canada will continue through tonight across the region. Reduced visibility and a reduction in air quality is expected. #kswx pic.twitter.com/TtJXq7D3JJ  NWS Wichita (@NWSWichita) September 7, 2023

Right now its coming from the Canada fires ... sometimes you can get smoke from even California fires, it kind of depends on the flow and the atmosphere, Williams told The Eagle. Sometimes it can be from just different types of air falls and pollution.

So when will the area start to see better air quality? The forecaster said a coming cold front could help.

We might see some of that finally kind of scatter out. The next couple of days well probably still see some remnants of it kind of linger, Williams said.

The NWS expects Sunday to be the start of temperatures below 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Sunday is forecast to see a high of 85, while Monday and Tuesday could see highs in the 70s.

Is it safe to go outside during poor air quality days?

Air quality measured at 152 AQI can negatively affect the health of people in sensitive groups and the general population.

Wichitas air quality is in the red zone, which means active outdoor activity should be limited. If you have to be outdoors for long periods of time, you should take breaks inside. Officials also advise you bring any strenuous activities indoors, especially individuals with underlying health conditions or in sensitive groups, like children and seniors.

If you do have to go outside for a longer period of time, the American Lung Association recommends wearing a mask  specifically an N95 or a KN95. The organization also recommends keeping all windows and doors closed and running your air conditioner on a recirculated setting.

You can check current air quality conditions for your location by visiting airnow.gov.
Daniel Leyden, of Chicago, (green jacket) is seen on footage from Jan. 6, 2021, leading a mob that assaulted police and broke through a barricade at the U.S. Capitol. Leyden pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 38 months in prison. (U.S. District Court records)

A Chicago man who prosecutors said played a key role in a violent mob that broke through a barricade outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has been sentenced to more than three years in federal prison.

The 38-month sentence handed down Wednesday to Daniel Leyden in U.S. District Court in Washington was one of the stiffer terms given to the more than three dozen Illinoisans arrested so far in the Capitol attack.

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Leyden, 55, a South Side electrician who previously worked for the Park District, pleaded guilty along with his brother, Joseph, 56, of La Grange, court records show. Joseph Leyden was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden on Wednesday to six months behind bars.

According to prosecutors, the Leyden brothers traveled to Washington to attend the Stop the Steal rally held by then-President Donald Trump. After Trumps speech, the brothers were among one of the first mob of protesters to reach a police barricade at the Peace Monument on the west side of the Capitol.

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Capitol Police officers attempted to fend off the approaching rioters, who were pushing the metal barricade and attempting to assault officers, prosecutors wrote in a recent court filing.

From his place at the front of the crowd, (Daniel) Leyden was in prime position to assist in achieving the crowds goal of pushing past the metal barricade, the filing stated.

Still images from video footage taken that day were included in the prosecution memo showing Daniel Leyden repeatedly lifting up barricades and pushing against police until the line broke and the mob swept past the barricade and USCP officers, the prosecution filing stated.

Daniel Leyden, of Chicago (green jacket), is seen on footage from Jan. 6, 2021, leading a mob that assaulted police and broke through a barricade at the U.S. Capitol. Leyden pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 38 months in prison. (U.S. District Court records)

After successfully dismantling the barricades with other rioters, (Daniel) Leyden got up on a low wall along the sidewalk leading to the Capitol and marched with the mob toward the building, his arms raised in celebration, prosecutors said. An image of Leyden with his arms in the air was included in the filing.

Afternoon Briefing Weekdays Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

One of the officers was struck in the head by a barricade as Leyden and other rioters swept past her, suffering a concussion that still affects her today, including random losses of consciousness, according to prosecutors. Another officer suffered a severe leg injury during the same melee, but still managed to regroup and help usher rioters out of the Capitol building, according to the filing.

The charges against Joseph Leyden, meanwhile, stemmed from a later confrontation with officers. He admitted in a plea agreement to rushing toward and pushing an officer with the Metropolitan Police Department, records show.

In asking for home detention, Daniel Leydens attorney, Thomas Leinenweber, said his client is a hardworking family man and St. Rita High School graduate who went to Washington to see Trump one last time as president, not to try to overthrow the election or start a riot.

Leyden got swept away by the mob, and with it, so too did most of his better judgment and character, Leinenweber wrote in a recent court filing. He is mortified by his behavior and terribly regrets his conduct.

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As a result of the charges, Leyden lost his job as a Park District electrician that hed held since 1999, Leinenweber said.

The Leyden brothers were among some 39 Illinoisans to be charged in the Capitol breach, an ongoing investigation that has been described by prosecutors as the largest criminal investigation in the countrys history.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com


A Nordhavn 80 like the yacht in question

On Tuesday, the Drug Enforcement Administration raided a 70-foot yacht, the Jess Conn, anchored in Nantucket and reportedly found drugs, guns and sex workers on board. According to the Nantucket Current, they were tipped off after local police received a report of a female party, on board a yacht, who did not want to be there, was under the influence of narcotics, and possibly has overdosed.

The harbormaster and Nantucket Fire Department EMTs were reportedly able to get her off the boat and to a local hospital for treatment. A further search of the Jess Conn turned up 43.4 grams of cocaine, 14.1 grams of ketamine and two Smith & Wesson pistols. The owner, Scott Anthony Burke, a retired doctor from Key West, Florida, was arrested.

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Californias state highway patrol dispatchers, security officers, park rangers and other public safety and law enforcement employees will see their pay increase by at least 7% over the next three years under a tentative contract negotiated between their union and CalHR.

The three-year agreement also includes a new family leave program for new parents or employees who need to care for a seriously ill family member. Notably, the deal does not include the additional retirement benefits that correctional officers secured in their contract with the state.

More than 7,300 members represented by the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association have until Friday, Sept. 8 at 5 p.m. to vote on the agreement, which CalHR estimates will cost the state $450.8 million.

Union leadership expressed disappointment that they couldnt deliver higher across-the-board raises to members. The general salary increases in the deal amount to 3% backdated to July 1 of this year, 2% in July 2024 and 2% in July 2025.

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(T)he team felt they successfully negotiated the best agreement that the Newsom administration was going to agree to, said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona in an announcement to members over the weekend. We pressed and pressed and are extremely disappointed that we were not successful in convincing the administration to agree on higher General Salary Increases.

Still, Barcelona thanked the unions bargaining team for the tremendous amount of work that they put into the negotiating process.

In addition to the general salary increases, employees in sixteen classifications  including dispatchers and public safety operators with the California Highway Patrol  will receive special salary adjustments in addition to the general salary increase. The pay changes range from a little less than 4% to more than 8%. (CHP dispatchers and operators will receive 7% special salary adjustments.)

The union said State Controllers Office data shows these positions currently have vacancy rates of 20% or higher, making them eligible for adjustments.

Another 48 positions will see their maximum salary increase by 2.5% to 8% depending on the classification. Workers in these jobs, such as agents at the Department Alcoholic Beverage Control and crime analysts, will only receive the salary bumps if theyve been at the top of their pay range for at least 12 pay periods.

On top of their salary adjustments, some employees will also receive monthly recruitment and retention bonuses.

Dispatchers and public safety operators at CHP communications centers in San Diego, Vallejo, Orange County and Los Angeles will receive an increased recruitment and retention bonus of $750. Workers at 11 additional call centers, including those in Sacramento and Fresno, will earn a $300 differential.

Employees who work a night shift will see their bonus pay increase from $1 to $1.75 an hour.

CSLEA is one of the final state worker bargaining units to reach a deal with the state this summer. The union representing physicians in state prisons and hospitals reached a deal late last week, and state scientists are still in bargaining and have yet to reach an agreement.
MILAN  Not far from the front lines, under dense vegetation that obstructs satellite signals, a military nano-sized drone is conducting a reconnaissance mission. From a safe distance, the operator utters a voice command that an artificial intelligence-based software turns into drone language, causing the tiny robot to change course: Sharp turn left and head straight.

The scenario is hypothetical, but seeing drones in conflict zones embedded with an AI-assistant capability, enabling two-way voice communication between drones and their handlers, could become a reality in the not-so-distant future, according to defense analysts.

The ultimate goal right now, largely influenced by Ukraine, is to make the interactions between the operator and the drone as efficient as possible, said Samuel Bendett, research analyst at the U.S.-based Center for Naval Analyses. This includes how the data is transmitted from the UAV and how it is analyzed by the operator, he added, using the acronym for unmanned aerial vehicle.

One of the ways defense manufacturers are approaching the problem is by developing ways to simplify how humans steer drones on the battlefield, injecting voice control into the mix to replace the traditional control panels of sticks and levers.

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A company who has been experimenting with the technology is U.S.-based Teledyne Flir Defense, which has partnered with AI startup Primordial Labs, of New Haven, Conn., to include voice control to the Black Hornet micro-drone, widely used by militaries globally.

Unveiled at the International SOF Week in Tampa, Florida, in May, the drone was integrated with the Anura software  coined by Primordial Labs as a tactical AI assistant  where it was able to receive voice commands from its operator from a computer and fly to different points in the conference hall.

We first learned about the Anura voice control technology late last year and thought it would be a very interesting modality to bring to our Black Hornet end-users, Ole Seeland, product director of reconnaissance systems at Teledyne, told Defense News. U.S. Special Operations Command has supported this effort with both funding and requirements.

Language barrier

Implementing auditory controls for drones is not necessarily a new science, as Seeland points out, as there is already a considerable amount of research on it from aviation and industrial-robotics applications. Whats new, though, is the increasing interest some militaries in the technology, especially in the United States. Primordial Labs has previously stated that they are on contract with Special Operations Command to fold 100 additional autonomous behaviors into Anura this year.

Traditionally, manufacturers of autonomous systems have relied on visual processes, which Seeland says has led to concerns over greater cognitive burden for operators, reduced situational awareness, and increased time to make decisions.

This reliance on the visual system is not unexpected as the acoustic environments for many of our customers are not conducive to auditory exchange, but there are use cases for which it is incredibly well-suited, Seeland said.

These could include alerting a user of changing or critical information while simultaneously providing instructions and suggestions as to what actions to take. Additionally, it can benefit operators wishing to fly their drones hands-free, enabling them to operate multiple missions and helping to reduce human error.

Relying on voice commanding can also be effective for transmitting and receiving a high density of information quickly and intuitively, the Teledyne official added.

Talking back

The development and integration of voice controls into drones remains at an early stage, in need of additional operational testing.

For Teledyne, fitting the Black Hornet with Anura is a technology demo, not a finished product  and a good capability demonstrator for future requirements, Seeland stated. He added that feedback received from the companys user community indicates theyd like to see the technology more tightly integrated with the rest of the Black Hornet system.

Currently, the scope of spoken orders for the software is rather simple  route reconnaissance, carrying out diverse survey methods in a given zone, or circling a point.

A potential add-on the companies are envisioning is a talk-back capability, where the drone would be able to respond to its operator about what it perceives based on an object-recognition program. At this stage, however, there is no timeframe for when this might happen, said Seeland.

Lost in translation

While industry experts seem to agree that the prospect for voice-guided drones to become operational is somewhat near, they argue that it could take some time for them to be acquired by militaries.

I agree that were not decades away, but likely still severely years from adoption by conventional forces, Matt McCrann, the U.S. subsidiarys CEO of Australia-based DroneShield, said.

An important element to consider is that the level of interest in this capability will vary, as pointed out by Yoav Poizner, the head of business development at the Israeli firm Elbit Systems. Some less-developed armies are only now beginning to procure modern communication systems, which means voice-controlled drones might not be a priority.

It might be that this new technology could be right around the corner, but it could also be something customers are not looking for, Poizner told Defense News in an interview.

Steering drones via voice commands is one of the many machine-intelligence capabilities Elbit is investigating for its Legion X application, a system designed to link several unmanned systems using artificial intelligence.

Bendett, the defense analyst, concurs that although the capability could prove to be convenient, every operator works in a unique way  some may prefer to work as they do now, using visual modalities, while others would be satisfied having a drone communicate back using an actual voice.

Another challenge he highlights is related to the possibility for some users to get emotionally attached to their systems.

Some are getting attached to their drones as if they were their actual comrades  we are seeing that language used by some Russian bloggers, he said. So, if your drone is talking to you as if it is human, and then is lost, that can potentially add a psychological trauma for operators, Bendett said.
[Source]

The Delaware man accused of stealing a thumb from a terracotta warrior statue that was on display at a Philadelphia museum in 2017 has been sentenced this week.

What happened: Michael Rohana, 29, took home the left thumb of the statue known as The Cavalryman at The Franklin Institute on Dec. 21, 2017. At the time, the museum was one of two U.S. sites selected by the Chinese government to host the statues as part of a traveling exhibit.

Rohana, who was attending the museums Ugly Sweater Party for Christmas, was allegedly drunk when he broke into the then-closed exhibit. After taking selfies with the statues, he touched one more and pulled its left thumb, breaking it off.

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The former department store shoe salesman stuffed the thumb in his pocket and fled the area. It took two weeks before authorities realized that the fragment was missing.

More from NextShark: Japanese authorities warn Ghibli Park visitors away from taking lewd photos with characters

The aftermath: After hearing about the statue, China demanded severe punishment. The Cavalryman, one of the few fully restored terracotta figures in the world, is insured at $4.5 million.

Rohana was initially charged with theft of a major artwork from a museum, concealment of a major artwork stolen from a museum and interstate transportation of stolen property  crimes that could have landed him up to 30 years in jail. After a mistrial, he was charged with one count of an archaeological resource in interstate commerce, a misdemeanor he pleaded guilty to earlier this year.

The sentence: Nearly six years after his alleged drunken act, Rohana was sentenced on Thursday to five years of probation. Additionally, he must pay $5,000 in fines, complete 100 hours of community service and pay restitution to The Franklin Institute, its insurer and the museum from which the statue had been on loan, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. The amount of that restitution has yet to be determined.

More from NextShark: Body of Elderly Asian Woman Found 4 Days After Going Missing in Virginia Beach

What he is saying: Rohana apologized to his family and the Chinese government, expressing regret for his actions.

Through all of this, Ive earned a huge respect for these archaeological items. They are not to be messed with, broken, or damaged, he said.

More from NextShark: SF Skate Club Co-Founder Thuy Nguyen Passes Away at 41

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Portland man arrested for anti-Asian remarks, threatening victim with black hose in road rage incident
Suspended state attorney Monique Worrell from the Ninth Judicial Circuit answers a question at a press conference in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. Worrell is suing Florida governor Ron DeSantis, filing a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to have the Florida Supreme Court overturn the suspension. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP)  A Florida state attorney whose suspension marks the second time Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has removed a top Democratic prosecutor from office because of policy differences is challenging the decision.

DeSantis failed to demonstrate that Monique Worrell was incompetent or neglected her duties when he suspended her last month, the former top prosecutor for metro Orlando said in a petition seeking to reverse the order. She filed the petition on Wednesday with the Supreme Court, where DeSantis appointees make up the majority.

The order does not allege a single instance in which Ms. Worrells exercise of prosecutorial discretion violated Florida law, the petition said. To the extent the Governor disagrees with how Ms. Worrell is lawfully exercising her prosecutorial discretion, such a disagreement does not constitute a basis for suspension from elected office.

The Associated Press sent an email seeking comment to the governors office on Thursday.

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DeSantis office began investigating Worrell earlier this year after 19-year-old Keith Moses was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons, Nathacha Augustin and 9-year-old Tyonna Major. The girls mother and Spectrum News 13 photographer Jesse Walden were also shot.

Shortly after the shooting, DeSantis general counsel said in a letter to Worrell that she had previously failed to hold Moses accountable for crimes he allegedly committed before the deaths. The letter noted that Moses was arrested during a traffic stop in November 2021 for cannabis possession. According to a police report, a deputy witnessed a gun being thrown out of the car window as it was being pulled over. The three occupants had ski masks and past firearm charges, including Moses, who was on juvenile felony probation.

The Orange County Sheriffs Office deputy charged Moses with a drug offense and not a firearm offense. The case was dismissed the following month after prosecutors concluded it wasnt suitable to pursue.

DeSantis is one of a number of Republicans in various jurisdictions across the U.S. who have called into question decisions from Democratic prosecutors.

DeSantis last year removed State Attorney Andrew Warren, a twice-elected Democrat in Tampa, after he pledged not to pursue criminal charges against seekers or providers of abortion or gender transition treatments. He also had a policy of not bringing charges against someone for certain low-level crimes.

Worrell, who won office with two-thirds of the vote in 2020, has said she will seek reelection next year.
For decades, Democrats have hated, cursed, and battled Sen. Mitch McConnell , a man they viewed as one of the great villains of modern political history.

But with McConnells faltering health putting his future as leader of the Senate GOP in doubt, Democrats are contemplating something strange: the idea of missing him.

Its not that they have forgiven or forgotten the longtime GOP leaders aggressive, norm-busting maneuvers to implement a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, or his numerous Senate machinations to stymie Democratic policies over the years.

But in recent years, Democrats have come to see McConnell as a bulwark against the partys MAGA lurch, pointing to his opposition to Donald Trumps leadership of the party, his support for robust U.S. aid to Ukraine, and his productive working relationship with President Joe Biden.

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Mitch McConnell: Im Going to Finish My Senate Term, Thank You Very Much

Even though McConnells likeliest successors are more like him than not, the prospect of new leadershipwhich may be less effective or inclined to rein in the hard right or to work with Democratsis reportedly prompting anxiety and apprehension in Bidens White House, according to Politico.

In the Senate, of the Democratic members The Daily Beast surveyed on Wednesday, most were cautious about McConnells potential departure. But none expressed eagerness to see him go.

McConnell is an institutionalist, said Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT). Ive come to respect him for standing up for the institution.

While Welch said he was not apprehensive over McConnells potential exit, he acknowledged whoever comes next will represent a real change for the institution. I will say, McConnell is experienced, confident, and in control, he added.

Meanwhile, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA)who said he has massively disagreed with McConnell while working with him productively on some policy issuesoutlined one of the reasons that Democrats might miss his reign. When he says something is going to happen on his side, its usually right, Kaine said. And that does give you some sense of predictability, even if youre not thrilled about the outcome all the time. Sometimes its nice to have a pretty good sense about what will happen, and that is a hallmark of his leadership on the Republican side.

Some old McConnell foes outside the Senate arent exactly popping the champagne, either.

Jim Manley, a former top aide to the late Senate Democratic leader Harry ReidMcConnells nemesis for yearsargued the Kentucky Republican had done an enormous amount of damage to the Senate, the likes of which can never be repaired.

Still, Manley acknowledged reasons why Democrats might be reluctant to see McConnell go. I mean, were in a weird situation here, where you might prefer the devil you know instead of the devil you dont, he said.

I long ago gave up getting mad over the fact that the president keeps on saying nice things about Sen. McConnell, Manley added. But you know, at least he has developed a relationship with him over the years, for better or for worse, that has allowed him to get things done.

Julia Nikhinson/Reuters

Just as notable as some grudging respect for McConnell was the reluctance of his biggest critics to engage with the question of his succession or comment on his legacy.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), probably the senator who has most vehemently protested and scrutinized McConnells impact on the federal judiciary, told The Daily Beast he had not even considered a Senate without McConnell.

Pressed on whether that could really be the case, Whitehouse said he just hadnt given it any thought, Im sorry to say.

A similar exchange played out with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who famously reappropriated a slight from McConnell as a Trump-era feminist rallying cry. She declined to comment on the GOP leader.

Given McConnells condition, it may not be surprising that even his most devoted critics are staying circumspect. After a fall in March led to a concussionand after suffering two other fallsthe Kentucky Republican has looked noticeably frail. His two very public freeze-ups at press conferences this summer have sparked genuine concern about his health and ability to lead the conference.

At a press conference on Wednesday, McConnell insisted to reporters he has a clean bill of health, citing a letter from his doctor, and stated his intent to serve the rest of his term, which ends in 2026.

But its hard to believe that any player or close observer of the Senate is not thinking about the Senate GOP succession question, which has lingered in the background of Capitol Hill for years. A McConnell spokesman did not return a request for comment.

First elected in 1984, the 81-year-old McConnell is the longest-serving Senate GOP leader in history. Many incumbent senators have never served under another leader. He has run his conference with a level of control that rivals the GOPs own villain, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and fended off challenges to his rolethough he faced his most serious threat yet last year, from Trump-aligned Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL).

Whenever McConnell does step aside, the conventional wisdom holds that it will not be a right-wing rank-and-filer who succeeds him but a member of his leadership team: either Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), or Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY).

Thune, currently the minority whip, is nearly as cold on Trump and Trumpism as McConnell, and he has fended off challenges in deep red South Dakota despite the MAGA wings vows to take him out. Cornyn, himself a former whip, can be more of a partisan, but boasts strong working relationships with Democrats.

Rand Paul Needles McConnell Over Recent Press Conference Freeze-Up

Barrasso is seen as the most Trump-aligned of the three, and has more frequently defended the former president. In his role crafting messaging as conference chair, he has led harsh attacks on Biden and Democrats.

Notably, however, Trump has criticized the three potential successors, comparing them to RINOs and branding them as acolytes of his foe McConnell.

Some Democrats believe the McConnell era might continue in the form of whichever of the trio ultimately wins the top job.

I think the leading candidates to replace him, if that should ever happen, are very much aligned with him in their political and personal leanings, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told The Daily Beast.

To some observers, the critical difference between these senators and McConnellthe one with the greatest implications for how the Senate GOP operatesis less in political leanings and more in personal and strategic style.

The Kentucky Republican is famous for saying little in public, while working to outmaneuver his foes behind the scenes. His approach was evident in the face of Trumps outright hatred toward him as well as the leadership challenge from Scott.

McConnell had an ability to suffer slings and insults in silence, and he enacted most of his vengeance very quietly, said Jim Kessler, vice president at the center-left think tank Third Way.

His ability to not care what the national media says about him was helpful when he stood up against Trump, Kessler continued. I dont know if the people who succeed him will feel the same way.

Democrats and Republicans, of course, acknowledge the rich irony in even entertaining the question of whether McConnell might be missed at all by his longtime foes, who have held him up as exhibit A of GOP ruthlessness.

Any Democratic discussion of his legacy may begin and end with his refusal to grant consideration to Barack Obamas nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court in 2016, leaving the seat open for over a year until Trump could fill the seat with another conservative.

What they wont miss is just how shrewd he is, said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) of Democrats. Thats a pretty remarkable gift and skill, particularly in legislative leadership, that gets some things done, but it also leaves them scratching their heads, on how did we get done in like that?

Third Ways Kessler, who was once a top aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), acknowledged McConnell was an incredibly worthy adversary while still expressing his hope he remains the GOP leader.

He has stood up against the worst elements of the Republican Party, Kessler said, and thats important.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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(Bloomberg) -- Citing the US Commerce Departments lackluster oversight of the countrys international firearms trade, several congressional Democrats are calling on Secretary Gina Raimondo to tighten controls on the commercial export of US-made guns and to release long-delayed trade data detailing those shipments.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A 2020 rule change transferred oversight of export licenses for many types of firearms from the State Department to Commerce  a switch that gun industry lobbyists correctly predicted would boost overseas sales. In the first 16 months after the change, global export-license approvals rose 30 percent over historical averages, according to congressional estimates. The Democratic lawmakers noted that President Biden vowed during his presidential campaign to reverse the Trump-era rule. But he has not.

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Senator Elizabeth Warren , a Democrat from Massachusetts, and others in Congress wrote to Raimondo last September asking for updated export figures to gauge the impact of the switch in oversight. They expressed concerns that Commerce was effectively padding the gun industrys profits while putting deadly weapons in the hands of corrupt actors around the world. Raimondos office never responded to that query, according to Warren, and Commerce has stopped releasing new firearms export data.

Since then, US-made guns continue to find their way into the hands of terrorists and human rights abusers to be used in brutal killings across the globe, stated the letter, which Warren and three House Democrats sent to Raimondo on Wednesday evening. Yet your Department has not published updated annual data  which will soon be a full year late  or responded to a congressional inquiry. That failure could be masking a record that may have gotten even worse, they wrote.

Read the full letter here.

A spokesperson for the Commerce Department said, We are aware of the letter and will respond through the appropriate channels.

Warren referenced reporting from a Bloomberg News series chronicling how surging US firearms exports are fueling crime around the world. The series also showed how the Commerce Department has promoted those sales by, for example, linking foreign buyers with manufacturers at the gun industrys premier exhibition in Las Vegas each year.

As Bloomberg reported in July, no company has profited more from the American export push than Sig Sauer Inc., the US-based spinoff of the European gunmaker. After lobbying for Commerce to assume oversight of exports, Sig in 2020 signed a deal with Thailands government to export 250,000 semiautomatic pistols. Those guns, which were initially offered to former police and military officers, have fueled a thriving black-market trade. One of those Sig pistols was eventually used in the deadliest single mass killing in Thailands history, the October 2022 massacre of 36 people that targeted a childrens nursery school.

Warrens letter cited that story, saying Sig has clearly benefited from the rule change. She also noted steady streams of US-made assault weapons going to Guatemala, where Bloomberg documented increases in US shipments of rapid-fire weapons to commercial gun dealers, despite the countrys struggles with crime and corruption. Bloomberg also found that gun crimes spiked dramatically in Canada following a surge in imports of US-made semiautomatic pistols and rifles.

Warrens letter was co-signed by three fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives: Joaquin Castro of Texas, Norma Torres of California and Dan Goldman of New York. They noted that Biden and Raimondo support a reinstatement of an assault weapons ban in the US, a proposal that faces opposition in the Republican-led House. But the administration already has the authority it needs to crack down on the proliferation of these weapons abroad, the letter stated.

The Department of Commerce has a simple mission  to promote jobs and grow our economy  but its continued approval of assault weapons exports is leading to civilian deaths abroad, Torres said in a statement to Bloomberg. We're calling on Commerce to provide swift answers regarding these dangerous exports.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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The United States has decided to send controversial depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine for the first time, as part of a new aid package worth more than $1 billion announced Wednesday.

The 120mm rounds can be fired from the US-made Abrams M1 tanks and are set to arrive on Ukraines frontlines this fall, which both Washington and Kyiv hope will help Ukrainian forces to build on recent hard-earned gains in their ongoing counteroffensive.

But the munitions are mildly radioactive, raising queries about their safety and the risk they could pose to civilians, and drawing fierce criticism from Moscow.

Heres what you need to know about depleted uranium munitions  and why their use has sparked questions.

What is depleted uranium?

Depleted uranium is what is left over when most of the highly radioactive isotopes of uranium have been stripped out of the metal for use in nuclear fuel or nuclear weapons.

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It is far less radioactive than enriched uranium and unable to produce a nuclear reaction. But depleted uranium is extremely dense, making it a highly effective projectile. It is almost twice as dense as lead, the metal used in standard ammunition.

A common misconception is that radiation is depleted uraniums primary hazard, according to a report from the RAND Corporation. That is not the case under most battlefield exposure scenarios.

Instead, what makes depleted uranium so effective is its ability to tear through the armor of enemy tanks, as it becomes sharper on impact with a target.

Its so dense and its got so much momentum that it just keeps going through the armor  and it heats it up so much that it catches on fire, Edward Geist, a nuclear expert at RAND, told the Associated Press.

The US announced the new aid package during Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Kyiv, on September 6. - President of Ukraine/Shutterstock

Why is it controversial?

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)  the United Nations nuclear watchdog  has said that depleted uranium is considerably less radioactive than natural uranium, but urged caution when handling.

The agency added that the main conclusion of studies done on the health of military personnel exposed to depleted uranium is that exposure could not be linked to any statistically significant increases in the personnels mortality rates.

However, while depleted uranium does not significantly contribute to the background radiation that soldiers and civilians encounter, it can pose a danger if it enters the body.

When depleted uranium munitions strike a tanks armor, it can ignite and produce uranium dusts or aerosol particles, which, if inhaled, can enter the bloodstream and may cause kidney damage.

High concentrations in the kidney can cause damage and, in extreme cases, renal failure, according to the IAEA.

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told CNN on Wednesday that the US is confident the Ukrainians would use the munitions responsibly.

These rounds are standard use in the tanks that not only the US uses, but that we will be providing the Ukrainians, said Singh. We have absolute confidence that the Ukrainians will use them responsibly as they fight to take back their sovereign territory.

The move to provide the depleted uranium rounds comes after US President Joe Bidens administration decided to send the more controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine earlier this year.

Both types of ammunition, the US believes, will help the Ukrainians break through Russian defensive lines as Kyiv bids to reclaim its territory.

Have other countries sent them to Ukraine?

The United Kingdom defense ministry confirmed in March that it would send depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine, drawing a sharp and immediate rebuke from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Today it became known that Great Britain announced not only the supply of tanks to Ukraine, but also shells with combined uranium, Putin said at the time.

I would like to note that if all this happens, Russian will have to react accordingly. I mean that the collective West is already starting to use weapons with a nuclear component.

UK officials accused Putin of deliberately trying to disinform about the weapons, adding that the British Army has used depleted uranium in its armor piercing shells for decades.

It is a standard component and has nothing and has nothing to do with nuclear weapons or capabilities. Russia knows this, but is deliberately trying to disinform, said a defense ministry spokesperson.

How has Russia responded?

Russias foreign ministry described the US move as a criminal act.

This is not just an escalatory step, it is a reflection of Washingtons outrageous disregard for the environmental consequences of using this kind of munitions in a war zone, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said at a Thursday news conference, according to Russian state media RIA.

Previous reporting from CNNs Jessie Gretener and Darya Tarasova.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
The name of the deputy head of the Presidents Office, Rostyslav Shurma, quite often appeared in Ukrainian media headlines in mid-August, along with a scandalous story. Bihus.Info journalists conducted an investigation, concluding that the state had paid Shurma brothers solar plants for electricity in Russia-occupied territories.

Shurma talked about this and other topics in an interview with the head of the Office of Transformation, Maksym Bakhmatov, broadcast on NV Radio on Sept. 6.

NV: What are you dealing with in the Presidents Office? What are your goals? And what will happen with the reconstruction?

Shurma: My area of responsibility in the Presidents Office includes economy, finance, energy, business, industry, ecology, and agriculture. And, of course, if were talking about reconstruction, this means the creation of conditions for high business activity, for physical reconstruction in all critical sectors of our economy.

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NV: One of Ukraines greatest friends, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, said corruption in Ukraine hampers the supply of weapons to Ukraine by the West. Its most likely this is the biggest problem for Ukraine and for business, right? How can we overcome it quickly, if we can?

Shurma: This is an extremely difficult issue, extremely painful for our society.

I would probably start with the fact that the problem of corruption is not only a problem in certain government levels. This is a big mental problem that has existed in our society, unfortunately, for more than 30 years. One way or another, unfortunately, the absolute majority of Ukrainian citizens both face and provoke corruption.

Therefore, I believe the most important step to systematically overcome corruption is for each citizen to say not just I wont take bribes, but I wont give bribes and I wont look for any way to get advantages, compared to other citizens of Ukraine.

Read also: Nearly 80% of Ukrainian refugees intend to return home  UN

I recently spoke with the president of Estonia who told me: Do you know what we felt, what affected us by (Ukrainian) refugees? There is a very large number of positive factors, but what negatively affected us? The fact that were trying to build a system for refugees. Its clear that sometimes they have to wait for some service  several days, sometimes a week, sometimes two weeks, but they will definitely receive one or another humanitarian or social service, well do everything for them. But an extremely large number of Ukrainian citizens, unfortunately, began to look for ways to get personal preference by offering some [financial] benefit to Estonia. And that was actually very unpleasant to hear.

Therefore, when we talk about corruption, each of us, it doesnt matter if we are an official, a businessman, a doctor, or an average citizen of Ukraine, should start with ourselves.

And now regarding the government. This is a total, principled fight against corruption, without any exceptions. Through the anti-corruption bodies, through the inevitability of punishment, through high-profile specific cases.

Lets take one of such cases...

NV: Oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky.

Shurma: I will tell another case. The head of the Supreme Court. I think every country has issues with the judicial branch of government. Some are bigger, some are smaller, but they are everywhere. And we understand why. But I dont know any country, either developed or not, where such a high-ranking official in the judicial system was detained for bribery.

This means two things. First, the problem was and continues to be systemic. Secondly, such a problem actually exists in most countries. But if the head of the Supreme Court is busted in the country, it means the [anti-corruption] system is starting to work.

NV: Can it be the other way around? That our judges are so brazen, as well as the head. And thank God there is someone to bust him.

Shurma: And that too! This explains many things at once.

The second example you gave yourself is individual oligarchs who robbed the country for decades, withdrew tens of billions of hryvnias from state-owned companies, sometimes from the budget. I dont want to give any estimates yet. I want only law enforcement agencies to give estimates here. And I know theyre actively engaged in this.

NV: I want to remind you that Ihor Kolomoisky is almost a person with immunity who suddenly ended up in a pre-trial detention center.

Shurma: Continuing the topic of corruption. One thing I can say clearly: I know for sure that the president of Ukraine, the head of the Presidents Office, the prime minister have an extremely strong and principled desire to overcome this disease in our country. There is a problem of a huge number of officials who, unfortunately, think differently. And its a matter of time, principles and perseverance so that we can overcome it. And well definitely do it.

NV: I cant help but ask this question. The Bihus.Info investigation claims that the state allegedly paid your brothers solar plants for electricity in occupation. As far as I understand, the plants are located in occupied territories, the electricity was purchased by our Ukrainian state. Why did you not immediately comment on this?

Shurma: First, I already gave all the detailed explanations about this case a bit earlier. I can repeat.

Second. Im sure that the law enforcement authorities should figure it out to put an end to this issue, so that its not just comments, explanations, etc.

Third. This is a slander, sorry, a hit piece. We understand whose and why. And completely distorted facts.

All this was just aimed at dragging me through the mud and then forcing me to make excuses. Therefore, I will say clearly: the state didnt pay anything to my brother or me. This is the first lie.

Read also: Ukrainians without Russian passports denied healthcare in occupied territories  Kyiv

Second. Electricity was supplied to Ukraines unified power grid, this was confirmed by the operator, the Ukrenergo company, every month, signing acts and providing dispatching services, and loading and unloading commands.

Third. There are more than 70 such objects in temporarily occupied territories. The same algorithms were applied to them. There were companies in which my brother has a share, two or three companies. Thats all. I dont see any abuse here, any violations of the law, or any violations of moral and ethical standards.

NV: So, you claim this was some hit piece from a leading anti-corruption publication? This is what you claimed on Radio Liberty.

Shurma: Lets have a meaningful conversation about reconstruction instead. Ive answered these questions in detail. We can already see the political bias of this material.

Its a pity that during the war, when everyone, including the state, business, volunteers, and media, must consolidate and unite, some our media dont just accept orders for hit pieces, but accept orders from those who looted the state. And, in fact, they serve and harm our state, playing along with the aggressor, destabilizing the situation inside the country.

NV: Am I correct in my understanding that you or your brother can provide all the explanations to the key authorities to dot the is forever?

Shurma: Im personally ready [to provide those] at any moment. As far as I know, not only my brothers companies, but all the companies in this process are already actively cooperating with law enforcement agencies to provide all the information.

NV: We have questions about the restoration of Ukraine. Where to get funds? About the balance of investments, about help from partners. As far as I understand, were currently dependent on $3.5 billion in aid from our partners every month.

Shurma: I must spell out the situation. I think the answer will be long, but comprehensive.

First. Current problems and the countrys survival. This is not about investment, not about reconstruction. In fact, the countrys monthly need ranges from $3 billion to $4 billion of financial support from our partners. This is for the country to continue to work and exist. These are the salaries of doctors, [employees] of state institutions. This is the payment of pensions, all of them. This is the payment of utility services by all state institutions. All public expenditures, except for the financing of military needs.

To date, we having almost no capital expenditures. This is exclusively the liquidation of the emergency consequences of the war, this is all current state support.

Read also: What role will state enterprises play in Ukraines post-war reconstruction?

Wages account for up to 70% of all these costs. And perhaps more than 80%, including taxes. But this is the states existence and struggle. This is the first component.

Second. Reconstruction. Of course, everyone wants just to think that the state will rebuild or the state will take funds to rebuild. In fact, large-scale reconstruction in this format is impossible. Because budget funds not only in Ukraine, but throughout the world, are much less than private ones. And there are always national priorities in budget funds. It doesnt matter whether it is the U.S. government, the government of France, or the United Kingdom, or any of our partners: their internal needs will always prevail over Ukraines needs.

NV: They have their own kindergartens.

Shurma: Of course, kindergartens, and social problems, and electoral cycles... Therefore, we clearly understand that we can claim only a limited amount of these funds.

Therefore, our task, as authorities, is to use them according to two criteria.

The first criterion is to do and build only what business cannot do, what we cannot replace with private funds. For example, we understand that business wont build a destroyed kindergarten, it must be rebuilt [by the state]. But if we understand that the hospital can be built according to the model of private and public partnership (as it is implemented in Turkey, Korea, Japan, and many other countries), then its better to attract private funds for this.

If we understand that the airport can be built at the expense of a private investor, while the bridge over the Desna River will never be built by a private investor, then, probably, we should attract a private investor here, and budget funds should be spent on things where a private investor would never come, like this bridge.

The second criterion is multiplication. Every dollar or euro of financial assistance received must be directed so that it is multiplied by an additional amount of private capital.

NV: Ten?

Shurma: Ten is an unrealistic multiplier. This is the target multiplier that we set for ourselves.

For example, we see that its necessary to develop some segment of the Ukrainian economy. [Lets take] power engineering. We see that private business wont come by itself. The state must provide some funds either directly or through other state institutions of other countries. Accordingly, we should allocate $1 million only when we understand that another $10 million will be provided by private investors, thus receiving a signal, guarantee, insurance from the state. Therefore, this is the second criterion where public funds should be directed.

Read also: Zelenskyy proposes single business inspection body to meet IMF, EC standards

And in fact, the lions share of the reconstruction [we estimate it will be more than 80%] should take place at the expense of private investments. Its not expenses, but investments. That is, we can actually make a civilized business out of every sector. How it works throughout the developed world, where you and I are moving. It doesnt matter whether it is energy, agriculture, infrastructure, IT business, industry, services, as I just gave the example of healthcare  in almost every segment.

If we look at the natural advantages that Ukraine has, we have up to a dozen sectors where business projects in Ukraine are more attractive compared to other European countries. I didnt just mention energy, agriculture, certain types of industry, such as power engineering, green metallurgy, building lithium or titanium cycles, woodworking, etc.

NV: Do we need about $500 billion?

Shurma: Roughly so.

NV: For 30 years of independence, Ukraine has attracted about $50 billion if Im not mistaken. Do we need to attract 10 times more in the next 5-10 years than we did before?

Shurma: I think not in five years, but in 10 years, most likely. Yes. And I dont see any problem in this. If we look at the experience of countries like Poland, Slovakia, and South Korea, they all started at some point. Korea [started] in the 1980s...

NV: It experienced four military coups before that.

Shurma: Poland [started] in the early 2000s. When they really started and multiplied the number of investments.

Fundamental changes must take place for them to begin.

NV: Name three changes.

Shurma: Three key things. The first is joining NATO. Because the main risk that worries any investor today is the risk of physical loss of an asset.

The second is joining the European Union. Because the Ukrainian market wont be sufficient to cover all necessary production or investment. This investment should work for the entire European market. And, in addition to the market, its also access to cheap financing. Two things that are required from the European Union. The first and second are actually 80% of the necessary changes.

Read also: Ukraines defense minister replaced amid wartime corruption crackdown

And the third is reforms, which I would divide into several components. This is the liberalization of business regulations. This is business deregulation so that it is physically easier to start a business in Ukraine than in neighboring Romania, Poland, Hungary... This is far from the case now; [to] get land plots, connect to networks, obtain permits, get environmental approvals...

The second is an anti-corruption reform so that any investor who comes here is sure that tomorrow no one will demand a bribe for any procedures or cause problems.

NV: Can law enforcement agencies create problems?

Shurma: Anyone can theoretically create these problems. This is an anti-corruption reform.

The third is the so-called rule of law. This applies to both honest courts and law enforcement. In particular, this is tax reform. Because any company that makes a decision on where to start its business, both international or Ukrainian, considers the set of criteria that Ive already listed: access to markets, available financing, regulatory field, and tax burden. Accordingly, if the tax burden on income in Hungary is 9%, and 18% in Ukraine, what will be the solution?

NV: And the cost of money for Hungary is 7%, and 15% for us.

Shurma: To win this fight, this competition for investments, we need to carry out the whole set of these changes.

NV: Who is primarily responsible for making everything work?

Shurma: These are very diverse tasks. Therefore, there is a person responsible for each segment.

Regarding NATO and the European Union. I think the whole government team is working on this, but there is a special deputy prime minister for Euro-Atlantic integration. If were talking about the law enforcement and judicial system, there are special managers in the Presidents Office who are currently working on relevant reforms. If were talking about anti-corruption reform, the whole team is working now, not only the Presidents Office, but also the government and the law enforcement system, to work out and implement the relevant changes.

Regarding the regulatory environment that I was talking about, I work together with the Economy Ministry. Regarding tax legislation, I work together with the Finance Ministry and MPs. Each body has a set of responsibilities.

NV: Are you primarily a professional manager?

Shurma: Manager.

NV: And you know all that is nothing but hot air without clear key performance indicators (KPI). Are there such KPIs? Does the whole team understand this? Do they gather together at the same table?

Shurma: Of course, the KPIs are clear in each specific segment, including dates, terms, numbers, etc.

But we must understand that its possible to fulfill the seven points of this program. But nothing will happen until the two main ones are fulfilled, namely joining NATO and the European Union.

NV: Lets imagine that we are told: You have such a neighbor, Russia, you will never join NATO. We will give you written guarantees, swear on blood, but you wont join NATO. What will should do then?

Shurma: NATO is not a goal in itself. The goal in itself is to ensure security on the territory of our state.

Read also: NATO must clearly define 'red lines' for Putin in Europe  Kurt Volker

If were talking about investments, the question is transformed as follows: how much does a potential investor believe in this security structure? Why am I talking about NATO? Because by virtue of my position I communicate with a huge number of financial, industrial, strategic, medium, and large investors. And Im testing: what security guarantees do you see? What I feel now: apart from NATO, as of today, no one particularly trusts anyone. Because its a brand.

Therefore, its not so much about physical security as about perception and trust in the security formula. Maybe we can find and write some other security formula. Were definitely working on it. Were not waiting to be accepted into NATO or not. Were working on it. But the main thing is that business and potential investors believe in it.

NV: There is a U.S. investment company, BlackRock. They have trillions of dollars under management.

Shurma: Up to $10 trillion. The largest [investment] manager in the world.

NV: A private one. These are ordinary managers who got together, explained the structure, gave the result, and they were entrusted with managing $10 trillion.

Shurma: Our GDP is slightly more than $150 billion. And the budget, the revenue part barely exceeds $30 billion.

NV: Such numbers are beyond my comprehension.

Shurma: Its enough for us to convince several dozen players, such as BlackRock, [to invest] 0.5% or 1% of their portfolio in projects in Ukraine. Thats $100 billion from just one company.

But what should we understand? Its not about I like it or not. This business has very clear regulations and mandates. Its not their money. This is money that they manage on behalf of investors. Investors, handing over money to them, sign relevant documents. These documents clearly set out the mandate, in particular the risk mandate, which countries they can invest in or cant. What types of projects they can take, which sectors they can invest in, e.g., green transformation, which they cant invest in, say, coal, etc.

Therefore, our task is to offer such a portfolio of projects and an environment where they can check the boxes  yes, we confirm.

Read also: Ukraine to establish special court for foreign investors claims

What is important. BlackRock is a company that manages trillions, they have plenty to do. The number of projects, investors and countries they deal with... Why do they deal with us? Not only because were good at convincing. But because they believe in Ukraines prospects.

And even if, as of now, they havent yet made a decision [to spend] any funds in Ukraine, they have [involved] their human resources. A separate team, about 10 people. They dont stay here, they work in different offices, such as New York or London. Theyre currently working on the funds concept and model, which will be used to attract funds to Ukraine. Trust me, every BlackRock employee is hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary. Accordingly, they singled out, by the way, very strong people who deal exclusively with Ukraine, because they believe that this moment will come. And they want to be among the first. It seems to me that this is a win-win situation.

NV: The key story in any project is to look at the numbers to see what will happen.

Shurma: Given that were in the hot phase of the war now, that no investment fund will open limits on Ukraine until our victory, until the end of the war, until the security guarantee, given that we were able to mobilize the teams of BlackRock, JP Morgan, McKinsey, the largest consultants, bankers, managers across the world, this is already a good achievement. So that when we win, we dont have to wait four years, as Germany waited for the Marshall Plan.

NV: Lets talk about oil company Ukrnafta: abuse by Kolomoisky and involvement with municipal enterprises. You said you had something to say.

Shurma: Lets start with Ukrnafta. First. I believe that only law enforcement agencies should give the final assessment of all this. But what we see from the preliminary audit results, from the preliminary results of the work of the new management, almost UAH 100 billion [$2.7 billion] have been withdrawn from the company in recent years. It was still according to the previous exchange rate.

Read also: Widespread drone attacks target key assets deep inside Russia, damage four Il-76 military transport aircraft in Pskov

The schemes were quite simple. Oil products or oil were transferred to some LLC, but there is neither oil nor oil products. Oil products worth tens of billions of hryvnias were also sold to other companies. The payments did not take place. Advances and prepayments for the same amounts have been made. Parts of the oil products were paid for with coupons from the same companies, there are eight tons of coupons in the basement, some pieces of paper worth another five or six billion of hryvnias. Like bitcoins. Its written: 20 liters of gasoline to LLC. This is the level of complex schemes, the third class. This is what we saw.

At the same time, the new management has been working for a little more than six months. What do we see? The company earned more than UAH 13 billion [$355.5 million] in profit. At the same time, these funds are now in the companys account. This is not a drawn profit. Second. The company paid UAH 21 billion [$574.3 million] in taxes in eight months. Think about this number. The company is now either No. 1 or No. 2 taxpayer in Ukraine. It pays UAH 2.5 billion [$68.3 million] to the budget every month. And all this money goes to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Previously, this figure was many times smaller.

NV: Is it just because this person, despite the fact that the state had priority in shares, simply controlled the cash flow?

Shurma: Yes. And there is a very big question to the entire previous management of Naftogaz [state oil and gas company].

NV: It included some prime ministers, right?

Shurma: Very titled both in the supervisory board and the management, etc. These are obvious things, these were not complex schemes, they could see them from the first day of work. But this is a fact.

In the end, I believe the state got a big gain and victory by making such a decision. The management is working effectively now. What the previous ones did...

NV: Will someone be put in prison?

Shurma: Its not for me to judge.

NV: What do you think as a manager? Would you recommend prison time if you saw that a shareholder stole a hundred billion?

Shurma: I would certainly prove my position in court, I would demand the appropriate court decision that you talked about.

NV: Youre a state representative, you can now demand that.

Shurma: Law enforcement agencies are dealing with this. I see the law enforcement agencies are now very seriously engaged in this.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The Jeters new addition, Kaius Green Jeter, arrived May 5.

Derek Jeter is gushing over fatherhood after welcoming his fourth child  and first boy  with wife Hannah Jeter in May.

The Jeters new addition, Kaius Green Jeter, arrived May 5, People reported at the time. According to the online baby name generator nameberry.com, Kaius is a male name of Latin origin meaning rejoice.

Former Major League Baseball player Derek Jeter walks down the fairway on the 10th hole during the Celebrity Foursome at the second round of the American Family Insurance Championship at University Ridge Golf Club on June 10, 2023, in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Its been different for me because I have a younger sister, and then we had three girls, while Hannah had a brother. So having a boy is a little different for me, the Hall of Famer told People in a new interview published Sept. 6. But hes been great so far, he added.

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Baby Kaius has three sisters: River Rose, age 17 months; Story Grey, age 4; and Bella Raine, age 5.

In February, the retired New York Yankee spoke about being a girl dad on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, calling it controlled chaos.

Its school pick-ups, drop-offs, they do my nails, my toenails, makeup, lipstick  and its the greatest thing Ive ever experienced, said the 2000 World Series MVP.

In his latest interview with People, Jeter said his baby boy is not mobile yet, which makes it easier, but Im sure things will get complicated in the next few months.

The Jeters managed to pack in some trips this summer with the kids, including a visit to the Bahamas for their oldest daughters birthday, who also accompanied Dad on a business trip to London.

Now, were back in school, the proud father shared with People.

Theyre back in school as of [last] Monday, so we have a couple of hours during the day, Hannah Jeter, 33, added. But then, theyre back and theyre super psyched. They come home with a lot of energy.

Despite Jeters busy schedule with the kids, he remains committed to his partnership with Jeep.

You almost spend more time in the car than you do at home, so its been a really great partnership for us, he said.

We started our partnership with Jeep in October 2022 and for us, its really authentic to who we are now and how our family has grown, Derek told People.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Derek Jeter says having a boy is a little different for me appeared first on TheGrio.
In 1916, with Europe embroiled in armed hostilities, President Woodrow Wilson won reelection on the slogan He kept us out of war. In 2024, President Joe Biden could offer a similar message: He kept us out of war with Mexico.

If Biden loses, that war may not be long in coming. In the first Republican presidential debate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was asked if he would send U.S. special forces across the border to carry out attacks on drug cartels. He replied, Yes, and I will do it on day one.

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Pharmaceutical tycoon Vivek Ramaswamy is equally eager, promising to use our military to annihilate Mexican drug cartels south of our border if necessary. Former Vice President Mike Pence said his administration would hunt down and destroy the cartels that are claiming lives in the United States of America. As president, Donald Trump wanted to launch missiles against Mexican drug labs, according to his defense secretary, Mark Esper. And the GOP front-runner reportedly has asked aides to draft battle plans for an attack on Mexico.

In 2009, Boston University international relations scholar Andrew Bacevich said we were trying to achieve impossible goals in Afghanistan. Anyone suggesting that the United States possesses the wisdom and the wherewithal to solve the problem of Mexican drug trafficking, to endow Mexico with competent security forces, and to reform the Mexican school system (while protecting the rights of Mexican women) would be dismissed as a lunatic, he wrote. Meanwhile, those who promote such programs for Afghanistan, ignoring questions of cost and ignoring as well the corruption and ineffectiveness that pervade our own institutions, are treated like sages.

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Bacevich was right about Afghanistan. But today, lunacy is ascendant. Politicians and commentators on the right would have us believe that the biggest problems we have with Mexico can be solved with overwhelming military force.

Those paying attention in Chicago are familiar with the problems. In the past year, the city has had to cope with more than 13,500 asylum-seekers, most of whom came across our southern border and were bused here by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican. Each year, Illinois suffers thousands of overdose deaths involving opioids, including fentanyl smuggled from Mexico.

But the migration crisis and the fentanyl plague grow out of deep dysfunction not just in Mexico but also in countries in Central and South America and beyond. Anyone who thinks the U.S. can transform those societies to suit our needs is divorced from reality. Anyone who thinks an invasion of Mexico would work out well has forgotten our experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan and Haiti, where failure has been the norm.

There has always been unauthorized immigration across the southern border, and given the insurmountable challenge of securing a 2,000-mile stretch of land, there always will be. Societal breakdown from Venezuela to Guatemala has pushed desperate people to do anything necessary to find a safe haven. If the U.S. were to invade Mexico, it would undoubtedly create even more refugees trying to escape the carnage and hardship that would ensue.

[ Daniel DePetris: Bombing Mexico to stop drug cartels from supplying US with fentanyl is a terrible idea ]

Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

For decades, Mexican drug cartels have been able to transport their products northward to meet the steady demand of American consumers. Fentanyl is easy to make and even easier to smuggle because it is highly potent in tiny doses. How effective is military force against drug trafficking? The U.S. deployed tens of thousands of troops in Afghanistan  yet opium production quadrupled during our time there.

The Mexico hawks apparently learned nothing from past U.S. military ventures that were advertised as small, low-risk operations but ended in debacles. In 1983, 241 American military personnel in Lebanon died in a truck-bomb attack on their barracks. In 1993, 18 American soldiers died and 73 were wounded in a vicious firefight in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

In each case, the president quickly decided to get out and stay out. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton learned the same painful lesson: Starting a war is easy. What comes next rarely is.

DeSantis said that when his administration catches drug smugglers, were going to leave them stone cold dead at the border. His charming fantasy rests on a grossly inaccurate notion of the fentanyl trade. In the vast majority of drug seizures at ports of entry, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the smugglers are as American as Clint Eastwood. I have news for this Harvard Law School graduate: A president cant order the summary execution of U.S. citizens or foreigners for alleged crimes.

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Its tempting to think that all the bravado is just political theater by guys from Republicans striving to show how tough they are. But many a supposedly tough guy has let his mouth get him into a fight he couldnt win.

Steve Chapman was a member of the Tribune Editorial Board from 1981 to 2021. His columns, exclusive to the Tribune, appear the first Thursday of every month. He can be reached at stephenjchapman@icloud.com.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
An elderly man missing for three weeks was found dead in his car in Marion County on Wednesday.

Larry Dean Freeborn, 79, who had Alzheimer's disease, was reported missing from his home on the east side of Des Moines on Aug. 12.

According to a tweet from the Des Moines Police Department, Freeborn called home around 5 p.m. on the day he went missing and was given directions from Maxwell to Des Moines. He was later spotted at a Casey's convenience store in Monroe at 6:26 p.m. Officials then said he was at another Casey's in Melcher-Dallas between 7:20 p.m. and 7:26 p.m.

Deputies with the Marion County Sheriff's Office were called around 6:54 p.m. Wednesday to a farm in Lovilia in the southern part of the county, according to a news release. The vehicle was found in a creek on a rural portion of the property. Freeborn's body was found in his green 2007 Ford Focus.

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A farmer found his car and called police.

His 64-year-old brother Melvin previously told the Des Moines Register he drove all over searching for Freeborn, adding more than 2,000 miles to his car. He also told the Register he called authorities every day to put pressure on the case.

"There isn't a rock that I have not overturned," he said.

Melvin Freeborn said Thursday he had driven around the area where his brother was found but didn't see him. "I did all I could," he said.

Larry's granddaughter Odyessey Freeborn told said her grandfather was the oldest of 15 siblings and always put others before himself. "He grew up showing his love through actions rather than words," she said.

"At the end of the day," she said, "he was more than a missing person. He is so much more: he is a father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend."

A preliminary investigation found no obvious sign of criminal action contributing to Freeborn's death, the release said. The State Medical Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy and the case is under investigation.

Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter@NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Missing Des Moines grandfather found dead in rural Iowa
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) had a heated exchange at a press conference Thursday with an audience member who said the governor was responsible for the recent racist shooting in Jacksonville that left three Black people dead.

Speaking from the audience, an unidentified man accused DeSantis of enacting policies that hurt people like myself and the people that I love, including his children.

You have allowed weapons to fill the street into immature, hateful people that have caused the deaths of the people who were murdered a few weeks ago, the man said.

Then as the man began to speak of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old Black boy who was fatally shot in Sanford, Fla., by George Zimmerman in 2012, DeSantis interrupted him.

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I did not allow anything with that, DeSantis said.

WATCH: DeSantis heated exchange with audience member over Jacksonville shooting

The man then tried to interrupt DeSantis, telling the presidential hopeful to let me finish, but DeSantis once again cut him off.

Im not going to let you accuse me of committing criminal activity, DeSantis said as audience members began to clap. I am not going to take that.

DeSantis said that the gunman who opened fire at a Dollar General store Aug. 27 should have been Baker Acted, referring to a Florida law that allows for family members to involuntary institutionalize an individual in light of a mental health crisis.

He should have been ruled ineligible, DeSantis said. But they didnt involuntarily commit him.

The man tried to respond to DeSantis, demanding he be allowed to finish his point, but DeSantis once again interrupted him.

There is the truth. There is something about the truth. Its not  everyone doesnt have their own truth, DeSantis said.

The unidentified audience member accused DeSantis of allowing people to hunt people like me, for which DeSantis vehemently rejected as nonsense before he launched into an explanation of the states support of law enforcement.

DeSantis, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, has faced backlash from Black lawmakers both in his state and at the federal level for the Jacksonville shooting.

Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon issued a scathing rebuke of DeSantiss response following the shooting, and the Congressional Black Caucus and other leading Black leaders said the shooting was motivated by anti-Black legislation.

At the end of the press conference, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, who is Black, said the man who argued with DeSantis on Thursday was totally insane.

Its terrible that people take advantage of the fact that hes a different color from the poor victims of that tragedy to try and tie him into it, Ladapo said, according to Politico.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Florida Gov. DeSantis ' immigration crackdown is convincing some undocumented workers to stay out of Florida.

But many of those workers typically get hired by residents to rebuild and clean up after storms.

Workers told the New York Times that the risk of deportation is just too high to help clean up after Hurricane Idalia.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' crackdown on illegal immigration is scaring away undocumented migrants who normally flock to the state to help with hurricane cleanup.

DeSantis's law, signed in May, made it much more difficult for migrant workers to live and work in Florida.

The law makes it a felony for groups to bring undocumented immigrants to Florida and enables law enforcement officials to randomly audit businesses that may be hiring such workers, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. The law also makes out-of-state licenses no longer applicable for illegal migrants  which critics and advocates have argue will lead to police profiling.

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That law is now affecting hurricane recovery efforts across the state, the New York Times reported. Some migrants who typically travel to Florida to get hired helping residents rebuild their homes and clean up after storms now fear deportation if they enter the state, the outlet reported.

One undocumented worker who lives in Texas told The New York Times that, because of DeSantis' immigration crackdown, he "absolutely will not go" to Florida to help with recovery efforts after Hurricane Idalia.

"Imagine being arrested and deported doing work that really helps people," he told the Times. "We have families.''

Resilience Force  a nonprofit group that advocates for and organizes disaster response workers  held a series of meetings at worker hubs in Texas and Florida this summer, a representative for the group told Insider.

The meeting organizers learned that more than half of about 1,000 workers at these informal sessions  many of whom are undocumented  do not want to return to Florida because of DeSantis' new law, the representative said.

Representatives for DeSantis did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested the use of pardons and commutations in the cases of Proud Boys members and others sentenced for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. (You can check out his comments in the clip below.)

In an interview with Newsmaxs Eric Bolling on Wednesday, the GOP presidential candidate, weighed in on how hed approach their sentences if he were elected president.

We will look at all those cases. I mean, so theres some examples of people that should not have been prosecuted. They just walked into the Capitol. If they were BLM, they would not have been prosecuted, DeSantis said, referring to Black Lives Matter.

Then theres other examples of people that probably did commit misconduct, they may have been violent, but to say its an act of terrorism when it was basically a protest that devolved into a riot, to do excessive sentences  you can look at  OK, maybe they were guilty but 22 years if other people that did other things got six months? he added.

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He continued: I think we need a single standard of justice and so well use pardons and commutations as appropriate to ensure that everyones treated equally. And as we know, a lot of people with the BLM riots, they didnt get prosecuted at all.

The comments arrive one day after Enrique Tarrio, the ex-chairman of the far-right street gang the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in the riot.

Other Proud Boys members such as Joe Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Dominic Pezzola and Ethan Nordean have recently received sentences of 10 to 18 years in prison.

Over 1,100 people have been charged with crimes in connection with the Jan. 6 riot, The Associated Press noted.

DeSantis initially used the events of the Capitol attack to argue for an anti-riot bill in his state and, days after the riot took place in 2021, said he was glad to see some of the rioters arrested.

After he announced his presidential campaign, DeSantis didnt rule out issuing pardons for former President Donald Trump and Jan. 6 rioters in May.

Hes since declared that Trump should have come out more forcefully as the riot took place while doubling down on the idea of pardoning him, as well.

H/T Mediaite

Related...
A Republican state senator calling for an investigation into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis doubled down on his demands for a special session on Thursday, despite having virtually no support from even his own party.

The governor, the House Speaker, and other GOP state senators have all criticized Colton Moore for his demand for a special session to investigate Willis after a Fulton County grand jury indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 others in an alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.

They all say such a special session would be unconstitutional.

But that didnt stop Moore and his supporters from pushing for those demands even further on Thursday.

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Channel 2s Richard Elliot was at the news conference Thursday morning that he said was so raucous that state troopers were called in to keep an eye on things.

My role as a senator is to call a special session on behalf of my constituents and any Georgian who feels that their tax dollars shouldnt be going to Fani Willis, Moore said.

But Moore has virtually zero support from other legislators and his own party. In fact, he admitted that of the 109 signatures he needs to get that special session, he only has three.

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One of those is Woodstock Republican Rep. Charlice Byrd.

The purpose of this press conference is to petition the governor and our leaders to call for a special session to defund and investigate Fani Willis, Byrd said.

Just last week, Gov. Brian Kemp criticized Moores actions and insisted he did not have the constitutional authority to call a special session to investigate Willis.

These are the distractions that get you to lose elections, Kemp said.

He added that while he felt her prosecution was politically motivated, hed seen nothing that led him to believe it was illegal.

He also accused Moore of being a grifter using this controversy to raise money.

Not focusing on the past or on some grifters scam that somebodys doing to help them raise a few dollars into their campaign account, Kemp said.

Last week, Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns released a letter also saying such a special session was unconstitutional.

Other Republican lawmakers said when they refused to sign Moores letter, they got threats.

Moore meanwhile, dared his fellow Republicans to vote him out of the GOP caucus.

RELATED NEWS:
Authorities have released new details about how a fugitive managed to escape police custody and dart out of a hospital in Washington, DC  with a handcuff on one wrist.

Police are searching for Christopher Haynes, 30, who is suspected of killing 33-year-old Brent Hayward last month, the DC Metropolitan Police Department said. Haynes was arrested Wednesday and brought to MPDs homicide branch to be booked and processed, Acting Chief of Police Pamela Smith said Thursday.

While he was being processed, Mr. Haynes complained of an ankle injury from a preexisting injury, Smith said. An officer took the suspect to George Washington University Hospital for treatment.

The acting chief said a suspects handcuffs are typically removed at the hospital, so that one hand can be handcuffed to the gurney or bed.

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As he was taking one of the handcuffs off of one of the suspects arms, the suspect got up and aggressively moved away from the officer and fled the scene.

Two officers chased after Haynes but were unable to catch him, Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

Haynes is now the subject of an intense manhunt spanning multiple agencies, and police are asking for the publics help.

Police released an updated photo of Haynes, saying he was last seen with black handcuffs hanging from his right wrist. - D.C. Metropolitan Police Department

Smith said Haynes is Black with shoulder-length locks and a Washington Nationals tattoo on his neck.

He may be wearing a black shirt, gray shorts, one red shoe and black handcuffs hanging from one wrist.

DC Metropolitan Police have announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the fugitives capture.

While there has been no confirmation that Haynes is currently armed, Smith said, a DC government emergency alert warns people to use caution as Haynes is considered armed and dangerous.

A US Secret Service officer searches for Christopher Haynes, who escaped custody while at George Washington University Hospital on Wednesday. - Craig Hudson/The Washington Post/AP

About 20 minutes after the escape, George Washington University issued a temporary shelter in place order for its city campus. GWU said it hadnt received any reports of anyone harmed in the community.

A George Washington University Hospital spokesperson said the hospital remains fully operational and is coordinating with local authorities.

The US Secret Service and US Park Police are among the agencies helping with the search.

As for how Haynes was able to escape, Smith said MPDs Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating.

CNNs Gabe Cohen and Lauren Koenig contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  The Nevada Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation will provide thousands of Nevadans with training at no cost by partnering with the online learning platform Coursera.

According to a release, the focus of the LearnNV program is to equip young adults ages 18 to 24 with the skills needed for in-demand jobs. Training programs will be specifically aligned to employer demands.

People can register for free courses in the comfort of their own homes, said DETR Director Christopher Sewell. New demands of emerging industries require people to be constantly learning, this program will allow people to earn credit and certifications that will allow them to succeed.

The release said LearnNV provides 6,000 courses and credentials from top universities and industry experts to help people develop career skills such as communication and data literacy.

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Technology is reshaping the labor market, diversifying the local economy, introducing new skills

requirements, and creating career opportunities for Nevadans right at home, said Jeff Maggioncalda, Coursera CEO. Were excited to partner with DETR to help tens of thousands of Nevadans, particularly young adults, develop industry skills and earn micro-credentials that can help them break into high-paying digital jobs and address talent shortages across the state.

Those interested in the program can contact their nearest EmployNV Career Hub, EmployNV Youth Hub, EmployNV Business Hub, or visit the registration page to learn more.

The first phase of the program is being rolled out in Clark County, with plans to expand access to the entire state by the end of 2023.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
A Pennsylvania Supreme Court disciplinary board has recommended reinstating the law license of a former Bucks County prosecutor who was disbarred a decade ago after pleading guilty to child endangerment in a case that spurred community outrage.

The Office of Disciplinary Counsel supported reinstatement for Anthony C. Cappuccio, 46, who petitioned for the return of his law license earlier this year, his second attempt to return to practicing law since the Court disbarred him in 2012.

The three-member hearing panel concluded that 14 years of disbarment is sufficient time to dissipate the detrimental impact of Cappuccios professional misconduct.

blind justice statue holding the scales next to a court gavel

More on DUI Central court plan Why a plan to hold all Bucks County DUI hearings only in Doylestown is back for review

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The misconduct for which (Cappuccio) was disbarred is not so egregious as to preclude consideration of his petition for reinstatement, the panel added, according to its report issued in July.

The state Supreme Court ultimately will decide if Cappuccio is allowed to resume practicing law.

Here is what we know about the history of this case.

Who was Anthony Cappuccio and why was he disbarred?

Cappuccio was the chief deputy district attorney when he resigned from the office in September 2008, after Richland Police found him and a 17-year-old boy partially clothed in a car.

A subsequent investigation found that while serving as a youth group leader at a Perkasie church Cappuccio took three minors to rock concerts and gave them alcohol and smoked marijuana with them. Cappuccio also admitted to an ongoing consensual sexual relationship with one of the teens.

In 2009 he pleaded guilty to three felony counts of endangering the welfare of children; he was sentenced to six to 23 months in jail and his Pennsylvania law license suspended.

After his conviction, the courts discipline board recommended suspending Cappuccios law license for five year retroactive to 2009, but the states high court disagreed.

Then-Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille wrote in the decision that "any sanction short of disbarment in these circumstances threatens the integrity of the legal system, undermines our very serious duty to protect the public, and fails to give appropriate weight to (Cappuccio's) status as a public official."

How can a disbarred attorney be reinstated in Pennsylvania?

An attorney can file for reinstatement with the Pennsylvania Supreme Courts discipline board after five years from the retroactive date of disbarment.

The discipline boards will empanel a review committee, hold a hearing and take testimony before issuing a recommendation, which is forwarded to the Court for its decision.

Over the last decade, the Supreme Court has denied 22 reinstatement petitions and it has granted 124 reinstatement petitions from discipline, according to the discipline board.

What is Anthony Cappuccio doing today?

After serving less than a year at Northampton Council Correctional Center, Cappuccio was paroled and he completed his five years of probation in 2018.

Since 2019 he has worked as a paralegal at an Easton law firm, which is representing him before the disciplinary board. If he regains his law license he would continue to work for the law firm, according to the discipline hearing report.

Cappuccio has taken significant steps toward recovery and rehabilitation, according to the committees report, which included witness testimony. He has completed four years of forensic treatment. He is not required to register as a sex offender under the states Megans Law.

Among the evidence the panel considered was a November 2022 letter from the Bucks County District Attorneys office.

The report does not describe the contents of the letter, but it stated that Cappuccio provided evidence that substantially assisted the District Attorneys Office with the investigation and prosecution of former Warminster Police Officer James Carey.

Carey, 54, was sentenced earlier this year to 24 1/2 to 55 years in state prison, for sexually abusing five boys.

A look at new Pennridge civic curriculum What is the 1776 Hillsdale curriculum adopted by Pennrdige?

More Bucks County news Are illegal dirt bikes terrorizing your neighborhood? What police are doing about it.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Ex-Bucks County prosecutor disbarred in 2012 wants law license back
A doctor who works at a veterans hospital in West Virginia is accused of groping one of her colleagues in an effort to harass and humiliate them, according to federal prosecutors.

Tracey H. Reilly, 53, of Bridgeport, West Virginia, is employed by the Louis A. Johnson Veterans Administration Medical Center in Clarksburg, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of West Virginia announced Sept. 6 in a news release.

Reilly is accused of touching another employees breasts and buttocks on or around Nov. 28, according to prosecutors and an indictment.

Now, Reilly is indicted on charges of abusive sexual contact and simple assault, prosecutors said.

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Information regarding Reillys legal representation wasnt immediately available the afternoon of Sept. 7.

The Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center told McClatchy News in a Sept. 8 statement that we take this matter extremely seriously, and we have been cooperating with law enforcement since these concerns were raised.

As soon as VA learned of these allegations, we removed this clinician from any patient care or interaction, the statement said.

McClatchy News contacted the VA Clarksburg Healthcare System for comment and about Reillys employment status on Sept. 7 and didnt receive an immediate response.

Reilly focuses on emergency medicine and medical toxicology, according to her online WebMD Care profile.

At the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center, a wide range of healthcare services are provided for veterans, including primary care and specialty services.

Reillys indictment comes after the Veterans Affairs Police and the VA Office of the Inspector General investigated her. She is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorney Sarah Wagner, the release said.

No additional information about the case was included in the release or indictment.

Clarksburg is about 125 miles northeast of Charleston, West Virginia.

Doctor exposed himself, masturbated on flight while sitting next to teen, feds say

Nurse sent himself nude photos of a patient after taking her phone, Florida sheriff says

Patient found crying on side of road after Fort Bragg counselors assault, feds say
Recently arrived migrants sit on cots and the floor of a makeshift shelter operated by the city of Chicago at O'Hare International Airport on Aug. 31, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

It is no secret our immigration system is badly broken. President Joe Biden and Congress have failed to honor their oaths of office and protect the people of the United States at our borders.

Approximately 16.8 million immigrants who lack permanent legal status live in the U.S., a report released this year by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimates. The president is oblivious to the crisis at our southern border.

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The president has done more to secure the border and to deal with this issue of immigration than anybody else, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. However, according to the Department of Homeland Security, a record number of migrant families  91,000  illegally crossed the southern border last month.

A country without borders is not a country. We American citizens deserve to know who is in our country. It has been a year since Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began busing migrants and asylum-seekers to sanctuary cities and states. To date, Chicago has received about 13,000 migrants.

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A year later, the state and the city lack a clear plan to deal with migrants. In fact, decisions made by Mayor Brandon Johnson and his predecessor Lori Lightfoot may have exacerbated the migrant crisis. Today, more than 2,000 migrants have been sleeping on floors at police stations and OHare International Airport.

The decision to turn the Lake Shore Hotel into a migrant shelter has sparked outrage in the community. Similar indignation has generated protests in New York. Many Chicagoans have expressed anger with city officials for not addressing the homelessness crisis here. I cant understand why our elected leaders are not putting the same energy and resources into prioritizing Chicago residents. After all, I have a moral obligation to take care of my home first and then seek to help others. Chicago has spent more than $100 million on migrants to date.

[ Willie Wilson: Allowing non-U.S. citizens to become police officers will not improve policing in Illinois ]

What about the burgeoning homeless and affordable housing crisis? More than 200,000 families are on Chicago Housing Authority waiting lists, according to the CHAs fiscal year 2023 report. The wait for public housing can take six months to 25 years. The Section 8 waitlist is currently closed. The CHA says the city has not received a major increase in vouchers over the last 30 years.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shared with WLS-Ch. 7 journalists that it has a severe shortage of affordable housing and that the wait list times at CHA reflect that there is greater demand for low-income housing resources than there is supply, a trend, unfortunately, not unique to the city of Chicago. The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless just issued a report showing there are more than 68,000 people who are homeless here and the majority are people of color.

With this data top of mind, why wouldnt elected leaders place a priority on providing affordable housing for its citizens? Chicago residents on the South and West sides are struggling with high unemployment, affordable housing, food deserts, health disparities and mental health, and our elected leaders are taking resources and using them to help support migrants. Illinois welcoming legislation provides a green light for migrants to seek sanctuary in our state.

Elected leaders failure to enforce immigration laws has caused tension among Americans who need resources for mental health, health care, housing, education and crime fighting.

As a humanitarian, I seek to help everyone, but charity begins at home. How can we help others when our citizens are being neglected and left to fend for themselves? The diversion of resources to provide for migrants means fewer resources for poor communities.

This crisis is solely on the shoulders of our elected leaders. The crisis could get ugly as migrants needs are being placed over that of our citizens. As resources become scarce, there will be a reckoning for cities and states whose finances are poorly managed.

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I recommend the following solutions to deal with our immigration crisis:

 President Biden should declare a state of emergency and secure the borders.

 Elected leaders should enforce the U.S. immigration laws.

Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

 Biden should use his executive powers to fast-track work permits.

 Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Johnson and other Democratic leaders should adopt migrant families and allow them to stay in their homes.

 Elected officials should prioritize resources for U.S. citizens first. The resources being allocated to migrants should be spent on our most vulnerable citizens.

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Political leaders passed sanctuary laws without fully appreciating the plans and resources needed to take care of migrants and asylum-seekers. These laws appear to be in conflict with the U.S. Constitution and encourage illegal immigration. We are a nation of laws, and directing law enforcement to ignore immigration laws will erode our democracy. According to FAIR, the cost of illegal immigration to U.S. taxpayers has reached $115.6 billion, a 30% increase over five years. I write this commentary to make those comfortable with open borders uncomfortable.

The poem at the base of the Statute of Liberty reads in part: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Perhaps we should add until resources run out.

Willie Wilson is a Chicago business owner and a former 2023 mayoral candidate.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Emily LeeAnna Willis was pleading for help moments before she was fatally shot on the city's east side, court documents read.

The 27-year-old mother of one was found on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds in the 200 block of North Rural Street near its intersection with East Washington Street, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Willis was transported to a hospital in critical condition, where she died after the Aug. 28 shooting.

Emily LeeAnna Willis, a 27-year mother of one, was killed in a shooting in the 200 block of North Rural Street, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.

Before she was shot, a gray Honda Civic approached Willis, prompting her to scream "leave me alone" several times, a probable cause affidavit against her accused killer states. Police previously said they believed Willis was involved in an altercation before the shooting.

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Witnesses told officers they spotted the Honda driving through the alley into a church parking lot around 9 p.m. Nothing seemed out of place until the vehicle reached the entrance to the lot and the occupants began talking to Willis, who was walking on the sidewalk.

Willis began walking south on Rural Street before turning around, running north and pleading for help. That's when someone in the Honda's passenger seat fired about 20 shots at her, according to the affidavit.

Detectives tracked down a suspect in the case using surveillance video from a nearby library and statements from several witnesses.

Deonta Nelson, 34, was arrested on Sept. 1 in connection with the shooting and is facing preliminary charges of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.

Library surveillance video helps police find car

From the scene of the shooting, police spoke with a friend of Willis, who said he dropped her off to hang out with other friends at about 4 p.m. Nearly four hours later, Willis messaged the friends wife asking for help.

Willis stated that two men were trying to lure her into their car, but she did not want to get into the vehicle with them, reads the probable cause affidavit for Nelsons arrest. Emily told them that she was at the library and that she needed to be picked up.

Surveillance video from the library showed Willis trying to flee from two men in a grey Honda, including one dressed in a bright red hoodie. Investigators also found a license plate for the Honda and used license-plate reading cameras and other databases to track it to an apartment complex about 1.5 miles from where the shooting occurred.

Police later stopped the vehicle as it was improperly registered. The driver of the Honda told police he was driving the car when Willis was shot and said the man who shot her was asleep in his apartment, the affidavit reads.

Investigators were granted a search warrant for the apartment and inside found a bright red hoodie and a Glock handgun. The affidavit does not include details on the motivation for the shooting.

More Indianapolis crime: A snack run to a west-side gas station ended into a double killing, court records say

In an interview with police, Nelson stated he was in the area to shoot dice around the time of the shooting and that he knew and saw Willis, but he denied shooting the woman, according to the affidavit.

An attorney for Nelson was not yet listed in online court records before publication of this article.

When asked if the driver of the Honda could face charges in Willis death, a spokesperson for IMPD said the investigation is ongoing and that the Marion County Prosecutors Office makes final charging decisions.

Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis man arrested in killing of Emily Willis on Rural Street
A Department of Justice investigation into two New Jersey-run veterans homes concluded the state violated the Constitution during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing inadequate care to residents.

The 43-page report looking into veterans homes in Menlo Park and Paramus determined there were numerous failures, including poor communication and the lack of staff competency that allowed the virus to spread virtually unchecked throughout the facilities. The DOJ concluded residents at the two homes face unreasonable risk and harm, citing poor infection control practices and medical care.

The investigation, which was conducted under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, found the lack of care resulted in the veterans homes suffering among the highest number of resident deaths of all similarly sized facilities in the region.

The death toll from the two veterans homes was extraordinarily high in 2020, the report stated. The Paramus veterans home had 37 residents die in two weeks in April 2020, which prompted the National Guard to be deployed there, according to NorthJersey.com.

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In total, more than 200 residents of the homes died during the pandemic, but the report noted these deaths were likely undercounted due to a failure to systematically monitor and document clinical symptoms of COVID for all residents during the early days of the pandemic.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) faced criticism for the states handling of the veterans homes, especially when it directed the homes to not turn away patients who tested positive for the virus in April 2020.

Murphy said in a statement the report was deeply disturbing, adding the treatment received by those residents was unacceptable and appalling.

In an effort to provide our veterans with the care they deserve, over the past three years, our Administration has instituted numerous processes and procedures to improve conditions, including most recently securing private management and assistance for these two homes, he said in the statement. However, it is clear that we have significantly more work to do, and we are open to exploring all options to deliver for our veterans the high level of care they deserve and are entitled to under the law. We commend the Legislature for their partnership to help us improve conditions, and we will continue to work together in any capacity to provide world-class care and services to our heroes and support to those who care for them.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) blasted the management of the veterans homes shortly after the DOJ released its report.

This report issued today by the Justice Department lays out in exhaustive detail a chronicle of misdeeds at these homes that should enrage everybody in New Jersey, Pascrell said. What happened to our veterans was one of the terrible tragedies of the pandemic. Too many times residents at the facilities, seniors who fought for our country, have been left in brutal conditions.

The incompetence, negligence, and outright recklessness by facility management led to loss of life, he added.

The Associated Press contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE)  A man has been sentenced for excavating and removing archaeological resources in public lands in Madera County, says the United States Department of Justice Wednesday.

United States Attorney Phillip A. Talbert says 35-year-old Vance Franklin Myers of Oakhurst was sentenced Wednesday by the United States District Judge Ana De Alba to three years probation and a $10,000 fine for unauthorized excavation and removal of archaeological resources from public lands.

According to court documents, Myers entered upon public lands in Madera County that were administered by the United States Forest Service and unlawfully excavated Native American cultural artifacts and Native American human remains.

Officials say the artifacts removed from the site included beads, manos, rosegates, and desert side notched points. This occurred between June 1 and Sept. 3, 2015.

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DOJ says he is also banned from entering public lands for recreational purposes during the period of his probation.

The DOJ reminds citizens excavating, damaging, and removing archaeological resources from federal and Native American lands without proper authorization is a violation of Federal law.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com.
The Justice Departments announcement that Special Counsel David Weiss intends to indict President Joe Bidens son, Hunter Biden, for gun charges by the end of the month reminds me of the iconic opening to the Star Trek series in which Captain James T. Kirk solemnly intones about the five-year mission of the starship Enterprise.

Weissoriginally appointed by former President Donald Trump to be the U.S. Attorney for Delawarehas been investigating Hunter Biden for five years and counting, with no charges and no convictions. The promised indictment appears to be the latest misstep by the U.S. Department of Justice in a case that can only be described now as a debacle.

How to Treat the Supreme Courts Camera Phobia

Only a little more than a month ago, the DOJ and Hunter Bidens defense team had reached agreements over Bidens tax issues and his alleged false statement (denying that he was addicted to drugs) on an application to buy a gun. But that deal spectacularly crashed and burned in open court as under questioning by federal district court Judge Maryellen Noreikawho like Special Counsel Weiss was appointed by Trumpas the two parties could not agree whether the plea agreement over taxes and the diversion agreement over the gun charge would protect Biden from any future charges that might arise.

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The prosecution insisted the investigation was ongoing, while the defense said these two agreements would put an end to investigations.

At that court hearing, Judge Noreika also questioned whether giving her authority to decide if Biden might be found in breach of the diversion agreement amounted to an unconstitutional delegation of the executive branchs authority to prosecutegiven that most diversion agreement breaches are handled by the prosecution.

In the aftermath of this embarrassment, Special Counsel Weiss and Attorney General Merrick Garland decideddespite their mutual insistence that Weiss previously had no limits upon his ability to investigate the caseit had become necessary to appoint Weiss as a special counsel, because Weiss asked to become one and because of what Garland characterized as extraordinary circumstances related to the matter.

Special Counsel Weiss plan to indict Hunter Biden now over the gun charges is both ill-timed and ill-advised. Its ill-timed because it comes in the wake of a federal court of appeals striking down as unconstitutional the very gun federal law that Biden may be charged with violatinga decision that was pending at the time of the failed plea deal in July, but which has since been decided.

If the deal in July had gone through then the prosecution would likely have been unaffected by the adverse gun decision. Now, however, Bidens defense team is likely to challenge the constitutionality of the charges.

You Might Not Like It, but Hunter Bidens Shenanigans Are Real News

The planned indictment is also ill-advised because the defense has a colorable argument that DOJ cannot renege on the diversion agreement. Bidens defense attorney Abbe Lowell has already stated that in their view the diversion agreement was already entered into, approved, and that Biden is in full compliance with the terms.

If a court agrees, DOJ may be barred from terminating the agreement under the contract principle that Biden has already relied upon the agreement to his detriment and deserves the benefits of the bargain entered into with the government. Such a principle was at play in the reversal of comedian Bill Cosbys conviction by the Pennsylvania Supreme Courtthat found Cosby had relied upon prosecution promises that no criminal case would be brought against him in deciding to give testimony in a civil deposition.

Perhaps, most importantly, the renewed prosecution begs the question of what has changed to justify a prosecution when a plea agreement had already been reached?

The optics for DOJ are poor on this matter, given reports that Weiss had nearly reached the point of declining to bring any charges against Biden before political pressure mountedwith so-called whistleblowers claiming that DOJ had hamstrung the investigation. The new promise of charges also comes in the aftermath of the renewed criticism of the plea deal, accompanied by demands from the GOP chairmen of the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means committees for documents related to the failed deal.

In my experience, plea deals typically fail when a defendant refuses to admit responsibility for their actions. That is not the case here, given Bidens willingness to admit his tax liabilities and alleged false denials of being a drug addict.

Trump Can and Should Be Disqualified From Running for President Under the 14th Amendment

A plea deal might also be scuttled because new alleged crimes may have come to light about the defendant that make the original plea bargain too generous. That also does not appear to be the case here, as there is no publicly known information about additional potential charges, and Weiss is simply saying that he plans to indict on the same gun charges that (at least in July) he was willing to let go with no conviction at all.

True, there has been a change in the lawthe decision striking down the gun charge lawsince the failed plea bargain. But that change in law actually helps Bidens defense. The only discernible change in circumstances seems to be the escalation in the amount of political criticism being directed at Weiss and the DOJ.

As Special Counsel Weisss investigation voyages into its fifth year, he would do well to heed the differences between prosecutors and explorers. Captain Kirk and his crew were excited to explore strange new worlds and boldly go where no man has gone before.

Prosecutors arent supposed to go exploring into the unknown looking for charges. They should apply the law to the facts before them, and five years is more than enough time for Weiss and the DOJ to have done just thatand completed the Hunter Biden mission.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Doja Cat attended a Victoria's Secret red-carpet event in New York City on Wednesday.

She wore a black gown with a plunging back that revealed a Victoria's Secret thong.

In a series of now-deleted Instagram posts, she said the dress was "unadjustable" and uncomfortable.

Doja Cat made an appearance at a Victoria's Secret event this week in a thong-baring dress that she has since called uncomfortable and unflattering.

The musician walked the brand's red carpet in New York City on Wednesday night wearing a black, sleeveless slip dress with sunglasses and diamond jewels. The daring dress had a deep-V neckline and plunging back that revealed a Victoria's Secret thong.

Doja Cat modeled the gown for photographers at the event, but later said in a series of posts on her Instagram story that she's in her "complaining era" and had issues with the garment  specifically, with how uncomfortable and revealing it was. The posts have since been deleted.

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"It's crazy when you got a dress on and your whole vagina is out the whole night and the straps on the dress pull ur tits all the way down to your knees and all you asked for was a slip dress but i digress," she wrote in the first post she shared early Thursday.

Doja Cat shared these Instagram stories about her dress. Doja Cat/Instagram

Doja Cat added that she "coulda got a uti," but said she made "lemons out of lemonade."

"What a beautiful night MINUS them UNADJUSTABLE straps," she wrote in a second now-deleted post that criticized the dress.

Doja Cat attends the Victoria's Secret red carpet on September 6, 2023. Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

It's unclear who designed the gown, though Victoria's Secret designed the thong which Doja Cat said was sewn into the dress.

"When i tell u the panty was built into the dress so when i put it on, the shoulder straps pulled the string up through my cervix and split me like a block of sharp cheddar cheese," she wrote in a third deleted post.

In a fourth story post, Doja Cat added that she'd be "feeding it to the moths."

Representatives for Victoria's Secret did not respond to a request for comment.

Doja Cat also shared these posts about her dress. Doja Cat/Instagram

Doja Cat and her stylist Brett Alan Nelson both shared photos of the dress on Instagram, though neither tagged a designer for her outfit. Nelson, however, applauded the Messika jewelry Doja Cat wore across her ears and neck, tagging the brand in an Instagram post.

Representatives for Nelson and Doja Cat did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Doja Cat was joined on the red carpet by celebrities including Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Gigi Hadid, and Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon to celebrate the upcoming Victoria's Secret runway event, "The Tour '23."

Like the "Paint the Town Red" musician, the celebrities also wore daring outfits that included see-through slips, vibrant gowns, and of course, lingerie.

Read the original article on Insider
The Franklin High School marching band has a lot to celebrate these days.

There's a planned trip to New York City to play in the St. Patrick's day parade, an upcoming performance in the Williamson County Marching Band Exhibition and now a special shout out from the queen of country herself, Dolly Parton .

The band is set to perform a series of songs from Parton in its upcoming show titled, "From Rags to Rhinestones."

In a heartfelt video message, Parton said she was proud and honored that the band would be performing her songs, and she hopes they have as much fun playing them as she did writing them.

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"That's so exciting!" she said. "I know you'll be amazing."

Dolly Parton Shares Message with Franklin High Band It doesn't get much bigger than this! Country music superstar Dolly Parton shares a special message with members of the Franklin High School Marching Band. Posted by Williamson County Schools on Tuesday, September 5, 2023

The country diva also congratulated the band on its upcoming trip and reminded them not to forget the marching band rules. She would know since she was also a part of the marching band when she attended Sevier County High School.

The video, which was posted from the Williamson County Schools Facebook page, received an outpouring of support for the band as well as messages of admiration for Parton.

Diana Leyva covers breaking and trending news for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X at @_leyvadiana

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Dolly Parton gives special shoutout to Franklin High School band
FILE - Drake appears at the Billboard Music Awards n Los Angeles on May 23, 2021. Drake announced For All the Dogs, his highly anticipated eighth studio album, will be released on Sept. 22. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Drake has finally announced a released date for his highly anticipated eighth studio album: For All the Dogs will drop Sept. 22.

The follow-up to 2022's Honestly, Nevermind  which released without warning  was announced on the Canadian rapper's Instagram on Wednesday night. Drake wrote the release date in the caption of the post, which featured video footage depicting his father, Dennis Graham.

A representative confirmed the date on Thursday.

Drake  who is currently on his It's All a Blur tour  had teased the project for a few months, including at a July 2023 New York City concert, where the rapper told the capacity-filled Barclays Center crowd his next album would drop in approximately a couple of weeks.

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The 36-year-old megastar, known for surprise releasing music, teased the potential project at his intimate Apollo show in January.

The new album features several collaborations Drake has mentioned live on stage in the last few months, including one with Nicki Minaj and another track with reggaetonero Bad Bunny.
A desperate rescue effort has been launched to save an American scientist trapped more than 4,000ft underground in Turkeys third-deepest cave.

Mark Dickey, 40, himself a cave rescuer, fell ill as he explored Morca Cave in the south of Turkey with a team of 14 fellow explorers.

After the descent, he was treated for a serious gastrointestinal bleed on the cavern floor and now needs to be hoisted to safety.

A GoFundMe has raised nearly 30,000 to fund his safe release from the extensive cave network aided by more than 100 firefighters, police, international cavers and medical staff.

Have you been affected by this story? If so email barney.davis@independent.co.uk

A statement on the fundraiser read: He has gastrointestinal bleeding and when the report was received, he was clearly unable to leave the approximately 1,000-metre deep cave on his own.

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The injured caver is a well-known figure in the international speleological community, a highly trained caver, and a cave rescuer himself. In addition to his activities as a speleologist, he is also the secretary of the ECRA medical committee and an instructor for cave rescue organizations in the USA.

An international rescue effort is on the way and this GoFundMe is to support the logistics of aiding in this rescue.

Morca Cave is located in the middle of the remote Taurus mountain belt with even deeper areas still to be explored and mapped.

According to local reports, Mr Dickeys health is steadily improving, and he will be safely evacuated in the coming days.

Mr Dickey has been caving since the 1990s and is chief of New Jersey Initial Response Team - a team focusing on cave, cliff, and abandoned mine rescues in the United States.

He had been planning to explore Morcas chimneys that could go deeper in the cave and take fungus samples, according to his website.

Click here to donate to the Gofundme appeal.
Jimmy Buffett was an idol of mine. His laid-back, tropical island, good-humored musical escapism was part of the soundtrack of my life, through college, career, marriage, parenthood, across the world and into my late 60s. My daughters, like it or not, had to be Parrotheads.

So, Buffetts unexpected passing on Friday at age 76, almost as if the end of summer were an appropriate time for his escape, hit me unusually hard  as I believe it did my brother-in-law and so many other fans who found a loving, devil-may-care, chillin attitude in this songwriters words, music and lifestyle.

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He was a musical legend and a billionaire, but his songs were real, personal, accessible, wise, sometimes melancholy and always passionate about living. He was also a Cubs fan and played a historic first concert at Wrigley Field in 2005, opening the way for other musicians to play there. I remember how excited Buffett was to be playing on a stage in center field, and he kept stopping between songs to voice his admiration for the Friendly Confines.

[ Editorial: Jimmy Buffett, musician and prophet ]

Buffett, the son of a son of a sailor, as he put it himself, wrote music about squalls out on the Gulf Stream, tropical drinks and tropical storms, sailing to foreign shores and a beach paradise away from the 9-to-5 that seemed to rouse us from our day-to-day work and transport us to vacation wonders.

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Buffett was a storyteller first, and he lived his life like a song. He wrote hits like Margaritaville and Cheeseburger in Paradise, signature songs like A Pirate Looks at Forty or Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, songs about smugglers, land sharks, boat drinks and Caribbean cruises, and early albums from a stretch of the coastal A1A highway in the Florida Keys. There was poetry in many of them too, like He Went to Paris and Death of an Unpopular Poet.

In the process, he even invented his own genre, not country and western, but gulf and western, critics say, and we all got to cruise along with him, wear our flip-flops and follow his lead, his laughter, his love of the ocean and his enjoyment of life.

We Parrotheads felt we could capture that passion sometimes, if we could just emulate that joyful approach, humorous self-deprecation and sense of adventure  the magic played out on acoustic guitars, calypso and steel drums, harmonica solos and the cheery voices of his Coral Reefer Band.

But there was something much deeper here that hit me with his sudden passing. Somehow, we Parrotheads had assumed he would live forever, as one of my friends wrote in a social media tribute. The sudden end of his bright songline marked the inevitable decline of a generation of fans who grew up with him and loved him, along with our kids and grandkids.

As a foreign correspondent, I always had the latest Buffett tape in my bag, and songs like Banana Republics, written by his friend Steve Goodman, hit home. Living in Mexico City, I used to play Buffetts Chanson Pour les Petites Enfants to my little daughters at bedtime and sing, Once around Venus, twice around Mars.

I met Buffett in Boston in 1973 when he played a concert at Pauls Mall there during my college years. My wife reminds me that I played his music on cassettes all through our European honeymoon. We saw him together as newlyweds when he played in Dallas in 1985. I took my younger daughter to that famous concert at Wrigley Field in Chicago and mortified her when I bought a parrot hat and danced in center field.

A troubadour born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, on Christmas Day in 1946, Buffett was raised in Mobile, Alabama, a product of parochial school, His brand of whimsy seems a very unlikely source of wisdom, but it was. He was the stuff of legend, and he was so successful as a musician that he built a chain of businesses. His fans loved the merchandise, the Hawaiian shirts and the beverages.

Its pure escapism is all it is, Buffett explained to the Arizona Republic in 2021. Im not the first one to do it, nor shall I probably be the last. But I think its really a part of the human condition that youve got to have some fun. Youve got to get away from whatever you do to make a living or other parts of life that stress you out.

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[ Don't miss: 'Escape to Margaritaville': Have they bottled that Jimmy Buffett kind of paradise? ]

Even fellow artists and celebrities were fans. Paul McCartney was a friend and in a recent post called Buffett one of the kindest and most generous people. Buffett drank with Hunter S. Thompson but not too much. He played songs with James Taylor for a Boston Strong concert. And Bob Dylan loved the 40-year-old pirate song and put Buffett on his list of favorite songwriters.

Buffett was amazed at the volume of songs and albums he released over the decades, and he was always grateful for his fans. He was willing to sing the songs they most loved and wanted to hear at his annual tours. People came out to have a good time, and he recognized that. In return, he gave great performances that brought them to their feet.

Ive had a great run of everything, and Im enjoying it, he told staffer Brian Hiatt in an interview for Rolling Stone when he was 73. And Im not telling people what to listen to. Once (the songs are) out the door, then its up to them. You make it for them, you dont make it for yourself.  They can have whatever they want.

Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

We surely did, though as Buffett wrote, Never meant to last. If his grateful Parrothead fans could pick his epitaph, we might quote from one of his own favorite songs, He Went to Paris, as fitting for our lost legend:

Some of its magic, some of its tragic, but I had a good life all the way.

Editors note: An earlier version erroneously did not contain the authors full reference to the Jimmy Buffett song Son of a Son of a Sailor. The Tribune regrets the error.

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Storer H. Rowley, a former national editor and foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, teaches journalism and communication at Northwestern University.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
A man who crashed his truck spent five days trapped in a 100-foot ravine in Southern California last week until a passerby noticed the wreck, heard screams for help and saw the man being ejected from the truck, the passerby said.

The Kern County Fire Department responded Saturday morning to Comanche Point Road, outside Bakersfield, after a caller reported an injured man was at the bottom of a 100-foot cliff. The man "had been immobilized at the bottom of the ravine since Tuesday, August 29th," it said.

His "badly damaged" pickup truck was also at the bottom of the ravine, the fire department said.

Emergency crews respond to a driver trapped in a ravine off Comanche Point Road in California on Sept. 2, 2023. (Kern County Fire Department)

The fire department put together a "rope rescue system" to lower four firefighters into the ravine. Firefighters secured the man into a basket before they carefully raised him to safety.

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He was flown to a nearby hospital, the fire department said.

Cory Sizelove, 50, and his friend were on a morning ride on their motorcycles when they saw the truck at the bottom of the ravine.

"I turned off my motorcycle and took my helmet off. Then I could hear him yelling for help down there," Sizelove said. "But I still couldn't see where he was at, because he wasn't inside the truck, because he had been ejected during the accident."

The Kern Fire Department did not immediately reply to a request to confirm whether the driver was ejected.

The cyclists eventually spotted the man about 30 or 40 feet away from the totaled vehicle, Sizelove said Thursday in an interview with NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. Sizelove went down into the embankment on his bike while his friend called 911.

He said it was a miracle he and his friend were able to come across the man.

"I was shocked and really surprised and amazed that someone had lived through that, because ... I was just praying that I didn't find someone that was passed away," Sizelove said, "because it's just pretty far down there."

The first thing the man asked for was water, Sizelove said. After that, he asked to call his wife.

Emergency crews respond to a driver trapped in a ravine off Comanche Point Road in California on Sept. 2, 2023. (Cory Sizelove)

Sizelove said he did his best not to move the man and to keep him shaded from the sun while they waited for help. The man did not appear to have any bleeding, but whe as complaining of back pain, he said.

"He was able to sit there and hold his head in his hands and support his head a little bit," Sizelove said. "And that was the best he could do to just kind of stay immobile."

The driver, Calvin Smith, identified himself in an interview with KTLA-TV on Wednesday and said his truck went down an embankment.

He told the station he suffered a broken back and ribs and was unable to move before help arrived.

I kept asking God, saying, Please dont let me die out here, Smith told KTLA. It was ice cold at night and burning hot during the daytime.

Smith did not immediately respond to NBC News requests for comment Thursday.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Russian forces attacked Odesa Oblast with drones on the night of Sept. 7, damaging infrastructure and injuring one person, Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper reported via Telegram.

According to the Air Force, Russia launched 33 Shahed-136/131 drones at Ukraine overnight, most of which were targeting Odesa Oblast. Ukraine's air defenses reportedly shot down 25 kamikaze drones.

Kiper said the strike hit Odesa's southern Izmail district, damaging both port and civilian infrastructure.

The drone strike damaged a grain elevator and an administrative building, Kiper said. He also said a truck driver sustained a minor injury to his leg during the attack.

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No other casualties were reported. Emergency services are working at the site of the attacks.

The same night, Russian drones also targeted Sumy Oblast, the Air Force wrote, but the regional authorities have yet to report on the consequences of the attack.

According to the Odesa Oblast governor, Russian forces pummeled Izmail for three hours.

"This is the fourth attack on the Izmail district in the last five days," Kiper said.

A Sept. 4 strike on Izmail caused a number of drones to fall and detonate in Romania.

The wave of attacks on Ukraine's port infrastructure comes as Russian dictator Vladimir Putin demands the removal of sanctions as a precondition for relaunching the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Alexander Bogomaz , Governor of Bryansk Oblast, said a drone was downed over the territory of the oblast on the night of 6-7 September. This was the third Russian Oblast where local authorities have announced a drone attack.

Source: Bogomaz on Telegram

Details: Bogomaz claimed the military destroyed a drone over Bryansk District.

Bogomaz noted that there were no casualties or damage.

Background:

The authorities of Russias Rostov Oblast claimed two drones were downed over the territory of the oblast on the night of 6-7 September. A fire broke out in Rostov, but it has already been extinguished.

The Moscow mayor said a drone attacked Moscow on the night of 6-7 September, but claimed it was downed dozens of kilometres from the Russian capital.

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!
Durham got one step closer this week to tightening regulations on how land can be cleared when building neighborhoods.

The Planning Department crafted a city code amendment they hope will address environmental concerns tied to residential development, especially on the citys outskirts.

Issues with controlling erosion and runoff on construction sites, especially the largest tracts of land;

Developers choosing to replace trees rather than preserve them; and

Builders creating large residential developments with poor soil health and little variation in elevation.

It is very, very needed to address some of the issues on the ground were seeing in southeast Durham, county commissioner Wendy Jacobs said.

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Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton called it  a real first step that doesnt place the city in the same legal jeopardy as putting a moratorium on development.

It honors our values; it muscularizes our position; it gives teeth to our concerns; and its what so many people asked for, Middleton said.

The City Council unanimously approved it Tuesday night  despite some opposition from the very people who called for the changes.

County commissioners received a presentation the same day and are expected to give it the final vote it needs to pass next week.

What is mass grading?

The practice of clearing and leveling a large tract of land  4 acres or more  is referred to as mass grading. The amendment, which focuses on residential developments, sets a 50-acre cap on the amount of land that may be graded at once.

It also weaves in incentives for tree preservation and promotes clearing and leveling smaller amounts of land in phases, rather than doing the whole site at once.

The amendment was sparked by concerns over southeast Durham. Residential development there has spiked in the past three years, sparking water quality concerns for Lick Creek, which runs into Falls Lake.

I support the initiative. I just have some issues with the numbers, said Donna Stainback, a member of the grassroots organization Preserve Rural Durham, which called for limits to mass grading.

The group proposed lowering the cap for each individual phase from 50 to 20 acres.

Opposition also came from those who support homebuilding in the region.

Durham land-use attorney Keenan Conder argued that smaller phases would drive up the cost of housing  larger projects have lower costs of construction, which lowers eventual sales prices, he said.

What benefits do we get as a city for this hit in housing affordability? Unfortunately, its not much, Conder said. The city does not ultimately save more trees. It just delays their removal.

Council member Leonardo Williams pressed planning staff on this point.

Its difficult to get into the sort of cat-and-mouse game of lowering regulation with the hope of lowering house prices. Its sort of hard to draw that direct correlation, Schultze responded.

The Durham County Board of Commissioners is holding the final public hearing on the amendment at 7 p.m. Monday.

Not the first change this year for planning department

Earlier this year, in response to the same concerns about Lick Creek and southeast Durham, the planning department ushered through a broadly supported amendment that changes erosion control standards. It gave the county the power to issue stop work orders when erosion violates standards.

With that amendment, the county became the first in North Carolina to require  not simply recommend  the use of flocculants, materials that help particles clump together for easier removal from water, according to Ryan Eaves, manager of the countys Stormwater & Erosion Control Division.

I know from the state sedimentation specialist that were opening a door and shes kind of waiting to see what we do and expecting others to follow, Eaves said in February.

Rezoning requests for new developments

In the same meeting Tuesday night, the City Council considered two rezoning requests tied to residential developments.

Yes to 350 apartments: This development by the D.C.-area investment firm Bonaventure sets aside 10% of the units as affordable. Its located on 27 acres at 1102 S. Miami Blvd., in the Little Lick Creek watershed. The southeast Durham property will be annexed into the city limits. New turn lanes on U.S. 70 will be required.

No to 99 townhomes: This was a mixed-use infill proposal that would have included a small office building. None of the housing would have been marked as affordable and residents raised traffic concerns. The property is 18 acres at 301 Infinity Road, in northern Durham near the Eno River.

The apartments were approved 5-1, with council member Monique Holsey-Hyman voting against them.

The townhomes were rejected 3-3 with Holsey-Hyman, Mayor Elaine ONeal and council member DeDreana Freeman voting against them.

Council member Jillian Johnson, who could have broken the tie, was absent.
(Bloomberg) -- The Netherlands is easing its disputed goal of halving nitrogen emissions by 2030 in the run-up to November elections.

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The target, designed to comply with European Union rules on reducing nitrogen pollution, prompted uproar among farmers who said the measures would force them out of business.

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The cabinet will now scrap the 2030 deadline as three of the four coalition parties no longer support the proposal, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. It is unlikely that the bill would be approved by a parliamentary majority, the people said.

The push to cut emissions by 2030  instead of the 2035 deadline currently set under Dutch law  led to a stinging electoral defeat in March. The upstart Farmer-Citizen Movement become the biggest party in the Dutch upper house as the environmental policies from the coalition drew stiff opposition from the agricultural industry.

The reversal also comes as a recent study commissioned by the government shows that Dutch nature is even more sensitive to nitrogen emissions than previously thought. Intensive farming has devastated biodiversity in the Netherlands, the worlds second-largest exporter of agricultural products, forcing the government to impose drastic measures to comply with EU rules on reducing nitrogen pollution.

If implemented, the governments 2030 plan would have required cuts of as much of 95% in emissions in some provinces and forced livestock population in the Netherlands to be reduced by a third over the next eight years. Farmer protests drew global headlines last summer as farm-owners brought their cows to the Hague, blocking roads and prompting the agriculture minister to quit.

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Donald Trump has again been found liable for defaming writer E. Jean Carroll .

Judge Lewis Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled Wednesday that it was already clear Trump had defamed Carroll by saying she was lying about being sexually assaulted by him in the 1990s, according to national news outlets. Therefore, a trial set for January will determine only the amount of damages Trump owes, Kaplan said.

In a separate civil trial in May, a jury ruled that Trump had sexually abused Carroll and defamed her by claiming she was lying. The truth or falsity of Mr. Trumps 2019 statements therefore depends  like the truth or falsity of his 2022 statement  on whether Ms. Carroll lied about Mr. Trump sexually assaulting her. The jurys finding that she did not therefore is binding in this case and precludes Mr. Trump from contesting the falsity of his 2019 statements, Kaplan wrote.

The comments at issue in the case Kaplan ruled on came in 2019, and the previous case involved Trumps 2022 remarks. In the latter case, Carroll was awarded $5 million in damages, combining damages for sexual abuse and for defamation. Trump is appealing that ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

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Trump made the 2019 statements in light of a book excerpt in which Carroll said he raped her in a department store dressing room in New York in the 1990s. He called her allegations totally false, claimed hed never met her, and said she wasnt his type. His 2022 comments, which figured in Mays verdict, included postings on his Truth Social platform saying that her accusations were a complete con job and a Hoax and a lie. Judge Kaplan ruled that all these statements were substantially the same.

Kaplan turned down a request by Trumps lawyers to reduce the damages allowable in the latest case because of the $5 million awarded in the previous one.

Carrolls attorney, Roberta Kaplan (no relation to the judge), issued this statement: We look forward to trial limited to damages for the original defamatory statements Donald Trump made about our client E. Jean Carroll in 2019. Kaplan, a lesbian, is noted for her advocacy for marriage equality, having won the Supreme Court case that took down the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013.
The race is on to replace the retiring U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein , and it increasingly looks like the sitting senator from San Francisco will be followed by someone from Southern California.

The leading candidates to replace Feinstein, 90, are U.S. Reps. Katie Porter of Orange County and Adam Schiff of Los Angeles County, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.

The Times cited University of California Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll that found Schiff is supported by 20% of likely voters, while Porter has garnered 17%.

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee from the Bay Area is third with 7%, the poll showed.

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All three are Democrats, but under Californias top-two system, party is disregarded when putting the two top vote-getters from the primary on the general election ballot.

The primary election is set for March 5, while the general will take place on Nov. 5.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
WARSAW, Poland  With Russias invasion of Ukraine fueling military acquisitions along NATOs eastern flank, several European allies are advancing purchases of new wheeled and tracked infantry fighting vehicles.

Military budgets are soaring across the region, and lessons drawn from the ongoing war are triggering a robust increase in defense acquisitions. Numerous Eastern European allies have supplied tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine, generating a spike in demand for replacements.

Some seek to buy foreign-made vehicles, while securing domestic participation in their manufacturing and maintenance, and others intend to have their own industry develop new vehicles fitted with foreign-designed weapons.

Heres a snapshot of what that looks like:

Polish fleet

Polands Defence Ministry is developing the largest tracked vehicle acquisition program in Eastern Europe in terms of the number of units planned for production. Earlier this year, the ministry signed a contract with a consortium led by Huta Stalowa Wola  an offshoot of Polish defense giant PGZ  to buy about 1,400 vehicles on a tracked platform.

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Developed under the Borsuk program (or Badger in English), the initiative is to enable Poland to replace its outdated fleet of BWP-1s, a version of the Soviet-designed BMP-1 vehicle.

A Polish BWP-1 amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle demonstrates capabilities during training in Wierzbiny, Poland, on June 4, 2018. (Spc. Alan Prince/U.S. Army National Guard)

The framework agreement concluded on 28 February 2023 foresees the delivery of about 1,400 vehicles based on a universal modular tracked platform, including 1,000 Borsuk infantry fighting vehicles, a spokesperson for the ministry told Defense News. The delivery time of these vehicles will be stipulated in the further executive contracts.

The 400 tracked vehicles that are to accompany the Borsuk are to come in several variants, including command, medical evacuation, engineering reconnaissance, contamination reconnaissance and more.

The Borsuk is equipped with a ZSSW-30 turret armed with a Mk44 Bushmaster II 30 mm chain gun, a Spike LR anti-tank missile system and a UKM-2000C 7.62mm machine gun, among other weapons, according to the ministry.

Poland plans to implement the entire project by 2035.

Foreign designs for Romania

Romania is spearheading a similar initiative. The nations MLI-84 infantry fighting vehicle is a design from the early 1980s. About 180 such vehicles were produced for the countrys land forces, some of which were later modernized in cooperation with Israeli partners. The Romanian Defence Ministry now plans to replace them with a new platform in what could represent one of the countrys largest acquisition programs in the coming years.

U.S. Marines look at a Romanian MLI-84 infantry fighting vehicle during a presentation at the Smardan Training Area in Romania on May 9, 2016. (Lance Cpl. Kyle A. Kauffman/U.S. Marine Corps)

Contrary to Poland, which decided to develop its new generation of tracked vehicles through its domestic defense industry, Romania is seemingly planning to acquire a foreign product to be manufactured with the participation of its domestic defense sector.

Other Eastern European nations have employed a similar model. Among others, the Czech Republic and Slovakia selected the CV90 made by BAE Systems Hagglunds in Sweden, and Hungary opted for the German firm Rheinmetalls Lynx.

A spokesperson for the Romanian ministry told Defense News that Bucharest intends to buy a total number of 298 IFVs in different configurations.

There is a mix of technical criteria, regarding both the armaments systems and the performances of the vehicle, that will be evaluated, together with financial, economic and delivery conditions, the representative said.

In March 2023, the ministry requested lawmakers approval for several programs, including its tracked vehicle acquisition plans. Publicly available information suggests the program is worth about 2.99 billion (U.S. $3.28 billion).

There is a cross-party consensus that military spending is needed, given the war that is taking place just across the border in Ukraine, a senior Romanian defense analyst told Defense News on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of military acquisition efforts.

The program is divided into two phases. The first phase will take place between 2023 and 2031, and involves the acquisition of 246 vehicles. The second phase will begin after 2031, and involves the procurement of 52 vehicles for the strategic reserve, the analyst added.

Slovenias commitment

For Slovenia, developing a fleet of eight-wheel-drive infantry fighting vehicles is part of the nations commitment to NATO.

The country has vowed it will be able to deploy a midsized battalion battle group and a midsized reconnaissance battalion to take part in NATO activities. According to Slovenias 2020 defense whitepaper, the government will establish the former by 2027 and the latter by 2030.

In July 2023, the government amended the Defence Ministrys acquisition program for the years 2023 to 2026, authorizing it to allocate about 695.2 million toward the purchase of 106 wheeled infantry fighting vehicles.

The ministry is currently in the process of purchasing 8x8 wheeled combat vehicles on a government-to-government model. We estimate that the procurement process will be completed this year with the signing of the relevant intergovernmental agreement, a spokesperson for the Slovenian ministry told Defense News.

The latest development follows the governments decision last year to scrap a deal to buy 45 Boxer armored vehicles with related equipment and services for a total of 343.4 million from the international entity Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation. The move was based on findings from an internal audit commissioned by Defence Minister Marjan Sarec.

In a July 2023 interview with local broadcaster RTV Slovenija, Sarec said his ministry is evaluating five offers, but he did not disclose the names of the companies involved.

This purchase will definitely be carried out according under the government-to-government system, which means without intermediaries, he said.
A Baltimore judge declared that Draper, who should have been the states first Black attorney when he applied in 1857, was fully qualified to practice law.

Marylands Supreme Court is finally giving Edward Garrison Draper the recognition he deserves by posthumously admitting him to the state bar.

Bloomberg Law reported that Draper, who will receive admission in a special session in Annapolis on Oct. 26, should have been the states first Black attorney when he applied in 1857.

At the time, a Baltimore judge declared Draper was fully qualified to practice law in Maryland if only here were a free white citizen. The judge instead provided Draper with a certificate to help him establish a practice in Liberia, where he and his wife, Jane Rebecca Jordan, relocated in November 1857.

Marylands Supreme Court is granting Edward Garrison Draper posthumous admission to the state bar, 166 years after he was denied because of his race. (Photo Credit: Dartmouth College Alumni Files via Maryland Courts Press Release)

Within a year of his arrival, Draper died of tuberculosis at the age of 24.

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Drapers case went unnoticed as an instance of racial discrimination until Texas attorney John Browning discovered his denied bar application and spearheaded the effort to remedy a historic injustice, getting the attention of the Maryland high court.

When people think about pioneering early Black lawyers, we tend to think about Thurgood Marshall, but there were pioneers long before that, Browning said. The story of Black lawyers in Maryland began with Edward Garrison Draper.

Maryland integrated its bar in the 19th century, but Black applicants failed the bar test at far greater rates than their white counterparts until the 1970s.

After failing the test, Howard Law School graduate A. Dwight Pettit sued the state of Maryland in 1972 for racial discrimination in the bar exam. He said his efforts led to measures including getting a Black examiner and eliminating the personal interview section, modifications that allegedly had an immediate impact.

However, Anthony Thompson, founding director of the Center on Race, Inequality and Law at New York University Law School, cited chokepoints at all levels that prevent certain groups from entering the field.

He noted the long-standing shortage of Black legal professors and leaders and how those from disadvantaged backgrounds sometimes do worse on placement examinations due to a lack of resources.

Browning learned about Drapers story while working on his passion project, his study on the early generations of Black lawyers in the U.S.

His research has introduced him to individuals such as Baltimore native Everett J. Waring, who in 1885 became Marylands first Black attorney and subsequently became one of the first Black attorneys to present a case before the Supreme Court.

Browning took a broader look at the whole history of Black lawyers in Maryland after researching Warings successful attempt to integrate the states bar in-depth, which led him to details of Drapers history.

I do this because I feel we are in danger of losing this connection to our professional forebears, he said. We should know about these figures in history, and the fact that we dont is kind of scary to me.

A poll by the American Bar Association in 2022 found that lawyers of color comprised 19% of the profession. However, even though Black people make up around 14% of the U.S. population, the percentage of Black attorneys was just 4.5%, down from 4.7% a decade earlier.

In fall 2022, the University of Baltimore Law Review Forum published Brownings article To Fight The Battle, First You Need Warriors, which discussed Draper  calling for his posthumous admittance  and the road to integrating Marylands bar.

Browning then brought up the idea of honoring Draper in February at a conference held at the Baltimore Law School featuring Matthew Fader, president of the Maryland Supreme Court.

Browning, Baltimore Law School professor Jose Anderson, and Maryland lawyer Domonique A. Flowers submitted a formal petition in March, accompanied by letters from groups including the Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association.

In July, the state Supreme Court said it would grant the petition, making Draper the seventh person to receive posthumous admission to a state bar after being denied entry on racial grounds.

There really was not a space for Black lawyers in the profession for a very long time, and stories like this one remind us that the effects we see today in the profession, Danielle Holley, the former dean of Howard Law School, said of Drapers story, Bloomberg reported. That severe underrepresentation comes from this historic racial discrimination.

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The post Edward Garrison Draper, prominent Black legal figure, to be posthumously admitted to Maryland state bar appeared first on TheGrio.
Fans of Netflixs hit crime drama Top Boy were surprised to see the familiar face of Irish actor Barry Keoghan in the shows fifth and final series.

The Banshees of Inisherin star plays an Irish gangster named Jonny, who takes over as Kanos lead character Sullys main drug supplier.

*Warning  Major spoilers ahead for Top Boy season five*

Acting alongside fellow Irish star Brian Gleeson, Keoghans character commits brutal acts of violence to force Sullys compliance, killing one of his Summerhouse soldiers.

Sully and Dushane (Ashley Walters) later ambush Jonny, executing him at the retirement home of his great uncle (who is the leader of the Irish gang).

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On X/Twitter, fans expressed their shock at seeing the Oscar-nominated star in the series.

You say Barry Keoghan is in the new season of Top Boy? I guess I am finally going to watch the series, one person wrote.

You say Barry Keoghan is in the new season of Top Boy?



I guess I am finally going to watch the series ... pic.twitter.com/JaEJSb9zJA  Knee Deep In The Hoopla! (@Pain0_Chocolaat) September 3, 2023

Barry Keoghan in the new series of Top Boy is an elite decision, wrote another.

Barry Keoghan in the new series of Top Boy is an elite decision  jody (@JodyH96) August 28, 2023

Barry Keoghan is some serious talent to bring in for this new Top Boy season, a third impressed fan wrote.

Barry Keoghan is some serious talent to bring in for this new Top Boy season   Roscoe (@shaw_bailey) September 7, 2023

Top Boy is set in a fictional estate in Hackney, east London, and follows gang kingpins Dushane and Sully as they ruthlessly strive to become the dominant local top boys.

The show first aired on Channel 4 in 2011, with a second run of episodes airing in 2013. However, after the show was cancelled, it was revived by Netflix in 2019 following interest from rapper Drake, who serves as an executive producer on the streaming services version of the show.

The fifth and final season of Top Boy sees Keoghan and Gleeson join the show alongside returning cast members, including rapper Little Simz.

In his three-star review of Top Boy season five, Nick Hilton wrote: Top Boy takes itself seriously, but, in the end, it was never The Wire.

... This concluding chapter of the Top Boy saga pulls none of its punches  if anything it makes too many of them, like a rabbit-punching flyweight  and demonstrates that a big American streamer can be trusted to tell Black, British stories. Perhaps more so than our domestic broadcasters.

Keoghan next stars in Emerald Fennells raucous new film, Saltburn, which is already dividing critics.

Top Boy season five is on Netflix now.
Marcus Wilson pushes his dogs Smoke and Ghost around during the grand opening of the new dog park in Wentworth Park on June 10, 2023, in Chicagos Garfield Ridge neighborhood. (Shanna Madison/Chicago Tribune)

In response to Patrick Heckers op-ed (Chicago could be much more dog-friendly. Heres how., Sept. 4): Has Hecker lived in any other city with a dog? Im a Gen Xer who lived in Colorado for almost a decade before coming back to her native Chicago, and I can say that Chicago is far more dog-friendly than most big cities. When I lived in Denver, not only did my apartment building not permit dogs, but also back then, the city had a pit bull ban. I have family in Madison, Wisconsin, where we take our dog regularly, and weve been detained by overzealous park officials for dropping the leash while our dog rolls on her back in the snow.

By contrast, PAWS Chicago pioneered the no-kill movement in Chicago in the late 1990s. Thanks to pressure from rescue organizations like PAWS, Illinois has banned the practice of selling breeder dogs in pet shops. Most apartment buildings in Chicago now welcome dogs.

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When I moved back to Chicago, I insisted we go to PAWS to adopt our mixed breed dog. We raised her in condos in the South Loop. We regularly used Grant Parks dog-friendly area until we moved out of the city in 2021. Hecker is correct that asphalt lots are hard on dog paws, and it would be great to have grassy lots. But he is wrong when he says that cops are looking to find loose dogs. I wish police would have done more in the nine years we were in the city with our dog. So many irresponsible dog guardians allowed their dogs to be off-leash. Some dogs attacked our dog, causing fights and many trips to the vet. Hecker underestimates the number of dogs that should not be with other dogs and that may bite people and their pets.

That said, we had many positive experiences with Chicagos private and public dog parks. Could things be better? Sure. But to say that Chicago isnt dog-friendly or that its among the worst cities in which to have a dog is just wrong. Leash laws are there for everyones safety and need to be observed.

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If, as Hecker says, people choose to get a dog that needs copious off-leash time, it would be prudent if they didnt confine the dog to a crowded city in a small apartment. In other words, consider your circumstances before bringing a furry friend home.

 Andrea Berggren, Wilmette

Rent some off-leash time

In response to Patrick Heckers op-ed on Chicagos restrictive dog policies, a convenient solution exists for dog owners who want their pups to run free, safely and unleashed.

An app called Sniffspot enables homeowners with fenced-in backyards to rent out their space to dog owners for a small fee. With our large shady, fenced yard, we signed on to Sniffspot last year and now have many regular customers.

What a joy it is to watch these canines run free, some off-leash for the first time.

 Mary Ann ORourke, Barrington

Comfort for those in pain

Another International Overdose Awareness Day has passed. Its a day that allows people to come out of the shadows and proclaim all the lives that have been lost. We say their names. We raise their pictures. We tell their stories, all in hope of finding some meaning to the tragedy of it all.

But now the day has passed, and unfortunately, most of us slip back into the dimness of the shadows. Those who have been fortunate not to be touched by this affliction should reach out into this dimness. There are many trembling hands. It may not be easy at first to find a hand because they recoil for fear of getting hurt by the stigma of it all. But be patient; a hand will eventually grasp yours. The stigma will slowly wash away, and there will be hope  a hope that others can be saved from addiction because they will not get lost in the shadows.

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So everyone say their names. Look at their pictures. Listen to their stories because our child, our sibling, our grandchild, our friend, they all have meaning, and they all are loved.

 Simone Gerlach, Arlington Heights

The joys of Bike the Drive

Many thanks to the Active Transportation Alliance, the Chicago Police Department and the many volunteers who made Sundays Bike the Drive such a wonderful adventure. The people of the city got their streets back, as the DuSable Lake Shore Drive was turned over to people of all ages who could ride a bike  and not shut down for a car race or musicians.

The beauty of the rising sun could be enjoyed on this peaceful, safe ride along the shores of Lake Michigan with stops at two festivals along the way. The registration fees will be used to make biking safer for all of us.

But shame on those ghost riders who took advantage of this wonderful opportunity without chipping in their share of the fees.

 Mary Ann McGinley, Wilmette

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Diminishment of punditry

Cartoonist Steve Kelleys endless barrage of hate and vitriol for anything Joe Biden is not only tiresome, but it also diminishes political punditry to mere attention-getting. For a cartoonist, where are the creativity, originality and challenging thinking?

Kelley is boring, and his work is pedestrian. Its never the least bit funny!

 Lindsay Resnick, Chicago

Ageist cartoons insulting

Once again, the Tribune opinion section leans in to the ageist Steve Kelley and his discriminatory cartoons. Racist and sexist cartoons are forbidden, but ageist is OK.

Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

It is outright insulting and disgusting, not humorous.

 George Recchia, Oak Park

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Heads-up to Sox owner

Note to White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf: If you continue to do what you have always done, you will continue to get what youve always got.

 Marshall H. Sayad, Port Charlotte, Florida

Join the conversation in our Letters to the Editor Facebook group.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Elon Musk reportedly blocked Ukraine from using Starlink for an attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

The SpaceX CEO was concerned about nuclear war, according to biographer Walter Isaacson .

SpaceX has admitted to limiting Ukraine's use of Starlink satellites for offensive military operations.

Elon Musk, expressing concerns about nuclear war following conversations with Russian government officials, personally intervened to block Ukraine from carrying out a drone strike on Moscow's Black Sea Fleet, according to a biographer who spoke with the CEO of SpaceX.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine's military has heavily relied on the satellite communications network known as Starlink, crediting it with allowing front-line troops to stay in contact with their commanders. The system is owned by SpaceX, which  with the help of private donations and US taxpayer funding  has provided Ukraine with thousands of Starlink terminals since February 2022.

But according to journalist Walter Isaacson, author of an upcoming biography on the SpaceX founder, the militarization of Starlink has made Musk deeply uncomfortable.

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"How am I in this war?" Musk asked Isaacson during an interview, according to an excerpt from the book reported on by CNN. "Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes."

It has previously been reported  and admitted by SpaceX leadership  that steps have been taken to prevent Ukraine from using the Starlink system for certain attacks. Last fall, Ukrainian forces reported "catastrophic" outages in areas that had previously been occupied by Russia, suggesting the system had been deliberately deactivated there, possibly to deny Russian access (Musk, at the time, said information regarding Starlink's use on the battlefield was "classified").

In July, The New York Times, citing "two people familiar with the discussions," reported that Musk had personally denied a Ukrainian request to allow Starlink to be used for a maritime drone attack near Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. Ukraine has carried out multiple such attacks using remotely operated vessels loaded with explosives to ram into Russian ships.

According to Isaacson, Musk himself ordered Starlink engineers to deactivate the system along the coast of Crimea, thwarting a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian fleet (the drones "lost connectivity and washed ashore"). He then rejected a direct appeal from a top Ukrainian official to enable the system for future such attacks, per Isaacson.

The report does not specify when precisely the incident took place, but last September photos circulated on social media showing a drone boat that had washed up onto the shore near Sevastopol, Crimea, the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Riding low in the water, the sleek black vessel has what appear to be two contact probes on its bow and a mounted video camera farther back that allows remote operators to guide it to targets.

It is not clear whether Musk had the system deactivated to thwart a specific attack or whether, more generally, he was concerned about Ukrainian actions near Crimea. But last year, political analyst Ian Bremmer, after speaking with Musk, said the billionaire had rejected Ukrainian requests to activate the system near the Russian-occupied territory, citing concerns about nuclear war.

Indeed, Musk has publicly cited concerns that Ukrainian efforts to reclaim the peninsula could prompt a nuclear response from Russia, a fear that, according to Isaacson, was heightened by conversations he had with senior Russian officials.

The Kremlin has repeatedly hinted at the potential use of nuclear weapons, a tactic meant to dissuade Western governments from supporting Ukraine militarily, according to experts.

SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment. But the company's president and chief operating officer, Gwynne Shotwell, has previously admitted taking steps to limit Ukraine's ability to use Starlink for offensive purposes.

The system was "never meant to be weaponized," Shotwell said earlier this year, citing Ukraine's use of Starlink for drone reconnaissance and attacks. "There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that," she said. "There are things that we can do, and have done."

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Read the original article on Business Insider
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, reportedly issued covert instructions to his engineers to disable the Starlink satellite network over Russian-occupied Crimea last year to thwart a potential attack by Ukraine on the Russian military fleet, according to CNN on Sept. 7, citing an excerpt from a new biography of Musk by Walter Isaacson .

According to the book, Ukrainian underwater drones lost their communication capabilities as they approached the Russian fleet, eventually drifting ashore.

Read also: Responding to criticism from US horror writer King, Musk says hes already donated $100 million to Ukraine

Isaacson writes that Musks decision was driven by an acute fear that Russia would respond to a Ukrainian attack on Crimea with nuclear weapons.

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Musk expressed concerns about a mini-Pearl Harbor, as he put it, after discussions with high-ranking Russian officials.

Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes, Musk told the biographer.

Read also: Musk shares video of pro-Russian Tucker Carlson blaming Ukraine for Kakhovka dam blast

Following this, Musk spoke on the phone with key figures including Jake Sullivan , President Joe Bidens national security advisor, General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Russian ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov.

Meanwhile, the book also highlights a plea from Ukraines Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, who implored Musk to restore the Starling signal.

I just want you  a person who changes the world through technology  to know this, Fedorov wrote.

Read also: Kremlin propaganda blames Elon Musk for drone attack on Moscow

In response, Musk expressed admiration but declined to reactivate Starlink near Crimea, citing concerns that Ukraines actions were going too far and inviting strategic defeat.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
When Akron police officers arrived at the Powell familys home in March 2020, they werent sure what had happened.

Brenda Powell was lying on the floor of her bedroom, covered with blood, with life-threatening injuries.

Sydney Powell, her teenage daughter, was also bloody and hysterical. She told officers someone had broken into their home and her mother urged her to get out.

Sydney Powell is comforted by paralegal Marie DiCola during the start of Powell's murder trial Thursday for the stabbing death of her mother.

Summit County prosecutors, though, said during their opening statements Thursday in Sydneys murder trial that Sydney killed her mother by stabbing her repeatedly with a steak knife and hitting her with a cast-iron frying pan. They say Sydney then broke a window to make it look like there was a break-in.

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Prosecutors pointed to Sydneys repeated lies before and after her mothers slaying and attempt to cover up what she had done as evidence that she was sane when she killed her mother.

Sydney Powell did take her mothers life and she knew in doing so her actions were wrong, said Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Joe McAleese.

Don Malarcik, Sydneys attorney, however, said three psychologists found that Sydney suffered from schizophrenia and had a psychotic break on the day she killed her mother. He said she was having delusions and hearing voices and lost control.

Malarcik urged jurors to find Sydney not guilty by reason of insanity.

The science is overwhelming  and it supports insanity, Malarcik said.

Sydney Powell is overcome with emotion as Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Joe McAleese delivers his opening statement in her murder trial Thursday.

Sydneys trial in Summit County Common Pleas Judge Kelly McLaughlins courtroom began with jury selection Wednesday and opening statements and the start of testimony Thursday. Sydney was emotional during the start of the trial, often crying, wiping away tears and bouncing her feet.

Jurors have choice of three verdicts

Sydney, 23, is charged with two counts of murder  one that means purposely causing a death and the other that involves causing a death as the result of a felonious assault, as well as felonious assault and tampering with evidence.

Her trial, which is being broadcast on Court TV, will be tried in two parts. The first will feature prosecutors providing evidence on the slaying and the second will focus on Powells insanity defense. Three psychologists found Powell to be not guilty by reason of insanity, while a fourth expert determined that she was sane when she killed her mother.

Jurors will choose among three verdicts: guilty, not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity.

Steven Steve Powell, Sydneys father and Brendas husband, and Betsy Brown, Sydneys maternal grandmother, didnt want a trial to happen and begged prosecutors to reach a resolution that would prevent one. They said they were concerned about the impact a trial could have on Sydney Powells mental state, which they say has improved since she has been under the care of doctors and on medication.

More: 'This goes against anything Brenda would want': Dad begs not to try daughter for mom's death

However, prosecutors were unwilling to agree to a plea deal or accept a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity.

In the event Powell cant handle sitting through the trial, a special viewing room has been set up for her. The trial is expected to last through Sept. 18.

Series of lies led up to and followed slaying, prosecutors say

McAleese acknowledged during his opening statement that Powell was under a great deal of strain in the weeks leading to her mothers slaying.

Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Joe McAleese gives his opening statement as defendant Sydney Powell weeps at the start of her murder trial in Judge Kelly McLaughlin's courtroom.

Powell, who had been an honors student at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, was suspended from the University of Mount Union in December 2019 because of her poor grades. She didnt tell her roommates or parents about this, instead pretending that she was still enrolled and continuing to stay on campus.

University officials told Sydney in late February that she would need to leave campus. She spent a week staying in hotels before returning to her Akron home on March 3.

Steven Powell, who had noticed that Sydneys tuition hadnt been withdrawn, confronted Sydney and she told him she was struggling and that Mount Union might not be the right place for her. Steven called Brenda, who came home to talk to Sydney, while he went to work.

McAleese said Brenda called Mount Union officials to ask what was happening and, while she was on the phone call with them, they heard a thud, screaming and then more thuds. The call ended and the college officials tried to call back but got no answer.

McAleese said they continued calling and someone answered Brendas phone and said, This is Brenda. One of the Mount Union officials recognized Sydneys voice and said he knew it was her. The call was ended and the Mount Union officials called Akron police, who dispatched officers.

McAleese said Sydney lied in that call to Mount Union officials and then to police when they arrived when she claimed there had been a break in.

The truth caught up to these lies, he said. It became overwhelming. She was stressed. Her tuition was canceled. Her enrollment was canceled. In that moment, she struck her mother with a frying pan over and over. She stabbed her over and over  hoping that was finally enough. She had awareness to try to hide what she did.

Attorney says, Why? is the trials main question

Malarcik, though, said the main question in this trial is, Why?

Malarcik said the Powells were like an All-American family, with two kids, both parents working, and the family taking vacations together to Disney World and the beach. He said many people said Sydney and her mother were like best friends.

Sydney (left) and Brenda Powell

Malarcik said three experts spent hours evaluating and administering tests on Sydney and reached the same conclusion  she had schizophrenia, suffered a psychotic break and didnt know what she was doing when she killed her mother.

Malarcik said theres other evidence of Sydneys deteriorating mental state. He said she was having audio and visual hallucinations, including seeing fire come out of her hands, and hearing voices that said things like, Youre a failure.

Malarcik said Sydney lied to her friends and family, acting like she was still enrolled in classes. He said she would put on her backpack and pretend to go to class when she would actually go to the student center and wait until her friends were done with their classes.

This is a false reality, he said. She was creating a world where everything is OK.

Malarcik said Sydneys last memory before the slaying is her mother telling her everything would be OK and giving her a big hug. He said thats when she had her break from reality.

The next 25 minutes, everything she did was because of a severe mental disease, Malarcik said. How do we know? It screams of insanity. The brutality of it. The lack of a motive.

Sydney didnt flee, wash the blood off of her or hide her clothes, Malarcik said.

A police officer took Sydney outside to the driveway and she fell over, scratching her face and clawing the pavement with her fingernails. The first doctor who saw Sydney at Summa Akron City Hospital diagnosed her with schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder, Malarcik said.

Sydney is now under the care of a doctor and counselor and on several medications, which were upped to help her get through the stress of the trial, Malarcik said.

She would be a zombie if she took these drugs without a mental-health issue, he said. This isnt pretend. Were going to ask you to trust the science. Every professional who has seen Sydney Powell has had the same diagnosis  schizophrenia. Mental illness is a real thing.

Malarcik said Sydney didnt kill her mother because she was upset about being suspended from college.

This family has suffered a nightmare of unimaginable consequences, he said. I ask you to end the nightmare and return verdicts of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Sydney Powell claims insanity in trial for mother's slaying in Akron
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  President Joe Biden will convene with leaders of the worlds top 20 economies for this years G20 summit.

The meeting takes place in New Delhi, India.

Were going into this with some things that we want, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.

Kirby said top priorities include promoting clean energy investments through the World Bank and confronting global economic challenges, fueled in part by the war in Ukraine.

Theres a general consensus that we need to do better for lower middle income countries, Kirby said. Theyve had famine. Theyve had drought. Theyve had extreme weather.

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But back on Capitol Hill, Republicans like Missouris Sen. Josh Hawley have one thing on their mind.

We need to stand up to China and their trade cheating, Hawley said. We need to stand up to them and their imperialism.

Notably, Chinese President Xi Jinping will not attend this years summit, sending a delegate instead.

Kirby described Xis absence as disappointing but said it would not change the White Houses focus.

U.S.-China relations remain shaky, in part because China wants to take control of Taiwan.

Its a violation of the law, Vice President Kamala Harris said.

While in Indonesia on Wednesday, Harris said Chinas hostile policies only open doors for U.S. collaboration in the Indo-Pacific.

Increasingly, youre seeing that here in Southeast Asia, Harris said. In a way that youre not seeing it grow in terms of stability and predictability in China.

During the summit, Biden will meet one-on-one with Indias prime minister, another key economic partner.

He then travels to Vietnam for a meeting with the nations president.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
A financial advisor who assisted Erie County Council with the annual budget for more than 40 years says Erie County Executive Brenton Davis violated local law by improperly adding funds to the 2023 budget.

In a statement to the Erie Times-News, Joe Maloney, an accountant with the Erie-based firm Maloney, Reed, Scarpitti & Company LLP, said Davis in December vetoed a number of budget reductions that council had included in the adopted 2023 general fund budget.

By vetoing the reductions, Davis was able to increase the size of his travel budget; increase funds to his economic development department; and add three positions to his administration.

The vetoes, in total, added more than $400,000 to the final general fund budget adopted by council.

Erie County Council met, on Nov. 23, 2022, in Courtroom H at the Erie County Courthouse to approve the 2023 county budget. At left, standing, is county councilwoman Mary Rennie, talking with Joe Maloney, seated, a financial advisor who's helped Erie County Council with budgetary matters for nearly 40 years. In the foreground, center, seated is Amy Swartzfager, the councils accountant, with councilman Andre Horton, at right.

Maloney, who assisted council with the budget from 1979 to 2022, said the county executive has no appropriating authority and no power to increase the budget at any time during the year.

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In all those years, there never once was a county executive (who) tried to add items back to the budget ordinance passed by County Council using a veto, he said in the statement.

Maloney said the county executives duty is to present a budget to council by Oct. 1 of each year. After that, council has complete control over that budget from that point forward, he said.

The Erie County Home Rule Charter dictates that council, the county governments primary fiduciary body, can increase or decrease any appropriation in the proposed budget. Once the budget is adopted via ordinance, it is presented to the county executive, who can veto or reduce any item.

The so-called vetoes proposed by (Davis) were to increase line items that have been reduced in the adopted budget by County Council, Maloney said in the statement. Since they were reduced in the adopted budget, they do not exist in the ordinance he received. There is nothing to veto.

Davis administration enacts vetoes despite legal uncertainty

The Davis administration has nonetheless carried out the vetoes and reflected them in the final 2023 budget, which was posted on the Erie County website on Aug. 3.

The vetoes increased:

Daviss travel budget from $15,000 to $25,000;

the travel budget of his economic development department from $15,000 to $50,000;

professional fees in the economic development department from $26,036 to $100,000;

funding for economic development initiatives from $20,000 to $100,000; and added,

three positions in his administration: a recruitment and diversity position in the Human Resources Department, a new deputy director position in the Tax Claim and Revenue Office and an IT position in the Department of Human Services.

The Davis administration, along with County Solicitor Bill Speros, argue that council struck the vetoes from a meeting agenda and never took an official vote to override the vetoes with a super-majority of at least five members.

As such, the vetoes automatically took effect 10 days after they were issued in December, as per the Home Rule Charter, the administration says.

But a majority of council still says the matter is unresolved as Erie County heads into the 2024 budget season.

Foust: Disagreement is impacting audit, eroding public confidence

Erie County Controller Kyle Foust told the Times-News the budget disagreement is not only unprecedented but proving to be an obstacle.

In a July 12 letter obtained by the Times-News, council requested Foust conduct an audit of multiple areas of the county budget, including the gaming revenue fund, the American Rescue Plan fund and the economic development department.

Foust responded to council and administration officials in an Aug. 23 email, saying if council and the administration do not agree on the final budget, it is difficult for my office to review spending.

Erie County Controller Kyle Foust

As an example, Foust said the economic development department has so far spent $15,600 on travel. That means if Maloney is correct, and the departments travel budget is only $15,000, then the department is already $600 over budget.

Foust added that the administration has already hired someone to fill the new position at the Human Resources Department on Sept. 1. That means an employee is now working in a position that council never recognized.

I dont want to get in the middle of, nor do I wish to exacerbate a procedural/legal argument between two branches of government, but council and the administration need to come to an agreement on the final 2023 budget for a variety of reasons  for public confidence if nothing else, Foust stated in the email.

Council cant find new accountant, must rely on Daviss finance office

Council has not provided any clear answers on how to resolve the veto issue.

Council Chairman Brian Shank recently told the Times-News he will consult with Council Solicitor Tom Talarico on the matter. Talarico has publicly agreed with Maloneys assessment and said Davis actions violated the Home Rule Charter.

Councilmember Andre Horton has hinted at possible legal action.

All of this comes as council prepares to receive the 2024 budget without an accountant for the first time in four decades. Council has been advertising for an accountant for several months to no avail.

The Davis administration has told council to rely on the administration's finance department for budget information, as well as the Erie County website's "Open Budget/Spending" feature, which allows users to see the county's ongoing revenues and expenditures.

Foust said the online feature was "meaningless" as long as council and the administration disagreed on the final budget amount. He described the budget as the "basic backbone of any government" and that it must be agreed upon by the end of each year.

If there is disagreement on what is basic, the public will have a hard time putting faith in their elected officials in other matters, and I think you see that happening," he said. "The bickering between the two branches is eroding confidence in county government and thats self-evident when I talk to citizens.

Maloney exits council: Erie County Council relied on a financial advisor for 4 decades. Now they can't find one

Davis, Council at odds over vetoes: Erie County Council declined to recognize seven Brenton Davis vetoes. They took effect anyway

A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on X @ETNRao.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County Council accountant says Davis improperly increased budget
Erik Metzig in court for a preliminary hearing, charged with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide on Tuesday, May 30, 2023 Winnebago County Circuit Court in Oshkosh, Wis.Wm. Glasheen USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

OSHKOSH - An attorney has requested the assistance of a psychologist in the case of Erik Metzig, who is the only suspect in the violent deaths of his parents David and Jan Metzig last March.

Metzig's hearing was held Thursday morning in a Winnebago County courtroom. Through his attorney, Scott Ceman, Metzig maintained a plea of not guilty. Ceman also entered a not guilty plea by reason of mental disease or defect.

He asked for psychologist Dr. Frank Cummings to examine Metzig, and for 60 days for the examination to be completed.

Judge Michael Gibbs of the Winnebago County Circuit Court Branch 4 granted Ceman's requests and scheduled Metzig's next hearing date for Nov. 6.

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Metzig, 26, faces two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and was arrested the day his parents were found dead March 18 in their home in Zittau. He was bound over for trial April 17.

David and Jan Metzig had owned Union Star Cheese Factory in the unincorporated community of Zittau since 1980.

Rebecca Loroff is a breaking and trending news reporter for northeastern Wisconsin. Contact her with story tips and feedback at rloroff@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Erik Metzig enters insanity plea in deaths of Union Star cheesemakers
Harvesting in the Kyiv Oblast at the beginning of August 2022

A total of 22 out of the 27 EU countries are against calls from Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia to extend an import ban on Ukrainian grain beyond mid-September, four EU diplomats told POLITICO on Sept. 6.

At a meeting with the Commission, EU ambassadors from the 22 member states either openly opposed the idea of extending the restrictions or remained deeply skeptical, a senior EU diplomat said.

France and Germany were among the countries most critical of the extension.

Two diplomats said that while many countries recognized the difficulties faced by the five eastern countries, they have asked the Commission to propose alternative measures.

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Read also: Ukraine should soften its stance on Black Sea grain deal  Erdogan

One EU diplomat from a country skeptical of the extension argued that a decision to extend the import restrictions would be "purely political," with Poland's forthcoming general election looming large over the discussion.

Despite an increase in wheat and maize imports from Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February of last year, "the situation in the EU market is rather stable," shows a Commission analysis from July 27.

Ukrainian grain products  wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds  are banned from the markets of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia under a deal struck with the European Commission earlier this year to protect their farmers from an influx of cheaper produce from their war-torn neighbor.

The restrictions are due to expire on Sept. 15.

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
From the moment Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine seemed inevitable, Europe knew it would soon have to ask itself some very complicated questions.

High among those was whether the continent could wean itself off the Russian gas it had thirstily guzzled for decades  and avoid being at the mercy of President Vladimir Putin should he cut that supply off in response to support for Ukraine.

For Europe, energy security has always been a trade-off: Cheap, imported energy comes with the risk of dependency on the countries from which it originates.

In the case of Russia and its natural gas, officials initially speculated that a long, cold winter in 2022-23 could force Europe to temper its punishment of Moscow. After all, developed countries like those in the European Union could not reasonably let their citizens go cold for the sake of Ukraine.

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A combination of luck, planning and Europeans support for Ukraine, however, left the energy war  once considered Putins ace in the hole  redundant. Europe had an especially mild winter while governments and citizens made a concerted effort to use less gas.

That combination of a warm winter and lower gas consumption created a window for Europe to pivot from its Wandel durch Handel (Change through Trade) policy  which assumed that Russia would fall in line with Western values for cash.

The receiving station for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia near Lubmin, Germany in February 2022. - Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Step one was reducing imports from Russia. In 2021, the year before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 45% of all gas imported by the EU came from Russia. In Germany, that figure stood at 52%. Those numbers have since plummeted. According to EU data, in Q1 of 2023, Russia accounted for just 17.4% of all the blocs imported gas.

Step two was to take advantage of the warm winter and fill up gas reserves in preparation for the cold season in 2023-24.

Europes gas stocks are already so full this year that there is a consensus the Kremlin will not be able to weaponize energy in a way that would alter European resolve against Moscow and support for Ukraine. The EU as a whole hit its target of stocks being 90% full by mid-August, months ahead of its November 1 deadline.

Whats more, Europe has significantly diversified its sources of energy.

Now for the bad news. Despite these efforts, officials and analysts are fearful that however impressive these advancements have been, Europes energy is far from secure in the long term.

The most immediate point of concern is that for all Europe has diversified its imports of gas, much of that currently sitting in reserve is liquefied natural gas (LNG).

An LNG terminal in the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands, last year. - Koen van Weel/ANP/AFP/Getty Images

LNG is such an obvious solution that it became the priority, but because LNG is also so flexible and tradable its a bit harder to trace the provenance, says Milan Elkerbout, research fellow at the Center for European Policy Studies.

That means indirectly some of the LNG can come from Russia still so contribute to their revenues, he adds.

While the EU says most of its LNG is bought from the US, Qatar and Nigeria, it is often sold on exchanges where contracts are for volumes without any reference to origin.

The second  and arguably more important  area of concern is longer term.

Though Europe might have partially ditched the Change through Trade policy with Russia, it is still reliant on others for energy. And when it comes to energy security, dependency ultimately brings us back to that classic trade-off: economics versus risk.

One of the ways the EU hopes to shake itself from energy dependency is through its Green Deal, a lofty plan to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. The project, which at current projections will cost over 1 trillion ($1.07 trillion), will be achieved through numerous means, from planting 3 billion new trees to renovating buildings to be energy efficient. Of course, massive investment in renewable energy and clean transport will also play a huge part.

The first major milestone in the Green Deal is for EU greenhouse emissions to drop by 55% before 2030, compared to 1990 levels. Critics are increasingly worried that slow progress to hit this target, on top of enormous costs for individual member states, will see some look to another foreign source to aid the energy transition: China.

Workers prepare part of a large floating solar farm project under construction in June 2017 in Huainan, Anhui province, China. - Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Few in Brussels will tell you that the EUs relationship with Beijing at present is satisfactory. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has recently changed her view of China to a more hawkish position, talking in some detail of the need to de-risk Europes relationship with the country. However, she also accepts that many of Europes long-term plans would be best achieved working in partnership with China, including her ambitions on a green Europe.

Von der Leyens position reflects the divergent views among the EUs 27 member states. Some are extremely hawkish and see China as an authoritarian bully and existential security threat; some see it as an obvious source of cheap solar panels, wind turbines and batteries. Others see no alternative to working with China, but wish to proceed with caution.

The threat, as some see it, is that China has strategically made itself a key player already in many of the technologies and critical raw materials that are essential to a green transition.

China began its industrial strategy for green energy about 15 years ago. Theyve done it so well, securing natural resources like lithium for batteries, steel for wind turbines, and already built the manufacturing capacity to make all this gear, says Adam Bell, a former UK government energy official.

Meanwhile, Europe dithered and its now probably unavoidable that China will play a significant role in Europes green future without radical action, he adds.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen details the EU's "Green Deal Industrial Plan" to ensure the bloc plays a leading role in clean tech production in Brussels, Belgium, on February 1. - Yves Herman/Reuters

What does all this have to do with geopolitics and security?

Chinas state-subsidized capitalism, along with its control of a significant amount of critical raw materials, gives Chinese industry a significant competitive advantage, which European companies will increasingly find hard to match, says Velina Tchakarova, a leading expert on European security.

Chinas tactics to divide and weaken unity among Americas European allies along with its regional ambitions in places like Taiwan could become a pressure point where China leverages its geo-economic influence through dependences on minerals and rare earths to achieve geopolitical aims, Tchakarova says.

Multiple Western officials pointed to more direct security threats posed by Beijing if Europe does end up relying on it for its green transition. Those threats range from supply vulnerabilities, as Europe saw with Russia, to direct cyberattacks through technology created in China. While European officials are often embarrassed to address the matter publicly, senior EU security sources have previously told CNN that China is still the primary source of cyberattacks within the EU, most focused on corporate espionage.

China has repeatedly denied involvement in cyberattacks.

China is not the only threat when it comes to energy security in Europe. The EU imports energy from many countries whose neither democratic nor geopolitical aims match those of Brussels: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Khazakstan, Libya, and, of course, Russia.

Europe has taken great efforts to address this and the pace at which it has responded to the Russian crisis is impressive, given it was once thought impossible. However, Europes large and aging populations  combined with its stagnating economies  still require huge amounts of energy if they are to sustain their current way of life.

As one EU diplomat put it: It is one of lifes ironies that the countries holding the cards in energy are sometimes ones who are at best unreliable partners and at worst future enemies.

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COLOGNE and STUTTGART, Germany  Tanks had fallen somewhat out of fashion  that is, before Feb. 24, 2022, when Russian tanks lined up to invade Ukraine. Conventional military lore holds that when faced with tanks on the battlefield, youd better have your own.

And while it took more than a year, soon European and American tanks headed to the Ukrainian battlefield. This support for Kyiv has injected an almost mythical expectation into the tank as a guarantor of victory.

Indeed, Ukrainian leaders long had modern tanks near the top of their wish list of military equipment, though some Western officials tried to temper expectations that the steel behemoths arrival alone would yield miracles on the battlefield.

As the war draws new attention to the power and promise of the ground platforms, German and French officials are moving to reignite a joint next-generation tank program, perhaps one of the most high-profile illustrations of a renewed push for defense cooperation in Europe. After years of inaction, leaders from both countries are now vowing to make their vision for the Main Ground Combat System, or MGCS, a reality.

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The stakes are high, essentially setting up yet another case study to see if European leaders can shake their national vanities and come up with a next-level weapon system. As German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius put it, the question is the load bearing capacity of a French-German armament program in the first place.

MGCS  a system of systems, in military speak  entails a novel main battle tank, accompanied by robots and enhanced by artificial intelligence. It is meant to replace the Leopard 2 and Leclerc fleets in Germany and France, respectively, beginning sometime between 2035 and 2040.

The idea hails from 2017, the heyday of the Berlin-Paris connection. The duo of then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled two major military projects  a new tank and a new warplane  intended to underpin Europes newfound defense ambitions with hundreds of billions of euros over their life cycles.

Neither project went according to plan, as the initial top-level enthusiasm gave way to industrial and political infighting over the question of which country, and which company, would lead them.

While the warplane program limped along, the tank initiative simply went quiet.

Speaking to reporters in Berlin this summer, Pistorius and his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu said they were ready to turn the page after a drawn-out workshare distribution kerfuffle paralyzed the program. French officials had been wary that the inclusion of Germanys Rheinmetall into the contractor pool, led by KNDS (a German-Franco joint venture of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter), would make the project lean too Teutonic.

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall are Germanys Leopard vendors; Nexter is the prime contractor for the French Leclerc.

But besides proclaiming a new can-do attitude and the pledge to meet again this month, there was little to announce in Berlin other than the fact there is now a mutual understanding that Germany will lead the tank program while France spearheads the warplane push, known as the Future Combat Air System, or FCAS.

Defense officials from both countries now hope experience with the FCAS programs structure and workshare arrangements, however shaky, can propel the tank program forward. That includes the so-called pillar design  groupings of discrete capabilities like propulsion or sensors, each led by one company and supported by a smattering of subcontractors  that could be harvested even if the overall program fails.

In the case of the new tank, the two nations army chiefs are expected to come up with a kind of vision paper for the vehicle before the next Pistorius-Lecornu meeting scheduled for Sept. 22. By the end of the year, officials plan to digest the ideas into a single document that Macron and now-German Chancellor Olaf Scholz can use to chart a course.

From there, industry executives have said the onus is on the two governments to convey everything from cost expectations to envisioned performance features.

Ralf Ketzel, who leads Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, told the Munchner Merkur newspaper in August that nobody has spoken with us about the financial requirements. Rheinmetall is similarly taking a wait-and-see approach.

So far, government officials are sure only about a certain unpredictability of the end result: The tank that will one day roll out of a factory will look nothing like todays tanks, Lecornu said in Berlin.

Built from scratch

The emphasis by both ministers on a new development comes after Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall signaled privately and publicly they would be able to go it alone with their tank expertise if the Main Ground Combat System program fails.

We are certain that the Leopard 2, as the worlds most advanced main battle tank, will remain the European main battle tank for decades to come, a KNDS spokesperson told Defense News.

As for MGCS, the Franco-German companys conceptual understanding is that the envisioned architecture will entail large-caliber duel capability as well as unmanned turrets, manned-unmanned-teaming, the ability to deploy and defeat drones, laser technology and beyond-line-of-sight strike weaponry, the spokesperson said.

The main focus of the requirements is likely the vehicles firepower, including the type of gun and shell ammunition the tank will employ, said Gaspard Schnitzler, research director at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs.

KNDS has proposed a 140mm cannon, while Rheinmetall prefers a 130mm cannon. It remains to be seen which design will make the cut, but the winner will likely determine the NATO standard for a future tank cannon, Schnitzler noted.

Another decision pertains to the balance between mobility, weight and the ability to withstand hits. During Russias invasion of Ukraine, both sides have used missiles, unmanned systems, artillery and loitering munitions to crack open armored vehicles. Planners are expected to study those engagements, determining the placement and types of armor reinforcement  to protect elements like the more vulnerable roof and engine sections  while keeping the future tank light enough to use civilian transportation infrastructure for a ride into combat.

To be sure, the German Defence Ministry doesnt see a direct link between the war in Ukraine and the renewed MGCS push. Asked about lessons learned from the war that could inform features of the envisioned tank, a spokesperson told Defense News there arent any because such scenarios are already baked into whatever requirements officials previously defined.

The program delay so far makes it difficult to predict if the project will be ready for a time when both nations tank fleets are inoperable. That means the pressure is on for France and Germanys industries to launch this project, but especially for the former.

Germany dominates the European land vehicle market, and its products, chiefly the Leopard tank, have been exported far and wide, compared to Nexters Leclerc. France needs the MGCS to reinvigorate its production lines since the Leclerc ceased production in 2008, Schnitzler said.

Meanwhile, German news reports have indicated Krauss-Maffei Wegmann expects to produce its most modern Leopard 2, the A8 variant, through 2032.

The French really need this tank by 2035, or even 2040 at the latest, while the Germans have an intermediate solution, which means they could wait until 2045 or so, Schnitzler said. Theres a risk of a timetable thats not the same.

The objectives of the MGCS project, meant to push the envelope of what tanks can do in the 21st century, make the compressed timeline even more ambitious, said Dan Darling, a market analyst at the U.S.-based firm Forecast International. When factoring in a potential change in government for both nations in the next several years  Germanys next federal elections are scheduled for 2025, while France will elect a new president in 2027  the pressure just keeps increasing, he noted.

Neighborly interest

As German and French industry officials remain skeptical, some neighboring governments are cautiously rooting for the project, weighing their options for getting involved.

Italian junior defense minister Isabella Rauti said in July a planned purchase of Leopard 2 A8 tanks would keep Rome in play for a role in the Main Ground Combat System program, helping Italy get more closely involved with German industry.

Britain is believed to have retained an interest in the Franco-German program but is also undertaking studies of its own, keeping the door open on other possible platforms, technologies and partner options.

The U.K. is conducting studies into a future ground combat system along with its technology enablers, a spokesperson for the British Defence Ministry told Defense News. This is in coordination with MoDs science and technology and [British] Army experimental work, and aligns with similar initiatives in Europe and the U.S.

Britain has discussed signing up at some level on the European program for at least two years, and previously responded positively to taking on an observer status with the MGCS program. British officials said they expect France and Germany to discuss the status of the MGCS program and outline the next steps in the coming months.

For the moment, though, the prime focus of British heavy armor interest is centered not on a next-generation tank but rather upgrading the Armys aging Challenger 2 tank fleet under a contract awarded to Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land. That work, to the tune of 800 million (U.S. $1 billion) would extend the vehicles service lives to around 2040, with 148 tanks of the new Challenger 3 standard to reach the force beginning 2027.

Polands government considered partaking in MGCS, but ultimately decided to focus on the more near-term threat of Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, by signing tank contracts with the United States and South Korea.

Poland was observing this project with interest, and was analyzing the possibility of joining it as it was awaiting the reception of indispensable data, as it has been notified to our German and French partners during talks at various levels, a spokesperson for the Polish Defence Ministry told Defense News. Due to the distant implementation schedule of the MGCS project and the lack of decisions on its final form, a decision has been taken to reinforce the Polish Armed Forces with M1 Abrams and K2 Black Panther tanks.

This said, should Warsaw receive the data it is awaiting, we will make relevant analyses with regard to MGCS, according to the spokesperson.

The representative also said the Polish militarys Technical Modernization Plan foresees the acquisition of new tanks under the Wilk program based on the [Polish] industry or in cooperation with a foreign partner, taking into account the necessity to develop the Polish defense potential.

This indicates that in the coming years, Warsaw could opt to develop a new tank model in partnership with foreign industry players, including European groups.

Last year, Poland signed a deal worth about $4.75 billion to buy 250 M1A2 Abrams SEPv3 tanks. In January 2023, the country inked a second contract, valued at about $1.4 billion, to acquire 116 used M1A1 Abrams from the United States.

Poland also signed a deal last year to procure about 1,000 K2 Black Panther tanks: 180 units produced by Hyundai Rotem in South Korea, and 820 tanks in the K2PL version to be jointly manufactured by the two nations industries.

Across the pond

Meanwhile, the U.S. military appears in no hurry to replace its main battle tank, the venerable Abrams. First fielded in the 1980s, the U.S. Army has banked on upgrade programs ever since, a strategy that is unlikely to change anytime soon, according to analysts.

Manufacturer General Dynamics unveiled its own concept for a next-generation tank, dubbed Abrams X, at the 2022 annual convention of the Association of the United States Army in Washington, but no government program has emerged to that end.

That is because other programs are deemed more important to the U.S. military portfolio, said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington.

For one, the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle is more vulnerable and needs to be replaced sooner, Cancian said. Additionally, there is much more interest in air defense and long-range precision strike.

There is also the question of whether investments in newfangled tanks are worth it, given the ubiquity of stand-off anti-tank missiles and mines.

If the Army went to the Office of the Secretary of Defense or Congress and said, We want to start a new tank program based on what were seeing in Ukraine, most people would say, Thats not what we see,  Cancian said.

Sebastian Sprenger reported from Cologne and Vivienne Machi from Stuttgart in Germany; Andrew Chuter from London; and Jaroslaw Adamowski from Warsaw, Poland.
Every Last One

The attorneys general from all 50 US states  plus a smattering of territories  have signed a letter urging Congress to take action against the proliferation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM.)

As first reported by The Associated Press, the bipartisan letter, sent Tuesday to Republican and Democratic legislators in the House and Senate, asks political leaders to "establish an expert commission to study the means and methods of AI that can be used to exploit children specifically" and "propose solutions to deter and address such exploitation in an effort to protect America's children."

Already Overdue

In the letter, the prosecutors specifically call on US lawmakers to expand existing CSAM laws, which don't yet explicitly account for the creation and distribution of synthetic child abuse content  which at this point, is already overdue.

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Back in June, The Washington Post reported that the growing prevalence of AI-generated CSAM was making it more difficult to help real child sex abuse victims, with one expert, Rebecca Portnoff, the director of data science at the nonprofit child-safety group Thorn, telling the newspaper that she and her team had seen a month-over-month increase since image generators first started to reach the public sphere last fall. With that in mind, it's worth noting that as open-source image generators become increasingly prevalent and easy to access, it'll likely become that much harder to police what they're able to produce.

The attorney generals also called attention to the recent strides made by deepfake tech, which they explain can be used to study "real photographs of abused children to generate new images showing those children in sexual positions" or victimize previously unharmed children by overlaying their faces onto the bodies of children who have experienced abuse.

"Additionally," reads the letter, "AI can combine data from photographs of both abused and nonabused children to animate new and realistic sexualized images of children who do not exist, but who may resemble actual children."

Elsewhere, the prosecutors acknowledged that Congress has been considering federal AI regulation more generally, particularly in regard to "national security and education" concerns. But while these endeavors are certainly important, they argue, AI is already being used to harm children, and "the safety of children should not fall through the cracks."

"We are engaged in a race against time to protect the children of our country from the dangers of AI," the letter continues. "Indeed, the proverbial walls of the city have already been breached. Now is the time to act."

More on AI: True Crime Ghouls Are Using AI to Resurrect Murdered Children
Top officials with the Chicago water department expressed concerns about putting a statue of labor activist Mother Jones at Jane Byrne Park, internal city emails show.

Several officials received an email last December from Rosemary Feurer, a Northern Illinois University professor who has been a leading advocate for the Mother Jones statue, about having a news conference at the site between Christmas and New Year.

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The email set off several discussions and confusion among city officials. Department of Water Management spokeswoman Megan Vidis responded: I have no knowledge of a statue going up at Water Tower or what, if anything, we want to say about it?

The Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station along Michigan Avenue that survived the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, July 12, 2021. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Joel Vieyra, the departments first deputy commissioner, expressed his concern and opposition to putting the statue at Jane Byrne Park, which houses Water Tower Place.

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Pardon my ignorance here, but why would we want any statue placed adjacent to the Water Tower? he wrote. Its the Water Tower  THE symbol of Chicago.

For his part, Ralph Chiczewski, assistant commissioner for safety and security at the water department, objected to the planned news conference about the statue and expressed that the plan needed review.

This is the first I am hearing about this press event! Water Tower Park is (water department) property. (The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events) has the management of the little art gallery inside the Historic Water Tower. DCASE has zero authority to allow any events there without prior approval and coordination! Chiczewski wrote. Over the years Water Tower park has been an assembly area and a flashpoint for demonstrations! Is (the Mother Jones Heritage Project) planning on erecting a statue in the park? I would hope that are NOT planning on announcing a statute being built on the property till it has been discussed and thoroughly vetted by DWM!

For her part, water Commissioner Andrea Cheng told her staffers that the department had no choice, decision pushed by others a while ago.

We have fought for the last year or so to have at least a say in the details and to take care for where it is placed so that the statue doesnt damage underground utilities, Cheng wrote. In response to my previous protests they confirmed that DCASE would be responsible for removing graffiti/maintenance of the statue. As I assured them that given the large homeless population, damage would be inevitable. Yes, I understand this to be permanent.

In response to a request for comment on the water departments current position, Vidis released a statement saying theyre working to minimize the planned statues impact on the property.

The Chicago Water Tower, Jane Byrne Park in which it is located and the pumping station across Michigan Avenue are part of the infrastructure of owned and operated by the Chicago Department of Water Management, Vidis said in a statement this week. That water pumping station provides drinking water to a large section of downtown. As such, DWM is focused on minimizing the impact any statues foundation would have on operational security as well as the below-ground infrastructure in that area.

Feurer told the Tribune that from the day that we were told of the selection of the Water Tower as the site, DCASE and Chicago Monuments staff emphasized that this was (the water departments) property, that a Water Tower representative would be part of the commission for the monument to Mother Jones and the design would be cleared by them. That was long before December 2022 and this email exchange. We have had convivial discussions with the Water Tower representative on the design committee.

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Feurer continued: We see the location at Water Tower as a way to fulfill Chicago Monuments Projects aim to revision Chicagos history from the bottom up. The title of the statue project is We Shall Rise and this will help visitors to the area understand that working peoples aspirations are a part of Chicago history. The Water Tower has symbolized Chicagos rise after the fire. But placement of the Mother Jones statue will connect that story to the rise of the labor movement, which can be directly linked to the Great Fire. The Water Tower and Mother Jones are both icons of that era, and both are emblematic of the fact that workers  Black and white, male and female, immigrant and native-born  built this city. Jones story reflects the rise of a multiethnic working class that made Chicago into a union city. So it is appropriate that staff chose this site for the location of the sculpture.

An inflatable Mother Jones is held in place by a parade participant during the Chicago Labor Day Parade along South Cottage Grove Avenue in the Pullman neighborhood on Sept. 2, 2023, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Last month, the Tribune reported Mayor Brandon Johnsons administration is moving forward with a plan to install a Mother Jones statue at Water Tower Place, a plan that is facing criticism from the late mayors daughter, Kathy Byrne, who argues that the plaza is too small for a statue and that its inappropriate to honor a woman who opposed giving other women the right to vote at a park named after the citys first woman mayor.

The ongoing conflict highlights the challenges public officials face across the country as they wrestle with public monuments and the historical figures they represent. Chicago has more public artwork celebrating mythical women than real women, which the city hopes to address by honoring Jones, who became a national advocate for the rights of working people after her dressmaking shop burned down during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The water tower was one of the few structures in the area to survive. But the choice of location for the Jones statue, Kathy Byrne said, is tone-deaf.

The Water department seems to be the only city agency involved that has any institutional knowledge of the history and significance of the Water Tower, both as to the Great Fire and as the cornerstone of our water system, Byrne told the Tribune. As they said, the Tower is the monument. Its sad and infuriating that Waters expertise is being disregarded by those who either dont care about or are ignorant of Chicago history.

gpratt@chicagotribune.com
A group of retired British police officers admitted to sending racist and offensive messages about Meghan , the Duchess of Sussex, and others Thursday.

Robert Lewis, Peter Booth, Anthony Elsom, Alan Hall and Trevor Lewton  all in their 60s  allegedly posted messages in a closed WhatsApp group about Meghan her husband, Prince Harry ; Prince William and his wife, Kate; Queen Elizabeth II; and Prince Philip , The Associated Press reported. Their arrest followed a BBC investigation last year, which resulted in an internal police inquiry.

The five London Metropolitan Police retirees pleaded guilty in a London court to sending grossly offensive racist messages by public communication. They all also spent time as part of the Metropolitan Polices Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection branch, which guards politicians and diplomats, the AP said.

The Duchess of Sussex and her husband stepped away from royal duties in 2020, saying they faced racism and harassment at the hands of the British media.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
In late June of 2021, a retired Colombian army officer met with a group of men in Haiti to discuss removing Haitian President Jovenel Moise by force, including a plot to assassinate him.

During the secret gathering, German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, aka Colonel Mike, received directions in a video call from a fellow Colombian in South Florida  who happened to be an FBI informant  that Rivera should follow the instructions of another man attending the meeting in Haiti, according to court records.

That unnamed man then told Rivera and another another co-conspirator that the president would be assassinated as part of the operation, according to a factual statement filed in Miami federal court as part of Riveras guilty plea on murder conspiracy charges Thursday.

Rivera and the co-conspirator, James Solages, a Haitian American from South Florida, relayed that information to other members of the conspiracy, including another Haitian American, Joseph Vincent, and a member of Riveras Colombian commando group, Mario Antonio PalaciosPalacios.

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The exchange occurred within two weeks of the July 7, 2021, assassination of Moise by a group of ex-Colombian soldiers, U.S. authorities say, marking a strategic shift from kidnapping Haitis leader to killing him at his home in a hillside suburb outside the Port-au-Prince capital.

Over the past year, 11 defendants have been charged with conspiring to kill Haitis president or with playing a supporting role in an FBI-led case prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office in South Florida. Among those charged are: Rivera, who pleaded guilty Thursday, Solages, Vincent and Palacios.

Riveras factual statement provides fresh details of meetings among co-conspirators in Haiti and South Florida that led to the shocking assassination of Moise, which has stoked unprecedented turmoil in the Caribbean island.

According to the factual statement, Rivera began meeting in person in Haiti and by video conference in South Florida with the co-conspirators in February 2021. At various meetings, the conspirators discussed proposed methods for carrying out the operation and the need to acquire weapons to facilitate the operation, the statement says.

The meetings held in South Florida were attended by several co-conspirators charged in the assassination case, including Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, the FBI informant who worked for a Miami-area security firm. He allegedly helped recruit some of the Colombian commandos and directed Rivera to follow the instructions of another conspirator regarding the plot to assassinate Haitis leader. Others present at the South Florida meetings were: Antonio Intriago, the head of the security firm, Counter Terrorist Unit; Christian Sanon, a Haitian American physician who aspired to replace Moise as president; and Walter Veintemilla, a South Florida businessman who helped finance the operation, and Solages.

Rivera also attended operational meetings in Haiti with Intriago, Solages, Sanon, Palacios, Haitian businessman Rodolphe Jaar and former Haitian Senator Joseph Joel John. The latter two men have also been charged in the assassination case in Miami.

At Thursdays plea hearing in Miami federal court, Rivera admitted he learned about the plan to switch from kidnapping to killing Moise two weeks before the deadly mission was carried out, and that he was present during the assassination of Haitis leader at Moises home along with other Colombian commandos and Haitian-American men charged in the South Florida case.

U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez asked whether he believed prosecutors could prove these facts at trial and if they were true.

Riveras response: Yes, your honor.

Rivera formally pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to kill Haitis president, providing that support, and conspiring to kill or kidnap a person outside the United States. He now faces up to life in prison on each of the three counts at his sentencing set for Oct. 27 before Judge Martinez. But Rivera might be able to avoid a life sentence if prosecutors Monica Castro and Andrea Goldbarg recommend lesser punishment based on his cooperation under the terms of his plea agreement.

A fourth charge, accusing Rivera of carrying out a conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, will be dropped as part of his plea agreement.

Rivera, represented by attorney Mark LeVine, is expected to be a critical witness for the FBI-led case, which so far has resulted in charges against 11 defendants from South Florida, Haiti and Colombia.

The other defendant who pleaded guilty to the murder conspiracy is Jaar, 51, a previously convicted drug trafficker in the United States who was sentenced in June to life in prison but is hoping to get his prison term decreased with cooperation. A businessman with dual Haitian and Chilean citizenship, Jaar admitted to providing weapons, lodging and money in the conspiracy to assassinate Haitis president. He pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiring to provide material support, providing material support, and conspiring to kidnap and kill Moise.

READ MORE: How a Miami plot to oust a president led to a murder in Haiti

Separate Haitian, Colombian and U.S. investigations into Moises death were launched shortly after the assault that left the 53-year-old president with 12 bullet wounds and his wife, Martine, seriously wounded. More than 40 people have been jailed in Haiti, including 18 Colombians, as well as members of the Haitian presidential guard accused of taking bribes to stand down or not show up to work on the day Moise was killed.

The deadly plot revolved around suspects collaborating in South Florida, Haiti and Colombia to kidnap and then kill Haitis leader, with the goal of replacing him with a new president and obtaining Haitian government contracts, according to authorities. So far, however, no one has been identified as the mastermind who orchestrated Moises killing.

Martine Moise, in red, was wounded in the attack that killed her husband, President Jovenel Moise, standing next to her. This file photo shows them three years earlier during a 2018 event at the National Palace.

The investigation escalated in February with the transfer of Rivera and three Haitian Americans to U.S. custody.

Rivera and two Haitian Americans were accused of helping coordinate a failed kidnapping of Moise to remove him from office upon his return from a state visit to Turkey in June of 2021. The same three were also accused of conspiring in a final plan to kill him at his home in the hillside suburbs of Port-au-Prince the following month.

Those suspects are: Solages, 37, who quit his job at a South Florida nursing home to go work for a Miami-area security firm linked to the plot to remove Moise from office; Vincent, 57, a former Drug Enforcement Administration confidential informant who lived in South Florida; and Rivera, the retired Colombian colonel who is one of the leaders of the deadly attack.

Also transferred to Miami: Sanon, 64, a Haitian doctor and pastor who split his time between the United States and his Caribbean homeland and wanted to replace Moise as president. Sanon, who was not implicated in the main conspiracy case to kidnap and kill Haitis president but faces related charges, fell out of favor with the group as a possible successor to Moise in the weeks before his assassination.

The FBI probe, assisted by Homeland Security Investigations, has also focused on Intriago, the Miami-area security firm operator who interacted with some of the suspects and has been charged in the murder conspiracy. Intriagos attorney has maintained that he provided only bodyguard services for Sanon through his Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) Security as part of Sanons presidential aspirations and knew nothing about a plot to kill Moise.

Intriagos associate at CTU, Pretel Ortiz, who had been working as an FBI informant before the Haitian presidents death, was also charged in the murder conspiracy. Pretel Ortiz, a Colombian national and U.S. permanent resident of Miami, played a vital role in helping recruit some of the Colombian commandos for the deadly mission, according to court records.

The FBI has acknowledged that Pretel Ortiz was an informant for the bureau in South Florida but said he was not operating under its direction when he allegedly joined the operation to kill Haitis leader.
Peter Navarro , a former Trump economic adviser, was found guilty Thursday of contempt of Congress following a jury deliberation that lasted nearly five hours.

Navarro faced two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with a subpoena served by the House committee investigating the events of Jan. 6. The first charge pertained to his failure to produce documents and the second was for failing to appear for a deposition.

The former Trump aide stood off to the side of the defense table as the verdict was read  the same posture he maintained throughout the day-long jury trial. His face and posture remained unchanged as the verdict was read.

Just after the verdict was read, Navarro attorney Stan Woodward called for a mistrial, claiming the jurors went outside during their break were exposed to protestors toting Jan. 6-related signs. Government prosecutors said they did not see any protestors outside the exit the jurors purportedly used.

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U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said he would not rule on the mistrial request until the defense provided him video or photo evidence of such a situation, which they said they were collecting.

A sentencing date has been set for Jan. 12 at 2:30 p.m.

After his conviction, Navarro made comments outside the D.C. federal courthouse, swarmed by a handful of protesters speaking over him and attempting to block him with signs. He told reporters he was convicted because of association with J6, not for contempt of Congress, the charges lodged against him.

You saw the opening argument of John Crabb, the attorney for the prosecution; he didnt argue the case on contempt. He said that I was responsible for the J6 insurrection, which is totally, totally without fact, Navarro said.

He also told reporters that he expects his case to reach the Supreme Court because of the questions it raises about executive privilege for high-ranking White House staff.

I am willing to go to prison to settle this issue. Im willing to do that. But I also know that the likelihood of me going to prison is relatively small because we are right on this issue, Navarro said.

To determine Navarros guilt, jurors had to find that prosecutors proved four elements: Navarro was subpoenaed, the information the committee wanted from him was pertinent to its investigation, Navarro failed to comply and his failure to comply was willful.

In closing arguments after a trial that lasted just one day following jury selection, Woodward again compared the governments opening arguments to a movie trailer containing all the best parts of the movie  leaving nothing of substance for the movie, or case, itself.

He built on the metaphor by comparing reasonable doubt to burnt popcorn. When you open a bag of burnt popcorn, you may not be able to see which pieces are burnt  but you can smell them, he said.

The government showed no evidence as to where Navarro was the day his deposition was scheduled to take place, Woodward continued, leaving room for reasonable doubt he didnt willfully ignore the subpoena at all.

Do we know his failure to comply  beyond reasonable doubt  was not [an] accident, inadvertence or mistake? Why didnt the government present evidence about where he was, or what he was doing? Woodward said. Something stinks.

But government prosecutors countered that Navarro knew he had been ordered to appear via the subpoena. Whether he believed he had a good excuse doesnt have bearing on the legality of his actions, they said.

Who cares where he was? What matters is where he wasnt  and he wasnt in that room to take his deposition, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Crabb said. He wasnt where he was legally required to be.

Navarros good excuse was executive privilege, which he has claimed former President Trump invoked, preventing him from giving information or testifying before the House Jan. 6 committee.

Both parties tiptoed around the issue of executive privilege throughout the trial  an argument U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta barred defense attorneys from using to prove Navarros innocence.

Mehta ruled last week that Navarros counsel failed to prove the former president invoked said privilege. The decision to invoke privilege must be made by the president, personal consideration must be involved and privilege cant be asserted by mere acquiescence, Mehta determined. The act of invoking it requires affirmative conduct, as well, he said.

There was no formal invocation of executive privilege by [Trump] after personal consideration nor authorization to Mr. Navarro to invoke privilege on his behalf, Mehta said, calling defense attorneys arguments pretty weak sauce.

In his instructions to the jury, Mehta precluded the jury from viewing executive privilege as an excuse for Navarros noncompliance with the Jan. 6 committee subpoena. After his conviction, Navarro told reporters that with Mehtas decision the die was cast.

Still, the issue was hard to avoid, as evidence presented at trial showed Navarro repeatedly invoking purported privilege in communication with committee staffers.

In emails between Navarro and Daniel George, senior investigative counsel for the House Jan. 6 committee, Navarro said former President Trump had invoked executive privilege and that his hands are tied. The ex-Trump adviser also suggested the committee should reach out to the former president on the issue, not him.

The defendant chose allegiance to former President Trump over compliance with the subpoena, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi told the jury in closing remarks.

Woodward said the committee never reached out to Trump  a detail confirmed by George on cross-examination  and implied that Navarros failure to comply with the subpoena therefore was not willful.

Where would we be if George had contacted Trump? Woodward asked the jury  a question drawing an objection from prosecutors that was sustained by the judge.

Woodward also rebuffed the idea that Navarros allegiance to Trump played a role in his unresponsiveness to the subpoena.

Where is that anywhere in the evidence? We dont know that, he said.

But after Navarros guilty verdict came down, he told reporters that he loves Trump, who has been very supportive of me.

President Trump has been a rock in terms of assistance. We talk when we need to talk, Navarro said. He will win the presidents race in 2024 in November. You know why? Because the people are tired of Joe Biden weaponizing courts like this.

The government called just three witnesses in its case  all former members of the Jan. 6 committee  and the defense did not put on a case of its own. Both parties rested their cases Wednesday afternoon.

Navarro is the second former Trump ally to face contempt of Congress charges. Ex-White House adviser Steve Bannon was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress earlier this year and sentenced to four months in prison. He has not yet served that time after a judge said he could remain free pending appeal.

Updated 5:31 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Donald Trump received legal counsel from one of his former attorneys live on television on Wednesday, and it didnt cost the ex-president and 2024 candidate a penny.

Timothy Parlatore, who quit Trumps legal team in his classified documents case in May over purported strategy disagreements, told CNNs Jake Tapper that Trumps boast that hed absolutely be willing to take the stand and testify in front of a jury during one of his upcoming trials would likely backfire.

Personally, I dont like any of my clients taking the stand in a criminal case, Parlatore explained. Its not something theyre required to do and I have not generally had any clients take the stand unless they first undergo a very rigorous cross-examination by me and pass.

More times than not, when theyre going through that process, theyll say Tim, stop, time out, I dont believe myself. Im not testifying, he added. I cant see it being a good idea here.

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Tapper recalled Trumps deposition in writer E. Jean Carrolls civil case against the former president, in which she accused him of raping her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.

During his videotaped testimony, Trump confused Carroll for his second wife, Marla Maples, in a photo and defended his infamous Access Hollywood tape remarks. A jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll.

Tapper suggested putting Trump on the stand to defend himself would be risky.

Parlatore agreed.

It is, the lawyer said. And thats kind of an illustration of why. Its an uncontrolled environment, you dont necessarily know what the client will say. Even a very well-practiced client can say things they will regret after the fact.

A trial is a presentation for the jury where youre going to control it as much as you can and thats an uncontrollable risk, try to avoid it, Parlatore added. He noted that Trump still has the right to take the stand, even if his lawyers say its the worst idea in the world.

Republican front-runner Trump has been indicted in the Stormy Daniels hush money case, the case over alleged mishandling of classified documents, and over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election result nationwide and in Georgia.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Watch the video here:

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John Eastman , a former lawyer for ex-President Donald Trump , dodged a question under oath on Wednesday about any conversations he may have had about replacing Vice President Mike Pence with Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to certify the 2020 presidential election results, Politico reported.

Grassley has consistently denied being part of any such discussions.

However, it remains unclear how seriously anyone in Trumps orbit considered using Grassley  or attempting to use him  to grant Trump a second term in office.

Neither Sen. Grassley nor his staff were ever made aware of any plans to overturn the election, a spokesperson for the senator told HuffPost Thursday.

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Eastman was reportedly asked about the alleged plot during testimony he was forced to give this week as part of his disbarment trial in California.

He cited attorney-client privilege as he declined to provide an answer. Asked which client he was referring to, he said, President Trump, according to Politico.

The exchange raised eyebrows given the unknowns surrounding Trumps scheming to hold onto the White House.

Eastman is the author of a now-infamous memo that detailed how Pence could use his position to hand the 2020 election to Trump. In short, it involved casting aside the legitimate electors and introducing alternate slates who would make it possible for Trump to be declared the winner. (The memo led to the ongoing ethics trial that could strip him of his license to practice law.)

But Pence refused to cooperate, arguing that doing so would be against the Constitution, which gives the vice president a largely ceremonial role in the process of tallying and certifying Electoral College votes.

The theory was that with Pence out of the way, Trump could perhaps get what he wanted.

Federal law said that the vice president should oversee a joint session between the House and Senate where the election results are certified. In the vice presidents absence, the next highest-ranking member of the Senate should oversee it. At the time, that person was Grassley, the Senate president pro tempore.

Grassley had helped generate concern over his role in the process when he said, on Jan. 5, 2021, If the vice president isnt there  and we dont expect him to be there  I will be presiding over the Senate.

Roll Call tweeted the odd quote, characterizing it as Grassley asserting that he would preside over the election certification at the joint session.

Grassley, however, has said that he was not talking about that  he was just talking about presiding over a Senate session that would happen after objections had been lodged during the joint session, in order to consider the objections.

He reiterated that point once again Thursday, telling HuffPost: We were talking about presiding over the Senate, but a lot of people get that mixed up with some idea that I was going to preside over the joint session. And you know thats not what I ever intended to do.

But that doesnt mean Trump and his allies did not discuss the possibility among themselves.

Kenneth Chesebro, another former attorney for Trump, discussed Grassley taking over for Pence in an email sent on Dec. 13, 2020.

So regardless of whether it is Chuck Grassley or another senior Republican who agrees to take on the role of defending the constitutional prerogatives of the President of the Senate, whoever it is then proceeds to open and count first Alabama, and then Alaska, at which point Trump and Pence are leading 12-0, Chesebro wrote.

He then opens the two envelopes from Arizona, and announces that he cannot and will not, at least as of that date, count any electoral votes from Arizona because there are two slates of votes, and it is clear that the Arizona courts did not give a full and fair opportunity for review of election irregularities, in violation of due process.

Eastman also referenced not wanting to constrain Pence (or Grassley) in the exercise of power they have under the 12th Amendment in an email on Dec. 23, 2020.

It was that email that came up Wednesday during Eastmans disbarment trial, prompting him to invoke attorney-client privilege.

Eastman, Chesebro and Trump are among the group of 19 people facing criminal charges in the state of Georgia for attempting to interfere with the election results there.

Arthur Delaney contributed to this report.

Related...
Last year, the British Army established a detachment of its beleaguered Watchkeeper drones at the U.S. Army's Fort Bliss in New Mexico/Texas. Exercise Athena Eagle, as the detachment from the British Army's Watchkeeper Flying School has been called, began on September 22, 2022, and is designed to improve interoperability between U.K. and U.S. sensor platforms.

In total, four Watchkeeper drones are currently based at a small airfield inside Training Area 4D of Fort Bliss' Dona Ana Complex, New Mexico. Roughly 45 members of the 47th Regiment, Royal Artillery, have deployed to Fort Bliss to provide support to the Watchkeeper Flying Schools 24 personnel, including instructors and students. According to a British Army spokesperson, the Watchkeeper Flying Schools temporary deployment to the United States is currently due to last until Dec[ember] 26 of 2023.

A Watchkeeper 450 pictured during Project Convergence 2022. British Army

The Watchkeeper UAV fulfills the role of a "tactical unmanned aerial system," or TUAS for the British Army. The TUAS is a short-range option for airborne intelligence gathering at the brigade level.

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The Gray Eagle UAS Complex at Fort Bliss  a pair of runways with a 50,000 square-foot hangar  was built in 2016 to support the new MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAVs being added to the 1st Armored Divisions Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB). The main 5,000-foot-long runway was designed specifically to support the Gray Eagles, while the smaller 1,000-foot-long runway was for the existing RQ-7 Shadows already in service with the 1AD CAB. This makes the Gray Eagle UAS Complex perfectly suited for Watchkeeper operations, with its similar operating requirements and mission scope to that of the RQ-7.

Area photo of Fort Bliss Dona Ana Complex in New Mexico, Aug. 30, 2021. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Luis Santiago

In October 2022, two of the detachment's Watchkeeper drones went to California to participate in Project Convergence 2022 at Fort Irwin. Just a month later, one of the airframes that participated in Project Convergence crashed while on a planned flight out of Fort Bliss.

At Project Convergence 22, Watchkeeper drones were used to learn how to better reduce complications with the "sensor-decider-effector-sustainer" chain, which integrated the U.K.'s sensor platforms with other participating nations' sensor platforms to provide a more complete picture of the battlefield. Three months later, the Twitter account for the British Army staff in the U.S. posted a photo showing three Watchkeeper airframes inside a hangar at the Grey Eagle UAS Complex at Fort Bliss, noting that this was a detachment of the 47th Regiment RA.

British Army personnel pose with three Watchkeeper drones. British Army Staff USA via Twitter

In his book , British Army Aviation in Action: From Kosovo to Libya, Tim Ripley writes that as part of Operation ENTIRETY in May 2010, the 47th Regiment RA was officially reorganized to focus on UAVs instead of operating them as a secondary responsibility. Prior to this, the 47th Regiment RA served a smaller role alongside the 32nd Regiment, Royal Artillery, using hand-launched UAVs such as the Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk and, at that point, leased Hermes 450s under Project Lydian to support operations on the ground.

The reorganization of the 47th Regiment RA paved the way for them to operate Watchkeeper when it was cleared for use by the British Ministry of Defense in 2014. In 2016, the 32nd Regiment RA was scaled down and many of its personnel were redistributed, with most of the personnel trained in UAVs transferred to the 47th Regiment RA.

Prior to the introduction of Watchkeeper drones, the first TUAS operated by the British Army was the GEC-Marconi Phoenix, which saw use in Kosovo between 1999 and 2001. The use of Phoenix as part of Operation Agricola, the U.K.'s contribution to the eventual deployment of land forces in Macedonia and Kosovo, showed that the Phoenix could operate as an intelligence asset as well as directing artillery fire.

BAE Phoenix on display outside The REME Museum of Technology. Orp20 via Wikimedia Commons

However, the Phoenix had flaws. In 2003, when Phoenix was deployed to Iraq, it became apparent that it could not operate effectively in the Iraqi heat. Thales U.K. and Elbit's offering for the Watchkeeper program, a modified Hermes 450, was selected to replace the Phoenix in 2004, shortly before the Phoenix was retired in 2006.

Watchkeeper was not ready to fill this capability gap in Iraq, and so Thales U.K. was contracted to fulfill an urgent operational requirement for Hermes 450 drones. Known as Project Lydian, Thales U.K. provided eight H450 airframes which saw service in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Project Lydian drones racked up over 100,000 hours of flight time during their service with the Army. It took until 2010 for a Watchkeeper airframe to make its first flight, and after multiple setbacks and delays it took another four years for Watchkeeper to be declared fully operational .

47th Regiment Royal Artillery Watchkeeper UAV ready for flight at RAF Akrotiri, July 2021. U.K. Ministry of Defense

Watchkeeper has spent much time outside of the U.K. for training, with deployments to Ascension Island (Exercise Aries Spider from 2016 to 2017) and Cyprus (Exercise Athena Rebus, starting in 2019) for the final phase of pilot flight training. This is at least in part because Watchkeepers could not deal with the poor British weather. A report from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism in 2015 noted that the British Army was worried about the effect of the English climate on the airframe. At least one Watchkeeper was lost due to poor weather . WK042 crashed in 2017 just off the coast of Wales due to precipitation affecting the ability of the aircraft to determine its airspeed. Thus, warmer and drier climates were required. Fort Bliss meets the criteria, with similar weather to other successful Watchkeeper training areas.

In a written report submitted to Parliament in March 2023, former Watchkeeper Capability Manager David Chaytor spoke at length on the overall failings of the Watchkeeper program. He noted the drones failure to meet 11 Key User Requirements, having met only one as of November 2018 when full operational capability (FOC) was declared. Chaytor indiacted that, Despite FOC being delivered on paper in November 2018, 47 Regt Royal Artillery have never proven that they can deliver this capability. It is doubtful that they could deliver 15% of the capability defined in the FOC definition statement.

A Watchkeeper WK450 Remotely Piloted Air System RPAS in flight over the U.K. during a test flight. Watchkeepers have reportedly struggled to operate in the British climate. British Army

As part of the initial requirement for Watchkeeper, the MOD expected the program to deliver up to 6,000 flight hours per year. Between the initial FOC declaration in November 2018 and November 2022, the total hours flown was only 1,191, far short of the expected 18,000 hours. Chaytor also indicated that the 47th Regiment RA has never tested the 16-hour endurance capability in practice, due to, among other things, RAF Akrotiris limitations on Watchkeeper flight time: the drones are limited to a 6-hour flying window, Monday through Thursday and only at night.

Chaytor further noted that while Watchkeeper has an estimated operating cost of 8,000 per flight hour, the actual cost per flight hour is over 88,400 due to the low flying rate. He estimates that on top of the existing 1.173 billion already spent, as of October 2021, on a system that does not work, an additional 1.149 billion will be required to bring it up to the standards set in the original 2007 contract and support it until its planned end of life in 2042.

Moreover, at least eight Watchkeepers out of a total fleet of 54 are known to have crashed, several of which were due to weather or system failures. The causes of these crashes ranged from unexpected precipitation to human error .

It should be noted that the Royal Air Force has looked to other uncrewed platforms of late, notably working with General Atomics in California to develop Protector, a variant of the MQ-9 Reaper. The RAF accepted the first airframe in October 2022, just before the British Army mentioned that their Watchkeepers were participating in Project Convergence 22 100 miles away. Protector will serve an armed medium altitude, long endurance role as a replacement for the leased MQ-9s currently in use by the RAF. It is a customized sibling of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian, with the capability to be equipped with offensive weapons and a wide variety of sensors, communications systems, and electronic warfare pods. The MQ-9 offers significantly longer endurance, higher altitude, and more sensors and weapons capacity than the Watchkeeper, fulfilling a much broader role as required by the RAF.

Protector RG MK 1 (MQ-9B). Royal Air Force

The expansion of Watchkeeper training operations in the U.S. may allow for more frequent joint drone operations practice, and intelligence sharing between the U.S. and the U.K. The proximity of the British and U.S. Army drones to each other could allow large exercises with the purpose of developing new technologies and techniques such as Project Convergence and the Experimental Demonstration Gateway Event , commonly referred to as EDGE, to experiment with international UAV collaboration on a larger scale. The ability for British UAV pilots to learn Watchkeeper and also gain an understanding of U.S. Army drone infrastructure is something not found at other Watchkeeper training sites.

With that said, however, it remains to be seen if the RAF can finally overcome the persistent problems it has experienced with Watchkeeper drones to date and turn the program into anything remotely resembling a success.

Contact the editors: thomas@thedrive.com , oliver@thewarzone.com
FILE PHOTO: National flags of Ukraine and EU rise in front of the NATO emblem in central Kyiv

By Jan Strupczewski

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is close to agreeing provisions in revamped fiscal rules to enable extra military spending in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, officials close to the talks said.

EU fiscal rules underpin the euro currency used in 20 nations by limiting government borrowing. They set a ceiling on budget deficits at 3% of GDP and on public debt at 60% of GDP. The bloc's executive European Commission is supposed to start disciplinary steps against countries that exceed these limits.

Currently only nine EU members meet a NATO alliance defence spending goal of 2% of national output, with four - Finland, Romania, Hungary and the Slovak Republic - above that only in 2023.

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France, Germany and Italy, the EU's biggest economies, are all below the NATO threshold.

After Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, many European countries neighbouring Russia called for military spending to be excluded outright from EU deficit calculations.

"This did not fly, but there is agreement that while defence spending would still be part of the deficit calculations, the Commission would categorise such outlays as 'relevant factors' that allow it not to start any disciplinary steps even if the 3% limit is exceeded," one EU diplomat close to the talks said.

The German government has committed to the 2% NATO spending target, but this will only be achieved through to 2027 with the help of a 100 billion euro ($107 billion) special fund for the modernisation of the German armed forces.

From then on, the fund will likely be exhausted and it is unclear what happens afterwards.

'NOT HEARD A NO'

Opposition to a full exemption from EU calculations stemmed from concern that military spending could be a very broad category that could help hide a lot of ordinary expenses.

By stipulating that military spending would only be a "relevant factor" that could help avoid disciplinary action, the new rules would leave it to the Commission's judgement what spending would be eligible.

"So far, I have not heard a 'no' from anyone, including the Germans, on this," a second EU diplomat close to the talks said. "I have hope that on defence we can agree on some limited room, especially for countries with fiscal space."

The proposal has won backing among the committee of finance officials from EU capitals looking at how to reform the budget rules. The rules have been suspended since 2020 to allow higher public borrowing during the pandemic and the energy crisis but are to be reinstated from 2024.

EU finance ministers are to have an initial discussion on changes to the rules next week and then again in October with a view to reach a deal by the end of the year, though some see that deadline as very ambitious.

Before they kick in again, EU governments also want the rules to reflect new economic realities of high public debt and investment needed to make economies more "green" and digital

($1 = 0.9338 euros)

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; editing by Mark John and Andrew Cawthorne)
The citys police department ramped up drone use over the Labor Day weekend this year.

Wardell Larson and his family always look forward to Labor Day weekend in Brooklyn. This recent one was much of the same: A barbecue on the block, music and a lot of laughter.

Larson though, found himself peeking up in the sky several times to see if a police surveillance drone hovered over him and his family. It just had us a little on edge, I told everyone not to be too loud so the police wouldnt think we were doing anything wrong, Larson told theGrio.

When the NYPD announced that surveillance drones would monitor holiday weekend festivities in certain areas, critics quickly condemned the decision as racially discriminatory. While the use of advanced tech becoming more popular for hundreds of police departments, experts and advocates believe that it can potentially be damaging to the Black community.

People participate in the West Indian American Day Parade marking the Labor Day holiday in Brooklyn, New York, on Sept. 4, 2023. When the NYPD announced that surveillance drones would monitor holiday weekend festivities in certain areas, critics quickly condemned the decision as racially discriminatory. (Photo by Leonardo Munoz/Getty Images)

Its not surprising to see law enforcement get more comfortable with using various technologies, Dr. Jeffrey Butts, a professor at John Jay College in New York City said. The concern about law enforcement would be the fairness of equity with which they use those technologies.

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As part of a pilot program, the NYPD used unmanned drones to monitor larger gatherings over Labor Day weekend, including the West Indian American Day Parade and JOuvert festival in Brooklyn, where thousands of people attend. In the past, JOuvert has been marred by violence. In 2020, four people were shot during JOuvert. Back in 2015 a gubernatorial aide was shot and killed at the event. Along with the drones, the police increased their presence around the festivities this year.

Despite the concerns of violence, the weekend went by in relative peace. No violence occurred at the JOuvert festival  which takes place in the early morning hours before the actual parade. Two people were shot during the parade but the injuries werent life-threatening.

The New York City police department smoothly handled the influx of activities, Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference on Tuesday. This was one of the safest JOuvert celebrations and Labor Day weekends we have seen in recent memories and probably the safest JOuvert celebration in history.

Attendants felt the same. Malik Steele goes to JOuvert and the parade every year. There was always a shooting or a knife fight or [something] but the last couple years its been chill, Steele said. When you know the police [are] around, you think and act different.

Mayor Adams said the use of the drones was a success and complimented some of the actions of the officers from live footage that he watched as the parade went on.

Some community members also felt safer knowing that the police could keep an eye on things without sending a bunch of officers somewhere they werent needed. As long as [the police] didnt just break up a bunch of parties, a drone isnt that big of a deal, Belinda Owen, a Brooklyn resident who lives near the parade route said.

The NYPD did not respond to multiple requests for comment on how the drones were used. Instead, the NYPD referred theGrio to the Tuesday press conference that authorities did after Labor Day Weekend.

There are still concerns about law enforcement using technology to monitor and track communities, especially in Black neighborhoods.

Pervasive drone surveillance can be easily misused to exploit and discriminate against New Yorkers, putting all of our privacy at risk, The NYC ACLU said in a statement. As the NYPD keeps deploying these dystopian technologies, we must push for stricter guardrails  especially given the departments lengthy history of surveilling and policing Black and brown communities.

Some experts question just how far the use will go. What happens when someone says itll be helpful for us to arm [these drones], Butts asked. What are we going to say when someone proposes that?

Its already difficult to hold the police accountable when they abuse their power, experts say. With the advancement of technology, if someone is harmed as a result of new technology, it could be even harder for the police to be held responsible since an actual police officer wouldnt be the one who did anything wrong.

Police departments across the country have dabbled with newer technology to do their jobs. In some cases, it drew controversy. The Chicago Police Department used a facial recognition program that scanned social media photos in 2020. They quickly dropped it after the ACLU filed a lawsuit.

The LAPD approved the use of a robotic police dog earlier this year, even though members of the city council pushed back against it. Many police departments now use license plate readers to help identify crime suspects.

Since there are already significant racial disparities in how Black communities are policed (like traffic and street stops), the fear is that this technology will just do more of the same. We have to trust that law enforcement is using these in an even and fair way, Professor Butts said.

Wardell Larson and his family still enjoyed their cookout. He just hopes the drones dont become a mainstay when Black people are out celebrating in their neighborhoods. Its one thing to have cops on the block, Larson said. Something about a drone flying over you and watching you with your family feels wrong.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Police drone use in NYC prompts questions about privacy, discrimination appeared first on TheGrio.
The Federal Aviation Administration has cleared UPS to operate its growing delivery drone fleet beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of pilots. Per the FAAs August 6 announcement, the freight and shipping companys UPS Flight Forward subsidiary can now begin deploying its Matternet M2 drones to much further distances, thus expanding their range of potential customers. This means human operators will simply monitor routes and deliveries from a centralized location.

As the industry term implies, BVLOS means that human monitors are not required to maintain literal eyes on drones as they travel between their hubs and destinations. Approval for BVLOS operations is a natural end goal for most drone delivery services, with companies such as Amazon and FedEx vying to kickstart their own programs. Just last month, Winga subsidiary of Googles parent company, Alphabet, Inc.announced its own partnership with Walmart to test a drone delivery system within a six mile range around the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. According to Walmart, approximately 60,000 homes fall within the drone fleets range, which promises deliveries in under 30 minutes. To accomplish the speedy deadlines, Wings drones reportedly will travel as fast as 65 mph.

As The Verge notes, however, not all drone services are faring as well. In May, Amazons Prime Air project only made an estimated 100 deliveries between its California and Texas locales. Although more current figures arent available, Amazon previously hoped to complete 10,000 deliveries by the end of the year. Only days after announcing its lofty goal, however, Amazon also confirmed a significant number of layoffs within its Prime Air workforce.

[Related: Walmart and Wing join forces for drone deliveries in Texas.]

Although labor and automation issues are serious concerns during the expansion of drone delivery systems, their environmental benefits remain promising. According to one study in 2022, using quadcopter drones to handle small, lightweight packages during figurative last-mile deliveries could reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by respectively up to 94 and 84 percent per package. That said, most drones can only currently delivery one package at a time, meaning that efficiency could have its caveats.

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Meanwhile, the usage of drones to deliver potentially life-saving medical equipment and treatmentssuch as blood transfusions or defibrillatorsshows immense promise, according to a study from the European Heart Journal.

FAA regulators, recognizing the industrys increasing demand and capabilities, formed a Beyond the Visual Line of Sight Committee in 2021 to standardize laws ensuring operations became routine, scalable and economically viable. The FAA is currently reviewing the committees final report.
The city is scrapping a bureaucratic hurdle to get qualified teachers in front of thousands of migrant children, as public schools face a shortage of bilingual educators on the first day of classes.

Teachers with more than one certificate  that can include expertise in bilingual or English as a new language programs  are often dissuaded from switching subjects, due to strict tenure rules that require them to start over accruing seniority.

But the immediate changes announced Thursday will give tenured teachers in other subjects, who also have the skill set to teach the newcomer students English, automatic tenure  freeing up another 500 to 600 educators to pivot without impacting their careers.

Were activating a special group of teachers who already work in our schools, said Banks at P.S. 121 Throop School in the Bronx.

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More than 2,500 asylum-seeking children enrolled in the citys local public schools this summer. Thats on top of the 18,500 migrant students who had arrived by the end of last school year.

If youre teaching one subject, Banks explained, and you only have tenure in that subject, and yet your school really needs you now to teach ENL or to teach bilingual education, they dont shift to do that because they dont want to give up their tenure in their primary license.

This is going to ensure that we get more teachers in the classrooms right away who can help them meet this gap, the chancellor said.

While the number of migrant children in local schools has been swelling for more than a year now, the city has yet to move the needle on hiring enough teachers to serve them.

The public schools are expecting to employ 3,400 teachers licensed to teach English as a new language and 1,700 certified bilingual teachers in Spanish this fall, compared with 3,600 English as a second language teachers and 1,600 Spanish bilingual teachers the year before, according to city and Independent Budget Office data.

More than 360 of those are new hires between the two certificates, with another 260 candidates available who are being processed, education officials said this week. It remains to be seen how many teachers take advantage of the eased tenure restrictions.

The vast majority of students who speak another primary language  more than 8 in 10  receive language instruction through English as a New Language programs, according to Deputy Chancellor of Teaching and Learning Carolyne Quintana, which offer less instruction in students home languages than bilingual education and is considered a less desirable placement.

The city added 33 new bilingual programs last year, and is rolling out another 44 this year in response to the demand, she said.

After years of enrollment declines, Banks has stressed that there is space in the public school system for the newcomer students, but said this week the influx has led to some overcrowded classrooms in School Districts 2 in Manhattan, 9 and 10 in the Bronx, and 24 and 30 in Queens.

It was not immediately clear where the hundreds of existing teachers are currently working and if they are in schools with concentrated need.

Theres bureaucratic red tape thats been in effect for decades, said UFT President Michael Mulgrew, that does not really meet the needs of the schools. And right now, we need to stop this silliness.

Teachers who gave up their seniority to switch subjects also put themselves at increased risk of being let go by their schools when budgets are tight or fewer students enroll.

If we have teachers who are certified as bilingual, ENL teachers, then we need to be able to let them switch their certificates without any liability to themselves, Mulgrew added. Theyve already proven to be highly successful teachers. To receive tenure is not an easy thing  its our vetting process.

Alongside a need for more Spanish-speakers, union officials said more bilingual teachers are needed in Urdu, Punjabi, Russian and other languages. More than 200 different languages and dialects are spoken in city public schools.

The change is an emergency measure that will expire after the 2023-24 school year, though Mulgrew said he was hopeful about permanent updates to the state regulation. The policy shift does not currently apply to other school districts throughout the state.

The day before, Gov. Hochul indicated the state could revisit some of its funding and policies.

We are working to help support the city, Hochul told reporters at a back-to-school event Wednesday. Weve given a record amount of money to education So the resources are there for hiring.

But absolutely, when we go into our budget next year, were going to have to take a look at the big picture, she added. What else can we do to help support recruitment and more teachers with these languages?
For Faith Nyong, living longer doesnt just seem important, it is.

The Faith Community Nurse at Ascension Mercy in Aurora is focused on health equity, especially when it comes to African-Americans.

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At this weeks City Council Committee of the Whole meeting, she stressed the difference in life expectancy for African-Americans - the average is 75 years, as opposed to 81 years for everyone else, she said.

Thats egregious, she said.

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Nyong is looking for African-Americans and those who love African-Americans to come out this Saturday for the Gospel Run/Walk in Chicago.

As it stands now, she is taking a busload of 100 people from Aurora into the event along Lake Shore Drive, but would love more.

Back in 2019, before the pandemic shut things down for a while, she took as many as 300.

Were building back up from COVID, she said. Its a beautiful thing to see. We take up a portion of Lake Shore Drive, there is gospel music 

There is a virtual element to the event, too, where people can participate through Zoom, she said.

It gives everyone a nice jump start, she said.

For information on the event go to http://gospelrun.com/.

For her effort, Mayor Richard Irvin presented Nyong with a Mayors Award of Excellence, recognizing her work for the health and well-being of Auroras African-American community.

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In March of 2021, when meetings still were being held through Zoom, she was recognized by the City Council as a Health Care Hero.

slord@tribpub.com
A Black man looks forward with a rainbow halo surrounding his head. Above the halo, it says Newsweek and is dated May 21, 2012. In the left cover, it says "The First Gay President by Andrew Sullivan.". @Newsweek/Facebook

Claim:

A cover of a 2012 issue of Newsweek Magazine authentically depicted then-U.S. President Barack Obama next to text that said, "THE FIRST GAY PRESIDENT."

Rating:

Rating: True

For years, a rumor has spread on social media platforms that a 2012 Newsweek magazine cover featured then-U.S. President Barack Obama with a rainbow halo graphic circling his head and text reading, "THE FIRST GAY PRESIDENT."

The claim picked up steam in September 2023, after former Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviewed Larry Sinclair  a man who, for years, has claimed without verifiable evidence that he took drugs and had sex with Obama when he was a young politician. There's no proof of that happening.

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The interview inspired a new wave of social media posts about Obama's sexual orientation, including ones featuring the in-question Newsweek cover.

In addition to the 2023 posts, we found a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) from 2016, a Facebook post from 2018, and a TikTok post from 2022 featuring the alleged magazine cover, as well.

The Newsweek magazine cover was real. It appeared online and on newsstands in May 2012 and promoted a story inside authored by conservative journalist Andrew Sullivan about Obama's shifting stance on gay marriage over the years.

Titled "Andrew Sullivan on Barack Obama's Gay Marriage Evolution," the story was published on Newsweek's website on May 13, 2012. Despite the magazine cover's insinuation, the story's text did not call Obama "the first gay president," nor did it make any such claims about his sexuality. The article was published four days after Obama announced his support for legalizing same-sex marriage in an interview with ABC News.

The feature image for the article (i.e. the photo above the story's text) was the same as the cover.

At the time of this writing, Newsweek's online archive of magazine covers only included issues from 2013 to the present. "I can confirm that the cover is genuine," a Newsweek representative said when we reached out for comment. "Our online archive only goes back to 2013 because content prior to this has not been digitized, and we do not currently have an archive of prior covers."

We found a Facebook post from the day of Sullivan's story (May 13, 2012) that was authored by Newsweek's official account. The post shared the in-question cover.

The Facebook post read: "Presenting this week's cover: Barack Obama, the first gay president. Click 'like' if you like it! Let's hear your thoughts. This issue hits newsstands and the iPad tomorrow morning."

Reputable news publications including ABC, Politico, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post wrote about the cover at the time. For instance, the LA Times reported, "Newsweek, which has recently become a conduit for controversy with its cover art choices, drew more attention with the debut of its latest issue declaring President Obama to be 'the first gay president.'"

ABC likened the reference to occasions on which Bill Clinton had been described as "the first black president" because of his work on behalf of African Americans:

Newsweek's cover may be designed to elicit the memory of another White House occupant with a not-so-fitting title. Supporters of then-President Bill Clinton dubbed him the "first black president" for his work with the African American community. The term was first used by author Toni Morrison in a 1998 issue of The New Yorker.

Considering the fact that Newsweek's official Facebook account shared the cover and multiple reputable news publications wrote about it, we rated this claim "True."

The question of whether this or that alleged magazine cover is real or fake is often presented to Snopes. In some cases, the viral images are the product of digital editing  like, in April 2022, when a fictional Time magazine cover claimed to omit the letters "V" and "Z" in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's name.

Sources:

ABC News. "Transcript: Robin Roberts ABC News Interview With President Obama." ABC News, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transcript-robin-roberts-abc-news-interview-president-obama/story?id=16316043. Accessed 7 Sept. 2023.

"Archive." Newsweek, https://www.newsweek.com/archive. Accessed 7 Sept. 2023.

Byers, Dylan. "Newsweek Cover: 'The First Gay President.'" POLITICO, 13 May 2012, https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/05/newsweek-cover-the-first-gay-president-123283.

Ettinger, Marlon. "Who Is Larry Sinclair? Man Who Claims He Had Sex with Obama in 1999 to Be Interviewed on Tucker Carlson." The Daily Dot, 6 Sept. 2023, https://www.dailydot.com/debug/larry-sinclair-obama-tucker-carlson/.

Evon, Dan. "Ladimir Elensky? Fake Time Magazine Cover Omits 'Z' and 'V.'" Snopes, 20 Apr. 2022, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ladimir-elensky-fake-time-cover/.

Larotonda, Matthew. "Newsweek's Next Cover: Obama 'First Gay President.'" ABC News, http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/05/newsweeks-next-cover-obama-first-gay-president. Accessed 7 Sept. 2023.

Little, Morgan. "Newsweek Cover Declares Obama 'the First Gay President.'" Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2012, https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-xpm-2012-may-14-la-pn-newsweek-cover-declares-obama-the-first-gay-president-20120514-story.html.

Smith, Ben. "Obama Accuser Has Long Rap Sheet." POLITICO, 18 June 2008, https://www.politico.com/story/2008/06/obama-accuser-has-long-rap-sheet-011164.

Sonmez, Felicia. "Barack Obama: 'The First Gay President'?" Washington Post, 28 June 2023, https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/barack-obama-the-first-gay-president/2012/05/14/gIQAD3YLOU_blog.html.

Sullivan, Andrew. "Barack Obama's Gay Marriage Evolution." Newsweek, 13 May 2012, https://www.newsweek.com/andrew-sullivan-barack-obamas-gay-marriage-evolution-65067.

Updates:

Sept. 8, 2023: This fact-check was updated to include comments from a Newsweek representative about the claim.
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Thursday said it would join the European Union's flagship Horizon science research programme and its Copernicus earth observation programme, but not the Euratom nuclear research initiative.

Here are details of the programmes, and the terms on which Britain is - and isn't - engaging with them.

HORIZON EUROPE

Horizon Europe is the EU's key funding programme for scientific research and innovation with a budget of 95.5 billion euros ($102.3 billion).

It has five main missions: Adapting to climate change, making climate neutral cities, combating cancer, and restoring oceans and soil.

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The seven-year programme runs until 2027, and Britain said it would not pay for the time since 2021 when UK researchers were excluded, with costs starting from January 2024.

Britain's government also said a new automatic clawback mechanism "means the UK will be compensated should UK scientists receive significantly less money than the UK puts into the programme".

COPERNICUS

Copernicus, previously known as GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security), is the Earth observation component of the EU'S Space programme.

It gathers data from satellites and other measurement systems to examine the changing climate, shifts in land use, information on oceans and atmospheric conditions such as air quality.

Britain said the association would give its earth observation sector access to data that could help with early flood and fire warnings, and the ability to bid for contracts they had been shut out of for three years.

It named for Nicolaus Copernicus, the Renaissance proponent of heliocentrism, the theory that placed the sun rather than the Earth at the centre of the universe.

EURATOM

The EU describes the Euratom Research and Training programme as a "complementary funding programme to Horizon Europe" covering nuclear research and innovation, using the same instruments and participation rules.

Britain will not associate with Euratom, saying that "in line with the preferences of the UK fusion sector, the UK has decided to pursue a domestic fusion energy strategy instead".

($1 = 0.9336 euros)

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by John Stonestreet)
In August, Rep. Jim Jordan helped launch a congressional inquiry into District Attorney Fani Willis .

She responded on Thursday in a letter, claiming Jordan lacked "a basic understanding of the law."

Willis suggested Jordan purchase a $249 law textbook to learn more about how RICO cases work.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told GOP Rep. Jim Jordan that he lacked "a basic understanding of the law, its practice, and the ethical obligations of attorneys generally and prosecutors specifically" after he sent her a letter in late August "demanding information and communications" and helped start a congressional inquiry of her prosecution against former President Donald Trump .

In a letter obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution dated September 7, Willis officially issued her response to Jordan, telling him that he and Congress have no constitutional authority to "interfere" or obstruct her office's prosecution.

Willis and Jordan's back-and-forth comes after a Georgia grand jury indicted Trump and 18 of his allies, alleging they coordinated to try and overturn the 2020 presidential election. The charges, which were sought by Willis, include solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer and violating Georgia's RICO statute.

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In her letter to Jordan, Willis said there's a very limited scope for the federal government to interfere with how states administer their own criminal laws, and that the state charges levied against Trump do not meet those high standards.

By trying to obstruct the prosecution, Willis wrote, Jordan and the House Judiciary Committee were violating the ever-heralded principles of state sovereignty, which she wrote is "offensive and will not stand."

Believing that Jordan's RICO charge-related questions were "misinformed," Willis also suggested Jordan purchase and read a $249 law book, "RICO State-by-State."

Trump's indictment in Georgia was the fifth time he's been indicted by a state or federal grand jury. He's similarly been charged with election-related crimes in Washington, DC, as well as breaking the law in Florida and New York.

A representative for Rep. Jordan's office did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Arlington police investigate a shooting at Lamar High School in Arlington on March 20, 2023. Two students were shot, one fatally.

The father of the 15-year-old accused of shooting and killing a classmate at Lamar High School in Arlington was sentenced Thursday to more than six years for being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Texas.

The 50-year-old man, who the Star-Telegram is not naming so as not to identify the juvenile defendant, pleaded guilty to the charge in May. Court documents say a Mossberg 500 was used in the shooting at Lamar High School in which authorities said the teen took his fathers shotgun and killed another student on March 20.

Jashawn Poirier, 16, died at a hospital after he was shot outside the school. Another student, a girl who was sitting on a bench, suffered a graze injury to her face.

While executing a search warrant, investigators found paperwork for the shotgun along with a Smith & Wesson .357 gauge revolver, a .40 caliber Glock handgun and a Smith & Wesson variant of an AR-15.

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It was illegal for the father to possess firearms because of convictions in 1996 for first-degree robbery and sexual battery in Louisiana, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a news release. The Department of Justice said the man attempted to purchase firearms from licensed dealers in 2014 and 2020 but was denied after background checks flagged his prior convictions.

The 15-year-old son accused of opening fire at the school is facing state charges of capital murder and aggravated assault. His trial may begin later this month in Tarrant County Juvenile Court.
This article was originally published in Texas Tribune.

A federal judge said last week he will stop a new Texas law aimed at keeping sexually explicit materials off of school library shelves on the eve of the law going into effect, according to state attorneys and lawyers for a group who sued over the proposal.

District Judge Alan D. Albright indicated during a hearing that he will grant a temporary injunction sought by a group of book groups and sellers, including two Texas bookstores, who sued the state over House Bill 900 in July, the groups lawyers said in a statement. Albright will issue a written order in one to two weeks; in the meantime, the state cannot enforce the law, according to the statement.

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HB 900, which was approved during this years regular legislative session, requires school library vendors to rate all their books and materials for appropriateness before selling them to schools based on the presence of sex depictions or references. It also requires vendors to rank materials previously sold to schools and issue a recall for those that are deemed sexually explicit and are in active use by a school.

The plaintiffs argue that the law violates their constitutional rights by targeting protected speech with its broad and vague language. The lawsuit further alleges HB 900 would force plaintiffs to comply with the governments views, even if they do not agree with them, and that the law operates as prior restraint, which is government action that prohibits speech or other expression before the speech happens. The vendors say it is impossible for them to comply with the rating system because of the sheer volume of materials they would need to review.

The law also calls for creating state school library standards that prohibit sexually explicit materials, requiring parental consent for students to check out materials classified by vendors as sexually relevant and giving the Texas Education Agency authority to review a vendors rating. If the TEA disagrees with the vendors rating and gives it a different one, the vendor must use the agencys rating. Vendors who do not will be added to a list of vendors that schools cannot buy library materials from.

During the bills legislative hearings, librarians and legal experts shared concerns and worries that its language would ensnare books that are not inappropriate and, to the contrary, may be titles important for students whose lived experiences may not be reflected in other literature.

The proposal, from Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, arrived amid an ongoing debate about what materials are appropriate to be stocked in school and public libraries. Patterson and supporters of such regulations say libraries are infested with inappropriate books that must be vetted and removed.

However, skeptics of that panic and literary advocates counter that the books singled out by politicians often explore sexuality and race, topics that have been swept up in culture-war politics but remain important for youth who may not be comfortable talking about such matters with others.

Despite the concerns, HB 900 sailed through the legislative process before Gov. Greg Abbott signed it in June. It was set to go into effect Friday; however, the laws language suggests the new requirements wont have to be fulfilled immediately.

Most, if not all, of the states roughly 5.4 million public schoolchildren have already begun the 2023-2024 school year.

The lawsuits plaintiffs include two bookstores, Austins BookPeople and West Houstons Blue Willow Bookshop, as well as the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers, the Authors Guild and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

The Texas Attorney Generals office said Thursday it would move to reverse the injunction and appeal the judges decision. The office had not received the judges written order or decision by Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson said.

A court representative for Albright did not respond to an inquiry about his comments during Thursdays hearing, reported by the plaintiffs lawyers and on social media by at least one plaintiff.

We are grateful for the courts swift action in deciding to enjoin this law, in the process preserving the long-established rights of local communities to set their own standards; protecting the constitutionally protected speech of authors, booksellers, publishers and readers; preventing the state government from unlawfully compelling speech on the part of private citizens; and shielding Texas businesses from the imposition of impossibly onerous conditions, the plaintiffs said in a joint statement after the hearing. We look forward to reading the courts full opinion once it is issued.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune, a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
More than 20 victims across nine states are suing Uber Technologies in a multidistrict federal lawsuit, alleging they were sexually assaulted when they used the rideshare service. Despite none of the victims having ties to Kentucky, federal judges have ordered that a hearing take place in Lexington to determine if all the lawsuits should be consolidated into one.

Fourteen attorneys representing the alleged victims have petitioned the federal courts to bring all the cases together so they can streamline proceedings. Attorneys claim this will avoid inconsistent rulings, duplicate discovery, preserve resources and aid in efficient resolution.

The sexual assault claims widely range from sexual comments to violent, criminal acts of sexual assault, according to court documents filed by Ubers defense team. In addition to sexual assault, some victims complaints also allege negligence, vicarious liability, products liability, misrepresentation and fraud.

Uber did say in a legal reply that this conduct, where it occurs, represents the worst of humanity and has no place on Ubers platform. But the company is trying to prevent the cases from being consolidated together.

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The hearing will take place in Lexington as part of a rotating and randomized schedule for the U.S. Judicial Panel to convene. Federal judges will hear time-limited arguments from both sides and make a decision on whether the case should be consolidated, according to Bret Stanley of Houston-based personal injury law firm, Kherkher Garcia, LLP, who represents one of the victims.

There are no reported victims of assault in Lexington or Kentucky included in the lawsuits, and no previous hearings have taken place in Kentucky for this lawsuit.

If the panel agrees for the case to be consolidated, another judge in a different federal district will do the pretrial work on the case to acquire discovery against Uber. Once that is finished, the cases will be sent back to the respective jurisdictions in which they were filed.

Stanley described multidistrict litigation petitions as the cousin to class action lawsuits, which is when a group of people collectively brings a lawsuit against a defendant or defendants.

Multidistrict litigation is similar, but people file their own cases in federal court, Stanley explained.

Attorney: One assault is one too many.

Stanley said he and the other plaintiffs attorneys are pushing for the case against Uber because the company has failed to protect riders in an interest of serving more riders for a profit.

The sexual assault cases against Uber  and we expect to see many, many more  are premised on the fact that Uber has failed, and continues to fail, in properly vetting its drivers, Stanley said in a news release. Additionally, Uber has failed to take safety precautions once aware that a subset of drivers were sexual predators who were assaulting passengers on a widespread basis.

According to Ubers website, prospective drivers must undergo a multi-step safety screen that checks before their first trip for issues, including but not limited to impaired driving and violent offenses.

The website also claims drivers undergo ongoing checks if a notification is received of criminal activity, and an annual check to continue accessing the app.

Despite the checks, Stanley argues Uber blatantly avoids taking even the most basic and necessary measures to pre-screen its drivers, because doing so would greatly reduce the pool of applicants and directly reflect the number of cars available to service customers.

They failed from our perspective, Stanley told the Herald-Leader. One assault is one too many.

According to public safety reports produced by Uber, there have been 9,805 sexual assaults against riders in the last four years. Stanley believes the true number of assaults is greater, as they often go under-reported.

Stanley said Uber has previously attempted to stop consolidation of cases in previous, separate lawsuits brought against them in California state court. He said if the judges deny a consolidated effort, it could shield exposure to the litigation and there will be fewer claims made.

The more women that see this, there is an opportunity for them to raise their hand and be heard, Stanley said. There is no doubt that if this is not performed, there will be less participation, which is a good thing for a defendant. It limits exposure.

Uber: Cases share little in common

Uber Technologies filed a 450-page response to deny the request for centralization that largely focuses on their terms of use agreement in the Uber app which contractually prohibits riders from pursuing combined legal claims, and coordination of the claims will not promote convenience or efficiency, according to court documents.

Uber also claims the core issues are individualized and different state laws require different factual inquiries, court documents say. The defense says the cases share little in common.

In a response to the lawsuits, Ubers defense wrote there are countless driver-specific questions: their personal motivations, prior incidents, and driver affiliation with other parties.

Plaintiffs allege background checks were inadequate, but Ubers defense said the allegation is only relevant if the inadequate of a particular third-party background check caused an individual plaintiffs injury, according to a response filed by the defense.

Individualized factual questions will overwhelm the common issues, and there will be no overlapping discovery regarding the particulars of the abuse alleged by each plaintiff, which include a wide range of conduct from threatened assault to non-consensual kissing to sexual assault. defense attorney Robert Atkins wrote.

There also will not be overlapping discovery as to highly plaintiff-specific questions of damages  each alleged incident and each survivors experience and injuries are unique, subjective and highly personal.

Atkins was not immediately available for comment Thursday morning.

A U.S. Judicial Panel will convene in Lexington Sept. 28 to determine if the cases should be consolidated.
After storm surge from Hurricane Idalia flooded homes in Tampa Bay and Floridas Big Bend region last week, state officials are asking homeowners to tap into a federal program to help pay to elevate homes.

It is one of the best programs that we have in our toolkit, Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie told reporters last week. Were going to try to make the mitigation fund bankrupt.

The obscure program has some major caveats, however.

The program is confusing, and the process can take years. And because homeowners have to pay the cost up front, only people who can afford to spend six figures elevating their home could tap into it.

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For those reasons, relatively few Floridians have had their homes elevated through the various federal programs.

Heres how the programs work:

What does the federal government offer?

There are several federal programs that offer money to elevate a home or business.

Guthrie was referring to the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which is overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Administration and is available after disasters declared by the president. Hurricanes Idalia and Ian are two such disasters.

There are other programs that are available each year, however, and they all work more or less the same: They assign money to state and local governments to protect homes and businesses from future flooding.

The money could go toward building levees or flood walls, drainage projects or elevating homes and businesses.

The federal government foots up to 100% of the bill, depending on the program, with the property owner paying the rest.

Whos eligible?

Property owners who meet a special set of circumstances are eligible.

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funding is only available after a president declares a disaster, and only in communities that have FEMA-approved Hazard Mitigation Plans (which are most communities).

Another program, FEMAs Flood Mitigation Assistance, is much more common and available each year. It also only applies to communities with approved hazard plans, and only to properties that are insured through the National Flood Insurance Program.

Communities can have their own specific requirements for Flood Mitigation Assistance programs, too.

For St. Petersburg, for example, the property must have experienced either:

 Repetitive losses, defined as two or more claims of more than $1,000 paid by the National Flood Insurance Program within any 10-year period since 1978

 Or severe repetitive losses, defined as four or more claims of more than $5,000 and cumulative claims of more than $20,000, or at least two claims that cumulatively exceed the buildings value.

How do you apply?

Property owners must ask their city or county emergency managers, who would apply through the state on their behalf.

The state then sends the proposal to FEMA, which can reject or approve it, or approve part of the funding.

If that sounds convoluted, thats because it is.

Property owners have to get cost estimates, a contractor and meet other local requirements before their local government applies on their behalf.

From there, the local government would apply to the state, and the state would apply to FEMA. The property owner does not interact with FEMA at any point.

None of its a simple process, said Hannah Rebholz, flood plain coordinator for the City of St. Petersburg. Residents are encouraged to reach out for help.

How much money is available?

Elevating a home or business can cost $200,000 or more, depending on the size and type of the property and how high it needs to be elevated.

When a Jacksonville home that was repeatedly flooded was approved to be elevated eight feet, it cost $503,671, with FEMA paying 90% of the tab, the Florida Times-Union reported in 2012.

FEMA paid $5 million to raise 27 flood-prone homes along the Treasure Coast and paid all of the costs for eight of them, TC Palm reported in 2018.

For the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, FEMA covers 75% of the cost, with the property owner usually responsible for covering the rest.

To help cover the cost, FEMA also makes up to $30,000 in federal dollars available to property owners, if they meet certain conditions:

 The property was recently damaged by a flood

 Its insured through the National Flood Insurance Program

 And its required to be elevated to meet local building requirements.

Its unclear how much federal money to elevate homes will be made after Idalia, as the program funding is based on damage assessments that havent yet been completed.

How long does the program take?

Years. Going through the local approval process can take 18 months. FEMA approval can take more than a year.

Once approved, the property owner has 36 months to finish construction.

It can be a couple of years before you even know if youve been accepted, said Lisa Foster, floodplain manager for Pinellas County.

Is there a catch?

Yes, and its a big one. The programs reimburse the property owners, so the property owners have to foot the entire bill in advance.

They also have to be able to pay the portion that FEMA doesnt cover.

Thats naturally out of reach for most homeowners, and its led to accusations that the programs are biased in favor of white or wealthy communities. A 2022 Politico analysis found that, of 12 of the 18 states that have received nearly all the elevation funding, more than half of the FEMA elevation money has gone to communities that are wealthy or almost entirely white.

How many Floridians have used this program?

Not many. Since 1995, 39 properties in Florida have been elevated under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which is available after disasters, according to FEMA data. Nearly all were residential homes.

About 240 other properties have been elevated through other federal grants since 1995, according to the data.

Pinellas and Pasco counties together make up 104 of the 277 homes that have been elevated, according to the data. Only one home has been elevated in Miami-Dade County, and just two in Broward County.
Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they intend to seek another indictment of Hunter Biden , the presidents son, by Sept. 29 after a plea deal fell apart on earlier tax and gun charges.

Biden was set to plead guilty in July to two misdemeanor charges for not filing taxes in 2017 and 2018, which he has since paid. He was also set to enter a pretrial program for a gun charge, which would have resulted in the charge being dropped if he complied with programs requirements.

But U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika refused to accept the plea agreement because of disputes between Bidens lawyers and federal prosecutors about the terms.

President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden arrive in Syracuse, N.Y., on Feb. 4, 2023.

Congressional Republicans called the agreement a sweetheart deal. Republicans called for an independent prosecutor to replace David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, who had investigated Biden for five years and reached the plea deal.

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Instead, Attorney General Merrick appointed Weiss a special counsel with broader powers to continue his investigation.

The indictment deadline resulted from the collapse of the plea deal. Under the federal Speedy Trial Act, the clock for a prosecution continued to tick once charges were filed against Biden, so prosecutors need to act or drop the case.

The Speedy Trial Act excludes, delay reasonably attributable to any period, not to exceed thirty days, during which any proceeding concerning the defendant is actually under advisement by the court, prosecutors said.

In a filing Wednesday, prosecutors said the government intends to seek the return of an indictment in this case before Sept. 29. The filing came in the court docket for the previous gun charge rather than the tax charges.

Bidens lawyer, Abbe Lowell, also filed an update saying he has complied with conditions for his pretrial release.

Three House Republican chairmen sent a letter Wednesday to Bidens lawyers, Christopher Clark and Lowell, asking for documents related to the plea deal.

Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, head of the Judiciary Committee; James Comer of Kentucky, head of the Oversight and Accountability Committee; and Jason Smith of Missouri, head of the Ways and Means Committee, seeks documents described in articles in the New York Times and Politico about how the deal fell apart.

The lawmakers alleged it was highly likely the documents came from Bidens defense team. Lawmakers asked for the 32-page letter from Clark to Weiss about the potential gun charge, the 100-slide PowerPoint presentation about tax charges and other emails.

Lowell called the request further evidence of interfering with the investigation.

These Republican chairmen continue to abuse their power to push a purely partisan attack on the Biden administration and family," Lowell said. " This latest demand is further proof of their continued and improper interference with the Justice Departments investigation, which remains ongoing and in which Congress has no legitimate role.

What were the charges against Hunter Biden?

Prosecutors said Hunter Biden took in $2.4 million in income in 2017 and $2.1 in 2018 through Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, a Chinese-development firm, as well as domestic business interests and legal services.

Leo Wise, an assistant U.S. attorney, said an accountant prepared Biden's taxes both of those years, but his corporate and personal taxes were not paid. During this period, Hunter Biden made large cash withdrawals and covered other expenses like car payments on a Porsche, Wise said.

Biden told the court a "third party" paid the back taxes along with interest and fees pursuant to a personal loan he has not begun to repay.

Another charge in Weiss's inquiry alleges Biden made a false statement on a federal form when he bought a gun in 2018.

The Gun Control Act prohibits drug users from possessing firearms. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ruled the ban applies to "a conviction for use or possession of a controlled substance within the past year."

Biden filled out a federal form when he bought a handgun in October 2018 in which he replied no to a question of whether he was an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance," according to the Washington Post.

By his own account in his memoir Beautiful Things, Biden battled drug addiction and for periods during 2018 smoked crack every 15 minutes.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Feds intend to seek indictment of Hunter Biden this month
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A Las Vegas couple has been left with nothing after floodwaters ruined their home, and they told 8 News Now they are on their own to fix it.

It was very scary, Christy Lawrence said. Very, very scary.

Lawrence walked 8 News Now through what was left of her home Wednesday evening.

14 inches, she said, describing the height of the water.14 inches at the highest point.

She said the water busted through her back door Saturday night during monsoon storms.

As soon as the door opened and the water started pouring in, she recalled. And it kept rising.

Lawrence said a nearby flood channel overflowed and tore her backyard wall apart, which allowed the water to go through her house.

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This is the bottom of the wall, Lawrence said, referencing her uprooted block wall. This is the footing; it was up there.

Lawrence told 8 News Now she and her husband did what they could to let the flood wash out, but theyre still left with thousands of dollars of damage.

Las Vegas couple picks up pieces after home destroyed by flood (Christy Lawrence)

Las Vegas couple picks up pieces after home destroyed by flood (Christy Lawrence)

Las Vegas couple picks up pieces after home destroyed by flood (Christy Lawrence)

Las Vegas couple picks up pieces after home destroyed by flood (Christy Lawrence)

Las Vegas couple picks up pieces after home destroyed by flood (Christy Lawrence)

Las Vegas couple picks up pieces after home destroyed by flood (Christy Lawrence)

She added that her familys insurance policy reportedly doesnt have flood coverage, and Lawrence claimed she couldnt get ahold of her local agent, so as of now, she said she and her husband are on their own for repairs.

They said we dont have flood insurance, so theres nothing they can do for us, Lawrence explained. A lot of my paperwork is gone, it was underwater, so I dont know if I have it or not to prove what we signed.

This means the couple is forced to tear out damaged walls, and floors and replace destroyed furniture, starting from square one without any assistance.

The people who should be helping me out, Lawrence said. Theyre not.

This, while Lawrence said they are also taking on this overwhelming financial and emotional burden.

I feel like I lost everything, Lawrence concluded.

Lawrence told 8 News Now shes grateful everyone, including the couples animals, are still here and not hurt. They are staying with family until they figure out their next step.

Lawrence told 8 News Now she reached out to the Red Cross but was told her case didnt qualify for assistance.

8 News Now reached out to a representative Wednesday, who said they were looking into the call and would get back regarding the situation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
University Park employees werent paid on time when their Aug. 23 payday came around because a banking confirmation email was sent to an employee who had been terminated, officials said.

In mid-August, the village employee tasked with handling payroll was terminated, said Trustee Theo Brooks, who declined to comment why that employee was fired.

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Village Manager Elizabeth Scott reached out to the bank the village uses for payroll to inform officials the employee no longer works for the village, so the payroll confirmation email should be sent to a different employee, Brooks said.

But bank officials still sent the payroll confirmation email to the terminated employee, Brooks said, which led to the delay. The employees received their paychecks by midnight Aug. 24, he said, after Scott went to the bank to ensure employees were paid.

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It was an outside party, not the village, that made the mistake, Brooks said. It was very minor. But, in the interim, you had people waiting on their money.

The village has about 80 employees and all employees checks were delayed, Brooks said.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents about 30 village employees, said in a statement it filed a grievance for the termination of the payroll employee whose wrongful firing caused the problem.

AFSCME staff representative Norm Neely said in the statement the union took action to ensure members were paid.

Whats more, management should restore the employee they wrongfully fired so this never happens again, Neely said.

Trustee Donna Fulcher said the paycheck delay was a one-time incident that was resolved quickly.

They didnt get their checks until the next day, Fulcher said. It was nothing that was consistent. It was fixed.

Scott declined to comment after the Aug. 29 special Village Board meeting and a follow-up phone call. Mayor Joseph Roudez did not return requests for comment.

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Brooks said Sept. 6 was the most recent payday and he hadnt heard of any payroll issues. The union representatives confirmed all members were paid on time.

At the boards July 25 meeting, the board approved the use of a new payroll system, Paycom, that will help improve the process, Brooks said.

This is an example of us going to a new system to make sure that payroll is done correctly, Brooks said. Were trying to come up to date and up to speed.

At the July meeting, Scott recommend the village cut ties with ADP, which Brooks said was the payroll system the village has used for years.

ADP charges $5,300 a month, Scott said, and the village has experienced issues with police and fire Medicare payments.

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Its difficult to work with them, Scott said. Theres real issues.

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Paycom will charge $3,400 a month, Scott said, and will take between 10 to 12 weeks to implement. Paycom comes with new features, she said, such as automatically sending out notifications about continued health care insurance employees can maintain after leaving a job.

The new features will cut down on costs for litigation, arbitration and grievances, Scott said.

By far, Paycom far exceed expectations, Scott said. Paycom just blew me out of the water compared to what we have now.

In 2016, the village laid off members of its Finance Department, shrinking it from seven employees to two employees, Brooks said, and leaving the department without a director.

The village has been operating without a finance director. Since then, analysis by the village manager shows we need a finance director, Brooks said. What I like is its an opportunity for the Finance Department to take a step in the right direction.

On Aug. 23, the village posted on its Facebook page it is accepting resumes and applications for a finance director.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) says she decided to give her daughter power of attorney over her legal affairs amid a court battle over her late husbands estate so she can focus on her work in Congress.

Feinstein, who is 90, has sued the trustees of her late husband Richard C. Blum s estate, alleging elder abuse and the wrongful withholding of distributions, including $170,000 she has requested to pay for medical expenses.

The California senator filed a document in July granting power of attorney to her daughter, Katherine Feinstein , a former San Francisco judge, after the younger Feinstein filed a suit against Blums trust seeking to remove the trustees for breach of fiduciary duties.

Ive asked my daughter to handle the case. And its so I can focus on what Im doing back here in Washington, Feinstein told the San Francisco Chronicle. Its a difficult time for me, and so I really dont have time for other things.

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Feinstein clarified her legal situation after initially telling the Chronicle that she gave no permission to do anything.

She later clarified in a follow-up phone call that Ive entrusted my daughter to handle those things that I believe she can.

Shes very smart, and if it doesnt work, well change it. But so far, so good, she said of her daughters ability to handle her legal claims.

Feinstein, who is wealthy in her own right, was married to Blum for more than 40 years until his 2022 death. His estate is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion.

Feinstein and her daughter have filed three lawsuits against Blums estate, including a petition claiming the right to sell a family property in Stinson Beach, a public beach within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Feinstein was absent from the Senate for nearly three months earlier this year after suffering a bout of shingles, which impaired her vision and balance.

She will not run for reelection when her term ends in 2024.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Editors note: This story was updated Sept. 7, at 1:40 p.m. EST with additional information.

SAN DIEGO  The felony convictions of four former Navy officers in one of the worst bribery cases in the maritime branchs history were vacated Wednesday following allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, the latest setback to the governments yearslong efforts in going after dozens of military officials tied to a defense contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard.

U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino called the misconduct outrageous and agreed to allow the four men to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a $100 fine each. Last year after the trial, Sammartino had ruled the lead federal prosecutor committed flagrant misconduct by withholding information from defense lawyers but said at the time that it was not enough to dismiss the case.

Fat Leonard, fugitive in Navy bribery case, seeks Venezuelan asylum

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The surprising turn came at a sentencing hearing in federal court in San Diego.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Ko, who was brought on after the trial last year, admitted to serious issues and asked the judge to vacate the officers felony convictions.

He said his office does not agree with all of the allegations but said errors were made.

There were pretty obviously serious issues that affect our ability to go forward defending the convictions or seeking a new trial, Ko told the judge, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Andrew Haden, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern California District, reiterated that in a statement after the hearing.

As stated in court, we do not agree with all the allegations or characterizations in the motions or in court, Haden said. We recognize and regret, however, that errors were made, and we have an obligation to ensure fairness and justice. The resolutions of these defendants cases reflect that.

Haden added that it is also significant that the four officers who stood before the court today admitted for the first time, under oath, that they broke the law and are guilty of crimes related to their official duties.

The officers  former Capts. David Newland, James Dolan and David Lausman and former Cmdr. Mario Herrera  were previously convicted by a federal jury on various counts of accepting bribes from foreign defense contractor Leonard Francis, and his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, or GDMA.

On Wednesday three of them pleaded guilty to one count each of disclosing information to Francis, and Lausman pleaded guilty to a charge of destruction of government property, for smashing a hard drive with a hammer.

Defense attorney Todd Burns, who represented Dolan, said his client was relieved to have this behind him. He and defense attorneys for the three other men had filed hundreds of pages outlining how the monthslong trial was rife with misconduct from prosecutors hiding evidence, ignoring false testimony and concealing facts that questioned the credibility of key witnesses.

The government has a massive amount of power to coerce things, and that power is still evident in this context, Burns said.

He said his client agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor after a decade of fighting the allegations against him, bleeding legal fees and enduring stress on his family.

These four guys were facing what was going to be sentences by the original prosecutors that were going to be absolutely devastating financially and custody-wise, he said. Then they were offered a deal to plead to a misdemeanor and a $100 fine to walk away and end this brutal chapter.

The men spent more than a year asking for a retrial. Theirs was the only case to go to trial out of the more than two dozen defendants charged. The jury deadlocked and reached no verdict on charges against a fifth defendant, retired Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless, and prosecutors later dropped those charges.

Nearly two dozen Navy officials, defense contractors and others have been convicted and sentenced on various fraud and corruption charges.

Several others are awaiting sentencing next month. Its not clear if this could jeopardize those cases.

Francis admitted to buying off dozens of top-ranking officers with booze, sex, lavish parties and other gifts. Prosecutors say he bilked the Navy out of more than $35 million.

Three weeks before the Malaysian defense contractor faced sentencing last year, Francis made a stunning escape, snipping off his ankle monitor and fleeing the San Diego residence where he had been under house arrest.

The escape was also seen by some as a misstep by the prosecution for allowing him to not be held behind bars. He was later captured in Venezuela, where he remains.

The four former officers had served in the Navys 7th Fleet in the Eastern Pacific, where Francis company supplied ships for decades.

Francis was arrested in a San Diego hotel in September 2013 as part of a federal sting. Investigators say he and his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, bribed officers so he could overcharge for supplying ships or charge for fake services at ports he controlled in Southeast Asia.

The case, which delved into salacious details about service members cheating on their wives and seeking out prostitutes, was an embarrassment to the Pentagon. The U.S. attorneys office handled the prosecution, offering independence from the military justice system.
(Bloomberg) -- Sign up for the India Edition newsletter by Menaka Doshi  an insider's guide to the emerging economic powerhouse, and the billionaires and businesses behind its rise, delivered weekly.

Most Read from Bloomberg

As the worlds most powerful leaders descend on New Delhi for the Group of 20 summit, India is pulling out all the stops, deploying fighter jets around the capital, painting murals on underpasses and chasing away packs of monkeys from government buildings.

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The moment is a long-awaited milestone for India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is selling the worlds most-populous nation as an emerging superpower with the clout to navigate geopolitical tensions, economic slowdowns and rising food and energy prices. Over the weekend, hell test that thesis by welcoming US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other heads-of-state for one of the most important global gatherings of the year.

But pulling off a successful G-20 summit is about more than smart diplomacy. For months, Indian officials have plotted out the best way to fortify Delhi, a cramped and polluted city of more than 20 million people, where the crumbling beauty of ancient Mughal-era forts borders pot-holed highways jammed with buses, cars and rickshaws.

At the heart of the project is locking down New Delhi, the citys small bureaucratic center, where the summit will take place Saturday and Sunday. The 16.5 square-mile area (enough to fill three-quarters of Manhattan) is known for its acres of manicured parks, sandstone monuments and stately bungalows for Indias elite.

To ease traffic, the authorities have ordered schools, banks, most private businesses and all government departments to remain shut. Borders to neighboring states will also be sealed, and over 100,000 police and security personnel are expected to patrol the streets.

Among the tools at their disposal: heavy artillery, advanced AI-based cameras, jamming devices and sniffer dogs.

Theres a tremendous amount at stake for Modi with this G-20 summit, said Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center.

Read: Modi Turns G-20 Summit Into Not-So-Subtle India Election Kickoff

Delhis history spans empires and has survived some of the subcontinents most monumental inflection points, from the fallout of Partition to deadly religious riots. The police are keen to quell the citys activist bent and prevent protests around hot topics in India, including ethnic violence in the northeastern state of Manipur and communal clashes in some towns neighboring the capital region.

Ultimately, carrying out a successful summit could boost Modis reputation as a competent administrator. It may also bolster his ruling Bharatiya Janata Partys chances in five looming state elections this year and a national vote expected by next summer.

New Delhi takes its presidency extremely seriously, and it has linked it not only to core national interests and foreign policy objectives, but also, even if indirectly, to domestic politics, Kugelman said.

The location for this years G-20 summit is as grand as they come. The world leaders will meet in a refurbished convention and exhibition center thats larger than Australias Sydney Opera House and was designed by the international firm Aedas, which created Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. The entire renovation took four and a half years at a cost of 27 billion rupees ($326 million).

Reminders of the summit are everywhere in Delhi. Posters depicting Modi and the G-20 logo line the roads. Sculptures, fountains and flowers decorate roundabouts, and officials have strung lights on trees to illuminate them at night. Gray, drab flyovers and railway bridges have gotten similarly colorful makeovers, with murals depicting Hindu gods and different dance and crafts traditions.

The Indian authorities are also attempting to push less vaunted wildlife out of view. To scare away thousands of small monkeys that hang out near government offices and steal food from pedestrians, officials have dotted the sidewalks with life-sized cut-outs of the larger, black-faced langur species.

The G-20 summit is one of the highest-profile international events New Delhi has hosted in years. Its also an opportunity to push past governance missteps further from memory, including one from 2010, when the capital hosted the Commonwealth Games. Among several issues, officials were accused of corruption in how they chose firms to provide sporting equipment and of using child labor to build facilities.

Read more: What to Look For as Modi Hosts G-20 Summit in India: QuickTake

Ahead of the G-20, the authorities seem to have considered every conceivable safety risk, sketching out rules for the most obscure of details. Until Sept. 12, hot air balloons are banned from sailing above the city, one order from the Delhi police reads. Another prohibits paragliding.

Indias security apparatus is robust: To protect visiting leaders, the armed forces will deploy commandos, snipers, bomb disposal squads, explosive detection teams, anti-drone technology, a quick reaction crew for chemical and nuclear threats, long range surveillance aircraft, and fighter jets, according to people familiar with the plans.

To contain protests and gatherings, multiple domestic agencies are giving us real time information, Dependra Pathak, Delhis special police commissioner for law and order, said in an interview.

By Friday, access to New Delhi will be particularly difficult. Though the citys metro will continue to run, traffic police will prohibit most other travel near parliament and government ministries. The restrictions will effectively seal off the area, where elite G-20 guests are mostly populating five-star hotels.

Ahead of the summit, Modi apologized to Delhis residents for the inconvenience of so many restrictions. But for many Indians, the G-20 summit, though abstract in its goals, is more exciting evidence that the country is an unmissable shaper of world affairs.

The hosting of the G-20 summit is a responsibility of the entire country, Modi said in a speech late last month. We need to show the world that Delhi can handle this responsibility without any glitches.

--With assistance from Sudhi Ranjan Sen.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
When Debbie Arellano, 37, first saw the smoke, she grabbed what little she could from her studio unit and fled with her 18-month-old baby. As she drove out of Lahaina, Hawaii, praying her mom and cousins werent too far behind, she worried about her familys future  and that of her Filipino community at large. She said she knew that the toll would be disproportionate.

In the weeks since the blaze, she has been bounced around among hotels, she has seen immigrant relatives confusion as they struggle to fill out English-only aid forms, and she has watched as her communitys distrust of institutions grows.

Members of the affected Filipino community say they face unique challenges, including the toll of continuing to work in the tourism industry, the inability to access aid because of language and immigration status and financial challenges tied to their multigenerational households.

Filipinos make up about 25% of the population in Hawaii as the second-largest racial group in the state, according to the 2020 census. They make up an even larger share in Lahaina, the town most severely affected by the fires, at 40%, and they constitute a disproportionate segment of the workers in the tourism industry.

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And many of their stories still remain in the shadows, they fear. Filipinos are the largest undocumented population in the state, making up 46% of the group.

People stand in line to pick up free venison chili for dinner at Joey's Kitchen, a Hawaiian-Filipino fusion restaurant, in Napili on West Maui on Aug. 21, 2023. (Tamir Kalifa / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

We have systems in place to take care of each other, Arrelano said. Weve always taken care of each other.

With multigenerational families split up, trying to afford individual rentals with money they once pooled with their relatives, Arellano questions the U.S. governments definition of a household.

Ive heard stories of families not being able to find rentals because landlords are not willing to accommodate so much as seven people in a housing unit, she said. Immigrant families are having to split up in order to find a rental but are unable to afford the rental because they were only able to afford living in Lahaina by squeezing in a house together and pooling their service industry wages in order to afford rent.

Filipino immigrants have a long history on the archipelago, according to the University of Hawaii. In the decades before Hawaii became a state in 1959, American corporations dominated the U.S. territory. Seeking low-cost laborers to work their sugar cane plantations, the corporations would recruit men, known as sakadas, from the Philippines to bring to Hawaii in the early 1900s.

The workers faced harsh conditions and exploitation and were often paid little to nothing for their labor, which fueled an economic boom in Hawaii. But many Filipino families put down deep roots on the island, and the population has continued to boom, with thousands of immigrants from the Philippines still coming to Hawaii each year.

Lahaina, in particular, is considered a Filipino enclave, with many working-class families, especially those involved in the tourism industry, living in the area, said Khara Jabola-Carolus, a co-founder of and volunteer with the Maui-based immigrant rights organization Roots Reborn, who is of Filipino descent.

From 1906 to 1946, some 125,000 Filipinos were recruited to work in the sugar cane and pineapple fields of the Hawaiian Islands. (Lyman Museum Collections)

Maui-based immigration attorney Kevin Block said he has been in the trenches with his clients since the fires. His clients have told him harrowing personal accounts, including stories of multigenerational families packed into single cars and grandparents fleeing the flames on foot. And as the panic of getting out gave way to the scramble of getting help, he said, Filipino immigrants have had a particularly rough time. Many lost not just homes and family but also vital documentation, like their green cards, visa information and Philippines passports. Recovering those isnt always easy, he said. An obvious challenge was language access.

There was a lot of confusion directly when the event was occurring, and some of the information that came out immediately afterwards was definitely all in English, he said.

Government agencies like Citizenship and Immigration Services, which handles immigration paperwork, offer forms only in English, which compounded the confusion, he said.

Of all the agencies that you would think would translate their documents into other languages, it would be them, but they dont, he said. And the forms are confusing.

Citizenship and Immigration Services said it is making efforts to support immigrants in Maui after the fires, including distributing flyers in multiple languages to promote a free legal clinic.

Roughly 59% of Filipinos in Hawaii are non-English-speaking at home. Community groups have led the charge in getting documents translated into Spanish and Tagalog. Others have also helped organize translators for Ilocano, another language that is particularly common among immigrants in Lahaina, spoken in the Ilocos region of the Philippines, where men had historically been recruited to work on plantations in Hawaii.

Maui Wildfires 2023 (Tamir Kalifa / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

While some are having difficulty navigating the decentralized sources of aid, Jabola-Carolus said, many others who are undocumented are actively avoiding government help. She said many have a deep distrust of federal and state agencies, while others also fear jeopardizing their lives in Hawaii or those of loved ones who are also of undocumented status. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, Jabola-Carolus added, is a sister agency of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, both of which are under the Department of Homeland Security.

You cant expect people to believe that their hunter is their helper suddenly.  You cant expect them to believe that the government who is trying to weed them out and deport them is now a source of refuge, Jabola-Carolus said. There are Filipino victims of the fires who are actively trying to hide from help.

Neither Immigration and Customs Enforcement nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to requests for comment. But FEMA spokesperson told NBC News that regardless of immigration status, any disaster survivor is entitled to short-term, non-cash, in-kind federal emergency disaster relief programs and that non-citizens will not be referred for removal.

If an applicant does not meet the citizenship or immigration status requirements when applying for FEMA assistance, the household may still apply for certain forms of financial assistance, the spokesperson said.

Regardless of peoples statuses, distrust is common, Block said, and it makes them less likely to seek help. With some local and federal organizations asking for DNA samples to identify victims, the anxiety was heightened.

Cathy Betts, the director of the states Department of Human Services, who has also been on the ground with her mother translating for Filipino immigrants, said the fires impact on the tourism industry has left many Filipino immigrants anxious about the recovery process.

Debbie Arellano with her husband Brandon and their son Bayani. The family is currently displaced due to the fires in Lahaina, along with many other Filipinos in the area. Courtesy Debbie Arellano. (Courtesy Debbie Arellano)

Recovering from the fires can feel like an uphill battle for many families, Betts said. But she said she sees a need for cultural navigators on the ground who could help demystify the various forms of aid, build trust with community members and help those in the tourism industry and beyond secure help if they need it.

Their tourism industry is going to be devastated.  In the coming months, their economy is going to be disparaged, and theyre going to have to pick up other jobs, so it was very clear to me that people are starting to panic, she said.

In some cases, Betts said, she has encountered Filipino hotel workers who have continued to head to their jobs in the hotels every day, despite having been displaced, eager for visitors to contribute to the economy.

If folks are busy back at work, God bless them, but if they need to have some resources to help them or have some respite, that needs to be there, as well, Betts said.

An effective recovery, experts say, will mean ensuring that the Filipino community is integral to the decision-making efforts.

We are actually invisible, Jabola-Carolus said. If Filipinos arent at the table, locked arm in arm with Native Hawaiians, then none of this is guaranteed to actually heal the community.

CORRECTION (Sept. 7, 2023, 11:48 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the agency asking for DNA samples to identify victims. Local and federal organizations are making the request, not FEMA.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A Georgia fire that happened last week has now been ruled an arson, according to Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King.

The fire happened just before 4:30 p.m. on September 1 at a property on Green Street in Mountain City, according to officials.

The fire was intentionally set in a vehicle parked at a property on Green Street in Mountain City and spread to a nearby shop building, said King. There was also an attempt to set a second vehicle at the property on fire and several other vehicles had their windows busted out. Anyone with information on this fire should call the Georgia Arson Control Hotline at 1-800-252-5804.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible for this arson.

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State officials said they are working with the Mountain City Police on this investigation.

Anyone with information on this fire should call the Georgia Arson Control Hotline at 1-800-252-5804.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
First lady Jill Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday, her office announced, four days after she tested positive for the virus.

The first lady tested positive Monday night and has been staying at the Bidens home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., since then. President Biden has been testing every day after her results and has been negative Tuesday, Wednesday and once more Thursday, just before he leaves for the Group of 20 summit in India.

Jill Bidens office said there was no further updates to share when asked if she will leave quarantine in Rehoboth Beach. On Wednesday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the first lady was doing well.

On Monday, the first lady was experiencing mild symptoms. She was scheduled to begin the new school year teaching English and writing at Northern Virginia Community College on Tuesday, but she had to work to find a substitute teacher.

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The first lady was not expected to travel to India with Biden, but they did travel together to Florida on Saturday and spent part of last weekend in Rehoboth Beach together.

Both Biden and the first lady tested positive for COVID-19 last summer.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Following a bit of a delay due to the pandemic, developer Beau Hudson now has his first tenant for the remodeled Food for Thought space at 2929 E. Central.

Focus Respiratory is moving its northeast Wichita office from 2020 N. Woodlawn to the new center, which is a couple of blocks west of Hillside.

Our goal for the move is to become more centralized for our patients, said branch manager Jacque Moore. Im excited to be closer to Wesley Medical Center to hopefully cater to their patients a little quicker.

Wesley is part of what interested Hudson, a broker at Landmark Commercial Real Estate, in the East Central space. He said hes seen a lot of progress along Central between Hillside and Grove.

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A lot of that is driven by the fact that Wesley is there.

Hudson said hes open to a mix of tenants for the 15,000-square-foot center, which once was best known as the home of the Larchers market.

Its almost a blank canvas, he said. There are just so many different directions we thought we could take it. Weve talked to some restaurants pretty seriously. Weve talked to retailers (and) service businesses.

Hudson said he particularly likes medical uses because those tenants often are more stable.

The Focus Respiratory move comes in a year of changes for the company.

The national Quipt Home Medical purchased Focus in January, which has been a fabulous acquisition for us, Moore said. Theyve been in the industry for many, many years. They know the industry. They know the operations and just the work flow. . . . Its been a positive change.

Focus has seven sites in the region and serves Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

We primarily cater to patients respiratory needs, Moore said.

However, she said, We do intend on expanding our retail floor with some additional equipment to maybe better help our patients in their therapy.

That includes having items such as wheelchairs, walkers and shower chairs available.

So thats an exciting additive.

Moore said the new space, where Focus will move by Dec. 1, will have easier access than its existing one and be closer to west-side patients.

Focus is taking about 2,600 square feet.

Hudson said there are lots of options for the size of tenant spaces.

He is handling leasing with Bradley Tidemann and Brett Gehrer of J.P. Weigand & Sons.

Hudson first announced he was redeveloping the site in 2020. During the pandemic, he said he held off finishing the exterior of the center because labor and materials cost so much. Now that the exterior is done, he said he can get tenants in within 60 to 90 days.

He said hes seeing a lot more leasing activity. Hudson said the need for space continues in a number of directions in that area.

Its just a little stretch of town . . . we believe in.
PETERSBURG  One of three defendants in the July 2022 shooting death of a young woman at a city apartment building will spend the next 10 years behind bars, a Circuit Court judge ruled Thursday.

Keyshawn Hicks, 18, was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison with all but 10 of them suspended. The sentence, the result of a plea agreement, is a blended one, with most of it on a second-degree murder conviction  30 years with 23 suspended. The remaining three years for use of a firearm in the commission of a felony are mandatory for weapons-related convictions.

Hicks was 16 years old when the shootout occurred July 2, 2022, at the ArtistSpace Lofts apartments on Perry Street. Nineteen-year-old Toni Stinka Knight died when she was caught in crossfire among three people in the lobby of the apartment building. Knights two cousins were with her, and one suffered a non-gunshot head wound.

A Petersburg jury convicted the other two defendants  Jesiah Flowers and Devin Mitchell, both 21  of second-degree murder and other charges. Flowers will be sentenced in November, Mitchell a month later.

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More: Men shooting at each other in Petersburg apartment complex convicted in bystander's death

At Thursdays sentencing hearing, Knights mother, Diane Branzelle, burst into tears several times talking about the impact her daughters death has had on her and her family. Amid sobs, Branzelle talked about how she has been unable to sleep since that day and is going back to work next week for the first time since Knight died.

She was my best friend, Branzelle said. She was my hip.

Toni 'Stinka' Knight was 19 years old when she was shot to death July 2, 2022, at the ArtistSpace Lofts apartment complex in downtown Petersburg.

Branzelle said she last saw Knight 45 minutes before she died. They were planning a birthday party for one of the children in the family, and Knight took her two cousins back to ArtistSpace with her to get ready for the party.

Video shown during Thursdays hearing and during Flowers and Mitchells trial last June depicts Mitchell, Flowers and Hicks begin shooting at one another as Mitchell was leaving the building. One of the cousins walked in ahead of Knight and was in the foyer when Knight was shot through the glass door. The other child with her could be seen running away from the building.

Even though the bullets Hicks fired did not strike Knight, he still was brought up on the same charges for engaging in the gunfight. In exchange for his plea to second-degree murder and use of a firearm, Petersburg prosecutors dropped the other charges.

Despite the agreement, Branzelle told Circuit Judge Joseph Teefey she was not a fan of the shorter sentence for Hicks. It is her and her family, not the defendants, who are serving life sentences because her daughter is gone.

Looking directly at Hicks, Branzelle told him through tears, You didnt think of anyone else but yourselves. You took off running and left my daughter there to die.

Hicks and the other defendants will still be able to talk to their loved ones, she said. I have to talk to my daughter through a picture. I have to talk to my daughter through her phone, Branzelle cried.

The mother then turned back to Teefey and pleaded for more than just the agreed-upon term: Please, please, please, please, please  I want far more than that.

Eldrin Logan, Hicks stepfather, told Teefey that Hicks family still loves and supports him. Yet, they also know he must be held accountable for his actions.

Speaking to the gunfight, Logan told the court, This was not how he was taught or raised. He apologized to his family and to Knights family for what Hicks has put everyone through.

Then, looking directly at his stepson, Logan said Hicks and the other defendants knew yall werent supposed to be there.

But now its time for you to put your big-boy pants on and man up, Logan said from the stand.

Hicks mother took the stand on her sons behalf but said very little. When asked by her sons attorney if she had anything else she wanted to say to the court, she shook her head.

Defense attorney Sante Piracci told the court that even though Hicks was the only juvenile charged, he was more of an adult than the others were because he made no excuses for why he was there. Noting the testimony from the June trial, Piracci said Flowers and Mitchell pleaded not guilty and spent their whole case blaming the other for what happened.

Those two folks have shown a lot less wisdom, a lot less maturity, than the child, Piracci said. Because of that, he added, Teefey should pronounce a sentence at the low end of the agreement.

Lead prosecutor Thomas Chaffe noted that in his closing arguments, but the fact that Hicks was there and took part still means that Teefey should impose the total 10-year active sentence.

Teefey suspended 23 years of the sentence with the stipulations that Hicks stay out of trouble for the first four years after he released. He also ordered five years of probation upon release. Should Hicks violate either of those stipulations, any or all of the suspended years could be reimposed.

Hicks spoke in his own defense Thursday afternoon. He apologized for everything I put everybody through, adding, I gotta take responsibility for what I did.

Outside the courthouse, Chaffe told Knights family, Things could not have gone any better in there. Branzelle showed The Progress-Index a copy of the victim-impact statement she was prepared to read in the hearing but never did.

The next one is going to be the hardest, Branzelle said of Flowers Nov. 14 hearing. Clutching her copy of the statement, she said, I'm going to read all of this then.

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: One of 3 ArtistSpace shooters gets 10 years in prison
Florida hunting guide Kevin Brotz has gotten national attention for a wild alligator hunt that ended with he and two other men paddling to shore with a 13-foot, 920-pound alligator in their jon boat.

That boat was 15 feet long, which begs the question: How on earth did they all fit without it sinking?

It had about 8 inches of water in it, Brotz told McClatchy News. Some people would say it was swamped, because theyre not used to it. It wasnt in danger of sinking.

As for how three men and a gator squeezed into such a small boat, Brotz said he rode part of the way to shore sitting on the alligator.

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On the head, he said, when pressed for details.

The hunt took place early Friday, Aug. 25, and the alligator counts as one of the heaviest captured in Florida  a state known to have 1.3 million alligators. The heaviest on record in Florida is 1,043 pounds for a male caught in Alachua Countys Orange Lake.

Brotz hasnt divulged where he caught the gator, but the water was about 12 feet deep, he says.

A four-hour fight

It took four hours to bring the alligator to heel and it was more of a tug-of-war than a chase.

The trio of hunters, which included Darren Field and Carson Gore, initially believed they hooked a 10- to 11-foot alligator, then it breached up and out of the water 3 feet high, Brotz said.

We could tell the gator was way bigger than we thought. It feels like you got a log with legs when the alligator is that big. Often times, when you get a giant, they dont take off like a marlin. They want to stand their ground and fight, he said.

We knew if we made a mistake or the gator decided to do something crazy, we could be in trouble. We were operating with a lot of confidence and a little bit of crazy.

It was about noon when they dispatched the alligator with a harpoon-like weapon known as a bang stick.

Then the men had to figure out how to get it in their boat. They settled on pulling the alligator closer to shore, where the men stood in the water and worked out the perfect balance of beast and boat.

The back of the boat did go under water at one time, Brotz says. We had to try a couple of methods to get it to fit.

The three men then climbed in with the gator and spent another hour getting to the nearest boat landing.

What happens now?

The alligator was measured at 13 feet, 3 inches, which is big but still a foot shy of the 14-feet, 3.5-inch state record.

Alligator hunting for population control is a cottage industry in Florida, and it begins with harvesting the meat for consumption. In this case, Brotz says the alligator was so big they had enough meat for his family, his friends and people in need in the community.

As for what was left, Brotz is having the alligator mounted for display at his home in Oviedo, an Orlando suburb.

It will go up in the living room, he says.

We have a corner fireplace and hell go on the wall above the fireplace. Well have to re-enforce the wall first, Brotz says.

This dinosaur will live forever.

Rare American crocodile swims off with someones dog in its jaws, Florida cops say

Weird monkey sightings spread across Florida city, cops say. I knew I wasnt crazy

Chaos erupts as bear breaks through fence and tries to eat pet pig, Florida cops say
Ukraine celebrates Military Intelligence Day on Sep. 7 after the countrys President Volodomyr Zelenskyy signed a decree last year to establish the professional holiday.

The date was chosen as it was previously the professional holiday of scouts, dedicated to military personnel working in reconnaissance and intelligence.

Read also: Budanov shares memorable Explosive Cake greeting on Military Intelligence Day  video

The day itself is not a public holiday and is instead focused on commemorating the actions of Ukraines special forces and intelligence agencies.

In honor of this day, wed like to remind our readers about five of the most daring intelligence operations carried out by Ukraine this year amidst its fight against Russian occupation.

The raid on occupied Crimea to mark Ukraines Independence Day

On August 24, 2023, Ukrainian Independence Day, the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) announced that it had successfully landed troops in occupied Crimea in a raid carried out with the support of the countrys naval forces.

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A battle involving aircraft and watercraft took place near the village of Mayak on Cape Tarkhankut around 5 a.m. Russian radar stations and air defense units were the main targets.

The HUR reported that at least 30 Russian military personnel were eliminated, various equipment was destroyed, and a Ukrainian flag had been hoisted over the occupied peninsula.

The head of the HUR, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, said the raid served to remind the Ukrainian people, especially those in occupied land, that they would be liberated.

Read also: Ukrainian military reportedly strikes Russian brigade in Crimea

"There will be a ground operation; there will be a return of our territories. Soon everyone will be ready to return home."

The defection of a Mil Mi-8 helicopter and its pilot

A day before the daring Crimea raid, a Russian Mil Mi-8 helicopter flew to Ukraines Poltava airfield and surrendered, 300km away from Russia-held territory.

Russian state propaganda immediately sprang into action, claiming the incident occurred due to a navigation error; however, Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov immediately disproved this narrative.

"The helicopter flew at a low altitude at low speed, and the crew could clearly see all ground landmarks. It was simply impossible to make a mistake by 300 km; this would have consumed a lot of fuel. This could not have been an accident," Butusov said.

Read also: HUR spokesman describes how good Russians can help Ukraine

Reportedly, the pilot agreed to hand over the helicopter to the Ukrainian military in exchange for the safe passage of his family out of Russia and a large cash reward. He apparently eliminated his two crew members, whowere unaware of the plot.

Multiple drone attacks on Moscow

Moscow has come under repeated drone attack over the last several months, and on Aug. 23, the same day as the helicopter incident, a helicopter factory in the city was hit, and flights were delayed at both Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports.

Read also: Russia claims to shoot down three drones overnight, Moscow airports again closed, causing cancelations and delays

"Strikes on Moscow have occurred that have disrupted the operation of airports, disrupted flights, and evacuated officials and employees of special services from their workplaces, demonstrating Putin's inability to protect even his capital," a HUR spokesman said.

"These noble unknown flying objects are aimed exclusively at those objects and institutions that are directly involved in the genocidal war of Russia against Ukraine."

On the night of August 18, explosions rang out in the suburbs of Moscow and the capital of Russia. Locals reported a "drone explosion" near one of the towers of Moscow City, publishing a video in which a Russian woman says that "the city has been blown up again.

Five Russian bombers destroyed or damaged over three days

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it likely assumed that its aviation assets were relatively safe. Ukraines intelligence services have done their utmost to dispel this notion.

Read also: First photos of damaged Russian jets seen after Ukraines brazen drone attack on Russias Pskov airbase

On the morning of August 19, 2023, agents cooperating with Ukrainian military intelligence attacked a military airfield in Soltsy, Novgorod Oblast. A Tu-22 M3 bomber was destroyed, and two more aircraft were damaged.

On the morning of August 21, two more Russian bombers were damaged in Kaluga Oblast at Shaykovka airfield as a result of an attack by drones controlled by HUR saboteurs.

"These drone operations are coordinated by the HUR and have caused sensitive losses to the enemy in military aviation. The most important thing is that such planes [Tu-22 M3s] are no longer produced in Russia," a senior intelligence source told NV at the time.

Explosions in Enerhodar

The HUR has made it clear that traitors and collaborators can expect no mercy, and on Aug. 23, the agency carried out an operation to eliminate quislings while they met with a local branch of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

Read also: Russia planning to seize homes in Enerhodar to house Russian workers for Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant  HUR

When the Russians began to evacuate, another strike was made on the parking lot near the building, which eliminated more enemy personnel, a confidential security source told NV at the tie.

On Aug 28, the HUR of the Ministry of Defense published a video of a drone attack on a police headquarters in Enerhodar.

Ukrainian forces hit the improvised barracks of the Chechen Akhmat-1 unit, well known for its cowardice in battle, brutality towards local civilians, and idiotic TikTok videos.



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 Will County Board Executive Committee rejected a proposal Thursday to form an ad hoc committee that would explore reusing the former county courthouse building in Joliet.

Several members of the county board, including both Republicans and Democrats, as well as local preservationists, architects, historians and residents, have advocated for saving the vacant courthouse, 14 W. Jefferson St., from demolition.

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All we were asking for was the opportunity to have an ad hoc committee to ensure the interests of the people of Will County are best served, said Republican Dan Butler of Frankfort, who has favored saving the building. We were denied that opportunity. That is what concerns me the most.

Structural engineer Albert Mena, left, and architect Gary Anderson talk with Will County Executive Committee members Thursday about possibilities to reuse the former courthouse. (Michelle Mullins/Daily Southtown)

Butler said an ad hoc committee of five board members could have studied ways the courthouse could have been repurposed and if the county could take advantage of tax credits available for historic buildings, he said.

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Butler said preserving the courthouse had bipartisan support from fiscal conservatives interested in saving money, environmentalists wishing to keep the four-story building from a landfill and those who want to preserve Joliets history.

The county board voted in 2019 to demolish the former courthouse once the new courthouse was completed, but support for preserving the 1969 building has grown in the last two years. Last month, the county board voted to have its executive committee review options.

The county board has sought bids to demolish the courthouse, but have not yet awarded a bid.

Butler said board members can continue to push to save the courthouse until bids are awarded, and the county receives a demolition permit. The board has already approved $2.5 million in its budget for demolition.

The county is reviewing nine bids to see who is the lowest, most qualified bidder, said Mike Theodore, spokesman with the county executive office. The office is expecting to finish reviewing the bids to get a contract approved in September, with demolition dependent on the plan outlined by that bidder, he said.

The Joliet Historic Preservation Commission voted last month to recommend to the Joliet City Council that the courthouse be designated a local historic landmark. The Joliet City Council is expected to vote on the recommendation later this month, and no demolition permits can be issued until that vote takes place, according to city ordinances.

If the courthouse is given landmark status, the county would have to get approval from the Joliet Historic Preservation Commission for demolition, according to Quinn Adamowski, commission member and regional advocacy manager with Landmarks Illinois, and Christopher Regis, an attorney for the city of Joliet.

If the commission says no, the county could appeal the decision to the Joliet City Council, which can override it with a 2/3 vote, they said.

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However, county officials said they do not need Joliet approval to demolish the building because the county has authority under state statues to make decisions on its facilities, Theodore said.

Because the courthouse was named in May to the National Register of Historic Places, there is also a regulatory review process ongoing to ensure all considerations have been looked at before demolition can proceed, Adamowski said.

Before the executive committee voted against exploring other uses for the courthouse, structural engineer Albert Mena said it could be renovated with two more floors and about 40,000 square feet added.

We believe this is a historic building worth preserving, he said. There is capacity within this building to bring new life to it.

Gary Anderson, an architect with Studio GWA and chair of Landmarks Illinois, told the committee they could take advantage of historic tax credits similar to when the city of Rockford redeveloped a historic school into a police station or when the city of Woodstock converted the former McHenry County Courthouse into a community destination. Capturing tax credits requires creating an limited liability company to be responsible for the redevelopment, he said.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

The Will County states attorneys office, however, said the county is unable to create an LLC and has only powers granted to them by law.

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The former courthouse land is held in a public trust, which must be used for a public purpose, the office said.

Board members in favor of demolition said there have already been studies done on the courthouse that say that it would be too costly to renovate.

Mica Freeman, a Democrat from Plainfield, said it is irresponsible for the county to continue paying between $8,000 and $10,000 a month, not including costs to repair vandalism, to maintain the building.

Once the building is demolished, it will likely be green space until new county office buildings are needed, board member Meta Mueller, a Democrat from Aurora, said.

County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant and Joliet Mayor Terry DArcy earlier this year said they supported a new consolidated government campus that would house offices for both Will County and the city of Joliet on the former courthouse property. Both the county and city have outgrown their existing space, they have said.

Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
The kidnapped couple have now been found (KSAT/ABC News)

A family home in San Antonio, Texas, has found itself at the centre of a bizarre mystery.

On Wednesday morning, police dispatched to the house on the West Side of the Texas city discovered five children, all under the age of 17, alone without their parents.

The children proceeded to tell officers how theyd witnessed two armed men storm into the home and kidnap their parents.

The parents were found safe and unharmed about 24 hours later - but the full story of the kidnapping has yet to emerge.

Heres what we know so far:

Five unattended children

San Antonio police officers were called to the home in the citys Southwest Side neighbourhood at around 6am on Wednesday. The children, all under the age of 17, were inside.

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We located about five juveniles all inside the home, no injuries, they were unharmed, Ricardo Guzman, from the San Antonio Police Department, told KSAT.

The children told police that two unknown people broke into their house with guns in their hands and forcefully took their parents away.

The children did not appear to recognise the suspects who kicked down the door, entered the home, took the adults and fled the scene, Mr Guzman said.

Parents found safe

The parents, who are in their late 30s, were found safe early Thursday morning just off Culebra Road near West Commerce Street on the West Side, San Antonio, according to Fox 29.

The police deployed a SWAT team and were even checking cars within the neighbourhood to see if they could find any trace of the couple.

According to police, the couple were taken to two separate houses in a Westside neighbourhood. Within hours of the kidnapping, the police were able to track down both locations.

The couple have been checked by officials and are deemed to be okay, safe and had no major injuries, reported Fox 29.

It has been reported that a large number of people were found in one of the houses, who are now being interviewed by police.

The circumstances of the kidnapping and the suspects motive remains unclear.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released a health alert to healthcare providers to look out for infections of the "flesh-eating" bacteria known as Vibrio vulnificus. The bacteria is deadly and can be contracted by "eating raw or undercooked shellfish, particularly oysters," or "when an open wound is exposed to salt water or brackish water" that contains Vibrio, the alert said. The bacteria is naturally found in coastal waters.

The bacteria usually affects 150 to 200 per year and about one in five die from infection. Just this year, the bacteria has caused at least 12 deaths, Axios reported. Numbers have also been on the rise as temperatures have been rising.

"V. vulnificus is only active at a temperature that's above 13 degrees Celsius, and then it becomes more prevalent up until the temperature reaches 30 degrees Celsius, which is 86 Fahrenheit," Karen Knee, an associate professor and water-quality expert at American University, told Wired. Oceans have been reaching record-high temperatures, thus worsening the bacteria's presence. "The warmer water is, the more bacteria can reproduce faster," Gabby Barbarite, a researcher at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, told USA Today.

Though deemed a "flesh-eating" bacteria, the infection kills tissue but doesn't eat it. In order to be infected, the bacteria must enter the body through food or a break in the skin, explained USA Today. Infection can cause, diarrhea, stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever, and chills and can usually be cured with antibiotics. One species of Vibrio, however, can lead to a life-threatening infection and can cause death within two days. "All these changes in climate that we are seeing, including the tremendous heating of the oceans, is making the geography of infectious diseases change," Cesar Arias, a professor and chief of infectious diseases at Houston Methodist Hospital, told Wired.

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The claim: Video shows Aug. 26 flooding in London due to climate change

An Aug. 26 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) shows clips of stormy weather and flooded urban areas. A narrator claims the footage shows a climate change-related disaster unfolding in England.

"In an unprecedented turn of events, the bustling metropolis of London finds itself in the grip of a relentless and devastating flood," says the narrator. "Climate scientists are attributing this catastrophic event to the intensifying effects of climate change, as warmer atmospheres hold more moisture, leading to extreme rainfall events."

The narrator also says the military has been called in to assist with the disaster.

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"Great Britain now," reads the video's caption. "78,000 people under the water!"

The video was shared more than 600 times in two weeks.

Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

Our rating: False

There was no catastrophic flooding in London on Aug. 26, according to a spokesperson from the UK's national weather service. Most of the clips in the video are old or weren't captured in London.

Video composed of old clips from other places

Jo McLellan, a spokesperson for the UK's national weather service, Met Office, told USA TODAY that the catastrophic flooding described in the video didn't happen.

"We dont believe, looking at the observations, that there was any flooding in London at all on that day," she said in an email.

Most of the clips in the video show footage that is old or from other places.

These include:

USA TODAY could not source three of the clips in the video.

Fact check: Big wave surfing video predates Tropical Storm Hilary

While the event described in the video isn't real, sea level rise, which is due to global warming caused by human CO2 emissions, is increasing the frequency of flooding in some coastal areas. Global warming drives sea level rise because warmer water expands and melting ice sheets and glaciers contribute new water to the world's oceans.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The video was also debunked by PolitiFact, Reuters, Lead Stories and Check Your Fact.

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 video shows London climate flood disaster | Fact check
Abortion access will be on the line Friday when Floridas highest court considers a challenge to the states 15-week abortion ban.

A group of abortion providers challenged the law after it passed in 2022, arguing it violates the states constitutional right to privacy, which the Florida Supreme Court in 1989 said provides a fundamental right to an abortion.

The state is arguing the nearly 35-year-old ruling was wrong and is banking on a much more conservative court to agree. Five of the seven justices were appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is running for president.

In a court filing, the state said the right to privacy has nothing to do with abortion and doesnt extend to a persons decisional autonomy.

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Instead, Attorney General Ashley Moodys (R) office said the law protects informational privacy, like the disclosure of private facts.

Abortion-rights advocates say the outcome will determine not only the future of abortion in Florida but also across much of the South.

If the justices uphold the existing law and say there is no right to an abortion, the decision would automatically trigger an even stricter law that will ban abortions after six weeks.

The court could also uphold the 15-week ban without changing its interpretation of Floridas constitution.

DeSantis signed the six-week ban into law in April, and it is set to take effect 30 days after the Supreme Court issues a decision. If that happens, Virginia would be the only state in the South to allow abortion beyond the first trimester.

Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi have banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy with limited exceptions, as have Tennessee and Kentucky. Georgia and South Carolina ban abortion after a fetal heartbeat has been detected, which is usually around six weeks. Abortion is banned in North Carolina at 12 weeks and later.

DeSantis, like many of the other GOP presidential candidates, has not made abortion a centerpiece of his campaign. He has dodged questions about whether he would implement a six-week ban nationally, but he has defended the state law.

GOP candidates lock horns over federal abortion ban in first debate

Abortion-rights activists said they are hoping the conservative court rules in their favor, but theyre not optimistic.

Basically, were in a situation where the governor and elected officials are putting politics over the health and safety of pregnant Floridians, said Kara Gross, legislative director and senior policy counsel of the ACLU of Florida, which is representing the abortion clinics.

Decades of Florida state precedent have all held that the government should not be interfering in personal private medical decisions, including the decisions of whether and when to have a child. And we hope that the Supreme Court will uphold the will of the people, Gross said.

While many abortions occur within the 15-week period, abortion providers are seeing an influx of patients, which creates longer waiting times for patients to schedule appointments.

Florida law requires anyone seeking an abortion to have two in-person doctor visits, as well as complete a 24-hour waiting period.

Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, said clinics are preparing for the possibility of a six-week ban.

People who get pregnant in Florida will have to find out that theyre pregnant before six weeks, make two visits to a doctor  if they can find one  and terminate a pregnancy before most people even know that theyre pregnant, Goodhue said. Its a terrible way to provide health care.

Florida voters enshrined a right to privacy in the state constitution in 1980. The language is broad, saying that a person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion in the persons private life.

In its court filing, the state said voters never considered that the amendment would apply to abortion. They understood it was meant to protect only informational privacy, not decisional rights like abortion.

If the court rules that there is no right to an abortion, advocates said they would pin their hopes on a ballot measure effort. If it passes, that measure would overturn both the six-week and 15-week bans.

Were going to get more aggressive, hopefully, in our campaign to put it on the ballot. If it gets in the ballot for November of next year, it will pass, said Cecilia Grande, a Miami-based OB-GYN who serves on the national Committee to Protect Health Cares Reproductive Freedom Taskforce.

Supporters have already collected about 300,000 verified signatures to trigger a state supreme court review.

Proponents need to gather about 900,000 signatures to get on the ballot, and then it will need at least 60 percent approval to pass.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The News

With Capitol Hills budget fight revving back up, Floridas GOP senators are sounding wary about the idea of a government shutdown that could potentially interrupt their states recovery from Hurricane Idalia.

It will affect every operation, every element of government, Sen. Marco Rubio told Semafor, when asked if he was worried that a shutdown would hamper the Federal Emergency Management Agencys efforts in his state. So I hope we dont have a shutdown.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a frequent ally of House conservatives whove raised the possibility of a shutdown, also sounded sour on the idea. The government should never be shut down, he told Semafor. Scott is currently pushing for a Senate vote on disaster aid.

Know More

FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said last week that a government shutdown wouldnt impact operations providing immediate relief to victims of Maui wildfires or Hurricane Idalia.

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About 80% of FEMAs 22,000-strong workforce would be deemed essential and avoid furloughs in the event of a shutdown, according to a 2022 Department of Homeland Security contingency plan.

But the agency would still be hampered by the temporary loss of many career staff, said former FEMA administrator Craig Fugate. Programs that train first-responders in regional offices outside of Washington, D.C. and in hospitals could also be affected.

Unless theyre in an emergency role at the time, theyre deemed non essential, Fugate said.

The View From MISSOURI

Scott and Rubio werent the only Republicans to play down the idea of flicking off the governments lights. Im not a shutdown guy, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told reporters.
TALLAHASSEE  Florida Supreme Court justices Thursday appeared skeptical of arguments aimed at overturning an appeals-court decision in a case involving catastrophic injuries suffered by an 18-year-old woman after two Tallahassee bars served underage drinkers.

The guardian for Jackie Faircloth went to the Supreme Court last year after the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected a $28.6 million judgment, siding with operators of Potbellys, a bar near the Florida State University campus.

Faircloth was gravely injured when she was hit by a pickup truck in 2014 while crossing a street about 2 a.m., according to court records. The driver of the truck, 20-year-old Devon Dwyer, had been drinking at Potbellys, while Faircloth had been drinking at another establishment, Cantina 101.

Florida Supreme Court justices hear oral arguments Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in the case of Jackie Faircloth, who was gravely injured by a hit-and-run driver in 2014 outside Potbelly's bar. Sarasota lawyer David Sales (above) argued for the Faircloth family.

Faircloths guardian filed a lawsuit against owners of both businesses, alleging that they illegally served alcohol to underage people and caused the accident. A circuit judge issued a default judgment against Cantina 101 for failing to respond and later entered a $28.6 million judgment jointly and severally against the bars, which meant both could be legally responsible for paying all the damages. That followed a jury decision finding the bars liable for nearly $31 million in damages.

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But in the appeal, the owners of Potbellys argued that the circuit judge had improperly rejected what is known as a comparative fault defense, which could lead to a jury assigning fault to multiple parties, including the bars, the driver and Faircloth, in turn potentially reducing Potbellys liability.

A panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal agreed, saying the case involved a question of negligence, which would allow for comparative fault.

David Sales, an attorney for Faircloths guardian, argued Thursday that the case involved an intentional tort, rather than negligence. If it is determined to be an intentional tort, Potbellys could face the judgment without the benefit of comparative fault.

Sales said the Legislature has long established in law that minors should not drink alcohol or be intoxicated.

Thats why theres a consequence for the bar that acts willfully and unlawfully, Sales said.

But justices repeatedly questioned Sales, in part about how to distinguish between negligence and an intentional tort. Chief Justice Carlos Muniz, for example, said there is no indication the bar wanted the accident to happen.

Justice Charles Canady questioned whether the intentional-tort argument could apply to any act of negligence when something, like selling alcohol to minors, is done illegally.

It just seems like what you are arguing would be so broad, Canady said to Sales, later adding that the court cant interpret the law based on egregious facts of a specific case.

Raoul Cantero, an attorney for the bar owners, urged justices to find the case involved negligence. While that could lead to apportioning fault, Cantero said its not designed to absolve.

Cantero, a former Supreme Court justice, drew a comparison to a motorist who knowingly runs a red light and gets in an accident. He said such a motorist would be negligent but would not commit an intentional tort  a comparison that drew a response from Sales.

This wasnt running a red light, Sales said.

The Supreme Court typically takes months before it issues rulings.

Outside the Supreme Court building, Cantero told reporters that the case could have a statewide impact on how cases involving underage drinking and accidents are handled.

"It is important because it's going to warn everybody involved  not only the bars that serve alcohol but also underage drinkers  that they're going to be found at fault, that if they get into an accident and they get hurt, they may not recover all their damages," Cantero said.

Sales declined to comment after the proceeding.

The case has drawn attention from Florida State University and the University of Florida, with former FSU President John Thrasher attending Thursdays arguments. Thrasher got close to the Faircloth family after the incident.

The universities filed a friend-of-the-court brief in January supporting the arguments of Faircloths guardian. The brief said the universities have an interest in deterring underage drinking and that Potbellys is liable for Faircloths injuries resulting from Dwyers intoxication. Dwyer also was an employee of Potbellys, though he was not working the night of the crash.

The fact that the highly intoxicated Dwyer left Potbellys in his truck and negligently injured Faircloth does not alter Potbellys liability, the universities brief said. On its premises, Potbellys willfully furnished its minor employee a very large amount of alcohol. That made Potbellys tort intentional. Having intoxicated Dwyer, Potbellys is directly liable for the injury or damage caused by or resulting from that intoxication.

Tallahassee Democrat reporter Jeff Burlew contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida justices weigh case of woman gravely injured in crash outside Potbelly's
A Florida man is facing charges after constructing a "hamster wheel" vessel to cross the Atlantic.

His intended destination was London, England, he told US Coast Guard officers.

Before this, the man had attempted a similar maneuver on three separate occasions.

A Florida man rolled into the ocean in a hamster wheel-like boat in an attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean, the US Coast Guard has alleged.

According to a complaint filed Friday in the US District Court for Southern Florida, Ray Baluchi, also known as Reza, was charged with obstruction of boarding and "violation of a captain of the port order." Baluchi's appearance bond was set at $250,000, and based on the terms of the bond, he may not "go to the ocean or board a vessel on the ocean," according to court documents.

In the affidavit in support of the complaint, a special agent with the Coast Guard investigative services detailed Baluchi's brief but eventful misadventure at sea.

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While US Coast Guard officers were preparing for Hurricane Franklin to strike on Aug. 26, they saw Baluchi's "homemade" vessel  which he calls a "bubble," according to the BBC  about 70 nautical miles from the coast of Georgia. When officers reached the vessel, Baluchi told them he was planning to sail to London.

However, after the officers determined Baluchi did not have registration for the craft and that his intended voyage was "manifestly unsafe," the situation took a turn for the worse, per the affidavit.

When Coast Guards told Baluchi he needed to leave his boat, Baluchi refused vehemently, the agent wrote.

"[He] replied that he was armed with a 12-inch knife and would attempt to commit suicide should the USCG officers attempt to remove him," the affidavit stated. Baluchi also threatened to detonate a bomb if he was removed, the document added.

It took three days to convince Baluchi to leave the boat, and he was finally brought ashore on Friday.

This wasn't Baluchi's first foray into exploration  according to the affidavit, he tried similar voyages in 2014, 2016, and 2021. In 2021, he told WOFL-TV that he was trying to raise money for various causes through his sailing attempts.

"My goal is to not only raise money for homeless people, raise money for the Coast Guard," he said to the outlet. "I'll never give up my dream. They stop me four or five times but I never give up."

Representatives for Baluchi and the US Coast Guard did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Read the original article on Insider
Two Florida Supreme Court justices have personal connections with two of the biggest legal fights in the state over control of Disney World development and abortion rights.

Justice Meredith Sasso is married to one of Gov. Ron DeSantis  go-to guys in his culture war battle against Disney, a clash that could make it to the state Supreme Court.

Justice Charles Canady s wife is a Republican state representative who co-sponsored a six-week abortion ban. The Supreme Court is hearing arguments on the abortion issue Friday.

Despite their personal ties, Floridas judicial ethics code doesnt require those justices to step aside, said Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University.

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There is no one that can police a Florida Supreme Court justice and tell them that they need to recuse themselves, Jarvis said. What we need is such an entity.

The ethics code advises justices to avoid the appearance of impropriety. It also states judges should disqualify themselves if their impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including instances in which a judges spouse has an interest that could be affected.

When it comes to such potential conflicts, each justice makes the determination of whether to step aside, said former Justice James E.C. Perry, who served on the court from 2009-2016.

They have absolute discretion and latitude, he said.

Through a court spokesman, Sasso declined to comment on whether shed disqualify herself from the Disney matter, saying that she is prohibited by judicial ethics and Florida law from discussing pending cases or cases that may come before the court.

Canady has made no effort to recuse himself in the abortion case, despite his wifes political interest in the issue.

Spouses create potential conflicts

Justice Sassos husband, Michael A. Sasso, served as the vice chairman of the DeSantis-appointed Disney oversight board at the center of the Disney legal fight. He resigned on May 22, a day before DeSantis named his wife to the Supreme Court.

Hes a close friend of the districts administrator, Glen Gilzean. Sasso served as best man at Gilzeans wedding on June 30, according to Gilzeans wedding website.

Justice Canadys wife is state Rep. Jennifer Canady, R-Lakeland, and she has a stake in what happens with abortion in the courts.

The six-week abortion ban she sponsored hinges on the outcome of a court challenge to a less restrictive 15-week ban passed by the Florida Legislature last year.

The high court is hearing a challenge brought by Planned Parenthood and abortion providers. If the 15-week ban is upheld, then the six-week ban will take effect 30 days after the ruling.

Charles Canady was a staunch opponent of abortion when he served in the Florida House and Congress before becoming a judge.

Barbara Pariente, a former chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, said at an event in June she thinks he should step aside because of his wifes connection to the issue.

I know Justice Canady to be of the highest ethics, said Pariente, an appointee of former Democratic Gov. Lawton Chiles. I cannot imagine himself not recusing himself from a bill that his wife co-sponsored.

The state Supreme Court is solidly conservative with DeSantis appointing five of the seven justices.

Sasso on the Disney board

DeSantis turned to Micahel A. Sasso to help lead his push to remake a special district that provides government services to Disney World.

Sasso was one of five people DeSantis appointed in February to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight Districts Board of Supervisors, which replaced the Disney-friendly Reedy Creek Improvement District.

In a questionnaire submitted to the governors office, Sasso listed Gilzean as one of his references.

During his time on the Disney board, Sasso and other board members voted to sue Disney in state court, asking the courts to nullify the corporations development agreements with their predecessors.

He also voted to offer Gilzean, CEO of the Central Florida Urban League, the $400,000-a-year district administrator job. Sasso spoke highly of Gilzean during the May 10 board meeting.

He will work late at night, early in the morning, on the weekends, Sasso said. So I pity all those who might have to be responsive to all the emails and text messages but expect a guy who is going to work 24/7.

At the meeting, Sasso said he had the opportunity to work with Mr. Gilzean and has known him for some time, but he didnt go into details about the extent of his friendship.

Sasso has filled a variety of posts for the governor. He serves on the Sixth District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission, which recruits, interviews and certifies judicial nominees. In addition, he is a member of the Valencia College District Board of Trustees and the Public Employees Relations Commission, which handles labor and employment disputes.

Sasso did not give a reason for stepping down from the Disney board in his resignation letter.

The development agreements are a central part of the states lawsuit against Disney. They grant Disney control over future development in Central Florida, but board members maintain they werent properly approved and are void.

That lawsuit is pending in Orange County circuit court, and the district is gearing up for a protracted legal battle.

One of the districts lead lawyers is Alan Lawson, a former Supreme Court justice who retired in August 2022 at age 61. Earlier this year, he founded his own law firm, Lawson Huck Gonzalez.

The districts hiring of a retired Supreme Court justice appears to be a calculated legal strategy with Lawson having a professional relationship with the court, said Dick Batchelor, a former Democratic state representative and political analyst.

It is a very well orchestrated effort to pre-influence what will ultimately be a case appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, he said.

Its unusual that a former justice would argue a case before the Supreme Court, but it is not prohibited by Florida law, Jarvis said.

Disney also has sued DeSantis, the Disney board and other state officials in federal court, alleging a targeted campaign of government retaliation.

U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker recused himself in that suit, writing that a relative within the third degree of relationship owns 30 shares of Disney stock.

Even though I believe it is highly unlikely that these proceedings will have a substantial effect on The Walt Disney Company, I choose to err on the side of caution  which, here, is also the side of judicial integrity  and disqualify myself, Walker wrote.

The governors legal team pushed for recusal, citing incidents where Walker mentioned Disney in two previous cases. Walker, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, fired back at the accusations of bias, calling the motion nothing more than rank judge-shopping.

He was replaced by Judge Allen Winsor, an appointee of former President Donald Trump.
Enrique Tarrio, the former national leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced Tuesday, Sept. 5, to 22 years in prison for masterminding a seditious conspiracy aimed at disrupting the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden on Jan. 6.

The Miami native is one of the most prominent defendants yet to face charges over his alleged involvement in the insurrection. Despite not attending the actual riots, the Justice Department claimed that Tarrio "conspired to corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding, the certification of the Electoral College vote."

Here's what to know about Tarrio and his role within the Proud Boys, as well as the charges he is facing.

Insurrection news: Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio sentenced to 22 years, harshest Jan. 6 penalty yet

Who is Enrique Tarrio?

Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio speaks at a rally in Delta Park on Sept. 26, 2020, in Portland, Ore.

Henry "Enrique" Tarrio is an American far-right activist and the former leader of Proud Boys, hailing from Miami. In 2020, he also was the Florida state director of the grassroots organization "Latinos for Trump."

What are the Proud Boys?

The Proud Boys is a neofascist white nationalist organization established in 2016. The groups members were noted for their misogynistic and anti-Semitic rhetoric, QAnon-related beliefs, their support for former president Donald Trump, and their propensity for street violence.

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Canadian far-right commentator Gavin McInnes founded the Proud Boys before stepping down in 2018, allowing Tarrior to take over.

How did Enrique Tarrio get involved with the Proud Boys group?

Tarrio first encountered the Proud Boys after he volunteered at a Miami event for far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos in May 2017. After joining, Tarrio attended the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that August to "protest the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials."

According to reports, the Miami native later became a fourth-degree member of the Proud Boys, a distinction reserved for those who get into a physical altercation "for the cause" when he punched a person who was believed to be aligned with Antifa. He then assumed the role of chairman for the organization on November 2018 after McInnes stepped down.

In addition to his Proud Boys role, Tarrio owns a Miami T-shirt business, known as the 1776 Shop, an online vendor for right-wing merchandise.

What role did the Proud Boys play on Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol?

According to USA Today reports, members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers were convicted of being leaders of the insurrection, when thousands of rioters fought police outside the Capitol and then rampaged through building, with some chanting for Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

There were more than 2,000 rioters who entered the building, many of whom vandalized and looted parts of it. One rioter was shot to death by police outside the House chamber, a Capitol Police officer died the next day of natural causes after being sprayed with chemicals and a handful of other officers died by suicide in the weeks

In court documents from prosecutors, hundreds of messages exchanged by Proud Boys in the days leading up to Jan. 6 showed how the extremists saw themselves as revolutionaries and celebrated the Capitol attack, which sent the lawmakers into hiding.

Where was Enrique Tarrio during the Capitol Riots?

Despite not physically attending the riots, it was said that the 38-year-old "led the advance planning and remained in contact with other members of the Proud Boys during their breach of the Capitol," according to prosecutors.

The leader and creator of a special chapter of the Proud Boys known as the Ministry of Self Defense was arrested on Jan. 4 for his role in the theft and burning of a Black Lives Matter flag from a church after an earlier pro-Trump march. Tarrio was then released the following day and ordered to leave the area, so he headed with a group of allies to a hotel in Baltimore.

Prosecutors claim he remained in touch with members and monitored their actions on Jan. 6. After the attack, he repeatedly celebrated the attack, defended his allies and regretted that it didnt fully derail the transfer of power.

How many were charged with involvement in the Capitol Riots?

Earlier this year, it was revealed that more than 950 people have been charged for their roles in the two years since the violent mob forced its way into the U.S. Capitol, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation continuing to seek hundreds more.

"Our work is far from over," Attorney General Merrick Garland said, regarding the investigation into the deadly attack on Jan. 6.

Since the insurrection, the Justice Department has arrested more than 775 individuals in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the events of that day.

What did Enrique Tarrio's lawyers argue in defense?

Tarrio was arrested in Miami. Tarrio's lawyers argued he was made a scapegoat for the Capitol attack after Trump inflamed the mob with his speech near the White House and directed supporters to the Capitol.

I am not a political zealot. Inflicting harm or changing the results of the election was not my goal, Tarrio said. Please show me mercy. I ask you that you not take my 40s from me.

Lawyer brought up that he was in Baltimore the day of the attack and didn't direct anyone to assault police or destroy property. They proposed a sentence no more than 15 years.

My client is no terrorist, defense lawyer Sabino Jauregui said. My client is a misguided patriot.

In an February 2021 interview with CNN after the riot, Tarrio told reporters the men "should not have breached the Capitol with violence" and he said, "I think it was completely wrong."

What is Enrique Tarrio being charged with?

Tarrio was convicted of six charges: seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding of Congress, obstruction of a proceeding, interference with law enforcement and aiding destruction of government property.

Tarrio is the final Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy to receive his punishment. Three fellow Proud Boys were found guilty by a Washington jury of the rarely used sedition charge and were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 18 years.

His sentence is the lengthiest among the hundreds involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Mr. Tarrio was the ultimate leader of that conspiracy. Mr. Tarrio was the ultimate leader, the ultimate person who organized, who was motivated by revolutionary zeal, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly said. That conspiracy ended up with about 200 men amped up for battle encircling the Capitol.

What other Florida residents are connected to the Proud Boys group?

Proud Boys organizer Joseph Biggs walks from the George C. Young Federal Annex Courthouse in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 20, 2021, after a court hearing regarding his involvement in riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Fellow Proud Boys Leader, Joseph Biggs, 38 of Ormond Beach was found guilty of the following charges: seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties, obstruction of law enforcement and destruction of government property.

In Naples, Chris Worrell was disappeared days before his sentencing in the U.S. Capitol riot case, where prosecutors are seeking more than a decade in prison, according to an FBI warrant. As of Sept. 6, he is still on the run.

The Proud Boys member was supposed to be sentenced in August 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. Prosecutors had asked a judge to sentence him to 14 years.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio sentenced to 22 years in prison
US must heed call to turn South China Sea into sea of peace, friendship and cooperation

09:02, September 07, 2023 By China Daily editorial ( Chinadaily.com.cn

The United States conducted a joint naval sail with the Philippines in the South China Sea on Monday, an obvious provocative move considering the tensions between China and the Philippines over the Ren'ai Reef dispute.

A Reuters report citing the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Western Command said it was the first time Manila and Washington have carried out a joint sail in the waters west of Palawan island. Perhaps the joint sail, apart from underscoring the Philippines' military alliance with the US, was also meant to assert its baseless claims over the disputed waters.

The reckless act to hype the maritime dispute coincides with this week's series of meetings in Jakarta, Indonesia, with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations taking center stage. The US, which has for years used the maritime disputes in the South China Sea to interfere in regional affairs, apparently intends to heighten tensions again so it can fish in troubled waters to fulfill its strategic goals.

The farce the US staged with the Philippines is yet another proof of Washington posing the biggest threat to peace and stability in the South China Sea. To cater to its own strategic needs and maintain its global hegemony, the US is turning the sea into a playground for major power competition, totally disregarding the regional countries' quest for peace, stability and development.

In order to address issues of common concern, ASEAN has tried to play down geopolitics in the meetings in Jakarta. Many of the bloc's members have either refused or are reluctant to take sides in the China-US disputes, because they know that doing so would sow the seeds of division in the region.

China and ASEAN are in the middle of negotiations to finalize a Code of Conduct for the South China Sea, which is aimed at maintaining lasting peace and stability in the waters. And the two sides have the wisdom and capacity to resolve their maritime differences and disputes.

The South China Sea is one of the world's busiest waterways with some 100,000 merchant vessels sailing through its waters every year. Any disturbance in the waters will disrupt the free and smooth flow of goods and global supply chains, slowing down the region's development.

Hence, instead of indulging in selfish calculations and stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, the US should play a constructive role in the region, because peace and stability serves its own interest too. It should heed the call of the countries in the region and respect their efforts to turn the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Alebrijes, a Mexican folkart scultpure style that dates back to the 1930s, creates mythical creatures by combining several animals. (Gail Borden Public Library/HANDOUT)

Twenty fantastic, colorful beasts are brightening Elgins Gail Borden Public Library, just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month and Day of the Dead celebrations.

The creatures are called alebrijes (pronounced ah-leh-bree-hehs) and stem from Mexican folklore, library spokeswoman Denise Raleigh said.

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The sculptures are part of the larger Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World display that was exhibited on the grounds of Cantigny Park in Wheaton in 2022. In cooperation with the Mexican Cultural Center of DuPage, the carved and painted animal figures will be in Elgin through Jan. 7.

Alebrijes, a Mexican folkart scultpure style that dates back to the 1930s, are mythical creatures that combine several animals. Lacuarium, one of 20 alebrijes on display at Elgin's Gail Borden Public Library, is part seahorse, part dragon. (Gail Borden Public Library/HANDOUT)

A public event to celebrate the new display will be held at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, with Elgin Mayor David Kaptain, state Sen. Cristina Castro and state Rep. Anna Moeller, both from Elgin, in attendance.

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The idea for the project was inspired in part by the popularity of Disneys 2017 animated feature, Coco, said Fernando Ramirez, president/founder of the Mexican Cultural Center.

It seemed like the perfect concept when Cantigny and the (Mexican) Cultural Center both were looking for something for people to do and see coming out of the pandemic, Ramirez said.

Colorful and fantastical, the "animals" that make up the Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World display at Elgin's Gail Borden Public Library are unlike anything in the real world. (Gail Borden Public Library/HANDOUT)

Mexico City holds a La Noche de los Alebrijes parade and festival as part of its annual Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations, he said.

I havent had a chance to go yet, but that would be incredible, Ramirez said.

The Cultural Center was able to recruit six artists who have taken part in the Mexican event to create nearly 50 alebrijes sculptures for Cantigny.

Ramirez said the origins of alebrijes goes back to Mexico City artist Pedro Linares, who created them in the late 1930s based on vivid dream images he had when he fell ill.

The creatures feature parts of multiple animals. Two in the display are Goliath, a 16-foot-tall deer, giraffe and eagle, and Lacuarium, a seahorse-meets-dragon creation.

Workers move Jonas into the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin in advance of its new Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World, which opens Saturday. (Mike Danahey/The Courier-News)

In Mexico City, alebrijes are typically made with cardboard and wire, but those in other parts of the country, such as Oaxaca, they are made of wood, Ramirez said.

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The Cantigny exhibit proved popular, he said, and took on a life of its own afterward.

Earlier this year, North Riverside Park Mall put several the alebrijes on display while artists worked in public view to restore them from the wear and tear of being outside.

The exhibition was at the mall through early May, and some of the pieces are being stored there, Ramirez said, while others are now on display at the International Museum of Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Raleigh said five artists works will be on display at the library  Alejandro Camacho Barrera, Perla Miriam Salgado Zamorano, Roberto Carlos Martinez Tecillo, Edgar Camargo Reyes and Alberto Moreno Fernandez.

Fernandez and Reyes are tentatively set to be present for brief residencies and may also appear at the Sept. 12 event.

A Gail Borden Public Library staff member helps unwrap one of the 20 sculptures that make up the Elgin library's new Alebrijes: Creatures of a Dream World exhibit. (Gail Borden Public Library/HANDOUT)

I think the people will be captivated to learn how these paper-based, layered colorful creatures are made and what inspires the artists, Raleigh said.

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Yaneth Medina, a Gail Borden Public Library Foundation board member and Elgin State Bank president, said the event will be a fun way for the library to offer a cultural experience and to promote literacy at the same time.

These alebrijes are going to bring people to the library in droves. The colors and the fanciful animals are fuel for the imagination, Medina said.

For more information, go to www.gailborden.info/alebrijes.

Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Rap duo Flyana Boss has been compared to iconic girl groups like the Spice Girls and TLC, thanks to their fun and quirky style. Now, theyre linking up with the legendary Missy Elliott for their viral hit, You Wish, which also features rising star Kaliii.

Elliott, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame back in May, has praised Flyana Boss. Their style is a breath of fresh air. They are relatable.like some cool girls from around the wayjust being themselves! Elliott tweeted back in July. Thats the best way to have staying power. They are creating their own lane!

Wow!! Were so excited about the You Wish remix! This is our first ever remix. We love Kaliii, we are so happy she was able to be on it. And we still dont know how we manifested Queen Missy herself to bless us with her iconic vocals! the duo said in a statement about their new You Wish remix, which is streaming now.

You Wish debuted at No. 1 on Spotifys Viral 100 list and boasts over 30 million streams worldwide, which eventually led to them sharing the stage with Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion at the 2023 Essence Festival.

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Both in their late 20s, Flyana Boss comprises Bobbi LaNea and Folayan, who represent Detroit and Dallas, respectively, though they met in Los Angeles.

She woke up one day, and theres this poster of Diana Ross in her room, Folayan said about the inspiration behind their stage name in an interview with Variety. She said, Flyana Boss! She sent it to me  well, she sent me Flyana Boss and Cryana Boss.

Because we both cry a lot, LaNea added. Yeah. But we decided to go on the fly side.

Flyana Boss is set to join Janelle Monae during the artists Age of Pleasure Tour on select dates beginning Sept. 13. Do you have your tickets?
FILE - A sign for SLB, formerly Schlumberger, is displayed at the building on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, in Houston. Sen. Bob Menendez, the head of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, asked the countrys top three oilfield services companies, including SLB, to explain why they continued doing business in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, and demanded that they commit to cease all investments in Russias fossil fuel infrastructure. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The head of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has asked the country's top three oilfield services companies to explain why they continued doing business in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, and demanded that they commit to cease all investments in Russia's fossil fuel infrastructure.

Sen. Bob Menendez , a Democrat from New Jersey, cited an Associated Press report that the companies  SLB, Baker Hughes and Halliburton  helped keep Russian oil flowing even as sanctions targeted the Russian war effort.

Russia imported more than $200 million in technology from the three companies in the year following the invasion in February 2022, customs data obtained by B4Ukraine and vetted by The AP showed. Market leader SLB, formerly Schlumberger, even slightly grew its Russian business. Much of Russias oil is hard to reach, and analysts say that had U.S. oilfield services companies all pulled out, its production would have taken an immediate hit.

Menendez, in letters to the chief executives of the three companies, said he was extremely disturbed by AP's findings. He noted that President Joe Biden and Congress had imposed  wide-ranging sanctions related to Russias violation of another nations sovereignty, while Russias invasion was particularly heinous, its soldiers committing tens of thousands of atrocities.

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As people around the world made sacrifices in solidarity with Ukraine, the July 27 letter concluded, your company sought to make a profit... there is simply no good explanation for this behavior, other than to make a dollar.

There's no evidence any of the firms violated sanctions by continuing to send equipment to Russia. Halliburton wound down its Russia operations less than six months after the invasion, while Baker Hughes sold its oilfield services business in Russia after about nine months. SLB announced it would stop exporting technology to Russia two days after AP asked for final comment on its first report, in July.

In contrast, oil majors such as Shell and BP announced they would quit Russia within days or weeks of the invasion, writing off billions of dollars.

SLB spokeswoman Moira Duff declined to comment on conversations with elected officials or regulators after receiving Menendez's letter, and didn't respond to questions about future investment in Russia. As of this spring, SLB had 9,000 employees there; in July, Duff confirmed the company still had employees in the country. On Sept. 1, she told The AP that in general nothing has changed since July, when the company insisted it had followed all laws and condemned the war. But she declined to discuss the number of employees SLB still has in Russia.

A Baker Hughes spokeswoman confirmed receipt of Menendez's letter and said the company was addressing the concerns directly with his office.

Halliburton spokesman Brad Leone said by email that the firm was the first major oilfield services company to exit Russia, in compliance with sanctions. It has been more than a year since we have conducted operations there, he said.

B4Ukraine is a coalition of more than 80 nonprofits that has pressed Western businesses to exit the Russian market. Executive director Eleanor Nichol singled out SLB for criticism.

Its perverse that an American company continues to prop up Russias oil sector while the U.S. government and citizens have made sacrifices for Ukraine," she said.

___

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.
Ex-Trump attorney Tim Parlatore said Wednesday that it might not be a good idea for former President Trump to testify at any of his four upcoming criminal trials, emphasizing that taking the stand is an uncontrollable risk in any case.

Personally, I dont like any of my clients taking the stand in a criminal case, Parlatore said in an interview on CNN. Its not something theyre required to do. And I have not generally had any clients take the stand unless they first undergo a very rigorous cross-examination by me and pass.

More times than not, when theyre going through that process, they say, All right, Tim, stop. Timeout. I dont believe myself. Im not testifying, he continued. So I cant see it being a good idea here either.

Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt earlier Wednesday he absolutely would testify in his defense at a potential trial.

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The former president previously made headlines when he was deposed in the sexual battery and defamation case brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.

In the deposition, he notably mistook a photo of Carroll for his ex-wife Marla Maples and defended his infamous Access Hollywood comments, saying they are largely true, unfortunately or fortunately.

Parlatore said such moments from the Carroll deposition are illustrative of why testifying at trial could be risky.

Its an uncontrolled environment, he said. You dont know necessarily what the clients going to say. Even a very well-practiced client can say things that they would regret after the fact.

So you try to remember a trial is a presentation for the jury where youre going to try to control it as much as you can, and thats an uncontrollable risk, he added.

Parlatore served as one of Trumps attorneys in the Mar-a-Lago documents case earlier this year but later withdrew. He cited internal division and issues with longtime Trump aide and in-house counsel Boris Epshteyn as the primary source of the problems.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels has filed to run for sheriff of the county he served for four years, Action News Jax learned on Thursday.

Daniels is listed as a No Party Affiliation (NPA) candidate on the Clay County Supervisor of Elections website.

Daniels was first elected as a Republican in 2016. He lost to current Sheriff Michelle Cook in 2020.

With Daniels running as NPA this time around, Democrats will be able to vote for him in the primary election and he can go all the way to the general election.

Action News Jax previously told you in June 2019 when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed to Action News Jax that it was investigating Daniels after his relationship with a former Jacksonville corrections officer became public.

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The state accused Daniels of destroying evidence and lying to law enforcement after Cierra Smiths arrest to inhibit the FDLE investigation, but Daniels defense argued Daniels was only trying to hide the details of his affair from his wife.

He was acquitted of all charges in September 2022.

Daniels released a statement after his acquittal, saying in part that he had to endure abuse and overreach for the past three years.

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

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FILE - Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Social Democratic Party chair, center, reacts as she watches results of exit polls in Helsinki, Finland, Sunday, April 2, 2023. Marin, Finlands former prime minister who was one of Europes youngest leaders and a strong voice in supporting Ukraine, is quitting Finnish politics to join a London-based non-profit organization. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  Former Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin , who was one of Europes youngest leaders and a strong voice in supporting Ukraine, said Thursday she's quitting Finnish politics and will join a London-based non-profit organization.

Marin, who was 37 years old when she took office in 2019, led a five-party center-left governing coalition until April of this year. She received praise for her Cabinets handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and her vocal support of Ukraine in the last year had increased her international visibility. She also also saw her country become the 31st member of NATO.

Time to move on, Finnish public broadcaster YLE quoted her as saying. I am eager to step into a new role. I also believe that it can benefit the whole of Finland.

In April, Finland joined the NATO military alliance, dealing a major blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a historic realignment of Europes post-Cold War security landscape triggered by Moscows invasion of Ukraine. Finland had adopted neutrality after its defeat by the Soviets in World War II, but its leaders signaled they wanted to join NATO after Moscows invasion of Ukraine sent a shiver of fear through its neighbors.

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"I believe that I can serve those voters (in Finland) well and maybe even better in the new assignment, Marin told a press conference as she announced her departure from the 200-seat Finnish parliament Eduskunta. Earlier this month, she stepped down as head of the Social Democratic Party.

Marin will join the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and earlier this month, the non-profit organization said she would become strategic counsellor.

The task will be to be an advisor to different countries, governments and leaders on policy issues that are familiar to me, such as good governance, technology, climate, gender equality and other issues that I have had to work with, she said according to the Huvudstadsbladet newspaper, one of Finland's largest.

In the April parliamentary elections, she lost to Finlands main conservative party in a tight three-way race that saw right-wing populists take second place. Marin's Social Democrats ended in third, dashing her hopes for re-election.

As prime minister she headed a coalition government, including her own Social Democrats, the centrist Center Party, the Green League, the Left Alliance and the Swedish Peoples Party in Finland.

Her private life and active social media use received a lot of international coverage during her premiership. In August 2022, she apologized after the publication of a photo that showed two women kissing and posing topless at the official summer residence of the countrys leader.

The photo came out after a video that showed Marin dancing and singing with friends prompted a debate about whether a prime minister in office is entitled to party heartily.
The former Eastern Kentucky prosecutor charged with murdering his wife had his trial date set and received a bond reduction Thursday, according to a special prosecutor.

Donald Deskins, 49, of Kimber, was indicted Aug. 31 for the murder of his 46-year-old wife, Judith Dean Deskins, and charged with two counts of evidence tampering. Thursday morning, a tentative trial date was set for July 2024. Deskins has requested to represent himself as co-counsel to his attorney, Steve Owens.

Deskins, a former assistant Pike County attorney, also had his bond was also lowered at the hearing, attorneys said. The previous $250,000 bond is now $100,000.

If he were to post the bond, Deskins would be placed on home incarceration, prosecutor Anthony Skeans told the Herald-Leader.

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Skeans said he did not object to the bond reduction because $100,000 is a standard bond amount for a murder charge in the Pike County jurisdiction.

Owens could not confirm if Deskins would be able to post bail, but said he is doing well, considering.

Judith Deskins family was not present in the courtroom Thursday, according to Skeans.

Deskins indictment says he caused blunt force trauma to Judith Deskins with the intent to cause her death. The indictment also says he tampered with physical evidence at the residence and on his laptop. Police were called to Donald Deskins residence on Meathouse Road in Kimper in April 2021 after he called police and reported his wife was dead inside the home, according to court documents.

Investigators determined foul play was suspected.

If Deskins is permitted to serve as co-counsel, he will have access to discovery and other pleadings. He has served as an attorney since 2001, and his license to practice law is active, according to the Kentucky Bar Association. Deskins is currently being held at the Pike County Detention Center, which his attorney said Deskins has no concerns about.

While a trial date has been determined, the defense will work to gather discovery evidence and other pretrial hearings will take place.
A woman from Washington County pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in federal court.

According to the Department of Justice, Erica Pinkney, 38, from Marianna, previously served as the Marianna Borough secretary and tax collector.

Officials said Pinkney used the boroughs credit cards to pay for personal purchases then used the money collected from residents to put toward the balance on those credit cards.

The money collected from taxpayers was meant to be used to pay for tax, water and garbage bills, the Department of Justice said.

Pinkney faces a total sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both.

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Pinkneys sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 3 at 9:30 a.m. Pending sentencing, she has been released on bond.

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Mexican politicians Alfonso Durazo, left, and presumptive MORENA party presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum stand together during an event to announce the next party candidate in Mexico City, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

MEXICO CITY (AP)  The former mayor of Mexico City will be the dominant ruling partys presidential candidate, moving the country closer to electing its first female president next year.

The decision driven by polls of Morena party members means that Claudia Sheinbaum will run as the partys candidate in the June election. Mexicos constitution bars outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador from a second six-year term.

Morena national council president Alfonso Durazo said Sheinbaum beat former Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard by double figures in five party surveys.

Sheinbaum is a close ally of the popular Lopez Obrador and as Morenas candidate she will enjoy a distinct advantage in June.

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I'm excited, Sheinbaum said, thanking each of her competitors by name with the exception of Ebrard who was not present. I feel very proud, very honored to have been part of this movement since its inception.

Last week, a broad opposition coalition selected female lawmaker Xochitl Galvez as its candidate.

Sheinbaum, 61, led Ebrard in recent polling and both had stepped down from their positions to campaign full time.

Durazo said the result of this exercise is definitive, adding that even though there were difficulties they didnt affect the final result. He called on party members to close ranks behind Sheinbaums candidacy.

The other party candidates present at the announcement commended Sheinbaum. Ebrard was the only candidate who did not attend.

Hours before the announcement Wednesday, Ebrard complained of irregularities in the process, said it should be done over and accused his party of increasingly resembling the Institutional Revolutionary Party that ruled Mexico for 71 years, famously allowing each president to select his successor. He said he would decide Monday how to proceed.

Other party leaders seemed to respond indirectly to Ebrard's criticisms, saying the internal party process was transparent and democratic.

Trained as an environmental scientist, Sheinbaum sits solidly on the left of the ideological spectrum. She frequently echoed Lopez Obradors rants against the neoliberal economic policies of earlier Mexican presidents, blaming them for the countrys gaping inequality and high levels of violence.

Lopez Obrador had said that he would let the party faithful decide its candidate.

Neither Sheinbaum nor Ebrard has the presidents charisma and easy connection with the partys base, but she skillfully leveraged her position as the capitals mayor, getting attention with free concerts from popular bands in the sprawling central square and promotion of Lopez Obradors signature social programs, such as pensions for seniors and scholarships for students.

Thanks in large part to his popularity, Morena has expanded its control to 22 of Mexicos 32 states and Sheinbaum is expected to have the advantage in the June 2 election.

Sheinbaum holds a PhD in engineering, served on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that won a shared Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, and pledges to commit Mexico to sustainability.

That commitment would appear to frequently put her in conflict with Lopez Obrador. He built a massive new oil refinery, has propped up the state-owned petroleum company and gave advantages to dirtier state-owned energy producers. But if she had explicit criticisms, she kept them quiet.

I believe in science, she said in an interview with AP earlier this year. I believe in technology to have a better life. She has said that going forward most energy has to come from renewable sources.

One area where she did show more independence was taking more aggressive action in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the president downplayed the risks, Sheinbaum donned a protective face mask, shut down bars and nightclubs and pushed for more testing.

She overcame criticism of her handling of the capitals sprawling subway system. In May 2021, an elevated section collapsed, causing 26 deaths and injuring nearly 100 people.

On Wednesday night, with shouts of President! President! echoing in the hall, Sheinbaum appeared to send a message to Ebrard without naming him.

Unity is fundamental and the doors are always open, they are never going to close.
Former Michigan Judge Carl Marlinga launched a rematch bid against Rep. John James (R-Mich.) in the states 10th Congressional District on Thursday, after narrowly losing to James last cycle.

A former circuit court judge and prosecutor, Marlinga ran against James in November, losing to the congressman by less than a percentage point. But Republicans will be on defense this cycle as Democrats look to recapture the House, which the GOP currently controls by a slim majority.

The former judge prominently featured the issue of abortion in his statement announcing his run, underscoring how Democrats are looking to seize on an issue that galvanized its base and swing voters last cycle.

Ive lived in this community my entire life and John James does not represent the values of Michigans tenth congressional district, Marlinga said in a statement. Im running for Congress to put the needs of Michiganders first, from building a stronger economy, to protecting the Great Lakes, to standing up for abortion rights, I will always fight for our community.

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He argued that James was out of step with the constituents and targeted the Michigan Republican over the issue of abortion.

Meanwhile, Republicans are confident that theyll be able to defend the seat, which the nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates as lean Republican.

Two-time loser Carl Marlingas aspirations for a third loss are well on their way, Will Reinert, a spokesman for the House Republicans campaign arm, said in a statement. Creepy Carls disgusting record of defending pedophiles and setting violent criminals loose will be on full display as voters reject him once again.

Republicans are likely alluding to the fact that Marlinga represented a pornographer, according to the Detroit Free Press, but the news outlet also noted that hes been involved in efforts at the state level tackling rape and assisting victims.

Democrats only need to net five seats in order to flip the House majority next cycle.

The party is in a more vulnerable position in the Senate, where it is protecting a 51-49 majority.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A woman sells Mexican flags at the 2022 Las Fiestas Patrias at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Elgin. The annual party celebrating Mexican Independence Day will be held this Saturday and Sunday at the 272 Division St. - Original Credit: (St. Joseph Catholic Church/HANDOUT)

Imelda Olivarez was busy Thursday handling the last-minute details for this weekends Fiestas Patrias at St. Joseph Catholic Church, a labor of love for her Elgin church and community and her Mexican ancestry, she says.

The annual event celebrating the Mexicos fight for independence as well as its heritage and culture is organized by four core organizers and carried out by dozens of church volunteers, Olivarez said.

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Everyone we are working with is wonderful. Im so grateful to everyone on the committee and in the ministry, she said. Im glad to have this blessing.

Live music is one of the big draws for Las Fiestas Patrias, an annual celebration of Mexican heritage and independence held at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Elgin. (St. Joseph Catholic Church/HANDOUT)

Olivarez, who has volunteered with the St. Edward Catholic Preparatory Academy in Elgin since 2015, wanted to do something for her church when she started helping with the two-day event last year. Planning has been underway for two months.

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Weve been working very hard because its almost time, she said.

Festivities kick off at noon Saturday and run through 9 p.m. in the parking lot of the 272 Division St. church. On Sunday, activities planned from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The most important ingredients for a successful Fiestas Patrias are good, authentic food, music and dancing, Olivarez said.

We have a lot of Mexican food, she said.

Among the dining options will be tamales, tacos con carne asada (fajitas), menudo or tripe soup, and enchiladas. And there will be a half dozen live bands performing traditional and regional Mexican music, including Grupo Renovado de Tierra Caliente, Rancho Real and La Union de Chicago.

There are also folkloric dance groups and childrens activities, Olivarez said.

St. Joseph has held a festival in early September for decades, but under different names, including September Fest. Regardless of what its called, its always been a celebration of Mexican culture, she said.

A vendor prepares nachos at last year's Las Fiestas Patrias, an annual September tradition for Elgin's St. Joseph Catholic Church. (Las Fiestas Patrias/HANDOUT)

We, as Mexicans, celebrate our Independence Day, Olivarez said. We are all happy to celebrate this in this country that opened its doors (to us). We love Mexico, and we bring our culture here.

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The day is similar to the Fourth of July in America. It falls on Sept. 16 and signifies the countrys independence from Spain.

Some St. Joseph parishioners have roots in other Latin American countries, including Salvador, Columbia and Venezuela, Olivarez said.

The church offers eight Spanish-language masses every weekend, and many parishioners will head over to the festival when services are over, she said. In addition to Elgin residents, attendees also come from neighboring towns and Chicago.

While organizers dont do a formal head count, Olivarez estimates a few thousand people will attend the two-day event.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Four former Navy officers who were convicted of felonies in one of the military branchs biggest bribery scandals had their convictions vacated Wednesday.

Following allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, former Capts. David Newland, James Dolan and David Lausman and former Cmdr. Mario Herrera were allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a $100 fine each, a decision made by U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino at a sentencing hearing in federal court in San Diego, The Associated Press reported.

A federal jury previously convicted the officers on various counts of accepting bribes from Leonard Francis, a Malaysian former military contractor also known as Fat Leonard, and his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA).

The four former officers had served in the Navys 7th Fleet in the Eastern Pacific, where investigators say Francis and GDMA bribed dozens of officers with alcohol, sex and parties, allowing him to overcharge for supplying ships to the Navy or rack up bills for fake services at Southeast Asian ports he controlled.

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Francis was arrested in San Diego in September 2013 and later pleaded guilty in 2015 to charges of bribing Navy officials as part of the $35 million scandal.

He was assigned to house arrest in San Diego, but in September 2022, weeks before he was scheduled to be sentenced, he cut off his GPS monitor and fled to Venezuela, where he was arrested weeks later and remains today.

On Wednesday, Newland, Dolan and Herrera pleaded guilty to one count each of disclosing information to Francis, while Lausman pleaded guilty to a charge of destroying government property after he purposely smashed a hard drive, according to the AP.

The pleas constitute a setback for the U.S. government in its years-long attempt to apprehend dozens of military officials caught up in the Fat Leonard bribery scandal. The case, a huge embarrassment for the Defense Department, also included unsavory details about service members seeking out prostitutes and infidelity.

The U.S. attorneys office was handed the prosecution in a bid to appear independent from the military justice system, but Sammartino last year ruled that the lead federal prosecutor committed flagrant misconduct by withholding information from defense lawyers.

The behavior was not enough to have the case dismissed, but with various Navy officials, defense contractors and others involved awaiting sentencing next month, its unclear if the misstep will affect those cases.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Louisiana, which locks up a larger share of its population than any other state except Mississippi, has a longstanding problem with its jail and prison inmates: It likes them so much that it has trouble letting them go, even when they have completed their judicially prescribed sentences. According to a report that the U.S. Justice Department published in January, more than a quarter of Louisiana inmates released from January through April 2022 were incarcerated after they should have been freed. Within that group, the median length of "overdetention" was about a month, but nearly a third of the prisoners were illegally held for at least two months and a quarter were detained for an extra 90 days or more.

A decision that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit issued this week shines a light on the combination of incompetence, indifference, and outright malice that has created this constitutionally intolerable situation. The case involves a former prisoner, Ellis Ray Hicks, who was "detained for sixty days after the expiration of his prison sentence." Hicks sued several employees of Louisiana's Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPSC), arguing that they had violated his 14th Amendment rights by depriving him of his liberty without due process. It is "clear as day," a three-judge 5th Circuit panel unanimously ruled, that "the government cannot hold an inmate without the legal authority to do so."

Although that much may seem obvious, DPSC supervisors Tracy DiBenedetto and Sally Gryder claimed it was news to them. They argued that they deserved qualified immunity from Hicks' claims against them because it was not "clearly established" that he had a due process right to be released after he completed his sentence. This was a version of the defense that George Costanza attempted when he got into trouble at work for having sex with a cleaning woman on his desk: "Was that wrong?" A federal judge did not buy it, and neither did the 5th Circuit.

Before delving into the details of the tragicomic miscalculations that resulted in an extra two months behind bars for Hicks, 5th Circuit Judge Patrick Higginbotham expresses dismay at the prevalence of such liberty-depriving errors. "We are seeing with some frequency claims of 'overdetention,' now a euphemism for prisoners illegally incarcerated beyond the terms of their sentence," he writes. "Unfortunately, many of these cases have come to this Court in recent years. This is yet another from Louisiana."

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Hicks was arrested for second-degree battery in 2008. He was initially sentenced to probation but ended up serving more than a year in prison before he was released on parole in 2013. In July 2016, he was charged with a parole violation based on a conviction in Arkansas for which he had served 455 days in the Faulkner County jail. In January 2017, a Louisiana judge sentenced Hicks to four years of hard labor for the parole violation, with credit for the time he had already served in Louisiana, including 163 days of pretrial detention, plus the time he had served in Arkansas.

In other words, the Arkansas time was supposed to be subtracted from Hicks' Louisiana prison term in calculating his release date. According to Hicks, he should have been released on February 24, 2018. But in February 2017, DPSC employee Terry Lawson, for reasons that are not entirely clear, calculated a different release date: February 28, 2018. Things only got worse from there.

Hicks alleged that Gryder told Lawson to recalculate his release date. Lawson came up with a new date, May 23, 2019, "essentially removing the credit for time served in Arkansas." And "although Gryder reviewed the sentence and calculation," Higginbotham notes, "she did not instruct Lawson to include the credit for time served in Arkansas."

When Hicks asked about that blatant error, he was told that he needed to obtain documentation of his incarceration in Arkansas. He managed to do that "with the help of his family and friends," and Lawson calculated yet another release date. But according to Hicks, it still did not give him credit for the 110 days of pretrial detention he had served in Arkansas.

In July 2017, Hicks asked the Louisiana judge who had sentenced him to clarify how much time he was supposed to serve. The judge reiterated that Hicks should get "credit for all time served, including the time served in the State of Arkansas." In defiance of that instruction, DiBenedetto told Hicks his release date was correct and would not be changed. But Lawson wondered about that. That November, he specifically asked DiBenedetto whether he should count the 110 days of pretrial detention. She told him the answer "depended on whether Hicks was being held 'under the same circumstances' or if Louisiana had a 'hold' on him."

Unsure how to apply that guidance, Lawson came up with a fourth release date: July 11, 2018. Two days later, he emailed DiBenedetto, asking whether there had been "any ruling" on the question of whether to count Hicks' pretrial detention. DiBenedetto "did not answer the question." Instead she reiterated that Lawson should "determine whether there was a 'hold' on Hicks from Louisiana before including the 110 days of pretrial detention in the recalculation of his sentence."

Hicks went back to court, seeking an order instructing the DPSC (again) to comply with the terms of his sentence. That order was issued in January 2018. But at a hearing the following month, the judge and the district attorney, while confirming once again that "the sentence included time served in Arkansas," told him "the court could do nothing else to help him." If he wanted to serve no more than the sentence he had actually received, they said, he would have to "file suit in Baton Rouge against DPSC."

Hicks' insistence that he should not have to spend more time in prison than his sentence prescribed apparently irked Lawson. He "told Hicks' friends and family that 'an awful lot of people were calling him' about Hicks, that 'anyone who messes with me gets longer time,' and that 'if someone keeps bothering me about their computations they can do more time.'" During a recorded telephone conversation in April 2018, Lawson told Hicks' lawyer that "judges have no say whatsoever to us applying our time comp laws." Regardless of what the sentencing judge thought was appropriate, Lawson said, Hicks would not receive full credit for the time he had served in Arkansas.

That same month, "Gryder asked Lawson to call the Faulkner County Sheriff's Office to determine how much time Hicks spent in pretrial detention in Arkansas." Lawson did that and informed another supervisor, Angela Griffin, that Hicks "had enough credit to get released." Gryder "then manually recalculated Hicks' sentence, inputting dates for all time served in Arkansas." In case you lost count, this was the fifth time that the DPSC calculated Hicks' release date. And "although Hicks was eligible for immediate release," Gryder arbitrarily "changed his release date from April 20, 2018 to April 25, 2018," which is when he finally got out.

If you multiply these inscrutable decisions and mysterious calculations by the 30,000 or so people in Louisiana's prisons and jails, you can start to see why so many of them end up behind bars after they were supposed to be released. As the Justice Department noted, Louisiana has been aware of this problem for more than a decade but has done almost nothing to resolve it. State officials so far have been unmoved by considerations of justice or by the waste of taxpayer money spent to incarcerate people past their correct release dates.

Cases like this one might give Louisiana an additional financial incentive, since routine indemnification means that settlements and damage awards are ultimately covered by public funds even when officials are sued as individuals. But first plaintiffs like Hicks need to overcome claims of qualified immunity. Judging from this case, that should not be hard.

In 2020, the 5th Circuit agreed that Lawson was not entitled to qualified immunity. "Lawson's alleged actions were objectively unreasonable in light of clearly established law at the time of his misconduct," it said. In addition to letting Hicks pursue his due process claim against Lawson, the court said he had plausibly stated a First Amendment claim based on Lawson's alleged threats to lengthen Hicks' prison term as punishment for his attempts to vindicate his rights. "No reasonable DPSC employee," the court said, "could have assumed that she could retaliate against a prisoner and extend his sentence simply because he pursued judicial remedies to confirm his timely release."

This week's decision reaches similar conclusions regarding Gryder and DiBenedetto, Lawson's supervisors. "It is clearly established that inmates have the right to timely release from prison consistent with the terms of their sentences, a holding we have long-held and repeatedly reaffirmed," Higginbotham writes. "Relevant here, the right to timely release was clearly established well before 2017.Hicks' right to timely release is clearly established, not just as a general proposition of law, but specifically by the multiple state-court orders declaring that the Arkansas time was to be credited."

Hicks argued that Gryder and DiBenedetto were liable for his illegally extended prison term because they directly participated in the violation of his rights and because they showed "deliberate indifference" in failing to properly supervise or train Lawson. The 5th Circuit thought both claims were plausible.

"Hicks plausibly alleges that DiBenedetto and Gryder were direct participants in violating his right to timely release from prison," Higginbotham writes. According to the lawsuit, he notes, "DiBenedetto reviewed all of Hicks' [administrative grievances], knew he was not being credited for the Arkansas time, yet did not take any action to correct the error. Indeed, she personally informed Hicks that her (incorrect) calculation was correct and refused to modify it despite Hicks' pointing out that his Arkansas time was not credited. And when Lawson asked DiBenedetto whether he should include the Arkansas time credits, DiBenedetto did not instruct Lawson to include the timeeven though by then the state court had clarified that Hicks' Arkansas time was to be credited. Gryder, too, directly participated in Hicks' overdetention by manually altering Hicks' release date to extend the period of imprisonment despite knowing that Hicks was, at that point, already being held past the expiration of his sentence."

As for Gryder and DiBenedetto's failures as supervisors, Higginbotham says, the alleged facts would support a finding of deliberate indifference, even though that is "a stringent standard of fault," requiring proof that an official "disregarded a known or obvious consequence of his action." According to Hicks, "DiBenedetto and Gryder both knewfor monthsthat Hicks had on numerous occasions contested Lawson's failure to apply the Arkansas credit, yet neither trained nor supervised Lawson even after it was confirmed that the Arkansas credit was to be applied to Hicks' sentence."

When "Lawson asked DiBenedetto (his supervisor) 'whether he should include' the Arkansas time," Higginbotham notes, she "did not instruct Lawson to follow the court's clarifying order." In fact, "it appears she did not give him any training or supervision on this issue for nearly a month." She "also did nothing in response to one of Hicks' (several) administrative grievances 'specifically regarding Lawson refusing [to] consider [the] Arkansas time' even though, by then, multiple authorities had unequivocally stated that the Arkansas time was to be included. Worst of all, DiBenedetto knew that 'DOC staff have discovered approximately one case of overdetention per week for the last nine years,' with 'inmatessometimes incorrectly incarcerated for periods of up to a year.' Yet she did nothing."

Gryder likewise "knew of Lawson's lack of training and supervision as he miscalculatedover and over againHicks' time credits," Higginbotham writes. "Importantly, upon learning that Hicks was entitled to 'immediate release,' she 'manually changed his release date from April 20, 2018 to April 25, 2018, deliberately holding him'" for another five days.

The deliberate indifference that Hicks describes is just one example of a broader problem that affects thousands of prisoners whom Louisiana officials cannot be bothered to release when they complete their legally prescribed terms. The DPSC routinely "denies individuals' due process rights to timely release from incarceration," the Justice Department noted, adding that its "failure to implement adequate policies and procedures causes systemic overdetentions," showing it is "deliberately indifferent to the systemic overdetention of people in its custody."

The post Former Prisoner Can Sue Officials Who Illegally Detained Him for 2 Months, 5th Circuit Says appeared first on Reason.com.
FILE - Then-Sri Lankan presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa speaks during a news conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Oct. 15, 2019. Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has denied allegations in a British television program that Islamic State-inspired extremists were used to carry out bomb attacks on Easter in 2019 to create insecurity in the country and help him win the election later that year. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP)  Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday denied allegations in a British television program that Islamic State-inspired extremists were used to carry out suicide bomb attacks in 2019 to create insecurity in the country and help him win election later that year.

To claim that a group of Islamic extremists launched suicide attacks in order to make me president is absurd, Rajapaksa said in a public statement, his first since being ousted from power in July last year.

He said the documentary on Britain's Channel 4 television was mostly an anti-Rajapaksa tirade.

In the program broadcast Tuesday, Channel 4 interviewed a man who said he arranged a meeting between a local Islamic State-inspired extremist group, National Thowheed Jamath, and a top state intelligence official loyal to Rajapaksa to formulate a plot to create instability and enable Rajapaksa to win the presidential election. Rajapaksa, a former senior defense official, was seen as a strong law-and-order candidate.

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National Thowheed Jamath is accused of carrying out six suicide bomb attacks on Easter Sunday in 2019 which targeted churches and tourist hotels and killed 269 people. The attacks revived memories of frequent suicide bombings during the country's quarter-century civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels which ended 10 years earlier in 2009.

Fears over national security enabled Rajapaksa to sweep to power. He was forced to resign in July 2022 during mass protests over an economic crisis.

Azad Maulana, the man interviewed by Channel 4, was a spokesperson for a Tamil Tiger breakaway group that later became a pro-state militia and helped the Sinhalesaqae-dominated government defeat the rebels and win the civil war.

Maulana said he arranged a meeting in 2018 between Islamic State-inspired extremists and a top intelligence officer at the behest of his boss at the time, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, the leader of the rebel breakaway group who later became a politician.

Rajapaksa's older brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, had been defeated in the 2015 elections after 10 years as president.

Maulana said Chandrakanthan met Zainee Hashim, brother of the leader of National Thowheed Jamath, in prison while Chandrakanthan was detained on murder allegations and determined that the group could be useful in creating instability.

He said Chandrakanthan arranged for Maulana to help obtain Hashim's release by providing him with legal and financial assistance.

Once released, Hashim arranged a meeting between National Thowheed Jamath and a top intelligence official close to Rajapaksa, Maulana said.

Maulana told Channel 4 that he did not participate in the meeting, but that the intelligence officer told him later that creating insecurity was the only way to return the Rajapaksa family to power.

After security camera videos of the bombings were released, Maulana said he saw that the attackers carrying bomb-laden backpacks were people he had arranged to meet with the intelligence officer.

Chandrakanthan has not responded to phone calls from the AP seeking comment. In a speech Wednesday, he accused Maulana of making claims to get his asylum application approved in the country where he is currently living. He said he was in prison during that period and questioned how he could have coordinated a terror attack while in detention.

Channel 4 reported that Maulana has been interviewed by United Nations investigators and European intelligence services about his claims.

Rajapaksa said in his statement that he did not have any contact with the intelligence officer named in the documentary from the time he resigned as defense ministry secretary in 2015 until he became president in 2019. He said the official was not part of any intelligence agency during that period and allegations that he met the suicide bombers were a fabrication.

This latest film by Chanel 4 is mostly an anti-Rajapaksa tirade aimed at blackening the Rajapaksa legacy from 2005 onwards and is a tissue of lies just like the previous films broadcast by the same channel, Rajapaksa said, referring to a previous Channel 4 documentary that alleged grave human rights violations by Sri Lankan soldiers in the final phase of the civil war.

___

This story corrects that Zainee Hashim is the brother of the extremist group leader.
Monique Worrell , the former Orange-Osceola state attorney, has filed a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis , asking the Florida Supreme Court to reverse his order removing her from office.

Worrell is accusing DeSantis of citing vague allegations against her in his case for her suspension, which has rattled community organizers and people in the legal community who rallied Tuesday, calling the governors action unconstitutional at a series of press conferences in Orange County, Tampa and Miami.

DeSantis suspension of Worrell follows a string of criticism from law enforcement leaders accusing her of not prosecuting crime aggressively enough.

Filed Wednesday, the lawsuit claims the executive order fails to identify any conduct by Worrell that would support suspension and counters data cited in the executive order as evidence of neglect of duty or incompetence while she was serving at Ninth Judicial Circuit.

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On Aug. 9, DeSantis replaced her with Orange County Judge Andrew Bain, who is a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization.

Worrell is the second Democratic state attorney suspended by DeSantis. Last summer, the governor suspended Andrew Warren, a twice-elected state attorney for Hillsborough County, who pledged not to prosecute doctors who provide abortions.

In the lawsuit, Worrell attempts to set her case apart from executive orders issued against Warren and her predecessor, Aramis Ayala, who in 2017 found herself in a feud with then-Gov. Rick Scott over her opposition to seeking the death penalty in all cases.

In Worrells case, the lawsuit says the governor has not alleged any practice or policy that could constitute a refusal to exercise prosecutorial discretion.

The order vaguely refers to Ms. Worrells practices and policies throughout but notably fails to identify a single, specific policy or practice, making the order distinguishable from recent cases involving other Florida state attorneys, where the executive orders identified specific policies alleged to constitute a neglect of duty, the lawsuit reads.

Much of the scrutiny Worrell faced followed several high-profile shootings in Orange County, including one in Pine Hills that resulted in the killings of three people, including a child and a TV news reporter.

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WASHINGTON  Peter Navarro, a trade adviser to former President Donald Trump, was convicted Thursday of two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena.

The House committee that investigated the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, subpoenaed Navarro for testimony and documents about strategies to overturn the 2020 election. But Navarro defied the subpoena, arguing he was protected by executive privilege, to keep communications with Trump confidential.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta had rejected Navarro's request to dismiss the charges, ruling he couldn't document Trump himself had invoked executive privilege. Mehta scheduled sentencing for Jan. 12.

Peter Navarro made a choice. He chose not abide by the congressional subpoena, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi said. The defendant chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over compliance to the subpoena.

Peter Navarro, an advisor to former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks to reporters as he arrives at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse on Sept. 7, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

But Navarro's lawyer, Stanley Woodward, argued prosecutors hadn't proven Navarro acted "willfully" or out of loyalty to Trump.

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Do we know that his failure to comply beyond reasonable doubt wasnt the result of accident, inadvertence or mistake? he said

Navarro is one of four people the House voted to recommend the Justice Department prosecute. Political strategist Steve Bannon was convicted, sentenced to four months in jail and has appealed.

The Department decided against charging former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino.

Peter Navarro, an advisor to former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks to reporters as he arrives at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse on September 07, 2023 in Washington, DC. The jury is expected to begin deliberating today in Navarro's contempt of Congress case for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena from the House January 6 Committee.

The House committee sought to question Navarro because in his 2021 book "In Trump Time," Navarro described the scheme to delay certification of the election of President Joe Biden in 2020 as the "Green Bay Sweep" and said it was the "last, best chance to snatch a stolen election from the Democrats jaws of deceit."

The committee said in its letter to Navarro seeking his testimony that he had said Trump and "more than 100 members of Congress were 'on board with the strategy.'" The committee also said Navarro released a three-page report on his website that repeated claims of purported fraud in the election that have been discredited in public reporting by state and local officials.

Trump faces federal charges in Washington and state charges in Georgia alleging he tried to interfere with the 2020 election. Trump pleaded not guilty.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Peter Navarro, former Donald Trump aide, convicted on contempt charges
Homer "Brad" Harvey, whose lone term as Wakulla County property appraiser unraveled with his arrest on fraud charges, is heading off to prison.

On Thursday, Circuit Judge J. Layne Smith sentenced Harvey to 12 and a half years in prison, followed by 17 years of probation, on each of two counts of organized scheme to defraud. Smith ordered the terms to run concurrently.

Wakulla County Property Appraiser Brad Harvey

The judge also ordered Harvey to make restitution in the exact amount he stole from the government office: $203,154.48.

Harvey, elected in 2016, was arrested in 2020 on charges that during his time in office, he illegally padded his salary and used the Property Appraiser's Office credit card for personal expenses, including travel and car repairs.

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The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which conducted a lengthy investigation, found that Harvey wrote himself more than 100 checks totaling $176,207 and racked up $26,946 on the office credit card.

Employees in the Property Appraiser's Office discovered Harvey's misdeeds in 2019 and alerted county officials, who alerted Gov. Ron DeSantis and others. After his arrest, DeSantis suspended Harvey, who opted not to run again.

Harvey entered open no-contest pleas to the charges in July, with no sentencing agreement in place with state prosecutors.

The State Attorney's Office announced the pleas in a news release Thursday after the sentencing hearing at the Wakulla County Courthouse.

"At sentencing the court heard from various members of the defendants family and the community as well as arguments from the state and defense," the State Attorney's Office said.

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Former Wakulla County Property Appraiser Brad Harvey sentenced
A 48-year-old woman died after a boat capsized on the Talkeetna River, spilling four people into the water, Alaska State Troopers reported.

Kelly Jo Latimer of Wasilla died after the boating accident at 3:04 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 5, troopers said in a dispatch.

A motor stalled on the 14-foot aluminum boat, troopers told the Anchorage Daily News. The boat got stuck in a log jam and overturned.

Rescuers were unable to resuscitate Latimer, troopers said.

The other three people thrown from the boat were rescued, troopers said.

None of the people aboard were wearing life jackets, troopers told the Anchorage Daily News.

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The Talkeetna River empties into the Susitna River near Talkeetna, which is about 115 miles north of Anchorage.

Father of 2 missing after jumping into Lake Michigan, reports say. Hes out there

6-year-old held underwater by stepfather as punishment until he drowned, Florida cops say

Boyfriend and girlfriend  both 18  drown in rough water in Wisconsin lake, cops say
French drone manufacturer Delair sent Ukraine over 150 drones financed by Frances government, Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu reported on Sept. 6.

Ukraine selected the drones itself, Lecornu said, without specifying the model.

Delair, one of the worlds leading drone producers headquartered in Toulouse, France, offers fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles for border surveillance, reconnaissance, intelligence, etc.

According to the companys website, their drones have been used by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Ukraine, local military forces in Niger and the French army.

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Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that France had joined the international coalition to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.

During a Sept. 3 phone call, Zelensky and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron discussed Ukraines military needs and Frances potential participation in strengthening security in Odesa Oblast.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
FRESNO, Calif, (KGPE/KSEE)  Fresno State is ranked number six in the nation among public and private universities for social mobility in the Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2024 Best Colleges ranking published on Wednesday.

Fresno State is also ranked number 15 for best student experience and number 80 among the top 400 best universities overall in the country.

In June, Fresno State received a 4.5 star rating on a 5 star scale in Moneys new 2023 Best Colleges rating of the nations best colleges for quality and affordability.

The university is one of four California State University campuses in the top 10 for providing a high-quality education at an affordable price to create opportunities for students to move from one class to another, according to Fresno State. About 65% of Fresno State students are the first in their families to attend college.

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Wall Street Journal states that this years ranking was expanded to include the importance of student outcomes such as graduation rates and graduate salaries, along with putting more emphasis on measuring the value added by colleges and not just on wealth and reputation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com.
Debris and water damage render a pallet of children's books unusable in the Bernie's Book Bank warehouse. High winds, accompanying a storm, sheared off a portion of its warehouse roof Tuesday night. (Bernie's Book Bank/HANDOUT)

Tuesday nights fast-moving storm through the county severely damaged the Lake Bluff warehouse of Bernies Book Bank, as wind gusts sheared off a section of its roof.

An estimated 50,000 books, meant for free distribution to at-risk Chicagoland students, were exposed to rainwater and debris from the elements.

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Staff members and volunteers have worked to contain the damage, while salvaging as many childrens books as possible. The facility opened again Thursday, after assessing its inventory losses and structural concerns.

Rainwater floods the floor of Bernie's Book Bank at its Lake Bluff warehouse. Tuesday night's storm sheared off a corner of the facility's roof. (Bernie's Book Bank/HANDOUT)

Its the beginning of the school year, and 300,000 children are counting on us to provide free books, said Kristen Daniels, the book banks executive director. We are devastated over the loss of any childrens books, but with over a million books in our facility, we are relieved the damage was contained quickly, and that no one was injured.

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The book bank is actively seeking donations to replenish the destroyed and unusable materials. Community book drop points are being organized, and monetary donations are also being sought through its website (www.berniesbookbank.org).

The Bernies Book Bank team is hard at work evaluating the potential loss of more than 50,000 books affected by the storm damage, said Darrin Utynek, the organizations CEO. Its an unfortunate setback, but our trucks will be still be out delivering books to Chicagoland children and creating pathways to success through book ownership.

The nonprofit organization was formed in 2009, and operates a 35,000-square foot facility at 917 North Shore Drive. Their goal is to improve literacy scores and enabling book ownership. A child is given eight age-appropriate books annually, from birth through the sixth grade. Inventory is accumulated through book donors, investors, and publishers.

Since its inception, the bank has given away more than 24.5 million books. This year, they are serving more than 1,200 under-resourced schools and early childhood programs in communities throughout Lake, Cook, McHenry, DuPage, and Will counties.

The operation began in the garage of Brian Floriani, a reading paraprofessional with Zions Shiloh Park Elementary School. He tutored struggling readers, and wanted to put books in the home. The book bank was named for his father, who valued education.

In July 2017, they built a pyramid of 144,000 books in their warehouse to draw attention to the literacy problem. It was certified as the largest by the Guinness Book of World Records certified it as the largest construction of its type.

Bernie's Book Exchange was given a certification for constructing the largest book pyramid, by the Guinness Book of World Records, in 2017. (Gregory Harutunian/Pioneer Press)

It raised awareness, said Sarna Goldberg, the banks director of marketing. It was a community building effort and a calling card to collect more books for at-risk children in Lake and Cook counties.

For now, the focus is on cleaning up the damage, organizing and acquiring more donations, along with getting the books out to where they are needed.

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We are grateful for the communitys support, and hope to welcome back our volunteers very soon, said Daniels.
SINGAPORE  On the surface, it may seem great to have a trusted close friend as your property agent. After all, the property market can be a difficult place to navigate, especially if you have no insights into price movements and market rates.

However, mixing business with friendship caused Anne Lee (not her real name) a valued close relationship. The analyst in her late 20s had engaged a friend to help sell her parent's Executive Condominium (EC) in northern Singapore.

When Lee's parents first considered selling their home after its Housing Development Board (HDB) Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) lapsed some two years ago, she suggested enlisting the help of her "really close friend" who was a property agent. The family was not familiar with the property market and needed someone they could trust to find buyers. However, several red flags arose throughout the process.

Property listing was 'underpriced'

"When we first engaged my friend, we didn't know how much was ideal to price our property. We trusted his advice," Lee told Yahoo Finance Singapore.

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"We thought that he was the expert, that he understood the market and had what it took to help us negotiate a better deal. So, we went with his recommendation of pricing the unit at around 14 per cent more than the purchase price," said Lee, adding that her parents had bought the property for over S$1 million.

Shortly after listing the unit, however, Lee suspected that something was amiss with the pricing when she spoke to several friends who were familiar with property valuation. They told her that the property was worth much more. She then decided to do her own research and found that the market valuation for her parents' unit was at least 36 per cent more than the purchase price.

Lee then went to her agent friend and asked for an adjustment to a price that was higher. He promised to recheck his own estimated valuation. He eventually came back with a buyer's offer for the minimum amount that Lee's family wanted.

"I'm not sure how the market value moves, it might differ from month to month, but I just feel that it was his responsibility to inform us if our property could fetch a much higher value. That, to me, is working in the best interest of your client," said Lee, who thought that her friend could have tried harder to get a better price for her family.

Lashed out at friend's parents

There were already warning signs before this, according to Lee. When he was first engaged, Lee's friend asked her parents to sign an agreement that barred them from engaging other agents to sell their property.

According to Lee, her parents were indifferent about whether the property ended up being sold or not, as there was no urgency to move out. Lee's parents were upfront with the agent that if the property was not sold in the three months, they would consider renovating the unit instead.

When the three-month agreement lapsed, the agent had yet to find a buyer. Lee's parents decided that they no longer wanted to sell their property. Lee's mother then made a call to the agent to inform him of their decision but was taken aback by his "nasty" attitude.

"He actually scolded my mother over the phone, saying that we couldn't back out, and that he had spent a lot of money on marketing materials. My mum was on speakerphone at the time, so I heard the exchange. I took over the phone over and told him off for being disrespectful to her," Lee recalled.

The situation soon diffused, and Lee's friend apologised for his behaviour. Despite the incident, the family later agreed to proceed with trying to sell the property through the same agent. "I decided to 'let it go' and continued with the deal," said Lee. About two months later, the property was sold.

Further tension between agent and sellers

After the deal was closed, Lee and her family began the process of looking for a new home. Scarred by their experience with the agent, they decided that they were going to look for a new home by themselves through online portals without engaging any agents. The process was slow, and to make matters worse, it was difficult to do house viewings given the restrictions that were in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We did ask my agent friend some very basic questions, like the documents required for the buying process, but he said that if we wanted his advice, then we would need to engage him as a buying agent," said Lee. This created another point of tension within the once-close relationship.

Please also reconsider if you are engaging a friend as an agent... if things go wrong, there goes your friendship as well.Anne Lee (not her real name)

The family eventually found a suitable HDB flat, which they intended to renovate before moving in. Coupled with financing timelines, the family sought their agent's help in asking for an extension from their EC buyer. Again, Lee shared, the agent was not helpful in negotiating for more time from the new owners.

"We asked to push the handover date further, but he kept emphasising that the buyer had to move in as soon as possible," said Lee. Although they eventually got a three-week extension, Lee felt that her friend was not acting in their interest, considering that he had already earned his commission. In the end, the family had to clear out regardless and were left having to rent an apartment for several months.

Lesson learned

"The friendship will never be the same again," said Lee of the whole experience, adding that her friend has since blocked her from his social media accounts.

Lee has vowed not to engage friends as agents in the future.

"It was partly my fault for not doing more research or speaking with more property agents," Lee said. "It's very important for home sellers or buyers to do their own research and speak to multiple experts."

"Please also reconsider if you are engaging a friend as an agent... if things go wrong, there goes your friendship as well," Lee added.

If you have an interesting True Singapore HDB story to share, email us at sea-finance@yahooinc.com

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.

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A man walks past a model of the G20 logo outside a metro station ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi

By Carien du Plessis

JOHANNESBURG/NEW DELHI (Reuters) -The Group of 20, comprising the world's richest and most powerful countries, will grant membership to the African Union, sources said on Thursday.

The move would give the African Union, a continental body of 55 member states, the same status as the European Union - the only regional bloc with a full membership currently - up from its current designation of "invited international organization".

An AU official told Reuters that the group was being made a permanent member. The official did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the subject.

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A top government official from South Africa, which is a G20 member, said that the language for the induction of AU into the G20 bloc was still being discussed but it could be firmed up by Friday.

The South African official, who did not want to be named before the decision was made public, however said that there was still a possibility that someone might veto the resolution.

It was not immediately clear if the decision would be announced at the annual G20 leaders' summit in New Delhi over the weekend.

Two Indian sources told Reuters that membership for AU was expected to be formalised only next year, when Brazil takes over the presidency of G20 from India.

There were no objections against the move from any of the members, one of the Indian sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity citing government rules.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to the leaders of the G20 nations in June proposing that the AU be given full, permanent membership of the bloc at the upcoming summit in the Indian capital.

In an article published across Indian and international newspapers on Thursday, Modi wrote, "Our presidency has not only seen the largest-ever participation from African countries but has also pushed for the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20".

The G20 currently comprises 19 countries and the European Union. The members represent around 85% of global GDP, more than 75% of global trade and about two-thirds of the world population.

South Africa, which has supported the admission of the AU, declined immediate comment ahead of the Delhi summit. South African presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said: "We wouldn't comment now until the official announcement or post the summit."

Countries including Germany, Brazil, South Africa and Canada have also voiced support for African Union membership.

(Reporting by Carien du Plessis in Johannesburg, Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru and New Delhi bureau; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Alex Richardson)
The Chinese president attended the Brics summit in Johannesburg last month, but won't be present for this year's G20 in New Delhi - GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/REUTERS

Xi Jinping s no-show at this weekends G20 summit in New Delhi indicates Beijing is increasingly distancing itself from the West, foreign diplomats claimed.

Mr Xi, president of the worlds second-largest economy, will miss the annual meeting for the first time since taking power in 2012, instead choosing to send Premier Li Qiang to the September 9-10 gathering of leaders whose countries account for roughly 85 per cent of global GDP and greenhouse gas emissions.

No explanation has been offered by Beijing for his absence, which coincides with a time of heightened trade and geopolitical tensions with the United States and India, the G20 host with which it shares a long and disputed border.

But foreign diplomats in China say the news reflects a worrying trend where Beijing is shutting off from the West and its allies.

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More than 10 envoys stationed in China told Reuters of the increasing difficulty they face getting access to Chinese officials and other sources of information.

They said this trend had become pronounced in 2023 even as China had dropped rigid pandemic controls that had stymied diplomatic activities for three years.

When meetings are arranged, Chinese officials stick rigidly to scripted comments, the diplomats said.

Students work on paintings of world leaders at an art school in Mumbai ahead of the New Delhi summit - PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty Images

Ryan Neelam, a foreign policy analyst who previously served as an Australian diplomat based in Hong Kong, said such a development emphasises that, under Mr Xis strict regime, officials have become more wary about engaging with foreign powers.

If everything becomes stage-managed and theres less opportunity to have informal interactions, if you get less access to senior decision makers across the system, then theres going to be a narrowing of the opportunity to find points of commonality or areas of compromise, said Mr Neelam, the director of public opinion and foreign policy at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based think tank.

India has meanwhile vowed that Mr Xis no-show will not derail talks on climate change and the economic impact of the Ukraine war.

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Indian foreign minister, insisted that negotiations would not be affected, adding that the Chinese leaders decision had nothing to do with frosty ties with New Delhi.

Chinas foreign ministry has also rebuffed accusations of a snub, with spokesman Mao Ning stressing that China-India relations remain generally stable and that Chinese leaders have always supported Indias hosting and are ready to work with all parties to make the G20 summit a success.

However, Mr Xis non-attendance has sparked a flurry of speculation, with analysts offering conflicting interpretations of the rationale for his decision, ranging from deliberately avoiding a meeting with Joe Biden to an uptick in tensions with India.

Relations between India and China have nose-dived since 2020, when their troops were involved in a deadly border clash at the Galwan river valley in Ladakh.

Standard map reignites tensions

Tensions were reignited last week when China published a new standard map that laid claim to land in north-east India. South-east Asian nations and the US also objected to the maps territorial assertions over the South China Sea.

Mr Xis decision may also point to his need to be in Beijing to deal with urgent economic problems, including a deepening real estate crisis, export slump and spiralling youth unemployment.

A report in Nikkei Asia this week suggested that Communist Party elders had reprimanded the president at a recent party retreat, although China experts have cast doubt on the veracity of the story, which was based on anonymous sourcing.

More broadly, Mr Xis international travel has significantly dropped off this year and has been limited to countries Beijing views as friendly.

He has only left China twice  to visit Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, in Moscow and to attend a meeting of the Brics emerging economies in South Africa last month, where he also missed a keynote address without explanation.

By comparison, Mr Xi managed five overseas visits in 2022  when the countrys borders were effectively shut due to rigid pandemic controls  and a dozen in 2019 before Covid-19 struck.

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.
FILE - President of Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, on Sept. 21, 2022 at U.N. headquarters. Gabons junta says the countrys ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been under house arrest since he was deposed last week, is now freed and can travel on a medical trip. The junta said this on Wednesday just as it has met with various local and regional authorities, promising a better life for Gabonese. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP)  Gabons ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who has been under house arrest since he was deposed last week, is free and can travel abroad for medical treatment, the country's junta said as it appointed a new prime minister.

Raymond Ndong Sima , an economist, was named prime minister of the transition, according to a statement read on state television by Col. Ulrich Manfoumbi, spokesman for the transition committee.

Sima, 68, served as prime minister under the deposed president from 2012 to 2014 and is believed to have aspired to run in the elections. However, he did not become a candidate for the opposition in the Central African nation's recent presidential election.

Col. Manfoumbi also said on Wednesday that the ousted president is free to move given his state of health. He can, if he wishes, go abroad to carry out his medical checks," he said.

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Ondimba's health was not immediately clear. He had suffered a stroke in late 2018 that kept him from his duties for months. Local television Gabon24 broadcast a meeting late Wednesday between Ondimba and Abdou Barry, head of the U.N. office for Central Africa.

I found him in good health, Barry said about his meeting with the ousted president.

The 64-year-old Ondimba was toppled on Aug. 30 amid a resurgence of coups in parts of Africa. Shortly after he was declared the winner of a disputed election that would have extended his familys 55-year reign. He succeeded his father, Omar Bongo, in 2009.

Meanwhile, the newly sworn-in military leader in Gabon, Gen. Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema , met with regional and local authorities this week, promising better infrastructure and a peaceful transition to citizens in the oil-rich Central African nation.

In the capital, Libreville, he met with the Central African Republics President Faustin Archange Touadera, who was appointed an envoy of the regional Economic Community of Central African States, and with Barry, the head of the U.N.'s Central Africa office.

Our discussions focused on the current situation of our nation as well as the promising prospects of the transition, Gen. Nguema wrote of his meeting with Barry on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Concerns remain about the military takeovers and the delayed return of democracies in parts of Africa where soldiers have promised a lengthy transition. The new military leader in Gabon has also promised to return power to the people by organizing free, transparent and credible elections but gave no timeframe for the vote.

At Nguema's meeting this week with senior Gabonese government officials, he pledged to deliver real development to people whose oil wealth has been widely seen to be concentrated in the hands of a few. Nearly 40% of Gabonese who were 15 to 24 years old in 2020 were out of work, according to the World Bank.

We want simple things for the Gabonese people, Nguema said in a broadcast on the Gabon24 television, promising national health care and improved education and environmental policy. "But to achieve this, you must first have an effective administration.

___

Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria.
By Barbara Lewis and Supantha Mukherjee

LONDON/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - At leading Swedish university Lund, teachers decide which students can use artificial intelligence to help them with assignments.

At the University of Western Australia in Perth, staff have talked to students about the challenges and possible benefits of using generative AI in their work, while the University of Hong Kong is allowing ChatGPT within strict limits.

Launched by Microsoft-backed OpenAI on Nov. 30, ChatGPT has become the world's fastest growing app to date and prompted the release of rivals like Google's Bard.

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GenAI tools, such as ChatGPT, draw on patterns in language and data to generate anything from essays to videos to mathematical calculations that superficially resemble human work, spurring talk of unprecedented transformation in many fields including academia.

Academics are among those who could face an existential threat if AI is able to replicate - at much faster speeds - research currently done by humans. Many also see the benefits of GenAI's ability to process information and data, which can provide a basis for deeper critical analysis by humans.

"It can help the students to adapt the course material to their individual needs, aiding them much like a personal tutor would do," said Leif Kari, vice president for education at Stockholm-based KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Thursday launched what it is says is the first global guidance on GenAI in education and academic research.

For national regulators, it outlines steps to take on areas such as data protection and revision of copyright laws, and urges countries to make sure teachers get the AI skills they need.

CHEATING VERSUS HELPFUL SHORT-CUTS

Some educators draw a comparison between AI and the advent of hand-held calculators, which began entering classrooms in the 1970s and stirred debate on how they would affect learning before they were quickly accepted as essential help.

Some have expressed concern that students might similarly rely on AI to produce work and effectively cheat - especially as AI content gets better with time. Passing off GenAI as original work could also raise copyright issues, prompting questions over whether AI should be banned in academia.

Rachel Forsyth, a project manager in the Strategic Development Office at Lund University in southern Sweden, said a ban "feels like something that we can't enforce".

"We're trying to put the focus back on learning and away from cheating and policing the students," she said.

Worldwide, the software Turnitin has for decades been one of the main ways to check for plagiarism.

In April it launched a tool that uses AI to detect AI-generated content. It has provided that tool free to more than 10,000 education institutions globally, although it plans to charge a fee from January.

So far, the AI detection tool has found that only 3% of students used AI for more than 80% of their submissions and that 78% did not use AI at all, Turnitin data shows.

Problems have arisen over what are known as false positives when text written by humans - in some cases by professors trying to test the software - has been flagged as written by AI, though those wrongly accused of using AI can defend themselves if they have saved various drafts of their work.

Students themselves are busy experimenting with AI and some give it a poor grade, saying it can summarise at a basic level, but that facts must always be checked because GenAI cannot distinguish fact from fiction or right from wrong.

Its knowledge is also limited to what it can scrape from the internet, which is not enough for very specific questions.

"I reckon AI has a far way to go before it's properly useful," said Sophie Constant, a 19 year-old law student at England's University of Oxford.

"I can't ask it about a single case. It just doesn't know and it doesn't have access to articles I am studying so it is not very helpful."

CORPORATE SPEED AND SLOW-MOVING REGULATION

UNESCO's latest guidance also flags the risk GenAI will deepen societal divisions as educational and economic success increasingly depend on access to electricity, computers and internet that the poorest do not have.

"We are struggling to align the speed of transformation of the education system to the speed of the change in technological progress," Stefania Giannini, assistant director-general for education at UNESCO, told Reuters.

So far, the European Union (EU) is among those at the forefront of regulations around the use of AI with draft legislation that has yet to adopted as law. The regulations do not specifically deal with education but its broader rules on ethics, for instance, could be applied to the field.

After its exit from the EU, Britain is also trying to work on guidelines for the use of AI in education by consulting educators and says it will release the results later this year.

Singapore, a leader in efforts to train teachers on how to use the technology, is among the nearly 70 countries that have developed or planned strategies on AI.

"In terms of universities, as a professor, rather than fighting it, you need to leverage AI, experience it, develop a good framework, guidelines and a responsible AI system, and then work with students to find a mechanism that works for you," said Kirsten Rulf, a partner at Boston Consulting Group.

Rulf co-negotiated the European Union AI Act in her previous role as head of digital policy at the German Federal Chancellery.

"I think we are the last generation that has lived in a world without GenAI."

To hear about how educators are tackling the advance of AI in the classroom, click here for the Reuters World News daily podcast.

(This story has been corrected to clarify that Rulf's previous role was at the German Chancellery in paragraph 27)

(Editing by Deepa Babington and David Goodman)
The Georgia racketeering laws that have been used in cases against a rapper and a former president have now been turned on protesters who have fiercely opposed a planned police and firefighter training center in Atlanta.

On Tuesday, the state attorney generals office announced RICO charges against 61 individuals for their efforts opposing Cop City. Social justice advocates say its a continued effort to target protesters who participated in the racial justice demonstrations that followed the murder of George Floyd in 2020, and warn that if the charges are successful, their impact could have a chilling effect that stretches beyond Georgia.

Its not just the people of Georgia that should be alarmed, its across the nation, Chris Bruce, policy director for the ACLU of Georgia, told Yahoo News. Because if this actually does go through and stands, this could be used as a playbook for other attorney generals in other states to quell political dissent and put in jeopardy your civil rights and civil liberties.

Micah Herskind, an organizer and writer based in Atlanta, called the indictments bipartisan fascism on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Its the state deploying criminal legal infrastructure to eliminate political dissidents  to criminalize out of existence those who are fighting for a livable present and future, Herskind, whos used his large following on X to amplify the efforts of the Stop Cop City movement, posted on the social media site.

Theyre straight up political prosecutions, he added. But its not the time to panic, it is the time to organize.

Read more from Yahoo News: Georgia RICO cases hit Trump, Giuliani and the rapper Young Thug  all from the same DA

The charges the 61 defendants are facing fall under Georgias Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, which allows broader prosecution than the federal law and equivalents in other states. The law also carries a heavy potential sentence that can be added on top of penalties for other acts.

In May of last year, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, brought racketeering charges against Grammy Award-winning rap artist Jeffery Williams, also known as Young Thug, and 27 other defendants for allegedly leading a violent street gang known as Young Slime Life (YSL).

Last month Willis indicted former President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants on the same statutes, stemming from their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

The debate over Cop City

A protest against the controversial Cop City project inside Atlanta City Hall on May 15. (Megan Varner/Reuters)

The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, which is set to include a shooting range, fire training towers and a mock city featuring homes and streets, was approved by the Atlanta City Council in 2021 with the backing of the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF), a nonprofit largely funded by corporate donors. Amid multiple lawsuits attempting to halt the project altogether, a spokesperson for the city previously told Yahoo News that construction is ongoing but offered no specifics on the current status of the center.

Read more from Yahoo News: From Boston to Detroit  why Atlanta's 'Cop City' protests are galvanizing communities around the U.S.

The training center is estimated to cost around $90 million, a third of which is expected to be paid by taxpayers. The rest will come from private donations raised by APF.

Proponents of the center say it is needed to help boost law enforcement recruitment, retention and morale in the wake of severe staffing shortages in the city. But critics believe that besides harming the regions environment, the facility will further strain relations between police and the community, particularly the Atlanta areas majority Black population.

The land where the center will be built  a former prison farm in the South River Forest, a sprawling 3,500-acre green space just outside the city limits  was originally designated as part of a 2017 proposal to create green space and recreation options for underserved parts of Atlanta. But the City Council scrapped those plans just four years later, agreeing instead to lease the land to APF to build the training center.

Opponents of the training center have camped out at the site for months and clashed with police, who shot and killed a 26-year-old protester in January. While authorities said the 57 bullets that struck Manuel Esteban Paez Teran were fired in response to them shooting first, a DeKalb County autopsy did not find gunpowder on their hands. The officers were not wearing body cameras.

The indictment

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. (Natrice Miller/AP)

Opponents of Cop City have noted that authorities have tied the objections to the facility to a movement that predates its planned existence. The 109-page indictment brought forth by Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican, alleges that the criminal activity related to the training center site happened on or between May 25, 2020 and August 25, 2023.

While the facility wasnt announced until 2021, Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police on May 25, 2020, with the video sparking a wave of protests across the country and world against police brutality.

As this indictment shows, looking the other way when violence occurs is not an option in Georgia, Carr said in a statement. If you come to our state and shoot a police officer, throw Molotov cocktails at law enforcement, set fire to police vehicles, damage construction equipment, vandalize private homes and businesses, and terrorize their occupants, you can and will be held accountable.

Read more from Yahoo News: Black Lives Matter once unified America. Now its chapters are divided on progress.

The indictment labels the opponents of the facility as militant anarchists and mentions their interest in mutual aid and social solidarity, which typically are tenets of community organizing.

Demonstrators in Atlanta on March 31. (Cheney Orr/Reuters)

One person was charged for an $11.91 reimbursement for glue that was provided to one of the anti-Cop City organizations, while another was indicted over a $61.98 reimbursement for food provided to another. A legal observer and staff attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center is accused of joining an organized mob, and leaders of a fund who provided bail money and attorneys for protesters were indicted for money laundering.

Others are facing charges of domestic terrorism that carry lengthy prison terms, although some of the evidence has been called into question.

In emphasizing the charges of domestic terrorism, the attorney general is exposing again [that he wants to punish] everyday individuals, who have the right to protest, for up to 20 years in prison for expressing their political views, Bruce said. Using the domestic terrorism statute allows a whole parade of horribles that follows even the smallest charges.

Read more from Yahoo News: How the fight over Cop City divided Atlanta

The RICO charges are the latest from prosecutors targeting protesters. Following Trumps 2017 inauguration, the Justice Department charged 234 demonstrators with felony rioting. After the first six defendants were all acquitted by a jury, the Justice Department dropped all remaining charges after it could not prove the defendants had damaged property. In the wake of the 2020 protests, a number of Republican-controlled states passed laws restricting demonstrations, including providing immunity to drivers who struck any protesters in the street.

For Bruce and other social justice activists, the fight to stop the construction of Cop City is an effort to show that there is more than one way to realize public safety  which, he says, should include investing in the community, dealing with mental health, dealing with education, dealing with health care and job training.

Anything thats jeopardizing civil rights and civil liberties is something that jeopardizes your way of life and our democracy dies in the dark, Bruce said. Everyone should be fully aware of whats happening here to make sure it does not happen anywhere else.
Fulton County, Ga. District Attorney Fani Willis on Thursday slammed Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, after the congressman demanded that she turn over records of her communication with Justice Department officials, who also indicted former President Donald Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

"As I make clear below, there is no justification in the Constitution for Congress to interfere with a state criminal matter, as you attempt to do," Willis fired back in her nine-page response, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported. The House Judiciary Committee chairman launched an investigation into Willis' handling of the Georgia indictment late last month, writing her a letter just 10 days after that suggested Willis was trying to interfere with the 2024 election by bringing charges against the GOP frontrunner.

Blasting Jordan for including "inaccurate information and misleading statements" in his Aug. 24 letter, Willis accused the Ohio Republican of improperly interfering with a state criminal matter and trying to punish her for his political gain. "Its obvious purpose is to obstruct a Georgia criminal proceeding and to advance outrageous misrepresentations," Willis wrote of Jordan's letter.

"Your letter makes clear that you lack a basic understanding of the law, its practice and the ethical obligations of attorneys generally and prosecutors specifically," Willis added. She concluded her response by outlining four suggestions for how the committee "can engage in productive legislative activity," which included expanding funding to states and localities for victim-witness advocate pay.
The city of Portages sanitation department could have a green fleet complete by 2028.

Thats Mayor Sue Lynchs goal, she said.

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The department is getting seven new CNG-powered trucks through grants from the Volkswagen litigation settlement fund, Superintendent Randy Reeder said. Five have already been delivered.

The city also has a grant to help pay for a compressed natural gas fueling station, but that wont be until next year, likely October or November, he said.

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Reeder showed the City Council a three-minute video Drive Clean Indiana produced about Portages project.

This is one of the cleanest, most reliable fuels that is available for heavy-duty trucks, said Drive Clean Indianas execiutive director, Carl Lisek.

Theyre very clean-burning, Lynch said. Theyre great for the environment, and theyre great for the city.

Reeder put CNG in perspective for the council. CNG has one-seventh the carbon output of diesel, he said.

CNG is the same fuel that heats our homes, heats our water and cooks our food, he said.

Lynch said partnering with Drive Clean Indiana, the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission and other partners is important. Its vitally important that we keep connecting with partners because it brings things into the city, she said.

The Volkswagen fund was initially expected to pay for three rounds of funding, but theres a fourth round coming up. Portage is, of course, seeking additional funding, Reeder said.

In 2016, Volkswagen agreed to pay up to $14.7 billion to settle allegations of cheating on emissions tests and deceiving customers. The vehicles include certain 2009 through 2015 Volkswagen and Audi models.

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Additionally, Tracie Marshall, superintendent of Portages wastewater treatment plant, said the state revolving fund loan for a solar project and new clarifiers at the plant should be done by Thanksgiving, with work to begin next spring.

Its good news for our plant, Lynch said. Weve neglected it for a long time.

The four clarifiers, an essential part of the plants operation, are 43 years old, long past their life expectancy. The plant has been operating on thin ice, Lynch said.

The solar project aims to dramatically reduce energy costs at the plant, with a solar array to be installed on site.

Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants in the Georgia racketeering case have all pleaded not guilty and waived their right to an in-person arraignment that had been scheduled to take place this week. Trump and his allies are accused of illegally attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state.

The judge overseeing the case denied requests Wednesday from two of the 19 defendants to be tried alone. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled that lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell , who both filed demands for a speedy trial, would be tried together starting on Oct. 23.

Now the question is whether the remaining 17 defendants, including Trump, will also be tried together starting on that date, as requested by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

It just seems a bit unrealistic to think we can handle all 19 in 40 days. Thats my initial reaction, McAfee said at Wednesdays hearing. The judge indicated he would make a decision on when to try the rest of the defendants by next Thursday. Georgia prosecutors say they expect the trial to take four months, not including jury selection, and plan to call at least 150 witnesses.

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While some of the defendants have sought to speed up the trial, others, like former Trump campaign lawyer Ray Stallings Smith, have indicated they wont be ready to go to court in October. Some, like former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, are seeking a legal advantage by trying to move the case from state court to federal court.

The legal maneuvering that has begun in the three weeks since the indictment was returned underscores the logistical complexity inherent in such a sprawling indictment with so many defendants, the Associated Press reported.

The already elaborate case is expected to get only more complex as proceedings move forward. Heres where the 19 defendants stand so far:

Donald Trump, former U.S. president

Fulton County Sheriffs Office

Charges: 13 counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer

 Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer

 Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree

 Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings

 Conspiracy to commit filing false documents

 Filing false documents

 False statements and writings

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Trump filed a motion to sever his case from any co-defendant who wants a speedy trial; notified McAfee that he may seek to move his case to federal court; awaiting McAfees Fulton County trial schedule.

Government and campaign officials

Jeffrey Clark, former Justice Department official

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: Two counts

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Criminal attempt to commit false statements and writings

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones set a Sept. 18 hearing at the federal courthouse in Atlanta for Clarks bid to move his case from state court to federal court; awaiting McAfees trial schedule.

Misty Hampton, Coffee County elections supervisor

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: Seven counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Conspiracy to commit election fraud

 Conspiracy to commit computer theft

 Conspiracy to commit computer trespass

 Conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy

 Conspiracy to defraud the state

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Awaiting McAfees trial schedule

Mark Meadows, former White House chief of staff

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: Two counts

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Solicitation of violation of oath by public officer

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Meadows testified in court on Aug. 28 in an effort to move his case from state court to federal court. Judge Jones did not immediately rule on the request and is expected to make a decision soon. If he rules that Meadows can move his case to federal court, remaining defendants like Trump could potentially follow suit, which could upend Williss criminal case.

Michael Roman, Republican strategist

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: Seven counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer

 Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree

 Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings

 Conspiracy to commit filing false documents

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Awaiting McAfees trial schedule

Trumps legal team post-election

Kenneth Chesebro, attorney

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: Seven counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer

 Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree

 Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings

 Conspiracy to commit filing false documents

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: On Sept. 6, McAfee denied Chesebros request for his case to be severed from Sidney Powell's. He ruled that both defendants will be tried together starting Oct. 23 in response to their demands for a speedy trial.

John Eastman, Trumps former lawyer

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: Nine counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer

 Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer

 Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree

 Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings

 Conspiracy to commit filing false documents

 Filing false documents

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Eastman filed a motion to sever his case from any co-defendant who wants a speedy trial; awaiting McAfees trial schedule.

Jenna Ellis, attorney

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: Two counts:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Awaiting McAfees trial schedule

Rudy Giuliani, Trump's former personal lawyer

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: 13 counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer

 False statements and writings

 Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer

 Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree

 Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings

 Conspiracy to commit filing false documents

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Awaiting McAfees trial schedule

Sidney Powell, attorney

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: Seven counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Conspiracy to commit election fraud

 Conspiracy to commit computer theft

 Conspiracy to commit computer trespass

 Conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy

 Conspiracy to defraud the state

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: On Sept. 6, McAfee denied Powells request for her case to be severed from Kenneth Chesebro's. He ruled that both defendants will be tried together starting Oct. 23 in response to their demands for a speedy trial.

Ray Stallings Smith, attorney for Trumps 2020 campaign in Georgia

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: 12 counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer

 False statements and writings

 Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer

 Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree

 Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings

 Conspiracy to commit filing false documents

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Filed a motion for the court to sever the defendants into manageable groups and says he wont be prepared for an October trial; awaiting McAfees trial schedule.

Georgia operators and Trump supporters

Robert Cheeley, attorney based in Georgia

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: 10 counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer

 Conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree

 Conspiracy to commit false statements and writings

 Conspiracy to commit filing false documents

 Solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer

 False statements and writings

 Perjury

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Awaiting McAfees trial schedule

Harrison Floyd, Black Voices for Trump organizer

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: 3 counts

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings

 Influencing witnesses

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Awaiting McAfees trial schedule

Scott Hall, Fulton County GOP poll watcher

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: Seven counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Conspiracy to commit election fraud

 Conspiracy to commit computer theft

 Conspiracy to commit computer trespass

 Conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy

 Conspiracy to defraud the state

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Awaiting McAfees trial schedule

Trevian Kutti, publicist

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: 3 counts

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings

 Influencing witnesses

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Awaiting McAfees trial schedule

Stephen Lee, police chaplain

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: 5 counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Criminal attempt to commit influencing witnesses

 Conspiracy to commit solicitation of false statements and writings

 Influencing witnesses

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Awaiting McAfees trial schedule

Alleged participants in fake electors scheme

Cathleen Latham, Coffee County GOP chair

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: 11 counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Impersonating a public officer

 Forgery in the first degree

 False statements and writings

 Criminal attempt to commit filing false documents

 Conspiracy to commit election fraud

 Conspiracy to commit computer theft

 Conspiracy to commit computer trespass

 Conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy

 Conspiracy to defraud the state

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Judge Jones set a Sept. 20 hearing at the federal courthouse in Atlanta for Lathams effort to move her case from state court to federal court; awaiting McAfees trial schedule.

David Shafer, chairman of Georgia GOP

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: Eight counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Impersonating a public officer

 Forgery in the first degree

 False statements and writings

 Criminal attempt to commit filing false documents

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Jones set a Sept. 20 hearing at the federal courthouse in Atlanta for Shafers motion to move his case from state court to federal court; awaiting McAfees trial schedule.

Shawn Still, Georgia Republican state senator

Fulton County Sheriff's Office

Charges: Seven counts, including:

 Violation of the Georgia RICO Act

 Impersonating a public officer

 Forgery in the first degree

 False statements and writings

 Criminal attempt to commit filing false documents

Plea: Not guilty; waived in-person arraignment

Case status: Jones set a Sept. 18 hearing at the federal courthouse in Atlanta for Stills motion to move his case from state court to federal court; awaiting McAfees trial schedule.
The story of a Georgia inmate trying to have sheriffs deputy killed while behind bars has come to a close, with the inmate convicted.

The Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorneys Office announced Jonathan Taylor Lawrence was found guilty of conspiracy to commit malice murder of a sheriffs deputy in Troup County while in jail in 2020 for unrelated charges.

Now 31, Lawrence will serve more than 30 years in prison for the murder plot and other charges from the conspiracy.

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DA John Cranford, Jr. wrote in a statement that the Troup County inmate was at trial for a week and was convicted on Aug. 25.

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Originally, Lawrence was in custody due to an April 2020 traffic stop in Hogansville, where he was pulled over for a suspended registration, during which deputies found methamphetamine in a container inside the car.

At the time, Lawrence was already out on bond for an earlier arrest for possession of methamphetamine.

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While in jail and mid-COVID-19 pandemic, Lawrence was granted bond with numerous conditions for his April drug trafficking arrest, according to the DAs office.

After his bond was revoked by the state, Lawrence sent menacing and threatening messages to two people he believed were helping the state to prove that hed violated his bond agreement.

Back in jail by July 2020, a Troup County Sheriffs Office drug investigator, who was a deputy during Lawrences April arrest, testified about the inmates bond violations.

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A month later, another inmate told deputies that Lawrence had put a hit out on the drug investigator and was soliciting having the investigator killed, according to the DAs office.

The evidence admitted at trial suggests Lawrence took this investigators involvement particularly personally because they lived in the same neighborhood in Troup County, officials said.

The inmate who informed deputies of the murder plot was fit with a recording device and placed back in the cell he shared with Lawrence.

That same day, the DAs office said Lawrence was captured on an audio recording discussing the plot and describing the layout of the investigators neighborhood, as well as logistics and tactics that could be used to best carry out the hit. Lawrence even drew a map of the neighborhood for the plan.

On Aug. 31, 2020, the inmate and Lawrence called an undercover deputy posing as a hitman. In the call, which was recorded, Lawrence gave contact information for an associate of his who could make a down payment to cover the cost of the hit on the investigator who had drawn Lawrences ire.

Now, Lawrence has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit malice murder, threatening a witness in an official proceeding, and trafficking meth. Lawrence was also charged with criminal attempt to commit malice murder and another count of threatening a witness but was acquitted of those two charges.

A Coweta County Superior Court Judge sentenced Lawrence to 35 years in prison.

OTHER NEWS:
A Georgia man was arrested last week after a vehicle pursuit involving Hall County deputies.

On Aug. 6, a lookout was posted for an SUV driven by 52-year-old Russell Ray Hutchens of Habersham County that was traveling northbound on I-985.

The car was reported to be driving at erratic speeds and swerving across the roadway and into the median.

A Hall County deputy found the car driven by Hutchens and conducted a traffic stop at a BP gas station near White Sulphur Road.

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Deputies said that Hutchens could not provide a drivers license for the deputy, he was asked to get out of the car, but instead sped away.

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Two deputies began to follow Hutchens northbound on Ga. 365. Amid the chase, a deputy pulled in front of Hutchens vehicle in an attempt to slow him down by pulling in front of him, but instead, Hutchens accelerated and crashed into the patrol car.

Hutchens eventually lost control of his vehicle and crashed into the woodline near Whitehall Road.

He was ejected from his SUV and was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries.

TRENDING STORIES:

Hutchens faces the following charges:

Aggravated assault on a peace officer (two charges)

Speeding

Driving within a gore or media

Driving under the influence

No insurance

Driving while license suspended

Reckless driving

Driving with a suspended registration

Fleeing or attempting to elude

No safety belt

Failure to maintain lane

Hutchens remains in the Hall County Jail.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
A man is behind bars after officials say he threatened to kill his wife.

According to an arrest report obtained by Channel 2 Action News, on Aug. 20, deputies recieved reports of threats being made towards a woman at a home on Callier Road in Rome.

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The investigation revealed that Richard Bradley Harris threatened to kill his wife.

Harris explained to deputies that he told his wife that he would kill her if and when God told him to.

Authorities did not specify the circumstance surrounding the threat.

TRENDING STORIES:

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It is unclear as to whether or not Harris made similar threats in the past.

Harris was charged with terroristic threats and acts and booked into the Floyd County Jail.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
By Katharine Jackson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Georgia prosecutor in U.S. President Donald Trump 's case has accused a Republican congressman of interfering in a state criminal matter, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Thursday.

Fani Willis , the district attorney in Georgia's Fulton County, made the allegation in a letter to Representative Jim Jordan, a staunch Trump ally who heads the U.S. House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee, the newspaper reported.

Trump was indicted in Georgia last month on charges including conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Jordan announced a probe in an Aug. 24 letter to Willis in which he questioned her motivation in bringing the case, requested documents on her office's use of federal funds and asked whether she coordinated with the Justice Department.

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In her letter, which the newspaper published on its website, Willis said allegations that the prosecution is politically motivated were "unfounded" and that U.S. constitutional law permits her to ignore his requests.

"(There) is no justification in the Constitution for Congress to interfere with a state criminal matter," Willis wrote.

Representatives for Jordan and Willis did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump, 77, has been criminally charged in four cases this year, two of which were brought by U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith. He denies wrongdoing and calls the cases politically motivated.

Trump, the first former U.S. president ever to face charges, is the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination to face President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the 2024 U.S. election.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Additional reporting by Jasper Ward and David Morgan; Editing by Rami Ayyub and Cynthia Osterman)
Freshman state Sen. Colton Moore renewed his call Thursday for a special session of the General Assembly to investigate, defund, and potentially impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for pushing to indict former President Donald Trump .

I represent 200,000 hardworking Georgians in Northwest Georgia, Colton, R-Trenton, said during a news conference inside a legislative committee meeting room packed with sign-waving, T-shirt wearing supporters. They dont want their tax dollars funding this type of corruption in Georgia.

A Fulton grand jury indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants last month following a two-and-a-half-year investigation led by Willis into alleged attempts to overturn the results of Georgias 2020 presidential election.

The former president and his allies are accused of participating in a criminal conspiracy to award Georgias 16 electoral votes to incumbent Republican Trump after Democrat Joe Biden carried the Peach State. Those alleged efforts included a phone call in which Trump tried to pressure Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find 11,780 votes for Trump, one more than Bidens margin of victory.

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The alleged conspiracy also included organizing a meeting of fake Republican electors inside the Georgia Capitol to certify Trump the winner rather than Biden, spreading false allegations of election fraud during legislative hearings at the state Capitol, and attempting to intimidate two Fulton elections workers.

On Thursday, Moore characterized the activities of Trump and the other defendants as exercising their constitutional rights to free speech.

This is about basic fundamental First Amendment rights to question the results of an election, he said.

Moore took exception to Gov. Brian Kemp referring to him as a grifter last week during a news conference in which the governor said he would not call a special legislative session.

I havent seen anything illegal that [Willis has] done, Kemp said Aug. 31.

Moore also criticized his legislative colleagues for cowering rather than stepping up and demanding a special session. Thus far, only two other lawmakers have signed his petition calling for a special session.

The legislature has the sole power of the purse, to provide oversight, and  if appropriate  impeachment, added state Rep. Charlice Byrd, R-Woodstock, who also signed Moores petition.

Thursdays news conference was followed by a rally across the street from the Gold Dome at Liberty Plaza.
Ukraine has relied on its decades-old Gepard cannons to defend against Russian drones and missiles.

A new video published Thursday by the Ukrainian military shows the anti-aircraft guns in action.

Kyiv's Gepards have lacked sufficient ammunition but are slated to receive a huge firepower boost.

Cold War-era Gepard cannons have emerged as one of Ukraine's more effective weapons against Russian drones as Kyiv continues to battle Moscow's relentless aerial attacks, and a new video shows just how powerful these self-propelled anti-aircraft guns are in action.

The Ukrainian Air Force published footage to various social media channels on Thursday of a German-made Gepard engaging Iranian-made Shahed drones above the southern port city of Odesa, which has been a regular target of Russian strikes for several weeks as Moscow has ramped up attacks around the Black Sea area.

The shaky, 31-second video starts off by showing the Gepard's cannons rapidly fire at the sky in two separate bursts. An explosion can be seen in the distance, which is followed by a small fireball.

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An unidentified Ukrainian soldier can be heard exclaiming "Yes!" before the Gepard fires off another two bursts, which results in another small explosion and fireball in the sky. It's followed by another apparently positive remark by an unidentified Ukrainian soldier.

Ukrainian Air Force (@KpsZSU) September 7, 2023

Ukraine's air force did not specify what, exactly, was destroyed beyond just noting that the target was an enemy "Shahed." In a Facebook post, Kyiv's southern air command identified the targets as "Shahed-136/131," which are two different types of Iranian-made drones that Russia's military has used frequently in Ukraine.

The Shahed-136  an explosive loitering munition like the 131  first emerged in the skies above Ukraine around a year ago and has been a weapon of choice for Russian President Vladimir Putin's military, which uses these systems to terrorize Ukrainian cities and civilians and carry out attacks on the country's energy infrastructure.

Gepards, which were first developed in the 1960s, have proven to be very effective in downing these systems, as well as other low-altitude Russian drones and cruise missiles. These weapons  armed with two powerful automatic cannons that can fire 550 rounds a minute  are a crucial component of Ukraine's complex air-defense network because they're highly mobile and allow Kyiv to save its limited supply of expensive surface-to-air missiles for more difficult threats.

Romanian soldiers in a Gepard during an exercise at Bemowo Piskie Training Area in Poland on November 3, 2021. US Army/Pfc. Jacob Bradford

The first Gepards arrived on the battlefield last year, and Germany has since sent 46 of these weapons, with another six "in planning/in execution," according to a list of the country's military aid for Ukraine.

But despite their success in downing some of Russia's many different aerial threats, these systems have ultimately been bogged down by a lack of sufficient ammunition, because the only country that still made the ammo  Switzerland  refused to sell to Kyiv due to its neutrality.

However, Germany figured out how to produce more 35mm air-burst munitions for its Gepards. Rheinmetall AG, a German arms manufacturer, moved production in-country from Switzerland earlier this year after signing a contract to make and deliver 300,000 rounds to Ukraine  including shipping 40,000 by the end of 2023.

On Monday, the company said it finally sent the first batch of this new ammunition to Kyiv, and although it did not specify how many munitions were included, Germany's list of military aid was updated on Tuesday to reflect that an additional 10,080 rounds had been delivered for the Gepards.

Ukrainian servicemen operate a Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft gun during their combat shift, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv region, Ukraine June 30, 2023. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

The firepower boost for Ukraine's Gepards comes at a crucial moment. Russia has been increasing its domestic production of drones, which experts say will likely lead to bigger attacks on Ukrainian military and civilian targets in the coming months.

White House National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters last week that Russia continues to bombard Ukraine with missiles and drones because it can't securely fly aircraft into Ukrainian airspace. Because of this the Biden administration will continue to prioritize air-defense capabilities for Kyiv, he added. US NATO partners have also made air defense a priority.

The Pentagon announced two separate security assistance packages for Ukraine this week valued at up to $775 million and consisting of unspecified equipment to support Kyiv's air-defense operations. The packages also included 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds, depleted-uranium munitions for tanks, missiles and anti-armor capabilities, and ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.

Read the original article on Business Insider
(NewsNation)  Authorities are investigating a possible connection between accused Gilgo Beach Killer Rex Heuermann and a South Carolina woman who has been missing since 2017.

Julia Ann Bean, 37, was last seen alive on May 31, 2017, in Sumter, South Carolina, according to the Sumter County Sheriffs Office.

Investigators have been poring over the information they have recently received to determine if there is any evidence linking Bean with Heuermann, the Sumter County Sheriffs Office said in a press release this week. Yet there are no confirmed facts that confirm or deny the possibility of a connection.

That 70s Show actor Danny Masterson gets 30 years to life in prison

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South Carolina police asked the FBI to help investigate the possible connection after Beans daughter recently came forward saying her mother was last seen with a man resembling Heuermann, the sheriffs office said.

Beans daughter, Cameron, also said the unfamiliar man was driving a dark truck, the sheriffs office said. A truck similar to what she described was hauled from Heuermanns South Carolina home.

Investigators are interviewing individuals and looking into reports that she may have been seen with the Gilgo suspect.

Miss Bean may have a connection with the serial killer in New York, Rex Heuermann, sheriffs office spokesman Mark Bordeaux recently told local news outlet WLTX. Its still unclear, but theres enough hope that our investigators are doggedly pursuing an answer.

Masked suspects shoot at van during planned robbery on Colorado highway, investigators say

Heuermann, a New York City architect, has been arrested in connection with three of the 10 victims linked in the Gilgo Beach murders in New York.

The bodies of Milissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello were discovered along Ocean Parkway on Long Island in December 2010.

Heuermann is also the prime suspect in the death of Maureen Brainard Barnes, who disappeared in 2007.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
The conservative-leaning Goldwater Institute filed a lawsuit in the state Supreme Court this week on behalf of four clients who are calling on the secretary of state to include Arizona Court of Appeals judges in statewide retention elections.

They say the existing system disenfranchises some voters because it dilutes the relative weight of votes in certain places but concentrates power in others.

Appeals Court judges weigh issues of statewide importance, but, as the complaint states, "they sit for retention elections in limited geographic areas based on the judges county of residence."

Arizona's appeals courts are divided into two regional divisions and each bench considers appeals to verdicts in lawsuits and prosecutions, sentencing and other matters.

Retired Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Gould stands for a portrait outside the Arizona Supreme Court building in Phoenix on April 23, 2021.

Goldwater Institute special counsel and former Arizona Supreme Court Justice Andrew Gould submitted a petition for special action on Wednesday asking his former colleagues to declare the current retention mechanism in state law for appeals court judges to be unconstitutional.

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"Specifically, the statute excluding participation in retention elections  prevents equal elections in the state by denying all Arizona voters the right to vote on the retention of many Court of Appeals judges withjurisdiction over them, and who issue binding statewide decisions," Gould wrote. The result, he argued, is a disenfranchisement of electors.

Gould noted that all Arizona voters participate in retention votes for State Supreme Court justices, regardless of their county of residence.

Voters in each county are also asked to retain judges from their respective superior courts, the main trial courts in Arizona. Last November, Maricopa County voters removed an unprecedented three superior court judges.

In the Goldwater Institute case, one of the named plaintiffs, Bonnie Knight of Yuma County, said she wished to vote on the retention of Court of Appeals judges on a statewide basis.

"Even though judges from Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Cochise, Gila, Santa Cruz, Graham, and Greenlee Counties issue decisions that have binding precedential value throughout the state," Knight wrote, "I cannot vote on the retention of those judges."

The Secretary of State's Office did not immediately return a request for comment Tuesday evening.

Erin Scharff, Professor of Law at the ASU Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, said the judicial retention system allows for a balanced approach to the selection of judges.

"We want some degree of judges not being in the political fray, the way you might see if they were directly elected, and some accountability to the people," Scharff said. "And a system in which there is both appointment and retention offers that path."

Scharff said the next step in the process will be for the state supreme court to decide whether to take the case.

"If they do," Scharff said, "the state Supreme Court's going to have to figure out whether this statute that the legislature designed for judicial elections comports with the state constitution."

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Lawsuit aims to put court judge retention votes to all Arizona
A Milwaukee man was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison after he admitted shooting at an Indiana State Trooper, then jumping in the Grand Calumet River.

At the time, Carlos Santiago Pagan, now 39, was fleeing from Milwaukee where he was a suspect in a murder, Deputy Prosecutor Keith Anderson said. After he gets out of prison, he will be extradited to Wisconsin for the murder case

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Santiago pleaded guilty July 24 in Lake County, Indiana to attempted battery, a level 5 felony, court records show. He was originally charged with multiple felonies, including attempted murder. Anderson said they couldnt prove intent to kill.

Santiagos lawyer Roseann Ivanovich said he had one prior felony and 13 misdemeanors. Most were drug-related, and he had struggled with substance abuse since age 13, she said.

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He was very remorseful about what happened, Ivanovich said.

She asked for up to three years in prison.

Anderson said Santiago got a great benefit  i.e. a big break on prison time  by signing the plea. An aggravated sentence was appropriate, because he shot at a police officer, the prosecutor said. He asked for four years.

Santiago apologized in court, but said he didnt remember most of what happened, adding he was on drugs, including heroin and fentanyl.

I didnt know what I was doing at that point, really, he said. Im sorry for what happened.

Your past record doesnt have a history of violence, Judge Salvador Vasquez told him. That being said, if he killed a police officer, the prosecutors office might have gone for the death penalty.

Luckily, no one was hurt, Vasquez said.

The aggravating factor was shooting at the police officer, who was just doing his job.

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An Indiana State Trooper approached a disabled 1993 Ford Escort, which had no license plate, on the Indiana Toll Road between Cline and Calumet Avenues at 4:20 p.m. on June 27, 2022. Santiago took off. The trooper chased him for seven miles east before calling off the pursuit.

During the chase, Santiago appeared to flash a handgun and fire a shot toward the officer, charges state. Santiago crashed into another car about two miles east, just before the Grant Street exit, then fled on foot with a gun.

By 7 p.m, troopers found him nearby on the toll roads north side. He was naked with a gun and injecting himself with a syringe, the affidavit states. Santiago then waded into the Grand Calumet River, ignoring their commands to swim back to the bank, before he got out of the river.

His car was stolen from a Milwaukee homicide victim killed on June 24, 2022, the affidavit states.
President Joe Biden, left, walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at St. Michaels Golden-Domed Cathedral during an unannounced visit, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 20.

President Joe Biden , left, walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at St. Michaels Golden-Domed Cathedral during an unannounced visit, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. 20.

As Republicans argue about whether and how much to appease Russian dictator Vladimir Putin , President Joe Biden is drawing an early contrast with a campaign ad showcasing his unprecedented visit to an active war zone to support the target of Putins invasion, Ukraine.

He entered Ukraine under the cover of night. And in the morning, Joe Biden walked shoulder to shoulder with our allies in the war-torn streets, the narrator of the one-minute spot says. Standing up for democracy in a place where a tyrant is waging war to take it away.

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Using footage from news coverage, the ad shows clips of the devastation in Ukraine from Putins assault mixed with scenes of Bidens February visit with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the streets of Kiev.

In the middle of a war zone, Joe Biden showed the world what America is made of, the narrator says. Thats the quiet strength of a true leader, who doesnt back down to a dictator.

The ad will run during CBSs 60 Minutes program Sunday night in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin  six states with narrow presidential election margins in 2020 and which are all expected to be closely contested again next year. The ad is part of a $25 million wave of early advertising the Biden campaign previously announced.

It declined to reveal how much was spent specifically on this ad. However, a minute-long spot on the popular news show in those markets likely has a price tag in the six figures.

Its a good theme for us, said one campaign official on condition of anonymity, adding that the contrast with Republicans  none of whom is ever mentioned in the ad  is obvious. Its an extreme position to take to be on the side of a dictator rather than democracy.

Former President Donald Trump , who himself attempted a coup to remain in office after losing the 2020 election to Biden, immediately after Putins 2022 invasion labeled him a genius for having done so. That pro-Putin stance has been adopted, by varying degrees, by others in the 2024 GOP presidential field.

While former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have all said that the United States needs to help Ukraine beat back the Russian invasion, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott have both hedged. Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has been the most Putin-friendly, saying he would let Russia keep some of the territory it has taken by force and would also promise that Ukraine would never be allowed to join NATO.

Europe needs to step up. I mean, I would have Europe step up and do their job, DeSantis said in the Aug. 23 GOP debate in Milwaukee when the candidates were asked if they would support sending more money and weapons to Ukraine should they win.

The split among the 2024 candidates reflects one among Republican primary voters generally, with some believing that what happens in Ukraine is irrelevant and others openly siding with Putin. DeSantis previously had called Russias invasion a territorial dispute that was of little concern to the United States. Scott has said he would focus on the U.S. border with Mexico, rather than the Russia-Ukraine border.

While the MAGA Republicans running for president have sided with dictators over democracy, President Biden rallied the West in the wake of Russias unjustified invasion of Ukraine and has shown time and again that America under his leadership will always be a beacon of democracy, Biden campaign chair Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. As President Biden heads to the G20, this ad shows the American people how a true president stands up to bullies like Vladimir Putin, instead of coddling them.

Trump has for years been bragging about his own bravery for visiting a U.S. base in Iraq over Christmas in 2018  even though the previous presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, had made 11 such trips to Iraq and Afghanistan over the course of their combined four terms in office.

They not only turned off the lights, they put down the shades. It was so dark, Trump told an audience of New Hampshire Republicans earlier this year, describing Air Force 1s lights-out descent into Al Asad Air Base to avoid being detected. I wanted to see whether or not I could award myself as president the Congressional Medal of Honor.

But nothing in modern U.S. history matches what Biden did. Bush, Obama and Trump all went to installations under the control of the U.S. military. Biden, in contrast, traveled to a country and a city under daily assault by Russian troops, airplanes and missiles.
A controversial effort by North Carolina Republicans to sign off on the development of up to four new casinos in the state drew rare rebukes from prominent national conservatives on Thursday.

The Conservative Political Action Conference, which hosts major conservative speakers and elected officials every year, weighed in on the Republican proposal, posting on social media that there had been lots of troubling reports of backroom deals and arm twisting coming out of North Carolina.

A full-scale expansion of gaming, including video terminals and new casinos, is being wedged into a budget bill that was supposed to be about tax cuts for the people of the state, CPAC posted on Twitter. Transparency is dying in the darkness.

The post went on to urge members of the House Freedom Caucus to stand strong and hold the line.

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Donald Trump Jr. shared the post by CPAC, calling the proposal to include casinos in the budget outrageous.

Shady back room deals and crony capitalism are not the path to #MAGA! Trump said.

The attention CPAC and Trump drew to the proposal from their national audiences came as some local constituents of top Republicans who have been trying to build support for the opening of new casinos continue to oppose the plan and urge the rest of the House Republican Caucus to reject it.

On Tuesday, as House Republicans met for more than three hours to discuss the casino proposal, a group of residents from Rockingham and Nash counties  two of the four counties that could host new casinos if the bill goes through  traveled to Raleigh to meet with lawmakers and ask them not to support the plan.

After the caucus meeting, House Speaker Tim Moore told reporters that GOP leaders were still trying to determine if the proposal had support from at least 50% of the 72-member caucus. Without that, Moore said, the proposal wouldnt be included in the budget.

Some Republicans in the caucus have not been reluctant to voice their opposition.

Rep. Neal Jackson, a pastor who represents Moore and Randolph counties, has said multiple times in recent days he is against expanding casinos, writing on social media that more casinos would place a heavier burden on law enforcement and introduce other problems like more crime, addiction, and sex trafficking.

Senate leader Phil Berger, who represents Rockingham County, has continued to indicate that if the proposal is to move forward, itll have to be added to the budget.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday morning, Berger reiterated that a standalone bill approving new casinos is not likely to advance on its own, according to CBS 17.
Gov. Hochul said Thursday that she is entertaining the possibility of calling lawmakers back to Albany for a special session to address the citys migrant crisis.

Im entertaining all of our options right now  were working closely with [Mayor Adams] to resolve this, Hochul, a Democrat, said at a news conference in Albany.

Hochul has previously called the Legislature back from vacation to address gun safety and abortion protections. But her remarks Thursday, with the next session months away, marked her strongest public suggestion she might convene an extraordinary session on migrants.

For weeks, the governor has been under pressure from Adams, a Democrat, to unlock more resources for the city, which has been strained by the arrival of more than 100,000 asylum seekers since spring 2022.

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And last week, Republican state lawmakers issued a letter calling for a special session on the migrant surge.

Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, a Lockport Republican, said in a statement Thursday that Hochul should be doing more than entertaining the idea of a special session  as we have urged, she should call the Legislature back.

It is unclear what issues might animate a special session. Some of the Republicans migrant demands, including a declaration that New York is not a sanctuary state, might be nonstarters in the left-leaning Legislature. Hochul on Thursday rejected the demand.

And upstate and suburban lawmakers of both parties may be wary of some of the mayors aims, which include forcing more areas of the state to welcome migrants, and securing more taxpayer money from the state government, which has already pledged about $1.5 billion to help the city with the surge.

Adams has not explicitly called for a special session. Last week, he said, the governor and our leaders up there will determine how to get the resources to us  the governor has been a partner.

On Thursday, an ally of the mayor, Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar, introduced bills that would ban upstate and suburban municipalities from refusing to welcome asylum seekers and establish a statewide migrant coordinator.

It is time for New York State to lead a statewide response as New York City faces one of the greatest humanitarian crises in its history, Rajkumar, a Queens Democrat, said in a statement.

The city has projected the challenge could cost the city $12 billion by 2025. Adams said Wednesday that the issue will destroy New York City.

In their letter last week, Republicans in the Legislature called for a session addressing a laundry list of requests, including steps to limit the locations where migrants can be sheltered and to ensure an audit of spending on humanitarian aid.

With the lack of appropriate action coming from Washington, D.C., and little reason to believe immediate help is on the way, the duly elected representatives of New York have a responsibility to take matters into their own hands, said the letter.

Assemblyman Will Barclay, an Oswego Republican and the minority leader, acknowledged in an interview last week that a special session could go in a different direction than his party hopes, but said Democrats seem divided on the issue.

A lot of my colleagues on their side of the aisle are trying to have it both ways: They support a sanctuary state, they support a sanctuary city, they supported more money in the budget, he said. But now when theres a pushback from their constituencies, some are having a change of heart.

Hochul and Adams have blamed the White House for the crisis, and have urged faster federal work permitting for asylum seekers who have flooded into a network of about 200 shelters that the city has built over the last year to accommodate them.

Hochul said Thursday that expedited work permits could allow migrants to legally begin to fill some 5,000 farm jobs upstate.

The mayor and the governor  whose administrations have engaged in several rounds of sniping and recriminations in a Manhattan court proceeding centered on government responsibilities to the arrivals  also appear keenly aware of the potential peril the situation poses for their party going into the 2024 elections.

With the public souring on Democrats handling of the migrant crisis, Republicans have begun to seize on the issue.

I dont define our challenges as political or not political; we have to do whats right, the governor insisted Thursday. These are individuals who came here legally, seeking asylum.

She described the migrant crisis as a challenge for all of us, though she has not acceded to Adams calls for an executive order overruling county-level orders meant to block city-financed transfers of migrants upstate.

This spring, the city embarked upon a controversial, trouble-plagued program intended to bus migrants outside of the city.

The program has been hampered by a wave of litigation and local orders stopping the buses. But the city has continued to send migrants to Democratic-led cities like Albany. About 2,000 migrants are currently living upstate through the program, according to Adams office.

Hochul has critiqued some of the transfers, and her office has suggested state officials are focused on moving the migrants to places where they would be welcome and could thrive. But it seems certain that forced transfers could also pose political headaches for the governor and damage Democrats going into 2024.

Hochul said Thursday that she was encouraging GOP Congress members from New York to push House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, to call a session to reform the nations immigration laws and give more money to New York.

They dont come to this with clean hands, Hochul said of House Republicans who have hammered Democrats on the issue. They should get back to session and do their jobs as well.
WASHINGTON  While the House has yet to come back into session from its weeks-long summer break, the Senate, which returned Tuesday, has a gloomy outlook on Congress' odds of avoiding a government shutdown.

Im convinced its happening, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., told reporters Wednesday, pointing to House conservatives who have downplayed the effects of a shutdown on Americans. I just think theres too many people that think theres some benefit in that.

Government shutdowns play out differently, but they can have wide-ranging impacts from recipients of food assistance programs seeing delays to federal employees being furloughed.

Senators have been approaching the process of keeping the government funded on a mostly bipartisan basis. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced Wednesday at a weekly press conference the upper chamber would vote next week on three out of the 12 appropriations bills needed to avert a shutdown, praising both Senate Democrats and Republicans for moving swiftly on the process.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., joined at left by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Democratic whip, takes question from reporters after a closed-door Democratic strategy meeting, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023.

On the other hand, Schumer urged the House to follow in the Senates footsteps to avoid a shutdown.

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When the House returns next week, I implore, I beg my House Republican colleagues to follow the Senates lead, to recognize that time is short, and the only way to avoid a shutdown is through bipartisanship in both the House and Senate, Schumer said.

Ultra-conservative lawmakers draw hard lines on government shutdown

When the House comes back into session next Tuesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has a daunting task ahead of him: wrangling his narrow four-seat GOP majority to pass a temporary spending bill  called a continuing resolution  to avoid a shutdown by Sept. 30.

But McCarthys right flank from the House Freedom Caucus, a loose coalition of the most conservative lawmakers, have drawn hard lines on government spending.

I think it would be fair to say that (House Republicans) are having a spirited debate over there, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told USA TODAY Wednesday.

Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., gestures to the Capitol during a news conference with members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, about the debt limit deal, Tuesday, May 30, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) ORG XMIT: DCJM107

The caucus took an official position in August, saying in a statement it will oppose any spending measure that fails to include more security on the southern border, end what the group alleges is unprecedented weaponization of the Department of Justice and take down woke policies" in the Pentagon. The demands reflect a range of conservative lawmakers' grievances in Washington, from the criminal indictments against former President Donald Trump to the Department of Defense's policies surrounding abortion.

I think that we should be trying to get a good bill, and we should be trying to employ whatever tactics necessary to get that bill, and well see where that ultimately leads, Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, told reporters Wednesday when asked if he shares the same views of House Freedom Caucus members.

Those demands have virtually zero chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate or even passing with full GOP support in the House. If McCarthy cant reconcile the differences between his right flank and more moderate members in the GOP conference, the government could be on the path towards a shutdown.

I'm concerned that the hostage takers and (hard-right) extremists on the Republican side in the House may take us to the brink of a shutdown, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told USA TODAY.

Other GOP senators, though, share similar sentiments with House conservatives on cutting government spending. However, they still believe any funding deal to avert a shutdown will have to come to a middle ground between the House and Senates spending proposals.

All those votes are meaningless, and everybody knows it. What counts is what comes out of that conference committee," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters Wednesday. He said the only way to avert a shutdown is an agreement between the House and Senate.

The House is a raucous place and some people like government shutdowns, so well see, Cramer said.

Government shutdown this fall? Americans anxious about possibility

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to reporters outside the Speakers Balcony at the U.S. Capitol Building on July 25, 2023 in Washington, DC.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is the government going to shut down? Hardline Republicans demand cuts
Gov. Andy Beshear spoke at the Fancy Farm picnic in Graves County in August.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP)  Looking to close its digital divide, Kentucky will use a $386 million investment to expand access to high-speed internet to more than 42,600 homes and businesses, Gov. Andy Beshear said Tuesday.

It amounts to a record investment of broadband money for Kentucky, a combination of public and private sector funds that will be spread broadly among 46 counties, Beshear said. It's the next phase of a bipartisan policy goal to connect every Kentucky home and business to reliable, high-speed internet.

High-speed internet is no longer a luxury," the Democratic governor said at a news conference. "It is an absolute infrastructure necessity.

Kentucky policymakers are pursuing a long-term effort to connect areas with no internet access or chronically slow service. The persistent lack of access in some parts of the state was laid bare during the COVID-19 pandemic, when remote work and schooling were hampered by significant gaps in connectivity.

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The latest round of funding shows the GOP-led legislature's goal of expanding broadband access is within reach, said Republican House Speaker David Osborne. He pointed to legislative initiatives that created and funded the Kentucky Broadband Deployment Fund and Office of Broadband Development.

"While todays announcement is a step in the right direction, a great deal of work remains to be done before Kentuckians across the commonwealth have access to high-speed internet, Osborne said in a statement after the governor's announcement.

The broadband awards are the result of a 2021 agreement between lawmakers and the governor to use $300 million of federal pandemic relief funds to extend broadband service.

In mid-2022, the governor announced the first round of awards from the state's broadband deployment fund, totaling $89.1 million. Combined with matching funds, more than $203 million was committed to ensure access for more than 34,000 families and businesses, the governor's office said.

On Tuesday, the governor awarded 56 grants totaling more than $196 million in public funds from the broadband deployment fund. Internet service providers receiving grant funding will contribute more than $190 million in matching funds.

Beshear said there are even bigger days to come in the state's broadband expansion work, pointing to a nearly $1.1 billion federal grant that the state secured this year. It will amount to the largest public investment in high-speed internet in the states history, the governor's office said. Beshear said he hopes the state can draw down the first $200 million from that amount by years end.

It's all part of a transformative push to achieve universal, reliable internet access statewide, he said.

Were talking about access everywhere," Beshear said. "It doesnt mean universal access except where its difficult, or except where the terrain is tough. Our goal is high-speed internet to everyone. No exceptions.

Internet, streaming in KY: ESPN, Disney channels go dark for Spectrum customers in Kentucky

Louisville food, business news: This popular burger spot in Schnitzelburg abruptly closes after 3 years in business

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Gov. Beshear talks high-speed internet expansion plan for KY residents
(Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy came under mounting pressure from a grassroots anti-corruption campaign demanding that he block new legislation on asset declarations for public officials.

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The campaign, spearheaded by an injured solider recovering in a military hospital, says the new requirements are inadequate because they withhold declarations from the public for a year, citing security reasons. The petition by the soldier, former Health Ministry official Oleksandr Yabchanka, gathered the required 25,000 signatures within three hours.

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The draft law deprives the public and journalists of a tool to control activities of officials  and of the main preventive measure against corruption during the war, according to the text of the petition posted on the presidential website.

The public outrage underscores a deepening sensitivity to corruption as the Ukrainian public supports troops on the frontline. Zelenskiy this week replaced his defense minister following allegations of graft in public procurement. Last month, he fired all of the militarys draft officers after accusations of sleaze had come to light.

Electronic asset declarations were frozen after Russias invasion on security concerns. Restoring them is a demand by international creditors, including the International Monetary Fund, and a condition to obtain visa-free travel in the European Union. Global donors who have championed Ukraines integration into Western institutions have taken a close look at corruption, which has been endemic in the country.

The yearlong delay of the asset declaration, a tool used widely by journalists in Ukraine investigating graft, drew immediate scrutiny from anti-corruption groups. Yabchankas petition secured well over 60,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon in Kyiv.

The president has to decide whether the declarations will be made open now or they will remain closed for many years, Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of the Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Action Center, said on Facebook.

Ukraines parliament backed the legislation in its final reading on Tuesday. Zelenskiy, himself elected to office in 2019 on a campaign to rid the nation of corruption, has 15 days to decide whether to sign it into law.

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Mall patrons and art lovers walk through the colorful display at the edge of Aventura Mall, stopping to peruse the oversized display of handcrafted papier-mache wall hangings, wearable art and one-of-a-kind handbags.

Lured by the vibrancy and craftsmanship, they walk around, examining the pieces, curious to know more while peppering the designers with questions as they decide whether to make a purchase.

For Magalie Noel Dresse, the founder of Haiti-based Caribbean Craft and the visionary behind Window of Hope, this isnt just an arts and craft showcase. Its a window, she hopes, that will help revive a once-thriving Haiti sector that in just over a dozen years has been slammed by earthquakes, political and government paralysis, misfortune and, now, armed gang violence.

Take 2019, for example when major U.S. airlines canceled flights to Haiti, the port was shut down for three months and American companies withdrew from Haiti, giving up on those who once supplied them with Christmas ornaments, wall decors and more.

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Dresse had spent nine years rebuilding her business and brand after the devastating 2010 earthquake. She once welcomed figures such as former President Bill Clinton and American designer Donna Karan to her factory near the Port-au-Prince international airport. As they walked the floor, they touted Haitis rebuilding and resiliency, showcasing the mostly female workers making hand-made papier-mache elephant heads that once graced the aisles of Anthropologie.

But the nearly three-month lockdown of the country, followed by a fire during an anti-government protest, nearly destroyed it all.

My company lost all of the accounts that we had opened and built for years, she said. I had the choice to either shut down or invent a new way to have a presence in the market.

That reinvention is Window of Hope, an ongoing showcase of Haitian art and designs currently at Aventura Mall near Bloomingdales. The exhibit and shop will be up until Sunday and then it will be back at Green Space Miami, for its fifth edition on Sept. 16-24.

The concept kicked off earlier this year at the Miami art gallery, which promotes Haitian artists and works. At Green Space Miami, visitors will not only get to enjoy the arts and crafts, which are for sale, but participate in roundtable conversations about Haiti, and how the countrys ongoing gang crisis is affecting artisans, designers and the country as a whole.

The whole idea is to build an alliance of people who are in the same sector and who are facing the same problems, who can just build trust with each other and have a collective message, which is if we support the sector, we can go back in and keep this alive said Dresse.

In addition to Green Space Miami and Aventura Mall, the designers have exhibited in North Miami. Dresse says her vision is to take the concept to other major U.S. cities and other countries in the region where there is a growing Haitian population and interest in what is happening in the Caribbean nation.

Though sales have slow at Aventura Mall, where people are used to sellers setting up in kiosks and at tables, Dresse said the feedback has been positive.

People are just very happy. Theyre pleased and theyre blown away by the quality of the items, she said. People are not only curious, but from the Haitian community, people are also very proud that they are seeing such an alliance coming to life.

Claudia Apaid, one of the 14 exhibitors who with one exception are all women, said it has been encouraging to see people, even if they are not purchasing, feel so proud to see Haiti represented in such a beautiful way.

There is just so much negative right now with Haiti, said the Haitian-American artist, whose creations include mixed media work of arts, precious stones and metals and hand-stitched embroidery bags. This has everything: passion, purpose; its putting something positive out there on Haiti because where there is darkness, its so important to shed light.

The alliance is an opportunity, Apaid said, to not only be part of a space of artists, but to lean on one another as they seek out new avenues for their expression and promotion of Haitian culture.

We artists, we are the dreamers, we are the ones who pass the stories, the culture so we have to stay in the light, she said. We have to project ourselves, so we can share that. This is a positive initiative and I hope we can take it global.

Another designer whose creations are on display and for sale is Phelicia Dell. A well-known handbag designer, Dell has been promoting her one-of-a-kind VEVE Collections handbags in the Miami market for the last two years now. On Sunday, she took delight in telling the story about her inspiration and the female workers in Haiti who rely on her sales to put food on their table.

Its a great opportunity to be here in Aventura Mall, considered to be one of the best destination to shop in Miami, said Dell, whose boutique in Port-au-Prince has been closed for the past two years. We are heavily relying on our sales to keep our artisans at work back in Haiti.

Dresse said while every sector in Haiti is suffering, the artisans have been hit especially hard. Even before the 2010 earthquake turned factories into rubble and killed many workers, the sector was already seeing funding cuts from donors who preferred to promote large T-shirt factories over workshops that promoted handicraft.

The reason why we call it the Window of Hope is because if we dont find this new way of approaching the market, we will just have to shut down and thats what we dont want to do, she said. We want to fight differently, we want to do things differently and we want to step out into the world because nobody is coming down to us anymore.

Following the earthquake, donors promised billions to help Haiti rebuild, and while designers like Donna Karan took an interest in the sector, placing Haitian products in major department stores like Macys, the interest was short-lived, leaving Haitian artists to go at it alone.

In the wake of the political paralysis and now the gang violence, designers have had to get more creative, moving out of the capital and further to the center, designing via Zoom with workers in country and relying on various ways to export their products.

Apaid said the slowdown in production has meant focusing more on the selling aspect than the designing. Her products range in price from a newly launched gift collection with items under $20 to a high-end art piece selling for $21,000.

Her pieces, she said, are an opportunity to discuss Haitis culture, intertwined between its rich Taino Indian and African heritage and the goddesses of its Vodou realm. She uses a lot of crystals, for example, and promotes healing properties, Apaid said, noting that all of her bags are one-of-a-kind hand-beaded and embroidered pieces.

Its a labor of love, she said.

Dresse added that in addition to showcasing Haitis culture, Window of Hope showcases Haitis inclusion.

We are all shape, size, colors and we are all Haitian women, she said. I want people to look at us and say, Theyre all women but theyre from blonde to dark skin. But were all Haitian from all social categories.
A Lake County Sheriff helicopter hovers above Lake Michigan as local authorities and dive team members search the waters at the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk on Monday, August 17, 2020, for the body of a 16-year-old Chicago resident who went missing on Sunday. (Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune)

Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez Jr. is looking to replace a high-tech search and rescue spotlight and corresponding software in the departments newest helicopter.

The equipment comes with about a $500,000 price tag, which Police Chief Vince Balbo said the department has on hand in the sheriffs sale fund for the purchase. He asked the county council during its work session Thursday to approve the appropriation so they can go forward with the purchase.

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Its a typical piece of equipment we use to find victims in searches, Balbo said. The search light is used both on land and on the water to search for missing victims and suspects who may be on foot.

Balbo said the department cannot go out for quotes to get a better price on the equipment because there are no other manufacturers making a comparable item.

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This is a sole source purchase, Balbo said. The searchlight is made specifically for law enforcement and the military and there is only one manufacturer making the light and software.

According to an informational sheet provided by Balbo, the department is looking to purchase a TLX Searchlight from Trakka Systems of Brandenton, Florida. The system has a superior beam profile and multi-mission functionality, according to the description, along with Trakkas in-house developed moving map software with augmented reality.

Councilman Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, said it is hard to believe that the helicopter is 15 years old. He said the purchase seems like yesterday.

The Lake County Sheriffs Department purchased an American Eurocopter EC-120 in 2009 with the help of federal funding. It was the first new helicopter purchased by the department, which also has three older helicopters including a Vietnam-era chopper.

The EC-120 underwent its 12-year required inspection by the Federal Aviation Administration in 2021. At the time more than $80,000 in maintenance work was identified and completed.

The Lake County Council will consider the appropriation at its regular Tuesday meeting.
While another Stanislaus County city lays claim to the slogan City of Action, its southern neighbor Ceres seems to be vying for the title as construction on several projects continues apace.

The largest of the developments is the Ceres Gateway Center, where work has been underway nonstop for more than a year. The retail project across from the new Walmart Superstore already has several open restaurants and other businesses. Work is also steaming ahead on a handful of others, including a large hotel.

Four additions will join the existing In-N-Out, Chipotle and Ono Hawaiian BBQ at the intersection of Mitchell and Service roads. A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Tractor Supply and Union 76 gas station are in various stages of completion, said Ceres Economic Development/Redevelopment Manager Tamra Spade. On the propertys western edge, the large Woodspring Suites also is taking shape.

The extended-stay brand is building a 122-room, four-story hotel on the site that will loom over the other businesses and hopefully attract travelers to the citys newly beefed-up southern retail district. Work began earlier this year on the 51,600-square-foot project and is on track to open as early as March.

Woodspring Suites is under construction at the Gateway Center in Ceres, Calif.

Meanwhile, the Popeyes is the furthest along of the other builds and is expected to open later this month. Following that will be Tractor Supply, which is projected to open by Thanksgiving. The Union 76 gas station, which will include a convenience store and drive-thru restaurant chain, does not have a target completion date yet, Spade said.

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After those projects are completed, Ceres Gateway will have only one more available pad to lease. Spade said she expects the remaining space, just south of the Union 76 fuel station and near the freeway, to be filled by another drive-thru restaurant.

Drive a little farther north into the city and youll find the former Rancho San Miguel supermarket space on Hatch Road getting close to welcoming guests inside again. The Latino grocery chain closed is doors in the summer of 2019, and its 63,000-square-foot building has been empty since. But last fall, it was announced that national discount chains Grocery Outlet and Big Lots are going to split the space in two and open on their respective sides.

Grocery Outlet is about to open, with a grand opening and ribbon-cutting celebration scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 14. The discount chain takes up about 24,000 square feet of the space. Filling the other approximately 38,000 square feet will be Big Lots. The low-cost retailer is expected to open soon as well, by early October at the latest. But Spade said an official opening date has not yet been announced.

New Grocery Outlet on Hatch Road in Ceres, Calif., Wednesday, September 6, 2023. The market is about to open, with a grand opening and ribbon-cutting celebration scheduled for 10 a.m. Sept. 14.

Nearby, also on Hatch, work continues to transform the former Kmart into a Public Storage facility. Two eateries attached to the redevelopment plan for the site opened earlier this year. Both Dutch Bros Coffee and Raising Canes Chicken Fingers are now operating out of new construction fronting Hatch.

Plans have also been approved for a Beyond Foods Mart service and gas station, which is now in the development stage with building permits submitted, Spade said. The Public Storage conversion is in plan check, so no timeline is available for work or completion yet.

And finally, Ceres car owners will have three OReillys Auto Parts to choose from in the not-too-distant future. The Ceres Planning Commission approved preliminary plans to build a store on East Whitmore Avenue, on a vacant plot next to an existing Dollar General.

The auto parts dealer plans to construct a roughly 7,500-square-foot building on the site, which will join stores the national chain already has in central Ceres on Hatch Road and in the eastern part of town on Mitchell Road. The west-side addition is in the planning phase right now, with no ETA for opening. Ceres Community Development Director Christopher Hoem said he expects the other OReillys locations to remain open once the third site is completed.

Dutch Bros Coffee on Hatch Road in Ceres, Calif., Wednesday, September 6, 2023.

Popeyes restaurant is under construction at Ceres Gateway center in Ceres, Calif., Tuesday, August 29, 2023.
Harlequin Productions The Revolutionists, opening Sept. 8, is a comedy that includes beheadings, a play within a play, a play with historical characters and thoroughly modern sensibilities.

Its got this wonderful anachronism, said director Lauren Love, South Puget Sound Community Colleges drama professor. Its set in the Reign of Terror in 1793 in Paris. Its also very unabashedly contemporary. It has a lot of fun with the tension between what you might expect from a period piece and this wonderful energy that comes from the characters contemporary language and attitudes.

In other words, theres a lot going on in playwright Lauren Gundersons 2018 feminist comedy, a show summed up as wonderfully wild and raucous by Cincinnati Enquirer critic David Lyman.

Marie Antoinette , played by Harlequin regular and marketing manager Helen Harvester, is by far the best-known of the historical figures in Gundersons four-woman show. Shes also the most elaborately costumed and coiffed.

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This Marie Antoinette is essentially the comic relief character, so she is very, very fun, Harvester said. The characters speak in present-day vernacular, which acts to free us up and not worry as much about faithfully playing a real historical person. My Marie Antoinette is the Marie of Gundersons imagining: a quicksilver, impulsive character whose mind changes in an instant, sometimes mid-sentence. Shes happy; shes sad; shes generous; shes selfish; shes a Queen; shes a citizen. Shes a mess.

Antoinette (no longer queen), Haitian rebel Marianne Angelle (Amanda Kemp, previously seen in 2019s The Women) and assassin Charlotte Corday (Victoria Austin, making her Harlequin debut) all come seeking help or advice from playwright Olympe De Gouge (Angela DiMarco, last seen as the mob-connected femme fatale in Building Madness).

The four hang out and comment on the state of society, which sounds not really all that dissimilar to the state of American society right now, beheadings aside. Its something about which Gunderson, who often mines history to make relevant points, has a lot to say.

It seems as if she asked herself the question: If you could have dinner with four people from the past, who would they be?  Kelundra Smith wrote in an ATLARTS review of the plays 2016 premiere in Atlanta. If that sounds flip, Smith also praises the writing: Gunderson has written a play that delivers a poignant message in a light-hearted way.

Perhaps Gunderson is simply laying out her manifesto for the modern world, the Enquirers Lyman posited. She puts four women on the stage who have a lot to say and turns them loose. Its a wild ride, filled with verbal gymnastics.

I love that its funny and then that it also has a message about the value of people coming together to the theater, said Love, whose only previous work for Harlequin was the pandemic radio-theater version of This Flat Earth. It celebrates the theater, and it celebrates democratic principles. Imagine making a democracy that really works for all people.

The Revolutionists

What: Harlequin Productions The Revolutionists is a comedy set in 18th century France, but that has modern sensibilities and language.

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 8-9, plus Sept. 14-16, 21-23; matinees at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 10, plus Sept. 17 and 20.

Where: State Theater, 202 Fourth Ave. E., Olympia

Tickets: $28-$43, with pay-what-you-choose performances Sept. 14, 20 and 22

More information: 360-786-0151, https://harlequinproductions.org
Vice President Harris said that a meeting between North Koreas Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin would be a mistake, saying it would further isolate both countries.

North Korea is considering supplying Moscow with artillery rounds and rockets in return for critical technology and food. The deal could be made later this month when Kim is planning to go to Moscow.

I think it would be a huge mistake. The idea that they would be supplying ammunition to that end  would be a huge mistake, Harris told CBSs Margaret Brennan in an interview in Jakarta, Indonesia. I also believe very strongly that for both Russia and North Korea, this will further isolate them.

It is very clear that Russia has  clearly theyre very desperate. They have already experienced a strategic failure, the vice president continued. Just think about it, at the beginning of it all, year-and-a-half ago, the pundits were saying that this would be over in days. Well, the Ukrainians are still fighting.

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The full interview is set to air Sunday on CBS. Harris was interviewed while representing the U.S. in place of President Biden at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

U.S. officials have recently warned that the relationship between North Korea and Russia is strengthening, and that a potential military support deal between North Korea and Russia would be a concerning next step. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to North Korea in July and asked for military support, according to the White House.

North Korea has not directly supported Russias armed forces during the war in Ukraine, although Pyongyang reportedly supplied the mercenary company Wagner Group with rockets and artillery. The move led to U.S. sanctions against North Korean entities responsible for the arms transfers.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Harris says she and Biden "will win reelection," is prepared to lead "if necessary"

Vice President Kamala Harris told CBS News that she and President Biden will secure a second term in office, even amid Republican criticism and concerns among some Democrats about the president's age.

"We will win reelection. There's too much at stake and the American people know it," Harris told CBS News "Face the Nation" moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan.

With Harris being 58 and Biden seeking to win next year's election just before he turns 82, Harris said she is ready to assume the role of commander in chief "if necessary," but believes Biden "is going to be fine."

"I work with Joe Biden every day," she said. "The work that under Joe Biden's leadership our administration has accomplished is transformative. I think the American people, most of all, want a leader who actually gets things done."

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Harris spoke to CBS News in Jakarta, Indonesia  her third trip to Southeast Asia as vice president  where she attended a summit of Southeast Asian countries. When asked why she has spent so much time in that part of the world, Harris highlighted the importance of the South China Sea to the global supply chain.

"In those seas, one-third of global trade occurs," she said. "It's a huge transit point."

"If it is not secure, if it is not open, if there's not freedom of navigation, and enforcement of maritime law, what that will mean in terms of impeding supply chains, and how that will relate then to the average American being able to get what they need every day," Harris said.

She also said an expected meeting between North Korea's Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss potentially providing Moscow with weapons to support its ongoing war in Ukraine would be a "huge mistake."

"The idea that they would be supplying ammunition to that end, it would be a huge mistake," Harris said. "I also believe very strongly that for both Russia and North Korea, this will further isolate them."

"It is very clear that Russia has clearly  they're very desperate. They have already experienced a strategic failure," she said.

"Just think about it. At the beginning of it all a year and a half ago, the pundits were saying that this would be over in days," Harris said, referring to Russia's war in Ukraine. "Well, the Ukrainians are still fighting."

Watch more of Margaret Brennan's interview with Vice President Kamala Harris this Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET on "Face the Nation."

"CBS Evening News" headlines for Thursday, September 7, 2023

Vice President Harris addresses criticism from Republicans

DeSantis goes all-in on Iowa with 4 months left until caucuses
Vice President Kamala Harris has said shes prepared to be president if necessary, though she brushed off concerns about President Bidens age as the pair campaigns for a second term.

CBS Newss Margaret Brennan asked Harris in an interview for Face the Nation, set to air this Sunday, to respond to concerns from both sides of the aisle about Bidens age.

Brennan asked Harris if she is prepared to be commander in chief.

Yes I am, if necessary. But Joe Biden is going to be fine, Harris said. The vice president stressed that she works with Biden every day and lauded the administrations work under his leadership.

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Bidens octogenarian status has brought reelection bid critiques from the right and worries from within the Democratic party about his health as he vies for another four years in the Oval Office. If he wins in 2024, Biden would be 82 when he takes office, and Harris would be 60.

Harriss dismissal of the concerns about Bidens age are in line with remarks she gave to The Associated Press in a recent interview, when she was asked if she feels prepared for the possibility of stepping into the presidential role if necessary.

Yes, Harris said, but she went on to add: Im answering your hypothetical, but Joe Biden is going to be fine, so that is not going to come to fruition. She stressed that responsibility is on every vice president who takes office.

Brennan during the CBS News interview brought up remarks from Republican presidential candidates honing in on Harris along the campaign trail  including comments from Nikki Haley that a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris and from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that Harris is Bidens impeachment insurance.

Were delivering for the American people. And the reality of it is that, unfortunately, very few of those who challenge our administration actually have a plan for America, Harris said in response, going on to tout figures on the administrations successes.

Theyre honing in on you. Why do you think that is? How do you respond to those attacks? Brennan pressed the vice president.

Listen, this is not new. Theres nothing new about that  They feel the need to attack because theyre scared that we will win based on the merit of the work that Joe Biden and I, and our administration, has done, Harris said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Vice President Harris will travel to roughly a dozen college campuses over the next month as part of an effort to mobilize young voters ahead of the 2024 election.

Harris is set to embark on the Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour, where officials said she will meet with students and highlight issues that are top of mind for younger voters, such as abortion, gun safety, climate change and LGBTQ issues.

This generation is critical to the urgent issues that are at stake right now for our future, Harris said in a statement. It is young leaders throughout America who know what the solutions look like and are organizing in their communities to make them a reality. My message to students is clear: We are counting on you, we need you, you are everything.

The White House said Harris will highlight the Biden administrations accomplishments that have helped young people and urge attendees to register to vote and stay politically engaged.

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Harris will travel next week to Hampton University in Virginia and North Carolina A&T in Greensboro. Later in the month she will visit Morehouse College in Atlanta, and the vice president also has visits planned to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas and Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff.

Harriss college tour comes as students are returning to campus for the fall semester and as the Biden campaign seeks to mobilize and motivate young voters, who helped propel President Biden and Harris into the White House in 2020.

Biden won 59 percent of voters under the age of 30 in 2020 who did not vote in either of the two previous elections, while former President Trump won just 33 percent of those voters. Voters under the age of 30 made up 15 percent of all voters in 2020, according to Pew Research Center.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Duke of Sussex said his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II is looking down on all of us, happy were together during a charity awards ceremony on the eve of the anniversary of his grandmothers death.

Prince Harry , who landed in the UK without Meghan on Thursday for his first appearance since June, attended the WellChild Awards at the Hurlingham Club, where he sat with seriously ill children and their families ahead of the ceremony.

The duke, who has been patron of the childrens charity for 15 years, took to the stage on the eve of the first anniversary of the late Queens death and said: As you know, I was unable to attend the awards last year as my grandmother passed away.

As you also probably know, she would have been the first person to insist that I still come to be with you all instead of going to her, and thats precisely why I know exactly one year on that she is looking down on all of us tonight, happy were together, continuing to spotlight such an incredible community.

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It was the first time the royal had been seen in the UK since his high-profile legal case at the High Court against Mirror Group Newspapers earlier in the year.

However, he is unlikely to meet up with his father, King Charles III, or brother, Prince William, during the fleeting visit, with relations between the trio still believed to be frosty after the publication of Harrys bombshell memoir Spare in January this year.

After arriving at the event, Harry was seen chatting to each young award winner at the reception. In one set of photos, he can be seen laughing with seven-year-old Poppy Higham, from Runcorn, as she danced to music by Ed Sheeran and spoke to him about her love of Disney.

Prince Harry with Poppy and her father Daniel Higham at the WellChild Awards (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

The duke then played around with a giraffe balloon and showed Poppy its rotating head, prompting her to play with it.

Noticing that each winners balloon represented a different animal, Harry asked: Is the theme Madagascar?

He was also seen fist bumping two of the boys receiving Inspirational Young Person awards  George Hall, 11, from Skipton, and Blake McCaughey, 15, from Country Armagh. Harry was then gifted a green Belfast Giants ice hockey shirt from Blake and his family, with his name personalised on the back.

The duke greeted award winner George Hall with a fist bump (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

The Duke of Sussex added in his speech: As a father of two  and three dogs, so basically five  Im acutely aware of the many joys and challenges that come with parenting.

And thats with kids who arent facing health challenges. So, to the parent carers in the room, you have my sincerest admiration and respect. The level of support and responsibility you share daily is unrivalled and without fail.

You deserve all the assistance you need  whether its training enough skilled carers to help shoulder the increasing demands of 24/7 care routines or simply providing time and space for you to take a break once in a while.

It is our collective responsibility to continue to provide new and existing resources for you, to advocate on your behalf, and to help in any way we can. You are proof that not all superheroes wear capes!

Prince Harry said Queen Elizabeth II was looking down on us all (Getty Images)

Harry will still be in the capital on Friday for the first anniversary of the death of the Queen, who died on 8 September last year after reigning for 70 years.

However, a royal source told MailOnline that Charles had no time in his diary to meet his son. The monarch is currently in Balmoral with Queen Camilla, while William is 100 miles away on a visit to Dorset, where he was given a surprise kiss by Paul Gascoigne in Pret.

After the event, Harry will jet off again on Saturday for Dusseldorf, Germany, for the opening ceremony of his Invictus Games.

However, Meghan is set to stay in California with their two children. She will reportedly fly out later in the week for the closing ceremony, where both she and Harry will give speeches.

Prince Harry shares a joke with Craig Hatch, Chairman of WellChild (AP)

The Invictus Games was set up by Harry in 2014 for injured and sick military personnel and veterans. A documentary, Heart of Invictus, was launched last week as part of the Sussexes multimillion-pound deal with Netflix.

It follows a group of service members on their road to the Paralympic-style sporting competition.

The couples other main output for the channel prior to that was last years Harry & Meghan documentary.

The six-part series followed the early courtship of the couple and Meghans struggle to adapt to the media glare that comes from being in the royal family.

The duke joked Is the theme Madagascar? while playing with the balloons (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

There were also a number of controversial moments, including Harrys claim that William screamed at him over plans to leave the royal family, and claims that the Palace leaked the couples exit strategy.

The trip to Europe comes a day after embattled former US president Donald Trump said he felt Meghan and Harry were disrespectful to the Queen when the couple stepped down as working royals in 2020.

Speaking to radio host Hugh Hewitt on The Hugh Hewitt Show on Wednesday, Mr Trump said: I didnt like the way she dealt with the Queen. They treated her with great disrespect and I didnt like it.

Mr Trump, who met the Queen on a three-day UK state visit in June 2019, described the late monarch as an incredible woman and said he wanted to go head-to-head with Meghan in a debate.
One police officer was killed and another was injured following an incident in Hartford on Wednesday night that involved a car crash.

The incident was reported in the area of Asylum Avenue and Cogswell Street, according to the Hartford Police Department. Police said officers were responding to a call when their police cruiser was struck by a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed through a red light and intersection.

Officer Bobby Garten, an eight-year veteran of the Hartford Police Department, died of his injuries, police said. Garten, 34, was a second-generation police officer. His father was a detective with the Hartford Police Department.

The second officer, Brian Kearney, is hospitalized in stable condition, according to police.

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We are devastated at the loss of Bobby, Harford Police Chief Jason Brody said in a statement on Thursday morning. He was an amazing person that exemplified what it means to be a Hartford police officer.

His commitment to serve was above reproach, Thody added. Our HPD family has come together to support Bobbys family, honor his memory, and do what he would want us to do, protect and serve the Hartford community.

Police said one suspect, identified as 18-year-old Richard Barrington, is in custody.

My heart and prayers and the love and prayers of our whole city are with Officer Gartens parents, family, loved ones, friends and colleagues, and the entire HPD family, said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin on Thursday. Bobby Garten loved this city, loved the Hartford Police Department, served our community with distinction, courage, skill and compassion, and this loss is immeasurable for all who loved, served with, and knew him. Officer Garten and his family have our everlasting respect and gratitude.

Gov. Ned Lamont directed U.S. and state flags in Connecticut lowered to half-staff in honor of Garten.

The passing of Officer Garten is heartbreaking, and I express my deepest condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues in the Hartford Police Department, Lamont said in a statement on Thursday. This tragedy is an unfortunate reminder of the dangers that law enforcement face every day as they protect our neighborhoods.

Officer Garten dedicated his life and his career to public safety, and we salute his courage, integrity, and commitment to the people of our capital city. I urge the residents of Connecticut to keep Officer Gartens family and the Hartford Police Department in their prayers.

Flags will be lowered immediately and remain lowered until sunset on the date of interment, which has not yet been determined.

Our police officers work tirelessly to protect and serve, often risking their own safety, Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz said in a statement Thursday. Last nights tragedy is a reminder to us all of the sacrifice our officers are willing to make to keep us safe.

My heart breaks for Hartford Police Department and for the loved ones of Officer Garten, Bysiewicz added. His bravery and sense of duty will never be forgotten. Im keeping Officer Garten and his loved one in my prayers.

Multiple police departments across Connecticut offered condolences.

We stand with the Hartford Police Department and all of its members, as we grieve this horrible loss, said Bridgeport Police Chief Chief Roderick Porter in a release on Thursday. We will continue to show our support during this difficult time for the officers family and our brothers and sisters in blue.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time, East Hartford Police Department said. We are hoping for a full and speedy recovery for the officer who was injured.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who did not back Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in his latest leadership race, voiced concerns Wednesday about the Senate Republican leaders fitness following recent freeze-ups.

Hawley said he worried McConnells recent health issues are distracting from the effort by Republicans to take back the Senate in the 2024 election.

In my home state of Missouri, I was asked everywhere I went about Senator McConnell  before the most-recent incident, and then absolutely afterward, Hawley told reporters.

2024 is an awfully important election for Republicans, the Missouri senator later said. We shouldve taken back the Senate last year  we didnt. This is our shot to take it back, and I just hope were going to be focused on that.

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When asked by CNN correspondent Manu Raju if he worries McConnell, 81, is not the right person to bring you guys back to the majority in the Senate, Hawley responded absolutely.

After suffering two freeze-ups in recent weeks in front of reporters, political commentators and other politicians have expressed concerns with regard to McConnells viability as Senate Minority leader.

But Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitols attending physician, has said McConnell shows no evidence of suffering from a seizure disorder, stroke or Parkinsons disease. McConnell on Wednesday vowed to remain in his position as Senate GOP leader through 2024 and to stay in his senate seat through the remainder of his term, which ends in 2026.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
SANFORD, Maine  John Rousseau moved slowly along The Wall That Heals, the scaled replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial now on display in Sanford, and scanned each and every name on the synthetic granite panels before him.

Of all the tens of thousands of names on that wall, Rousseau searched for a single one.

Jimmy Cleary, his childhood friend.

Tom Becker, of Wells, Maine, visits the Wall That Heals on Sept. 6, 2023. The wall, a scaled-down version of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, is on display on Route 109 in Sanford, Maine, through Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023.

He was like a big brother, said Rousseau, who grew up in South Berwick. He went to Vietnam and never came back. He died over there.

Cleary was 19.

When he was younger, Cleary delivered newspapers, and the Rousseaus were customers along his route. The Rousseaus liked their paperboy so much that they befriended him.

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He used to spend more time at our house than at his house, Rousseau said. He took us to drag races.

Reactions vary when it comes to seeing the names of loved ones on the wall. While the wall intends to heal, the emotional response leading toward that end differs from person to person. Indeed, as Rousseau searched for Clearys name on the wall, he did not know what emotions to expect the moment he found it.

I have no idea, he said.

'Kate's Journey': Ogunquit man fights pancreatic cancer with walk from Cape Cod to Maine

The Numbers Behind the Names

The Wall That Heals arrived and was assembled on Route 109 in Sanford, across the street from Walmart, earlier this week. It will remain on display, 24 hours a day, now through Sunday, Sept. 10. People can visit the wall for free, but donations can be slipped into small boxes posted on the property. The wall is accompanied by a mobile education center, filled with information and historical items, and guides are on hand to lead tours of the site.

The wall is three-quarters the size of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. It is 375 feet long, stands more than seven feet high, and is comprised of 140 panels.

But those arent the numbers that matter.

The wall has the names of 58,281 service members of the U.S. military who died during the Vietnam War, which raged in Asia and here at home from the mid-1960s through the mid-70s.

Of those tens of thousands, more than 1,500 are unaccounted for.

Seen here are dozens of the names among the tens of thousands etched into the Wall That Heals, a scaled representation of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. The wall is currently in Sanford, across from Walmart on Route 109, now through Sunday, Sept. 10.

Of all names on the monument, eight are women, 161 are Medal of Honor recipients, 43 belong to groups of brothers within a family, and six are fathers and sons.

The average age of the service members on the wall is 23 years and a month. The youngest soldier on the wall died at 15.

And, lastly, 246 is the number of American deaths on the deadliest day of the war on Jan. 31, 1968.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund created The Wall That Heals and brings it to communities throughout America. The wall is displayed in towns and cities, so that people who might not have the opportunity to travel to the nations capital to see the etched names instead can have those names come to them.

Hosting The Wall That Heals provides an opportunity to honor and remember all those who served and sacrificed in the Vietnam War and educate visitors on the continuing impact of the Vietnam War on America, said Jim Knotts, president and CEO of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.

The Vietnam Memorial in D.C. opened in 1982. The Wall That Heals made its debut in 1996 and has been displayed in more than 700 U.S. communities, as well as in Canada and in four provinces in Ireland.

Names of service members on the wall can be pinpointed by visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Funds website.

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'Take a Moment' at The Wall That Heals

During the Sanford City Council meeting on Sept. 5, Dale Nason, the president of the Maine chapter of the Patriot Riders of America, thanked local officials and members of the local Elks Lodge for bringing the wall to the community. He urged people to visit the monument.

Take a moment, go down there, and see it, Nason said.

Nason added that there are Vietnam veterans who will never be able to go see the memorial in D.C. because either they do not want to go or do not have the means.

Having this wall here, in this town, over the next few days, will give these people the opportunity of closure, he said. They can go, see, and touch the names of their friends or family members.

Tom Becker, of Wells, visited the wall on its first day in Sanford. Becker was drafted and served on the USS Wilkinson, off Newport, Rhode Island, when he served in the military in the late '60s. He did not serve in Vietnam, nor did he know anyone whose name was on the wall, but he felt drawn to the visiting monument and wanted to pay his respects.

Becker said he was an advocate for the war during its onset. However, as time continued, and he read more and more of the conflicts development in newspapers, his thoughts and feelings began to change. He said it was a bad time, one in which people who did not serve gave a lot of static to the people who were over there.

As, like Rousseau, Becker read the names etched before him, he reflected on what The Wall That Heals makes clear to those who visit it.

A lot of people died for us.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: The Wall That Heals Vietnam memorial comes to Sanford, Maine
A thrilling performance of Wu Opera by a troupe from east China's Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center showcased Chinese dramas and musical compositions to the delight of the audience in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday night.

Hasnick Omondi, a student at the University of Nairobi where he is pursuing a degree in the Chinese language and tourism, praised the performance for the vivid depiction of the rich culture of China.

"I was motivated to watch China's local opera, and see what I have been learning in class," Omondi said.

Felix Kiplagat, a student at the University of Nairobi, said the performance was an enlightening experience because of the use of traditional Chinese cultural costumes and instruments to entertain the audience.

The 23-year-old student said Chinese culture is gaining popularity in Kenya as more and more locals get an opportunity to watch live performances by Chinese artists.

Wu Opera, also known as Jinhua Opera, has a history of more than 500 years and is the second major regional operatic genre in Zhejiang Province. It first grew in popularity in Jinhua and its surrounding areas, and was named after Wuzhou, the name of Jinhua in ancient China.

The Zhejiang Wu Opera troupe showcased nine performances, including the "9-Pieced Segmented Dragon", Suona Solo "Picking Dates", "the Sedan Ride" and "Three Triumphs Over the Skeletal Demon", using well-choreographed and acrobatic moves.

Michael Pundo, chief executive officer of the Kenya Cultural Center, said the traditional Chinese performance enlightened Kenyans about the classical rhythms and melodies of China.

Lou Sheng, a Wu Opera actor, said he was pleased to be in Kenya because it is his first visit to the East African country. He revealed that the repertoire for Africa was carefully selected to include martial arts, which have intense movements so as to enhance the experience of the audience.

"We hope that through the performance, we can establish a real communication with African audience so that they can fall in love with traditional Chinese culture," he added.

The event, which was jointly sponsored by the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, the Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation of the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism as well as the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, aims to further improve bilateral ties as this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Kenya.

Wang Xiaoping, director of the Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center, said he hoped that the performance will help deepen the Kenyan audience's understanding of Chinese culture, and promote people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
DeAnna Brandons hands shook lightly as she filled out the hospitals questionnaire on her cancer symptoms.

Nausea, memory loss, fatigue; she checked the boxes on the form.

It was Aug. 8, and Brandon, 45, was at the Novant Health Cancer Institute in Charlotte for one of many appointments.

She was meeting with Dr. Raymond Thertulien, a hematologist and oncologist who specializes in treating multiple myeloma, the rare blood cancer with which Brandon was diagnosed in 2022.

It has no cure.

While Brandon strives to keep a positive outlook, she said before her appointment that she was not expecting any breakthroughs.

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Over the past several months, Thertulien, who is managing Brandons cancer treatment plan, has recommended she get her own stem cells drawn as soon as possible to use for a transplant, she said.

According to Thertulien, a transplant, in which healthy cells replace damaged cells, would help extend her life expectancy, perhaps by up to 20 years. Otherwise, she could have as little as three years left.

But Brandon has no health insurance. And she said charity care, through which hospitals provide free or discounted services to eligible low-income patients, wont cover the cost of up to $200,000 to harvest and transplant her own stem cells.

She has been unable to qualify for Medicaid, a state-federal health insurance program for low-income individuals that would cover her transplant. Despite hiring a lawyer, she hasnt been approved for disability benefits, which would qualify her for Medicaid.

North Carolina, in June, passed Medicaid expansion into law, which would allow Brandon to get coverage. But the implementation of the expansion has been delayed. It was tied to the passage of a budget, which has been on hold following protracted negotiations by the Republican-controlled legislature.

I feel like Im holding my breath to get a decision as to whether my life can be extended or not, Brandon said.

NC has opted out of Medicaid expansion

Medicaid expansion has been a long time coming in North Carolina.

Medicaid provides health insurance coverage to millions across the country and was first signed into law in 1965 by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Today, the program represents $1 out of every $6 spent on health care in the United States and is administered by states with broad federal rules and is jointly funded by state and federal governments, with the federal government paying the largest share of costs.

It initially covered only certain categories of individuals, but over time, the federal government expanded eligibility, including in 2010 under Democratic President Barack Obama with the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

This act mandated states expand Medicaid to all adults up to 138% of the federal poverty line, with 90% of costs paid by the federal government for the expansion population. A controversial provision, which was eventually rescinded, imposed penalties on some individuals who did not have health insurance.

The day the act passed, a lawsuit objecting to it was filed by several Republican attorneys general. That led to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling permitting states to opt out of Medicaid expansion.

This means the income limit for eligibility under Medicaid for a parent or caretaker in North Carolina is 41% of the federal poverty level, or just over $8,000 yearly for a family of three. Adults without children, save for those with disabilities or other qualifying exceptions, have no coverage.

People who dont qualify for Medicaid and those whose jobs dont provide coverage can get it through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace, which covers those who make between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. In 2023, 100% of the federal poverty level for one person is 14,580 and 400% is $58,320.





This leaves a gap in coverage for many, who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little for subsidies.

Receiving a cancer diagnosis

Born in 1977 in Salisbury, Brandon left home at 16 and had two children by age 19, whom she raised as a single mother. Her father died in 2003, and she had to care for an ailing mother and stepfather. She dealt with anxiety and depression. The first 20 years of my life, I was running a race, Brandon said.

Despite these challenges, Brandon got her associates degree in business marketing in 2009 and worked various jobs, including at a telemarketing company. She also started therapy as a young adult and was just trying to do better, doing the next best thing in front of me.

But things would not slow down. In 2016, her two kids moved out of the house. They were both by then 18, meaning Brandon lost her Medicaid coverage as she was no longer eligible as the parent of a minor. She has not had any insurance coverage since then.

In 2017, her mother and her stepfather passed away within weeks of each other: Her mother due to illness and her stepfather in a car crash.

Brandon was tired. At first, she thought it was grief. But she started getting worried, and in looking for medical care options, she heard about the Community Care Clinic of Rowan County, which provides those who are uninsured or underinsured with free or low-cost health care.

There, Brandon had a blood test, got referrals to cancer specialists, and by July 2022, received her multiple myeloma diagnosis.

If it was not for them, I still wouldnt know I had cancer, Brandon said.

A timeline of Medicaid expansion in NC

With the passage of Medicaid into law in North Carolina, all adults who make below about $20,120 a year can get access to health insurance. The states health and human services department estimates this will provide coverage to 600,000 North Carolinians.

Its passage followed years of reticence by North Carolina Republicans, who opted out of expansion and stymied Democratic Gov. Roy Coopers efforts to expand Medicaid. By 2022, though, Republicans appetite had shifted. Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, who both hold veto-proof supermajorities in their respective legislative chambers, announced in March that they had reached a Medicaid deal. By June, the expansion bill had passed both legislative chambers and was signed into law by Cooper.

Moore said at the time that the bill would expand access to working North Carolinians.

That is going to ensure that there is a more robust supply of a lot of these services. That is going to result in less cost, but at the same time vitally important to protect access to health care, particularly in our rural areas.

This deal not only includes expansion but also cuts regulations on hospital competition, creates a new mechanism for hospitals to get higher reimbursements under Medicaid and more.

But lawmakers tied expansion to the passage of a state budget, which lawmakers failed to do by the July 1 start of the new fiscal year. And because the budget did not pass by Sept. 1, implementation of Medicaid expansion in North Carolina could wait until December, according to DHHS.

Moore and Berger did not reply to requests for comments from The News & Observer for this story. But legislative leaders have said to expect votes on a budget as early as Sept. 13 and 14. DHHS told The N&O that it would continue to monitor legislative inaction and make any necessary changes to this timeline.

Managing cancer care without Medicaid

For Brandon, the Medicaid expansion standstill means she has to manage a web of systems to obtain care. One piece is charity care, for which she said she has to reapply every three months. It helps cover her weekly chemotherapy and other treatments at Novant Health in Rowan County and Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center in Charlotte. In terms of medications, she gets some of them through a pharmacy in Salisbury and others through NC MedAssist, which provides some prescriptions for free for those who are eligible.

Despite charity care and other aid, Brandon has a three-inch stack of medical bills that have been mailed to her, including from debt collectors, which range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

The charity care isnt 100%. Its helped a lot, but I still have no money to pay for the bill. Like the hip surgery was $50,000 without charity care. Ive received a bill for $8,000. Well, you know, Thanks, but I dont even have $10 to send you right now, she said. Brandon had to have hip replacement surgery in May due to weakened bones from her cancer.

A report by the state treasurers office and the National Academy of State Health Policy found that six North Carolina nonprofit hospitals have billed $149.2 million to poor patients who should have qualified for free or discounted charity care under the hospitals own policies in fiscal year 2019. Hospitals get tax breaks in exchange for providing charity care.

Each and every step and each and every medicine, Ive had to apply for and talk to people to try to get financial aid, Brandon said. Youre already feeling bad because youve been doing chemo and you have cancer and you dont have much energy, and now youre having to do the business side of things.

It puts this panic in you that, Oh gosh, what if they deny it? What if they dont get it approved and I cant get chemotherapy? she said.

Nowhere to go

Brandon keeps all of her medical bills tucked inside a briefcase in a trailer home in Salisbury, which she has been renting since January with the help of her boyfriend and her sister.

When she is not in this trailer, which sits next to her daughter Savannahs home, she lives with her boyfriend and their two dogs in a home in Rockwell, 20 minutes away.

Brandon started renting the trailer because, after the transplant, she will need to fully isolate for up to a year, as her immune system will be shot. She hopes to use the trailer for isolation, but shes barely making rent. With the delays with Medicaid and her disability application, she doesnt know how much longer shell be able to keep it.

My fear and my sisters fear is that we let it go. And then three weeks later, everything works out and then I wont have anywhere to go.

On hold, too, are her plans for the future. Brandon wants to write a book on how to manage grief. She wants to sell her art in local shows, or even possibly in other states.

Waiting for the stem cell and not knowing, its hard to set goals, Brandon said.

Lets say if I found I could go back to school and do that. Well, should I? Am I gonna live long enough for it to matter?
Steven K. Rogstad's "Lincoln Among the Badgers" tells the stories of Wisconsin's many monuments and memorials to the president, including the statue outside Bascom Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus in Madison.

A brutal assault near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus early Sunday morning left a female UW student hospitalized and in critical condition.

The suspected attacker, 26-year-old Brandon A. Thompson, was arrested just after midnight Wednesday. He has been charged with first-degree reckless injury, first-degree sexual assault and strangulation.

When and where did the attack occur?

At about 3:20 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 2, police were called to the 500 block of W. Wilson Street by a resident who found the severely beaten woman.

The victim was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries and was in critical condition as of late Sunday, but her condition has since improved to stable. She is expected to survive, police said.

Who is the victim?

The victim of the attack is a female UW-Madison student in her 20s. The victim's name and exact age have not been released.

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Police say it appears she did not know Thompson, the suspected attacker. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said during a Wednesday press conference that police do not believe Thompson has any prior criminal convictions.

At the press conference, Barnes said the attack was completely random, which made it "one of the most frightening" aspects of the crime.

Has the suspected attacker been caught?

Yes, the Madison Police Department arrested Thompson just after midnight on Wednesday, Sept. 6.

He has been booked into jail by the Dane County Sherriff's Office and has been charged with first-degree reckless injury, first-degree sexual assault and strangulation.

Thompson's bail was set at $1 million after prosecutors asked for $2 million and Thompson's attorney asked for $10,000.

Who is the suspected attacker?

Thompson, 26, lives in Madison and does not appear to have any prior criminal convictions. Thompson is believed to have attended Oregon High School, and, according to a release from his attorneys, he graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a criminal justice degree.

Thompson remained at the scene of the attack Sunday morning and pretended to be a witness, Barnes said at the press conference. Barnes said Thompson told a witness he'd found the victim, but he refused to stay at the scene and drove away in his vehicle.

Barnes said body camera footage from Fitchburg police shows they stopped Thompson about an hour before the attack for a vehicle registration violation. The body camera footage also helped investigators later identify Thompson.

How did police investigate the attack?

The attack led to a series of temporary changes, including an increased police presence on campus and a swath of resources being dedicated to finding the suspect.

On Tuesday, the Madison Police Department released a statement saying leadership had met to "discuss updates to the horrific incident that occurred on Sunday." The department said they were making significant progress in the investigation.

"Detectives and investigators over the weekend gathered physical, digital and biological evidence," Madison Police Department Public Information Officer Stephanie Fryer said in the statement.

On Wednesday, police confirmed that video evidence showing Thompson's license plate allowed them to locate him, Barnes said.

Police said biological evidence found at the scene is also under review.

What have campus officials said about the attack?

In the wake of the incident, University Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin told students the city is generally a safe place, but no place is ever completely safe.

This is certainly not the way we hoped to begin this new school year, and I know that so many of us in this room  and your parents and families  are feeling anger and grief and anxiety," Mnookin said Tuesday during the university's convocation, a ceremony welcoming new students to campus.

How common are stranger attacks?

Dana Pellebon, executive director of RCC Sexual Violence Resource Center in Dane County, said that, while disturbing, sexual assaults committed by strangers only account for roughly 20 percent of all incidents. She also mentioned that more common instances include situations where the assaulter is an acquaintance of the victim (39%) and when the assaulter is a current or former partner of the victim (33%).

"A lot of the narrative that you see around sexual violence tends to actually be incorrect. There is not a lot of stranger assault," Pellebon said.

What safety resources are available at UW-Madison?

UW-Madison Police encouraged students to download BadgerSafe, a new safety app that debuted last month. The app has safety resources and provides both on and off-campus safety alerts in the campus area. To download the app, search for "BadgerSAFE" in your phone's app store.

Police also recommended that students walk in groups as often as possible.

UW-Madison students can request a companion to accompany them throughout campus and to or from near-campus locations. To request a SAFEwalk, call or text 608-262-5000. Service boundaries do not include far west campus, such as UW Hospital and Eagle Heights.

Mental health resources are available for students and employees. Students can receive 24/7 support and resources by calling the University Health Services' crisis line at 608-265-5600 (option 9). Employees can access mental health resources through the Employee Assistance Office.

You can report an incident to law enforcement by calling the UWPD at 608-264-2677 or call 911 in an emergency.

Students and employees are also encouraged to use services provided by the city of Madison and Dane County. The Dane County 24/7 RCC sexual violence resource center's helpline is 608-251-7273 while its website is www.thercc.org.

More: UW-Madison resources for student safety after assault near campus

Journal Sentinel reporters Beck Andrew Salgado and Alex Groth contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Madison assault: What we know about the attack, suspect, victim
A hiker was rescued after climbing down a makeshift ladder in a California forest and getting stuck, rescue officials said.

After the hiker became stranded, a friend hiked out of the Angeles National Forest canyon and called 911 around 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 5, the Los Angeles Sheriffs Departments Montrose Search and Rescue Team said in a Facebook post.

Rescuers said they hiked for hours, navigating around waterfalls, to reach the hiker, who was unable to climb the rocky terrain and waterfalls to the trailhead.

As low cloud cover prevented rescuers from airlifting the hiker out of the area, rescuers said they decided to stay with them overnight.

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Once the morning light came, the clouds broke, rescuers said.

A Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter airlifted the hiker and rescue team out of the area, rescuers said.

Rescuers urged hikers to research their intended route.

There are numerous trails in the Angeles National Forest that have steep, rocky sections, rescuers said. Many others require mountaineering skills and equipment.

Though there may be ropes and ladders left on trails by other hikers, rescuers said many of these aids are poorly constructed, overused, or may be beyond its useful life.

If you come across a trail that uses these makeshift aids, please reconsider using them, rescuers said. You may make it down the obstacle, but the rope or ladder may not work for your return trip.

Wife waits in car for 79-year-old husband to scout for hunting spot. He never returned

Worried friend finds missing climbers car and calls for help. Now body found

Dog plunges from 4,000-step staircase on illegal hike with owner, Hawaii officials say
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to speak at a White House event for an international arts award next week.

Clinton will speak at the celebration of the 2023 Praemium Imperiale Laureates Sept. 12, the White House said in a press release Wednesday. First lady Jill Biden will also speak at the event.

The Praemium Imperiale, first celebrated in 1994 at the White House by Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton , is a global arts prize awarded annually by the Japan Art Association for lifetime achievement in the arts.

This comes after the former first lady was named an international adviser to the arts prize last year. She has since presided over the U.S. Nomination Committee, recommending candidates for the awards.

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On Tuesday, September 12, the names of the 34th Praemium Imperiale Laureates will be announced in Washington DC, London, Paris, Rome, Berlin and Tokyo. The Grant for Young Artists will be also announced at the press conference in Washington DC, presided over by International Advisor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and followed by the presentation of the grant, according to the Praemium Imperiale press release.

Clinton succeeded Caroline Kennedy, who stepped down from her advisory role in 2021 prior to her nomination to be ambassador to Australia under the Biden administration.

Clinton, 75, is the fifth American to serve as a U.S. international adviser, following David Rockefeller , his son David Rockefeller Jr., former U.S. diplomat William Luers, and Kennedy.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Have you heard of the Stoney-Baynard Ruins?

The Sea Pines destination, the ruins on what was once known as Braddock Point Plantation, was inhabited by two families, the Stoneys and the Baynards.

Now, nestled within the winding, shaded neighborhoods inside Sea Pines off of Plantation Drive, lies the remaining rubble of what was once a tabby mansion.

The entrance to the Stoney-Baynard Ruins can be found at the south end of Hilton Head Island in Sea Pines off of Plantation Drive.

The ruins are located at the center of the former plantation, which covered the southern end of what is now the Sea Pines resort community, during the first half of the 18th century.

The upward leading walkway to view the Stoney-Baynard Ruins in Sea Pines.

The main house on the property was first built by Captain John Stoney between 1793-1818, which was inherited along with the outbuildings, slaves and 1,200 acres in 1811 by his sons James and John, detailed the first placard located upon entrance to the historic site.

The first placard of many at the Stoney-Baynard Ruins in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island that provide detailed information on the historic site that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Captain John Stoney was one of four Hilton Head patriots honored by the local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution for their role in Americas struggle for independence, all of whom are buried in the Zion Cemetery, shared the History & Ancestry Research Centers Heritage Library. The cemetery is at the junction of US-278 and Matthews Drive.

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The remaining ruins are what is left of the tabby mansion and the rest of the plantation, which produced the highly valued Sea Island Cotton (Gossypium barbadense) that was once recognized as the finest cotton ever grown.

The remains of the main house at the Stoney-Baynard Ruins in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island. The ruins are what remains of the mansion at what was once called Braddock Point Plantation. They can be found off of Plantation Drive.

However, the property was sold to the Bank of Charleston by John Stoney following the death of his brother James after he declared bankruptcy.

William Edings Baynard, a planter from Edisto Island, then purchased Braddocks Point Plantation from the bank in 1845. He had also already owned other plantations on the mainland as well as Hilton Head Island, such as Spanish Wells and Muddy Creek Plantations.

A rear, exterior view of the the main house at the Stoney-Baynard Ruins in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island

Following William E. Baynards death in 1849 at the age of 49, his son Ephraim managed the plantations cotton, farming operations and livestock up to the Civil War, where he then fled when Union troops invaded the island on November 7, 1861, continued the first placard.

Baynard was also buried in Zion Cemetery in a mausoleum he had constructed in 1846. However, the tomb is currently empty following reports on scavengers. This mausoleum is currently the oldest remaining intact structure on Hilton Head Island.

The Federal government seized the property and the main house was destroyed by fire and other structures were salvaged for building materials shortly after the war. Yet, the Baynards later bought back most of their holdings for $533 in back taxes that they had owed. They never attempted to rebuild the mansion, the Heritage Library states.

A front, exterior view of the main house remains at the Stoney-Baynard Ruins in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island. The ruins are what is left of the mansion at what was once called Braddock Point Plantation. They can be found off of Plantation Drive.

What remains of Braddock Point Plantation today are the mansions tabby foundation, a corner wall, the foundations of several other buildings and a kitchen chimney. All of which can be viewed for free by interested visitors at the Stoney-Baynard Ruins in Sea Pines off of Plantation Drive.

The remains of what was once a kitchen chimney at the Stoney-Baynard Ruins in Sea Pines at the south end of Hilton Head Island.

The ruins are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The main house, also referred to as the mansion, once faced the south and was an 1,885 square-foot building that was one and one-half stories tall, said a descriptive placard for the ruins. The ground level was used only for storage purposes with the living spaces being in the upper level.

A rear view of the main house at the Stoney-Baynard Ruins in Sea Pines on Hilton Head Island. A tree stump can be seen inside where the homes interior, lower level once was. This space was once known as the basement, although it was ground level, and was used entirely for storage.

Adjacent to the main house, ruins from what was once domestic slave quarters also remain through its tabby footing. The remains of the small building were meant to face west toward Calibogue Sound. The quarters were once constructed of tabby footing, tabby brick, fired brick and wood. Two families of slaves lived in the 336 square foot wooden dwelling, detailed a designated placard for the site.

Ruins remaining from what was once domestic slave quarters at the Braddock Point Plantation. The small building once faced west toward Calibogue Sound.

Although the locale is only open from sunrise to sunset, local and internet rumors confer that the funeral processions for William Baynard, or Baynards ghost itself, can be seen or heard in the area at night.

The Stoney-Baynard Ruins are free to visit once you are inside of Sea Pines and informational placards are placed around the property.

Reminder: There is a $9 , cash only entrance fee for vehicles entering the Sea Pines community without a resident or guest pass or decal.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Every year, firefighters across the nation take to the streets to fill their often 6- to 7-inch-tall boots to the brim with donations from drivers on their daily commutes.

Its an age-old tradition that drivers in Nashville might have seen firefighters partaking in this week, with crews of men and women in bright yellow vests holding up signs and coming up to cars stopped at various intersections.

Mt. Juliet firefighter returns home after being injured in apartment complex fire

At first glance, it might seem striking to see several firefighters swarming the roadways. But theres a reason why crews take a week out of every year to Fill the Boot.

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It started in the 1950s when, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), a child in New York was diagnosed with a genetic disorder known as muscular dystrophy. The disease causes muscle weakness, which can eventually decrease mobility and make everyday tasks difficult.

(Photo: WKRN)

Although considered rare, there are many kinds of muscular dystrophy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Each affects a specific muscle group, with symptoms appearing at different ages and varying in severity.

Walk raises thousands of dollars for muscular dystrophy

Thousands of children are diagnosed with muscular dystrophy globally each year, typically around the age of 5. There is still no cure, and many people with the condition do not live beyond 30.

Back in the 1950s, the childs family could find only one clinician in all of America who specialized in studying the disorder. Going door-to-door, the family raised a few thousand dollars and gave it to that clinician, sparking a movement toward further research on the disease.

Then in 1952, another family affected by muscular dystrophy approached a member of Boston Firefighters Local 718 to ask for help raising money to cover medical bills. Eager to help, the firefighter and about 20 of his fellow crewmembers took to the streets with their boots in hand to ask Greater Boston for donations.

Nashville firefighters rescue baby from burning hotel room

According to MDA, the first Fill the Boot campaign was an instant success, with firefighters raising over $5,000 just by going door-to-door that year.

Just two years later, in 1954, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) signed a proclamation designating MDA as its charity of choice and vowing to continue raising funds for research on treatments and therapies.

Almost 70 years later, the IAFF continues to be the top fundraising organization for MDA, with more than $690 million raised as of 2022. Last year alone, firefighters raised almost $12 million in donations for MDA. That averaged to about $13,885 per fire department.

First gene therapy for deadly form of muscular dystrophy gets FDA approval for young kids

MDA has since been able to fund research directly linked to FDA-approved therapies across multiple neuromuscular diseases, with major breakthroughs in 1986 and 1987, and at least 18 FDA-approved treatments in existence today.

However, researchers are continuously working to learn more about the rare genetic disorder and improve the lives of those suffering from muscular dystrophy. Just as firefighters continue hitting the streets to fill their boots.

In Nashville, firefighters week-long campaign will come to an end on Saturday, Sept. 9. But donations can still be made online. As of Sept. 7, the Nashville Firefighters Local 140 had raised $1,790 of its $3,000 goal through online donations. To find out more or contribute, click here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Questions are being asked about whether protocols were followed for all vehicles entering or leaving the London prison - Eddie Mulholland For The Telegraph

HMP Wandsworth suffered a virtually identical escape by a prisoner to that of Daniel Khalife four years ago when an inmate clung onto the underside of a van to abscond from the jail.

The offender had returned from court and was handed over to prison officers, but managed to escape in the same way the suspected terrorist did on Wednesday  by hiding under a van.

Like Khalife, officers responsible for checking the underside of the van failed to spot him with their mirrors as the vehicle was held in an air lock before leaving the jail. Police were alerted and the prison was put into lockdown before he was recaptured. He escaped in the van that had brought him to the jail.

The disclosure of an almost identical escape in February 2019 raises questions over potential systemic failings within Wandsworths security and even the wider prison system.

Police have said Khalife poses a low risk to the public - Danielle Sheridan

Khalife, an ex-serviceman accused of trying to leak information to Iran and leaving fake bombs at a military base, used his privileged position on the kitchen staff to gain access to a vehicle delivering food to the jail.

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Wearing his chefs uniform of red and white chequered trousers, he strapped himself under the van before it left the jail. Officers again failed to spot him with their mirrors in the air lock before he escaped. An alert was only raised 20 minutes after he went missing, instigating a nationwide manhunt and all-ports alert.

On Thursday, Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, launched an investigation, to report by the end of this week, into how Khalife evaded security checks and why he was placed in a category B prison, rather than the highest category A, despite being refused bail after being labelled a flight risk.

Mr Chalk has also ordered a review of whether the security risk of all the prisoners in Wandsworth has been correctly categorised and how many other terrorist prisoners are being held in Category B jails. An independent inquiry headed by an external figure will investigate the circumstances around Khalifes escape.

Inquiries will focus on the role of operational support grade officers (OSGs) who are responsible for manning the security posts at the gates and checking the 20 or so vehicles that come and go from Wandsworth every day.

They are among the lowest paid staff in prisons, earning as little as 21,355 or 26,000 in London, with highest turnover at 17 per cent a year as they are lured into better paid jobs and suffer the biggest shortages. There are 30 per cent fewer OSGs than in 2010 despite their being responsible for more prisoners.

They are supposed to undergo three weeks training on security, but insiders claimed some do not even get that because prisons are so short of staff. All the security posts on Wandsworths gates were staffed on Wednesday, which Mr Chalk suggested raised questions over whether security protocols were followed.

Staff beleaguered and underpaid

We have a beleaguered, inexperienced group of underpaid staff doing a responsible job around gate security. Are they properly supervised, supported and trained? When there is pressure in the system, theres a risk these things fall by the wayside, said ex-jail governor Pia Sinha, the director of the Prison Reform Trust.

Two watchdog reports last year warned that staffing levels at Wandsworth were a serious problem with most officers lacking prison craft because they had less than two years experience and absence rates of more than 30 per cent. On one day last December, only seven officers turned up for a night shift to cover 1,500 inmates.

Remand prisoners like Khalife are more likely to secure plum kitchen jobs as lengthy lead times before a trial mean their stay in Wandsworth is longer as they are less likely to be moved onto other jails. As an essential job in the jail, prison chiefs want stable, long-term workers to help.

Khalife would have been risk assessed for the job but, said an insider, being ex-army and well-behaved would have ticked the boxes.

The job would have given Khalife time and opportunity to plan his escape, according to the insider. It is hard to imagine he would have done that on impulse. In order to strap himself under the van, you need to work out the weak spots and get the materials to do it, they said.

Situation a catastrophic failure

Despite being charged with terror-related offences, insiders said it would not have automatically categorised him for higher security Category A prisons such as Belmarsh, also in south London.

Those expected to be sentenced to more than 10 years would be classed as potential Cat A, which would spark an assessment of all risk factors including physical violence before a final decision was taken. Police have said that Khalife poses a low risk to the public.

Professor Ian Acheson, a former prison governor who was head of security at HMP Wandsworth in the 1990s, said Khalifes escape was at best a catastrophic failure and that he should have been at a category A prison.

Its incredibly embarrassing for the prison service, but its not entirely surprising given what we know about whats going on Wandsworth at the moment, said Professor Acheson.

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.
"Home is Here," is an ongoing series that explores norteast Wisconsin's growing racial and ethnic diversity.

GREEN BAY - Join the Green Bay Press-Gazette, the Appleton Post-Crescent, Wisconsin Public Radio and the other NEW (Northeastern Wisconsin) News Lab partners for a storytelling event Sept. 20 at the Brown County Central Library.

The NEW News Lab produced "Home is Here: Stories Behind the Census" series last year. The project went beyond census data to tell the stories of the growing number of Black, Asian, Native American and Hispanic residents in the region.

Five of the participants in the stories wrote personal essays about life in northeastern Wisconsin. Maureen McCollum of Wisconsin Public Radio captured their stories for her Wisconsin Life series.

The NEW News Lab is a partnership among Wisconsin media organizations, including the Green Bay Press-Gazette and The Post-Crescent in Appleton.

The Home is Here event at the library will feature some of these participants telling their stories about living here. Join us from 6 to 7 p.m. Sept. 20 in the library's auditorium in the lower level. The event is free but we ask guests to register on Eventbrite because space is limited.

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A reception with light refreshments will precede the event at 5:30 p.m.

Meet the NEW News Lab partners

The NEW News Lab is a local news collaboration in northeastern Wisconsin made up of six news organizations: the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Appleton Post-Crescent, FoxValley365, The Press Times, Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Watch. The University of Wisconsin-Green Bays Journalism Department is an educational partner. Microsoft is providing financial support to the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation and Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region to fund the initiative. The mission of the lab is to collaborate to identify and fill information gaps to help residents explore ways to improve their communities and lives  and strengthen democracy.

The Home is Here series was published in 2022. This year we are working on the fourth series, "Families Matter," covering issues important to families in the region.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: 'Home is Here' participants tell their stories Sept. 20 in Green Bay
Honda announced today that its switching to Teslas North American Charging Standard (NACS) for upcoming EVs sold on the continent. Honda models that go on sale in 2025 and later will use NACS instead of the Combined Charging System (CCS). The automaker says its developing an adaptor to allow pre-2025 Hondas to charge using Teslas system, as it further establishes itself as the North American standard less than a year after Elon Musk and company opened it up to rivals.

Were excited to announce that Honda will expand fast-charging access for Honda & Acura #EV customers by adopting the North American Charging Standard (NACS), Honda in America posted today on X (formerly Twitter). The company said it plans to launch a new EV model in North America in 2025 that includes the NACS port; all Honda EVs will use Teslas standard after that point.

Honda is also part of a recently formed group aiming to create a new charging network across North America with BMW, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes and Stellantis. Honda and the other automakers said in July they wanted to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles and make zero-emission driving even more attractive. Hondas press release today describes the NACS adoption as existing in addition to those plans, but we asked Honda to clarify if or how todays NACS announcement might affect that coalitions strategy. (Well update this article if we receive a response.)

Were excited to announce that Honda will expand fast-charging access for Honda & Acura #EV customers by adopting the North American Charging Standard (NACS).



Learn more: https://t.co/pdeg5pogXx  Honda in America (@HondaInAmerica) September 7, 2023

Other vehicle manufacturers announcing NACS adoption in North America include Ford, GM, Mercedes, Polestar and Volvo. In addition, Texas announced in June that state-funded EV charging stations would need to include NACS.
Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attends the opening ceremony of the sixth Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo and delivers a keynote speech in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)



The sixth Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo opened Wednesday in Dunhuang, a major hub on the ancient Silk Road in northwest China's Gansu Province.

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech.

The expo has attracted more than 1,200 guests from over 50 countries, regions and international organizations.

Noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, domestic and overseas guests called for efforts to promote the Silk Road spirit, practice the Global Civilization Initiative, and carry out extensive international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

The attendees expressed their commitment to respecting the diversity of civilizations and pursuing common development through openness and mutual learning.

They also called for advancing international cooperation on cultural heritage in areas such as research into ancient civilizations, joint archaeological projects, ancient relic restoration and museum construction.

Guests view an exhibition of Dunhuang culture during the sixth Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 6, 2023. The sixth Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo opened Wednesday in Dunhuang, a major hub on the ancient Silk Road in northwest China's Gansu Province. The expo has attracted more than 1,200 guests from over 50 countries, regions and international organizations. (Xinhua/Ma Xiping)
Rep. Ken Buck derided Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as having less of a grasp on the Constitution than him.

He said she "learned a whole different set of values" than him when she was "teaching CrossFit."

The two are at loggerheads over impeaching Biden and his vote to certify the 2020 election.

Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado suggested on Thursday that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has a poor grasp of the Constitution, escalating an ongoing feud between the two Republican lawmakers.

It began earlier this week, when Greene wrote a lengthy tweet thread criticizing Buck for not having enough sympathy for jailed January 6 rioters.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) September 5, 2023

Greene also hit Buck for voting to certify the 2020 election, saying it meant that he "does not support" former President Donald Trump.

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She also criticized him for saying that he "doesn't see any reason to start an impeachment inquiry" into President Joe Biden.

Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) September 6, 2023

Asked about Greene's comments on a local radio show, he mockingly referred to her past as the owner of a CrossFit gym, while referencing his own past as an instructor at University of Denver Law School.

"When I was teaching law school, I learned and taught certain constitutional principles," said Buck. "When Marjorie Taylor Greene was teaching CrossFit, she learned a whole different set of values."

"The Constitution says Congress shall count the votes. It doesn't say Congress may overturn an election result," he continued. "In her CrossFit class, maybe they didn't cover that."

"When you've got people who care more about their social media accounts than they do about the Constitution, we have a real problem in Congress," he concluded.

Buck, a longtime member of the House Freedom Caucus, is no moderate  he's among the most conservative lawmakers in Congress.

And Greene was ejected from the caucus earlier this summer, after simmering disagreements with other members.

"She has consistently attacked other members of the Freedom Caucus in an irresponsible way, and as a result of that she was kicked out of the Freedom Caucus," Buck said at the time. "She should not be a member."

Greene's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Brenda Goh

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies' new high-end smartphone contains more China-made chip components than previous models in a sign of Beijing's advances in the semiconductor sphere, according to research firm TechInsights, which is taking the device apart.

"It looks like more than half, maybe two-thirds of the silicon is domestically grown capability, where in the phones we were seeing 2-3 years ago, a third was domestic. That's another really big advance they've made," Dan Hutcheson, an analyst with TechInsights, told Reuters.

The Ottawa-based firm has since last weekend been examining parts of Huawei's Mate 60 Pro and said earlier that the phone is powered by a new advanced chip that China's top contract chipmaker SMIC manufactured using an advanced 7 nanometre (nm) technology, a breakthrough for the duo hit by U.S. sanctions.

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"The significance is that it shows that China has been able to stay 2-2.5 nodes behind the world's best (chip) companies. People thought they would be stopped at 14 nanometer," Hutcheson said.

Analysts have been speculating over how costly it has been for Huawei to achieve the breakthrough, revealed last week during U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo's visit to China, and what the chip's production yield could be, which refers to the number of usable chips from each wafer and affects production costs.

Some research firms forecast SMIC's 7 nm process has a yield rate below 50%, versus the industry norm of 90% or more, and the low yield would limit shipments to around 2-4 million chips, not enough for Huawei to regain its former smartphone market dominance.

Hutcheson, however, said "above 50%" was reasonable in his view, saying the chip was made in a far cleaner fashion and was much more competent than an earlier iteration of a 7 nm chip also made by SMIC that TechInsights examined last year.

"You can tell by how well it's made," he said. "China's been buying tools like crazy so they probably have the capability to do this and yield ok with it."

Huawei and SMIC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Huawei's smartphone business was decimated after the U.S. started restricting tech exports to the company in 2019 and analysts say the phone could mark a first step in the company's efforts to come back to rival Apple.

Some early users of the phone have also posted videos of the phone containing NAND flash memory chips made by South Korea's SK Hynix Inc, which voluntarily suspended chip sales to Huawei after the Chinese firm was hit by Washington's sanctions.

"SK Hynix no longer does business with Huawei since the introduction of the U.S. restrictions against the company and with regard to the issue we started an investigation to find out more details," the company said in a statement.

"SK Hynix is strictly abiding by the U.S. government's export restrictions."

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee in Seoul and David Kirton in Shenzhen; Editing by Miyoung Kim and David Evans)
The manhunt for an escaped prisoner in the United Kingdom entered its second day Thursday as authorities raced to track down terror suspect and former British soldier Daniel Abed Khalife. The 21-year-old escaped a London prison Wednesday, reportedly by clinging to the underside of a delivery truck.

The Times of London newspaper said Khalife, who worked in the kitchen at South London's Wandsworth prison, crawled under a delivery van wearing chef's garb and held on as it drove out the gates. Khalife was reported missing at 7:50 a.m. local time (2:50 a.m. Eastern) Wednesday, U.K. police have said.

Prisoner Daniel Abed Khalife (pictured) was reported missing at 7:50 a.m. local time on Wednesday, U.K. police officials said. / Credit: London Metropolitan Police

The former British Army soldier had been awaiting trial at the prison on terrorism related charges accusing him of planting fake bombs at an army base. Khalife was also accused of collecting sensitive personal information about soldiers from a U.K. Ministry of Defense database, CBS News partner network BBC News reported Thursday.



Evidence provided during a previous court appearance was used to argue that Khalife "elicited" personal information about soldiers from the Ministry of Defence Joint Personnel Administration System, which was "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism."



Khalife was accused of working for Iran, according to the BBC, but he has denied all of the charges against him.

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Dominic Murphy, a counterterrorism commander with London's Metropolitan Police, launched an urgent public appeal for anyone who spots Khalife to report him to authorities, saying that the suspect could be "at large anywhere in the U.K."

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Thursday that he wanted to "reassure people that public safety is, of course, our paramount responsibility" and the focus of the authorities' work.

Security checks were underway Thursday across British ports and airports after they were alerted to the manhunt the previous day. In a social media post, Heathrow Airport said that, "due to additional security checks being carried out, waiting times for departing passengers may be longer than usual."

Questions have been raised over whether Khalife should have been held in a more secure facility, considering the nature of the charges against him. Wandsworth prison is a "Category B" prison, which does hold high security prisoners but is not considered as secure as a "Category A" prison, the highest security ranking for prisons in the U.K.

In annual prison performance ratings carried out by the U.K. Ministry of Justice, the Wandsworth prison was given a "1" for 2022/23, meaning it was a prison "of serious concern." The ratings are determined partly by the security and stability of a prison.

Addressing the British Parliament on Thursday, U.K. Justice Minister Alex Chalk said he had ordered two urgent reviews into both the categorization of Wandsworth prison specifically, and into prisons across the U.K. that handle prisoners charged with terrorism offenses.

"Daniel Khalife will be found, and he will be made to face justice," Chalk vowed.

A prison spokesperson told the BBC that an internal investigation was underway to determine exactly why Khalife was held at the Wandsworth facility and whether security procedures were accurately followed.

"The justice secretary is working to understand from operational colleagues this evening both the categorization decision and the situation that led to the escape, what protocols were in place and if they were followed," the prison spokesperson said.

The Times of London also reported Wednesday that there was a one-hour delay between prison officials realizing Khalife was missing and them notifying the police. On Thursday, the police said in an emailed comment to CBS News that they had no further updates on Khalife's whereabouts.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.  Lee intensified into a hurricane Wednesday evening with maximum sustained wind speeds of 75 mph, and the storm is expected to quickly strengthen into an extremely dangerous major hurricane with potential top wind speeds of 150 mph, putting it at the higher end of the Category 4 range, the National Hurricane Center said.

No direct impacts to South Florida are expected at this time, the National Weather Service in Miami said Tuesday night on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Officials have warned Floridians, amid peak hurricane season, to ensure their storm supplies are ready.

As of 5 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, Lee was 1,130 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, the eastern boundary of the Caribbean. Lee was moving west-northwest at 14 mph with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds reached up to 90 miles from Lees center, and hurricane-force winds reached up to 15 miles out.

Wind shear could keep Lee in check for the next day or two, but that is expected to decrease by Friday, allowing Lee to rapidly intensify as it moves over abnormally warm water. Forecasters say Lee will be a major hurricane by early Saturday.

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There is increasing confidence on Lee becoming a very powerful hurricane by this weekend, the hurricane center said.

Its forecast track shows the hurricane headed in the general direction of the Bahamas and potentially Florida. But it is too early to know exactly how close the system will get to the islands of the eastern Caribbean, though they could feel impacts by the weekend, the National Hurricane Centers latest update said. The current cone indicating the probable path of the eye of the storm sits just north of Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Swells from the storm should reach some of the easternmost islands of the Caribbean on Friday, and the British and U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this weekend. These swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, the National Hurricane Center said.

As of the hurricane centers Wednesday afternoon estimate, theres a low chance that tropical-storm-force winds could reach Puerto Rico and some northern and eastern areas of the Dominican Republic this weekend as Lees core is currently expected to stay north of the islands.

The high pressure to the north of it, thats whats going to steer it, said Anthony Reynes, senior forecaster with the National Weather Service in Miami.

Tropical systems, they cannot go against the flow of the high pressure, they have to go around it ... once it moves to the north of Puerto Rico, its going to start shifting more to the north and eventually northeast. The cyclone is moving around the edge of that high.

There also will be a low pressure trough moving east over the U.S. that should also contribute to the northward motion of the storm, he said.

The system will be traveling over record-warm water, close to 86 degrees.

Lee is the fourth Atlantic hurricane of the 2023 season, behind Don, Franklin and Idalia, and will be the third major hurricane, meaning Category 3 or above. Franklin and Idalia were major hurricanes.

Another tropical depression is likely to form later in the week from a tropical wave off the coast of Africa and move west-northwest toward the eastern and central tropical Atlantic. Its disorganized showers and thunderstorms were beginning to spread over the islands off of Africa on Wednesday night, the hurricane centers latest update said.

As of 8 p.m. Wednesday, its odds of developing were at 70% within seven days, and 40% within two days, increased odds from earlier in the day. It will move over the Cabo Verde Islands off Africa overnight and Thursday, the hurricane center said.

Meanwhile, the remnants of Hurricane Franklin were given a 30% chance of gaining some subtropical or tropical characteristics in the next seven days over the warm waters to the west-northwest of the northwestern coast of Spain. It is not expected to further develop, though, by Thursday night.

The National Hurricane Center, which operates under the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, has forecast 14 to 21 named storms, including six to 11 hurricanes, and two to five major hurricanes.

The National Hurricane Center has been predicting an above-normal 2023 hurricane season 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.

_____
Hurricane Lee is forecasted to rapidly intensify and approach Category 5 strength as it churns in the Atlantic Ocean on its path to the northeast Caribbean.

The storms winds reached up to to 80 mph by Thursday morning and it is predicted to rapidly intensify later in the day, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

As of 5 a.m. Thursday, the storm was located in the Atlantic Ocean around 965 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, the NHC said. This is a group of islands where the northeast Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean that includes the U.S. Virgin Islands in the north and that stretches down from near Cuba to Venezuela.

By early Friday, Lee is forecasted to become an extremely dangerous major hurricane, according to the NHC, which considers a hurricane major when the sustained winds within the storm reach 111 mph or higher, matching a Category 3 or higher storm.

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The environment around the cyclone looks ideal for rapid intensification, the Miami-based NHC said.

Winds are expected to to reach 155 mph within the next 48 hours, the NHC said. It considers winds of 157 mph or higher to be a Category 5 storm.

Jason Dunion, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) Hurricane Field Program, told CNN that Lee definitely has the potential to be a Category 5 storm.

If it does reach Category 5 status, Lee would become the first Category 5 storm of the Atlantic season.

The exact path of the storm remains unclear, and meteorologists said it was too soon to provide details on potential rainfall and wind gusts.

While the storm is not yet expected to make landfall, forecasters are predicting potential tropical storm conditions north of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the weekend into early next week. Forecasters advised people in these areas to monitor updates to Lees forecast.

Lee is also expected to generate large ocean swells near the Lesser Antilles  a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea  as well in the British and U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Bahamas and Bermuda over the weekend. The Hurricane Center said these swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Tropical-storm force winds are also expected to hit the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico starting Friday.

Lee is the 12th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which stretches from June 1 to Nov. 30.

Last month, NOAA warned of an above-normal level of Atlantic hurricane activities due to certain ocean and atmospheric conditions, including the record-warm sea surface temperatures. The agency forecast between 14 and 21 named storms, six to 11 hurricanes and two to five major hurricanes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
READ THE LATEST UPDATE: Category 4 Hurricane Lee forecast to begin northern turn in the middle of next week

Hurricane Lee rapidly intensified from a Category 2 storm into a Category 5 storm on Thursday over the open Atlantic, then back down to a Category 4 Friday morning  but it could get even stronger over the next few days.

Additional strengthening is forecast today, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory Friday morning. Fluctuations in intensity are likely over the next few days, but Lee is expected to remain a major hurricane through early next week.

The latest forecast takes the eye of the already formidable storm west across the Atlantic over the weekend and early next week but keeps it well north of the Caribbean islands. The National Hurricane Center only forecasts a storms track out five days, when Lee is expected to be hundreds of miles north of Puerto Rico.

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But long-range forecast models continue to predict that Lee will take a northern turn as it approaches the East Coast of the U.S., keeping it well away from landfall or any direct impacts. Any Lee-related impacts, including rough surf, wouldnt be felt until late next week.

READ MORE: What happens when hurricanes rapidly intensify and how is that affecting Lee?

Megan Borowski, senior meteorologist for the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network, said a turn is more likely to happen than not, but Floridians and anyone who lives along the coast should keep watching the storm just in case.

Its still got a long way to go over open waters and things can change, she said.

Hurricane Lee at 5 a.m. Friday.

Hurricane Lee forecast

Hurricane Lee was strengthening at an exceptional rate. It jumped from 105 mph maximum sustained winds Thursday morning to 165 mph sustained winds by Friday morning, officially meeting the definition of rapid intensification. Early Friday, the hurricane center had big swing projections for how strong Lee could get  potentially up to 180 mph sustained winds.

But by the 11 a.m. update, the hurricane center had backed off those predictions and moved Lee down to a Category 4.

Lee could descend from that peak over the next five days as it moves west across the Atlantic, although the latest forecast continues to call for Lee to remain at least a major Category 4 hurricane the entire time.

Forecasters said theyre confident in the forecast track for the next five days, which keeps Lee well away from the northern Caribbean islands. After that, when longer range and less certain models suggest Lee could turn north, the hurricane center said the future isnt set in stone.

There is uncertainty in any northward turn of Lee beginning early next week, but it is too soon to speculate about specific potential impacts a week or more out, they wrote Thursday evening.

As of Friday morning, long-range models have been very consistent with predicting a northern turn for the storm, although they differ slightly in the timing. Most suggest that Lee could begin its turn in the middle of next week, with some calling for Tuesday and others shortly thereafter.

READ MORE: 90-year-old man cleaning storm debris is Floridas third Hurricane Idalia-related fatality

The latest runs of the European and GFS forecast models suggest that Hurricane Lee could turn north before approaching the U.S. East Coast next week.

Hurricane conditions

Even from hundreds of miles away, Lee still could bring dangerous conditions to the East Coast in the form of rough surf and dangerous riptides.

In Puerto Rico, which could see an inch or two of rain from Lees outermost bands, officials warned residents to watch out for rough seas over the weekend and next week as Lee passes hundreds of miles to the north.

Sea conditions will deteriorate rapidly between Saturday and Sunday, and they will continue to be dangerous during the rest of next week, said Ernesto Morales, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Juan. At sea, especially in the north and east areas, we will see waves between 10 and 15 feet, so we dont want anyone going to the beach.

Hurricane Lee advisory

As of the 11 a.m. Friday update, Lee was about 565 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands, with maximum sustained winds at 155 mph. It was headed west-northwest at 13 mph and its hurricane-force winds extended 35 miles out from the center. Its tropical storm force winds extended up to 140 miles from the center.

Miami Herald staff writer Omar Rodriguez Ortiz contributed to this report.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  Hurricane Lee has rapidly strengthened into a Category 4 major storm on Thursday, and Tropical Depression 14 has become Tropical Storm Margot, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 p.m. update.

Lee is about 780 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands and moving west-northwest at 15 mph, according to the NHC.

Hurricane Lee strengthens into Category 2 storm, Tropical Depression 14 forms in Atlantic

Hurricane Lee has sustained winds of 130 mph, according to the NHC. Most models still show Lee making a turn to the north.

Margot is moving west-northwest at 17 mph and is expected to stay out to sea, according to the NHC. Its expected to become a hurricane over the weekend.

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Swells from Hurricane Lee are expected to impact the Northern Caribbean on Friday and the mainland U.S. by Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

(WFLA)

Lee is the 12th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 and peaks in September.

The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration in August forecasted between 14 to 21 named storms this season, with six to 11 of them expected to become hurricanes, and of those, two to five possibly developing into major hurricanes.

Flamingo rescued after Hurricane Idalia nicknamed Peaches

In the Pacific, Hurricane Jova churned through open waters far from Mexicos southwest coast as a Category 4 storm. It posed no threat to land.

It was located about 550 miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja, California, and was moving west-northwest at 16 mph with winds up to 155 mph. The storm is expected to weaken starting late Thursday.

Tropical Depression 14, now Tropical Storm Margot, formed Thursday over the eastern Atlantic.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
A Florida babysitter was arrested after being accused of leaving an infant in a vehicle on a hot summer day.

Rhonda Jewell was charged with aggravated manslaughter in connection to the death of 10-month-old Ariya Paige, First Coast News reported.

Officials say babysitter Rhonda Jewell left 10-month-old Ariya Paige in a hot SUV for hours in July. (News4Jax/YouTube screenshot)

The incident happened in July, and authorities said the babysitter forgot the child in a hot SUV in Macclenny, Florida. As local news reported, Jewell was tending to other kids inside a house at the time.

Related: Former Miami Cop Who Was Captured on Video Pinning His Knee On Pregnant Black Womans Neck, Stunning Her with Taser In Belly Sentenced to 30 Days In Jail

According to reports, Paige was inside the vehicle for about five hours. She was discovered when her mother came to get her. An incident report shows the babys skin was hot, and the temperature inside the car was over 133 degrees.

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There was one of the EMTs on the gurney, and she was giving Ariya CPR, but she was crying, Pam Paige told First Coast News. As a medical professional myself, I knew that wasnt a good sign.

Speaking to the outlet, Pam Paige said she was informed her granddaughter died at the hospital. Paiges family since has been calling for justice and hired an attorney. They held a rally last month, holding pink signs that read: Justice For Ariya and Always in Our Hearts, according to WJXT-TV.

I just dont want any other babies or any other children to ever experience what Ariya did, her mother, Brooke Paige, said. It hurts. I hate that Ariya had to go through it, and there was nothing I could do.

Per First Coast News, Jewell appeared before a judge and paid a $25,000 bond.

In August, a 62-year-old man was charged after leaving a 1-year-old child in a van outside a Nebraska daycare, resulting in her death.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.
The British Museum [Photo/VCG]

As the British Museum struggles to pick up the pieces amid the festering theft scandal, there have been renewed calls for the institution to return items it took from other countries.



The British Museum in mid-August dismissed a staff member after items from its collection, including gold jewellery and gems of semiprecious stones dating from as far back as the 15th century B.C., were found to be missing, stolen or damaged.

Its director Hartwig Fischer resigned the following week, admitting that the museum "did not respond as comprehensively as it should have in response to the warnings (of thefts) in 2021."

Early this month, former Victoria & Albert Museum chief Mark Jones was named as the British Museum's interim director.

"We (have) called in the police, imposed emergency measures to increase security, set up an independent review into what happened and lessons to learn," the British Museum told Xinhua on Monday.

But even as the museum seeks to maintain a sense of normalcy in its operation, industry professionals have expressed both shock at the vulnerability of such a high-level institution and doubt that the lost items can be all retrieved. It's reported that not all of the items were properly catalogued and registered.

"We get reports almost every single day from various museums, cultural institutions and churches around the world that have had thefts. But what was so shocking was that this happened at the British Museum, one of the most important and well-funded institutions in the world," Christopher Marinello, CEO of the Art Recovery Group, told Xinhua.

Marinello said that failing to catalogue the items is "nothing short of malfeasance," as those not catalogued will most likely never be returned to the museum.

With suspicions about the British Museum's ability to keep the artefacts safe, many countries have renewed calls to demand the return of the items that belonged to them.

"We want to tell the British Museum that they cannot any more say that Greek cultural heritage is more protected in the British Museum," Despina Koutsoumba, head of the Association of Greek Archaeologists, told the BBC recently. "It is obvious that it is very well protected in Greece and not in the British Museum."

The Greek government has been demanding the British Museum return the Elgin Marbles it took in the 19th century.

"It's shocking to hear that the countries and museums that have been telling us that the Benin Bronzes would not be secure in Nigeria, have thefts happening there," Abba Isa Tijani, director general of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments, recently told Sky News.

"They are the subject of loot. They were illegally taken out of the country," Tijani said. He demanded the British Museum give back the Benin Bronzes, which British forces took in 1897.

"It is irrespective whether they are safe there. That is not an issue. The issue is that these are stolen artefacts, and they should be returned to Nigeria to the communities that they belong to," he added.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Afrikan Reparations, threw light on the "insulting ridiculousness" of the British Museum's refusal to return artefacts to their country of origin on security grounds.

"One of the most insulting reasons that they've given is that the other countries that these items belong to would either not be able to take care of them or they are likely to be stolen," she said. "But you've got people in this country putting them on eBay."
Ian McKellen has identified the worst moviemaking experience hes ever endured during his decades-long acting career.

Perhaps best known for his iconic role as wizard Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings franchise, the 84-year-old British actor has more than 100 TV and movie credits to his name from his 60-plus years of acting.

However, it was his leading role in Michael Manns 1983 war horror The Keep that he credits with being his worst moviemaking experience.

Michael Mann said to me, Youre playing this Romanian. So I went to Romania to scout it out, and I learned how to speak with a Romanian accent, McKellen recalled in a new interview with Variety.

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Then on the first day of shooting, Michael told me he wanted me to speak with a Chicago accent. Well, I couldnt do that, and it got worse from there.

McKellen starred alongside Scott Glenn (The Silence of the Lambs) and Gabriel Byrne in The Keep, which told the story of Nazi troops who awaken an evil force when they set up camp in Romania during World War II.

The actor can next be seen in Anand Tuckers period thriller The Critic, which makes its world premiere at this years Toronto International Film Festival.

Sir Ian McKellen among special honourees at 2023 Pantomime Awards (PA) (PA Archive)

Gemma Arterton, Ben Barnes, Colin Firth, Alfred Enoch, Alfred Enoch and Mark Strong also feature.

The Critic is a story of ambition, blackmail and desire with a dazzling anti-hero at its dark heart. A whodunnit wrapped in a Faustian pact which winds tighter and tighter, according to IMDb.

He is also beginning a limited Off West End run of Frank and Percy at Londons Other Palace theatre on Friday (8 September), continuing through until 3 December.

McKellen stars opposite Roger Allam in the comedy production about a pair of older gentlemen who form an unlikely friendship while sitting on a park bench.

Asked by Variety about the thought of retiring, McKellen scoffed: Retire to do what?

Ive never been out of work, but Im aware that any minute now something could happen to me which could prevent me from ever working again, he said.

But while the knees hold up and the memory remains intact, why shouldnt I carry on? I really feel Im quite good at this acting thing now.
Many people consider fall to be one of the prettiest times of the year as the weather cools and the trees turn beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red.

But theres one problem: the height of beautiful fall foliage doesnt last long.

For most locations nationwide, including Idaho, the peak time to see fall foliage only lasts about two weeks, according to the Farmers Almanac.

Farmers Almanac forecasts that Idahos fall foliage will peak between Oct. 5 and Oct. 21.

The almanac also doesnt differentiate between different parts of the state. But the website smokymountains.com, a Tennessee-based company specializing in vacation experiences in national parks, uses over 50,000 predictive data points to determine the peak time for fall foliage in every U.S. county.

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The interactive map below shows you when fall foliage will be at its peak in your county.

Smoky Mountains uses data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including historical and forecasted temperature and precipitation, historical leaf peak trends and user reports.

Our model ingests multiple data points including NOAA precipitation forecasts, historical precipitation, average daylight exposure and temperature forecasts, Smoky Mountains founder and researcher David Angotti stated in a news release.

We process hundreds of thousands of data points from a variety of private and government sources to accurately predict the precise moment fall will occur for the entire United States.

When will fall arrive in Idaho?

According to Smoky Mountains map, early signs of widespread fall foliage will begin to appear in North Idaho as early as Monday, Sept. 11. Still, the most vibrant colors wont reach their peak until the first week of October.

The Treasure Valley will follow the same pattern, with the leaves starting to turn around Monday and hitting their peak Oct. 3-10.

By Oct. 9, the foliage will be past its peak in Boise, but the trees will remain colorful through Central Idaho, including in the Sawtooth Mountain Range, clear through to early November.

By Halloween, Idaho will have said goodbye to the last of its colorful leaves.

The City of Trees will turn from green to gold this September and October.

Why do the leaves change color?

Leaves dont change color just for our enjoyment; they do so to keep the tree they are on alive.

Leaves are bright green through the summer because of a green pigment called chlorophyll, which helps turn sunlight into glucose and, in turn, feeds the tree.

As the days get shorter and sunlight becomes harder to come by, the leaves stop producing chlorophyll. As the chlorophyll production shortens, the true color of the leaves begins to show  colors that have always been there but were hidden by the green pigment.

These true colors result from carotenoids, naturally occurring pigments that color plants and other vegetation worldwide.

Beta-Carotene, Anthocyanins and Flavonols are three of the most common carotenoids that give leaves their natural color when not drowned out by chlorophyll.

Eventually, the trees shed their leaves for the winter to protect themselves from the damaging cold, according to Smoky Mountains.

If leaves remained on the trees, the cold temperatures would easily access the veins that carry water and nutrients to and from the leaves and kill the tree. Instead, the tree forms a protective layer of cells at the base of each leaf and cuts off nutrient flow to the leaves, enabling them to die and shed to the ground.
An immigrant who was being held captive in a locked garage was able to help save others after he escaped and went to find help, police say.

Deputies went to the home in Meadows Place, Texas, on Aug. 30 to conduct a welfare check after one of the victims broke free and went to a nearby church asking them to call for help, according to KTRK.

As police investigated, they found four people locked in a garage, officials from the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office told McClatchy News.

The immigrants were allegedly illegally smuggled from Mexico. The five victims were being held captive in a locked un-air-condition garage at the location pending payment of additional money, a Sept. 5 news release from the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office said.

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Police said they believe the immigrants arrived at different times within a two-week period and were smuggled from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.

Imagine what an unlit, hot garage in the Texas summer would be. Thats exactly where they were being held. No windows, no doors, no air conditioning. Just concrete floor, Sgt. Justin Harris told KTRK.

Weather reports show the high that day was 102 degrees. The week prior was over 100 degrees each day.

These innocent people have no resources, no family, no way to contact someone if anyone were to harm them. So these human traffickers coerce them into believing that because theyre here in the U.S. without any legal status, they are criminals, and if they go to anybody around them for help, theyre going to be punished, immigration attorney Kim Bruno told KTRK.

Three men were arrested. Jose Jose Aguirre, 24, Jose Aguirre Martin, 22, and Orlando Noe Betancur Flores, 21, all face smuggling charges. Aguirre is also being charged with aggravated kidnapping, police said.

We are dedicated to keeping our community safe while combating heinous crimes such as these, and we are working tirelessly to bring perpetrators to justice, Sheriff Eric Fagan said in the news release. While arrests have been made, this investigation continues in order to ensure all involved are held accountable.

Martin and Flores are being held on a $500,000 bond. Aguirre has yet to be issued a bond, police said.

The victims were released to Homeland Security, and additional arrests may be coming, police said, according to KTRK.

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Republicans in competitive districts are poised to come face-to-face with two politically perilous matters this month: whether to open an impeachment inquiry into President Biden and the possibility of a government shutdown.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has suggested that the House could hold a vote to launch an impeachment inquiry as soon as this month, despite hesitation from some moderates. At the same time, conservatives are continuing their push for steeper spending cuts and policy provisions attached to government funding, with some going as far as to embrace the possibility of a shutdown.

Both issues could put the 18 Republicans defending their seats in districts Biden won last cycle in a tight spot  forcing them to choose between risking blowback from their party on Capitol Hill or from their voters back home.

I think theres a lot of peril this fall facing Republicans, said Vin Weber, a Republican strategist and former member of House GOP leadership.

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The Republican conference has a lot of risky things facing them in the next month or two, he later added.

All signs suggest that the House will hold a vote to open an impeachment inquiry this fall, with conservatives pushing for the referendum and McCarthy appearing ready to take the plunge. But some moderates  including at least two of the Biden-district Republicans  are not ready to take that step, creating a math problem for McCarthy as he steers his slim GOP majority. The Speaker can only afford to lose a handful of GOP votes on a resolution to open an inquiry, assuming all Democrats oppose the effort.

Colliding with that push is the race to fund the government by Sept. 30 to avoid a shutdown  though some hard-line conservatives are welcoming the possibility of bringing Washington to a screeching halt. A handful of members from the House Freedom Caucus have said they would be content with a shutdown if it means stopping the country from continuing on its current spending trajectory  messaging that could be harmful for the vulnerable House Republicans.

One GOP lawmaker  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.)  says she will not fund the government unless a Biden impeachment inquiry is opened.

Those dynamics signal potential trouble ahead for House Republicans in Biden-won districts, who will likely have to face a tough vote on opening an impeachment inquiry, and grapple with Democrats branding the party as one that is not worried about a shutdown.

And they are coming to a head as the calendar approaches one year until the 2024 elections, when Republicans are hoping to expand their narrow House majority  and Democrats are looking to take back the upper hand in the chamber, with an eye on the 18 Biden-won districts.

I wish I could say Im not sure but Im pretty sure it will, Weber, a partner at the public strategy firm Mercury, said when asked if Biden-district Republicans will be put in a tough spot on an impeachment inquiry and appropriations. Those are not the issues that Republicans in marginal districts want to talk about at home.

At least two Biden-district Republicans are expressing hesitation when it comes to opening an impeachment inquiry into the president, arguing that they have not yet seen evidence to support going down that path.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.)  whose district Biden won by 10 points last cycle  told Fox News in an interview Monday that were not there yet when asked how he would vote on a resolution to open an impeachment inquiry. And Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), whose constituents broke for Biden 52.2 percent to 45.8 percent in 2020, told The Hill last month, I think we need to have more concrete evidence to go down that path.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.), for his part, expressed confidence that the votes are there to launch an impeachment inquiry.

I do, Comer told Fox Newss Sean Hannity when asked if he thought a resolution to open an inquiry has the votes to pass. And I think that  Ive been in conversation with a lot of the moderate members who obviously, for various reasons, have been concerned about this. But the evidence is overwhelming.

But a new survey says public opinion in Biden-won districts may be trending in Lawler and Bacons favor.

In a poll commissioned by the Democratic-aligned Congressional Integrity Project released Wednesday, 56 percent of voters in the 18 Biden-won districts said an impeachment inquiry would be more of a partisan political stunt, while 41 percent said it would be a serious effort to probe important problems.

Fifty-five percent of the respondents said an inquiry would be more about helping former President Trump rather than uncovering the truth.

The poll surveyed 633 voters from the 18 districts Biden won in 2020 that are represented by Republicans. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

What they do in terms of this impeachment vote will be very telling as to what they actually believe, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), a member of the House Oversight Committee, said of the 18 Biden-district Republicans.

He participated in a press briefing to roll out the Congressional Integrity Project poll.

Theres a lot of lip service but theres very little action so far on their end to demonstrate that they are focused on representing their districts rather than just getting along with Speaker McCarthy and the fringe MAGA wing of the party that has completely co-opted the House Republican leadership, Goldman added.

McCarthy has been careful to note that Republicans would be opening an inquiry to expand their investigative purview, and not jumping to a vote on ousting the president.

But Weber, the GOP strategist and former House member, said just the talk of impeachment could hurt Republicans.

I think any vote to open up impeachment is gonna be perceived negatively by everyone other than the most solid Republican voters, Weber said. So, you know, I wouldnt want to cast that vote.

I think the distinction between an inquiry and an actual impeachment is gonna be largely lost on the general public, he continued. Theyre gonna believe that this is the beginning of an impeachment, and its not gonna be helpful.

On government funding, vulnerable House Republicans are at risk of getting roped in with the few conservatives content with a shutdown. Democrats are already pinning a potential shutdown on the House GOP.

When the Senate returns next week, our focus will be on funding the government and preventing House Republican extremists from forcing a government shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote in a letter to colleagues over the weekend.

According to a Peter G. Peterson Foundation poll, 90 percent of voters  including 91 percent of Democrats and 89 percent of Republicans  agree that lawmakers should work together to avoid a shutdown and focus their efforts on finding solutions for the national debt.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)  which has made a point to target the swing-district Republicans in messaging this year  says that GOP positions on an impeachment inquiry and government funding could cost them the majority come next year.

House Republicans are ignoring pocketbook issues like lowering costs for families and growing the middle class in pursuit of an extreme MAGA agenda. The fact that they are cheerleading a harmful government shutdown and a sham impeachment reveals how unfit and irresponsible they are  their obsession with these petty political fights will cost them the majority, DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement to The Hill.

But the organizations GOP counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), is brushing off that noise, dubbing it as mental gymnastics.

Extreme Democrats struggled to defend Joe Biden driving the economy into a ditch, creating a border crisis, and now changing explanations surrounding his family business, NRCC Communications Director Jack Pandol told The Hill in a statement. Theres no telling what new mental gymnastics theyll invent next.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Inadequate pandemic infection control and medical care at two state-run veterans homes violated the U.S. Constitution and still put residents at risk for Covid-19 and other infections, the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey said Thursday.

The findings at the Menlo Park and Paramus veterans homes deal a heavy blow to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy , whose response to the pandemic at those nursing facilities had been heavily criticized since Covid-19 reached New Jersey in March 2020. The two federal agencies detail the administration's early failures as the coronavirus ripped through the homes, in many ways validating the scrutiny on Murphy and the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which run the facilities.

State and federal authorities had investigated similar issues at nursing homes in New York, but never publicly detailed such damning revelations as the Justice Department did in New Jersey on Thursday.

The joint agency report quoted a worker at the Paramus home describing it as "pure hell" and one at Menlo Park as "a battlefield." It said the homes' "dysfunctional management style" and poor communications contributed to staffing shortages, limiting their ability to keep residents safe. At Menlo Park, staff members feared retaliation. And at both homes, veterans affairs leaders "often appeared indifferent and even hostile" to employee concerns.

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"Even by the standards of the pandemics difficult early days, the facilities were unprepared to keep their residents safe," the agencies said in their 40-page report. "A systemic inability to implement clinical care policy, poor communication between management and staff and a failure to ensure basic staff competency let the virus spread virtually unchecked throughout the facilities."

The homes had among the highest numbers of reported deaths during the first wave of the coronavirus, but the federal agencies noted the figures were likely much higher.

More than three years later, the report said, there are still deficiencies in basic care at the homes, including "failures" to monitor residents for acute changes in condition, administer medications, and treat pressure injuries and wounds adequately. During the Omicron wave of the pandemic in 2021 and 2022, the veterans homes in Paramus and Menlo Park respectively had the third and fourth highest death tolls when compared with similarly sized facilities in the region, according to the investigation.

The Paramus and Menlo Park veterans homes fail to provide the care required by the U.S. Constitution and subject their residents to unacceptable conditions, including inadequate infection control and deficient medical care," New Jersey U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger said in a statement. "These conditions must swiftly be addressed to ensure that our veterans and their families at these facilities receive the care they so richly deserve. We will not stop working until they do.

The Murphy administration has hired an outside firm to examine its response to the pandemic. The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, or DMAVA, did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment on the findings.

The U.S. Department of Justices report on the Veterans homes in Menlo Park and Paramus is a deeply disturbing reminder that the treatment received by our heroic veterans is unacceptable and, quite frankly, appalling," Murphy said in a statement.

The governor highlighted the various actions at the homes the last three years, including private management and assistance there. "However, it is clear that we have significantly more work to do, and we are open to exploring all options to deliver for our veterans the high level of care they deserve and are entitled to under the law."

The Justice Department began its investigation in October 2020, when Donald Trump was president. At the time, the governors office suggested that it was politically motivated from the Trump administration, but the investigation continued under the Biden administration, culminating in Thursday's report. The agencies noted that the U.S. Attorney General "may" initiate a lawsuit if state officials "have not satisfactorily addressed our concerns."

Investigators interviewed dozens of witnesses, including current and former staff, home management and veterans affairs leaders, as well as family members, residents and home staff members. They conducted five multiday, onsite visits to the facilities in 2021 and 2022, and reviewed tens of thousands of documents produced by the state.

The DOJ said that inadequate cooperation from the state impeded the investigation. Veterans homes management cautioned staff around DOJ investigators, saying things to the effect of: DOJ can shut us down, staff should be mindful of what they say, according to the report. Subpoenas from the DOJ to DMAVA were delayed, incomplete, did not include responsive documents or included records out of order.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), one of the leading voices calling for an investigation, said the Justice Department's report "lays out in exhaustive detail a chronicle of misdeeds at these homes that should enrage everybody in New Jersey.

What happened to our veterans was one of the terrible tragedies of the pandemic," he said in a statement. "Too many times residents at the facilities, seniors who fought for our country, have been left in brutal conditions. The incompetence, negligence and outright recklessness by facility management led to loss of life."

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) said he's asked for an "immediate briefing" from the state and federal veterans affairs agencies to understand why the poor conditions remained for so long and how to fix them. He said the handling of the pandemic at the home in Paramus, which unlike Menlo Park is in his congressional district, "is one of the greatest tragedies New Jersey has ever witnessed."

Well-known problems in stark new detail

The failures at the homes has been well documented, both in the news media and in lawsuits that have reportedly cost state taxpayers upwards of $75 million. But the report lays out a damning portrait of the state and local response.

The facilities were short staffed. At one point during the pandemic, the investigation found, the Menlo Park facility, in Edison, had shifts with a ratio of one nurse to one hundred residents.

Staff members at Menlo Park feared retaliation, and mid-level managers at both homes said they felt their supervisors failed to keep them informed. The state veterans affairs agency "took no significant action" to improve communications  and agency leaders "often appeared indifferent and even hostile to the concerns of employees," the report said.

For example, one agency administrator dismissed an email from an employee expressing concerns about infection control as "ridiculous." With the exception of high-risk employees, staffers were banned from wearing masks throughout March 2020 and even faced disciplinary action if they did, according to the report.

The agency and the homes' CEOs "ultimately viewed unauthorized mask wearing as a disciplinary issue, took an adversarial stance toward staff members and contributed to a sense that management did not care about keeping its employees safe," the report said.

Family members faced similar attitudes. Messages did not get returned. Positive cases were not always included or did not offer specifics to ease families' concerns for their loved ones. They pleaded for updates and did not have enough information to decide whether to pull their loved one out of the homes.

"DMAVAs dysfunctional management style led to a defensive and occasionally hostile stance toward the inquiries of family members attempting to make healthcare decisions for their loved ones," the report said.

In one glimpse of the state's stance toward making information public, the report said that in April 2020 veterans affairs staffers considered hosting a Facebook live session to update families, but agency officials decided it was "too risky as the haters would ... be able to post comments without our ability to hide them if needed.

Family members of those who died in the first weeks of the pandemic suffered one last indignity in Paramus. Their loved ones belongings were piled outside the home in garbage bags and remained there until U.S. Veterans Affairs personnel arrived in late April, according to the report. "Some belongings had been damaged by rain," it said.

Problems persist three years later

Murphy has changed leadership at the veterans affairs agency as well as the two homes, but the report said problems still persist. Their successors did not charge its new leadership with examining what went wrong in 2020 or how the Veterans Homes should learn from those failures," the report said.

According to site visits from the DOJ from 2022, the Paramus and Menlo Park facilities still do not properly separate Covid-19 positive residents from non-Covid residents. In some instances residents left areas designated for Covid-19 positive patients even when they still showed symptoms.

The report also found no evidence that the veterans homes implemented recommendations from federal officials early in the pandemic.

It said the homes fail to properly train staff, monitor compliance with infection control protocols and regularly implement protective equipment usage, contact tracing, COVID testing, COVID isolation and cleaning.

"These failures are substantial departures from generally accepted standards of care in long-term care facilities and inhibit the Veterans Homes ability to stop the virus from spreading inside the facilities, creating a serious risk of harm," the report said.

The report renewed calls from state lawmakers to move the oversight of the veterans homes out of DMAVA and into a new state agency  an idea Democratic lawmakers floated since late 2022. In a text message, state Sen. Joe Vitale (D-Middlesex), chair of the Senate Health, Human Services, and Senior Citizens Committee, said that a new Cabinet-level department or authority should be created for veterans services.

State Sen. Joe Cryan (D-Union), chair of the Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee, agreed DMAVA should no longer oversee the veterans homes.

It's time for the military to get out of the nursing home business and to focus on military issues, Cryan said in an interview. While I'm disappointed and disgusted by the report, I hope it serves as an impetus for change. I hope we begin these steps when we come back from the summer recess.

The veterans homes could turn into an issue on the campaign trail headed into the Legislatures 2023 elections.

These findings are not only devastating to the families who needlessly lost loved ones, but also once again raise the question of Democrat-led legislature's refusal to rein in Governor Murphy's emergency powers during the pandemic, as Republicans consistently urged leaders to do, GOP state party spokesperson Alex Wilkes said in a statement. All of the Democrats who did not have the courage to stop Murphy will face voters this November.

Daniel Han contributed to this report.
A man walks past an installation on a skywalk ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi

By Shivangi Acharya, Nikunj Ohri and Sarita Chaganti Singh

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India has proposed that a G20 statement condemning the war in Ukraine also accommodate the views of Russia and China to avoid an impasse for the divided bloc, Indian officials said on Thursday.

Leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden gather in New Delhi this weekend for a summit aimed at boosting food security, climate action and debt relief for poor nations.

But the deliberations of the world's 20 biggest economies have been hindered by differences over Russia's invasion of Ukraine that have hardened since last year's Bali summit, delegates said.

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Western countries want a strong condemnation as a condition for agreeing to a Delhi declaration. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who will attend instead of President Vladimir Putin , has said Moscow will block the final declaration if it does not reflect its stand.

India has suggested that the G20, while condemning the suffering caused by Russia's invasion, also reflect Moscow and Beijing's view that the forum is not the place for geopolitics.

G20 sherpas have been going back and forth over the document for four days before leaders begin deliberations on Saturday.

ACCOMMODATING EVERYONE

"As long as everyone endorses the structure of the document, that is a consensus. We are trying for a situation that everyone including Russia, G7 and China are happy that their views are there," one of the Indian officials said.

The other option is a more general statement on the war in the joint declaration, another official said. Both declined to be named because of government rules.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to use India's leadership of the G20 to showcase its emergence as a major power with an ability to forge unity on big global issues.

If the Delhi meeting fails to produce a joint statement, that would be a first in the G20's summit history and potentially raise questions about the group's viability.

"It would certainly lead to a crisis of confidence in the Group," said Creon Butler, director of the Global Economy and Finance Programme at London's Chatham House thinktank.

At the Bali summit, leaders managed to produce a declaration at the eleventh hour after wrangling over the conflict for days.

Butler predicted there would be plenty of handwringing and speculation over the India summit, but ultimately countries will stick to the G20 format because it was a crucial link between the G7 bloc of wealthiest nations and the developing world.

(Additional reporting by Krishn Kaushik; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Andrew Cawthorne)
CLAY COUNTY, Ind.  A man who inadvertently recorded himself murdering his mothers boyfriend will spend 85 years behind bars following his sentencing Wednesday.

Cody Allen Wade, of Clay County, Indiana, was found guilty of murder, among other charges, following his trial in early August, WTWO reports

A booking image from the Clay County Jail shows Cody Wade following his arrest in 2020. (Clay County Jail)

The charges had stemmed from the events of June 18, 2020, on which date Wade stabbed Carl Haviland four times, causing his death, prosecutors said.

Clay County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Zach Clapp said Wade had left a voicemail on his mothers phone right before the murder. Wade, however, failed to hang up, and ended up recording the entire incident in the voicemail.

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Prosecutors played the recording for the jury during Wades trial. He was ultimately found guilty on charges of murder, resisting law enforcement, and battery on law enforcement officers and a public safety official.

Video shows inmates escape as Pennsylvania manhunt continues

During Wednesdays sentencing, Judge Robert A. Pell sentenced Wade to a total of 85 years in prison, with credit for time served. The sentences, some of which were concurrent, included 15 years for habitual offenses.

Wade was previously incarcerated following an arson conviction in 2018. He had been released from jail in March 2020, just months before the murder of his mothers boyfriend.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Employees of the live shopping industry are categorized as a number of things, especially by Westerners. Theres influencer farm, influencer incubator and social sellers  all titles given to the hundreds of e-commerce influencers who are reinventing the infomercial for millennials and Gen Z.

As TikTok Shop starts to enter the cultural lexicon, its important to understand why the platform would want to pivot to livestream shopping. In Asian countries like Indonesia, South Korea and China, the influencer farm tactic has helped build a multibillion-dollar industry.

What are influencer farms? The concept is foreign to Westerners who see footage of them on TikTok

Influencer farms is a term used to describe groups of content creators who sell products while livestreaming on social media platforms. The practice has been called factory-like, with influencers filming in a similar environment to a call center  using their own phones and ring lights, but everyone streaming in the same room or area  hawking products to thousands of viewers like QVC robot sellers, as one publication put it.

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The practice dominates in China, where the e-commerce market grew more than 280% between 2017 and 2020. In 2022, reports found that in China trained influencers were setting up the e-commerce industry to surpass $500 billion in revenue.

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Alibaba-owned Taobao is the worlds biggest e-commerce streaming platform, followed by Kuaishou and Douyin, Chinas version of TikTok. Its estimated that there are over 1 million livestreaming influencers working in China.

Who works in these influencer farms?

According to the BBC, in China there are two types of internet celebrities: the type who create original content and the type who sell products.

In 2021, the New York Times documented a day in the life of one of the up-and-coming celebrities in the latter category, a creator named Jin He, who initially wanted to be a musician but ended up being recruited to be a livestreamer.

The agency He works for  which was not named  told the New York Times that it employs more than 200 influencers at any given time. Training takes one to two months on average, and there are managers that help shape the influencers online persona.

At first, Jin was all about sexy shorts and so on. We were going for sexy, talent manager Emma Wen said in the documentary. But theres an interesting phenomenon in this industry  taking the sexy route pulls in low-quality fans, not big spenders.

David Borenstein, who directed the documentary, said the talent managers involvement in influencers lives and image was what drew him to the project in the first place.

I was interested in this story because of how voraciously management was constantly reining in Jin He, he said in a Reddit AMA. I didnt see much self-regulation and self-obsession of image from the talent themselves; it all came from their managers, who regulated every little aspect of their personalities, sense of humor, music taste, clothes, etc.

Social selling factory in Indonesia 



This is UGC industrial mass production. This is a freaking factory.



Selling things online is changing so fast. Everything is changing so fast.



This is unreal pic.twitter.com/8rig77MGuR  Linus () (@LinusEkenstam) August 20, 2023

The documentary claimed that He was making anywhere between $30,000 to $45,000 USD a month  although the company takes a portion of the earnings, it was not disclosed how much. To make that much money from streaming requires more than a regular 40-hour workweek.

To make even a modest living, online presenters have to work long hours in cramped conditions and all under the watchful gaze of demanding agents, a South China Morning Post article from 2017 says.

Viya, whose real name is Huang Wei, was one of the first streamers to join Taobao in 2016. She filmed from a studio in a warehouse in Hangzhou that housed the Qianxun Group, a 500-person content livestream agency, and was at one point called the worlds livestream queen.

Her influence was impressive. In April 2020, she sold a rocket launch service for $5.6 million USD during a livestream that had more than 37 million people watching. In an interview, she revealed that she streamed every night for four hours  from 8 p.m. to midnight  seven days a week, shilling 30 to 40 products. Immediately after, she and her team would prep for the next stream by reviewing 200 to 300 products.

Viyas social accounts were taken down after she was fined $210 million USD for tax evasion in 2022.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

Why are influencer farms so successful?

While China isnt the only country with influencer farms or a booming e-commerce economy, the country is active in setting up young people  especially women  with opportunities to get involved.

In 2017, a college in Chongqing was one of the first to offer students a training program to teach them how to be a successful internet star. The program was advertised to teach aspiring influencers to ask for gifts, how to go viral and how to sell products.

New York Times China correspondent Vivian Wang speculated that the pandemic contributed to the explosive growth of influencer farms and e-commerce. In 2022, nearly half of Chinas 1 billion internet users shopped through a platform like Taobao or Douyin.

Time-limited tactics are an old sales trick. And yet, combined with the charisma of livestreaming influencers, they have strong appeal for young consumers, helping to create sales records in Chinas e-commerce sector, the South China Morning Post reported.

Wang added that Americans may recognize the tactics from TV shopping networks, like QVC or HSN, but they are much more interactive and, therefore, more compelling for viewers.

Consumers  especially Generation Z and millennials who value interaction  also welcome the opportunity to pursue the best prices while engaging with opinion leaders, the South China Morning Post wrote.

In The Know by Yahoo is now available on Apple News  follow us here!

The post What are influencer farms? Chinas successful tactic for live shopping surprises Westerners appeared first on In The Know.

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An Instagram influencer was sentenced to five years behind bars on Thursday for using more than 10 stolen identities to fraudulently obtain over $1.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds, officials said.

Danielle Miller, 32, pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft in March.

She used her ill-gotten money to charter a private jet and rent a luxury apartment as part of a "quest for fleeting social media stardom," Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy said.

"Today's sentencing should make it crystal clear that curating a high-society social media presence on the backs of hardworking taxpayers is a path to prison, not fleeting fame," Levy said.

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Miller used her Instagram account to show off her extravagant lifestyle, with posts chronicling stays at luxury hotels in California and featuring "accouterments of wealth," Levy said.

Her last post as of Thursday was made on Oct. 14, 2022, more than a year after her arrest.

Following her arrest but prior to her guilty plea, Miller began selling merchandise bearing the phrase "I am not an influencer," which she called a "subtle commentary pushing back against fake news, poor investigator journalists and the click bait the media continues to perpetuate."

Miller had more than 24,000 followers as of her sentencing.

Miller faces three years of supervised release after she completes her prison sentence, authorities said. She was also ordered to pay restitution, though the amount has not yet been determined. Officials in March had said Miller could face a fine of up to $250,000.

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Visitors enjoy an immersive exhibition using technologies such as digital projection and AI interaction at the National Maritime Museum in Tianjin, July 29, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

During the summer holiday, visiting museums has emerged as a new trend, with several renowned museums being dubbed as "must-visit" destinations by netizens. Tourists were seen queuing for long hours in front of museums and obtaining entrance tickets became more challenging.



According to media reports, the Henan Museum received more than 12,000 visitors this summer, nearly double that of the same period in 2019. The Hangzhou Museum recorded 12,800 visitors on July 16, setting a new daily attendance record.

Sun Mingli, the curator of the Suzhou Museum, said bookings for museum visits were snapped up within hours. To accommodate the increasing number of visitors, the museum extended its opening hours to 9 pm.

Directors of the Shandong Museum and the Nanjing Museum also reported heightened enthusiasm among tourists this summer. The Shandong Museum has assigned core staff members to rotate in introducing exhibits daily, while they have also set up a "curator's day" on Tuesdays, on which day museum heads personally guide visitors.

In response to the growing demand, 46 museums in Beijing canceled their customary Monday closures and remained open daily until August 31.

Factors contributing to the 'museum fever'

According to Xinhua News Agency, the surge in "museum fever" can be attributed to various factors, including the public's increasing enthusiasm for traditional Chinese culture, the flourishing market for youth educational tours and summer camps, as well as the continuous innovation of museums.

Lin Liugen, the director of the Institute of Archaeology at Zhejiang University, said the "museum craze" reflects a profound connection between the public and traditional culture. As the economy and society progress, more people seek a deeper understanding of China's rich cultural heritage and history.

Summer camps, family trips and educational tours have been the primary forms of tourism this summer, with museum visits becoming a must-do activity for travelers.

Dong Baohou , the deputy director of the Liaoning Provincial Museum, said over 30 percent of visitors were children, some visiting with their families, while others came as part of school groups.

Ma Xiaolin, the curator of Henan Museum, highlighted that museums have been conducting extensive research on cultural relics, making them more relatable and appealing to the public by integrating modern fashion trends.

Besides, the application of new technologies has made cultural relics more accessible. For instance, 3D projection technology breathes life into static exhibits, enabling them to come alive before visitors' eyes. AR intelligent navigation glasses offer a unique experience by allowing individuals to appreciate relics through voice commands and visual recognition. Additionally, an advanced intelligent lighting system optimally showcases relics, adapting its illumination to the distinct characteristics of each exhibit.

'Check-in'- style exhibition viewing

Amid the "museum fever", some tourists prioritize taking photos and sharing them on social media to demonstrate their presence rather than appreciating the exhibits themselves.

Instances of visitors prioritizing photo opportunities over exhibit appreciation have occurred, often causing inconvenience to other museumgoers and, in some cases, damage to exhibits.

According to a report from China Youth Daily, an incident occurred in Nanning city when a young woman tapped a fellow museumgoer on the shoulder and requested that she step aside. The reason for this request was that the young woman and her friends wished to take photos in front of a painting. They proceeded to take turns, with some of them changing outfits and adopting various poses for their photo shoot. This monopolization of the space resulted in extended waiting times for others who also wished to view the painting.

"Some individuals have caused damage to exhibits during their photo shoots," said Luo Jie, a student from Guangxi University. "They disregarded the 'No touching' signs and lean on delicate items, resulting in significant damage and even tearing some exhibits apart."

Yang Hong, an associate professor at the Communication University of China, said two factors contribute to the phenomenon of "check-in"-style exhibition viewing. First, the desire to generate content for social media has led people to focus on visually appealing scenes for quick photo opportunities. Second, society's increasing reliance on images has led to a diminished focus on the content and social significance of exhibits.

In the age of prevalent social media, garnering online attention has become the primary objective for many individuals when they pose for "check-in" photos. According to a 2023 museum data report released by the short-video platform Douyin, during the past year, the viewership of museum-related content has increased by 165.97 percent year-on-year, with the sharing of such content surging by 558.52 percent. A total of 1.96 million users have contributed to this trend by posting 4.46 million videos showcasing their museum visits on Douyin. These museum-related videos have effectively become a new avenue for generating online traffic.

Civilized exhibition viewing

Liu Yanchang, the curator of the Shandong Museum, said "In the future, more and more people will take visiting museums as a kind of habit and lifestyle."

On how to better meet museumgoers' needs, Sun Mingli, deputy curator of the Suzhou Museum, suggests that popular museums consider implementing hourly booking systems or hosting "cloud exhibitions" to enhance visitor experience.

Some experts emphasize that the public should not view museums solely as tourist attractions or amusement parks. Instead, they should seek to appreciate the deeper meanings behind the exhibits.

Yan Min, an associate professor at Guangxi University, believes that the presence of young people in museums, regardless of their motivations, is an encouraging trend. She contends that viewing exhibitions is a pursuit of beauty that can enhance aesthetics and broaden horizons. The immersive experience of viewing is of greater significance than comprehending the values and connotations.

However, she emphasizes the importance of adhering to museum rules, taking photographs in moderation, and respecting other visitors. Museum staff should also enhance guidance to regulate visitor behavior.
An Instagram influencer was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday for using stolen identities to secure more than $1 million in pandemic-related loans  finances she used to flaunt her lavish lifestyle on social media, federal prosecutors said.

Danielle Miller, 32, who has more than 34,000 followers on Instagram, used the stolen identities of more than 10 people to obtain pandemic-relief loans, the U.S. Attorneys Office for Massachusetts said in a statement.

She used the money from the fraudulently obtained loans to live a high-society lifestyle that included chartering a private jet and renting a luxury apartment, the statement said.

A federal judge sentenced Miller, of Miami, to five years in prison and three years of supervised release, prosecutors said. She was also ordered to pay restitution to be determined later.

Prosecutors say Danielle Miller used stolen identities to get more than $100,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration and allegedly spent taxpayer money at various luxury hotels throughout California. (@killadmilla via Instagram)

In March, she pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

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Attorney Mitchell C. Elman, who represents Miller, said in an emailed statement Thursday: "Ms. Miller has accepted responsibility for her actions and has expressed her remorse to the Court, the Government and the victims affected."

Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy of the District of Massachusetts said in a statement that Miller used the ill-gotten funds to bolster her social media presence.

Todays sentencing should make it crystal clear that curating a high-society social media presence on the backs of hardworking taxpayers is a path to prison, not fleeting fame, he said.

Ms. Miller isnt an influencer, she is a convicted felon. She stole the identities of innocent people to steal over $1.2 million in pandemic-relief loans that should have gone to people in need, Levy added.

From July 2021 to May 2021, Miller devised and executed a scheme to obtain pandemic loans from the federal government, prosecutors said. The loans included funds from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, through the Small Business Administration, and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, prosecutors said.

In the scheme, prosecutors said, Miller also used fake business names to apply for and secure the federal loans. In addition, she had counterfeit drivers licenses with the victims names but her photograph.

On her Instagram account, Miller publicized a luxurious lifestyle, including posts from posh hotels in California expensed using a bank account from one of the victims whose identity was stolen, prosecutors said.

Miller also used a counterfeit drivers license in the name of a Massachusetts victim to secure a private jet charter flight from Florida to California. In another instance, prosecutors said, Miller used the identity of another victim to rent a luxury apartment in Florida.

In a New York Magazine story last year about her privileged upbringing in Manhattan and her troubled life, Miller said she is a "con artist."

Honestly, I more so consider myself a con artist than anything, she said. You know how they have that saying that you can sell ice to an Eskimo? If theres something that I want, Im getting it.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Historically, the only effective deterrent to blackmailers is to get tough on them, fighting back and not giving in to their demands.

Historically, also, California has a history of doing the opposite when it comes to insurance, letting companies that have lost money during natural disasters blackmail the state to escape risks that traditionally come with selling insurance.

It appears about to happen again now, in a development that looks similar in many ways to the last successful insurance company blackmail, which took place in the 1990s.

Prior to the big urban-area earthquakes that struck California in 1989 and 1994, insurance companies selling property insurance here also had to offer earthquake insurance policies.

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But no more. Those big temblors caused so much damage and so much insurance company loss that the companies declared they would stop selling homeowner and other property policies here unless they could escape from writing quake policies. They did just that.

The insurance commissioner at the time, Republican Chuck Quackenbush, had been elected largely with insurance company donations. He quickly caved to the insurance company blackmail and led the Legislature to create the California Earthquake Authority, which now sells policies through actual insurance companies, which are not themselves on the hook for earthquake damages.

Now the same companies, State Farm, Allstate and Farmers, plus AmGuard and Falls Lake Insurance, are using a similar blackmail tactic by again stopping property policy sales in the state, this time demanding a surcharge on all California property insurance to help pay for their losses from wildfires, floods and other disasters at least partially caused by climate change.

They also want to base future rates on climate change projections of more severe fires and storms, rather than getting reimbursed by rate increases after those events occur, if they ever do. Farmers took matters a step further, announcing 2,400 layoffs.

This is pure blackmail, says consumer advocate Harvey Rosenfield, author of the 1988 Proposition 103, which has regulated insurance rates since then. Theyre saying, Give us more money or well pull out and even cancel existing policies. 

Heres the likely state response, as predicted by Rosenfield and the Consumer Watchdog advocacy group he founded: A last-minute legislative bailout.

But heres the proper response: Current Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and Gov. Gavin Newsom need to tell companies which wont sell property insurance here they also wont be selling car insurance in the worlds largest automotive market and also wont be allowed to sell life insurance, their most lucrative current product.

So far, there is no sign of that kind of toughness from either Lara or Newsom.

Reality is that the insurance companies want to keep making big profits even in periods when they have to pay up on their policies. That is the big reason Farmers recently also pulled out of the Florida property insurance market, where it has taken losses from frequent and severe hurricanes.

But risk is at the root of the insurance business. Proposition 103, which has saved consumers more than $13 billion over the last 35 years, allows insurance companies to raise rates when justified by the payouts theyve made. The companies want more. They want license to raise rates to an almost unlimited extent and they want to charge low-risk customers who live outside wildfire areas for the risks they assume by insuring other people.

So, in addition to telling the big companies that if they wont sell one kind of insurance, they cant sell others, California needs to require that companies price their policies higher in high-risk areas than other places.

Folks who choose to live in the safest areas should not have to subsidizing others who want to enjoy the beauty and adventure of forest living. Homeowners in wildfire areas know the risks before they move there.

But the legislators who might this fall give in to the insurance company demands know they are politically safe, whatever they do, so long as they run under the Democratic Party label.

Which means insurance company blackmail will likely succeed again this time, just as it did in the 1990s.

Email Thomas Elias at tdelias@aol.com.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Will insurance blackmail win out again?
As central banks pile up gold reserves, investors are also accumulating the precious metal, JPMorgan reports.

The bank estimates gold accumulation to be at the highest level since 2012.

But its uncertain the central bank momentum will last, with buy ups normalizing last quarter.

A fixation among central banks on expanding their gold reserves since 2022 has driven investors to also allocate more of the safe haven asset, JPMorgan said in a note on Thursday.

While the bank has found that global traders have largely been underweight non-gold commodity allocations in the past year, their estimated exposure to the yellow metal has increased to its highest level since 2012.

"In other words, investors' allocation to gold looks rather high by historical standards at the moment and one needs to assume a structural increase in central bank demand beyond historical norms (due to fear of sanctions or general diversification away from G7 government bonds) to be bullish on gold," JPMorgan wrote.

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Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, foreign central banks have added to their gold reserves in an effort to be less dependent on the US dollar. Though the world's staple reserve currency, the greenback's weaponization against Russia served as a warning to other countries with large exposures to the US currency.

But while central banks added 228.4 tons of gold in the first quarter  a 176% increase from a year prior  JPMorgan said that continued momentum is uncertain. The note cited a second quarter slowdown, where net purchases normalized at around 100 tons.

However, this could have been due to turmoil in Turkey's local gold market, causing its central bank to increase sales.

Though this normalization trend may only be temporary, it would help restore a more traditional balance between gold price levels and real bond yields. Central bank demand has driven the commodity's price beyond what would be suggested by real 10-year Treasury yields.

JPMorgan added: "While before the pandemic gold ETF flows was the demand component exhibiting the highest correlation with gold prices, and thus the most important flow to watch, after the pandemic it has been central bank flows showing the highest correlation with gold."

A Wednesday report from The World Gold Council cautioned that gold may begin to underperform as long-dated Treasury yields keep climbing, typically an bad sign for gold. It's for this reason that it declined a marginal 1% in August. This also contributed to $3 billion in global gold ETF outflows that month.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Ukrainian troops continue to advance in parts of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in its Sept. 6 report.

At the same time, Russian war commentators claim that Russian brigades in Ukraine lack sufficient supplies, particularly artillery munitions.

According to the ISW, Russian commentators who follow the war closely have claimed that troops are relying on "limited stockpiles" of artillery, thus "performing poorly along the front in Ukraine."

Complaints that the Russian military has inadequately equipped front-line soldiers have become common among certain Russian sources, causing tension with the Kremlin.

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Artillery shortages remain an ongoing problem for Russian forces. The New York Times reported on Sept. 4 that Russia hopes to secure a deal with North Korea for additional artillery shells during Kim Jong-Un's planned visit to Vladivostok on Sept. 10-13.

Join our community Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight. Support us

Amid Russian complaints of shortages at the front, Ukrainian counteroffensive forces advanced in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the ISW said.

Citing geolocated footage and information from Ukrainian officials, the ISW said that Ukrainian troops had advanced northwest of Verbove, "along the line of Russian fortifications that runs into the settlement."

Verbove is located about 10 kilometers east of the recently-liberated village Robotyne.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Blinken announces $1 billion in new military aid during visit to Kyiv

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's government postponed on Thursday a plan by one of the country's most polluted regions to ban old diesel vehicles from towns and cities during working hours, an initiative that had sparked protests by motorists.

The announcement of the one-year delay to the plan in the northwestern Piedmont region is the latest example of the right-wing government's cautious approach on environmental regulation.

At the European Union level, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni 's administration has led opposition to proposed Euro 7 legislation to further restrict car emissions.

Partly to avoid EU censure over pollution, Piedmont was planning a daytime ban on diesel vehicles up to the Euro 5 emission class during the working week, in all municipalities with more than 10,000 residents, starting Sept. 15 until April 15 next year.

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But Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said the measure would now only be allowed to enter into force from Oct. 1, 2024, adding that it would be applied only to places with more than 30,000 inhabitants.

"The government has intervened (...) to avert a social and economic crisis of families and businesses without neglecting the importance of the commitments made with the European Union," Pichetto Fratin said in a statement.

According to the Corriere della Sera newspaper, the restrictions would have affected more than 600,000 vehicles, including about 140,000 Euro 5 diesels as well as other older more polluting vehicles, including petrol ones.

Piedmont is part of the Po Valley, one of the most polluted areas in Europe.

Its regional government, controlled by the same parties that make up Meloni's coalition, said it had been under pressure to take action after the EU Court of Justice in 2020 found Italy in breach of the bloc's clean air regulations.

Pichetto Fratin said the government had ordered a review and update of regional anti-pollution plans, and that while this was pending, planned restrictions on Euro 5 diesels were temporarily suspended. He added that this was consistent with EU rules.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Additional reporting by Federico Maccioni; Editing by Alvise Armellini and Helen Popper)
The drama is set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this month before hitting Prime Video in October. The movie is based on a 1999 New Yorker article by Jonathan Harr.

Jamie Foxx , Jurnee Smollett and Tommy Lee Jones have joined forces for a brand new film coming to Prime Video. The Burial, a courtroom drama inspired by true events, will hit the streaming service next month.

Jurnee Smollett (left) as Mame Downes and Jamie Foxx as Willie Gary share a scene in The Burial, which hits Prime Video next month. (Photo: Skip Bolen  Amazon Content Services LLC)

Scheduled to premiere at Toronto International Film Festival this month, The Burial, written by Doug Wright and Maggie Betts, with Betts also serving as director, is based on the 1999 New Yorker article of the same name by Jonathan Harr.

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Inspired by true events, when a handshake deal goes sour, funeral homeowner Jeremiah OKeefe (Jones) enlists charismatic, smooth-talking attorney Willie E. Gary (Foxx) to save his family business, the official synopsis reads.

Tempers flare and laughter ensues as the unlikely pair bond while exposing corporate corruption and racial injustice in this inspirational, triumphant story.

Litigation is war, Foxx, as Gary, exclaims in the trailer. Its a battle! Smollett joins as Mame Downes in the film, an opposing attorney to Gary. I wouldnt get too used to me being kind to you Mr. Gary, she warns in the clip. Once we begin that trial, I will destroy you.

Check out the clip below:

Mamoudou Athie, Pamela Reed, Bill Camp and Alan Ruck fill out the films supporting cast.

The Burial will hit select theaters on Oct. 6, before streaming globally on Oct. 13 on Prime Video.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Jamie Foxx, Jurnee Smollett star in The Burial appeared first on TheGrio.
Japan launched a rocket Thursday with the aim of landing a small probe on the moon, hoping to become the fifth country to do so.

The launch carries two missions, the lunar probe as well as a high-tech X-ray telescope which may help scientists uncover the mysteries of how the universe was created, the Japanese space agency, JAXA, said.

The rocket launch went as planned as the telescope and lunar probe stages successfully separated as expected, JAXA said.

We have a liftoff, the JAXA launch narrator said as the rocket launched just after 8:30 a.m. local time Thursday.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel celebrated the moment, calling it a significant step forward for cooperation between the Japanese and American space agencies. NASA will assist in operating the X-ray telescope.

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The lunar probe is expected to make a landing attempt early next year, the agency said, and would make Japan the fifth country to land a craft on the moon, if successful. The U.S., Soviet Union, China and, most recently, India previously landed probes on Earths largest satellite.

The probe is equipped with state-of-the-art landing technology that JAXA hopes will enable it to land within 100 meters of its target on the moon  unheard-of accuracy as missions generally miss their landing zones by up to 10 kilometers.

A moon mission is a large step for JAXA, which came under criticism after the launch of a new, more advanced rocket failed in March, successfully launching off the pad but failing to separate stages correctly. The launch Thursday used the countrys older rocket system.

India landed its first probe on the moon last month in the countrys second attempt. The Chandrayaan-3 craft is the only probe to ever traverse the moons polar regions.

Indias success follows recent failures by Russia and a private Japanese firm to land Moon probes in the last year.

Japan has begun recruiting astronauts this year for the first time in 13 years, The Associated Press reported, potentially marking the countrys ambitions to continue its space programs expansion.

Moves by India and Japan to advance their space programs in recent years come as the U.S. has moved to privatize much of its space work. SpaceX has taken over a majority of the duties in ferrying astronauts and supplies to and from the International Space Station.

The last American mission to the surface of the moon, Apollo 17, was in 1972.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
H-IIA rocket carrying the national space agency's moon lander is launched at Tanegashima Space Center on the southwestern island of Tanegashima

H-IIA rocket carrying the national space agency's moon lander is launched at Tanegashima Space Center on the southwestern island of Tanegashima

By Kantaro Komiya

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan launched a lunar exploration spacecraft on Thursday aboard a homegrown H-IIA rocket, hoping to become the world's fifth country to land on the moon early next year.

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the rocket took off from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan as planned and successfully released the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM). Unfavourable weather led to three postponements in a week last month.

Dubbed the "moon sniper", Japan aims to land SLIM within 100 metres of its target site on the lunar surface. The $100-million mission is expected to start the landing by February after a long, fuel-efficient approach trajectory.

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"The big objective of SLIM is to prove the high-accuracy landing ... to achieve 'landing where we want' on the lunar surface, rather than 'landing where we can'," JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa told a news conference.

Hours after launch on Thursday, JAXA said it picked up signals from SLIM showing it was operating normally.

The launch comes two weeks after India became the fourth nation to successfully land a spacecraft on the moon with its Chandrayaan-3 mission to the unexplored lunar south pole. Around the same time, Russia's Luna-25 lander crashed while approaching the moon.

Two earlier lunar landing attempts by Japan failed in the last year. JAXA lost contact with the OMOTENASHI lander and scrubbed an attempted landing in November. The Hakuto-R Mission 1 lander, made by Japanese startup ispace, crashed in April as it attempted to descend to the lunar surface.

SLIM is set to touch down on the near side of the moon close to Mare Nectaris, a lunar sea that, viewed from Earth, appears as a dark spot. Its primary goal is to test advanced optical and image processing technology.

After landing, the craft aims to analyse the composition of olivine rocks near the sites in search of clues about the origin of the moon. No lunar rover is loaded on SLIM.

Thursday's H-IIA rocket also carried the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) satellite, a joint project of JAXA, NASA and the European Space Agency. The satellite aims to observe plasma winds flowing through the universe that scientists see as key to helping understand the evolution of stars and galaxies.

Ground stations in Hawaii and Japan received signals from XRISM soon after the launch confirming that the satellite's solar panels successfully deployed, JAXA said.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries manufactured the H-IIA rocket and operated the launch, which marked the 47th H-IIA Japan has launched since 2001, bringing the vehicle's success rate close to 98%.

JAXA had suspended the launch of H-IIA carrying SLIM for several months while it investigated the failure of its new medium-lift H3 rocket during its debut in March. Japan plans to retire the H-IIA after its 50th launch in 2024.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a social media post after the launch on Thursday that developing flagship rockets is essential to Japan's independent space activities.

"We'll build up the momentum toward the successful re-launch of the H3 rocket," Kishida posted on the social media X, previously known as Twitter.

Japan's space missions have faced other recent setbacks, with the launch failure of an Epsilon small rocket in October 2022, followed by an engine explosion during a test in July.

JAXA plans a joint Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX) with the Indian Space Research Organisation beyond 2025, in which Japan's H3 rocket will carry India's next lunar lander into space.

The country also aims to send an astronaut to the moon's surface in the latter half of the 2020s as part of NASA's Artemis programme.

(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Tom Hogue and Gerry Doyle)
[Source]

A city in southwest Japan plans to let robots attend classes in place of students who miss them due to anxiety, stress and other mental health issues.

How it will work: Equipped with cameras, microphones and speakers, the one-meter-tall robots will let students view and hear lectures, participate in discussions and work with their classmates.

The bots, which are controlled remotely, can also be piloted around the campus, allowing students to participate in extracurricular activities and school-wide events.

Why this matters: The plan was conceived by the Board of Education of the city of Kumamoto in Kyushu Island. According to their data, around 2,760 students in elementary and middle school did not show up to school in the last academic year, doubling figures from 2018, according to The Mainichi Shimbun.

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The educators believe that anxiety issues, particularly difficulty in social interactions, may be responsible for the truancy.

There are some students who have trouble communicating, but have not rejected it entirely, a spokesperson from Kumamotos Board of Education said, as per SoraNews24. These robots provide a way to lower the hurdle to participating in quasi-experiences [with their classmates], and we hope that will then encourage them to take the next step [towards returning to attending class in person].

Whats next: If the plan is approved, the robots could be deployed as early as November. The city eyes starting off with two robots, which will be delivered to schools that request them on specific days.

More from NextShark: Student mob in India heckles visiting S. Korean women mistaken for Christian missionaries

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Findings shed light on capital's impressive past

09:05, September 07, 2023 By Xin Wen ( China Daily

An aerial view of the Jin Dynasty Imperial Mausoleums in Beijing's Fangshan district. YANG ZHIGUO/FOR CHINA DAILY

City dating back 800 years unearthed near new business area

The Lize Financial Business District in southwestern Beijing is home to numerous glass-walled high-rises, which stand as proud sentinels keeping watch over this new landmark in the Chinese capital.

The district only opened at the end of 2021, but under the ground nearby lie the ancient city walls and moat of Zhongdu, which in 1153 became the capital of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). It was the first time that Beijing had been the capital city during a Chinese dynasty.

More than 2,900 square meters of the Zhongdu city wall ruins were unearthed in 2019 and 2020, and a section of the western wall, which is 24 meters wide at its thickest point, is the best preserved.

The old city ruins, together with the kitchen tools and ornaments used by residents in ancient times, have been preserved at the site or in museums.

An exhibition commemorating the 870th anniversary of Beijing becoming the capital, which opened at the Beijing Archaeological Site Museum on June 10, runs until Sept 30.

A total of 187 cultural relics from six Jin Dynasty sites are exhibited at the museum, including architectural pieces from the Jinzhongdu ruins, porcelain, gold and silverware, jade, pottery and murals reflecting daily life.

The imperial palace, lanes and hutong, or alleyways, in which residents lived, as well as city gates, moats, streets and the tombs of imperial family members, are depicted in the form of objects and other traces left by the Jurchen and Han people who lived in Zhongdu.

Well-known scenic spots in Beijing, such as Yinshan Pagoda Forest in Changping district and Lugou Bridge in Fengtai, which were built when Zhongdu was capital of the Jin Dynasty, are also highlighted at the exhibition.

Ding Lina, a researcher at the Beijing Archaeological Research Institute, who focuses on studies of the Liao (907-1125), Jin and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, said, "We can observe the communication and integration between the Jurchen and Han people through cultural aspects of the tomb artifacts from the Jin Dynasty.

"For example, at a Han ethnic burial site, we discovered not only the Buddhist copper ornaments that Han people believe in, but also a small copper figurine, which is generally thought to represent a ritual object used in the Jurchen people's primitive shamanistic religion.

"In the tombs, we also found that ethnic cultural integration between the Han and Jurchen people was a two-way process, with the two ethnicities influencing and promoting each other."

Ding said the Jin Dynasty mausoleum system, in which imperial tombs were built on mountains near the capital, followed the shape and structure of those from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties.

The layout of the mausoleums is also evidence of the merging of Jurchen and Han culture, Ding said.

She added that due to the relocation of the capital and imperial mausoleums, a large number of Jurchen nobles and warriors, along with people from minority groups such as the Bohai and Khitan, came to Zhongdu to promote cultural exchanges among different ethnic groups.

In the 120-year history of the Jin Dynasty, its capital city was relocated twice. When Wanyan Liang, the fourth Jin Dynasty emperor, ascended the throne, he moved the dynastic capital to Yanjing (present-day Beijing) in 1153, from the northeastern city of Shangjing (now Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province). Zhongdu was also chosen by the emperor as the dynastic capital due to its abundant resources and well-connected transportation links.

Before the Jin Dynasty, most capitals of ancient Chinese dynasties were located in Luoyang, Henan province, or Xi'an, Shaanxi province. Earlier than this, Erlitou and Yinxu in Henan were capitals during the Xia and Shang dynasties (c. 21st century-11th century BC).

The book Current Affairs of Beijing, written during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1711-99) during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) states: "Starting from ancient times, emperors have established their capitals in many places (across China). For a long time, only the plain in central Shaanxi was favored by them as a capital. Now, only Yanjing is comparable, and has been considered a capital city for an extended period."

Beijing, initially founded as Ji, capital of the Yan state during the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century-771BC), was only a border town in the northern region of China in the Tang Dynasty and the southern capital during the Liao Dynasty. It became known as Zhongdu in the Jin Dynasty, and acted as the nation's political and cultural center.

Kublai Khan, founder of the Yuan Dynasty, renamed Zhongdu as Dadu ("great capital") and declared it the national capital.

In 1403, Zhu Di, also known as Emperor Yongle, the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), decided to relocate the capital from Nanjing to Beiping, and renamed the latter Beijing.

In 1644, Emperor Shunzhi, the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty to enter Beijing, moved the capital from Shengjing (now Shenyang in Liaoning province) to Beijing.

Ding Lina (right), a researcher at the Beijing Archaeological Research Institute, takes part in an excavation at the Zhongdu site during the winter in 2019. CHINA DAILY

Turning point

Liu Naitao, deputy director of the Beijing Archaeological Site Museum and co-curator of the new exhibition, said, "The establishment of Zhongdu during the Jin Dynasty was not only a new stage in the development of the ancient dynasty, but also a new era in the history of Beijing's urban development, marking a turning point in the history of Chinese capital cities.

"The overall layout of Zhongdu is similar to that of Bianliang (present-day Kaifeng city in Henan), which was capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and influenced the construction of capitals in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.

"After Zhongdu was built and became capital in the Jin Dynasty, the principle of following a central axis to build a capital city took shape. Later, Beijing expanded along the central axis and followed the layout formulated for Zhongdu."

Liu said Zhongdu comprised the imperial city, the palace city and the outer city. Areas housing pottery stores, ironware shops, pastry houses and residents' homes were scattered along the central North-South axis, which stretched out from the imperial palace.

As the political, economic and cultural center of the Jin Dynasty, the ruling class and people from different social strata and ethnic backgrounds gathered in Zhongdu. It also attracted a huge number of businesses and artisans.

The mix of residents and businesses helped Zhongdu absorb and integrate the characteristics of Han culture with nomadic traditions  promoting the city's prosperity and development.

One such example is the living quarters. Liu said the enclosed communities of the Liao Dynasty were replaced by a system in which neighborhoods were open during the day, along with commercial streets and alleyways.

"During the early Tang Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty, living quarters in Beijing were enclosed on all four sides, with a square in the center of the neighborhood," Liu said. "The living quarters resembled modern communities and were surrounded by four walls and one gate for each main direction. The gates opened in the morning and closed at night."

The new residential quarters established in Zhongdu were different from the earlier ones, he said, adding that archaeological excavations revealed the demolition of walls and the disappearance of gates. Open streets and alleys were integrated with residential communities. As a result, the city's economy and businesses flourished.

Records show that during its most prosperous period, Zhongdu had 62 enclosed residential communities, each occupying about 500 square meters. These communities opened at about 4 am or 5 am and closed at 6 pm or 7 pm.

Objects from the Jin Dynasty (1115-1243) are displayed in an ongoing exhibition at the Beijing Archaeological Site Museum. YANG ZHIGUO/FOR CHINA DAILY

Defensive system

Jin Dynasty Emperor Wanyan Liang, who decided to relocate the capital, set up a complete defensive system around Zhongdu to prevent potential attacks from northern Mongolian tribes. The Jin Dynasty was one of the few established by an ethnic minority.

Ding, from the Beijing Archaeological Research Institute, said that before the Tang Dynasty, emphasis on the defensive capabilities of the capital was placed on high walls and deep moats. However, over time, as more artillery was used in military battles, the city wall needed to be improved.

"The city wall was about 16 to 18 meters high and the moat was 66 meters wide. The wall, the moat and other facilities such as a fortified tower shaped like a horse's head constituted the defensive works of Zhongdu," she said.

At the start of the Jurchen regime, the rulers faced resistance and suppression from the nomadic Khitan people. Without sturdy city walls, the Jurchen population could have been wiped out by this strong northern tribe.

Later, the Jurchen people faced threats from the Mongols.

"Outer defense is of paramount importance to an ancient city. Once the outer city walls are breached, defense of the inner city is basically rendered useless," Ding said.

She added that at various periods, all Jin Dynasty rulers introduced policies to encourage farming.

"The emphasis they placed on land and agriculture brought stability, and the Jurchen people, who relied on fishing and hunting for a living, started to settle down, which deepened their dependence on cities," she said.

Although the Zhongdu city gates have not yet been discovered, finding the moat and tower shaped like a horse's head are strong evidence that Zhongdu possessed a complete defensive system as a capital city, Ding said.

|< >|

The archaeological excavation site of Zhongdu of Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) at Fengtai district in Beijing. ZOU HONG/CHINA DAILY

Past and present

Zhongdu, which covered 25 sq km, was the capital for 62 years in the Jin Dynasty. The earliest central axis of Beijing was also that of Zhongdu, even though it is located in the southwest of present-day Beijing.

"When Wanyan Liang first moved the capital to Zhongdu, the city's population was relatively small," Ding said. To increase the population and promote the city's development, a 10-year labor tax exemption policy was introduced to attract more residents to settle in Zhongdu, she added.

"Zhongdu was a city full of mystery, so when I knew that I had the opportunity to excavate the ancient ruins at the end of 2019, I felt privileged and excited," she said.

"Under our feet is a capital city with a history of more than 800 years. Being one of the first to discover how these buildings were constructed made me realize I had a great responsibility and obligation to conduct archaeological work for the public."

In winter 2020, the archaeological excavation team led by Ding discovered a Jin Dynasty crossroads under the Lize Soho building. Ding said that by coincidence, there is an interchange between the Beijing Subway Line 14 and Line 16 at the location where the crossroads was found.

The Beijing municipal government said bidding to construct a themed city park archaeological site  Zhongdu of Jin Dynasty  opened in April. Covering 150,000 sq m, the park will be located in and around the Lize commercial area in Fengtai. Construction is expected to be completed in a year.

Venues for cultural exhibitions and public services will be provided, as well as an outdoor display area that highlights the history of Zhongdu, city officials said.

TIMELINE

1952: Architectural remains and Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) tombs are discovered near Taoranting Park in Xicheng district, Beijing.

1958: Archaeologists survey the remains of the Zhongdu city wall and conduct a comprehensive survey of the site. They also draw a preliminary sketch of the Zhongdu city restoration.

1990: The Zhongdu water gate is discovered at a community in Fengtai district, Beijing. The remains consist of north-south wooden and stone structures, with the gate built across the city wall. Water flowed north to south through a tunnel, entering the southern moat in Zhongdu.

1990: The Zhongdu palace area ruins are discovered, with specific locations of the main palace and other buildings identified.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
President of the Export-Import Bank of China Ren Shengjun (R) addresses the China-Greece Cooperation on Shipping Finance Exchange Conference in Piraeus, Greece, on Sept. 6, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Cooperation between Greece and China on shipping finance is set to receive a boost, after a conference held at the major Greek port of Piraeus on Wednesday.

The Export-Import Bank of China (EXIMBANK) and Greek shipowners discussed the issue within the framework of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for global infrastructure development at the conference co-organized by the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of the Hellenic Shipping (ABFEHS) and the Chinese embassy in Greece.

"Greece is a platform of safe investments for the seagoing trade," and "it is open for both financial institutions and private investors," ABFEHS President George Xiradakis said in his welcome address.

Greek shipping offers attractive opportunities for ship financiers, as the Greek-owned fleet is continuously growing, he said.

Chinese leasing finance in shipping has grown from 47 billion U.S. dollars in 2017 to 77 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, and Chinese banks, including EXIMBANK, have established strong ties with Greek shipping, he underlined.

The 10th anniversary of the BRI is an ideal time to strengthen friendship, cooperation and development, EXIMBANK President Ren Shengjun said, adding that the bank strongly supports maritime cooperation and the modern maritime Silk Road, and Greece is already one of its most important markets for shipping finance in Europe.

In a climate of uncertainty due to geopolitical tensions, it is important to build strong economic and political ties between Europe and China, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Greece Theodore Pelagidis said at the conference.

Greece was the first European country to embrace the BRI, and China's COSCO Shipping investment in Piraeus has turned Greece's largest port to a competitive one, Pelagidis said.

The port of Piraeus serves as a model of Greece-China cooperation, said Chinese Ambassador to Greece Xiao Junzheng. China hopes that it will be part of the integrated development of ports, industries and cities, transforming itself from a loading and unloading port to a "logistics park" and even an "industrial park," he added.

The shipping industry is undergoing a huge transition, with the role of finance in supporting and promoting shipping becoming even more significant, the ambassador said.

The focus should be on promoting the transition from shipping finance to supply chains finance, strengthening financial support for the intelligent and green development of shipping, and supporting the exchanges between the Chinese and Greek shipping finance sectors, he underlined.

"We now live in the age of cooperation, and the sooner everybody understands that, the better will be for the world, for people, for prosperity," said Greek shipowner George Prokopiou, president of the Yacht Club of Greece which hosted the conference.

Chinese Ambassador to Greece Xiao Junzheng (Rear) addresses the China-Greece Cooperation on Shipping Finance Exchange Conference in Piraeus, Greece, on Sept. 6, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

President of the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of the Hellenic Shipping George Xiradakis addresses the China-Greece Cooperation on Shipping Finance Exchange Conference in Piraeus, Greece, on Sept. 6, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]
By Francis Tang, Maki Shiraki and Kantaro Komiya

TOKYO (Reuters) -The niece of Johnny Kitagawa , the late J-pop mogul accused of sexually abusing hundreds of boys and young men over decades, apologised on Thursday for the abuse he carried out and stepped down as the head of the talent agency her uncle founded.

Kitagawa, who died in 2019 aged 87, headed the most powerful talent agency in Japan's pop music industry and the scandal, which emerged fully earlier this year, has horrified the country.

Julie K. Fujishima, 57, bowed deeply as she faced reporters, and apologised for the abuses, saying she stepped down on Tuesday.

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"Our office Johnny & Associates, and myself Julie Keiko Fujishima... recognize that Johnny Kitagawa did sexually abuse (the boys). I apologise to the victims from the bottom of my heart."

Since the BBC aired a tell-all documentary in March, the national sense of outrage in Japan has borne similarities to the reactions seen in the United States and Britain after the scandals involving Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein, and British TV star Jimmy Savile.

As more Japanese media took up the story, lawmakers voiced outrage, while the United Nations' human rights experts also criticised the talent agency for its handling of the allegations.

Founded by Kitagawa in 1962, Johnny & Associates has an outsized cultural presence in Japan, producing some of the most popular names in J-pop including SMAP and Arashi, both with massive fan bases across East Asia.

Fujishima named Noriyuki Higashiyama, a former member of the hit 1980s boy-band Shonentai, as the new head of the agency.

Higashiyama, 56, said he had never been a victim of the abuse or witnessed it, but had been aware of the rumours. "I couldn't, and didn't, do anything about it," he said.

"It will take time to win back the lost trust, but I will devote the rest of my life to dealing with this problem."

Calling the scandal "the most pitiful incident in human history", Higashiyama said there had been debate, but no conclusion, as to whether the agency should change its name.

Yukihiro Ohshima, a member of the Johnny's Sexual Assault Victims' Association, said: "I think she [Fujishima] acknowledged and sincerely apologised for what happened. It's not like the emotional scars are gone but I think out of 100 points things have gotten a little easier by about 10."

Fujishima, who is the sole owner of the company, said she would stay on as representative director until the work of compensating the victims was complete. The agency had yet to work out how that would work.

The agency's official confirmation of Kitagawa's conduct prompted Japan Airlines to announce that it would suspend the use of Johnny & Associates' talent in its advertisements. Major insurer Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance also said it would consider terminating its contract with the agency.

SECRET LIFE

The first media reports of Kitagawa's abuses of boys and young men, known as Johnny's Juniors, were carried by local tabloid Shukan Bunshun in 1999, but the scandal blew wide open this year as more victims came forward after the BBC's report.

A victims' group called for revisions to laws to protect children not only from abuse by a parent or guardian but other adults in positions of power. An opposition party put forward a bill, which failed to pass during the last session of parliament.

One former "Junior", Kauan Okamoto, told a press conference in April that he had been the target of Kitagawa's advances on as many as 20 occasions since he was 15.

"Juniors" would regularly sleep over at Kitagawa's apartment in groups, with one or several being targeted by Kitagawa for the night, he said. On one occasion, Okamoto said he had received oral sex from Kitagawa, and cash the following day.

A report published last week by a third-party investigation team led by a former attorney general and commissioned by the agency also described similar testimony from victims.

Despite his status, Kitagawa kept a low profile in public and few photographs of him are available. He never faced criminal charges and continued recruiting teenage boys until his death.

Born in Los Angeles and raised in Japan, Kitagawa was known as Johnny-san by the boys on his agency's books. He cultivated generations of male idols and all-boy bands, a business model that has been emulated across East Asia. He holds several Guinness World Records, including for the most #1 singles produced by an individual.

(Reporting by Francis Tang, Maki Shiraki, Kantaro KomiyaAdditional reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Kaori KanekoWriting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, Alexandra Hudson)
Japan's Prime Minster Fumio Kishida attends the East Asia Summit at the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/Pool Photo via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

TOKYO (AP)  Japans prime minister said that Chinas blanket ban on Japanese seafood in reaction to the release of treated radioactive water from a tsunami-ravaged nuclear power plant contrasts starkly with broad understanding shown by many other members of the international community.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Japans northeastern coast started releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater in late August into the Pacific Ocean. The release has been opposed by the Japanese fishing community, which is worried about the reputation of the fish it catches. China immediately banned all Japanese seafood.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters Wednesday in Jakarta, Indonesia, after a session attended by leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as South Korea and China, that the treated water release is conducted under international safety standards and with the help of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

He said Japan has broadly gained understanding from the international community, and that in sharp contrast, China's blanket ban on Japanese seafood stuck out.

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The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered major damage from a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011.

Kishida said he approached Chinese Premier Li Qiang during a break and explained to him Japan's effort in the treated water discharge. It was the first in-person, high-level contact between the two countries since the discharge began Aug. 24.

Kishida said he reiterated Japans scientific handling of the Fukushima Daiichi treated water release, stressing the importance of a scientific approach and release of accurate information.

Kishida declined to comment on Li's response.

Chinese authorities, as they imposed the seafood ban, said they would dynamically adjust relevant regulatory measures as appropriate to prevent the risks of nuclear-contaminated water discharge to the health and food safety of our country.

China is the largest destination for Japanese seafood exports, even though that is a small part of overall trade, and Japanese exporters were hit hard by the ban.

Hours later in Japan, U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, where Ambassador Rahm Emanuel was serving vegetables and fruits from Fukushima and fish caught off the coast of neighboring Miyagi prefecture, to support Japan.

I just view it as another way of the communist party of China putting the falsity out there, trying to divide, and its just an unfair position that they have and a false position that they have from the rest of the worlds stance, said McCarthy, criticizing Chinas ban on Japanese seafood.

McCarthy said he set up a bipartisan committee to study how China influences industries around the world when he became House Speaker, and has seen China try to dominate and control a number of industries, while dumping falsities on others and watching the same situation happen here.

So what you have to do is wake up to that day, stand together, stand with your friend, do it based upon science as well, something that China does not do, McCarthy said, noting China's lack of transparency during the COVID pandemic.

The U.S. Embassy is also working with Japan's government to find new export destinations in the United States, as well as other countries for scallop processing that Japanese exporters used to conduct in China.

Japanese officials have said they plan to cultivate new export destinations in Taiwan, the United States, Europe, the Middle East and some southeast Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Singapore.

Kishida's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a 20.7 billion yen ($141 million) emergency fund to help exporters hit by China's ban on Japanese seafood. The money will be used to find new markets for Japanese seafood to replace China and fund government purchases of seafood for temporary freezing and storage. The government will also seek to expand domestic seafood consumption.

The new fund is in addition to the 80 billion yen ($547 million) that the government previously allocated to support fisheries and seafood processing and combat reputational damage on Japanese products.

___

This story was corrected to remove a phrase in 11th paragraph that McCarthy was accompanied by a group of bipartisan lawmakers at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. The group was not at the embassy with McCarthy.
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Thursday asked special counsel Jack Smith to turn over information relating to attorney Stanley Woodward, who has represented numerous Mar-a-Lago employees in dealings with prosecutors.

Woodward is in the midst of a battle with the Justice Department as it seeks a so-called Garcia hearing to review potential conflicts as Woodward represents Walt Nauta, former President Trumps co-defendant in the classified records case.

The letter comes the day after Woodward noted in court filings that another prior client, Mar-a-Lago IT worker Yuscil Taveras, has signed a cooperation agreement with prosecutors.

Taveras flipped in the case after a Garcia hearing prompted a chance for him to speak with outside counsel, a public defender, after prosecutors raised concerns that he was representing clients whose interests were at odds.

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In doing so, Taveras appears to have avoided perjury charges for statements he made under oath.

His testimony also led to a superseding indictment of Trump, Nauta and a third co-defendant, Carlos de Oliveira, alleging they attempted to delete Mar-a-Lago security camera footage showing them moving boxes.

Woodward railed against prosecutors in a late Tuesday filing, complaining the cooperation agreement was only offered to Taveras once he spoke with outside counsel.

The letter from Jordan is one of several hes sent to various prosecutors pursuing cases against Trump.

Earlier Thursday, Jordan was reprimanded by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) for interfering with ongoing investigations and prosecutions.

Your attempt to invoke congressional authority to intrude upon and interfere with an active criminal case in Georgia is flagrantly at odds with the Constitution, she wrote.

There is absolutely no support for Congress purporting to second guess or somehow supervise an ongoing Georgia criminal investigation and prosecution.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
John Dean , former President Nixons White House counsel, said it is unlikely that all 19 defendants charged in the Georgia 2020 election interference case will go to trial.

Its hard to imagine all 19 are going to go to trial, Dean told CNNs Jake Tapper . You know, they know the consequences. They are beginning to point fingers at Trump and each other. This is not likely to go en masse. Some will flip, some will  some will do deals, some will find other ways to get out of this situation.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) last month brought charges against former President Trump and 18 others over their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Willis said that she plans to try all 19 defendants at once.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee signaled that he has doubts about trying all of the defendants together after he denied Kenneth Chesebros attempt to sever his charges in the Georgia election interference case from fellow Trump-aligned attorney Sidney Powell.

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Dean said that he can understand why Willis is aiming to have one trial for all of the defendants, even though it is unlikely.

But I can understand why as the prosecutor, there are certainly benefits to having all of them there. That happened in the Watergate trials  that did happen when the former chief of staff [H.R] Haldeman, the former top domestic adviser [John] Ehrlichman, former attorney general  all of the those involved in the Watergate cover up were tried together, he said.

Tapper asked Dean how he thought seven practicing attorneys could wind up getting involved in Trumps efforts to stay in power.

I have been wondering the same thing, particularly since Ive tried to use Watergate in the last decade as a teaching tool for what lawyers shouldnt do and been out there and really thought maybe Watergate had had an impact, Dean said. It certainly required ethics being taught in law schools, court-required national ethics exam, but now weve got to examine again, whether indeed that has worked or had an impact, or why it is that some lawyers are inclined to so easily crossed the line.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
John Eastman , testifying at his own disbarment trial, sidestepped a question Wednesday about whether he and others in former President Donald Trump s orbit discussed the possibility that Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)  rather than Mike Pence  would preside over the Jan. 6, 2021, session of Congress.

During several hours of sworn testimony in a California disbarment proceeding, Eastman said discussions on that topic were protected by attorney-client privilege. When pressed about which client of his he was referring to, Eastman replied: President Trump.

It was a notable exchange in an extraordinary day of testimony from Eastman, who is seeking to defend his license to practice law in California even as he faces criminal charges in Georgia, where he is one of Trumps 18 codefendants in an alleged conspiracy to subvert the 2020 election. Despite his criminal risk, Eastman fielded dozens of questions for hours on Wednesday, declining to assert his Fifth Amendment rights and only occasionally asserting attorney-client privilege.



Grassleys role generated significant intrigue in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6. The Constitution requires the vice president  who also serves as the president of the Senate  to preside over the counting of electoral votes to certify the presidential election. Historically, however, this job has at times fallen to the Senate president pro tempore, typically the most senior senator in the majority. In 2021, Grassley held that position.

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California state bar attorney Duncan Carling also pressed Eastman to respond to some of the allegations against him in the Georgia indictment. For example, they grilled him on his contacts with attorney Robert Cheeley, one of the other codefendants in the Georgia case, about efforts to put Eastman in touch with Georgia legislative leaders. (Eastman said those contacts were attorney-client privileged as well).

And Carling probed his relationship with attorney Kenneth Chesebro, another Trump codefendant who was an architect of the last-ditch legal strategy Trump deployed to attempt to remain in power. Chesebro wrote memos that helped drive Trumps efforts to assemble false slates of pro-Trump presidential electors in seven states won by Joe Biden, and said it was crucial that those contingent electors gather and vote on Dec. 14, 2020, on the same day that Bidens state-certified electors cast their own ballots.

Eastman indicated that he had a minimal relationship with Chesebro until late December, even as he, too, pushed for the pro-Trump alternate electors to meet. I didnt directly deal with Mr. Chesebro at that time, Eastman said.

Rather, he said others in Trumps orbit forwarded him some of Chesebros memos. And Eastman suggested that he never saw one key memo  a Dec. 6, 2020, documentrecently unearthed by the New York Times  until bar attorneys showed it to him this week.

Eastmans limited contact with Chesebro changed later in December, Eastman said, when he directly sought Chesebros input on a now-infamous two-page memo he authored that laid out a set of options for Pence on Jan. 6. Eastman said Wednesday that Chesebro added a paragraph and changed some words in that memo. A Dec. 23, 2020 email unearthed by the Jan. 6 select committee hinted at Chesebros role in that memo.

Im fine with all of Kens edits, Eastman wrote in the message to Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn, with an attachment titled PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL  Dec. 23 memo on Jan. 6 scenario.

It was that same email in which Eastman also hinted that he thought Grassley might play a role on Jan. 6. In the message, Eastman told Epshteyn that he hoped members of Congress would avoid taking any actions that might constrain Pence (or Grassley) from asserting the power to block Bidens election.



Carling asked Eastman whether the email suggested there had been discussions about Grassley filling in for Pence. After Eastman indicated the matter was privileged, Carling moved on to another topic.

A Grassley spokesperson said the senator had no such indication that Trump and his aides were discussing the prospect of him presiding over the Jan. 6 joint session.

Every expectation was that Pence would attend and preside, the spokesperson said.

Grassley has also previously indicated that he had no knowledge of Eastmans strategy to use the Jan. 6 session to block Bidens election.

But the exchange underscores that there are still significant unknown details about the behind-the-scenes planning by Trump and his allies ahead of Jan. 6.

Grassley started a furor on Jan. 5, 2021, when he told reporters of Pence we dont expect him to be there, I will be presiding over the Senate. His comments prompted an urgent rush by Pences staff to correct the record, eventually resulting in a statement from Grassleys office indicating the senator had been misinterpreted and was merely saying he might fill in for Pence during some portions of the proceedings that day.

Eastman wasnt the only one who had mentioned the possibility of Grassley presiding. Chesebro also mused in a Dec. 13, 2021, email that Pence could voluntarily step aside from his Jan. 6 role and allow it to fall to Chuck Grassley or another senior Republican.

Eastman has taken the stand on at least four different days in a disbarment trial that began in June but was postponed for two months amid scheduling constraints. The Georgia indictment unveiled last month threatened to upend the California proceedings; Eastman unsuccessfully pleaded with his California judge to delay his disbarment trial until after the Georgia case had ended. After losing that effort, Eastman opted to retake the stand and has taken a barrage of questions about his efforts and intentions ahead of Jan. 6.

Aides to Trump and an attorney for Chesebro didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.
Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Bill Clark and Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

Sens. JD Vance and John Fetterman, populists from different parties, worked together on a rail safety bill.

Fetterman accused Vance of "silly performance art" over his doomed effort to ban mask mandates.

Vance argued his mask crusade isn't distracting from the rail bill, and that he's been building support for it.

Two of the Senate's most prominent self-styled populists  each from different parties  are at loggerheads amid the stalled railway safety bill they drafted together.

During a sit-down with reporters in Sen. John Fetterman's office on Wednesday, Insider asked the Pennsylvania Democrat about his experience working with Sen. JD Vance, a Republican from the neighboring state of Ohio.

The duo, among others, are the prime co-sponsors of the Railway Safety Act, a bill to improve safety protocols for trains carrying hazardous materials. The senators introduced the bill together following a disastrous train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in February, where potentially toxic chemicals were released into the atmosphere and the local groundwater. The bill has been stalled since it passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee in May.

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After indicating that the rail bill may be just one vote away from getting the necessary 60 votes to pass the Senate, Fetterman laced into Vance for his effort to ban mask mandates, which he's pursuing this week.

Fetterman said it was "frustrating" that Vance was "fixating" on "silly performance art" with his Freedom to Breathe Act, a bill to prevent the federal government from instituting mask mandates on public transportation, airplanes, or public schools until the end of 2024.

"You know, 'breathe free' or whatever it's called," Fetterman mockingly said, adding that Vance needed to be "focusing on getting this finished and taken care of," referring to the rail bill.

Vance plans to seek unanimous consent for the passage of the mask bill on Thursday  a procedural move that allows any senator to secure the immediate passage of a bill without a full chamber vote, unless someone rises to object. Senators of both parties typically use the procedure either to make a political point or to pass bills that are non-controversial.

Fetterman argued that Vance "wants to put up an act that's going to go nowhere" instead of being "worried about something that really can be transformative for rail safety."

Asked about Fetterman's comments, Vance defended himself.

"I think it's an important issue, and I care about it, and he's free to disagree," said Vance. "There are a lot of things that happen in this building, and there are a lot of issues that we care about, most of which John and I are going to come down on opposite sides of."

"We've been working the railway bill really hard," Vance continued. "We're also gonna have to work other things hard as well because there are a lot of issues that the people who elected me care about."

Vance added that he's had "pretty minimal" day-to-day interactions with Fetterman as they've worked to build support for the bill.

"Most of my work on the railway bill has been persuading Republican colleagues to sign on to the bill," said Vance. "Obviously, we talked a lot when we were cutting the initial draft of the bill, and we've been doing separate things to try to get it over the hill."

Vance also pushed back on the idea that his effort was performative  even though the return of mask mandates amid a recent uptick in COVID-19 cases has been limited to a scattered set of jurisdictions and organizations across the country.

Though the senator from Ohio said he expects a senator to object to his bill tomorrow, he initially thought there was a "chance that it would actually sail through."

"The whole argument here is that nobody is trying to reimpose mask mandates on the country," said Vance. "Well, if that's true, why can't we just get this thing through easily?"

Fetterman, speaking about COVID-19 in his office earlier, agreed that the return of masking was unlikely.

"It's bizarre," he said of Vance's effort. "No one is trying to force masks back on."

Read the original article on Business Insider
AUSTIN, Texas  Gov. Greg Abbott and the state of Texas must remove  at least temporarily  the buoys placed in the Rio Grande as part of the state's effort to control the border with Mexico, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, marking a win for the Biden administration.

In his 42-page order, Senior U.S. Judge David Alan Ezra said he made the ruling after deciding that the U.S. Justice Department will "likely succeed on the merits" in the lawsuit it filed against Abbott and the state in July.

"Texass floating barrier is an obstruction to the navigable capacity of the Rio Grande River and required authorization from Congress," Senior U.S. Judge David Alan Ezra says in his order.

The governor ordered the 1,000-foot string of large floating devices placed in the international river near Eagle Pass ostensibly to help discourage migrants from entering Texas without legal authorization and to combat cross-border drug trafficking.

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In a statement Wednesday, Abbott said the state will appeal the ruling.

"Today's court decision merely prolongs President Bidens willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along," the governor said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal."

In challenging Texas use of the buoys, the Justice Department accused the state of putting a barrier on the international boundary without permission. The Biden administration also said the water barrier raised humanitarian and environmental concerns.

We are pleased that the court ruled that the barrier was unlawful and irreparably harms diplomatic relations, public safety, navigation, and the operations of federal agency officials in and around the Rio Grande, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement.

Migrants rest near Buoys on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 20, 2023. The buoys were installed on orders by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to prevent migrants from reaching the north embankment of the Rio Grande on the international boundary between Mexico and the U.S.

Texas governor installed buoys without federal approval

Abbott has stated explicitly that he did not seek federal authorization before issuing his directive as part of his border-enforcement plan he calls Operation Lone Star.

The Justice Department's suit contends that the move violates Section 10 of the U.S. Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, which says the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must sign off on any plans to place a wharf, pier, boom breakwater, bulkhead, jetty or other structures in navigable waters.

During a hearing in August, lawyers for Abbott and the state argued that the buoy chain was not an obstruction and that the section of the Rio Grande was not navigable because it was too shallow and narrow.

Ezra determined otherwise.

His ruling cites the Code of Federal Regulations, which states "navigable waters of the United States are those waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide and/or are presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible for use to transport interstate or foreign commerce."

TEXANS REPLY TO BUOY BARRIERS: Texas Gov. Abbott installing buoy barrier along Rio Grande; opponents decry 'dangerous stunt'

Buoys part of governors Operation Lone Star

Last month, Abbott held a news conference with fellow Republican governors where he defended the buoys, claiming that the main reason for the barrier was that Biden was "not doing his job" and had abandoned the border.

Abbott said 15 governors had deployed military personnel to assist with Operation Lone Star. Among them are South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Iowa.

The buoy barrier is one part of Abbotts Operation Lone Star, a border control program launched in March 2021. The total estimated cost for the operation is about $4 billion, and the price for the first segment of the buoy barrier at Eagle Pass was expected to cost $1 million, USA TODAY reported.

In addition to the string of buoys, Texas has installed miles of razor wire along the banks of the Rio Grande to deter unauthorized crossings. Migrants, including children, have been trapped and slashed by the wire.

Texas has also deployed shipping containers along the river at Eagle Pass and El Paso, which the governor described as a steel wall along the southern border.

Arizona to pay $2.1 million over DOJ shipping container wall lawsuit

Texas is not the only state to install makeshift walls along its border. Last year, former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey stacked thousands of shipping containers to build a border wall.

In December 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Arizona, Ducey, and other state officials over the wall, saying that the land where the containers were placed could only be used by Arizona if the state received federal authorization, which they had not.

The lawsuit also alleged that "the hundreds of double-stacked multi-ton shipping containers" damaged federal lands, threatened public safety, and hindered the abilities of federal agencies to do their jobs. Under pressure from the lawsuit, Ducey agreed to dismantle the wall in late December.

Arizona has agreed to pay the U.S. Forest Service for additional remediation efforts, according to a joint status report filed by the federal government, Arizona, and the Center for Biological Diversity.

The agency sent a bill for about $2.1 million to Arizona on Aug. 22, according to the states Division of Emergency Management. Once Arizona has paid the outstanding bill, the federal government and state expect the cases to be dismissed, the joint status report said.

Next steps in Texas legal battle

The ruling Wednesday comes ahead of a trial on the lawsuit, which has not yet been scheduled. It prohibits the state "from building new or placing additional buoys, blockades, or structures of any kind in the Rio Grande River pending final judgment in this matter," the judge said in his order.

Ezra gave Texas until Sept. 15 to "reposition" the buoys at its own expense and to work with the Corps of Engineers on the project.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Texas floating barriers: Buoys must be removed from the Rio Grande
Environmentalists have managed to reverse America's leading "yes in my backyard" (YIMBY) success story. A Minnesota judge ruled this week that Minneapolis must halt the implementation of a wide range of zoning reforms until it performs an environmental analysis of the increased home construction and urban density they allow.

"The record supports the inescapable conclusion that [the city's zoning changes] would have such potential for significant environmental effects that it is likely to affect the environment materially adversely, causing irreparable harm," wrote Hennepin County Judge Joseph R. Klein in a Tuesday decision.

Changes the city will now have to pump the brakes on include its first-in-the-nation abolition of single-family-only zoning, the ending of minimum parking requirements for new residential buildings, and the legalization of larger apartment buildings in more areas of the city.

These were passed by the Minneapolis City Council back in December 2018 as part of its lengthy Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan, which had the express purpose of boosting housing supply in order to bring housing prices down.

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That potential for additional housing construction was a bug, not a feature, for a number of the city's environmentalist organizations. Shortly before the approval of the Minneapolis 2040 plan, they sued the city on the grounds it had failed to study the environmental impacts of more people and more homes as required by the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act (MEPA).

Plaintiffs include Smart Growth Minneapolis and Minnesota Citizens for the Protection of Migratory Birds.

That case has been winding through the courts ever since. Klein had previously ruled in favor of the plaintiffs back in June 2022, rejecting an argument from the city that comprehensive plan updates like Minneapolis 2040 were exempt from state environmental review requirements.

The city was allowed to keep approving projects under the more permissive Minneapolis 2040 rules while it appealed that decision. In December 2022, a state appeals court also agreed with plaintiffs that Minneapolis' zoning changes triggered MEPA.

They sent the case back to Klein to decide whether a freeze on implementing the plan's housing changes was necessary. His Tuesday decision approved that freeze.

While the lawsuit has been ongoing, Minneapolis has seen a small boom in new home construction. Developers have taken advantage of the new, more liberal zoning rules to build newly legal apartment buildings with less parking than was previously required. (The city's legalization of triplexes and duplexes has had a more modest impact.)

Bloomberg reported recently that the city has managed to tame rising housing costs, while rents and home prices continue to rise in neighboring St. Paul and other cities across the Midwest.

Klein's Tuesday decision notes that "that since the Minneapolis 2040 Plan took effect on January 1, 2020, there has been a significant increase in total approved building height, linear feet, gross area footprint, and impermeable surface coverage."

But the success of the plan at increasing housing production and density is also its legal undoing. All this new floor space is likely to increase traffic (including pedestrian traffic), decrease air quality, increase light and glare from buildings, and increase shadows from new buildings.

Those are all environmental impacts that need to be studied under MEPA, reasoned Klein. Until that's done, new home construction under the Minneapolis 2040 rules must now stop.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported in May that the city had preemptively started work on an environmental review of its comprehensive plan while the lawsuit was still pending.

"We think the Court's ruling is wrong and we will be appealing," said the Minneapolis City Attorney's Office in a statement to Reason.

Klein's ruling, while quite plausibly right on the merits of MEPA's requirements, is certainly a setback for Minneapolis landowners who now have fewer options for developing their properties. It could at least be a productive teaching moment.

Minneapolis's 2040 plan legalized more housing production on paper, which then led to more homes in fact, and lower housing costs as a result. That's a vindication of the general YIMBY mantra that housing affordability comes through increased housing supply.

If the Minneapolis 2040 plan's reversal sees home construction fall and prices rise, that'll just be more proof of concept of that narrative.

FREE MINDS

Come November, political ads on Google will have to disclose whether they're using artificial intelligence. Politico reports:

Google's latest rule updatewhich also applies to YouTube video adsrequires all verified advertisers to prominently disclose whether their ads contain "synthetic content that inauthentically depicts real or realistic-looking people or events." The company mandates the disclosure be "clear and conspicuous" on the video, image or audio content. Such disclosure language could be "this video content was synthetically generated," or "this audio was computer generated," the company said. A disclosure wouldn't be required if AI tools were used in editing techniques, like resizing or cropping, or in background edits that don't create realistic interpretations of actual events.

FREE MARKETS

Minneapolis environmentalists aren't the only ones trying to make their local housing supply problem worse. Activists in nearby Michigan are agitating for rent control. Michigan Radio reports:

Hundreds of people gathered at the state Capitol Tuesday to demand rent control and other measures to reduce the cost of rent. William Walker is a Lansing community activist. He says the rapidly rising cost to rent in many Michigan cities, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, is forcing people out of their homes and apartments. "It is forcing them out of their communities. It's breaking up families. It is just devastating," said Walker.

Michigan lawmakers are readying a bill that would end the state's ban on localities adopting rent control.

It's part of a trend.

Massachusetts legislators are also trying to put an initiative on the ballot that would end that state's preemption of local rent control measures. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is soliciting comments on whether it should impose rent control on properties with a Fannie Mae or Freddie Macbacked mortgage.

It's all part and parcel of an ongoing effort by policy makers, academics, and activists to rehabilitate the once rock-bottom reputation of rent control. I've argued before (at length) that any honest assessment of rent control's effects finds that it reduces the supply and/or quality of housing.

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 The New Yorker covers the efforts of the Cetacean Translation Initiative, or CETI, an effort by researchers to use artificial intelligence to talk to whales.

 Mexico's Supreme Court declared all criminal penalties on abortion unconstitutional and is requiring the country's federal health service to offer abortions on request.

 The San Francisco Chronicle reports that former Fox News host Steve Hilton is launching a ballot initiative campaign to significantly pare back who can sue to stop new housing under the state's notorious environmental review law. His proposed ballot initiative would also cap impact fees charged to developers.

 This was officially the world's hottest summer.

 Republicans pounceon returning mask mandates in schools.

 A federal judge has ordered Texas to remove floating border barricades it had installed in the Rio Grande.

The post Judge Rules Minneapolis' Zoning Reforms Are Getting Too Much Housing Built appeared first on Reason.com.
McALLEN, Texas (Border Report)  Migrant advocacy groups appeared ready on Wednesday for a judge to rule in their favor and order Texas to remove the string of border buoys the state put in the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass to deter illegal immigration.

Judge orders Texas to move a large floating barrier to the riverbank of the Rio Grande by Sept. 15

Comments were posted to social media sites quickly reacting to the federal judges ruling, while Gov. Greg Abbott , R-Texas, within minutes issued a statement saying the state will appeal the ruling.

Texas will appeal. Todays court decision merely prolongs President Bidens willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along. This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal. We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers, Abbott said.

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Migrants undeterred by Rio Grande buoys, barbwire, soldiers

The federal judge in Austin has given the state until Sept. 15 to remove the $1 million 1,000-foot-long string of giant orange spherical buoys that were put in the river in July.

Texas relocated the buoys on Aug. 23 closer to the U.S. side of the Rio Grande after complaints that the string was in Mexican waters. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report file photo)

The buoys are a symbol of the hate-filled and inhumane policies Gov. Abbott has embraced as he continues to wage war on immigrants seeking to make better lives for themselves, as millions of other immigrants have done for hundreds of years in this country, Immigrant Legal Resource Center Senior Texas Strategist Carolina Canizales said. This stretch of the beautiful Rio Grande River has been turned into a militarized zone and has wreaked havoc in the peaceful community of Eagle Pass.

We hope this ruling leads to the complete dismantling of Operation Lone Star, Gov. Abbotts unconstitutional and racist law enforcement operation targeting migrants for arrest, jail, and deportation, Canizales said.

From the onset, Gov. Abbotts improvised buoy wall was an inhumane response to a humanitarian emergency, but this ruling makes crystal clear its underlying illegality, said Krish OMara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.

This was, of course, the obvious outcome. Only complete fools would argue that a 1,000-foot buoy barrier was going to deter anyone from crossing the border. In fact, there are dozens of pictures of migrants on the other side of the barrier who just walked around it, tweeted Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy council for the American Immigration Council.

The Biden administration sued the state of Texas to remove the marine barrier.

Texas border buoys could impact U.S., Mexico water treaty agreement

U.S. District Judge David Ezra on Wednesday noted complaints by Mexican officials against the border barrier influenced his ruling.

Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Esteban Moctezuma last week told Border Report that Mexico opposes the border buoys.

U.S. and Mexican leaders say providing water is border regions most important challenge

These buoys are against international law, against the binational relationship, against the treaty we have with the United States because the Rio Grande is not an American river, and its not a Mexican river. Its a binational river, Moctezuma said after giving the keynote speech last week at the NADBank Summit 2023 in San Antonio, where he spoke about the importance of preserving the international waterway

The 1,000-foot string of buoys cost Texas $1 million to install in the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report file photo)

The federal judges ruling against Operation Lone Star is a necessary step towards justice, shedding light on inhumane and cruel practices that have no place in our society, said Texas State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat who is running for U.S. Senate.

Abbott knows his actions are illegal. Im glad the court is forcing him to remove his death traps from the Rio Grande. He has endangered lives, damaged Texas working relationship with our largest trading partner and let politics rather than sensible policy dictate his actions, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, tweeted.

Its ridiculous that instead of enforcing the laws at our border, the Biden Admin is focusing their efforts on suing Texas for taking steps to deter illegal migrant crossings, U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, tweeted.

Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border

Were relieved Gov. Abbotts death trap will be removed from the Rio Grande, Laiken Jordahl, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, told Border Report. The harm these buoys inflicted on both people and wildlife was unconscionable, all for a photo op. Abbott should also take down the deadly razor wire he strung along the banks of the river, which continues to threaten the lives of asylum seekers and wildlife along the beautiful Rio Grande.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
McALLEN, Texas (Border Report)  Migrant advocacy groups appeared ready on Wednesday for a judge to rule in their favor and order Texas to remove the string of border buoys the state put in the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass to deter illegal immigration.

Judge orders Texas to move a large floating barrier to the riverbank of the Rio Grande by Sept. 15

Comments were posted to social media sites quickly reacting to the federal judges ruling, while Gov. Greg Abbott , R-Texas, within minutes issued a statement saying the state will appeal the ruling.

Texas will appeal. Todays court decision merely prolongs President Bidens willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along. This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal. We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers, Abbott said.

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Migrants undeterred by Rio Grande buoys, barbwire, soldiers

The federal judge in Austin has given the state until Sept. 15 to remove the $1 million 1,000-foot-long string of giant orange spherical buoys that were put in the river in July.

Texas relocated the buoys on Aug. 23 closer to the U.S. side of the Rio Grande after complaints that the string was in Mexican waters. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report file photo)

The buoys are a symbol of the hate-filled and inhumane policies Gov. Abbott has embraced as he continues to wage war on immigrants seeking to make better lives for themselves, as millions of other immigrants have done for hundreds of years in this country, Immigrant Legal Resource Center Senior Texas Strategist Carolina Canizales said. This stretch of the beautiful Rio Grande River has been turned into a militarized zone and has wreaked havoc in the peaceful community of Eagle Pass.

We hope this ruling leads to the complete dismantling of Operation Lone Star, Gov. Abbotts unconstitutional and racist law enforcement operation targeting migrants for arrest, jail, and deportation, Canizales said.

From the onset, Gov. Abbotts improvised buoy wall was an inhumane response to a humanitarian emergency, but this ruling makes crystal clear its underlying illegality, said Krish OMara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.

This was, of course, the obvious outcome. Only complete fools would argue that a 1,000-foot buoy barrier was going to deter anyone from crossing the border. In fact, there are dozens of pictures of migrants on the other side of the barrier who just walked around it, tweeted Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, policy council for the American Immigration Council.

The Biden administration sued the state of Texas to remove the marine barrier.

Texas border buoys could impact U.S., Mexico water treaty agreement

U.S. District Judge David Ezra on Wednesday noted complaints by Mexican officials against the border barrier influenced his ruling.

Mexican Ambassador to the U.S. Esteban Moctezuma last week told Border Report that Mexico opposes the border buoys.

U.S. and Mexican leaders say providing water is border regions most important challenge

These buoys are against international law, against the binational relationship, against the treaty we have with the United States because the Rio Grande is not an American river, and its not a Mexican river. Its a binational river, Moctezuma said after giving the keynote speech last week at the NADBank Summit 2023 in San Antonio, where he spoke about the importance of preserving the international waterway

The 1,000-foot string of buoys cost Texas $1 million to install in the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report file photo)

The federal judges ruling against Operation Lone Star is a necessary step towards justice, shedding light on inhumane and cruel practices that have no place in our society, said Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat who is running for U.S. Senate.

Abbott knows his actions are illegal. Im glad the court is forcing him to remove his death traps from the Rio Grande. He has endangered lives, damaged Texas working relationship with our largest trading partner and let politics rather than sensible policy dictate his actions, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, tweeted.

Its ridiculous that instead of enforcing the laws at our border, the Biden Admin is focusing their efforts on suing Texas for taking steps to deter illegal migrant crossings, U.S. Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, tweeted.

Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border

Were relieved Gov. Abbotts death trap will be removed from the Rio Grande, Laiken Jordahl, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, told Border Report. The harm these buoys inflicted on both people and wildlife was unconscionable, all for a photo op. Abbott should also take down the deadly razor wire he strung along the banks of the river, which continues to threaten the lives of asylum seekers and wildlife along the beautiful Rio Grande.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
This photo taken on Aug.16, 2023 shows robots transferring containers at the smart zero-carbon terminal of Tianjin Port in north China's Tianjin. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has proposed to accelerate ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Negotiations and strive to conclude negotiations in 2024, said a list of China's cooperation initiatives for the ASEAN-related summits.



The list contains a total of 39 initiatives for the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit, which are expected to generate fruitful outcomes.

According to the list, China will promote mutually beneficial cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

China encourages ASEAN countries to make good use of the ASEAN-China Cooperation Fund and jointly work for high-quality implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

China is ready to take the lead in signing the Protocol to the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in support of ASEAN countries' efforts to build and maintain a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Southeast Asia.

China is committed to working with ASEAN countries for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and for progress in consultations of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC). China also works to strengthen practical cooperation in marine science and technology, environmental cooperation, safety of navigation, search and rescue, fishing, combating transnational crimes, etc.

China will make an additional donation to the ASEAN-China Cooperation Fund in 2024.

The list also said that China supports having capacity-building activities with the ASEAN Centre for Climate Change. China will launch the ASEAN-China Initiative on Climate-Resilient Friendship Cities and low-carbon community development projects so as to raise awareness of climate change in the public.

The 26th China-ASEAN Summit and the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit were held Wednesday in Jakarta, while the 18th East Asia Summit is scheduled to convene Thursday.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that Georgias ban on gender-affirming care for minors can resume fully, just one month after placing a preliminary injunction on the legislation.

Under this ban, which took effect on July 1, licensed medical professionals are prohibited from providing gender-affirming services  such as gender transition surgery or hormone replacement therapy  to transgender people under the age of 18.

The ban was challenged by three transgender minors, their parents and a community organization. They argued that prohibiting hormone replacement therapy is a violation of clauses in the 14th Amendment. U.S. District Judge Sarah Geraghty ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, stating that the ban was unconstitutional and substantially likely to violate the Equal Protection Clause.

On Aug. 20, Geraghty placed a preliminary injunction on the ban, specifically blocking the enforcement of the part of the ban that prohibits doctors from providing hormone therapy to minors, The New York Times reported. (The judge did not issue an injunction on the part of the law that prohibits gender transition surgery for minors because plaintiffs in the case did not challenge that part of the law.)

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Considering the record evidence as discussed at length in previous sections of this order, the Court determines that the imminent risks of irreparable harm to Plaintiffs flowing from the ban  including risks of depression, anxiety, disordered eating, self-harm, and suicidal ideation  outweigh any harm the State will experience from the injunction, Geraghty wrote in the order in August.

But lawyers representing the state in the case, along with the states attorney general, called on the judge to reconsider her temporary block, citing an appeals court ruling on a similar law in Alabama that was made the day after Geraghtys ruling.

In Alabama, a district judge had partly blocked a law similar to the one in Georgia that banned hormone treatment and puberty blockers for transgender minors. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit reversed the ruling and allowed the Alabama law to take full effect. The 11th Circuits jurisdiction includes Georgia.

According to the court filing from Geraghty on Tuesday, the 11th Circuit judges determined that Alabamas law on gender-affirming care for minors was subject to rational basis review under the Equal Protection Clause and that the plaintiffs in that case didnt satisfy the standard for a preliminary injunction.

Geraghty confirmed in the court filing that the preliminary injunction on the Georgia ban will be vacated, allowing the law to once again take full effect. She wrote in the filing that it is undisputed that the preliminary injunction rests on legal grounds that have been squarely rejected by the appellate panel in the Alabama case.

A final decision on the defendants request for reconsideration of the temporary block on the Georgia law will be made based on potential rehearings in the Alabama case, according to the Tuesday court filing from the judge.

Georgias ban is among the record-breaking number of anti-LGBTQ legislation that has been introduced in states around the country this year. At least 19 states have passed laws banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, CNN reported.

Related...
A Jackson County judge on Wednesday sentenced a 41-year-old Kansas City man to life in prison plus 20 years in the killing of his ex-wife six years ago.

John Frazier, convicted of first-degree murder, faced a mandatory minimum of life in prison without the possibility of parole in the August 2017 shooting of Tamara Randolph, 36. He was sentenced to another 20 years on his conviction of armed criminal action, Jackson County prosecutors said Wednesday.

Frazier and Randolph divorced in 2016. They were sharing custody of their two boys, 7 and 9 years old, when Randolph was fatally shot.

Frazier stopped following the custody agreement, according to court documents, and Randolph had sought help through civil court but continued to be denied visitation with the children. On the afternoon of Aug. 2, 2017, Randolph showed up at Fraziers house in Kansas City and left a note on the door concerning the children.

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Frazier drove back to his house after receiving a phone call that Randolph was knocking on the door. After speaking with Randolph outside, Frazier went into the house and its home surveillance system suddenly went offline.

A Kansas City gunshot alert system, ShotSpotter, detected seven gunshots coming from the area of 37th Street and Woodland Avenue.

Frazier called 911 to report the shooting, saying he acted in self-defense. He told them Randolph pulled a gun on him.

Officers responded to find Randolph face down in a driveway. Five of her gunshot wounds were determined by the medical examiners office to have entered through her back.

Police located a handgun near Randolphs body. It was later determined to have been first purchased by Frazier in 2005. Their children, when interviewed by authorities, said they never saw her carry a firearm.

The judges sentence Wednesday followed recommendations made by the Jackson County jury that convicted Frazier in May.
Judge Arthur Engoron on Wednesday denied a request by former President Donald Trump and other defendants named in the civil lawsuit overseen by New York Attorney General Letitia James to have next months trial postponed.

Lawyers for the defendants asked that the trial be delayed until at least three weeks after the court rules on both sides motions for summary judgment.

A trial of this magnitude should not begin in chaos, they wrote in a Tuesday court filing shared by Insider. The Court and the Defendants are entitled to know the claims and issues to be tried sufficiently in advance to prepare adequately for trial.

But Engoron disagreed.

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Defendants arguments are completely without merit, Engoron wrote.

The trial is scheduled to start Oct. 2.

James sued Trump, two of his children, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., the Trump Organization and others last September for what she said were deceptive business practices as part of a long-running alleged tax-dodging scheme, following a three-year investigation. She also accused Donald Trump of inflating his net worth by $812 million to $2.2 billion each year from 2011 to 2021.

James, earlier this week, asked Engoron to sanction and fine the defendants and their lawyers for using previously rejected arguments several times in their motions.

The New York prosecutor requested all defendants in the case collectively pay $10,000 and that their attorneys also collectively be fined $10,000.

Clifford Roberts, a lawyer for the Trump family, took issue with the attorney generals motion, calling it frivolous, in an interview with The Washington Post.

The judge has yet to rule on James sanctions request.

Ivanka Trump was also named as a defendant in James case, but a court dismissed the lawsuit against her earlier this summer.

Donald Trump, who has denied wrongdoing, is facing four criminal indictments on top of this case, including two related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
DOVER  Two juveniles have been charged with stealing and causing residential and school property damage in the area of Garrison Road and the Shaws Lane athletic fields.

Police announced Thursday the juveniles were seen on surveillance video in multiple incidents during the early morning hours of Aug. 28. Dover police Capt. David Terlemezian said the two juveniles are both boys and do not reside in Dover.

Police said multiple residents in the area of Garrison Road reported theft and criminal mischief had occurred on their properties, and staff from Garrison Elementary School reported property damage. The citys Recreation Department eported to police that the Shaws Lane athletic fields concession stand had been burglarized.

The Dover Police Department in investigating a shooting at a residence Sunday, June 20, 2021.

During the investigation, officers obtained surveillance footage from a variety of sources which showed two juveniles riding through the area on bicycles and damaging the property, a Dover police news release states.

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More local news: Northeast Credit Union looks to move headquarters to Dover from Portsmouth

Five residences on Garrison Road and surrounding streets were affected by the criminal mischief and thefts, according to Terlemezian. At least one of the items that was stolen but has since been recovered was a bicycle.

Terlemezian said substantial damage was caused to the residences, school and the concession stand.

Its still under investigation to the extent that were still waiting for damage assessments from the crime victims, Terlemezian said Thursday.

One of the juveniles has been charged with burglary, criminal mischief and three counts of theft by unauthorized taking, according to city police. The second has been charged with one count of burglary and two counts of criminal mischief.

Through the juvenile justice system, the suspects will face an additional charge of falsifying physical evidence, police said.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Dover NH: Juveniles charged with crimes at school, homes, field
Vice President Harris made her remarks about former President Trump in a wide-ranging Associated Press interview

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)  Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday that those responsible for the effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and the ensuing violence at the U.S. Capitol must be held accountable  even if that means Donald Trump.

Let the evidence, the facts, take it where it may, Harris said in an interview with The Associated Press in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she was attending a regional summit, noting: Everyone has their right to their day in court.

Federal prosecutors have indicted Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, for his efforts to cling to power in 2020. The former president also has been charged in Georgia in a scheme to subvert the will of voters who elected Democrat Joe Biden instead of giving Trump a second term.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the start of a meeting with the Biden administrations Task Force on Reproductive Health Care Access in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on April 12, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

I spent the majority of my career as a prosecutor, said Harris, who served as Californias attorney general before moving to Washington as a U.S. senator. I believe that people should be held accountable under the law. And when they break the law, there should be accountability.

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The White House has been circumspect in addressing the issue of criminal charges against Trump, who has pleaded not guilty, to avoid any whiff of political meddling in the work of prosecutors, particularly as Biden seeks a second term in 2024. But both Biden and Harris have been outspoken about what they view as the very real danger to American democracy the aftermath of the 2020 election exposed.

Democracies are very fragile, the vice president said in the AP interview. They will only be as strong as our willingness to fight for it.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said with her comments, the vice president was affirming her belief in our system of laws, a belief the president shares.

This is something that of course the president shares and believes in  but Im going to let the Department of Justice do their job independently, Jean-Pierre said.

Harris is representing the United States at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in place of Biden.

The presidents absence disappointed some, but the White House emphasized that it remained committed to the region, which Harris reiterated in her interview.

We as Americans, I believe, have a very significant interest, both in terms of our security but also our prosperity, today and in the future, in developing and strengthening these relationships, she said.

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at Orlando International Airport ahead of attending the 20th Quadrennial Convention of the Womens Missionary Society of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

Southeast Asia is a critical arena for the rivalry between the U.S. and China, particularly when it comes to the South China Sea. One-third of global shipping traverses its waters.

Beijing recently released a new government map that emphasizes its disputed territorial claims to the sea.

Its a violation of the law. And thats where I put that map, Harris told the AP.

ASEAN has struggled to make progress on issues such as the military coup in Myanmar, but Harris said the organization absolutely remains a critical forum.

The fact that so many leaders are convening in this one place at the same time to address some of the biggest challenges facing our world is a sign of strength of both the commitment that each nation has to the coalition and the potential for collaboration, she said.

Harris sounded a strong warning about reports that Russia was talking with North Korea about obtaining weapons for its invasion of Ukraine, calling the possible alliance ill-advised.

Russia has been levied a strategic failure, she said. Their aggressive, unprovoked actions in Ukraine have resulted in a situation where the aura and myth of the Russian military has now been dispelled.

Harris dismissed concerns about Bidens age, 80, even though hes widely seen as too old for office. A recent AP/NORC poll showed that 77% of Americans and 69% of Democrats think hes too old for a second term.

Harris is next in line for the presidency, a position that increased scrutiny of her as she serves with a president who would be 86 at the end of a potential second term. Some Republican presidential hopefuls claim that a vote for Biden would really end up being a vote for Harris  and not in a good way.

I see him every day. A substantial amount of time we spend together is in the Oval Office, where I see how his ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way that no one else can, to make smart and important decisions on behalf of the American people have played out, she said. And so I will say to you that I think the American people ultimately want to know that their president delivers. And Joe Biden delivers.

Harris described the idea of possibly stepping into the role of president as hypothetical but said she was ready.

Joe Biden is going to be fine, so that is not going to come to fruition, she stated. But let us also understand that every vice president  every vice president  understands that when they take the oath they must be very clear about the responsibility they may have to take over the job of being president.

Harris added, Im no different.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Kamala Harris: Trump shouldnt be an exception for Jan. 6 accountability, AP reports appeared first on TheGrio.
The North Carolina Courage knocked the Kansas City Current out of the Challenge Cup for the second year in a row on Wednesday night at Childrens Mercy Park.

Brianna Pintos 96th-minute goal in the semifinal match was the difference in a 1-0 Courage victory.

We were one-and-a-half minutes from a penalty shootout, said KCs interim head coach, Caroline Sjoblom. I think we deserved to be there today.

While the Current seemed to find the net easily during the group stage of the Challenge Cup, their goal-scoring deficiencies resurfaced in their three most recent  and most important  games.

And Wednesday nights first half was especially rough for the Current. They struggled to string together passes. With little offensive rhythm, they failed to register a single-shot attempt through 56 minutes.

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Sjoblom said the Current were wasteful in possession.

When we won the ball from all our defensive work, we made turnovers again, she said.

Current captain Kristen Hamilton credited the Courages ability to read what KC was trying to do.

They understand their system well, so they were able to solve what we were doing, Hamilton said. It took us a little while to figure that out.

The complexion of the match changed somewhat when Cece Kizer came on as a substitute. The Current found another gear and started creating chances. First it was a shot from Hailie Mace, then a curler from Alexa Spaanstra (saved expertly by NCs Casey Murphy), and then an effort from Michelle Cooper that sailed just over the crossbar.

All of those shots looked strong. None found the net. And the Currents inability to convert such chances caught up with them in the second half.

After a late substitution along the KC backline, the Currents defense seemed disorganized and failed to clear the box. Pinto used her strength to hold off several Current defenders before sending a low, hard shot to the far corner.

Sjobloms substitutions included defender Stine Ballisager for Izzy Rodriguez (foot injury). Ballisager slotted into the back line, and instead of moving to a back three, Gabrielle Robinson covered Rodriguezs spot at left-back. That left a rookie defender out of position and two center backs who had never played together to finish the match.

The players frustration and disappointment was palpable as the final whistle sounded. While not mathematically eliminated from NWSL postseason contention, the Current face long odds to get there.

The Current have four regular-season matches left. Three of those will be contested on the road, starting with their next match, on Sept. 16, in San Diego.

Its not over, Hamilton said. Anything can happen. This league is crazy. So were gonna go out there and fight till the end.
LAWRENCE, Kan.  A 33-year-old Kansas City, Missouri man pleads guilty to a 2021 fentanyl death in Douglas County, Kansas.

Daniele Leone on Wednesday pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and unlawful distribution of a controlled substance in the fentanyl death of a 32-year-old Lawrence man.

KCK man charged in deadly shooting at Independence motel

According to Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez, the conviction stems from an incident that occurred on March 15, 2021, when the victim was discovered unresponsive in a home located in the E. 1300 block of 13th Street.

The incident was investigated by the Lawrence Police Department.

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Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android

Sentencing for Leone is scheduled for Oct. 10 at 1:30 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  A Kansas City, Missouri man is sentenced in the 2017 murder of a 36-year-old woman.

On Wednesday, a Jackson County judge sentenced John Frazier, 41, to life without parole plus 20 years. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

KCK man charged in deadly shooting at Independence motel

In April, a jury convicted Frazier of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

According to court records, police responded on Aug. 2, 2017, to a residence near E. 37th Street and Woodland Avenue on a reported shooting.

Frazier was the caller; he told police he shot the victim after she pulled a gun on him.

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Witnesses told police that the victim was at the residence to retrieve her two children.

Police found the victim on the ground. She was declared dead on the scene and identified as Tamara Randolf.

Video surveillance showed the victim arriving and knocking at the door. Frazier arrives at the residence, gets out of his truck and appears to be holding a gun.

Inmate who escaped Cass County jail sentenced in $4M meth conspiracy

Moments before a ShotSpotter recorded seven sounds of shots, the video recording ended.

A relative of Randolph said Frazier pulled a gun on her. After a witness heard Randolph yell her kids names, she heard a struggle, then nothing.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Nearly one year later, a Kansas City police officer is still supporting the infant he saved.

Last fall, 1-month-old Kamiyah suddenly stopped breathing due to RSV, and her parents called 911.

Worlds biggest bounce house returning to Kansas City area this fall

Officers Richard DuChaine and Charles Owen responded to the call, arriving before EMS, and immediately ran into the house. Kamiyahs dad handed the little girl over to DuChaine.

Body camera footage showed the KC officer immediately started compressions and then back thrusts, resuscitating the 1-month-old. He even went to the hospital to check on Kamiyah later.

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Months later, Kansas City police said DuChaine and Kamiyahs family have bonded over the past year and are still in contact with each other.

The little girl even went with DuChaine and his family to the Kansas City Zoo. The officer previously said he also has a daughter who was born early like Kamiyah.

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Ive been in your shoes. I know exactly what it feels like, DuChaine said in 2022. And thats the biggest thing is just being so close, and I could actually relate to this family that I serve.

Kamiyah turns one year old this month, police said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Typhoon Haikui, the 11th typhoon of this year, forced 294,100 residents to temporarily evacuate in east China's Fujian Province, authorities said.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, torrential rains brought by the typhoon had disrupted the lives of nearly 1.6 million people in the province, according to the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters.

Almost 10,000 hectares of crops were damaged, and more than 2,500 houses were damaged or destroyed, causing a direct economic loss of 5.05 billion yuan (701.5 million U.S. dollars).

Many coastal areas of the province saw heavy rainstorms after the landfall of the typhoon on Tuesday. From 6 a.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday, the precipitation in 65 townships of 15 counties, cities and districts exceeded 250 mm, with the maximum rainfall reaching 548.9 mm in Gaishan Town, Cangshan District, in the provincial capital Fuzhou.

As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, the cumulative precipitation had broken three-hour, six-hour, 12-hour and 24-hour maximum rainfall records in Fuzhou.

Nearly 60,000 people were mobilized for emergency response as of 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Huang Zhigang, an expert with the provincial meteorological bureau, said more torrential rains are expected in the next two days in some areas of Fujian, which may trigger mountain torrents, river flooding and other secondary disasters.
Kansas City police are investigating a homicide Wednesday after a man injured last month by a cutting instrument in the East Community Team North neighborhood died of his injuries.

The medical examiners office determined the death was a homicide, Capt. Corey Carlisle, a KCPD spokesman, said in a statement Wednesday. The victim was identified as 59-year-old Lambert Smalls.

Around 9 p.m. on Aug. 22, Kansas City police officers were dispatched to the Gabriel Towers at 1600 Jackson Ave. Smalls was found suffering from apparent bodily trauma in the parking lot, according to police.

A suspect, whose identity was not disclosed by police, was taken into custody at the scene. Detectives determined there was a disturbance between Smalls and the suspect that led up to the killing.

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The killing marks Kansas Citys 139th homicide of 2023, according to data maintained by The Star. The city remains on pace with the homicide record set in 2020, when 182 people were killed.

It was unclear Wednesday whether Jackson County prosecutors had charged anyone in connection with Smalls death.
Kanye Wests rumoured wife, Bianca Censori, has sparked confusion with her latest outfit, which saw her holding a pillow over her chest while walking around Italy.

On Wednesday 6 September, the rapper  who legally changed his name to Ye  and Censori were photographed in unique ensembles while walking through the streets of Italy. The outing came days after the pair were reportedly banned from a boat company in Venice due to their alleged behaviour on board one of its vessels.

In recent photos that circulated online, Censori was seen walking in sheer beige stockings and a matching spaghetti strap bodysuit. She was also holding a purple cushion over her chest, seemingly in an effort to cover the top half of her body. The architect completed the look with a pair of heels.

Meanwhile, West opted for an all black look, which included a short-sleeved shirt, pants, slippers, and hooded scarf, which covered the majority of his face.

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On X, formerly known as Twitter, people expressed their confusion over Censoris look, with some questioning the pillow accessory.

Is [Ye] going to use her as a couch? one person asked, while another wrote: I hate all her looks and theyre always nylon, like quit playing with the pantyhose.

Others suggested West had been styling Censori  who reportedly married the rapper in a non-legally binding ceremony  and criticised him for it. They also acknowledged that West previously styled his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, when they were together.

I feel like Kanye is making her dress like this, one fan wrote, while another asked: Why is he making her dress like this?

Remember Kim and then all his GFs after her started dressing similar to this [during his] whole dating them, a third wrote. Then they break up and theyre back to normal human clothes!

He does. Remember Kim and then all his GFs after her started dressing similar to this whole dating them. Then they break up and theyre back to normal human clothes!  Gay vanilla latte (@AlexTheAight) September 7, 2023

I feel like Kanye is making her dress like this  Lunadeus  (@LunadeusLilitu) September 7, 2023

Other social media users offered their own suggestions as to why the pair were walking around in the surprising outfits, with one claiming theyre clearly doing it for reaction purposes but it is very bizarre.

Following the outing, the DailyMail reported Censori was spotted with the pillow while she and West were leaving their hotel in Florence on 6 September. A source alleged to the publication that Censori wore the ensemble throughout the day, including during a shopping trip in the city.

However, according to another source, Censori had changed into a long-sleeved bodysuit by the time she went to dinner with West that evening.

This isnt the first time that one of Censoris outfits has sparked mixed reactions. In June, the pair made headlines when they were pictured heading to Wests church service in all-black ensembles, with West wearing a black T-shirt with the word Polizei, the German word for police, emblazoned on it. He also sported a pair of black leggings that covered his feet in what appeared to be sock shoes.

Meanwhile, Censori wore a stocking-like ensemble that covered her entire body, including her face. She also wore her arms inside the black pantyhose, while a ring of black fabric circled the lower half of her face and neck.

Days before they were photographed in Florence, a Venice boat company, Venezia Turismo Motoscafi, issued a statement declaring that they were no longer welcome on future trips. The ban came after they were photographed on the boat in what appeared to be a compromising position, as West had his trousers down and bottom exposed, while Censori appeared to be crouching between his legs.

Following the release of the photos, a spokesperson for Venezia Turismo Motoscafi  whose celebrity clientele reportedly includes Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, and Ben Affleck  explained that the driver had not seen these obscenities because they were looking out for traffic on the water.

The statement added that, if the driver had witnessed the couple engaging in any lewd behaviour, they would have immediately disembarked and reported the transgressors to those in authority.

In recent years, the rapper has been at the centre of several controversies, making headlines for a slew of antisemitic remarks. In 2022, West was dropped by both Adidas and Balenciaga over his hateful and dangerous comments relating to Jewish people. CAA, one of the biggest celebrity talent agencies in the US, also cut ties with the musician.
An attorney for Karen Read has filed a motion in Norfolk Superior Court to have her bail removed. In the new filing, attorney David Yannetti cites her legal expenses, health complications, and what he describes as mounting evidence of her innocence.

NEW: Karen Reads defense team has filed a motion to have her bail removed. They want her released on personal recognizance. Her current bail is 100k according to new filing #boston25 pic.twitter.com/9sjn2sgwBY  Ted Daniel (@TedDanielnews) September 7, 2023

Read is charged with second-degree murder for the death of her Boston Police Officer boyfriend John OKeefe. He was found unresponsive outside of 34 Fairview Road in Canton on Jan. 29, 2022. Prosecutors say Read backed over OKeefe in a snowstorm and left him for dead after a night of drinking.

Reads Bail was initially set at $100,000 during her Superior Court arraignment. According to the filing, Judge Beverly J. Cannone reduced it to $80,000 on Feb. 8, 2023. Read posted the bail and was released from custody. Her defense is now asking for her release on personal recognizance.

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Yannetti states that Read has lost her employment and the health insurance that came with it after her arrest. Read was an equity researcher at Fidelity Investments and a lecturer in the finance department of Bentley College.

Read has had to spend considerable money on legal fees to properly defend herself and to obtain basic discovery material that should have been voluntarily turned over to the defense by the Commonwealth many months ago, the filing states. Yannetti references outstanding items of evidence he says the defense has been waiting 19 months for.

Yannetti devotes 5 pages of the 9-page filing to Reads third-party culpability defense. Reads legal team has claimed OKeefe was lured into the home at 34 Fairview Road, beaten, and then dragged outside to the front of the property where he was found unresponsive hours later in a snowstorm.

According to Yannetti law enforcement, neglected to interview at least five individuals who were either present at 34 Fairview Road and/or drove directly past where Mr. OKeefes body should have been laying. At the time, 34 Fairview Rd was owned by Boston Police Officer Brian Albert. Albert was having a get-together that OKeefe had been invited to attend.

Reads defense team has argued that police failed to seriously consider any of the party attendees as potential suspects.

The Norfolk County District Attorneys office has previously stated, that eight people inside the home and three more outside have testified that OKeefe never entered, and the office states that GPS data from OKeefes phone supports that.

It needs to stop: DA warns against ongoing harassment of witnesses in Karen Read murder case

A party attendee who helped Read search for OKeefe on the morning of Jan. 29, 2022, told police Read had shown her a cracked right rear taillight on her vehicle and questioned if she could have hit OKeefe.

The filing also details Reads significant medical conditions, including Crohns disease and multiple sclerosis. It states that Read is paying for private medical insurance out-of-pocket.

A spokesperson for the Norfolk County D.A.s office said they have not seen the motion to remove Reads bail yet and would not likely have comment before the court considered it.

The motion could be argued as soon as Sept. 15, 2023, when Read is scheduled to return to court.

RELATED COVERAGE:

Long 19 months: Canton residents discuss impact Karen Read case has had on their community

Parents of Karen Read, woman charged in Boston officers death: My daughter will be free

We know who did it: Woman charged in death of Boston officer speaks out after setback in court

Judge shoots down claims of impropriety in Karen Read murder case as defense pushes for fair trial

It needs to stop: DA warns against ongoing harassment of witnesses in Karen Read murder case

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Karine Jean-Pierre is getting her own spread in the pages of Vogue.

The White House press secretary is profiled in the October issue of the fashion magazine, released Thursday and on newsstands Sep. 19.

In the piece, Jean-Pierre  the first Black woman and openly gay person to hold the role  recalled when President Biden asked her in 2022 to take on the job behind the White House Briefing Room podium.

It happened fast, Jean-Pierre said of the conversation. The president and I had 20 seconds together.

Youre kind of like, Were there supposed to be fireworks happening? Mood music? Jean-Pierre told Vogue. There was none of that.

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Jean-Pierre, 49, also opened up about managing work and caring for her 9-year-old daughter. Jean-Pierre and her longtime partner, former CNN correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, separated, according to the magazine.

Im a single mom who is co-parenting this amazing kid, Jean-Pierre said. Our number-one priority is her privacy and to make sure we create an environment thats nurturing.

First lady Jill Biden praised Jean-Pierre in the profile by writer Mattie Kahn, calling her a pioneering White House press secretary who brings grace, integrity, and insight to the podium. The first lady said Jean-Pierre possesses a calm, quiet confidence that inspires us all.

Appearing in one photo in Vogue in her office while sporting a colorful Victor Glemaud dress and in another snapshot sporting a bright red Gabriela Hearst suit while clutching her famed thick binder of notes, Jean-Pierre  who shuns coffee and alcohol  received some words of advice from her predecessor in a written note before she took the job.

Keep your feet planted on the ground and your spine stiff, former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki wrote to Jean-Pierre.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Here are area restaurants with seven or more priority or critical health code violations, with highlighted links to some original public record reports.

Restaurants correct most violations at the time of the original inspection or shortly thereafter. Links to the follow-up inspections show how each establishment has corrected or is working to correct any remaining violations.

If an inspection or follow-up report needs clarification, restaurant and grocery store owners can email Jenna Thompson at jthompson@kcstar.com. The Star will post appropriate responses in the same online locations as the original report.

The Kansas Department of Agriculture cited these operations for seven or more priority health code violations (direct links to the reports are not available).

For complete Kansas health inspections, click here.

Tokyo Hibachi Express, 404 E. Main St., Gardner, had 10 violations during a Sept. 5 inspection following a complaint.

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Talk of the Town, 5201 W 135th St., Leawood, had eight violations during a Sept. 5 inspection following a complaint.

Pegahs Family Restaurant, 11005 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, had seven violations during a Sept. 5 inspection following a complaint.

The Bar, 6101 Johnson Drive, Mission, had seven violations during an Aug. 31 routine inspection.

The Kansas City Health Department cited these operations for seven or more critical violations:

Moretinas Caddyshack, 700 E. Third St., had eight critical violations during a Sept. 5 routine inspection.

Sushi Haru, 13133 State Line Road, had seven critical violations during an Aug. 31 routine inspection. It had none during a Sept. 7 follow-up inspection.

Clay & Fire, 3815 W. 17th St., had seven critical violations following an Aug. 31 routine inspection.

GJ Fish & Chicken, 3815 W. 17th St., had seven critical violations following an Aug. 31 routine inspection.

For complete Kansas City-area reports, click here.
Harlems Fashion Row s 16th annual fashion show and awards paid homage to hip-hops 50th anniversary and honored Black talent in fashion.

While New York Fashion Week officially began Thursday, Sept. 7, its been in full swing in Harlem since Tuesday evening. On Sept. 5, at the legendary Apollo Theater, Harlems Fashion Row hosted its 16th annual fashion show and awards with the theme Remix, celebrating hip-hops 50th anniversary.

According to a release to theGrio, the evening featured a cocktail hour, an awards ceremony, a performance by Doug E. Fresh, and a fashion show showcasing the work of three emerging Black designers: Nicole Benefield, Aaron Potts, and Megan Smith.

Brandice Daniel and Kelly Rowland on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual fashion show and awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. (Photo courtesy by Harlems Fashion Row)

During her remarks, per Womens Wear Daily, Brandice Daniel, founder and chief executive officer of HFR, said, We are here in the heart of Harlem at the world-famous Apollo Theater. We are commemorating a huge milestone  the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. Hip-hop has left an indelible mark on me personally and every facet of our culture, especially fashion.

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Daniel also highlighted the strength of the Black consumer and how eager Black consumers are to shop Black-owned brands. To overlook this, is to overlook the deniable force of our community, she said.

She went on to note how the evening celebrated storytelling, a major aspect of hip-hop.

We will also honor the distinguished innovators who have shaped the fashion landscape who dont often get recognized enough, she said.

Those honorees included Kelly Rowland, who was presented the Fashion Icon Award by her husband, Tim Weatherspoon. A$AP Rocky was presented the Virgil Abloh Award by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and Black Italian designer Stella Jean, who regularly incorporates African Dutch wax prints into her tailored yet feminine silhouettes, was named Designer of the Year. The evening also honored Vogues Global Contributing Editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson as Editor of the Year, photographer Johnny Nunez as a Hip-Hop Trailblazer, and the Los Angeles-based styling duo Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald as Stylists of the Year.

When accepting her award, Rowland, wearing a black-and-white, bustier and velvet-skirted look by Ashi Studio, first gushed about her husband, saying, I love that Black man, before uplifting Daniel and all she does through HFR. Despite her extensive experience on stages, sets and red carpets, Rowland surprisingly said she didnt know what a fashion icon was when she first got the call.

For me, I thought it was all the girls in the fashion magazines who started trends, she said. She explained how her relationship with fashion began with Destinys Child when Tina Knowles dressed us and I remember what it was like to start a trend. She added, We start the trends, we make things cool. Fashion should be grateful for us.

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Tamron Hall, Brandice Daniel and Stella Jean on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.(Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Tim Weatherspoon and Kelly Rowland on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Kelly Rowland on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Stella Jean on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Models on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Gena Smith, Brandice Daniel and A$AP Rocky on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Tamron Hall on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

A$AP Rocky on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Nicole Benefield on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the Catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

A$AP Rocky and Brandice Daniel on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Megan Smith on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Row 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Row 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Model on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

A. Potts on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Johnny Nunez on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Wayman Bannerman and Micah McDonald attend Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

June Ambrose attends Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Doug E. Fresh and Lil Vicious on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Tamron Hall and Stella Jean on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023 at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Models on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Models on the catwalk during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlem's Fashion Row's 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Brandice Daniel on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. (Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Style Awards

Tamron Hall, Brandice Daniel and Stella Jean on stage during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th Annual Fashion Show and Awards on Sept. 5, 2023, at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.(Photo courtesy of Harlems Fashion Row)

As Rocky received his award, he admitted he hadnt prepared a speech because he wanted to speak from the heart. He also paid a poignant tribute to his awards namesake.

Virgil discovered us  A$AP  as a bunch of kids. We didnt know who we were. Virgil knew who we were. A year later, I became famous. Virgil went on to design my first album cover, he said. Were responsible for a lot of trends. Im not trying to toot my own horn. By we, I mean me, he quipped.

The evening, sponsored by AT&T and Walt Disney, also boasted a star-studded guest list of Black fashion industry insiders, including Sergio Hudson, June Ambrose, and Dapper Dan.

Daniel also noted how many of Tuesday nights honorees have had to overcome numerous challenges, including systemic racial barriers that are rampant in the fashion industry.

This evening serves as a testament to the dismantling of those barriers and the ascent towards an inclusive and empowering fashion industry, she said.

Take a look in the gallery below.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrios Black Podcast Network is free too. Download theGrio mobile apps today! Listen to Writing Black with Maiysha Kai.

The post Kelly Rowland, A$AP Rocky honored during Harlems Fashion Rows 16th annual fashion show and awards appeared first on TheGrio.
Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton on Tuesday has so far attended every day of the impeachment trial of state Attorney General Ken Paxton, her husband, who is accused of misusing his office to cover up an alleged affair, among other things  and of using his relationship with a campaign donor to benefit the alleged affair.

The Texas Senate is deciding whether to convict Ken Paxton on 16 articles of impeachment, which include bribery, misuse of public office and unfitness of office. If he is convicted of any one of them, he will be removed as attorney general and could be barred from running for office again.

Ken Paxton has pleaded not guilty but has not attended the impeachment trial since the first day.

While Ken Paxton is not being impeached over the alleged affair, his former top aide, Jeff Mateer, testified last week that he believed it is "relevant" to the accusations in the articles of impeachment. Paxton is accused of abusing his office to benefit Austin real estate developer Nate Paul. In return, the articles of impeachment allege, Paul hired the woman with whom Ken Paxton was allegedly having an affair.

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Paxton's former chief of staff, Katherine "Missy" Cary, testified Monday that she warned Paxton that an affair "can open one up to bribery and misuse of office, misuse of state time," which are among the impeachment counts. Cary said the alleged affair affected morale in the office  especially since Angela Paxton had at one point been calling and asking about his schedule, which made staffers "uncomfortable."

In addition to being present at the hearing, Angela Paxton shared a kiss with Ken Paxton before it began.

Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton, right, is hugged by his wife State Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney before the impeachment trial for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol, Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, in Austin, Texas. / Credit: Eric Gay / AP

What does Ken Paxton's alleged affair have to do with his impeachment?

Mateer testified that in 2018, Ken Paxton revealed the affair in a meeting with senior campaign staff and the staff of the attorney general's office. Angela Paxton helped organize and attended the meeting, according to Mateer. He said Ken Paxton "asked for forgiveness" and described it as "emotional and sympathetic."

Mateer said he believed that Ken Paxton had "repented" and he assumed going forward that the affair was over. When he learned the alleged affair had resumed, he said it "answered one of the questions I kept struggling with."

"Why would General Paxton jeopardize all this great work that we've been doing in the Office of the Attorney General?" Mateer continued. "Why would he be engaged in these activities on behalf of one person, all these different things?"

Mateer said that when he learned the woman with whom Paxton allegedly had the affair was employed by Paul, he resigned the following Friday.

In evidence released by the House impeachment managers, Andrew Wicker, a former top aide to Ken Paxton who came on in 2019, said he had been told about an "intervention" about the alleged affair.

Wicker, who has been described as a "second son" to Ken Paxton, told House impeachment managers that while Ken Paxton's home was being renovated  renovations which the House impeachment managers allege were paid for by Paul  the attorney general stayed at the Omni Barton Creek in Austin. Wicker said the security detail had been called off, so he would personally pick up Ken Paxton and take him to work.

In 2020, Wicker's family was also staying at the Omni Barton Creek when they ran into Ken Paxton and a woman at the elevator.

"No words were said," Wicker said. "General Paxton walked out, shook my hand, shook my father's hand and the lady walked out. Didn't acknowledge us or say anything. Just, you know, walked out."

According to Wicker, when he described the encounter to communications staffer Marc Rylander, he said, "Great, she's back."

On Monday, Cary, Paxton's former chief of staff, testified about how Paxton's alleged affair affected the attorney general's office.

"The ethics advice in 2018 was when you try to keep things secret when you are a statewide elected official who is running for office, it can be ethically, legally and morally challenging  and it was beginning to bleed over to people in the office," Cary testified.

According to Cary, around 2018, there were complaints in the office from security and travel details about hours and conducting non-state business, such as the alleged affair. Further, Cary said Angela Paxton used to call the office regularly to ask about her husband's schedule or his whereabouts, which led to complaints from the office that they were "uncomfortable."

Cary had run into Paxton one day at lunch with the woman with whom he allegedly had an affair  who Paxton had said was his realtor  and testified that she confronted Paxton in the summer of 2018. He confirmed he was having an extramarital affair, she testified, and she said he was "contrite" and "listened to what I had to say very carefully" about the "ethical implications" of having an affair.

"We talked about the risk involved in secrets of this type of magnitude," she said. "There's ethical risks, there's political risks, there's legal risks  these things can open one up to bribery and misuse of office, misuse of state time."

Cary recounted the 2018 meeting with Paxton and Angela Paxton with the top aides, during which Cary said "my heart broke" for Angela Paxton. She said she believed he had ended it, but she learned in 2019 that the alleged affair was still going on. Cary testified that she spoke to him again about the alleged affair, but Paxton was "frantically upset" and said he "still loved" the woman with whom he was allegedly having an affair.

"Imagine if we impeached everyone here in Austin that had had an affair  we'd be impeaching for the next 100 years," Buzbee said. Cary declined to respond. "Just because someone had an affair doesn't mean that they're a quote criminal, does it? That would be incredibly hypocritical, would it not, if somebody said this guy is a criminal because he had a marital indiscretion?"

Cary said she would not say something like that.

Can Angela Paxton vote as a juror in the impeachment trial?

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is presiding over the trial, noted on the first day of the impeachment trial that there have been special rules put in place for Angela Paxton, who under normal circumstances would serve as a juror as she is a state senator. Since she is married to Ken Paxton, she will not be a juror and she cannot be party to any private deliberations.

Over the summer, Angela Paxton said she would be present every day of her husband's impeachment trial. "As a member of the Senate, I hold these obligations sacred and I will carry out my duties, not because it is easy, but because the Constitution demands it and my constituents deserve it," Angela Paxton said in a statement in June.

The Texas state Constitution states that "each member of the Senate shall be in attendance when the Senate is meeting as a court of impeachment."

A two-thirds majority  21 of the 31 senators  is needed to remove Ken Paxton from office, and Republicans have a 19-12 majority in the chamber. Although she will not be voting, her presence means there are still 31 senators on the floor, effectively giving a vote against removing Ken Paxton.

What has Angela Paxton said about the alleged affair?

Patrick has put in place a gag order about the trial, which Ken Paxton referenced at a picnic over the weekend in Collin County. Other than when she said she would attend the trial, Angela Paxton has not addressed the allegations.

She introduced her husband at that picnic, describing him as "the love of my life, my best friend, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton."

Who is Angela Paxton?

Prior to her election to the state Senate in 2018, Angela Paxton was a math teacher and a school counselor. She and Ken Paxton met when they were students at Baylor University, and they have said that June 1 is what they call "I Love You Day," or the anniversary of the day they first told each other they love each other.

The Paxtons, who married in 1986, have four children and three grandchildren. Angela Paxton was put up for adoption when she was born, something she has said has influenced her strong anti-abortion views.

"I'm blessed to be an adoptive child and to be here," she said in a 2016 speech. "I have been very aware my whole life that that might not have been the case  but this young woman chose life for me."

The Paxtons were among the founders of the Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, where Angela Paxton mentored young women on how to dress modestly but with style, according to Texas Monthly. The couple now belongs to the Plano megachurch Prestonwood Baptist Church.

A staunch conservative, Angela Paxton was known on the campaign trail for singing a song that included the lyrics: "I'm a pistol-packing mama whose husband sues Obama."

The 2018 primary was. at that point, the most expensive in the state's Senate history, according to the Texas Tribune. But she was backed by Patrick, the lieutenant governor, who said she had "been a friend for years."

Angela Paxton's district went for former President Donald Trump by more than 9 points in 2016. But she won by barely 2 points in 2018 against Democrat Mark Phariss, who had sued the state of Texas after being denied a marriage license, according to the Texas Tribune. Despite Angela Paxton's win, the GOP lost its supermajority in the state Senate and lost 12 House seats.

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Kevin Franke has distanced himself from child-abuse allegations through his lawyer.

Franke's wife Ruby Franke was arrested last week and charged with six felony child abuse counts.

Franke's lawyer said he's "distraught" and has lived apart from Ruby for 13 months.

Kevin Franke distanced himself from the child-abuse allegations his wife Ruby Franke is facing, with his lawyer calling him a "very gentle" person who has never been accused of mistreating his children "or anyone else."

Kevin Franke's lawyer, Randy Kester, appeared on "Good Morning America" on Wednesday, defending his client after his wife was charged with child abuse.

The Frankes have six children together. But Kester said Kevin and Ruby had been living separately for 13 months, and that Kevin Franke was "distraught" at hearing about the alleged abuse, and how his family would be impacted.

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"He is a good person. He is very gentle," Kester said. "And no one's ever made any allegations that he's ever physically abused those kids, or anyone else."

Ruby Franke was arrested on Wednesday, August 30, alongside her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt. The two, who ran a YouTube channel together, were charged with six felony child abuse counts, with police detailing Franke's 12-year-old son's harrowing escape from Hildebrandt's home.

The child climbed out of a window and sought help from a neighbor, according to a police affidavit that was shared with Insider. He was described in the documents as emaciated and wounded, with duct tape around his ankles.

The arrest followed years of concerns about Franke and her family, which long predated the time that Kester said the two separated. Viewers suggested the Frankes were mistreating their children as long ago as 2020.

Franke, a former professor at Brigham Young University, has remained mostly out of the public eye since the closure of 8 Passengers, the YouTube channel he and Ruby Franke started about their family.

Kevin Franke also appeared for a time on the channel run by Ruby Franke and Hildebrandt, called ConneXions, but not in the past year.

Kester told "Good Morning America" that his client "just wants to do what's best for his kids, get them back, get them under his tutelage and his fathership and protect them."

Kester told Insider in an email that Kevin and Ruby were still married, and that he could not "speak to her plans for divorce, if any."

He also said Kevin was at a September 1 hearing to determine the what would happen to the children, who were taken in by local officials after the arrest. Part of that hearing, he said, was agreement to keep the proceedings confidential to protect the privacy of the children.

Ruby Franke is due in court on Friday, September 8 for a hearing, and has not yet entered a plea. Her attorney LaMar Winward told Insider he had no comment.

Insider has reached out to Kester for further information.

Read the original article on Insider
China's State Council recently released a plan to boost the development of the Chinese mainland part of a cooperation zone between the southern tech hub Shenzhen and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

This will be the fourth cooperation zone in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), and the first to focus on sci-tech innovation, according to a press conference Tuesday.

On Sept. 5, 2023, the State Council Information Office holds a press conference in Beijing to brief the media about the plan for the Shenzhen Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone. [Photo by Zhao Yifan/China SCIO]

Guo Lanfeng, an official of the National Development and Reform Commission, said the Hetao zone will play a significant role in facilitating collaborative innovation and supporting the construction of the GBA international sci-tech innovation center.

Sitting on the border between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the zone comprises a 3.02 square- kilometer park in Shenzhen, and a 0.87-square-kilometer park in Hong Kong. The zone will leverage Shenzhen's thriving high-tech industries and booming entrepreneurship and Hong Kong's free trade port policy and highly sophisticated professional services, according to the plan.

The Shenzhen park will put into practice international sci-tech innovation management rules, attract global leading innovation resources, and step up efforts to build infrastructure and a public services platform. In particular, it will nurture new growth drives, focusing on new-generation information technology, biomedicine, artificial general intelligence, and the digital economy, said Qin Weizhong, mayor of Shenzhen.

Lin Xin, secretary-general of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said the ministry will support Shenzhen and Hong Kong to carry out in-depth cooperation in sci-tech projects, talent cultivation, business incubation, sci-tech financing, as well as international technology transfer.

So far, the Shenzhen park has already attracted over 3,000 researchers from home and abroad; a quantum science center and 10 R&D platforms from five top Hong Kong universities have been established, according to Qin.
If the United States is the arsenal of democracy, North Korea is setting itself up to become the arsenal of criminal oligarchies. Despite having a huge manpower force and supposedly unlimited industrial capacity, Russia is unable to keep making weapons to supply its ongoing war in Ukraine. Iran hasnt been making enough weapons to keep up either. So Russian President Vladimir Putin , the U.S. says, is turning to the one place he knows will keep the Russians going: Kim Jong Un .

South Korean intelligence believes North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un will travel somewhere in Russia to set up the arms deal. No one knows where a meeting might take place, but the U.S. National Security Council knows Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang in July in a bid to get ammunition. The New York Times reported a meeting between Kim and Putin could happen as early as this month.

The Kim Family doesnt leave North Korea often. Although the founder of North Korea, Kim Il Sung , traveled extensively, he was more of a normal communist dictator than his son, Kim Jong Il . Kim Jong Il left North Korea only ten times after taking power, making three visits to Russia and meeting with Putin on two occasions. Kim Jong Un travels mostly to China, but has met former President Donald Trump in Vietnam, Singapore and the Peace House near the Korean Demilitarized Zone .

If Kim does meet with Putin this year, the meeting is widely expected to take place in Vladivostok, in Russias Far East. The city has been a formal site for meetings between Russian and North Korean leaders on multiple occasions and was Kims first destination in Russia when he visited in 2019. Vladivostok will also be hosting the Eastern Economic Forum in September 2023.

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If Kim and the North Korean regime agree to supply arms and ammunition to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, it would be a violation of U.S. sanctions on North Korea. The United States has taken a hard line on those sanctions since they were implemented and even imposed further sanctions on individuals tied to arms deals made earlier this year between Russia and North Korea.

Photo by API/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images.

Putin and Kim have exchanged letters pledging to increase their bilateral cooperation, National Security Council spokesman told reporters. A meeting between the two men would be the third time Russian and North Korean delegations have met in an official capacity. Pyongyang delivered rockets and missiles to Russia for Wagner Group forces earlier this year. If that was a test run, North Korea seems to have passed.

Under these potential deals Russia would receive significant quantities and multiple types of munitions from the DPRK, which the Russian military plans to use in Ukraine . These potential deals could also include the provision of raw materials that would assist Russias defense industrial base, Kirby added.

The United States will sanction any parties to such a deal. Apart from that, theres not much else it can do. Iran has also supplied ammunition on top of its infamous drones, while China has provided non-lethal assistance and not much else. Americans dont believe China will begin producing weapons for Russia anytime soon, but Chinas economy is teetering on the brink and nothing brings a boost to lagging numbers like a war.
The King has recalled his late mothers devoted service in a poignant tribute to mark the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeths II death.

Recorded and written at Balmoral Castle, the late Queens favourite residence and where she died on 8 September last year, Charles recalled with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us.

Accompanying the tribute is the Kings favourite photograph of Her Late Majesty, showing her aged 42 in her Garter robes.

Britains long-reigning monarch, who served as Queen for 70 years, passed away aged 96 while surrounded by family members at her Scottish home.

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In his tribute, the King thanked the nation for the love and support shown towards him and Queen Camilla over the last year and pledged their unfailing service.

Signing the letter as Charles R, the King said: In marking the first anniversary of Her Late Majestys death and my accession, we recall with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us.

I am deeply grateful, too, for the love and support that has been shown to my wife and myself during this year as we do our utmost to be of service to you all.

A formal colour photograph taken by Cecil Beaten in 1968 had been personally chosen by the King to commemorate the anniversary. It shows the Queen smiling as she is photographed while wearing the Grand Duchess Vladimirs Tiara, made of 15 interlaced diamond circles.

Both the King and Queen are not expected to be making a public appearance for the anniversary and are said to be spending the day quietly and privately at the Balmoral estate.

The Queen died last year at Balmoral (PA Wire)

Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales will continue to carry out royal duties and are expected to attend a special service at St Davids Cathedral in west Wales.

While Prince Harry is not expected to meet with his father or brother while on his current visit to the UK, he told an awards event on Thursday night that his late grandmother was looking down on all of us.

Taking to the stage at the WellChild Awards ceremony in London, the Duke of Sussex said: As you know, I was unable to attend the awards last year as my grandmother passed away.

As you also probably know, she would have been the first person to insist that I still come to be with you all instead of going to her, and thats precisely why I know exactly one year on that she is looking down on all of us tonight, happy were together, continuing to spotlight such an incredible community.

The duke had travelled to the UK for the first time since June without his wife Meghan to attend the charity event, which supports seriously unwell children.

Alongside her husband Prince Philip , she is the UKs longest-reigning monarch (Tim Graham/Getty Images)

Shortly before last years ceremony, Harry withdrew from attending as he raced to Balmoral to join the royal family at the Queens bedside.

While the late Queens children are marking the day privately, soldiers and horses who took part in the state funeral procession and proclamation salutes are returning to perform Accession Day gun anniversary salutes in the Kings honour.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak also paid tribute and recalled meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace and being struck by her wisdom, by her incredible warmth and grace.

With the perspective of a year, the scale of Her Late Majestys service only seems greater, he said.

Her devotion to the nations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth only seems deeper. And our gratitude for such an extraordinary life of duty and dedication only continues to grow.

Prince Harry said his grandmother is looking down on all of us during his speech (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

People across the UK  whether they had the good fortune to meet Her Late Majesty or not  will be reflecting today on what she meant to them and the example she set for us all, he added.

Mr Sunak said the sacred bond between the country and the monarch endures under the King.

He said: So, while we continue to mourn Her Late Majestys passing, we should be proud that this remarkable legacy of service  and this remarkable bond  continues to grow today under the reign of His Majesty The King.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that the lengthy queues to see the Queen lying in state showed she always enjoyed a special bond with her people.

It was a relationship built from her understanding that service of this great nation is the thread that unites sovereign and subject, he said.

King Charles thanked the nation for their support during the first year of his reign (Getty Images)

So, as we reflect on her legacy again today, let us embrace that spirit of public service as our guide towards a better future.

Recalling the moment she was informed of the Queens death, former prime minister Liz Truss said: We were in the Downing Street flat with, officials, other people. So when the news came through, it was sort of confirming all the worst fears that wed had.

Ms Truss had only met with the Queen two days previously after she was invited to her Aberdeenshire residence to be appointed prime minister.

She was very, very keen to reassure me that wed be meeting again soon. It was very important to her, Ms Truss said. She was very determined to do her duty, right to the end.

Over the course of her reign, the late Queen welcomed 15 prime ministers into Downing Street, beginning with Winston Churchill after she ascended the throne in 1952.

She died just three months after her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June and 17 months after the death of her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip.
Student loan borrowers are preparing to resume payments in just over three weeks.

>>RELATED: Federal student loan interest has started accruing again. Heres what you need to know

The Better Business Bureau has a warning about student loan repayment scams as criminals are looking to get their hands on your money.

News Center 7s Xavier Hershovitz says 43 million Americans have student loan debt and the Federal Reserve estimates Americans owe more than $1.5 trillion in student loan repayments.

He reports scammers are looking to get their hands on both your money and personal information.

Hershovitz says that personal information can be used to steal peoples identity and that is what makes these scams so lucrative.

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>>RELATED: BBB: Scammers after college students newfound independence

The Better Business Bureau has these tips on what borrowers need to watch out for as they plan to resume payments at the end of September.

They are:

Be aware of out-of-the-blue calls, emails, or text messages claiming to be from the government.

Get to know the terms of your student loans and the relief program before acting.

Never pay money for a free government program.

Think something seems suspicious? Reach out to the agency directly.

>>RELATED: FTC warns of student loan forgiveness scams

Hershovitz spoke with Sheri Sword of the Better Business Bureau and she said if anyone thinks somethings suspicious, they are probably right.

Walk away. Go with your gut. Its the best thing you can do, she said. Theres a reason that you have a hint that somethings not right. So, check it out and do your research.

Sword also stated that the challenge is daunting for loan borrowers as they are looking for a way to reduce their debt.

Scammers know that, and they are out there help you allegedly reduce your loan payments, she told Hershovitz. So, you just want to go slow. Do your research, know who youre dealing with, and be confident that you can trust who youre dealing with.

>>RELATED: Bills reintroduced to repair credit histories for student loan borrowers who defaulted

She added the last thing anyone wants to do is pay money to someone that does not go towards their student loan debt.

Hershovitz says minimum payments will resume on October 1. Anyone with college debt should have repayment plan in place by then.
(KTLA)  Kourtney Kardashian Barker has revealed the family emergency that prompted her husband, Travis Barker , to delay his overseas tour and return home.

The POOSH founder posted a photo on Instagram of her holding hands with Barker with an IV in her arm.

Woman goes into labor during Beyonces Inglewood concert

I will be forever grateful to my incredible doctors for saving our babys life, she wrote. I am eternally grateful to my husband who rushed to my side from tour to be with me in the hospital and take care of me afterwards, my rock. And to my mom, thank you for holding my hand through this.

She then explained the procedure she underwent for her unborn child.

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As someone who has had three really easy pregnancies in the past, I wasnt prepared for the fear of rushing into urgent fetal surgery, she continued. I dont think anyone who hasnt been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear. I have a whole new understanding and respect for the mamas who have had to fight for their babies while pregnant.

She didnt immediately release any other details about the procedure.

Praise be to God. Walking out of the hospital with my baby boy in my tummy and safe was the truest blessing.

Cause of death revealed for Margaritaville singer Jimmy Buffett

Travis then talked about the health scare on X, formerly Twitter, and also updated fans about the Blink-182 tour.

God is great, he exclaimed. I flew home for a life-threatening emergency surgery for our baby that Im so grateful went well. I want to say thank you for all the support. Tour resumes Friday.

On Friday, the band announced they postponed several European show dates due to Barkers family emergency.

The drummer and The Kardashians star revealed they were expecting a baby boy in late June, weeks after the couple announced they were pregnant at a Blink-182 show at L.A.s BMO Stadium.

The couple tied the knot in 2022 in a lavish ceremony in Italy.

Travis has two children from his previous marriage to Shanna Moakler. Kourtney has three children with ex-partner Scott Disick.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A U.S. plan to send Ukraine funds seized from Russian businesspeople targeted by sanctions is illegal and any such actions will be contested, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on a visit to Kyiv on Wednesday that Washington was transferring to Ukraine $5.4 million in "assets seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs, which will now be used to support Ukrainian military veterans".

Peskov told reporters: "This is hard to imagine and it goes against everything in international law and those countries' national law. But as soon as an opportunity presents itself, we will defend our rights."

Peskov said some Russian entrepreneurs had already secured court rulings in European countries finding such transfers illegal.

"Not a single case of such illegal retention will be left unattended," he said.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Kevin Liffey)
Staff at a state juvenile detention center in Adair County improperly used pepper spray on youths as punishment at least three times in March, sometimes forcing youths to wait more than 30 minutes before washing off the burning chemicals, according to internal reports obtained by the Herald-Leader.

At least twice, staff fired pepper spray on youths through the small slot in their cell door while they were confined alone inside, with nowhere to hide, according to the reports.

The (pepper) spray should not be used as a form of punishment or to quiet a noisy resident/inmate, internal investigators wrote after one of the incidents.

Gov. Andy Beshear this year authorized the use of oleoresin capsicum spray, also known as pepper spray, as a defensive weapon by trained and certified employees at the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice following a high-profile series of assaults, riots and escapes.

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Pepper spray is meant to be used to prevent serious injuries or major property damage by youths who are acting violently in DJJ custody. The spray can cause painful burning on the skin and in the eyes, severe irritation in the nose and throat and difficulty breathing.

But DJJ employees have not always obeyed the official instructions.

The Herald-Leader reported last month on a correctional captain at the DJJ facility in Campbell County who pepper sprayed a girl in the face on May 3 as she handed him paint chips that she peeled off the floor of her cell.

The girl immediately dropped the paint chips. The captain kicked the cell door closed.

Stupid sh-t, she wouldnt give it up, the captain told his colleagues outside the cell, according to security video footage. Pepper spray is being pushed as the first response, he explained to internal investigators later.

Likewise, the staff sometimes has turned to pepper spray too quickly at the Adair Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Columbia, according to reports from the Internal Investigations Branch of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.

A cabinet spokeswoman on Thursday said problems in Adair County were limited to a few isolated incidents as staff learned how to use the new option.

Pepper spray was authorized for use at Adair Juvenile Detention Center on March 8, spokeswoman Morgan Hall said. Since the initial three cases in March, there have been no additional substantiated cases of inappropriate use of pepper spray.

Pepper spray is a non-lethal, effective tool for both staff and juveniles and used by adult and juvenile correctional facilities across the country, Hall said.

The Adair County facility has been the most troubled DJJ center in Kentucky in recent years. It has seen frequent violence and chronic under-staffing. Youths are locked in their cells for long stretches rather than receiving the sort of rehabilitative programming, such as education and mental health treatment, for which DJJ was created.

Last month, the ACLU of Kentucky filed a complaint asking the U.S. Justice Departments Civil Rights Division to investigate the unsanitary and nearly uninhabitable conditions inside the Adair County facility. Children are kept in lockdown for 24 hours a day, medications are withheld and there was no ombudsman for most of 2022 to hear complaints, the ACLU said.

Its alarming to learn that, on top of the other problems, staff are misusing pepper spray and proactively harming children as a punitive measure, said Kevin Muench, an attorney with the ACLU of Kentucky. Its proof that youth in Adair County are being abused and mistreated.

Critics in the General Assembly have called for the resignation of DJJ Commissioner Vicki Reed over continued problems on her watch, but Beshear has stood behind her. Beshear appointed Reed in 2021.

Vicki Reed

According to internal investigative reports obtained by the Herald-Leader:

 On March 8, a correctional captain pepper sprayed a boy through the slot in his cell door. The boy had refused to retract his arms from the slot, the captain explained.

In a memo of concern, internal investigators noted that the boy was pepper sprayed in a cell at 11:58 a.m. But he was not allowed to wash off the burning chemicals until 12:45 p.m., more than 45 minutes later, they wrote.

Being left in a confined space, where OC had been dispersed, could be viewed as a form of further punishment, they wrote.

The same captain was involved in a controversial incident last year at the Adair County facility. A mentally ill girl was reaching out the slot of her cell door and saying, Please help me, please help me when her arms were painfully twisted and forced back in, witnesses said. Security staff then angrily ordered the slots flap kept shut, witnesses said.

The captain was demoted, Hall said.

 On March 14, a different correctional captain pepper sprayed a boy in the face and neck after he loudly complained to staff that he had not been allowed to shower for a week.

Now that youve been sprayed, do you think its enough? the captain asked the boy, who said he was about to pass out.

Interviewed about the incident later, the captain stated she was taught in OC training that the spray is the least restrictive way of doing things, internal investigators wrote.

That captain received a reprimand, Hall said.

 On March 17, a correctional officer pepper sprayed a boy through the slot in his cell door after he had thrown a cup of flavored drink through the slot at her and another officer, splashing her.

Bet that feels worse than the Kool-Aid did! the officer told the boy through his cell door, investigators wrote. On security video footage, the boy could be heard choking and gagging in distress in his cell.

The officer and her colleague told investigators they were instructed to use pepper spray if they were splashed with any liquid. But investigators said this incident constituted a misuse of the pepper spray because it was clearly meant to punish the boy, not stop a dangerous attack.

Also, they wrote in another memo of concern, the staff let 36 minutes pass before they removed the boy from his cell and allowed him to wash off the burning chemicals.

Investigators asked questions about several other uses of pepper spray from March through July at the Adair County facility, but they ultimately concluded that staff were justified.

In one case, on June 3, a correctional officer who was not yet certified in Kentucky to use pepper spray assisted with the restraint of a youth by spraying it onto a latex glove and then rubbing the glove into the youths face. This was a violent restraint that required staff to take aggressive measures to gain control, investigators said.

In another case, on July 16, a boy who had opened his cell door to get his medication refused to move out of the doorway and allow the door to be closed again, saying he was frustrated because his unit had not been allowed showers or recreation time in days. A correctional captain pepper sprayed him, and the cell door was secured.

Investigators did not fault the captain for using pepper spray, because the boy was being aggressive and non-compliant, they wrote. But they did fault her for spitting on the boy during a restraint 15 minutes later as he was extracted from his cell in handcuffs and leg shackles.

They also faulted her for taunting the boy the next day.

The employee was terminated, Hall said.

The Adair County facility holds the toughest cases in the state juvenile justice system, so staff were dealing with their own frustrations as they learned how to appropriately use pepper spray, said Larry Chandler, a retired prison warden who recently joined DJJ as deputy director of its Office of Detention.

As you know, sometimes we flub, Chandler said Thursday. Sometimes staffs frustration gets the better of their judgment. But we try to deal with that with disciplinary action, we try to deal with that with counseling, we try to deal with that with training.

KY juvenile justice facility faces police probe, firings despite promises of reform

Third employee lawsuit says KY Department of Juvenile Justice covered up mistreatment
Lake Station Mayor Bill Carroll will face one fewer opponent in November after a successful challenge ousted Independent Kevin Gaskin from the ballot.

The Lake County Board of Elections Tuesday voted 4-0 to support a challenge to Gaskins eligibility filed by Lake Station Councilman Rick Long, D-5th, seeking to remove him from the ballot. A challenge to a mayoral candidate can be filed by anyone who lives within the city.

In the challenge, Long cited court documents indicating Gaskin plead guilty to a felony, criminal recklessness, in 2008. That felony was modified to a misdemeanor after Gaskin completed the terms of his probation. Long was not at the election board hearing but was represented by a proxy, Jack Daniels.

Election Board president Kevin Smith, a Democrat, said that while Gaskins criminal record was modified by the courts, reducing the charge on his record from a felony to misdemeanor, the law concerning who is eligible to run for office is different.

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My concerns about the city of Lake Station have got me to the point where I have to run for office, Gaskin said.

He argued the court reduced the charge after he successfully completed his probation and believed because the charge is now considered a misdemeanor on his record he would be eligible to run.

Smith said when Gaskin was in court in 2008 having the conviction reduced, he probably never considered he would be running for a political office and didnt even consider the distinction between the laws.

(The law) helps from a personal standpoint. From a candidate standpoint, at least as I see it, it doesnt help, Smith said.

Michael Tolbert, the Democratic attorney for the Election Board, agreed state statute prohibits anyone who has pleaded guilty to a felony from running for elected office. The law goes further to state that just because a felony conviction is reduced to a misdemeanor by the courts, the original plea of guilty stands as it relates to election law.

The law can be very harsh and, in this case, I think it is, Smith said. This prevents you from running for officer forever.

Carly Brandenberg, the Republican attorney for the board, said the boards position is inline with a 2006 Indiana Attorney General opinion on the matter. In the opinion, released Jan. 25, 2007, the attorney general found the election law did disqualify anyone convicted of a felony regardless of the final disposition after the conviction.

Board member Clerk Mike Brown, a Democrat, said the election board works to encourage people to run for office and does not want to discourage people from getting involved, but its hands are tied.

Its unfortunate. We dont make the laws. We have to enforce them, Brown said.

Smith echoed Browns comments that the board has to follow what the law says, regardless of the circumstances of the case.

Were not passing judgement on you as a person, we are trying to operate under the law, Smith said.
Lake Worth Beach has solidified itself as a safe place for LGBTQ+ people in a move that may be the first of its kind in Florida.

Commissioners voted unanimously on Tuesday evening to declare the city a safe haven for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual people, along with all other gender identities and sexual orientations.

The City of Lake Worth Beach shall now and forever be considered a safe place, a sanctuary, a welcoming and supportive city for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families to live in peace and comfort," the resolution states.

Equality Florida reported in 2016 that dozens of Florida cities and townships have included protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity in their local ordinances, creating safe havens for LGBTQ+ people. The list included Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Greenacres, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Haverhill, Tequesta and Wellington.

A crowd of parade-goers wave during the Palm Beach Pride Parade, held on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in downtown Lake Worth Beach, FL.

But Lake Worth Beach is the first municipality in Florida to officially announce itself as a sanctuary city for LGBTQIA+ people and their families, according to a news release from the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.

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The release goes on to note that residents in Tallahassee are pushing for a similar declaration.

With so many LGBTQ+ people and allies fleeing Florida for less hostile states, we are thrilled Lake Worth Beach Mayor (Betty) Resch and the city commissioners continue to work to ensure the health, safety and well-being of LGBTQ+ people and our families, said Rand Hoch, founder and president of the Human Rights Council.

The announcement, which is largely symbolic, follows a flood of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation throughout the country. Lake Worth Beach's resolution cites data from the American Civil Liberties Union, which tracked more than 490 bills targeting LGBTQ+ rights in the United States. Many of the bills affect education or health care and have since become law.

The local resolution also cites research from the Trevor Project. The nonprofit conducted surveys in 2022 and found that 86% of transgender and nonbinary youth reported negative mental health impacts from anti-LGBTQ+ political debates and laws, while 45% of LGBTQ+ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year.

The City Commission of Lake Worth Beach firmly states its commitment to protecting human rights for all individuals, and believes that access to healthcare, education and peaceful enjoyment of their lives are fundamental rights to all people in the City," the resolution reads.

And that promise extends beyond LGBTQ+ people, the resolution continues, going on to say that all people  including residents with diverse ethnicities, religions, disabilities and incomes  should be protected from discrimination.

How and why the resolution started in Lake Worth Beach

The mayor said during Tuesday's commission meeting that Hoch brought the proposed resolution to her, and that she immediately accepted, bringing it forward for a vote and reaffirming the city's longstanding culture of acceptance.

Lake Worth Beach is a vibrant and diverse city with a proud history of embracing the gay community, Resch said. Today we continue that tradition by ensuring our city remains a welcoming place for LGBTQ+ people.

Lake Worth Beach is home to an annual pride parade that attracts tens of thousands of people for a weekend full of live performances, free health resources and activities for all ages.

Sign up for our Post on Lake Worth Beach weekly newsletter, delivered every Thursday!

The city also includes Compass Community Center, which offers a host of services, events and support groups for LGBTQ+ people and those impacted by HIV and AIDS.

Lake Worth Beach fosters an environment in which trans and nonbinary people can experience a sense of security, acceptance and comfort," said Michael Riordan, a spokesperson for Compass. The status as a sanctuary city gives the queer community the reassurance that we are protected as much as we can legally be in Florida.

Giuseppe Sabella is a reporter covering Boynton Beach and Lake Worth Beach at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at gsabella@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: What is LGBTQ+ sanctuary city? Lake Worth Beach, Florida is one now
The Lakeway City Council on Tuesday continued discussions of the proposed budget and voted 6-1 to confirm 0.1440 as the proposed tax rate.

Some residents and council members expressed disdain for the proposed 2024 tax rate, which would be a 0.150 increase from this years 0.1290 tax rate. New budget items include the hiring of seven city employees, additional employee benefits and a corporal stipend for police officers. Personnel accounts for 76% of the 2024 proposed budget, with services making up for 20% and supplies accounting for 4%.

With the proposed $19.7 million budget and the proposed tax rate of 0.1440, the city barely breaks even, Mayor Tom Kilgore said. He spoke in favor of the 0.1440 tax rate, saying it would prevent a deficit and keep financials intact in case of the next unforeseen disaster.

Tom Kilgore

At the end of the day, the city could adopt a budget that is $500,000 negative at a different tax rate  and we would just be betting that we would have robust revenues and good control, Kilgore said. Thats not really the way I do budgets. Thats not really the way cities do budgets. It may be that there is a case to lower it from .1440 and have the city run a budget deficit and hope to crawl out of it.

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A final vote on the budget will be taken on Sept. 18.

In other action on Tuesday, Council Member Gretchen Vance gave an update on the Texas Department of Transportation's RM 620 widening project, which when completed in approximately six years, will have six through lanes, raised medians, additional right and left turn lanes at certain intersections and a shared-use path on each side.

Gretchen Vance

The project requires 100 total right-of-way acquisition parcels for the city of Lakeway and 49 right-of-way acquisition parcels for the city of Bee Cave. The cities must acquire these parcels before embarking on the project. Right-of-way acquisitions give a city the right-of-way to begin work on a project, for example, a construction project.

Travis County will contribute $25 million to the projects right-of-way fund, though the funds will not be released until the countys November bond is passed.

Road construction cannot begin until utility companies complete the necessary work to make RM 620 fit for development. That work is set to begin at the end of 2024 and will take three to five years to complete.

We are at the mercy of the utility companies in this situation, Vance said. Im not going to throw any specific utility under the bus publicity, but there is one that is notoriously difficult for them to lasso in, and it is probably the most important one.

Though there have been reports of delays, Vance said the project has always been set to be completed by 2029.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Lakeway makes adjustments to proposed budget, tax rate
The 2023 China Arbitration Summit & The 3rd Belt and Road Arbitration Institutions Forum was held in Beijing on Wednesday, gathering more than 500 guests from over 20 countries to pool wisdom on the development of international arbitration amid the sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation.

The 2023 China Arbitration Summit & The 3rd Belt and Road Arbitration Institutions Forum is held in Beijing on Sept. 6, 2023. [Photo courtesy of China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission]

As the flagship event of the China Arbitration Week, the summit is co-hosted by China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission and United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

Themed with "International Arbitration Riding on the New Wave of Sci-Tech Revolution and Industrial Transformation," the summit focused on the latest development of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, hot issues in international arbitration, as well as the new trend of arbitration, among other topics.

As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, the summit probed into opportunities of and challenges faced by international arbitration within the sphere of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Yu Jianlong, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said the summit aimed to further enhance consensus, mutual trust, and communication on the rule of law, and leverage the role of international arbitration to handle international business disputes, stabilize global economy and trade, promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as improve global governance.

Technological advancement in the past decades has brought about tremendous changes to the way people communicate and interact with each other, accelerating the movement of goods and services across borders while also bringing about new challenges, said Anna Joubin-Bret, secretary of the UNCITRAL, in her speech at the opening ceremony.

Joubin-Bret introduced the commission's recent work in the area of dispute resolution such as adopting a guidance text on early dismissal and preliminary determination. She also highlighted the commission's work in exploring the impact of digital technologies and technology-enabled services on dispute resolution, and pledged efforts to develop norms fit for the digital age.

Wednesday's event also featured the launch of the Cooperation Mechanism on Foreign Law Ascertainment of the Belt and Road Arbitration Institutions and a signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding (MoU). The MoU seeks to create a stable, fair, transparent, and law-based business environment for Belt and Road countries, and deal with frictions, risks, and challenges brought by uncertainties of the global economy. So far, 39 institutes including 24 international arbitration institutes and dispute resolution organizations have signed the MoU.
The Iconoclast Dinner Experiences 13 Million Acres travels to South Carolinas Lowcountry to highlight a shared history of land loss.

A sense of place. It has been defined as the experiential and expressive ways places are known, imagined, yearned for, held, remembered, voiced, lived, contested and struggled over. Its an evocative, sometimes elusive concept, especially for people of color in the United States, including the Indigenous Americans, African Americans, and Mexican Americans integral to the countrys foundation and development.

In short, this is home  but its never not been complicated.

This very American dichotomy so deeply intrigued Dr. Lezli Levene Harvell, founder of the Iconoclast Dinner Experience (IDE), that it inspired 13 Million Acres, a traveling component of her acclaimed events series elevating chefs of color. Now in its second year, 13 Million Acres explores the legacy of land loss shared by African-American farmers and Mexican Americans in the West. Partnering with the renowned Montage Palmetto Bluff hotel and resort in Bluffton, South Carolina, this years event invites guests to explore the rich history and culinary heritage of the Lowcountry region as it takes flight from Saturday, Sept. 9 through Monday, Sept. 11.

Image: Iconoclast Dinner Experience

Exploring the devastating effects of dispossession while celebrating emerging culinary talents is an ambitious undertaking, to say the least. As Harvell told theGrio, the concept for 13 Million Acres arose during research for another IDE franchise, the Webby Award-nominated podcast Impolite Conversation.

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I learned that between 1920 and 2012, farmland under Black ownership went from 16 million acres to 3 million acres, Harvell explained. I was like, what happened to the other 13 million acres?

Consumed with the question, she turned to IDEs multimedia platform to explore it through a medium that unites us all: Food. What food does is it allows us to have this entry point to things that are more difficult to tackle, she said.

The legacy of land loss is a commonality among marginalized populations in the United States. The often violent appropriation of land from Indigenous people of the country later rebranded as the United States is well-documented; similarly, there is growing awareness of the massive amount of land stolen from African Americans post-enslavement. However, the betrayal that annexed over 525,000 square miles of land once belonging to Mexican citizens is a less-discussed chapter in Americas colonialist history.

I started researching  and I found out that after the Mexican-American War, what ended it was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, explained Harvell of the two-year conflict and ultimate resolution that helped create the southern border of the U.S. 13 years before the Civil War. Under that treaty, people who were landowners would remain landowners even if where they lived got annexed by the United States, she continued, [but] once its signed, after the ink is dried, [the] U.S. government is like, Umm, takesy-backies  only white people can own land in the United States.

As a result, the Southern states  slave-owning states  expanded their territory to include Texas and portions of New Mexico and beyond, while, on a racial technicality, countless Mexicans were dispossessed of their land. Its a loss that cant even be quantified, said Harvell. It would also set the stage for the catastrophic clash between the Northern and Southern states over the right to enslave human beings  and foreshadow subsequent land grabs from Black Americans.

These are taught as disparate events in American history, but really, they arent, said Harvell.

So, I thought it was interesting to look at [what] people think of as these two disparate moments in history as a continuum of each other  That was the impetus for the event.

IDE founder Lezli Levene Harvell at 2022s 13 Million Acres event in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo: V.W. Photography)

After launching in 2022 with a cadre of Midwestern chefs at Zingermans Cornman Farms in the Detroit suburb of Ann Arbor, Michigan, this year, 13 Million Acres highlights the history of Lowcountry, South Carolina. The three-day event begins with a Lowcountry Foodways Tour on Sept. 9 and culminates in the 13 Million Acres Dinner, both ticketed a la carte.

In addition to its rich culinary history, which includes rice, shrimp, oysters, grits, and other regional favorites, South Carolina is also historically recognized as the seat of slavery in the United States. Prior to the Civil War, South Carolina possessed the highest percentage of enslaved people, while the coastal city of Charleston was the largest port of the transatlantic slave trade. In recognition of that history, Harvell was not only intentional in choosing the Lowcountry but in hosting 13 Million Acres at the site of a former plantation.

I was very specific in that I wanted my event in the South to be at a former plantation  and I know that that is triggering for some people. But to me, it is about having those uncomfortable conversations, she added, Lowcountry has a very particular cultural significance to it, and I specifically wanted to give them a sense of place.

Comprising not one but 21 former plantation sites across a 20,000-acre stretch between Hilton Head and Savannah, Georgia, Montage Palmetto Bluff proved an ideal partner. While the shadows of chattel slavery and over a century of ancestral lands wrested from the resident Gullah Geechee population hang over the bucolic coastal destination, the resort is one of few area sites to openly acknowledge that disturbing history. With historians and archaeologists in residence, the lands loaded legacy is explored, excavated, and shared with visitors, including the burial grounds of the formerly enslaved.

I thought, what a great place to tell this story, Harvell explained. Because when we talk about the connection to land, its difficult to do that in the South if you have a partner who is a little bit shy when you know theres an elephant in the room  which everybody knows what this is.  I appreciated how the Montage is moving forward and claiming their history and their role in that.

A local Black farmer also claimed his history at Palmetto Bluff. Grown on nearby Daufuskie Island and Turnbridge Plantation, Marion Rollen Chalmers rice is so renowned he has been granted a Carolina Gold Rice field at the University of Georgias Center for Research and Education. Possessing a rare talent for cultivating the crop, the fourth-generation farmer is also one of a select few to grow heirloom grains for chef-favorite Anson Mills.

Rice is part of the story of South Carolina because anywhere from Charleston going back to Savannah, thats where you had all the African-American slaves that they brought in farming these rice fields, Chalmers told theGrio. The fields that I grow this rice on [are] actually the fields that really resurrect the whole Carolina Gold rice thing in the United States and abroad  I am growing rice on the fields where this whole thing got started centuries ago.

Chalmers is now a part of that storied history, farming on 97 acres purchased by his grandfather and maintained for three generations. But it was resident Palmetto Bluff archaeologist Dr. Mary Socci who directed him to the spot where his formerly enslaved great-great-grandparents are buried on the resorts grounds.

Its mind-blowing to me, he said. When I found out about my relatives, my great-great-grandfather and my great-great-grandmother, husband and wife, buried in Palmetto Bluff.  I just stood there, looking at the headstone, and just couldnt believe it.

Now, in a turn that Harvell describes as his ancestors wildest dreams, Chalmers is not only compensated for a crop the enslaved people were once forced to cultivate, but in a full-circle moment, Montage Palmetto Bluff recently commissioned him to grow rice on-site for its restaurants. As the 13 Million Acres feast is served this weekend, he and his wife and partner, Frances, will be honored guests for the six-course culinary journey.

An array of dishes prepared by IDE Class of 2023 Chef Bernard Bennett (Photo: Courtesy of Chef Bernard Bennett)

Seated with them will be this years honorary event chair, Simon & Schuster exec and former editor-in-chief of Bon Appetit magazine, Dawn Davis. This events trailblazing Southern-based chefs  13 Million Acres Class of 2023  include host chef Daniel Vesey, chef de cuisine at Montage Palmetto Bluffs River House; Bernard Bennett (Okan, Bluffton); Luis Guevara (Carmel, Atlanta); Faye Poonsiripukdeekul (Bacchanalia / W.H. Stiles Fish Camp, Atlanta); Justin Pioche (Pioche Food Group, New Mexico), and pastry chef James Linabary (Audrey / June, Nashville). Carlos Marquez Hernandez (Jose, Dallas) will create cocktail pairings for the evenings offerings. Notably, Vesey is the only white chef participating in the event, a choice as intentional as the venue.

[T]he first course is always done by the host chef, and that chef has been white because it doesnt help to have a conversation in a silo [or] in an echo chamber, Harvell explained, later noting: I want people to always challenge what they think they know.

In keeping with event tradition, each chef will serve a course inspired by the region and a literary prompt chosen by Harvell. This years prompts include excerpts from Amanda Gormans inaugural poem, The Hill We Climb; Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings by the United States first Indigenous poet laureate, Joy Harjo; Stone Mother by Tanaya Winder; Queen Sugar by last years honorary event chair, Natalie Baszile; Everything That Ever Was by Tracy K Smith, and Untitled Poem by Beth Strano.

Each chef is bringing their own personal connection to what land means to them, said Harvell, adding, So, its also a parallel story in that regard too, in terms of where are we going in terms of redemption as a country, and how the connection to land touches us all.

Fittingly, Chalmers famed Carolina Gold rice will provide the dinners big finish, transformed into a dessert by Chef Linabary. In many ways, that transformation, rooted in tradition but made new, echoes much of the African-American experience, as Chalmers told the Grio.

[A] lot of us that are actually in bigger cities now, living across the United States, most of these people actually came from somewhere here in Georgia or South Carolina, he noted. And we, as African Americans  if we have land that our family members have in these areas, we really need to really hold on to it  we do. Because it means a lot, and these people went through a lot to actually keep these properties that we still have today.

13 Million Acres is at Montage Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, S.C., from Sept. 9 through Sept. 11; last-minute tickets are still available. To learn more about the legacy of land loss in America, stay tuned for companion episodes on the IDE Impolite Conversation podcast.

Maiysha Kai is theGrios lifestyle editor, covering all things Black and beautiful. Her work is informed by two decades of experience in fashion and entertainment, great books, and the brilliance of Black culture. She is also the editor-author of Body: Words of Change series.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrios Black Podcast Network is free too. Download theGrio mobile apps today! Listen to Writing Black with Maiysha Kai.

The post Land loss, legacy and the Lowcountry: IDEs 13 Million Acres explores a complicated history through food appeared first on TheGrio.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A management employee at Aria hotel on the Las Vegas Strip is facing 15 charges after allegedly stealing more than $770K by creating fraudulent hotel reservation refunds that were put on his credit card.

Brandon Rashaad Johnson, 38, a hotel operations manager since 2013 for the MGM Resorts International property used the stolen funds to live a lavish lifestyle which included shopping at Louis Vuitton and Versace, flying on private jets, doing spa visits, going to shows and even purchasing a home, according to his arrest report.

Brandon Rasheed Johnson is facing numerous theft charges for allegedly stealing from his employer, MGM Grand Resorts International while he was a manager at Aria. (Credit: LVMPD)

In early July 2023, the report states another hotel manager became suspicious of Johnson due to the expensive items he was purchasing and suspected he might be making fraudulent reservation refunds to his own credit card. Johnson did have the authority to do refunds but during an internal audit and investigation that started on July 25, it was discovered there were 309 refunds done by Johnson to the same VISA credit card number, documents showed.

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The transactions took place over a 12-month period from July 2022 to July 2023 and four days after the investigation started, Johnson quit his job with a text message. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was notified of the alleged theft on July 27 and began an investigation.

An Aria co-worker told police, Johnson began giving him gifts and taking him on expensive dates and when he asked Johnson where he got the money, Johnson told him he was working as a private chef for high-end clients. That co-worker said he became suspicious and began looking into Johnsons work transactions and saw the money was all going to the same credit card number so he notified management, the arrest report stated.

On Aug. 31, a law firm, Las Vegas Defense Group contacted Metro police to report they were representing Johnson who surrendered to police on Sept. 1. At that time, he invoked his 5th and 6th Amendment rights.

The arrest report details the alleged transactions Johnson made over the course of a year. The first two were in July 2022 and totaled $6,400 but by July 2023 he was up to 37 transactions that month totaling nearly $110K.

Johnson is facing 15 charges:

Theft of more than $5K but less than $25K (2 counts)

Theft of more than $25K but less than $100K (9 counts)

Theft of more than $100K (2 counts)

Money laundering/attempted money laundering

Unlawful felony act regarding computers

Johnson is currently being held in Clark County Detention Center and no bail has been listed. He is scheduled for a source hearing on Sept. 11 where he must prove the money he would use for bail was not illegally taken money. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
SAULT STE. MARIE  Law enforcement are still on the search for a man in Chippewa County who was seen on video shooting at Michigan State Police vehicles and setting them on fire.

The incident occurred at around 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 6. In surveillance video, a white man wearing camouflage clothing is seen destroying vehicles at the Michigan State Police Sault Ste. Marie Post.

He doused vehicles in gasoline, lit them on fire and then shot at the car from a distance with a rifle. The suspect was then seen driving away from the scene in a white Honda CRV.

Police are on the lookout for the man who set several police vehicles on fire and shot them with a rifle early Wednesday morning.

A suspect wearing camo is seen dousing Michigan State Police cars in gas early Wednesday morning.

More: Law enforcement searching for suspect after state police cars shot at, burned

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No troopers were in the vehicles at the time and no troopers were injured in the incident.

Law enforcement have been on the search for the man, who is considered armed and dangerous. Police are asking that civilians with any available information or knowledge of suspicious activity call the Sault Ste. Marie Post at (906) 632-2217 or dial 911.

Police are also asking any individuals on M-129 between 3 Mile Road and M-80 to review any camera footage from Wednesday morning and report anything suspicious seen on the footage.

 Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com

This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Law enforcement still searching for suspect in state police arson
Washington  A group of voters in Colorado filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot in the state, arguing he is disqualified from holding public office under a rarely used provision of the 14th Amendment.

The suit was filed in state court in Denver by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) on behalf of six Republican and unaffiliated voters who are challenging Trump's listing as a candidate on the 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot and any future ballot.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that Trump, the current frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination, is disqualified for public office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and therefore constitutionally ineligible to appear on any Colorado ballot. They also want the court to block Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold from taking any action that would allow Trump access to the ballot.

"Four years after taking an oath to 'preserve, protect and defend' the Constitution as President of the United States, Trump tried to overthrow the results of the 2020 election, leading to a violent insurrection at the United States Capitol to stop the lawful transfer of power to his successor," the 115-page lawsuit states. "By instigating this unprecedented assault on the American constitutional order, Trump violated his oath and disqualified himself under the Fourteenth Amendment from holding public office, including the Office of the President."

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What Section 3 of the 14th Amendment says

Ratified in 1868 after the Civil War, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states that "no person shall be a senator or representative in Congress" or "hold any office, civil or military," if they, after taking an oath to support the Constitution, "engaged in insurrection, or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."

The disqualification provision was meant to keep former Confederate officers and officials from holding public office again unless they received permission from Congress to do so. The measure has seldom been invoked over the last 150 years, and never against a former president. But in September 2022, a New Mexico state court judge ordered Couy Griffin, founder of the group "Cowboys for Trump," to be stripped of his position as a county commissioner and prohibited from holding any federal or state office under Section 3 because he "engaged" in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Now, with the 2024 presidential election season in full swing and Trump facing federal and state criminal charges related to the 2020 election, the idea of using Section 3 as a vehicle to keep the former president out of the White House is gaining traction. Two conservative legal scholars argued in a recent law review article that the measure disqualifies Trump because of his participation "in the attempted overthrow of the 2020 presidential election." Former Judge Michael Luttig, who is widely respected among conservatives, has argued the Constitution prohibits Trump from being president.

The former president has dismissed the effort to keep him off the ballot in 2024, writing on his website Truth Social on Monday that it is a "trick" used by his political opponents to help President Biden win a second term. Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, said in a statement to CBS News on Wednesday that "there is no legal basis for this effort."

"The people who are pursuing this absurd conspiracy theory and political attack on President Trump are stretching the law beyond recognition much like the political prosecutors in New York, Georgia, and DC," he said, referencing the criminal cases the former president is facing in those three jurisdictions. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all criminal counts he is charged with.

Griswold, the Colorado secretary of state, said in a statement that she looks forward "to the Colorado Court's substantive resolution of the issues, and am hopeful that this case will provide guidance to election officials on Trump's eligibility as a candidate for office." Her office noted that state law is "unclear on how to consider the requirements of the United States Constitution in determining whether a candidate is eligible for office, including the language of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment."

The Colorado lawsuit

The case brought in Colorado will test the force of Section 3 and appears to be one of the first that aims to disqualify Trump from holding public office again. It could also land the question of Trump's eligibility to run in 2024 before the U.S. Supreme Court eventually.

The dispute hinges on what the six Colorado voters say were the former president's efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss and interfere with the transfer of presidential power, which culminated in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Among the GOP plaintiffs are former U.S. Rep. Claudine Cmarada, who represented Rhode Island in the House but now lives in Colorado, and Norma Anderson, the former majority leader of the state senate.

"President Trump was the mob's leader, and the mob was his weapon," the lawsuit states.

The voters argue in their suit that the Jan. 6 attack  when a mob of Trump's supporters breached the Capitol building while lawmakers and then-Vice President Mike Pence convened to count state electoral votes  constituted an "insurrection" under the 14th Amendment, one that Trump allegedly engaged in.

They note that the Jan. 6 assault has been referred to as an insurrection by all three branches of government, and Trump was impeached by the Democratic-led House on a single article charging him with "incitement of insurrection." The former president was acquitted by the Senate, though seven Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in voting that the former president was "guilty" on the impeachment charge.

"President Trump was indisputably the leader of the January 6th mob," the lawsuit states. "Without his false claims of election fraud, coercive tactics, inflammatory rhetoric, mob mobilization, promotion of political violence, instructions to march on the Capitol, and decision to pour fuel on the fire rather than tell the mob to disperse, the attack on the Capitol would not have happened."

Colorado law states that a person is not eligible to be a candidate for office unless they fully meet the qualifications of that office under the Constitution. But because the voters believe Trump is disqualified under the 14th Amendment, they argue that he doesn't meet the qualifications for the office of the presidency.

"There is an urgent public interest in promptly resolving whether Trump is constitutionally eligible to serve as president in advance of the approaching primary election," they said in their suit.

Colorado's Republican primary is slated for March 5  Super Tuesday. The contest comes one day after Trump's trial in a federal case involving the alleged scheme to thwart the transfer of presidential power is set to begin in Washington, D.C. No candidates have qualified for Colorado's presidential primary ballot so far, according to the secretary of state's office.

CREW, the organization behind the suit, indicated it will pursue more cases challenging Trump's eligibility to run for president.

"It won't be the last action that we bring," Noah Bookbinder, the group's president and chief executive officer, told reporters. "It's going to be an evolving process."

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Hurricane Lee churns in the Atlantic as Category 4 storm
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - At least 39 people have died and nine remain missing after a cyclone battered Brazil's southernmost state Rio Grande do Sul, flooding homes and swelling rivers, local authorities said on Thursday.

All those not yet accounted for are from the small town of Mucum, one of the hardest hit by the floods, where 14 deaths have been reported. Nearby cities such as Roca Sales and Cruzeiro do Sul also registered multiple casualties.

Governor Eduardo Leite declared a state of public calamity and canceled statewide parades meant to celebrate Brazil's Independence Day on Thursday.

"We've mobilized to rescue the victims and rebuild everything that was destroyed by the storm," Leite wrote on social media network X.

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According to the Rio Grande do Sul government, heavy rains caused by the extratropical cyclone have affected 80 cities and left more than 2,300 people homeless and over 3,900 displaced.

In addition to the 39 fatalities in Rio Grande do Sul, one person died in neighboring Santa Catarina state while driving through the city of Jupia when a tree fell on their car. Winds there exceeded 110 km per hour (68.4 miles per hour).

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who will travel to India for the G20 summit later in the day, said the federal government would fully support the region and put Vice President Geraldo Alckmin "on standby" to travel there.

Independent weather forecasters MetSul and Climatempo cautioned Rio Grande do Sul is expected to receive more heavy showers on Thursday and Friday.

Due to climate change, episodes of heavy rainfall are becoming more common and more intense. That is because warmer air holds more moisture, so storm clouds are "heavier" before they eventually break.

The floods in southern Brazil are just the latest of recent natural disasters in Latin America's largest nation.

More than 50 people were killed in Sao Paulo state this year after massive downpours caused landslides and flooding. Rio de Janeiro and Bahia states have also suffered similar disasters recently, leaving hundreds dead.

(Reporting by Pedro Fonseca; Writing by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Josie Kao)
Special counsel Jack Smith said in a court filing Tuesday that Donald Trump's "daily extrajudicial statements" threaten to "prejudice" the jury pool in the criminal case, which charges the former president with attempting to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election.

The claim arose during a dispute between Smith's office and the ex-president's legal team over a sealed request that the government wants to file. The filings remain largely under seal, but prosecutors revealed that their motion describes Trump's "daily extrajudicial statements," Bloomberg reported.

Trump's incendiary remarks about both Smith's team and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, have been a focal point since the indictment was lodged last month. Prosecutors have faced harassment and threats online with Chutkan even warning against inflammatory comments from Trump that could potentially intimidate witnesses or prejudice potential jurors.

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"Threats aimed at intimidating judges, prosecutors and witnesses, reduce the fairness and accuracy of the proceedings," James Sample, a Hofstra University constitutional law professor, told Salon. "Preserving and protecting due process  a fair trial  is the most fundamental responsibility of a judge."

Trump's public statements to his "very motivated" supporters  many of whom have already "demonstrated a propensity for violence"  about the judges, prosecutors, and potential witnesses, implicate "fundamental fairness concerns," Sample added.

While Chutkan did not impose any specific speech restrictions, she indicated the possibility of moving up the trial date from its current schedule on March 4 if Trump's statements might compromise the integrity of the jury pool.

In the past, the former president has accused Chutkan of being "very biased & unfair" against him and claimed that she "obviously wants [him] behind bars" and referred to Smith's ongoing investigations into him as "witch hunts."

Trump's latest remarks came Tuesday, when he mocked Chutkan on his Truth Social platform, sarcastically mentioning that "she will be very fair" in his case. In a separate post, he also attacked Smith, calling him "Deranged" and referring to his investigation as the "Fake" election interference case.

Related

One MAGA juror can ruin it all

"Trump's statements that portray his criminal cases as political plots to interfere with the 2024 election risk tainting the jury pool," former U.S. Attorney Barb McQuade, a University of Michigan law professor, told Salon. "We have seen through his false claims of a stolen election his power to mislead members of the public. Just one juror who buys into Trump's claims can nullify the law and hang the jury, resulting in a mistrial."

Jury selection inevitably presents "unique challenges" in any case in which the defendant is a former president, Sample added. While it is "unrealistic" to expect jurors not to have preexisting opinions about the defendant, it "remains fundamental" that jurors decide cases based on the evidence presented in court, and not on unsupported claims made outside the court, he explained.

Jurors are not supposed to have strong feelings on a case that could impact their impartiality towards the evidence, pointed out Nina Marino, a partner with the white collar criminal defense firm Kaplan Marino.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

"If Trump is going to face accountability for past comments, it will be based on the totality of comments occurring on a daily basis in the media," Marino said. "In terms of impact on the cases against him, the courts will need to weigh his First Amendment right to free speech against the danger of contaminating the jury pool and witness intimidation. Witness intimidation could be demonstrated if potential witnesses were to report that his comments put them in fear."

When prosecutors on Tuesday tried to file court documents partially under seal and publish a redacted version on the public docket, Trump's team argued that the filings should not be posted under seal until they have 14 days to respond.

But Smith's team responded saying, "Such a requirement would grind litigation in this case to a halt, which is particularly infeasible given the pressing matters before the Court  including the defendant's daily extrajudicial statements that threaten to prejudice the jury pool in this case, as described in the Government's motion."

Chutkan ordered both sides to file additional legal briefs next week on whether and how the underlying Smith submission should be posted on the docket.

"The judges in the four cases are being asked to perform unenviable high-wire acts, Sample said. "Each judge must balance numerous competing interests ranging from fundamental fairness concerns, to the safety of court officers and prosecutors, to the speech rights of a presidential candidate. The questions are unprecedented and difficult. The answers are, at best, ambiguous and unsatisfying."

Read more

about Trump's threats
In a recent op-ed article, Rep. Greg Nibert, R-Roswell, sounded the alarm about New Mexico school children, gender identity issues and new legislation. Nibert referred specifically to two bills passed this year: House Bill 7 and Senate Bill 397.

His op-ed was followed a few days later by an article by Rep. Rod Montoya on the same theme.

It may be a false alarm.

HB7 is an anti-discrimination law related to the hot-button issues of reproductive and gender-affirming healthcare. The language prohibits public entities from discriminating based on these criteria but does not mention schools specifically. SB 397 establishes school-based health centers, or SBHCs. This bill could be confusing to some readers because it establishes in law health centers that have existed for years.

Merilee Dannemann

Nibert says these two laws, taken together, force public school personnel to help underage children get gender-altering services, such as hormone blockers, gender reassignment surgery, psychotropic medications and abortion services.

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Montoyas article says: They are encouraging teachers to have discussions with your kids on the very sensitive subjects of family planning, gender surgery and hormone blockers, then referring them to third-party providers without parents knowing anything about it.

If your childs school has a school-based health center, an adult will likely be having conversations with your kid that have nothing to do with their physical health, but rather gender, identity, sexual practices and who they are having sex with.

I dont see any evidence to support that. After studying the language of these two laws, plus related laws and other documents, and trying to give these arguments the benefit of the doubt, I could not find logical connection from the language of the law to forcing or encouraging school personnel to do any such thing. There is nothing directing school personnel to proactively do anything. If the school has a health center, what any adult will most likely discuss is the students health issue, whatever that is.

The health centers are not operated by the schools but by various healthcare-related organizations. New Mexico has had them for 25 years.

According to analysis by the Legislative Finance Committee, there are 78 SBHCs in New Mexico; 54 are contracted with the state Department of Health Office of School Adolescence Health.

SBHCs are especially important in rural and other medically underserved areas of New Mexico, reaching children who might have no other access to medical services.

A 2021-2022 report by the Department of Health said SBHCs provided 42,416 visits to 16,144 patients; 59% were for primary care; 12% were for well-child checks; 34% provided behavioral healthcare.

HB 7, one of the bills cited, refers to gender-affirming care, but, again, it is anti-discrimination legislation. It does not tell anyone to do anything, except not to deny, restrict or interfere with with someone seeking that care.

In response to my inquiry, Republican legislative communications director Matthew Garcia-Sierra wrote in an email response, HB 7 would further require that  public health care providers not interfere with the childs request for services that could include life-changing medications or surgery. In other words, not interfere with means provide the service. While Im no doctor, I find that makes no sense either logically or medically.

A letter has been issued jointly by the secretaries of the Department of Health and the Public Education Department, addressed to education leaders, apparently responding to these articles without naming any names. The letter expressed concern that misinformation is being spread about SBHCs.

Todays children have plenty of access to information, including misinformation, about sensitive subjects  not from the schools but from other students and social media. If I were a parent in todays environment, I would focus my worries on some kid coming to school with a gun.

Contact Merilee Dannemann through www.triplespacedagain.com.

This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Legislators espouse hot button issues
Since last year, comparing our nation with Israel, a country that has been in military and political confrontation with neighboring Arab countries and the Palestinians since its creation in 1948, has become popular in Ukraine.

Many in Ukraine believe that the Israeli security model (the country as a permanent military camp, always ready for external attack, and with certain security guarantees from the United States) is the best strategy for Ukraine in the future. In a recent major interview, President Zelenskyy also drew a parallel with Israel in the context of the problem of prolonging the war. The president meant it is possible to exist and even develop in the face of a prolonged war.

Read also:

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But what do we need to understand? When we talk about Israel in the context of the problem of prolonged war, it does not mean endless war. The 75 years of the existence of the state of Israel were not a constant war. There have been several Arab-Israeli wars, but all of them were short (from a few days to a few months), and almost all of them (except for the first) were not on the territory of Israel. Israel has not had interstate wars for several decades.

Another thing is the confrontation between Israel and the Palestinians. This is a permanent process. There have been peace agreements, but there are also periodic conflict escalations.

However, a powerful nuclear power now confronts us with a large army and resources much greater than ours. Western aid only partially equalizes this situation. Palestinian artisanal missiles cannot be compared to ballistic and cruise missiles from Russia. The scale of the war and the level of threats to us are much greater than the threats to Israel over the past 50 years.

The scale of the war and the level of threats to us are much greater than the threats to Israel over the past 50 years.

The war between Russia and Ukraine may drag on for several more years, but only if it goes into a low-intensity mode (as it did during the war in Donbas from 2015 to February 24, 2022). At the same time, a war of attrition is definitely not in our interests.

As for the Israeli model of security guarantees, it is also not easy. The United States began to provide large-scale assistance to Israel after the Six-Day War in 1967 in the context of an escalating global confrontation with the USSR. In the second half of the 1970s, the United States relied on a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Camp David Peace Treaty of 1979 was conditioned, among other things, by the fact that the United States pledged to provide financial and military assistance to both Israel and Egypt.

In 1981, Israel and the United States signed a treaty on strategic cooperation between the countries, which included military assistance to Israel in the event of aggression against it. However, after the Knesset passed the Golan Heights Law, this treaty was canceled by the American side. Nevertheless, de facto, the United States continued to provide Israel with extensive economic and military-technical assistance. At the same time, the United States provided financial and military-technical assistance, albeit to a lesser extent, to some of Israel's Arab neighbors. It is probably safe to say that this model cannot be implemented in the context of the war between Russia and Ukraine. But linking "security guarantees" for Ukraine to negotiations on a peaceful settlement of the current war with Russia is very likely.

Read also:

Thus, both the Israeli security situation and the Israeli model of "security guarantees" have no direct analogy to our current situation. Some formats and elements of the Israeli security model can be used creatively in Ukraine, but they cannot be copied or repeated. There are too many significant differences between our situation and that of Israel.

The same can be said about another security model that is, to some extent, relevant to us, the experience of South Korea. Many political analysts draw attention to the possibility of a South Korean scenario for Ukraine (a ceasefire agreement instead of a peace treaty, division of the country after the end of hostilities). It is emphasized that despite the absence of a peace treaty, the potential risks of renewed war, and the presence of nuclear weapons in North Korea, the peaceful situation on the Korean peninsula has lasted for 70 years. This peaceful state of affairs is primarily, if not decisively, due to the US security umbrella over South Korea.

Immediately after the end of the Korean War, the United States signed a mutual defense treaty with South Korea, in which it pledged to assist South Korea in the event of external aggression. The United States maintains military bases in South Korea to fulfill its obligations under this treaty.

But our situation is fundamentally different from what happened and is happening on the Korean peninsula. Even if the current war between Russia and Ukraine ends with the incomplete liberation of the territories currently occupied by the Russians, it will not be a division of the country, but the fact that a neighboring country still occupies a part of Ukrainian territory. Ukraine will seek the complete liberation of all occupied territories. Russia, in turn, may resume its plans to destroy Ukrainian statehood. Therefore, the formal freezing of the current war in Ukraine does not guarantee a lasting peaceful state. And the military potential of the Russian Federation is much greater than that of North Korea.

Read also:

As for the South Korean security model, it is unlikely to apply to Ukraine. U.S. troops fought in the Korean War (albeit under the UN flag), and the United States simply maintained its military presence in South Korea. Our situation is completely different. We are fighting on our own, albeit with significant military, technical, and economic assistance from our international partners. It is evident that both the United States and the North Atlantic Alliance as a whole are seeking to avoid a direct military clash with Russia to prevent nuclear war and global self-destruction.

The conclusion is simple: Our security situation significantly differs from that of Israel and South Korea, and we (together with our international partners) must form a unique, specifically Ukrainian security model. This model can and should creatively apply certain elements of the security experience of Israel and South Korea. In doing so, I pay special attention to the successful economic development experience in both countries. A thriving and efficient economy is also a guarantee of security.

Read also:

As for the security model for Ukraine, its most effective format is our country's membership in NATO. Experience has shown that the North Atlantic Alliance not only seeks to avoid direct military confrontation with Russia, but the Kremlin also understands the deadly danger of war with NATO. But on its way to NATO, Ukraine must also ensure that its military capabilities deter a potential aggressor and maximize the cost of war for it.

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
Mugshot will be Trumps legacy

I laughed out loud when I opened the paper and saw former President Donald Trumps mugshot. This will be the defining, remembered picture of him.

I thought of the defining images of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, the Roosevelts, Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama: dignified, authoritative, thoughtful, commanding. And heres Trump, aping like an ogre, like you would for a child. As if, no matter how you view the indictment, its not a very serious moment for the country. What a clown  in the absurd and the scary sense.

This is how people 100 years from now will see him, will remember him  a buffoon aping for the camera. Its perfect somehow.

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Chris Hempleman, Lacey

Former President Donald J. Trump is pictured in this photo provided by the Fulton County Sheriffs Office on Thursday, August 24, 2023, in Atlanta, GA. Trump has been charged in Georgia for alleged attempts to overturn the results.

Frank Durocher for Olympia School Board

I wholeheartedly endorse Frank Durocher for Olympia School Board District 2 and so should you. As a concerned member of this community, I believe that Frank Durocher possesses the qualities and dedication to make a positive impact on the school district.

I have known Frank for a number of years, and I can confidently say he is deeply committed to the well-being and success of students and Olympia School District, especially considering his children attend Olympia schools. Here are the reasons why I support Frank:

1. Passion for Education: Frank has a genuine passion for education and a strong desire to see every student in our district thrive.

2. Experience: Frank brings a wealth of experience to the table. His background in PTOs, numerous district advisory committees, and project management has given him valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities the school district faces.

3. Accessibility and Communication: Frank is known for his willingness to listen to the concerns and ideas of parents, teachers, and community members. He is committed to open and transparent communication.

4. Inclusivity: Frank is dedicated to promoting inclusivity and diversity within schools, and recognizes the importance of creating a safe environment for students and staff.

5. Fiscal Responsibility: Frank understands the importance of responsible fiscal management and is committed to ensuring the districts limited resources are used efficiently.

Frank Durocher is the right choice to steer this school district towards an even brighter future, and I urge you to support him on November 7!

Caleb Perkins, Olympia

Stop DNR cutting down legacy trees

The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is selling off trees to be logged on public land that includes mature (legacy) and old growth trees. Because we are in a global warming crisis, this must stop.

The giant conifer forests of the Pacific Northwest store more carbon per acre than any other forests of the world. These legacy trees sequester and store carbon from the atmosphere for long periods of time. When a tree is cut down, most of its carbon is released through waste during harvest and manufacturing. Newly planted trees will take decades before they store as much as the older trees.

Legacy trees reduce flooding and erosion risk by holding water in the soil from heavy rains. They promote biodiversity and provide habitat for wildlife.

Older trees are better able to withstand and recover from fires because they have thicker bark. Some species have lower branch self pruning which limits fire crown spread.

On DNR lands, there should be no logging of trees 80 or more years old.

Heather Pens, Olympia
Mourners view crosses in remembrance of the victims of a racist shooting at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Fla., on Aug. 28. (Corey Perrine / Associated Press)

To the editor: If anyone still wonders about former President Trump's legacy, read reporter Jaweed Kaleem's article in The Times. It points to several deadly racist assaults during and after Trump's tenure.

We remember vividly the presidential debate in September 2020 when the then-president was asked whether he'd denounce white supremacy and militias. "Give me a name," he said, and then-challenger Joe Biden suggested the Proud Boys.

Trump's idea of a denunciation was, "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by."

They didn't. Several not-so-proud boys were sentenced recently to very long prison terms for their part in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. And Trump himself faces a similar fate in the wake of four indictments. What a legacy.

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With a nod to FDR, the name Trump will forever live in infamy.

Steve Arvin, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: I do not believe that racist attacks are something truly new in America, nor that they are truly occurring at a greater rate (per capita) than in the past.

I do see, however, they are far more front-of-mind for me and others with whom I have discussed the subject.

There are so many more sources of information available to us now than in the past, and many of us are immersed in them throughout the day. Surely it may be good news, in some ways, that we are more aware of such things.

The vital question is this: What are we doing about the violence now that we are more aware of it?

Several different responses to the problem have been proposed, including gun control and better mental health programs. We can certainly try such things and pursue those that yield helpful results.

What we cannot afford to do is nothing.

Jack Quirk, Porter Ranch

..

To the editor: Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said, "I think it's strange to vilify an object." Really?

Yes, it would be strange to vilify a fluffy teddy bear, a baby doll or an award-winning novel. But can a gun be compared to any of those objects?

Until we as a country unanimously vilify semiautomatic AR-15-style rifles and Glock handguns, these senseless killings will continue.

As hard as I try to understand, I just don't get it.

Patti Steffen, Thousand Oaks

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Lauren Boccieri used to talk to her mother, Leslie Bales, every day on the way home from work before March 19, 2022. Her mother was killed that night, and her drives home since then have been lonelier than ever, she said in a Fayette Circuit courtroom Thursday.

She lost her brother that day too: 27-year-old Justus Abe Bales, who fatally stabbed their mother while suffering a mental health episode caused by schizoaffective bipolar disorder.

Thursday afternoon, she and other members of the Bales family were present in the courtroom as Abe Bales was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the death of their mom by Judge Kimberly Bunnell.

Bales pleaded guilty but mentally ill to first-degree manslaughter on July 25. He was originally charged with murder  domestic violence in March 2022.

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He stabbed 54-year-old Leslie Bales at a home off Southland Drive. When police were called to the home, they found the victim with multiple stab wounds which caused her death.

Despite a plea of guilty but mentally ill, Bales was found competent to stand trial by a physician.

His family fondly remembered Leslie Bales during the sentencing hearing, and advocated for their brother to be placed in a facility that could allow him to be treated and keep himself and others safe.

Boccieri said her mother was an advocate for her brothers mental health and it weighed on her heavily. She described her mom as her mentor, and a unique and loving person.

She wanted him to receive medication treatment and psycho-social therapy, she said. And I want that for my brother as well.

Abes paternal aunt, Kelly, said in court Thursday that the circumstances of Leslies murder are as heartbreaking as they are complex.

Our family is torn between grief of losing Leslie and the mental deterioration of a man we all clearly love, she said.

Since he has been incarcerated, Abe Bales told his family and the court he has learned how to better take care of his mental health, and recognizes the importance of treatment.

While I dont recollect the mindset I was in that night, I do know that it was a twisted version of reality that I was enveloped in, Abe Bales said. I apologize to my family that I hid my mental health struggles for so long from them because I could have gotten help sooner.
The band students of Licking Heights High School are marching into a new school year  and a new competition season. The Marching Hornets will host their 14th annual Pageant of Bands competition from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Licking Heights Football Stadium, 4000 Mink St. in Pataskala.

The event will feature 10 high school marching bands from across Ohio, along with a performance from the Tiffin University marching band, The Roar of the Dragons. Licking Heights alumna Georgie Ward, class of 2020, is currently Tiffins Field Commander.

Licking Heights Marching Hornets perform during Licking Heights's football game against Bellefontaine on Friday, Sept. 1, 2023.

All community members are welcome to come support the performers. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and senior citizens.

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"We love hosting the Pageant of Bands. It is exciting to bring in outstanding bands from across the state, and then have experts in the pressbox giving our students feedback to help them grow," Director of Bands Meg Beavers said. "My favorite moment is as we are marching to the stadium, watching our students' eyes light up with excitement when they see the packed home stands."

This years competing bands include:

Marion Local Band, Marion Local High School

Nelsonville-York Marching Buckeyes, Nelsonville-York High School

Portsmouth High School Band, Portsmouth High School

Pride of London, London High School

Licking Valley Marching Panthers, Licking Valley High School

Heath High School Marching Band, Heath High School

Watkins Memorial Marching Warriors, Watkins Memorial High School

Berne Union Golden Rocket Marching Band, Berne Union High School

Golden Sound of the Vikings, Teays Valley High School

Licking Heights Marching Hornets, Licking Heights High School

Information submitted by Licking Heights Local Schools.

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking Heights High School to host annual Pageant of Bands Sept. 9
If special corridors are developed, Ukraine could transport 10 million tons of grain annually through the Baltic Sea ports, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said, as cited by Delfi media outlet.

According to Nauseda, although the ports can't serve to transfer as much grain as Ukraine does using main transit routes, the Baltic Sea corridors could significantly support Ukrainian exports hindered by Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal.

The agreement, brokered in July 2022 by Turkey and the United Nations, previously allowed Ukraine to export its agricultural products through its Black Sea ports amid Russia's full-scale invasion.

Speaking at a Sept. 6 press conference, the Lithuanian leader urged European Union member states "to do everything possible" to ensure Ukrainian grain can flow freely to international markets.

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Since early May, Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seeds have been banned from entering markets of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia. The countries have asked the European Commission to extend the ban until the end of 2023, with Poland warning they would impose unilateral restrictions otherwise.

However, most EU countries are against prolonging the import ban beyond the current expiry date of Sept. 15, Politico reported, citing four European diplomats.

At a Sept. 6 meeting with the European Commission, ambassadors of 22 out of 27 EU member countries either opposed or remained deeply skeptical of the idea, a senior EU diplomat told Politico, adding that France and Germany were especially critical of the ban extension.

According to the media outlet, two diplomats said that while many EU members recognized the challenges faced by the five Eastern European countries, they asked the Commission to offer alternative measures.

Cheap Ukrainian grain has been flooding the EU market since the beginning of the Russian invasion, helped by the bloc waiving customs duties and import quotas to keep Ukraine's agricultural sector running.

Low-price grain prices prove too tempting for local buyers and traders, undercutting local producers.

Read also: Ukraines grain overload sours countrys relationship with key allies

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl, is greeted by a crowd, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in Boston. The puppet is scheduled to journey across the United States, with planned stops in over 35 towns and cities, between Sept. 7 and Nov. 5, 2023, in an effort to raise awareness about refugees and displaced people across the world. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

BOSTON (AP)  Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet of a Syrian refugee, began its journey across the United States on Thursday in Boston.

During the trip, the puppet and its puppeteers plan to visit key places in American history to raise awareness about immigration and migration.

The puppet of the 10-year-old girl will visit the U.S. Capitol, Boston Common, Joshua Tree National Park and the Edmund Pettus Bridge among other sites during a trek that started in Boston and ends Nov. 5 along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Stops are also planned for Philadelphia; Baltimore; Pittsburgh; Detroit; Chicago; Atlanta; New Orleans; the Tennessee cities of Nashville and Memphis; the Texas cities of Austin, Houston, San Antonio and El Paso; and the California cities of Los Angeles and San Diego.

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On Thursday, the puppet stopped in Bostons Chinatown neighborhood and interacted with performers in lion dance costumes.

As the puppet walked with its puppeteers, it was accompanied by drummers and musicians and a large crowd ended up following it to the Chinatown gate.
MILLERSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  Police in Millersville are investigating after a loaded handgun was found on the side of the interstate.

At around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, a motorist called police saying they found a silver, metallic handgun near the guardrail on I-65 South near mile marker 104 by Bethel Road.

When officers responded, they found a Ruger 1911.

Art installations in Middle TN bring awareness to gun violence

Due to the location, it appears possibly someone left it on their hood or top of their car and took off, or they tossed it out the window, Detective Flavis Burroughs with the Millersville Police Department said.

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According to Burroughs, the magazine on the weapon was jammed, probably due to rust and dents from being hit by cars and trucks.

Because the gun was loaded and because investigators could not render the weapon safe due to rust and damage, officers took the weapon apart.

Because it was loaded, we dont want to put anyone in a situation where it is unsafe. So we took it apart, Burroughs said.

According to detectives, the weapon was not reported lost or stolen, and though there are serial numbers on it, detectives said they have been unable to track down the guns owner.

Teen leads deputies on high-speed chase in stolen car linked to Nashville murder

Understandably this was on the side of the interstate, but this could have been on the side of Highway 31 here, and we have kids walk up and down the street, going house to house to play, and we have a kid pick it up to play thinking it is a toy, and the next thing you know I am dealing with a much different situation, Burroughs said concerned.

Millersville police are not sure if the gun had been used in a crime. Investigators plan to send the gun to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations crime lab for further analysis.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Stormy Johnson

Editor's note: This story contains content that may be disturbing to some readers related to child abuse and murder of a child.

The mother of slain 11-year-old Logan Cline pleaded guilty Thursday to murder and tampering with evidence for her part in the killing of her child and for helping hide his body in an abandoned car in Wichita Falls, according to the Wichita County District Attorney's Office.

Stormy Loraine Johnson, 40, was given the maximum sentence of life in prison for the murder of Logan on Dec. 14, 2019, in a Wichita Falls motel room, according to a media release from the DA's Office. She was also sentenced to 20 years for tampering with evidence. The sentences are to run concurrently.

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Johnson's then live-in boyfriend, Corey Allen Trumbull, was convicted of capital murder of a person 10 to 14 years old Aug. 29 in 30th District Court. He was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

A jury took about 16 minutes to return a guilty verdict against Trumbull, 35. A charge of tampering with evidence against him appears to still be pending.

Johnson's 18-year-old daughter attended her mother's sentencing Thursday and gave a victim impact statement on behalf of Logan.

His older sister was with Trumbull, Johnson and Logan in a hotel room at the Red Roof Inn when the child died. She was a key witness during Trumbull's trial.

DA John Gillespie said the life sentence protects Logan's sister from having to go through another trial and relive in court her brother's murder.

It also removes this weight hanging over her senior year in high school, Gillespie said in the media release. The Defendant also waived any appeal as part of this agreement.

No one put the needs of Logan's sister first in all of this, Gillespie said, and he sought to put her first with this action.

After this Life sentence, I hope (Logan's sister) and her family can begin the healing process knowing the trials are behind them," Gillespie said. "Please keep this brave girl and her family in your prayers.

In testimony during Trumbull's trial, Logan's sister described horrific beatings and repeated torture carried out against her brother, who was starved, isolated and treated like an animal at times. Trumbull was the primary abuser, but Johnson joined in.

Corey Allen Trumbull awaits testimony at his trial on Aug. 28.

After Logan died, they put his body in the bathtub in their hotel room. Johnson cleaned his body with bleach and dressed him in clean clothing, according to testimony. They put Logan's body in a wheelchair and got it downstairs from their second-floor hotel room.

Trumbull and Johnson came upon an abandoned car half a block from the hotel. They put his body in the backseat of the car in the 1200 block of Kenley near a derelict house and covered it with old clothes. Trumbull and Johnson returned to their hotel room in high spirits.

Wichita Falls police found Logan's body Feb. 27, 2020, thanks to information that came to light during a domestic violence investigation in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Johnson was charged with murder for committing the felony of endangering a child by giving Trumbull access to Logan while he abused the boy, which led to Trumbull murdering Logan, according to the DA's Office media release.

Since investigation found Trumbull inflicted fatal head injuries on Logan, Johnson was charged with felony murder, which is punishable by five years to life in prison.

Tampering with evidence is a second degree felony when a corpse is tampered with and carries a punishment range of probation up to 20 years in prison.

After Trumbulls trial, Gillespie had a long conversation with Logan's sister, his dad, Nick Cline, and his grandmother, Dorothy Holland about Johnson's case, the DA said.

I suggested offering the max for what she was charged with: Life for murder and 20 for tampering to run concurrently to spare (Logan's sister) from testifying again and so the trial would not be hanging over her senior year in high school," Gillespie said.

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.

Logan's sister showed "great courage in testifying against Trumbull. She was willing to testify against her mother, and I believe she would have, Gillespie said.

However, in my years as a child abuse prosecutor, I have often witnessed how traumatic it can be for kids to testify against parents," he said.

Logan's sister told Gillespie that she and her family trusted him to do whatever he believed to be best.

I was incredibly honored by her trust. As a prosecutor, I always try to put whats best for the victims first. And thats the decision I made here, Gillespie said.

The Times Record News is not using the name of Logan's sister or her image because she was the victim in child sexual abuse cases in Las Vegas.

More: Implicated in death of boy in WF, couple is accused of child sex crimes, child abuse

Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her X handle is @Trishapedia.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Logan's mother pleads guilty to murder
Steve Mulroy was sitting in a meeting with his transition team when he received a text with a link to a news article. It was his first full day as Shelby Countys newly sworn-in district attorney, and he said he was still coming off what he described as a high from delivering "the best-received speech" of his career.

The text had a link to a news article about the abduction of a Memphis kindergarten teacher who was out for her regular morning run. It was, essentially, day one in office for Mulroy, and a citywide manhunt for Eliza Fletcher was underway.

I remember somebody interrupted the transition meeting with texts, news about what had happened, Mulroy told The Commercial Appeal in a recent interview. This was a relatively prominent citizen, so it was definitely going to get attention. But I had no idea what I was in store for.

The search for Fletcher, and the man accused of abducting and killing her, went on for several days. The case drew the national spotlight to Memphis and brought international intrigue, as well.

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Obviously, at that time, I was still hoping that Eliza would be brought back alive, he said. That was why there was such an intense focus. 'Can we find this person? Can we save them? Can we find them in time?'

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy speaks after bond is revoked for Cleotha Abston during his second court appearance Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, in Memphis. Abston is charged in the abduction and murder of Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old teacher and mother who was reported abducted Friday on the University of Memphis campus.

Mulroy had been in office for less than a week when Cleotha Abston-Henderson was arrested and charged with Fletchers kidnapping and murder. One of the assistant district attorneys in the office, who has since been promoted to Mulroys second-in-command as deputy district attorney, reassured the DA that cases like this were not the norm.

[Deputy District Attorney Paul Hagerman], who at the time I did not know was going to be my new number two, told me, This is a once-in-a-decade case...You're not going to see anything like this for a long time,'" Mulroy said.

Three days later, a man drove around Memphis firing a gun at random. Some parts of the spree were live-streamed. Memphians were told via emergency texts to shelter in place and not leave home unless it was absolutely necessary.

I was getting ready to leave the office when I started hearing about what was going on, and I decided to go over to the [Memphis Police Department] command center and watch it all as it was happening, Mulroy said. City on lockdown, multiple random shootings. Again, national attention focused on Memphis for the wrong reasons.

That was my first week in office.

Shelby County Assistant District Attorney Paul Hagerman and Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy sit during a court appearance in which Mulroy announced that his office would seek the death penalty in the case against Cleotha Abston-Henderson, the man accused of abducting and killing Eliza Fletcher, at the Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday, July 6, 2023.

After a court proceeding following the spree, The Commercial Appeal asked Mulroy to reflect on his first week in office. Mulroy jokingly asked if it was too late for a recount.

But that first week, he said about year later, made him ready for anything the job would throw at him over the next 11 months, from a December filled with police shootings to the Tyre Nichols case.

A matter of personal conscience

Both Abston-Henderson and the man arrested and charged for the spree shooting, Ezekiel Kelly, now face the death penalty  something Mulroy has openly said he opposes as a policy matter but has to enforce as a district attorney.

I think a DA has to understand their proper role, he said in that recent interview. Im not a state legislator. If I were a state legislator, I would vote to abolish the death penalty. I am the DA, and that means I need to follow the law. I still get to exercise discretion, and it will be the very rare case, indeed, that I would ever seek the death penalty, and I think the system designed it to be so. The death penalty is supposed to be, as the famous phrase goes for the worst of the worst. It is a rare, last-resort remedy to be used only in the most egregious cases.

Mulroy was criticized by some of the people who were in his corner during the campaign trail for the decision, but he said he stands by the choice to seek the death penalty in the Abston-Henderson and Kelly cases.

Although, he added that seeking the death penalty weighs on a person.

Its very difficult, Mulroy said of having to make the decision. Its a matter of personal conscience, and trying to balance your own, personal feelings against what you think the requirements of duty are. Its never an easy decision. I imagine its not an easy decision even for those DAs who support the death penalty. Its even harder for someone like me.

Mulroy proud of improved transparency, says theres more work to do

Along the campaign trail, and in a speech delivered after completing his first 100 days in office, Mulroy touted the promise of creating the most transparent DAs office in history.

After one year in office, Mulroy said he has gotten there, but that there is still work to do.

I think I can easily say that Ive made this DAs office the most transparent in Shelby Countys history, he said. There is still more to do  were only one year in  this is a work in progress.

Mulroy pointed to his weekly newsletters, near biweekly press conferences and bimonthly town halls as evidence of the offices growing transparency. He credits his chief of communications, Erica Williams, for responding quickly to both media inquiries and the average Memphian.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy speaks to the media after holding a summit with other state and local officials and community organizers to talk about reducing crime in Memphis at the Urban Child Institute in Crosstown Concourse on Thursday, August 31, 2023.

The office has also made moves to provide an easily accessible public database for Memphians to view court data and has hired its first-ever data officer, Vishant Shah, to oversee the task.

But an area the DA had promised increased transparency and has not fully caught up on is releasing body camera footage from police shootings.

Though MPD rapidly released footage from the scene where officers beat 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who later died, and a portion of footage from a Shelby County Sheriffs deputy shooting that left 21-year-old Jarveon Hudspeth dead, the office has not yet released footage from the slew of police shootings that happened in the last five weeks of 2022.

A new practice adopted by the office, which allowed for the release of the Hudspeth footage, could start to catch the office back up in its hunt for transparency.

According to Mulroy, he has the discretion to release footage from fatal police shootings. So long as releasing the footage does not compromise an investigation or litigation, his office will release key portions of video from these shootings. That footage has historically been collected by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation when the DA calls for them to investigate an officer-involved shooting.

The next batch of footage his office is working on will be the case for 20-year-old Jaylin McKenzie, which he said will be released in the near future.

It was the case that TBI would take 10 months or more to finish the investigation, Mulroy said. The office wouldnt start our review until after that happened, and then if there was a decision to decline prosecution, thats when the process of redaction would start. It would be hours and hours of footage, so youre taking a really long time to get that video out. I think the Tyre Nichols situation sort of woke me up to that our system isnt the right system. If we could do this for Tyre Nichols, we should be doing it for a lot of other cases.

District Attorney Steve Mulroy speaks to the press after a hearing where the five former Memphis police officers charged for their involvement in the beating of Tyre Nichols plead not guilty at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center in Memphis, on Friday, February 17, 2023.

Mulroy added that the process could be more streamlined since it has just recently been put in place, but that the biggest room for improvement will come once the DAs office clears the backlog of three of the five police shootings from 2022 that he says it has the jurisdiction to release footage in.

The other two fatal police shootings include a Dec. 9 shooting that killed 40-year-old Latoris Taylor and a Dec. 5 39-year-old James West Jr., both of which were from Memphis police officers.

Tyre Nichols re-sensitized the DAs office

About five months after taking office, Mulroy would have media worldwide focused on Memphis again. With about 5% of his term served, he had been at the top of the countys criminal justice system for three high-profile cases.

Within three weeks of Nichols beating and subsequent death, the DAs office had obtained grand jury indictments for five officers and MPD was preparing to release footage of the incident.

Mulroy believes his staff has made the right calls during that process  citing civil rights attorney Ben Crumps own words that Memphis laid out the blueprint for the rest of the nation. He said he would not change anything the staff did if he had a second attempt.

We were hitting fastballs as quickly as they came in, he said. I wasnt in any way prepared for it. We were, as they say, building the airplane as youre flying it and all that. But it has all worked out, and I thought we handled it pretty well. Thats a great tribute to my staff.

Shelby County Assistant District Attorney Paul Hagerman and District Attorney Steve Mulroy speak to the press after a court appearance for Cleotha Abston-Henderson, the man charge with the abduction and killing of Eliza Fletcher, in which Mulroy announced that his office would seek the death penalty in the case against Abston-Henderson at the Shelby County Criminal Court in Memphis, Tenn., on Thursday, July 6, 2023.

Nichols' beating and death, Mulroy said, did refocus the offices awareness of the force used by law enforcement when trying to detain people.

I think its made us all sensitive to the very real problem of excessive force by law enforcement, he said. We all knew about it intellectually, but I think its re-sensitized us to it. Like Ive said many times, the vast majority of police officers are people of good faith. But that doesnt mean that there arent issues of culture and accountability that are systemic  and its not just a couple of bad apples. The Tyre Nichols case re-sensitized us to that reality. It isnt just a few bad apples. We need to treat all of these cases with care and healthy skepticism.

The DAs office took a look at each of the cases worked by the five officers facing criminal charges related to Nichols' death. In total, about 100 cases were reviewed, about 40% were dismissed, 10% had their charges lowered and 3 or 4 were referred to the U.S. Attorney General for the Western District of Tennessee for excessive force concerns.

More changes in the coming years

One of Mulroys first acts after the Abston-Henderson and Kelly cases began to make their way through the court system was to establish the Justice Review Unit. The unit was based on Davidson Countys Conviction Review Unit, but takes a wider scope.

The two-person unit, headed by Unit Chief Lorna McClusky and Assistant Chief Robert Gowen, was initially set to review convictions and sentencings. Eventually, the duo was also tasked with reviewing all police shootings for potential criminality, since the unit operates almost completely independently of the other prosecutors.

Steve Mulroy hugs his daughter, Molly Mulroy, after he is sworn in as the new Shelby County District Attorney General on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, in the Shelby County Commission Chambers of the Vasco A. Smith Jr. County Administration Building.

I think the existence of the JRU, and the priority I give it, sends a message to the staff that were taking this stuff seriously, Mulroy said. We should not only not cross the ethical line, we shouldnt even come close to the ethical line. We should be bending over backwards to make sure that our conduct is above reproach.

The JRU was part of Mulroys campaign, where he cited reports that the Shelby County DAs Office previously had a record number of cases and convictions overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct.

I want to erase that stain, he said. I have repeatedly said to the staff that if they make a settlement that later, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, can be criticized, Ill have their back. But if we find out later on that there was a Brady violation or any other kind of ethical misconduct, I wont have their back.

A Brady violation happens when prosecutors do not disclose specific evidence to a defense team  which can be especially egregious when that evidence is favorable to a defendant.

More: Memphis CrimeStoppers offering $10k rewards for 12 different murder cases, seeking tips

But there are things Mulroy said he wished he could have accomplished throughout this first year in office, that he said will take place over the next seven years of his first term.

Among those, he said he wished the JRU was not so busy with police shootings.

The JRU has been so consumed with the officer-involved fatality investigations that they havent really had a chance to make as much progress on the main work of the JRU like investigating wrongful convictions and wrongful sentences, he said.

He also pointed to the promise of shifting the focus of the Economic Crimes Unit towards white-collar crime, which has not fully presented itself yet.

I talked a lot about having our Economic Crimes Unit move away from prioritizing prosecuting poor people for writing bad checks and to focus on bigger, systemic issues like worker exploitation, wage theft and job misclassification, Mulroy said. Were making progress, but I had hoped to have been further along at this point.

Ever present in that figurative to-do list is lowering the crime rate, which has risen each year since 2015, to the point Mulroy has called it a crime crisis. The DAs office hosted a summit that featured leaders from law enforcement along with local and state politicians Aug. 31, away from cameras and microphones.

Though it is not clear what plans exactly were discussed, Mulroy gave an outline of what the focus would be for the years to come.

But the answer to the crime question is complex, and does not take shape in a day, he said.

This wont take effect overnight, Mulroy said. But I do think, over the mid-term, that were hoping that will have an effect. Theres a phenomenon called return to the mean, a sort of what goes up must come down thing. Eventually, when you have long spikes like this, they eventually go down. Now, were hoping that curve will flatten sooner because of our efforts. But I think all the officials  federal, state and local  that deal with Shelby County are aware that its a crisis and its time for an all-hands-on-deck approach. Im cautiously optimistic that, working together, we can bend that curve, but its not going to happen overnight.

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: Inside Steve Mulroy's first year as Shelby County District Attorney
VENICE, ItalyLubo builds a sweeping story of loss and trauma out of the real-life scandal of the abduction of thousands of children from Yenish traveler communities in Switzerland. Though this shocking practice took place for nearly 50 years from the 1920s onwards, the new film by Giorgio Diritti focuses on World War II and its immediate aftermath, by telling the story of an itinerant performer whose children are stolen when he is drafted for military service in 1939. What follows is the tale of a man utterly broken and irrevocably changed by his circumstances, who searches for his children under an assumed identity and integrates himself into the upper echelons of Swiss society off the back of stolen property.

Lubo, which premiered Thursday at the Venice Film Festival, is built around another magnetic central performance by Franz Rogowski (Passages) in the title role. He portrays the titular character Lubo as a gracious, impish kind of live-wirea man whose love of performing is coded into his DNA. Rogowski is a highly physical actor, so he grounds Lubo in a whole register of performance, showing us somebody who is musical, a shapeshifter, and can captivate spectators. Once forcibly enrolled in Switzerlands militaryand discovering the loss of his wife and childrenLubo is brought crashing to earth. Rogowski shows the impact of that betrayal in body language that has been extinguished somehow; a dimming of the light behind his eyes. Yet vestiges of his former character remain, in muscle memory of dancing, clowning, or playing the accordion: lovely scenes of Lubo artlessly playing with a marble ball, or skimming stones on a lake, briefly reveal the carefree man of earlier times.

In later stages of the film, Lubo (going under the guise of Bruno Reiter, a Jewish man whose identity and property he has stolen in a truly shocking scene, filmed soberly by Diritti, at a remove from the action) will use his skill for performance to manipulate various high society women, either out of an obscure sense of revenge or to get him closer to investigating his childrens disappearance. All of this is so well rendered by Rogowski, who on top of all the role demands of him, is required to speak Yenish, Italian, French, and his native German. His performance even extends to driving a car: Lubo has only ever driven a horse and cart, and has to teach himself to drive. He has been told that the gears are trotting, cantering, and galloping; that the brake is the reins and the accelerator the whip. He judders along uncertainly, lurching in fits and starts; later, when Lubo is a man of money, a Don Juan of polite society, his driving turns smoother, but you can still, I think, detect the hours of practice and see someone taking on a role.

Ira Sachs Queer Love Triangle Passages Has the Hottest Sex at Sundance

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This is virtuoso stuff, and its clear that Lubo would be nothing without a lead actor of that sophistication and versatility. The accompanying filmmaking is proficient, while somewhat lacking heat and verve. Take the cinematography, with unadorned camera-work casting a timid eye over a burnished autumnal palette: this makes for an agreeable, classical film, but is perhaps not totally suited to a story of such total desolation. The whole project is a look at the devastation of war and the generational trauma wrought by white supremacist eugenics, through the experiences of one pained, ambiguous man. So its reasonable to hope for a little more formal investment from the film itself, which is just too polite, too prettifying in its aesthetic.

In fact, although Rogowski does sterling work in the central role, Lubo could even stand to ask more of himhes got the chops for it, after all. There is a strange kind of restraint at play here, meaning that the films big shocks dont quite register. In part, that may be due to an edit that is a smidge too stately, taking ample time to build up character and narrative, but not cutting smartly to the big knocks that should punctuate this story like hammer blows.

Nevertheless, Lubo is a watchable, handsomely mounted project, showing particular attention to set design and costuming, two aspects of the movie that bolster its classical instincts. Over the course of three hours, the story could perhaps do with a slight trim in the later stages, but the film is admirably fat-free over that extended time-frame. Rogowskis performance aside, supporting actors are good, although there is a disconcerting emphasis from the casting director on people with a specific kind of angelic, innocent mien. Lubo ends with a few of those faces, staring down the camera in reproachful silence, by which time the movie seems to have settled for being merely a message film. Thats no small ambition, but a gem like Franz Rogowski requires a more opulent setting.

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By Ricardo Brito

BRASILIA (Reuters) -President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged Brazilians to unite around common goals ahead of an Independence Day parade on Thursday, as he seeks to tackle the politicization of the armed forces that gathered steam under his right-wing predecessor.

More than 3,000 troops marched past the president and cabinet ministers in a display of pageantry on the central esplanade of Brasilia, where an estimated 30,000 people attended the annual event.

Tight security measures had been put in place in case of protests by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro , some of whom stormed government buildings a week after Lula took office in January, but no major demonstrations were reported.

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"Happy to watch such a beautiful parade," Lula wrote on social media network X. "Long live Brazil."

In a televised address on Wednesday evening, the president touted the achievements of his first eight months in office - including strong economic growth - and called for unity after last year's election, the most fraught in a generation.

"Brazil's independence needs to be built every day, by all of us, on three great foundations: democracy, sovereignty and unity," Lula said. "This is not a day of hate or fear; it is a day of unity."

Lula has sought to rebuild trust between his government and the military after removing several officers from his security teams over concerns they failed to protect the executive palace from invasion and vandalism by Bolsonaro supporters on Jan. 8.

The leftist leader replaced the Army commander and has coaxed the military back into their barracks after his predecessor placed thousands of officers in government roles. Bolsonaro also pushed the armed forces to publicly endorse his political views.

During last year's bicentennial Independence Day, in the final stretch of a heated presidential campaign, Bolsonaro mixed military displays with a political rally drawing hundreds of thousands of supporters.

On Thursday, Bolsonaro posted a video on X of him attending the 2022 parade captioned with his political slogan, "God, homeland, family and freedom."

Bolsonaro has never conceded his defeat by Lula and was banned from seeking elected office for eight years due to his conduct during the 2022 election campaign, when he summoned ambassadors to vent unfounded claims about Brazil's voting system.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Anthony Boadle and Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Brad Haynes, Alexandra Hudson and Rosalba O'Brien)
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's main border crossing with Afghanistan was closed for a second day on Thursday, leading to a build-up of trucks laden with goods, after clashes between security forces from the two countries.

The busy border crossing had closed on Wednesday after Pakistani and Afghan Taliban forces started firing at each other, according to local officials.

Abdul Basir Zabuli, a spokesman for the Taliban-led police in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, where the crossing lies, said that authorities from both countries were trying to determine the reason for the clash.

The Torkham border point is the main point of transit for travellers and goods between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan.

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Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, director of the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said hundreds of trucks laden with fruit, vegetables and other goods were stuck due to the closure.

"The traders are suffering heavy losses after the border in Torkham was closed on Wednesday following a firing incident there," he told Reuters.

The entire flow of trade had been affected and loading of goods in the southern port of Karachi had been disrupted.

Disputes linked to the 2,600 km (1,615 mile) border have been a bone of contention between the neighbours for decades.

In a separate incident, Pakistan's military said four soldiers had been killed in clashes in Chitral district, near the Afghan border, on Wednesday and that 12 militants had died.

The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said in a statement its fighters had fought against security forces in the area for the past two days.

The Pakistani military echoed its demands of Afghan Taliban authorities to stop the use of its territory for militant attacks after the clashes in Chitral, a mountainous area near the Afghan border popular with Pakistani and foreign tourists.

The Afghan Taliban have denied their territory is being used by militants, saying security concerns within its neighbour are an internal issue for Pakistani authorities.

Attacks claimed by the TTP have grown in Pakistan in recent years. The group has pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban but is not directly a part of it.

(Reporting by Mushtaq Ali in Peshawar and Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul; Writing by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
In the early morning hours of Sunday, a neighbour found the bloodied, naked body of a young woman lying on a sidewalk in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. A man towering over the victim told the neighbour he had just found her and had no idea what had happened to her.

The woman, a student at the University of Wisconsin campus nearby, had suffered a sexual assault and beating. But by the time first responders arrived at the scene, the man who had posed as an innocent bystander had already vanished.

Madison police have now accused that same man, identified as 26-year-old Brandon Thompson, of carrying out the horrible attack that left the woman fighting for her life. The woman remains in critical condition but is expected to recover from the life-threatening injuries she sustained.

Mr Thompson is now facing charges of first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury and strangulation. In a statement released shortly after his arrest, his attorneys noted that Mr Thompson, a Madison resident who comes from a military family, is innocent until proven guilty.

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Police said that surveillance video provided by the community was key in placing Mr Thompson at the crime scene. Detectives are now awaiting results from DNA evidence that was sent to a state crime lab.

Heres everything we know about the case:

Shes covered in blood

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said that the victim was walking in the area between West Wilson and Bedford streets around 3.20am on 3 September when she was ambushed by an attacker. A neighbour told WISN 12 News that the young woman was forced into an alley between two houses, where she was then assaulted.

A resident of the area who heard cries for help came outside to find the disturbing scene. A man standing next to the victim, who investigators believe was Mr Thompson, told the witness that he had just found her in that condition.

The victim was found on a sidewalk between West Wilson and Bedford streets around 3.20am on Sunday (TMJ4)

The suspect then fled the scene in his vehicle.

In radio traffic calls obtained by TMJ4, officers are heard describing the harrowing state in which the victim was found.

Behind the house, a naked female covered in blood, a dispatcher is heard saying. Were in contact with her. Shes beaten up pretty good. Shes not really conscious.

The woman suffered a broken jaw and other life-threatening injuries. She was transported to the hospital and remains in critical condition.

In addition to her severe physical injuries, the victim also faces a challenging emotional recovery ahead, authorities said.

Her life is forever changed, Assistant Chief Paige Valenta of the Madison Police Department said during a press conference on Wednesday. Her familys life is forever changed. We will continue to work hard to ensure that Mr Thompson is held fully accountable in a court of law for the heinous act he perpetrated.

The investigation

Authorities have said that the attack appeared to be random.

I think one of the most frightening things [is that it was a random attack], Chief Barnes said. ...This case will not be complete until this cowardly attacker receives the justice he deserves.

Fellow University of Wisconsin students told WISN that officers knocked on their doors shortly after the attack asking if they had seen anything suspicious.

The cops were knocking on our door at 4 in the morning. So, kind of scary, Azza Bayoudh told the outlet before Mr Thompsons arrest. It was just kind of terrifying because I was like, that kind of couldve been me.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes and Assistant Chief Paige Valenta during a press conference on Wednesday (TMJ4 News)

Investigators were able to link Mr Thompson to the scene thanks to surveillance video submitted by residents of the area that captured Mr Thompsons licence plate. Footage also reportedly shows that he was walking right behind the victim before the attack unfolded.

Chief Barnes said that approximately two hours before the attack, Mr Thompson was pulled over by Fitchburg police officers over a registration violation.

The neighbouring police department provided bodycam from the traffic stop that allegedly showed Mr Thompsons clothing matched what he was wearing during the Madison attack.

As a result of this video, detectives were able to read a licence plate that directly led to the identification of Brandon Thompson as the perpetrator of this assault, Ms Valenta said, thanking the community for their cooperation in gathering evidence.

DNA evidence has been collected from the scene and sent to a state crime lab. Authorities are awaiting the results but declined to say when they will be back.

The suspect

Mr Thompson is a local resident and appears to have no previous criminal history, police said.

He is waiting to be formally charged with first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury and strangulation.

Brandon Thompson is waiting to be formally charged with first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury and strangulation (Madison Police Department)

The suspects attorneys said in a statement to TMJ4 that he is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and has a degree in criminal justice and psychology. He reportedly works for a biotech company in Madison.

He grew up in a military family, with his father serving in the Army until his retirement and later working at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the statement read, adding that the family asked for privacy.

Mr Thompson is booked into the Dane County Jail. An arraignment date was not immediately available.
A man awaiting sentencing for killing a Missouri police officer is challenging the constitutionality of a state law that allows judges to hand down the death sentence.

A jury in June convicted 45-year-old Ian McCarthy of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Clinton Police Officer Gary Lee Michael Jr. during a 2017 traffic stop.

After days of deliberation, the jury informed the judge that it couldnt decide between the states only two sentences for first-degree murder: life in prison without parole, or death.

Missouri and Indiana are the only active death penalty states that allow judges to sentence people to die. Montana also allows judges to hand down death sentences, but it hasnt executed anyone since 2006.

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Overland Park mom, 4-year-old shot at after yelling at speeding driver

McCarthys attorneys filed a motion last week asking a Jackson County judge to declare the state law unconstitutional and to sentence McCarthy to life in prison. Judge Marco Roldan will consider the motion at the sentencing hearing on Friday.

The motion calls Missouri a clear outlier and states that the law violates the Eighth Amendment guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment.

Unanimous jury agreement is necessary to ensure that death sentences are imposed reliably, on the most culpable defendants, and reflect the judgment of the community, it states.

Henry County Prosecuting Attorney LaChrisha Gray on Wednesday declined to comment on the constitutional question, but she said she is still seeking the death penalty.

We will be asking the court to impose that sentence, Gray said.

Kansas City metro sees highest rent hike in United States

Courts have issued varying decisions on whether juries alone should have domain over death sentences.

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the death sentences of at least 150 convicted killers, ruling that juries, and not judges, must make such life-or-death decisions.

But since then, some executions have proceeded despite sentences from the bench. Among those put to death was Missouri inmate Amber McLaughlin, whose execution in January was believed to be the first of a transgender woman in the U.S.

McLaughlin was convicted of first-degree murder for killing a St. Louis-area woman in 2006. A judge sentenced McLaughlin to death after the jury deadlocked on the sentence.

In another case, the Missouri Supreme Court in 2019 upheld the sentence for Craig Wood, who was sentenced to death by a judge for kidnapping, raping and killing a 10-year-old girl in 2014. Wood remains on death row and no execution date has been set.

Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android

On Aug. 6, 2017, McCarthy used a high-powered rifle to fatally shoot Michael, 37, during a traffic stop in Clinton, about 75 miles southeast of Kansas City. McCarthy was captured two days later in a rural area of Henry County.

The court filing on behalf of McCarthy states that since the jury couldnt reach unanimous agreement on a sentence, McCarthy should have been given life without parole.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Kansas City police are investigating another homicide after an August assault victim died.

Officers were called to an apartment building at 16th Street and Jackson Avenue on Aug. 22 for a reported cutting. When police arrived, they found a man dead in the parking lot with apparent bodily trauma.

KCK man charged in deadly shooting at Independence motel

Medics took the victim, now identified as 59-year-old Lambert Smalls, to the hospital in life-threatening condition, and police took a suspect into custody at the scene.

On Wednesday, Kansas City police announced Smalls had died from his injuries, and the medical examiner had ruled the death as a homicide.

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Police said it appears a disturbance between Smalls and the suspect led to the deadly assault.

This is Kansas Citys 138th homicide of 2023, according to KCPD statistics. At this point in 2022, Kansas City had recorded 116 homicides, and in 2020, Kansas Citys deadliest year so far, the city had seen 137 homicides so far.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
SAN DIEGO  A man who was stabbed to death near a McDonalds in the Midway District last week has been identified by authorities.

According to the San Diego Police Department, 44-year-old Joshua Goodman was the individual found suffering from a stab wound in the parking lot at 3805 Midway Drive on Wednesday, Aug. 30.

San Diego Police Homicide Detectives responded to scene to investigate.

San Diego International Airport warns travelers about upcoming I-5 closure

During the preliminary investigation, officers learned the victim rode his bicycle into the

parking lot sometime before 11:30 a.m. with a suspect arriving shortly after in a light-colored minivan.

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Police say the suspect exited the vehicle and immediately began to chase the victim in circles in the parking lot. During the chase, the suspect repeatedly stabbed at the victim with what appeared to be a knife.

Detectives have determined the minivan was driven by a second person, now believed to be an unknown female, who drove through the lot with the sliding door open, SDPD explained. The suspect ran and jumped into the van, which was last seen headed west on Midway Drive.

Based on the investigation so far, it does appear the suspect and victim were acquainted, police said.

The stabbing suspect is described as a Hispanic man who stands around 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs between 200-220 pounds. There is no additional information regarding the driver at this time.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call the Homicide Unit at 619-531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
A man who said he was trying to cross the Atlantic in a homemade hamster wheel has been arrested off the coast of Tybee Island.

Reza Baluchi, 51, of Florida, was captured about 70 miles off the Tybee coast in his vessel that looked like a giant hamster wheel.

The Coast Guard came in contact with Baluchi on Aug. 26 as he was trying to make the 5,000-mile trek from Florida to London, England.

Thats when the guard said Baluchi threatened to kill himself with a 12-inch knife and claimed he had a bomb on board.

USCG officers believed this to be a valid threat, as they observed Baluchi holding wires in his hand, court documents showed.

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After two days, Baluchi admitted there was no bomb on board.

The USCG Cutter Campbell launched a small boat to attempt to deliver food, water, and predictions of the incoming hurricane to Baluchi. USCG officers again ordered Baluchi off the Vessel, but he again refused. It was then that Baluchi informed the USCG officers that the bomb was not real, court documents said.

A day later he finally got off his hamster wheel and was taken into custody.

According to court documents, this was not Baluchis first voyage in the vessel.

Prior to this incident, Baluchi has attempted voyages in a similar homemade vessel in 2014, 2016, and 2021, all of which resulted in USCG intervention, court documents said.

Baluchi now faces federal charges, including obstruction of a boarding and violation of a Captain of the Port order.

Baluchis bond was set at $250,000. Part of his bond conditions include not going to the ocean or boarding a vessel on the ocean.

IN OTHER NEWS:




A 62-year-old Missouri man allegedly dumped a womans body in the woods after she died in his home, police said.

The woman, Danielle Thomas, 35, had been a guest at the mans De Soto home at the time, according to a Sept. 6 news release from the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office.

The man allegedly found Thomas dead on Aug. 29, police said.

He told police that her body, which he discovered in his spare bedroom, was cold and stiff, according to KTVI.

The next day, witnesses spotted the body in a forested area close to the mans Old Engledow Road home, police said.

An attorney for the man could not immediately be reached for comment by McClatchy News.

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Investigators believe the man transported Thomas body to the woods after finding her dead.

They also found evidence that he cleaned up the room in his house where the body was found, police said.

He is being held at a local jail on a $20,000 bond.

No evidence of trauma was found on Thomas body, and her death is not believed to be a homicide, police said.

The Regional Medical Examiners Office is investigating Thomas cause of death.

De Soto is about 45 miles southwest of St. Louis.

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PLYMOUTH  Town leaders, business owners and police officers gave about $3,000 in donated cash and checks to a Walmart employee who was robbed outside the store by three men.

Surveillance video shows the employee, Stephen Galanzi, 28, surrounded by the men two weeks ago. They robbed him of $150, WCVB reported.

Police said the three men backed Galanzi into a corner near the entrance of the Walmart Supercenter and accosted him while he was waiting for a ride home. He said he felt threatened.

"Three guys were aggressively asking me for money despite me saying no," Galanzi said. "They made it sound like it was a donation, even though they were very close and kept going at it."

Stephen Galanzi describes the robbery outside the Walmart store in Plymouth in August. Three men took $150 from him.

Panhandling is not illegal, but what happened to Galanzi crossed the line, Plymouth Police Chief Dana Flynn said.

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"He felt threatened. That brings it up to a felony," Flynn said.

Galanzi has autism and police wonder if the men may have taken advantage of him. Police are searching for the robbers.

"Panhandling is legal until it gets aggressive," said Plymouth Selectman Charlie Bletzer. "This happened for a reason. This happened to bring it to everybody's attention that we have to do something about this."

Those who came to Galanzi's aid are happy they were able to help.

"This is just a great opportunity for us just to come together for a small act that will literally change a life," said Patrick McNamara, president of the State Police Association of Massachusetts.

Plymouth police officer Corey Velano said, "It's actually very touching that the community came forward with all this support for Stephen. It's just overwhelming."

Galanzi's mother, Beckie Golden, said she was "overwhelmed by it."

"It's like I just want to cry," she told WCVB.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Walmart worker robbed in Plymouth. Police, residents have his back
An unlucky snake recently went head-to-head with a robot vacuum cleaner and lost, Texas photos show.

Dillon Wenberg was at his home in Lindale  roughly 120 miles east of Fort Worth  when he received a phone notification from his Roborock vacuum, at about midnight on Sept. 6, he told McClatchy News.

The machines brush was jammed, the message read.

Wenberg found the vacuum, flipped it over, and was surprised to find a snake caught up inside, wrapped around the roller bar with its head peeking out, photos show. And the snake was not happy, he said.

Wenberg has seen several snakes on his property over the summer, but this was the first to make it into his house, he said.

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Venomous snake messes with wrong Australian woman and gets sucked into vacuum cleaner

As he worked to free the reptile from its captivity, it only grew angrier, Wenberg said, though the tiny snakes fury didnt stop him.

Once I got the snake out, (the vacuum) kept running and finished, Wenberg said.

After it sucked that up, Id say money well spent, he added.

Wenberg didnt know what kind of snake it was, besides angry, but was confident it wasnt venomous.

I could tell from the pattern it was not a cottonmouth or copperhead, which are the two venomous snakes that are prevalent in the area, Wenberg said.

He shared a picture of the snake on social media and learned it was likely a species of rat snake.

While rat snakes might be an unwelcome sight to some, they are not venomous and are generally beneficial, experts say.

Rat snakes are great friends of the farmer, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, as they love to eat mice, voles, cotton rats and the like.

Angler reels in flashy, record-breaking fish, Oklahoma officials say. Its a menace

Rarely seen predator spotted tearing up Texas beach, photos show. Look at it dig!

Watch freaky 16-foot creature slither across trees in yard. Call the military

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A former detainee at the Essex County Correctional Facility, who was convicted for his participation in a chilling attack on a fellow inmate, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison that will run consecutive to his existing sentence for a prior crime.

Byad Lockett, 22, of Newark, took part in the near-fatal beating of Jayshawn Boyd while being held in the jail in September 2021, along with six other assailants.

Lockett's sentences add up to a total prison term of 32 years, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, which announced the judge's decision Wednesday.

Lockett must serve 17 years of his sentence related to the attack on Boyd before he will be eligible for parole under New Jersey's No Early Release Act.

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He was convicted by a jury in June, along with co-defendant Darryl Watson. Both were found guilty of attempted murder, second-degree aggravated assault and weapons offenses for the attempt on Boyd's life, which was captured on the jail's surveillance camera as it played out for two minutes, according to earlier reports.

At the end of that trial, a third detainee, Isaad Jackson, was convicted on weapons charges, but jurors could not agree on pending attempted murder and assault charges in his ruling.

All seven assailants were recorded kicking, punching and stomping on Boyd before the attack reached its climax as one of the detainees dropped a microwave oven on Boyd's head, NorthJersey.com reported one month after the attack.

Story continues after gallery.

The incident led to a lawsuit against the county, its corrections commissioner, County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, his chief of staff, the jail's director, its warden, its mental health director, and a slew of corrections officers and health workers employed at the facility.

At the same time, the attack galvanized rallying cries to reform the jail after previous allegations of mistreatment, which included the death of an inmate officials declined to identify.

Although Boyd survived the attack, he spent months in a coma and sustained brain damage, said statements from prosecutors and an attorney for his family, Brooke Barnett, who claimed in her lawsuit that Boyd's chances of returning "to ordinary functioning [are] virtually non-existent."

Laws: 'Game-changing' bill would steer some NJ offenders from courts to mental health care

In an amended complaint filed in April 2022, Barnett said her client, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was arrested on two separate occasions in 2020, as a result of violent altercations with his family during psychotic episodes.

But despite a diagnosis of schizophrenia and having accepted a plea deal for time served, he was remanded to the Essex County jail in September 2021 for failing to appear at his sentencing, a copy of the lawsuit states, and was placed in the jail's "C-Pod," alongside detainees allegedly known to be violent criminals.

Exactly two weeks later, he would be pulled from the floor of the jail. His limp body had been bloodied and beaten with a mop, a drink dispenser, a water jug and the microwave, long after he'd lost consciousness, as seen on the surveillance footage.

In their announcement of the convictions released in June, Essex County prosecutors said the only corrections officer assigned to the C-Pod saw the attack, left the unit for his safety and called for backup. But advocates for jail reform say members of the jail's staff were remiss in their duty and left Boyd nearly to die.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Essex County jail NJ attack: Newark man sentenced to 20 years
Employees work on the construction site of a Chinese-funded geothermal power plant in Nakuru, Kenya, May 26, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the past decade, the BRI has proven itself as a pivotal platform for mutual cooperation between China and countries across the globe, facilitating nations in sharing opportunities and seeking common development.



The African continent exemplifies such collaborative growth. To date, at least 52 African countries and the African Union Commission have signed BRI cooperation agreements with China.

The investments over the past ten years have yielded tangible results. Various projects have been completed, helping African countries tackle the key hurdle of securing funds for growth. With China's financial and technical aid, there have been remarkable improvements in Africa's infrastructure. This includes 10,000 kilometers of standard gauge railways, 100,000 kilometers of roads, and the establishment or refurbishment of 100 ports, as well as many schools and hospitals being put into operation.

The evident overall development and augmented economic output in these countries can be attributed to BRI projects, which have bolstered regional connectivity and integration  two primary factors in accelerating commercial activities and national growth.

The BRI has indeed brought more job openings and trade opportunities to African countries through projects spanning manufacturing and production, infrastructure development, logistics, transport, commerce, tourism, hospitality, and various associated service sectors.

Despite challenges and geopolitical compulsions, China has maintained its position as Africa's largest trade partner for 12 years straight. Its direct investments in the continent have remained steady over the past decade, with over 1,100 cooperative projects currently underway, fueling the region's economic activity and progress.

To enhance trade and development, China has championed initiatives leading to advancements in areas such as the digital economy, cybersecurity, satellite navigation, climate change, and agriculture. Consequently, the bilateral trade value between African nations and China has doubled, hitting a record $282 billion last year.

Platforms like the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) have been instrumental in fostering dialogue and collaboration between China and African countries. At the China-Africa Leaders' Dialogue, held after the recent BRICS Summit, China announced three new programs to aid African modernization in the realms of industry, agriculture, and education. This is anticipated to elevate Africa-China cooperation to new heights.

China's financial engagement and investment patterns stand out because they are devoid of political conditions. This practical approach allows the host country to determine its domestic matters to ensure businesses flourish and investment flows. However, China's financial backing of Africa under the BRI is more than mere investment; it embodies a developmental model predicated on judicious policies and effective enforcement mechanisms. The BRI offers a comprehensive approach to modernizing and developing with resources and support provided by China.

China has been involved in infrastructure sector development in Africa since the beginning of the 1960s. For those countries with phrases like "debt trap," the BRI has enhanced the level of investment with quick economic gains under time-tested economic and financial principles. There is nothing new, as China has been part of African efforts for decades to break the shackles of poverty and backwardness.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. When assessing China's role in promoting the development of Africa, the distinction between the continent's state pre- and post-BRI is clear for everyone to see. Facts don't lie. Data shows that Africa today is far better when compared to its socio-economic status a decade ago. The catalyst for this transformation is evident.

Sajjad Malik is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
Columbus police investigate Oct. 11, 2020, at the unsanctioned Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house near Ohio State's campus, where fifth-year student Chase Meola was fatally shot after an altercation outside a party there.

A Columbus man is now serving at least 15 years behind bars after admitting to fatally shooting an Ohio State University student outside an unsantioned, off-campus fraternity house in 2020 and other crimes.

Kinte Mitchell Jr., 21, of the Near East Side, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for fatally shooting New Jersey native Chase Meola, 23, a fifth-year senior at OSU, on Oct. 11, 2020. He accepted a plea deal Friday with Franklin County prosecutors to avoid a murder charge.

According to Columbus police, Mitchell and others had tried to force their way into a party at an unsanctioned fraternity house off campus on East 14th Avenue around 2 a.m. Witnesses said Meola was trying to get the group to leave when he got into an altercation.

Mitchell shot Meola in a parking area of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house, where he died.

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Mitchell had been released from jail two days prior to the shooting on bond for three separate burglary cases.

Mitchell previously pleaded guilty in 2020 in two of the burglary cases. Mitchell also pleaded guilty on Friday in the third burglary case related to a January 2020 incident.

For all four cases, Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Brown sentenced Mitchell to a total indefinite prison term of 15 years to 20 years, as jointly recommended by prosecutors and Mitchell's attorney in the plea agreement.

Brown also ordered Mitchell to pay a little more than $1,000 in restitution to one of the burglary victims once he is released from prison.

Related coverage: Judge says Ohio State not liable for student's death at 2020 unsanctioned fraternity party

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man pleads in fatal shooting of OSU student at frat party
[Source]

New York City police are looking for a man who allegedly made anti-Asian insults before assaulting another man in Brooklyn over the weekend.

What happened: The victim, 46, was reportedly strolling around Prospect Park at around 12:20 p.m. on Saturday when the suspect began targeting him with anti-Asian remarks. Afterward, the perp repeatedly beat him with a stick.

The aftermath: The suspect reportedly fled the scene on foot. The victim, on the other hand, received emergency treatment at the scene.

Whats next: On Wednesday, authorities released images of the suspect, which the victim allegedly took during the encounter. An arrest has yet to be made.

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The incident is being investigated as a possible hate crime. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X by messaging @NYPDTips.

More from NextShark: SF Woman Beaten and Dragged by Robbers Has Message: 'I Forgive You'

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The manhunt continues for Danelo Cavalcante, a convicted murderer who escaped the Chester County Prison last week.

The search for the 34-year-old man has drawn hundreds of law enforcement to Chester County and the surrounding areas as police sift through tips and try and bring Cavalcante back into custody.

Pennsylvania State Police, in conjunction with the Chester County District Attorney's Office, have been providing afternoon updates as the search continues, revealing new details about the escape and where the search perimeter is located. That included the most recent update Thursday afternoon.

As the story continues to unfold, here's what we know about Cavalcante, his escape and the efforts to capture him.

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THE LATEST: Pennsylvania manhunt still focused on area near Longwood Gardens: The latest from police

Who is Danelo Cavalcante?

U.S. Marshals and local officials have offered a $10,000 reward for Danelo Souza Cavalcante after he escaped from a Pennsylvania prison on Aug. 31, 2023

Cavalcante is a 34-year-old man from Brazil who prosecutors say killed 33-year-old Deborah Brandao to stop her from telling police about the charges against him in Brazil in connection with a 2017 slaying. He was captured in Virginia after Brandaos killing and authorities say they believe he was trying to return to Brazil.

Why was he at the Chester County prison?

Cavalcante was sentenced to life in prison without parole for stabbing Brandao to death in 2021 while her 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son were present. He was awaiting transfer to a state facility when he escaped the Chester County prison Thursday.

FOR DELAWARE RESIDENTS: Manhunt for escaped inmate continues in PA: Delaware police warn residents to be vigilant

How did he escape?

Cavalcante spider walked up the wall of a narrow corridor in the prison's exercise yard to access the roof.

He then was able to cross the roof and reach a less secure location, from which he escaped.

Has Cavalcante been captured yet?

No. Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said Wednesday that authorities are prepared to search for him for as long as it takes, referring to previous searches that have taken weeks, and in some cases, months.

THE CHALLENGE: Tips on escaped Chester County convicted killer keep coming in. Which are credible?

Where are police looking for him?

On Thursday, Bivens said the search perimeter remains a roughly 8 to 10-square-mile radius they believe Cavalcante is within. The perimeter spans between Routes 926 and 52, Hillendale Road and Creek Road, according to police.

Have other inmates escaped Chester County prison before?

Yes. Igor Bolte escaped from the county prison May 19 using the same method that Cavalcante employed during his escape. A prison employee spotted him quickly though and he was taken back into custody minutes later.

Will the Mushroom Festival in Kennett Square still happen this weekend?

Just a few miles west of the search area, Kennett Square is preparing to welcome visitors to its 38th Annual Mushroom Festival this weekend, Sept. 8-9.

Were working very hard to capture the escaped convict and not allow him to go anywhere, state polices Bivens said. We are well aware of that festival and we are working with a number of authorities to try and make sure that people feel very safe at that festival.

Festival organizers did not respond to requests for comment.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Chester County manhunt: What we know about search for escaped prisoner
ASHLAND - A Toledo man remains in custody after being found hiding in a cornfield in Ashland County, accused of using counterfeit money to buy four French bulldog puppies valued at $11,000.

The suspect, Andre L. Robinson Jr., 25, of Toledo, was found after an extensive organized search Wednesday that spanned both Holmes and Ashland counties, according to a news release from Holmes County Sheriff Timothy Zimmerly.

Andre L. Robinson Jr., 25, of Toledo, was apprehended Wednesday night by Holmes and Ashland county deputies and Loudonville Police Department hiding in a cornfield in Ashland County. Robinson and Alajhia N.U. Williams, 27, of Toledo, is accused of purchasing four puppies valued at $11,000 with counterfeit money in Holmes County Tuesday.

Robinson Jr. was captured and arrested without incident by Holmes and Ashland county deputies and the Loudonville Police Department around 7:24 p.m. Wednesday.

Drone team spotted suspect hiding in cornfield

He was found hiding in a cornfield on Ashland County Road 2575 near the intersection of Ashland County Road 175 by the Ashland County Sheriffs Office Drone Team, according to Zimmerly.

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The initial search for Robinson Jr. began on Tuesday around 11 p.m. when he fled as the driver of a vehicle that was stopped by the Loudonville Police Department on Ohio 39 just inside Holmes County, officials said.

Deputies searched for Robinson Jr. for several hours after he drove off but did not locate him at that time. The search resumed in the early morning hours on Wednesday.

The deputies' investigation revealed that Robinson Jr. and a female passenger in the vehicle, Alajhia N.U. Williams, 27, of Toledo, were involved in a theft that occurred Tuesday evening on Township Road 130, Mechanic Township, in Holmes County, the news release said.

The pair allegedly purchased four French bulldog puppies valued at $11,000 and paid the victim with fake currency.

The victim was able to provide a description of the pair and their vehicle to deputies after the two fled with the puppies. The dogs were found safe in the vehicle at the time of the stop and were returned to the victim, police said.

Second suspect arrested and jailed

Williams was also arrested by deputies at the vehicle stop and remains in custody at the Holmes County Jail.

The sheriff did not say in the news release what charges the two are facing.

Zimmerly thanked all those who called and assisted deputies with this investigation and helped find Robinson Jr.

Deputies were assisted by the Loudonville Police Department, Ohio Highway Patrol Troopers and Aviation, Ashland County Sheriffs Office, and Loudonville EMS.

This investigation is continuing, Zimmerly said.

lwhitmir@gannett.com

419-521-7223

X (formerly Twitter): @LWhitmir

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Suspect bought 4 bulldog pups with $11K in fake bills, sheriff says
MANCHESTER, N.H.  Vivek Ramaswamy appeared at 11 public events in New Hampshire over Labor Day weekend, following a dozen stops in Iowa last week. He spoke to packed audiences throughout the packed schedule, reflecting growing interest in his presidential campaign since the August debate.

Many of the attendees curious to learn more about Ramaswamy had one thing in common beyond their interest in him: They plan to vote for former President Donald Trump .

The sentiments shared in more than two dozen voter interviews across five Ramaswamy events illustrate the central problem for the Republican presidential field: They are competing for votes with a candidate whom virtually every Republican voter supported four years ago. But its an especially key issue for Ramaswamy, whose campaign is so closely modeled after Trump in both policy and style.

About half of those who spoke to NBC News said they plan to support Trump. Granite State voter Bob Landry, who listened to Ramaswamy speak in North Conway, New Hampshire, is leaning toward Trump in 2024 because he knows where all the bodies are buried, he said.

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Robert Geoffroy, who heard Ramaswamy speak at the Salem GOP Labor Day Picnic in New Hampshire, is convinced Trump is the guy. Running against the former president, Geoffroy said, is like going against Hulk Hogan.

There are a lot of things I agree with him on, Anyang Thiep said about Ramaswamy after attending his town hall in Hampton, New Hampshire. But Im a Trump supporter. So Im planning to support Donald Trump.

Lilly Becanze listened to Ramaswamy speak at the Lancaster Fair. She told NBC News that she will be supporting Trump but would like to see Ramaswamy in the vice president position, adding, The two of them together would be amazing and thats what a lot of people want.

But for many, like Norma Latona, it would take some real persuasion to get her to vote for Ramaswamy over Trump. I think hes sort of a clone of Trump in a lot of ways, even his advertising, his emails, she told NBC News.

Latona says she loves Trumps policies but is trying to keep an open mind this election cycle.

Even with the growth hes experienced over the last month, polling shows that plenty of people interested in Ramaswamy arent planning to vote for him  at least not yet.

The NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll conducted in Iowa last month, for example, showed Ramaswamy at 4% support in the GOP caucuses there. But another 30% of Republicans said Ramaswamy was either their second choice or a candidate they were considering supporting.

The 38-year-old entrepreneur is aware that most of the people at his events are or have been supporters of the former president. So is he: During the first presidential primary debate in Milwaukee last month, Ramaswamy said, President Trump, I believe, was the best president of the 21st century.

When voters ask Ramaswamy why he is running against Trump, he assures them the former president will be a senior adviser, with lines like, I expect President Trump to serve as one of my most meaningful, probably my most meaningful adviser and mentor when Im in the White House.

Speaking to reporters following a town hall event in Laconia, New Hampshire, Ramaswamy said the way to turn Trump fans into Ramaswamy voters is gradually.

We shouldnt be talking about which person yet, Ramaswamy said, emphasizing that this part of the campaign is still about introductions as opposed to locking supporters down. We should talk about who we are. What do we stand for.

Of course, there are plenty of voters attending 2024 campaign events in search of a new candidate to support, and Ramaswamy is appealing to them.

George Oliver told NBC News at a town hall in North Conway that his top candidate is Ramaswamy. Oliver said he would vote for Trump in the general election if hes the Republican nominee, but not during the primary.

I dont have a lot of confidence in him, and especially whats happening to him with all the indictments, Oliver explained.

New Hampshire voter Cynthia Perkins expressed her desire for someone new and thinks Ramaswamy is promising.

I just dont want a lame duck and Id rather somebody fresh and new, she said, adding, And I like the messaging that Vivek sends. Perkins also likes former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, saying she would not vote for Trump in the general election unless he picked Ramaswamy or Haley for his ticket.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.  A Mar-a-Lago technology worker employed by Donald Trump agreed to testify for the government in the former presidents classified documents case after he was offered a non-prosecution agreement, a defense lawyer asserted in a filing made public Wednesday.

The worker, identified in court papers as Trump Employee 4 but reported by various media outlets as Yuscil Taveras, cut his deal after lawyers working for special counsel Jack Smith threatened to prosecute him, according to a filing by Washington, D.C., lawyer Stanley Woodward Jr., who represents Trump valet and co-defendant Waltine Nauta.

Woodward formerly represented Taveras before he retained a federal public defender in Washington, according to court papers. Taveras has not been charged with any crimes.

In court filings last month, the government declared that Taveras had changed lawyers and retracted previous testimony that he knew nothing about efforts by Trump and Nauta to interfere with the governments investigation. But the Woodward filing represents the first public acknowledgment that Taveras is formally cooperating with prosecutors.

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The indictment alleges that Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira told the IT director  Trump Employee 4  that the boss wanted surveillance footage deleted.

In his filing, Woodward declared that he played no role in the cooperation deal. He also asked U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over the case in Fort Pierce, to prevent Taveras from testifying in the case. The judge has set a trial date for May 20, 2024.

The case is one of four federal and state criminal prosecutions of Trump, who polls show holds a commanding lead over a thick pack of contenders for the Republican nomination in next years presidential election.

In July, federal prosecutors told the judge they were concerned that Woodward had a potential conflict of interest because he represented both Nauta, a Trump co-defendant, and Taveras, a would-be witness who could come under cross-examination at trial by Woodward.

The chief judge overseeing a federal grand jury in Washington offered to assign a federal public defender to Taveras, and he accepted.

Taveras ultimately testified before the Washington grand jury, providing new information that was included in a superseding indictment this summer. His testimony related to alleged efforts by Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira to delete footage from the estates surveillance system.

The government does not allege that the footage was actually deleted. But video is alleged to show Nauta moving boxes in and out of a Mar-a-Lago storage room, a piece of evidence that looms as a critical accusation in the indictment.

All three men, including De Oliveira, who was added as a co-defendant in the superseding indictment, have pleaded not guilty.

Trump was initially accused in the original 37-count indictment handed up in June of improperly retaining classified documents that he took with him after leaving the White House in 2021. He is also accused of obstructing the efforts of federal investigators to retrieve them. Nauta is accused of assisting Trump in the latter effort.

Woodward said in his filing posted Wednesday that the government improperly used a grand jury in Washington to collect additional evidence in the case, which is being tried in the Southern District of Florida. He reiterated that there has been no conflict of interest, and that the government has never shown that one exists.

To be sure, the Special Counsels Office still does not allege that any actual conflict exists with respect to defense counsels representation of Mr. Nauta, Woodward wrote. It has not done so for the obvious fact that no conflict would arise unless and until Trump Employee 4 testified against Mr. Nauta. Should that time come, the Court can then assess whether a conflict arises from defense counsels cross-examination of Trump Employee 4.

In the meantime, he suggested that prosecutors improperly used the Washington grand jury to buttress its case at trial.

The approach taken by the Special Counsels Office  which unquestionably affected the presentation of evidence in the existing Southern District of Florida case  is a tactic inconsistent with precedent barring the use of a grand jury for trial purposes, Woodward wrote.

The Court should preclude Trump Employee 4 from testifying at a trial in this matter, he added. Should the Court not be prepared to so hold, Mr. Nauta respectfully requests the opportunity to brief the question as additional details concerning the Special Counsels Office utilization of a Grand Jury in a faraway District come to light.

In the meantime, Woodward said, the court should conduct a closed hearing for the purpose of asking Nauta about whether he has been fully advised of his rights as relates to this matter.

_____
ARLINGTON, Va.  As the U.S. Marine Corps considers how to move weapons around contested waters to resupply forces ashore, its copying an unusual source: drug traffickers.

Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, the deputy commandant for combat development and integration, said at the Defense News Conference on Wednesday that logistics remains one of the toughest aspects of the services new way of fighting, which calls for distributed, small units across a wide area.

Whereas Marines can often pre-position food, water and spare parts with allies and partners, doing so for missiles and munitions often isnt an option. And with an enemy looking to cripple the American force by choking off its supply lines, resupplying small units with crewed ships is a risky proposition.

So the Corps is testing a prototype called the Autonomous Low-Profile Vessel.

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We just copied the drug lords down in [Joint Interagency Task Force] South running drugs. Theyre hard for us to find, so now we figured, yeah, it works, Heckl said.

The prototype the Marines have today can carry two Naval Strike Missiles into about 4 feet of water, where Marines would then pull the missiles onto the beach and to the nearest missile battery in need of resupply, Heckl explained. The Naval Strike Missile is the anti-ship missile used in the NMESIS weapon, or Navy/Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System.

Heckl, who is the Marine Corps requirements officer, told reporters after his on-stage remarks that he wasnt sure how many of these Autonomous Low-Profile Vessels the service may buy. But because of their low cost, he said, theyre almost expendable  something that will be important in contested waters where, if spotted, theyd likely be the targets of enemy weapons.

The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, which falls under his command, is experimenting with a prototype. Heckl said he hopes the service starts buying these unmanned vessels within a couple years. He added that it could become a family of systems, depending on whether a two-missile resupply drone proves valuable during experimentation or if Marines find they need something larger or smaller.

The Corps plans to bring the Autonomous Low-Profile Vessel to the Armys Project Convergence Capstone 4 event in the spring to test the resupply tool in a major exercise with joint and coalition partners.

More broadly, Heckl said the Corps is considering a range of autonomous options to solve contested logistics problems. You should try to go after everything autonomous. If you take the air-breather out of it, things get simpler; they typically get more efficient and they get less expensive.

Heckl pointed to the expeditionary fast transport ship Apalachicola, built at Austal USAs production line to include autonomy features that allow it to operate for 30 days without a human crews intervention. He explained the ship has conducted 1,500 nautical miles of autonomous operations, with humans onboard as a backup but not driving or maintaining the vessel. This could be an attractive option for moving much larger quantities of supplies around, he added.

This intra-theater lift ship can travel at 45 knots faster than most U.S. Navy ships  and has a massive payload bay inside that could be outfitted to support dispersed Marine units in several ways.

I want unmanned, autonomous everything, if we can get there, Heckl said.
ARLINGTON, Va.  The U.S. Marine Corps will test out its first stern landing vessel at an Army event this spring, a top general said Wednesday, as the service prepares to create a fleet of shore-to-shore connectors to support Marines operating in the Pacific.

The service announced its idea for this type of craft  smaller than a traditional amphibious ship, but larger than the ship-to-shore connectors it currently uses  in 2020 as part of its Force Design 2030 modernization effort. The program of record was delayed several times but is now planned to go on contract in fiscal 2025.

Even as the Corps works on requirements for this formal program, called the Landing Ship Medium, its also pursuing prototypes that can more quickly enter the fleet.

A first prototype  a leased offshore support vessel from Hornbeck Offshore Services  underwent modifications to turn it into a stern landing vessel, including the addition of a large ramp, landing legs, and protection for the propellers and rudders. This vessel has been undergoing Marine Corps tests and evaluations since March.

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Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, the deputy commandant of the Marine Corps for combat development and integration, said Sept. 6 at the Defense News Conference that Marines will bring this vessel to the Armys Project Convergence Capstone 4 event slated for spring 2024, and use it to support Marine expeditionary force operations.

The Marine Corps modified a Hornbeck Offshore Services' offshore support vessel to create a Landing Ship Medium prototype for experimentation. (U.S. Marine Corps)

The Corps said earlier this year it had money for two additional stern landing vessel prototypes but had not yet sought out potential vessels. Now, Heckl said at the conference, the second may be a purpose-built vessel with slightly different features than the modified Hornbeck ship, to allow for comparison of capabilities. The third may come from Australian company Sea Transport.

The general said Marines went through a foreign comparative testing process with the Australian company to determine if it could lease a vessel for experimentation. Heckl called Sea Transport an Australian company that knows the Indo-Pacific really, really well, and knows how to operate in the Indo-Pacific really, really well.

Following his on-stage remarks, he told reporters that they gave an impressive pitch to me. I have a pretty good poker face, but it was like, Wow, thats good stuff. And again, its a company that lives in the Indo-Pacific; they know the area, they know the needs and requirements, theyve built these before, so were excited.

After working with all three prototypes, the Marine Corps intends to identify what design and capability works best, and pursue it as a bridging solution until the Landing Ship Medium is available. Notably, the Corps may be able to lease a handful of vessels faster than it can take delivery of the Landing Ship Medium platforms it buys. The bridging solution could also augment the eventual Landing Ship Medium fleet in the longer term.

Heckl said hes pretty confident the Landing Ship Medium contract will be awarded in FY25 despite past delays.

Things have slipped right, but I think for all the right reasons. Were just simply trying to get the requirement right while still trying to move at pace. If you start moving too quickly, you might end up jumping to a conclusion that you probably should have taken a little more time to look at, he said.

Five companies are building competitive prototypes, and the Marines will select one to fulfill the Landing Ship Medium program within the next two years.

This is going to be primarily, 99% of the time, a deterrence tool. Its going to be day-to-day competition, working with allies and partners, so were trying to find the most cost-effective way to get Marines from shore to shore across a range of terrain in the Pacific.

The current concept for the Landing Ship Medium, previously called the Light Amphibious Warship, is mostly unchanged from its 2020 creation, though Heckl said recent debates over the vessel and its requirements are largely focused on its ability to operate inside Chinas weapons engagement zone.

I think weve really found some really good middle ground on survivability, recoverability  not going all the full way to being a full-blown warship, which, as you can imagine, adds up cost quite a bit, Heckl said, referring to negotiations between his team and the Navys assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition.

I think were in a really good place for an FY25 contract award, he added.
At a panel discussion on marijuana legalization hosted by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and Rep. Ilhan Omar , much of the conversation focused on how reforms imposed upon the Minneapolis Police Department will also impact changes to come.

The event Wednesday at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School during welcome week was attended by a dozen students and community members more than a month after the Aug. 1 decriminalization of recreational marijuana in Minnesota. Several of them asked questions  most were prepared ahead of time and presented by Omar to Moriarty, Rep. Cedrick Frazier and longtime cannabis legalization advocate Leili Fatehi.

Panelists all underscored the lasting harm of the war on drugs, mass incarceration and disproportionate impact on communities of color despite equal rates of cannabis use among white and Black Minnesotans. The collateral consequences of being arrested and charged for cannabis spans housing and employment.

"We destabilize people's lives," Moriarty said.

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The new legalization is a recognition that "cannabis prohibition has been an abject failure," Fatehi said, but legalization alone isn't enough. That's why Frazier said lawmakers went as far as they could with the new law to include automatic misdemeanor expungement and create a new board to consider expunging felony convictions on a case by case basis. A director for that Office of Cannabis Management will be named this month to begin looking at those cases and establishing much of the rulemaking to guide the work.

Beyond that, the social equity piece of the legislation ensures people of color and those negatively impacted by cannabis possession or other nonviolent pot crimes have the opportunity to participate in the marketplace  "and do so with priority," Fatehi said.

"To not just be employed in the industry, but be owners in the industry," she continued. "That is really a unique feature of our law that we explicitly said on your licensing application: if you, your parent, your child has been arrested or otherwise adversely impacted by the criminal justice system as a result of cannabis prohibition, you get points for that. If you can provide even a narrative description of the way the war on drugs has impacted you or your community, you receive points for that."

Frazier said the state has $14 million set aside in grants and loans for those to learn about the industry and get the capital to start their own small business.

Moriarty said under a new settlement agreement between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which charged the city with a pattern of discrimination in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer, officers are no longer allowed to search a person or vehicle solely because they smell marijuana. She said they also can't ask to search someone, but other law enforcement agencies operating in Minneapolis and the county, such as the State Patrol and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, aren't subject to the agreement. After similar federal findings, an anticipated consent decree by the U.S. Department of Justice, which has yet to be finalized, could span upward of a decade.

"Our office is going to be having some events to get input about what do you think we should be doing to enforce the spirit of the consent decree," Moriarty said.

She said there's only one area she has a public safety concern and that's driving while high. But she said nothing about marijuana legalizaion changes that. It's always been illegal to drive under the influence. In fact, she said that in January she was rear-ended by a driver who was high.

Her office is considering policy changes surrounding cannabis, including open container violations. That will be another educational piece for drivers that her office plans to roll out after more events similar to Wednesday's.

"I look forward to us having further conversations as this piece of legislation gets fully implemented," Omar said, "and the benefits of it are noticed by the constituents we all serve."
 Flash

Special Counsel David Weiss plans to ask a grand jury to indict Hunter Biden, the son of U.S. President Joe Biden, over gun charges by the end of this month, the U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday.

"The Speedy Trial Act requires that the Government obtain the return of an indictment by a grand jury by Friday, September 29, 2023, at the earliest," the office of Weiss said in a court filing.

"The Government intends to seek the return of an indictment in this case before that date," the office added.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland last month appointed Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware, as special counsel for the probe into Hunter Biden after plea deal talks fell apart in late July.

Special counsels in the United States are typically appointed to investigate cases where the Justice Department perceives itself as having a conflict or where it's deemed to be in the public interest.

Hunter Biden has been under investigation by a federal grand jury since 2018.
Certificate of Need (CON) laws, often criticized by libertarian thinkers, require that health care providers ask permission from state regulators before adding new programs and facilities. In practice, that often means running a gauntlet of objections filed by competitors. The result can be state-enforced cartel arrangements that protect inefficient incumbents, slow innovation, and leave consumers with fewer and less attractive choices.

Maryland has hit on a unique way to extend this bad idea. Not only does it have a CON law for health care, but it also applies the format to higher education. In particular, it requires colleges and universities that want to offer new degree programs to ask permission from the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) and invite objections from rival institutions.

The commission says it currently reviews and approves "on average approximately 250 certificate and degree programs" a year. Notably, its gatekeeping function is not limited to state colleges and universities but extends to private institutions as well.

One listed ground for objection gets straight to the point: "unreasonable program duplication which would cause demonstrable harm to another institution." A competitor can also argue that there is no need for the contemplated new program because the employment picture for graduates in a specialty is only holding steady, not expandingas if graduates do not find work across state lines.

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There are many other potential trip-ups. As part of its approval process, the agency reviews whether the new program is consistent with Maryland's quadrennial State Plan for Postsecondary Education, as well as the strategic plans that the state requires private and public institutions to have in place.

A university seeking to defend its new program proposal might have success arguing that it will serve new and different students, perhaps because its campus is geographically remote from that of the jealous incumbent. Quaintly, it is also permitted to argue, though with no guarantee of success, that letting it proceed would help with "the advancement and evolution of knowledge in the domain or field of study."

Missing from the guidelines, as a reason for allowing competition, is any showing that an established program at some other institution is simply doing a poor job serving studentsfor example, that it scores badly on metrics such as degree completion or successful job placement. Such comparisons would hardly be sporting, would they?

The latest controversy erupted early this year when Towson University, a state institution in suburban Baltimore, applied to the MHEC to launch a doctoral program in business analytics. The program would emphasize specialties like supply chain management and enterprise software, which might seem a good fit for a region whose economic identity is defined in part by its port and logistics facilities. The bid drew prompt opposition from nearby Morgan State University, which said its own MBA program would be improperly competed with. Although a majority of the MHEC's then-commissioners accepted Towson's argument that the two programs differed substantially, advocates for Morgan State kept up legal and political pressure, seizing on a procedural slip-up. Last month, they successfully derailed the launch, at least for the time being. Students who had enrolled in the program were left holding the bag with classes set to begin in less than two weeks.

Intensifying the hard feelings is a racial angle. Morgan State is among the state's four historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), which have long argued for special consideration in the screening process. As far back as 1999, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights had reached an agreement with the state extracting a pledge to assign distinctive and popular programs to the HBCUs so as to bolster their enrollment since minority students had long been flocking to the state's conventional institutions of higher education. Notwithstanding this help, the four historically black institutions have struggled to avoid extreme racial imbalance: Morgan State reports that only 1.8 percent of its student body identifies as white and 0.4 percent as Asian.

In a later lawsuit, advocates for the HBCUs argued that the state had underfunded them and had allowed excessive competition from the conventional colleges. A federal judge in 2013 dismissed the claim of underfunding but found merit in the complaints about undue competition. Rather than order the remedies demanded by the plaintiffswhich included forcibly relocating 10 successful degree programs from the other colleges to the HBCUs, as well as fencing off many other programs so as not to be competed withthe judge ordered mediation. That served to solidify the MHEC's policy of deeming competition with Morgan State and the three other HBCUs even more suspect than competition with conventional colleges and universities. (The case was finally settled in 2021, when thenAttorney General Brian E. Frosh agreed to have the state step up its spending by half a billion dollars.)

One great irony is that the institutions targeted for complaint often exemplify successful higher education pathways for minority students. Towson, for example, with a student body that is about 46 percent white, 28 percent black, and 9 percent Hispanic, scores reasonably well on a variety of minority student outcomes such as retention rates. Or take the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), which has risen steadily in national rankings while winning acclaim for surpassing any other institution in the country in the number of African-American undergrads who go on to earn doctorates in the hard sciences. Its undergraduate body in 2022 was 31 percent white, 20 percent black, 8 percent Hispanic, 19 percent Asian, 5 percent multiracial, and 16 percent foreign.

Impressive as its track record is, however, UMBC doesn't count as an institution with historically minority governance. And that is how it came to be that attorneys with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law demanded, as part of the now-settled lawsuit, that the court forcibly excise UMBC's crown-jewel computer engineering department, with about 200 students, and relocate it to Morgan State. Fortunately, the judge didn't go along.

"The insanity of it," observed a 2013 Baltimore Sun editorial, is that the conflict "has everything to do with protecting the institutional prerogatives and egos of the schools and little to do with creating a system of colleges and universities that best meets the needs of as many of Maryland's students as possible."

Students deserve the benefits of competition and choice. Maryland's absurd regulatory process stands in the way of that.

The post Maryland Law Lets Colleges Veto Competitors' Classes appeared first on Reason.com.
Its the one thing a farmer needs even more than sunshine and rain: resilience.

But as Jim Lattanzi, owner of Hollis Hill Farm can attest, resilience only goes so far. And he -- and many other farmers in Massachusetts -- were pushed to the brink after last Julys torrential rains.

I tell you, it takes the wind out of your sails when you work so hard and watch it wash away, he said.

Lattanzi didnt just watch it wash away last summer -- he took hits in winter and spring.

We lost the entire peach and nectarine crop because of the February cold, he said. We got to blossom in May and we had significant freeze damage to our apple crop. We hit June and July, we had 20+ inches of rain and it just kept coming.

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That rain didnt just destroy crops -- it destroyed business.

Where were a U-Pick operation, the customers dont come, said Lattanzi. We get everything ready, we do all of the work -- and when it rains nobodys going to go pick blueberries or strawberries.

This has not only been a financially challenging season for Lattanzi, but an emotionally challenging one, too.

You only have so much energy and you try and you try and you try and it just feels like, man, it keeps coming, he said.

Fortunately, something else is coming. Help. Thursday, Governor Maura Healey came to Hollis Hill Farm and delivered aid from a philanthropic venture known as the Farm Resiliency Fund. It was set up in the weeks after the July floods as a way to quickly raise money for beleaguered farmers.

So far, Lattanzi and more than 200 other Massachusetts farms have received aid from the fund -- which began dispersal last week -- the contributions coming from around 650 donors, big and small. For example, Liberty Mutual Insurance donated $1 million -- but Healey said there were also many small donations from individuals.

More than one farmer has responded to the aid to say, quote, this will save our farm, Healey said. The effort is far from over.

Not only will the fund remain in place and continue to accept contributions, but Massachusetts farmers will soon have access to $20 million in direct state aid.

Lattanzi said its heartening to know so many in Massachusetts care about local farmers.

To know that we have the support of our governor, of our legislature, of our business partners -- to kind of come out of nowhere to say, hey, were here to help -- helps blow the wind back in your sails, he said.

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By Brendan Pierson

(Reuters) - A Massachusetts institution for the developmentally disabled can continue to use controversial electric shock devices to address aggressive or self-harming behavior in residents, the state's highest court ruled Thursday, though it left the door open to future challenges.

In a unanimous ruling Thursday, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts upheld a 2018 lower court ruling that the state acted in bad faith in regulating the Canton-based Judge Rotenberg Educational Center. JRC, which provides education and treatment to people with development disabilities and behavioral disorders, is the only institution in the country to use the treatment.

The lower court judge, Katherine Field of Bristol County Probate Court, had found that high-ranking officials at the state's Department of Developmental Services in 2010 altered a report by staff to remove a finding that JRC was in "substantial compliance" with state requirements, and that the department in 2011 tried to impose a moratorium on the use of shock treatment for new patients without reviewing scientific evidence.

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The department has for decades sought to end the shock therapy treatment, which is supported by families of residents who say it is the only option for loved ones who would otherwise need to be constantly sedated or restrained.

"The ruling ensures that the lifesaving, court approved electrical stimulation device treatment remains available to those for whom all other treatment options have been tried and failed," Michael Flammia, a lawyer for JRC, said in a statement.

The department and a lawyer for the families did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Justice Scott Kafker wrote in the court's opinion that the issue was "heart-wrenching," and that the state could take further action based on new facts in the future.

The legal fight over the facility began in 1985, when the state sought to ban the shock treatment. JRC and families of residents sued, and the case resulted in a consent decree in 1987 that allowed the treatment to continue.

In 2013, the state sought to terminate the consent order altogether, before Judge Field's ruling in 2018 that it was still necessary because of state regulators' bad faith conduct.

A federal appeals court in 2021 ruled in a separate case that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could not ban the shock device.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Deepa Babington)
Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Sept. 7 that Russian air defense shot down a drone over Ramenskoye, southeast of Moscow.

Sobyanin said that emergency services were at work at the crash site. He also said that no casualties or damage had been reported.

However, Russian media outlets published footage and images on Telegram claiming to show the fallout of the drone interception.

According to these posts, the drone fell near Zhukovsky International Airport, and a blast wave caused windows in nearby houses to shatter.

The same night, Russian authorities reported attempted drone strikes on Rostov-on-Don and Bryansk Oblast.

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Russian air defenses allegedly shot down three Ukrainian drones over the city of Bryansk and the region, Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz claimed on Sept. 7.

Drone debris slightly damaged a railway station, the nearby square, and several cars in Bryansk, according to Bogomaz. No casualties were reported.

In the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, two drones were purportedly downed, damaging cars and injuring one person, claimed Rostov Oblast Governor Vasily Golubev.

The Kyiv Independent is unable to verify any of those claims. Ukrainian authorities haven't commented on the reports.

Reports of drone strikes inside Russia have been on the rise in the last month. Moscow usually blames Ukraine, while Kyiv rarely takes direct responsibility for strikes on Russian soil.

Read also: Ukraine imposes sanctions on petty pro-Russian politicians, yet ignores most high-profile ones

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The mayor of the Russian capital said that a drone attacked Moscow overnight on 6-7 September, but claimed it was shot down tens of kilometres from the Russian capital.

Source: Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin on Telegram

Quote: "Today (7 September  ed.), overnight in the Ramensky District, air defence forces stopped a drone attempting to attack Moscow. No damage or injuries were reported at the crash site. Emergency services are working at the scene."

Details: At the same time, Russian public posts on Telegram have postings of images showing damage, supposedly after the downing of a UAV.

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Pictures of the wreckage of a UAV that was shot down in Ramenskoye near Moscow are being posted on social media. Some pictures were taken near Zhukovsky International Airport.

The blast wave blew out the windows of buildings near the drone's crash site.

Traffic on Desantnaya Street in Ramenskoye near Moscow was blocked. The Russians are inspecting the area and studying the wreckage.

Background:

Simultaneously with the attack on Moscow, authorities in the Russian city of Rostov claimed that two drones had been downed over the region's territory. A fire started in Rostov, but it has already been extinguished.

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!
(Bloomberg) -- House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blasted the volatile economic policies of Chinas ruling Communist Party, and called on the US to reduce its reliance on the worlds second-largest economy.

Most Read from Bloomberg

You watch the attack on the private sector, McCarthy told a gathering of reporters during a visit to Tokyo on Thursday. They shifted their policies, they shifted their beliefs, allowing the Communist Party to control more.

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McCarthy said the House committee hes formed to examine Chinas economic behavior is really looking at areas that America and our allies shouldnt be dependent upon them, citing sectors such as medical supplies and critical minerals.

See: Chinas Tech Crackdown Is Ending. What Does It Mean?: QuickTake

McCarthy has drawn Chinas ire in the past, most notably for meeting Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in California in April. Beijing said that sit down damages Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity and ordered large-scale military drills around the archipelago of 23 million people, which it claims as its own territory.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has used his decade in power to reassert the Communist Partys authority in many walks of life. Thats included crackdowns on the education, technology and property sectors that wiped billions of dollars off the market value of some of its biggest companies, spooking foreign investors.

It has only recently started easing its campaign targeting the private sector, which included reining in internet giants such as Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang warned governments in a speech in June that politicization of economic issues would only fragment the world, comments that came as the US and Europe move to de-risk supply chains.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Then-Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, center, poses with supporters at a market in 2018. He is now running for president of Taiwan. (Sam Yeh / AFP via Getty Images)

His name was enough to sell out a concert hall in less than five minutes at $280 a head  as much as the best seats at a Blackpink concert.

But far from a global K-pop phenomenon, the headline act was a graying, bespectacled father of three, who failed music class when he was in middle school  and now hopes to become the next president of Taiwan.

As in the United States, political candidates from outside the two major parties in this island democracy of 23 million people rarely stand a chance. But four months out from what promises to be a highly contentious presidential election, Ko Wen-je appears to be rewriting that script.

The 64-year-old doctor-turned-politician has won over many of his compatriots by tapping into growing discontent with the political establishment and signaling a desire for middle ground on how Taipei should manage its relationship with Beijing amid the worst tensions in decades.

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Hes actually more like a philosopher, said Lin Fu-guo, a 56-year-old tech worker who drove about two hours to attend Kos concert in Taipei in late July, at which the would-be president warbled Chinese-language classics and danced woodenly among other performers. Unless something unexpected happens, Ill vote for Ko Wen-je. The others I feel are just your average politicians.

Known for his social media savvy and a penchant for courting controversy, Ko has bolstered his brand as a third force in Taiwanese politics, a viable alternative to the islands two historically dominant parties and their opposing stances on China.

Read more: The no China policy: Inside the alternative universe of Taiwans West Wing-like hit

Over the last few decades, power has passed between the Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, which leans toward independence for Taiwan, and the Kuomintang, or KMT, which favors closer relations with the mainland.

The DPP has prevailed in the last two presidential elections with landslide victories, in large part because the KMTs stance has alienated many younger voters who have grown wary of China and consider themselves purely Taiwanese.

An August poll by the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation showed Vice President William Lai, the DPP candidate, leading the presidential race, with 43.4% support. Ko, running for the Taiwan Peoples Party, which he founded in 2019, stood in second with 26.6%, far ahead of KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih at 13.6%.

I often say, Sometimes getting elected is not because people like you  its because people hate your opponent, Ko said in an interview at his campaign office in Taipei. I think thats going to be a large part of this election.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is stepping down in 2024 after eight years because of term limits. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Ko, who served two terms as mayor of Taipei, is soft-spoken and slightly impatient, with an inclination to doodle on loose-leaf paper while trying to illustrate a point. He likes to emphasize his pragmatism and rationality and, without providing many policy specifics, describes himself as the best contender to balance open communication and firm deterrence with Beijing, which has stepped up military pressure on the island. He criticizes the DPP as being too confrontational, the KMT as being too deferential, and both as being corrupt.

He always says that the two political parties are equally bad, so he is the one who can change this, said Chen Fang-yu, assistant professor of political science at Soochow University in Taiwan. Theoretically, he is not new anymore. But he still labels himself as the new guy.

For his first mayoral race, in 2014, which he won handily, Ko ran as an independent but had the endorsement of the DPP in the absence of the partys own candidate. Since then, he has distanced himself from the ruling party and started his own, which now holds a few seats in the islands legislature and some local offices.

From the start of his political career, much of Kos appeal has stemmed from his status as an outsider. His first career was as an emergency room surgeon and specialist in organ transplants. His supporters refer to him affectionately as Ko P  P for professor  in a nod to his old teaching position at the National Taiwan University College of Medicine.

Read more: A Netflix hit, a Facebook flood and an overdue reckoning: How Taiwans #MeToo finally took off

Ko has pushed for more affordable housing, subsidies for renters and higher taxes on owners of multiple properties. He wants to increase voluntary military service and supports raising Taiwans defense budget to 3% of GDP, up from the 2.5%  a record $19 billion  earmarked for 2024. In energy, he supports the continued use of nuclear power plants and aims to quintuple the number of electric vehicles in the next decade.

Among young voters, Ko has a leg up thanks to his deft use of social media. Hes the sole candidate on TikTok, and has more Instagram followers than President Tsai Ing-wen. His short videos, which feature Ko participating in TikTok dance trends, playing on arcade claw machines and explaining his views on mandatory military service, help fortify his image as an endearingly awkward abei, or uncle.

By comparison, Ko said, his competitors are boring, predictable, traditional. For Ko, the key to social media is easy: Create something unexpected. Amid a tight reelection contest in 2018, he released a viral music video on YouTube, in which he chanted Do the right thing in English and Strange in Chinese from behind a paperwork-laden desk as a local rapper took on more complex verses. He won that race by less than 1%, serving a maximum second term as mayor of Taipei before stepping down in 2022 to run for president.

Ko Wen-je shakes hands with supporters during his reelection campaign for Taipei mayor in 2018. (Chiang Ying-ying / Associated Press)

He also has a knack for stirring controversy. His concert, during which he emerged from a cloud of fog wearing a doctors white coat, was disparaged by other politicians as a way to evade campaign finance laws by not being billed as a political rally. Kos office defended the event as ordinary commercial activity.

Most often, Ko has drawn backlash for comments on gender, such as criticizing women who dont wear makeup, saying a female politician looks more suited to sit at a reception desk, and more recently declaring that #MeToo allegations have become trendy in Taiwan. When asked about attacks against him, Ko has disparaged Taiwanese media as biased and under DPP control.

Polls show that such remarks have done little to endear him to female voters. But supporters have called them the product of a refreshing bluntness, and further proof that he offers something different from politics as usual.

Read more: If China declares war, these ham radio enthusiasts could be crucial

His answers focus on responding to the questions. Other politicians like to keep it vague, talk in circles, say something besides the point, and in the end they dont even answer the question, said Wang Yu, a 29-year-old software engineer who sees little difference between the DPP and KMT. Weve been gambling on them for so long. Why not bet on someone else and see?

Given Kos anti-establishment appeal, some analysts credit his popularity partly to a broader populist wave around the world, which has led to the embrace of nonconformist politicians such as former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former President Trump.

Ko rejects such comparisons, despite his showmanship and firebrand reputation.

Im not like Trump. I am a scientist, he said. His background in science and medicine, he explained, separates him from populist leaders. His elite education has also drawn mostly university graduates as his main supporters, polls show.

Voter opinion is far from set, with months to go before the Jan. 13 election. Analysts say that if Ko is able to maintain his edge over the KMTs Hou, he could attract more KMT voters who would rather elect a third-party candidate than see another DPP president.

But voters under 40, Kos strongest support base, are traditionally the least active on election day. Terry Gou, the founder of major Apple supplier Foxconn, also declared his intention last week to run for president, which could further splinter support among the trailing parties.

In eight years under Tsai, Taiwan has bolstered defense spending and strengthened ties with the U.S. But a contentious relationship with Beijing has raised the specter of war, and voters have expressed displeasure with the ruling party on issues like stagnant wages, high housing prices and complications importing vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For a lot of young voters, its very easy to say housing is expensive, its hard to get a job and the DPP has been in power for eight years, so Im going to rebel against the DPP, who I see as the man, said Lev Nachman, a political science professor at Taiwans National Chengchi University.

Read more: Some Indigenous people in Taiwan want to drop their Chinese names: 'That history has nothing to do with mine'

Homemaker Wang Chen-wei said she has been disappointed after voting for the DPP in past elections. Previously, she had hoped the party could help Taiwan formally declare independence. Now Wang, 42, will be satisfied if the island can continue simply to exist in peace.

While she is unsure Ko has the prowess to manage the complicated relationship among China, Taiwan and the U.S., she doesnt mind giving him a chance.

Things are already this bad, she said. Let Ko P try it and see. It might be different. After all, it cant get much worse.

Yang is a Times staff writer. Shen is a special correspondent.

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.
A new poll found that most Americans support a mandatory mental competency test for politicians older than 75.

The Economist/YouGov Poll, released this week, found that 76 percent of Americans strongly or somewhat support some form of a mandated competency test for politicians, compared to 13 percent who oppose any form of a test; 11 percent say they are unsure. The responses didnt differ significantly along either party line, with 84 percent of Republicans and 70 percent of Democrats saying they are in favor of a mental competency test.

Looking toward the 2024 election, the poll found more Americans have concern about President Bidens health and age than they do of former President Trumps. Regarding the 80-year-old Biden, 57 percent of Americans said his health and age will affect his abilities to serve a second term, while only 30 percent said the same of Trump, 77.

The poll also found that most Democrats and Republicans believe Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnells (R-Ky.) health and age has severely limited the 81-year-olds abilities to serve in the Senate, and that the same is true of California Senator Dianne Feinstein (D), who is 90. Responses regarding both senators were averaging between 56 percent and 59 percent.

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The poll was conducted Sept. 2-5 from The Economist/YouGov, with 1,329 registered voters and a margin of error of 3.3 percent.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Members of the European Parliament issued a statement asking President Volodymyr Zelensky not to pass the draft law on asset declarations due to concerns the law will undermine trust in reforms, German MEP Michael Gahler said on Sept. 7.

The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, passed a bill on Sept. 5 to restore the requirement for top officials to declare their assets, an anti-corruption measure central to talks on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

"We support the reinstatement of asset declarations," but fear the law as it stands will contribute to "undermining trust in reform efforts," the group of nine MEPs who signed the statement said.

However, the Verkhovna Rada made a number of amendments, one of which meant that there will be no public access to officials' asset declarations for one more year.

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The system of compulsory asset declarations was originally instituted as part of the country's fight against corruption following the 2014 Euromaidan Revolution. All declarations were open to the public, a level of transparency especially important for journalists and civil society.

At the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the requirement for submitting e-declarations was suspended and public access to the declarations was shut down. Officials have still been able to submit them on a voluntary basis.

The draft law only requires that law enforcement agencies will be able to check the declarations.

Zelensky said on Sept. 6 that he will decide whether to veto a draft law on asset declarations after consultations with Olha Stefanishyna, the deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Anti-corruption watchdogs and opposition lawmakers have argued that Ukraine's international partners are unlikely to accept the bill in this form.

Read also: Petition asking Zelensky to veto asset declarations law passes threshold for presidential consideration





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Chinese Premier Li Qiang attends the 26th China-ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 6, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in Jakarta on Wednesday that in the past 10 years, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have succeeded in blazing a correct path of long-term good-neighborliness and friendship, as well as common development and prosperity as the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century.

Li made the remarks while addressing the 26th China-ASEAN Summit.

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed in Indonesia fostering a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, Li noted, adding that over the past decade, China and ASEAN have been treating each other sincerely, looking out for one another, carrying out mutually beneficial cooperation, coordinating with and accommodating each other, and walking hand in hand to make one another better.

Li made a four-point proposal for fostering a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, the first of which is that China and ASEAN should work together to build an economic growth center, enhance interconnectivity, and deepen cooperation in industrial and supply chains.

Both sides should also jointly promote cooperation in emerging industries, and strengthen collaboration in such fields as new energy vehicles, photovoltaics and artificial intelligence, Li said.

He said that China and ASEAN need to work together to maintain regional peace and tranquility, actively advance consultations on the text of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, and carry out cooperation in combating telecommunication and cyber fraud.

Li added that the two sides should also join hands to expand people-to-people exchanges and further facilitate cooperation in culture, tourism, training and youth.

Noting that China and ASEAN are good neighbors, brothers and partners that cannot be separated, Li said China is ready to work with ASEAN countries to stay true to the original aspiration of unity and self-improvement, uphold the spirit of win-win cooperation, so as to build a common home of peace, tranquility, prosperity, beauty and friendship.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang poses for a group photo with participants attending the 26th China-ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 6, 2023. Li attended the 26th China-ASEAN Summit here on Wednesday. [Photo/Xinhua]

The 26th China-ASEAN Summit was attended by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, whose country is holding the rotating ASEAN chair this year, Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand Sarun Charoensuwan, Timor-Leste's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, as well as ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn.

ASEAN leaders attending the summit warmly welcomed Li's attendance and spoke highly of the outcomes of ASEAN-China cooperation.

They said that ASEAN's comprehensive strategic partnership with China has brought huge benefits to people in the region and promoted regional peace, development and stability.

They said that ASEAN countries are willing to work with China to further enhance mutual trust, strengthen the synergy to the Belt and Road Initiative, and deepen cooperation in areas including agriculture, trade, investment, digital economy, technology, education and culture to jointly address global challenges such as climate change.

ASEAN countries welcome making progress in formulating the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, look forward to an early conclusion of negotiations on upgrading the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, and jointly make the 20th China-ASEAN Expo a success, they said.

ASEAN countries are willing to take the opportunity to work with China and build the China-ASEAN community with a shared future, they said.

During the summit, a joint statement was issued on mutually beneficial cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and a series of outcome documents were adopted, including a joint statement on deepening agricultural cooperation between China and ASEAN, an action plan on China-ASEAN green agricultural development (2023-2027), an initiative on enhancing bilateral e-commerce cooperation, and an initiative on jointly implementing China-ASEAN science and technology innovation enhancement program.

The summit also welcomed the signing of an agreement on China-ASEAN technical cooperation and announced the year of 2024 as the China-ASEAN year of people-to-people exchanges.
Members of the European Parliament have called on Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to return the draft law on the restoration of mandatory electronic declaration to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian Parliament).

Source: Michael Gahler, member of the European Parliament, on Twitter (X)

Details: MEPs urged Zelenskyy to return draft law No. 9534 to the Verkhovna Rada with the demand to open the register and to veto draft law No. 9587-d on prosecuting persons authorised to perform functions of the state or local self-government.

The statement reads that the MEPS support the restoration of electronic declaration of property in Ukraine and are concerned about closing the register from the public for another year.

We call on the President @ZelenskyyUa to return the draft law No. 9534 to the Parliament with a demand to open the registry, and veto draft law No. 9587-d in its entirety. Read our full statement  pic.twitter.com/0bOknJvsno  Michael Gahler (@gahler_michael) September 7, 2023

Quote: "We are concerned, that closing the registry from the public will not strengthen the trust of the Ukrainians and international partners, will have a significant negative effect on anti-corruption efforts and withhold one of the key instruments of public control over the public officials, while also undermining trust in reforms efforts."

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Details: The European Parliament also added that they are ready to continue cooperation with the Ukrainian Parliament at all levels, including cooperation to achieve reliable anti-corruption reforms.

Background:

On 5 September, the Verkhovna Rada also adopted the bill No. 9534 about resuming online tax declaration for officials, but the declaration register will be opened in a year.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he would make a decision concerning a law about online declaration, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian Parliament), after consultation with Olha Stefanishyna, Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.

Ukrainians collected 25,000 signatures on a petition demanding that the president veto draft law No. 9534 and return it to parliament to open a register of officials' property declarations.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
A Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with six counts of rape and making threats to kill after a woman was found distressed in a car.

Pc Cliff Mitchell, 23, was arrested after officers were called to an address in Hackbridge, south west London, on Tuesday, by a member of the public who found the woman.

Police were told the woman had been attacked inside a house by a man known to her, who subsequently forced her into a car.

Mitchell, a serving police officer, was not on duty at the time of the incident and has now been suspended from the force.

He was charged on Thursday and will appear later in custody at Westminster Magistrates Court accused of six counts of rape, one count of making threats to kill and one count of breaching a non-molestation order.

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Scotland Yard said it had made a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Horrific allegations

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: These are horrific allegations and the victim is being supported by specially trained officers.

Officers from the Mets Directorate of Professional Standards are investigating. They are highly experienced detectives specialising in investigating domestic abuse and sexual offences.

This is an active investigation and enquiries continue at pace.

The arrest of a serving police officer on suspicion of such serious offences is extremely concerning and I recognise will cause considerable concern among Londons communities.

I share those concerns and have made an immediate referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

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.
While scouring a craggy Norwegian island with a metal detector, a man stumbled upon buried treasure.

After initially keeping quiet about his finding, he has now shared his discovery with the world.

Havard Brvik, a metal detector enthusiast, came upon the hidden loot on Engelya, a small rocky island north of the Arctic Circle, he said in a Sept. 5 Facebook post.

He found a stash of metallic armbands intricately engraved with rows of triangles buried beneath layers of soil and roots.

After Brvik reported the find to the local government in August, archaeologists descended upon the site to investigate, according to NRK, a Norwegian news outlet.

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Several weeks later, they determined the objects, made of silver, were probably buried intentionally for safekeeping, archaeologist Anja Roth Niemi told the outlet.

The armbands resemble other artifacts from the Viking era fashioned from silver, a much desired after material at the time, Niemi told the outlet.

Once the archaeologists had completed their investigation, Brvik spilled the beans about his newfound trove.

He was excited when the researchers finished, so he didnt have to keep the secret anymore, Brvik wrote in his Facebook post including photos of the armbands.

The jewelry is likely the greatest discovery he will ever make as a metal detectorist, Brvik wrote, adding that the exhilarating find has kept him awake at night.

Other Viking age discoveries have been made on Engelya in the past. The island is home to a Bronze Age burial mound dating to around 1100 B.C., according to a report from Norways National Museum. Tweezers and a decorated button were located near cremated remains.

Viking jewelry deposits have been throughout Northern Europe, including in Scotland and the Isle of Man, according to the BBC.

Google Translate was used to translate Brviks Facebook post and the NRK news article.

Six-eyed creature  with long blue body  found on dead wood in forest. See new species

Black holes have indigestion and burp out bits of devoured stars, study finds

Woman spots small creature  considered locally extinct for 100 years  in her garden
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Metro police are searching for two suspects accused of burglarizing a business in the east Las Vegas valley.

On Aug. 24 around 9:20 p.m., the suspects allegedly burglarized an open business near the 2000 block of South Nellis Boulevard near Sahara Avenue, police said.

The first suspect is described as a black man, around 60, medium build, last seen wearing a black shirt and red pants.

Suspect accused of burglarizing business in east valley on Aug. 24, 2023 (LVMPD)

The second suspect is described as a black adult, around 58, heavy build, last seen wearing a black mask, black hoodies and gray sweatpants.

Suspect accused of burglarizing business in east valley on Aug. 24, 2023 (LVMPD)

Anyone with information is urged to call the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Commercial Robbery Unit at (702) 828-3591. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555 or visit crimestoppersofnv.com. Tips directly leading to an arrest or an indictment processed through Crime Stoppers may result in a cash reward.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.


Protestors rally for International Safe Abortion Day on September 28, 2022, in Mexico City, Mexico.

On Wednesday, Mexicos Supreme Court struck down all federal penalties on abortion, saying that the national regulation was an unconstitutional violation of womens rights and that criminalizing abortion was gender-based violence and discrimination. The ruling will require all federal health institutions to offer abortions to anyone who requests them. A patchwork of state restrictions remains, with 20 states still criminalizing abortion, but the ruling is a massive win for Mexican activists in the Marea Verde or Green Wave movement, whose supporters wear green bandanas.

The decision also highlights just how extreme the United States has become on abortion in the eyes of the rest of the world. In the last three decades, about 60 countries have expanded abortion rights, while only four countries have rolled back access: El Salvador, Nicaragua, Poland, and the U.S.

Read more

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Its all the more striking to read that statement when you remember that Mexico is a predominantly Catholic country. However, experts have noted that abortion restrictions are more correlated with creeping authoritarianism than they are with religion. A 2021 New York Times analysis contained this chilling sentence: Curbs on womens rights tend to accelerate in backsliding democracies, a category that includes the United States, according to virtually every independent metric and watchdog.

Rebeca Ramos, executive director of GIRE, an abortion rights group that sued over the 1931 Mexican regulation that criminalized abortion, also made the connection between abortion and participation in society.

Were on a very good path, Ramos told the Times. This is a recognition that women and people with the ability to gestate have agency and we are first-class citizens. That democracy is coming to us, as well. As a side note, Mexicos next presidential election is in June 2024both leading candidates are women.

The U.S. is, decidedly, not on a good path.

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Sign up for Jezebel's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Mexico's President Lopez Obrador commemorates the 200th Anniversary of the Consummation of the Independence of Mexico

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico's president on Thursday vigorously backed his party's selection of former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum as its candidate to succeed him in 2024, dismissing objections about the process by her main rival, who threatened to quit the party.

The ruling National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) declared Sheinbaum the winning candidate a few hours after her closest competitor, ex-foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard , said the primary contest had been irredeemably tainted by irregularities.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, speaking at a regular morning press conference extended a hand to Ebrard, calling him a "very good person," a good leader and his friend, as he urged him to remain united with the leftist MORENA.

But he rejected Ebrard's demand that the polls to pick a candidate be redone, and fell in behind the winner.

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"I support Claudia Sheinbaum," Lopez Obrador said, calling the process of surveying some 12,500 people in which she beat out five other rivals historic and unprecedented.

"I don't see any problem."

Under Mexican law, presidents can only serve a single six-year term.

Victory would make Sheinbaum Mexico's first woman leader.

Ebrard says he will decide his next move on Monday and has left open the possibility of running with the center-left Citizens' Movement (MC), the only significant opposition party yet to back a candidate for the June 2 presidential election.

On Thursday, the 63-year-old Ebrard indicated his time in Lopez Obrador's party was nearing an end.

"What is clear to us is that there's no longer space for us inside MORENA," he told Mexican radio.

Ebrard has been allied with Lopez Obrador for more than two decades, and succeeded him as mayor of the capital in 2006.

If he decides to run against MORENA, Ebrard, who is popular with many middle class voters, could cause problems for both Sheinbaum and her main opposition rival, Xochitl Galvez, a charismatic and unconventional senator of Indigenous origin.

Still, recent polling suggests he could face a huge challenge mustering enough votes to win with MC.

An Aug. 30 to Sept. 3 voter survey by polling firm Parametria showed MC garnering 4% support for the presidency in a generic question that did not name any candidates.

MORENA and its allies were seen winning 60% or more.

During the press conference, Lopez Obrador speculated Ebrard could run for the presidency as an independent candidate.

A campaign source for Ebrard said he had no current plans to run as an independent.

(Reporting by Dave Graham; Additional reporting by Raul Cortes and Ana Isabel Martinez; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer, Mark Porter and Jamie Freed)
(Bloomberg) -- Mexicos President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he supports former mayor of Mexico City Claudia Sheinbaum as his successor after the ruling party Morena picked her as its candidate for 2024 elections.

Most Read from Bloomberg

I support Claudia Sheinbaum, AMLO, as the president is known, said in a press conference Thursday, adding that the process was an example of democratic exercise.

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Sheinbaum received an average support of 39.4% in a nationwide poll comprised of five surveys of over 12,000 voters to determine the nominee, he added. Former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard was second-place finisher with an average support of 25.8%. AMLO said all participants agreed prior to the polls that the second-place finisher could take a position in the cabinet or the senate.

Read More: Mexico Poised to Elect 1st Female Leader After AMLO Party Pick

Ebrard said Wednesday the party should redo the survey process used to pick its nominee. AMLO, however, said he does not agree with the redoing the poll as the process was transparent, and added that Ebrard has the liberty to choose whether to take that offer.

The Mexican leader said he will pass on a physical baton to Sheinbaum later in the day, without clarifying what that would entail. Presidential elections will be held June 2 and inauguration day is officially Dec. 1, 2024.

Read More: Ebrard Throws Mexico Partys Succession Plans into Question

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Claudia Sheinbaum, former mayor of Mexico City and presidential candidate for the Morena party, speaks during a Morena party rally announcing their presidential candidate, in Mexico City, Mexico, on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. Mexico's ruling Morena party picked Sheinbaum as its candidate to succeed President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, seeking to retain power in next year's general elections. Credit - Fred RamosBloomberg/Getty Images

Mexicos ruling party has selected Claudia Sheinbaum as its candidate for next years election, pitting her against the opposition's top contender, Xochitl Galvez. The decision means that the worlds largest Spanish-speaking country looks set to get its first female leader in 2024.

This is a feminists dream, Maricruz Ocampo, a womens rights activist in Queretaro, told the Washington Post. The election is going to signify a turn in the way that we see women in politics, she added.

Sheinbaum and Galvez both come from STEM backgrounds. Sheinbaum, who is Jewish, is a former physicist and was selected as the candidate for the center-left alliance Juntos Hacemos Historia, while Galvez is a business woman and computer engineer with an Indigenous Otomi father and a mestiza mother running for the center-right political alliance Broad Front for Mexico.

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They really made it on their own. This is their own momentum and career trajectories, says Christopher Sabatini, a senior fellow for Latin America at Chatham House.

In many Latin American countries, several female candidates for head of state have been wives or ex-wives of popular male candidates. In Argentina, former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner took office directly after her husbands term ended in 2007. In Honduras, the current President, Xiomara Casto, is the wife of former Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. And in Guatemala, the runner up of last months election, Sandra Torres, is a former First Lady, who divorced her husband Alvaro Colom to get around campaign laws that prevent relatives of the President from running for the role. "I am not going to be the first or the last woman who decides to get a divorce, but I am the only woman to get a divorce for her country," she said at the time.

Given this context, Mexicos political landscape is even more unique, Sabatini says. He adds that Mexico is ahead of the curve when it comes to women in politics, even at the lower levels of government, like state officials and members of parliament. Currently, half of all national parliament seats in Mexico and half of the governments cabinet positions are held by women; the country fares less well on governorships, with nine of the countrys 32 of them being women.

Mexicos advances in women's representation have roots in events that occurred in the 1990s, when the countrys 71 years of one-party rule under the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) began to come to an end amid corruption scandals and economic crises. In the aftermath, many Mexicans felt eager for political leadership that was vastly different from what they had experienced before, Sabatini says.

It was also during this time that civil society organizations that focused on women's issues became more outspoken.

Out of the repression, control, and monopolistic exercise of power through what was effectively a one party government from 1921 until 2000, you had this emergence of a very active, engaged civil society that helped propel a number of issues, abortion being one of them and women's representation being another, Sabatini says.

On Wednesday, womens rights activists celebrated a major win after Mexicos Supreme Court decriminalized abortion nationwide. The ruling opens the door for the healthcare system to provide abortions. "That's why today's decision of the Supreme Court is important, women's rights activist Sara Lovera told Agence-France Presse.

Following the end of one-party rule, lawmakers introduced quotas for the number of women in political positions. They were adjusted to increase not just the representation of women on national tickets, but also the distribution on those tickets, Sabatini says. So it's, in many ways, Mexico's adoption of these pro-women representation laws has gone beyond that of many other countries because it extends to cabinets and statewide.

Still, the countrys role as a regional leader for womens political representation doesnt mean it doesnt grapple with significant inequality. On the U.N.s gender equality index, Mexico scored a 0.309 on a scale of zero to one, with zero representing the most equality.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
(Bloomberg) -- Mexicos ruling Morena party picked Claudia Sheinbaum , the former mayor of Mexico City, as its candidate to succeed President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, seeking to retain power in next years general elections.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A close ally of the president seen as his preferred heir, Sheinbaum beat out five other candidates from the partys coalition in a nationwide poll of over 12,000 voters to determine the nominee. Even if an expected choice, she is now in position to benefit from Lopez Obradors high popularity to launch her presidential campaign ahead of the June 2 vote, where she appears as the early frontrunner.

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The polls commissioned by Morena showed that Sheinbaum was first in five surveys with support from 36% to 41% depending on the poll, said party coordinator Alfonso Durazo. Marcelo Ebrard , who was foreign minister until earlier this year, was second-place finisher with support ranging from 25% to 26%. Ebrard earlier Wednesday said the process to pick the nominee was tainted and needs to be redone, casting doubt on how the process would advance.

There was no incident that affected the final result, Durazo said. The process itself is a historic contribution to the democratic advancement of our country.

The decision is final, he added. Sheinbaum and four other contenders went up on the stage to recognize the results. Ebrard, who did not attend the closing event, said earlier that hes weighing next steps in the presidential race, without giving details.

Read More: AMLOs Legacy Faces a Challenge Just as the World Shifts His Way

Sheinbaum, 61, has a long career as a Mexico City official alongside AMLO, as the president is known. She was first environmental secretary when Lopez Obrador ran the countrys capital early this century and oversaw one of Mexico Citys big southern districts before becoming mayor herself in 2018. She is betting the limelight of running Mexicos biggest city  together with AMLOs 60% approval rating after five years in power  could pave her way to the presidency.

The work weve been carrying out, all the mobilizations, have strengthened our movement, she said in the event. Tomorrow, the electoral process begins. Theres no time to lose.

She thanked the four contenders who attended the event, but gave a subtle nod to Ebrard, saying unity is key and the doors are always open.

Were going to win in 2024! she added.

Female President

With Wednesdays announcement, Mexicos presidential race will pit two women against one another, all but guaranteeing the country will have its first female leader next year. The opposition coalition Frente Amplio por Mexico, which includes the three main parties that dominated Mexican politics before Morenas rise to power, earlier this month chose the outspoken senator Xochitl Galvez as its candidate.

Both coalitions have avoided presenting their representatives as official candidates for the moment given Mexicos electoral law prevents the start of the official campaigning period until March.

Sheinbaum, who leads Galvez by 17 percentage points in a recent poll by Reforma newspaper, has presented herself as the continuity candidate, repeating almost word-for-word AMLOs main pledges including stripping the country of corruption, increasing cash transfers to sectors of the population in need of support and improving Mexicos energy sovereignty.

She is expected to benefit from Mexicos economic rebound and replicate many of the measures set forth by Lopez Obrador if she is elected, though she has yet to release a platform specifying any new proposals on key issues.

Shes the candidate who is closest to the president, said Carlos Perez Ricart, an international relations professor at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics in Mexico City, who sees Sheinbaum winning next years election. The presidents support is simply massive, and he has in favor of him the party structure, the governors, and public opinion.

Read More: AMLOs Potential Heir Wants to Succeed Where Even He Failed

Galvez, in the meantime, is trying to capture part of the electorates discontent with AMLOs policy failures, including high levels of insecurity and poor public services. Her background as a successful businesswoman coming from an impoverished town in central Mexico whos not afraid to talk to the powerful  she has repeatedly attacked AMLO  will be an asset in a race that initially appears in favor of Morenas electoral machinery.

Read More: Xochitl Galvez to Fight AMLOs Party for Mexico Presidency

On top of president, Mexicans next year will also pick all Congress 128 senators and 500 lower house representatives, along with nine state governors including Mexico Citys, one of the nations most prominent political jobs and often a springboard for presidential hopefuls.

--With assistance from Max de Haldevang, Cyntia Barrera Diaz and Alex Vasquez.

(Updates third paragraph with polling data, comments from Sheinbaum)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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Mexicos Supreme Court decriminalised abortion in a historic decision welcomed by womens rights groups across the country.

The ruling would mean access to abortions for millions of Mexican women. The Supreme Court court said federal criminal penalties for abortions were unconstitutional.

The sweeping decision was an extension of a growing trend in Latin American countries of loosening restrictions on abortion in what has been referred to as a green wave.

Mexicos Supreme Court said that the legal system that criminalised abortion in Mexico was unconstitutional because it violates the human rights of women and people with the ability to gestate.

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In cases of rape, no girl can be forced to become a mother  neither by the state nor by her parents nor her guardians, said Arturo Zaldivar, the head of the Supreme Court.

Here, the violation of her rights is more serious, not only because of her status as a victim, but also because of her age, which makes it necessary to analyse the issue from the perspective of the best interests of minors.

The ruling was a victory for the GIRE, a reproductive rights organisation headquartered in Mexico City. They initiated the landmark case against the Mexican state as a pivotal component of their years-long advocacy campaign for reform.

No woman or pregnant person, nor any health worker, will be able to be punished for abortion, GIRE (the Information Group for Chosen Reproduction) said.

While the federal ban has been lifted, a patchwork of state-level restrictions on abortion still exists in approximately 20 Mexican states.

The landmark decision comes two years after a court in Mexico ruled in favour of a challenge against criminalising abortion in the northern state of Coahuila. It set off a slow state-by-state process of decriminalising it.

The decision was celebrated by several, including women rights activists who posted green heart images in reference to the feminist movement but angered more conservative groups in Latin Americas second-largest Catholic nation.

Today is a day of victory and justice for Mexican women! Mexicos National Institute for Women wrote in a message on the social media platform X. The government organisation called the decision a big step toward gender equality.

But Irma Barrientos, an opponent of the ruling party and director of the Civil Association for the Rights of the Conceived, said they will continue the fight against expanded abortion access.

Were not going to stop, Ms Barrientos said. Lets remember what happened in the United States. After 40 years, the Supreme Court reversed its abortion decision, and were not going to stop until Mexico guarantees the right to life from the moment of conception.
Worlds largest services trade fair closes in Beijing, achieves 1,100 outcomes

Global Times) 09:09, September 07, 2023

CIFTIS highlights in Beijing. Photos: Li Hao/GT

The 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), the world's largest services trade fair, has yielded more than 1,100 outcomes in the forms of agreements, deals and academic papers, highlighting China's commitment for wider opening-up and sharing development opportunities with the world.

The event attracted 2,400 companies to the on-site exhibit, while 280,000 people had visited as of noon on Wednesday, according to the event's organizer.

"The CIFTIS is always a window representing China's high-level opening-up and major platform for international firms to cooperate.

"China aims to share the development opportunities of trade in services with all parties by holding the fair, inject impetus into the global economic recovery and contribute to trade exchanges," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press conference on Wednesday, commenting on the significance of the event as the world economy faces an uphill battle in its recovery from the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly 800 foreign government officials, envoys from 42 countries and regions, as well as representatives from international organizations attended this year's CIFTIS, with 500 of them attending in person.

The event attracted 2,400 domestic and foreign companies, with more than 500 world-leading companies and a large number of deals, including the Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships, the first maritime UN convention named after a Chinese city, were signed or announced.

National pavilions represented 83 countries and international organizations, 12 more than that in 2022, while the internationalization rate this year exceeded 20 percent.

China has announced measures to open up the services sector wider to the world and China hopes to share opportunities in trade in services, help grow global trade and create new growth drivers for the global economic recovery, Mao said.

Chinese analysts and observers said that the CIFTIS showcased the attractiveness of China's fast-growing services sector and defied Western media hype that the Chinese economy faces a gloomy future.

"The world economy thrives in openness and withers in seclusion. China stands ready to work with all parties to promote inclusive development with openness in the services sector, jointly safeguard free trade and the multilateral trade system, and provide more and better Chinese services to the world," Mao said.

Since China's accession to the WTO in 2001, the country's share in global trade in services has risen from 2.4 percent to 6.5 percent, and China is now the world's fourth-largest exporter and second-largest importer of services, and it is becoming a global center for the supply and demand of services.

In 2022, China's total services trade grew 12.9 percent year-on-year to a record of nearly 6 trillion yuan ($839.16 billion), ranking second in the world for the ninth consecutive year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
 Flash

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Grenada's Minister for Foreign Affairs Joseph Andall in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Grenada's Minister for Foreign Affairs Joseph Andall on Wednesday in Beijing.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that Grenada is an important country in the Caribbean and a friendly partner of China, and both sides have always respected each other and treated each other as equals, and their bilateral relations have become more mature since the resumption of diplomatic ties.

Wang noted that China highly appreciates Grenada's adherence to the one-China principle, respects Grenada's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, supports Grenada in exploring a development path suited to its own national conditions, and stands ready to work with Grenada to open up new prospects for bilateral cooperation.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Grenada's Minister for Foreign Affairs Joseph Andall in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 6, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Andall said that China, a great ancient civilization with great achievements in development today, has always fully respected and treated Grenada on an equal footing, and provided valuable support for Grenada's economic development and improvement of people's livelihood.

Grenada cherishes its relations with China and will firmly abide by the one-China principle and be a reliable friend of China, Andall said, adding that Grenada highly appreciates China's role as a responsible major country in upholding justice in international affairs, sharing development achievements with countries in the "Global South," and is willing to actively participate in a series of important global initiatives proposed by China.

Wang emphasized that China is willing to work with all parties to build a high-quality Belt and Road and share opportunities, development and prosperity.

As an ex-officio member of the "Global South," Wang said China will continue to stand on the side of developing countries, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, especially small and medium-sized countries, and defend international fairness and justice.
Mexican politicians Alfonso Durazo, left, and presumptive MORENA party presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum stand together during an event to announce the next party candidate in Mexico City, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

MEXICO CITY (AP)  With the selection of former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum as the candidate of the countrys ruling party in next Junes election, Mexico will for the first time have time two women from its main political movements competing for the presidency.

Sheinbaum, as well as the opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez, have insisted that Mexico is ready to be led by a woman, but it will not be an easy path.

On Wednesday night, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obradors Morena party announced that Sheinbaum, a climate scientist, had defeated five internal party rivals  all men. Lopez Obrador has put women in important positions in his Cabinet and been a mentor for Sheinbaum, even while being accused at times of male chauvinism.

Mexico still has famously intense machismo or male chauvinism, expressed in its most extreme form in a high rate of femicides, but also daily in hundreds of more subtle ways.

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Mexico has a strong macho vote, said Gloria Alcocer Olmos, director of the electoral magazine Voice and Vote, adding that it is not exclusive to male voters.

Alcocer Olmos noted that in Junes gubernatorial election in the state of Mexico  the countrys most populous jurisdiction  the race was between two female candidates and turnout was the lowest in history. The same thing occurred in the state election in Aguascalientes in 2021, she said.

What does that tell us? she asked. That the people are voting for women? The reality is that no, and the saddest thing is that women themselves are not voting for women.

Such low turnout in the June 2 presidential election is less likely because so much is at stake, Alcocer Olmos said. There is also the possibility that the Citizen Movement party, which controls Nuevo Leon and Jalisco  two of the most economically important states  could nominate a male candidate who would attract that macho vote, she said.

Another question mark is what former Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard will do. As Sheinbaums closest rival in Morena, he did not accept the results of the internal party selection process, claiming there were irregularities.

Morena controls 22 of Mexicos 32 states and Lopez Obrador remains highly popular, giving Sheinbaum a strong advantage. But Galvez emerged from virtual obscurity, helped largely by daily public criticism from Lopez Obrador, to become the consensus candidate of the largely directionless opposition.

On Thursday, Lopez Obrador said he was ready to pass responsibility for continuing the transformation he started to Sheinbaum and would devote himself to finishing his signature projects. He praised Ebrard and said he hoped he would decide to support the movement Lopez Obrador started.

Aurora Pedroche, a Morena activist who supports Sheinbaum, suggested another problem should one of the female candidates win the presidency. Given the greatly increased power and responsibility that Lopez Obrador has given the military during his administration how are they going to accept a woman as commander in chief?

That scares me, Pedroche said.

While Mexican women have advanced to positions of political power in public life  in part because of required representation quotas for public office  women suffer from high levels of gender violence. Femicides  cases of women killed because of their gender  have been a persistent problem for decades.

Sheinbaum represents continuation of Lopez Obradors social agenda, but without his charisma to take on an opponent in Galvez who has an ease of connecting with people that is more reminiscent of the outgoing president.

Sheinbaum holds a PhD in engineering and served on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that won a shared Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.

The independent Galvez is representing the Broad Front for Mexico, a coalition of the conservative National Action Party, the small progressive Democratic Revolution Party, and the old-guard Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, that held Mexicos presidency without interruption between 1929 and 2000.

Galvez is a tech entrepreneur who started out selling food in the street before going on to study computers.

Galvez caucuses with the National Action Party in the Senate but is not a member.

Strategist Antonio Sola, who worked on the 2006 campaign of former President Felipe Calderon and later with one of the parties that helped Lopez Obrador win, thinks Galvezs outsider image could help her.

With much of the world experiencing the end of a political era dominated by traditional candidates, the emerging figures are those who are kicking the system, he said.
Mexicos ruling party appointed former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum as its 2024 presidential candidate Wednesday, all but guaranteeing that the countrys next leader will be the first woman to hold the office.

Sheinbaum is running against Sen. Xochitl Galvez, whose surprise entry into the opposition primaries galvanized and united a motley group of civil society organizations and political parties that were once bitter rivals.

Galvez on Sunday was formally appointed as the oppositions unity candidate in a massive rally at Mexico Citys angel of independence, a central monument thats often served as an alternate focal point to the officialist symbolism of the citys main square and National Palace.

The ruling party, Morena, was built around the figure of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and shook the Mexican political system with a landslide takeover of the executive and legislative branches in 2018.

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Lopez Obrador, who is constitutionally barred from seeking reelection, is also legally constrained from influencing the electoral process, but he has made his presence felt in both the Morena and opposition primaries.

Morenas primary was built around a public consult  a poll  with results announced late Wednesday.

The partys two major contenders were Sheinbaum and former Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard , though Sheinbaum was generally perceived as Lopez Obradors favorite, with Ebrard denouncing what he called an uneven playing field throughout the process.

Though Lopez Obrador was careful not to explicitly weigh in on the Morena primary, which also included a few minor candidates, two of his brothers were key players, one endorsing Sheinbaum and the other Ebrard.

Lopez Obrador has often relied on Morenas public polling structure to determine high-level decisions, such as the construction of an airport or the closure of a U.S.-owned beer plant. In every case, the polls have yielded the result Lopez Obrador is known to support.

Ebrards supporters accused Sheinbaum of using social programs to illicitly bolster her campaign, as well as of underreporting exorbitant campaign spending.

Ebrard on Wednesday called for a redo of Morenas presidential polls before the result was announced, and he accused the party of using police to prevent his supporters from personally observing the ballot count.

On Wednesday, Galvez reacted to the split in Morena by cheering on Ebrard from the Senate, telling him to hold on.

Its not convenient for me: Im going to get my own. Im going to go to the street, to wherever I need to get. Im not thinking about who breaks [off], who is divided, said Galvez, according to local newspapers.

I just saw that Marcelo said the process had to be redone, and thats why I cheered him on.

Ebrard said late Wednesday that he would announce his future plans Monday; third-party and independent bids are widely seen as long shots.

Though Ebrard lambasted party leaders, he has been careful not to single out the president as putting his thumb on the scale.

Lopez Obrador was, however, instrumental in the oppositions internal process.

In 2022, he accused Galvez, a senator, of giving a speech in opposition to government cash transfers to alleviate poverty.

Galvez, at the time seen as a leading contender to run for mayor of Mexico City, called out the president, who she said distorted her speech, in which she said she supported the cash transfers but argued they were ineffective without educational programs.

In June, Galvez showed up at the doors of the National Palace, the seat of government where Lopez Obrador lives and works, and demanded a right of reply during the presidents daily hours-long broadcast.

The doors to the National Palace were shut in her face, Galvez made a series of viral videos about the issue and her campaign took off.

For weeks, Lopez Obrador harangued Galvez at his daily briefings, at one point even violating a court-imposed gag order.

Galvez capitalized on the presidential spotlight, jumping into the previously lackluster opposition presidential primary.

The opposition primary field quickly dwindled after Galvez entered the race, until only she and Sen. Beatriz Paredes  a seasoned political operator  were left, days ahead of a final poll.

Amid public polling showing a clear advantage for Galvez and the potential for Morena activists to attempt to disrupt the final opposition poll, Paredes declined in favor of Galvez.

The opposition coalition was formed as a last-ditch effort by older parties to compete with Morenas powerful political operation, based on Lopez Obradors popularity and his governments penchant for on-the-fly electoral reforms.

Though the courts limited how far Lopez Obrador was able to take his reforms, Galvez and the opposition still face an uphill battle against Morenas political machinery.

The three parties in the opposition alliance had at one point set their goals for 2024 at keeping Morena from running the table to win a constitutional majority, but now face the challenge of mounting a competitive run toward the June 2 elections.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- Mexicos main opposition presidential candidate Xochitl Galvez called for a sweeping reform of state oil firm Pemex, opening the energy sector to private investment and supercharging renewables.

In an interview in Bloombergs Mexico City bureau, Galvez didnt commit to privatizing the company but said she respected Brazils Petrobras, which is publicly traded. Mexico doesnt have the resources on its own to transform its energy sector and economy, and private investment should be welcomed to accelerate development responsibly, she said.

We have a very serious problem, which is that state companies are terrible at managing Mexicans money and theyre terrible at being productive. So, yes, I do look toward the private sector, she said, predicting that her political opponents would attack her. But I dont care, because I want to defend the planet.

Lea nuestra nota en espanol.

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Galvez faces former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, the long-time protege of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, in the election next June. While Lopez Obrador cant run for reelection himself, his formidable popularity will make Galvezs road to victory difficult. Sheinbaum, an environmental engineer, will grapple with the tricky task of continuing the presidents legacy while boosting her own green credentials.

Read more: AMLOs Legacy Faces a Challenge Just as the World Shifts His Way

Galvez, a senator who is backed by a coalition of opposition parties and hopes to become the countrys first female president, said shed like to reopen oil bidding rounds that the statist president stopped after taking office in 2018. At the same time, Galvez said shes a champion of renewable energy, and that she would seek investment in hydrogen and solar energy, in a rollback of some of Lopez Obradors current policies.

If you dont have money for exploration, private investment will help, said Galvez, an engineer who rose from poverty to found a successful consultancy focused on building efficiency. For me Petrobras is a good model.

While still controlled by the Brazilian government, Petroleo Brasileiro SA was listed in Sao Paulo in the 1990s, and minority shareholders are represented on its board. A mixed system where international oil companies are also operating in the country has helped Brazil develop its ultra-deepwater pre-salt reservoir, and it is now Latin Americas largest oil producer.

Energias Mexicanas

Galvez, 60, said she sees hydrogen and other clean energy sources as critical to Mexicos development  to the degree that, rather than Petroleos Mexicanos, she quipped shed like Pemex to be called Emex: Energias Mexicanas.

She attacked Lopez Obrador for throwing money at Pemex, the worlds most indebted oil company, and building a mega-refinery that suffered massive cost overruns and delays. At the same time, his government cut the knees off a thriving green energy market by weakening regulators independence, leading to fewer permits being granted for renewable projects, fuel imports and terminals. Many projects have been left in limbo or abandoned.

You have to be very stupid to bet on fossil fuels, because beyond being expensive, its dirty, so with Mexicos potential in green hydrogen, in renewables, public policy is in green energy  theres no doubt, said Galvez, who said Lopez Obradors moves had burned investors. You came, opened solar or wind plants and then couldnt connect them because the government had a tantrum and wanted to bet on fossil fuels.

Mexico was one of the last countries in the world to open its energy market to private investment since oil is a longstanding political symbol of Mexicos sovereignty. Until the 2013-2014 reforms, Pemex held a monopoly in the sector for more than three quarters of a century after the country expropriated foreign oil operations in 1938, an event thats commemorated each year on March 18. The government takeover was a reaction to years of foreign exploitation of the nations resources, and sentiment still runs deep in the country that the company belongs to the people.

Critics argue that Mexicos nationalist energy policies that have placed the burden on Pemex to develop most of Mexicos oil territory represents a squandered opportunity, where a potent combination of soaring debt, mismanagement and failing projects have combined to drag down the state oil company. Crude output has declined almost every year since 2004, and production is now less than half of what it was then. Meanwhile, Pemexs debt load has exploded to more than $110 billion, making it the worlds most-indebted oil producer.

Whats worse, Pemex is hemorrhaging money at a time when global rivals have been turning huge profits due to the oil price rally. Its been kept on life support by AMLO, who sees energy independence as a lofty goal for the nation and has put more than $77 billion into Pemex capital injections, tax breaks and energy projects since 2019.

Read more: Pemex Gets Billions for Debt Payment in Mexico Draft Budget

A return to oil auctions and joint-ventures could mean that Pemex would get much-needed financial and technical support to develop more profitable fields. Pemex has focused on developing onshore and shallow-water prospects instead of riskier, and more promising, deep-water fields that could boost its reserves over the long term. The company doesnt have the liquidity, the technology and the engineering know-how to take on those projects.

Petrobras Model

Many of Pemexs critics would like to see the company go the way of Brazils Petrobras, which regularly partners with others in the private sector. Petrobras also made the decision to sell off non-core assets, enabling it to focus on the job of drilling. By contrast, under AMLO, much of Pemexs resources have been funneled into its loss-making refinery business, and the construction of a new plant in Dos Bocas that cost more than double its original price tag and has only just begun making fuel. Pemex also purchased Royal Dutch Shell Plcs stake in the Deer Park refinery in Texas.

Despite Lopez Obradors policies, there is a small group of private producers that got exploration rights during the previous government. They produced 104,309 barrels of crude a day in July, 6.4% of Mexicos total oil production.

Galvez said she would use oil drilled with outside investors help for the petrochemical industry rather than electricity, which she would produce with renewables. Lopez Obrador canceled oil auctions in a bid to reverse the countrys landmark 2013 to 2014 energy reforms that had lured the worlds biggest drillers, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Shell.

These companies have a lot of technology that Pemex doesnt have  Pemex doesnt have money for exploration, she said. Also, oil is too valuable to be burned to produce electricity, oil should be used for the petrochemical industry, which has been very abandoned.

A return to oil auctions would be a welcome change for international oil companies, which in recent years have returned many oil blocks to the state since they could not make the investments scalable under the nationalist administration.

Galvez has the backing of what had been Mexicos three most powerful political parties before Lopez Obradors Morena party rose to power. While one of her supporters is the conservative PAN, she described herself as center-left.

To gain the support of the allied parties, she surged through a crowded field using eye-catching stunts and an earthy, relatable communication style. In polling, she currently lags a fair way behind Sheinbaum, who will enjoy the ruling Morena partys daunting resources and infrastructure, including two-thirds of the countrys governorships.

Read more: Mexico Poised to Elect 1st Female Leader After AMLO Party Pick

--With assistance from Amy Stillman, Cyntia Barrera Diaz and Andrea Navarro.

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Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum speaks during a rally Aug. 26 in her bid to represent the ruling Morena party. (Ginnette Riquelme / Associated Press)

Mexicos ruling party on Wednesday named former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum as its candidate in next years presidential race, a widely expected move that puts the country on track to elect its first female president.

The major opposition coalition had already chosen another woman, Xochitl Galvez, a sitting senator in the Mexican Congress, as its standard-bearer.

The two women  Sheinbaum, 61, a physicist and former university professor, and Galvez, 60, a successful tech entrepreneur  are set to face off in an election scheduled for June 2.

The nomination Wednesday was largely overshadowed by a blowup inside the ruling party, known as Morena. Sheinbaum's chief competitor, Marcelo Ebrard, cited unspecified faults in the primary process even before final results were announced.

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Ebrard, a former foreign minister, called publicly for a rerun of the internal polling that ultimately gave Sheinbaum her victory.

He alleged that his campaign representative was beaten by police when she attempted to enter the site in downtown Mexico City where ballots were being counted. "I never thought I would live [to see] something like this in my own party," Ebrard wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Galvez, the opposition candidate, mocked the turmoil, inviting Ebrard to join her movement.

Read more: This woman is the front-runner to be Mexico's next president

Officials of the ruling party disputed Ebrards charges and said there would be no new polling.

Sheinbaum won an average of 39.4% of the votes in five internal polls, Morena said. Ebrard was second, with 25.8%. The former foreign minister was the only one of the six Morena candidates who did not show up for the unveiling of the results.

Ebrards allegations exposed deep rifts in Morena, the political behemoth that was founded by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and now towers above the Mexican political landscape. The party and its allies hold a majority in Congress, and Morena governs in 21 of the countrys 31 states as well as Mexico City, the capital.

Even before Wednesday, Ebrard had publicly questioned whether the Morena primary process was fair. However, he was widely expected to accept defeat and sign on for a Cabinet post next year in the case of a Sheinbaum win next year. After Wednesday's events, rumors were circulating that Ebrard might now enter the presidential race as a third-party candidate.

Lopez Obrador dictated the terms of Morena's primary race, ruling out debates as divisive. He repeatedly denied rigging the primary process in favor of Sheinbaum, his longtime protege.

I havent tilted the balance, the president told reporters Tuesday. The dedazo is finished, he added, referring to the historical practice in which sitting Mexican presidents used their big finger to point to their successor.

The triumph of Sheinbaum was no surprise. For months, she had maintained a lead of 10 points or so in polling against Ebrard, who served as chief diplomat in the Lopez Obrador government before resigning to run for president.

Sheinbaum is heavily favored to win next years election in large part because of her close association with Lopez Obrador, 69. The president is extremely popular  boasting 60% approval ratings, largely because of his appeal among poor and working-class voters  but is also a divisive figure. Critics accuse him of leading the country down a path of authoritarian rule. The president rejects the charge, accusing rich, right-wing adversaries of trying to discredit him because of his fight against corruption and dedication to the poor.

Read more: Mexico's president says the U.S. is suffering from moral decay. He offers some advice

Sheinbaum shares the presidents leftist ideology and frequently extols him. At times, she even seems to mimic her mentors speech patterns.

Lopez Obrador is to complete his six-year term on Sept. 30, 2024. Mexican law bars presidential reelection. The president says he plans to retire.

Next years election is widely viewed as a test of whether Lopez Obrador has built a long-term movement that maintains its dominance even after its charismatic leader steps down from power.

Read more: I have enough ovaries to apply the law. The language of gender enters the Mexican presidential race

If elected, Sheinbaum would also be Mexicos first president of Jewish ancestry. Her maternal and paternal grandparents emigrated to Mexico from Eastern Europe.

Sheinbaum, a Mexico City native, comes from a tradition of political engagement since her high school days, when she protested against the exclusion of students, many of them poor, from higher education.

She spent four years at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California on her way to earning a doctorate in energy engineering. She was teaching at her alma mater, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, in 2000, when Lopez Obrador  then the mayor of Mexico City  offered her the post of secretary of environment for the capital. That appointment launched a meteoric political rise.

The strong prospect of a female chief of state in Mexico comes after years of political gains for women. A woman currently heads the Supreme Court and women sit as governors in eight of Mexicos 31 states. In 2022, women accounted for 25% of the countrys mayors.

Special correspondent Cecilia Sanchez Vidal contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Mexico seems set to elect its first female president in next years election after the countrys leading parties both unveiled women candidates.

Ruling party Morena said Wednesday that Claudia Sheinbaum will be its nominee for the 2024 general election. She is set to take on Senator Xochitl Galvez, who was nominated by the opposition coalition on Sunday.

They will be vying to replace current leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is required to step down next year as Mexican law prohibits presidents from seeking a second six-year term.

Sheinbaum is a former mayor of Mexico City who has long been considered a favorite to get the nomination. She was officially named Morenas pick after winning an internal survey on the partys candidate.

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Born in Mexico City in 1962, Sheinbaum has a degree in physics and a PhD in energy engineering.

She served as Mexico Citys secretary of the environment in the year 2000, when Obrador was the citys mayor. Since then, she has maintained a close relationship with the outgoing leader, supporting him in his three political campaigns for presidency.

She was elected mayor of Mexico City in 2018.

After four-and-a-half years, she left that post to pursue her ambition of becoming presidential candidate for her party, of which she is a founder.

Her main rival Galvez was officially named on Sunday as the candidate of the alliance of opposition parties Frente Amplio Por Mexico, Mexicos Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) announced on its X account, formerly known as Twitter.

Senator Xochitl Galvez, opposition candidate for Mexico's 2024 presidential election, speaks at the Angel of Independence monument, in Mexico City, on Sunday. - Marco Ugarte/AP

PRI is the main opposition party to Morena. The coalition Frente Amplio Por Mexico (The Broad Front for Mexico) is made up of three opposition parties; the National Action Party (PAN), the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) and PRI. Galvez is a senator for PAN.

What the president (Lopez Obrador) wants is to beat me; he is not going to beat me I am a brave and forward-thinking woman, so this is just the beginning, Galvez told CNN en Espanol in July.

Coming from humble beginnings, Galvez was able to study computer engineering after winning a scholarship. She later went on to become a businesswoman.

From 2015 to 2018, she served as the mayor of the Miguel Hidalgo borough in Mexico City. In 2018, she won a seat in the Senate for PAN.

This comes as, in another historic moment, Mexicos Supreme Court ruled to federally decriminalize abortion on Wednesday, finding that the current ban on the procedure is unconstitutional.

The First Chamber of the Court ruled that the legal system that penalizes abortion in the Federal Criminal Code is unconstitutional, since it violates the human rights of women and people with the capacity to gestate, the Supreme Court said on social media.

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Mexico's ruling Morena party on Wednesday picked Claudia Sheinbaum, a recent mayor of Mexico City, as its candidate to succeed the popular, term-limited President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in next year's presidential election. The main opposition bloc, the Broad Front for Mexico, chose tech entrepreneur Xochitl Galvez as its presidential candidate on Sept. 3, meaning Mexico's next president will almost certain be its first female president.

Mexico's third largest political bloc, Citizen's Movement, hasn't chose its 2024 candidate yet. The smaller Green Party and Workers' Party are expected to support Morena.

"We can already say today: Mexico, by the end of next year, will be governed by a woman," Jesus Silva-Herzog Marquez, a political scientist at Mexico's Monterrey Institute of Technology, told The New York Times, calling that an "extraordinary change" for a country where women couldn't vote until 1953. Sheinbaum, who leads in the early polling, would also be Mexico's first Jewish president. Both women have engineering degrees, and both are socially progressive.

Sheinbaum, 61, was environment secretary of Mexico City when Lopez Obrador was mayor from 2000 to 2005. She was elected mayor herself in 2018 and served until stepping down in June to run for president. Galvez, 60, is a senator for the conservative National Action Party (PAN) and got her start in politics in 2003 when then-President Vicente Fox tapped her to lead the presidential office for indigenous affairs.

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Mexico has worked to boost female participation in government, with success. A woman is chief justice of the Supreme Court, which decriminalized abortion in federal health facilities on Wednesday. Women lead both houses of Mexico's Congress and make up 50 percent of the legislature and of Lopez Obrador's Cabinet. Mexico ranks No. 4 in female participation in national legislatures, The Washington Post reported, citing the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The U.S. is 71st, just below Iraq.

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By Dave Graham

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - In a grainy 1991 black and white photograph, Claudia Sheinbaum - the favorite to be Mexico's next president - holds aloft a banner reading 'Fair Trade and Democracy Now!!' in protest against the Mexican government of the day.

Sheinbaum and her mentor, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a trenchant critic of the establishment before he took power, would not meet until years later.

But the photo - posted by her on social media in June - underscores their shared zeal for curbing chronic inequality in Mexico and the belief that powerful elites perpetuate it.

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Now, Sheinbaum, 61, wants to assume his mantle as a defender of the state, cementing public control of natural resources, and strengthening his welfare programs and flagship infrastructure projects. She is also set to push Mexico towards more renewable energy usage.

"There's no turning back from the transformation begun by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador," Sheinbaum shouted to a crowd of supporters late last month in central Mexico City during her campaign for the presidential nomination of the governing leftist National Regeneration Movement (MORENA).

On Wednesday, MORENA said Sheinbaum, who in June stood down as Mexico City mayor to pursue the nomination, would be its candidate to succeed Lopez Obrador.

Her victory was not without controversy, with her main rival, former foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard , denouncing the selection process as marred by irregularities.

Under Mexican law, presidents can only serve a single six-year term.

If Sheinbaum or her opposition rival, businesswoman-turned-politician Xochitl Galvez, wins the June 2, 2024 election, one of them will become the country's first female president.

Sheinbaum has been scrupulously loyal to Lopez Obrador, even as he struggled to tame record levels of violence, picked fights with energy investors, pilloried critical media and alienated many wealthier Mexicans.

On security, she has outshone him, reducing murders in Mexico City by nearly half during her tenure as mayor. Sheinbaum also expanded public transport and pushed greener energy policies.

A punctilious former ballet student of Jewish descent whose student activism evolved into a distinguished career as a physicist and environmentalist, Sheinbaum is said by aides to be as analytical as the 69-year-old Lopez Obrador is political.

Lopez Obrador regularly lambasts adversaries at daily news briefings. Sheinbaum, by contrast, has pursued a more measured, scientific governing style, extolling cooperation.

"As a physicist I say this: It's easy to create chaos and pretty hard to bring about order, especially when you have a social vision," she told Reuters last year.

The president's approval rating has consistently held around 60%, making him crucial to MORENA's hopes of victory.

But as the presidential campaign gathers pace, Sheinbaum will have to strike a balance between loyalty to Lopez Obrador and offering new ideas, said political consultant Antonio Ocaranza, a former spokesman for ex-President Ernesto Zedillo.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

The photo Sheinbaum shared on X, formerly Twitter, showed her at the center of a protest against a 1991 visit to Stanford University by then-President Carlos Salinas , a champion of economic liberalism who has been long vilified by Mexico's left.

"A few years have gone by, but I still have the same feeling and yearning for social justice," she wrote alongside it.

Salinas oversaw major privatizations after a highly controversial 1988 election, and Lopez Obrador has long depicted the policies as the cause of modern inequality in Mexico.

A few weeks after Sheinbaum's photo was taken, Lopez Obrador launched a weeks-long protest march dubbed the "Exodus for Democracy", claiming Salinas' Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) had rigged elections in his native Tabasco state.

The march to Mexico City helped propel Lopez Obrador to national prominence - and, later, to his first meeting with Sheinbaum after he was elected mayor of the capital in 2000.

Lopez Obrador appointed Sheinbaum city environment minister, and she became a close ally. In 2018, she was elected mayor as part of the team that swept him to power.

Soon after he became president, aides and political insiders began mentioning her as his political heir, seeing her as the most apt defender of Lopez Obrador's drive to make the state the engine of social change and custodian of the economy.

If elected, she would be just as nationalistic about the economy as Lopez Obrador, said Rene Cervera, a Sheinbaum aide who once worked for Ebrard, her MORENA rival.

Though while Lopez Obrador has pumped billions of dollars into state oil company Pemex, Sheinbaum, who was part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, wants to tap Mexico's renewable power.

"With public investment," said Cervera.

(Reporting by Dave Graham; Additional reporting by Diego Ore; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
Mexico's Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday to decriminalize abortion across the predominantly Catholic country, calling the existing federal ban on abortion "unconstitutional." Abortion rights activists took to social media, posting green hearts which represent the so-called Green Wave for reproductive rights in Latin America. File photo by Noelia F. Aceituno/EPA-EFE

Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Mexico's Supreme Court unanimously ruled Wednesday to decriminalize abortion across the predominantly Roman Catholic country, calling the existing federal ban on abortion "unconstitutional."

"The First Chamber of the Court ruled that the legal system that penalizes abortion in the Federal Criminal Code is unconstitutional, since it violates the human rights of women and people with the capacity to gestate," Mexico's Supreme Court said.

Abortion has been legally accessible in only 12 of Mexico's 32 states before Wednesday's ruling, which is the latest in a series of wins for reproductive rights across Latin America.

Columbia, Argentina, Uruguay and Guyana have all moved to legalize or decriminalize abortion.

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Despite Wednesday's ruling, abortion access in Mexico is not immediate. Mexico's two congressional chambers will need to pass an accompanying law first, to eliminate abortion from the country's penal code.

Mexico's ruling follows decades of feminist activism and comes after the country's Supreme Court lost some conservative justices.

The ruling also comes more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights, guaranteed by Roe v. Wade, and returned the issue back to the states.

Two years ago, Mexico's Supreme Court ruled against the state of Coahuila, which threatened women who undergo abortions with up to three years in prison and a fine. It was the first time the court said it was unconstitutional to criminalize abortion.

On Wednesday, abortion rights activists took to social media, posting green hearts that represent the so-called Green Wave for reproductive rights in Latin America.

GIRE, a reproductive rights organization based in Mexico City that was part of a years-long campaign for reform, issued a statement after the ruling.

"No woman or pregnant person, nor any health worker, will be punished for abortion," GIRE wrote.

"From GIRE we trust that the country's entities, whose legislation still hinders reproductive autonomy, take into account the criteria of the highest court of justice in order to guarantee the right to decide for women and people with the capacity to gestate."
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  School board members in Miami rejected a proclamation early Thursday morning that would have recognized October as LGBTQ history month in the latest example of Floridas parental rights laws influencing public education.

The decision, which came around 1 a.m. after hours of public comment and debate, illustrates how local education policy has changed since 2021, when Miami-Dade County school board members last acknowledged LGBTQ history month. Over the last two years, the school board in Miami, like many other counties, has been reshaped with candidates aligned with Gov. Ron DeSantis and conservative leaders who support the parental rights policies labeled as Dont Say Gay by opponents.

This is about someones sexual preference, and not a cultural issue, said Roberto Alonso, a Miami-Dade County school board member endorsed by DeSantis who voted against the recognition. Its imposing ideologies and a sexual discussion that should not be happening inside of our schools.

The recognition was shut down by a 5-3 vote following dozens of public speakers filling the school board auditorium representing both sides of the issue, reminiscent of the scene that played out last year when a similar item was proposed and also denied.

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The idea was introduced to herald October as a reminder to all cultures within our wider community of the important roles that LGBTQ people have taken in shaping the social, historical, legal, and political worlds we live in today. It specifically stated that the boards observation would be in accordance with state and federal law in hopes of avoiding a confrontation with the controversial parental rights law.

Better known as Dont Say Gay, the policy prohibits teachers from leading instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation to pre-K through grade eight students and was expanded this year to restrict the usage of pronouns in schools. Under a separate Board of Education rule, teachers run the risk of losing their educator credentials for leading instruction on those topics to students through 12th grade. These policies are a key part of Floridas attempt to root out traces of liberal indoctrination in local schools, particularly centered on lessons and books about race and sexuality.

Supporters of the proclamation, such as board member Lucia Baez-Geller who introduced it, claimed that the proposal was a ceremonial and nonbinding way to support LGBTQ students and families. Opposition to the recognition, according to Baez-Geller, was sparked by the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and agenda from the DeSantis administration and Legislature. She noted that the idea was not seen as controversial when it passed 8-1 two years ago.

This didnt happen in 2021 before the Parental Rights in Education bill, Baez-Geller said during the meeting.

Its the cultural politics, its the political agendas, its the war on minorities, its the war on people who already are struggling, she added.

But the recognition was a nonstarter for the conservative-leaning members of Miamis school board, including two members endorsed  and donated to  by DeSantis and state Republicans. They claimed the proposal violated the intent and spirit of the parental rights laws and rejected it in support of parents who want to avoid the sexualization of their children. Two other members who voted against the measure were appointed by DeSantis earlier this year.

I really dont know how a teacher is expected to recognize, observe and celebrate this month without being perceived by students parents as instruction or without crossing the line and becoming instruction, said board Vice Chair Danny Espino, a DeSantis appointee.
This image provided by Michigan State Police shows a vehicle driven by a person suspected of setting fire and shooting at multiple Michigan State Police patrol vehicles in the sate's Upper Peninsula. The vehicles at the Sault Ste. Marie Post were lit on fire and struck by rifle rounds early Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, state police said. No troopers were in the vehicles at the time of the attack. (Michigan State Police via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (AP)  Michigan State Police said Thursday they shot and arrested a 39-year-old Florida man in connection with four of the agency's cruisers being set ablaze and shot at outside a post in the Upper Peninsula.

A gunfight began while officers were executing a search warrant around 1:45 p.m. Thursday at a property in the Sault Ste. Marie area, said Lt. Mark Giannunzio, a state police spokesperson.

The suspect fired shots at troopers and the officers returned fire, Giannunzio said in an email. The man was hit and taken by ambulance to a hospital, he said.

The suspect's name and condition weren't immediately released. No officers were injured, Giannunzio said.

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Police on Wednesday had described a suspect as a white male who was wearing camouflage in footage of the early Wednesday attack, is considered armed and dangerous, the agency said in a plea for the publics help in identifying him.

Security cameras captured footage of a man dousing the vehicles with gasoline and setting them on fire around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday outside the Sault Ste. Marie post, then shooting them with a rifle from a distance, Giannunzio said.

The attack happened in an area of the post that is easily accessible to the public, Giannunzio said Wednesday. Police had described a suspect as a white male who was wearing camouflage and was considered armed and dangerous.

He literally just pulls into the driveway leading into the post and that's where those four vehicles were parked," he said.

The suspect was last seen driving away in an SUV, Giannunzio said.

Sault Ste. Marie is a city at the northeastern tip of the Upper Peninsula, about 300 miles (482 kilometers) north of Detroit.
The 3-year-old Venezuelan girl who died last month after Texas authorities placed her family on a bus to Chicago already had a low-grade fever and other symptoms before she boarded, according to a new autopsy report released Thursday.

The revelation contradicts an earlier statement by Texas officials about the bus ride, which said "no passenger presented with a fever or medical concerns."

The death of the migrant youth raises questions about medical screenings for the state-sponsored bus trips, which have been controversial since Gov. Greg Abbott and other governors began touting them more than a year ago as a way to ship migrants to more liberal states.

Jimmy Barboza, Mariangel Gonzalez and Jismary, 3, of Venezuela, boarded a Texas-sponsored bus from Brownsville to Chicago last month after being allowed into the U.S. to seek asylum. Jismary had a low-grade fever and other symptoms as she boarded the bus and later died en route, a new report says, raising questions as to the medical screening process on the state-sponsored bus trips.

"The child had reportedly begun experiencing mild symptoms and began feeling ill as the family boarded the bus in Brownsville," according to a statement by Marion County (Ill.) Coroner Troy Cannon. "At that point, she had a low-grade fever only, and was allowed to board the bus."

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Jismary Alejandra Barboza Gonzalez was a few days shy of her 4th birthday when she and her family boarded a bus from Brownsville, Texas, to Chicago last month.

Her condition deteriorated on the way to Illinois, the coroner said. Cradled by her mother, Jismary experienced vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration, according to the statement. She later lost consciousness and was removed from the bus and rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Cannons report listed the cause of death as bacterial Shigella Flexneri Colitis and Aspiration Pneumonia along with diarrhea and vomiting, which caused electrolyte abnormalities and swelling of the brain. Jismary also tested positive for norovirus and rotavirus in the intestine and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, in the lungs.

A statement released by the Texas Department of Emergency Management in the wake of Jismarys death said that after being released by U.S. Border Patrol in Brownsville, each bus passenger underwent a temperature check and was asked if they had any medical conditions. Following this check, no passenger presented with a fever or medical concerns, it said.

The department didnt reply to a request for comment on the latest autopsy report.

Bus rides part of Operation Lone Star

Migrants line up outside the Val Verde Border Humanitarian Coalition migrant shelter in Del Rio, Texas, after being released by U.S. Border Patrol. Many of the migrants will later take state-funded bus rides to Washington, New York or Chicago.

Texas has bused more than 32,000 migrants away from the Texas-Mexico border to cities such as New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago since the effort began in April 2022. The buses are part of Operation Lone Star, Gov. Greg Abbotts nearly $10 billion effort to enforce the border in response to what he has said are President Bidens lax border policies.

Investigation: Texas arrests separating migrant families may hinge on a key element: Landowners permission

We will continue busing migrants to sanctuary cities until Biden does his job & secures the border, Abbott recently said on X, the social media site formerly called Twitter.

Texas officials said the bus rides are voluntary and migrants sign releases before boarding. But advocates have questioned how much medical screening takes place before migrants board the buses and what oversight exists once theyre aboard, as well as how much migrants really understand about where theyre being sent.

Theres a lot of concern about lack of transparency in general regarding these bus rides, said

Priscilla Olivarez, a policy attorney and strategist at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. Theres no oversight and no accountability.

Jismary Alejandra Barboza Gonzalez's death

Jismarys parents, Jimmy Barboza and Mariangel Gonzalez, fled Venezuela and lived several years in Colombia, where Jismary was born, according to a GoFundMe page started by a family friend to raise money for Jismarys funeral. Earlier this year, they decided to emigrate to the United States, trekking through the Darien Gap, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and across Mexico.

Migrants travel along a steep embankment searching for an opening in the razor wire lining part of the Rio Grande bordering Eagle Pass, Texas, on July 22, 2023.

They spent two months in Reynosa, Mexico, considered one of the deadliest cities along the U.S.-Mexico border, before being allowed to enter the U.S. at Brownsville, Texas, to seek asylum. After being released from Border Patrol, the family boarded the Texas-sponsored bus bound to Chicago on Aug. 9, along with other migrants.

As Jismarys symptoms worsened, she was given electrolyte drinks aboard the bus, according to the Marion County coroners statement. Gonzalez borrowed a thermometer from another passenger and used it to take her daughters temperature, which registered at just over 100 degrees. As the bus rolled north, Jismarys condition worsened and she began struggling to breathe.

On Interstate 57 near Kinmundy, Ill., Gonzalez noticed Jismary was unconscious and unresponsive, according to the coroners statement. The bus pulled over and a security guard on board called 911. Paramedics rushed her to Salem Township Hospital, where Jismary was pronounced dead at 6:36 a.m., Aug. 10.

A 2018 study published by the National Institutes of Health showed the bacteria responsible for the girls death sickens more than 500,000 people in the U.S. and leads to 6,000 hospitalizations annually but is tied to just 40 deaths a year.

Special report: Inside the dire situation facing migrants bused across US

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Details emerge on child's death aboard bus of migrants from Texas
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) said Wednesday the migrant crisis will destroy the city, and he reiterated his call for more state and federal help to address soaring numbers.

This issue will destroy New York City, destroy New York City. Were getting 10,000 migrants a month. Now again, people from all over the globe have made their minds up that theyre going to come through the southern part of the border and come into New York City, Adams said at a town hall Wednesday evening.

Adams has repeatedly called on the Biden administration and the New York state government to help the city navigate the migrant crisis. His office said Wednesday that more than 110,000 asylum-seekers have arrived in the city since spring 2022.

New York City has already received about $140 million in federal funding for shelters, which is more than any other city not on the southwest border. The White House told New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) it cannot send more federal assistance to the state, blaming congressional hurdles for the inability.

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Adams announced a new placement of a humanitarian emergency response and relief center Wednesday in Long Island City, which will first be used to provide shelter for up to 330 single men. It will eventually be expanded to house nearly 1,000 asylum-seekers when at full capacity, the announcement stated.

With an average of more than 10,000 asylum seekers arriving in our city every month, and nearly 60,000 migrants currently in our care, New York City has stepped up to meet the challenge of this humanitarian crisis  but we need additional support to keep pace, Adams said in a statement.

The transition of this site into a new humanitarian relief center at Austell Place is an important next step in our efforts to do our part, but, as weve said month after month, only more support from our state and federal partners and real policy change in Washington will truly address this crisis, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
More migrant children than ever are transiting through Latin America and the Caribbean, and they are uniquely vulnerable to the threats of the regions dangerous migration routes, according to a new report from the United Nations lead child-welfare agency.

More and more children are on the move, of an increasingly young age, often alone and from diverse countries of origin, including from as far away as Africa and Asia, said Garry Conille, director of UNICEF for Latin America and the Caribbean, in a statement. When they cross several countries and sometimes the entire region, disease and injury, family separation and abuse may plague their journeys and, even if they make it to their destination, their futures often remain at risk.

The record number of migrant children coincides with the historic levels of irregular migration the Western hemisphere has experienced in recent years, and that the United States and other countries are struggling to contain as people flee simultaneous social, political, economic and environmental crises in Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua and other countries in the region.

Children make up about a quarter of all people on the move in Latin America and the Caribbean, higher than the total percent of migrant children at the global level, which is 13%, UNICEF said. And most of the children moving through the region are very young: as many as 91% were under age 11 along certain key transit points examined by the agency.

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We are no longer talking about young adults, single men, looking for a better life. We are talking about the profile of the migration drastically changing in the last decade. We are seeing more families, families with children, sometimes children alone, said Laurent Duvillier, regional chief of Communications and Advocacy for Latin America and the Caribbean for the agency.

The agency doesnt have estimates for the total number of children moving through the region. But the report identifies three major migration flows where the volume of children has reached record highs: The Darien Gap, a dangerous stretch of jungle between Colombia and Panama; out of Venezuela, which is facing a humanitarian crisis that has pushed over 7 million people to leave since 2014; and northern Central America and Mexico, heading north to the U.S. border.

The report also identifies places in which a smaller, yet significant movement of people is also happening. They include migrants leaving Cuba and Nicaragua, a flow of people between Andean countries, and the thousands of people coming to Latin America and the Caribbean from places as far as Afghanistan, Cameroon, Somalia and Bangladesh.

Its clearly not a border issue between two countries. This is a continental issue that requires a continental solution that requires all the governments to come together and look at migrant children for who they are and to protect their specific rights, Duvillier said.

He emphasized that the different flows dont necessarily aim towards the United States, using the example of migrants in South America who stay in neighboring countries in the continent to be closer to home, or Haitians who moved to Chile and Brazil after the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 300,000 people.

More than 330,000 people have crossed the Darien Gap this year, said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Marta Hurtado on Tuesday. About 20% of crossers were children, she added, saying that the resources of the Panamanian government were stretched thin because of the large volume of migrants flowing through the treacherous stretch of wilderness. The journey, which goes through mountains, hills, and rivers, can take up to 10 days under tropical rains during the wet season. There is also the presence of human trafficking rings and criminals who pose a threat to migrants, as well as dangerous animals such as jaguars and snakes.

Ive heard stories of mothers who lost their babies in the forest. Ive heard stories of children arriving alone after being separated from their parents along the journey. You can see those fathers and mothers carrying their babies literally on their back and arriving in Panama after crossing those borders. They are literally survivors, Duvillier said.

The United States, in collaboration with Panama and Colombia, launched a 60-day campaign earlier this year that had as one of its aims to end irregular migration in the Darien Gap. But the flow hasnt stopped.

In all, more than 60,000 children crossed the dangerous route through August of this year, making it the year with the most child crossings on record, UNICEF said. The report also pointed to an increase in the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection encounters with unaccompanied children at the U.S.-Mexico border in the last few years, registering over 152,000 such encounters just in the last fiscal year.

UNICEF highlighted several reasons why families and children flee their home countries, including poverty, gang violence, political insecurity and lack of access to education and basic services. It also identified several natural disasters from the last few years  including Hurricanes Eta and Iota in Nicaragua, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Haiti, and rainfall and droughts in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua  that have driven people from their home countries. Those disasters, compounded with the COVID-19 pandemic, left many people sick and jobless in Latin America as the region grappled with quarantine, government-issued lockdowns, business closures and overwhelmed hospitals.

Duvillier told the Herald that the agency is working to ensure that children have access to basic services, healthcare and education, which the report asserts that migrant children are not always able to receive as they settle or transit through different countries in the region.

Duvillier said that UNICEF  which is asking for a combined $303 million to tend to the needs of migrant and refugee youth across the region and which said it has not received most of its funding requirements  offers both humanitarian assistance such as access to healthcare and water as well as helping migrant children with long-term access to civil registration, legal documentation, and school and healthcare systems.

Child migration can be turned into an opportunity for stability, growth and opportunity in the region. But that can only happen if we offer education, health, and other opportunities for children, he said.

UNICEF issued several recommendations for United Nations member countries, including eradicating the child-specific causes of migration, creating family reunification systems and protecting the right to asylum and other new avenues of regular migration and instituting child-sensitive processes at international borders.

The unprecedented scale of the child migration crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean urgently requires a stronger humanitarian response as well as the expansion of safe and regular migration pathways for children and families to help protect their rights and their futures, no matter where they are from, Conille said.

Read the report here.
A 3-year-old migrant girl who died while on a bus from Texas to Chicago was suffering from multiple health problems, including pneumonia and an intestinal disease, an autopsy determined.

Jismary Alejandra Barboza Gonzalez died Aug. 10 while on a chartered bus traveling along Interstate 57 through Marion County, in southern Illinois, about 90 miles east of St. Louis. The bus was part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott 's program begun last year of sending migrants crossing into the state to Democratic-led cities across the country.

Marion County Coroner Troy Cannon announced Thursday that an autopsy determined Jismary died of bacterial Shigella flexneri colitis, an intestinal disease, and aspiration pneumonia. Diarrhea and vomiting also caused electrolyte abnormalities and brain swelling, which also contributed to her death. She also tested positive for norovirus and rotavirus in her intestines, and RSV in her lungs, both of which can cause diarrhea and respiratory illness.

"Her extremely low weight and length for her age at 0.2 and 1.2 growth percentiles per the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards was a significant contributing factor in her death," Cannon wrote in a press release.

/ Credit: via GoFundMe

Jismary began feeling ill as her family boarded the bus in Texas, but at that point she had only a low-grade fever, according to Cannon.

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"During the trip, her symptoms worsened, and developed into vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, and dehydration," Cannon wrote.

Her condition continued to deteriorate throughout the trip, and she started having trouble breathing.

The bus pulled over in Marion County after her mother discovered Jismary was unconscious and unresponsive. A security guard on the bus called 911, and she was taken to the hospital, as emergency crews tried to revive her. She was pronounced dead after she arrived at the hospital.

Jismary's funeral was held last month at a church in Warsaw, Indiana. The Illinois Welcoming Center, a partially state-funded program, helped cover burial costs for Jismary.

The girl's great aunt, Gisela Gonzalez, said the family set out for the United States in May from their home in Colombia, where Jismary was born.

Gisela Gonzalez, who lives in Venezuela, said there was no indication that Jismary was in distress or needed medical attention before she apparently suffered cardiac arrest on the bus. She said Jismary's parents faced down the treacherous Darien Gap and crossed five Central American countries and Mexico before turning themselves in at a U.S. immigration checkpoint.

According to the Texas Division of Emergency Management, passengers on the bus, which departed from the border city of Brownsville, were given temperature checks and asked about health conditions before boarding. The agency has said Jismary's death marked the first time Texas authorities have announced a death since it began shuttling migrants last August.

Abbott's Operation Lone Star has dispatched 30,000 migrants who have crossed into Texas seeking asylum to Chicago, Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles  so-called sanctuary cities  in a protest he said will end when President Joe Biden "secures the border."

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Two migrants have been arrested and accused of striking police officers this week, Chicago police sources said. A third has also been placed into police custody.

On Tuesday, a woman battered a Near West District police officer a little before 11 a.m. at the district station, in the 1400 block of South Blue Island Avenue and fled the scene, the Police Department said. Police later found the woman at 5:17 p.m. nearby in the 1700 block of West Taylor Street, where she was placed into custody.

Ana Rondon, 20, was charged with one count of battery for making physical contact.

On Wednesday, police allege a man stole someone elses property at the station and attempted to flee, police said. Another person then battered a responding officer, who suffered minor injuries before being taken to a hospital in good condition, according to police.

Both suspects were placed into custody, awaiting possible charges.

Chicago Tribunes Sam Charles contributed.

ckubzansky@chicagotribune.com
Right-wing commentator Mike Huckabee is coming under heavy criticism after warning of bullets in future elections should Donald Trump lose in 2024 due to his mounting legal woes.

Over the weekend, Huckabee accused President Joe Biden of trying to destroy Trump via legal actions in the courthouse rather than at the ballot box via an election.

Heres the problem: If these tactics end up working to keep Trump from winning or even running in 2024, it is going to be the last American election that will be decided by ballots rather than bullets, he said during his monologue on his TBN show Huckabee.

Trump is facing a combined 91 felony charges in four different cases, including charges related to the mishandling of classified information, his attempts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election, and his efforts to overturn the election results in Georgia.

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But Huckabee compared the proceedings to those that go on in banana republics and communist regimes, where political opponents are imprisoned or exiled for made-up crimes.

Joe Biden is using exactly those tactics to make sure that Donald Trump is not his opponent in 2024, he declared:

Huckabee is a former governor of Arkansas and father of current Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was a White House press secretary under Trump.

His comments over the weekend are the latest in a line of inflammatory statements from figures aligned with the former president.

Last week, Georgia state Sen. Colton Moore told former Trump strategist Steve Bannon that he wanted to defund Fani Willis, the district attorney prosecuting Trump in the state, and warned of dire consequences if shes allowed to proceed with the case.

We need to be taking action right now. Because if we dont, our constituencies are gonna be fighting it in the streets. Do you want a civil war? he said, according to Salon. I dont want a civil war. I dont want to have to draw my rifle. I want to make this problem go away with my legislative means of doing so.

Last month, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin alluded to a civil war and urged Trump supporters to rise up and take our country back.

Last year, failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake also issued a thinly veiled threat to Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland and special counsel Jack Smith.

If you want to get to President Trump, you are going to have to go through me, and you are going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me, she said, The New York Times reported. And Im going to tell you, most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA.

She said it wasnt a threat but a public service announcement.

On X, formerly Twitter, critics called Huckabee out for his extremist rhetoric:

Is this a threat?



Mike Huckabee says that if Trump isnt elected president,



The 2024 election is going to be the last American election that will be decided by ballots rather than bullets." pic.twitter.com/3tYTTd4Hvd  Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) September 6, 2023

What a clown.



Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee Says if Trump Loses, 2024 Could Be Last Election Decided by Ballots Rather Than Bullets - The Messenger https://t.co/Fjz8YkOXxY  Adam Kinzinger (Slava Ukraini)  (@AdamKinzinger) September 7, 2023

Shame on you https://t.co/obW8zXQJbN  Henry Winkler (@hwinkler4real) September 6, 2023

Mike Huckabee is a domestic terrorist who has gotten away with using religion for too many years while pushing hate and violence. His most recent comments should be taken seriously and result in his arrest. https://t.co/Cd3Bx9BTLA  Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) September 6, 2023

Irresponsible, reckless and dangerous rhetoric. I've never been a super partisan person, but I worry we are all getting too used to these anti democracy sentiments from leaders on the right. https://t.co/cJAwfI3JvP  Amy McGrath (@AmyMcGrathKY) September 7, 2023

Let us win or we'll murder ya and take over anyway is a hell of a campaign slogan. https://t.co/8LL7cUZtBW  Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) September 6, 2023

When @DavidAFrench and I worked closely with @MittRomney and @AnnRomney, Christians hoped the Romneys (who are LDS) would drop Mormonism and embrace 'true Christianity,' as showcased by someone like Mike Huckabee.



Here's a snippet of this 'pure' religion: Lies and threats https://t.co/aJO2W63iim  Nancy French (@NancyAFrench) September 6, 2023

Mike Huckabee is a dangerous, reckless monster https://t.co/oEPPe4xnGS  Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) September 6, 2023

Mike Huckabee is the worst of us. https://t.co/glFiDpbwyD  John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) September 6, 2023

"TBN is the largest Christian Television Network in the world committed to sending the message of hope and grace of Jesus to the world via live streaming." https://t.co/DcXEMxEXIj  Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) September 6, 2023
Ukrainian grain is already being exported through Croatian ports, the Economy Ministry announced on Sept. 7, citing Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko's comments made during the Three Seas Initiative summit in Bucharest.

"We are ready to develop (this route), expanding the possibilities of the transport corridor."

According to the ministry, grain transit was one of the topics of the bilateral talks between Svyrydenko and Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic at the summit.

Zagreb also offered to assist Ukraine with demining work and investigation of Russian war crimes, leveraging its own experience. The two parties discussed using Croatia's expertise in setting up the necessary institutions such as special prosecutors and police units.

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Ukraine, a major agricultural producer and exporter, has been seeking alternative routes for its grain exports after Russia's unilateral termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative on July 17. The same month, Croatia offered its rail network and ports to assist Ukraine with shipping out its produce.

The Balkan country also allocated $1.1 million to assist Ukraine with demining its agricultural lands.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
A Netflix engineer who was reported missing last month has been found dead, according to the Marin County Sheriffs Office.

The Marin County Sheriffs Office Coroner Division was contacted by the California Highway Patrol last Tuesday, Aug. 29 at around 11:41 a.m. on a report of an unconscious/unresponsive person in the water of the San Francisco Bay.

The body was spotted northeast of the Golden Gate Bridge by a passing boat, according to the sheriffs office. The U.S. Coast Guard was notified and responded to the area and located a lifeless male floating in the bay.

The subject was recovered from the water and taken to Station Golden Gate in Sausalito where paramedics pronounced him deceased. No resuscitation was provided due to the subjects physiologic condition, police said.

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He was positively identified on Thursday, Aug. 31 as Yohanes Stefanos Kidane, 22, of San Jose.

The cause of death was determined to be blunt impact injuries with drowning as a significant contributing condition.

Kidane was a recent graduate of Cornell University who had just been hired as a software engineer by Netflix when he went missing on Aug. 14 after getting into an Uber in San Jose. He was last seen in San Francisco.

Some of his belongings were discovered near the Golden Gate Bridge several days after his disappearance.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Mitch McConnell rejected speculation about his future as Republican leader in the US Senate, telling reporters: Im going to finish my term as leader and Im going to finish my Senate term.

Related: Health concerns plague ageing Congress members returning to Capitol Hill

The remarks on Wednesday came amid intense speculation about the 81-year-old Kentucky senators health, after two recent freezes in front of reporters, one on Capitol Hill in July and another in McConnells home state last week.

I think Dr [Brian P] Monahan covered [the question of my health] fully, McConnell said, regarding two public letters in which the congressional physician has discussed possible causes of the freezes and cleared his patient to continue working.

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The first letter said McConnell might be suffering the after-effects of a concussion, sustained in a fall in March, or from dehydration. The second letter said McConnell was not suffering from a seizure disorder, a stroke or a movement disorder such as Parkinsons disease. That letter also called McConnells freeze in Kentucky last week a brief episode.

I have no announcement to make on that subject, McConnell said.

McConnell is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, in place since 2007. His power over his caucus has rarely been questioned but health scares including the freezes and a series of falls have stoked speculation about whether he will finish his seventh six-year term, which ends in January 2027.

Earlier, in a sign of growing uncertainty in Senate Republican ranks, McConnells fellow Kentuckian, Rand Paul, cast doubt on the assurances from congressional physician.

Paul, once a practising opthalmologist, told reporters: When you get dehydrated you dont have moments when your eyes look in the distance with a vacant look and youre sort of basically unconscious with your eyes open. Thats not a symptom of dehydration.

Monahan has also said several medical evaluations of McConnell included brain MRI imaging, EEG [electroencephalogram] study and consultations with several neurologists for a comprehensive neurology assessment.

Paul said: It is a medical mistake to say someone doesnt have a seizure disorder because they have a normal EEG.

My point is that Im just trying to counter the misinformation from the Senate doctor. It is basically not believable to come up and say that whats going on is dehydration. It makes it worse.

Paul also said his remarks had nothing to do with [McConnells] fitness to serve and whether hes doing a good job or a bad job.

According to Fox News, McConnell used a closed-door party luncheon to reassure senators he was up to the job. Rick Scott of Florida, who challenged McConnell last year, told Fox McConnell did well.

But press attention to McConnells health has been constant since he fell in Washington in March, sustaining injuries that kept him away from Capitol Hill, and since he froze in front of congressional reporters in July. Other falls were reported then, including a face plant at an airport.

Polling shows most Americans think many politicians stay in their roles too long. More than 75% think that at 80, Joe Biden is too old for a second term as president.

McConnell is a member of the oldest Senate on record. He is however nine years younger than the oldest senator, 90-year-old Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, and eight years younger than the oldest Republican, Chuck Grassley of Iowa.
The Yosemite Community College District wants community members to join its search and selection committee as it continues to look for a new Modesto Junior College president.

Chancellor Henry Yong is looking for two public members to serve. The district asks applicants to submit a brief letter of interest to his office by Monday, Sept. 18.

MJC has not had a permanent president since Santanu Bandyopadhyay was fired in December after 18 months in the position. MJC professor Chad Redwing is serving as interim president.

In the spring, Yong announced the search for a new MJC president had been extended into the fall after the selection committee felt none of the three finalists were right for the position. He said the decision to reopen the recruitment process was made by consulting the Board of Trustees and the 13-member committee, which is made up of faculty, staff and community members.

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Since its opening in 1921, MJC has had 30 presidents, with an average tenure of 2.8 years, according to the Community College League of California.

Letters of interested can be sent to chancelloryong@yosemite.edu or mailed to the Yosemite Community College District Office of the Chancellor, P.O. Box 4065, Modesto CA 95352.

Letters may be hand delivered to the chancellors office on the MJC West Campus, 2201 Blue Gum Ave.

To learn more, call 209-575-6509.
The News

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will get his turn in the spotlight as New Delhi hosts leaders of the worlds largest economies at the Group of 20 summit this upcoming weekend.

Attendees including President Joe Biden, who leaves Thursday and has sought to deepen U.S.-India ties as a means to counter China. Biden and Modi will meet separately on Friday before the larger gathering gets underway.

Morgans view

For Modi, its a moment for India to assert itself on the world stage, after a high-profile state visit to the U.S. and the BRICS summit. Modis government has spent tens of millions of dollars cleaning up New Delhi  demolishing places that housed the poor in the process  and is prepared to go to extreme lengths to keep monkeys away from the gathering.

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The meeting will test Indias ability to move beyond being a powerful geopolitical swing vote and to build consensus among national leaders. There are divisions over language in the joint communique about Russias war in Ukraine. And in an interview with AFP, Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, downplayed expectations for agreements on climate coming out of the meeting, which will pave the way for COP28 later this year.

India is at a pivot point, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a Biden ally and member of the Foreign Relations Committee, told Semafor.

But Chinas Xi Jinping plans to skip the gathering, which could limit progress on big issues and robs Biden of face-to-face time with his Chinese counterpart at a time when his administration is trying to assuage tensions.

Coons said he hoped officials would discuss pitfalls to expanding BRICS, which India objected to out of concern the group would become too pro-China.

Its my hope that at the G-20 there will be some pointed conversations about why thats not necessarily in the best interest of the Global South and how it is that other G-20 countries can and should take engagement with the Global South in a more positive direction, he said.

Room for Disagreement

The absence of both Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin could also further empower the U.S., showcase Chinas failings and confirm Russias status as a pariah, writes David Andelman in CNN. Other pressing issues, like global poverty, could receive more focus, he writes.

Notable

An invitation to a G20 dinner called India by its Sanskrit name Bharat, touching off a heated debate over the countrys name and fueling speculation Modis government would move to officially change it.

Biden is planning to use the G20 to push for World Bank reforms and more multilateral development bank lending to tackle issues like climate change, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters earlier this week.
A mother now faces murder-related charges following a deadly shooting that involved her four children, Kentucky cops say.

The new charges against Amanda Turner, 38, follow the Aug. 25 fatal shooting of 23-year-old Seth Burns. Turners 17-year-old son admitted to police that he killed Seth Burns, according to court documents.

The 17-year-old and his 20-year-old brother, Xxavion Turner, were previously arrested, court records show.

Police in Independence said Amanda Turner drove her four children to a home Aug. 25 for the purpose of fighting the ex-girlfriend of her oldest son.

Nearby doorbell video footage shows Amanda Turner leading her four children and Xxavions new girlfriend down the street while screaming threats towards the residence, police said in the criminal complaint obtained by McClatchy News.

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The 17-year-old, who officers said did not know Burns, shot Burns in the torso when he approached the home, police said. Burns died after being taken to a hospital.

Barbie Burns said her son died protecting his girlfriend and her friend, WCPO reported.

He didnt even know them, Barbie Burns told WCPO. He had no idea who they are, but he was trying to protect somebody and Im very, very proud of him for doing so. It just cost him his life.

In an interview with police, the 17-year-old told authorities his mother drove him away from the scene to avoid detection from police, according to the complaint. She told officers she knew her sons carried guns and still allowed them to engage in the fight, police said.

Xxavion Turner, who is charged with complicity to murder, wanton endangerment and tampering with physical evidence, told officers he took the gun used in the shooting and tried to hide it, a citation states.

On Saturday, Sept. 2, more than a week after the shooting, Amanda Turner was charged with complicity to murder, unlawful transaction with a minor and riot, court records show.

She is being held in jail on a $1 million cash bond.

(I) cant fathom a situation where it would be a good idea for a parent to take their child to go engage in a physical altercation, Kenton County Commonwealths Attorney Rob Sanders told WXIX. Especially a parent who knows that both of their children routinely carry firearms.

The 17-year-old, whose name has not been publicly disclosed, could be charged as an adult, officials told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

A funeral for Seth Burns was held Monday, Sept. 4.

In his 23 years, Seth lived a full and meaningful life. He was a beacon of kindness, love, and thoughtfulness, and his legacy will live on in the hearts and memories of those who were fortunate to know him, according to an obituary.

Independence is in Northern Kentucky about 15 miles south of Cincinnati.

Road rage shooting left 6-year-old girl paralyzed, Kentucky cops say. Two now arrested

Man trying to catch falling gun shoots girlfriend at state fair, Kentucky police say

Mom and daughter last seen leaving Sonic restaurant are found dead in river, KY cops say
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  A Blue Springs couple have been sentenced for helping a federal inmate after he escaped the Cass County jail last year.

Dawn Branstietter pleaded guilty in April to assisting an escape and was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison. Branstietters husband, John Douglas Baxter, was also sentenced to 16 months in prison for helping the inmate.

Overland Park mom, 4-year-old shot at after yelling at speeding driver

Branstietter is the mother of Trevor Sparks, who escaped the Cass County jail last December and was recaptured a few weeks later. Another inmate, Sergio Perez-Martinez, also escaped with Sparks and is still on the run.

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Prosecutors say Sparks made several calls to Branstietter from the jail, and they discussed his upcoming escape attempt.

Sparks and Martinez ultimately escaped by using deception and taking advantage of facility damage to flee. An accomplice picked up Sparks and drove him to Kansas City. That man was already sentenced to 40 months in custody.

Once Sparks made it to Kansas City, prosecutors say Branstietter and Baxter provided him food, clothing and housing while he was on the run.

Man convicted of killing Clinton officer says judges shouldnt hand down death sentences

Days after Sparks escaped, Branstietter told detectives she wouldnt give up her son and would go to prison so he could be free. Baxter also wasnt cooperative with law enforcement, prosecutors said.

Sparks and Branstietter were arrested in Kansas City a few weeks after his escape, and Baxter was also later taken into custody.

Sparks pleaded guilty in June to charges related to the escape. He was sentenced earlier this week to life in prison, plus 60 months, for a $4.1 million meth conspiracy. He was also sentenced to another 33 months for his escape.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
A few weeks ago, I went on the Advisory Opinions podcast to convince New York Times columnist (and constitutional lawyer) David French that his ideas about protecting kids from online porn by mandating age verification couldnt survive constitutional scrutiny. In the interim, a federal district court in Texas enjoined just such a law in Free Speech Coalition v. Colmenero, finding it likely unconstitutional.

Nevertheless, French has persisted. He renewed his call for age verification on the internet (for porn, at least) in a new Times column this past weekend.

Frenchs thesis can be distilled to two basic arguments: first, there is no constitutional right to convenient pornography, and second, that established precedent declaring government-mandated age verification unconstitutional is outdated. And so, he concludes, the problem is more technical than constitutional. But those arguments, and his conclusion, couldnt be farther from the truth.

The First Amendment Is the Greatest Defense for the Powerless and Marginalized

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Reducing the controversy to one about convenient pornography grossly minimizes the First Amendment issues at stake. Like it or not, pornographyand adults ability to access itis constitutionally protected. So despite this attempt to otherize it, what we are talking about is speech. And speech does not become any less speech merely because some people find it icky or morally questionable.

BAD ANALOGIES, FALSE EQUIVALENCIES

It would be difficult to imagine French dismissing onerous speech permitting requirements by saying there is no constitutional right to convenient speech.

And, in fact, the loss of anonymity was a key reason the Supreme Court struck down a permitting regime requiring door-to-door canvassers to identify themselves, noting that it may preclude such persons from canvassing for unpopular causes. So too, when striking down the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), the Third Circuit explained that the First Amendment right of adults to access sensitive content would be chilled if they were forced to give up anonymity.

The chilling effect of eliminating anonymity for First Amendment activity is hardly a matter of convenience; it strikes at the very core of our most cherished civil liberty.

French points to ID requirements for strip clubs and other adult establishments, arguing that we already require some loss of anonymity to access adult materials offline. Maybe so. But first, few if any laws explicitly require checking IDsestablishments do so voluntarily to avoid potential liability from providing entrance or materials to minors.

More importantly, there is a world of difference between a quick glance at an ID to check date of birth, and uploading identity documents to the internet that create a record of a users access.

Online data about us is collected, stored, shared, sold, and used at a galactic level. If anything, the chilling effect of age verification is significantly worse than it was 20 years ago. The effect of creating that kind of digital trail is several orders of magnitude greater than handing over an ID to a bouncer or store clerkwho likely could not remember your name seconds after handing it back.

Comparison of those two drastically different scenarios is reminiscent of the governments argument in the door-to-door canvassing case: that canvassers necessarily reveal part of their identity by simply showing up at someones doorstep, perhaps someone who already knows them. The Supreme Court forcefully rejected that argument, finding that it did not mitigate the constitutional concerns.

Elon Musk, Worst Free Speech Hero Ever

French also points to other offline analogs that create slight difficulties for adults yet remain legal. But both cases he provides as examples do not support the argument that imposing age verification would survive constitutional scrutiny.

First, in Ginsberg v. New York, the Supreme Court upheld a law prohibiting the sale of girlie magazines to minors (whereas they could be sold to adults). But what the law did not require was that merchants verify the age or identity of purchasersalthough a wise merchant likely would do so where it was unclear if the purchaser was a minor. The statute in Ginsberg thus actually imposed no difficulties, even slight ones, on adults seeking to purchase the material.

Second, in Young v. American Mini Theatres, the Supreme Court upheld a zoning ordinance regulating the location and number of adult-oriented businessesfinding that the ordinance was not aimed at the businesses expression, but rather at reducing the secondary effects of crime and violence that plagued neighborhoods with a concentration of such establishments.

But having to travel a little farther to reach a business does not chill a patrons First Amendment rights; compelling adults to sacrifice their anonymity before accessing disfavored content plainly does.

And in any event, this secondary effects doctrine is entirely inapplicable to online porn, both because the impact of expression on a listener is not a secondary effect, and because the Supreme Court has explicitly rejected attempts to transpose the doctrine onto the internet as a kind of cyberzoningthe doctrine remains limited to physical business locations.

SAME AS IT EVER WAS

Acknowledging the federal courts injunction against Texas age verification law, French lays the blame at the feet of Reno v. ACLU, the 1997 Supreme Court decision striking down the Communications Decency Act, calling its analysis outdated and hoping that the court revisits the case in light of the internets subsequent development.

Tech Bosses Are Letting Dictators Censor What Americans See

Thats a strange argument.

Reno v. ACLU has not left the law frozen in time, nor does it need revisiting.

The principles laid out in Reno remain sound: the First Amendment protects online speech the same as offline speech, and any content-based restrictions must satisfy strict scrutinythat is, the law must be narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest, and must be the least restrictive means of accomplishing the governments goal. Far from being outdated, this remains the analytical approach the court uses to assess any content-based speech regulation.

Frenchs real issue is with the facts and evidence presented in Reno. But Reno has never precluded arguing that new facts and circumstances militate a different outcome; it simply held that on the record before the court, the law was unconstitutional. The question is not whether Reno should be revisited, but rather whether these new laws, under new facts, can satisfy the relatively routine constitutional analysis that the Reno court applied.

And that was exactly the approach the court took in enjoining Texas law, considering evidence and testimony from the parties and their experts: The Court does not dispute that online interactions have changed since the Supreme Courts decisions in 1997 and 2004. But as determined by the facts on the record and presented at the hearing, age verification laws remain overly restrictive. Despite changes to the internet in the past two decades, the Court comes to the same conclusion regarding the efficacy and intrusiveness of age verification as the ACLU courts did in the early 2000s.

The Right Needs to Ask: Why Do These Racists Keep Getting Hired by Us?

French argues that because secure credit card use and age verification are practically ubiquitous, we have evolved past Renos assessment that credit card verification is effectively unavailable. In doing so, he misses the true meaning of effectively unavailable. Reno, and the cases that followed, found that credit card age verification failed to render the law narrowly tailored because it doesnt actually verify age.

And nothing has changed in that respect. Neither entering a credit card nor uploading a picture of an ID actually verifies that it is that person who has provided the identity information. Its just as easy to borrow an older siblings ID as it is to borrow a parents credit card. And while there are new forms of age verification that utilize selfies or video, a quick Google search turns up countless pages on fooling such systems using free, easy-to-use software. Whatever the advances in technology since 2008, they have not yet solved this fatal problem.

Reno and its progeny also held that parental controls and content filtering were less restrictive alternatives than age verification. French argues that we have now learned they are wholly inadequate.

But is that so? French doesnt provide a basis for this claim.

And, in fact, Judge Ezra noted that Texas own studies tended to show that content filtering and parental controls would be more effective, and better tailored, than age verification.

Perhaps French believes such measures are inadequate because parents lack the knowledge and ability to implement them. But that does not allow the government to sidestep them as a less restrictive means: A court should not assume a plausible, less restrictive alternative would be ineffective; and a court should not presume parents, given full information, will fail to act.

How a Bogus Lawsuit Led to the Titan Sub Tragedy

Or, perhaps he believes that minors will find a way around them. But that argument is a strike against the laws constitutionality. French acknowledges that minors will also find a way around age verification (and they certainly will). That renders age verification itself ineffective, and as a result, not narrowly tailored. Simply showing that a less restrictive means has flaws is of no moment; to survive constitutional scrutiny, the government must show that its solution will be more effective.

To this, French replies that creating additional hurdles to the acquisition of porn still matters.

Whether it matters is an opinion on which people can disagree. But whether the government can constitutionally impose such hurdles on adults is another matter entirely. And it is clear that neither the First Amendment, nor the internet, has changed enough to allow that.

French does get one thing right: This is not a partisan issue. It is in fact a free speech issue.

Some may be willing to tolerate infringements on the First Amendment to achieve marginalif anyresults. Others believe that moral panic does not justify encroachments on fundamental liberties that will surely beget further encroachments.

Count me among the latter.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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A new facility in Warner Robins will bring more than 125 jobs and invest more than $120 million in the Middle Georgia area.

Pratt Industries, Inc., a Georgia-based packaging company, plans to build a new production facility in Robins Industrial Park located in the part of Warner Robins in Peach County, according to a news release from Gov. Brian Kemp.

We are excited to welcome Pratt Industries into the City of Warner Robins, said Warner Robins Mayor LaRhonda W. Patrick, in the release. Their investment will be the largest single private investment in the history of our city and will provide over 100 new careers for our growing population.

Pratt Industries, Inc., will build a new facility in Robins Industrial Park in the portion of Warner Robins located in Peach County.

The 496,000-square-foot facility will be the companys 13th site in Georgia and will produce corrugated boxes using 100% recycled containerboard. Operations in the new facility are expected to begin in late 2024, according to the release.

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Across the company, Pratt Industries, Inc., employs more than 10,000 workers worldwide and was founded 30 years ago, according to its website. As Americas fifth largest corrugated packaging company and the worlds largest, privately-held 100% recycled paper and packaging company, the company has invested more than $800 million in the state of Georgia.

Thanks to our highly-skilled workforce and reliable infrastructure, were ripe for development and this is a huge win for us. This project will bring more opportunities for good jobs to our citizens, and I believe having Pratt here in Middle Georgia will be an asset to other industries in the area who rely on their products, said Martin Moseley, Chairman of the Peach County Board of Commissioners. We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship and are excited to be a part of the partnership.
More than 800 people have been rescued over the past two days from severe floods in Greece, local officials said, after extreme rainfall turned streets into deadly rivers, tore down buildings and bridges and left whole villages submerged.

The rainstorms also hit neighboring Bulgaria and Turkey, killing at least 16 people across the three countries, including six in Greece.

The Greek region of Thessaly, the countrys agricultural hub, has been hit hardest by what government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis called the biggest flood phenomenon that our country has ever experienced.

The port city of Volos, the surrounding mountainous Pelion area and the cities of Karditsa and Trikala were among the worst affected areas.

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The downpour has lasted days, but is expected to weaken from Thursday afternoon, according to Greeces meteorological service. Rescue operations are now underway to try to reach those left stranded by the floodwaters, which have exceeded two meters (6.5 feet) in some parts of the country.

Videos posted by Greek news outlets and on social media have shown residents in villages near the city of Karditsa forced to swim to safety after their homes were inundated. Other villagers were seen climbing onto their roofs  the only part of their homes not submerged by water  to call for assistance.

Firefighting crews are seen on a collapsed bridge in the village of Kala Nera, in central Greece, September 7 2023. - Stamos Prousalis/Reuters

Five villages near Karditsa have been cut off entirely by the flooding and at least six people are missing, Greek civil protection minister Vassilis Kikilias told reporters Thursday.

The villages of Proastio, Agia Triada, as well as the villages of Palamas, Megala Kalyvia and Kalogriana, are blocked, the waters are at a great height and superhuman efforts are being made to approach and free the residents, said Kikilias.

Kikilias said that 885 people have been rescued over the past two days, saying that the pace of the evacuation efforts was hampered by the ferocity of the downpour.

I want to assure you that there is no means, no action and no effort that could or can be made to evacuate sooner and more safely the people who have been suffering for 48 hours that was not done, he said.

Kikilias added that rescue teams comprising hundreds of staff are working to evacuate those stranded by the floods, with helicopters deployed to help those the boats cannot reach.

Residents stranded in Larissa being rescued by inflatable boats, September 6 2023. - Konstantinos Tsakalidis/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Government spokesman Marinakis told reporters that the fire service had received more than 5,000 calls for assistance. The Greek army is assisting with rescue efforts.

Police have banned civilians from driving in several parts of Thessaly, after floodwaters were seen sweeping cars from the roads.

Marinakis said the Attica region, where the countrys capital Athens is located, experienced nearly three times the average annual rainfall in the space of 12 hours.

The severe flooding comes just days after a two-week deadly wildfire tore through the north of the country, killing at least 18 people.

While its difficult to ascribe individual events to climate change without a scientific analysis, scientists are clear that the climate crisis is supercharging extreme weather.

Previous reporting from CNNs Brandon Miller, Robert Shackelford, Louise McLoughlin and Hande Atay Alam.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Patients gather in the counseling area at one of the last remaining abortion providers in the South, at the Jackson Women's Health Organization also known as The Pink House in Jackson, MS on June 7, 2022 Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Earlier this month, Indiana became the 15th state to nearly totally ban abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in June 2022. In the ripple effects of the court case, laws restricting abortion access were proposed and are still being contended in states like Texas, Iowa and Utah.

As abortion access dwindles in certain states, people are traveling more than 1,000 miles to seek care in states without restrictive abortion policies. According to a study published yesterday in JAMA Network Open, the number of out-of-state residents seeking abortions in Massachusetts, for example, rose 37% in the four months after the Supreme Court ruled on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Some patients traveled from as far away as Texas.

Related

An Ohio high-risk OBGYN on abortion fears come true and life one year post-Dobbs

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There have been observed increases in the number of people traveling to states like Minnesota or Illinois because they border states with abortion bans or even extreme restrictions on reproductive care  but this study demonstrates people seeking abortions are traveling much further distances to get care. Sometimes they must trek across nearly half the country, said study author Elizabeth Janiak, ScD, an assistant professor at obstetrics at Brigham & Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

"I would hypothesize that some of the increase in funding might also be because more folks are having later abortions, which tend to be more expensive."

The study also found the proportion of out-of-state travelers who received charitable funding to help defray the cost of abortion care rose from 8% pre-Dobbs to 18% post-Dobbs. That could be because of higher costs associated with greater distances traveled to receive care, Janiak said.

"I would hypothesize that some of the increase in funding might also be because more folks are having later abortions, which tend to be more expensive than earlier abortions," Janiak told Salon in a phone interview. "I would hypothesize that's happening because delays in accessing care force them [to seek abortions] later in pregnancy than they might have if they accessed abortion in their home state."

The Dobbs ruling that overturned Roe left the power to regulate abortions in states' hands. Even before Dobbs in 2014, 20% of pregnant individuals had to travel about 50 miles to access abortion care in most states. But this ruling effectively "opened the floodgates," for states to increase abortion restrictions, implementing legal penalties for patients and doctors providing abortions, said Seema Mohapatra, a law professor at the SMU Dedman School of Law. As a result, some abortion providers fled states with restrictions and clinics shuttered.

"What we're seeing after Dobbs is states that have conservative legislators taking the opportunity to almost abolish abortion care or restrict it so much that essentially, people in that state don't have access to abortion care anymore," Mohapatra told Salon in a phone interview.

Related

One year after the fall of Roe v. Wade, abortion care has become a patchwork of confusing state laws

The Turnaway Study found women who went on to give birth after not being able to access an abortion experienced increases in poverty, debt and evictions compared to women who were able to access abortions. The study also linked unintended pregnancies to increased rates of pregnancy complications, domestic violence and child development issues.

"There's a whole host of both economic and personal issues that go along with people that are forced to carry to term when they are seeking an abortion  and we're going to have more and more people [facing those issues]," Mohapatra said.

People seeking abortion have been shown to be disproportionately low-income and already parenting children. Restrictive bans on abortion care have also been shown to have a disproportionate impact on people of color, low-income patients and younger people, Mohapatra said. Many seeking an abortion may not be able to take multi-day trips to reach an abortion clinic.

"There is a big financial burden, and only certain people can take that," Mohapatra said. "As a result, you're going to see who can access this kind of care to be very limited to people who can afford it."

"You're going to see who can access this kind of care to be very limited to people who can afford it."

Another study also published in JAMA Network Open last week found telehealth could mitigate some of the disparities in abortion care, providing healthcare for people who cannot travel long distances to seek an abortion. However, even in that study, people with limited access to abortion care  like younger people, those with health conditions or people who spoke languages other than English  accessed telehealth at lower rates for abortion care.

"Efforts to educate patients about telehealth procedures and improve availability of language support are needed to make telehealth medication abortion services feasible for diverse populations," the authors wrote.

Another new study published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management projects how additional bans in other states will continue to shape the post-Roe landscape of abortion care in the coming months or years. The Guttmacher Institute is tracking which states enact abortion bans and in January 2023, predicted that 24 states have or will soon ban abortions. In this scenario, people seeking abortions could have to travel hundreds of additional miles to receive care  but many won't have the means to and will end up giving birth instead, the study found.

Abortions were projected to decrease by 8.5% and births to increase by 1.5%, equating about 79,126 fewer abortions and 56,000 more births per year.

Specifically, the research found one-quarter of people seeking abortions would be unable to get one due to distance should abortion bans take effect in 24 states, with three-quarters of those people trapped giving birth as a result, according to study author Caitlin Myers, an economics professor at Middlebury College. Overall, abortions were projected to decrease by 8.5% and births to increase by 1.5%. That equates to about 79,126 fewer abortions and 56,000 more births per year.

"When distance to a brick and mortar abortion facility goes up, there are a lot of people who end up trapped and can't get there and give birth as a result," Myers told Salon in a phone interview.

To forecast how distances to abortion clinics would change as a result of legislation, Myers looked at policies enacted in the past decade leading up to Dobbs that caused abortion clinics to close. She extrapolated what could happen if states enacted similar restrictions in the future using records of how the rate of abortions and births in the region changed after bans went into place.

Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes.

In Myers' study, the first 100-mile increase in distance had a larger effect on access than greater distances. Prior research involving patients on California Medicaid showed 12% of people seeking an abortion will travel 50 miles to get care whereas just 4% will travel 100 miles or more.

As Myers explained: "In some places, distances have gone up even more than we've ever seen before, but I'm not sure in some ways that matters because the people who get trapped mostly get trapped within the first 100 miles."

Myers' study doesn't account for alternative ways to access abortion services, such as people increasingly ordering abortion pills online. That could mean some instances in which people accessed abortions would not have been included and Myers' projections could be overestimated, she said.

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On the other hand, the study assumes people living within reach of an abortion clinic are able to secure an appointment, which may not be the case as centers struggle to meet the demand of people flooding in from states with abortion bans. In this case, Myers' projections may have underestimated the number of people trapped, she added.

Regardless, one measurement in the study is closely monitored and serves as a reliable way to demonstrate the impact of shuttered abortion clinics: live births. And in this study, those rose.

"Nobody has a perfect crystal ball, but what I would say is, I think this is probably about as good as we could do at reliably forecasting what's to happen," Myers said.

Read more

about abortion
This article was originally published in NC Newsline.

A little more than half of North Carolinas K-12 student test takers were proficient on the recent round of state exams, according to school accountability data shared by the NC Department of Public Instruction.

The 53.6% proficiency rate for the 2021-22 school year is a slight improvement over the 51.2% recorded the previous year.

However, testing data show that the states stubborn achievement gap persists. White students continue to outperform children of color and poor children by large margins.

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Nearly 67% of white students passed state exams, meaning they scored at level three or better. Meanwhile, only 36.1% of Black students and 42.3% of Latinx students were proficient on state exams. Black and Latinx students make up more than 50% of the states 1.5 million K-12 students.

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While students showed overall improvement from the COVID-related decline, they did not surpass pre-pandemic scores, NCDPI officials said.

We have to always remember very clearly that we are still in a pandemic environment and the impact that it has had on our students, our teachers, on our schools and our communities at large, Tammy Howard, senior director of NCDPIs Office of Accountability and Testing.

In a statement, State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said the impact the pandemic had on student achievement is hard to overstate.

Weve now seen two consecutive years of gains that were greater than any of the several years preceding the pandemic losses, when year-to-year changes in average scores were generally flat, or in some cases, declining, Truitt said. Students and schools still have a way to go to catch up, but we have good reason to think that progress will continue.

Truitt said that as more teachers in early grades adopt literacy instruction grounded in the science of reading, more students will become stronger readers.

Were going to see continued improvement in those test scores and others, Truitt said.

The states four-year cohort graduation rate held steady at 86.4%. It was unchanged from the previous year and from the 2018-19 school year.

Howard noted these key takeaways from the accountability data:

State level participation on state exams is greater than 95%.

Scores on all end-of-grade tests and end-of-course exams increased, with the exception of Grade 8 Science and English II. Math has larger increases than reading.

Schools continue to meet and exceed growth.

Compared to 202122, the number of schools rated A, B, and C increased, and those rated D and F decreased.

School performance grade data show 35.4% of schools receiving letter grades of D or F. Thats a decrease over the 42.3% that received them the previous year.

The letter grades have been heavily scrutinized because much of the grade is based on student performance on state exams. The exams account for 80% of the schools letter grade while growth accounts for the remaining 20%.

Truitt has led efforts to retool the grading system so that state exams would carry less weight. She noted that because other states use different models, many are to home to fewer failing schools than North Carolina.

I would really encourage us to think about proficiency rates as we are continuing to work through how to rewrite our school accountability model so that it does a better job of reflecting the work that goes into educating our students, Truitt said.

Howard said North Carolinas testing results are similar to those of other states that are seeing progress back toward pre-COVID levels.

It may not be 100% back to where we were but there is definite progress being seen here.

Eric Davis, chairman of the State Board of Education, said the 2022-23 accountability results reflect the hard work and dedication of many educators and students to address the pandemics persistent effects on student learning.

We should recognize those efforts and support those efforts with the resources our students need to succeed, Davis said.

Earlier Wednesday, Davis acknowledged the work teachers and school leaders have done to prepare for the new school year without a state budget in place.

Id like to thank every district and school leader who, despite not having a budget and receiving some additional administrative responsibilities at the last minute, rose to the occasion and created in nearly every school and effective climate of respect and trust.

NC Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Rob Schofield for questions: info@ncnewsline.com. Follow NC Newsline on Facebook and Twitter.
Top officials with the Chicago water department expressed concerns about putting a statue of labor activist Mother Jones at Jane Byrne Park, internal city emails show.

Several officials received an email last December from Rosemary Feurer, a Northern Illinois University professor who has been a leading advocate for the Mother Jones statue, about having a news conference at the site between Christmas and New Year.

The email set off several discussions and confusion among city officials. Department of Water Management spokeswoman Megan Vidis responded: I have no knowledge of a statue going up at Water Tower or what, if anything, we want to say about it?

Joel Vieyra, the departments first deputy commissioner, expressed his concern and opposition to putting the statue at Jane Byrne Park, which houses Water Tower Place.

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Pardon my ignorance here, but why would we want any statue placed adjacent to the Water Tower? he wrote. Its the Water Tower  THE symbol of Chicago.

For his part, Ralph Chiczewski, assistant commissioner for safety and security at the water department, objected to the planned news conference about the statue and expressed that the plan needed review.

This is the first I am hearing about this press event! Water Tower Park is (water department) property. (The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events) has the management of the little art gallery inside the Historic Water Tower. DCASE has zero authority to allow any events there without prior approval and coordination! Chiczewski wrote. Over the years Water Tower park has been an assembly area and a flashpoint for demonstrations! Is (the Mother Jones Heritage Project) planning on erecting a statue in the park? I would hope that are NOT planning on announcing a statute being built on the property till it has been discussed and thoroughly vetted by DWM!

For her part, water Commissioner Andrea Cheng told her staffers that the department had no choice, decision pushed by others a while ago.

We have fought for the last year or so to have at least a say in the details and to take care for where it is placed so that the statue doesnt damage underground utilities, Cheng wrote. In response to my previous protests they confirmed that DCASE would be responsible for removing graffiti/maintenance of the statue. As I assured them that given the large homeless population, damage would be inevitable. Yes, I understand this to be permanent.

In response to a request for comment on the water departments current position, Vidis released a statement saying theyre working to minimize the planned statues impact on the property.

The Chicago Water Tower, Jane Byrne Park in which it is located and the pumping station across Michigan Avenue are part of the infrastructure of owned and operated by the Chicago Department of Water Management, Vidis said in a statement this week. That water pumping station provides drinking water to a large section of downtown. As such, DWM is focused on minimizing the impact any statues foundation would have on operational security as well as the below-ground infrastructure in that area.

Feurer told the Tribune that from the day that we were told of the selection of the Water Tower as the site, DCASE and Chicago Monuments staff emphasized that this was (the water departments) property, that a Water Tower representative would be part of the commission for the monument to Mother Jones and the design would be cleared by them. That was long before December 2022 and this email exchange. We have had convivial discussions with the Water Tower representative on the design committee.

Feurer continued: We see the location at Water Tower as a way to fulfill Chicago Monuments Projects aim to revision Chicagos history from the bottom up. The title of the statue project is We Shall Rise and this will help visitors to the area understand that working peoples aspirations are a part of Chicago history. The Water Tower has symbolized Chicagos rise after the fire. But placement of the Mother Jones statue will connect that story to the rise of the labor movement, which can be directly linked to the Great Fire. The Water Tower and Mother Jones are both icons of that era, and both are emblematic of the fact that workers  Black and white, male and female, immigrant and native-born  built this city. Jones story reflects the rise of a multiethnic working class that made Chicago into a union city. So it is appropriate that staff chose this site for the location of the sculpture.

Last month, the Tribune reported Mayor Brandon Johnsons administration is moving forward with a plan to install a Mother Jones statue at Water Tower Place, a plan that is facing criticism from the late mayors daughter, Kathy Byrne, who argues that the plaza is too small for a statue and that its inappropriate to honor a woman who opposed giving other women the right to vote at a park named after the citys first woman mayor.

The ongoing conflict highlights the challenges public officials face across the country as they wrestle with public monuments and the historical figures they represent. Chicago has more public artwork celebrating mythical women than real women, which the city hopes to address by honoring Jones, who became a national advocate for the rights of working people after her dressmaking shop burned down during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The water tower was one of the few structures in the area to survive. But the choice of location for the Jones statue, Kathy Byrne said, is tone-deaf.

The Water department seems to be the only city agency involved that has any institutional knowledge of the history and significance of the Water Tower, both as to the Great Fire and as the cornerstone of our water system, Byrne told the Tribune. As they said, the Tower is the monument. Its sad and infuriating that Waters expertise is being disregarded by those who either dont care about or are ignorant of Chicago history.

gpratt@chicagotribune.com
Two Morehouse College students died in a car accident in Atlanta, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Georgia State Patrol reported the fatal accident on Monday at 5 p.m. in East Point, Atlanta. The 20-year-old students were Christion Files Jr. and Hugh Douglas Jr.

Douglas and Files allegedly drove at a high speed and ran off the road, hitting two utility poles and overturning. Both of the roommates were pronounced dead on the scene.

Files was a business major, co-captain of the Morehouse track and field team, and a member of the Junior Council as media chair, graduating class of 2025.

Douglas was a business major with a concentration in finance; he was a member of the Morehouse Business Association, an AltFinance Fellow, and a Goldman Sachs Fellow. The young man was described by his school as an exceptional student who displayed immense dedication and promise.

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On Tuesday, Hugh Douglas Sr. mourned his son on social media with several pictures of the two together and some of his son in college.

You were already a better man than me, he tweeted. I appreciate each and every one of your well wishes. And I apologize if I dont get back to each and every one of you right now, but I am a bit overwhelmed. But know that I appreciate all the love.

Morehouse is also profoundly affected by the loss and shared its love and support on Facebook with a post for the students. The college released a public statement announcing the death of the two students on Tuesday.

During these difficult times, we must come together as a community to remember and celebrate the lives of Hugh and Christion. They leave a legacy of excellence, passion and dedication that will continue to inspire us all. We extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends of Hugh and Christion, the statement read. Our thoughts and prayers are with them during this incredibly challenging time. Morehouse, let us carry both Hugh and Christions torches and ensure their lights continue to shine through how we choose to live out our lives.

Hugh and Christion were not just friends but also roommates during their sophomore year, and their loss is deeply felt by all of us in the Morehouse family, Kevin Booker, Vice President for Student Services and Dean of the college said in a statement.
It is always the detail of a prison escape that lingers in the mind. Daniel Khalife, who on Wednesday morning fled HMP Wandsworth, where he was awaiting trial on terror charges, is reported to have escaped strapped to the underside of a van.

Khalife, who remains at large, takes his place in a great British tradition. No matter how heinous the crimes committed by those involved, there is something about a prison break that occasions a twinge of admiration. They share qualities with diamond heists, except the gems being liberated are themselves. There is a reason these capers work so well in fiction: think of the classic examples like the films Escape from Alcatraz or The Shawshank Redemption, or more light hearted instances. Mr Toad escaping prison dressed as a washerwoman in The Wind in the Willows.

These treatments necessarily tend to allow for the possibility, if not the certainty, that the inmates are victims of injustices. Through pluck and ingenuity, in escaping they also restore moral order to the universe. Sadly this is less often the case in real life. Prisoners tend to be locked up for good reason. All the same, you admire the audacity of an escape and its ingenuity, even as you hope the criminals are swiftly returned to their cells. This appreciation grows with the notoriety of the individuals involved, but especially with the complexity or chutzpah of the escape. The less violent the better. We crave tales of files in cakes, miscreants in laundry baskets, stolen outfits.

Ronnie Biggs (1965)

Ronnie Biggs

Biggs was sentenced to 30 years in Wandsworth for his part in the Great Train Robbery, in which he and his accomplices had taken 2.6 million  61 million in todays money  from a Royal Mail train. One day, 15 months into his sentence, during an exercise period, a red furniture van trundled up alongside one wall of the prison, followed by a Ford Zephyr. Winifred Williams, the wife of one of the staff, who lived in a bungalow opposite, saw them arrive through the window.

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I saw a man get out of the van, she recalled. He had a silk scarf over his head and tied on top: it looked like a coconut. I thought: Hes springing someone.

Then I looked at the Zephyr. A man came out with a silk stocking over his head, with a scarf and a peaked cap. I noticed he had a rifle. I thought, This is where I go in. 

They slung a rope ladder over the wall. In the exercise yard, Biggs and three other inmates saw it come over, then went up it over the side while their fellow prisoners held back the guards. Contemporary newspaper reports said that the escape was characterised by panache and flamboyance. Biggs was spirited away, first to Paris and then on to Brazil, where he lived until 2001 when he returned to the UK and then to prison, before being released on compassionate grounds in 2009.

George Blake (1966)

George Blake

Blake was an MI6 agent who converted to communism when he was imprisoned during the Korean War. In 1961 he was jailed for 42 years, after it had been revealed that he had been spying for the Soviet Union. It was the longest non-life sentence ever given.

Five years into his stint at Wormwood Scrubs, he escaped with the help of friends he had made inside, who thought his sentence was inhuman. One of them, Sean Bourke, had been released previously, and smuggled a walkie-talkie to Blake so he could communicate with him.

On October 22 1966, while most of the guards were watching a film, Blake climbed out through a window he had broken earlier, slid down a porch and made it to the wall, where Bourke had thrown over a home-made rope ladder with knitting-needle rungs. Afterwards Blake was shuttled between safe-houses before being smuggled to Europe in a camper van. He made it to East Germany where he was welcomed by his Russian handlers, and he lived in Russia until his death in 2020.

The Maidstone Prison Escape (1972)

Seven provisional IRA staff officers were among a group who escaped from the prison ship Maidstone in Belfast

Seven members of the Provisional IRA were interned on HMS Maidstone, a former warship that had been repurposed as a floating prison off the coal wharf in Belfast, and where Gerry Adams was briefly held. A ring of barbed wire encircled the vessel, to deter swimmers, but the men  Jim Bryson, Tommy Tolan, Thomas Kane, Martin Taylor, Tommy Gorman, Peter Rogers and Sean Convery  had noticed a seal swimming in and out. A gap big enough for a seal would be big enough for a man, they reasoned. As they planned their escape, they lobbed cans of food into the water to observe the tides.

On the night of January 16, after roll call, they covered themselves in boot polish for camouflage and butter for warmth, cut through an iron bar covering one of the portholes, and climbed down the anchor chain into the icy water. They swam 250 metres (820ft) to shore, cutting themselves on the barbed wire, only to find that they were downstream of the associates they were due to meet, who had gone home, assuming the escape was off. Shivering and clad only in his underpants, Rogers asked a bus driver for his coat, before the men commandeered it and drove across Belfast.

Safely in Dublin, they gave a press conference, to the humiliation of their guards. We were fairly confident of doing this, said Martin Taylor. A few of us had slight difficulties, but we made the swim.

The Maze Prison Escape (1983)

Maze prison

The largest prison break in British history, and the most notorious, in which 38 IRA inmates escaped using a mixture of ingenuity, planning and violence. The Maze, outside Belfast, where the most dangerous IRA members were housed, was thought to be impregnable: a 15ft perimeter fence, 18ft concrete walls around each block, steel gates, barbed wire. But having smuggled handguns inside  to this day, the IRA still hasnt revealed how  at 2.30pm on September 25 the inmates took control of H7, one of the prison blocks, holding the guards at gunpoint before they could raise the alarm.

Prisoners took the guards uniforms and car keys and hijacked a food delivery lorry. Gerry Kelly, one of the ringleaders, lay on the floor of the lorry cab with a gun pointed at the driver, while 37 other prisoners hopped in the back. At one point officers managed to raise the alarm, but the prisoners forced them, at gunpoint, to say that it had been a false alarm. Eventually the officers started resisting.

Of the 38 prisoners who made it out, 19 were recaptured in the days after. Twenty prison officers were injured, including four stabbed and two shot. One, James Ferris, died after being stabbed. The event was a propaganda coup for the IRA.

Parkhurst (1995)

Police officers search farm buildings today near Parkhurst Prison

On Tuesday January 3 1995, Andrew Rodger, Keith Rose and Matthew Williams, three prisoners at HMP Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight for murder, murder and bombings and arson, respectively, hid in the prison gymnasium after dark. They had made a copy of the prison master key, taking an impression from an officers set, and fashioned a homemade gun.

They made their way through the facility to the workshop, where they had hidden a homemade ladder, which they used to scale the 25ft fence. Once outside, they hiked 10 miles to a small airport on the east of the island, planning to fly to freedom.

When they got there, however, they only found a small Cessna, with room for only two of them. Rose, a trained pilot, tried to force the ignition with a piece of metal, but it broke off in the switch, making the plane inoperable. By the Sunday, after five days on the run, Rose and Rodger were picked up on the side of the road. Williams, thinking he might make it alone, leapt into the Medina river, but was cornered soon after by PC Tony Woolcock and his dog, Bongo.

Pentonville (2016)

Pentonville

In November 2016, Matthew Baker and James Whitlock, in prison for violence and burglary, escaped from Pentonville prison in north London using a trick straight out of the films. They sculpted dummy heads and piled towels and clothes under their blankets to give the impression they were asleep in bed. (Sadly they did not have a tape recording of them snoring.)

Using smuggled diamond-tipped cutting tools they sawed through their cell bars and opened a window, climbing across the roof to the front of the prison, where they used a bed sheet tied to a security camera pole to swing over the fence. Both were recaptured soon afterwards.

Whitlock was caught after six days; Baker was found hiding under his sisters bed after just two days. He had dyed hair and a broken leg. Both received more time in prison. Real escapes rarely end like The Shawshank Redemption, with the liberated hero relaxing on the beach.

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A majority of EU countries (22 out of 27) oppose the calls by Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia to extend the embargo on Ukrainian grain imports after 15 September.

Source: POLITICO

Details: Four EU diplomats spoke to Politico on condition of anonymity.

A senior EU diplomat said that at a meeting with the European Commission on Wednesday, 6 September, EU ambassadors from 22 EU member states either openly opposed the idea of extending the restrictions or remained deeply sceptical.

The diplomat added that France and Germany were among those countries that criticised the extension the most.

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Both diplomats said while many countries recognise the difficulties faced by the five eastern countries, they have asked the European Commission to propose alternative measures.

One EU diplomat believes that a decision to extend the import restrictions would be "purely political" as parliamentary elections in Poland approach in mid-October.

A senior Polish official admitted that the elections were indeed playing a role. "The reason for the introduction of restrictive measures on EU level was the fact that the farmers started to block roads and terminals. And we need to avoid the situation that desperate farmers, or radical leaders of farmers unions, are using this situation".

The European Commissions analysis said that despite the increase in wheat and maize imports from Ukraine after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, "the situation on the EU market is rather stable".

Background:

In August, Slovakian, Bulgarian, Polish, Romanian and Hungarian agriculture ministers agreed to support the further EU ban on Ukrainian grain imports after 15 September.

The European Commission is considering subsidising the transport of Ukrainian grain through its member states after several countries banned its import.

The vast majority of EU member states do not support the idea of an embargo extension on Ukrainian grain imports beyond 15 September, and some countries may even apply countermeasures in the event that Poland takes unilateral steps.

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!
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A mother allegedly entered a Las Vegas school armed with a gun looking for a student who got into a fight with her daughter, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Wednesday.

Kapri Caruthers faces charges including assault on a protected person with the use of a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and trespassing or loitering on or near school property, records showed.

On Wednesday, Aug. 30, staff at Desert Pines High School in the east valley called school police about a parent walking through the school who was trying to find her daughter that was recently involved in a fight, documents said.

A Clark County School District police officer arrived, finding Caruthers struggling with two campus security monitors, documents said. While the officer was taking Caruthers into custody, she told them she had a gun in her purse.

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The handgun had two rounds in it, police said. School officials put the campus on lockdown during the incident.

A school employee told police Caruthers would not stop for anyone and was trying to find the person her daughter was allegedly in the fight with, documents said.

Judge Rebecca Saxe ordered Caruthers to pay bond before her release from custody, records showed. Caruthers was due to return to court on Oct. 4.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Mount Doras plan to join up with about 350 police agencies across the U.S., Canada and Europe in the Safe Place Initiative has spurred controversy in the quaint Lake County city.

The City Council last month unanimously voted to join the initiative, which includes writing bias-free policing policies and allowing businesses to post a sticker that features rainbow colors in their window, signifying it as a safe place for crime victims to enter to call authorities.

After the meeting, Republicans, comprising the countys legislative delegation, inked a letter to the city, blasting the decision as divisive and threatening all legislative, legal and executive options.

The city again will discuss the initiative on Thursday evening, which has been supported by interim Police Chief Mike Gibson, Mayor Crissy Stile and the rest of the City Council in prior meetings.

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It doesnt seem Mount Dora plans to back down.

I dont see a City Council member that wants to do away with the Safe Place initiative, said Stile.

The initiative was started in Seattle in 2015, at first taking aim to build trust with the LGBTQ community, but quickly rebranded to include all protected classes in the city, said Acting Sgt. Dorian Koreio, who oversees the initiative in Seattle and certifies agencies that want to adopt it.

To achieve certification, cities and agencies develop bias-free policing policies and other protocols and procedures pertaining to LGBTQ community members. Then a sticker is developed for businesses to voluntarily post in their windows if they agree to train current and future employees in the program, allow victims of crime to enter their business and help them call authorities.

Gibson said hes excited to move forward with the initiative and currently is drafting policies. Then, police personnel will receive training in hopes of rolling it out in about two months.

From our perspective, its not political at all, he said. From our perspective, its about being the best police agency we can possibly be.

Koreio has been working with Gibson on crafting policies and said some people get hung up on the rainbow decal, even though the program is meant to support all groups.

Its just a stupid sticker, but it means so much that that law enforcement agency had to achieve that sticker, he said. That shows they have those checks and balances in place to hold those officers accountable. It lets victims know that theyre going to be supported both by their law enforcement agency and the businesses they go in.

Police agencies across the country are certified in it, including the Orlando Police Department, Orange County Sheriffs Office and Osceola County Sheriffs Office.

Orlando rolled its program out soon after the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016  though it had completed its paperwork before the attack, said Sgt. Amanda White, who oversees the effort. It now has 210 businesses with decals.

A lot of people are afraid to report they were a victim, she said. For them, seeing a safe place sticker could be giving them that little nudge to come forward.

Gibson said he thinks it could be a huge success and help build trust with those who may be hesitant to report crime if theyre mistrustful of law enforcement.

This is a marginalized-community issue, he said. This is Black females who are not reporting theyre victims of domestic violence. These are immigrants that have zero or limited English-speaking skills and come from countries where you dont trust the police.

When Safe Place was first approved by the city council last month, a letter to the city was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, blasting the program.

We believe that you are putting the City of Mount Dora in the crosshairs of potentially detrimental and absolutely unnecessary, economic harm, the letter posted by Rep. Taylor Yarkosky read. In light of what we have seen around this country in regards to the pushback and unprecedented financial harm to long-standing American-made companies such as Anheuser-Busch and Target Corporation, this local Safe Place program is negligent, irresponsible and divisive at best.

The letter was signed by Yarkosky, Rep. Keith Truenow, Rep. Stan McClain and Sen. Dennis Baxley.

The countys Republican party cheered the letter, posting on Facebook that a legislative wipeout [is] INCOMING.

The city hasnt formally responded to the letter.

Koreio said the program has succeeded in liberal cities like Seattle and conservative communities in places like Washington and Texas. Like in Mount Dora, it occasionally sparks controversy, but tends to ultimately win support.

In Seattle, about 7,500 businesses have Safe Place decals in their windows.

He said when communities implement it, they typically see a spike in reported cases of bias or hate crimes, which often go unreported.

To some degree  a law enforcement agency can put their flag down in the ground and say this is where we stand about bias crime and hate crime, he said.
Family and friends mourn Thursday at the funeral for 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young and her unborn daughter, who died Aug. 24 after a Blendon Township police officer shot Young through the windshield of her moving car in the Kroger parking lot on Sunbury Road.

Lying in a clear casket, dressed in all pink, TaKiya Young held the baby girl she would have given birth to this fall.

They were flanked by balloon teddy bears and the letters BWLM in gold, standing for Black Womens Lives Matter.

About 200 people, most wearing white and pink (Youngs favorite color), gathered in the Church of Christ at Genessee Avenue in Linden for the funeral of the 21-year-old woman.

Young and her unborn daughter died Aug. 24 after a Blendon Township police officer shot Young through the windshield of her car in the Kroger parking lot at 5991 S. Sunbury Road. Based on a report from a store employee that Young allegedly shoplifted, police approached her four-door Lexus sedan and told her repeatedly to get out.

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One officer stood next to the driver's side window, speaking with Young, while the other officer, identified by Young's family and their attorney as Connor Grubb, pulled his gun and stood in front of the vehicle. Body camera footage shows Young turned the steering wheel and the car moved forward, hitting the officer, who fired one fatal shot through the front windshield.

A celebration of life

The gathering Thursday was to celebrate Youngs life that was tragically cut short, Pastor Vincent Ford said.

Mourners cried, lifted their arms to the sky and called out "amen" during a service full of songs and speeches dedicated to God.

Pallbearers dressed in pink, Ta'Kiya young's favorite color, carry her covered casket Thursday out of the Church of Christ at Genessee Avenue in Columbus' Linden neighborhood. Young and her unborn daughter died Aug. 24 after a Blendon Township police officer shot Young through the windshield of a car in the Kroger parking lot on Sunbury Road.

Sean Walton, an attorney for Youngs family, said during the funeral service that Young, a mother of two, and her unborn baby did not deserve to die.

Black and brown people across this country deserve safety and protection, Walton said. TaKiyas children deserve justice so they know how much TaKiyas life mattered  TaKiyas family is going to have a fight ahead of them.

Related coverage: Family of woman killed in Blendon Township police shooting say officer violated policy

Youngs family has called for swift justice and the immediate arrest of Grubb, who they allege violated Blendon Police Department policy in the fatal shooting.

Rozetta Johnson, an elder in the church, delivered the eulogy: "You may not understand it now, but God will turn it around" and make purpose out of Young's death.

Who was Ta'Kiya Young?

TaKiya Monet Yvette Young was the mother of two sons, 6-year-old Ja'Kobie and 3-year-old Ja'Kenli. She was expecting a baby girl in November, her family said.

Ja'Kenli Young, 3, held by Dreauna Rogers at Thursday's funeral, blows a kiss and says goodbye to his mother, Ta'Kiya Young and her unborn daughter.

Young was born in Columbus. She had a passion for track and field in which she participated at Columbus City Schools' Champion Middle School and Capital High School Bridgescape, according to her family.

"She was a sweet person," said Danielle Rivers, Young's other grandmother, after the funeral service. "She will be truly missed."

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Funeral held for Ta'Kiya Young, woman shot by Blendon Twp. police
Were getting married! This rather inevitable line crops up early in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, and if youre like me, it will inspire mixed reactions.

First: Wait, so soon? We didnt know anyone was even engaged! And second: Phew, its about time! Because, just like there can be no sunrise over the glittering Ionian sea without a sun, there can be no big fat Greek wedding movie without ... you know.

Yet the mere fact that a wedding is so crucial to the DNA of this trilogy  which surely will morph into a quadrilogy and then a quintology  raises its own issues. Which Greek philosopher was it who said there's no problem that can't be solved with a wedding? Right, that would be Nia Vardalos, the franchise star, writer and now director, too. But is she also saying a wedding is the only possible happy ending?

That would be out of sync with certain obvious efforts in this script  some more swallowable than others  to modernize a formula that worked so well in the beloved, hugely successful 2002 original. It's a formula that lost luster with that first, deflating sequel in 2016, a whole 14 years later. And if My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 felt like a pale imitation of the buoyant original, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 feels sorta like a pale imitation of that pale imitation. Or, to analogize with a favored franchise food item: like a thrice-warmed piece of baklava.

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Then again, even thrice-warmed baklava can be worth the calories. So too this sequel will prove worthwhile for those most eager to reconnect with characters they loved, and willing to overlook clunky pacing and dialogue and sometimes absurd plot machinations. On the plus side: Vardalos and crew are really, really good at staging weddings.

For those who need a refresher: The last film left us at an NYU dorm room, dropping off Paris, teen daughter of Toula (Vardalos, empathetic and appealing as usual) and her wholesomely hunky husband Aidan, oops, Ian (John Corbett, wink wink). Paris choice to leave her hometown of Chicago for college provided much of the half-boiled suspense in the first sequel. She got her way, but perhaps also her punishment when the whole extended family  aunts, uncles, cousins  came to drop her off. Ugh!

Because its hard to let go of things that worked so well in the original  did we mention it was a ginormous hit?  Vardalos hasn't, really. The Portokalos family is still loving, boisterous and invasive. We've sadly lost patriarch Gus ( Michael Constantine, who died in 2021). But wife Maria is still there (Lainie Kazan has only a cameo here) and Toula is still married to hunky Ian. Everyone still uses Windex to clean objects and cure diseases.

And the clan is on the move, led by spunky, oversharing Aunt Voula (Andrea Martin, still by far the the funniest onscreen presence), this time to ... Greece! Yes! The ostensible reason: a family reunion in their lovely ancestral mountain village (shooting was done in Corfu). The plan is to find Gus childhood friends and fulfill his wish of giving them a precious journal he kept.

Why that journal shouldn't stay with Gus' adoring children is not truly explained  but neither is much else. Subplots are introduced and then largely ignored. A handful of new characters arrive with little backstory  like Victory (Melina Kotselou), the young, nonbinary mayor of the village  and even less character development.

The same lack of detail plagues the story arcs of returning characters. Toulas brother Nick (Louis Mandylor)  poor Nick  has been saddled with an ugly habit, namely trimming nose hairs and toenails at the family table. Why? Who knows? As for Ian, he's still a nice, patient husband, with little else to distinguish him. Toula's still the glue holding everyone together.

As for their marriage, its fine. Thats perhaps a problem. In most rom-com relationships, you dont get through three movies without some meaty conflict  we need the breakup to have the makeup! Vardalos doesn't want to go there.

Or maybe shes just in a rush to get to the altar. That, we can understand. Here in Greece, all roads lead to  the wedding. The party's in the quaint village square. The candlelit table is gorgeous, the food sumptuous. And the dancing is a joyous mix of Greek and Syrian tradition  one of the spouses-to-be is a migrant from Syria, a nod to contemporary Greek politics. Other efforts to contemporize include the briefest of nods to Victorys nonbinary status  one line from Aunt Voula  just as the first sequel introduced a gay couple, equally briefly.

But how contemporary are we getting if nothing brings resolution but a wedding? And more importantly, who will be married in the inevitable Greek Wedding 4?

Will Paris (Elena Kampouris), whose own turbulent existence is quickly hinted at, marry the cute young Aristotle? (Yes, thats his name). Will there be a big fat Greek alternative wedding? Who knows, but if there's a movie, there will be a wedding. My Big Fat Just-Cohabiting-For-Now doesn't quite cut it.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, a Focus Films release, has been rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for suggestive material and some nudity.  Running time: 91 minutes. Two stars out of four.
(Bloomberg) -- Mozambique is seeking to become the latest country to secure an energy-transition pact with wealthy nations and is targeting an announcement at the COP28 climate summit later this year.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The southern African country, one of the worlds poorest, plans to harness its abundant hydro, solar and wind potential to meet its own power needs and those of its neighbors, as well as using that electricity to process battery minerals such as graphite and lithium, said Marcelina Mataveia, its national director of energy. Talks over funding have been held with Belgium, Germany, the UK and the United Arab Emirates.

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Such a pact, the centerpiece of which would be a $4.5 billion hydro power and transmission project, may have similarities to the so-called Just Energy Transition Partnerships some of the worlds richest governments are implementing with South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam and Senegal. Mataveia declined to say what the plans total cost will be other than it would be a lot.

The energy transition strategy will cover transport, will cover industry and how to supply power to rural communities, Mataveia said in an interview in Nairobi, Kenyas capital, on Wednesday.

An investment plan will be announced at COP28, Mataveia said. The global climate meeting starts on Nov. 30 in Dubai.

Earlier this week, Barbel Kofler, state secretary to Germanys economic cooperation minister, said in an interview that the European nation was in talks with Mozambique about energy projects. At the Africa Climate Summit, which closed in Nairobi on Wednesday, the UAE pledged billions of dollars of investment in African clean energy.

Key to Mozambiques plans is the hydro power potential of the Zambezi river, Africas fourth biggest.

In May, its government selected a consortium consisting of TotalEnergies SE, Electricite de France SA and Sumitomo Corp. to help it build the 1,500 megawatt Mphanda Nkuwa dam.

Financial arrangements will be concluded by 2025 and construction will start shortly, Carlos Yum, managing director of Mphanda Nkuwa Hydroelectrica, said in an interview. A second stage could add another 900 megawatts.

Planned transmission lines from the facility will also allow as much as 1,500 megawatts of wind and solar power to be added to the grid, he said.

Public, Private

Talks are being held with both public utilities and private companies domestically and in the region to buy the electricity. Grid connections will be strengthened or built with Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia and Tanzania. A project is already underway on lines to Malawi.

Currently, Mozambique gets the bulk of its electricity from the Cahora Bassa dam and some power from gas-fired plants. Meanwhile, neighbors such as South Africa and Zimbabwe have been suffering crippling outages.

The energy mix will change substantially from 2030 onwards, Yum said. The renewable sources will allow Mozambique to use low-carbon methods to process the minerals it currently exports in their raw form, he said. Green hydrogen production isnt being considered.

The energy transition plan will also include off-grid solutions for remote communities and the gradual shifting of the transport fleet from gasoline and diesel to electric cars and biofuels, Mataveia said.

While Mozambique largely relies on hydro power, the country is home to some of the worlds biggest natural-gas projects and is also a coal exporter.

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PORTLAND, Ind.  A Muncie man is accused of setting a fire in a Dunkirk home owned by his mother.

Dana L. Zimmerman, 40, was charged in recent days in Jay Circuit Court with arson, a Level 4 felony carrying up to 12 years in prison.

According to court documents, Zimmerman was living in the house, in the 200 block of Mount Auburn Street, at the time of the April 19 blaze.

He has more recently lived in Muncie, although court documents stemming from the arson charge also list him at a Terre Haute address.

In an affidavit, an investigator with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security said a fire was ignited under the kitchen sink of the Dunkirk home where Zimmerman was staying in April.

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"The Dunkirk Fire Department observed the water line under the wink had melted and put the fire out," he wrote. Investigators also said they found a gasoline can in a hallway in the house.

Zimmerman, who reported the blaze to 911 dispatchers, on that day denied playing any role in causing the fire.

However, during an interview conducted in May, he reportedly acknowledged he had sprinkled gasoline under the sink and then used a cigarette lighter to ignite the blaze.

Zimmerman was 'very cooperative and was apologetic for setting (the) house on fire," the investigator wrote, adding the former Dunkirk resident "couldn't explain why he set the fire."

A family member interviewed as part of the investigation indicated the fire took place at a time Zimmerman had been "distraught." The birthday of his deceased brother had been observed earlier in the month.

In each of four pending cases filed in Grant County courts between 2020 and May 22, Zimmerman is charged with driving while suspended.

Court records reflect no convictions for him.

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: Man charged with arson in Dunkirk house fire
Your slice of the headlines in Ukraine. Daily. Thursday, September 7, 2023.

 Horrific scenes as Russia ballistic missile batters busy market in daytime attack on Kostyantynivka, 16 dead

In a horrific scene, Russias invading forces attacked a busy market in Kostyantynivka, Donetsk Oblast with a brutal ballistic missile strike that killed 16 civilians  including a child  in the afternoon of Sept. 6, reported Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.





 Most of Ukraines donated Western armor remains undamaged  report

Most of the tanks and armored vehicles donated by the West earlier this year for Ukraines ongoing southern counteroffensive remain undamaged, The Guardian reported on Sept. 6.





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 Ukraines grinding advance towards Tokmak  expert interview

Yevhen Dykyi, a former company commander of the Aidar Battalion, explained in an interview with NV Radio on Sept. 4 how the Ukrainian military breached Russias first defensive line, advancing towards Tokmak in Zaporizhzhya Oblast.





 U.S. Secretary of State Blinken arrives on unannounced visit to Kyiv amid Russian cruise and ballistic missile attack

U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv for an unannounced visit on Sept. 6.





 Germany charges two Russian spies with treason  BBC

A high-ranking German intelligence officer has been charged with treason for allegedly passing state secrets to Russia, the BBC reported on Sept. 6.

 Zelenskyy meets with military leadership and energy sector to prepare for Russias winter attacks

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy chaired a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff to discuss preparations for the winter, according to the President's message on Telegram on Sept. 6.





 Ukraine had enough resources for 2.5 months of active fighting in February 2022  Reznikov

The Ukrainian military had enough weapons and ammunition to sustain active combat against invading Russian forces for only 22.5 months at the onset of the war, outgoing Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in his final report on Sept. 5.





 Romania to strengthen airspace protection after admitting Russian drone crash on its NATO territory

The Romanian Defense Ministry has decided to strengthen the protection of its airspace after parts of a drone launched by Russia at Ukraine crashed in the NATO country, Defense Ministry spokesperson Constantin Spinu announced on Sept. 6, according to local outlet Digi24.





 Danish PM addresses Ukrainian parliament during surprise visit

Danish PM Mette Frederiksen arrived on unannounced visit to Kyiv on Sep. 6, where she addressed Ukraines parliament, according to photos shared on Telegram by Ukrainian MPs Yaroslav Zheleznyak and Oleksiy Honcharenko.





 After Prigozhins death, dynamic decrease of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus  Lithuanian Defense Minister

In the wake of Wagner PMC leader Yevgeny Prigozhins death, there has been a dynamic decrease in Wagner mercenaries in Belarus, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas told Lithuanian news outlet LRT on Sep. 6.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
FILE - Then Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi watches the vaccination of health workers at a hospital in Naypyitaw, Myanmar on Jan. 27, 2021. Myanmars imprisoned former leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is suffering from symptoms of low blood pressure including dizziness and loss of appetite, but has been denied treatment at qualified facilities outside the prison system, a medical worker said Thursday Sept. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

BANGKOK (AP)  Myanmars imprisoned former leader, Aung San Suu Kyi , is suffering from symptoms of low blood pressure including dizziness and loss of appetite, but has been denied treatment at qualified facilities outside the prison system, a medical worker said Thursday.

Suu Kyi, 78, who was arrested in February 2021 when the army seized power from her elected government, fell ill late last month, said the medical worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of being punished by the military authorities.

Separately, a military officer who also insisted on anonymity confirmed a report by the BBCs Myanmar-language service that Suu Kyi was suffering a severe toothache that left her unable to eat and caused vomiting. However, the ruling military councils spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, said Suu Kyi was in good health, the report said.

The BBC said Suu Kyis son Kim Aris, who lives in Britain, responded to the report with a text saying, To deny a sick prisoner access to recommended medical care is callous and cruel.

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Phone calls by the AP to Myanmars prison department for comment went unanswered.

Suu Kyi is serving a combined 27-year sentence after being convicted of a string of criminal charges that her supporters and independent analysts say were concocted to discredit her and legitimize the militarys seizure of power.

She initially received a total sentence of 33 years but Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the military government, granted her clemency in five cases and cut her sentence by six years as part of a broader amnesty for more than 7,000 prisoners to mark a Buddhist religious holiday in August.

Suu Kyi receives full-time medical care from a doctor assigned to the main prison in the capital, Naypyitaw, whose duties included taking her blood pressure at least three times a day when she fell ill last month, the medical worker said.

She also receives a monthly medical checkup from more senior physicians from the military hospital in Naypyitaw.

Not only are details about Suu Kyis health unclear, but even her exact whereabouts are not publicly known.

There were reports in late July that Suu Kyi might be transferred from Naypyitaw prison to house arrest as part of the clemency action, but the military authorities have not confirmed that.

Suu Kyis lawyers have not been able to meet with her this year, said a legal official who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to release information about her cases. Her lawyers have been forbidden to reveal information about her by a gag order issued in late 2021.

They have applied five times for permission to meet with Suu Kyi since they last saw her in person in December but have not received any response, though they are allowed to deliver food and other essentials for her to the prison, the legal official said.

The official said her legal team filed arguments to the Supreme Court on Tuesday asking it to accept six special appeals filed on Suu Kyis behalf to further reduce her sentences. The six cases include allegations of abuse of authority in renting parcels of land and property in Naypyitaw and Yangon, the countrys biggest city, at below-market prices for a foundation named after her mother that she chaired.

Appeals of Suu Kyis convictions are still being processed on charges including election fraud, breaching the official secrets acts and six other corruption allegations, legal officials have said.
[Source]

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has issued a stern condemnation against Myanmar's military junta for its continued violence during the groups recent summit held in Jakarta.

A call to end violence: Leaders from the 10-member group urged the junta and all related parties in Myanmar on Tuesday to "de-escalate violence and stop targeted attacks on civilians, houses, and public facilities, such as schools, hospitals, markets, churches, and monasteries."

The group also expressed grave concerns over the juntas lack of substantial progress in implementing the Five-Point Consensus, a peace plan aimed at ending the conflict that the military coup started in February 2021. Attacks reportedly escalated that year after the military junta took over Aung San Suu Kyis government.

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A more assertive approach: The statement, officially titled the ASEAN Leaders Review and Decision on the Implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, marks the first time the group directly blamed the military for the escalation of violence in Myanmar.

More from NextShark: Police release image of suspect accused of slashing Asian man in Brooklyn subway racial attack

The bloc, which had faced criticism for its perceived soft stance on the junta in the past, has also decided to assign its chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2026 to the Philippines instead of Myanmar.

Domestic affair: In a statement published in its state-run newspaper, Global New Light of Myanmar, Myanmar's foreign ministry responded to ASEAN's condemnation on Wednesday, accusing the group of being "one-sided" and not considering their perspective.

The junta also asserted that Indonesia, the current chair of ASEAN, had consulted them on the draft but still rejected their stance. Myanmar then called for ASEAN member nations to adhere strictly to the group's non-interference principle in the domestic affairs of member countries.

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Chinas richest woman missing for years suddenly reemerges in threatening phone calls to family
The father of a Myrtle Beach man who was killed in a June boating accident has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the operator of the vehicle.

Paul Williams filed the suit Aug. 28 on behalf of his son, Jacob Williams, against Matthew Brown.

Williams, 24, was killed in the boating accident June 18 in the Socastee area. His body was recovered June 19 by a South Carolina Department of Natural Resources dive team, hours after he was reported missing.

An attorney for Brown was not listed in the suit and a phone number could not be located.

Kenneth Berger, attorney for Paul Williams, said Wednesday that ultimately the lawsuit is about accountability and getting more answers for the family. Brown needs to be held accountable both criminally and civilly in Jacob Williams death, Berger said.

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The accident happened about 8:56 p.m. on the Intracoastal Waterway, according to the suit. The suit said that Brown consumed alcoholic beverages until he became intoxicated and then operated the boat with Williams and two other passengers on board. Brown struck a floating dock, causing Williams to be ejected from the boat, hit a portion of the dock and land in the waterway.

Brown, 26, of Myrtle Beach, was charged by SCDNR with felony boating under the influence and obstruction of justice.

In addition to the wrongful death, the suit alleges Brown was negligent prior to Williams death in his operation of the boat by being intoxicated, driving too fast for conditions and not maintaining a proper lookout.

The suit seeks punitive and actual damages.
The kidnapped couples home in San Antonio, is currently under investigation by police to find any clues of their whereabouts (KSAT)

A bizarre mystery is unfolding in Texas after five children were found alone in their home after their parents were allegedly kidnapped and discovered a day later.

San Antonio police officers were called to the home in the citys Southwest Side neighbourhood at around 6am on Wednesday. The children, all under the age of 17, were inside and unharmed.

The children reportedly told police that armed male suspects had broken into their house and forcefully taken the parents, who are both in their late 30s.

Suspects kicked down the door, entered the home, took the adults and fled the scene, Ricardo Guzman, from the San Antonio Police Department, told KSAT. We located about five juveniles all inside the home, no injuries, they were unharmed.

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The parents were then found safe on Thursday morning just off Culebra Road near West Commerce Street on the West Side, San Antonio, according to Fox 29.

The police deployed a SWAT team and were even checking cars within the neighbourhood to see if they could find any trace of the couple.

According to police, the couple were taken to two separate locations, which allegedly are houses in a Westside neighbourhood. Within hours the police were able to track down both locations.

The couple have been checked by officials and are deemed to be okay, safe and had no major injuries, reported Fox 29.

It has been reported that a large number of people were found in one of the houses, who are now being interviewed by police.

Five children, all under 17-years-old, were found in the home after police responded to the early morning call (KSAT/ABC News)

The police are currently calling the crime a kidnapping. Texas law states this is a third-degree felony which could see the suspects in state prison between two to ten years and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

The police say they still have a lot of unanswered questions such as why this kidnapping happened.
A naked woman who jumped into Biscayne Bay with her 3-year-old nephew Thursday morning, causing a commotion that attracted horrified onlookers and law enforcement, is now in much hotter water.

Police say the possibly dangerous dip into the bay was the womans escape attempt from a nearby pursing officer. The crime? Destroying park lights.

The unhoused woman, 27, was charged with criminal mischief and resisting arrest without violence.

Around 8 a.m., Marina was caught on CCTV destroying a flood light in Brickell Park, an arrest report read. While she is only seen destroying one, 13 other previously functioning flood lights were left damaged.

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Shortly after, a responding Miami officer spotted Marina, her sister and a child on the Bay Walk near Key Point Academy Brickell, 609 Brickell Ave, and tried to stop them, the report read.

But when the trio jumped down the sea wall to escape  the officer followed in hot pursuit. Marina decided to grab the child and dove into the bay, swimming toward Brickell Key.

The woman and the child were eventually plucked from the shallow waters just off Brickell Key, unharmed, by police. The child was returned to his mother  the womans sister, police said  and the woman was taken to the hospital for a physical and emotional evaluation.

At around 8:30am officers responded to a female acting erratically at 609 Brickell Key Drive. Upon police arrival the female took off her clothes and jumped into the bay with her nephew.



They were both pulled out and were transported to the hospital to be checked. Charges are pic.twitter.com/F6nU15PIfn  ONLY in DADE (@ONLYinDADE) September 7, 2023

Social media page Only In Dade posted a 39-second cellphone video Thursday morning capturing the incident that seemed to show the nude woman standing in shallow water between the shoreline and a Miami Marine Patrol boat, holding the infant and also her top  which she swung at an officer aboard the boat.

The babys okay, thank God. And hes back with his mom, said Kiara Delva, a Miami Police spokeswoman.
NASA is sharing new details about a planned mission to study a distant asteroid.

NASA is teaming up with SpaceX to launch the Psyche mission to study a metal-rich asteroid.

The Psyche asteroid is orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter.

Watch: SpaceXs Crew-6 astronauts return safely to Earth after splashdown off Floridas coast

SpaceX crews are planning to launch the Psyche spacecraft from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on October 5.

NASA officials said this will be the first spacecraft to study an asteroid that is primarily made of metal, and not rock or ice.

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SEE: To boldly go: NASA reveals new spacesuits for planned Moon landing mission

Geologists believe the space rock was once part of the metallic core of a planet.

Channel 9 will continue to follow NASAs Psyche mission and provide updates on Eyewitness News.

Read: NASA spacecraft around moon spots likely crash site of Russias lost lunar lander

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
Russia is relocating its troops to the southern front line from other sectors, as Ukrainian forces continue to advance in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, an official within the National Guard said on Sept. 7.

The Russian military is reinforcing the units currently holding the Russian line in the Berdiansk and Melitopol sectors, Mykola Urshalovych told a press briefing.

Over the past week, Ukraines Offensive Guard assault brigades, a formation under the command of the National Guard, destroyed up to a platoon of Russian soldiers with the support of the Armed Forces, having advanced both in the depth of Russian defenses and along the front line" in the Melitopol direction, according to Urshalovych.

On the same day, the General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces reported that Ukrainian forces had achieved some success south of Robotyne and west of Verbove in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

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Read also: As counteroffensive presses forward in southeast, every meter costs a life

The General Staffs spokesperson didnt provide any further details on the advance.

Verbove lies around 10 kilometers to the east of the recently liberated Robotyne and almost 100 kilometers northeast of Melitopol, the key city for cutting off the land bridge between Russia and occupied Crimea.

At the same time, Russian war commentators claim that Russian brigades in Ukraine lack sufficient supplies, particularly artillery munitions, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Russian commentators who follow the war closely have claimed that troops are relying on "limited stockpiles" of artillery, thus "performing poorly along the front in Ukraine."

Read also: New brigade bears heavy brunt of Russias onslaught in Kharkiv Oblast

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Grey zones in European security architecture should become red lines for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin , who otherwise exploits any weakness or ambiguity, Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and Donald Trumps Special Representative for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, told journalists on Sept. 7.

Volker said that Putin completely ignores European security arrangements and is attempting to restore the Russian Empire. In his view, this poses a threat to Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Moldova, and Finland.

Read also: Security Council secretary Danilov categorically rules out talks with Russia

We need Ukraine to win and to defend itself from Russia, then we need to eliminate these grey zones that have proven tempting, said Volker.

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Read also: Russia brings observers to monitor sham elections in occupied territories of Ukraine

Grey zones are 'green lines'; we need to turn them into 'red lines,' and say: no, all these territories are now under a single umbrella, and we will protect them.

Read also: Ukraine, two NATO countries in joint production of 120mm mortar shells

According to the diplomat, NATO cannot perform its duties without Ukraine, because if Putin is victorious against Ukraine, he will move forward and attack elsewhere, sparking a perpetual war in Europe.

On July 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is convinced that Ukraine would receive an invitation to join NATO following the end of the war with Russia.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
NATO sees no signs that the drone wreckage found in Romania was the result of a deliberate Russian attack against the country.

Source: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg , speaking to EU lawmakers, reported by European Pravda with reference to Reuters

Quote: "We don't have any information indicating an intentional attack by Russia, and we are awaiting the outcome of the ongoing investigation."

Background:

NATO said earlier that Romania had briefed its member states on the incident at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on 6 September, and they "expressed strong solidarity with Romania": "We continue to monitor the situation closely and are in touch with our ally Romania."

On 4 September, Ukraine reported that two Shahed attack drones had crashed in Romania during a Russian attack on Izmail and Reni.

At first, the Romanian side categorically denied the incident.

However, on 6 September, the Minister of Defence confirmed that fragments similar to drone wreckage had been found near the banks of the Danube on the Romanian side and submitted for examination.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis then said that an urgent investigation was needed and that if it was confirmed that these were fragments of a Shahed drone, Romania would consider the situation "absolutely unacceptable".

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!






Photo confirming the downing of the drone in Romania, published by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry

NATO stands in "strong solidarity" with Romania after the country's government confirmed that debris from Russian Shahed drones landed on its territory, according to the Romanian ambassador to NATO, Dan Neculaescu, on September 7.

"Since last year, in response to Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine, NATO has significantly increased its presence in the Black Sea region. We continue to closely monitor the situation and remain in close contact with our ally Romania," Neculaescu quoted NATOs press service as stating.

The day before, Romanian Defense Minister, Angel Tilvar, confirmed that wreckage from missiles launched by Russia over Ukraine could have fallen over Romanian territory.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis described the incident as "a serious violation of [Romanias] sovereignty, and subsequently launched an investigation.

Shaheds in Romania: What is Known

Russia carried out another massive air attack on southern Ukraine using Iranian-made Shahed drones on the night of Sept. 4.

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Some of these drones fell and detonated on the territory of Romania, a NATO member state, according to Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that 23 out of 32 Shaheds were shot down during the raid, during which Russia targeted the infrastructure of the Izmail district of the Odesa region, which borders Romania.

At the time, the Romanian Defense Ministry "categorically denied" reports about the falling debris. According to the ministry, Russias attack "never created a direct military threat to the national territory or territorial waters of Romania."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded that Ukraine possessed photographic evidence that proved Shahed drones had come down over Romanian territory.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
An attorney for Peter Navarro called for a mistrial Thursday, just after the former economic adviser to former President Trump was convicted of contempt of Congress.

Stanley Woodward, who represented Navarro in his contempt of Congress case, claimed that jurors, who deliberated for nearly five hours before reaching a verdict, went outside during their break and were exposed to protesters with signs related to the Jan. 6 riot.

However, prosecutors claimed they did not see any protesters outside the exit used by the jurors, and the presiding judge, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, said he would not rule on the mistrial request until the defense provided him with video or photo evidence.

Navarro was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

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The former Trump advisor has argued that he was prevented from producing documents and appearing for a deposition, as requested by the committee, because Trump invoked executive privilege.

However, the judge barred Navarros attorneys from using the privilege argument at trial, finding that they had failed to prove that the former president formally invoked executive privilege.

Navarro is the second Trump ally to face contempt of Congress charges, after former White House adviser Steve Bannon was similarly convicted of two counts of contempt earlier this year.

Updated at 5:11 pm.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The commanding officer of Fleet Readiness Center Mid-Atlantic was fired on Thursday, the Navy said.

Rear Adm. Joseph Hornbuckle, head of Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers, removed Capt. Paul Choate of command due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command, according to a Wednesday statement from the Navy.

Choate, who previously served as the executive officer of Fleet Readiness Center Mid-Atlantic starting in 2020, has been reassigned to Command, Fleet Readiness Centers.

Capt. Richard Foster, executive officer of Fleet Readiness Center Mid-Atlantic, was scheduled to take over for Choate in December and is now serving as commanding officer.

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Navy ousts two commanding officers for loss of confidence

The command is based out of Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is responsible for providing maintenance to aircraft that include the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets and the the E-2 Hawkeye.

Choate earned the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq in 2006 and 2007 working to safeguard U.S. and allied forces from improvised explosive devices, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported in 2008. Choate spearheaded an effort while leading a team of 200 that reduced the installation time of jamming devices on vehicles like SUVs and Humvees, according to the outlet.

Choate, originally from Saigon, Vietnam, enlisted in the Navy in 1986 and served as an avionics technician. He completed tours as an aircrewman with Fleet Reconnaissance Squadron 4 and an instructor with Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit before commissioning in 1996 after graduating from University of Oklahoma.

Choate was one of at least seven Navy commanding officers relieved in 2023.

In August, the Navy ousted the commanding officer of the guided-missile destroyer Howard after the ship suffered a soft grounding near Bali.

The Navy did not explicitly say the firing and the grounding were connected.

In July, the Navy removed Navy Reserve Center Springfields commanding officer after he was arrested and charged for allegedly choking his mother and stepfather in a hotel room.

The commanding officers of the guided-missile destroyers Carney, John Finn and Stout also were relieved in 2023 as well as the commanding officer of the amphibious transport dock Mesa Verde.
The State Board of Education has lost its power to approve and renew charter schools, so its now reserving the right to deny funding to schools that it questions.

Last month, the General Assembly passed a new law  over the veto of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper  that transfers the state boards authority to approve and renew charters to a Charter Schools Review Board.

In response, the state board approved a new policy on Thursday that says state and federal funding cant be given to new and renewed charters unless the state board gives approval. The review board will have to submit its decisions to the state board for review before taxpayer money is disbursed..

The policy was approved in a 8-3 vote with the backing of all of Coopers appointees. Board members said theyre exercising their state constitutional authority to allocate funds to charter schools and to ensure accountability from charter schools for school finances and student performance.

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The reason why I firmly, as a member of this board, believe that the board should continue to focus on our financial accountability stems from the truth that over the last few years, seven charter schools have closed, state board chair Eric Davis said during Wednesdays discussion of the policy. At least five of them with questionable financial situations, which are currently being reviewed by federal officials.

But the Republican board members complained that the policy was unveiled on short notice. They also objected to the board not following its usual practice of waiting a month to adopt a policy after its introduced.

To do this in one day is unfair, said Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. Its unprofessional, and it smacks of political pandering and should not be tolerated on an issue this important.

Robinson, State Treasurer Dale Folwell and Olivia Oxendine voted against the policy. Robinson and Folwell are among the GOP candidates who are running for governor.

Its unclear whether state lawmakers may step in to pass legislation to overrule the new policy.

Rejected charters get a second chance

Previously, the Charter Schools Advisory Board only made recommendations on charters. The final decision had rested with the state Board of Education, which now has a majority made up of appointees of Gov. Cooper.

Under the new law, the advisory board was renamed the review board and its decisions are now final. Eight of the review boards 11 voting members are appointed by the GOP-controlled General Assembly.

The state board is now relegated to hearing appeals of decisions made by the review board.

Davis said the state board is acting on the policy now because the review board will begin making decisions on charter schools next week.

On Monday, the review board will reconsider American Leadership Academy-Monroe in Union County and Heritage Collegiate Leadership Academy in Wake County. Both schools had been recommended by the advisory board but were rejected by the state board.

The state board had rejected American Leadership Academy-Monroe in part because of concerns about giving money to for-profit charter school operators. Robinsons wife is a member of the board of directors of that proposed charter school.

Groups applying for charter schools in North Carolina have to be non-profit entities. But they can contract with a for-profit organization to manage the school.

The state board had rejected Heritage Collegiate because of the school leaders ties to a failed charter school in Bertie County.

Financial issues at charter schools

There are more than 200 charter schools open in North Carolina. Charters are exempt from some of the rules that traditional public schools must follow.

A screenshot of the Bridges Academy Facebook page. State Board of Education members are citing the closed Wilkes County charter schools financial issues as a reason for putting in a new policy before charters can get state and fedeal funds.

Davis pointed to the financial issues that led to the closure of some charter schools. In particular, Davis cited how Bridges Academy in Wilkes County has been accused falsifying enrollment numbers to get more than $400,000 in state funding it wasnt entitled to receive.

But Republican State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said school districts also have mismanaged funds.

I dont see what a couple of bad actors have done should be a policy that jeopardizes essentially the ability of a charter school to open its doors to the families whove chosen to go there, Truitt said. The way the policy is written now, because it is so vague, would allow for this board to vote not to open a charter school and not give a reason.

Truitt questioned the urgency of the policy on Thursday because new charter schools dont get funding until they get a certificate of occupancy when theyre close to opening. She also said its unclear whether the new policy will need to be approved by the state Rules Review Commission.

Davis said the board will make funding decisions based on questions such as whether the allocation is lawful and whether the school meets the need cited.

What judgment will we use in determining funding? Davis said. Well use the same judgment that we use in determining funding for any school.

Opposition to new policy

Charter school supporters have been rallying against the policy.

Supporters of expanding charter schools and private school vouchers hold a rally in Raleigh, N.C., in this 2018 file photo.

The N.C. Charter Schools Coalition says separating funding approval from charter school approval violates state law. The group says the policy will jeopardize the ability of some new charter schools to open.

North Carolina charter schools are enormously popular with families, as evidenced by the 77,000 names on charter school waitlists, Lindalyn Kakadelis, executive director of the N.C. Coalition for Charter Schools, said in a news release. The legislature streamlined the approval process for new public charter schools to meet this demand.

The State Board of Education is wrong to play these bureaucratic power games when parents just want options in their public schooling.

Former state Senator Deanna Ballard called the policy a school choice sneak attack. Ballard, a Watuaga County Republican, is seeking the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor.

Bureaucrats will resort to anything to block parents from having a choice in which school their children attend, Ballard said in a news release. This sneak attack on school choice uses a legal trick to threaten funding for new charter schools even as tens of thousands of children sit on charter school waitlists.

Parents, not bureaucrats, should have the power in deciding which school is best for their children.
Protesters showed up at the legislative building in Raleigh on Tuesday, ready to denounce a bill that would change the makeup of state and local boards of elections.

Only the bill never received a vote.

The measure was pulled from committee at the last minute, and a top House Republican said the vote would be delayed until at least next week. No explanation was given, but House Speaker Tim Moore later told reporters that the bill needed a few tweaks before it would be ready for a vote, according to WRAL.

Both Democrats and Republicans in Raleigh told the Editorial Board that they did not know why the bill was removed from the calendar. Rep. Marcia Morey, a Durham Democrat, said on social media that she drove 14 hours to get back from vacation in time for the vote, only for it to be postponed.

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If Republicans truly are reconsidering Senate Bill 749, thats good news. Weve said before that the bill  deceptively titled No Partisan Advantage in Elections  is a formula for disaster. It would end the longstanding practice of state and county boards of elections being weighted in favor of the governors party. Instead, appointments to these boards would be evenly split between the two major political parties.

In such a scenario, gridlock is inevitable. In some cases, those impasses could be resolved by the legislature itself. In others, there is no clear remedy aside from legal action, increasing the likelihood that questions of election management could be tied up in the courts. (Its probably not a coincidence that the legislative and judicial branches are comfortably under the control of Republicans.)

That the bill would be met with significant public resistance should come as no surprise. This is not the first time that North Carolina Republicans have attempted to strip the governors power to make appointments to the State Board of Elections, and it has been declared unconstitutional. In 2016, before Gov. Roy Cooper took office, legislators passed a similar bill that increased the number of members of the State Board of Elections to eight, four from each party. The North Carolina Supreme Court later ruled that it was a violation of separation of powers. Now that Republicans make up a majority of the state Supreme Court, lawmakers may be more confident that the law would be allowed to stand.

While lawmakers are busy concocting new ways to steamroll the electoral process, election officials are left to navigate the chaos and confusion already caused by North Carolinas voter ID law, which will be in effect for the first time in municipal elections this year. Its not yet clear if the funding requested by the State Board of Elections to carry out the photo ID requirement will be allocated in full in this years budget. Its also not clear if the budget will contain the funding necessary to address staffing shortages at DMV offices, which are so overwhelmed that appointments for state ID cards are not available for several months, if at all.

During the past five years, as voter ID was litigated and re-litigated in court, Republicans repeatedly defended the law by pointing to the fact that 55% of voters approved it in a 2018 ballot measure. In that same election, however, voters resoundingly rejected a proposal to change the makeup of the state elections boards  a fact that lawmakers seem to have conveniently ignored. It was not a particularly close vote, as nearly 62% of voters statewide opposed it.

And yet, the bills sponsors have the gall to claim that this bill is somehow in the best interest of the very voters who have already rejected it. Upon introducing the bill earlier this year, Senate Republicans claimed it would repair public trust in our elections during a time of intense political polarization.

Without knowing exactly why Senate Bill 749 was removed from the calendar, its hard to say whether it will resurface in the future. It would not be the first time that a controversial bill was pulled at the last minute only to be revived later.

But if Republicans are truly interested in affirming the fairness of our elections, they should stop telling voters theres a reason to distrust them in the first place. The best thing they can do for our elections is leave them alone.
In North Carolina and across the country, its a common requirement to take a drug test before starting a new job. But are all employers legally required to have new hires take one?

While many companies have workplace policies, there are federal and state laws and regulations regarding drug tests.

NC drug testing laws

The North Carolina Department of Labor enforces the Controlled Substance Examination Regulation Act, a state law officials say was established to ensure procedural requirements for drug tests and to protect people from unreliable and inadequate tests and procedures.

Under state law, employers can drug test employees or job applicants, but it is not required. The law also allows employers to randomly drug test their employees.

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CSERA does not specify circumstances under which drug testing is authorized or prohibited, Erin Wilson, director of communications for NCDOL, told The Charlotte Observer. Employers are allowed to set the circumstances and conditions that will result in a test for controlled substances.

Can you be fired for failing a drug test?

Those circumstances and conditions could include random testing of current employees, an accident at work or reasonable suspicion of drug use by an employee, Wilson explained.

An employee may be terminated for failing a controlled substance random test if the employer has followed their written policies, Wilson said. However, employees tests must be confirmed by a second examination.

With any drug test, the state law does require specific procedures for collecting samples and retesting positive samples. Employers must also pay all expenses for the tests unless the employee requests a retest.

There are also no federal laws for most private employers to require drug tests, but there is an exception for federal contractors and grantees and safety and security-sensitive industries and positions.

You can find more information about federal laws related to drug testing on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website and more details on North Carolinas state laws on the NCDOL website.
President Biden tested negative for COVID-19 on Wednesday and will test again before he heads to India the following day for the Group of 20 (G20) summit, days after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for the coronavirus.

The presidents negative test Wednesday morning follows negative tests Monday night and Tuesday.

He is not experiencing any symptoms, which of course is a good thing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

The first lady is doing well [and] remains in Delaware, which is also a good thing, she added, after telling reporters the day prior that Jill Biden was experiencing mild symptoms.

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Jean-Pierre said Biden will be testing regularly as he heads to India and Vietnam and that the White House will let reporters know about negative tests, but she didnt outline what the testing cadence will be.

All travelers who are going to India will be tested, including the president, she said, adding theres no change when asked if the trip is definitely set to happen.

Biden is slated to leave Washington on Thursday afternoon for the G20 summit in New Delhi, where he will stay for three days and then travel to Vietnam to meet with leaders there.

Jean-Pierre said she had no contingency plans to announce in the event the president tested positive.

The press secretary Wednesday had told reporters that Biden will be masking while indoors and while around people, in alignment with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. Biden later that day awarded the Medal of Honor to a Vietnam-era Army helicopter pilot, and he took off his mask during a portion of the event.

When questioned on the lack of masking, Jean-Pierre said Biden had tested negative a few hours before the event and left the event when there was a pause in the program to minimize being around attendees.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
MILFORD  Months after it was announced that Framingham's Adult ESL (FAESL) program was being expanded to Milford, 76 students are poised to begin classes there.

ESL classes begin in Milford on Sept. 7 at the Stacy Middle School, and will continue on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Executive Director Kevin O'Connor said that after a recent admissions event in Milford, 65 new students were admitted to the program. Eleven others that were taking classes in Framingham, but live in Milford, were transferred to the Milford program.

The event had a turnout of 270, according to O'Connor, with a lottery system held for admissions.

Natalia Santos, center, speaks during an in-person morning Framingham Adult ESL+ class in March. The program has expanded to Milford.

Expansion plans: Milford ESL students will no longer need to travel to Framingham

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"Everyone who didn't win the lottery got information on other programs in the area," he said.

O'Connor said there are educators from both Framingham and Milford, with three of them having "deep roots" in Milford. He said FAESL is excited for the start of the Milford program and thanked Milford Public Schools for providing classroom space.

"We're building a strong coalition of services and really good groups," O'Connor said, adding that the education is aimed at navigating systems and solving problems.

The ESL program in Framingham felt the need to expand after seeing a number of students commuting to Framingham from Milford. O'Connor said it made more sense to connect thoses students with services closer to home. Furthermore, while FAESL was the closest publicly-funded adult education program to Milford, a new location meant that Milford students would no longer need to travel 20 miles to learn, and more seats will then open for students closer to Framingham.

FAESL's expansion to Milford was made possible with about $200,000 in funding  obtained after an open and competitive process  from the Massachusetts Department of Education's Adult and Community Learning Services division and the FAESL Student Advisory Council.

What does Framingham's ESL classes teach?

FAESL instructs more than 1,000 students. In addition to English classes, it offers classes in citizenship, computer technology, family literacy, adult basic education and high school equivalency. It also advises students of Middlesex County programs such as those for eviction diversion, food pantries and health insurance services, which helps to keep students coming to classes.

The new program will provide 200 hours of instruction.

Where do students originate?

O'Connor said that although he's still parsing data, Milford students are predominantly of Brazilian descent, with some from Ecuador. Similarly, students at the Framingham program are also predominantly form Brazil, Ecuador and other Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking countries.

South side school: Framingham officials say a price has been agreed upon for key piece of land

After winning seats in the lottery, students were required to take a placement test, and were then either placed in a regular class or put on a waiting list. Students must complete 80% of their classes in order to continue in the program.

FAESL operates as a department of Framingham Public Schools, which provides classroom space for evening classes at Fuller Middle School.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham Adult ESL ready start new Milford classes
This Scanning Electron Micrograph Sem Depicts A Grouping Of Vibrio Vulnificus Bacteria; Mag. 13184X. Vibrio Vulnificus Is A Bacterium In The Same Family As Those That Cause Cholera. It Normally Lives In Warm Seawater And Is Part Of A Group Of Vibrios That Are Called "Halophilic" Because They Require Salt. V. Vulnificus Can Cause Disease In Those Who Eat Contaminated Seafood Or Have An Open Wound That Is Exposed To Contaminated Seawater. Among Healthy People, Ingestion Of V. Vulnificus Can Cause Vomiting, Diarrhea, And Abdominal Pain. In Immunocompromised Persons, Particularly Those With Chronic Liver Disease, V. Vulnificus Can Infect The Bloodstream, Causing A Severe And Life Threatening Illness Characterized By Fever And Chills, Decreased Blood Pressure Septic Shock, And Blistering Skin Lesions. V. Vulnificus Bloodstream Infections Are Fatal About 50% Of The Time. (Photo By BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images) (BSIP via Getty Images)

A health alert has been issued by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in response to reports of a fatal bacterial infection that thrives in warm coastal waters.

The Vibrio vulnificus bacteria can be found in raw or undercooked seafood, saltwater and brackish water. The most common way to become infected is when an open wound comes into contact with vibrio bacteria in water.

At least a dozen people have died from the infection across the country this year. About 80,000 people get vibrio infections each year. Of those infected, about 100 people will die from the infection annually in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As ocean waters warm because of climate change, the Vibrio vulnificus is migrating north, studies have found.

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"The warmer water is, the more bacteria can reproduce faster," researcher Gabby Barbarite at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, Florida told USA TODAY.

Infections have increased eightfold from 1988 to 2018 around the country, according to research published in March in the journal Nature Portfolio. The bacteria and infections are spreading northward up the East Coast at a rate of about 30 miles a year, researchers say.

"Cases used to be concentrated almost exclusively in the Gulf of Mexico in the southern United States," Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, told USA TODAY earlier this year.

Vibrio vulnificus is "actually always in water," Manisha Juthani, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health, said at a news conference Monday.

"What happens in the summertime is that bacteria like this tend to overgrow, and if you have an open wound, you should never be getting into water because there are any number of bacteria that are in the water," she said.

ICYMI: Vibrio vulnificus killed 5 people in Florida in 2023. What is the 'flesh-eating' bacteria?

What is Vibrio vulnificus?

Vibrio vulnificus, or vibriosis, is a bacterial infection known to cause human illness, according to the CDC.

The condition has been nicknamed flesh eating bacteria even though the death of soft tissue can be caused by more than one type of bacteria.

Its inaccurate to call Vibrio vulnifus the flesh-eating bacteria because it kills but does not eat tissue. The bacteria cannot penetrate intact skin but must enter through a break in the skin.

If the bacteria enters the body through a cut or wound, it can cause necrotizing fasciitis, in which the flesh around the infection site dies. Vulnificus means "to wound" in Latin.

Some Vibrio vulnificus infections can lead to life-threatening wound infections in which the flesh around an open wound dies, according to the CDC.

Many who are infected may need intensive care or limb amputations; about 1 in 5 who get the infection die, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill, the CDC says.

Vibrio bacteria naturally live in certain coastal waters year-round but tend to appear in a higher concentration between May and October. About 80% of infections occur in those months because waters are warmer, the CDC reports.

Most cases of Vibrio vulnificus occur when an open wound comes into contact with salt water or brackish water. The bacteria also can infect people if they eat raw or undercooked shellfish, which makes up about 10% of the cases reported to the CDC.

People with underlying health conditions like cancer, liver disease, diabetes, or those who are immunocompromised have a higher risk of wound infection occurring.

What are some signs you have experienced a Vibrio vulnificus infection?

Common signs or symptoms you may experience as a result of Vibrio vulnificus infection, according to the CDC:

Watery diarrhea, often accompanied by stomach cramping, nausea, vomiting, and fever.

For bloodstream infection: fever, chills, dangerously low blood pressure and blistering skin lesions.

For wound infection, which may spread to the rest of the body: fever, redness, pain, swelling, warmth, discoloration and discharge.

How do you protect yourself from Vibrio?

Here are some tips from the CDC on how to keep you and your family safe from Vibrio:

Stay out of saltwater and brackish water if you have an open wound or cut. If you get a cut while you are in the water, leave the water immediately.

If your open wounds and cuts could come in contact with salt water, brackish water or raw or undercooked seafood, cover them with a waterproof bandage.

Wash open wounds and cuts thoroughly with soap and clean, running water after they come in contact with saltwater, brackish water, or drippings from raw or undercooked seafood.

Cook raw oysters and other shellfish before eating.

Always wash your hands with soap and water after handling raw shellfish.

Seek medical attention right away for infected wounds.

Contributing: Elizabeth Weise, Mike Snider, Gabe Hauari, Katie Delk

What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CDC issues warning over flesh-eating bacteria killing Americans
When a teens skeletal remains were found in the Tennessee woods in 1983, investigators identified a murder suspect but not the victim.

Now, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has confirmed the identity of the victim using DNA technology, the agency said in a Sept. 6 news release.

Kenneth Levall Thompson of Detroit was born in November 1965. His remains were found in Crossville, Tennessee, on Aug. 26, 1983, the TBI said. Investigators said he was stabbed multiple times.

A forensic pathologist initially estimated the victim was between the ages of 20 and 25, the release said.

A TBI spokesperson told McClatchy News that Thompson was killed approximately a week or more before his body was found in Cumberland County.

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Without knowing who the victim was, investigators were able to identify a possible suspect, who was charged with second-degree murder in May 1984 and sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to the release. The suspect was 36 when he was charged, TBI told McClatchy News.

Family told investigators they last had contact with Thompson around 1982 or 1983.

Years went by without a match for the victims identity. Investigators submitted a DNA sample to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, according to the release. His DNA was entered into database systems to look for possible matches, but none came.

In December 2022, TBI agents with the Unidentified Human Remains DNA Initiative sent a DNA sample of Thompsons to Othram Laboratories in Texas for forensic genetic genealogical (FGG) DNA testing, according to the release.

Scientists were able to find possible relatives of the unidentified teen. TBI investigators then located family members in Michigan, including a brother who said he hadnt heard from Thompson in nearly four decades.

Officials submitted familial DNA to the lab in Texas, TBI said. Othram scientists were able to identify the remains as Thompsons.

Investigators hope this development will provide long-awaited answers to Kenneths family, the TBI wrote in the release.

The agency is asking for anyone with photos of Thompson to share them with the TBI.

The only photo of Kenneth that surviving family members could find was taken when he was a child, the agency said.

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With the majority of fentanyl and other narcotics in the United States entering through California's southern border, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday he would be beefing up the California National Guard presence along the border immediately to try to stem the flow.

Fentanyl is a deadly poison ripping families and communities apart," Newsom said in a statement Thursday. "California is cracking down  and today were going further by deploying more CalGuard soldiers to combat this crisis and keep our communities safe.

The number of CalGuard members stationed along the southern border will rise from 40 to roughly 60, a 50% increase, according to Maj. Gen. Matthew P. Beevers of the California Military Department.

Beevers oversees a dual federal and state military reserve force that includes 367 CalGuard service members deployed to support anti-narcotics efforts across most of the state's 58 counties.

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Officials estimate that 65% of the narcotics supply in the United States enters the country through the California border, Beevers said.

As the fentanyl crisis has grown, overdose deaths have climbed in recent years, and L.A. County has become a major fentanyl distribution hub for Mexican drug cartels, which push counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, often disguised to look like prescription painkillers.

Beevers noted at a news conference Wednesday that CalGuard had had "some extraordinarily successful operations in this last year."

The governor's office reported that CalGuard helped law enforcement seize more than 11,763 pounds of fentanyl so far this year, and 28,765 pounds of fentanyl were seized throughout California last year.

The CalGuard anti-narcotics program is supported with a budget of $41 million, of which $26 million is provided by the federal government and $15 million from the California state budget.

"We recognize this as a unique challenge to California, and I think the governor's additional $15 million really speaks to getting after that," Beevers said, adding that it was "unprecedented" to receive state aid for such efforts.

The CalGuard staffing increase, which begins Thursday, focuses exclusively on the five ports of entry along the southern border: Otay Mesa, San Ysidro, Tecate, Calexico East and Calexico West.

Although U.S. Customs and Border Protection's field officers conduct the primary work at these sites, CalGuard members assist with two major tasks: secondary vehicle inspections, in which vehicles are searched for smuggled narcotics; and vehicle X-rays, which scan to detect narcotics inside vehicles.

The increased staffing will allow nearly round-the-clock operation of the X-rays, according to Beevers, which "dramatically increases" the number of vehicles analyzed by the machines.

Newsom's latest move at the border comes after similar CalGuard staffing increases were made in San Francisco in the spring targeting drug traffickers and suppliers in the city. Beevers said CalGuard analysts had supported local law enforcement efforts and helped make a "marked improvement" in the last couple of months.

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.
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

GOVERNOR SIGNS AI ORDER

Gov. Gavin Newsom says he wants to prepare California for the age of AI.

He announced Wednesday that he has signed an executive order for a study of generative artificial intelligence, or GenAI, which has been popularized recently with offerings such as ChatGPT and Midjourney.

The governor called GenAI a potentially transformative technology, akin to the creation of the internet, that California is at the forefront of developing.

Were neither frozen by the fears nor hypnotized by the upside. Were taking a clear-eyed, humble approach to this world-changing technology, Newsom said in a statement.

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Newsoms order calls for the responsible and ethical use of GenAI in state government, and directs departments to report on its potential uses and risks. He said the study will engage the Legislature and key stakeholders to develop policy recommendations.

CALIFORNIA COULD SOON DECRIMINALIZE CERTAIN PSYCHEDELICS

A bill to decriminalize a narrow selection of naturally occurring psychedelics moved one big step closer to becoming law Wednesday, when the Assembly voted 41-11 to pass SB 58.

If it becomes law, the measure would remove criminal penalties for possessing up to four grams of mescaline, one gram of DMT, one gram of psilocybin or one gram of psilocyn, provided you are 21 or older, beginning on Jan. 1, 2025. They remain illegal under federal law.

The bill returns to the Senate for a concurrence vote, where it previously passed 21-16. Then it goes to Gov. Gavin Newsoms desk for a signature or veto.

SB 58 author Sen. Scott Wiener said in a statement, Californias veterans, first responders, and others struggling with PTSD, depression, and addiction deserve access to these promising plant medicines.

On the Assembly floor, the bill was championed by Assemblymembers Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City; Josh Lowenthal, D-Long Beach; and Bill Essayli, R-Corona  the latter was one of a handful of Republicans to vote for the bill.

One Democrat, Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains of Bakersfield, voted no.

Speaking for the bill, Wilson pointed out that California is not breaking new ground by passing this bill, alluding to the fact that California would be following Oregon and Colorado in decriminalizing certain psychedelics.

The bill has drawn opposition, not only from law enforcement groups but also from the Coalition for Psychedelic Safety and Education, formed by a group of mothers whose children died in accidents related to psychedelic use.

The group is urging lawmakers to go a different route with decriminalization.

Were not opposed to decriminalization itself, we are pro-safety, said attorney Beth Parker of the coalition. There should be guardrails in place. If we require warning labels and instructions on a bottle of aspirin, surely we should require basic education and safety planning before giving a green light to substances that cause hallucinations, distorted thinking, and detachment from reality.

Wiener, in a statement, said that the bill has prudent safeguards in place after we incorporated feedback from three years of deep engagement with a broad array of stakeholders.

SB 403 SUPPORTERS LAUNCH HUNGER STRIKE TILL BILL IS SIGNED

Via Jenavieve Hatch...

Members of the Californians for Caste Equity coalition will go on hunger strike until Newsom signs SB 403, Sen. Aisha Wahabs civil rights bill that would ban discrimination on the basis of caste, into law.

As a Californian who has endured caste my whole life, I know the struggles and adversity caste-oppressed Californians have unjustly faced firsthand, said Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Executive Director of Equality Labs, the nations leading Dalit civil rights organization.

Caste-oppressed people have organized for over twenty years so we could have lives free from violent attacks and discrimination. I am fasting as a reminder of how important this bill is to my two daughters, said Dr. Nirmal Singh, a lead organizer. I cannot live in this state knowing that caste discrimination can continue unabated. We fast now for all those who have not been able to speak out.

SB 403, the first statewide bill to address caste discrimination, passed through the State Legislature on Tuesday with a 31-5 vote in the Senate. While Wahabs bill received broad bipartisan support, it sparked a recall effort largely supported by Hindu Americans who say the bill may result in reverse discrimination or racial profiling, given that caste is most associated with the South Asian community.

This bill is very simple, Sen. Wahab said Tuesday while addressing the Senate. It is to protect all people against caste discrimination, regardless of caste: upper caste, lower caste, it does not matter.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Dear remaining Twitter/X advertisers: If youre onboard with associating your trusted brand with gassing the Jews, youve come to the right place!

- Science writer Steve Silberman, sharing a screenshot of Xs determination that a user named gasthejews6969 did not violate the platforms safety policies, via Bluesky.

Best of The Bee:

California State University financial experts outlined a multi-year tuition proposal on Wednesday morning just days ahead of the CSU Board of Trustees bimonthly meeting, via Jacqueline Pinedo .

A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge has put a pause on Chino Valley Unified School Districts new policy requiring school employees to out transgender students to their parents, via Andrew Sheeler .

Former President Donald Trump is on track to win a majority of California Republican voters in next years primary despite multiple criminal indictments, a new poll says, via Andrew Sheeler .

Citing lack of remorse, prosecutors seek prison for Jan. 6 defendant from California, via Sam Stanton .

Teachers, parents, and retired school staff in Rocklin will protest Wednesday evening before a school board meeting thats likely to be contentious, with parents rights and students gender identities on the agenda, via Jenavieve Hatch .

California voters will likely see clearer ballot language on statewide referendums after lawmakers on Tuesday endorsed a bill that would eliminate the often puzzling Yes or No choice, via Maya Miller.
Civil and port infrastructure facilities, a grain elevator and an administrative building have been damaged as a result of a Russia-launched Shahed drone attack on Odesa Oblast. Meanwhile, a truck driver suffered a minor leg injury.

Source: Oleh Kiper, Head of Odesa Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Quote: "Russian terrorists have been attacking the south of Odesa Oblast with attack drones for three hours. This is already the fourth attack on the Izmail district in the last five days.

Civil and port infrastructure facilities, a grain elevator and an administrative building were damaged in several settlements in today's (7 September  ed.) Shahed drone raid.

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Details: Kiper added that one civilian had been injured, and "a truck driver sustained a minor leg injury".

At the moment, the aftermath of the attacks is being dealt with at the scene with appropriate services responding.

Background:

Russian terrorists launched a three-hour drone attack on the night of 5-6 September on the Izmail District of Odesa Oblast, causing damage and killing one person.

On the night of 6-7 September, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that a group of attack drones was flying from the Black Sea towards the Izmail district in Odesa Oblast, specifying that the Russian drones were moving toward Kiliia, Izmail and Reni, on the border with Romania.

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!
[Source]

Former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley emerged as the only Republican presidential candidate who can decisively beat Joe Biden in 2024, a new poll shows.

Results: Haley, 51, struck a commanding 49% against Bidens 43%, according to the CNN/SSRS poll released today. This is the only result to exceed the margin of error.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump received 47% to Bidens 46%; former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott both received 46% to Bidens 44% and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie received 44% to Bidens 42%. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tied with Biden at 47%, while entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy trailed Bidens 46% at 45%.

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Why this matters: Haley, the only woman and one of three Indian Americans running for the GOP nomination, has positioned herself as the biggest threat to Democrats in the general election. A senior Democratic strategist close to the Biden campaign also told Politico that If they nominate Nikki Haley, were in trouble.

More from NextShark: San Francisco rally commemorates first anniversary of Vicha Ratanapakdee mural

With policies that resonate to more moderate voters, Haleys numbers have reportedly surged since the first Republican primary debate last month. For starters, a Washington Post/FiveThirtyEight/Ipsos survey showed that after her performance, 46% of Republican primary voters said they would vote for her, up from just 29% before the event.

Primary polling: Republican primary polling, however, still shows Trump at the top of the pack. As of press time, the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate shows the former president as having a 38.7-point lead over DeSantis, the only other GOP candidate reaping double digits.

More from NextShark: Woman charged with hate crime for stabbing Asian teen in the head on Indiana bus

The big picture: Haley faces an uphill battle to win the GOP nomination, but the primaries are still months away. Go ahead and underestimate me, thatll be fun, she wrote on X last month.

Ken Farnaso, Haleys campaign spokesperson, welcomed the latest polling on X today:

More from NextShark: Woman arrested for fatally stabbing her parents in South Korea says a ghost told me to do it
Attorney Ben Dusing, whose law licenses in Kentucky and Ohio have been temporarily suspended, was sentenced Tuesday to seven days in jail for a contempt charge from almost four years ago.

A high-profile Northern Kentucky defense lawyer has been ordered to serve a seven-day jail sentence nearly four years after he was found in contempt of court, records show.

Ben Dusing has until Sept. 15 to report to the Kenton County Detention Center, according to a Tuesday order by Family Court Judge Thomas Rauf.

The contempt charge stems from a 2019 custody dispute over the child Dusing shares with his ex-fiancee, Jill Bakker.

Dusing was found to be in contempt of court in October 2019 for violating orders regarding communication with Bakker and was sentenced in January 2020 by Judge Christopher Mehling to seven days in jail, court filings show.

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That sentence was conditionally discharged, an alternative to jail time that is similar to probation, but happens when the judge decides a person should follow conditions set by the court but that probationary supervision is unnecessary.

In August 2020, the judge found Dusing continued to violate the courts orders by sending emails to his ex-fiancee unrelated to the wellbeing of his child, court records show.

After the 2020 sentencing, Dusing sent at least 50 written messages to Bakker in violation of the courts orders, according to court filings.

He seems to be intent on having his way at all times, Mehling wrote of Dusing's emails. They can be bullying and intimidating.

The Courier-Journal reported his custody dispute with his ex-fiancee has been rocky. She was given full custody of their only child after experiencing physical and emotional abuse from Dusing, according to a 2021 ruling by Mehling, who also presided over a custody dispute between Dusing and another woman.

Dusing also threatened to kill his ex-fiancee at least six times, the judge said.

His sentencing for violating the conditions of his conditional discharge was deferred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which had started just five months earlier, according to court filings.

It wasnt until last week that the issue was heard by the court as part of a three-day trial, this time before a different judge as Mehling retired.

Dusing argued in part that he was not afforded due process; he was not in contempt and was never fully heard on the contempt charge, and Rauf couldnt sentence him since he was not the judge who found Dusing in contempt.

We are disappointed with the courts order. It is patently illegal, and we will be appealing immediately, Kent Wicker, Dusings attorney, said in an email.

As of Wednesday night, jail records did not list Dusing as an inmate at the Kenton County Detention Center.

The attorney has been temporarily suspended from practicing law in Kentucky since February 2022, as well as in Ohio since March of last year.

During the custody disputes, Dusing posted a Facebook message in 2021 aimed at two attorneys, including the lawyer who represented his ex-fiancee, and used profanity almost 50 times in a roughly nine-minute video.

He also asked his co-counsel to pay a psychologist $5,000 to change a custodial evaluation, according to a 30-page report written by the Kentucky Bar Association.

In the profanity-laced video, he accused the lawyers of wrongdoing, threatened to invoke the wrath of God upon them and asked for a "reason to" blow them up.

Dusing has argued the comment is a figure of speech. While he should have chosen different words, he was spotlighting what he considered bad behavior by others and advocating for court reform, he said in defense of his actions during a five-day trial in December.

He also says he never tried to pay a doctor to change a custodial report, though Judge Mehling and trial commissioner Scott Bachert both agreed Dusing convinced or helped his attorney Jeffrey Otis try to pay off the doctor who conducted a custodial evaluation.

Dusing is a former federal prosecutor turned defense attorney who has represented Jeff Pastor, the former Cincinnati City Council member convicted of a federal corruption charge, and Doug Evans, the owner of Evans Landscaping convicted in a scheme to win contracts intended for minority-owned businesses.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ben Dusing: NKY lawyer gets jail time for years-old contempt charge
Two Colorado police officers involved in the shooting death of 14-year-old JorDell Richardson earlier this year will not face criminal charges, the 18th Judicial District Attorneys Office announced on Wednesday.

JorDell was shot and killed on 1 June in Aurora following a convenience store robbery when the responding officers James Snapp and Roch Gruszeczka believed he was armed with a 9mm pistol.

It was determined that the teen was instead carrying a pellet-gun replica of a pistol and his death sparked protests in the city.

Now, an investigative report has found that the officers belief that it was a real gun was reasonable at the time, and body camera video shows the gun clearly visible in his hands, according to the decision letter released by DA John Kellner.

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The evidence shows that Officer Snapp was legally justified in using physical force during this incident, and that Officer Gruszeczka was legally justified in using deadly physical force, the letter read.

The Aurora Police officers responded to the June robbery at a liquor store near East Eighth Avenue and North Dayton Street where an officer had called for backup after seeing a group of teens wearing medical masks and looking suspicious.

Additional officers arrived as one of the teens, later identified to be JorDell, fled the store after robbing it of several vape pens and led police on a foot chase that was caught on body cam video.

It was later revealed that it was JorDell who had threatened the store clerk with the gun during the robbery. Investigators found that the people inside the store believed the gun was real, according to the report.

JorDell Richardson (JorDell Richardson/GoFundMe)

The chase ended a short time later when JorDell was tackled to the ground and Officer Gruszeczka could be heard on the body cam video yelling at the teen to let go of the gun.

The officer also yelled that he would shoot him as the teen can be heard on the body cam video pleading, Stop please, you got me.

A single round was fired and struck JorDells abdomen. He later died from his injuries.

According to the decision letter that provided a summary of the report, Officer Gruszeczka did not report hearing JorDell make any attempt to surrender and that the teen continued to struggle with him for the gun.

There is bodycam footage of the struggle, but it does not show JorDell reaching for the gun. However, surveillance video from a nearby bar and grill shows the teen moving his right hand toward his waist after he was tackled by police.

The teen was inially believed to have a semi-automatic weapon, but the DA wrote in the letter that investigators knew nearly immediately after the shooting that he was carrying a pellet gun.

(8th Judicial District Attorneys Office)

For eight days, JorDells family and the community believed he had been carrying a real gun as told by Aurora Police Interim Chief Art Acevedo.

It was confirmed on 8 June that he had actually been carrying a pellet gun. This implemented a new information-sharing process for future critical incidents.

The gun had "no markings, coloration, or alterations that would indicate upon visual inspection that this was a simulated or replica handgun, as opposed to an actual handgun capable of firing bullets, according to the letter.

It was concluded that Officer Gruszeczkas belief that JorDell was armed with a deadly weapon was objectively reasonable.

Mr Kellner said Officer Gruszeczka possessed an objectively reasonable belief that the individual (JorDell) was capable of inflicting serious bodily injury or death on either Officer Snapp or Officer Gruszeczka at the time of the OIS (officer-involved shooting), and concludes that the use of deadly physical force was not a criminal action.

Officer Gruszeczka, who has been with the department since 2017 and served on the gang unit since 2019, was placed on paid administrative leave but has since been returned to full duty.

Aurora Police Chief Art Acevedo released a statement following the news and called the DAs decision fair and just.

Regardless of this finding, the death of a young man is a tragedy for his family and extended community, and it will continue to weigh heavily on members of our department, he said.

We continue to offer our deepest sympathies to JorDell Richardsons family and friends. Consistent with my previous statements, our officers had to make split-second decisions based upon the information available to them and their own observations. I believe the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) made a fair and just decision today following a comprehensive analysis of all the facts over the last three months. Regardless of this finding, the death of a young man is a tragedy for his family and extended community, and it will continue to weigh heavily on members of our department.

"In addition to the aforementioned CIRT investigation, the department is in the final stages of a separate internal investigation to determine what, if any, policy violations occurred related to this incident and will share our findings as soon as the process is complete.

"Its my hope that our community will come closer together and direct our collective energy toward comprehensive, meaningful and lasting solutions to empower our youth. It is in this spirit that I called for a summit to address the many challenges facing todays youth ranging from high frequency of violence to lack of quality educational and economic opportunities. This effort will not succeed unless we secure commitments from a wide range of community, business, and government leaders."
It showcases that the American justice system works the way the American justice system always has, said Ameshia Cross, a Democratic Strategist.

It does not come as a shock to some that the U.S. Department of Justice handed down its harshest sentence in the Jan. 6 prosections to Henry Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader charged for leading the 2021 violent and deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Democratic strategist Ameshia Cross told theGrio it is not surprising that Tarrio, an Afro-Cuban, received the highest penalty out of all of the insurrectionists charged and sentenced for crimes committed on Jan. 6 in an effort to stop the certifying of votes in the 2020 election that declared Joe Biden the 46th president of the United States.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA  FEBRUARY 27: Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, stands outside of the Hyatt Regency where the Conservative Political Action Conference is being held on February 27, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. Begun in 1974, CPAC brings together conservative organizations, activists, and world leaders to discuss issues important to them. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

It showcases that the American justice system works the way the American justice system always has  by penalizing people of color, Black and brown people, at much higher sentencing or sentencing guidelines than they do anyone else, she said. This is not something thats new in this country.

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She added, All that this shows is the truth behind the fact that justice does choose which color gets the lowest amount of sentencing if they get sentenced at all, and weve seen that with the Jan. 6 rioters and orchestrators.

On Tuesday, Tarrio, 39, was sentenced to 22 years behind bars and 36 months of supervised release for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the Jan. 6 attempted coup.

In 2020, it became public knowledge that the Proud Boys were tied to former President Donald Trump when he called them by name and gave them a directive during a presidential debate to stand back and stand by.

Tarrio answered Trumps call, and although he was not at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, he organized the attack from a hotel in Baltimore.

Cross told theGrio that people of color like Tarrio follow Trump and join white supremacist organizations because part of it is getting caught up in the moment, calling it somewhat groupthink.

To be a white supremacist, you dont have to be white, she asserted. You can believe and posture yourself outside of the group that you look exactly likebecause you have distanced yourself far from them.

Two days prior to the insurrection, Tarrio was arrested for setting a Black Lives Matter flag on fire outside a church in Washington, D.C. He was ordered out of the city, which subsequently precluded him from partaking in the U.S. Capitol attack.

FILE  Violent insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump stand outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. On Monday, Dec. 19, the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will hold its final meeting. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

During Tarrios trial, his legal team tried to convince the jury that he was a patriot who had simply lost his way and deserved a lesser sentence. However, those efforts fell on deaf ears.

Stephen Piggott, program director at Western States Center, which tracks the activity of anti-democracy and white nationalist groups, told theGrio that although justice must be served, sending members of the Proud Boys to jail will not solve Americas issue with white supremacy.

A lot of the people that showed up on Jan. 6 were not members of a group, said Piggott. They werent members of Proud Boys. They werent members of Oath Keepers.

He continued, They were there because they either were looking at stuff online or they were compelled by the former presidents words to come to D.C.

Pigott told theGrio that the country is still seeing an uptick in white supremacy since Jan. 6, 2021. We continue to see waves of violence directed toward people of color, [and] directed toward the LGBTQ community across the country, he said.

Piggott added, When you look at whats going on the ground right now and the kind of white nationalist movement in the United States, I dont think that the DOJs efforts to hold domestic terrorists accountable has really slowed down the activity of any of these groups or individuals.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post No surprise, Black insurrectionist Enrique Tarrio gets the harshest Jan. 6 sentence appeared first on TheGrio.
FILE PHOTO: Man holds laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture

By Raphael Satter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korean hackers targeted Russian diplomats and successfully breached a Russian aerospace research institute earlier this year, Microsoft Corp said in a blog post published Thursday.

Microsoft did not identify any of the victims by name and provided little by way of details or evidence, but said the hacking took place in March.

"North Korean threat actors may be capitalizing on the opportunity to conduct intelligence collection on Russian entities due to the country's focus on its war in Ukraine," the report said.

North Korea's mission to the United Nations did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment. The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to an email.

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Spying on rivals' military and diplomatic organizations is standard operating procedure for the hacking squads employed by the world's intelligence agencies. North Korea has repeatedly been accused of deploying hackers against defense and diplomacy-related targets in South Korea, the United States and elsewhere.

But allegations that Pyongyang is spying on its Russian allies are potentially more awkward as the countries draw closer amid the war in Ukraine.

Last month, Reuters and researchers at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne Inc revealed how North Korean spies had broken into a major Russian missile developer for at least five months last year - putting them into position to gather intelligence about Russia's hypersonic missiles and rocket propellant technology.

Microsoft's allegations were made in a report about cyberespionage in East Asia, which also covered previous reporting by the American tech giant about Chinese hackers targeting U.S. critical infrastructure as well as new allegations about China's propaganda operations, which it said Beijing had "continued to scale up" using artificial intelligence and influencers.

The Chinese embassy did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Beijing routinely denies allegations of cyber subterfuge.

(Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by Stephen Coates)
Pumpkin pie latte. Caramel Frappuccino. Vanilla sweet cream cold brew. It wont be too long before fans of Starbucks popular specialty drinks  or a simple cup of Pike Place Roast  will be able to order them on Ladys Island.

The new store is planned on Sea Island Parkway and is getting closer to construction.

It will be the first coffee-only restaurant on Ladys Island and the second Starbucks in northern Beaufort County along with a Starbucks on Boundary Street in Beaufort. By comparison, 14 Starbucks  stand-alone shops and coffee-counters-with-yes. stores located in other businesses like Harris Teeter, Kroger and Target  are located south of the Broad River.

A Starbucks is coming soon to Sea Island Parkway and Ferry Road on Ladys Island.

Starbucks is proposing a 2,500 square-foot one-story coffee shop on three lots covering about an acre.

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The Staff Review Team in Beaufort Countys Planning and Zoning Department have given conceptual approval to the site plan, Community Development Planner Nancy Moss said Thursday. Final approval is still needed before construction can begin. The architectural, landscaping and lighting plans are expected to be submitted for consideration soon, Moss said.

Carolina Retail Experts, a Charleston-based retail commercial real estate company, said on Twitter in July that it represented Starbucks in securing the lease for the new location at Sea Island Parkway between Gay and Ferry roads. Starbucks, it said, is coming soon.

The Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet first reported in February 2022 that Starbucks was looking at the site on the south side of Sea Island Parkway. At that time, the Seattle-based coffee giant would not confirm its plans. Company officials did not respond to an email this week seeking comment.

A Starbucks is coming to Ladys Island.
When feeling defensive about their love for Donald Trump , it's become common for MAGA Americans to pretend it's about "his policies," not his personality. This is, of course, a lie, and not just because none of them can produce an example of a Trump "policy" they like. Everything that decent people find repulsive about Trump  his criminality, his racism, his genital-grabbing misogyny  is what draws the MAGA base to him, like flies to garbage. We know this because his poll numbers with GOP voters rise with his number of felony indictments. We know this also because his primary opponents share his "policies," yet none of them can compete with Trump's villainous air. Even Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has the energy of a henchman and not a wannabe gangster, and so is losing interest from the base.

Now there's even more evidence that what really gets the MAGA juices going is a politician who is extravagantly evil: The impeachment and trial of Texas's attorney general, Ken Paxton, a man so audaciously malignant that he might make Trump jealous.

Paxton's unbridled corruption has been long understood by Texas Republicans, who have, until recently, not had a problem with it. He was indicted on securities fraud in 2015, on allegations that he recommended that investors purchase stocks without telling them he was getting a kickback. He's employed Trumpian delay tactics to evade a trial date for 8 years. He routinely abuses his powers for political stunts, such as using false allegations of fraud to sue to invalidate President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral win. He refuses to do the basic work of the attorney general, representing state agencies in court, likely because he can't use it for fundraising and campaigning. He once got so aggressive trying to escape a subpoena that the process server described him dashing to a car and peeling away.

Want more Amanda Marcotte on politics? Subscribe to her newsletter Standing Room Only.

Then there's his relationship with Austin real estate investor and big-time GOP donor Nate Paul. Paul is under 8 felony indictments for fraud. He is reported to have responded by asking his buddy, Paxton, to retaliate with nuisance investigations of people he believes turned him in. Four whistleblowers who work for Paxton allege that Paul bribed the attorney general with free home renovations. I regret to inform readers there's a sexual angle, as well: Paul reportedly helped Paxton carry on an extramarital affair by giving his mistress a job and footing the bills for phones and taxis to keep the relationship secret. Paxton responded to being outed by illegally firing the whistleblowers.

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Everything that decent people find repulsive about Trump  his criminality, his racism, his genital-grabbing misogyny  is what draws the MAGA base to him, like flies to garbage.

None of this seems to have bothered the leadership of the Texas GOP until the whistleblowers won their lawsuit against Paxton's office, which put the state on the hook for over $3 million. Some Republican state legislators started to worry it was politically unpalatable to use taxpayer money to finance Paxton's bottomless corruption. By a vote of nearly 3-to-1, Texas House Republicans voted to impeach Paxton in May, and now he's on trial in front of the GOP-controlled Senate.

But even though Paxton is being held to account by other Republicans, the MAGA machinery kicked into gear to paint him as an "innocent" Republican victim of Democratic witch hunts. Failed Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake laughably claimed Texas is under control of an anti-conservative "Uniparty."

Related

GOP donor at center of Ken Paxton scandal charged with 8 felonies as prosecutors seek $172 million

I am praying for Texas AG @KenPaxtonTX today as the Texas Uniparty (Democrats and a bunch of spineless Republicans) try to impeach the duly elected and the most conservative AG in America.  Kari Lake (@KariLake) September 5, 2023

Donald Trump claimed it's a "RINO" attack on Paxton, even though over 70% of House Republicans voted to impeach. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., last seen pretending Democrats want to ban beer, called the impeachment a "travesty." Steve Bannon has been raving on his podcast that the trial is proof "the Bush junta has teamed with Democrats." Donald Trump Jr. went full gaslighting mode, by claiming the floridly corrupt Paxton "will survive and will continue to combat the Swamp in Texas."

Today marks another milestone in Ken Paxtons career of fighting the Austin Swamp and Establishment. Ken will survive and will continue to combat the Swamp in Texas to put America First.



Im looking forward to the upcoming 2024 primary season. RINO hunting season starts soon!!!  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 5, 2023

This "rally 'round the bad guy" effect is showing up in polls. While 47% of Texans overall think Paxton should be removed from office, only 24% of Texas Republican voters agree. As Sergio Martinez-Beltran of the Texas Newsroom reports, Republicans across the state are defending Paxton in language that is familiar to anyone who has heard similar excuse-making for Trump. "Is there, perhaps, some sinister plot behind getting rid of the attorney general?" John Myers, vice chair of the Collin County GOP, told Martinez-Beltran.

Want more Amanda Marcotte on politics? Subscribe to her newsletter Standing Room Only.

The question is rhetorical, but in truth, the answer is obvious: No, there is not a sinister plot. The evidence is overwhelming that Paxton took massive bribes, including assistance in adultery, to help a friend in criminal trouble and then retaliated against employees who spoke out about it. The man oozes corruption from every pore. He's so bad that the Texas GOP felt he had crossed a line. That's like finding a cannibal serial killer so gory he grosses out Jeffrey Dahmer.

It's unlikely that Paxton's supporters are unaware that the man is pure scum. As with Trump, they love Paxton because, not despite, his massive corruption. When people like Paxton or Trump break the law with impunity, it reinforces a core MAGA belief, captured famously in "Wilhoit's law": "Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect." In MAGA's view, conservative white men should get to break whatever law they want, if only to prove they can get away with behavior that would ruin anyone else. What is privilege, if you can't flout it?

Paxton has only doubled down his commitment to showy shamelessness in light of his impeachment trial. As Martinez-Beltran told Slate, he and his legal team have been loudly complaining he has supposedly not had "an opportunity to defend himself from these articles of impeachment." But one of their first moves this week was to argue Paxton had no duty to testify in his impeachment trial, which the Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick agreed to. Instead of defending himself, as he claimed he dearly wished to do, Paxton has peaced out to get pricey massages at a local spa.

Senators have been at the Texas Capitol nearly all year and now they're captive to the Paxton impeachment trial. But where's Paxton?

Now there's a report he skipped out of his own trial to get a massage at the Omni Barton Creek resort https://t.co/DivE3WCvYq #txlege  Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) September 6, 2023

Related

Ken Paxton makes a run for it: Fleeing a subpoena, the Texas AG epitomizes cowardice of GOP bullies

And, in true Trumpian style, he's fundraising off this impeachment trial, with protest-too-much denials that he's considering resignation.

Suspended AG Ken Paxton, in a fundraising message to supporters, doubles down on his statement over the weekend dismissing rumors that he will step down before his impeachment trial begins Tuesday.



I will NEVER surrender, he says. https://t.co/4EmAOW0pf3 #txlege https://t.co/4mXgySzqTe pic.twitter.com/oAKK5Eg9EG  Taylor Goldenstein (@taygoldenstein) August 30, 2023

Just to make the whole thing weirder, Paxton's allegedly cheated-upon wife, Angela Paxton, is a Texas senator. The rest of the state senate has decided she can't be allowed a vote because, believe it or not, they believe she's still prejudiced in his favor. After all, she played the role of the getaway driver when he fled the process server last year, so clearly she's got a history of being a willing patsy for her husband's shady behavior. After all, she also got some lovely free house renovations out of the whole deal.

Whatever Republicans who control the Texas senate decide to do, the whole debacle underscores what is apparently now a MAGA commandment: Being opposed to corruption in any way makes you a RINO. A true Republican not only accepts all bribe-taking and law-breaking. To be really MAGA, one should go out of his way to cheat the system as often as he can, just to show that he can. After all, the more flagrant the abuses, the more the base will love you.

Read more

about MAGA
Witness Ryan Bangert testifies on day three of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton 's impeachment trial Thursday before the Texas Senate. Credit: Jay Janner/Pool via Austin American-Statesman

Ryan Bangert did not want to report his boss, Attorney General Ken Paxton, to the FBI.

A bona fide ultraconservative and former Paxton donor, the onetime deputy first assistant attorney general believed in Paxton and the office, calling it a national "beacon" of the conservative legal movement.

But, as Bangert detailed in crisp, riveting testimony during Thursdays impeachment trial proceedings, he reluctantly concluded that Paxtons repeated and escalating use of the office to help his friend and political donor Nate Paul left him and other senior staff with no option but to report the behavior to the FBI.

It was not a mutiny, he said, rejecting prior characterizations by Paxtons lawyers that his top staffers were trying to stage a coup in the attorney generals office.

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Instead, Bangert said, he and other whistleblowers concluded that Paxton was misusing the agencys power to help one private individual, Paul  in violation of the agencys responsibility to work on the publics behalf  by instructing top deputies to draft legal opinions that benefited Paul and hiring an outside attorney to investigate his business rivals.

We were protecting the interests of the state and ultimately, I believe, protecting the interests of the attorney general and, in my view, signing our professional death warrant. We understood the gravity of that act, Bangert testified.

Over two days of testimony, Bangert walked senators through nine months of Paxtons alarming 2020 behavior, saying he repeatedly expressed concerns with Paxton over his demands to work on Pauls behalf.

Paxton, Bangert testified, directed him and other members of the attorney generals leadership team to take three actions that he described as concerning and bizarre.

Paxton asked Bangert to overrule two previous decisions by the office of the attorney general that denied Paul access to documents related to a law enforcement investigation into Pauls businesses.

Shortly after, Paxton directed Bangert and staff to quickly whip together a legal opinion that would prohibit public foreclosure sales due to COVID-19 restrictions  a position that wouldve benefitted Paul, who had properties facing foreclosure days later.

Despite objections from senior staff, Paxton hired an outside lawyer to investigate Pauls claim that his home and businesses were improperly searched by law enforcement in 2019.

I was deeply concerned that the name, authority and power of our office had been, in my view, hijacked to serve the interests of an individual against the interests of the broader public, Bangert testified. It was unconscionable.

As Paxton made his demands, Bangert said, the COVID-19 pandemic was raging, local jurisdictions were clamoring for guidance on how to respond, and the office was consumed with a massive legal case against Google. Even so, he said, Paxtons main focus continued to be Pauls affairs.

We were devoting far more resources to Nate Paul than we ever should have, Bangert said.

Ultimately, Bangert and six other top staffers reported Paxton to the FBI on Sept. 30, 2020, alleging bribery and abuse of office. Paxton publicly denied the allegations, saying they were made by rogue employees.

During cross examination, Paxtons lawyer sought to attack the credibility of Bangerts claims  specifically those regarding the foreclosure opinion that Paul used to stave off auctions of some of his properties.

Paxton lawyer Anthony Osso downplayed the benefit that Paul received from the foreclosure opinion. After Bangert said he had voted for former President Donald Trump, Osso asked him if he was aware of Trumps executive order that similarly delayed foreclosures.

Defense attorney Anthony Osso hands a document to witness Ryan Bangert, former first deputy assistant under Attorney General Ken Paxton, on day three of the suspended attorney general's impeachment trial Thursday. Credit: Bob Daemmrich for the Texas Tribune

Osso also referred to two separate, but related, narratives that Paxton's team had proposed earlier. In one theory, they argued that the whistleblowers, aided by their boss's political rivals, were so intent on destroying Paxton that they removed his name from official agency letterhead and went to the FBI before articulating their concerns to him.

Separately, Paxton's team has pointed to some of the whistleblowers' communications with well-known attorney Johnny Sutton before they were fired or resigned from their positions in the fall of 2020. Sutton's name was invoked numerous times during Wednesday cross examination of Paxton's former second-in-command Jeff Mateer. Osso also brought up Sutton on Thursday, accusing Bangert of having a conflict of interest by privately hiring Sutton while Sutton was recommended for a $50,000 agreement to represent the attorney general's office.

Mateer and Bangert, who are both still represented by Sutton, denied there was anything improper about the timing of their outreach to Sutton, who they noted was never hired by the agency.

Paxton was not in attendance Thursday. He has not been in the Senate chamber, where the impeachment trial is taking place, since his lawyer pleaded not guilty on his behalf late Tuesday morning.

Bangert, the second witness called by impeachment managers, said he first became aware of Paul in early 2020 when he was serving as deputy attorney general for legal counsel.

Paxton asked Bangert to evaluate if it was possible to overrule a previous decision by the attorney generals office to withhold law enforcement documents from Paul regarding an FBI raid on his house and businesses. Releasing the documents would go against long-standing precedent designed to protect information crucial to law enforcement investigations, Bangert said.

That immediately sends up red flags to disclose law enforcement materials to someone who is under an active and very far-reaching investigation, he said.

A third prosecution witness, Ryan Vassar, who at the time oversaw the attorney general's open records division, testified Thursday afternoon that Paxton pressed to have the information released to Paul. Vassar said he told Paxton that doing so would upend decades of precedent protecting records relating to ongoing investigations.

It protects confidential information, it protects witnesses who could be compromised if their names were released, Vassar said. There is incalculable problems with reversing the decision to withhold the information and requiring it to be produced."

Vassar, Paxtons deputy attorney general for legal counsel, teared up when House impeachment lawyer Rusty Hardin asked him about Paxton referring to his agency accusers as rogue employees.

It was hurtful, Vassar said, mentioning his eight years in public service by then. The statement of being rogue is contrary to the years that I dedicated my life to the state.

Vassar paused to compose himself and was handed a tissue on the stand and used it to blot his face.

Testifying earlier Thursday, Bangert said Paxtons requests on Paul's behalf metastasized to a new section within the attorney generals office when Paxton asked Bangert to find a way to intervene in a lawsuit between Paul and the Mitte Foundation. The charity had invested in Pauls businesses but sued Paul, alleging he refused to provide them with financial information about their investment.

Bangert said he believed intervention from the attorney generals office directly benefited Paul and his main company, World Class Holdings. Initially, he tried to unsuccessfully mediate between the two sides. Bangert then said Paxton ordered him to file a motion to halt the legal proceedings. Bangert said he was uncomfortable doing that and was ultimately removed from the case.

Paxton approached Bangert again a few months later with another order: evaluate whether foreclosure sales could be allowed to continue given the current state of the governors COVID orders. Bangert testified that Paxton rejected his initial advice that foreclosure sales should be allowed to continue.

Procedurally, the attorney generals office needed to find someone authorized to submit a formal request for an opinion from the attorney generals office. Sen. Bryan Hughes, R-Mineola, ultimately stepped in. But Bangert testified that there was no evidence Hughes knew this request was made to benefit a specific individual.

Bangert and another whistleblower, Ryan Vassar, worked through the weekend on an opinion stating that foreclosure sales should be allowed to continue, which was consistent with the agencys efforts to reopen Texas several months into the pandemic. When Bangert emailed the draft early Sunday morning, Paxton rejected it, telling Bangert it needed to be reworked  quickly  so COVID-safety rules applied to foreclosure sales.

It was bizarre, Bangert said. He was acting like a man with a gun to his head. Anxious, desperate, urging me to get this out as quickly as humanly possible.

When the Paxton-ordered opinion was finished, Bangert said he signed it, making sure his name was on the order instead of his younger colleague, Vassar.

If something broke bad with this, I didnt want it to tarnish his career, he said.

Ultimately, Bangert said, he realized that issuing an opinion to stop foreclosure sales would benefit Paul, who had dozens of properties facing foreclosure.

On another matter, Bangert recalled, he and Paxton met Paul at his downtown Austin office, got in Pauls car and drove to a nearby Mexican restaurant. There, Paul shared a laundry list of grievances related to his belief that he was being unfairly targeted by the Mitte Foundation and by federal and state law enforcement.

Bangert walked the jury through the summer and fall, as he and other senior staff learned Paxton hired an outside lawyer to investigate law enforcement who had an open investigation into Pauls businesses. Bangert said he and other senior staff pushed back against the idea to hire outside counsel, Houston lawyer Brandon Cammack, but were unsuccessful.

Bangert called the evidence supporting Pauls accusations against law enforcement as frivolous at best, an opinion he and others repeatedly shared with Paxton, only to learn that Paxton had hired Cammack anyway.

Bangert testified that while he and his direct boss, Mateer, were at a conference in Atlanta, they received a call from Paxton where he expressed frustration at the opposition to hiring Cammack.

The two were about to have an important meeting about the states lawsuit against Google, but Paxton only wanted to talk about hiring an outside lawyer.

We were about to move into a very intense phase of Google litigation, and the attorney generals focus was on Nate Paul, not on the Google case, Bangert stated.

Shortly after, Bangert said, senior staff learned Cammack had been hired when a bank reported that it had received a grand jury subpoena related to the investigation.

It became clear to me that there was nothing more I could do, that the attorney general was determined to harness the power of our office and to fulfill the interests of a single individual against the interests of the state, Bangert testified.

Seven employees went to the FBI, where they were interviewed collectively for hours, Bangert testified. The following day, they alerted Paxton via text message they had made the complaint.

Bangert testified that he resigned about a month later after his professional duties at the attorney generals office had been stripped away, including his oversight of the special litigation unit.

Hardin posed to Bangert many of the arguments that Paxton lawyer Tony Buzbee used the previous day in effort to poke holes in Mateers testimony, such as why the whistleblowers didnt go directly to Paxton to express their concerns about his behavior. But Bangert said there was no question that he was well aware of our objections, saying they had been lodged repeatedly and in various ways for months.

We had stepped into the void at that point. There was no road map to follow, Bangert said.

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.

Correction, Sept. 7, 2023 at 4:44 p.m. : An earlier version of this story misstated the city in which Johnny Sutton is based.
A massive, long-awaited solar project in Martin County will soon begin the process of hiring nearly 350 people, local and company officials said at a job fair Thursday.

The Martin County Solar Project aims to turn relatively flat land created by a surface former coal mine into a large, solar power-generating operation capable of producing 200 megawatts  enough electricity to power 27,000 homes, officials said.

We believe that the people in Martin County and communities just like it throughout Appalachia, who powered this country for 100 years, are owed opportunities in a newer, greener economy, said Adam Edelen , the CEO and founder of Edelen Renewables, the local development partner on the project. Thats what were here for.

Like much of Eastern Kentucky, Martin County has faced depopulation and economic uncertainty as the coal industry  which once formed the economic backbone of the community  continues a decades-long decline. The $231 million invested in the solar project will make it the largest private investment in the history of the county.

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We see this as an opportunity to take those skills developed in the coal industry and transfer them to other industries, Lon Lafferty, the judge-executive in Martin County, told reporters after a press conference.

In July, the county recorded the highest unemployment rate in the state at 10.5%, data from the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet showed. The statewide unemployment rate was 3.8%.

In the second quarter of 2023, Martin County  with a population of over 11,000  had 42 coal jobs, state data monitoring the coal industry showed.

Lafferty said hed only heard good things locally about the project but said the strong turnout at the job fair spoke to how the people of the county felt.

We dont want to move out to other places, Lafferty said. We want to be able to work right here in Martin County.

Hundreds attended a job fair put on by the Martin County Solar Project at the Roy F. Collier Community Center in Inez on Thursday.

The job fair Thursday was well attended. Edelen, who was the state auditor from 2012 to 2016, said a line of close to 40 people had formed three hours prior to the events start and the job fair had to be moved from a ballroom to a larger gymnasium at the Roy F. Collier Community Center in Inez. The line numbered well over 100 and was growing by the time the event started.

Jonathan Delong, a job fair attendee who lives like a minute from the jobsite, said he felt the solar project was the best opportunity locally since the mines. He grew up dreaming of becoming a coal miner.

When I was a little kid, thats all I ever talked about, Delong said. Now thats kind of fading in the past and I guess this is the new way. You got to adapt.

From his spot in line, David Little said he was hoping to earn a better living than the $8.50 per hour he was making at a local grocery store. He counted at least three relatives who worked in mines and later died from black lung  an incurable disease caused by coal dust. His grandfather, Little said, made over $20 an hour while coal mining in the 1970s. During that work he was struck by a piece a metal that cracked his head open.

I dont want that for me or my children in the future, Little said.

Wages will vary by position, said Teresa Robarts, who is running the hiring process for construction company Black and Veatch. The companies will help with specialized training and those lacking experience were encouraged to apply for the lower-level positions.

Theyll be hiring a variety of positions including basic laborers, warehouse workers, installers and electrical employees, Robarts said.

Those interested in applying should visit the projects website and create a profile, Robarts said. No jobs are listed yet but will be in the coming weeks. Those with profiles will be able to apply.

Hiring will come in rounds over the next several months, Robarts said. Theyre hoping to hire 175 people by December and 350 total by February as construction ramps up.

The solar project will begin construction in the coming weeks on the former Martiki mine site. The mine site already features a 138-kilovolt substation owned by Kentucky Power.

The substation once helped to power the mine and will be used to inject power into a regional energy marketplace called PJM, said Erich Miarka, the director of development with Savion Energy, the lead developer of the project. Toyota has already entered into a purchase agreement for energy from the site.

Without this electrical infrastructure, which was put in place when this site was a coal mine, it would not be possible for a solar farm project to move forward outside Inez in Martin County, Ky., Tuesday, December 8, 2020. It has extraordinary transmission infrastructure and that makes it really attractive for solar development, Adam Edelen said.

Once construction  a 12-18-month process  is complete, the number of workers needed will decrease and will be determined at a later date as the needs for upkeep, security and transportation become more clear.

But it will be nowhere near as large, Edelen said. Thats why weve spent so much time partnering with the community and technical college system, other workforce development agencies to credential the folks who work here so they can work on other sites like the ones that Im developing in the region.

Edelen Renewables is also the local development partner on another recently announced project that will turn a former mine in Knott County into the largest solar project in Kentucky. Edelen said construction on the project is expected to begin in 2025.

The future of solar power in Kentucky is bright, Edelen said, but said the state government hasnt created much of the incentives and regulations that help move these energy projects forward.

What youre seeing here today is such a powerful proof of concept that these projects can be brought to reality, Edelen said.

Adam Edelen, the founder of Edelen Renewables, after receiving support from Martin County Fiscal Court for a solar energy project on a former coal mining site outside Inez in Martin County, Ky., Tuesday, December 8, 2020.
The city unveiled new plans for the long-planned rezoning of Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn late Wednesday, but residents swiftly expressed concerns about getting pushed out of their own neighborhood and fears that new development would not be affordable.

The new draft zoning framework is an early step in a process set to transform an important stretch of Brooklyn thats been rapidly gentrifying for years.

We need people who live and work in this community to actually be able to afford to live here also, said Mimi Mitchell, a tenant advocate and Brooklyn Community Board 8 member. Clearly, Black people are getting displaced for richer, whiter folk. And we need you to help us stop that.

The Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan covers a largely commercial and industrial 13-block area of Atlantic between Vanderbilt and Nostrand Avenues, overlapping with parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, Fort Greene and Prospect Heights.

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City officials touted the plan as key to revitalizing an important underdeveloped corridor.

In the midst of a severe housing shortage, New York City must use every inch of space it can to create new homes and invest in communities across the city, said Mayor Adams, who previously represented the area as borough president.

The draft zoning framework proposes a high-density mix of housing and commercial buildings with bustling ground floor spaces along the crucial east-west Atlantic Avenue, as well other mixed-use development in the surrounding area. The plan could bring about 4,000 new homes, roughly 1,150 to 1,550 of which would be permanently affordable.

The draft details are subject to modification as the process moves forward.

For too long, outdated zoning has restricted housing opportunity and reinforced a car-and truck-centric streetscape on Atlantic Avenue, Department of City Planning director Dan Garodnick said in a statement accompanying the formal announcement on Thursday. This is an important step forward to create a more vibrant Central Brooklyn.

According to the agency, the areas outdated industrial zoning has hampered new development and limited job growth despite Atlantic Avenues prime location and robust transit access.

The city has also pledged $23.5 million in investments for St. Andrews Playground, a park located between Atlantic and Herkimer Street. Previously announced plans to create affordable housing at two city-owned sites on Dean Street and nearby Bergen Street are also moving forward, as well as a nonprofit-owned former transitional housing location on Pacific Street.

The new draft framework is the culmination of over eight months of community engagement by City Planning, Councilmember Crystal Hudson and consulting firm WXY Studio. The local community board had undertaken community engagement on the issue as far back as 2013 as part of the M-CROWN process.

But during a public meeting hosted by City Planning on Wednesday evening many Brooklynites expressed their trepidation about that plan and frustration with lack of affordability more broadly. Some questioned whether the months of community input would make it into the final version of the rezoning.

[Throughout] this community engagement process, people were telling you over and over, I cant afford what people want to build, what are you going to do to limit the cost of what people want to build? said Sarah Lazur, an organizer. We need to know if thats going to happen or if all of this was just shouting into the wind.

Last week the city shared the results of that process in a report summarizing the communitys priorities. In the report Hudson, who spearheaded the plan, described Central Brooklyn as the epicenter of New Yorks housing crisis and said her district has lost a fifth of its Black residents in the past ten years alone.

Chief among the priorities were the desire for new deeply affordable housing, local job opportunities, improved safety along Atlantic, new green spaces and developing underutilized space in the landmarked Bedford-Atlantic Armory. The Armory serves as a mens homeless shelter, and suggestions included adding supportive programming such as healthcare, mental health counseling and workforce development, a public library or a community center; the possibility of affordable housing was also raised.

Environmental review is next, followed by the sluggish land use process, which is estimated to begin next spring.

A second public meeting on the plan is set for mid-October.
The Georgia district attorney at the heart of former President Donald Trump s latest indictment on Thursday rebuked House Republicans investigation into her office, accusing them of blatantly trying to obstruct a criminal proceeding.

Fulton County DA Fani Willis on Thursday sent a fiery letter to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, responding to his decision to launch an investigation into the Georgia office just hours before Trump appeared in court late last month on charges related to interfering in the 2020 election.

In the blistering, nine-page response, Willis called Jordans actions offensive, accused him of being misinformed and said its clear that you lack a basic understanding of the law, its practice, and the ethical obligations of attorneys generally and prosecutors specifically.

Jordan requested information about Willis use of federal funding and any conversations her office had with the Justice Department or special counsel Jack Smith, who has brought charges against Trump in both a classified documents case and over his actions during the 2020 election. But Willis, in her letter, said that Jordans obvious purpose is to obstruct a Georgia criminal proceeding and to advance outrageous partisan misrepresentations.

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Your attempt to invoke congressional authority to intrude upon and interfere with an active criminal case in Georgia is flagrantly at odds with the Constitution.  There is absolutely no support for Congress purporting to second guess or somehow supervise an ongoing Georgia criminal investigation and prosecution, she added in the letter to Jordan.

A spokesperson for the Judiciary Committee chair didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on Willis letter, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO.

The back-and-forth comes after Willis charged Trump and 18 allies with racketeering charges for attempting to subvert President Joe Bidens victory in the state during the 2020 election. Trump pleaded not guilty late last month to the charges, the fourth set he has faced over the past year.

Jordans request for information followed a familiar playbook Republicans have taken against Trumps other two prosecutors, Smith and New York district attorney Alvin Bragg. The committee similarly sent a letter to Bragg in the spring, though that probe fell out of the spotlight as other Trump investigations moved to the forefront.

House Republicans have little recourse to fight Trumps charges outside of their investigation powers. They could take up legislation that would let a former president or vice president move a case from state to federal courts, or try to target funds through spending bills, but the Democratic-controlled Senate would certainly block those efforts.

Willis, in her letter, did provide some details on federal funds that her office receives  one of Jordans requests. But the bulk of her letter offered several pointed criticisms of the House GOPs request, including that it would involve sharing non-public information about an ongoing investigation. And she pointedly argued that it was time for him to deal with some basic realities.

The basic premise of your letter is wrong. The criminal defendant about which you expressconcern was fully aware of the existence of the criminal investigation being conducted by the Fulton County District Attorneys Office at the time he announced his candidacy for President. I have no doubt that many Americans are the subject of criminal investigations and prosecutions at any given moment, Willis wrote.

An announcement of a candidacy for elected office, whether President of the United States, Congress, or state or local office, is not and cannot be a bar to criminal investigation or prosecution, she added. Any notion to the contrary is offensive to our democracy and to the fundamental principle that all people are equal before the law.
YouTubers Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested and charged with child abuse.

During the arrest, Hildebrandt said Franke's children "should never be allowed around any other kids."

A defence attorney told Insider this statement could be "very, very damaging to her case."

The statement made by Jodi Hildebrandt when she was arrested on Wednesday along with momfluencer Ruby Franke may come back to haunt her in an upcoming trial.

The duo were charged with six felony child abuse counts, with police detailing Franke 12-year-old son's harrowing escape from Hildebrandt's home.

The child climbed out of a window and sought help from a neighbor, according to a police affidavit that was shared with Insider. He was described in the documents as emaciated and wounded, with duct tape around his ankles.

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The boy was taken to a hospital with deep lacerations from being tied up with rope and malnourishment, the affidavit said. Another child was then also found at the residence  Franke's 10-year-old daughter.

The arrest followed years of concerns about Franke and her family, with viewers raising the alarm back in 2020, and neighbors repeatedly calling child protective services and the police about strange activity in their Utah home.

The arrest affidavit states that Franke had "knowledge of the abuse, malnourishment and neglect," as she was filming videos in Hildebrandt's home just two days prior to the arrest.

Franke did not make a statement at the time, but Hildebrandt did.

"Ms. Hildebrandt requested a lawyer and did not speak with us," the affidavit reads. "Once given her charges, Ms. Hildebrandt informed me (the children) should never be allowed around any other kids."

Criminal defense attorney and legal commentator Natalie Whittingham-Burrell, who has been covering the case on her YouTube channel, told Insider the jury in any upcoming trial is likely to hear the statement Hildebrandt made because it could be used as evidence of the abuse.

"I think that that would indicate that she was aware of the abuse that was being committed against the children, or participating in it," Whittingham-Burrell said. "And believed that it was justified in some way because of some perceived danger of the children."

She said this statement may give the prosecution the opportunity to look into all of Hildebrandt and Franke's old YouTube content, which have been the subject of much discussion and analysis from viewers for years.

Prosecutors could argue to cite anything where they state their "ideals on parenting and families and use that against them."

"I think she really did herself a disservice making that statement," Whittingham-Burrell said.

Franke rose to fame as the mother of the family vlogging channel 8 Passengers, which grew to 2.5 million subscribers at its peak. In 2023 she started getting heavily involved in Hildebrandt's family counseling business and YouTube channel ConneXions instead.

The channel aims to "help treat those lost and stranded in the darkness of distortion," and focuses heavily on parenting. It has faced its own allegations of being overly authoritarian in its messaging, with both Hildebrandt and Franke advocating absolute control over children. (ConneXions has now been taken down, YouTube confirmed to Insider on Friday.)

Whittingham-Burrell said she advises people not to speak to police without an attorney present. This is simply to protect everyone's rights, she said, and "make the state prove their case" rather than giving them any help.

"If you fail to testify or to make a statement, the jury is instructed that they can't use that against you," she said. "So she would've been better off remaining silent, and she just didn't do that.

"So that statement is going to be very, very damaging to her case."

Franke and Hildebrandt are both due in court for initial hearings on Friday.

Read the original article on Insider
Ohios top court dismissed several challenges to the states election maps Thursday, leaving them in place for the 2024 election.

The Ohio Supreme Court dismissed two cases Thursday regarding lawsuits to the states maps.

The first case centered on redistricting maps that were crafted after the 2020 Census. The first set of maps was tossed by the states high court, requiring new maps to be created again. A second map was created by the Ohio Redistricting Commission, but the Ohio Supreme Court struck the lines down again given that they largely mirrored the first set of maps.

Republicans in the Buckeye State asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the Ohio Supreme Courts decision invalidating the states maps, but the U.S. Supreme Court directed the case back to the states high court, where it was dismissed.

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Petitioners to the case earlier this week, however, had asked for the case to be withdrawn, saying in a court filing that given that the March 2 Plan is at least a partial remedy, and given the substantial costs and uncertainty that further litigation would entail, Petitioners have decided to no longer pursue their challenge to the March 2 Plan.

They strongly believe this is the best result under the circumstances for the people of Ohio who deserve certainty about the congressional map that they will be voting under in this cycle, at the very least, the filing adds.

A separate lawsuit argued the second set of maps proposed by the Ohio Redistricting Commission violated the states constitution, regarding two of its congressional districts  the 1st and 15th Districts for creating lines that would favor Republicans and breaking up counties. Petitioners had asked for new maps to be crafted for the 2024 election, but the case was also dismissed.

The dismissal came shortly after petitioners had also requested dismissing the case, saying in part in a legal filing, litigation regarding redistricting plans is often a protracted process, and in this case has already required two rounds of decisions by this Court.

The dismissals will allow those lines to be kept in place for the next election cycle. Republicans are on defense as they look to keep their narrow House majority, and Democrats only need to net five seats to flip it.

But petitioners have alluded that the maps will need to be redrawn again soon, saying in part the latest maps are effective only through the 2024 election.

Dave Wasserman, House editor for Cook Political Report, suggested in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that the ruling actually bodes well for Democrats.

This is actually a win for Democrats, as Republicans wont get a chance to more aggressively re-gerrymander Ohios lines before 2024, he wrote.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A school board member in Ohio did the Nazi salute to the boards president, who later resigned, during a contentious Tuesday meeting.

Tipp City Schools board member Anne Zakkour said, Oh  Sieg Heil, before doing the Nazi salute to the groups head, Simon Patry, during a meeting about transparency in school projects.

Zakkour had tried interrupting Patry during his remarks before Patry told her she was not allowed to speak, leading to her using the Nazi salute.

We have been talking  to the community, to the board, theres been regular reports  Im talking, do not interrupt me, do not make any noises or else I will  I will not tolerate it, Patry said to Zakkour.

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In a statement to Crisis in the Classroom, the education franchise for Dayton 24/7, Zakkour said the salute was a sarcastic gesture because of how controlling Patry had been at meetings.

Mr. Patry has been acting like a dictator on our board for years and last night I had enough of his demands of total obedience, she said. My reaction last night was symbolic and a sarcastic gesture of submission to a board officer acting as a dictator. Enough is enough!

Patry ended up resigning at the end of the meeting, saying he would like the vice president to take on his role.

The Hill has reached out to Zakkour and current board president Amber Drum for comment.

The incident is the latest example of how controversial school board meetings have gotten since the pandemic as issues of transparency and curriculum have caused many meetings around the country to bubble over in fury.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
An Ohio school board member has come under fire for giving a despicable Nazi salute during a meeting after she took issue with the groups president.

Tipp City school board president, Simon Patry, was discussing transparency around ongoing community projects when board member Anne Zakkour tried to cut in.

Im talking, do not interrupt me, do not make any noises or else I willI will not tolerate it, an annoyed Mr Patry replied.

In response, Ms Zakkour said, Oh, and lifted her arm toward the board president, giving him a Nazi salute while saying, Sieg Heil.

The board member defended her gesture to Dayton 24/7 in a statement: Mr Patry has been acting like a dictator on our board for years and last night I had enough of his demands of total obedience.

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She continued, My reaction last night was symbolic and a sarcastic gesture of submission to a board officer acting as a dictator. Enough is enough.

At the end of the same meeting, Mr Patry offered his resignation, which went into effect as of midnight on 6 September.

I dont know why anybody would use that, that despicable phrase and gesture, Mr Patry told DailyMail.com.

When I walked into the doors was the time I felt that it was highly likely that I would do it today or yesterday, he added, referring to his resignation.

He also told the Dayton Daily News that Ms Zakkours accusations are lies.

All you need to do to see that these are lies is to observe all of our meetings, which are recorded and public record. Mr Patry added.

Mrs Zakkour is clearly doing everything she can to distract from her horrible conduct, which is inexcusable. Her conduct does not reflect the values of our wonderful School District, its staff, students, parents, and our community. He then suggested she resign.

Some board members told the outlet that they condemned the gesture while others sympathised with Ms Zakkour.

We lost a very good board member last night because of his moving out of our school, Richard Mains said, calling the Mr Patry a really good person who did a lot for our schools.

Theresa Dunaway sided with Ms Zakkour. This is abusive behaviour, she said. Why did the Superintendent and two other board members sit there silently while he berated her? Nobody should be treated like this, his body language was horrible, his head in his hands, the loud sighing.

She continued, This had been ongoing for four years and shes had enough, who could blame her?

Amber Drum, who took over Mr Patrys position as the board president, told the Dayton Daily News that she hadnt been aware of Ms Zakkours gesture until she watched the recording of the meeting: Her actions were of her own accord and in no way reflect my beliefs as a board member. I am shocked by her lack of professionalism.

Speaking to the outlet, Cathy Gardner of the Dayton Jewish Community Relations Council also called Ms Zakkours gesture shocking and disturbing.

While I do not believe this woman had antisemitic intent, her actions highlight the need for education and a deeper understanding for all. This incident is a reminder of how damaging words and actions can be, she said, adding, Flippant, casual references to Hitler, the Nazi regime, or the Holocaust grossly diminish the tragedy that still affects so many.
An internal watchdog is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to step up its actions to address emissions of cancer-causing benzene, saying that oil refineries have been releasing unsafe levels of the substance.

The EPA has classified benzene  which can come from burning coal and oil as a known human carcinogen. Refineries turn crude oil into gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

The office of the EPAs inspector general issued a new report Wednesday saying that out of 25 refineries that had excess benzene emissions at least one time between January 2018 and September 2021, 23 had at least one other instance of excess emissions, and 13 had at least 10 more instances.

Furthermore, the report said that of these 25 refineries, at least 18 later emitted the chemical at levels that present health risks.

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The report particularly pointed to a Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery that was found to have emitted benzene at unsafe levels during 23 separate two-week sampling periods. It also said that a Total refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, emitted benzene at unsafe levels during 11 two-week sampling periods.

Eric Schaeffer, former director of the EPAs Office of Civil Enforcement, told The Hill that people described benzene emissions at this level as posing a significant risk to people downwind.

The watchdog report called on the EPA to enhance oversight of the facilities in order to prevent community exposure to the dangerous chemical.

It said that oversight that was being provided by the agency and other authorities has not always been sufficient.

Although the EPA and delegated authorities have the authority to take enforcement action at refineries that do not identify and implement appropriate corrective action  enforcement-related actions by the EPA and delegated authorities were limited, the report said.

In an official response, The EPAs Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said that it agreed in principle with recommendations from the inspector generals office.

It took issue, however, with the reports focus on two-week sampling periods, calling it misleading and saying that excess emissions of benzene may not necessarily be violations.

The EPAs Office of Air and Radiation concurred with the recommendation that was addressed to it.

Schaeffer, who is now the executive director of the Environmental Integrity Project, said that inadequate staffing may be one reason for a lack of enforcement. He also said that his group is calling for stricter requirements for correcting excess benzene levels.

Right now that requirement to correct doesnt come with a by when. Its too vague, he said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A nurse has pleaded guilty of switching pain medicine with water at the hospital where she worked.

An Oklahoma City woman has pleaded guilty to tampering with medicine at the hospital where she worked as a nurse, and officials are asking patients who might have been affected to come forward.

Rebecca Elaine Holloway, 32, pleaded guilty to switching pain medication with tap water, a crime of tampering with consumer products by up to 10 years in prison. Her sentencing will be at a later date.

Before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jason A. Robertson in Muskogee this week, Holloway admitted she stole fentanyl and hydromorphone intended for intensive care patients in March and April 2022 when she worked in the intensive care unit at Mercy Hospital in Ardmore.

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As part of her plea agreement, Holloway confessed she removed the pain medication from their vials, refilled the empty vials with tap water and returned the tampered vials to the controlled storage locker.

More: US faces 'perfect storm' nurse staffing crisis: About a third plan to leave, survey finds

She acknowledged she stole the medication while knowing it was intended for patients in acute pain and distress and admitted that removing the medication placed patients at risk of bodily injury and death.

Our healthcare system is built upon trust, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson said in a statement. This office will not hesitate to prosecute health care workers who abuse that trust.

The charges arose from an investigation by the United States Food and Drug Administrations Office of Criminal Investigations and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.

Anyone who was a patient in the Mercy Hospital Intensive Care Unit in Ardmore between March 1, 2022, and April 22, 2022, and believes that they may have received a tampered dose of fentanyl or hydromorphone can contact the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations at 214-790-7545.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma nurse pleads guilty to stealing fentanyl, replacing with water
Kolomoisky goes to the Shevchenkiv District Court

Prominent Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky has been charged in connection with the misappropriation of over UAH 9.2 billion ($250 million) from PrivatBank, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) announced in a press release on Sep. 7.

From January to March 2015, Kolomoisky, the then head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast State Administration, orchestrated a scheme to divert funds from PrivatBank, NABU said.

Read also: Detained, charged last week, Kolomoisky's complex citizenship status casts doubt over whether US can extradite him

The objective was to finance a controlled offshore company and increase his own stake in the banks authorized capital.

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To execute this plan, the bank was artificially compelled to disburse the aforementioned sum of over UAH 9.2 billion, under the guise of a purported buyback of its own bonds at an inflated value, NABU stated.

Read also: Kolomoisky and business partner Boholyubov both decline to testify in London High Court case

On Sep. 2, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), and the Prosecutor Generals Office served Kolomoisky with notices of suspicion for charges relating to money laundering.

The SBU alleges that Kolomoisky had engaged in money laundering from 2013 to 2020, funneling more than half a billion hryvnias abroad by utilizing the infrastructure of banks under his control.

Kolomoisky has been remanded in custody for a period of 60 days in Dnipro. He declined to post a multimillion-dollar bail, and his legal team is currently preparing an appeal.

Read also: PryvatBank has good arguable case against Kolomoisky & Bogolyubov  Israeli court

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
WORCESTER  Paqui, the makers of the "One Chip Challenge," announced on Thursday they are removing the spicy tortilla chip from store shelves.

The decision comes six days after 14-year-old Harris Wolobah of Worcester death. Wolobah died hours after taking the challenge. The family is waiting for a cause of death from the Massachusetts Medical Examiner's Office pending an autopsy. The results are not expected for several weeks.

Paqui issued a statement on its website.

The Paqui One Chip Challenge is intended for adults only, with clear and prominent labeling highlighting the chip is not for children or anyone sensitive to spicy foods or who has food allergies, is pregnant or has underlying health conditions. We have seen an increase in teens and other individuals not heeding these warnings. As a result, while the product continues to adhere to food safety standards, out of an abundance of caution, we are actively working with our retailers to remove the product from shelves.

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The company is offering refunds for the product. Customers can call 1-866-528-6848 to get their money back.

Harris' mother Lois Wolobah told WBZ-TV she picked him up from Doherty High School in Worcester Friday after a call from the nurse's office saying he had fainted after eating the chip a friend gave him.

The challenge comes in a box with a single wrapped chip, labeled "Carolina Reaper" and "Naga Viper Pepper." His mother says he later passed out again at home, went to the emergency room, and died.

"No pre-existing condition," Amos Wolobah, Harris' father said on Tuesday. "Not to my knowledge."

The Wolobah family had been begging for the chips to be taken off store shelves. They declined comment following the company's decision.

Escaped killer spotted again; Pennsylvania cops offer $20k for information

Kamala Harris on 2024 reelection campaign

Writers, actors facing housing crisis as strikes continue
FILE - People stand near the entrance to the World Bank building in Washington, on April 5, 2021. Online gig work is growing globally, particularly in the developing world, creating an important source of employment for women and young people in poorer countries where jobs are scarce, according to a new World Bank report released Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

WASHINGTON (AP)  Online gig work is growing globally, particularly in the developing world, creating an important source of employment for women and young people in poorer countries where jobs are scarce, according to a World Bank report released Thursday.

The report estimates the number of global online gig workers at as many as 435 million people and says demand for gig work increased 41% between 2016 and the first quarter of 2023. That boost is generating concern, though, among worker rights advocates about the lack of strong job protections in the gig economy, where people work job to job with little security and few employment rights.

While location-based gig services such as Uber, Lyft and TaskRabbit require labor like moving and delivery, online gig assignments can be largely done at home. Tasks include image tagging, data entry, website design and software development.

For women in the developing world, there arent enough opportunities and they really struggle to get good quality jobs because of constraints and household responsibilities, said Namita Datta, lead author of the World Bank report.

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She said online gig work provides women and underprivileged youth a very interesting opportunity to participate in the labor market. Roughly 90% of low-income countries workforce is in the informal sector, according to the report.

Worker advocates stress the precariousness of gig work and the lack of job security, accountability from management and other social protections to workers' health and retirement.

The economic conditions in developing countries are different from the U.S., but one thing that is universal is the importance of developing and prioritizing good jobs  with a basic minimum wage and basic labor standards," said Sharon Block, executive director of Harvard Law Schools Center for Labor and a Just Economy. There might be different pathways and timelines of getting there, but that's a universal value.

The report outlines how social insurance coverage is low among gig workers globally. Roughly half of the surveyed gig workers did not have a retirement plan and as much as 73% of Venezuelan gig workers and 75% of Nigerians did not have any savings for retirement.

Lindsey Cameron, a management professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, said because there are so few options available to workers in these developing nations, online gigs  with or without social protections  were better than no job options for many workers.

And since workers are economically dependent on this work, and they dont have any sort of basic protections, thats what is ultimately exploitive. The odds are always in the platforms favor, never the workers favor.

In the United States, gig workers, both online and onsite, represent a growing portion of the workforce and there is ongoing contention about worker rights on these platforms.

A 2021 Pew Research study, the latest available, shows that 16% of U.S. adults have earned money through an online gig platform, and 30% of 18- to 29-year-olds have done so.

Transportation and delivery companies Uber, Lyft, and Grubhub have been entangled in dozens of lawsuits over minimum wage, employment classification and alleged sexual harassment.

Right now, there are too many jobs where workers are misclassified, Block said. Which means many workers are not guaranteed minimum wage, do not have a social safety net, they don't get unemployment, or workers compensation.

Now some states have stepped in to mandate paid leave, but if you don't live in one of those states, you have to play the good boss lottery."

The World Bank report was based on surveys across 17 countries, including Egypt, Argentina, Nigeria, Russia and China.
Editors Note: Rose Rubin Rivera is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. The views expressed here are her own. Read more opinion at CNN.

Covid-19 has changed me. No, Im not suffering the effects of long Covid. In fact, Im among a shrinking minority of Americans who hasnt, as far as I know, contracted any of the alphanumeric soup variants associated with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Rose Rubin Rivera - Courtesy Rose Rubin Rivera

By the end of last year, 3 in 4 Americans had been infected with Covid-19 or one of its variants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That figure is probably higher by now. Im the rare person in my circle of acquaintances not to have fallen ill  Im hoping to be able to keep it that way.

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As the BA.2.86 subvariant begins to spread, I continue to do the things that have worked thus far. I still wear a mask when I get on the subway and when I enter stores in my neighborhood. I refrain from going to the gym and instead do all my Zumba, yoga and hula classes online in my living room.

My 87-year-old mother, who lives downstairs from me, wears her mask every time she leaves the house, even when taking a brief stroll. In the early days of the virus, my mother and I formed a bubble, along with the care workers who tend to her in my home while I work.

The truth is, I cant be completely sure about what has kept me and my mom healthy, but Im not inclined to change what has worked so far. Ive minimized my time in public indoor space and kept my distance from people. I continue to mask up when I have to be around others.

Some would call our precautions hyper-vigilance; I call it common sense. My mother is increasingly frail as she gets older and I am a heavy-set woman in my 60s with chronic conditions. I know I am more susceptible to falling ill and to having a negative health outcome if I do get Covid. I havent let my guard down, because I cant afford to.

Im aware that many (if not most) people choose not to mask, and in fact CDC guidance for most people in most places doesnt recommend it. But masking is a harmless attempt to protect myself and others, so I do. Fewer and fewer people  at least those around me  seem to be taking any precautions. My local food co-op recently stopped requiring that members wear masks. People in my social circle begin their sentences with, During the pandemic, even though it sure doesnt feel to me as if Covids over and done with.

My quest to remain Covid-free has drastically altered the way I see myself, the people around me and the institutions Id like to be able to rely on. Several weeks ago, I heard on the radio that Covid cases were once again on the rise. I looked to the CDC website for advice: Should I get another vaccine booster for my mother and me? But the site at the time was still promoting the bivalent vaccine that my mom and I received back in November  our fifth anti-Covid jab.

In the absence of specific guidance, I resorted to back-of-the-envelope calculations: If past shots were any indication, ours would have lost efficacy in May or June, by my reckoning, since immunity starts declining about six months after getting a vaccine. I resolved to find a booster source, but learned that a newer vaccine wont be available until later in September.

And in the meantime? Take the usual precautions, the doctor on the radio advised. Wash your hands, keep your distance indoors, wear a mask when you can. The things Ive been doing all along.

As I wait for the latest vaccine to become available at my local pharmacy, Ive seen evidence of the Covid resurgence. My therapist canceled our Zoom session after she and her husband both came down with the virus  their second go-round with Covid which was made worse when they got a rebound case after taking Paxlovid.

It seems as if everyone is getting Covid. A friend in my neighborhood contracted her second case a couple of weeks ago. Last month, my sister-in-law, a teacher in San Francisco, said several students came down with Covid and that some teachers had as well. She and my brother, also a teacher, had Covid in the spring. Both of their grown children have had it, as has my younger son. It sometimes feels as if the virus is picking off the people in my world, one by one. My loved ones are all better now, thank goodness, but each time someone I love has a brush with the virus, I cant help but worry.

Those of us who didnt have to brave daily exposure to the virus  who were fortunate enough to be able to work from home  learned how to use Zoom to continue to earn a living, and contented ourselves with chatting with friends and family remotely. We gained a new-found appreciation for the UPS and FedEx delivery people, as well as those who brought us carry-out meals.

We all had to change how we navigate our lives. And not all the changes Ive seen since the emergence of the virus have been for the better. In the beginning, at least in the community where I live, we were all in it together. I thought if we could just go for a couple of weeks or months without socializing we might deprive the virus of the opportunity to propagate.

I was wrong, of course: The virus raged on for much longer than some of us thought would be the case. Three-and-a-half-years later, it still hovers like a specter over our lives, and its unclear to me how much of that is inevitable and how much is our own fault.

The race and class inequities that plague our country were also evident with respect to Covid infections and death rates. Then-President Donald Trump waged what felt like a war on truth, railing on about injecting disinfectants and unproven treatments (remember hydroxychloroquine?)

And hes doing it again, condemning mask recommendations and insisting that the federal government response to combatting the virus is being politicized. But its not just unproven Covid information from the right thats unsettling to me. Some people I know refused vaccines based on left-wing conspiracy theories as well. I dont think well ever know how many people got sick because of all the misinformation theyve been exposed to.

There have been other hitches in our Covid response. Early on, states and cities rolled out vaccine and testing programs that sometimes were not well coordinated. Over time, I saw selfishness and carelessness set in, as when some New Yorkers flouted the subway masking requirements or refused to cover their noses along with their mouths.

Now were seeing a Covid uptick, but thankfully, access to vaccines and testing is substantially better and reliable information has greatly improved even as the virus has mutated. The vaccines have been helping keep people from getting seriously ill, and thats something to celebrate.

But after everything Ive been through to get to this point, Im not eager to let my guard down. For those who have had Covid  and those of us fortunate enough not to have fallen ill with the virus  I can only hope that it all goes better this time.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Editors Note: Peter Bergen is CNNs national security analyst, a vice president at New America, a professor of practice at Arizona State University, and the host of the Audible podcast In the Room with Peter Bergen also on Apple and Spotify. Colonel (Ret.) Joel Rayburn is director of the American Center for Levant Studies and a fellow at New America. He was the US Special Envoy for Syria and the senior director for Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon on the National Security Council staff during the Trump administration. The opinions expressed in this commentary are their own. View more opinion at CNN.

There isnt much of anything that the polarized politicians of Washington, DC agree on, but there is a large degree of bipartisan consensus around one big, supposed threat: China. The purportedly rising nation with a plausible plan to replace the US as the dominant superpower.

The Biden administrations 2022 National Security Strategy describes China as the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to advance that objective.

Similarly, the Trump administration said in 2020 that the United States was taking action to protect itself and its partners from an increasingly assertive China.

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In fact, by many measures, China is on the decline.

Its an error American leaders are prone to making. After 9/11, the US overestimated the threat posed by Saddam Husseins Iraq and waged a war there based on false assumptions about Saddams purported weapons of mass destruction program and ties to al Qaeda.

Some Americans also initially overestimated Russias ability to quickly seize and subdue Ukraine a year and a half ago.

As a result of the perceived threat of a rising China, the US and some of its allies are now undertaking a large retooling of virtually every government sector  from militaries to intelligence and security agencies, diplomacy and economic relations, trade regulations, higher education funding, social media oversight and more.

The Biden administrations record $842 billion budget request for the Pentagon for fiscal year 2024 is driven by the seriousness of our strategic competition with the Peoples Republic of China, according to US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.

But is this vast reorientation designed to counter a threat from China that could fizzle out in the next decade or so? An examination of Chinas dire demographic trends, intensifying economic woes and polling suggesting declining international standing certainly suggests so.

A recipe for demographic disaster

The demographic problem is arguably the long-term trend that should most alarm Chinese officials. Chinas one child policy, one of historys boldest experiments in social engineering, which was officially inaugurated in 1980 and ended in 2016, now has produced what it was designed to produce: a sharp, inexorable contraction of the countrys population.

Chinas fertility rate dropped to a record low of 1.09 last year, according to the countrys Population and Development Research Center, making it the lowest level among countries with a population of more than 100 million.

Chinas aging population will present significant problems for Chinese military power. China can now draw from an enormous reservoir of manpower to serve in the large armed forces President Xi Jinping has been building  but that reservoir is shrinking rapidly.

A mural in Beijing extols the benefits provided to children by the Communist Party, in July 2021. The posters were part of a campaign to promote the country's new three-child policy. - Stephen Shaver/UPI/Shutterstock

The US Census Bureau estimates China today has about 350 million males aged 15-49, the demographic cohort spanning the bulk of its military. Thats a steep drop from Chinas 2012 peak of about 400 million in the same category, and by 2040 that number will drop to just over 299 million.

By contrast, key Chinese rival India already has about 402 million males aged 15-49, and by 2040 that figure will grow to 424 million, according to US Census Bureau figures.

Manpower is not the only important measure of a countrys military potential. The United States, for example, has only about a quarter of the same military-aged male population that China does. (Though that 15-49 year-old bracket, unlike Chinas, is predicted to steadily rise in the coming decades.)

But in Chinas case, the accelerating contraction of the 15-49 population group is an unprecedented problem  not just in the military sector but in the whole of the Chinese labor force. By 2050, almost 38% of the Chinese population will be over 60, and the countrys elderly population will outnumber its military-aged population by that point, estimates the US Census Bureau.

Its difficult to see how the Chinese economic model that requires constant growth can sustain itself as its productive population collapses.

An economy in trouble

Then there are Chinas myriad of economic problems, many of which are self-inflicted from Xis rigid zero-Covid policy. (After a rapid spurt of activity following the lifting of Covid-19 lockdowns earlier this year, Chinas economy is now flagging.)

Such problems are particularly acute among the young. Unemployment among Chinese 16- to 24-year-olds in urban areas was at a record 21.3% in June. After that, Chinas National Bureau of Statistics said it would suspend publishing youth unemployment data in the future.

A large-scale real estate crash also appears to be brewing. Evergrande, one of Chinas largest real estate developers, started collapsing in 2021. It is the worlds most indebted developer, according to the Financial Times, with over $340 billion in liabilities. Last week Evergrandes shares crashed by more than 70%.

These financial failures are important because real estate plays an outsized role in the Chinese economy. In some years, real estate has accounted for a quarter of Chinas GDP, yet the most recent available figures from 2018 indicated that about one-fifth of Chinese apartments were vacant, more than 130 million units, according to a study by Chinas Southwestern University of Finance and Economics.

Rocky international standing

At the same time, Chinas imprisonment of more than a million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, according to the United Nations citing credible reports, has resulted in an economic and political cost for Beijing as the US has imposed trade restrictions on Chinese companies that have any alleged connection to these policies. (China has called the accusations of mass imprisonment completely untrue).

A security guard watches from a tower around a detention facility in Yarkent County in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in March 2021. - Ng Han Guan/AP

Meanwhile, Chinas expansive Belt and Road investment policies worldwide have proven to be a financial drag as billions of dollars worth of loans havent been repaid to China.

China has worked hard to position itself as an international peacemaker, as when it brokered a rapprochement agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran earlier this year.

But on balance, China is losing friends and international standing. Last year, Pew Research Center found negative views of China remain at or near historic highs in many of the 19 countries where the organization polled.

What does a weaker China mean?

What does it signify that Chinas national power, which today is vast, is almost certain to be weaker in the future? The jury is out on whether Beijing, seeing a closing window of opportunity to achieve its goals by military means, could become more aggressive in the immediate term.

Its true that declining powers have grown aggressive at times in the past, notably the late 1970s USSR and contemporary Russia. Russias Ukraine invasion is a caution to China and everyone else about the danger of overconfidently going to war with a military that lacks recent experience of a major conflict. Aside from brief clashes with Vietnam in 1979 and India in 1962, the last time China fought a major, protracted war was seven decades ago in Korea.

Conversely, it is not hard to envision China in 2035 or 2040 being too overwhelmed by its own socioeconomic crises to project power abroad. After all, the weight of Chinas elderly population on the rest of its society, economy and state will be truly crushing just a few years from now.

Other societies in modern history, such as Italy and Japan, have grown as old as Chinas population is becoming, but never on such a vast scale and never as a result of an intentional policy of depopulation. China is now offering incentives for having children such as tax deductions for families and strengthening maternity leave, but they seem to have had scant impact so far.

Beijing seems to have no real, workable plan for steering away from the demographic cliff or for managing the end of the Communist Partys economic growth model. If Xi and his strategists have a feasible plan for nimbly averting Chinas demographic doom, they are keeping very quiet about it. Whats more likely is that no such plan does or can exist.

This brings us back to the question of national security strategies for the United States and its allies. Declining or not, China poses clear strategic dangers for the near term. Theres its longtime theft of American intellectual property, its massive cyber breaches of US government institutions, its aggressive efforts to transform the South China Sea from international waters into a Chinese lake, its saber-rattling over Taiwan, its suppression of democracy in Hong Kong and its overall large-scale military buildup.

As a result of some of these trends, the previous Trump administrations National Security Strategy made the case that China actively competes against the United States and is a revisionist power. Trump imposed tariffs on a wide range of Chinese goods.

The Biden administration has largely kept the Trump-era tariffs on Chinese goods in place, and last month, it prohibited or restricted a range of American investments in advanced technologies in China, including in AI and quantum computing.

Its fair to criticize the US and its allies for underestimating the dangers from China for most of the past quarter-century, and its right and reasonable to refocus on deterring Chinese aggression in the near term.

But what comes after the near term? Its a strategic error to underestimate an adversary, but its just as great an error to overestimate one.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Oprah And The Rock Draw Criticism, Defenders Over Their Maui Wildfire Response | Paras Griffin and Jeff Kravitz via Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne The Rock Johnson have pledged $10 million in relief funds for residents impacted by the wildfires that devastated parts of Maui this summer. Despite offering a sizable sum for the relief effort, the two celebrities have faced criticism for not doing enough, alongside conspiracy theories questioning their motives.

Stars found $10 million Peoples Fund of Maui

Winfrey and Johnson announced their efforts to aid Maui residents through social media posts on August 31. In an Instagram post that has gained over 900,000 likes, the two stars announced the creation of the Peoples Fund of Maui. In the posts video, Winfrey declares they created the fund to put money directly into the hands of people who need it right now. Maui residents from the Lahaina and Kula areas who have been displaced or negatively affected by the fires can apply for grants of up to $1,200 distributed through the fund. The two stars, who have been friends for years, have personal connections to Maui. Winfrey owns hundreds of acres of land on the island, while Johnson, who has Polynesian heritage, spent time in Hawaii as a child.

Winfrey, Johnson face large online backlash

Even before launching her fund with Johnson, Winfrey faced criticism for buying over 1,000 acres in Maui over the years and contributing to rising property prices, which have priced out many locals. The fires destruction is exacerbating this housing shortage.

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One user on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted, Straight Facts!!! Oprah & Rock are buggin bombastic side eye to them both .

Straight Facts!!! Oprah & Rock are buggin bombastic side eye to them both  pic.twitter.com/KfG1oPkkBZ  Aye Yo Jo33 (@Aye_Yo_Jo33) September 2, 2023

Much of the criticism has centered on the fact that the two stars are worth nearly $3 billion, making their donation worth less than 1% of their total wealth.

Oprah begging us for coins like she aint sitting on 2Bs is craaaaaaaaazy to me and idgaf how ppl try to justify it.  DRIN (@AdrianXpression) September 1, 2023

Rumors and conspiracy theories

Some posts question the stars motives; for example, speculation has developed that Winfrey is taking advantage of the mass displacement by buying more land and thus depriving residents of the ability to resettle.

While the rich, including Oprah, continue to buy pieces of Maui and other parts of Hawaii.  Brandon (@Par2ivalz) August 31, 2023

Others posted conspiracy theories, claiming, for example, that Johnson belonged to the Illuminati and that the project with Winfrey was part of a scheme.

DWAYNE JOHNSON ILLUMINATI PUPPET Don't be fooled by his fake Oprah charity in Maui. He's just one of them. pic.twitter.com/wzjV5jXneu  Redpill Drifter (@RedpillDrifter) September 6, 2023

The website Snopes has debunked several rumors about the celebrity response to the Maui fires, including shooting down the claims of a YouTube video alleging Johnson admitted to having played a shady role in the fires. Johnson has made no such claim, and nothing ties him to the fires.

Fans rush to defend Winfrey and Johnson

As Insider pointed out, however, several fans have come to the stars defense.

They donated 10 million! one user said, adding, I dont understand why there is such negative reaction to this, but I must emphasize that being wealthy and accomplished doesnt obligate someone to distribute their wealth.

Another defender pointed out the duo was supporting Maui residents and encouraging others to do the same: They are spreading the word and asking others to donate as well as donating themselves.

While support for Winfrey and Johnson in positive comments or likes on social media likely outweighs criticisms, their critics are many, and their voices ring loudly across social media. Thus, their charitable efforts in Maui and their connections to the area will continue to be scrutinized as the community slowly recovers from this devastating natural disaster.
CORRECTS DATE OF CONVICTION REVERSAL TO TWO YEARS AGO NOT TUESDAY - In this photo provided by James Comstock, John Lewis, left, stands with Jesse Johnson at a restaurant in Lake Oswego, Ore., Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. Johnson, convicted of a 1998 murder and sentenced to death, is now free, two years after the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the conviction. Prosecutors asked for the case to be dismissed, saying that with the passage of time, the state no longer believes that it can prove Johnson was guilty. Johnson has always maintained his innocence. (James Comstock via AP)

SALEM, Ore. (AP)  In the predawn hours of March 20, 1998, a neighbor heard screams coming from the home in Salem of Harriet Sunny Thompson and then saw a white man run from the house, leaving Thompson inside dead of stab wounds.

Yet a Black man, Jesse Johnson, was convicted by a jury in 2004 of aggravated murder and sentenced to death. He walked free this week after 25 years behind bars when prosecutors decided to drop retrial efforts, two years after the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed Johnson's conviction.

The jury never got a chance to hear neighbor Patricia Hubbard testify to what she saw and heard that night. After Johnson was convicted, Hubbard told investigators that when she began describing what she had seen to a police detective, he responded, twice using a racial epithet: a Black woman got murdered and a Black man "is going to pay for it.

Johnson's trial attorney never sought out Hubbard, a fact that the appeals court cited when it reversed the conviction in October 2021.

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The Oregon Innocence Project, which represented Johnson in his appeal, on Wednesday accused the state of committing a heinous injustice in its handling of the case.

There were clear and unambiguous statements of racism by a detective involved in the case who discouraged a neighbor from sharing that she witnessed a white man running away from the scene on the night of the murder, said Steve Wax, Oregon Innocence Projects legal director.

The district attorneys office on Tuesday asked the Marion County Circuit Court to dismiss the case against Johnson, saying that based upon the amount of time that has passed and the unavailability of critical evidence in this case, the state no longer believes that it can prove the defendants guilt. The court granted the motion. Prosecutors said no other suspect has been identified in Thompsons murder.

On Tuesday afternoon, Johnson walked out of the jail in Salem. Video showed Johnson, smiling and wearing gray sweats with white socks and black slides, walking next to a sheriffs deputy who was pushing a cart with belongings inside.

Oh yeah, oh yeah, Johnson said as supporters hugged him.

Johnsons DNA wasnt on any of the tested murder evidence. He repeatedly claimed innocence and refused a plea deal over the years.

Wax, a former federal public defender, said the Marion County district attorney and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum resisted requests for additional DNA testing of crime scene evidence that might have shed light on what really happened to Sunny Thompson.

For 25 years, the State of Oregon has fought to defend their deeply flawed case against our former client, Jesse Johnson, Wax said. There can be no more heinous injustice imaginable than for Mr. Johnson to have heard a sentence of death pronounced against him all those years ago in Marion County and to then waste away for years on death row.

Asked for comment, Rosenblum said in an emailed statement Thursday: The Marion County District Attorneys office made the decision not to retry this case due to the passage of time and loss of witnesses. We respect their decision.

The Oregon Innocence Project had asked a court to allow additional DNA testing of crime-scene evidence, but it went unresolved due to the appeals court reversing Johnson's conviction, Rosenblum said.

Hubbard told investigators that she had seen a white man park his van in Thompsons driveway around 3:45 a.m. March 20, 1998, and go inside. Seconds later, Hubbard heard screaming coming from Thompsons house, a thud and then silence. She said she then saw a white man run from the house. A few minutes later, she saw a Black man walk down the driveway. She did not identify him as Johnson.

Former Gov. John Kitzhaber declared a moratorium on executions in 2011. Last year, then-Gov. Kate Brown commuted all of the states 17 death sentences and ordered the dismantling of the states execution chamber.
Editors note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.

Osceola County expects to negotiate with a French company for county-owned land near the Poinciana SunRail train station.

CMG Clean Tech, which the county said is becoming Panecea Global Energy Inc., was the most responsive out of four total applicants for up to 63 acres, said Osceola County Manager Don Fisher in a prepared statement.

The county previously sought proposals for projects that would create the highest and best use of the property, which will create a substantial number of high-wage value added jobs, he added.

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Read: Tom Brady hired by Delta Airlines as strategic advisor

Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journals website.

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Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022 dealt a staggering blow to the Ukrainian media market, which had already been struggling prior.

The media have lost their regular audience. Millions of readers, viewers, and listeners have either left the country, are internally displaced within Ukraine, have found themselves in Russian-occupied territories with no access to Ukrainian media, or have gone to defend Ukraine.

The income of 80% of Ukrainians has decreased and thus their ability to pay for media  to subscribe and make donations  has also decreased.

The advertising market dropped to zero in the first weeks of the all-out war and is recovering extremely slowly. The state mobilized the highest-rated TV channels, combining them into an informational telethon that does not generate advertising revenue.

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Transmitters, TV towers, editorial offices, and printing houses have been destroyed. The cost of paper has doubled, and it has become more difficult to deliver print media to subscribers.

And this is only scratching the surface.

Read also: Reznikovs tenure as defense chief ends after latest corruption allegations

If the Ukrainian media market were similar to that of any other European country, there would hardly be any viable media outlets left after a year and a half of such conditions. However, Ukrainian media have proven to be as resilient as plants in the desert.

Most outlets, having cut costs to a minimum, have managed to continue operations and hope to survive until the situation improves. Grants from international organizations have also become a lifeline for many of them. But this is not sustainable  how long will they hold out?

When a year ago Ukraines richest businessman, Rinat Akhmetov, simply closed his media holding company Ukraine, which had the largest share of Ukraines TV audience, it seemed like the beginning of the end.

While we did not see any more large-scale collapses in 2022, if Russias war in Ukraine drags on for years, the market will inevitably shrink  and not only due to financial difficulties.

Big media in Ukraine was founded as an instrument of political influence. This is how an abnormally large number of TV channels, radio networks, and online news outlets, which the advertising market would have otherwise been unable to support, managed to form in Ukraine.

Wealthy people founded or bought media outlets and invested in them, hoping to receive electoral dividends rather than financial ones. For some, founding and successfully promoting a media outlet was an entry ticket into politics and, if things didnt work out, the asset could be sold at a premium.

Such media outlets were not just unprofitable; their ability to make money was of little importance to their owners. What mattered was the ability to reach as many voters as possible.

Read also: Oligarch Kolomoisky is behind bars. How did he get there and can he find a way out?

The stakes in this game were constantly rising: competition between media (primarily television groups) became a prelude to the election campaign. In this arms race, oligarchs invested hundreds of millions into new assets, the most expensive content, and the most popular stars.

Media with no political backing had no chance in this competition and quickly dropped out. Bastions of real media and journalism without strong political bias grew in thematic niches on the Internet, a space where oligarchs had for a long time taken no interest.

Its understandable that such an unhealthy market, complemented by corruption, racketeering, and an unstable economy, did not attract foreign investors.

In 2009, Central European Media Enterprises, the last major foreign media owner, sold the 1+1 TV broadcaster for several hundred million dollars to Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky. For the corporation, which was suffering from the global economic crisis, such a large sum of money was a gift from above. But for Kolomoisky, this was just the beginning of an investment campaign that aided in the presidential election campaign of Volodymyr Zelensky, a former star on 1+1.

The protracted war has deprived the media, which were primarily instruments of political influence, of their raison detre. The constitution prohibits the holding of elections during martial law, which means that Ukraine may face years without elections.

The political struggle in Ukraine has been brought to a standstill, and all parties have united, at least in words, against the external threat that is Russia. The countrys oligarchs, who own some of Ukraines most powerful media outlets, have lost a significant portion of their wealth and are primarily concerned with safeguarding what remains and their own safety than with garnering political influence.

Therefore, given the fact that they will be unable to use the media for their original purpose in the coming years, it is likely that the owners will either shut them down, set them free by transferring major shares to the respective organizations management and staff, or sell them for much less than they bought them for.

Read also: Reznikovs tenure as defense chief ends after latest corruption allegations

The bad news is that some media brands close to Ukrainians hearts will inevitably disappear. The good news is that Ukraine has the chance to abandon the post-Soviet tradition of owning media as a means of asserting influence and instead re-establish the market on a civilized foundation. Foreign investors can play an important role in this.

It would of course be naive to hope for a magical cure to all ills in Ukraines political culture. However, Ukraine is on the verge of joining the European Union, and the flow of financial aid for reconstruction, which will increase after the war, will be accompanied by close scrutiny by international institutions.

The de-oligarchization proclaimed by Zelenskys team prior to the full-scale war has actually taken place: the influence of oligarchs on political processes has significantly decreased. The old oligarchs may be replaced by others willing to convert wealth into power, but the methods of influence are likely to be different.

After all, the war has brought another major change that is recorded in opinion polls. Television has ceased to be Ukrainians main source of news, giving way to social media and messenger apps.

The informational telethons introduced at the beginning of the full-scale war  monotonous, clumsy, and no longer imperative during the second year of the war  are gradually discouraging viewers from watching the news on TV. Future election battles will be fought to a greater extent in the social media space, rather than in traditional media.

The resultant vacuum may allow a European-style media market to emerge, with players focused on making legal profits and guided by the needs of consumers rather than the whims of owners and political patrons.

Read also: Ukraine imposes sanctions on petty pro-Russian politicians, yet ignores most high-profile ones

Why would powerful foreign media investors take such a gamble?

First, Ukraines economy will recover, and advertising will start to generate revenue again.

Second, local media, despite all its shortcomings, has a great advantage: professional teams that produce content of equal or better quality than their Central European counterparts.

Third, Ukrainian media companies, with their affordable prices and high-quality equipment (thanks to the oligarchs) can become a production base for other countries.

And finally, helping to rebuild and rehabilitate Ukrainian media is one of the best ways to help Ukraine recover from Russias war. After the war ends, the Ukrainian state will undergo fundamental changes, which are impossible without high-quality and transparent communication.

While part of this support will be provided by independent media supported by grants and the likes of Suspilne, a national public broadcaster that spans across Ukraine, this is not enough.

We need many viable media outlets that can listen to, inform, educate, and entertain diverse audiences. We also need to help Ukraines citizens, civil society, and state shape the future of the countrys recovery and further development.

Editors Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent.

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The Vine at 1600 Vine St. had 313 eviction notices from late January through July of this year. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

At Promenade Towers, a Bunker Hill apartment complex with 611 units that bills itself as an urban oasis in the heart of downtown, tenants received 371 eviction notices from late January through July.

At 1600 Vine, a Hollywood building with 375 units that's been known for attracting social media influencers who have posted from its balconies and manicured courtyard, 313 notices were issued in that period.

Across Los Angeles, more than 40,000 eviction notices, the vast majority of which were three-day notices to pay or move out, have been sent to tenants since late January. They were issued at buildings across the city, for amounts ranging from $0 to $561,700. The 10 buildings sending the most notices to their tenants  more than 150 each  were upscale apartments in places such as downtown, Hollywood and Woodland Hills.

The Vine at 1600 Vine St. had 313 eviction notices from January through July of this year. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Details about the notices, which are a precursor to an eviction lawsuit, were collected by the city for the first time this year and made public by the city controllers office. They shed light on a key step in the eviction process that until now has been shrouded in secrecy, offering a glimpse at how often tenants across the city are met with the threat of eviction.

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While public perception is that tenants in low-income and gentrifying communities are most threatened with eviction, the data are in line with research showing that large property management firms tend to automate their processes and initiate eviction proceedings at higher rates, said Kyle Nelson, a senior policy and research analyst at the nonprofit advocacy group Strategic Actions for a Just Economy.

You have extremely high-rent tenancies with extremely inflexible landlords, said Nelson, who has been studying evictions in L.A. County for a decade.

Read more: This L.A. developer aims to tear down homes to build apartments where the city doesn't want them

The 40,000 notices were sent to residents of about 8,400 buildings. Roughly 94% of them were notices that give tenants three days, not including weekends or court holidays, to pay any outstanding rent, fix other issues or move out, according to an analysis by the controllers office; 96% were issued for nonpayment of rent.

The data do not capture all the eviction notices issued by landlords through the end of July. The housing department has an estimated backlog of 5,000 paper copies received in the mail it needs to enter into its database, said spokesperson Sharon Sandow. The city plans to catch up no later than October.

Some landlords said they automatically issue the notices when rent is late.

"Rent is due on the 1st and considered late on the 4th with '3-day pay or quit notices' sent after the 4th as a reminder that rent is due and unpaid," said Thomas Meredith, senior business manager for 1600 Vine. "These were only notifications that the tenant's rent was past due."

But by law the notices are more than reminders. They are the legal demands that come before a court case that could ultimately force a tenant from their home.

Landlords who serve notices dont necessarily follow up with a lawsuit, however, and its unknown how many of the notices have translated to court action.

Promenade Towers, a large complex in Bunker Hill, had the most eviction notices  371  this year. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Representatives of Symmetry Apartments, a 431-unit complex in Northridge that issued 152 eviction notices, said it's had 28 actual evictions this year, and not all were for nonpayment of rent. The complex had $2.2 million unpaid rent from the pandemic and began issuing eviction notices again in February when local emergency tenant protections ended, the landlord's representatives said.

When those protections expired, the city adopted new rules meant to shield at-risk renters from a wave of evictions.

Among those rules is one that bars tenants from being evicted for less than one month's fair market rent, which is determined by the number of bedrooms in an apartment and based on figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for Los Angeles.

According to the data, landlords issued 4,300 eviction notices for amounts below that cutoff since March 27 when the ordinance went into effect.

Read more: L.A. City Council backs minimum threshold for evicting tenants behind on rent

The rule only applies to rent debt incurred after that date and the data do not specify when the debt was incurred, so it is difficult to say whether landlords are complying with the rules.

Symmetry Apartments issued seven notices for amounts lower than the fair market value threshold. Representatives said they were all "sent erroneously" and they did not file lawsuits in those cases.

At 1600 Vine, about 35 three-day notices were mistakenly issued for amounts below the threshold because of a clerical error and none resulted in an eviction, Meredith said.

Citywide there were about 1,300 cases in which nonpayment of rent was cited as the reason for an eviction notice even though the rent owed was listed as $0. More than 400 were issued for amounts less than $500.

There were also a sizable number of notices sent for very large amounts. Seventeen properties saw notices issued for more than $100,000 in back rent.

Since eviction notices were not previously collected in Los Angeles, it's not known how the number of notices compares with the past.

But court filings show that eviction lawsuits are rapidly increasing across the region.

Before plummeting during the pandemic, eviction numbers in Los Angeles had been on a gradual downward trend since the Great Recession. That direction appears to be reversing as pandemic restrictions end and landlords move to file a backlog of cases.

From January through June 2023, there were more than 23,000 eviction lawsuits filed in L.A. County, a 74% increase over the first half of 2022 and the highest first half total since 2016, according to court data collected by Nelson, the research analyst.

Read more: Inside one womans fight to stave off homelessness as eviction cases flood courts

The building that issued the most eviction notices in the period reflected in the data was Promenade Towers, where the least expensive one-bedroom was advertised for $2,487 a month as of Wednesday, 50% higher than the median comparable listing citywide, according to the real estate website Apartment List.

The building issued 371 notices to 170 units, more than a quarter of the total in the complex, according to the city housing department. Since July, the landlord, Goldrich Kest, which owns more than 100 apartment complexes across the country, has given out an additional 16 notices at the property, city records show.

Normally, eviction lawsuits are sealed for privacy purposes unless a landlord wins a judgment. But The Times reviewed nine eviction cases filed by Promenade Towers in August.

One was served to a 49-year-old woman living in one of the units reserved for low-income tenants. The woman, who requested anonymity out of concern for her future housing prospects, said her temporary job in property management ended soon after she moved in in early 2022. Since then, she has struggled to find consistent employment and has never paid rent.

I havent been able to afford to move out, the woman said. Otherwise, I would have been long, long, long gone.

All nine eviction lawsuits are for rent allegedly owed in 2022.

The City Council passed renter protections that now discourage landlords from filing eviction claims against tenants for 2022 rent not paid because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The protections are intended to shield such tenants from eviction until February 2024 provided that COVID affected their ability to pay. It's unclear whether that's the case for the Promenade Towers residents.

Goldrich Kest officials did not answer a written list of questions from The Times, but maintain that the eviction cases it filed are valid.

Without getting into the particulars, Promenade Towers is in full compliance with city and county ordinances, said Love Zepeda, a company regional director.

Niv Davidovich, an attorney representing Goldrich Kest, said that his firm has won cases despite the pandemic restrictions even when the housing department objected.

Such evictions were entirely legal and well within landlords rights to file and pursue, and these judgments prove this to be the case, Davidovich said.

Park La Brea, a rent-stabilized community that is the largest apartment complex west of the Mississippi with 4,245 units, is another hot spot for eviction notices, according to the city data .

The Times analysis counted notices given at individual addresses. While none of Park La Breas addresses were in the top ten for most eviction notices, collectively the complex saw hundreds.

The 10 addresses with the most eviction notices spanned several neighborhoods, with four in the San Fernando Valley and six in the Los Angeles Basin.

In many cases, the buildings had several things in common: relatively high rents and residents who said management used eviction notices as a warning after late payments.

At Motif in Woodland Hills, where at least 183 eviction notices went out this year, resident Tracey was in the process of moving out.

When paying rent in Motifs online portal, she said, tenants are given a five-day grace period. The second you dont pay theres an eviction letter on your door," Tracey said. Prior to moving out, Tracey racked up five eviction notices for being, she said, like a second late on payment, often while traveling.

Theyre really big on eviction letters, she said, declining to give her last name for fear of retaliation by the property management company she will rely on in her new complex.

Stephanie, who declined to give her last name, was walking her dog at Reveal in Woodland Hills, where at least 233 eviction notices went out this year.

The building's lease says the landlord can serve a three-day notice any day after the first of the month.

A seven-year resident of the complex, Stephanie said she understands why people get behind on rent.

Its really expensive and prices go up every year in this market, she said.

Times assistant data and graphics editor Iris Lee contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Youve likely seen the homemade posters circulate on Facebook or stapled on telephone poles and community bulletin boards. Posters asking for help finding loved ones.

More than 700 people are missing in North Carolina, according to the North Carolina Center for Missing Persons. An event in the Research Triangle Park on Friday aims to help their families.

RTI International and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation are partnering to bring resources to families of missing people with their North Carolina Missing Person Day event.

If we can help one family, we consider that a success, said Donia Slack, senior director of RTIs Department of Justice Strategic Account Executive. But we would like to get as many people in as possible.

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Posters of missing people across North Carolina will be shared at the event. In a private area, people will be able to look through pictures of unclaimed bodies.

There are about 570 missing person cases where people have been missing for more than five years, according to NamUs, a public, federal database for missing persons.

In North Carolina, of those cases about a quarter are children under the age of 20, Slack said. So the rest of those, 75% or so are adults. And so whats really challenging when a loved one goes missing that its not a crime for an adult to go missing.

Sometimes foul play is suspected, but there may be other circumstances.

Sometimes they are victims of circumstance, Slack said. Sometimes they might be homeless or they just might want to flee a toxic situation. And you dont quite know whether or not that person is fine and living somewhere else in another state or if some foul play has fallen upon them.

Nate Thompson is the assistant special agent in charge who oversees the SBIs cold case unit, which includes missing persons and unidentified persons. This is the first time this type of event has been held in North Carolina, but theyve had huge success in other states where similar events have been held.

It doesnt matter if its a missing person, unsolved homicide or unidentified remains, Thompson said. It gives the family a sense of justice, possibly, or closure. And every victim deserves that whether all we are able to do is provide a name to an unidentified (body) and return those remains to a family member. We may not be able to solve the case, but in some instances it may open brand new leads that we didnt know about because we didnt know who the victim was.

When is the event and how do I register?

The National Missing Person Day event will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8 at RTI Headquarters, 3030 Cornwallis Road, Durham. It will be in the multipurpose room on the first floor of the Holden Building.

The event is free and parking is provided. However, people are asked to register for the event. People can register in person the day of the event or online at bit.ly/ncmpday2023.

What should families bring?

It is recommended that families bring the following:

Two biological relatives of the missing person to provide DNA samples

X-rays, dental and medical records, and other identifying documents

Photographs of the missing person, including any photos of tattoos, birthmarks and scars

Police reports, if previously reported

A description of the missing person

Submitting DNA from family members has led to countless cases being solved or closed, Slack said.

We are encouraging people to use the technology thats available to them, she said. Donate their DNA samples, upload them to DNA databases because we have found that to be an extremely powerful tool in being able to link these cases.

What agencies will be there?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation

North Carolina Department of Public Safety

NC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)

High Point Police Department

Raleigh Police Department

Winston-Salem Police Department

Durham County Social Services Department will be there to provide victim services

This is a chance to provide updated information to law enforcement agencies, ask questions and talk to experts from those agencies.

What to do if a loved one goes missing

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety recommends the following if a person goes missing:

File a police or sheriff report. Include information about when and where the person was last seen, names of close friends and family members, and provide a recent photo.

Ask law enforcement to put out a BOLO or be on the look out bulletin and ask for an organized search with tracking dogs.

Inform law enforcement about what search efforts have already occurred and the circumstances related to the missing person.

Limit the number of people coming to the missing persons home until law enforcement has collected evidence.

Write a detailed description of the person and the clothes they were wearing. Include information about birthmarks, scars and tattoos.

Make copies of recent photos for law enforcement, news media and organizations assisting with a search.

Pick one person to answer the phone and keep a pen and notepad nearby to write notes about calls coming in.

For people missing more than 30 days, contact the persons doctor and dentist to get dental and medical records.

Law enforcement agencies have up to 30 days to enter missing people into the states database, Thompson said.

What do the different alerts mean?

The North Carolina Center for Missing Persons, under the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, is the organization that issues alerts like the Amber Alert or Silver Alert. There are five different types of alerts and specific criteria have to first be met first before an alert can be sent.

Law enforcement agencies will first investigate a case and request that the NC Center for Missing Persons send an alert. The center can deny, approve or delay a request depending on the information submitted.

Amber Alerts: This alert is issued for children 17 or younger who are believed to be abducted or to be in danger of injury or death. An alert wont be issued if the child is a runaway. There have been 10 Amber Alerts in North Carolina so far in 2023.

Ashanti Alerts: This alert is issued for people missing between the ages of 18 and 64, and the disappearance of the missing adult may not have been voluntary. The person has to be missing under circumstances that imply they are in physical danger. There have been zero Ashanti Alerts so far this year in North Carolina.

Blue Alerts: These alerts arent issued in missing-person cases. These alerts are issued for a law enforcement officer has been killed or seriously injured and the suspect poses a threat to the public and other law enforcement personnel. The sheriff or police chief of the jurisdiction where the officer was injured also has to recommend a Blue Alert. There have been zero Blue Alerts so far in 2023 in North Carolina

Missing Endangered Alert: This alert is issued with a person with a non-medical cognitive impairment is reported missing. The person must be reported to law enforcement within 72 hours, and there has to be a risk of potential abuse, risk of physical harm, neglect or exploitation. There have been 99 Missing Endangered Alerts in North Carolina so far this year.

Silver Alert: This alert is issued when a person is over the age of 50 and has Dementia or Alzheimers is missing. The person must be reported to law enforcement within 72 hours, and there has to be a risk of potential abuse, risk of physical harm, neglect or exploitation. There have been 190 Silver Alerts so far in 2023 in North Carolina.
New data shows almost 50,000 more abortions in the first six months of 2023 than during the same period in 2020.

New data from the Guttmacher Institute indicate that U.S. abortions have increased after the fall of Roe v. Wade, not decreased.

While the reproductive health policy group estimated that around 465,000 abortions occurred during the first six months of 2020, they estimated that about 511,000 occurred during the same period in 2023. The group's data only include legal abortions.

The change seems counterintuitive, especially considering that 15 states have outright banned abortion (though Indiana's ban was not in effect during the period studied) in the 14 months since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. However, there are a few possible explanations for the unexpected uptick in abortions.

According to The Washington Post, in the year following the Supreme Court's decision overturning the national right to an abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 16 new abortion clinics opened in states where the procedure remained legal. Not only did this help pro-choice states bordering pro-life states absorb traveling patients, but it likely also allowed for additional abortionssuch as those from women who live in a state where abortion is legal but had previously lived too far away from an abortion clinic to travel for the procedure.

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Access to medication abortionabortions that are performed in early pregnancy, typically by a woman taking a prescribed medication at home or in a doctor's officealso expanded following the fall of Roe. Following the Food and Drug Administration's 2021 decision to permanently allow abortion medication to be prescribed via telemedicine, it became much easier for womenespecially those living far away from an abortion clinic or doctor's officeto obtain abortion medications.

COVID restrictions were likely not a factor in the increase between 2020 and 2023, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recorded roughly the same number of procedures during 2020 and 2019. (The Guttmacher Institute does not have 2019 data).

While the Guttmacher Institute did not provide 2023 estimates for 14 states that had banned the procedure, abortions unsurprisingly declined in states where it was banned or restricted. And not all women who would have obtained an abortion before Dobbs ended up traveling elsewhere. According to a recent study from Johns Hopkins researchers, Texas' six-week "heartbeat" ban resulted in nearly 10,000 more live births in the state over an eight-month period.

Notably, the Guttmacher Institute's data also estimates far more abortions than those calculated by the CDC's abortion surveillance studies, which recorded just 620,327 abortions during all of 2020. The Guttmacher Institute estimated 930,160, around 50 percent more. However, the CDC's data doesn't include California, Maryland, and New Hampshire, whichaccording to Guttmacher Institute dataperformed almost 187,000 abortions in 2020, which would account for around 60 percent of the gap in estimated abortions.

The rest of the difference is likely due to the data-gathering method. While the Guttmacher Institute individually contacts all facilities known to have provided abortions to ask for their number of procedures, the CDC aggregates state-level data.

For pro-life advocates, this new data indicates an uncomfortable truth about post-Roe America. While access to abortion has plummeted in some states, it's also gotten much easier to obtain one in others, primarily as a direct reaction to state-level bans. This trend seems to have effectively canceled out the impact of recent statewide abortion bans, showing that, as long as abortion remains legal in a significant part of the county, it will be incredibly difficult to prevent women from obtaining one.

The post Over a Year After <i>Dobbs</i>, Abortions Have Increased Nationwide appeared first on Reason.com.
More than half of Democrats are seriously concerned about President Bidens age negatively impacting a variety of factors, including his physical and mental competence and his ability to win the 2024 election, according to a new poll.

The CNN poll, released Thursday and conducted by SSRS, found 56 percent of Democrats  and 73 percent of Americans  are seriously concerned for Bidens current level of physical and mental competence. About 60 percent of Democrats expressed concern about his ability to win the 2024 election if he clinches the Democratic nomination.

When it comes to his ability to serve a full second term, another 62 percent of Democrats and 76 percent of Americans said they are seriously concerned.

Biden has faced criticism over his age since his 2020 campaign, which has continued throughout his time in the White House. At 80, Biden is oldest U.S president.

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If reelected in 2024, he would be 86 at the end of his second term.

Another recent poll found that 77 percent of Americans surveyed  including 69 percent of Democrats  think he is too old for a second term.

A Wall Street Journal poll published earlier this week also found 73 percent of Americans and roughly two-thirds of Democrats said the phrase too old to run for president captures Biden at least somewhat well.

The president has argued it is fair for voters to discuss his age, but he said they should judge him on his ability to perform the job.

Earlier this week, Vice President Harris brushed aside these concerns, claiming she has seen firsthand his ability to handle the demands of the job.

I see him every day, she told The Associated Press in an interview in Indonesia. A substantial amount of time we spend together is in the Oval Office, where I see how his ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way that no one else can to make smart and important decisions on behalf of the American people have played out.

Harris said she has the same understanding as every vice president that they may have to take over the job of being president when they are sworn in, but she emphasized Biden is going to be fine and does not expect that to happen.

The CNN Poll was conducted by SSRS from Aug. 25-31 among a random national sample of 1,503 adults. The poll had a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
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HARRISBURG  On Nov. 7, Pennsylvanians will select a new judge for Commonwealth Court and two for Superior Court  and all of these new judges will immediately wield the power to referee legal disputes over state law and decide major criminal cases.

The commonwealths two intermediate appellate courts can affirm or reverse decisions made in lower courts. Their rulings can be appealed to the state Supreme Court, Pennsylvanias court of last resort.

The person who wins the open seat on Commonwealth Court could help shape Pennsylvanias laws on everything from elections to firearms, while the two candidates who win seats on Superior Court could decide the outcomes of high-profile criminal cases and set precedents that impact everyone within the criminal justice system. The Superior Court race features two Democrats and two Republicans, and the two candidates who get the highest vote counts will win seats.

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Judges on both courts also are often top candidates to fill openings on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

All appellate judges serve 10-year terms with no term limits; however they must retire at age 75. If they reach that age mid-term, they step down and an election to replace them is held in the next odd year. The governor may appoint a judge to serve in the interim, but the replacement must be approved by two-thirds of the state Senate.

This election cycle also includes retention votes for two Superior Court judges, alongside the contests to fill the two open seats.

Courts and Candidates

Commonwealth Court

Megan Martin

Republican candidate: Megan Martin

A Cumberland County resident and Widener University law school graduate, Martin is the former parliamentarian of the state Senate. She entered the Commonwealth Court primary as the state GOPs endorsed candidate, and won the nod by defeating gun rights attorney Joshua Prince 63% to 37%.

As the secretary-parliamentarian, Martin advised the Pennsylvania Senates presiding officer on how to run floor proceedings in accordance with the state constitution, law, precedent, and chamber rules.

Before joining the chamber, she served as a staffer and then an attorney for former GOP Govs. Tom Ridge and Tom Corbett, as an attorney for the U.S. Navy, and as a law clerk for a Lancaster County judge.

Judicial philosophy and public statements: In questionnaires with conservative interest groups, Martin has said that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and state Supreme Court Justice Kevin Brobson come closest to representing her judicial philosophy.

I am a strict constructionist, she wrote in response to a survey by the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, a nonprofit that primarily advocates for friendlier laws for the health care industry and other business interests in civil cases. I am a textualist and an originalist; I do not believe the constitution is a living document.

In a survey by the socially conservative Pennsylvania Family Institute, she said she agreed with the U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade, which calls Roe an egregiously wrong decision and compares it to Plessy v. Ferguson, which affirmed the constitutionality of slavery.

Martins campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the survey.

Endorsements and recommendations: The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) rated her as Recommended, saying that Martins substantial administrative law experience will serve her well.

Read Martins answers to the PBA questionnaire here.

Matt Wolf

Democratic candidate: Matt Wolf

Wolf sits on the Philadelphia Municipal Court, where he has served as a judge since 2017 and hears both civil and criminal cases. He won his primary against Allegheny County attorney Bryan Neft, securing nearly 60% of the vote.

In a PBA questionnaire, Wolf said during the primary election that he presides over landlord-tenant cases more than any other judge on the municipal court and has also heard misdemeanor and summary criminal trials.

Prior to his election, Wolf worked as a trial attorney for 25 years at various firms, primarily in New Jersey, including his fathers practice and his own. He said in his PBA questionnaire that many of his cases centered on civil rights law during his time as a trial attorney, with a focus on employment claims and government misconduct.

Wolf joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 2003, where he served as an officer, and was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. On deployment, Wolf was a legal advisor to the army. He joined the Pennsylvania National Guard in 2020 and still trains new members of the Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap.

Judicial philosophy and public statements: During a candidate forum hosted by nonprofit advocacy group Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts before this years primary election, Wolf said his judicial philosophy includes restraining judicial activism, which he called not-productive. He also said he thinks the states judicial ethics standards in Pennsylvania should be kept as they are, calling them sufficient.

I dont believe that it is productive to be activist at all and change things for the sake of a political reason, Wolf said.

At the same forum, he said he was the only primary candidate with any experience as a judge, and additionally noted he has argued in front of appellate courts in the past, including the New Jersey Supreme Court. This background, he said, has prepared him to serve on Commonwealth Court.

Endorsements and recommendations: Wolf is endorsed by the state Democratic Party.

The PBA rated him as Recommended, saying that his writing is clear and concise, and noting that he has a history of public service.

Read Wolfs answers to the PBA questionnaire here.

Superior Court

Maria Battista

Republican candidate: Maria Battista

A Clarion County resident who holds a law degree from Ohio Northern University, Battista previously served as assistant general counsel for the health and state departments under former Govs. Corbett, a Republican, and Tom Wolf , a Democrat. She also worked as a prosecutor in Franklin and Venango Counties, and was a contract specialist for the Department of Defense.

She has since left the Department of Defense to run for office, according to the Courier-Express, and now works as vice president of state and federal contracting for the Judge Group, a Wayne-based consulting firm.

Judicial philosophy and public statements: In a survey by the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, a nonprofit that primarily advocates for friendlier laws for the health care industry and other business interests in civil cases, Battista wrote that former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is her judicial role model.

She said that it is not the role of a judge to legislate from the bench, and this is even more important when dealing with constitutional matters.

Endorsements and recommendations: Battista was endorsed by the state Republican Party in the primary, and didnt face any competition.

As of August, the PBA did not recommend her, after she declined to participate in their judicial evaluation process.

Harry Smail

Republican candidate: Harry Smail

Smail has been a Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas judge since Corbett appointed him in 2014.

Before that, he was a private practice attorney who ran unsuccessfully for numerous county offices, and he served as a solicitor for two county row offices. He received his law degree from Duquesne University.

Judicial philosophy and public statements: In 2020, Smail ruled against the Westmoreland County Board of Elections in a case brought by a Republican candidate for state Senate in an extremely close race.

He ordered the board to throw out 204 provisional ballots, which are cast when a persons registration or mail voting status cannot immediately be verified, and are assessed after regular ballots are counted. Those 204 provisional ballots were cast by people who were wrongly told by election workers that they also needed to sign their precincts pollbook. By signing the book, the voters erroneously indicated they had also cast a ballot using a voting machine.

Smail ruled that the Westmoreland election board did not conduct due diligence when it accepted those 204 votes without further substantiating evidence that voters hadnt voted twice.

While the Court is loath to impose the consequences of a failure of the Board onto an innocent electorate  the court must apply the provisions of the Elections Code consistently and as written by our legislature, Smail wrote in the 12-page decision.

In other decisions, Smail ruled in favor of a local newspaper that sued the borough of Monessen for violating the Sunshine Act, and against a challenge by local activists who tried to block a zoning plan that allowed fracking in a residential area. Commonwealth Court upheld the latter decision.

In questionnaires, hes said his judicial philosophy resembles those of Scalia and sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Gorsuch, Smail wrote to the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, has a very reasoned review of facts. He is not afraid to make a decision that will make for a more efficient  adjudication of the law with a correct outcome.

Endorsements and recommendations: Smail was endorsed by the Republican Party and ran unopposed in the primary. On its website, the state GOP points to rulings Smail made in 2020 that upheld essential anti-fraud requirements for casting a mail-in ballot.

The PBA rated Smail Recommended based on his extensive background, legal ability and temperament.

Read Smails answers to the PBA questionnaire here.

Jill Beck

Democratic candidate: Jill Beck

Beck is a Pittsburgh-based attorney who works in commercial litigation.

She clerked for Judge Christine Donohue on the state Supreme and Superior Courts between 2010 and 2019. Beck has said that during her time clerking, she drafted over 500 opinions and worked on topics ranging from election matters to workers compensation to congressional redistricting.

Beck also ran for Superior Court in 2021 but lost in the primary to Timika Lane of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

Following her time as a clerk, she worked at Blank Rome LLP  one of the largest law firms in the United States  in commercial litigation.

Judicial philosophy and public statements: Speaking at a candidate forum hosted by Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts during the primary, Beck said the U.S. Supreme Court Justice she would most like to emulate is Justice Anthony Kennedy, who she described as a jurist who transcended partisan politics. She said she believes in a judiciary that is engaged but restrained.

He was someone who you would not know which way he was going to come out on a case, Beck said. He was a consensus-builder, a tiebreaker. And that is something that I would love to be viewed as when Im on the court myself.

Beck has also worked at KidsVoice, a nonprofit that advocates for children in the child welfare system in Allegheny County.

Endorsements and recommendations: Beck was one of two  out of three  candidates who the Pennsylvania Democratic Party endorsed during the primary.

The PBA rated her Highly Recommended, writing that Beck possesses the highest combination of legal ability, experience and integrity.

Read Becks answers to the PBA questionnaire here.

Timika Lane

Democratic candidate: Timika Lane

Lane has served for a decade as a judge on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where she works in the Complex Litigation Center.

She previously ran for Superior Court in 2021; she won the primary election but lost in the general contest to Republican Megan Sullivan.

Lane began her career as a public school teacher in Maryland, where she worked for four years. She obtained a law degree from Rutgers Law School in 2002, and has since spent her career in Philadelphia.

She clerked for Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, worked as a trial attorney in the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and served as legal counsel for state Sen. Anthony Williams (D., Philadelphia) until she was elected to her current position.

Judicial philosophy and public statements: Ina candidate forum hosted by Pennyslvanians for Modern Courts during the primary, Lane described her courtroom as a safe space for people to tell their truth.

She said her judicial philosophy includes ensuring that everyone in her courtroom will receive a fair trial, and named U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as a role model that she hopes to emulate if elected to Superior Court.

In an interview, Lane said that it is essential to create a court environment in which every person that appears before the court is treated with respect.

Endorsements and recommendations: Lane was one of two  out of three  candidates who the Pennsylvania Democratic Party endorsed during the primary election.

The PBA rated Lane as Highly Recommended, saying that it is confident the candidate is capable of outstanding performance as a Superior Court of Pennsylvania judge.

Read Lanes answers to the PBA questionnaire here.

Retention

Voters will also be asked to reapprove 10-year terms for two sitting Superior Court judges in nonpartisan retention elections.

Judge Vic Stabile, elected as a Republican in 2013, is seeking a second term. President Judge Jack Panella, elected as a Democrat in 2003, is seeking a third.

Rather than face a head-to-head election, state appellate judges earn a new term in a yes-or-no vote, in which a majority yes vote means they serve another 10-year term unless they turn 75 before then. These races normally attract little attention, and subsequent terms are almost always approved.

The only exception since Pennsylvania adopted its current constitution is state Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro, who was denied a second term in 2005 after lawmakers voted to increase legislative and judicial salaries in a late-night vote. Nigro had nothing to do with the pay hike, but was nonetheless defeated amid widespread public anger.

BEFORE YOU GO If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
Police are still searching for Urfan Sharif, left and Beinash Batool in Pakistan after the death of Sara Sharif - Surrey Police via AP

Pakistani police have reportedly raided multiple properties during searches for Sara Sharifs family, hours after they released a video claiming they are ready to fight our case in court.

Remarks by Saras stepmother Beinash Batool in footage released to broadcasters on Wednesday marked the first to be made publicly about the 10-year-olds death.

In the video, Ms Batool claimed the family were running out of food and were scared to venture outside for they safety as they accused the media of telling lies about them.

Following the release of the clip, Sky News reported police raided at least 20 properties in an operation apparently focused in Jhelum and Mirpur.

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It comes as Saras father Urfan Sharif and Ms Batool indicated they are willing to co-operate with authorities and fight our case in court, although there was no specific mention of returning to the UK.

All of our family members have gone into hiding as everyone is scared for their safety. The kids are unable to attend school as theyre afraid to leave the house. No one is leaving the house.

The groceries have run out and there is no food for the kids as the adults are unable to leave their homes out of fear for safety.

In her final remarks, Ms Batool indicated the family is ready to speak to police in the UK.

Lastly, we are willing to cooperate with the UK authorities and fight our case in court, she added.

Tragic death

Meanwhile, Surrey Police have translated appeals for information on Sara into Urdu to reach Pakistani nationals living locally.

Officers who are fluent in Urdu are supporting the investigation team to translate information given by members of the public, Surrey Police said.

Posters have also been displayed in and around Woking railway station and taxi ranks around the town, and a video format appeal has also been produced.

The appeal has generated a number of inquiries which are helping detectives to piece together a picture of Saras life before her tragic death, police said.

Police want to speak to Saras father, Urfan Sharif, 41, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and Urfans brother, Faisal Malik, 28, who fled the UK for Pakistan after Sara was found dead and alone at the family home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10.

A post-mortem examination found she had suffered multiple and extensive injuries over a sustained and extended period of time.

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.
Palestinian fishing boats return at dawn after a nighttime fishing trip to the seaport in Gaza City, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. After allegedly uncovering explosives hidden in clothing shipped from Gaza to the West Bank, the Israeli government opted for a punitive response this week, clamping down on all cargo shipments out of Gaza and choking off the territory's already ailing economy. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP)  Israel closed the main commercial crossing in the Gaza Strip, effectively banning exports from the coastal territory after saying it had uncovered explosives in a shipment of clothes to the occupied West Bank. Gazas fishermen, with their perishable exports, were among the first to feel the pain.

The new restrictions choke off the territorys already ailing economy. They come on top of the punishing 16-year blockade that Israel and Egypt have maintained since the Islamic militant group Hamas seized control of the enclave in 2007.

The blockade, which Israel says is needed to prevent Hamas from arming, severely limits the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza.

Israel closed the Kerem Shalom cargo crossing late on Monday after saying it had discovered explosives hidden in a shipment of Zara jeans and other clothing bound for the West Bank  one of the main markets for Gaza's tiny export sector. Israeli officials fear the explosives were bound for Palestinian militants in the West Bank. Israel has not said when the crossing will reopen.

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Palestinian fishermen, businessmen and rights advocates condemned Israels latest measure as a form of collective punishment against Gazas 2 million people, including tens of thousands of laborers who heavily depend on exports to Israel and the West Bank to stay afloat. Nearly all the goods that enter and exit Gaza pass through Kerem Shalom.

Gaza's 4,000 fishermen, worried about keeping their surplus seafood from spoiling, condemned the ban.

Now I cant make a living, said Khalid al-Laham, 35, from his bare home in the southern town of Khan Younis as his five children scurried around him. I have to borrow food from the shops.

The struggle also reached Gazas wealthiest traders.

Fish are completely different from any product, its sensitive, said Mohammed Abu Hasira, a 38-year-old owner of a popular Gazan fish restaurant near the Mediterranean. They should punish those who are at fault. Why are we being punished with them?

Abu Hasiras plans to export truckloads of fish Thursday were thwarted by the Israeli decision, he said. Within moments, his profits evaporated and costs skyrocketed.

Overall, the measure has caused 26 tons of fish to rot and resulted in $300,000 in weekly losses, Gazas main fishermens union said.

The restrictions represented a reversal of recent Israeli military moves to ease the blockade to relieve economic pressure on Gaza to prevent tensions from boiling over into another bloody conflict.

Israel now allows some 21,000 Palestinian laborers from Gaza to enter Israel for work, and in July, Israel issued hundreds more permits. Some 70% more people left the strip in July than during the same month last year, according to the United Nations humanitarian office.

But now Gazas fishermen and others affected by the Israeli measure said theyve again been subsumed into a larger political struggle that has nothing to do with them.

Israel says the closure was intended to deter militants from sneaking explosives through the crossing and to press the strips Hamas rules to crack down on the smuggling.

The defense establishment will not allow terror organizations to take advantage of civilian and humanitarian facilities, Israels defense ministry said.

The move, rights groups said, also laid bare Israels inability to provide an effective answer to the security incidents and to address Gazas underlying problems.

Instead of finding proportionate and reasonable measures, it just imposes sweeping measures and punitive closings, said Miriam Marmur, a spokeswoman for Gisha, an Israeli human rights group.

Under the blockade, Gazas businessmen have grappled with what they describe as exasperating bureaucratic controls and routine indignities.

Fishermen say their struggle reflects how the blockade has damaged a vital part of Gazas economy. In July, fish accounted for 6% of all exports, according to the U.N.

The restrictions have prevented them from importing engines, fiberglass, and other materials needed to repair their dilapidated boats.

The naval blockade limits how far out into the Mediterranean Sea the fishermen can go  and how much and what type of fish they can catch. If they drift too close to Israel's maritime border, they risk being shot at or having their boats seized by the Israeli navy.

Since the start of the year, the U.N. humanitarian office, or OCHA, has recorded over 400 incidents in which Israeli forces opened fire at Palestinian fishermen approaching the sea boundary, causing injuries and damage. Recurring shootings off the coast of Gaza are deeply troubling," said Noel Tsekouras, head of OCHAs Gaza office. "These actions severely jeopardize livelihoods."

This week's closure has left all merchants reeling in the crowded enclave. In an upscale tower just blocks from the seaport, Muhammad al-Ghussein, an engineer and spokesperson for the Palestinian Businessmen Association, said he shared the fishermen's concerns.

Halting exports is like dealing a fatal blow to a sector thats already dying, he said.
Paqui has pulled its One Chip Challenge products from store shelves as officials continue to investigate the cause of death of a 14-year-old boy who ate one of the spicy chips hours before he died.

In a statement on its website, the chip company said the challenge is intended for adults only, and that the chips packaging has clear and prominent labeling highlighting the chip is not for children or anyone sensitive to spicy foods or who has food allergies, is pregnant or has underling health conditions.

Starbucks has BOGO Pumpkin Spice Lattes all September

Paqui said it has seen an increase in teens and other individuals not heeding the warnings on the packaging, KRON reports.

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As a result, while the product continues to adhere to food safety standards, out of an abundance of caution, we are actively working with our retailers to remove the product from shelves, the company said.

Refunds will be offered on all single-serve One Chip Challenge products, Paqui said.

Last week, a Massachusetts teen reportedly died after eating one of the chips as part of a social media challenge. The teens cause of death has not yet been determined, according to the Boston Globe. The statement on Paquis website makes no mention of the death.

Three-legged bear breaks into Florida home, drinks White Claws

Last year, multiple students at a middle school in Dublin, California, were sent home after participating in the One Chip Challenge. The students suffered adverse reactions to this product at the time, according to the Dublin Unified School District.

Paquis One Chip Challenge chips are made with two of the spiciest peppers known in the world: the Carolina Reaper Pepper and the Scorpion Pepper. Both peppers can top out at Scoville levels of over 2,000,000.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
US companies bring latest high-tech products to 2023 CIFTIS, still eyeing Chinese market

Global Times) 09:09, September 07, 2023

Visitors at Qualcomm's booth at the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services on September 6, 2023 Photo: GT/Chi Jingyi

Products showcasing the latest high-tech innovations were displayed by US companies at the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), including virtual reality (VR), 5G, artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models. Companies said that they are still eyeing the Chinese market with confidence, and their supply chains will stay in China.

Tesla, for example, debuted the world's first new version of the Tesla Model 3, which attracted a lot of Chinese attendees.

The determination of the Chinese government to open wider to the outside world is there for all to see. It has actively welcomed foreign investors into China and provided a more equitable business environment based on the rule of law, internationalization and facilitation, thus providing a sound guarantee for the development of enterprises, Tao Lin, a vice president of Tesla, told the Global Times.

"We are fully confident in the Chinese market, and will better leverage the opportunities of China's high-level opening-up and increase our investments here," Tesla China President Wang Hao told the People's Daily.

As of Wednesday, 2 million Tesla vehicles had rolled off the assembly line at its Shanghai Gigafactory, according to Tesla's official Sina Weibo account.

Chip giant Intel displayed multiple technical solutions in retail, data centers, AI and other fields. Intel also announced new collaborations during the CIFTIS. It will work with China Mobile's Migu to jointly engage in content and technology research and related commercialization deployment, the Global Times learned.

Qualcomm, a US leading chipmaker, demonstrated a generative AI model that can fully run on Android smartphones.

The model can quickly understand a user's needs from their narrative and create the image they want in 15 seconds, without having to access the internet or the cloud, a staffer at Qualcomm's booth told the Global Times.

In the past three years, Qualcomm demonstrated the cooperative results with Chinese partners via the platform, and this year, it brought the latest cooperation achievements in cutting-edge technologies such as 5G and VR, Meng Pu, chairman of Qualcomm China, was quoted by the media as saying.

Thanks to the Chinese government's strong promotion of green services trade and continuous optimization of the business environment, we have been able to promote the green transformation of enterprises in an open, inclusive, innovative and cooperative environment, and achieve steady and long-term progress, Declan Rooney, president of Johnson &Johnson China, said in a statement sent to the Global Times.

"This not only strengthens our determination to continue to practice green services trade, but also enhances our confidence and belief in long-term deep cultivation in China, the services sector in China," said Rooney.

The dynamics of the US-China relationship hold far-reaching implications for worldwide economic growth. And we believe that US businesses operating in China contribute positively to the economy and citizens of nations, Michael Hart, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), said on Wednesday at the 2023 Forum on Conformity Assessment Serving Trade Facilitation, a sideline event of the CIFTIS.

Hart said that according to AmCham China's survey, the majority of their member companies are not considering transferring their supply chains outside of China, and they still see China.

"For many of our members, China is the most important investment destination. And most of our members will continue to invest here and do business here," said Roberta Lipson, founder of United Family Healthcare and vice-chairman of AmCham China, at a sideline event of the CIFTIS, haiwainet.cn reported.

"Of course the whole world is worried about the future, and all we need is to do our best to continue to create the environment where there's the opportunity for continued growth," said Lipson.

Many US companies have revealed expansion plans in China. For example, McDonald's plans to open more than 900 new stores in China in 2023 and Starbucks plans to open 3,000 new stores in China by 2025. Tyson Foods will open six new plants in 2023, three of which will be in China.

More than 70,000 US companies have invested in and operated in China, with nearly 90 percent of their operations in China profitable, according to the Report on US Exports to China by the US-China Business Council released in May.

China's purchases of US goods and services supported 1.06 million jobs in the country in 2022, read the report.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Fancy Farm is a place for novelty.

This year, Democrats went all in on a different kind of sign for Kentuckys marquee political event. The hundreds who packed under the speakers pavilion to cheer on Democrats and drown out Republicans had a distinct prop: huge vertical signs that spelled out their candidate for governors first name from top to bottom: A-N-D-Y.

The signs not only underscored how Gov. Andy Beshear s campaign is pitching its candidate  as an approachable, Mr. Rogers-esque trustworthy presence  but also the focus for all Kentucky Democrats this year: protecting the incumbent governor. Beshears popularity remains high despite Kentuckys strong Republican leanings in federal and statehouse races, and his race against Republican nominee Attorney General Daniel Cameron is projected to be close.

A few hours before and a few miles down the road, Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams gave a speech that reflected that.

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To a room full of more than two hundred fellow Republicans in West Kentuckys Graves County, Secretary of State Michael Adams offered a warning: the Democrats are all in on Beshears re-election bid because they know hes their last hope.

The Democrats are facing extinction. They know that if we sweep for the first time in history, they are done. We have them in our sights and they know it, Adams said. They are highly motivated, they are raising money, they are walking neighborhoods  theyre doing everything. So we have to match their level of intensity.

The zeal of Democrats for Beshears re-election cant be denied. But it doesnt come without its questioners on both sides of the political aisle.

While Beshears own ability to defy political gravity has deeply frustrated Kentucky Republicans and encouraged Democrats in-state and across the nation, some attribute his gravitational pull of attention and money in the state to the diminution of other Democrats in Kentucky.

Democrats stature in the legislature is historically bad and its bottomed out with Beshear atop the party. Less than seven years after losing the majority and nearly four years into Beshears governorship they claim 20 of the Kentucky Houses 100 seats. The minority in the Senate is relatively just as small. When it comes to lawmaking and crafting the states near-$16 billion budget, Republicans can all but ignore Beshear. Some are fearful that other Democrats down-ballot, or in future Kentucky races, wont be able to ride Beshears coattails to important victories.

Is Beshear, whose family has been at the helm of the party for more than a decade, responsible for any of this? Can he turn things around if re-elected, and what happens if 2023 spells the extinction of Democrats that Adams warned of?

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear supporters hold signs and cheer during the annual St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic in Fancy Farm, Ky., on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023.

All in vs. extremely frustrating

In 2020, then flush with cash in part because of the excitement around U.S. Senate candidate Amy McGrath who later lost to Sen. Mitch McConnell in a landslide, the Kentucky Democratic Party contributed almost $2.1 million directly to campaigns for the state legislature. In the 2022 cycle, that figure fell to less than one-tenth of what it was: $160,000.

That said, KDP has chipped in to help fund an expensive legal battle against House and Congressional maps they claim were unconstitutionally gerrymandered and also funded candidate mail in the 2022 election through in-kind expenditures. Their in-kind contributions, which are in addition to direct contributions, to help legislative candidates fell from $2.56 million in 2020 to $317,000 in 2022.

Meanwhile, Beshear is bringing boatloads of cash into his and KDPs campaign coffers. Beshears campaign had $7.4 million at its disposal by the end of the primary.

KDP donations  unlike campaigns, at $2,100, the maximum individual donation one can make to a state party is $15,000  are largely understood as funding a machine controlled by Beshear. As Democratic political veterans including statewide officeholders like former attorney general Greg Stumbo and former auditor Adam Edelen will tell you, the party is the governors. Edelen said its traditionally been a political vehicle meant to serve the will of the incumbent governor.

Theres no doubt that the Democratic governor has and still does control the way the party moves, Stumbo said.

KDP Chair Colmon Elridge was recommended by Beshear and Executive Director Sebastian Kitchen moved over to that post from Beshears communications team.

Democrats see the money pouring into Beshear and pro-Beshear forces as a good thing. But for some, its also a stark reminder of how little has been invested into building legislative power since 2020.

Rebecca Blankenship, who made history as Kentuckys first openly transgender elected official as a school board member in Berea, is a member of the Kentucky State Democratic Central Executive Committee and said she feels like the party is putting too many of its eggs in the Beshear basket and the decisions to do so are made unilaterally.

The party governance structure is completely controlled by Governor Beshear and were really just a rubber stamp, Blankenship said of the committee.

It feels that way for some on the outside looking in as well.

From the get go, I have wondered if Beshear would be willing to spend any political capital trying to elect people to the legislature. It appears that he concluded there was no percentage in that because theyre so far from a majority. That, and his expenditure of political capital could lead to his own defeat, Al Cross, a longtime observer of Kentucky politics and former political reporter at the Louisville Courier-Journal, said.

When asked about this, Beshear acknowledged that hes got duties related to the Democratic Party, but said the vast majority of his time is spent focused on being the best governor I can be day in and day out.

He said redistricting played a role in the trend of Democratic numbers dwindling. He did not commit to trying to reverse it, though.

Some Democrats have argued that funding a redistricting legal battle was a more important than pouring more money into races that may not have swung in their favor given the maps. A circuit court judge agreed with the Democrats that the maps were gerrymandered to create a Republican advantage, but he did not find gerrymandering in and of itself to be unconstitutional.

Blankenship said the falling number of legislative Democrats has real stakes.

It is extremely frustrating how many seats weve sacrificed in the legislature in order to fuel this year, which is probably going to be an out of the park victory. Almost certainly some of the worst policies passed in the legislature this year could have been avoided had the balance of power been a little bit towards the middle, Blankenship said.

She referenced the recent passage of Senate Bill 150, which many activists said was one of the most anti-trans pieces of legislation passed in America.

A handful of controversial GOP-backed proposals  like the charter school funding bill and a bill increasing politicians control over local libraries  would potentially have failed to overcome Beshear vetoes if a few more Democrats were elected to the House.

Some Republicans agree that Beshears position makes little impact on the comings and goings of Republicans in Frankfort. In fact, theyve grown so autonomous that its unclear what impact a Cameron win would have.

Who wins this (governors) race, as far as what our legislature is gonna be doing for Kentucky, is irrelevant. If Daniel wins, certainly were looking for a great partnership and I think we can expedite what were doing to move Kentucky forward. If Beshears re-elected, itd be just the same, Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, said.

Pulling together

Morgan Eaves, a former Democratic House candidate and strategist, sees the focus on Beshear as an investment. That investment, she said, is the most efficient way for Democrats to guarantee better policies and eventually uplift other Democrats statewide.

So from a strategy standpoint, Andy Beshear is the Kentucky Democratic Partys, and some would argue one of the National Democratic Partys, best ambassadors. The decision to go all in on him is a smart one, Eaves said.

Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, has never been in the majority. She was first elected to her bright-blue South End district in 2018 during a Democratic rebound wave that saw them hold a 39-person minority. In 2020, that fell sharply to 25 then to the current 20 in 2022.

Kulkarni understands the frustrations around both lack of attention and money to statehouse races.

Theres frustration but theres also strategy, Kulkarni said. If Governor Beshear wins re-election, hes going to have a unique opportunity to build up that Democratic base.

Anna Whites, a Democratic attorney whos worked for KDP in the past, said that while shed rather have a 50-50 legislature to stave off bad policy than a governor, a Beshear win is important and also more feasible than getting back in the statehouse where Democrats are decades behind.

Cross said that Democrats upset with Beshears gravitational pull, while they have a point, should pipe up this cycle.

That future (without Beshear) is bleak  horribly bleak. Theyre left with one significant officeholder in the state in the mayor of Louisville. Thats why Democrats need to be all-in for Beshear. All this grousing about money, they have a point but youve got to keep your eyes on the prize, Cross said.

Gov. Andy Beshear speaks officials from Perry County and the City of Hazard before a press conference concerning the flooding in Eastern Kentucky at the Perry County Courthouse in Hazard, Ky., Sunday, July 31, 2022.

Looking ahead

How bleak is the future for Democrats, really?

Most agree that the severity depends on whether or not Beshear wins another term. If he goes, the winter would undoubtedly be longer and darker. There might be some silver linings, though.

If Andy loses, there are no pillars left to rebuild. The long, dark winter would be rough. But out of that competition for whats next and who leads it, something will arise, Edelen said.

Edelen suggested that it might be wise, should Beshear lose, to rebuild the party around a platform that includes abortion rights and climate change activism and the energy of younger Democrats throughout the state.

Its easy to build a robust infrastructure around a specific election  its all hands on deck for governor  but after that its a real question, Edelen said.

The specter of an unshackled legislature, he said, could also lead to backlash at the ballot box against candidates with an R by their name as opposed to just denying them constitutional amendments like Kentucky voters did with Amendment 1 and the anti-abortion rights Amendment 2 in 2022.

Opinions vary on which issues the party should embrace and shy away from. Unlike Edelen, Stumbo has long thought the party should moderate moving forward.

And factionalism  a relic of the rift between the Beshears and the Lundergans, as well other sub-divisions that proliferated when the Democrats had a larger role in running the state  persists. Former state representative and state central executive committee member Joe Graviss, of Versailles, said its got to go.

It still exists and its a damn shame. Youre not only on the Titanic, youre 80% underwater. Its time to man the lifeboats, not fight for a chair, Graviss said.

What is a lifeboat, in this instance?

Democrats could look to take over high-profile offices like the nonpartisan Lexington mayoral chair, which is now occupied by a moderate registered Republican in Linda Gorton, or the Lexington-centric Sixth Congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. Andy Barr  the last Democrat who ran against Barr was a perennial candidate who supports Russias invasion of Ukraine and who received no support from state-level elected Democrats.

Most observers with strong ties to the party agree where the predominant focus should go: building power across the state in lower-level local and state elections. Its an easy thing to talk about, but another to do.

If you want to help the Democrats, then the leaders lead and they get out in the state and they demonstrate with their shoe leather, their sweat equity and their example of working hard to help local candidates. You cant do that from the Capitol annex or the governors mansion, Graviss said.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy desperately tried to tweet a CNN town hall into existence.



Ramaswamy announced in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, last week that he would be appearing in a CNN town hall in New York on September 12. But sources familiar with the matter told Semafor that the event was never actually confirmed.



One source said that Ramaswamy wrote the tweet after CNN told his campaign that the event would not take place on that day, and that it was an attempt to will it into existence. Apparently Ramaswamys team was so sure that the town hall would happen that some of them bought tickets to the U.S. Open because they planned to be in New York that week.

In a statement, a CNN spokesperson said that CNN does not currently have an event scheduled with Ramaswamy. The information in Mr. Ramaswamys post is incorrect and there is not a CNN Town Hall currently planned for September 12th, the spokesperson told Semafor.

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When shown the statement from CNN, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for Ramaswamys campaign, said that they had confirmed the September 12 slot and even selected a moderator.



Lying on Twitter is just another page Ramaswamy seems to be taking out of the Trump playbook, but too bad for him he doesnt have the power of manifestation to back it up.


A potentially cancerous tumor was removed from a mans bladder before a hospital misplaced the mass, a lawsuit filed in Washington says.

With a family history of bladder cancer, Jeremy Morton-Maxson, 39, of Seattle, was advised by a urologist to have the tumor removed for testing after he started seeing blood in his urine in March 2022, according to the lawsuit and a news release provided to McClatchy News.

Morton-Maxson underwent surgery at the University of Washington Medical Centers Northwest hospital Aug. 17, 2022, and was told the tumor was likely cancer  but a pathologic review was needed to confirm, according to his doctors, a complaint filed in late June says.

However, no clear diagnosis would come for Morton-Maxson, who was left anxiously awaiting the pathology report results for weeks, according to the release.

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On Sept. 2, 2022, the urologist who performed Morton-Maxsons surgery told him the hospital lost his tumor, and it wasnt analyzed, the complaint and release says.

Now Morton-Maxson is suing the University of Washington and those who provided him medical care for negligence and liability, the complaint shows. His medical providers werent identified in the lawsuit, which was first reported by The Seattle Times on Sept. 6.

Anyone who has battled cancer knows the uncertainty surrounding the disease is crippling, and in my case, the uncertainty is amplified by the hospitals mistake, he said in the news release.

I am a young man, and I wake up every morning with this hanging over my head, Morton-Maxson, who describes himself as an outdoor enthusiast, added.

UW Medicine told McClatchy News on Sept. 6 it is unable to comment on pending litigation.

On Aug. 14, UW Medicine said Morton-Maxsons tumor, a papillary lesion, had not been found or reviewed by the hospitals pathology department following his surgery, according to an answer it filed in response to Morton-Maxsons complaint in King County Superior Court.

Morton-Maxsons attorney Austin Neff, of Osborn Machler law firm in Seattle, said in a statement his client was left with nothing but bad options.

If the tumor was malignant, a pathology report would have told us how aggressive the cancer is and help his care team make critical decisions, including what targeted therapies would have served Jeremy best, Neff said in the news release.

Painful procedures or chemotherapy

The loss of Morton-Maxsons tumor left him without a care plan, the complaint says.

As a result, doctors gave Morton-Maxson two options: undergo painful and invasive diagnostic tests once every two months for a bladder examination or undergo preventive chemotherapy, according to the release.

Preventive chemotherapy was not acceptable to Morton-Maxson, who believes its possible the surgery could have eliminated potential cancer, he told the Seattle Times.

Hes since agreed to the alternative option of diagnostic procedures every 60 days and hasnt experienced further urinary problems, according to the newspaper.

Ultimately, Morton-Maxson says UW Medicine hasnt apologized for losing his tumor.

I understand that we all make mistakes  I know how understaffed, overworked and underpaid hospital nurses and technicians are, which I am sure played into this, Morton-Maxson said. But in those instances, you need to hold up your hand and say I messed up and I am sorry.

Morton-Maxson has experienced pain, suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, inconvenience, disability and more after his surgery, the complaint says. He seeks to recover relief for these damages.

It was a violation of the standard of care not to have the papillary lesion removed at surgery undergo pathologic evaluation, UW Medicine said in the answer to his complaint.

However, UW Medicine denies that this violation of the standard of care proximately caused (Morton-Maxsons) claimed damages.

Morton-Maxson said that if UW Medicine owned up to their error and apologized, the issue wouldnt have been brought to court.

Dads ashes lost after funeral directors car was left running  and stolen, suit says

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Babys remains were thrown away before parents could bury their child, lawsuit says
Whistleblower Ryan Vassar tears up during testimony on the third day of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial in the Texas Senate on Sept. 7, 2023. Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune

Editors note: Todays impeachment proceedings have ended and this post will no longer be updated. You can find new articles reporting the latest from Ken Paxtons trial here.

The historic impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton is underway in the Texas Senate. He faces 16 articles of impeachment that accuse him of misusing the powers of the attorney generals office to help his friend and donor Nate Paul, an Austin real estate investor who was under federal investigation.

Paxton pleaded not guilty to all impeachment articles on the trials first day. His defense attorneys have vowed to disprove the accusations and said they will present evidence showing they are based on assumptions, not facts.

The trial could last several weeks and is expected to hinge on Paxtons relationship with Paul. It could also prominently feature details of Paxtons alleged extramarital affair. The proceedings involve a massive cast of elected officials, high-profile lawyers, whistleblowers from within Paxtons office and the attorney generals former personal assistant.

Did AGs staff owe Ken Paxton prior warning before going to the FBI?

Sept. 7, 2023 at 6:28 p.m.

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Ken Paxtons lawyer Mitch Little grilled Ryan Vassar, the former deputy attorney general for legal counsel, on Thursday evening over whether Vassar owed his boss a call before he reported him to the FBI.

Vassar testified that he had no regrets, an exchange that illustrated the latest effort by Paxtons side to paint the whistleblowers as disloyal deputies.

He also pressed Vassar on whether the whistleblowers had any physical evidence they provided to the FBI when they reported Paxton.

"We had no evidence that we could point to but we had reasonable conclusions that we could draw," Vassar said. Vassar added that it was law enforcement's responsibility to investigate and collect evidence.

Little first portrayed Paxton as a kind and gentle boss  descriptions Vassar agreed with  and then asked Vassar if he owed [Paxton] at least the courtesy of a phone call before you reported a man to the FBI without a shred of evidence?" He later suggested that Paxton was reasonable in firing the whistleblowers for reporting him to authorities without consulting him first.

Vassar disagreed with the premise that the whistleblowers needed evidence to report Paxton to the FBI. But he said he did not think he owed General Paxton anything.

Little then asked Vassar that if he could go back in time, would he have reached out to Paxton before going to the FBI?

I wouldnt do anything else differently, Vassar replied.

 Patrick Svitek

Paxton pushed to release confidential FBI records to Paul, Vassar says

Sept. 7, 2023 at 4:27 p.m.

Ken Paxton pushed his employees to release confidential FBI records to Nate Paul in the spring of 2020, Ryan Vassar, former deputy attorney general for legal counsel, testified.

Vassar said Paxton was unpersuaded by his argument that releasing the records, which concerned a 2019 FBI-led raid on Pauls home and business, would upend decades of precedent that information related to ongoing law enforcement investigations is exempt from public disclosure.

He said he believed something bad had happened to Mr. Paul, Vassar said. He felt that Mr. Paul was being railroaded by the FBI and DPS.

In the spring and summer of 2020, Paul and his lawyer alleged to senior deputies at the attorney generals office that Paul had been mistreated by law enforcement during the raid a year earlier. They later alleged that Department of Justice officials had altered search warrants, floating the theory that originally agents got permission to search for drugs but after finding none, illegally changed the warrants to search for evidence of financial crimes.

Pauls lawyers had filed an open records request with the Department of Public Safety, which had sought a ruling from the attorney general, a standard practice for state agencies. Vassar said the office drafted a ruling that recommended the records, which included investigative files that a federal judge had placed under seal, be withheld from Paul. But Paxton disagreed.

He wanted us to find a way to release the information, Vassar said. We were at an impasse.

Eventually, the attorney generals office issued a ruling that took no opinion on whether the records should be released, which Vassar said he had never seen done before. The Department of Public Safety did not release the records.

The House impeachment managers allege, however, that Paxton directed an aide to ferry the documents to Paul. Their exhibits have not provided any proof of this, though an outside lawyer hired by Paxton later subpoenaed state and federal law enforcement agents who planned and participated in the raid. Emails to the outside lawyer, Brandon Cammack, show that Paul provided him with the subpoena targets.

The House team alleges Paul could not have known the identities of these officers without Paxtons help.

 Zach Despart

"It was hurtful": Former AG deputy Ryan Vassar tears up during testimony

Sept. 7, 2023 at 2:50 p.m.

Ryan Vassar, the former deputy AG for legal counsel, tears up when asked about Ken Paxton referring to him as a rogue employee.



The statement of being rogue is contrary to the years that I dedicated my life to the state. https://t.co/2kW2fOu9Yw pic.twitter.com/WKab2Zkc9w  Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) September 7, 2023

Ryan Vassar, Ken Paxtons deputy attorney general for legal counsel, teared up shortly after taking the witness stand Thursday afternoon.

The emotional moment came as House lawyer Rusty Hardin asked Vassar about Paxtons statement that Vassar and the other top Paxton deputies who reported him to the FBI were rogue employees.

It was hurtful, Vassar said, mentioning his eight years in public service by then. The statement of being rogue is contrary to the years that I dedicated my life to the state.

Vassar paused to compose himself and was handed a tissue on the stand and used it to blot his face.

Vassar is the third witness  and the third whistleblower  who has testified at the trial, which started Tuesday.

 Patrick Svitek

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn trusts the Texas Senate to deliver a fair trial

Sept. 7, 2023 at 3:59 p.m.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, praised Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Texas Senates performance in trying Ken Paxton, saying they have been professional and respectful of their role under the constitution.

"The Texas Senate and the Lt. Gov. are doing a good job listening impartially, not prejudging and giving the parties a chance to make their case," Cornyn said speaking with reporters Thursday.

Cornyn called the impeachment allegations disturbing and said he was closely watching the trial. Cornyn served as Texas attorney general from 1999-2002 and has participated in two impeachment trials in the U.S. Senate over former President Donald Trump.

Cornyns comments come in contrast to Paxtons allies  including Sen. Ted Cruz  who assert his impeachment was politically motivated.

Cornyn also pushed back on Paxtons defense that the impeachment goes against the will of voters, saying: I dont think the public had full knowledge of all the facts and circumstances that have been now charged and which are now the subject of the trial.

The voters did not know what they will know by the time the trial is over so I dont make too much of the fact that he actually was reelected, Cornyn said.

 Matthew Choi

Why is the impeachment trial focusing on foreclosures during COVID?

Sept. 7, 2023 at 2:35 p.m.

Much of the Ken Paxton impeachment trial Thursday revolved around the nuances of foreclosure law during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ryan Bangert, one of the key whistleblowers, told state senators that Paxton directed him and other members of the attorney generals leadership team to take three actions that he described as concerning and bizarre.

Among those, Bangert said, was that Paxton told staff to quickly whip together a legal opinion that would prohibit public foreclosure sales from continuing due to COVID-19 restrictions  a decision that wouldve benefitted Nate Paul, a Paxton friend and donor who had dozens of properties facing foreclosure.

Read more about Bangerts testimony here.

It was not a mutiny: Bangert details actions leading up to engaging FBI over Paxton

Sept. 7, 2023 at 10:54 a.m.

Ryan Bangert, deputy first assistant to the attorney general, continued his meticulous testimony detailing his increasing alarm with how Ken Paxton was using the office to benefit his political donor Nate Paul throughout 2020. Bangert ultimately concluded there was nothing more he could do but report the behavior to law enforcement.

I was deeply concerned that the name, authority and power of our office had been, in my view, hijacked to serve the interests of an individual against the interests of the broader public, Bangert testified. ...It was unconscionable.

In June 2020, Bangert recalled, he and Ken Paxton met Nate Paul at his office, got in his car and drove with Paul to Polvos, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Austin. There, Paul shared a laundry list of grievances related to his belief that he was being unfairly targeted by federal and state law enforcement, and a charity that had sued Paul, the Mitte Foundation.

Bangert walked the jury through the summer and fall, as he and other senior staff learned Paxton hired outside counsel to investigate law enforcement who had an open investigation into Pauls businesses. Bangert said he and other senior staff pushed back against the idea to hire outside counsel, but were unsuccessful.

During questioning, House impeachment lawyer Rusty Hardin posed to Bangert many of the arguments that Buzbee used the previous day to try and poke holes in Mateers testimony, such as why the whistleblowers didnt go directly to Paxton to express their concerns with his behavior. But Bangert said there was no question that he was well aware of our objections that had been lodged repeatedly and in various ways for months.

Bangert also rejected an allegation Paxtons lawyer Tony Buzbee posited to Mateer on Wednesday that they were staging a coup in the attorney generals office.

It was not a mutiny, he said. We were protecting the interests of the state and ultimately, I believe, protecting the interests of the attorney general and, in my view, signing our professional death warrant. We understood the gravity of that act."

 Kate McGee and Robert Downen

Bangert says he was "deeply concerned" AG's office had been "hijacked"

Sept. 7, 2023 at 10:32 a.m.

Former deputy first assistant AG Ryan Bangert testifies in Paxtons impeachment trial: I was deeply concerned that the name and authority and power of our office had been, in my view, hijacked to serve the interests of an individual against the interests of the broader public. pic.twitter.com/NmvNkr5Yye  Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) September 7, 2023

Whats this second referral?

Sept. 7, 2023 at 9:53 a.m.

Throughout his cross examination of Jeff Mateer yesterday, Paxton lawyer Tony Buzbee repeatedly mentioned the second referral the Travis County District Attorneys Office made of a Nate Paul complaint.

What was he talking about?

Paul filed two complaints with Travis County prosecutors. The first, filed in June 2020, alleged that Paul had been mistreated by law enforcement officials who authorized and executed a raid on his home and business in August 2019. After prosecutors referred it to the attorney generals office, which they later told investigators they did as a courtesy to Paxton, Paul and his lawyer met with senior agency officials, who concluded the complaint lacked merit.

Pauls second complaint to Travis County, in September 2020, alleged he was the victim of a wide-ranging conspiracy by business rivals, a court-appointed lawyer and a federal judge to steal his properties. The district attorneys office referred the complaint directly to Brandon Cammack, the outside counsel Paxton had hired to assist Paul. Therefore, Mateer and other senior advisers did not know it existed until after they reported concerns about Paxtons behavior to the FBI.

Buzbee argued that Mateer was reckless and misinformed when he spoke with federal agents. If Mateer had known about the second referral, Buzbee reasoned, he would have known that Cammacks inquiry was legitimate, as were the subpoenas he issued to banks that had lent money to Pauls businesses.

What Buzbee did not mention, however, was that no evidence has emerged, in the impeachment trial or any other forum, supporting the second complaint, which Paul code named Operation Tarrytown. And House exhibits reveal that Paul and his lawyer had directed Cammack on how to conduct the probe, including by identifying investigative targets and writing the subpoenas, which he called Operation Deep Sea.

 Zach Despart

The Blast: Paxton fundraises and lawyers sure are pricey

Sept. 7, 2023 at 9:19 a.m.

This is an excerpt from The Blast, our paid newsletter aimed at equipping civically-engaged Texans with insider information about Texas politics. Lead writer Renzo Downey is bringing exclusive daily non-partisan analysis and commentary about the impeachment trial for suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton. Subscribe today.

While he faces the trial of his political life, impeached Attorney General Ken Paxton is appealing to his financial supporters to help fund his campaign.

With your help, I can be back in office by the end of the month, Paxton wrote in a fundraising email sent out today.

Its important to note that Paxton is allowed to pay for his counsel with his campaign funds. In this case, Paxton is being represented by Tony Buzbee, Dan Cogdell and Stone Hilton PLLC  a new firm rushed into reality by OAG employees who are on leave to defend Paxton.

In the words of Buzbee: There are no coincidences in Austin.

During Buzbees cross-examination of Jeff Mateer today, Mateer and Buzbee discussed the hourly rates of outside counsel. Buzbee then recognized that the world-class lawyers for the House managers, Rusty Hardin and Dick DeGuerin, are getting $500 an hour.

Whats your rate? Mateer asked Buzbee.

Well, youll find out soon enough, he responded.

Near the end of the day, Buzbee tagged out to other counsel on Team Paxton while Hardin questioned the prosecutions next witness, Ryan Bangert. Buzbee was sitting next to Eric, scrolling on his phone. During the questioning, an Instagram story by Buzbees wife appeared on his own story, offering a reminder that Buzbee is running for Houston City Council.

Out delivering @tonybuzbee for City Council District G signs today! If you live in district G and would like one message me and we will get one to you!!!

This was an excerpt from the Sept. 6 edition of The Blast. Read the entire issue for free and subscribe today for future editions.

Buzbee claims photos of him are doctored

Sept. 7, 2023 at 9:33 a.m.

Ken Paxtons attorney Tony Buzbee began Thursday with a peculiar accusation: That the media has been doctoring photos to make him appear more tan.

In a post to his Instagram, Buzbee posted photos from two different reputable news organizations that he said show him with dramatically different skin colors. One of the photos appears to be a screenshot from a livestream of the Senate trial.

I am out in the sun a lot, but I dont think my skin has ever been that tan, Buzbee wrote. Why would they doctor my pic? Im sure you could take a guess. So you think the news isnt bias? Think again.

 Robert Downen

Testimony to resume with whistleblower Ryan Bangert

Sept. 7, 2023 at 8:48 a.m.

Day three of Ken Paxtons impeachment trial will resume at 9 a.m. with more testimony from Ryan Bangert, former deputy first assistant attorney general and one of the seven whistleblowers who reported Paxtons allegedly illegal behavior to federal authorities in 2020.

Bangert gave crisp, direct testimony on Wednesday afternoon detailing how Ken Paxton repeatedly asked him to intervene on issues related to his political donor, Nate Paul. Bangert described Paxtons behavior as bizarre, and alarming.

Much of the testimony focused on Paxtons demands that Bangert write an attorney general opinion that would prohibit in-person home foreclosure sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, an opinion that countered the offices and state governments decisions to reopen the state.

He was acting like a man with a gun to his head, Bangert stated. Anxious, desperate, urging me to get this [opinion] out as quickly as humanly possible.

Bangert is a bona fide conservative who belongs to the conservative Federalist Society and at one point worked under Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley when he was that states attorney general, before coming back to Texas to serve in Paxtons office.

After House lawyer Rusty Hardin finishes his questioning, Bangert will face cross-examination from Patxons defense team.

On Wednesday, Paxton lawyer Tony Buzbee led a long, meandering cross-examination of the prosecutions first witness, Jeff Mateer. He attempted to paint him as a rogue employee who staged a coup of the attorney generals office, an accusation Mateer vehemently denied.

Paxton has not appeared on the Senate floor since Buzbee pleaded not-guilty on his behalf Tuesday.

 Kate McGee

Paxton asks for campaign donations amid impeachment trial

Sept. 7, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

As the Ken Paxton impeachment trial continued early Wednesday evening, Paxton sent a fundraising email to supporters, telling them that with your help, I can be back in office by the end of the month.

In the lengthy email published on social media by a Dallas Morning News reporter, Paxton touted his role in pushing back against President Joe Bidens policies and cited crucial victories against Big Tech tyranny and deceitful business practices.

I will NEVER SURRENDER, he added before asking supporters if they can spare $50 to help me stand strong.

The fundraising email came hours after Paxton attorney Tony Buzbee again demurred on questions about the financing of the suspended attorney generals defense. After Buzbee mentioned that lead prosecutors Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin were being paid $500 an hour for their services, witness Jeff Mateer asked Buzbee about his own rate.

"You'll find out soon enough, Buzbee responded.

 Robert Downen

Witness says Paxton's behavior was alarming; defense alleges an attempted coup

Sept. 7, 2023 at 5:00 a.m.

Wednesdays impeachment proceedings were dominated by testimony from Jeff Mateer, the former second-in-command to suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton. He told senators that Paxtons relationship with real estate investor Nate Paul was alarming.

Among the actions that concerned him: Paxtons insistence that the agency write a midnight opinion that declared foreclosure auctions unsafe because of COVID-19, which Paul used days later to stave off the sales of numerous properties he owned.

Mateer said a turning point came when he learned that Paxton had resumed an extramarital affair with a woman who was hired at Pauls company in mid-2020.

[Whos who in the Ken Paxton impeachment trial, from key participants to potential witnesses]

Mateer said he finally understood why the attorney general had fought so hard, and risked so much, to help Paul  including hiring an outside attorney to investigate Pauls business rivals.

During cross examination, Paxtons lead attorney Tony Buzbee accused Mateer of staging a coup against Paxton.

In a meandering, hours-long cross examination, Buzbee often jumped from one line of questioning to the other as he insinuated that Mateer and other senior staff were colluding against Paxton by meeting with the governor and lobbyists from the group Texans for Lawsuit Reform and by moving to have the attorney generals office hire an outside lawyer before approaching the FBI about Paxtons relationship with Paxton donor and friend Nate Paul.

You were involved in staging a coup, werent you? Buzbee asked.

Absolutely not, Mateer responded.
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  The number of pedestrian fatalities in Memphis is causing concern as police are busy investigating a rash of crashes, including one early Wednesday morning in the airport area.

A makeshift memorial stands at the corner of Summer and White Station after another pedestrian was killed Sunday in a hit-and-run crash. Police are looking for the vehicle involved in the crash and its driver.

According to police, there have been 35 pedestrian fatalities so far in 2023 compared to 50 at this same time in 2022.

The high number of pedestrian fatalities has put Memphis at the top of KURU Footwears Most Dangerous U.S. Cities for Pedestrians in 2023. Nashville came in second.

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Its cause Memphis has a extremely high pedestrian fatality rate compared to most other major Metro cities. Its 9.7 pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people, said Victoria Schmid with KURU Footwear.

While the City of Memphis has launched a safety and awareness campaign to combat pedestrian fatalities, Schmid says its a two way street.

I think it can come down to both the pedestrian and drivers, and its up to all of us to make sure the roads are safe, she said.

She says drivers should always be on the look out and yield to pedestrians, but there are things pedestrians should do as well. Staying on the sidewalk, looking both ways before crossing a street, and avoid wearing air pods of looking at your phone can help keep you safe.

Memphis resident Brandon Jackson is now thinking twice wearing headphones when hes out exercising.

Yes, so noise canceling head phones are probably a no-no. Definitely want to take better caution. Because I run so much, I guess Im a little bit more aware than maybe some others may be, but this probably is a no-no, Jackson said.

According to the City of Memphis, in 2022, the most pedestrian fatalities occurred during the hours after dark with almost 70% of all pedestrian fatalities occurring between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Former Vice President Mike Pence cast the 2024 election as a fight for the future of conservatism and his party as he called on fellow Republicans to reject the siren song of populism championed by former President Donald Trump and his followers.

Should the new populism of the right seize and guide our party, the Republican Party weve long known will cease to exist and the fate of American freedom would be in doubt, Pence said Wednesday afternoon in what his campaign plugged as a major speech at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.

Pences plea comes at a critical time for his campaign, which has been struggling to build momentum since its launch. Four months ahead of Iowas kickoff caucuses, Trump remains the races undisputed front-runner, while Pence still polls in single digits. Pence, who served four years as Trumps loyal second-in-command, has tried to paint himself as the most conservative candidate in a crowded Republican field. But he is championing policies that have fallen out of favor with many Republican voters who have embraced Trumps anti-establishment rhetoric, protectionist trade policies and isolationist worldview.

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If we are to defeat Joe Biden and turn America around, the Republican Party must be the party of limited government, free enterprise, fiscal responsibility and traditional moral values, Pence argued in his speech. He compared the rights ascendant populism  generally defined as a focus on ordinary peoples complaints about big government and so-called elites  to the lefts progressivism, calling them fellow travelers on the same road to ruin.

Pence, who broke with Trump before the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and refused to go along with his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, continued the more aggressive posture he has taken in recent weeks. He went after the former president repeatedly by name.

He quipped that the Republican Party did not begin on a golden escalator in 2015, a reference to Trumps campaign launch in New York, and argued that the former president has abandoned the conservative principles he ran on when Pence was his running mate in 2016.

When Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, he promised to govern as a conservative. And together we did. But its important for Republicans to know that he and his imitators on this Republican primary make no such promise today, Pence said. The truth is Donald Trump, along with his imitators, often sound like an echo of the progressives they seek to replace.

The growing faction would substitute our faith in limited government and traditional values with an agenda stitched together by little else than personal grievances and performative outrage, he added.

Trump, responding on his Truth Social site, accused Pence of going to the Dark Side after only speaking well of him for years.

His advisers have led him down a very bad path! Trump said.

The conservative movement and the Republican Party have changed for the better, and nobody wants it to go back to the way it was before, added Trumps adviser, Jason Miller.

The ideological shift is, in part, a reflection of changing demographics as the GOP has increasingly become a party of the working class, while Democrats have attracted college-educated voters. Right-wing populism has also been on the rise across Europe and around the globe in response to factors including globalization and mass migration.

Pence, in his speech, called for a course correction, accusing Trump and his followers of abandoning U.S. allies abroad with isolationist policies and ignoring the national debt.

Beyond Trump, he criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is polling in second, for using the power of the state to punish a corporation for taking a political stand that he disagreed with in his ongoing feud with Disney, one of the largest employers in the state. And he attacked tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who has become a favored punching bag as he has risen in the polls, for his past statements on raising inheritance taxes.

Pence also accused Trump and his imitators of trying to blatantly erode our constitutional norms, referencing Trumps call last year for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution over his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

You know theres already a party that embraces appeasement abroad. Theres already a party that would ignore our national debt, Pence said, adding that this is not conservatism. Its Republicanism that prioritizes power over principles.

Instead, Pence repeatedly hailed the example of President Ronald Reagan, arguing the party must return to his model of limited government, strong national defense and traditional social values, including staunch opposition to abortion rights.

Republicans face a time for choosing, he said, referencing a famous Reagan speech. The future of this movement, of this great party, belongs to one or the other  not both. Thats because the fundamental divide between these two factions is unbridgeable.

The speech comes ahead of the second GOP presidential debate, which will be held in California at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Pence has hinged much of his campaign on doing well in Iowa, which will hold the Republicans first nominating contest next January. But he has also spent significant time campaigning across New Hampshire and South Carolina, which also vote early. Saint Anselm College has long been a popular venue for candidates to deliver major speeches.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP)  Former Vice President Mike Pence cast the 2024 election as a fight for the future of conservatism and called on fellow Republicans to reject the "siren song of populism" championed by former President Donald Trump and his followers.

"Should the new populism of the right seize and guide our party, the Republican Party we've long known will cease to exist and the fate of American freedom would be in doubt," Pence said in what his campaign plugged as a major speech at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College Wednesday afternoon.

Republican presidential candidate former Vice President Mike Pence speaks at St. Anselm College, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

The speech comes at a critical time for Pence, whose campaign has struggled to build momentum since its launch.

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Four months ahead of Iowa's kickoff caucuses, Trump remains the race's undisputed frontrunner. Pence, who served four years as Trump's loyal second-in-command, has tried to paint himself as the race's most conservative candidate as he champions policies that have fallen out of favor with many Republican voters.

Pence linked the right's populism  promoting a hard focus on ordinary people's complaints about big government and so-called elites  to progressivism on the left as "fellow travelers on the same road to ruin."

"The growing faction would substitute our faith in limited government and traditional values with an agenda stitched together by little else than personal grievances and performative outrage," he said.

Pence, who broke with Trump on the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and refused to go along with his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, continued the more aggressive posture he has taken in recent weeks. He went after the former president repeatedly by name.

He quipped that the Republican Party "did not begin on a golden escalator in 2015," a reference to Trump's campaign launch in New York. He argued that the former president has abandoned the conservative principles that he ran on when Pence was his running mate in 2016.

"When Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, he promised to govern as a conservative. And together we did. But it's important for Republicans to know that he and his imitators on this Republican primary make no such promise today," Pence said. "The truth is Donald Trump, along with his imitators, often sound like an echo of the progressives they seek to replace."

Trump, responding on his Truth Social site, accused Pence of going to the "Dark Side" after only speaking well of him for years.

"His advisers have led him down a very bad path!" Trump said.

Pence accused Trump and his followers of abandoning U.S. allies abroad with isolationist policies and ignoring the national debt.

He also criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump's highest-polling rival, for using "the power of the state to punish a corporation for taking a political stand that he disagreed with" in his ongoing feud with Disney, one of the largest employers in the state.

Pence accused Trump and his "imitators" of trying to "blatantly erode our constitutional norms," referencing Trump's call last year for "the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution" over his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

"You know there's already a party that embraces appeasement abroad. There's already a party that would ignore our national debt. There's already a party that wants to marginalize the right to life," Pence said at one point, adding that this is "not conservatism. It's Republicanism that prioritizes power over principles."

Instead, Pence repeatedly hailed the example of President Ronald Reagan, arguing the party must return to his model of limited government, strong national defense and traditional values, including staunch opposition to abortion.

Republicans face a "time for choosing," he said, referencing a famous Reagan speech. "The future of this movement, of this great party, belongs to one or the other  not both. That's because the fundamental divide between these two factions is unbridgeable."

The speech comes ahead of the second GOP presidential debate, which will be held in California at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Pence has hinged much of his campaign on doing well in Iowa, which will hold the Republicans' first nominating contest next January. But he has also spent significant time campaigning across New Hampshire and South Carolina. Saint Anselm College has long been a popular venue for candidates to deliver major speeches.

 Colvin reported from New York.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Pence in NH rails against Trump's 'siren song of populism'
(Editors note: This story was updated on Friday afternoon during the full Board of Trustees meeting.)

Although the Pennsylvania General Assembly has yet to finalize bills directing state funding to four universities for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, Penn State is still looking ahead to the next year  and the land-grant university is hoping for significantly more state support.

The university is set to request a 33% increase, or $120 million more, over this years expected state funding to bring its per-student funding more in line with its peers, officials said. That means Penn State will formally request about $483 million in total appropriations for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which begins next July, compared to the anticipated $363 million its currently awaiting.

That formal appropriation request, which was approved Friday by the universitys full board of trustees, will be submitted to the state next month.

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Still, any future request is far from a guarantee to be granted.

Around this time last year, for example, Penn State sought a total appropriation of $469.5 million  but instead expects to receive $363.3 million from that request. The university had specifically asked for a 47.6% increase in the general support appropriation to help ease in-state tuition and cover core teaching costs; Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed a 7.1% increase instead, and university President Neeli Bendapudi said in March she was appreciative.

The appropriation requests under Bendapudi have been historically high, especially in an environment that saw Penn States general support appropriation flatline for the three consecutive years leading up to this one. But, as the university has often reiterated, big numbers dont necessarily mean the requests should be seen as too big.

When it comes to the general support appropriation, for example, Penn State pointed out its set to receive about $5,757 for each in-state undergraduate student. That does not compare favorably to other higher-education peers in the commonwealth  including Temple ($9,233), Pitt ($9,436) and those in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education ($8,754). The commonwealth also ranks second-to-last nationally when it comes to per-student support for public higher education.

The fact that students attending Pennsylvanias flagship, land-grant university are funded at a level that is between $3,000 and $3,700 less per student than the states other public universities is an imbalance we feel must be addressed, Zack Moore, Penn States vice president for Government and Community Relations, said in a written statement. Over the past 50 years, as Penn States enrollment has increased, there hasnt been a corresponding increase in state funding to keep pace.

All Pennsylvanians benefit from the states investment in Penn State, and additional support is vital to our efforts to provide affordable, high-quality degree programs that are attractive to top students and meet the needs of the states employers.

Heres a closer look at the numbers in the appropriation request:

General Support  $368.1 million (42% increase)  Helps ease in-state tuition and cover core teaching costs.

Agricultural Research and Cooperative Extension  $61.7 million (7% increase)  Helps support research conducted by the College of Agricultural Sciences, while also supporting the Penn State Extension. No tuition dollars are used here.

Emerging and Advanced Technology Initiative  $2 million (New request)  This brand-new initiative is intended to enhance the efficiency, competitiveness and profitability of Pennsylvania agriculture through emerging technology applications and integrations, according to the university. This is also within the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Pennsylvania College of Technology  $33.1 million (15.5% increase)  This PSU affiliate with 4,400 students is seeking funding to create broader access to programs such as nursing, welding, building automation, HVAC, electrical and IT-cybersecurity  all of which are needed in the commonwealth.

Penn State Health and the College of Medicine  $16.1 million (5% increase)  Helps provide medical assistance to lower-income individuals and also helps prepare medical students for careers in primary care and rural medicine.

Invent Penn State  $2.35 million (No increase)  Helps drive economic development by growing Invent Penn States LaunchBox and Innovation Network and helps expand access to the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program for small to medium enterprises.

Pennsylvanias governor is expected to release his 2024-2025 budget proposal in February, and routine appropriation hearings will be held in March. Discussions and negotiations will then continue until a budget is finalized and passed, which is usually targeted for June or July.
The US Department of Defense expects that the first telephone conversation between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Rustem Umierov, the newly appointed Defence Minister of Ukraine, will happen very soon.

Source: Sabrina Singh, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary, cited by Ukrinform

Quote: "I am sure they will talk very soon."

Details: Singh said Washington was aware of Umierovs appointment as Ukraines new Defence Minister, so a telephone conversation will definitely be scheduled very soon.

Moreover, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin is expected to meet with Umierov personally at the next Ramstein meeting, which is due to be held in the second half of this month.

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Background: Ukraines Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) removed former Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov from his post on 5 September and appointed Rustem Umierov to the post the following day. Umierov has experience as a negotiator during high-profile visits and talks.

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 Pentagon considers the Ukrainian forces actions on the battlefield to be extremely effective and has a positive assessment of the results of Ukraines Armed Forces use of Western weaponry.

Source: Sabrina Singh, Deputy Press Secretary of the US Department of Defense, at a briefing, cited by Ukrinform

Quote: "Ukrainians are extremely effective on the battlefield. We see how the progress in their counteroffensive has been achieved. We are watching how and where they [Ukrainian soldiers  ed.] use cluster munitions. We think they are using them efficiently and responsibly."

Details: Singh also remarked that the Ukrainian Defence Forces are highly skilled at using the long-range Storm Shadow missiles and equivalents provided by Ukraines Western allies. She refused to comment, however, on the prospect of the US sending ATACMS missiles to Ukraine.

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Background: On 6 September, Pentagon announces new US$600 million military aid package for Ukraine.

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The Pentagons blueprint for curtailing military suicides, captured in 100-plus pages and 127 recommendations to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, is noteworthy for what it lacks  scant if any reference to preventing, better diagnosing and treating traumatic brain injuries, also known as TBIs.

Brain injuries are widespread among post-9/11 service members and veterans and are believed to be a significant contributor to suicidal behavior.

The document compiled by the so-called Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee forms the militarys response to the tragic problem gripping the military and veterans. From it will flow new preventative approaches and programs for addressing behavioral and mental health issues among service members  all important, to be sure.

But nowhere among the recommendations is there acknowledgment of a growing body of evidence that service members can be suffering from an aggregation of brain injuries over their military careers that can spiral into suicidal crisis.

An Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran shows brain scans from medical procedures he had done, outside the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on August 1, 2022. Green represents portions of the brain affected by toxic brain injury, blue represents traumatic brain injury, yellow represents anxiety and depression, and red represents post traumatic stress.(Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Traumatic brain injuries  which can be mild to severe and occur in training as well as combat  are suspected as a significant cause of suicidal behavior. A study published in the journal JAMA Network Open last month was the latest and one of the largest to shed light on the relationship between brain injuries in the U.S. military and suicide.

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In the expansive assessment of 860,892 soldiers, individuals with a history of military-identified TBI had significantly higher rates of new-onset mental health conditions than those without TBI. Increased risk for suicide was associated indirectly (through new-onset mental health diagnoses) and directly with history of TBI, researchers found.

The study echoes findings from a far-reaching Navy-led analysis released earlier this year. Research published in the journal Frontier on Neurology found that exposure to munitions blast waves from combat and training may be causing brain injuries that result in serious and often deadly ailments such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide.

In their analysis of data collected between 2011 and 2013 from 138,949 service members, researchers found that service members exposed to repeated incoming enemy blast waves had higher risks for PTSD and depression than those exposed to only one incoming blast or no blast.

Repeated exposure to both enemy blast waves and blasts during training or combat also increased the risks of migraines and PTSD.

Years of prior research with animals have already documented an association between exposure to pressure waves from munitions blasts, known as overpressure, and behaviors mimicking depression. But the new findings are particularly important because they validate that the same phenomenon is occurring in U.S. military members, echoing what some advocates for veterans have been saying all along as suicide rates have dramatically climbed.

The current research suggests a similar pattern in humans, which may also inform our understanding of the possible associations between overpressure and suicide that has been posited elsewhere, researchers from the Naval Health Research Center found.

All of which points to having in place effective monitoring of military forces for brain injuries. But there, too, the military is failing service members. A report from the Department of Defenses oversight chief acknowledged the armed forces are inept at screening for traumatic brain injuries and for following up with those who suffer from them.

Taken together, the medical studies and the inspector generals findings are a window into the suicide tragedy. They indicate that many service members may be suffering from brain injuries, while at the same time the military is bad at diagnosing them. The lack of effective screening and follow-up, combined with the prevalence of brain injuries, often described by military officials as the signature injury of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, could at least partially explain the suicide crisis.

Military leaders are finally beginning to take more seriously the issue of blast waves in combat and training, this after 20-plus years in the global war on terror and as suicide rates among vets and service members have soared. Last August, for example, the Pentagon published a plan for its Department of Defense Warfighter Brain Health Initiative. It seeks to develop policies that prevent, identify and treat brain damage caused by combat or by repeated shakes and blasts during training.

But much more must be done. An essential first step is for Secretary Austins suicide prevention team to prioritize bringing on board medical experts versed in brain injuries unique to service members and work with them and the imaging industry to develop much more effective diagnostic tools.

Somewhere today a service member or veteran is ailing and will be treated for depression, PTSD or behavioral issue when what they are suffering from, and what is steering them to a suicidal precipice, is undiagnosed brain injury. Thats a tragedy within a tragedy.

Frank Larkin is a former Navy SEAL and served as the 40th U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms. He is the father of a Navy SEAL son who died by suicide. Larkin is chair of Warrior Call. Follow Warrior Call on Facebook and X.

Veterans in need of emergency counseling can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988 and selecting option 1 after connecting to reach a VA staffer. In addition, veterans, troops or their family members can also text 838255 for help, or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for assistance.

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Bruce Springsteen announced that he's postponing shows on his tour to take care of a medical issue.

Bruce Springsteen announced that he's postponing shows on his tour to take care of a medical issue.

Bruce Springsteen announced on Wednesday that his remaining September tour dates will be postponed for medical reasons. The exact health issue: peptic ulcer disease.

But what exactly is peptic ulcer disease and why would treatment require the Boss to miss his upcoming shows? We asked gastroenterologists to explain what the condition entails, as well as its potential causes, treatments and other important things to know.

What is peptic ulcer disease?

Peptic ulcer disease is a break in the lining of the stomach or intestine caused by increased acid, Dr. Judith Kim, a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Health, told HuffPost via email. It affects about 5-10% of the population.

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Basically, peptic ulcer disease is a fancy medical way of saying that someone has stomach ulcers or duodenal ulcers, which are defects in the first part of the small intestine (known as the duodenum).

It almost looks like a little crater in the lining, said Dr. Aaron Martin, a gastroenterologist at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia. The symptoms can vary, and sometimes people can be asymptomatic. But the most common would be pain in the epigastric area, right at the top of your belly in the center, just below where your sternum is.

In addition to abdominal pain, common symptoms of peptic ulcer disease include nausea, blood in the stool and poor appetite or feeling full quickly after eating.

What causes it?

The most common cause of peptic ulcer disease worldwide is the bacteria H. pylori, said Dr. Harmony Allison, a gastroenterologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. The second most common cause is nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen, naproxen and aspirin.

When H. pylori infects your stomach, the bacteria can damage the protective lining and weaken it. As a result, your stomach acid can cause ulcers in the lining. Although theres still some uncertainty around how H. pylori infection is spread, health experts believe the germs can be passed from one person to another through contact with saliva (like kissing), vomit or stool (as with fecal contamination).

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, commonly known as NSAIDs, include Advil, Aleve and Motrin but not, as some mistakenly believe, Tylenol. Another common misconception around the cause of peptic ulcer disease is that it stems from certain foods or stress.

I still frequently hear people say things like, My job is so stressful, Im going to give myself an ulcer, Martin said. Although we do think of stress as contributing to the development of ulcers, that doesnt typically refer to the stress of daily life. Its more the stress of someone who is very sick and has been in the hospital in critical care for a long period of time.

There are additional risk factors and less common causes as well.

The incidence of peptic ulcer disease increases with age, Kim said. There is similar prevalence in men and women, though stomach ulcers tend to be more common in women and ulcers in the intestine more common in men. Smoking and alcohol use are risk factors for ulcers. Other medications like steroids or blood thinners have been associated with ulcers as well.

How is it diagnosed and treated?

We can make a presumptive diagnosis based on somebodys symptoms and history, so if someone says they have pain in that area and theyve been taking a lot of ibuprofen, sometimes we can make a presumptive diagnosis that thats what they have, Martin said.

A breath or stool test can also help identify peptic ulcer disease caused by H. pylori.

But to make an official ulcer diagnosis, we perform an endoscopy  look in their stomach with a camera while someone is asleep, Martin said.

An upper endoscopy allows doctors to directly visualize the patients digestive tract.

If the ulcer is actively bleeding at the time of endoscopy, there are techniques and tools we can use to stop the bleeding, said Dr. Kevin Cronley, a gastroenterologist with Gastro Health in Cincinnati.

In rare cases, peptic ulcer disease might require surgical treatment, but most of the time there are less invasive options.

Ulcers are typically treated with proton pump inhibitors which decrease the acid produced by the stomach, Kim said. Usually we expect healing within 4-8 weeks of treatment. If there is a H. pylori infection, people are treated with a course of antibiotics as well. In addition, avoiding NSAIDs or other irritants like tobacco and alcohol help recovery.

Most people with peptic ulcer disease can be treated as an outpatient and recover by taking medications like Prilosec and Nexium to suppress acid production. But if there are complications, you might require hospitalization.

How can you prevent ulcers? What should you do if you think you might be developing one?

Some ulcers can be prevented by avoiding NSAIDs or by treating H. pylori infection early before ulcers develop, Kim said. Avoiding smoking and alcohol can also help to prevent ulcer disease.

Its important to take action if you suspect you might be developing an ulcer. Your primary care provider can help guide you through the initial evaluation and steps and refer you to a gastroenterologist.

If you have persistent pain  most days of the week for more than one week  or nausea, a bloating sensation or other discomfort, it is reasonable to discuss with your primary care provider, Allison said. If you notice black stools or blood in your stools, you may want to seek more immediate attention.Those with known risk factors or the above symptoms should not delay evaluation.

Peptic ulcer left untreated can result is significant complications including GI hemorrhage and perforation of the bowel, Cronley said. It is very important to seek urgent evaluation by a gastroenterologist if peptic ulcer disease is suspected. If caught early, it can very easily be treated and prevent significant complications.

Related...
It did not take long for novelists to start tackling the pandemic. Just as the events of 9/11 became a way for writers to end books (sometimes abruptly), so COVID-19 provides a convenient out. Though neither are COVID novels per se, Ian McEwans Lessons and Nina Stibbes One Day I Shall Astonish the World both provide readers with a strong sense of the devastating loneliness that the lockdowns created for some people, particularly older people and single people.

But for other authors like Anne Tyler, whose book French Braid ends with a grandfathers opportunity to live with his grandson thanks to the pandemic, the pandemic sometimes upended peoples living arrangements for the better. Thats also the case in Ann Patchett s novel Tom Lake, set during the lockdown.

In the book, Lara, the protagonist, has three daughters in their 20s who all return to the familys cherry farm in northern Michigan as a result of COVID-19. With time on their hands, Lara begins telling her daughters the story of her long-ago acting career and a brief affair with a movie star.

Lara and her husband usually have workers who come to help with the harvest. But in their stead, the family works together all day to get the work done. Nell, her youngest, just finished her last year of college. Maisie is studying to be a veterinarian and all of her classes are online. Emily, the oldest, is going to take over the farm some day and is engaged to the young man who lives on the next farm over. Lara feels guilty about how much she enjoys having all her girls home, even as she knows they are missing out on some valuable experiences.

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Laras experience was not unique. There were plenty of parents who thought they would never get to spend long periods of time with their adult children again, but the pandemic brought them home. It is funny how, for authors who want to write about extended families, there often has to be some precipitating event  a family reunion, a funeral, a wedding that brings everyone back under the same roof for a period of time. And the pandemic provided that, writ large.

While no one wants to think of the pandemic as a happy occasion, there were groups of people for whom things turned out OK. In an analysis of General Social Survey data for the Institute for Family Studies, Lyman Stone noted that For most people, family forms the core of their social support system. And this leads to one of the most important findings  unhappiness (during the pandemic) rose just 8 percentage points for married young adults, versus 18 percentage points for the unmarried.

Stone went on to say, In fact, given the sample sizes involved, the confidence intervals for married people before and after the pandemic actually overlap: its not certain that unhappiness actually rose for married people at all, after controlling for their other traits. Marriage, then, served as a valuable buffer against unhappiness.

To be fair, it must be noted that couples with young children tended to be more unhappy during the pandemic, but those with adult children, who had different challenges, did not.

And of course, rural residents also experienced more happiness than people who lived in cities. The lockdowns were typically more strict in cities and folks in the countryside had more ways of getting outside and even continuing with life as usual. Having a farm to tend to, or helping animals give birth (as one of the daughters does in the Patchett novel) continued in person even while plenty of white collar jobs disappeared or became remote.

These findings run counter to some of the storylines were hearing today, about how the pandemic and lockdowns were responsible for a groundswell of rage that is fueling bad behavior today. One neuropsychologist quoted by Axios said, The pandemic really did change us very inherently because, for the first time in anyones lifetime, it was like every man for himself. You know, we were fighting over toilet paper. It broke life as we knew it.

Related

While everyones experience was different, especially people who lost loved ones to COVID-19, a full accounting of what transpired must include those whose experience during this time was largely positive, like the characters in Patchetts novel.

As much as the lockdowns were terrible public policy, they tended to reinforce the importance of more traditional life paths  the importance of marriage and family and work. Lara is one of the only middle-aged female characters Ive come across in novels recently who is genuinely happy with her life  few or no regrets about marriage, children or career. It is almost countercultural the way Patchett has made Lara both complicated and also satisfied. And it is striking  and worth pondering  how a most trying set of circumstances led to such a portrait.

Naomi Schaefer Riley is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Deseret News contributor and the author of No Way to Treat a Child: How the Foster Care System, Family Courts, and Racial Activists Are Wrecking Young Lives, among other books.
Peter Navarro , a former White House adviser to Donald Trump , has been found guilty on two contempt-of-Congress charges for defying a subpoena from the House Jan. 6 select committee.

A jury returned the unanimous conviction Thursday after a four-hour deliberation, which followed a two-day trial featuring testimony from three former Jan. 6 committee staffers. Each count carries a one-year maximum sentence, and Navarro intends to appeal the verdict.

Navarro faced the two charges for what prosecutors say was his brazen defiance of the select committees effort to obtain evidence about his knowledge and involvement in Trumps bid to subvert the 2020 election. Each charge carries a maximum of one year in prison.

Our government only works when people play by the rules and it only works when people are held accountable when they do not, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi during closing arguments Thursday. When a person intentionally and deliberately chooses to defy a congressional subpoena, that is a crime."

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The defendant chose allegiance to former President Trump over compliance with a subpoena, Aloi continued. The defendant chose defiance.

The two-day trial, which included fewer than three hours of witness testimony  all from the former staffers of the Jan. 6 committee  belied the torturous 15-month journey to put the case before a jury at all.

Navarro has long claimed that Trump told him to defy the committees Feb. 9, 2022 subpoena and assert executive privilege, a demand he said conferred immunity from having to cooperate with Congress investigation. For months, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta wrestled with intricate questions about how executive privilege might apply to a former adviser to a former president, whether Navarros belief that Trump had invoked the privilege constituted a defense to the charges and how the Justice Departments decision to charge him compares with its longstanding views of immunity for some senior executive branch officials from compelled congressional testimony.

Mehta ruled that legal precedents barred Navarro from arguing that he believed executive privilege excused him from complying with the select committee. Mehta also agreed that Navarro had failed to present any persuasive evidence that Trump had in fact asserted privilege.



Ultimately, all that prosecutors had to prove was that he deliberately chose not to testify before the committee or hand over the documents the committee demanded. Navarro and his attorneys appeared resigned to having few defenses  they presented no witnesses and only briefly cross-examined one prosecution witness  and instead are pinning their hopes on an appeal that might invalidate some of the longstanding limits on arguments for refusing to comply with a subpoena.

During the brief trial, prosecutors walked the jury through the timeline of Navarros receipt of the committees subpoena, his email exchanges with committee staffer Daniel George and his ultimately refusal to appear.

The committee repeatedly told Navarro it anticipated his cooperation and that, even if Trump had, in fact, claimed executive privilege, he was still required to appear and assert the privilege on a question-by-question basis. And Trumps purported privilege invocation did not absolve Navarro from having to produce documents, they added, or at least submit a log of records he claimed were off-limits to the committee.

Committee staffers also described the reason it wanted Navarros cooperation: While serving as Trumps trade adviser and a key player in the administrations Covid response, Navarro had turned his focus to the 2020 election. He repeatedly took to TV and publicly claimed to have extensive evidence of election fraud that could warrant overturning the 2020 election and claimed to have been an architect of a strategy  dubbed the Green Bay Sweep  to have congressional Republicans delay the certification of Joe Bidens victory. Navarro claimed, at the time, to have secured support from more than 100 lawmakers for the plan. And Trumps infamous Dec. 19, 2020 tweet  exhorting followers to descend on Washington for a wild protest against the election results  began with a reference to Navarros post-election report that included numerous discredited claims of election fraud.

After Navarro refused the panels demands, the House held him in contempt of Congress, forwarding the case to the Justice Department, which charged Navarro in June 2022. Those charges came seven months after a close Trump ally, Steve Bannon, was similarly charged for defying the Jan. 6 select committee. Bannon was convicted in July 2022 and is fighting the matter on appeal.

Navarros attorney, Stanley Woodward, had few arguments he was permitted to make to the jury. But he accused the government of hyping the case against Navarro by invoking the harrowing violence of Jan. 6 in front of the jury. He also argued that prosecutors had failed to prove that Navarro, despite failing to appear or provide documents, had done so willfully, a legal standard that requires his decision to be deliberate and intentional.

He said prosecutors presented no evidence about where Navarro actually was when he declined to appear before the committee, suggesting that the Justice Department failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Navarros decision to blow off the committee was deliberate.

Where was Dr. Navarro on March 2, 2022? Woodward said, referring to the date Navarro was due to appear before the select committee for a deposition. We dont know. ... Why didnt the government present evidence to you about where Dr. Navarro was or what he was doing? Something stinks.

In a rebuttal argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Crabb urged jurors to reject Woodwards argument.

Who cares where [Navarro] was? What matters is where he wasnt, Crabb said. He wasnt where he was legally required to be.
A Pittsburgh Public Schools employee is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl.

Bryan Deering, 45, of Baldwin Borough, faces a long list of charges including rape, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children, and unlawful contact with a minor.

The girl told police that one night in August, Deering gave her alcohol and marijuana at his home and sexually assaulted her.

Its unclear how much interaction he had with students, but PPS officials did let parents know that as soon as they found out about the charges, he was put on administrative leave.

Deering was placed in the Allegheny County Jail and is due back in court on Sept. 12 for a preliminary hearing.

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A Pittsburgh Public Schools spokesperson sent Channel 11 the following statement:

The District has been notified of the arrest of a staff member related to inappropriate contact with a minor, stemming from an incident that occurred inside a private home located outside of the city. Upon notification of the alleged incident, the employee was immediately placed on administrative leave August 31, 2023. The employees last day inside of the building was August 25, 2023. Families of students who attend the school where the employee was assigned have been notified of the arrest this evening via the Districts parent notification system. As this is a personnel matter and criminal investigation, no further information is available.

When we went to Bryan Deerings home, no one came to the door.

And when we called him on the phone, no one picked up.

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If youre visiting downtown Fresno or living or working there, chances are youre always looking for someplace new or different to eat.

Several new mom-and-pop restaurants have opened  or reopened  recently. They sell a range of foods, including Korean corn dogs, boba tea, classic sandwiches, and wine and beer.

Heres a look at whos doing what.

BrownBag

Chris Dias holds a hot Italian sandwich at his new sandwich shop, BrownBag, which opened next to the U.S. Citizen & Immigration field office on P Street in downtown Fresno, on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023.

After selling the Sequoia Sandwich Company in Clovis eight years ago, owner Chris Dias never thought hed open another restaurant. Hed stick to catering the trays of sandwiches that are his bread and butter.

But then a little spot popped up in a newish building between the new IRS office and the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services on P Street, near Ventura Avenue.

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The rent was reasonable, he said. Everything just lined up to make it feel just right.

Now, Dias sells sandwiches and salads to walk-in customers too at BrownBag.

He still does catering  as do his neighbors, Tapsi with its Filipino fast food and Golden Tamale with Mexican food. That way the three businesses dont have to rely solely on foot traffic in an area with only paid parking. They also share some outdoor tables.

BrownBags menu features hot and cold sandwiches, ranging from $11 to $12.50.

The most popular? Either the turkey with avocado on a molasses bread, or the hot Italian sandwich with salami, pepperoni, roast beef and ham.

A hot Italian sandwich from BrownBag, a new sandwich shop that recently opened next to the U.S. Citizen & Immigration field office on P Street in downtown Fresno, on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023.

Sandwiches are served on locally made Maxs bread, usually on a 7-inch sourdough roll.

What makes it special is the bread we put it on, Dias said of the sandwiches. We went through every one of them to find the perfect roll.

Soups are coming in the fall, and locally made giant Crave Cookies are available too.

Details: BrownBag is at 744 P St., #102. Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

Mochilicious Society

The Mochilicious Society food trailer, gets started at its grand opening on Tuolumne Street in front of The Grand and near Warnors Theatre in downtown Fresno on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023.

What do you get when the owners of a boba tea spot, a Korean corn dog maker and the baker of French macaron cookies get together?

A new food truck.

Mochilicious Society debuted last weekend and will be regularly parked outside The Grand 1401, the historic skyscraper at Fulton and Tuolumne streets.

Seth Vann, the owner of Vanntastic Sweets has been selling his macarons (the little French sandwich cookies with filling inside) via boba shops and other places for years.

He made a deal with The Grands landlord to provide a lunch option for the 300 or so people working in the building, since there are not many restaurants nearby.

Meanwhile, he was also selling his cookies at MilkT Society (a boba shop with three locations in Fresno), and Mochilicious (a mochi donut and Korean corn dog shop at Chestnut and Butler avenues).

We ended up doing a lot of collaboration with each other and now were just one company, Vann said.

Now the truck is available for events and parked weekdays in front of The Grand for the public.

A Korean corndog with potato topping and turkey pesto melt from the Mochilicious Society food trailer located outside The Grand in downtown Fresno on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023.

The menu includes food and drink from the three businesses: all kinds of boba drinks, mochi donuts, macarons and Korean corn dogs. There are also sandwiches, including a turkey pesto melt and breakfast ones on English muffins.

Those trendy Korean corn dogs?

Theyre insanely popular, Vann said. We always have lines at the (559) Night Market.

At the truck, they come in beef, chicken, turkey, hot link and mozzarella versions. They are then dipped in batter and rolled in creative toppings such as hot Cheetos, potatoes, ramen, sweet potatoes, cornflakes and more.

The boba shops and Mochilicious will start carrying much of the menu, too.

Details: Mochilicious Society will be parked at Tuolumne and Fulton streets from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. You can also find them at several farmers markets, including the Tower District market on Thursday evenings.

Saint J Wine

Saint J Wine is reopening this week in the Peerless Building in downtown Fresno.

Saint J Wine, formerly known as Saint Joaquin, is the wine bar in the Peerless Building at Broadway and Amador streets that opened in 2021 and later expanded in 2022.

Its been closed since early July, but reopens with Art Hop at 4 p.m. Thursday.

The bar was sold by its original owners, who also recently sold their rooftop bar, Quail State, this summer. When new owner Mike Wass and manager Andrew Ueland (both connected to Clovis bar of Hook & Ladder) took over Saint J, they closed during the transition.

The reopening took longer than expected. The pair learned right before the planned mid-August opening that the portion of the building Saint J had expanded into didnt have the right permit from Alcoholic Beverage Control, according to an Instagram post. Rather than allow drinks only in half the business, they postponed the opening.

But now Saint J is fully legal and ready to serve.

Theyre not changing much. Trivia nights will be back and theyre working on getting live jazz on Sundays back, Ueland said.

They still have smalls bites such as meat and cheeses, though they have tweaked the drinks.

We are just a wine and beer bar now, he said. We still have our natural wines, but weve expanded to traditional wines as well.

Details: Saint J Wine is at 1755 Broadway St #106. Hours: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Downtown Oak

Downtown Oak is a sandwich and coffee shop that recently reopened on the corner of Kern and L streets in downtown Fresno. Damage from a vandal closed the business for four months

This little sandwich shop at Kern and L streets reopened last week after a vandal broke in and damaged the place enough to shut it down for four months.

Regular Bee readers may remember reading about Downtown Oaks opening  and then its reopening  in these pages.

It serves sandwiches, a limited breakfast menu, snacks and drinks.

The business is still getting on its feet after the break in. The cash registers were stolen and havent been replaced yet, so its operating with cash and Cash App.

Details: Downtown Oak is at 901 L St. For now, its open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, though those hours will eventually expand.

Coming soon

Although a sign is up, the Garlishious Deli has yet to open at its location on Fresno Street in downtown Fresno, on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023.







There are more places in the works also.

Downtown regulars may have noticed a new sign at the former Downtown Deli spot near Fresno and P streets.

Garlishious Deli isnt open yet, but its coming.

Its a sandwich shop by the makers of Garlish, a garlic spread with varying degrees of garlicky punch. Its found in at least 70 grocery stores.

The company recently moved its manufacturing operations to Fresno from Sacramento. No word yet on when the deli will open.

Zoe Sanchez samples lemon granita Italian ice served in cored lemons from Gelateria Del Centro and enjoyed during ArtHop in August. Co-owners Jordan Sanchez and Tami Waters hope to open the shop in September.

Gelateria Del Centro is also getting ready to open. Its a gelato shop by a former Bitwise employee that will serve the icy Italian treat.

Its next to Fulton Street Coffee (which itself recently expanded), in one of the spaces thats part of the Warnors Center for the Performing Arts.

The owners are hoping to open in October. They are also working on a bicycle that serves gelato at events.

Frida Cafe is also still in the works. The coffee shop with the Frida Kahlo artist theme is planning to open inside the historic Fresno Water Tower downtown, along with a visitors center.

Its taking a lot longer than expected. Work is currently underway on rerouting the irrigation system and the wrought-iron fence at the water tower.

Teresa Choi of the Mochilicious Society food trailer takes a bite of a Nothin but Mozzy Cheese Korean corndog outside the trailer during their grand opening next to The Grand in downtown Fresno on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023.

Macarons are displayed in the Mochilicious Society food trailer outside The Grand in downtown Fresno on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023.

A Thai tea with boba from the Mochilicious Society food trailer outside The Grand in downtown Fresno on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023.

BrownBag is a new sandwich shop which opened next to Golden Tamale and Tapsi Filipino Food in downtown Fresno, on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023.
During this summer of dangerous, record-shattering heat almost no one on Earth escaped climate change-fueled temperatures, a new analysis has found.

Researchers from climate research group Climate Central mapped the influence of climate change on temperatures in more than 200 countries and territories.

They found that between June and August, 98% of the global population  7.95 billion people  experienced high temperatures made at least twice as likely by climate change.

In every country we could analyze, including the Southern Hemisphere where this is the coolest time of year, we saw temperatures that would be difficult  and in some cases nearly impossible  without human-caused climate change, Andrew Pershing, lead author of the report and vice president of science for Climate Central, said in a statement.

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Nearly half of humanity, around 3.9 billion people, experienced 30 days or more of heat made at least three times more likely by planet-warming pollution, according to the report. This included the US states of Hawaii, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana and Florida.

But the impacts were much starker in poorer countries.

Those that produce the lowest amounts of planet-heating pollution experienced between three to four times more summer days with very strong climate fingerprints than the worlds largest economies, the report found.

The report findings help show the impacts of climate change on human lives, Pershing told CNN.

There has always been a big gap between the global statistics that scientists use to track climate change and the daily experience of people around the world, he said.

A man cools off at a temporary misting station deployed by the city in the Downtown Eastside due to a heat wave, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Aug. 16, 2023. - Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press/AP

One of the big lessons from this summer is that theres nowhere to hide from the heat, he added.

Theres no break and theres no escape. You look around, there really is not a place in the world that is safe from climate change. I think wed all like to imagine that we could move somewhere and everything would be great, but every place is feeling that impact.

The report comes on the heels of new data released Wednesday by the European Unions Copernicus Climate Change Service which found that this summer was the planets hottest on record by a significant margin.

June, July and August all broke global records for the hottest such months.

Both July and August were 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial levels, according Copernicus  marking the breach, albeit temporary, of a key threshold scientists have long warned the world must stay under to prevent the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

While scientists are more focused on long-term global temperature trends, these temporary breaches provide an alarming preview of what the world can expect summers to be like at 1.5 degrees of warming.

Humanitys exposure to heat will only increase unless planet-warming pollution is cut to zero, Pershing said.

While this summer is shocking, it isnt surprising. We knew it was coming. And we know that as long as we keep burning coal, oil, and natural gas, our chance of encountering unusually hot conditions will continue to grow.

CNNs Laura Paddison contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Poland has an active interest in buying F-15EX Eagle II fighters, according to the jet's manufacturer Boeing. This announcement comes amid continued uncertainty about the U.S. Air Force's F-15EX plans and a massive Polish defense spending spree that has already included the purchase of new combat aircraft .

Boeing made an announcement about its pitch to sell an unspecified number of F-15EXs to Poland earlier today. To date, the only customer for the Eagle II is the U.S. Air Force, which has received two of these fighters already and is currently planning to acquire a total fleet of 104 of the jets. Last month, the Indonesian government made a formal commitment to buy 24 examples of a country-specific F-15EX derivative known as the F-15ID, but that deal has not yet been finalized.

"Polands interest in the F-15EX confirms its dedication to the preparedness and effectiveness of its military forces," Tim Flood, Boeing's senior director of Global Business Development for Europe and Americas, said in a statement. "The F-15EX offers superior interoperability, supportability, and affordability along with a robust industry plan that would support Polands goal of developing independent defense capabilities."

A US Air Force F-15EX Eagle II. USAF

"The F-15EX is the worlds most advanced fighter with unmatched capability, lethality, and survivability and is the right fit to strengthen Polands security needs," Rob Novotny, the director of Business Development for Boeings F-15 program, also said. "Through enhanced interoperability with U.S. and NATO forces, capacity for technology growth, and a 20,000+ hour economic operational airframe life, Poland can expect the F-15EX to win in existing and future threat environments."

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The F-15EX is the most advanced version of the F-15 in production today and features a slew of improved features and capabilities over older Eagles, including a highly capable active electronically-scanned array (AESA) radar and an advanced electronic warfare suite . Boeing regularly touts the jet's significant combat range and payload capacity compared to other U.S. and foreign fighters on the market.

One of the US Air Force's two F-15EXs seen loaded with a mixture of AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) cruise missiles. This underscores the aircraft's significant payload capacity. USAF

Boeing's press release today regarding Poland's interest in the F-15EX also notably reiterates a long-standing talking point about the Eagle II's "ability to carry advanced hypersonic weapons."

How exactly the F-15EX might fit into the Polish Air Force's modernization plans is not immediately clear. At present, its tactical combat jet fleets consist of Block 52+ F-16C/D Viper and MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters and Su-22 Fitter swing-wing combat jets . Poland is also in the process of acquiring F-35A Joint Strike Fighters and has recently begun receiving South Korean FA-50GF light combat jets. Authorities in Poland plan to ultimately retire the MiG-29s, some of which have already been transferred to Ukraine , and the Su-22s.

A Polish Air Force MiG-29 Fulcrum, in the foreground, and one of its Block 52+ F-16C Viper, in the background. Polish Armed Forces

Even a relatively small fleet of F-15EXs could offer capabilities to the Polish Air Force that its existing F-16C/Ds or its future stealthy F-35As can't necessarily provide. As already noted, the Eagle II offers significantly greater range and payload capacity that could be particularly useful for Poland when it comes to protecting the country's airspace, where stealth would not necessarily be as critical, and increasing its capacity to conduct stand-off strikes against surface targets. This is more or less the same argument that the U.S. Air Force initially presented to justify its own F-15EX acquisition plan, as The War Zone has explored in depth in the past.

The long-range and stand-off strike capabilities the F-15EX offers would be particularly useful in the context of expeditionary operations, but are also applicable to fighting from one's home turf in some respects, as well.

It's also worth noting that the U.S. Air Force has significantly truncated its planned F-15EX purchases and otherwise curtailed the program, as you can read more about here .

https://twitter.com/BoeingDefense/status/1691888589070573845

For Poland, specifically, F-15EX could be part of the equation when it comes to the country possibly joining NATO's nuclear weapons sharing arrangements. Under that program, the U.S. military has B61 nuclear gravity bombs stockpiled at multiple bases across Europe and has procedures in place to make those weapons available to certain members of the alliance in the event of a sufficiently severe crisis.

The F-15EX is derived from the F-15E Strike Eagle, which the U.S. Air Force has already cleared to employ multiple variants of the B61 , including the newest B61-12 version . The Strike Eagle is also one of only a select number of delivery platforms that will be able to take advantage of the new precision guidance capability found on the B61-12. F-16s configured to employ B61s, which form the bulk of NATO's current nuclear-capable fleets, will only be able to use these bombs in their unguided mode. Nuclear-capable F-35As will be able to make use of the guided functionality

A B61 nuclear gravity bomb loaded into a special secure "vault" in a hangar somewhere in Europe. An F-16 Viper fighter is seen in the background. DOD

Poland is not currently a member of NATO's nuclear weapon sharing program , but has expressed an interest in at least hosting weapons in the past. This policy position has been underscored by concerns over Russia's decision last year to forward-deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus in cooperation with that country's military .

"NATO is a nuclear treaty organization; it should be much more proactive and stronger to the Russians," Polish Gen. Rajmund Andrzejczak, Chief of the General Staff of the country's armed forces, said just this week at the Karpacz Economic Forum.

There is certainly a question of whether or not Poland can afford to acquire, operate, and sustain four distinct fleets of combat jets, F-15EXs, F-35As, F-16C/Ds, and FA-50GFs. At the same time, the country has long been engaged in a massive modernization effort across its entire armed forces, an effort that has only expanded in the wake of Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine. Just in the past year or so, the Polish government has moved ahead with a number of major defense deals, including large purchases of fixed-wing aircraft , helicopters, tanks and other armored vehicles , and much more.

A South Korean FA-50GF light combat jet for Poland, one of the country's most recent major defense acquisitions. KAI

Poland is now expected to order up to 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, another Boeing product, valued at around $12 billion, which would make it the second largest operator of the type behind the U.S. Army. The country is also in the process of establishing a very robust integrated air defense system that is set to include billions of dollars worth of U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air missile systems and a modern networked command and control backbone called the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS).

In addition, Poland has been establishing important partnerships with foreign defense contractors. Just this week, Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) and Javelin Joint Venture (JJV), a partnership between Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the future production of certain components of the Javelin anti-tank missile and assembly of those weapons in Poland. Javelin has become something of a household name worldwide thanks to its heavy use by Ukrainian forces in the current conflict with Russia.

"Boeing has been present in Poland for more than 30 years," the company highlighted in its own press release today regarding the F-15EX. "With headquarters in Warsaw, Boeing Digital Solutions & Analytics operations in Gdansk and Parts & Distribution Services in Rzeszow, Boeing employs more than 1,000 people in Poland and is currently establishing strong engineering capability in all of its three locations."

Furthermore, Poland is now the top spender on defense as a percentage of GDP within the NATO alliance, beating out even the United States. This year, the country expects to spend 3.9 percent of its GDP on defense compared to the U.S. government's 3.49 percent, according to official NATO data . Poland is one of just 11 of NATO's 31 members that meet the alliance's two percent GDP defense spending goal and one of just three (the others being the United States and Greece) that spends three percent of its GDP or more in this regard. Polish authorities have said that they are looking to eventually push this spending to at least four percent of the country's GDP.

A graph showing NATO member state defense spending by percentage of GDP in 2014 and 2023 (estimated). NATO

Given the aforementioned situation with the U.S. Air Force's F-15EX program, a sale of Eagle IIs could also be very important for Boeing. The company announced earlier this year that it would be ending production of its other flagship fighter, the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet , in 2025 and refocusing those resourcing into other current and future projects. If it were to purchase Eagle IIs, Poland would become the first European operator of any F-15 variant since the original version was introduced in the 1970s, too.

It remains to be seen whether or not the Polish Air Force ultimately acquires F-15EXs and, if so, in what quantities. At the same time, the acquisition of these aircraft would certainly fit in many ways with the country's already ambitious defense modernization plans.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com
(Bloomberg) -- Poland, Hungary and Slovakia are continuing to push for extending a ban on grain imports from Ukraine until the end of the year, warning of disruptions to their domestic markets, according to people familiar with the issue.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The three states along with Bulgaria and Romania only allow the transit of Ukrainian grain through their territory in an arrangement that expires on Sept. 15. Bulgaria, though voicing concerns, remained flexible at a meeting of ambassadors from European Union countries Wednesday, said the people who asked not to be named on confidential talks.

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Another official said that Romania will not seek a unilateral ban. Bulgaria will insist on extending the ban for sunflower, unrefined oil and powdered milk, but not for wheat, Agriculture Minister Kiril Vatev said last month.

Finding a solution is becoming more urgent as the deadline nears. Janusz Wojciechowski, European commissioner for agriculture, wants the ban prolonged until year-end while also offering subsidies to Ukrainian companies to support the cost of Ukrainian grain transit through Europe. The European Commission, the blocs executive arm, has yet to take a decision on whether to support the ban extension.

Thirteen member states including France, Germany and Austria do not support the extension, the people said. Poland and Hungary also propose transferring financial support directly to Ukrainian exporters, which France disagrees with, they added.

Ukraine has warned that it will challenge any extension of the grain import ban with an arbitration panel. It has been relying on export channels to EU neighbors after Russia pulled out of a grain deal that allowed exports via its Black Sea ports. In April, Poland banned imports after demonstrations by farmers complaining about a grain influx reducing their prices, which was followed by other four bordering states.

The lower prices came amid a broader global downturn, as large grain harvests in major shippers from Russia to Brazil eased supply worries triggered by the invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy complained Wednesday against further restrictions while other countries that process Ukrainian agricultural products make money from the logistics and transit.

We need these funds, he said in a videocall to the Three Seas Initiative Summit in Bucharest. For us its a matter of survival against Russian terror.

Romania has so far facilitated the transit of over 25 million tons of grains from Ukraine since Russias invasion started, and aims to double its monthly capacity to 4 million tons from a current 2 million tons, according to President Klaus Iohannis.

--With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska and Megan Durisin.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Polestar Wants to Sell Its Own Smartphone for Its Cars. Yes, Really photo

Polestar has made a name for itself as a competent manufacturer of electric vehicles. It's not resting on those laurels, though. The Sweden-based company has decided to launch its own smartphone with an eye to creating a smoother user experience across car and tech.

The new project was revealed by Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath in an interview with CNBC, which took place at the IAA Mobility show in Munich this week. Polestar's Chinese parent company, Geely, owns Xingji Meizu, a tech company that is charged with manufacturing the new smartphone. The device is slated for launch in December alongside the first Chinese deliveries of the Polestar 4.

It's not the first time the two companies have worked together. The announcement comes just months after reports that Xingji Meizu would build an operating system for Polestar cars sold in China. While Polestar uses an Android-based OS in its vehicles with Google services, those services are restricted by the Chinese government. Having a phone and a car running a locally-built operating system makes a lot of sense for one of the largest auto markets in the world.

Xingji Meizu is not a major player in China's smartphone space, with that title reserved for companies like Apple and Oppo. The collaboration appears to be an effort by Polestar to link smartphone technology more closely with the automobile itself. "Where you have an opportunity to link these two worlds, without any border... then you can really have a seamless transition," Ingenlath told CNBC.

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It's an idea that makes some sense. Many drivers have suffered through poor smartphone experiences when it comes to cars, from clunky Android Auto or Apple CarPlay integrations, to manufacturer apps that never quite work right. "I still have problems to get, you know, an SMS displayed," Ingenlath noted.

Designing a smartphone from the outset to work with a car could solve this problem, though it's unlikely to be a particularly compelling device in its own right. The pace of technological change in the mobile world is rapid, and it's hard to imagine too many new car buyers giving up top-quality cameras and online cloud services to use a phone that works a little bit better with their car.

It's also worth considering that this may be an attempt to push Xingji Meizu to a higher level. The company currently focuses on producing mid-tier smartphones, but Ingenlath notes that the Polestar phone will be a "premium" device.

Funnily enough, Polestar isn't the only company playing in this space, either. Chinese EV manufacturer Nio is currently planning to launch its own phone this month.

As smartphones have become the cornerstone of our lives, it's only natural that the automotive world has had to adjust to them. Some automakers are diving in by directly integrating software from major tech companies like Google, while others have rebelled and are going their own way, eschewing Big Tech entirely.

Fundamentally, Polestar's strategy of building a phone of its own is a bold one. Done well, it has the opportunity to create an experience that seamlessly integrates their cars into an owner's broader digital world. Reducing pain points in this area is admirable. Regardless, it's hard to see Polestar buyers giving up flagship iPhones and Androids, and all the services they entail, just to ease pairing their smartphone with a car.

Got a tip? Let the author know: lewin@thedrive.com
ST. CLOUD, Florida (KFOR/Storyful)  A deputy in Florida told police he was trying to impress his girlfriend, as the two went for an 85 mph joyride in a 45 mph zone on his new motorcycle. He ended up in handcuffs.

While explaining the situation to police, Orange County Sheriffs Deputy Brian Espinal stood with his girlfriend in front of a beautiful sunset in St. Cloud, Florida, as seen in the video at the top of this story. However, the two would not ride off into that sunset together.

Fan-favorite Oreo flavor set to return after 3-year hiatus

According to St. Cloud Police, an officer witnessed Espinal racing another motorcycle. When the officer turned on his lights, the other driver fled the scene.

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Espinal pulled over and told police he was a deputy. He claimed he wasnt racing the other motorcyclist and was simply trying to impress his girlfriend with his new bike.

The ordeal ended with a trip to jail. Espinal was charged with participating in unlawful racing and reckless driving, both of which are misdemeanors.

According to Inside Edition, the 27-year-old deputy will be arraigned November 21st, and is currently on administrative duty with the sheriffs office, pending the outcome of his case.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Ashley, a 13-year old who recently delivered a baby after she was unable to travel out of state for an abortion, in Clarksdale, Miss., on Aug. 1, 2023. Credit - Lucy Garrett for TIME

Police in Clarksdale, Miss., have arrested a suspect in the alleged rape of Ashley, a 13-year-old who recently delivered a baby after she was unable to travel out of state for an abortion.

Ashley's mother, Regina, told TIME in a text message Sept. 5 that police informed her a suspect had been arrested in the case. (Ashley and Regina are pseudonyms to protect the privacy of a juvenile rape survivor.) The Clarksdale police department sent TIME a press release stating that a 16-year-old male had been arrested and charged with rape on Sept. 5, and a spokesperson subsequently confirmed that the arrest was tied to Ashley's case.

Regina told TIME that police said the suspect had been identified using DNA evidence. She also said the suspect was the same person she had flagged to the detective in charge of the case in February, after a family member located him on social media and Ashley identified him as the alleged rapist. "We have found the boy," Regina texted the detective on Feb. 11, attaching a social-media photo showing the alleged suspect on their street, with a neighbor's house visible in the background, according to screenshots TIME viewed.

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Read More: She Wasn't Able to Get An Abortion. Now She's a Mom. Soon, She'll Start 7th Grade.

When the DNA results came back on August 30, Regina says, police told her that the results matched Ashley's identification. Clarksdale police have repeatedly declined to comment on the specifics of the case to TIME, and would not confirm whether the arrested suspect is the same person the family originally identified to police.

The police press release does not name the suspect; the department does not release names of juvenile defendants. It states the suspect will appear before a judge in Coahoma County Circuit Court, but does not say when. Reached for comment, the Circuit Court asked TIME to contact the Clarksdale police. The District Attorney was not available for comment. It was not immediately clear whether the suspect had obtained a lawyer.

Ashley discovered she was pregnant in January, according to Ashley's doctor and Regina. It was then that Ashley told her mother that she had been raped by a stranger outside her home in Oct. 2022, shortly before her 13th birthday.

Ashley had told Regina that she had never met her rapist, and that he was an adult, Regina says. "I asked her, Was he a grown-up? and she said, Yeah, he looked like a grownup in his face,'" Regina recalls. Ashley described him to her mother as "tall, and his face looked grown," Regina says. Ashley also told Regina that her the alleged attacker was driving a car. In Mississippi, drivers as young as 15 can get a learners permit.

More From TIME

After filing the police report in January, Regina says she was told police needed DNA evidence to advance the investigation, and could not obtain that evidence until Ashley's baby was born. Ashley's son PeanutTIME is using a nickname to preserve the family's privacywas born on July 30. Clarksdale police did not pick up a DNA sample from the hospital until three days after Peanut was born, and only after repeated requests from TIME.

On Aug. 30, Ashley was summoned to the police department for questioning, this time by former Clarksdale Police Chief Sandra Johnson, who told the family she was working as a consultant on the case.

"The lady said, Im gonna ask you this one question and this question is going to hit,'" says Regina, who was present. "She said, Did you know the person who did it?' Ashley said no," Regina recalls. "She was trying to make sure Ashley wasnt lying about them messing around." (Johnson did not respond to requests for comment.)

Ashley has been a mother for about a month now. Regina stayed home to help her for about two weeks, but now she's back at work. Ashley says the hardest part of motherhood so far is "being up at nighttime," because the baby "eats a lot." Regina says the family has been struggling to explain the new baby's arrival, encountering whispers from the neighbors and gossip from relatives. Ashley is planning to start seventh grade in October; a relative will watch Peanut while she is at school.

After TIME published Ashley's story, Regina started a GoFundMe that has raised nearly $70,000 from donors to help the family raise Peanut, relocate closer to family, and give Ashley a fresh start.

Write to Charlotte Alter at charlotte.alter@time.com.
A general view of HMP Wandsworth in London where a British soldier awaiting trial on terror-related charges has escaped from a prison in southwest London Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023 and police have launched an urgent manhunt. Counterterror police say Daniel Abed Khalife went missing from Wandsworth Prison early Wednesday. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

LONDON (AP)  A former British soldier awaiting trial on terror charges who appears to have escaped from a London prison by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery truck remained at large Thursday as police stepped up security checks across the United Kingdom amid concerns he may try to flee the country.

Opposition parties linked the escape to years of financial austerity, while Britain's Conservative government said an independent investigation will take place in due course into how Daniel Abed Khalife managed to slip out of the medium-security Wandsworth Prison, which opened in 1851 during the reign of Queen Victoria.

His escape has prompted extra security checks at major transport hubs, particularly in and around the Port of Dover, the main boat crossing from England to France.

Britain's justice secretary told lawmakers that no stone must be left unturned in getting to the bottom of what happened as he confirmed an independent investigation into this incident. Alex Chalk also said urgent reviews into prison categorization would be carried out as questions remained over how Khalife wasn't being held at a maximum-security facility such as Belmarsh Prison in east London.

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Khalife, 21, is accused of planting fake bombs at a military base and of violating Britains Official Secrets Act by gathering information that could be useful to an enemy. He was discharged from the British army after his arrest earlier this year and had denied the allegations. His trial is set for November.

Chalk said Khalife, who had been working in a kitchen at the prison, escaped at around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, when a vehicle that had made a delivery left.

Shortly afterward, he said, contingency plans for an unaccounted prisoner were activated and police were informed. The vehicle, he added, was subsequently stopped and searched by police after the alert was raised.

Strapping was found underneath the vehicle which appeared to indicate that Daniel Khalife may have held onto the underside of it in order to escape, Chalk said.

More than 150 investigators and police staff are on the case, according to Metropolitan Police Commander Dominic Murphy, who is the lead investigator.

We have issued a nationwide alert that has resulted in increased security at our ports and borders, however currently there have not been any confirmed sightings," he said.

Opposition politicians have sought to pin the blame on the Conservative government, which has been in power since 2010. Many U.K. prisons, including Wandsworth, are over capacity and short of staff. The escape could hardly have come at a worse time for a government that is already scrambling to get all schools to reopen for the new academic year amid concerns over crumbling concrete.

It simply beggars belief that a man being held on suspected terror charges was able to escape a prison by clinging to the bottom of a food delivery van, said Shabana Mahmood, the justice spokesperson for the main opposition Labour Party. How is such an escape even possible?

Charlie Taylor, who scrutinizes detention facilities in England in his role as the chief inspector of prisons, said staff shortages are the source of many problems at Wandsworth.

Taylor said it should be standard practice for vehicles entering and leaving the prison to be checked and a prisoner has to earn a certain level of trust in order to be allowed to work in a kitchen.

But the issue that we are particularly concerned about is there are too many prisoners in Wandsworth for the amount of staff who are there," he said. "And that ultimately is the source of many of the problems in the jail.

In an annual review, published in July, Wandsworth Prison was deemed to be a serious concern." The prison, which is in the middle of a residential area, holds around 1,600 defendants appearing at London courts and offenders due to be released in five wings.

___

Jill Lawless contributed to this report.
Nero the police dog celebrating his anniversary with the Mountain Home Police Department in Idaho (Mountain Home Police Department)

The US Supreme Court may ultimately determine if a police dog breached the Fourth Amendment rights of a man who was found with illegal drugs.

In 2019 Kirby Dorff was stopped by police after apparently swerving across three lanes in his vehicle in Idaho.

An officer with a police dog named Nero was called to the scene. The Belgian Malinois approached the car, and leapt up, with its paws resting on the vehicle's door and window. The dog was eventually used in a search of Mr Dorff's car.

Nero rooted around inside, locating pills and a plastic bag containing meth residue. The items provided police with enough evidence to justify a warrant to search his hotel and to bring charges against Mr Dorff.

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Police later found more drugs at Mr Dorff's motel room. He was tried and convicted on drug possession charges.

The driver challenged the charges, claiming he was subjected to an unreasonable search. However, Mr Dorff's challenge does not focus on Nero's search, but rather on the fact that the dog put its paws on his car door before police could justify a search.

As far as Mr Dorff is concerned, the Belgian Malinois violated his Constitutional rights. The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.

He appealed his case to the Idaho Supreme Court and won.

In a 3-2 decision, the court determined that a police dog can sniff the air around a car, but cannot touch the car while trying to sniff inside. They likened it to the difference between brushing up against a woman carrying a purse and grabbing her purse without consent, according to USA Today.

It is also the difference between a dogs tail that brushes against the bumper of your vehicle as it walks by  and a dog who, without privilege or consent, approaches your vehicle to jump on its roof, sit on its hood, stand on its window or door," the court wrote.

Justice Gregory Moeller wrote the dissenting opinion, saying he could not be made to believe "that an unreasonable search or a physical intrusion occurred because Nero's paws briefly touched the exterior of Dorff's vehicle."

Justice Richard Bevan called for a bit more flexibility in the interpretation of the law in his own dissenting opinion.

Reasonableness  requires us to consider the degree of government intrusion, not to simply suppress all evidence where any intrusion occurred," he wrote.

The US Supreme Court will likely determine within the next few months if it will hear the case.
American Airlines planes (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Police are investigating a potential criminal act on board an American Airlines flight.

The FBI and Massachusetts State Police are investigating the incident which took place on a flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to Boston on Saturday, the police announced.

Details have not been provided about what happened. Local news station Boston 25 reported that it concerned a passenger alleging that there was a camera hidden in the planes bathroom.

Meanwhile, an officer with the police unit that responded to the incident said it involved a juvenile, a phone, and a flight attendant, WSOC-TV reported.

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A passenger on board the flight told Boston 25 that a teenage girl was stopped from entering the bathroom by a male flight attendant who said he needed to wash his hands.

The teenager then used the bathroom after the flight attendant before the girls mother was then seen stopping other passengers from using the bathroom.

The girls mother allegedly warned other passengers there was a hidden camera inside the bathroom, Boston 25 reported.

Massachusetts State Police said officers met the plane when it landed at Boston Logan International Airport at around 10am and initiated an investigation.

The flight attendant was escorted off the plane after airline staff checked the bathroom, Boston 25 reported.

Police said potential crimes that occur mid-flight are the responsibility of federal authorities.

In a statement, American Airlines said: American Airlines flight 1441 from Charlotte (CLT) to Boston (BOS) was met by law enforcement upon arrival. We take this matter very seriously and are fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation, as safety and security are our highest priorities.
A Louisville Metro police officer was in critical but stable condition after being shot Thursday morning, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department.

The shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. in the 4000 block of Kentucky Street. LMPD said an officer was conducting a traffic stop when shots were fired towards police from a nearby home.

The officer conducting the traffic stop was shot in the chest, according to LMPD. A supporting officer was on scene at the time of the shooting and was uninjured.

LMPDs hostage negotiation team, SWAT and other support officers were still at the home Thursday morning where the shots were fired, LMPD said just before 7 a.m.. Police have asked people to avoid the area and for nearby residents to stay indoors.

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Police didnt provide any further information Thursday afternoon.

The injured officer has been with LMPD for a year and a half, according to LMPD. Police are hoping for a quick recovery.

We are thankful that he survived his injuries, and remain cautiously optimistic, LMPD said in a tweet. We are grateful to UofL medical staff for their amazing care and treatment.

Gov. Andy Beshear confirmed the shooting in a Facebook post Thursday and asked for people to pray for the injured officer and their family.

Kentucky, were hearing reports that an officer was shot this morning in Louisville, Beshear said in a Facebook post. Please join Britainy and me in praying for this officer, their loved ones and all of LMPD.

There is body-worn camera footage of the incident and it will be released within 10 days per LMPDs policy, according to police.

LMPD OFFICER SHOT - PRELIMINARY INFO

Around 2:30 this morning, a 2nd Division officer was conducting a traffic stop in the 4000-block of Kentucky Street. A supporting officer responded as well. While conducting the traffic stop, shots were fired from a nearby home. pic.twitter.com/O0raHc8W2Q  LMPD (@LMPD) September 7, 2023
The family of the woman slain by escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante was holed up and "terrified" as a massive search to bring him back behind bars pressed on Thursday, a week after he fled a Pennsylvania prison by "crab-walking" up a wall, officials said.

The manhunt has brought hundreds of law enforcement officers using drones, helicopters, horses and dogs to southeastern Pennsylvania, disrupting the lives of thousands of residents, many of whom are on edge about the fugitive's whereabouts.

Authorities released video of Cavalcante's brazen escape and announced a shift east in its perimeter after a resident saw Cavalcante, 34, in a creek bed behind their house in Pennsbury Township, a residential area several miles east of Longwood Gardens, where Cavalcante was seen on camera Monday night.

Another possible sighting earlier Thursday near Longwood Gardens, a popular tourist attraction, renewed a search effort there, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said.

Danelo Cavalcante, a convicted killer, captured on a trail camera Monday night in Longwood Gardens, several miles south of the Chester County Prison he escaped Thursday morning, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Officials have said they hope the pressure being put on Cavalcante through the exhaustive search will cause him to make a mistake, leading to his capture, especially as he grows tired, hungry and desperate.

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"I'm quite confident that we're wearing him down," Bivens said.

Meanwhile, the heat and humidity was posing challenges for the searchers, who Bivens said were dedicated to the hunt.

Cavalcante, a Brazilian national and former agricultural worker, is considered extremely dangerous by authorities. In August, he was sentenced to life in prison for brutally stabbing his former girlfriend Deborah Brandao in front of her two young children. He is also wanted in connection with a murder in Brazil.

Brandao's family has been "barricaded" inside their homes during the search and are under protection, District Attorney Deborah Ryan said Thursday.

"They are terrified," Ryan said.

Brandao's sister, Sarah Brandao, told CNN she is caring for the two children and is afraid Cavalcante could come after their family. USA TODAY has reached out to Brandao's family.

"I haven't slept for many days," Sarah Brandao told CNN. "I have been waking up with fright at night."

The combined total reward for information leading to Cavalcantes capture is at $20,000 as of Wednesday.

"We are not going any place until we have him in custody," Bivens said. "We will continue the manhunt."

Pennsylvania State police search the woods and a creek in Pennsbury Township on Sept. 5, 2023..

Search crews are battling heat, humidity in manhunt

The hundreds of law enforcement officials combing through the search perimeter were bogged down in bullet-resistant vests, full uniforms and weapons while the temperature got up to 94 degrees with humidity making it feel like 103 on Thursday, according to AccuWeather.

Searchers are taking water breaks as necessary and morale is high, Bivens said Thursday.

"I have not heard a single complaint," he said. "I believe our people are up to the task."

Bivens said even the technology being used to try and track Cavalcante is being impacted by heat. For example, thermal imaging might pick up additional hot spots that require searchers to "check a few more things," but said it wasn't a deterrent to using the resources.

Schools, Longwood Gardens reopen after most recent perimeter shift

With the changing area of focus, the two school districts that canceled classes Tuesday and Wednesday largely reopened on Thursday.

Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester County reopened all its schools except for one elementary school that remains in the new perimeter. The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District reopened all its schools.

Both districts said local law enforcement will provide additional security and that they are excusing absences of students whose families prefer to keep them home.

"We appreciate the impact of prolonged stress and know that normalcy is needed," read a statement from John Sanville, superintendent of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, to parents. "We share your hopes that the prisoner is captured today."

Longwood Gardens, a popular tourist destination of about 200 acres of rolling meadows and expansive vistas, partially reopened Thursday after the police perimeter shifted eastward. The most recent images of Cavalcante, in which he has a backpack, duffel bag and a hoodie, were shot by a private trail camera at the botanical gardens Monday night.

The combined reward total for information leading to the arrest of Danelo Souza Cavalcante is $20,000.

Video shows Cavalcante's escape

An officer in a tower missed Cavalcante's stealthy walk up the wall the morning of Aug. 31 while his prison block was outside in the exercise yard, Howard Holland, acting warden of Chester County Prison, said at a news conference Wednesday.

The guard officer in the tower has been put on administrative leave, Holland said.

Security footage shows the moment at about 8:50 a.m. that Cavalcante used his outstretched arms and legs to brace himself between two walls and "crab-walk" up before disappearing out of sight. From there, he pushed through razor wire, ran across the roof and scaled a fence lined with more razor wire, Holland said.

It's the second escape from the facility in recent months. In May, inmate Igor Bolte broke out from the same location in a similar way but was seen by the tower officer on watch and was quickly recaptured. Cavalcante's escape differed in two important ways: He had to get through new razor wire that was added after Bolte's escape and nobody saw him flee.

Cavalcante's disappearance was discovered nearly an hour later during an inmate count after the block returned from the yard.

Holland said officials now realize the razor wire wasn't enough, and are working on plans to better secure the prison through physical barriers and increased staff. Instead of a fence with an open top, Holland said engineers are working on a plan to enclose fencing to make it more like a cage that can't be scaled.

While we believed the security measures we had in place were sufficient, they have proven otherwise, Holland said.

Cavalcante killed ex-girlfriend to silence her about Brazil murder

In April 2021, Cavalcante went to Brandaos Schuylkill Township home, about 30 miles northwest of Philadelphia, and stabbed her 38 times, killing the woman in front of her 4- and 7-year-old children, according to the Chester County District Attorneys Office. The two dated for about a year-and-a-half.

Paramedics rushed Brandao to a nearby hospital, where she was soon pronounced dead.

With the help of others, Cavalcante fled but was eventually tracked down and arrested in Virginia.

In multiple domestic violence attacks, Calvalcante had previously threatened to kill Brandao, investigators found. They said Cavalcante fatally stabbed Brandao because she had learned about his open murder warrant in Brazil and had threatened to expose him to the police, according to the DAs office.

Rafael Pinto Alamy, a homicide prosecutor in the Brazilian state of Tocantins, previously told USA TODAY that Cavalcante is accused of fatally shooting Valter Junior Moreira dos Reis on Nov. 5, 2017, in the rural municipality of Figueiropolis.

The killing allegedly occurred over a car repair debt Moreira dos Reis, a 20-year-old-student, owed to Cavalcante, the Tocantins public ministry said in an email.

The case was suspended when Cavalcante fled to the United States, Pinto Alamy previously said. He added that Cavalcante, whose first name is listed as "Danilo" in his native country's records, lived on a farm and was an agricultural worker in Brazil.

Cavalcante first went to Puerto Rico, where he got a fake ID, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He eventually moved to Chester County in southeast Pennsylvania because he had a sister and friends who were living in the area, the outlet reported.

Cavalcante most recently lived in Royersford, a small town 32 miles northwest of Philadelphia, according to court records.

Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Police manhunt shifts in search for escaped prisoner Danelo Cavalcante
Miami-Dade police investigators are searching for a cruise passenger who was last seen aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship on Labor Day, authorities in Florida and the passengers sister said

Kevin McGrath, 26 years old, was last seen in the area of Port of Miami, a missing person flyer issued by the Miami-Dade Police Department said.

McGrath, a Florida resident, was on the Carnival Conquest cruise ship, which left Miami on Friday and headed to the Bahamas for the weekend before returning to Miami on Monday, his sister Danielle McGrath told CNN.

Danielle McGrath, who was not on the ship, said her brother and family were on the cruise to celebrate their fathers 60th birthday.

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The family first noticed McGrath was missing after he failed to show up for breakfast Monday morning, his sister said. When he didnt show up to breakfast it was alarming, so they (McGraths family members) went to look for him. After they couldnt find him, they approached the ships staff for help, she said.

On Monday morning after Carnival Conquest had returned to PortMiami, a guest reported a family member missing, Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement. Our investigation continues, including multiple reviews of closed circuit video footage and we are also cooperating with law enforcement and the U.S. Coast Guard.

McGrath, whos an Army veteran and a father of two, was recorded on cell phone video enjoying the live music on the ship. From what I was told, he had an amazing time. He was in good spirits everyone said, his sister told CNN.

The Carnival Conquest cruise ship sits docked in Miami in October 2021. - Rebecca Blackwell/AP

He would not disappear

Carnival officials told the family that McGraths key card was last used to enter his room around 3:30 a.m. Monday, his sister said.

Kevin McGrath - Miami-Dade Police

He would not disappear and not tell anyone, especially my dad, where he was. This is not something my brother would do, she added. My whole family is taking it terribly. Were just sick to our stomach.

Carnival officials told the family that the ships overboard detections system never went off, so they reached out to the Miami police for assistance, McGraths sister told CNN.

Something is not right. Theres no way that my brother would just vanish into thin air like this. We want some answers. Today is day four and we know nothing about his whereabouts. They havent found anything, she said.

The Coast Guard initially assisted the Miami-Dade Police Department and Florida wildlife officials with a search in the water after being notified McGrath was missing on Monday at about 11 a.m., a Coast Guard spokesperson told CNN.

Crews searched nearly 3,300 square nautical miles, a combined crew total of over 80 hours before suspending their search, the Coast Guard said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Miami-Dade police.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  A police officer has died and another has been injured in a car crash in Connecticuts capital city.

Police said one person was in custody after the accident involving a police cruiser and another car just west of downtown Hartford.

Officials have not said why the person was detained, what caused the accident, or whether the officers were chasing the other car.

The injured officer was in stable but guarded condition at a nearby hospital.

A procession of police transported the dead officers body from the hospital to the chief medical examiners office in Farmington.

Police are expected to release more details later in the day.

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The Titusville Police Department said they are investigating shots fired at a Brevard County School Bus Wednesday afternoon.

 WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS

According to police, the call came in around 4:45 p.m. near the intersection of Sisson Road and Little League Lane.

Read: Hurricane Idalia: Florida reports 2 deaths from the storm

Officers said a woman shot a handgun from a parked car at a stopped school bus.

When the shots were fired, students had just gotten off at the bus stop. Officers said no one was injured.

Read: 4th suspect arrested in Orlando drive-by shooting that killed man, 6-year-old girl

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Titusville police did not release a description of the woman they say fired the gun or what charges she may face.

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Director Agnieszka Holland poses for photographers upon arrival for the premiere of the film 'Green Border' during the 80th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Film director Agnieszka Holland demanded an apology from Poland's justice minister after he compared her latest film, which explores the migration crisis at the Poland-Belarus border, to Nazi propaganda.

Holland said Wednesday that she planned to bring defamation charges against Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro unless she receives an apology within seven days. She also demanded that he make a charitable donation of 50,000 Polish zlotys ($11,600) to an association that helps Holocaust survivors.

Hollands feature film, Green Border, explores a migration crisis that has played out along Polands border with Belarus over the past two years. It takes a sympathetic approach toward the migrants from the Middle East and Africa who got caught up as pawns in a geopolitical standoff.

It also looks critically at the way Poland's security services pushed back migrants who were lured to the border by Belarus, an ally of Russia.

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Ziobro slammed the film earlier this week, saying: In the Third Reich, the Germans produced propaganda films showing Poles as bandits and murderers. Today, they have Agnieszka Holland for that."

He made his comment on the social platform X, formerly Twitter, on Monday, a day before the film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

Holland noted in a statement that Ziobro, who serves as prosecutor general as well as justice minster, commented on her film without having seen it and that she believed his words amounted to defamation, calling them despicable.

I cannot remain indifferent to such an open and brutal attack by a person who holds the very important constitutional position of minister of justice and prosecutor general in Poland, she wrote in a statement from Venice dated Wednesday but published in Poland on Thursday.

Holland said the comparison to Nazi propaganda was offensive because of what Poland suffered under Nazi occupation during World War II and given her own background. She noted that she was both the daughter of a liaison in the Warsaw Uprising, the city's 1944 revolt against the occupying Nazi German forces, and the granddaughter of Holocaust victims.

In our country, which experienced death, cruelty and the suffering of millions during World War II, a comparison to the perpetrators of these events is extremely painful and requires an appropriate response, Holland said.

Holland's film dramatizes the migration tragedy that unfolded in the green border of swamps and forests between Belarus and Poland. The story shows the intertwining lives of a Polish activist, a young Polish border guard and a Syrian family.

The director said her film aimed to show the problem of migration from different angles, including wonderful Poles helping others despite threats.

Our film is an attempt to give a voice to those who have no voice. The problem of migration will grow, and soon it will affect each of us. Meanwhile, in Poland it is presented one-sidedly, exclusively from the perspective of government propaganda, which is interested in only one thing -- to scare our society, Holland said.

Poland is preparing for an Oct. 15 election in which the right-wing government is seeking an unprecedented third term. The ruling party, Law and Justice, has focused on migration and security, promising to keep the country safe amid Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the attempts by Belarus to encourage migrants to enter into Poland.

The ruling party also voted to hold a referendum alongside the election with four questions, one of which asks voters if they support the admission of thousands of illegal immigrants from the Middle East and Africa.

___

Follow AP's coverage of global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
Eli Crane has my number. I mean that both literally  he sent a text to my personal cell phone  and figuratively.

His message started like this: It seems you dont want any more of these texts.

Naturally, I fell for his reverse psychology ploy and opened his text.

(Full disclosure: I also bit on this bait from Team MAGA: I will always love you ...)

Back to Crane: He started with an introduction: He told me hes no phony politician, then went on to describe himself as a Pro-Trump Navy Seal candidate in Arizona and conservative warrior.

But he didnt tell his whole story. He is already a member of Congress; in 2022, he defeated a moderate, three-term Democrat and is now seeking reelection. But there was no mention of that in his text.

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Could it be that his incumbency conflicts with the carefully curated image hes trying to project  that of an average Joe fighting the corrupt political machine run by phony politicians? (Democrats hate me & Republicans hate me, he wrote.)

Then came the ask: Congressman Crane requested that I chip in a few bucks to help him fight Biden & the Socialist Left.

Streaming has upended advertising

As annoying as it is to be hounded for political donations  especially from out-of-state politicians Ive barely heard of  I sympathize with candidates.

Its not easy to reach voters these days. Thanks to technology, its possible to tune out much of the advertising that inundates us  whether its an ad for a mattress, a psoriasis drug or a congressional hopeful.

We can trash emails and texts without ever opening them. We can choose who to follow  or not follow  on social media. We can send phone calls straight to voicemail and never bother to listen.

And while some viewers still watch TV commercials, thanks to streaming we are no longer forced to sit in front of the TV, watching interminable, back-to-back ads while waiting for The Bachelor to reappear.

Those campaign mailers? We look at them for at least 40 or 50 seconds

Not that we can live inside a complete bubble.

Were still bombarded with yard signs, billboards, bumper stickers and banners.

And how about all those candidate mailers and handwritten postcards that overflow our mailboxes during prime campaign season? Sure, we can chuck them in the recycle bin along with the other junk we dont care about, but there is a tiny window of time when we at least glance at campaign materials.

Theyll look at it on the way from the mailbox to the house, so youre getting your message across, said John Peschong, a San Luis Obispo County supervisor and a partner with Meridian Pacific Strategies, which specializes in political and public affairs campaigns.

According to Peschong, it requires a minimum of eight contacts to get voters to know your name and want to vote for you.

Its not one thing thats going to win the election, he added. Its a combination.

That includes online ads, knocking on doors, appearing on TV talk shows, attending candidates forums, and building a well-vetted website.

Let me tell you who I am. But first, lets talk money

Once upon a time, websites were all sweetness and light.

They typically featured smiling photos of candidates and their families, and maybe a dog or even a horse  though rarely a cat. There were bullet-point biographies and some boilerplate statements on the issues. Somewhere there was a gentle nudge for donations.

But that subtlety has gone out the window. Now, candidates have their hands out from the get-go.

Take the three leading Democrats in Californias U.S. Senate race.

Click on Adam Schiff for Senate and youll be immediately hit with Join our grassroots campaign and donate now.

Katie Porter asks visitors to her site to Become a Founding Donor Today, as does Barbara Lee.

No judgment here  almost all candidates are hyper-aggressively fundraising, and no potential donor is too small to ignore. But couldnt they take a moment to introduce themselves before they hit us up for money?

You know, maybe stress that theyre no phony politician. Offer us a family photo or two. Bonus points if they include cats.

Then, and only then, casually ask that we chip in a few  or more than a few bucks.

Do all that and who knows? They might even get our votes.
A survey of 3,000 respondents by StoicQuotes.com shed light on each states most cherished authors, revealing some intriguing outcomes.

Around the U.S., iconic names such as Harper Lee , Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway are among those chosen, shown in this interactive map, but New Jersey went local with its selections.

New Jersey picks its favorite authors

Joyce Kilmer Stephen Crane William Carlos Williams

Joyce Kilmer

Born in 1886 in New Brunswick, Kilmer, who attended both Rutgers Preparatory School and Rutgers College, spent his formative years in Central Jersey, honing a connection to the natural beauty all around him. This would later be reflected in his poetry and writing as his work often drew upon the tranquility of the state's woods and rivers, capturing the essence of its rural charm, according to the poll. Through his words, Kilmer immortalized his attachment to New Jersey, leaving behind a legacy that continues to resonate.

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The author of numerous poems, stories and essays, Kilmer is forever tied to "Trees" as his greatest legacy. With a seemingly simple opening  "I think that I shall never see. A poem as lovely as a tree"  Kilmer declares with wonder that nothing can compare to the creations of God's natural world. He died on a World War I battlefield in France, on July 30, 1918, at the age of 31.

Stephen Crane

Born in Newark, Crane lived in the state as a young man, particularly in Asbury Park, where his older brother Townley Crane was the editor of the Asbury Park Shore Press. The younger Crane also worked at a Jersey Shore news bureau as his brother's assistant for a few summers.

Crane, whose novel "The Red Badge of Courage" is considered an American classic, published four other novels, two volumes of poetry, three short story collections, two tomes of war stories and many short fictions and journalistic efforts  in just four years. He died on June 5, 1900, in Germany at age 29.

William Carlos Williams

The longest-lived of the three, Williams died in March 1963 at age 79 at his home in Rutherford. The poet, playwright, novelist and doctor was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for "Pictures from Brueghel and Other Poems." He is perhaps best known for his epic five-volume work "Paterson," the poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" and the fact that he inspired the Beat movement in the 50s and 60s.

email: cmakin@gannettnj.com

Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: New Jersey picks Joyce Kilmer as favorite author, poll says
A new poll shows Rep. Adam Schiff , D-Burbank, and Rep. Katie Porter , D-Irvine, nearly neck-and-neck in the primary to succeed Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate.

The Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies survey shows Schiff with a slight lead at 20% support, and Porter just behind at 17%

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, sits at 7%, as do Republicans Steve Garvey (who has yet to formally enter the race) and James Bradley. Republican Eric Early is at 5%.

Nearly a third of California voters (32%) are still undecided, the survey found.

The top two vote-getters in the March 5 primary will compete in the November 2024 general election.

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Schiff and Porters lead may be explained by the fact that they are the most recognizable candidates in the race. Schiff enjoys a 75% recognition, including 43% viewing him favorably and 32% unfavorably, while Porter is recognized by 57%, with a 38% favorable and 19% unfavorable rating.

Majorities of likely voters are unable to voice an opinion about any of the other contenders, wrote Berkeley IGS Poll Director Mark DiCamillo in a memo accompanying the poll.

The survey also asked California voters about what position the candidates should take on the Russia-Ukraine war. A majority (53%) said that they prefer a candidate who would support Ukraine, even if it means extending the war, over one that wants to bring the war to a quick end with the possibility of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia.

With Feinstein 90 and ailing, voters were also questioned about what Gov. Gavin Newsom should do in the event that she can no longer serve.

More than half (51%) said that Newsom should appoint someone who is prepared to run for a full term next year, rather than a caretaker who would only finish out Feinsteins current term.

While most Californians prefer that Newsom appoint a successor to Feinstein who will run for the full-term, if put in this position the Governors political calculus is complicated. With three well-known and well-liked Democrats vying for the seat, appointing a likely successor would divide the Governors supporters, said poll co-director Eric Schickler in a statement.

The survey of 6,030 California voters was conducted online in English and Spanish between Aug. 24 and Aug. 29. The Los Angeles Times provided partial funding for the poll. The sampling error for the poll was 2.5%.
KYIV (Reuters) -Russia carried out its fourth drone attack in five days on Ukrainian port facilities on the Danube River on Thursday, damaging grain silos and other infrastructure on a vital export route for Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said.

The attack on Izmail district in southern Odesa region lasted three hours, governor Oleh Kiper said on Telegram messenger. Two truck drivers were hurt and a blast wave damaged several people's homes, the general prosecutor's office said.

Agricultural companies were also damaged, the military said, without specifying which.

The Ukrainian military reported shooting down 25 of 33 drones it said were launched by Russia overnight. Most were aimed at the Odesa region but some targeted the northern city of Sumy, it added.

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One drone hit a residential area in Sumy, damaging a private house, 20 apartments in a high-rise building and two shops, the regional administration said on Telegram. It reported no casualties.

Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine's grain export infrastructure on the Danube and on the Black Sea port hub of Odesa since July 17, when it quit the U.N.-brokered deal that had allowed safe exports of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea.

On Thursday morning, Russia also shelled the village of Odradokamyanka in southern Kherson region, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. A 50-year-old man died of wounds sustained in the attack and two others were wounded in a later attack on the village, he said.

(Reporting by Reuters; additional reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Kim Coghill, Timothy Heritage and Tom Balmforth)
(Inside California Politics)  Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) is traveling across the state as part of her campaign to become Californias next senator when long-serving Sen. Dianne Feinstein retires in 2025.

Porter sat down with FOX40s Eytan Wallace to discuss a number of issues facing the state.

Porter, a proponent of green energy, said that the government needs to take deliberate care of the tens of thousands of workers in the fossil fuel industry in areas such as Bakersfield and Contra Costa County.

California is going to need to continue to have an all of the above energy approach but were also going to need to make that transition, Porter said. And as we do, the question is can we make sure as we transition, slowly, away from fossil fuels to greener energy that we dont leave any workers behind.

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Schiff says 14th Amendment disqualification fits Donald Trump to a T

Porter believes that the government must act, saying private enterprise is unlikely to help those who lose jobs.

And we know that if we just take big corporations word for it workers will get left behind, Porter said. And weve seen the research on this, for example from the (UC Berkeley Labor Center), that when people lose their fossil fuel jobs if were not very intentional and dont have a strategy they end up making less than they did before. We cant let that happen.

Porter also voiced support for numerous other worker groups in the state including striking writers and actors.

The performers and writers are really striking about the future of work, Porter said. Theyre calling attention to Artificial Intelligence and changes in technology are going to mean for the creation and retention of good high-paying jobs here in California.

California U.S. Senate candidates rally for unions on Labor Day

The congresswoman from Orange County said union fights often benefit the public.

What were seeing is that unions are fighting not just for workers but for all of us, Porter said. Yesterday at the (Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers Wests) Labor Day rally, theyre fighting for things like staffing rations to make sure that we have enough healthcare workers.

That when you push that ring button and youre at a hospital bed that there are enough nurses, Porter said. The Teamsters taking on autonomous vehicles are fighting not just to make sure that there are jobs for people who drive trucks but also that were all safe

I would say that over and over again what I see is organized labor really being a tool and standing up to big corporations, something Ive taken a lot of pride in doing in Washington, and really being a partner in those fights for patients, for consumers, for workers and for all of us, Porter said.

When it comes to one of the most pressing issues the state faces, Porter said homelessness is just a symptom of a larger problem the state faces.

Senate candidates visit Stockton to support Rep. Josh Harder reelection campaign

Chronic street homelessness that is really the tip of a much, much bigger housing affordability iceberg, Porter said. So we can spend the money to put people experiencing homelessness into permanent supportive housing, but if we dont fundamentally make a big federal investment in making sure workers can afford housing were just going to continue to see that population grow and change.

San Francisco, Californias fourth largest city, is often pointed to as an example of rising homelessness and drug use rates in spite of additional funding directed towards these issues, but Porter said the issues there arent all that unique.

I would say that the challenges that San Francisco is facing may be different in degree than were seeing in some places in California but theyre not different in kind, Porter said. Fentanyl is costing us lives across California, not just in San Francisco. Homelessness is a problem in really every California community, not just in San Francisco.

I think as a federal leader my job is to think about how can we be a good partner in bringing the best solutions we can home to San Francisco, do the learning, see what works and what doesnt, and then begin to deploy it around California, Porter said.

CA Attorney General Rob Bonta discusses Chino Valley USD lawsuit

The former UC Irvine law professor said she sees the issues facing the average California resident from the same perspective.

As a single mom of three kids, I go through the same ups and downs of the year as everybody else, Porter said. Im in the grocery store and Im relieved when cereal comes down a dollar a box. My kids eat a lot of it. Back to school time, thinking, Are there going to be enough teachers are we facing a teacher turnover or burnout challenge following Covid? Are we thinking about the cost of child care and after-school care and thinking about the cost of college?'

When asked if she supported term limits, Porter stressed having a diversity of ages in Congress.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan discusses support for proposed mental health reform

We know that diversity makes any decision-making process stronger and that is also true for multi-generational diversity, Porter said. So I think its important that our Senate, that our Congress that our politics generally have a mix of people from different generations and different ages, just like how we think about that with race, with gender, with any other characteristic.

I think its important that we keep our Senate and Congress vital and reflecting the full range of America and to do that I think we need to make an investment in multi-generational leadership, Porter said. Keep the senior people, keep the experiences, keep the learning and the mentoring but add to it some of the fresh perspectives we have.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
A screenshot of Alexander Sheppard, 23, of Powell, recording a video of himself on Jan. 6, 2021, inside the U.S. Capitol during the attack by insurrectionists is included in federal court documents.

A Powell man who prosecutors say was among the first insurrectionists to enter the building during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has been sentenced to one year and seven months in prison.

Alexander Sheppard, 24, fought his charges at trial, unlike most Jan. 6 defendants.

In January, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia convicted Sheppard of five criminal counts, including obstruction of an official proceeding and disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building. The jury found Sheppard not guilty of remaining on the floor of Congress.

Sheppard originally had been scheduled to be sentenced on April 26, but he requested a new trial, which he did not receive.

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U.S. District Judge John D. Bates sentenced Sheppard on Tuesday and also ordered him to pay $3,170 in restitution and fines.

Related coverage: Grove City man charged with assaulting officers during Jan. 6 attack on U.S. Capitol

Federal prosecutors said in court documents that Sheppard is not remorseful and continues to spread lies about the 2020 election on social media to his thousands of followers.

In March, according to court records, Sheppard tweeted [w]e proved with audits across the Country that the 2020 Presidential Election was STOLEN, and instead of being rewarded with the rightful reinstatement of the victor, we were kicked off social media by Federal Law Enforcement. People have now lost ALL trust in the FBI and DOJ!

Claims of widespread election fraud have been debunked; President Joe Biden won the election by more than 7 million votes.

Sheppard has also done multiple interviews posted online since the insurrection, including at least one after his conviction, in which he downplayed what happened at the Capitol.

On Jan. 6, 2021, an estimated mob of 2,000 supporters of former President Donald Trump overran security at the U.S. Capitol, injuring law enforcement officers, causing more than $2.5 million in damages, and disrupting Congress certification of President Joe Bidens election victory.

According to federal prosecutors, Sheppard recorded celebratory videos of himself inside the Capitol building, saying we just shut down Congress.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia said Sheppard took video of fleeing members of Congress and watched as other rioters smashed the windows of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's lobby doors. Sheppard left, according to prosecutors, only after witnessing Ashli Babbit get shot while trying to climb through the door.

On Jan. 9, 2021, according to prosecutors, Sheppard posted on the Parler social networking service, We shouldnt hang Mike Pence. Firing squad!

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

Get more political analysis by listening to the Ohio Politics Explained podcast

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Powell man still posting election lies going to prison for Jan. 6 role
LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Harry paid tribute on Thursday to the late Queen Elizabeth as he returned to Britain to attend an awards ceremony a day before the first anniversary of his grandmother's death.

Harry only occasionally comes back to Britain since his move to California with his wife Meghan after the couple stepped down from their official royal roles in 2020, and then fell out with the other Windsors, including his father King Charles and elder brother Prince William.

"As you know, I was unable to attend the awards last year as my grandmother passed away," he said in a speech at the annual ceremony staged in London by WellChild, a charity supporting children suffering from serious illnesses, for which he is a patron.

"As you also probably know, she would have been the first person to insist that I still come to be with you all instead of going to her and that's precisely why I know exactly one year on that she is looking down on all of us tonight, happy we're together continuing to spotlights such an incredible community," he said.

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The timing of the annual WellChild ceremony and other events meant that both Harry and Meghan happened to be in Britain when the queen died at her Scottish home, Balmoral Castle, on Sept. 8 last year.

Harry pulled out of last year's ceremony following news the queen was seriously ill, and travelled north separately from the rest of the royal family, indicative of their recent feud.

He said in his memoir published in January that his father had told him that Meghan was not invited. Kate, William's wife, also did not go to Balmoral.

The royal family will not be gathering together to mark the anniversary on Friday, and media reports said Harry would not be seeing them during his trip. He is due to head to Dusseldorf in Germany for Saturday's start of the Invictus Games.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Mark Porter)
Prince Harry is set to arrive in the UK today on the eve of the first anniversary of the Queens death, but will not meet the royal family during his visit, according to reports.

The Duke of Sussex, who is flying to London without his wife Meghan Markle, will attend an awards ceremony organised by WellChild, a childrens charity of which Harry has been a patron for 15 years.

The duke will be in London for the Queens first death anniversary on Friday 8 September, but palace sources told Mail Online Harry will not be meeting any members of the royal family  including King Charles and Prince William.

Harry will join WellChild to celebrate the resilience and achievements of the countrys seriously ill children and youngsters during an event on Thursday evening.

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An insider told the newspaper Charles had no time in his diary to meet Harry, as the relationships between the duke and the rest of the family remain strained after the publication of his bombshell memoir Spare in January this year.

The Independent has contacted representatives for Kensington and Buckingam palaces for comment.

In his tell-all memoir, Harry claimed William physically attacked him during an altercation that stemmed from an argument about Meghan.

He also revealed the last words he said to the Queen on her deathbed at her summer residence, Balmoral estate, last year.

He described how he whispered to her that he hoped she was happy and would be reunited with her husband Philip, who died in April 2021.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are currently Balmoral in Scotland and are not expected to attend any public engagements this week.

Instead, they will mark the queens death anniversary privately, the newspaper reported.

Announcing Harrys visit last month, WellChild shared a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

We are delighted to announce that WellChild Patron Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, will attend the WellChild Awards, in association with GSK, on 7 September.

We are delighted to announce that WellChild Patron Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, will attend the WellChild Awards, in association with @GSK, on 7th September.



More #WellChildAwards information will be announced in the coming weeks. https://t.co/p19zC4cIrZ pic.twitter.com/qsuEDpMfOw  WellChild (@WellChild) August 24, 2023

The event begins at 6:15pm BST and will be livestreamed, with organisers declining to reveal its location.

After his London visit, Harry will travel to Dusseldorf, Germany for the opening ceremony of his Invictus Games on 9 September, but will not be joined by Meghan who will remain in California with their two children.

The duchess will reportedly fly out later in the week for the closing ceremony, where singer Rita Ora will perform. Both Harry and Meghan are scheduled to give speeches.

Harry came up with the idea for the tournament after a visit to the US to watch Warrior Games, the Department of Defenses annual sporting event for injured or ill service personnel and veterans.

He credited the experience for helping him realise how sport can benefit service personnel in their recovery journeys and launched the Invictus Games as a paralympic-style sporting competition in 2014.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at United Nations headquarters, Monday, July 18, 2022 (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The Invictus Games will focus on what they can achieve post injury and celebrate their fighting spirit, through an inclusive sporting competition that recognises the sacrifice they have made, Prince Harry said, at the time.

Harrys new docuseries Heart of Invictus, which follows a group of extraordinary competitors from around the globe: service members who have experienced life-changing injuries or illnesses on their road to the Invictus Games, was released on Netflix on 30 August.

During the series, Harry recalled how returning from his final tour of service in Afghanistan led to an unravelling that triggered the trauma of losing his mother Diana at a very young age.

He added: I didnt have that support structure, that network or that expert advice to identify actually what was going on with me.

It follows their six-part documentary Harry & Meghan, which was released last December.

During the series, the duke and duchess shed light on their lives as senior members of the royal family, including alleged speculation of the colour of their son Archies skin within the palace.

They also claimed palace staff leaked stories about Meghan to the British press.

Additional reporting by agencies.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are already preparing to someday take the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth  one year ago this Friday.

In addition to graduating to the titles of the Prince and Princess of Wales on the heels of the monarchs passing, the couple, both 41, are both involved in decision-making behind the scenes, a friend of Middletons told People.

(King) Charles is leading the way for them already, said the insider. They are ready and willing to do the job  and Kate is very much a part of that.

Though insiders from the palace dismissed the idea that the newly crowned monarch views his position as caretaker King, another source told the magazine that he and Queen Camilla intend to provide the best possible platform for William and Kate to go forward.

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Following Queen Elizabeths death, the Prince and Princess have each started new initiatives focused on homelessness and young children, respectively, according to the outlet. Will has also taken to meeting with world leaders like President Joe Biden and, earlier this year, made a trip to the border of Poland and Ukraine.

The couples three children  Prince George , 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis , 5  have also taken part in more royal pomp and circumstance since the Queen died. This included Prince George acting as Page of Honor at King Charles coronation this spring.

Royal author Sally Bedell Smith told People that the senior royals still want to maintain some normalcy for their family while they can.

They are maintaining a good balance between carrying out their duties and raising their children as privately as possible, Smith told the outlet.

A family insider noted that striking such a balance is something they think about every day.

Charles, meanwhile, will be keen to make his mark in whatever time he has and champion those brilliant causes he is interested in  like the environment, sustainability (and) art, a palace source told the magazine. You dont go into a position like that with an idea of how long or short it would be.

Queen Elizabeth II died on Sept. 8, last year. She was 96. To date, she remains the U.K.s longest-reigning monarch.

_____
Former state legislator Becky Edwards, a Republican critic of Donald Trump, has lost a special election in Utah.

Former state legislator Becky Edwards, a Republican critic of Donald Trump , has lost a special election in Utah.

A Republican critic of former President Donald Trump who voted for Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 lost Tuesdays special election for a Utah congressional seat.

Former state legislator Becky Edwards finished narrowly behind congressional staffer and Utah GOP delegate pick Celeste Maloy. Maloy was endorsed by Republican Rep. Chris Stewart, whose resignation to care for his sick wife set into motion the Sept. 5 special election for Utahs reliably conservative 2nd Congressional District. She now advances to the Nov. 21 general election against Democrat state Sen. Kathleen Riebe.

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Edwards, who led her opponents considerably in one public poll of the race, seemed close to becoming the only member of the House GOP caucus to admit to voting for Biden, putting her at odds with Republicans who are itching to impeach the president. Edwards also broke with the GOPs position on the Supreme Courts reversal of Roe v. Wade, saying she didnt see a compelling reason to revisit the landmark abortion case.

But she faced blowback for refusing to debate her opponents and for not supporting Trump, and couldnt muster the support of delegates at the state GOP convention against Maloy, a former legal counsel in Stewarts congressional office. Unofficial results reveal that Edwards did best in and around Salt Lake City, while Maloy earned much of her support in the rural swath of the district extending to Utahs southwestern border.

Maloy faced a lawsuit to keep her off the ballot due to her inconsistent voting record, though a judge ruled in her favor, allowing her to proceed in the race.

Low-turnout special elections are generally poor predictors of broader electoral trends, such as whether the GOP electorate will reject Trump after his four criminal indictments. Polls of the presidential primary field suggest thats not the case.

Support for Trump is especially strong in the GOP-controlled lower chamber, which has some of the former presidents fiercest allies on the Hill. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) struggles to keep the various factions of his unwieldy caucus on the same page, especially as the right-wing amps up its calls for impeachment. Its unclear whether Maloy has voted for Trump  she did not vote in Utah in 2020  and sidestepped questions about who she supports for president in 2024.

Edwards, who mounted an unsuccessful primary against hard-line conservative Sen. Mike Lee in 2022, has urged Republicans not to vote for Trump, currently the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination. Edwards also said that Trump deserved to be impeached for the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, a position that made a pariah out of any Republican who dared to break with the former president. All but two House Republicans who voted in 2021 to impeach Trump lost their seats or declined to run the next year.

Stewart announced in May that he was stepping down after a decade in Congress. His district is one of four safe Republican seats in Utah, a deep-red state where Republicans have nonetheless embraced Trump critic, Mitt Romney, the states junior senator, and Evan McMullin, a third-party candidate who managed to peel away significant support from Trump in the 2016 presidential race.

CORRECTION: This story has been amended to reflect that Maloy was the GOP delegate pick in Utah, not Nevada.
FILE - Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta following the indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 others over efforts to overturn Trumps 2020 election loss in Georgia. A number of Republicans have been looking for ways to remove or punish Willis for the indictment. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

ATLANTA (AP)  The district attorney who brought charges against former President Donald Trump and others over their efforts to overturn the results of Georgias 2020 election sent a scathing letter to U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan on Thursday, accusing him of interfering in a state case and pushing outrageous partisan misrepresentations.

The letter from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to Jordan, the Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee and a close ally of Trumps, came in response to one he sent last month expressing concerns about the motivations behind her investigation and demanding that she provide certain documents by Thursday. Instead, Willis sent him a nine-page retort detailing the inaccurate information and misleading statements in his letter.

Its obvious purpose is to obstruct a Georgia criminal proceeding and to advance outrageous partisan misrepresentations," Willis wrote. "As I make clear below, there is no justification in the Constitution for Congress to interfere with a state criminal matter, as you attempt to do.

A Fulton County grand jury last month returned a 41-count indictment against Trump and 18 others charging them with state crimes under Georgia law, including violations of the state's anti-racketeering law. It accuses them of participating in an illegal scheme to keep the incumbent Republican president in power after he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

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Trump allies in Georgia and Washington have relentlessly attacked Willis, accusing her of baselessly persecuting the early front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and demanding she be punished.

State Sen. Colton Moore , a Republican from Georgias northwest corner, on Thursday doubled down on his calls for a special session to take money away from Willis office and consider her impeachment.

Fani Willis is spending millions of our taxpayer dollars to take on political prisoners. Its the most un-American thing that weve ever seen in our lifetime, Moore told the crowd at a rally near the state Capitol, where nearly 100 people vocally expressed their disapproval of Willis, shouting Tyranny! and Treason! and Impeach!

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp dismissed those calls last week in a news conference in which he angrily criticized Moore for running a grifter scam to raise money from Trump supporters. Without Kemps support, a special session is impossible unless Moore can get 60% of all legislators in each house of Georgias General Assembly  thats all Republicans and some Democrats  to sign a petition. So far, hes got the support of just one of the 180 state House members and two, including himself, of the 56 state senators.

Jordan's Aug. 24 letter demands documents about federal funds Willis' office has received. It also asks for communications between her office and the Department of Justice, including the office of special counsel Jack Smith, who is pursuing two federal prosecutions against Trump. And it asks for any communications between Willis' office and any federal executive branch officials having to do with her investigation.

He cites the federal interests at stake and says his committee is trying to determine whether any legislative reforms are appropriate or necessary.

Willis accuses Jordan of violating the U.S. Constitution by trying to interfere with and obstruct her office's prosecution and says his inquiry violates state sovereignty. over matters of state law.

Your public statements and your letter itself make clear that you lack any legitimate legislative purpose for that inquiry: your job description as a legislator does not include criminal law enforcement, nor does it include supervising a specific criminal trial because you believe that doing so will promote your partisan political objectives, Willis wrote.

Addressing Jordan's stated concerns about her office's use of federal funds, Willis attached a summary of programs funded by federal grants, including an initiative to process sexual assault kits and prosecute sexual offenders, a hate crimes prosecution program and programs for at-risk children.

Willis, a Black woman, also suggested that Jordan consider directing the Justice Department to investigate the racist threats she and her staff have received because of the investigation into Trump and others, attaching a batch of communications filled with heinous and violent racist insults.

She cited those kinds of messages in a motion filed Wednesday asking the judge in the case to take steps to protect future jurors at any trial involving Trump and the others. It is not yet clear whether all 19 defendants will be tried together or if there will be multiple trials.

Her request came weeks after the information of grand jurors who returned the indictment was posted online with the intent to harass and intimidate them," she wrote. Additionally, the motion said, the personal information of Willis and that of her family and staff have been posted online intertwined with derogatory and racist remarks."

Willis is asking Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to prohibit defendants, the news media or anyone else from creating or publishing images  including video, photos and drawings  of jurors or prospective jurors. She is also asking that the judge prohibit the publication of any information that would help identify them.

It's standard for indictments in Georgia to include the names of the grand jurors, in part because it provides defendants the opportunity to challenge the composition of the grand jury. Jurors in a trial, however, arent generally publicly identified.

___

Associated Press writer Jeff Amy in Atlanta contributed to this report.
He may be one of the important government moles in Chicago political history, but former Ald. Daniel Solis is not expected to take the witness stand for federal prosecutors at the upcoming racketeering trial of his old colleague, ex-Ald. Edward Burke.

Prosecutors notified defense teams via a letter Wednesday about the tactical decision to keep Solis from testifying, meeting a deadline set by U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall, sources with knowledge of the letter told the Tribune. Prosecutors did leave one caveat, saying they could potentially call Solis if Burkes lawyers tried to present an entrapment defense.

While Solis will apparently not be called as a witness, under the federal rules of evidence, prosecutors can still present the undercover recordings he made of Burke as part of his secret cooperation.

The decision by the U.S. attorneys office was not a surprise, as Solis will now be spared what certainly would have been a grueling, multiday cross-examination by Burkes seasoned attorneys covering Solis own alleged wrongdoing and his deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorneys office.

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Prosecutors do run a bit of a risk, however, that jurors might wonder why they never heard from Solis and question his motivations.

There could be some fallout in the public eye as well, given that few elected officials caught abusing their office are given deals like the one Solis got on his case.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office declined to comment Wednesday. Solis attorney, Lisa Noller, also had no comment.

Meanwhile, the move also could have reverberations in another high-profile public corruption case  the prosecution of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, who scheduled to go on trial on April 1. Solis also made secret recordings of Madigan that helped lead to his indictment.

Burke, 79, is set for trial on Nov. 6 along with two co-defendants. He was originally charged in a criminal complaint in January 2019. He was indicted four months later on 14 counts including racketeering, federal program bribery, attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion and using interstate commerce to facilitate an unlawful activity.

The 59-page indictment outlined a series of schemes in which Burke allegedly tried to muscle developers into hiring his law firm, Klafter & Burke, to appeal their property taxes. Among the projects Burke tried to capitalize on was the massive $800 million renovation of the Old Post Office in the West Loop, according to the charges. Solis recorded numerous conversations with Burke about that deal, records show.

Also charged was Burkes longtime aide, Peter Andrews, who was accused of assisting the alderman in attempting to shake down two business owners seeking to renovate a Burger King restaurant in the 14th Ward.

Solis legal saga began in 2016 when he secretly agreed to wear a wire for the FBI and helped build racketeering cases against Burke and Madigan, two of the longest-serving and most powerful politicians in the state.

A bombshell court filing made public in 2019 showed the FBI spent more than two years investigating Solis before he was confronted and flipped, secretly listening in on thousands of phone calls as the alderman solicited everything from campaign donations to sexual services at a massage parlor.

In exchange for official action or promises, Solis solicited a steady flow of personal benefits, including Viagra pills and prostitution services from a political operative who represented a company seeking an exemption from the citys water ordinance, the FBI search warrant affidavit alleged.

The deferred prosecution deal was signed by Solis on the day after Christmas 2018 and kept secret for nearly 3  years before the U.S. attorneys office finally put it on the record last year.

As part of the deal, Solis was charged in a one-count criminal information with corruptly soliciting campaign donations from a real estate developer in exchange for zoning changes in 2015, when Solis was head of the City Councils zoning committee. That charge will be dropped in three years if Solis continues to cooperate.

Last year, the federal prosecutor leading the Burke and Madigan investigations delivered an impassioned defense of the deal with Solis, telling the federal judge overseeing the high-profile case that Solis cooperation was perhaps singular even in the citys long history of political corruption.

During the course of his undercover work, Solis personally made hundreds of recordings and helped form the basis of government requests for wiretaps on others, Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu said.

Some may view (Solis deal) as being with little precedent, but what Mr. Solis did also was with little precedent, Bhachu said. He didnt just talk. He took action. He worked with the federal government for six years to expose corruption.

When Solis was confronted by investigators back in 2016, Bhachu said, he had a choice about what his path would be, including to refuse to cooperate, deny accountability, and fight any charges that came his way.

That is an easy path that many in this city and state have followed, Bhachu said. Mr. Solis chose a more difficult path, judge. He cooperated with the government for approximately six years. When we asked him to meet, he did so. When he was asked to make a recording with a third party, he did it.

A lot of people talk about cleaning up corruption, and often all it amounts to is talk, Bhachu said. Its rare when someone actually delivers, and in this regard, Mr. Solis delivered.

Bhachu also said Solis has suffered for his corruption, even if it wont include a felony conviction. He lost his seat in the City Council, he cant run for public office again, and hes been ostracized by former colleagues, according to the prosecutor.

Life is never going to be the same for him again, Bhachu said. These are all real consequences.

Solis, who is collecting a nearly $100,000 annual city pension, has been free on bond since he was charged in 2022.

Madigan, 81, and McClain, 75, are charged in a 23-count indictment with racketeering conspiracy and individual counts of using interstate facilities in aid of bribery, wire fraud and attempted extortion. They have pleaded not guilty, and a jury trial is set for next April.

Solis recordings in that case include a video-recorded meeting with Madigan, where the speaker allegedly talked about a deal to sell a state-owned parcel of land in Chinatown to developers in exchange for them hiring his private law firm to do tax work.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

rlong@chicagotribune.com
Police have arrested five faith leaders after they chained themselves to construction equipment being used to build the new Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

It comes just two days after more than 60 people were indicted in a racketeering case tied to protests over the training center.

Channel 2s Tyisha Fernandes has learned that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is now involved.

Fernandes spoke with a protest organizer on Thursday afternoon who said all five faith leaders were still sitting in jail.

Fernandes obtained video that shows Atlanta police arresting a faith leader and dragging her to a patrol car after she and four others chained themselves to construction equipment.

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RELATED STORIES:

It actually showed the courage and the bravery to put their faith into action and indictments or no indictments, they were not going to be moved, protest organizer Mary Hooks said.

After the arrests, about 25 protesters showed up to the site on Constitution Road in southeast Atlanta with banners and signs that said, Stop work and This is the peoples injunction to stop cop city.

Fernandes asked Hooks if she believed police should be trained. She said yes. Fernandes also asked her if she understood that firefighters dont have a place to train right now.

I saw the footage. I saw where they were training, and they do need a dignified place to train, Hooks said. But do you have to spend $67 million of our peoples money to do it? Do you have to take over 85 acres of land to do it?

Protesters are expected to gather outside the DeKalb County Jail Thursday night.

Thursday night, police released the names and charges of those arrested:

Lalita Martin, 28 of Atlanta - charged with trespassing, obstruction and reckless conduct

Timothy Sullivan, 25 of Burlington, Mass. - charged with trespassing and obstruction

Ayeola Whitworth, 25 from Atlanta - charged with trespassing and obstruction

David Dunn, 61 from Roswell - charged with trespassing and obstruction

Jeffrey Jones, 65 from Smyrna - charged with trespassing and obstruction

RELATED NEWS:




Pullman police arrested a woman on Wednesday who is accused of stabbing two people.

Police believe the woman was having a mental health crisis.

The Pullman Police Department said officers got to the scene in the 1000 block of Northeast Williams Drive just before 9 a.m.

Officers went into the apartment and saw an adult woman allegedly armed with a knife assaulting another adult woman. Police also found a man inside the apartment with critical injuries. He was transported to Pullman Regional Hospital and is expected to survive.

Officers said they took the woman who is a 29-year-old California resident into custody.

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Both the 29-year-old woman and the woman who was assaulted were taken to the hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The 29-year-old woman was arrested for assault, one count of weapons apparently capable of producing bodily harm, and one count of attempted murder. After she is released from the hospital, she will be booked into the Whitman County Jail.
The stage is being set for a Tarrant County jury to determine the fate of Amber Nichole McDaniel, mother of 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel. She has already pleaded guilty to child endangerment and tampering with evidence.

Amber, 33, left it up to a jury to decide whether she will receive probation or spend time behind bars for her actions related to her child's murder case.

Amber McDaniel stands in front of the judge at the Wichita County Courthouse on Friday, April 28, 2023.

Jury selection is set to begin Monday at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in Fort Worth. A judge ordered the trial moved from Wichita County because of pretrial publicity.

More: A mother's tears, a mother's punishment: What will happen to Wilder's mom?

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The punishment proceedings are likely to subject Wilder's family to reliving the heartrending events surrounding the child's death, as well as parts of the emotionally-draining trial for Wilder's murderer earlier this year.

James Irven Staley III, Amber's ex-boyfriend and Wilder's killer, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. A Tarrant County jury convicted him March 13 of capital murder of a child under 10 years old.

Prosecutors believe Staley meticulously planned Wilder's murder and smothered him to death in a bedroom in the oil scion's Country Club home Oct. 11, 2018, to get rid of a child he didn't want around.

Jason Wilder McDaniel

During Staley's murder trial, Amber testified against him for several hours, incriminating herself in the process.

Subpoena requests have been flying from defense attorney Mark Barber, and Wichita County District Attorney John Gillespie filed the state's original witness list in June.

More: Week two of Staley trial begins

It is six pages long  unlike the 21-page original witness list filed for Staley's trial. But there are familiar names on the state's list of possible witnesses for Amber's punishment trial.

They include Wilder's family members such as his dad and Amber's husband, Robert "Bubba" McDaniel Jr., his aunt and his "PawPaw." Also listed are Staley's sister and mother, and his childhood friend.

James Irven Staley leaves after a day in court Wednesday, March 8, 2023, in the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center in downtown Fort Worth. On Monday, March 13, 2023, Staley was convicted of murdering 2-year-old Jason Wilder McDaniel.

In addition, Dr. Suzanne Dakil, a specialist in child-abuse pediatrics from Dallas, is among those who may be called to the stand to testify for the state. Dakil was a key witness in Staley's trial.

The defense has listed two experts who might testify: Amanda Vickers, a Wichita Falls therapist, and Dr. Daunne Peters, a local pediatrician.

Jason Wilder McDaniel is shown here with his mother, Amber McDaniel.

Amber pleaded guilty April 28 in 30th District Court in Wichita Falls to endangering a child for bringing Wilder around Staley.

She also entered a guilty plea to tampering with evidence for deleting some electronic messages between herself and Staley that prosecutors say showed his hostility toward the little boy.

Amber is eligible for probation and has never been convicted of a felony. She faces two to 10 years in prison for evidence tampering, a third-degree felony, and six months to 24 months in state jail for child endangerment, a state jail felony.

James Irven Staley III

Her decision to plead guilty and allow a jury to determine her sentence means only one part of a usually two-part trial was necessary. Typically, a guilty-not guilty phase is presented before a jury. If a defendant is convicted, a penalty phase follows to determine a sentence unless it is an automatic sentence.

Amber was free Wednesday from the Wichita County Detention Center on $60,000 in bonds, according to online jail records.

Staley, who denied his guilt just after sentencing, has filed to appeal his conviction with the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth.

Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her X handle is @Trishapedia.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Punishment trial for Amber McDaniel, Wilder's mom, fast approaching
TIRASPOL, MoldovaVictor Plescanov, a 59-year-old gravedigger from Tiraspolthe capital of the Russian-backed breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldovahas never shied away from bold public expressions of support for Ukraines independence.

A week after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Plescanov was in a fabrics store running an errand. When he noticed only Transnistrian and Russian flags at the store, he boldly asked the local who worked there for fabrics to make a Ukrainian flag. At home, he hung the self-made flag outside their apartment, a bold gesture given their neighbors were members of the Transnistria proxy for the FSB, Russias federal security agency.

Plescanov, who lived with his wife and teenage son at the time, knew such gestures came with risks. In a region where Russian influence is predominant and any opposition narrative is suppressed, Victor's actionslike questioning the absence of a Ukrainian flag, and then hanging one outside his apartmentwere viewed as dissent. What he couldnt have known was that his actions that day would ultimately lead to a lengthy prison sentenceand force his wife, Oxana Lopusneak, and their 14-year-old, into a life of fear.

The police and KGB, they always wanted to catch him for something, Lopusneak told The Daily Beast in a March interview from their familys apartment in Tiraspol. This I knew for sure.

Oxana in her family apartment in Tiraspol. Hank Baker

Knock at the Door

A week after her husband hung the Ukrainian flag outside his window, two police officers arrived outside their door and took Plescanov to a local police station. Plescanov was allegedly questioned at gunpoint by a Russian peacekeeper and eventually released from police custody pending a court date. He went home and continued expressing his support on social media for Ukraine as the war seemed to draw closer.

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It was spring 2022 and Transnistria and Moldova were both sweating the invasion next door. For the next several months, those deemed to be agitators, like Plescanov, were silenced or barred entry to Moldova proper. When authorities in either part of the country were unable to silence the opposition, they sought to drown out the loudest voices.

Hipster Art Couple Unmasked in Putins Secret Next Ukraine Mission

Despite his initial release, Plescanov wasnt out of the woods yet. On June 10, another set of police officers came knocking on the familys door to tell Plescanov that he was due in court later that afternoon.

Lopusneak said she knew something was wrong by the expression of one, but Plescanov received the news in his usually puerile buoyancy. As a gravedigger, he often faced the problems of the living as comical. He donned a pair of shorts emblazoned with marijuana leafs and put on an American flag shirt. Lopusneak stayed home preparing dinner for the family.

It was like a dream, Lopusneak told The Daily Beast. We were so stressed during this time. We worried about Ukraine, we didnt sleep.

When the dinner was ready she called the court house. Plescanov had received a five-day sentence, but the court would not disclose the charges. The next morning, a squad of police officers raided their apartment shortly after 6 a.m. local time. They said they were searching for weapons. During the search, they told Lopusneak that her husband would be detained for an additional five days, and that she could retrieve him from jail then. After a five-hour search of her apartment and a room Plescanov was renovating in a nearby building, the officers left.

On the tenth day after his appearance in court, Lopusneak went to the courthouse, then the police station. When she asked the desk sergeant, and later the lieutenant, where Plescanov was, their faces grew pallid. They told her to waitshed have to speak with someone from the KGB.

Lopusneak had heard stories about what might happen if she agreed to meet with them. She and Plescanov had already been interrogated once before and they had seen the type of intimidation at play: armed men in a small windowless room, seeking a coerced confession.

One representative on her legal team warned her that the KGB wanted to speak with her further, to take you to the forest. They will slap you a little bit and make you scared.

Im a woman, Lopusneak said. I dont want to feel that fear.

Later that day, she met with the KGB at the regional offices in Tiraspol and they questioned her about her relationship with her husband, and why they had chosen to send their son to a Romanian school and not a Russian school. One man entered and prepared to take a statement, placing a notebook between them. She refused to speak or sign anything. They said goodbye and let her leave, without offering any clarity on Plescanovs fate or whereabouts.

Practice Run

Transnistria came briefly to global attention last March when Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko unveiled a map appearing to show Russian forces anticipating an attack in the breakaway Transnistrian region, home to a Soviet-era ammunition cache. The protests grew throughout the year as provocations like Lukashenkos continued.

Protest in Moldova last November. Hank Baker / The Daily Beast

Moldova as a whole has been a target of Russian disinformation campaigns for years, often serving as a test-bed for tactics later deployed by the Kremlin in places like Mali, Venezuela, and the U.S., according to experts. The ethnic tensions, sporadic efforts to defend ethnic Moldovans, and an absence of stable governance have all played into Moldova's susceptibility to external meddling, especially from Russia.

Russias Covert Operation for the Next Ukraine Has Already Begun

The story of Lopusneak and Plescanov has offered a rare public glimpse of how Kremlin-backed Transnistria operates since the invasion brought a renewed conflict to its border.

Plescanovs conviction is extremely similar to the suppression of war critics in Russia proper, Vlad Lupan, a former Moldovan ambassador to the U.N., told The Daily Beast after Plescanovs arrest last year.

Untouchable

When The Daily Beast visited Tiraspol in March, there were signs of what appeared to be a political identity crisis splattered across the regiona desire to be both a Russian satellite state and a nation embraced by the rest of Europe. At one edge of the city was the Back in the U.S.S.R. cafe; at another edge the Dolce Vita restaurant.

Reaching the familys apartment in Tiraspol required a trek across an open field, and a squeeze through a concrete crack between two towering buildings which emerged into a windswept courtyard filled with the mews of children at a playground. At the stairs leading to the apartment, a graying man in Russian military fatigues smoked a cigarette, his blouse unbuttoned at the belly.

At her home, Lopusneak expressed both fear and resignation over her future. She looked out the window and pointed to where Plescanovs Ukrainian flag once flewwhere her husband no longer stood.

After searching for two weeks at jails across Transnistria, sending petitions to the local police forces, she said she eventually found Plescanov in the basement of a jailhouse in Slobodzheya. Of course he was crying that time when we came to the jail He was very upset about this," Lopusneak said. In September, he was sentenced to three years and four months in prison, the charges still sealed.

1235528845 A soldier and a woman walk past the headquarters of the Operative Group of the Russian Troops in the town of Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria - Moldova's pro-Russian breakaway region on the eastern border with Ukraine. Sergei Gapon/Getty Images

Lopusneaks biggest fear then was Plescanovs health issues. He was treated for depression before his arresthe had reportedly attempted suicide in prisonand had lasting complications from a cholecystectomy. That was second only to the fear that she would be next. Under Transnistria law, she could be arrested for having contacted Moldovas central government for assistance on her husbands case once her son turned 14, when the state believed the teenager would be old enough to care for himself without his father or mother.

There is a law here. Until a child turns 14, they cannot touch the mother. When my son turns 14, they can do the same as Victor, she said.

In her apartment, Lopusneak read the letter she had received from the State Chancellery of the Republic of Moldova after she requested their help. Although Transnistria is internationally recognized as part of Moldova, The office of Maia Sandu, they told me they dont want Transnistria, Lopusneak said, referring to the president of Moldova, a vocal critic of Russian influence in the country. But they dont want to touch it either, because they dont know what to do with these people. How can you change the peoples mind, their brains, to think of reintegrating with Moldova, to the European Union?

She was angered by the helplessness of the situation. You have to change their mind, she said of Transnistrias people. Here, the propaganda spoils their brain.

Lopusneak also expressed worry for her teenager. In the last two years, young people in the region have faced increased pressure to suppress their dissent, whether indirect, through association, or through action. In at least one case in Transnistria, a teenage girl wearing a ribbon in support of Ukraine was detained and questioned by security forces.

Fantasy Land

Nikolai Kuzmin, who is on Plescanovs defense team as part of the civil society activism group Apriori, said he sees the tactics that have been used against the gravedigger in other cases targeting dissenters in the region.

[Transnistria authorities] imprison a person for something small and for a short time, quickly collect a criminal case, and start it while continuing to hold the person in custody. Personally, it seems to me that, if possible, the Transnistria authorities will continue to use this scheme.

Kuzmin said he has petitioned the Transnistria government for clarity over what Plescanov was being charged with, but has received only silence. Inside Transnistria, some residents who spoke with The Daily Beast figured Plescanov had received the treatment that he deserved. Few felt that human rights and freedom of speech were being limited. It seems to me that when verified information is scarce, Kuzmin said, people turn to fantasy.

Although she remains worried that she will face a similar fate as her husbands, Lopusneak remains outspoken against the treatment of Plescanov by Transnistrian authorities. Her husband, after all, had been outspoken, too, despite his case becoming lost in the morass of falsehoods and indifferences of the Russian state.

In Lopusneaks view, the entire episode of Plescanov's sentencing was triggered not by the Ukrainian flags her husband displayed, nor the tense exchange in the fabrics store. His fate, she believes, was sealed by a single social media post Plescanov wrote at the start of war. It read, in part, Slava Ukraini. Glory to Ukraine.

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The North Carolina Medicaid expansion agreement signed into law in late March represents a momentous event, set to bring health insurance coverage to thousands after years of failed negotiations.

With the upcoming implementation of Medicaid expansion, which is pending passage of a budget by the states Republican-majority legislature, weve created a guide answering questions on what expansion would mean, timelines for implementation, the terms involved and more.

What is Medicaid?

Medicaid provides health insurance coverage to millions of low-income and needy individuals across the country. It is jointly funded by the federal government and the states.

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The program was first signed into law in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson and initially covered only certain categories of individuals. Over time, the federal government expanded eligibility.

What is Medicaid expansion?

In 2010, with the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Medicaid program was expanded to cover all adults with income below 138% of the federal poverty level. For households with incomes between 100% and 400%, the ACA provided subsidies to help lower health insurance costs. Following a lawsuit by Republican attorneys general, expansion became optional and not all states have opted into it.

Ten states  formerly 11, with North Carolina  have not opted to expand Medicaid under the ACA, according to research by Kaiser Family Foundation. This means that in North Carolina, childless adults are not eligible for Medicaid, while the current income limit eligibility for a parent or caretaker is 41% of the federal poverty level.

North Carolina also provides coverage, within certain parameters, for children, people who are blind or disabled, over age 65 or pregnant.

What would expansion mean for North Carolinians?

Medicaid expansion would make 600,000 low-income North Carolinians eligible for the program as well as increase access to health care across the state, particularly in rural communities, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

Gov. Roy Cooper , following the closure of Martin General Hospital in Williamston, has also said expansion will help rural hospitals struggling to make profit, due in part to high levels of uncompensated care provided to patients without health insurance.

It would also help close what many dub the coverage gap which refers to people who do not qualify for Medicaid and make too little to receive subsidies to help them buy insurance on a federal marketplace.

What is the status of expansion in NC now?

For years, Republicans in North Carolina did not support expansion. Then, key Republicans shifted their stance, but a compromise could not be reached between the state House and Senate.

Disagreements between the two chambers centered on policy provisions affecting hospital competition, provisions granting high-level nurses more independence and more.

On March 2, House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger announced a breakthrough. They revealed they had come to an agreement on a compromise bill. By mid-March, the expansion bill had passed both legislative chambers with strong bipartisan support and had been signed into law by Cooper, who has been a longtime supporter of expansion.

But the passage of Medicaid expansion into law did not mean that expansion took effect.

The expansion bill was tied by lawmakers to funding within the state budget, which means if the budget does not pass, neither does expansion.

When would expansion take effect?

Medicaid expansion in the state will take effect when the budget becomes law and once the federal government approves a start date.

Lawmakers in the House and Senate, which both have Republican supermajorities, have not yet passed a budget, which is supposed to happen every odd-numbered year by June 30. Delays are not uncommon, whether because of arguments within a party or, as has been more common lately, between the two parties.

The states Department of Health and Human Services, a Cabinet agency that reports to Cooper, said in late July that it would move forward with expansion, with an Oct. 1 launch. But, to meet this date, DHHS said in July the General Assembly would need to separate expansion from the budget or enact a budget by Sept. 1. Neither happened. But top lawmakers say a budget deal is imminent and votes are likely as early as Sept. 13 and 14.

DHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley said the budget delay means implementation of expansion wont happen by Oct. 1 and instead will be pushed to December or next year. Asked why it would take so long, Kinsley said several variables are involved, including quarterly cash flow issues and necessary technology change, as previously reported by The News & Observer.

What are the consequences of delayed expansion?

The delay means hundreds of thousands will have to wait to gain health insurance coverage. It also means that thousands will continue to lose coverage monthly as DHHS continues to review Medicaid beneficiaries eligibility.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, states that accepted increased amounts of federal matching funds for Medicaid service costs could not kick people off of the program. But, starting April 1, this non-withdrawal requirement ended and the state began the review process. To date, over 68,000 people in North Carolina have lost their coverage, including many who may be eligible under expansion.

How do I apply for Medicaid in North Carolina?

To apply for Medicaid, under the current parameters and once expansion kicks in, there are multiple ways:

Via the ePASS Public Portal, a website run by DHHS. The site is available in English and Spanish.

In person at a local Department of Social Services office.

Via mail using a paper application that must be sent to a local DSS office.

Via the federal government by applying through the HealthCare.gov website or by calling 1-800-318-2596.

Visit the states DHHS website for more details on required documents and more.

Questions? email Medicaid.Transformation@dhhs.nc.gov or call (888) 245-0179 or a local DSS office.

Whats in the Medicaid expansion bill passed into law?

Certificate of Need: The expansion bill will make some changes to regulations known as certificate of need (CON).

North Carolinas certificate of need law regulates hospital expansions, new health care facilities, medical equipment purchases and more. The debate over that law was a big reason Medicaid expansion did not pass in recent years (the Senate wanted to pass it with certificate of need changes and the House did not).

The expansion bill eliminates certificate of need for behavioral health beds and chemical dependency beds.

For counties with a population of 125,000 or more, the bill eliminates certificate of need requirements for MRI machines and ambulatory surgical centers. These provisions would become effective years down the line.

These surgical centers in large counties would have a specific requirement for how much charity care they must provide.

Reimbursements: The expansion bill includes a mechanism for hospitals to get higher reimbursements through Medicaid dubbed the Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program.

The federal government covers 90% of Medicaid coverage costs for the expansion population. The remaining 10% of costs under the expansion bill will be paid for by taxing hospitals. But to compensate hospitals, lawmakers included the HASP mechanism, which allows hospitals to take advantage of a federal program to get more funding. It is targeted at hospitals that have experienced losses.

Whats not in the bill?

SAVE Act: The expansion bill passed into law does not include provisions granting high-level nurses more independence.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wanted to allow advanced practice nurses who meet educational and clinical practice requirements to diagnose illnesses, administer anesthetic and prescribe medicine without physician supervision.

Last year, the proposal was tacked on to the Senates Medicaid expansion bill, which did not pass.

Additional funding provisions: The compromise version also does not include a forgivable loan program for doctors and nurses, or a $50 million fund for counties for eligibility determinations and inmate medical costs. These provisions were in the Houses version.

Will Medicaid expansion bring money to NC?

Expansion would mean more federal funding for North Carolina. DHHS broke the numbers down as follows:

$4.8 billion a year billed to Medicaid by health care providers on behalf of the newly insured.

$3.7 billion or more a year in payments to hospitals via the stabilization program.

A one-time $1.8 billion signing bonus that can support behavioral health, public safety support, rural health care, and other needs.

DHHS had also previously said they expected another $1.8 billion in back payments if expansion and the stabilization program were approved by June 30. In a follow-up, DHHS told the N&O that since this estimate had assumed expansion started June 2023, this number could change depending on when final HASP approval occurs.

A fiscal analysis of the House expansion bill estimates positive financial impacts on the state budget through 2027.

Expansion has opponents, too. One critic, Donald Bryson, president of the John Locke Foundation, told The N&O that the touted funds were deficit spending by the federal government that would hurt the states reputation for fiscal responsibility.

What is this signing bonus?

The federal government covers 90% of Medicaid coverage costs for the expansion population. It also currently covers 66% of costs for the non-expansion population in North Carolina.

To encourage states that had not expanded Medicaid to get on board, the federal government, under the American Rescue Plan Act, increased the states regular match rate by 5% over the span of two years after expansion took effect. This is what has typically been cited by lawmakers as a $1.8 billion or so signing bonus from the federal government.
A 78-year-old man was forced to give up his business class seat on a recent Qantas flight so that an off-duty pilot could take his place.

Stephen Jones was sitting in the business class lounge at Melbourne airport with his wife on 3 September when he heard his name over the tannoy, he told Australian radio station 3AW.

When he went to the Qantas desk, Mr Jones was told hed been bumped because his seat was required by an off-duty pilot, whose contract stipulated he was entitled to travel in business class.

It didnt register at first, he said. I wasnt quite sure what bumped meant. She said, Ill have to reissue your ticket for economy class.

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While Mr Jones said he understood that pilots are entitled to rest and comfort, he added that he found the experience of being bumped unsettling and made me a little irritable.

I dont think anything is going to change until theres ramifications for Qantas when they upset their customers, he added.

Qantas confirmed to 3AW that the incident had taken place, and said Mr Jones had been downgraded as there were no spare business class seats.

Weve apologised to the customer, and explained why the downgrade was necessary, the Australian flag carrier said in a statement. When this happens we provide customers with a partial refund.

Mr Jones said hed also been offered 5,000 frequent flyer miles.

It follows the news that easyJet prioritises its package holiday customers when selecting passengers to bump from an overbooked flight.

The policy came to light after The Independent began to investigate an incident in which an extended family was split up at Liverpool John Lennon airport.

An easyJet Holidays spokesperson confirmed to The Independent that our ground staff are given guidance on which groups of customers to try and avoid selecting not to travel in the event where not enough volunteers come forward when an aircraft is downgraded, which includes a number of groups like those requiring special assistance and, where possible, easyJet Holidays customers.

The policy of prioritising easyJet Holidays customers increases the chances of flight-only passengers, or those booked with other tour operators, being denied boarding.
A young terrorist suspect accused of planning a knife attack in Queens is saying he was entrapped and federal prosecutors are withholding chat logs that show undercover agents enticed him into supporting ISIS.

In a Brooklyn federal court hearing Thursday, lawyers for Awais Chudhary said federal prosecutors turned over logs from a large chat group on Telegram, and smaller chats with undercover agents, but never handed over chat logs from a medium-sized group that convinced their client to talk with the agents.

It was always clear to us that there were missing chats, said Chudharys lawyer, Samuel Jacobson of the Federal Defenders. The government told the court that no such chats existed. We have found those chats.

Chudhary entered a guilty plea in the case last year before a magistrate judge, but the plea has not formally been accepted.

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Jacobson said Chudhary isnt withdrawing that plea yet for procedural reasons while he pursues a motion to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that federal prosecutors violated the Brady Rule, which requires the government disclose any evidence helpful to the defense before trial.

He said the chats show that over several weeks, undercover agents with Joint Terrorism Task Force were inducing Mr. Chudhary into supporting ISIS  by sharing violent propaganda, knife emojis, and basically pulling him into this side group.

This would had been our central defense at trial had we had these materials, Jacobson said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Sise countered that the government didnt withhold relevant evidence, and would respond in detail after the defense files its motion.

The governments position is that there was no entrapment here, and that there was nothing that was withheld that was entitled to be produced to the defendant, she said.

Chudhary, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistani who lives in East Elmhurst, was accused of talking with undercover officers in August 2019 through text messages about how he wanted to plan a knife or bomb attack in the name of ISIS.

He identified targets, including the pedestrian bridges over the Grand Central Parkway and the Flushing Bay Promenade, went on reconnaissance trips, and ordered a tactical knife and other items online, prosecutors allege.

He was busted as he attempted to get the items from an online retailers locker in Queens.

Chudharys lawyers expect to file their motion by Sept. 29, with the government responding 30 days after that.
On the morning of August 22, queer people awoke to the news that Autostraddle, the long-standing lesbian and queer digital publication, had been acquired by wellness and tech company For Them. For many readers, this sudden change in leadership was a shake-up, but the decision wasnt quite as shocking for those on the media beat. Defectors Lauren Theisen predicted as much last July, after charting the sites recent layoffs, turbulent fundraising, and miraculous (if precarious) existence over the last 14 years. I too felt an acquisition was imminentand if a deal couldnt be made, I expected Autostraddles story to simply and unceremoniously end.

As far as the recent shifts in the landscape of queer media are concerned, this is pretty much par for the course. In 2017, the gay hookup app Grindr launched INTOmore, a catchall media hub for LGBTQ millennials that delivered some ambitious reporting and took home awards from both the National Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, or NLGJA, and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.



But just 17 months later, the editorial team was suddenly let go and INTO sputtered out. (INTO relaunched in 2021 after an acquisition by Q Media, though the site lost much of its momentum in the confusing interregnum.) Then in 2019, the editor in chief of AfterEllena lesbian site that in recent years had made a sharp pivot to transphobiaannounced the platform was effectively shutting down. That closure was followed by Bitch Mediawhich famously went from a stapled zine to a dynamic, independent media organization over the course of 25 storied yearsceasing operations in 2022. And naturally, print media in general has become even more vulnerable, as journals and publishers go under at semiregular intervals and larger, better funded papers seem to revel in calling their local gay counterparts half-sunk old boats.



Theres little doubt that queer media outlets were going to carry their share of the financial stresses that have engulfed the media industry as a whole. Even for more established, general outlets, media is more a wildfire than forest, with the once effervescently cool Vice Media now bankrupt (and still owing many writers, myself included, payment); the recent death knells of BuzzFeed News; and layoffs hitting legacy outlets such as Vox Media, NBC, and The Washington Post (just to name a few).



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Between so many outlets going up in flames and a generation of burned-out writers caught in the blast, Autostraddles acquisition seemed like a glass of cold water. Some readers felt betrayed, regarding the acquisition as an ethically (though certainly not financially) bankrupt decision. But when the alternative is losing Autostraddleor any queer media outletis independence really more important than survival?



The heat over the Autostraddle acquisition reminds me of a recent $10,000 grant awarded to Sinister Wisdom, a multicultural lesbian literary and art journal that has been publishing (and expanding) since 1976. (Full disclosure: Ive been working with Sinister Wisdom, first as an intern and eventually on the board of directors, since 2016.) The grant was funded by the Amazon Literary Partnership and the Council of Literary Magazines and Publishers, or CLMP, and theres been some anticipated pushback.



Some women expressed concern about taking money from Amazon because of the history of Amazon, and the challenges that it brought to independent feminist bookstores, says Sinister Wisdom editor and publisher Julie R. Enszer. It is not too extreme to say that the advent of Amazon corresponded with the end of many independent feminist bookstores. Amazon wasand for many remainsan enemy to feminists and feminist books and ideas. I was aware of all of this when we applied for the grantand when we accepted it.



Operating an independent, lesbian-feminist journal means that everyday we make decisions about how we show up in the world and how we do our work, says Enszer. Did Sinister Wisdom sell out by accepting a grant from Amazon Literary Partners? I know that lobbing that idea at Sinister Wisdom feels good to people making the accusation. [But] to remain a vital publisher, we need support for our workand we need to expand support for our work. This grant will help us do that.



All the same, there are undoubtedly some queer folks and lesbians who love the journal but will absolutely cancel their subscriptions over this grant. Part of this anger is tied to the cultural value many people put on independent and/or self-published queer media, zines, and publications, which have deep roots in gay and trans rights, social justice movements, and lesbian-feminist ethos.



Print, through books, newspapers, and journals, and now through online media, is a way that lesbians and queer women find one another, network, and think together, says Enszer, who is also a professor of gender, queer, and feminist studies, with a specialty in twentieth-century feminist literature. Zines were DIY pamphlets capturing everything from personal stories to vital resource networks to sites to odes of political activation. (During the AIDS epidemic, for example, when both the media and the state largely deserted the queer community, zines were there to fill the gaps, per the Queer Zine Archive Project.)



Then there were presses like Naiad Press, founded in 1973, and Kitchen Table: Woman of Color Press founded in 1980, both of which ushered in a prolific era of lesbian, feminist, and queer publishing. As a result, some specific values got valorized and deeply implanted among readers: a fierce independence, a suspicion of authority, and a politically rigorous, DIY attitudeall of which can foster a deep (and well-earned) distrust for corporate-owned or investor-sponsored media.



But unlike Sinister Wisdoms situation, the frustrations with Autostraddle may go much deeper than just the acquisition. Back in 2019, a number of trans people and people of color shared public accounts of discomfort while attending A-Camp (Autostraddles summer camp spin-off entity). Soon after, leadership announced that A-Camp was taking a break, and it has not returned since. Then in March, Autostraddle asked the community to donate $175,000 to a life-sustaining fundraiserstating that without the money, Autostraddle wouldnt make it to Pride Month.



The community not only met the goal but exceeded it. But the money wasnt enough to avoid layoffs, and three contract-based staff writers were let go in May, resulting in an open letter from staff writers and freelancers calling for increased financial transparency, accountability, and renewed commitments to marginalizedparticularly Black and transreaders and writers, among other concerns. Taken together, its clear that while Autostraddle has made some mistakes along the way, some readers reactions may be more about the culmination of hurts, rather than taking in the socioeconomic realities of media.



When I asked Reise Bernard, co-founder and former CEO of Autostraddle, what she thought about the acquisition naysayers, her response was measured: We wont get it right every time or even most of the time, but I hope they give us a chance to see what we can do with more resources and support because weve never had that chance before. Were forming an incredible and diverse team of queer and trans people, and Kylo [Freeman] has investors on board who want to see us thrive. I think thats great. I just hope they give us a chance.



Sometimes people in certain queer and trans echo chambers online see themselves as culture critics, so they feel justified in publicly criticizing the moves that other queer and trans people make without knowing all the facts, says Daniela Capistrano, founder of POC Zine Project, editor in chief of TransLash Zine, and founder and CEO of DCAP Media. (Note: I was a 2023 news and narrative fellow for TransLash Media but did not work with Capistrano.) Unfortunately, some of these folks dont have enough knowledge of our own LGBTQ+ and civil rights history in the United States to be giving any kind of real critical feedback or nuanced analysis on these kinds of business decisions.

Money alone doesnt solve problems or free us, Capistrano adds. We help free each other, but ask any mutual aid or independent network  most of them are going to say they are very interested in receiving money in that way, and LGBTQ+ businesses have been quietly and publicly providing this support in our communities as both donors and investors in our communities for many decades.

Capistrano believes the acquisition is probably one of the best outcomes out of all possible options, because Autostraddle is not only partnering with a values-aligned, queer and trans-led company, but the staff also maintains editorial control. I am for LGBTQ+ folks planning strategically and cultivating abundance through interdependent collaboration; this can take the form of an independent LGBTQ+ platform collaborating with a values-aligned investor. But some folks often talk shit about what they dont understand.



At the same time, Capistrano doesnt think Autostraddle is exempt from criticism from its community. They attended A-Camp in 2017 to lead a POC Zine Project workshop and recall valid grievances from trans attendees that year. Since then they have done work to do better at centering trans voices and trans leadership by hiring more trans people, says Capistrano. But I do not personally interpret Autostraddle being acquired by an LGBTQ-led business to continue operating in a sustainable way as causing harm to anyone.



Whether you like it or not, indie media doesnt always mean better, more ethical, or even good. And sometimes queer people will make difficult decisionsbe it accepting a grant or negotiating an acquisitionin exchange for the ability to do the work that matters.



Youd be hard-pressed to find a queer personparticularly those who arent cis queer menwho havent been personally impacted by Autostraddle. Early in my career, one of the first commissions I received was from an Autostraddle editor, ironically on the history of tatiana de la tierra, a devoutly independent lesbian publisher and zinester. Capistrano too wrote a piece for Autostraddle back in 2013. Even my wife, a nonwriter, found her way into Autostraddle through a 2017 Ken doll look-alike listicle. The site has a way of simply mattering to people.



Kylo Freeman, the new CEO of Autostraddle, has a similar story: I honestly dont remember how old I was exactly when I first read Autostraddlevery early on in university though. I was struggling with my sexuality. I was still with my boyfriend at the time, they recall. It was a combination of Autostraddle and The L Word, and Autostraddles reviews of The L Word that really opened my eyes to queer life and made me brave enough to start exploring it IRL. More than anything, says Freeman, queer media is the only way for us to control how our experiences are told and communicated to the world.



And the recent months havent all been about endings or stressful changes There are new saplings taking root, right alongside sturdy sapphic oaks like Sinister Wisdom, Curve Magazine, and Autostraddle. Them, launched by Conde Nast in 2017, has earned the respect of many skepticsand has gone on to champion political reporting and cultural analysis with a queer and trans lens. Queerency covers the queer economy and provides a database of hundreds of queer-owned businesses; TransLash Media, founded by journalist Imara Jones in 2018, is dedicated to trans stories for and by trans people.



In literary publishing, organizations like Lambda Literary, queer journals like Foglifter, and anthologies like Nepantla are certainly holding their own. And organizations like the NLGJA and the Trans Journalists Association are offering institutional support for new generations of journalists, publishers, and editors. If this media subculture has had to answer for its independence recently, its not had cause to question the vitality, or the resilience, of its core audience. In this way, queer media has distinguished itself from the all-things-to-all-people outlets that have endured similar disruptions or that scramble to woo its readership base.



Queer medias independence or survival? Capistrano asks. I have to push back and say I dont think you have to choose  there have been multiple queer media outlets over the last several decades that have proven that it doesnt have to be one or the other.



Enszer too believes queer media is most vibrant in a diverse ecosystem. We need both: independent queer media and queer perspectives in corporate media. And we need other structures of queer media in places where it is absent, she says. Independent queer media is important and vital and constantly needs people and money invested in its presence and its continued development and reimagining.



The reality is, queer media is never going to be just one thing. But only a deeply invested base of readers worries about the possibility of an independent institution selling out. So while it may be hard to chart the future of these varied outlets, all these rampant passions are perhaps the best evidence that there will be space enough for all: independent, for-profit, local and national papers, presses, zines, publications, blogs, and yes, Autostraddle too.


A Quincy man was arrested Thursday morning on charges in connection with a bank fraud scheme involving more than 100 counterfeit checks totaling over $1 million, federal investigators said.

Hui Zhang, 41, was slated to be arraigned Thursday afternoon in federal court in Worcester on a single charge of bank fraud, according to the United States Attorneys Office for Massachusetts.

Zhang was taken into custody after an extensive investigation culminated with FBI agents raiding his home. Video captured by a Boston 25 photographer showed multiple agents removing evidence from a white multi-level home at 27 Bradford Street.

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Starting around June 2020 through May 2022, investigators allege that Zhang opened fraudulent bank accounts under false identities, deposited over $1 million worth of about 114 counterfeit checks, and then subsequently withdrew hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from the accounts via ATMs.

Zhang was identified in part by a tattoo on his left hand that was visible in surveillance footage of the ATM withdrawals, investigators said. He also allegedly used the same IP address that was used to open one of the fraudulent bank accounts and to deposit the counterfeit checks.

The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million, or twice the gross proceeds, the US Attorneys Office said.

An investigation is ongoing.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Brian Steel is a police sergeant and Executive Vice President of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge 9

Have you noticed some people make arguments by citing feelings while claiming theyre facts?

A review of a dictionary will disabuse this notion quickly. Facts, like evidence, exist outside anyones beliefs. Gravity is real even if you feel it isnt.

More: TaKiya Young shooting video shows incompetent, potentially criminal acts| Retired officer

More: Blendon Township police chief should blame his officer for Ta'Kiya Young's death. Not her.

Over the last few years, some journalists have become fond of a new phrase on this topic. The trend first burbled forth during the Trump presidency, when many were quick to claim that he made claims without evidence.

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Its been used in many other  typically political  settings as well. It became such a catchphrase that NPRs public editor made note of the phenomenon. Without evidence is even used to debunk the existence of the Loch Ness Monster.

Brian A. Steel, vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9

As a police officer, Ive spent a lot of time testifying in court and Im a big fan of evidence. Ive been trained to gather and preserve evidence. Evidence is good.

So if journalists want to point to a lack of evidence, I support their right to do so.

Heres some evidence for you. Despite what a few loud voices regularly bleat, in our nation of more than 330 million people, police rarely use deadly force. The FBI reports that there are more than 50 million police-citizen interactions every year, yet the Washington Post, which tracks this statistic, found that there are about a thousand officer involved shootings resulting in death each year. Thats a rate of .002 percent of those interactions. Thats evidence of rarity.

See? I made a claim, and I used facts to support my claim.

In central Ohio, the latest of those rare police occurred in Blendon Township, where a young woman tragically died after she began to run over a police officer who was doing the job hes paid to do  investigate allegations of criminal activity. This woman, TaKiya Young, made a serious error in judgment and, following an alleged liquor theft, put the officer into the very difficult decision of having to determine  in less than the amount of time it takes you to snap your fingers  whether Young was about to drive slowly at him or floor it and run him over.

More: Coroner IDs 21-year-old pregnant woman shot and killed by Blendon Twp. police. What we know

The death was tragic, and her family is understandably deep in grief. Those are feelings we all ought to respect.

Yet even those feelings dont replace facts.

Across the angry internet, countless people, without evidence, are claiming that race was somehow a factor in this shooting. Lets be clear  in this case, theres absolutely zero evidence of that. Im not saying theres just a little. Or hardly any at all. Im saying none. No evidence of racial bias whatsoever. Anyone claiming otherwise is flat out wrong.

Ah, but I know what some will say when they read this. The officer was white, and the young woman was Black. Thats evidence enough! Really? Thats logic?

More: Family of woman killed in Blendon Township police shooting say officer violated policy

Think for a minute  the officer was a man, and the theft suspect was a woman. Is that enough evidence to prove sexism? Only the truly deluded would say so.

Others will fulminate, dont you know that racism exists in America?! Of course, it does. Theres plenty of hate for all groups  including police  to go around. But the existence of a problem in general is not evidence of that problem being present in any given situation.

Robinson: Shoplifting shouldn't have escalated to death in Ta'Kiya Young police shooting

Note that Im not asserting that race wasnt a factor in the incident. Im simply saying theres no evidence of it. A person making a claim has the obligation to advance that claim with evidence. Otherwise, they are stating their fact-free feelings or simply throwing around conspiracy theories without evidence.

; Family attorney Chanda Brown talks with the media moments after Blendon Township released Ta'Kiya Young police shooting bodycam video.

Its not enough to say, its obvious  when a white office shoots a Black suspect, theres no other explanation other than racism.

If thats true, then every Black person who commits a crime against a white person must also automatically be a racist incident. I dont believe that but its where the illogic leads.

Until other facts emerge from the Blendon Township tragedy, claiming a racial motivation is irresponsible and dangerous. It adds accelerant to a society already blazing with racial hatred.

Heres what obvious: a highly trained police officer faced a split-second decision.

He made that decision based on years of preparation and instinct. He acted in the moment, with no slow motion replay available to him  unlike you and me.

And if he made the wrong choice, he might be dead.

There are occasions when police break the law and, when that happens, the officer should face the same consequences as other lawbreakers. There are also small cadres of racists in every profession and of every color. But heres one thing we all have in common  before we can credibly make an allegation, we must have evidence.

Because feelings arent facts, the claim that the Blendon Township police shooting was somehow racial in nature is, unquestionably, without evidence.

Brian Steel is a police sergeant and Executive Vice President of Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge 9.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Unproven claims in TaKiya Youngs police shooting dangerous| FOP VP
MILAN  The United States dominance of the combat aircraft industry could see increased competition as the French hope to bolster their slice of the pie. With a German veto blocking Eurofighter deliveries to Saudi Arabia, and amid Israels persistent opposition to any F-35 sale to Qatar, this may be French firm Dassaults opportunity to further push its fighter in the region.

In July, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu visited Qatar where he met with the emir in hopes of strengthening their strategic partnership through operational and industrial cooperation.

Following the trip, reports emerged that Qatar may opt to purchase an additional 24 Rafale from Dassault, which would bring the countrys fleet to 60, having acquired an initial batch of 24 in 2015 and another 12 in 2017. Although Qatars Defense Ministry hasnt announced its decision, analysts have told Defense News such as sale appears likely.

That they would come back to the table seeking another order is relatively unsurprising considering they already have the Rafale as well as another French-designed and -built type  the Mirage 2000-5  in their fighter inventory, said Dan Darling, the director of military and defense markets at Forecast International.

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Qatar would want a fleet of 60 Rafales for two reasons, Darling explained: for stronger deterrence capabilities and for political purposes. There is a political element attached to major defense purchases, he said, where Qatar buys influence with the exporting nation and vice versa.

Richard Aboulafia, a managing director at Aerodynamic Advisory who has tracked aircraft programs for more than 30 years, agrees the diplomatic benefits are key.

They [the Qatari government] view fighter aircraft as an opportunity to purchase a strategic relationship, and given their recent history with Gulf neighbors, these are extremely important for Qatar, he said, referring to a recent diplomatic crisis that saw several nations accuse Doha of funding terrorist groups. It isnt [about] the Rafales.

Experts, however, diverge over who could be the next customer of the Rafale in the greater Middle East. For Aboulafia, Saudi Arabia appears to be the logical contender, even if the U.S. agrees to sell F-35s to the kingdom.

They [Saudis] already source F-15s from the U.S. and of course want F-35s. But as they are eager to continue their dual-source decision, theyll want to buy another aircraft from another provider. Eurofighter tranche 2 is on hold. Theres really nobody else other than France, he said.

Earlier this summer, while Germany relaxed arms restrictions on Saudi Arabia, it remained firm in blocking deliveries of the Eurofighter to the kingdom. The twin-engine aircraft is made by a consortium of French firm Airbus, British business BAE Systems and Italian company Leonardo.

Germanys decision appeared to have irked the U.K., given four years ago the British foreign secretary demanded Germany lift its restraints on weapons transfers because they stood to hurt the British defense industry. BAE Systems is one of the largest private sector employers in Saudi Arabia, where it employs 5,300 Saudis  57% of its total workforce there.

Although Germanys Eurofighter veto could benefit Dassault in the absence of other competition, Darling said Saudi Arabia may not have a vested interest in the French jet because it fairly recently purchased more than 80 American-made F-15 fighters, upgraded legacy versions, and has expressed interest in buying the F-35 and joining the Global Combat Air Program. The latter is a trilateral effort involving the U.K., Japan and Italy to develop a sixth-generation fighter.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia and Iran are trying to improve diplomatic relations, with the latters foreign affairs minister visiting the kingdom Aug. 17. However, Gaspard Schnitzler, a research fellow at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, said its unlikely this would hinder or stop France from selling the Rafale to Saudi Arabia.

Its possible pressure from public opinion or potential monetary risks could interfere with such a sale, but we have to keep in mind that for years now, the Gulf has been one of the major export areas for French weapons, he added.

A more probable export opportunity for the Rafale, besides in Qatar, would be a top-up order by Egypt in light of the collapsed deal with Russia for Su-35 aircraft that fell through over U.S. sanctions, said Darling. Cairo last placed an order for 30 additional Rafales in 2021, bringing its fleet number to 54.

But no matter how well-placed the Rafale seems, an additional order from Qatar or its neighbors does not necessarily signal a declining demand for the fifth-generation fighter. Aboulafia and and Darling agreed that F-35 interest in the Middle East remains strong.

Several Arab states would indeed purchase the F-35 were it not for Israels strict opposition. For instance, Qatar in 2020 reportedly made a formal request for the Lockheed Martin jet, which was closely followed by Israel declaring it would oppose any F-35 sale by the U.S. to the Gulf country. A concrete deal has yet to materialize.

The main question is whether the U.S. would even be willing to sell the F-35 to Doha. It has been wary about F-35 sales to Arab states, primarily because of its commitment to ensuring Israels qualitative military edge over its neighbors and rivals in the region, Darling said.

The same approach has applied to Saudi Arabias interest in the F-35.

Saudi Arabia would love F-35s, but unless the Biden administration offers them as part of a deal that involves normalized relations with Israel, it wont happen for a few more years at least, Aboulafia said. None of these difficulties are in play in Europe, so European countries can just order F-35s without worry about disapproval.
Vivek Ramaswamy says convicted felons should be allowed to carry weapons.

Appearing on former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo s podcast, set to air on Thursday, the Republican presidential candidate was asked to flesh out what it meant to be a Second Amendment absolutist, as Ramaswamy has labeled himself.

Everyone has a gun? asked Cuomo, once a prominent figure in Democratic Party politics. Everyone has an assault weapon? A former felon? No background check? Concealed carry?

Has the right to, Ramaswamy responded. And I do think concealed carry is important, constitutional carry is important.

He said background checks are absolutely a legitimate part of the process but that law-abiding gun ownership deters many violent criminals from being able to roam the streets with guns as they do today.

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Ramaswamy emphasized high crime in cities and inadequate mental health resources while calling for more support for police officers. The discussion of guns was part of a wide-ranging conversation on Cuomos As A Matter Of Fact podcast.

Ramaswamy, as he has before, endorsed the idea of re-institutionalizing people deemed dangerous and brushed aside Cuomos description of a mass school shooting, saying, That case that you described is not a real case that presents itself very often, compared to real-life violence between a lot of violent criminals in cities who are breaking a lot of other laws.

Cuomo  who resigned from office amid sexual abuse allegations he has denied  said after recording the podcast: The Republican candidates all insist on trying to appeal to the ultra conservatives within their own party and take positions that alienate a majority of Americans. Deporting millions of immigrant families who have been here for years peacefully and successfully and arming felons with guns, everyone carrying a concealed weapon, returning to the Wild West, etc. Its all absurd."
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan got into a heated exchange Tuesday when the White House hopeful appeared to avoid answering Hasans repeated questions over his past criticism of former President Trump.

You say he [Trump] behaved in downright abhorrent behavior that makes him a danger to democracy. What was it that was downright abhorrent? Hasan asked Ramaswamy on The Mehdi Hasan Show.

Hasan was referencing Ramaswamys Jan. 12, 2021, post where the biotech entrepreneur wrote, What Trump did last week was wrong. Downright abhorrent. Plain and simple. Ive said it before and did so in my piece.

Lets actually be really fair to your audience, Ramaswamy told Hasan. So, on Jan. 10, 2021, thereabouts, days after that incident, I wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal arguing that censorship was the real cause of what happened on Jan. 6.

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Ramaswamy went on to argue that his Wall Street Journal op-ed was not condoning of Trumps actions, to which Hasan said, Understood, youre avoiding my question.

Ramaswamy shot back, No, Im not avoiding your question.

As Ramaswamy continued talking, Hasan repeated the question, What did Donald Trump do, in your view, that was downright abhorrent? Second time Im asking the question.

I think the thing that I would have done differently if I were in his shoes, Ramaswamy replied before Hasan interrupted, Thats not what I asked Vivek, with respect.

Ramaswamy continued with his point when Hasan cut in, Thats not what I asked, with respect. Ill ask it a third time: What did Trump do that was egregious, quote downright abhorrent and a danger to Democracy? Can you just explain to our viewers, your words?

So youre mixing two different quotes, but what did I think was reprehensible about what happened that day? Ramaswamy responded, explaining he would have done things differently Jan. 6.

I understand, you keep saying what you would have done, I just want to hear from your mouth. Unless youre scared of him, why wont you say what he did that was downright abhorrent?

Ramaswamy said he would not let Hasan stitch together three things from different places to create a caricature.

A photo of Ramaswamys 2021 post was shown across the screen as Hasan read the post aloud.

Its a simple question, its your words, its on the screen: What did he do that was downright abhorrent? Hasan asked.

I believe that failing to unite this country falls short of what a true leader ought to do. That is why Im in this race, is to do things differently than any prior president has done them. Thats the hard truth, Ramaswamy answered.

Ramaswamy has accused the media in recent weeks of misquoting him, most notably when he claimed The Atlantic misquoted him in an article where he appeared to float a conspiracy about the 9/11 attacks.

During last months GOP primary debate, Ramaswamy stood apart as the only candidate to defend the former president, calling him the best president of the 21st century.

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie targeted Ramaswamys past comments about Trump during the debate, claiming Ramaswamy had much different things to say about Trump in his book than on the debate stage.

Christie later called Ramaswamy the worst of what politicians are characterized to be.

Someone who says one thing, does another, and then when you call them, like I did, on the negative things he said about Donald Trump on Jan. 6 in his book, he didnt say it, Christie said last month in an interview on CBSs Face the Nation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
When Dedriana Bryant started in Brunswick Countys treatment court program, she was defiant and stubborn.

I had to stop thinking that I knew everything and that everybody was against me, Bryant said. I had to work for it.

Bryant spent two years in the Brunswick County treatment court program and graduated among the programs newest alumni in July. Today, her sobriety is her No. 1 priority.

Brunswick Countys recovery court programs were recently featured on All Things Judicial, a podcast produced by the North Carolina Judicial Branch, and Bryant shared her story there.

Jason Disbrow, senior resident superior court judge in Brunswick County, was also featured on the podcast and said Bryants story is not unique. The program has seen many successful graduates like Bryant, he said.

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What I want folks to understand, treatment courts work because it gets to the root of the problem, Disbrow said. Punishing someone for being addicted flies in the face of what I believe from a judicial perspective.

There are 71 recovery courts located in just 37 of North Carolinas 100 counties. The Cape Fear region is host to six recovery court programs  three in Brunswick County and three in New Hanover County.

According to the North Carolina Judicial Branch, Brunswick County operates a DWI court, adult treatment court and mental health court. New Hanover County operates an adult treatment court, veterans treatment court and mental health court. Pender County does not have any recovery court programs.

These programs are charged with handling adult criminal, juvenile, abuse, neglect and dependency cases involving chemically dependent individuals, according to the North Carolina Judicial Branch. Individuals are offered counseling, supervision, drug testing, sanctions and incentives as part of their individualized treatment plans.

Disbrow said the adult treatment court program is very intensive and serves mostly high risk, high need individuals who have abused substances for years and have had multiple contacts with the court system. But, he said, unlike other courts, treatment court was built on offering second chances.

Disbrow likened a jail sentence for an addicted, non-violent offender to a "band-aid," not really getting to the root of the problem or exploring the reasons behind an action. Recovery courts, he said, look to help the whole person rather than just punishing a single action.

I think theyre worth it, Disbrow said. I think everybody is worth trying to help.

The programs also serve veterans and those with mental health concerns who are involved in the court system.

Disbrow said Brunswicks treatment court has a 50% to 60% success rate. Last year alone, he said, the programs graduated 50 individuals.

It works if you work it, Disbrow said.

The program is mostly funded by a federal grant, Disbrow said, giving the court significant funds to offer outpatient treatment, inpatient treatment and a multitude of other resources.

STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the areas latest Brunswick County news by signing up for the Brunswick Today newsletter and following us on Facebook and Instagram.

Bryant said her advice to anyone who may be entering the recovery court program is you cant feel like you need it, you got to want it.

I know that I never want to live like that again, and I have so much that Im working hard for right now, Bryant said.

Jamey Cross covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at jbcross@gannett.com or message her on Twitter @jameybcross.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington recovery court helps chemically dependent offenders
Desiree Demos would have just been released from prison this year if she hadnt been given a second chance.

Living as a transient up and down the East Coast, Demos was homeless and addicted to methamphetamine when she ended up in Myrtle Beach more than five years ago.

Her substance abuse, coupled with mental health issues, landed Demos in and out of jail, as well as relying on others who exploited her for sex.

She would often tell herself that she was going to start over, but starting over was never really an option, Demos said.

It really took everything I loved, Demos said of her drug addiction.

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It wasnt until May 2019 that she would be given a real chance to start over. After having been arrested again, Demos was given the option of going to prison for five years or entering into Horry Countys drug treatment court program.

The 40-year-old graduated from the program in May 2020. She spoke by video Aug. 30 to nine graduates, the latest group to complete the program, about how her life has changed.

The graduates are among more than 750 who have completed the program since it began 18 years ago, according Candy Townsend, treatment court director.

The treatment court, which also includes a mental health program, started in the 15th Circuit Solicitors Office in 2005. Participants undergo a rigorous program that requires a commitment of 9 to 18 months.

Its not for first-time offenders, but for those who have been in and out of the system, like Demos, Townsend said.

Those are the clients we try to get, she said. The program is so long and so heavy in treatment, it works best for people who really need it. Not for someone who has had one offense.

You literally start seeing hope come back into their eyes

In January, the program looks at the department of corrections records of those who have gone through the program five years prior. It is an effort to find out how many participants have re-offended, Townsend said.

For the 2018 graduates, the recidivism rate was 15% had felony level convictions, 30% misdemeanor and 70% remained conviction free, she said.

I feel that is successful, Townsend said.

Townsend said that a high percentage of crimes are directly or indirectly related to substance abuse. While a person may be arrested for breaking and entering, the reason behind the crime may be to support an addiction, she said.

The average number of arrests for a graduate is 14, Townsend said.

The program is funded and operated through the Solicitors Office and is a licensed treatment facility that provides licensed therapists and peer support specialists.

The program requires participants to have housing, transportation and drug and alcohol testing two to three times each week. Townsend said there is housing assistance provided, as well as bus tickets and vouchers.

It is up to the participants to complete the requirements. If they dont, they will go back to jail and serve the sentence they were given.

But if they are able to complete the program, the Solicitors Office will dismiss the conviction from the graduates record.

It really gives them a true second chance, if they put the work in, Townsend said. Ive been able to see people make real changes. If they are ready and willing for it, its a lot of work.

They have lost hope that anything can be different.  You literally start seeing hope come back into their eyes.

Given a second chance

Demos was given the J. Gregory Hembree Award. The award is for a client who has graduated from the program and gone on to excel, Townsend said.

Demos now lives in Massachusetts and is the vice president of operations for Living in Freedom Together, a survivor-led nonprofit that works to end the systems of prostitution and sex trade.

Demos said it was through drug court that helped her get the job.

Demos faced sex exploitation during the time she was homeless, often spending three to four days without a place to go. She never realized she was a victim of the sex trade until she began working for the nonprofit, she said.

I thought these were choices I was making. Its what I had to do, to get places to stay, Demos said. Prostitution is the choice for the people with the fewest choices. As a girl you dont dream, Oh, Im going to let people pay for your body. Its just something that happens. Thats why Im passionate about this.

Demos now has been reconnected with her son, who she was away from during her incarceration, is a homeowner and employed. She says its the stuff she dreamed of as a kid.

She wanted to show others in the program that they can do it as well.

I could have never imagined that I thought my life would be this good, Demos said. I think its wonderful I was given that second chance.
Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio rallies in Portland, Oregon. Tarrio received a 22-year-long prison sentence Tuesday for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. | Noah Berger, Associated Press

Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys, received a 22-year-long prison sentence Tuesday  the longest prison sentence handed down in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection so far.

Since Jan. 6, 2021, over 1,106 individuals have been arrested in relation to the U.S. Capitol riot. More than 350 of those individuals were charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Below is a list of the longest prison sentences received in connection to the Jan. 6 insurrection:

Enrique Tarrio  22 years

Henry Enrique Tarrio, former leader of the Proud Boys, was arrested a few days before the Capitol riot, but prosecutors say he directed and rallied other members of the extremist organization from afar, telling them to stay in the Capitol on Jan. 6.

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Tarrio also took credit for the riot on behalf of the Proud Boys, Axios reported.

Sentenced: Sept. 5, 2023.

Charges: Tarrio was found guilty of: Seditious conspiracy; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; civil disorder; destruction of government property (fence).

Ethan Nordean  18 years

Ethan Nordean, a U.S. veteran who led the Seattle chapter of the Proud Boys, led 200 Proud Boys to the Capitol and helped facilitate the breach of police lines, Politico reported.

According to court documents, Nordean was among those who entered the Capitol building after rioters forced entry and pushed past officers.

Sentenced: Sept. 1, 2023.

Charges: Nordean was found guilty of: Seditious conspiracy; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; civil disorder; destruction of government property (fence).

Related

Stewart Rhodes  18 years

Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, the founder of the far-right militia group Oath Keepers, masterminded a weekslong plan to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power, court documents show.

Rhodes, a veteran, led the Oath Keepers in illegally bringing small arms to the D.C. area, Vox reported.

Sentenced: May 25, 2023.

Charges: Rhodes was found guilty of: Seditious conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, and tampering with documents or proceedings.

Joseph Biggs  17 years

Joseph Biggs, an Army veteran and former Proud Boys leader, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy in May 2023.

Biggs was a driving force behind the violence on Jan. 6 by facilitating breaches at police lines and helping crowds advance into the Capitol, Politico reported.

Sentenced: Aug. 31, 2023.

Charges: Biggs was found guilty of: Seditious conspiracy; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; civil disorder; destruction of government property (fence).

Zachary Rehl  15 years

Zachary Rehl, former Marine and president of the Proud Boys Philadelphia chapter, was seen on video spraying a chemical irritant at law enforcement officers outside the Capitol, on Jan. 6, The Associated Press reported.

Court documents say Rehl guided 100 followers through Washington, D.C., to the Capitol, and conspired with other Proud Boys leaders to incite a riot and storm the Capitol, per NPR.

Sentenced: Aug. 31, 2023.

Charges: Rehl was found guilty of: Seditious conspiracy; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; civil disorder; destruction of government property (fence).

Peter Schwartz  14 years

Peter Schwartz was sentenced to 170 months in prison for 10 charges, including four felony charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers while using a dangerous weapon.

A jury convicted Schwartz for throwing a chair at officers and spraying them with pepper spray, Axios reported.

Sentenced: May 5, 2023.

Charges: Schwartz was found guilty of: Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon (three counts); assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon and aiding and abetting; civil disorder; obstruction of an official proceeding; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and 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; disorderly conduct in the capitol grounds or buildings; act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.

Related

Daniel D.J. Rodriguez  121 2 years

Daniel D.J. Rodriguez was charged with assaulting a federal officer for repeatedly using a stun gun on an officer during the Capitol riot.

Rodriguez also used a flagpole as a weapon and broke a window of the Capitol building.

Sentenced: June 21, 2023.

Charges: Rodriguez pleaded guilty to: Conspiracy; obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; tampering with documents or proceedings; inflicting bodily injury on certain officers.

Kelly Meggs  12 years

Kelly Meggs, a former Florida chapter leader of the Oath Keepers, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy, alongside multiple other charges, in November 2022.

Prosecutors say Meggs conspired with Stewart Rhodes, to recruit people to come to D.C. and prepare for a potentially violent confrontation with gas masks, batons, and armor, storing more weapons at a hotel outside D.C., per Vox.

Sentenced: May 25, 2023.

Charges: Meggs was found guilty of: Seditious conspiracy; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of an official proceeding; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; tampering with documents or proceedings.

Dominic Pezzola  10 years

Dominic Pezzola, a member of the Proud Boys, used a stolen police riot shield to smash a window of the Capitol building, allowing a stream of rioters to breach the Capitol.

Pezzola also filmed himself inside the Capitol building during the riot, Politico reported.

Sentenced: Sept. 1, 2023.

Charges: Pezzola was found guilty of: Obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties; civil disorder; destruction of government property (two counts); assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers (one count); robbery of personal property of the United States.

Thomas Webster  10 years

Thomas Webster, a Marine Corps veteran and a retired New York City Police Department officer, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for assaulting a D.C. officer.

Police body camera footage shows Webster using a metal flag pole to attack an officer on the front lines of the lines of the riot.

Sentenced: Sept. 1, 2022.

Charges: Webster was found guilty of: Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon; civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon; disorderly and 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 within the Capitol grounds or buildings.

Sources: U.S. Department of Justice, NPR.
It was back in August when the newly appointed district administrator announced the abolition of all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

Administrator Glenn Gilzean said an internal investigation found that the former district run by Disney discriminated against Americans based on gender and race, costing taxpayers millions.

To be clear, the taxpayers in Reedy Creek are mostly Disney.

But what needs to be clarified is how much the CFTOD is saving now that there is no longer a push to find minority-owned businesses.

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Channel 9 investigates found that although it says the district went through thousands of documents, we only received 11 to back up the claims.

WATCH: Gov. DeSantis addresses states stance on COVID-19 mandates

The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District sent a press release on Aug. 1.

In that news release, the board talks about an internal investigation that claimed the old board, the Reedy Creek Improvement, discriminated against Americans based on gender and race because of its DEI programs.

It claimed that the programs considered minority-owned businesses for contracts that cost taxpayers millions.

But when we asked for details as to where those numbers came from, the board didnt have much of an answer.

Read: How much hotel tax revenue Epic Universe theme park may help generate

District Administration Glen Gilzean is quoted saying, that the DEI initiatives were advanced during the tenure of the previous board calling them illegal and simply un-American. The release says, Our district will no longer participate in any attempt to divide us by race or advance the notion that we are not created equal.

It claimed the former district paid millions of dollars more to find businesses that could comply with diversity, equity, and inclusion.

But when we asked for the investigation cited in the public release, we received this memo instead.

The memo says that the old board, Reedy Creek, appeared to have preferred businesses based on the owners race.

Read: Monique Worrell says her suspension as state attorney is unconstitutional

Also, there appeared to be a quota, but no documents were attached showing what those quotas were or who received preferential treatment.

The memo also says that Reedy Creek paid a premium to contract those businesses, but no documents detailing the money spent were given. Instead, we got only an e-mail from the chief of public works to procurement, who had concerns back in December, saying that the subsidies were perhaps in the magnitude of millions and called the program a slippery slope.

But still, no financial documents were provided to support the claims about Disney and the Reedy Creek improvement district.

Our request for more documents and answers is still under review with CFTOD.

Read: Right to rock: Florida legislator seeks to ensure freedom of speech of performing artists

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
A group of Republican presidential candidates and lawmakers have spent the week raising hell at the prospect of COVID mask mandates and lockdownsdespite the fact there's no evidence any new mass restrictions will be implemented.

Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina posted a video on social media Thursday announcing that he would block any new restrictions despite rising cases, describing the measures as foolish.

I can assure the people of South Carolina we will not have mask mandates. We will not close schools, and we will not lock down, he said.

As talks of mask mandates and closures kick up across the country, I can assure the people of South Carolina we will not have mask mandates, we will not close schools, and we will not lock down. pic.twitter.com/GlKgy8AhMi  Gov. Henry McMaster (@henrymcmaster) September 7, 2023

The uproar comes as COVID cases have been steadily increasing across the United States. Hospitalizations have more than doubled over the last three months, according to CDC data.

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In light of the uptick in cases, there have been two isolated incidents of schools introducing temporary mask mandates, all of which have drawn Republican ire in the last two weeks.

In Alabama, Kinterbish Junior High School posted on Facebook that due to the slow raise of Covid cases students, employees, and visitors were asked to wear masks from Aug. 22. (Pictures posted since that announcement show students and staff not wearing masks.)

After a COVID outbreak in a third grade class at Rosemary Hills Elementary School in Maryland, the school implemented a ten-day mask mandate for affected classes starting Sept. 5.

The posts quickly spread online and the backlash was swift.

They want to muzzle your children, presidential candidate Gov. Ron De Santis wrote on X, sharing an article about the Maryland school, When Im President, there will be a reckoning for the harm theyve done to kids in pursuit of a political agenda.

As Biden's biomedical state is chomping at the bit to bring back COVID authoritarianism, we will continue to hold the line.



As your President, I will usher in a reckoning for those who devised the failed and destructive biomedical policies that caused damage throughout our pic.twitter.com/VKh0zVkiRw  Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) September 6, 2023

The school was forced to increase security and keep recess indoors due to the online hysteria, the Washington Post reported.

Another presidential hopeful, Nikki Haley, speaking ahead of her appearance at a Moms For Liberty event in New Hampshire, told the Washington Examiner that forced lockdowns wreaked havoc on our families, our business, and Americans physical and mental health."

We wont allow government overreach to hurt America again, Haley continued.

In the Senate, a group of Republican legislators, led by U.S. Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) introduced the Freedom To Breathe Act, on Tuesday, legislation aimed at preventing the federal government or commercial airlines from introducing mask requirements. The bill is co-sponsored by Mike Braun (R-IN) and Josh Hawley (R-MO)

Any floor objection to Senator Vances unanimous consent request would amount to a clear admission that Democrats intend to reimpose mask mandates in the near term, Vances office said in a statement.

Were not going to go back to the top-down government overreach we saw during COVID.



Congress needs to say forcefully that these ineffective, unscientific mask mandates are not coming back in any way, shape, or form.



NO MASK MANDATES.  Senator Mike Braun (@SenatorBraun) September 6, 2023

Other Republicans who have spoken out publicly in recent days about the hypothetical return of mask mandates, include Ted Cruz (R-TX), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Rep. Bob Good (R-VA), and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

The effort comes as many Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, are spreading rumors that Democrats intend to bring back COVID restrictions and mandate mail-in ballots in an effort to steal the 2024 election.

The left-wing lunatics are trying very hard to bring back COVID lockdowns and mandates with their sudden fear-mongering about the new variants that are coming, Trump said in a video posted to social media on Aug. 30, They want to restart the COVID hysteria so they can justify more lockdowns, more censorship, more illegal drop boxes, more mail-in ballots.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Cannabis may be on its way to being less restricted in the U.S. after a recent recommendation from the Health and Human Services Department to reschedule the drug's classification. Last week, the HHS recommended that the U.S. Drug Enforcement move marijuana from Schedule 1, the strictest category, down to Schedule 3. The news came after President Joe Biden asked the HHS and the attorney general to review how marijuana fits within the drug classification system.

While this isn't the first time cannabis classification has come into question, experts believe the recommendation may stick this time. And while many are celebrating what they consider a step in the right direction, others aren't as enthusiastic about what that reclassification could mean.

How the government categorizes drugs

Under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, certain substances are federally prohibited based on their potential for abuse and their varying degrees of medical use. The CSA is a national legal framework covering how all 50 states regulate the substances federal agencies deem dangerous. The severity of the drugs is categorized into five levels that the DEA calls schedules. The DEA has been responsible for enforcing the CSA while the Food and Drug Administration determines the medical efficacy of the drugs.

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Cannabis has been classified in the strictest category, alongside drugs like heroin, LSD and ecstasy. To meet the criteria for this category, the substances must have "no currently accepted medical use" and a "high potential for abuse," per the DEA. The HHS recommended that cannabis be regrouped with Schedule 3 substances like ketamine, anabolic steroids, and Tylenol with codeine, which has a lower risk for abuse.

Ultimately, that change will lie in the hands of the DEA, which could take months to finish its evaluation. And with the growing number of states starting medicinal or recreational cannabis programs, the chasm between state and federal regulation is growing. This has made the issue "increasingly urgent for U.S. policymakers," Jonathan Roeder said in a Bloomberg newsletter. "Illicit competitors have taken advantage of the gray area to undercut licensed companies, which are also suffering from high taxes and scant access to financing," he added.

What rescheduling cannabis means and what it doesn't

Rescheduling will not automatically make cannabis legal. Schedule 3 drugs are still controlled substances that are "subject to various rules that allow for some medical uses and for federal criminal prosecution of anyone who traffics in the drugs without permission," The Associated Press stated. Still, reclassifying the drug has the potential to alleviate some of the financial pressure existing cannabis businesses are under and to open the door to more scientific research into the potential healing benefits of the drug.

The U.S. cannabis industry is hurting due to lack of capital, uniquely burdensome taxes, and nearly unfettered competition from unlicensed operators," Adam Goers, a co-chair of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform, told Bloomberg. Rescheduling will "provide a massive boost to our industry," he added, "particularly social equity and small business owners who have suffered the most under the status quo."

Zachary Kobrin, a lawyer specializing in cannabis, agreed that the move would help the bottom line for the industry. He described Section 280E of the federal tax code, which prohibits companies from taking tax deductions if they sell an illegal substance, as "one of the most negatively impactful policies" on the industry in a statement to Bloomberg. "Cannabis companies currently have effective tax rates as high as 70% to 90%," Kobrin said.

Not everyone is on board with the HHS recommendation. Paul Armentano, the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), told the AP that reclassifying the drug would only perpetuate the "existing divide between state and federal marijuana policies." In an op-ed for NORML, Armentano also noted that it "continues to misrepresent the plant's safety relative to other controlled substances."

Kaliko Castille, the president of the Minority Cannabis Business Association President, agreed that rescheduling just "rebrands prohibition" instead of making things more transparent for state licensees or reversing the decades of disproportionate policing of people of color. "Schedule III is going to leave it in this kind of amorphous, mucky middle where people are not going to understand the danger of it still being federally illegal," he said to the AP.

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An international rescue operation is underway in southern Turkey after an American cave explorer suffered a medical emergency during a descent in the countrys third-deepest cave on Saturday.

Mark Dickey, 40, was with a team roughly 3,400 feet from the entrance of the alpine Morca cave near Anamur when he began suffering from severe gastrointestinal pain and bleeding, rescue officials said.

A rescue team was dispatched the next day and a Hungarian medical unit was able to reach Dickey, who was given a blood transfusion, said the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, which is assisting in the rescue.

Mark Dickey, seen in May, was inside of the Morca cave near Anamur, Turkey, when he suffered a medical emergency. Rescue officials are now trying to bring him back to the surface.

Mark Dickey, seen in May, was inside of the Morca cave near Anamur, Turkey, when he suffered a medical emergency. Rescue officials are now trying to bring him back to the surface.

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Another six units of blood were delivered to Dickey on Tuesday, the Turkish Caving Federation said in a social media post.

Dickeys condition was said to be stabilizing as of Thursday, but he remains unable to climb out of the cave on his own, the European Cave Rescue Association, which is helping coordinate the rescue, said in a statement.

The path leading to the victim from the entrance of the cave requires almost a whole day of continuous descent on ropes and [on difficult] terrain, often in passages semi filled with water. Another difficulty will be the fatigue, the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said.

Mark's condition has continued to improve, according to this evening's news,the bleeding has stopped and he is able to walk on his own. Rigging continues.Plans are underway to start removing the stretcher soon. #SpeleogicalFederationOfTurkey#caverescue#MorcaSinkhole#MarkDickeypic.twitter.com/WnKeWDAMAd  Turkiye Magaraclk Federasyonu (@tumaf1) September 6, 2023

The Turkish Caving Federation estimated the climb would take a full 15 hours for an experienced caver to complete. Now that his bleeding has stopped and he is able to walk on his own, the federation said, plans were underway early Thursday to start moving him out on a stretcher soon.

Dickey is described as a well-known speleologist in the international caving world.

He is a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself, the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said. In addition to his cave work, he serves as secretary of the European Cave Rescue Associations medical committee and as an instructor for cave rescue organizations in the U.S.

Multiple donation sites have been set up to help aid the international rescue efforts.

Related...
It is my hope not to dwell on the long-ago anguished cries of my ancestors when advocating for the return of their remains to present-day tribal members. Rather, I want to hear my ancestors voices in song because they have finally received their due.

Such were my thoughts during a recent trip to the University of California, Berkeley campus, where I had come to argue for the repatriation of my ancestral tribal members.

I still struggle to understand why this mission is even necessary  why my ancestors were not afforded respectful burial, many of them going back to the 19th or early 20th centuries. I try to understand why their remains are still stored in boxes on shelves or stuffed into closets like old forgotten souvenirs or keepsakes.

A universal right of all people dating to ancient times is burying their own according to the traditions of their culture and faith. Governments or ruling authorities do not deny loved ones this fundamental symbol of respect for those who have passed away  with rare exceptions such as during wartime or political upheavals, or as gestures of dire punishment and contempt.

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Yet, California Native Americans continue to be denied this basic right by our state university systems. Can any of us think of another example or epoch when human remains were held as public property or relegated as objects of theoretical study?

Jack Potter Jr.

Four years ago, Governor Gavin Newsom formally apologized to the states First People for the many instances of violence, maltreatment and neglect California inflicted on tribes. California is making progress toward improving its relationship with the states tribal nations. Yet, on one vital issue, little or no progress has been made: the repatriation of incredibly vast numbers of Native American human remains and artifacts in the possession of state universities in continuing violation of decades-old federal and state laws.

The federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)  requiring return of human remains and items to appropriate tribes  was approved in 1990. Its California counterpart, CalNAGPRA, was enacted in 2001. But, as we learned from three state audit reports released in 2020, 2021, and this past June, the University of California and California State University systems have done precious little to honor the laws requirements.

The CSU system has returned only 6% of the almost 700,000 remains and objects in its possession, according to the auditors most recent report. Some CSU campuses have not even completed the inventory process. Others have returned a few collections, but not followed the NAGPRA process.

CSU and UC are not alone in breaking federal law. Harvard University, the Smithsonian, the American Museum of Natural History, and other prestigious institutions continue delaying the return of ancestral remains and artifacts.

Whether the obstinate refusal to comply with NAGPRA or CalNAGPRA is due to lack of funding or staff, fear about losing control of research, misplaced academic or scientific fervor, or dismissiveness of the laws and rights protecting Native Americans, the underlying message to me and other tribal people is that we dont have the same fundamental right to bury our dead as others  that we are less than others.

The "less than" mentality toward Native Americans permits the grave robbing and looting of human remains and the despoiling and plunder of countless sacred sites. It is this same mentality that spawned the creation of oppressive boarding schools and forced cultural assimilation, the denial of citizenship and the right to vote for Native Americans until 1924, and the uninformed sterilization of Native women through the 1970s.

This "less than" mentality seeps into scientific and academic pursuits like subtle poison. Trust in the sincerity of the states apology to its First People cannot occur until the remains are returned for proper interment. California has a long way to go on that front. These remains  like those of your deceased grandparents, uncles, spouses, or children  are not the property of a university or museum. They are a part of me, a part of who I am. To deny that fact is to make me less than.

It is long past time to expedite the return of human remains held by the UC and CSU systems so healing and celebration can finally be realized in California Indian Country.

 Jack Potter Jr is tribal chairman of the Redding Rancheria Tribal Council, a federally recognized tribe of the Pit River, Wintu and Yana people.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Native Americans advocate for the return of tribal remains
For a new apartment complex in Tempe, Arizona, the motivation driving renters is not to drive at all.

Culdesac Tempe, a complex that will have around 700 apartment homes, is breaking ground in more ways than one. Its the first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the U.S. and aims to be a mecca for people ready to live car-free, Bloomberg reported.

The startup, founded by Ryan Johnson and Jeff Berens, aims to show that living without a car is possible, even somewhere as hot as Arizona. One way to manage heat is to limit exposure to it, which is why the complex will have everything the residents need on the premises.

Culdesac will offer a coffee shop, grocery store, restaurant, and various retailers. Further, the buildings  or pods, as they are called  are designed to keep residents cool.

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Anders Engnell, Culdesacs director of planning and construction, told Bloomberg, When you take parking out of the equation, youre able to design for people first.  We expect the pods to create a bit of a microclimate. He explained that the white stucco reflects heat while the narrow pathways between buildings create shade and breezes.

In place of a parking lot for cars, the complex provides plenty of bike parking, free flat-tire repairs, a free monthly pass with unlimited rides on the light rail and bus systems, discounts with Lyft and Bird scooters, and access to on-site electric cars for rent.

At 29%, transportation is the biggest contributor to emissions of toxic planet-warming gases, with a typical passenger car producing upward of 100,000 pounds of harmful carbon pollution per year.

With its community design, Culdesac makes it easier for people to give up their cars. Every car off the road means a reduction in contributions to the pollution blanket overheating the planet.

Theres going to be millions of walkable homes built in the coming years, Johnson said. Culdesac wants to be a meaningful portion of that.

Theres lots of fantastic places for people to live who want to have a private car, Berens added. This is meant to offer a new option.

The idea of a car-free neighborhood is just really interesting, and I wanted to meet more like-minded people, Alex Chang, a founding resident of Culdesac Tempe, told Fox10 Phoenix. Im a big believer in sustainability. Thats what attracted me to the site.

Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
Rhode Island's new shoreline access law had its first day in court on Wednesday, offering a preview of the arguments to come.

The hearing before U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith centered around whether coastal property owners have standing to sue to the state Coastal Resources Management Council, and whether the case belongs in federal court.

But it also touched on the underlying question: Does the law, which says that the public has the right to use any beach as long as they're within 10 feet of the seaweed line, constitute an unconstitutional "taking" of private property?

That's the argument being made by the Rhode Island Association of Coastal Taxpayers (RIACT), a newly formed group of waterfront homeowners suing to overturn the law.

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Roughly a dozen RIACT supporters and members were present to observe the proceedings at the federal courthouse in Providence on Monday. The group is being represented pro bono by the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation, which hired a plane to fly a sign saying "RI TAKES PRIVATE PROPERTY" over Rhode Island beaches in July.

A view of the Tiverton and Portsmouth shoreline.

State's lawyers quizzed about potential 'taking' of private property

Earlier this summer, the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office filed a motion to dismiss the property owners' lawsuit. In court on Wednesday, Judge Smith observed that the state's lawyers seemed to be arguing that "these plaintiffs have brought the wrong cause of action against the wrong plaintiff ... in the wrong court."

"You're just saying, 'You're in the wrong place for this,'" he said.

Smith told the attorneys that, as he understood it, public access has "been expanded by this law." Usually, when the government acquires beachfront property, it does so through eminent domain, he pointed out. (He cited the example of how Narragansett Town Beach was created after the Hurricane of 1938.)

The judge made clear that he hadn't yet determined that the new law could be considered a "taking" of private property, as the plaintiffs are arguing. But he asked the state's lawyers to explain how coastal property owners who are harmed by the law should seek compensation, if not in federal court.

"I'm sure you're not going to tell me that it's just too bad," he said.

More: RI's new beach access law creates controversy, confusion and lawsuits as line is drawn in sand

Special Assistant Attorney General Jeff Kidd said that remedies could be pursued through inverse condemnation. Assistant Attorney General Sarah Rice later emphasized that the state does not believe that there was a taking, and sees that the law as "an expansion and elaboration of a constitutional right."

In response, Smith pointed to Cavanaugh vs. Town of Narragansett, the case that determined that Narragansett has the right to charge admission at Town Beach. He read a passage from the opinion by former Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Frank J. Williams, which stated that the 1986 Constitutional Convention had determined "that public rights cannot be expanded to include dry sand areas where they do not already exist ... because to do so would operate as a taking."

The Pacific Legal Foundation, which is fighting Rhode Island's new shoreline access law, hired a plane to fly a banner saying "RI TAKES PRIVATE PROPERTY" in July.

Rice said that a "number of different views" came out of the convention, and that the report that Williams was citing was one of them. She noted that Williams was considering a "completely different question," which involved perpendicular passage, rather than lateral passage.

Additionally, she said, there was "a lot of evidence" to show that people consistently had the right to use the portion of the beach that is open to the public under the new law. As one example, she pointed to the fact that seaweed was traditionally gathered with a cart, which would have required access to a portion of the beach above the wrack line.

Those kinds of historical arguments won't be considered until a later date, however, since the questions surrounding standing and the venue for the case need to be settled first.

Do waterfront homeowners really have grounds to sue the CRMC?

The lawsuit names the CRMC and Department of Environmental Management as defendants, in addition to Attorney General Peter Neronha.

On Wednesday, Kidd argued that the plaintiffs don't have grounds to sue those agencies because the law is "self-executing" and "doesn't direct the state to do anything, besides providing information."

The CRMC does issue citations and fines when waterfront homeowners put up fences and signs without permission, he and Rice both said, but that was the case even before the new law went into effect.

RIACT has requested an injunction that would prevent the CRMC from enforcing the new law while it's being challenged in court. "I'm just struggling to understand what that means," Smith said on Wednesday. "If I tell CRMC in an injunction, 'You are prohibited from doing X,' what is X? What is it I'm telling them I can't do?"

J. David Breemer of the Pacific Legal Foundation said that the CRMC would be prohibited from citing RIACT members "if they seek to keep people out, if they seek to keep their property private, if they seek to exclude."

The intimidating-looking sign at the eastern end of Charlestown Town Beach has been removed.

Smith questioned whether the CRMC was actually responsible for enforcing the law. He pointed to a recent incident in North Kingstown, where a waterfront homeowner allegedly broke a beachgoer's umbrella.

"That's a local police matter," Smith said. "I don't think the CRMC comes running in, writing some kind of municipal citations for harassing someone who tried to sit on the beach."

Breemer said that the issue was that, currently, "property owners cannot lawfully go up to that trespasser and say, you need to get off, you're not allowed on my property." He said that an injunction would "make it safe for property owners to go out and tell a trespasser that you are not allowed on there."

Beachgoers sit on a narrow strip of coast near Town Way in Little Compton. Rhode Island's new shoreline access law states that a portion of each beach is open to the public, but doesn't address whether you can set up beach chairs, umbrellas and towels there.

Why property owners aren't looking for compensation

The coastal property owners, in their lawsuit, argue that the state effectively created an easement that allows the public to use their land. Rice said that the state's attorneys don't agree with that categorization, and that the law was about a public trust doctrine that is "essential to the sovereignty of Rhode Island."

"I'm not sure this isn't about an easement," Smith responded. "It could be."

Later, he observed that it seemed like the plaintiffs had not made an effort to seek compensation for the alleged "taking" of their land, and just wanted a court to issue an opinion saying that the law was unconstitutional. He asked whether they had any plans to seek compensation.

"No," Breemer said, explaining that the law's reliance on the seaweed line means that boundaries are likely to move from year to year. "One year, it takes 10 feet. The next year, after bad erosion, the seaweed line moves upland ... it takes 40 feet."

As a result, he suggested, it would be extremely difficult to figure out what adequate compensation would look like.

"That seems a little too convenient to me," Smith replied, later adding that a court could get experts to put a value on what was taken. "I wouldn't want to be the Superior Court judge that gets that case ... but it doesn't mean, just because it's complicated, that it can't be done."

Both sides cited a variety of court cases, including the ongoing litigation over Johnson's Pond, in their arguments over whether or not the lawsuit belonged in federal court.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Smith said that he intended to issue a decision "as soon as I can."

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI beachfront homeowners argue against shoreline bill in court
The UK is to return to the EUs 85bn Horizon science research programme under a bespoke new agreement following months of negotiations (David Davies/PA) (PA Wire)

The UK is stumping up 2 billion in annual dues to rejoin the EUs Horizon science programme in a post-Brexit breakthrough hailed as fantastic for British researchers.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the deal was what effective engagement with Europe looks like, but Science Secretary Michelle Donelan laughed and said no when asked if the deal represented mission creep for Britain to rejoin the European Union.

But what this deal now does is provide the certainty that they (UK scientists) need and access to world-class facilities, she told Sky News.

Collaboration in Horizon and the Copernicus space corporation was broken off two years ago when Brussels retaliated against Boris Johnsons backsliding over the Brexit trade agreement. Rishi Sunak unlocked rejoining by agreeing a separate agreement with the EU over Northern Ireland in March.

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He said on Thursday that Horizon was the right deal for the UK, unlocking unparalleled research opportunities, and also the right deal for British taxpayers.

Britain had secured a bespoke agreement to rejoin the 85 billion Horizon scheme, the prime minister said, trumpeting a rare bit of good news after a week of crisis over crumbling concrete in schools before he jets off later on Thursday to a G20 summit in India.

Innovation has long been the foundation for prosperity in the UK, from the breakthroughs improving healthcare to the technological advances growing our economy, Mr Sunak said, after a phone call on Wednesday with European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen.

Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said the new agreement takes UK-EU cooperation under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement a significant step forward.

Britain, however, will not be taking part in the blocs nuclear technology agency Euratom.

A clawback mechanism in the deal will also mean the Government will be compensated if British scientists receive significantly less money than the UK puts into the programme, Ms Donelan said.

After two years of being shut out of cutting-edge collaboration with EU partners, there was delight from UK scientists including at London Higher, which represents the higher education sector in the capital.

The confirmation that the UK will rejoin Horizon Europe is welcome news for universities across London, the UKs top ranked innovation cluster, said London Highers chief executive, Dr Diana Beech.

The wait to associate to Horizon may have been lengthy but worthwhile, as todays announcement shores up the future of research, innovation and higher education across the United Kingdom, she said.

Sir Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society, agreed it was fantastic news, adding: Science has so much to offer in terms of tackling global challenges and improving lives. Today the Government and the EU have given that a big boost.

Labours shadow science secretary Peter Kyle said ministers now needed to get on with it.

What were missing out on is two years worth of innovation, he said. Two years of global companies looking around the world for where to base their research centres and choosing other countries than Britain, because we are not part of Horizon. This is two years of wasted opportunity for us as a country.
No water, too many rodents, an Outback and a restaurant where nobody seems to want to wash their hands lowlight this weeks Sick and Shut Down List.

So, lets get to it.

(If you missed last weeks Sick and Shut Down List with the Burger King and the Pollo Tropical, check it out.)

WE HAVE RULES: What follows comes from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation restaurant inspections of restaurants in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Monroe counties. These are the restaurants that fail inspection. A restaurant that fails inspection remains closed until passing a re-inspection.

We dont do the inspections. We dont control who gets inspected. We dont control how strictly the inspector inspects. If restaurants in your part of South Florida are not included, we have nothing to do with that. If you see a problem and want a place inspected, contact the DBPR.

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We dont include all violations, just the most moving, whether internally or literally moving (because its alive or once was alive). Some violations get corrected immediately after the inspector points them out. But in those situations, ask yourself, why did the violations exist in the first place? And, how long would they have remained if not for the inspection?

We report without passion or prejudice, but with doggy bags of humor, indignation and exasperation.

READ MORE: Orange juicer rodents and mold at a Don Pan bakery

In alphabetical order...

Atlantic Pho, 5408 W. Atlantic Blvd., Margate: Routine inspection, 17 total violations, four High Priority violations.

Rodent activity present as evidenced by rodent droppings found. Observed 23 rodent droppings on top of the dishwashing machine...Observed approximately 10 rodent droppings throughout the dry storage areas...Observed approximately 15 rodent droppings in the wait station.

Thats not from the most recent set of inspections at Atlantic Pho, but from a failed June inspection. While the rodents hid or migrated away for long enough that the Pho house got reopened in June, they were back at their summer AirBnB last week for a little pre-Labor Day down time.

Before we get to that, however, lets look at some other Pho failings.

Oh, and heres our pet peeve, In-use knife/knives stored in cracks between pieces of equipment. The knife was shoved between a pair of reach-in coolers.

Microwave with an accumulation of old food debris at cookline. No Fabuloso in the house?

An accumulation of old grease build up was on a kitchen wall and pipe and behind the deep fryer.

The handwash sink next to the dishwashing machine didnt have paper towels, didnt have soap, didnt have a hope of doing anything but getting hands wet.

Stop Sales rained on pork, beef, beef stew, sausage, beef soup, shrimp, rice noodles and egg noodles, all of which sat in the walk-in cooler and all of which was too warm. The half and half in the wait station cooler was 51 degrees, just warm enough to turn a stomach.

Back to the pieces of rodent dump, of which there were 30 in the dry storage area; five in a hallway leading to dry storage; five atop the dishwashing machine; four under the dishwashing machine; three on the cookline under cooking equipment; six in the wait station; and 20 in the prep area next to the hot water heater.

The re-inspection notes only six droppings under the coffee station, but maybe thats all that needed to be counted to know a second re-inspection would be necessary.

Pho passed that. The rodents must have left for the weekend.

Churrasqueria NBG Brazilian Grill, 702 Krome Ave., South Miami-Dade: Routine inspection, 13 total violations, five High Priority violations.

A soiled cutting board probably would stay that way, even if they did fix the chlorine sanitizer, which was weak enough to drink.

Establishment operating with no potable running water.

That includes no running water at the three-compartment sink and no running water at the handwash sink.

Two re-inspections resulted in Follow-up inspection required.

La Mia Foccacia, 6330 Powerline Rd., Fort Lauderdale: Routine inspection, 13 total violations, two High Priority violations.

Shelves throughout the property soiled. So were the microwave and a cutting board.

Then again, when they cleaned the pots, they didnt seem to know what to do with them. Observed cleaned and sanitized pots stored on the floor. Or, just cleaned pots. We doubt the floor got sanitized.

Eight dead roaches, seven on the kitchen floor, and four live roaches crawling on the wall and floor around the dishwasher bottoms off this inspection.

La Mia passed the next days comeback inspection.

Nanas Food for You, 312 N. Federal Hwy., Hallandale Beach: Routine inspection, seven total violations, three High Priority violations.

Tomatoes stored on the floor, flies in dry storage and uncovered employee hair didnt put Nanas on the list.

The 22 rodent droppings did that. Of that number, 15 sat on or under a dry storage rack.

Nanas passed inspection the next day.

Outback Steakhouse, 14830 Griffin Rd., Davie: Routine inspection, five total violations, four High Priority violations.

Dust and dirt on the ceiling tile and vents.

The raw and cooked shrimp in the low boy cooler werent cool enough at 46 to 50 degrees to avoid Stop Sales.

Five flies buzzed around closed vinegar containers. Three live roaches crawled on a wall underneath clean service utensils. Another four sashayed on a wall and a prep table.

Outback was back in the blooming onion game after passing re-inspection the next day.

Pompano Pizza, 1606 S. Cypress Rd., Pompano Beach: Routine inspection, 13 total violations, nine High Priority violations.

An employee went from cleaning to pizza prep without washing hands.

Employee came out of the bathroom and then entered the kitchen and handled clean equipment and utensils without washing hands.

You can read the inspectors exasperation after seeing someone touch ready-to-eat salad ingredients with bare hands: Employees are not washing hands. The salad stuff got hit with Stop Sales.

But, maybe the lack of handwashing isnt their fault. No handwash sink for employees. Establishment has only one hand wash sink located inside kitchen which has no running water due to clogged plumbing...Establishment has no other means to properly wash hands for food preparation/service.

Meanwhile, as far as food stored at an unsafely warm temperatures, American cheese, fresh garlic in oil, cooked sausage, cooked pasta, sliced provolone all got smacked with Stop Sales.

Pompano Pizza passed re-inspection the next day.

The Rock Irish Pub, 614 Lake Ave., Lake Worth: Routine inspection, 22 total violations, four High Priority violations.

The microwave and the can opener were food contact surfaces soiled with food debris, mold-like substance or slime.

Problem was, the dishwasher wasnt sanitizing anything, so the wash, rinse and sanitizing was moved to the three-compartment sink.

Stop Sales got dropped on a dented can of marinara sauce and the bar ice which was for drinks, but were being used to store beer bottles.

Cabbage and raw chicken were stored on the walk-in coolers floor.

Oh, and the inspector counted six live roaches on the kitchen prep table and about 50 live roaches on the wall in the kitchen over the dry storage rack, freezer chest, and prep table.

The pub was back open after the next days re-inspection.
ROCHESTER  Nickolas Legault, 25, of Rochester, has pleaded guilty to accepting deposits for landscaping and fencing jobs from four consumers totaling over $13,000 and failing to do the work, according to New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella.

He pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor counts of unfair business practices in violation of the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act, each involving a different consumer. This included accepting a deposit of $1,909.50 to install sod, making excuses for failing to show up and then ending communication with the customer.

He also pleaded guilty to accepting a deposit of $3,000 to install turf and showed up one day, ripping up the existing yard and accepting a second payment of $2,382, which he later returned, but then refused to do any more work or provide the materials or refund the $3,000.

He also accepted $6,000 to install a fence, spent the money on other things, and never performed any work, after repeated requests, according to Formella. He accepted a deposit of $2,200 from another consumer to enlarge a patio and install gravel, tiki torches, trees, and stone but never did the work, Formella said.

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More local news: Somersworth woman ordered by city to mow her lawn. She refuses.

Legault was sentenced in Strafford County Superior Court to four concurrent terms of 60 days in jail with the recommendation he be eligible for administrative home confinement. Each of the four sentences also includes an additional 10-month period, which will be suspended for four years, during which time he must pay over $13,000 in restitution, refrain from owning, operating, or managing a small business, refrain from accepting deposits for home contracting or landscaping work, not contact the four victims, and maintain good behavior.

These cases were investigated by Fred Lulka and prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Kevin Scura, both of the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau.

The Consumer Protection Hotline is 1-888-468-4454 and complaints can be filed at doj.nh.gov/consumer/complaints.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Rochester man plead guilty to scamming consumers on landscaping work
The Right to Rock Act.

Thats what one Florida legislator is calling a bill he filed that aims to prevent certain venues from canceling artists performances due to their political beliefs.

Ted Nugent is an outspoken conservative and also a rock legend in the eyes of fans like State Representative Dr. Joel Rudman (R-Navarre).

So, when Nugent recently had a planned show canceled after the venue received pushback on social media for hosting the rock and roll, it inspired Rudman to take action.

So basically one-thousand people, who probably werent going to the concert in the first place, kept the rest of Bermingham from seeing Ted Nugent, and thats something were not gonna let happen in the State of Florida, Rudman said.

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WATCH: Gov. DeSantis addresses states stance on COVID-19 mandates

His solution: The Right to Rock Act.

The bill prohibits venues that receive tax dollars from canceling a contract with an artist due to their social media behavior or political beliefs.

Rudman argues it protects the artists First Amendment rights and the rights of fans to see their idols perform.

There are hundreds of reasons you can break a contract, but were not going to let you discriminate against a performing artist based on their politics, Rudman said.

Read: Monique Worrell says her suspension as state attorney is unconstitutional

But State Representative Anna Eskamani argues Rudmans bill ignores the First Amendment rights of the venues.

They have the ability to decide what type of speech is warranted in their facility, Eskamani said. So, as long as a contract has a cancelation policy that is agreed upon by both parties, we as government cannot get involved in a contractual agreement.

But Rudman feels by limiting the scope to venues that receive tax dollars, hell be able to garner support for the legislation this upcoming session.

Read: Orlando City Commissioner calls for task force to study homelessness in the Parramore community

I wouldnt be in the state Legislature if it werent for Alice Cooper and Paul Stanley, people who have already been attacked on social media earlier this year. So, were going to defend their right to rock, said Rudman.

Whether the right to rock is ultimately enshrined in state statute remains to be seen.

Lawmakers return to the State Capitol for early committee meetings in less than two weeks.

Read: Records show 4 teens arrested in Orlando drive-by shooting have juvenile criminal histories









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After nearly four hours of often impassioned testimony, the Rocklin Unified School District Board of Trustees voted 4-1 early Thursday morning to require teachers and staff to alert a students parents if they request to use different pronouns, go by a different name, or otherwise indicate that they are reconsidering their gender identity.

More than 200 parents, teachers, staff and students attended the Wednesday night board meeting to take on one of the most contentious topics in California politics: gender identity and parental notification. Members of the Rocklin Teachers Professional Association, the California Teachers Association, LGBTQ people and supporters rallied before the session to protest the policy.

The boards vote was unsurprising given its makeup  four GOP-approved trustees and one moderate. Michelle Sutherland, the only member without an endorsement by the Placer County Republican Party, was the lone dissenter.

She spoke against not just the proposed policy but against her colleagues fringe political aims.

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Im disappointed that you all are choosing to follow this agenda, Sutherland said in her remarks before public comment started. As of 6pm tonight, we received 184 emails in opposition and 22 in support ... this is a fringe issue thats targeting a very small and vulnerable group of our kids in Rocklin Unified.

Rocklin Unified School District Board Member Michelle Sutherland draws a graphic representation of where she said the boards priorities should be focused during a meeting Wednesday. The area of most importance, she said, does not include passing a policy that would possibly violate state law by mandating schools to out transgender students to their parents.

Before the boards final vote, when only dozens of attendees were left in the meeting hall, she expressed more disappointment.

This is addressing a problem that doesnt exist, she said. Nobody (in the district) is encouraging secrecy.

But the four other members  Dereck Counter, Tiffany Saathoff, Rachelle Price, and board president Julie Hupp  stated their intent to support the changes to parental notification before hearing from the public. They were unswayed by the hours of comments about how such a policy may harm LGBTQ individuals, or cost the district in time and money if there are legal issues.

Its been said many times tonight that this is a political agenda, a religious agenda, said Saathoff. I will reiterate that Ive had parents, teachers, staff approach me about this policy because theyre very concerned for a variety of reasons.

Saathoff sought to dispel concerns about the policys legality, reiterating that the board received very clear legal counsel that the policy ... does not break state or federal law. She said she met with multiple civil rights attorneys at the state and federal level that have agreed with that.

Rocklin Unified School District Board Member Tiffany Saathoff, left, speaks during a board meeting Wednesday in support of a policy requiring schools to possibly violate state law by outing transgender students to their parents.

Proponents of the amendment are vocal parents rights advocates who say the state is overstepping its power by excluding parents from a life-changing decision by their children. Opponents say it would force teachers to out trans students, violate their privacy, and potentially threaten their safety.

Legal problems are mounting for school districts that have passed similar policies. On Wednesday afternoon, just hours before the RUSD board met, a San Bernardino County Superior Court judge ordered a temporary pause to the Chino Valley Unified School Districts parental notification rules, which it approved in July. Attorney General Rob Bontas office had filed a lawsuit, saying the provisions violated students constitutional rights.

There have also been legal repercussions on the opposite side. Late last month, a Monterey County school board reached a $100,000 settlement with a mother who said the school enabled her daughters social transition without her consent.

Parents, teachers and students speak out

By 5:30pm, a line of dissenters and supporters wrapped around the RUSD office on Sierra Meadows Drive. Many stood for three, four, and five hours in the late summer heat to speak for their allotted two minutes.

A line wraps around the building as Rocklin teachers, community members, parents and students wait for hours to comment during the Rocklin Unified School District Board meeting Wednesday where a policy requiring schools to possibly violate state law by outing transgender students to their parents was on the agenda. The board passed the policy that would require staff to notify families within days of a students choosing to be identified as any name, nickname, or gender that does not match enrollment records or is not a common nickname recognized by the school.

Members of the public spoke from about 8:15pm to 12:15am early Thursday morning, with only a few disruptions. A majority  about two thirds  spoke against the proposal. Many read letters or comments they say were written by anonymous trans and non-binary RUSD students.

You should be ashamed for even discussing this policy, said Whitney High School teacher and Rocklin Teachers Professional Association President Travis Mougeotte.

Jessica Hardy, a 3rd grade teacher and the districts 2023 Teacher of the Year, spoke against it, as did Meredith Kane, a Whitney High School English teacher. Several teachers said they would simply not comply.

The Whitney High School student body president, Nayeli Glaude, and student board representative, Sophie Burns, issued a joint statement of dissent.

Lawyers also addressed concerns about the legality of the policy, including Jennifer Chow of the ACLU.

But there were plenty of supporters as well. Parents from the district and surrounding districts insisted that more parental involvement is crucial for healthy kids. In a school system that notifies parents when their child is injured on the playground, for example, surely notifying a parent when their child undergoes a change of identity is a logical  and not political or agendized  issue.

Tonight what we are discussing and addressing is a conversation with a parent, Saathoff stressed, at the end of the meeting. There is no state or federal law that says a students rights supersedes a parents.

Marcie Johnson, center, of Rocklin, and Noel Leckemby, right, a local small-business owner, stand outside the Rocklin Unified School District Board meeting Wednesday in opposition to a policy requiring schools to possibly violate state law by outing transgender students to their parents. Im here supporting community members who have children in this school district, Leckemby said. Johnson, who has two children in elementary school, added, There hasnt been a situation that happened in this district thats been concerning enough  for these revisions that theyre wanting to make.

Board addresses Christ centered comments

The board heard calls for Hupp to be removed from her position.

At the end of August, Hupp posted on her official Facebook page a call for Christ centered, family focused parents to volunteer on advisory committees in the district. Her comments drew outrage from community members who say shes bringing conservative Christian values into an historically non-partisan public office at the exclusion of other communities. She posted a follow-up a few days later.

In answer to a question I am receiving, Yes, I asked for Christ loving individuals to join committees, she wrote on August 25. All faiths and all child loving people are encouraged to sign up. The inclusion of one does not mean the exclusion of others.

The feedback from her Facebook posts prompted a statement as she opened the meeting.

I would never intentionally exclude anyone from participating in our schools, she said to the crowded room. As soon as it was pointed out to me that someone felt excluded, I made the second post.

Ive taught, loved, and served in this community and nearby for 30-plus years, she continued. In those years I taught hundreds of children and genuinely loved them as well as their families. Not one has ever reported feeling discriminated against and not one would ever report me trying to teach Sunday school in a classroom. Moving forward, it is my full intention to continue loving children and serving families with all the passions of my heart as I have always done.

Sutherland called out her colleague, and was the only other board member to do so.

There are likely people who are here concerned about President Hupps exclusionary call to action, she said.

I think its really important that all RUSD families feel valued and represented by this Board ... when the Board president asks for as many Christ centered, family focused  what does that mean?  it signals that theres a priority on volunteers who share her personal values.

Rex Carpenter, a Rocklin resident with a granddaughter in middle school, kicked off the hours-long public comment period at the Rocklin Unified School District Board meeting Wednesday by saying, Im here tonight to ask you to do no harm, advocating for young people in vulnerable home situations. He spoke in opposition to the policy proposal.

Community members from both sides of a proposed Rocklin Unified School District Board policy debate Wednesday outside of the meeting. The policy, which opponents say violates state law, was approved 4-1 by the board, requiring staff to notify families within days of a students choosing to be identified as any name, nickname, or gender that does not match enrollment records or is not a common nickname recognized by the school.
Photo confirming the downing of the drone in Romania, published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

Mayor of the Ceatalchioi community in Romania, Tudor Chernega, has discussed with the country's Defense Minister the possibility of evacuating residents of Plauru village due to regular Russian attacks on neighboring Ukraines Izmail, Romanian news outlet Digi24 reported on Sept. 7. Plauru is no more than 300 meters from the port of Izmail.

Read also: Ukraine intercepted 25 out of 33 Shahed drones in overnight Russian attack  Ukraine Air Forces

Chernega appealed to the authorities to support the villagers of Plauru who have been reporting for over a month that Russian drones, which are hitting the port of Izmail, fly over their houses, and some fall dangerously close to their town.

The publication pointed out that not all village residents want to leave the area where they were born.

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The mayor reported that during his meeting with the defense minister he suggested the possibility of a voluntary evacuation of the region's residents.

"I need to get in touch with the local residents, and those who want to voluntarily relocate should be provided with the same conditions as Ukrainians  namely accommodation and food," said Chernega.

On Sept. 6, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar acknowledged for the first time that parts of a Russian drone used to attack Ukraine fell on his country's territory. On the night of Sept. 4, Russia launched a barrage of Iranian-designed kamikaze drones against targets in Ukraines Odesa Oblast, which borders Romania.

Read also: Ukraine accuses Russia of deliberately exploiting Odesa Oblasts geography as Russian drones crash in Romania

According to Ukrainian border guards, at least one drone fell and detonated on Romanian territory.

Read also: Murderous strike in Konstyantynivka market, Blinken makes surprise visit, Romania admits drone fell

The Romanian side initially "categorically denied" reports about the fall of debris on its soil. According to the ministry, Russian attacks on Ukraine "never posed direct military threats to the national territory or the territorial waters of Romania."

Read also: Ukraine to determine conditions for peace talks, says Stoltenberg

Earlier on Sept. 7, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance does not see any signs that Russia is intentionally attacking Romania.

"We don't have any information indicating an intentional attack by Russia, and we are awaiting the outcome of the ongoing investigation," Stoltenberg is quoted by Reuters.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
From understanding see Spot run to exercising empathy, reading paves the way for a childs success. However, it seems these benefits may be at risk. The Georgia Board of Education reported that only 56% of Chatham County second-graders read on their grade level.

To address this drop, the Rotary Club of Savannah has partnered with Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools and United Way of the Greater Coastal Empire to launch the Read United Buddies program. With the help of dedicated volunteers and a few good books, the organizations hope to inspire the next generation to take an active role in their community.

The ability to comprehend [through reading] enables you to step in front and be a part of the conversation rather than sit back because you're not sure what's being said, Rotary Club of Savannah President Eddie DeLoach said. We want our kids to be able to feel confident enough in themselves and their abilities that they can step forward and say what needs to be said at the time and understand what they're saying.

Much like learning to read, becoming a volunteer for the Read United Buddies program begins with basic understanding. After completing a background check, volunteers will attend training sessions with the school systems literacy professionals. During these training sessions, volunteers will learn more about the best ways to support students as they work on improving their reading skills each week.

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When the program launches in October, volunteers will be paired with second-grade students from Windsor Forest and Otis Brock Elementary schools. Twice a week, volunteers will meet with students to guide them through 30 minutes of reading from grade-level appropriate books selected by the school board. While a supportive reading buddy and a book may seem like a simple combination, it addresses several widespread issues that affect literacy rates across the country.

Public Finance: School board passes $567 million budget, includes officer pay raise, literacy investments

Proud, not satisfied: Savannah-Chatham County schools' GMAS scores show modest improvement

Planning Ahead: Savannah-Chatham School Board retreat reveals internal, external communication challenges

These young readers are participating in the iLive Oak Public Libraries fall reading challenge.

If you can get to where you can read a newspaper or look at something in type and comprehend it, your life just completely changes'

The global pandemic provides one explanation for the recent drop in reading scores, but the issue of low literacy rates in America runs deeper than the last few years. Difficult living conditions, such as poverty, provide another explanation. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 61% of low-income families dont have any books for children in their homes. When pressed against a tight budget, immediate necessities like food and housing take precedence, leaving little funding for things like books. Even the most attentive and loving parent can only do their best, and even the most driven student can only do so much when their resources are limited.

At the beginning of the year, the United Way of the Coastal Empire gave away more than 17,000 books to help give families in this type of situation the resources to develop a love for reading at home. Now, the Read United Buddy program plans to fill the need for mentors who will provide an extra boost in the school setting.

Were there to give them support, help them with words that they have a problem with and get them comfortable with reading and understanding a book, DeLoach said. Its that individual, one-on-one time that's going to make the difference.

That difference shows in the many benefits of reading, from lowering stress levels to expanding ones vocabulary. When combined with the social element of reading with a buddy, it can also boost confidence, empathy and other necessary social skills. This dynamic is a key feature of the Read United Buddies program, which starts at a second-grade level to help students build confidence early on and develop other important skills sooner.

Islands children's librarian Sha Dishong, left, with Sahasra, 7, center, reading to Labradoodle Bella.

Starting with the second grade will get them comfortable, so that when they hit the third grade, theyre reading and comprehending. Then theyre comfortable going out of the third grade into the fourth with the ability to comprehend so they can learn from what they read, not try to learn to read, DeLoach said.

Reading gives young minds a way to explore the world, but it also gives them a way to explore their independence. Even something as simple as learning to read a menu at a restaurant can be incredibly empowering for a young person. When a child is confident in their reading abilities, they feel more comfortable reading a menu and ordering for themselves rather than depending on a parent. Suddenly, a hamburger or a basket of chicken tenders becomes a pivotal lesson in self-confidence and socializing.

If you can get to where you can read a newspaper or look at something in type and comprehend it, your life just completely changes because it opens up so many more avenues for you in any field, DeLoach said.

As these avenues appear, students start seeing reading as a gift and their understanding blooms beyond their wildest dreams. Before long, reading stops being a chore and becomes a way to explore new possibilities.

To me, [reading] was about having a great time, and it expanded my imagination as a kid, DeLoach said. Sitting down and reading that book was changing my life through what I read about great people in our community.

Those great people also include the minds behind Read United Buddies. As the program begins accepting volunteers, DeLoach reminds Savannahians of the importance of spreading goodwill throughout the community in whatever way possible. Working with students requires time and patience, but seeing them become independent and confident young people may be one of the most rewarding ways to help the community.

That child will always remember who you are and what you did for them, DeLoach said. When you see that person graduate or move forward in life, you will know that you have had a part in that.

To become a Read United Buddy, visit uwce.info/ReadUnitedBuddies. For more information, contact cdean@uwce.org or 912-651-7707.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Volunteers needed for Savannah-Chatham's Read United Buddies program
Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies:

Stabbing under investigation

A man was taken to the hospital after getting stabbed during a fight in Ventura Tuesday night, authorities said.

The incident was reported around 9:50 p.m. near the 6600 block of Telephone Road, said Ventura Police Department Cmdr. Edward Caliento.

A physical fight between two men led to the stabbing, Caliento said. The victim, whose wounds were not life-threatening, was taken by ambulance to Ventura County Medical Center.

On Thursday, officials said they had a suspect but were still investigating whether he would be arrested.

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No other details were immediately available.

This item may be upated.

Firearms confiscated during search

Ventura County Sheriff's authorities seized firearms during a recent warrant search in Oxnard.

Ventura County Sheriff's detectives arrested an Oxnard man last month after seizing several firearms during a warrant search of his home.

The agency's special enforcement unit for the west county had investigated the 28-year-old for illegal possession of firearms during the third week of August. Detectives obtained a search warrant on Aug. 31 for the man's residence in the 100 block of Tujunga Avenue and served the warrant that day.

During the search, detectives seized two assault-style rifles, a shotgun, four handguns, firearm manufacturing parts, extended pistol magazines and a "large cache" of ammunition, sheriff's officials said in a news release Tuesday.

The man was arrested on suspicion of felony firearms violations, including unlawful transfer, possession of an assault weapon and possession of a sawed-off rifle.

2 arrested in connection with mail theft

A man and woman from Ventura were recently arrested on suspicion of mail theft after a Ventura County Sheriff's Office investigation.

Detectives with the sheriff's Camarillo special enforcement unit launched their investigation in July. The man, 31, and woman, 24, were suspected of stealing mail from Camarillo residents as well as other areas in the county.

On Aug. 30, detectives found the pair at a Ventura motel in the 3000 block of Johnson Drive and obtained a search warrant for the man, his motel room and vehicle.

During the search, authorities found stolen mail from more than 12 different addresses. The items included documents with personal identifying information and several checks, sheriff's officials said in a news release Tuesday. The man allegedly altered some of the checks and tried, unsuccessfully, to cash them at a bank.

Authorities also found methamphetamine in the room.

The man was arrested on suspicion of felony identity theft and misdemeanor mail theft violations. The woman was returned to jail custody on a probation violation, court records show.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Stabbing in Ventura sends man to hospital, more news
Significant challenges remain in the "all for all" prisoner swap process, according to the head of Ukraines Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov , on Sep. 7.

"The war prisoner swap process is still under way. There are some technical problems due to the intransigence of the Russian Federation. But we will solve it," Budanov said.

Read also: Over 380 children abducted by Russia have now been returned, says deputy PM

Ukraine must return all POWs captured by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in July.

On Sep. 1, Ukraines Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, said that Ukraine faces problems with the process as Russia holds far more POWs than Ukraine.

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Read also: The rise of Military Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov  NV profile

Ukraine returned 22 defenders from Russian captivity in the last swap on Aug. 7, the 48th successful prisoner swap. To date, 2,598 Ukrainians have returned home from captivity.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Russia is holding sham elections in its occupied territories in Ukraine in an attempt to give its presence more legitimacy, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday during his visit to the war-torn nation.

Local and municipal elections are being held in four fully or partially occupied regions of eastern Ukraine: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

The Russian Federation is in the process of conducting sham elections in occupied areas of Ukraine, Blinken said in a statement. The Kremlin hopes these pre-determined, fabricated results will strengthen Russias illegitimate claims to the parts of Ukraine it occupies, but this is nothing more than a propaganda exercise.

Early voting ends Thursday and voting will run through the weekend in certain areas, according to Russian media.

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Earlier in his visit, Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba while in Kyiv.

While on the surprise visit, he announced an additional $1 billion in aid for the country to support its war effort against Russian invasion. He also complimented the countrys counteroffensive against Russian forces in the southwest, which has picked up in recent days, saying the Ukrainian military has made real progress.

The elections come a year after Russia organized referendums to annex the four Ukrainian regions, a move that was denounced and not recognized by Ukraine and its allies, including the U.S. Nearly 150 countries denounced the annexations in a United Nations resolution.

The voting this week corresponds with Russian elections taking place across the country and features a slate of mostly pro-Kremlin candidates often running unopposed, The New York Times reported.

The Council of Europe also condemned the elections this week, saying the votes are a flagrant violation of international law which Russia continues to disregard, and create only an illusion of democracy.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Russian command is deploying troops from other fronts to the south for defence.

Source: Military Media Center, citing Colonel Mykola Urshalovych, Deputy Director of the Planning Department for the use of the Main Directorate of the National Guard, at a briefing

Quote: "The regrouping of forces from other fronts and reserves [enables the Russians to  ed.] strengthen the units that are conducting defensive operations on the Berdiansk and Melitopol fronts."

Details: Urshalovych says that Russian forces continue to advance on the Lyman, Avdiivka and Marinka fronts, and are trying to counterattack on the Bakhmut front despite significant losses.

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!






Russia said it shot down five Ukrainian drones early Thursday, just one day after a Russian missile attack struck a market in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 17 people.

Five drones were shot down over three regions overnight, including one attempting to strike Moscow, officials said. No injuries were reported.

Air defense forces thwarted an attempted drone strike on Moscow in the Ramensky urban district, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said in a Telegram post. Sobyanin said no damage or casualties were reported in the fall of the wreckage.

Two more drones were shot down in the southern region of Rostov, which borders Ukraine, regional Gov. Vasily Golubev said on social media. Multiple cars and windows were damaged from the falling debris, he said. Some residents evacuated their apartments after the attack but have since been allowed to return.

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In the Bryansk region, which also borders Ukraine, an additional two drones were shot down with debris damaging a railway station and multiple cars, according to regional Gov. Alexander Bogomaz. No casualties were reported.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Ukraine was responsible for the attacks, according to The Associated Press, though Ukraine does not take credit for strikes inside of Russia.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military claimed it shot down 25 of 33 drones it said were launched by Russia overnight, most in the Odesa region, a critical spot for Ukraines grain export infrastructure.

The series of drone strikes came on the heels of a Russian missile attack at a market in the heart of the city of Kostiantynivka, in the eastern Donetsk region still held by Ukraine. The strike killed at least 17 people, wounded another 32 and followed a series of Russian attacks on Ukraines grain export infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack showed utter inhumanity in a Telegram post Wednesday.

A regular market. Shops. A pharmacy. People who did nothing wrong, Zelensky wrote on Telegram. Unfortunately, the number of casualties and the injured may rise. My condolences to all who have lost loved ones! This Russian evil must be defeated as soon as possible.

During his visit to Ukraine Thursday, State Secretary Antony Blinken toured the damage in Kostiantynivka and said the death and destruction was what Ukrainians are living with every day, according to the AP.

Blinkens trip to Kyiv aims to show the United Statess unwavering commitment to Ukraines democracy, territorial integrity and democracy, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

The Associated Press contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Reuters) - Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday that the US supply of depleted uranium weapons to Ukraine was "a criminal act", state media reported.

The Pentagon on Wednesday announced a new security assistance package worth up to $175 million for Ukraine, including depleted uranium ammunition for U.S. Abrams tanks.

A by-product of uranium enrichment, depleted uranium is used for ammunition because its extreme density gives rounds the ability to easily penetrate armor plating. Critics say there are dangerous health risks from ingesting or inhaling depleted uranium dust, including cancers and birth defects.

"This is not just an escalatory step, but it is a reflection of Washingtons outrageous disregard for the environmental consequences of using this kind of ammunition in a combat zone. This is, in fact, a criminal act, I cannot give any other assessment," TASS quoted Ryabkov as saying.

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In a speech at a security seminar, he also reiterated previous warnings by Russia about the risk of a nuclear war, because of what he called Western "pressure" on Moscow.

"Now this pressure is dangerously balancing on the brink of direct armed conflict between nuclear powers," he said.

Russia has long accused the West of using Ukraine to wage a proxy war aimed at inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Moscow. The United States and its allies say they are arming Ukraine to defend itself against Russia's invasion and recover territory seized by Moscow in the course of the 18-month war.

Russia's deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus was proceeding on schedule, Ryabkov said.

"Several stages have now been completed in terms of creating the appropriate infrastructure and re-equipping the corresponding carriers. This work continues."

Moscow announced the deployment earlier this year, calling it a deterrent to the West.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Michael Perry)
Russian forces launched 36 attacks at communities along the Sumy Oblast border on Sept. 6, causing a total of 218 explosions, local military administration reported on Telegram.

The Russian military shelled nine communities, inlcuding Esman, Krasnopillia, Yunakivka, Khotin, Znob-Novhorodske, Velyka Pysarivka, Putyvl, Nova Sloboda and Svesy.

Multiple weapons were deployed against the region over the course of the day, including mortars, artillery, unguided aerial rockets, and grenade launchers, according to the Ukrainian military.

In the Putyvl and Nova Sloboda communities, Russia's attack damaged private residences and power lines. There were no casualties.

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Sumy Oblast is located on Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia. It has been the target of daily Russian shelling and attacks from across the border since parts of the oblast were liberated from Russian troops in early April 2022.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Blinken announces $1 billion in new military aid during visit to Kyiv

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Russian forces are transferring troops from other sectors of the frontline to bolster their defenses in the south of Ukraine, according to Mykola Urshalovych, the acting director of Ukraines National Guard planning department, on Sep. 7.

"In spite of suffering significant losses, Russia persists in its offensive maneuvers in the Lyman, Avdiyivka, and Maryinka sectors. It is also attempting a counterattack in the Bakhmut region," Urshalovych said.

Read also: Ukraine's National Guard takes Chechen commander captive

"Through the strategic regrouping of forces from alternative directions and reserves, they are reinforcing units actively engaged in defensive operations in the Berdyansk and Melitopol areas."

Ukraines counteroffensive  Latest updates

The New York Times previously reported the beginning of a fresh phase in Ukraines counteroffensive, with a primary focus on the southeast. Ukrainian troops are steadily advancing through minefields while contending with aerial attacks.

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Read also: Ukraine making progress on its march to Melitopol

Citing an unnamed U.S. official, The Wall Street Journal reported that Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, informed U.S. officials that Ukrainian forces are on the verge of a breakthrough on Aug. 25, addressing concerns about the perceived slow pace of the counteroffensive.

Ukraines Defense Ministry officially confirmed the liberation of the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhya Oblast on Aug. 28. Currently, Ukrainian forces are advancing further towards Novoprokopivka and Ocheretove, having made substantial progress in the vicinity of Verbove.

In early September, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Commander of the Tavria operational group, announced that Ukrainian forces successfully breached the first line of Russian defenses in the southern sector.

Ukraines Deputy Minister of Defense, Hanna Malyar, stated on Sep. 5 that the offensive is a protracted process and that the war is far from over.

Read also: Azov Brigade returns to battlefield, begins combat missions near Kreminna

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Russia on Thursday blasted the United States over its decision to send Ukraine controversial depleted uranium munitions for Abrams tanks, calling Washingtons plan a criminal act.

The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it would for the first time send the ammunition as part of a new package of aid for Kyiv worth up to $175 million.

The armor-piercing rounds are expected to be highly effective against Russian tanks, a reality that Moscow is not happy with.

This is not just an escalatory step, but it is a reflection of Washingtons outrageous disregard for the environmental consequences of using this kind of ammunition in a combat zone. This is, in fact, a criminal act, I cannot give any other assessment, said Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, according to state news agency TASS.

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And the Russian embassy in Washington called the plan an indicator of inhumanity.

The $175 million revealed Wednesday is part of a larger, more than $1 billion aid package announced by Secretary of State Antony Blinken as he visited Kyiv.

During the trip, Blinken relayed that Ukrainian forces were making strong advances in its ongoing counteroffensive, and that he is seeing real progress in the operation.

The U.S. confidence tracks with those of other Western allies in showing more hope for the operation as Ukrainian troops are trying to push through thick Russian lines in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region.

The depleted uranium munitions are sure to help that effort, as until now, only the United Kingdom has sent Kyiv the same type of ammunition for its Challenger 2 tanks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier accused the U.K. of sending weapons with a nuclear component, even though the U.S. has insisted that the munitions  while made with a byproduct of uranium enrichment  do not pose a radioactive threat.

The International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons, however, has said depleted uranium rounds still come with health risks should civilians come into contact with their dust.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russia has withdrawn most of its troops from Belarus, Ukrainian State Border Guard Service spokesman Andriy Demchenko announced on Sept. 7.

"At the moment, as part of a rotation, Russia has withdrawn practically all of its units that have completed their training. Instead, no new units have been sent there," Demchenko said.

Read also: After Prigozhins death, dynamic decrease of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus  Lithuanian Defense Minister

Belarus has been used as a training ground for Russian military personnel, with some 10,00011,000 troops stationed there, he said.

Efforts to strengthen the border to prevent any incidents of sabotage remain ongoing, Demchenko said.

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Read also: Ukraines border agency says kamikaze drones hit Romania during Russian attack, Bucharest shrugs off reports

Earlier, it was reported that Russia had transferred troops to participate in its offensive on the Kupyansk-Lyman section of the front in eastern Ukraine, according to the Joint Forces Commander of Ukraines Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Serhiy Nayev.

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
Russian multi-weapon attacks against Ukraine killed 19 people and wounded 48 over the past 24 hours, damaging homes and civilian infrastructure, regional authorities reported.

A total of 10 Ukrainian oblasts were targeted  Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Kherson, Odesa, and Kharkiv. Casualties were reported only in the last five regions.

Russian drone hit the village of Odradokamianka in Kherson Oblast early on Sept. 7, leaving a 58-year-old man wounded, the regional administration said. A day before, Russia hit the region 68 times, damaging a factory in Kherson, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.

Overnight on Sept. 7, Russian forces struck Odesa Oblasts southern Izmail district with Iranian-made drones, damaging infrastructure and injuring one person, according to Governor Oleh Kiper.

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Sixteen people have been confirmed killed and 33 wounded in the Russian Sept. 6 attack on Donetsk Oblasts Kostiantynivka, the regional police spokesperson said in the morning of Sept. 7. This number includes 15 killed and 22 injured civilians, according to the regional authorities.

The attack hit a crowded market and damaged two apartment buildings, a pharmacy, and a bank, the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration said.

In the past day, Russian attacks reportedly killed two more people and wounded six in the regional settlements of Siversk, Novoukrainka, Toretsk, and Velyka Novosilka. Sixteen houses and an industrial building were damaged, the Donetsk Oblast authorities added.

The Russian military struck four districts in Kharkiv Oblast, injuring a 25-year-old man in a village near Kupiansk, according to the oblast governor.

The attacks damaged nine houses, garages, and outbuildings and caused a fire in a field, Oleh Synehuibov reported.

Russias military targeted 31 settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, launching 99 strikes from various weapons, the regional administration reported. A 68-year-old man was killed, and six more people aged between 34 and 85 were wounded.

The Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration said it had received 40 reports on the damages to homes and civilian infrastructure.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Blinken announces $1 billion in new military aid during visit to Kyiv

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Vladislav Klyushin, an owner of an information technology company with ties to the Russian government

By Nate Raymond and Maria Tsvetkova

BOSTON (Reuters) -A Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin was sentenced on Thursday to nine years in a U.S. prison after being convicted of participating in a $93 million insider-trading scheme involving hacked secret earnings information about multiple companies.

Vladislav Klyushin, the owner of a Moscow-based information technology company called M-13 that did work for the Russian government, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Patti Saris in Boston after a jury found him guilty in February.

Hackers from 2018 to 2020 viewed and downloaded yet-to-be-announced earnings reports for hundreds of companies including Tesla and Microsoft, which Klyushin and others used to trade before the news was public, according to prosecutors.

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"The defendant's massive gains here came out of other investors' pockets," Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto said during the sentencing hearing. "That does real injury to American markets."

Kosto had sought a 14-year sentence. While Saris did not go that far, the judge said a lengthy sentence was justified for a sophisticated international crime that did "significant harm to the U.S. capital markets."

Klyushin, 42, is one of the highest-profile Russians in U.S. custody. And while his case predated the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year ordered by President Vladimir Putin , Klyushin's connections to the Kremlin have long intrigued American authorities.

Asked after the sentencing hearing if Klyushin would be a good candidate for a prisoner swap with Russia, his lawyer Maksim Nemtsev told reporters that his client "potentially" would be, but that he had no personal knowledge of whether that was being discussed.

There is recent precedent for such a swap. Russia released imprisoned American basketball star Brittney Griner last year in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was imprisoned in the United States.

M-13 not only did work for Putin's government but also employed Ivan Ermakov, a former Russian military intelligence officer wanted by the American government for his alleged involvement in hacking schemes aimed at interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, according to prosecutors.

Ermakov was charged along with Klyushin and three other Russian nationals with carrying out the hack-and-trade scheme. Only Klyushin has faced trial after he was apprehended in Switzerland during a ski trip in 2021 and extradited to the United States. Klyushin plans to appeal his conviction.

Prosecutors said that hackers broke into the networks of two firms that help publicly traded companies file reports with U.S. securities regulators, Donnelley Financial Solutions and Toppan Merrill. Klyushin and his associates then made $93 million trading stocks based on yet-to-be-announced information that hackers stole from publicly traded companies, according to prosecutors.

Klyushin individually netted more than $34 million in the scheme, prosecutors said. The judge on Thursday ordered Klyushin to forfeit that money, though she suggested it was unlikely most of it would ever be collected.

Nemtsev had sought a three-year prison sentence, which would take into account the 2-1/2 years Klyushin already has been in custody, saying the longer he was in prison the more his client would be robbed of seeing his children in Russia grow up.

"There's no reason to believe he would risk the well-being of his family by committing crimes again," Nemtsev said.

But Kosto said that allowing Klyushin, a "powerful person" with connections to the "highest echelons of Russian society," to return quickly to his home country would be a "recipe for recidivism."

Klyushin's lawyers have argued there was no evidence he possessed inside information and knew of any hacking. Oliver Ciric, his attorney in Switzerland, has said the real reason Klyushin was charged was his Russian government connections. Ciric has said U.S. intelligence officials tried to recruit Klyushin in 2019 and that British intelligence did the same a year later.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond and Maria Tsvetkova in Boston; Editing by Will Dunham and Alexia Garamfalvi)
The US announced on Wednesday that it is sending depleted-uranium anti-tank rounds to Ukraine.

Russia responded angrily, saying the move was an "indicator of inhumanity."

A US official said: "If Russia has an issue with that, they can withdraw their tanks from Ukraine."

Russia can pull its tanks from Ukraine if it's unhappy with the US sending depleted-uranium rounds to Ukraine, a US official told Politico.

The official was responding to Russia's complaints over the US announcement that it would send Ukraine tank rounds with depleted uranium.

"What really is happening is that Russia simply doesn't want to see Ukraine with tanks and more effective tank rounds that could be lethal against Russian tanks," the official, who was granted anonymity because the topic is sensitive, said.

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"If Russia has an issue with that, they can withdraw their tanks from Ukraine," they added.

The official also said that Russia is preparing to spread propaganda that the rounds aren't safe, despite Russia also having them in its stockpile.

The Biden administration announced plans on Wednesday to give Ukraine 120 mm ammunition made from depleted uranium, alongside other weaponry.

The ammunition, for American-made M1 Abrams tanks, which are yet to arrive in Ukraine, can penetrate armor and also ignite the insides of vehicles, Insider's Jake Epstein reported.

Russia reacted angrily to the news, with the Russian embassy in Washington posting on Telegram that "the administration's decision to supply weapons with depleted uranium is an indicator of inhumanity," according to Al Jazeera's translation.

It said that firing the weapons results in the "formation of a moving radioactive cloud" that can cause cancer.

But US officials say there is no radioactive threat, citing the UN nuclear watchdog, which says that depleted-uranium residues dispersed in the environment "does not pose a radiological hazard to the population of the affected regions," Politico reported.

The US military has been making weapons from depleted uranium for decades, but the US debated for months about sending the ammunition to Ukraine, worried about some environmental and health impacts, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The UK has already sent Ukraine some of the ammunition for use in UK-supplied Challenger tanks, angering Russia.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby pushed back on Russia's anger at the time, telling reporters in March that "this kind of ammunition is fairly commonplace."

"I think what's really going on here is Russia just doesn't want Ukraine to continue to take out its tanks and  and render them inoperative," he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The figure himself appeared as an aide to the occupiers

The Ukrainian SBU Security Service has successfully exposed a Russian informant in Kryvyi Rih who was engaged in gathering sensitive information concerning the flight paths of Ukrainian military aircraft, the services press office reported on Sep. 7.

The spy focused his activities on monitoring fighter aircraft and helicopters, and would then transmit photographs along with coordinates to the Russians.

Read also: Ukraine arrests Russian spy in Kirovohrad Oblast

The traitor is a resident of Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Following the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion, he provided Russian agents with details on the movements and locations of Ukrainian defense units.

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During searches conducted at the suspects residence, authorities confiscated banned symbols associated with the Soviet communist regime.

He has been charged with providing military secrets to the enemy and disseminating material supporting totalitarian regimes.

Read also:

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Major General Konstantin Ogienko, a Russian military officer formerly in command of Moscow's air defense, had been arrested on bribery charges, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Sept. 7.

The ex-commander of the 1st Special Purpose Air and Missile Defense Army, together with another officer Major General Dmitry Belyatsky, took a bribe of 500,000 rubles ($5,000), TASS news agency cited the court.

This sum was the first payment of 30 million rubles ($300,000) that the suspects reportedly demanded from the head of the non-governmental organization "Nadezhda" to help the person acquire a plot of land owned by the Russian Defense Ministry in Dolgoprudny and Lobnya near Moscow, TASS said.

The case against Ogienko was reportedly launched in July, after which the officer was relieved of command. According to Russian media, Belyatsky pleaded partially guilty and testified against his co-defendant.

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Ogienko pleaded not guilty. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

There have been multiple cases of drone strikes against the Russian capital in the past few months. The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of the attacks, while Kyiv does not generally admit responsibility for strikes and similar incidents taking place on Russian territory.

Most recently, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said today on Sept. 7 that Russian air defense shot down a drone over Ramenskoye, southeast of Moscow.

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.
Two drones flying over the Russian city Rostov-on-Don were shot down the night of Sept. 7, damaging cars and injuring one person, Rostov Oblast Governor Vasily Golubev claimed in a Telegram post.

Golubev said that air defense systems were triggered around 3 a.m. local time. According to his announcement, Russian air defense then destroyed two drones.

He claimed that one was shot down outside Rostov-on-Don in the western part of the oblast, while the other fell in the city center, near 42 Pushkinskaya Street.

Golubev said that the falling drone caused damage to several vehicles and that one person was injured, but refused to go to the hospital.

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No other casualties were reported.

The southern city of Rostov-on-Don was occupied by Wagner mercenaries led by Yevgeny Prigozhin in a brief insurrection against Moscow in June 2023.

Reports of drone strikes and drone interceptions within the Russian Federation have become increasingly common as Russia continues to push its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Read also: Update: Russian attack on Kostiantynivka kills 17, injures 32

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) has opened a Donetsk branch and has begun broadcasting in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, in the so-called "DPR" ("Donetsk People's Republic"), on 4 September, UK Defence Intelligence reports.

Source: UK Defence Intelligence review on 7 September, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "Residents of the Russian-controlled area of Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine are now receiving Russian-language local news bulletins from one of Russias major broadcast organisations."

Details: The local newscasts are reported to be provided by the Russian TV channel Rossiya 1, imposing the Russian perspective on the war on the locals.

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UK Defence Intelligence emphasises that this is part of a broader Russian effort to establish long-term control over the region.

Russian-language TV and radio stations based in Ukraine were freely broadcasted in the now-occupied territories until 2014.

Broadcasters controlled by and aligned with the so-called "DPR" government relayed Russian news programmes as part of their propaganda campaign but did not provide any regional coverage.

UK intelligence reports that broadcasting VGTRK in Donetsk has taken over a year to achieve, almost certainly due to trained local technicians refusing to work.

Those who sympathise with the "DPR" and who have the necessary skills were probably imported from Crimea, Luhansk and other regions.

UK Defence Intelligence emphasises that, although Ukrainian broadcasting is blocked on the air, it is still available to a wide audience via the Internet, with people using VPNs or other technology to actively bypass Russian restrictions.

It is also emphasised that mobile phones connected to Ukrainian providers most likely have no restrictions.

Background:

Earlier, UK Defence Intelligence reported that the new sections related to military training, the Kremlin's vision of history and propaganda about the previous years of the war and the so-called "special military operation" against Ukraine [as Russian propaganda calls the war against Ukraine  ed.] have been added to the curriculum in Russian schools.

Before that, UK Intelligence commented on the Russian "elections" in the occupied parts 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!
In the morning, Russian forces attacked Kherson Oblast, killing a man and wounding two people. The Russians also attacked the centre of the city of Kherson.

Source: Roman Mrochko, Head of the Kherson City Military Administration, on Telegram; press service of Kherson Oblast Military Administration

Quote from Mrochko: "Today, at about 07:00, Russian troops attacked Kherson from the temporarily occupied left bank [of the Dnipro River  ed.].

As per the available information, an apartment in the city centre caught fire, and houses in Dniprovskyi and Korabel districts were damaged."

Details: Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported that the Russians had also attacked a civilian in Odradokamianka with a drone. An explosive was dropped on the 58-year-old man, causing him to sustain injuries to his head and chest. He is in a hospital in moderate condition, receiving the necessary medical care.

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Update: Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of Kherson Oblast Military Administration, said that two local residents were injured and one person was killed in the attack on Odradokamianka.

Quote from Prokudin: "At around 09:40, enemy artillery hit the settlement. A 50-year-old man came under fire.

His fellow villagers took him to hospital in critical condition. Doctors tried to save the man's life, but his injuries were too severe. Unfortunately, the man died from his injuries.

Twenty minutes later, the occupiers attacked the village again. This time, an explosive was dropped from a drone.

Two men aged 58 and 46 sustained moderate injuries. They are currently in hospital."

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!
One person was killed and at least four more were wounded as a result of Russian attacks on the settlements of Siversk and Velyka Novosilka in Donetsk Oblast on 6 September.

Source: Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office

Quote: "The occupiers fired on the city of Siversk, probably using multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), at 15:00 on 6 September. As a result of the explosion, a local woman was killed, and three more people received shrapnel wounds, including 60-year-old and 42-year-old men and a 73-year-old woman."

Details: Russian forces shelled the settlement of Velyka Novosilka at 18:40, wounding an 81-year-old woman.

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The prosecutor's office started pre-trial investigations into violations of the laws and customs of war (Parts 1 and 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code 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!
Spectacular scene of camels returning home from desert at dusk in Karamay, NW China's Xinjiang

People's Daily Online) 09:46, September 07, 2023

A herd of around 300 camels amble along a winding path back to a camel ranch at dusk after foraging in the Gobi Desert in Xiaoguai township, Karamay city, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Its a breathtaking pastoral scene with the sandy surroundings dotted with swaying sacsaoul and rose willow trees. (Photos by Min Yong and Gao Shuling)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
The Russian military is forming assault units and will attempt to occupy the city of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast.

Source: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, on air during the 24/7 national joint newscast

Quote: "The enemy continues to form assault units. They currently have the goal of storming the Kupiansk front. They will try to occupy this city [Kupiansk  ed.], but we are convinced that they wont, because they have no success on the battlefield."

Details: Syniehubov said that on the night of 6-7 September, attacks intensified in the north of the oblast: Bohodukhiv and Kharkiv districts, as well as the Vovchansk and Kupiansk fronts, were attacked.

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Syniehubov also said that the population of Izium has increased from 2-3,000 to 27,000 since its liberation.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!






A Ukrainian military official said Russia's defensive lines had weak points.

Russia constructed defensive lines known as "dragon's teeth" to protect its positions.

In recent days, Ukraine has made some progress in its bid to breach them.

Russia's infamous "dragon's teeth" defenses were mocked by a Ukrainian former commander, who said they were easily breached by Ukraine's tanks.

The concrete pyramids, which stand about 4 feet tall, are meant to block and damage Ukrainian tanks and other armored vehicles.

Yevhen Dykyi, a former company commander of the Aidar Battalion, told Voice of Ukraine how Ukrainian forces had managed to breach Russia's first line of defense as part of a recent advance near Tomak, in the Zaporizhzhya oblast in southern Ukraine.

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He added that the "dragon's teeth" defenses had so far been easy to overcome. "We have now reached the second line. And it includes the following," he said, according to a translation by Voice of Ukraine.

"To begin with the amusing, it includes the so-called dragon's teeth. I think everyone has already seen photos or videos [of those]. These are white concrete pyramids that, in the Russian imagination, were supposed to stop our tanks, somehow."

Ukraine's Security Service shared photos of the Russian fortifications exclusively with CNN this month, offering an insight into the network of defenses that had curtailed Ukraine's ambitions.

"Why these pyramids were built, to be honest, is a mystery to me," Dykyi said. "The only rational explanation is that someone simply gobbled up the budget. Because there is absolutely no use from them as they don't stop tanks.

"If you remember, maybe several years ago it was fashionable to put so-called energy pyramids on the tables, which were supposed to protect against negative energies. The use of these concrete pyramids is exactly the same."

Maxar satellite imagery showing Russian "dragon's teeth" defenses and trenches along the beach just west of Yevpatoria, Crimea in March. Maxar Technologies

In the interview, Dykyi also described the challenge faced by Ukrainian forces in breaking through Russia's three defensive lines.

"It was very powerful," he said of Russia's first line of defense. "First of all, it included the largest minefield in general, perhaps in European history," he continued, describing the densely packed minefields in front of Russia's defensive lines.

He described how Ukrainian forces then found "a dotted line of so-called strongholds was further behind this minefield."

He said Russia's second defensive lines of trenches and concrete bunkers were protected by "dozens of separate minefields with passages between them" to enable Russian troops to move, which could be exploited by Ukrainian forces.

He seemed unimpressed by the third line, however, saying it's designed mainly for resupplying the first two lines. "They won't be able to hold it," he said of the Russians.

This week, Ukrainian forces broke through the first line of Russia's defenses, liberating the village of Robotyne near Zaporizhzhya. They are seeking to break through Russia's second defensive line and retake Tomak as part of their drive toward the occupied city of Melitopol.

Dykyi said Russia had realized that holding Tomak was vital if it's to stop Ukrainian forces from pushing on to the Sea of Azov and isolating the occupied Crimean Peninsula.

"There are some grounds for cautious optimism," he said.

Correction: September 7, 2023  An earlier version of this story misstated which side retook the Ukrainian village of Robotyne this week. It was Ukrainian forces, not Russian forces.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Natomas Unified School District is offering money to those willing to become teachers through its Diverse Future Teachers program.

Applications for the program opened Jan. 24, and will close next week, Sept. 15. The onus of the program is to recruit former school district students who are pursuing a career in education, using money as an incentive to lure them back to Natomas.

The greater statewide initiative also targets retired educators  to get them back in the classroom  to help California battle its teacher shortage.

Teacher shortages are a growing national issue exacerbated by COVID-19, and California is no exception, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond told the Senate Education Committee earlier this year.

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There were more than 10,000 teacher vacancies across California during the 202122 school year, according to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

How to apply for the Diverse Future Teachers program

Applicants must agree to a three-year commitment to teach in the NUSD. Applications can be submitted on the districts website.

Below are incentives teachers receive for signing up, according to the NUSD website:

NUSD will pay for 80% of the cost in getting a teaching credential

A Macbook to use while getting a teaching credential

$500 monthly stipend for a year for teachers who live within the NUSD boundaries while attending the credentialing program

Successful applicants will receive an additional $5,000 for diversity  for having lived in a ZIP code that matches the school districts demographics, for being bilingual, demonstrates academic interest in subjects such as gender, race, multicultural studies and support for underserved students. Another $5,000 is available to educators who earn credentials in hard-to-fill subjects such as math, science, special education and world language.

What do you want to know about life in Sacramento? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@sacbee.com.
A City of Sacramento firefighter was promoted to captain in April, despite crashing city vehicles three times since 2021.

In April 2021, Keith Jeske was driving an ambulance on the Sacramento International Airport tarmac when he reversed and hit the top rear corner of an overhead structure, states an October 2021 disciplinary letter. Under department policy, Jeske should have had at least one other person outside guiding him while he reversed, the letter states. The letter was obtained by The Sacramento Bee from a California Public Records Act request.

About two months after the incident at the airport, in December 2021, Jeske got into another collision. While backing a firetruck into a station in south Sacramentos Parkway neighborhood, he left the telescoping light in the up position, causing it to crash into the stations rain gutter, an August 2022 disciplinary letter states. Both the light and rain gutter were damaged.

Less than a year later, in November 2022, Jeske got in another collision. He was driving a firetruck on a call when the light bar struck the door of the same station, the May 2023 disciplinary letter states. It damaged both the engine and the door. Department protocol is to wait until the door opens fully before driving through it.

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Jeske did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The first letter was signed by former Fire Chief Gary Loesch, and the second by Assistant City Manager Leyne Milstein, then serving as interim fire chief. The third was signed by Fire Chief Chris Costamagna.

The department disciplined Jeske with a suspension of one shift for the rain gutter incident  the one signed by Milstein. For the others, he was formally reprimanded without further penalties.

The first two letters include a statement from Jaske in which he admits to the accident, where the third does not.

Further misconduct could lead to additional discipline including termination, the letters states.

The Accident Review Board deemed all three collisions were chargeable, and all of them caused monetary damage to taxpayers.

Jeske, who has been with the department since 2016, was promoted to captain in April 2023, the latest letter stated. The promotion was after the three collisions. His base salary is $153,907.

The city declined comment because it does not comment on individual personnel matters, city spokesman Tim Swanson said.

Its unclear if Jeske has been written up previously. Under the citys contract with the firefighter union, Local 522, disciplinary records are pulled from personnel files after 18 months.
OpenAI's Sam Altman thinks Silicon Valley no longer has an innovation culture.

"Before OpenAI, what was the last really great scientific breakthrough that came out of a Silicon Valley company?" he said on a Wednesday podcast.

He feels Silicon Valley's rush for quick returns has diverted focus away from groundbreaking research.

OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman took yet another dig at Silicon Valley, saying the technology mecca no longer has an innovation culture.

"There used to be great research that happened in companies in Silicon Valley, Xerox PARC being the obvious example. There have not been for a long time," Altman said on a Wednesday podcast interview with Nicolai Tangen, the CEO of Norwegian sovereign wealth fund Norges Bank Investment.

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"I'm surprised you say that there was no innovation culture in Silicon Valley, because that's a bit contrary to what I thought," Tangen shot back.

To this, Altman responded by saying Silicon Valley did have a product innovation culture, but he felt it missed the mark on groundbreaking research.

"I hate to say this, because it sounds so arrogant, before OpenAI, what was the last really great scientific breakthrough that came out of a Silicon Valley company?" he said.

Altman seemed to attribute Silicon Valley's shift away from innovation to the ease and allure of creating "super-valuable companies" in minimal time using existing technology like the internet and mobile phones  which, he said, "sucked up a lot of talent."

This isn't the first time that Altman has taken a dig at Silicon Valley's ability to innovate.

In 2017, when Altman was still the president of startup accelerator Y Combinator, he published a 650-word blog post saying Silicon Valley's culture of political correctness was bad for startups and new ideas.

In the same post, he argued that it was easier to express contentious ideas in China than in California.

And Altman isn't alone in his criticism of Silicon Valley's ability to generate good ideas. Tech figures from Marc Andreessen, a partner at venture capital firm Andreessen-Horowitz, to Sequoia Capital partner Matt Miller, have been critical of Silicon Valley's approach to innovation.

Since its launch in 2015, Altman's OpenAI has seen a meteoric rise  the company grew to a valuation of $27 to 29 billion as of April 2023.

Though he co-founded the company, Altman only joined the company full-time as its CEO in 2019, three years before it unveiled ChatGPT to the world.

Beyond his involvement in OpenAI, Altman also co-founded the eye-scanning orb startup Worldcoin and is the principal investor of longevity startup Retro Biosciences.

Sam Altman and OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A collapsed detainee in a men's holding cell at Oklahoma County's jail wasn't checked on for nearly five hours. Another detainee on the jail's medical floor was found unresponsive after not being checked on for about the same length of time.

Those, plus continuing issues with bed bugs and mice, were among problems uncovered during the latest inspection of the jail by Oklahoma's State Department of Health. The inspection was done on July 26.

Other problems the inspection uncovered included failures to document or conduct required site checks, two instances where the jail failed to notify the Health Department after detainees required medical treatment outside of the jail, unsanitary conditions inside of the building and inadequate care for detainees who posed medical or psychological risks.

The recent report is the latest in a growing list of documented problems involving the jail since its operations were taken over by the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority in July 2020.

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The jail has been plagued by more than 40 inmate deaths, a hostage situation, failed health inspections and a scathing grand jury report calling for control of the facility to be returned to the sheriff since the trust took control of the jail's operations.

Currently, jail officials are spending $175,000 as part of a settlement with the Health Department to address unsanitary conditions previously cited by inspectors.

Much of that money is being spent on new mattresses the jail acquired to make it harder for bed bugs to survive in detainees' bedding materials.

While it doesn't appear the operation faces any financial penalties related to the health agency's latest findings, inspectors did tell jail personnel the operation's policies need to conform with state requirements, that training standards need improvement and that corrective, disciplinary actions should be taken where warranted.

Incomplete sight-check records remain an issue for OK County jail

The report indicates guards failed to document some required sight checks within the men's holding area at the jail and within two pods on the jail's sixth and eighth floors during certain days in April.

A review of video involving one of the jail's holding cells for men showed one inmate collapsed on that cell's floor at 1:54 a.m. He remained in that position until 6:42 a.m., when a jail staff member finally checked on him.

More: Jail staff begins cell renovations as crowding issues ease

Further review of video involving that collapsed inmate also showed no sight checks were conducted on that cell for six hours until food and medication were delivered to the cell, and that sight checks were skipped again later, the Health Department report shows.

Jail fails to notify Health Department after serious detainee injuries

Health Department inspectors found the jail's staff failed to notify the agency when one detainee's injury required that person to be taken to an outside medical facility on June 25 and again on June 27.

The jail's staff failed to notify the Health Department again when another hurt detainee needed to be taken to an outside medical facility on July 7.

A renovated cell inside the Oklahoma County jail is seen on Aug. 25 in Oklahoma City.

Bed bugs continue to plague detainees, inspection finds

Health Department inspectors visited with detainees being held on the jail's second and 10th floors during their visit in July.

During those visits, 64 inmates complained about bed bugs, cockroaches and mice infestation issues inside of cells or on their persons, clothing or bedding.

More: Broken Trust: How the Oklahoma County jail leadership failed those it sought to protect

"Several inmates displayed for the facility staff and inspectors both dead and live bed bugs, roaches and a mouse," the report states.

Inspectors said they were told by the jail's medical staff that about 40% of detainees who ask to be seen on a sick call are doing so because of bed bug bites.

Medical checks not performed as required, inspection shows

The report shows required 15-minute site-checks for inmates on the jail's medical floor were not documented Dec. 21 and Dec. 22, 2022.

A video review shows staff did not check on a detainee inside of a cell on that floor for nearly five hours when someone delivered medication to the cell.

That staffer reported the detainee refused the medication, jail records showed. And 45 minutes later, the detainee was found unresponsive on the floor of the cell.

Health Department regulations require detainees be screened for medical or psychological risks when they are brought into the jail and before they are placed within its general population housing area. Any detainee deemed a risk is required to be observed frequently until appropriate medical intervention is made, regulations require.

New mattresses are seen on Aug. 25 outside cells as renovation continues inside the Oklahoma County jail in Oklahoma City.

Health inspection not mentioned at this week's trust meeting

At a meeting of the trust held Sept. 5, the Health Department's latest findings were not mentioned either by CEO Brandi Garner or the jail's staff.

However, Garner and her staff told trust members the process to replace the jail's mattresses is well underway, with the final 400 mattresses the operation is buying expected before the end of October.

The jail hopes to conduct interviews for a new, full-time, certified exterminator soon.

The staff also updated trustees on its efforts to reestablish an independent, internal information technology system that includes a Wi-Fi system guards will be required to use with phone-based apps to document future site checks, plus all other interactions  food and medication deliveries, included  they have with jail detainees.

Officials have said adding the technology will make it easier for supervisory jail personnel to ensure their employees are performing duties as required.

Garner also obtained the trust's approval this week to provide Narcan to not only jail guards, but to vendors and detainees inside the facility.

Additional training is planned to help instruct people inside of the facility on how to recognize overdoses and how to respond when they happen.

Brandi Garner, Oklahoma County Jail CEO.

"It's a little edgy, but it is something that has proven to save lives," Garner said.

As for the latest Health Department report, Garner said she and her staff continue to concentrate on addressing the issues it raises.

The OSDH report provides areas of emphasis for providing excellence in detention. Just as we did with the May 2022 report, we will focus on these areas for improvements, Garner said. We are committed to doing everything we can to address each issue. Our top priority is always the health and safety of the detainees and staff.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County jail sanitation, pest problems still ongoing
At Lemongrass Thai Kitchen in Oviedo, which Im almost certain is the only Thai restaurant thats been here in the 20 years Ive been a Central Floridian, chef Tui Dakum makes the durian ice cream in-house. Creamy, cool, in a pale and lovely shade of peach, the scoop sits atop a bright green square of warm, sweet sticky rice. The pairing ($8) is pretty darn exquisite for its flavors, triply so so for the varying textures and temps.

It makes you wish you ate less for dinner. Almost.

Do you ever serve it with actual durian? I ask Vickie Dakum. She runs the front of the house.

A bartender walks into a kitchen at The Classic Thornton Park | Review

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She chuckles, and I can guess the answer. Durian, of course, is a notorious love-it-or-hate-it fruit. Popular in Southeast Asia, its also banned from many public spaces because some folks find its odor, well  pungent.

Some customers say they have tried durian, and it smells icky, she tells me, noting that sometimes if they ask, shell bring a small sample. But with the ice cream, you dont have the smell. Its just sweet and really good.

Dakum employs monthlong durian, a more commonly used variety and arguably the mildest in both smell and flavor, the latter of which is downright ambrosial. Soothing. And a very happy ending to the potential fire of the meal.

How hot do you want it? our server inquired, running through our options.

I always want to say Thai hot, but this gig stops me at least half the time. How can I properly asses the entrees if I blow out my taste buds on a laab ($14) that is as incendiary as fresh?

The answer this evening was tom kha kai ($6), one of my favorite Thai go-tos. Coconut-creamy in flavor but with broth-like weight, this simple soup beautifully showcases the nations culinary cornerstones of sweet, salty and sour. Its aromatic, too, and while you can make it spicy, here it is served as a cooling counter to the fiery minced chicken of the laab. This salad could easily serve as an entree but shared, it sets the stage for more. On another visit, piquant and lime-infused beef salad ($16), a classic, was the fire starter of the evening.

Service here is friendly and attentive and the spacious footprint allows one to watch the hospitality bees buzz. Those familiar with the location might remember it as a Barnies Coffee. It took the Dakums, and their third partner, chef Sa Schmeider, two years to transform that shop into its present incarnation, and the locals appear thrilled for their efforts.

Nearly all the tables lining the wall were full and lively (this, on the later end of a rainy Friday evening), and amid warm woods enhanced by gentle lighting, the mood was jovial, bolstered by bright yellow-green accents.

We chose the name Lemongrass because it is an ingredient in almost every dish of Thai food, Dakum explains. The design ties in. Its why we use this color in the restaurant.

The trio, Tui Dakum from Udon Thani, Vickie from Surat Thani and Schmeider from Nakhon Ratchasima, together rep north, central and south. Familiarity is foremost in the menu, for now, Dakum says, but that said, the offerings are broad, with sauces and preparations aplenty on proteins that span from tofu and chicken to whole, bone-in fish. In the future, the repertoire is likely to grow.

Best Thai: Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards

People know and love soups like tom yum goong and tom kha kai; they know all the curries, and the most popular noodle is the pad thai.

It took us a while to get to noodles, instead rolling with server recommendations like the Lemongrass signature curry ($24), a formidable serving of shrimp, squid and beautifully prepped scallops in a warm, lightly creamy sauce redolent of lime and yes, lemongrass. The duck entree ($22)  my companion went with the basil sauce  showed up on a sizzling platter, tossed with peppers and onions, its skin crisp and meat tender. The boneless prep will appeal to many who balk at the picking and sucking duck often requires.

The steamed fish called to me from the outset but eluded me on both visits  my fault, not theirs. Not realizing filets ($24) were an option, I thought I was ordering the whole snapper. But my consolation, steamed and steeped in a brothy gingery sauce, was hardly disappointing. And those noods (we went with drunken, $24, toothy and piquant amid sliced pork) hit the spot, as well.

Leftovers were plentiful and included several spongy, spicy fish cakes ($13) from an ample app wed ordered earlier. No dessert this time, though. But weirdly, that ice cream nearly had me carting one of these mace-like fruits home from the market for my daughter to try. Then I realized perhaps a visit to Lemongrass would be a nice soft entry into the realm of the King of Fruits.

One that would pass the smell test.

If you go

Lemongrass Thai Kitchen: 1016 Lockwood Blvd. in Oviedo, 407-542-0658; lemongrassoviedo.com

Find me on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com, For more foodie fun, join the Lets Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
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Democratic Reps. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank and Katie Porter of Irvine continue to win more support than their rivals in California's 2024 U.S. Senate race, a new poll shows. (Kent Nishimura, Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

California has more registered Republicans than any state in the union, but that doesnt mean one of them will make it to the runoff for the states U.S. Senate seat.

Six months ahead of the March 5 primary, two Democrats appear likely to face off next year to decide who will replace longtime Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, according to a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by The Times.

The prospect of Steve Garvey, the former Dodger and Padres legend, entering the race as a high-profile Republican hasnt scrambled that dynamic, the poll found.

Reps. Adam B. Schiff of Burbank and Katie Porter of Irvine are neck and neck, with support from 20% and 17% of likely voters, respectively, the poll found. The two have opened up sizable leads over their other prominent Democratic opponent, Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland, who sits at 7%.

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Garvey, who has not announced whether he will run, and Republican businessman James Bradley each also had 7% support in the poll. Attorney Eric Early, a perennial GOP candidate, sits at 5%. Roughly a third of likely voters surveyed said they were undecided.

Under Californias top-two system, the two candidates with the most votes in the primary, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election.

The more Republicans there are [in the race], the lower their chances are of getting somebody in the top two, just because they divide each others support up, said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Times-Berkeley poll and a longtime California pollster.

You can change that with a lot of campaigning, but they dont appear to be that competitive right now for the top two positions, he added.

The GOPs Early was favored by 18% of likely voters in a Times-Berkeley poll in May but saw his support plummet through the summer. In that survey, Porter was close behind him with 17% support, followed by Schiff with 14% and Lee at 9%.

Garvey was not included in the previous poll but has been weighing entering the race all summer, his advisor Andy Gharakhani said. Steve is seriously considering entering this race and speaking directly with voters on the issues they care most about, Gharakhani said.

Despite several months of campaigning, Lee remains less well-known than Schiff and Porter, with half of likely voters having no opinion of her. Although she is the only Black candidate in the race, she trails among likely Black voters with 16% support, behind Schiffs 30% and Porters 21%.

One factor that has the potential to shake up the race is whether Feinstein will be able to finish her term in office. She was hospitalized with shingles for a week starting in late February. The illness kept her in San Francisco for months. The dozens of Senate votes she missed, including several on judges, led some in her party, including Rep. Ro Khanna of Fremont, to call on her to step aside.

Last month, she was hospitalized again after falling in her San Francisco home.

Read more: At a summit she helped start, an absent Sen. Dianne Feinstein is honored in Lake Tahoe

If Feinstein were to leave before the end of her term, Gov. Gavin Newsom would need to appoint a temporary replacement. After he appointed a man to fill the former Senate seat of Vice President Kamala Harris, the governor committed to picking a Black woman if Feinsteins seat were to become vacant.

Newsom hasnt endorsed anyone in the Senate race, but some supporters of Lee have said he should appoint her if the seat opens up.

Asked what Newsom should do if Feinstein steps down, 51% of likely voters said the governor should appoint someone who is prepared to run for a full Senate term in the 2024 election.

A quarter of likely voters said he should appoint someone who is willing to serve as an interim appointee and not run for a full term. The rest had no opinion.

Schiff and Porter have remained mum on that issue, simply wishing Feinstein the best in her recovery.

Read more: Expanding the Supreme Court is a longshot. Why California's Senate candidates support it

The race between Schiff, a former prosecutor who was first elected to the House in 2000, and Porter, a UC Irvine law professor who was first elected in 2018, is shaping up to be a generational clash.

Likely voters older than 65 favor Schiff over Porter, 29% to 12%, the poll found. Those younger than 50 tend to favor Porter: She leads Schiff 23% to 14% among likely voters 30-39 and 27% to 6% among those 18-29.

That could pose a problem for Porter: She does best among those who, while considered likely to submit a ballot, often dont show up at election time. A recent Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies analysis of voting in the state found that habitual voters tend to be white and older than the average Californian. Frequent voters were also disproportionately over the age of 50.

But the fact that the election is taking place in a presidential year could mitigate that disadvantage, said Sara Sadhwani, a professor of politics at Pomona College.

One of the things about younger voters ... that we tend to see is an increase in turnout in a presidential election year, she said.

Read more: How Rep. Adam Schiff celebrated the fourth indictment of former President Trump

Porter has done an excellent job during committee hearings of creating viral moments that appeal to younger voters on social media, Sadhwani said. The question, though, is whether those voters will show up for the primary in March.

Schiff has leveraged his prominent role as a top antagonist of former President Trump to boost his Senate run. That appears to be paying off with some Democratic voters. He won additional attention when GOP House Republicans voted to censure Schiff for, in their view, going to too far in his efforts against Trump  a reprimand that Schiff has described as a badge of honor.

It was an opportunity for Schiff again to remind voters in California about the important role that he has played in attempting to save our democracy, Sadhwani said, adding that Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had only helped amplify that profile with the censure vote.

Schiff is by far the best-known candidate in the field, with only 24% of likely voters not having an opinion of him. He got favorable views from 43% of likely voters polled, while 32% had an unfavorable view.

Porter is less known, with 43% of likely voters saying they had no opinion of her, 38% saying they liked her and 19% saying they had an unfavorable view of her.

She leads among voters in Orange County, where she lives, but Schiff leads in the San Francisco Bay Area. The two are neck and neck in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the state.

The fact that both leading Democrats are from Southern California is a shift from the states previous pattern, noted Chris Lehane, chief strategy officer at Haun Ventures, who previously was an advisor to Gov. Gray Davis and Vice President Al Gore.

Historically, Democratic primaries were won by a Democrat in the north over the Democrats in the south, Lehane said. I think its a real question of whether thats still the case.

When you think about 30 years ago when Feinstein first ran, it was a purple state. Now its a deep-blue state. Everything has become nationalized, he added. It looks like there no longer is the Giants vs. Dodgers dynamic.

Schiff leads Porter 31% to 26% among registered Democrats surveyed. Among likely voters who identify as strong Democrats, he leads her 35% to 27%.

The two are essentially tied among voters who are registered without a party preference or as members of a smaller party.

The Berkeley institutes poll surveyed 6,030 registered California voters online in English and Spanish, Aug. 24-29, including a weighted subsample of 3,113 considered likely to vote in the March primary.

Because the survey results are weighted to match census and voter registration benchmarks, estimates of the margin of error may be imprecise; however, the results for the likely voter sample are estimated to have a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points in either direction.

Get the best of the Los Angeles Times politics coverage with the Essential Politics newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Editors note: This report has been updated to note that national security adviser Jake Sullivans briefing was for senators.

Leading Democrats and Republicans are unanimous in thinking that the United States should provide more military and financial assistance for Ukraine, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday after a closed-door briefing on the state of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The briefing made it so clear that we need to continue significant aid to Ukraine, he told reporters.

Our aid is making a difference, but were at an inflection point and turning back now would have very disastrous consequences for Ukraine, and in general for our foreign policy.

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Schumer said that leading Democrats and Republicans in the room expressed unanimity on the need for more aid, and were going to figure out the best way to get it.

The briefing was provided by national security adviser Jake Sullivan for the Senate. House lawmakers are expected to receive a briefing next week.

President Biden sent Congress a request last month for $24 billion in more funding for Ukraine, part of a larger $40 billion supplemental funding request.

But its unclear how lawmakers will look to pass the funds.

A small but vocal minority of House Republicans oppose all aid for Ukraine and could disrupt or block congressional efforts to pass spending bills. Some members have also linked their support for government funding to the opening of an impeachment investigation into Biden, or to deep spending cuts that go further than a deal reached over the summer.

Schumer did not address a question over whether House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was on board with how to pass Ukraine aid. Infighting among lawmakers is raising alarm among allies, particularly in eastern Europe, that a distracted Washington would push Ukraine into early negotiations with Russia.

Schumer said that lawmakers are resolute in confronting Russian President Vladimir Putin.

If Putin thinks he can outlast us and win  its the view of many in the room, that this wont be the last time that he goes into a different country, the leader said.

Some Senate Republicans have opposed tying aid to Ukraine to disaster assistance for Hawaii, Florida and other states hit by natural disasters.

Disaster relief is something we should have done back in June. Its just to replenish the emergency fund, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told the Hill.

He called it a mistake to link it with disaster relief.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) called for a supplemental for Ukraine to accompany other defense spending.

I do think though, having the discussion in that context, or even having it in the context of Ukraine itself is better than having it feel like its being forced on us in a CR [continuing resolution] or disaster relief or something like that  that will not fly with members because it wont fly with the people we work for.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the No. 2 Senate Republican, said hes hopeful of a large majority supporting aid to Ukraine, but he also said the battle is becoming more difficult.

I think theres still a large majority, hopefully, he said. But I mean, I think it gets harder every time.

Laura Kelly reported from Poland and Aris Folley reported from Washington.

Updated on Sept. 8 at 7:03 a.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
An interorganizational team of scientists has identified opportunity hot spots across the U.S. West where forest managers could target their efforts to mitigate the risk of wildfire-related carbon loss.

As both climate change and wildfires have intensified, so too have concerns about the release of carbon that has been stored by trees for decades or even centuries, according to the researchers, who came together from federal, academic and nonprofit institutions.

With the goal of reducing such loss and benefiting adjacent communities, they mapped out the optimal spots for mitigation efforts  publishing their findings in Environmental Research Letters.

Our approach can help land management agencies plan where to invest in proactive forest treatments that simultaneously reduce wildfire-caused carbon loss and protect communities from wildfire, lead author Jamie Peeler, a landscape ecologist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Montana, said in a statement.

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It also could be applied to reduce risk from wildfire to other important values such as municipal water, culturally important plants, recreation and wildlife habitat, added Peeler, who worked with colleagues at the U.S. Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy.

To assess this risk, the collaborators evaluated where future fires pose the biggest threat to living trees, as well as the carbon they store. Then they compared their results to locations highlighted in the U.S. Forest Services Wildfire Crisis Strategy to identify where human populations are most vulnerable to wildfire.

Areas of overlap indicated what the scientists characterized as opportunity hot spots  or places where preventative action could reduce the risks of carbon loss and minimize harm to adjacent communities.

The researchers determined that relative to their total forest area, California, New Mexico and Arizona contain the biggest proportion of carbon that is highly vulnerable to wildfire-related loss.

The need for proactive forest management in California, New Mexico and Arizona is particularly urgent, co-author Travis Woolley, a forest ecologist for The Nature Conservancy in Arizona, said in a statement.

Most wildfire-related carbon loss occurs when litter, decaying underbrush and downed woody material is consumed by a blaze, according to the authors. But over time, as the toppled trees decompose, they produce another source of carbon loss, the researchers added.

Proactive forest management  including forest thinning, prescribed fire and cultural burning  would diminish the availability of excess fuels and thereby reduce the number of trees killed in wildfires, the authors stressed.

By keeping more trees alive on their given landscapes, such efforts would facilitate the ongoing capture and storage of carbon from the atmosphere and provide seeds for future forest growth, according to the researchers.

As governments take action to address the escalating climate and wildfire crises, they do not need to choose between climate- and wildfire-mitigation goals, co-author Kerry Metlen, senior forest scientist for The Nature Conservancy in Oregon, said in a statement.

In the western U.S., opportunities are widespread to achieve both objectives with strategically placed proactive forest management, Metlen added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A computer-generated image shows an early Mars settlement. (Image via Midjourney, 2023)

The nonprofit Mars Society is getting set to take the next giant leap in its mission to support Red Planet exploration and settlement, by establishing a Mars Technology Institute to develop the tools and processes those settlers will need.

Robert Zubrin , the Mars Societys founder and president, outlined the plan today during the advocacy groups Red Planet Live podcast.

Many of the details in that plan still have to be fleshed out  including sources of funding, the precise structure of the organization, and where the institute will be headquartered. But the Pacific Northwest is one of the top prospects for the institutes center, along with Colorado, the longtime home of the Mars Society.

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During the podcast, Zubrin touted the Seattle areas array of biotech and AI ventures, as well as its quality of life. The Pacific Northwest is perhaps at the top of the list, he said. Colorados an alternative.

He said the Mars Technology Institute will complement the efforts of NASA and other space agencies, and follow through on SpaceX founder Elon Musks vision to make humanity a multiplanet species.

SpaceX and other entrepreneurial launch companies are already moving rapidly to develop the transportation systems that can get us to the planet Mars, Zubrin said in a news release. What is needed is an institution devoted to developing the technologies that will allow us to live once we are there.

The Mars Technology Institute would focus on three tech frontiers:

Biotech innovations that could maximize the prospects for producing food, pharmaceuticals and other supplies using Martian resources.

Innovations in robotics, automation and artificial intelligence that would enable small communities of settlers to make Mars more habitable and build the infrastructure that they require.

Advanced nuclear technologies, starting with small-scale fission reactors and potentially moving on to fusion facilities, in order to provide the power needed for growing human settlements.

The institute would be structured as a nonprofit organization, funded by tax-deductible contributions. There would also be a taxable C-Corp entity known as the Mars Technology Lab, which would be fully owned by the institute. Such a structure is designed to provide investment opportunities for backers, and generate revenue through intellectual property licensing, spin-offs and contracts for research and development.

We can start relatively small, with a couple of million dollars to begin a research program, Zubrin said. The idea here is that were going to do research that generates income.

The plan calls for the institute to conduct research on its own central campus  and also outsource research work to companies and universities as well as to volunteers who propose relevant projects.

Zubrin said hed like to get the Mars Technology Institute started up in one form or another by the first of the year.

You should know, weve gotten a pretty good response so far, although weve only just put our little toe in the water, he said during the podcast.

NASAs current schedule for deep-space exploration envisions sending astronauts to the moon for a series of missions starting in the mid-2020s, and applying the lessons learned during those lunar missions to trips to Mars starting as early as the 2030s. Musk and SpaceX intend to transport settlers to Mars on a shorter time frame, using SpaceXs Starship super-rocket.

The Mars Society already operates research stations in Utah and the Canadian Arctic, both of which focus on trying out the technologies and processes that could come into play during real missions to Mars.

Can the Mars Society turn its latest vision into reality as well? Zubrin acknowledges that the business case for investing in the Mars Technology Institute might not be as obvious as it would be for, say, a new launch company.

The initial funders will have to be motivated by a long-term vision rather than short-term gain, he said in todays news release. It is hope, rather than greed, that will get us to Mars.

For more details about the Mars Society and plans for developing the Mars Technology Institute, contact Michael Stoltz, the Mars Societys director of media and public relations. Phone: 847-560-1275. Email: mstoltz@marssociety.org. You can donate to assist with the formation of the institute by going to the Mars Societys online contribution form and selecting Mars Technology Institute as the optional Project or Area for Donation.

GeekWires Alan Boyle participated in the Red Planet Live podcast announcing the campaign to create the Mars Technology Institute.

More from GeekWire:
[Source]

Seattle city council member Sara Nelson publicly criticized her colleague Tammy Morales during a press conference due to increasing public safety issues in her districts Chinatown.

Nelsons criticism of Morales: Nelson expressed concerns about the dramatic increase in violence in south Seattle, particularly in the Chinatown-International District, at a rally in support of Tanya Woo, Morales opponent for the District 2 council seat. Nelson suggested that Morales should be voted out due to her failure in addressing the public safety issues in her district, including mass shootings, home invasion robberies and drug-related problems in the Little Saigon neighborhood.

My colleagues and I get hundreds of emails from people who feel scared and abandoned and angry because they dont feel like anybodys listening to them at City Hall, Nelson said, according to MYNorthwest. And I cant blame them one bit. And as Im replying to these emails, I wonder to myself, Wheres Tammy Morales in all this? And how is she responding? Because I know where her votes are.

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Nelson launched into Moreles voting record, highlighting her opposition to police incentives, graffiti removal, homeless encampment sweeps and following state law on drug criminalization. The unusual attack on a fellow council member reflects the urgency of the public safety situation.

More from NextShark: Emperor Naruhito conveys 'deep remorse' for Japan's actions in 76th anniversary of WWII surrender, still no apology

Woos campaign: Woo, who finished second after Morales in the primary election, emphasized the fentanyl crisis and demanded representation for the community during the gathering.

We are standing at ground zero for fentanyl, sales, and use. And you can see here, and we will see later, that this is a neighborhood thats been not long neglected, Woo said.

"So, why is this allowed to flourish in Little Saigon? Weve seen a rise in burglaries also that particularly hits are non-English speaking Asian community members, not only here, but in South Seattle Theres so much need, and we need resources, and we need action. We need change. Because were all tired. [It has] been four years." More from NextShark: Hundreds Join China Mac in Second New York Protest For Grandmother Set on Fire

Seattle Indian Health Board CEO Esther Lucero and Friends of Little Saigon Executive Director Quynh Pham echoed the same concerns, expressing frustration with Morales and elected leaders for their perceived inaction, according to KOMO News.

Morales defense: Morales responded to the situation on X, noting that she was not invited to the campaign event and questioning Nelson's priorities.

For the record, I was not invited to this campaign event for my opponent, Morales tweeted. My question for Sara is why were you campaigning instead of attending our Transportation committee?

More from NextShark: Man sentenced for vandalizing Vancouver's Chinese Cultural Centre with 'kill all' message

The upcoming general election on Nov. 7 will determine the council representative for District 2. In the meantime, many businesses have resorted to installing fences and barbed wire to deter chronic abusers.

More from NextShark: Man accused of punching two Asian American women in the face in Boston's Chinatown
The DC Metropolitan Police Department is searching for a homicide suspect who escaped custody at a university hospital on Wednesday.

Police identified the suspect as Christopher Haynes, 30, who escaped shortly after 3:30 p.m. from the George Washington University Hospital, Washington, DCs Foggy Bottom neighborhood.

Haynes has been charged in a homicide investigation, the police department told CNN. He was last seen with black handcuffs hanging from his right wrist. He is described as a Black man with shoulder-length dreadlocks.

Police told CNN they believe Haynes discarded his jail-issued jumper and is now wearing a black T-shirt and a grey shorts underneath a white body suit. He also has a prominent Washington W tattoo on the front of his neck, police said.

Police released an updated photo of Haynes, saying he was last seen with black handcuffs hanging from his right wrist. - D.C. Metropolitan Police Department

A DC government emergency alert says to use caution as Haynes is considered armed and dangerous.

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The US Secret Service said its uniformed division is also helping with the search for Haynes. US Park Police, a federal agency, is assisting DC police in the search as well, according to spokesperson Sgt. Tom Twiname.

There are some temporary, precautionary road closures around the White House as police search for the suspect, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.

Roughly 20 minutes after his escape, George Washington University issued a shelter in place order for its city campus, the university said in a statement on its website. The university said it hadnt received any reports of anyone harmed in the GWU community.

Police have since cleared the scene, according to a university alert.

While the suspect has not been apprehended, he is not believed to be in our area. Please continue to use caution if you move around the Foggy Bottom area, the alert stated. The university said on social media that in-person classes and events will resume Thursday.

A George Washington University Hospital spokesperson said the hospital remains fully operational and is coordinating with local authorities.

The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Haynes arrest.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Following the shootdown of three unidentified objects in three days over Alaska , the Yukon and Lake Huron in February and the downing of a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina a week earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau received a secret memo laying out how the Canadian government was responding to the Feb. 11 Yukon incident. In addition, it stated the "full exploitation" of whatever the U.S. Air Force shot down over the waters of Alaska on Feb. 10 had "not yet been completed." Reports a few days later stated that the U.S. had called off the search for wreckage of the downed object. Exactly what kind of intelligence exploitation this is referring to is unclear.

The "Memorandum for the Prime Minister," transmitted Feb. 14, was obtained by the Canadian CTV News outlet from a source who filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that the news organization said it verified with its own information request. According to the memo, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) numbered unknown objects sequentially "to track every detected object that is not immediately identified: upon cross-examination most objects are found to be innocuous and do not meet the higher threshold for higher reporting or engagement." However, the object the memo identified as "UAP #23" - meaning it was the 23rd unidentified radar track by NORAD over North America at that point in the year that was classified as UAP - did rise to a higher level of concern, given that it was shot down.

https://twitter.com/dsotis/status/1699137491482083512

The memo stated that the function, method of propulsion, or affiliation to any nation-state of the unidentified object shot down by a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor on Feb. 11 remains unverified. It is unknown whether it poses an armed threat or has intelligence collection capabilities.

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The memo also pointed out that the Canadian Air Force (CAF) was leading an aviation search effort to find the downed object, there was scant hope that it would be found.

...the mountainous terrain, existing snow cover and expected new snowfall make prospect of recovery unlikely.

The memo expressed concern that the indigenous hunters might accidentally find the object during their caribou hunt. It also explained that while CAF CF-18s Hornets had been scrambled to intercept the object, F-22s were better located based on time, space and fading light.

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1624176440609480704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1624176440609480704%7Ctwgr%5Ea13489dd9e4df2ef0071a1f0cfd79b30fb3dcc91%7Ctwcon%5Es1_\u0026ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fthe-war-zone%2Ff-22-downs-another-unidentified-object-over-canada

The memo was sent to Trudeau and his national security advisor, Jody Thomas, by a Canadian official named Janice Charette , who then served as the powerful clerk of the Privy Council, CTV News explained. The council is a centralized hub that directs the country's public service and is responsible for providing non-partisan support to the prime minister and cabinet as they make policy decisions, the news outlet said.

Charette raised questions about whether the object was an armed threat or was capable of collecting intelligence three days after descriptions of it were released by Canadian authorities and media reporting.

During the Feb. 11 press conference as we noted at the time , Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said the unknown object was a "small, cylindrical object" smaller than the Chinese spy balloon shot down off South Carolina on Feb. 4. The object was reportedly flying at 40,000 feet when it was shot down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5slOlN4YcNA

Also that day, The Wall Street Journal , citing an official brief on the matter, reported that the object was a small metallic balloon with a tethered payload. That seemed to correlate with Canadian Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre's statement at the aforementioned press conference when discussing cooperation between U.S. F-22s and Canadian CF-18s.

"The instructions that were given to the team was whoever had the first, best shot to take out the balloon had the go-ahead," Eyre said at the time.

Charettes memo also briefly addressed the Feb. 10 UAP shootdown by an F-22 over the water in the northeastern corner of Alaska near the border with Canada described as UAP #20.

https://twitter.com/LucasFoxNews/status/1624129796635602949?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1624129796635602949%7Ctwgr%5Eab3c606970996a5971ec2f043abfe937a18fd928%7Ctwcon%5Es1_\u0026ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedrive.com%2Fthe-war-zone%2Ff-22-shoots-down-new-object-flying-high-over-alaskan-waters

The full exploitation of UAP #20, which was engaged by the U.S. on February 10, 2023, has not yet been completed, Charette wrote.

On Feb. 11, The New York Times reported that the fallen object broke into pieces on hitting the frozen sea ice off Prudhoe Bay.

Three days after Charette delivered her memo, The New York Times reported that the U.S. called off the search for both the objects mentioned in Charettes memo, raising the possibility that the devices will never be collected and analyzed, according to a U.S. military official.

It is also unclear what the memo meant about the full exploitation of the UAP shot down over Alaska on Feb. 10. However, there are a number of lines of effort to which she could have been referring.

The intelligence services, along with the U.S. military, conduct whats called Foreign Material Exploitation (FME) of targeted crash sites of aircraft and missiles to learn more about how they are build, operate, and their actual capabilities. This is a long-established, shadowy practice that has been critical to major adversary intelligence revelations over the decades. You can read all about crash retrievals and their 'cloak and dagger history' in our story here .

There was an active and intensive search over this remote part of Alaska to find the wreckage. So a crash retrieval was certainly the aim, but if nothing was found, as claimed by the U.S. government, the memo could be referring to data culled from sensors collected by a slew of assets that tracked the object. Aviation platforms, in particular, would have gotten the closest to it and recorded visual information of it as it made its trek across the Alaskan frontier.

As we noted in our report from the time , Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagons top spokesman, told reporters that a two-ship flight of F-35s conducted the initial intercept and identification of the object.

The F-35s would have full video of the object, day or night, using its Electro-Optical Targeting System (EOTS) as well as any infrared data collected by its Distributed Aperture System (DAS). This is in addition to its myriad of radio-frequency-based sensor systems.

The Feb. 10 incident over Alaska remains shrouded in mystery and from the information available stands in stark contrast to the other objects shot down in several ways.

Shortly after the shootdown, the White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby significant said debris was reportedly sitting atop of sea ice and efforts were being made to recover if for analysis. He also said the object did not appear to be readily maneuverable or have a substantial payload.

Ryder said the object, traveling at about 40,000 feet, was "about the size of a small car." It was shot down because at that altitude, it was perceived as a threat to aviation.

ABC News reported that the "object" shot down off the coast of Alaska was "cylindrical and silver-ish gray," according to an unnamed U.S. official. "All I say is that it wasn't 'flying' with any sort of propulsion, so if that is 'balloon-like' well  we just don't have enough at this point."

Those details differed greatly from we'd learned so far about the Chinese spy balloon, which was ultimately shot down off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4. That balloon, which had a payload U.S. officials described as being the size of a smaller airliner and as weighing thousands of pounds, was said to have the ability to maneuver and had been soaring at an altitude of between 60,000 and 70,000 feet .

In this vacuum of information, exotic and unconfirmed claims have been made about the Alaskan object, ranging from different accounts by pilots who observed it to reports that it seemingly interfered with some aircraft sensors.

Beyond reporting about the objects that were shot down, the Charette memo does not specifically address UAPs #21 and #22, which could have been found to be innocuous objects that happened to be picked up by radar. However, on Feb. 12, a U.S. Air Force F-16 shot down a UAP over Lake Huron as we noted earlier in this story. It is unclear though whether that was one of either UAP #21 or #22, since officials at the time said the object was first identified on Feb. 12.

The object shot down over Lake Huron seemed to have been a relatively small balloon based on intercepted radio communications .

We reached out to several agencies for more information about the details provided in the Charette memo. We also reached out to Charette herself on her LinkedIn page and several government emails to find out and whether she received any answers and if so, what they were. We will update this story if she provides a pertinent response.

A NORAD spokesperson told The War Zone on Wednesday that it would not be able to address the memo specifically.

I would caution that one internal document from Feb. 15 may not present the most accurate information about events or processes during that period, Air Force Col. Elizabeth Mathias said in an email to The War Zone Wednesday. But well be happy to provide more information about our operations and procedures. More to follow, and thanks.

We also reached out to the Canadian Defense Ministry, U.S. National Security Council and the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) - the Pentagon unit that tracks UAPs - for additional responses. We will update this story with any pertinent information they provide.

Despite numerous requests from Congress and media outlets including The War Zone, the Pentagon has yet to release any imagery from the three shootdowns over North America, raising questions about what, if anything, it is trying to hide. Especially since there was a wealth of data and imagery collected during observation and destruction of the objects.

https://twitter.com/Aviation_Intel/status/1636356952191279105?s=20

The discovery and later shootdown of the Chinese spy balloon on Feb. 4 raised huge alarms about the ability of the U.S. to protect its airspace against such objects. This is something The War Zone had pointed out repeatedly years in advance of these events. In the aftermath of this string of bizarre incidents, major moves began to be made to change how unidentified objects are dealt with, as well as making it easier for them to be spotted in the first place. Major upgrades to NORAD's sensor ecosystem are also in the works as are demands from Congress for the multi-national military organization to better understand its own vulnerabilities.

The fact is that the lack of information surrounding these unprecedented series of events over North America continues to puzzle many and the optics surrounding them clearly irk the Pentagon. What exactly was known about these objects and how they differed from each other, and when that information was known, remains a mystery to the public.

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
Ukraine cannot enter into talks with Russia as it refuses to recognize Ukraines territorial integrity and is responsible for the deaths of at least 500 Ukrainian children, according to the Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov , on September 7.

"They [the Russians] must be held accountable for everything they have done, pay compensation, and then we can talk to them," Danilov said.

Read also: Ukraines security chief Danilov warns against holding elections during war

"A person who killed 500 of our children shouldn't be held accountable? What kind of world is this? Why do you meet with him? Why do you shake his hand?

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Following talks with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Sept. 4, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ukraine needs to "soften" its stance and take steps under the Black Sea Grain Initiative to bring Russia back to the negotiating table.

Read also: Ghost of negotiations. Risks that await Ukraine during the counteroffensive

At the request of Pope Francis, who recently described his admiration for Russian imperial leaders like Peter I, UAE President Muhammad bin Zayed was asked to host a meeting between President Volodomyr Zelenskyy and Putin, Lebanese newspaper LOrient-Le Jour reported on Aug. 8.

Zelenskyy previously emphasized that Ukraine would not sit at a negotiating table while Russian troops remain on Ukrainian territory.

A decree on Ukraines refusal to negotiate with Russia while Putin remains in power was unanimously adopted on September 30, 2022 by the Security Council.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A composite image of the sun consisting of the view of the sun's atmosphere as observed by the Solar Orbiter's EUI instrument and an image of the sun's disk taken by NASA's STEREO spacecraft.

The European Solar Orbiter spacecraft has peered into previously unexplored parts of the sun's atmosphere thanks to scientists who applied a simple hack to its main camera.

Solar Orbiter , launched in 2020, has delivered an impressive string of new discoveries during its three years studying the sun so far. The spacecraft, fitted with a suite of ten instruments, has proven to be especially capable of unraveling mysteries surrounding the sun's atmosphere. From the discovery of miniature flares, called campfires , in the spacecraft's first images to the recent finding of the likely mechanism driving the solar wind , Solar Orbiter has been consistently delivering ground-breaking science about the star at the center of our solar system . And more is to come.

Researchers behind one of Solar Orbiter's most powerful instruments, the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI)  a camera that studies the most energetic parts of ultraviolet light emitted by the sun  have now, for the first time, revealed a completely new way of using this powerful instrument.

Related: Solar Orbiter catches Mercury crossing the sun. Here's the amazing video.

Solar Orbiter took this image of the sun during its close approach in March 2022. At that time, the spacecraft was closer to the star than the solar system's innermost planet Mercury.

This new mode of operation works similarly to an instrument called the coronagraph. The coronagraph is a device that shields the sun's disk to allow scientists to view the surrounding atmosphere that is up to a million times fainter than the blocked-out region. Though Solar Orbiter actually carries a coronagraph, called METIS, that instrument observes the solar atmosphere in visible light and in the lower-energy ultraviolet part of the electromagnetic spectrum .

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But it is in the part of the light spectrum that is only visible to EUI that scientists can study the most intriguing phenomena that occur at the boundary between the sun's atmosphere and its surface.

"Physics is changing there, the magnetic structures are changing there, and we never really had a good look at it before," David Berghmans, EUI principal investigator and solar physicist at the Royal Observatory of Belgium, said in the statement. "There must be some secrets in there that we can now find."

EUI science team member Frederic Auchere, an astrophysicist at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Universite Paris-Sud in France, described the new imaging mode as a result of "a hack," a last-minute modification devised before the launch of Solar Orbiter in early 2020.

"I had the idea to just do it and see if it would work," Auchere said in a European Space Agency (ESA) statement . "It is actually a very simple modification to the instrument."

The scientists added a tiny protruding "thumb" to the instruments shutter. When the shutter opens only halfway, this thumb obscures the sun's disk, allowing EUI to see with great clarity the faint solar atmosphere.

In the video sequence obtained through the new imaging mode, scientists combined the Solar Orbiter's EUI view of the sun's atmosphere with an image of the star taken by NASA's STEREO mission , which orbits the sun at a slightly closer distance than Earth does. Solar Orbiter, for comparison, follows an elliptical orbit that periodically takes the spacecraft within the orbit of the solar system's innermost planet, Mercury .

By coincidence, STEREO happened to be looking at the sun from the same angle as Solar Orbiter was during the experiments with the new EUI imaging mode. That allowed scientists to combine the images and study the links between phenomena observed on the surface and in the atmosphere.

Related stories:

 The sun crackles in new images from spacecraft preparing for a close flyby

 The sun crackles in new images from spacecraft preparing for a close flyby

 Solar Orbiter to look at Venus' magnetic field as it swings by the planet

Observers on Earth can naturally see the outermost parts of the sun's atmosphere during total solar eclipses. The new EUI imaging mode, however, allows scientists to peer into regions of the atmosphere that are much closer to the sun's surface than what such rare events and conventional coronagraphs allow.

EUI images the sun in very high resolution, and although Earth-based telescopes with large mirrors can study the sun's surface in even greater resolution, they can't observe the fascinating high-energy, ultraviolet light that EUI sees. This is because that light gets absorbed by Earth's atmosphere before it reaches the telescopes' lenses. Solar Orbiter, on the other hand, travelling in the vacuum of space has a perfectly clear view of the star. The mission takes the closest ever images of the star and in a few years will take a look a the star's poles  the world's first. Scientists hope that studying the sun's polar regions up close will shed light on the mysterious forces driving the sun's magnetic field, which in turns drives the generation of sunspots, solar flares and eruptions.
HAVANA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- As a new virus variant has been detected in many countries, Cuban resident Raymond Perez has fortified himself with more robust COVID-19 preventive measures.

"Hygiene is essential to reduce the risk of being infected by the virus," he said after strengthening handwashing behavior at his workplace. "I am in daily contact with many people worldwide."

Although cases of a new COVID-19 variant have not yet been announced on the island, people must remain vigilant, said another concerned resident, Dunia Rodriguez.

"The new variant of COVID-19 has been detected in some neighboring countries like the United States," Rodriguez said. "So we must be cautious."

The Caribbean nation has registered some 1.1 million cases and more than 8,000 COVID-19-related deaths since the onset of the sanitary emergency on the island in 2020, according to the Cuban Ministry of Public Health.

On Wednesday, the health ministry confirmed one new COVID-19 case and no related deaths.

Eduardo Martinez, president of Cuba's biotech conglomerate BioCubaFarma, said the Cuban COVID-19 vaccines can still protect people against new virus variants.

"We keep working and maintain surveillance in case it would be necessary to update the vaccines," he said during a governmental meeting on Tuesday.

Until Monday, about 10 million Cubans have received at least one dose of Cuban native vaccines, according to the ministry.

Currently, mask-wearing in public areas is not compulsory in Cuba except in health settings. COVID-19 social distancing guidelines are not in place either.

Havana resident Aylen Perez said that although the COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba remains under control, prevention remains necessary.

"We should use hand sanitizer as much as possible, clean our hands frequently and wear facemasks in crowded settings," she said.

"The world is a better place without COVID-19," Perez added. 
Sen. Tommy Tuberville says the US Navy is too woke, citing a poetry night on an aircraft carrier.

"It is absolutely insane the direction we're headed in our military," Tuberville told Fox News.

A top Navy official compared Tuberville's blockade of military promotions to Russian roulette.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville blasted the US Navy after one of its top officials took the Alabama Republican to task for his refusal to end his controversial blockade of hundreds of military promotions that has left unprecedented vacancies in the US armed forces.

"Secretary [Carlos] Del Toro of Navy, he needs to get to building ships, get to recruiting, and he needs to get wokeness out of our Navy," Tuberville said Wednesday evening on Fox News. "We've got people doing poems on aircraft carriers over the loudspeaker. It is absolutely insane the direction we're headed in our military."

On CNN on Tuesday, Del Toro and the secretaries of the Army and Air Force, each the top civilian official in their service branch, criticized Tuberville for refusing to relent on his controversial hold on promotions that the Senate must approve. They echoed an op-ed published in The Washington Post on Monday.

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"I would argue that Tommy Tuberville, what he's actually doing, is he's playing Russian roulette with the very lives of our service members by denying them the opportunity to have the most experienced combat leaders in those positions to lead them in times of peace and in times of combat," Del Toro told CNN.

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and Sen. Jack Reed at an industry conference in Newport, Rhode Island on August 28, 2023. US Navy/MCS2 Theodore C. Lee

Tuberville has complained about a Pentagon policy allowing reimbursement for personnel who need to travel to access reproductive services, including abortions, but he has also used the controversy to further question the state of the military.

Tuberville's office said the poetry comment referred to an LGBTQ spoken-word night held aboard USS Gerald R. Ford, one of the nation's 11 aircraft carriers. At a hearing in April, Tuberville pressed Adm. Mike Gilday, then the Navy's highest-ranking officer, over the event.

"I'll tell you why I'm particularly proud of this sailor," Gilday said in response. "Her grandfather served during World War II, and he was gay, and he was ostracized in the very institution that she not only joined and is proud to be a part of, but she volunteered to deploy on Ford. And she'll likely deploy again next month when Ford goes back to sea."

While the Alabama senator has previously lambasted the poetry night, his comments on Wednesday appear to have struck a chord. Lawmakers, commentators, and others pointed out the long history of poetry by and about military personnel.

Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California pointed out that "In Flanders Fields," a famous poem about World War I, was written by a Canadian military officer. Gen. George Patton, nicknamed "old blood and guts," penned more than 80 poems over his life. US sailors even have a tradition of writing their first deck log entry of the new year in verse, as detailed by The Washington Post.

An aviation support equipment technician reads a poem about aviation support equipment technicians (AS) to celebrate 50 years of the AS rate aboard amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard on February 24, 2016. US Navy/MCS3 Jeanette Mullinax

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer could break Tuberville's holds, but it would require a vote on each nominee, which would take months, according to Sen. Jack Reed, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which Tuberville is a member.

Overcoming the holds that way also risks setting a precedent about treating previously uncontroversial military promotions like political nominations.

Democrats have said it's up to Republicans to convince Tuberville to relent. They've also continued their attacks over the effect Tuberville's holds are having on the military.

"It's crippling, and I really want people to understand that, basically, what Tuberville and others are saying is they don't believe in democracy," Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said at the Defense News Conference on Wednesday. "They believe that what they want should happen and if they don't get it, they're going to tear everything down."

A sailor reads a poem during a poetry slam aboard US Navy aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on December 12, 2017. US Navy/MCS3 Jeff Sherman

Tuberville's holds have affected hundreds of military officers, including 86 in the US Navy and Navy Reserve. Among them is Adm. Lisa Franchetti, who President Joe Biden tapped to replace Gilday and who would be the first woman to serve as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Franchetti is serving as both vice chief of naval operations, her previous position, and as acting chief of naval operations. Gen. Eric Smith, nominated to be Marine Corps commandant, is also serving as assistant commandant, his previous post, and as acting commandant. Neither can assume their new jobs until confirmed.

"It is not sustainable to do that," Smith said at the conference on Wednesday, describing it as "three" full-time jobs.

"The service chief of any service has two full-time jobs already. One is the service chief. The other is a member of the Joint Chiefs. Those are two very distinct and equally important duties, and as I've heard before from senior officers, you cannot get the Joint Chiefs part wrong, because that is to provide advice up through the secretary of defense to the president."

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Senate is looking to take control of the push to fund the government as it plans to kick off consideration of the first set of spending bills next week, while the House struggles to move past a morass of partisan packages.

Top appropriators Wednesday announced the upper chamber will consider whats known as a minibus consisting of the Agriculture-Food and Drug Administration, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development appropriations bills.

But the trouble in the House is giving senators agita. House conservatives pushed Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to back away from spending levels struck in a deal negotiated earlier this year. And hes struggled to get even full Republican buy-in on at least one partisan spending bill.

Thats a challenge. When you make a deal, I think you should stick to the deal. Kevin negotiated that, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of GOP leadership, told reporters. I think its better for us to focus on what were doing here. Try to get these bills over the finish line  That will be a good harbinger, I think, of what the future is, and let the House do what the House is going to do.

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I wouldnt expect them to fall anywhere below what the negotiated settlement was, Capito said of McCarthys deal with the White House earlier in the summer. I dont see how that happens.

Congressional leaders say theyll likely need to pass a stopgap funding measure by the end of the month to give themselves time to work out annual spending.

If no spending deal is passed by Jan. 1, an automatic overall 1 percent cut to spending programs would go into effect, something both sides would like to avoid.

Leadership in the Senate, meanwhile, is touting the progress toward passing a minibus as an example of being adults in the room willing to work across the aisle. All 12 appropriations bills passed out of committee on a bipartisan basis.

That posture has put them in the drivers seat as they try to show that they are able to function and work collaboratively ahead of the expected conference in the House later this year.

That doesnt mean that everyone agreed on everything. It means something more important: it means that disagreements havent paralyzed the process, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in his floor remarks Wednesday. If both sides work in good faith, embrace bipartisanship as weve done in the Senate, and avoid all-or-nothing tactics, then there will be no shutdown.

Still, passing the bills will take time. The three coming up next week are expected to take at least two weeks of floor time.

The House had only passed one appropriations package  to fund military construction  prior to the August break, and it is not expected to begin consideration of more items until the week of Sept. 18. That bill was passed along party lines, a stark contrast to how the Senate has marched forward.

House Republicans punted a second bill over intraparty disagreements.

In addition to the 12 funding bills and likely stopgap bill, senators are also eyeing a supplemental package that includes $24 billion in aid for Ukraine and at least $12 billion in disaster relief for areas hit by storms and wildfires.

Despite concerns that opposition is growing among House conservatives to another batch of Ukraine funding, senators seem unfazed. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) told reporters that he believes the request will be favorably looked upon by both the House and the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) amped up the pressure on lawmakers to help Ukraine further, saying that its not time to go wobbly on supporting them in their ongoing war with Russia.

Top senators Wednesday were unsure whether the supplemental bill would be attached to a continuing resolution at the end of the month, but indicated they would not be shocked if it is.

I dont think those decisions have been made yet. Its a possibility, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said, adding that its also possible lawmakers focus on the stopgap measure exclusively and deal with the supplemental package soon after. Right now, there are a lot of moving parts.

One question that remains up in the air is how long a continuing resolution could last, with McCarthy last month indicating that he did not want one running until Christmas.

One Senate Republican told The Hill that talks are centered on a stopgap package running between 30 and 90 days. Some senators prefer the shorter end of that range.

The shorter the better, said Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), an Appropriations Committee member. I want to get the bills done so that they have predictability in government, not to waste taxpayer dollars.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
There is a new proposal aimed at giving tax relief to families hit by a disaster and ensuring federal funds are available to those who need it following Hurricane Idalia and the Maui wildfires.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced the bill dubbed the Federal Disaster Responsibility Act.

The bill would fully fund FEMAs disaster relief program and give tax relief for qualified families impacted by a disaster.

It also allows the Department of Agriculture to issue grants to farmers impacted by a disaster, such as Floridas citrus growers and Georgias peach growers.

ALSO READ: Its heartbreaking: Samaritans Purse to assist in Hawaii following deadly wildfires

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Scott said he discussed his measure with President Biden during his visit to Florida over the weekend.

We need to make sure Floridians get the support from the federal government that they deserve, said Scott. Its not a partisan issue in my opinion.

But the bill comes as Congress faces a separate debate over the federal budget, which is set to expire at the end of the month.

That stalemate has led to debates over funding for Ukraine, federal food assistance programs and more.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer this week, Scott wrote about concerns that a lawmaker may block his proposal from moving forward.

ALSO READ: Hawaii wildfires: Death toll rises to 114; Biden will visit area

Unfortunately, it is my understanding that at least one member of the Senate Democratic Caucus plans to block the immediate passage of this legislation to provide Americans with urgently needed relief unless it is accompanied by foreign aid for Ukraine, wrote Scott.

Scott is urging Schumer to bring his proposal to a full vote as a separate measure  not one connected to other budgetary needs.

We shouldnt make it contingent on helping a foreign cause, said Scott. Might be an important thing to do, but we ought to be helping Americans with disaster relief first.

Scott said he hasnt yet heard back from Schumers office about a potential vote on the bill in the Senate.

VIDEO: Its heartbreaking: Samaritans Purse to assist in Hawaii following deadly wildfires
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  During his first press conference since freezing in public, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reassured Americans he can still do his job.

Im going to finish my term as leader and Im gonna finish my Senate term, McConnell said.

Doubts circulated after the Republican leader appeared unable to move or speak in both July and August.

The Capitol physician gave McConnell the green light to continue working and said he showed no signs of suffering a stroke or seizure.

Dr. Monnahans report addressed what concerns people might have, and some things that happened to me, did happen to me, and really didnt, McConnell said.

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Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he is glad to see his Republican counterpart back in the halls of Congress.

Hes doing well, Schumer said. Were working together well and I always wish him the best.

But some of McConnells fellow Republicans, like Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), are worried about his health.

If he freezes up again, he obviously knows everybody else gonna have to get involved in this, Tuberville said.

Said Hawley: Im concerned about McConnell, just like Im concerned about the president, President Biden and his health and his ability to do his job, and I dont think you can have two standards here.

This month, McConnell will have to lead in efforts to fund the government and passing more support for Ukraine.

We dont need somebody there whos just got a name as leader, Tuberville said. We gotta have a leader. I hope he can do it, but well see what happens.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Modern automotive factories typically run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with the loss from even a short disruption typically measured in thousands or even millions of dollars. Last week, Toyota faced a huge and uncharacteristic shutdown across multiple Japanese factories, all thanks to an embarrassingly simple IT problem.

As covered by The Guardian, all 14 Toyota assembly plants in Japan faced an unexpected stoppage on August 29. It was all thanks to a breakdown of a key computer system responsible for ordering vehicle parts for Toyota factories. The cause of the problem? A full hard drive.

Toyota's just-in-time production system sees parts and components only delivered to the production line as needed. It's a boon to efficiency, but it can quickly lead to problems when things aren't operating perfectly. Thanks to this, the factories were unable to operate when the crucial system went down.

Toyota stated that during routine database maintenance the day before the incident, "data that had accumulated in the database was deleted and organized, and an error occurred due to insufficient disk space." Like any diligent organization, Toyota had a backup in place, but as it was running "on the same system," a similar failure occurred and it could not be switched into operation. This failure brought all of Toyota's Japanese factories screeching to a halt in short order. Eventually, the system was transferred to a server with excess storage capacity, and the assembly plants were able to resume operations.

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Toyota's Japanese plants are responsible for around a third of its total vehicle output. Back-of-the-envelope maths from Reuters suggests the 14 factories' average output is around 13,500 vehicles a day in total. Based on current average Toyota sales prices and production rates, the loss of a full day's production could be as steep as $356 million in revenue. Take that with a grain of salt, but it's a guide to how high the stakes are when a country's worth of factories all go offline at the same time.

It's not the first time Toyota has seen a surprise problem knock its Japanese operations offline, either. Last year, plants were stopped for a day when one of Toyota's suppliers reported its own servers had been infected with a virus. The issue raised questions about the cybersecurity of the production chain, though it bears noting that Toyota has clearly stated there was no cyberattack involved in this recent incident.

It's likely that some of Toyota's IT staff were in very deep trouble for this incident. If there's one thing to be said in their defense, it's that the vast majority of people stopped worrying about hard drive space shortly after multi-terabyte hard drives hit the market.

Regardless, if you're in charge of a crucial server that supports 14 factories, it pays to make sure that it's not about to choke on its own data. Oh, and make sure the backup server actually works, too. That last one? That's kind of unforgivable.

Got a tip? Let the author know: lewin@thedrive.com
EL PASO, Texas (Border Report)  Six suspects are behind bars and one is on the lam for allegedly buying guns to be illegally exported to Mexico, federal authorities said.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for Northern District of Texas alleges Mario Lara, 28; Oralia Carrizales, 41; Geovanny Garcia, 31; Darryl Fox, 29; Gavino Trujillo, 28; and Guadalupe Corona, 29, made false statements to licensed firearms dealers while purchasing guns. The seventh defendant was not identified.

According to court documents, the defendants bought the firearms for Jose Carlos Rivas Chairez, who disassembled them, concealed them inside plastic bags and towels and smuggled them to Mexico inside car tires or through the U.S. mail.

The alleged conspiracy began to unravel last summer, when Rivas and his girlfriend, Ana Domingo Francisco, were charged and later pleaded guilty to making false statements during the purchase of a firearm, federal officials said in a statement. Court documents filed on July 29, 2022, describe both as ineligible non-citizens. Rivas is a Mexican who overstayed a visitors visa, and Domingo is a Guatemalan national who entered the U.S. without inspection through Arizona, court records show.

In this photo illustration, a semi-automatic AR-15 is displayed on a countertop at a gun store on August 25, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo Illustration by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Rivas also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, federal officials said.

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Stemming flow of weapons to Mexico is joint operations No. 1 priority, feds say

According to court documents, a search of Rivas residence turned up more than 150 empty firearm boxes. Records show many of the missing firearms  including FN SCAR rifles, AR-15 style rifles, Glock pistols, and a stolen silencer  had been purchased by the defendants arrested in the past week. Prior to his arrest, Rivas accompanied one of the suspected straw gun purchasers to a firearms store, federal officials said.

This case represents our districts commitment to hold accountable anyone involved in smuggling guns into Mexico, said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton for the Northern District of Texas. All too often, guns trafficked across our southern border fall into the hands of cartel bosses and other bad actors who threaten law enforcement and the people they serve.

Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border

Rivas and Francisco were sentenced this year to a combined 32 years in prison. The latest defendants in the case face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, if convicted.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Dallas Field Division conducted the investigation with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations and the Arlington Police Department.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
A civilian employee of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department has been charged with illegally recording her colleagues.

Operations Assistant III Meghan Capone, 43, is accused of using a small electronic voice-activated audio recording device plugged into her work computer between March and June 2021, the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office said in a Thursday news release.

An external storage device also connected to Capones work computer allegedly contained audio files of private conversations between her superiors and their legal team, the release added.

A motive behind the alleged recording was not disclosed, but prosecutors said she targeted the Body Worn Camera Unit.

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Violating the law, especially as a government employee, is a serious breach of public trust, District Attorney George Gascon said in the release. Government employees are held to the highest standards of conduct and ethics. Defendant Capones alleged role in breaching the security and trust of her colleagues reflects a total disregard for the law. We must ensure that every individual, regardless of their role within a law enforcement agency, upholds the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.

Capone faces two felony charges of eavesdropping on confidential communications. If convicted on both counts, she could be sentenced to three years and eight months in state prison.

Her arraignment at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center is scheduled for Sept. 28.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
A new study on short-term rentals in San Luis Obispo County found that they are not responsible for driving up overall rental rates and housing prices in the county.

According to a new study produced by tourism information organization Visit SLO CAL and Beacon Economics, short-term rentals  also known as STRs  have both benefited from and played a role in the continued growth of tourism in the county.

In a nutshell, vacation rentals support this pillar of the local economy more than they hurt the countys housing inventory or affordability, the study found.

If there are concerns that STR activity reduces community housing supplies, there are more direct ways to increase those supplies through zoning reform, the study said.

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Heres a breakdown of the studys findings  and what it says about the role of STRs in the San Luis Obispo County housing market.

How common are short-term rentals in SLO County?

According to the study, for short-term rentals to have a meaningful impact on housing affordability in a given community, their presence must reduce the supply of lower-income housing.

A total of around 4,500 San Luis Obispo County homes currently operate as STRs, though roughly one-third of those homes are not listed as available for booking in a given month, the study found.

Of those 4,500 properties, 2,859 properties were considered active in 2023, meaning they were listed as reserved or available for at least one calendar day in a given month on booking platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo, the study found.

As STRs have grown in number and average value, the number of days STRs were occupied in a year quadrupled over the past decade to 40,000 by the end of 2022, the study found.

In 2023, the average San Luis Obispo County short-term rental property is reserved for nearly 15 days each month, the study found.

Roughly a third of all STRs are located in unincorporated parts of the county, the study found. Paso Robles accounted for a quarter, followed by the city of San Luis Obispo, which made up 10%.

Though San Luis Obispo County and its seven incorporated cities have each placed some limitations on the number of both STRs and vacation rentals in recent years, not all rental hosts have adhered to these rules, the study found.

Across Grover Beach, Paso Robles, the city of San Luis Obispo and the unincorporated areas of the county, more than one in five listings, or 22.3%, are non-compliant with local regulations, the study found.

As of February, 86% of all active STR listings in the county were for the entire home, the study said.

Homes in San Luis Obispo County operating as STRs were valued at an average of $1.2 million, indicating more often than not, less expensive dwellings are not operating as STRs, the study said.

Homes operating as short-term rentals also skewed on the larger side, averaging 3.4 bedrooms per unit, whereas lower-income households are more likely to live in smaller units, the study said.

If STR properties were converted to long-term rentals, based on prevailing market prices, households earning $100,000 (a year) would only be able to afford 5% of the properties listed as STRs, the study found.

What role do STRs play in the local economy?

Tourism plays a sizable role in San Luis Obispo County, accounting for 10% of the countys GDP, or around $2.15 billion a year in economic benefits, the study found.

According to the study, the countys hotel industry has largely bounced back from the initial steep declines caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employment in leisure and hospitality in the county is now 4.4% higher than it was before the pandemic, the study said, suggesting a healthy rebound for local tourism and hospitality.

Revenue per available room, known as RevPAR, also improved since the hotel industry started to return to normal performance in early 2021, and occupancy rates have largely returned to or exceeded pre-pandemic levels, the study found.

STRs have benefited from that bounce back, and as a result, the county has also seen increases in the amount of transient occupancy tax collected from STRs, the study found.

They accounted for 19% of the countys transient occupancy tax revenue since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, or $12.2 million from a total of $62.7 million, compared to making up around 15% of pre-pandemic transient occupancy tax revenue, the study found.

Overall, the tourism industry in SLO CAL is crucial to the local economy, the study found. The enduring health of the hotel sector reveals that, rather than reducing activity at existing businesses, short-term rentals are providing additional lodging capacity, enabling more visitors to come to the region.

Are SLO County residents losing housing to STRs?

Over the past decade, San Luis Obispo Countys housing production has largely kept pace with the state of California, adding 7,796 units between 2013 and 2023, or a countywide 6.6% increase compared to a 6.7% statewide increase, the study found.

About 73.6% of San Luis Obispo County homes were single-family as of 2023, higher than Californias single-family home rate of 64.4%, the study said.

As a result, the limited inventory of multi-family housing has pushed up demand and prices in most rentals, the study said.

However, the study said San Luis Obispo County residents arent losing housing to STRs to the same extent they are to second homes.

Though 2.7% of the countys housing stock operate as STRs, second homes make up a much higher percentage of all homes, the study said.

In 2023, 12.9% of San Luis Obispo County homes were vacant, and 65.7% of vacant homes in the county were second homes as of 2021, the study found.

Thats significantly higher than the states 6.6% vacancy rate, of which 32.1% of units were counted as second homes, the study said.

According to the study, many of these vacation homes operate as STRs while unoccupied by their owners, meaning removing all STR activity in the county would not necessarily lead to a bump in housing supply.

Converting all STR properties in San Luis Obispo County to long-term rentals would effectively reduce rents by less than 1%, and would do little to add more workforce or affordable homes to the market, the study found.

Like so many others in California, (San Luis Obispo County) communities have failed to build sufficient multi-family housing for decades, the study concluded. STR activity is occurring in the least affordable parts of the community, and even if all STR activity were converted to long-term rentals, it would do very little to improve housing affordability.
Its right there in the trailer: Cake, and cancer. Less obvious in the same trailer for the new Amazon Prime Video feature Sitting in Bars with Cake, premiering Friday, is that theres considerable effectiveness and genuine feeling found in Audrey Shulmans adaptation of her 2015 book, based on her blog of how she baked her way through a full year of cakebarring, with the express intention of meeting guys in Los Angeles.

Shulmans best friend, meantime, received a devastating health diagnosis, but at her urging Shulman soldiered on with her project. In a freely invented variation on that premise, Sitting in Bars with Cake creates a story, from ingredients that wont strike anyone as radically fresh, transcending formula and focused, smartly, on a moving story of a friendship, brought to life by Yara Shahidi and Odessa Azion.

One author biography floating around online describes Shulman as an avid baker and relentless hostess. The films protagonist is different: avid baker, yes, but Shahidis character, Jane, starts out as a tightly wired, socially anxious woman in her early 20s, trying to live up to her parents expectations of greatness. Corinne, her longtime friend and fellow Phoenix-to-L.A. transplant, is nothing like Jane; shes a wisenheimer and a blithe extrovert played by Azion, best known for the Netflix series Grand Army and the recent Hellraiser reboot.

Corinne and Jane work at Capitol Records, Jane as a mail clerk with uncertain designs on a law career, Corinne as an enterprising music agent in training. (Bette Midler, always a pleasure, plays her imperious but warmhearted boss.) For Jane, baking is her preferred anti-stress self-medication. One night, lugging a beautiful cake for Corinnes birthday, Jane impresses a bar full of semi-eligibles with her baking prowess.

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So why not get busy with it? Why not bait guys with sugar? With Corinnes nudge, Jane embarks on a yearlong experiment in a carefully mapped array of Tiki bars, biker bars, country and Western bars, Silver Lake nerd hangouts, everything L.A. has to offer, male-wise.

Shulman, now a screenwriter, happens to be a good one: Shes quippy and frequently funny, and knows how to change gears without too much strain. Sitting in Bars with Cake director Trish Sie (Step Up All In, Pitch Perfect 3) is no stranger to commercial engineering, but her work here leaves room for some easygoing interplay, in more than one key. Even after Corinnes cancer diagnosis, the movie proceeds as a series of shameless L.A. tourism campaign spots, from the initial establishing shot of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel pool area, at peak mob-scene by the cabanas, to a scene set in Micelis restaurant, just off Hollywood Boulevard. Ordinarily, that slickness would be enough to stop a film like this cold. This ones different, and better.

The stars, and the key supporting ringers, come in extremely handily. Shahidi (a young veteran of both Black-ish and Grown-ish) avoids turning Jane into a type, or a mere introvert-to-butterfly cliche. Her vibe is relaxed and intuitive enough to sell whatevers up with Shulmans week-by-week, cake-by-cake setups. Same with Azion. Los Angeles, like any perplexing big city, is full of odd-couple roommates, whether theyre old friends or new accidents of fate, and though Sitting in Bars with Cake goes in a clearly charted direction, theres enough going on between the plot points to make it feel like theres something real at stake between these women.

Corinnes parents, salt of the earth but slightly off in the best way, give Ron Mr. Reliable Livingston and Martha Kelly (the deadpan site-visit evaluator from Marriage Story) a lovely double act. The movie tells the story of a year spent in hospitals and bars, and its laid out as such, in a spoken line of dialogue. As Jane devotes all the time and love she can to Corinne, while the doctors monitor the brain tumor and its effects, screenwriter Shulman has the grace to allow Corinne a clear-eyed set of complicated responses.

I should be learning some major life lesson right now, she says at one point, in an unguarded moment with her friend, confidant and intrepid baker. But Im just annoyed. The scenes between Azion and Shahidi arent the icing on this cake. Theyre the cake.



'SITTING IN BARS WITH CAKE'

3 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG-13 (for strong language, some drug use, sexual references and thematic elements)

Running time: 1:59

How to watch: On Prime Video Friday


Before he brutally killed his ex-girlfriend in front of her children two years ago in Pennsylvania, Danelo Souza Cavalcante seemed like a positive match  a fellow Brazilian who was a good neighbor and kind  the slain womans sister says.

But Cavalcante, now the subject of a manhunt after he escaped from a Pennsylvania prison late last month, seemed to transform over time, eventually exuding jealousy and threatening Deborah Brandao before her death, her sister told CNN.

Now the sister, Sarah Brandao, who lived near both of them and is taking care of Deborahs two children and well as her own daughter in Pennsylvania, is terrified about his escape and worried that he could come after her.

I havent slept for many days. Since (his escape) I have been waking up with fright at night. I nap and wake up with fright, Sarah Brandao told CNN in an interview translated from Portuguese to English.

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Cavalcante, 34, who was convicted just last month of first-degree murder in Deborah Brandaos 2021 killing, escaped from the Chester County Prison some 30 miles west of Philadelphia on August 31, sparking a search involving hundreds of officers.

Cavalcante, who also is wanted in a 2017 homicide case in Brazil, is extremely dangerous and desperate not to get caught, authorities have said, and theyve urged residents in areas near the prison to keep their doors locked, stay inside, and check their security cameras.

Sarah Brandao, left, says her sister Deborah Brandao, right, came to the US to give Deborah's children a better life. - Sarah Brandao

He changed from a nice neighbor to a jealous boyfriend, sister says

Deborah first met Cavalcante because they were neighbors in Chester County, Sarah told CNN. He helped and was kind to Deborah, she said.

They dated for about a year and a half, according to Sarah.

She said he was nice to her, he was nice to her children, that he helped her, Sarah told CNN. He kept her company. She didnt feel alone anymore.

He seemed normal, but he was always very silent, observant and reserved, she added.

This photo, provided by the Chester County Prison, shows Danelo Cavalcante. - Chester County Prison/AP

He treated Deborahs two children well, but there wasnt much attachment to them  no love, no hug, nothing; very cold, Sarah said.

His behavior toward Deborah changed over time, Sarah said.

She kept saying that he was extremely jealous  that when he drank, he became a different person; that he kept going through her cell phone, Sarah said.

Cavalcante would threaten Deborah, telling her he would do the worst to her if she ever cheated, Sarah said.

Cavalcante killed Deborah, 33, in April 2021 by stabbing her 38 times in front of her then 7- and 4-year-old children, the Chester County district attorneys office has said. She had filed a protection from abuse order against him the year prior, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Just days after his conviction, Cavalcante was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Sister fears fugitive will show up at her home

When Cavalcante was sentenced last month, Sarah felt relief. Deborah was honored and received justice, she said.

But since Cavalcantes escape, Sarah has been living in fear, she told CNN.

I was desperate, desperate, very scared. I thought about my children, obviously, Sarah said.

Sarah is worried Cavalcante could show up at her Chester County home and afraid he will come after her.

Despite her fears, she believes police will capture Cavalcante, she said.

Deborah had brought her children to the US for a better life, sister says

When Sarah learned about her sisters murder, my world ended, Sarah told CNN.

The sisters were best friends, she said: The only time they werent together was at bedtime.

We worked together all day. We talked on the cell phone all day when we werent together, Sarah said.

Deborah brought her children to the United States because here the quality of life is better than in Brazil, Sarah said.

She wanted to give a better life for both of them, Sarah said.

Now, Sarah is trying to give Deborahs children the lives her sister wanted for them, she said.

I have a house cleaning company. My husband has a flooring services company. And we continue working our little life and trying to do the best for the children, which is what I have been doing since I lost my sister, she said.

I try my best, right?

CNNs Jason Hanna, Christina Maxouris, Artemis Moshtaghian, Danny Freeman, Alessandra Freitas and Celina Tebor contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
HOHHOT, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- In early autumn, trees and shrubs are still flourishing on the banks of the Xiliugou, a tributary of the Yellow River, which runs through the hinterland of the Kubuqi Desert in north China.

The desert vegetation drawing throngs of shutterbugs and travel enthusiasts is actually the result of sand barriers planted by Elion Resources Group, a leading Chinese green industry enterprise on the Ordos Plateau, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, to prevent moving sand dunes from invading the Yellow River. Over the years, the expanding man-made green belt has turned into a new scenic spot.

The Yellow River, China's second-longest, flows over 840 km in Inner Mongolia, home to several of the country's major deserts.

As one of them, Kubuqi, the seventh-largest desert in China, is also known as the desert closest to the national capital of Beijing. Located around 800 km north of Beijing, this desert spans an area of about 14,100 square km along the curve of the Yellow River, making it a major source of the sandstorms that hit the Chinese capital.

Xiliugou, a stream 106.5 km in length, washes about 4.8 million tonnes of sand on average a year into the Yellow River.

There are 10 Yellow River tributaries including Xiliugou on the Ordos Plateau, which together contribute about one-tenth of the total sand sediment in the Yellow River.

"Before the sand barriers were built in Xiliugou, moving sand dunes often blocked the waterway," said Zhang Yongping, director of the water resources bureau of Dalad Banner in the city of Ordos.

Since 2000, the county government of Dalad has invested 220 million yuan (about 30 million U.S. dollars) in efforts to curb the flow of sand into the river through afforestation.

"The survival rate of a planted tree here was about 20 percent some 30 years ago. With the continuous upgrading of desert greening technology, the rate can now exceed 80 percent," said Li Ting, a sand control engineer with the Elion Resources Group.

In December 2017, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) honored Wang Wenbiao, chairman of the company, and five other inspirational environmental leaders, with the Champions of the Earth Award for their efforts in the battle against desertification.

Over three decades of desert greening efforts have effectively reduced the average height of moving sand dunes that threaten the Yellow River from about 100 meters to 30 meters. Elion has contributed by planting a green belt of about 170 km long and about 1 km to 3 km wide on the desert edge along the banks of the Yellow River.

Elion has also played a significant role in the Kubuqi desert control project, where it has built over a dozen plant seed protection bases, collecting and storing about 1,040 varieties of germplasm resources with strong adaptability to sandy land. It has also cultivated more than 100 kinds of desert shrub species suitable for sand-control planting.

The company has accumulated 244 patented technologies for sand control and ecological protection, and achieved more than 400 scientific and technological innovations in sand control.

Benefiting from such scientific support, comprehensive measures for curbing soil erosion in the Yellow River basin of Inner Mongolia have been implemented across an expanse of 14.43 million mu (962,000 hectares) since 2019.

The amount of sand washed into the Yellow River by its 10 tributaries on the Ordos Plateau has shrunk from 27 million tonnes before 2018 to about 18 million tonnes at present.

The regional government has vowed to continue desert greening efforts, setting this year's afforestation target at 5.5 million mu in the river basin. 
FILE - Ire Gene Grovner walks through remnants of the old slave's quarters, May 16, 2013, at the Chocolate Plantation where his ancestors lived some eight generations ago on Sapelo Island, Ga. One of the few remaining Gullah-Geechee communities in the U.S. is in another fight to hold onto land owned by residents' families since their ancestors were freed from slavery. The few dozen remaining residents of the tiny Hogg Hummock community on Georgia's Sapelo Island were stunned when they learned county officials may end zoning protections enacted nearly 30 years ago to protect the enclave from wealthy buyers and tax increases. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

DARIEN, Ga. (AP)  Descendants of enslaved people who populate a tiny island community are once again fighting their local government, this time over a proposal to eliminate protections that for decades helped shield the Gullah-Geechee residents from high taxes and pressure to sell their land to developers.

Residents of Hogg Hummock and their supporters packed a courtroom Thursday night to oppose a proposal by McIntosh County officials to cast aside zoning ordinances that limit homes to modest sizes in the enclave of 30 to 50 Black residents on Sapelo Island off the coast of Georgia.

After more than 30 people spoke out against the proposal over two hours, the county zoning board made some hasty changes aimed at appeasing island residents and then voted to send the amended ordinance to McIntosh County's elected commissioners. The five-member commission has the final say, and could choose to vote on the original zoning proposal that rattled island residents when it meets next week.

The rules were enacted in 1994 for the sole purpose of protecting one of the South's few remaining communities of people known as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia, whose ancestors worked island slave plantations. Their isolation from the mainland meant they retained much of their African roots and traditions.

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Residents say losing zoning protections would drive out Hogg Hummock residents by attracting wealthy transplants eager to build large beach houses, causing land values and property taxes to soar.

Its the erasure of a historical culture thats still intact after 230 years," said Reginal Hall, a Hogg Hummock landowner whose family has deep roots on the island. "Once you raise those limits and the land value increases, we only have two to three years at most. If you talk about the descendants of the enslaved, 90% of us will be gone.

Located about 60 miles (96 kilometers) south of Savannah, Sapelo Island remains separated from the mainland and reachable only by boat. Since 1976, the state of Georgia has owned most of its 30 square miles (78 square kilometers) of mostly unspoiled wilderness. Hogg Hummock, also known as Hog Hammock, sits on less than a square mile of modest homes amid dirt roads.

Gullah-Geechee communities are scattered along the Southeast coast from North Carolina to Florida, where they have endured since their enslaved ancestors were freed by the Civil War. Scholars say these people long separated from the mainland retained much of their African heritage  from their unique dialect to skills and crafts such as cast-net fishing and weaving baskets.

Hogg Hummock earned a place in 1996 on the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of America's treasured historic sites. But for protections to preserve the community, residents depend on the local government in McIntosh County, where 65% of the 11,100 residents are white.

The current ordinance designating a special zoning district for Hogg Hummock limits homes to 1,400 square feet (130 square meters) of heated and air-conditioned space, prohibits paving except for building foundations and requires a permit to demolish any structure deemed eligible for the National Register.

The proposed changes before zoning board Thursday would eliminate those limits on development. They also get rid of language that recognizes Hogg Hummock as a community with unique needs in regard to its historic resources and says the county should help prevent land value increases which could force removal of the indigenous population.

County attorney Adam Poppell said the square-footage limit had proven impossible to enforce. The zoning board hoped to satisfy Hogg Hummock residents' concerns about supersized homes by voting to limit development to no more than 10% of a lot, as opposed to 40% in the existing zoning ordinance.

Hogg Hummock resident Jazz Watts said he felt the changes were rushed and that the zoning board should have thrown out the entire proposal.

They need to start over, Watts said. There are too many questions that they can't even answer.

Patrick Zoucks, the county manager, defended the zoning proposal in a statement issued before the Thursday meeting, saying it wasin the best interest of the residents of Hogg Hammock and all of the citizens of McIntosh County. 

Nothing about this issue involves race, or the discriminatory application of the regulations, Zoucks said.

Commissioner Roger Lotson, whose district includes Sapelo Island, opposed the original proposal to eliminate the maximum home size in Hogg Hummock. He said the zoning board's changes, while welcome, seemed rushed. And he noted the county commission could reject them altogether and vote on the original plan.

All they're doing is giving us a recommendation, Lotson said.

It's not the first time Black residents of Sapelo Island have battled with the county government.

Some families have sold to outsiders who built vacation homes. In 2012, dozens of Hogg Hummock residents and landowners swarmed the county courthouse to appeal painful tax increases caused by soaring property values. County officials rolled most of them back.

Residents then sued the county in federal court in 2015, arguing a lack of government services such as firefighters and trash collection were eroding the island community. The case was settled last year, with McIntosh County agreeing to improve emergency services and road maintenance. Some residents also had their property taxes frozen through 2025.

Lotson said he's unsure how his fellow commissioners will vote, though he's trying to persuade them that Hogg Hummock is worth preserving.

Its a step back in time," Lotson said. "And the fear of many, including myself, is that by allowing any size house over there, soon the uniqueness of Sapelo will go away.
One of the rape charges facing a San Luis Obispo County barbershop owner accused of sexually assaulting a woman and two underage girls will not be dismissed, a judge ruled Thursday.

Atascadero resident Nathan Nate Abate is charged with two counts of rape by force, rape of an intoxicated person and oral copulation of a minor.

Prosecutors say he committed the crimes against three female victims between 2009 and 2012. Two of those were 14 years old at the time of the alleged crimes.

San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Michael Frye ruled Aug. 29 that there was sufficient evidence against Abate to take him to trial.

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Abates attorney, Scott Taylor, filed a motion to dismiss one of the rape by force charges on Aug. 29, alleging it had surpassed the statute of limitations since it occurred against an adult in 2012.

The statute of limitations for rape was 10 years up until 2017, when a law extending the statute of limitations for rape to be indefinite went into effect.

San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Michael J. Duffy denied Taylors motion Thursday.

SLO County business owner accused of sexual assault

Abate was first charged with felony sex crimes in the case on Jan. 19.

The business owner posted his $500,000 bond and pleaded not guilty to the crimes during his arraignment the following day.

Abate is alleged to have assaulted women in San Luis Obispo County for more than two decades with Julian Contreras, former owner of Kin Coffee in downtown San Luis Obispo.

Contreras has a warrant out for his arrest, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriffs Office said, but authorities say he has fled to Mexico.

Abates next court hearing is Oct. 5.

How to get help

If you or someone you know are a survivor of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673. The hotline offers a range of free services including confidential support from a trained staff member, help finding a local health facility, legal and medical advice and referrals for long-term support.

If you or someone you know are a survivor of domestic violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233. The hotline offers a range of free services including confidential support from a trained staff member, help finding a local health facility, legal and medical advice and referrals for long-term support.

Survivor support and resources are also available through Lumina Alliance at luminaalliance.org or their Crisis and Information Line at 805-545-8888.
In 2014, Margie and Larry Linder of Cayucos became empty nesters and began refining their retirement plan: circumnavigating the globe aboard the Althea, their 32-foot-long Westsail sailboat.

It was a dream that Id had 20-some years ago: When I retire, I want to sail around the world,  Larry Linder said by phone from the boat Tuesday. I kept my eye on the prize.

The couple, who live in Cambria now, embarked on their world-spanning adventure in April 2015, departing from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

In March 2022, more than eight years and at least 30,000 nautical miles later, they landed in the Mexican coastal fishing village of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle.

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On their way to their home port of Morro Bay, We hunkered down in Marina Del Rey to escape the fringe of Hurricane Hilary, Margie Linder said.

The Linders then set sail for the Cojo anchorage near Point Conception and Port San Luis in Avila Beach and their home port of Morro Bay.

We are so excited to come home, she said.

The Linders sailed back into the Morro Bay Harbor on Wednesday, welcomed home by well-wishers at Morro Rock and along the Embarcadero.

Elated family members followed the couple in a boat, while the Morro Bay Harbor Patrol provided an escort and water salute as the Linders entered the harbor.

The Althea tied up briefly at Tidelands Park so the Linders could hug family and friends before tying up at their new mooring in the bay.

I always had the travel bug, Larry Linder said, with a desire to see other cultures, new people, new ways of doing things,

Its been a real eye opener, he said of his globe-spanning voyage. It really changed my perspective, how easily you can erase any thoughts of bigotry as soon as you get out of your own little bubble and get to know the people.

Margie and Larry Linder were greeted by family and friends They arrived at Morro Bay harbor after completing 8+ years circumnavigation on their 32-foot sailboat, Aletha. Sept., 6, 2023.

SLO County couple retire, sell home ahead of trip

In 2014, after the youngest of Margie and Larry Linders four children graduated from high school, the couple sold their home in Cayucos, Margie Linder told The Tribune via email.

Before retiring, Larry Linder owned and operated a small trucking business for 28 years, his wife said, in addition to owning several fishing boats. He also was a commercial fisherman and a reserve officer for the Morro Bay Harbor Patrol.

His earliest experience on a boat was deep-sea fishing with his father and younger brother, Margie Linder said of her husband, who was 11 at the time.

Margie Linder was a rehabilitation therapist at Atascadero State Hospital for about six years, and then taught in the academic skills lab at Cuesta College.

To prepare for their life-changing journey, she said, the couple sold our cars, most of our furniture and belongings. We worked and saved, saved, saved for this retirement adventure.

The Linders readied their sailboat, the Althea, for the long cruise, adding equipment including Garmin satellite and single side-band radio for communicating.

According to Linder, the Althea is compact but efficient. It has a galley, navigation station, three berths, a bathroom, small dining area and various storage lockers, she wrote via email.

There is no shower stall on Althea, Linder said. Bathing options while on passage were either a bucket-and-washrag bath or a deck shower with the hose.

Fortunately, Linder said, she and her husband are suited for cramped quarters. She stands 5 feet, 3 inches tall, while Larry Linder is 5 feet, 10 inches tall.

Margie and Larry Linder of Cayucos arrive in Morro Bay Harbor on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, after spending more than eight years circumnavigating the globe their 32-foot-long sailboat, Aletha.

Cayucos residents prepare for sailing voyage

The Linders also prepared themselves for their journey.

Larry Linder was determined to learn how to sail by reading sailing handbooks, following sailing blogs and watching do-it-yourself YouTube videos, his wife said.

Margie Linder faced an even bigger challenge, she said.

I had zero sailing experience, in the past got seasick on boats and have never had positive experiences at sea, she said.

Margie Linder originally planned to meet her husband in the pretty places via airplane, she said.

However, I realized that negotiating a flight to arrive at the same time Althea arrived in a foreign port entry could prove to be difficult and expensive, Linder added.

After Larry Linder sailed alone from San Diego to Baja, Mexico, his wife met him in San Jose del Cabo to spend three days sailing with him to Puerto Vallarta  her first passage on the boat.

This passage gave me confidence that she could withstand longer journeys at sea, Margie Linder said.

Linder said she and her husband attended safety seminars and chatted with other sailors. She also attended a Women Who Sail gathering in La Cruz, Mexico.

Margie and Larry Linder of Cayucos arrive in Morro Bay Harbor on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, after spending more than eight years circumnavigating the globe on their 32-foot-long sailboat, Aletha.

Journey around the globe begins in Mexico

After leaving Morro Bay, the Linders journey around the globe started in earnest in Banderas Bay in Puerto Vallarta. Larry Linder was 59 at the time, while his wife was 51.

On the next passage, we sailed west for 31 days to the Marquesas, Margie Linder said. Two hundred miles before we made landfall, Larry could smell dirt and I smelled tuberose and plumeria.

By then, I had learned methods to overcome seasickness and started to get the hang of the lifestyle, she said, such as consuming ginger and CBD products and occasionally giving in and just throwing up.

There were some medical issues, too.

My shoulder went out, Linder said.

While her husband sailed on alone, I was home for 10 months, she said, recovering from the injury.

The countries and territories they visited during their life-changing adventure included French Polynesia, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, Tonga and Papua New Guinea.

They also visited Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Madagascar and South Africa.

In addition, their journey included stops in Brazil, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Panama and Mexico.

Each country/island/territory had something special to offer, Margie Linder said. We met curious, warm, welcoming, generous people everywhere we went.

Our most recent adventure was in the magical Sea of Cortez, she said. We made good friends along the way and continue to run into them along the way.  The cruising world is a very small community.

She said an estimated 200 boats complete circumnavigations every year.

It is no small endeavor, she said. Many sailors dream of it, but the reality of all the details, large and small, can be overwhelming.

This adventure is not for the faint of heart or one who is easily discouraged, Linder warned. We have been challenged by equipment failure, storms and calms, new languages, finding boat parts  and mostly missing our family and friends.

Dealing with unfavorable conditions and being away from our four kids, our dog, warm showers and my art supplies were the hardest parts for Margie Linder, she said.

Among the issues the Linders faced on their passage were dealing with a broken propeller shaft in the middle of the South Atlantic, getting knocked down in the Intertropical Convergence Zone as they were approaching the Caribbean, being unable to sail because there was no wind for five days and the equipment limitations of their sailing vessel.

Their circa-1975 Althea is one of about 830 Westsail 32-footer kits made from 1971 to 1980.

Larry Linder said he and his wife tried to fly home for visits with family at least once a year. Their new grandchildren are now 4 and 1 years old, respectively.

It was good to get off the boat for a while, he said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, the couple had to push pause on their travels.

We were at sea on a passage from South Africa to Brazil when the worlds borders closed, Linder explained. When we arrived in Recife, Brazil, we discovered that COVID had changed the world.

The challenges faced by the couple were counterbalanced by the indescribably, exhilarating feeling to be traveling under full sail with no engine, fueled only by the power of the wind, Linder said. It is liberating.

Larry Linder said the joy is being away from shore without a care in the world, disconnecting from the busy aspects of being on land (and) enjoying the peacefulness of the ocean during favorable conditions.

Perhaps someday we will put together our story in book form, Margie Linder said, noting that they have a captains log book, social media posts and more than 15,000 photos to draw from.

Whats next for traveling retirees?

Now that the Linders have returned home to the Central Coast, they plan to live part-time in their Cambria home and visit Althea regularly, Margie Linder said.

We would like to spend time in San Simeon Cove whenever the weather is favorable, Linder said. Its a sweet anchorage to meet friends for a beach barbecue, take walks and enjoy the view.

She acknowledged that not everyone can or even wants to leave their comfort zone to explore the unknown.

However, Linder said, You dont have to sail around the world to explore it. I have learned that adventure can be taking a drive to a park you have never been to, taking that art class you always wanted to take, learning a new language or connecting to someone who does not share your opinions or beliefs.

Linder said she and her husband are thankful for our children accepting and tolerating the realities and responsibilities they faced as a result of our absence.

We are humbled by the love and support we have depended on to make this journey a reality, she said.

Asked if she and her husband would ever embark on another adventure, she said, You never know what the future would bring. I think Larry would like to sail across an ocean again.

It will be so good to be home, Margie Linder said. I am so proud of my Larry and proud of myself.  I never in my wildest dreams thought I could do anything like this.
Friendicoes SECA is helping the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to catch stray dogs ahead of G20 summit, in New Delhi

Friendicoes SECA is helping the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to catch stray dogs ahead of G20 summit, in New Delhi

By Anushree Fadnavis and Sakshi Dayal

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Hundreds of stray dogs that roam the streets of the Indian capital Delhi are being rounded up by authorities and moved to shelters in the run-up to the G20 summit this weekend, according to animal activists and Reuters witnesses.

Authorities have already cleared many slums in the city and put up cutouts of langurs to scare away monkeys from public spaces ahead of the meeting.

The G20 summit, the biggest ever gathering of world leaders in the Indian capital, will be attended by U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak , Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida among others.

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The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) did not directly link the removal of stray dogs to the summit, stating that the canines are being picked up "only on an urgent need basis".

Ambulances being used for the roundup of strays that were seen by Reuters, however, displayed "On Duty G-20" boards.

The national capital territory of Delhi has over 60,000 stray dogs, according to government data, which are fed and doted upon by many of its 20 million residents, but instances of them attacking people are not uncommon.

The MCD, in August, had issued an order for removal of stray dogs "from the vicinity of prominent locations in view of the G-20 summit", but withdrew the directions two days later following a backlash.

Animal activists say the civic body then started capturing stray dogs "in an inhumane manner" last week, without using methods like "net catching or hand catching" mandated by guidelines.

Almost 1,000 dogs have been rounded up so far from areas like the airport and the G20 venue, they said.

Reuters' witnesses saw MCD teams capturing dogs using rods with a loop at one end. The animals were then dragged to ambulances.

"What India is doing is ironic given the theme of the G20 - one earth, one family, one future. It is hypocritical to talk of a shared future when we do not make room for our co-beings," said Ambika Shukla, trustee of People for Animals, a non-governmental organisation.

Sanjay Mohapatra, founder of the House of Stray Animals NGO, termed the action "needless".

"If delegates see people feeding stray dogs, it will actually create a good impression of the country," he said.

The MCD, in a statement, said the captured dogs were being tracked and would be released back from where they were taken, but did not give a timeframe.

"All the dogs are safe and comfortable with necessary medical help available to them," it said.

Friendicoes, one of the groups working with the MCD to round up the canines, said it has picked up 234 dogs using nets and moved them to its three shelters in the city.

Reuters images showed the animals inside cages, with a white-board hanging at the entrance detailing the 'token number' assigned to each of them, and detailing their gender and fur colour.

"We have stopped the work now since we have reached full capacity. The dogs will be released at the same locations from where they were picked up after the summit," said co-founder Geeta Seshamani.

(Reporting by Anushree Fadnavis and Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
This article was originally published in The Conversation.

Should smartphones be allowed in classrooms? A new report from UNESCO, the education arm of the United Nations, raises questions about the practice. Though smartphones can be used for educational purposes, the report says the devices also disrupt classroom learning, expose students to cyberbullying and can compromise students privacy.

About 1 in 7 countries globally, such as the Netherlands and France, have banned the use of smartphones in school  and academic performance improved as a result, particularly for low-performing students, the report notes.

As school leaders in the U.S. wrestle with whether or not to ban smartphones, The Conversation has invited four scholars to weigh in on the issue.

Daniel G. Krutka: Use smartphones to encourage technoskepticism

While the issue of smartphone use in schools is complicated, evidence suggests that spending more time on smartphones is associated with young people being less happy and less satisfied with life.

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Technology scholars have long argued that the key to living well with technology is in finding limits. However, in banning smartphones, I worry educators might be missing opportunities to use smartphones to encourage what I and other researchers refer to as technoskeptical thinking; that is, questioning our relationship with technology.

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For example, students might be encouraged to consider the benefits and drawbacks of using navigational apps to travel from one place to another, as opposed to old-fashioned paper maps. Or, students might explore their social media feeds to critique what algorithms feed them, or how notifications get their attention.

In my research, I have looked at how teachers can encourage students to go on techno-fasts  that is, abstaining from the use of technology for a certain period of time. This, I argue, will give students time to reflect on the time they spend away from their devices.

Policy debates often focus on whether or not to put smartphones out of reach during the school day. But I believe educators might find it more beneficial to make the phones an object of inquiry.

Sarah Rose: Consult parents, teachers and students

While there is evidence that classroom phone usage can be a distraction, it can also promote engagement and learning. While research about the potential positive and negative consequences of classroom phones can be used to inform school phone policies, the views of those who are most directly impacted by the policies should also be taken into account.

The views of parents matter because their views may influence the extent to which their children follow the policy. The views of children matter because they are the ones being expected to follow the policy and to benefit from it. The views of teachers matter because they are often the ones that have to enforce the policies. Research shows that enforcing cellphone policies is not always a straightforward issue.

In my research, I have found that children  aged 10 and 11 years old  in collaboration with their parents, were able to come up with ideas for ideal policies and solutions to help enforce them. For example, one parent-child pair suggested mobile phone use in school could be banned but that a role of telephone monitor could be given to an older pupil. This telephone monitor would have a class mobile phone that children and parents could use to contact each other during the school day when necessary.

This recommendation reflected how parents and middle and high school students  whether from rural and urban areas  felt cellphones were important to keep in touch with each other during the school day. Beyond safety, children and parents also told us that phones were important for keeping in touch about changing plans and for emotional support during the school day.

I believe policies that simply ban phones in schools may be missing an opportunity to educate children about responsible mobile device use. When parents and children are involved in policy development, it has the potential to increase the extent to which these policies are followed and enforced.

Arnold L. Glass: Cellphone use in college lectures hurts performance in ways that are hard to see

The intrusion of internet-enabled electronic devices, such as laptops, tablets and cellphones, has transformed the modern college lecture. Students now divide their attention between the lecture and their devices. Classroom studies reveal that when college students use an electronic device for a nonacademic purpose during class, it hurts their performance on exams.

When attention is divided between an electronic device and the classroom lecture, it does not reduce comprehension of the lecture  at least, not when measured by within-class quizzes. Instead, divided attention reduces long-term retention of the classroom lecture, which hurts performance on unit exams and final exams.

When some students open electronic devices, it also negatively affects the performance of all the students around them. Research has shown that student performance on final exams was worse when electronic devices were permitted during classes that covered exam material versus when the devices were not.

Many students wont think their divided attention is affecting their retention of new information. It may not be for the moment, but a couple of weeks later or down the line, research shows, it does.

Louis-Philippe Beland: Bans help low-achieving students the most

Numerous studies indicate that low-achieving students stand to benefit the most from the implementation of mobile phone bans in schools.

In a 2015 study, my co-author, Richard Murphy, and I examined the impact of banning mobile phones on student performance in high schools, using data from England. By comparing schools with phone bans to similar schools without the bans, we isolated the effect of mobile phones on performance. Our study found that banning mobile phones significantly increased test scores among 16-year-old students. The effect is equivalent to adding five days to the school year or an extra hour per week. Low-achieving students benefited more, while high-achieving students remained unaffected.

Similar studies in Spain and Norway using a similar approach demonstrated compelling evidence supporting the benefits of banning mobile phones. In Spain, grades improved and bullying incidents decreased. In Norway, the ban raised middle school students grade-point averages and their likelihood of attending academic high schools while reducing bullying. Evidence from Belgium suggests banning mobile phones can be beneficial for college student performance.

Psychological research sheds light on potential mechanisms behind the impact of mobile phones and technology on student performance. Multitasking, common with mobile phone use, has been found to hinder learning and task execution. Taking notes by hand has been shown to better enhance memory retention compared to typing on a computer.

In sum, banning mobile phones in schools can yield positive effects, improve academic performance and narrow the achievement gap between high- and low-achieving students. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that mobile phones and technology can also be valuable educational tools when used appropriately.

The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.



The Conversation
Royalist is The Daily Beasts newsletter for all things royal and Royal Family. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Sunday.

Omid Scobie, the journalist and author whose book Finding Freedom provided sensational insights into the collapse of the relationship between the royals and Harry and Meghan, has published some of the chapter headings his new book, Endgame, due to be published in late November.

Scobie said in June that his book would reveal failures and episodes the Royal family should be ashamed of, and a first glimpse of the chapter titles shows just how explosive this book could be.

Scobie said on Twitter that the book was at the printers and posted a photograph of the first page of the chapter list, showing nine headings. He later said there were 16 chapters in total.

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The book opens with a chapter about the death of Queen Elizabeth, with a chapter entitled The Queen and Her Piper: Elizabeth IIs Final Days.

The second chapter is called, Shaky Ground, the Queen is Dead, the Monarchy Faces Trouble, while the third, titled: Oh God I Hate This, King Charless Premiere, seems likely to focus on Charles uneven first few days as king perhaps including the famous moment he was filmed complaining about a leaking pen.

The following chapter is called, Remembrance of Things Past: The Ongoing Campaign to Make the Royals Great Again, followed by, Baggage: the Lingering Trials of King Charles. Scobie has previously criticised the lack of serious focus on corruption allegations against Charles, including allegations that he received over 3 million euros in cash from a wealthy Qatari donor stuffed into shopping and travel bags. An inquiry into suggestions that a key Charles aide traded cash for honors was terminated without explanation by the police last month.

Scobie, who is known to have excellent contacts within the Sussex organisation, and has previously noted the apparent double royal standards between the treatment of Prince Andrew and that of the Sussexes, has a long chapter on Andrew entitled, The Fall of Prince Andrew; Scandal, Shame and Silencing Jane Doe.

Just been told that #ENDGAME is officially at the printers! A little sneak peek for you all



I also hear Barnes & Noble rewards members get 25% off pre-orders until Sept 8  and premium members get an extra 10% discount on top!



Check it out via @BNBuzz: https://t.co/9HPjohnWyl pic.twitter.com/ah2iew2Ajk  Omid Scobie (@scobie) September 6, 2023

Returning to a theme that has often preoccupied the writer, he then has a chapter called, Race and the Royals: Institutional Bigotry and Denial.

It might be the next two chapters that have some of the really juicy insights with which Scobie has made his name, however, with one entitled, Gloves On: Prince William, Heir To The Throne, while the ninth is titled: Gloves Off: Prince Harry, Man on a Mission.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

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(Bloomberg) -- AMEA Power, a Dubai-based renewable-energy company, plans to build a green hydrogen facility in the Kenyan port of Mombasa in what would be a first for the East African country.

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AMEA, which is participating in a $4.5 billion pledge by the United Arab Emirates to boost renewable energy in Africa, would start with a one-gigawatt electrolyzer at the site, Chairman Hussain Al Nowais said in an interview at the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi on Wednesday.

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Lets start with one gigawatt and see how the world is going before I start committing billions and billions of dollars, he said, adding that green hydrogen is an evolving technology.

Kenya is vying to join the race by African nations to harness renewable energy to power the splitting of water to create so-called green hydrogen, which could ultimately replace natural gas as a fuel. South Africa, Namibia, Mauritania, Morocco and Egypt are pushing forward with hydrogen plans.

The plant in Mombasa would use electricity generated from geothermal plants inland and will be based at the port to ease exports, he said. The family-owned company is also exploring the possibility of setting up a hydrogen plant in Djibouti, which is located close to the key shipping channel, the Suez Canal. That plant could use wind or solar power, Al Nowais said.

AMEA, which has sold about 9% stake in the company to SoftBank Group Corp. for $75 million, agreed to help fund five gigawatts of renewable energy in Africa as part of the UAE pledge. That would involve $1 billion in equity investments, and $4 billion from project finance.

Al Nowais said the company will consider wind, geothermal, solar and battery projects as part of this program. It currently has about three gigawatts of installed capacity and a pipeline of another five gigawatts, he said. That includes plants in west Africa, Egypt and Tunisia.

The company is considering expanding into central Asia, he said.

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Solano county deputies said Wednesday that they and other law enforcement agencies cleared out an illegal homeless encampment last week near Davis.

The Solano County Sheriffs Office said the encampment, near Interstate 80 and Hamel Lane a block south of Davis city limits, was cleared from Aug. 28 through Sept. 1, and 510 cubic yards of garbage was removed. Forty-five 50-gallon bins of human biological contaminants were also collected and disposed of, authorities said.

The camp was determined to be a hazard to public health and a clean-up notice was posted at the location for the safety and well-being of the public, deputies said in a social media post Wednesday.

Deputies said, in a two-year span, the camp has had over a dozen residents, some of whom have worked with Solano County homeless intervention services.

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Three remaining residents vacated the property prior to the cleanup and refused services from Solano County, deputies said.

The Sheriffs Office said it worked with California Highway Patrol, the UC Davis Police Department, Union Pacific railroad officials, Solano County Health and Social Services and Solano County Behavioral Health to assist camp residents, clean and restore the property. The University of California, Davis, sits roughly one mile west of the site.
Wyatt Hanvey, a registered nurse with the Salt Lake County Health Department, gives Lisa Roush a COVID-19 booster shot during a free vaccine clinic at the Sanderson Community Center in Taylorsville on Nov. 9, 2022. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Get ready for a new COVID-19 shot.

The Food and Drug Administration intends to give the go-ahead for the updated vaccine as soon as Friday, NBC News is reporting, citing four unnamed people familiar with the federal agencys plans.

The shots are being reformulated to target a recent version of the virus, XBB.1.5, that was also called Kraken, but are expected to be effective against more currently circulating omicron subvariants.

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That includes the new BA.2.86, dubbed Pirola on social media, as well as EG.5 or Eris, now believed to be responsible for the most U.S. cases, an estimated 21.5% as of last Saturday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The shots are coming as COVID-19 indicators continue to head up across the country and in Utah. Hospitalizations have been rising nationwide since hitting an all-time low in June, with a nearly 16% increase reported for the week ending Aug. 26.

Utahs weekly update Thursday posted more than an 8% increase in the seven-day average of COVID-19 hospitalizations, from just over 39 to more than 42, while the percentage of emergency care visits for the virus jumped almost a third, to just under 2%.

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services website also showed the amount of COVID-19 detected in wastewater, meanwhile, has hit elevated levels at more than 14% of the sewage treatment plants monitored statewide and is increasing at some 17%.

Another Utahn had died from the virus, a Utah County woman between 65 and 84 years old. The states death toll from COVID-19 now stands at 5,416, with more than 1.1 million cases and 43,600 hospitalizations recorded since the start of the pandemic in early 2020.

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The federal governments release of what will be an annual dose of COVID-19 vaccine for most Americans has long been anticipated to arrive later this fall, around the same time many people get their yearly flu shot.

But the CDC is now saying the vaccine could be offered as early as mid-September at doctors offices and pharmacies if it receives federal authorization, an announcement made as part of a recent risk assessment for Pirola.

The CDC also has to sign off on the new vaccine. A vote on the shots is expected Tuesday by the agencys advisory committee on immunization, but the final authorization must come from the CDC director, Dr. Mandy Cohen.

Dr. Tamara Sheffield, medical director of preventive medicine for Intermountain Health, the regions largest health care provider, said it will take some time for Utahns to be able to get the shots.

In terms of its availability, it takes a couple of weeks for systems to be able to actually get it. We dont even have the information on how to program our computers to bill for it yet, Sheffield said. We cant order the vaccine yet.

She predicted that it may take until the end of September or early October for the shots to show up in doctors offices.

Unlike previous COVID-19 shots, the federal government isnt paying for this formulation now that the national pandemic emergency has ended. The cost, likely to be as much as $130, according to NBC News, should be covered by insurance.

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There are already concerns that many people wont bother with the new shots. Only 17% of Americans  and fewer than 16% of Utahns  got last falls bivalent booster dose of vaccine that targeted both the original virus and newer versions.

Low uptake of the latest vaccine, which is monovalent, is what Dr. William Schaffner, a preventative medicine and infections diseases professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, told The Washington Post hes worried about this fall and winter.

I am most concerned that a large proportion of the public will not take advantage of the new monovalent (COVID-19) booster, Schaffner warned in a story posted Thursday. That could lead to a substantial number of preventable hospitalizations and deaths.
(Bloomberg) -- South African Environment Minister Barbara Creecy said she expects the long-delayed implementation plan for an $8.5 billion climate pact with some of the worlds richest nations to be completed by the COP28 summit that starts on Nov. 30.

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The so-called Just Energy Transition Partnership, which aims to help coal-dependent South Africa transition to cleaner energy, has been slowed by infighting, with opposition coming from politicians close to the coal lobby and labor unions concerned about job losses. Coal is currently used to generate more than 80% of the countrys power.

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While initially announced at the COP26 meeting in Glasgow in 2021, most of the funding cant flow until the implementation plan, to be formulated by the government, is complete.

South Africas pact with France, Germany, the UK, US and European Union is the first of its kind. The Netherlands and Denmark are also in talks to join the JETP, Bloomberg has previously reported.

Dan Jorgensen, Denmarks environment minister, confirmed in an interview that his country was engaged in talks but declined to elaborate. Similar plans are now being pursued with Indonesia, Vietnam and Senegal.

We want to conclude issues around the implementation plan ahead of COP28, Creecy said in an interview at the Africa Climate Summit in Kenyas capital Nairobi this week.

The plan has also been delayed by a power supply crisis in South Africa, with the government having made it clear to the foreign partners that energy security is a key priority, according to the minister. While the country will stick to its emission reduction targets, the planned closure of coal-fired generation units will be delayed, including those at the Camden plant that are next in line to be decommissioned, Creecy said.

We are not going to take those units at Camden off production, she said, citing ongoing widespread power cuts, which are being instituted for more than 10 hours a day this week. We cant.

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ASTANA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) advocates the interests of the majority of people around the world and provides support to the least developed and most in need, especially small and medium-sized states, said Vladimir Norov, former secretary general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), on Thursday.

"Despite attempts to discredit and distort the Belt and Road Initiative, the number of countries joining the BRI continues to grow," Norov, also former foreign minister of Uzbekistan, said at a seminar marking the 10th anniversary of the initiative.

"It is important to note that China's cooperation with these countries is carried out voluntarily, and China does not interfere in the internal affairs of partners," Norov added.

The seminar, titled "Global Conference on the Successes and Challenges of the Belt and Road Initiative 10 Years on and the Golden Age of China-Central Asia Engagement," took place at Nazarbayev University in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan's Deputy Minister of Information and Public Development Eldar Tolganbayev said in his speech that it was an honor for Kazakhstan that the BRI was piloted here.

"Ten years on, Kazakhstan and China have achieved great accomplishments in various fields including transportation, trade, and culture with combined efforts from both sides," Tolganbayev said.

More than 200 participants from China and Kazakhstan, including officials, scholars and students of Nazarbayev University, experts, entrepreneurs, and reporters, attended the seminar.

During the event, they exchanged ideas in an open and friendly atmosphere and reviewed the achievements in the past 10 years, expressing full confidence in the prospect of a China-Kazakhstan community with a shared future in the next "golden 30 years."

Central Asia is where the BRI was initiated. In a speech delivered at Nazarbayev University on Sept. 7, 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time proposed building the Silk Road Economic Belt.

Since the launch of the BRI in 2013, 152 countries and 32 international organizations have signed documents under its framework. The BRI has generated nearly a trillion U.S. dollars in investment, created about 420,000 jobs, and helped lift nearly 40 million people out of poverty. 
U.S. News & World Report recently released the newest national rankings of public high schools for 2023-24.

Of the top 100 high schools across the country, only one is in South Carolina: Academic Magnet High School in North Charleston, which is the eighth best in the United States. But several Midlands high schools landed in the states top ten.

Rankings are based on six different indicators of school quality: college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance and graduation rate. The highest ranked schools, U.S. News said, are those whose students demonstrated outstanding outcomes above expectations in math, reading and science state assessments, earned qualifying scores in an array of college-level exams, and graduated in high proportions.

Top high schools in South Carolina

Academic Magnet High School (#8 nationally) Charleston School of the Arts (#142 nationally) Spring Hill High School (#738 nationally) Wando High School (#886 nationally) Mayo High for Math Science and Technology (#1,001 nationally) Palmetto Scholars Academy (#1,117 nationally) Fort Mill High School (#1,147 nationally) Nation Ford High School (#1,201 nationally) Chapin High School (#1,322 nationally) Wade Hampton High School (#1,372 nationally)

Top high schools in Richland County

Dreher High School (#11 statewide, #1,579 nationally) Blythewood High School (#19 statewide, #2,368 nationally) Spring Valley High School (#20 statewide, #2,388 nationally) A.C. Flora High School (#34 statewide, #3,138 nationally) Ridge View High School (#65 statewide, #5,653 nationally)

Top high schools in Lexington County

Spring Hill High School (#3 statewide, #738 nationally) Chapin High School (#9 statewide, #1,322 nationally) Dutch Fork High School (#21 statewide, #2,444 nationally) River Bluff High School (#26 statewide, #2,762 nationally) Lexington High School (#32 statewide, #3,004 nationally)
A NASA probe will start winging its way toward a bizarre metal asteroid less than a month from now, if all goes according to plan.

The agency's Psyche spacecraft is scheduled to lift off atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 5 (though the launch window extends through Oct. 25, with each day offering one opportunity).

Psyche will arrive at its namesake  a 170-mile-wide (280 kilometers) metallic object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter  in the summer of 2029, providing a feast for scientists and lots of eye candy for space fans.

"I am so looking forward to seeing those first images," Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Sciences Division, said during a news conference on Wednesday (Sept. 6). "They are going to be spectacular, when we finally get to see what this metal asteroid looks like up close."

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Next month's launch will be a milestone moment for SpaceX as well: It will mark the first Falcon Heavy liftoff for NASA, as well as the rocket's first interplanetary mission. The Falcon Heavy, which is the second-most powerful rocket currently in operation (after NASA's Space Launch System), has lifted off just seven times to date, most recently on July 28.

Related: NASA's Psyche asteroid probe on track for October launch after 1-year delay

Psyche was supposed to be aloft already. The original plan called for launch in the fall of 2022, but problems with the spacecraft's flight software led to a one-year delay.

Those kinks have all been worked out, say mission team members, who are eager for the upcoming liftoff.

"Its getting increasingly real," Henry Stone, Psyche's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, said in a statement on Wednesday. "We are counting the days. The team is more than ready to send this spacecraft off on its journey, and it's very exciting."

Liftoff will kick off a long cruise phase for Psyche, which will use highly efficient solar electric propulsion to make its way to the asteroid belt. A "gravity assist" flyby of Mars in May 2026 will boost Psyche's velocity, helping it reach its target space rock in late July 2029.

The probe will then study the asteroid up close for 26 months, circling lower and lower until it orbits a mere 40 miles (64 kilometers) above Psyche's surface. Scientists don't know what that surface looks like  they've never gotten a good look at Psyche or any other metal asteroid  but they have some intriguing ideas.

"One possibility is that the metal surface of Psyche is covered by tiny, spiky, cup-shaped micrometeorite impacts into metal, and little tiny grains of metal that flew off of them when they happened," the mission's principal investigator, Lindy Elkins-Tanton of Arizona State University, said during Wednesday's press conference.

"We expect part of the surface to be metal and part of it not to be metal," she added. "What's the non-metal part? Rock? Sulfur? We don't really know. I would say that the only thing we're pretty darn confident of is that there's metal there, and the metal is going to be similar to metal meteorites."

Related: Meteorites and volcanoes may have helped jump-start life on Earth

NASAs Psyche spacecraft is shown in a clean room on June 26 at the Astrotech Space Operations facility near the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

And Psyche has a lot of metal  so much, in fact, that it would be worth about $10 quintillion here on Earth, Elkins-Tanton calculated a few years ago. But that figure is not to be taken seriously, she stressed on Wednesday.

"We have zero technology as a species to bring Psyche back to Earth. And if we did, it would likely be a catastrophic mistake," Elkins-Tanton said.

"Let's say we were able to actually bring Psyche back. Then it would flood the metals market, and it would literally be worth nothing," she added. "So, calculating the value of it is a fun intellectual exercise with no truth to it. We are not going there to mine an asteroid."

Rather, the $1.2 billion Psyche mission will take the asteroid's measure for science's sake. It will study the space rock using three dedicated instruments  a gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, a multispectral imager and a magnetometer. The spacecraft will also use its onboard radio telecommunications system to conduct "gravity science," learning more about Psyche's internal structure and composition.

Such work will reveal a great deal about the asteroid, which scientists think may be the exposed core of a protoplanet  the raw materials from which rocky planets such as Earth and Mars are made.

"The first mission to explore an asteroid with a surface that contains substantial amounts of metal rather than rock or ice, Psyche seeks to better understand iron cores, an unexplored building block of planet formation," NASA officials wrote in a mission description.

"The mission will be the first to directly examine the interior of a previously layered planetary body, which they expect will shed additional light on how Earth and other rocky planets formed," they added.

RELATED STORIES:

 NASA's Psyche asteroid probe on track for October launch after 1-year delay

 Problems with NASA asteroid mission Psyche delay Venus probe's launch to 2031

 Why NASA is sending a spacecraft to the metal asteroid Psyche

The 6,056-pound (2,747 kilograms) Psyche probe also carries a ride-along NASA technology demonstration called DSOC (short for "Deep Space Optical Communications").

DSOC will use a laser system to send and receive data during the mission's long cruise phase out to the asteroid belt. To date, such high-capacity optical communications systems have been used on spacecraft only as far away as the moon. DSOC aims to extend that reach much farther, into very deep space.

"We're very excited about launch and looking forward to the important lessons learned, which will in the future enable human missions to Mars and the use of very high-resolution instruments," Abi Biswas, project technologist for DSOC at JPL, said during Wednesday's press conference.
SpaceX attempted the first orbital test flight of Starship on 20 April, 2023, from the firms Starbase facility in Texas (SpaceX)

SpaceX will not be cleared to launch its 400-foot-tall (121 metre) Starship rocket until a mishap investigation is completed, regulators have said.

A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned of a launch delay for the biggest rocket ever built, just hours after SpaceX boss Elon Musk said the craft was ready to launch on Wednesday.

SpaceX made its first and only attempt at an orbital Starship launch in April, with the rocket exploding over the Gulf of Mexico just three minutes into the 90 minute flight.

The crewless rocket broke up into pieces over an empty stretch of water, however the debris blast created by Starships huge engines at its launchpad drew heavy scrutiny from regulators.

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Concrete dust drifted more than 10 kilometres from the launch site, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, while concrete chunks and metal shards were discovered within a 700-acre zone surrounding the pad.

SpaceX claimed the mission was a success, as Starship and its Super Heavy booster were able to lift off on its maiden test flight, however the FAA launched an investigation soon afterwards.

Following Mr Musks latest comments that the latest version of the rocket is ready to launch pending regulatory approval, the FAA warned SpaceX that it would need to wait for the investigation to conclude.

The SpaceX Starship mishap investigation remains open, the FAA said in a statement.

The FAA will not authorise another Starship launch until SpaceX implements the corrective actions identified during the mishap investigation and demonstrates compliance with all the regulatory requirements of the licence modification process.

SpaceX has made numerous alterations and improvements to Starship and its launch pad, including remedial measures aimed at preventing launch debris and a new method for separating the upper stage from its booster rocket.

Nasa has already awarded SpaceX a multi-billion dollar contract to develop Starship for its Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the surface of the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

Mr Musk also plans to use the rockets for more ambitious longer term goals, including establishing a permanent human colony on Mars before 2050.

As the most powerful launch system ever developed, Starship will be able to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights, SpaceX notes on its website.

Starship will also help enable transport of many satellites, large space telescopes, and significant amounts of cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.
The company behind the One Chip Challenge is removing its extremely spicy products from store shelves following a teenagers death.

The Paqui One Chip Challenge is intended for adults only, with clear and prominent labeling highlighting the chip is not for children, Paqui wrote in a statement.

We have seen an increase in teens and other individuals not heeding these warnings, they added. As a result, while the product continues to adhere to food safety standards, out of an abundance of caution, we are actively working with our retailers to remove the product from shelves.

Paqui issued the statement days after Harris Wolobah, 14, died shortly after attempting the challenge at his high school in Worcester, Mass.

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Wolobah ate one of the chips at school and was taken to the nurses office. He was sent home from there, but fainted at his house and was rushed to a local hospital. Wolobahs cause of death has not yet been determined, but his family suspected the chip was to blame.

The One Chip Challenge began in 2016, as Paqui marketed their products as being infused with the spiciest pepper in the world, the Carolina Reaper. Unlike most snacks, Paqui chips are sold in one-chip packs.

Wolobah was the first person to die hours after eating the chip, but he was not the first to experience serious medical issues. Three kids at a California high school were hospitalized in January 2022 after trying the challenge.
Billy James Sweeten Jr., 48, was arraigned Wednesday on two first-degree arson charges related to a four-alarm fire that significantly damaged St. Joseph Catholic Church.

Sweeten Jr. refused to participate in the arraignment process during two previous court days. He was scheduled to appear before a judge first on Friday, then on Tuesday. He was ordered to be held without bail for the arson charges at the Marion County Jail on Friday.

On Tuesday, Judge Matthew Tracey said Sweeten Jr. "has again refused to engage in arraignment for day two." He referred to Sweeten's absence as a "voluntary decision" on Sweeten Jr.'s part and said Wednesday would be the final day for Sweeten Jr.'s arraignment.

The judge warned that if Sweeten Jr. again refused to voluntarily participate Wednesday, he would order his extraction. An extraction order was filed shortly after 11 a.m. Wednesday ordering the Marion County sheriff to extract Sweeten Jr. from his jail cell at the Marion County Jail and take him to the Marion County Court Annex courtroom using force if necessary.

Billy James Sweeten Jr., second from left, walks away after his arraignment Wednesday for arson charges related to a fire that damaged Salem's oldest Catholic church. He is being held without bail. Sweeten Jr. refused to attend two prior scheduled arraignments and during Wednesday's hearing tried to remain out of sight.

Sweeten Jr. appeared before the court Wednesday afternoon after a brief delay. He wore a green safety smock and hid entirely from view during proceedings.

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His court-appointed lawyer, Martin Habekost, requested Sweeten Jr.'s release, which Tracey overruled. Sweeten Jr. will remain in jail until his next court date, scheduled for Sept. 12.

Court records reveal Sweeten Jr. has been arrested 138 times and convicted over 40 times previously. He is now accused of intentionally starting the fire at 721 Chemeketa St. NE. On the morning of the fire, there was a warrant out for his arrest after he failed to appear in court for unrelated charges.

Emergency responders worked from 2:30 a.m. until 5 a.m. to put out the blaze, which officials said appeared to have started in a dumpster before spreading to the church roof.

Salem Fire responds to a structure fire at St. Joseph Catholic Church on Aug. 31 in Salem.

St. Joseph is Salem's oldest Catholic parish, established in the 1800s. The current version of its church was built in 1953.

While the inside of the church remains closed, Mass has been held in the parking lot since the day of the fire. The church has also established a Restoration & Fire Relief fund for the fresco dedicated in 2017 that was damaged in the fire and structural damage.

Fr. Jeff Meeuwsen, the church pastor, spoke briefly at the end of the arraignment hearing. Meeuwsen said the community remains "very upset" by the extensive destruction of property.

"We're very grateful no one was hurt and I would hope Mr. Sweeney would be in a place where he can not hurt himself, others or destroy property in the future," Meeuwsen said. "We're praying for him."

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: St. Joseph church arson suspect Billy Sweeten Jr. arraigned
Personal medical debt has reached startling heights  and state lawmakers are taking notice.

In the absence of federal consensus and in anticipation of congressional inaction, state legislators have enacted a variety of consumer protections to mitigate or forestall medical debt. Several more bills are being debated in the coming weeks, expected to be signed later this year and taken up when sessions reconvene in 2024.

The actions  in more than a dozen states  represent a determined, if patchwork, effort to help the roughly 100 million Americans who deal with medical debt, late notices, threatening voicemails and credit score declines. And the bills underscore the difficulty state lawmakers have helping their distressed constituents contend with the ever-increasing costs of health care.

You cant put a price on the anxiety people are facing when they get these bills, said North Carolina state Treasurer Dale Folwell, a Republican, who is pushing legislation that would cap interest on medical debt collections, prohibit collectors from foreclosing on property or garnishing wages and regulate how medical debt is shared with consumer reporting agencies. That bill passed unanimously in the state Senate and is stalled in the House as lawmakers work on a budget.

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Oregon this year passed a law limiting the interest that can be charged on medical debt and requires non-profit hospitals to screen patients with bills of $500 for financial assistance eligibility.

Illinois enacted legislation that requires hospitals screen patients for financial assistance and take other cost-reducing measures before sending a bill to collection.

Colorado, in June, became the first state to enact a law prohibiting consumer reporting agencies from including medical debt in credit reports. The law also requires debt collectors to notify people that medical debt will not be included in their credit report.

New York lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a similar bill this spring.



Theres a lot happening in states and its been slowly building, said Eva Marie Stahl, vice president of public policy at RIP Medical Debt, a nonprofit that purchases peoples medical debt so they dont have to pay it. Its relatable. Its something everyone has experienced or has a loved one who has experienced it.

Total medical debt in the United States is impossible to quantify because it hits people in incalculable ways. There was $88 billion in medical debt on consumer credit scores, according to a 2022 report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the most recent available nationwide data.

Since the reports release, credit agencies have voluntarily removed debts of less than $500, debts less than a year old or those that have been marked paid, which means that figure is likely substantially lower today. But just because medical debit is not on a credit report doesnt mean the debt disappeared. That money is still owed and patients may still be sued or pursued by debt collectors.

Credit scores were never an effective measurement because they represent only part of the story. Medical debt exists on credit cards and in payment plans to hospitals. People borrow from friends and family. They take out a second mortgage or an unsecured personal loan.

Total medical debt in the U.S. may be as high as $195 billion, according to KFF, a health policy research organization. Black and Hispanic people as well as young adults are most likely to have medical debt as are people in states that have not expanded Medicaid.

Even as the uninsured rate has declined to historic lows, medical debt has become more ubiquitous. Its a consequence of rising out-of-pocket costs  the average family deductible is now almost $4,000, according to KFF, up from $2,500 a decade ago  and the ballooning costs of health care. Medical debt can pile up because of a dental emergency or certain fertility treatments, which often arent covered by insurance.

The vast majority of medical debt is owed to hospitals whose medical services tend to be more expensive, according to a recent report from the Urban Institute. More than two-thirds of people in debt to hospitals owed more than $1,000 and one-quarter owed at least $5,000. Roughly two-thirds of those who owed money to non-hospital providers owed less than $1,000 and just 6 percent owed more than $5,000.

Hospitals, by law, must treat anyone who walks into the emergency room regardless of ability to pay and they write off billions in uncompensated care every year. Hospitals are also contending with the rising costs of new technology, medical supplies, lab services and increasing labor costs.

The American Hospital Association points to the prevalence of high-deductible plans, inadequate health insurance offerings and the uninsured rate as key drivers of medical debt.



While every hospital has a financial assistance policy to help those most in need, they can only help so much and so many, the trade group said recently. No matter how generous, hospital financial assistance will never be a substitute for a health insurance plan that covers preventive and necessary care at an affordable price on the front and back end of coverage.

But insurance isnt always the only culprit. Medical debt is a growing problem for seniors on Medicare. A May report from CFPB found that between 2019 and 2020 medical debt among seniors increased 20 percent to $53.8 billion. Having Medicaid alongside Medicare wasnt much of a help even though seniors on the insurance program for people with low incomes should have little or no out-of-pocket costs, the report found.

Medical debt, kind of like student loan debt, is all encompassing and affects so many people that its a mainstream issue that can no longer be ignored by legislators, said Berneta Haynes, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center. More and more state legislators are recognizing that  whether you are insured or not, you will likely at some point be dealing with medical debt.

Pennsylvania State Rep. Arvind Venkat, a Democrat and emergency physician, sponsored legislation that would authorize state funds to be used to purchase and forgive medical debt. Pennsylvanians would be eligible if their household income is less than four times the poverty level or if their medical debt equals more than 5 percent of their income.

I get emails and phone calls from all across the state, people who are not my constituents who say this is an important issue, Venkat said. No one thinks medical debt is a good idea. Its a glitch in the system and its a worsening problem.

Venkat was moved to introduce the bill, which passed the House with bipartisan support and is part of ongoing budget negotiations in the state Senate, because one of his patients died from breast cancer that she did not immediately treat because she feared the expense. Thats a too-common occurrence, he said.

I am a physician. My wife is a physician. We are obviously affluent, but I guarantee if something catastrophic were to happen to us, our insurance would only go so far, he said.

Venkats legislation is modeled on what several municipal governments have already done: use federal cash to purchase and forgive medical debt. During the past two years, places including Cook County, Ill., Toledo, Ohio, New Orleans, and Pittsburgh, the North Hills suburbs of which Venkat represents, spent more than $16 million in American Rescue Plan Act money to wipe out roughly $1.5 billion in medical debt.

New Jerseys fiscal 2024 budget set aside $10 million in ARPA funds toward eliminating medical debt. Connecticuts recently signed biennial budget directs $6.5 million to purchase medical debt.

Venkats bill also includes a provision that requires hospitals to let patients know about their charity-care program, make it easier for patients to apply for financial assistance and prohibits them from being charged until their application has been processed.



Its similar to a section in Minnesotas most recent state budget, which requires hospitals to see whether patients are eligible for charity care and to post notices about its availability.

Among the reasons for the flurry of action is a wave of media reports and constituent complaints about hospitals suing patients, putting liens on their homes, garnishing their wages or staking claim on their tax refunds.

Folwell, the North Carolina treasurer who is also running for governor in 2024, released a report in August that showed between 2017 and 2022, hospitals in the state filed nearly 6,000 lawsuits against 7,517 patients and won a total of $57.3 million in judgments. The average judgment was $16,623, with almost one in four judgments worth more than $20,000.

Nonprofit hospitals, which are exempt from most taxes in exchange for providing free or discounted care to those in need, were behind 90 percent of those lawsuits, according to the report, which was released jointly with Duke University School of Law.

We are dealing with hospital CEOs who give the middle finger  to the IRS rules that say they are supposed to provide charity care equal to the tax benefit they receive, Folwell said.

The majority of lawsuits in North Carolina  as well as in other states, according to various studies  result in default judgments, usually meaning the patient did not respond to a summons or appear in court. While the hospitals employ law firms that specialize in debt collection, most patients dont have the money for an attorney to defend against a bill they cannot afford.

Folwell likened the system to a cartel. They control the supply of health through the certificate of need process, he said. They control the access, they control the price and if you dont pay your bills, they will break your kneecaps.
South Carolina authorities are officially looking into allegations of jury tampering in Alex Murdaughs murder trialdays after his defense team accused a court clerk of influencing the panel toward a conviction.

State Attorney General Alan Wilson said he asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to investigate the bombshell claims from Murdaughs lawyers that Colleton County clerk of court Rebecca Hill tampered with the 12-person jury during the February trial.

In a 65-page motion for a new trial filed on Tuesday, defense attorneys accuse Hill of advising jurors not to believe Murdaughs testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense.

After a six-week trial, jurors took only three hours to find Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife, Maggie, and his son, Paul, at their hunting estate in July 2021. He was handed two life sentences and faces over 100 separate pending charges for a slew of other crimes.

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The States only vested interest is seeking the truth, Wilson said in a statement. As with all investigations, SLED and the South Carolina Attorney General's Office are committed to a fair and impartial investigation and will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead.

Hill and her lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Tuesday, Hill denied any wrongdoing to The Daily Beast, calling the allegations totally not true. Murdaughs legal team also did not respond.

Alex Murdaugh Lawyers Claim Fame-Hungry Clerk Rebecca Hill Tainted Jury

The news of another SLED investigation connected to Murdaugh comes just days after his defense team sent a letter to U.S. Attorney Adair Boroughs to request a federal investigation into whether their clients civil rights were violated during the trial by potential witness tampering. Defense attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin asked at that time that SLED stand down on initiating any investigation of these allegations since they are heavily invested in maintaining Alexs conviction.

Mr. Murdaugh may be the most unpopular man in South Carolina right now, the two lawyers said in the letter to Boroughs. He has become the symbol of the Lowcountry judicial corruption. Disgust at his frauds unfortunately has created in some minds a but not Alex Murdaugh exception to the due process rights enjoyed by all Americans, regardless [of] guilt or innocence. Those minds may delight in the irony that he may very well be a victim of the corruption he symbolizes.

The motion details several instances of what the defense described as jury tampering during the second half of Murdaughs trial. They said several jurors provided them with details of conversations with Hill inside the jury room and alleged that Hill had private chats with the jury foreperson.

Hill also allegedly encouraged the others not to be fooled by Murdaugh before he testified in his own defense during the trial, the motion states.

Yall are going to hear things that will throw you all off. Dont let this distract you or mislead you, Hill allegedly told jurors.

The motion also accuses Hill of inventing a Facebook post from the ex-husband of a juror who claimed the juror believed Murdaugh was innocent. Hill allegedly told Judge Clifton Newman about the post, which resulted in the juror being removed from the trial just before deliberations.

After the trial, Hill wrote a book about her experience as an elected state official involved in the trial and even allegedly helped jurors get on television to talk about their own experiences.

Ms. Hill told jurors that after the trial they would be famous and predicted that the media would request interviews with them. Ms. Hill even handed out reporters business cards to jurors during the trial, the motion states, adding that Hill went with several jurors to New York for their Today show appearance.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Stephen Fry shared his impressions of the first day in Kyiv

Renowned British actor, humorist, and writer Stephen Fry is in Kyiv to host the third First Ladies and Gentlemen Summit on mental health, and he posted his impressions of Ukraines capital on his Instagram page on Sep. 7.

Read also: Stephen Fry forced to hotel bomb shelter in Russian missile attack, forgets laptop

"What a day. I can't believe I only arrived here in Kyiv 12 hours ago. Since then, Ive watched a surgical operation on a wounded soldier (the air raid siren sounded in the theater, but no one paid attention; there was a patient to be cared for). Next, I met two young men who laughed as they teased each other about the differences between their new prosthetic legs. Then I talked to a young woman who lost her husband at the front only two weeks ago," he said.

"They all had in common extraordinary humor as well as a profound, unshakeable determination to see off the barbarians at the gate and keep their independence and sovereignty. War can bring out the worst in people, but sometimes the very best."

Fry added that he was impressed with Kyivs cuisine, particularly its signature dish, the Chicken Kyiv.

Read also: 20 celebs who came to Ukraine in past year

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The same day, famous Ukrainian artist Nikita Titov shared a photo showing Fry, himself, and his friend Oleksandra Loboda on the streets of Kyiv.

Ukraine currently has the highest concentration of wonderful people you can meet at every turn. We met Stephen Fry and are off to meet others," Titov said.

Nikita Titov and Oleksandra Loboda with Stephen Fry @ /Facebook

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
Stephen Fry at the First Ladies and Gentlemen Summit

The third First Ladies and Gentlemen Summit convened in Kyiv on Sept. 6, hosted by the renowned British actor, writer, and activist Stephen Fry .

After the event took place, Fry posted a picture on social media of himself with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, one of the events keynote speakers.

Read also: Stephen Fry notes extraordinary humor and determination of Ukrainians while on visit to Kyiv

Fry commended Zelenskyy for his active involvement in the summit and his commitment to addressing mental health challenges arising from war.

"The man [Zelenskyy] himself spoke at the mental health summit in Kyiv today. An incredibly fruitful and inspiring event. Great credit goes to Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine, for devising and creating this. Huge credit goes to Ukraine itself for understanding that there is strength, not weakness, in acknowledging and addressing the mental health challenges that war brings. Imagine their enemy having such openness and care for their people," Fry said.

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Read also: Stephen Fry forced to hotel bomb shelter in Russian missile attack, forgets laptop

The summit attracted 26 first ladies and gentlemen from diverse countries and boasted the support of global celebrities, including Sean Penn, who visited Kyiv, and Richard Gere, who participated remotely.

The event also featured U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a two-day visit to Ukraine.

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
MONSEY  With school starting Thursday, the finishing touches were being made this week on buildings throughout the East Ramapo school district. At Grandview, a K-3 elementary school, the smell of fresh paint lingered Tuesday as walls were spiffed up to match new floors throughout classrooms, halls and the cafeteria. A newly replaced gym floor remained off limits for the week as it set.

The work was part of a massive project at all schools, funded by $90 million the district set aside for repairs from its pot of federal American Rescue Plan Act funding doled out during the pandemic.

But that record amount of federal investment won't be near enough to get the district's schools in shape. A recent state-mandated Building Conditions Survey failed every school in the district, finding many areas "unsatisfactory."

While some of the problems outlined in the building survey are being addressed during the $90 million ARPA overhaul, many aren't even touched by the project.

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East Ramapo: All schools fail state-mandated building survey; fixes could cost $500M

After the building condition survey drew statewide attention to the district's ongoing infrastructure failings, district leaders announced they would hammer out a bond proposal to cover the work not touched by the ongoing ARPA project.

The estimated bond price tag? "In the $200 million range," Superintendent Clarence Ellis said during a recent interview.

The challenge: low bond rating, reticent voters

Ellis said a task force of community members will be developed to plan and push for the bond's passage. He also said district officials will meet in the next weeks with financiers to figure out how a bond would be structured.

"We will continue being transparent," Ellis said. "It will take a constellation of efforts to get this done."

Many factors will make such a big ask challenging. Not the least of which is Moodys Investors Service' decision last month to change East Ramapo's outlook on certain borrowing to negative. The bond rating remained the same, at Baa3, one step above junk status. Ellis called that news "problematic."

East Ramapo Schools Superintendent Clarence Ellis at Grandview Elementary in Monsey Sept. 5, 2023.

But the clearest challenge: Getting voters to support a bond that property owners have to pay back.

After all, the district couldn't pass a 2023-2024 budget plan with a 1.99% property tax levy increase. Voters approved a second budget in June only after the plan erased any tax levy increase.

That was accomplished by cutting out $3 million worth of Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant playground repairs, another example of pushing off repairs to save immediate costs.

A budget rejection at the polls is hardly an anomaly in East Ramapo: The district has operated under contingency budgets because of failed budget plans more than any other in the state during the tax-cap era.

Who will support bond?

The hallmark of East Ramapo for more than a decade has been its divisions.

Some 10,500 students attend the public schools, mostly children of color, many of them poor. The public schools are gaining new students, especially immigrant students. Last year, the district launched a Newcomers Academy, which offers supports for children who have undergone often harrowing journeys here, may have inconsistent past education and have limited English.

Another 35,000 kids who live within the district go to private schools, mostly yeshivas that serve the Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish community. This population, too, is growing.

Most children who reside in the district, whether enrolled in public or private schools, are considered economically disadvantaged, according to federal and state guidelines.

A recently refurbished classroom at Grandview Elementary School in Monsey Sept. 5, 2023.

The majority of school board members have long represented constituencies primarily from the private-school community. Those wards often vote down budget plans. Meanwhile, wards with public-school populations often have low voter turnout. Public-school advocates point out that a growing number of parents who send their kids to East Ramapo schools cannot vote in school elections because they don't have U.S. citizenship.

Newcomers Academy: East Ramapo launches program at special campus as influx of English learners squeezes schools

So the big question: How do district leaders expect to win public support for a $200 million bond when it can't win community backing for $3 million in a budget to make repairs?

"We need greater support from the community," Ellis said, including from "influential community members."

The school board makes the final decision about the amount of any bond or other proposal that would go before voters.

What remains to be done, what's accomplished

So far, $53.9 million of the $90 million set aside for building repairs has been spent or committed, Ellis said.

That leaves $23.1 million to be spent by the Sept. 30, 2024 deadline. Any ARPA money not spent is lost. (The total spent on repairs doesn't add up to $90 million because of financing and other costs.)

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Ellis said projects are on track and he believes East Ramapo will be able to use all the funding.

The $90 million has covered crisis projects, including mold and asbestos abatement at Spring Valley High that closed the school building for months in the 2021-2022 school year and put students back in remote learning.

Principal Patricia Smith shows new kitchen equipment in the cafeteria at Grandview Elementary School in Monsey Sept. 5, 2023.

The ARPA funding also paid for kitchen renovations, including a state-mandated replacement of kitchen exhaust hoods that weren't providing adequate ventilation. While the kitchens were banned from making hot food, parents and students complained about the quality of food brought in for kids. As of Thursday's school opening, all kitchens were expected to be up and running.

Food quality decried: East Ramapo trustee gets order of protection against activist after meeting confrontation

It's also covering long-delayed projects, like the upcoming replacement of lead-laden water fixtures that were turned off for the past seven years. In 2016, water sources in school districts statewide underwent lead testing in the wake of Flint, Michigan's water scandal. Many districts found problematic fixtures, which were often replaced within weeks. East Ramapo blocked off fountains and provided bottled water since its fall 2016 testing.

Ellis said the estimated $200 million bond would help with "what's left." That includes window and door replacement; some remaining roofing replacement needs; and mechanical, heating and air systems and boilers.

"It's a lot of wear and tear over the years," said Ellis, who joined the district in July 2021. Most buildings are from the same era, the 1970s, when East Ramapo was a top academic district in the county and growing. Maintenance could not be kept up in the last couple decades of tight budgets.

Ellis likened the costly repairs to what happens when a homeowner doesn't maintain the house: "Pay now or pay later."

Nancy Cutler covers People & Policy for lohud.com and the USA Today Network New York. Reach her at ncutler@lohud.com; follow her on X (Twitter), Instagram and Threads at @nancyrockland.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: East Ramapo schools seek repairs bond after failed survey, budget cuts
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with an Australian delegation to the seventh session of the China-Australia High-Level Dialogue in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jie)

BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with an Australian delegation to the seventh session of the China-Australia High-Level Dialogue on Thursday in Beijing, calling for enhanced cooperation to promote the steady and long-term development of China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership.

Noting that China-Australia relations have long been at the forefront of China's relations with Western countries, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the economies of the two countries are highly complementary, the people of the two countries are friendly to each other, and there are no disputes left over from history or major conflicts of interests between the two countries.

"China will work with Australia to promote the sound, steady and sustainable development of China-Australia relations, bring more benefits to the two peoples and contribute to regional peace, stability and development," said Wang.

He spoke highly of the China-Australia High-Level Dialogue, saying that it has played a due role in deepening mutual trust, expanding cooperation and enhancing friendship between the two sides.

Wang called on the two sides to continuously make good use of this platform to enhance mutual understanding and friendly feelings between the two peoples, and make new contributions and add positive energy to the improvement and development of China-Australia relations.

Noting that the year 2022 marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Australia, Wang said that this year the two sides stand at a new starting point of another 50 years.

"Looking back at the past and looking forward to the future, if we look at bilateral relations with a 100-year horizon, the twists and turns in the past few years cannot define the nature of our bilateral relations, still less can they stop the pace of China-Australia cooperation," he said.

Wang underlined that it is necessary for the two sides to draw useful experience and lessons from the setbacks in the bilateral relations.

He urged the two sides to look at each other objectively, calmly and kindly, not interfere in each other's internal affairs, enhance mutual understanding through communication, and properly handle differences between each other.

China and Australia should remain partners rather than rivals, Wang said, calling on Australia to recognize China's development as an opportunity rather than a threat.

"We need to advance China-Australia relations independently and without any influence or interference from any third party," he said.

Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of the two countries, the two sides should make a fresh start again, comprehensively review cooperation in various fields, and promote the steady and long-term development of China-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership, Wang added.

Craig Emerson, head of the Australian delegation and former Australian Trade Minister, said that Australia is glad to see that bilateral relations are maturing after twists and turns.

"Australia always regards China as an important cooperative partner and is willing to conduct constructive and candid dialogue with China to understand each other, manage differences and develop long-term and stable Australia-China relations," Emerson said.

The two sides should also revitalize cooperation in multilateral institutions, jointly promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and work together for the well-being of the two countries and the world, Emerson added.

Wang said that both China and Australia are supporters and promoters of the multilateral trading system, and China is willing to work with all parties, including Australia, to build an Asia-Pacific community and promote globalization toward inclusive, open and win-win development. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Craig Emerson, head of an Australian delegation to the seventh session of the China-Australia High-Level Dialogue and former Australian Trade Minister, in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jie)
Rumors that a Stockton Unified student was kidnapped during school hours turned out to be unfounded.

An 18-year-old female student was reported missing near Jane Frederick Continuation High School around 1 p.m. Wednesday. However, after an investigation, authorities found the student in Stockton and she "advised nothing of criminal nature" had occurred, according to police spokesman David Scott.

Before the student was found and determined to be safe, the Stockton Unified School District sent a letter to parents to inform them that police were working to gather more information about the incident.

"We wanted to make you aware that Stockton Police is investigating an isolated incident involving an 18-year-old student. Officers are investigating a possible attempted kidnapping of a student at release from a known individual," officials said in the letter. "We were informed at 3:30 p.m. after school was released by Stockton PD."

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It is a district policy to notify parents when there is police or fire activity in the vicinity of a school.

Record reporter Hannah Workman covers news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at hworkman@recordnet.com or on Twitter @byhannahworkman. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.

This article originally appeared on The Record: Rumors that a Stockton Unified student was kidnapped are false
NATO sees no indication that the drone fragments found on Romanian soil were a result of a deliberate Russian attack against the Alliance member Romania, Reuters reported on Sept. 7, citing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg .

"We don't have any information indicating an intentional attack by Russia, and we are awaiting the outcome of the ongoing investigation," the NATO chief told EU lawmakers.

Stoltenberg did stress that Russian strikes against Ukraine in close vicinity to the allies' borders pose risks to NATO.

"It demonstrates the risks of incidents and accidents... Regardless of that outcome (of the investigation), what we have seen of course is a lot of fighting and also air attacks close to NATO borders," Stoltenberg said.

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Russian forces have repeatedly targeted Ukrainian ports on the Danube River, lying not far from the Romanian border, after Moscow's unilateral termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Following a drone attack overnight on Sept. 4, Ukraine said that some of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) had fallen and detonated on Romanian soil.

Bucharest initially denied the report, only to change their statement on Sept. 6 when Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar confirmed that what appears to be drone fragments had been found on Romania's side of the Danube River.

The Romanian government briefed its NATO allies on the incident on Sept. 6 during a meeting of the Alliance's envoys in Brussels.

"The Romanian authorities have confirmed that debris, possibly from a drone, has been found on Romanian soil, close to the border with Ukraine," NATO spokesperson Dylan White commented.

"Allies expressed strong solidarity with Romania," White said. "We continue to monitor the situation closely, and we remain in close contact with our ally Romania."

This is not the first incident of a Russian projectile crashing on NATO soil. In May, Polish authorities uncovered remnants of what was likely a Russian Kh-55 missile near the Polish town of Bydgoszcz.

Warsaw commented on the incident that the projectile was not aimed at Poland and likely ended up on Polish territory due to malfunction.

Read also: Romania plans to double transit capacity of Ukrainian grain

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Law enforcement personnel stand at the site of Atlanta's proposed public safety training center, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in DeKalb County, Ga., after several protesters chained themselves to construction equipment in an effort to halt work. (John Spink/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

ATLANTA (AP)  Authorities arrested five activists, including two wearing clerical attire, who chained themselves to a bulldozer Thursday to halt construction of an Atlanta-area police and firefighter training center that opponents call Cop City.

The protest occurred as a larger group gathered behind a chain-link fence to deliver a mock stop work order against the project, saying it has destroyed a forest, polluted a nearby creek and violated the will of the people.

In a statement, Atlanta police accused the five activists of trespassing and said the department is working with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to determine charges. Authorities did not release their names.

The demonstration at the DeKalb County site, where construction has been happening off and on for months, occurred two days after Georgia officials announced that 61 people were recently indicted on racketeering charges in connection with the Stop Cop City movement.

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Opponents fear the 85-acre (34-hectare) training center will lead to greater militarization of the police and that its construction will exacerbate environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area.

Supporters, including Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, counter that the facility would replace inadequate training facilities and help address difficulties in hiring and retaining police officers.

In the indictment, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said the movement is spearheaded by militant anarchists who have committed multiple acts of violence and vandalism, including setting a police car aflame during a downtown Atlanta protest in January and torching construction equipment in March.

In a news conference Tuesday, Carr said: The individuals who have been charged are charged with violent acts. But some have not been accused of taking part in any violence, including three leaders of a bail fund who face money laundering charges in connection with food reimbursements, as well as three others who have been accused of distributing anti-police flyers near a state trooper's home.

The indictment has alarmed civil rights groups, including the ACLU, which has accused Georgia officials of "disproportionately wielding ... overbroad laws to stigmatize and target those who disagree with the government.

Activists say they have gathered more than 100,000 signatures for a referendum on the project's future. If the signatures are deemed valid, they hope to get a judge to halt construction until the issue can be decided at the ballot box.

During Thursday's demonstration, activists outside the site adapted the lyrics of a civil rights era anthem, singing, Ain't going to let Cop City turn me around / I'm going to keep on walking, keep on talking / marching up to freedom's land.
A group of suspected straw purchasers in Dallas-Fort Worth is accused of buying more than 100 guns that later were trafficked to Mexico are facing federal charges.

Seven people were charged in a criminal complaint with conspiracy to make false statements to licensed firearm dealers in order to acquire the guns, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Texas.

Four defendants  Mario Lara, 28, Oralia Carrizales, 41, Geovanny Garcia, 31, and Darryl Fox, 29  were arrested last week, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a news release. Gavino Trujillo, 28, and Guadalupe Corona, 29, were arrested Tuesday. Authorities are still looking for the last defendant, whose name was not released.

The investigation was conducted by the ATFs Dallas Field Division, Homeland Security Investigations Dallas Field Office and the Arlington Police Department.

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In June, I met with Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and five border state U.S. Attorneys to discuss Operation Southbound, the Justice Departments signature initiative to disrupt the flow of guns across the U.S. / Mexico border. This case represents our districts commitment to hold accountable anyone involved in smuggling guns into Mexico, North Texas U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton said in the release. All too often, guns trafficked across our southern border fall into the hands of cartel bosses and other bad actors who threaten law enforcement and the people they serve.

If convicted, the seven defendants face up to 10 years in federal prison.

According to court documents, they are accused of buying guns from federally licensed firearms dealers for Jose Carlos Rivas-Chiarez, who took the guns apart, concealed them in plastic and towels, and smuggled them to Mexico, either concealed inside tires or through the mail.

Rivas and his girlfriend were sentenced to a combined 32 years in prison after they pleaded guilty in October to making false statements during the purchase of a firearm, the release says. Rivas also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Court documents state that a search of Rivas home turned up more than 150 empty firearm boxes. Records showed that many of the missing guns  including FN SCAR rifles, AR-15 style rifles, Glock pistols and a stolen silencer  had been purchased by the defendants, authorities said.

After law enforcement officers searched his home, Rivas told investigators that, as a Mexican citizen who was in the U.S. unlawfully, Im not legal, to be honest, to be buying a gun. He admitted that he directed multiple people to buy firearms on his behalf, investigators said.

Confronted with text messages in which he discussed prices and delivery of toys with at least one of the defendants, Rivas told investigators that toys was a code word for guns.

There is no doubt that the arrest of these seven individuals will lead to a safer Mexico, ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Boshek II said in the release. Their behavior was adding to the bloodshed and carnage that have plagued our neighbors for so long.
Universal Music has struck a new deal with streaming service Deezer aiming to give fairer royalty payments to artists.

Under the new deal, the labels acts will be paid more by fans who actively seek out the artists music on Deezer, as opposed to hearing it automatically on a playlist.

The aim is to create an experience that better rewards artists and improves fan experience, after many musicians have complained that streaming does not reward them fairly for their work.

The model will prioritise professional musicians (classed as those with a minimum of 1,000 monthly streams from more than 500 individual listeners), giving them an estimated 10 per cent payout increase.

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In turn, streaming income will be reduced on the platform for amateur musicians, as well as non-artist noise audio such as AI artists and white noise soundtracks intended as background music.

Streams from listeners who have actively sought out the artists will carry a heavier weight. If a fan searches for a musician on Deezer and listens to that song, the listen will be counted as four streams.

Speaking about the deal, Deezer CEO Jeronimo Folgueira called the companys new model the most ambitious change to the economic model since the creation of music streaming and a change that will support the creation of high-quality content in the years to come.

At Deezer we always put music first, providing a high-quality experience for fans and championing fairness in the industry, he said. We are now embracing a necessary change, to better reflect the value of each piece of content and eliminate all wrong incentives, to protect and support artists.

Universal Music artists like Taylor Swift will receive a better deal on Deezer (AP)

There is no other industry where all content is valued the same, and it should be obvious to everyone that the sound of rain or a washing machine is not as valuable as a song from your favourite artist streamed in HiFi.

Deezers new model will launch in France in October, with intentions for it to be rolled out in other countries from 2024.

In recent years, a number of musicians have spoken out against the music streaming system, where artists receive a fraction of a penny for every listen on platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.

As the sale of physical CDs, as well as downloading and paying for albums online, have decreased, many artists have reported that making money as a musician has become increasingly harder.

Many streaming services have become populated with the kind of AI-generated content Deezer is trying to get rid of.

Last year, in protest against Spotifys payment rates, the British rock band The Pocket Gods released a 1,000 track album of 30-second songs.

Royalties on the platform are only activated if a song is listened to for 30 seconds, leading industry specialists to suggest that the standard three-minute pop song could be on its way out.

One track on The Pocket Gods album is titled 0.002, a reference to the amount that artists earn per stream.
Suits has become the first TV show to record 3 billion minutes viewed in seven consecutive weeks.

The legal drama starring Meghan Markle has recorded 26.5 billion minutes watched in the eight weeks since it returned to Netflix earlier this summer.

Stranger Things still holds the record for the highest viewing total in eight weeks  35.5 billion minutes in 2022 for season four  but Suits has stayed about 3 billion minutes for longer than any programme since Nielsen streaming records began three years ago.

The legal drama originally premiered on USA Network between 2011 and 2019, and aired on Dave in the UK.

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It follows an attorney named Mike (played by Patrick J Adams) who lands a job at a prestigious New York legal firm despite never attending law school. Markle also plays a lawyer (named Rachel Zane) who falls in love with Mike.

The now-Duchess of Sussex played attorney Rachel in seven seasons before exiting in 2018 ahead of her royal wedding to Prince Harry. She became romantically involved with the prince in 2016.

Last month, it was revealed that Suits broke its own record for the most-watched acquired title, with 3.7 billion minutes watched from 3 July to 9 July across Netflix and Peacock, according to Nielsen data.

Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane on season seven of Suits (USA Network/Netflix/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

In an interview with the LA Times, Suits creator Aaron Korsch credited the shows renewed success in part to Markles role in the royal family.

In another interview, he recalled a line that the royal family asked to be cut.

My wifes family, when they have a topic to discuss that might be sensitive, they use the word poppycock, he explained.

Lets say you wanted to do something that you knew your husband didnt want to do, but you wanted to at least discuss it, and in just discussing it, you wouldnt hold him to anything he said, youd be like, Its poppycock.

Korsch continued: So, in the episode, Mike and Rachel [Markles character] were going to have a thing, and as a nod to my in-laws, we were going to have her say, My family would say poppycock. And the royal family did not want her saying the word. They didnt want to put the word poppycock in her mouth.

I presume because they didnt want people cutting things together of her saying cock. So, we had to change it to bulls*** instead of poppycock, and I did not like it because Id told my in-laws that [poppycock] was going to be in the show. There was maybe one or two more things, but I cant remember.

Korsch added that he wasnt sure how or through what channels the royal family was receiving the scripts for his show. I was aware that they were reading them because I got the feedback, but I dont remember the process by which they got them, he said.

Suits returned to Netflix on 17 June  the day of King Charles IIIs birthday parade.
HOLLAND TWP.  Hundreds of residents rallied Wednesday, Sept. 6, against proposed budget cuts and other efforts targeting the Ottawa County Department of Public Health.

The group gathered outside the department's building along James Street in Holland Township. They cheered, waved their signs and chanted as OCDPH staff left work for the day, many holding rally signs of their own.

The rally  Public Heart for Public Health  was organized to support the department amidst a budget battle with Ottawa County leadership, chiefly Board Chair Joe Moss and County Administrator John Gibbs.

More: Hambley: Newly proposed budget is better, but nowhere near enough

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At first, Moss suggested reducing the general fund contribution to the department by millions to just $2.5 million total. Health Officer Adeline Hambley pushed back, saying a number that low could close the department in weeks. Gibbs directed fiscal services to draft a budget without involving health department staff. That budget, noticeably larger, was revealed Tuesday. But, according to Hambley, it's still not enough.

Wednesdays event was organized by Ottawa Integrity PAC, Zeeland Area Action Council and Progressive Lakeshore.

Todays turnout makes clear the communitys opposition to Ottawa Impact's attempts to dangerously underfund (OCDPH), said Kathleen OBrien of Progressive Lakeshore. The deep cuts demanded by OI commissioners are not about fiscal responsibility. Theyre about revenge politics. Their demands to slash funding for health services as a cost-saving measure is deeply disingenuous.

These same commissioners have racked up unprecedented legal and administrative costs. Our communitys well-being should not be a pawn in their attempts to cover their malfeasance in fiscal management. This is simply not good governance.

A handful of people spoke at the rally, including current and former OCDPH employees, active and retired medical professionals and a person whose family has benefited from OCDPH services.

Julia Davey, a retired pediatrician, said proposed cuts will significantly harm children in Ottawa County.

If these budget cuts are enacted, the children of Ottawa County will suffer, Davey said. We cannot allow this to go unchallenged. Together we must protect the children of Ottawa County.

Staff from the Ottawa County Department of Public Health join a rally in support of their department Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, in Holland Township.

Jayme Blodgett spoke about her niece, who was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor at age 3. Shes undergone expensive treatment  millions of dollars in just the first year. But the family's financial burden has been greatly reduced thanks to OCDPHs Children's Special Health Care Services Program. Blodgett is worried budget cuts could affect that program.

(Ottawa Impact commissioners) are all fear mongering on made up culture war issues in retribution for perceived grievances, all the while causing real fear and real consequences for families like mine and children like Addison, Blodgett said. So much for protecting childhood innocence.

Hundreds gather to show their support for an embattled health department against the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, in Holland Township.

Resident Shelly Johnson, a nurse for 30 years, said recent developments in budget discussions feel like a hostile takeover."

Supporters wielded a variety of signs at the event, reading:

"We support our health department"

"Support Adeline Hambley"

"Save our health department. Stop OI"

"Only sick people slash our healthcare"

There were several people gathering signatures as part of efforts to recall Commissioner Lucy Ebel. The event took place in Ebels district.

The latest version of the OCDPH budget, drafted by fiscal services and available on the county website, sets the general fund contribution at $4.356 million. Thats above Moss original target of $2.5 million, but less than the $6.4 million in OCDPHs initially proposed budget.

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The budget includes cuts to essential or otherwise state-mandated services like immunizations, sexually transmitted disease prevention and treatment, communicable disease control, family planning, emergency preparedness and health education, including suicide prevention, substance use disorder prevention and food assistance.

Residents gather in protest of proposed cuts and attacks against the Ottawa County Department of Public Health on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, in Holland Township.

To be clear, these proposed cuts reduce services to the most vulnerable residents in Ottawa County, including women and children, at a time when the county is collecting record tax revenue, Hambley wrote in a statement Tuesday.

A public hearing regarding Ottawa Countys full budget for fiscal year 2024 is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 12. A final vote is expected Sept. 26.

 Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: We support you: Hundreds rally in support of Ottawa County Health Department
A suspect accused of deliberately crashing into an officer was killed during a SWAT situation in San Bernardino County on Wednesday.

A Chino motorcycle officer attempted to pull over the suspect for a traffic violation on the 15800 block of El Prado Road around 9:55 a.m.

Refusing to pull over, police said the suspect deliberately crashed into the officer before speeding away.

The officer was transported to a local hospital with moderate injuries.

With the assistance of Fontana police, detectives were able to track down the suspect at a home in Rialto.

Around 5:30 p.m., the Chino police SWAT team arrived with a search warrant at the residence where the suspect was located.

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Thieves call rideshare after ransacking Macys store in O.C.

A suspect was shot and killed after a SWAT situation in San Bernardino County on Sept. 6, 2023. (InlandNews)

A suspect was shot and killed after a SWAT situation in San Bernardino County on Sept. 6, 2023. (InlandNews)

A suspect was shot and killed after a SWAT situation in San Bernardino County on Sept. 6, 2023. (InlandNews)

A suspect was shot and killed after a SWAT situation in San Bernardino County on Sept. 6, 2023. (InlandNews)

A suspect was shot and killed after a SWAT situation in San Bernardino County on Sept. 6, 2023. (InlandNews)

A suspect was shot and killed after a SWAT situation in San Bernardino County on Sept. 6, 2023. (InlandNews)

During the search warrant, the suspect attempted to flee and was confronted by officers.

The suspect shot at officers and two officers returned fire, police said.

The suspect was shot and killed at the scene. Images from the scene show a large police presence blocking off roads in the neighborhood.

The events that led up to the shooting remain limited as the deadly incident is under investigation.

The suspects identity was not released and no other officers were injured. The motor officer who was hospitalized was treated and later released.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's decision to suspend imports of all aquatic products originating from Japan is justified, reasonable and necessary, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Thursday.

In response to a written document Japan submitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that called the suspension of imports "totally unacceptable," MOC spokesperson He Yadong told a press conference that China took the emergency trade measures in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations as well as WTO rules.

China has repeatedly made clear its solemn position on the issue of Japan's discharge of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, and has expressed serious concerns and raised questions at relevant WTO meetings and at relevant occasions, He said. However, the Japanese government has unilaterally pushed through the discharge of the nuclear-contaminated water into the ocean, he added.

China has always upheld the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, and has always abided by WTO rules, He said.

Japan should reflect upon its actions and immediately stop transferring the risks of nuclear contamination to the world, He said. 
Suspect stood on car railing to shoot woman Atlanta police say shot at her earlier that day

Atlanta police have arrested a woman they say had been shot at earlier in that day.

Police say that on Sunday evening, they found a woman who had been shot on Whitehall Street. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

A Georgia State Patrol trooper was in the area when the shooting happened and saw the suspect drive away.

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The trooper was able to stop the car and detain the suspects. He also found a rifle in the car.

Investigators learned that the woman, 30-year-old Kelsey Crawford, shot the victim. The man in the car was identified as her brother, 22-year-old Joshua Crawford.

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Police say the shooting was likely the result of an incident earlier in the day in which the victim shot at Kelsey Crawford. She was not injured in that incident.

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Surveillance video shared with Channel 2 Action News shows Kelsey Crawford standing on the railing of a truck while firing a gun as it sped through a gas station parking lot.

Both Joshua and Kelsey Crawford were arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

Kelsey Crawford was also charged with aggravated battery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Joshua Crawford received a charge of fleeing or attempting to elude police.

They are both being held in the Fulton County Jail.

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A man wanted for a shooting in Latrobe on Sunday has been taken into custody.

Malik Crosby was arrested Wednesday morning at a home on Chestnut Street, according to the Westmoreland County Sheriffs Office.

A male who had been shot was brought to Latrobe Area Hospital on Sunday. Police determined he was brought from an apartment building.

Through an investigation, Latrobe police identified the suspected shooter as Crosby.

Early Wednesday morning, deputies with the Fugitive Apprehension Unit and Latrobe police took Crosby into custody without incident.

Charges are pending.

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A six-month manhunt for a Harlem man wanted for shooting his roommate to death has ended in an arrest, police said Thursday.

Marquius Chappelle, 49, was nabbed Tuesday for the March 7 shooting inside his apartment that left roommate Ousmane Ag dead.

Ag, 39, was found shot three times following a clash inside the apartment on W. 152nd St. near Nicholas Ave., part of Harlems historic Sugar Hill District, about 9:30 p.m.

Medics rushed Ag to Harlem Hospital but he could not be saved.

Police immediately identified Chappelle as the suspected killer and put out a warrant for his arrest, an NYPD spokesman said.

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Manhattan Warrant officers arrested Chappelle on Tuesday and charged him with murder and weapons possession. A Manhattan Criminal Court judge ordered him held without bail when the suspect was arraigned Wednesday.

Ag was found lying on the bathroom floor bleeding. He had been shot in the stomach, left shoulder and armpit.

Four shell casings were found on the floor, cops said.

Neighbors recalled hearing an argument then a loud noise, a police source case said.

The victim had been arrested five times since 2006, most recently for drug possession in 2022. He also served three years in prison after a gun possession conviction in 2011, records show.
In this photo released by the Young Family via their family attorney, Ta'Kiya Young is pictured with her sons, Ja'Kobie, right, and Ja'Kenlie, left, in an undated photo. Young was shot and killed on Aug. 24, 2023, by Blendon Township police outside an Ohio supermarket. The 21-year-old was pregnant and due to give birth in November, according to her family. (Courtesy of Young Family/Walton + Brown LLP via AP)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)  TaKiya Young treated her two little boys like kings, dressing them sharply, letting them have too many sweets, cooking them big gourmet meals of T-bone steak with broccoli, cheese and rice.

The royal life also awaited her unborn daughter.

When Young found out she was pregnant with her third child  a girl  she was thrilled. The 21-year-old Ohio mom and aspiring social worker bought a stack of adorable onesies in anticipation of the babys arrival. She scheduled a photo shoot to show off her baby bump. She applied for public housing and looked forward to the day when she and her growing brood would have a place to call their own.

Instead, Youngs grieving family held her funeral on Thursday, exactly two weeks after a police officer in the Columbus suburbs fatally shot her in her car in a supermarket parking lot.

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About 100 people showed up at the Church of Christ in Columbus for Youngs service, many of them dressed in various shades of vibrant pink  her favorite color.

Family and friends, tearful and clutching tissues, entered the churchs sanctuary to view Youngs body, dressed in bright fuchsia under a clear casket cover that was illuminated in pink light. The body of her unborn daughter, wearing white, lay in her mothers embrace. The powerful voices of a gospel soloist and backing choir filled the sanctuary.

Danielle Rivers, Youngs maternal grandmother, who buried Youngs mother just a year ago, said it still hasnt hit her that she's lost both a daughter and granddaughter. She cant eat or sleep.

It shouldnt have happened, Rivers, tears streaming down her cheeks, said in an interview with The Associated Press. Young was a smart girl who was beautiful inside and out."

The fatal Aug. 24 encounter between Young and police, captured on bodycam video released last week, was the latest in a troubling series of fatal shootings of Black adults and children by Ohio officers, and followed various episodes of police brutality against Black people across the nation over the past several years. The confrontations have prompted widespread protests and demands for police reform.

Youngs family wants the officer who shot her to be immediately fired and charged in her death and the death of her unborn child. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation. The police union has said that calls to charge the officer before an investigation is complete are premature.

Ahead of Young's funeral, her paternal grandmother, Nadine Young, who helped raise her, recalled TaKiya (tah-KEYE'-ah) as a high-spirited prankster and a popular, fun-loving, feisty young lady" who nevertheless struggled with the sudden death of her mother last year, and who was just beginning to find her way in life.

Now the family is focusing on TaKiyas sons, ages 6 and 3. The oldest, JaKobie, talks about his mother. The youngest, JaKenlie, doesnt quite understand shes gone.

We just show them a whole lot of love and let them know theyve got a little village surrounding them and loving on them, Nadine Young told the AP.

Young said the video of TaKiyas violent death was heart-wrenching to watch, the shooting "void of any humanity or decency at all."

In the video, an officer at the drivers side window tells TaKiya shes been accused of shoplifting and orders her out of the car, while a second officer stands in front of the car. Young protests, both officers curse at her and yell at her to get out, and Young can be heard asking them, Are you going to shoot me?

Seconds later, she turns the steering wheel to the right, the car rolls slowly toward the officer standing in front of it, and the officer fires his gun through the windshield.

Nadine Young said she believes her granddaughter feared for her safety.

I believe he was a bully," she said at a news conference on Wednesday, referring to the officer who shot Ta'Kiya. He came at her like a bully, and that scared her with that baby in her stomach.

Sean Walton, the familys lawyer, said the officer had no reason to even point his gun at TaKiya, let alone fire it.

The officer, whose name has not been released by authorities, couldve clearly just eased out of the way of that slow-moving vehicle but instead chose to shoot TaKiya directly in her chest and kill her, he said.

Before her death, TaKiya Young had bounced around a bit, staying with her father in Sandusky and working as a ticket taker at Cedar Point amusement park. More recently, shed been staying with her grandmother in the Columbus area, a few hours from Sandusky, to celebrate the family's summer birthdays and participate in a remembrance of her mother, Danneka Hope.

Ta'Kiya's mother's death had kind of messed with her," Nadine Young said, and she urged her to get counseling. TaKiya and her grandmother  both of them strong-willed  clashed at times. But their bond remained unshakable, and they spoke every day.

TaKiya also struggled with housing insecurity but had not been in much serious trouble in her short life.

In 2021, she was arrested following a traffic stop in Whitehall, Ohio, in which police said she refused to get out of her car when ordered. Court records indicate TaKiya was jailed briefly before pleading guilty to disorderly conduct. But she moved past that incident relatively quickly, according to her grandmother and the family lawyer. Court records also said she had open charges for petty theft in which her address was listed as homeless.

Malissa Thomas-St. Clair, a local teacher and founder of Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children, taught TaKiya in a seventh grade math class. She remembers meeting, and later mentoring an adolescent who was navigating adversity early on in her life.

She was enduring trauma up until death, Thomas-St. Clair said through tears. That experience she experienced, in those last moments of her life, was exactly what she had been experiencing her entire life. Trauma. All she was looking for was a roadmap to a way of being present in life.

Thomas-St. Clair said they bonded over the fact that both became mothers as teenagers.

She was looking for somebody to fill those voids, to complete what was missing in her heart, she said. "And what she found was her children, who she loved unconditionally.

Despite Ta'Kiya's struggles, a bright future seemed on the horizon for her. She intended to go back to school after the birth of the baby this fall. She had her sights set on a house.

The struggle was going to be over once she got into the house, Nadine Young said. "Her and the kids having this nice place, knowing it was theirs, and not having to stay with other people. That was the biggest thing in the world for her. She wouldve been set.

This week, a notification from the public housing authority came in the mail.

She'd been approved.

That hurt me to my core, said Nadine Young, because she was waiting for that letter.

___

Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania. AP Race and Ethnicity Editor Aaron Morrison in New York contributed to this report. Hendrickson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
The News

MBABANE, Eswatini  A visit by Taiwans president this week to strengthen ties with Eswatini, the islands only African ally, has highlighted the extent to which Taipei contributes to its counterparts economy  much to the ire of pro-democracy campaigners.

China claims Taiwan as its own territory with no right to state-to-state relations and Eswatini is one of only 13 countries in the world to still maintain diplomatic relations with the island. China has been winning countries over to its position, with Burkina Faso and Central Americas Honduras the latest to end diplomatic relations with Taipei, in 2017 and in 2023 respectively.

President Tsai Ing-wens visit  which began late on Tuesday and was due to end today  also highlighted growing business connections with Eswatini and the extent of aid it provides. Her visit coincides with the 55th anniversary of independence for the southern African nation, formerly known as Swaziland and ruled by an absolute monarchy. Taiwan established a diplomatic mission in Mbabane back in 1968, the same year Eswatini gained self-rule from the British.

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Taiwan is often quick to champion its democratic credentials and values to make a clear distinction from Chinas authoritarian one-party system. But in Eswatini pro-democracy critics say it is effectively propping up an authoritarian regime just because it is one of a handful of countries that recognizes Taiwans state status. Most of those are largely countries with questionable human rights records, said Brian Hioe, editor of Taipei-based publication New Bloom. The relationships often involve Taiwans financial support, sometimes described as dollar diplomacy.

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The Taiwanese president, alongside Eswatini monarch Mswati III , signed three memorandums of understanding as soon as she arrived, state media reported. The MoUs were an agreement on women empowerment, a partnership between two cities of the two countries, and a deal for cooperation between overseas Investment & Development Corp, Taiwan and the Eswatini Petroleum Company.

Tsais visit comes two years after Eswatini security forces violently quelled pro-democracy protests, leaving at least 90 people dead, according to the Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice.

Cebelihles view

Taiwan plays a significant role in Eswatinis economy and provides sizable aid contributions. In May, the two sides held an economic and technical cooperation conference in Taipei where it was revealed that annual bilateral trade more than doubled over the last five years. It effectively props up the regime of King Mswati III by funding projects in education, electrification, agriculture, and providing aid among others.

But the elephant in the room is China, as Eswatinis pro-democracy movement reminds the government here often. Mlungisi Makhanya, president of the now-banned Peoples United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), told local press recently: As the Swazi people, we will change course and forge principled diplomatic relations with the Peoples Republic of China. It is apparent that the province of Taiwan is financially supporting this repressive regime.

Eswatini stands to lose out on links with the much larger Chinese market by maintaining ties with Taiwan, said New Blooms Hioe, who argued that many of the islands former diplomatic allies were motivated to break ties with Taiwan due to the economic opportunities offered by Beijing. Ultimately Taipei cannot outspend the worlds second largest economy.

I largely suspect it is a combination of Mswati IIIs personal fondness for Taiwan as well as Taiwans strong desire to maintain ties with its last remaining ally in Africa which causes ties to endure, he said.

Eswatini is, of course, the last domino that China would like to see fall, though experts point out its far from a priority as its not a strategically important country in geopolitical or economic terms. Besides, there is nothing at present to suggest this will happen anytime soon, unless there are radical changes in the kingdoms governance.

Room for Disagreement

Khetsiwe Msibi, who has been teaching English as a second language in Taiwan since July, says the relationship between the two countries is important and of benefit to ordinary Eswatini citizens. Even getting into Taiwan is easy, she said. You dont need to go through the whole visa routine. You just have to buy a ticket and then go; so, its quite good. And the fact that they allow emaSwati to seek employment in their country, even if one initially went there on holiday,makes things easier. And the pay is way better than it is at home.

The Taiwanese embassy had not provided Semafor Africa with data detailing the number of Eswatini students and workers in Taiwan by the time of publication.

The View From CHINA WATCHERS

Long time China watchers have largely been underwhelmed by the visit. Eric Olander, editor of China Global South Project, described it as a non event. The fact that the Chinese have not said a word about this visit all week is notable because they usually overreact every time she leaves the island, he explained. He said China seems prepared to wait things out until the king leaves power. China would love to have the entire African continent wrapped up but they seem content to also go on with one lone holdout.

Notable

Amnesty International in June urged Eswatinis authorities to stop using the courts to intimidate and harass labor union leaders. The rights group accused authorities of effectively criminalizing peaceful dissent.
Migrants have been pouring into Texas in droves since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. Nearly 2.4 million migrants entered Texas and other border states in 2022 alone, overwhelming towns, exasperating law enforcement, and pushing Gov. Greg Abbott to throw all efforts available to maintain law and order. To make a political point, Abbott has bused migrants to various states such as New York, which declared itself a sanctuary state on illegal immigration.

In a townhall on the Upper West Side on Wednesday night, New York Mayor Eric Adams confessed that New Yorks position would irrevocably harm his city.

Month after month, I stood here and said this is going to come to a neighborhood near you. Well, were here. Were here, Adams says.

A Republican saying that would be called xenophobic, no?

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Im gonna tell you something NYers, never in my life have I had a problem that I didnt see an ending to. I dont see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City, an exasperated Adams said.

He continued, making a vague plea: We are getting no support on this national crisis. ... I dont see an ending to this.

Adams says 10,000 migrants a month have been going through New York City.

Texas been dealing with an influx thousands of times more than that, every month, since Biden took office. Texas officials have been vocal about the need for more federal logistical and financial support on border security and immigration procedures.

Now, New York City receives a fraction of the migrants Texas had and Adams  a Democrat  becomes a convert who suddenly wants to crack down on immigration. He sounded like someone who wants not just to help migrants but to actually stop the flow. if Adams political party had been unknown, he would have sounded like a member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus.

Abbott received incredible criticism for busing migrants outside Texas. There were even calls for lawsuits or criminal investigations. But now that New York has dealt with a fraction of what Texas has been handling for years, suddenly Democrats who have shrugged their shoulders, ignored the problem, or even advocated for a looser immigration process  or certainly have not advocated for tighter border security  these folks are telling us that its a huge problem.

The mayor is right, of course. Its just unfortunate that he had to walk a mile in Texas boots before he felt the urgency to throw up his hands and call for change.
A beloved Maryland teacher didnt know the man charged with her murder, and his motive and how he killed her still remain unclear more than a month after her death, authorities said.

Harold Francis Landon III, 33, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Mariame Toure Sylla, 59, an elementary school teacher who vanished during her routine evening walk at a park near her Greenbelt, Maryland, condo on July 29. At a news conference Friday announcing his arrest, Prince Georges County Police Chief Malik Aziz confirmed that a womans partial remains found by a pond near Joint Base Andrews on Aug. 1 belonged to Sylla.

The announcement marked the end of a monthlong search for Sylla, a popular teacher at the Dora Kennedy French Immersion School in Greenbelt. Her body was identified by DNA, authorities said.

Mariame Toure Sylla, a beloved Maryland teacher, was killed on July 29, police believe.

Mariame Toure Sylla, a beloved Maryland teacher, was killed on July 29, police believe.

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A witness spotted the remains on the rocks by an industrial pond near a busy road in Clinton, about 20 miles south of where Sylla was last seen at Schrom Hills Park, authorities said. The body was unclothed and missing a head, its arms and lower legs, police said in an arrest warrant obtained by HuffPost.

A witness told police that on the night of July 31, they took pictures of a man they had seen throwing something in the pond near where Syllas remains were found. The witness said the man, who was driving an old white pickup truck, walked to another area of the pond and appeared to clean his hands in the water.

Surveillance footage of the area obtained by investigators showed a white truck pull into a parking lot by the pond at around 9:30 p.m. on July 31, turn off its lights and drive on the grass toward the pond, according to the arrest warrant.

Phone records obtained by police show Landon and Sylla were both in the Schrom Hills Recreation Center just after 7 p.m. on July 29, the last time she was seen alive, and that Landon was in the area of the pond at the time a man was seen dumping what is believed to be her remains.

Landon identified himself as the man in the photographs and video stills, and allegedly said the truck, a 2004 white Chevrolet Silverado with Florida license plates, belonged to him when he was interviewed by police, as did other people interviewed who knew Landon.

Landon was already in jail when murder charges were filed against him. He was arrested Aug. 1 on domestic violence charges, which Aziz said were unrelated to Syllas killing.

When police searched Landons home, they found a power saw that was consistent with the bodys wounds.

Miss Sylla was a much beloved teacher and a valued member of our community, Aziz said in a news conference Friday.

Authorities have not determined any motive to the killing, and Aziz said he didnt believe that would make any difference in providing closure to the family. Whatever reason  its senseless.  The type of violence is depraved and it wont wouldnt make any difference to me. Its just  Its disturbing.

We havent found any connection that these two people know each other, Aziz said. The most horrific crime you can do is murder, and do that for some unknown, unjustifiable reason.

A Sept. 1 press release from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the killing of Sylla.

To God we belong and to Him we return, CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry said in the release. We offer our sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of Sr. Mariame. May God enter her into the highest level of paradise and bring the alleged perpetrator of this horrible crime to swift justice.

A funeral for Sylla is scheduled for Friday at Diyanet Center of America Mosque in Landham, according to a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses.

Sister Mariame Toure Silva was not only an esteemed member of our community, but also a beloved teacher in her school, among her friends. Our community lost her in a horrific crime. In the face of such a terrible tragedy, no words are enough to subside our anger and dispel our sorrow, the GoFundMe says.

Related...
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE)  Multiple students were taken to the hospital Wednesday afternoon when they were hit by a teen driver at a bus stop near Roosevelt High School in Fresno, according to the citys police department.

Police say around 3:30 p.m. they responded to an incident near Tulare and Cedar Avenues.

Upon arrival, officers say they found 11 children, all students, injured at the nearby FAX bus stop. The victims were transported to local hospitals for treatment.

















Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer says police learned a teenager was driving a black pickup at a high rate speed, described as reckless, going southbound on Cedar Avenue when he lost control, jumped a curb, and crashed into the 20 students who were waiting at the FAX bus stop.

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After the crash, officers say the driver and his 14-year-old sister fled the scene and were picked up by a family member  who drove them away from the scene. Thanks to witnesses and school staff, officers were able to pull the car over and take the suspect into custody.

It is unknown if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash, however, officials say the incident was unintentional. The incident will be investigated as a felony hit and run and an investigation will take place regarding the family member who picked the suspect up.

We dodged a bullet today in the City of Fresno in terms of the severity of injury, said Mayor Dyer.

As for the 11 injured, Dyer says none of them appear to be life-threatening ranging from a broken leg to back pain. All of their parents have been notified and will be given updates regarding each of their statuses.

We want the parents to know, is that your child is okay, they are in the hospital or being looked at. but appears that out of everything we know at this time theyre going to be okay, Dyer expressed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
Two Miami teens are behind bars after being accused of pointing guns at an Uber driver, stealing his car and leading police on a brief chase that ended in Sunny Isles Beach.

Rogens Lormil Joseph, 18, and a 16-year-old, whom the Miami Herald isnt naming due to his age, are facing a slew of charges, including carjacking, battery, theft of a firearm and resisting an officer. Joseph was also charged with fleeing police, reckless driving and not having a valid drivers license.

Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, an Uber driver picked up the two teens near Northeast 146th Street and West Dixie Highway in North Miami Beach. They told the driver to stop near Northeast 18th Avenue where, police say, they pointed guns at him and demanded his car.

After they took off, the driver called 911. Police quickly located the car and tried to pull over the teens, but they didnt stop  instead speeding off and running multiple red lights, according to police.

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At some point in the chase, the teens purposely rammed into a Sunny Isles police cruiser that had its emergency lights flashing, police say. They subsequently lost control of the car and crashed into a stop sign before bailing in different directions.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

The teens were quickly detained, though police say they witnessed the minor throwing away a gun while trying to flee. At some point during the foot chase, a North Miami Beach officer fired his gun, but no one was injured, according to a statement.

Investigators say the guns found on the teens were reported stolen from Hollywood. Police also suspect the teens are connected to a string of armed carjackings and armed robberies in North Miami Beach, North Miami, Hollywood and Miami. On the 16-year-old boy, officers found multiple credit cards, one of which belonged to someone who was previously carjacked in Miami.

Joseph is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center without bond as of Wednesday evening. The 16-year-old is being held at the Juvenile Detention Center.

Anyone with information should contact North Miami Police Detective E. Papikian at 305-949-5500 ext. 2564.
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  The days federal government employees can work remotely may be numbered.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill and the White House are pressuring federal workers to return to the office.

Were coming after you, said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

Ernst says its time for a telework crackdown within the federal government.

I know theyre still on the payroll, Ernst said. Is COVID over? Are we able to come to work safely?

According to Ernst, taxpayer money is being wasted on empty offices.

A Government Accountability Office report released in July found that it costs $7 billion to lease and manage agency headquarters  but most agencies are only using a fraction of their buildings. Of the 24 federal agencies reviewed in the report, 17 used 25% or less of their buildings capacities during a three-week period in 2023.

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Weve got to figure this out, Ernst said.

Ernst is demanding answers from each agency. She also wants to stop federal workers from receiving Washington, D.C., wages if they are living in lower-cost areas.

It is fraud, Ernst said.

Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine says fraud may be an overstatement.

If youre serving your fellow Americans, then you deserve the paycheck that you get, Kaine said. But I do think getting more people back to the office would be good for morale, good for productivity and good for local communities.

In the end, Kaine says, each agency should decide who must return to work.

The issue is, you cant make it one-size-fits-all, he said.

The White House is pushing workers to come back by the fall.

Max Stier is the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit that advocates for an efficient government.

Stier says filling buildings cannot be the target.

The answer is, redo your leases to reshape your real estate footprint to match the need that you actually have, he said.

Stier also warns going too far could hurt the governments ability to attract best talent.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
NANJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy has reached 1.32 billion kilowatts as of the first half of this year, exceeding that of coal power for the first time, according to the National Energy Administration.

Over the past decade, China has continuously improved its energy consumption structure and increased energy efficiency. The country's share of non-fossil energy consumption has increased from 9.7 percent in 2012 to 17.5 percent in 2022, Zhang Jianhua, head of the administration, said at the 2023 International Forum on Energy Transition, held in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province on Sept. 5-7.

China has built the world's largest systems for both electricity supply and clean power generation and has held the world's top position for many years in terms of the scale of hydropower, wind power, photovoltaic power, biomass power generation, and under-construction nuclear power.

The forum is jointly organized by the administration, the Jiangsu provincial people's government, and the International Renewable Energy Agency. It has brought together over 2,000 participants, including government officials, industry insiders, and business leaders from home and abroad, to elaborate on global energy transition and sustainable development. 
Khalife's ability to remained at large for so long is 'testament to his ingenuity' and his military training, say investigators - Telegraph exclusive picture of Daniel Khalife in Phase 2 training in Blandford Forum, Dorset. Undated. Sourced by Danielle Sheridan

It was just after 7am on Wednesday when a Bidfood lorry pulled up to the gates of HMP Wandsworth in south London on its regular delivery route.

After completing the usual security checks, the wagon containing fresh foodstuffs passed through the two sets of gates into the so-called sterile area near the prison kitchens.

As the driver unloaded his delivery, inmates from the Victorian prison were filing in and out of the canteen for the busy breakfast serving.

At the same time, one of the remand prisoners, who held a privileged chefs position in the kitchens, slipped unnoticed past the guards and made his way towards the van.

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Perhaps pretending to be lending a hand with the delivery, Daniel Khalife, a suspected terrorist and spy, climbed underneath the van.

Using a set of heavy duty straps he attached himself to the underside of the vehicle and clung on waiting for the driver to return.

In what police have now acknowledged was a carefully pre-planned operation, Khalife was banking on the fact that the lax security checks he had observed being conducted on departing vehicles would not reveal his hiding place.

His plan worked perfectly and at 7.37am the Bidfood vehicle left the prison grounds and headed off on the rest of its delivery route.

As the lorry pulled into the rush hour traffic and made its way across south west London, Khalife waited for the opportune moment before detaching himself and slipping away into the city streets before his absence had even been noted.

At 7.50am, guards working in the kitchen area realised Khalife was not at his post and the alarm was raised.

Prison lockdown

The prison immediately went into lockdown as a search and roll call was conducted to try and locate him.

Twenty five minutes later - after a thorough but fruitless search of the ground - the governor contacted Scotland Yard to alert them to the fact they had a prisoner on the run.

The fact Khalife was an alleged terrorist, suspected of spying for Iran meant the Metropolitan Polices SO15 counter-terror command was immediately alerted.

Meanwhile the unsuspecting driver of the Bidfood lorry was continuing on his usual delivery route.

Just after 8.30am he was contacted by his boss and told to head back to Wandsworth immediately as there was a serious problem. There is no suggestion any lorry drivers were complicit in the escape.

At 8.37am as he headed along Upper Richmond Road he was suddenly pulled over by police with sniffer dogs who began searching the vehicle thoroughly.

While there was no sign of Khalife himself, officers did locate the straps he had used to execute his daring escape.

With the public still unaware that a suspected terrorist was on the run, police put out an urgent alert to all ports and airports, fearful that Khalife would immediately try to flee the country.

Extra passport checks led to delays at some airports and traffic began backing up at the Channel ports as vehicle searches were ordered.

Helicopters join the search

Police helicopters were deployed and more than 150 police officers and staff were drafted in to assist with the manhunt.

Detectives swooped on Khalifes old addresses in London and Stafford and also visited the homes of family, friends and known associates.

There was speculation that Khalife may have suffered burns to his skin by clinging on to the bottom of the lorry and may have needed to seek medical attention.

News of Khalifes audacious escape broke on Wednesday afternoon, with his mugshot being widely circulated in the media.

On Thursday lunchtime, a man bearing a striking resemblance to the former soldier was detained at Banbury railway station in Oxfordshire after an eagle eyed member of the public contacted Thames Valley Police.

But he turned out to be an entirely innocent member of the public, and more than 36 hours after he disappeared police admitted there had still been no confirmed sightings.

Commander Dominic Murphy, who is leading the investigation, said the fact Khalife had remained at large for so long was testament to his ingenuity and his military training.

He said: This was a really busy area of London and weve had no confirmed sightings in any of that information, which is a little unusual, and perhaps testament to Daniel Khalifes ingenuity in his escape and some of his movements after his escape.

Its important that we remember that we have some of the best military in the world here in the UK and he was trained.

He was a trained soldier - so ultimately he has skills that perhaps some sections of the public dont have.

A very resourceful individual

Mr Murphy added: Hes a very resourceful individual, clearly, and our experience of him shows that, so nothing is off the table with him at the moment.

One senior defence source told the Telegraph that Khalife would have received training in the Army that would help him stay one step ahead while on the run.

The source said: We teach them initiative, command tasks, problem solving skills. We train people well, to be individuals, to adapt, overcome and improvise.

Hes not in the infantry so doesnt have the same resilience level as an infantry soldier, but even our basic soldiers are trained to be resilient to adapt, overcome and survive in harsh and unpredictable environments.

Daniel Abed Khalife used heavy duty straps to cling to the underside of the food delivery vehicle

The source went on: We do something called survive, evade, resist and escape, known as SERE training. Its one of the basic annual training events each year.

Soldiers are taught how to escape in the wild, to build shelters, and basic communication skills.

One military source who knew Khalife when he was serving, described him as funny and likeable, but said sometimes he could seem a bit dim.

But he added: That could have been an act as hes clearly got enough nouse about him to get away from stuff. Not a typical oddball, there werent clear warning signs.

Scotland Yard said it was keeping an open mind as to whether Khalife had been receiving any help or support since going on the run.

But Mr Murphy said if anyone was helping the escaped prisoner they were committing a serious criminal offence and warned them they would face the full force of the law.

Meanwhile scores of detectives were scouring CCTV footage of the route the van took through south London in the hope of identifying the exact location where Khalife detached himself.

Red faces at HMP Wandsworth

The escape has left red faces at HMP Wandsworth and anger in Whitehall with Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, ordering an urgent inquiry into the blunders that had allowed him to escape.

When news of Khalifes escape began to spread through the prison on Wednesday many staff and officers appeared in shock.

Some prison officers visiting local shops, still in uniform, were even in tears at what happened and the spotlight his escape would put on their procedures and apparent security failures.

One local estate agent told the Telegraph: Many of the prison staff were in tears as they left work yesterday. I saw them as they walked past my office, looking very emotional. I guess its upsetting when the one thing that isnt supposed to happen happens on your watch.

Bidfood, a major wholesaler, later confirmed one of its lorries had been used in the escape.

In a statement the firm said: Yesterday morning we were made aware of a security incident involving one of our vehicles, whilst out on delivery.

We can confirm that our driver fully cooperated with the police on this matter before returning back to the depot. We will continue to assist the authorities in their ongoing investigation.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.
A planned test of the U.S. Army's Dark Eagle hypersonic missile from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida has been canceled. This follows the scrubbing of what was expected to be the first test launch of one of these weapons, which the Army is developing in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, using the former service's ground-based launch system earlier this year. The long-standing goal has been to field the first operational Dark Eagles before the end of this year and the first unit to be equipped with them has already stood up.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) confirmed to The War Zone that the test had been aborted. We have also reached out to the Army for more information. Florida Today was the first to report on the cancellation of the launch.

"On Sept. 6, the Department planned to conduct a flight test at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, to inform our hypersonic technology development. As a result of pre-flight checks, the test did not occur," an OSD spokesperson said in a statement. "The Department was able to successfully collect data on the performance of the ground hardware and software that will inform the continued progress toward fielding offensive hypersonic weapons. Delivering hypersonic weapons remains a top priority for the Department.

A graphic giving a basic overview of the Army's complete Dark Eagle weapon system. US Army

Today's statement from OSD is essentially identical to one that it put out after the decision to scrub the first scheduled Dark Eagle test launch in March.

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"On March 5, the Department of Defense planned to conduct a flight test from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to inform the department's hypersonic technology development," OSD said at that time. "As a result of pre-flight checks, the test did not occur. Delivering hypersonic weapons remains a top priority for the Department of Defense."

Automated pre-flight checks identified that a battery did not activate, which resulted in not conducting the test," Navy Vice Adm. Johnny Wolfe, that service's Director for Strategic Sytems Programs, disclosed at a subsequent Congressional hearing . "We are aggressively investigating the cause of the no test and will continue to move forward with our development and additional testing in support of Army fielding as soon as the cause is identified and corrected."

Though the U.S. military had previously declined to confirm it , there had been clear indications, including publicly available warning notices, that another Dark Eagle test was scheduled to occur sometime this week.

https://twitter.com/Marco_Langbroek/status/1698736169188569189?s=20 https://twitter.com/Marco_Langbroek/status/1698796145194025365?s=20

As noted, the Army is developing the ground-based Dark Eagle weapon system in cooperation with the Navy. The Navy plans to employ the same missiles, which it refers to as Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) missiles, from its trio of Zumwalt class stealth destroyers and Block V Virginia class submarines.

A briefing slide from 2021 giving a general overview of the different components of the joint Army-Navy Dark Eagle/IRCPS program. USN

The Navy also conducted a test launch of an IRCPS missile last year from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands in Hawaii. That weapon "experienced an in-flight anomaly that prevented data collection for portions of the planned flight profile," but "the Navy... determined the cause [and] implemented corrective actions," according to the report from the Pentagon's Office of Test and Evaluation, or DOT&E.

The Dark Eagle/IRCPS missile consists of two main components, a rocket booster and an unpowered hypersonic boost-glide vehicle payload on top. Hypersonic weapons of this type rely on the rocket booster to propel the boost-glide vehicle to an optimal speed and altitude, after which the latter component breaks away.

The boost-glide vehicle then independently travels to its target along a relatively shallow, atmospheric flight path at hypersonic speeds, which are defined as anything above Mach 5. Hypersonic vehicles of this type are designed to have a high degree of maneuverability, allowing them to change course erratically along the way. This all creates significant challenges for defenders, including just detecting the incoming threat, let alone trying to intercept it. It can also be especially difficult for opponents to react by trying to seek cover or move critical assets out of the target area.

A graphic providing a sense of the difference in flight path between a hypersonic boost-glide vehicle and a traditional ballistic missile, as well as a hypersonic cruise missile. GAO

The Army and the Navy have previously conducted multiple successful tests of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) that sits atop the Dark Eagle/IRCPS missiles using test rockets that are different from the planned production booster configuration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRc48D6VCIE

The two scrubbed tests this year, plus the issues with the one last year, raise significant questions about the immediate future of this joint Army-Navy program. As of 2022, five test launches were scheduled, in total, only two of which were intended to demonstrate the Army's ground-launched Dark Eagle weapon system, according to DOT&E .

The Army had hoped to field an early operational capability with Dark Eagle before the end of this year, something that looks increasingly unlikely to happen. The Navy said last year that it was planning to begin testing IRCPS on the USS Zumwalt in 2025 and on a Block V Virginia class submarine in 2028.

An artist's conception of a Zumwalt class destroyer firing an IRCPS missile. Lockheed Martin

For the Army, Dark Eagle is a central part of the service's plans to field an array of new ground-based long-range strike capabilities in the coming years, with a particular eye on being able to hold an extended array of Chinese targets in the Pacific region at risk. Where those missiles might be deployed in the future in that region, even temporarily, remains uncertain, and many countries have expressed reticence to hosting them. The Army has separately already established the necessary command and control structure to allow it to deploy these weapons to Europe , if required.

The issues with Dark Eagle/IRCPS also notably come after the U.S. Air Force's decision to cancel work a different air-launched hypersonic missile utilizing a boost-glide vehicle, called the AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW). The service also abandoned plans to field an air-launched version of the Dark Eagle/IRCPS missile back in 2020. It has now decided to focus its attention on the development of an air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile .

Still, the Air Force has been finishing out its planned test schedule for the AGM-183 to help collect data that could be useful to other hypersonic projects. It declined to say whether or not the most recent ARRW test launch, which occurred last month, was a success or failure .

What the future now holds for Dark Eagle/IRCPS remains to be seen.

UPDATE 9/7/2023:

The U.S. Army's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) has now provided The War Zone with an additional statement on the cancellation of yesterday's Dark Eagle test, which is as follows:

"On September 6, 2023 the DOD planned to conduct a flight test at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida to inform the Departments hypersonic technology development. As a result of pre-flight checks the test did not occur. The Department was able to successfully collect data on the performance of the ground hardware and software that will inform the continued progress towards fielding offensive hypersonic weapons. Delivering hypersonic weapons remains a top priority for the Department."

Howard Altman contributed to this story.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com
An attorney generals office flooded with work related to COVID-19 and other lawsuits spent too much time on matters tied to one of Attorney General Ken Paxton s political donors, a former deputy told senators Thursday.

Ryan Bangert, who served as deputy first assistant in the office, began his testimony on Wednesday in Paxtons impeachment trial.

Paxton is accused of misusing his office to benefit Austin developer and political donor Nate Paul and retaliating against now former employees after they reported Paxton to the FBI in September 2020. Paxton gave Paul special legal attention and help while accepting home renovations and a job for a women with whom he was having an extramarital affair, House impeachment managers argue. Thursday was the third day of the impeachment trial.

During Bangerts second day on the stand, he outlined the events that led up to his and other whistleblowers decision to report Paxton to federal law enforcement. Bangert is not among the four whistleblowers who later sued for retaliation.

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Rusty Hardin, one of the attorneys for the House impeachment managers, asked Bangert about the landscape of the attorney generals office around the time they were dealing with matters related to Paul.

Bangert said the office was working on a lot of COVID-19 related issues, a multistate lawsuit against Google, and election-related lawsuits, around the time they were also being asked to handle matters related to Paul.

When the attorney general kept raising Nate Paul issues, the ones weve gone through so far and later in the future, do you have any idea ... how much time or resources were devoted to dealing with Nate Paul instead of real concerns? Hardin asked.

We were devoting far more resources to Nate Paul than we ever should have given the importance of those issues, Banger replied, going on to say he spent the better part of three days working on an opinion related to Paul and and even more time on a lawsuit intervention related to Paul.

The former attorney generals office employee detailed why he went to the FBI with concerns about Paxton in September 2020: In my view there was simply nothing more we could do, Bangert said.

Bangert, who now works at the Alliance Defending Freedom, is the second witness to take the stand.

Bangert explained that Paxton wanted to hire outside counsel, attorney Brandon Cammack, to investigate law enforcement action concerning Paul, including the search of his house and properties. Eventually, Cammack issued grand jury subpoenas on behalf of the office related to Paul.

In my view, the criminal process had been harnessed to purse the business enemies of an individual, Nate Paul, who also happened to be under intensive investigation by law enforcement, Bangert said.

Paxton was warned against taking actions to benefit Paul, Bangert said.

We had continually and in various ways warned him about Mr. Paul, Bangert said. We had discussed with him the absence for any substantiated basis for taking actions to benefit Mr. Paul.

What drove you to go to law enforcement, Hardin, the impeachment manager attorney, asked.

In my view, there was simply nothing more we could do, Bangert said. The course of actions had played themselves out. The AG was determined to follow this course of action in favor of Nate Paul, despite all of our efforts to persuade him otherwise.

Paxtons attorneys have argued the impeachment proceedings were politically motivated and that evidence is lacking and doesnt warrant a conviction on the articles. Paxton didnt engage in bribery with Paul, and Paxton should be acquitted, they said.

Attorney Anthony Osso questioned Bangert on behalf of the attorney general. Paxton has not been present for most of the proceedings this week.

He grilled Bangert on open records requests and an informal attorney general opinion related to foreclosures during the pandemic that Bangert signed off on. Paxton is accused of having Sen. Bryan Hughes ask for the opinion to help Paul.

Bangert on Wednesday testified that he and then deputy attorney general Ryan Vassar completed what they thought was a satisfactory draft, but when it was sent to Paxton, the attorney general told him the conclusions reached were not the desired ones and they should reverse the opinion, which they did.

Osso brought up a text message in which Paxton said the opinion was for the benefit of Texans.

He read from the message: Thank you again. I cant express in words how much I appreciate your work, especially over the weekend. I am grateful because I feel like hundreds of people will be protected from harm and maybe devastation. You and Ryan deserve all the credit. Thank you I hope your Sunday is relaxing and enjoyable with your family.

Bangert said he doesnt believe Paxton was being truthful in the message.

Osso also emphasized through his questioning that Bangert was not fired, but resigned. Bangert testified his job duties were stripped from him ahead of his resignation.

Ryan Vassar, former deputy attorney general, who is among the plaintiffs on the whistleblower lawsuit, took the stand after Bangert Thursday.
Texas Gov. Abbott doesn't want to remove his 1,000-foot Rio Grande barrier full of metal blades unless the Supreme Court tells him to

The 1,000-foot barrier has a variety of features intended to deter migrants, including serrated blades similar to saws. Brandon Bell/Getty Images/AP Photo/Eric Gay, File

Texas Gov. Abbott plans to appeal a federal judge's order to remove a Rio Grande barrier.

The judge ruled Texas must get rid of the floating barrier by Sept. 15  and pay for its removal.

The 1,000-foot barrier, installed in July, features serrated blades intended to deter migrants.

After a federal judge ruled Texas must get rid of a 1,000-foot barrier designed to deter migrants from crossing the Rio Grande, Gov. Greg Abbott said he'd appeal the decision  and wouldn't get rid of the floating barrier unless SCOTUS tells him to.

On Wednesday, Judge David Ezra of the US District Court in Austin ordered the removal of the barrier and required Texas to foot the bill, pushing back on Abbott's decision to install it back in July "without authorization of any kind," ruling the buoy system is "an obstruction to the navigable capacity of that waterway" and a "threat to human life."

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"Governor Abbott announced that he was not 'asking for permission' for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas constructed the floating barrier. Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nation's navigable waters," he said.

Abbott swiftly responded, declaring plans to appeal. "Today's court decision merely prolongs President Biden's willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along," his office wrote, adding that "Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court."

When asked about whether or not the governor intends to remove the barrier while appealing Ezra's ruling, Abbott's office referred Insider to the governor's statement, which notes: "We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers. Our battle to defend Texas' sovereign authority to protect lives from the chaos caused by President Biden's open border policies has only begun."

Workers provide maintenance on the buoys placed along the Rio Grande border with Mexico to prevent migrants from entering the US in Eagle Pass, Texas, on August 25, 2023. SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images

The 1,000-foot long string of floating buoys, separated by serrated saw blades and featuring a submerged mesh net, was a part of the latest Operation Lone Star effort. Since its installation, the barrier has sparked outcry from the Mexican government and immigration advocates.

Ezra's decision came after the Justice Department filed a preliminary injunction in late July saying the barriers broke federal law, violating the Rivers and Harbors Act.

"This floating barrier poses a risk to navigation, as well as public safety, in the Rio Grande River, and it presents humanitarian concerns," the department said. "Thus, we intend to seek appropriate legal remedies, which may include seeking injunctive relief requiring the removal of obstructions or other structures in the Rio Grande River."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Oppressive heat, failing natural gas plants and sluggish winds are driving the Texas grid into emergency territory.

Available supplies are expected to fall to within 400 megawatts of demand by 8 p.m. Thursday  possibly triggering emergency responses.

The state had a close call Wednesday evening, when it hit an electric demand of 82,705 megawatts  the highest of any September in history.

That triggered the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)  to declare emergency measures for the first time since the 2021 ice storms.

This is an automatic step taken whenever state electric demand comes within 1,750 megawatts of outstripping supply and continued to trend downward.

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At that level of urgency, the ERCOT tries to cut demand to the bone  largely through voluntary agreements and conservation  throwing all remaining power-generating resources at the grid.

On Wednesday evening, this worked; Texas made it through the bottleneck without rolling blackouts  which ERCOTs emergency plan calls for if demand doesnt fall in time.

The late-season power crunch comes amid a long string of broken records following years of rapidly growing demand. Last summer, the grid hit 11 new all-time peak demand records, eventually topping out at 80,148 megawatts in July.

These numbers have only increased. In 2023, the state has broken a string of 10 all-time records  finally topping out in mid-August at 85,535 megawatts.

ERCOTs president cast the demand crunch as the result of protracted heat butting up against the daily ebb and flow of renewables production.

High demand, lower wind generation, and the declining solar generation during sunset led to lower operating reserves on the grid and eventually contributed to lower frequency, precipitating the emergency declaration, Pablo Vegas, ERCOT president and CEO, said Wednesday.

The high temperatures have suppressed wind speeds, and with heat lasting late into the night  rather than, as was once common in the state, dropping off when it gets dark  electric demand is staying high even as evening cuts production from the states rapidly growing solar sector.

The states plan to maintain its grid largely rests on the construction of a new fleet of fossil fuel-burning power plants.

In late August, a high level of unexpected outages at fossil fuel power plants drove ERCOT to demand conservation measures.

In part this is another symptom of the heat, an Austin Energy representative told local TV station KVUE.

More than 11,000 megawatts of gas and coal generation are offline, according to the ERCOT.

In part, this is attrition and bad timing. Power plants usually are taken offline for maintenance in the offseason  which, with a hot spring and endless summer, stubbornly refuses to come.

But the thermal outages are also simply another factor of the heat that they are helping to worsen.

These are machines that have so many different moving parts. The heat creates a difficult situation, especially these 107- [and] 105-degree days, the representative told KVUE.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
In Dallas-Fort Worth, the pollination of ragweed happens from mid-August through November, with ragweed pollen levels usually peaking mid-September.

The metroplex has been ranked one of the top five worst places for ragweed allergens, per Health One Family Medicine. Worse, the increased heat levels in Texas have caused an extension in the ragweed season because dry, hot spells promote growth and pollen formation. With these conditions, pollen dispersal becomes very high.

Ragweed season can cause runny nose, sneezing, itchy eyes and at worst asthma flares, according to Texas Farm Bureau Insurance. Ragweed is the number one cause of fall hay fever symptoms in the U.S. and the final phase of the annual pollination process.

Reducing ragweed pollen exposure

Follow these recommendations from ENT Docs to keep your ragweed allergy at bay:

Try to avoid the outdoors between 5 to 10 a.m. and on dry, hot and windy days. Pollen levels are lower in the late afternoon and after heavy rain.

Shower and change clothes after being outside, as pollen can adhere to clothing, skin and hair.

Keep your pets clean if theyre outside often.

Keep your car and house windows closed at all times.

Use a dryer instead of hanging clothes outside.

Frequently clean your house to get rid of accumulated pollen.

Antihistamines, decongestants and steroid nose sprays can be used to alleviate allergy symptoms.

Cleanse your nasal passages with warm water to clear out pollen irritants.
(Reuters) - The Texas power grid operator said late on Wednesday it was resuming normal operations after lifting emergency measures, but still encouraged users to reduce power electric use.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which serves more than 26 million customers, had earlier declared an Energy Emergency Alert Level 2 (EEA 2), as operating reserves continued to drop.

An EEA 2 is issued when the grid's operating reserves have dropped below 1,750 megawatts (MW) and are not expected to recover within 30 minutes. ERCOT could call for controlled outages if demand is not reduced or additional supply cannot be added from generators.

The grid operator had earlier warned of potential power shortages and appealed for energy conservation due to continued high temperatures, increased demand, low wind, and declining solar power generation.

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To maintain stability of the grid, ERCOT brought all available generation online, released remaining reserves, and used demand response to lower electric demand, it said in its latest release to customers.

"No power outages associated with the ERCOT power grid were necessary," ERCOT said, adding that Texas had set a new September peak demand record of 82,705 Megawatts (MW).

That was still below its all-time peak demand record of 85,435 MW hit on Aug. 10.

Extreme weather in Texas has been in focus since a deadly storm in February 2021 left millions without power, water and heat for days as ERCOT struggled to avoid a grid collapse.

Real-time power prices briefly hovered around $5,000 in most of ERCOT's Texas hubs, according to the ERCOT website.

(Reporting by Swati Verma, Rahul Paswan, Sherin Elizabeth Varghese, Ashitha Shivaprasad and Deep Vakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang, Jamie Freed and Kim Coghill)
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Suspects broke into a tractor-trailer at the Nike Employee store in Raleigh and got away with approximately $200,000 in merchandise, Memphis Police say.

According to reports, the incident happened Thursday at around 4 a.m. in the 3200 block of Victory Ridge Cove.

When officers arrived, they saw four sedans and one pickup truck fleeing the business with their lights off.

The back gate to the Nike store was open, and the chain had been cut. Police found boxes thrown around the parking lot and a tractor-trailer with its back door open.

$400K in Nike shoes stolen from boxcar in North Memphis; two charged

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A Nike security officer told police she was on break when the suspects broke in.

I happened to have my windows down. I heard a loud boom and turned from inside my car to see a guy open the door to the trailer. I watched them, and I called my supervisor, the worker stated.

The Nike manager stated the suspects stole about $200,000 worth of merchandise.

Its Nikes second major merchandise theft in a month. Two suspects were charged with stealing $400,000 worth of Nike shoes from a boxcar in North Memphis in early August.

There are several security cameras in the area, including one where suspects exited the property. If you have any information about whos responsible, contact CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Have a super time at a comic book convention, go to the state fair and or Baltimore County town festival, listen to a concert or watch watercraft shaped like flying lizards race.

Ongoing: Baltimore Comic Con

Make a quick change into your superhero costume and walk, run, drive or fly to Baltimore Comic Con at the Baltimore Convention Center, 1 W. Pratt St. Vendors can help you start or build your comic-book collection. Comic book writers and artists include Chris Claremont (The Uncanny X-Men), Arthur Adams (Batman, Superman), Howard Chaykin (American Flagg!), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Amy Chu (Red Sonja), Mike Grell (Green Arrow), Tom King (Batman), Jim Starlin (Thanos) and more. Ticket prices are $30 for Friday, $40 for Saturday and $35 for Sunday. Show dates and times are Friday, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is sponsored by Cards, Comics & Collectibles or Reisterstown. baltimorecomiccon.com

Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Ongoing: Maryland State Fair

Dont miss a local tradition and head to the final weekend of this years Maryland State Fair at 2200 York Road, Lutherville-Timonium. See tractors and livestock of Maryland farmers. Go on fun carnival rides. Sample fair foods like funnel cake, corn dogs, crabcakes and more. Admission costs $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7 for children. marylandstatefair.com

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Thursday through Sunday

Ongoing: Reisterstown Festival

Celebrate the 36th annual Reisterstown Festival at Hannah More Park, 12035 Reisterstown Road, Reisterstown. Events run 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Enjoy live music, a parade, car show, family fun, food and drink and more. Admission is free. reisterstownfest.com

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday: Jazz in the Square

Go to a musical party that celebrates a Baltimore Jazz legend at the fifth annual Billie Holiday Jazz in Lafayette Square concert at the corner of Arlington Avenue and Lafayette Street. Enjoy a performance by The Nasar Abadey Jazz Quartet with vocalist Charenee Wade, DJ Charles Dockins and the Peabody Jazz Graduate Fellowship. The festival is free and hosted by Professor Kondwani Fidel. Guests can bring coolers, lounge chairs and blankets.

Saturday 2 p.m.to 6 p.m.

Saturday: Dragon Boat Races

Winged mythical beasts right out of Game of Thrones take to Baltimore waterways at the Return of the Dragons: Dragon Boat Races & Festival at the Inner Harbor. The free event raises funds to support Catholic Charities. Enjoy live music, food and fun. The races begin at 8:30 a.m. and finished at 2 p.m. dragonboatsbaltimore.org

Saturday

Sunday: Beck & Phoenix

Listen to a concert where American lo-fi meets French pop rock at Beck & Phoenix Summer Odyssey tour at Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Pkwy. Beck is known for such songs as Loser, Devils Haircut, Where Its At, Think Im In Love, and more. Phoenix is known for the song 1901. Ticket prices range from $45 to $150. merriweathermusic.com

Sunday 5:45 p.m.

Events calendar

Discover more events or submit your own.
Artists of the Zhejiang Wu Opera troupe perform in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

A thrilling performance of Wu Opera by a troupe from east China's Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center showcased Chinese dramas and musical compositions to the delight of the audience in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday night.

NAIROBI, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- A thrilling performance of Wu Opera by a troupe from east China's Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center showcased Chinese dramas and musical compositions to the delight of the audience in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday night.

Hasnick Omondi, a student at the University of Nairobi where he is pursuing a degree in the Chinese language and tourism, praised the performance for the vivid depiction of the rich culture of China.

"I was motivated to watch China's local opera, and see what I have been learning in class," Omondi said.

Felix Kiplagat, a student at the University of Nairobi, said the performance was an enlightening experience because of the use of traditional Chinese cultural costumes and instruments to entertain the audience.

The 23-year-old student said Chinese culture is gaining popularity in Kenya as more and more locals get an opportunity to watch live performances by Chinese artists.

Artists of the Zhejiang Wu Opera troupe perform in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

Wu Opera, also known as Jinhua Opera, has a history of more than 500 years and is the second major regional operatic genre in Zhejiang Province. It first grew in popularity in Jinhua and its surrounding areas, and was named after Wuzhou, the name of Jinhua in ancient China.

The Zhejiang Wu Opera troupe showcased nine performances, including the "9-Pieced Segmented Dragon", Suona Solo "Picking Dates", "the Sedan Ride" and "Three Triumphs Over the Skeletal Demon", using well-choreographed and acrobatic moves.

Michael Pundo, chief executive officer of the Kenya Cultural Center, said the traditional Chinese performance enlightened Kenyans about the classical rhythms and melodies of China.

Lou Sheng, a Wu Opera actor, said he was pleased to be in Kenya because it is his first visit to the East African country. He revealed that the repertoire for Africa was carefully selected to include martial arts, which have intense movements so as to enhance the experience of the audience.

"We hope that through the performance, we can establish a real communication with African audience so that they can fall in love with traditional Chinese culture," he added.

Artists of the Zhejiang Wu Opera troupe take their curtain call after the performance in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

The event, which was jointly sponsored by the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, the Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation of the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism as well as the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, aims to further improve bilateral ties as this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Kenya.

Wang Xiaoping, director of the Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center, said he hoped that the performance will help deepen the Kenyan audience's understanding of Chinese culture, and promote people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. 
Salmon Middle School was abandoned after the district asked the state to help pay for a new school but only received enough funding for a new roof and seismic reinforcements. (Sarah A. Miller/smiller@idahostatesman.com)

In 2005, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the states reliance on loans alone to pay for major repairs or the replacement of unsafe school buildings was inadequate for the poorer school districts.

The court ruled that Idaho legislators had a responsibility to make sure school facilities were adequately funded but had failed to comply with the constitutional mandate to provide a safe environment conducive to learning.

And yet, here we are nearly 20 years later, and the school facilities situation in Idaho appears to be just as bad as it was when a group of superintendents, school districts and parents sued the state over inadequate funding.

As the Idaho Statesmans Becca Savransky, in partnership with ProPublica, documented in a new story this week as part of a series on Idahos crumbling school infrastructure, the situation in Salmon is illustrative of the problem.

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Voters there have shot down a bond six times to pay for a new K-8 school building to replace the elementary and middle schools, which had a series of problems and safety issues.

The bond failed each time, despite receiving a majority of votes in 2006. Idaho is one of just two states that requires a two-thirds supermajority for a bond to pass.

So the Salmon school district in 2012 turned to a state program that lets school districts borrow money from the state out of a $25 million fund if they have unsafe facilities and cant pass a bond or figure out another way to fix them. The loan program was created after the Supreme Courts ruling.

A state panel running the fund, though, wouldnt approve enough funding for a new building.

So students today are learning in portable classrooms, and the old shuttered shell of a middle school still stands, a monument to the states dereliction in its duty to fund education.

Even worse, the fund that was created in response to losing the court case has been used only twice since 2006, and the last time was nearly 10 years ago. Public officials now admit that the fund was intended to be difficult to use.

Imagine that, a state that had a billion-dollar surplus and has cut about $2.7 billion in personal and corporate taxes in just three years cant even help a rural school district pay for a new school building.

And the two-thirds supermajority requirement means its highly unlikely a bond, regardless of how necessary, will pass.

Problems persist today in Salmons existing school buildings, including sewage occasionally backing up into the nearly 70-year-old elementary schools kitchen.

Do politicians care? Who cares about Salmon? Salmon is in Legislative District 31, a massive district that includes four counties and runs along the Montana state line from Salmon all the way to the Wyoming line.

Salmons three Republican legislators  Sen. Van Burtenshaw and Reps. Jerald Raymond and Rod Furniss  live two counties over in Terreton, Rigby and Menan, 120-160 miles from Salmon.

Its small districts like Salmons that get hurt the most in Idahos system of relying on property taxpayers to shoulder the burden of paying for new buildings and repairs. These districts are often the least able to afford increases in property taxes for funding.

As Savransky reported, 43% of students in Salmon are from low-income families.

Bigger districts are better able to afford property tax increases, which creates an uneven and unfair system of public education in Idaho.

And that violates the Idaho Constitution, which states it shall be the duty of the legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.

Its a violation that the courts have already ruled on, nearly 20 years ago.

Legislators could fix the problem by funding the state loan program and making it easier for districts to receive money.

Otherwise, maybe its time for someone to sue again and get this to the Idaho Supreme Court, to force more action.

Clearly the action taken last time was weak and did not actually fix the problem.

The parents in Salmons school district would have a winning case.

Statesman editorials are the unsigned opinion of the Idaho Statesmans editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser and community members Mary Rohlfing and Patricia Nilsson.
Ezekiel Kelly: Complete case coverage

One year ago, the city of Memphis was put on lockdown as a gunman shot six people across the city, killing three.

Police Chief C.J. Davis says Ezekiel Kelly made seven stops between 4:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., killing three people, injuring three more, and carjacking at least two vehicles.

 The reign of terror started at 12:33 a.m. on Sept. 7, 2022.

Dewayne Tunstall, 24, is visiting a friends house on Lyndale Avenue in Highland Heights to discuss opening a barbecue food truck.

Ezekiel Kelly is also there. During a conversation, Kelly allegedly pulled Tunstall to the side, pulled out a handgun, and fired several shots, striking Tunstall in the head.

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Highland Heights shooting leaves one man dead

In a now-deleted Facebook Live streamed by Kelly, he admitted to shooting and killing Tunstall along with several other people.

Tunstall is pronounced dead at 1:04 a.m., a few minutes after first responders arrived.

What was going through his head, what was wrong with him? asked Tunstalls mother, Marvettice Gilmore. How did he let the devil get a hold on him like that?

 Sixteen hours later, at 4:35 p.m., police say Kelly shoots and kills 62-year-old Richard Clark in his car at a gas station on South Parkway in South Memphis.

Family mourns man killed in shooting rampage

 One minute later, Kelly is accused of shooting 44-year-old LaKesha McGlathen while her father changed a flat tire on the Norris Road exit ramp on I-240.

McGlathen, who survived, remembers the encounter.

He was like Excuse me, maam, can you tell me how to get to Whitehaven? and I was like Whitehaven, well its just up the expressway, she said.

When she looked back, she said she saw Kelly fire three shots at her.

When you see your daughter laying on the ground screaming for her life, that does something to a parent, Willie McGlathen said. He was demon-possessed. I saw it on his face.

Mass shooting victim describes moment she was shot

 One hour and 14 minutes later, at 5:50 p.m., police say Kelly was live on Facebook as he shot Rudy Berger at the AutoZone on Jackson Avenue.

Berger, a father and grandfather, survived but has undergone several surgeries.

It didnt take long for that Facebook Live to start spreading fear across the city.

Witness, video detail AutoZone shooting during rampage

The district attorneys office says Kellys own mother called police to alert them of the alarming livestream.

 About an hour later, the city was placed on lockdown. Businesses closed and public transportation came to a halt, as fear kept spreading.

 About 20 minutes after the lockdown is issued, at 7:21 p.m., police say Kelly fires shots at several vehicles at Poplar and North McLean in Midtown.

Randell Graham is shot in the arm as he was driving. He survived.

I thought, I cant believe Im getting carjacked on my way to get a Covid shot, Graham said. My thought was, if I get out of my car, Im a dead man.

 At 7:25 p.m. Kelly is accused of carjacking and killing Allison Parker in front of her daughter at Poplar and Evergreen, and driving off in her car. Parker was a nurse from West Memphis.

Family raising money for 3 kids of woman killed in Memphis shooting rampage

 An hour and a half later, Ezekiel Kelly is now heading south toward Southaven.

Police say he pulls into the Raceway gas station on Stateline Road and pulls up next to 21-year-old Demetrick Porter.

He cracked his window and approached me by saying, Do you have any Percocet, Porter recalled.

Porter says he immediately recognizes Kelly from his Facebook Live. He takes off running and finds a Southaven Police officer inside the gas station, as Kelly takes Porters car.

Now police in Southaven and Memphis are on the lookout for Kelly, in Porters Dodge Charger.

Southaven police chief remembers the Ezekiel Kelly pursuit

 Less than 20 minutes later, Kelly crashes and is arrested in Whitehaven after crossing back over the state line into Memphis. The killing stops.

VIDEO: Ezekiel Kellys arrest brings end to day of terror

 On March 27 of this year, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced he is pursuing the death penalty against Kelly.

Kelly pleaded not guilty last year to 26 charges, including first-degree murder and attempted murder. He is due back in court on Sept. 14

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
COVINGTON, Tenn.  A Tipton County teacher is under investigation by law enforcement after allegations of inappropriate contact with children under 18.

The teachers name is Alissa McCommon, the Tipton County Sheriffs Office said Wednesday.

Tipton County Schools Superintendent Dr. John Combs confirmed McCommon was a teacher at Charger Academy this year but was previously a teacher at Crestview Elementary. McCommon was suspended without pay Aug. 24, he said.

That morning, Combs said a parent came to him with allegations leading to McCommons suspension.

Wednesday, Police Chief Donna Turner told WREG there are multiple victims under the age of 18 have also come forward with allegations. She would not comment on whether the alleged victims are students at either school or how long the alleged misconduct has been going on.

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As a seasoned detective, I can say theres no more cases that are more troubling to anybody to have to work than when you have an authority figure that possibly has breached a trust that this community has given her, Turner said.

Authorities did not say that any arrest had been made or any charges filed.

We knocked on the address listed for McCommon to see if she wanted to respond to the allegations but no one answered the door.

Chief Turner said the focus is on finding other juveniles who may have had contact with McCommon so they can get them help and file charges against her.

If someone does have information about it or they think if they talk to their child and think they have been a possible victim or even a witness of inappropriate behavior, then we ask that you contact if youre in the county contact Tipton County Sheriffs Office or the Covington Police Department if youre in the city of Covington, Turner said.

The investigation is a joint operation between the sheriffs office, Covington Police and the 25th Judicial District Attorney Generals Office.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Big Boy (left) & Milky (middle and right), two community cats attacked by a pack of three stray dogs in Toa Payoh (Photos: Hui Ting/Kim Keat Cats)

SINGAPORE - The number of cats believed to be attacked by the same pack of three stray dogs since last September is growing, according to cat welfare groups in Singapore.

Incidents of stray cat attacks have been more apparent since January, with two cats allegedly killed in Ang Mo Kio last month, said a cat feeder from the neighbourhood who requested to remain unnamed.

According to the 46-year-old, the pack of dogs first started roaming about in Ang Mo Kio, before travelling out to areas like Bidadari, Serangoon North, Jalan Kayu, Hougang, Bishan.

More recently, they were spotted in Toa Payoh, Geylang and Aljunied.

Recent attacks in Toa Payoh

A reader had previously told Yahoo Southeast Asia in May about two cats found in the Woodleigh/Bidadari area that were found with suspected dog bites.

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In mid June, a community cat in Toa Payoh, Big Boy, was bit in the face by one of the dogs. It suffered a jaw fracture, skull swelling, and serious infections from bites.

Its injuries were serious enough that three vets had recommended Big Boy be put down.

However, Kim Keat Cats, an informal animal welfare group based in Toa Payoh, instead chose to care for it.

Big Boy was given several antibiotics, with total expenses amounting to approximately $8,000 to $9,000, following two rounds of treatment.

It has since been adopted, with a follow up surgery scheduled for November.

Big Boy in recovery (left and middle) and a memorial for Milky (right) (Photos: Hui Ting/Kim Keat Cats)

More recently, Milky, a community cat based in Toa Payoh for the past few years, was attacked on 24 August. Its stomach got "butchered", and it did not survive.

Since the incidents, Kim Keat Cats has set up daily patrol to fend off the dogs.

According to Hui Ting, a coordinator in Kim Keat Cats, various informal animal welfare groups are frustrated, given all the casualties and the rising body count.

"We are just going around picking out bodies and medical cases, and spending thousands of dollars just to make sure that the community cats are taken care off."

The group has also approached the Animal & Veterinary Service (AVS) to assist in trapping the dogs since January.

Why are the stray dogs attacking cats?

According to Christine Bernadette, co-founder of animal welfare charity Causes for Animals, the issues of stray dogs attacks lies with the country's rapid development.

As forest areas are being developed, stray dogs that once lived in forested areas are forced to move into HDB estates after being displaced.

"What do you expect a dog to do if he has been living in a jungle area for so long, and the jungle is suddenly wiped out? Where will it go?" she said. "We are developing so fast that we have forgotten about nature and the wildlife around us."

According to Bernadette, this is reflected in why more incidents are happening in Bidadari estate, parts of which are still under construction, and Ang Mo Kio, where there are nearby forested areas providing hiding spots for stray dogs.

Meanwhile, Toa Payoh, which is densely populated by housing estates with fewer forested areas, has lower incidents in comparison.

Attacks first noticed last year

Residents first started noticing community cats go missing or turn up dead in Ang Mo Kio and Bidadari last year.

Informal animal welfare groups, concerned over the welfare of the cats, communicate via Whatsapp and Telegram to keep tabs on the whereabouts of stray dogs.

In the first three months of the year, a kill would happen almost every other week in Ang Mo Kio, claimed the unnamed cat feeder.

The Ang Mo Kio group was initially able to spot a routine by tracking the movement of the dogs. However, this later proved to be a challenge, as the dogs widened their area of scope.

"We are not always awake throughout the entire night, and we have to work. How are we supposed to be around, and fend off the dogs whenever they appear?" said Hui Ting.

Upon the team's examination of the cats' bodies, they noticed similar bite marks and puncture wounds.

The groups later came to the conclusion that the incidents were caused by a singular pack of three dogs, after speaking with other residents and feeders in the area

Residents reported seeing one of the stray dogs dragging a cat away, and another resident claimed they saw the pack of dogs chase after people.

Some younger residents would even stay up on weekend nights to help keep track of the dogs.

"The moment they hear a cat crying nearby, they will stop eating altogether, and run in that direction," said the cat feeder from Ang Mo Kio.

A report was filed with AVS in September last year, following multiple reports thereafter. In a CNA article in February, the AVS said it was aware of a pack of three dogs that were reported to have attacked community cats.

Not advocating for dogs to be euthanised

The groups are not advocating for the euthanisation of the homeless dog pack, but hope to prevent any further harm to animals in the community.

"We can't do much if it's a one-off incident, but it is not normal for the same pack of dogs to hunt cats," said the Ang Mo Kio cat feeder.

According to her, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) has stated that it will be happy to rehome the stray dogs, should AVS successfully track and capture them.

Yahoo has reached out to AVS for clarifications and further information.

Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.

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Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne is suing the state over approved dual language programs.

State Superintendent Tom Horne is all about giving parents choices.

Its why hes such a big proponent of the states universal voucher program.

When I took office, the commitment I made is that the Arizona Department of Education is a service organization committed to raising academic outcomes and empowering parents, he said in January.

Unless, of course, those parents have children who dont speak English.

On Wednesday, Horne sued state officials and the Creighton Elementary School District for daring to offer a program that allows English language learners to spend a portion of their day learning in their native language.

Horne says dual language violates the law

Dual-language immersion programs have become increasingly popular in recent years, an alternative to English-only programs that require those not proficient in English to spend all day being taught in English.

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Horne contends the dual-language programs violate a voter-approved law passed in 2000, requiring non-English speakers to be taught only in English.

That law, Proposition 203, envisioned an intensive one-year English immersion program.

But one year became multiple years as kids didnt become quickly proficient as hoped.

Meanwhile, they became isolated from their English speaking peers and fell behind in every academic subject, as its difficult to learn science or history or math if you cant understand the language in which its being taught.

Another law allows approved programs

Finally, in 2019, alarmed that these children were falling behind academically and at the request of immigrant parents, the Legislature unanimously passed and then-Gov. Doug Ducey signed a law directing the State Board of Education to adopt alternative English instruction models that are based on evidence and research.

The board then adopted four new models for the states 93,000 English language learners  one of them the dual language approach that allows children to be taught for half the day in English and half in Spanish or some other language.

The program has become popular, with at least two dozen school districts now offering that alternative to parents.

Horne claws back: Millions in funds granted under Hoffman

Horne, however, doesnt approve.

Earlier this summer, he threatened to defund any school district that offered dual language immersion, but Attorney General Kris Mayes slapped him down, pointing out that he doesnt have the authority to defund anything.

So now hes suing her, Gov. Katie Hobbs and Creighton, hoping to kill dual language instruction.

By my count, thats four sets of lawyers well be paying.

If it's really about parental choice ...

I get it. Horne believes the best way for children to learn English is to be immersed only in English.

But what about what their parents believe?

This same superintendent is spending $10 million to market Empowerment Scholarship Accounts to Spanish-speaking families.

Families that could chose to take a taxpayer-funded $7,200 voucher and spend it on a private school that teaches in Spanish, in Swahili or in Klingon, if thats what they want.

And Horne would cheer them on.

Its the parents choice, after all.

Unless they choose a public school program in which they believe their children will actually learn something, in which case  .

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @LaurieRoberts.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Tom Horne sues to stop dual language. So much for parental choice?
The Foundation for the Carolinas  the Charlotte-based nonprofit organization with more than $4 billion in assets  will enter its fourth generation of leadership in 2024.

Veteran Bank of America executive Cathy Bessant will take over the nations fifth largest community foundation as its president and CEO in the new year, leaders told reporters Wednesday.

Bessant, who in July announced plans to retire from Bank of America after 40 years, succeeds Michael Marsicano, who grew the foundations assets from $245 million in 1999 to nearly $4 billion as its third president.

Bessant, a former chair and longtime FFTC board member, will be tasked with taking over several initiatives  and some controversy  that began under Marsicanos leadership.

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I dont think of this as chapter two, Bessant said. I think of this as a return to chapter one. I never intended to be a banker for 40 years.

Bessant said she got a job at the bank to make money before going to law school. She wanted to be a lawyer for the ACLU.

This is yet another expression of, I think, the person that Ive always been, she said.

Bessant will inherit several programs that began under Marsicano, including the Mayors Racial Equity Initiative, the Greater Charlotte Cultural Trust, the Charlotte Housing Opportunity Fund and the Carolina Theatre.

The foundation originally planned to replace Marsicano before he retired in January, but interim CEO Laura Smith helmed the organization throughout this year.

The search for a new president was no easy task, said Jada Grandy-Mock, who sits on the Board of Directors and search committee.

It was a long search that was done with intent, as well as a whole lot of focus, she said. We didnt want to rush in identifying the best candidate for this foundation, for this community.

Smiths staff gave the search committee the flexibility to spend time looking for the best candidate, Board of Directors Chair Arrington Mixon added.

Bessant, the daughter of a public-school teacher and nonprofit leader, graduated from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. She is a breast cancer survivor and earned the Most Powerful Woman in Banking designation from American Banker magazine three times in a row.

At Bank of America, Bessant served as the president of Global Corporate Banking, chief marketing officer and, most recently, as vice chair of Global Strategy in Paris. She said she looks forward to returning to Charlotte and the Carolinas, which will always be her home.

There isnt a better job in a better city at a better time, Marsicano said in 2019 when asked what advice hed give his successor.

Bessant will also manage the foundations partnerships and donor-directed funds, $20 million of which were funneled to anti-immigration groups from 2006 to 2018, a 2019 Charlotte Observer investigation found.

With the foundations long-standing donations to area nonprofits that support asylum-seekers and refugees, its pass-through donation to the Center for Immigration Studies and Federation for American Immigration Reform  designated hate groups  boggled and upset some.

While charitable grants from the foundation did not go to anti-immigration groups, donor-advised funds did, the Observer previously reported. In most cases, donors determine where money goes, and the foundation can channel it to any organization recognized as a nonprofit by the federal government.

Philanthropy is a form of freedom of speech, Marsicano previously told the Observer, and I dont think any institution should be cutting off freedom of speech on fund holders.

Bessant said deliberating funds and partnerships is an incredibly important part of the mission of the CEO but did not say if the foundation would change the way it funds groups.

With four months until Bessant assumes her position, there are things about the foundations work she does not yet know, she said.
A group of tourists aboard a diving boat in Fiji recently had an incredibly awesome experience.

The boat was exploring near Beqa Lagoon Resort when it encountered a mama humpback whale and her two calves, according to a Sept. 2 Facebook post from the resort.

We were really fortunate to take a close glimpse at them as they were coming right close to the boat, the resort said.

A video shows the massive humpback and her babies gliding near the surface and diving in and out of the water.

Passengers also spotted a group of playful dolphins that followed the boat, according to the resorts post.

What a unique and fun day, the post said.

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Social media users shared their excitement about the encounter.

What a rare awesome blessing, one person commented on Facebook.

That is amazing!! another Facebook user commented.

WOW.....Amazing, another comment said.

The resort is on Beqa Island, which is south of Fijis main island.

Tourists swim with 2 humpbacks  then more join in. How many whales can you count?

Boaters spot rare glimpse of endangered gentle giants in Canada. Most amazing thing

Unusual pod of sea creatures make incredible visit to Iceland harbor. See the video
LAKE WORTH BEACH, Fla. (WFLA)  A south Florida town has become the first in the state to formally declare itself an LGBTQ+ sanctuary city.

In a Lake Worth Beach city commission meeting Tuesday, members voted unanimously in favor of the decision, according to a report from NBC affiliate WPTV.

City council members and advocates cited concerns from the community  particularly from parents, educators and students  regarding recently enacted legislation aimed at LGBTQ+ people.

Man convicted of killing Clinton officer says judges shouldnt hand down death sentences

The expanded Parental Rights in Education law, which took effect in June, further limits the discussion of gender identity and sexual orientation in Florida classrooms. The restrictions originally went up to third grade, but now the law covers pre-K through eighth grade.

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Lake Worth Beach Mayor Betty Resch vowed to work with the city council to create a plan of action supporting LGBTQ+ people and helping them feel safe.

Pinellas accounting manager stole over $700,000 from HOAs, deputies say

This is a crucial time for all of us to come together and stand in unity that the city is publicly making a statement, in black and white, and a resolution that it is a safe city for all of its residents, Julie Seaver, Executive Director of Compass LGBTQ+ Community Center, told WPTV.

South Florida is considered to be more liberal than other parts of the state. Lake Worth Beach hosts Palm Beach Pride and has thriving LGBTQ-owned businesses, but advocates say the local LGBTQ+ community still needs safe spaces.

Unfortunately, weve had incidents throughout Palm Beach County. Weve had incidents here in Lake Worth Beach and to have safe spaces means a lot for people, Rand Hoch, with the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, told WPTV. If we cant do anything about the people up in Tallahassee, at least we can do it here in our own backyard.

Overland Park mom, 4-year-old shot at after yelling at speeding driver

Hoch claims the so-called anti-LGBTQ+ legislation has not only affected residents, it has also damaged Floridas reputation.

We are losing a lot of tourism. Were losing a lot of business, Hoch told WPTV. We want to let people know that you are welcome here, if youre gay, lesbian or trans. And thats an important statement to make these days because what people are hearing is the exact opposite.

Advocates in Tallahassee are also pushing for local lawmakers to declare Floridas capital an LGBTQ+ sanctuary city.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
After nearly a decade of absence, a rare white creature once again was spotted in an India sanctuary, the park announced.

A group of researchers with the Holematthi Nature Foundation, led by conservation scientist Sanjay Gubbi, placed trail cameras along a pathway in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in southern India.

The researchers were hoping to see leopards in the images as they studied the native population, The Times of India reported, but instead, they found something much more rare.

In two images, a white sambar deer was seen standing in the tall grass.

The park shared the images in a Sept. 7 Facebook post, and another image was shared by journalist Bosky Khanna on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Sambar deer, typically a darker brown color, are found in forests across the Himalayas, southern Asia, Taiwan and Malaysia, according to the World Land Trust.

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Researchers said the white deer had leucism, a unique trait that needs to be studied much more closely.

Leucism is different from albinism, the researchers said in the post.

Unlike albinism, which occurs due to the lack of melanin in the body of an animal, leucism is a genetic anomaly that results in a complete lack of pigmentation in the animals skin, either in patches or through the entire body, the researchers said.

The white deer was photographed with another sambar deer, which researchers believe is the rare animals mother.

The white deer was also photographed with another deer with the standard coloration, the researchers said.

This is the first time a white sambar deer has been spotted in the area since 2014, the park said.

Photographic data like this can offer us many insights into the biology of these herbivore populations, which remains to be explored and also in their ecology, Gubbi told The Times of India. Sambar is also listed as a vulnerable species as per the IUCN Red List, so it is imperative that we continue to study them and such unique occurrences.

The Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary is in Karnataka, about 715 miles southeast of Mumbai, India.

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KHARTOUM, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council and General Commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Thursday headed to the Qatari capital of Doha on an official visit, the sovereign council said in a statement.

Al-Burhan would discuss with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani the means to enhance bilateral relations, issues of mutual concern, and the developments in Sudan, the statement said.

Al-Burhan is accompanied by acting Foreign Minister Ali Al-Sadiq and Director of the General Intelligence Service Ahmed Ibrahim Mufadel, it added.

It marks Al-Burhan's third foreign visit after Egypt and South Sudan since the war broke out between the SAF and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in mid-April.

The deadly conflict is still raging in Sudan's capital Khartoum and other areas, leaving at least 3,000 deaths and more than 6,000 injuries, according to the Sudanese Health Ministry. 
Police are investigating after a semi was hit by a train in Middletown Thursday.

The semi-truck got stuck on the railroad tracks near University Blvd., Police Chief David Birk told our news partners at WCPO in Cincinnati.

>> Second teen to be charged as adult in murder of Lyft driver

The driver wasnt able to alert the train operators in time and that led the train to crash into the truck.

No one was hurt, according to Birk.

Woodlawn Ave. is shut down near University Blvd. Police shared on social media that they expect the road to be closed for several hours.

Were working to learn more.
A trapped American explorer has said he was very close to the edge as he thanked Turkish authorities for saving his life in an emotional video from deep inside a cave system.

Mark Dickey, 40, became trapped 3,400 feet below the surface after he suffered stomach bleeding while in the Morca cave on Saturday, sparking an international rescue mission with hundreds of caving experts brought in to help.

I was very close to the edge, Mr Dickey admitted in the video obtained by The Associated Press.

Authorities in Turkey are working with a group of more than 150 international cave rescue experts to safely remove Mr Dickey from his location after he experienced the emergency.

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Throughout the week, rescuers were able to send six units of blood and doctors to Mr Dickey. While his condition has improved, he may still need a stretcher to exit.

Rescuers began setting up rope lines on Wednesday as part of the effort, though it is unclear when they can begin the mission due to its extreme complexity.

American caver Mark Dickey, left, 40, talks to a colleague inside the Morca cave near Anamur, southern Turkey, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (AP)

The cave system is described as extremely narrow with many twists and turns, making it difficult to navigate. It typically takes a person in good health around 15 hours to exit.

In the video, Mr Dickey thanks the caving community for rallying around him.

Hi. Mark Dickey from nearly a thousand meters, Mr Dickey said. The caving world is a really tight-knit group and its amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface, he said in the video, which was released by the Turkish government.

European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) members work next to the entrance of Morca cave near Anamur, southern Turkey, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (AP)

Were still waiting for communications actually to reach down here. So right now its a day or two days of travel for information to get back and forth. I dont quite know whats happened, but I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge.

The rescue mission is a challenging one as Mr Dickey is currently unable to climb out on his own, according to the European Cave Rescue Association.

The group has described the American as a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself who is secretary of the associations medical committee.
I tried the banana pudding bagel from Magnolia Bakery and Ess-a-Bagel, and honestly, it was pretty great

Magnolia Bakery and New York bagel institution Ess-a-Bagel collaborated on a banana pudding bagel.

Banana pudding cream cheese is sandwiched between a plain bagel and rolled in crushed Nilla Wafers.

I thought it was perfect for banana pudding fans, but perhaps too sweet for the average bagel lover.



Two iconic New York eateries released a limited edition bagel in August.

Most New Yorkers have at least heard of Magnolia Bakery since it rose to fame after appearing on "Sex And The City."

It's best known for is the banana pudding, the recipe for which it released in 2021. Although you can now theoretically make it home, people still travel from all over the world to order it from its original location.

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So when I heard Magnolia Bakery was teaming up with my favorite New York bagel spot, Ess-a-Bagel, on a banana pudding bagel, I knew I had to try it.

As the duo shared on Instagram, the concoction consists of a plain bagel, a specially made banana pudding cream cheese, and Nilla Wafer crumbs, which is one of the ingredients in Magnolia's original banana pudding recipe.

The collaboration will only be available through September 15, as representatives for both companies said during an appearance on PIX11 News, so I headed to Ess-a-Bagel on Thursday to give it a try.

When I arrived at the store, it was packed.

Ess-a-Bagel is often packed. Samantha Grindell/Insider

I arrived at Ess-a-Bagel around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, joining a line of other New Yorkers who appeared to be having a bagel for brunch.

But the line was nothing compared to the one that often forms at Magnolia Bakery, so I didn't mind waiting a few minutes for my bagel.

I didn't see anyone else order the banana pudding bagel while I was there, but I did see an advertisement for the Magnolia collaboration within moments of stepping into the store, making me eager to give it a try.

My first impression of the creation was that it literally looked like banana pudding had been spread on a bagel.

The bagel came in a plastic container. Samantha Grindell/Insider

From the yellow tinge of the bread to the cream cheese oozing out of the sides to the Nilla Wafer crumbles lining the edges, just looking at the bagel took me back to summer picnics and barbecues where banana pudding was a staple.

I also appreciated that the bagel was packed in a plastic container and placed face up, as it ensured the Nilla Wafer crumbles wouldn't get stuck on the packaging before I had a chance to taste them.

As I took my first bite of the bagel, I was blasted with the flavor of banana pudding.

The banana pudding flavor was strong. Samantha Grindell/Insider

It tasted exactly like the famous dessert, but it was sandwiched between two perfect slices of plain bagel.

But as the bite washed over my mouth, the flavor of cream cheese started to make itself known. It was like a cream cheese aftertaste.

I liked the way the notes of cream cheese cut the sweetness of the banana pudding, making the flavor less overwhelming.

The texture of the cream cheese gave me pause.

The cream cheese was slimier than I anticipated. Samantha Grindell/Insider

The texture of the spread was a little slimier than the average Ess-a-Bagel cream cheese, which is typically thick. It teetered towards pudding texture rather than shmear, which I didn't love.

To be fair, it was 92 degrees in New York when I tried the bagel, so the weather could have been to blame for the gooeyness.

Regardless, bagel aficionados should expect to have a slightly different experience with the cream cheese than they would with Ess-a-Bagel's other flavors.

The Nilla Wafer crumbles were crucial to the eating experience.

I wish the Nilla Wafer crumbles surrounded the bagel. Samantha Grindell/Insider

I thought the bites with Nilla Wafer crumbles in them were the best part of the bagel, as it offered the ideal balance of sweet and crunchy.

But my sandwich didn't have crumbles on the outer edges, so I only had a few bites that offered the full banana pudding bagel experience.

It may have been more difficult to package the bagel if it had been rolled in the crumbles on all sides, but I still missed them as I ate the outer edges of the treat.

I think the collaboration is a dream come true for banana pudding lovers, but maybe too sweet for everyone else.

I definitely recommend the bagel to banana pudding lovers. Samantha Grindell/Insider

Overall, the banana pudding bagel was a delicious sweet treat, but it definitely felt more like a dessert than a breakfast treat.

I'd recommend the limited edition bagel to Magnolia Bakery loyalists or banana pudding lovers in general, but I'd tell bagel fans to proceed with a bit more caution. You might be better off sticking to Ess-a-Bagel's classics.

Read the original article on Insider
(Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said theres no room for rapprochement with China as President Xi Jinpings muscular foreign policy has made a normal relationship between the countries impossible, for now.

China has made decisions over the past years that have made it more difficult  not just for Canada but for other countries  to engage, Trudeau said in an interview Thursday.

The prime minister acknowledged that when he came to power in 2015, he had hoped to work toward a free trade deal with China. But the relationship between the two nations turned hostile in 2018 when Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a US extradition request, prompting China to detain two Canadians and impose embargoes on some Canadian food exports.

Obviously weve had a challenging few years, as many people had. The arbitrary detention of two Canadians for political reasons put a real chill on the relationship, Trudeau said. But China is one of the most important economies in the world and its not a country that anyone can simply ignore.

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Trudeau made the comments during an interview in Singapore, which he visited as part of a trip through Asia to further trade ties and attend the Group of 20 leaders meeting. Trudeau visited Jakarta this week and met with President Joko Widodo, and he said Canada is on track to sign a trade agreement with Indonesia in the next 12 months. His government plans to open a trade gateway in Singapore.

Expanding trade with a number of Asian economies and reducing reliance on China is one of the goals of Canadas Indo-Pacific strategy. China is Canadas second-largest trading partner, after the US.

Trudeau said the relationship between Canada and China is probably stable right now, but theres lots of room for improvement.

Its not deteriorating right now, but it has not gotten as much better as perhaps we wouldve liked after the Michaels situation was revolved, he said, referring to the two detained Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were released in 2021. A US federal judge dismissed the charges against Meng at the Justice Departments request.

Election Interference

Trudeaus government has been dogged by allegations that it mishandled or ignored evidence of China interfering in Canadas federal elections. The claims prompted Canada and China to expel diplomats earlier this year.

Trudeau appointed a watchdog to investigate the allegations, but that person resigned amid opposition criticism that he held too many personal ties to Trudeau to be objective.

After weeks of negotiations with opposition parties, Trudeaus government announced Thursday that it will launch a public inquiry into foreign meddling. Marie-Josee Hogue, a Quebec Court of Appeal judge, will chair the probe into alleged interference by China, Russia and other state and non-state actors, it said.

In the interview, Trudeau also said his government was moving forward with a foreign agent registry, similar to ones that exist in the US and Australia. But he said his government is approaching it carefully, concerned about the risks and referencing moments in our history when such tools have been misused.

Trudeaus government has responded to the US-led effort to accelerate the development of cleaner technologies, including electric vehicles. Canada hopes to become a global supplier of critical minerals and a crucial piece of the North American EV supply chain, but that dream comes with a cost: matching the billions in subsidies offered by the US Inflation Reduction Act.

Trudeau said industrial policy was smart policy, up to a point. Canada began deliberately investing in the green transformation of its economy well before the US, he argued.

Our closest trading partner went through a four-year stretch where investment in green or fighting climate change was simply not a priority, he said. So President Biden has stepped up with a massive Inflation Reduction Act that is all about trying to catch up to where other countries like Canada have been moving.

There are areas where Canada must deal with China, including on climate change, Trudeau said.We have to be eyes wide open as we engage, he said. But we also need to look where we actually can cooperate together.

--With assistance from Karthikeyan Sundaram and Tassia Sipahutar.

(Updates paragraph 11 to reflect the announcement of a public inquiry.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Jailhouse phone calls captured by the State Attorneys Office shed new light on the criminal investigation of a former Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teacher.

Jeffrey Clayton is accused of lewd acts upon a student.

Action News Jax got Claytons personnel file from Duval County Public Schools in April. It revealed he had a series of complaints about his behavior with students dating back to 2006.

These recorded calls show Claytons wife confronting him about a series of accusations.

She notes Clayton had faced accusations before.

Read: Audio released of police interrogation of former DA teacher Jeffrey Clayton

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Ive come to bat for you for so many times of you telling me things didnt really happen, and things werent true, and they were just after you. But I need to know is this true? she asks.

Clayton never answers his wife, saying he cant talk about it over the phone.

In audio recordings of Claytons interrogation, police ask him if he thinks in this case the victim is being honest.

Read: State questions Duval County Public Schools over reporting of arrested Douglas Anderson teacher

Investigator: Would you say she seems to be an honest person?

Clayton: No.

But text messages obtained by police tell a different story. That evidence shows Clayton and the victim exchanged nearly 1,900 texts, calls and FaceTimes between September 19 of last year and March 21 of this year.

Read: Theres a breach of trust: Parents want transparent investigation into misconduct at Duval schools

Claytons wife: There are more than a thousand text messages to this student.

Clayton: They told you that?

Claytons wife: Yes. And I know who the student is because it happened last Friday.

Read: Its terrifying: Jacksonville teacher facing felony charges for alleged lewd conduct with student

The exchanges are about school at first. Clayton eventually begins calling his student pet names like sweetie and asking to see her in different dresses.

By March 13, Clayton is calling her lovely, gorgeous, stunning, cute, hot. He insists she is not a teenage girl.

Three days later Clayton texts, Are you sexually attracted to me?

Read: Arrested Duval teacher kissed student, told her of intoxicating feelings for her, warrant says

From there, their text conversations imply the two kissed multiple times.

The victim says in her police interview that he kissed the top of her breasts.

Clayton admits to wanting to do so in the texts.

Read: Douglas Anderson teacher accused of lewd conduct involving a student, principal says

On multiple occasions, he asks her to delete their messages, reminding her how dangerous it could be for them.

Meanwhile, in the recorded call with his wife, Clayton offered few answers.

Claytons wife: Jeff, how did we get here?

[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]

Clayton: I dont know.

We spoke with Action News Jax law and safety expert Dale Carson about the phone calls and text messages.

Carson, a defense attorney, believes the phone calls can be helpful to the prosecution even though Clayton doesnt admit to the accusations.

[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Anything other than a flat denial is an admission, Carson said.

Carson explains that not denying the accusation could lead a jury to believe the defendant knew what happened was wrong and chose not to discuss it.

The phone call will most likely be allowed as evidence because Clayton and his wife acknowledge they are being recorded.

Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
The construction of former President Donald Trump s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border desecrated Indigenous cultural sites, hurt wildlife, destroyed vegetation, dried up key water resources, exacerbated the risk of flooding and triggered erosion that has left mountain slopes unstable and at risk of collapse, according to a new report.

The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan government watchdog, reviewed federal data and interviewed government officials, Native American tribes and stakeholders over the course of two years. The result is a comprehensive look at the widespread cultural and environmental harm  much of which experts had predicted  that came from Trumps relentless pursuit of what he called a big, beautiful wall along the southern U.S. border.

The Trump administration spent an estimated $15 billion constructing more than 400 miles of border wall, much of which replaced smaller existing barriers. It waived numerous environmental laws along the way. Trump had insisted during his campaign that Mexico would foot the bill for the construction, but Mexico never paid a dime.

Laiken Jordahl, a conservation advocate at the left-leaning Center for Biological Diversity who documents environmental damage in the borderlands, told HuffPost the report confirms all our worst fears about the damage wall construction has inflicted on wildlife, public lands and cultural resources.

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Among other things, construction of the wall fragmented wildlife habitats, cut off species migration routes and destroyed ancient cacti and other native vegetation.

These border walls havent done a thing to address immigration or smuggling, but they did drive endangered species closer to extinction, butcher thousands of iconic saguaro cacti and dynamite Indigenous sacred sites and burial grounds, Jordahl said. This is a clear warning that any attempt to build additional miles of border walls would be a horrifically destructive and useless folly.

A hill at Coronado National Monument in Hereford, Arizona, was blasted for border wall construction on Sept. 22, 2022.

A hill at Coronado National Monument in Hereford, Arizona, was blasted for border wall construction on Sept. 22, 2022.

The federal audit notably follows a federal judge ordering Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Wednesday to remove floating buoys from the Rio Grande  a barrier that, like Trumps wall, was meant to deter migrants from crossing the border and that has raised strikingly similar environmental and humanitarian concerns.

Citing information gathered from numerous unidentified federal and tribal officials, the GAO concluded that Trumps wall negatively impacted cultural and natural resources alike.

From the start, President Trumps border wall was nothing more than a symbolic message of hate, aimed at vilifying migrants and bolstering extreme MAGA rhetoric, Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who in 2021 requested the GAO look into the walls environmental impacts, said in a statement responding to the report. This racist political stunt has been an ineffective waste of billions of American taxpayers dollars  and now we know it has caused immeasurable, irreparable harm to our environment and cultural heritage as well.

In Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, a UNESCO biosphere reserve in southern Arizona that is home to numerous endangered species, contractors bulldozed and blasted land in order to expand an existing patrol road. The work damaged portions of Monument Hill, which is home to cultural and burial sites sacred to the Tohono Oodham and other Native American tribes.

At nearby Quitobaquito Springs, an oasis in the Sonoran Desert that is sacred to the Tohono Oodham people, tribal leaders told the GAO that contractors cleared a large area and destroyed a burial site that the tribal nation had hoped to protect.

Tribal and agency officials and four of the five stakeholders we interviewed told us that some projects caused significant damage and destruction to cultural resources, including historic sites and sites sacred to Tribes, the report states. Tohono Oodham Nation officials explained that damage and destruction to such sites is often irreparable because it can disrupt or end rites revered or cherished by specific cultural groups.

Border wall construction at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Lukeville, Arizona, on Jan. 7, 2020.

Border wall construction at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Lukeville, Arizona, on Jan. 7, 2020.

Construction has severely affected water resources. In San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge, an artesian well no longer naturally flows to the surface and now requires mechanical pumps to maintain water pressure, the report notes, citing information gathered from a stakeholder. Moreover, some ponds in the refuge are now void of water, which makes it difficult to maintain water levels in other ponds that have threatened and endangered fish species, it reads.

Officials with the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management highlighted the increased risk of flooding in certain areas as newly constructed roads have blocked the natural flow of water.

Perhaps the walls biggest environmental impact is on animals and plants along the border.

As the report details, barriers have restricted the movement of numerous species, including the endangered Sonoran pronghorn and Mexican gray wolf. In Texass Rio Grande Valley, towering border fences have fragmented the endangered ocelots habitat and severed the animals travel corridors across the border  consequences that a joint agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection found to have substantially elevated the risks of the ocelots extinction in the U.S., the GAO report notes.

One of the more dramatic scenes to play out along the border during Trumps tenure was construction workers cutting down ancient, protected saguaro cacti  a clearing effort that the report notes allowed for invasive species to take hold. Pictures at the time showed giant, thorny cacti toppled and limbs discarded on the side of dirt roads.

The Tohono Oodham Nation viewed the destruction as a cultural assault as well as an environmental one.

The Tohono Oodham Nation officials explained that the saguaro is significant to Oodham culture and livelihood, as the saguaro provides an important fruit source and is a sacred plant to be given utmost respect, as a relative, the report reads.

A dead cactus lies near the U.S.-Mexico border wall in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on Feb. 13, 2020.

A dead cactus lies near the U.S.-Mexico border wall in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on Feb. 13, 2020.

Then theres significant erosion stemming from contractors slicing through remote mountains and building roads and construction staging areas. Steep slopes were left unstable and at risk of collapse and incomplete erosion control measures along the barrier and patrol roads threatened the integrity of the barrier system itself, according to the report.

In Arizonas Pajarito Mountains in the Coronado National Forest, clearing vegetation for one staging area caused the soil to erode. A Forest Service official told the GAO the entire mountainside is now at risk of collapse.

Jordahl called the GAOs findings horribly devastating.

The description of damage to sacred sites and burial grounds is jarring, he said via email. The description of wall construction permanently damaging the artesian well system that feeds spring habitats that sustain endangered species at the San Bernardino National Wildlife [R]efuge is horrifying. This could ultimately lead to the extinction of the endemic species that live there. The parts about severe erosion concerns are also sobering.

The report, he said, shows the dire need for mitigation and restoration, and ultimately, the need to tear down the wall where it blocks important migration routes for endangered species like jaguars, ocelots and Sonoran pronghorn.

In interviews with the GAO, officials at CBP and other agencies blamed some of the negative impacts on President Joe Bidens proclamation in 2021 that halted border wall construction, which they said prevented work to install road culverts and revegetate cleared areas.

The report notes that CBP and the Interior Department have agreed to GAOs recommendations, including working collaboratively on a strategy for mitigating border wall impacts.

The Interior Department declined to comment on the findings. CBP pointed HuffPost to the report, which includes the agencys response that it concurs with the GAOs recommendations.
(Bloomberg) -- Former Vice President Mike Pence denounced the populist impulses animating the Republican Party, saying former President Donald Trump , Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and other rivals for the 2024 nomination had abandoned their conservative principles for political expediency.

Most Read from Bloomberg

In a speech in New Hampshire on Wednesday, Pence said Trump and his populist proteges have turned their backs on limited government and traditional values in favor of an agenda stitched together by little else than personal grievances and performative outrage, according to his prepared remarks.

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Pence said Republican populists, like Democratic progressives, share an impulse to use government edicts to wage culture wars and are fellow travelers on the same road to ruin.

Pences address at Saint Anselm College highlighted the ideological tensions within the Republican Party as it selects its candidate to challenge President Joe Biden in 2024.

Pences criticism of his former running mate isnt new. Hes argued that history would hold Trump accountable for endangering lives  including his own  by urging a mob to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in an effort to stop the certification of the 2020 election. Pence, presiding over a joint congressional session to count electoral votes, took the final step in confirming Bidens win.

But his speech Wednesday went further, making clear his break with Trump extends to philosophical differences as well. Pence is defending the record of the Trump administration, but accusing Trump himself of abandoning the conservative agenda he governed on, and breaking from the tradition of Republican presidents like Ronald Reagan  whose name Pence repeatedly invokes.

The Republican Party did not begin on a golden escalator in 2015, Pence said in his prepared remarks, referring to the beginning of Trumps first campaign eight years ago.

In a series of posts on his social media platform later Wednesday, Trump responded by saying Pence had gone to the dark side.

Mike failed badly on calling out Voter Fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election, and based on the fact that he is at approximately 2% in the Polls, with no money or support, he obviously did the wrong thing, Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Pence also extended his criticism to rivals that he called Trump imitators. He castigated DeSantis for using the state government to punish the Walt Disney Co. for taking political stands he disagreed with. And he took on Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy for proposing an estate tax rate of 59% and for saying entitlement reform should be left to another president.

This is not conservatism, Pence said. It is Republicanism that prioritizes power over principles.

Pences rhetorical assault on his rivals followed a spirited exchange with Ramaswamy in the first Republican presidential debate last month. The second debate, on Sept. 27 at the Reagan Library, will likely give Pence another platform to brand himself as a traditional conservative.

Despite being second only to Trump in name recognition, Pence is polling in the single digits in fifth place in most polls, behind Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

(Updates to add response from Trump, beginning in the eighth paragraph)

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By Crystal Hill

The first of 19 co-defendants reaches a plea deal with Fulton County, Ga., prosecutors in the 2020 election interference case. Former President Donald Trump is set to be deposed in connection with lawsuits brought by two former FBI officials. A judge denies former Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clarks bid to transfer the Georgia case against him to federal court.

Georgia election interference

1st defendant takes plea deal in Trump Georgia 2020 election case

Key players: Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, Trump co-defendant and bail bondsman Scott Hall

Scott Hall, one of 19 defendants charged in the 2020 election interference case in Georgia, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors Friday, making him the first defendant in the case to do so.

Media outlets report that Hall pleaded guilty before Judge Scott McAfee to five misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with the performance of election duties.

The plea deal requires Hall to serve five years of probation, pay a fine of $5,000 and serve 200 hours of community service.

Most notably, the plea deal requires Hall to testify in any future proceedings.

Hall, who initially faced seven conspiracy-related counts, was accused of helping to illegally tamper with electronic voting machines in Coffee County, Ga.

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Why it matters: Halls plea agreement could indicate that other co-defendants, such as pro-Trump lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, who are set to stand trial on Oct. 23, may take similar deals. It also means that Hall could be called to testify against his co-defendants, including Trump.

Judge denies ex-DOJ official Jeffrey Clarks bid to move Georgia case to federal court

Key players: Former Trump Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones of the Northern District of Georgia, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee

On Friday, a federal judge rejected Clarks bid to transfer the criminal case against him in Georgia to federal court, court documents show.

Clarks attorney had argued that Clark was acting in his official capacity when he drafted a letter that sought to convince Georgia election officials that voter fraud may have marred the 2020 election results in the state.

Then-Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen refused to send the letter, saying there was no evidence of fraud on that scale, and prosecutors argued that Clark was acting well outside of his official duties when he wrote the letter.

Jones determined in his 31-page decision that Clark did not provide sufficient evidence supporting his claim that he was acting in his official capacity, nor did he offer a viable legal case for why the federal court should assume jurisdiction.

Clark is just the latest ex-Trump official charged in the 2020 election interference case in Georgia to lose a bid to move the case to federal court. A judge previously denied a request from former chief of staff Mark Meadows. And on Thursday, Trumps lawyers told Judge McAfee in a court filing that they will not seek to move the case from state to federal court.

Why it matters: The failed attempts by Clark and Meadows to get their cases moved to federal court  and Trumps decision to not seek a change of venue  show that it will be particularly challenging for former Trump officials charged in the Georgia case to get their cases moved to federal court. Meadows has appealed Joness Sept. 8 ruling rejecting his request.

Justice Department lawsuit

Trump set to be deposed in October in DOJ civil case

Key players: U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, lawyers for former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page

Trump is scheduled to be deposed on Oct. 17 for two lawsuits filed, respectively, by former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, according to a Thursday filing from their lawyers.

In the filing, lawyers for Strzok and Page noted the looming possibility of a government shutdown, stating that it could potentially delay the proceedings.

Strzok and Page are suing the Justice Department over the release of text messages that conveyed their dislike of Trump. Strzok, who was fired from the FBI in 2018, is suing for wrongful termination, while Page, who resigned, is alleging that her privacy rights were violated by the release.

Strzok and Page had both worked on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election with then-special counsel Robert Mueller and were reportedly romantically involved.

The pair alleges that the DOJ wrongfully released the text messages in December 2017. Trump isnt a named defendant, but Strzok and Page allege that his public rants against them impacted their standing at the FBI and led to their departures.

The Justice Department earlier this year tried to block Trump from being able to testify. But a judge ruled against the request in July, determining that Trump can be deposed. Trump has denied the allegations against him, CNN reported.

Why it matters: If Trump is deposed, he would be questioned under oath, and his testimony could at the very least expose him and his administration to more scrutiny.

Read more:

Rolling Stone: Former President says four indictments a great honor

Slate: The government might shut down. What will that mean for special prosecutor Jack Smith?

Associated Press: Judge sets hearing on gag order request in Trump election case in DC

______________________

Thursday, Sept. 28

______________________

An appeals court in New York rejects former President Donald Trumps attempt to delay the start of the trial that will decide how much he, his adult sons and his business must pay after being found liable for financial fraud. Attorney General Letitia James reveals that she will call Trump and his sons as witnesses. In Georgia, meanwhile, Trump's lawyers tell the judge they will not seek to move their case to federal court.

Georgia election interference

Trump will not seek to move Fulton County case to federal court, filing states

Key players: Judge Scott McAffee, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows

Trump will not seek to move his racketeering and election interference case to federal court, according to a court filing made Thursday by the former presidents lawyers, WSB-TV in Atlanta reported.

In the filing lawyers for Trump informed McAffee that they would not seek to move the case against him from state to federal court.

"President Trump now notifies the Court that he will NOT be seeking to remove his case to federal court," the filing stated.

Trumps lawyers had laid out the possibility they would follow the lead of Meadows and others charged by Willis, in seeking to move their cases to federal court, which is considered a more favorable venue for the defendants due to the larger jury pool.

Why it matters: A judge has already rejected Meadows bid for a federal court to handle his case. In Thursdays filing, Trumps lawyers said they had confidence  that McAfee would protect his constitutional right to a fair trial.

New York financial fraud trial

State of New York Court of Appeals rejects Trumps motion to delay financial fraud trial

Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron, Superior Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, New York Attorney General Letitia James

In a ruling issued Thursday afternoon, the New York state court of appeals rejected an attempt by Trumps lawyers to delay the Oct. 2 start of the financial fraud trial brought against the former president by James, USA Today reported.

The ruling means that the trial to determine how much Trump, his adult sons and his business must pay in damages for having committed fraud over several years will begin next week. James is seeking $250 million.

The nonjury trial will be decided by Engoron, who ruled in a summary judgment this week that Trump was liable in the case.

Trumps lawyers have unsuccessfully sought to have Engoron recuse himself from the case and for it to be delayed.

Why it matters: Running out of legal options, Trump, his sons and his business appear poised to face severe penalties stemming from the case.

James to call Trump, his sons Eric and Don Jr. as witnesses

Key players: New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trumps adult sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., Judge Engoron

James plans to include the former president and his two adult sons on a witness list to be presented to the court for their testimony in the financial fraud trial that will determine how much money the defendants must pay as punishment for committing financial fraud in New York over multiple years, ABC News reported .

Since Engorons ruling Tuesday that found Trump, his adult sons and his business were liable for that fraud and which rescinded some of Trumps business licenses in the state, Eric and Don Jr. have mercilessly attacked the judge on social media.

Judge Engoron knows that I have done absolutely nothing wrong, Eric, executive vice president of the Trump Org. said in a Wednesday post on X. Any impartial judge looking at the facts, and extensive testimony, would have never allowed my name to be dragged through the mud. Frankly, its cruel.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of the law should read the ruling and see for themselves how nonsensical and asinine the whole thing is, Donald Trump Jr. wrote in his own post on X on Tuesday.

Why it matters: If Trump and his sons do take the stand in the case, they would be subjected to the rules Engoron enforces in his courtroom and will be made to answer questions from lawyers for an attorney general who they have regularly accused of being both racist and biased against them.

Jan. 6 election interference

Minnesota Supreme Court schedules arguments in case to block Trump from ballot

Key players: Minnesota Supreme Court, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison

The Minnesota Supreme Court said Wednesday that it would hear arguments on Nov. 2 in a case brought by a bipartisan group seeking to block Trumps name from appearing on ballots in the 2024 presidential election, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that no one who has engaged in insurrection is entitled to hold office.

Lawyers for the Minnesota Republican Party filed a petition Wednesday stating that blocking Trump from the ballot would violate the rights of members of the party and that Trump was protected by the First Amendment to make his false claims that the election was rigged.

Ellison, a Democrat, has not expressed a view on how the case should be decided but has stated that it does need to be decided in court.

Why it matters: The Minnesota case is one of several seeking to use the 14th Amendment to block Trump from a return to power. Whatever the state supreme court decides will likely be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Read more:

The Hill: Georgia prosecutor in Trump case says threats are a waste of time

The Guardian: Prosecutors accuse Trump of new effort to delay classified documents trial

Bloomberg: Trump, Biden special counsels to keep working through a shutdown

______________________

Wednesday, Sept. 27

______________________

Former President Donald Trump turned himself in for arrest in Atlanta on Aug. 24. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Drew Angerer/Getty Images, Getty Images)

Judge Tanya Chutkan rejects a request by lawyers for former President Donald Trump that she recuse herself from his federal election interference case. Trumps lawyers look for clarity following a judges ruling that he, his adult sons and business committed financial fraud in New York. Rep. Jim Jordan fires back at Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis, and Trump hires more high-profile lawyers as he readies himself for a legal onslaught.

Jan. 6 election interference

Judge rejects Trumps bid to have her recuse herself

Key players: Judge Tanya Chutkan

Chutkan said in a Wednesday ruling that statements she made when she sentenced Jan. 6 rioters about Trump being free to this day did not reflect a belief that the former president should be jailed, CBS News reported.

Trump has often portrayed Chutkan as being biased against him. His lawyers had asked her to recuse herself.

In her ruling Wednesday, Chutkan denied the request.

Why it matters: Trump has sought the recusal or removal of multiple judges in the criminal and civil cases against him. In the election interference case brought by special counsel Jack Smith, the ultimate decision rested with Chutkan.

New York financial fraud

Trump civil trial set to begin on Monday in New York to decide outstanding issues in financial fraud case

Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron, Trump lawyer Christopher Kise, New York Attorney General Letitia James

During a pretrial hearing on Wednesday, lawyers for Trump asked Engoron for clarity about the scope of the next weeks trial and the future of his business dealings in New York following the judges scathing ruling Tuesday that the defendants had, for years, committed persistent fraud, the Associated Press reported.

Engorons ruling rescinded some of Trumps business licenses in New York, meaning Trump and his company could be forced to sell or lose control of signature properties such as Trump Tower to a court-appointed receiver.

Is it the courts position that those assets are now going to be sold or just going to be managed under the direction of the (receiver)? Kise asked.

Im not prepared to issue a ruling right now but we will take that up in various contexts, Im sure, Engoron responded.

While the judges ruling handed James a victory in the central claim of her $250 million suit, she has said she will still seek to prove that Trump, his adult sons and officials in the Trump Organization engaged in a conspiracy to defraud banks and other entities.

The trial, which is expected to take three months, will also decide how much the defendants will be required to pay in damages.

But an appeals court ruling expected Thursday in a lawsuit filed by Trumps legal team could still upend the start of the trial and remove Engoron as its presiding judge.

Why it matters: If the case goes forward, the penalties facing Trump could include millions of dollars in fines as well as the loss of real estate assets, and his companys ability to conduct business in New York.

Georgia election interference

Rep. Jim Jordan responds to Williss hostile letter

Key players: Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jordan sent Willis a letter Wednesday in response to her dismissive reply to Jordans request for records relating to her investigation of Trump, The Hill reported.

Congress in general, and this Committee in particular, have a strong legislative interest in ensuring that popularly elected local prosecutors do not misuse their law-enforcement authority to target federal officials for political reasons, Jordan wrote in Wednesdays letter. We can only conclude from your hostile response to the Committees oversight that you are actively and aggressively engaged in such a scheme.

In her response to Jordan, Willis said his request was flagrantly at odds with the Constitution, adding that settled constitutional law clearly permits me to ignore your unjustified and illegal intrusion.

On Wednesday, Jordan reiterated the committees request that Willis hand over documents by Oct. 11.

Why it matters: Jordan has written similar letters to all of the prosecutors who have filed indictments against Trump. Short of a protracted court fight and multiple appeals, his committee will likely be unable to compel them to hand over documents.

Trump hires more lawyers

Key players: Lawyers Emil Bove and Kendra Wharton

As he gears up to defend himself in four criminal trials and at least three civil ones, Trump has hired two new high-profile lawyers, Politico reported.

Bove is a former federal prosecutor. He served as assistant United States attorney at the U.S. attorneys office for the Southern District of New York, according to the Albany Law School website.

Whartons professional website notes that she has extensive experience representing multinational corporations and executives in a wide range of criminal and civil matters.

In the four criminal cases in which Trump has been indicted, he faces 91 felony charges. He has pleaded not guilty to all of those counts.

Why it matters: The extraordinary number of cases that will head to court simultaneously will require Trump to have a large, experienced legal team. That need was made more pressing by the departure of lawyers like John Rowley, Tim Parlatore and James Trusty, who stepped down from their duties following Trumps Florida indictment in June.

____________________

Tuesday, Sept. 26

____________________

Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images

A New York judge rules that former President Donald Trump, his adult sons and his business committed fraud when they inflated their assets. In Georgia, the judge handling the election interference case says the identities of those serving on the jury must be kept private, while Trumps lawyers urge a Washington judge not to issue a gag order against the former president.

New York financial fraud

Judge rules Trump inflated his net worth, committed business fraud in New York by overvaluing assets

Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron, New York Attorney General Letitia James

Engoron ruled Tuesday that Trump, his adult sons and his business committed fraud when they inflated business assets to banks and insurers.The ruling was a victory for James, who had asked the court for a summary judgment in the $250 million civil case against them, the Associated Press reported.

In the ruling, Engoron ordered that some of Trump's business licenses be rescinded, a punishment that will make it hard for his company to operate in New York.

The ruling is a blow to Trump, whose lawyers asked Engoron to dismiss the case against him outright.

An appeals court will decide this week on Trumps lawsuit to have Engoron removed from the case, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 2.

Why it matters: If Engorons ruling stands, Trumps guilt will have already been largely decided and the non-jury trial will decide how much money the defendants will owe the state, among other possible penalties.

Georgia election interference

Judge sides with Willis, says defendants in Georgia case and media cannot reveal identifying information about jurors

Key players: Judge Scott McAffee, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, defendants Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell

In a two-page order, McAfee sided with arguments made by Willis on Monday that jurors and prospective jurors in the Oct. 23 trial of Chesebro and Powell can only be identified using their juror numbers in court filings, NBC News reported.

McAffees order prohibits anyone from disclosing information about jurors such as their names, addresses, telephone numbers or employers.

Willis argued that it was clearly foreseeable that jurors would face being doxxed if their identities were made public.

A coalition of media organizations had sought a more lenient order, which they said would help them more accurately report jury selection in the case.

In an earlier ruling, McAffee granted a request by lawyers for Chesebro and Powell to interview former grand jury members about their vote to indict their clients.

Why it matters: Willis made the case that revealing the identities of jurors would put them at risk of physical danger, and would therefore negatively impact the prospects of seating a fair and impartial jury. McAfees ruling means that those who are called to serve can rest easier.

Jan. 6 election interference

Trump urges judge to reject gag order

Key players: U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, special counsel Jack Smith, Trump lawyers Gregory Singer, John Lauro and Todd Blanche, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley

In a court filing Monday, lawyers for Trump issued their response to Smiths call for a gag order on the former president that would prevent him from attacking potential witnesses in the case, Politico reported.

The prosecution may not like President Trumps entirely valid criticisms but neither it nor this court are the filter for what the public may hear, Singer, Lauro and Blanche wrote in the filing.

In his own filing requesting the gag order, Smith cited Trumps attacks in social media posts and in interviews on Chutkan, Pence and Milley, who Trump attacked over the weekend. Smith argues that Trumps statements constitute intimidation and could taint a jury pool.

Trumps lawyers argued that the former presidents attacks on his critics were necessary to counter what they described as a liberal bias in media coverage, adding that they would not influence the potential jury pool made up primarily of Democratic voters.

Why it matters: Trumps rhetoric, and whether judges should restrict it, has been an issue in all of the criminal and civil cases against him. As he prepares to campaign for president while those court battles take place, he could be stripped of the ability to discuss the details of them publicly.

____________________

Monday, Sept. 25

____________________

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Former President Trumps White House chief of staff burned numerous documents at the tail end of the administration out of fear that the deep state would obtain them, his former assistant claims in a new memoir. A Colorado judge issues a protective order in the case that will decide whether Trumps name can appear on the ballot and former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani is hit with more court-ordered sanctions.

Jan. 6 election interference

Meadows burned numerous documents at the end of Trumps presidency, former aide says in new memoir

Key players: Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former White House staffer Cassidy Hutchinson, special counsel Jack Smith

In the final days of Trumps presidency, Meadows set about destroying potentially incriminating documents by burning them in his fireplace, according to Hutchinsons forthcoming memoir, Enough, Insider reported.

The smoke from the documents caused Meadowss wife to complain that it had become expensive to try to dry-clean the bonfire aroma from his suits, according to the book.

Hutchinson told the New York Times that Meadows feared that the documents might fall into the hands of the so-called deep state, meaning agencies like the FBI or the Department of Justice.

Why it matters: Hutchinsons testimony before the House Jan. 6 select committee proved some of the most detailed regarding Trumps actions leading up to the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Her testimony will almost certainly play a central role in Smiths prosecution of Trump. Meadows has been charged with two felonies linked to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.

Colorado judge issues protective order in 14th Amendment case to keep Trump off ballot

Key players: District Judge Sarah Wallace

In the first significant legal challenge that could keep Trumps name from appearing on the ballot in the 2024 presidential election, Colorado Judge Wallace issued a protective order Friday that prohibits threats and intimidation in the case for those involved, including herself, the Associated Press reported.

I 100% understand everybody's concerns for the parties, the lawyers, and frankly myself and my staff based on what weve seen in other cases, Wallace said of the order.

The case brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington argues that Trump should be prevented from another White House run because the 14th Amendment to the Constitution bars those who have engaged in insurrection from holding office.

Wallace has set a date of Oct. 30 to hold a hearing to decide whether Trump should be removed from ballots in Colorado.

Why it matters: Whatever Wallace decides will likely be appealed up to the Colorado Supreme Court and, after that, the U.S. Supreme Court. The protective order prohibits Trump or other parties in the case from making threats or intimidating statements.

Georgia election interference

Judge sanctions Giuliani an additional $104,000 after he fails to cover plaintiffs legal fees

Key players: U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss

Citing Giulianis failure to pay more than $132,000 in court-ordered fees to Freeman and Moss, who have sued the former New York mayor for defamation stemming from his false claims that they manipulated vote totals in the 2020 presidential election, Howell hit Giuliani with an additional fine of $104,000, CNN reported.

Giuliani has already been found liable for defamation against Freeman and Moss. On Dec. 11, the trial will begin to decide how much he will have to pay the two women.

Why it matters: As well as facing mounting legal bills and sanctions and putting his New York apartment up for sale to help cover them, Giuliani has been sued by his former lawyers for $1.4 million in unpaid fees, he will also need to defend himself in Fulton County, Ga., where he is charged with 13 felonies stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

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Friday, Sept. 22

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New York state Attorney General Letitia James. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images)

A New York judge hears dueling arguments Friday on whether to find former President Donald Trump, his adult sons and his business liable for financial fraud, as well as whether to dismiss the case outright. Two Georgia election workers file a motion claiming that former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani disregarded a judges order, and pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro wants his emails to other co-defendants kept out of his trial in Georgia.

New York financial fraud civil case

Judge hears arguments for summary judgment, dismissal in Trump $250 million fraud case

Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron, New York Attorney General Letitia James

Engoron heard arguments Friday from lawyers for James, who are asking the judge to issue a summary judgment that Trump, his adult sons and his business are liable for fraud ahead of the scheduled Oct. 2 start of the former presidents $250 million financial fraud trial, Reuters reported.

Trumps lawyers also argued in court that the judge should dismiss all the charges against the defendants, saying that most of the charges fell outside the statute of limitations and that there was insufficient evidence to bring the case to trial.

Engoron, who has said he expects the New York trial to last three months, is expected to rule on the motions Tuesday.

Claiming Enroron is biased against the former president by not granting a request to delay the trial, Trumps lawyers have also sought to get the judge removed from the case.

After an appellate court judge temporarily halted the trial, a five-judge appeals court will rule next week on whether it should continue.

Why it matters: A ruling by Engoron or the appellate court in Trumps favor could quash or limit the charges against him. A summary judgment that finds the defendants liable, however, could cost the former president hundreds of millions of dollars and prevent the Trump Organization from operating in New York.

Georgia election interference

Giuliani snubbed judges order to pay legal fees and turn over evidence, Georgia election workers argue

Key players: Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Shaye Moss, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell

In a court papers filed Thursday, lawyers for Freeman and Moss argued that Giuliani had failed to comply with an order by Howell to turn over more evidence to the plaintiffs and to pay their legal fees, NBC News reported.

Last month Howell granted summary judgment that found Giuliani liable for defamation against the two poll workers. At that time, she ordered the former New York mayor to hand over personal and business financial documents and to pay more than $130,000 in legal bills and other costs in the case.

Giuliani will go on trial Dec. 11 to determine the total amount he must pay the two women he falsely accused of manipulating election results in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Why it matters: If the judge finds Giuliani did flout her orders, he could face further financial sanctions. He faces mounting legal bills and is being sued for $1.36 million in unpaid legal fees by the law firm that represented him as the investigations into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election took place.

Cheseboro asks court to suppress his emails to Giuliani and Eastman during Georgia trial

Key players: Pro-Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro, Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis

Lawyers for Chesebro, who has been charged with eight felony counts for his role in the alleged plot to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, filed a motion Thursday asking the court to bar the use of five legal memos and emails he wrote to co-defendants Giuliani and Eastman, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Chesebros lawyers called the memos and emails privileged communications between lawyers representing a client.

According to the criminal indictment filed by Willis, one email from Chesebro to Eastman outlined multiple strategies for disrupting and delaying the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

Chesebro and former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell will be the first of 19 defendants charged in Fulton County to have their trial begin, on Oct. 23.

Why it matters: Trumps allies, many of whom have been charged in Georgia, have lost numerous attempts to invoke executive privilege claims to prevent evidence from being gathered or presented in court.

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Thursday, Sept. 21

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Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Alex Wong via Getty Images, Getty Images (3)

Rudy Giuliani must appear in a Georgia courtroom to learn how much money he will have to pay two election workers he was found liable for defaming in the aftermath of the 2020 election. The former Trump lawyer also denied groping allegations made by a former assistant to the presidents chief of staff, while Peter Navarro, Trumps former trade adviser, said the former president has chipped in $300,000 to help pay for his legal defense.

Georgia election interference

Judge sets start date for Giuliani defamation damages trial

Key players: Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Judge Beryl Howell, Fulton County DA Fani Willis

Howell, who found Giuliani liable for defaming Freeman and Moss after falsely spreading a conspiracy theory that they had tampered with voting machine results in 2020, set Dec. 11 as the start date of the trial that will determine the amount of damages the former New York mayor must pay the two women, ABC News reported.

The trial will take three to five days to decide, Howell estimated.

Giuliani is already on the hook for more than $130,000 in legal fees racked up by Freeman and Moss.

Giulianis legal bills continue to mount. On Tuesday, his former lawyers sued him for $1.4 million in unpaid legal bills.

Why it matters: The false claims that workers had tampered with the 2020 election results is just one of many findings noted in Williss indictments of Trump, Giuliani and 17 others charged in Georgia. Trump, the indictment notes, called Freeman a professional vote scammer.

Jan. 6 election interference

Giuliani calls Hutchison groping allegation totally absurd

Key players: Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, special counsel Jack Smith

In a Wednesday interview with Newsmax, Giuliani called Hutchinsons allegation that he groped her on Jan. 6, 2021, totally absurd, HuffPost reported.

Hutchinson recounts the alleged incident in a forthcoming memoir titled Enough. She writes that in the backstage area before Trump addressed his supporters, Giuliani wrapped one arm around my body, closing the space that was separating us. I feel his stack of documents press into the small of my back. ... His hand slips under my blazer, then my skirt.

Giuliani, who is being sued for $2 million dollars in unpaid wages by a former employee who alleges he coerced her into having sex with him, scoffed at Hutchinsons claims.

She claims that I groped her in a tent on January 6, where all the people went in that were very, very cold as a result of the presidents speech. Im gonna grope somebody? With 100 people. First of all, Im not gonna grope somebody at all. Giuliani told Newsmax, adding, And number two, in front of like 100 people?

Why it matters: While the groping claim is tangential to the federal election interference charges Trump faces, Hutchinson and Giuliani will both likely be called to testify in Smiths case against the former president.

Peter Navarro: Trump pitched in $300,000 for legal defense

Key players: former Trump administration trade adviser Peter Navarro

Navarro, who was found guilty of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena issued by the House Jan. 6 select committee, said in a Wednesday interview with MSNBC that Trump had so far chipped in $300,000 to help him pay his legal bills, The Hill reported.

While Navarro plans to appeal the contempt-of-Congress verdict, he has so far amassed legal bills exceeding $600,000.

Through a crowd-funding effort, Navarro has raised just over $620,000, but he told MSNBC that he expected to spend over $1 million defending himself.

Citing executive privilege, Navarro refused to testify before Congress about his discussions with Trump about the 2020 election.

Why it matters: The courts have handed Trump and his associates a series of losses on the question of executive privilege, obliging former administration figures to testify. Navarro has portrayed himself as a victim of efforts by anti-Trump prosecutors to bankrupt him.

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Wednesday, Sept. 20

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Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Scott Eisen/Getty Images, Ben Margot/AP, Getty Images (4)

Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis revealed in a Wednesday court filing that pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood will testify in the case against the former president and 18 other defendants. Three so-called fake electors charged in Georgia seek to have their cases moved to federal court, and the judge handling the sprawling indictment says defendants Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell are entitled to interview members of the grand jury that voted to indict them.

Georgia election interference

Former pro-Trump lawyer to testify for prosecution

Key players: Former Donald Trump lawyer Lin Wood, Fulton County DA Fani Willis

Wood apparently cut a deal with Willis to testify in the racketeering and election inference case against Trump and 18 others, CNN reported.

Lin Wood is a witness for the State in the present case, a court filing by Williss office that was made public Wednesday revealed.

Wood attempted to have the 2020 election results overturned on behalf of Trump, and a report released earlier this month showed that the special grand jury in Fulton County voted in favor of indicting him in the case but that Willis opted not to.

Facing the prospect of disbarment in Georgia, Wood gave up his law license in July, the New Republic reported.

In a statement posted to social media, Wood denied that he had "flipped" on Trump.

Why it matters: Wood is the second known Trump ally to agree to testify for prosecutors who have brought criminal charges against the former president. Mar-a-Lago information technology worker Yuscil Taveras changed the testimony he gave in connection with the investigation of Trumps handling of classified documents and agreed earlier this month to testify for special counsel Jack Smiths team.

3 fake electors seek to move trial to federal court

Key players: Former Georgia GOP Chairman David Shafer, Republican state Sen. Shawn Still, former Coffee County, Ga., GOP Chairwoman Cathy Latham, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Trump Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones

Shafer, Still and Latham, all of whom were charged with multiple felonies in the scheme to put forth an alternate slate of state electors in an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, argued Wednesday that their cases should be moved from state to federal court, NBC News reported.

So far, co-defendants Meadows and Clark are also seeking to have their cases moved to federal court, where they would be afforded a larger jury pool. Judge Jones denied Meadowss request. Meadows has since filed an appeal. Clark put in his own request on Monday, but Jones has yet to rule.

Shafer, Still and Latham all face charges that include violating Georgias Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, forgery and impersonating a public officer in connection with their attempt at passing themselves off as legitimate state electors.

Why it matters: Meadows and Clark argue that the actions they undertook to overturn the Georgia election results were part of their federal duties because Trump directed them to do so. But Shafer, Still and Latham did not hold any official position with the Trump administration, making their bid to have their cases moved to federal court even less likely to win.

Judge allows Chesebro, Powell to interview grand jury members

Key players: Pro-Trump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, Judge Scott McAfee, Fulton County DA Fani Willis

McAfee ruled Tuesday that Georgia co-defendants Chesebro and Powell, who were granted requests for a speedy trial that will begin on Oct. 23, will be allowed to interview people who served on the special grand jury that voted to indict them, UPI reported.

Lawyers for Chesebro and Powell argued that the interviews were necessary to determine whether the votes to indict their clients had been properly returned.

Arguing that releasing the identities of the special grand jurors posed a threat to their safety and privacy, Willis had sought to block those interviews from taking place.

Setting aside scenarios involving harassment of some kind, the desire to simply talk to the grand jurors is not illegal, McAfee wrote in his ruling.

But McAfee also set some limits, writing that the interviews with the former grand jurors would need to be voluntary and that the defendants could not push jurors to reveal their deliberations.

Why it matters: With Chesebro and Powell being the first ones to be tried in Georgia, the verdict in their case will weigh heavily on those that follow. If the interviews yield credible evidence that the indictments were not properly rendered, that will give the defendants an early win.

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Tuesday, Sept. 19

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Photo Illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Scott Eisen/Getty Images, Getty Images (2).

Former President Donald Trumps White House secretary and aide, Molly Michael, testifies about his handling of classified documents, and his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani is sued by the law firm that helped defend him.

Classified documents

Former Trump aide testifies about Trumps instructions on classified documents

Key players: Former Trump aide Molly Michael, Trump employee Walt Nauta, special counsel Jack Smith, Trump IT worker Carlos De Oliveira

Michael, a former Trump aide, testified to federal prosecutors on Smiths team that the former president directed her not to discuss boxes full of classified material that he took with him from the White House to his Florida home and country club , sources familiar with the testimony told ABC News .

You dont know anything about the boxes, Trump reportedly told Michael.

Michael, who is widely believed to be Employee 2 in Smiths indictment of Trump, also testified that Trump used some documents with classified markings as scrap paper to-do lists.

Trump has been charged with 34 felonies stemming from his handling of classified materials after leaving the White House and his attempts to thwart federal investigators.

Two other Trump employees, Nauta and De Oliveira, have also been charged.

Why it matters: The testimony given by Michael certainly contradicts what Nauta told investigators. It also further implicates the former president on charges that he mishandled the documents and lied to investigators about them.

Georgia election interference

Law firm sues Giuliani for $1.4 million in unpaid legal fees

Key players: Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, lawyer Bob Costello

New York law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron has filed a lawsuit against Giuliani to try to recover $1.4 million in unpaid legal fees related to the former New York mayors work to overturn the results of the 2020 election on behalf of Trump, Reuters reported.

Costello represented Giuliani in federal and state investigations into his efforts to reverse the election results.

The firm says in the lawsuit that Giuliani only paid $214,000 of the nearly $1.6 million he racked up in legal bills.

"I can't express how personally hurt I am by what Bob Costello has done," Giuliani said in a statement.

Last month, Giuliani was found liable for defaming two Georgia election workers. He also faces 13 felony charges in DA Fani Williss sprawling racketeering and election interference case.

Earlier this month, Trump hosted a $100,000-a-plate fundraiser, the Associated Press reported, to help cover Giulianis legal bills; it brought in a reported $1 million.

Why it matters: Giulianis financial and legal woes continue to mount. He is named as an unindicted co-conspirator in Smiths federal election interference case against Trump and could yet be charged. Damages in the Georgia election workers case have yet to be announced, but Giuliani has already been ordered to pay more than $130,000 in legal expenses for the workers and fines in that case.

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Monday, Sept. 18

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Photo Illustration: Yahoo News; photos: William B. Plowman/NBC via Getty Images, Getty Images (2).

The former presidents lawyers file more documents to back their claim that a judge is biased against him. Trump concedes in an interview that he was told his election claims had no merit, and another former member of his administration seeks to have his case moved to federal court.

Jan. 6 election interference

Trump lawyers submit supporting materials appeal in bid for judges recusal

Key players: Judge Tanya Chutkan, special counsel Jack Smith

One week after filing a motion for Judge Tanya Chutkan to recuse herself from handling Trumps federal election interference case, lawyers for the former president submitted new documents to support their claim that Chutkan was biased against Trump, CBS News reported.

The public must have confidence that President Trumps constitutional rights are being protected by an unbiased judicial officer, the former president's lawyers wrote in supporting documents filed late Sunday.

In their new filing, Trumps lawyers noted that Chutkan, who had sentenced some Jan. 6 rioters to prison had referred to Trump, saying blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.

Another alleged example of Chutkans bias, Trumps lawyers wrote, was her remark that a president is not king.

In his own filing last week arguing the judge should not recuse herself, Smith noted that Chutkans statements were both factually true, and made in the context of responding to arguments made by defendants who claimed they were only acting on Jan. 6, 2021, at the direction of the former president.

Why it matters: Ultimately, Chutkan herself will decide whether to recuse, and is under no specific deadline to do so. If she decides to remain on the case, Trumps lawyers, who have repeatedly sought to paint prosecutors and judges as biased against them, could file a long-shot appeal to have her removed.

On Meet the Press, Trump acknowledges being told election was not rigged

Key players: NBC News host Kirsten Welker, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Attorney General William Barr

In an interview that aired Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press, Trump acknowledged that multiple people inside the government had told him that the 2020 presidential election was not marred by fraud, CNN reported.

Rather than heed the findings of people like Pence and Barr, who informed Trump that the election was legitimate, Trump sought out other opinions and came to his own conclusion.

I was listening to different people, and when I added it all up, the election was rigged, Trump told Welker, adding. You know who I listen to? Myself. I saw what happened.

The Justice Department indictment of Trump notes that the former president had been informed multiple times that the claims of fraud were not but the defendant disseminated them anyway  to make his knowingly false claims appear legitimate, create an intense atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election.

Why it matters: Prosecutors argue that Trump knowingly lied about the election results. By admitting that he was told that fraud did not cost him victory, Trump is acknowledging that he was aware of evidence showing his claims did not add up.

Georgia election interference

Judge skeptical as another former Trump official seeks to move Fulton County charges to federal court

Key players: Former Trump Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones, Clarks attorney Harry MacDougald, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows

Lawyers for Clark argued Monday that a judge should move the Fulton County felony charges against him to federal court, NBC News reported.

Clark is the second former Trump administration official charged in the 2020 election interference case in Georgia to seek the venue change. Jones has already denied Meadows request to move his case to federal court and Meadows is appealing that ruling.

MacDougald argued Clark was acting in his official capacity when he drafted a letter that sought to convince Georgia election officials that voter fraud may have marred the 2020 election results in the state.

Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen refused to send the letter, saying there was no evidence of fraud on that scale, and prosecutors argued that Clark was acting well outside of his official duties when he wrote the letter.

Unlike Meadows, Clark did not testify at his hearing on Monday.

Why it matters: Jones, who already ruled against Meadows, seemed skeptical of the arguments made by MacDougald and refused a request to allow Clark to submit a sworn statement in the case without appearing in person.

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Friday, Sept. 15

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Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Screengrab via MegynKelly via YouTube, Getty Images (2).

The former president offers a defense for his handling of classified documents that is undercut by his own past statements. An appellate judge puts a temporary halt on Trumps financial fraud trial, and New Yorks attorney general says she plans to call Trump and his adult sons as witnesses.

Classified documents criminal trial

In interview, Trump says he was 'allowed to take' classified documents

Key players: media host Megyn Kelly, special counsel Jack Smith, Trump employees Carlos De Oliveira and Walt Nauta

On Thursday, Kelly aired an in-depth interview with Trump in which the former president offered a curious defense for his hoarding of classified documents after leaving the White House, HuffPost reported.

Im allowed to have these documents. Im allowed to take these documents, classified or not classified. And, frankly, when I have them, they become unclassified. People think you have to go through a ritual. You dont, at least in my opinion, Trump told Kelly of his apparent misconception of the Presidential Records Act of 1978, which clarifies that a former president is not entitled to simply hold on to classified documents.

Smith has charged Trump with 32 counts of willfully retaining national defense information under the Espionage Act as well as eight counts stemming from his efforts to obstruct the federal investigation into his handling of the documents.

Two Mar-a-Lago employees, De Oliviera and Nauta, have been charged with attempting to delete security camera footage sought by investigators.

Multiple former Trump administration officials have said they have no recollection of the former president having declassified any documents, and Trump himself is captured on tape acknowledging that he could not do so after leaving office.

Why it matters: Remarks made in interviews or in social media posts by Trump will almost certainly be used in the case against him.

New York financial fraud civil trial

Judge temporarily halts New York financial fraud case after Trump lawyers challenge statute of limitations

Key players: New York Attorney General Letitia James, Judge Arthor Engoron, appellate Judge David Friedman

New York state appellate court judge Friedman on Thursday temporarily halted the proceedings in Trumps New York financial fraud trial, potentially delaying the Oct. 2 start date, CNN reported.

Trumps lawyers filed a last-minute lawsuit against Engoron, who is overseeing the case brought by James that accused him of overstepping his authority because he had not yet ruled on whether the statute of limitations had expired on many of the claims against the former president, his adult sons and the Trump organization.

Friedman said the appeals court would reach a decision on the lawsuit by Sept. 25.

Why it matters: Trumps lawyers have so far been unsuccessful in their attempts to have Engoron replaced. The appellate courts decision could change that, or it could signal that the case is ready to move forward.

N.Y. AG plans to call Trump, his sons and business associates as witnesses

Key players: New York Attorney General Letitia James, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Judge Arthur Engoron

In a court filing uncovered by the Daily Beast , James proposed a list of 57 possible witnesses in her $250 million financial fraud trial of the former president, his adult sons and his business.

The list includes Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Trump Organization executives and the bankers with whom the company did business.

Why it matters: If Engoron approves the witness lists for the defense and the prosecution in their current state, Trump and his sons could be forced to take the stand.

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Thursday, Sept. 14

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Photo Illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Arvin Temkar/Getty Images, Getty Images (3)

A judge ruled Thursday that all 19 of the criminal defendants in Georgia will not be tried in a single case. The names of 30 unindicted co-conspirators in the case will be revealed to lawyers for the defense. And an appeals court rules that federal prosecutors cannot obtain a Congressmans phone records of calls with other lawmakers regarding the 2020 election.

Georgia election interference

Judge severs October trial for Powell and Chesebro from Trump and 16 others charged

Key players: Fulton County DA Fani Willis, Judge Scott McAfee, pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, lawyer Kenneth Chesebro

McAfee ruled Thursday that Trump and 16 others charged by Willis for their attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia would be tried separately from Powell and Chesebro, CBS News reported.

Powell and Chesebro both requested a speedy trial, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 23. Willis had asked McAfee to rule that all 19 defendants could be tried together starting on that date.

McAfee also denied requests by Powell and Chesebro to be tried separately from each other.

Beginning with the logistical concerns, the Fulton County Courthouse simply contains no courtroom adequately large enough to hold all 19 defendants, their multiple attorneys and support staff, the sheriffs deputies, court personnel, and the States prosecutorial team, McAfee wrote in his ruling. Relocating to another, larger venue raises security concerns that cannot be rapidly addressed.

McAfee did not set a date for the start of the trial for the remaining 17 people charged, including Trump, and noted that additional severances may follow.

Why it matters: Prosecutors have estimated that a single trial for all the defendants could last four months. In her own court filing, Willis noted that breaking this case up into multiple lengthy trials would create an enormous strain on the judicial resources of the Fulton County Superior Court. Trumps strategy in all of the cases brought against him is to delay the proceedings until after the 2024 presidential election.

Prosecutors to share names of 30 unindicted co-conspirators with defense lawyers

Key players: Willis, Judge McAfee, Chesebro lawyer Scott Grubman, Powell attorney Brian Rafferty

Willis agreed during a Thursday court hearing to release the identities of 30 unnamed and unindicted co-conspirators to lawyers representing the 19 people charged with attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, the Independent reported.

Lawyers Grubman and Rafferty had asked McAfee to compel Willis to provide that information as part of discovery for their Oct. 23 trial.

Willis will request a protective order to keep those names from being made public.

Why it matters: A report was made public last week that showed that the special grand jury voted to charge 39 people with nearly 160 criminal counts in the sprawling case. Willis opted to charge far fewer individuals, but those unindicted co-conspirators will likely be called to testify during the trials for the 19 who were indicted.

Jan. 6 election interference

Appeals court blocks prosecutors from obtaining Rep. Scott Perrys phone records

Key players: Special counsel Jack Smith, Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa.

A ruling made public Wednesday by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals prevents federal prosecutors on Smiths team from obtaining phone records pertaining to Perrys discussions with other lawmakers about the 2020 election, CNN reported.

Perrys phone was seized by the FBI in August 2022. Smith has sought access to his phone records as part of his investigation into efforts to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

While the appeals court found that conversations about the election between members of Congress were protected from scrutiny by prosecutors, it also ruled that prosecutors may still be able to access Perrys conversations and texts with Trump and members of his administration.

Perry is known to have pressured the White House to challenge the election results in Pennsylvania.

Why it matters: By defining conversations between lawmakers about elections as under the scope of official duties, the appeals court took away a potential avenue of investigation for Smith and his team.

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Wed. Sept. 13

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Judge Aileen Cannon. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos via Wikicommons, Getty Images [5])

One judge ruled Trump cant yet look at classified documents in the Mar-a-Lago case. Another rejected the former presidents bid to move a legal challenge to his candidacy to federal court, and Trump waived his right to a speedy trial in Georgia.

Classified documents

Judge rules Trump and his lawyers cant see or discuss classified documents at Mar-a-Lago  for now

Key players: Federal Judge Aileen Cannon, special counsel Jack Smith

Cannon issued a ruling made public Wednesday that placed some restrictions on how and where Trump and his lawyers could discuss and view classified documents at the heart of the Justice Departments case against the former president, The Hill reported.

Trumps lawyers had asked Cannon to allow them to create a sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) at Mar-a-Lago so they could view documents there to prepare for trial. Smith scoffed at this request, noting that Mar-a-Lago is the scene where the bulk of the 40 criminal counts he has charged Trump with were committed.

Cannon ruled that only a SCIF operated by the U.S. government could be used by the defense to review and discuss the classified documents at issue in the case. But the judge, who was appointed to the federal bench by Trump, did not rule out the establishment of a SCIF at Mar-a-Lago in the future.

Why it matters: After coming under fire for some prior rulings in the documents matter that seemed to favor Trump, Cannon left the question of whether a SCIF could be set up at Mar-a-Lago to a chief information security officer, who would act as a neutral party.

Federal election interference

Judge rejects Trump appeal to move Colorado 14th Amendment lawsuit to federal court

Key players: U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold

On Tuesday, Brimmer shot down Trumps request that a case brought by six Colorado voters to block Trump from appearing on presidential ballots due to his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol be moved to federal court, NBC News reported.

The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states that no person shall be allowed to hold office who engaged in insurrection or rebellion.

Brimmer said in his four-page ruling that Trump and his lawyers had not properly served Griswold or obtained her consent for the removal of the case. As a result, he sent the case back to the state court in Denver County.

Why it matters: A growing number of 14th Amendment legal challenges are being put forth in state courts to keep Trumps name from appearing on ballots.

Read more on Yahoo News: Should Trump be barred from running for president?

Georgia election interference

Trump waives right to speedy trial

Key players: Fulton County, Ga., DA Fani Willis, Judge Scott McAfee, lawyer Sidney Powell, lawyer Kenneth Chesebro

In a court filing Wednesday, Trumps lawyers waived his right to a speedy trial, the Associated Press reported.

Willis is seeking to try all 19 defendants in her sprawling election interference case starting on Oct. 23. So far, McAfee has agreed to that start date for two defendants  Powell and Chesebro  who requested a speedy trial.

Defendants in Georgia have the right to demand that their cases be tried without delay.

Why it matters: Trump has consistently sought to delay the proceedings in the criminal and civil cases against him until after the 2024 election.

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Tuesday, Sept. 12

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Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images, Werner Schnell/Getty Images, a3rn/Getty Images

Lawyers for the former president want a new judge in the Jan. 6 election interference case, charges dismissed in Georgia, and delays in the criminal proceedings in New York and a second defamation lawsuit brought by a woman who says Trump sexually assaulted her.

Jan. 6 election interference

Trump seeks recusal of Jan. 6 case judge

Key players: Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and John Lauro, Judge Tanya Chutkan

In a long-shot Monday court filing, Trumps lawyers asked Chutkan to recuse herself from the federal election interference and obstruction case because she appeared prejudiced against the former president, Politico reported.

Although Judge Chutkan may genuinely intend to give President Trump a fair trial  and may believe that she can do so  her public statements unavoidably taint these proceedings, regardless of outcome, Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and John Lauro wrote in the filing.

Chutkan has overseen many of the Justice Departments cases against those who rioted at the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. In an October sentencing hearing for two of those found guilty, she noted that the rioters were there in fealty, in loyalty, to one man  not the Constitution, adding, Its a blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.

In response to the recusal motion, Chutkan gave prosecutors in the case until Thursday to submit their reply, the Independent reported.

Why it matters: The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in 1994 that only in the rarest of circumstances can a judge be forced to recuse. Chutkan will make the decision as to whether to step aside, and most experts agree she is unlikely to do so.

Georgia election interference

Trump asks judge in Georgia to dismiss state charges against him

Key players: Judge Scott McAfee, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, former Trump campaign attorney Ray Smith

Following the lead of Giuliani, Chesbro and Smith, lawyers for Trump submitted a court filing Monday asking for McAfee to toss the Georgia indictment against him due to deficiencies in the case, CNN reported.

Trump is charged with 13 felonies in Georgia stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss there, including a violation of the states RICO Act.

Such motions are common before criminal trials get underway, but are rarely successful.

Why it matters: The 19 co-defendants are each pursuing their own defense to the charges made against them, and a court victory by one of them would likely usher in similar challenges by the others.

New York hush money case

Judge in New York hush money civil case signals willingness to reschedule trial

Key players: Judge Juan Merchan, Trump lawyer Todd Blanche

Though Merchan rejected a May motion by Trumps lawyers for him to recuse himself from the financial fraud and hush money payment trial against the former president, he signaled Monday that he would be willing to move the start date of the trial due to possible scheduling conflicts with Trumps other cases, ABC News reported.

The New York Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Blanche to remove Merchan from the case over his alleged preconceived bias against the former president.

Why it matters: Trumps strategy in the four criminal cases in which he has been indicted is to push them beyond the Nov. 2024 presidential election. Polls show that a guilty verdict could significantly dampen Trumps political support.

E. Jean Carroll defamation case

Trump lawyers ask appeals court to delay second defamation trial

Key players: Trump attorney Alina Habba, Judge Lewis Kaplan, Second U.S. Court of Appeals

Trumps lawyers asked an appeals court to pause E. Jean Carrolls pending defamation trial so that the former president could have more time to submit an immunity defense, ABC News reported.

With a trial scheduled for January 15, it is imperative that this court stays all district court proceedings until it resolves whether a president may raise his immunity defense, Trump lawyer Alina Habba told the Second U.S. Court of Appeals on Tuesday.

Kaplan has already ruled that Trump does not deserve presidential immunity in the case because he waited three years to try to invoke it.

Why it matters: Kaplan has ruled that the trial is simply to decide how much money Trump will owe Carroll, CBS News reported. In May, a jury found Trump liable for defamation and sexual battery against Carroll stemming from an incident in a New York department in the 1990s.

___________________

Monday, Sept. 11

___________________

Illustration by Yahoo News; photos: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images, Werner Schnell/Getty Images, a3rn/Getty Images

A case moves forward to bar Trump from appearing on the ballot in Colorado, the former White House chief of staff files a change-of-venue appeal and the New York financial fraud trial against the former president will last for nearly three months.

Georgia election interference

Key players: Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones

Following a ruling by Jones that denied Meadowss attempt to move his case, which stems from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, to federal court, lawyers for the former White House chief of staff filed an appeal with the 11th Circuit, Reuters reported.

Charged along with Trump and 17 others, Meadows faces two felony counts: a violation of Georgias RICO Act, which covers organized crime, and solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer.

Trump is also said to be considering attempting to change the venue for his trial to federal court, which would expand the potential jury pool.

Why it matters: A loss on appeal would significantly diminish the chances that Meadows, Trump and the other defendants will be able to change the venue for their upcoming trials.

Jan. 6 election interference

Colorado secretary of state vows to pursue 14th Amendment challenge to Trumps 2024 bid

Key player: Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold

In response to a lawsuit filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington that seeks to bar Trump from appearing on the Republican primary ballot, Griswold signaled her support for pursuing the case, The Hill reported .

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment clearly lays out in very clear terms that if someone swears to uphold the Constitution, they are disqualified from holding office if they go and engage in insurrection, rebellion, or aid or comfort to the enemies of the Constitution, Griswold said in a Saturday interview with MSNBC.

And Donald Trump incited an insurrection, and there are big constitutional questions around that provision as to whether he is disqualified from the Colorado ballot, Griswold continued. So, well see this litigation through, and ultimately I think its important for a court to weigh in to provide guidance.

Trump has asked that the Colorado case be moved to federal court.

Why it matters: With 14th Amendment legal challenges to Trumps candidacy being filed in multiple states, the U.S. Supreme Court could ultimately decide whether the former president is allowed to run again.

The Yahoo News 360: Should Trump be disqualified from running for president?

New York financial fraud

Trump financial fraud trial expected to last nearly 3 months, judge says

Key players: New York Attorney General Letitia James, Judge Arthur Engoron

Engoron, the judge overseeing the civil trial in New York over charges that Trump, his adult sons and his business illegally overvalued the worth of their business assets, said Friday that the case would last nearly three months, AFP reported.

Engoron has already refused to delay the start of the trial, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 2 in Manhattan and end on Dec. 22.

In a court filing, James has asked Engoron to issue a summary judgment that Trump, his sons and business did illegally inflate the value of their business holdings and has also asked the judge to sanction Trump for frivolous conduct in the case.

Why it matters: The length of the trial ensures that it will generate headlines through Dec. 22, just prior to the start of the presidential primary season.

________________________

Friday, Sept. 8

________________________

Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, Megan Varner/Getty Images, Getty Images (3)

The special grand jury report in Fulton County, Ga., reveals that many others narrowly avoided being indicted. Donald Trump held a New Jersey fundraiser Thursday for one of his co-defendants in Georgia, and New Yorks attorney general says the former president inflated his net worth by billions of dollars every year.

Georgia election interference

Special grand jury recommended charges for Graham, 20 other Trump allies

Key players: Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., former U.S. Sen. David Perdue, former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, former Trump adviser Michael Flynn, lawyer Boris Epshteyn, lawyer Lin Wood, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis

A special grand jury in Fulton County, Ga., recommended criminal charges be brought against Graham and 20 other Trump allies who ended up not being indicted by Willis, HuffPost reports.

Those revelations appear in the grand jury report on the investigation into the efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Ultimately, Willis did not include in her sprawling indictment Graham, Perdue, Loeffler, Flynn, Wood and others the grand jury voted to charge. Nineteen people, including Trump, have been charged with multiple felonies, including racketeering.

After losing a court challenge, Graham testified before the 21-person grand jury, which later voted 13-7 to indict him, with one member abstaining.

In a statement posted to his social media website, Truth Social, Trump said the release of the report has ZERO credibility and badly taints Fani Willis and this whole political Witch Hunt.

Why it matters: Some on the grand jury argued that for political figures like Graham, Perdue and Loeffler, pandering to their political base did not rise to being guilty of a criminal conspiracy. Willis, who has a reputation as a meticulous prosecutor, apparently agreed.

Trump hosted $100,000-a-plate fundraiser to help co-defendant Giuliani pay his legal bills

Key players: Lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his son Andrew Giuliani

On Thursday, Trump hosted a $100,000-per-person fundraiser to help Giuliani, his former attorney, pay his mounting legal bills, the Associated Press reported.

The event was held at Trumps golf club in Bedminster, N.J., and was expected to raise $1 million for Giuliani, according to Andrew Giuliani, the former New York mayors son, who told WABC radio, It wont be enough to get through this.

Giuliani is facing 13 felony counts in Fulton County, Ga., for his efforts to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in the state.

Why it matters: Trump had faced criticism from some of his co-defendants for not offering to help cover the costs of their legal bills. In July, Giuliani listed his Manhattan apartment for sale for a price of $6.5 million.

New York civil financial fraud

Prosecutors: Trump inflated his net worth by up to $3.6 billion per year

Key players: New York Attorney General Letitia James, Judge Arthur Engoron

In a court filing Friday, Jamess office said that Trump inflated his net worth by as much as $3.6 billion per year, ABC News reported.

Trump, his adult sons and his business regularly misled financial institutions by adding square footage to properties, ignoring development requirements and disregarding unfavorable appraisals, according to the filing.

After factoring in these and other fundamental considerations that any informed buyer and seller in the marketplace would take into account, Mr. Trumps net worth would be further substantially reduced by between $1.9 billion to $3.6 billion per year, which is still a conservative estimate, the filing in the $250 million civil case states.

Trump and his sons have all pleaded not guilty in the case.

Why it matters: Engoron has scheduled a Sept. 22 hearing to decide whether to grant a summary judgment against Trump ahead of the Oct. 2 start of the trial. If he does so, the case will boil down to deciding how much money the former president, his family and business are liable to pay the state and whether they can continue to operate there.

___________________________

Thursday, Sept. 7

___________________________

Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis. (Photo Illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty Images, John Bazemore/AP, Getty Images [3])

Another former Trump official is found guilty of contempt of Congress. The Georgia prosecutor trying former President Donald Trump and his allies for their attempts to overturn the 2020 election results seeks to keep the identity of jurors secret. A former Mar-a-Lago employee avoids criminal charges by agreeing to testify for the prosecution and the New York financial fraud civil trial will not be delayed.

Jan. 6 election interference

Former Trump official found guilty of contempt of Congress charges

Key players: Former Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro, former White House strategist Steve Bannon, Judge Amit Mehta

Navarro was found guilty Thursday of two counts of contempt of Congress for his refusal to offer testimony and documents after being subpoenaed by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, the Associated Press reported.

Each count carries a maximum sentence of a year in prison. Mehta set Navarro's sentencing date for Jan. 12.

Navarro is the second former Trump official to be found guilty of contempt of Congress. Last year, Bannon was sentenced to four months in jail for defying a House subpoena. His case is under appeal.

Why it matters: Navarros lawyers argued he did not have to turn over evidence or testify about his dealings with Trump because he was shielded by executive privilege claims. Those same arguments are likely to be made in special counsel Jack Smith's upcoming case against Trump.

Georgia election interference

Willis seeks protections for jurors

Key players: Fulton County DA Fani Willis, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee

In a motion filed Wednesday, Willis asked McAfee to prohibit the 19 defendants, the news media and others from publishing images, videos, photos or drawings of those being considered as jurors in the sprawling criminal case regarding attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

In the motion, Willis seeks to block the release of information about jurors  specifically physical descriptions, telephone numbers, addresses, employer names and membership affiliations  that could be used to intimidate or harm them, the Associated Press reported.

Why it matters: In the wake of the release of the 41-count indictment against Trump and his allies, the identities of the grand jury members were posted online and they were subject to harassment, including death threats, from supporters of the former president.

Classified documents case

Mar-a-Lago IT worker strikes deal with prosecutors

Key players: Special counsel Jack Smith, Trump employee Yuscil Taveras, valet Walt Nauta, property manager Carlos De Oliveira

In a worrisome development for Trump, an IT worker at Mar-a-Lago has agreed to testify for the prosecution in the case brought by Smith regarding the former presidents handling of classified documents after leaving the White House.

In exchange for his testimony, Taveras will avoid being charged with crimes in the case, CNN reported.

Two other Trump employees, valet Nauta and property manager De Oliveira, have already been charged with helping Trump hide documents from federal investigators; both have pleaded not guilty.

Why it matters: Last month, Taveras reportedly admitted that he initially lied to Smiths team. He has since told investigators that Trump requested that he delete potentially incriminating security camera footage regarding the documents.

New York financial fraud case

Judge rejects Trump request to delay start of civil trial

Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, New York Attorney General Letitia James

Engoron, the judge overseeing the $250 million financial fraud civil case brought against Trump, his two adult sons and the Trump Organization, rejected arguments made by the former president and his lawyers seeking to delay the start of the trial.

Defendants arguments are completely without merit, Engoron wrote in his ruling, ABC News reported.

James and the state of New York allege that Trump and his co-defendants committed fraud over decades by overinflating business assets in order to obtain favorable loan terms.

The trial is expected to begin Oct. 2.

Why it matters: In all the legal cases facing the former president, Trumps lawyers have sought to delay the proceedings until after the 2024 presidential election. So far, those efforts have fallen flat.
In this courtroom sketch, journalist E. Jean Carroll looks on as Joe Tacopina, lawyer of Donald Trump , makes closing arguments during a civil trial where Carroll accused Trump of raping her and of defamation, May 8. (Jane Rosenberg via Reuters)

Another day, another legal setback for Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, a federal judge in New York ruled that the former president would be held liable once again for defaming E. Jean Carroll, a journalist who had previously accused him of raping her some 30 years ago in a Manhattan department store.

In an initial civil trial, a jury already awarded her $5 million in damages, finding Trump guilty of sexually abusing Carroll in the 1990s  and also of defaming her in 2022. Now, the sum owed by Trump is likely to grow.

Trump faces a second civil trial, related to another set of allegedly defamatory statements he made about Carroll after she first accused him of rape in a 2019 article that appeared in New York magazine.

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In his 24-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote that Trump acted with actual malice towards Carroll when he aggressively rebutted her accusations. The second trial would thus be limited to the issue of damages only.

It was the latest legal setback for Trump, who continues to enjoy strong support from Republican primary voters even as he faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in federal prison.

Read more on Yahoo News: Trump criminal charges: Here are all 91 felony counts against the former president across 4 cases

Another loss to Carroll

A demonstrator outside the Manhattan Federal Court following the verdict in the E. Jean Carroll rape case against Donald Trump, May 9. (David Dee Delgado/Reuters)

A former columnist for Elle magazine, Carroll, 79, alleged that Trump, 77, raped her at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan, where she had run into the real estate magnate in either 1995 or 1996.

Despite the many years that had passed since the alleged assault, Carroll could sue Trump in civil  but not criminal  court under the Adult Survivors Act, a New York law signed last year by Gov. Kathy Hochul that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for victims of sexual assault.

Trump has consistently denied the allegations. Ive never met this person in my life. She is trying to sell a new book; that should indicate her motivation. It should be sold in the fiction section, he said in a statement after the New York article was published four years ago.

He also claimed that Carroll was not his type.

When the case went to court last spring, Carroll offered powerful and convincing testimony. I am here because Donald Trump raped me, she told the court.

In a unanimous May verdict, the jury ordered Trump to pay Carroll $5 million.

A second trial, focused on his 2019 statements that Carroll alleged were defamatory, is supposed to begin next January. In Wednesdays ruling, Kaplan wrote that the results of the first trial would effectively hold for the second.

In other words, the question isnt whether Trump is guilty or not, but only how much he has to pay  for a second time.

Read more on Yahoo News: Close this content Yahoo News After a 3rd woman testifies Trump sexually assaulted her, his lawyers announce they won't call any witnesses

Other legal dangers loom

Nadine Seiler holds a banner in front of the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., where Trump is expected to answer charges regarding his alleged attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Carroll is hardly Trumps lone legal problem. He faces four other trials, all of them in criminal court, which means the penalty in each could involve a lengthy prison sentence.

In late March, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Trump on charges related to payments he made to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, who performed as Stormy Daniels, in 2016. The payments were intended to prevent Clifford from disclosing the details of an affair shed had with the aspiring presidential candidate several years before.

Then, in June, special counsel Jack Smith, who had been appointed by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, indicted Trump on 37 charges related to his handling of classified documents after his term concluded. Smith appended the original indictment with additional charges in August.

Working under a broad mandate, Smith also indicted Trump for attempting to obstruct the proper tally of the 2020 presidential election and conspiring to overturn the results, an effort that culminated with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Two weeks after the second Smith indictment, Fani Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., charged Trump and more than a dozen of his associates with having orchestrated a conspiracy intended to overturn that states election results, which favored Joe Biden.

The cases are putting a strain on Trump's presidential campaign, though his base has only embraced Trump tighter as his legal perils have deepened.

It is not clear when any of Trump's criminal trials will begin, or how they will conflict with his presidential run. But if he is convicted, the onetime president could spend years in prison.

Read more via The Independent: Will Donald Trump go to prison?
Trump notifies judge he may try to move Georgia case to federal court

Former President Trump on Thursday signaled he may attempt to move his Georgia charges to federal court.

President Trump hereby notifies the Court that he may seek removal of his prosecution to federal court, Steve Sadow, Trumps attorney, wrote in court filings.

Legal experts have anticipated Trump would make such an attempt, but Thursdays filing provides the strongest signal yet that he plans to do so.

Trump still has multiple weeks to officially file his request. Under federal law, his request must be filed within 30 days of his arraignment. Trump pleaded not guilty and waived his in-person arraignment on Aug. 31.

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Legal experts agree moving the charges still will not make them subject to a presidential pardon but that it would change the dynamics for Trumps case.

If successful, Trumps case would be overseen by a federal judge, and the jury pool would be drawn from a broader area of northern Georgia that is less heavily Democratic.

And while the state judge has indicated the trial will be televised, moving to federal court would likely prevent any of the proceedings from being broadcasted.

Trump wouldnt be the first co-defendant in the case to mount such an attempt.

Multiple of Trumps co-defendants in the case have already begun trying to move their charges, most notably former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark. Three pro-Trump individuals charged with signing documents purporting to be Georgias valid electors have also made such a move.

Some legal experts believe if any of their efforts are successful, Trump and the other co-defendants charges would be automatically moved.

The co-defendants are attempting to make the move as part of a two-step process. If granted, Meadows and others are hoping to assert constitutional immunity to have their charges dismissed.

The dispute over moving courts rests on three prongs: The defendants must show they were a federal officer, that the allegations relate to an act taken under color of such office and that they have a plausible federal defense.

Trumps filing Thursday comes after the state judge signaled he plans to issue a schedule for Trumps case by next week. But the judge has cited the co-defendants efforts to move their charges as one reason that prosecutors proposed timeline to try all 19 in October is likely too ambitious.

Trump previously tried to move his charges in his hush money criminal case to federal court, but a judge rejected the move. Trump is now appealing that ruling.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Int'l students enjoy studying medicine in NW China's Xinjiang

People's Daily Online) 10:40, September 07, 2023

"In recent years, China has made great achievements in medical education. I hope to equip myself with excellent medical skills here," Gozel Bekberdiyeva, a 24-year-old medical intern from Turkmenistan, told People's Daily Online.

Gozel came to study medicine at Xinjiang Medical University in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in 2017. She is now an intern at the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospital affiliated with Xinjiang Medical University.

Gozel Bekberdiyeva, an international medical student from Turkmenistan, is now an intern at the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospital affiliated with Xinjiang Medical University in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of Gozel Bekberdiyeva)

In the past years, Gozel has gradually got the hang of learning Chinese, and gained considerable practical clinical experience, bringing her closer to realizing her dream of becoming a doctor.

"I look forward to making contributions to the medical field in my hometown after I return home," she said.

Taking international cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as an opportunity, Xinjiang Medical University has aligned itself with international standards in terms of educational content and methods, attracting and cultivating a good number of international students with global perspectives through an all-English curriculum featuring a combination of TCM and Western medicine.

Like Gozel, Nagymetzhan Minar from Kazakhstan is also an international medical student taking an internship at the TCM hospital affiliated with Xinjiang Medical University.

"I came to China in 2016, when I was 18 years old and was very interested in TCM. My father is also a doctor, so I hope I can become a doctor who saves lives like him in the future," said Minar.

Nagymetzhan Minar, an international medical student from Kazakhstan, takes an internship at the TCM hospital affiliated with Xinjiang Medical University in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of Nagymetzhan Minar)

With the support and encouragement of her family, Minar came to study TCM at Xinjiang Medical University. She has been impressed by the progress and development of China's medical field, and has been full of curiosity and thirst for knowledge about the Chinese language and TCM during her studies.

"We have learned TCM practices like acupuncture and massage. They were very hard for me at first, but I have acquired a lot of knowledge step by step," she said, noting that TCM is an interesting and difficult subject for her.

Doctors at the TCM hospital affiliated with Xinjiang Medical University are very warm-hearted toward international students, according to Minar, who added that students can always get patient guidance here whenever they need help.

"China is a heartwarming place. I hope I can continue my studies after graduation and use my medical knowledge to open a clinic when I return home," said Minar.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
RAMALLAH, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- At least one Palestinian and an Israeli soldier were wounded on Thursday during clashes that erupted in the central West Bank city of Bethlehem, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.

Palestinian medical sources told Xinhua that the Israeli army transferred "a young Palestinian man with a foot injury" to a local hospital for treatment after clashes in Bethlehem.

The clashes erupted on Thursday after Israeli forces stormed the Dheisheh refugee camp south of Bethlehem, according to eyewitnesses, who said Israeli soldiers opened fire and threw tear gas canisters toward protesting Palestinians.

Avichai Adraee, spokesperson of the Israeli army, said in a brief statement that an Israeli soldier was wounded during clashes, without further details.

Also on Thursday, at least 18 Palestinians were arrested by the Israeli army during raids carried out in various cities and villages in the West Bank, according to the non-government Palestinian Prisoners' Club Association.

Israeli raids in the West Bank, often resulting in Palestinian casualties, have been a source of ongoing tension over the past year and a half. Israel contends that these actions are necessary to apprehend Palestinian militants involved in attacks against Israel.

Israeli-Palestinian violence has been on the rise since early 2022, claiming the lives of at least 227 Palestinians and 32 Israelis, according to official sources. 
Donald Trump notified a judge in Georgia on Thursday that he may seek to have his Fulton County case remanded to federal court.

The bid would not be a certain one for the ex-president, but one he would have to mount nonetheless in his effort to seek having the case dismissed on the grounds of involving his official duties as president.

Mr Trump is not the only defendant after this outcome: His former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has sought the same.

Should Mr Trump eventually move to have his trial moved to federal court, the success of that motion could be a strong indicator of the future of his case.

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Mr Trump and 18 others are charged with a host of felony counts related to their effort to alter Georgias election results after the 2020 election had concluded. The president and his legal team sought first to change the number of votes in his total, then to have Georgia state lawmakers interfere and send a slate of false, Trump-supporting electors to Washington in the hopes of casting Georgias Electoral College votes for the incumbent president.

Still other co-defendants are charged with a harrassment campaign against two Black women, a mother and her daughter, who volunteered as poll workers during the 2020 election. The pair were subject to racist taunts and violent threats after being target by the Trumpworld conspiracy mill.

In addition to numerous other felony counts, Mr Trump and his compatriots are charged with violating Georgias RICO statute, designed to target organised criminal enterprises. Should he or others be convicted of that offence, there is a mandatory minimum prison sentence that must be served.

Just in: Trump notifies Fulton County superior court Judge McAfee that he "may" seek removal of the prosecution to federal court. pic.twitter.com/BsQbfA46Q1  Anna Bower (@AnnaBower) September 7, 2023

Mr Trump also remains charged with crimes in three other jurisdictions, including in another case brought by the Department of Justice over his same campaign to change the 2020 election results.

The ex-president has pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing in all of the alleged criminal matters brought against him.
A federal jury on Thursday dropped the ax on Peter Navarro, finding the ex-Donald Trump adviser and MAGA loyalist guilty of a pair of contempt of Congress charges after just four hours of deliberations. Hes now facing a sentence of up to two years behind bars.

Navarro, who gained notoriety for the extreme efforts he made to try to overturn the 2020 election, was busted for ignoring a subpoena to hand over documents and testify before the Houses Jan. 6 committee.

Navarro, 74, long insisted that he wasnt legally obligated to testify in front of Congress or provide documents requested by the feds because Trump, who was no longer president, had granted him executive privilege. Judge Amit P. Mehta shot that argument down in a pretrial hearing last week, however, leaving Navarros defense team grasping at straws as they tried to justify his failure to appear for a deposition.

Top Trump Loyalist Is About to Finish Falling on His Sword for His Master

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Jurors began deliberating on Thursday morning and wrapped up by the afternoonjust a day after the trial began. Proceedings were similarly brief for Steve Bannon, another former Trump aide who was sentenced to four months in the clink for defying a subpoena from the same committee.

Navarro will learn his fate at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Jan. 12. The minimum sentence for each charge is 30 days behind bars.

Speaking outside the courthouse Thursday, Navarro conceded that he knew going in what the verdict was going to be after he was told he couldnt use executive privilege as a defense. He said he planned to appeal the verdict and thought it would eventually end up in the Supreme Court.

I said from the beginning this was going to the Supreme Court, he said. I am willing to go to prison to settle this issue.

Before he spoke, he was again antagonized by a woman holding a sign behind himthe same woman he unsuccessfully tried to rip a sign away from last week. A few seconds into the press conference, she yelled out that another protester had assaulted her and Navarros spiel went off the rails.

The bane of Peter Navarro's existence shows up yet again after he was found guilty of contempt of Congress, causing his post-verdict presser to quickly go off the rails.



"That man just assaulted me. He stuck a flag pole up in between my legs! ... I want to press charges." pic.twitter.com/TN0Ll0GFty  Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 7, 2023

Its a sad day for America, Navarro continued, referencing protesters interruptions. Not cause they were guilty verdicts, [but] because I cant come out and have an honest, decent conversation with the people of America.

He then whined that this is the problem we have right here, this kind of divide in our country between the woke Marxist left and everybody else here.

On Wednesday, prosecutor John Crabb Jr. told jurors in opening statements that the case against Navarro was simple: Hed failed to show up to a deposition as ordered and deserved to be punished just as anyone else would.

This case is just about a guy who didnt show up for his testimony, Crabb said. Yes, this case is that simple. But this case is also that importantwe are a nation of laws, and Mr. Navarro acted like he was above the law.

See the jurys only note and verdict form from the Navarro trial: https://t.co/wwYbcYxxRS pic.twitter.com/AVP3nDMUrr  Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 7, 2023

Jurors didnt buy the defenses argument that Navarro was merely a loyal adviser to Trump who was following his boss orders, caught up in a misunderstanding about whether or not he was shielded by executive privilege.

Stan Woodward, Navarros attorney, told jurors that his client didnt testify before Congress because its representatives never came to confirm with him if he was required to. With no guidance from Congress, Navarro said he merely continued following Trumps order not to comply with the committees requests.

For the government to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt it also has to prove that Dr. Navarros failure to comply with the subpoena was not the result of accident, mistake, or inadvertence, Woodward said.

Crabb shot back that Woodwards argument made no sense. The prosecutor told jurors that Navarroeven if he had been granted executive privilegewould still have been required to show up on Capitol Hill and explain why he was protected on a question-by-question basis.

After the jurys verdict was read, Woodward filed a motion for a mistrial, claiming jurors saw a contingent of Jan. 6 protesters outside the court just before they delivered their decisionsomething he claims could have tainted their thinking.

Trumps Sideshow Characters Keep Racking up Huge Legal Bills

Navarro admitted to ignoring the subpoena but never apologized. While others in Trumps orbit have turned their back on the former president in the wake of his quartet of indictments, Navarro has never wavered in his supporttelling anyone who will listen about his (failed) efforts to keep Trump in power.

While Navarro was eager to tell the world about the lengths he went to to overturn the election, he refused to speak to Congress. Had he done as little as show up on Capitol Hill and assert his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, he likely would have evaded charges entirely.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Aloi noted as much in closing remarks Thursday, saying Navarro was more than happy to share his knowledge about the 2020 election with the public, on the news, with anyone that askedexcept for the congressional committee that could do something about it.

Peter Navarro made a choice, Aloi said. He chose not to comply with the congressional subpoena. Our government only works when people play by the rules.

Crabb added, He blew it off. That shows you it was intentional.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would absolutely testify in his own defense if any of his criminal cases go to trial.

That, I would do. That, I look forward to, Trump said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. At trial, Ill testify.

Trump has been indicted in four cases: a New York investigation related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels; a federal probe into his handling of classified documents after he left the White House; a federal investigation into his attempts to remain in office after he lost the 2020 presidential race; and a state case in Georgia over his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election results there.

Trump, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and aggressively attacked prosecutors and judges assigned to the cases.

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The federal judge overseeing the federal election interference case recently set a trial date of March 4, 2024, a day before the Super Tuesday primaries. Prosecutors in Georgia said this week they believe their case will take four months, which could force Trump to spend valuable campaigning time in a courtroom.

If Trump actually took the stand, it would be a major moment for a former president and an unusual step, as defendants are generally advised not to testify in their own cases. Trump has largely resisted testifying in person in a bevy of other lawsuits, including refusing to testify at the civil battery and defamation trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll and at his second impeachment trial, in which he was accused of inciting an insurrection.

Hewitt also asked how Trump planned to run for office and campaign around the country when he could be sitting behind a defendants table. The former president said he hoped it didnt reach that point, calling the investigations a scam and election interference.

Well be asking for many dismissals of many of these fake cases, Trump replied. These are fake cases.

Trump remains the front-runner for the GOP nomination, although he has cited his high standing in the polls to buck traditional appearances in the race, including his decision to skip the first Republican presidential debate last month.

Related...
(The Hill)  Former President Trump says he would love to debate Meghan , the duchess of Sussex.

The hypothetical head-to-head between the actress formerly known as Meghan Markle and the 45th president was floated by radio host Hugh Hewitt on his eponymous show during an interview with Trump on Wednesday.

Asked if he would sit down with Meghan and her husband Prince Harry for the ratings in what Hewitt speculated would be a widely viewed event, Trump replied, If you want to set it up, lets set it up.

Lets go do something, Trump said. Id love to debate her. I would love it.

I disagree so much with what theyre doing, he added, pointing to what he described as the great disrespect the pair showed the late Queen Elizabeth II.

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I said that I dont think they are very appropriate what theyre saying, what theyre doing, and I didnt like the way she dealt with the queen, Trump told Hewitt.

Harry and Meghan, who wed in 2018, stepped down as full-time working members of the royal family in 2020 and moved to California.

I didnt like the idea that they were getting U.S. security when they came over here, Trump said.

Before becoming a member of Britains royal family the American-born Meghan had called Trump divisive and misogynistic during the 2016 presidential race.

Trump later said the former entertainers comments about him were nasty.

In the Wednesday interview, Trump pushed back when Hewitt said Meghan and Harry didnt like him much.

Well, I dont know that they dont like me, Trump said.

I think its not a good situation going on with the two of them, but I didnt know that they dont like me, he said.

Somebody mentioned it might be possible. They wouldnt be the only ones, Trump said.

Representatives for Meghan and Harry didnt immediately respond to ITKs request for comment.

Elizabeth, the longest-serving British monarch, died last year at 96. In an interview shortly after her death, Meghan praised the late queen, calling her the most shining example of female leadership.

In his tell-all Spare, released earlier this year, Harry revealed that one of the first things that his grandmother wanted to know after meeting his future wife for the first time was what the then-Suits star thought of Trump.

Meg thought politics a no-win game, Harry recalled of the 2016 conversation between the queen and Meghan just weeks before the presidential election, so she changed the subject to Canada.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Former President Donald Trump filed paperwork Thursday notifying the court that he may seek removal of his prosecution to federal court.

Several of the defendants indicted in the Georgia election investigation have already filed to have their cases removed to federal court, but many believe that Trump would be one of the few who has a real chance of having his case moved.

Shortly after the indictment was handed up, Georgia State University law professor Clark Cunningham told Channel 2s Richard Elliot that he fully expected Trump to do this.

As a former president, because the acts for which he would be prosecuted took place while he was still president, federal law would allow him to ask for his trial to be moved to federal court, called removal, Cunningham said.

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This could be attractive to Trump since in all likelihood, he could find a friendlier jury pool than one pulled from Fulton County, a county and Congressional district hes insulted numerous times over the years.

Plus, he might draw a federal judge that he appointed.

If Trumps trial were moved, Cunningham believes the trial for all 18 of Trumps co-defendants would move to federal court, too.

Willis could and would probably fight the move, prompting a series of appeals through the federal system, all before the criminal trial could even begin.

If the district attorney wants to fight that, so its called, thats removal, you ask for a remand. That fight will last for months and could easily go up to the U.S. Supreme Court and delay everything, Cunningham said.

According to the filing, Trump has 30 days from arraignment to file his removal request. He filed his not-guilty plea on Aug. 31.

RELATED NEWS:
Donald Trump is a dictator in waiting. Like other dictators, he is threatening to put his "enemies" in prison  and to do even worse things to them. These are not idle threats or empty acts of ideation: Donald Trump is a violent man who is a proven enemy of democracy and freedom.

These threats of violence against his enemies are part of a much larger pattern of violent and dangerous behavior that is only growing worse as he faces criminal trials and the possibility of going to prison for hundreds of years.

In the most recent example, Donald Trump told Glenn Beck during an interview last week that he is going to put President Biden and other "enemies" in prison when he takes by the White House in 2025.

In a Sunday evening post on his Truth Social disinformation social media platform, Trump was even more explicit with his threats of violence and harm, threatening that he would treat Biden and the other "enemies" like they do in "banana republics":

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The Crooked Joe Biden Campaign has thrown so many Indictments and lawsuits against me that Republicans are already thinking about what we are going to do to Biden and the Communists when it's our turn. They have started a whole new Banana Republic way of thinking about political campaigns. So cheap and dirty, but that's where America is right now. Be careful what you wish for!

In "banana republics" the enemies of the leader and the regime are usually imprisoned, tortured, executed, and face death squads and mass executions. Trump himself has publicly expressed his admiration for murderous dictators and autocrats such as Vladimir Putin and N. Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

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The corporate news media  with MSNBC being a notable exception  as is their policy, mostly ignored Trump's most recent threats to kill and imprison President Joe Biden and the other "enemies" of the MAGA movement. Ignoring the danger will not make it disappear or otherwise go away; moreover, to ignore Trumpism and neofascism is to normalize them.

During an interview Saturday on MSNBC, Miles Taylor, who was a senior member of Trump's administration and author of the New York Times' "Anonymous" op-ed, warned that the ex-president's desires to imprison his "enemies" are not new:

A number of folks who worked in the Trump administration with me and have since spoken out against the ex-president, we joke darkly about the fact that in a second term, a number of us will be in orange jumpsuits in Guantanamo Bay. I say that the comment is half facetious because Donald Trump actually did have a vision while I was in the administration to go use the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay to house political prisoners. And in that case what he wanted to do is use it to move people from the southern border to send a message and put them in the same place where people like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, sits behind bars, and send a message. The only reason Donald Trump didn't start sending people to Gitmo is because he was convinced it would be too expensive, and the facility couldn't house the number of people he wanted to send there. That was the mindset of the man when he was president of the United States. You have seen him since double down on his intention to again use the justice system for political purposes, and specifically admitting that he would do so to go after his enemies. I think that's very chilling.

In a recent conversation here at Salon, Taylor also issued this warning:

If I were to bet on who is going to be the next president of the United States, I would put my money on Donald Trump. Obviously, that is the last thing I want to see happen. But if I had to make a bet today, despite the impeachments and the indictments, and the widespread opposition to him, I think he's likely to be the next President of the United States. That should be a five-alarm fire for our democracy. Our democracy right now is at very grave risk of going through a period of destruction, and in many ways it already has.  As the saying goes, "Stalin was bad, but the little Stalins were a hell of a lot worse". And that is what we would be seeing in a second Trump term. As bad as Donald Trump will be if he wins a second term, his lieutenants will likely be people who are even more evil than he is. That is going to be true of Trump's successors too because they will be following his authoritarian playbook to win the MAGA base.

During a fake interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson two weeks ago, Trump engaged in obvious acts of mental projection and fantasy as he shared his fears of being assassinated by "the left', the Democrats, the "deep state" and other imagined enemies.

The most foolish and dangerous example of wish-casting is the argument that "Trump can't win anyway" or that he will be in prison or disqualified under the 14th Amendment.

These lies are part of a right-wing disinformation campaign in service to the Big Lie that Trump won the 2020 presidential election and that it was stolen from him by Biden and the Democrats. No evidence exists to support such claims.

The reality: Law enforcement and other experts have repeatedly warned (and documented) that the greatest threat to the country's domestic safety is from right-wing extremism. One such right-wing terrorist, a neo-Nazi terrorist, murdered three black people at a Dollar General Store in Jacksonville, Florida two Saturdays ago.

Related

The NRA's toxic fuel: When racism and guns unite

The "enemies" that Trump and his next regime want to put in prison or worse, include not just President Biden, the Democratic Party's leadership, and the members of law enforcement who are prosecuting Trump for his crimes, but all people who he and the Republican fascists and MAGA movement deem to be "the enemy" and "un-American".

Here are some specific examples.

If you do not support Donald Trump and the Republican fascists and the MAGA movement (or are deemed insufficiently loyal) you will face prison or worse.

The American right-wing wing has been trained for decades by their news media and other political leaders and influentials to believe that Democrats, liberals, progressives, feminists, progressives and others who are not "real Americans" are to be eliminated and subjected to other genocidal violence.

If you are a black or brown person, a Muslim, Jewish, an atheist, not a White Christian, a members of the LGBTQI community, believe in women's reproductive rights and freedoms, are deemed to be "Woke" or tainted by the "Critical Race Theory Mind Virus" or otherwise deemed to be the Other you will also be targeted by Trump's next regime and movement.

Dictators and other authoritarians expand the category of "the enemy" in response to political necessity and the whims, grievances, and others mercurial needs and impulses of the leader(s). This dynamic is even more powerful in a political personality cult such as Trumpism.

Even more so in personality cult such as Trumpism. No American, not even Trump's MAGA supporters and other Republican voters, will be safe from being put in prison or targeted for violence by the next Trump regime.

Trump and his advisers are actively creating the infrastructure for him to follow through on his plans to be a dictator when/if he retakes the White House in 2025. Trump's Agenda 47 is a plan to radically remake the presidency and American government (and American society) in service to his neofascist vision that includes such goals as ending birthright citizenship, criminalizing migrants and refugees, putting homeless people in camps, instituting national stop and frisk laws, restricting freedom of the press, ending academic freedom at the country's universities and colleges and other institutions of higher education, replacing quality public education that teaches critical thinking and the country's real history with a form of fascist "patriotic" indoctrination, ending environmental regulations, more gangster capitalism and power for the richest Americans and corporations, reversing the progress of the civil rights movement and the Black Freedom Struggle, taking away the rights of gays and lesbians and other queer people, further restricting women's civil and human rights, and ending US support for Ukraine.

Project 2025 is a strategy that has been developed by right-wing think tanks and interest groups such as the Heritage Foundation. The main focus of Project 2025 is to launch a blitzkrieg assault on the American government by ending career civil service and replacing it with Trump loyalists with the goal of eliminating any internal opposition to the Trump dictatorship. In essence, these Trump loyalists will place his vision above the Constitution and the rule of law.

Salon's Areeba Shah explains more:

A network of conservative groups is gearing up for the potential reelection of Donald Trump, actively enlisting an "army" of Americans to come to Washington with a mission to disassemble the federal government and substitute it with a vision that aligns more closely with their own beliefs and ideas, according to The Associated Press. Organized by the Heritage Foundation, the sweeping new initiative called Project 2025, offers a policy agenda, transition plan, a playbook for the first 180 days and a personnel database for the next GOP president to access from the very beginning to take control, reform, and eliminate what Republicans criticize as the "deep state" bureaucracy. Their plan includes the possibility of firing as many as 50,000 federal employees. Democracy experts view Project 2025 as an authoritarian attempt to seize power by filling the federal government, including the Department of Justice and the FBI, with unwavering Trump supporters, which could potentially erode the country's system of checks and balances. "The irony of course is that in the name of 'draining the swamp', it creates opportunities to make the federal government actually quite corrupt and turn the country into a more authoritarian kind of government," Matt Dallek, a professor at George Washington's Graduate School of Political Management, who studies the American right, told Salon.

Those who remain in denial about the realities of Trump's plans to become a dictator and the country's worsening democracy crisis, would likely object to these warnings with foolish deflections such as Trump is just making "empty threats" and that he is "disorganized and not disciplined" and "the law would stop him" because "of American Exceptionalism" and "the institutions and the guardrails of democracy".

Such voices have learned little, which seven years later is a choice, from the Age of Trump, the horrors it unleashed, and the system's failures that vomited it out.

By definition, fascists and other authoritarians such as Donald Trump and his fake populist MAGA movement do not care about the law or "institutions". The cry "that's illegal!" is one of the final things that many people in societies around the world have said when an authoritarian and their forces take power.

In addition, the last seven years have also highlighted how vulnerable and weak America's governing social and political institutions are to neofascism and other forms of authoritarianism and illiberalism. A second Trump regime, and the Republican Party and "conservative movement" more generally, have gained great experience with exploiting these vulnerabilities and are now trying to fully explode them  from both inside and outside the country's governing institutions.

The most foolish and dangerous example of wish-casting is the argument that "Trump can't win anyway" or that he will be in prison or disqualified under the 14th Amendment. Trump is a symbol and leader of a movement. The decades-long neofascist campaign to end multiracial pluralistic democracy will continue without him and will likely become even more effective and dangerous if a committed and disciplined ideologue in the mold of Ron DeSantis were to become its leader.

Or perhaps those members of the news media, political class, and among the general public who want to ignore or downplay Trump's escalating dictatorial threats would heed the warnings of former Republicans, the same people who helped to create the circumstances for Trump and the MAGA movement's rise to power?

As a group those Never-Trumpers and other pro-democracy voices from the "conservative" movement are sounding the alarm, almost screaming, that Donald Trump means everything that he says about becoming a dictator for life and getting revenge on those people who dare(d) to oppose him. Those same people are also warning, repeatedly, that Trump's chances of winning the 2024 Election are much higher than the mainstream news media and pundit class want to admit.

If Donald Trump was a private citizen and he was threatening his neighbors with violence and other harm, he would likely be put in jail or otherwise removed from society. But Donald Trump is not a regular person. He is a former president who commands the loyalty of tens of millions of people. When a person tells you who they are believe them. That wisdom and warning most certainly applies to Trump and his MAGAites and the other neofascists and members of the white right. Denial will not save you no matter how much you wish it would.

Read more

about Trump's bizarre current predicament
Youd think conservatives have enough on their hands in fighting to take back the White House, gaining more seats in Congress, and finding new and humiliating ways to defend former President Donald Trump. But Republicans always find time to attack their favorite targets, Barack and Michelle Obama.

Former President Obama faced unprecedented hatred, yet still served two full terms in the White House, and left office with high approval ratings. But he had to endure the racist calls of birtherism that plagued Obamas 2008 presidential campaign (and later propelled Trump to GOP stardom) to likening Michelle Obama to a monkey, you name it and Republicans went there. But since leaving the White House, Obama has largely remained outside of the political spotlight, though his most passionate detractors still have it in for him and his wife.

Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, the former Fox News superstars turned social media firebrands, devoted their energies this week toward the former first couple in rather odd ways.

Megyn Kelly, Just Asking Questions: Are the Obamas Running a Shadow Puppet Government?

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This week on X (formerly known as Twitter), Carlson released an interview with convicted con artist Larry Sinclair, who claimed to have smoked crack and had a sexual relationship with Barack Obama in the late 1990s.

If this sounds like the recipe for a multi-layered conservative cake, thats because it is. The bizarre interview has everything: a never-before-heard allegation (with zero corroboration) designed to stoke the rage of the homophobic right; images of the future first Black president using the drug that itself was used to demonize Black America for decades, and shocking accusations that would throw the Obamas entire history into dispute.

The other major washed-up ex-Fox News star, Megyn Kelly, claimed this week in an interview on the far-right cable network Newsmax, that Barack and Michelle Obama are really running the country as part of a shadow puppet situation. She also said the former first lady isnt liked by conservatives because she doesnt like America.

This isnt a new refrain. Black people cannot bring attention to inequality, systemic racism, or Americas dark racial past (and present) without being accused of insufficient patriotism.

But the real reason conservatives hate Michelle is consistent polling popularity (she had a 72 percent approval rating, according to Pew Research, when Barack left office). Even though shes insisted she isnt going to run for public office, right-wing outlets remain captivated with fear and rage that she will.

Heres Why Ron DeSantis Was Booed After a Racist Mass Murder in Jacksonville

Its no wonder Republicans are threatened by Black women. At the polls Black women vote in the 90+ percentile for Democrats, their turnout rate has handed tight races to Democratic contenders, and their growing power in leadership positions is a threat to the white, male-dominated establishment. Weve witnessed this in the backlash to Vice President Kamala Harris ascent, during the confirmation hearings for the first Black female Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, as well as in the grossly misogynistic and racist attacks against former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.

But there is a special hatred reserved for the Obamas, particularly Michelle Obama.

Before beginning her career in big law and before meeting her future husband Barack Obama, Michelle Robinson was a staple of civic engagement in Americas third-largest city.

Unapologetically Black, born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Michelle is a public school graduate from a working-class family who went to not one but two Ivy League institutions, Princeton and Harvard Law. She started her career in public service working across Chicago government, leading Public Allies, a nonprofit devoted to getting young people involved in social justice careers in both government and the private sector.

But none of this background matters to Kelly, who believes that because Michelle Obama said, For the first time in my life Im really proud of my country when her husband was on the campaign trail, she doesnt believe in the promise of America. Why cant a patriotic American be more proud of her country at some times, rather than others?

Seeing the first Black man become president of the United States ignited a pride in minorities across America, particularly Black people whose ancestors had been locked out of opportunities and by our own Constitution, were regarded as three-fifths of a person, lacked voting rights, and the ability to own property. And for all the gains earned by the Civil Rights Movement, the struggle is far from over.

Nobody Sold Out Harder Than Tucker Carlson

Kelly, seemingly flailing to find something else to be outraged over, also took issue with Michelle talking about her decision to straighten her hair as first lady because she was worried Americans werent ready for a Black womans natural hair in the White House. Kelly isnt intellectually curious enough to know thisor empathetic enough to carebut Black natural hair is a political statement. We didnt make it that way. White America did. If hair is seen as kinkier or worn in braids or afro, it was acknowledged as unkempt and unprofessional. Too Black.

The future doesnt look bright for fading conservative media personalities like Carlson and Kelly, exiled from their former broadcast perches and now relegated to corners of the internet where the only time you hear about them is when they say something outrageous or stupidor, in the case of their recent slams against the Obamas, both.

What remains of their audiences laps up the anti-Obama rage, a throwback to the days when Carlson and Kelly were big stars. And the hosts will continue to heap healthy portions of barely-concealed racist animus against the Obamasas long as Americans continue to approve of the former first family more than the former Fox News stars.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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UPDATE: Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison on September 7, 2023.

LOS ANGELES  One Hollywood star claimed he was arrested and charged on multiple counts of rape by police and prosecutors who are biased against his church.

Another prominent Hollywood figure accused of rape contends he was set up by members of a church he has publicly renounced.

In both cases, the church in question is the Church of Scientology.

No matter what happens at the trials of former That 70s Show star Danny Masterson, who is accused of raping three women two decades ago, and Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis, accused of raping a publicist a decade ago, the spotlight is on the controversial church that has been embraced by some of Hollywoods biggest names  and derided as a cult by celebrity defectors and others.

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This is not going to be a trial on Scientology, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo warned at a pretrial hearing for Masterson, although she allowed the accusers to cite the church as a reason they waited to report the alleged rapes.

Scientology was started in 1952 by the science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. The religion asserts in its official statements of beliefs that man is an immortal spiritual being with unlimited capabilities, and it offers, for a price, one-on-one auditing and classes designed to help members achieve a clear spiritual state. It strongly opposes the science of psychiatry as disastrous.

Legal analysts said Scientology looms large over both proceedings.

While it appears as if the judge is working hard to ensure that this trial is not about merits of Scientology, it is impossible for the witnesses to tell their stories without reference to the church, said Sarah Krissoff, a top New York City defense attorney and former federal prosecutor who led investigations into sex trafficking and crimes against children. It is all inextricably intertwined.

All three of Mastersons accusers were Scientologists, and two have testified that they were rebuffed when they told church officials Masterson had raped them and that they were subjected to stalking and other acts of retaliation after they reported the alleged assaults to police.

She had told me not to use the word rape, testified an accuser identified as Jane Doe #3, recounting a conversation she had two decades ago with Scientology ethics officer Miranda Scoggins at the churchs Celebrity Centre International in Hollywood.

Image: Actor Danny Masterson stands with his lawyers as he is arraigned on three rape charges on Sept. 18, 2020 in Los Angeles, Calif. (Lucy Nicholson / AFP via Getty Images)

The accuser said Scoggins told her: I had done something to cause it.  Were all responsible for the condition were in.

In a statement released after this story was published, Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw insisted the church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of Scientologists, or of anyone, to law enforcement.

Quite the opposite, Pouw wrote. Church policy explicitly demands Scientologists abide by all laws of the land.

Pouw also insisted Jane Doe #3 never reported a sexual assault to the church and accused her, the two other Jane Does and former Scientologist and actress Leah Remini of making false allegations of harassment in a civil complaint filed against the church.

As for Haggis, Pouw insisted the church has nothing to do with the claims against Haggis nor does it have any relation to his accusers or attorney.

Scientology, whose celebrity devotees include Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley, has received plenty of bad press about supposedly punishing and investigating those who leave the church, said NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos.

Priya Chaudhry, the attorney for Haggis, a two-time Oscar winner, said in her opening statement as the civil trial got underway in Manhattan that Haggis had predicted in a 2011 interview in The New Yorker that church leaders would try to find dirt on him for having parted with Scientology in 2009 over its opposition to gay marriage.

Scientology is very successful at destroying its enemies without leaving a single fingerprint behind, Chaudhry told the court.

Which means Haggis will have to come up with some fingerprints, legal analysts said.

The success of this strategy really depends on what evidence Haggis has to support this argument, Krissoff said. He will have to demonstrate a very close link between his animosity with the church and the allegations against him. If he fails to do so, this strategy might be a distraction but not necessarily a defense to liability.

Image: From left, film director Paul Haggis and his defense lawyer, Priya Chaudhry arrive at New York Supreme Court for his sexual assault case on Oct 17, 2022 in New York. (Yuki Iwamura / AP)

Both trials began this month, five years after multiple rape allegations against the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein in 2017 sparked a tsunami of sexual misconduct claims in Hollywood and helped fuel the #MeToo movement.

Weinstein was convicted of rape in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison before he was extradited from New York to Los Angeles. New York states highest court agreed in August to allow him to appeal the conviction. He is now on trial accused of attacking five women from 2004 to 2013  in a courtroom down the hall from where Mastersons trial is being held in Los Angeles County Superior Court. He has pleaded not guilty.

The Manhattan courthouse where Haggis is on trial is adjacent to the one where a jury concluded this month that the Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey did not molest the actor Anthony Rapp, who said he was 14 when Spacey assaulted him.

Haggis, who won screenwriting Oscars for Million Dollar Baby and Crash, is accused of raping the publicist Haleigh Breest in 2013, when she was 26. He claims the sex was consensual.

Breest claimed in a lawsuit against Haggis in 2017 that he lured her to his apartment and forced her to perform oral sex. Her move prompted three other women to come forward with their own rape allegations against Haggis.

Haggis denied Breests rape allegation in a counter-complaint and accused her and her lawyer of trying to extort $9 million from him.

You many never know if [Breest] is lying because of Scientology, to get his money or some other reason, Chaudhry told jurors. But the evidence will show shes lying.

Breests lawyer, Zoe Salzman, insisted Breest has nothing to do with Scientology.

Scientology has nothing to do with this case, said Salzman, who said Breest came forward after Haggis condemned Weinstein for preying on female actors. She decided she had to do something.

In the Masterson case, he and his accusers are all current or former members of the Church of Scientology. One is his former longtime girlfriend.

He is charged with raping the women at his home from 2001 to 2003.

Mastersons first lawyer, Thomas Mesereau, insisted police and prosecutors were going after him because he is a Scientologist. He also tried and failed to subpoena all communications between Mastersons accusers and Remini, who has become an outspoken critic of the religion.

Mastersons new attorney, Phillip Cohen, has taken a different tack, stating repeatedly that the case against Masterson has nothing to do with Scientology, even though a witness list is filled with current and former members, including famous figures like Lisa Marie Presley, who is a friend of one of the accusers.

Instead, Cohen has signaled his intention to embark on a more traditional defense of his celebrity client.

I do think it is prudent for Mastersons defense counsel to focus the jury on the credibility of the accusers, Krissoff said. His job is to raise doubt about the accusers accounts. However, he needs to tread lightly in doing so, as juries are often repelled by overt attacks on accusers."

Mastersons defense can also refrain from any mention of Scientology and still win, Cevallos said.

In a sex assault case, doing nothing and claiming the government has failed to prove its case can be effective, because the assault is often a 'he-said, she-said' case, Cevallos said.

CORRECTION (Oct. 27, 12:17 p.m.): An earlier version of this article mischaracterized the case against Haggis. He is accused of rape in a civil lawsuit, not criminally charged with rape.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
JetBlue, the first U.S. commercial airline to resume flights to Cuba in more than 50 years in 2016, says it will suspend operations on the island due to low demand.

JetBlue said its final day of service will be Sept. 17 and that it will refund the money to those with flights booked for later this year. The company operated two daily flights to Havana from Fort Lauderdale and one Saturday flight from New York to the Cuban capital.

Delta and United Airlines plan to cut back on flights to the Caribbean island. Delta asked the U.S. Department of Transportation for a temporary suspension of all of its seven flights connecting Atlanta and Havana and seven of its 14 Miami-Havana flights between Oct. 29 and March 30 next year. Earlier in June, United notified the department that it would suspend its Newark-Havana services as of Oct. 29. American Airlines, which also flies to several cities in Cuba, has not announced any cutbacks in service.

Demand for travel to the island has been significantly affected by changes to the regulatory landscape and restrictions on our customers ability to enter Cuba, JetBlue said in a statement. We look forward to resuming our service to Havana and continuing to pursue opportunities within Cuba should travel become more accessible in the future.

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The company did not reply to an email requesting clarification on the restrictions travelers face to enter Cuba. Both the U.S. and the Cuban government impose limits on who can travel to the island.

JetBlue was the first U.S. commercial airline to operate a flight to the island after diplomatic relations were restored under the Barack Obama administration, with an inaugural flight to Santa Clara in August 2016. But travel to Cuba took a hit from restrictions imposed by the Trump administration and the COVID-10 pandemic.

Trump banned flights to cities other than Havana, a measure reversed by the Biden administration last year. Anticipating higher demand, Jet Blue and other airlines asked the Department of Transportation to approve more flights to Cuba to increase connectivity between the two countries.

Americans cannot visit Cuba as tourists because of the U.S. trade embargo, but they can travel to the island under several authorized categories, including group trips for educational purposes. But despite expectations that Biden would go further, he did not lift restrictions banning Americans from going on their own to Cuba under a controversial category to promote individual contacts with the Cuban people, which critics say amounts to allowing tourism.

The Biden administration also left in place a ban on American travelers staying in hotels owned by the Cuban government.

On the Cuban side, the government has not allowed activists and critics to enter the country, putting U.S. airlines in a tough spot.

Cuban authorities themselves have released figures showing the decline in the number of Americans traveling to Cuba in recent years, from a peak of 638,365 in 2018 to just 99,012 from January to July of this year, according to Cubas National Statistics Office.

The number of Cubans abroad, including Cuban Americans, expected to travel to the island this year is also not likely to reach the 2018 peak, when 637,907 visited the country. Only 210,000 have visited Cuba this year as of July.

Many Cubans living in the United States have recently reunited with close relatives from the island, as more than 300,000 Cubans came to the country last year through the U.S.-Mexico border or on rafts. This may have reduced the need for Cuban Americans to travel to the island, experts say, though travel to visit family members in Cuba will likely remain strong.

It is possible that the current economic conditions of the island and the United States, as well as the increase in Cuban emigration in the last two years, are reducing the trips of Cuban Americans to the island, but it is difficult to verify the impact of these factors in the current and future flow of visitors from the United States to Cuba, said Jorge Duany, a migration expert and director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University.

Commercial airlines also face competition from charter flights to Cuba, which are usually more expensive but provide Cubans and Cuban Americans flying from Miami and other cities the chance to take more luggage to the island, which many filled with much-needed food, medicines and other supplies for their relatives.

The countrys severe economic crisis, causing widespread shortages of food, bottled water, medicines and fuel, all essential to tourists, has also affected the number of people visiting the island.

What does not appear to be on the way to a full recovery is the islands battered tourism industry, which has seen visitor numbers well below pre-pandemic levels, Duany said. Compared to other Caribbean markets such as the Dominican or Puerto Rican markets, Cuban tourism has not yet recovered from the drop after the peak historical figures in 2018.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Green visited the Chadian town of Adre on Wednesday where many Sudanese refugees live. Photo courtesy of Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield

Sept. 7 (UPI) -- A top U.S. official visiting a Chadian border town with Sudan, a country embroiled in in-fighting that has displaced millions, has announced more than $160 million in urgently needed humanitarian assistance for the citizens of the embattled North African nation, as well as punitive measures targeting those responsible for human rights abuses.

On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield was in Adre where she toured a hospital and visited a ward where Sudanese children were being treated for acute malnutrition. She visited a refugee camp and received a briefing from local officials and representatives from various U.N. agencies and NGOs.

And she's calling on the international community to do more to help the Sudanese affected by nearly 150 days of fighting that erupted April 15 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and its breakaway Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group.

"I will never forget the pain in the eyes of the Sudanese women I met during my tour of a refugee camp in Adre today," Thomas-Greenfield said on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter. "I am determined as ever to share their stories with the world -- and to mobilize the international community to respond to this humanitarian dire crisis."

More than 60% of the 370,000 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad are living in makeshift camps. We must do more to bolster our partners' ability to relocate these men, women, and children to safe and dignified living quarters. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield (@USAmbUN) September 6, 2023

For years, Sudan had teetered on the precipice of war following the ousting of the country's former three-decade dictator government of President Omar al-Bashir in a civilian-backed coup in 2019.

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Amid its crawl toward democracy, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the SAF, and his deputy, RSF leader Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, executed another coup but infighting over control of the government turned into bloodshed nearly five months ago.

Of the 7.1 million people internally displaced within Sudan, 3.8 million were thrust into the position due to the ongoing fighting, the U.N.'s International Organization For Migration said Tuesday in a statement that added 24.7 million people in the country are in need of humanitarian aid and protection.

On Monday, the U.N.'s refugee agency, along with 64 humanitarian and national civil society organizations, called on the international community to donate $1 billion to provide essential aid and protection to the more than 1.8 million Sudanese who are fleeing the conflict and are expected to arrive in five neighboring countries by the end of the year.

While visiting a food distribution site in Adre on Wednesday, Thomas-Greenfield announced nearly $163 million in assistance for the people of Sudan and neighboring countries, including Chad where many of the Sudanese refugees have fled.

The United States Agency for International Development said in a statement that it will provide $60 million of the committed funds with the remainder to come from the State Department.

According to Thomas-Greenfield, the new commitment brings the total U.S. humanitarian assistance for Sudan to nearly $710 million in fiscal year 2023.

She said the money announced Wednesday will provide food, water, sanitation, healthcare and other essentials that will help protect vulnerable people. It also includes support for communities hosting Sudanese refugees, she said.

She also said the Biden administration on Wednesday imposed punitive measures against two commanders of the RSF.

In a statement, the Treasury said it sanctioned Dagalo on accusations that his paramilitary group has committed human rights abuses, including massacring civilians, committing ethnic killings and employing sexual violence.

The State Department also used its power Wednesday to impose visa restrictions against Abdul Rahman Juma, an RSF general and sector commander of West Darfur where the paramilitary group is accused of committing grave crimes, including killing 87 people of the ethnic Masalit tribe whom they buried in mass graves.

In mid-June, Khamis Abdullah Abbakar, the governor of West Darfur, was brutally killed hours after accusing the RSF and its aligned Arab militias of having killed civilians in his state's capital of El Geneina. He had referred to the violence being committed in his state as "genocide."

The RSF denied responsibility but both the U.S.-supported Sudan Conflict Observatory and the United Nations mission to Sudan said the paramilitary was mostly likely to blame.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that credible sources point to Juma's forces being behind Abbakar's kidnapping and death.

"We will not hesitate to use the tools at our disposal to hinder the ability of the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) to further prolong this war, and we will also use such tools to deter any actor from undermining the Sudanese people's aspiration for peace and civilian, democratic rule," Blinken said in a statement.

Linda-Thompson, in her speech and online, repeatedly said that she will return to the United States and do what she can to convince others not only to support humanitarian efforts in Sudan but to pressure those making war to end the conflict.

"When I return to New York, I will share what I learned -- and saw -- here in Adre with the Security Council. And I will push member states, and the entire U.N. system, to stand on the right side of history -- and to urge the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to put down their weapons immediately," she said.
JAKARTA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang travelled aboard a bullet train on a trial run on Wednesday along the high speed railway connecting Indonesia's capital Jakarta and the country's cultural hub Bandung, site of the legendary Bandung Conference in 1955.

At the historical conference, dozens of Asian and African countries showed their collective strength behind independence amid a heightened Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The China-proposed five principles of peaceful co-existence were expanded into ten principles, which helped breed one of the cornerstones of modern international relations.

When Li sat down with Southeast Asian leaders earlier in the day at the 26th China-ASEAN summit, he noted the five principles of peaceful co-existence. He said that China and ASEAN have been deepening practical cooperation in the traditional and non-traditional security fields, and have upheld the five principles of peaceful co-existence and the purpose of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).

In 2003, China officially joined TAC, setting the precedent for other non-ASEAN nations to follow and join the treaty. Established in 1976, the TAC embodies universal principles of peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation among states in Southeast Asia.

The Chinese premier made a strong appeal that China and ASEAN must strive for regional peace and prosperity while properly handling disagreements and disputes.

China and ASEAN have succeeded in blazing a correct path of long-term good-neighborliness and friendship, as well as common development and prosperity as the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, Li said.

At the 26th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit, Li said the APT countries, and indeed all countries in Asia, share so many things in common.

They share a common home, common interests and common opportunities, Li said.

The Chinese premier also warned against a new Cold War. He said, "to keep differences under control, what is essential now is to oppose picking sides, oppose bloc confrontation, and oppose a new Cold War and to ensure that disagreements and disputes among countries are properly handled."

Disagreements and disputes may arise between countries due to misperceptions, diverging interests or external interferences, said the Chinese premier. Whatever the cause, it is vital to face the issue squarely, remove misunderstandings and keep the differences in check, he noted.

The most effective way to clear up misunderstandings is to strengthen exchanges, and increase mutual understanding and trust through sincere communication, said the Chinese premier.

China has always been committed to deepening exchanges and cooperation with regional nations. According to a list of China's cooperation initiatives for ASEAN summits, future cooperation between the two sides is going to include more innovation areas like digital technology, new energy vehicles, solar photovoltaic and artificial intelligence.

"China is committed to further enhancing trade partnership with the bloc," Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, observed.

"China is also committed to sharing its digital and technological knowledge with the bloc, thus bringing the countries to par excellence in the area of economic development," he said.

The Bandung Conference held great significance because it served as a reflection of the discontent felt by Asian and African nations towards the Western powers' perceived lack of willingness to engage in meaningful consultations regarding matters that directly impacted them.

Developing countries in East Asia were striving for independence, self-improvement and overall development, said Zhai Kun, deputy dean of the Institute of Area Studies of Peking University.

A Bloomberg report said that Indonesia is welcoming investments in electric vehicle battery plants from China rather than begging from the United States.

"We can't keep begging and begging from you," Luhut Panjaitan, a senior Indonesian minister, said in May. "You may be angry at us for trading with other countries, but we have to survive."

The East Asia cooperation framework is a predecessor in Global South, said Zhai. "After over two decades of development, it has a relatively stable framework and solid foundation. It also accommodates developed countries such as Australia and New Zealand."

"In today's international landscape, development and security are still two pillars of the Asia-Pacific region," he noted. "How the Asia-Pacific sustains its growth and maintains regional stability will largely shape the development and security of the whole world." 
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris announced Wednesday in Jakarta the intent to establish a U.S.-ASEAN Center in Washington, D.C. Photo courtesy of ASEAN/Facebook

Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Vice President Kamala Harris, in Jakarta for a U.S.-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit Wednesday, announced their intent to establish a joint center in Washington, D.C., as the Biden administration continues to strengthen relations in the Indo-Pacific amid growing tensions with China.

Under the Biden administration, the United States has sought to solidify relationships with countries in the Indo-Pacific in line with its vision for a connected, prosperous, resilient, secure and free and open region. During last year's summit in Phone Penh, they upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

On Wednesday, Harris reaffirmed the United States' "enduring commitment" to Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific, stating Washington is "a proud Pacific power," and they have "a profound stake" in the region's future.

In a demonstration of the importance the Biden administration places on this relationship, Harris announced that they intend to establish the first-ever U.S.-ASEAN Center in Washington to facilitate official engagements and support further exchanges between their governments, people and businesses.

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"ASEAN is at the center of America's commitments to the Indo-Pacific," she said in remarks at the Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention Center where the 11th U.S.-ASEAN Summit was being held. "As the United States Indo-Pacific strategy makes clear, we are committed to ASEAN centrality."

The United States has an enduring commitment to Southeast Asia. At the U.S.-ASEAN Summit and the East Asia Summit in Jakarta, we will build on our continued work to deliver results for the people of our nations and the world. pic.twitter.com/3CdD3Tokq8 Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) September 6, 2023

The center will be established through a public-private partnership, according to the State Department, which said in a release that it has already entered into such an arrangement with Arizona State University to launch the facility.

UPI has asked ASU for comment.

"The center will further institutionalize and deepen the relationship between the United States and ASEAN ... while bolstering support for U.S. economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia," the State Department said in a statement.

The White House added that the center will ensure the U.S.-ASEAN elevated relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership "reaches its full potential."

The summit was held as tensions continue to further deepen not only between Washington and Beijing but Beijing and its neighbors in the Indo-Pacific region where they argue over territorial claims.

Late last month, China released its national map which has been rebuked by India, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Though she did not mention China by name, Harris in her remarks stated that the United States and ASEAN "have a shared commitment to international rules and norms and to our partnership on pressing national and regional issues."

"The defense and deterrence commitments of the United States and our security presence in the Indo-Pacific help protect our homeland and ensure regional stability," she said. "It is therefore in our vital interest to promote a region that is open, interconnected, prosperous, secure, and resilient."
LONDON  A massive manhunt was taking place across Britain on Thursday for a former soldier facing terrorism charges who staged a rare escape from a prison in London by strapping himself to the bottom of a food delivery van.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, was awaiting trial on accusations that he planted fake bombs at a military base, and violated the country's Official Secrets Act.

The former British Army soldier escaped from Wandsworth Prison in south London before 8 a.m. (3 a.m. ET) on Wednesday morning, authorities said.

Police appealed to the public for help and launched an urgent nationwide hunt. Checks have been stepped up at airports amid fears he may try to flee the country and passengers faced delays at Heathrow Airport as well as at the Port of Dover.

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Khalife has links to the Kingston areas in southwest London and police have said it is "most likely" he remains in the city.

Britain Escaped Prisoner (AFP - Getty Images)

"We have a team of officers who are making extensive and urgent enquiries in order to locate and detain Khalife as quickly as possible," Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Polices counterterrorism command, said in a statement.

"However, the public can help us as well and should anyone see Khalife, or have any information as to where he might be, then please call 999 immediately."

A Met police spokesperson told NBC News there was no update to the manhunt Thursday morning, 24 hours after the prisoner escaped.

Police said that Khalife, who was working in the jails kitchen, was dressed in a kitchen uniform when he escaped. Multiple media outlets reported that he escaped by clinging to the bottom of a food delivery van, a version of events later confirmed by the government.

"The vehicle was stopped and searched by police after the alert was raised. Strapping was found underneath the vehicle which appeared to indicate that Daniel Khalife may have held onto the underside of it, in order to escape," Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told the House of Commons in a statement Thursday.

Chalk added that the escaped prisoner "will be found, and he will be made to face justice."

Police described him as 6 feet, 2 inches tall and of slim build. He was wearing a white T-shirt, red and white checked trousers typically worn by kitchen staff and brown steel-toe-cap boots.

Khalife was stationed at Beacon Barracks in Staffordshire, in England's Midlands, where prosecutors claim he put three canisters with wires on a desk in order to make others believe it was "likely to explode or ignite and thereby cause personal injury or damage to property," the Press Association news agency reported, citing court documents.

According to the Press Association, Khalife is accused of eliciting or trying to elicit information that could be useful to a terrorist in August 2021, and of gathering information that could be useful to an enemy between May 2019 and January 2022. He has denied the charges.

Khalife was remanded in custody while waiting for a trial that had been set for Nov. 13 at Woolwich Crown Court in London. The criminal justice system in England and Wales has been beset by a chronic funding shortage and long delays between charges and trials.

Wall-to-wall media coverage of the escape and manhunt fueled further discussion of the country's faltering public service infrastructure.

Britain Escaped Prisoner (Yui Mok / AP)

Wandsworth is a Victorian-era prison and one of the largest in the country, with around 1,400 inmates. Its security category is B, meaning it holds many prisoners awaiting trial or waiting to move to longer-term placements. The most serious offenders are kept in category A prisons.

In common with many British prisons, it suffers from overcrowding and is at 171% capacity, according to the Howard League for Penal Reform, a British charity.

A report from the Inspectorate of Prisons last summer found that more half the prison's population were typically locked inside their cells for 22 hours a day.

Prison escapes are rare in Britain, with less than 20 since 2010, official figures show.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The News

A new Huawei smartphone is drawing intensifying U.S. scrutiny, with some lawmakers suggesting the Chinese chipmaker SMIC may have run afoul of U.S. rules in supplying chips to Huawei for the new product.

I am very concerned because the industry perception was that China had not been able to get down to a 7-nanometer chip, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va. told Semafor, questioning whether SMIC may have used sanctioned Western technology or materials to produce the chips now powering the Huawei Mate 60 Pro. SMIC and Huawei both continue to license some technology from U.S. companies, though they face substantial restrictions.

This is an area that I think might need additional sanctions, he added.

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Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who chairs the House select committee on China, said in a statement that SMIC may have violated the Commerce Departments Foreign Direct Product Rule. He called for ending all U.S. technology exports to both Huawei and SMIC to make clear any firm that flouts U.S. law and undermines our national security will be cut off from our technology.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who suggested Wednesday that SMIC may have violated existing U.S. sanctions, told Semafor in a statement that his committee would be requesting a briefing from the Commerce Departments Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees export controls, including those on cutting-edge chips and technology used to make them.

Warner, too, said he was in touch with the administration and expected to receive a briefing on the development.

The White House said this week it is also seeking more information on the character and composition of the chip powering the Huawei Mate 60 Pro, which was released last week.

State-backed Chinese outlets have heralded the new chip design as a sign of the semiconductor industrys resilience amid U.S. sanctions.

Neither Huawei nor SMIC returned requests for comment.

Know More

Recent analysis indicated that the phone was made with a 7-nanometer processor produced by SMIC, which has been on the Commerce Departments Entity List and as a result subject to U.S. sanctions since the end of the Trump administration. The sanctions on SMIC limit the companys ability to acquire U.S. technology, while existing sanctions on Huawei restrict the company from obtaining goods made with American technology.

The phone development has raised doubts about the effectiveness of the U.S. effort to curb Chinas access to advanced chips used in weapons, artificial intelligence, and other advanced technology.

This shouldnt have been a surprise. The Chinese were just faster than in the past, Jim Lewis, a technology expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Semafor. It happened with satellites, it happened with computers, it happened with encryption, it happened with machine tools back in the Reagan administration. You put on tight export controls, the other guys dont give up and go home.

At the same time, Lewis said it was worth the U.S. looking into potential violations of its own rules, given that SMIC may have used U.S. equipment to produce the chips. Equipment used to manufacture the more advanced chips is made in the U.S., Japan, and the Netherlands, all of which have placed restrictions on exports of chipmaking equipment to China.

Lewis said officials could reverse engineer the phone to examine how the chip was made and potentially determine where SMIC procured the equipment from.

Its difficult to believe they did this entirely on their own, he said. But its also not impossible.
ADRE, Chad  The U.S. will send $163 million in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by Sudan's civil war, U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced this week as she toured a sprawling refugee settlement housing 200,000 civilians who have fled the violence.

Thomas-Greenfield also announced new sanctions against the leaders of one of the two main warring parties.

What needs to happen is that the two warring parties have to stop. They have to stop fighting so that people can find peace, Thomas-Greenfield told NBC News in Chad on the border with Sudan.

The amount of aid Thomas-Greenfield unveiled Wednesday will be in addition to $547 million the U.S. had committed to the emergency response this fiscal year.

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The U.N. says it needs more than $1 billion in additional aid to support the 1 million people who have evacuated Sudan, including nearly 400,000 to neighboring Chad.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield (John Minchillo / AP file)

The ambassador met with some of those refugees, largely women and children, including many suffering from malnutrition. Some are mothers who are unable to nurse, while others are dying of hunger. Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, has established a makeshift hospital at the camp to care for the sick.

It is overwhelming. I think thats the only word that I can use, Thomas-Greenfield said. I see those little children. I saw a 6-month-old who looked like a newborn. And I was told by the doctors that actually she was doing better, showing that what we do actually saved lives.

Many in the camp had fled because they feared they had seen their friends raped, they had seen men killed, and they feared for their lives, she said.

Patients sit on the beds at a makeshift MSF hospital (Michelle Nichols / Reuters)

The refugees are fleeing a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis, with Sudans armed forces fighting against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group and their affiliated militias. Fighting broke out in April, a few years after both sides jointly deposed longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in a coup.

The U.S., the U.N. and human rights groups say that sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war in the conflict. The number of victims of gender-based violence is believed to have been grossly underreported, according to a U.S. official.

The U.N. has also authorized the International Criminal Court to investigate whether a genocide is unfolding in Sudan, with reports of massacres and ethnic cleansing mainly carried out against the Masalit tribe and other non-Arab communities.

In June, Sudans doctors union reported that more than 1,100 people had died in El-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, in just the first two months of the civil war, according to Human Rights Watch.

Thomas-Greenfield announced sanctions against a leader of the RSF, Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo, as well as visa restrictions for Dagalo and the RSFs commander in the West Darfur region of Sudan, where the U.S. is accusing the RSF of engaging in ethnically motivated killings and other atrocities. Dagalo is the brother of the RSFs leader, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks with Sudanese refugees (Michelle Nichols / Reuters)

Observers warn that the past is repeating itself in Sudan. Nearly 20 years ago, a genocide in Darfur carried out by Janjaweed militias against non-Arab tribes killed more than 300,000 people, according to the U.N. Those militias have evolved into todays RSF.

You know it did change but now we are seeing the evidence of it starting again, Thomas-Greenfield said when asked whether anything had changed in the years since. What we see happening in Darfur right now portends to what we saw happening in Darfur in 2004. So, we have gone backwards in those years. And that is why it is so important that we hold those responsible accountable.

The International Criminal Court still has outstanding arrest warrants for the accused perpetrators of the genocide in the 2000s. (The U.S. and Sudan are not parties to the ICC.)

Andrea Mitchell and Abigail Williams reported from Chad and Owen Hayes from Washington.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The United States will, for the first time, transfer assets seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs to Ukraine, with the primary aim to support Ukrainian veterans, U.S. State Secretary Anthony Blinken said during his visit to Kyiv on Sept. 6.

Those who enabled (Russian dictator Vladimir) Putins war of aggression must pay for it, he emphasized.

During his visit, Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba . He announced the allocation of over a billion dollars in aid and highlighted significant progress in the Ukrainian Armed Forces counteroffensive.

The Pentagon also revealed a new package of military assistance to Ukraine, which includes, for the first time, U.S. munitions with depleted uranium.

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Previously, Bloomberg had reported on the European Unions challenges in seizing frozen Russian assets intended for transfer to Kyiv. Instead, the EU is focusing on their temporary utilization, with a cumulative value exceeding 200 billion euros ($214 billion).

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 leader of the United Auto Workers union pushed back against President Joe Biden s remarks this week dismissing the possibility of a strike against Detroit automakers as contract negotiations remain at a stalemate.

In an interview Thursday on MSNBC's Morning Joe, UAW President Shawn Fain was asked to respond to Bidens remarks on Labor Day when he was asked whether he was worried about a UAW strike. Biden said: No, Im not worried about a strike until it happens.

Fain said the unions intention is to reach an agreement with automakers.

One thing weve said from the outset is things are not going to be as they always have been," he said. "The companies in past negotiations always have a tendency to drag things out until the very end, and then they want to drop a bunch of stuff and just scramble, he said. And Ive told them from day one that we dont intend to do things that way.

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Fain stressed that the union plans to bargain with all three Detroit automakers  General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis  until contracts for about 150,000 autoworkers expire next Thursday. Fain said the union hopes to have an agreement by then, but he warned that "there will be action" if an agreement isnt reached in that time.

So you know, the way things are going right now, its looking that way, he said, referring to a potential strike. So hopefully, you know, things can change."

The UAW backed Bidens 2020 presidential bid, but when he asked whether Biden will get the union's endorsement again, Fain said it is standing by withholding an endorsement for now. Fain has said Biden would need to address concerns about the auto industrys transition to all-electric vehicles, including concerns about job security, pay and organizing.

Well make the decision when the time is right  when our members decide that time is right, and our leadership. And, you know, its a process we go through. The one thing weve made clear is that our endorsements are going to be earned, not freely given. Its one thing were doing differently, and theres a lot of work left to be done here.

United Auto Workers members and supporters march during a Labor Day parade in Detroit on Sept. 4, 2023. (Jeff Kowalsky / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fain said of Biden, who has vowed to be the most pro-union president, that with the EV transition, I do believe his intentions were good when he said he wants these to be good-paid or these to be union jobs.

But as I said, you give the company an inch, they take a mile. The companies interpret that as they have no problem with this being union jobs, but they want it to be a race to the bottom, he said, referring to slow pay increases in past instances and adding that the EV transition "needs to be a just transition."

Fain reiterated his denouncement of former President Donald Trump, referring to comments he made during his 2016 election campaign.

Ill never forget in the 16 race when he spoke about workers in Michigan, union jobs and the Midwest, and said we need to do a rotation in this country, we need to move those jobs to other places that pay less money and then those people'll be begging for their jobs back for anything, he said. Thats not a person I want as my president.

Fain also took issue with Trumps recently calling on autoworkers to stop paying their union dues while criticizing union leadership in a post to his Truth Social platform this week.

Thats not someone that represents working-class people. Hes part of the billionaire class; we need to not forget that, he said. And thats what our members need to think about when they go to vote.

The White House and Biden's campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In response to Fains remarks, the Trump campaign released a statement saying Trump vows to call for a repeal of Bidens electric vehicle mandate if he is elected.

Joe Bidens Electric Vehicle mandate will murder the U.S. auto industry and kill countless union autoworker jobs forever," the campaign said. "There is no such thing as a 'fair transition' to the destruction of these workers livelihoods and the obliteration of this cherished American industry. The only acceptable policy for UAW members should be the complete and total repeal of Bidens catastrophic EV mandate."

The campaign also touted the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which Trump signed in 2020 to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, which governed trade between the U.S. and its neighbors since 1994. The statement said the deal imposed tough auto rules-of-origin to defend American workers.

General Motors said in a statement Thursday that it had "progressed to more detailed discussions" in the talks and made the union an offer "considering everything in our environment including competitor offers and what is important to our team members."

The offer includes "well-deserved wage improvements" that exceed those in a 2019 agreement, it said.

Fain called the offer "insulting" in a statement in response.

After refusing to bargain in good faith for the past six weeks, only after having federal labor board charges filed against them, GM has come to the table with an insulting proposal that doesnt come close to an equitable agreement for Americas autoworkers," the statement said.

A spokesperson for Stellantis said Thursday that discussions between the company and the UAWs bargaining team continue to be constructive and collaborative.

Our focus continues to be on bargaining in good faith to reach a new agreement that balances the concerns of our 43,000 employees with our vision for the future  one that better positions the business to meet the challenges of the U.S. marketplace and secures the future for all of our employees, their families and our company, the spokesperson said in a statement. We will not be distracted from this important work.

Reached for comment Thursday, Ford pointed to a news release that said nearly 8,000 of its employees represented by the UAW received a substantial raise on Labor Day.

On average, these employees now earn $4.33 more per hour, or $9,000 a year. The increase could top $10,000 a year with overtime, the release said. The pay hikes were negotiated by Ford and the UAW in 2019 to shorten the time it takes workers to reach the average top wage rate of $32 an hour.

Bryce Currie, Fords vice president of manufacturing, said in the release, These pay raises are an example of Fords commitment to improving the lives of our hourly workforce. He added that the company is "offering further improvements in the next contract.

Fains told The Detroit News this week that he was shocked by Bidens assertion that an auto strike is unlikely.

He must know something we dont know, Fain said Monday, according to the News. Our intent is not to strike. Our intent is to get a fair agreement. Thats been our intent from day one. But as we get down to the wire here, theres three companies to bargain with, and theres 10 days left to do it. So I know what it looks like to me.

Fain said Wednesday that a strike would show Biden and other politicians that they need to pick a side when it comes to organized labor.

I think our strike can reaffirm to [Biden] of where the working-class people in this country stand, and, you know, its time for politicians in this country to pick a side, he said on CNBCs Last Call with Brian Sullivan. Either you stand for a billionaire class where everybody else gets left behind, or you stand for the working class, the working-class people vote.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says driving for the company showed him a "lack of quality" with the product.

"We didn't take pride in the driver product because very few of us drove," he said Wednesday.

Khosrowshahi made an all-hands presentation titled "Why we suck" based on what he found as a driver.

Uber's CEO says his time delivering food for his company revealed a "lack of quality" with its product from a driver's perspective.

Dara Khosrowshahi had an Undercover Boss-type stint driving for Uber and delivering for Uber Eats for a period last year. At a conference hosted by General Electric on Wednesday called "The Lean Mindset: The Pursuit of Progress," he recalled finding it "difficult to understand the product."

"Honestly, what led me to deliver was that I was going, pardon my French, frickin' crazy at home during COVID  and I wanted to get the hell out of the house, and I wanted to find some way to be constructive out of the house, so I got an e-bike, and I started delivering food for Uber," he said.

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"And it was a great experience. It was tiring  it was difficult to understand the product. And, for me, once I saw what I believe was a lack of quality with the product as it related to delivering, then I bought a Tesla, and I started driving as well."

Khosrowshahi said both experiences taught him the company wasn't giving enough attention to drivers' and delivery workers' experience using the app.

"It showed me, literally, that we as a company culturally were very much focused on the rider and the eater product because we used them ourselves  we took a lot of pride in it all the time," he said. "But we didn't take pride in the driver product because very few of us drove."

Khosrowshahi later shared what he learned behind the wheel for Uber in an all-hands presentation titled "Why we suck," he said.

"It wasn't a pleasant all-hands with the company, but it set a tone, and we set that expectation  we started celebrating employees going out there delivering, employees driving," he said. "It is a point of pride for employees now  when they drive they get a little badge on their corporate profile, etc."

In a Wall Street Journal interview last month, Khosrowshahi said the most nightmarish part of Uber delivery driving was "trying to deliver food, and I couldn't find where to drop it off."

He separately told Wired that his pet peeve as a driver was passengers who talked on speakerphone during the ride and that he'd experienced the frustrating phenomenon of "tip-baiting," where customers entice drivers or delivery workers with big tips at the outset before later reducing them or nixing them altogether once the ride or delivery is over.

Despite his time moonlighting as a driver, though, Khosrowshahi is still a bit off when it comes to Uber's fares: When Wired's editor at large, Steven Levy, asked him to estimate the cost of a 2.95-mile Uber ride in New York City, Khosrowshahi ventured "20 bucks"  less than half the actual price of $51.69, including a tip for the driver.

Read the original article on Business Insider
More than 150 police officers are searching for a terror suspect who escaped from a London prison by strapping himself to the underside of a delivery van, as questions mount over how the audacious breakout was allowed to happen.

The British government pledged on Thursday  the second day of the search  that 21-year-old Daniel Abed Khalife would be tracked down.

Khalife orchestrated a bold jail break from Wandsworth prison on Wednesday morning while dressed as a chef. Police confirmed Thursday that he had attached himself to a delivery van as it left the prison.

The suspect is a serving member of the British military who is awaiting trial on terror charges, over allegedly planting fake bombs at a military base, according to the UKs PA Media news agency.

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Police laid out the timeline of Khalifes escape on Thursday.

The soldier was declared missing at 7:50 a.m., they said. The Metropolitan Police were alerted 25 minutes later, and officers tracked down the delivery van at 8:37 a.m. just two miles east of the prison, on a street in Putney, southwest London.

By then, Khalife was gone and all that remained of his escape was the strapping officers discovered under the van.

British Justice Secretary Alex Chalk said the government will launch an independent investigation into the incident. Addressing the UK parliament on Thursday, Chalk said he had already ordered an internal probe into the decision to place Khalife in a lower-security jail.

No stone must be left unturned in getting to the bottom of what happened. Who was on duty that morning, in what roles ranging from the kitchen to the prison gate, what protocols were in place, Chalk said.

The justice secretary stressed that Khalife will be caught in due course and will face a trial.

State of disrepair

Opposition MPs in Britain criticized the ruling Conservative government following the jail break, accusing ministers of plunging the judicial system into a parlous state due to years of austerity programs.

Politicians from the Labour party demanded that the government urgently explain how Khalife was able to escape, telling Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to get a grip.

We know that the criminal justice system after 13 years of Tory Government is in a state of disrepair. We know that there are huge problems with prisons, MP Shabana Mahmood was quoted saying by PA Media.

Wandsworth prison is located in the southwest of the British capital. - Yui Mok/AP

Trucks queue for the Port of Dover along the A20 in Kent, in southeast England, on Thursday, amid increased security checks. - Gareth Fuller/Press Association/AP

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, also from the Labour Party, said the case raised concerns about why a suspect charged with national security offenses, wasnt being held in a higher security prison.

Cooper told BBC Radio 4s Today program on Thursday she had questions about security checks and staffing levels in the prison on the day of the jail break.

There have been a series of warnings about the situation at Wandsworth, including the level of staff absences and sickness, and the lack of shifts being covered, she added.

Staff shortages

Last year, the UKs prison inspection watchdog warned staffing levels remained a serious problem at Wandsworth prison.

The HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) reported a 30% drop in the number of staff available for fully operational duty, from September 2021 to June 2022.

This had a deleterious effect on the running of the prison, and it was to everyones credit that for the most part the designated, or at least basic, regimes were still delivered, HMIP said.

It added that 44% of staff were absent or unable to carry out their normal duties, when the watchdog inspected the prison in September 2021.

Government officials, including Chalk, have taken pains to emphasize that escapes from British prisons are incredibly rare. Data from the British government shows that there was just one escape across England and Wales in 2021-22, none in the proceeding period, and only a handful in the years prior to that.

It is extremely rare for prisoners to be able to escape. So, its vitally important that we do investigate it. And we look at all the processes that were in place, government minister Michelle Donelan told the Today program on Thursday.

The Met urged the British public to help locate Khalife, who is of slim build, has short brown hair and is around 6 feet and 2 inches tall, according to officers.

After news emerged of his escape on Wednesday, a police alert was issued to ports and airports, triggering additional security checks and impacting travel across the country.

On Thursday, London airports retained the enhanced security measures. A spokesperson for Gatwick Airport told CNN that they remain in place there, but have not caused major disruption to operations.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The recently concluded 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) wowed attendees with a range of innovations in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), including robots capable of acupoint-massage treatments akin to human hands, and a 24/7 hotline offering bilingual TCM consultations for English speakers.

Such products are indicative of how TCM, a cherished facet of Chinese culture, is advancing intelligently in the modern world, infusing vigor into the global healthcare landscape with a blend of tradition and innovation.

In recent years, China has increased its policy support for the development of TCM, leading to a period of high-quality growth in the field and accelerated international outreach.

Speaking at the event, which ran from Sept. 2 to 6, Wu Zhendou, head of the international cooperation department of the National Administration of TCM, said that international cooperation in TCM has yielded significant results. He pointed to cooperation agreements signed with 40 foreign governments and regional authorities, introducing TCM to 196 countries and regions worldwide.

"Initiatives to enhance international cooperation on TCM have paved the way for establishing high-caliber overseas TCM centers and cooperation hubs. From 2016 to 2020, the cumulative import and export trade volume of TCM products surpassed 28 billion U.S. dollars," Wu said.

One of the prominent TCM companies expanding internationally is Tongrentang, a venerable TCM pharmacy with a heritage spanning over 350 years.

Leveraging the momentum of the Belt and Road Initiative, this centuries-old pharmacy has been fast-tracking the global dissemination of TCM.

It has successfully established a presence in over 28 countries, encompassing a network of more than 160 outlets. These include retail pharmacies, TCM clinics, wellness centers and cultural hubs, collectively contributing to the global reach of TCM.

One of the most eye-catching innovative products and technologies exhibited at CIFTIS was a robot designed for precise acupoint treatments, showcasing the fusion of traditional Chinese medicine heritage with cutting-edge innovation in the healthcare sector.

Developed by Zhongke Shangyi Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., the robot is equipped with advanced features, including mirror image processing technology, dual robotic arms and a three-dimensional graphical visualization system.

According to the introduction provided at the booth, the robot has the capability to efficiently collect real-time meridian data from the human body, transmit it to a data-processing center for analysis, and display continuous tracking on a three-dimensional visualization system.

"The robot has received official regulatory approval and is primarily tailored for treating chronic lower back pain," said Wang Yawen, assistant to the company's general manager.

The robot not only offers holistic treatment but also provides specialized, digitally-driven therapy for specific ailments. Additionally, it ensures precision through digital technology, promoting safety and non-invasiveness, thereby facilitating a comfortable journey to recovery, according to Wang.

At the Belt and Road TCM development forum, a sub-forum of CIFTIS, a noteworthy announcement was made by attending officials and scholars, showing the increasing global acceptance and utilization of TCM as a healthcare option.

The claims are substantiated by data from the World Health Organization, which reveals that 113 WHO member countries officially acknowledge the efficacy of acupuncture.

Furthermore, according to the National Administration of TCM, more than one-third of the world's total population has received some form of TCM treatment. 
Editors Note: This story is the result of an investigation by StateWatch, a Ukrainian expert organization advocating for the principles of good governance, into how Ukraine imposes sanctions against high-profile pro-Russian individuals, many of whom are under sanctions in the U.S., UK or EU. The author, Hlib Kanevsky, is the head of StateWatch. The story has been translated and edited by the Kyiv Independent.

StateWatch logo

Key findings:

StateWatch, a Ukrainian think tank, identified at least 32 influential pro-Russian politicians and tycoons in Ukraine  high-profile people who publicly spread pro-Russian views. Out of them, only seven have come under Ukrainian sanctions since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has not initiated sanctions against most of the top pro-Russian politicians, which makes it impossible for the state to seize their assets for the needs of reconstruction

At the same time, the SBU initiates sanctions against hundreds of low-profile collaborators who hold minor positions in the occupation administrations and dont have significant assets to confiscate

In one example, a year after the cross-government working group on sanctions sent to the National Security and Defense Council the documents needed to impose sanctions on Vitaly Zakharchenko, ex-Interior Minister, no decision has been made.

Russias full-scale invasion in February 2022 has become a stress test for the existence of Ukraine. Sanctions, designed to respond to threats to the country's national security, have become one of the tools of resistance for Kyiv.

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In Ukraine, sanctions make it possible to link a person, company, or organization to Russian aggression and, based on that, freeze and seize their Ukraine-based assets.

Since the beginning of the all-out war, the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), chaired by President Volodymyr Zelensky, has imposed sanctions against more than 5,500 organizations and 6,000 individuals. According to the Justice Ministry, 250 of them have assets in Ukraine. But to date, the state has seized assets only from 26 people subject to sanctions.

Among the assets seized from Russia-affiliated individuals are ownership shares of apartments and parking spaces, belonging to small and little-known officials from Crimea and significant assets, such as the Kyiv shopping mall "Ocean Plaza" of the family of Arkady Rotenberg, an influential Russian oligarch and childhood friend of Russias President Vladimir Putin.

Exclusively for the Kyiv Independent, a Ukrainian non-profit StateWatch conducted an investigation and found that the countrys authorities are reluctant to add high-profile and influential pro-Russian politicians to the new sanctions lists: at least 25 top pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine, who for years supported Putins regime, have not yet been included in the sanctions lists and, as a result, retained control over their assets  which could have already been seized by the state for reconstruction purposes.

The key reason appears to be that the SBU plays favorites in initiating sanctions within the cross-government working group on sanctions. This group, established in August 2022, unites multiple state bodies like the Economy Ministry and the SBU. It regularly meets to greenlight sanctions and pass them over to NSDC for approval.

According to StateWatchs sources in the cross-government working group on sanctions, the SBU explains their sluggishness by arguing it takes them more time to collect information on influential pro-Russian politicians than on lower-level collaborators.

Having analyzed sanctions lists, StateWatch found that over 600 citizens of Ukraine on them not only are not high-profile political figures but are generally little known. However, the SBU initiated sanctions against them.

At the same time, the SBU hasnt initiated sanctions against most of Ukraines top pro-Russian politicians: out of at least 32 such politicians, only seven became subject to Ukrainian sanctions. The property of only one of them, Viktor Yanukovych, was confiscated.

When the world is looking for ways to accumulate money for the reconstruction of Ukraine, including through the confiscation of foreign assets of the Russian central bank and oligarchs, Ukrainian officials prove passive in sanctioning and seizing the numerous assets of rich pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians.

Failing to sync Ukrainian sanctions with global ones

In April 2023, Zelensky promised to synchronize Ukrainian sanctions with those of the G7 countries.

We synchronize all Ukrainian sanctions with global sanctions. It is an inevitable process, Zelensky said in one of his daily video addresses to the nation.

Read also: Anders Aslund: Preparing for Ukraines reconstruction

To some extent, this is happening. Following the example of the U.S., UK, the EU, and others, the Ukrainian Security Council has been introducing sanctions against Russian military and political leadership, business circles, companies, and organizations.

But this doesnt apply to the most prominent Ukrainian pro-Russian politicians. Some of them have been on foreign countries' sanctions lists for eight years but have yet to be put under sanctions in Ukraine.

Ukraine has imposed sanctions against only 7 out of 32 of the top pro-Russian politicians since Feb. 24, 2022, according to StateWatch's analysis of the sanctions lists by the National Security and Defense Council. (Credit StateWatch)

Among them are the once highly influential ex-head of Yanukovych's presidential administration, Andriy Klyuyev, and former Deputy Secretary of the NSDC, Volodymyr Sivkovich, against whom the U.S. imposed sanctions back in 2015 and 2022, respectively.

After 2014, the Prosecutor General's Office pointed to Klyuyev, Sivkovich, and ex-Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko as the organizers of the police crackdown on anti-government protesters during the EuroMaidan Revolution. In 2023, the State Bureau of Investigation, in cooperation with the SBU, published evidence that Klyuyev and Sivkovich engaged in subversive activities in Ukraine before Russias full-scale invasion. According to the investigation, in cooperation with the FSB, the Russian security service, they created a so-called "political office" to recruit influential Ukrainian politicians, high-ranking officials, and law enforcement officers to work in Russias interests in Ukraine.

Another notorious former official under the sanctions of the U.S., but not Ukraine, is Klyuyev's ex-deputy Andriy Portnov, infamous for his open support for Russia, denial of the riot polices killings of EuroMaidan activists, and conflicts with journalists. In December 2021, the U.S. imposed sanctions against Portnov for corrupting Ukrainian courts under the so-called "Magnitsky Act, a global law that applies to all citizens who violate human rights and freedoms or are involved in corruption.

Read also: A year into full-scale invasion, West struggles to seize Russian assets for Ukraine

Oleksii Danilov, secretary of the NSDC, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that Portnov is not under sanctions in Ukraine because the SBU didnt initiate them.

When asked by StateWatch whether they had initiated sanctions against Portnov, the SBU declined to comment. The agency also refused to address questions on its reluctance to initiate sanctions against pro-Russian top politicians in Ukraine.

A source in the SBU who is not authorized to comment on the matter said that the agency couldnt disclose the information about their ongoing work on sanctions to not scare off the candidates for such restrictions, so they dont transfer their assets to a proxy.

According to a government source who spoke anonymously since he wasnt authorized to talk to the press, at the meetings of the cross-government working group on sanctions, representatives of the SBU explain their favoritism in initiating sanctions by saying they have to abide by the law. The legislation says sanctions can be imposed only in two cases: against persons with non-Ukrainian citizenship, or those involved in terrorism.

Proving a foreign citizenship is relatively easy. But when it comes to proving a persons involvement in terrorism, everything is up to SBU: in some cases, the agency can quickly provide the governments working group with the evidence, while in others, it can spend years looking for it.

According to a StateWatch source in the government, many notorious pro-Russian figures in Ukraine would have been sanctioned a long time ago if the SBU had shared information about the progress of its own terrorism probes into those individuals during the meetings of the cross-government working group on sanctions. But this is not happening.

Instead, the SBU is actively investigating numerous collaborators who went to work for the authorities of the occupiers.

Altogether, Ukraine has imposed sanctions against 648 of its citizens since Feb. 24, 2022, according to StateWatch's analysis of the sanctions lists by the National Security and Defense Council. (Credit StateWatch)

The StateWatch analysts studied the Ukrainian sanctions lists and found that the SBU mainly initiates sanctions against "small fish"  individuals who dont wield influence and dont appear to have significant assets.

Since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion, the NSDC has imposed sanctions against 648 citizens of Ukraine. Almost half of them are the people working as officials at the illegal governing agencies installed by Russians in the occupied territories. The most common reason for imposing sanctions is not terrorism but active political collaboration with the enemy.

Sanctions delays

In the seventh month of the full-scale invasion, Ukraines Economy Ministry came out with a statement.

"Retribution for the gendarme Yanukovych: the government took a step to seize the assets of the former Minister of Internal Affairs Zakharchenko," says the September 2022 press release.

In May 2022, the parliament amended the law on sanctions by adding the ability to block and seize the assets of sanctioned persons and their entourage. The law is not retroactive, meaning all sanctions introduced before May 2022 must be reimposed.

Zakharchenko was on the sanctions lists as early as 2021, but these old sanctions were purely decorative and did not include the seizure of assets. Therefore, to confiscate Zakharchenko's property for the benefit of the state, he had to be re-entered into the sanctions lists.

New sanctions mechanism

According to the sanctions mechanism introduced in May 2022, after the sanctions are imposed, the Justice Ministry gets the right to prepare a lawsuit to the High Anti-Corruption Court to seize the sanctioned individuals assets.

So far, the Justice Ministry has 26 successful cases of confiscation of businesses, real estate, cars, and other property. After the court's ruling, such assets become state property, are put up for privatization, and the proceeds go to the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The most famous case of confiscation of assets from a sanctioned politician is the confiscation of the property of fugitive ex-president Viktor Yanukovych in December 2022. Back then, the ruling of the High Anti-Corruption Court confiscated Hr 31 million and $85,000 in bank accounts, 537 pieces of cultural property worth 18.7 million euros, the notorious symbol of Yanukovych's era of corruption, the Mezhyhirya estate, and many other expensive properties were confiscated.

Of all the 26 seized assets for the benefit of the state, the State Property Fund has yet to sell a single one  the process is ongoing.

A year later, the NSDC has not re-entered Zakharchenko to the new sanctions lists.

In May, the Prosecutor Generals Office announced that Zakharchenko and his allies in the Interior Ministry would be tried in absentia for organizing the supply of Russian-made grenades to Ukraine to suppress anti-government protests during the EuroMaidan Revolution.

In February, David Arakhamia, a lawmaker leading Zelenskys Servant of the People partys parliament faction, announced that Zelensky had deprived Zakharchenko, among other Yanukovych-era officials, of his Ukrainian citizenship due to them holding Russian passports.

"The next step will be the imposition of sanctions on them, the arrest and confiscation of all their property, corporate rights, and other assets for the benefit of the state," Arakhamia said.

But in the next six months, no action followed. Zakharchenko is subject to sanctions based on two criteria at once  the presence of Russian citizenship and alleged involvement in terrorism.

Read also: Browder: West must hand Russian Central Banks $350 billion to Ukraine for reconstruction

Zakharchenko is one of many pro-Russian former top officials who have not been re-entered into the sanctions lists following the change in the procedure in 2022.

Among them is Mykola Azarov, ex-prime minister of Ukraine from Yanukovych time, who makes regular public attacks on Ukraine via Russian propaganda media, Dmytro Tabachnyk, ex-minister of education in Azarov's government, whom SBU recently exposed for cooperation with the FSB, and oligarchs Dmytro Firtash and Pavlo Fuks.

But to confiscate their assets after the change in the legislation in 2022, they must be again added to the sanctions lists.

At this stage, the SBU's selectiveness regarding who will be subject to sanctions is particularly noticeable. There is no evidence of the officials deliberate withholding of sanctions against notorious pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine who have extensive assets in Ukraine that could have been seized for the countrys reconstruction. At the same time, the information from the sanctions lists indicates that the SBU spends a lot of resources to sanction unknown petty officials in the occupied territories, which do not have significant assets.

A source in the President's Office explains the delays in imposing sanctions on notorious pro-Russian politicians with two main reasons. First, the interests of criminal proceedings on them sometimes prevail over the interests of confiscation. The second is that the law does not have a retroactive effect, so to justify their repeated inclusion in the sanctions lists, there must be evidence of the illegal actions of a person committed precisely after the Russian Federations full-scale invasion.

When asked why Zakharchenko is still not on the new sanctions lists, StateWatch's source in the government said that it looks like Zakharchenko's case has been buried in NSDC.

The cross-government working group on sanctions approved the package of documents for imposing sanctions on Zakharchenko back in September 2022.

The group concluded that Zakharchenko should be sanctioned for 30 years for attempting to capture the city of Kryvyi Rih. Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the military administration of Kryvyi Rih, told the Kyiv Independent in August 2022, that Zakharchenko had contacted him in the early days of the all-out war, asking to surrender and collaborate, which he refused.

The working group on sanctions then sent the Zakharchenko documents to the NSDC, where they have been stuck for a year now. Zakharchenkos Ukrainian assets remain not confiscated.

The NSDC didnt respond to StateWatch's questions about why they havent decided on Zakharchenkos case yet.

The Zakharchenko case isnt the only one that has gotten stuck in the NSDC.

The Economy Ministry developed the Concept of the State Sanctions Policy, which could have solved the issue by limiting the SBUs discretion when it comes to choosing the targets of sanctions.

The Economy Ministry claims to have sent the Concept to the NSDC for approval. A year later, nothing is known regarding its content or when it may be approved.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainian forces reportedly killed 49 elite Russian paratroopers in a single day of fighting.

A Russian blogger posted an audio recording of a soldier saying he would retrieve the bodies himself.

Ukrainian forces killed 49 elite Russian paratroopers in a single day of fighting in its counteroffensive, an expert think-tank said.

The development was reported by the respected Institute for the Study of War in update on Tuesday.

It cited a Russian military blogger who posted a recording purporting to be from a soldier in the unit which suffered the loses, the Russian 247th VDV Regiment.

Per the ISW, the encounter was around Staromayorske, a village in Donetsk.

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It said that in the recording the soldier said he was going to retrieve the bodies himself as the Russian command would not do it.

Throughout the conflict, Ukraine has accused Russia of leaving the bodies of its soldiers behind after hasty retreats, possibly to disguise the true death toll.

The 247th regiment is part of Russia's 7th Guards Mountain Airborne (VDV) Division, which have long been considered to be among Russia's elite.

The soldier's recording suggests that Ukraine is succeeding in keeping elements of the 7th VDV Division pinned down, preventing them from fighting in frontline areas, the ISW said.

Russia's military relies on its VDV Airborne Forces heavily for offensive actions, and its troops have been sent to fight in several locations to oppose Ukraine's counteroffensive, the ISW said.

Ukraine's counteroffensive has been making some progress in the south of the country, with Kyiv claiming to have liberated the village of Robotyne last week.

The ISW previously reported that elements of Russia's VDV Forces had been redeployed to the Robotyne area to stop Ukraine's advance.

Despite initially coming up against complex Russian defenses, Ukrainian forces have succeeded in breaking through the first and in some cases the second line of Russian defenses, according to Western officials.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said Ukrainian forces were making strong advances in the ongoing counteroffensive, joining other Western allies in showing more hope for the operation as troops push through thick Russian lines in the southeast.

Blinken said at a press conference in Ukraine that he is seeing real progress in the counteroffensive operation.

Ukrainian forces have taken back more than 50 percent of the territory seized by Russian forces since February of 2022, he said. In the ongoing counteroffensive, progress has accelerated in the past few weeks.

The secretary of state also said he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about the counteroffensive and found his assessments match the U.S. analysis of real progress in recent weeks.

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Ukraine is trying to reach a breakthrough in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, where Russian soldiers are entrenched behind anti-tank obstacles and minefields.

While progress has generally been slow, Ukraine last week pierced the main line of Russian defenses and seized the town of Robotyne, leading to hopes in the West that the next lines of defense will be weaker and easier to get through.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the European Union Parliament on Thursday that Ukraine is gradually gaining ground.

This is difficult fighting, but they have been able to breach the defensive lines of Russian forces and they are moving forward, he said.

Blinken also told NBC News on Thursday that the Ukrainians knew this was going to be a hard fight, but the last two weeks have seen very tangible progress and a real forward movement.

After the capture of Robotyne, the nearby towns of Novoprokopivka and Verbove have emerged as the next focus of Ukraines movement in Zaporizhzhia.

The larger aim in the region is to reach the Sea of Azov by capturing the cities of Melitopol or Berdyansk near the coast. Ukraine is still far from that goal but is getting closer and closer to a key waypoint, the town of Tokmak.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar this week said Ukrainian forces are moving closer to the town of Novoprokopivka, while Russians are suffering heavy casualties defending against the advance.

Russian military bloggers are reporting that fighting is still fierce around Robotyne and that Ukrainian advances toward Novoprokopivka and Verbove are failing.

Ukraine is also conducting counteroffensive operations in the southern Donetsk region, north from Zaporizhzhia, and around the Donestk city of Bakhmut.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Max Hunder

ZHYTOMYR REGION, Ukraine (Reuters) -Ukrainian air defence crews are banking on newer and better weapons systems to help prevent their country being plunged into darkness again in a second winter of Russian missile and drone strikes.

Nearly half of Ukraine's energy system was damaged by Russian attacks last winter, when Moscow pummelled power plants and transformers with cruise missiles and Iranian-made Shahed drones. At times, millions of people had no electricity.

The threat of attacks on the power grid remains acute following reports that Moscow has set up its own facilities to manufacture assault drones based on the Shahed-136.

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Vadym Skybytskyi, a Ukrainian intelligence official, said last week Moscow could start using more Shaheds alongside missiles to confuse Ukraines air defences by presenting an array of targets.

Russian attacks on energy infrastructure could begin in late September or early October, he said.

But most of last winter's damage has been repaired and Kyiv has bolstered its air defences, including with newly donated German-made Gepard systems - sleek green turrets mounted onto the chassis of a battle tank.

The military says one such system has shot down five Shaheds since its first use a month ago - a 100% success rate.

"We understand that the enemy has not quit his criminal intentions to hit critical infrastructure facilities and cause damage to Ukraine and its economy," General Serhiy Naiev, commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces, told Reuters in the northern region of Zhytomyr.

"We had fewer (systems) last winter. Now we have been given more, and the effectiveness will be better," he said while visiting the region to hand out medals.

COST-EFFECTIVE

Ukraine appears to have prepared well for more strikes by drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), but their gradually increasing numbers could pose a problem, said Samuel Bendett, Senior Adjunct Fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"There will be more of these UAVs in the air, but probably not much more than flying now, since Russia is still a long way from its intended goal to manufacture thousands of these drones," Bendett said of the coming months.

Ukraine's president said last month Russia had launched nearly 2,000 Shaheds during the war.

The Shaheds are estimated by military analysts to cost about $20,000 each, but the Western-supplied air defence missiles Kyiv used last winter cost many times more.

Naiev said one round fired by Gepard flak guns costs less than $1,000, making them more cost-effective.

Each Gepard has radar with an effective radius of 12 km (7.5 miles). Ukraine does not have enough to cover all its territory but Naiev said large-calibre machine guns such as the U.S.-made M2 Browning helped fill the gaps.

Anton, a crewman in the Gepard which hit five Shaheds last month, spoke of the excitement when the crew shot down drones during two night attacks in August.

"Adrenaline, emotional overload... you can't convey it with words," he said. "We are not frightened. It drives us on to work (hard) and destroy targets in the Ukrainian sky."

(Editing by Timothy Heritage and Angus MacSwan)
Ukraine has submitted an official proposal to Turkey to restore a corridor in the Black Sea for Ukrainian grain exports without Russia's participation, Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar said on Sept. 7.

The idea is "rational" because cargo ships already travel through Romanian, Bulgarian, and Turkish territorial waters of the Black Sea, the ambassador explained.

Since Moscow refused to extend the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July, the Ukrainian navy set up a temporary corridor to protect merchant ships leaving Ukraine's waters.

At least four ships have passed through the corridor since it was announced on Aug. 10.

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Bodnar said that Turkey has not yet responded to the request, but expects Ankara and Kyiv to communicate on the issue in the coming days.

Turkey played an important role in brokering the original deal in July 2022.

Since Russia withdrew from the deal, Turkey has continued to position itself as a mediator between the two countries.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Sept. 4 for talks on restoring the initiative.

While Erdogan told the press that he hopes a solution will be reached soon, and that a new package of proposals from the UN has led to "significant progress," Putin said Russia won't resume the deal without the West decreasing sanctions.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the demand "blackmail," and Bodnar agreed that lifting sanctions would be "absolutely the wrong path."

Since July 2023, the Russian military started a campaign of strikes on Ukrainian port infrastructure and declared that all vessels sailing to Ukrainian ports would be considered military targets.

Read also: Ukraine wants to use new Black Sea corridor to export grain

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
(Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed full confidence in his new defense minister and said Rustem Umerovs most important task more than 18 months into the war is to foster transparency and trust.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Trust is our main weapon, Zelenskiy said in a post on X, as he formally introduced Umerov in Kyiv. The ministers additional priorities, beyond bolstering the nations armed forces, include cutting red tape, developing international cooperation and ensuring Ukraine completes its NATO accession homework, the Ukrainian leader added.

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Speaking in the European Parliament, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pledged that the military alliance will stand by Ukraine not only in good times but also in bad times. Russian drones struck Ukraines southern Odesa region for the fourth time in five days in an overnight attack, damaging port facilities, a grain silo and an office building, regional governor Oleh Kiper said earlier on Telegram.

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Key developments of Sept. 7:

National Guard reports Russia moving troops to southern front line to 'strengthen defense'

Ukrainian flag raised in two settlements in Kharkiv Oblast near border with Russia

Zelensky introduces Umerov as Ukraine's new defense minister, addresses key tasks

Official: Ukrainian women with medical education to be considered eligible for military enlistment

According to Colonel Mykola Urshalovych, an official within the National Guard, Russia is relocating its troops to the southern front line from other sectors as Ukrainian forces continue to advance in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

He also said that the Russian troops are reinforcing the units currently holding the Russian line in the Berdiansk and Melitopol sectors.

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His announcement follows the report of Ukraine's General Staff that Ukrainian forces had achieved some success south of Robotyne and west of Verbove in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

No further details have been provided.

Verbove lies around 10 kilometers east of the recently liberated Robotyne and almost 100 kilometers northeast of Melitopol, a key stronghold in Russian-occupied parts of southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian flag raised in two settlements near Russian border

The State Border Guard Service reported that it had raised the Ukrainian flag in the villages of Stroivka and Topoli in Kharkiv Oblast, located near the Russian border.

Due to mines, the two settlements have been inaccessible since the liberation of Kharkiv Oblast in the fall of last year.

An Assault Brigade entered the villages after clearing out a safe path toward them, the State Border Guard wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine liberated most of the occupied parts of Kharkiv Oblast during a major counteroffensive in September 2022.

The settlements of Stroivka and Topoli, lying little more than a kilometer from the Russian border, remained in the no man's land, free from Russian forces but remaining empty due to the heavy mining.

Also on Sept. 7, the Kharkiv Oblast Department of the State Emergency Service reported that a civilian truck and a tractor ran into explosives in Kharkiv Oblast in two separate incidents, leaving three people injured.

The first case happened at around 11 a.m. local time when two people were driving a truck on a field road near the settlement of Mospanove and hit an unspecified object that detonated.

The second incident occurred in the Izium district, in a field between Barvinkove and Chervone: A tractor of a local agricultural company set off what appeared to be cluster munitions, the State Emergency Service said.

All victims have been hospitalized.

Earlier in March, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said nearly one-third of Ukraine's territory had been mined since the start of the full-scale invasion.

The State Emergency Service reported that after the end of the war, Ukraine would need at least 10 years to demine its territory.

Read also: New brigade bears heavy brunt of Russias onslaught in Kharkiv Oblast

Zelensky introduces new defense minister

President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced the newly-appointed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to the troops and ministry's leadership.

According to Zelensky, strengthening the central role of the ministry in the defense sector, ensuring the protection of soldiers, expanding international partnerships, curbing corruption, speeding up innovation, and reforming the military to keep up with NATO standards are the key priorities for the new defense chief.

"I am sure that Rustem Umerov is able to provide it," Zelensky said.

On Facebook, Umerov wrote that it is the "greatest honor" to become Ukraine's defense minister "at the most historic time" and that he is grateful to the president for "such trust."

During his speech, Zelensky also stressed that bureaucratic procedures that take up too much of the soldiers' time and energy must be either simplified or removed. These efforts should also include digitalization of the bureaucratic structure.

He added that the Ukrainian military must leverage its vast experience in defense against Russian aggression to improve the training of soldiers.

Zelensky also said that the defense minister's decisions must inspire trust and confidence.

He named procurement of military supplies and intra-departmental communication in the military as the key issues that should be addressed.

"Everyone trusts you," Zelensky said, addressing Umerov. "I think your skills are enough to ensure the desired result that we lack today, unfortunately," he added.

Read also: Who is Rustem Umerov, Ukraines soon-to-be defense minister?

Umerov, the former head of the State Property Fund, replaced Oleksii Reznikov as defense minister after the latter was forced out earlier this week following two major procurement scandals.

Speaking in parliament on Sept. 6, Umerov talked about his intention to introduce an electronic military ID card in Ukraine, launch a unified register of conscripts, and make all processes of military medical commissions available online.

"The task is to digitize all processes and launch a single register of conscripts, which will eliminate any corruption risks. Everything that can be digitized must be digitized," Umerov said.

Women with medical education to be considered eligible for military enlistment

Starting from Oct. 1, Ukrainian women with a medical or pharmaceutical education must register at military enlistment offices, Fedir Venislavskyi, Ukrainian lawmaker and Zelensky's representative in parliament, said in a comment for RBC-Ukraine news website on Sept. 7.

It means that under martial law, these women might face travel restrictions, just like Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60.

There are a number of exemptions under which one is permitted to leave Ukraine during martial law, including if a person is a student or has a certain medical condition.

Venislavskyi also said that women with military-related qualifications can register at the enlistment offices voluntarily starting from Oct. 1 as well.

However, he also added that "there are currently no plans to expand the list of disciplines that will require women to register."

Read also: As counteroffensive presses forward in southeast, every meter costs a life

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VENICE, Italy, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese filmmakers and actors attending the 80th edition of the Venice International Film Festival are upbeat about the future of Chinese cinema, arguing that filming good stories is key to generating a broad and strong resonance among global audiences.

The festival, which runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 9, attracted Chinese film directors, screenwriters, producers and actors to the Venice Lido island to communicate, share experience and seek cooperation with filmmakers worldwide.

Shu Qi, a member of the jury for the main competition of this year's festival, told Xinhua that although jury members come from diverse cultural backgrounds and have varied perspectives, the power of cinema can break through barriers to the understanding of different cultures.

"Elements that make a film great are palpable to everyone," she said, adding that a director's distinct personal style and good storytelling are key to making good films.

China's rich and profound culture and history is a great strength of Chinese films, and the mythological epic "Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms" is a good case in point, which can offer audiences a fresh and interesting experience worldwide, she noted.

The film, selected for Venice Production Bridge market screening at this year's festival, is the first segment of the Chinese trilogy "Creation of the Gods."

The trilogy, based on the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) novel "Fengshen Yanyi" or "The Investiture of the Gods," tells the story of the fall of the Shang Dynasty and the rise of the Zhou Dynasty in the 11th century B.C. and the battles between gods, goddesses and mortals.

Wuershan, director of "Creation of the Gods," told Xinhua that people from more than 20 countries and regions have been involved in the production of the trilogy.

"Chinese filmmakers should have more direct communication with global audiences, and more collaboration with filmmakers around the world," he said.

"I believe stories about humanity share more similarities than differences, and I tried my best to make 'Creation of the Gods' as intelligible as possible for audiences regardless of their cultural backgrounds," he said, adding that using effective cinematic techniques to depict Chinese stories in an appealing way will help viewers appreciate the films in a cross-cultural context.

Director and screenwriter Lau Ho Leung opined that audiences around the world are eager to see filmmakers come up with original and new ideas. People are increasingly attentive to the ideas that films convey and the creativity they demonstrate, he said.

Filmmakers should see to it that audiences care about whether filmmakers truly believe in the stories they depict, Lau noted.

"I believe Chinese films can resonate with audiences around the world, if we as filmmakers constantly come up with new ideas and tell the stories we believe in well," he said. "Now is the best time for Chinese filmmakers." 
Ukrainian troops have achieved partial success on the Bakhmut front and have driven Russian troops from their positions south of Bakhmut.

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that Ukrainian troops are gradually regaining ground in the Bakhmut area.

On 5 and 6 September, a Russian military blogger said that Ukrainian forces had advanced in Klishchiivka over the past three days and that Ukrainian forces now controlled half of the settlement.

Other Russian sources claimed on 6 September that counterattack and positional fighting was continuing in the Klishchiivka area. Russian sources, including the Russian Defence Ministry, claimed that Ukrainian troops had breached Russian ground lines of communication northwest of Klishchiivka.

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Geolocation imagery shows that Ukrainian troops advanced along the trench line west of Verbove, and the General Staff of Ukraine said that Ukrainian forces had made progress in the Robotyne - Novoprokopivka area south of Orikhiv.

To quote the ISW's Takeaways for 7 September:

Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations in the Bakhmut and western Zaporizhia Oblast directions and have made gains in western Zaporizhia Oblast as of 6 September.

Ukrainian and Russian sources report the Russian defence industrial base (DIB) faces growing challenges replacing basic supplies in addition to known challenges rebuilding its stocks of precision weapons.

Russian forces conducted a large missile and drone strike against Ukraine overnight on 5-6 September.

Russian sources continue to speculate on the current role and future of dismissed Wagner-affiliated Army General Sergei Surovikin, the former commander of Russias Aerospace Forces (VKS).

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced an additional $175 million military assistance package for Ukraine during an unannounced visit to Kyiv on 6 September.

Russian forces conducted offensive operations along the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, along the Avdiivka-Donestk City line, and in western Zaporizhia Oblast and advanced in some areas on 6 September.

Ukrainian forces conducted offensive operations in at least two sectors of the front and advanced near Bakhmut, along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line, and in western Zaporizhia Oblast on 6 September.

Russian authorities continue crypto-mobilisation efforts amid continued rumours of a new wave of general mobilisation.

Ukrainian reports indicate that Russian and occupation authorities continue attempts to increase social control in occupied Ukraine by cracking down against pro-Ukrainian materials in occupied schools.

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On 7 September, Valerii Zaluzhnyi , Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, spoke with Thierry Burkhard , Chief of the Defence Staff of the French Armed Forces, about the needs of the Ukrainian army, the training of Ukrainian defenders, and the situation at the front.

Source: Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Telegram

Quote from Zaluzhnyi: "I had a telephone conversation with the Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of the French Republic, General Thierry Burkhard.

We discussed the situation in the combat zone. He spoke in detail about all the areas where our defensive and offensive operations are ongoing.

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He noted the resilience and heroism of all our Ukrainian defenders, who are repelling Russian attacks and continuing to advance despite the density of Russian defensive fortifications and the invaders' many-fold advantages in the air and in manpower, artillery and shells.

During the conversation with General Burkhard, we discussed the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the issue of training for our servicemen in France."

Details: Valerii Zaluzhnyi also thanked the allies for their support.

The parties agreed to stay in touch and make joint efforts to liberate Ukraine.

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Newly appointed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has announced his intention to introduce an electronic military ID card in Ukraine, and launch a unified register of conscripts.

Speaking to lawmakers at the Verkhovna Rada on Sept. 6, Umerov said that it is also crucial to make all processes of military medical commissions digital. "The task is to digitize all processes, launch a single register of conscripts, which will eliminate any corruption risks. Everything that can be digitized must be digitized," he said, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

Ukraine's Parliament voted in support of appointing Rustem Umerov as the new defense minister after Oleksii Reznikov 's resignation. Umerov was backed by an overwhelming majority with 338 lawmakers voting in support and one abstaining.

Reznikov has held the post of Defense Minister since November 2021. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he has played a vital role in coordinating military aid from foreign allies, including at multiple Ramstein summits.

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However, Reznikov's tenure at the Defense Ministry has been marred by several scandals related to the procurement of equipment and supplies for Ukrainian soldiers.

Read also: Parliament approves Rustem Umerov as new defense minister

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Ukrainian forces are making steady progress in their counteroffensive.

Though it isn't moving as fast as many hoped, Kyiv is making progress, NATO's top official said.

Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine is "gradually" gaining a little over 300 feet of territory every day.

Three months into Ukraine's counteroffensive, its forces are engaged in a brutal fight against Russia's formidable and well-prepared defenses. The hard-won gains have been limited, but the Ukrainians are advancing, the top NATO official said on Thursday.

"The Ukrainians decided to launch the offensive because they are going to liberate the land. And they are making progress," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a joint committee meeting at the European Parliament. "Not perhaps as much as we hoped for, but they are gaining ground gradually some 100 meters (less than 330 feet) per day."

Since the much-anticipated counteroffensive began in early June, Ukraine has faced waves of criticism  including from officials and experts in Western countries that have provided it with military support  that its forces are not moving fast enough. Kyiv has grown increasingly frustrated with such pessimistic commentary, and Dmytro Kuleba, the country's top diplomat, even told critics recently to "shut up" and try liberating territory themselves.

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Russia had months to establish dug-in positions, which Ukraine argued was a result of having to wait for more weapons from the US and its NATO allies before beginning the counteroffensive. Moscow also constructed a formidable array of defenses known as the "Surovikin Line," which has proven to be a headache for Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian soldiers of the Separate Assault Battalion 'Skala' enter the embattled village of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, in this screengrab taken from a handout video released on August 25, 2023. Separate Assault Battalion 'Skala' of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS

The Surovikin Line is a series of obstacles and fortifications that connect and intertwine across Russian-occupied territory. Construction started under the supervision of Russian Army Gen. Sergey Surovikin, Moscow's overall theater commander last fall, in response to Ukraine's blitz-style counteroffensive in the northeast Kharkiv region.

The main part of the Surovikin Line consists of three layers of obstacles and fighting positions and is protected in the front by minefields. After the minefields  which are a slow and delicate ordeal to clear  is the first layer of the Surovikin Line, an anti-vehicle ditch aimed at preventing tanks and heavy armor from moving forward. Next is a row of dragon's teeth, which are spikes made of concrete designed to stop vehicles. And beyond those are trenches with fighting positions manned by Russian soldiers.

Advancing means Ukraine has to painstakingly clear these Russian fortifications. It's a task that has proven to be both complicated and deadly, thus limiting the speed at which Kyiv's troops can advance. But there is an area of the front where Ukraine has gained momentum in recent days.

Ukrainian forces have managed to carve out a pocket of liberated territory south of Orikhiv, a city in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. Kyiv's ultimate goal for this particular axis of attack is to eventually battle all the way down to the Sea of Azov and sever Russian-held territory to completely disrupt ground lines of communication between occupied areas in the south and in the east.

A Ukrainian soldier shoots from his position, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in a location given as near Bakhmut, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, in this screengrab obtained from a video released September 2, 2023. 3rd Assault Brigade/Ukrainian Armed Forces Press Service/ via REUTERS

In pushing deeper into the pocket and gaining more ground, Ukraine has been fighting against the main part of the Surovikin Line. And although it's been a nasty fight, experts say Ukrainian infantry have managed to advance past the anti-vehicle ditches and dragon's teeth to reach the Russian fighting positions. Kyiv has, however, been unable to punch a hole in the defenses big enough to drive its heavy armor through.

"We have to remember that no one ever said that this was going to be easy, the offensive," NATO's Stoltenberg said on Thursday. "It was clearly stated this is going to be a bloody, difficult, and hard offensive."

Ukrainian military officials have asserted that the next line of Russian defenses could be easier to penetrate, as Moscow scrambles to maintain enough manpower to defend all its lines. In some cases, Russia has even been forced to redeploy elite troops to try and blunt Ukraine's progress  risking soldiers it may need later.

"When the Ukrainians are gaining ground, the Russians are losing ground," Stoltenberg said. "The starting point is that the Russian army used to be the second strongest in the world. And now the Russian army is the second strongest in Ukraine."

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Ukrainian man has been charged with the stabbing murders of his adoptive parents in Florida.

Dima Tower, 21, allegedly killed his adoptive parents, Robbie and Jennifer Tower, aged 49 and 51, in their home in North Port on Friday evening (1 September).

Police were called to the scene by a neighbour who reported hearing screaming and banging on her door shortly before midnight.

The neighbour said she opened the door and no one was there, but there was a smear of blood spatters on the ground.

Responding officers found Dima Tower with blood on his clothes, closing the trunk of his car.

He allegedly disregarded police orders to freeze, got in his car and fled the scene. Officers chased the car at high speed, deploying other units to sting the car with spike strips on Interstate 75. While they managed the puncture the tires, the suspect then fled on foot into a wooded area.

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After eight hours of searching, police finally found Dima Tower on Saturday morning near Interstate 75 and Laurel Road in Sarasota County and arrested him.

Our hearts and prayers go out to them and the family members. We are trying to provide justice for them as best we can. We now have one person in custody after a pretty significant search in the night through some highly wooded and wet areas, we just had storms, so it was pretty tough sliding. The Sarasota County Office in Venice were leading the charge to find this individual. Certainly, we were helping, we had K-9s, helicopters, SWAT teams looking for this individual, Josh Taylor from the North Port Police Department told WinkNews.

Dina Tower, 21, has been bought into police custody after being caught on the run (North Port Police Department)

The couple were found deceased, their bodies positioned lying head-to-head with blood seeping into their living room floor, reported WinkNews.

Investigators say they believe the attack may have gone on for some time, as they found horrifying amounts of spatters and pools of blood throughout their home, such as in the master bedroom, living room, inside the front door and the kitchen, local reports said.

Robbie and Jennifer Tower were described by family as two really good, caring people (Warren Rimes/GoFundMe)

Robbie and Jennifer Tower were a devout Christian missionary couple, who worked as real estate agents. They would often visit Ukraine on Christian missions. They adopted their son, who was 14 at the time, seven years ago from an orphanage. Robbie Towers uncle, Warren Rines, said that the orphanage treated the then-teen in an inhumane manner.

He would have bruises on him in the orphanage. When they went out to eat, he would have like six hot dogs. He wasnt getting a lot to eat. These orphanages are like prison for kids, he told the New York Post.

The Ukrainian-born suspect had a turbulent childhood; his mother died as a child and his father, who was an alcoholic abandoned him.

After they adopted their son, he allegedly displayed a lot of violent behaviour way before he stabbed and killed his parents, according to Mr Rines. He was often starting fights at school and once left Robbie Tower with a black eye, leading him to be sent to stay with relatives of theirs for a while.

Court records show that Dima Tower was arrested in 2020 after a physical fight with someone inside the victims home. The state attorney decided not prosecute the case, according to WinkNews.

The couple were found dead, head-to-head in their home in New Port, Florida (Wink News)

I think the boy just had a lot of hate in him already before he came here. And I guess you take it out on the ones closest to you, Mr Rines added.

Mr Rines described the couple, who could not have their own biological children, as two really good, caring people and would often buy their son whatever he wanted, including the car he was allegedly chased in by police.

It just makes no sense, none of us understand the hate. They were the only two people in his life who ever tried to help him. They treated him like their own son, Mr Rines added.

Debbie Tower, Robbies mother, wrote a tribute to the couple on Facebook. She said: "They spent their entire life savings to adopt him and this is how he repays them I dont really know how I am going to get through this... Rob and Jen were not just my kids, they were my best friends and we did everything together."

Police have yet to reveal the motive for the murders.
Ukrainian defenders are succeeding south of Bakhmut, driving the Russians out of their positions and consolidating their positions. Thirty-nine combat clashes with Russian forces occurred at the contact zone over the past day.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, information as of 06:00 on 7 September

Quote: "The defence forces continue to conduct an offensive operation on the Melitopol front, killing the enemy and liberating the occupied territories step by step.

Over the past day, Ukrainian Defence Forces' aircraft carried out 18 strikes on areas where personnel, weapons and military equipment were concentrated and the positions of enemy anti-aircraft missile systems.

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Units from Rocket Forces and Artillery hit four ammunition depots, 12 artillery systems, two command posts, 1 anti-aircraft missile system, one electronic warfare station, and two clusters of enemy personnel, weapons and military equipment."

Details: The Russians attacked Ukraine with Iranian Shahed-136/131 drones on the night of 6-7 September. Information about the aftermath of these attacks is currently being established.

39 combat clashes took place over the past day. Russia launched ten missile attacks, 69 air strikes, and 51 MLRS attacks.

On the Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna fronts, Russia launched an airstrike near the village of Hraniv in Kharkiv Oblast. More than 25 settlements came under artillery and mortar attacks.

On the Kupiansk front, Russia launched air strikes in Synkivka, Kotliarivka, and Krokhmalne in Kharkiv Oblast. Kolodiazne, Kyslivka, Kupiansk, and Berestove in Kharkiv Oblast were attacked using artillery and mortars.

On the Lyman front, the defence forces repelled Russian attacks in Novoiehorivka in Luhansk Oblast.

Russia launched airstrikes and artillery and mortar attacks on more than ten settlements.

On the Bakhmut front, Ukrainian defence forces repelled Russian attacks near Orikhovo-Vasylivka in Donetsk Oblast.

Russia launched air strikes near Khromove, Ivanivske, Klishchiivka and Pivnichne (Donetsk Oblast).

More than 20 settlements came under artillery and mortar attack.

At the same time, as a result of assault operations, the defence forces had partial success south of Bakhmut, driving Russians out of their positions and consolidating their own positions.

On the Avdiivka front, the defence forces repelled Russian attacks in the area of Avdiivka. The Russians also launched an airstrike in the area. More than 15 settlements came under artillery and mortar attacks.

On the Marinka front, the Defence Forces continue to restrain the offensive of Russian troops in the area of Marinka in Donetsk Oblast. Russia launched an airstrike near Krasnohorivka. Krasnohorivka, Paraskoviivka, Katerynivka and Yelyzavetivka (Donetsk Oblast) were attacked with artillery and mortars.

On the Shakhtarsk front, Russia launched air strikes in Novoukrainka, Zolota Nyva and Urozhaine. More than 15 settlements came under artillery and mortar attack.

On the Zaporizhzhia front, Russia launched air strikes in Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. More than 15 settlements came under artillery and mortar attack.

On the Kherson front, Russia launched an airstrike near Olhivka. Zmiivka, Antonivka and Kherson in Kherson Oblast, came under artillery and mortar attack.

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Ukrainian Greek Catholic bishops have met with Pope Francis and have told him that praising Russia's imperial past "hurt the Ukrainian people."

Sources: UGCC; AP; Reuters

Details: His Holiness Pope Francis I held a private audience in the Vatican with bishops of the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) on the morning of 6 September.

It is reported that in a frank conversation, the UGCC bishops "expressed the pain, suffering, and a certain disappointment of the Ukrainian people".

At the initiative of Pope Francis, the meeting took place an hour sooner than planned initially, "so he could listen to them without rushing."

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The head of the UGCC, His Beatitude Sviatoslav, said that "this meeting was a time of mutual listening and an opportunity for frank and sincere dialogue."

His Beatitude Sviatoslav stressed that in their conversation with the Pope, the bishops expressed everything that the faithful in Ukraine and around the world had instructed them to convey.

In particular, the bishops said that certain statements and gestures of "the Holy See and Your Holiness are painful and difficult for the Ukrainian people, who are currently bleeding in the struggle for their dignity and independence."

As the bishops explained to the Pope, Russian propaganda has used misunderstandings that have arisen between Ukraine and the Vatican since the beginning of the full-scale war in order to justify and support the ideology of the "Russian world", so Ukrainian worshippers are sensitive to the words of the Pope.

Recognising the discrepancy between his own words and the comparisons addressed to Russian youth, the Pope explained: "On my way back from Mongolia, during a conversation with journalists, I said that the real pain is when the cultural heritage of a people undergoes 'distillation' and is manipulated by certain state authorities, as a result of which it turns into an ideology that destroys and kills. The great tragedy is when such an ideology breaks into the Church and replaces the Gospel of Christ. "

He also acknowledged that "the fact that you doubted who the Pope stands with was particularly painful for the Ukrainian people. I want to assure you of my solidarity with you and constant prayerful closeness. I am standing with the Ukrainian people."

Background:

On 25 August, Pope Francis addressed the participants of the Tenth All-Russian Catholic Youth Day in St Petersburg.

In his speech, the pontiff said: "Never forget your heritage. You are the descendants of great Russia: the great Russia of saints and leaders, the great Russia of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, that empire  a great, enlightened country of great culture and great humanity. Never give up this heritage. You are the descendants of the great Mother Russia, so go forward with it. And thank you  thank you for your way of being, for your way of being Russians."

Ukraines Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed regret that Pope Francis is spreading the idea of Russia's grandeur, which the Kremlin uses to justify the killing of Ukrainians.

Earlier, in July, Pope Francis called on Russia to resume the Black Sea Grain Initiative, addressing "his brothers, the authorities of the Russian Federation".

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The illegally constructed Crimean Bridge (also known as the Kerch Bridge) is currently guarded by six boats and five ships of the Russian secret services.

Source: Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, at an online briefing at the Ukraine-Ukrinform media centre

Quote: "We are observing a large group of border guards around the so-called Kerch Bridge in the Kerch Strait, where they are trying to protect this illegal construction: six boats and five ships of the Russian FSB.

Most of them are located south of the bridge, some of them are to the north. In this way, they are now performing the task of protecting and defending this facility."

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Details: Pletenchuk confirmed that the Russian occupiers have repaired the span of the Crimean Bridge which had fallen following an attack by Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessels.

At the same time, Pletenchuk added that although the Russian occupiers have set up some "barricades" against Ukrainian uncrewed surface vessels, there are no "fences" that would completely protect the bridge from Ukrainian drones.

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A new defense minister, an encouraging visit from the U.S. secretary of state and another $1 billion in aid have fueled optimism in Ukraine this week. But will they have an impact on the war?

Ukraine and U.S. officials says yes. Some experts are not convinced.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in a briefing Wednesday in Kyiv where Secretary of State Antony Blinken unveiled a $1 billion aid package, said anyone who believes Ukraine and the U.S. won't stand together "till the end of the victory, today they ... received a new signal that they are wrong."

Blinken was equally positive, saying that progress with Ukraine's counteroffensive has accelerated in the past few weeks and that the new aid package "will help sustain it and build further momentum."

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Steven Myers, an Air Force veteran, State Department advisory panel member and Russia expert, says the Biden administration "party line" is that Ukraine is winning and that Russia must yield to the West or become a "vassal of China." Myers says new Ukraine Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, a Blinken pat on the back and the latest aid package won't dramatically alter Ukraine's struggle against its far-bigger neighbor.

"There is no effective counterstrategy available to the Ukrainians," Myers said. "The Ukrainians are in deep trouble."

Myers told USA TODAY the Ukrainians use "pin pricks" and news about taking back land to demonstrate progress to the West  but are less transparent about the cost in Ukrainian lives.

"They dont talk about the counterstrikes by the Russians, who dont care about gaining or holding ground in the kill zone and are experts at laying traps," he said.

Ukrainian forays into Russian territory usually result in drones smashing high-rise windows in Moscow. A Russian rocket attack Wednesday the eastern Ukraine city of Kostiantynivka struck a downtown market, killing 17 civilians hours after Blinken arrived in Kyiv.

Ukraine and the West badly need an exit strategy, Myers said.

"Europe is in more economic trouble than we are. Germanys in deep recession," Myers said. "The Europeans are not going to shoulder more economic burden. They need an off-ramp."

Sean McFate, a professor at Syracuse University and senior fellow at the nonpartisan Atlantic Council think tank, aligns with Myers. He supports the change in defense ministers, saying corruption claims forced the issue. But that won't change the course of the war, he said.

McFate says the U.S. relied on conventional warfare tactics in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan  and lost. Yet the U.S. has not changed tactics in Ukraine, he says. Russia made the same mistakes early in Ukraine with its ill-fated blitz toward Kyiv, McFate told USA TODAY. Now the Kremlin is relying on more modern tools of war, he said, such as controlling information and mercenary troops.

"Things are going nowhere for Ukraine," McFate said. "Wars are no longer won like World War II by taking the enemys land, killing their troops and flying your flag over their capital."

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy greets Secretary of State Antony Blinken before a meeting at Bankova in Kyiv on Sept. 6, 2023.

When will Ukraine join NATO? Russian military fortifications may hold the answer.

Developments:

 About 90% of Ukrainian prisoners of war have been tortured, raped, threatened with sexual violence or otherwise abused, Ukraine's prosecutor general said in a statement. Andriy Kostin said he discussed intensifying efforts to halt the unlawful practices with Alice Edwards, the U.N. special rapporteur on torture.

 An armed Ukrainian drone crashed in the Volgograd region of Russia near the defense ministry's southern district logistics center, local media reported. No damage or injuries were reported.

 The Ukrainian Air Force posted video on Telegram of what it said was a German-supplied Gepard anti-aircraft artillery system shooting down Russia's armed, Iranian-built drones.

 The U.S. and Britain sanctioned 11 people involved in the Trickbot Russian cybercrime network that has targeted the U.S. government and U.S. companies, including hospitals, the State Department said.

 Two truck drivers were injured and a grain elevator and administrative building were destroyed in a Russian drone attack in the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa, the local prosecutor office said on Telegram. Several private homes also were damaged.

Pentagon announces $600M in orders for military contractors

The Pentagon on Thursday announced $600 million in orders for military contractors to support the Ukrainian military. The weapons include long-range artillery ammunition, air defense equipment and mine-clearing gear.

The package differs from the $175 million package that was announced Wednesday. The weapons in that batch, including depleted-uranium ammunition for Abrams tanks, comes from existing Pentagon stocks and can be delivered in days. Thursdays aid will take contractors months to produce and ship to Ukraine.

The Biden administration has supplied Ukraine with more than $43 billion in military aid since Russias invasion in February 2022.

 Tom Vanden Brook

Deadly missiles slam Ukraine market; Blinken pledges $1B in aid on Kyiv visit: Live updates

Blinken visits mine-clearing teams, border guards

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spent much of his second day in Ukraine visiting with men and women working to make the country safe amid war. Blinken visited border guards, noting that the latest U.S. aid package includes $300 million for Ukrainian law enforcement. Blinken also tweeted about visits with "courageous" Ukrainians working to clear roads, parks and playgrounds from mines and unexploded ordinances  a process Blinken said could take years. The aid package includes $90.5 million in additional demining assistance.

"Ukrainians are coming together to get rid of the ordnance, to get rid of the mines, and to rebuild," Blinken said. "To literally recover the land that was taken from them."

How private ammo sales are arming the war in Ukraine

A "shadowy system" of gun brokers and exporters is playing a vital role in the push to get weapons and ammunition in the hands of Ukrainians fighting off Russia's invasion. Most of Americas $44 billion in documented support to Ukraine came from U.S. military stocks, but other weapons come from private sales. More than 14,000 U.S. entities are registered to conduct defense trade activities, monitored by federal agencies. The war has increased demand for private deals. The State Department approved $154 billion in commercial arms deals directly to foreign countries in 2022, a 48% increase from the previous year.

Jim Bartlett, an attorney who specializes in the international arms transactions, said private U.S. businesses are playing a small but vital role in arming Ukraine.

Theres an effort at the State Department to quickly clear the ones headed for Ukraine," Bartlett said. "You get head-of-the-line privileges. Read more here.

 Nick Penzenstadler

Behind the scenes: See how private ammo sales from US are fueling the war in Ukraine

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine Russia live updates: US support, aid may not help end the war
TRIPOLI, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Thursday expressed concern about the limited evacuation places for asylum-seekers and refugees from Libya to third countries.

"While UNHCR strives to help and facilitate durable solutions for as many refugees and asylum-seekers at heightened risks as possible, unfortunately, evacuation places are limited and are determined by receiving third countries," UNHCR said in a statement.

"UNHCR is extremely worried and concerned about these limited options and is endlessly advocating with destination countries to increase quotas and to speed up the processing as well as ensure a swift departure," the statement said.

UNHCR thanked those countries offering durable solutions to refugees, including Rwanda and Niger for hosting Emergency Transit Mechanisms, and for the support of the Libyan authorities to facilitate departures.

Due to the insecurity and chaos in Libya since the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, many migrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores from Libya.

So far this year, UNHCR evacuated a total of 644 asylum-seekers and refugees from Libya to third countries. 
Myanmars already dire human rights situation is deteriorating and the junta should release all political prisoners, the United Nations chief said Wednesday, as a leading local news outlet revealed one of its journalists had been jailed for 20 years for covering the aftermath of a cyclone.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he remains deeply concerned about the worsening political, humanitarian, and human rights situation in Myanmar, including Rakhine state, and the plight of the massive number of refugees living in desperate conditions.

Speaking on the last days of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Indonesias capital Jakarta, Guterres reiterated his urgent call on the military authorities of Myanmar to listen to the aspirations of its people, release all political prisoners, and open the door to a return to democratic rule.

Since the Myanmar military seized power in a coup in 2021, the country has been rocked by violence and instability and plunged into economic chaos. Fighting between junta troops and resistance groups under the Peoples Defense Forces (PDF) unfolds almost daily across the country.

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Thousands of civilians have been killed in junta airstrikes and ground attacks, according to monitoring groups, and many more  including journalists, activists and anyone accused of dissent  have been arrested.

On Wednesday, independent local media outlet Myanmar Now said one of its photojournalists was sentenced to 20 years in prison with hard labor by a military court on a raft of charges, including sedition.

Sai Zaw Thaike was in western Rakhine state to report on the aftermath of the devastating Cyclone Mocha, which killed over 140 people and caused widespread destruction. He was arrested by junta soldiers in the state capital Sittwe on May 23, Myanmar Now reported.

All of Sai Zaw Thaikes colleagues at Myanmar Now and I are deeply saddened to hear of the lengthy sentence handed down to him, the outlets editor-in-chief Swe Win said in a statement.

His sentencing is yet another indication that freedom of the press has been completely quashed under the military juntas rule, and shows the hefty price independent journalists in Myanmar must pay for their professional work.

In the aftermath of the cyclone Myanmars junta suspended humanitarian access to parts of Rakhine state, where more than 1 million people were in urgent need of aid, the UNs humanitarian office said at the time.

The decision to stop aid access in the already-impoverished state paralyzed the humanitarian response to Cyclone Mocha and crippled life-saving aid distributions to storm-hit communities.

Sai Zaw Thaike, a photojournalist for the independent news website Myanmar Now, works at his desk in Yangon, Myanmar in August 2020. - Myanmar Now/AP

Myanmar Now said though Sai Zaw Thaikes initial charges included misinformation, incitement, and sedition, it was not clear what he was convicted of.

Sai Zaw Thaike was not allowed access to a lawyer during his detention and there were no hearings  the verdict took place in a closed-door military compound in Yangons notorious Insein Prison, according to the media outlet.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was the longest known prison sentence given to a journalist since the February 2021 coup.

Myanmar authorities grotesque 20-year sentencing of Myanmar Now journalist Sai Zaw Thaike on blatantly bogus charges is an outrage and should be immediately reversed, Shawn Crispin, CPJs senior Southeast Asia representative said in a statement.

Myanmars junta must stop imprisoning members of the press for merely doing their jobs as reporters.

CNN has not been able to immediately reach the Myanmar junta.

According to data from the Detained Journalist Group, more than 150 journalists have been arrested, and four media workers have lost their lives since the coup, Myanmar Now reported.

Meanwhile, Myanmars highest profile prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi remains locked up and facing the prospect of decades without liberty, amid reports her health is ailing.

Reuters reported that a request for an outside physician to see the ousted state counselor was denied by the junta, citing a source familiar with the matter and the shadow government.

A source told CNN that Suu Kyi was suffering from gingivitis, an inflammation of the gums, and toothache, but had since recovered. The timeline of her illness and recovery is unknown.

Deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary general Farhan Haq on Wednesday called for Suu Kyis release saying, everyone in detention should be able to have access to health care, that is a basic right.

Leaders of the ASEAN member states met this week in Jakarta and Myanmars deteriorating security and humanitarian situation was high on the agenda. Its the second consecutive year that Myanmar was not invited to the regional summit following the coup.

But the bloc has faced criticism for its failure to get Myanmars military leaders to stop the violence and human rights violations in the country and a five-point consensus agreed by ASEAN leaders and Myanmar junta chief Maj. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in 2021 as a roadmap toward peace has floundered.

ASEAN leaders said they were gravely concerned by the lack of substantial progress on its implementation but maintained the consensus remains as ASEANs main reference to address the political crisis in Myanmar, according to the chairmans statement.

Myanmar was supposed to hold the annual rotating ASEAN chairmanship in 2026 but regional leaders said the Philippines will take the role instead.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, who also attended the summit, said the United States will continue to press the Myanmar regime to end the horrific violence, to release all those unjustly detained and to reestablish Myanmars path to inclusive democracy.

CNNs Jessica Xing and Richard Roth contributed reporting.

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PROVIDENCE  Two Rhode Island men have been indicted for murder in the beating death of a pregnant woman whose body was found by a fisherman beneath the ice of a Coventry pond a few days before Christmas in 2022.

One of the men, Gary Gromkiewicz, 36, of Lincoln, was the former boyfriend of the victim, Leila Duarte DaLuz, and father of her unborn child, according to the Rhode Island State Police.

The other man, Michael Lambert, 46, of Pawtucket was previously convicted of second-degree murder for the 1994 Thanksgiving Day stabbing death of a homeless man under an Interstate 95 onramp in Providence, according to previous Journal coverage.

Gary R. Gromkiewicz, 35, of Lincoln, right, and Michael P. Lambert, 46, formerly of Pawtucket, are accused of fatally beating Gromkiewicz's onetime fiancee, a 34-year-old Brockton woman, last year. They appeared Wednesday in District Court, Warwick.

What are the charges?

Gromkiewicz and Lambert were each charged with one count of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder, the state police and Rhode Island Attorney General's Office said in a press release announcing the indictments.

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They are being held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions and are scheduled to be arraigned in Kent County Superior Court on Sept. 29, the officials said.

Witnesses, cell phone data helped piece the crime together

Investigators were tight-lipped and released little information after DaLuz's body, with cuts on her head, was discovered on Dec. 21, 2022.

According to the medical examiners report, she sustained blunt force trauma to the head. The medical examiner also found water in her lungs, indicating she was alive when she entered the water, the officials said.

Five months later, in May 2023, the state police announced the arrests of Gromkiewicz and Lambert. Information from 53 search warrants and interviews with numerous witnesses helped the police piece together the crime, the police said previously.

According to investigators, Gromkiewicz and Lambert went to Brockton, Massachusetts, at about 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2022, to pick up DaLuz at her home.

Using cell phone data and store surveillance footage, investigators learned that they then drove around Rhode Island, making several stops at gas stations and convenience stores, officials said in the press release.

At about 6:18 a.m., cell phone location data tracked their travel to western Coventry, in an area where Carbuncle Pond is located, and where the victims body was later recovered, the officials said.

When Daluz was killed, Lambert was on parole for the 1994 murder and Gromkiewicz was on probation for committing felony assault with a deadly weapon in 2015, the state police said previously.

Previous reporting from Journal reporter Mark Reynolds was used in this story.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Two RI men face murder charges in death of pregnant woman found in pond
Ahmadullah Nooris face lights up when he talks about his passion for flying. The 27-year-old completed more than 1,300 hours as the pilot of a U.S.-made Black Hawk helicopter for the Afghan armed forces in the fight against the Taliban.

(Pilots) can walk in the ground and they can walk in the sky, he said.

But in June 2021, his time as a pilot came crashing down when his chopper took a direct hit and dropped 500 feet to the ground. Noori sustained major injuries that required numerous surgeries.

Two months after the crash, as Noori recovered still in pain, the U.S. military withdrew from Afghanistan.

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After spending several days in Qatar, and then in Germany, Noori ended up at a military base in New Mexico. But after a few weeks, he and other pilots evacuated from Kabul moved to Phoenix.

Ahmadullah Noori was a fighter pilot in Afghanistan but was evacuated to the U.S. after the Taliban took control of the country in 2021. He must still undergo two more surgeries to treat injuries sustained when his Blackhawk helicopter was shot down.

When he arrived by himself in the U.S., he had hoped to become an airline pilot. But doctors told him that because of the head injuries he sustained, that likely would not happen.

"The moment that they said you got dangerous and you cannot fly, I just stared at them and they broke my heart, Noori said.

He is now working at Sky Harbor International Airport as a ramp agent, helping with underwing services like loading and unloading luggage or cabin maintenance.

More than two years after the fall of Kabul in August 2021, Afghans who resettled in the United States like Noori continued to rebuild their lives in the country, while oftentimes their families remain back in Afghanistan.

Ahmadullah Noori is an Afghan asylee who fled the country in 2021. As a former fighter pilot, he says he is passionate about flying and now works at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

Despite their roles as allies to the U.S. government back home, their future in the U.S. has been on shaky ground since the beginning.

After the Taliban took over the country, the U.S. evacuated thousands of Afghans who had worked alongside the U.S. government and military under Operation Allies Welcome. To date, more than 115,000 Afghans have resettled in the United States under the program, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

"The Afghan newcomers contribute to our economy, support their families, and enrich the cultural fabric of our society," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement marking two years since the start of the Operation.

Ahmadullah Noori is an asylee who fled the country in 2021. As a former fighter pilot, he says he is passionate about flying and now works at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

Melanie Reyes is the community engagement and advocacy senior manager for the International Rescue Committee in Phoenix, one of several resettlement agencies in Arizona. She said the arrival of Afghans in local communities placed a heavy strain on the refugee resettlement system that was gutted in the four years prior.

Finding housing in the middle of a pandemic was especially tough, and it continues to be an issue to this day.

"When Afghans came in, we were placing them across the Valley in neighborhoods that may... schools may not have served refugees before, Reyes said. So looking for housing and the support that came with that, with the rental assistance, that ends right? And you have refugees with amazing skills that they can't use here, but need to feed a family and pay the rent.

Mursal Sadat worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development in Afghanistan, but was forced to evacuate when the Taliban took over. She lives in the Bay area and is leading a lawsuit to get the U.S. government to process asylum claims for Afghans more quickly.

'Anxiety, depression, stress': Waiting for humanitarian asylum

Mursal Sadat had built a life in Afghanistan that made her a prime target for the Taliban. She is a single woman, who graduated from the American University of Afghanistan and worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development  helping to build up infrastructure in the country.

But when it became apparent that the Taliban would take control of the country, she fled, leaving behind her parents and siblings as she sought refuge in the United States under Operation Allies Welcome.

When she settled in Concord, a city in the Bay Area of northern California, Sadat immediately applied for asylum. Under congressional mandate, the U.S. government was required to process her application in less than 150 days.

For Sadat, it took nearly 400 days filled with anguish.

It gave me a lot of anxiety, depression, stress, she said. It affected my day-to-day life where I have a problem focusing on my job, where I could lose my opportunities for promotion because of not being able to travel internationally, and not being able to give 100% to my job."

Afghan refugees: They gave up everything to help us in Afghanistan. Now their lives are on hold in Phoenix

Like the 115,000 other Afghans who arrived in the U.S., Sadat also received a two-year humanitarian parole permit. It enables them to work right away and apply for more permanent protections like asylum.

But for up to 20,000 Afghans, their asylum applications are still pending despite the 150-day mandate. The humanitarian permits for those without an asylum decision are set to expire in the next few weeks.

Sadat said she believes that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, the agency responsible for adjudicating their cases, approved her application mostly because she is one of seven people who filed lawsuits against USCIS to force the agency to comply with the 150-day limit.

Coming to the U.S., waiting for a very long time for my asylum, one thing that was really annoying me is that I have already gone through that process, the vetting process. My background is clear, she explained.

Though she already received asylum status, Sadat continued with the lawsuit on behalf of the Afghans who were still waiting. They hoped the federal judge in San Francisco overseeing their case would certify it as a class action suit. They were given some good news earlier this month.

On Sept. 8, the U.S. government reached a class-action settlement to speed up the asylum process for nearly 20,000 Afghans evacuated to the United States two years ago and who have been waiting for months for their applications to be adjudicated.

Under the settlement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency for processing and deciding asylum cases in the country, will expedite decisions under a series of rolling deadlines. U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco must still approve the settlement in the lawsuit, known as Ahmed v. DHS. It was filed on behalf of seven Afghans but was petitioned to become a class-action suit.

"The fact that this large number has been sitting in limbo  not just individuals, but also families of those individuals  I think it shows how high the stakes are both for the government in terms of processing these individuals and keeping their end of the promise, but also why we had to bring this in federal court now, said Michael Williams, an attorney from Kirkland & Ellis who is litigating the case jointly with the National Immigrant Justice Center.

When the two-year humanitarian parole permits expire, Afghans who have not received an asylum determination can apply to renew their parole status. But those decisions are done on a case-by-case basis, Williams said.

The risk and main concern is that without permanent protections in place and because of the delays at USCIS in processing asylum applications, some Afghans will lose their legal status in the country altogether.

Other proposals for more permanent solutions for Afghan allies resettled in the United States are languishing.

U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., shown at Chase Field in Phoenix on Jan. 7, 2022.

The latest version of a bill known as the Afghan Adjustment Act has been introduced in both chambers of Congress. U.S. Reps. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) and Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.) are cosponsors on the House version.

The bill would establish a path toward citizenship for the Afghans who arrived in the United States after 2021. It would also expand eligibility for Special Immigrant Visas to Afghans outside the U.S. who were a part of that countrys military or government before it collapsed.

Rep. Greg Stanton attends AZBizCon23 as part of the Biden-Harris Administration Latino Prosperity Tour at the National Bank of Arizona Conference Center in Phoenix on May 4, 2023.

The act had been included in the defense spending bills this summer, but it did not end up in the final Senate version. That means the act is unlikely to pass anytime soon.

"After serving alongside us as allies for two decades, they should not fear that they might be forced to return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan," said Jennie Murray, president and CEO for the National Immigration Forum.

The group conducted a poll earlier this month showing overwhelming support among the American public for permanent protections for Afghan allies. Two-thirds of the 1,200 voters polled said they support the Afghan Adjustment Act. That level of support spans across gender, age, race or political affiliation.

No one left behind

Even though more than 115,000 Afghan allies have arrived in the United States since 2021, there are thousands more who remain stranded as well as their families.

No One Left Behind, a nonprofit set up to help interpreters working with the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, estimates that about 152,000 people who qualify for the Special Immigrant Visas remain in Afghanistan. So far this year, the group evacuated 1,317 Afghans, even though the U.S. government no longer has a diplomatic mission in that country.

The Special Immigrant Visas are available only to individuals who were employed directly by the U.S. government or NATO in Afghanistan. The U.S. Department of State said it has issued 38,500 visas since 2014. The program was extended through the end of 2024, but the number of visas available has only increased slightly.

However, other individuals who worked alongside the U.S. government in other capacities are not eligible for the SIVs, nor are their families.

Sadats family fled to Pakistan about six months after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, fearing they would be targets given their daughters association with the U.S. government. Nearly 18 months later, her family remains stuck in Pakistan with an expired visa.

They do not have a job. They cannot go to school. They are basically locked in their apartment, Sadat said. Can you imagine how depressing is it for a family to leave their country and be locked in a house, in an apartment? Where you can't go out because you will get arrested and you will be deported back to a country where you are no more safe?

Sadats experience mirrors that of thousands of Afghans living in the United States, who left behind family in Afghanistan or in neighboring countries.

She feels pressure not just to provide for herself, living in an expensive area like the Bay area, but she is also the main provider for her family members. She said she must regularly work extra hours to save enough money to send to them.

'Things their ancestors passed to me': Clam digging in Arizona runs deep for Cambodian families

Without permanent status in the United States, Afghans in the U.S. have very limited options to visit or petition on behalf of their families.

Sadat received assurances that her family would receive assistance if they left Afghanistan, but theyve been unable to get an appointment or help from the U.S. diplomatic mission in Pakistan.

Although she said she is thankful for the opportunity to resettle in the U.S. and for her job, Sadat said her parents' situation, coupled with the length of time it took to get a decision on her asylum application, has left her feeling frustrated.

Studying with them, working with them, being their ally, I always trusted the U.S. government. I was one of the ones who highly supported them, and I still do. I respect them, Sadat said. But unfortunately, the promises that they make, they are false. I feel betrayed. I feel mistreated as their ally. And what they did to me is not really fair."

Sajjad and Mo Novrouzi volunteered to translate at a resource fair for refugees at Alhambra High School on Aug. 10, 2023. The siblings were born in Afghanistan, but lived for nine years at a refugee camp in Turkey, before moving to the U.S.

'I'm glad they helped us. Otherwise, we couldn't make it'

On a recent evening, Sajjad and Mo Novrouzi, two brothers from Tolleson, walked around a resource fair inside the gymnasium at Alhambra High School.

The neighborhood around the school in central Phoenix has one of the highest concentrations of refugees in Arizona. Of the 2,100 students enrolled at Alhambra, about 600 of them are refugees, according to school officials.

The 18- and 22-year-old siblings were born in Afghanistan. The family left 13 years ago, spending nine years in a refugee camp in Turkey where the two siblings grew up. Four years ago, they resettled as refugees in the U.S., ending up in Tolleson last year.

The two walked around with a black t-shirt that read I speak Dari, Turkish, Farsi and English. They volunteered to help anyone who might need their help translating at the resource fair aimed at connecting refugees in the area with services ranging from enrollment in HeadStart early education to English language classes.

Mo said he thought back to the moment his family arrived in the United States four years ago.

"Somebody helped us to sign up for school. They teach us about transportation, the bus, how to get a car. How to sign for a house. They helped us with that, he said. It was kind of hard, to be honest. I'm glad they helped us. Otherwise, we couldn't make it. Maybe it would be harder. Right now, I just want to do the same and help people out.

Dr. Jodi Weber, the principal at Alhambra High, said not as many Afghan students enrolled at her school as she expected. But she still highlighted the role that schools like hers play as a resource in helping students and their families succeed as they rebuild their lives in the U.S.

"We see a lot of students who need medical assistance or dental assistance. Some need eyeglasses and have never had an eye exam. You know, all of those medical things, Weber said. The language obviously is a problem on its own, but then it's an even bigger barrier when trying to seek those services.

One great challenge Afghans in the U.S. faced upon their arrival was that during the Trump Administration, the number of refugees resettled in the country plummeted to historic levels, reducing the capacity of the resettlement agencies to help them when they arrived.

SNAP: Work requirements are changing, but not for all Arizonans. Here's what to know

By the end of fiscal year 2021, just when Afghans were starting to arrive in the U.S., Arizona had only taken in 647 refugees, according to the Department of Economic Security. In the past two years, more than 2,500 Afghans have resettled in the state.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, resettlement agencies stepped up their efforts. But they struggled with finding long-term housing or providing in-person services.

During that time, the agencies working in Arizona also increased coordination with state and local governments to help Afghans and other refugees resettle in the state.

Last month, the Arizona Legislature kicked off the first meeting of the New American Talent Study Committee made up of elected and community leaders to draft a report identifying ways to further integrate refugees and asylees into the states workforce and society.

State Sen. Flavio Bravo is a co-chair for the committee. He represents Legislative District 26, which includes Alhambra High School.

"I think we're going to schedule at least four committee meetings that we can touch enough topics to ultimately produce in December recommendations on if there's any barriers that can be removed at the state level or if there's anything that we could do that doesn't require legislation for state agencies," Bravo said.

The committee teamed up with the City of Phoenix, resettlement agencies and community nonprofits to host the resource fair for refugees at Alhambra.

Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari speaks during the grand opening of the Cesar Chavez Community Center in Laveen Village on March 30, 2023.

Phoenix has taken a greater role in assisting refugees and asylees living in the city and the organizations that help them. In March, under the direction of Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari, Phoenix created the Office of Refugee Support.

"A lot of great work was done, but there's always more to do, Ansari said. Two years later, I think the state we're at now is trying to help people not only survive here, but create opportunities for them to become really successful and thrive.

The city has allocated $8.3 million in funding available through the American Rescue Plan Act to four resettlement agencies in the Valley. The funding helps these nonprofits provide emergency services to refugee and asylee families such as medical or dental services, or food and housing, among others.

Ansari, whose mother sought refuge in the U.S. from Iran nearly 40 years ago, said her mothers experience helped shape the work she is helping to lead through the citys new Office of Refugee Support. But she said those efforts should continue well after Afghans and other refugees have settled into their new lives.

From refuge to rebuilding: What happens after asylum

Afghans like Sadat and Noori, who are now reaching the two-year mark since they arrived in the United States, say they are thankful for the help they have received so far to rebuild their lives and to continue supporting their families.

For Noori, the process had its ups and downs. On one hand, he received asylum in the U.S. and can start thinking about a long term future here in the country. But, it is unlikely that he will fly a plane again.

He could take several medical tests after hes done with the two remaining surgeries to treat the injuries he sustained when his chopper went down in Afghanistan. But that requires thousands of dollars that he doesnt have at this time, especially being the main provider for his family back in Afghanistan.

He is currently working at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in underwing services. He aspires to rise up to the manager duties, but always to be near the airplanes.

That requires more training and education, which is also dependent on having the money for them, or scholarships, he hopes.

Ahmadullah Noori has lived in the U.S. for about two years now, having fled Afghanistan when the Taliban took control of the country. As a member of the Afghan military, he worked closely with U.S. armed forces and was evacuated to Phoenix with other fighter pilots.

However, Noori is not discouraged by this situation. His faith, family and his desire to reunite with them in the near future keep driving him forward.

He has also learned to appreciate small wins. After undergoing a series of surgeries that limited his mobility for some time, Noori is able to exercise at the gym again and can do almost 100 pushups, he beamed.

Inside his Tempe studio, a short drive from the airport, the first object he sees when he opens the door after a long day of work is a frame he found inside a Goodwill store during a particularly tough day. It has a single word on it. He took it as a sign.

"I went all the way down to the bedsides, there was some furniture and there were some things. And I saw this word, hope, he said. I stuck for a part for one minute or for a few minutes, and I said 'Yes, don't be helpless. Maybe something is happening for some reason.'

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona's Afghan refugees still face uncertainty after getting asylum
Police in Maryland located the body of a beloved 59-year-old teacher after she was reported missing earlier this summer.

Mariame Toure Sylla, a second-grade teacher at Dora Kennedy French Immersion School, mysteriously disappeared on July 29 after going for a stroll at a park near her home located in Greenbelt, NBC Washington reported. Search efforts to find her were unsuccessful.

Remains found near a pond in Clinton, Maryland, were identified as Mariame Toure Sylla, officials said. The beloved teacher was reported missing in late July. (NBC 4 Washington/ YouTube screenshot)

Mariame is missing. We are all concerned, her sister Fati Toure said early last month. I would like my Mariame to come back. We love her; we need her.

Related: Her Opinion Is Worthless: Megyn Kelly Faces Backlash After Claiming Michelle Obama Does Not Like America While Discussing Possibility of Former First Lady Running for President In 2024

Days later, on Aug. 1, police received a tip from a person who spotted decapitated remains near a pond in Clinton, about 20 miles away from the park. Last week, officials confirmed that the remains were those of Toure Sylla. Her cause of death has yet to be determined.

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An autopsy is being conducted to determine her cause of death, Prince Georges County Police said in a Sept. 1 press release. Investigators are also working to determine where and when she was murdered.

Authorities charged 33-year-old Harold Francis Landon III of University Park with murder, according to NBC Washington; he reportedly was at the park the same day as Toure Sylla. Landon was arrested the same day Toure Syllas body was recovered but for a separate charge related to another case.

PGPD charges 33-year-old Harold Francis Landon III of University Park for the murder of 59-year-old Mariame Sylla of Greenbelt, a @pgcps teacher who was missing for months. Her remains were found in a bag on the side of the road in Clinton. Read more here: https://t.co/AT02qz6Xuv pic.twitter.com/ZTQMp73MUH  MoCo PG News (@MoCoPGNews) September 2, 2023

We havent found any connection that these two people knew each other, and I dont believe they knew each other, Prince Georges County Police Chief Malik Aziz said on Friday, Sept. 1, the outlet reported. I just think we have a person who decided to commit an horrific crime. The most horrific crime you can do is murder. And do that for some unknown, unjustifiable reason.

Toure Sylla was touted as an educator who was adored by her students and colleagues.

She was a loving, caring and passionate teacher, principal James A. Spence told The Washington Post. She was a student favorite.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE.
(NewsNation)  A new COVID-19 booster could be coming next week, just in time for an expected surge in cases heading into the fall.

The Federal Drug Administration is expected to approve the updated shots as early as Friday, according to NBC News. That would pave the way for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to give final approval next week. The CDCs panel of independent advisers is set to meet Tuesday, WABC-TV reported.

COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are rising by double-digit percentages, according to CDC data, though rates remain far below pandemic-era levels.

Heres what you need to know about the updated shot:

When will it be available?

Potentially, as soon as Sept. 13.

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First, the FDA will meet  possibly this week  to approve the shot. After it does, a panel of independent advisers to the CDC will meet and recommend who should be eligible for the shots. The panel is set to meet on Tuesday.

After the panel finalizes its recommendation, the CDC director will give the final signoff, which typically comes soon after.

Whats new about this booster?

The latest shot will target the XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant. While CDC data shows its no longer the dominant strain, the updated booster should protect against other current subvariants, NBC News reported, citing drugmakers and experts. EG.5 is the current dominant strain.

Moderna claims its new vaccine is effective against the newly emerged B.2.86 variant, unofficially dubbed Pirola, which the CDC has warned may be more infectious than other strains among those who have had COVID before.

Taken together with our previously communicated results showing a similarly effective response against EG.5 and FL.1.5.1 variants, these data confirm that our updated COVID-19 vaccine will continue to be an important tool for protection as we head into the fall vaccination season, Moderna President Stephen Hoge said in a statement.

Who should get the shot?

That remains to be seen. The FDA and CDC will make that determination at their meetings over the next week.

However, the CDC already recommends that everyone receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to the original 2021 shots, and that people older than 65 receive a second booster on top of that.

COVID surges heading into fall: What you need to know

If you recently had COVID, the CDC recommends delaying a booster shot for three months after symptoms started, or if asymptomatic, after a positive test.

Will it be free?

For the first time, the federal government will not cover the cost of the booster.

Both Moderna and Pfizer have said they plan to offer the shots for around $110 to $130 on the commercial market. Those with Medicare or private health insurance will likely continue to pay nothing at all, or very little, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

For those who have no insurance or are underinsured, the Biden administration has set up a bridge program that will offer access to free boosters through December 2024. The vaccines will be available at select health care providers, community health centers and pharmacies.

Can I get a flu shot at the same time?

Yes. In fact, public health officials are urging the public to prepare to head off what some worry could be a tripledemic.

About two-thirds of Americans plan to get the annual flu shot, according to pharmacy chain CVS.

Similar to the treatments for COVID-19, RSV  or respiratory syncytial virus  can be treated with monoclonal antibodies, which the CDC expects to be ready by early October.

The Hill and NewsNation affiliate KTLA-TV contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
The $10 million public park planned at Trade and Tryon streets in honor of retired Bank of America CEO Hugh McColl Jr. has added nationally recognized landscape architect Walter Hood to its design team, organizers told CBJ.

Hoods firm, Hood Design Studio, is based in Oakland, California. Hood grew up here, graduated from West Charlotte High School and earned his bachelors degree at N.C. A&T State University. He is also chair and professor of landscape architecture and environmental planning and urban design at the University of California, Berkeley.

ALSO READ: Charlotte to review ordinances after reports of urination, open container violations in Uptown

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Hood Design will work with local firm Bolton & Menk, formerly known as ColeJenest & Stone, to design the one-third acre park.

Read more here.

VIDEO: Charlotte to review ordinances after reports of urination, open container violations in Uptown




Washington will extend another security assistance package to Ukraine, worth up to $600 million, the U.S. Department of Defense announced on Sept. 7.

According to the Pentagon, the package includes the following items:

Read also: Pentagon says Ukraine using cluster munitions appropriately

- Equipment to support and integrate Ukraine's air defense systems;

- Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)

- 105mm artillery ammunition;

- Tools for electronic warfare and counter-electronic warfare equipment;

- Demolition munitions for obstacle removal;

- Equipment for landmine clearance;

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- Support and equipment for training and technical maintenance.

"This USAI package highlights the continued U.S. commitment to meeting Ukraine's pressing requirements by committing critical near-term capabilities, while also building the enduring capacity of Ukraine's Armed Forces to defend its territory and deter Russian aggression over the mid and long term," the announcement said.

Read also: U.S. will transfer assets seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs to Ukrainian veterans  Blinken

The United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements.

During his visit to Kyiv on Sept. 6, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that over a billion dollars would be allocated to aid Ukraine, including $665 million for civil defense.

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
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel asked U.S. government agencies to consider declaring that Chinese companies including Quectel and Fibocom Wireless pose unacceptable national security risks, according to letters seen by Reuters.

The Republican chair of the House of Representatives China Select Committee, Mike Gallagher, and the top Democrat on the panel Raja Krishnamoorthi, asked the FCC last month to consider adding to its so-called "Covered List" the two companies that produce cellular modules that enable internet of things (IoT) devices to connect to the internet.

Federal funds cannot be used to purchase equipment from companies on the list, and the FCC will not authorize new equipment from companies deemed national security threats.

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Rosenworcel wrote the FBI, the Justice Department, the National Security Agency, the Defense Department and other agencies on Sept. 1, forwarding the request from the lawmakers.

She said in the previously unreported letters the FCC welcomes the opportunity to collaborate "in addressing this threat, including consideration of the inclusion of this equipment from Quectel and Fibocom on the Covered List."

A U.S. spokesperson for Quectel said once modules are delivered "Quectel customers own the data, and we have no access to any of the data collected."

Remote device management "is achievable solely through the (original equipment manufacturer) device management platform," the spokesperson added, noting the company had recently retained security firm Finite State to audit and test the security of its modules.

Fibocom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rosenworcel told the lawmakers in a separate letter Tuesday "the issues you raise with respect to connectivity modules merit continued attention. To this end, the commission is examining additional steps it should take to protect U.S. networks."

She added the FCC can update the Covered List "only at the direction of national security authorities."

The FCC previously placed 10 Chinese and one Russian company on the Covered List including Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications Corp, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology and Zhejiang Dahua Technology.

The lawmakers warned that U.S. medical equipment, vehicles and farm equipment using Chinese cellular modules could be accessed and controlled remotely from China.

Noting they are typically controlled remotely and are the necessary link between the device and the internet, the lawmakers said that if China "can control the module, it may be able to effectively exfiltrate data or shut down the IoT device."

The FCC has taken other steps to bar Chinese telecom companies from U.S. networks. Last year, the FCC voted to revoke China Unicom's U.S. unit, Pacific Networks and ComNet's authorization to operate in the United States, citing national security concerns.

Rosenworcel said the list "provides all companies making purchasing decisions clear signals about the security of products in the marketplace."

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately comment on Wednesday, but last year it said the FCC "abused state power and maliciously attacked Chinese telecom operators again without factual basis."

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio and Jamie Freed)
There is a "realistic possibility" that Ukrainian forces can break through the remaining Russian defensive lines on the southern front by the end of 2023, Trent Maul, the director of analysis of the U.S.' Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), said in an interview with The Economist on Sept. 6.

Ukraine's forces pierced through the first of three Russian defensive lines near the village of Robotyne and are attacking the second line, with notable success, the official of the Pentagon's intelligence agency said.

"Had we had this conversation two weeks ago, I would have been slightly more pessimistic," Maul told The Economist.

"Their (Ukraine's) breakthrough on that second defensive beltis actually pretty considerable."

However, the future progress will depend on Ukraine's supply of artillery and on the weather conditions during the fall, he added.

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Ukrainian General Oleksandr Tarnavsky told the Guardian that Russian forces devoted 80% of their time and resources to building the first and second defensive lines on the southern front. Maul nevertheless warned that the bulk of Russian forces remained at the third line.

According to an unnamed U.S. official cited by The Economist, Ukraine has around six to seven weeks of combat left before its counteroffensive culminates. Disagreements on Kyiv's chances continue in Washington, with some predicting that the campaign will be hampered by the heavy casualties Ukrainian forces have sustained, the outlet reported.

Maul however reminded that Russian General Sergei Surovikin, who oversaw the construction of the defensive lines, has been sacked, and Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner Group was responsible for the main Russian successes on the battlefield, died in a plane crash.

The DIA official noted that Ukraine's recent progress was "significant," giving it a "realistic possibility" to break through the second and third line in 2023. The Economist commented that the term "realistic possibility" usually translates in the U.S. intelligence circles as 40-50% probability of success.

Ukraine's counteroffensive has been ongoing in the country's south and east since June. While Western observers have noted the relatively slow progress of the campaign, Ukrainian forces recently reported major successes on the southern front line.

On Sept. 3, General Tarnavsky said that Russia's first defensive line near Zaporizhzhia had been breached. The push-through was possible thanks to a meticulous mine-clearing operation, the commander noted, adding that the second line is less fortified.

Last week, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also said that Ukraine made "notable progress" on the southern front. According to the Institute for the Study of War, Kyiv's forces continue to advance south of Robotyne and northwest of Verbove.

Read also: White House: Ukraines forces make notable progress in Zaporizhzhia Oblast

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DUBAI, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan met with Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias in UAE's capital Abu Dhabi on Thursday to discuss ways to further defense cooperation.

The two officials discussed the two countries' friendly relations and strategic partnership and exchanged views on the latest regional and international issues, UAE's official news agency WAM reported.

The UAE's top diplomat highlighted his country's willingness to strengthen ties with Greece to benefit both countries and their peoples.

For his part, the Greek minister commended the strategic ties between the two countries, saying that the leadership on both sides have given full support to the bilateral ties, according to the report. 
WARSAW, Poland  Polands state-run defense group PGZ has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Javelin Joint Venture (JJV), a partnership between Lockheed Martin and RTX, formerly known as Raytheon Technologies, to jointly produce Javelin anti-tank weapons.

Together with PGZ, we are exploring a number of opportunities to leverage the resident skills and expertise of Polish industry for Javelin co-production, Andy Amaro, the president of the JJV and RTXs Javelin program director, was quoted in a statement.

The deal was inked on the second day of this years MSPO defense industry show. The event runs Sept. 5-8 in Kielce.

PGZ said in a statement that the team-up with U.S. industry players will allow the partners to evaluate the possibility to set up a final assembly plant and produce components in Poland.

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JJV representatives have also submitted an offer to the Polish group to have parts of Javelin weapons produced at PGZs subsidiary Mesko, according to the statement.

Polands and Ukraines militaries also both use the Javelin, a weapon celebrated on social media for its effectiveness against Russian armor.

Mesko has played a key role in Polands efforts to arm its neighbor Ukraine against the invading Russian forces. Located in Skarzysko-Kamienna, in the countrys central part, Mesko is the largest producer of ammunition and rockets in the Polish market. Among others, the defense factory has manufactured its flagship Piorun (Thunderbolt) short-range man-portable air defense (MANPAD) systems and ammo for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The war in Ukraine has spurred additional orders for Meskos products from the Polish Army, but also other allies from the region. In September 2022, Estonias Centre for Defence Investment ordered Pioruns for the nations military, purchasing 100 launchers and 300 missiles.

The Piorun can hit targets at an altitude of up to 4 kilometers (2.5 miles), and is enabled with a range of up to 6.5 kilometers (4 miles), according to its producer.
By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Biden administration is facing an "unwillingness" by Mexico to devote enough resources to help stem the flow of the illegal drug fentanyl into the United States, and is pressing Mexican authorities to do more, a U.S. official said on Thursday.

Todd Robinson, assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, told a Senate subcommittee the U.S. was continuing to engage with the Mexican government "to convince them that they need to put more resources in" the fight against smuggling of the deadly opioid.

President Joe Biden's administration has been seeking increased cooperation from both Mexico and China in curbing the flow of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals, which have fueled a sharp rise in U.S. overdose deaths.

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To be honest, the challenge that we have with Mexico is their unwillingness to put  sufficient resources into the fight, and we are pushing them to do that, Robinson said when asked whether Mexico was showing enough political will to tackle the fentanyl crisis.

The partners that we are working with want to do more. They want to do better. They want to partner with us on greater security both in Mexico and at the border, he said, adding that we continue to engage with them on that.

The Mexican embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena said on August 10 that Mexico was developing a digital tracking system for fentanyl precursor chemicals, including methods to detect the substances at Mexico's ports and border crossing points.

Mexico has vowed to crack down on precursors coming into the country, where they are used to produce fentanyl which is then often smuggled to the U.S.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has defended his country's efforts, said in April he had written to Chinese leader Xi Jinping urging him to help control shipments of fentanyl.

(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; editing by Timothy Gardner)
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to approve President Joe Biden 's nominee for a key fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), giving Democrats a majority on the telecommunications regulator.

The Senate voted 55-43 to confirm Anna Gomez, a Democratic telecommunications attorney who serves as a senior adviser for the State Department's Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy.

Since January 2021, the FCC has been deadlocked 2-2, stalling Democrats' efforts to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules revoked under Republican then-President Donald Trump and to pursue other priorities.

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In July 2021, Biden signed an executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate net neutrality rules adopted under Democratic President Barack Obama in 2015.

Biden's first nominee for the open seat, former FCC official Gigi Sohn, withdrew in March after three hearings. She blamed industry opponents for scuttling her nomination.

Another big issue for the FCC is the fate of a subsidy program for internet users. Congress awarded $14.2 billion in 2021 for a $30 per month voucher for low-income families to use toward any internet service plan of their choosing.

More than 20 million American households have signed up for the program to date. FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said in May she expects the program will run out of money early next year absent congressional action.

The FCC has been involved in a number of issues surrounding Chinese telecom companies.

In 2019, the FCC voted to deny state-owned Chinese telecom firm China Mobile the right to provide U.S. services and later withdrew U.S. authorizations for several other Chinese telecom carriers, including China Telecom.

On Wednesday, Rosenworcel asked U.S. agencies to consider declaring that Chinese companies including Quectel and Fibocom Wireless pose unacceptable national security risks.

The FCC said last month it would publicly release comments on a bid by an advocacy group to deny the renewal of a license for Fox Television Stations' Philadelphia station, saying Fox News aired "false information about election fraud" about the 2020 presidential election.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Nick Zieminski)
The United States of America will send 190 MRAP armoured vehicles with enhanced anti-mine protection to Ukraine.

Source: US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink on Twitter (X), quoted by European Pravda

Quote from Brink: "The US will give 190 MRAPs to enable Ukraine's brave law enforcement officers to protect civilians  especially those near the frontlines."

Details: The US ambassador noted that the MRAP armoured vehicles will be delivered to Ukrainian border guards and police.

Brink also posted a joint photo with Victoria Nuland, Acting Deputy State Secretary, and colleagues from the State Department.

Photo: Brink On Twitter (X)

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Background:

On 6 August, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Washington would allocate over US$1 billion to help Ukraine.

Earlier, the US government announced the provision of a new package of military aid to Ukraine, including depleted-uranium ammunition.

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!
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the United States will transfer assets confiscated from sanctioned Russian oligarchs to Ukraine for the first time.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine and Ukrinform news agencies; joint press conference of Blinken and Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba

Quote: "For the first time we are transferring to Ukraine assets seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs, which will now be used to support Ukrainian military veterans."

Details: The US Secretary of State added that "those who have enabled Putins war of aggression should pay for it."

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This concerns US$5.4 million to be directed to the support and rehabilitation of veterans.

These funds are being sent to Ukraine as part of the aid package announced by Blinken worth more than US$1 billion.

This assistance includes US$175 million for air defence system components, missiles for HIMARS systems, small arms ammunitioin, shells and communications systems.

US$100 million will go to meet long-term military needs.

US$90.5 million will be directed towards humanitarian assistance for mine clearance.

US$300 million will be used in support of the efforts of law enforcement agencies to restore and maintain law and order in the liberated territories, including in cities and towns subjected to continuous bombardments by Russia.

US$206 million will be allocated for humanitarian assistance, including food, water and shelter for internally displaced persons in Ukraine, as well as refugees abroad.

US$203 million to be used in support of transparency and accountability of institutions, strengthening key reforms related to the fight against corruption, the rule of law and justice, as well as the investigation of war crimes committed by Russia.

Background:

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
By Doina Chiacu and David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Thursday it would be a "huge mistake" for North Korea to exchange military support with Russia for use in Ukraine, while a top former U.S. intelligence official said there would likely be limits to what Pyongyang would get in return.

U.S. officials have warned in recent days that arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea are actively advancing, and a report this week said that North Korea's Kim Jong Un plans to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin and discuss supplying Moscow with weapons for its war effort.

Harris, who was in Indonesia for an ASEAN summit, told CBS News in an interview broadcast on Thursday that it would be a sign of desperation for Russia to seek aid from reclusive North Korea and it would further isolate both countries.

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"I think it would be a huge mistake. The idea that they would be supplying ammunition to that end, is -- would be a huge mistake. I also believe very strongly that for both Russia and North Korea, this will further isolate them," Harris said.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea were actively advancing and warned Kim that his country would pay a price for supplying Russia with weapons to use in Ukraine.

Last month Washington imposed sanctions on entities it accused of being tied to arms deals between North Korea and Russia.

Sydney Seiler, who retired this summer as National Intelligence Officer for North Korea at the U.S. National Intelligence Council, told a Washington think tank that for Kim, a potential meeting with Putin "seems to be the result of a calculation that there's something to be had from this in the near-term.""The worst-case scenario is that this ... relationship between Russia and North Korea goes to the next level, where Russia actively seeks to improve the military capabilities," of North Korea, he said.

Against that, however, were traditional limitations on the support Russia has provided to North Korea - which has developed a sophisticated ballistic missile and nuclear-arms program despite international sanctions - and Moscow's adherence to the goal of a denuclearized Korean peninsula.

"The good news is, my thoughts are, (that) a lot of those traditional limitations or parameters ... will serve as a limiting factor," Seiler said.

He said Kim could be looking to fill shortfalls in military resources across the board and in food supplies as the country emerges from a long shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The substance of what North Korea is able to get out of Russia is going to be crucial in determining its strategic impact," Seiler said. "Is it food, is it supplies, is it linked to some material necessary to restart factories, or feed munitions assembly lines?

"Or is Russia out to really enhance North Korea's capabilities ... (amid) concerns over support to the missile program, nuclear program, conventional program?"

Seiler said Russia could perhaps agree to provide North Korea with satellite imagery until Pyongyang manages to put its own military satellite into space.

"All this stuff is potentially troubling," he said.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Sandra Maler)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris dismissed questions about President Joe Biden 's age on Friday, telling a television interviewer she is prepared to be commander in chief, but that it won't be necessary.

"Joe Biden is going to be just fine," Harris said, when asked about concerns that Biden is too old to run again.

Biden, who will turn 81 in November and would be 82 at the start of a prospective second four-year term in January 2025, faces skeptical American voters who will decide whether to elect the Democrat for another four years in November 2024.

His leading opponent, Republican Donald Trump, is 77; American voters say they'd like to see younger candidates for president.

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Some Republican presidential candidates, including former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, have said a vote for Biden would end up being a vote for Harris, who had a 40% approval rating in an average of polls compiled by politics website Five Thirty Eight.

Harris, on a trip to an Asian leaders summit meeting in Jakarta, told CBS News, when asked if she was prepared to take over the presidency, "Yes, I am, if necessary."

"But Joe Biden is going to be fine. Let me tell you something: I work with Joe Biden every day," the vice president said.

Harris also rejected criticism by Republicans who said electing her would be risky.

"They feel the need to attack because they're scared that we will win based on the merit of the work that Joe Biden and I, and our administration has done," she said.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Heather Timmons and Jonathan Oatis)
President Donald Trump waves to the crowd at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base at the Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City on Dec. 4, 2017. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

A new lawsuit filed in Utah by a long shot Republican presidential candidate attempts to bar Donald Trump from appearing on the 2024 presidential ballot, arguing the 14th Amendment disqualifies him from office.

John Anthony Castro, a Texas tax attorney who is running for the 2024 Republican nomination, filed the lawsuit Wednesday afternoon in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. Castro is listed as the plaintiff, while Trump and Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson are the defendants.

The lawsuit argues that Trump engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, in an effort to thwart the peaceful transfer of power via financial fundraising, expressions of sympathy with the insurrectionary movement, and promises of pardons for those who violently attacked our United States Capitol.

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Castro requests a declaratory judgement that Donald John Trump is disqualified from office under the 14th Amendment, as well as an injunction against Henderson to prevent the acceptance and/or processing of any ballot access documentation for Trump in both the primary and general elections.

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Utahs lieutenant governor serves as the states chief election officer. A spokesperson for Henderson declined to comment until they had time to review the lawsuit.

Castros argument requires an interpretation of the 14th Amendment that is catching steam in legal circles. A pair of law professors associated with the Federalist Society wrote a paper last month claiming that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment disqualifies Trump from office, and can and should be enforced by every official, state or federal, who judges qualifications.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment says that any officeholder, after taking an oath to support the U.S. Constitution, is disqualified from holding office after engaging in insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution or giving aid or comfort to the enemies thereof, unless Congress pardons them with a two-thirds vote.

Related

The argument has been praised and criticized by other Republican presidential candidates. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson supported the argument during the first presidential debate, saying that Trump is disqualified from holding office under our rules and our Constitution.

Hutchinson doubled down in the post-debate spin room. When asked if Trump was really ineligible for office, Hutchinson answered affirmatively.

The answer is yes, he said. But more importantly, will a secretary of state make that determination, and will the court make that determination?

But entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy denounced the argument Thursday afternoon, saying the court filings were just the latest in a string of baseless lawsuits designed to silence political opponents and swing the election for Joe Biden, this time by depriving Americans of the right to vote for their candidate of choice.

This is a perversion of the 14th Amendment, Ramaswamy said in a statement.

Having tried just about every trick in the book to eliminate President Trump from running in this election, the left is now deploying a new tactic to bar him from ever holding office again: the 14th Amendment. As someone who is now polling in second or third place in most major  Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) September 7, 2023

Castro has filed similar lawsuits in Florida, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and several other states. A liberal group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a lawsuit Wednesday attempting to bar Trump from the ballot in Colorado, citing the same constitutional clause.

Castro filed as a Republican candidate in the 2024 election in December 2022. Several news organizations have called him an attorney, though he is not listed in the Texas bar directory and he claimed in a recent lawsuit that he is not and has never been licensed to practice law in any state. He has a Juris Doctorate from the University of New Mexico School of Law and a Master of Laws from the Georgetown School of Law.

Castro has been accused of embellishing his resume. Georgetown barred him from a job fair, claiming Castro wrongfully claimed to have been a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Castro sued the school, but a federal judge in Texas tossed the lawsuit.

Other election-related lawsuits have gone through the District of Utah. Two Utah brothers filed a lawsuit last year claiming that President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former Vice President Mike Pence and hundreds of members of Congress committed treason by supporting a peaceful transfer of power, and attempted to install Trump as president. It was appealed to the Supreme Court, but the court rejected it twice.

Related
Utah Republicans blocked an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump from the nomination for soon-to-be-vacant UT-02.

Instead, they nominated Celeste Maloy to succeed Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah), who is resigning from Congress later this month to care for his ailing wife. Maloy, a former aide to Stewart, beat former state Rep. Becky Edwards and former state party chair Bruce Hough, who came in second and third, respectively.

It was a neck-and-neck battle between Maloy and Edwards. On Tuesday night, Edwards started with an early lead. But Maloy pulled ahead as the more southern rural parts of the state reported their totals. The Associated Press called the election on Wednesday evening, with Maloy ahead by over 2,000 votes.

Maloy had the backing of the Utah Republican Party. She spent much of her campaign introducing herself as the only candidate from rural southern Utah  a message that ultimately drew voters in.

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"As I've said throughout this race, I will represent the entire district," Maloy said in a statement on Wednesday night. "There will not be an area, a county, or a community in this district that will have anything less than my full attention as your representative in Congress."

Edwards, who has been critical of the former president, had name ID from an unsuccessful challenge against Trump ally Sen. Mike Lee last year. She cast herself as a common-sense conservative, but she faced attacks for voting for President Joe Biden in 2020. She later said she regrets supporting him, but it didn't seem to hold much water with voters who voted to reelect Trump in 2020.

UT-02 is a sweeping district that covers Democratic-leaning Salt Lake City, as well as swaths of rural land in the southern and western part of the state. Following the latest round of redistricting, the district  which was already a Trump stronghold  became slightly redder. Trump's advantage there is around 17 points.

Trump historically hasn't had the strongest standing in Utah. Sen. Mitt Romney is a top Trump critic, and Maloy's victory over Edwards may give him pause as he considers running for reelection in 2024.

Maloy overcame controversy when opponents unsuccessfully tried to kick her off the ballot after they learned that she wasnt registered to vote as a Republican in Utah when she filed to run for the seat.

Given the makeup of the district, Maloy faces a clear path to victory come the Nov. 21 general election. Shell be facing off against Democratic state Sen. Kathleen Riebe, whose primary was uncontested, and a handful of third-party candidates.
Twenty-one states across the country  Utah, Washington and Georgia among them  are part of a special initiative led by the Charles A. Dana Center in Austin to revamp their mathematics curriculum at the high school level to better reflect students interests.

Some have modified graduation requirements or retooled stalwart courses  particularly Algebra II  to include data science, statistics and probability, topics of great interest to a wide swath of students headed to college or the workforce.

No longer are they steering everyone toward calculus, a course that is not universally available  nor pertinent to all students academic and professional lives.

No paywall. No pop-up ads. Keep The 74 free with a donation during our Fall campaign.

And high schools are not making these critical decisions in isolation: Many are working with college administrators  post-secondary math is also being reconsidered  to better align their coursework.

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Many member states also pledge to train high school teachers to help make the switch.

Related

A Bankrupt Concept of Math: Some Educators Argue Calculus Should Be Dethroned

Everyone agrees that different college students need different math  quantitative literacy for humanities, stats for most social sciences, calculus for STEM and economics, said David Kung, the Centers policy director. Everyone also agrees that all K-12 students should be in the same math through at least algebra. The big question is where and how to branch [after that], with different students getting different math  and how to do that equitably.

The Center, which seeks to ensure all children  particularly the underserved  have equitable access to high-quality mathematics and science instruction, began operating out of the University of Texas at Austin in 1991. It has helped shape math for students in that state and has also worked with dozens of districts outside Texas, its efforts funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The revamping of mathematics comes at a critical time: Math proficiency tanked nationwide during and after COVID, prompting educators to seize the opportunity to overhaul the subject with the hope of improving student engagement and outcomes.

Related

NAEP Scores Flashing Red After a Lost Generation of Learning for 13-Year-Olds

Josh Recio, the Centers course program specialist, said change of this magnitude takes time: It often requires agreement from several entities, including mathematics teachers organizations, the legislature, and parent and community groups. Then, every district in the state has to change its graduation requirements, while also incorporating new course material.

Each step of this process takes coordinated actions that are not easy to achieve, Recio said. And yet, states are persevering because they can see the benefit to students.

The Center requires those participating in its Launch Years Initiative to make a three-year commitment: Washington and Georgia are on their second cycle.

Utah started working with the Center around that same time, though it wasnt officially a member state when the program began. Still, the partnership proved fruitful: In its first three years, the state accomplished three essential goals  and has already seen remarkable academic gains.

First, it brought K-12 educators and state college leaders together to identify three entry-level college math courses: statistics, quantitative reasoning and college algebra.

It really helped to solidify that progression of math content that gets taught all the way through from high school to early college, said Lindsey Henderson, secondary mathematics specialist with the Utah State Board of Education.

Then, it made sure to offer these classes to high school students so they could earn college credit for them prior to graduation.

Lindsey Henderson (University of Utah)

Finally, Henderson said, the state changed its mathematics offerings so that not all students would be pushed toward calculus: Through pamphlets and online literature, Utah encourages families and students to pick classes aligned with their goals.

If you want to be a STEM major or work in business, you should consider college algebra, she said. If youre interested in humanities or performing and language arts, you should take quantitative reasoning. If youre interested in nursing or psychology, you should take statistics.

Like many other participating states, Washington also reworked Algebra II: It identified the elements of the subject it believes all students need and added data science, quantitative reasoning and mathematical modeling, said Arlene Crum, director of mathematics for the state education department. The new course was piloted in the 2022-23 school year.

Arlene Crum (Arlene Crum)

We have multiple graduation pathways within Washington where we support and value students heading in many different directions, not only to a four-year university, but many to two-year colleges, the military or into industry, Crum said. So, Algebra II should not just be a course that prepares students for the calculus pathway, but it should help students in their thinking for wherever theyre going.

Washington also reworked its eight-year-old transition to college math class, often taken in the 12th grade, bolstering the courses social-emotional learning elements while also emphasizing statistics.

Related

Research: Schools Prioritizing Social-Emotional Learning See Big Academic Gains

Oregon also has changed its high school math standards with the goal of increasing student engagement and participation while improving outcomes for all.

It now requires two years of foundational algebra, geometry, and data/statistics and a third year that allows students to choose courses from a variety of options, including quantitative reasoning, data science or advanced mathematics. Students can continue into a fourth year through advanced courses in these pathways, including calculus.

Increasing the number and percentage of students who excel in math and meet high school mathematics graduation requirements is critical to ensuring future post-secondary success  and keeping career options open to students in a variety of CTE and STEM-based fields, said Oregon Department of Education spokesman Peter J. Rudy. This is important for all students, most especially for students who are farthest away from mathematics learning opportunities that bring math to life.

Henderson, of Utah, said these changes have helped more students meet and exceed state mathematics requirements: Just 28% of students completed four years of high school mathematics in 2012 compared to 87% in 2020, after the new initiatives were implemented.

And, she said, children with disabilities are faring much better in the subject: While only 43% were earning grade-level mathematics credit in 9th grade in 2012, the figure shot up to 85% in 2020.

The pandemic has forced us to recognize that student interest in mathematics is really important, Henderson said. It helps us to reach really great outcomes. We want to show kids that math is useful. Its not just a set of procedures that can only be used by a few.

Disclosure: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides financial support to The 74.
TEHRAN, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Three Iranians recently released from Qatari prisons have returned to their home country, said Iran's Ambassador to Doha Hamidreza Dehghani on Thursday.

In a post on X, previously known as Twitter, the Iranian envoy stressed that the Iranians returned to their country by their own boats that had been confiscated by the Qatari authorities at the time of their arrest.

He thanked his colleagues as well as the relevant Qatari authorities for the nationals' release and repatriation, giving the assurance that Iran's embassy in Qatar is seriously pursuing the release of other Iranian citizens arrested or imprisoned in the Arab state.

In late August, Dehghani announced the three Iranians' release in a post on X, noting that they had been detained due to having entered Qatar's territorial waters mistakenly. 
Yorbelis Oropeza, wife of Alcides Bracho, a former chemistry teacher and painter sentenced to 16 years on conspiracy charges, in Caracas

Yorbelis Oropeza, wife of Alcides Bracho, a former chemistry teacher and painter sentenced to 16 years on conspiracy charges, in Caracas

By Vivian Sequera

CARACAS (Reuters) - Before they were arrested and sentenced to 16 years in prison on conspiracy charges, the six Venezuelan activists marched peacefully to call for better salaries for teachers, according to their families and lawyers.

Some had taken part in non-violent protests for years, despite long-running and internationally-condemned efforts by President Nicolas Maduro's government to tamp down dissent in the country, which is under U.S. sanctions and grappling with an economic and social crisis.

The August conviction of the men - who deny prosecutors' accusation they planned to assault a military weapons site and attack an event traditionally attended by Maduro - is among several recent legal moves seen by opponents and civil rights groups as a specific effort to scare potential activists as the opposition prepares for a presidential contest next year.

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Twelve sources - among them lawyers, family members and advocacy groups, including many who have participated in years of litigation on behalf of protesters and opposition figures - said events over the last several months point to a pattern of increasing repression.

"The government is seeking specifically to quiet protest: don't go out to the streets, if you do and if you protest and if you complain ... they'll jail you and sentence you to 16 years," said Yorbelis Oropeza, a teacher and the wife of Alcides Bracho, a former chemistry teacher and painter and one of the six convicted men.

Neither the Supreme Justice Tribunal nor the Executive Direction of the Judiciary, which oversees Venezuela's judicial system, responded to requests for comment about various cases.

The attorney general's office and justice ministry also did not respond to requests for comment.

The Maduro government and Venezuela's judiciary have long been criticized by non-governmental groups and the United Nations for either targeting or failing to protect those perceived as government adversaries.

In a statement, two U.N. experts said the long prison terms handed down to the six activists amounted to "an attempt to take civil society actors out of circulation and damage civic space in Venezuela."

"The harsh sentencing serves as a warning to others who might engage in dissent," wrote the two special rapporteurs, Fionnuala Ni Aolain and Clement Nyaletsossi Voulue.

The latest moves by Venezuelan authorities demand a coordinated response from other countries, advocates said.

"It's probable that if the international community doesn't react in an effective and multilateral way, that repression will rise before the elections," said Juan Pappier of Human Rights Watch.

'TOOL OF CONTROL'

While reliable statistics on arrest rates, convictions and sentences are hard to come by in Venezuela, Foro Penal, an NGO that offers pro bono legal services, says 288 people are in jail for political reasons.

"It's a tool of control ... which keeps people suppressed by fear," said Gonzalo Himiob, vice-president of the group.

Maduro, who succeeded late socialist leader Hugo Chavez in 2013, has withstood the pressure of U.S. sanctions in part through the support of allies in Russia and China. He is enjoying renewed relations with neighbors Colombia and Brazil and some loosened U.S. restrictions. He has long accused Venezuela's opposition of seeking to spread chaos.

"They are sowing hate, division, because the sectors of the far right want once again to take the country to protests, to division, to hate," Maduro said on state television in late August. "We cannot allow fascism or support for a coup to once again fill the streets with violence."

Maduro is widely expected to run in the election, which the government has not yet scheduled.

Among those defended by Foro Penal is Javier Tarazona, 41, director of FundaRedes, which tracks alleged abuses by Colombian armed groups and the Venezuelan military along the countries' border. Tarazona was arrested in July 2021.

His case, and that of Roland Carreno, 57, a former operations director for opposition party Popular Will who was detained in October 2020, highlight what advocates say is a delaying tactic by the authorities.

Both men had expected to be sentenced separately in recent weeks - in both instances for alleged terrorism and conspiracy which they deny - only to be told their cases were being moved unexpectedly to different courts and would have to start over, according to their lawyers.

Carreno's trial is expected to begin again at the end of September, said his lawyer, Joel Garcia. Tarazona's has yet to be rescheduled, Himiob said. They face between 25 and 30 in prison if convicted.

A restart to the proceedings against them "will destroy any hope of being absolved" for the two men, said Valentina Ballesta of Amnesty International.

Among other cases closely watched by opposition activists is that of former driver and bodyguard Franks Cabana, 36, who was detained in 2017 after making a phone call to Oscar Perez, a rogue former police officer who was accused of stealing a military helicopter and shooting at state buildings before being killed.

Witnesses for the prosecution have repeatedly failed to appear at hearings, including one in late August, said Cabana's lawyer, Ana Leonor Acosta of the Coalition for Human Rights and Democracy NGO. Cabana's mother, Xiomara Andara, said the legal process felt never-ending.

"Whenever it's time for a hearing there are no witnesses," she said.

Another person - 24-year-old anthropology student John Alvarez - was charged this week with conspiring with the six convicted activists, said lawyer Garcia, and has alleged mistreatment by state agents.

Lawyers for the men filed an appeal this week.

"But obviously I don't have faith in Venezuelan justice," said Oropeza, the wife of activist Bracho.

(Reporting by Vivian Sequera; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
A Ventura County man was sentenced to life in prison for the double murder of his estranged wife and her boyfriend in 1993.

Everardo Meza Alamillo, 54, from Santa Paula, was found guilty by a jury on May 2, 2023, of two first-degree murder counts for victims Adriana Meza, and her boyfriend, Armando Cauich Jr.

He was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life without the possibility of parole plus 10 years in prison, according to the Ventura County District Attorneys Office.

On Oct. 13, 1993, Alamillo went to visit his 2-year-old daughter at Mezas home. She allowed the visit because she wanted Alamillo to be a part of their daughters life, officials said.

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Alamillo left and returned to her home later that night. He parked his car nearby while waiting with a loaded .22-caliber rifle. He then entered the home through a back door and walked into Mezas bedroom.

Everardo Meza Alamillo as seen in an undated photo. (Ventura County DA)

Everardo Meza Alamillo, 54, was sentenced to life in prison for the double murder of his estranged wife and her boyfriend in 1993. (Ventura County District Attorneys Office)

Thats when Alamillo shot Meza three times and her boyfriend, Cauich Jr., twice as they were lying in bed. Alamillos young daughter was asleep between the victims when they were killed.

Former O.C. basketball coach sentenced for sexually assaulting young girls

Alamillo fled the country immediately after the murders, authorities said. Although he was indicted in 1994 on two counts of murder, he would not be arrested until Nov. 2015 after authorities tracked him down in Mexico. He was extradited to the U.S. in July 2016 to stand trial.

I am so grateful to the Santa Paula Police Department, the District Attorneys Office Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI for investigating the case and never giving up on locating the defendant so that he could be held accountable for these two tragic murders, Senior Deputy District Attorney John Barrick, who prosecuted the case. The Castanon and Cauich families have waited 30 agonizing years for this day. Now they can hopefully rest a little easier knowing that the man who has brought them so much pain will never be released from prison.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Vibrant red caterpillars have been found clustered on plants at Everglades National Park and closer inspection has revealed it is not another invasive species in South Florida.

The insects are a species of native butterfly once thought to be extinct, according to the National Park Service.

After an absence of 35 years, the Atala butterfly has returned to Everglades National Park, the park reported in a Sept. 2 Facebook post.

While there were attempts to reintroduce the Atala into the park around Long Pine Key from 2004 to 2008, no evidence exists that the introduced butterflies survived. Now that a breeding population has been confirmed in the park again, the Atala may spread to reclaim more of its native range on its own.

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In an odd coincidence, the caterpillars were found squirming outside the parks visitor center, officials said.

Atala are a striking butterfly, with black and blue wings that span about 1.7 inches and a bright red abdomen. In their caterpillar phase, they are bright red, with two rows of yellow spots down their back.

The demise of the species was linked to chemicals sprayed to control mosquitoes in South Florida, experts say.

Growing development in South Florida also hurt, because Atala are picky about their host plants.

The only host plant for Atala caterpillars is a cycad plant called coontie, making this species a habitat specialist found only in South Florida and some parts of the Bahamas and Cuba, the park said.

The over harvesting of coontie for its roots sent the butterfly into decline, and it was thought to be extinct for a time.

Its suspected Atala may benefit from a growing trend of using coontie plants in landscaping projects, and park officials encourage homeowners to keep doing it.

Atala caterpillars need large numbers of coontie plants to support them since they eat constantly, so this evidence of breeding in the park could be a sign of habitat restoration beyond park borders, the park said.

Who doesnt love a good comeback story?

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The White House said the tour will focus on key issues that disproportionately impact young people across the country, including book bans and voter suppression.

The White House announced on Thursday that Vice President Kamala Harris will embark on a nationwide college tour to mobilize students and young people in swing states that will be crucial in the 2024 election.

The Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour includes stops at three of the nations top HBCUs, kicking off on Sept. 14 at Hampton University in Virginia. Harris will head to North Carolina on Sept. 15 to North Carolina A&T University and on Sept. 26, to Morehouse College, the nations only all-male historically Black college, in Atlanta.

Vice President Kamala Harris will begin a college tour this month in an effort to mobilize students before the 2024 election, Here, she speaks in January 2022 to a crowd at the Atlanta University Center Consortium, part of both Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College, a stop on her new tour. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images)

The vice president will wrap up her college tour at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Southern Nevada, and Northern Arizona University.

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The White House said in a release that the tour will focus on key issues that disproportionately impact young people across the country, including book bans, voter suppression, gun violence, climate change, LGBTQ+ equality, and reproductive rights.

This generation is critical to the urgent issues that are at stake right now for our future, Harris said in a statement. It is young leaders throughout America who know what the solutions look like and are organizing in their communities to make them a reality. My message to students is clear: We are counting on you, we need you, you are everything.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee , D-Texas, applauded the college tour by the vice president, whom she praised as very knowledgeable on the key issues Harris will raise with students.

Shes worked closely with members of Congress, like myself, on any number of these issues [and] shes been a leader on them when she was in the United States Senate, Jackson Lee told theGrio.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (second from left) praised the college tour Vice President Kamala Harris (right) is about to begin. Here, the two were with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (left) in September 2018, when Harris was a senator. (Photo by Melina Mara-Pool/Getty Images)

Jackson Lee said she would also like Harris to engage young people on a bill she reintroduced in the 117th Congress, HR-40, which would create a commission to study slavery and develop reparation proposals.

Theyre interested in fairness. Theyre interested in human rights and the protection of safe elections, said the congresswoman, who is running for mayor of Houston, Texas. She added, I think shell be well prepared to engage in this discussion.

This months college tour is part of a series of campus visits from the vice president and comes on the heels of her Summer of Action, which included visits to 17 states. This year alone, Harris has been to 11 college campuses.

This vice president has been on the move quite a bit since she took office, Christina M. Greer, associate professor of political science at Fordham University, told theGrio.

Greer noted that Harris visits to HBCU campuses, in particular, could serve as an opportunity to reestablish her relationship with the Black community, especially young people, due to misinformation about her record as a prosecutor before her political rise in the Senate and the White House.

The political scientist explained, Shes advocated for quite a bit and done a lot in her capacity as vice president, but I think a lot of young people, because of whats on the internet, because of misinformation and disinformation, still only see her through the lens of attorney general, state of California.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke about reproductive freedom in April at Howard University, one of several campuses she has visited this year. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)

Young voters could be crucial to the 2024 reelection campaign of Harris and President Joe Biden, as they played a significant role in the Democrats 2020 victory in some key states like Georgia. An analysis of the 2020 election by Pew Research found that Biden-Harris voters were more racially and ethnically diverse overall than those who backed former President Donald Trump.

However, national polling reveals that both the presidents and vice presidents favorability remains low.

Democrats are going to have to work hard to win over young voters, who are likely disillusioned over some key issues like student loan debt forgiveness and climate change, Greer said. She told theGrio, People are gonna say, Well, you did some things on student loan forgiveness, but not everythingyou did some things on environmental protections, but you still have drilling.

One strategy to connect with young Black voters, in particular, is making the economic case for why they should care about key issues championed by Democrats.

Black voters are savvy voters, Greer said. All of these policies are incredibly important, and I think that students care about them, but they need to have an economic translation to them.

Gerren Keith Gaynor

Gerren Keith Gaynor is a White House Correspondent and the Managing Editor of Politics at theGrio. He is based in Washington, D.C.

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The post Vice President Harris to embark on college tour, including top HBCUs, in swing states appeared first on TheGrio.
An eating challenge that has gained popularity on social media is coming under fire for its potentially dangerous health impacts after a 14-year old boy in Massachusetts died.

Although his cause of death has not been confirmed, family members of Harris Wolobah claim that his participation in the viral "One Chip Challenge" had a role in his sudden death on Friday. Just hours after he was sent to his school nurse's office with a stomachache following his consumption of the chip, they said, he was found unconscious in his home and was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

The "One Chip Challenge" was marketed by the chip company Paqui, and involves eating an extremely spicy tortilla chip and then waiting as long as possible before eating or drinking something for relief.

The company advertises that the chip is made out of some of the spiciest ingredients in the world. The tortilla chip comes in an individually sealed package and is coated with a layer of Carolina Reaper pepper and Naga Viper Pepper. Chips can be purchased at local gas stations, drug stores and grocery stores, according to the company's online store locator.

Harris Wolobah

A spokesperson for Paqui, LLC, based in Austin, Texas, expressed sorrow for the Wolobah family's loss on Wednesday and said it would be "inappropriate" for the chip company to speculate about the teen's death. Paqui LLC warns that these chips should not be consumed by children or anyone with serious health concerns.

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The chip challenge has been around for years, but has begun to spark some concern with young people filming themselves performing it, with some videos garnering millions of likes.

Dr. Rob Rosenbaum, medical director of the Office of Emergency Medical Services at the Delaware Department of Health, described the danger with food challenges like this one on the health and safety of young people.

The presence of food challenges on social media has seen a number of potentially dangerous concepts putting individuals at risk of health consequences, Rosenbaum said.

Delaware places to go: Sink your teeth into 7 new, and coming soon, Delaware restaurants and food shops

As advertised by Paqui, the One Challenge Chip uses the Scoville Scale to measure its spiciness, with a rating of between 1.4 and 1.7 million units. Rosenbaum explained that this is nearly equivalent to that of pepper spay.

"Exposure to this amount of heat producing compounds in hot peppers can trigger adverse reactions including difficulty breathing, pain, nausea or vomiting," Rosenbaum said. "These seemingly harmless challenges may result in unexpected health complications."

Contact Molly McVety at mmcvety@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Viral "One Chip Challenge" could cause safety and health risks
The crowd of Democrats gathered on the sweltering tiki-themed deck of Kilroys, a sports bar in deep-blue Northern Virginia, knew better than most people whats at stake in their states November elections. But Tim Kaine, one of their partys two US senators, reminded them anyway.

I would argue that its the Virginia races  all 140  that are going to send the most powerful message about where America is, Kaine said Sunday of the contests for the state House and Senate while speaking before about 50 candidates and party activists at a fundraiser.

In two months, Virginia voters will cast the final ballots in the states odd-year legislative races, deciding whether Republicans will gain unilateral control of state government or be forced to share power with Democrats for two more years. The election results will offer both parties the clearest signs yet of where voters stand on issues such as abortion, crime, voting rights and the economy. They could also dramatically reshape the political future of the commonwealth and the rising Republican star who leads it, Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

Youngkin, who rose to national prominence after winning the 2021 gubernatorial race by uniting moderate Republicans and supporters of former President Donald Trump, has leveraged his popularity into prolific fundraising for Spirit of Virginia, his state political action committee.

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When asked about his political future, Youngkin and his team have insisted he is only interested in talking about the November 7 elections.

What he has said is his focus is solely on the House and Senate races this year, said David Rexrode, a senior adviser to Youngkin and chairman of the Spirit of Virginia PAC. Hes doing town halls in Loudoun and Prince William and Stafford, not Manchester and Charleston.

Despite that insistence, Youngkin has hinted at what 2024 could hold for him: He released a national campaign-style video earlier this year and has courted out-of-state donations with great success. His staggering fundraising haul  $12 million raised in the six months from March to August, Spirit of Virginia PAC announced Wednesday  has raised alarms with state Democrats.

Last week, President Joe Biden cleared the Democratic National Committee to send $1.2 million to Virginia to fund staff for the coordinated campaign and get-out-the-vote efforts, bringing the national partys total contribution to $1.5 million. The funds follow months of outreach by Kaine and Virginias other Democratic senator, Mark Warner.

The White Houses decision to allocate this to Virginia is a big deal, Kaine told CNN on Sunday, referring to Biden and his political apparatus. It gives [Warner] and I the ability to go to other groups nationally and say: The White House is in big. Please be in big too.

Setting the 2024 narrative

All 140 seats in the states Democratic-led Senate and GOP-held House of Delegates will be up for election in November, following a dramatic round of redistricting that pitted incumbents against each other and forced a wave of retirements. Control of both chambers will likely come down to a handful of competitive races.

If Glenn Youngkins able to get his party full control of the legislature, that will completely undo years of major gains by the Democrats that led many people  before his election in 2021  to declare Virginia a blue state, said Mark J. Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.

But both parties will also look to Virginia to help set the narrative heading into the 2024 presidential election.

This is not just the last election of 2023, Virginia Democratic Chairwoman Susan Swecker said. Its the first election of 2024.

Virginia Rep. Jennifer McClellan is seen after a mock swearing-in ceremony in the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2023. - Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Everything is at stake this November, said Virginia Rep. Jennifer McClellan, a Democrat who served in the state legislature for 17 years before being elected to Congress in February.

McClellan sponsored several of the bills Democrats passed to expand voting rights and other policy priorities while in the state Senate. Now, shes attended 24 campaign events for about 50 candidates up and down the ticket.

In 2020 and 2021, Virginia made generational progress on just about every issue, from access to abortion, to addressing climate change to expanding our nondiscrimination laws to protecting workers. All of that progress is at stake, she said.

Though Youngkin is not on the ballot this year, the election will be a referendum on many of the policies the former Carlyle Group executive has championed, from expanding school choice programs to a 15-week limit on abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. Youngkin has been out on the campaign trail and is making a big push for early voting, which begins September 22. The governor helped promote the Secure Your Vote Virginia initiative by kicking off a bus tour Monday.

His fundraising is aimed at helping Republicans close the gap with Democrats in individual races, where GOP candidates, as a whole, are falling behind, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. In the last fundraising reporting period, from June 9 to June 30, Democratic candidates raised $2.3 million to Republicans $1.5 million in the House and $3.1 million to Republicans $1.4 million in the Senate.

They will outspend us again this year, but it certainly wont be at the levels that it has been in years past, Rexrode said.

The challenge for both parties will be getting voters to show up for whats expected to be a low-turnout election. With no federal or gubernatorial races on the ballot, drawing out loyal party members will likely make the difference in key races. Thats where Youngkins political organization could be instrumental, said Tucker Martin, a former GOP political strategist who has worked in Virginia politics .

Hes got a good organization. Hes raised a lot of money. And he will have, and his team will have, the ability to turn out their voters, Martin said. If anything, thats probably the biggest factor  I think its why you see the Democratic panic coming out of Washington, DC.

Youngkins ambitions

Youngkins fundraising haul has been boosted by major donations from people who would also like to see him run for president.

I dont know if we can talk him into entering the race, but I think it would be very, very important that we try, billionaire Republican megadonor Thomas Peterffy told Fox Business the day after last months first Republican presidential primary debate. Peterffy gave $2 million to Youngkins Spirit of Virginia PAC.

Former Republican Rep. Francis Rooney of Florida said Youngkin reminds him of past Republican Presidents George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. Rooney donated $100,000 to Spirit of Virginia PAC and held a networking event for Youngkin at the former congressmans Naples, Florida, home in April.

I really think its important to have people in politics that have built businesses, bought businesses, run businesses, said Rooney, who also served as the US ambassador to the Vatican under the younger President Bush. Glenn Youngkin certainly fits that bill. Hes refreshing from that point of view.

Under Virginia law, Youngkin cannot run for reelection when his term ends in January 2026. If he did enter the 2024 race after the November elections, hed face considerable hurdles in terms of staffing, fundraising and getting on the ballot in key states. The filing deadlines in two of the four early-nominating states, Nevada and South Carolina, will have passed, with several more approaching.

Whatever political ambitions he may have  whether its an 11th-hour entry into the 2024 race, Senate runs in 2024 or 2026, or something else  they would be aided by electoral success in November or deeply hurt by a loss.

Youngkins core issues have been public safety and crime, education and parental rights, and the economy. He has managed to score several policy wins despite opposition from the Democratic Senate, including $4 billion in tax cuts and major funding for schools in his 2022 budget.

Other efforts have failed. Senate Democrats blocked Republicans push to advance Youngkins parental rights agenda, repeal climate change policies that tie Virginia emission standards to those of California, and restrict abortion access.

Democrats also blocked efforts to undo their partys overhaul of the states election laws  which allowed for no-excuse absentee voting and same-day voter registration, introduced 45 days of early voting, created a permanent absentee ballot request list and expanded access to ballot drop boxes.

Democrats have been critical of the Youngkin administration for undoing a bipartisan tradition of automatically restoring voting rights to people who have completed felony sentences and for pulling out of ERIC, a nonpartisan multi-state voter registration database designed to prevent voter fraud.

While abortion has been the leading issue in Democratic ads in Virginia and across the country, Kaine said hes focused on voting access in his appeals to national donors. A Republican sweep in November could lead to new voting laws next year, when Biden and Kaine will be on the ballot.

My main argument to the White House was: How much do you think Joe Biden benefited in 2020 by Virginia making it easier for people to vote? Kaine said at Sundays event.

CNNs Eva McKend contributed to this report.

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A Virginia man was arrested earlier this week and charged in connection with the assault of former Washington, D.C., police officer Michael Fanone during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Lewis Wayne Snoots, 59, of Louisa, Va., is facing felony charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and civil disorder, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

According to court documents, surveillance footage from the Jan. 6 riot show Snoots entering a doorway leading into the U.S. Capitol wearing what looks like a gas mask. He was seen with a group of rioters attempting to breach the police line in the tunnel, the DOJ said.

Snoots is observed in the footage pressing against a Capitol police officers riot shield and later passing Capitol police riot shields over his head to the mob of rioters, according to the DOJ.

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The DOJ said Albuquerque Head, a defendant already convicted in the assault, then dragged Fanone away from the tunnel while Snoots continued to grab Fanone by the upper back.

Snoots used both of his hands to physically restrain Officer Fanone while other rioters assaulted him, a statement from DOJ said.

Prosecutors said Snoots appeared to grab Fanones right hand and pulled his right arm away from his body, which appeared to significantly hinder and impair Office Fanones ability to defend himself against the continuous assaults.

Snoots could be heard on video saying, Im fed up with it, everybody is fed up with it. They have tear gassed our ass off of the Capitol steps, but its not over. What they dont understand is its just starting. Every political a up in that place is now going to have a target on their back everywhere they go, according to the DOJ.

Snoots also faces a slew of misdemeanor charges, including knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, and acts of physical violence in the Capitol grounds.

Months after the Jan. 6 riot, Fanone testified before the House Jan. 6 committee and railed against former President Trump and other elected officials who he claimed downplayed the riots severity.

Fanone has been vocal on the personal impact of the riot, writing in a CNN op-ed last year, The assault irrevocably changed my life.

Fanone said he suffered a heart attack and a traumatic brain injury that ultimately required him to resign from the police force. He said he was also later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Snoots is one of multiple defendants to be charged in Fanones assault, including Head, who received 7.5 years in prison after pleading guilty.

In July, 37-year-old Thomas Sibick was sentenced to just over four years in prison after he assaulted Fanone and stole his badge and radio.

Another man, Daniel Rodriguez, was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison for assaulting Fanone with a taser.

Kyle Young, 38, also pleaded guilty to assaulting Fanone and received 86 months in prison.

In the months since the Jan. 6 riot, more than 1,106 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the Capitol breach.

The Hill reached out to the DOJ for further comment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is planning to meet with Vladimir Putin to discuss a possible arms deal.

The move just shows the Kremlin's "desperation," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC News.

Kim is reportedly planning to travel to Russia this month to discuss supplying weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine.

A top United States diplomat said that Russian President Vladimir Putin must really need help if he's planning to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to discuss a possible deal to supply Moscow with weapons.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC News on Thursday that Kim's planned upcoming trip to Russia for arms deal talks shows the Kremlin's "desperation."

The New York Times, citing several unnamed officials from the US and its allies, reported on Monday that Kim was planning to travel to Russia later this month to discuss supplying weapons to Russia to use for its war against Ukraine.

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In exchange, Kim is looking for food supplies for North Korea, the report added.

Retired US Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling told CNN this week that the potential Kim-Putin meeting was a union between "two desperate leaders of the world's most noted pariah states."

"This will generate a lot of attention. It's showing that Mr. Putin is scrambling for help," said Hertling, who previously served as the commanding general of US Army Europe.

Moscow's war on Ukraine has been grinding on since Putin launched the full-scale invasion in February 2022 and Russia has suffered heavy losses in both military personnel and resources.

In June, Ukraine launched its long-awaited counteroffensive to reclaim Russian-occupied territory in the east and south of the country.

The counteroffensive has been slow-moving, but Blinken told NBC News on Thursday that Ukrainian troops were making "very tangible progress" over the last couple of weeks.

"The Russians had a lot of time in this case to prepare for the counteroffensive. They put tens of thousands of mines in places, other defensive fortifications," Blinken said. "The Ukrainians are working and going through it, but at the end of the day, they have a determination, they have a desire that will outmatch whatever the Russians put into this."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Merrilee and Hamilton Dodge were seated near the back of the Anderson Sports and Entertainment Center Aug. 28. They finished their plates of barbecue and moved onto the ice cream before the speaking portion of Jeff Duncans annual Faith and Freedom event started.

The Dodges, who live in Anderson, are politically interested people, but are still looking for a presidential candidate to pick in South Carolinas Republican primary. On this night they heard from U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, subbing in for her husband, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis .

I want to decide a little bit before Election Day, but I want to hear what everybody has to say, Merrilee Dodge said.

The GOP primary is slated to take place on Feb. 24, 16 days after the planned Nevada GOP Caucus, and roughly a month after the New Hampshire primary.

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With months before the primary, the calendar gives voters still shopping for a candidate ample time to make a decision.

But for those who are shopping, many of them have a common candidate they want to keep off of their list: former President Donald Trump .

Trump is the elephant in the room of elephants. The people who are undecided are almost to a large degree questioning the wisdom of renominating Trump, said Scott Huffmon, the director of the Center for Public Opinion & Policy Research at Winthrop University. Maybe they liked him, maybe they still love him, but theyre at least considering that it might not be the best strategy to renominate him.

Despite those shopping for a candidate, Trump holds a commanding lead in polls and remains the front runner for the nomination. Trumps support has even grown following four criminal cases filed against him.

Polls indicate a very small sliver of undecided voters, but pollsters ask if the election were today, who would respondents vote for, and even try to push people to make a choice even if theyre not sure or could change their mind.

A Quinnipiac University Poll in August showed about 4% of Republican voters are undecided.

An Emerson College poll in August found 43% of respondents said they could change their minds on who they will support. An August Wall Street Journal poll found 47% of respondents are not committed to a choice and could change their minds.

Youll have people who generally have a candidate in mind, but theyre just not nailed down yet, Huffmon said.

Because of South Carolinas First in the South presidential primary, voters in the Palmetto State are afforded more opportunities than most to see candidates in person and hear from them directly.

And dedicated partisans, unsure of who they want to support, will attend campaign events, but wont wear the candidates sticker and may not leave with a sign. Theyre usually in the back of the room.

That shows theyre both passionate enough and engaged enough to be doing it, Huffmon said. The people who take time out of their day to show up at these events, which can often run overtime and candidates schedules are hectic, they show up and are there to learn about a potential candidate. Those are the most engaged voters.

Back at Jeff Duncans annual barbecue in a part of the state where Trump is very popular, the Dodges sat toward the back of the room.

Merrilee Dodge wants a candidate who can try to unite the country and get Democrats and Republicans to work together more.

I think Donald Trump, as much as I like him and I like his policies, I think hes a very dividing factor, said Merrilee Dodge, a 60-year-old retired dental office patient coordinator who has lived in South Carolina since 2013.

She has been impressed with both Scott and former Gov. Nikki Haley , saying the South Carolinians performed well in the first Republican debate.

Do I think they can get nominated? I think its going to be a real hard push, Merrilee Dodge said.

Merrilee Dodge, of Anderson

Dodge isnt the only person with concerns about Trump.

Honestly, I love Donald Trump, but he cannot get out of his own way, as far as his attitude and talking, said Amy Parham, 55, of Greenville, who owns Red Door Realty.

While at a Haley event in July, Parham said she was considering five candidates, including Haley, Scott, DeSantis and even North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Since the first debate, Parham narrowed her choices down to Haley and DeSantis, adding Haley seemed to be the only candidate with a cool head on the stage and believing DeSantis might be the only candidate who can win a General Election.

Im waiting to see who stands out from the crowd and is actually electable in the conservative party, Parham said. I have people that are my favorites based on the issues, but if theyre not electable, what does it matter?

Shes looking for fiscal conservatism in a candidate.

I want to make sure were balancing the budget and were trying to spend our money wisely on things that move the country forward, not just frivolous things, Parham said.

Amy Parham, of Greenville.

For some voters who are considering candidates besides the former president, they want someone who will be tough on Trump.

Max Dangerfield, 67, of Forest Acres has been strongly favoring former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, but also considered former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, as they have been vocally critical of Trump and saying the former president should not be in the race.

The 2020 election was not stolen. No way, no how, Dangerfield said. This thing with Trump is a different matter altogether. This is the end of the Constitution with Trump.

But after the first debate Dangerfield had firmly settled on Christie.

Asa Hutchinson doesnt seem to be getting any traction, Dangerfield said.

Bonnie Taylor, 81, and Lee Bates, 82, of Simpsonville, attended a Haley rally in Greenville. It was the first time they ever attended a political rally.

First off, Im looking for someone who can forget the drama and give us reasonable expectations of what they will do once theyre in office, Bates said, referring to Trump. Dont give us all the platitudes and tell us what you want to hear, then go to Washington and do whatever you damn well please.

They like what Trump did while in office, but his personality just gets in the way, said Bates, who moved to South Carolina from Florida three years ago.

I just hope that people will take the time to pay attention, listen to the debates, go to the rallies, learn about the people and just make an informed decision, Bates said.

Sumter Graham, 51, of Greeleyville, works for an herbicide plant.

China is pushing products, and its causing me a little stress, Graham said.

He wants a candidate who will push for fiscal responsibility, has the ability to control the southern border, and can be tough on China.

Although he hasnt settled on a candidate, he is now leaning toward Haley, pointing to her debate performance, six years as governor and two years as ambassador to the United Nations.

I think shes got the experience, especially on foreign policy, Graham said.

Graham said he had concerns about Trump.

I want someone who can work with other people and that might be one of his weaknesses, Graham said.

Sumter Graham, of Greeleyville.

Concerns beyond Trump

Voters have other concerns beyond Trumps demeanor.

Chase Burbage, 31, of Columbia, attended a DeSantis rally in June as he goes through his search for a Republican candidate to support. Hes even had campaign workers come to his door to stump for DeSantis and Scott.

For the electrical engineer, age is a big factor for him, with Trump being 77 and Biden being 80.

The country is constantly changing with technology and things like that, so maybe (someone who) is a little more in touch, Burbage said.

Burbage said he plans to watch all of the debates and will probably make his decision in January, expecting the field to narrow in the next few months.

Well have a few more drop out, Burbage said.

Chase Burbage, of Columbia.

Tony Spain, 46, of Columbia, has attended several events including speeches by former Christie, DeSantis and Hutchinson.

In June he had yet to make up his mind.

Spains biggest concern is how the potential candidate would handle foreign policy.

I really want to hear what theyre gonna do with the world situation, especially with China and Russia, said Spain, who works in construction and as an independent insurance salesman.

Spain, however, has come back to Trump after voting for him in 2020.

Spain said he wouldnt be supporting Trump if not for the criminal indictments filed against the former president, even calling them a witch hunt.

If we dont try to stop that from happening, it will continue to go on, Spain said.

Spain didnt vote for Trump or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016, but did like the policies Trump pushed once he was in office.

I probably wouldnt invite Donald Trump to my barbecue, but if I needed something in D.C., thats my guy, Spain said.

Tony Spain, of Columbia.
Vice President Kamala Harris will speak at N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro next week as part of a nationwide, month-long Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour.

The Sept. 15 visit is not Harris or President Joe Bidens first time in North Carolina this year, hinting at the states importance in the upcoming 2024 presidential election.

The college tour, which includes around a dozen schools across at least seven states, aims to mobilize young people in the ongoing fight for fundamental freedoms and rights, according to a press release by The White House.

The tour will center on reproductive freedom, common sense gun safety laws, climate action, voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality, and teaching Americas full history, according to the release.

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This generation is critical to the urgent issues that are at stake right now for our future, said Harris, according to the release. It is young leaders throughout America who know what the solutions look like and are organizing in their communities to make them a reality. My message to students is clear: We are counting on you, we need you, you are everything.

Kamala will go to historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, community colleges, apprenticeship programs and state schools, said the release.

HBCUs planned for her trip include A&T, Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, and Morehouse College in Atlanta.

Campaign trail

Harris was in North Carolina in late January and spoke on the role of small businesses, including Hispanic-owned businesses. She also visited the state in June on the one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, and spoke on reproductive rights and more.

Biden has visited the state plenty as well, most recently in June, at the same time as the state GOP convention, to discuss initiatives to help service members and young adults looking for jobs.

In August, Bidens campaign announced $25 million in ad spending in North Carolina and other battleground states, indicating the important of the state in his 2024 presidential reelection bid. North Carolina has opted for Republican presidential candidates in recent years but has also elected Democrats to state offices, making the state appealing to both parties.

This historic buy ensures that the Presidents message reaches all Americans where they receive their news, and sends a clear sign that we are investing in an aggressive, meaningful, and effective paid media strategy, said Julia Chavez Rodriguez, Bidens campaign manager, as previously reported by The News & Observer.
BEIRUT, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's private sector on Thursday launched the Syndicate of Contractors and Subcontractors for Petroleum Activities and Services as the country started oil and gas exploration in its territorial waters.

A statement released by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Beirut quoted the head of the Syndicate, Bernard Jerdi, as saying that the syndicate would work with a pressure group for its own national goals and enhance cooperation with all parties to ensure the highest professional standards.

Jerdi added that the syndicate will collaborate with oil and gas contractors and qualified people in the private and public sectors to fit the highest international safety and technology standards and play an influential role on behalf of the sector's contractors and subcontractors.

Mohammad Choucair, president of the Chamber, said the creation of the syndicate coincides with a sensitive and decisive stage in the historical path of petroleum activities in Lebanon.

Choucair said he hoped that the discoveries in Block 9 would be commercial, which would help Lebanon overcome its economic and financial crises.

On Aug. 29, TotalEnergies launched the oil and gas exploration activities in Block 9 of Lebanon's territorial waters.

TotalEnergies is the operator of Block 9 with a stake of 35 percent, along with its partners Eni, 35 percent, and Qatar Energy, 30 percent.

Lebanon needs revenues from the oil and gas sector as the country reels under an unprecedented financial crisis. 
Washington will soon have more than $60 million to fight the fentanyl epidemic across the state.

In the next three months, Walmart will pay $62.6 million to the state after Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson investigated the retailer for its part in fueling the opioid epidemic as a pharmacy.

The money will be distributed equally between state and local governments.

The money is part of $1.1 billion the AGs Office has recovered from 11 companies. Under the resolution, the funds must be used to battle the opioid epidemic.

The state Attorney Generals Office has trials upcoming against an opioid manufacturer and pharmacies it says played a part in the epidemic.

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This is real money that funds real resources that will save lives, Ferguson said. But I am not done here. My office still litigates active cases, which we will use to hold all companies that fueled the opioid epidemic accountable. My team is working to bring even more money and resources back to affected Washington communities.

Here is a list of the top five counties receiving the most money from the resolutions so far.

King County, $112.5 million

Pierce County, $52 million

Snohomish County, $51 million

Spokane County, $38.3 million

Clark County, $29.3 million

As part of its resolution, Walmart will tightly monitor opioid prescriptions and prevent patients from seeking multiple prescriptions. Washington states money comes from an overall $3.1 billion multistate resolution with Walmart, a news release from the AGs Office said.
Deep within a muddy storm drain was an adorable critter crying for help amid a Texas heatwave.

Walmart workers heard the cries, then called first responders, according to a Facebook post from Orange County Emergency Services District #1.

Rescuers responded to the Walmart Supercenter in Vidor at about noon Wednesday, Sept. 6.

Once on scene, the fire crews had to climb into the storm drain through a manhole, photos show. A rescuer then crawled 30 feet into the drain, where he found a trapped kitten.

Contrary to popular belief its not an everyday thing that we get to help out a kitten in a tight situation, the department said. And no we dont have to save cats out of trees but storm drains are another thing, especially in this heat wave.

Thanks for just being decent human beings, one person commented. Youre all heroes!

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Thank yall for saving this baby!!! another Facebook user wrote. And awesome job to the employees of Walmart for being so observant!

Thank you for your compassion and saving the little kittens life! someone else said. You are a true HERO!

Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Sept. 7.

Vidor is about 95 miles east of Houston.

Newly adopted kitten needs rescuing on the ride home, Georgia photos show. Meet Dash

Driver pulls over to check noises coming from engine and finds joyriding stowaways

Small creature was clinging to ferry terminal piling. Photos show workers rush to help
Ukrainian national team star, Mykhailo Mudryk, shared his thoughts ahead of Ukraines EURO 2024 qualification match against England in an interview with the YouTube channel VZBIRNA on Sept. 6.

Ukraine will be the underdog in the match against England, but despite this, the blue-and-yellow are determined to defeat their famous opponents, said Mudryk, who also stars for English club Chelsea.

Read also: Ukrainian footballers in England, Shevchenko, Mudryk and Zinchenko, visited Okean Elzy concert in London

Theyre the favorites. They may think theyll grab three points and win. Thats normal. But if you believe youll lose, its better not to step onto the field, especially when youre playing for the Ukrainian national team.

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We also want to win. We dont want to take points away from England; we just want to pocket those points for ourselves, he added.

Read also: Manchester City legend assesses Chelseas swoop for Mudryk

The Ukraine-England match will take place on Sept. 9 in Wroclaw, Poland and will kick off at 7:00 p.m. EET.

Earlier, it was reported that midfielder Mykola Shaparenko would not participate in the Euro 2024 qualifiers against England and Italy.

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
ASHTABULA, Ohio (WJW)  Surveillance cameras were recording on Tuesday when an offender used a trip to an Ace Hardware store in Ohio to ditch his electronic tether.

Authorities use ankle bracelets as one way to track the movements of lawbreakers, and on occasion, suspects try to remove the GPS devices.

$1M top prize for local scratch-off player

Security video shows the man wandering around the Ashtabula store before he was approached by an employee. He told her that he was looking for hedge clippers. After being shown the tool, the man walked just out of sight of a surveillance camera.

A short time later, he placed a small black item on a store shelf in Aisle 1. He then grabbed a free bag of popcorn, walked out the door and was last seen grabbing a backpack and riding away on a bicycle.

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Fifteen minutes later, employees found an ankle bracelet stashed on the shelf and realized the man had used the hedge clippers to cut off the GPS monitor.

Maybe he thought that it was an out-of-the-way spot, that hed just come in and we have hedge clippers, store manager Cheryl Haytcher told Nexstars WJW. The other stores in the plaza do not have them, and we were the helpful hardware folks with the hedge clippers, yes we were.

When the employees called Ashtabula police, they were told it was not a police matter. Thats when they decided to call the number listed on the ankle bracelet, which connected them with the Ohio Adult Parole Authority.

Later that day, two parole officers came to the store, picked up the monitor and thanked the employees.

I think its important because for some reason the state of Ohio separated him from the population for something that he did. I do not know what it was, and they allowed him to go home with an ankle monitor as part of his release, and he did not follow the rules, so, therefore, I believe its a public service that he should have been turned in, said Haytcher.

Investigation reveals ginsengs tie to Ohio drug trade

In fact, Haytcher and her employees say they were being the helpful hardware folks by reporting the man.

So that he can hopefully turn his life around and do the right thing. Theres plenty of places in town that will help people that need help, she said.

WJW was waiting to hear from state authorities on the identity of the suspect, the charges that he was facing and his current status.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com.
A new NASA moon rover prototype is practicing for its big day.

An ice-hunting moon rover, called VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover), is expected to launch no sooner than 2024 atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket for the lunar south pole.

To get ready for its first crawl down its lander's ramp, engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston sent the prototype rover down a ramp in an indoor facility. The ramp was tilted at several angles to simulate different exit strategies the rover might need to take from a lander built by private company Astrobotic, when it goes on the surface for real near Nobile Crater. NASA caught the preparations on video, showing a prototype rover slowly inching away from its lander to the surface.

"On a roll!" NASA officials wrote Tuesday (Sept. 5) in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), alongside the video. The agency added that the rover will do crucial work ahead of astronauts going to the same region, which is expected to begin with the Artemis 3 landing excursion set for no earlier than 2025 or 2026.

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Related: Can NASA's Artemis moon missions count on using lunar water ice?

An artist's depiction of the VIPER rover at work on the lunar surface.

NASA's Artemis program aims to restart moon exploration with astronauts, and to set up a permanent settlement at the moon's south pole. VIPER will be crucial in facilitating that goal, according to NASA, because the rover has a main mission of searching for water ice on the moon's surface. The mission has been delayed two years from its initial target launch of 2022 due to readiness of various components.

Related Stories

 Can NASA's Artemis moon missions count on using lunar water ice?

 Why Chandrayaan-3 landed near the moon's south pole  and why everyone else wants to get there too

 See Artemis 3 landing site near moon's south pole in stunning new NASA photos

Satellite images from orbit, especially from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter , suggest that there are troves of water ice near by the moon's south pole in permanently shadowed craters, where the sun can't reach. Assessing the extent of that ice, however, will require a series of ground missions.

Aside from funding Artemis alongside a network of international partners, NASA also has a program for small robotic missions to reach the moon's south pole  and other lunar spots. The agency's Commercial Lunar Services Program (CLPS) may send its first payloads to the moon as soon as this year, pending readiness of the rockets and the payloads themselves.
A watchdog group is suing to remove Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot, saying he violated the constitution and is disqualified from holding future office.

The lawsuit is so far one of the strongest challenges to Trumps eligibility to seek re-election.

Related: Major blow to Trump as judge limits second E Jean Carroll trial to damages

According to the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, the former president violated section 3 of the 14th amendment, also known as the Disqualification Clause, with his involvement in the January 6 US Capitol attack. The section bars any federal or state official that has previously taken an oath from holding office after they engaged in insurrection or rebellion.

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Two prominent conservative legal scholars recently authored a lengthy law review article arguing that Trump is disqualified from holding office under the 14th amendment.

The bottom line is that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection or rebellion and gave aid or comfort to others engaging in such conduct, within the original meaning of those terms as employed in section 3 of the 14th amendment, William Baude of the University of Chicago and Michael Stokes Paulsen of the University of St Thomas wrote in their 126-page article, which traces the history and original understanding of the amendment. If the public record is accurate, the case is not even close.

Trump has dismissed attempts to remove him from the ballot as election interference, his umbrella cry against the long list of felony charges he faces in Georgia and in federal court for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.

Almost all legal scholars have voiced opinions that the 14th Amendment has no legal basis or standing relative to the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election, Trump claimed in a post to his social media platform Truth Social on Monday, calling arguments based on the amendment a trick being used by leftists to steal an election.

The DC-based group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew), is representing six Colorado voters  who are either Republican or unaffiliated with a political party  seeking to remove Trump from their states ballot in next years general election.

In addition to Colorado, other states are bracing for similar lawsuits challenging Trumps eligibility including Arizona, Michigan and New Hampshire.

Its unclear what the exact procedure will be for challenging Trumps eligibility, and it could vary by state. Either way, the US supreme court is expected to weigh in soon on whether Trump is eligible.

If the very fabric of our democracy is to hold, we must ensure that the Constitution is enforced and the same people who attacked our democratic system not be put in charge of it, said Crews president, Noah Bookbinder, in a statement on Wednesday.

Last year, Crew represented New Mexico residents who successfully sued to remove their county commissioner, Couy Griffin, who participated in the January 6 riot. A federal judge ruled that the attack was indeed an insurrection, and that Griffins participation disqualified him from holding office.
Local Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff failed to properly alert national-level colleagues to lead contamination in the water in a Michigan city, an internal watchdog said Thursday.

A new report issued by the office of the EPAs inspector general noted that staff in the EPAs Midwest region did not use the agencys elevation policy to alert national officials about the presence of lead in the water in Benton Harbor, Mich.

The policy in question was developed in 2016 after the Flint water crisis exposed residents to lead in their tap water, the report said.

It said that the Benton Harbor situation  where the local water system was found to have excess levels of lead, a neurotoxin  met four of the five criteria for elevation to the national level, including a substantial threat to public health.

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The report concludes that this calls into question the circumstances under which staff would elevate any concern.

Children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure, which can cause them brain and nervous system damage, slowed growth and development and other problems with learning, behavior, hearing and speech.

The report notes that an EPA staff member who was involved in monitoring Michigans response to the issue in Benton Harbor said the state was addressing the issue in a timely manner.

In an official response, the EPAs regional office serving several Midwest states blasted the report as inaccurate.

A letter from officials at the EPAs Midwest office said that regional staff did alert the EPA administrator via normal elevation channels rather than a separate channel.

They said that the administrators senior-level team had ample opportunity to assess and recommend steps for resolving the issues and noted that then-EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler visited the town in 2020 and announced a grant to replace its lead service lines.

They also said that there are hundreds of cases of excess pollution in the region and said that if Agency staff were to invoke the elevation policy to elevate any issue that meets some of the elevation policy criteria, the separate elevation channel would be completely overwhelmed.

Reached for comment, the agency also issued a written statement saying that EPAs involvement was instrumental to driving actions to ensure that the people of Benton Harbor are protected from exposure to lead in drinking water.

EPA worked closely with Michigan, the city of Benton Harbor, and the drinking water system on short-term solutions, including providing bottled water to residents while expeditiously working to replace all lead service lines in the city, the EPA said.

Meanwhile, the national EPA office in its official response noted that the elevation policy was reaffirmed in December and said it is effective and working as intended.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Emmy Award-winning "CBS News Sunday Morning" is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. "Sunday Morning" also streams on the CBS News app beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET. (Download it here.)

Guest host: Lee Cowan

WATCH THE FULL SEPTEMBER 10 BROADCAST!

Walter Isaacson's latest book, published by Simon & Schuster (a division of Paramount Global), is a biography of the adventurous high tech businessman Elon Musk. / Credit: CBS News

COVER STORY: Walter Isaacson on Elon Musk | Watch Video

The bestselling biographer of such inventive personalities as Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein and Steve Jobs has written a new book about Elon Musk, the volatile billionaire who has built electric cars, launched rockets, and thrown wrenches into the war between Russia and Ukraine. Walter Isaacson talks with correspondent David Pogue about the ways in which Musk's companies are reshaping history, as well as the celebrity CEO's dramatic personality and his propensity to "go dark."

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READ AN EXCERPT: "Elon Musk" by Walter Isaacson

For more info:

"Elon Musk" by Walter Isaacson (Simon & Schuster), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available September 12 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.orgFollow Walter Isaacson on Twitter (X)



HEADLINES: Morocco earthquake death toll surpasses 2,000 (Video)

The government of Morocco announced three days of national mourning after what is being called the most powerful earthquake in the region in at least 100 years. Friday's quake shook the historic tourist town of Marrakesh and surrounding regions, but villages in the Atlas Mountains suffered the greatest damage and may be the hardest to reach, raising the specter of a humanitarian disaster. Lee Cowan reports.



ALMANAC: September 10 (Video)

"Sunday Morning" looks at important historical events on this date.

Vanessa German's

ARTS: Art on the Mall: American diversity on display (Video)

The first-ever curated exhibition on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., presents works from a diverse range of artists telling stories previously untold amid our nation's historic monuments. Correspondent Faith Salie reports on the installation "Beyond Granite: Pulling Together," which presents a more inclusive representation of America.

For more info:

"Beyond Granite: Pulling Together: New Perspectives on the National Mall" (through September 18)Derrick AdamsVanessa German (Instagram)Tiffany ChungAshon T. CrawleyWendy Red StarPaul Ramirez JonasMonument LabNational Park ServiceTrust for the National Mall

Michael Bloomberg with correspondent Mo Rocca at the Perelman Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center in New York City. / Credit: CBS News

ARTS: Michael Bloomberg on reviving lower Manhattan through the arts | Watch Video

The $500 million Perelman Performing Arts Center, opening later this month, is the final major piece of redevelopment at the World Trade Center site in New York City. Former mayor and major benefactor Mike Bloomberg gives correspondent Mo Rocca a tour of The PAC, and discusses the arts' power to transform a neighborhood and a city.

For more info:

Perelman Performing Arts Center (The PAC)Bloomberg Philanthropies



PASSAGE: In memoriam (Video)

"Sunday Morning" remembers some of the notable figures who left us this week, including actor-comedian Arleen Sorkin, best known for playing Calliope Jones on "Days of Our Lives," and as the voice of Harley Quinn on "Batman: The Animated Series."

The Colombian megastar Maluma, with correspondent Lilia Luciano. / Credit: CBS News

MUSIC: Maluma on dreaming big | Watch Video

The reggaeton hits of Colombian megastar singer Maluma, including "Borro Cassette" and "El Perdedor," have surpassed 50 billion streams worldwide. But his success has gone far beyond the world of music. Correspondent Lilia Luciano talked with the 29-year-old Maluma (a.k.a. Juan Luis Londono Arias) about his skyrocketing career, and the arts foundation he created in Medellin for at-risk youth.

For more info:

Maluma (Official site) | Tour infoEl Arte de los Suenos (Foundation)



HARTMAN: Paying it forward (Video)

Chesterfield, Pa., utilities worker Calvin Godette has been gifting strangers  buying them coffee, groceries or gas  without thinking about much in return. A few months ago, he spotted a woman behind him at a fast-food drive-through who seemed sad, and decided he'd pay for her order. His generosity inspired the recently-widowed Denise Walters to further acts of kindness. Correspondent Steve Hartman reports.

Oprah Winfrey and Arthur Brooks, who have co-written a new book about happiness. / Credit: CBS News

BOOKS: Oprah Winfrey and Arthur Brooks on charting a course for happiness | Watch Video

During the pandemic, Oprah Winfrey contacted Harvard professor Arthur Brooks, famed for his lessons on happiness, and proposed teaming up to write a book about finding enjoyment and meaning in your life. CBS News' Norah O'Donnell talks with Winfrey and Brooks about their collaboration, "Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier," and about the importance of accepting unhappiness in order to gain fulfillment.

READ AN EXCERPT: "Build the Life You Want" by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey

PREVIEW: Oprah Winfrey: Envy is "the great destroyer" of happiness | Watch Video

For more info:

"Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier" by Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey (Portfolio), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available September 12 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.orgArthur Brooksoprah.comAmy's Bread Cafe at the Museum of the City of New York

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley with correspondent David Martin at the Pentagon. / Credit: CBS News

WORLD: Gen. Mark Milley on seeing through the fog of war in Ukraine | Watch Video

No American has been more deeply involved in the war in Ukraine than Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He took CBS News national security correspondent David Martin to a top secret Pentagon command center where his staff tracks Ukraine's counter-offensive against invading Russian forces. The U.S. is sharing battlefield intelligence with Ukraine, Milley said, but its military retains "target selection and authority to strike."

For more info:

General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Chef Mario Carbone adding red wine to his Sunday sauce. / Credit: CBS News

FOOD: The secrets of chef Mario Carbone's Sunday sauce (Video)

For generations of Italian-American families, a pot of tomato sauce simmering for hours has been a tradition for bringing the family together. And for chef Mario Carbone, whose namesake New York City restaurant is what he calls a "red sauce joint," a Sunday sauce filled with ground beef, ground veal and pork sausage is a twist on his family's recipe. Correspondent Kelefa Sanneh gets a taste.

For more info:

Carbone, New York CityCarbone Fine Food



COMMENTARY: One peril facing job-hunters? Being ghosted | Watch Video

To those searching for work online, the job market can be frighteningly similar to online dating. Writer Brad Mislow offers advice to those facing a lot of potential employers swiping left.

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Brad Mislow (Official site)





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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Record-holding sailor Bill Pinkney (YouTube Video)

Bill Pinkney, the first African American sailor to circumnavigate the globe solo along the treacherous southern route, died August 31, 2023 at age 87. In this "CBS Sunday Morning" profile that aired on July 9, 2000, Pinkney - a trustee of the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut - talked with Charles Osgood about his solo voyage: "If one has no dreams, what future do they have?" He also talks about overseeing construction of a replica of the slave ship Amistad, and of piloting a voyage to Africa as a history lesson for schoolchildren about the slave trade.

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GALLERY: Notable deaths in 2023

A look back at the esteemed personalities who left us this year, who'd touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.

GALLERY: Summer music heats up 2023

Live performances are in full swing this summer. Scroll through our concert gallery, featuring pictures by CBS News photojournalist Jake Barlow and photographers Ed Spinelli and Kirstine Walton.

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Face The Nation: Harris, McKenzie, Sanger

Level of secrecy within Chinese President Xi Jinping's regime is "unprecedented"

Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie says ISIS is a more "enduring" threat than al Qaeda
DHAKA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Sweden is contributing 150 million Swedish krona (13 million U.S. dollars) to improve the lives of children in Bangladesh through Sweden's partnership with the UN children's agency UNICEF, UNICEF said on Thursday.

The funds will be used to support UNICEF's Country Program in Bangladesh with a focus on health, nutrition, WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) and child protection, it said.

"I am delighted that this substantial contribution of flexible, multi-year funding from the Government of Sweden will enable UNICEF Bangladesh to channel resources where they are needed most," said Sheldon Yett, UNICEF representative to Bangladesh, was quoted as saying in a statement.

UNICEF said it will continue ongoing programs including strengthening primary healthcare, providing safe water and sanitation, and protecting women and children from violence, abuse and neglect.

Swedish Ambassador Alex Berg von Linde said, "Children are our common future. Sweden firmly believes that investing in a safe and healthy environment for children is essential for the wellbeing of society at large."

"I am happy to enter into this partnership with UNICEF, where Sweden can continue to support children's rights and wellbeing in Bangladesh," she added. 
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  The rumors are true: Wendys is launching new pumpkin spice-flavored menu items available for a limited time this fall.

The pumpkin spice Frosty and pumpkin spice Frosty cold brew are joining menus nationwide beginning Sept. 12, the Dublin, Ohio-based chain announced on Wednesday. Joining the chocolate Frosty on menus, the new Frosty merges the same creamy texture fans know with hints of pumpkin and a blend of warm spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg.

From our summertime strawberry Frosty to last years holiday peppermint Frosty, and now our fall pumpkin spice Frosty, we are all about meeting our Frosty fans where they are by bringing familiar, and iconic, seasonal flavors to the menu, said Lindsay Radkoski, Wendys U.S. Chief Marketing Officer.

Wendys new Pumpkin Spice Frosty and Pumpkin Spice Frosty Cold Brew available Sept. 12. (Courtesy Photo/Wendys)

Wendys new Pumpkin Spice Frosty available Sept. 12. (Courtesy Photo/Wendys)

Wendys new Pumpkin Spice Frosty Cold Brew available Sept. 12. (Courtesy Photo/Wendys)

Wendys new Pumpkin Spice Frosty available Sept. 12. (Courtesy Photo/Wendys)

Wendys new Pumpkin Spice Frosty available Sept. 12. (Courtesy Photo/Wendys)

The new cold brew will be available to order alongside Wendys vanilla, caramel and chocolate flavors. Using the same syrup from the Frosty, the chain said the cold brew merges coffee with classic Frosty creamer swirled over ice.

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We took the iconic pumpkin spice flavor that fans look forward to every year and blended it with our tried-and-true Frosty creamer, for a fall experience fans cant find anywhere else, said John Li, Wendys Global Vice President of Culinary Innovation.

Speculation of new limited-time-only menu items began after an alleged Wendys employee posted on Reddit in August that locations were beginning preparations for new pumpkin spice beverages.

Just got told by my [general manager] today that we are getting Pumpkin Spice for the fall frosty, the post reads. Also for the coffee, but didnt clarify if for the hot coffee or cold brew.

While the chain did not disclose to Nexstars WCMH in August if it was developing new menu items, Wendys said it was always looking to spice things up on the Frosty front.

Three-legged bear breaks into Florida home, drinks White Claws

Markie Devo, a New York-based food blogger, also claimed in an August 4 Instagram post that Wendys was set to debut a pumpkin spice Frosty and cold brew. Devo said Wendys stores would begin selling the pumpkin spice Frosty only after the ingredients for the strawberry Frosty had run out, so some locations may offer the Frosty sooner than others.

Wendys wants to set off the fall mood with this new pumpkin spice flavor, Devo wrote. The vanilla Frosty will act as the base alongside the new pumpkin mix.

The company is now joining chains like Starbucks and Dunkin by offering pumpkin spice-flavored items for the fall. Pumpkin spice lattes returned at Dunkin on August 15, while the popular drink returned to Starbucks on August 24.

For a limited time beginning Sept. 13, only Uber One members can buy a Pumpkin Spice Frosty, get one for free and get a free medium fry. If you find yourself at your local Wendys between now and Oct. 31, pick up a Wendys Frosty Boo! Books coupon pamphlet for just $1. The coupon book comes with coupons for five free Jr. Frosty treats, even good for the pumpkin Frosty, that can be redeemed at participating Wendys until the end of the year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com.
With the school year starting, eastern Connecticut schools have varying needs when it comes to having enough substitutes to run a classroom.

So far, Lebanon Public Schools has enough substitutes to meet its needs so far. Finding substitutes when teachers are out through the year may be a challenge, Superintendent Andrew Gonzalez said.

Were doing everything we can as a district to make ourselves marketable, he said.

Other schools in eastern Connecticut have a more stable picture for their substitute situation. Norwich Free Academy, for example, has two full-time substitutes who take assignments daily. The school also has a list of substitutes it can call on when needed. However, NFA is always looking for qualified subs to be ready as needed, Communications Director Mike OFarrell stated in an email.

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For Killingly Public Schools, the substitute need can vary, but actually securing substitute pay has always been difficult, as other schools may pay more, and some substitutes serve in multiple schools. Substitutes can also be particular about what age range they prefer teaching, Assistant Superintendent Diane Summa said during the summer.

It can be a geographical kind of thing, or if their kids are in that school system, she said.

Killingly Intermediate School

Lebanon Public Schools daily substitute pay rate last year was $105 for non-certified positions, and $126 for certified positions , which is an average rate for the area. Killingly, Sterling and Stafford paid more, Canterbury was the same, and Bozrah and Brooklyn paid less, for example. However, the technical school system pays the most for substitute teachers, so the public schools need to compete against them to get substitutes, Gonzalez said.

Additionally, Lebanon is an out-of-the-way town, so potential substitutes would pass Colchester or Hebron to the west or go through Norwich or Windham from the east to get there.

This said, Lebanon Public Schools is using advertising on social media and on its website to alert people to substitute teaching availability. The district has still been able to create a pool of dedicated substitutes to draw on, who are loyal to the district and enjoy its values and culture, Gonzalez said.

We hope that once our new subs join, we hope that they feel that sense of connection and that close knit environment, he said.

When substitutes arent available, teachers are asked to cover multiple classes, possibly during their prep time or free time, Summa said.

It creates a financial situation, because youre asking them to extend what their schedule was built on, she said.

Long-term substitutes

To fill a longer-term opening, Killingly Public Schools will use durational shortage area permit personnel. These people are state-approved, and have a college degree close enough to the class subject that needs to be taught, Summa said.

If Killingly would need someone to teach a math class, but a math teacher cant be found, the district might present the state with someone that has a technology bachelors degree, but took a lot of math courses for state approval, Summa said.

Lebanon Public Schools follows state guidelines, and would also utilize any flexibility the state would give for substitutes. This includes bringing in Lyman Memorial High School alumni studying education to serve as substitutes when possible, Gonzalez said.

When substitutes arent available, building principals in Lebanon have to rearrange schedules so other teachers can cover multiple classes, or move more students into the same classroom, Gonzalez said.

Definitely not ideal, but we have a very flexible and understanding staff that know the situation and are willing to help, he said.

Many people left education during the pandemic, and made all kinds of teacher shortages more prevalent than before. Summa began her education career in the 1970s, and much has changed. Accountability, assessments and mandates make it a difficult profession to get people into, Summa said.

Im not sure if young people are going into the profession any longer, she said.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Eastern CT schools face shortage of substitute teachers - how they deal
The Biden administration this week said it would bar oil drilling on millions of acres on Alaska's North Slope and cancel oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, stepping up its effort to protect sensitive federal land.

How much land will the regulations protect?

The new regulations are intended to prohibit drilling on nearly half of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, America's biggest public land holding. The conservation effort would permanently protect 10.6 million acres, and impose strict safeguards covering energy exploration on another 2.4 million acres of the reserve, according to The Washington Post. Separately, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced that she was canceling all seven outstanding leases for oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a pristine 1.5-million-acre coastal plain in Alaska's northeast corner.

Wasn't oil drilling banned there previously?

Drilling was banned in the refuge for six decades. The refuge  home to grizzly and polar bears, snowy owls, migratory birds, and herds of moose and caribou  is the nation's largest remaining expanse of unspoiled wilderness. But, notes The New York Times, it also "sits atop an estimated 11 billion barrels of oil and, for years, the fossil fuel industry, members of the Alaskan congressional delegation, and state leaders have lobbied for drilling." Congress voted in 2017 to order lease sales, and then-President Donald Trump signed the law to clear the way for energy exploration.

Why did the Biden administration wait until now to act?

Technically, it didn't. President Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office halting Arctic drilling. That summer, he also suspended the leases Trump granted. Alaska challenged that decision, but a court last month said the administration could put a hold on the leases while it reviewed the environmental impact. The Biden administration said it found "multiple legal deficiencies" in the Trump administration's assessment of the environmental impact, the Times reported. Two leaseholders had already asked for their contracts to be canceled. Haaland has now canceled the remaining ones, which were held by Alaska's development authority and covered 365,000 acres.

What was the reaction?

Republicans were livid. "This war on Alaska is devastating for not only Alaska but also the energy security of the nation," Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Even some Alaska Democrats were mad, arguing that blocking oil and gas drilling in the refuge would deprive Indigenous communities in an area of desperately needed jobs. "I will continue to advocate for them and for Alaska's ability to explore and develop our natural resources," Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) told The Associated Press. But environmentalists had a very different reaction.

What do they think of the drilling restrictions?

Many environmentalists were thrilled. Abigail Dillen, president of Earthjustice, told Bloomberg News that canceling the Trump-era refuge leases "undoes an egregious attack on this cherished place" and "will help to vindicate the rights of Indigenous people and protect vital habitat." The Sierra Club's executive director, Ben Jealous, told Bloomberg that "drilling in the Arctic Refuge is incompatible with the long-term survival of the Arctic, the Gwich'in Nation's way of life, and life as we know it... By protecting these landscapes and canceling these leases, the White House has made it clear they will take bold action to avert climate catastrophe." But not all climate activists agree.

Why not?

Some are still simmering over Biden's decision earlier this year to approve the enormous $8 billion Willow oil drilling project in the same area. Some environmentalists said the new protections weren't enough to make up for the betrayal they felt over that "carbon bomb." Others said the new regulations were a good start toward getting back to fulfilling Biden's campaign promise of "no new drilling, period." "It is good news. It's not mission accomplished, but it preserves a path to permanent protection of the Arctic refuge," Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who has proposed legislation to permanently ban drilling there, told The Hill. "We shouldn't be opening up public lands to any new fossil fuel development let alone a uniquely pristine place like the Arctic refuge."

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You probably don't think much about tin cans, even when you're buying one. It's the product inside the cansoup, beans, maybe hairspray or sunscreenthat seems to matter.

But the humble tin can is both a crucial component of modern, globe-spanning supply chains and a product of them: About half of the metal used to make tin cans in the U.S. is imported from abroad. And that's why tin cansmore specifically, tinplate steel, the type of metal used to make those cansare at the center of a behind-the-scenes fight over tariffs that illustrates so many of the problems with protectionist policies.

On one side of that fight is Cleveland-Cliffs, one of just two companies in the U.S. that produces tinplate steel. In a recent petition to the Commerce Department, Cleveland-Cliffs asked for tariffs of up to 300 percent against imported tinplate steelthe products that account for over half of the supply of tinplate in the American economy.

Those tariffs will translate into reduced supply and higher prices, says Tom Madrecki, vice president of supply chain and logistics for the Consumer Brands Association.

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"When the tariffs go into effect, they raise the cost of steel, they raise the cost of the packaging," says Madrecki. The can itself is often the most expensive element of a canned food item, so those prices quickly cause the overall price tag to rise. "You [will] see food prices go up 19 to 30 percent. That translates to 36 to 58 cents per can," he says.

And while new tariffs might protect some tinplate-making jobs at Cleveland-Cliffs, research suggests the higher prices will cause far greater losses throughout the rest of the economy. The Trade Partnership, a think tank, estimates that the proposed tariffs could cause up to 40,000 jobs to be lost in downstream industries, including blue-collar jobs like can-making and food production. If the steel in their tin cans is suddenly more expensive, food production companies might simply purchase finishedand less-highly-tariffedcans overseas.

"You're going to go to the grocery store one dayand you're going to look at the receipt in disbelief and say, 'How did this happen?'" says Gerard Scimeca, chairman of Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, a free market group that opposes the tariff proposal. "Well, this is how that happened: You had a company trying to take advantage of our trade policy for personal gain."

And here's the real kicker: As a rule, the Department of Commerce doesn't even consider the potential (and often obvious) consequences of these decisions. The tariff petition process is one-sided and skewed heavily in favor of companies seeking protectionism at the expense of consumers and workers throughout the economy.

Government policy, no surprise, is one of the big reasons why we can't have nice things.

Further reading for this week's episode:

"Biden Administration Considering New Tariffs That Will Hike Prices for Canned Goods," by Eric Boehm, Reason.

"U.S. Plans New Tariffs on Food-Can Metal From China, Germany, and Canada," by Yuka Hayashi, The Wall Street Journal

"Tinplate Steel Tariffs Will Harm American Consumers and Manufacturing Jobs," by the Consumer Brands Association

"Four Areas for Congress To Exercise Trade Policy Oversight," by Tori Smith, American Action Forum

Written by Eric Boehm; produced and edited by Hunt Beaty; mixing by Ian Keyser; fact-checking by Katherine Sypher.

The post <em>Why We Can't Have Nice Things</em>: Can You Afford Tariffs on Tin Cans? appeared first on Reason.com.
An eastern edge of Sacramento juts out like a lone finger on a map, stretching from Watt Avenue down Auburn Boulevard to the exit ramps off Interstate 80. This land is the latest test of relations between the city and Sacramento County, which has taken the first steps toward annexing the land away from the city and into the county.

The underlying motivations go far beyond jurisdictional lines. Some neighbors last month sued the city for its operation of a year-old homeless respite center on city-owned land. Other neighbors have some real complaints about the condition of a city-run regional park.

Opinion

The neighbors who want the homeless shelter to vanish would not like any conceivable deal that would emerge. But there is a good-government reason for this finger of land to be the impetus for a much broader conversation about both homeless and park services.

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County supervisors on a 4-0 vote adopted a resolution seeking the citys consent to review this stretch of Auburn Boulevard before the Local Agency Formation Commission, the countys judicial body for all border issues.

It is literally a peninsula that sticks out there, said board Chair Rich Desmond. An inherent challenge is the city of Sacramento is not accountable to the citizens surrounding this peninsula, who all live in the unincorporated county.

Neighbors who testified at the hearing largely spoke about the condition of the citys Del Paso Regional Park, which occupies the easternmost section of this peninsula.

For the last 25 years at least, there has been no incentive on the citys part to invest in the park east of Watt Avenue, said Doug Ose, the former third district Congressman who lives in the area and remains a neighborhood activist. There are no city residents that live within two miles of this location. None. Zero.

It is too far from the city, said neighbor Charles Duckworth. Too far from the police. Too far to maintain.

Juliette Porro, who lives nearby, said: Del Paso does have the potential to be the kind of park and nature area that I would take my kids to All it needs is leaders who take care. It is time for someone else to be in charge.

But in all the careful messaging, there is clearly a community kabuki going on here. At this supervisors meeting, what was rarely mentioned was a city-run facility for the homeless on this finger of land. And if the county were to ever annex this land back from the city, undoubtedly the supervisors would hear an earful about trying to somehow get rid of it.

Porro and Duckworth, as examples, both happen to be among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed on August 17 in Sacramento County Superior Court that contends that a city homeless shelter in the peninsula is illegal.

Hope Cooperative since last September has run the 50-bed Outreach and Engagement Center at 3615 Auburn Boulevard. Respite Center guests are provided meals, showers, sleeping accommodations, case management, and referrals to services and shelters, explains Hope on its website. Residents can spend 23 hours every day at the site.

The center got no worse than mixed reviews from neighbors shortly after it opened late last year. But there is clearly opposition, leaving the county supervisors to carefully navigate through their constituents objections to homeless services as they understandably seek a dialogue with the city.

This action is not intended to impact the city shelter that is city property, said Desmond. However, he said, It does influence why we are having that discussion today.

No supervisor took the opportunity to defend the city, the need to provide homeless services, Hope Cooperative or this facility. Sometimes what isnt said is as important as what is.

Meanwhile, the neighbors/plaintiffs are claiming that Measure O, approved by city voters in 2022, precludes a homeless shelter operating on the site.

The lawsuit reads: The city is prohibited from establishing and maintaining a homeless shelter within 1000 feet of certain identified uses: schools, playgrounds, as well as several other key places set forth in the ordinance such as distance from streams, etc., or within parks...Plaintiffs have no other recourse but to file this lawsuit and seek court intervention.

The litigation, sadly, repeats a familiar message directed by neighborhoods to Sacramento City Hall: Make the homeless issue somebody elses problem, somewhere else.

Both the city and the county need to add shelter capacity on a scale that meets the homeless challenge. The need is in the thousands, not hundreds, of new needed shelter spaces. With more than 9,000 people estimated as homeless in Sacramento County, that is what we are all up against.

The county has laudably opened a new small-home shelter program off Florin Road, and it is planning more shelter opportunities in North Highlands along Watt Avenue.

However, the city needs the county to match its efforts above and beyond the limited partnership and develop even more homeless-managed areas. Likewise, the county has a solid case that it can better manage Del Paso Park given how it is surrounded by its own constituents.

All local governments have to work together to make progress on homelessness and the public should hold them equally accountable, from the city to the county, to the district attorney, to the courts and to the state.

The coming debate over this peninsula of city land along Auburn Boulevard hopefully leads to a new and bigger partnership that benefits the region, the neighborhood and this regional park.
The U.S. is bristling over a potential military support deal between North Korea and Russia, which would likely further entrench the grinding war in Ukraine and bolster Pyongyangs nuclear aims.

North Korea is considering supplying Moscow with artillery rounds and rockets in return for critical technology and food, in a deal that could be inked later this month during a planned visit by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to Moscow.

David Maxwell, the vice president at the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy, said it was in both North Korean and Russian interests to follow through on the deal, and Kim especially might see a trade as another way to bolster his image.

From a North Korean perspective, I think Kim Jong Un values the meeting because it makes him appear as somewhat relevant, Maxwell said. Im sure that well see their domestic internal propaganda spin this as one of the quasi-great powers coming to beg for aid from North Korea.

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North Korea has not directly supported Russias armed forces during the war in Ukraine, although Pyongyang did reportedly supply the mercenary company Wagner Group with rockets and artillery. That led to U.S. sanctions against North Korean entities responsible for the arms transfers.

But U.S. officials have recently warned that the North Korea-Russia ties may soon tighten.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to North Korea in July and asked for military support, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who said Russia was growing increasingly desperate to fill its munition stocks in the Ukraine war.

We have continued to squeeze Russias defense industrial base and they are now going about looking to whatever source they can find, Sullivan told reporters Tuesday.

The conflict in Ukraine has devolved into a grinding war of attrition, one in which Russian President Vladimir Putin hopes to prevail by outlasting Ukraine. Artillery rounds are among the most important types of munitions on both sides  the U.S. has even turned to allies (including South Korea) for help to keep up with Ukraines expenditure rates.

Russian forces are expending artillery at a much higher rate than Ukraine, and while they are not desperate, they do need additional sources of production, said George Beebe, director of grand strategy at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

This is a war thats being fought over resources, the ability to generate forces to supply the battle lines with arms and ammunition, he said. Russia has big advantages in both those areas. So the Russians are trying to preserve their advantages.

North Korea, which is still technically at war with South Korea in a frozen conflict, has a strong defense industrial base for the production of artillery shells. North Korean forces consistently fire artillery rounds near the border, particularly in response to joint U.S.-South Korean drills.

Russia has almost no significant economic ties to North Korea, and though Moscow has supported Pyongyang, it has largely done so out of support for China, according to Fyodor Tertitskiy, a senior research fellow at Seouls Kookmin University.

Tertiskiy said in an analysis that the Shoigu visit saw North Korea welcome the Russian defense minister with open arms, including red banners naming him a comrade, which he said suggests that Pyongyang is looking back to Cold War times in hope of a return to the flow of economic aid from Moscow.

Kim met Putin for the first time in 2019, and the two have maintained friendly relations ever since, including during the war in Ukraine.

On Russias National Day in June, Kim pledged full support for Putin and the Kremlin as he claimed they continue to add glory to the history of victory.

In late August, the White House said both Putin and Kim had recently traded letters, and The New York Times first reported on their planned meeting. The Kremlin declined to comment Tuesday on the reports of an upcoming Kim-Putin meeting.

The U.S. appears to be trying to expose the potential deal in the hopes of dashing it. At the White House Tuesday, Sullivan warned that North Korea would pay a price from the international community if it supported Russia with lethal aid.

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder also said any arms transfers agreement would violate multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions.

And it would prolong the unnecessary suffering of Ukrainian civilians who are impacted by Russias war of aggression in Ukraine, he told reporters Tuesday.

Earlier this year, the U.S. publicly aired intelligence indicating that China was considering providing lethal aid to Russia, in part to dissuade Beijing from following through. There are no indications an official arms trade happened.

North Korea-U.S. tensions have grown increasingly hostile during the Biden administration. The U.S. has renewed major military exercises on the Korean Peninsula, infuriating North Korean leadership. Pyongyang has also dramatically increased its missile tests in the past two years.

Experts are divided on whether the U.S. can use its leverage to scuttle a potential deal between Moscow and Pyongyang, given how much North Korea is already sanctioned.

David Silbey, a military historian at Cornell University, said it was almost a positive for Kim Jong Un to be threatened by the U.S.

It fits into his narrative that the West is coming after him, Silbey said.

However, China has some leverage over North Korea, Silbey said, and the U.S. may be able to pressure Beijing to curb any emerging deal.

The question becomes whether we can convince them or push them to use that leverage against North Korea, Silbey said. I dont see the Chinese stepping in to do this. From their perspective, this is a nice distraction for us.

While the terms of the potential deal are not clear, it could end up being very lucrative for North Korea.

Pyongyang needs more food to feed its population, oil for energy and critical technology for a variety of uses in its nuclear program, including the miniaturization of nuclear warheads and improved technology for satellites after recent failed launches.

North Korea also wants to weaken its dependence on China as a trading partner, said Naoko Aoki, an associate political scientist with the RAND Corporation focusing on East Asian security.

North Korea and China have a very difficult relationship. Theyre sometimes very close. Sometimes close from the outside but not too friendly privately, she said. For any opportunity to diversify that would be a good opportunity from the North Korean perspective, and at this point they dont have too many friends.

On Russias side, the deal would expand its informal alliance of eastern authoritarian powers  with a common interest in undermining American power.

Iran, for example, has supplied Russia with suicide drones for use in Ukraine and was invited into the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) economic alliance last month.

China has declared a no limits partnership with Russia while conducting frequent drills with Moscow during the Ukraine war.

Russias motivation here is not just to demonstrate that it can sustain its advantages and artillery for a long time to come. Its also part of a broader trend on the part of Russia and China to be reaching out to parts of the global south that the United States has labeled rogues, said Beebe of the Quincy Institute.

That includes North Korea. It includes Iran and it is, in part, an attempt to demonstrate to the United States that it no longer has the ability to isolate and punish the states the way it did 20 years ago.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Credit - Jonas BendiksenMagnum Photo

As soon as I became a mother, I began to hear the phrase. Theyre only little once. Parents and those without children all seemed to agree: most of the sacrifices mothers make can be explained away by the crushing force of time, which threatens to take our young children before were ready, or before weve done enough to ensure their success.

When my first child was a toddler and I could not afford daycare, I tried embracing the phrase. I found a job at an in-home childcare center where I could care for my daughter and work at the same time. Childcare was not my chosen profession, but I knew many mothers who had altered their careers and personal lives entirely so that they could spend more time with their children. When I spoke of my strange and sudden life shift to other mothers and fretted about how long this upheaval might go on, they called up that familiar retort.

Things were not quite how I or they wanted them. We had lost ourselves, given up professional ambitions, friends, community, the pursuit of other forms of fulfillment, everything that gave us an identity and a personality. We were confused and overtaxed, unmoored, a little unhinged. But it would pass, we nodded to each other. Theyre only little once.

More From TIME

In part this line of thinking was an effort to cut each other some slack. We brought each other back from the brink of disappointment, sadness, depression, and fury. And we believed that our children were better off when we gave up everything to spend more time with them.

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Read More: The Conversation That Changed How I Thought About Early Motherhood

But the effect of this thinking was more guilt, less release. It was hard to parent children who were young without affordable childcare, sufficient paid leave, comprehensive postpartum care, or any reentry programs to help me get back to work. I felt disconnected from many moments, particularly as I contemplated who I had become and why I didnt find more joy in caring for children all day, but I understood that it was still crucial that I cherish every moment. I didnt yet see the outlines of the misogynistic belief that womens unhappiness was an inevitable side effect of parenthood, much less the limits of how we think about time well spent with children.

In 1965, John Bowlby, sometimes referred to as the father of attachment theory, listed a mother who worked full time alongside the death or imprisonment of a parent, war, and famine, as part of his broader thesis on maternal deprivation. Since then, ideas about the supposed peak experience of parenting children under 4 have given new life to such claims. Conservative figure Jordan Peterson, for instance, has warned that parents miss this time at their peril and cant get back precious time lost with young kids. His words have made the rounds on social media, softened by nostalgic images of young kids and their parents. But our cultural overemphasis on optimizing this period primarily implicates women, who are more likely to feel the pressure to reorient their personal and professional lives around the creation of core memories. Peterson himself acknowledges that women may experience career setbacks trying to make the most of these years, and that such setbacks contribute to the gender pay gap, but, he says, no one knows what to do about that.

Read More: Motherhood Is Hard to Get Wrong. Why Do So Many Moms Feel So Bad About Themselves?

At its best, the phrase they're only little once urges parents to cherish small moments with their children. At its worst, however, the phrase bullies new mothers into martyring themselves in service of their childrens development, often by sacrificing their own autonomy, sense of self, and connections to a wider community outside the home.

I have since returned not just to my career ambitions, but to other forms of work and connection. At first, I felt pangs of sadness about what I might be missing when I was away from my children. But over time, I came to see that these worries prevented me from recognizing and appreciating the other relationships my kids had builtwith daycare teachers, with extended relatives, with other children in our growing network of care.

The years we spend with our children when they are young are indeed fast and fleeting, and parenthood often feels like a state of mourning. We reckon with a certain loss of closeness with our children that is unavoidable and healthy, and the longing that sometimes comes with our own experiences of aging. But there is much more grief to be found in keeping to ourselves, in a world that so often wants us separate and divided.

The way we understand time well spent with kids also overlooks the fact that a mothers time matters too. What me, after all, was always there in the early years with my children when they were so young? Certainly a less whole version of the person I am today. However present I may have been in the room, I was not me, but some image of what a mother should be. This is yet another great potential loss for children, and more important, for women, who cannot get back the years so many lose to early parenthood.

I no longer apply a lens of scarcity to my time with my children, nor do I hoard time with them. We have so many years, and they have so much to extend to others beyond me, and beyond our home. The unavoidable passage of time still weighs on me as I enter midlife, and as I watch my children age, too, coming into other versions of themselves. I long for pudgy baby legs and lost turns of phrase as much as any parent. But now, I also find pleasure in my evolving relationships with my kids. They are less me, more them, every day, an utter delight to witness, as I become less mother, more myself.

Rather than cherish every moment, I now cherish the forward movement of timemy children making friends, finding more adults they can trust, picking up slang at school, feeling new emotions, bringing home lessons about how to live among others. My own time spent away from them is richer and fuller too. We are bending toward the wider world, and toward a future that is a bit freer than the present moment.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Typically, when senators and members of Congress return from long recesses, they note that the hardworking, God-fearing members of their idyllic districts and states arent concerned about inside-the-Beltway gossip. They just want Washington to roll up their sleeves and solve some problems.

According to Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, though, he couldnt move an inch this August without getting bombarded with questions about Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnells brain.

Ive just been home for a month, Hawley told reporters Tuesday afternoon, on the first day the Senate was back in town following August recess. McConnell has suffered public freezes on camera, twice in recent months, following a concussion earlier this year. In both cases, he stopped speaking on a dime and stared vacantly until staff and colleagues recognized they had to step in.

I was asked all over the state, and I mean all over the state, about it, Hawley said. And this was before the most recent episode, and absolutely after it. I mean, I was everywherestate fair, farmers, business groupsand believe me, I mean, they brought it up. So its on peoples minds, clearly.

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He added, further, that if Republicans are going to make hay of President Bidens age and perceived decline, it would be inconsistent for them to cover up for one of their own.

If youre concerned about the president, youve got to be concerned about other people in leadership. Its a two-way street, he said. When asked directly whether McConnells condition makes it harder to criticize Biden for his age, Hawley responded, Yes.

Some context is useful here. When Florida Sen. Rick Scott challenged McConnell for the leadership position late last year, Hawley was in Scotts corner. And he reiterated that a number of times to reporters on Tuesday. When I asked Hawley whether it was time for McConnell to step aside as leader given his health issues, he said, Youll have to ask somebody who voted for him.

In a shocking correlation, its the Senate Republicans whove had antagonistic or frosty relationships with McConnell in recent years who seem most concerned about his recent health issues hampering his ability to stay on as leader. But thats always been a small bloc. McConnell fended off Scotts leadership challenge last year by a 37-to-10 vote. And those 37 senators, along with several of the 10, are still in lockstep behind McConnells leadership.

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney won the planned response of the day.

We might lose from Mitch McConnell 20 seconds a day, he told reporters, but the other 86,380 seconds are pretty darn good.

McConnell had worked to rally conference support following his second public freeze in Kentucky last week. In addition to private, reassuring phone calls he made to senators, his office released two letters from Congress attending physician, Brian Monahan, attesting that McConnells brain was still functioning majestically. In an Aug. 31 letter, Monahan wrote that occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration, and that McConnell was medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned.

The second letter, distributed by McConnells press team Tuesday morning just as reporters were preparing to bug Republican senators on the matter, was a little more extensive, listing a number of tests McConnell had undergone. There is no evidence that you have a seizure disorder or that you experienced a stroke, TIA [transient ischemic attack] or movement disorder such as Parkinsons disease, Monahan wrote.

Although this letter offered a little more transparency into the process, it wasnt entirely comprehensive.

North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer described the second letter as encouraging and certainly reassuring, but noted what was missing from it. It still doesnt explain the episodes, he told reporters. It explains what they werent.

Sen. Rand Paul, McConnells fellow Kentuckian (with whom he shares little in common), was more sharply critical of Monahans medical opinion.

Everybodys seen the clips, Paul told reporters Tuesday. Its not a valid medical diagnosis for people to say thats dehydration. In a follow-up to NBC News on Wednesday, Paul elaborated further. What I can tell you is that having vacant spells of 30 seconds or more where youre unresponsive is not a sign or a symptom of dehydration.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, whos had a long up-and-down but more frequently down relationship with McConnell, offered a Cruzian master class in prepared ambiguity.

The health scares hes had were frightening, Cruz said when I asked how concerned he was about McConnells leadership ability. But age comes for us all, and Mitch is stubborn as a mule, and hes tough. And so hes been in my prayers in recent weeks. (Stubborn as a mule: It works as both a compliment and a dig.)

Cruz quickly pivoted from follow-up questions, though, to a criticism of the media frenzy over McConnells health compared to the complete lack of interest of anyone in the corporate media as to the very severe diminishment and mental capacity from Joe Biden, who is the commander in chief, whose fingers are literally on the nuclear button.

As Cruz was getting into the elevator, a reporter asked him if he still had full faith in McConnells ability to lead the conference.

Write something about Joe BidenI dare you, Cruz responded.

There had been some chatter last week from Senate Republicans about calling for a special meeting to discuss McConnells health. Since Senate Republicans already have three meetings a week in a format known as lunch, calling for a special meeting wouldve served little other purpose than to embarrass the man.

No such special meeting materialized. McConnell did, however, use the first 10 or so minutes of Wednesdays lunch to give a personal status update. For someone so thoroughly disgusted at ever having to talk about his health, this mustnt have been easy for him. But it appeared to have done the trick.

When I asked Indiana Sen. Mike Braunwho voted against McConnell in last years leadership electionif he felt properly reassured after McConnells presentation, he said yes. I mean, there was no new information, and no questions asked, he said. But, you know, he seemed like he was in good shape. McConnell, according to several senators, said hed experienced only two such freezing episodesand unfortunately, both had been on camera. (Perhaps it was just stage fright, or a sudden emergence of the yips.)

Paul, meanwhile, emerged telling reporters over and over that he doesnt comment on any of the private stuff from our conference meetings, which has not been my understanding of Rand Paul over the years. Cruz, postmeeting, reiterated his same lines from the day before when asked whether he felt reassured.

As I said, my prayers continue to be with Mitch, Cruz told reporters. And hes stubborn as a mule, and I have every hope he recovers to full strength.

The most interesting part of Republicans lunch, though, may not have been what McConnell said or reiterated. It was the sequencing of lunch speakers. (If youve followed McConnells meticulous planning over the years, this seemed far from a coincidence.) As soon as McConnell finished speaking, Steven Lawa former McConnell aide and the chief of the McConnell-aligned super PAC the Senate Leadership Fundmade a presentation about McConnell fundraising, per Punchbowl News.

In other words: There was a reminder that McConnell controls the money.

Which incumbents might need that leadership money in the 2024 Senate election cycle? Although its an extremely favorable map for Republicans overall, Cruzwho won reelection by 3 points in 2018 and has drawn a worthy Democratic challenger in Rep. Colin Allred this cyclemight need some air cover in the form of outside ad spending.

The only other incumbent Republican in even marginal danger, though, would be McConnells principal antagonist over the past couple of years: Rick Scott. And during this whole situation, Scott has been acting like someone whos been beat by McConnell before and knows not to try again.

When first asked about McConnell following the leaders second freeze last week, Scott said, I expect hell continue to be Republican leader through this term and then theyd see. But after Wednesdays lunch presentation, Scott had fully submitted. He told reporters that McConnell did a good job addressing senators, and that he didnt have any concerns about his ability to lead the conference.

So the likes of Josh Hawley may take their shots here or there, but that will be the extent of it. Take it from Scott, who lost the last mutiny: Nows not the time for another one.
A Washington County man has been criminally charged for his involvement in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Joseph Cattani, 40, of Colgate is accused of assaulting law enforcement inside the Capitol. He has been charged with civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, both felonies. Cattani also received several misdemeanor charges, including entering a restricted building.

Cattani was arrested Thursday in Wisconsin and charged in federal court in Washington, D.C. He made an initial appearance in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Joseph Cattani pictured inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Prosecutors said much of Cattani's 18 minutes inside the Capitol were captured on video. An open-source video shows Cattani pulling an officer's face shield up and down as the officer's head twists and turns. Cattani then pushes his way into the Capitol Building through the Rotunda doors, prosecutors said.

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Surveillance video shows Cattani inside other areas of the Capitol Building, including outside the Senate chamber and outside the Office of the Majority Whip. He exited the building shortly thereafter through a window.

Video shows Joseph Cattani grab the face mask of an officer inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Cattani agreed to be interviewed on Nov. 1 at a restaurant in Menomonee Falls. A criminal complaint states he admitted to entering the Capitol on Jan. 6 and identified himself as the man in the images.

During the interview, Cattani said the crowd became more "hyped up" after then-President Donald Trump stated that he would walk to the Capitol with everyone, the complaint states.

Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury last month for his alleged role in conspiring to overturn the 2020 election. The indictment accuses Trump of directing his supporters to march to the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Joseph Cattani pictured inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

More than 1,146 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Some have been sentenced to more than a dozen years behind bars. Trump has said he would pardon many of the rioters if he were to gain a second term in the Oval Office.

Drake Bentley can be reached at DBentley1@gannett.com.

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: Wisconsin man charged in connection to Jan. 6 riot at U.S. Capitol
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A woman lost part of her toe inside a hotel room on the Las Vegas Strip after she got into an argument with a man who had allegedly offered her money to go to a nightclub with him, documents said.

Las Vegas Metro police arrested Oyefeso Durotimijesu, 35, on a charge of mayhem, records showed.

Mayhem consists of unlawfully depriving a human being of a member of his or her body, or disfiguring or rendering it useless, according to Nevada state statute.

On Monday, Sept. 4, a Metro police officer responded to the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip for a report of a woman missing part of her toe, documents said. Hotel security detained Durotimijesu while the injured woman was brought to a hospital.

Las Vegas Metro police arrested Oyefeso Durotimijesu, 35, on a charge of mayhem, records showed. (LVMPD/KLAS)

The woman said she met Durotimijesu at a bar at the MGM when he invited her up to his room, documents said. The two planned to go to a Las Vegas Strip nightclub together and were getting ready when Durotimijesu gave the woman his phone.

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Durotimijesu then allegedly grabbed the phone back from the woman and stated in an angry tone not to go through his phone, documents said. The woman then attempted to make a call from the hotel rooms phone, but Durotimijesu was pushing [the woman] with one hand and pulling the phone with the other.

The two began to wrestle for the womans purse when she fell to the floor but was able to call for help, documents said. At one point, Durotimijesu allegedly slammed the door, hitting the womans foot.

As security approached the room and the woman lay bleeding on the floor, Durotimijesu allegedly threw the womans belongings one item at a time while yelling profanities from the room, documents said.

Security officers found the missing part of the womans toe in the hotel room, they said.

Durotimijesu told investigators he gave the victim $200 and that the incident was his attempt at getting the money back after she said it was not enough, officers said. It was unclear from police documents what the womans intentions were.

Judge Rebecca Saxe set Durotimijesus bail at $5,000. He remained in custody at the Clark County Detention Center as of Wednesday and was due in court Thursday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
TRIPOLI, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily on Thursday stressed the importance of engaging various security institutions in order to hold peaceful elections in Libya.

Bathily made the remarks in a meeting with Libyan Interior Minister Emad al-Tarabelsi in the capital Tripoli, during which they discussed the country's security situation and efforts to preserve stability, the UN official wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Libya failed to hold general elections in December 2021 as previously scheduled due to disagreements over election laws among the Libyan parties.

Last week, Bathily and Speaker of the eastern-based House of Representatives Aguila Saleh stressed the need for a unified government to facilitate general elections in the country.

Ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid escalating violence and political division. 
Women with a medical or pharmaceutical education must register at military enlistment offices from Oct. 1, Fedir Venislavskyi, President Volodymyr Zelensky 's representative in parliament, said on Sept. 7.

This will mean that these women, like Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60, will not be able to leave the country without special permission.

Under martial law, they must stay in Ukraine as they may be called up at any moment for military service.

However, there are a number of exemptions to this rule, for example, if someone is still a student or has a certain medical condition.

Venislavskyi added that "there are currently no plans to expand the list of disciplines which will require women to register," he said.

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Read also: Draft bill submitted to parliament looks to cancel mobilization exemption for over-30 students

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Updated 4:15 p.m.:

Family said that officials and volunteers were still looking for Jim Shadid on Thursday afternoon.

We cant lose hope that our father is still alive and hes waiting to be found, daughter Jamie Shadid said around 4 p.m. Central time.





In a phone interview, Jamie Shadid, her mother Marilyn and sister Kristi Shadid said the support from officials and volunteers has been overwhelming. Jamie Shadid said her father has helped in the search and rescue of others in the past.

The more ... we can get the word out, the more prayers are going to go out and thats what we are relying on now, Marilyn Shadid said. All the support has just been overwhelming.

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Original 12:19 p.m.:

Searchers in southwest Colorado are looking for former Wichita dentist James Jim Shadid, who has been missing since Sunday, when he went scouting for a hunting spot for elk.

Day four of the search started around 6 a.m. and involved two helicopters, searchers on four-wheelers and horseback and volunteers on foot. Theres also search and rescue teams from neighboring counties.

Right now unfortunately, we have a negative result at this time and the search continues, La Plata County Sheriffs Office Sgt. Chris Burke said just before noon Central time.

He said helicopters were covering the northern area of Hermosa Creek drainage area, west of Purgatory Resort, where Shadid went missing.

The 79-year-olds Facebook page says use to be a dentist, now a mountain man.

Susan Jones, a former employee at Shadids previous practice in east Wichita, said Thursday morning: If anyone could survive out there it would be Jim Shadid. He was an outdoorsman. He was doing that even when he worked.

She said he would go hunting and hiking often even before selling off the practice and retiring. Family said he retired and sold the business in 2000 and then moved to Durango the next year. The Shadids three children eventually followed them to Colorado.

Family said he had been a dentist in Wichita for nearly 30 years.

Shadid, who Jones said followed in his fathers footsteps as a dentist, is a great, great guy. She said his wife, Marilyn Shadid, still emails her at holidays and checks in on how things are going.

She wrote her Wednesday, saying: Prayers are needed. Jim is missing.

A site called findjimnow.com is posting updates on the search. No signs of Jim today unfortunately, a post at 10 p.m. Wednesday said. The search will continue for Day 4 tomorrow - we wont lose hope!

Searchers were asking for volunteers who were strong hikers to help with the search Thursday morning. The post included a spot to meet in a mountainous area about an hour drive north of Durango, where Shadid lives.

Shadid and his wife went scouting for a hunting spot Sunday morning, then she returned to the vehicle and he continued down a trail.

After about 45 minutes, he called her by a radio and said he would return in 20 minutes. But he never did.

I wasnt that concerned about him, Marilyn Shadid said.

The couple has been married for 56 years, and Jim Shadid has decades of experience in the wilderness, so she thought he would eventually find his way back. Once hours passed, she said she started to get worried.

Hunters in the area joined in the search and emergency officials became involved as well.

He went out to scout for hunting, thinking he was only going for a short while so didnt bring anything with him (very unlike him as he is a very experienced outdoorsman), his daughter Jamie Shadid wrote on Facebook on Tuesday. We think he got disoriented and never returned. Search and Rescue have been out with drones, helicopters, dogs and many folks on foot during daylight hours since Sunday but no signs of him yet.

She said Wednesday that more than 20 volunteer hikers showed up and more are coming to help with the search.

We are so deeply touched and grateful by the outpouring of love and support from both folks we know and strangers, she wrote.

Contributing: Helena Wegner with McClatchy






Blasting Through

The Great Wall of China has acted as a formidable bulwark against fearsome Mongolians on horseback and other nomadic tribes throughout its storied 3,000-year-old history.

But it was no match for two bumbling construction workers who punched a hole into the wall wide enough to drive an excavator through, according to The New York Times. The part of the wall that was damaged dates back to the Ming Dynasty, which spanned from 1368 to 1644.

The incident came to light on August 24, when someone notified local security about the huge hole in the wall, located in Yangqianhe, a township in Youyu County, roughly 5.5 hours from Beijing.

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Local authorities detained two people allegedly responsible for the destruction, according to the report, a 55-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man from the Chinese autonomous region of Inner Mongolia.

China Daily, a government-controlled media outlet, reported that the reckless duo has "been charged with destroying a cultural relic." They were apparently trying to widen an existing opening to create a shortcut for the excavator in the UNESCO World Heritage Site  and unfortunately succeeded.

Hole in the Wall

Security officials found the two, who were working on a construction site nearby, after they had followed a "trail" to the neighboring Horinger County leading to the culprits, according to China Daily. The pair reportedly fessed up to the crime after being apprehended.

Though the Great Wall has withstood the test of time, this incident is part of a long line of vandalism throughout its history, according to the NYT. In fact, just this June, locals nabbed a man carving letters into a section of the wall with a key.

In 2021, CNN reported that two tourists were banned from the Great Wall for walking into a forbidden section of the structure.

While China has committed itself to preserving the remaining parts of the Great Wall, many of which have become overrun by tourists, the situation looks dire. According to a 2019 investigation, a whopping 18.4 percent of the Wall is considered poorly preserved. Just over 24 percent has disappeared over the ages.

In short, wandering bulldozers are only the tip of the iceberg.

More on border walls: China Is Building a Huge New Wall to Allegedly Keep COVID Out
Immigrant workers from across the US raced to Florida to help rebuild after Hurricane Ian devastated the region.

But now, nearly a year later and days after another major hurricane hit, some of those workers say this time theyre staying home.

Saket Soni, whose nonprofit Resilience Force advocates for thousands of disaster response workers, says theres one clear reason behind the shift: Floridas new immigration law, which Gov. Ron DeSantis has championed.

In a survey Resilience Force conducted over several months this summer, Soni says more than half of the nonprofit organizations roughly 2,000 members said they would not travel to Florida to help with hurricane recovery efforts because of the law. And in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia, he says, many remain concerned.

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They felt very fearful, says Soni, the organizations executive director. No amount of money would be worth it if it meant they would be incarcerated or deported.

Normally, Soni says Resilience Force workers wouldnt think twice before heading to a disaster zone.

The group is made up largely of immigrants, many of whom are undocumented, Soni says. And much like migrant workers who follow harvest seasons and travel from farm to farm, they crisscross the US to help clean up and rebuild when disaster strikes. Soni says many of them see the skills theyve honed over years of responding to major storms as a calling, in addition to a means of supporting their families.

Sadly, he says, you have all of these workers sitting in Houston and in New Orleans, coming to our offices, asking us, is there a chance this law will be repealed? Is there any chance they could go?

DeSantis touted the law as ambitious. Immigrant rights advocates call it draconian

CNN has reached out to DeSantis office for comment. In May, the Florida governor and aspiring GOP presidential candidate signed what he touted as the most ambitious anti-illegal immigration laws in the country. The measure  also known as SB1718  went into effect on July 1. It includes provisions that:

- Make it a third-degree felony to knowingly and willfully transport someone whos undocumented into the state

- Require business with at least 25 workers to use E-Verify, a federal program that checks workers immigration status

- Invalidate drivers licenses issued to unauthorized immigrants in other states

- Require certain hospitals in Florida to ask patients about their immigration status

At a press conference after he signed the bill, DeSantis described its passage as a great victory.

In Florida, we want businesses to hire citizens and legal immigrants. But we want them to follow the law and not (hire) illegal immigrants, and thats not that hard to do, he said. And once we get that kind of as a norm in our society, I think were going to be a lot better off.

Supporters of the law have said stopping undocumented immigrants from coming to the state and pushing out those who already live in Florida is part of their aim.

Critics call the law draconian and argue that its hurting the states economy and putting immigrant communities on edge.

People are living in fear, says Adriana Rivera, communications director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.

Before it went into effect, the law spurred a travel advisory from one of the most prominent Latino advocacy groups in the United States. And immigrant advocates warn that concerns over the law have already caused some workers in key industries like agriculture and construction to leave Florida.

This law is particularly problematic because it really doesnt benefit anyone. This law was created to demonize the states immigrant communities that have been so critical in building our state and growing our economy, says Samuel Vilchez Santiago, Florida state director for the American Business Immigration Coalition.

An unstilted home that came off its blocks sits partially submerged in a canal in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, on September 1, two days after Hurricane Idalia hit. - Rebecca Blackwell/AP

CNN teams reporting in Florida since Idalia hit havent observed any worker shortages.

But in recent months, Vilchez says hes received multiple reports from managers whove showed up to construction sites expecting to see workers and instead found the worksites abandoned.

Soni, Resilience Forces executive director, says he watched a similar scene unfold a week after the law passed.

I remember being there one afternoon and talking to a worker at lunchtime.  And he, quite literally, while he was talking to me was packing his tools into his pickup truck and leaving with his crew.

It was an early sign, Soni says, of harms caused by the immigration law.

Its really undermining the ability of Floridians to recover after a hurricane, he says. Its upending the possibility of homes being rebuilt.

I cant lose my family just to earn a few more dollars

For Josue, a 23-year-old from Honduras who lives in Texas and works in home remodeling, its been hard to watch news reports from Florida showing Hurricane Idalias aftermath.

I feel powerless, seeing how all these people need help, he says.

Josue, who asked to be identified only by his first name because hes undocumented, says he knows how hard it is for families to clean up and move forward after disaster strikes.

Weve had hurricanes like this hit Honduras, and people have helped us, he says. And thats one reason I want to help. We do it with all our hearts. We do it because we are all equal.

Last year, he spent months in the Fort Myers area rebuilding homes from top to bottom  some still swamped with floodwaters, some with roofs ripped off.

In this aerial view, destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Ian is shown in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, on October 2, 2022. - Win McNamee/Getty Images

This year, he says he doesnt feel safe returning to the state.

Neither does 30-year-old Javier, who lives in New Orleans and also asked to be identified only by his first name because hes undocumented.

After a few months remodeling homes in Fort Myers after Hurricane Ian last year, Javier says he sensed the atmosphere in the community shifting. Rumors swirled of undocumented workers getting arrested. He fled to Louisiana after hearing that more raids were imminent.

If it was like that then, imagine how it would be now, with this law, he says.

He thinks of the many family members hes supporting, like his 12-year-old daughter in Honduras, who wants to be a surgeon when she grows up. And he thinks of his two sons living in Louisiana.

I cant lose my freedom, he says. I cant lose my family just to earn a few more dollars.

Hes worried about damage from this hurricane  and the next one

Officials are still surveying the damage Hurricane Idalia left behind when the Category 3 storm made landfall last week in Floridas Big Bend region.

So far, despite the storms intensity, experts say the damage appears to be less extensive than other major hurricanes, partly because Idalia made landfall in a less populated region.

Hurricane Idalia caused between $12 billion and $20 billion in damage and lost output, according to a preliminary cost estimate from Moodys Analytics. Hurricane Ian caused an estimated $112.9 billion of total damage, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Saket Soni, executive director of Resilience Force, speaks to workers in a parking lot in LaPlace, Louisiana, on February 07, 2022. - Josh Brasted/Getty Images

Even though the damage from this storm isnt as extensive, Soni says his contacts in the state still report that significant help is needed.

Theres pretty major devastation in rural areas. Theres a lot of fallen trees. Theres a lot of homeowners in rural areas trying to clean their yards, and an older population of homeowners that needs the help, Soni says.

While worker shortages in the wake of Idalia havent been reported, Soni says thats a very real possibility if another major storm strikes the state this hurricane season, which ends November 30.

Forecasters are currently eying Hurricane Lee in the Atlantic, although they say its too soon to know whether the storm will strike the mainland US.

Thankfully this recent hurricane, Idalia, did not hit a major city, but the next hurricane could hit the day after tomorrow, Soni says. It could come for Jacksonville or Tampa or Tallahassee. And at that point the governor would have a massive rebuilding effort on his hands, and no workers to fuel it. Thats really the situation that Im concerned about.

That, too, would be a disaster, Soni says  but one that he says is man-made, and avoidable.

CNNs Matt Egan, Gloria Pazmino, Bill Kirkos, Carlos Suarez, Denise Royal, Isabel Rosales, Laura Robinson and Elisabeth Buchwald contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Partners of European leaders, Ukrainian and international officials, as well as celebrities gathered in Kyiv on Sept. 6 for the third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, initiated by Ukraines First Lady Olena Zelenska .

First held in 2021, the summit aims to bring the worlds first ladies and gentlemen together to "promote dialogue and find effective solutions to global humanitarian challenges through soft power, partnership, public diplomacy, exchange of experience, and implementation of joint initiatives."

Held under the slogan "Mental Health: Fragility and Resilience of the Future," this years event was dedicated to the growing issue of the Ukrainian nations state of mental health amid Russias ongoing war. It marked the second summit since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Among the speakers were First Lady of Czechia Eva Pavlova, Estonian First Lady Sirje Karis, First Gentleman of Slovenia Ales Musar, Serbian First Lady Tamara Vucic, and Oscar-winning French director Michel Hazanavicius. Legendary British actor and writer Stephen Fry was one of the hosts.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. State Secretary Anthony Blinken made brief appearances to give speeches.

Russias overnight attack on Kyiv on the eve of the summit did not mar the one-day event: Even though the night was partially sleepless for many in the capital due to the sound of air raid sirens followed by explosions, the audience and the speakers looked energetic and joyful, greeting each other warmly.

The summits location  the picturesque courtyard of Kyivs historic St. Sophias Cathedral that dates back to the 11th century  added to the general atmosphere. Zelenska called it "the place of Ukrainians power."

She opened the event with a touching speech.

"When talking about Ukraine, everyone uses the word resilience very often. I think this is true about us, and we understand and cherish it," Zelenska said.

"True resilience begins with an understanding of shared values. And I am proud that Ukraine today is demonstrating to the world what people united by a common value are capable of," she said.

"The core of our values is human life. The basis of human life is love. The secret of our resilience is love Love for your parents, children, partners, friends, home, country" Zelenska said, trying to hold back tears.

The loudest applause, however, sounded when Zelensky entered the venue. Everyone in the audience stood up, saluting the Ukrainian president.

Zelensky greeted the guests, first ladies and gentlemen, smiled warmly when greeting Zelenska and started his speech with "dear Olena."

"Although the first ladies and gentlemen of the states are not considered to be politicians in the usual sense, they often find such arguments that politicians are unable to, and it works," Zelensky said.

"Thanks to Olena and her communication in the U.S., we managed to make significant progress in getting modern anti-aircraft defenses for Ukraine," he said.

The audience stood up one more time, clapping, when Zelensky asked to honor Ukrainian soldiers defending the country, as they risk their lives, every day. Then, he addressed the growing issue of mental health, saying that it is beyond important for Ukraine.

"The post-war world is vulnerable to emotions, to the accumulated pain of the war, which remains with people for a long time and only becomes more unbearable with time. War is a challenge that does not disappear even after the end of hostilities," Zelensky said.

"The war smolders as long as it is able to hit people from the inside, as long as the losses caused by the war hurt, he said. No one can be left alone with the war and its effects on the minds and souls."

Read also: Uncertainty and despair: War taking heavy toll on mental health of Ukrainians

Zelensky noted that mental health is a "special field that requires a special approach," such as "new institutions and new rehabilitation facilities, a new social policy, and new international interaction and agreements."

A touching moment occurred when, before leaving the venue, Zelensky stopped by his wife to give her a kiss. The date of the summit, Sept. 6, also marks their 20th wedding anniversary.

Blinkens short visit was a surprise for the audience. He arrived in Kyiv earlier in the day for a previously unannounced visit to meet the Ukrainian leadership and discuss the ongoing counteroffensive and recovery efforts.

During the summit, Blinken said he knows how difficult it is to navigate the challenges of mental health issues during peacetime, but he can not imagine "the strength and the resilience that it takes" to deal with them during wartime.

"We know that Russias war is leaving many suffering in ways that we can not fully see or can not fully measure. It is estimated that over half of Ukrainians may need mental health support as a result of the traumas of the war," Blinken said. The crimes against humanity that they witness, the pain of having their children abducted, constant air raids

"Im here today on behalf of President (Joe) Biden, on behalf of First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, to make this statement for the Ukrainian people: Just as the mental health effects of this horrific conflict will endure after the war ends - so too will the United States efforts help you shoulder and heal all of these invisible wounds," Blinken said.

"When we tell you that America will be with you for the duration, this is a part of what we mean," he added.

He also said that the U.S. is committed not only to help Ukraine reach its long-term military goals but to its democracy, its economy, and most of all  its people.

Despite the difficult topics addressed at the event, there were lots of positive moments that produced hearty laughter.

Frys presence was a special treat for the guests, but he brought more than his outstanding sense of humor and charisma.

From the stage of the summit, Fry opened up about his personal struggles with mental health. He said he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 14, spent a little time in prison, and attempted suicide by mid-30s.

"All this time, my career was quite successful, and there seems to be no reason for this storm in my head," he said.

Fry made a film on mental health and is the president of Britains largest mental health charity "Mind."

He said that even though mental health issues are serious and can potentially be life-threatening, people can still "live, love, thrive, and be hugely successful," adding that certain conditions are not a life sentence. Fry observed this paradox in Ukraine, too.

"The world can see that you are getting on with your lives happily. I walk down the streets, I see cafes open and pavements spilling with people laughing and enjoying life. The world can see that, and it's important that the world sees that," he said.

"But its also important that the world sees how serious the threat is to your autonomy, your independence, and your very existence," Fry went on.

"It is possible to send double messages in this world: About Ukraine, a happy country, succeeding, fulfilling your life. But you are under terrible threat."

"Being here at these dire circumstances, you have thrived and prospered and inspired the world," he said.

When talking about his impressions of Kyiv and its residents, Fry said he expected all kinds of things, but I did not expect the most common thing I saw, which is laughter.

"Ive met people who have lost their limbs and people who have lost families, but all of them seem to have a united Ukrainian sense of humor that I think explains the great deal of your success in the last year or so. I applaud that because Im a great believer in laughter," he said.

Note from the author:

Hi! Daria Shulzhenko here. I wrote this piece for you. Since the first day of Russia's all-out war, I have been working almost non-stop to tell the stories of those affected by Russias brutal aggression. By telling all those painful stories, we are helping to keep the world informed about the reality of Russias war against Ukraine. By becoming the Kyiv Independent's member, you can help us continue telling the world the truth about this war.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
September means kids go back to school, the weather starts to cool off and the new iPhone arrives. On Sept. 12, Apple will unveil the new iPhone 15 models, The Wall Street Journal reported. But even if you're swept off your feet by the latest model, is it worth buying a new phone? After all, a smartphone, whether an iPhone or otherwise, isn't an inexpensive purchase.

When does it make sense to upgrade your phone?

In some scenarios, spending on a new phone makes sense:

Your phone model isn't supported by the latest version of iOS, iOS 17. This is important because the latest version "delivers new features as well as important security updates and bug fixes," which means that "using outdated software can hurt performance and put your data at risk," according to the Journal. Check Apple's website to see if iOS 17 supports your model.

Your phone needs major repairs. If your phone needs extensive work, like replacing a nonfunctioning microphone, it might be more cost-effective to upgrade rather than pay for repairs.

You want all of the new software features. "Even if your iPhone does support iOS 17, you won't get all of the update's features," per the Journal. If you decide those features are vital to you, then you'll need to pay to upgrade.

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Still, there are instances where upgrading likely isn't worth it:

Your phone only needs a small fix, such as a new battery or a screen repair. Sometimes, these small repairs can solve the issues you're having with your phone that may have led you to consider an upgrade. For instance, you can pay just $89 or so for a new battery, the Journal reported.

Your phone's problem is that it's running out of storage space. At times, iPhones get slow because there's not enough storage left, according to the Journal. But because this is an easy fix, it's worth checking your phone's storage situation before throwing in the towel and getting a new phone.

You already have an iPhone 15. The latest release from Apple will likely only make an "incremental update to this year's phones," reported the Journal. In other words, "if you bought a new iPhone last year, you are probably fine."

How much does upgrading your phone cost you?

Another question you should take into consideration before buying a new phone is how much you'd save by keeping your old phone rather than upgrading to a new one, according to Bankrate. The price of a smartphone typically falls in the range of $700 to $1,000, per an estimate by The New York Times.

When you apply via our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Even if that sounds feasible for your budget, there are opportunity costs to take into consideration as well. According to the Times, "an investment of $1,000 in a retirement account today would balloon to about $17,000 in 30 years." That same principle applies to the seemingly modest monthly payment breakouts as well. "If you put $12 a month into a retirement account, like a Roth IRA that has an average annual rate of return of 10%, that amount would turn into $25,161 over 30 years," stated the Times.

And if you're stretching your finances thin to get a new phone, you might want to think again. Per the Times' conversation with financial adviser Suze Orman, "a $1,000 phone charged to a credit card could turn into $3,000 with interest by the time it's paid off." That credit card debt "could also affect your credit score, making it harder to buy or rent a home."

What are ways you save if you're upgrading your phone?

If you're moving forward with a phone upgrade, these are ways to save:

Choose the smaller of the offered models.

Consider buying last year's model instead.

Wait for a promotion, such as around Black Friday.

Get a new phone with a less expensive carrier.

Trade in or sell your old phone.

Becca Stanek has worked as an editor and writer in the personal finance space since 2017. She has previously served as the managing editor for investing and savings content at LendingTree, an editor at SmartAsset and a staff writer for The Week.

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The Marin County Sheriffs Office Coroner Division performed an autopsy and determined the cause of death was blunt impact injuries and drowning, concluding the method to be suicide.

A body found in the waters of San Francisco Bay is confirmed to be that of Yohanes Kidane, 22, who went missing in California about two weeks into his dream job at Netflix.

According to Fox News, the California Highway Patrol notified the Coroner Division of the Marin County Sheriffs Office on Aug. 29 around 11:40 a.m. that a passing boat had discovered an unconscious and unresponsive individual in the San Francisco Bay, northeast of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Coast Guard responded and pulled the body from the water, taking it to the guards Station Golden Gate in Sausalito. There, paramedics declared the victim dead, noting the condition of the victim prevented any attempts at resuscitation, according to the sheriffs office.

Yohanes Kidane is shown in a photo held by one of the New York family members (second from left) who attended a service in California, where they arrived after he was reported missing last month. Kidane was positively identified as the man whose body was found in San Francisco Bay. (Photo Credit: Screenshot/YouTube.com/ABC7 News Bay Area)

The sheriffs office stated that the remains, which displayed signs of advanced decomposition, extensive exposure to the water environment, and significant depredation, were unrecognizable and lacked identification.

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On Aug. 31, following an inquiry, authorities identified the individual as Kidane, originally from Webster, New York.

The coroners office performed an autopsy and determined the cause of death was blunt impact injuries and drowning, and concluded the method to be suicide.

Family members grew concerned when, on Aug. 14, Kidanes phone location kept placing him at the Golden Gate Bridge, which is over an hour away from his San Jose apartment, theGrio previously reported.

His location was still on the bridge the following morning, further alarming his younger sister, Sarah, when he didnt answer her calls.

Later, the family found out Kidane missed work on Aug. 15.

Yosief Kidane, his elder brother, said some of his possessions were found near the Golden Gate Bridge a week before authorities made their discovery public, Fox News reported. Kidanes wallet still contained cash, and his laptop was still in his backpack.

On Aug. 21, the San Jose Police Department said Kidane had taken a rideshare on Aug. 14 from San Jose to San Francisco, where he was last spotted.

At the time, the police department found no evidence indicating a crime had been committed.

Kidane moved to California from New York to work as a software engineer for Netflix after graduating from Cornell University in May.

If you or a loved one are having suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Yohanes Kidane, missing Netflix employee, found dead in San Francisco Bay appeared first on TheGrio.
[Source]

The owner of the popular Marie Eiffel Market on Shelter Island, New York, is facing a lawsuit filed by eight workers, including six women and two men who are citizens of Thailand, Malaysia, Ecuador and Colombia.

Eiffels alleged harassment: The plaintiffs, who worked seasonally for Marie Eiffel for four months in 2021 and 2022, alleged sexual assault and harassment by Eiffel. They accused Eiffel of routinely engaging in inappropriate behavior, including spanking employees on the buttocks, groping female employees breasts, choking employees and making sexual and discriminatory comments about their race. The filing also claims that Eiffel kissed employees, withheld tips left for workers and physically harmed one worker by bruising their arm.

Marie acted as though she believed that such egregious behavior was funny, the lawsuit claims.

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InterExchanges lack of action: The employees are also suing the New York-based company InterExchange, which sponsored their work visas in the U.S. They allege that InterExchange did not take action on their claims of abuse. The workers claimed to have paid fees to secure admission into the J-1 visa program and receive housing provided by Eiffel on the promise of getting a once-in-a-lifetime experience in the U.S., but they were instead subjected to a nightmare.

More from NextShark: Georgia man uses his COVID-19 loan to purchase a $58,000 Pokemon card

Eiffels response: Eiffel, who operates additional shops in Greenport and Montauk, denied all allegations and stated that she had not yet been served the lawsuit, according to the Shelter Island Reporter.

I never abused anybody sexually, she reportedly said. I never do that.

Eiffel suggested that the lawsuit might be rooted in a dispute with a disgruntled employee who she claimed had stolen from her.

More from NextShark: Activist Helen Zia 'Thrilled' to Join Participant's Creative Team in Developing Vincent Chin Series

The Marie Eiffel Market is located on a dock front location on Shelter Islands North Ferry Road. It is reportedly a popular destination for locals, tourists and celebrities, with actors Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain having visited.

Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark!

New Spacecraft Named After the First Female Indian Astronaut Kalpana Chawla

VP of Boston bank arrested in connection with series of stabbings, sexual assaults dating back to 2003
Africans laud Chinese alternative to U.S. unipolarity

Xinhua) 13:12, September 07, 2023

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Africans are embracing the arrival of an alternative to the U.S.-dominated unipolar system that has long defined the international arena, according to Mahasha Rampedi, editor-in-chief of the African Times.

"The Africans trust China a lot more than the Western powers, and I don't think it's only the Africans. I would say the majority of the world trust China more than they do the Americans," Rampedi told China Chat recently in an exclusive interview.

There has been a clear agenda by Western media to discredit Chinese development projects in Africa, spreading false claims and "scaremongering" that China is "colonizing the continent," said Rampedi.

"But China has never colonized any part of the world. Surprisingly, the countries that are warning us against China are the same which colonized the African continent for many years," he added.

Despite these attempts by the West, the fruits of China's development projects are plainly visible up and down the African continent, said Rampedi, noting that China focuses not on self-promotion but on delivering results.

"China may not be talking as much as the Western powers do, but China has spent money which we can see and that money has transformed or impacted our lives," he said.

This transformation is a mutually beneficial arrangement, in contrast with the U.S. approach where it dictates terms and seeks to subordinate African countries, he pointed out.

The Global South, thus, feels more secure now, with China playing an increasingly prominent role on the world stage. "Regardless of how big or small a country is, once you are in partnership with China, you are treated as equal," he said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
TRIPOLI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily on Wednesday stressed the United Nations' willingness to support constructive dialogue between the Libyan institutional players.

Bathily made the remarks on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, after visiting Al-Aziziyah city, the Warshafana Region, some 30 km southwest of Tripoli.

During the meeting, the two sides called for national reconciliation, inclusion in the political process and decision-making, and fair distribution of resources. They also expressed their aspirations for a safe and united Libya.

"I stressed that the United Nations stands ready to support Libyan leaders and institutional players at all levels to come together in a constructive dialogue to reach a political settlement, including on the formation of a unified government to lead the country to elections," Bathily said.

Libya failed to hold general elections in December 2021 as previously scheduled due to disagreements over election laws among the Libyan parties.

Bathily and Aguila Saleh, speaker of the eastern-based House of Representatives, or the Parliament, on Saturday stressed the need for a unified government to hold general elections in the country.

Ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid escalating violence and political division. 
It's a cliche that young people reject their parents' ideas. But as 2024 approaches, that goes for political candidates too.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has found favor with younger Republican voters across the country, even as former President Donald Trump holds a commanding lead in the field of GOP White House hopefuls.

Conservatives in their teens, 20s and 30s told USA TODAY they thought DeSantis was one of two winners of the first GOP debate last month, along with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. The Florida governor narrowly beat Trump, 36.6% to 35.4%, in an informal straw poll of about 300 attendees at the National Young Republicans Convention in Dallas in August.

I think for young Republicans, it's very clear who their favorite is, said William Atkins, a freshman at Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

Ron DeSantis offers a 'palatable alternative' to Donald Trump

Despite her own approval of Haleys debate performance, Lauren Langas, vice chairwoman of the Texas Young Republicans, said the race is primarily a dogfight between the Florida governor and former president.

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It's a Trump, DeSantis race to the top, and not to be disenfranchising to any of the other candidates, but I feel like they're all just kind of participating in a spectator sport," Langas said. We know who the front-runners are."

Trump continues to lead in Republican primary polls, by almost 40 percentage points over DeSantis in some recent surveys.

But pockets of young voters are showing their support for the Florida governor. For example, a poll of about 90 high school activists at a leadership program in March in Naples, Florida, showed DeSantis beating Trump 54% to 45%, Atkins explained.

The founder and former chairman of the High School Republican National Federation, Atkins, 18, said he thinks Trump on the ballot next November will hurt the partys overall chances.

If he is the nominee, we'll probably lose the House of Representatives. We won't win as many seats in the Senate as we hope. And we're not even going to end up winning the White House, he said. So really, if we want to win in 2024 and if we want to make a change, we need to nominate somebody who appeals to the broader American public.

His concerns are shared by Rafael Struve, communications director for the Texas Young Republicans. He said the former presidents legal battles may not bode well for Republicans in a general election. Trump has been indicted on four sets of criminal charges this year, including allegations he tried to steal the 2020 presidential election.

We really do need independents and moderates to sway in our direction, Struve, 31, said. "A lot of folks like myself  I am a two-time Trump voter  see the record of Gov. DeSantis  and young voters are starting to see it as more of a palatable alternative.

Struve, another DeSantis supporter, said the Florida governor offers a conservative policy platform, like Trump, but with a more agreeable leadership style.

"(Trump) sort of shook up what was maybe perceived as sort of an establishment zombie culture, Struve said. But I think there's this need, there's a desire of return to sanity.

DeSantis's age, experience appeal to a younger base

Questions of age swirl around next years election.

President Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection to his second term, will be 81 by November 2024. He's potentially facing a rematch against Trump, who would be 78.

Concerns about the age and health of the nation's leaders flared most recently when Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had his second public health scare in weeks, having to be helped by aides after freezing in front of a gaggle of reporters in Kentucky.

Many younger Republicans are keeping age in mind when assessing a field of candidates ranging from 38 to 77 years old, Struve said.

The youth factor is something that is relatable to younger voters because they are nervous about the idea of having somebody who is older and might be more susceptible to health complications during their time in office, he said.

We really do need folks who have the energy, who have the vigor necessary to be able to tackle a lot of daunting challenges once they take the White House, Struve added.

As the only millennial candidate in the mix, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy may have an advantage in appealing to constituents closer to him in age, Struve said.

The flip side, Langas said, is Ramaswamys lack of political experience compared to other Republicans running for office.

It's a very hard line to find that balance between where do you take policy and principle and track record? And then weigh it against: Are they going to be able to see through their office? Are they going to have health complications? Langas said.

A potential happy medium: DeSantis, who, at 44 years old, has held public office for a decade.

We have a real chance to accomplish a lot of the things that the Make America Great Again movement wanted to accomplish, through somebody who has shown that he can get it done and has the youth, stamina and endurance to actually get it done in Gov. Ron DeSantis, Struve said.

Some young Republicans are still keeping an open mind

Among younger voters in South Carolinas largest city, the current GOP favorites are DeSantis, Trump, Haley and another home state candidate, Sen. Tim Scott, said Garrett Lacy, chairman of the Greater Charleston Young Republicans.

I haven't necessarily seen a candidate captivate truly younger Republicans, Lacy, a 27-year-old owner of a fishing guide business, said, based on his attendance at local political events in the crucial early voting state.

And there is far from a consensus on DeSantis in the politically purple port city, he said.

Theres only a couple that are true Team DeSantis, Lacy said of his peers.

Upstate in Greenville, South Carolina, DeSantis fared well with a crowd of young conservatives who gathered to watch the first Republican debate last month. About 60% said the governor was their first choice for president, and 40% said he was their second choice in a straw poll at the end of the night.

Still, several voters at the watch party said they would vote for whichever Republican is on the ballot next fall.

Everyone on that stage, with the exception of maybe two people  I would still support them over a Democrat any day  even those two, said Pedro Mateo, 28 and a retirement specialist, told USA TODAY ahead of the first debate.

Mateo is chairman of the political engagement committee for Young Greenville, a Republican group and host of the watch party.

Torn between Haley, DeSantis and Trump, Langas said she is waiting until closer to the election to pick a candidate.

At this point, it's really just Trump versus the other candidates, she said. There's just really no middle ground. So, we need to figure out what the other candidates bring to the table and compare it to Trump's track record and then make a decision from there.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: These young Republicans want Ron DeSantis for 2024, not Donald Trump
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a phone call on Sept. 7.

One issue raised during the call was increasing the "number of refusals for Ukrainian citizens to enter Israel under the visa-free regime," according to Zelensky.

Reports emerged over the summer that around 10% of Ukrainians are denied entry to Israel, despite the two countries having a visa-free regime with each other.

Ukraines Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniichuk said on Aug. 21 that Kyiv was considering suspending the visa-free travel regime in response.

Zelensky also said that they discussed the security situation relating to the expected arrival of pilgrims to Uman in Cherkasy Oblast for Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year.

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A major pilgrimage site for Hasidic Jews is located in Uman and many pilgrims are expected to arrive, despite the "continuation of Russian terror," Zelensky said.

An apartment building in Uman, which is in central Ukraine, was hit by a Russian strike in April.

The attack killed at least 23 people, including five children.

Netanyahu said the the phone call also covered "continuing Israeli aid to Ukraine, including to refugees from Ukraine staying in Israel," as well as aid in the devlelopemnt of civil air defense systems.

"It is important that Israel supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our state," Zelensky said on Telegram.

Read also: Worlds first ladies, gentlemen discuss mental health at Zelenskas summit in Kyiv

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time on Sept. 7 introduced the newly-appointed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to the ministry's leadership.

The key five priorities that the president assigned to the new defense chief include strengthening the central role of the ministry in the defense sector, putting soldiers as the foremost value, expanding international partnerships, curbing corruption, namely through digitalization, and reforming the military to NATO standards.

"The Ukrainian soldier is a key priority of the defense forces," Zelensky said. "A new philosophy of values toward Ukrainian soldiers is needed: people are not consumables."

The president stressed that bureaucratic procedures that take up too much of the soldiers' time and energy must be either simplified or removed. These efforts should also include digitalization of the bureaucratic structure.

Zelensky added that the Ukrainian military must leverage its vast experience with defense against Russian aggression to improve the training of soldiers in medical skills and combat support.

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The president added that the defense minister's decisions must inspire trust and confidence. In particular, Zelensky named procurement of military supplies and intra-departmental communication in the military and the Defense Ministry as the key issues that should be addressed.

The president voiced confidence that Umerov was the right person for the task. The minister thanked Zelensky for his trust and said that Ukraine would liberate every centimeter of the occupied territory.

Umerov, the former head of the State Property Fund, replaced Oleksii Reznikov as a defense minister after the latter resigned earlier this week due to two major procurement corruption scandals.

Read also: Ukraines defense minister aims to introduce electronic military ID

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a phone conversation on 7 September with Benjamin Netanyahu , Prime Minister of the State of Israel, to discuss, among other things, the possibility of additional support being provided by the Israeli police at Hasidic pilgrimage sites in Ukraine.

Source: Office of the President of Ukraine

Details: Zelenskyy noted the importance of Israel's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Zelenskyy thanked Netanyahu for providing shelter to citizens of Ukraine who left for Israel as a result of the full-scale Russian aggression, and noted the reinstatement of free health insurance for them in Israel.

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The parties discussed possible ways Israel could support Ukraine in countering Russia's invasion.

The Ukrainian leader raised the issue of the increasing number of instances of entry to Israel being denied to Ukrainian citizens under the visa-free regime between the two countries and emphasised the need to rectify this situation.

Given the approach of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and the expected influx of Hasidic pilgrims to the city of Uman [in Cherkasy Oblast, central Ukraine  ed.], ways of ensuring the pilgrims safety were discussed.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "Ukraine always welcomes pilgrims with warmth and hospitality and is responsible for their security."

Details: According to Israeli estimates, about 50,000 Hasidic pilgrims may arrive in Uman this year.

The Ukrainian president emphasised that currently, the bomb shelters at the pilgrimage sites in Uman can accommodate only about 11,000 people.

At the same time, given the full-scale Russian aggression and the constant threat of strikes by Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones, this year's pilgrimage will be attended by high security risks.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "This is a security challenge that requires an urgent joint response."

Details: The parties discussed the possibility of sending additional forces from the Israeli police to the pilgrimage sites.

They also exchanged views on cooperation between Ukraine and Israel in the international arena.

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!
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has officially introduced Rustem Umierov as Ukraines new Minister of Defence on 7 September and expressed his belief that he can reboot the work of the Ministry of Defence.

Source: Zelenskyy in his evening video address on 7 September

Quote: "Today I officially introduced the new Minister of Defene of Ukraine, Rustem Umierov. He is a strong person. A systematic person. He has a good understanding of the defence sector. From the earliest days of the full-scale war, he has been involved in negotiations on weapons for Ukraine. Very sensitive negotiations, productive ones. He has also been involved in negotiations on the release of our people from Russian captivity. Rustem has achieved important results for Ukraine in this regard as well.

He can reboot the work of the Ministry of Defence. This is exactly what is needed now."

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Details: The president added that on 7 September, he greeted intelligence officers on the occasion of Ukraine's Military Intelligence Day.

Quote: "We all realise how cool our intelligence officers are. True bravery, powerful results. I thanked Defence Intelligence on behalf of the whole of Ukraine," he said.

Details: On Thursday, Zelenskyy had conversations with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The main topic was security.

The president also held several important meetings regarding international cooperation.

Quote: "This September we have to achieve several very specific results in our work with our partners. This includes new weapons for Ukraine - we are preparing for news - and our diplomatic efforts to unite even more countries to restore peace throughout our land. We are preparing for more global pressure on Russia."

Details: Zelenskyy singled out the 12th Special Purpose Brigade of the National Guard, fighting in the east, and the 3rd and 15th brigades of the National Guard, fighting on the southern fronts.

"Thank you, warriors, for your very, very effective destruction of the occupiers!" the president said.

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!
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has officially introduced newly appointed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to the leadership of Ukraines Defense Ministry and the Armed Forces General Staff, according to a press release on Sept. 7.

Umerovs key tasks include expanding international cooperation, improving communication with the families of fallen and wounded soldiers, improving transparency at the ministry, and reducing bureaucracy, Zelenskyy said.

Read also: New Defense Minister makes first comments after appointment

"Trust is very important; trust is where work begins, and lost trust is probably where everything ends. Today, society is in a very difficult emotional situation. Maximum transparency and maximum trust are key," Zelenskyy said.

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This will be one of the priorities of the new minister. I don't think we have much time... If we are going to reform and take concrete steps, I would recommend doing it quickly.

Ukraines parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, appointed Rustem Umerov as Defense Minister on September 6 after dismissing Oleksii Reznikov the day before.

Read also: Ukraines parliament dismissed Pishchanska as AMCU head, Reznikov and Umerov dismissed as well

Reznikov had led the ministry since November 2021. Umerov had overseen the State Property Fund since September 2022.



Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has introduced Rustem Umierov, the new Defence Minister, to the staff of the Ministry of Defence and outlined the tasks he is currently facing.

Source: Zelenskyy on social media

Details: Zelenskyy said that the Ministry of Defence needs a new approach. This is the agency responsible for coordinating the entire defence sector.

The President called for a maximum shift from bureaucracy and to real digitalisation of the Defence Ministry.

Quote: "The Ukrainian warrior is a key priority for the defence forces. If changes in the defence forces are required for the good and strength of the soldier, then such changes must be immediate.

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This applies to everything from bureaucratic procedures that take up the time and energy of soldiers to the provision of our soldiers. Everything that can be digitised should be digitised. Every bureaucratic procedure that can be cancelled should be cancelled. Every item that can save the lives and health of soldiers must be found and supplied to the Ukrainian army.

We need a new philosophy of attitude towards Ukrainian soldiers: people are not expendable. Their time and effort are valuable to the state.

The Ukrainian Defence Forces have the world's largest experience of successful defence in modern warfare. Everything that provides this protection should work for every Ukrainian soldier, for our country as a whole and for the security of our partners. This is what we need to do. We need to do it purposefully. This applies to everything from training soldiers to medical support for brigades, from combat support to communication with our soldiers' families."

Details: Zelenskyy also called for effective reforms in the ministry to build public trust.

Quote: "Trust in the decisions that are made, trust in the procurements that are carried out, trust in the supplies that are planned and carried out, and trust in the communication between the units and the necessary links in the defence system of Ukraine.

I am confident that Rustem Umierov is able to provide this."

Background: On 6 September, the Verkhovna Rada approved the appointment of Rustem Umierov, former head of the State Property Fund, as the Minister of Defence. The day before, Oleksii Reznikov resigned from this post at his own discretion.

Umierov said that the Ministry of Defence's top priorities included an audit of all areas and Ukrainian defence production.

The newly appointed defence minister also announced plans to introduce an electronic military ID card, launch a unified register of conscripts and digitise all processes of military medical commissions.

Read more on the topic: Zelenskyy's fourth defence minister: why the president is replacing Oleksii Reznikov with Rustem Umierov

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!






President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has promoted Kyrylo Budanov , the Chief of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, to the rank of lieutenant general.

Source: the president's decree dated 7 September

Quote: "The military rank of Lieutenant General shall be assigned to Major General Kyrylo Oleksiyovych Budanov, Head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine."

Background: Ukraine's Military Intelligence Day is celebrated on 7 September.

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!






This is Budanovs second promotion since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promoted the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), Kyrylo Budanov, to the rank of Lieutenant General on Sept. 7.

Read also: Budanov shares memorable Explosive Cake greeting on Military Intelligence Day  video

This is Budanovs second promotion since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, after he was promoted to Major General on April 3.

The HUR has carried out a number of successful operations since the beginning of the full-scale war, including strikes deep inside Russian territory as well as a raid on occupied Crimea on Aug. 24, Ukraine's Independence Day.

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
People traveling along U.S. 501 can expect to see a portion of the highway dedicated to Judge J. Samuel Johnston Jr. for his faithfulness and dedication to the citizens of Campbell County in the coming weeks.

The dedicated highway runs from a section of U.S. 501 from the southern Lynchburg City limits to the Virginia 24 East intersection, totaling 7.96 miles.

County Administrator Frank Rogers said Tuesday evening he was one of the few people in the room who did not know Johnston personally.

Rogers pointed out, however, he is the perfect example of why Johnston is being recognized.

Because I know of him and I know his reputation and I know the good deeds he did for the county, the many years of service he put in this community, and the great nature and wisdom he exercised in the courtroom, he said.

Johnston received his bachelors degree from the University of Alabama and a law degree from the University of Virginia Law School.

After practicing law for five years, he was appointed judge of Campbell General District Court in 1977, making him the youngest judge in the state at the age of 30; and in 1981, Johnston became the youngest circuit court judge in Virginia where he presided over hundreds of trials.

During his tenure as a circuit court judge, Johnston advocated for a new courthouse which was constructed on June 20, 1991, according to a resolution from the county.

Johnston retired in 2008 and authored a book entitled, Why Judges Wear Robes, a memoir with stories from his time serving in the courtroom, and continued to remain active in the legal community as a substitute judge for the 24th Judicial Circuit and doing speaking engagements helping other judges and attorneys.

Johnston died Dec. 10, 2022, at the age of 76.

In 2019, the board of supervisors authorized staff to work with the Virginia Department of Transportation and the local Virginia delegation to have a portion of the highway dedicated to Johnston but at the time, the Code of Virginia did not allow naming of a road after a living person.

At a Feb. 7 meeting, the board adopted a resolution to request the Commonwealth Transportation Board and VDOT to formally name a section of U.S. 501 after Johnston.

On March 29, the transportation board adopted a resolution naming the section of U.S. 501 as the Judge J. Samuel Johnston Jr. Memorial Highway.

VDOT will construct the signs on either end of U.S. 501.

Del. Matt Fariss, R-Campbell, said Johnston was a good man.

He was quite the character. He was a good judge. He was fair, he was honest, Fariss said.

Whit Johnston, son of Judge Johnston, thanked the board and the county on behalf of the family.

Whit Johnston said his dad was pretty proud of his 10,000 trips from home to court; but wondered what was going through his fathers mind on on the drive.

He said his father prepared to go sentence someone, finalize a divorce, break up family, lots of terrible things; but he said his father also did a lot of good things such as unite families through adoption, enable rehabilitation and administer justice.

So on the way home, I guess, he got to relish in the victories of the day and not get caught up so much in the bad  and this is such a fitting tribute for that career and his legacy; and he loved the fine people of Campbell County and always referred to them as his people, he added.
JUBA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan and the Chinese Embassy on Thursday awarded certificates to the outgoing tenth batch of the Chinese medical team, recognizing their excellent medical services to the local people in the youngest nation of the world.

During the awarding ceremony held at the Chinese Embassy in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, Atem Nathan Nyuon, acting undersecretary in the Ministry of Health, commended successive Chinese medical teams for their positive contribution to transforming the health sector of the country since 2012.

"China medical teams chose to stand with South Sudanese together to face the difficulties, and the modernization of Juba Teaching Hospital is robust evidence showing China's strong support to the development of our health sector. China medical teams come here not only to treat our patients but to give us a better understanding of modern medicine through various training sessions for our young doctors," Nyuon said.

Anthony Lupai Simon, director-general of Juba Teaching Hospital, said the Chinese medical teams have not only been stationed in Juba Teaching Hospital but also been working in remote and hard-to-reach areas such as Paloch, Panyagor and Rumbek.

"It is not only medical service that they do, clinical practice but there is also training that they have been conducting from time to time. We had the tenth batch help us by training our cadres locally here and also some were sent for training in China," Lupai said. "As we speak we have a good number of people who are currently undergoing training in China because the hospital is expanding and we need a good capacity of people who are going to cater to the expanded hospital."

Xu Zhangwei, team leader of the tenth batch of the Chinese medical team, said their infectious diseases department and laboratory department launched a series of theoretical and practical training regularly, which has effectively improved local doctors' ability to diagnose and treat common infectious diseases.

"Under our tireless effort, a full-new pathology department, a telediagnosis center and an infectious disease laboratory with equipment and medical supplies of nearly 1 million U.S. dollars are going to be handed over this year," Xu said.

Chen Si, team leader of the incoming 11th batch of the Chinese medical team in South Sudan, said his team is honored to follow in the footsteps of the 10th batch of the Chinese medical team and continue their commendable work in providing healthcare assistance to the people of South Sudan. "The dedication and efforts of the previous team have set a high standard for us, and we are committed to upholding and surpassing their achievements," Chen said.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the dispatch of Chinese medical teams all over the world. In 1963, China dispatched the first medical team to Algeria. Over the six decades, China has sent 30,000 medical personnel to 76 countries all over the world and treated 290 million patients.

The first batch of Chinese medical team arrived in South Sudan in 2012. The China medical teams have set up an electronic gastroscopy department, and a cervical screening center in Juba Teaching Hospital and also supported four batches of 33 South Sudanese medical staff in studying and training in China.

Over the past 11 years since the first batch of the Chinese medical team to South Sudan arrived in Juba in 2012, 149 Chinese medical workers have come to work in the East African country successively, having treated 64,409 outpatients, performed 1,206 operations of various types, carried out gastroscopy examinations for 1,199 people, and conducted 19 free medical camps in outreach regions of the country, which have served 30,245 patients in total. 
A Bellevue man recently placed a lunch order  about a dozen sandwiches and some side dishes  with a local restaurant to be picked up the next day.

The only problem? It wasn't a local order.

You see, the man placing the online order lives in Bellevue, Washington, but somehow got the address of The Banh Mi Shop on Galvin Road in Bellevue, Nebraska.

This is the first time Ive seen anything like this, said Sky Lambrecht, a restaurant employee. Weve had some orders canceled before, but I dont think weve ever had one canceled because of a different citys name.

The mix-up, though, is not a rare occurrence.

It happens more often than people think, said Diane Bruce, president of the Bellevue (Nebraska) Chamber of Commerce.

In her few months running the resurrected chamber, there have been at least two cases of mistaken identity, and other chamber employees recalled several more errant inquiries in recent times.

Usually, it takes only a few minutes for the chamber to inform these callers that the information they are seeking, like points of interest, are not found around here, but more than likely in Bellevue, Washington, Bruce said.

She thinks people looking for Bellevue information on social media may see the city name, but not the states name. That's certainly what happens on occasion when you enter "Bellevue" into Google Maps or similar online services without specifying exactly which Bellevue is intended.

Meanwhile, it was around 9 a.m. in Bellevue, Washington, which is 11 a.m. in Bellevue, Nebraska, on the day of the pickup that the man called the restaurant realizing he had made a mistake, said Chloe Tran-Thompson, restaurant owner.

Though she didnt directly talk to that man, he seemed apologetic, according to another employee, Tran-Thompson said.

She said the confusion may have occurred because banh mi refers to a type of sandwich. The man also paid the order, she said.

Since the order was already prepared, the restaurant decided to offer its online followers the prepared food at discount prices, which drew strong support from the local community.

They were gone in about 25 minutes, Lambrecht said.

Tran-Thompson recalled another time when employees made 100 sandwiches only to have the order canceled at the last moment. With all that food, the restaurant decided to advertise it online at discounted prices. They were gone within an hour, she said.

They would support us without hesitation, Tran-Thompson said.

We thought it was funny, Lambrecht said of the mix-up. It was hard work, but it brought in a lot of business.
Bloom Works Floral kicked off Good Neighbor Day on Wednesday by giving away roses from a canopy on the sidewalk in front of the store at 142 W. Broadway.

To add to the festivities, Bluffs Country KXCB-FM 106.5 broadcast its morning show from a booth next to them, and Js Coffee served a couple flavors of coffee from a nearby stand.

Members of the public were offered a dozen free roses and asked to keep one and give away the rest in observance of Good Neighbor Day.

Its the 18th year Bloom Works has celebrated the occasion by giving away flowers, said owner Alisa Roth. The event was started by FTD, a national floral wire service.

The second year after we opened, it was an FTD thing, so we just thought wed try it, she said. We gave away about 100 roses, and it just kept growing.

Now Bloom Works usually gives away 10,000 roses on Good Neighbor Day with the help of local sponsors, Roth said.

Its just the act of giving with no strings attached, she said.

They encourage others to pass the favor along and have a great day.

For the last 16 years, Memory Mescher has helped by delivering flowers to the Council Bluffs and Lewis Township Fire Stations and the city, county and state law enforcement agencies.

The law enforcement doesnt have time to do this, she said.

Mary Mason of Interfaith Response picked up some to give to volunteers at the nonprofit relief organization.

Its for everything they do, she said.

Melissa McLean picked up flowers Wednesday morning with her son, Keaton, 8, and daughter Jacqueline, 5.

Weve participated in this the last couple years, Melissa McLean said. Its usually just me, but they wanted to take some to their teachers.

Brandi Luther, who works at Anawim Housing, planned to share some with their clients.

Tierra Wells picked up some to give to her boyfriend, and Marcus Hagedorn got some for his girlfriend.

I do it every year, he said.

National Good Neighbor Day has been observed on Sept. 28 since it was established in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter, but many cities designate their own dates to celebrate the holiday, such as March 20, July 4 or Nov. 12.

The National Good Neighbor Day website has a Good Neighbor Pledge. The pledge includes: I pledge to be the good neighbor. With the goal of becoming a more connected and caring community, I will be a person who lives with kindness and concern for my neighbors....

Good neighbors make great neighborhoods, the website states.

Good Neighbor Day 090623-cbn-news-neighbor1t.jpg Alisa Roth, right, owner of Bloom Works Floral, hands Brandi Luther of Anawim Housing a dozen red roses to give to the organization's clients  090623-cbn-news-neighbor2t.jpg Alisa Roth, right, owner of Bloom Works Floral, hands a dozen roses to Mary Mason of Interfaith Response on Good Neighbor Day, Sept. 6, 2023,  090623-cbn-news-neighbor3t.jpg Alisa Roth, left, hands a dozen red roses to Marcus Hagedorn on Good Neighbor Day, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. 090623-cbn-news-neighbor4t.jpg Sandy Carr, left, manager of Bloom Works Floral, hands a dozen yellow roses to a neighbor on Good Neighbor Day, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, in t 090623-cbn-news-neighbor5t.jpg Peggie Sweet and Todd Studer, co-hosts of the Morning Show on Bluffs Country 106.5, broadcast live from the Good Neighbor Day event as audio t
Jerry Mathiasen would urge his fellow Iowans to serve the public.

Im a big believer in civic engagement, the Council Bluffs resident told the Nonpareil in a recent interview. Not only is it rewarding, but it feels good to give back.

Mathiasen should know: his dedication to public service goes back for years and years, including acting in roles with the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation and Iowa West Foundation.

Volunteer opportunities abound, Mathiasen said, including serving on state or local boards, commissions or committees. In fact, he was recently reappointed by Gov. Kim Reynolds to the State Terrace Hill Commission that oversees operations of the governors mansion in Des Moines.

Mathiasen was particularly excited about this most recent reappointment as it came in the same month as the 20th anniversary of the mansion being designated as a national landmark.

I am humbled that Gov. Reynolds reappointed me as this nonpartisan state commission manages and preserves this landmark, he said.

The mansion, known as Terrace Hill, was built in the 1860s and was designed by William Boyington, the same architect who designed the General Dodge House in Council Bluffs, said Mathiasen.

It became the residence of Iowas governors and their families in 1976, he said. It is open to the public and I encourage more southwest Iowans to visit this treasure.

Its a treasure Mathiasen knows very well.

I was deputy chief of staff with Gov. Terry Branstad and spent a lot of time there, he said.

Upon returning home after 14 years in Des Moines, Gov. Tom Vilsack selected Mathiasen to serve on the Terrance Hill Partnership, the nonprofit organization that raises the funds to preserve and enhance the property and programs of Terrace Hill. This was then followed by appointments from Branstad and Reynolds to the commission.

This is the start of my 13th year on the commission, Mathiasen said. Ive been on it more than half the time that it has been a national landmark.

He is also the only current member of the nine-person commission who lives outside the Des Moines area.

Jerry has been a wonderful member of the commission. He is always active and engaged. He is always prepared," said Diane Becker, administrator for the commission.

Mathiasens dedication to public service is also seen locally.

Im honored the countys Board of Supervisors appointed me to the Pottawattamie County Conservation Board," he said. "Ive also been active on the Council Bluffs Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Committee and was active on the Dodge House Strategic Task Force.

Mathiasen is also a retired president and CEO of the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation. The Cindy and Jerry Mathiasen Family Fund at the foundation donates to many local charities.

Im keeping busy, he said.

There are many ways that others can also be active in public service, he said.

Gov. Reynolds recently appointed eight Pottawattamie County citizens to state boards, but there are many more opportunities statewide and locally, he said.

He recommends a website called Talent Bank Iowa where people can view different state boards. It would be worth noting that a state panel has recommended eliminating or consolidating many state panels, although not the State Terrace Hill Commission.

People can also serve on city and county boards, school committees or through charities or nonprofits, Mathiasen said.

As the retired CEO of the community foundation, I encourage citizens to look at that avenue to give back as well," he said. "There are a lot of talented people of all ages in our city and county, so I may be preaching to the choir to many of them, but Im hopeful even more will come forward to serve our community."

U.S. President Herbert Hoover, who was from Iowa, once said that public service was a noble profession," Mathiasen said. "I believe you can add volunteerism to that great statement.
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.
Canadian company Aya Gold & Silver announced it found high-grade silver at the Zgounder Silver Mine in Morocco.

Todays high-grade drill results including hole ZG-RC-23-2230-212 near the open-pit area to the East continue to demonstrate continuity of mineralization from surface and at depth over the larger footprint of the deposit, said Benoit La Salle, President & CEO.

We are also very encouraged by these results and expect more significant intercepts in the coming months as we accelerate underground drilling at Zgounder, he added.

These positive results come nearly one year after the Canadian company received up to $100 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD).

The funding helped Aya Gold & Silver support expansion and upgrade of its Zgounder silver mine, with a new state of the art 2,000tpd processing plant, a new power line with a renewable energy and new wastewater facilities.

Listed on the TSX, the Canadian Corporation operates the Zgounder Silver Mine, an underground silver mine located 260km east of Agadir. In addition to advancing its Boumadine polymetallic project, Aya has a number of exploration properties located along the prolific Anti-Atlas belt that is host to Zgounder and Managems Imiter Mine.
Madagascars President Andry Rajoelina submitted Wednesday September 6 his candidacy for November 09 presidential elections and will face 27 other candidates, including two former Presidents.

The countrys top court, Haute Cour Constitutionnelle (HCC), as of Wednesday September 6, the deadline for submitting bids, received 28 candidacies.

The court will vet the bids and release candidates for the first round of the elections on September 11.

The 28 candidacies also include those of former Presidents Marc Ravalomanana and Hery Martial Rajaonarimampianina. The two former Leaders and six other candidates last week signed a declaration for Rajoelinas bid to be nullified, arguing that it is against the Constitution.

In June 2023, Rajoelina faced a storm of criticism after it emerged that he also owns French citizenship.

His critics and the opposition questioned his integrity in claiming Madagascars ownership of Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean, still controlled by former colonial power, France.

In July, he defended himself arguing that he acquired the French nationality in the interest of his children and doubled down that he will always defend the African country. Dual nationality should not be a sin, Rajoelina had said in an interview to State-run television.
The Chadian army killed Wednesday September 6 two people who were trying to infiltrate a French military base in the northern city of Faya-Largeau amid protests against the death of a Chadian soldier at the hands of a French doctor.

Protests erupted Tuesday September 5 in the city after Mahamat Dakou Hamid, a soldier in his thirties, transported to the military base for medical treatment was shot dead by a French military doctor in a brawl.

The Chadian army intervened to curtail the protest and clashed with hundreds of youths who were trying to storm the base. At least 15 people including women and children were also wounded in the clashes.

The death toll was three people, including the Chadian soldier killed by the French. About 15 people sustained injuries of varying severity. There are women and children among the victims, according to local sources.

After the incident, most of the French military base was evacuated by plane to the Chadian capital of NDjamena.

Chadian political scientist Evariste Ngarlem Tolde indicated that members of the Chadian parliament had demanded the withdrawal of French military forces from the country after Dakous death.
Nigerien authorities discovered Tuesday a set of military equipment including sixteen uniforms of the Burkina Faso army, in a van coming out of the French embassy in capital Niamey, state-run news agency reported.

The van reportedly brought furniture of a French man living in town to the mission but a search of the vehicle as it was making its way out of the embassy revealed the presence of 16 fatigues (of Burkina Faso army), 21 military T-shirts and two pairs of shoes.

The media also reported that the van was handed over to the military police for investigation.

The discovery came amid an ongoing standoff between the embassy and Nigerien authorities who have besieged the mission as they demand the ambassador to leave the country after he failed to grace a meeting at the countrys Foreign ministry.

Paris also refused to pull out its envoy.

Niger has terminated all agreements with the former colonial power and demanded the withdrawal of 1,500 French troops in presence on its soil. Both sides this week indicated that talks are ongoing for the French troops to leave.
The Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) in Gabon Wednesday September 6 set free ousted leader Ali Bongo placed under house arrest since August 30.

The permission came following a meeting between Bongo and Central Africa Republic (CAR) President, envoy of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) Faustin Archange Touadera.

Touadera met with Brice Oligui Nguema, who has been sworn in as President of the Transition Tuesday September 5 on behalf of the regional bloc in a bid to defuse the political crisis that birthed in Gabon after the CTRI ousted Bongo and seized power following presidential elections.

The countrys independent electoral commission declared Bongo winner of the elections but the CTRI claimed the polls were rigged and the results cooked.

The CAR leader pleaded the release of Bongo who has been under medical treatment since he suffered from a stroke in 2018 during a trip to Saudi Arabia.

The permission is meant to allow him to continue his treatment aboard, mainly in Morocco where he was whisked to for treatment following the stroke that impaired him.
NAIROBI, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African bloc, has reiterated its call for a peaceful solution to a five-month-old conflict in Sudan.

Leaders of the IGAD Quartet Group of Countries, namely Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Djibouti, met on Wednesday evening in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. They called on the IGAD that has eight member states and the African Union to combine their efforts with the countries neighbouring Sudan as well as international stakeholders to support an inclusive platform for a peace process.

The meeting which brought together presidents of Kenya, Djibouti and South Sudan, and a representative of Ethiopia urged the IGAD and the AU to map the agenda and identify participants and other relevant matters in support of a political dialogue that clearly defines a Sudanese-owned and Sudanese-led political process.

"The quartet strongly condemns the ongoing war and calls upon the warring parties to immediately halt all hostilities and reiterates that there is no military solution to the conflict in Sudan," they said in a communique issued in Nairobi on Wednesday evening.

The leaders warned that the Sudan conflict is becoming increasingly complex and risks taking on a regional dimension with the entry and participation of other armed movements, in addition to the rapid proliferation of small arms and light weapons posing severe security, humanitarian and political risks for Sudan and the broader region.

According to the UN, more than one million refugees, returnees and third-country nationals have already fled Sudan to neighbouring countries.

The countries receiving people fleeing Sudan -- the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan -- were hosting hundreds of thousands of displaced people even before this crisis.

The quartet leaders committed to mobilizing one million U.S. dollars from each IGAD member state for humanitarian assistance and to support the peace process in solidarity with the people of Sudan.

The leaders urged the international community, neighbouring countries and friends of Sudan to scale up and sustain support for humanitarian action for the people of Sudan and the peace process.

The UN refugee agency on Monday appealed for one billion dollars to provide essential aid and protection to over 1.8 million people expected to arrive in five neighbouring countries by the end of 2023, fleeing the ongoing conflict in Sudan. 
The Russian ambassador to Rabat said his country is ready to sell wheat at a competitive price to Morocco, a major wheat importer.

Russia is ready to supply wheat to Morocco at reasonable prices, Russias ambassador Vladimir Baibakov told TASS news agency.

Morocco remains a key Russian trade and economic partner in Africa. In a geopolitical context marked by worsening energy and food crises, such a partnership is particularly important, he said.

Russias interest in Moroccos wheat market comes amid fierce international competition among wheat exporters to expand their market share in Morocco.

Last year, Morocco surpassed Algeria as the largest importer of EU wheat, notably of French origin.

So far this year, Morocco imported 1.7 million tons from France which by far outperformed Germany, Romania, and Poland.

Traders however expect France not to retain its significant market shares for long in view of high prices.

Morocco has also generalized subsidies for importers to cover all wheat origins, in a move that traders say would benefit Russia.

Wheat markets specialist Arthur Portier told French media Russia is lowering wheat prices as a diplomatic tool in its standoff with the West.

Meanwhile, Leconomiste reported that Polish wheat exporters are also seeking to expand their market share in Morocco.
Morocco has called on Arab countries to respect neighborliness and territorial integrity of Arab league member countries to counter the current regional & international challenges.

Addressing the Arab League Council of foreign ministers which convened Wednesday in Cairo under the chairmanship of the Kingdom, Moroccan foreign minister Nasser Bourita said the complex crises affecting Arab countries require inter-Arab coordination and a common vision based on a strong political will, neighborliness and respect of national sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Arab states.

Bouritas remarks send a strong message to neighboring Algerian regime which continues its hostile policy against Morocco after cutting diplomatic ties with Rabat, closed air space to Moroccan planes and shutdown the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline crossing the North African Kingdom.

Moroccos top diplomat said his country, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, is pushing for regional partnership and cooperation to enable Arab countries to address common development challenges.

The Royal vision for Arab cooperation, which is based on a solidarity strategy, seeks to create an atmosphere conducive to the settlement of bilateral disputes, advancing joint Arab action and building trust among Arab countries, explained Bourita.

After congratulating Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for gaining BRICS membership, the Minister stressed the importance for the Arab league of strengthening cooperation ties with other regional groupings to serve the economic and political interests of the Arab world.

The Palestinian cause will remain top of priorities of joint Arab action, said Mr. Bourita, citing in this regard the Kingdoms steadfast commitment to support Palestinians legitimate rights thanks to King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee.

On the situation in some Arab countries rocked by political crises, wars and conflicts, such as Syria, Yemen and Sudan, Mr. Bourita voiced Moroccos hope to see stability in these countries thanks to dialogue and peaceful initiatives, far from the logic of force and military solutions.

During its Cairo meeting, the Arab league ministerial council lauded Moroccos efforts made for the settlement of the Libyan crisis and stressed the importance of the full implementation of the political deal, sealed in 2015 in Skhirate, as a basis for reaching a political solution to Libyan crisis.

In the fight against terrorism, the Arab League urged Arab countries to continue benefiting from Mohammed VI Foundation of African Ulema and the Mohammed VI Institute for the training of Imams, Morchidines and Morchidates in Morocco, hailing the Kingdoms decision of hosting UN Office for Counter-Terrorism and Training in Africa (UNOCT).

The Council of the Arab League also expressed full support for Moroccos bid to chair the 18th session of Human Rights Council in 2024.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary for North Africa, Joshua Harris, reiterated, on Thursday, from Rabat the United States support for the Morocco-proposed autonomy plan as a serious, credible and realistic solution to the dispute over the Sahara.

The United States continues to view Moroccos Autonomy Plan as serious, credible and realistic, the US Embassy in Rabat said in a press release following the talks Mr. Harris had with Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita.

The senior US official, who was accompanied by US ambassador to Morocco, Puneet Talwar, also reaffirmed the deep and historic partnership between the United States and Morocco.

Joshua Harris, whose visit to Rabat is part of a regional tour to Morocco and Algeria, also underscored US appreciation for Moroccos crucial efforts on a wide range of regional and global challenges, including addressing instability in the Sahel, supporting Libyan elections, and promoting equal measures of freedom, security, and prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians.
Central Nebraska Public Power District will inspect the Johnson No. 1 Hydro plant from Nov. 6-16 during a scheduled drawdown of Johnson Lake.

Hydraulic Project Operations Manager Cory Steinke told the CNPPID Board of Directors at its September meeting that the lake elevation would be approximately 13 feet below normal operations levels during the draw down.

Central is planning to place a temporary dike in the outlet canal of Johnson Lake. This dike would allow dewatering of the outlet canal to conduct a full inspection the J-1 Hydro plant, CNPPID said in a press release.

With lake levels low, it also provides CNPPID the opportunity to check for and remove any remaining debris in the lake from the tornado event that occurred this past spring.

Lake residents wanting to perform shoreline maintenance need contact CNPIID to obtain any necessary permits prior to initiating such projects.

The drawdown is scheduled to begin around Oct. 26 but that date could be adjusted based on flows in the North and South Platte rivers. It will slowly fill during the hydro plant outage and should return to normal water operations by the end of November.

Also at Tuesdays board meeting in Holdrege:

Irrigation and Water Services Manager Scott Dicke reported to the board that the irrigation season is coming to an end.

The headgates are scheduled to be closed on Sept. 8 with typical drain down water likely being available to irrigators after that date.

Dicke added that the water level at Elwood Reservoir is now stable with no more releases planned and boaters can still have access.

Construction on the Elwood Dam seepage repair project is getting set to begin and the construction trailer will be brought in and mobilized this week.

Half of the boat ramp parking lot will now be fenced off during time of construction.

Directors approved a pricing addendum to a water leasing agreement with the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program for $100 per acre with a cap of 3,000 acres, the same terms as the 2023 agreement

The board approved a purchase requisition for $75,768 to Central Nebraska Bobcat for an E35 Bobcat mini excavator.

The board signed a resolution to adopt and enter into the declaration of trust and participate in the Nebraska Cooperative Liquid Assets Securities System Trust and the Nebraska Public Agency Investment Trust. These potential investment options offer favorable return rates to the district.

Steinke gave the directors an update on the progression of the bridge work near Midway Lake.

Steinke said an additional bridge near Maxwell suffered significant damage when an overweight vehicle passed over it.

He reminded the board the importance of overweight vehicles exceeding posted weight limits and the immediate danger that could occur.

I was very surprised the vehicle that caused the damage didnt end up in the canal, he stated.

The bridge has been shut down and Centrals crews are repairing it.

Steinke said Lake McConaughys elevation currently is 3,229.1 feet (49.2% of maximum volume). He reported the peak elevation of the summer was 3,235.7 feet on July 18. Inflows are around 600 cubic feet per second and outflows are about 2,400 cfs.

Steinke also reported that CNPPID is assisting with the lowering of water levels as the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission plans for the fall renovation of the Lake Ogallala fishery. Nebraska Public Power District also plans to perform inspections and maintenance on their canals during this time.
LINCOLN  From the ashes of a destroyed 4-H camp at the Nebraska National Forest, an ambitious plan is rising for a $47 million center for tourists, conferences and local and regional events.

A feasibility study is underway for the proposed Sandhills Discovery Center near Halsey after the Nebraska Legislature, earlier this year, allocated $10 million towards replacing the State 4-H Camp, which was destroyed in a fire that swept through the forest 11 months ago.

State Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte, who represents the Halsey area and obtained the state funding, said that if the Sandhills center is done right, it could rival eastern Nebraskas Mahoney State Park and Lied Lodge.

All too often we dont dream big enough, Jacobson said in a press release.

He called the Nebraska National Forest and the Sandhills on which it sits two of our states greatest treasures.

The Nebraska Community Foundation, which helps dozens of Nebraska communities raise funds for local projects, has already done an economic impact study that estimates such a facility would bring a $4 million a year benefit to Halsey and nearby communities.

Now the foundation is conducting a feasibility study to gauge interest among donors for such a project, and what exactly should be built.

We want to figure out how to do this right, Jeff Yost, executive director of the Nebraska Community Foundation, said Wednesday.

This idea makes an enormous amount of sense to me, he added, because this is a unique part of the world, and people want experiences.

On Wednesday, the Nebraska 4-H Foundation announced that its board, in a special meeting, had voted to commit a $2 million insurance settlement from the fire toward development of the Discovery Center. The states funding must be matched dollar-for-dollar.

We look forward to working with the community in a statewide effort to provide a future, first-class educational opportunity for 4-Hers and an economic driver for the wider community, said Roberta Pinkerton, president of the 4-H Foundation.

The 4-H Camp, which had been a fixture at the Halsey forest for 65 years, hosted a variety of events, from family reunions and weddings to 4-H conferences and a Becoming an Outdoors Woman retreat.

Dianna Rodocker, Halseys village clerk, said losing the camp was a blow to the community and the nearby ranching area because so many weddings and reunions were held there and because it generated traffic for local businesses.

She was among an estimated 60-70 people equaling the population of Halsey  that packed a town hall meeting last month to hear about the plans from Jacobson and the Community Foundation.

Everyone in town would be happy to see it, Rodocker said. But its hard to imagine that were going to have a facility out here that costs that much money thats not in Omaha or Lincoln.

But Yost and Stuart Shepherd, executive director of the Nebraska 4-H Foundation, said that such a facility in Halsey has a lot going for it.

The 4-H Camp, which could accommodate up to 200 overnight visitors in its lodge and cabins, was almost always busy, Shepard said.

Yost said people want to experience the Sandhills, a vast area of grass-covered sand dunes that became a National Natural Landmark in 1984. The same holds true for the 90,000-acre forest near Halsey, the largest hand-planted forest in North America.

The Middle Loup River adjacent to the forest hosts canoe and float trips, he said, and visitors could access nearby agri-tourism attractions.

The center is being envisioned on private land, near the forest and possibly on Nebraska Highway 2, a route that leads to the Black Hills and Yellowstone.

Yost said the facility, if deemed feasible, would be built in stages, with the first phase possibly opening by 2026. He said hes been encouraged by the initial response.

This is perfectly reasonable based on what tourists in 2023 are doing and say they want to do, Yost said.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen recently announced formation of a group which will study ways to address our states workforce shortage. Nebraska unemployment rate is 2%; one of the lowest in the country.

It is estimated that there are 80,000 unfilled jobs in the Cornhusker state. Nebraska needs workers in unprecedented numbers. We need to attract people. We need to retain people who are already here, particularly younger workers.

A broad coalition of strange political bedfellows is advocating for comprehensive immigration reform as a key component of addressing the shortage of workers in Nebraska.

The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, far from an enclave of left-leaning rabble rousers, is heading up efforts of local chamber groups, ag and livestock organizations, educators, immigration advocates, healthcare interests, labor unions, faith-based and philanthropic institutions, academia and business groups to focus on thoughtful, pragmatic immigration reform.

An immigration system that matches up those seeking to come to our country to work with employers in our country needing workers makes sense. Business and labor interests are urging elected leaders to seriously pursue this solution.

Of course, in response to the request from his fellow Republican governor in Texas, Pillen just spent approximately $2.2 million in state dollars to send 10 members of the Nebraska State Patrol and 61 Nebraska Army National Guard soldiers to the southern border for a handful of weeks this summer.

Pillens political stunt in Texas is pure pandering and partisan grandstanding. Playing politics is 180 degrees opposite of the genuine efforts to improve immigration policy that are needed and promoted by the coalition headed by the Nebraska Chamber.

Unserious partisanship at the border does nothing to address our workforce problem. Broad-brush denigration of those seeking employment and a better life in our country is no way to attract people to our state.

Many of the bills passed by the Unicameral this year are now becoming law, a reminder  if one was needed  of just how divisive the most recent legislative session was in our state.

In that session, the state weighed in on issues involving abortion and gender identification to degrees that have not been part of our society for 50 years  on abortion  or ever  on parents authority to determine care for their transgender children.

Many are offended by what they see as the states improper intrusion in personal-liberty matters of reproductive and gender identity healthcare. When signing the bill that dramatically limits access to abortion after 12 weeks of gestation and precludes parents from obtaining gender-affirming care for their child under 19 years old, Pillen proclaimed it the most significant win for social conservative agenda in over a generation of Nebraska.

Such callousness toward people who do not agree with the social conservative agenda does not help retain or attract workers to Nebraska.

The Unicamerals education committee chair is Pillen ally Republican Sen. Dave Murman, a farmer from Glenvil. Murman is pushing a bill that will ban books from school libraries and prohibit schools from teaching some of the more disgraceful aspects of our countrys history, particularly around slavery and racial segregation and discrimination.

Murmans bill is in lock step with legislation pushed by divisive culture war causes in Republican-dominated state legislatures across the nation.

Attempts to remove unflattering historical facts from instruction in our schools do not serve a societys need to learn from past mistakes.

Efforts to deprive Nebraska school children of an accurate education about our countrys history, good and bad, drive people away from our state and exacerbate our workforce shortages.

It remains to be seen whether Pillens work group will be just another bit of the governors partisan show or a sincere effort to consider solutions to the states shortage of workers. Pillens actions leave little reason for optimism.

Troopers and troops to the Texas border, focused sloganeering on divisive social issues, and nonsense educational reforms do not bode well for a thoughtful approach.

The governors appointment of state senators Lou Ann Linehan, Kathleen Kauth, and Tom Briese  Pillen minions all  to the group is another bad sign.

Treating all people with dignity and respect, genuine efforts in support of immigration reform, and sincere consideration of views outside the social conservative agenda can attract and retain workers. We will see if Pillens group can ascertain those truths.
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

America has a lot of problems. Many of these demand policy solutions that unify progressive groups against corporate interests. For example, our nations distribution of income has grown grossly inequitable over the past half-century. The government could help rectify this by making it easier for workers to organize into unions, which give laborers more leverage over their bosses. Virtually every left-wing nonprofit and mass-membership organization in the country supports enhancing collective bargaining rights. Virtually every corporate lobby opposes it.

Progressive groups are similarly in lockstep behind redressing inequality through higher taxes on the superrich, increasing drug affordability by regulating pharmaceutical prices, and enhancing consumer welfare through antitrust enforcement, among myriad other causes.

But this basic dynamic doesnt hold for all of our nations governance failures. Sometimes, the narrow interests of discrete progressive constituencies come into conflict with the general welfare. In other instances, outdated ideological presumptions can lead progressives to undermine their own interests through bad policy design.

Further, the superrich and corporate lobbies are not the only privileged segments of American society that fight to perpetuate inequitable systems that benefit them. Any individual upper-middle-class household exercises a negligible amount of power relative to Jeff Bezos. But because such households are exponentially more numerous than billionaires, they can constrain progressive reform as effectively (if not more so) than corporate fat cats. In recent years, Democrats at the state and federal levels have proven comfortable raising taxes on the superrich, but not on households that earn $300,000 a year. Meanwhile, among the biggest obstacles to the establishment of a remotely rational and just health-care system in the U.S. is the American Medical Association, which has an interest in sustaining the exceptionally high salaries of American doctors.

For progressives, tackling this latter set of problems can be ideologically and interpersonally uncomfortable. It is more congenial for us to agitate against antisocial corporate actors than our own myopic allies, to rebut reactionary dogmas than outdated liberal shibboleths, and to take on conservative billionaires than NIMBY homeowners, self-interested doctors, or tax-averse professionals. But if we are serious about achieving our goals, we cant be allergic to criticizing sympathetic constituencies or ideologically appealing orthodoxies.

To an extent, this is whats at issue in the debate over supply-side liberalism.

Supply-side liberals have called attention to various ways that the Democratic Party is failing to facilitate sufficient production of socially vital goods. For example, many states and cities where progressives enjoy considerable power have made it illegal to erect apartment buildings on much of their territory, even as they suffer from an acute shortage of housing units. This is not because corporate interests have bribed their governments. Rather, it is because (1) many affluent homeowners like living in class-segregated suburbs or neighborhoods, and restricting the availability of apartments is a handy tool for keeping away working-class people; (2) all kinds of incumbent residents have both a generalized aversion to neighborhood change and a specific fear of competition for parking spots and other amenities; and (3) many progressive groups that ostensibly exist to combat such classism and small-c conservatism have an ideological aversion to deregulation as an abstract concept.

Meanwhile, some deep-blue municipalities undermine core social programs by refusing to deny sympathetic interest groups requests for patronage. To take one infamous case, San Francisco requires supportive housing for the homeless to be built exclusively by small contractors, a bid to promote small business that comes at the cost of reducing the supply of shelter for the desperately needy.

At the federal level, congressional progressives have resisted attempts to reduce regulatory obstacles to the rapid deployment of clean energy, even as the existing rules make it impossible to meet Americas decarbonization goals. At the same time, many local environmental groups have exploited those rules to block green-energy infrastructure, in the name of conservation.

Commentators like Ezra Klein and myself look at these developments and conclude that progressives need to get more comfortable with ideologically uncongenial policy fights. A movement that is unwilling to prioritize the general welfare over allied interest groups myopic priorities  or to update its ideological presumptions in light of contrary evidence  will not be able to govern effectively.

But some progressives reject this analysis. In a recent column, the American Prospects David Dayen argues that the challenges the country faces are all part of the same fight, a pitched battle against corporate power, and that we lose that fight the moment we deflect from it.

In his account, supply-side liberals attempts to improve progressive governance and policy design are counterproductive. The fundamental cause of every single problem facing America is the contradiction between the innate sociopathy of profit-maximizing corporations and the best interests of consumers, workers, democracy, and the planet. Thus, anyone who diverts our collective attention from the struggle against corporate power  by, say, critiquing the pathologies of specific regulatory frameworks or the demands of any given progressive-aligned interest group  is abetting the enemy. This country isnt governed like a model U.N., Dayen writes. Its a knife fight, where who has power and what theyre doing with it overrules white papers about ideal efficiency.

On these grounds, Dayen has decried supply-side liberals for suggesting that some individual labor unions can sometimes push for regulatory provisions that contradict the public interest. In his framing, such arguments are tantamount to saying that workers interests do not matter. Fidelity to organized labor as an abstraction takes precedence over critical thought about specific policies favored by specific unions. After all, the overriding imperative is to combat concentrated corporate power. Questions that divide the anti-corporate coalition must therefore be sidelined. Once the primary enemy is defeated, resolving these internal tensions will be easier, anyway.

As is already apparent, I find this outlook unpersuasive. Dayen is one of our ablest chroniclers of corporate malfeasance. And he is absolutely right that the profit motive and public good are in perpetual tension. But it simply is not the case that concentrated corporate power is the immediate obstacle to every progressive goal. And ignoring this reality actually makes it harder for liberals to build the power necessary for taming avaricious capital.

Sometimes, supporting workers means opposing the demands of particular unions.

A recent shift in Californias housing politics illustrate these points. The Golden State has one of the worst housing crises in the country. Its renters are more burdened by housing costs than those of any other state except Hawaii. This is no small part of why California has the highest rates of poverty and homelessness of any state in the union. It is also largely responsible for Californias recent population decline, which has still left it with a critical shortage of housing units.

Among the leading drivers of this shortage is restrictive zoning and onerous regulatory obstacles to development. Thanks to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the typical housing project in the state must survive three to four years of litigation in order to get built. This simultaneously throttles the speed with which the state can expand its housing stock and increases the cost of the units that ultimately get produced, since developers need to recoup the cost of their court fees. Thus, housing advocates have made establishing streamlined regulatory approval processes for new construction a priority.

The states building trades unions initially resisted such streamlining. In the past, these unions had used CEQA challenges as leverage to secure better terms from developers on construction projects. Left-wing housing advocates recognized the legitimacy of this concern. In response, they proposed pairing regulatory reform with a requirement that all streamlined projects pay workers the prevailing wage, which is to say, the going union rate for labor in a given area.

But the building trades were not content with this arrangement. Instead, they demanded that streamlined projects also be required to hire workers who graduated from apprenticeship programs that are generally run by the unions themselves. By making these concessions, Democratic lawmakers were able to secure the unions support and enact streamlining legislation in 2017.

Since then, it has become apparent that the union-trained worker requirement severely limits the policys impact on private-sector housing construction. This is because there arent enough union-trained workers to go around. The vast majority of California construction workers are not unionized and never attended an apprenticeship program. If streamlined projects were allowed to fully utilize this majority of laborers  so long as they were paid union-standard wages  then there would be more homes for Californias families and more good-paying jobs for its construction workers. Further, the more housing construction there is in the state, the more construction workers there will be, and thus, the more potential dues-paying members for the building trades to recruit.

It was therefore in the enlightened interests of renters, homebuyers, construction laborers writ large, and the trade union movement as a whole to drop the union-trained provision. And yet, it was also true that corporate interests (the developers) opposed the provision while labor unions supported it. If we accept Dayens premise that there is only one fight, and that fine-grained policy details matter less than the imperative to unify in opposition to corporate power, then progressives would have been duty-bound to acquiesce to the building trades position.

Of course, this would have been perverse. Just as the narrow interests of corporate shareholders can come into conflict with the common good, so too can those of individual unions. The building trades werent being irrational in insisting on the union-trained provision. From the standpoint of their existing members, securing exclusive access to streamlined construction jobs for union-trained workers made good sense. Construction workers suffered steep job losses during the 2009 recession and are understandably concerned with maximizing their employment security. Restricting competition for jobs through an apprenticeship requirement is plausibly in the existing memberships immediate interest, even if it comes at the cost of constraining the unions long-term growth.

Yet deferring to this interest would not only exacerbate Californias housing crisis; in the long run, it would also plausibly weaken the progressive coalition. From the standpoint of building countervailing power, it is much better to build a broader union movement than to safeguard the interests of incumbent unionists. Further, it surely cannot benefit the progressive movement to be associated with perennial failures of governance. When Californias liberal Democrats preside over worst-in-the-nation homelessness and poverty rates, such associations are inevitable.

As Rachel M. Cohen reports, Californias carpenters unions and its SEIU eventually recognized that the states workers writ large had an interest in expanding the availability of housing and well-paying construction jobs. They therefore endorsed legislation that stripped out the union-trained worker requirement for streamlined housing projects. As momentum built behind the legislation, the building trades withdrew their opposition.

It remains to be seen whether the new compromise between labor and housing advocates will achieve its aims. Requiring developers to pay union rates does increase project costs, thereby potentially limiting new construction. Yet ensuing fair compensation for construction workers  and preventing unionized workers from facing a competitive disadvantage from low-road employers  are core progressive goals. And it would be contrary to power-building to forfeit them.

Still, to simultaneously increase housing construction and that sectors labor costs, progressives would be well-advised to eliminate any unnecessary expense-increasing regulations. For example, currently many California cities attach high impact fees to new housing in exchange for regulatory approval. If zeroing out those fees makes it possible to improve labor standards and housing affordability simultaneously, then lawmakers should do so. Regardless, liberals cannot finesse the tension between their housing and labor goals by focusing monomaniacally on opposing concentrated corporate power.

Preserving the climate may require loosening some environmental regulations.

Housing isnt the only realm where reflexively deferring to progressive interest groups demands is antithetical to effective governance and power-building. As Ive written elsewhere, some environmental organizations and legal practices are ideologically (and, in the latters case, arguably financially) invested in a regulatory regime that makes it very easy to obstruct new infrastructure with lawsuits. And yet, a permitting system biased toward stasis is one that is biased toward carbon energy. This is because Americas existing energy infrastructure is built around the capacities of fossil fuels. To secure a dominant share of electricity generation, renewables require gargantuan amounts of new infrastructure. To maintain their existing outsize share of the same, fossil fuels require almost none. This reality is reflected in the fact that, as of 2021, National Environmental Policy Act reviews were holding up twice as many green projects as fossil-fuel ones.

Dayen recognizes that the obstruction of clean-energy deployment is a problem. But he insists that this fact reflects the pathologies of corporate power rather than those of some environmental laws:

In light of these facts, Dayen argues that the problem lies less with the onerousness of NEPAs approval process than with the power of fossil-fuel companies. After all, the same interest groups nefariously exploiting the existing rules will be in the room when theyre rewritten. Instead of clearing away red tape, Dayen counsels breaking down the power of the incumbent firms and building up their competitors to equalize the influence.

There are a couple of problems with this argument. First, although fossil-fuel interests absolutely take advantage of the fact that it is currently easy to tie up clean-energy development in court, they are by no means the only constituency that does this. NIMBY homeowners and conservation-minded environmental groups really are powerful opponents of clean energy. Second, there is no inherent contradiction between pursuing permitting reform and undermining the power of fossil-fuel firms. Indeed, supply-side liberals presumption is that even if the government eased the obstacles to energy construction across the board  giving no special preference for renewables  this would have the impact of increasing the market share (and thus power) of renewable producers relative to fossil-fuel firms in the long run, since the former need new infrastructure more than the latter.

The theory of change here is fairly straightforward: Individual fossil-fuel producers have a short-term interest in expediting specific pipeline and extraction projects and would be willing to undermine their industrys long-term interest in obstructing renewable energy to secure regulatory relief. Given that Democrats are liable to need bipartisan buy-in to enact permitting reform, it is worth making concessions to Big Oil, so as to notch a regulatory playing field more favorable for carbon powers more infrastructure-intensive competitors.

This analysis may be wrong. But it cant be rebutted by pointing out the myriad ways that bad actors are exploiting the existing regulatory regime, or by proposing that progressives simply break down the power of fossil-fuel firms through some unspecified means.

Forcing the private sectors activities into better alignment with the publics priorities is fundamental to progressive politics. And building coalitions robust enough to counter the immense influence of wealthy shareholders and executives is indispensable to that project. But we dont live in a cartoon world where the enemies of progress are forever and always loathsome fat cats. The interests of groups with broadly sympathetic goals can come into conflict with the common good. If progressives refuse to recognize this reality, they will be incapable of either realizing their policy goals or building the popular support necessary for combating corporate malfeasance.
Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Mayor Eric Adams has long maintained that New York City is struggling to contend with the ongoing asylum-seeker crisis that has brought more than 100,000 new people to the city since last year. But during a town hall meeting on the Upper West Side Wednesday evening, he made his most extreme comments yet on the situation, telling the crowd, The city we knew, were about to lose.

Let me tell you something, New Yorkers. Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I dont see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City, Adams said. He warned that we have a $12 billion deficit that were going to have to cut. Every service in this city is going to be impacted.

Such strangely dark and ominous language isnt out of character for the mayor. Last year, Adams said that he had never witnessed crime at this level despite having worked as a police officer during the 1990s when the city sometimes saw thousands of homicides per year.

In his remarks, Adams said the city is receiving 10,000 migrants a day from all over the world, including Russians coming up from Mexico. And he reiterated that the city has received no support as it has dealt with the crisis. In recent weeks, he has pushed for additional assistance from both the state and federal government, calling on President Joe Biden to expedite work authorizations for migrants to alleviate pressure on the city shelter system. Back in April, Adams notably said during a press conference, The president and the White House have failed this city.

Governor Kathy Hochul has echoed some of those calls, urging the president to contribute more financial aid to the state as it juggles new expenses relating to housing and caring for new arrivals. Though Hochul and Adams initially tried to put up a united front, the two leaders have had public differences on the issue, most recently on the governors stance against forcing suburban counties to house migrants.

Unsurprisingly, some Republicans are sympathetic to Adamss sky-is-falling views. City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli shared a video of Adamss remarks from the town hall on Twitter (now rebranded X), adding, NYC is doomed. The migrant crisis is sinking us. In a statement on Tuesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy seemed to relish the tension between Adams and the White House, saying, It has gotten so bad, even the leaders of Democrat strongholds like New York City and Massachusetts are throwing in the towel.

He continued, Mayor Adams is right: New York City deserves better.

In a joint statement, the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless condemned Adams comments, calling his words, reckless and unproductive fear-mongering.

His dystopian comments dehumanize and villainize people who fled unimaginable situations in their home countries merely for an opportunity to provide for their families and secure a better life, they wrote.
Photo-Illustration: Intelligencer; Photo: Getty

The end of summer has not been kind to President Joe Biden. Fourteen months out from the next election, a series of new surveys suggests that Americans  or at least the ones who answer cold calls  are not thrilled by the prospect of a second Biden term.

A poll from CNN and SSRS released Thursday pegged Bidens job-approval rating at 39 percent  with 58 percent of Americans disapproving of his presidency thus far. Forty-six percent of registered voters said that any Republican nominee would be better than Biden next year. Among surveyed voters, the individual matchups between Biden and Republican candidates suggested an even race between all the GOP hopefuls  except for Nikki Haley, who held a 49 percent to 43 percent lead over the president. (Haley, of course, would first have to get out of a primary where shes polling in the single digits.)

Its never wise to put too much stock in one poll, but a second survey this week from The Wall Street Journal shows that Biden has a 42 percent approval rate, with a 57 percent disapproval rating. In both polls, voters were particularly concerned about the 80-year-old politicians age: 73 percent of voters polled by the Journal believe Biden is too old to run for a second term, while 76 percent of those surveyed by CNN said that Bidens ability to complete a second term would be a problem at his age. Despite the improving economic outlook, voters in both polls werent thrilled by Bidens performance there either. The CNN poll states that 58 percent of Americans believe that Biden has made the economic situation worse, while the WSJ poll says that 58 percent of Americans believe the economy has gotten worse over the last two years.

As for head-to-head polling with the real competition, Biden is tied with Donald Trump at 46 percent in the WSJ poll. According to CNN, Trump has a slight lead among registered voters, with 47 percent to Bidens 46 percent.

More tough news came via a New York TimesSiena College poll that showed that Bidens support among non-white voters has slipped since the 2020 election. According to the survey, Biden leads Trump 53 percent to 28 percent among registered non-white voters, which is down from his 70 percent in 2020. Of particular concern among this coalition that helped put him in office was the decline in support among Hispanic registered voters, with whom he enjoys just a 12-point lead at the moment  exacerbating Democratic concerns about losing ground among this key demographic.

All in all, its not a great picture for old Joe. Polling averages right now give him a 56 percent disapproval rating compared to 40 percent who approve  the lowest ratio since August 2022, during a post-Dobbs summer of discontent for Democrats. On the other hand, Biden is quite familiar with underwater approval ratings, having been net negative in polling averages since the fall of Kabul. And if voters dont like Biden, wait until they hear about the other guy: While the Journal poll suggests 49 percent of Americans view Biden very unfavorably, that number is 52 percent for Trump.
Photo: AP Photo/Alex Slitz/AP

There are two stories being told in Georgia lately. In one, the state is under siege by violent left-wing militants who threaten public safety by fighting the construction of Cop City, an elaborate police training facility, in the forest near Atlanta. So claims a broad new RICO indictment released this week by the states attorney general, Chris Carr. In the indictments telling, 61 violent conspirators deserve prison for acts of vandalism and intimidation. That story appeals to state and local officials in both parties. After the indictment was unsealed, the states Republican governor, Brian Kemp, said his priority was to keep Georgians safe, especially against out-of-state radicals that threaten the safety of our citizens and law enforcement.

The radicals have their own story to tell, about the abuse of power. In their account, the RICO indictment escalates a long-running crackdown on activism. This is not the first time the state has tried to frighten people away from the movement against Cop City. Some accused face previous domestic terrorism charges. Others had been arrested in connection to earlier protests. In March, more than 150 protesters chased police from a construction site and allegedly set construction equipment on fire before blending in with the crowd at a peaceful antiCop City concert nearby. The state arrested dozens, including a legal observer, for domestic terrorism even though none of the warrants accuses any of them of injuring anyone or vandalizing anything, the Associated Press reported. Police profiled individuals for wearing muddy shoes and clothing. Months earlier, they killed an activist in alleged self-defense during an attempt to clear the forest.

The two stories are in direct conflict with each other. They cannot both be right. The RICO indictment tries to settle any debate  and it does, though not in the states favor. Read closely, the indictment is an artifact of political repression. In its reach it reveals the anti-democratic truth: Georgia cares more for Cop City than for civil liberties and is determined to quell dissent by whatever means it can.

The state tips its hand early in the indictment, which begins with a Wikipedia-style description of anarchism and anarchist thought. By starting here, it intends to link Defend the Atlanta Forest  which it characterizes as a group or organization as opposed to a collection of social-media accounts  to anarchism, and in turn, to violent anti-government activity. The states case thus begins with several leaps in logic. Collectivism, mutual aid, and solidarity are anarchist concepts, it claims. Because activists refer to and practice these concepts, they must be anarchists, and because they are anarchists, they want to overthrow the government, perhaps with violence. Though the indictment attempts a caveat and says that violence is present in some anarchist beliefs, not all, it introduces this distinction only to muddle it. To be an anarchist is to invite state scrutiny and worse.

An indictment is an unproven case. The state has implied that all 61 defendants are dangerous anarchists, and the state remains the only source for this claim. Even if the accused are all anarchists, it doesnt mean they all conceive of anarchism in the same way or agree on the same tactics. From this inauspicious beginning, it proceeds to cite the mere dissemination of left-wing ideas as suspicious activity. Defend the Atlanta Forest recruits, it warns; people post things on the internet and hand out zines. They prepare for arrest by writing the number for a bail fund on their bodies. This is all common political activity, which Georgia seeks to punish. Even writing letters to incarcerated protesters is now evidence of a conspiracy.

The indictment further traces the Stop Cop City movement to the George Floyd uprisings and to protests over the 2020 police killing of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta. Though the indictment itself admits that most demonstrations were peaceful, it nevertheless links vandalism to anarchism again. The demonstrations and protests eventually ended, but an undercurrent of threatening, violent anti-police sentiment persisted with some individuals in the Atlanta area, including those that make up Defend the Atlanta Forest, and it remains as one of Defend the Atlanta Forests core driving motives, it claims. Cop City was publicly announced almost a year after the Floyd protests, which makes it hard to believe that the alleged conspiracy could possibly stretch back that far. By tying Stop Cop City to an earlier movement against police brutality, Georgia is telling us that its motivations are punitive. Take the streets against its agents, and the state will come for you eventually.

It might even kill you. The indictment mentions the fatal shooting of Manuel Paez Teran, 26, who went by Tortuguita, saying only that the activist shot a state trooper and the troopers returned fire. (There is no footage of the shooting.) Officials say that Teran previously purchased a handgun that was recovered at the scene, and that a bullet recovered from a wounded trooper matches the gun. Family and activists point to what they say is countervailing evidence: An independent autopsy released by Tortuguitas relatives concluded that the activist was killed while seated, hands in the air. A DeKalb County autopsy found no gunpowder residue on their hands, though it said it could not reach a conclusion about the position of their hands when they were killed. The indictment does not mention, either, that troopers shot the 26-year-old Tortuguita 57 times, according to the same DeKalb County autopsy.

There is reason, then, to doubt the indictments claims. Even taken at face value, it veers into ludicrous territory. One charge involves an $11.91 reimbursement for glue, allegedly an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. Elsewhere, the attorney general says one man took part in a criminal enterprise because he signed his name as ACAB. Although the man, Geoffrey Parsons, also faces other charges, prosecutors allege that his use of the acronym  typically an abbreviation for All Cops are Bastards was an overt act in furtherance of the [criminal] conspiracy, the Appeal reported.

Carr, the attorney general, equates the act of buying glue to the act of throwing a Molotov cocktail. In a way he must, because he has a difficult task. He has to pretend that all 61 left-wing activists present a real danger to the state of Georgia. The charges might not all hold up. But the intent isnt just to put people in prison. Its to chill political speech and stifle activism. Carr wants to instill fear. That is how repression works. People of conscience have a duty to oppose this, whatever they think of Stop Cop City or the activists involved.

The case ought to provoke real introspection among liberals in particular. The Democratic mayor of Atlanta is among Cop Citys principal defenders. Liberal politicians are working alongside conservatives to crack down on activists and militarize the police. How distant, now, the pledges of reform, the public sympathy, the national Democrats in kente cloth. Words are easy. Anyone can criticize police brutality or attend the occasional rally. Yet values demand action, if theyre to mean anything at all. The organizers of Stop Cop City know this. To side with them now is not to justify Molotov cocktails  if anyone can prove they were used. Rather its to say, simply, that resistance is more than a slogan. Not a tweet. Not an item of merchandise. Resistance is a way to live. The attorney general is right, in a way, to feel threatened. Stop Cop City imagines a world where he is powerless, where solidarity is victorious and the forest lives. That world is worth fighting for, no matter the risk.
MOGADISHU, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Some 107 al-Shabab fighters have surrendered to the government forces of Somalia between July and August, the country's counterterrorism center said Thursday.

Abdullahi Mohamed Nor, the director of the National Center for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, said the militants surrendered in four states -- Hirshabelle, Galmudug, Southwest and Jubaland states.

"Those who surrendered include young children who were radicalized, youth, women and group commanders and they will be offered amnesty and then taken for rehabilitation," the director told journalists in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

He urged the group fighters intending to benefit from the government's amnesty to follow suit, saying they would welcome defecting from the al-Shabab terror group.

"There are two reasons why the number of al-Shabab members surrendering to the government has increased. First, it is the pressure of the ongoing offensive operations in the country and second, it is that they are making use of the president's amnesty offer," he said.

This move comes as the fighting between the Somali National Army and the group fighters intensified on several fronts mainly in south-central Somalia. 
The Pirelli moment has come! Take a look at this years calendar  themed around timelessness  captured by Prince Gyasi, the first African photographer commissioned for the spread

Alessandro Scotti

The release of the annual Pirelli calendar is always one to look out for, thanks to its notable cast. However, this years spread  which marks the project's 50th edition  is extra cause for celebration.

Centered on timelessness and meant to evoke a powerful message that resonates across generations, the 2024 Pirelli calendar was photographed by Ghanaian visual artist Prince Gyasi, the first African photographer to be commissioned for the prestigious photo shoot, according to CNN.

The calendaro spotlights boundary-breaking talent, including returning Pirelli model Naomi Campbell, alongside Idris Elba, Angela Bassett, Amanda Gorman, Teyana Taylor and King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, whose 25-year reign over the Ashanti Empire of Ghana will be commemorated next year.

Alessandro Scotti

Related: The 2018 Pirelli Calendar Features an All-Black Cast Including Lupita Nyong'o, RuPaul, Naomi Campbell and Sean 'Puff Daddy' Combs

In behind-the-scenes photos, each of the stars wear looks that demand attention.

Campbell, who wears a black minidress with puffed sleeves, stands tall and poised in front of a towering gold clock. Elba makes it rain in a double-breasted trench coat over a suit and tie, while Bassett holds the key to our hearts in a champagne gown detailed with intricate beading and a dazzling choker necklace.

Breakout poet Gorman coordinates with award-winning author Margot Lee Shetterly in feathery brightly colored confections as they pose with Gyasi.

Alessandro Scotti

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The Pirelli calendar, also simply known as The Cal, was created in 1964 as a means for the Italian tire company to stand out among its competition, in turn creating a cultural phenomenon introducing the world of fashion and glamour to the public  to a certain degree. The exclusive calendars are only gifted to a small circle of Pirelli clients and stars and have never been sold.

Story continues

Related: Karlie Kloss Wore '25 Cent-Glow Sticks' in 2022 Pirelli Calendar, Talks 'Making the Magic Happen'

Alessandro Scotti

Pirellis overall concept for the yearly shoot is to mark the passing of time. Last years edition, titled "Love Letters to the Muse," was told by photographer Emma Summerton and featured 14 strong-minded women including Karlie Kloss, Bella Hadid, Cara Delevingne, Emily Ratajkowski and Ashley Graham.

In 2018, Tim Walker transported an all-Black cast  including Lupita Nyongo, Campbell, RuPaul, Sasha Lane, Sean Puff Daddy Combs and Whoopi Goldberg among others  to the whimsical and wondrous world of Alice in Wonderland.

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Read the original article on People.
After being operational for about a year, the Opelika Neighborhood Mobile Wellness Clinic has seen about 299 clients.

During Tuesdays Opelika City Council meeting, East Alabama Health showed city officials data that highlights what health care students and professionals have accomplished in the community while using the free mobile clinic.

We had one patient that was diagnosed with diabetes and it was undiagnosed, said Sutricia Johnson, EAHs director of case management. He credited this unit for saving his life, because he didnt know what he had. He just knew he didnt feel well.

Unveiled in October 2022, the walk-in clinic offers free medical services to the underserved in the community. The bus officially launched in the Opelika community on Dec. 6, 2022.

Services are provided by East Alabama Health personnel, with help from students in healthcare majors at local colleges and universities.

The push to establish a local mobile clinic came from Jocelyn Zanzot and her husband, Daniel Neil of Auburn. They saw the positive impact of a mobile clinic in Florida and decided to start working with the local community leaders to set one up here.

The mobile clinic provides routine and chronic illness screenings, promotes disease prevention and provides referrals to community resources.

Johnson said residents in Opelika and surrounding cities continue to come back for follow-ups. She said there have been many success stories shared online over social media.

The mobile clinic staff also identifies patients in the community that have no access to health care. Overall about 51% of patients did not have a primary care provider.

This unit definitely serves as a catalyst to at least get them connected in some type of way, Johnson said.

A social worker is also available on the bus. Johnson said this sets the mobile clinic apart from other typical doctors offices, because the social worker can connect patients to more resources that the patients may not know about.

Since December, Johnson said the mobile clinic has successfully built trust in the community; worked to establish a community with medical practices; addressed social issues like transportation, food and shelter; and created a strong collaboration with local colleges.

While Johnson was happy with this turnout, she said theres also been some challenges including securing consistent funding, increasing community participation, expanding services provided and expanding locations.

With this next calendar year coming up, were probably looking at expanding our footprint without increasing the number of days that we go out because of the constraint on the staff, she said. So, what well look to do is just maybe add more locations.

Open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the mobile clinic will be stationed at specific locations in Opelika monthly. The bus can be found at the Covington Housing Authority on the first Saturday of each month, Goodwill in Midway Plaza on the second Friday of each month, Christian Care Ministry on the third Thursday of each month and Bandy Park on the fourth Friday of each month.
Danny Masterson Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison After Rape Conviction https://t.co/nkctfeGIej  Variety (@Variety) September 7, 2023

Danny Masterson, 47, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, after being convicted of rape earlier this year. The actor, who maintains his innocence, was convicted on two of three forcible rape charges this past May. Masterson was accused of raping three women at his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003.Masterson did not speak at his sentencing. His wife Bijou Phillips, who mocked the victims on Instagram, was crying at the courthouse while his siblings Will, Christopher, Jordan and Alanna Masterson were in attendance.Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another persons voice and choice. Your actions 20 years ago were criminal, and that is why you are here, Judge Charlaine Olmedo said, as she sentenced Masterson on Thursday in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. The judge sentenced Masterson for 15 years to life on each of the two charges, ordering Masterson to serve both terms consecutively.Masterson was given the maximum sentence allocated under the law and will register as a sex offender upon parole or release from jail.
Europes switch from pipeline gas to LNG is reshaping the global LNG market, putting a permanent floor under prices.

This means some buyers may be priced out of this market for good. That, in turn, means they will turn to other sources of energylike coal. Its a domino effect even Zbigniew Brzezinski could not have foreseen.

According to Bank of Americas commodity strategist Francisco Blanch, Europe needs about 300 million cu m of natural gas on a daily basis. To get them, it must offer high enough prices to lure in sellers on the spot market, as Asian buyers focus on long-term LNG delivery contracts.

Yet those are the Asian buyers that can afford long-term contractsnot all can cover their needs with long-term deals. Last month, Pakistan canceled a tender for spot LNG deliveries for next year after attracting just two offers, both of which featured a 30% premium to market prices.

The country does have a long-term deal, too, by the way. Yet in January this year, the company with which it signed the deal, Eni, declared it would be unable to deliver the agreed LNG cargo for February due to circumstances beyond its control, namely the failure of the LNG supplier to secure the contracted volumes.

The reason that Enis supplier, which remained unnamed, had failed to supply the contracted volumes was that at the prices that LNG was fetching at the time, although down from last years all-time highs, some suppliers preferred to breach their long-term contracts rather than miss the opportunity to make a quick and easy profit on the spot market. Related: U.S. Solar Capacity Additions To Hit A Record High In 2023

Cases like this paint a picture of a cut-throat market with supply barely enough to cover demand, and thats only because Europe managed to shrink its gas consumption over the past 12 months. Managed might not even be the best word for it: the decline in gas consumption was primarily the result of lower industrial consumption as businesses scaled their operations down amid prohibitive energy prices.

Still, even with lower demand, Europe is a huge consumer of LNGso huge, in fact, it could not do without Russian gas in liquid form. While last year, government officials patted themselves on the backs for successfully quitting Russian gas, this year, cargo trackers had awkward news for everyone in Europe: imports of Russian LNG in the first half of the year had surged by 40%. Over half of Russias LNG output went to Europe in the period.

Even that wasnt enough to bring gas prices down to pre-war levels. Not only that but, as noted by BofAs Blanch, Europe is now over-reliant on LNG for its energy needs, and Prices must remain robust throughout the year or risk a rapid shift in the inventory trajectory.

In other words, should prices inch down for some reason, the poorer energy importers would likely swoop down on any available volumes, threatening Europes supply security.

In a more likely scenario, however, those poorer energy importers would revert back to coal, which is much cheaper than LNG. This is quite an ironic twist for Europe, which, as flagman of the energy transition, has been hard at work convincing the rest of the world to drop the most polluting hydrocarbon in favor of cleaner and lower-emission natural gas.

Now, as it prices out others from the LNG market, Europe will effectively lose the position of authority it used to speak from when it came to energy and emissions. The LNG market has indeed become a cut-throat one. What this means for the average energy consumer in Europe is that they would have to get used to chronically higher prices.

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The primary oil refining capacity that will be offline in Russia is set to soar by 44% in September compared to August amid seasonal maintenance, according to Reuters estimates based on data from industry sources.

As much as 4.635 million metric tons of Russias refining capacity is expected to be offline this month, industry sources have told Reuters.

Russias offline capacity was 3.228 million tons in August, an increase of 4.2% from the planned level.

More refineries are expected to return to operations in October when many facilities will have completed the maintenance works.

Higher offline refining capacity in Russia would usually free up more crude for exports. Moscow, however, has vowed to reduce exports by 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September, down from a pledge to cut 500,000 bpd in crude oil exports in August.

As part of the efforts to ensure a balanced market, Russia will voluntarily reduce its oil supply in August by 500,000 barrels per day by cutting its exports to global markets by that quantity, Russias Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in early July in a brief statement, which followed a Saudi Arabia announcement that the Kingdom would extend its unilateral 1 million bpd production cut into August.

In August, the Saudis extended the cut into September, and Russia promised a 300,000 bpd cut to its exports for this month.

Earlier this week, the two leaders of the OPEC+ alliance announced extensions in their respective ongoing production and export cuts through the end of 2023.

Saudi Arabias cut until December reinforces the precautionary efforts made by OPEC Plus countries with the aim of supporting the stability and balance of oil markets, the Kingdom says.

Russia also extended its 300,000 bpd export cut through the end of the year, with the option to review every month and potentially deepen the cuts or increase supply, according to market conditions.

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After a tense few weeks with warnings of potential power shortages, Texas for the first time this year narrowly missed actual blackouts.

Late on Wednesday, ERCOT declared a grid emergency as the supply of electricity was barely on par with demand and risked falling short of it. A few hours later the danger of blackouts was averted.

ERCOT entered emergency operations tonight due to a drop in both operating reserves and frequency. By entering EEA 2, ERCOT was able to utilize additional reserve resources to protect the reliability of the grid, the grid operator of the Lone Star State said in an X post.

No power outages associated with the ERCOT power grid were necessary. The Weather Watch remains in effect through Sept. 8 due to continued higher temperatures, high demand, and the potential for lower reserves. Thank you to Texas residents and businesses for your conservation efforts.

Since the start of summer this year, ERCOT has had to ask Texans to conserve energy several times, as the states grid is under strain from a surge in the states population, higher demand during the hot months, and an energy mix with a considerably higher portion of weather-dependent wind and solar.

Summer is particularly tricky for wind powerhigh summer temperatures are normally accompanied by lower wind speeds, which significantly reduces the output of Texas massive installed wind capacity.

Because of this strain, the aging gas and coal power plants in the state had to work at capacity for weeks on end, which eventually began to affect their performance, contributing to the outage risks.

Its like if you were to get in your car and drive at 100 miles an hour in 120-degree heat for a month straight. You would probably have some issues with your engine because it's not really designed to do that. Plus, if that car is also a 1969 Chevelle, it's not going to do as well, one University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute researcher told the Houston Chronicle.

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The Biden administration has canceled seven oil and gas leases for the Alaska Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The decision overturns ones made by the Trump administration, which awarded the leases.

In a move that was certainly not welcomed by Republicans, the federal government also proposed strengthened protections for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, limiting the acreage that could be used for oil and gas development, the AP has reported.

The decision should make environmentalists happy, although just a few months earlier the same government gave the go-ahead to a new oil project in Alaska.

The $8-billion oil project, led by ConocoPhillips, was awarded to the company by the Trump administrations Bureau of Land Management in 2020.

The project could deliver 160,000 bpd of crude, the BLM said at the time, with reserves estimated at between 400 and 750 million barrels. The lifetime of the project was estimated at up to 30 years in 2019.

The Biden administration approved the highly controversial project in March this year sparking the outrage of environmentalists after pledging to clip the wings of the U.S. oil and gas industry.

The Conoco oil projects approval was challenged in court by two environmentalist groups on the grounds that it would exacerbate climate change but a federal judge dismissed it, saying the plaintiffs had failed to prove that Willow would cause irreparable harm.

With its latest move for Alaska, however, the federal government might win back some favor with the environmentalist lobby.

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Alaska is home to many of Americas most breathtaking natural wonders and culturally significant areas. As the climate crisis warms the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, we have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages, the U.S. President said in comments.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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DHAKA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Bangladeshi government will import two more cargoes of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the international spot market to meet the domestic gas demand.

The government approved two proposals on Thursday at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.

In line with the approved proposals of state-owned Petrobangla, the Master Sale and Purchase Agreement (MSPA) will be signed with TotalEnergies Gas & Power Ltd, Switzerland, and Vitol Asia Pte Ltd, Singapore.

Both the proposals were approved as unsolicited offers on the basis of Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply Act (Amendment) 2021.

The Bangladeshi government had earlier signed such kind of MSPA with dozens of firms including PetroChina.

With the global price hike of fuel oil and shortage of supplies due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Bangladesh is importing dozens of LNG cargoes from long-term suppliers to cope with the mounting natural gas demand. 
The new Omaha Performing Arts community engagement and education building now has an official name and a construction launch date.

Groundbreaking on the $108 million Tenaska Center for Arts Engagement will be Oct. 11, Omaha Performing Arts leaders announced Thursday. They estimate that the center will open in spring 2026.

The name was awarded in recognition of a substantial gift from Tenaska, a leading U.S. energy company that was founded in Omaha and is still based here.

Omaha Performing Arts President Joan Squires said she was thrilled to name the center after Tenaska, one of the largest privately held companies in the country.

This generous commitment, along with gifts from other donors, will support our newest venue, serving O-pas mission and broadening our ability to reach thousands of students and participants through performing arts education and engagement programs for our community, she said in a press release.

The center will be at 12th Street between Dodge and Douglas Streets, east of the Holland Center.

It will have additional rehearsal, workshop and classroom spaces to accommodate O-pa education and community outreach programs, which already serve more than 100,000 students, teachers and other Omaha-area residents. It also will have a large event venue.

Plans for the project were launched after Omaha Performing Arts officials determined the Holland Center was out of room for those activities.

Howard Hawks, Tenaska founder and chairman emeritus, said he was proud that his company was able to fund a center that would reach so many people from Omaha and beyond.

We specifically searched for a project that would be enjoyed by anyone and everyone, would draw people together and would tangibly demonstrate Tenaskas pride and loyalty to our larger Omaha community, he said.

Hawks also expressed pride in Tenaskas employees, who have proven to be generous in their contributions of time, talent and treasure to worthy causes in Omaha and throughout the country.

The center is the final structure in a three-pronged O-pa campus that includes the Holland Center and Steelhouse Omaha. The three venues are designed by Ennead Architects (formerly Polshek Partnership), original designer of the Holland Center, and Holland Basham Architects of Omaha.

More than 500,000 people attend events at the Holland Center and Orpheum Theater combined each year. When you add events at Steelhouse, Omaha Performing Arts has an estimated yearly impact of $61 million on the region each year.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of September 2023
Fall Out Boy will stop in Omaha in April as part of the sequel to the band's So Much For (Tour) Dust tour, the band announced Thursday.

The Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum selling rock band will perform at the CHI Health Center Arena on April 5, according to a press release.

The band announced the So Much For (2our) Dust tour, which includes more than 20 stops across the U.S., "due to overwhelming demand," the press release said. The tour will follow the band's initial So Much For (Tour) Dust tour, which wrapped up its North American leg on Wednesday.

The Omaha concert will fall near the end of the tour, which will kick off Feb. 28 in Portland, Oregon, and end April 6 in Minneapolis.

Fall Out Boy released its 8th studio album So Much (for) Stardust in March. The band is known for tracks such as "Sugar We're Going Down" and "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up).

Ticket pre-sales will begin Wednesday, at 9:30 a.m. and general tickets will be available Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. More information is available at www.falloutboy.com/tour.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of September 2023
WAYNE, Neb.  A former Winside Public Schools teacher was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison for having sex with a 17-year-old male high school student.

Cali Heikes, 26, of Winside, Nebraska, faced up to six years in prison after pleading guilty in July in Wayne County District Court to a reduced charge of attempted first-degree sexual abuse by a school employee and one count of second-degree sexual abuse by a school employee.

Both charges had sentencing ranges of zero to three years in prison. District Judge Mark Johnson sentenced Heikes to two years on each charge. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors recommended the sentences be served concurrently, or at the same time. A second count of second-degree sexual abuse by a school employee was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

After completing her prison sentence, Heikes will serve 18 months of post-release supervision and must register with the Nebraska Sex Offender Registry.

Heikes was arrested Jan. 22 after the Wayne County Sheriffs Office investigated a tip about her ongoing relationship with the student. Heikes later submitted her resignation as a family consumer science teacher and librarian.

She was the second Winside teacher sentenced this year for having inappropriate contact with a student.

Rachel McPhillips, 29, of Norfolk, Nebraska, who taught art at Winside, was sentenced in April to 180 days in jail and two years probation on charges of disturbing the peace and attempted child abuse. She was charged with having sexual contact with a 15-year-old male student.
A 35-year-old Bellevue man was sentenced Wednesday, Sept. 6, to 110 months in federal prison for distributing child pornography.

Robert A. Ryan was sentenced in federal court in Omaha by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Buescher, according to a news release from acting U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr.

Ryan was also sentenced to serve a five-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to prosecutors, the instant messaging platform Kik identified two videos being distributed on Sept. 17, 2021, that depicted minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to the release.

Kik provided the internet addresses and account name to law enforcement, which ultimately identified Ryan as a suspect. Subsequent forensic analysis of a cellphone seized from a search of Ryan's residence by the FBI found child pornography.
One of the finalists to replace Vinny Palermo on the Omaha City Council is the social media manager for a church whose pastor has made national news for his fervent support of former President Donald Trump and demonization of President Joe Biden.

Terri Blackburn, one of five applicants the City Council will interview today, manages social media for the nondenominational Lord of Hosts Church in Omaha. She has appeared on some of the churchs online programs with the Rev. Hank Kunneman, including one on the churchs Facebook page in which the pastor says the 2020 election was stolen. Kunneman described a dream in which he said God showed him Satan speaking through this guy that they call Biden.

Theres no way that you can deny that Gods hand is on President Trump, and its why theyre going after him so viciously, Kunneman said in one of the churchs Prophetic Pulse programs in May. Blackburn was a panelist on the program.

The online videos from Lord of Hosts were the most remarkable things that The World-Herald has found in researching the five applicants online presence before todays interviews.

Besides Blackburn, who is a Republican, the other finalists are: South Omaha neighborhood leader and volunteer Rebecca Barrientos-Patlan, a Republican; former City Councilman Garry Gernandt, a Democrat; Metropolitan Community College Board Member Ron Hug, a Democrat; and Erik Servellon, vice president of operations and development at Tri-Faith Initiative, a Democrat.

Council staff did social media research, in addition to checking voter registration and criminal history, on the 12 people who applied for the District 4 council seat. The council had not done that in 2020 when selecting Colleen Brennan as a replacement for Rich Pahls; council members were surprised, and public outcry ensued, when the Democratic appointees controversial blog posts surfaced later.

Blackburn, who formerly worked in Omaha Mayor Jean Stotherts office, has worked as Lord of Hosts social media manager since September 2021, according to her application to be on the council. Her job includes engaging with online church members through social media posts, assisting with content creation for over a dozen social media accounts and helping oversee the social media livestream moderating team.

Some of those social media posts have included Kunnemans controversial positions, which have drawn national attention. In a June 28 program, in which Blackburn also appears and which is posted on the churchs website, Kunneman said that if people believe Biden won the election, well, you might want to re-examine your theology.

Blackburn also has been promoting Lord of Hosts-sponsored conferences that include prominent pro-Trump evangelical Christian pastors, including the upcoming Open the Heavens event, which touts My Pillow founder Mike Lindell as a speaker.

Blackburn declined to comment on her positions on the views expressed on the programs on which she has appeared and which are posted on Lord of Hosts platforms. Nor would she discuss what people should conclude from her role in promoting the program. She said she would talk about why she wants to be on the council and what she wants to accomplish. But she referred questions, even those about her own views, to Lord of Hosts executive pastor.

Any press questions related to Lord of Hosts Church, we direct to Pastor Christy Hair, because she handles all that, Blackburn said.

Hair could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

The five finalists are seeking to replace Palermo, who was removed by the council after he missed meetings for months following his arrest and detainment on federal charges.

The six remaining members of the council will conduct public interviews of the finalists beginning at 9 a.m. today in the legislative chambers of the City-County Building, 1819 Farnam St. The council is expected to vote to appoint someone Sept. 12 to complete Palermos term, which ends in 2025.

Asked Wednesday about the Lord of Hosts posts that Blackburn has been involved in, City Council President Pete Festersen said, Everything is open to scrutiny when one is seeking public office.

This is why were having a public interview process, he said. It will be structured in nature, but council members can follow up as they see fit.

Festersen, a Democrat, said he found some of the posts concerning and not reflective of City Council District 4.

City Council Vice President Aimee Melton, a Republican, said she got to know Blackburn when she worked in the Mayors Office.

To me, shes always come across as a very smart, intelligent, energetic female who has a zest for life, Melton said. And who loves God. I guess, when did that become bad?

She said the comments of other people from the church that Blackburn might have posted as part of her job shouldnt be held against Blackburn, any more than a candidates views should be held against a political consultant who posts them for her.

The four other finalists are more well known than Blackburn. Theyve all either run for or held elected public office. Barrientos-Patlan does not appear to have a Facebook or X (formerly Twitter) account.

Gernandt, who was on the council for 16 years, has a Facebook page with mostly a variety of personal and neighborhood posts, including donations to birthday fundraisers and promoting a nonprofit he supports, Team Bike Rescue Omaha.

Servellons Facebook account includes posts about the 2022 Learning Community Council election that he lost, exhortations to people to get vaccinated during the pandemic and friends birthday fundraiser donations. He also has posted promotions of Tri-Faith events, such as the upcoming United We Walk, which Tri-Faith holds at its multi-faith campus to raise money and celebrate religious and cultural diversity.

Hugs Facebook has generally personal and neighborhood-related posts, donations to friends birthday fundraisers, including one to Planned Parenthood, and some promotions of Sons of Italy feeds and the Santa Lucia Festival. Among his few older Twitter posts was one supporting a statewide mask mandate during the COVID pandemic.

In one of the Lord of Hosts livestreams, Blackburn touted a summer conference, Engage the Nation, as one that would encourage and teach Christians who want to do more to stand up for Biblical values in their city.

Asked how she would do that on the council, she said she feels like there needs to be more communication and she would communicate with District 4 constituents and other Omahans, and be available and open to listening to everyone about their concerns and what they want the city to be.

I put my name in as an applicant for a seat on the City Council because I feel like there are a lot of great things that are happening here in the city of Omaha, and I would absolutely love to be a part of them, Blackburn said.

Whether or not she gets the appointment, Blackburn said she intends to run for the council in 2025. She already has a campaign website up.

World-Herald staff writers Luna Stephens and Emily Nitcher contributed to this report.

Close Police department Full sworn strength increases from 860 to 880, in preparation for a fifth police precinct in Elkhorn in 2019. The overall police budget would increase from $141 million to $148 million. Fire Department The city would add an ambulance near 144th Street and West Maple Road, which would also require adding six firefighters. Overall, the Fire Department budget would increase from $101 million to $105 million. Streets The city would add an additional $1 million for street resurfacing, bringing it to $12 million total. The city would also add $100,000 for brick street repair. And Stothert wants to spend $1.8 million  $1 million more than previously proposed  to help upgrade residential streets that werent built to city standards. Overall growth The citys discretionary spending in its general fund would grow 4.5 percent, to $387 million. (The overall budget is $903 million). In previous years, Stothert has tried to hold spending growth to 3 percent. She said this year that Omahans made it clear they want the city to prioritize public safety and streets. Taxes Tax rates would remain the same under Stotherts proposed budget. Stothert had previously said she would move to cut the property tax rate because of large increases in valuations. But the county changed those estimates. Stothert said the new revenue is not a windfall, so she couldnt support a property tax cut. 5 things to know about Mayor Jean Stothert's budget proposal Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert presented the $903 million budget to the City Council on Tuesday. Next, the council members will hear from constituents and possibly make changes. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Aug. 8, with a vote scheduled for Aug. 22. Police department Full sworn strength increases from 860 to 880, in preparation for a fifth police precinct in Elkhorn in 2019. The overall police budget would increase from $141 million to $148 million. Fire Department The city would add an ambulance near 144th Street and West Maple Road, which would also require adding six firefighters. Overall, the Fire Department budget would increase from $101 million to $105 million. Streets The city would add an additional $1 million for street resurfacing, bringing it to $12 million total. The city would also add $100,000 for brick street repair. And Stothert wants to spend $1.8 million  $1 million more than previously proposed  to help upgrade residential streets that werent built to city standards. Overall growth The citys discretionary spending in its general fund would grow 4.5 percent, to $387 million. (The overall budget is $903 million). In previous years, Stothert has tried to hold spending growth to 3 percent. She said this year that Omahans made it clear they want the city to prioritize public safety and streets. Taxes Tax rates would remain the same under Stotherts proposed budget. Stothert had previously said she would move to cut the property tax rate because of large increases in valuations. But the county changed those estimates. Stothert said the new revenue is not a windfall, so she couldnt support a property tax cut.
DENVER  A liberal group on Wednesday filed a lawsuit to bar former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot in Colorado, arguing he is ineligible to run for the White House again under a rarely used clause in the U.S. Constitution aimed at candidates who have supported an "insurrection."

The lawsuit, citing the 14th Amendment, is likely the initial step in a legal challenge that seems destined for the U.S. Supreme Court. The complaint was filed on behalf of six Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters by the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

It will jolt an already unsettled 2024 primary campaign that features the leading Republican candidate facing four separate criminal cases.

Liberal groups have demanded that states' top election officials bar Trump under the clause that prohibits those who "engaged in an insurrection or rebellion" against the Constitution from holding higher office.

None have taken that step, looking for guidance from the courts on how to interpret a clause that has been used only a handful of times since the 1860s.

While a few fringe figures have filed thinly written lawsuits in a few states citing the clause, the litigation Wednesday was the first by an organization with significant legal resources. It could lead to similar challenges in other states, holding out the potential for conflicting rulings that would require the Supreme Court to settle.

Colorado's secretary of state, Democrat Jena Griswold, said in a statement that she hoped "this case will provide guidance to election officials on Trump's eligibility as a candidate for office."

The lawsuit contends the case is clear, given the attempt by then-President Trump to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden and his support for the assault of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Republican says he did nothing wrong in his actions.

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, helped ensure civil rights for freed slaves  and eventually for all people in the United States. It also was used to prevent former Confederate officials from becoming members of Congress after the Civil War and taking over the government against which they had just rebelled.

CREW and law professors of both parties contend the amendment is clear and is a qualification for president, just as the Constitution's mandate that a candidate for the White House must be at least 35 years old and a natural-born citizen.

But others note there is much unsettled about the provision and that a case involving this issue has not reached the justices in Washington.

The clause cites a wide range of offices "under the United States" and states that the provision applies to, including "presidential electors"  but not the presidency itself.

There also is a debate among some experts about whether Trump's acts constitute an "insurrection" under the language of the amendment.

In its complaint, CREW asked the court to expedite the matter so it can be resolved before the state's primary ballot is set Jan. 5.

"We understand that there's great interest in states across this country about this question, and it needs to be resolved expeditiously so there's clarity," said Donald Sherman, CREW's chief counsel.

A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit.

Georgia's secretary of state, writing in The Wall Street Journal, warned that using the 14th Amendment in this way could take the country down a dark path.

"For a secretary of state to remove a candidate would only reinforce the grievances of those who see the system as rigged and corrupt," said Republican Brad Raffensperger, who drew Trump's ire when he refused to declare Trump as the winner of Georgia in 2020. "Denying voters the opportunity to choose is fundamentally un-American."

The 14th Amendment was used last year to bar from office a New Mexico county commissioner who entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. That was the first time it was used in 100 years. In 1919, Congress refused to seat a socialist, contending he gave aid and comfort to the country's enemies during World War I.

Another liberal group, Free Speech For People, unsuccessfully tried to use the provision to prevent Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina from running for reelection last year.

The judge overseeing Greene's case ruled in her favor. Cawthorn's case became moot after he lost his primary.

CREW said it expects to file more cases in other states and anticipates that different groups may do so as well. It picked Colorado, its leaders said, because the state allows ballot challenges to go directly to court and it assembled a prominent roster of plaintiffs, including a former Republican leader of both houses of the legislature and a conservative columnist for the Denver Post.

There was another reason, Sherman noted: In 2015, a Guyana-born naturalized citizen lost his lawsuit to be included on the state's presidential primary ballot, failing to convince a federal magistrate that the Constitution's requirement that he be a natural-born citizen was unfair.

A federal appeals judge upheld that ruling barring him from the ballot. The judge was Neil Gorsuch, now on the U.S. Supreme Court.
LINCOLN  Before sending a 31-year-old man to prison for decades, a Lancaster County judge called the case involving a kidnapping, torture and rape at a warehouse at the edge of Lincoln one of the most heinous factual scenarios she has come across.

First, given a chance to speak, Tanner Danielson, 31, said he couldnt believe whats happened. The things Ive done. The things I had to do.

He said his life was at stake after someone stole 50 pounds of marijuana (worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 to $200,000, according to his attorney) from him after hed brought it back from Colorado.

I was scared beyond belief. I had no clue what to do, he said.

Danielson said hes been sober for over a year and now. Instead of blaming the victim for putting him in this situation, he realizes it happened as a result of his decisions. He just kept going down the wrong road, he said.

I beg of you to see me for who I am, not for the things I truly felt I had to do to save myself, Danielson said.

Prosecutors said that on July 28, 2022, Danielson  who was a welder  beat, burned with a blowtorch and branded the man he believed had taken the drugs, before leaving him in the country tied to a tree. Prosecutors also said he raped a woman who had come to the warehouse with Danielson, threatening to kill her if she reported it to police.

Danielson pleaded no contest to attempted kidnapping and first-degree sexual assault and, at his sentencing Wednesday, faced up to 50 years on each charge.

Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Jeff Mathers scoffed at Danielsons suggestion he had to do it.

Had to beat, torture, restrain and leave  possibly for dead  an individual? He had to rape a woman? Ridiculous. Come on, Mathers said.

He said Danielson was involved in the drug trade and all the dirt that goes along with that, had a history of violence toward women and should go to prison for a very long time because hes a danger.

The facts in this case are as egregious and depraved as anything Ive nearly ever seen, the longtime prosecutor said. Narcissism, antisocial personality disorder, sociopath, psychopath. Im sure some or all of them fit.

Defense attorney Chad Wythers said Danielson had met some people at a concert in Colorado who ended up being drug dealers. Danielson thought he could make some easy money bringing marijuana back, did it once and thought he could be done. But it wasnt as easy to get out.

After Danielson made another trip and the drugs were stolen from his home, he was told he needed to come up with the money or he and family members would be in danger, Wythers said.

He said Danielson, who was high on cocaine at the time, believed the victim had stolen the drugs.

And thats how we find ourselves at the welding shop ... on the night in question, Wythers said.

He said Danielson should have gone to law enforcement and asked for help, instead of taking matters into his own hands. Wythers said, according to Danielson, most of what hed done had been at the cartels direction.

In the end, the judge said she didnt think it mattered whether Danielson was under the influence, if this person had stolen something from him, or if he was being threatened by somebody.

Only a sadistic and evil person could do these things to another human being, she said, reading through the victims detailed account of the torture, which included being force-fed acid tabs, struck in the head with a wrench, handcuffed and raised by a forklift, burnt by a blowtorch, branded, a gun shoved in his mouth.

Finally, the 26-year-old was strapped to a tree, left in the middle of nowhere and told that his grandmother and parents would be killed if he wasnt there when Danielson came back. Judge Susan Strong said that after hours the victim was able to get free and, still handcuffed, started walking on a dirt road.

A car drove by, and I realized I was still alive, she said, reading from the victims account.

A 911 call that followed led deputies to find him walking southeast of Firth.

Strong said it was her duty to protect the public from Danielson, and giving you a lengthy term of incarceration is the only way I can do that.

After hearing the 70- to 90-year sentence she said next, Danielson appeared stunned, his mouth agape for more than a minute.

His co-defendant, Austin Widhalm of Firth, is set for sentencing next week after pleading no contest to second-degree assault and first-degree false imprisonment.
With the pause on federal student loan payments coming to an end in October, some 22,400 borrowers in Nebraska have enrolled in a new income-driven repayment plan rolled out by the Biden administration this summer.

In a videoconference call with reporters Tuesday, James Kvaal, deputy undersecretary for the U.S. Department of Education, said more than 4 million Americans with student loan debt applied for the Saving on a Valuable Education program in the first month it became available.

SAVE considers a borrowers earnings and family size in setting monthly payments for their federally subsidized student loans, but caps the monthly payment amount between 5% and 10% of their income.

It also allows borrowers to give the education department access to their latest tax return from the Internal Revenue Service, which will allow them to skip having to remember to certify their earnings every year or reapply for an income-driven repayment program.

There is no income cap on the program, but Kvaal said borrowers who make less than $15 per hour, or a little more depending on how many people are in their family, will not be required to make any payments under the new program.

Borrowers who enroll in SAVE also wont see their loan balance grow due to unpaid interest as long as they continue to make monthly payments, and it scales the time forgiveness that becomes available based on the amount owed above $12,000.

For example, a student loan borrower who took out $15,000 in loans and made regular payments would be eligible for forgiveness after 15 years if their income was not high enough to pay off the total debt owed.

Undergraduate borrowers with more debt than that  in Nebraska, the average federal student loan debt is nearly $32,000  would be eligible for forgiveness after 20 years. Debt for graduate school becomes eligible for forgiveness after 25 years.

Student loans shouldnt push you deeper into poverty or come before basic living expenses, Kvaal said, adding the SAVE plan was the most affordable repayment plan ever created.

Under the new plan, according to Kvaal, the typical borrower could save up to $1,000 per year in student loan costs.

To date, the U.S. Department of Education has reached out to 30 million borrowers to invite them to apply for the new program, Kvaal said, and is planning a series of outreach events to educate individuals who may qualify.

To apply, borrowers can visit studentaid.gov to use a Loan Simulator to find out which repayment plan works best for them.

Enrollment is quick and easy, and we are working relentlessly to get the word out to borrowers about how millions can reduce their monthly student loan bills and save over a $1,000 a year by enrolling in SAVE, said Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.

The SAVE program was unveiled after the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision on a lawsuit brought by Nebraska and five other states, struck down a loan forgiveness program announced last summer.

As many as 97,000 Nebraskans were notified they qualified for up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness before a lawsuit filed by Nebraska and five other states was successful in stopping it from being implemented.

While the forgiveness program was ended before any debt was discharged, other programs rolled out by the Biden administration in the meantime have benefited borrowers in the Cornhusker State.

In May, the White House announced nearly 4,000 student loan borrowers enrolled in the Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness program had more than $230 million in debt canceled over the prior 18 months.

On average, Nebraskans had $59,000 in debt forgiven through the program designed to steer college graduates into careers as educators, first responders, military service members, or other public service jobs.

And in July, as many as 5,700 student loan borrowers on other income-driven repayment programs owing nearly $269 million were notified their balances would be wiped out after changes were made in how payments were calculated.

Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council, said the Biden administration did not anticipate any legal challenges to the new program, adding it made changes to an existing plan available to borrowers.

Ramamurti also told reporters the Education Department was working on other plans aimed at providing debt relief to borrowers as quickly as possible.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of September 2023
Smoke from Canadian wildfires fouled the air in large parts of Nebraska Wednesday.

Authorities expected a slight improvement in air quality Thursday, and substantially better air Friday.

But the smoke on Wednesday created a dicey situation for workers outdoors.

Chris Bianco, installing directional signs along sidewalks in downtown Omaha, decided to wear an N95 mask rather than take a chance.

Bianco said he previously had a bad reaction after working outside during a smoke advisory in New Jersey and didnt want a repeat this time.

The Air Quality Index for the city of Omaha reached the unhealthy level Wednesday, according to AirNow, which provides real-time measures of air quality.

At 4 p.m. Central time, Omahas air quality index was 156. At that level, authorities warn people with heart or lung disease, older adults and children to limit their activities outdoors. If it were to reach a level above 300 on the scale, that would be an emergency affecting everyone.

The index is forecast to drop to 121 Thursday, still a concern for people sensitive to smoke or in weakened condition.

By Friday, the quality is expected to be 80. At that level, people who are unusually sensitive to particle pollution should consider reducing their activity level or shorten the amount of time they are active outdoors.

The National Weather Service was forecasting a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms Thursday night, mainly after 11 p.m.

The smoke advisory issued Wednesday by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services will be in effect again Thursday.

The advisory called for possible moderate to unhealthy air quality in central and eastern Nebraska through midday Thursday. The advisory stretched from Omaha and Lincoln and west as far as Valentine and North Platte.

The Douglas County Health Department advised people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and heart disease, plus children and pregnant people to take extra precautions when wildfire smoke is in their area. The best way to stay on top of the situation, the department said, is to go to its website at: www.douglascountyairquality.com.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of September 2023
KATHMANDU, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Nepal has shipped its first batch of imported goods under the transit arrangement with China, a move that "represents the dawn of a new era" in bilateral trade relations, as a Nepali official put it on Thursday.

Fifteen tons of turmeric powder was imported from Vietnam and brought to the Nepali capital of Kathmandu on the day via the Tianjin port in northern China and the Zhangmu-Tatopani border point.

"The commencement of the first batch of goods under the Nepal-China Transit Transport Agreement represents the dawn of a new era in our trade relations," said Madhu Kumar Marasini, secretary of Nepal's ministry of industry, commerce and supplies.

"It signifies the beginning of a transformative journey toward enhanced economic cooperation, increased trade volumes and shared prosperity," the secretary said at the commencement ceremony.

He spoke highly of the transit transport agreement signed in 2016 and the subsequent protocol signed in 2019, saying they have "the potential to bring about profound changes in our trade landscape."

The transit arrangement "provides us with a crucial alternative trade route and diversifies our trade options, reducing our reliance on a single transit route," Marasini said.

As a landlocked country, Nepal has been mostly relying on India for trading with third countries.

"By using Tianjin port, goods was transported to the Tatopani port within two weeks," noted Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song.

Under the transit deals, China allows Nepal to use Tianjin, Shenzhen, Lianyungang and Zhanjiang as well as Lanzhou, Lhasa and Shigatse to handle traffic-in-transit.

"The China-Nepal transit transport agreement has been put into practice. I hope it will diversify Nepal's international trade and facilitate Nepal's trade with the whole world," Chen said at the commencement ceremony.

"In the future, after opening more border ports and improving the roads and infrastructure, I believe the time and cost of importing and exporting goods via China will be further reduced, which will have a positive impact on Nepal's trade," added the ambassador. 
NORMAL  Normals Connie Link Amphitheatre will be loaded with jazzy licks Saturday.

Glenn Wilsons nonprofit Further Jazz Inc. is putting on its second annual Further Jazz Festival that day, an event produced via grants from the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation. The Music Shoppe is also an event sponsor.

The former Illinois Wesleyan University jazz director and active baritone saxophone performer is hitting the trailside stage with guitarist Rory Stuart, following a 17-stop tour this spring. The jazz duo goes back on tour this fall, visiting Eastern Illinois University; Western Illinois University; Southern Illinois University; Nashville, Tennessee; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Wisconsin Rapids and Madison in Wisconsin; and Ohio State University.

On Saturday, Wilson and Stuart will be joined by four other acts: the Illinois State University Jazz Ensemble, the Straight Answer Jazz Trio, the Carlos Vega Latin Jazz Ensemble, and a newly featured act, Oliver Nelson Jr.'s septet.

Matt Muneses, an assistant professor for ISUs School of Music, is leading ISUs 15-piece ensemble. In an emailed statement, Muneses said theyre pulling material from a list of jazz standards that includes Isfahan by Billy Strayhorn, It Could Happen To You by J. Van Heusen and Desafinado by A.C. Jobim.

Two music education majors will be featured in the ensembles set on Saturday, Muneses said: alto saxophonist and senior Luke Podvrsan will be centered in The End of A Love Affair by E. Redding and sophomore guitarist Dane Rabe on Jobims piece.

Wilson said an octet featuring works of the late Dave Pell was a highlight at last years Further festival. He said the Carlos Vega Latin Jazz Ensemble is returning from last year with frontman Carlos Vega, a Miami-based trumpeter.

Show business

The special set at this years festival will be Oliver Nelson Jr.s seven-piece act, with alto and tenor saxophonists, a trumpeter, pianist, bassist and a drummer.

Nelson said hell play a lot of flute solos. Hes the son of jazz composer, saxophonist and clarinetist Oliver Nelson, who scored themes to hit Universal Studios television shows like The Six Million Dollar Man.

The junior Nelson, of Indianapolis, teaches music business at Indiana University on the Bloomington, Indiana campus, plus jazz courses on improvisation and history.

Wilson said they got together at a Texas jazz conference years ago for a show reviving music by Nelsons father, and he later invited the junior jazz player for the show in Normal.

Nelson Jr. plays standard concert flute, alto flute and piccolo, which he crowned as king of jazz instruments. Nelson said a piccolo can be heard over any rhythm session.

Wilson said Nelson will perform most pieces from his fathers 1961 album Blues and the Abstract Truth and some from the records 1965 sequel. They trace back to the post-bebop era of jazz, which Wilson said followed modal jazz styles of Miles Davis, another influence on the late Nelson.

He said Nelson Sr. has stated he was often awake all night writing music for studio producers to hear in the morning, who might suddenly reject his work and hire on someone else. Nelson died of a heart attack at 43 years old in 1975.

In a phone interview, Oliver Nelson Jr. called his fathers 1961 album his seminal work, but noted his career was much bigger than that. Only 20% of Nelsons music was for the jazz scene, and the rest was on TV, he said.

He said his father was a great arranger of orchestra, symphony and string quartet music in both Western and European styles, and a dedicated staff composer for Universal Studios. Nelson said many people have heard his dads music but dont know his name.

Nelson said his father worked with Quincy Jones on the theme of the late-season "Ironside" TV episodes, and he wrote music to the Columbo TV special The Greenhouse Jungle. He said his dad was lucky he made connections with composers like Stanley Wilson and producers at Universal Studios.

He said Nelson Sr. learned that youre no better than the producer that liked you. If they didnt like your music, he said, you were done.

Nelson said his father would take weekend gigs, flying as far as Japan on a Friday and returning Monday to the United States to conduct an orchestra. He would write Western music on piano in the morning, then play jazz in the afternoon, he said.

As a professor, Nelson Jr. said his philosophy on music education is to touch someones life in a positive way. He also wants his students to understand how the music business works, how they can receive royalties and make a living in music.

Jazz is not huge, Nelson said. Its less than 3% of the total music market.

IF YOU GO WHAT: Further Jazz Festival WHEN: 4-9 p.m. Saturday 4 p.m.  Illinois State University Jazz Ensemble.

Illinois State University Jazz Ensemble. 5 p.m.  Glenn Wilson/Rory Stuart



6 p.m.  Straight Answer Jazz Trio

7 p.m.  Carlos Vega Latin Jazz Ensemble.

8 p.m.  Oliver Nelson Jr. septet, performing works from "Blues and the Abstract Truth" WHERE: Connie Link Amphitheatre, 621 S. Linden St., Normal TICKETS: Free

30 stunning photos from the Golden Age of Jazz 30 stunning photos from the Golden Age of Jazz Swing shot Deuces Wild Rhythm royalty Bop quiz Progressive chords On borrowed time Bird is back Ladys day Hamps stomp Abstraction distraction Vamping with Viv Dizz and Fitz The Hi Dee Ho Man Smooth King Showtime at the Apollo A Symphony With Sidney Miles to go On the town Club collage Divine intervention Uptown workshop Titans of tempo Kentons Wunderkind Slide show Blue interlude Birth of bebop Passing the torch Paul plugs in Pacesetter Pet sounds
SPRINGFIELD  U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona insisted that he was not going to "get distracted with naysayers."

"There's a lot of people that want to create division in education," Cardona said. "I want to talk about our plan, what we're doing to raise the bar across the country (and) give students an opportunity to be successful."

The nation's top education official made two stops in Central Illinois on Wednesday, joining Gov. J.B. Pritzker for a tour of an after school program at a Springfield elementary school and later holding a roundtable discussion on career and technical education at a vocational school in Peoria.

The stops were part of a week-long bus tour of five Midwestern states dubbed "Raise the Bar," which is highlighting academic and mental health programs meant to help students recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is not my first time in Illinois," Cardona told reporters in a brief gaggle. "And when I come here, I always see great things happening  Intentional collaboration is visible here and that's something that we want to lift up."

Cardona is just the latest of a cadre of President Joe Biden's cabinet officials to visit Central Illinois in recent months. Last week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack appeared at the Farm Progress Show in Decatur and in late July, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made stops in Urbana and East St. Louis to highlight infrastructure spending.

Like his fellow cabinet officials, Cardona displayed a technocratic zeal for his subject matter, hoping to provide an antidote to the partisan bickering that has infected national politics and seeped down to the state level in recent years.

One of the battlegrounds has been in the nation's schools, with partisan fights playing out on local school boards and in state legislatures that largely centers on questions of race and identity in curriculum.

Many Republican-led states have banned the teaching of "critical race theory," which examines the role race plays in shaping the country's laws, politics and social movements. Some have also banned instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Illinois, on the other hand, has gone in the opposite direction. In recent years, Pritzker has signed bills that require the teaching of LGBTQ, Native American and Asian American history, among others.

Ahead of Cardona's visit, Rep. Mary Miller, R-Hindsboro, accused him and Pritzker of playing politics with children's education.

"Governor Pritzker and Secretary Cardona oppose parental rights and believe young children should be indoctrinated with radical 'gender ideology' politics in the classroom behind their parents' backs," Miller said in a news release.

Cardona dismissed Miller's comments, calling them "an intentional attempt to disrupt public education" and a sign that they have no plan to improve student achievement.

"We're not going to get distracted with naysayers," Cardona said. "They don't even have a plan. They just want to disrupt what's happening. When I talk to parents, when I talk to educators and when I talk to students, they're not thinking about what she's thinking about.

"They're thinking about what opportunities they have," he continued. "And it's our job to make sure that we have a clear plan for academic success for our students, for pathways into college and career and that we stay true to that plan."

Cardona was set to make a stop in Rockford on Thursday before heading to Wisconsin and then Minnesota on Friday.

The trip also came a day after the department announced that four million people, including more than 142,000 in Illinois, had enrolled in the new Saving on A Valuable Education (SAVE) income-driven student loan repayment program.

Payments on student loans, in forbearance since March 2020, will resume in a few weeks.

Inside Florida's 'underground lab' for far-right education policies Inside Florida's 'underground lab' for far-right education policies Education culture wars become the engine of Republican politics Every board meeting brings a new battle Heightened emotions in the classroom Students lose the opportunity for college credit 'It scares me to think that we're going backwards 50 years or more'
PEKIN  The question of whether a memorial honoring the three Medal of Honor recipients from Tazewell County should be constructed may appear on the ballot of next year's primary election.

During a joint press conference on Thursday, Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman and Tazewell County Veterans Assistance Director Steve Saal joined local veterans post leaders to launch the ballot initiative.

Under state statute, a ballot question for the 2024 primary election requires a minimum of 200 signatures from registered Tazewell County voters. Once the signatures are collected, the Tazewell County Board must certify the question.

If a simple majority of voters agree with the initiative during the March 19 primary election, the County Board would be required to fund the construction of the memorial within one year of the primary.

The three Tazewell County recipients are Thomas C. Murphy, a Green Valley farmer and Civil War veteran who enlisted in the Union Army in 1861; William Reed, a Pekin teacher who also enlisted in the Union Army in 1861; and John Ayers, a Pekin carpenter who was part of the 8th Missouri Volunteers, which saw action in several key Civil War battles, such as Shiloh and Chattanooga.

The proposed memorial would be an 8-foot-tall granite obelisk inscribed with a biography of each of the three veterans.

The fourth side would have a description of the Medal of Honor and the Battle of Vicksburg, which is where the actions of all three honorees were recognized.

The cost of the memorial is estimated at $80,000. Advocates are proposing the use of the county's reserve funds or federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to pay for the project.

Copies of the petition are available at the Tazewell County Veterans Assistance Office and the Tazewell County Clerk's Office and must be returned by Nov. 20.

Close The battle of Gettysburg was where Cushing died. The photograph was made by noted Civil War photographer Matthew Brady. George Cushing shows a Civil War print which depicts the Battle of Gettysburg and the death of 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing, a distant relative. Sally Cushing and her brother, George Cushing, talk about their distant relative 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing, a veteran of the Civil War who died an heroic death at Gettysburg. Alonzo Cushing's gravestone at West Point Cemetery, N.Y. chronicles his death at Gettysburg. Alonzo Cushing was photographed at age 22. Alonzo Cushing (second from right) while serving on the staff of Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner in 1862. First Lt. Alonzo Cushing, center, back row, was one of several soldiers who served at Antietam in 1862. Many stories have been published of the death of 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing at Gettysburg. 1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing waw photographed for his West Point photograph in 1861. Photos: Hero of Gettysburg Central Illinois Civil War hero Alonzo H. Cushing is receiving his Medal of Honor. The battle of Gettysburg was where Cushing died. The photograph was made by noted Civil War photographer Matthew Brady. George Cushing shows a Civil War print which depicts the Battle of Gettysburg and the death of 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing, a distant relative. Sally Cushing and her brother, George Cushing, talk about their distant relative 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing, a veteran of the Civil War who died an heroic death at Gettysburg. Alonzo Cushing's gravestone at West Point Cemetery, N.Y. chronicles his death at Gettysburg. Alonzo Cushing was photographed at age 22. Alonzo Cushing (second from right) while serving on the staff of Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner in 1862. First Lt. Alonzo Cushing, center, back row, was one of several soldiers who served at Antietam in 1862. Many stories have been published of the death of 1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing at Gettysburg. 1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing waw photographed for his West Point photograph in 1861.
How Time Flies is a daily feature looking back at Pantagraph archives to revisit what was happening in our community and region.

100 years ago

Sept. 7, 1923: W.H. Bradford of Peoria, a well-known aviator, arrived in Bloomington yesterday to make the preliminary arrangements to establish a commercial aviation field in Bloomington. His company has taken a five-year lease on the Foreman field just east of the city. The new field is to be known as the Bloomington Airways.

75 years ago

Sept. 7, 1948: An estimated 5,000 people celebrated Labor Day at Miller Park this year, according to custodian William Cooper. Because of cloudy skies and cooler weather in the afternoon, only 100 admission tickets were sold at the beach house, as opposed to 450 last Sunday. Labor Day was the last day for both swimming and boating at Miller park. The biggest crowd attraction was dancing in the pavilion in the afternoon and evening, Cooper said.

50 years ago

Sept. 7, 1973: The McLean County Unit 5 Board of Education approved a request for Page and Keely Richardson to attend industrial arts classes at Chiddix Junior High School instead of home economics, as is usually required of girls. Their mother made the request, saying the sisters, who are in seventh and eighth grade, had already received out-of-school education in cooking, sewing and child care. Board member Warren Miller cast the lone dissenting vote.

25 years ago

Sept. 7, 1998: Next month, a program that will allow parents to pay for their children's future college tuition at today's rates will be launched by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. The prepay option may help families with an expense that has risen nearly 64% this decade. The average annual cost of tuition and mandatory fees at a state-funded university is about $4,200.

101 years ago: See vintage Pantagraph ads from 1922 Gerthart's Union Gas and Electric Co. Hoover Dr. J.A. Moore Dentists Moberly & Klenner W.P. Garretson W.H. Roland Pease's Candy Thor 32 Electric Washing Machine The Kaiser's Story of the War Ike Livingston & Sons Gossard Corsets Cat'n Fiddle 'Stolen Moments' Case Model X The Johnson Transfer & Fuel Co. The Pantagraph want ads Franklin Motor Car Co. 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' Calumet Baking Powder Mayer Livingston & Co. Newsmarket 'The Emperor Jones' 'California Fig Syrup'
SPRINGFIELD  In Illinois, it's no stretch to say that Democrats and labor unions are tied at the hip.

Labor supplies much of the money and manpower that sustains campaigns, while Democrats in turn enact labor-friendly public policies.

For evidence, just sift through the campaign finance filings of legislative Democrats and the witness slips of bills. Few, if any, proposals will move if labor is opposed.

Last year, Democrats and labor combined their collective clout and political muscle to support Amendment 1, a successful ballot initiative that enshrined the right to collectively bargain as "fundamental" in the state constitution.

It's a symbiotic relationship, but apparently not one where the benefits extend to the legislative staff who help enact the policies that make it work.

At least that's the perspective of the Illinois Legislative Staff Association, a group employees who work in the office of House Speaker Chris Welch, D-Hillside.

Late last year, they declared their intent to unionize, citing among other things a desire for better pay and benefits. They went public with their intentions in May, but according to a statement released on the eve of Labor Day weekend, Welch and his staff have still refused to engage with the union, an impasse that is now at more than nine months.

Our good faith efforts to engage with the Speaker and his aides have been either rebuffed, redirected, or met with stubborn disregard," the group said. "When we have been acknowledged at all, we have experienced runaround, muddied waters and other thinly-veiled tactics aimed at undercutting our ability to organize and bargain collectively. The Speaker, through his aides, has made it abundantly clear that he intends to delay indefinitely in hopes that we will give up and go away."

Brady Burden, a staffer and a member of the group's organizing committee, said 20 of the 38 people within the proposed bargaining unit have signed union cards.

Welch's office did not return a request for comment on the association's latest statement or on his overall position on staff unionization.

The group says they will not go away. And they would like to give Welch and his team every opportunity possible to voluntarily recognize their union.

"We're trying to keep this as amicable as possible," Burden said. "If we weren't, we would have just sued right out the gate. So it entirely depends on management. It entirely depends on whether or not Speaker Welch is willing to come to the table and what he says at that table if he comes."

At this point, those are really the only two options going forward for organizers.

Voluntary recognition is the easiest path. Otherwise, the situation will likely be remedied in a courtroom. You can blame red tape for that.

To put it simply, employees of the Illinois General Assembly do not fall under any of the umbrellas that would offer a bureaucratic framework for an election on the formation of a collective bargaining unit.

The jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Board, for instance, is limited to private sector employers. And while the Illinois Labor Relations Board does have authority to govern relations between unions and public sector employers, state law specifically exempts those who work for the legislature.

And amending state labor law to remove the exemption may not be the simple fix it would seem, with some suggesting it would create a separation of powers issue, since the ILRB is a function of the executive branch. To clear up constitutional questions, a separate legislative agency may have to be created to oversee any unionization efforts within the legislative branch.

None of these hurdles mean these workers do not have the right to unionize. Amendment 1, better known as the "Workers' Rights Amendment," made that clear if it wasn't already. But what it does mean is that there's a lack of a clear-cut process beyond voluntary recognition.

Illinois state legislative workers are not the only ones facing this hurdle. Most states exempt legislative staff from the same labor protections offered to other state employees. Or they just prevent the formation of legislative staff unions entirely.

Over the past couple of years, legislative staff in states like California, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon have sought to unionize.

Despite all being states with Democratic-majority legislatures, all have received some sort of pushback from legislative leaders.

Legislative aides in only one of these states, Oregon, have been successful thus far, forming the first-of-its-kind union comprised of partisan political aides in 2021. The union just recently reached a tentative agreement on their first contract.

Maine has had a legislative staff union for nearly two decades, but it only covers non-partisan employees.

While Welch and his staff have remained quiet on the topic, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday said he supported the workers' right to organize  though he suggested it may be more of a "timing question" to get things sorted.

"That's why we supported the Workers' Rights Amendment," Pritzker said. "I think we all believe, those of us that supported it, that workers that want to get together in a workplace to organize should have the right to do it."

The situation places Welch in an uncomfortable position. He has a strong record of supporting organized labor through public policy. The Illinois AFL-CIO even recognized him in 2016 with the top award they bestow upon state lawmakers. But in this case, he's management.

There are real questions about the merit of having positions that are inherently political be unionized  and, if so, how it would be structured. Again, there's only one example to look at at the moment.

But, as the organizing staffers have indicated, they are not going away. And this will be a test of whether Welch and House Democrats practice what they preach when it comes to supporting organized labor.

Perhaps it is just an issue of timing. But with veto session just weeks away and a new spring session about four months down the road, the clock is ticking.

PHOTOS: New Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch May 2016 May 2019 May 2019 April 2019 August 2019 October 2019 November 2019 September 2020 October 2020 January 2021 January 2021 January 2021 January 2021 January 2021
I am writing to express my concern about McLean County Sheriff Matt Lane's endorsement of long-time County Board member Chuck Erickson.

This endorsement of a County Board member, who has the authority to approve the Sheriff's budget, creates a potential conflict of interest that could compromise the integrity of both law enforcement and local governance.

In light of these concerns, Chuck Erickson needs to address the potential conflict of interest openly and transparently. For example, will Erickson recuse himself from voting on the Sheriff's budget?

Illinois is the corruption capital of the nation. In the midst of public corruption trials that go to the highest level of state government, public officials and candidates must have integrity beyond reproach and uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct to restore and maintain the public's trust.

As we approach the upcoming election, I urge Erickson and Sheriff Lane to consider the ethical implications of this endorsement. Additionally, I encourage voters to take the time to engage with the candidates, asking tough questions about their commitment to avoiding potential conflicts of interest.

Andrew Stoeber, Normal
In the past weeks we have read of the murder of two Americans who wanted to live their lives freely and be allies for marginalized people.

Laura Ann Carleton, a shop owner displaying a Pride flag, and O"Shea Sibley, who was taunted for being gay and Black, were both murdered by those who disagreed with them.

There was a 300% increase in anti LGBTQIA+ incidents during Pride Month 2023 when compared to 2022. This violence continues to happen in America where acceptance of the LGBTQIA+ community has never been greater.

So why do we have the rise of hate and not the rise of acceptance? It is time to call out the source: political rhetoric by the Republican Party.

The Republican leadership has proposed over 600 pieces of legislation since January. Legislation that puts fear of marginalized individuals into the media. Currently there are nine active "Don't Say Gay" bills across America. It is not just from Florida and Texas. Many state GOP legislators have followed along.

All of this fear mongering turns into hate. A small community of extremists join with the Republican rhetoric and villainization of marginalized groups. Extremists then carry out the violence. What kind of leadership does this? It is time for the Republican leaders to stop the hate speech and end legislation that harms our most vulnerable populations and their allies. We lost Laura Ann Carleton and O'Shea Sibley to these extremists.

Look carefully at your politicians and their platforms. Ask them questions about the care and acceptance of all people. Ask what they voted for in session. Listen to their speeches. Become an ally for marginalized people might be our siblings.

Julie Knutson, Bloomington
In a new development, the Ghana Police Service has taken the decision to interdict three of its high-ranking officers in connection with the controversial audio tape that has recently become the focus of investigation by Parliament.



The officers identified as Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr George Alex Mensah, Superintendent Mr. Emmanuel Eric Gyebi, and Superintendent Mr George Lysander Asare have been placed on interdiction pending further disciplinary proceedings in accordance with Police Service regulations - Graphiconline.com reported.



The three senior police officers were implicated in a leaked audio recording. The recording was brought to light by former Northern Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Daniel Bugri Naabu, who has already appeared as a key witness before the Ad-Hoc Parliamentary Committee established to investigate a reported conspiracy to oust Ghana's Inspector General of Police, George Akuffo Dampare.



Mr Naabu's testimony confirmed the authenticity of the controversial audio recording, which allegedly captures discussions about a plan to remove IGP Akuffo-Dampare ahead of the 2024 elections.



The leaked audio, which allegedly involves a Police Commissioner and a politician discussing the plot, prompted the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, to form the Committee. The seven-member Committee comprises representatives from both the Majority and Minority sides of Parliament, as well as technical experts.



The Committee's mandate is to investigate the secret recording and its implications regarding the alleged plot to remove IGP Dampare from office. It is set to deliver its findings by September 10, 2023.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The founder of Eastwood Anaba Ministries, Reverend Eastwood Anaba, has said that there are good politicians in Ghana who truly have the country at heart but these politicians are castigated for no reason.



He touted President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and former President John Dramani Mahama as two of these politicians he has had personal encounters with.



Recounting for example, an instance where the former President Mahama showed him some kindness, Eastwood Anaba, while speaking to his congregation in a viral video sighted by GhanaWeb said Mahama helped save the life of a pastor of International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Dr Mensa Otabils church, when he was in office.



According to him, Dr Otabil called him to ask Mahama for help to transport one of his pastors who was severely injured in an accident in Wa, to Accra.



I was in Lagos, a pastor had an accident in Nandom, his head was broken. He must get to Accra otherwise he would die. Dr Mensa Otabil, my good friend called me  and said Eastwood I have an emergency, one of our pastors (a pastor of ICGC), his head is broken, can you help by calling the government so that they call the air ambulance to pick the guy otherwise we are going to lose him.



I called President Mahama and told him I have a problem. A pastor friend of ICGC has had an accident in Nandom and we need an air ambulance to transport him, he narrated.



Eastwood Anaba said that Mahama within 10 minutes called him back and told him that the Air Force Commander would call him back and give him the needed assistance.



By the time he (Mahama) put down the phone, the Air Force Commander called me. He (the commander) said The president has given me your assignment, consider it done. By tomorrow your patient will be in Accra'.



The plane went all the way to Wa Hospital; picked up Pastor Peter Akagara to Accra. And up to today, Pastor Akagara is alive, he said.



He urged Ghanaians not to believe the lies told about certain politicians.



I came to announce to you to stop listening to liars. There are people that can help you and because they know who they are, they accept who they are, they are acting who they are; people accuse them of pride and they drive them away from you.

Source: Ghanaweb.com









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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.
STOCKHOLM, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- An 800-square km restricted zone is set to be imposed in central Sweden after the country's first case of African swine fever was discovered in the area, authorities announced on Thursday.

Access to the forest in the area around the small town of Fagersta will be prohibited, and people will not be allowed to leave the roads to hunt or forage for mushrooms and berries, the Swedish Board of Agriculture said. However, the area will not be evacuated.

The decision was taken immediately after African swine fever was detected in one of seven wild boars that have been found dead in the area since late August. The viral disease poses no danger to humans, but can be devastating to pig farms.

By restricting access to the forest, authorities hope to minimize the risk that the virus could spread on boots, tools, and vehicles.

Since the virus can also be spread by dogs, owners will have to keep their pets on a leash to prevent them from venturing into the forest.

"The restrictions will remain for months, and possibly longer," Erika Chenais, an associate professor at the Swedish National Veterinary Institute (SVA), told Xinhua.

The disease has been present in the European Union (EU) since 2014, according to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

"Over the last decade, African swine fever has had a dramatic impact on the pig farming sector in the EU, and continues to disrupt local and regional economies," EFSA's Executive Director Bernhard Url said in May, when the 2022 statistics were released.

During that year, the disease was found in pigs in eight EU countries, and in wild boar in 11 EU countries, EFSA said. 
An Austrian couple on honeymoon is missing in Greece after torrential rains swept away the house they were staying in.



Emergency services have told the BBC they are searching for the couple and several other missing people.



People in central Greece were trapped on the roofs of their houses after floods set whole villages under water.



More than a dozen people are now known to have died since Storm Daniel hit Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria this week.



The Austrian couple decided to shelter inside the bungalow they had rented for their honeymoon as heavy rainfall swept central Greece, the owner of the accommodation, Samaras Thanakis said.



But the house in the beach resort of Potistika, near Mount Pelion, was then washed into the sea by flash floods, he told the BBC.



He and other guests had left for higher ground and had advised the couple to do the same.



"The situation was very bad. It's very difficult to decide what to do in a moment like that," Mr Thanakis said.



He added that the couple, from the Austrian city of Graz, had married shortly after arriving on their holiday.



The Greek fire brigade said it had a team in the area searching for missing people, including the newlyweds.



Some Greek regions received up to 800mm (31.5 inches) of rain in recent days - more than normally seen in a whole year.



The Karditsa plain in central Greece was described as having turned into a lake, with villages around Palamas drowned in water.



The mayor of Palamas, Giorgos Sakellariou, made a dramatic appeal for help on Greek TV, saying people were stranded in their homes and facing immediate danger.



"The situation in Palamas is tragic," he was quoted as telling Skai TV. "People are trapped in their houses. We will have people drowning."

Source: BBC









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Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, a former Member of Parliament for Tema West, has explained why the New Patriotic Party must elect Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on November 4 to lead them into the 2024 elections.



According to him, "the most fearful person to the NDC is Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia", so believes the Vice President is the right choice for the New Patriotic Party (NPP).



He also mentioned some sacrifices made by Dr. Bawumia in ensuring the success and progress of the New Patriotic Party.



Delivering a passionate message on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show, Titus-Glover made references to when Dr. Bawumia resigned from his position as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana to join President Nana Akufo-Addo on his journey to wresting power from the then National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration.



He also cited how Dr. Bawumia gambled with his life for the NPP by abandoning job opportunities abroad to be Running Mate to President Akufo-Addo, then NPP presidential candidate in opposition, without knowing whether or not the party will come into power.



These sacrifices among other works by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as Running Mate and Vice President, to Titus-Glover, prove him worthy to become the NPP flagbearer.



"When you take Bawumia's contribution in the national politics of our country, it's unmatched," he further cited.



He also refuted claims that Dr. Bawumia being a Muslim may affect the NPP's chances of winning next year's general elections in that the larger Christian population may vote against the party.



"Christians and Muslims in this country, we have lived for centuries together way back...Bawumia's family, his biological siblings, they are seventeen (17). His father was a great man. Nine are Christians, eight are Muslims, right in his background in the family they blend. You think that with his background as a Muslim, he's going to scatter Christians? Never! As a Vice President, he continues to engage more in the Christian community. You can't even tell whether he is a Muslim...He's loved by everybody," he accentuated.







Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Bernard Allotey Jacobs has rubbished the parliamentary probe into allegations by senior Police officers, COP Alex Mensah and Supt. George Asare, regarding the Inspector General of Police (IGP).



The two senior officers are before a Parliamentary Committee answering questions about their conspiracy to remove IGP Dr. George Akuffo Dampare.



The Committee is investigating a leaked audio recording which reveals a meeting between these Police officers and a leading member of the New Patriotic Party, Bugri Naabu, scheming to get rid of the IGP who they accuse of nepotism, favoritism and mistreating Police officers and also working against the New Patriotic Party to lose the 2024 elections.



Discussing the matter during Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo", Allotey Jacobs described the probe as needless, asking "what was the need for that Committee to go into this matter?"



To him, the probe which is aimed at ascertaining the truth or otherwise of the allegations by COP Alex Mensah and Supt. Asare is instead publicly disgracing the Police Service.



"Yes, they may be having their own internal problems but not to such an extent. In fact this parliamentary probe is just disgracing the Police Service and not Dr. Akuffo Dampare. It's disgracing the Police Service and the Police Service is so unique. Why are doing this to Police?", he fumed.



"Why are we disgracing the Police Service? Now that we have somebody who is digitalizing the Police Service and you want to destroy him because of somebody's own parochial interest...Atta Akyea says he will invite the IGP. Has the IGP made a complaint to them?, he further questioned.



To him, the parliamentary investigation serves no useful purpose.



"Sometimes, it looks like Parliament doesn't have any job doing. Let's forget about these things. I would prefer that Parliament would call upon the Minister for Interior that, look, resolve this matter and that should be even in camera."





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Social commentator, Bernard Allotey Jacobs has urged the executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to apologize to the agent of Alan Kyerematen who was assaulted during the party's Super Delegates Conference.



According to Richard Nyamah, a member of Alan's team, the incidents of assault and intimidation against Alans agent was an orchestration by the party and government establishment to favour Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.



Allotey Jacobs stated that while Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia cannot be held responsible for the assault, the ruling party should make efforts to empathize with the victim.



"The Elections Committee I believe should send a delegation to Alan's agent to apologize...there's no need for an investigation; the man is badly hurt, there's no need to investigate. What is needed is for someone to lead a delegation and empathize with the man and apologize..." he said in a panel discussion on Peace FM's 'Kokrokoo' programme.



Listen to him in the video below





Source: Peacefmonline.com









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In the wake of Hon Alan Kyerematen's resignation from the NPP Presidential Primaries, Professor Yaw Ransford Gyampo, a respected senior political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, has issued a stern warning to the party. The warning, rooted in concerns about fairness and the potential for divisive tactics, highlighting the growing tensions within the party as they prepare to select their candidate for the 2024 General Elections.



Alan Kyerematen's withdrawal from the race has sent shockwaves through the party, leaving it at a critical juncture. The former Trade and Industry Minister, who finished third behind Asin North MP Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong and HE Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the initial race, was seen as a formidable contender. His decision to step aside has left many speculating about the future direction of the NPP leadership.



Professor Gyampo's warning is a call to action for the NPP leadership and members alike. He cautioned that if things are not done fairly within the party, there is a genuine risk of a fracture within its ranks. The professor's concerns highlight the need for transparency, equity, and unity in the selection process. It serves as a timely reminder that the NPP must not lose sight of its core principles and values, the very principles that underpinned its past successes.



Moreover, Professor Gyampo pointed out the importance of public comments made by individuals expected to act as neutral arbiters in the process. These remarks, if perceived as biased or partisan, could erode the trust that party members place in the leadership's commitment to a fair and impartial contest. In this crucial phase, maintaining the party's unity and cohesion should be a top priority.



"I warned that if things arent done fairly, there could be breakup. I also warned about the public comments of those expected to be seen as neutral arbiters. There will be more pull-outs. This isnt the NPP BJ da Rocha and others led", Professor Yaw Ransford Gyampo posted on his Facebook page.



The resignation of Alan Kyerematen, a prominent figure within the NPP, underscores the high stakes of the 2024 Presidential Primaries. The party now faces the challenge of reconciling differing factions and ensuring that the selection process remains inclusive and credible.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Professor Smart Sarpong, a Senior Research Fellow at Kumasi Technical University, has offered a piece of advice to Dr. Afriyie Akoto, the former food and agriculture minister, and New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful, along with his fellow contender, Addai-Nimoh.



Professor Sarpong encouraged them to evaluate their chances in the race and consider withdrawal if they believe their prospects are limited. This advice comes in the wake of Alan Kyerematen's decision to withdraw from the NPP's flagbearer race, citing intimidation and other reasons.



Speaking on a panel discussion on Peace FMs Kokrokoo on September 6, 2023, Professor Sarpong suggested that Dr. Afriyie Akoto and Addaih Nimoh should take inspiration from Kyerematen's actions and conduct a self-assessment of their chances in the competition.



He further emphasized the importance of knowing one's strengths and preparedness when entering a political battle. He urged the contenders to carefully assess their potential to secure a victory in the race, and if they find it lacking, to consider stepping aside.



"In fact, last week I said that the fourth and fifth aspirants (Afriyie Akoto and Addaih Nimoh) should also look at themselves and do tactical alignment, and I will plead that based on what Chief (Alan Kyerematen) has done, they should draw their minds onto a serious assessment," Professor Sarpong stated.



They should sit down and reflect on their chances in the competition, and if they realize that it isn't encouraging, then the best way for them is to pull out. They should step aside because the goal is to go and win. So, if you check your strength and preparation and you realize that can't guarantee you a win, then they should do an assessment and use guidance from passages like Luke Chapter 14, verses 18 to 32. Everyone going for a battle must prepare very well and know what to do. So, if you check and that won't help you, then you should step aside."



Alan Kyerematen announced his withdrawal from the race on September 5, 2023. Kyerematen cited various reasons for his decision, including the alleged intimidation of delegates during the recently held Super Delegates Conference on August 26, 2023.





Source: ghanaweb.com









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Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, a lecturer at the Central University, has advised the New Patriotic Party to amicably address the concerns of Alan Kyerematen for which reason he has withdrawn from the party's November 4 presidential election.



Dr. Otchere-Ankrah warned the party not to trivialize the speculations of Alan breaking away from the New Patriotic Party (NPP).



He noted that Alan leaving the party to run as independent candidate or form his own political party will have dire consequences for the NPP.



Though admitting Alan will not win the 2024 elections, he, however, stressed Alan's breakaway will gravely affect votes for the ruling party.



"The party is at the crossroads. If they don't take care, it will disturb them hugely especially going into 2024. If he forms his own party, he won't win or get any significant votes" but "it is dicey" for the New Patriotic Party, he said while discussing Alan's withdrawal on Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo".



He urged the party to quickly engage Alan Kyerematen and resolve the conflict.





Alan Kyerematen on Tuesday, September 5 announced his withdrawal from the upcoming presidential election of the New Patriotic Party despite coming third on the list of the top five candidates to contest the flagbearership on November 4th.He said in a press statement that "after having carefully analysed the results of the said elections, it is absolutely clear to me from events leading to, during and after the elections, that the Special Delegates Conference was strategically and tactically skewed in favour of one particular Aspirant", adding "the level of intimidation of varying intensity, directly and indirectly unleashed on a significant number of Delegates at various Voting Centers across the sixteen regions, is unprecedented in the history of our Party".He also stated "the fact that my Polling Agent in the North East region has suffered severe damage to his eye sight, arising from his bold and courageous effort to ensure compliance with the very rules and regulations for the conduct of the elections as approved by the Presidential Elections Committee, will forever remain a dark spot in the history of internal elections within the Party. This incident and various acts of violence and collusion, reported in other Voting Centers, are appalling, unconscionable, and despicable"."I wish to confirm that I am honourably withdrawing from the process that will lead to the Presidential Primaries to be held on the 4th of November 2023", he emphasized.

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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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:

Glacier ice in LeConte Bay near Petersberg, Alaska. Credit: Oregon State University

Oregon State University research has uncovered a possible clue as to why glaciers that terminate at the sea are retreating at unprecedented rates: the bursting of tiny, pressurized bubbles in underwater ice.

Published in Nature Geoscience, the study shows that glacier ice, characterized by pockets of pressurized air, melts much more quickly than the bubble-free sea ice or manufactured ice typically used to research melt rates at the ocean-ice interface of tidewater glaciers.

Tidewater glaciers are rapidly retreating, the authors say, resulting in ice mass loss in Greenland, the Antarctic Peninsula and other glacierized regions around the globe.

"We have known for a while that glacier ice is full of bubbles," said Meagan Wengrove, assistant professor of coastal engineering in the OSU College of Engineering and the leader of the study. "It was only when we started talking about the physics of the process that we realized those bubbles may be doing a lot more than just making noise underwater as the ice melts."

Glacier ice results from the compaction of snow. Air pockets between snowflakes are trapped in pores between ice crystals as the ice makes its way from the upper layer of a glacier to deep inside it. There are about 200 bubbles per cubic centimeter, meaning glacier ice is about 10% air.

"These are the same bubbles that preserve ancient air studied in ice cores," said co-author Erin Pettit, glaciologist and professor in the OSU College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. "The tiny bubbles can have very high pressuressometimes up to 20 atmospheres, or 20 times normal atmospheric pressure at sea level."

When the bubbly ice reaches the interface with the ocean, the bubbles burst and create audible pops, she added.

"The existence of pressurized bubbles in glacier ice has been known for a long time but no studies had looked at their effect on melting where a glacier meets the ocean, even though bubbles are known to affect fluid mixing in multiple processes ranging from industrial to medical," Wengrove said.

Lab-scale experiments performed in this study suggest bubbles may explain part of the difference between observed and predicted melt rates of tidewater glaciers, she said.

"The explosive bursts of those bubbles, and their buoyancy, energize the ocean boundary layer during melting," Wengrove said.

That carries huge implications for the way ice melt is folded into climate models, especially those that deal with the upper 40 to 60 meters of the oceanthe researchers learned glacier ice melts more than twice as fast as ice with no bubbles.

"While we can measure the amount of overall ice loss from Greenland over the last decade and we can see the retreat of each glacier in satellite images, we rely on models to predict ice melt rates," Pettit said. "The models currently used to predict ice melt at the ice-ocean interface of tidewater glaciers do not account for bubbles in glacier ice."

Right now, data from NASA attributes about 60% of sea level rise to meltwater from glaciers and ice sheets, the authors note. More accurate characterization of how ice melts will lead to better predictions of how quickly glaciers retreat, which is important because "it's a lot more difficult for a community to plan for a 10-foot increase in water level than it is for a one-foot increase," Wengrove said.

"Those little bubbles may play an outsized role in understanding critical future climate scenarios," she added.

More information: Melting of glacier ice enhanced by bursting air bubbles, Nature Geoscience (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41561-023-01262-8 , www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01262-8 Journal information: Nature Geoscience
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: AI-generated image

Since mid-August, the British Museum has been mired in a controversy over the theft of about 2,000 objects from its collections. The theft is suspected to be an inside job that took place over a period of 20 years. Alerted to the sale of alleged stolen items in 2021, the museum did not take action until earlier this year.

This is not the first time the Museum has come under fire and its custodianship has been questioned. This article turns its attention to some notorious incidents involving the curation of its collection.

The Duveen scouring

There can be little doubt that the most notorious of them is the Duveen scouring scandal, so-named after Joseph Duveen, an ultra-rich art dealer of dubious ethics and benefactor of the British Museum. For a long time, Museum officials had argued that the Parthenon marbles had better remain in Bloomsbury, because the Greeks were unable to care for them. That argument was abandoned sometime after it was revealed that back in the late 1930s the Museum had scraped the marbles with abrasive tools, destroying their historic surface, its pigments and traces of toolmarks.

Ancient Greek temples were richly painted but remnants of color were not to Duveen's liking. A Trustee of the British Museum described Duveen's attitude at the time:

"Duveen lectured and harangued us, and talked the most hopeless nonsense about cleaning old works of art. I suppose he has destroyed more old masters by overcleaning than anybody else in the world, and now he told us that all old marbles should be thoroughly cleanedso thoroughly that he would dip them into acid. Fancywe listened patiently to these boastful follies "

Duveen's men were given free access to the Museum and were even allowed to give orders to Museum staff. Soon, in a misjudged attempt to whiten what remained of the originally polychrome decoration, they started to scrub the marbles. The "cleaning" lasted for fifteen months before it was stopped in September 1938. An internal board of enquiry convened at the time came to the conclusion that the resulting damage "is obvious and cannot be exaggerated."

Tactical considerations prevailed: it was important to avoid a blow to the Museum's reputation, and the Museum kept quiet and denied that anything untoward had occurred. Documents related to the affair became, to all intents and purposes, classified. The marbles were later placed in the Duveen Gallery, named in honor of the man responsible for the damage to their historic surface.

The Duveen cleaning was kept a secret for 60 years until it was exposed by the British historian William St Clair in 1998. St Clair, who had previously favored the retention of the marbles in the British Museum, became one of the most vocal proponents of their repatriation.

The Duveen scouring was not the only cleaning of the marbles to cause consternation. A series of letters published in The Times as early as 1858 expressed concern about "scrubbing" of the marbles and blamed the museum for "vandalism." It is probable that, if these early warnings had been headed, the Duveen cleaning could have been avoided.

Other controversies

Other incidents have tarnished the British Museum's reputation. Documents released under freedom of information legislation show that in the 1960s and 1980s members of the public and a work accident permanently damaged figures from the Parthenon's pediments.

The painting Pheidias showing the Frieze of the Parthenon to his friends by Lawrence Alma-Tadema gives an idea of what the decorative scheme of the original frieze may have looked like. For instance, it is thought that the background of the frieze was probably blue, as imagined by the artist. Credit: Creative Commons/Wikimedia, CC BY

During a 1999 conference in the museum, a sandwich lunch was served in the Duveen Gallery, and the delegates were encouraged to touch the ancient sculptures. Many among those present found the gesture so inconsiderate that they walked out of the gallery. A journalist writing for The New York Times commented: "On Seeing the Elgin Marbles, With Sandwiches."

Another controversial incident was the 2014 secret loan of the pedimental statue of the river god Ilissos to the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, at a time when Europe had imposed sanctions on Russia for its annexation of Crimea. The loan was not announced until the statue had been transferred to St Petersburg.

A controversy of a different kind concerns contested objects in the Museum's collection that are the object of repatriation requests. In contrast with other institutions, such as the V&A, the British Museum has been facing a chorus of restitution claims concerning very specific objects in its collection. The Museum has staunchly refused to engage in the debate, although since the beginning of the year it has been attempting to convince Greece to accept a "loan" of the Parthenon marbles, apparently considering this to count as entering the repatriation debate.

Of course, the Museum is bound by the 1963 British Museum Act, which prevents the Museum from deaccessioning (disposing of) objects in its collections except on limited grounds, but that is a discussion for a different article.

The Museum's current troubles

Now the British Museum is trying to repair the dent to its reputation, which comes at an inconvenient time when the Museum is hoping to raise 1 billion for much-needed renovation work.

About half of the Museum's 8 million items are uncatalogued and this lack of an inventory has certainly facilitated the thefts. The fact that it took so long to discover the thefts also raises the question of what else might have gone missing without a trace.

Yet one can't help but wonder: Do the Museum's current woes have other museum directors fretting with anxiety? How many museums have uncatalogued items in their storerooms? When a museum such as the Louvre explains that its database has entries for almost 500,000 works of art, is that its entire collection or just a percentage of its collection? In a great number of cases, we simply don't know.

The British Museum has yet to announce the exact number of stolen objects. But how does one know the exact number of what has gone missing without an inventory? More challenging still, how does one identify the objects, let alone prove ownership, without an inventory?

The secrecy is highly unusual. Sharing information about stolen objects helps identify and recover these objects. Interpol maintains an accessible database of stolen artworks precisely for that reason. But in order to enter an object in the database, it has to be "fully identifiable." And the issue here is that the Museum is probably still trying to identify what has gone missing. How do you fully identify an uncatalogued unphotographed object?

The secrecy could be attributed to another cause too. What if some of the identified stolen items are contested items that have been the object of restitution requests? For the time being, we can only speculate.

Crisis as an opportunity

Every crisis is an opportunity, and here too there is an opportunity. After the resignation of the director Hartwig Fischer, an interim director, Sir Mark Jones, has been appointed. The permanent post is up for grabs. Among those mooted for the Museum's top job is Tristram Hunt, the Director of the V&A, who appears to have been behind the initiative to revise museum deaccessioning laws. The selection of the next Museum Director is a crucial step in moving towards a modern British Museum that not only renovates its galleries but rebuilds its image in accordance with the new values of the 21st century.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Julie Lestang's research focuses on cocoa beans. Credit: ETH Zurich / Michel Buchel

Using a new analytical method, ETH Zurich doctoral student Julie Lestang aims to determine the chemical profile of cacao beans reliably and quickly. This forms the basis for controlled fermentationand high-quality chocolate.

From her own experience, Julie Lestang knows what happens when undesirable microorganisms penetrate the cacao fermentation process. Before coming to Zurich in November 2021, she worked for two years in Ivory Coast for the cacao division of an international food company. "Mold is a big problem," Lestang says. "Sometimes, a ship's entire cacao cargo has to be scrapped because it arrives moldy."

Mold not only affects the taste of the cocoa, but it can also be a health hazard, as the fungi produce dangerous mycotoxins. "That's why, in our research project, we're looking for microorganisms that inhibit fungal attack and lead to controlled and optimal fermentation of cacao beans," Lestang explains.

The French agronomist is currently pursuing a doctorate in the Laboratory of Food Biotechnology at ETH Zurich's Department of Health Sciences and Technology. When she was younger, she first wanted to be a chocolatier after visiting a chocolate factory with her school. She ultimately chose another path, but during her agronomy studies in Montpellier, France, where she specialized in food production in Mediterranean and tropical countries, Lestang's interest in the cacao fruit grew.

Improved control of fermentation

By the time a bar of chocolate reaches the grocery store shelf, the cacao it contains has not only traveled a long way, but has also undergone a certain amount of processing. A core part of this is fermentation, a natural process that begins as soon as the green to reddish-yellow cacao fruit is harvested, broken open, and the beans laid out in wooden boxes to dry.

Naturally occurring microorganisms found on tools, on the banana leaves used to cover the beans, or on the farmers' hands break down the sugars in the pulp that surrounds the beans. The process heats up the beans and makes them more acidic, destroying their cells. "This prevents the seeds from germinating; otherwise, you'd soon have lots of little cacao trees," Lestang says with a laugh. During fermentation is also when the beans acquire their cocoa-brown color and the bitter, earthy taste so typical of unsweetened chocolate.

The quality and taste of the cacao depend largely on which microorganisms are involved in this fermentation process. "If we treat the cacao beans with the right mix of microorganisms at the start of fermentation, we reduce health risks, quality loss and food waste," Lestang explains.

Food technologists use yeasts and lactic acid bacteria as fungus-inhibiting fermentation starters. However, not all cacao beans react the same way to the microorganisms, because the beans' chemical profiles and properties vary depending on the variety of cacao and where it was cultivated. That's why in her project, Lestang is developing a method to determine the chemical fingerprint of cacao beans. Her work is making clear which starters best protect a bean from fungal attack.

For her analysis, Lestang uses rapid evaporative ionization mass spectroscopy (REIMS), a method primarily used for microbiological tests in medicine; it is rarely used in the food sector. "The advantage of REIMS is that both sample preparation and evaluation are much less involved and timeconsuming than conventional test methods."

To prep the cacao beans for analysis, Lestang grinds them up and adds water and methanol. She spreads the resulting suspension onto a metal plate and then burns it with a kind of soldering iron. The resulting gases are broken down by a spectrometer to reveal their chemical composition. Finally, a diagram depicts the "fingerprint" of the cacao bean.

Validation in cocoa-producing countries

Lestang is collaborating closely on the project with the Food Biotechnology Research Group at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). The latter has been conducting research together with industry partners for more than ten years to improve the cacao processing method. In addition to a collection of more than 13,000 microorganisms, the ZHAW researchers have established a partner network with producers in several countries in Central and South America.

Early on in the project, a former doctoral student isolated nearly 800 microorganisms from the fermentation of cacao beans in Honduras and tested them for later use. Four candidates turned out to be particularly promising. Lestang can draw on this experience and network to test her laboratory findings in the field.

An initial batch of fermentation starters are currently being tested in the partner countries on samples of 20 to 50 kilograms of cacao beans. Next autumn, Lestang will travel to Ecuador to do further testing. If it turns out that mass spectroscopy analysis is suitable for developing the right kind of starters quickly and reliably, Lestang is convinced that this method could become increasingly popular in the food sectorincluding, for example, in coffee processing.

As for Lestang herself, she wants to continue working with cacao after completing her doctorate. Recently, she trained as a chocolate taster at an institute in the U.K."in my spare time," she emphasizes. "And this experience only increased my fascination with this fruit and its processing."
Photo taken on Sept. 7, 2023 shows a flood-effected area in Karditsa, Thessaly region, Greece. The death toll from extensive flooding caused by torrential rains in central Greece this week has reached six, with the bodies of two elderly women recovered in the Thessaly region on Thursday afternoon, Greek national broadcaster ERT has reported. (Photo by Antonis Nikolopoulos/Xinhua)

ATHENS, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from extensive flooding caused by torrential rains in central Greece this week has reached six, with the bodies of two elderly women recovered in the Thessaly region on Thursday afternoon, Greek national broadcaster ERT has reported.

Earlier on Thursday, Greek Civil Protection and Climate Crisis Minister Vassilis Kikilias had confirmed the deaths of four people, with another six missing.

In addition, at least 64 people were trapped in their houses in villages in the Thessaly region, the most affected by the floods, he said.

"(Rescuers) will continue search operations door-to-door in villages that have been cut off, evacuating people to safety (during the night)," Kikilias said in a televised statement on Thursday evening.

So far, the Fire Brigade has rescued 820 people throughout the country, and taken them to safety. Since Tuesday morning, it has received 4,870 calls for assistance in evacuating people, pumping water and removing trees from the streets.

Firefighters and the Civil Protection Ministry's forces, assisted by the army, are working in flooded areas, attempting to approach the most remote sites in Thessaly by helicopter and boat. Hundreds of houses in villages are submerged beneath water and mud, while parts of the road network have been destroyed, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

The most severe situation was reported between the cities of Trikala and Karditsa, where a dam broke and a river has overflown, Kikilias said.

Farmland, livestock units and businesses have been affected, while water supply and electricity have been disrupted.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will visit the flood-stricken areas of Thessaly on Friday, ERT reported on Thursday.

His scheduled visit to northern Greece this weekend, to inaugurate the Thessaloniki International Fair and deliver a speech on economic policy, has been postponed until next weekend.

The bad weather front that has been sweeping Greece since Monday, hit hard in the wider area of Volos city port on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday, settlements were still cut off as roads and a bridge have suffered major damage, and waters were still high in some parts, AMNA reported.

Damage has also been caused to the Neolithic excavations at Dimini near Volos, AMNA said, while the Culture Ministry announced on Thursday that waters from a heavy storm in Athens on Wednesday had reached the basement of the National Gallery. However, no works have been affected.

The extreme weather phenomena will recede on Thursday evening, according to the National Meteorological Service. 

Photo taken on Sept. 7, 2023 shows a flood-effected area in Karditsa, Thessaly region, Greece. The death toll from extensive flooding caused by torrential rains in central Greece this week has reached six, with the bodies of two elderly women recovered in the Thessaly region on Thursday afternoon, Greek national broadcaster ERT has reported. (Photo by Antonis Nikolopoulos/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Sept. 7, 2023 shows a flood-effected area in Karditsa, Thessaly region, Greece. The death toll from extensive flooding caused by torrential rains in central Greece this week has reached six, with the bodies of two elderly women recovered in the Thessaly region on Thursday afternoon, Greek national broadcaster ERT has reported. (Photo by Antonis Nikolopoulos/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Sept. 7, 2023 shows a flood-effected area in Karditsa, Thessaly region, Greece. The death toll from extensive flooding caused by torrential rains in central Greece this week has reached six, with the bodies of two elderly women recovered in the Thessaly region on Thursday afternoon, Greek national broadcaster ERT has reported. (Photo by Antonis Nikolopoulos/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Sept. 7, 2023 shows a flood-effected area in Karditsa, Thessaly region, Greece. The death toll from extensive flooding caused by torrential rains in central Greece this week has reached six, with the bodies of two elderly women recovered in the Thessaly region on Thursday afternoon, Greek national broadcaster ERT has reported. (Photo by Antonis Nikolopoulos/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Sept. 7, 2023 shows a flood-effected area in Karditsa, Thessaly region, Greece. The death toll from extensive flooding caused by torrential rains in central Greece this week has reached six, with the bodies of two elderly women recovered in the Thessaly region on Thursday afternoon, Greek national broadcaster ERT has reported. (Photo by Antonis Nikolopoulos/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Sept. 7, 2023 shows a flood-effected area in Karditsa, Thessaly region, Greece. The death toll from extensive flooding caused by torrential rains in central Greece this week has reached six, with the bodies of two elderly women recovered in the Thessaly region on Thursday afternoon, Greek national broadcaster ERT has reported. (Photo by Antonis Nikolopoulos/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Sept. 7, 2023 shows a flood-effected area in Karditsa, Thessaly region, Greece. The death toll from extensive flooding caused by torrential rains in central Greece this week has reached six, with the bodies of two elderly women recovered in the Thessaly region on Thursday afternoon, Greek national broadcaster ERT has reported. (Photo by Antonis Nikolopoulos/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Sept. 7, 2023 shows a flood-effected area in Karditsa, Thessaly region, Greece. The death toll from extensive flooding caused by torrential rains in central Greece this week has reached six, with the bodies of two elderly women recovered in the Thessaly region on Thursday afternoon, Greek national broadcaster ERT has reported. (Photo by Antonis Nikolopoulos/Xinhua)
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A plaque dedicated to 'Liberated Africans' in St. Helena with flowers around it. Credit: St Helena Government

Between 1840 and 1867, thousands of enslaved Africans who had been "liberated" from slave ships intercepted by the British Royal Navy were taken to the South Atlantic island of St Helena. But little is written in history books or otherwise known about the lives of these individuals.

Now, ancient DNA analyses reported in The American Journal of Human Genetics on September 7 offer the first direct evidence for the origins of St Helena's liberated Africans.

"It was known that they most likely originated from areas south of the equator, but where exactly they came from was unclear," says lead author Marcela Sandoval-Velasco at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. "By sequencing their DNA and comparing it with that of thousands of living people from across sub-Saharan Africa we were able to infer where in Africa they likely originated and thereby help restore knowledge of their ancestral connections."

Historical records of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database have indicated that most of the captives came from West Central Africa, but details have been scant.

In the new study, Sandoval-Velasco, Hannes Schroeder, and their colleagues analyzed the ancient DNA of 20 individuals who were among the thousands freed from slave ships and brought to St Helena. The ancestral remains in question came from archaeological excavations that took place between 2007 and 2008 ahead of roadwork and the construction of the island's first airport.

The DNA analyses showed that this group of liberated Africans most likely originated in the general area between northern Angola and Gabon in West Central Africa, according to the authors. They also show that most of the individuals were male, supporting a well-documented sex bias in the latter phase of the transatlantic slave trade.

The researchers say they hope the new findings create new awareness about the fate of the 27,000 liberated Africans who were brought to St Helena. They also note that this type of research can carry a lot of meaning, especially for descendant communities who are trying to recover aspects of their past.

"I think this study illustrates how ancient genomics can be used to recover long-lost aspects of the lives and experiences of enslaved and other marginalized communities whose stories were often omitted from written records or deliberately obscured," Schroeder said.

"This project was part of a larger ongoing effort by many people on and off the island to try and restore knowledge of St Helena's liberated Africans," added Helena Bennett, a co-author of the study and resident of St Helena. "We hope that by telling their story we can honor their legacy and ensure that their lives and fates are not forgotten."
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A years-long legal battle over the expansion of one of the reservoirs holding Denver's water supply entered a new chapter this week when environmental groups asked a judge to invalidate the federal permits underlying the $464 million project.

A coalition of environmental groups filed a complaint Tuesday that argues federal agencies failed to properly consider the massive construction project's impacts on the environment in Boulder County when they approved the expansion of Gross Reservoir. They also didn't adequately weigh the risk of taking more water from the Colorado River system, the filing says.

"The largest construction project in Boulder County history would have devastating effects on the county's ecology and residents: Denver Water will clear-cut more than 500,000 trees; blast and mine 1.6 million tons of rock; release 'freezing flow' cold water into South Boulder Creek with adverse impacts on fish; permanently eliminate popular recreational destinations; and elevate reservoir mercury levels that could affect fish and human health," the coalition alleged in its filing.

The new complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for Colorado against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is the latest salvo in a five-year fight. The environmental coalition, which seeks to stop the expansion of the reservoir, first sued in 2018. Its suit was dismissed in 2021, and months later, the groups appealed that decision.

An appeals court judge last year reversed the dismissal and said the groups could challenge the federal permitting, resulting in Tuesday's filing. The participating groups are Save the Colorado, the Environmental Group, WildEarth Guardians, Living Rivers, Waterkeeper Alliance and the Sierra Club.

Construction began in April 2022, and work is expected to take five years, according to Denver Water.

Plans call for raising the existing Gross Dam by 131 feet and widening it by 800 feet. That would nearly triple the reservoir's capacity from about 42,000 acre-feet to nearly 120,000 acre-feet. That's enough to provide water for about 800,000 people for a year. When completed, the reservoir would be the second-largest under Denver Water's control.

Denver Water authorities began the process of expanding the reservoir in 2002, citing a need for more water storage to supply a growing population and to better insulate the city's water supplies from climate change and natural disasters, such as wildfires.

The reservoir, originally completed in 1954, holds water that is pumped from a tributary of the Colorado River that's west of the Continental Divide.

The complaint by the coalition alleges federal authorities failed to consider alternatives to expanding the reservoir or to meaningfully analyze whether the project will be able to fulfill its purpose as Colorado River flows decrease.

"Although this crazy dam project is still being constructed in Boulder County, we are committed to stopping Denver Water from further draining the Colorado River," said Gary Wockner, executive director of Save the Colorado.

The coalition asked Judge Christine Arguello to vacate the federal permits because the Corps of Engineers and the Fish and Wildlife Service did not comply with the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act.

Denver Water spokesman Todd Hartman on Wednesday said the utility would not comment on the new filing.

2023 MediaNews Group, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Credit: AI-generated image

More people are taking advantage of early voting than before. But the impact on the elections is not exactly what politicians had hoped for.

In the old days, almost everyone waited until election day to vote. But in the most recent Norwegian general election in 2021, advance votes were in the majority for the first time, with almost 58% of voters opting for early voting. Just two years earlier, that number was slightly over 36%.

"Granted, some people were probably worried about COVID. They might have voted early because they were afraid of being ill on election day itself," says Henning Finseraas, a professor at NTNU's Department of Sociology and Political Science.

The last election was certainly influenced by the pandemic, but that was not the only factor. The professor expects that the number of people who choose early voting will be very high this time as well.

Early voting has increased gradually

"The proportion of early voting has been a gradual development over a long time," says Finseraas.

The gradual development has many causes.

"Historically, you had to have a reason to vote early," says Finseraas.

Eventually the requirement for a valid reason ended, but the proportion of advance votes was below 10% in all elections until 1997. That year it became possible to vote in advance at the post office. The proportion of advance votes immediately doubled to almost 19%. Therein likely lies a large part of the secret.

Easier for busy people

"Early voting has become easier, and people are more familiar with it now," says Finseraas.

Before, you might have had to go to your town hall to vote early. Nowadays, you can often vote in advance at several places in the municipality, such as the nearest shopping center or library. But that's not all.

"Once you've done early voting, it becomes a matter of habit. Besides, the scheme may just suit modern people better," says Finseraas.

Voting when it's most convenient can help make the schedule work for busy people.

Norway's advance voting period is very long by international standards. You can usually vote a whole month before the election, and in certain cases starting on 1 July.

So how does early voting impact the election and the outcome? Less than you might think, it turns out.

Does early voting increase voter turnout?

Norwegian authorities have made it easier to vote in advance, and part of the purpose has been to encourage more people to vote. But is early voting working as intended?

Finseraas was part of a group that investigated the change in 1997, when people could go to the post office and cast an early vote. The group's research methodcomparing municipalities with high and low post office densitiesproved to be effective. The researchers were then able to see whether better accessibility contributed to higher turnout.

"We found a few small, positive effects, and convenience did play a discernible positive role," says Finseraas.

His research group found that the voting reform had resulted in some increase in turnout. However, other similar research has not found any clear effects. Overall, the voting reform seems to have made little difference.

Will the least socially advantaged vote more often?

Getting people who don't normally vote to cast a ballot is another reason for making early voting easier.

"The idea is that by reducing the cost of voting, you can also reduce social inequality in electoral participation," says Finseraas.

The more education you have, the more likely you are to vote. The aim is therefore to encourage more people with less education to vote, who are often the same individuals who have the fewest resources and are normally the least interested in voting.

This goal probably has a low chance of success.

"Some research points in that direction, but the research isn't clear cut," says Finseraas. "On the contrary, a new Swedish survey shows the opposite effect."

That survey looked at people who would become parents around election day. In other words, there was a big risk that they wouldn't be able to go to the polling station, and therefore would have to vote in advance to vote at all.

The survey showed that several of the expectant parents with higher education chose to vote early. Those with less education did not do so to the same extent.

"These are small differences, but they indicate that people with the fewest resources don't vote more when early voting becomes more available," Finseraas says.

Impact on political parties?

"This means political parties will have to mobilize over a longer period," says Finseraas.

It won't be enough to just give a big push towards the end of the election campaign. Since people can vote a whole month before the actual election, and as more and more people do just that, the party organizations have to be active longer too.

"The parties will have to campaign with higher intensity throughout the election campaign. This will come at a cost to them. They can't plan and time election campaigns the same way as before and might have to spread their message more, over the entire period," Finseraas says.

What are impacts on election results?

How the research findings impact election results is almost impossible to say. The effects of the reform can go either way, depending on who is mobilized by early voting and how the election campaign goes.

"The effect could be significant if something dramatic happens towards the end of the election campaign," says Finseraas.

If you've already cast your ballot, you can't vote again if a scandal or new information comes to light closer to election day. You used to be able to vote again, and then it was the last vote that counted, but that is no longer possible.

Early voting can affect all the parties. So you can't really say much about its effect on the election results either, at least not in advance.

Perhaps we can conclude that making early voting easy is really practical, but that its effect on the election itself and the election results is usually probably minimal. Nevertheless, it would be risky to walk away from the new arrangement.

"Voter turnout might drop if we remove the early voting option or make it more difficult." Finseraas believes this would be especially true without a comprehensive information campaign that the opportunities had changed.

Related research is published on the SocArXiv preprint server.

More information: Sirus H. Dehdari et al, Early Voting Can Widen the Turnout Gap, SocArXiv (2023). DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/xe7b9
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Kurdish Sorani edition of Oskar Manns Die Mundart der Mukri-Kurden (new 2023 edition). Credit: Folklore (2023). DOI: 10.1080/0015587X.2023.2205777

A new generation of young Kurdish folklore collectors is helping to revitalize endangered languages and create a living archive, a new study shows.

Stories and songs could be saved from oblivion thanks to the efforts of activists, who risk harassment and arrest for their work, which is led by a sense of responsibility to deliver the endangered language and knowledge from one generation to another.

Collecting Kurdish stories in Turkey and Iran has become increasingly popular among the younger generation over the past decade.

The study, published in Folklore, shows how these collectors hope recording songs and stories in Kurdish dialects of Kurmanji, Sorani and Zazaki that can both protect and develop the Kurdish language.

The research was led by Dr. Farangis Ghaderi, from the University of Exeter's Institute of Arab and Islamic, and Dr. Joanna Bochenska, from the Jagiellonian University, Poland.

Dr. Ghaderi said, "Stimulated by the desire to prevent the loss of indigenous languages and their spiritual and intellectual heritage, the Kurdish folklore collectors focus on saving from oblivion the rich vocabulary in songs and stories. At the same time, they attempt to discover and discuss the oral tradition's potential for modern culture and knowledge production. The recovered vocabulary is being introduced into modern writing and applied in the process of teaching Kurdish in private schools."

Dr. Ghaderi and Dr. Bochenska carried out 29 interviews with collectors and Kurdish language activists in Turkey and Iran.

Dr. Bochenska said, "While reasons behind collecting and publishing folklore are still firmly rooted in Kurdish national identity and linked to a sense of patriotism, they can no longer be reduced to building a national heritage or inspiration of only Kurdish locality.

"All folklore collectors we interviewed shared a desperate sense of urgency. They often voiced their concerns that Kurdish oral tradition and the language which expresses it is in imminent danger of disappearing and may be entirely lost in the next 20 to 50 years. Their anxiety is justified, considering the ongoing process of assimilation of the Kurdish people in Turkey and in Iran. Turkey was notorious for its ban on the Kurdish language, lasting until 1991."

Two of the Kurdish language varieties, Hawrami/Gorani and Zazaki, have respectively been classified as "endangered" and "vulnerable" in the 2009 UNESCO report on languages in danger. Less common Kurdish dialects such as Zazaki, which is spoken only in Turkey, are at greater risk.

In Iran, several collectors highlighted the loss of a noticeable number of old performers to COVID-19 over the last two years. They also spoke about anxiety of the overwhelming influence of Hollywood and Western media. Loqman Nadirpur, a teacher and collector of Kurdish folklore, noted his unease with seeing his children immersed in Hollywood animations, yet totally oblivious to their own heritage and stories. That prompted him to "act" and collect folktales of his hometown, Saqez.

Nadirpur said, "I think about my grandchildren, my father told me those stories, what have I left for my children? An American imposes their ideas via the internet, films, and animations. What shall we do? Don't we have anything of interest? We have more interesting stories in Kurdish that if they are made into movies or animations they would be much more fascinating than the likes of Harry Potter."

The establishment of modern schools, urbanization, and arrival of radio and television were noted by several collectors as the death knell of folklore. Migration from village to city was another significant cause of such loss.

Collectors recommended that the United Nations and UNESCO recognize Kurdish folklore as a world heritage and strive to protect it.

More information: Joanna Bochenska et al, 'Gan qey bedeni yeno ci mana' (What the Soul Means for the Body): Collecting and Archiving Kurdish Folklore as a Strategy for Language Revitalization and Indigenous Knowledge Production, Folklore (2023). DOI: 10.1080/0015587X.2023.2205777
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Heathy coral reef in Indonesia. Credit: Dr Tim Lamont, Lancaster University

A "near total" lack of transparency is making it impossible to assess the quality of corporate-led ecosystem restoration projects, according to a Lancaster University-led study titled "Hold big business to task on ecosystem restoration" and published in Science.

Efforts to rebuild degraded environments are vital for achieving global biodiversity targets. The United Nations has launched a Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and in recent years businesses around the world have collectively pledged to plant billions of trees, hundreds of thousands of corals and tens of thousands of mangroves, with corporate-led projects offering huge potential to restore damaged and lost ecosystems around the globe.

An international team of scientists analyzed publicly-available sustainability reports released by 100 of the world's largest companies and found that around two thirds of these global corporations are undertaking ecosystem restoration. However, the results highlight that despite many businesses claiming to actively rebuild damaged ecosystems, we know very little about what is actually being achieved.

The study reveals that more than 90% of corporate-led restoration projects fail to report a single ecological outcome. Further, around 80% of projects do not reveal how much money is invested in restoration, and a third fail to even state the area of habitat that they aim to restore.

"Restoring degraded ecosystems is an urgent challenge for this decade, and big businesses have the potential to play a vital role," said Dr. Tim Lamont of Lancaster University, lead author of the study. "With their size, resources and logistics expertise, they could help deliver the large-scale restoration we need in many places.

"However, at the moment there is very little transparency, which makes it hard for anyone to assess if projects are delivering benefits for ecosystems or people.

"When a business says it has planted thousands of trees to restore habitat and soak up carbonhow do we know if this has been delivered, if the trees will survive, and if it has resulted in a functioning ecosystem that benefits biodiversity and people? In many cases, we've found that the evidence provided by large corporations to support their claims is insufficient."

Many countries require businesses to conduct Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) to quantify and reduce their environmental damage, and other private-sector initiatives also encourage companies to measure and disclose their biodiversity impacts. However, the study finds that current guidelines and legal frameworks around ecosystem restoration are inadequate, and are not yet resulting in appropriate reporting by businesses.

The researchers are calling for more transparency around the reporting of corporate-led ecosystem restoration projects, and for reporting to be more consistently centered around scientific principles that determine ecosystem restoration success.

Degraded coral rubblefield, Indonesia. Credit: Dr Tim Lamont

Professor Jan Bebbington, Director of the Pentland Center for Sustainability in Business at Lancaster University and co-author of the study, said, "It is clear that corporate reporting around restoration projects needs to be improved. Guidelines need to ensure that corporations are transparent when reporting and quantifying the aims and results of their sustainability efforts.

"Greater transparency will ensure that some businesses can't get away with doing ineffective restoration and claiming reputational gain for it. But transparency is also vital for the credibility of those corporate-led schemes that are genuinely attempting to deliver significant environmental benefits. And transparency also provides opportunities for others to learn.

"There is definitely potential for businesses to be important global leaders in the restoration space. But that potential will go unrecognized, and the maximum benefits unrealized, without better regulation and transparency."

The researchers say new improved reporting guidelines around ecosystem restoration should:

Recommend that companies clearly differentiate between restoration activities that merely mitigate the negative environmental impacts of a business' operations from those that aim to provide wider climate, biodiversity and social justice outcomes.

Recommend a principle-based approach, drawing from conservation science, for planning and reporting, so that restoration projects in a range of different contexts can all maintain high standards across core areas.

Ensure corporations engage with and empower local stakeholders to co-design restoration projects from the outset.

Professor Rachael Garrett, a co-author of the study from the University of Cambridge, said, "Ultimately, if big businesses are going to contribute effectively to the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, there needs to be transparency and consistency in reporting.

"This is in the interest of the businesses themselves, who stand to gain from demonstrating to their customers, shareholders, employees and the wider public that they are making meaningful impacts with their declared restoration efforts.

"The world's largest corporations have the potential to lift ecosystem restoration efforts to an unprecedented scale. But their involvement has to be managed with proper evidence and accountability, to make sure the outcomes are beneficial and fair for everyone."

More information: Timothy A. C. Lamont, Hold big business to task on ecosystem restoration, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adh2610. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh2610 Journal information: Science
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When limestone is quarried and used as a raw material in the production of cement, large amounts of carbon dioxide are released. The industry is working with researchers to find more environmentally friendly alternatives. Credit: Heidelberg Materials

The cement industry has long been a central part of infrastructure and development, but its impact on the environment remains a challenge.

"The quarrying of limestone, as in cement production, affects both natural resources and groundwater. It is also very dependent on new mining permits," says Erik Viggh, doctoral student at the Industrial Doctoral School and the Department of Applied Physics and Electronics at Umea University.

In order to find raw materials for cement to reduce the need for natural limestone, metallurgical slag, a by-product from the steel industry, has been investigated. Slag has been shown to be a suitable substitute, providing a significant reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from the cement process. However, it is unclear as to how the quality of the cement is affected.

Through his research, Erik Viggh has developed a chemical model that can be used by the cement industry to evaluate how changes in the process and use of raw materials affect cement quality. This makes it easier to steer production towards a lower climate impact.

One substance that plays a crucial role in cement production is magnesium. Low levels of magnesium are present in natural limestone, but higher quantities are present in slag. When the raw material is heated to 1,450 degrees centigrade, magnesium oxide melts and becomes part of the liquid mass. During cooling, magnesium binds to the various minerals in the cement. However, too much magnesium can form a mineral called periclase during cooling, which can cause problems such as swelling and cracking in concrete.

To tackle this phenomenon, Erik Viggh has created a process model using advanced calculations. The model simulates the formation of the cement phases, taking into account time, temperature and the composition of the raw material. This makes it possible to predict the chemical content of the cement in all phases. Previously, only lime and silicon were included in the calculation, but now aluminum, iron and magnesium are also included.

To ensure the reliability of the model, the researchers conducted laboratory tests on cement samples made with varying amounts of magnesium oxide. These samples were analyzed to understand periclase formation and the diffusion of magnesium oxide between the particles during melt formation.

The results from both simulations and tests provide insights into the amount and composition of the cement phases formed during heating and cooling. These results also agree well with previously published data, confirming the importance and relevance of the research.

"The improved chemical model together with available thermodynamic data and a newly developed model for cooling has good potential for evaluating the use of alternative raw materials. The work has also identified weaknesses in previous process modeling and provides suggestions for future research efforts when developing completely new manufacturing processes for cement," says Erik Viggh.

More information: Modeling the influence of magnesium from alternative raw materials on the chemistry of Portland cement clinker. umu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1789922&dswid=-2721
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A jet takes flight as heat ripples radiate from the runway, Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at Sky Harbor International Airport, in Phoenix. The city so far this year has seen 52 days of highs at 110 degrees or over and is expected to hit that mark again on both Saturday, Sept. 9, and Sunday. Credit: AP Photo/Matt York

Phoenix, already the hottest large city in America, is poised to set yet another heat record this weekend while confirmed heat-associated deaths are on track for a record of their own.

The National Weather Service says after a brief respite from the heat over the Labor Day holiday, Phoenix this weekend is expected to break its previous record of 53 days of 110-degree Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) weather in a single year, set in 2020. Afternoon weekend highs will range between 108-113 degrees Fahrenheit (42.4-45 Celsius) across Arizona's lower deserts.

"Remember to stay hydrated and avoid sun exposure from 10am to 6pm this weekend!" the weather service advised on social media.

Phoenix has now seen 52 days of temperatures at or above 110 degrees in 2023 and is expected to hit that mark again on both Saturday and Sunday, when an extreme heat watch will be in effect, local meteorologists said. The temperature could also hit 110 degrees on Monday.

The desert city set a record in July with a 31-day streak of highs at or above 110 degrees. The previous record was 18 straight days, set in 1974.

It was part of a historic heat wave this summer that stretched from Texas across New Mexico and Arizona and into California's desert.

Phoenix has now seen 100 days with 100-degree Fahrenheit-plus (37.7 Celsius) temperatures this year as of Wednesday. That's in line so far with the average of 111 days hitting triple digits every year between 1991 and 2020.

Maricopa County, home to Phoenix and the most populous county in Arizona, also appears headed toward an annual record for heat-associated deaths.

Clouds surround downtown Phoenix at sunset, Sunday, July 30, 2023. The city so far this year has seen 52 days of highs at 110 degrees or over and is expected to hit that mark again on both Saturday, Sept. 9, and Sunday. Credit: AP Photo/Matt York

The suspected heat victims have included a hiker who collapsed in the blazing sun on a city trail, and a 9-year-old migrant boy who died in Mesa, Arizona after falling ill while crossing the Arizona-Mexico border with his family.

County public health officials said Wednesday there have been 194 heat-associated deaths confirmed for this year as of Sept. 2. Another 351 deaths are under investigation.

There were 153 heat-associated deaths in the county confirmed by the same week last year, with another 238 deaths under investigation.

Maricopa County has confirmed 425 heat-associated deaths for 2022.

"Given the number of confirmed heat-associated deaths and the number that are currently under investigation, it's possible we could have even more heat-associated deaths this year than in 2022," said Sonia Singh, supervisor for Maricopa County Public Health Services' office of communications. "These heat deaths are preventable, however, and with the temperatures we are still seeing, it's important that people don't let their guard down.

"Continue to take precautions like staying hydrated, do outdoor work or exercise in the cooler parts of the day, and stay in air-conditioned spaces during the hottest parts of the day," Singh added.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs in mid-August declared a state of emergency following more than a month of extreme heat statewide.

Hobbs said then that the declaration would allow the state to reimburse various government entities for funds spent on providing relief from high temperatures.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Tokizawas study shows an Arabidopsis plant root growing in nitrate-sufficient (left) and nitrate-deficient (right) media, with the latter having fewer lateral roots which are critical to help the plant acquire more nitrate in nitrate-rich growth media. Credit: University of Saskatchewan

Dr. Mutsutomo Tokizawa (Ph.D.), a post-doctoral research fellow at the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS), is the lead author of a new study with Dr. Leon Kochian (Ph.D.), Canada Excellence Research Chair in Global Food Security at USask and research group lead at GIFS. The researchers have identified a novel regulatory mechanism that helps plant roots conserve resources in nitrogen-deficient soils and use them for enhanced growth of the tap root, which can grow deeper into the soil in search of areas with higher concentrations of the nutrient.

The findings support long-term initiatives to develop new crop varieties with root-related traits that help agricultural producers optimize fertilizer applications.

"Nitrogen is the most important nutrient for plant growth, and acquisition of nitrate from roots has a big effect on crop productivity and quality," said Tokizawa.

"Root architecture is dramatically altered in accordance with changes in soil nitrate concentrations, and one of our goals at GIFS is to develop better roots in crops that contribute to global food security," said Tokizawa.

Plants absorb more nitrogen than any other nutrient, which is why nitrogen-based products represent the majority of the more than 200 million tons of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers that are purchased by agricultural producers around the world every year.

Tokizawa's study, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), examines how plants respond when nitrate, the primary form in which plants acquire nitrogen-based fertilizers like ammonia or urea, isn't immediately available.

The project was born in the pandemic: Unable to conduct his expected laboratory work in early 2020, Tokizawa began revisiting data collected from his graduate work at Gifu University in Japan, where he worked in the laboratory that initially identified an interesting protein called STOP1 that had become associated with plant responses to phosphorous and potassium.

In the paper, Tokizawa worked with collaborators at Gifu University and other colleagues in Kochian's Root-Soil-Microbe Interaction research group at GIFS to conduct a series of experiments in Arabidopsis plants showing STOP1 inhibits the growth of lateral plant rootswhich grow from the primary plant tap rootwhen there is a nitrate deficiency.

The study is the first to note that STOP1 is involved in plant responses to all three major fertilizer nutrientsnitrogen, phosphorus, and potassiumthat are required for plant growth.

"It was surprising to see that STOP1 is the protein involved in a number of these interactions, but as we learn more about plants, we are learning how complex they are, especially with regards to plant response to stress," said Tokizawa, who is to receive the Japanese Society of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition's Outstanding Young Researcher Award in September.

Tokizawa said the team's discovery raises several questions for future research. The network of regulators that drive these interactions are extremely complicated and additional work is needed to understand exactly how plants sense an area is low in available nitrate, he explained.

Kochian's program at GIFS examines the interaction between and among roots, the soil and the microorganisms within the soil that have a substantial effect on soil fertility and crop health. Understanding these interactions is critical to increasing yields and promoting sustainable agricultural systems within challengingand changingenvironments.

"It is clear that roots are still relatively unexplored areas of plant breeding and crop improvement, but they have critical roles to play in improving crop responses to climate change, especially drought and flooding," said Kochian.

"Bigger roots can also sequester more carbon in the soil. From all of our work, we are finding that increasing root system size can be done without using too much plant carbon also needed for seed yield and this increases nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium acquisition efficiency. The result is optimized fertilizer inputs and costs to farmers, as well as reduced environmental impact and costs of remediating nitrogen and phosphorus runoff."

More information: Mutsutomo Tokizawa et al, The transcription factors, STOP1 and TCP20, are required for root system architecture alterations in response to nitrate deficiency, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2300446120 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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An optical image of the galaxy in which the new event occurred, taken from archival PanSTARRS data. The X-ray object was located to somewhere inside the white circle, which is about the size a pinhead 100m away would appear. The position of a 2 year old supernova is also shown. Credit: Daniele B. Malesani / PanSTARRS

A star like our own sun in a nearby galaxy is gradually being eaten away by a small but ravenous black hole, losing the equivalent mass of three Earths every time it passes close.

The discovery by University of Leicester astronomers is reported in Nature Astronomy and provides a 'missing link' in our knowledge of black holes disrupting orbiting stars. It suggests a whole menagerie of stars in the process of being consumed that still lie undiscovered.

The astronomers were alerted to the star by a bright X-ray flash that seemed to come from the center of the nearby galaxy 2MASX J02301709+2836050, around 500 million light-years away from the Milky Way. Named Swift J0230, it was spotted the moment it happened for the first time using a new tool developed by the scientists for the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory.

They rapidly scheduled further Swift observations of it, finding that instead of decaying away as expected, it would shine brightly for 7-10 days and then abruptly switch off, repeating this process roughly every 25 days.

Similar behavior has been observed in what are termed quasi-periodic eruptions and periodic nuclear transients, where a star has material ripped away by a black hole as its orbit takes it close by, but they differ in how often they erupt, and in whether it is in X-rays or optical light that the explosion is predominant. The regularity of Swift J0230's emissions fell between the two, suggesting that it forms the 'missing link' between the two types of outburst.

Using the models proposed for these two classes of event as a guide, the scientists concluded that the Swift J0230 outburst represents a star of a similar size to our own sun in an elliptical orbit around a low-mass black hole at the center of its galaxy. As the star's orbit takes it close to the intense gravitational pull of the black hole, material equivalent to the mass of three Earths is wrenched from the atmosphere of the star and heated up as it falls into the black hole.

Now you don't see it, now you do! X-ray images of the same location on the sky before (left) and after (right) Swift J0230 erupted. These images were taken with the X-ray Telescope on-board the Swift satellite. Credit: Phil Evans (University of Leicester) / NASA Swift

The intense heat, around 2 million degrees Celsius, releases a huge amount of X-rays which were first picked up by the Swift satellite.

Lead author Dr. Phil Evans of the University of Leicester School of Physics and Astronomy said, "This is the first time we've seen a star like our sun being repeatedly shredded and consumed by a low mass black hole."

"So-called 'repeated, partial tidal disruption' events are themselves quite a new discovery and seem to fall into two types: those that outburst every few hours, and those that outburst every year or so. This new system falls right into the gap between these, and when you run the numbers, you find the types of objects involved fall nicely into place too."

Dr. Rob Eyles-Ferris, who works with Dr. Evans on the Swift satellite, recently completed his Ph.D. at Leicester, which included the study of stars being disrupted by black holes. He explains, "In most of the systems we've seen in the past the star is completely destroyed. Swift J0230 is an exciting addition to the class of partially-disrupted stars as it shows us that the two classes of these objects already found are really connected, with our new system giving us the missing link."

Dr. Kim Page from the University of Leicester, who worked on the data analysis for the study, said, "Given that we found Swift J0230 within a few months of enabling our new transient-hunting tool, we expect that there are a lot more objects like this out there, waiting to be uncovered."

Dr. Chris Nixon is a theoretical astrophysicist who recently moved from the University of Leicester to the University of Leeds. He led the theoretical interpretation of this event. Watch to learn how an update to NASAs Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory allowed it to catch a supersized black hole in a distant galaxy munching repeatedly on a circling star. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

They estimate that the black hole is around 10,000 to 100,000 times the mass of our sun, which is quite small for the supermassive black holes usually found at the center of galaxies. The black hole at the center of our own galaxy is thought to be 4 million solar masses, while most are in the region of 100 million solar masses.

It is the first discovery to be made using the new transient detector for the Swift satellite, developed by the University of Leicester team and running on their computers. When an extreme event takes place, causing an X-ray burst in a region of the sky where there were previously no X-rays, astronomers call it an astronomical X-ray transient. Despite the extreme events they herald, these events are not easy to find, or at least, not quicklyand so this new tool was developed to look for new types of transients in real time.

Dr. Evans adds, "This type of object was essentially undetectable until we built this new facility, and soon after it found this completely new, never-before-seen event. Swift is nearly 20 years old and it's suddenly finding brand new events that we never knew existed. I think it shows that every single time you find a new way of looking at space, you learn something new and find there's something out there you didn't know about before."

Dr. Caroline Harper, Head of Space Science at the UK Space Agency, said, "This is yet another exciting discovery from the world-leading Swift missiona low mass black hole taking 'bites' from a sun-like star whenever it orbits close enough."

"The UK Space Agency has been working in partnership with NASA on this mission for many years; the UK led on the development of hardware for two of the key science instruments and we provided funding for the Swift Science Data Center, which we continue to support. We look forward to even more insights from Swift about gamma ray bursts throughout the cosmos, and the massive events that cause them, in the future."

More information: Phil Evans et al, Monthly quasi-periodic eruptions from repeated stellar disruption by a massive black hole, Nature Astronomy (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41550-023-02073-y. www.nature.com/articles/s41550-023-02073-y Journal information: Nature Astronomy
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a. The m6A-associated RNA modifying enzymes effect on various substrate RNAs in multiple tumors. b. The m5C-associated RNA modifying enzymes act on various substrate RNAs in multiple tumors. c. The role of m1A-associated RNA modifying enzymes modulating various substrate RNAs in multiple tumors. d. The role of m7G-associated methyltransferases regulating tRNAs and mRNAs in multiple tumors. e. The writers of A-to I edit various double-stranded RNAs in multiple tumors. f. NAT10 and SIRT7 influence substrate RNAs' fate in multiple tumors. Credit: Beijing Zhongke Journal Publising Co. Ltd.

RNA modifications are dynamic and reversible chemical modifications on substrate RNA that regulate mRNA stability, translation, and localization. This review is designed by Dr. Junhong Han and written by his postdoctoral researcher Dr. Lei Qiu and Ph.D. student Qian Jing (Research Laboratory of Tumor Epigenetics and Genomics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University).

Currently identified RNA modifications are modulated by the "writing-erasing-reading" system, which consists of various RNA modifying enzymes functioning as "writers," "erasers" and "readers." In a complete process of RNA modification, "writer" installs RNA modifications on RNA substrates; "eraser" removes the chemical marks installed on RNA; "reader" recognizes the RNA modifications and guides the fate of target RNAs.

Qiu and Jing reviewed the specific RNA modifiers and the detailed mechanisms of six common RNA modifications, including m6A, m5C, m1A, m7G, , and A-to-I editing. Among the six RNA modifications, m6A, m5C, m1A, and m7G belong to the RNA methylation category, whereas  and A-to-I editing are RNA editing. They also mentioned a novel RNA modification, ac4C, which is installed by NAT10 and possibly removed by SIRT7.

Based on the RNA modification regulatory system, Qiu and Jing comprehensively summarized the functional involvement of the seven RNA modifications in five human disease models, including cancer, neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, as well as genetic and developmental diseases.

a. 18097 inhibits FTO to promote substrate mRNAs m6A level in breast cancer. b. HUHS015 disturbs ALKBH3 functioning as prostate cancer antigen 1. c. R-2HG prevents FTO removing m6A from MYC/CEBP in AML. d. WBSCR22 knockdown enhances the sensitivity of colorectal cancer cells to oxaliplatin. e. METTL1/NSUN2 knockdown facilitates cervical cancer cells being sensitive to 5-FU. f. NSUN3/DNMT2/CDK7/HnRNPK/CDK9/p-TEFb complex binding nascent nuclear RNA, forms a 5-AZA-sensitive chromatin structure in AML. Credit: Beijing Zhongke Journal Publising Co. Ltd.

In detail, they discussed the impact of dysregulation of each specific RNA modifier in different diseases. For example, the m6A "writer" METTL3/METTL14 showed both oncogenic and tumor suppressive roles depending on the target transcript and disease model. Genetic birth defects and developmental defects involve mutations of m5C "writers," such as the Cri du chat syndrome (NSUN1) and the Dubowitz syndrome (NSUN2). m7G methyltransferase METTL1 promoted blood flow recovery in cardiovascular disease.

Importantly, they listed nearly all available promising small molecule inhibitors targeting various RNA modifiers and briefly explained their acting mechanisms. Generally, most of the inhibitors were developed against RNA methylation, especially those inhibitors specifically targeting m6A modifying enzymes such as METTL3 and FTO.

Based on a thorough understanding and summary of the mechanisms of RNA modifications, their roles in disease models, and their targeting small molecules, Qiu and Jing also provided novel insights regarding future directions of research in the RNA modification field. This comprehensive review is beneficial to the development of novel RNA-modification-targeted therapeutic strategies.

The findings are published in the journal Molecular Biomedicine.

More information: Lei Qiu et al, RNA modification: mechanisms and therapeutic targets, Molecular Biomedicine (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s43556-023-00139-x

Provided by Beijing Zhongke Journal Publising Co. Ltd.
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A grizzly bear linked to a woman's death weeks ago in the U.S. state of Montana was killed by officials, authorities said on Wednesday.

"A grizzly bear with a history of conflict with people was euthanized Saturday after breaking into a house near West Yellowstone," said the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in a press release.

A homeowner reported a bear with a cub broke through a kitchen window of an occupied home early Saturday morning. Later that evening, staff from Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and local law enforcement captured the cub and shot the adult grizzly due to an immediate public safety threat from the bear's food-conditioned behavior, according to the news release.

"Through genetic analysis and other identifying characteristics, staff confirmed the bear was involved in a fatal attack on a woman near West Yellowstone in July. The bear was also involved in an encounter in Idaho that injured a person near Henrys Lake State Park in Idaho in 2020," it said.

The officials say that grizzly bear populations continue to become denser and more widespread in Montana, increasing the likelihood that residents and recreationists will encounter them in more places each year.

The woman's death is the 20th grizzly bear fatality recorded in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem since 1892, reported The Billings Gazette, a daily newspaper based in Montana.

Thirty-one grizzly bear deaths have been recorded in the region so far this year, 22 of which were human-caused, according to the report. 
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Juvenile whale shark foraging in La Paz Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico Credit: Joel Gayford, Imperial College London

Shark ecotourismwhere individuals pay to swim with wild sharksmay increase the likelihood of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) exhibiting disturbed behavior patterns resembling the fast, zigzag movements associated with fleeing predators, suggests a paper published in Scientific Reports. The findings suggest that ecotourism may have a significant effect on the foraging and potentially reproductive behavior of whale sharks.

Shark ecotourism is a multi-million US dollar industry, but the potential ecological impacts are still poorly understood. Previous studies have demonstrated potential links between shark ecotourism and decreases in the number of shark species encountered at some ecotourism sites, but studies on the effects of ecotourism on shark behavior have so far been unclear.

Joel Gayford and colleagues analyzed 39 overhead videos of whale sharks in the Bay of La Paz, Mexico, to assess whether shark behavior changed in the presence of a swimmer mimicking ecotourist behavior (20 videos) compared to the sharks swimming in isolation (19 videos).

The authors observed an increase in disturbed behavior patterns when the swimmer was present, which would result in the sharks expending more energy than when swimming in isolation. This change in behavior could potentially make it harder for the whale sharks to forage for food, and may even possibly affect reproductive success.

These findings suggest that shark ecotourism operators should be encouraged to assess the behavioral state of individual sharks before allowing swimmers into the water, and that the minimum regulated distance between sharks and tourists should be reviewed.

The authors also suggest that further studies on the ecological impact of shark ecotourism should be conducted to properly assess the consequences of the industry on different species.

More information: Joel H. Gayford, Quantifying the behavioural consequences of shark ecotourism, Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39560-1. www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-39560-1 Journal information: Scientific Reports
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Lorinda Riley. Credit: University of Hawaii at Manoa

Research conducted by the University of Hawaii at Manoa is unearthing the unique challenges that Indigenous faculty face in earning tenure, academia's "golden ticket." In a study published in the journal Environment and Planning F, researchers uplifted the stories of Native Hawaiian, American Indian and Alaska Native faculty in Hawaii, the U.S. and Canada who sought tenure and experienced challenges, some of which were specific to them as Indigenous people.

The study, "Wrangling the system: How tenure impacts Indigenous research," was further highlighted in August in Sage Perspectives. Study lead, Lorinda Riley, assistant professor of Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health in the Office of Public Health Studies and Hawaiinuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, conveyed the importance of tenure reform to Indigenous scholars specifically, but to the broader Indigenous community in general.

"It was a real honor that so many Indigenous faculty shared their stories with me," Riley said. "In academia, we tend not to show vulnerability, but I think there is a recognition that in order for Indigenous faculty to keep doing the important community work that we love, something needs to change."

Responsibility to communities

Riley explained that Indigenous scholars often approach their role in academia as members of their communities. Thus, they have kuleana, or a responsibility, to their own community in addition to the requirements placed on them by their university. This dual burden means that while some Indigenous scholars provide tremendous benefit to their community and their institution, it can take a toll, and make the road to tenure even more challenging.

According to the study, the tenure process incentivizes maximum research productivity, therefore many Indigenous faculty questioned their desire to use decolonized and Indigenous methods and worried that it would make achieving tenure more difficult. The pressure of tenure leads many Indigenous faculty to bifurcate their research agenda.

One junior faculty said, "I have my pre-tenure research agenda and then I have my post-tenure research agenda but my post-tenure is what sets my soul on fire."

"The work that faculty do for the community needs to be honored and respected by the institution," Riley said. "This is especially true for Indigenous faculty, many of whom are working to regain the trust of Indigenous communities that, historically, were mistreated by researchers."

The study also determined the need for more mentorship, at all levels. "A good mentor was equated to having a superpower by participants," Riley said. "This may be one of the reasons that Indigenous faculty tended to spend extra time developing curriculum and mentoring students."

Reforming the process

The researchers stated that reforming the institutional review process to align with community-engaged research practices would remove unnecessary barriers to Indigenous research.

For example, providing increased flexibility to allow for co-creation of research design would reduce the need for constant modifications.

"At the end of the day, having a diverse faculty is beneficial to institutions of higher education," Riley said. "If we are ever going to end the underrepresentation of Indigenous faculty, changes need to be made at an institutional level."

More information: Lorinda Riley et al, Wrangling the system: How tenure impacts Indigenous research, Environment and Planning F (2022). DOI: 10.1177/26349825221142290
At first, New York environmental advocate Rob Hayes was encouraged to learn that state health officials had a new plan to notify residents if their drinking water contained the unhealthy forever chemicals known as PFAS, which have made their way into the environment from the production of everything from nonstick pans to microwave popcorn bags.

PFAS forever chemicals found in hundreds of New York water systems at unsafe levels An untold number of New Yorkers are subjected  sometimes unknowingly  to unsafe PFAS chemicals in their water. The state doesn't require treatment until contamination reaches a certain level.

The plan would alert New Yorkers within 90 days if their water contained even low levels of nearly two dozen PFAS chemicals, a huge step forward for transparency and knowledge about the PFAS crisis, said Hayes, who is director of clean water at Environmental Advocates New York.

But the New York State Department of Healths notification plan excludes the two most commonly occurring PFAS chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, which has advocates like Hayes scratching their heads.

That means some New Yorkers would temporarily remain in the dark about drinking water that contains the two chemicals, which are likely human carcinogens and cause other health problems like liver damage and birth defects, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Those two chemicals already regulated in New York, but at higher levels. The EPA has said the chemicals are unsafe at any level and has proposed tighter regulations.

I cannot think of a good reason to exclude PFOS and PFOA, said Hayes, who recently joined dozens of other advocates in penning a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state health department requesting changes to the plan.

Its critical for the public to know whenever those two chemicals are reliably detected, Hayes said. Its possible the notifications that New Yorkers will get will not be complete about the full extent of PFAS that a water utility has detected in their drinking water.

Letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state health department Read the letter advocates sent Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York's state health department requesting changes to the new PFAS notification plan for drinking water.

But state health officials have defended their decision to only include some PFAS chemicals in the notification plan.

Gary Ginsberg, director of the Department of Healths Center for Environmental Health, said the 23 lesser-known PFAS chemicals that are part of the 90-day notification plan are emerging contaminants.

Theyre kind of the new kids on the block, Ginsberg said. The whole notification concept comes about because we are testing the water for things that are not regulated and we want to be able to tell the public pretty quickly.

PFOS and PFOA are in a different category, Ginsberg said. State rules already require water systems with high levels of PFOA or PFOS to alert water customers within 30 days.

Pretty close to everyone in New York state by now that has had any detection of PFOA or PFOS in their water, whether above the MCL (maximum contaminant level) or below the MCL, should have gotten notice of that in some way, Ginsberg said.

But people whose water systems have PFOA or PFOS contamination lower than the states maximum contaminant level10 parts per trillionhave to wait until their water company sends them an annual water quality report each spring to learn whether those chemicals were detected the prior year.

But some advocates say notification in the annual water quality reports are inadequate. New York regulations state those documents are required to be sent to bill-paying customers by May 31 of each year.

That means there are some water customerssuch as rentersthat dont receive the annual reports. Adding those chemicals to the DOHs PFAS notification proposal would mean people would learn about them within 90 days.

Since many renters in New York do not directly pay a water bill, they are often kept in the dark about whats in their water, according to the August letter sent to the New York Department of Health by Hayes and a group of more than 30 other scientists, professors, and environmental groups.

PFAS in drinking water is a widespread problem in New York and across the entire U.S., the result of decades of their use in industrial settings, at airports and military bases. Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism team reported earlier this year that the chemicals were found at unsafe levels in the rivers, lakes and streams supplying drinking water systems that serve at least 3.2 million New Yorkers, according to state and federal data.

Updated data released this summer by the state health department show that in 2022, nearly 300 drinking water systems across New York used source water that had at some point tested positive to contain either PFOA or PFOS at a level of 4 parts per trillion or higher.

2022 update: Look up PFAS 'forever' chemicals in New York drinking water systems PFAS have been found in the water that millions of New Yorkers rely on for drinking water. Lookup the levels of PFAS chemicals in your drinking water system here.

More than half of those water systems were relatively small, serving 500 or fewer customers. Dozens of mobile home communities, trailer parks and apartment complexes are represented.

This is a key environmental justice aspect of the PFAS crisis, Hayes said. The people who are at the greatest risk are often the most vulnerable members of our society, including those living in mobile home parks.

The notification program isnt final yet. The states Drinking Water Quality Council has requested more information from the health department about increased PFAS testing costs and treatment options. The public will have a chance to weigh in on it, too.

If the plan is eventually approved, it could take another six months to a year to go into effect, Ginsberg said.

Ginsberg said even if a water system tests positive for PFAS chemicals, it doesnt necessarily signal if theres a health risk at that level, but rather that its detectable and its quantifiable.

Still, Hayes said all New Yorkers impacted by PFAS should know about it as soon as possible.

DOH can and should correct this oversight and finalize their notification plan as soon as possible, Hayes said. New Yorkers have waited long enough to know whats in their water.

Discover more reporting from Lee's Public Service Journalism team The Public Service Journalism team focuses on producing in-depth and investigative stories on local, state and national issues with significan

PFAS forever chemicals about to get their first US limits
ATLANTIC CITY  John Clarke, who has been an interim part-time executive director and consultant for the Atlantic City Housing Authority, has left his job leading New Brunswick's housing authority, he said Thursday.

"I have retired ... after 27 years of service there and will be focusing on consulting work going forward," Clarke said in an email response to questions.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Clarke's retirement was effective Sept. 1.

Clarke's contract with the Atlantic City authority, through his Sunbelt Industries Inc., ran from August 2022 to August 2023.

A special meeting of the Atlantic City Housing Authority was set for 4 p.m. Thursday, and on the proposed agenda was an executive session to discuss personnel matters.

At its Aug. 24 meeting, the authority's board was set to consider a resolution to bring Clarke back as a management consultant, but it was tabled following criticisms of a procurement consultant by new Executive Director Matt Doherty. The board then entered a closed session.

Clarke held the full-time executive director position in New Brunswick, earning a salary of about $163,000 in 2018, according to the most recent HUD report.

Clarke is currently serving as the interim executive director for the Princeton Housing Authority, a role he formally began in February 2022. His current contract in Princeton, which The Press of Atlantic City obtained via public records request, ends March 1, 2024.

Atlantic City Housing Authority spent nearly $500K on leadership consultants The Atlantic City Housing Authority spent nearly a half-million dollars on two administrative consultants over the past year and continued to keep them on the payroll through the summer despite the addition of new permanent staff in the same roles.

In his first year in that job, his rate was $125 per hour, the same amount charged under his separate, previous agreement with the Atlantic City Housing Authority. Beginning in March 2023, his hourly rate with the Princeton Housing Authority increased to $150.

His Princeton contract also said he will work a minimum of 20 hours per week, with at least 10 of those hours occurring on site.

Some media outlets, including New Brunswick Today, have questioned how one person could perform so many jobs.

New Brunswick Today's Charlie Kratovil said Thursday he has been asking the New Brunswick board about Clarke's employment status, but was unable to get an answer.

HUD did confirm his retirement, however.

The Atlantic City authority has issued a request for proposals to hire a management consultant to help manage the authority, which was severely criticized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in a compliance report released this summer.

That report outlined dozens of ways the authority was not meeting HUD requirements, and said the authority has not done so for years.

Under his Sunbelt Industries firm, Clarke received $66,500 for his nearly nine-month-long stint as interim executive director of the Atlantic City authority, according to authority documents.

Atlantic City Housing Authority tells court it will empty, demolish one-third of Stanley Holmes Village An attorney for the Atlantic City Housing Authority has submitted court papers, overdue by many months, outlining plans to provide consistent heat and hot water to residents of Stanley Holmes Village and protect them from future gas leaks.

He also billed $71,943.75 to the Princeton Housing Authority for his work from August 2022 through June 2023, according to invoices obtained from that agency via public records requests.

Doherty came on board in May. Clarke remained a consultant through Aug. 11, but it is unclear how much he billed the agency for his last 10 weeks on the job. Doherty earns roughly $160,000.

Under his Atlantic City contract, Clarke was supposed to commit at least 20 hours per week to the interim executive director duties. Clarke did not meet that threshold in 31 of the 38 weeks he served as interim leader, according to Sunbelts billing invoices.

At least four of those weeks, he dedicated less than five hours to the Atlantic City Housing Authority, including one week he logged zero hours.

At the same time, conditions deteriorated so badly at the authority's largest and oldest complex, the 420-unit Stanley Holmes Village, that Mayor Marty Small Sr. declared an emergency, took over trash collection there and inspected all units. The inspection found hundreds of health and safety violations, including non-working stoves and refrigerators, broken or missing fire and carbon monoxide detectors, and severe pest infestations.

Asked why the ongoing habitability issues didnt require him to dedicate at least 20 hours per week to the authority, Clarke said he was able to communicate with the contractors handling repairs and coordinate hotel placements for displaced residents without reaching that threshold.

I wouldnt be the one turning a wrench, he said.

HUD does not have a cap on the number of executive director positions one person can hold, said Olga Alvarez, a spokesperson for HUD Region II, which oversees public housing authorities in New Jersey and New York.

Gas leaks prompt shutoff at Atlantic City's Stanley Holmes Village A multi-building gas leak at Atlantic City's Stanley Holmes Village was reported Tuesday, adding to a list of issues at the public housing complex.

However, there is a state statute that limits the number of housing authorities any single person can lead.

"No more than three housing authorities may jointly employ and share the management services of an executive director," that state law specifies.

Staff Writer Alison Burdo contributed to this report.
BRIGANTINE  Members of the city's governing body joined other local officials in opposing a plan to house migrants at Atlantic City International Airport.

City Council on Wednesday passed a resolution stating, as other officials have, that Atlantic County lacks ample "housing, food, education, healthcare and basic needs" for migrants.

Council is very concerned that the lack of appropriate resources and accommodations will lead to inhumane conditions, putting the immigrants in a potentially life-threatening situation," Mayor Vince Sera, a Republican, said in a statement Thursday. "The Biden administration should really look for a location that is better equipped to meet the basic needs of such a large influx of immigrants.

In passing the resolution, council asks Gov. Phil Murphy to prevent the plan from happening.

The Democratic governor has said he shares local lawmakers' stance.

I dont see any scenario where were going to be able to take in a program in Atlantic City or frankly elsewhere in the state, Murphy said on News 12 New Jerseys Ask Governor Murphy program last week. You need scale, enormous amounts of federal support, resources that go beyond anything that we can afford.

Migrants have place in Atlantic County, advocates say A coalition of pro-immigrant organizations on Tuesday denounced remarks made by local officials last week, standing by migrants' contributions to South Jersey.

Copies of the city's agreed-upon stance would be forwarded to the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners, county Executive Dennis Levinson and other elected officials, according to the resolution. The commissioners passed a similar resolution Tuesday.

The city further urged President Joe Biden to reexamine current immigration policies.

"If the Biden administration has a real desire to increase immigration to the U.S., then they should create opportunities for people to come to our country legally," Sera said. "The idea of bringing people illegally into the U.S. and then having them live in sanctuary states or cities is wrong. By doing so, the government is forever trapping people in a situation where they are living in our country, but never really allowing them to fully receive the benefits and protections of being a legal citizen."

Officials across Atlantic County have condemned the plan first unveiled through a report by Bloomberg. In its report, the news outlet said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent to New York City officials a list of 11 federally owned properties that could be used to house asylum seekers, including the airport in Egg Harbor Township.

Both the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard and the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center operate on the property.

Meanwhile, local immigrant advocates on Tuesday held a news conference in which they condemned what they called hateful rhetoric toward migrants by elected officials because of the airport plan.
New Jersey residents are needed to be poll workers for the upcoming Nov. 7 general election and early voting period.

Election workers will earn $21.43 per hour on in-person early voting days, and a flat $300 on Election Day.

Poll workers are essential. Every year, we need regular New Jersey citizens to step up and serve their community and our state by working at a polling location, New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way said in a news release.

Counties are currently recruiting for the jobs, said Assistant Secretary of State Lauren Zyriek Enriquez, who serves as acting director of the New Jersey Division of Elections.

Lynn Caterson, chair of the Atlantic County Board of Elections, said county residents can apply at atlantic-county.org/board-of-elections. Click on Become a Poll Worker.

They must be trained, and that training is happening now and for the next many weeks, Caterson said Thursday.

2nd District Senate race heats up with Democrats switching ticket at last minute The 2nd Legislative District race for state Senate and Assembly just got more interesting, with Democratic Atlantic County Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick moving up at the last minute to run for Senate against incumbent Sen. Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic.

Applications also are available at pollworker.nj.gov.

Possible work dates for the general election include:

In-person early voting: Oct. 28-Nov. 5

Election Day: Nov. 7

Poll workers must be U.S. citizens and New Jersey residents, registered voters in the county in which they live and at least 16 years old. They must not be running for office in the Nov. 7 election, according to the secretary of state.

College and high school students are encouraged to apply. Those under 18 will work limited hours per shift and do not have to be registered to vote.

For details on the general election, visit vote.nj.gov, contact local election officials or call the Voter Information and Assistance Line at 877-658-6837.
CAPE MAY  City Manager Mike Voll announced his retirement at the Tuesday City Council meeting, along with a criticism of the council member who discussed his plans in August.

Council member Lorraine Baldwin pushed for the city to begin advertising for the job before Voll made his announcement. Voll said the announcement upset city employees and concerned many residents.

Voll said he met with Baldwin and Mayor Zack Mullock before the previous council meeting to discuss his plan to retire when his contract expires in December, at which point he asked to wait to make an announcement.

Voll wanted to wait until October, or at least until after Labor Day.

The mayor agreed. She didnt. So the mayor polled the rest of the council members. They all agreed that I should make my announcement when I'm ready, Voll said. Loraine Baldwin on her own decided to disrespect the majority of councils decision and announced at the last council meeting.

Voll has been Cape Mays city manager for three years. Under Cape Mays form of government, the city manager is the chief executive of the municipality, running the day-to-day operations.

I think its the most important position in the city, Baldwin said at the August meeting. I do thank you, Mike. What youve done here has been wonderful. But we also need to do our job. We need to put the city in the forefront of all of this.

She cited the time it took for the city to find a new chief financial officer when the former CFO took a job in Middle Township.

Cape May Council member pushes to start search for new city manager With Cape May City Manager Mike Volls contract coming to a close, City Council member Lorraine Baldwin wants to get started finding a replacement.

Baldwin did not comment on Volls announcement Tuesday. Voll offered a rare criticism of someone on council.

Her announcement had all my employees upset, thinking I was being fired, Voll said.

He said he would remain in the position through the rest of his contract and help with the transition when council choses a new city manager. He said the situation is different than that of the former finance director, who gave the city two weeks notice.

The big difference is Im not quitting, Im not being fired and I have not turned in my resignation, Voll said.

He spent more of his time at the council meeting praising city employees, calling out several by name, and citing improvements he undertook in city operations, which he said improved Cape May for residents and visitors.

Mullock cited Volls work as a police officer, where he started his career, and as mayor of Middle Township and manager of Lower Township.

Over the last three years youve just done a tremendous job. Im just glad youre on my team, Mullock told Voll at the meeting.

Under the contract renewal approved in 2022, Voll makes $135,000 a year as Cape Mays city manager. He had been hired as a new council majority took over at the start of 2021, replacing former city Manager Jerome Inderwies.

He was hired as township manager in Lower in 2011. In 2015, a new majority voted him out.
WASHINGTON  Concern for U.S. democracy amid deep national polarization prompted the entities supporting 13 presidential libraries dating back to Herbert Hoover to call for a recommitment to the country's bedrock principles, including the rule of law and respecting a diversity of beliefs.

The statement released Thursday, the first time the libraries have joined to make such a public declaration, said Americans have a strong interest in supporting democratic movements and human rights around the world because "free societies elsewhere contribute to our own security and prosperity here at home."

"But that interest," it said, "is undermined when others see our own house in disarray."

The joint message from presidential centers, foundations and institutes emphasized the need for compassion, tolerance and pluralism while urging Americans to respect democratic institutions and uphold secure and accessible elections.

The statement noted that "debate and disagreement" are central to democracy but also alluded to the coarsening of dialogue in the public arena during an era when officials and their families are receiving death threats.

"Civility and respect in political discourse, whether in an election year or otherwise, are essential," it said.

Most living former presidents have been sparing in giving their public opinions about the state of the nation as polls show that large swaths of Republicans still believe the lies perpetuated by former President Donald Trump and his allies that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

Trump, a Republican, also has lashed out at the justice system as he faces indictments in four criminal cases, including two related to his efforts to overturn the results of his reelection loss to Joe Biden, a Democrat.

Thursday's statement stopped short of calling out individuals, but it still marked one of the most substantive acknowledgments that people associated with the nation's former presidents are worried about the country's trajectory.

"I think there's great concern about the state of our democracy at this time," said Mark Updegrove, president and CEO of the LBJ Foundation, which supports the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. "We don't have to go much farther than January 6 to realize that we are in a perilous state."

Efforts to suppress or weaken voter turnout are of special interest to the LBJ Foundation, Updegrove said, given that President Lyndon Johnson considered his signing of the Voting Rights Act his "proudest legislative accomplishment."

The bipartisan statement was signed by the Hoover Presidential Foundation, the Roosevelt Institute, the Truman Library Institute, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, the LBJ Foundation, the Richard Nixon Foundation, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, the Carter Center, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, the George & Barbara Bush Foundation, the Clinton Foundation, the George W. Bush Presidential Center and the Obama Foundation.

Those organizations all support presidential libraries created under the Presidential Library Act of 1955, along with the Eisenhower Foundation.

The Eisenhower Foundation chose not to sign, and it said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press: "The Eisenhower Foundation has respectfully declined to sign this statement. It would be the first common statement that the presidential centers and foundations have ever issued as a group, but we have had no collective discussion about it, only an invitation to sign."

The foundation said each presidential entity had its own programs related to democracy.

The push for the joint statement was spearheaded by David Kramer, executive director of the George W. Bush Institute. Kramer said the former president "did see and signed off on this statement."

He said the effort was intended to send "a positive message reminding us of who we are and also reminding us that when we are in disarray, when we're at loggerheads, people overseas are also looking at us and wondering what's going on." He also said it was necessary to remind Americans that their democracy cannot be taken for granted.

He said the Bush Institute hosted several events on elections, including one as part of a joint initiative with the other groups called More Perfect that featured Bill Gates, a member of the board of supervisors in Arizona's Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. The county, its supervisors and its elections staff have been targeted repeatedly by election conspiracy theorists in recent years.

Gates and his family have been threatened by people who believe false allegations of election fraud.

"We wanted to remind people that those who oversee our elections are our fellow citizens," Kramer said. "Some of them told stories that are almost heartbreaking about the threats they faced."

Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to former President Barack Obama who is now CEO of the Obama Foundation, said the former president supported the statement.

"I think part of it is recognizing that we are very fragile right now," Jarrett said, citing the fact that "we didn't have a smooth orderly transition of power in the last election" along with people's mistrust of the court system and elected officials.

"The wheels on our democracy bus," she said, "feel a little wobbly right now."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  An inclusive financial system should support so-called nanopreneurs, such as motorcycle taxi drivers, a Philippine company told government and private sector leaders in the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Indonesia.

George Royeca, chief executive officer of motorcycle tax group Angkas, urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other ASEAN leaders to provide expanded access to credit, savings, housing, education to cover informal sector workers.

Financial inclusion should be for everyone. While the traditional financial system works for corporations and employees, it's vital to establish a new system for our informal workers just as a new ecosystem was created for MSMEs (micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises), he said in his speech at a roundtable meeting, organized by the Philippines ASEAN Business Advisory Council.

The system must also include education and training for nanopreneurs who might lack formal education, Royeca said.

Launched in 2016, Angkas is the first app-based motorcycle ride-hailing platform in the country. It counts around 30,000 riders.

A pilot study on motorcycle taxi began in 2019, with three participants, namely, Angkas, Move It, and JoyRide.

Earlier this year, concerned group also urged the government to legalize around 200,000 habal-habal or unregistered motorcycle taxis. Some transport officials, including Sen. Grace Poe, supported the move.
Joe Fiordaliso, the president of the state Board of Public Utilities, who helped lead a push for clean energy initiatives in New Jersey, died Wednesday, officials said.

He was 78.

A cause of death was not immediately known Thursday.

The lifelong New Jerseyan had served on the board since 2005, according to its website.

Fiordaliso often spoke of his grandchildren when describing the type of planet he hoped to leave to them  one in which green energy sources like wind, solar and geothermal help reduce the worst effects of climate change by replacing the burning of fossil fuels. He was rarely seen in public without wearing a lapel pin in the shape of a wind turbine, signifying his strong support for offshore wind energy development.

Officials and organizations remembered him for his work.

As president of the BPU since the beginning of my administration, Joe skillfully led our work to responsibly transition to a clean energy economy while always putting the needs of consumers first, Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement. He also was a key figure in our storm response efforts and in ensuring that all New Jerseyans had access to critical services like clean water, electricity and broadband.

Fiordalisos time in public service began in North Jersey, where he served as a member of the Livingston Township Council in Essex County, rising later to be the municipalitys three-term mayor.

Clean energy push in New Jersey, elsewhere met with warnings the government is coming for your stove New Jersey is pushing an ambitious agenda to move its 9 million residents away from natural gas and gasoline to heat their homes and power their cars, in favor of electricity to do the job of both.

He was first nominated to the BPU by Gov. Richard Codey. He was renominated by Gov. Chris Christie in 2011 and 2013, according to the BPU website.

Fiordaliso was appointed as the boards president in 2018 by Murphy, during the governors first term. He also was appointed as a member of the State Planning Commission that year.

Joe was approachable and easily likable, but perhaps most importantly, he was a family man, dedicated to his wife, children and grandchildren, Utility and Transportation Contractors Association Executive Director Dave Rible said in a statement. This is a sad day for New Jersey.

Fiordaliso also co-chaired the New Jersey Council on the Green Economy. One of his last major acts was presiding over the adoption in late July of a series of aggressive decarbonization efforts designed to incentivize buildings to switch from natural gas heat to electric.

Fiordaliso also angrily lashed out at those he called purveyors of disinformation against clean energy projects, including claims that the government plans to take away gas-burning stoves.

He also oversaw the rollout of electric vehicle charging stations in various parts of the state, and the conversion of some heavy-duty government vehicles from gas to electric power.

He was a dedicated public servant and fighter for clean energy, environmental activist Jeff Tittel said, adding the two shared a working relationship for about 30 years. He has worked to make greener energy a reality and to make energy more affordable. His passing has happened at a time when renewable energy is at a tipping point. His leadership at this important period will be missed.

Fiordaliso is the second major state government official to die in the past two months. Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver died Aug. 1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The person who died early Wednesday while in East Moline police custody was a 62-year-old man.

The East Moline Police Department and the Rock Island County Integrity Task Force said officers detained the man during a burglary investigation that began just before 1 a.m. in the 400 block of 17th Avenue.

The task force, a joint law enforcement unit that investigates incidents involving police, said the man became unresponsive and the East Moline officers called an ambulance and began life-saving measures. The man later died at a hospital.

Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson said preliminary results of an autopsy performed Wednesday indicated the man had significant cardiac issues that led to his death.

There was no evidence of trauma or foul play identified during the autopsy, Gustafson said.

Gustafson did not release the mans identity on Wednesday. He said authorities were still trying to find the mans next of kin.

The initial call was for a burglary in progress, according to the task force. The person who called police had video of someone on the property.

Around 1:23 a.m., an officer found someone near 17th Avenue and 6th Street who matched the suspect description, the task force states. That person, on a bicycle, fled police but they stopped him not long after at 5th Street and 15th Avenue.

The task force is comprised of investigators from the Illinois State Police and law enforcement agencies based in Rock Island County. Incidents it investigates includes shootings by police.

The agency involved in an incident does not contribute any investigators to the task force team conducting the inquiry.

Once the task force completes an investigation, it presents the gathered evidence to the Rock Island County States Attorneys Office, which then determines whether the officers involved in the incident acted appropriately.

On Wednesday, the task forces investigation into the East Moline death included canvassing the area of the incident, conducting interviews, collecting evidence, and reviewing video footage and radio traffic, the task force said.

East Moline officers are equipped with body cameras, the task force said.

The task force has asked that anyone who has information about the incident or who has any sort of video recording of the area to contact investigators at 309-752-4915 ext. 4935.

East Moline house where 15 people were found squatting with nine dogs
ISTANBUL  Rescuers from across Europe rushed to a cave in Turkey on Thursday, launching an operation to save an American researcher who became trapped almost 3,000 feet below the cave's entrance after suffering stomach bleeding.

Experienced caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly became ill during an expedition with a handful of others, including three other Americans, in the Morca cave in southern Turkey's Taurus Mountains, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said.

In a video message from inside the cave and made available Thursday by Turkeys communications directorate, Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts.

The caving world is a really tight-knit group and its amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface, said Dickey. I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge.

Dickey, who is seen standing and moving around in the video, said that while he is alert and talking, he is not healed on the inside and will need a lot of help to get out of the cave. Experts said the rescue operation could take days or even weeks depending on conditions.

Dickey, who had been bleeding and losing fluid from his stomach, has stopped vomiting and has eaten for the first time in days, according to a New Jersey-based cave rescue group hes affiliated with. Its unclear what caused his medical issue.

The New Jersey Initial Response Team said the rescue will require many teams and constant medical care. The group says the cave is also quite cold  about 39 to 42 degrees Fahrenheit.

Communication with Dickey takes about five to seven hours and is carried out by runners, who go from Dickey to the camp below the surface where a telephone line to speak with the surface has been set up.

Dinko Novosel, a Croatian cave rescuer who is head of the European Association of Cave Rescuers, said it will be a challenge to successfully rescue Dickey.

The operation to bring him up from the depths involves rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Turkey.

Dickey was described by the European Cave Rescue Association as a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself who is well known as a cave researcher, or speleologist, from his participation in many international expeditions. He is secretary of the associations medical committee.

Dickey was on an expedition mapping the 4,186-feet-deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association when he ran into trouble about 1,000 meters down, according to Yusuf Ogrenecek of the Speleological Federation of Turkey.

Ogrenecek said later Thursday that Dickeys condition had stabilized and was improving. He said the American was in good spirits and doctors would decide if Dickey can leave the cave on a stretcher or under his own power.

Turkish disaster relief agency AFAD and rescue team UMKE are working with Turkish and international cavers on a plan to hoist Dickey out of the cave system, the rescue association said.

The rescue effort currently involves more than 170 people, including doctors, paramedics who are tending to Dickey and experienced cavers, Ogrenecek said, adding that the rescue operation could take up to two to three weeks.

Justin Hanley, a 28-year-old firefighter from near Dallas, Texas, said he met Dickey a few months ago when he took a cave rescue course Dickey taught in Hungary and Croatia. He described Dickey as upbeat and as someone who sees the good in everyone.

Mark is the guy that should be on that rescue mission thats leading and consulting and for him to be the one that needs to be rescued is kind of a tragedy in and of itself, he said.

Hanley said he had talked to Dickey about a month ago about the mission in Turkey and that the aim of the expedition was to survey, collect information and set up camps in the cave.

A team of rescuers from Italys National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Team will fly to Turkey on Thursday night. A total of around 50 rescuers will be at the entrance of the cave early Friday ready to participate in the operation directed by Turkish authorities.

Marton Kovacs of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said the cave is being prepared for his safe extraction. Narrow passages are being widened to accommodate a stretcher, and the danger of falling rocks is also being addressed.

The rescue teams hope that the extraction can begin Saturday or Sunday. Kovacs said that lifting Dickey will likely take several days, and that several bivouac points are being prepared along the way so that Dickey and rescue teams can rest.

The cave has been divided into several sections, with each countrys rescue team being responsible for one section.

The Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, made up of volunteer rescuers, was the first to arrive at Dickeys location and provided emergency blood transfusions to stabilize his condition.
Rock Island Coroner Brian Gustafson has released the name of the 62-year-old man who died early Wednesday while in the custody of East Moline Police.

Louis Bradley Griffin, of Silvis, died of significant coronary issues, Gustafson said Thursday. There is no evidence of trauma or foul play.

East Moline Police Chief Jeffrey Ramsey and the Rock Island County Integrity Task Force said officers detained the man during a burglary investigation that began just before 1 a.m. in the 400 block of 17th Avenue.

The task force, a joint law enforcement unit that investigates incidents involving police, said the man became unresponsive and the East Moline officers called an ambulance and began life-saving measures. The man later died at a hospital.

The initial call was for a burglary in progress, according to the task force. The person who called police had video of someone on the property.

Around 1:23 a.m., an officer located a man on a bicycle near 17th Avenue and 6th Street who matched the suspect description, the task force states. The man fled but police stopped him not long after at 5th Street and 15th Avenue.

The task force is comprised of investigators from the Illinois State Police and law enforcement agencies based in Rock Island County. Incidents it investigates includes shootings by police.

The agency involved in an incident does not contribute any investigators to the task force team conducting the inquiry.

Once the task force completes an investigation, it presents the gathered evidence to the Rock Island County States Attorneys Office, which then determines whether the officers involved in the incident acted appropriately.

East Moline officers are equipped with body cameras, the task force said.

Reporter Anthony Watt contributed to this report.

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's the police responding to a 911 call It's a bird. It's a plane. It's the police responding to a 911 call
The judge presiding over the first-degree murder and kidnapping trial of Henry Earl Dinkins has scheduled a hearing to render his verdict.

Scott County District Judge Henry Latham has scheduled the verdict hearing for 9:05 a.m. Sept. 15.

Dinkins, 51, is accused of kidnapping and shooting to death 10-year-old Breasia Terrell.

Each of the murder and kidnapping charges is a Class A felony under Iowa law that carries an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Breasia was last seen either late July 9 or early July, 2020. She spent the night with her brother  Dinkins son whom he had with Breasias mother  at Dinkins home during the time period she disappeared. Breasia's remains were discovered by fishermen on March 22, 2021, by a pond near DeWitt, and her identity was confirmed on March 31, 2021.

Latham presided over a 14-day bench trial in Scott County District Court in August.
A Davenport woman is facing a charge of arson after authorities said she intentionally set fire to the home in which she was living.

Misty Rene Hawkins, 38, is charged with one count each of second-degree arson and first-degree criminal mischief. Each of the charges is a Class C felony under Iowa law that carry a prison sentence of 10 years.

She also is charged with one count of fourth-degree criminal mischief, a serious misdemeanor that carries a jail sentence of up to one year.

According to the arrest affidavits filed by Davenport Fire Department Lt. Michael Dorton, at 7:36 a.m. Aug. 29, Davenport firefighters and police were sent to 1514 Cedar St. to investigate a report of a structure fire.

The home is owned by Diane and Jason Cox who live at another Davenport address.

Firefighters arrived on the scene to find heavy fire conditions on both the east and north sides of the one-and-a-half story single-family home that was built in 1915.

The fire had burned through both entry door frames and was extending up the exterior vinyl siding.

After the fire was extinguished, firefighters conducted an investigation into the cause and origin of the blaze.

Investigators located multiple points of origin inside the home and determined the fire was intentionally set.

The cost to repair the structure exceeds $10,000.

Hawkins was arrested Monday.

During a first appearance on the charges Tuesday in Scott County District Court, Magistrate Jay Sommers scheduled a preliminary hearing in the case for Sept. 15.

Hawkins was being held Wednesday night in the Scott County Jail on bonds totaling $21,000, cash or surety.
Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley told reporters Wednesday that I have no question whatsoever about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnells health and ability to lead the caucus and broker passage of funding bills needed to avert a government shutdown.

McConnell, 81, has faced renewed questions about his health after freezing up twice during news conferences in the last two months since falling and suffering a concussion in March.

McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, was cleared to work by the Capitols attending physician, Dr. Brian Monahan. Monahan, in a letter released Tuesday by McConnells office, said there is no evidence the Senate GOP leader has a seizure disorder or experienced a stroke or a movement disorder such as Parkinsons disease.

McConnell is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history. Questions about his health have sparked intense speculation about who may eventually replace him.

If you could hear what I heard from McConnell at Senate Republican leadership and caucus meetings, "you probably wouldn't even be asking your question, Grassley, 89, told Iowa reporters during a weekly conference call. Hes a good leader, and Im glad heres there. And Im glad hes got good health.

Lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill this week to try to avert a government shutdown as House Republicans consider whether to press forward with an impeachment inquiry into Democratic President Joe Biden.

The House Freedom Caucus released a list of demands it wants included in a short-term funding measure to keep the government funded until at least early December, giving Congress more time to reach agreement on spending bills. The list includes an impeachment inquiry into Biden.

House Republicans have launched investigations of the Biden administration, and have sharpened their focus on his son, Hunter Biden, and his overseas business dealings. The investigations have not yet produced evidence that President Biden took direct action on behalf of his son or business partners.

Grassley declined to comment on the demands made by the House Freedom caucus.

Time is running out for Congress to pass a short-term funding measure, along with emergency funding for Ukraine and federal disaster funds. The House is scheduled to meet for just 11 days before the federal governments fiscal year ends this month.

Were going to have trouble in the Senate reaching an agreement, Grassley said

I dont think there will be any dispute about replenishing the Federal Emergency Management Agencys disaster relief fund with $12.5 billion as it responds to multiple natural disasters. And I dont think a clean resolution will have any trouble getting through the United States Senate, but there is some discussion about what the money for Ukraine ought to be  how much and how its going to be used, Grassley said.

Regardless of what happens with a stopgap funding bill, Grassley said the Senate plans to debate their first government funding bills for fiscal year 2024 next week.

Grassley said hes scheduled to meet this week with Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow and Arkansas Republican John Boozman to get an update on the new Farm Bill. Stabenow serves as chair of the Senate Committee of Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Boozman is its ranking member.

Grassley said he plans to ask whether a one-year extension is needed. The sprawling legislative package thats reauthorized every five years supports several key farm and safety net programs, like crop insurance, as well as agriculture research, rural development, conservation and nutrition assistance.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photos: Sen. Grassley at Crystal Cold, Aug. 15, 2023 081523jr-crystal-grassley-4 081523jr-crystal-grassley-1 081523jr-crystal-grassley-2 081523jr-crystal-grassley-3 081523jr-crystal-grassley-5
South China's Hainan contributes to int'l exchanges by pioneering, maintaining, guarding 'aerial Silk Road'

People's Daily Online) 13:18, September 07, 2023

An international flight lands at Haikou Meilan International Airport in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province. (People's Daily Online/Meng Fansheng)

South China's Hainan Province, a region that has served as an important transfer and supply station along the ancient Maritime Silk Road, has made continuous efforts to smoothen cross-border aerial trade corridors and strengthen support services for airlines, contributing significantly to exchanges between China and other countries by pioneering, maintaining, and guarding an "aerial Silk Road.

Over the past decade, the province has rapidly expanded its international flight routes and airport capabilities, gradually weaving an extensive network of cross-border air transportation.

Ten years ago, Haikou Meilan International Airport in Haikou, capital of Hainan Province, didn't have a lot of international routes, while in 2018, the airport's annual international passenger traffic exceeded 1 million, and in 2019, the airport's number of regional and international routes reached 48, according to Lu Fangfang, an employee who is in her 10th year of involvement in the development of the international aviation market for Haikou Meilan International Airport.

A technician repairs an airplane at an integrated aircraft maintenance base at the Haikou airport comprehensive bonded zone in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province. (People's Daily Online/Meng Fansheng)

"We have continuously cultivated international aviation markets over these years. The policy on visa-free access for tourists from 59 countries to Hainan that officially took effect in May 2018 has brought more development opportunities to us," she said.

By the end of 2022, China had signed bilateral agreements on air transportation with 100 countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and maintained regular air cargo and passenger services with 64 nations, which comprised over 60 percent of China's total international flights.

As frontline pioneers like Lu propel the expansion of Hainan's air route network, an integrated aircraft maintenance base at the Haikou airport comprehensive bonded zone, which is adjacent to the Haikou Meilan International Airport, has served as support on the home front that ensures smooth operations along the "aerial Silk Road.

Photo shows a panoramic view of the maintenance hangar of an integrated aircraft maintenance base at Haikou airport comprehensive bonded zone in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province. (People's Daily Online/Meng Fansheng)

Equipped with facilities like a maintenance hangar, a paint hangar and a center for the storage of and trade in international aviation materials, the aircraft maintenance base provides one-stop maintenance services.

So far, the maintenance hangar of the base has completed more than 700 orders, the paint hangar has undertaken painting tasks 70 times, and the accessory repair plant has handled more than 19,500 accessories, according to Wan Xin, director of the maintenance base.

By virtue of the team's technical expertise and support from favorable policies of the Hainan Free Trade Port, the maintenance base has become a preferred "China solution" for foreign carriers, Wan said.

The visa-free access to Hainan and the Haikou airport comprehensive bonded zone's policies on tax reduction and exemption, among other favorable policies, have effectively benefited countries along the routes of the "aerial Silk Road.

According to Wan, the aircraft maintenance base helped a Philippine airline save about 10-15 percent on maintenance costs in a special maintenance service provided last November.

Photo shows an airplane waiting for maintenance at an integrated aircraft maintenance base in the Haikou airport comprehensive bonded zone in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province. (People's Daily Online/Meng Fansheng)

"Aviation maintenance enterprises at the Haikou airport comprehensive bonded zone can enjoy favorable policies like zero tariffs on imported aviation materials, and tools and equipment for self use," Wan said, noting that such policies have significantly reduced the maintenance costs of foreign aircraft while lowering the operating costs of enterprises at the maintenance base.

Riding the tailwinds of favorable policies of the Hainan Free Trade Port, we aim to become a global aviation maintenance platform serving trans-Pacific and trans-Indian Ocean flights, Wan added.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)
Hong Kong/New York (CNN)  China has banned the use of iPhones for central government officials, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Shares in Apple tumbled 3.6% on Wednesday following the news, closing at $182.91 in New York. It marked the biggest daily drop in a month. Before Wednesday, Apple had risen 46% this year.

The WSJ reports that managers have been notifying staff of the ban via chat groups or meetings.

CNN has reached out to Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Apple (AAPL), but has not received a response.

A source who regularly deals with Chinese central government agencies told CNN that Chinese officials had already been following an unwritten rule of shunning iPhones since before the pandemic despite the apparent absence of a formal policy. The source asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject.

The source added that central government officials now tend to use smartphones made by major domestic companies, especially Huawei.

In June 2022, CNN reported that some Chinese government ministries had banned Teslas from entering their premises over security fears.

Apple CEO Tim Cook made a high profile visit to the country in March. China is a significant market and manufacturing center for the company, accounting for around 19% of its overall revenue.

The iPhone ban for government officials may be retaliation for similar moves made by the United States against Chinese tech and could have a chilling effect on Apple and other large foreign brands with an established China presence.

Chinas Huawei and ZTE have long been subject to US restrictions. And in November 2022, the Biden administration banned approvals of new telecommunications equipment from both companies because they pose an unacceptable risk to US national security.

TikTok has also been banned from devices issued by multiple US institutions, including the House of Representatives, the City of New York, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Georgia, over concerns that the Chinese government could have access to users data through its Chinese parent company, Bytedance.

 CNNs Beijing bureau contributed to this article.

This story was first published on CNN.com. "Wall Street Journal: China bans use of iPhones for government officials"
DES MOINES  The company behind Iowas massive education savings account (ESA) program has placed a high value on convenience and user experience as it manages education expenses for thousands of Iowa private school students.

Odyssey, a startup founded in 2021 and focused on administering school choice programs like Iowas, was selected in a bidding process in February to run the program that has made $7,600 in taxpayer funds available to families across the state to pay for private school education.

A separate program the company runs in Idaho has been the focus of an investigation over ineligible purchases, but the companys CEO said Iowas program is set up with a high level of state involvement to prevent fraudulent purchases.

Around 18,600 Iowa students received ESAs for the current school year from the program, which was passed by Republican lawmakers and signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds earlier this year.

Odyssey CEO Joseph Connor said in an interview the company has focused on creating an easy to use platform for parents who take part in the program and bringing convenience to government programs, which are often seen as confusing and cumbersome.

We created this company with the idea that we want to make sure its as easy to access a government program as it is, say, Amazon, he said. ...We want this to feel more like a consumer process that parents and families are used to, and not necessarily something like going to the DMV.

Connor, a former teacher and lawyer, also founded SchoolHouse, a company that connects families with educators to form at-home learning pods. He said Odysseys employees include people who have experience at major e-commerce companies like Gilt and Stitch Fix, who work on bringing the features of those sites to government programs.

To get the program going in a short window before this school year, the company built a tool to automate approval of the education savings accounts applications, Connor said. When parents put in their required information, the application checked their identity against state records to ensure they met all the qualifications for the program, providing approval in a few seconds rather than days or weeks.

As the school year has begun and the company has worked through the process of transferring millions of dollars from state-funded ESAs to private schools, Connor said it has not run into any significant challenges or disruptions.

Connor did not say how many students who received the funds are actively attending private schools this year because enrollment will not be finalized until the end of September. Some students who received the money may not end up attending a private school due to space limitations. Unspent funds will be returned to the states general fund.

The education savings account program is expected to cost $345 million each year once it is fully implemented. This year, all students previously enrolled in public schools, and private school students whose families made less than 400% of the federal poverty line, were eligible for the state funds. By the 2025-26, all private and public school students, regardless of income, will be able to use the money.

The program, a chief priority for Reynolds during this year's legislative session, passed with only Republican support. Democrats and public school advocates warned it would take money away from struggling public schools and transfer it to private schools with less accountability and the ability to turn away students with disabilities.

Reynolds and Republicans said the program would provide families with a choice to find the school that works best for their children, regardless of their income.

Company administers Idaho program with ineligible purchases

Before being selected to run Iowas ESA program, Odyssey was chosen in 2022 to administer Idahos Empowering Parents program, which gives grants to families for at-home education costs and supplies.

Idahos program is under investigation after the state found thousands of dollars in ineligible purchases, approved by Odyssey under guidance of the state Board of Education, had been made on the states marketplace. Those purchases included TVs and sewing machines, according to Idaho EdNews, and accounted for less than 1% of the purchases in the program.

Iowa's program has a similar online marketplace run by Odyssey, where approved vendors list products and services that families can purchase with the ESA dollars. Eligible expenses include laptops, software, tutoring, speech therapy and standardized tests.

When it comes to ensuring Odyssey is approving legal purchases with the state funds under Iowa's program, Connor said the law is more clear about which types of products and services are eligible for the state funds than the program in Idaho. The state Department of Education makes the final call in verifying vendors that appear on Odysseys marketplace.

In Iowa, the state has been a fantastic partner in being very clear about what is and is not allowed in the marketplace, and so that is the major difference, he said.

When a vendor applies to provide services or products on the marketplace, Connor said Odyssey does initial verification and the Department of Education makes the final call before those services are available to parents.

The vendors include state and national businesses, Connor said.

Connor also noted in Iowas program, families are required to pay a students entire tuition with the ESA dollars before they are eligible to make purchases on the marketplace, meaning the majority of the ESA dollars will go to the private schools.

The Idaho investigation also found Odyssey was holding the taxpayer funds in an interest-bearing account and had collected more than $475,000 in interest, according to Idaho EdNews.

The Idaho State Board of Education said in a press release that "while the state's contract with Odyssey did not contain any condition related to the accrual of interest on Empowering Parents grant funds, Odyssey will work with the State of Idaho to resolve the matter and stands ready to refund the interest earned."

For the Iowa program, Connor said the funds are held by the state treasurer, not Odyssey, and sent directly to a school or vendor once a purchase is approved.

Connor said the company is speaking with parents and schools about what parts of the process worked this year, and which parts need to be improved for the coming years as more students are likely to enroll in the program.

The rollout went very well, but it was also an expedited rollout, because the law had passed, there had to be all of those processes that were in place, he said. So I think were all looking forward to next year when there will be a longer period, there will be more of a chance for outreach to families across the state.

27 senators are up for reelectionwhich, if any, are 'progressive' relative to the political lean of their states? Intro #27. Pete Ricketts, Nebraska (R) #26. Deb Fischer, Nebraska (R) #25. Rick Scott, Florida (R) #24. Kevin Cramer, North Dakota (R) #23. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee (R) #22. John Barrasso, Wyoming (R) #21. Roger Wicker, Mississippi (R) #20. Josh Hawley, Missouri (R) #19. Ted Cruz, Texas (R) #18. Mitt Romney, Utah (R) #17. Tom Carper, Delaware (D) #16. Joe Manchin, West Virginia (D) #15. Angus King, Maine (I) #14. Kyrsten Sinema, Arizona (I) #13. Tim Kaine, Virginia (D) #12. Maria Cantwell, Washington (D) #11. Jon Tester, Montana (D) #10. Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota (D) #9. Ben Cardin, Maryland (D) #8. Jacky Rosen, Nevada (D) #7. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island (D) #6. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York (D) #5. Martin Heinrich, New Mexico (D) #4. Mazie Hirono, Hawaii (D) #3. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts (D) #2. Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin (D) #1. Sherrod Brown, Ohio (D)
The Rapid City Fire Department has launched a new initiative. The Cadet Program was created for young adults 15 and older who are in their Junior or Senior academic year.

The goal is to give this next generation a look into a career at the Rapid City Fire Department. Theyll get hands-on training, mentorship, and exposure to the critical work firefighters/medics perform on a daily basis.

Black Hills Badges for Hope made a $4,500 donation to the program. $1,000 of that money was recently given to them from the Wayne Mooney Memorial. Mooney retired from the Rapid City Fire Department in 1999 and recently passed away.

Given that the Cadet Program is designed to help build the department, Black Hills Badges for Hope staff felt that the $1,000 donation from the Mooney Memorial was best suited to go to the effort.

Applications to apply to the Cadet Program are now available at rcgov.org by clicking on Fire Department, then Cadet Program. Anyone can donate to the program by writing a check to The Rapid City Fire Department/BHACF and mail it to Rapid City Fire Department Station 1 at 10 Main Street, Rapid City, South Dakota, 57701.
Nick Tilsen, Oglala Lakota and the NDN Collective president and CEO, has spent his entire life rallying for the release of Leonard Peltier. As a child he remembers sealing envelopes for the movement. Now, his organizations rally will be the latest iteration in a long line of groups calling for Peltiers freedom.

In 1977, Peltier, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, was sentenced to two life terms in connection with the deaths of two FBI agents, Jack Coler and Ronald Williams, on South Dakotas Pine Ridge Reservation two years earlier. Peltier, a member of AIM, had been part of the 1973 Wounded Knee occupation to protest the Oglala Sioux Tribes government and the federal governments failure to honor treaties.

Now, nearly 48 years after he entered prison, the push for Peltiers release has amped up.

Tribal Nations, Nobel Peace prize winners, former FBI agents and the former U.S. Attorney whose office handled the prosecution have all called for Peltiers release.

Amnesty International, which has long fought for Peltiers release, has partnered with NDN Collective for a rally on Peltiers 79th birthday, Sept. 12.

On Thursday, Sept. 7, a caravan of vehicles will depart from the Jumping Bull Ranch near Oglala on the Pine Ridge Reservation, where the infamous shootout took place, and head toward Rapid City.

The caravan will have three more stops before reaching Washington D.C. on Sept. 11: Minneapolis, Chicago and Pittsburgh. The caravans two buses will be full after stopping in Minneapolis, but individuals can choose to follow along in their own vehicles.

There will be speakers, prayers and acts of non-violent political resistance, Tilsen said. Folks will dissent against (almost) 48 years of incarceration.

Cy Wagoner, Navajo and director of the NDN Collectives Creative Resistance Team, has spent hours working on banners, signs and other protest materials for the rally. Wagoner and his team designed unique slogans and phrases to help catch the attention of those who encountered the protesters at the National Mall and White House.

We have to speak for those who cant speak for themselves, said Jaque Fragua, Pueblo Jemez and the Creative Resistance Team coordinator.

Fragua works on the graphic design element of the art building, creating the actual designs that will be featured.

Rapid City community members were able to come out to the NDN Collective building from Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 to help paint and build the protest materials for the estimated 200 protestors in attendance on Sept. 12.

As Native people, we have had our expression taken from us in so many ways, this is now our traditional art, Fragua said.

The largest banner will be unveiled on the Third Street side of the National Mall.

Creating art is an important part of a protest, Fragua said.

If you dont create any visual identity, then someone else will, Fragua said. Its essential for (a movement) to have a stamp and an identity.
DUPREE  A child abuse allegation against a teacher at Dupree Elementary School prompted the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to take the unusual step of banning the teacher, a principal and the superintendent from reservation lands where the public school is located.

As a result, the three employees have been unable to work at the school since the beginning of the new academic year in a district with high-need students and a poor track record of student achievement.

Tribal police continue to investigate the abuse allegations, which include slapping one child and forcefully grabbing another. The teacher could face criminal abuse charges while the two administrators could be charged with breaking a South Dakota law that requires many professional employees to report potential abuse.

Those banned from the reservation, or excluded in legal terms, include longtime teacher Sarah Shaff, Dupree Elementary School principal Cindy Lindskov and superintendent Keith Fodness, who also had to leave his home in Dupree due to the exclusion.

The exclusion of the employees from the lands of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) appears legal under the tribes status as a sovereign nation, though an attorney for the three non-Native employees is challenging the legality in tribal court.

And yet, the exclusion of the employees by the tribal council, and the handling of the abuse claims by tribal authorities, has caused division among many in this sparsely populated region of north-central South Dakota.

The exclusion and investigation have continued even though the two parents who filed the initial child abuse allegations have dropped their legal claim, according to tribal court records obtained by News Watch.

Questions have been raised about the handling of the case by tribal officials, with some locals expressing concern that the dramatic step of exclusion was taken before the abuse claims were fully investigated.

The exclusion requires further tribal court action before it can be lifted.

Some fear the loss of three staff members will negatively impact the hundreds of children in the district and that it could make it more difficult to hire educators on reservations, a problem compounded because of an overall teacher shortage.

The kids are absolutely the losers in this, all the kids, said state Rep. Oren Lesmeister, a Democrat from Parade, who represents the area that includes the Dupree schools.

Beyond that, it makes it harder for any teacher to want to come work here because basically at any time they could lose their job instantly, which is a big deal across the state but especially on our reservations.

And hovering over the entire situation is a concern that the exclusion of three white teachers by the tribal council could damage fragile race relations on and off the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation.

I hope it doesnt become that, said Medina Matonis, a member of the Dupree School Board. Theres no reason to turn this into an Indian versus white person thing. Theres no need for this to be seen as racial.

News Watch contacted or tried to contact several people involved in the exclusion, though many did not want to be interviewed. Fodness and Lindskov declined comment. Dupree High School principal Russell Budmayr, who is serving as interim superintendent during the exclusion, also refused to comment when reached by phone.

A call to the office of CRST chairman Ryman LaBeau was not returned. And a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, Nancy Van Der Weide, declined to comment for this story. Jason Rumpca, a Pierre attorney representing the three school employees, also declined comment.

CRST police chief Charles Red Crow confirmed in an interview with News Watch that an active child abuse investigation is underway by his department. Red Crow said that when a judge signed the exclusion order for the three school employees, his department enforced the order and that the three left the reservation of their own accord.

Red Crow said the tribe takes exclusion orders seriously because officials realize it can affect a persons living situation or ability to keep a job.

Red Crow said the tribe doesnt have authority to bring criminal charges against non-Native Americans. But it would turn its finding over to the FBI for further action if it determines that child abuse or any other crime did occur, he said.

According to tribal documents and proclamations posted to Facebook, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Council voted on July 13 to exclude the three employees from the reservation. LeBeau, the tribal chairman, then wrote a letter to Red Crow to enforce the exclusion action.

After seeing extensive debate surface on social media, the tribe expounded on the situation in a letter to tribal members on Aug. 23, explaining the tribes efforts to protect its children and stating that due process is being followed in regard to its investigation and the exclusion of the three school employees.

The letter indicates that Shaff faced allegations of alleged physical and emotional abuse against multiple children. It states that Lindskov and Fodness failed to adequately investigate or report the abuse claims.

The letter said the administrators failed to act legally under a South Dakota law that requires people in numerous professions to report allegations of child abuse or neglect. The Class 1 misdemeanor carries a maximum punishment of a year in prison and a $2,000 fine.

The letter notes that various non-school agencies are now investigating the abuse allegations and reaffirms the tribes commitment to protect all children on our homelands.

The Tribal Council takes very seriously any claims of alleged abuse of our children and will always act to protect our children, especially given the historical trauma and systemic racism faced by Lakota children at the hands of the school system, the letter states.

No child should be forced to accept abuse or feel silenced in order to retain teachers and administrators. Our children are not second-class citizens and we should not expect our teachers and administrators to be held to a lower standard than would be acceptable anywhere else in the United States.

According to court documents obtained by News Watch, tribal action on the allegations began in April when two tribal members said Shaff abused their son and daughter nearly a year ago.

In a complaint filed in tribal court on April 23, plaintiffs Lance Jordan Frazier and Harold Gabriel Hollow said they were seeking $1.2 million and/or $1.0 million in punitive damages for emotional distress, mental anguish and racial profiling, defamation of character.

The complaint alleges that in October the boy told the men that Shaff hit him in the head if his schoolwork was wrong, and that she also intimidated the boy and other students of color in the classroom.

The complaint states that the girl told them that Shaff grabbed her arm so tightly that it caused pain.

They [the children] then mentioned how they were scared to get any answers wrong because they did not want [Shaff] to slap them in the head, the complaint states.

The claim also notes that the boy has since undergone counseling and has stomach pains due to emotional trauma when he returns to the school.

The plaintiffs say that on Oct. 17, they met with Shaff and Lindskov at Dupree schools to discuss the situation.

The men said Shaff denied the accusation and Lindskov yelled at them and refused to further investigate their claims. The complaint alleges that at the meeting, Shaff denied the allegations of hitting and mistreatment of Native students in her classroom.

The two men also said in the complaint that they had personally investigated further and had spoken to other parents who mentioned the same experience with this teacher and principal.

The complaint states the two men also met with Fodness and Lindskov and eventually filed a complaint with law enforcement in Eagle Butte, the headquarters for the CRST. The complaint also states that Fodness suggested moving the boy from Shaffs classroom to another teachers classroom.

The men said they tried to meet with the Dupree School Board but were denied. They also alleged that Lindskov retaliated against them by sending letters indicating a problem with the attendance of another of their children, an issue they thought had been previously resolved.

On May 30, Rumpca, the defendants attorney, filed a motion on behalf of Shaff and Lindskov denying the allegations against them and asking to dismiss the complaint filed by Frazier and Hollow. The filing cites federal case law that Rumpca said shows the CRST court lacks jurisdiction over the two school employees.

The filing references a 1981 federal case, Montana v. U.S., which states that in most cases, tribes do not have legal jurisdiction over the activities of non-tribal members. The filing claims the tribal court does not have jurisdiction over non-Native American, non-tribal members who work at a public school on tribal lands except under certain emergency circumstances that Rumpca argues were not met in this case.

In a subsequent court filing, Rumpca noted that on Aug. 22, Frazier and Hollow voluntarily dismissed their child abuse complaint and their monetary settlement request.

Jim Leach, a Rapid City attorney with experience in tribal law, said the CRST court system has jurisdictional authority over the reservation and has the autonomy to exclude or banish people if certain legal conditions are met.

Basically, tribal courts function entirely separate from the state and federal court systems in the U.S., Leach said. Subject to that, they can do anything they want as long as it doesnt violate someones federal rights.

But on Aug. 31, Rumpca filed four additional motions in tribal court also pointing to the Montana v. U.S. as a basis to deny the right of the CRST council to issue an emergency exclusion of the three school employees from reservation lands.

The filing notes that the exclusion was not an emergency, and that the tribal council lacks jurisdiction to exclude the school employees. It concludes that the exclusion order should be lifted or a hearing to reconsider the exclusions should be convened. The filing also denies any claims of wrongdoing by Shaff, Lindskov or Fodness.

The filing concludes by noting that the emergency exclusion order has created negative consequences for the three school employees and students at the school. It calls the lack of due process afforded the school employees as alarming and discouraging.

The tribes actions have had far-reaching consequences beyond disruption of the personal and professional lives of the school employees, the filing states. Taking away a longtime teacher, principal and superintendent from the Dupree K-12 school negatively impacts the quality of education of all students.

As of Sept. 5, it was unknown if the tribe had responded to the Aug. 31 filings.

Matonis, of the Dupree School Board, said she is waiting to see how the tribal legal processes surrounding the dispute play out before making a judgment on whether exclusion of the school employees was necessary.

She said it is proper that if child abuse allegations are raised there should always be a full investigation and appropriate consequences if abuse is proven.

As a tribal nation, we believe our children are our most sacred things, she said.

Matonis said the loss of the three employees is a distraction to the district and not good for students. But she added that other district employees are stepping up to avoid disruption of learning as the controversy rolls on.

She said she has heard from tribal and non-tribal members who support the school and the three employees named in the complaint.

Matonis also said she hopes the community will remain focused on the facts and continue to do what is best for children in the school system.

The schools in Dupree, located on U.S. Route 212 between Faith and Eagle Butte, struggle with significant teaching challenges. The schools, which have about 365 students in all, saw low subject proficiency scores in 2021-22, with 23% of students proficient in English language, 13% proficient in math and 17% proficient in science, according to the South Dakota Report Card.

All students in the district are listed as economically disadvantaged and the chronic absenteeism rate (10 or more unexcused absences in a year) was 54% in 2021-22. The district includes about 54 instructional employees among a total staff of 83, according to the district website. About 80% of the students are American Indian or Alaska Native and 11% are white, according to the state.

Robyn Depoy is a rancher from Lantry, an alumni of the Dupree schools and a parent whose son attends Dupree High School.

She has kept a close watch on the dispute between the tribe and the school employees and is frustrated that the tribal council appears to have acted to exclude the employees before fully investigating the claims against them.

While Depoy acknowledged she is unsure if any abuse occurred, she remains concerned that it appears the tribal council acted quickly without all the facts.

One tribal council member said banishment is like the last straw, so why are we taking the harshest punishment in this case before we even fully look into it? Depoy asked in an interview with News Watch.

The exclusion is causing division in the community, Depoy said. She echoed concerns that it could hinder teacher recruitment and could cause educators to be afraid to manage student misbehavior in their classrooms.

Depoy also said the exclusion of the school employees could make some area residents afraid to speak up about tribal matters over fears they also could be expelled from the reservation.

It really has, to a certain extent, divided people in the school community and we dont want it to be that way, she said.

Everything is just in limbo right now, and were just afraid this opens the door for anybody else that has any concerns to speak up because if you do, this is what could happen to you  you could lose access to your home or your job.

Lesmeister, the House minority leader, said the South Dakota Professional Practices Commission reviewed and then dismissed a complaint filed against Lindskov and Fodness. He said he was unsure if the state is continuing to investigate Shaff for any professional violations.

But Lesmeister said the tribal government is apparently unsatisfied with the outcome of any non-tribal investigations and wants to continue its investigation into abuse allegations and the claims of failure to report the abuse by the two administrators.

Lesmeister said he thinks the tribal council might have jumped the gun by excluding the three school employees based only on an allegation of abuse.

But he said he hopes the tribal and non-tribal agencies involved can work together to bring the situation to a fair and proper conclusion and use the situations as a blueprint for positive relationships moving forward.

The two different governments really need to work together, and thats what needs to happen more, Lesmeister said. I hope we can use this as a springboard to working together better.

This article was produced by South Dakota News Watch, a non-profit journalism organization located online at sdnewswatch.org.
The Bitterroot Baroque Orchestra will perform "A Baroque Feast," featuring musical styles of composers from England, France, Italy, and Germany in Hamilton.

Bitterroot Baroque is bringing two baroque virtuosi to teach local musicians in a workshop and then lead the concert, set for Sunday, Sept. 10.

Curtis Foster, baroque oboe, has performed numerous times with Bitterroot Baroque and Helenas Musikanten. Originally from Wichita, Kansas, Curtis holds degrees from Wichita State University and Indiana Universitys Early Music Institute. He has recently been appointed executive director of Lyra Baroque in the Twin Cities, Minnesota

Brandi Berry Benson, baroque violin, will be making her Hamilton debut. In addition to specializing in baroque performance and teaching, Berry Benson is an accomplished fiddler and will be presenting some history and techniques relating to the art of fiddling.

Her recent album, Silver Linings, is a mixture of Baroque and Bluegrass music in the form of suites, preludes, and new fiddle tunes.

I have been to Montana before but have not been to Hamilton, Berry Benson said. Im very much looking forward to that. I grew up playing Bluegrass and have played in country bands in Texas.

Berry Benson studied classically, earning her bachelor's degree in violin performance at the University of North Texas and then earned her master's degree at Indiana University in baroque violin performance.

Baroque and bluegrass are the two genres I live in a lot of my musical time, she said. I first met Curtis Foster, the oboist coming in, at Indiana University. I got connected to Alex Shafer through him.

She is looking forward to the concert and rehearsing with the Bitterroot Baroque Orchestra.

I know they are a good and enthusiastic group, Berry Benson said. Bitterroot Baroque is a great group. Its really rare to have a great baroque orchestra, especially in Montana. Im looking forward to the music-making and I am looking forward to making new memories in Montana. The last time I was there I was in my early teens.

She said the music selected for the concert is special.

We have a great program planned, Berry Benson said. We have some greatest hits and also some music that is super-beautiful and should be a greatest hit but is not as well known to the general public.

Bitterroot Baroque Founder Alex Shaffer said Sarah Mellander Bierhaus from Golden, Colorado, will be making her first appearance as a baroque oboist.

Sarah is the daughter of local BBO and Missoula Symphony Orchestra musicians Kathy and Ed Mellander and a professional modern oboist much in demand in Colorado, Shaffer said. So our program is partly designed to celebrate having two oboes.

The program will feature orchestral portions from Henry Purcells "Fairy Queen," and Jean-Baptiste Lullys comic opera/ballet "Bourgeois Gentilhomme." The strings will be highlighted in a Concerto Grosso by Locatelli.

Rounding out the concert will be a Telemann concerto for three oboes and three violins and a double concerto for oboe and violin by Giuseppe Antonio Brescianello featuring our guest artists, Shafer said.
Paulette Mills family ties run deep in the Bitterroot Valley.

When Mills was a young teen, she would ride out into the Sapphire Mountains on her horse to watch over the cows, with her book and flute in hand. Her grandmother, Daizy, started young Paulie on reading the classics when she was 10 years old. So, while Mills completed her daily task of moving the herd around her familys Burnt Fork property, she would practice her flute as the cattle grazed, and read books like Moby Dick as her horse led the way down the trail.

I moved the cows around the mountain every day, but Id take my flute with me because I was trying to keep practiced, she said. So I'd sit up there and practice. When I was riding up and down, because it was 5 miles out to the gate to go in, I would read a book as I rode up the road and back. I loved it. I just absolutely loved it. I'm an introvert by nature. And so I really enjoyed being by myself. My brother stayed back and he did the hay. He worked with the guys, and Id just saddle my horse and go up there every day.

Mills grandfather, Michael Thoft, emigrated to the U.S. from Denmark with his brother, Martin, before coming to the Bitterroot Valley where they began farming and ranching in 1919. The family raised sheep and cattle and grew hay. Like many valley farms, apple orchards were added during the apple boom. Mills, who lived in Anaconda as a child, spent her summers with her siblings at the Burnt Fork ranch, then called Bar 24. The ranch was later sold, but Mills dreamed of eventually returning.

When the opportunity arose years later purchase 71 acres across the road from her familys old ranch on the Sunset Bench, it was like a dream come true for Mills and her husband Barry.

Its gorgeous agricultural land, it has a terrific holding capacity for water, and its very fertile which makes it fabulous for production, she said. We have to understand the value in that, and make sure to take care of it.

The couple recently completed a years-long process of protecting the property under a conservation easement with help from the Bitter Root Land Trust. The Land Trust is a nonprofit organization that partners with landowners and community members to conserve water, wildlife habitat and working farmland in and around the Bitterroot. The Mills 71 acres will join thousands of acres that have been protected through conservation easements in the Burnt Fork area, including the 420-acre Triple D Ranch, which includes property that was part of the ranch Mills family once owned.

The land just means so much to me, and preserving it means so much to me, she said. I mean, weve got to enjoy this. We're losing it.

Barry and Paulette both referred to the author Ivan Doigs memoir This House of Sky and the sense of place he describes amongst the small towns, valley ranches and remote plains of Montana. This is my sense of place, Paulette says, referring to the couples Burnt Fork property.

Its one of the reasons we're up here, and the house is oriented the way it is," she said. "Its because I used to sit on the front porch of my grandmother and grandfather's house at night, and I would look at St. Mary's, and as a kid and a teenager, even every angst moment that I had, you know, it was either crying in the mane of a horse or sitting on that front porch looking out at that mountain and feeling so incredibly at peace.

When asked what that place in the Burnt Fork means to her, Paulette simply says, Life. I think it's the safest place I've ever been.

As the valley has seen increasing pressure from development over the years, the Bitter Root Land Trust has worked with dozens of landowners in the Burnt Fork area to preserve agricultural land and wildlife habitat. Executive Director Gavin Ricklefs said the conservation easements in the Burnt Fork are a model for conservation, not just in the community, but in the state and across the West.

This is probably the most impressive example I know of community members and neighbors, he said while looking at a map of Burnt Fork conservation easements. The number of people who have come together to make this commitment and to leave a legacy that is going to be here 100 years from now, 500 years from now, I don't know of any other map that looks like that in the state.

Ricklefs said that the region is lucky to have a strong land trust community in Montana.

Our partners throughout the state really do try to figure out," he said. "Where are the best soils? Where is wildlife habitat still intact? Where are water resources still intact? Where can we make the biggest difference long term? And this is just a really poignant example of it.

Barry Mills said that for him, part of the decision to place the property under a conservation easement came down to one simple question: When is enough, enough?

Sure we could have made a bundle of dough, but when is enough, enough? he said. In this stage of life, I think, you start realizing that, like it or not you're going to leave something. I mean, even if it's a junk car, you're going to leave something, but it's what you're going to leave. We're kind of in that frame of mind, you know, looking for the next stage.

The Mills hope that in the future, the property will keep getting passed along to people who will take good care of it and nurture it.

This land makes you really feel something, and every day it just reaffirms for us that protecting it was the right thing to do, Barry said. Its an important thing for people to connect with the outdoors and realize a sense of place. And if we dont protect the settings that provide that, what will replace that sense of place if we sacrifice the very thing that draws people here?




Kathmandu, Nepal, September 7, 2023: The government of Nepal has been preparing a law provision to allow the Non-resident Nepalese (NRN) to invest in the countrys secondary share market.





The Securities Board of Nepal (Sebon), the responsible government entity over the issue of share market, is amending a regulation to allow the NRN to invest in the countrys secondary share market.





A four member panel, formed by the Sebon to study the issue related to allowing the NRN to invest in the countrys secondary share market under the leadership of Sujan Kumar Kafle, has recently submitted a report clearing the technical and legal hurdles.





We will move forward to amend the regulation in line with the recommendation forwarded by the study panel to open NRNs for investment in the secondary share market, Sebon Chairman Ramesh Hamal said.





It is expected that to be formulated law could help to increase capital injection in the stock exchange market.





Allowing the NRN to invest in the countrys secondary share market is long being touted issue in Nepal.




For Richmond resident Max Green and his cocker spaniel Poptart, it was a normal Tuesday. They had gone about their morning much the same before heading over to the vets office for a normal check-up.

However, when on the way home, news of the first plane hitting one of the World Trade Center towers crackled through Greens car speakers, the day brought back memories of another attack on the United States.

Green was transported back to 1941 when he, along with others, watched from the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii as Japanese fighter pilots bombed Pearl Harbor. The image of America under attack remained seared into his memory ever since.

I didnt have to go see Pearl Harbor, I saw it in person, Green told Times-Dispatch reporter Bill McKelway in the Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001 edition of the paper.

Minutes later, hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon and following a passenger-led coup, United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

After weeklong searches, the final death toll tallied 2,977.

For Richmonders, much like the rest of the country, the days and weeks that followed were filled with grief, fear, anger and disbelief.

Confusion continued to swell in the days to come when the FBI announced the list of potential targets  which included Richmond.

"The FBI received information that Richmond and Atlanta were potential targets of the terrorists," the Times-Dispatch reported in its Sept. 15, 2001 edition. Later, this proved to be unlikely.

Pages of The Times-Dispatch filled with stories of loss and survival  of good will and unity in a time of uncertainty and confusion. Editorial pages offered a glimpse of public opinion of those for and against a future war. People warned against retaliation against Muslim Americans and the subsequent effects of the tragedy.

Some, desperate to help in any way they could, answered the call for blood donors. For days, lines outside of the Virginia Blood Services stretched on for hours. Those scheduled for minor surgeries cancelled their appointments.

Clean-up and rescue missions began and buses filled with Salvation Army and Red Cross volunteers left terminals bound for Arlington and New York City.

Others waited to hear from their loved ones and hoped beyond all odds they would be among the few rescued from the rubble.

Parents Milton and Barbara Burton of Henrico started calling New York hospitals when they learned that their daughter was missing in Manhattan.

Alysia Burton Basmajian, a Godwin High School class of 1996 graduate, worked as an accountant on the 101st floor of the north tower, which was hit first but was the second to collapse.

The 23-year-old had recently celebrated her daughters second birthday the week prior. A year prior, The Times-Dispatch printed news of her engagement to fellow William and Mary graduate Anthony Basmajian.

We have been calling hospitals all over town and havent been able to find anyone who has seen her, Milton Burton said in the Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2001, edition of The Times-Dispatch.

Ultimately, after weeks with no answers, the Burton family learned that their daughter was one of the thousands that was killed as a result of the attacks.

The Times-Dispatch continued to print vignettes of the recorded victims for weeks alongside survival stories from those who made it out of the towers before they collapsed.

On the 43rd story of one of the buildings next to the World Trade Center, Richmond native Charles Myers had just finished a global conference call.

While looking out of his office window at a clear morning, Myers said everything changed in an instant "when all of a sudden we just see this quick streak" followed by a sound like a missile followed by an explosion.

"Our floor shook. We knew something had happened," Myers told reporters Frank Green and Gordon Hickey in the Thursday, Sept. 13, 2001, edition of The Times-Dispatch. "People were just crying and in shock and then the second explosion happened, and that's when everybody just took off running."

As people were ushered out of the building, Myers said he looked up at the towers to see people "waving white flags from windows" trying to catch the attention of rescue workers on the ground. He also watched as people jumped "one after another" to escape the growing flames.

Richmond native F. Claiborne Johnston III was on the 64th floor of the south tower when the first plane struck the north tower.

While unsure what had just happened, the 24-year-old said he and his coworkers could see debris falling from the neighboring building and began moving toward the stairwell in an attempt to evacuate.

"We'd gone down about 30 flights and then we really felt the shake, and that was what we eventually found out was that second plane hitting the building," Claiborne recounted. "The stairwell was packed. There wasn't any room to speed up."

Clairborne made it out of the building in time to make it a safe distance away before turning to see the first tower collapse.

Scott Anderson, another former Richmonder, was at his desk on the 88th floor of the south tower taking a work call when he felt the first explosion. While looking out of his window, he said he could see debris flying.

"I immediately jumped out of my chair, hung up the phone and ran over to the north side of the building, and looked over to the other building and saw that there was smoke and a hole in the building and debris falling," Anderson said.

When Anderson and his co-workers found the stairwells filling with people, they went to the elevators where they got "unbelievably lucky."

They rode the elevator to the 78th floor and watched as hundreds others tried to crowd into available elevators. After two or three rounds, Anderson was able to catch another elevator down to the lobby before heading north a few blocks.

"That's when I saw my building go down," Anderson said. "All I could think about were friends and colleagues still in the building."

Back home in Richmond, school teachers grappled with ways to address the tragedy with their students.

Robious Elementary School Principal Anne O'Toole sent letters home that Tuesday to the 570 grade schoolers parents requesting they talk with their children and prepare to discuss the tragedy in class.

The following day, students turned to pen and paper in an attempt to decipher their own emotions  in turn, they turned in a "colorful array of words and images that now hang along the school's halls," Times-Dispatch reporter Paige Akin stated in the Sunday, Sept. 16, 2001, edition of the paper.

While some were lighthearted and offered a much-needed moment of laughter, like one third-grader's illustration titled "Umpire State Building," others offered and insight into a child's perspective of the events.

"The strength and pride of the United State will never be quite the same," fifth-grader Will Bricker shared.

"Dear Mr. President: Don't hurt people. Help when people hurt," second-grader Sophie Fisher wrote.

"I'm going to make the world a better place, even though I'm 9. I'm sad about what happened with the plane crashes. Are you sad, too?" Third-grader Rohan Parekh shared.

Like most, Richmond's children found ways to help in the relief effort. As the death toll continued to rise, so did the projected costs to rebuild. A week following the attacks, The Times-Dispatch reported that it would require billions of dollars to recover.

As a result, kids began door-to-door campaigns to collect funds and lemonade and bake sales were orchestrated.

In an editorial piece in the Sunday, Sept. 16, 2001, edition of the paper, columnist Bill Lohmann recounted numerous examples of young kids helping fundraise for the cause.

"Kids are emptying their piggy banks for charity, and drawing pictures or writing letters to send to victims and rescue-workers and families who are hurting," Lohmann wrote.

After hearing the plea for people to donate blood, 7-year-old Henrico student Mitchell Lindsey went to his mother to see if he could donate in which she explained it wasn't a possibility because of his age.

So, he turned to Plan B.

Outside of his home, Mitchell recruited his six-year-old friend Summer Cousins and they laid out the plans for their lemonade and brownie stand decorated in red and blue balloons. There, they handed out the treats for donations. In total, the pair earned $6 to send off to the Red Cross.

"In the big picture, it is small change," Lohmann wrote. "But small change adds up."
The Virginia State Police have identified the victim of a Wednesday morning crash in Louisa County as Hayle Briance Lam, 18, of Bumpass.

Police said that a 2002 Honda Civic driven by Lam was traveling eastbound on the 12000 block of Route 22 (Louisa Road) at around 11:13 a.m. when it ran off the road to the right and struck a utility pole.
SEOUL, South Korea  Reports that Kim Jong Un may travel to Russia soon have drawn attention to the traditional method of travel for North Korean leaders: luxury, armored trains that have long been a part of the dynasty's lore and are symbols of its deep isolation.

In what would be his first foreign travel since the start of the pandemic, Kim may visit Russia this month for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a U.S. official has said, possibly to discuss North Korean arms sales to refill Russian reserves drained by its war on Ukraine.

According to U.S. reports, the two leaders could meet in the eastern city of Vladivostok, the site of their first get-together in April 2019, when Kim took his green-and-yellow train. Putin is expected in the city for the annual Eastern Economic Forum that runs from Sunday to Wednesday.

The reports come at a time when the leaders' interests are aligning in the face of their deepening, separate confrontations with the United States.

Whether Kim could again make the rattling 20-hour journey by rail is a focus of media attention, as is the reportedly luxurious train, which stands in sharp contrast to the grinding poverty of daily life for most North Koreans.

Kims famously flight-averse father, Kim Jong Il, made about a dozen trips abroad during his 17-year rule, almost all to China and all by train. North Koreas state media said that the elder Kim died of a heart attack during a train trip in 2011.

According to an account published in 2002 by Konstantin Pulikovsky, a Russian official who accompanied Kim Jong ll on a three-week trip to Moscow, the train carried cases of expensive French wine and passengers could feast on fresh lobster and pork barbeque.

The trains most important feature, however, is security. According to South Korean media reports, North Korea has 90 special carriages in total and operates three trains in tandem when a leader is traveling  an advance train to check the rails, the train with the leader and his immediate entourage, and a third behind for everyone else. High-tech communication equipment and flat-screen TVs are installed so a leader can give orders and receive briefings.

In a sign of the trains' symbolic importance, a life-size mock-up of one of the carriages is on permanent display at a mausoleum on the outskirts of Pyongyang where the embalmed bodies of Kim Jong Il and his state-founding father, Kim Il Sung, lie in state.

Kim, who is 39, has used his family's armored train for previous meetings with Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and then-U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019.

But he does sometimes fly, unlike his father. Schooled for several years in Switzerland, Kim Jong Un is believed to have traveled by air often as a teenager.

When he jetted off to the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian in 2018 to meet with Xi, it was the first time a North Korean leader had publicly gone abroad by air since Kim Il Sungs flight to the Soviet Union in 1986.

Kims official plane is a remodeled version of the Soviet-made IL-62. North Korea calls it Chammae-1, named after the goshawk, North Koreas national bird. South Korean media say the plane can carry about 200 people and its maximum range is about 5,700 miles but it has reportedly never flown that far.

Putin, for his part, now prefers to avoid airplanes and also travels on a special armored train since his decision to invade Ukraine in early 2022, according to Gleb Karakulov, a defector from Putin's secretive elite security service.

Kims earlier meeting with Putin required a daylong trip that began at the North Korean capital of Pyongyang and chugged over the countrys aging railways along the eastern coast before crossing a river that serves as the border with Russia.

Some analysts are skeptical that another meeting would occur on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum because Kim and his predecessors have preferred stand-alone summitry when making rare trips abroad.

In all, Kim went to China four times from 2018 to 2019 to meet Xi  two of them by train and two on his jet. In June 2018, he borrowed a Chinese plane to meet Trump in Singapore, reportedly because his jet was deemed unsafe. For another meeting with Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, Kim took his train on the two-and-half day trip.

Since closing his countrys borders in early 2020 to guard against the COVID-19 pandemic, Kim hasnt met any foreign leader.

Kim's possible second trip to Russia could signal a restart of a summit-driven diplomacy and may be followed by a trip to China for a meeting with Xi, said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in South Korea.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  Around 75 million from the Department of National Defenses (DND) proposed 2024 budget will be allocated to the Vice Presidents (VP) 345 security escorts, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro revealed on Thursday.

During the House of Representatives panel deliberations for DNDs 229 billion budget for 2024, Teodoro also confirmed the 433 non-plantilla/detailed personnel under the "Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group" or VPSPG. https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/9/1/office-of-vice-president-sara-duterte-security-escort-audit.html

Kaya 400 po yan dahil OVP (Office of the Vice President), mga advance locations na pinupuntahan niya, DepEd (Department of Education), rotation ng mga staff, at support ho sa kanyang opisina, Teodoro listed.

[Translation: Thats 400 because of the OVP, advance locations she goes to, DepEd, the rotation of the staff and support to her office.]

ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro questioned the large number of escorts, an issue that also received backlash from other lawmakers.

On previous VPs, as far back in the 80s, they made do with mainly a small detail lang po," Castro recalled. "Ngayon mukhang di nagkakasya sa isang humble unit with humble funds ang VP at ang pamilya nito."

[Translation: On previous VPs, as far back in the 80s, they made do with mainly a small detail. Now it seems that the VP and her family cannot do with only a humble unit with humble funds.]

Duterte earlier said comparisons with previous vice presidents are "absurd" and "completely lacking basis," pointing out that she has other duties such as being Education secretary.

Teodoro also had to explain that the VPSPG funding is only sub-allocated under the General Headquarters-Armed Forces of the Philippines budget after Castro questioned why the funds are not indicated in DNDs proposal.
The states only maximum security psychiatric hospital has seen a significant spike in medical emergencies in the past two years, according to data released by the state agency that oversees the facility.

In 2017, Central State Hospital saw 13 medical emergencies. In 2022, the hospital had nearly 49, the records show, nearly a four-fold increase. And this year, the hospital has already recorded 52 incidents and is on track to break a record in the past six years of data.

The information was released to The Times-Dispatch by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services, which manages Central State Hospital.

A total of 19 patients have died at Central State Hospital in that same time period, with four of those deaths occurring this year, the data shows.

Virginia experiencing outbreak of disease that causes meningitis The statewide outbreak has resulted in 27 cases and five deaths since June 2022. In all but one case, the patient was unvaccinated.

The state tracks the number of instances by the staff dialing a 10-60 code on their radios  a classification that notifies medical staff that a patient needs help.

Meghan Maguire, a spokesperson for the department, said that there are clear reasons for the hospitals frequent medical emergencies.

She said a significant number of the calls stem from only four patients whose conditions have manifested as medical complications. The patients identities are protected by patient confidentiality law.

Calls related to these four individuals comprised 79% of the 10-60 calls in 2022 and 52% of the 10-60 calls in 2023 thus far, Maguire said.

Maguire also said that 10-60 codes dont always indicate a medical emergency. They can also be used when a patient has a minor injury, Maguire said.

The vast majority of calls are not for a life-threatening reason and do not require EMS assistance, Maguire said.

In July, a 19-year-old patient named Tramil Anthony Brown died. The hospital has yet to release information about Browns death.

After rise in violence, Virginia hospitals rewrite their security plans But staffers say hospitals aren't applying a new law correctly and that lightly trained guards aren't capable of deterring a person seeking violence.

Brown was a pre-trial detainee accused of first-degree murder. He lived in Henrico County. He died in the hospitals sixth ward, according to a patient, who said the medical staff attempted to resuscitate Brown.

Tonya Brown, Tramils mother, said she was told of her sons death by another patient. Brown said she called the hospital for days, ultimately to hear few details because the death is under investigation.

She said her son was in perfect health, and that she and her husband, Milton Brown, visited Tramil every weekend.

He was found dead on the bed at Central State. Nineteen years old. And had no issues, none, Brown said. Cmon, my baby was good.

Brown said that the hospitals medical director, Brandi Justice, had sent them a letter regarding his death, but that it had yet to arrive. Brown was told that medical staff did everything they could to help her son, she said, including rushing him to a local hospital.

There was a wrongful death that occurred under their watch, said Milton Brown, Tramils father.

A spokesperson for the Virginia State Police has said they have been investigating the death.

His death was preceded by the case of Irvo Otieno, who died in the hospitals admission area. Otieno died while being restrained by Henrico County Sheriffs deputies, as well as three Central State Hospital employees. His death was ruled a homicide, and eight defendants are on track for trials on charges of second-degree murder.

Charges against two of the three hospital employees have since been dismissed. Charges remain for Wavie Lavon Jones, a technician at the hospital.

In May, the news outlet Insider reported on a substantiated report of violence against a patient by Jones. The incident occurred after the patient became violent, repeatedly punching a nurse, a hospital investigator wrote. Jones struck the patients back five times with a closed fist, the report said.

The incident was reviewed on video, and the patient later denied that he was injured during the incident.

Insider reported that Central State Hospital investigators had substantiated a total of 31 complaints of physical abuse against patients, as well as 9 for verbal abuse and 3 for patient exploitation. The complaint numbers were obtained by Insider through a public records request.

Another 230 claims of physical abuse were found by investigators to be unsubstantiated.

Dinwiddie County Sheriff DT Duck Adams said that confrontations between staff and patients have always occurred. Thats always happened for as long as Ive been here, Adams said. And Ive been here forty years.

However, Adams said that the hospital appeared to be under control in recent months, owing to fewer calls to the countys EMTs.

Psychiatric hospital deaths often come under public scrutiny. Mentally ill patients have difficulty advocating for themselves and violence isnt uncommon.

Some states have moved toward more accountability.

Last month, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that state officials could not prevent the release of a report about a patient who choked to death on food while he was in the states only maximum-security hospital: Whiting Forensic Hospital.

Shortly after, another patient settled a $9 million civil suit to the family of a man whose brother was abused numerous times by hospital staff in Connecticut.

An investigation initiated after that death led to the firings of nearly three dozen workers and reforms at Whiting, the AP reported.

From the archives: More than 240 photos of Richmond and Virginia in the 1970s
Editors note: To mark the 9/11 anniversary, the Richmond Times-Dispatch asked members of the staff who were here that day what they remember. Andrew Cain is state politics editor.

On a beautiful Tuesday morning, it literally came out of the clear blue sky.

Seven months into my tenure at The Times-Dispatch, I worked nights on the copy desk and had Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. Sept. 11, 2001, was to have been an off day.

I was sitting in our home, then in Northside Richmond, sipping a cup of coffee and began watching the Today show, where the anchors initially seemed befuddled by what appeared to be some kind of explosion or aviation accident at the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York. Seventeen minutes after the first crash, United Airlines Flight 175 struck the south tower, providing shocking clarity that this was an attack.

As the horror unfolded on TV, our home phone began to ring with calls  from my dad, my wife Susan, my brothers.

My twin brother, Paul, worked in the Rosslyn section of Arlington County at the Freedom Forum, formerly the Gannett Foundation. He told of looking out his office window and seeing a ball of orange flame at the Pentagon. His bosses quickly told everyone to go home because their office was in the flight path to National Airport, and no one knew what was coming next.

Newsroom mobilizes

By the time I reached The Times-Dispatch newsroom, reporters, photographers, page designers and line editors  led by Managing Editor Louise Seals and Executive Editor Bill Millsaps  were far along in producing the papers first extra edition since World War II  a 10-page section headlined ACTS OF WAR.

Tappy August, president and general manager of The Times-Dispatch, gave the go-ahead for the extra edition at around 11 a.m., according to a brief recap the paper ran the next day. A former colleague remembers Louise, standing at an easel, rallying the newsroom and planning which stories would go where.

Amid the shock and sorrow, the staff mobilized  aided by our colleagues in Media Generals Washington bureau  fanning out to cover the trauma, the response and the security precautions from the state Capitol to the Pentagon. Photographer Bruce Parker, caught in a Northern Virginia traffic jam, abandoned his car and walked several miles in order to take images of the burning Pentagon.

By 2:50 p.m., the presses were running, printing 50,000 copies of the extra edition.

People from throughout the company then pitched in to help colleagues in circulation. Divvying up maps and routes, they drove bundles of the special edition throughout the region, where The Times-Dispatch was sold at 2,000 stores and standalone racks.

(There was no extra edition when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 because the Richmond News Leader published on an afternoon cycle and The Times-Dispatch would publish the following morning.)

My main task on Sept. 11 was to work with copy desk colleagues, reading stories for the next days paper, headlined AMERICAS DARKEST DAY, with 16 pages of coverage on the tragedy.

Loss of a classmate

Sometime in the next day or two, word filtered from friends back in Arlington County that the attack had hit close to home. One of our high school classmates was among the slain.

I wasnt a close friend of David Charlebois, but he was known in the Class of 1980 at Arlingtons Yorktown High as one of the good guys: quiet, friendly, whip smart, with a sly sense of humor.

David had always wanted to be a pilot. His photo in our school yearbook showed him smiling at the camera while sitting at the controls of an airliner. David graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida and worked as a corporate pilot before landing jobs with commercial airlines.

As a young reporter in Arlington, I followed Davids progress through his proud dad, Roland Charlebois, known to all as Charlie. A former lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve, Charlie spent some of his later years working in the clerks office of the Arlington courthouse.

On Sept. 11, David was first officer on American Airlines Flight 77, which was headed from Dulles to Los Angeles. Five terrorists took control of the plane and crashed it into the Pentagon, killing the 53 passengers and six crew members on board and 125 people on the ground. David was 39 years old.

My brother, Paul, and I joined a number of high school classmates in attending a memorial funeral Mass for David at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, a glorious sanctuary in Washington.

Along with pilots and flight attendants and Davids many friends, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams showed up to pay his respects, much as Mayor Rudy Giuliani did in New York for dozens who had died in the line of duty. This was early days, when public officials in both parties helped soothe a shaken and wounded nation. On Capitol Hill, members of Congress stood side-by-side and sang God Bless America.

Sadly, Sept. 11 would not be Virginias last experience with collective shock and grief. In April 2007, the newsroom produced another extra edition, headlined MASSACRE AT TECH.
Editors note: To mark the 9/11 anniversary, the Richmond Times-Dispatch asked members of the staff who were here at the time what they remember of that day. Politics columnist Jeff E. Schapiro was then the papers chief state government reporter.

Returning from my daily run on the oddly cool, gloriously sunny morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I punched up the local public radio station, expecting to hear the calming strains of classical music.

Instead, there was frantic news that jetliners had slammed into the Pentagon in Northern Virginia and the twin towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. The crash of a fourth plane, in rural Pennsylvania, had yet to be reported. And it would be several hours before these three catastrophes, killing just under 3,000 people, were linked to Islamic jihadists carrying out the deadliest terror attack ever on American soil.

These were the first hours of a day that would remake Virginia government and politics.

As a consequence of the attacks, full-throated campaigns for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and the House of Delegates fell silent. It would be nearly two weeks before the candidates gingerly  and quietly  returned to the stump, largely uncertain what to tell voters and what they might hear from them. Candidates, regardless of party, were in agreement on one thing: that because terrorism had scarred Virginia on a grand scale, the state would have to be ever-vigilant to the threat of more.

The nominees for governor, Democrat Mark Warner and Republican Mark Earley, would rewrite their law-and-order platforms to focus on terrorism and security. Both pledged to create a Cabinet-level office responsible for the homeland. And Warner, who would be elected two months later, selected as the states first homeland security director a Republican, former Lt. Gov. John Hager. Warners selection of Hager, who had been defeated by Earley for the GOP nomination, was intended to signal that  post 9/11  thwarting terrorism was, irrefutably, a bipartisan exercise.

That one of the planes went down in Virginia  hitting the often-bustling Pentagon, seat of the defense establishment that since World War II had drawn thousands to Northern Virginia, transforming farmland to suburbs  meant that Gov. Jim Gilmore, a Republican whose four-year term was winding down, would have been among the first state officials briefed on the crash, which killed 184 people aboard the aircraft and inside the Pentagon as well as the five hijackers.

I immediately called Mark Miner, the governors press secretary. He said Gilmore was being apprised in real time, that details on deaths, injuries and damage were still murky, and that the governor would soon be making a statement. Miner could offer little other than to say I should get to the state Capitol as soon as possible. I arrived at the Jefferson-designed statehouse, immediately noting it was far quieter than usual, with the few people there clustered around the television set at Chickens, as the snack bar  then on the ground floor  was known.

With events moving quickly  and federal authorities indicating that these were, indeed, terror attacks  the editors at The Times-Dispatch, five blocks west of the state Capitol, said that the newspaper would do what few, if any, of us had seen the T-D do before: publish an extra edition. For those of us on the politics beat, including Michael Hardy, who covered the governors office, that meant shipping back to the newsroom details from the Gilmore appearance. My recollection is that we would do so by telephone.

The governor, a former prosecutor and U.S. Army intelligence officer who, at the time, was leading a congressionally authorized study of American readiness to terrorism, offered a grim account of the attack on the Pentagon. He reported on the mobilization of state troopers, local police and firefighters, and emergency medical technicians  henceforth, first responders  as well as the scramble by area hospitals to treat the dying and injured.

That evening, Gilmore visited hospitals, meeting with local authorities, the families of victims as well as survivors. The next day, he would share details of those encounters  many of them moving, even for Gilmore, not one ordinarily given to public displays of emotion.

Despite the blur of developments on 9/11  at the state Capitol, in the newsroom and on the campaign trail  one memory remains quite crisp: a telephone conversation that afternoon with my wife, Clare. She said that our son, Felix, then 7 years old and in the second grade, had learned during class of the attack in Manhattan, where his grandmother lived. The boy was very upset, fearing harm had come to a loved one. Though he would soon learn that she was okay, Felix, nonetheless, remained jarred by what had happened 360 miles north of his hometown, Richmond.

9/11 erased many barriers, distance  and the safety it supposedly suggests  being one of them.
Former President Donald Trump has good reasons for petitioning for "removal," the legal maneuver that transfers adjudication of his Georgia indictment for election interference from state court to federal court. In fact, his reasons are better than his rationale.

At least five co-defendants, including Mark Meadows, Trump's last chief of staff , have already requested removal based on the questionable rationale that they are being charged for actions connected to their duties as federal officers.

If Trump petitions for removal, as well  which seems likely  he will base his request on the same rationale, the idea that, for example, asking the Georgia secretary of state to "find" at least one more vote than the precise number that Trump needed to win the state was connected to the legitimate functions of his federal office at the time.

It seems like quite a stretch, but that's for the courts to decide.

But Trump has reasons for wishing to move his case into federal court. For example, appeals of a federal court ruling in this complex case could be more likely to reach the Supreme Court, where Trump may suppose he'll get a friendly hearing.

Furthermore, Trump may imagine that if he's reelected, he could pardon himself for a federal conviction in Georgia, which he would be unable to do if he were convicted in a state court. In fact, recent reporting in The New York Times indicates that he is already floating this proposition with his aides.

But it's the third reason that's most concerning: Trump, Meadows and other defendants would have us believe that they could not possibly receive justice from a jury chosen in Fulton County, Georgia, a county where Joe Biden received 73% of the vote in 2020.

Regardless of what you think of Trump or his presidency, one of the things that the Trump era will be most remembered for is the erosion of our confidence in the institutions that are important to a democracy or a healthy nation.

Trump has undermined our faith in the Supreme Court, Congress, the media, the medical establishment, the two party system and the federal bureaucracy (in its best sense), particularly the CIA, the IRS and the CDC. And he's convinced millions of Americans that  despite the lack of evidence  we'll never have another honest election.

Now he turns his sights on the North Star of our justice system: our right to determination of guilt by a jury of our peers.

I suspect that it's impossible for Trump to imagine that someone who voted against him in an election could vote in his favor because of evidence and the law, largely because he has trouble imagining himself doing such a thing.

But here's something he should consider:

The jury system itself is extraordinarily weighted in his favor, no matter the venue. Ordinarily both the prosecution and defense have the right to strike jurors they feel might be prejudiced against their case, as well as accept jurors who might favor it.

Furthermore  and this is probably our jury system's most remarkable feature  a finding of guilt has to be unanimous. All Trump needs is one committed follower on the jury, the kind that would support Trump despite evidence against him  and there are still plenty of those in Fulton County  and he's off the hook.

Under these circumstances, if a jury of 12 citizens, empaneled anywhere, finds Trump guilty of trying to overturn an election, maybe he should own up to the crime, and so should his millions of committed followers.

In the meantime, here's a plea for Trump, and a piece of advice:

The plea: You've already eroded Americans' faith in many of our institutions; don't undermine our confidence in the jury system along with the rest. You could do your country a great service by showing some faith in juries.

The advice: Do not commit crimes where you don't want to be prosecuted. And if you truly think that everything alleged against you is part of a big "witch hunt," quit giving the "witch hunters" so much material to work with.
Tren Maya to offer passenger service in early 2024 after December inauguration

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  Two more test tours are scheduled to take place before the December inauguration of Tren Maya. Governor Mara Lezama says the next test tour is scheduled for October.

The next two tests will be similar to the tour made by President Lopez Obrador last weekend. Lezama explained that although the Government of Mexico plans to inaugurate the Maya Train in December, it will not be until the first months of 2024 when the train will begin to serve passengers.

Lezama said that tests will be carried out in the subsequent months so that in the last month of this year, the railway work that will cross Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan and Quintana Roo will also be inaugurated.

The Maya Train passes beside the Merida-Cancun highway toll booth on its first test tour with President Lopez Obrador.

Photo: Fonatur September 2, 2023.

The Maya Train will be inaugurated in December. That is why we are doing the tests with the President. The next test will be in October, and then there will be another one in November, so that the opening is in December. From there, the sale of tickets will begin for passenger travel in early 2024, she explained.

She said Tren Maya will offer three different models of tickets according to the plans of the Government of Mexico. Although the work is considered a form of transportation for tourists, a cargo service and one for local passengers will also be integrated, mainly for workers who could use the train with a differentiated price.

Tren Maya will offer passenger service in early 2024 after its December inauguration. Photo: AMLO September 3, 2023.

The trips will be very comfortable where passengers will be able to be connected to Wi-Fi, she said. As for locals, the train will be user friendly so people will be able to go to work where they can go safely, where they can go from home to work and vice versa, so by 2024, they will surely be able to use it, she said.

In mid-August, the General Director of Tren Maya, General Oscar Lozano Aguila said for Tren Maya (Maya Train) ticket prices, they are looking at charging local train travelers just under two-and-a-half pesos per kilometer.

Tren Maya ticket prices were vary. Photo: Fonatur

Lozano Aguila said the more likely local travel rate will be 2.32 pesos per kilometer with varying ticket prices for national and international train passengers. Students, the disabled and the elderly will also have special prices.

For a local, the price of 2.32 pesos per kilometer is likely, while a national tourist will pay 2.90 and an international tourist 4.35 pesos per kilometer, he revealed.
The Al Pollard Culinary Arts Program at Virginia Western Community College is providing instruction to 108 students this fall, according to the school.

Students undergo instruction at the Claude Moore Education Complex on Roanokes Henry Street from three full-time faculty and one adjunct faculty member, spokeswoman Jamie Snead said.

Enrollment, though lower than a point in the past, has grown for three semesters, Snead said.

The quality of the students graduating is exceptional and they fill a need in our community. While enrollment is lower, its held relatively steady as a percent of our overall student enrollment, plus the level of the program has increased both in terms of facilities and quality of the graduates, Snead said by email.

The school is accredited by the American Culinary Federation and offers two-year associates degrees and certificates in in such disciplines as baking, pastry making, cake production, catering and hospitality management. It began in 2007 and was named after Roanoke restaurateur Al Pollard in 2013. The college renamed the chefs school after Pollard, who died in 2006 at age 46, in connection with a scholarship program set up by his friends and family.
WESTLAKE  Members of the Franklin County Sheriffs Office celebrated the life of a fallen colleague on Wednesday. A memorial service was held for K9 officer Sasha, who died unexpectedly last month.

Sasha, a 5-year-old German shepherd, had been a member of the Franklin County Sheriffs Office since 2018. She specialized in narcotics detection and tracking before dying from an unknown medical condition Aug. 9.

At Wednesdays memorial service held at Westlake Baptist Church, 1st Lt. Terry Dameron praised Sashas skills. He called her the rock star of the departments drug unit.

She had a nose out of this world and it was truly special to watch her work, Dameron said.

Sashas former handler, Deputy Edwin Alejandro, talked about the special bond they had in the years they spent together. Several pictures projected on a screen during the service showed Sasha interacting with Alejandros family and young daughter.

While he admitted saying goodbye to Sasha was difficult, Alejandro said he wouldnt trade his time with her. He said the good she did for not only himself and his family, but also the community outweighed the pain of losing her.

Alejandro had spent the most time as Sashas handler. When he transitioned to part time to work as a school resource officer, Deputy Randall Patterson briefly became Sashas new handler in the weeks before her death.

Patterson praised not only Sashas skills, but also her gentleness. He said Sasha loved interacting with children and letting them pet her whenever they did demonstrations.

She was the sweetest dog Ive ever encountered in my life, Patterson said.

Patterson is continuing on in the departments K9 unit. He will begin K9 training with a new dog later this year.

Sheriff Bill Overton also spoke briefly at Wednesdays memorial, thanking Sasha for her service. He recalled the original training Sasha went through with Alejandro before joining the department and the special bond the two shared.

You could tell at that point in time of the relationship had already been developed over a short period of time, Overton said.

Sashas relationship with not only her handlers, but other officers was evident during Wednesdays service. Several of the officers as well as friends and family in attendance wiped away tears during the service.

Those tears were most evident during a final call that concluded the memorial, a long-held tradition following the death of an officer. Dispatcher Jennifer Gammons issued a final call for Sasha over the police radio, thanking her for her service.

Thank you for always answering the call and keeping us safe, Gammons said over the radio, which echoed through the church and police radios throughout the county. You will be missed by everyone whose heart you touched throughout your years of service. We thank you for keeping your handlers safe and allowing them to always return home to their loved ones. Your loyalty, courage and bravery in the line of duty were unmatched. Thank you for your service K9 Sasha. May you rest in peace.
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" " Deoxyribonucleic acid, more commonly known as DNA, is a complex molecule that contains all of the information necessary to build and maintain an organism. All living things have DNA within their cells. Stanislaw Pytel/Getty Images

Like the one ring of power in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings," deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the master molecule of every cell. It contains vital information that gets passed on to each successive generation. It coordinates the making of itself as well as other molecules (proteins). If it is changed slightly, serious consequences may result. If it is destroyed beyond repair, the cell dies.

Changes in the DNA of cells in multicellular organisms produce variations in the characteristics of a species. Over long periods of time, natural selection acts on these variations to evolve or change the species.

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The presence or absence of DNA evidence at a crime scene could mean the difference between a guilty verdict and an acquittal. DNA is so important that the United States government has spent enormous amounts of money to sequence DNA in the human genome in hopes of understanding and finding cures for many genetic diseases. Finally, from the DNA of one cell, we can clone an animal, a plant or perhaps even a human being.

But what is DNA? Where is it found? What makes it so special? How does it work? In this article, we will look deep into the structure of DNA and explain how it makes itself and how it determines all of your traits. First, let's look at how DNA was discovered.

DNA is one of a class of molecules called nucleic acids. Nucleic acids were originally discovered in 1868 by Friedrich Miescher, a Swiss biologist, who isolated DNA from pus cells on bandages. Although Miescher suspected that nucleic acids might contain genetic information, he could not confirm it.

In 1943, Oswald Avery and colleagues at Rockefeller University showed that DNA taken from a bacterium, Streptococcus pneumonia, could make noninfectious bacteria become infectious. These results indicated that DNA was the information-containing molecule in the cell. The information role of DNA was further supported in 1952 when Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase demonstrated that to make new viruses, a bacteriophage virus injected DNA, not protein, into the host cell.

So, scientists had theorized about the informational role of DNA for a long time, but nobody knew how this information was encoded and transmitted. Many scientists guessed that the structure of the molecule was important to this process. In 1953, James D. Watson and Francis Crick discovered the structure of DNA at Cambridge University.

Basically, Watson and Crick used molecular modeling techniques and data from other investigators (including Maurice Wilkins, Rosalind Franklin, Erwin Chargaff and Linus Pauling) to solve the structure of DNA. Watson, Crick and Wilkins received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962 for the discovery (Franklin, who was Wilkins' collaborator and provided a key piece of data that revealed the structure to Watson and Crick, died before the prize was awarded).
FLORENCE  Dr. Jim Frederick, Clemson University professor and longtime resident of Florence and the Pee Dee, was recently presented the 2023 SC Environmental Educator of the Year Award by the Environmental Education Association of South Carolina.

The award was presented during the associations annual meeting in St. Helena Island and recognizes an individuals exemplary contributions to environmental education based upon innovation, accomplishments, community impact, and collaboration. The association is the leading organization for environmental education in South Carolina representing K-12 teachers, university educators, and private businesses and organizations from across the state.

South Carolina House Representative Robert Williams nominated Frederick for the award because of his many efforts advocating environmental awareness and the conservation of the states natural resources during his 34 years with Clemson University.

Dr. Frederick has developed innovative environmental programs for farmers, landowners, homeowners, and youth throughout his career said Williams. He has impacted so many in a positive way. His service to those in underserved communities is especially appreciated..

Frederick is a professor in the Clemson University Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, where he serves as the states agricultural science curriculum specialist. One of his recent accomplishments has been the development and implementation of hands-on research projects for middle-school students centered on the new science teaching standards using agriculture, natural resources, and the health and nutrition sciences as the teaching tools.

These research projects for students are unique to South Carolina. His more than 30 years of research experience in environmental sustainability has helped him integrate STEM into these youth projects while making them fun and rewarding experiences for the students.

The EEASC is very pleased to present this award to Dr. Frederick in recognition of his youth and community education programs on the environment, said Jane Hiller, SC Green Step Schools coordinator for the EEASC. His educational programs have given students the opportunity to experience agriculture and natural resources for the first time as a part of the real world around them. We also want to recognize Dr. Frederick for his many years of research on the sustainability of producing bioenergy and agronomic crops in South Carolina and discovering more environmentally friendly ways to grow these plants.

I am honored to receive this award, said Frederick. I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to collaborate with so many dedicated and experienced professionals and community members during my career. The educational programs we implemented have led to the improvement of societys attitudes and actions toward the environment, resulting in the betterment of the states natural resources. In addition to this award, Frederick also received last December the South Carolina 2022 Environmental Awareness Award given by the South Carolina General Assembly in recognition of his outstanding efforts for environmental conservation.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  Minimum wage workers in private establishments in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon (Calabarzon) will soon receive higher pay in line with the decision of the regional wage board.

"The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Region IV-A (Calabarzon) issued Wage Order No. IVA-20 on 01 September 2023." an advisory from the Department of Labor and Employment said on Thursday.

"It provides an increase ranging from 35 to 50, bringing the daily minimum wages in the region from 385 to 520. for the non-agricultural sector; from 385 to 479 for the agricultural sector; and 385 for retail and service establishments employing not more than 10 workers."

RELATED: NCR just saw a wage hike, what about the other regions?

The statement said agriculture workers in Calaca in Batangas and Carmona in Cavite will receive a higher 89 increase with the towns' reclassification from first class municipalities to component cities.

The wage order will be published on Sept. 8 and will take effect after 15 days or on Sept. 24.

The Labor Department said the order will directly benefit 719,704 workers.

"About 1.6 million full-time wage and salary workers earning above the minimum wage may also indirectly benefit as a result of upward adjustments at the enterprise level arising from the correction of wage distortion," the advisory added.

RELATED: Zubiri says Senate 'laser-focused' on legislated wage hike, pushes passage before year-end
Dad's Belgium waffles

St. John's Lutheran Church, 2801 Jackson St., will host a waffle breakfast from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday. Menu will include waffles, sausage, coffee and orange juice. Tickets are $10 for adults, and children under 5 eat free. Carryouts will be available.

'Undie Sunday'

"Undie Sunday" is Sept. 10 at ELCA Lutheran congregations in Siouxland and throughout Northwest Iowa. Donations for the Warming Shelter of new packages of underwear (for both adults and children) will be received from now until Sept. 10 at Augustana, First, Riverside, St. John, St. Luke, St. Mark, Trinity and United Lutheran Churches in Sioux City; St. John in Merrill; Living Faith in Le Mars, and Trinity in Moville. This is a part of the ELCA's "God's Work. Our Hands" outreach.

Citywide confessions

In an effort to encourage the Catholic faithful to participate in the sacrament of reconciliation (confession), the four Catholic parishes in Sioux City are collaborating on citywide confessions throughout the next year.

The first event is Sept. 19 at St. Michael Church.

Each parish will host one of four come and go confessions in the next 10 months to remind Catholics that the sacrament is available throughout the year  not just during the liturgical (church) seasons of Advent and Lent.

Confessions will be available at the following locations from 7 to 8 p.m. and the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for confession participants to pray in adoration if they wish. Multiple priests will be present at each citywide confessions event.

Sept. 19 at St. Michael Church at 2223 Indian Hills Dr.

Dec. 19 at the Cathedral of the Epiphany at 1000 Douglas St.

March 19 at Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Church at 4241 Natalia Way

June 18 at Sacred Heart Parish at 5010 Military Rd.

Pastors of the four parishes include: The Rev. David Hemann of Holy Cross Parish, which includes Blessed Sacrament and St. Michael churches; The Rev. David Esquiliano of Cathedral Parish, which includes the Cathedral of the Epiphany, St. Boniface and St. Joseph churches; The Rev. Brad Pelzel of Mater Dei Parish, which includes Immaculate Conception and Nativity churches, and The Rev. Tim Friedrichsen of Sacred Heart Parish

Sunday School

Mayflower Congregational UCC, 1407 W. 18th St., will have a special kick-off to start a new year of learning in Sunday School. There will be activities to learn the teachings of Jesus for all children aged 4 to fifth grade. The Sunday School classes, which is called The Transformation Station, are each Sunday from 9:45-10:45 a.m.

Confirmation classes

First Congregational United Church of Christ, 4600 Hamilton Blvd., will be starting Confirmation classes on Sept. 6. These classes are intended to help participants gain a relevant life-guiding knowledge of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Also the classes seek to develop a deeper soulful consciousness that helps participants to see with more empathy, gratitude, and a greater sense of possibility. These classes will also focus on building a sense of community as well as serving our community.

Blue Mass

Bishop Walker Nickless and the Sioux City Cathedral Parish are hosting a Blue Mass at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29, the Feast of the Archangels  Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. The date was selected for the Mass due to St. Michaels patronage of law enforcement.

Area first responders and those working in the emergency response fields (including law enforcement, fire, EMTs and others) and their families are encouraged to attend this Mass at the Cathedral of the Epiphany. The pastor said the liturgy will provide an opportunity to pray for first responders.

Organizers are hopeful that those working in law enforcement will feel comfortable attending, whether they are Catholic or not.

First responders and their families planning to attend are asked to RSVP to info@sccathedral.org. However, anyone who arrives without an RSVP is welcome to attend the Mass and the meal afterward.

The Cathedral Parish will host a White Mass for health care workers on Oct. 5 and a Red Mass Nov. 6 for workers in the legal profession. Bishop Nickless will celebrate those Masses at 5 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Epiphany.

Food pantry

St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 1200 Douglas St., will have its food pantry open from 10 a.m. to noon Mondays.
ORANGE CITY, Iowa -- Authorities in Sioux and Lyon counties are investigating a coordinated check-cashing scheme that occurred Friday at a number of banks.

The incidents, all occurring in a similar manner, involved groups of four to six Hispanic or Guatemalan individuals entering a bank together and presenting fraudulent checks for cash. In each case, one group would enter the lobby to present checks, then another group would enter, overwhelming bank employees.

The fake checks were printed on high-quality holographic paper and had bank routing numbers. Checks were presented at banks in Alvord, Hull, Orange City and Sioux Center.

Most of the individuals wore hats, face coverings, neck coverings and long sleeves in an attempt to conceal their identity. In surveillance photos posted on the Sioux County Sheriff's Office's Facebook page, the suspects in many instances looked down to avoid video identification. The same individuals appeared at multiple locations.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Sioux County Sheriff's Office at (712) 737-3307.
Elaine Marie Seubert

Sioux City

Elaine Marie Seubert, 94, of Sioux City, died Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, at Sunrise Retirement Community.

Services will be 3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, at Meyer Brothers Morningside Chapel in Sioux City. Cremation will follow the service. Private burial will be at Graceland Park Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service on Wednesday at the funeral home.

Elaine was born March 20, 1929, in Oak Park, Ill., the daughter of Frank and Pearl (Wallis) Krause. She moved to Sioux City in 1954 when she married John F. Seubert. She graduated from Oak Park High School in 1947 and Illinois Institute of Technology in 1952, earning a degree of Bachelor of Science in Home Economics. She taught at Rocky Ford High School, Rocky Ford, CO 1952-53 and Arlington Heights High School, Arlington Heights, IL 1953-54. She substitute taught in junior and senior high schools in Sioux City 1954-55. She taught at North Junior High School in Sioux City 1955-56.

She married John F. Seubert on Nov. 6, 1954, in Oak Park. Together they owned and operated Seubert Tree Experts, Inc. until retirement in 1991. Elaine moved to Sunrise Retirement Community in 2016.

Elaine was involved in many civic activities and organizations. She was a member of the League of Women Voters since 1961, holding many offices including that of president in 1981-82 and 1990. She was a member of the Plan and Zoning Commission of Sioux City 1982-91 and was a member of many committees as well as vice moderator for one year; Board of Zoning Adjustment 1976-82, chairperson one year; Woodbury County Board of Education 1969-75, president one year; Citizen's Advisory Committee of the Sioux City Community School District 1967-68; State History Day Fair Judge 1984-90; Model Session of the Iowa Legislature Interviewing Committee 1977-85; Siouxland Home Economics Club 1954 until the club disbanded. She was a member of Grace United Methodist Church since 1954 and was a member of the Board of Trustees 1976-79 and Memorial Fund chairperson 1979-82; Delta Zeta Sorority; and American Association of University Women. She was a recipient of the Women of Excellence Award; Women Pursuing Truth 1986 and on the planning committee since 1989. She volunteered at Mercy Medical Center, mostly in Patient Access 1992-2012. Elaine had traveled across the Soviet Union as well as to China, India, and Europe. Over the years, she was caregiver for five family members.

Survivors include two sons, Walter J. Seubert of Aspen, Colo. and James F. and wife Janell Seubert of Columbia Heights, Minn. and four grandchildren: Cory A., Stephan W., Adam M. and Elizabeth A. Seubert.

She was preceded in death by her husband, John in 2009; her parents Frank and Pearl Krause of Oak Park, IL and her brother Robert G. Krause of Reading, PA.

Memorials may be established in her name at Grace United Methodist Church and the League of Women Voters of Sioux City.
A radio ad playing in Iowa uses AI-generated voices representing Nikki Haley and Tim Scott to criticize the two presidential candidates from South Carolina for not being sufficiently conservative.

The ad was produced by the Super PAC Courageous Conservatives PAC and has been running on radio stations across Iowa, according to a news release.

The ad features a narrator proposing questions about various conservative topics to determine whos more woke, which are answered by AI-generated Haley and Scott voices, and then asks listeners to vote in a Twitter poll.

The ad begins with a rapidly spoken disclaimer that says simply, Celebrity voices AI.

Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador, and Scott, a U.S. Senator, are among the Republican candidates for president. Both are among the large pack of candidates that significantly trails former President Donald Trump on Republican presidential primary polling both nationally and in Iowa.

Courageous Conservatives PAC funded ads supported Texas Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz  the winner of the 2015 Iowa Republican caucuses  in the 2016 presidential primary campaign. The PAC spent more than $186,000 supporting Cruz, according to the money in politics tracker Open Secrets.

The ad also has been airing in South Carolina, home to Haley and Scott and one of the other early-voting states that follows Iowa Republicans first-in-the-nation caucuses.

New ad declares Haley candidate Biden fears most

The super PAC backing Haleys presidential campaign released a new ad in Iowa and New Hampshire declaring Haley the conservative candidate President Joe Biden fears most.

The 30-second ad from Stand for America PAC stems from a quote in Politicos Playbook newsletter from last month. If they nominate Nikki Haley, were in trouble," a senior Democratic strategist reportedly close with the Biden campaign told Politico.

Haleys campaign has seized on the quote, framing her as the candidate with the best shot at beating Biden.

The ad highlights Haley's rejection of excessive government spending and unsustainable borrowing by both parties that has ballooned the national debt, and her call for term limits and mental competency tests for politicians older than 75.

The former South Carolina governor has seen a bump in the polls in Iowa following a strong performance during last months first Republican presidential primary debate. Polling conducted for super PACs backing former President Donald Trump, who remains the GOP front-runner with a commanding lead over the rest of the GOP field, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis both show Haley with double-digit support in Iowa and statistically tied with DeSantis in New Hampshire.

Ad highlights DeSantis support of deadly force against cartels

Never Back Down, the super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis presidential bid, released a new TV ad highlighting his plans to secure the Southern border, including the use of deadly force against Mexican drug cartels.

The video is a part of the super PACs recently announced $25 million ad buy, and will begin running this week in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The ad, titled Stone Cold Dead, shows Vice President Kamala Harris claiming that the border is secure and media reports and clips of the governor touting his plan to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, including a clip of DeSantis from the Aug. 23 Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee.

The cartels are killing tens of thousands of our fellow citizens, DeSantis said in the clip featured in the ad. We have to defend our people. Were going to use force and were going to leave them stone-cold dead.

DeSantis also has also used the line during campaign stops in Iowa.

Asked how authorities would distinguish cartel members from migrants, DeSantis, in an interview with NBC News Dasah Burns, said U.S. agents would have rules of engagement similar to police or U.S. forces in war zones like Iraq.

Rising GOP support for the U.S. taking unilateral military action in Mexico against drug cartels has sparked warnings in both countries of derailing decades of commercial and cross-border relations with the United States largest trading partner, and could worsen the security situation and trigger a wave of migration in the region.

Reynolds Announces 6th Annual Harvest Festival

Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds will hold her sixth annual Harvest Festival on Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Iowa State Fair grounds in Des Moines.

Special guests will be announced in the coming weeks, according to her campaign.

As Iowa's farmers hit the fields for harvest, there is no better time for Iowans to come together and celebrate our great state," Reynolds said in a statement.

The festival will feature family-friendly activities such as live music, pumpkin decorating, balloon animals and barbecue. The program begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Elwell Family Food Center at the State Fairgrounds.

The Strongest Post-Election Stock Markets in History The Strongest Post-Election Stock Markets in History Voter turnout is the highest it has been in 120 years Stock gains tend to even out over time 15. 1916 presidential election 14. 1972 presidential election 13. 1952 presidential election 12. 2016 presidential election 11. 2004 presidential election 10. 1936 presidential election 9. 1904 presidential election 8. 1908 presidential election 7. 1996 presidential election 6. 1896 presidential election 5. 1980 presidential election 4. 1924 presidential election 3. 1928 presidential election 2. 2020 presidential election 1. 1900 presidential election
THE MINI: The Sioux City Country Club's out-of-the-blue decision to shoot off leftover fireworks Sunday night was absolutely irresponsible, with dry browning yards near their facility. Shame on the powers that be that allowed this to happen. - Don Miller, Sioux City
1 Down Under redneck!

When we think of Australia, our minds turn to kangaroos, Vegemite and Nicole Kidman. We do not think of rednecks. Comedian Jimmy Kuratz, who calls himself an Australian-American redneck, may force us to change our minds. Hell be at the Marquee, 1225 Fourth St., at 9 p.m. Saturday. On second thought, our mind is still on Nicole Kidman.

2 Rock-y road!

Straight from Omaha, Rock Creek Coalition is a band that plays country, rock and funk. More than that, the band says their music is designed to drive you to dance. Well be the judge of that. You can be, too, at 9 p.m. Saturday at DOXX Warehouse Bar, 1211 Fifth St.

3 Zakk attack!

Originally from Duluth, Minnesota, country artist Zakk Grandahl calls his band The Honky Tonk A**holes. Um, and thats all we know. Wait, hell be performing at the Ickey Nickel, 4700 41st St. at 9 p.m. Thursday. We dont know if hell bring the A**holes.

712 Night Market Alejandra Amezcua, co-owner of the La Palapa food truck, makes a strawberry snow cone in her truck at the Yummi Blox food truck lot in Sioux C

4 Night moves!

Have you been to the Night Market, taking place from 6 to 10:30 p.m. every Saturday at Yummi Blox, 700 W. Seventh St.? We have and had an awesome time, eating from food trucks and picking up a few doo-dads from some friendly craft vendors. Bet youll have fun there as well. Check it out.

Singing bowls Debbie Bernstein LaCroix plays music on a set of sound bowls.

5 Chakra sounds!

Your friends at the Weekender are the opposite of Zen. Were cantankerous, moody and impervious to relaxation exercises. Still, we hear good things about sound healer Debbie Bernstein LaCroix who claims Tibetian singing bowls will put us in a good mood. See  and hear  her at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Betty Strong Encounter Center, 900 Larsen Park Road. Who knows? We may stop by as well.

Monarch butterflies A tagged monarch butterfly is shown in this photo taken by Theresa Kruid, Woodbury County Conservation Board Naturalist.

6 Tag, youre it!

Oh wait, thats the wrong type of tag, isnt it? The folks at the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center, 4500 Sioux River Road, will be tagging and release Monarch butterflies before they make their annual migration to Mexico. Help them out from 6 to 7 p.m. Friday.
Its Fast-Food Week! Zhuzh it up with bacon.

In those dark, sunless winter months when the temperature hits minus 20 degrees Celsius on the moose-lined banks of Lake Louise, I imagine that each Canadian is warming themself with the knowledge that theyve beaten us at our own game. Canada has something America doesnt and perhaps never will: McDonalds supremacy.

Sit with this information for as long as you need, but also accept it. McDonalds may have been born in the abundant order of sunny, postwar California and earned its status as an emblem of American soft power. But its stateside flagships have been tragically and thoroughly surpassed in bread and breadth by their counterparts in the north.

Its not supposed to be this waynot in a capitalistic sense or a civic sense or a spiritual sense. Canada has its full year of paid parental leave and excessive apologizing and bagged milk. McDonalds, obviously, was meant to be Americas thing, our birthright of processed riches and our lodestar toward joy and cardiovascular decay. Instead, American McDonalds fade like ersatz pyrite against the shine of Canadas golden arches.

The proof, sadly, is in the poutine. A permanent offering in Canadian McDonalds, this sloppy mire of french fries topped with gravy and cheese curds curiously has no decadent parallel on McMenus across the so-called Peace Bridge. I wish this culinary trade deficit began and ended with Canadas national sloppy drunk dish, but it doesnt. For three square meals (plus Snack Wraps, Skor and caramel-popcorn McFlurrys, and late-night offerings for the properly hosed), the Canucks have us surrounded with superior firepower in a fight that weve seemingly lost without firing a single shot in our own defense. Its the battle of Fort Detroit all over again.

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Take breakfast, for example, where there are more than twice as many options to devour by the dawns early light in Canada. That includes fried chicken sandwiches, which, despite having been invented in American kitchens, apparently have no place on the breakfast menu of our biggest national chain. For my 3 loonies or whatever, Canadas most infuriating breakfast offering is the Egg BLT McMuffin, which takes an American Egg McMuffin and zhuzhes it up with bacon, green-leaf lettuce, tomato, and a tangy mayo sauce. If the original Egg McMuffin is famously a portable homage to eggs Benedict, then the Egg BLT McMuffin is Canadas portable homage to eggs Benedict Arnold, a symbol of rebellion against American austerity. (Adding further insult is the presence of processed cheddar, an ingredient that Canadian outposts wont even deign to acknowledge is very clearly American cheese.)

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To be outclassed is one thing. Again, Canada is Canada, a place where the sitting leader of the country can casually announce a divorce in the middle of a term without any major blowback. But Americans have long abided being the boor of their peer nations; its practically a point of pride. And so there is no analgesic for the moral injury that comes with realizing that Canadian McDonalds have decided American Big Macs are simply too small for their liking. In addition to the Big Mac, Canadian menu boards flaunt not only a Double Big Mac, but a Grand Big Mac, which is a beastly, fully yoked, 850-calorie version of the double-decker sandwich that you cant get in an American storeat least not without a full minute of explanation.

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And this is where things get interesting, folks. The truth is, every single McDonalds in the U.S. has both the capacity and the ingredients to build and sell a Grand Mac. What they lack, however, is the will. We could also have the huge bounty of breakfast items available in Canada, but weve traded creativity and variety for time and efficiency. Following a big menu reduction during the early days of the pandemic, McDonalds in the U.S. also cut a number of healthier items last year in the name of faster service. Our simplified menu enables for speed, reported Bloomberg, quoting a large association of McDonalds franchisees.

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This strategy could be chalked up to a number of factors, including a pathological fury at slow transactions among time-strapped American consumers as well as chronic understaffing and poor employee recruitment by American corporate giants. The result is that the menus at our McDonalds will always look meek in comparison to others, even ones in relatively similar markets.

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When I consulted Bill Oakley, a former showrunner of The Simpsons and author of its classic steamed hams scene, as well as one of Americas foremost fast-food enthusiasts, he shared my umbrage. We get nothing but new bags, Oakley said, referencing the long lists of recent McDonalds promotions and influencer meals that feature little but fresh packaging. You know, Ive been complaining about this for years. McDonalds in America has calcified in terms of new offerings. Speaking with Oakley, who is currently on strike with the Writers Guild of America, it was hard not to think that McDonalds has become a bit like Hollywoodinterminably rehashing old intellectual property. Even when something is new, like the recent Grimace shake, which got memed into oblivion this summer, it still had to come packaged with a familiar face. The menu didnt notch a victory; branding did.

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Ultimately, I found few satisfying answers as I sought out reasonable explanations for why such a huge gap between American and Canadian McDonalds exists and why it stings so much. I dont really begrudge Europeans their Old World Mickey Ds stocked with lagers and crepes. Ill happily concede that Japans studied command of kitsch and embrace of shokunin make for an impressive operation. But to be humbled by our northern neighbora market so similar to our own and on terms so native to our coreis frankly humiliating.

It has always just been that way, one McDonalds franchisee on the American side of the border told me. Theres no animosity or bad blood. It has always just been two completely separate markets in leadership, marketing agencies, as well as franchisees. Im not aware of anyone who owns McDonalds in both markets. In classic fashion, several Canadian franchisees that I reached out to refused to gloat about their strawberry pies and Spicy Habanero McChickens. What a bunch of polite jerks.
This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy.

Dear Mr. Chesebro:

We have observed your ongoing travails in the criminal justice system at the federal and state level. As experienced defense counsel, we write with serious concerns about your decision to proceed to trial in Georgia. Your current path represents a grave threat to your liberty. We urge you to reconsider for that purpose alone.

We have watched as you were indicted in Fulton County, Georgia, on Aug. 14, 13 days after being included as Co-Conspirator Five in the federal indictment against former President Trump. We then watched as you pleaded not guilty in Fulton County, asserted your speedy trial rights under state law, filed an unsuccessful motion to sever your trial from that of co-defendant Sidney Powell, and most recently filed a motion to dismiss under the supremacy clause. We do not seek to weigh in on the merits of the individual Georgia charges pending against you. Instead, we are focused here on what the best legal advice would mean for someone in your position, and how to effectuate the optimal strategy.

First, we must acknowledge that we are not your lawyers. Instead, we are merely experienced defense counsel with a passing interest in the affairs of the day. Nothing we write here is meant to suggest that you are not being represented ably by excellent counsel who are focused on your best interests. Rather, we humbly offer our outsiders perspective on what is a legal and personal conundrum. We are only able to write based on facts in the public domain. But, nonetheless, we offer our opinion here on how to approach your current predicament, and we do so focused resolutely on one interest only: your liberty.

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Your defense strategy should pay little attention to whom you voted for in 2020, or your current political affiliations. You do not want the political adrenaline of an aggressive defense to cloud sound strategic judgment, and God forbid you are just a pawn in a political figures melodrama. So, while there are some loud voices in Georgia and beyond who herald your indictment as a long-overdue measure of justice, and others who see it as a partisan ruse to undermine the current leading Republican presidential candidate, you must drown them all out. Instead, we beseech you, think of one and only one thing: your liberty.

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As an appellate lawyer, you have probably not spent much time, or any time at all, inside a prison. But as seasoned defense counsel and former prosecutors, we have. Believe us when we tell you that prison is not where you want to spend any amount of time, much less a minimum of five years or the rest of your life. So, below we outline a global strategy to avoid that outcome. One that accounts for your exposure in Georgia, in the federal case, and possibly other state criminal prosecutions that might arise. You probably will not like our strategy, and neither will your political sympathizers, but this strategy is not born from political ideology, nor does it serve any political purpose or aim to be liked. Instead, it serves the sole and pragmatic interest of your personal liberty.

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Here is how we assess your current situation. You face criminal charges in the state of Georgia on seven counts. The state alleges that you conspired to impersonate public officials by having impostors hold themselves out as qualified presidential electors; to forge and file a false document that purported to be a certificate of Georgias 2020 electoral votes; and ultimately, to unlawfully change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. The facts underlying such a conspiracy, if it indeed existed as alleged, could astonish all Americans, particularly the jurors, voters, and citizens of Georgia especially, as you are an outsider who allegedly worked to disenfranchise members of their community.

Specifically, jurors at your trial would presumably be instructed by the judge that in Georgia (as in every other state) the law requires that presidential electors are chosen in accordance with the states popular vote. With this instruction in mind, jurors would hear evidence and testimony that you were the architect of a plan to put forth an alternate slate of electors that would be sent to the United States Senate in direct renunciation of Georgias popular vote.

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The prosecution would likely present evidence that you were not interested in investigating claims of legitimate voter irregularities, but that instead you sought to deny the democratic transfer of power. Your Dec. 6, 2020, memo to James Troupis would surely be entered into evidence, and jurors would read your words: it is important that the alternate slates of electors meet and vote on December 14 if we are to create a scenario under which Biden can be prevented from reaching 270 electoral votes. Jurors will also read your Dec. 13 memo that you sent to Rudy Giuliani, a document that a federal judge found is both intimately related to and clearly advanced the plan to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021 and likely furthered the crimes of obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

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It is worth noting that it is difficult at trial for any attorney, even the most skillful and experienced, to rebut express statements made by their clients, especially when they are in writing. Written admissions are among the most damning types of evidence. Moreover, the prosecution would remind the jury that, by the time the slate of impostor electors met on Dec. 14, pursuant to your plan, the legitimate state officials in Georgia had already certified the states official election results for President Biden, and no court had invalidated these election results or even called them into question (see House Select Committee final report, at 342).

Given these facts, and the other admissible evidence of your scheme, including what is outlined in the Aug. 1 federal indictment, it appears that the prosecution in Fulton County, Georgia, has a lot to work with. This means that, barring jury nullification, chances are you will be convicted. And, even if you really want to roll the dice with the jury, the federal case looms; that must be factored in here. Yours is a Damoclean situation.

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So, what is the best path forward to avoid prison time given the very tough position you are in? We think you should plead guilty to the Georgia charges and cooperate in that case, contingent on a promise of no prison time. Simultaneously, we would bring you in to meet with special prosecutor Jack Smiths team, where you would proffer a truthful answering of every one of their questions. In the federal case, we would seek immunity for you in exchange for your cooperation, and if that did not work, we would seek a cooperation agreement with a guarantee of no prison time. Those are rare (usually the agreements are structured so that your sentence would be determined by the District Court judge) but, given the stakes here, your importance to the governments case, and that you are not, as of now, federally indicted, we would surely try. Whether or not we succeed, you should still cooperate; cooperation is your best chance of avoiding or significantly minimizing any federal prison time. A global cooperation deal would also put you in the best possible position to achieve a non-prison disposition should any other state decide to prosecute you.

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You may think that we are underestimating your legal team and their trial prowess in advising you to fold. But critically (and this is central to our recommended strategy here), even if you remain convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that you will prevail at trial in Georgia, and even if you by some miracle do prevail through jury nullification or otherwise, you still are facing significant potential federal criminal liability. The theoretical possibility of an acquittal in Georgia will not blunt that reality. And remember, if you testify in your Georgia trial, everything you say will be dissected, analyzed, and examined, only to be used against you by the Department of Justice.

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Indeed, although it appears that federal prosecutors already have ample evidence against you from their grand jury investigation, plus the evidence developed by the House January 6 Select Committee (including testimony from Trump campaign lawyers), the federal prosecutors will take notice of every word spoken and every piece of evidence admitted during your trial in Georgia.

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In the federal case, your exposure is real. Former President Donald Trump has been charged under three federal statutes with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights (e.g., to vote and have ones vote properly counted). By our reading of the facts, you could colorably be charged with each of these crimes, as the other co-conspirators followed a plan of your design, the very plan that you sketched out in your Nov. 18, Dec. 6, Dec. 9, and Dec. 13 memoranda (including not only the false electors scheme, but also the scheme to have the vice president abrogate the Electoral Count Act and his constitutional duties).

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While you may insist that your memos were at worst a good-faith, misguided academic or theoretical exercise in stretching statutory interpretation to its legitimate outer limits, your actions as outlined in the indictment in furtherance of the conspiracy appear to belie such an assertion. Similarly, claims to have been simply acting as a zealous lawyer will likely fall flat with the Georgia and D.C. jurors. Your own writings appear to suggest that you are someone who was swept up in advocacy for a cause, not a client. The Trump campaign attorneys have testified that they had disavowed your tactics by the time the false electors met (House Select Committee final report, at 34748); your presence alongside Alex Jones at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and your late December email to John Eastman, saying, odds of action before Jan. 6 will become more favorable if the [Supreme Court] justices start to fear that there will be wild chaos on Jan. 6 unless they rule by then, either way, all may count heavily against you in the eyes of a jury.

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Your attorneys recent motion to dismiss suggests that your defense centers on the notion that pending litigation somehow provided legal support for the creation of alternate or provisional electors. We think that this defense is likely a legal dead end for you as well. The other Trump campaign lawyers obviously did not agree with you after the Supreme Court ruling on Dec. 11. Indeed, Matt Morgan testified that your plan had pivoted from provisional or alternate electors into one that would proceed with or without successful litigation. That pivot is also reflected in a close reading of your memos. Additionally, you and Giuliani are also alleged by prosecutors to have made fraudulent misrepresentations to persuade Republican electors that their certifications would be contingent on successful litigation (federal indictment paras 60 and 61), and you are alleged to have participated in filing litigation as a pretext to give a patina of legitimacy to the electors scheme (federal indictment paras 60 and 64). In short, it would be a false hope, in our view, to rest your liberty on this line of defense as well.

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Thankfully, however, your actions evincing your participation in the charged conspiracy were taken in concert with individuals who are much higher-profile targets of the investigation: Giuliani (charged with 13 counts) is alleged to have lied in his presentation to the Judiciary Subcommittee of the Georgia state Senate and falsely claimed that 10,000 dead people had voted in the state; John Eastman (charged with 9 counts) is alleged to have urged legislators to decertify the states lawful electors based on these allegations; and former President Trump and Mark Meadows are alleged to have called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and threatened him with criminal prosecution if the secretary would not find 11,780 votes to change the states election outcome. These allegations arguably make these individuals more culpable than you, as they appear to have posed a greater threat to the survival of American democracy than perhaps you did (and indeed their names appear above yours in the charging document). That makes you an ideal cooperator. Your cooperation could help the prosecutors in Georgia and D.C. convict these more significant targets.

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Accordingly, Mr. Chesebro, you are at a critical crossroads, one where your decision in Georgia now will impact the rest of your life. And we would urge haste. The earlier you cooperate in Georgia and with the federal authorities, the more valuable to them you are, and, crucially, the more likely you are to preserve your liberty.

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Now, you and your counsel may be thinking that we are underestimating what appears to be your current strategy: exercising your speedy trial rights in Georgia (hoping to put the prosecutors back on their heels) and picking a jury with at least one sympathizer, all with the aim of an acquittal or a mistrial. Next, according to your apparent strategy, is hoping for a Republican victory in the 2024 presidential electioneven better if it is Trump. That Republican president then could appoint an attorney general who would shut down special counsel Jack Smiths federal prosecutions and investigations. Or that the president could issue pardons to anyone charged or convicted by that point.

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While this strategy is ambitious and might hew to your political preferences, as lawyers it feels more like magical thinking. There are too many contingencies here for our comfort level, especially when confronted with something as paramount as your liberty. Call us cowards, but when focusing only on your liberty interest, unclouded by the blush of your political indignation or any concern with the future ambitions of Trump, we would chart a more conservative path. And remember, if only one of these things goes against plan, you will likely find yourself in prison: If you are convicted in Georgia or another state, neither Trump nor any other president can pardon you for a state conviction. Indeed, if Trump were elected, the Georgia case and any other state criminal procedures might pause for him for four years while you and other defendants are left holding the bag. If you are acquitted in Georgia, but convicted in the federal case, and a Democrat is elected, you will likely land in prison. A future DOJ might well reopen what it considers a righteous case shut down for political reasons, especially since the special counsel obviously believes you engaged in myriad crimes.

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One more variable. At least one (and probably several) of your co-defendants in Fulton County will cooperate with the government. With 42 counts leveled against 19 similarly situated criminal defendants (plus 28 unindicted co-conspirators), each with his or her liberty at stake, each with counsel ethically bound to represent their liberty interests (not the political interests of Trump or the Republican party), the odds that none of them will cooperate are exceptionally low. Cooperators will make your acquittal in Georgia and in the federal case that much harder to obtain.

There is so much to think about. Butif we were your counselwe would advise you to swallow hard, cooperate, stay out of jail, and spend the rest of your life a free man.

More From Just Security:

The Best Defense: How Attorneys Advise Clients Through the Mental Process of a Plea Bargain

Trumps Legal and Political Calendar: All the Dates You Need to Know
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro claimed that Chinas newly released administrative map with a 10-dash line depicts the East Asian giants targets for expansion.

Teodoro made the remark during the House of Representatives panel deliberations for the Department of National Defense (DND) 229-billion budget for 2024.

Hindi imaginary yan. Target yan ng pag-e-expand (Thats not imaginary. Thats a target for expansion), the Defense chief said.

Balewala ang democracy lalo na sa determinadong malaking bansa na may hangarin na kubkubin ang buong South China Sea, he added.

[Translation: Democracy is irrelevant, especially for a determined big country that has the desire to occupy the entire South China Sea.]

Teodoro also said China implicitly admits its expansionist agenda whenever it calls the Philippines puppets of the United States used to contain them.

That is proven by the new administrative map where they added another dash line," he said.

"So that is the best evidence to their expansionist agenda, to dominate the whole South China Sea and perhaps beyond, Teodoro added.

The Philippines filed a protest against Chinas issuance of the 2023 version of its standard map showing its extended claim in the South China Sea.

Senators also issued separate statements rejecting Chinas new map.

Following Beijings release of the map, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. underscored the importance of other nations backing the Philippines in the territorial dispute.
A Kansas construction business owner has pleaded guilty to an employment tax scheme that failed to pay the IRS over $2.2 million in due taxes.

Sheryl Clanton, from Bucyrus, Kansas, who owned and managed multiple construction firms, admitted in court to her deliberate neglect in accounting for and paying employment taxes to the IRS.

McCorkendale Construction Inc., specializing in the construction and upkeep of underground infrastructure, was under Clantons leadership from 2006 to 2011. As president, she bore the responsibility of filing periodic employment tax returns and ensuring the collection and payment of federal income, alongside Social Security and Medicare taxes, subtracted from her employees wages. Yet, from the initial quarter of 2010 till the end of 2011, the IRS went unpaid to the tune of approximately $980,536 in employment taxes.

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In a seemingly evasive move in 2011, amidst looming tax obligations and an impending bank mortgage foreclosure, Clanton shut down McCorkendale. In its stead, she initiated McClan Construction LLC. From mid-2012 through to the end of 2017, Clanton evaded payment of around $1.1 million in employment taxes. Moreover, she failed to file the mandatory quarterly payroll tax returns.

Furthermore, Clanton established NJ Trenching LLC, another underground construction entity, towards the end of 2011. Over the subsequent three years, her failure to report or remit led to an unpaid tax sum nearing $100,000 for this firm.

All of these actions culminated in a substantial tax deficit exceeding $2.2 million to the IRS.

The implications of Clantons actions go beyond her enterprises. Small business owners should note the gravity of tax obligations and the severe consequences that can ensue from neglecting them. As Clantons case vividly illustrates, the repercussions of such evasion are far-reaching and can severely disrupt the trajectory of ones business and personal life.

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Sentencing for Clanton is slated for December 14. The potential repercussions she faces include a prison term of up to five years. Alongside incarceration, she may also be subject to a supervised release period, restitution, and additional financial penalties. The final decision on the sentence lies in the hands of a federal district court judge, who will weigh it in light of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutory factors.

Clantons plea was announced by Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Departments Tax Division.

IRS-Criminal Investigation is currently probing deeper into the case. Trial Attorneys Robert Kemins and Dominick Giovanniello of the Justice Departments Tax Division are in charge of the prosecution. Small business owners should be vigilant and ensure that they maintain clarity and transparency in their tax dealings to prevent such grave legal repercussions.
Real estate crowdfunding is about pooling investor money to fund investment opportunities in real estate. Like other types of crowdfunding, theres only a small minimum needed. There is no down payment, mortgage financing, or other property investment issues.

Crowdfunded real estate investments are expected to grow in market size. This type of crowdfunding is a lot like equity crowdfunding. An investor gets to buy into the property they choose and they become a shareholder. Its important to remember that the SEC has also imposed some investment limits for nonaccredited investors.

What Is Real Estate Crowdfunding?

This is a different type of real estate investing. The JOBS Act opened the door for crowdfunding platforms to be used for real estate investment. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) then lifted restrictions on nonaccredited investors.

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Before these changes, investors had to buy physical property or leverage real estate investment funds (REITs). And they needed to be an accredited investor. That type of investor needs to have a net worth thats over $ 1 million. And their annual income needs to be above $200,000 to be accredited.

Read on to find out exactly how this type of crowdfunding works.

READ MORE: How to Make Money in Real Estate

After absorbing the information here, be sure to check out this video by Salvador Briggman, who explains the difference between real estate crowdfunding and REITs.

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How Commercial Real Estate Crowdfunding Works

Heres how one of these private real estate investments works.

The real estate investment is made by a primary investor.

The individual properties could be raw land, a commercial building, a single dwelling, an apartment complex, or something else.

The investment gets broken up into thousands of units. That way more people can get involved with different real estate funds.

Potential investors get a crack at passive income through a crowdfunding platform. Some real estate crowdfunding sites require accredited investors. Others dont.

Check out the crowdfunding apps available from Google Play. Look for the Android Apps by Google LLC.

Why Should You Consider Crowdfunding for Real Estate Investments?

These are great alternative investments for those looking to get into the real estate market. Here are five specific reasons why you should crowdfund for real estate in 2022.

Low Investment

If youre getting ready to start investing, you might not have a lot of money. Traditional investments in real estate require a lot of wealth. Crowdfunding real estate requires only minimum investments.

Get A Diversified Portfolio

You can have an investment portfolio that includes different types of properties. Some people prefer residential properties. Others are willing to risk more on a new development real estate project.

You Dont Need To Manage The Property

This investment opportunity allows you to steer clear of property management. Thats usually left up to other investors and the deal sponsors. Another point to remember is prospective investors here dont need to be landlords.

You Get Investment Advice From Professionals

The best real estate crowdfunding platforms offer tips from financial advisors. RealtyShares is a good example of this type of investment platform. They prescreen the properties.

You Can Invest in Your Community

Even with the minimum investment amount, you can use funds to invest in your community. Residents, community organizations, and individual investors can get involved.

Top Real Estate Crowdfunding Platforms

There are investment opportunities for people who dont have deep pockets here. Today, investors can use social media and the internet to get involved.

There are many different crowdfunding sites. Following are some top picks that provide real estate investors access online. Remember to look at requirements like account minimums.

1. Crowdstreet Marketplace

Accredited investors can browse deals in different asset classes. A CrowdStreet C-REIT starts with a free account. Due diligence includes viewing financial documents to gauge the future performance of commercial real estate deals.

2. Modiv

This one is geared toward nonaccredited investors. It has an account minimum of $1,000 which is lower than many crowdfunding platforms. Be aware that 3% of the investment goes to other fees.

There are a few red flags such as illiquid investments and limited choices with Modiv.

3. EquityMultiple

Another good alternative to making money on the stock market. Everyday investors can get involved here with a high-yield property thats professionally managed and easily sold. Investors can gain access and grow wealth starting with 5K. Equity Mulitple provides access to investment advisor experts with experience.

4. Fundrise

This is considered one of the top options for non-accredited investors. One of the big reasons is the fees are listed at 1%. Plus, the account minimum is only $10. Fundrise also has an excellent resource section that includes detailed explanations of things like publicly traded REITS.

5. YieldStreet

YieldStreet reports having over 400 thousand registered users. Investing is made easier with the simulator. Use it to run sample portfolios.

6. DiversyFund

DiversyFund is a good place to start. Invest as little as $500 at first. There are no management fees. But the redemption options are limited. You cant get your money until the property sells.

7. Origin Investments.

You need a minimum of at least $50,000. But if you invest here, you get a good track record working for you. Origin Investments only accepts accredited investors.

8. RealtyMogul

Sorting through management fees is a big part of knowing where to invest. RealtyMogul charges 1% to 1.25%. Theres a $5,000 account minimum.

Make sure to look for a crowdfunding website that provides you with good information. Try to find some information like this on medical office buildings. These are some of the asset classes that are in big demand.

Top Real Estate Crowdfunding Platforms Comparison Table

Choosing the right platform is crucial when venturing into real estate crowdfunding. Use the comparison table below to quickly gauge top platforms key features and offerings, helping you make an informed and profitable decision.

Platform Key Features Account Minimum Management Fees User Base / Additional Notes Crowdstreet Marketplace Offers various asset classes; Accredited investors; Comprehensive due diligence involving financial document analysis for forecasting future commercial real estate deals Free Account Start Not Specified Ideal for assessing the future performance of deals Modiv Targeted towards non-accredited investors; Account minimum lower than many platforms; 3% of investment goes to other fees $1,000 3% Noted for having illiquid investments and limited choices EquityMultiple Accessible to everyday investors; High-yield, professionally managed properties; Easily sellable properties; Investment advice from experienced advisors $5,000 Not Specified Good for growing wealth with the help of experienced advisors Fundrise Suitable for non-accredited investors; Offers detailed explanations on topics like publicly traded REITs $10 1% Regarded as one of the top options for non-accredited investors YieldStreet Over 400,000 registered users; Includes a simulator for running sample portfolios Not Specified Not Specified Simulator helps in facilitating easier investment decisions DiversyFund Allows investment from as low as $500; No management fees; Limited redemption options $500 0% Money retrieval only possible once the property sells Origin Investments Requires a substantial minimum investment; Exclusively for accredited investors; Boasts a good track record $50,000 Not Specified Best suited for accredited investors seeking proven performance RealtyMogul Management fees ranging between 1% and 1.25%; Account minimum set at $5,000 $5,000 1% to 1.25% Efficient management fee structure with a substantial user base

Is Real Estate Crowdfunding Risky?

Real Estate Crowdfunding certainly presents an intriguing opportunity for investors, offering a pathway to be part of property ventures they might not otherwise have access to. While it carries its own set of unique benefits, its essential to be aware of the associated risks before diving in. Here, we break down some of the potential risk factors:

Market Fluctuations : While it is somewhat insulated from the stock market, the real estate market itself is prone to fluctuations, which can affect the value of your investment.

: While it is somewhat insulated from the stock market, the real estate market itself is prone to fluctuations, which can affect the value of your investment. Start-up Vulnerabilities : Many companies venturing into real estate crowdfunding are startups, lacking experience and a proven track record. This could potentially translate to higher risks in terms of project management and investment returns.

: Many companies venturing into real estate crowdfunding are startups, lacking experience and a proven track record. This could potentially translate to higher risks in terms of project management and investment returns. Unsecured Investments : Investors usually make unsecured minimum investments in this venture, meaning they risk losing their principal amount if the project fails.

: Investors usually make unsecured minimum investments in this venture, meaning they risk losing their principal amount if the project fails. Limited Liquidity : These investments often do not offer the same liquidity as stocks. Selling your stake can be difficult, potentially leading to a longer-term commitment than initially anticipated.

: These investments often do not offer the same liquidity as stocks. Selling your stake can be difficult, potentially leading to a longer-term commitment than initially anticipated. Dependency on Property Management : The success of your investment is largely dependent on the property management team. Inexperienced or inefficient management can adversely affect the projects success.

: The success of your investment is largely dependent on the property management team. Inexperienced or inefficient management can adversely affect the projects success. Regulatory Hurdles: The sector is still relatively new and might face regulatory hurdles in the future, which can potentially impact your investment.

Considering these factors, real estate crowdfunding presents a lucrative yet risky venture, especially for newcomers or individuals not fully versed in the real estate sector. Its advisable to conduct thorough research and possibly consult with a financial advisor before stepping into this investment arena.

How Much Can You Make from Crowdfunding Real Estate?

Investing in property always has different returns. Crowd Street has an average realized return of 18.3%. EquityMultiple reports their average is 17.4%. Commercial deals have good returns based on the market. And the shape the property is in.

Is Crowdfunding for Commercial Real Estate Projects a Good Idea?

Commercial real estate investments are much more accessible using crowdfunding. Investing this way means you can diversify your portfolio. Even make some choices based on past performance in different locations.

READ MORE:
Even in the 16th century there were calls to protect what is today a natural reserve.

Part of Devinska Kobyla in the postcard, which is probably from the early 1920s. Sandberg is seen in the background. (Source: Branislav Chovan)

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If you think that the issue of environmental protection is only relevant in modern society, you would be mistaken. Influential Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius, who in the 16th century visited the forests of Devinska Kobyla near Bratislava, noted the disappearance of certain plants in the area and called for their protection. It is not clear how Clusius found the site, but Devinska Kobyla has since become a botanists heaven.

What makes this national reserve especially interesting to both botanists and palaeontologists is the area known as Sandberg. Discovered when extracting sand for stones in Devinska Nova Ves, it has since yielded one fascinating find after another.

Sandberg dates back to the prehistoric Tethys Sea, during which it was a sea bed, and later a sea reef and a coastal area. Scientists have discovered numerous bones and teeth from sharks, seals and whales there, as well as the fossils of gastropods and other aquatic creatures, dating from around 100 million years ago, when the area was under water.

Later, when this sand hill (Sandberg in German) became a part of coastal islands, rhinos, mastodons, deinotheriums and bears lived in the warm, shallow waters, as documented by numerous remains found in the area.

However, Sandbergs most exciting discoveries came in the 20th century, when scientists found the remains of Pliopithecus, distant relatives of humans, and the teeth of a Dryopithecus, a genus of apes.

We can see part of Devinska Kobyla in this postcard, which is probably from the early 1920s. Sandberg is seen in the background - the very last cliff overlooking the river. The photographer took this photo at a time when the Morava River was swollen as, unlike today, the floodplain is completely under water.

https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d42558.72230018501!2d16.95185639954952!3d48.18889009005524!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x476cf34e218c79cb%3A0x1d00f7d2cfb6c270!2sDev%C3%ADnska%20Kobyla!5e0!3m2!1sen!2ssk!4v1694032681277!5m2!1sen!2ssk

This story was first published by The Slovak Spectator on June 30, 2014. We have updated the piece to make it relevant for today.
Building restored in 2010-2012.

A manor house in Sasinkovo, western Slovakia, is up for sale. (Source: Svoboda & Williams)

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A secessionist manor house built by the descendants of Samuel Aba, third king of Hungary, is on sale for 2.7 million.

The floor space of the national cultural monument in Sasinkovo, in western Slovakia covers an area of 900 m2, while the size of its grounds is 8,429 m2.

The ground floor consists of a living room with a kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom with a shower and a toilet. The upper floor has 3 large bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms with showers. Entering from the first floor, there is also a spacious attic, which can be converted for residential purposes.

More than a decade ago, the manor was merely a ruin but following restoration it today boasts a library, park, wine cellar, crystal chandeliers, stained glass windows, Luxembourg oak floors, and a period Egyptian marble fireplace.

Buyers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland

The manor was restored almost exactly to period records from the 18th century, and in cooperation with local heritage site authorities.

According to the Hospodarske Noviny daily, ten buyers from German speaking countries and Czechia have expressed an interest in the house.

The current owner has one fundamental condition in the sale - preservation of the manors historical value.
A month out from the election, little is clear.

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For the past year, since the fissiparous coalition formed in March 2020 came apart at the seams, pollsters have been dutifully reporting the fortunes of Slovakias political parties from the perspective of an impending early election. Inevitably, narratives have emerged.

The main story is the revival of Smer. This protean party, which would like you to think of it as social democratic (more recently it has begun branding itself as the tribune of Slovak social democracy, whatever that might be), is now a right-wing populist party, one with no vision but an extremely gifted leader.

Back in 2012 Smer achieved the astonishing feat (in a fully proportional electoral system) of winning an absolute majority in parliament. It then proceeded to do precisely nothing with it, at least on the surface.

Numerous investigations, prosecutions, witness testimonies and convictions since 2020 suggest that a great deal of activity was going on at the time, allegedly to corrupt parts of the police, the justice system and various organs of the state for the benefit of business tycoons close to Smers leadership. But when it came to the economy, it adopted a steady as she goes approach that left the free-market reforms of the 1998-2006 SDKU-led governments largely in place.

So much for social democracy.

Smers 44-percent support of 2012 duly sank to 28 percent in 2016, which was still enough to keep it in government. But the fallout from the murder of journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova in 2018 accelerated its decline and helped drive the party from power in 2020, when it attracted just 18 percent.

After Peter Pellegrini subsequently split from founder Robert Fico to set up a new party, Hlas, many predicted Smer was headed the way of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), the electoral juggernaut of the 1990s that later evaporated.

Fico, a three-time prime minister, has instead staged a remarkable comeback and, after two years during which Pellegrini seemed ascendant, regained Smers lead in the polls.

Its a significant political achievement, one that has leveraged the failures of the post-2020 government(s) and some extraordinarily conspiratorial messaging.

But viewed from a wider perspective, Smer  like all the other parties  is in a weak position.
Theatre head considers criminal complaints.

A protest against the new visual campaign of the P. O. Hviezdoslav Theatre was held on Wednesday. Several people showed to counterprotest as well. The person holds a sign that reads "Let's be tolerant towards each other. Stop attacking." (Source: TASR)

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At the end of August, the Bratislava-based P.O. Hviezdoslav Theatre (DPOH) unveiled a new advertising campaign and visuals for the new theatre season.

The motif of both involves stained glass window depicting young people walking and holding Ukrainian, anti-fascist and rainbow flags, as well as a person holding a bust of Slovak poet P. O. Hviezdoslav. Bratislava Castle sits atop a hill in background, while in front are two people sitting at a table and one on the ground with a notebook in their lap.

Misunderstood

According to theatre director Valeria Schulczova, the campaign and visuals were intended to initiate a critical debate. The person holding the bust is a reference to William Shakespeare's Hamlet, for example.
Smer and far-right gain in popularity.

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The elections in Slovakia will not only decide who will rule the small Central European country, but will show whether the rejection of aid to Ukraine could become a mainstream political position in Europe, writes US newspaper The New York Times in regards to the upcoming parliamentary election in Slovakia.

In his report, author Andrew Higgins illustrates the impact of Russian propaganda on the country using what happened in the village of Ladomirova, eastern Slovakia.

Related article

Related article Why Russia is winning the information war in Slovakia Read more

From stalwart backer to neutral observer

In September last year, the Russian embassy spread a hoax about the alleged desecration of the graves of the Russian Tsarist Army soldiers. Although the police were quick to dismiss the fabricated claims, according to Higgins, the incident "highlighted Russias skill at fishing in Slovakias troubled waters".

The former village mayor tried to stand against the claims in the municipal election later that year, but ultimately lost to a candidate who opposes the aid to Ukraine.

The newspaper notes that Slovakia was the first country to send an air defence system and its old fighter jets to Ukraine.

However, less than a month before the September 30 elections, the Smer party and the far-right 'hostile' to the government in Kyiv are growing in popularity. Smer chair Robert Fico promised to stop Slovak arms supplies to Ukraine, condemned sanctions against Russia and railed against NATO despite the countrys membership in the alliance.

If Smer and the far-right succeed, it "would likely turn one of Ukraines most stalwart backers into a neutral bystander more sympathetic to Moscow".

In addition, "it would also end the isolation of Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary as the only leader in the European Union and NATO speaking out strongly against helping Ukraine".

Related article

Related article Land of confusion Read more

Major player again

Guardian commentator John Kampfner also speaks of Fico in connection with Orban. According to him, Fico "showers praise on Moscow and models himself on Viktor Orban" and Slovakia could soon become Russia's newest ally.

The Guardian calls the return of Smer and especially Fico remarkable and notes that the latter spent his last years in the opposition calling President Zuzana Caputova an American agent, condemning "Ukrainian fascists" and criticising the government for sending weapons to Ukraine.

"Fico is a major player once again and the politics he espouses is back in fashion. It is a measure of how messy politics has become, and how much faith in liberal democracy has been eroded here in the heart of Europe."
Coffee shops have the capacity, and very often are, a force for good. It is something weve seen time and time again, and though not in short supply, feels very much needed in the world. And todays Build-Outs of Coffee feature is offering that sort of help to the young people of Winnipeg. Sams Place Coffee, a part of the Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba, is using the coffee shop as a means of imparting employable skills to youth and young adults who may have barriers to entering the workforce.

Participants learn the necessary skills to being a barista over the course of four to eight months through a series of workshops and mentorships. Then, at the end of the program, they are then aided in finding permanent employment with another local coffee shop or as a full-time member of the Sams Place staff. It all goes to show the power a simple cup of coffee has to make a lasting, positive impression on someones life.

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 Alison Greenslade.

For those who arent familiar, will you tell us about your company?

Our coffeeshop is a Social Enterprise of Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba (a regional chapter of MCC Canada). We aim to equip and empower young people to overcome barriers by bridging the gap toward meaningful employment. We do this by providing a robust and intentional training program for young people to come and learn over the span of a four- to eight-month period in an inclusive and safe community of trainers, mentors, and supportive volunteers. Not only do we provide hands-on training, we also provide workshops, certificates, and engagement opportunities for our Participants to receive well rounded teaching. Once done in our Program, participants will be onboarded to paid work outside of Sams Place, stay at Sams Place as a paid staff member, or move on to another enriching opportunity.

Can you tell us a bit about the new space?

Our coffeeshop is incorporated into our MCC Manitoba office headquarters. Located at 100-140 Bannatyne Avenue. We are occupying a 105-year-old historic building in Winnipegs historic Exchange District (where many movies are filmed!). You can read more about the history of our building here.

Our coffeeshop is occupying a portion of the main floor and the patio (which used to be a night club!). We have a large seating area for customers to spend time in. Large windows take up the majority of the north facing wall so we will receive a lot of natural sunlight during the day. There is exposed brick as well as post-and-beam construction throughout the space. Our design of the space highlights these beautiful timeless pieces with a modern spin. Incredibly high ceilings make the room feel big and spacious, but wood furnishings and textured paneling make it feel soft and approachable.

Weve carefully crafted our cafe area to highlight our program. Program content will be highlighted gallery style on our walls. A statement of safety and belonging is also present. Not only will you be able to discern our program priorities in the space, but youll also be able to experience the other programs our parent non-profit runs. The cafe seating sits across from a large glass room, where the MCC Manitoba Material Resources volunteers make quilts and pack hygiene kits for people in need overseas. A customer of Sams Place will be able to watch and engage with this international work while they enjoy a cup of coffee in our space. Quilts will be on display as well along these glass walls.

It is truly a hybrid of program integrity and beautiful intentional design that is not often found in non-profit spaces.

Whats your approach to coffee?

Approachable third wave. The goal of our program is to provide young people an opportunity to learn new skills they wouldnt otherwise be able to attain on their own. This means dismantling barriers wherever possible, as Third Wave Coffee is notorious for having high barriers of entry and a lack of diversity. We do this by providing intentional hands-on training and barista certifications so that folks who are not often represented in the Third Wave industry can start to occupy those spaces by becoming professional baristas after they leave our program.

We are working with Rosso Roasters to brew some of the best tasting, sustainable, coffee in Canada. We are excited to work with them to build our curriculum. We knew Rosso was the right choice for us when we learned about their direct Fairtrade, eco-friendly, and social impact priorities. We can feel good serving this intentionally roasted coffee.

Any machines, coffees, special equipment lined up?

Bulk Brewer  Curtis Double Brewer D1000Gt ZZNT162

Espresso Machine  Victoria Arduino VA358 White Eagle two-Group

Espresso Grinder  Nuova Simonelli Mythos Clima Pro NDC

Automatic Tamper  Puq Press Q2 Auto Tamper

Single Dose/Decaf Grinder  M42D Macap Grinder

Bulk Grinder  Mahlkonig EK43 Shop Grinder

Hot Water Dispenser  BUNN 39100.0000 H5E-DV PC

Pour-Over  TBD

Cortado/Espresso Cups  Loveramics Tasting Cups in Purple and Yellow

Latte/Capuccino Bowls  Coffee Addicts Latte Bowls in Glossy Pink

Coffee Mugs  Maxwell Williams Mug in Sherbet Lilac

How is your project considering sustainability?

Our parent non-profit has arranged for carbon neutrality in the construction of the space, specifically partnering with a tree planting company to offset the carbon emissions given off by the construction process.

Rosso, the roaster that we are working with uses one of the only green bean sorting machines in North America so they can purchase less than ideal beans from farmers. They also use direct fair trade practices, have give back programs, and use compostable packaging.

We carry a Creation Care mandate in our work (both programmatic and operational) as dictated by our parent non-profit.

We sell locally made goods to highlight local makers and creatives in Manitoba and Canada. This also cuts down on our carbon footprint as we receive a lot of our inventory locally.

Some parts of the project, such as our bar seating counters, are re-tooled furnishings from the previous set up.

The building has an eco-friendly heating and cooling system using heat pump technology.

Whats your hopeful target opening date/month?

Hard launch will be after the first weekend of September 2023.

Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that youd like to mention?

Architecture firm: Robin Lalonde from Number TEN Architectural Group

Branding firm: Tyler Thiessen from One Plus One Designs

Bar Equipment Supplier: Fabio De Luca from DeLucas Winnipeg

Thank you!

Thank you!
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  A United States-based human rights group has called on Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to raise human rights concerns  including the drug war and red-tagging of government critics in the Philippines  when he meets President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Manila on Friday.

Albaneses arrival in the country on Sept. 7 will mark the first visit by an Australian prime minister in 20 years.

He earlier said his trip will focus on cooperation with the Philippines on defense, security, development, and education, but Human Rights Watch (HRW) said his discussions with Marcos cant be fruitful without seriously discussing human rights.

The Australian government should recognize that it would be a mistake to deepen defense and security ties with the Philippines while ignoring human rights concerns," HRW Australia director Daniela Gavshon said after the group made public its open letter to Albanese on Wednesday. "A security partner that routinely violates basic human rights will ultimately provide little safety and security for anyone."

HRW asked the prime minister to tackle the brutal drug war of former President Rodrigo Duterte, which it noted has continued with nearly 400 killings of suspects since Marcos assumed office last year. The figures it cited were from the University of the Philippines-based research group Dahas.

Albanese should urge the Philippines to fully cooperate with the International Criminal Courts probe into Duterte's drug crackdown, as well as to impartially investigate related killings in both previous and current administrations, the organization said.

It added that he should make a statement regarding the potentially deadly practice of red-tagging and other forms of abuses against those who speak out against the government.

Officials  including Marcos vice president, Sara Duterte, the former presidents daughter  have red-tagged journalists, social media users, and teachers, who can subsequently face harassment, intimidation, and assault," HRW said.

"Albanese should use his visit to publicly and privately urge Marcos to abandon red-tagging and to uphold freedom of speech," the group added.

It further appealed to the prime minister to make clear the need to drop politically motivated charges against human rights defenders.
Equator Coffees has teamed up with Swiss-based ready-to-drink experts Emmi Group for a range of ready-to-drink cold brew products launching in California. The team spent two years developing a line of bottled cold brews, tapping into a growing market of ready-to-drink coffee offerings.

Equator Coffees cold brew offerings are all certified Fair Trade and Organic and showcase coffees that the company has built relationships with over the years. Weve been long-term partners with the Ketiara Cooperative sourcing our single origin Sumatra Queen Ketiara and work with Kayon Mountain Estate in Ethiopia for other Equator coffees, including Double Happiness by Chef Brandon Jew, explains Brett Lanford, managing director of Equator Coffees new RTD department.

The line-up includes a cold brew-only option, cold brew with milk and sugar, and offerings that are giving iced mocha and iced vanilla latte. The sweetened drinks are blessedly low in sugar compared to similar offerings on the marketwith less than nine grams of added sugar per serving.

We spoke Brett Landford to learn more about their new products and partnership with Emmi Group.

How long have these products been in the works?

Equator Coffees and Emmi Group have worked for over two years on bringing our new offerings to market, leveraging joint capabilities and expertise to perfect the flavors and the branding.

Tell us about the flavor profile youre going for in Pure Black.

Pure Black represents the straightforward pleasure of a well-crafted cold brew and lets customers enjoy the cafe experience theyve come to expect from Equator Coffees while on the go. Its also the purest expression of the base blend with its profile of semisweet chocolate, blackberry jam, apple, and dried cranberry.

Emmi is Swiss-baseddoes that mean the dairy comes from Switzerland?

The dairy for our beverages is sourced locally in California. We view the venture as a chance to pair Equators rich coffee history with Emmis significant experience in building a globally successful RTD coffee brand. Together, this is the foundation to launch distinctive cafe-quality bottled cold brew beverages that will drive growth in the category.

The product launches in well-known grocery stores: Safeway, Whole Foods, Mollie Stones Markets, and Erewhon Marketcan you tell us about any convenience stores or specialty shops carrying them?

We are working with California-based specialty distributors who are adding Equator RTD to beverage sets across California.

Whats next for the Equator RTD journey?

Were currently focusing our efforts on building our footprint in California and expanding across new markets. To follow along, we invite fans to visit drinkequator.com and @equatorcoffees.

Thank you!

Photos by Zachary Carlsen.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230906/pentagon-offers-new-details-on-ai-powered-programs-intended-to-counter-china-1113162301.html

Pentagon Offers New Details on AI-Powered Programs Intended to Counter China

Pentagon Offers New Details on AI-Powered Programs Intended to Counter China

The Deputy secretary of defense outlined the Pentagon's AI driven autonomous weapons program called Replicate.

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The Pentagon is considering a vast network of artificial intelligence-powered (AI) autonomous systems and drones in what Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks says is designed to counter alleged threats posed by China.Announced last month, Hicks provided some more details on the program while taking questions during a speech at the Defense News Conference held in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday.Hicks detailed during an interview that the plan is to create thousands of drones and systems that are small, smart [and] cheap.The project, dubbed Replicator, will take place in all domains, including ground, air, sea and space.In the realm of air, Hicks proposed a system of distributed pods that could be powered by the sun or other virtually limitless resources and packed with sensors to give the military information in near-real-time.Other projects being considered in the program include ground-based systems that can scout ahead for troops and provide logistics support, autonomous anti-missile systems, and systems that could autonomously guard Department of Defense (DoD) assets.The program, Hicks said, is not being created because the DoD desires war, but rather to deter any potential attacks against Taiwan by China. The official further contended it would give the military an edge over China if conflict does come.China currently has more ships than the US Navy, an advantage of mass that Hicks described as more ships, more missiles, more forces. But rather than try to counter China pound for pound, she says the US must innovate to keep up.As evidence, Hicks pointed to the conflict in Ukraine, where drones have been indispensable for both sides.On that note, Hicks contends the Replicator program wont require any new funds, saying it will take from already established funding. Earlier this year, the Pentagon authorized $1.8 billion in funding for artificial intelligence research in 2024.The Replicator program, Hicks says, will be able to field autonomous systems at a scale of multiple thousands, in multiple domains, within the next 18-24 months" and will establish all-domain, attritable autonomy to overcome Chinas anti-access and area denial programs, which will give US forces a significant advantage in any potential war.Many peace advocates and AI researchers have warned about handing weapons over to AI systems. In May, a United States Air Force spokesperson said an AI-powered drone killed its operator in a simulation, but later said he misspoke and no such simulation occurred. Updated quotes in articles covering the speech noted the spokesperson was describing a thought experiment.Hicks said the DoDs track record of a responsible and ethical approach to AI and later added that the system would adhere to the DoDs policy that there is always a human responsible for the use of force.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230630/defense-secretary-should-run-artificial-intelligence-buys-for-us-military---watchdog-1111562255.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/another-provocation-to-spoil-relations-zakharova-on-pro-russian-bloggers-detention-1113182947.html

Another Provocation to Spoil Relations: Zakharova on Pro-Russian Blogger's Detention

Another Provocation to Spoil Relations: Zakharova on Pro-Russian Blogger's Detention

The detention of pro-Russian blogger Mikael Badalyan in the Armenian city of Goris was another provocation by the West ahead of the Russia-Armenia media forum in Yerevan, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated on her Telegram channel.

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Head of Rossotrudnichestvo Yevgeny Primakov said on Thursday that pro-Russian blogger Badalyan has gone missing in Armenia. At the same time, Sputnik Armenia reported that the blogger was detained in the town of Goris together with the agency's columnist Ashot Gevorkyan at the Investigative Committee. The reason for the detention has not been reported yet. "Obviously, the forces which strive to spoil the bilateral relations have recently intensified their activities. I refuse to accept that the government, which came under the slogan 'freedom of speech is everyone's absolute right,' will order persecution of journalists and block the dissemination of information," Zakharova emphasized. The official referred to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement that "the right to expression of opinion is seriously protected in Armenia."

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/canadian-freedom-convoy-trial-begins-blinken-brings-a-billion-to-ukraine-and-report-on-maui-fires-1113163410.html

Canadian Freedom Convoy Trial Begins, Blinken Brings a Billion to Ukraine, and Report on Maui Fires

Canadian Freedom Convoy Trial Begins, Blinken Brings a Billion to Ukraine, and Report on Maui Fires

On todays episode of The Backstory, host Rachel Blevins discussed current events including the UN opposing the US sending uranium rounds to Ukraine, and Senator Mitch McConnell saying his health is fine.

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2023-09-07T04:02+0000

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antony blinken

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Canadian Freedom Convoy Trial Begins, Blinken Brings a Billion to Ukraine, and Report on Maui Fires On todays episode of The Backstory, host Rachel Blevins discussed current events including the UN opposing the US sending uranium rounds to Ukraine, and Senator Mitch McConnell saying his health is fine.

In the first hour, Rachel spoke with Mark Sleboda, an International Relations and Security Analyst, about the recent visit to Ukraine from Secretary of State Blinken, President Zelensky uses his Defense Minister as a scapegoat, and Ukrainian soldiers with mental disabilities. Mark commented on Antony Blinken's fourth visit to Ukraine and another billion-dollar aid package for Ukraine. Mark talked about the media coverage of the failed counter-offensive by Ukraine and the Kiev regime recruiting men with diseases like HIV.Next, Rachel spoke with Niko House, a Political Activist, Broadcast Journalist, and Founder of MCSC Network, about the RICO case against the Cop City protestors, on January 6 convictions, and seditious conspiracy charges against the Proud Boys. Niko discussed the precedent set against protestors by the Trump administration and leftists unable to foresee how the Proud Boy convictions will target them next.In the second hour, Rachel spoke with David Tawil, Founder of ProChain Capital, about Europe's dependence on Russian gas, Saudi Arabia extending supply cuts, and the difference between oil and natural gas. David explained how Europe is scared of a cold winter and Russia holding the cards with its abundance of natural gas.Rachel spoke with Craig "Pasta" Jardula, Co-Host of The Convo Couch & AM Wakeup, about the wildfires in Maui, the lack of transparency from the local government, and the elites leaving the people in the dark. Pasta spoke about his recent trip to Hawaii and how the victims of the wildfire have not had their voices heard yet. Pasta discussed fifteen-minute cities and how there were discussions of planning fifteen-minute cities in Lahaina.The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comCatch us at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

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the backstory, us sends uranium rounds to ukraine, mitch mcconnell's health, depleted uranium, cluster munitions, domestic terrorism charges, cop city protestors, enrique tarrio, russian gas
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/china-warns-of-ukraine-style-tragedy-in-asia-neo-nazis-march-in-support-of-bidens-ukraine-policies-1113164175.html

China Warns of Ukraine-Style Tragedy in Asia; Neo-Nazis March in Support of Biden's Ukraine Policies

China Warns of Ukraine-Style Tragedy in Asia; Neo-Nazis March in Support of Biden's Ukraine Policies

A group of Neo-Nazis in Florida calling themselves the "blood tribe" arguing that Joe Biden is the best option for President because he supports their ideological counterparts in Ukraine.

2023-09-07T04:01+0000

2023-09-07T04:01+0000

2023-09-18T13:37+0000

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China Warns of Ukraine-Style Tragedy in Asia; Neo-Nazis March in Support of Biden's Ukraine Policies A group of Neo-Nazis in Florida calling themselves the "blood tribe" arguing that Joe Biden is the best option for President because he supports their ideological counterparts in Ukraine.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Ukraine. Eastern European nations fear that the US may move to have peace talks with Russia. Mark Sleboda says that Hungary has been against the conflict from the beginning. These nations have had nothing to fear from Russia, but their apartheid moves toward Russian ethnics have created a dynamic in which their irrationality creates instability in the entire region.Brian Berletic, ex-US Marine, independent geopolitical researcher and writer based in Bangkok, joins us to discuss foreign policy and Asia. A UK Challenger tank, the latest Western wonder weapon, was destroyed in Ukraine. Brian Berletic says that the West is sending wonder weapons to Ukraine that have no chance of turning the tide. He also argues that the US is trying to turn Taiwan into a powder keg similar to Ukraine.Yolian Ogbu, member of the Black Alliance for Peace and Horn of Africa Pan-Africans for Liberation and Solidarity, joins us to discuss Africa. Former Gabon ruler Ali Bongo was Barack Obama's "man in Africa." Yolian Ogbu says that the leaders of Gabon have long been accused of stealing money from their nation's coffers. President Obama talked about the EU values of protecting democracy while supporting the dynastic regime in Gabon and ignoring the fraud and theft of these exploitative rulers.Jon Jeter, journalist and author, joins us to discuss World News. China plans to mediate the Niger crisis. Jon Jeter says that China has had similar success in the Middle East, and the people of Africa have been getting infrastructure and economic benefits from their relationship with the Asian giant. Also, he says that Trump is being put in a good position to win the 2024 election.Human rights activist and author Miko Peled, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Israel has a long history of apartheid policies towards Palestinians. Miko Peled says that Golda Meir was a war criminal who dedicated her life to a brutal regime that killed thousands of Palestinians. He addresses a new movie that pushes the fallacy that she is a hero. He says that there was an unnecessary war as a result of her policies.Rachel Blevins, American independent journalist and RT correspondent, joins us to discuss Ukraine's Nazi movement moving to the US. A group of Neo-Nazis in Florida calling themselves the "blood tribe" arguing that Joe Biden is the best option for President because he supports their ideological counterparts in Ukraine. Rachel Blevins says that the US Congress is skirting various laws to fund Nazis in Ukraine. Also, the mainstream media is working to revamp the image of Nazis in Ukraine.KJ Noh, peace activist, writer, and teacher, joins us to discuss youth in the US who are not competent for the military. A large percentage of US youths are unqualified for military service due to drug abuse, mental health issues, and/or physical problems. KJ Noh says that this is indicative of a system that does not work. He says that the system actively oppresses and impoverishes the youth of the US empire, and the US military relies on a poverty draft.Dr. Linwood Tauheed, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, joins us to discuss the economy. Economic signs point to a US recession. Dr. Tauheed says that President Biden has done nothing to address the economic issues. In particular, he has made no attempt to enact the economic policies that he campaigned on. He says that the economy has been turned over to the Fed, and the Fed only has one tool.The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comCatch us at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

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the critical hour, hungary's stance on ukraine, uk challenger tank destroyed in ukraine, situation in gabon, neo-nazis in florida
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/defense-says-will-appeal-verdict-after-klyushin-sentenced-to-9-years-in-us-prison-1113181720.html

Defense Says Will Appeal Verdict After Klyushin Sentenced to 9 Years in US Prison

Defense Says Will Appeal Verdict After Klyushin Sentenced to 9 Years in US Prison

Russian businessman Vladislav Klyushins defense will appeal his nine-year sentence delivered by a US court, lawyer Maksim Nemtsev said Thursday.

2023-09-07T16:20+0000

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"We will appeal," Nemtsev told reporters. The lawyer stressed that the defense will aim to reverse the sentence and conviction in their appeal, adding that they will press a venue issue in the appeal.Earlier on Thursday, a US court sentenced Russian businessman Vladislav Klyushin to nine years in prison on hack-and-trade charges, a Sputnik correspondent reported.The verdict was announced by US District Court Judge Patti B. Saris. Klyushin did not address the court.Nemtsev emphasized that he asked for a 36-month sentence for his client to include time served in Switzerland and the United States, a Sputnik reporter said.The lawyer stated that his client did not deserve 14 years in prison - a "draconian" sentence being sought by US prosecutors.The judge said that the 3-year sentence would "diminish the seriousness" of the crimes Klyushin allegedly committed, citing their "sophisticated geography."However, Saris did mention mitigating factors, including that Klyushin is a first time offender and that the convict has participated in charities and helped individual neighbors.The court thus sentenced Klyushin to nine years in prison with no supervised release. Klyushin will be deported once released from prison.Decision on restitution will be deferred until December 5, 2023.The defense and prosecution should file their positions by mid-October.Klyushin was arrested in Switzerland in March 2021 and extradited to the United States later that year.In February this year, the Russian citizen was convicted by a federal jury on charges of conspiracy to obtain unauthorized access to computers, wire fraud and securities fraud. He pleaded not guilty.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221210/even-judge-said-i-did-noting-illegal-bout-gives-first-big-interview-after-release-from-us-prison-1105332171.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220922/klyushins-lawyers-find-contradictions-in-testimony-of-fbi-agent---defense-team-1101108009.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/fact-check-have-us-cluster-munitions-proven-effective-amid-ukraine-counteroffensive-1113185683.html

Fact Check: Have US Cluster Munitions Proven Effective Amid Ukraine Counteroffensive?

Fact Check: Have US Cluster Munitions Proven Effective Amid Ukraine Counteroffensive?

Washington has reportedly green-lighted further supplies of cluster munitions to Ukraine even though the first batch of the deadly shells have not helped the Kiev regime make any progress amid its counteroffensive.

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The Biden administration is due to send a new portion of cluster shells to Ukraine, after the first tranche was shipped to the Eastern European state two months ago. The US press claims that cluster munitions do work on the Ukrainian battlefield, citing August drone footage from Urozhaynoye.Urozhaynoye, a small village in the southwest of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), was indeed subjected to heavy attacks with cluster munitions from the Ukrainian military, according to Russian troops. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian strikes inflicted heavy damage on the residents also.Still, the Ukrainian army failed to seize the village over 72 days of fighting, despite US media claims that the Russians retreated from the settlement in mid-August. On September 5, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the Russian military stopped the actions of the Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group in the area of the village of Urozhaynoye in the DPR.So are cluster munitions really effective?What are Cluster Munitions?Cluster munitions, or dual-purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM), are artillery or surface-to-surface missile warheads that release dozens to hundreds of smaller submunitions that can use shaped charges for the anti-armor role and fragmentation for the anti-personnel role.The 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) bans the use, production, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster shells as they pose an immediate threat to civilians by randomly scattering submunitions over a wide area while their unexploded remnants could still endanger civilians long after the conflict.Are Cluster Munitions Effective?Despite opposition from both conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats, the Biden administration shrugged off moral concerns and decided to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions on the premise that the weapons will facilitate the Kiev regime's breakthrough. However, the breakthrough failed to materialize.Will New Cluster Munitions Prompt Ukrainian Breakthrough?A new batch of cluster munitions won't make any difference on the battlefield, according to Alexey Sukonkin, a Russian military observer. The Ukrainian military failed to make progress over the past three months despite using the controversial "wonder weapon". There is no indication that the trick will work now.The military observer explained that theoretically, cluster projectiles could be effective only in combination with strikes on fortifications shielding soldiers. However, the Ukrainians rely on indiscriminate shelling of Russian positions which results in no strategic achievements but in multiplied civilian losses. Typically, cluster shells are used against advancing infantry; when it comes to soldiers on the defensive, these weapons are useless, per Sukonkin.What Does US Press Mean When Calling Them 'Effective'?The US press stories about the successful use of cluster weapons in Ukraine is nothing but propaganda, according to Sivkov.Moreover, it's not the first time that the US and its NATO allies have lauded the "outstanding" performance of their weapons in Ukraine, noted Sukonkin.Each time when the military bravado of the Western press and the Ukrainian military become particularly excessive, something happens that brings them down to earth. For instance, after the US media bragging about US-made Patriots "intercepting" the hyper-sonic Kinzhal missiles in Ukraine, one of the aforementioned air-defense systems was spectacularly obliterated by the same Kinzhal. To add to the embarrassment the Patriot crew launched the whole load of its missiles at Kinzhal and failed to stop it, judging from the video which later popped up on the internet.Likewise, the supposedly invincible Challenger 2 tank, which was shown in one Ukrainian video easily overcoming Russia's dragon's teeth, a few months later was recorded again, smashed and in thick smoke, somewhere near the Russian defense line.Russia is Standing Its Ground Despite the fuss in the US media, the Russian military is continuing to methodically grind Ukrainian forces on Russia's new territories - which joined the nation in the aftermath of a series of referendums in September 2022. Ukraine has so far lost over 66,000 personnel and 7,600 weapons, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense. Pulitzer Prize-winning Seymour Hersh has quoted a knowledgeable US intelligence official as saying: The official went on saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been mobilizing his forces based on the US political objectives. "He is running a Great Patriotic War and does not care if public opinion polls in America see him as another Adolf Hitler," the official said, as quoted by Hersh.Ukraine Uses Cluster Shells Against Civilians. Why Doesn't the US React?The United States transferred cluster munitions to the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the condition that they would not be used against civilians, but such cases have been confirmed. Why does the US continue to supply the Ukrainian military with these munitions?The observer noted that the NATO-grade weapons are used by the Ukrainian military against civilians on a daily basis, despite claims from Washington and Kiev that this would never happen.Per Sivkov, US officials are well aware of the Kiev regime's attacks on civilians and residential areas. However, the subservient American media are covering these facts up.Prior to the delivery of American DPICMs, the Ukrainian military loaded their "Tochka-U" missiles with cluster submunitions and struck civilian objects, according to him. It was predictable that the Kiev regime would proceed with this practice after getting US-made cluster shells.While assessing the use of cluster weapons as "effective" the US press nevertheless admits that by embracing cluster munitions, Ukraine and the United States "have opened themselves to human rights concerns" especially given that unexploded cluster submunitions will pose a long-term threat to civilians in the region.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/us-to-send-more-cluster-munitions-to-ukraine-in-near-future--reports-1113169590.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230905/ukraine-killed-izyum-residents-with-cluster-munitions-data-collected-by-hrw-shows-1113131913.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230804/ukraines-attrition-rate-suggests-counteroffensive-is-over-1112393002.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230828/dangerous-improvisation-of-ukrainian-troops-with-cluster-shells---reports-1112941889.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230824/chinese-envoy-to-un-says-cluster-munitions-could-lead-to-humanitarian-disasters-in-ukraine-1112861643.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230905/uk-made-challenger-2-tank-got-first-taste-of-combat-in-ukraine---and-failed-1113138090.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230825/ukraine-uses-terror-tactics-against-own-troops-as-army-runs-out-of-motivated-fighters-1112896298.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/frances-council-of-state-upholds-ban-on-islamic-dress-abaya-1113187376.html

France's Council of State Upholds Ban on Islamic Dress Abaya

France's Council of State Upholds Ban on Islamic Dress Abaya

France's Council of State on Thursday upheld a ban on the all-covering Muslim robe abaya in schools, which had been announced last weekend by the country's newly-appointed Education Minister Gabriel Attal.

2023-09-07T18:49+0000

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On Tuesday, an association for the protection of Muslim rights, Action Droits des Musulmans, asked the Council of State, which is France's highest administrative court, to repeal the ban. Thus, the Council of State upheld the ban on Muslim clothing in schools as it does not constitute "an infringement on privacy, freedom of faith, right to education or respect for a child's interests and non-discrimination," it added. "Wearing the abaya or kameez in schools, which increased significantly in 2022-2023, is a religious statement," the press release read. Last week, Attal said that the government would move ahead with the ban on the abaya and kameez in time for the start of the school year on September 4. Students coming to school in Muslim clothing would not be allowed to attend classes, and they would be given an explanatory conversation, he added. Commenting on the ban, French Government Spokesperson Olivier Veran described the act of wearing the abaya or kameez as a "political attack." Any religious or political signs are forbidden in state schools and government buildings in France.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20181023/french-group-responds-to-un-niqab-criticism-1069150802.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/georgia-attorney-general-hits-61-cop-city-protesters-with-racketeering-charges-1113166061.html

Georgia Attorney General Hits 61 'Cop City' Protesters With Racketeering Charges

Georgia Attorney General Hits 61 'Cop City' Protesters With Racketeering Charges

More than 60 people have been charged with racketeering charges for their alleged involvement in the Stop Cop City movement in Atlanta Georgia.

2023-09-07T04:23+0000

2023-09-07T04:23+0000

2023-09-07T04:41+0000

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Sixty-one individuals who authorities say are involved in the Stop Cop City in Georgia movement were indicted on racketeering charges on Tuesday night, in a case civil liberty activists say has chilling implications for the First Amendment.State prosecutors released the indictment late Tuesday, and in addition to racketeering charges also brings domestic terrorism and arson charges against organizers and participants in the Stop Cop City movement, which aims to prevent the construction of an 85-acre, $90 million training facility that includes a mock city.Officially known as the Atlanta Public Safety Center, proponents of the facility say it will replace outdated and inadequate training facilities currently used by the Atlanta Police and other area law enforcement agencies. They argue that a large mock city is necessary to train recruits in scenarios they might come across during patrols; the facility plans to include a mock convenience store and nightclub.But activists argue the training facility is unnecessary and expensive, will further militarize the police and remove the largest wooded area in Atlanta. Some activists have also worried that the facility will be used to train officers in quelling protests.The charges were brought by State District Attorney General Chris Carr, who has hinted at a potential gubernatorial run in 2026, when current Republican Governor Brian Kemps term ends.The indictment begins with a nearly five-page explainer on the Anarchy Background of Defend the Atlanta Forest that observers note reads more like a critical essay on the philosophy of anarchy than a criminal indictment. It includes an explainer of terms such as mutual aid, collectivism and social solidarity.Section two of the indictment lists 225 overt act[s] in furtherance of the conspiracy in which it says the racketeering occurred. At least 41 of the accounts relate to blog postings. Many others include providing food, money, or supplies to the protesters, most of the supplies listed are plainly legal, like tents and tarps. Some include receiving aid from the organization.Bizarrely, one count includes an alleged conspirator signing his name as ACAB. It does not clarify when or where the individual signed his name as ACAB or how that act furthered the alleged conspiracy.ACAB is an acronym for All Cops Are Bast**ds.Many of the indicted individuals were already facing charges related to the Stop Cop City movement, including more than three dozen who already face domestic terrorism charges. Five more individuals were charged with domestic terrorism in Tuesdays indictment, along with first-degree arson charges. Three of the leaders of the movement were also charged with money laundering, largely stemming from allegedly using funds from the Network for Strong Communities, a non-profit organization, to fund the protests. Authorities argue that donors were unaware their contributions would go towards funding allegedly illegal activities.Interestingly, the indictment lists May 25, 2020, as the date the conspiracy started, long before the facility was proposed by the city. It is also the date George Floyd was murdered by police. Activists say this is an attempt to link the Stop Cop City movement and the larger movements against racial injustice and police violence, in an attempt to link and vilify both Stop Cop City and those movements.Outside of the date, the text of the indictment also adds more credence to those claims. It spends a significant amount of space contending the Stop Cop Movement capitalized on the anger over the Floyd case and the police killing of Rayshard Brooks to recruit new members.The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) condemned the unprecedented indictment.Meanwhile, Governor Kemp praised the indictment, saying his top priority is and always will be keeping Georgians safe, especially against out-of-state radicals that threaten the safety of our citizens and law enforcement.While the city council voted to approve the project, despite a record number of residents expressing their opposition to it, activists remain hopeful they will stop the project. Participants have been working on gathering signatures to get the issue on the ballot as a voter referendum. The group claims to have already collected 104,000 signatures, far above the 60,000 required, but they plan to gather more before submitting it as the city announced they will use signature matching.Chris Carr may try to use his prosecutors and power to build his gubernatorial campaign and silence free speech, the Cop City Vote coalition said in a statement. But his threats will not silence our commitment to standing up for our future, our community, and our city.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230306/fire-erupts-at-future-atlanta-police-training-facility-after-protest--1108077355.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/google-says-will-require-election-advertisers-to-disclose-ai-generated-content-1113170193.html

Google to Require Election Advertisers to Disclose AI-Generated Content

Google to Require Election Advertisers to Disclose AI-Generated Content

Google will require election advertisers to disclose data on artificial intelligence (AI)-generated content that may inauthentically depict real or realistic-looking people and events from mid-November, the company announced.

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"In mid-November 2023, we are updating our Political content policy to require that all verified election advertisers in regions where verification is required must prominently disclose when their ads contain synthetic content that inauthentically depicts real or realistic-looking people or events," Google said in a statement on Wednesday. The IT giant also said that this disclosure should be "clear and conspicuous," and should be placed in a location where it is "likely to be noticed by users," adding that the updated policy will apply to image, video and audio content. At the same time, ads that include AI-generated content that has been "altered or generated in such a way that is inconsequential to the claims made in the ad," will be exempt from disclosure requirements, the statement read. This type of content includes editing techniques (image resizing, cropping, color and defect corrections and others) or background edits that do not create "realistic depictions of actual event," the document added. Google requires election coverage verification for advertisers in the United Kingdom, United States, Brazil, Israel, the European Union, and other countries.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  A lawmaker has flagged the existence of alien projects or those unvalidated by District Engineering Offices in the Department of Public Works and Highways proposed budget in 2024.

Lagman on Thursday urged the agency to cleanse its budget of alien projects during the House Committee on Appropriations deliberations for the DPWH funding in 2024.

He explained that alien projects are those which crept into the DPWHs 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP) without scrutiny or validation by the respective District Engineering Offices.

These projects impair the Congressional District's amount ceiling and crowd out validated priority infra projects, Lagman said.

Asked how many of these alien projects were in the budget and how much these were worth, Lagman told CNN Philippines through text message: It is hard to quantify now. What is important is that the alien projects admittedly exist nationwide.

The congressman added: In the event that these alien projects are subsequently validated and are necessary and relevant, they should be included after this submission of the NEP to the Congress.

For his part, DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan committed that the agency would undergo a period of realignment or errata before submitting the final version of its budget to Congress.

The DPWH has the second highest proposed budget in the 5.768 trillion 2024 NEP at 822.2 billion, just behind the Department of Educations 924.7 billion.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/how-us-media-learned-to-love-depleted-uranium-shells-amid-ukraine-counteroffensive-1113179148.html

How US Media Learned to Love Depleted Uranium Shells Amid Ukraine Counteroffensive

How US Media Learned to Love Depleted Uranium Shells Amid Ukraine Counteroffensive

Washington's decision to supply depleted uranium (DU) munitions to Ukraine has been met with little if any criticism in the Western press, even though decades ago American and European journalists rang alarm bells over health and environment hazards triggered by the weapon. Why is that?

2023-09-07T15:58+0000

2023-09-07T15:58+0000

2023-09-07T15:58+0000

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The Biden administration has announced it will provide Ukraine with depleted uranium (DU) anti-tank 120 mm rounds which will be used to arm the 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks expected to be delivered to the Kiev regime in the fall.US media hastened to dispel anxieties associated with the use of uranium: even though rounds retain "some radioactive properties," but they "can't generate a nuclear reaction like a nuclear weapon would," AP wrote citing a RAND expert. Per the US media, depleted uranium is not that "radioactive", but rather toxic. And again, most of it would be excreted, and just some can enter the bloodstream and cause kidney damage.At the same time, DU projectiles  which were developed by the US to destroy Soviet tanks during the Cold War, the media highlights  can easily and effectively penetrate the enemy tanks' armor. On top of that, the depleted uranium shells "saved the lives of many service members in combat," the media underscores, quoting a Pentagon spokesman. Nothing to worry about, it's just "an exotic metal dart fired at an extraordinarily high speed." That is, advantages outweigh the disadvantages, in the newspaper's view.However, over almost three decades the US media has held a strikingly different stance.How Did Western Press Assess DU Shells Before?In January 1993, the New York Times shed light on the sinister consequences of the use of depleted uranium projectiles during the 1991 Iraq War. The media cited a confidential report by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, written in April 1991 and leaked to the press, which estimated that at least 40 tons of depleted uranium were dispersed in Iraq and Kuwait during the war. The newspaper cast doubt on the Pentagon's assertions that depleted uranium is "very, very mildly radioactive", referring to the post-war increase in childhood cancer and mysterious swollen abdomens is at least in part due to the radioactive shells.In 1999, the Western media repeatedly raised concerns over the use of depleted uranium munitions during the NATO bombing campaign in Yugoslavia. In March 2000, NATO confirmed to the United Nations that depleted uranium was used during the conflict in Kosovo, saying that "a total of approximately 31,000 rounds" of DU ammo was used during NATO's bombings of Yugoslavia.In January 2001, NYT cited the US Joint Chiefs of Staff document dated July 1, 1999, which urged allied armies to use precautions on entering Kosovo after the use of munitions containing depleted uranium. It specifically warned "against touching spent ammunition or other contaminated materials" adding that personnel handling the heads of DU anti-tank shells or entering wrecked vehicles should "wear protective masks and cover exposed skin."The same year, US media reported mounting pressure on NATO after reports that six Italian soldiers died from leukemia after serving in the Balkans and apparently being exposed to depleted uranium from spent NATO ammunition.The Los Angeles Times echoed that leukemia deaths among those serving in the Balkans were on the rise in Europe: nine Balkans veterans were diagnosed with the condition; Spanish, Portuguese and Czech peacekeepers reportedly have succumbed to the blood cancer; France said four of its former Balkans servicemen were under treatment for leukemia. The Europeans called upon the Clinton administration to be open about health issues related to depleted uranium shells.CNN joined the chorus at the time stressing that a host of European countries whose soldiers served with NATO in Kosovo and Bosnia were imposing pressure on the NATO leadership. It was suggested that the "Balkans Syndrome" was caused by the uranium-tipped ammo.Meanwhile, in March 2001, the Washington Post cited concerns of the Iraqi government about the increase in cancer cases and abnormal incidence of genetic problems among children in the aftermath of Washington's Gulf campaign. As per the media, the World Health Organization (WHO) lent a sympathetic ear to Baghdad's concerns at the time and sent a team to probe the potential link between the use of depleted uranium shells in the Gulf War and cancer and birth defect rates in Iraq. The controversy surrounding the use of depleted uranium has continued to simmer for years with the British press exposing the US in 2014 over using depleted uranium in civilian areas during its invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Dutch peace group Pax managed to obtain coordinates (previously hidden by the Pentagon) of areas where US jets and tanks fired nearly 10,000 DU rounds in breach of official advice to prevent unnecessary suffering of civilians.In 2017, the US press busted the Pentagon over the covert use of the "controversial" munitions that "has been blamed for long-term health complications" again, in 2015, in Syria. The Pentagon had to acknowledge that US aircraft fired thousands of rounds during two high-profile air raids in Syria in November 2015. Prior to the strikes, the US Department of Defense pledged not to use DU ammo. The newspaper further cited the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 2014 report stressing that direct contact with depleted uranium through the handling of scrap metal, for instance, could "result in exposures of radiological significance."What Does UN Say About DU Shells?In December 2022, the UN recognized weapons containing DU as toxic and dangerous, adding that the existing research does not provide a sufficiently complete understanding of the consequences of the use of depleted uranium weapons on humans and the environment.Earlier, on June 29, 2022, the UN General Assembly released memos by some member states with regard to their views on the effects of the use of armaments and ammunition containing depleted uranium. In particular, a Belgian memo said that the state has prohibited the use of these weapons systems starting from June 20, 2009, because of their hazardous effect. For its part, Serbia outlined both radiological and chemical risks of DU munitions citing extensive analysis by the Military Technical Institute (VTI/MTI) of the consequences of NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999.In response to Washington's latest announcement, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson of the UN secretary general, made it clear that the international body is firmly against the use of depleted uranium projectiles, no matter where in the world it occurs.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/us-claims-that-depleted-uranium-shells-non-radioactive-are-nonsense--moscow-1113169134.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230904/us-depleted-uranium-shells-will-poison-ukraine-wont-change-conflicts-outcome-1113113379.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/iran-to-construct-1st-space-navigation-satellite-1113177392.html

Iran to Construct 1st Space Navigation Satellite

Iran to Construct 1st Space Navigation Satellite

The Iranian Space Research Center is planning to hold a public tender for the construction of its first space navigation satellite, the country's space agency said on Thursday.

2023-09-07T13:17+0000

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"As a means of supporting the private sector, the Iranian Space Research Center is planning to hold a public tender for the development, construction and launch into orbit of Research Satellite-1. [The satellite] will be used for research purposes in the field of space navigation," the Iranian government quoted the agency's statement as saying on Telegram. In late August, Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad-Reza Ashtiani said Tehran was actively engaged in satellite development and planned to conduct two or three launches this year. Before that, Amir Rastegari, the CEO of the defense ministry-affiliated Iran Electronics Industries, said that Iran would launch a homemade Earth observation satellite, called Tolou-3 (Dawn-3), by the end of the year.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230823/brics-nations-must-create-space-exploration-consortium---modi-1112814677.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/kremlin-on-us-seizing-russians-property-moscow-perceives-it-absolutely-negatively-1113175386.html

Kremlin Castigates US Seizure of Russians' Property

Kremlin Castigates US Seizure of Russians' Property

The seizure of the property of Russian citizens by the United States is illegal, Moscow perceives it absolutely negatively, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

2023-09-07T12:18+0000

2023-09-07T12:18+0000

2023-09-18T13:37+0000

russia

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moscow's response to us' seizure of russian diplomatic property, expulsion of diplomats

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During a visit to Kiev on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced additional assistance to Ukraine totaling more than $1 billion, including $5.4 million in seized Russian assets set to be used to support veteran reintegration and rehabilitation."In any case, we perceived it absolutely negatively because we consider all cases related to the blocking and arrest or other withholding of any funds related to state property, private property, mixed types of property of Russia abroad, to be illegal acts," Peskov told reporters, adding that statements about the alleged legal circumstances of this seizure are "lawless and look like legal nonsense."Not a single case of illegal seizure will be ignored, the official said, adding that it is necessary to analyze and understand each case, but all this will become the consequences of quite serious legal proceedings."There is also a blatant fact that now both we, as the Russian state, and our entrepreneurs, are very often infringed on the rights to defend our interests in judicial instances abroad. This is difficult to comprehend, this, of course, contradicts everything in general that can be imagined both from the point of view of international law and national law," he added.On Recent US Foreign Policy ActivitiesThe decision of the United States' administration to deliver depleted uranium shells to Ukraine will lead to negative consequences, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday."Of course, this responsibility will entirely lie with the leadership of the United States, which made such a decision. Everyone should be aware of this," Peskov told reporters, adding that the use of such shells is related to "very sad consequences."Dmitry Peskov added that the Armenian-US joint military exercises do not contribute to the stabilization of the situation in the region and the srtengthening of mutual trust.On Wednesday, the Armenian Defense Ministry said that the country will hold joint drills with the United States in September. Earlier on Thursday, Yerevan said that Baku concentrates Azerbaijani troops on the border with Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh."In this situation, of course, holding such exercises does not contribute to stabilizing the situation. This is the first. In any case, it does not contribute to strengthening, let's say, the atmosphere of mutual trust in the region. Russia continues to fulfill its functions as a guarantor of security, Russia continues ... scrupulous and consistent constructive work with both Yerevan and Baku," Peskov told reporters.On Relations with North KoreaRussia values relations with North Korea and plans to develop them without paying attention to opinions of other countries, Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.The spokesman was asked about US statements about Moscow-Pyongyang cooperation and if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un plans to visit Russia soon."We have nothing to say on this issue, just as before there was nothing to say, and now there is nothing to say. We have our own relations with Pyongyang. We value these relations  this is our neighbor. And we, of course, will continue to develop relations with them without regard to the opinions of other countries," Peskov told reporters.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230722/eu-unable-to-seize-russian-assets-under-the-guise-of-helping-ukraine---media-1112061083.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230906/bad-decision-all-around-ex-pentagon-officials-blast-us-move-to-send-ukraine-depleted-uranium-1113160766.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/musk-turned-off-starlink-near-crimea-in-2022-to-thwart-ukraine-attack---reports-1113180208.html

Musk Turned Off Starlink Near Crimea in 2022 to Thwart Ukraine Attack - Reports

Musk Turned Off Starlink Near Crimea in 2022 to Thwart Ukraine Attack - Reports

US tech billionaire Elon Musk ordered his engineers to turn off his company's Starlink satellites near Crimea last year to disrupt a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian naval fleet, a American broadcaster reported on Thursday, citing excerpts from Musks new biography.

2023-09-07T15:10+0000

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crimea

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When Ukrainian submarine drones loaded with explosives approached Russian vessels, they "lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly," Walter Isaacson wrote in the book titled "Elon Musk." The businessman feared that Moscow would respond to a "mini-Pearl Harbor" by deploying nuclear weapons, according to the book. His fear was driven by his conversations with senior Russian officials. Musk also had calls with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov to address anxieties from Washington to Moscow, the book said. Neither Musk nor SpaceX replied to requests for comment, the broadcaster said. Musk also told Isaacson that he would not turn the satellite network back on for Crimea because Ukraine "is now going too far and inviting strategic defeat," according to the book.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221014/spacex-tells-pentagon-can-no-longer-donate-costly-starlink-services-to-ukraine---reports-1101833179.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/nato-drills-to-show-russia-the-alliance-owns-baltic-sea-as-some-involved-countries-lack-potential-1113178751.html

NATO Baltic Drills: West Attempts to Show Russia It 'Owns' Region Despite Members' Weaknesses

NATO Baltic Drills: West Attempts to Show Russia It 'Owns' Region Despite Members' Weaknesses

Saturday will see the start of NATOs major naval drills in the Baltic Sea that are expected to involve some 30 ships and over 3,000 service members.

2023-09-07T15:49+0000

2023-09-07T15:49+0000

2023-09-07T19:42+0000

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germany

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When and Where Will the Drills Take Place As many as 14 NATO countries are due to take part in the Northern Coast 23 naval exercises that will be held on September 9-23 off Estonia and Latvia, as well as in the eastern and central areas of the Baltic Sea near the Russian border.The drills will witness the participation of 3,000 personnel from the US, Italy, France, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Canada, Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, and Sweden.Thirty ships and submarines, as well as up to 15 aircraft and various land units will be involved in the exercises, which have been held in the Baltics since 2007.What's the Main Message?Germany's navy chief, Vice-Admiral Jan Christian Kaack, said that during the drills, participants will for the first time practice how to respond to a potential Russian assault in the region.He added that by launching the war games, NATO countries are sending a clear message of vigilance to Russia: Not on our watch." According to Kaack, "credible deterrence must include the ability to attack."She underscored that by deciding to conduct such massive maneuvers in the area, NATO signals to Russia that the alliance is allegedly a military force that now "owns" the Baltic Sea, mainly because it has brought on new members Finland and, soon, Sweden, and [because] the prior Baltic members of NATO, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are enthusiastically anti-Russia.Yet none of these countries really have large naval forces, and like everything in Europe, the economic legacy of Germany still sustains the rest of the region, Kwiatkowski pointed out.Why Germany Leads Drills The Northern Coast 23 drills will be led by the German Maritime Forces Staff from its new headquarters in Rostock, which will, in fact, become NATO's regional command center responsible for directing operations in the Baltic Sea.Part of the upgrade of the German Navy and justification for the unprecedented German state purchase of a commercial ship manufacturer that failed (with the collapse of the cruise ship industry during the government-demanded lockdowns), was the conflict in Ukraine, Kwiatkowski added.Dwelling on Germanys push to expand its Baltic clout, she said that German government spending in this region, and the militarization thereof, may also seem logical since the US-led Western neoconservatives seek increased domestic political control in the future.Northern Coast 23 Drills and Regional SecurityNotably, the Northern Coast 23 exercises come several months after Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna called the Baltic Sea a "NATO lake" in connection with Finland entering the alliance in April. As he explained in an interview with Newsweek, this NATO expansion is "extremely important" and a strategic game changer.Kwiatkowski suggested that the Western and US messages that the Baltic Sea is a NATO lake will continue to be sent - as it has been done for the Black Sea, the Straits of Taiwan, and the South China Sea - with much the same impact.When asked what impact the upcoming NATO naval maneuvers will have on the security system in the Baltic Sea region, the former Pentagon analyst made it clear all this will depend on the alliances next steps.She added that its safe to assume that the neoconservative foreign policy advocates and their military-industrial backers in Washington have a strategy and believe that threats and tweaks in their alliances will produce a specific outcome or response in line with that strategy.I suspect the main response intended is to increase military and surveillance spending by all NATO members, in order to better control their own populations and domestic threats to their elite rule, and to some extent this is working. However, because the neoconservatives do not accurately perceive the strategies and goals of their selected enemies - Russia, and China - their own actions to shape the behavior of those competitors are inappropriate, and ineffective, the analyst noted.Kwiatkowski suggested that in any serious east-west rivalry that might take place in the Baltic anytime soon, littoral operations will be limited to those related to emergency and evacuation.ould Russia Be Affected?Its worth recalling in this vein that Russia has its own Baltic Fleet, headquartered in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, with ships crews typically observing Western naval exercises in the area from a distance. Russia last staged its own Baltic naval drills in early August 2023.As for the forthcoming NATO naval exercises, they come amid the Wests frustration over Kievs slower than expected counteroffensive against Russian troops in Ukraine, which was described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a failure, not a stalemate.When asked what consequences could arise from the possible provocations and tensions created by the Northern Coast 23 drills and what the risks for NATO conducting exercises close to Russia are, Kwiatkowski stressed that Any military operation or exercise poses risks of accidents, mistakes, miscommunication, confusion, and internal hijack or errors.Separately, Kwiatkowski added without elaborating that close active contact between military forces, with possible surveillance and disruption of communications from both sides, misunderstandings, and accidents have caused problems between the Russian, Chinese and Western governments, something that she said should be resolved diplomatically.She expressed hope that all sides will be careful, but added that any objective person looking at military readiness and capability of a military response in the region, recognizes that it is Russia, and then the United States, who will decide how military emergencies are handled in this region.The US president is for the most part a vacant shell, and it is not clear how important, time-critical decisions are being made in Washington, and who is making them. This, and the increasing desperation of those who do not wish to see a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine war, is worrisome, the analyst concluded.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220308/blinken-says-us-nato-mulling-permanent-military-deployment-in-baltics-1093671767.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230320/russian-su-35-fighter-jet-intercepts-two-us-b-52-bombers-over-baltic-sea---defense-ministry-1108618660.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/netanyahu-implies-he-will-not-accept-israeli-supreme-courts-repeal-of-judicial-reform-1113183731.html

Netanyahu Implies He Will Not Accept Israeli Supreme Court's Repeal of Judicial Reform

Netanyahu Implies He Will Not Accept Israeli Supreme Court's Repeal of Judicial Reform

Benjamin Netanyahu gave a tacit support to parliamentary speaker Amir Ohana's warning to the country's Supreme Court against interfering with Israel's fundamental laws, in an indication that he would not accept a possible court ruling to repeal one of the clauses of the controversial judicial reform during a hearing next week.

2023-09-07T16:51+0000

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On Wednesday, Ohana said that the Supreme Court should recognize "the limits of its power" as "in a democracy, none of the branches of government can be omnipotent." Speaking to Supreme Court judges ahead of the first hearing on a possible repeal of one of the judicial reform clauses, Ohana said that such a development would "plunge us into an abyss." The parliament will not accept being trampled on, he added. On Thursday, Netanyahu posted a video of Ohana's address on his X account. Over the past few weeks, the Israeli prime minister has been dodging the question whether he would accept a possible ruling by the Supreme Court repealing one of the key clauses of his judicial reform, against which the Israeli people have been protesting since the beginning of the year. On September 12, the Israeli Supreme Court will start considering petitions against the reform approved by the Israeli parliament in July, which limits the power of the court to overturn government decisions by declaring them unreasonable. The reform was approved under the oppositions boycott and amid months-long nationwide protests. The supporters of the reform claim that it is a necessary step to enable a democratically elected government to pursue policies to the benefit of the majority of the Israeli citizens. Their opponents argue that it would make it harder for the Supreme Court to intervene when elected officials make arbitrary, extreme or corrupt decisions.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230727/netanyahu-silly-to-fear-judicial-reforms-will-hurt-israeli-democracy-1112199508.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/not-legally-possible-for-us-to-transfer-seized-russian-assets-to-ukraine---intl-lawyer-1113184463.html

Not Legally Possible for US to Transfer Seized Russian Assets to Ukraine - Intl Lawyer

Not Legally Possible for US to Transfer Seized Russian Assets to Ukraine - Intl Lawyer

While the United States might be aiming to undermine Russian prestige by seizing Russian assets abroad and transferring them to Ukraine, it is in fact harming its own reputation.

2023-09-07T18:02+0000

2023-09-07T18:02+0000

2023-09-07T18:11+0000

ukraine

russia

antony blinken

seized property

frozen assets

international law

economy

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The US said it would transfer the seized assets of Russian businessmen to veterans of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Thursday. The announcement was made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, in Kiev, who indicated the amount transferred would be $5.4 million. Blinken, however, did not elaborate on the precise sum, from which accounts the money would be taken or when exactly the transfer would occur.Since the launch of Russias special operation in Ukraine in February 2022, Western powers have initiated several rounds of seizures of property and freezing of assets belonging to both Russian nationals and state institutions located in the West. The US has long asserted it would seek to transfer these assets to Ukrainian control, but has so far not attempted to do so.Christopher C. Black, an international criminal lawyer with 20 years of experience in war crimes and international relations told Sputnik it was not legally possible to do what Blinken declared the US was doing.But the opposite occurs. It is their [US] reputation and prestige that is undermined, their claimed adherence to the rule of law, to the right to property, to justice. They reveal themselves for what they are and the consequence is that citizens and national governments will be reluctant to have any type of assets placed in those nations if they can be seized on any pretext. So it ends up harming their own economies and the world economic system.The issue of the use of illegally seized assets, whether cash or property or financial securities such as stocks, bonds is important to expose the nature of the governments involved, Black said. They continually talk about their values and we see with this that one of their values is to raise theft and piracy to a standard practice.It is not legally possible to use such assets to provide Ukraine with funds to carry on the war against Russia, Black asserted.The Canadian government has stated that they will sell the Russian aircraft that they illegally seized to give the money from the sale to Ukraine. The US and EU countries have promised to use other seized assets for the same purpose. But again, all of this is illegal, since the assets were simply ordered to be seized by government fiat, by-passing proper legal procedures and without any means for the owners to object, the legal expert explained.Once they have taken that step they have crossed the line of legality and morality and will use the assets as they see fit.Black explained that they would first have to sell the assets to someone else willing to pay for them - a considerable problem, since potential buyers will be reluctant to acquire those assets when the title to them is doubtful, or there remains a question as to who the real owner is. Doing so could make them parties to the theft as well.The EU statement that they cannot seize Russian assets is nothing more than a recognition of the law and the right to property that is sacrosanct to the capitalist system. They recognize, however, reluctantly, that to engage in the seizure of property of citizens of another country for political reasons destroys or undermines the entire basis of the economic system which depends on the right to property, the expectation that nations and courts will abide by the laws governing property and legal contract and procedures, Black asserted.He noted that the US actions leave open the possibility for Moscow to retaliate in kind, and seize and sell US assets.Black further pointed out that the owners of the seized assets might be able to file lawsuits attempting to stop the illegal use of their property and to have it returned, but noted this was unrealistic since the governments engaged in seizure will use legal fictions to declare their actions as allowable.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/kremlin-on-us-seizing-russians-property-moscow-perceives-it-absolutely-negatively-1113175386.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230722/eu-unable-to-seize-russian-assets-under-the-guise-of-helping-ukraine---media-1112061083.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/proud-boys-ex-leader-gets-22-years-as-freedom-convoy-trials-begin-1113156523.html

Proud Boys Ex-Leader Gets 22 Years as Freedom Convoy Trials Begin

Proud Boys Ex-Leader Gets 22 Years as Freedom Convoy Trials Begin

On this episode of The Final Countdown, hosts Angie Wong and Ted Rall discuss breaking news, such as the sentencing of ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and the Freedom Convoy Trial in Canada.

2023-09-07T04:06+0000

2023-09-07T04:06+0000

2023-09-07T10:11+0000

the final countdown

proud boys

elon musk

adl

palestine

censorship

freedom

convoy

radio

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Proud Boys Ex-Leader Gets 22 Years as Freedom Convoy Trials Begin On this episode of The Final Countdown, hosts Angie Wong and Ted Rall discuss breaking news, such as the sentencing of ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and the Freedom Convoy Trial in Canada.

Steve Abramowicz - Host, Mill Creek View PodcastDan Kovalik - Human Rights LawyerLarry Ward - President, Constitutional Rights PACThe show kicks off with the Host of Mill Creek View Podcast Steve Abramowicz discussing the Enrique Tarrio sentencing. Abramowicz and the hosts break down the possibilities of the ex-Proud Boys leader getting a pardon from a Republican administration.Then, Human Rights Lawyer Dan Kovalik joins The Final Countdown to discuss Elon Musk's defamation case against the ADL. He also critiques the organization's history of attacking the Palestinian rights movement.To close the show, President of the Constitutional Rights PAC Larry Ward rails on the trial of the Canadian Freedom Convoy from the perspective of a conservative.The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comCatch us at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

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the final countdown, enrique tarrio sentencing, elon musk's defamation case, palestinian rights movement, canadian freedom convoy
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/russian-and-bangladeshi-foreign-ministers-hold-joint-press-conference-ahead-of-g20-1113179102.html

Russian and Bangladeshi Foreign Ministers Hold Joint Press Conference Ahead of G20

Russian and Bangladeshi Foreign Ministers Hold Joint Press Conference Ahead of G20

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Bangladeshi counterpart Abdul Momen hold a joint press briefing in Dhaka on Thursday, September 7, following their meeting in the capital.

2023-09-07T14:18+0000

2023-09-07T14:18+0000

2023-09-07T14:24+0000

world

sergey lavrov

bilateral relations

russia

bangladesh

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On September 7-8, the Russian top diplomat is paying a working visit to the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh. The minister is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and his counterpart Abdul Momen.The officials are expected to discuss bilateral cooperation, prospects for the further development of Russia-Bangladesh ties, as well as the most pressing regional and international issues.Follow Sputnik's Live to Find Out More:

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Press conference of Russian FM Lavrov with his Bangladeshi counterpart A.K.A. Momen Press conference of Russian FM Lavrov with his Bangladeshi counterpart A.K.A. Momen 2023-09-07T14:18+0000 true PT31M59S

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/two-people-killed-while-trying-to-infiltrate-french-base-in-chad---source-1113164532.html

Two People Killed While Trying to Infiltrate French Base in Chad - Source

Two People Killed While Trying to Infiltrate French Base in Chad - Source

Two people were killed and about 15 were injured while trying to enter the French military base in the Chadian city of Faya-Largeau after the incident with the death of a soldier, a local informed source told Sputnik on Wednesday.

2023-09-07T00:47+0000

2023-09-07T00:47+0000

2023-09-07T00:45+0000

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On Wednesday night, residents of Faya-Largeau gathered to hold protests and attempted to infiltrate a French military base after the local soldier died at the hands of a French doctor. Immediately after the incident, most of the French military base was evacuated by plane to the Chadian capital of N'Djamena. Currently, the French base is blocked by the Chadian military in order to prevent the protesters from re-penetrating its perimeter, the source added. Chadian political scientist Evariste Ngarlem Tolde told Sputnik on Wednesday that members of the Chadian parliament had demanded the withdrawal of French military forces from the country after the death of a local resident in care of a French doctor in Faya-Largeau. He added that the protests could spread across the country.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20221110/end-of-barkhane-paris-wants-to-change-strategy-to-continue-to-occupy-us-illegally-1103978783.html

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on Thursday said it is considering filing criminal complaints against operators and drivers of illegal public utility and school service vehicles in its intensified crackdown on unlawful acts.

The LTO's intensified campaign follows an order from Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista over frequent complaints from legitimate PUV operators, LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said.

Dati hindi kami nagfa-file ng (Before we did not file) criminal action regarding colorum vehicles. Now were looking at the possibility of filing criminal actions against operators, drivers who continue to use their vehicles illegally, he told CNN Philippines The Source.

Mendoza said the illegal operations put passengers in danger as the vehicles did not go through evaluation.

He also said preventing illegal PUVs on the streets will help raise the income of licensed operators as they would be able to take in more passengers.

Mendoza pointed out that illegal PUVs eat up as much as a fifth of the daily income of a legitimate operator.

It can cushion them, especially in these times of high fuel prices. If we can augment their income by apprehending these illegal activities then we can help the general public also by cushioning any possible fare increase. Maybe there may not be a need to go for a fare increase if we can really bring up the level of income of our legitimate public transport operators, he explained.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/us-claims-that-depleted-uranium-shells-non-radioactive-are-nonsense--moscow-1113169134.html

Moscow Rubbishes US Claims of Depleted Uranium Shells Being 'Non-Radioactive'

Moscow Rubbishes US Claims of Depleted Uranium Shells Being 'Non-Radioactive'

The White House's claims that depleted uranium ammunition is not radioactive are nonsense, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

2023-09-07T08:02+0000

2023-09-07T08:02+0000

2023-09-07T09:43+0000

world

ukrainian crisis

us arms for ukraine

depleted uranium

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On Wednesday, US National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said that depleted uranium rounds were neither radioactive nor carcinogenic. "What is it: lies or silliness? [Scientists] have mentioned it multiple times and there are stand-alone articles saying that depleted uranium is toxic and dangerous for humans when it is in the form of radioactive dust, and the effect of radionuclide contamination of soils has also been brought up," Zakharova said on Telegram. The rate of cancer diagnoses increases in places where depleted uranium ammunition was used, she recalled. This was experienced by Italian soldiers who took part in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, Zakharova added. The Serbs, who were victims of NATO bombing, also suffered from depleted uranium munitions, as the Serbian Health Ministry said there was an increase in diseases such as cancer, infertility in men, autoimmune diseases of a broad [spectrum of] pathologies, pathological complications of pregnancy, mental illnesses in children in the regions bombed by NATO, the spokeswoman said. On Wednesday, the US Defense Department announced a new $175 million military aid package for Ukraine that includes depleted uranium munitions for Abrams tanks, as well as air defense equipment and 155mm artillery shells.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230816/ukrainians-should-not-allow-use-of-uranium-shells-on-their-soil---serbian-health-minister-1112630844.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230329/natos-favorite-weapon-exposed-the-deadly-details-of-depleted-uranium-shells-unveiled-1108901118.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230328/use-of-depleted-uranium-in-ukraine-could-spark-global-health-crisis-heres-why-1108844529.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/us-congress-flouts-own-laws-to-arm-ukrainian-nazis-1113173426.html

US Congress Flouts Own Laws to Arm Ukrainian Nazis

US Congress Flouts Own Laws to Arm Ukrainian Nazis

The liberal Biden administrations military aid to Ukraine has won it the unlikely support of US neo-Nazi groups. But Rachel Blevins said state security agencies had been in league with such extremists for almost a decade.

2023-09-07T13:50+0000

2023-09-07T13:50+0000

2023-09-08T09:16+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

us

nazi

neo-nazis

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The US Congress is breaking laws it made itself by voting to arm the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev, a political correspondent has said.Last weekend saw a few dozen members of the Blood Tribe neo-Nazi group, led by former US Marine Christopher 'The Hammer' Pohlhaus, march on the Disney World theme park in Florida.Polhaus surprised reporters by endorsing sitting President Joe Biden over his likely rival Donald Trump in the 2024 elections  saying "Biden is better than Trump because he sends rockets to Ukraine" to arm fellow Nazis there.Independent journalist Rachel Blevins told Sputnik that the US Congress had flouted its own legislation by approving funds to arm Ukraine since the start of Russia's military de-Nazification operation in February 2022."A couple of years passed and at least a few people in the US were looking around and going, 'wait a second, are we funding neo-Nazis in Ukraine?'," she continued. "And so in 2018, Congress issued their own ban on it, which is kind of insane when you think about it, that Congress has to come along and tell themselves to stop funding neo-Nazis in Ukraine."The correspondent noted that despite the Biden administration's stated intention to crack down on domestic extremists, Saturday's Blood Tribe rally went ahead without any response from local or federal law enforcement.Polhaus' support for Biden over his Ukraine policy was "just an insane sentiment when you think about it," she added. "This guy is wearing a swastika necklace and then right behind him, also doing Heil Hitler salutes, is this other guy named who goes by the name Boneface. His face is covered in tattoos.""Boneface," whose real name is Kent McLellan, was recently exposed by conservative independent journalist Laura Loomer as an asset of the Central Intelligence Agency after she unearthed a video interview with him in Ukrainian.* Right Sector is an extremist group banned in Russia.For more incisive commentary on the news stories the mainstream media cover-up, tune in to our Sputnik News show The Critical Hour.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230906/boneface-backs-biden-are-us-neo-nazi-groups-engaged-in-war-crimes-a-cia-tool-1113152189.html

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us military aid to ukraine, blood tribe nazis support biden, boneface kent mcclellan is a cia asset
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/us-considers-eliminating-nigerien-military-leadership---russias-foreign-intel-1113174269.html

US Considers Eliminating Nigerien Military Leadership - Russias Foreign Intel

US Considers Eliminating Nigerien Military Leadership - Russias Foreign Intel

The United States is considering an option of physically eliminating some African leaders, including representatives of the military leadership in Niger, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said on Thursday.

2023-09-07T10:51+0000

2023-09-07T10:51+0000

2023-09-07T12:42+0000

us

niger

russian foreign intelligence service

svr

white house

economic community of west african states (ecowas)

africa

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According to SVR, intelligence data shows that the US is not satisfied with developments in Niger following the recent military takeover. Washington is considering slowing down the process of Africa becoming one of the centers of multipolar world, as well as taking over Frances sphere of influence in the Sahel region. "The White House is working on various options for strengthening democracy in Niger. It is considered unjustified to do this with the help of the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS), which has close ties to Paris. The Americans consider the physical elimination of the coup leaders who rely on the support of the majority of the population as a more effective option. US intelligence agencies directly discuss the issue of potential perpetrators of possible assassination attempts with partners," the SVR said in a statement.A power takeover in Niger took place on July 26. Bazoum was ousted and detained by his own guard, led by Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani. Most Western countries as well as ECOWAS condemned it. In early August, ECOWAS adopted a plan for a potential military intervention in Niger.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230818/us-main-instigator-of-coups-terrorism-and-assassinations-around-world---media-commentator-1112710064.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/us-house-panel-seeks-evidence-of-collusion-between-joe-biden-and-hunters-business-partners-1113173220.html

US House Panel Seeks Evidence of Collusion Between Joe Biden and Hunters Business Partners

US House Panel Seeks Evidence of Collusion Between Joe Biden and Hunters Business Partners

Since 2018, Hunter Biden has been under a spate of investigations into tax-related crimes, drug use, money laundering and illegal business dealings in foreign countries, including Ukraine and China.

2023-09-07T11:38+0000

2023-09-07T11:38+0000

2023-09-07T11:38+0000

americas

us

joe biden

investigation

emails

collusion

james comer

committee

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House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, who is leading Republican probes into Biden family finances, has expanded his request of the National Archives to seek more emails and documents from when Joe Biden served as vice president (VP) under Barack Obama.In particular, Comer asked for unredacted emails involving communications between the then-VP and business associates of his son Hunters now-dissolved firm Rosemont Seneca Partners and Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings.Comer claimed that "[t]here is evidence of collusion in the efforts to spin media stories about Burismas corruption while Vice President Biden was publicly pushing an anti-corruption agenda in Ukraine."The remarks come a week after Comer said that the National Archives has thousands of emails and records linked to a pseudonym allegedly used by POTUS to discuss foreign business with his son Hunter Biden.Comers House committee earlier requested information from the National Archives on the Robert Peters email address, which Joe purportedly used as a pseudonymous means of communication.In a related development, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy recently floated the idea of congressional Republicans kicking off an impeachment probe into the elder Biden, adding that his actions are rising to the level of impeachment inquiry based on the emerging evidence.Hunter Biden is in hot water as the House GOP probe looks into whether the POTUS son violated US laws when he engaged in financial and business dealings in foreign countries during his fathers vice presidency between 2009 and 2017.The investigation in particular deals with the contents of the so-called laptop from Hell, including Hunter Bidens naked photos and graphic videos that have been released since 2020, when the New York Post was the first to make several emails from the device public. The computer was allegedly abandoned by Hunter at a repair shop in Delaware.President Joe Biden has repeatedly dismissed any knowledge of his sons business activities, recently claiming that Hunter did nothing wrong.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230822/attorneys-allegedly-threatened-to-put-biden-on-witness-stand-if-hunter-was-charged-1112774995.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230811/corruption-case-did-joe-biden-benefit-from-hunters-cash-bonanza-1112543041.html

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house oversight committee chairman james comer, house gop's prove into hunter biden, hunter biden's 'laptop from hell', national archives emails
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230907/us-to-send-more-cluster-munitions-to-ukraine-in-near-future--reports-1113169590.html

US to Send More Cluster Munitions to Ukraine in Near Future  Reports

US to Send More Cluster Munitions to Ukraine in Near Future  Reports

The United States is going to send another batch of cluster munitions to Ukraine in the near future to support Kiev's counteroffensive attempt, US news outlet reported on Thursday, citing unnamed US officials.

2023-09-07T08:16+0000

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2023-09-07T08:16+0000

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Three US officials told the newspaper that the administration of President Joe Biden is planning to supply Ukraine with more cluster bombs, two months after the first package of the munitions was sent to Kiev. Washington does not specify how many cluster munitions were included in the first batch out of the hundreds of thousands that the Pentagon has at its disposal, according to the report. US officials said that Ukrainian forces fire about 8,000 artillery rounds per day, including hundreds of cluster shells. The newspaper reported that Kiev's requests for ammunition are expected to rise as many units now increasingly rely on heavy artillery to prepare for infantry advances rather than NATO-style combined arms combat, which is difficult for the Ukrainian army to master. In July, the Biden administration sent its first military assistance package to Ukraine that included cluster munitions in a move widely criticized by human rights activists and opposed by some US lawmakers. Cluster munitions are not equipped with self-destruction devices. According to data from the US military, 5% to 14% of such munitions may not detonate at all because they are stored for too long. As a result, they could lie around for years, much like land mines, posing a threat to civilians long after the conflict has ended. Ukraine ratified the Ottawa Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2005, which prohibits the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230905/ukraine-killed-izyum-residents-with-cluster-munitions-data-collected-by-hrw-shows-1113131913.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230828/dangerous-improvisation-of-ukrainian-troops-with-cluster-shells---reports-1112941889.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230720/two-thirds-of-americans-dont-support-supply-of-cluster-munitions-to-ukraine---poll-1112007114.html

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This coming Friday night (Sept. 8), Northville Downs will host Michigan Sire Stakes finals with purses totalling $707,100.

The card includes four non-wagering finals for the four pacing divisions, starting at 5:10 p.m. (EDT), then the pari-mutuel program begins at 7 p.m. and includes 11 races, of which races three through six include the four trotting divisions of the Michigan Sire Stakes finals.

Each division for Michigan sired two- and three-year-old trotters and pacers looks to be very competitive and, as in years past, multiple track records will be in jeopardy at the Northville, Michigan oval that is celebrating its 79th year of operation since opening in September 1944.

Three-year-old pacing gelding Twobirdsonestone (Black Daniels  She B Jeebeez) highlights the pacing divisions program as he looks to remain undefeated on the year as he is currently six-for-six in 2023. His division is the fourth of the four non-wagering events. The gelding is conditioned by 71-year-old trainer Carl Putnam Jr., who also owns and drives the pacer. Twobirdsonestone went 12-for-13 in his 2022 campaign with his only loss being a second-place finish in his final start of the year. Twobirdsonestone totes a stunning resume so far in his young career with 19 starts, 18 wins and one second, earnings of $180,296 and a lifetime mark of 1:56.4 over the Northville Downs oval.

In addition to the eight Sire Stakes finals, race nine is the $9,500 Open Trot that includes nine competitors whose lifetime purse earnings over $2.1 million. Three current Northville Downs track record holders are included in the field: Saulsgood (2, g, t, 2:01.1), Rose Run Xander (4, g, t, 1:57) and Swan Leader (fastest dead heat on the trot, 2:00).

Saturday night's (Sept. 9) schedule features a 10-race program that includes the $9,500 Mares Open Pace that was carried over from Friday night due to the Sire Stakes finals, and the $9,500 Open Pace for the boys.

In addition to the stellar racing programmed for Friday, the ever-popular dollar night at The Ville is on-tap, as per usual, with $1 popcorn, live race programs, pop and win bets, as well as $2 hot dogs, beer and hamburger and cheeseburger specials are being offered to fans in attendance on-track. Racing will be contested every Friday and Saturday night through and including Sept. 30. First race post time will be 7 p.m. each race night throughout the meet. For live racing dining reservations, call Northville Downs in advance at 248-924-2073.

(With files from Northville Downs)
After coming up short in her last outing, Summer Slash got back to her winning ways while imposing her will on a field of top pacing mares in the $15,000 Open I Distaff Handicap Pace at Batavia Downs on Wednesday (Sept. 6).

In a reversal of tactics, Ray Fisher Jr. sent Summer Slash to the front for the first time since April and made short work of her competition once settled. Summer Slash held a gapped avantage setting fractional times of :27.2, :57 and 1:25.3, while the pocket-sitting Skyway Venus (Joe Chindano Jr.) and the breezing Xenias Chip (Dave McNeight III) tried to keep pace at that station. But that turned out to be an exercise in futility as Fisher shook the lines and Summer Slash found another gear. With her tail flagged and her head held high, Summer Slash ripped around the last turn and flew down the lane to win by an easy 3-1/2 lengths in 1:54 flat, tying her lifetime mark.

It was the third win in her last four outings and eighth win of the year for Summer Slash ($3.20), owned by Ilovemyharnesshorsesummer and trained by Ryan Swift, who had three winners go postward on Wednesday.

An equally impressive performance was put in by Casies Believer (Joe Chindano Jr.), who jogged in the secondary featured $11,500 upper-lever condition pace for fillies and mares.

Casies Believer was also the commander of fractions from the start and was hard-pressed by Diamondtequilashot (Ray Fisher Jr.) from the quarter to the five-eighths. At that point, Diamondtequilashot called it a night, forcing Mcdelicacy (Kevin Cummings) to go three-wide and engage Casies Believer up the backstretch and into the far turn. Mcdelicacy tried her best, but it wasnt good enough as Casies Believer accelerated into the straight and bolted for the line, winning by 3-1/2 lengths in a seasons best 1:54.4.

Casies Believer ($15.80) registered her 28th lifetime win for Chindano, who also owns and trains the winner.

Jim Morrill Jr. had a driving grand slam during the night with three of those winners being trained by Cory Kreiser. Two of Kreiser's trainees were longtime equine veterans who added to their lofty lifetime win totals. They were 11-year-old trotter BJ Anthony, who got his 52nd career win, and the 12-year-old pacer Sudden Change N, who posted career win 51.

Live racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Saturday (Sept. 9) at 6 p.m. and there will be a $903 carryover in the Jackpot Hi-5 pentafecta wager in the race 13.

(Batavia Downs)
Weekly Briefs for the Hemingford Ledger. If you have an event that you would like added please let us know.

Hemingford Booster Club

The Hemingford Booster Club will be hosting the Bobcat Tailgate for the Homecoming game on Friday, Sept. 8 starting at 6 p.m. at Bobcat Stadium.

They will be serving loaded nachos and a dessert for $5. Sponsors for this week are Nebraska Bank and Mobius Communications.

Dont forget to sign up as a member of the Hemingford Booster Club on Friday. Your $25 membership help to provide apparel and welcome back gifts as well as team meals and numerous other requests from many teams and groups that make up Bobcat Nation!

Legion Supper Club, Breakfast

Reservations are appreciated for supper club nights  please call 487-5356.

Stop in and enjoy a hot breakfast on Sunday mornings from 8-10:30 a.m. served up by a different Legion group each week. The Legion Family Breakfast is open to everyone and is free will donation. Bar opens at noon on Sundays with basket options available.

This weeks specials:

Thursday  Tacos

Friday  Hot Roast Beef Sandwich

Saturday  Rattlesnake Pasta

Farmers Market from 8 a.m. to Noon.

Bar opens at 9 a.m. for the Husker party! Serving a footlong hot dog bar! Game starts at 10 a.m.

Sunday  Breakfast from 8-10 a.m. Bar opens at noon serving baskets and pizza.

Weekly news from Margaret:

Take and bake Wednesday, please have your order in by noon on Wednesday! Call to place and order 487-5356!

Work on the womans bathroom is in progress! It will really look nice when its done!

The club is looking for part time help (bartending and waiting tables), if interested please stop by the club and ask for Margaret.

Dates to remember:

Sat., Sept. 9-Husker Party

Mon., Sept. 11-SONs meeting

Tues., Sept. 12-Post meeting

Aux meeting county meeting Alliance

Sun., Sept 17.-End of Summer Party

Sat., Sept 23.-Fall Festival

Wed., Oct 18.-Aux Birthday Gala

Have a safe and fun week!

Memorial Blood Drive

The Gage Edwards Memorial Blood Drive will be on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at BBGH in the Sandhills room from 7:30 a.m. to noon.

Call the BBGH lab at 761-1400 or Heather Edwards at 762-8446 to sign up. Or sign up online at https://volunteerssignup.org/7MKTQ to get registered to donate. Donate, eat come treats and get your t-shirt.

Donation drive for Dobbys

Dobbys Frontier Town has experienced a lot of break-ins and theft recently and are in dire need of an updated security system. Donations are being accepted and may be sent to Dobbys Frontier Town at 423 Hudson Ave., Alliance, NE 69301.

Patriot Day Event at Alliance Public Library

To commemorate Patriot Day, preschool through second grade are invited to Music Monday with Mrs. Behrends on September 11th. This event will feature American folk music, patriotic songs and more from 5 to 5:45 p.m. in the Community Room with Sara Behrends, a music educator with Alliance Public Schools.

For more information, please contact Cynthia Horn, Childrens and Youth Services Librarian at 762-1387.

Veterans Suicide Prevention Poker Run

The 4th Annual Veterans Suicide Prevention Poker Run will be on Sunday, Sept. 10. Open to all motorcycles, hot rods, vintage cars, trucks or whatever you want to travel in with all proceeds being donated to the Panhandle Public Health District Suicide Prevention Program.

Register before the route or at the end. Initial registration will be at the Stateline Casino from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Cards will be drawn at the end of the run with prizes to be given at 4:30 p.m. back at the casino.

Ride the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota and go where you want. Event is sponsored by Post 34 Western Sandhills American Legion Riders of Gordon and Hay Springs and the Panhandle Chapter 43 American Legion Riders of Alliance and Hemingford.

For more information call Casey Walton at 308-207-5709.

Dobbys Clean Up Day

Help get Dobbys cleaned up and ready for the fall festival. Join the volunteers on Tuesday, September 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All volunteers welcome. Stay 10 minutes or all day. Its all appreciated.

Food Pantry

The Hemingford Food Pantry is always in need of fruit juices, bread and canned meats.

If you can help out in anyway please let Tim or one of the volunteers know.

Open every Thursday from 5-6 p.m. Located behind Mobius on Laramie.

Contact Tim Horn at 308-760-5140 for more information.

Ledger News

For Ledger ads please contact Duncan Baker at 308-632-9034 or duncan.baker@starherald.com

Ad deadline for the Ledger is Friday at 3 p.m.

For Ledger legals please email legals@starherald.com or call 308-632-9008 and classifieds please email class@starherald.com or call 308-632-9020.

Legal deadlines for the Ledger have been changed to Monday at NOON.

Ledger Announcements

Let The Ledger announce your milestone moments.

Birthdays, anniversaries, retirements wed like to announce those! Engagements, weddings, birth of a child let us share the happy news!
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has revoked for two years the drivers license of Wilfredo Gonzales, the dismissed cop who pulled a gun on an unarmed cyclist in a fit of road rage in Quezon City last month.

Gonzales, who earlier claimed that his gun toting was an act of self-defense, was found liable of four traffic violations for hitting a cyclist in the head and pulling a firearm on him after the biker bumped into his vehicle.

READ: Ex-cop in QC road rage says gun-toting was a self-defense act

Respondent-driver's acts of having no due diligence in driving, which caused the incident that resulted in the destruction of the property of the victim, is considered unacceptable behavior of a driver, the LTO said in an order dated Sept. 5 but made public Sept. 7.

Taken as a whole, his actions are tantamount to the acts of an Improper Person to Operate a Motor Vehicle, which is punishable under Section 27 (a) of R.A. [Republic Act] No. 4136, it added.

The LTO said this violation led to the revocation of his non-professional drivers license.

READ: Raps should be filed vs. driver in viral road rage incident, says DILG chief

It added that Gonzales also violated Joint Administrative Order 2014-01 or Disregarding Traffic Signs; section 54 of RA 4136 or Obstruction of Traffic; and violation of Section 48 of RA 4136 or Reckless Driving.

The LTO slapped him with fines of 1,000, 1,000, and 2,000, respectively, for the three violations.

Furthermore, the office said that Gonzales received a show cause order on Aug. 28, a day after the road rage incident went viral on social media.

READ: Attempted homicide among possible charges vs. gun-toting ex-cop, lawyer says

Gonzales was ordered to appear in a hearing and explain why he should not be held liable for his traffic violations. He was a no-show and was instead represented by his son, the LTO said.

Meanwhile, criminal charges of alarm scandal are being sought against Gonzales by the Philippine National Police.

It is also urging the victim to file a more severe case against Gonzales, including grave threat.

READ: PNP files alarms and scandals case vs. gun-toting cop in QC road rage
ATLANTA  Prosecutors in the Georgia election subversion case involving former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a trial would likely take four months.

The estimate from special prosecutor Nathan Wade came during a hearing Wednesday before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on attempts by two of those indicted to be tried separately. The hearing was broadcast live on television and on the judge's YouTube channel, highlighting a marked difference with the other three criminal cases against Trump where cameras have not been allowed in the courtroom during proceedings.

Wade said his estimated trial length did not include jury selection, and he said the state would call more than 150 witnesses.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis last month used the state's anti-racketeering law to obtain a wide-ranging 41-count indictment and said she wants to try all 19 defendants together. But the legal maneuvering that has already begun in the three weeks since the indictment was returned underscores the logistical complexity inherent in a such a sprawling indictment with so many defendants.

Already some of those charged are seeking to speed up the process, some are trying to separate themselves from the others accused in the alleged conspiracy and some are trying to move the charges against them from a state court to federal court. All of them have pleaded not guilty.

It was not immediately clear when the judge would rule on the severance request.

Lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell have filed demands for a speedy trial, meaning their trials would need to get underway by very early November. Each of them has also filed a request to be tried alone. Several other defendants have also asked to be tried separately or in small groups, and Trump himself has asked to be tried apart from anyone who files a speedy trial demand.

After Chesebro filed a speedy trial demand just over a week after the indictment was announced, Willis asked that an Oct. 23 trial date be set for all 19 defendants. The judge set a trial to begin that day for Chesebro alone.

Meanwhile, Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was in federal court last week arguing that he was acting in his capacity as a federal official and his case should be heard by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones has yet to rule on that request. Four other defendants who are also seeking to move their cases to federal court have hearings set before Jones later this month.

Whenever and wherever any trial in the case ultimately takes place, jury selection is likely to be a significant challenge. Jury selection in a racketeering and gang case brought last year by Willis began in January and is still ongoing. In another big racketeering case Willis tried nearly a decade ago against former Atlanta public schools educators, it took six weeks to seat a jury.

Willis' team on Tuesday asked McAfee to allow to allow the use of a jury questionnaire that prospective jurors would have filled out before they show up for jury selection, writing in a court filing that it "will facilitate and streamline the jury selection process in many respects." Prospective jurors may be more comfortable answering personal questions on paper than in open court and lawyers for both sides could agree that certain jurors aren't qualified without additional questioning, prosecutors said.

___

Photos: Trump fans gather outside Georgia jail to show support ahead of his surrender
The flag is flying for INTERPOL today as the worlds largest policing organisation celebrates a century of international police cooperation.

The International Criminal Police Commission was founded on 7 September 1923 in Vienna, Austria, at a convention that brought together representatives from 20 countries who agreed to collaborate to combat transnational crime.

A centenary flag was hoisted this morning at Police National Headquarters - which houses INTERPOL Wellington - as the organisation's official flag was run up a Parliamentary flagpole at the other end of Molesworth Street, says a police spokesperson.

Today INTERPOL has 195 member countries. New Zealand joined on 13 June 1956 and hosts New Zealands National Central Bureau, also known as INTERPOL Wellington, at PNHQ.

The 14-strong team includes both constabulary and non-constabulary positions. The NCB also coordinates and manages liaison with Police Liaison Officers; EUROPOL; New Zealand embassies/consulates overseas and foreign embassies in New Zealand; and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

We facilitate all international investigations, coming into or going out of New Zealand," says Detective Inspector Paul Hamlyn, OC INTERPOL Wellington.

"Our teams duties include incoming and outgoing extraditions; international missing persons; criminal investigations; mutual assistance; maintaining border alerts for Family Court Orders; cross-border child abductions; and helping manage New Zealand witnesses for overseas cases, and overseas witnesses for New Zealand cases.

"We're responsible for receiving deportees into New Zealand, which includes 501 deportees from Australia.

INTERPOL membership gives New Zealand access to international secure encrypted communications, investigative tools and database resources to enable criminal investigations."

INTERPOL's focus on the Pacific lies in its Blue Pacific project, in partnership with Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police, and supported by New Zealand Police, Australian Federal Police, Fiji Police and the UK National Crime Agency. It aims to promote use of INTERPOL resources and enhance policing capability in the region.

INTERPOL Wellington has been involved in many significant cases over the years. It facilitated the arrest in Korea and extradition of a Korean-born New Zealander over the deaths of two children whose bodies were found in suitcases in Auckland last year.

During the pandemic, with borders closed and commercial flights cancelled, INTERPOL Wellington facilitated the extradition from Samoa of a man charged with sex offending in New Zealand. He is now serving a prison term.

In one of the best-known cases, INTERPOL Wellington coordinated the 2014 arrest in Brazil and extradition of fugitive child sex offender and murderer Phillip Smith, who was brought back to continue his life sentence.

To mark the centenary, the 2023 INTERPOL General Assembly in November will be hosted in Vienna, where it all began. Today is also the United Nations-designated International Day of Police Cooperation.

Commissioner Andrew Coster congratulated INTERPOL on the landmark anniversary.

New Zealand Police has enjoyed a long association with INTERPOL and it has added great value to our work, complemented by our increasing presence in key countries through our liaison officer network," he says.

In an ever-more global criminal environment, INTERPOL provides a critical connection to other jurisdictions and increases our reach, to keep our communities safe.

There is little doubt that INTERPOL will only become more relevant in enabling us to stay ahead of crime that has international connections, including transnational organised crime. I thank all of those who have served as part of our INTERPOL post over the years.
Ongoing military escalation has led to the displacement of hundreds of families, according to Zaman al-Wasl.

The Syria Response Coordinators team has reported a distressing situation unfolding in the villages and areas of Jabal al-Zawiya in the southern countryside of Idleb. According to their report, the ongoing military escalation has led to the displacement of hundreds of families. Residential neighbourhoods and agricultural lands in the area are being increasingly targeted, pushing these families to seek refuge in relatively safer villages, towns, and camps further away from the conflict zones. Tragically, this violence has resulted in numerous casualties, with most victims being children and women.

Since the start of the military escalation initiated by Syrian regime forces and Russia in northwestern Syria at the beginning of September, the Syria Response Coordinators have documented the deaths of ten civilians and injuries to 36 others. The area has been subjected to more than 189 attacks, including 46 airstrikes by Russian warplanes. Moreover, more than 22 service and medical facilities, camps, and schools have been targeted, leading to the displacement of over 6,382 civilians during this period. Thousands more civilians are at risk of displacement if the Syrian regime and Russia continue their violations of the region.

Additionally, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have been targeting the eastern and northern areas of Aleppo countryside, resulting in more than 61 attacks and the displacement of over 2,123 civilians. Since the beginning of September, the total number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in northern Syria has reached 8,505, and this number is expected to rise if the escalation persists.

The Syria Response Coordinators strongly condemn these recent escalations and call on all parties involved in the Syrian conflict to take immediate action to halt them. They emphasize that the region is incapable of accommodating continuous waves of displacement and urge all parties to prevent further military operations and violations perpetrated daily by regime forces and Russia in the region.

The team holds the regime forces and their Russian ally directly responsible for the unwarranted military escalation in northwestern Syria.

The organization has also observed the displacement of civilians from the town of al-Ghandoura in the eastern countryside of Aleppo due to ongoing attacks from areas controlled jointly by regime forces and the SDF. These attacks have persisted for several days, leaving many families in the area without a safe haven to shield them from the relentless bombings.

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.
Demonstrators are demanding the downfall of the Syrian regime and a peaceful transition of power in accordance with UN Resolution 2254, according to Enab Baladi.

Protesters in Suweida, took to the streets on Wednesday to voice their opposition to the Autonomous Administration project in the region.

According to reports from the Suwayda 24 Network, demonstrators gathered in al-Sir Square (also known as al-Karama Square) in the city center on Wednesday. They displayed banners bearing messages rejecting the establishment of Autonomous Administration and expressed their demand for political change.

Responding to speculations about the formation of a political body, Merhej al-Jermani, one of the organizers of the movement in Suweida, emphasized during the protest in the city center that there is no representation of the people beyond Karama Square. He also urged political parties not to exploit the sentiments of the Suweida street.

Local news outlet al-Rased shared a video of the protests, capturing the demonstrators chants in support of Syrian unity and the release of detainees.

The demonstration saw the participation of delegations from various villages and towns in rural Suweida, as evidenced by videos posted by local news sources on social media.

For the 18th consecutive day

Protests in Suweida have persisted for the 18th consecutive day, with demonstrators demanding the downfall of the Syrian regime and a peaceful transition of power in accordance with UN Resolution 2254.

Since mid-August, both the Daraa and Suweida governorates have experienced daily protests. These gatherings have been marked by slogans opposing the Syrian regime and calls for improved living conditions. In Daraa, protesters have prominently displayed the flags of the Syrian revolution.

These demonstrations have been prompted by calls for protests and civil disobedience in regime-controlled areas due to the deteriorating living and economic conditions faced by citizens. The authorities have failed to implement meaningful measures to alleviate the suffering of the population.

On August 16th, activists on social media initiated calls for a general strike across all Syrian governorates in response to the dire living conditions. This strike disrupted transportation services in many parts of Syria, as drivers refused to transport passengers in protest of rising fuel prices. They demanded the establishment of new transportation fees that would reflect the increased fuel costs.

These protests are not isolated events in the southern governorates. In the past, the people of Suweida and Daraa have staged separate demonstrations, consistently calling for the overthrow of the Syrian regime, which they hold responsible for the challenging living and security conditions in Syria.

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.
Cargo transport trucks used for crossing the Kingdom's territory must have an operational life of no more than 20 years from the year of manufacture, according to Athr Press.

Press reports have recently highlighted a situation involving Syrian refrigerators being held up at the Naseeb crossing. This issue stems from a decision made by Saudi Arabia, which imposed certain conditions and requirements on all trucks, buses, and foreign taxis passing through its territory. Among these conditions is a stipulation that cargo transport trucks used for crossing the Kingdoms territory must have an operational life of no more than 20 years from the year of manufacture. This requirement has now been extended to trucks destined for Saudi Arabia, leading Jordan to respond by implementing measures in accordance with the Saudi decision. Consequently, the entry of truck cars manufactured in 2004 and earlier has been restricted.

However, the head of the Union of Agriculture, Muhammad Kishto, refuted claims of there being over 2,000 stranded trucks at the Naseeb crossing. He acknowledged a decrease in Syrian exports to the Gulf through this crossing and a recent decline in the number of exported Syrian refrigerators. Kishto cited some challenges in exporting due to the Saudi decision but emphasized that the situation has not escalated to the point where 2,000 trucks are stranded at Naseeb.

On the other hand, the head of the Hal Market Committee, Muwaffaq Fayyad, provided a different perspective. He stated that the actual number of refrigerators stuck at the Naseeb crossing does not surpass 90 units. Furthermore, he explained that Syrian trucks currently spend around five days at the Naseeb border before proceeding to the Gulf via the Jaber crossing.

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.
Mekdad commended the UAE's role in advocating for Arab interests, according to al-Watan.

On September 6th, 2023, in Cairo, the Foreign and Expatriates Minister of Syria, Fayssal Mekdad, engaged in discussions with Minister of State Ahmed Ali al-Sayegh, who led the United Arab Emirates delegation to the Arab-Japanese political dialogue meeting.

The talks centred on bilateral relations between Syria and the UAE, as well as strategies for strengthening cooperation across various sectors.

Mekdad emphasized the depth and fraternal nature of the relations between Syria and the UAE, which have seen significant growth under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

He commended the UAEs role during its membership in the Security Council, particularly its advocacy for Arab interests. Mekdad also expressed gratitude for the UAEs humanitarian support in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Syria in February.

In response, al-Sayegh conveyed warm regards and appreciation from the people and leadership of the UAE to the Syrian leadership and populace. He expressed hope for Syrias swift recovery and the restoration of its pivotal role in the region, which he believed would have a positive impact on regional security and Arab nations.

Furthermore, Mekdad held discussions with Waleed bin Abdulkarim El-Khereiji, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, who led the Saudi delegation. Both sides affirmed their commitment to advancing their bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction with the current state of affairs, particularly following the meeting between President al-Assad and His Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the Arab Summit in Jeddah.

The discussions encompassed various matters of mutual interest, and both parties agreed to continue coordinating and consulting to benefit their respective peoples and foster strong fraternal ties between their two nations.

Arab-Japanese Political Dialogue a Valuable Opportunity

In another activity, Mekdad attended on September 5, 2023, in Cairo, the 3rd ministerial meeting of the Arab-Japanese Political Dialogue.

In his address at the meeting, Mekdad emphasized the significance of this forum as a valuable opportunity to strengthen cooperation between Arab nations and Japan. He expressed appreciation for Japans diplomatic presence in Syria and its unwavering commitment to fulfilling moral and humanitarian obligations, particularly in assisting the Syrian people in the face of attempts by certain well-known countries to impose starvation as a tactic.

Regarding the situation in Syria, Mekdad highlighted the grave threat posed by terrorism in all its forms and emphasized the need for support in combating this menace. He also called for an end to any foreign illegitimate presence on Syrian territory, as such occupations provide cover and support for terrorist groups and separatist militias.

Mekdad criticized the persistent imposition and expansion of unilateral coercive measures, which he referred to as economic embargoes. He characterized these actions as immoral and in violation of international law and UN conventions, further exacerbating the already dire humanitarian and living conditions in Syria.

The Syrian minister expressed gratitude for Japans financial support for humanitarian response projects in Syria, particularly in the wake of the earthquake catastrophe. He expressed hope that Japan would continue and expand its support for early recovery projects and the rehabilitation of infrastructure.

This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
Your daily brief of the English-speaking press on Syria.

On Wednesday, an agreement was reached to halt hostilities in the eastern region of Syria, involving a Kurdish-led militia with US support and Arab insurgents. This development coincided with ongoing negotiations by Washington to establish a revised regional framework. Simultaneously, in the southern Idleb region, hundreds of civilians have been forced to evacuate due to intense airstrikes by government forces in the Syrian rebel-held area of Jabal al-Zawiya over the past few days.

Deal struck to end Arab tribal insurgency against US allies in Syria

A deal was struck on Wednesday to end fighting between US-allied Kurdish-dominated militia and Arab insurgents in a strategic area of Syria as Washington negotiates a revamped order for the region, as reported by Abu Dhabi The National.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia took control of most of Diban, near the Euphrates River in the Deir-ez-Zor governorate, after a deal with Arab fighters whom the militia had surrounded, the sources said.

They are led by Ibrahim Al Hafl, a major figure in the Okeidat tribe, one of Syrias largest. The tribal force concentrated in Diban after Mr Hafl challenged Kurdish control over the mostly Arab area.

A deal has been reached under which the Okeidat save face, said a Kurdish source in the SDF-dominated administration in east Syria, without giving details.

Asked about Mr Hafl, the source said he is on the run.

The insurgency has exposed defects in US-supervised ethnic alliances set up in east Syria in the past eight years, mainly to fight ISIS.

The east comprises the bulk of the US zone of influence in Syria, adjacent to areas controlled by Turkish and Iranian proxies. But the US zone is responsible for most of Syrias oil and wheat production.

Both dropped sharply since the civil war, which started in 2011, after the authorities used force to suppress a peaceful protest movement against President Bashar Al Assad.

Large parts of Syria have since been fragmented into zones run by factions financed by Iran, the US, Russia and Turkey.

In the east, the administration and local military forces, including the SDF, are ultimately controlled by the Peoples Protection Units, a Kurdish militia more commonly known as the YPG.

The anti-SDF insurgency started after Abu Khalwa, an Arab tribal ally of the SDF in Deir-ez-Zor, was arrested last month, prompting calls among the tribes to rid the area of Kurdish militia control, and demands that the United States deals directly with the area, and not through the SDF.

Hundreds flee regime scorched earth bombing of Idleb region

Hundreds of civilians have fled the Syrian rebel-held area of Jabal Al-Zawiya in southern Idleb over the past few days due to fierce regime bombing, The New Arab reported.

The Syrian Civil Defence, also known as The White Helmets, said that 60 attacks had taken place in the first three days of September and that eight civilians had been killed, while 23 had been injured.

The correspondent of The New Arabs Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed said this was the worst bombing Jabal Al-Zawiya area had experienced in three years. One of the victims was a child, killed as his family tried to flee the shelling.

Syrian regime forces have adopted a scorched earth policy after rebel forces seized control of the Malaja hill in southern Idleb province a few days before, he said.

More than a thousand regime shells and bombs have rained down on southern Idleb province as of Tuesday, with such ferocity that the latest bombardment has prevented civilians from fleeing.

On Monday, two other children  who were sisters  were injured when shelling struck the refugee camp in Sarmin in eastern Idleb province, where they were sheltering with their family after fleeing the Jabal Al-Zawiya area.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that Russian warplanes had also bombed the village of Fatira in southern Idleb province as the regime shelled Jabal al-Zawiya province.

Idleb province is home to around 4 million people, nearly half of whom have been displaced from other parts of Syria by the Assad regime.

A ceasefire agreement brokered by Turkey and Russia has theoretically been in effect there since March 2020 but it is frequently violated by regime and Russian forces.

MMC reveals HTS stations on contact lines with SDF in Syrias Manbij

Manbij Military Council (MMC), affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said on Wednesday their forces detected a positioning of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) in villages in the countryside of Manbij, northern Syria, after expelling their original citizens, North Press, a Kurdish news agency has reported.

The MMC stated via its official account that they detected the presence of HTS militants particularly in the villages of al-Yashli and Sheikh Nasser, 19km in the northwest of Manbij.

The HTS evacuated the villages and set up heavy weapons there. These movements came after the MMC thwarted all of the attacks launched by Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), in the past few days, it added.

The SNA factions have been attacking the countryside of Manbij since Sep. 1, following the clashes that erupted between the SDF and gunmen affiliated with Syrian government forces and Iranian-backed militias in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, eastern Syria.

The MMC announced on Sep. 4 the killing and injury of 74 militants while deterring these attacks.

Meanwhile, Commander-in-chief of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, told al-Arabiya al-Hadath news channel that Turkey intensified its attacks against their forces in tandem with the tension in Deir ez-Zor.

A military source within the opposition told North Press that HTS sent 75 militants from the Red Band factions to back the gunmen in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor.

Displaced Syrians forced to build hideouts in the caves of Jabal al-Zawiya

In Jabal al-Zawiya there is a dark, narrow rock passageway that eventually leads to an illuminated cave, Al-Jazeera reported.

This is where Ahmed Khalil lives with his family. The 53-year-old father of four from the village of Kansafra south of Idleb brought everyone here to get away from continuous shelling by Syrian regime forces.

Khalil dug the cave himself, using primitive tools, after his son was killed in a shelling on his village five years ago.

They use battery power to light the cave, which is furnished simply, with a large rug where the family spends most of its time, one end of it covered with childrens toys. A shelf bearing the familys necessities is in one corner.

The family is not exactly happy staying there, even temporarily, Khalil told Al Jazeera. This cave  is like a tomb, we cannot leave it because of the continuous shelling in the area, Khalil said.

These caves are not suitable for humans. Theyre so damp, people get sick, especially children. But theyre still safer than our houses, Khalil said.

Villages and towns in Zawiya in the Idleb countryside, close to the front lines with Syrian regime forces, have been subjected to an intensive artillery shelling campaign, the strongest in months, leading to the displacement of some residents to the northern countryside of Idleb.

In March 2020, Turkey and Russia reached a ceasefire agreement in the Idleb de-escalation zone after the Syrian regime took control of vast areas in the countryside of Idleb, Hama and Aleppo.

However, this agreement is constantly violated by the Syrian regime forces.

For the past 10 days, we have been living in this cave, and I only leave to get some bread and water and return quickly. I fear the shelling and the reconnaissance aircraft that never leave the area, Khalil said.

My childrens mental health is deteriorating, and I fear for them if our stay here is prolonged, Khalil told Al Jazeera.

What he fears most is that the cave he is in will be hit. It lacks ventilation openings and does not have an emergency exit, meaning they are trapped if its only entrance is blocked.

In Idleb province, there is no safe place to go because the [Bashar al-Assad] regime and Russia have not spared any city or village from their bombings and displacement of its residents, Khalil added.
Mekdad accused western powers of attempting to impose their rules on other nations, according to al-Watan.

In a crucial address before the 160th session of the Arab League Council in Cairo, Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister Fayssal Mekdad underscored the interconnectedness and indivisibility of Arab national security. He asserted that the myriad challenges confronting Arab nations not only threaten individual states but jeopardize the security of the entire Arab world.

Mekdad highlighted the multifaceted challenges, including foreign interference in domestic affairs, military aggression, the occupation of Arab territories, terrorism, poverty, and deteriorating development indicators. These challenges collectively imperil Arab security, necessitating a unified and concerted effort to combat them.

During his address, Mekdad also took aim at Western powers, accusing them of attempting to impose their rules on other nations. He asserted that these rules often clash with Arab morals and values.

The minister emphasized the longstanding vulnerability of the Arab region to global trends and the resulting consequences. This vulnerability, he argued, underscores the urgency of bolstering joint Arab action to address pressing concerns and reform the Arab League. The proposed reforms would prioritize dialogue, transparency, mutual respect, and common interests.

Mekdad lauded the Jeddah Summit for its pivotal decisions, fostering Arab-Arab and Arab-regional detente, and reaffirming Syrias integral role in its Arab context. He deemed this summit as the dawn of a new era for Arab cooperation and regional solidarity.

Preservation of the Jeddah Summits achievements, according to Mekdad, is imperative to safeguard Arab national security. He called for genuine collaboration among Arab nations to resolve crises without external interference. Additionally, he stressed the importance of confronting Turkish military interventions in Syria and other Arab nations, which pose a significant threat to Arab national security and broader regional interests.

Mekdad emphasized Syrias commitment to cooperating with the Arab Liaison Committee while upholding its sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity. Syria also pledges non-interference in its internal affairs, with the goal of harnessing the collective power of the Arab world to help its people recover from the impacts of the terrorist war and address key challenges, such as combating all forms of terrorism and ending illegal foreign military presence on its soil.

However, the minister emphasized that the Israeli attacks pose a grave threat to international peace and security and hinder the prospects for a just and comprehensive peace in the region. To achieve lasting peace, Mekdad called for Israels complete withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territory and the Syrian Golan Heights, in accordance with the borders of June 4th, 1967, and the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Minister Mekdads address underscored the urgent need for Arab unity and joint action to confront shared challenges and secure a peaceful and prosperous future for the region.

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, September 7)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to stop "dangerous" activities in the South China Sea.

In his intervention during the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday, Marcos decried the dangerous use of coast guard and militia vessels in the South China Sea as he asserted the Philippines maritime jurisdiction.

The Philippines fully supports adherence to international law and the rules-based order, Marcos said. We must oppose the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea.

He sounded the alarm over illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, as well as the militarization of reclaimed features in the South China Sea.

The chief executive, apparently alluding to China, also expressed concern over consistent actions that violate international laws, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

We call on ASEAN and our partners to harness our shared interests and rally us into taking joint action, guided by ASEAN Centrality and universal multilateralism, Marcos said.

The Philippine president also urged "all parties to exercise self-restraint and refrain from unilateral and assertive activities that would increase tensions in the region, misunderstandings, and miscalculations in the South China Sea.

We must not allow tensions in the South China Sea to further escalate, Marcos stressed.

In early August, the Philippine Coast Guard reported that a China Coast Guard vessel blocked and fired a water cannon at Philippine vessels on the way to Ayungin Shoal for a resupply mission. China's act of aggression drew ire from other nations.

He maintained that the Philippines wants a peaceful resolution of disputes despite previously saying that the dream to make the South China Sea an area of peace and stability is still a distant reality.

He said the conclusion of an effective and substantial code of conduct (COC) remains the Philippines goal, as he reaffirmed the countrys commitment to upholding its sovereign rights in accordance with international maritime rules.

Marcos earlier said there is "some progress" in talks on the South China Sea COC.

China, self-ruled Taiwan, and ASEAN members the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam have overlapping claims in the South China Sea, a vital route of global trade.

An arbitral tribunal created under UNCLOS ruled in 2016 in favor of Manila in a case it filed against Beijing over their dispute in the West Philippine Sea  a part of the South China Sea the Philippines claims. The ruling also invalidated China's historic claims to practically the entire South China Sea.
The police arrested two individuals, one of which is believed to have played a role in a 2013 incident, resulting in the death of over 60 civilians and combatant, according to Zaman al-Wasl.

Two individuals of Syrian origin have been apprehended in Germany under suspicion of affiliating with extremist organizations. Authorities have disclosed that one of the detainees is believed to have played a role in a 2013 incident in eastern Syria, resulting in the death of over 60 civilians and combatants.

Germanys federal prosecutors office, in compliance with privacy regulations, has identified the suspects as Amer A and Bassel A. Both individuals stand accused of being associated with a foreign terrorist entity known as Liwa Jund ar-Rahman, an armed insurgent group reportedly founded and led by Amer A in February 2013.

Furthermore, Amer A faces allegations of war crimes, specifically involving forced displacement and purported membership within the Islamic State (ISIS). These charges are connected to a June 2013 attack in the village of Hatla, located in Syrias eastern Deir-ez-Zor governorate, during which approximately 60 Shia residents lost their lives.

Prosecutors have indicated that this attack was executed collaboratively by Liwa Jund ar-Rahman, under Amer As leadership, along with other extremist groups. Additionally, prosecutors have emphasized that survivors of the attack were coerced into fleeing either to other parts of Syria or abroad through tactics such as intentionally instilling fear of death, as well as engaging in acts of arson and looting.

This campaign of forced displacement marked the effective end of the Shiite communitys presence in Hatla, as per the authorities statement. Furthermore, it has been revealed that Amer A aligned himself with ISIS in July 2014 and took command of his group within the organization.

As for Bassel A, prosecutors have clarified that he held a significant military role within his group by late 2013 and led AQAP (aal-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) units in engagements against Syrian government forces, notably at the Deir ez-Zor military airport, in both December of that year and April 2014.

On Wednesday, a judge ordered the continued detention of the suspects, pending a potential indictment.

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 SDF asserted that its entry into the town was the result of "mediation by several tribes with tribal forces", according to Syria TV.

More than a week has passed since the outbreak of tribal clashes with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the rural areas of Deir ez-Zor. As a consequence, many villages and towns in the eastern and northern countryside of the governorate have fallen under clan control. Despite three failed attempts by the SDF to storm the town of Dhiban, a recent announcement claiming their control over it has given rise to numerous questions and speculations.

A few hours after news of renewed clashes surfaced on the outskirts of Dhiban, in the early hours of Wednesday, the SDF declared its dominion over the town. Dhiban, which serves as the stronghold of Sheikh Ibrahim al-Hafel of the al-Akidat tribe, is located in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor. The SDF wasted no time in disseminating what it termed live and direct scenes from inside Dhiban, emphasizing its significance as the last bastion of tribal groups and the center of Sheikh Hafels authority, across various social media platforms.

The SDF asserted that its entry into the town and the subsequent consolidation of control were the results of mediation by several tribes with tribal forces. These tribal groups played a pivotal role in facilitating the SDFs peaceful entrance into Dhiban, sparing any further bloodshed. However, the specific names of these tribes have not been disclosed.

Full control of Dhiban

Following the announcement of its firm control over Dhiban, the SDF emphasized that the bloody clashes with tribal factions in Deir ez-Zor have ceased, resulting in the loss of 90 lives.

In addition, a confidential source confirmed to the Syria TV website that the SDF has achieved complete control over Dhiban. The source further revealed that the SDF had established a presence in the heart of the town, specifically in the Latwa neighborhood.

Furthermore, the source disclosed that the SDF had conducted thorough searches of several houses within the town, utilized schools as strategic points for its forces, and set up multiple checkpoints throughout the area.

The fate of Sheikh Hafel

The confidential source also revealed that as of Thursday afternoon, the town of al-Tayana, situated near Dhiban, remains beyond the control of the SDF. It is likely that Sheikh Hafel has fortified himself within al-Tayana alongside tribal forces.

This situation has arisen amidst uncertainty regarding the whereabouts of Sheikh Hafel, the leader of the tribal movement. Some news groups and pages with close ties to the SDF have claimed that Hafel sought refuge in areas controlled by the Syrian regime in Deir ez-Zor after Dhiban was captured.

According to the source, the SDFs strategy, beginning with the siege of Dhiban, was aimed at pressuring Sheikh Hafel and tribal fighters and their families to flee to regime-held areas. This tactic was employed to substantiate the SDFs assertions of a connection between the tribal movement and the Syrian regime.

Subsequently, activists in the Deir ez-Zor countryside circulated a recorded speech by Sheikh Hafel, urging tribal fighters to continue resisting the SDF militias in the governorates rural areas. Two days prior to the siege and capture of Dhiban, the SDF had managed to gain control of the al-Busaira region and later the town of al-Shuhail following the withdrawal of tribal fighters to Hawaij and Dhiban.

The SDF conducted house-to-house searches in al-Shuhail, initiated arrest operations affecting several residents, and concurrently carried out raids and arrests in the towns and villages of al-Sour, northeast of Deir ez-Zor. Sniper teams and checkpoints were deployed on the outskirts.z

The SDFs capture of these areas and its pursuit of tribal fighters in them weakened Dhibans defenses, with the towns defense largely left to local fighters from Dhiban itself and a few fighters from areas recently taken over by the SDF. This made it easier for the SDF to enter the town and solidify its control.

Regarding the role of the United States in the SDFs advances, it is important to note that the ambiguity surrounding the US position on the conflict between the SDF and tribal factions may have played a significant role in the SDFs gains. Despite the close alliance between the SDF and the United States, the US has been cautious about diminishing Arab influence in Deir ez-Zor governorate, with a focus on not upsetting the regional balance under the influence of Iranian militias.

Nevertheless, sources close to the international coalition forces disclosed that US forces in northeastern Syria have reservations about Sheikh Hafel. American diplomats reportedly communicated with Sheikh Musab al-Hafel, brother of Sheikh Ibrahim, who resides in Doha, Qatar, on September 2nd. During these communications, Washington clarified that it is not a party to the conflict and will not target the Arab component.

These sources explained that the American side sought to encourage Musab to expand the role of his uncle, Sheikh Hafel al-Jadaan, in leading the al-Akidat tribe. The American side appears to have more trust in Hafel, who resides in the United States, and has doubts about Ibrahims positions and his potential decisions concerning dealings with the international coalition forces.

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.
Abdi confirmed that direct communication had not taken place, according to al-Souria Net.

The commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, has accused the Assad regime of inciting tribal tensions in Deir-ez-Zor and has called upon Sheikh Ibrahim al-Havel of the Akidat tribe for a dialogue.

In an interview with Al-Mashhad TV on Wednesday, Abdi stated that the issue in Deir-ez-Zor does not lie with the Deir-ez-Zor Military Council but rather with certain entities associated with the Damascus government that have attempted to exacerbate the situation.

While acknowledging the existence of some service and security issues in Deir-ez-Zor, Abdi emphasized that they are not the primary concern. He asserted that the root cause of the unrest in Deir-ez-Zor is external interventions, as there have been indications of preparations by the Damascus government to incite the tribes against the SDF, including the dispatch of armed individuals to our territories.

Notably, the Assad regime has not released any official statement regarding the events in Deir-ez-Zor, a matter that the regimes foreign minister, Mekdad, deemed unnecessary. In an interview with the Russian website Sputnik, Mekdad expressed the view that what is transpiring in eastern Syria does not require official documentation, as Syrian citizens are engaged in a national struggle on behalf of all Syrians, fighting against the occupation and those loyal to it.

Call for Dialogue

Regarding the dialogue with Hafel, Abdi confirmed that direct communication had not taken place; instead, they reached out to his office to extend an invitation for discussions.

Our doors are wide open, and we have approached Ibrahim with the hope of initiating a conversation, he stated.

Abdi mentioned an upcoming inclusive conference in Deir ez-Zor that will encompass all segments and constituents of the region, including its various tribes and intellectual figures.

Abdi emphasized that the people of Deir ez-Zor have legitimate demands, and there are plans for a restructuring process in which they will actively collaborate to find a solution.

He also highlighted the intentions of the US-led International Coalition to address the issue and engage in dialogue with the tribes to achieve a comprehensive resolution.

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.
Statement by the United States Mission to the United Nations.

Thank you, Madam President. I also want to thank High Representative Nakamitsu for her briefing this morning. Id also like to thank the teams at the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, for the steadfast leadership and exceptional work they bring to this critical issue each day.

Syria continues to flagrantly flout its obligations to comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention. Syria continues to defy numerous UN Security Council resolutions, including Resolution 2118. It has grown clear that the Assad regime believes it can continue to operate with impunity despite the objective and evidence-based record of its chemical weapons attacks.

Syria acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention in October 2013  a decade ago next month. In doing so, it accepted, like all signatory States Parties, to be bound by the Conventions obligations, including one, never to produce, develop, acquire, stockpile, or use chemical weapons; two, to submit timely, accurate, and complete declarations of its chemical weapons and facilities; and three, to cooperate with the OPCW in the exercise of all its functions, and provide assistance to the OPCWs technical secretariat.

Yet, 10 years after it undertook these obligations by ratifying the Chemical Weapons Convention, Syria continues to make false statements and flout the authority of the Security Council. Time and again, the OPCW has found that the regimes declarations regarding its chemical weapons program  as Director General Arias succinctly puts it  still cannot be considered accurate and complete. Moreover, the Assad regime continues to deny OPCW personnel the unfettered access it is obligated to provide per this Councils decision.

The Assad regime has displayed such obstruction for nearly a full decade, during which time the OPCW  and before Russias Security Council veto dissolved the body, the UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism  have found the regime responsible for nine separate chemical weapons attacks against its own people that occurred following Syrias accession to the CWC.

With full knowledge of this duplicity, Russia continues to shield the Assad regime from appropriate oversight by the Security Council, depriving the Council of its ability to promote international peace and security by holding Assad accountable for his despicable actions. In this regard, I note with particular concern that for the second consecutive month, two permanent members of this Council have indicated that they will not even participate in our discussion of an issue of this seriousness.

Despite Russias intransigence and Syrias deceit, the United States continues to and will continue to raise this issue in this Council. We will continue to call on Syria to comply with its CWC obligations and its obligations under Resolution 2118. We will continue to seek briefings from the Under-Secretary-General on the status of these efforts, and we call on other Council members to do the same.

Despite the efforts of Syria and Russia to impugn the credibility and professional work of the OPCW and distract us from the gravity of this issue, we commend the OPCWs investigations of chemical weapons use in Syria. We continue to be impressed by the rigour the OPCW brings to each of its investigative efforts, meticulously collecting and analyzing evidence from a multitude of sources to reach irrefutable conclusions.

This important work is necessary so that those responsible for these attacks can be held to account. There can be no impunity for chemical weapons use. Anything less would be turning a blind eye to a regime that has chosen to manufacture, stockpile, and, even more horrifically, use chemical weapons repeatedly against its own people.

The United States remains committed to holding to account those responsible for the repeated use of chemical weapons by Syria in violation of its obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 2118 and the Chemical Weapons Convention. We will continue to press for progress both at the OPCW and in other relevant UN fora, while continuing to raise this issue here at the UN Security Council.

We keep pushing on this issue because we remember the victims and survivors of these horrific attacks by the Assad regime. We will continue to seek justice for the victims of these attacks and to remind our fellow Council members that it is our duty, as members of this Council, to do our part by remaining seized of this issue and to demand, at long last, real steps to end Syrias chemical threat.

Thank you, Madam President.
Cowlitz County has seen consistent job growth in the years since the pandemic, with unemployment on the decline and new industries becoming more enticed with the idea of moving into the Southwest Washington region.

Industries that make up the bulk of the countys workforce have continued to grow. Jobs especially remain steady in manufacturing, local jobs and health, according to July data from the Washington state Employment Security Department.

Unemployment rates have stayed at a historic low since the beginning of 2023, with some months of the year seeing lowest since the 1970s when data collection began.

Stay up to date on Lower Columbia news, wherever you go Easily access the latest Lower Columbia news in an app that lets you select the topics that matter most to you.

Manufacturing, trade and transportation, and health care positions have been consistently on the rise since 2020 in Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties.

More industries are looking at Southwest Washington as a viable option for business, said Ted Sprague, president of the Cowlitz Economic Development Council.

With access to deep-water ports along the Columbia River, which is a major international transporter of cargo, and more land on which to build, the area is attractive for businesses looking to expand, he said.

Were lucky to have five deep-water ports, a rail line served by two rail companies, a regional airport, Sprague said. Thats the key; all the infrastructure is in place.

Manufacturing industries added 300 jobs over the last year, the report says, most of which were the manufacturing on nondurable goods such as paper, food processing and chemicals.

These jobs are boosted by having manufacturers like NORPAC, Weyerhaeuser and Nippon Dynawave in Longview  with NORPAC planning new projects and a shift to more recyclable products. Nippon Dynawave suffered damages at its location last month after a widespread fire ripped through the factory.

Cowlitz Countys unemployment rate, while still low, was slightly higher in July at 4% compared to 3.6% in June. Jobs in construction, mining and logging remained unchanged compared with July 2022.

Workforce Southwest Washington, an economic analysis and consulting center, has recently invested more resources into training for the heath care industry as experts expect demand in those positions to continue to rise.

Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to The Daily News.

Registered nurses, retail salespeople and special education teaching assistants are the most in-demand positions between Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties, according to the most recent data from Workforce Southwest Washington. Across the three counties, PeaceHealth was the top hiring employer, the data shows.

Having the Lower Columbia College around also helps boost efforts to channel more trained and certified people into these open positions, Sprague said.

The Southwest Washington region in general has seen growth outpacing the rest of the state; Clark, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum and Thurston counties have all seen a higher nonfarm employment rate than the state and most other counties.

The Cowlitz Economic Development Council has fielded more calls from businesses, not just in the Pacific Northwest but across the West Coast looking to build, Sprague said, especially as remote work has become more viable for industries.

Weve seen that COVID was a realization for some businesses that they dont need to be in a large urban center, where the cost of doing business is typically higher than in a rural area, Sprague said.

Not all industries are thriving. Some retail store owners in Longview have said they have struggled to stay open after the challenges posed by the yearslong pandemic, The Daily News reported in June.

Clark County saw the biggest jump in nonfarm employment between February 2020 and July 2023, while Wahkiakum County has the second-highest rate of any county in the state, and Cowlitz County is eighth.
Scott Goldstein, the new fire chief of Cowlitz 2 Fire and Rescue  praised by Board of Commissioners Chair Jeff Cameron for his long history of cost containment  faced complaints about overtime run amok, overspending nearly $1 million at his previous post.

Thats according to a 2020 report of Office of the Inspector General of Montgomery County in Maryland. It took aim at an office at the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service that some employees called an overtime scam.

Goldstein served as chief of the Maryland fire department for about eight years before traveling to the Pacific Northwest.

The questions raised in the report were ones that we organizationally have been and had been working on for an extensive period of time, Goldstein told The Daily News.

He said that practically, it is cheaper to staff some places and some organizations with overtime than having full-time positions.

In April, Goldstein was selected to replace interim Cowlitz 2 Chief James Graham, who took over for Scott Neves after he abruptly resigned late last year after serving about two years.

The department under scrutiny from the inspector generals office in Montgomery County was the Equal Employment Opportunity Office, which was dissolved in early 2020, just before the inspector generals report was published.

The original intention of the Equal Employment Opportunity Office was to receive related complaints, either verbal or written, of employment discrimination harassment and consult on diversity and inclusion initiatives, according to a different report, this one from 2022 by the National Academy of Public Administration for the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service.

As chief, Goldstein added community outreach to the offices duties around 2017.

Then in 2018, Montgomery County announced offering similar equal employment opportunity-type services. Rather than dissolving the agencys separate office, Goldstein had it switch gears to solely doing community outreach, according to the National Academy of Public Administration report.

A year later, Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service employees unconnected to the Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity Office started lodging complaints, according to the 2020 IG report.

A former Montgomery County Fire & Rescue employee told inspector general staff that the Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity officer had complete freedom in managing and allocating overtime to staff and that the program was viewed by staff as an overtime scam.

The IG report states that a great deal of overtime went to a small group of employees. It noted that Montgomery County Fire & Rescue used a scheduling software called Telestaff, but overtime related to the Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity Office did not use the same software.

The Inspector Generals report does not mention Goldstein by name.

Another Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service member told inspector general staff that they suspected numerous instances in which the Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity Office representatives had been attending events already handled by Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service staff during their regular shifts.

The Office of the Inspector General cross-referenced Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity Office employees with open-source data and discovered that in 2018, core members were obtaining substantially greater overtime than most Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service employees and Montgomery County employees.

The fire service had long been scrutinized for its overtime practices in general. A 2013 Washington Post article took the agency for task for being an overtime machine.

By the late teens, the focus was on the Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity office. The IG report calls out three career employees who were among the Montgomery Countys Top 20 employees who earned the most overtime in 2018.

Specifically, a Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity coordinator came in at fourth place and the Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity officer at No. 2.

Officials calculated that, in 2019, the Opportunity/Diversity Office spent about $908,000 overtime, representing about 10% of the entire agencys overtime costs.

The IGs office acquired a document containing the views of Montgomery County Fire & Rescue staff about the Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity Office personnel, who were perceived as creating a division/disruption in the department, saying they were untouchable and beyond reproach.

Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity staff had limited interactions with people in the station, and most people in the field were ignored, the document said.

In 2018, Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service requested funding for an additional captain position to address Equal Employment Opportunity concerns. The Montgomery County Office of Management & Budget denied the request.

Despite this, Goldstein proceeded with the program and assigned two full-time employees to the Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity Office, as he believed it was necessary, according to the IG report.

As stated in the report, Goldstein introduced limitations on the amount of overtime that could be distributed by personnel from the Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity Office, but those limits were regularly exceeded.

The IG report revealed that the office surpassed the fire chiefs overtime limits by 78% due to community engagement activities, and the Equal Employment Opportunity exceeded overtime limits 48% of the time due to their activities.

As a result, the report urged the fire chief hold accountable managers who approve excess overtime.

Goldstein said he rejects the implication that the Equal Employment Opportunity/Diversity Office in Montgomery was an overtime mill. Their diverse backgrounds were needed for various outreach events, he said.

Montgomery County is a diverse community.  If Im being asked to send folks to a Latino music festival or a Chinese New Year festival, I need to send folks that are from that specific ethnicity, Goldstein said.

He added that the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service has retooled how we operated since the IGs report was penned, and now overtime must be approved, and the hours must match the exact hours worked.

When theres a discrepancy (it) gets flagged and looked at, (we) figured out why there was a discrepancy because sometimes the work just takes a little longer, Goldstein said.
Thumbs up: Main Street program





Were glad to hear that Longview and Kelso are still moving forward on plans for full membership in Washington states Main Street Program. While there are further requirements which still need to be met, its just an early hump to get over. Once thats done, both cities will be glad they went ahead with the program.

The main reason to join the Main Street Program is to channel more resources into a citys respective downtown area. Currently, Business and Occupation (B&O) taxes paid in Longview and Kelso head to the state government.

Cities like Vancouver, which are full members of the program, can instead direct them to the organization that manages their citys downtown programs  in the case of Longview, thats the Downtowners, who took over management of the program in June.

While Kelso and Longview are at different stages of membership, both are trying to find a solution to the same question: the programs requirement for a paid staff member. Weve written about this issue in the past, and still stand by our desire for the cities not to simply pay an employee out of pocket.

We are encouraged to hear that both city councils are on the same page as that stands. They are interested in building a partnership, but they want to make sure the end result is program which is capable of paying for itself. The particulars of the arrangement may not be settled yet, but were sure that everyone can find an acceptable solution soon enough.

Thumbs down: Ghost guns

Longview police shot and killed an armed Seattle man on Saturday. Obviously, very regrettable. An exchange of gunfire is never something you want to see in your town. Were especially concerned that he was armed with a 9mm pistol that had no serial number  colloquially known as a ghostgun.

Such weapons are typically either a plastic gun made with a 3D printer, which Washington banned in 2019, or a weapon made from a parts kit which lacks a serial number. Last year, the ATF mandated that such kits be treated as firearms and, thus, be given a serial number. The rule was challenged in court and is currently working its way to the 5th Circuit and, likely, the U.S. Supreme Court.

A weapon marketed around the fact that it is untraceable and circumvents gun laws is going to be used by people who are interested specifically in a gun for use outside the law. That a weapons kit requires you to make a couple final assembly steps does not invalidate that the final product is a gun and should be governed by the same rules.

We hope that the 5th Circuit of Appeals realizes this as well and, if not, the Supreme Court realizes the wisdom of shutting down a product that exists to make guns easier to get for people who shouldnt have access to them. Otherwise, the fight to keep guns out of the hands of criminals will be just that much harder.

Thumbs up: Airport investment

The Southwest Washington Regional Airport probably isnt the first place that comes to mind when you think about air travel in the region. But while we werent looking, its carved out a niche for itself that has resulted in an increase to traffic, mostly from business clients.

Were happy to hear that they arent content to rest on their laurels but are moving forward with new projects. Currently, theyre replacing older underground fuel tanks with newer models that will increase the amount of fuel that their partners can supply.

So not only are they replacing outdated equipment before it becomes a serious concern, theyre also upgrading the services offered. Preemptive action and getting two birds with one stone? Well done.

Similarly, a 600-foot extension to the runway would be a big step forward for the airport. According to FAA documentation, the current runway is 4,391 feet long. Adding 600 more feet on that runway is about a 14% increase, which would make the airport more attractive.

Currently, SWRA is fairly restricted in what types of airplanes can land there. Under the FAAs regulatory framework, how many seats or how much cargo a plane can carry is largely a function of how long the runway is to land at. While its more complicated than 14% more runway equals 14% more plane, it would mean that larger planes could land in Kelso.

The airport shows a lot of promise, and projects like this will help foster it as an attractive sight for local business or private flights. Were looking forward to watching it grow.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

A claim has been filed in the UK accusing Google of breaching competition law.

Google is facing a new lawsuit in Britain, which accuses the US tech giant of stifling competition in the search engine market and causing prices to rise across the UK economy, a statement said Thursday.

The claim, filed with the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal, is seeking around 7 billion ($8.7 billion) in damages on behalf of effectively every consumer in the country.

It accuses Google of breaching competition law by shutting out mobile search competition and using its market dominance to increase the prices paid by advertisers for their prominence on the Google search page.

These costs are then passed on to consumers, who are charged more for the goods and services they buy, according to the claim.

The lawsuit argues that Google abused its dominant position by tying its Search with other apps and services such as requiring smartphone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and Google Chrome browser apps to obtain a licence to use the Google Play app store.

It also says Google paid Apple to ensure Google was the default search engine for the Safari browser on Apple devices such as iPhones.

Nikki Stopford, a consumer rights campaigner and the class representative in the action, said, "It's a clear breach of competition law, for which consumers are paying the price.

"Google has been warned about its behavior by competition regulators repeatedly but has taken no meaningful action to stop the abuse.

"This action aims to make the company accountable for its repeated lawbreaking and get consumers back the money they're owed."

According to consumer rights group Consumer Voice, the claim is made on behalf of 65 million UK consumers, who may be owed around 100 in compensation each if the lawsuit is successful.

A Google spokesperson called the case "speculative and opportunistic" and said the company "will argue against it vigorously".

"People use Google because it is helpful. We only make money if ads are useful and relevant, as indicated by clicks - at a price that is set by a real-time auction," Google said.

"Advertising plays a crucial role in helping people discover new businesses, new causes and new products," Google added.

Lawsuits have previously been filed against Google claiming billions in compensation for publishers in lost revenue from advertising

Google and other US tech giants have also faced investigations from US, British and EU regulators in recent years as authorities crack down on their business practices.

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) regulator is investigating suspected anti-competitive conduct by Google through its ad tech practices.

 2023 AFP
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. discussed rice importation during his bilateral meetings with top leaders from Vietnam and Cambodia to stabilize local supply amid the looming impact of El Nino on the agriculture sector.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed a five-year rice importation arrangement on the sidelines of the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Indonesia, a suggestion welcomed by the Philippine president.

The suggestion of a longer-term arrangement is an important one because just having that as an assurance will stabilize the situation, not only for the Philippines but for all of us in the region, Marcos told Chinh.

Agriculture again this is something, especially in the face of what we are anticipating in terms of El Nino and drought We hope that we can find an agreement so that there will be an exchange, he said.

Official data showed the country imported 1.5 million tons of rice from Vietnam worth $772.4 million in January to May.

Meanwhile, Malacanang said Marcos also raised the possibility of his administration sourcing rice from Cambodia during his one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Hun Manet.

Apart from this, the government expressed intent to request Cambodia to ease the terms and conditions for rice importers in the Philippines to ensure a steady supply of the staple.

The Palace added that Cambodia is targeting to get a one percent share of the market of imported rice in the Philippines by 2024, and has encouraged stakeholders to increase rice exports.

Deals between Khmer Foods company and rice importers in the Philippines resulted in the export to the country of about 2,500 tons of rice from Cambodia in May this year.

According to the PCO, this was the first time the Philippines imported a significant tonnage of rice from Cambodia after the passage of the Rice Tariffication Law in 2019, which allowed private entities, instead of the government, to import rice from any country, subject to certain rules.

The Philippines started implementing a price ceiling on rice on Sept. 5 after authorities monitored a price surge, a decision which drew mixed reactions. Retailers also called for immediate aid from the government.

READ: Govt warns of stricter rice price cap implementation in coming days

Marcos puts the blame on smugglers and hoarders for the issue on rice prices.

Expanded maritime cooperation, commercial aviation

Aside from the rice agreement, the Philippines and Vietnam also pushed for a deal on maritime cooperation, focused on "prevention and management of incidents in the South China Sea.

The agreement that we are proposing is very important because it should not limit itself only to security and defense issues but also on the fishing rights, Marcos said.

So again we have an understanding between the two countries so that we will not have any problems between your fishermen and ours, he added.

Marcos and the Cambodian prime minister, meanwhile, agreed to look into expanding direct flights between their countries given the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

I shall, as my homework when I get back, look into the possibility of our airline increasing the number of flights to other destinations in Cambodia that we would like to go to. This is something that goes both ways, Marcos said.
Texas A&M senior Madelinh Vo was on track to go to medical school in hopes of becoming a pediatrician. Her mind changed after two summers interning with Samsung in Austin, though.

During her time with there, Vo got a taste of what it was like to be an engineer and even got to visit Samsungs headquarters in South Korea. Now, she plans to graduate from A&M with a degree in chemical engineering next spring and head back to Austin with a full-time job at Samsung as an engineer in its semiconductor sector.

A&M students like Vo will soon benefit from a new partnership between A&Ms engineering school and Samsung announced Thursday during an event where A&M and Samsung officials, and others including Vo, gathered together for Samsung leaders to present a donation of $1 million to A&M to help build a workforce pipeline from Aggieland to the Austin area for the burgeoning semiconductor industry.

Samsung is one of the premier corporations in the world and we have been working very hard with them as they have to really have a close working relationship, so I think this is the beginning of not only placing a lot of our graduates in Samsungs corporation, but also in regards to the research, A&M Chancellor John Sharp said.

Samsungs contribution to A&M will supplement the universitys semiconductor and recruiting programs with initiatives such as scholarships to undergraduates, fellowships for graduate students, and funding for capstone projects.

That internship program that Madelinh was a part of, it allows people in engineering to come and see semiconductors and understand: Hey, is this a good career choice for me? Am I interested in it or not? said Jon Taylor, corporate vice president of fab engineering and public affairs for Samsung Austin Semiconductor.

Samsungs quest to enhance its partnership with A&M began around a year ago when Samsung officials took a visit to A&M and met with A&M Chancellor John Sharp and his staff, Taylor said. Taylors team spit-balled ideas with Sharps staff on how the two entities could work together to enhance workforce development. Taylor noted since 2018, almost 50 A&M students have interned at Samsung and almost 90 have been hired.

One of things that makes A&M such a special place and our students so sought-after in the job market is the practical experience that they have when they leave here and that practical experience comes from partnerships like this where we have corporate entities that come in and invest in the experience and the education these students are getting, Alan Sams, A&Ms Provost, said during the event.

The state of Texas is also in the midst of hoping to land one of the federal semiconductor clusters the Department of Commerce is seeking to create through programs from the CHIPS and Science Act.

Semiconductor chips were developed by American scientists and are used to power items such as cars, cellphones and computers. A strong push for domestic semiconductor production is rooted in concerns to Chinas threat toward Taiwan, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, who represents Bryan-College Station and Brazos County in District 10, told The Eagle earlier this summer.

The United States is expected have at least two new large-scale clusters of leading-edge logic fabrication facilities by the end of the decade, according to the Department of Commerce. Decisions on where the semiconductor clusters will be placed could come sometime this fall or winter and Texas is a frontrunner, according to McCaul.

A&M and the University of Texas have been designated by Gov. Greg Abbotts office to coordinate the states response to DOC solicitations in different areas, David Staack, interim director of A&Ms Semiconductor Institute, told The Eagle this summer. A&M has been designated to coordinate the response to projects for the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC) and Manufacturing USA Institutes, while Texas has been designated to coordinate the response to projects for the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP).

A&Ms Board of Regents established the A&M Semiconductor Institute in May, which will be housed at the RELLIS campus in Bryan. Then in June, Gov. Greg Abbott signed the Texas CHIPS Act, which set aside $200 million to the A&M System through the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund for quantum and artificial intelligence chip fabrication. With those funds, Staack said the university is expected to put facilities at RELLIS they would propose to be part of a potential cluster, a proposal that would also include existing facilities and potential new ones in other parts of the state.

A&M also owns a 9-acre parcel inside the Texas 79 loop in Taylor just over 3 miles northeast of Samsungs $17 billion-dollar semiconductor plant thats expected to open in 2024, which is a donated property Staack said is being considered to be used for a potential cluster facility site.

Several months ago, Taylor was a part of a round-table discussion with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. He said she was impressed not just with the semiconductor infrastructure in the Silicon Hills, but also the academic presence Texas has to offer the industry.

Whether its the University of Texas or Texas A&M, some of the top schools in the nation are in this area, Taylor said, so when youre talking about trying to build out this semiconductor cluster, do you have the companies that can invest there? Can you build the ecosystem? And do you have places like Texas A&M who can support the workforce in order to resource fund all of that growth thats bound to happen.

While decisions are still being made on the federal clusters, Samsung will need to build up its workforce for the Taylor plant and Aggies are in line for jobs with a large volume of engineering graduates less than 90 miles away.

Weve had a long-standing relationship with A&M and we really felt like it was time for us to formalize our partnership, Taylor said. Since Samsung is expanding in Taylor and putting in a state-of-the-art factory, were going to be needing thousands of employees there and probably half of those are engineers.
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Premier Li calls for enhanced innovation cooperation among regional parties

Xinhua) 13:19, September 07, 2023

Chinese Premier Li Qiang poses for a group photo with participants attending the 26th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 6, 2023. Li attended the 26th APT Summit here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

JAKARTA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday called for enhanced innovation cooperation among regional parties to foster more new economic growth points.

Addressing the 26th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit in Jakarta, Li said taking the implementation of the newest APT Cooperation Work Plan as an opportunity, China stands ready to work with all parties to jointly build an economic growth center and focus on three priorities.

The first thing, he said, is to continue to promote regional economic integration, unleash the dividends of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), vigorously promote the free flow of factors of production, and promote the expansion and upgrading of trade and investment.

It is hoped that all parties will support Hong Kong's accession to the agreement as the first batch of new members, Li added.

"Second, we should continue to deepen regional industrial division and coordination, uphold the spirit of openness and win-win cooperation, continue to leverage geographical proximity and economic complementarity and other advantages, and promote the optimization and upgrading of regional industrial and supply chains in a stable manner," Li said.

Noting that the third thing is to strengthen the leading role of scientific and technological innovation, Li said that China is ready to deepen innovation cooperation with other parties on digital economy, clean energy and new energy vehicles to jointly promote the development of emerging industries and foster more new economic growth points.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang attends the 26th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  Several lawmakers onThursday questioned the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) over delays in the release of the Quick Response Fund (QRF) for areas affected by calamities.

"Parang nagiging SRF na po  slow response fund. So I'm hoping hindi magiging NRF  or no response fund," Misamis Oriental 1st dist. Representative Christian Unabia commented during the hearing of the House Committee on Appropriations.

[Translation: It seems to have turned into SRF or slow response fund. I'm hoping it doesn't become NRF or no response fund.]

The panel was tackling the budget of the Department of National Defense (DND), which is the mother agency of the OCD.

Unabia pointed out that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself promised to help the province of Misamis Oriental after it was devastated by floods last December.

"May video ako maybe I can give it to you for verification sana mapaabot sa presidente kasi nag-commit po siya sa amin, mister secretary," Unabia told Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.

[Translation: I have a video and maybe I can give it to you for verification, hopefully it reaches the president because he made a commitment to us, mister secretary.]

Samar 1st district representative Stephen Tan also questioned the OCD on the timing of the release of the QRF.

He said frequent typhoons consistently cause damage to the province's main highway.

While the province is coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways, Tan said officials are also relying on the OCD's QRF for rehabilitation costs.

"Sa pag-ayos ng national highway hindi namin ma-cope up yung demand especially the weather in Samar dalawa lang, wet at very wet," Tan said.

[Translation: We can't keep up with the demands concerning the repairs of the national highway especially with the weather in Samar which is either wet or very wet.]

The OCD explained to Unabia that the process for the release of the QRF funds usually takes only two weeks.

However, this only covers minor repairs, it also said, adding that funds for major rehabilitation would usually take an average of nine months.

"We're trying to lessen that kung kaya ng four to six months, after the calamity may rapid assessment sa remedyo o minor," OCD administrator Ariel Nepomuceno explained.

"Yung malaki may process called PDNA (post-disaster needs assessment), ito ho medyo tedious po iyan wala sa full control ng OCD or NDRRMC," he also said.

[Translation: We're trying to lessen that, if it can be done in four to six months. After the calamity there is a rapid assessment of the remedy. The bigger ones involve a process called PDNA which is a bit tedious and is not within the control of the OCD or NDRRMC.]

Nepomuceno informed Unabia that as far as the assistance for Oriental Mindoro is concerned, it had already been endorsed for the approval of the president last month.
Following a pursuit through portions of Hall County Tuesday afternoon, deputies arrested the Cairo man who had been eluding them.

Dominic Debraal, 20, was arrested at his Cairo home. Among other things, he was arrested for possession of cocaine.

The pursuit began at 2:44 p.m., when a Hall County deputy tried to initiate a traffic stop on a white Chevrolet Impala on Highway 281 near Old Potash Highway in Grand Island.

The deputy attempted the traffic stop because of a license plate issue.

"It was determined that the license plate was either not on file or fictitious. It didn't come back to the right vehicle," Chief Deputy Josh Berlie said Wednesday.

The driver of the Impala took off, heading north on 281, attaining a speed of about 70 mph. At that point, the deputy "disengaged" but kept the Impala within view for a while, Berlie said.

The deputy lost sight of the vehicle. Within a matter of minutes, it was spotted at Highway 2 and Engleman Road.

The deputy again tried to initiate a traffic stop on the vehicle, and it took off.

At 3:30 p.m., the Impala was found, abandoned, at 130th and Prairie Road. No one was inside.

A sheriff's department canine sniffed around the vehicle and signaled the presence of drugs.

Deputies found bags that had contained a controlled substance. After learning that the vehicle belonged to Debraal, deputies took the information they'd gathered "to a judge and got a warrant signed." Berlie said.

Deputies searched the Cairo residence, which is at 401 Nubia St., and ended up arresting Debraal.

He was booked for possession of a controlled substance (cocaine), possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, flight to avoid arrest, willful reckless driving, unlawful display of license plates, possession of tobacco by a person younger than 21 and possession of drug paraphernalia.

A firearm was found inside Debraal's residence, Berlie said.

The Hall County Sheriff's Department received assistance from the Nebraska State Patrol and the Howard County Sheriff's Office.
A winner of the Nebraska State Fair 1868 Foundations raffle was announced on Monday, Sept. 4. The winner received a brand new 2023 Chevy Silverado.

Jenny Leyva, a Grand Island local, purchased one raffle ticket for $25 right before it closed on Sunday evening. The next morning, Nebraska State Fair Executive Director Jaime Parr and 1868 Foundation Executive Director Lindsey Koepke called Leyva to tell her the results of the raffle.

She was beyond excited when we called her but at the same time, I think she thought it might have been a prank phone call, said Koepke in a press release. We gave her a few minutes to process that she had won, then phoned her again to set up details for accepting the truck.

Leyva was given the keys to her new 2023 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab Rally Sport Truck during a presentation at Earl May Fair Square stage on Monday.

This was the Nebraska State Fair 1868 Foundations inaugural truck raffle. Funds from the raffle will go towards future improvements for the Nebraska State Fair, such as funding for capital improvements and increasing premiums for 4-H and FFA youth who participate.

Terry Galloway, chairman of the 1868 Foundation board of directors, said in a press release that the foundation couldnt be happier for Leyva. In addition to raising funds, the foundation's main goal was to see a lucky Nebraskan drive away with a brand new truck.

Long lasting memories are made at the Nebraska State Fair, said Koepke in a press release. And theres no doubt Ms. Leyva and her family will remember this special memory for years to come.
Student Software

Goodnotes 6 Debuts with AI Handwriting Features AI Math Help  Exclusive to Apple Devices

Digital paper app Goodnotes has launched Goodnotes 6 exclusively on Apple platforms with AI-powered Spellcheck, handwriting capabilities, and AI Math Assistance, according to a news release.

Goodnotes 6 new features include:

AI-powered Spellcheck that instantly corrects handwritten typos in a user's own handwriting

Interactive exam prep materials for SAT and other standardized tests, with built-in hints and AI Math Assistance to identify errors

A new in-app marketplace where users can download new templates, stickers, and digital stationery directly in app

Customizable folders and dynamic templates that allow user to customize the size and color of the digital paper in their notebooks

New pen gestures like Scribble to Erase and Circle to Lasso

With the recent release of V.6, Goodnotes also introduced new branding, according to a news release.

Goodnotes 6 is free to download on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, and it is free to use for up to 3 notebooks. The full suite of features and unlimited notebooks is available with the premium plan at $9.99 per year or $29.99 life-time plan, the company said.

Goodnotes 6 will remain free for educational institutions through Apple School Manager.
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The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. To sign-up for EZ-Pay, call us at (903) 785-6901 or e-mail us at circulation@theparisnews.com. We will use the information you provide to change your current billing to EZ-PAY. Your current subscription delivery schedule will not be changed. No refunds for early cancellations. Remainder of early cancellation funds will be donated to Newspapers in Education.
CARBONDALE  Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs will join Southern Illinois University Carbondales Paul Simon Public Policy Institute on Tuesday, Sept. 12, for a discussion with SIU students and the public.

Frerichs will discuss his career in politics and the work of the treasurers office with John Shaw, institute director. The conversation, which is part of the institutes Pizza and Politics series, is at noon at the institute, 1231 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale.

While primarily aimed for students to engage in a free-flowing discussion on topics focused on policy issues and careers in politics, public service or advocacy, the series is open to all. Registration is required.

Treasurer Frerichs has been a visible and accessible constitutional officer. He works hard to explain our states finances to the people of Illinois. He has also been creative in helping us learn how to better manage our personal finances, Shaw said.

Frerichs was first elected Illinois treasurer in 2014 and re-elected in 2018 and 2022. In Illinois, the treasurer is the states chief investment and banking officer. The office invests money on behalf of the state and local units of government and manages more than $50 billion.

Frerichs has been active in providing Illinoisans with financial skills so they can invest for themselves. He has encouraged saving plans for postsecondary education, promoted financial education and has reunited Illinois residents with their unclaimed property.

A native of Gifford, Illinois, Frerichs graduated from Rantoul High School and Yale University. After spending two years in Taiwan, where he taught English to young students and learned to speak Chinese, Frerichs returned to Champaign County and launched his own technology business and served as a volunteer firefighter. He was elected to the Champaign County Board in 2000 and later elected Champaign County auditor.

In 2006, Frerichs was elected Illinois state senator representing east central Illinois, where as chairman of the Higher Education Committee, he championed efforts to make college more affordable.

Attendees are encouraged to submit questions for Frerichs on the registration form or email questions to paulsimoninstitute@siu.edu.

Lists of the institutes upcoming events and past speakers and events are available.
CHICAGO  A group of businesses filed a complaint with state regulators last week alleging that Chicago electric company Commonwealth Edison improperly raised customer bills this summer.

The complaint  centered on a portion of the 2021 Climate and Equitable Jobs Act that allows utilities to recoup carbon mitigation investments  alleges the utility failed to follow the proper regulatory channels laid out in Gov. J.B. Pritzkers marquee climate policy.

The complaint was filed by the Chemical Industry Council of Illinois, a trade group that lobbies for chemical businesses, alleging the change in billing will cost its roughly 100 member companies about $100 million combined between June 2023 and May 2024. Eight other groups are also listed as complainants, including Loyola Academy, a suburban Catholic school.

It's the latest salvo in the industrial sectors opposition to elements of CEJA. Other major business groups have long warned that CEJA could result in increased energy costs, especially to large industrial customers, which are among the biggest users of electricity.

The Illinois Commerce Commission will consider the complaint, which could set a precedent allowing the oversight agency to have tighter control over how fees are calculated. All five of the commissions members were appointed by Pritzker.

The fee at the center of the complaint is the Carbon-Free Resource Adjustment, or CFRA. The complaint alleges the fee was calculated without proper oversight and asks the ICC to order ComEd to stop using CFRA to recover costs and reimburse the complainants for any fees already collected this year. ComEd began collecting money from customers using CFRA in June.

While businesses filed the complaint, the CFRA charge appears on residential customers bills as well. ComEd serves 3.8 million residential customers and 400,000 non-residential customers, according to data from the ICC. For residential customers, this fee currently accounts for around 7 percent of total monthly bills, depending on local taxes and electric usage.

The hearing process, which is overseen by an administrative judge, could take up to a year unless the parties agree to an extension. The case will then be decided by the five governor-appointed commissioners of the ICC.

CEJAs role

The authority to charge such a fee comes from a provision in CEJA that provided subsidies to nuclear power plants in an effort to save three aging plants from going offline.

The law outlined a program that allows the state to purchase energy in bulk from three of the states six nuclear power plants at fixed rates using a financial instrument called carbon mitigation credits, or CMCs, which are then sold to electric utilities.

This guaranteed income was intended to entice Exelon, the then-owner of Illinois nuclear fleet, to keep open several plants it had planned to close. In early 2022, Exelon  which remains ComEds parent company  spun out its nuclear generation arm into an independent company, Constellation Energy. Constellations executive team is entirely made up of former ComEd and Exelon executives and managers.

Under the CMC program, if the actual market rate for electricity is lower than the cost of CMCs, utilities can credit consumers for the difference  something they did last year, saving the average customer around $20 per month, according to a press release from Pritzker from the time. If the market rate is higher than the fixed price, utilities may add a charge to customer bills to make up the difference.

The complaint alleges that ComEd increased the CFRA charge to customers in June to include a clawback of money that was credited to customers last year in addition to compounded interest on those fees. This change was outlined in a set of revisions to the legal document outlining how ComEd calculates CFRA fees based on its tariff  the document that defines what rates utilities can charge. These revisions were not suspended, meaning the ICC held no formal hearings on the subject.

In a May filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Exelon told federal regulators and investors that ComEd lost $1.1 billion due to the CMC program between June 2022 and March 2023.

The fact that ComEd determined losses on its own, the complainants allege, violated a provision of CEJA that requires those determinations to be reviewed by the ICC in an annual proceeding.

As a result of ComEds lack of disclosure of the real nature of its filings of these tariff revisions with the Commission, no party had an opportunity to object to the massive impacts of ComEds revisions, the complaint reads.

The business groups also allege ComEds maneuver violates the states Public Utilities Act as an act of imprudent management of the Carbon Free Resource Adjustment credits and charges.

It was never reviewed, there were never any hearings on it, its a lot of money and our position is that it violates the law, Patrick Giordano, a lawyer representing the business groups listed in the complaint, told Capitol News Illinois.

ComEd has denied impropriety in its use of the adjustment and CMCs.

We are appropriately charging and crediting customers and have been clear about the CMCs and the charges and credits that implement them with the Commission and our customers, Shannon Breymaier, ComEds head of communications, said in an email. Were still analyzing the complaint, but expect to vigorously defend our actions in implementing carbon mitigation credits.

Constellation, which has attributed continued operations of three of Illinois nuclear plants to the CMC program, signaled caution regarding the program to its investors in a February regulatory filing with the SEC. In it, the company noted that regulatory or legal challenges like this were possible and that the company cannot reasonably predict the outcome of any such challenges.

CEJAs other effects

The complaint is not the only matter before the ICC that will largely define the strength of CEJAs regulatory backbone.

The commission is currently considering sets of plans from both ComEd and Ameren Illinois that set the utilities next four years of electric rates, infrastructure spending and long-term plans for the electric grid. These complex plans are the result of CEJAs reforms to the states ratemaking process.

The ICC is expected to approve modified versions of these plans before the end of the year.

CEJA also opened the door for closer ICC oversight of utilities profit rates and the energy sectors environmental impacts. This has attracted the attention of national and state-level advocacy groups.

Similarly, because of a requirement in CEJA, the ICC has requested all large gas and electric utilities in the state offer discounted energy rates to low-income customers. Consumer advocates are currently sparring with gas utilities over the question of how steep these discounts should be and who should be eligible for them in cases that are also expected to finish before the end of the year.

Electric utilities are expected to file low-income rate design plans in the coming years.

Photos: Pritzker sworn in for second term Jesse White.JPG JB Piitzker 13 010923.JPG JB Piitzker 12 010923.JPG JB Piitzker 11 010923.JPG JB Piitzker 10 010923.JPG JB Piitzker 9 010923.JPG JB Piitzker 7 010923.JPG JB Piitzker 5 010923.JPG JB Piitzker 3 010923.JPG JB Piitzker 2 010923.JPG JB Piitzker 1 010923.JPG Juliana Stratton 1 010923.JPG Stratton 2 010923.JPG Alex Giannoulias 1 010923.JPG Alex Giannoulias 2 010923.JPG Michael Frerichs 010923.JPG 011023-illinois-ball 011023-illinois-ball 011023-illinois-ball 011023-illinois-ball 011023-illinois-ball 011023-illinois-ball Tiffany Mathis 1 011023.JPG dance gov 7 010923.JPG dance gov 13 010923.JPG dance gov 12 010923.JPG dance gov 11 010923.JPG dance gov 10 010923.JPG dance gov 9 010923.JPG dance gov 8 010923.JPG
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  The government-run Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Wednesday vowed to settle the majority of unpaid hospital claims amounting to 27 billion in 90 days.

During the House appropriations panel's hearing on the Department of Health's proposed 2024 budget, PhilHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Ledesma said they are now in the process of reconciling records with private hospitals.

"I'm confident that within 90 days from today, bulk or majority, if not all, of the 27 billion will be paid off. I hope that will make hospitals and doctors happy," he said.

The same agency also promised to pay 25.45 billion worth of claims from private hospitals in six months last year.

Then PhilHealth president Dante Gierran said they are having difficulty processing the private hospitals' claims due to lack of manpower and problems in the agency's IT system.

READ: PhilHealth vows to pay over 25B hospitals' claims in 6 months

Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Ray Reyes also criticized huge salary increases of top PhilHealth officials that nearly tripled starting 2022.

"You guys had the guts during the middle of the pandemic to come out with an executive order to triple your salaries. In anticipation of what?" he asked.

According to the Commission on Audit, PhilHealth executives got a total of 72 million pesos in salaries and benefits last year compared to 26 million in 2021.

But PhilHealth Senior Vice President Israel Francis Pargas said the order came from Malacanang as part of standardizing salaries of government-owned and controlled corporations.

The Department of Health, under which PhilHealth is attached, is eyeing 311 billion for next year, 11 billion less than its current allocation.

Philhealth denied, returned hospitals claims in 2022

Meanwhile, the Commission on Audit (COA) found in its 2022 audit of the Department of Health that PhilHealth last year denied hospital reimbursement claims amounting to 590 million.

COA determined that the claims which PhilHealth denied resulted in loss of income for healthcare institutions (HCIs) which could have been used to augment their budgets or to repair existing hospital facilities.

PhilHealth also classified 2.23 billion worth of claims as Return to Hospital (RTH). These were then returned to HCIs, urging them to comply with certain requirements.

RTH claims may be revised by HCIs and subsequently reversed by PhilHealth into good claims, but non-compliance could lead to a claims denial.

Because PhilHealth sent these claims back, COA said that made HCIs vulnerable to loss of income.

As a result, state auditors recommended affected hospitals to review denied claims in order to possibly refile or appeal these.

COA said the most common causes for denied or RTH claims last year were over-utilization of services; unnecessary diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and interventions; irrational medication and prescriptions; fraudulent, false or incorrect information as determined by the appropriate office; gross, unjustified deviations from currently accepted standards of practice and/or treatment protocols; and inappropriate referral practices.

Other circumstances which led to denied or RTH claims include the use of fake, adulterated or misbranded pharmaceuticals, or unregistered drugs; use of drugs other than those recognized in the latest Philippine National Formulary and those for which exemptions were granted by the Board; and failure to comply without justifiable cause with the pertinent provisions of the any issuances of the PhilHealth.

CNN Philippines' correspondent Xianne Arcangel contributed to this report.
COLUMBIA  South Carolina ETV and Public Radios new two-part documentary, "The World of Cecil," highlights the life and accomplishments of one of the most influential figures in American photography and civil rights activism, Cecil J. Williams. The two-part documentary airs at 9 p.m. Sept. 14 and Sept. 21 on ETV-HD.

This documentary shines a light on the remarkable life and work of Williams, showcasing his profound impact in documenting South Carolina's primary and vital role in civil rights history. It traces his early days of capturing candid moments at weddings and family parties through his work as staff photographer for Claflin University and SC State College, to becoming the unofficial photographer for the state NAACP.

Highlighting Williams photographic documentation, "The World of Cecil" gives viewers a glimpse into some of the most significant civil rights events in South Carolina and underscores Williams quest to have South Carolinas contributions to the national civil rights movement recognized and acknowledged.

"The World of Cecil" features exclusive interviews with family members, friends, colleagues and those whose lives were forever changed by events chronicled in Williams' photographs. Through their stories and from Williams himself, viewers will gain insights into the challenges faced and the triumphs achieved as he captured the essence of a pivotal era in South Carolina's history.

Williams' photography and art have been showcased in numerous galleries across the Southeast, earning him widespread recognition and respect. His work has graced the pages of hundreds of books, newspapers, and television documentaries, serving as a testament to the timeless impact of his lens.

"I've always believed that photographs have the ability to change hearts and minds. My camera has been my weapon for justice, and my art has been a voice for the voiceless. I am grateful for this documentary, as it allows my story to reach new horizons and inspire others to stand up for what they believe in. More importantly, it tells the true story of many brave South Carolinians whose efforts have previously gone unnoted," Williams said.

Amidst exploring Williams history as a photographer, the documentary also sheds light on Williams as a person -- a man who wears many hats and has participated in numerous ventures. Whether photojournalist, publisher, inventor, architect or solar energy pioneer, Williams has always been on the cutting edge of innovation and discovery. "The World of Cecil" leads us through some of these surprising endeavors, including establishing his own museum.

Produced by SCETV, production funding for The World of Cecil is provided by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina. "The World of Cecil" was produced by SCETV journalist and broadcasting pioneer, Beryl Dakers, who has spent her professional life documenting the people, places and monumental events of South Carolina. Throughout a 50-year career, she has been instrumental in opening a series of doors previously locked to women and minorities. Enthusiastically sharing the rich cultural and social history of the Palmetto State with SCETV viewers since 1977, she has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work.

"We are honored to bring the impactful story told in 'The World of Cecil' to our audience. Cecil Williams' story is a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of art. Through this documentary, we hope to celebrate his legacy and inspire viewers to fight for what they believe in, said Dakers.

For more information about "The World of Cecil," visit scetv.org. To learn more about Cecil Williams, visit www.cecilwilliams.com.
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While researching her biography of Kansas Senator Preston B. Plumb, which was released in March, local author Johanna Wickman discovers a script to the lost play The Senator.

The main character of the play is based heavily on Plumb, who was stationed in Casper in 1865.

Senator Preston B. Plumb was a leading Republican Senator of the time and was well known as a workhorse who championed more bills through the Senate than most other senators, a press release from the museum says. He frequently took on lost causes and was well respected for his integrity and honesty.

Now, armed with the once-lost script, the museum, Stage III Theatre and Theatre of the Poor are collaborating to bring The Senator to the stage in Casper. It will be performed Sept. 15, 16 and 17 at the Natrona County High School Auditorium. Tickets will be free but must be reserved online.

The play ran for 119 performances on Broadway in 1890 before touring the nation, a press release from Fort Caspar Museum said.

Though it was eventually made into a silent film in 1915, that was the only year it was shown as a film before it was lost.

Written by David D. Lloyd and Sydney Rosenfeld , The Senator is a fictitious story of an elderly man who has struggled for decades to move a claim of damages from the War of 1812 through the Senate, the press release noted. Near the end of his life, he enlists the help of the charming and charismatic Senator Hannibal Rivers to fight for the claim one last time.

Directed by William Conte, this upcoming production will be as faithful to the original play as possible, including lavish sets and costuming, period music, and period living historians intermingled in the audience.

It is Rivers that is based off of Plumb. William H. Crane, who played Rivers in the original Broadway play, spent several weeks shadowing Plumb as he worked in the Senate.

The play will also be streamed live for those who are unable to attend the in-person.
Over a year after Casper police responded to a report of a dead 366-day old boy, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation brought charges against the mother.

Elizabeth Sterkel is charged with one count of child endangerment and one count of criminally negligent homicide, court filings show.

Sterkel is facing up to six years in prison, if found guilty.

On the evening of May 18, 2022, Casper police responded a report of a deceased toddler, the affidavit states.

There were no obvious signs of trauma on the child, the affidavit states. A search warrant was issued for the Casper home, and Sterkel was interviewed.

During the search, officers found several items of drug paraphernalia that appeared to be used in the consumption of meth, the affidavit states.

Many items were sent to the Wyoming State Crime Lab for testing, the affidavit states. Among those was two baby bottles.

One of these bottles was tested by the Wyoming State Laboratory, and was shown to contain amounts of Methamphetamine, the affidavit states.

Sterkel allegedly admitted to using meth around her child while he was present in the residence, the affidavit states.

An autopsy was conducted on the childs remains, the affidavit states. There was fentanyl and meth found in the blood samples.

The autopsy showed that [the child] had been exposed to the Fentanyl well before he was found to be deceased, the affidavit states. It is believed [he] died within 1/2 to 1 hour after his exposure to the fentanyl.

Afterwards, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation was made aware of this incident as well as the other parties who were present the night the child was exposed to fentanyl, the affidavit states.

Two of these parties were found to be related to an investigation connected to a large-scale drug distributor of both fentanyl and methamphetamine, the affidavit states.

One of them allegedly handled blue fentanyl pills before being allowed to make a bottle for the child and putting him down for bed, the affidavit states. The mother allegedly also consumed meth on the night of her sons death.

Sterkels jury trial is scheduled to start Oct. 30.
The last few years have been a doozy for Wyomings students and schools.

Both have been working to recover from the rippling effects of the coronavirus pandemic that continue to shape student learning and Wyomings broader K-12 education landscape.

Test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also called the nations report card, show that nationally students are still struggling to recover from the significant academic declines triggered by the pandemic. Data collected and released for the first time since the start of the pandemic showed the largest drop in eighth grade math scores in half a century last year, according to reporting from the Washington Post.

But in Wyoming there is some good news.

Student standardized test scores ticked up slightly last year, while the performances of roughly three quarters of schools increased or stayed the same. The Wyoming Department of Educations latest data released over the last week suggests that the states students and schools could be starting to rebound from the pandemic, though the effects continue to play out in the classroom.

At a press conference Wednesday announcing standardized test scores and school performance ratings for the 2022  2023 school year, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder praised the results while also acknowledging that the states schools and the Department of Education still have more work to do.

Many districts saw double digit growth in content areas and/or grades and that should be celebrated, she said, before adding: However, we must do better.

2022  2023 WY-TOPP scores

Since the 2017  2018 school year, third through 10th graders have taken annual Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress (WY-TOPP) standardized tests in math and English. Students in grades 4, 8, and 10 also take an additional test covering science. The lone exception was the 2019  2020 school year when the Department of Education suspended state testing due to the pandemic. WY-TOPP replaced the states previous standardized testing system.

The first five years of state WY-TOPP data are a small sample size with a notable gap, but they reveal one clear trend: student learning suffered during and following the pandemic.

Math scores fell sharply, slouching more than 3 percentage points in the first year of testing following the onset of the pandemic. Last year English and science proficiency fell for the second consecutive year to lows of 53.1% and 47.3% after reaching their pre-pandemic peaks.

A 2022 study by researchers from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Brown University and MIT found that Wyoming students performed better on standardized tests during the pandemic than their peers in 11 other states, but WY-TOPP scores show that they still experienced learning losses.

The gaps that opened during the pandemic could be beginning to shrink, according to the Department of Educations recently released test scores for the 2022  2023 school year.

For the first time since the pandemic, aggregate WY-TOPP scores improved across math, English and science last year. Science proficiency rose by a percentage point while English and math scores increased by 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively. Though the results are slight, they are not inconsequential given that nationwide test scores continue to slide. Across some grades and content areas, the gains were especially pronounced, including a more than 3% increase in ninth grade English proficiency.

Yet, though schools see signs of a rebound, WY-TOPP scores continue linger below pre-pandemic levels. In both English and math, students trail their pre-pandemic marks by more than 2 percentage points. Science proficiency scores are a percentage point behind their five-year peak of 49.3% in the 2018  2019 school year.

Even before the pandemic WY-TOPP scores showed that only roughly half of Wyoming students were proficient in English, math and science, a track record that Degenfelder rejected.

Proficiency below 50% in any content area or grade is not good enough, she said. It wouldnt be good enough in the private sector, and it isnt good enough for our kids.

Degenfelder said the Department of Education would work directly with school districts to improve test scores, offering underperforming districts and schools a range of supports, including on-site technical assistance, school improvement planning and regional trainings. The Department of Education has also funneled federal COVID-19 relief money into extended learning programs, tutoring and literacy practice, and it is currently developing a school leadership training program for administrators. Both will be key to reversing the learning declines created by the pandemic, Degenfelder said.

Another step will be the formation of communities of practice where the Department of Education connects higher performing school districts with those that do not meet state standards.

Coming from the private sector, I recognize that we look at those schools, we look at those areas of the business that are performing well, and we replicate that in our districts that need more support, Degenfelder said.

At Wednesdays press conference, Degenfelder and the Department of Education invited Sheridan County School District No. 1 Superintendent Jeff Jones and Thayne Elementary Principal Daniel Barnes to share what their schools have done to improve their academic performance over the last year and help their students excel. Both said that it came down to their teachers, staff and school communities.

Our school district led by our school board has invested a lot of extra time and money to build an important foundation for students success, Jones said. Without question, the key ingredient in that foundation are the people that work with our students every day.

People, not programs, make the difference, he said.

School performance

Degenfelder and the Department of Education also released statewide school performance ratings for the 2022  2023 school year last week.

Each year Wyoming schools are measured on a series of state and federal accountability indicators like graduation rate, student achievement and English language proficiency. The states goals for schools include an 88% graduation rate, 53% of high school students reading proficiently or better and 57% of elementary and middle schoolers testing proficient in math, according to the Department of Education.

Schools are rated as either exceeding, meeting, partially meeting or not meeting expectations under the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act, the bedrock law that governs the evaluation and improvement of the states public schools. Wyomings alternative schools  those for students who have educational needs beyond the scope of traditional schools  have a similar system with added measures like climate and engagement that the state tracks.

Last years data is a mixed bag. It suggests that some schools are beginning to shake off the effects of the pandemic while others continue to struggle. Roughly a quarter of schools improved their performance rating while a little more than half stayed steady, according to a Department of Education news release. The other 21% saw their performance decline last year.

The figures are better for alternative schools. Roughly 36% improved their standing while fewer than 8% experienced drops in their performances.

Overall, more traditional schools are partially meeting, meeting or exceeding expectations compared to the 2021  2022 school year, while fewer are failing to meet state standards. The share of alternative schools exceeding state expectations more than doubled last year.

In its overview report, the Department of Education specifically highlighted 12 schools that have exceed state expectations over the last three rating cycles (School performance was not measured during the 2019  2020 and 2020  2021 school years because of the pandemic), including Woodland Park Elementary in Sheridan, PODER Academy in Cheyenne and New Frontier High School in Kemmerer.

Its very encouraging to see this upward trend in performance ratings for Wyoming schools and I want to especially recognize the 12 schools in particular that are maintaining a rating of exceeding expectations for a third year in a row, Degenfelder said.  While we celebrate the majority of schools improving or remaining constant in their overall performance, we must do better for those students in the 21% of schools that declined in performance and those that remained in the not meeting expectations category.

Though there are clear signs of a rebound, some schools are still catching up after the pandemic and others continue to fall short of state standards. Fewer traditional schools are meeting or exceeding expectations than before the pandemic, according to Department of Education data.

In some districts like Lincoln County School District No. 2 all schools are meeting or exceeding state standards. As a whole, the districts schools have largely held steady or improved over their last three evaluations. Other districts like Natrona County School District No. 1 and Sweetwater County School District No. 1 feature only a handful of schools that meet state benchmarks.

The Department of Education will use the new school performance ratings to identify struggling schools and target its interventions and assistance.

We have to do things differently in those schools that are in most need of support, Degenfelder said. Were going to be looking at things differently at the Department of Education on how better to serve those schools and really drilling down on the data, looking at individual indicators and seeking where schools in need of improvement most require our support.

In announcing the release of last years test scores and school performance ratings, Degenfelder touted steps the agency is taking to make information on school accountability and standardized testing more accessible, including new report overviews of that break down the data for parents and the public.

Weve laid out the data unlike ever before and weve included really easy to access spreadsheets that really show in individual content areas how a parents childs school district is doing, she said. Its easier for them to access that information to really keep up with the performance of their school and to become more empowered, more involved, more engaged.

Ultimately, rebounding from the pandemic and reversing learning losses will require the dedication of all those invested in the states K-12 schools, Degenfelder said.

We need to come together to ensure that we raise proficiency levels of all schools, she said. Its not just on our teachers. Its not just on our schools. Its on our state, our communities, to really come together in this effort.

Your news on your smartphone Your story lives in Wyoming, and our new mobile app is designed to make sure you dont miss breaking news, the latest scores, the weather forecast and more. From easy navigation with the swipe of a finger to personalized content based on your preferences to customized text sizes, the Star-Tribune app is built for you and your life. Dont have the app? Download it today from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
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.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  Former health chief Jannette Garin questioned the public health expertise of recent appointee Tony Leachon as a special adviser of the Department of Health (DOH).

"Do you think it's fair for the DOH to give 100,000 to a person whose statements were always skewed and malicious?" Garin told DOH chief Ted Herbosa during the budget deliberations on Wednesday.

"I'm saying this because as a secretary of health, you have allies and colleagues with you whose tasks and functions will be affected," she added.

The House panel also found out that Leachon does not have a masters or doctorate degree in public health to be considered an expert.

Leachon was appointed as DOH special adviser for non-communicable diseases last August. He was an internist and cardiologist at the Manila Doctors' Hospital. He also previously served as a COVID-19 task force adviser.

"You can hire him as your personal consultant but you cannot give him the platform of the Department of Health because that is a lot different," Garin said.

Instead of paying a non-expert in the field, the congresswoman said funds should be allocated to Medical Assistance for Indigents Program (MAIP) workers.

"Ang laki-laki ng medical assistance program. Napakaraming trabaho sa kanila... pero kulang na kulang sila sa tao [The medical assistance program is huge. There's a lot of work to do but they lack manpower]," she said.
A man with a gunshot wound to the leg was arrested near a bar for possession of a gun and ro
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As we sit in the comfort of our Caribbean homes and look on in horror at the merciless genoc
PHOENIX  State schools chief Tom Horne filed suit late Wednesday, trying to get a court to rule any school that doesnt use structured English immersion to teach students who arent proficient in the language is violating the law.

The Republican elected officials lawsuit says Creighton Elementary School District in Phoenix is using a dual language model in which students are taught academic subject matter in classrooms featuring both English and their native language, usually Spanish.

Horne said that violates Proposition 203, a 2000 voter-approved measure spelling out that all children in Arizona public schools shall be taught English by being taught in English, and all children should be placed in English language classrooms.

School officials in Creighton and elsewhere, however, have relied on a 2019 state law which reduced the amount of time students must spend in structured English immersion classes and gave the Arizona Board of Education flexibility to develop alternatives.

They have said  backed by Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes  that one of the alternatives is the dual language model Horne contends is illegal.

Horne now wants a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to declare the 2019 law unconstitutional if it is being interpreted to amend the 2000 ballot measure.

Thats because the Arizona Constitution forbids lawmakers from altering what voters have approved unless it furthers the purpose of the original law.

Horne said that cannot be the case here because the purpose of Proposition 203 is that children be taught in English for the entire school day, in order for them to quickly become proficient in English.

Other districts

Horne contends Creighton is not alone in violating the law, having previously named about two dozen other districts in the same situation. But he told Capitol Media Services his decision to sue only that district was pretty random in order to quickly get the issue before a judge.

If I get a declaration, I win on everybody, he said.

How many schools would be affected if Horne wins the lawsuit is unclear.

The Department of Education lists 10 schools, none in the Tucson area, he says are violating state law by enrolling their students in dual-language models without getting waivers.

There are, however, many more schools, including in Southern Arizona, with dual-language instruction. That, by itself, is permitted if the school gets a signed waiver from parents from the structured English immersion requirement.

But the department says state law allows schools to seek such waivers only in three circumstances: The student already has a working knowledge of English, the student is at least 10 years old, or the student has special needs. Hornes office says it will begin auditing the districts with waivers to be sure that only qualified students are being exempted from structured English immersion.

Hobbs proud to stand by dual language

The lawsuit also names Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs as a defendant based on what Hornes lawyers said is her constitutional obligation to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

In addition, the lawsuit says, the governor has been touting dual language even though she knows, or should know, that it is contrary to law.

Hobbs is unapologetic. Gov. Hobbs is proud to stand by dual language programs that help ensure the next generation of Arizonans have an opportunity to thrive, said her press aide Christian Slater.

Dual language programs are critical for training the workforce of the future and providing a rich learning environment for Arizonas children, he said. She will not back down in the face of Superintendent Hornes lawsuit.

Also named as a defendant is Attorney General Kris Mayes. She had no comment.

The Creighton district is reviewing the issue with its legal counsel, but the dual language model it is using was approved by the state Board of Education, said district spokeswoman Emily Waszolek. We always strive to do what is best for our kids. We will continue to support parent choice and the programs that are supported by our community and families, she said.

Horne, Mayes dispute

The dispute has been brewing for months.

Horne announced in June that any school teaching English language learners in what has come to be known as a 50-50 dual language model is breaking the law.

In a letter to school districts, he said schools that dont use immersion programs could lose access to special funds to teach English. Horne said the law also allows any parent to sue any school board member or any administrator responsible for violating Proposition 203, with that individual held personally liable for damages.

The following month, however, Mayes issued a formal opinion declaring Horne has no authority to cut off funds to schools that dont use structured English immersion. She said only the state Board of Education has the authority to declare a school district is not complying with the 2000 voter-approved law.

She cited the 2019 law.

Mayes sidestepped the question of whether the dual language model complies with Proposition 203s requirements. She said that is a question of fact and not law.

But she said the state board concluded that dual-language programs are acceptable, that school districts remain entitled to rely on that approval, and that Horne cant do anything about it.

Only the (state) board has the statutory authority to exclude the dual language model from the list of approved SEI (Structured English Immersion) models and to declare a school noncompliant and ineligible for ELL (English Language Learner) funds, Mayes wrote. The superintendent does not have authority to impose any consequences on, or withhold any monies from, a school district or charter school that utilizes a board-approved SEI model absent a finding of noncompliance with the board.

Teaching methods debated

Horne said Wednesday that a court ruling in his favor would resolve the dispute and that he would expect Creighton  and all other districts not teaching English immersion  to fall into line.

He said the issue is more than a spat about the law. He contends studies have shown it is more effective to have students learn English quickly by being immersed in language lessons, even if they fall behind their peers in academic subjects.

What the studies show is that youre better off falling a little behind academically and conquering English quickly and then catching up than trying to keep up with your academics and never learning English, or it takes too long to learn English, Horne said.

Not everyone agrees.

There was an effort in 2020 to put a measure on the ballot to replace Proposition 203 with a requirement for public schools to provide dual language programs for both native and non-native English speakers. Sponsored by a Republican legislator, it would have spelled out that schools must provide effective and appropriate instructional methods.
The current ballot method of retaining or rejecting judges on the Arizona Court of Appeals is unconstitutional and should be struck down, the Goldwater Institute says in a new lawsuit.

The organization, which lobbies and litigates against government regulation, contends the current system illegally disenfranchises some voters. In that system, people from only certain counties get to vote on certain appellate judges.

The Goldwater Institute is asking the Arizona Supreme Court to void the process ahead of the 2024 election, in order to allow all voters to decide on all judges.

It comes down to a really simple principle: Every Arizonan should have the right to vote on judges that affect them, institute attorney Jonathan Riches told Capitol Media Services. And the current system doesnt allow that.

Riches noted that decisions of both divisions of the Court of Appeals are legally binding on the entire state, regardless of where theyre issued.

The lawsuit named Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, as the defendant, mainly because he is the one who administers all statewide elections, including those for appellate-level judges.

But in a brief order late Wednesday, Justice Ann Scott Timmer dismissed the case, telling the Goldwater Institute to refile the lawsuit, this time including all persons who have or claim any interest that would be affected by the relief sought.

There was no immediate response from Riches.

A spokesman for Fontes had no immediate answer to whether the secretary will actively oppose the Goldwater Institutes effort or instead take a neutral role and tell the Supreme Court justices he will follow whatever they rule.

Retention system

Strictly speaking, Arizona does not elect appellate judges.

Under a system approved by voters in 1974, they are chosen by the governor, who must select from a list submitted by a screening panel.

But sitting judges are required to stand for reelection on a retain-reject basis every four years. If a judge is turned out of office by voters, the selection process starts over.

Governors are required to select appellate judges based on county of residence. Riches said the Goldwater Institute is not challenging that, which he said promotes diversity.

What is a problem, he said, is the law says the list of who can vote to retain or reject appellate judges is based on the residence of the voter.

Voters cannot vote on the retention of judges who reside outside their geographic area, the lawsuit says.

This isnt the first attempt to nullify the system.

On a party-line vote earlier this year, the Republican-controlled Legislature approved a proposal by House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Peoria, to require all Court of Appeals judges to stand for retention on a statewide basis. No one testified against it.

Debate over equal protection of voters

But Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed the proposal, saying the proposed cure is worse than the current situation.

Allowing voters statewide to vote on whether to retain all of Court of Appeals judges regardless of the judges division assignment, while retaining the division structure, would unfairly dilute the votes of those Arizonans most directly impacted by each divisions judges, Hobbs wrote.

Riches contends that ignores the reality of how the system works.

There is no guarantee that any judge they vote for will sit on any given case, the lawsuit states.

Cases can be and are transferred between divisions. So, for example, the review of a decision of a Maricopa County Superior Court judge in a dispute between Maricopa County residents can be handled by appellate judges who arent from Maricopa County.

Thats because of the somewhat complex two-division system that now exists.

For instance, someone who lives in Pima County, in Division II of the Court of Appeals, can vote to retain or reject only appellate judges who were selected by the governor from that county. Residents of the other counties in Division II  Pinal, Cochise, Santa Cruz, Greenlee, Graham and Gila counties  can cast ballots only for judges who were picked from among those six counties.

The same situation exists in Division I, with Maricopa County residents entitled to vote on the future of appellate judges only from their county, and residents of Yuma, La Paz, Mohave, Coconino, Yavapai, Navajo or Apache counties entitled to weigh in only on appellate judges from those seven counties.

All that means that litigants will frequently be subject to appellate decisions where they never voted for a single judge on the panel, Riches said.

On a practical level, the Goldwater Institute says that about 60% of Arizona voters get to cast a ballot in retention elections for appellate court judges residing in the states largest county. But only about 10% of registered voters can participate in retention elections for Court of Appeals judges in Pinal, Cochise, Santa Cruz, Greenlee, Graham or Gila counties.

The lawsuit says that violates state constitutional provisions requiring equal protection of all voters.

Former appellate judge backs lawsuit

Riches noted, by contrast, voters in the entire state get to decide on retaining or rejecting the members of the Arizona Supreme Court, regardless of the residence of the justices.

He said that doesnt fix the problem, however, as most cases make it no farther than the Court of Appeals.

Unlike the appellate court, the Supreme Court does not have to take every case that comes to it. And a decision not to review an appellate court ruling leaves the ruling as the binding precedent for the whole state.

The lawsuit is being backed by the legal help of Republican Andrew Gould, who was a Yuma County Superior Court judge before being tapped for the appellate court in 2011 by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer.

He became a justice of the Supreme Court in 2016 after the Republican-controlled Legislature expanded the size of the high court from five to seven, giving GOP Gov. Doug Ducey two new appointments.

Now he is listed as special counsel on this lawsuit.

In a prepared statement, Gould called the current system arbitrary.

If a judges decision will affect the whole state, it shouldnt matter where in the state he or she lives, he said. The current system is unfair to the millions of Arizona voters who are bound by the decisions of the judges on the Arizona Court of Appeals, and it raises serious constitutional questions.
A practice used by some, if not all, Arizona counties to verify signatures on early ballots may be illegal, a judge says.

That could result in election officials all across the state having to change their procedures, and potentially in more signatures on ballot envelopes being questioned.

State law is clear and unambiguous that election officials must compare the signature on a ballot envelope with the voters registration record, said Yavapai County Superior Court Judge John Napper.

That record, he said, consists only of the document signed when a person first registered, along with subsequent changes for reasons such as altering party affiliation.

The judge said that means it is illegal for county election officials to instead use other documents to determine if the signature on the ballot envelope is correct and should be accepted.

Nappers conclusion is not the last word, and he has not issued a final order.

Strictly speaking, he only rejected efforts by Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to have a lawsuit thrown out that was filed by two groups challenging the process.

We look forward to the issue being litigated, said Paul Smith-Leonard, spokesman for Fontes, a Democrat.

Fontes say the rules in the Elections Procedures Manual allow the comparison of signatures against other documents  the practice now widely in use.

But the judges ruling made it clear he is not buying Fontes arguments that the practice complies with requirements in state law.

And Nappers refusal to dismiss the case means theres nothing left to fight about, said attorney Kory Langhofer, who represents the groups challenging the practice.

Definitions at issue

A section of law requires a county recorder, when receiving early ballots, to compare the signatures thereon with the signature of the elector on the electors registration record.

Langhofer, in his court filing, acknowledged that nothing in state law explicitly defines a registration record.

But he argued that the definition most naturally would be the state or federal documents by which someone signs up to vote and provides certain other information, and any updates to those forms.

However, the most recent version of the Elections Procedures Manual, prepared by the Secretary of States Office, says county recorders should also consult additional known signatures from other official election documents in the voters registration record, such as signature rosters or early ballot request forms.

In some cases, Langhofer said, counties are using signatures on early ballot envelopes from prior elections for their comparisons.

Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cazares-Kelly doesnt go that far. But she said her office relies on much more than the voter registration record.

Changes in signatures over time

Some people register to vote when they get a drivers license. But those licenses can be good for up to 45 years, Cazares-Kelly noted.

As everybody should know, signatures vary by time and place and how much time you have, the Democratic county recorder said. You will change your signature a number of times throughout your life, going from adolescent to full adulthood.

She said her own signature changes, given that she has to sign a hundred documents a day.

So other documents can be helpful for comparison, Cazares-Kelly said. We receive other notifications from the voters, she said.

Every single time we receive something in writing, it goes into their voter file, she continued. So every single thing that has a signature on it, it is another indication, another touch point, another opportunity to update what those signatures look like.

Cochise County Recorder David Stevens, a Republican, said his office also relies on signatures on other correspondence it has received from a voter. He also said ballot signatures can be compared with those on file with the Motor Vehicle Division.

Fontes, in asking Napper to dismiss the lawsuit, argued that other documents listed as acceptable in the Elections Procedures Manual are within the definition of a registration record. And if the judge wasnt buying that, Fontes said the phrase is ambiguous, meaning he can interpret it as part of his duties.

Judges comments

Napper was having none of that. The common meaning of registration in the English language is to sign up to participate in an activity, the judge wrote.

He derided the idea that other documents submitted by a voter fit that definition. No English speaker would linguistically confuse the acting of signing up to participate in an event with the act of participating in the event, Napper wrote. Registering to attend law school is not the same as attending class. Registering to vote is not the same as voting.

Nor was Napper impressed by the claim the phrase registration record is ambiguous, allowing the secretary of state some latitude to interpret it.

Pursuant to the statute, the recorder is to compare the signature on the envelope with the voters prior registration, he said, quoting from the law. If they match, then the vote is counted.

The judge also noted there is a procedure in state law that allows county election officials, if they question whether a signature on a ballot matches the official record, to contact the voter. That allows the voter to verify it is their signature and offer an explanation for changes in a signature that could be related to age, illness or injury.

Langhofer is representing the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. It has backed various measures to impose new identification requirements on voters while opposing efforts to restore the states permanent early voting list.

Also suing is an organization called Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections, or RITE. It bills itself as opposing changes in election laws that seek to give one group a partisan advantage and says it enforces constitutional standards against voting laws and procedures that threaten or dilute the right of qualified citizens to vote.
Tucsonans love to thrift just about everything. From new-to-you clothing to home decor and kitchen appliances, our local thrift stores have a little something for everyone.

So, whether youre shopping used to save money or to help the planet, Tucson has plenty of thrift shops to choose from. Here is our mega list of locally-owned and nationally-run thrift shops around the city (in alphabetical order).

Important note: Each shop has different operating hours, so we recommend double-checking their hours before heading out on a shopping spree. Happy thrifting!

Assistance League of Tucson

1307 N. Alvernon Way

The Assistance League of Tucson has plenty of home decor, housewares and typical thrift shop odds and ends. You can check out their inventory online, purchase an item (or items) and do in-person pickup in case you dont want to spend a few hours digging through products.

Blessingdales Thrift Stores

4817 E. Speedway and 3725 W. Ina Road

Sales from the Blessingdales Thrift Stores of Tucson benefit the programs at Teen Challenge of Arizona. There are currently two locations in the area.

Bringing Out The Best Thrift Store Boutique

5320 E. Speedway

This thrift shop recently opened in the former SAS Fabrics building on Speedway. You can find clothing, home decor, furniture and more at this thrift shop boutique.

Buffalo Exchange

2001 E. Speedway

Although Buffalo Exchange currently has around 40 locations across the U.S., the clothing and accessory resale store started right here in Tucson in the 1970s. Here, you can buy, sell and trade clothing, shoes and more.

Christian Family Care Thrift Store

7667 E. Speedway

This thrift shop offers secondhand clothing, furniture and household items. The sales from the store help serve at-risk children and families in the Tucson community, their website says. They also offer a 50% off sale on the first Saturday of every month!

Cotton Blossom

5224 W. Dove Mountain Centre Road

The Cotton Blossom thrift shop in Marana is associated with MHC Healthcare. The shop offers high quality, gently-used merchandise at great prices, with their proceeds going toward families and individuals in need, according to their website.

DaZees

231 W. Duval Road, Green Valley

This volunteer-run resale boutique offers blouses, dresses, jewelry, handbags and even some formal wear for women and men. The proceeds from the shop benefit the Hands of a Friend foundation which helps women and their children who have suffered from domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and elder abuse, according to their website.

Deseret Industries Thrift Store and Donation Center

3850 W. Orange Grove Road

Deseret Industries Thrift Store and Donation Center moved to its new location on Orange Grove Road after operating out of its previous location near downtown for 25 years. The store has around 15,000 square feet of thrifty goodness.

Elsas Closet Thrift Store

3553 S. 12th Ave.

Find used appliances, furniture, home decor, clothing and more at this local thrift store. You can find this thrift store across the street from Pueblo High School.

Golden Goose Thrift Shop

15970 N. Oracle Road, Catalina

The Golden Goose Thrift Shop has been around for nearly two decades. Find home goods, kitchen items, art, collectibles and more at this thrift shop. All profits benefit the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach and IMPACT of Southern Arizona organizations.

Goodwill of Southern Arizona

Various locations throughout Tucson

This list wouldnt be complete without mentioning Goodwill of Southern Arizona. There are currently 13 Goodwill of Southern Arizona thrift stores and donation centers around the city. (This doesnt include the Goodwills that are only donation centers.) Whats the most unique item youve found at a Goodwill store?

Great Things Thrift Store

4140 W. Ina Road

You can find clothing for all ages, toys, dinnerware and more at this Arizona-based thrift store. The shop aims to help alleviate the high costs of childcare items without sacrificing the quality.

HabiStore

935 W. Grant Road

The Habitat for Humanity store offers used appliances, furniture, home items and even new building materials. The sales from this thrift store help fund home building and repair projects in our community, according to their website.

Humane Society of Southern Arizona Thrift Store

1010 S. Wilmot Road

Find furniture, clothing, kitchen items and more at the HSSA Thrift Store located at its new home near 22nd Street and Wilmot Road. Plus, you can check out local adoptable pets from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays!

InJoy Thrift Stores

250 N. Pantano Road

When we say this place is huge, we mean it. Theres plenty of space to find the perfect houseware item, T-shirt, toy and even a wedding dress at this thrift store.

Just Cause Thrift Shop

2554 N. Stone Ave.

You never know what you might find at this tiny hole-in-the-wall thrift shop on Stone Avenue. They have a selection of dinnerware items, home decor and furniture, plus many other oddities.

Las Dos CoMadres Thrift Shop

2002 S. Fourth Ave.

Find womens clothing and accessories at this South Tucson thrift shop. They also offer a variety of home items such as cookie jars, plates and framed artwork.

Little Bird Nesting Company

4508 E. Broadway

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Of course, we couldnt forget the babies and kiddos in your life! This shop offers gently-used clothing, accessories, toys and other childcare items.

Platos Closet

5616 E. Broadway; 7306 N. Oracle Road; and 5373 S. Calle Santa Cruz

Like some of the other shops on this list, Platos Closet isnt Tucson-based and has locations across the U.S. Despite its national status, you can find clothes for all seasons in all sizes for a respectable price.

Resale Ranch

13645 W. Sagebrush Road

Resale Ranch is a secondhand shop that sells household items, furniture, tools, jewelry and more. The shop does estate clean-outs and donation pick-ups.

ReThreads Thrift

66 E. Pennington St.

Find some new threads (get it?) at this shop dedicated to breaking down the stigmas of mental illness. Many of the clothes featured at this shop are donated from Buffalo Exchange!

Safe Shift Estate Sale Store

2801 E. Grant Road

This local estate sale store may only be open three days a month, but its 8,500-square-foot location offers plenty of space to find used furniture, home decor, accessories and more. The funds raised help benefit local firefighters and first responders through the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation, according to their website.

Savers

5845 E. Broadway

OK, OK, Savers doesnt have local ties, but they do support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona, according to their website. Savers is a great place to find clothes, old movies, books and more. Plus, they pull out all the stops during Halloween time, with a large DIY costume section for those ballin on a budget.

Salpointe Thrift and Gift Shop

1705 E. Fort Lowell Road

Yes, the Salpointe Thrift and Gift Shop has ties with Salpointe Catholic High School. Proceeds from the shops sales, which average around $30,000 a year, benefit the high school, according to their website.

Speedway Outlet

5421 E. Speedway

This thrift store says they add thousands of new items to their inventory daily. So even if you strike out the day you shop, you can always try again the next day or the day after that or the day after that  you get the idea.

St. Vincent de Paul of Southern Arizona Thrift Stores

820 S. Sixth Ave. and 5426 E. Pima St.

Try your thrifting luck at this thrift stores two locations in Tucson. St. Vincent de Paul of Southern Arizona hopes to help the community by assisting with clothing, food, furniture and even rent and utility assistance, according to their website.

Sweet Repeats Childrens Resale Boutique

7936 N. Oracle Road

Sweet Repeats is a childrens resale boutique located in Oro Valley. They offer gently-used childrens items from clothing, toys, books, baby equipment and more. The shop also offers trade or sell options, but you need to book an appointment for those options.

Teal Saguaro

2260 N. Rosemont Blvd.

This resale boutique directly supports Tucson Medical Center. Funds raised go back into the hospital. You can find clothing, kids' items, small appliances and more at this locally-run thrift shop.

The Cottage

420 E. Magee Road

Visit The Cottage for clothing, kitchen items, furniture, books, music and more. According to their website, proceeds go to Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Tucson.

The Girls Estate Sales

330 S. Wilmot Road

The Girls Estate Sales is a great place to find home decor, furniture, collectibles and more. They offer an ever-changing inventory, so youll always find something new at this shop.

Treasures & More

5527 E. Pima St.

This thrift shop sells used furniture, clothing and other household items. Located on Tucsons east side near Pima Street and Craycroft Road, all of the proceeds benefit the Miracle Center and GAP Ministries programs that help those struggling from addiction reclaim their lives, their website states.

Trendz Consignment Boutique

101 S. La Canada Dr., Green Valley

This reader-recommended thrift store features women's clothing, shoes and accessories, in addition to a small section for men. As the name suggests, they do consignments too!

Tucson Thrift Shop

319 N. Fourth Ave.

Tucson Thrift Shop is the go-to place for unique vintage clothing and accessories. And, of course, for all of your DIY costume needs! The shop has been a staple on Fourth Avenue for years.

Twice As Nice

7333 E. Broadway

Find your next outfit at Twice As Nice, a secondhand clothing and accessories thrift shop on Tucsons east side. You can occasionally find toys at this shop, too!

Vail Depot Thrift Store

13105 E. Colossal Cave Road

Benefitting the Vail Food Bank, this thrift store sells clothes, toys, furniture, decor and more. They frequently post on Facebook, so check there to get an idea of what goodies might be in stock.

White Elephant

601 N. La Canada Dr., Green Valley

The White Elephant Thrift Store has been in Southern Arizona since 1964. The shop features clothing, electronics, home decor, furniture, movies and more. Note: Cash or personal check (with ID) are the only accepted payment methods.

The local thrifting scene is constantly changing. Have a new favorite thrift shop you recently discovered? Did an old favorite recently close up shop? Send me an email at everdugo@tucson.com to let me know, so we can keep this list updated. 
(CNN)  Mexicos Supreme Court ruled to federally decriminalize abortion on Wednesday, finding that the current ban on the procedure is unconstitutional.

The First Chamber of the Court ruled that the legal system that penalizes abortion in the Federal Criminal Code is unconstitutional, since it violates the human rights of women and people with the capacity to gestate, the Supreme Court said on social media.

Abortion has already been decriminalized in 12 states in Mexico. The most recent ruling, which took place in the central state of Aguascalientes just days ago, was lauded online, Reuters reported, with rights activists posting green hearts on social media.

The hearts represent the so-called Green Wave, the social movement for reproductive rights that has swept Latin America since the start of this century.

Mexicos Supreme Court first said that it was unconstitutional to criminalize abortion in 2021, ruling against a law in the state of Coahuila, which threatened women who undergo abortions with up to three years prison and a fine.

The country has become an unexpected haven for US residents after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

Veronica Cruz, an abortion rights activists, told CNN in 2022 that she was surprised to find Mexico going forward, and the US is going backward.
Jimmie Tramel Tulsa World Scene Writer Follow Jimmie Tramel 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

Greek weddings, silent films, spooky stories, classic favorites and new releases are among offerings at Circle Cinema this month.

Tulsas only independent, nonprofit theater announced a slate of films and special screenings to kick off the fall season. On deck: Expected blockbusters like My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 and A Haunting in Venice, new releases like The Outlaw Johnny Black and It Lives Inside, music documentaries spotlighting Carlos Santana and The Talking Heads, silent films with live organ accompaniment and classics returning to the big-screen. More information on the following films are available at circlecinema.org, with tickets on sale now for many of the events.

September features and special screenings:

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

Opens for daily screenings Friday, Sept. 8. Comedy, 91 minutes, PG-13

From writer and director Nia Vardalos, the worldwide phenomenon is back with a brand-new adventure. Join the Portokalos family for a trip to a family reunion in Greece  a heartwarming and hilarious trip full of love, twists and turns. Opa!

Joyce Carole Oates: A Body in the Service of Mind

Opens for daily screenings Friday, Sept. 8. Documentary, 94 minutes, not rated

One of the countrys preeminent and prolific serious writers, Joyce Carol Oates, provides insight into her life, her creative process and the events that have shaped her writings, including the 1967 Detroit Riot, the Chappaquiddick incident and the tragic life of Marilyn Monroe. It includes featuring readings by Academy Award winner Laura Dern.

The Goose Woman (1925), 2nd Saturday Silent Series

11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 9. Silent/drama, 80 minutes, not rated

Experience a classic silent film with a live original score played on Circle Cinemas 1928 theater organ. This month, see the drama of Mary Holmes, a former prima donna who tragically lost her singing voice while giving birth to an illegitimate son. When a murder is committed next door, she is confronted with a decision that will determine her sons destiny  and ultimately, her own.

Satanic Hispanics

8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14. Horror, 105 minutes, R

Celebrate top Latin filmmakers as this showcases the skills of Hispanic talent, both on and off screen, with this new horror anthology. Featuring shorts by Alejandro Brugues, Mike Mendez, Demian Rugna, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Eduardo Sanchez and Demian Rugna.

A Haunting in Venice

Opens for daily screenings Friday, Sept. 15. Mystery, 103 minutes, PG-13

Kenneth Branagh directs and stars in his third feature as Agatha Christies famed detective Hercule Poirot. In post-World War II Venice, Poirot, now retired and living in his own exile, reluctantly attends a seance. But when one of the guests is murdered, it is up to the former detective to once again uncover the killer.

The Outlaw Johnny Black

Opens for daily screenings Friday, Sept. 15. Comedy/Western, 130 minutes, PG-13

From the creative team behind Black Dynamite comes a spiritual sequel and hilariously over-the-top modern tribute to blaxpoitation films. Hell bent on avenging the death of his father, Johnny Black vows to gun down Brett Clayton and becomes a wanted man in the process.

Noir Nights with Josh Fadem

7 p.m. Sept. 18. TBA film to be revealed at showtime

All tickets are $5 as Tulsa-born actor, comedian and film noir enthusiast Josh Fadem (Better Call Saul, Twin Peaks, Reservation Dogs) hosts a monthly night of his favorite vintage crime films. Which film will play? Thats a mystery, too. Find out the title during a special intro from Fadem at the start of the show.

It Lives Inside

Opens for daily screenings Thursday, Sept. 21. Horror, 99 minutes, PG-13

An Indian-American teenager struggling with her cultural identity has a falling out with her former best friend and, in the process, unwittingly releases a demonic entity that grows stronger by feeding on her loneliness. Winner of the Audience Award at South by Southwest 2023.

Stop Making Sense

Opens for daily screenings Friday, Sept. 22. Concert/documentary, 88 minutes, PG

Newly restored in 4K to coincide with its 40th anniversary, this 1984 film was directed by renowned filmmaker Jonathan Demme and is considered by critics as the greatest concert film of all time. The live performance was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywoods Pantages Theater in December 1983 and features the bands most memorable songs.

The Elephant 6 Recording Co.

Opens for daily screenings Friday, Sept. 22. Documentary/music, 93 minutes, not rated

This documentary provides an inside look at The Elephant 6 Recording Co., the 90s rock collective that launched Neutral Milk Hotel, The Apples in Stereo and more. Around 1985, a group of Louisiana teens began experimenting with random instruments and gear they found. Influenced by psychedelia, and with little to distract them, they birthed a musical revolution.

Carlos: The Santana Journey

2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23; 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 24; 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27. Documentary, 87 minutes, R

Featuring an exclusive video intro by Carlos Santana and director Rudy Valdez, this electric documentary utilizes new interviews with Santana and his family alongside never-before-seen archival footage as two-time Emmy-winning director Rudy Valdez creates an intimate, rich documentary about a man whose sound casts a spell on fans.

2023 Manhattan Short Film Festival

Screening daily Friday, Sept. 29 through Thursday, Oct. 5. Runtime and film synopses at manhattanshort.com

The Mark of Zorro (1920). National Silent Movie Day with live pipe organ music

7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29. Silent/adventure, 79 minutes, not rated

All tickets $5. Free Zorro masks will be available while supplies last for a special celebration on National Silent Movie Day. Douglas Fairbanks is at his swashbuckling best as the legendary swordsman Zorro in this 1920 silent adventure film. Featuring an original live score played by Bill Rowland on Circles 1928 theater organ.

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Southern New Hampshire University released the names of local students named to its honor rolls.

Andrew Roe, Christopher Horisberger, Dakota Johnson and Maritza Chavez, all of Owasso, were named to SNHUs presidents list, and Danielle Mclain, of Collinsville, was named to the deans list.

Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum GPA of 3.700 and above for the reporting term are named to the presidents list.

Likewise, Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum GPAr of 3.500 to 3.699 for the reporting term are named to the deans list.

Full-time status is achieved by earning 12 credits over each 16-week term or paired 8-week terms grouped in fall, winter/spring, and summer.
The Owasso Strong Neighborhood Initiative and two of its volunteers were recently honored for their outstanding efforts in serving the community.

Keep Oklahoma Beautiful, a statewide nonprofit, named OSNI along with Jeff Cannon and Kevin Norwood finalists in the organizations 2023 Environmental Excellence Competition.

Each year, KOB hosts the event, in which the public nominates groups and individuals for their efforts to benefit Oklahomas environment. The nominations are presented to a panel of guest judges who determine the finalists in various categories.

OSNI, a city-led organization, coordinates events like block parties and service programs, and beautifies properties and streets through volunteer efforts. It was named a finalist in Government Programs Municipality (over 25,000). Both Cannon and Norwood were also named Affiliate Champion finalists.

Cannon, a realtor at Coldwell Banker, has worked as a volunteer with OSNI since 2014. He has been instrumental in planning projects and coordinating and leading volunteers. One notable project he has carried is painting fire hydrants in different Owasso neighborhoods.

Additionally, Norwood, a youth pastor for Xtreme Life Ministries at Owasso First Assembly Church, has partnered with OSNI for over 14 years. He has helped provide over 1,189 volunteers for summer projects and another 399 for Owasso CARES Day of Service who have clocked in a collective 3,500 service hours.

Here at Keep Oklahoma Beautiful, we work tirelessly to help communities thrive, KOB Executive Director Jeanette Nance said in a news release. When disconnected people come together as a community with a cause, we change the face of Oklahoma.

This year, over 35 individuals, communities, businesses, municipalities, state agencies and more from across the state will be recognized at KOBs 33rd Annual Environmental Excellence Celebration on Nov. 17.

More information can be found at keepoklahomabeautiful.com.
Southern New Hampshire University released the names of local students named to its honor rolls.

Matthew Copeland and Sara Quach, both of Skiatook, were named to SNHUs presidents list.

Full-time undergraduate students who have earned a minimum GPA of 3.7 and above for the reporting term are named to the president's list.

Full-time status is achieved by earning 12 credits over each 16-week term or paired 8-week terms grouped in fall, winter/spring, and summer.
(CNN)  At least 17 people have been killed, including a child, after a Russian missile struck a market in a town in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, officials said, one of the worst attacks in months.

Ukrainian officials said 32 others were wounded in the attack on Kostiantynivka.

Russian troops are terrorists who will not be forgiven and will not be left in peace, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on Telegram. There will be a just retribution for everything.

Russian missile attacks regularly hit civilian areas but tolls this high are unusual. A strike on an apartment block in the central city of Uman killed 23 people, including children, in April, and a similar strike on Dnipro killed 40 in January.

Kostiantynivka is close to the front lines around Bakhmut and frequently crowded with military personnel.

But footage of the attack shared by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky showed civilians walking along the market street before the missile struck on Wednesday afternoon.

One video showed a large explosion in the middle of the busy thoroughfare, smashing the glass of nearby buildings as pedestrians ran away.

The footage shared by Zelensky then showed a fierce fire and plumes of thick black smoke billowing from burnt-out cars and buildings, as firefighters responded at the scene.

Subsequent images from Kostiantynivka showed the effects of the explosion: blood smeared across the floor of a pharmacy, burning cars, destroyed buildings, and bodies being carried away by emergency services.

An act of terrorism

Zelensky branded the attack as utter inhumanity.

When someone in the world still attempts to deal with anything Russian, it means turning a blind eye to this reality. The audacity of evil, Zelensky wrote on X, formerly Twitter. The brazenness of wickedness. Utter inhumanity.

The strike was launched just hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Kyiv in his third visit to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Blinken is scheduled to meet with Zelensky during his trip, from whom he is expecting a firsthand report of Ukrainian efforts to regain land around Bakhmut, which lies to the east of Kostiantynivka.

The visit comes as Ukraines counteroffensive enters its fourth month, with both political and military leaders in Kyiv talking up recent gains, especially along the southern front, following growing concerns the concerted push on the battlefield has been slower than had been hoped.

In a brief exchange with Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba, Blinken noted the good progress Ukraine has made in its counteroffensive.

Zelensky claimed that the timing of Russias attack on the civilian area was deliberate.

Its the same as it was before: whenever there are any positive offensive steps by the Ukrainian Defense Forces, the Russians always hit civilians and civilian objects where they can reach with any kind of missiles or artillery. We know this direction very well. We understand that they hit deliberately, Zelensky said, responding to the news of the attack during a joint news conference with the Prime Minister of Denmark in Kyiv.

The strike also came shortly after Rustem Umerov became Ukraines new defense minister, after the Ukrainian parliament voted to approve his appointment.

In his first remarks in his new role, Umerov vowed to wrest back control of every centimeter of Ukrainian land from Russia and bring home all those in captivity.

This story was first published on CNN.com. "Russian missile strikes eastern Ukraine market, killing 17, in one of the worst attacks in months"
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

PAWHUSKA  Using BTK killer Dennis Raders own hand-drawn maps, Osage County authorities say they are narrowing down the possible sites where he may have buried the remains of a long-missing local teen and other victims.

We have identified some sites (of barns or former barns) to check out in the coming weeks, Osage County Undersheriff Gary Upton said. We will be using our archaeological dog-handler and metal detectors to go out and investigate those areas.

Rader, who is serving multiple life sentences in a Kansas state prison, was recently named the prime suspect in the 1976 disappearance of 16-year-old Cynthia Dawn Kinney of Pawhuska, as well as other unsolved crimes across three states.

Authorities have appealed to the public for information about barns and silos along the Oklahoma-Kansas border that Rader may have used for his crimes. They also released drawings of Raders that show bound women being held inside barns, which couldve been inspired by actual crimes and locations.

Kinney disappeared June 23, 1976.

Upton said that finding the barn where Rader might have taken Kinney could become a needle-in-a-haystack scenario, but investigators have the advantage of the killers own writings.

Rader sketched and wrote about barns as good spots for taking victims, especially at sites located in the Osage Hills/Flint Hills regions of northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas, authorities say.

He also drew maps of those areas and included notes.

He would say this looks like a good spot that I could bury someone or something along those lines, Upton said.

Well take any and all tips, he added, but well look with a scrutinizing eye at the barns that we know he would like. These would be off the road, well off the beaten path, because he wouldnt want something very close to the road and run the chance of being caught.

Rader, 78  whose self-given nickname BTK stands for Bind-Torture-Kill  confessed to 10 murders, all of which were in Wichita, but investigators now believe he may have committed multiple homicides when he was away from town.

Rader often traveled for work and as a scout leader.

Authorities have no direct evidence yet linking Rader to the Kinney case. But the circumstantial evidence, they say, increasingly points to him.

That includes writings recovered after Raders 2005 arrest in which he mentions a Bad Wash Day and indicates he was targeting a brunette at a laundromat.

Its believed Kinney was abducted outside Osage Laundry in Pawhuska, where she was working. She left behind her purse and a half-eaten doughnut.

In an effort to find direct evidence, Osage County officials recently searched a former property of Raders in Kansas and removed several items for further analysis. Rader was known to keep tokens or personal effects from his victims.

Rader has denied committing any murders beyond the 10 to which he confessed.

Osage County Sheriff Eddie Virden appealed to a national audience last week in an interview on CNN for help identifying barns in the released images.

Were hoping that releasing these, someone might recognize one of these barns or the unique features in them, Virden told CNN.

Even if the barns not there anymore, we would still like that information.

Tips may be submitted at 918-287-3131, info@ocso.net or online at ocso.net/send-tips.

The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today.
As Texas baked in this summer's record temperatures, local UPS driver Chris Begley started feeling unwell before collapsing at a customer's premises. The 57-year-old's death in hospital was announced in late August - just as his trade union was ratifying a deal with UPS on improved heat protections.

"Chris Begley should still be alive to experience them," the Teamsters union said in a statement of provisions such as a promise to include air conditioning in new delivery vans from next year and to retrofit existing vehicles.

In a statement to local media, UPS said it was cooperating with the authorities as they investigated the cause of death. "We train our people to recognize the symptoms of heat stress, and we respond immediately to any request for help," it said.

As global warming leads to more frequent spells of extreme heat around the world, workers are among the most exposed to serious health risks because their livelihoods often depend on them carrying on regardless.

At the same time, studies show that productivity starts to be impaired at temperatures above 24-26 degrees Celsius (75-79 degrees Fahrenheit) and, for some tasks, slashed by half from around 33-34C - levels repeatedly exceeded in a year which included the hottest July on record.

"Unlike some occupational health and safety risks you see a direct impact (from heat) on the health of workers and a direct impact on productivity," said Halshka Graczyk, a specialist on the issue at the International Labour Organization (ILO).

"So does it make sense for the employer to keep a job site running that day if it is more than 35C and productivity is less than 50% of what they are expecting?" Graczyk said of an awkward cost-benefit ratio that more workplaces will start to face.

Jerome Volle, President of wine making cooperative 'Cave Cooperative Viticole', poses in a vineyard during a night harvest in Valvigneres in the Ardeche department, France, August 23, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Worker rights

Even on the optimistic assumption that the world hits its Paris Agreement goal of capping warming at 1.5C, productivity losses will amount to 2.2% of global work hours or $2.4 trillion in output by 2030, the ILO estimates.

But finding the point at which employer costs can be minimised without compromising worker welfare is all the harder given the lack of clear data, uneven regulation, and the unequal way that workers around the world will experience heat stress.

Not surprisingly, white-collar workers in air-conditioned offices will be less affected: the big impact will remain initially on outdoor workers in sectors from construction to agriculture and in particular those in the Global South.

Among the most exposed will be the world's 170 million migrant workers. Chaya Vaddhanaphuti, a researcher at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, said his studies of migrant workers from Myanmar underlined their vulnerability.

"These labourers tend to display extra stoicism and endurance - partly because they need to show to their Thai bosses that they can work and hence still get hired," he said.

"This puts them in more danger during the heatwave period and they often lack any paperwork or access to medical services."

An internationally agreed ILO convention grants workers a right to leave a workplace without fear of retaliation if they have "reasonable justification" to believe they are in danger - but labour advocates say few workers know of the convention or dare use it.

Many European and other usually temperate countries still have no laws establishing maximum work temperatures. Where they exist - such as in China, with its decade-old 40C cap - monitoring and enforcement is patchy.

Often that is because workplace regulators lack resources: the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OCHA) would need 165 years to check each workplace in its remit, estimates labour advocacy group National Employment Law Project (NELP).

"There has to be both carrots and sticks - and without enforcement there are not enough sticks," said Anastasia Christman, senior policy analyst at NELP.

Red grapes are seen in a truck as a machine harvesting grapes drives through a vineyard during a night harvest in Valvigneres in the Ardeche department, France, August 23, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Role for automation

While work temperature caps may prevent some casualties, they do not account for the fact that workers experience stress differently, according to their job role and health profile.

"The number on the thermostat is not as crucial as assessing the risks and talking to the workforce," said Owen Tudor, Deputy General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation.

Consultations might yield relatively cheap fixes: Tudor cited the example of a meatpacking plant which had found it could reduce heat transfer from worker to worker simply by spacing them out more.

Other solutions have wider societal repercussions. The oft-cited switching of work hours to the cooler hours of early morning or late evening leaves workers having to rearrange childcare or facing limited public transport options.

Automation will have a role to play. French winemaker Jerome Volle harvested before dawn this year - mechanising much of the process - to avoid daytime temperatures of 42C which, he told Reuters, "strain both plant and worker".

Heat exposure is already emerging as a source of worker grievance - be it the strikes by staff at the Greek Acropolis tourist site in July, or the successful suing of a Chinese employer last year for the heat stroke death of a cleaner.

As temperatures rise further, pay and performance practices currently favoured in some sectors - for example piece work and output targets that discourage workers from taking rest breaks - may prove indefensible. And if an extreme weather event like a tornado destroys a factory, should workers still get paid?

"Climate change is such a paradigm shift that all of us need to rethink these legacy economic assumptions," said NELP's Christman. "Just doing workplace protection standards won't be enough."
A consulting consortium has proposed relocating the century-old Di An train car factory in the namesake city under Binh Duong Province, a neighbor of Ho Chi Minh City, to the site for the An Binh Railway Station in the same city as there is no rail route linking to the factory.

The consortium of Transport Engineering Design Joint Stock Incorporated South and the Consulting Center for Transport Development Investment has sent the proposal to the Vietnam Railway Authority.

As the Di An Station has been integrated into the An Binh Station, there is no rail route connected to the Di An train car factory.

The An Binh Station also has sufficient facilities, so the relocation of the factory to the station is reasonable.

The Di An train car factory, built in 1902, features French architecture. It was recognized as a historical-cultural relic site in Binh Duong Province, just outside Ho Chi Minh City, in 2013.

The proposal has captured public attention although the consulting consortium has yet to seek comment from relevant ministries, agencies, and localities.

Railway expert Nguyen An said the French built the Di An train car factory, together with Gia Lam and Truong Thi train car workshops in Hanoi and north-central Nghe An Province, respectively, over one hundred years ago.

The Truong Thi train car factory has shut down while the Gia Lam factory is on the verge of closure.

An aerial view of the Di An train car factory at 8 Ly Thuong Kiet Street in Di An City, Binh Duong Province, southern Vietnam.

An said adjusting rail routes will be easier and cost less than relocating a train car factory. Such a factory has typical characteristics in terms of location, equipment, routes, and laborers.

Local authorities should take caution in deciding on the relocation of the factory, the expert noted.

The Di An train car factory is responsible for repairing and building train cars as well as producing carriage accessories and other mechanical products. In 2016, Saigon Railway JSC suggested piloting a plan to build high-quality train cars at the factory. Dozens of train carriages built by Vietnamese engineers have been launched and Vietnam has no longer imported train carriages since then.

A 121-year-old hall at the Di An train car factory in Binh Duong Province, a neighbor of Ho Chi Minh City. The factory, covering some 4,000 square meters of land, includes a hall, a workshop, and a warehouse.

The proposal to relocate the Di An train car factory has captured the attention of the public and experts.

The An Binh Station has been planned to cover some 200 hectares of land and include a railway station, an area for train maintenance and repair, a storage facility, an area for railway sector development, and an area set aside for the Di An train car factory.

The Di An train car factory has received steam locomotives which have been left idle for nearly half a century for repair to serve tourism purposes.

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The total commitments of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, in Vietnam reached nearly US$1.9 billion for the fiscal year 2023, including $520 million earmarked in long-term finance.

The Southeast Asian country was among the top five countries in the Asia-Pacific region to benefit from the record amounts of long-term funding for the fiscal year ending June 30 despite overlapping crises and challenges, according to IFC.

IFC's investment and advisory programs addressed core challenges for Vietnam, including climate change, food security, trade barriers, and housing finance gaps, helping local companies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and navigate challenging internal and external environments.

The majority of the $520-million long-term funding increased lending to small and medium enterprises, including women-owned businesses, and supported lower and middle-income homebuyers.

IFC has invested in BaF, a livestock producer, and the retail chain GS25, along with a commodity-backed warehouse finance facility for TTC AgriS, helping strengthen agribusiness value chains and improve food security in Vietnam.

IFC also provided over $1.3 billion in short-term trade and supply chain finance to companies in Vietnam, particularly garment and agribusiness suppliers, enabling them to continue trading goods while retaining some 100,000 jobs.

In line with the Vietnamese government's twin goals to become a high-income country by 2045 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, climate and sustainability have become a bigger focus for IFC engagements in Vietnam.

Up to date, IFC has pledged over $900 million in long-term finance to support climate-related projects in the Southeast Asian nation.

"As businesses gradually recover from the pandemic while weathering uncertainties of ongoing global crises, it's the right time for the private sector to embark on a greener and more sustainable pathway of development to improve resilience and efficiency, said Thomas Jacobs, IFC country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

IFC has focused on facilitating climate business markets and building capacity for local businesses to grasp opportunities in the climate space.

It has also supported the State Securities Commission of Vietnam to promote the adoption of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards and practices and to enforce ESG requirements among market players.

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Vietnam was honored as Asias Leading Destination and Asia's Leading Nature Destination for 2023 from the World Travel Awards (WTA), among the other awards for its localities and attractions, at a ceremony hosted in Ho Chi Minh City this week.

The 30th annual WTA Asia & Oceania Gala Ceremony 2023 took place on Wednesday at Gem Center in downtown District 1 to offer titles to the award winners.

Besides the two aforementioned awards at the national level, Vietnams southern economic hub Ho Chi Minh City also earned two awards of 'Asias Leading Business Travel Destination' and 'Asias Leading Festival and Event Destination.'

Ho Chi Minh City is a dynamic metropolis, attracting tourists thanks to its blend of past and modernity, where visitors can wander the alleys or busy markets, explore modern commercial centers located in skyscrapers, or visit famous historical sites, the WTA commented.

Over the last few years, Saigon, as it was formerly called, has been reinventing itself at electrifying speed, on the back of Vietnams rapid economic growth, the organization said on its website.

The WTA also hailed the citys great development potential as it has the potential to emerge as one of the venues for major international events.

The Tam Chuc National Tourist Area, in northern Ha Nam Province, was voted both as 'Asia's Leading Cultural Destination' and 'Vietnams Leading Cultural Destination,' while Cuc Phuong National Park  nestled among three provinces Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh, and Thanh Hoa in the northern and north-central regions  was honored as 'Asias Leading National Park.'

Some Vietnamese provinces and cities also received awards, including Ha Nam as 'Vietnams Leading Cultural Destination' and 'Asias Leading Regional Cultural Destination.'

Moc Chau Town of northern Son La Province was named 'Vietnams Leading Natural Destination' and 'Asias Leading Natural Destination.'

Hanoi was esteemed in three categories: 'Asias Leading Resort Destination,' 'Asia's Leading City Destination,' and 'Asias Leading City Tourist Board,' while Phu Quoc City of southern Kien Giang Province gained the title of 'Asias Leading Luxury Island Destination.'

Along with Vietnamese award recipients, many tourism attractions and travel businesses of other countries, including Thailand, India and Australia, were also honored at the event.

The event took place one day before the 17th Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair, which kicked off on Thursday morning.

This is the third time that Vietnam has been selected as the venue for the WTA awards ceremony, opening an opportunity for Vietnamese tourism to continue to enhance its international position as one of the worlds leading travel destinations.

The UK-based WTA was established in 1993 to annually acknowledge, reward, and celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism, and hospitality industries, which include various categories such as airlines, hotels, resorts, tour operators, and travel destinations.

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Police in South Koreas Incheon City have arrested two flight attendants from a Vietnamese airline for allegedly smuggling almost US$225,000 worth of synthetic marijuana, South Korean media reported on Wednesday.

The two female attendants are suspected to have hidden liquid synthetic marijuana inside cosmetic boxes in their baggage in order to transport them from Vietnam to Incheon International Airport in April, MBC News said, citing the Incheon Police Department.

The estimated street value of the drugs is about 300 million won ($224,800), according to police.

The suspects, both aged about 20, are among a group of four Vietnamese flight attendants believed to have been involved in a smuggling ring.

Both suspects told local police that they were paid 68,000-150,000 won ($51-112) for carrying the cosmetic boxes and were unaware of what was inside them.

We didn't know they were drugs, the suspects told MBC News. We only delivered [the boxes] after receiving a request to bring cosmetics to Korea."

The two other attendants, who are also suspected of smuggling drugs, have not boarded a flight to South Korea since their colleagues arrests, according to investigators.

Incheon police said they have expanded their investigation, including tracking down the two remaining attendants, to determine if more suspects were involved in the smuggling.

Immediately after the incident, a customs officer at Incheon International Airport told MBC News that they will strengthen baggage inspections for flight attendants from Vietnamese airlines.

Currently, the luggage check, including the X-ray scanning, for crew members is relatively lax compared to that for regular passengers entering South Korea.

Vietnamese flight attendants have long brought goods from Vietnam to South Korea in exchange for money, local police said.

Following the arrests, several Vietnamese airlines have released their initial responses to the case.

Vietjet Air affirmed that the two detained flight attendants are not part of the carriers crew.

Bamboo Airlines said it is waiting for verification from authorities before issuing an official statement.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said it is also waiting for verification reports from its functional departments and will soon provide information about the case.

Representatives of these airlines stressed that any individuals who break the law or violate the firms work regulations must be strictly punished.

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The 17th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City 2023 (ITE HCMC 2023) opened in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday morning, commencing a host of activities to promote trade and tourism in Vietnam.

The expo opening, scheduled to take place from Thursday to Saturday, gathered senior officials from the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism, the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, as well as 3,500 delegates from 45 provinces and cities across Vietnam and 42 countries and regions.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the travel trade fair, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee Phan Van Mai said the local tourism industry has rebounded significantly post-pandemic.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee Phan Van Mai delivers a speech at the 17th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City, September 7, 2023. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

During the first eight months of 2023, Ho Chi Minh City served close to 25 million tourist arrivals, equivalent to 63 percent of the pre-pandemic figure in 2019, and earned more than VND100 trillion (US$4.1 billion) in tourism revenue, with some three million of them international visitors.

Vietnam welcomed more than 87 million tourist arrivals during the January-August period, equal to 70 percent of the 2019 figure, with total tourism sales exceeding VND482 trillion ($20 billion).

Of the total, the Southeast Asian nation served 7.8 million international visitors, some 5.4-fold higher than last year.

These impressive outcomes were partly attributed to the international tourism cooperation among countries and territories, as well as the ITE HCMC versions that have facilitated the growth of foreign arrivals to the country, the municipal chairman said.

The ITE HCMC 2023 will feature multiple forums and seminars, such as the High-level Tourism Forum: Digital Transformation in Tourism Development,' a seminar on tourism and hospitality, the fourth ASEAN public relations and communications conference, and others.

Former and incumbent Vietnamese officials visit booths run by international exhibitors at the 17th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City, September 7, 2023. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

Delegates gather at a booth at the 17th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City, September 7, 2023. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

The ITE HCMC 2023 gathers over 400 exhibitors and international tourism promotion agencies. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

International visitors are seen at a booth at the 17th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City, September 7, 2023. Photo: Phuong Quyen / Tuoi Tre

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Authorities in Son La Province, northern Vietnam are adopting measures to conserve a newly-detected mature wild elephant and ensure the safety of local residents and their properties following the appearance of the animal.

Vang Si, a local inhabitant, said he discovered that the elephant was foraging for food while en route to Phieng Cam Commune, Mai Son District, Son La Province at around 8:00 am on Wednesday.

The elephant then moved quickly to a vast corn field before running away, he recalled.

A local forest official in Mai Son confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the wild elephant showed up in the area the same day.

According to authorities, the elephant is a single, mature female which usually inhabits an area spanning Song Ma and Mai Son Districts in this northern mountainous province.

The authorities asked local residents not to harm or incite the elephant.

As of Wednesday at noon, the elephant was resting in the border area between Mai Son and Song Mai and had yet to cause any damage to crops or property.

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A day after their 2024 Upfronts, Nine is poised to take the Melbourne Cup broadcasting rights after rivals Seven dramatically pulled out of the bidding process.

News Corp has reported Seven withdrew in anger after it became clear Nine was the Victoria Racing Clubs preferred bidder.

The Victoria Racing Club and Racing Victoria had been at loggerheads over the rival broadcast proposals. But the VRC were reportedly keen on extended exclusive coverage of Melbourne Cup Day  not wanting coverage of The Big Dance in Sydney (broadcast by Seven) on the same broadcast.

10 is broadcasting its final Cup Carnival in November citing concerns over an increasing focus on gambling by Tabcorp and the Victoria Racing Club. The next deal will see Tabcorp have involvement and approval across elements of the production and commentary team of the broadcast.

Given this likely change in focus combined with commercial constraints of the future agreement, Network 10 considered the preferences of its viewers and advertisers, and politely declined to move forward with the process, 10 said in a statement in June.

Metro overnight audiences:

2013: 2.17m (Seven)

2014: 2.12m

2015: 2.07m

2015: 2.07m

2016: 1.99m

2017: 1.8m

2018: 1.84m

2019: 1.32m (10)

2020: 1.41m

2021: 1.21m

2022: 1.02m
By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgium is promoting its centuries of beer-making and 430 breweries with a new visitor centre in Brussels that recounts the history of Belgian production and aims to show what is unique about the country's beer and beer culture.

Belgian Beer World will open on Saturday in the neoclassical former Brussels Stock Exchange, renovated at a cost of 90 million euros ($96.25 million).

Visitors will learn about "Belgitude" - Belgian identity - and what distinguishes Belgian beer from others - such as the four different fermentation methods and the culture of each beer having its own branded glass.

"In Belgium there's more to it than the liquid in the glass," said Krishan Maudgal, director of the Belgian Brewers association.

Belgium produces some 1,600 beers and its beer culture secured a place on the UNESCO global list of traditions worthy of preservation in 2016.

The new centre shows production in the Middle Ages, when beer was a safe alternative to contaminated water and hops were introduced as a preservative, and up to the modern day. The tour ends with a beer, suggested by a virtual barman, in the building's rooftop terrace bar.

Brussels already has a beer museum, but it is unassuming, with old brewing equipment and some insight into beer-making.

"It's very typical of Belgium. We are too modest. We are someone who says 'maybe it's not necessary'," said Brussels city Mayor Philippe Close, adding Dublin and Amsterdam were active in promoting their beer cultures.

He said the centre expected to welcome 300,000 visitors in its first year, with adult tickets costing 17 euros.

($1 = 0.9351 euros)

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Frances Kerry)
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris MP, pictured at Erskine House, Chichester Street, Belfast. Picture: Press Eye

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he hopes "lots of information" will be recovered in "quick time" for families thanks to the Bill, which is on the verge of becoming law.

But after SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the legislation will "not do anything to give people the truth and justice that they desire", Mr Heaton-Harris replied: "There are no guarantees that this will bring information forward at all.

"But, as I tried to outline, very, very little new information has come to light that has led to new cases - very, very few people have actually been able to receive justice."

Mr Heaton-Harris went on to say anyone who misleads the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) would be subject to criminal proceedings.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill includes a form of limited immunity for some perpetrators of crimes committed during the conflict and would also prevent future civil cases and inquests into Troubles offences.

All of the main political parties in Northern Ireland and victims' groups are opposed to the Bill.

On Tuesday, the House of Lords supported an amendment setting out conditions for legal immunity as part of reconciliation efforts, including consent from the families of victims.

But MPs voted 288 to 205, majority 83, to reject this amendment, with Mr Heaton-Harris suggesting such an approach would not have provided an incentive for people to come forward.

DUP MP Jim Shannon (Strangford) told the Commons: "There are a great many people out there who have lost loved ones over the years, we all know who they are.

"On every occasion they seek justice ... even if there is only a candle of light of that possibility that someday someone who murdered their loved ones would be (held) accountable then they need it.

"Today Government, with respect, is extinguishing that light for all of those people who have lost loved ones."

Story continues

Mr Heaton-Harris, in his reply, said: "I will never and can never put myself in the shoes of the people who have lost someone, I just cannot, however, what I can see is a process that has only worked for very, very few people considering the quantum of people who are affected by the Troubles.

"The chances of getting justice for them are dwindling all the time.

"The Government has come to the conclusion that this is the right way forward because we hope we can in good time at least get some information recovered for those families that ask for it."

Mr Eastwood, intervening, also said: "He has said he can't put himself in the shoes of the victims but he could listen to them."

He later said: "You have given people a licence to murder people in the streets of Derry and Belfast and Newry and right across Northern Ireland.

"I do not understand how any politician can stand and look at the faces of crying victims and tell them this is the right thing to do."
Ruby Franke, a YouTuber who gained online notoriety with her tough and often controversial parenting advice, has been formally charged with six counts of felony child abuse in Washington County, Utah.

The mother of six was arrested last week after her 12-year-old son escaped through a window and ran to a neighbors home pleading for food and water, according to authorities.

The boy was severely malnourished and had deep lacerations from being tied up with rope and from his malnourishment, according to court documents filed by law enforcement. Authorities said they also found Frankes 10-year-old malnourished daughter inside the home and allege they believed Franke had knowledge of malnourishment, abuse and neglect.

PHOTO: Ruby Franke is shown in this undated photo that was posted to the Moms of Truth Instagram account. (@moms_of_truth/Instagram)

Frankes business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, was also arrested and charged with six counts of felony child abuse. Authorities allege the 12-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl were under Hildebrandts direct care at her home when the incidents unraveled last week.

In an interview with "Good Morning America," Randy Kester, the attorney for Ruby's husband, Kevin Franke, said that Kevin had been separated from his wife for more than a year and denies any knowledge of the alleged abuse.

"He is a good person. He is very gentle," Kester said. "And no one's ever made any allegations that he's ever physically abused those kids, or anyone else."

WATCH: Husband of influencer charged with child abuse denies involvement

The Frankes share six children and rose to fame on YouTube, amassing more than 2 million followers before the channel was taken down.

In one video that has since been deleted, Ruby Franke is heard saying of her children: "Up until now, I was really hoping that keeping them home from school and wiping the floor boards would like really bring pain."

In a since deleted video from her YouTube channel, Ruby Frankes sister, Bonnie Hoellein, says family members tried to intervene.

Story continues

We all did as much as we could legally, but you dont know what you dont know, Hoellein said.

WATCH: Parenting influencer faces child abuse charges

YouTuber Swoop has been following the case and says she noticed signs in Frankes videos that seemed concerning to her for some time.

She was often giving parental advice, and most of it seemed to showcase how she decided to punish her children in ways that became increasingly alarming and very questionable, Swoop told ABC News.

In 2020, viewers launched a change.org petition calling for child protective services to investigate Ruby Franke.

Franke and Hildebrandt are scheduled for their first court appearance on Friday.

Controversial parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke formally charged with felony child abuse originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Lloyd's of London logo at City of London financial district

By Jonathan Saul and Carolyn Cohn

LONDON (Reuters) -Lloyd's of London is in talks with the United Nations over providing insurance cover for Ukrainian grain shipments if a new Black Sea corridor deal can be reached, its CEO John Neal told Reuters on Thursday.

NATO member Turkey is seeking to convince Russia to return to the so-called UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative after Moscow withdrew in July, ending a year of protected exports from Ukrainian ports amid the war.

"Are we happy and able to continue to provide insurances in the event that a corridor can be re-operated and can be re-established? The answer to that is yes," Neal told Reuters in an interview.

"We are in active discussions with the UN about how that might happen," Neal said, adding that those conversations included the possibility that cover may need to be structured differently than before.

Securing insurance cover is crucial for shipments leaving Ukraine.

"Absent UN intervention and UN clearance, we would not sanction the insurance," Neal said.

The Lloyd's market estimated loss, net of reinsurance, from the Ukraine conflict was 1.4 billion pounds ($1.74 billion), he added.

Neal added that the Lloyds market was also prepared to offer support to players active in the Ukrainian domestic insurance sector.

"We are having conversations with those on the ground  what can we do to help you and support you? Do you need reinsurance, do you need capacity?"

Insurer Beazley had covered ships in the grain corridor and also in the separate humanitarian channel that Ukraine has set up in recent weeks to enable ships stuck in Ukraine to leave, its CEO Adrian Cox told Reuters separately on Thursday.

"We're in that market to provide the insurance that's required for these vessels to start moving," Cox added.

Lloyd's asked its members in January to identify potential exposure to so-called realistic disaster scenarios related to potential conflict in Taiwan in insurance classes including marine, aviation and political risk, Reuters reported in August.

Story continues

Neal said Lloyd's had completed the survey, adding that there was "no anxiety about the exercise".

"It is manageable," he said, referring to any exposure.

"The interests directly in terms of Taiwan are less than 1%. It's not a country in which we would be active in providing insurances. The complications are supply-chain related."

Beazley's Cox said the insurer had been scenario planning around conflict in Taiwan, but added that it was "comfortable" about its exposure there.

Neal also told Reuters that a landmark agreement around jets stranded in Russia was "good news" for insurers, with he and Cox expecting to see more settlements.

Aercap, the world's largest aircraft lessor, this week agreed to settle an insurance claim over Russia's refusal to return 17 jets leased to airline Aeroflot, in a dispute over 400 Western planes stranded in the wake of the Ukraine invasion.

The deal, an apparent compromise in an economic war between Moscow and the West, looks set to lower the bill facing insurers, who are locked in court cases over who should pay for the loss of up to $10 billion.

Lloyd's recorded a first-half pre-tax profit of 3.9 billion pounds ($4.9 billion) versus a loss of 1.8 billion pounds in the first half of 2022, helped in part by higher premium rates.

Beazley posted a record interim pre-tax profit of $366 million, helped by its U.S. property and European cyber businesses. But its shares fell 5% as its results missed analyst expectations.

($1 = 0.8026 pounds)

(Editing by Sinead Cruise; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Scotland's Andy Robertson and John McGinn at full time after the 2-0 win over Georgia at Hampden in June. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

The national side have made their best ever start to a qualification campaign with four straight wins over Cyprus, Spain, Norway and Georgia placing them top of Group A on 12 points with nine goals scored and just one conceded. According to the statistical experts, that has given them a 98.88 per cent chance of finishing in the top two positions and securing direct qualification for the tournament in Germany next year.

That equates to just a 1.12 per cent chance of missing out, but that will be more than enough to keep the Tartan Army on tentertooks given the experience of much of the past three decades when groups have often gone down to the wire only to end with Scotland heartache.

Their most recent finals appearance in the delayed Euro 2020 (played in 2021 year due to covid lockdowns) came after failing to qualify through the group stages but taking advantage of the parachute into the play-offs which resulted in a memorable penalty shoot-out win over Serbia.

That was a major achievement for Clarke and his players in reaching the finals of a tournament for the first time in 22 years.

Scotland again have the comfort of knowing a play-off place is waiting for them if required due to winning their Nations League group in brilliant fashion last year but given their current position, anything other than direct qualification would be a major disappointment.

As things stand, Spain, Georgia and Norway could all still surpass Scotland, with difficult trips to Spain and Georgia to follow the encounter in Cyprus before the section concludes with a return clash against Norway and Erling Haaland at Hampden on November 19.

Given their current position, Scotland will hope qualification is already in the bag before that final showdown, and they could be booking their place as early as next week providing three results all go as planned  and it is not beyond the realms of possibility.

Firstly, Spain need to beat Georgia in Tblisi on Friday in a match that will be finished before Scotland kick off in Nicosia.

Story continues

Providing Scotland then take care of business against Cyprus to move onto 15 points, all eyes would then be on the encounter between Norway and Georgia in Oslo on Tuesday  a match that takes place at the same time as Scotland host England at Wembley.

Should that match in Oslo finish in a draw, both Norway and Georgia would be stuck on five points with just nine left to play for, meaning Scotland would qualify for Euro 2024 as one of the guaranteed top two finishers with Spain the only country left who would be able to overhaul them.

Imagine the scenes inside Hampden if a win over the Auld Enemy could be combined with qualification for the finals

There is another less likely route to qualification next week that would involve both Georgia v Spain and Norway v Georgia ending in a draw, then Spain also dropping points at home to Cyprus on Tuesday, in which case only one of Spain or Georgia could overtake Scotland, not both, with Norway out of the equation.

Even if the other results dont pan out as hoped, a win over Cyprus would put still Scotland on the brink of qualification with either Norway or Georgia required to win all of their remaining fixtures and Scotland to lose all theirs to overtake them. 15 points has proven to be enough to secure second place in five-team groups in the past  Wales qualifed as group runners-up for Euro 2020 with 14 points as did Albania for Euro 2016.

However, a note of caution. While Scotland have won all eight of their previous meetings with Cyprus stretching back to 1968, the last three away fixtures have all been won by a single goal.

The most recent trip in November 2019, just six months into Clarkes tenure, was a particularly hairy encounter with Scotland surviving numerous nervy moments before emerging with a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Ryan Christie and John McGinn.

It is far from a formality but, given current form and optimism surrounding the national side, it would be a major upset if Scotland were to slip up against Temuri Ketsbaias side, who are bottom of the group without a point after three fixtures.
The UK will rejoin the European Union's flagship Horizon science programme after two years of absence post-Brexit, the government has confirmed.

Number 10 said the move would happen "through a bespoke new agreement with the EU".

A spokesperson added Prime Minister Rishi Sunak secured "improved financial terms of association that are right for the UK and protect the taxpayer".

Read more: PM heads to India for G20 summit - politics latest

Mr Sunak said: "We have worked with our EU partners to make sure that this is right deal for the UK, unlocking unparalleled research opportunities, and also the right deal for British taxpayers."

Scientists called the announcement "tremendous news".

Horizon is a collaboration involving Europe's leading research institutes and technology companies which sees EU member states contribute funds that are then allocated to individuals or organisations on merit.

The UK was negotiating a deal to remain in the 95.5bn programme, but talks stalled over Brexit-related disagreements such as Northern Ireland.

In the two years since the UK was removed, Downing Street has stepped in to match EU grant money lost.

However, scientists warned that UK researchers have been missing out on collaboration with colleagues in Europe.

Professor Paul Stewart, from the Academy of Medical Sciences said the return "marks a pivotal moment for UK science".

"After a hiatus, the scientific community is celebrating the tremendous news that we are once more part of the EU's flagship funding programme," he said.

"Health research is an international endeavour, it relies on supporting the best ideas, but also on creating cross-border networks which is good news for the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.

"Association sends a very strong message that the UK is open for business and remains a prime destination to work on health research and innovation to improve lives."

Story continues

Read more:

Scientists 'concerned' at PM's silence over rejoining EU's 95.5bn Horizon programme

UK at risk of 'brain drain' as scientists leave Britain

The government said UK researchers can apply for grants and bid to take part in projects under the Horizon programme from today.

As well as Horizon the UK will join the EU's space programme, Copernicus, but it will not take part in the bloc's nuclear technology scheme, Euratom.

Deal 'not mission creep back into EU'

It had been hoped that a British return to Horizon would follow in the wake of the Windsor Framework deal, agreed in February and designed to address concerns over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland.

Whitehall sources said in July a draft deal was with the prime minister - but Downing Street said a UK-based alternative known as Pioneer also remained an option because Mr Sunak was concerned about "value for money".

According to the EU's estimate, Britain will contribute around 2.2 billion (almost 2.6 billion euros) per year to participate in both Horizon and the Copernicus.

Michelle Donelan, the secretary of state for science, denied the move was "mission creep back into the EU".

She told Sky News: "This is fantastic news, not just for British scientists and researchers but also the British taxpayer.

"What we're announcing today is a great deal, a deal that many said we won't be able to get."

Under the terms of the deal, the UK will not need to pay into the scheme for the two years it was absent, with costs under the programme beginning again in January 2024.

The government also pointed to the inclusion of a so-called "clawback" mechanism, which will mean that the UK will be compensated if British scientists receive significantly less money than the UK puts into the programme.

Ms Donelan said the deal also includes an overperformance indicator, which means the UK won't be penalised for overperforming "so we can really back our British scientists to achieve".

Deal 'too late' for many researchers

Labour called the deal a "relief" but said it comes "too late" for many researchers.

Party leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "I think there is a sense that we have lost two years, that this should have happened two years ago and that is a big loss."

He said the decision not to join Euratom is a "gap" Labour will look at.

However, Mr Sunak told science reporters during a visit to Warwick University that the fusion industry said "loud and clear" it did not want to associate with the programme and they would rather have a "bespoke UK scheme".
Paramount+

Yellowstone spin-off series Lawmen: Bass Reeves has confirmed a release date on Paramount+.

The new anthology show sees David Oyelowo take on the role of the titular historical figure, who rose from being a slave to becoming the first Black US Marshal west of the Mississippi.

It has now been confirmed that the series will premiere on the streaming platform on Sunday, November 5 in the UK and internationally with two episodes.

Paramount+

Related: Yellowstone spin-off Lawmen: Bass Reeves shares first look at David Oyelowo

A new teaser for the series has also been released, promising plenty of action to come across its run.

As well as Oyelowo, Bass Reeves packs an impressive cast including City on a Hill's Lauren E Banks, Perry Mason's Shea Whigham, Goliath's Dennis Quaid and The Hunger Games' Donald Sutherland.

Also on board are The Walking Dead's Margot Bingham, True Blood's Dale Dickey, Yellowstone's Mo Brings Plenty, The Chi's Tosin Morohunfola, Forrest Goodluck, Barry Pepper and King Richard's Demi Singleton.

Paramount+

Related: Yellowstone's Western depiction is "deplorable" says Killers of the Flower Moon star

"Revealing the untold story of the most legendary lawman in the Old West, Lawmen: Bass Reeves follows the journey of Reeves (Oyelowo) and his rise from enslavement to law enforcement as the first Black US Marshal west of the Mississippi," the synopsis reads.

"Despite arresting over 3,000 outlaws during the course of his career, the weight of the badge was heavy, and he wrestled with its moral and spiritual cost to his beloved family," it adds, with future iterations of the show set to "follow other iconic lawmen and outlaws who have impacted history".

Paramount+

Related: Yellowstone star hints at "crazy bloodbath" in season 5 finale episodes

The series comes from Chad Feehan and also counts Oyelowo and Yellowstone's Taylor Sheridan as executive producers.

The show was originally touted as an offshoot of Yellowstone spin-off 1883, itself a prequel to the main series.

Story continues

Lawmen: Bass Reeves will premiere on Paramount+ on Sunday, November 5.

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The Rooney family, who operate and own the Eurospar store in Enniskillen, are celebrating the incredible milestone of 50 years in business. Pictured are James Rooney, Martin Rooney, Angela Rooney and Timmy Rooney

Martin and Angela Rooney first operated a store in Enniskillen in Kilmacormick in 1973, moving shortly thereafter in 1975 to the current site, which was previously known as Cherrymount Filling Station. The store began to trade under the Spar brand in 1978, later becoming a Eurospar in 2014.

Martin started out with just five employees and over the years the store has grown into the large supermarket it is today, with a team of 56 from the local area.

Martin explained: The key factor to our success is our familys commitment to our local community and the loyalty our shoppers have shown us over the years.

Martin and Angela Rooney first operated a store in Enniskillen in Kilmacormick in 1973, moving shortly thereafter in 1975 to the current site, which was previously known as Cherrymount Filling Station. The store began to trade under the Spar brand in 1978, later becoming a Eurospar in 2014. Pictured are the team at Rooneys Eurospar

Martins sons Timmy and James are continuing the family legacy. Timmy has worked and managed the shop from a young age and is hoping to lead the business into its next stage with further investment.

The family have made major investments over the years, expanding and refurbishing the store. These developments have brought an extensive range of fresh food and local produce, an in-store bakery, a deli counter and hot food-to-go, Barista Bar coffee offering and an in-store community Post Office.

The familys investment doesnt stop at the store itself, as over the years they have channelled their time and efforts into the local community. The store supports a number of local community groups, churches, schools and the local food bank. The team are also often fundraising for a number of local charities, including raising money for Breast Cancer Awareness which included a raffle and popular trolley dash in store.

Eurospar Enniskillen also have an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) installed outside the store which is available 24/7, providing potentially lifesaving equipment to the local community, even when the store is not open.

To celebrate this milestone anniversary, Rooneys are thanking their shoppers with special offers and prize draws throughout September. Shoppers can enter the draw instore and all money raised will be donated to the stores chosen charity, Breast Cancer Awareness.

Martin added: Were delighted to be celebrating our 50th anniversary of serving our community here in Enniskillen. Although the store and its surroundings have changed over the past 50 years, what hasnt changed is the commitment of our family and staff and the pleasure we have in being able to serve our local community.

As a family we have always strived to fulfil our shoppers needs the best we can, over the years we have improved our opening hours and increased both our product range and the services we provide. We want to thank our amazing team for their continued hard work and commitment to the store.
First Minister Humza Yousaf. Picture: Robert Perry - Pool/Getty Images

Humza Yousaf has been accused of allowing an open season for criminals in the north-east of Scotland as a new policing pilot means some crimes will not be investigated.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said communities in the north-east were being used as guinea pigs.

He told the First Minister the move was a direct consequence of SNP funding cuts. But Mr Yousaf said the Tory leader was seeking cheap political headlines.

The pilot will see crimes where there is no risk, harm or vulnerability, and which have no positive lines of inquiry, logged but no further action will be taken.

The plans have drawn criticism from opposition politicians and the Scottish Police Federation, with police claiming budget cuts in recent years had led to the decision.

Police Scotland said hard choices were being made to deliver effective policing within the funding available.

Speaking at First Ministers Questions at Holyrood, Mr Ross said: This pilot is unfairly treating communities in the north-east as guinea pigs. They will receive a poorer service, despite paying their taxes like everyone else.

He added: First Minister, this is a direct consequence of SNP funding cuts. Officers dont have the resources to do their jobs, people who report crimes will be told tough luck and its open season for criminals under the SNP. Why is the First Minister telling offenders that they can break the law and get away with it here in Scotland?

Responding, Mr Yousaf said: Douglas Ross, with that question, demonstrates why he should never, ever be allowed to be first minister of this country. Panicking people, alarming people, sensationalism  all for cheap political headlines.

He added: What we are interested in is results  those results see more police officers in Scotland than other parts of the UK per head. What we see is further investment in our police in comparison to the previous year. What we also see is lower recorded crime rates here in Scotland than when we took office.

The number of crimes reported to police dropped from 459,032 in 2007-08 to 289,352 in 2022-23, according to government figures.
Workers at a munitions depot which provides missiles to Ukraine will strike for two weeks after accusing the Ministry of Defence of bad faith, a union said.

Around 50 members of GMB Scotland at the MoDs Defence, Equipment & Support centre in Beith, North Ayrshire, will walk out on Monday.

The union said strike action was voted for over allegations of a two-tier workplace, with an 18,000 pay gap between workers who are known as craft or non-craft.

The GMB accused the MoD of bad faith and disrespect after talks with conciliation service Acas collapsed.

Craft workers assemble the munitions, while non-craft colleagues support their work and prepare equipment for transport but receive no extra bonuses or additional payments.

Some non-craft workers earn less than 21,000 a year, and the pay gap is said by the union to have tripled in recent years.

The GMB said 93% of members at the depot voted for strike action in July over a dispute on retention bonuses.

Strikes took place across four days in early August, but two weeks of walkouts planned from August 21 were postponed for the Acas talks.

Lesia Vasylenko, an influential Ukrainian MP, has thanked staff at the site for their life-saving work.

She previously said: The work done by GMB Scotland members at Beith could not be more important to Ukraine as we fight for our freedom.

The Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine has also voiced support for the workers.

GMB Scotland organiser Chris Kennedy said: We suspended our action in good faith to allow these discussions to go ahead.

We had been assured decision-makers would be arriving with constructive proposals to resolve this dispute but they didnt and there wasnt.

Solidarity with GMB members who move missiles for Ukraine in Beith, Scotland  on strike today and Monday They have received support from unions in Ukraine https://t.co/qvK1v2WJUL  Ukraine Solidarity Campaign (@UkraineSol) August 4, 2023

There was nothing new to discuss and nothing new to take back to our members.

Story continues

If the Ministry of Defence was advised this was how to proceed, it was badly advised.

It was, in fact, an exercise in bad faith and disrespect and has only hardened our members determination to secure fair pay.

They do not want to strike but have been given no choice.

GMB Scotland secretary Louise Gilmour said: A two-tier culture has been allowed to embed itself in this workplace and risks good working relationships now and in the future.

Our members are doing important and responsible jobs and simply want that work to be fairly recognised.

Instead, they have seen the gap between their salaries and that of their colleagues stretch wider and wider.

Everyone brings different skills to their work and that should be recognised, but the role of our members is fundamental to the effective operation of this important site.

They are only asking for fairness and the support they have received from Scotland to Ukraine shows why they deserve it.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: The proposed strike will have no effect on our ongoing support to Ukraine.

Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) has well-established contingency plans in place to mitigate the impact while also ensuring all activities are carried out safely and securely by appropriately trained employees.

DE&S management has put forward an offer which would significantly improve the pay of the workers in dispute in a sustainable and affordable way.

The DE&S reward framework is designed to be fair and equitable and to recognise the knowledge, skills and experience employees bring to their roles.

As with all employers, employees are paid differently depending on grade as well as the nature of their role.
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -NATO has no indication that drone debris found on Romanian territory was caused by a deliberate Russian attack on Romania, its chief said on Thursday.

Ukraine had said on Monday that drones detonated in Romania during an overnight Russian air strike on a Ukrainian port across the Danube River. Attacks have increased on the site since July when Moscow abandoned a deal that lifted a de facto Russian blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports.

Romanian officials initially denied the Ukrainian allegations but changed course on Wednesday, with Defence Minister Angel Tilvar saying that parts of what could be a Russian drone fell on Romanian soil.

"We don't have any information indicating an intentional attack by Russia, and we are awaiting the outcome of the ongoing investigation," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told EU lawmakers.

Stoltenberg stressed the risks Russian air strikes in such close vicinity to the alliance's territory posed.

"It demonstrates the risks of incidents and accidents", he said. "Regardless of that outcome (of the investigation), what we have seen of course is a lot of fighting and also air attacks close to NATO borders."

Romania's defence ministry said on Thursday that the country did not face any direct threat to its territory or territorial waters from Russian strikes on Ukraine on Wednesday night.

Russia has carried out long-range air strikes on targets in Ukraine since it invaded its neighbour last year, and Kyiv has reported suspected Russian weapons flying over or crashing into neighbouring countries several times.

In the most serious incident, two people were killed in Poland by a missile that fell near the frontier last November. Poland and NATO allies later said it was a misfired Ukrainian air defence missile.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Marine Strauss, additional reporting by Alan Charlish in Warsaw; Editing by Alison Williams and Angus MacSwan)
Ruth Savage with the 16 pupils who rescued her after she broke her leg in Laos (Photo: UGC)

Ripon Grammar School marketing manager Ruth Savage joined students on a World Challenge expedition to Laos in the summer holidays, but fell on a steep path around half an hour from the nearest road.

The teenagers, aged 15 and 16, and expedition leader Emma Burrows constructed a makeshift stretcher to carry her and a splint for her leg using bamboo they found on the trail, and took turns carrying her across difficult terrain, including a stream and boulders, until they reached a tuk-tuk that took her back to the village they were staying in.

The group made a stretcher and splint using bamboo to carry Ruth Savage off the mountain (Photo: UGC)

Ms Savage said: Each and every one of them played a vital role, from taking turns carrying the stretcher to navigating the path, demonstrating the most amazing teamwork. Someone was always fanning me to keep me cool and they constantly offered words of reassurance and support. Their parents should be very proud of them all. They are a shining example of the youth of today.

The group of 16 will now receive commendations for their actions, presenter by Ripon Grammar headteacher Jonathan Webb later this month.

Ms Savage broke the tibia and fibula in her left leg, and was airlifted from Laos to a hospital in Bangkok for surgery to insert metal plates and pins. After a two-week stay, she was flown back to Yorkshire.

She added: As well as working together efficiently and calmly as a team, despite extreme heat and humidity over this difficult terrain, they were all extremely caring, kind and reassuring, and did their utmost to keep my spirits up. A real credit to their school!

I am currently still non-weight bearing and on crutches, but Im sure it could have been much worse if my leg hadnt been stabilised and I hadnt been brought down from the path so swiftly and carefully.

"The ceremony on September 21 will be the first time I will see the students since the accident.




































Police investigating the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif have translated their appeal into Urdu to reach Pakistani nationals living in the local area.

Officers who are fluent in Urdu are supporting the investigation team to translate information given by members of the public, Surrey Police said.

Posters have also been displayed in and around Woking railway station and taxi ranks around the town, and a video format appeal has also been produced.

The appeal has generated a number of inquiries which are helping detectives to piece together a picture of Saras life before her tragic death, police said.

Police want to speak to Urfan Sharif (Surrey Police/PA)

Police want to speak to Saras father, Urfan Sharif, 41, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and Urfans brother, Faisal Malik, 28, who fled the UK for Pakistan after Sara was found dead and alone at the family home in Woking, Surrey, on August 10.

A post-mortem examination found she had suffered multiple and extensive injuries over a sustained and extended period of time.

The force said specialist forensic searches are continuing at the familys previous address in Eden Grove Road, Byfleet, and their most recent home address in Hammond Road, Horsell, both in Surrey.

Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman, from the Surrey Police and Sussex Police major crime team, said: We are working hard to progress the investigation into Saras murder and a key part of this is piecing together information about her life from anyone who knew her or her family.

We are grateful to everyone who has come forward with information, and I would like to stress that any information, no matter how insignificant it might seem, could be of use in developing our understanding of her lifestyle.

Every single piece of information that we receive is reviewed by the investigation team and further inquiries carried out if appropriate.

I would urge anyone who may have information and hasnt yet come forward to reach out to us.

There are a number of ways you can do this  you can report information via our portal, which is in both English and Urdu, you can call 101 if you would prefer to speak on the phone, or if you would like to remain anonymous, call the independent charity Crimestoppers.

On Wednesday, Saras stepmother spoke publicly for the first time since the little girl was found dead.

In a clip of the footage posted online by Sky, Batool, 29, shows no emotion as she describes Saras death as an incident and says that she and Mr Sharif, 41, are willing to co-operate with UK authorities over the case.
The UK will return to the European Union (EU)s 85 billion Horizon research programme in a breakthrough welcomed by scientists frozen out of the scheme in a post-Brexit row.

Researchers based in the UK can from Thursday apply for grants to take part in the collaboration programme after Rishi Sunak secured what he called the right deal for British taxpayers.

According to the EUs estimate, Britain will contribute around 2.2 billion (almost 2.6 billion euros) per year to participate in both Horizon and the Copernicus space programme from January 1, when its association membership with the projects begins.

But it will not take part in the blocs nuclear technology scheme Euratom.

I have always championed our world-leading scientists and innovators. Were joining Horizon on improved financial terms, increasing the benefits to UK scientists with better value for money for the British taxpayer. All UK scientists can start applying today. https://t.co/NshDepRG1p  Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) September 7, 2023

With costs a key barrier for negotiators to overcome, the UK will not have to pay into the scheme for the two years it was frozen out in a tit-for-tat retaliation in a dispute over post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland in 2020.

The Government said the deal includes a clawback mechanism, which will see the UK compensated if British scientists receive significantly less money than the UK puts into the programme.

The Prime Minister said talks ended in a specific deal for the UK that works in the best interest of our researchers and scientists but also in the best interest of British taxpayers.

The bespoke #Horizon deal has been widely welcomed by some of the top UK scientists. Read more here https://t.co/eYbVY3PTcH  Michelle Donelan MP (@michelledonelan) September 7, 2023

Labour called the deal a relief but said it comes too late for many researchers.

Story continues

Party leader Sir Keir Starmer said: I think there is a sense that we have lost two years, that this should have happened two years ago and that is a big loss.

He said the decision not to join Euratom is a gap Labour will look at.

However, Mr Sunak told science reporters during a visit to Warwick University that the fusion industry said loud and clear it did not want to associate with the programme.

So part of our research community said that there are bits of this that we would rather not be a part of because we think were better off having a bespoke UK scheme, he said.

During negotiations, Downing Street insisted that a UK-based alternative to Horizon known as Pioneer remained on the table because Mr Sunak was concerned about value for money.

But the Prime Ministers official spokesman denied that drawing up plans for that project had been a waste of civil servants time.

All of their work, whether they were working on Pioneer or Horizon negotiation, has helped us negotiate a much better position than the one we were in, he said.

The spokesman said the UK has secured much better financial terms, protections and transitional arrangements for Horizon.

He did not rule out Britain making financial contributions to rejoin other EU institutions, such as border agency Frontex.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who signed off on the deal with Mr Sunak on a call on Wednesday, said: The EU and UK are key strategic partners and allies and todays agreement proves that point.

The agreement was immediately welcomed by scientists after years of warnings that UK researchers have been missing out on collaboration with colleagues in the EU.

Sir Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society, said it is fantastic news.

Our president, Sir Adrian Smith, has welcomed the news of UK's association to the Horizon Europe research programme "Our associationis fantastic news, not just for the UK but for scientists across the EU and for all the people of Europe." Full statement https://t.co/FVpKXGbW0G pic.twitter.com/CDd80jV6Fq  The Royal Society (@royalsociety) September 7, 2023

Science has so much to offer in terms of tackling global challenges and improving lives. Today the Government and the EU have given that a big boost, he said.

Sir Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute, said he is thrilled to finally see that partnerships with EU scientists can continue.

This is an essential step in rebuilding and strengthening our global scientific standing, he said.

Thank you to the huge number of researchers in the UK and across Europe who, over many years, didnt give up on stressing the importance of international collaboration for science.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said it will be overwhelmingly in the best interests of cancer patients and scientists.

Fantastic news this morning that the UK will continue to be at the heart of this fantastic community https://t.co/VyA6DJvTun@SciTechgovuk  Universities UK (@UniversitiesUK) September 7, 2023

Horizon is a collaboration involving Europes leading research institutes and technology companies.

EU member states contribute funds, which are then allocated to individuals or organisations on merit to explore subjects such as climate change, medical advances and artificial intelligence.

Months of negotiations between London and Brussels on Britains return followed the signing of the Windsor Framework deal, which was agreed in February and designed to address concerns over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland.

This is a fantastic day for UK science. We have reached an agreement with the EU on a bespoke deal on Horizon, that works for UK scientists and for our taxpayers. Where better to tell you all about it than from the iconic @sciencemuseum  pic.twitter.com/Bb18i0281g  Michelle Donelan MP (@michelledonelan) September 7, 2023

Science Secretary Michelle Donelan said the Horizon programme is unrivalled in its scope, adding that it is a fantastic day for British science and technology.
HA NOI  The largest business delegation from the Middle East, predominantly from Saudi Arabia, will visit Viet Nam from September 11-13 to explore cooperation opportunities with Vietnamese regions and companies.

The group comprises over 50 Saudi Arabian enterprises operating across various sectors such as energy, information technology, iron and steel, mining, industrial spare parts, construction, investment, healthcare, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, tourism, human resources, transportation, retail, furniture, clothing, agriculture, and fisheries.

During their visit, the Saudi Arabian firms will tour numerous industrial and export processing parks, seaports, and visit businesses in several regions.

They are scheduled to participate in the Viet Nam-Saudi Arabia Business Forum on September 11. This event is a collaborative effort between the Saudi Embassy in Ha Noi and the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Saudi Arabia).

In conjunction with the forum, business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-public (B2P) discussions will be conducted. Prominent export products from Vietnamese companies and regions will also be showcased at the event.  VNS
HA NOI  Vietjet President Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao and her colleagues visited SOS Village Nha Trang to celebrate the Independence Day (September 2) holiday with orphans and vulnerable children.

The female billionaire and her employees prepared a number of meaningful gifts for the children's new school year, such as books and computers.

Despite having a busy schedule as a businesswoman, the female billionaire has always spent time participating in social and volunteer activities. The businesswoman's charitable spirit has also spread to all officers, employees, and colleagues at companies which she has participated.

Seven years ago, the female billionaire once paid a visit to Nha Trang SOS Village. She was overjoyed to see everyone here on her return. Together with the children, she expressed heartfelt gratitude to the mothers and aunts for their closeness and affection for orphans and vulnerable children. She also sang songs for them with her lovely and warm voice.

The billionaire said she hoped that children would follow the five things Uncle Ho taught, obediently listen to their mothers and aunts, and strive to become useful people for society.

With the launch of many Vietjet flights, Nha Trang has transformed dramatically, and young people from SOS Village now enjoy numerous opportunities to learn from businesses in the fields of aviation, banking and finance, scientific research, education and hotel tourism.

Spreading compassion to the children of SOS village, the holiday visit showed the hearts of the businesswomen and her employees to the community.  VNS
HCM CITY  HCM City is intensively promoting the development of its digital economy so that it can account for 20 per cent and 40 per cent of its economy by 2025 and 2030 as targeted.

Lam inh Thang, director of the Department of Information and Communications, told a seminar on promoting the digital economy on September 7 that the Politburos resolution last year on the citys development by 2030 envisages it becoming a locomotive for the nations digital economy and society.

The digital economy made up an estimated 18.66 per cent of the citys economy last year, up from 15.38 per cent in 2021, he said.

The city has made great efforts to promote the online economy, but faces three major challenges, he said.

Many sectors and even management agencies do not have enough awareness about the digital economy, the methods and tools used to measure the digital economy are not the same at relevant agencies and organisations and there is a lack of policies and resources to support small and medium-sized enterprises, he said.

Assoc Prof Dr Tran Minh Tuan, director of the Department of Digital Economy and Digital Society at the Ministry of Information and Communications, said: Over the past 30 years HCM City has developed very well in the old space but has reached its limit and needs a new development space. The digital economy will bring that new space to the city.

To grow faster, the city needs a new production technology like digital technology, a new production resource like digital human resource, a new production factor like digital data, and a new driving force like digital innovation.

He said the digital economy has gradually become a strong driving force for the citys steady and sustainable growth based on four pillars: ICT industry, digital transformation of industries, digital governance, and data valuation.

Going forward, he said manufacturing, textiles, logistics, agriculture, and tourism need to focus on the digital economy.

To develop the digital economy, the city needs to quickly move some aspects of its economy online and universalise Vietnamese artificial intelligence (AI) applications, he added.

Pham Binh An, deputy director of the HCM City Institute for Development Studies, said though in the early stages of development the citys digital economy has some outstanding results, especially in e-commerce, e-payment and online travel.

To promote its development, the city needs to develop digital infrastructure and platforms and exploit data, he said.

The National Assemblys Resolution 98 allows the city to experiment with mechanisms and policies that would foster digital and green economy development, and it should take advantage of that, he added.

Delegates at the seminar said the city needs to focus on human resources to serve its digital economic development.

It also needs policies that encourage businesses to embrace digital technology since that rate is still low, they added.

ao Ba Khuong, general director of Royal Sachi JSC, said businesses, regardless of their size, need to apply information technology if they want to go far.

The human resource factor also plays an important role along with Government policies and enterprises use of them, he added.  VNS
HA NOI  On average, as many as 92.2 per cent of wildlife traffickers were arrested during the period 2018-2022, marking an increase compared to 84.6 per cent in 2014-2017, according to Education for Nature  Viet Nam (ENV).

This result was announced on Wednesday afternoon as part of ENV's report on the handling of wildlife crimes in Viet Nam in 2022.

The report emphasised that the rate of apprehending violators in criminal cases related to wildlife transport and trade in Viet Nam reached a significant high.

The rate of judgment in criminal wildlife cases also saw a significant increase. Between 2018 and 2021, following the implementation of the amended Penal Code, over 90 per cent of arrested suspects faced judgmenta nearly 30 per cent increase compared to the previous period when the average judgment rate was only 62.2 per cent.

The average prison sentence for wildlife offenders last year was 3.1 years.

While this represents a decrease compared to the highest average prison sentence in 2019, which was 4.45 years, it still marked a doubling of the average prison sentence in 2017, which stood at 1.2 years, as reported by ENV.

Bui Thi Ha, deputy director of ENV, said that these results demonstrate positive changes in Viet Nam since the amended Penal Code came into effect in 2018.

This was an important step in judicial reform, creating a solid legal basis for agencies to investigate and handle wildlife crimes, she said.

Ha noted that wildlife smuggling through ports remained a significant challenge that needed to be addressed by the authorities.

"Since 2015, ENV's database has recorded 34 wildlife trafficking cases discovered at seaports in Viet Nam, involving nearly 80 tonnes of elephant tusks, rhino horns, and pangolin scales confiscated. Unfortunately, to date, only three people involved in these cases have been convicted," said Ha.

She added that the seizure of wild animals at ports could partially disrupt illegal wildlife transport. However, legal agencies could only completely dismantle the wildlife smuggling ring when they successfully arrest the leaders and apply appropriate sanctions to those involved in the wildlife trade.

Therefore, ENV recommends that the authorities should leverage information from the initial seizures to collect more evidence, make arrests, and impose strict penalties on the leaders to eliminate Viet Nam from the illegal wildlife trade network.  VNS
HCM CITY  President Vo Van Thuong on Wednesday commended the generations of volunteer soldiers and foster families who have made significant contributions to the youth's summer volunteer campaigns in HCM City over the past 30 years.

Speaking at an event to meet and honour the generations of volunteer soldiers and outstanding foster families on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the city's youth summer volunteer campaigns, President Thuong emphasised that HCM City has been the birthplace of numerous meaningful movements that have yielded practical results during the renovation period.

Among these, the youth volunteer movement has truly become highly attractive and deeply valuable for the city's youth, serving as the most effective means of education by the HCM Communist Youth Union.

"Let the youth immerse themselves in the vibrant realities of social life, and they will gain a deeper understanding of their homeland, the people's cause, and the nation. The youth will then take appropriate actions for the Party's and the nation's cause," he said.

The summer volunteer activities of HCM City's youth originated from the cultural summer light campaign in 1994 when a group of students went to the city's suburban districts to combat illiteracy among the local population. This campaign concluded when the city announced the successful eradication of illiteracy at the end of 1996.

The citys Youth Union, in collaboration with the Vietnamese Students' Association of HCM City, decided to continue summer volunteer activities. A series of campaigns were launched, including the Green Summer in 1999, the Red Flamboyant in 1999, the Pink Vacation in 2002, the Green Military in 2007 and many campaigns to support university and college entrance exam candidates.

After 30 years, the volunteer campaigns have attracted five million young people from the city. Youth built and repaired 7,720 charity houses, upgraded and repaired 870 kilometres of roads and 500 bridges, installed lighting systems for 200 kilometres of roads and alleyways, planted 650,000 trees, conducted health check-ups and consultations for 1.2 million people, donated 160,000 blood units, and provided advice and support to 2.7 million exam candidates.

Emphasising the significant outcomes achieved in the youth volunteer activities of HCM City over the past 30 years, the President stated that beyond all the numbers lay the maturity in thinking, lifestyle, and perception of the country's reform efforts.

It reflected the willingness to share with those facing difficulties and a determination to uphold the right attitudes, responsibilities, and conduct towards one's own life, he said, adding that the new character development was the greatest harvest of the youth volunteer campaign.

According to the President, the strength and vitality of such a movement originated from the struggles of multiple generations of HCM City Youth Union officials with the realities of building and developing the city and the nation.

Moreover, it stemmed from listening to the aspirations of the youth regarding their practical experiences in study, work, and recreational activities.

Another reason was the trust in assigning tasks for the youth and timely encouragement from the city's leaders and local authorities.

President Thuong stressed that the resolutions of the Party and the National Assembly set out numerous new tasks and missions for HCM City, requiring the city's youth to have the willpower, determination and spirit of voluntary dedication.

He expressed his hope that the HCM City Youth Union would continue to leverage the results of the 30 years of youth volunteer programmes to contribute even more to the city's future development.  VNS
HA NOI  President Vo Van Thuong received President of the House of Councillors of Japan Otsuji Hidehisa, who is paying an official visit to Viet Nam, in Ha Noi on Wednesday.

Welcoming Otsuji and other members of the Japanese House of Councillors, President Thuong said the visit, taking place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations, will help to strongly promote cooperation between the two parliaments and practically contribute to the Viet Nam-Japan friendship and extensive strategic partnership.

Lauding the two countries traditional relations and close-knit ties in multiple areas, the Japanese leader held that with many similarities, the two countries reinforcement of all-round cooperation, including parliamentary ties, is completely suitable and necessary in the context of numerous global challenges facing the world.

The Vietnamese President expressed his delight at the extremely important achievements in the bilateral ties, noting that mutual trust and understanding have been strengthened unceasingly, thus providing a good stepping stone for promoting cooperation programmes and projects.

He spoke highly of Japanese political parties unanimity in enhancing cooperation with Viet Nam as seen in the presence of many representatives of the parties in the Japanese upper house delegation on the ongoing visit to Viet Nam.

President Thuong also highlighted the two countries collaboration in economy, trade, investment, education, science and culture, along with people-to-people and youth links.

To enhance the bilateral relations on the basis of the 50-year diplomatic ties, President Thuong suggested both sides further increase all-level meetings and mutual visits between the Vietnamese and Japanese States, parliaments, governments, parties, ministries, sectors, and localities.

Viet Nam hopes to step up exchanges between the two countries' parliamentarians, including young ones, he said, calling on both nations to set a higher vision of cooperation to bring their relations to a new height in the future.

Describing 2023 as a historic point of time which marks 50 years of the Viet Nam-Japan diplomatic relations, 50 years of the ASEAN-Japan relations and 15 years of the Japan- Mekong ties, President Thuong appreciated the Northeast Asian countrys active contributions to the cooperation with ASEAN, which has contributed to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.  VNS
BEIJING  Viet Nam is determined and committed to enhancing cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Mekong sub-region countries, and the international community in drug prevention and control efforts, striving towards the common goals of peace, stability, prosperity, and the building of a drug-free region, a senior official has said.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang made the statement while delivering a speech at the 14th ministerial meeting of the signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Drug Control in the Greater Mekong Sub-region held in Beijing on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by nearly 100 delegates from six countries  namely Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, China, Laos, and Viet Nam, and representatives from the UNODC.

Quang, who is also Chairman of Viet Nam's National Committee for AIDS, Drug and Prostitution Prevention and Control, said that over the past three decades, the Mekong sub-region countries cooperative mechanism in drug prevention and control has achieved important outcomes, helping to ensure security and order, promote socio-economic development, reduce poverty, and improve the quality of life for the people of the member countries.

Within the framework of the MoU signed in 1993, the UNODC and member countries have collectively built, passed, and implemented sub-regional action plans on drug prevention and control, achieving positive results.

Quang said as a responsible member, Viet Nam has issued policies with long-term goals, including the national drug prevention and control programme for 2021-2025, and passed the drug prevention and control law in 2021. Viet Nam has also strengthened cooperation with countries in the region and the world to address drug-related issues, and actively participated in regional and international cooperation mechanisms.

The Deputy PM affirmed that Viet Nam supports the uncompromising stance against drugs and continues to pursue a long-term goal of creating a drug-free region. This involves maintaining a balance between supply reduction, demand reduction, and harm reduction through legal enforcement and socio-economic measures to eliminate the root causes of drug-related problems. Viet Nam has also paid due attention to international cooperation in accordance with the principles of the three international drug control conventions.

Quang noted that the recent situation of drug production, trafficking, and use in the region and the world is extremely complex. He stressed this is an international issue that no single country can solve on its own. It requires close international cooperation and comprehensive approaches, with collaboration respecting international law, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and non-interference in internal affairs, and mutual support.

To promptly address the challenges posed by the drug situation, he suggested member countries continue to demonstrate unity and consensus in their views and positions on global drug control policies, actively contribute their voices to the concerted efforts of the international community, and support the role of the UNODC in policymaking on drug prevention and control. They should also enhance the quality of their information exchange and support each others capacity building, among many others.

The Vietnamese Deputy PM hoped that the UNODC will continue to play a constructive role in building regional cooperation programmes and efficiently managing resources. He also called for support and the development of effective drug prevention and control initiatives in the time to come.

Participants reviewed the progress of regional drug prevention and control cooperation over the past 30 years and shared each country's experiences. The conference adopted the 12th sub-regional action plan, the Beijing Declaration, and China's initiative on the settlement of synthetic drug issues in the Mekong Sub-region.  VNS
US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper met with the media on September 6 to provide information about the upcoming State visit to Viet Nam by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., noting that one of the USs objectives is to promote bilateral cooperation based on mutual understanding and trust.

The US President's State visit from September 10 - 11 will be made at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Nguyen Phu Trong.

Talking to the press, the ambassador noted that the USs policy towards Viet Nam for the past many years was based on the respect for each others territorial integrity, sovereignty, and political institutions.

Both sides shared viewpoints on some international issues, including the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) matters, he said, elaborating that they are completely unanimous in the importance of complying with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and peacefully resolving the East Sea-related issues.

The US had also shared with Viet Nam several fields of international cooperation such as climate change response, health care, and particularly the settlement of socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Knapper stressed that the US shared Viet Nams efforts to become a high-income country by 2045 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050, saying he looks forward to President Bidens visit to Viet Nam to show that the two countries futures are connected with each other and to realise the set targets.

The ambassador noted that the fastest way to boost bilateral cooperation based on mutual understanding and trust would be stepping up people-to-people exchanges.

Besides, according to the ambassador, increasing educational cooperation is also a foundation to build the bilateral relations. There are about 30,000 Vietnamese students studying in the US at present, forming the fifth largest community of foreign students there. However, the number doesnt fully reflect the collaboration in education since many are also enrolling in short-term or online courses.

The diplomat voiced his hope that President Bidens visit would also open up more opportunities for educational partnership between the countries.

The two sides were also set to discuss cooperation in green energy during the trip, he added. VNS
JAKARTA  Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and US Vice President Kamala Harris have noted with pleasure the strong development steps of the Viet Nam-US comprehensive partnership.

At their meeting on the sidelines of the 43rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Jakarta, Indonesia, on September 6, both leaders expressed their delight to meet each other for the third time within two years.

PM Chinh hailed the US Vice Presidents contributions to the bilateral relationship, particularly her support for the COVID-19 vaccine supply to the Vietnamese people.

He expressed his hope to meet with Vice President Harris again in the coming time to concretise high-level agreements in order strengthen the Viet Nam-US ties intensively, effectively and practically.

Viet Nam is coordinating with the US to prepare for US President Joe Biden's upcoming visit to the Southeast Asian nation, PM Chinh said.

On this occasion, the PM congratulated the President, the Vice President and the people of the US on the positive outcomes in overcoming difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and obtaining solid socio-economic achievements over the past time.

For her part, Vice President Harris stressed the importance of President Bidens State visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, believing that it will mark a new milestone in the bilateral relations. VNS
JAKARTA  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has congratulated Bangladesh on its recent achievements, including becoming the worlds second biggest apparel exporter, and highly valued its efforts to green this industry, during his talks with Bangladeshi President Mohammed Shahabuddin on Thursday on the side-lines of the ongoing ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The two leaders emphasised their countries traditional friendship and political trust, nurtured by many generations of Vietnamese and Bangladeshi leaders and people. Based on that foundation and after 50 years of diplomatic ties, the bilateral relations have been growing strongly.

They agreed to boost high-level delegation exchanges between the two countries Parties, Governments, parliaments and people, and coordinate to prepare for the coming visit to Bangladesh by Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Vuong inh Hue.

PM Chinh and President Shahabuddin said the two countries will continue sharing experience in socio-economic development, foreign investment attraction and application of green production, especially in the textile-garment and leather footwear industries.

Both sides will actively encourage their enterprises to partner with each other and increase investment, discuss the opening of more direct air routes, provide favourable visa conditions to fuel people-to-people exchanges and tourism cooperation, and foster collaboration in agriculture, fishery, transport, education and training, disaster management, and climate change response, they added.

The Bangladeshi leader lauded the impressive development of trade and investment partnerships, including the four-fold surge in bilateral trade in 10 years.

He encouraged Vietnamese firms to invest in Bangladesh and pledged to create conditions for Viet Nam to increase the export of its strong products to Bangladesh. He also vowed close coordination to guarantee food security and effectively implement the MoU on rice trading for 2022-27.

The two leaders affirmed that their countries will keep active cooperation and mutual support at regional and international forums, especially the United Nations, and contribute to peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.  VNS
JAKARTA  Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr agreed to promote the connectivity and reciprocity of the two economies, at their meeting in Jakarta on Thursday.

Chinh conveyed regards from Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, State President Vo Van Thuong, and National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue, to the Philippine leader.

The Philippine President expressed his pleasure to visit Viet Nam and meet Vietnamese leaders at an early date, aiming to strengthen the bilateral ties.

Both rejoiced at the strong development of the relationship in all spheres, and emphasised the importance of the Viet Nam-Philippines strategic partnership in regional peace, stability, cooperation, and development.

The two sides agreed to continue their coordination and mutual support in regional and international issues of shared concern.

They also consented to pay more attention to cooperation in such potential areas as agriculture, aquaculture, and oil and gas, and to consider expanding collaboration in new fields like digital economy, circular economy, green economy, and innovation.

The leaders affirmed their support for stronger cooperation in personnel training and labour to support the knowledge-based economy of the two countries, and concurred to soon exchange and sign an inter-government agreement on rice trade to help both countries ensure food security in the wake of complexities of the global supply chain over the past time.

They also compared notes on cooperation and coordination in maritime issues.

The Philippine leader committed further humanitarian treatment to detained fishermen in the spirit of friendship and strategic partnership, and support for Viet Nam's efforts to have the European Commission (EC)s yellow card warning on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing lifted.

The same day, PM Chinh exchanged ideas with Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on the world situation, major trends in peace, cooperation and development, and recent developments in the region.

They pointed to various difficulties facing the world economy, the complex development of the strategic competition among big countries, regional hot spots, racial and religious problems, and populism, which are posing many challenges to maintaining peace, stability and development.

PM Chinh affirmed that Viet Nam will work together with other countries to further promote multilateral cooperation and international solidarity, thereby contributing to peace, security and development in the region and the world.

The PM and a high-ranking delegation of Viet Nam are in Indonesia to attend the 43rd ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings.  VNS
JAKARTA  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Thursday attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit within the framework of the 43rd ASEAN Summit and related summits in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Addressing the 20th ASEAN-India Summit, PM Chinh expressed his belief that with the efforts of both sides, the ASEAN-India comprehensive strategic partnership is full of potential and promises to gain breakthrough development in the future.

To realise that goal, he proposed to further intensify economic and trade connections, effectively implement the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA), promote complementary strengths, and facilitate the access of goods to each other's markets.

He suggested the two sides spend more appropriate resources to soon complete expressway projects connecting India with ASEAN, and accelerate connectivity and cooperation in digital transformation, facilitating the application of innovation achievements, thus opening up opportunities for technology businesses of both sides.

The Vietnamese leader urged India to speed up the implementation of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) and join hands in developing the Mekong sub-region, including through the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation, to further deepen connections in implementing sustainable development goals between ASEAN and India, thereby contributing to promoting inclusive growth and equal development.

Indian PM Narendra Modi affirmed that ASEAN is a pillar of the Act East Policy and the focus of Indias Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative.

ASEAN and India agreed to prioritise sustainable maritime cooperation, combat terrorism and transnational crime, improve medical capacity, promote connectivity and digital transformation, and expand cooperation in energy transition and climate change response. The Indian leader announced the establishment of the ASEAN-India Fund for Digital Future.

The two sides adopted joint statements on maritime cooperation and food security enhancement in the crisis period.

At the 18th East Asia Summit, Chinh emphasised the stature and strategic value of the EAS as a place where leaders hold dialogue and put forward orientations for peace, security, cooperation and prosperity in the region and the world, to promote cooperation, solve conflicts and raise awareness to get closer together.

To promote the EAS' important role, the Vietnamese PM proposed to shape a regional structure that is open, inclusive, transparent and based on international law, create new momentum for inclusive growth and sustainable development, and identify peace, stability and development cooperation as goals, and dialogue and cooperation as tools.

Chinh called on all countries to boost international solidarity, uphold multilateralism to solve global issues such as epidemics, climate change, resource depletion, and work together to resolve disputes and conflicts by peaceful means based on international law.

At the summits, leaders of countries exchanged views on international and regional issues such as the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea), Myanmar, the Korean Peninsula, and the conflict in Ukraine.

They emphasised the importance of peace, security and stability in the region as a prerequisite for current efforts towards inclusive growth and sustainable development. The partners affirmed their support for ASEAN's efforts, balanced and objective approach, and common stance on these issues.

PM Chinhs suggested partners show their support for ASEAN's centrality in reality, and work with the bloc to promote dialogue, consultation, trust-building, and response to common challenges.

He and other leaders reaffirmed their common stance on the East Sea, emphasising that ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the sea is the interest of all countries. He proposed partners back the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and the building of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), contributing to turning the East Sea into a sea of peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development.

Regarding the Myanmar issue, the Vietnamese Government leader affirmed that his country will actively participate in and contribute to the process of supporting Myanmar to overcome difficulties on the basis of the Five-Point Consensus, and continue providing humanitarian aid to the country.  VNS
JAKARTA  The response to global issues can only be achieved successfully through a global, all-people approach and promoting multilateralism, ensuring fairness and justice, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the 13th ASEAN-UN Summit on Thursday in Jakarta.

Chinh said the ASEAN-UN Comprehensive Partnership will take a leading role in consolidating international solidarity, persevering multilateral cooperation, firmly ensuring peace and security and promoting prosperous and sustainable development in the world.

The Prime Minister emphasised the need for coordination to implement the roadmap towards ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the UN Agenda on Sustainable Development towards 2030.

He proposed the UN pay special attention to and support Viet Nam and Mekong River basin countries in sustainably managing and using water resources, improving capacity to respond to climate change and rising sea levels.

He also proposed UN support Viet Nam in the implementation of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and the transition to a circular economy.

The Vietnamese leader hoped that the UN will continue to support ASEAN's central role in the region, coordinate closely with ASEAN to promote values towards peace, strengthen dialogue, cooperation and build trust, and form standards of conduct among nations in the spirit of respect for the law.

Affirming that Viet Nam is an active member of ASEAN and the UN, the Prime Minister said Viet Nam will constantly strive with the highest responsibility to contribute to the common UN mission, and engage more in peacekeeping activities.

At the same time, Viet Nam will strive to fulfill assigned international responsibilities, including being a member of the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-25 term, he said.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres affirmed that in today's multipolar world, the UN needs the companionship of multilateral institutions like ASEAN.

He spoke highly of ASEAN countries for sending more than 5,000 staff to participate in UN peacekeeping forces.

He proposed the two sides foster partnership in implementing sustainable development goals, with a focus on energy transition, digital education, health, employment, biodiversity conservation and natural disaster management.

The same day PM Chinh delivered a speech at the third ASEAN-Australia Summit during which he affirmed that developing high-quality human resources is a strategic breakthrough of ASEAN-Australia relations.

He hoped that the two sides will work together to promote this sector.

He also hoped that Australia would continue to pay attention to and support the development of the Mekong sub-region, including the Mekong Delta region through the Mekong - Australia Partnership framework.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said Australia is not only an ASEANs neighbour but also a comprehensive and strategic partner and acts as a link with the Pacific region.

The Indonesian President emphasised that whatever happens in the Indo-Pacific will have huge impacts on Australia and ASEAN. Therefore, ASEAN and Australia both have interests and responsibilities to ensure a peaceful and stable Indo-Pacific region and turn this region into an epicentre of growth.

ASEAN appreciates Australia's support for the blocs vision on Indo-Pacific issues as well as Australia's active participation in the ASEAN-Indo-Pacific Forum, especially the positive role of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, said Widodo.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese proposed building new cooperation pillars on innovation to jointly support the successful implementation of digital transformation and green transformation towards sustainable development.

Under this framework, the ASEAN-Australia High-Level Dialogue on Climate Change and Energy Transition co-chaired by Australia, Viet Nam and Laos is expected to be held later this year in Ha Noi.

ASEAN and Australian leaders adopted a joint declaration on strengthening cooperation to ensure food security in times of crisis.

Viewpoint on East Sea

At the two summits, discussing regional and international issues, ASEAN and its partners all emphasised the importance of maintaining and ensuring an environment of peace, security and stability in the region, including the East Sea.

PM Chinh reaffirmed the common stance on the East Sea, requesting partners to support the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), develop an effective, practical and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

In the afternoon, during the closing ceremony of the 43rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings, the host country Indonesia transferred the ASEAN Chairmanship to Laos.

Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone announced the theme of the ASEAN Year 2024: "Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience".  VNS
JAKARTA  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Thursday received World Bank (WB) President Ajay Banga in Jakarta on the side-line of the 43rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings in Indonesia.

At the meeting, the Vietnamese PM congratulated Ajay Banga on being selected as WB President for the term 2023-2028 and expressed his belief that under the leadership of Banga, the WB will continue to develop strongly and complete its missions successfully.

Chinh highly appreciated the WB's companionship and support for Viet Nam in socio-economic development, especially in poverty reduction, gender equality, development in remote areas, and agriculture.

He affirmed that the Government of Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to continue to receive active and effective support from the WB.

Regarding the direction of cooperation in the coming time, PM Chinh suggested that the WB continue to accompany Viet Nam in the development process, especially giving priority to supporting Viet Nam in capital and experience in four areas - logistics infrastructure and capacity; energy transition, green energy/renewable energy development; subsidence, landslides, inundation control and agricultural development in Mekong Delta region; and innovation and digital transformation.

The WB President appreciated and agreed with the strategic orientations proposed by PM Chinh.

He said the proposed areas are the priority areas to create qualitative changes in Viet Nam's development in the next decade.

The WB is ready to support Viet Nam in implementing major projects to realise the country's goals, he said.  VNS
JAKARTA  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met his counterpart from the Cook Islands Mark Brown in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday, within the framework of the 43rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings.

The two PMs once again spoke highly of the signing of the Joint Communique to establish diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and the Cook Islands on April 26, 2022, saying it has opened up numerous opportunities for bilateral cooperation in various promising areas.

They believed that with determination and political trust, the bilateral ties will further grow, particularly in the economy, trade, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, and in addressing climate change and rising sea levels.

In the coming time, both sides will send delegates to the International Fisheries Forum in the Cook Islands in December and the International Rice Festival in Viet Nam scheduled for the end of this year.

PM Brown wished to share experience in socioeconomic development as well as global and regional integration with Viet Nam.

He also expressed readiness to create conditions for Vietnamese firms to invest in potential sectors such as tourism and aquaculture, and pledged to engage in early discussions and negotiations with Viet Nam on a rice trade cooperation agreement.

PM Chinh, for his part, suggested that both sides further enhance mutual connectivity and support between their economies, with a focus on areas with untapped potential, such as agriculture, aquaculture and apparel while exploring the expansion of collaboration in new fields such as the digital economy, circular economy, green economy and innovation.

The two leaders agreed to strengthen mutual support at global and regional forums.

In his capacity as the incumbent Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), Brown vowed to support and act as a bridge connecting Viet Nam with the South Pacific countries.

He thanked PM Chinh for his invitation to Viet Nam and promised to pay a visit soon.  VNS
JAKARTA  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday, on the occasion of their attendance at the 43rd ASEAN Summit and related summits.

Both PMs praised the continued exchange of delegations and high-level contacts between the two countries, as well as the effective cooperation in various areas in economy, trade, investment, national defence-security, labour, education and training, agriculture, sci-tech, tourism, aviation, locality-to-locality and people-to-people exchanges.

Albanese reaffirmed that Australia attaches great importance to enhancing relations with Viet Nam. He wished to welcome Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to Australia soon and suggested completing the necessary internal procedures to elevate the bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership at the appropriate time.

The Australian side is committed to prioritising official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam, especially in areas of Viet Nams need such as climate change adaptation, energy transition, digital transformation, and digital economy.

The Australian PM also took note of PM Chinhs proposals regarding increased labour cooperation, education and training, and supply of more scholarships to the Vietnamese students.

The two sides vowed to continue working closely together and making active contributions to promoting dialogue, cooperation and trust building through ASEAN-led mechanisms, on the basis of respect for ASEAN's central role and consultations with ASEAN, for the sake of peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

They also pledged to continue supporting ASEAN's efforts to narrow the development gap and assist less-developed regions, including the Mekong sub-region.

The two countries will also partner with Laos to successfully organise the Climate Change and Energy Transition Conference in Ha Noi later this year.

The Australian PM reiterated his invitation to PM CHinh to visit Australia and attend the ASEAN-Australia Commemorative Summit in March 2024. PM Chinh accepted the invitation with pleasure.  VNS
HCM CITY  HCM City is going to install more solar panels on the roofs of State administrative agencies and public service units.

In 2021, the municipal Peoples Committee approved the expansion of a pilot project to install rooftop solar panels in State administrative agencies and public service units in the city. This was in compliance with the Government policy to develop clean and renewable energy.

About 1,800 buildings in the city are eligible for the project to create a total capacity of 160MWp.

Statistics from the project Electricity Development Planning in the city in the 2016-25 period, with a vision to 2035", show that in the dry season, the city experiences 300 hours of sunshine per month.

The figure for the rainy season is 150 hours a month. This shows the great potential of solar energy development, especially on rooftops.

Until now, many State office buildings have finished setting up solar panels on their roofs, such as the citys Department of Science and Technology with a capacity of 20kWp, the Department of Finance with a capacity of 20kWp, and the peoples committees of Phu Nhuan District with a capacity of 88kWp, District 12 with a capacity of 80kWp, District 10 with a capacity of 45kWp and District 4 with a capacity of 34.5kWp.

By the end of 2022, the city had more than 14,100 rooftop solar power systems, creating a capacity of more than 355MWp and accounting for 7 per cent of the total electricity capacity of the city.

In 2021, with an output of nearly 300 million kWh, solar power in the city earned revenue of about VN600 billion (US$25 million).

According to the citys Industry and Trade Department, the main energy supply source for HCM City comes from neighbouring areas.

Therefore, the growth of solar power in the city is a wise choice.

According to the project to develop rooftop solar power in the city in the period of 2026-30, the city is going to install solar panels to produce 1,505MWp, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the total potential for this energy type and satisfying 4.3 per cent of the citys power demand.

The projects total investment will be around VN26 trillion ($1.1 billion).

Nguyen Thi Kim Ngoc, deputy director of the citys Department of Industry and Trade, said the management of installed solar panels in businesses and households in the city has so far observed Decision No.13/2020/Q-TTg by the Prime Minister and Circular No.18/2020 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Accordingly, owners of the chosen building will provide necessary information, namely location, capacity scale, power transmission line, and expected connection point.

Then the power unit considers the power connection and transmission ability to be the foundation for an agreement signed by both sides.

After installation, building owners send related dossiers to the power unit for technical checking, followed by a power purchase contract.

When the contract is signed, power from the installed solar panels can join the citys electricity network for exploitation.

In the case of any law violations, the power unit must temporarily stop the power connection, prepare a report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for punishments in compliance with applicable laws.

Bui Trung Kien, deputy general director of Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) - HCM City Branch, said it is important to have a clear installation procedure issued by relevant State agencies for people to follow.

Installation-related issues such as fire prevention, architecture and aesthetics must be handled to develop rooftop solar energy in the city, he said.

It is necessary to identify whether the investment comes from public sources or the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model under the current financial mechanism. When these details are clear, the procedure can be done quickly, and the city can enjoy more power from rooftop solar panels, he added.

The citys Industry and Trade Department said it is finishing procedures to install rooftop solar panels on State office buildings.

The paper will be submitted to the municipal Peoples Committee for approval. The installation is expected to begin this September.

According to EVN-HCM City, the direction of developing rooftop solar energy is sensible as it takes good advantage of current rooftops citywide and the rich amount of sunshine to harness power to supply daily operations of offices.

Calculations show that after payback, the city can save up to VN400 billion ($16.7 million) on its electricity bills. EVN-HCM City will deliver technical and financial consultation if needed.

Under Resolution 98 by the National Assembly on boosting the growth of rooftop solar power, the HCM City Peoples Committee decided on using all technically eligible roofs of office buildings of State administrative agencies and public service units to install solar panels to serve the energy needs of the building itself.

The surplus power is handled in accordance with the applicable law on electricity. Solar panel setting-up must ensure aesthetics, architectural requirements, and the observance of environmental regulations.  VNS
HA NOI  Two flight attendants have been arrested for allegedly smuggling cannabis oil into South Korea.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has ordered a report into the case.

Speaking to VietnamPlus e-newspaper on Thursday morning, CAAV deputy director inh Viet Son said that a notice had been sent to airlines to verify the details of the allegations.

The South Korean MBC on Wednesday reported that the Incheon Police Department in west Seoul has arrested two of the four crew members of a Vietnamese airline for alleged drug smuggling.

The two flight attendants are suspected of hiding liquid cannabis, or cannabis essential oil, worth KRW300 million (US$225,000) in cosmetic containers, which they had been bringing into South Korea since April 2023.

According to initial investigations, the two airline staff admitted agreeing to help ship goods from Viet Nam to South Korea for compensation worth KRW68,000-150,000 ($51-113) for each trip.

They said that they were not aware that there were cannabis substances inside the packages.

Vietjet Air has confirmed that the two arrested are not part of their crew.

Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Airlines said that they are currently waiting for verification from the authorities.

The CAAV has previously issued a directive on strengthening measures against illegal trade among flight attendants.

Airlines are required to specify the responsibilities and disciplinary measures to the management level when cases happen under their supervision.

The CAAV also required that Vietnamese airlines increase periodic and irregular inspection of the crews before and after the flight and strictly follow the rules should any violations occur.

Communication will also be enhanced to raise awareness, and prevent and report on illegal trade and commercial fraud.  VNS
By Le Viet Dung

Within the elevated mountain-surrounded basin of Duy Xuyen District in the south-central province of Quang Nam lies a site that was once the centre for spirituality and worship of the Champa Kingdom and a burial place for its royal and national heroes for centuries.

My Son Sanctuary, so be its name, encompasses a series of red-brick temples and sandstone shrines adorned with bas-reliefs of Hinduism divinities and their epic battles against the devils. All were brought to life through the skilled hands of ancient Champa artisans.

"When it comes to building things with bricks, Champa people have a special skill that no one else in Southeast Asia can beat," said a local tour guide when he unravelled layers of history hidden in the ancient ruins.

And he didn't exaggerate at all. The most recently built temple in the sanctuary boasts an age of at least eight centuries yet stands well against the test of time.

Stepping inside, visitors would be immediately struck by the resemblance its rock-cut pillars bear to those of Rome. The architectural similarity was a reflection of how Roman aesthetics were carried through India and found their way to Southeast Asia.

In close proximity to the temple is a series of steles engraved with ancient Champa inscriptions, which traced its origin to Sanskrit - a sacred form of writing reserved exclusively for academics and rituals.

Centuries of atmospheric erosion have worn down the less resistant surface of the steles but not enough to turn their carvings into illegibility.

Yet the inscriptions remain largely unintelligible for current scholars as their writing system has vanished along with the social class that used it, the Champa priests.

Not far to the east of the steles is a solemn hall that was dedicated to offering preparation but has now been revamped as a place for the exhibition of cultural heritage.

What truly captivates visitors' eyes within this transformed haven is a stone bas-relief depicting the divine deity Shiva performing the vigorous cosmic dance of creation, preservation, and destruction, or tandava in Sanskrit.

Though the bas-relief was badly damaged by bombings during the Vietnam War, its artistic value remains intact and bears witness to the extraordinary carving skills of ancient Champa artisans.

A bas-relief of similar size but in better condition could be found in another exhibition room adjacent to the first, depicting Shiva dancing on the back of the mythical sea creature Makara. In Hinduism mythology, Makara always strongly opposes Shiva, but the act of "standing on its back" reflects the deity's ability to subdue the crocodile-like monster.

Scattered throughout the hall are many other ancient relics of archaeological significance. Although few were left untouched by wartime destruction, they continue to beckon visitors to delve into the Champa narrative that spans centuries.

Borbala Banya, a visitor from Hungary, has dreamed for nearly six years to visit Viet Nam, and My Son Sanctuary is one of her favourite sites for its unique architecture that is far different from that of the ancient Hungarian kingdom.

"I have a teacher who is an anthropologist and has lived in an ethnic minority community in Viet Nam for one and a half years. He really inspired me to dig deeper and now I have a really colourful view of the country," said the visitor.

The limitations of physical travel have propelled the historical destination to take a leap into the metaverse to offer visitors a virtual experience of its rich past. With a smartphone, users worldwide can traverse its intricately carved temples from the comfort of their own homes while an AI bot provides them with the historical context, architectural insights, and the cultural significance of each structure.

Today, efforts to preserve and restore the heritage site continue, ensuring that its stories endure for generations yet to come.  VNS
Vinamilk is the only representative of Southeast Asia in the top 5 "Global most sustainable dairy brands", according to a report made by Brand Finance.

Also read: Vinamilk, Sojitz build $500-million beef processing complex in Vietnam

The top brand valuation firm in the world with its headquarters in the UK, Brand Finance, has just released the "Global Food and Beverage 2023" study. Besides value and strength, the brand's "sustainability" factor is highlighted in this year's report, as this trend is being promoted internationally.

With a quantitative level of 253 million USD, Brand Finance placed Vinamilk fifth among the top 10 companies in "Sustainability Perceived Value - SPV". As for sustainability awareness scores (calculated on a 10-point scale), Vietnamese dairy enterprises ranked first in the top 10, reaching 5.75 points, surpassing many other brands from countries with developed dairy industries, such as China, France, Japan, etc.

Top 10 most sustainable milk brands globally. Photo: Brand Finance

Also, according to the above report, this year's Vinamilk brand is valued at an increase of 6% compared to 2022 to reach 3 billion USD, continuing to maintain the 6th rank in the top 10 most valuable milk brands globally and the top 2 strongest brands globally of the dairy industry.

Previously, according to the ranking of "100 most valuable brands in Vietnam in 2023," also announced by Brand Finance, Vinamilk is the leading enterprise in the "Top 10 highly sustainable brands" in Vietnam.

Alex Haigh, Representative of Brand Finance in the Asia-Pacific region, said that Vinamilk aims for net zero emissions (Net Zero 2050) and continuously leads in the circular economy model, renewable agriculture. In addition to the environment, the business promotes support for the local community and customers, such as the Rise of Vietnam Milk Fund program, with more than 42 million glasses of milk delivered to Vietnamese children.

Mr. Alex Haigh noted that "the stable business demonstrates that sustainability efforts are paying off."

Vinamilk announced Net Zero commitments and implementation roadmap in Vietnam during an event in Nghe An in May 2023. Photo: Ngoc Thanh

Mr. Le Thanh Liem - Chief Financial Officer of Vinamilk, said that reducing carbon emissions and leading products for responsible consumption are two of the many aspects of sustainable development the company is focusing on. Consumers are the driving force forcing businesses to practice sustainable development. Customers are paying more and more attention to environmental issues and community benefits besides product quality and making increasing demands on green products. Mr. Liem remarked, "This is difficult, but it will be the strongest impetus for us to develop more sustainably.

Vinamilk representative received the certificate of carbon neutrality according to PAS 2060:2014 standard for Nghe An dairy factory and Nghe An dairy farm in June. Photo: Ngoc Thanh

During the strategic period 2022-2026, Vinamilk has announced that sustainable development will become one of the four strategic spearheads and action programs, along with the roadmap to reach the Net Zero goal by 2050. This is also the first dairy company in Vietnam to have both factories and farms that are carbon neutral according to the Pas 2060:2014 standard. According to this standard, Nghe An Dairy Factory and Nghe An Dairy Farm are the first units to achieve carbon neutrality.

Also read: Vinamilk to import 1,200 cows from the US in 2021

Vinamilk invests in the sustainability of the business in general and the brand in particular in a process, not just in the short term. Since 2012, this business has issued a Sustainable Development Report according to world standards and has a third-party audit. This was also when Vinamilk implemented a series of sustainable development projects that have brought positive results, such as the "One million green trees fund for Vietnam", deploying solar and green energy for the whole farm and factory set.

Vinamilk leaders started the project of planting trees towards Net Zero in Hanoi, last February. Photo: Ngoc Thanh

This year, the Vietnamese dairy industry giant also implemented a series of new projects to promote this process, such as "Planting Trees Towards Net Zero" (coordinated with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment), "Vinamilk Net Zero Forest Ca Mau Cape"; Complete inventory and measurement of greenhouse gases at factories and farms; Research and develop products with green and sustainable elements...

These activities have contributed to bringing messages about sustainable development from businesses to employees and consumers and spreading more widely to the community, promoting sustainable consumption trends.

Read more: Vinamilk poured an additional $ 41 million into the dairy project in Laos
China's agricultural technology inspires Pakistani postdoctoral to contribute to home country's grain production

Xinhua) 13:27, September 07, 2023

LANZHOU, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Asfa Batool, a Pakistani postdoctoral fellow at Lanzhou University in northwest China's Gansu Province, is conducting dryland agricultural research in China. Her aim is to leverage her knowledge and different technologies to increase the grain production in Pakistan.

Asfa has been a part of Lanzhou University since 2012, when she first arrived to pursue her master's degree. Over the course of 11 years, she successfully obtained her doctoral degree in ecology in 2018, before starting her postdoctoral research at the university.

While talking about her experiences studying in China, she expressed immense gratitude towards her advisor, Xiong Youcai, a professor at the college of ecology at Lanzhou University. Xiong had previously given a lecture during her undergraduate studies at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan and introduced Chinese dryland agriculture and water saving technology.

Asfa was inspired by Chinese agricultural technologies and hoped to learn from him to improve the current state of agriculture in Pakistan.

Sponsored by the Chinese government scholarship, she applied to be a graduate student at Lanzhou University and began her study under professor Xiong in 2012. She has been actively involved in research work focusing on agriculture and biotechnologies to improve plant growth and productivity.

"Chinese dryland agricultural technology provides a potential innovative approach to upgrade the productivity of crops in arid and semi-arid regions. It is a key solution to boost the agricultural production system, and Lanzhou University is a well-known institute in China for agriculture studies. That's why I chose to study here," said Asfa, adding that she hopes that Chinese technologies can be utilized in Pakistan, because dry areas in Pakistan need more attention, as the crops there rely solely on rainfall.

According to Xiong Youcai, Chinese dryland agricultural technology can not only avoid resource waste and effectively save water but also improve soil fertility and reduce evaporation at the soil surface. The most important aspect of this technology is the easiness of use and low costs.

With Xiong's support, such as helping her set up research objectives, providing lab facilities and the funding projects provided by Lanzhou University, Asfa has conducted a lot of research on wheat and maize. This includes conducting split root experiments to study the role of phytohormones in drought stress. She also applied China's water-saving technology to maize and wheat planting experiments in Pakistan.

"I learned that how flat planting and ridge furrow planting can help Pakistan to increase the yield and the crop productivity there, compared Chinese technology with the local planting technology, and also especially focused on how the poor people like local farmers can increase their yield and get benefits from Chinese technology," said Asfa.

Based on experiments and research, she said she believes that China's ridge and furrow mulching technology, a part of dryland agriculture, can produce more yield than flat planting. While conducting experiments in dry areas in Pakistan, she felt confident that her implementation of the technology would lead to excellent results.

She has also visited many places in Gansu Province where local farmers applied the water saving technology to get a harvest and feed their families.

For her, China has really made unremitting efforts to help the poor people to have a good life. "That's what Pakistan needs," Asfa said, adding that she really wants to take Chinese agricultural technology back to Pakistan to benefit more local farmers and improve their life quality.

She has also actively communicated with scientists in China, Africa, Australia and Pakistan. Serving as a volunteer, she has helped participants with their accommodation and participation at many international forums and meetings hosted by Lanzhou University.

"These were all impressive experiences because they provide a platform for me to share and communicate different ideas among the people who come from different parts of the world," said Asfa.

Asfa said she is eager to implement Chinese agricultural technologies in the farmland in Pakistan after graduation, and hopes for deepened cooperation between China and Pakistan in more fields.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Located right on the edge of Ho Chi Minh City, Long An in this Mekong Delta province is always famous for its cool forest roads; these poetic lotus fields will "rescue" your soul.

If you come here for the first time, you may need to know which fun places to choose, so follow Long An tourist attractions to make this weekend more interesting!

1. About Long An province

Located adjacent to Ho Chi Minh City and in the Mekong Delta region, Long An has become an important gateway for economic trade for the Western provinces. Previously, this land was an important area of the Funan-Chan Lap kingdom, belonging to Gia Dinh.

With such a favorable location, Long An tourist destinations are gradually coming closer to many tourists. In particular, the peaceful and rustic atmosphere of the West right next to Saigon has become an interesting weekend stress relief place for Saigon residents.

Besides, Long An also has many unique cultural features through festivals such as the Ky Yen ceremony, rain praying ceremony, conferment ceremony,... If you are lucky to come, you will be in the exciting atmosphere of folk games such as boat racing, tug of war, and wrestling.

2. Top 5 destinations must visit in Long An

Tan Lap Floating Village

What many tourists love most when coming to Tan Lap Floating Village eco-tourism area is walking on the path through the melaleuca forest or taking a boat down the canal through the forest and weaving inside. Such a fresh and peaceful space is enough for you to let your soul drift away and chill. In particular, there is also an area that is most beautiful in the morning, when the lovely water lilies begin to bloom, birds fly in chirping, and fish swim around in the clear water,...

Address: Highway 62, Tan Lap, Moc Hoa, Long An province.

Opening hours: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm all days of the week.

The ticket price to visit the Melaleuca forest is 55,000 VND/person. The ticket price for sightseeing by boat is 30,000 VND/person.

Ancient house with a hundred columns

Perhaps you will not expect to be able to visit a unique tourist destination in Long An like this famous hundred-column ancient house. It has a hundred columns, but the house has over 180 round and square columns. In particular, all are made from precious woods such as rosewood, redwood, honeycomb,...

Besides, the architecture of this house is also extremely special. The house was built in the style of the Nguyen Dynasty, imbued with Hue style. But, because the South was under France then, the house had more diverse motifs. This work has been ranked as a national historic site because it is closely associated with the country's history.

Address: Ap Trung, Long Huu Dong, Can Duoc, Long An Province

Opening hours: 7:00 am - 5:00 pm every day of the week.



Endless Field tourist area

Suppose you have chosen to travel to the West. In that case, you must experience the typical eco-tourism at the Endless Fields tourist area. This is also a tourist destination in Long An that possesses a natural picture with all the characteristics of the Mekong Delta, with a pristine cajuput forest, chirping birds and swimming fish.

Here, you can freely experience fun activities associated with the river, take a boat ride in the heart of the majestic Melaleuca forest and get closer to nature. In particular, you will also be served unique foods and drinks from typical homegrown plants.

Address: Hamlet 3, Moc Hoa, Long An

Price: 1-day package price

Package price: 440,000 VND/adult. Children from 5 - 10 years old: 220,000 VND/ticket.



Cat Tuong Phu Sinh ecological area

Cat Tuong Phu Sinh eco-zone offers a creative space and replaces forests and natural lakes with modern designs with ecological lakes and the shape of an urban area. This Long An tourist destination brings the whole world back for you to check in at the 7 Wonders Park. However, the tourist area still ensures a peaceful and fresh space.

Address: TC1, My Hanh Bac, Duc Hoa, Long An.

Price: 50,000 VND - 100,000 VND



Lang Sen Wetland Reserve

Recognized as a Ramsar wetland reserve worldwide, Lang Sen wetland reserve will be an excellent Long An tourist destination for you. With the low-lying terrain of Dong Thap Muoi, this place possesses an extremely rich ecosystem, so there will be many interesting things for you to explore.

In addition to the diversity of natural landscapes such as Melaleuca forests, islands, swamps, rivers, grasslands, etc., the reserve is also a way for more than 148 species of birds to roam, including species in the red book. Not only on land but also in water, there are countless types of endemic fish swimming.

Address: Tan Hung Dike, Vinh Loi, Tan Hung, Long An.

Entrance ticket price: about 50,000 VND/person.

Read more: The enthralling tree-lined road in Long An

Check in the beautiful Tan Tru areca king tree path in Long An
Energy initiatives are struggling to get the go-ahead despite site clearance and other hurdles being passed, photo Le Toan

The Binh Thuan Wind and Solar Power Association last month sent an official dispatch to the government asking to remove obstacles for renewable energy power projects. Issues raised included overlapping the zoning plan for exploration of titanium ore, meaning renewable energy projects cannot be processed in good time.

According to the dispatch, there are no specific or detailed instructions on land procedures related to implementation of wind and solar power projects in mineral reserve areas after Decree No.51/2021/ND-CP was promulgated two years ago.

As a result, power projects have completed compensation and site clearance according to regulations, but land allocation and land lease cannot be completed in time, the dispatch noted.

For instance, Doan Van Vu, director of Hong Phong 4 Solar Power Plant, reported that his plant was built on wasteland deemed unsuitable for agricultural production. The plant is set to cost over $42 million.

The plant is located in the national titanium reserve area, so it still faces difficulties in land procedures. It has not yet been completed, said Vu.

He proposed that the government and relevant ministries should adjust the planning in accordance with the actual situation in order to create a favourable environment and encourage investors.

At the meeting with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) on August 25, Binh Thuan province asked the ministry to remove tens of thousands of hectares marked as national mineral reserve area.

Phan Van Dang, Deputy Chairman of Binh Thuan Peoples Committee, explained that the province needs more space to develop and pull in large-scale projects with long-term land use or project life cycle in coastal areas, with better conditions for tourism development, to form the nucleus and driving force of socioeconomic development for the province.

However, most of the coastal areas of the province are located in the national mineral reserve area.

Scientists have said that most titanium areas are extremely difficult to exploit in the current conditions. Thus, we need to hold them in reserve for the coming time, said Dang.

Tran Binh Trong, director of the MoNREs Department of Geology and Minerals, said that according to the results of the basic geological investigation of minerals and mineral exploration to date, titanium ore distributed in Binh Thuan has an area of about more than 1,100sq.km, accounting for about 13 per cent of the provinces total area. The total resources and reserves of titanium ore investigated and assessed reached about 570 million tonnes, accounting for more than 90 per cent of Vietnams total titanium resources.

Titanium ore resources in Binh Thuan province are considerable, and need to be considered and demarcated into the reserve area for management and protection, Trong said.

Meanwhile, Vietnam must create improvements for the implementation of socioeconomic development projects during the reserve period in order to maximise resources.

Son My I set to become first smart and green industrial park in Binh Thuan Son My Industrial Park Investment Construction and Trading Infrastructure Co., Ltd (IPICO) on August 30 held the groundbreaking ceremony for the Son My I Industrial Park.

Singapore's Leader Energy acquires Binh Thuan solar power plant Singapore's Leader Energy has purchased 100 per cent equity stake of the Vinh Hao 6 solar power plant in the south-central province of Binh Thuan.

Binh Thuan to kick off National Tourism Year 2023 The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism recently approved Binh Thuan province authorities to host the 2023 National Tourism Year with the theme Binh Thuan - Green convergence.

By Nguyen Thu
Only a couple of companies are officially in the charging station segment, but more are on the way, photo Le Toan

Chinese battery firm Gotion last month invested $150 million in Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer VinFast by acquiring 15 million ordinary shares, representing 0.7 per cent of this companys total equity.

Gotion is a collaborative partner with VinES Energy Solutions Corporation, an energy solutions provider under Vingroup, in a joint venture to manufacture lithium batteries in the Vung Ang Economic Zone in the central province of Ha Tinh, with the project representing a substantial investment of $275 million.

VinES holds a 49 per cent stake in the venture, while Gotion embraces the remainder. The ventures primary objective is to develop and produce rechargeable batteries used in EVs and energy storage systems.

In addition to battery manufacturing, charging stations are also a new potential area right now, said Vu Tan Cong, deputy director general at Vietnam Automobile Industry and Trading Business Consultants.

In Vietnam, only VinFast and EVIDA are substantially providing electric vehicle battery charging station services.

VinFast is developing charging stations with about 150,000 charge ports nationwide, with a cost of 13 US cents per kWh, while EVIDA is developing public charging stations with a unit price of 38 cents per kWh, adding the activation fee of 20-84 US cents.

VinFast is currently making up for the losses of charging stations and will gradually increase prices in the near future, Cong said. Assuming the charging fee is 34 US cents per kWh, if each station charges 100 cars a day, they can gain $1,000 per day and over $30,000 per month.

Top enterprises such as ABB and Siemens have expressed their intention to expand the electric charging station business market in Vietnam.

In February, ABB e-mobility supported Audi on the roll-out of its first electric car for the Vietnamese market. ABBs diverse e-mobility solutions support varying EV charging requirements of customers, which represents the first step in the development of a comprehensive charging network from ABB.

Vietnam will be one of the countries that ABB E-mobility will support in growing its electric vehicle charging infrastructure. We will focus on how to support the e-mobility market in Vietnam through ABB E-mobility initiatives, such as offering digital solutions for charging infrastructure to ensure consumers have a seamless charging experience, said Wee Jin Lee, Asia-Pacific regional leader of ABB E-mobility.

Siemens, meanwhile, will offer Vietnamese customers a range of chargers that are smart and flexible. These solutions are deployable in a wide spectrum of use cases for EV charging, such as residential, workplaces, commercial malls, industrial fleets, gas stations, and highway stopovers.

Arjun Raju, head of E-Mobility for Siemens in Asia-Pacific, said, Through the partnership with EVS signed in April, Siemens is introducing its state-of-the-art e-mobility solutions supporting the roll-out of more EV charging infrastructure in Vietnam, which is essential to growing the adoption of zero-emissions EVs in the country.

Experts said that the EV charging station networks should be invested in early before expecting the EVs popularity. The investments in the development of the EV charging station network can be by state-owned, private, and foreign-invested companies.

In line with the countrys action programme for the transition to green energy and mitigation of CO2 and methane in the transport industry, automobiles powered by conventional engines are to be phased out by 2050. By 2040, the manufacturing and importing of motor vehicles equipped with traditional engines will be limited.

BMI Research has predicted that Vietnams EV sales in 2023 will double compared to 2022, to about 18,000 units, and sales growth will be over 25 per cent annually over the next 10 years, equivalent to 65,000 units per year.

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association predicts that the number of EVs in Vietnam will reach about one million units by 2030 and increase to 3.5 million units by 2040.

However, in the view of Cong, the current support and incentive policies on EVs are not yet strong enough to encourage people to use them.

These lead to hesitation on investments in the EV charging station network, as a result, he said. What is more, the national technical regulations on charging stations have not been published yet. Thus, investors do not know how to build and develop the network for EVs, and time is being wasted.

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.

Insurance groups adjust to electric vehicle trends Vietnams pivot to electric vehicles is driving a profound overhaul in its long-established motor insurance sector, mirroring global trends.
Tran Hoai Nam, deputy general director of HDBank (left) received a trophy from Pandu Patria Sjahrir of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (right)

This is an award organised by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council since 2007 to honour businesses with outstanding achievements and contributions to the development of the region. The award ceremony took place within the framework of the 2023 ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, with the participation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

The award represents the recognition of international organisations for HDBank's digital innovation, which is of great significance to the region and ASEAN businesses. The digital innovation contributes to promoting trade and cooperation in the communities of Southeast Asian countries and around the world.

In August 2023, HDBank also bagged three digital transformation awards from the Vietnam Wealth Advisors Summit 2023 and Global Brands Magazine. HDBank continues to affirm its leading position in the digital transformation trend in the financial banking market.

With the spirit of "All in an App," up to now, HDBank has provided digital banking services with more than 100 features and connected more than 200 service providers to meet the maximum needs of customers in just one application.

At the same time, HDBank pioneered localising online business with website channels for 63 cities and provinces. HDBank has also optimised the automated marketing system, improved infrastructure, analysed user behaviour data, and optimised multichannel communication messages.

HDBank clearly understands the importance of data in the digital transformation process and has implemented many projects related to the use of big data, building a Recency, Frequency, Monetary model in 20212025. This model helps the bank understand customer behaviour and offer optimal products.

Along with improving the customer experience, the digital transformation also helps HDBank develop new digital products and services. The bank has developed mobile bankingan integrated internet banking system; electronic eKYC for retail banking customers; operational procedures for deposits, and a safe deposit box at the bank.

Meanwhile, its One Click Banking application (one-touch banking service) brings convenience to meet the versatile financial demands of customers.

Millions of Vietnamese people have gained better access to financial services thanks to HDBank's digital transformation journey. Over the years, HDBank has promoted lending to economy-driving sectors such as rural agriculture, the supply chain, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and local traders. The bank will build specialised lending applications for farmers, bringing them closer to modern agricultural development.

HDBank has become more attractive to customers by promoting digitalisation in business activities. As of June 30, 2023, the number of e-banking accounts had increased by 143 per cent over the same period. The total number of financial transactions on HDBank's eBanking digital channel also increased by more than 116 per cent compared to the first six months of 2022.

Along with strong digital transformation efforts and steadfast determination to take sustainable development as the guiding principle, HDBank has had many important achievements, including 10 consecutive years of profit growth.

Moving forward, HDBank will continue to deploy advanced core banking solutions and promote innovation in digital services, continuing to realise its goal of becoming a "Happy Digital Bank."

HDBank contributes to development of Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City Development Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (HDBank) has been on a journey of more than 30 years, contributing to the creation and development of Ho Chi Minh City.

HDBank launches 'Korea Desk' To welcome the visit of President Yoon Suk Yeol and a delegation of over 200 large Korean enterprises to Vietnam, HDBank has officially launched the 'Korea Desk', a department providing specialised banking products, services, and advisory support for Korean corporate customers in Vietnam.
High-quality overseas labour keen on Vietnam shift, illustration photo/ Source: freepik.com

A survey conducted by recruitment consultancy Robert Walters in July revealed that 71 per cent of overseas Vietnamese are actively considering the prospect of returning to their homeland to live and work within the next five years. The percentage is notably higher than Indonesia at 60 per cent, the Philippines at 62 per cent, and Singapore at 58 per cent.

With the anticipated medium-term GDP growth of approximately 6 per cent and a rising number of companies achieving revenues exceeding $1 billion, Vietnam is evolving into a captivating hub for global investors and talent, said Pham Tuan Phuc, country manager of Robert Walters Vietnam.

According to the consultancy, among those surveyed who believe that economic factors have a positive impact on them, two-thirds stated that they are confident in Vietnams economic stability and growth. This is also the foremost reason behind their choice to return.

Additionally, the ratio of high salaries to low living costs in Vietnam is an appealing factor for 44 per cent of the surveyed individuals, who believe that economic factors have a positive impact on their decision. Returning to Vietnam would enable them to lead a more comfortable and higher quality life, they believe.

In terms of foreign worker prospects of moving to Vietnam, Robert Walters assessed that the country is facing a golden opportunity to attract high-quality human resources. However, how to exploit and use this resource effectively is still a difficult problem, stemming from Vietnams somewhat complicated foreign labour recruitment process.

More than 93,000 foreigners possess work permits in Vietnam now, according to statistics from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. However, the process has been tightened since 2021, and businesses have been clamouring for a loosening of some procedures.

Securing visas and work permits for foreign workers remains a challenge, when more than 80 per cent of enterprises from one survey stating that they have faced several difficulties with this issue, said Christophe Pairaud, cluster general manager of Novotel Suites Hanoi.

Pham Duy Khuong, managing director of ASL LAW firm, said that although work permits are supposed to be attainable within a few weeks, the actual time to get a one approved may be longer than the regulations. Some businesses take well over two months to complete the procedures for a work permit, he said.

Vietnams work permit issuance process is similar to most countries in the region, but the application procedure is still complicated and faces many administrative problems, especially when compared with Singapore or Thailand, he added.

For Vietnamese workers living abroad who want to return to their home country to work, Khuong advises that those who once had Vietnamese nationality can apply to regain their nationality and follow the same job application procedures as an ordinary Vietnamese citizen.

Employees who have converted to other nationalities and no longer have Vietnamese nationality will have to go through the same procedures for applying for a work permit as foreigners, he added.

Recruitment businesses also need to prepare solutions to support those people. Some 27 per cent in the aforementioned survey mentioned that they would be willing to accept a salary reduction of 30 per cent or less compared to their current salary if they returned to Vietnam.

But Pham Thi Hoai Linh, human resources director of Navigos Group, stated that the licensing of work has quite different contents and procedures depending on the locality. Enterprises and management agencies need to have close coordination to come up with appropriate policies to support foreign workers to quickly integrate into the Vietnamese labour market.

For recruitment businesses, in addition to complying with regulations on foreign labour management, it is necessary to create a diverse and open working environment and organise sharing programmes to help foreign workers understand more about local organisation culture and working methods.

Foreign workers will have certain limitations compared to domestic workers, so it is necessary to have supportive policies from entry procedures and work permits to accommodation and effective communication methods with local colleagues, Linh recommended.

93,000 foreigners currently have work permits in Vietnam There are currently more than 93,000 foreigners with work permits in Vietnam, according to data from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Hopes for better working conditions for migrant workers Most unskilled workers in industrial zones (IZs) and foreign enterprises in Vietnam are migrants. Park Mihyung, chief of mission at the International Organization of Migration, Vietnam (IOM), discusses policies that support skills development and improve working conditions for migrant workers.
An international visitor at an airport in Vietnam. (Photo: VNA)

Tel Aviv  Israeli people and businesses have welcomed and highly valued Vietnams new visa policy, affirming that the country is taking steps to reform its procedures in order to make it easier for foreigners to vacation and do business in the Southeast Asian nation.

The new visa policy, coming into force on August 15, is believed to open up various opportunities for tourism development.



Under the policy, the e-visa validity period is extended to 90 days from 30 days. Within 90 days after the e-visa is granted, foreigners can enter and exit Vietnam for unlimited times and without having to apply for new visas. Citizens of the countries are entitled to Vietnams unilateral visa exemption to be granted a temporary residence period of 45 days, instead of 15 days like in the past, and have visa granting and temporary residence extension considered in line with regulations.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency in Tel Aviv, respondents said that instead of having to physically stamp visas onto passports, applying for e-visas will be more convenient, faster, and cost-effective.



Eran Laufman, a resident of Yavne city said six months ago, he traveled to Vietnam and was impressed by famous destinations like Ha Long Bay and Sapa. He had heard of these destinations during his previous trip to Southeast Asia but couldn't apply for a visa to Vietnam at that time because he hadn't planned it in advance.



Buta Doron, founder and CEO of Doron - Vietnam Travel, said e-visa will undoubtedly provide more convenient experiences for Israeli tourists as the application process can be performed entirely online.



The visa reforms hold even more significance in the context that the Vietnam  Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA) has just been signed, and direct flights between the two countries are set to be launched soon.



Doron said these positive developments will contribute to promoting bilateral relations, particularly in tourism and trade. He expressed a hope that direct flights would make round-trip airfare between Israel and Vietnam more attractive, thus stimulating the travel demand of Israeli citizens to Vietnam.



Viet Fam, CEO of Vietfood Group, which specializes in importing farm produce and processed foods from Vietnam, said some of his friends have successfully registered e-visas and have been heading to Vietnam immediately after the new regulations came into effect.



With the e-visa validity period of up to three months, visitors have the opportunity to explore all the beautiful destinations of Vietnam, he said, adding that this fantastic policy provides convenience for holiday-makers and opens up opportunities for travel and airline enterprises.

New e-visa policy to help lure more foreign visitors: Official The e-visa policy, which took effect from August 15, is expected to help Vietnam attract a hike in the number of international visitors right in the autumn-winter tourist season of 2023, said Do Van Hao, Deputy Chief of Police at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.
The GMT is expected to raise billions of dollars in revenue for governments, which could be used to fund public services or reduce debt. It is also expected to discourage multinationals from engaging in tax avoidance and evasion, which could level the playing field for businesses.

Rizwan Khan - Partner, Acclime Vietnam

The GMT policy has been welcomed by many countries as a historic achievement that will create a fairer and more stable international tax system. However, some countries have expressed concerns or reservations about the policy, such as its impact on their tax sovereignty, their economic development, and their existing tax incentives. Some countries have also not yet joined the agreement.

For small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that operate only in Vietnam, the policy may not have a direct impact, as they are already subject to the domestic tax rules of Vietnam. However, they may benefit from a more level playing field with multinational corporations that previously enjoyed lower tax rates by shifting profits to tax havens.

On the other hand, for SMEs that export their goods or services to other countries, the policy may affect their competitiveness and profitability, depending on the tax rates and rules in Vietnam and other countries. For example, if a small business in Vietnam sells its products to customers in France, it may have to pay more taxes under Pillar 1, as France may claim some of the profits based on the sales made there.

Similarly, for SMEs that have subsidiaries or branches in other countries, the policy may require them to pay more taxes under Pillar 2, as Vietnam may top up their taxes to the minimum level of 15 per cent if they pay less than that in any other country. This may reduce their incentive to invest or expand in low-tax jurisdictions.

Last, but not the least, for SMEs that rely on tax incentives or exemptions offered by the governments, the policy may limit or eliminate some of these benefits, as they may be considered harmful or preferential under the GMT rules. This may affect their cash flow and growth prospects. However, some tax incentives may still be allowed if they are consistent with the policy objectives and criteria.

In recent times, Vietnam has been a popular destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) and has signed several free trade agreements (FTAs) with major trading partners, which have reduced or eliminated tariffs on many goods and services.

In addition to that, Vietnam also offers other incentives for FDI, such as tax exemptions, preferential land rents, and simplified administrative procedures. It has also improved its legal and regulatory framework to protect the rights and interests of foreign investors, such as laws on investment, enterprises, and public-private partnerships.

The GMT policy would set an effective tax rate (ETR) for corporate income, and any country that has a lower ETR would have to collect the difference from the foreign investors. The policy is expected to have a significant impact on FDI, especially in developing countries that rely on tax incentives to attract FDI.

According to some studies, the GMT policy could reduce the FDI inflows to low-tax countries by up to 20 per cent and increase the FDI outflows from high-tax countries by up to 10 per cent. This would imply a redistribution of FDI from developing to developed countries, as well as a reduction in the overall level of FDI. The policy could also affect the quality and composition of FDI, as investors may shift from productive to passive investments, or from equity to debt financing.

The advantage of Vietnam as a destination for FDI may fade due to the GMT policy, as its ETR is below the proposed threshold of 15 per cent. Moreover, the FTAs may lose some of their benefits, as the tariff reductions may be offset by the tax increases. Vietnam may also face more competition from other countries that have higher ETRs but offer other advantages.

However, Vietnam may still be able to maintain its appeal by implementing other policies to offset the negative effects of the GMT policy. For example, it could improve its public services, governance, and regulatory quality. It could also diversify its FDI sources, and foster more links with domestic firms.

Vietnam sets October for move towards global minimum tax adoption The Vietnamese government is slated to table the proposed legislation regarding global minimum tax before the National Assembly in October, with the General Department of Taxation (GDT) forecasting an implementation timeline commencing at the outset of 2024.
The switch to LNG is necessary but complex, with delayed projects suffering from implementation issues

Meetings between the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and 13 liquefied natural gas (LNG)-to-power plants will be held every three months starting September. According to Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, the meetings will review the implementation progress of projects as committed and submit reports to the prime minister and the aational steering committee for electricity development in accordance with current regulations.

This move indicates that relevant stakeholders are stepping up implementation of LNG-fired power projects in Vietnam in line with Mays approval of the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8) for 2021-2030 with a vision towards 2050. According to the decision, coal-fired electricity sources that are facing difficulty in implementation will be replaced with LNG electricity sources or renewable energy.

Hoang Tien Dung, director of the Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy under the MoIT, said that the PDP8 has hindered the growth of coal-fired power plants and is focused on the rapid development of LNG power plants as well as gas import and distribution infrastructure.

The PDP8 determines that by 2030, the total capacity of LNG power sources for the domestic demand will reach 22,400MW, accounting for almost 15 per cent of the nations total generation capacity.

Analysts said that Vietnams energy transition is further driven by a number of factors, including the successful shipment of nearly 70,000 tonnes of LNG to the Thi Vai LNG terminal. What is more, there have been a number of new infrastructure projects gaining approval for investment. They include the $1.3 billion Son My LNG terminal warehouse project by a joint venture of PV GAS and US-based AES Corporation in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan.

Nguyen Cong Ly - Chairman Cong Thanh Thermal Power JSC Cong Thanh has sent a written proposal to Thanh Hoa Peoples Committee to report to the prime minister for approval of the coal-to-LNG conversion of the Cong Thanh thermal power project. This proposal is based on the actual implementation of the project. This is based on the list of LNG thermal plants as outlined in May by the prime minister. Nghi Son town of Thanh Hoa province is among the potential backup locations for projects behind progress or unable to be implemented. It means the Cong Thanh thermal power plant is being deployed in a suitable location in line with the planning and orientation for the deployment of LNG-to-power plants.

Committed to conversion

According to the MoITs direction, it is time to speed up the coal-to-LNG conversion of thermal power plants in Vietnam.

The Cong Thanh thermal power plant is one of the projects being proposed to the government. There are strong conditions for the investor to complete and put the project into operation by the end of this year, and fully convert to LNG by 2028, in line with the PDP8 goals.

Thanh Hoa Peoples Committee submitted a document in July asking to consider and approve the conversion of the power plant from coal into imported LNG with a capacity of 1,500MW.

According to Thanh Hoas leaders, the proposal mentions considering the conversion proposal of the Cong Thanh project in the official PDP8 implementation plan.

Projects that are overdue according to regulations will not be considered for extension. If other projects cannot be implemented after two years, they are proposed to be replaced with LNG or renewable energy sources.

The construction and operation of LNG thermal power plants are crucial for national energy security this decade, said MoIT Minister Dien. Therefore, if any project is behind schedule, the MoIT will report to the government and the prime minister to delay the progress of such projects, accelerate backup projects, or calculate other alternatives to ensure system safety and electricity supply for the country.

Last month, the investor of the Cong Thanh project said the company had completed a capital arrangement with Actis Investment Fund, and it has been in negotiation to form partnerships with the US General Electric (GE) to provide equipment, and the UK-based BP to supply LNG. The company has also secured clean premises for the conversion.

The plant will have the total investment capital of $2 billion, and it is slated to be located in Nghi Son Economic Zone. There is an LNG port warehouse of 18.3 hectares nearby and an LNG port water surface of 100ha.

After conversion, the Cong Thanh plant will use combined-cycle gas turbine technology. The project consumes 1.2-1.5 million tonnes of LNG per year and generates the average annual electricity output to the grid from 3.9 billion kWh to nine billion kWh.

Avoiding delays

BP is currently discussing potential cooperation with Cong Thanh on the proposed development of an LNG-to-power project together with two other international parties, said the source of BP in Singapore. Our ambition is to be a net-zero company by 2050 or sooner, and the proposed project with Cong Thanh aligns with our sustainability aims, including delivering more clean energy to the public and supporting the communities where we operate.

A source close to the project told VIR that negotiations for a partnership between Cong Thanh and GE are underway.

However, according to Cong Thanh Thermal Power JSC chairman Nguyen Cong Ly, the company has actively implemented the necessary conditions, but it has to wait for other sufficient solutions for the project to be realised. The opportunity within its reach would slip away to obtain important agreements, both in terms of arranging capital sources and selecting international equipment suppliers.

Cong Thanh is looking to avoid issues that have plagued other large-scale LNG-to-power projects. Despite a partnership with foreign corporations, the Bac Lieu LNG power plant project remains stagnant, frustrating everybody involved.

According to the initial plan, Bac Lieu was to spend 12 months from the date of issuance of the investment certificate in 2020 completing the investment preparation procedures. This was to be followed by 36 months of implementation, construction, installation of gas pipelines to shore, and operation of gas turbines.

The project was hoped to reach a capacity of 750MW in the first phase by the end of 2023 and capacity of 3,200MW by 2028. The project is led by Delta Offshore Energy, with cooperation from Bechtel, GE, and McDermott.

However, even without taking into account the impact on the national power supply plan, the delay in implementing the initiative is also having an impact on GE, which is the main equipment supplier for the project.

Gulf Energy plans to invest in infrastructure and utility services in Thanh Hoa Gulf Energy Development Group from Thailand arrived in the central province of Thanh Hoa to study investment opportunities in energy, infrastructure, and utility services.

Weight still placed on imported LNG Vietnams growing dependence on imported liquefied natural gas could cause a hike in power production costs.

Vietnam's LNG power projects face contractual hurdles and rising import costs Vietnam's ambitious journey into liquefied natural gas (LNG) power projects is facing stumbling blocks, as protracted contract negotiations threaten the progress of key initiatives.
Inside the freshly discovered cave. (Photo: VNA)

Quang Binh  A cave with magnificent and pristine limestone formations has been freshly discovered in the central province of Quang Binh, which is often dubbed the "kingdom of caves" in Vietnam.

Locals in Truong Son commune, Quang Ninh district, are behind the discovery, and they call the area the Son Nu (mountain girl) cave, confirmed Hoang Trong Duc, Chairman of the Truong Son People's Committee.

Located near such ecotourism destinations as Cha Rao and Cha Cung streams, the cave is approximately 1.8km long, with a width ranging from 20m to 50m and an average height of about 35m. To reach its location, people need to cross about 7km of convenient transportation and 2km of a trail alongside a stream.

It features an underground stream originating from the Vietnam-Laos border. In summer, the water level inside the cave is not significant, allowing local residents to paddle through. The boat journey from its entrance to exit takes a little over an hour.

According to Duc, the People's Committee and relevant agencies have conducted an on-site survey to assess the overall cave structure, aiming to develop adventure tourism in the area in the near future.

Quang Binh is home to Son Doong Cave, accredited as the worlds largest and most beautiful natural cave by the World Records Union and the World Records Association.

Quang Binh tourism branding can set central province apart Quang Binh province is aiming to leverage tourism to turn it into the most attractive destination in Vietnam, and a lucrative adventure centre in Asia.

Thien Duong Cave - An underground maze in Quang Binh Hidden in a vast forest in the western reaches of the central province of Quang Binh, Thien Duong (Paradise) Cave has been described as a beautiful natural masterpiece that never fails to enchant visitors.
At the 2nd Borneo Business Roundtable in Jakarta, Indonesia, on September 6 (Source: thejakartapost.com)

Jakarta  Three ASEAN member countries in Kalimantan Island, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, have agreed to form the Borneo Economic Community (BEC) in order to stimulate green economic development in the island and the Southeast Asian region.

In a speech on the sidelines of the 2nd Borneo Business Roundtable in Jakarta on September 6, Chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) Arsjad Rasjid stressed that representatives of the three ASEAN countries officially endorsed the cooperation in establishing BEC.



A joint task force, involving representatives of BEC, will be formed to enhance collaboration in shaping Kalimantan as a dynamic island, he said, adding the force also aims to make Kalimantan a green economy epicentre in ASEAN that is built on sustainable development goals to achieve community welfare and environmental preservation.



Meanwhile, Chair of Brunei Darussalam ASEAN-BAC Haslina Taib explained that BEC aims to operate as an inclusive and sustainable business association for companies in Kalimantan and professionals in emerging fields.



She ensured that BEC is inclusive for all businesses, including micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and open to social enterprises and skilled inpiduals.



BEC is committed to encouraging regional sustainability in ASEAN, addressing business challenges on the island of Kalimantan, and enhancing collaboration, both inside and outside Kalimantan, Taib affirmed.

Indias ASEAN deal upgrade offers new opportunities An upgrade for a free trade deal between ASEAN and India is set to increase both countries trade turnover, as well as Indian investment into the Southeast Asian market.
According to the DOC, no Vietnamese companies participated in this review before the anti-dumping measures expired after five years. Therefore, Vietnam's steel coat hangers imported to the US will be subject to an anti-dumping tax of 220 per cent and an anti-subsidy tax of 157 per cent.

The Trade Remedies Authority under the Ministry of Industry and Trade has revealed the decision of the DOC on September 6.

The authority recommends new Vietnamese exporters contact the DOC before exporting their products to calculate their tax rates.

Do Ngoc Hung, commercial counselor in the US, suggested that Vietnamese businesses should pay special attention to the origin of goods and raw materials to avoid high anti-dumping or anti-subsidy taxes.

Earlier in July, the DOC also declared that it would continue to levy an anti-subsidy tax of 32 per cent on Vietnamese steel coat hangers, with the exception of one company that was subject to a separate tax rate of 90 per cent.

On January 18, 2012, the DOC decided to launch an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into steel coat hangers imported from Vietnam.

Since 2013, steel coat hangers imported from the country have been subject to US anti-dumping taxes of between 157 per cent and 220 per cent and anti-subsidy duties of between 32 per cent and 90 per cent.

Steel coat hangers are made from carbon steel wire, regardless of whether they are painted or plated, coated with plastic, or similar materials. Steel hanger products are used in the garments and textiles, and laundry industries.

US removes anti-dumping tax on Minh Phu shrimp United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has cancelled anti-dumping tariffs imposed on Minh Phu's subsidiary.

US concludes anti-dumping investigation into Vietnams OCTG The US Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced the results of the third administrative review for Vietnams oil country tubular goods (OCTG) for the period from September 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019, according to Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of Industry of Trade.
Texas painter Charles Wallis solo show this month at art space Cultivate 7twelve relies largely on three colors  red, blue and yellow  and he wonders how that makes you feel.

Not the limited palette, which also includes white and black, but the link between the colors and emotions. Do you feel blue when you see blue? Angry at red? And  well, how does yellow make you feel?

Wallis solo show Celebrating Primary Color and Emotions, which runs through Sept. 29, represents an extended dialogue on the theme, a varied show of 33 pieces ranging from oversized portraits to studies of color blocks, lines and abstract splashes.

The 79-year-old Wallis submitted his show proposal about two years ago, then promptly forgot about it. The gallery contacted him last year to give him a green light and he realized hed better start painting for it, he said.

The result shows his interpretation of six basic, or primary, human emotions  happiness, fear, sadness, disgust, anger and surprise  with what he terms secondary emotions of jealousy, passion, anxiety and beauty.

He captures those emotions in the most eye-catching part of the exhibit, 10 4-by-4-foot paintings, six of which are facial portraits. While the interplay of color and emotion is a central theme of the exhibit, theres not a one-to-one correlation between the two, as the wide range of styles in the show demonstrates.

Joy, which he says is an audience favorite, has a swirl of blue streaks punctuated by bold red and yellow accents. Disgust, a womans face with an appropriate sneer, relies more on a jolting contrast of her red hair with blue and lime green in the background. Sadness face is blue, but Anger communicates its emotion in jangling, strong lines, even in its subjects hair.

The crown-wearing woman in Jealousy is surrounded by a border of glitter and gold leaf while Beauty of Nature borrows, Wallis admitted, from a Monet pondscape.

Abstracts on white and black backgrounds plus studies of color shapes and lines fill out the balance of the exhibit and, in a sense, complement it. I get bored doing one style after awhile, so I have to change, he explained. That variety is part of his artistic identity, even from his days fresh from studying art at Baylor University, from which he graduated in 1966. Everyone advised me to find a style, but I have not been able to do that, he said.

Wallis, who grew up in Waco and graduated from University High School and Baylor, put art to the side for much of his career. After about a decade in advertising, he shifted to franchising and eventually started his own business, creating four companies and seeing two succeed.

He continued to paint on his own through all of this and after retirement he opted to paint full time, which he has for the last 13 years from his home in College Station. Hes exhibited at galleries across the state and, as a member of the Professional Artists of Central Texas, has shown works in their exhibits in Waco.

As he did at the opening of the Cultivate 7twelve show, Wallis will team with Native American flutist Sandi Horton at the shows closing reception on Sept. 22. Horton will play her musical interpretations of Wallis paintings and the emotions they raise. Guitarist Frank Exum also will perform at the exhibit closing.

Waco Calligraphy Guild

Friday through Sept. 29, Art Center Waco, 701 S. Eighth St.

Also running through September at Art Center Waco is the Waco Calligraphy Guilds debut show at the center.

The exhibit features more than 140 pieces from the 61-member organization and spans a dizzying range of styles and approaches. The organization marks its 35th year this year, but the show is its first at Art Center Waco, guild president Suzi Ickles said with obvious excitement.

Calligraphy generally involves an artistic treatment of text, but practitioners have gone far beyond hand-lettering in their approaches. The Art Center exhibit, loosely grouped by themes and styles, contains framed wall pieces, posters and paintings, but also quilt squares, hand-crafted books by Sha Towers, Orthodox icons on wood panels plus lettering on stones, wood and carved into slate.

What has made the guild successful is that we have people with all sorts of talents, said Ickles, a retired China Spring Middle School art teacher.

The exhibit, curated by members Lisa Hinricksen and Cindy Boney, has examples of the most common calligraphic forms  black letter, pointed pen, pencil and brush  widely seen on such media as cards, envelopes, signs, posters and certificates.

All of it can be taught and refined through practice, Ickles affirmed. Calligraphy is a skill you learn. It has nothing to do with the quality of your handwriting, she said.

In conjunction with the September show that opens Friday, the guild will hold its monthly meeting at Art Center Waco at 10 a.m. Saturday with a demonstration of techniques at 11 a.m. All events are free and open to the public.
The top property taxpayer in McLennan County was almost at the top of this years delinquent taxpayers list.

Oncor Electric Delivery Co., of Dallas, still owed about $327,000 in penalties and interest on 82 properties until July 31, when McLennan County Tax Assessor-Collector Randy Riggs received an express letter from Oncor containing a check for around $432,000, covering the penalties and interest with another $105,000 for attorney fees.

The total property tax bill levied to Oncor locally was about $5.2 million, and that had been received around three weeks late, so there were penalties and interest accruing, Riggs said.

After the late payments arrived, Oncor sent a request for a waiver of penalties and interest to Riggs and all 42 taxing units around the county, including cities, the county, school districts, water districts and McLennan Community College. Five entities have approved Oncors request, company spokesperson Michael Baldwin said in a statement.

The company, which serves as the areas electric transmission and distribution utility, asserts it is eligible for waivers or refunds because it complied with the law, delivering checks on the Jan. 31 postmark deadline to a Dallas-area post office. That was also the first day of a significant winter storm and freeze, which the company claims prevented the post office from processing and delivering the checks in a timely manner.

However, in order to avoid accruing penalty costs, Oncor recently submitted payment for the related interest and penalties, Baldwin said. We are now in the process of working with these entities to request refunds for payment.

Baldwin has gone to council meetings for some of the taxing entities and asked the council members to revoke the interest and penalties, including Woodways council meeting July 24. Woodway is among the entities that revoked its penalties against Oncor.

Baldwin told the Woodway City Council there was only one U.S. Postal Service employee at the post office where his company dropped off property tax checks Jan. 31 to be sent to several Texas counties. He said the envelopes containing the check sat for days or weeks in the post office unnoticed until they were finally found and delivered.

Riggs said his office received a check from Oncor around Feb. 23, three weeks after the ice storm. He said officials at the post office that handled Oncors checks told his office the countys check had been processed two days before the tax office received it. A tax office staffer asked how long a mislaid envelope might normally wait in that post office before being processed and was told a few hours, two or three days at most, Riggs said.

Several other McLennan County taxpayers have also claimed the ice storm stopped the postal service from processing and delivering their check on time. On March 7, during one of its first meetings when the issue came up, the McLennan County Commissioners Court approved at least partial waivers for nine of the 12 taxpayers who submitted requests.
Hispanic Waco display

A Hispanic Waco wall display will be unveiled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 15 at the South Waco Library, 2737 S. 18th St.

The piece highlights the lives of Hispanic people who helped Waco become the city it is today.

Special guests will include representatives from among local elected officials, city management, business leaders and the Waco Hispanic Museum, along with authentic Hispanic treats and drinks.

Harambee Revive

Waco Harambee Revive will be held Sept. 15-16 at the Bridge Street Plaza, 200 E. Bridge St.

Vendors, performers sponsors and volunteers are needed and wanted. The theme is pull together.

For more information, contact Northeast Riverside Neighborhood Association President Jeanette Bell at 254-652-9056 or nerna.waco@yahoo.com.

Caregiver class

St. Catherines Providence Village Memory Center, 2500 American Plaza, will host a caregiver class from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, intended to help participants reduce stress while caring for a loved one.

The class will provide encouragement and equip caregivers with ways to lessen stress and enjoy life more, whether they are caring for a loved one in their own home or have a relative who lives in a facility thousands of miles away. At the end of the class, there will be time for Q&A with the speaker and to meet other caregivers.

To RSVP, call 254-723-8046.

Alzheimers Expo

A McLennan County Alzheimers Expo will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at Meadowbrook Baptist Church, 1207 N. Old Robinson Road.

The event is a resource far people affected by the growing disease.

For more information, call 254-292-1843.

Square dance lessons

The Waco Stars Square Dance Club will offer square dance lessons for beginners from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at Allemande Hall, 106 Westlake Drive in Speegleville. The lessons will continue at the same time weekly.

Cost is $3 per night. For more information, contact Wendell Moore by call or text at 254-715-2749 or email crocketts1955@yahoo.com.

All for Fun

Literacy, life skills, and fun activities are all on the agenda for All for Fun, a program for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities that will run from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday at the South Waco Library, 2737 S. 18th St.

The program is in partnership with the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network.

Jet rally

The Greater Southwest Jet Rally will run Thursday through Saturday at the Heart of Texas Miniature Aircraft flying field, 3400 Overflow Road, accessible from northbound Highway 6 via the first exit after the Twin Bridges over Lake Waco.

Admission is free. Lawn chairs, shade and water are recommended. Plenty of remote-controlled turbine jets will be flying.

Wedding show

JoAnns Bridal and Suit City will hold a wedding show from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Waco Lions Den, 1716 N. 42nd St.

There will be vendors and prizes. For more information, call 254-495-1555.

Genealogy workshop

A Mi Familia: Our Legacy is the Stories We Share event celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month will run from noon to 1 p.m. Monday at the West Waco Library, 5301 Bosque Blvd.

Participants can explore resources that will help them dig for their families Latin roots. Judge Billy and Ruth Martin will share the story of their genealogy journey as well as the tips and tricks they learned along the way. The event also will include information on what family history records are available in the U.S. and Mexico and how to document the stories found. Participants should bring a lunch to enjoy during the program. Drinks will be provided.

Burgers, bingo

Karem Shrine, 400 Karem Circle, will host a burgers and bingo fundraiser at 6 p.m. Friday.

Burgers will be served from 6 to 6:30 p.m. before bingo begins.

Farmers market returning

The Bridge Street Farmers Market at Bridge Street Plaza, 200 E. Bridge St., is closed because of the summer heat. It will return Wednesday.

Theater auditions

Auditions for White Christmas will be held from 2 to 6:15 p.m. Saturday and 4 to 8:15 p.m. Sunday at Waco Civic Theatre, 1517 Lake Air Drive.

Performers should be prepared to sing a song from the Golden Age of Broadway era, for example, works by Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, or Lerner and Loewe; learn a small dance combination; and expect cold readings from the script.

Ages 16 and older are allowed to audition. To sign up, go to bit.ly/WCTWCAuditions.
A 79-year-old woman died early Thursday morning after sustaining serious injuries in a four-car collision Wednesday night in Lorena.

Police said the crash happened just before 7 p.m. at the intersection of Pilgrim Lane and Old Lorena Road and involved four vehicles.

Charlotte Keller died as a result of the wreck, according to a Lorena Police Department Facebook post. Police said Keller was airlifted by helicopter to Baylor Scott & White hospital in Temple and died from her injuries just after 1 a.m. Thursday, about six hours after the crash.

The post says Keller's next of kin has been notified. Police said the cause of the crash is still under investigation by Lorena police and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
WATERLOO  A nurse has been charged with allegedly obtaining opioid medications under false pretenses.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Iowa on Tuesday charged Luis Ramirez Cajas, of Cedar Rapids, with acquiring fentanyl by fraud.

The government is also seeking forfeiture of Ramirezs nursing license. Ramirez waived formal indictment, according to court records.

Prosecutors allege he obtained fentanyl through misrepresentation between September and October 2022 in Black Hawk County. Details werent available. Ramirez obtained his nursing license in February 2012.

In August 2022, he entered into an agreement through the Iowa Nurse Assistance Program, a confidential monitoring system that allows nurses to retain their license while receiving treatment for substance use or mental or physical ailments.

He allegedly didnt comply with terms of the agreement, which require abstaining from drugs and alcohol and restricting work with narcotics, according to licensing information.

Ramirez began working for a hospital in August 2022 through a staffing agency, but the contract was cancelled two months later because of concerns over his handling of narcotics. He allegedly admitted to diverting narcotic medication from the hospital for personal use in September and October 2022, according to licensing records.

Under a settlement with state regulators, Ramirez agreed to relinquish his license and not reapply for reinstatement for 12 months.
WATERLOO  A 16 year old has been sentenced to prison for allegedly shooting another teen in May.

Its frankly very sad that this happens. Nobody wins, Judge Linda Fangman told Tyrie Wade on Wednesday as he pleaded guilty.

Fangman implored the teen to use his time behind bars to turn things around, telling him he will likely end up killing someone and spending his life in prison or being killed himself if he doesnt stay away from firearms.

This is not a life anyone should want to lead, she said.

Authorities said Wade shot a 14 year old in the leg in the area of West Fourth and Baltimore streets at 3:40 a.m. on May 9.

Wade was originally charged as a juvenile. But he had prior juvenile adjudications for armed robbery and felon in possession of a firearm for earlier incidents, so the shooting case was transferred to adult court in June.

He was charged with willful injury causing serious injury and felon in possession of a firearm, both felonies.

Jury selection for trial began on Tuesday, and Wade pleaded on Wednesday as testimony was about to begin.

Under the plea agreement, the willful injury charge was reduced to assault with intent to cause serious injury, a misdemeanor. He also pleaded to the weapons charge.

Wade was sentenced to up to five years in prison and restitution.

Prosecutor Brad Walz said part of the reason for the plea agreement was the states inability to locate the victim for trial.

Wades attorney had indicated they planned to argue self-defense if the trial had gone forward.

Cities with the fastest 'time-to-crime' rates for firearms Cities with the fastest 'time-to-crime' rates for firearms #40. New York City #39. Baltimore #38. San Jose, California #37. San Diego #36. Los Angeles #35. San Bernardino, California #34. Jacksonville, Florida #33. Tampa, Florida #32. Chattanooga, Tennessee #31. Wichita, Kansas #30. Tulsa, Oklahoma #29. Winston-Salem, North Carolina #28. New Orleans #27. Orlando, Florida #26. Chicago #25. Dayton, Ohio #24. Cincinnati #23. Miami #22. Indianapolis #21. Charlotte, North Carolina #20. Baton Rouge, Louisiana #19. Louisville, Kentucky #18. Las Vegas #17. Columbus, Ohio #16. Dallas #15. San Antonio #14. Philadelphia #13. Houston #12. Cleveland #11. Huntsville, Alabama #10. Mobile, Alabama #9. Milwaukee #8. Atlanta #7. Shreveport, Louisiana #6. Memphis, Tennessee #5. St. Louis #4. Phoenix #3. Columbia, South Carolina #2. Detroit #1. Richmond, Virginia
 Full text

 Russian Defence Ministry

Briefing by Chief of NBC Protection Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on U.S. military-biological activity 06.09.2023

The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation continues to analyse the military and biological activities of the U.S. and its allies in Ukraine and on the territory of other countries.

The second meeting of the working group on strengthening the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention was held in Geneva from 8 to 17 August 2023. The event was held to develop concrete and effective measures to strengthen the BTWC regime.

Despite the purely expert nature of the meeting, due to the position of the United States and Ukraine, the discussion of the agenda was highly politicised.

The Western group of countries promoted the idea of creating a voluntary financial fund on the platform of the Convention, under the control of a specially created committee with the possibility of allocating earmarked funds for projects favourable to them.

The Russian Federation was in favour of ensuring equitable access to technologies and scientific achievements in the biological sphere and called for unilateral restrictive measures against States Parties to the Convention to be avoided.

Russia was supported by a number of countries, the number of which began to increase amid the reaction of the worlds media to the publication of documents on the U.S. military-biological activities, even such as the American publication American Greitens, the British Bit Chute, the Italian La Presse, and the Greek Banking News.

The reports of non-governmental organisations as Interpol, the World Health Organisation, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Committee on UN Security Council Resolution No. 1540, whose tasks are in no way related to the subject matter and objectives of the Convention, traced pro-Western ideas about the non-mandatory nature of the BTWC verification regime and the possibility of replacing it with non-core mechanisms.

In discussing the issue of national implementation of the BTWC, the Russian Federation once again raised the issue of violations of the Convention by the Kiev regime and its Western curators. It was noted that the USA and Ukraine position military-biological research as cooperation for peaceful purposes, hiding behind Article 10 of the Convention.

It is noteworthy that during the work in Geneva of the expert group on strengthening the BTWC, the Pentagon published a policy document Biosecurity Policy Review, which defines the actions of the U.S. Department of Defence in this area for the period up to 2035.

The policy developed by the U.S. administration is based on the U.S. National Defence Strategy, the National Biosecurity Strategy, and the Biological Threats and Pandemic Preparedness Plan.

Although its stated purpose is to: deter the use of biological weapons and respond to natural outbreaks, the document creates a legal basis for further U.S. biological-military expansion and research outside of national territory.

In particular, the overseas network of United States-controlled biolaboratories will be expanded and the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which was previously imposed by the U.S. administration on post-Soviet countries, will be continued.

This is supposed to follow a well-established pattern of involving civilian ministries and intermediary organisations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the implementation of Pentagon plans.

As Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs Deborah Rosenblum stated, biosecurity is no longer the domain of specialised Army units alone.

The biological-military nature of the planned activity is also evident from the fact that it will be conducted by the Biodefence Council, chaired by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defence William LaPlante.

In general, the number of administrative structures engaged in the implementation of bioprospecting in the USA has increased significantly.

We previously told you about the creation of the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness, which is headed by U.S. Air Force Major General Paul Friedrichs. It was noted that the work of the directorate would focus on pathogens that could trigger another global emergency.

As it turns out, this is not the only structure created by the U.S. administration in 2023 to organise dual-use research outside the national territory.

On 1 August, the State Departments Bureau of Global Health and Diplomacy was formed.

Its official purpose is stated as international cooperation in the effective prevention, detection and control of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS. In practice, the office will be responsible for setting policy and coordinating Washingtons efforts to establish a global infectious disease monitoring system and achieve United States leadership in this area.

Ambassador-at-Large John Nkengasong, who previously served as director of the Africa Regional Office of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a structure involved in the implementation of U.S. military biological programmes, has been appointed to head the new structure.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the State Department regularly emphasises its non-involvement in biological activities on the grounds that it is not a core foreign policy issue.

We have in our possession documented evidence of the State Departments involvement in the Biosecurity Engagement Programe since 2016. According to the funding plan, at least $40 million is envisaged for the involvement of various non-profit and non-governmental organisations alone.

The documents demonstrate the active participation of the U.S. State Department in bioprogrammes on the territory of foreign countries, as well as Washingtons desire to use third-party performers to conceal the customers and purposes of the research being conducted.

Special attention is given to countries in the Middle East (Iraq, Yemen, Jordan), South-East Asia (Indonesia, Philippines) and Africa (Kenya, Morocco, Uganda). Mention is made of President Obamas role in promoting the State Departments proposed biological programmes.

It should also be noted that Ukraine occupies a special place in the planning documents and is singled out as a separate region.

Thus, Washington is making administrative, financial, and diplomatic efforts to establish U.S. global biological control.

The scale of the biological-military activities and the extensive cooperation of the perpetrators are confirmed not only by the documents received, but also by the statements of political representatives in the United States itself.

I would like to highlight a few statements by Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, Jr. During an interview with the American TV presenter Tucker Carlson, Kennedy spoke at length about the events of 11 September 2001 and the subsequent signing of the so-called Patriot Act, which, according to the American politician, resumed the arms race, but with the use of biological weapons,  and the Pentagon began to invest huge sums of money in their development .

The U.S. presidential candidate elaborated on the legal implications of the Patriot Act, in particular that since 2001, any official who violates the law on the use of biological weapons cannot be held criminally liable, although U.S. federal law provides for capital punishment for this offence. This provision was used as a loophole in international treaties that were ratified by the U.S. Congress.

I would like to recall that it was in 2001 that the United States blocked work on a legally binding protocol to the BTWC, thereby completely eliminating the possibility of international control of its military-biological research.

The statements by an American politician about the functioning of biological facilities controlled by the Pentagon on Ukrainian territory deserve special attention. We have biolaboratories in Ukraine because we are developing biological weapons and these biological weapons use various kinds of new synthetically bred strains, as well as CRISPR technologies and genetic engineering techniques that were not available to previous generations..

Such statements are confirmation of illegal military-biological activities by the United States and require a legal assessment followed by an independent investigation.

During the interview it became known that about 36 thousand people are involved in the U.S. biological weapons programme, while the list of facilities with BSL-3 and BSL-4 isolation levels, where such research is conducted, is concealed from the public.

Apparently, the exact number of biolabs is not known by the U.S. administration itself.

For example, in March 2023, a clandestine laboratory carrying out activities with pathogens was discovered in an abandoned industrial building in Ridley, California. It contained about 30 refrigerators and freezers, thermostats and equipment for cultivating microorganisms.

About one thousand transgenic laboratory animals, about eight hundred samples of biomaterials were found in laboratory premises. Analysis by the Centre for Infection Control and Prevention revealed the presence of at least twenty pathogens in the samples, including COVID-19, HIV and hepatitis pathogens.

The investigation revealed that the laboratory has been operating since October 2022 with gross violations of basic biosecurity principles. For example, laboratory animals were kept in unsatisfactory conditions, leading to their deaths. The disposal of biomaterials, including blood, tissue and serum samples, was carried out without complying with the requirements of sanitary norms. At the same time, the real owner of the laboratory has never been found and the actual purpose of its activities has not been established.

It should be noted that this is not an isolated case, confirming the lack of proper control over dual-use developments. We have previously cited a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, as well as a report from the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity These documents recognise the unwillingness of U.S. oversight bodies to monitor research potentially subject to the BTWC.

Given the United States inability to control its own biological facilities, the activities of U.S. laboratories around the world are a constant source of biothreats, primarily to the populations of the countries where they are based. An example of this is Ukraine, which has several dozen such facilities operating on its territory, which have been removed from international control.

In the current situation, we consider it extremely important to resume work on a legally binding protocol to the Convention, which would be binding on all States parties to the BTWC and, first and foremost, on the United States of America.

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Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (6 September 2023)

Last night, the Russian Aerospace Forces have carried out a group strike with long-range precision weapons against a training base for sabotage groups of the AFU.

The facility has been neutralised. The goal of the attack has been reached.

In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces, in cooperation with aviation and artillery, have repelled ten attacks by assault groups of 80th airborne assault, 110th mechanised and 59th motorised infantry brigades of the AFU close to Kleshcheevka, Orekhovo-Vasilyovka, Khimik, Nevelskoye, and Maryinka (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

In addition, the 17th Tank Brigade of the AFU has inflicted a fire attack on manpower and hardware concentration areas near Artyomovsk (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 285 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, five motor vehicles, one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, one Rapira gun, and one drone control post.

In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces, supported by aviation and artillery, have repelled an attack by an assault unit of the AFU 38th Mechanised Brigade near Novodonetskoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

In addition, enemy manpower and military hardware concentration areas have been hit near Urozhainoye and Novodonetskoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were over 180 Ukrainian servicemen, five tanks, two armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, two Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers, and one D-20 gun.

In Zaporozhye direction, units of the Russian grouping of troops, supported by aviation, artillery and heavy flamethrower systems, have repelled four enemy attacks near Verbovoye and Rabotino (Zaporozhye region).

There were no changes in the tactical position of Russian troops.

The enemy losses were up to 40 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, two armoured fighting vehicles, two pickup trucks, two U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery systems, three U.S.-manufactured M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery systems, one UK-manufactured FH-70 gun, two Msta-B howitzers, two D-30 guns, and two Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems.

In Kupyansk direction, units of the Zapad Group of Forces, supported by aviation and artillery, conducting active defence, have improved the tactical situation near Sverdlovka (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

In addition, two counterattacks by assault groups of the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade of the AFU have been repelled close to Sergeevka (Lugansk Peoples Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 40 Ukrainian servicemen, two motor vehicles, one U.S.-manufactured M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system, and one D-30 howitzer.

In Krasny Liman direction, as a result of competent actions by units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, aviation and artillery, two attacks by assault groups of the 12th Special Forces Brigade and the 63rd Mechanised Brigade of the AFU have been repelled close to Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk Peoples Republic), and Serebryansky forestry.

The enemy losses were up to 50 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and one D-30 howitzer.

In Kherson direction, the enemy losses were up to 65 Ukrainian servicemen, four motor vehicles, and one Msta-B howitzer.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised manpower and military hardware in 103 areas.

Air defence facilities have intercepted 12 HIMARS and Uragan rocket-propelled projectiles.

In addition, 17 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been intercepted and suppressed by electronic warfare means close to Makeevka, Novonikolskoye, Melovatka (Lugansk Peoples Republic), Berestovoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic), Pshenichnoye, Semyonovka (Zaporozhye region), Olshana (Kharkov region), and Krynki (Kherson region).

In total, 467 airplanes, 248 helicopters, 6,426 unmanned aerial vehicles, 435 air defence missile systems, 11,696 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,148 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 6,253 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 12,749 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation.

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WtR
One of Beaver Dams tastiest festivals is this Saturday as the Beaver Dam Pepper Festival returns in the parking lot of the Park Village Mall.

The festival is in its 10th year of promoting Beaver Dams favorite pepper. It originated after some Beaver Dam residents learned that the Beaver Dam pepper, which is named after Beaver Dam, was celebrated in other cities in the Midwest, but not in Beaver Dam itself.

According to festival coordinator Diana Ogle, the pepper has Hungarian roots with the seeds traveling from Hungary in 1912 with the family of Joseph Hussli as he made his new home in Beaver Dam.

Learn the history of the Beaver Dam Pepper at the history booth, Ogle said. Tim Csiacsek is our local historian as his grandma Anna, at the age of 14, came to Beaver Dam with pepper seeds in the hem of her dress. The stories and the love of this pepper is amazing.

The Pepper Festival runs from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. An apple/pepper and sausage breakfast will be available along with food from a variety of vendors. There also will be crafts for sale.

Chef Chanse will be doing a 90-minute food paring using Potosi Tangerine Ale beer with the Beaver Dam peppers, some Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese with chicken, Ogle said. Potosi Brewing Company will be our new pepper beer brewer moving forward. They are the fifth largest be distributor in Wisconsin.

Other activities include:

9:30 a.m.  Swingin Beavers Square Dance Club

10 a.m.  Ballooning by Mr. Steve

10:45 a.m.  Pie eating contest

11 a.m.  Chili cook off and longest Beaver Dam pepper judging

The afternoon will include more activities including Mr. Steve and Chef Chanse and the Beaver Dam pepper fried cheese auction. Whiskey Flats will also perform during the afternoon.

Ogle says she is looking forward to the event on Saturday and hearing from others about how excited they are that there is a pepper named after Beaver Dam.

Im originally from Iowa and to have the honor to be surrounded by so many passionate people that help put this festival together is such a blessing, Ogle said. I see a lot of folks only this time a year, and this is like a family reunion.

GALLERY: 2021 Beaver Dam Pepper Festival
Land of Natura is wrapping up its first summer in business, and a former Wisconsin governor who is close with the owners celebrated with them on Thursday.

The water and nature park on the east side of Wisconsin Dells opened in June and held a ribbon cutting on Aug. 31 with former Gov. Tommy Thompson. The Makowski brothers  Adam, Rich and Dave  along with other family members, hosted the event, and city officials attended as well.

If it wasnt for every single one of you people here, we wouldnt be able to accomplish this paradise, this dream of ours, Adam Makowski said when addressing the attendees. We thank you. Tommy has seen us grow up from little kids.

Land of Natura is something of beauty, Thompson said, adding that the familys love of nature allowed them to make the family attraction. Others who contributed to the project via financial and zoning negotiations were Lake Delton village trustee Tom Diehl, former state Sen. Mary Panzer and Wisconsin Dells Mayor Ed Wojnicz.

Land of Natura has a naturally filtered man-made lake, Lake Wisconsin Dells, that features Americas Largest Floating Waterpark, according to the attractions website. The park also has hiking trails, a quarter-mile-long tree canopy tour, and a long beach along the Wisconsin River.

The Makowskis are still working day and night, Wojnicz said. Its such a great addition to our community and its really outside the box thinking. I dont think people realize how different and unique this is.

Makowski also shared a story from 1992 when he and his family visited Warsaw, Poland, with Thompson for a governors trade mission. The brothers father, Richard, immigrated to the United States from Poland and settled in Chicago before moving to Wisconsin Dells, where the family has lived for 53 years.

I feel blessed that it happened, Richard Makowski said of Land of Natura, which he called a Fathers Day present from his sons for its opening that weekend in June. Its turned out to be more than expected. Its something that all of us, me and my wife (Grace) especially, dream of.

Along with Land of Natura, the Makowskis own Natura Treescape Resort, Aloha Beach Resort, and The VUE Boutique Hotel, as well as Hot Rocks restaurant, all located in Wisconsin Dells.

They came to the Dells and built seven motel units, Thompson said about the Makowskis start in the area. Theyve continued to build and develop for 53 years in the Dells and (Lake) Delton area. A family can come here and enjoy and prosper and do well.

Thompson won four gubernatorial elections in Wisconsin  in 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998  and served as U.S. secretary of health and human services from 2001-2006, and as University of Wisconsin System interim president from 2020-2022.

Thank you for coming from Poland and building your dream here in Wisconsin Dells, Thompson said to the Makowski family.
A store owner in rural Juneau County has been heavily involved with schools and an animal shelter in the area.

Germantown Junction Store, located on Highway 58 between Mauston and Necedah, has been owned by Bonny Pocevicz and her husband, Jake, for two years, after Jakes parents owned it for the previous 34. The Poceviczs have used profits from the sale of Italian ice to help special needs students in the School District of Mauston and the Carl Nelson Animal Shelter in Mauston.

Basically, what we do is, (county resident) John (Geslicki) makes the ice and then we give it out and let everyone in the community know that were giving the proceeds back to the community, Bonny Pocevicz said.

Geslicki sold the Italian ice on his own prior to partnering with Germantown Junction Store, Bonny Pocevicz added. The partnership between Geslicki and the Poceviczs began in 2022.

He does a lot for the community, Bonny Pocevicz said of Geslicki. Hes a very tender, caring man.

School District of Mauston superintendent Joel Heesch expressed appreciation for the Poceviczs work and generosity with the district's special needs programs.

The store owners have raised roughly $2,500 since last year for the school district and animal shelter, as well as the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2114 in Mauston and Blakes Tinman, a mental health scholarship fund and annual triathlon in Reedsburg named after Blake Fenwick, who died by suicide in 2020 after a case of hidden depression, according to the scholarships website.

I used to work with Bonny about 10 years ago, Blakes father, Gatlin Fenwick, said. Friend of the family. She reached out last year when she heard about our event and she donated the proceeds from her Italian ice stand and said she is doing the same this year.

Bonny Pocewicz donated between $500 and $1,000 to Blakes Tinman in 2022, Gatlin Fenwick said. She said the store began donating to the Mauston schools this year. In 2022, the store donated some funds to families who dealt with medical issues, she said, including a family of a girl who accidentally was run over with a lawn mower.

Last year, we broke it up a lot more, Bonny Pocewicz said. This year, we just try to concentrate on a few that seemed like they needed it more than most.

During the summer, Germantown Junction Store sells the Italian ice, and has Dog Days, a hot dog sale, during the fall. The store is open year-round.

It always feels good, Bonny Pocewicz said of her and Jakes donations. You get a card in the mail that says, Thank you so much. Its wonderful. Next year, were going to do it again, Im sure. It takes a community to support this. Id like to see more people coming in.
We wanted to learn more about the life of an alpaca rancher, so we met up with our Someone 2 Know in Carson, near Washoe Valley for a closer look at the cuteness.
Memorial services for Officer Francone will be held Saturday night at Greater Nevada Field at 250 Evans Avenue in Reno.

Doors will open to the public at 5 p.m., and attendees are requested to be seated no later than 6:15 p.m.

The 6:30 p.m. service will also be livestreamed -

On August 25th, Officer Francone died in the line of duty after he was struck by a car.

He served with the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribal Police for just over two years and was a police officer for 26 years.

Francone leaves behind three children, his sons Jonathan and Tyler, and his daughter Katie, who was born with a rare form of muscular dystrophy.

The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe is proposing to have State Route 446 renamed to Officer Francone Highway.

If you would like to donate to his foundation, you can find the link below:

Francone Family  Nevada Police Foundation
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

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Plus, The Great and its Cali-cool womenswear move into the Marin Country Mart while Amour Vert opens up shop in Sonoma County's Montgomery Village.

Ikea's new Mid-Market store will have you at "Hej, Neighbor."

(Courtesy of Ikea)

As far as Ikeas go, the Swedish company's just-opened (and much-anticipated) San Francisco store is small at 52,000 square feet. But for many city dwellers, the three-level structure is a grand oasis filled with stuff that will actually fit in their pint-sized homes.

This is precisely the point of the "city-concept" store...to offer affordable, smart solutions for living in teensy-weensy to (regular) small dwellings. One step through the large glass doors and it's easy to feel like your Apartment Therapy dreams can come true.

Even if you're no Kendall Wilkinson, the 27 fully furnished room vignettesgalley kitchens, offices, bathrooms, closets, bedrooms and moreare sure to inspire and have you pulling out your Apple Pay. One major thing to note, though: Shoppers can walk out the door carrying any of 2,500 smaller home accessorieskitchenwares, candles, plants, storage bins, etcbut larger furniture items are only available for home delivery, available same- or next-day thanks to a partnership with TaskRabbit and Lugg.

Another cool thing? There's an As-is section filled with previously loved Ikea pieces that offer even more affordable and sustainable options. Selling your older stuff back to the retailer for store credit is something to think about.

Lastly, we'd be remiss if we didn't leave you with this: Head downtown with an appetite. Yes, those delicious Swedish meatballs (vegan options, too) and other savory and sweet Scandinavian treats at the Swedish Deli are worth a trip. A Swedish Food Market is also stocked with everything from salmon fillets to lingonberry jam and chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. // 945 Market St. (Mid-Market), ikea.com
As school bells chime throughout the Bay Area, signaling the start of another academic year, the San Francisco Wine School is gearing up for a different kind of education.

Embrace the beginning of a new journey at SF Wine School, where they're uncorking a world of opportunities for wine enthusiasts.

(Courtesy of San Francisco Wine School)

From those venturing into wine with friends to seasoned professionals aiming to elevate their careers, students can explore captivating workshops like Intro to California Wine, a delicious road trip through our state's unique AVAs; pursue advanced credentials such as the French Wine Scholar Program, a formal certification for wine professionals and enthusiasts; and master service and sales techniques for restaurant, hotel, and winery teams. The curriculum spans nearly every wine region, varietal, and stylethe only thing conspicuously absent here is stuffiness.

Atop the historic Fraternal Hall in South San Francisco, SF Wine School occupies a sun-kissed top floor with 12-foot tall arched windows framing 180-degree views of the San Bruno Mountains, City Hall, and SF Bay.

The space also transforms into a stunning event center for public and private gatherings such as intimate seated tastings, dynamic walk-around experiences, team-building retreats that ignite creativity, and private dining affairs with sumptuous menus expertly paired by founder and Master Sommelier David Glancy. (Yes, even holiday parties!)

Can't swing by this charming school in person but still thirsting for knowledge? (You see what we did there.) No worries! Dive into a world of wine knowledge from wherever you are through live, interactive classes via Zoom. You'll get custom tasting kits delivered to your doorstep, complete with two ounce samples of the wines. Just log in and uncork the wisdom of the wine world from literally anywhere on the planet. Plus, every session is recorded, ensuring you never miss a sip of wine education.

All the instructors are highly credentialed and engaging, and founder David Glancy is a highlight as one of only 12 people in the world to achieve both Master Sommelier and Certified Wine Educator status. His pedigree would afford him a wine elitist air, but his teaching style is educational and informative, peppered with witty humor and an approachable style. With his team of industry-leading educators, they offer more than 100 unique classes and 25 credential programs.

(Courtesy of San Francisco Wine School)

Notable upcoming class offerings for beginning students include Wine 101 (September 23rd), which kicks off the eight-week Intro to Wine Series. Those interested in other libatious pursuits may be interested in the Beer & Sake class (September 12th). Those ready to dive deeper can check out the special Edu-tasting event, Californias New AVAs & Wine Trends (September 20th), to celebrate California Wine Month or delve into a Pinot Noirs of the World Blind Tasting Workshop (September 28th). If you want to transition into a career in the wine industry or upgrade your hospitality resume, check out Somm Essentials (October 3rd).

The passion that drives Glancy and the SF Wine School team is the desire to share the transformative power of high-quality, agnostic education for wine enthusiasts and professionals. With knowledge and understanding of their personal palate, enthusiasts can confidently select wines for enjoyment from often intimidating wine lists or the aisles of their local shop and communicate more effectively with wine professionals who can help them discover new and exciting wines and places to explore.

For dedicated professionals, this is the key to unlocking a world of opportunities, where skills open doors to better careers and enhance the consumer experience, often resulting in increased earnings, both for their businesses and themselves. But here's the bitter truth: In an industry known for its passion, most wine and hospitality professionals earn far less than their counterparts in other fields, often struggling to afford the education that could take them to the top.

Since 2020, the SF Wine School has joined forces with the Glancy Wine Education Foundation to champion dreams. They offer scholarships that cover a whopping 60 to 100 percent of educational costs to those earning under 150 percent of their area's living wage. It's the school's way of lighting the path for those eager to kickstart or supercharge their careers in this vibrant industry.

Mark your calendars for the SF Wine School's upcoming Anniversary Celebration & Scholarship Auction on November 11th. Get ready for a dazzling evening including the 12th Annual Sommelier Olympics, a Global Wine and Food Pairing Reception, and a Silent Auction that boasts exclusive wines and experiences found nowhere else. Best of all, your participation directly supports the Glancy Wine Education Foundation, fueling educational opportunities for low-income and minority students who aspire to thrive in the world of wine.

// For more information on San Francisco Wine School and its offerings, visit sfwineschool.com
Cy Smith, 53, a financial analyst from San Francisco, lost $1.2 million in a fast-moving cryptocurrency investment scam in 2021. It was a living nightmare, he says. My life savings, my daughters education fund, it was all gone in five weeks. But in January, Smith (we changed his name at his request) wept tears of joy in a California courtroom when a judge ordered the return of $110,000 of the stolen money. I was the lucky one, Smith says.



Getting money back from criminals is rare. But new efforts by law enforcement officials, banks, payment apps and gift card companies are clawing back some funds lost in a wide variety of scams. Smith recovered money thanks to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Erin Wests crusade to track, freeze and seize stolen cybercurrency as it flows to overseas criminal gangs through online trading exchanges.

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All of this makes reporting fraud  something so many of those targeted fail to do  more important than ever. The best thing you can do for yourself and future victims is to report as soon as possible, West says. Your information could launch or further an investigation, trigger warnings to protect others or even help you recover money.

Heres the latest on efforts to recover scammed money:

Cryptocurrency. In 2022, victims reported losing more than $2.5 billion in cryptocurrency investment frauds , according to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Wests team is trying to fight back: Since last December, it has seized more than $2.5 million for California victims of cryptocurrency investment scams, in which victims were lured into investing over and over again. The Crypto Coalition, a nationwide law enforcement network started by West in the fall of 2022, has more than 1,000 members in 40 states who are beginning to deploy the same investigative techniques and laws to successfully recover funds. 



But victims need to be careful about how they try to recover that stolen money (see sidebar below). The FBI recently warned that criminals are pretending to offer cryptocurrency recovery services to scam victims, whom they may contact directly on social media or reach through online ads. Sometimes theyll pretend to be with the FBI, the agency says, noting that law enforcement will never charge a fee for investigating crimes.

Reporting tip: Report crypto scams to the FBIs Internet Crime Complaint Center and to your local police department.
If youre planning a trip to Europe in 2024 (perhaps to cheer for Team USA at the Olympic Games in Paris next summer), you will probably have an extra step to take before heading to the airport.

The new European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS) will require passport holders from 60 visa-exempt countries, including the U.S., to apply for approval to enter 30 European countries. That means that even if youve previously traveled to any of these European countries, youll need to get ETIAS authorization to revisit them beginning in 2024. If youre traveling to multiple countries with this requirement, you only need to complete the form once, says Lael Kassis, vice president of market innovation and development for the travel company EF Go Ahead Tours.

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Once the program is up and running, travelers to Europe will fill out the form online or via a mobile app and pay a 7 euro charge (about $7.57, depending on exchange rates; free for applicants 70 and older). Approval is expected to be quick (as in minutes) and sent by email or app. But officials warn that approval could take as long as several weeks for some people if more information is required. For example, if your passport number or name changed or if you entered incorrect information such as the wrong nationality, corrections could take up to 30 days. 

 ETIAS was proposed in 2016 and intended to launch in 2022 as part of the European Unions effort to reduce security and migration risks and facilitate the arrival process for visa-free travelers. Its rollout was delayed due to COVID-19; however, all indications point to a 2024 implementation, though no firm date has been released. The European Union is expected to announce more details around ETIAS and its launch date this fall. In addition to keeping current on the official green light, here are five other important things to know.

1. ETIAS is not a visa

There are reports floating around that this is a visa, which is incorrect. Its a simple travel authorization, like the USAs ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization), says travel expert Kathy McCabe, host of PBS shows Dream of Italy and Dream of Europe. The Electronic System for Travel Authorization determines eligibility for travel to the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The agency checks whether travelers pose any risk to the U.S. Like ETIAS, it is not a visa. 

Though approvals wont require a visit to a consulate or biometric data collection, they do not guarantee entry into a country.

As is the case today, border authorities will still verify that each traveler meets the countrys entry requirements. ETIAS allows travelers to remain for a short-term stay (90 days during any 180-day period). ETIAS does not give travelers the right to study long-term or work in the country.
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The 'Used to Be Young' songstress reveals she was 'strapped to a gurney' on the set of 'Black Mirror' in South Africa when her $2.525 million Malibu home burned down in the 2018 Woolsey fire.

Sep 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Miley Cyrus was filming "Black Mirror" when her house burned down. The 30-year-old star has reflected on being in South Africa shooting scenes for her role as Ashley O in the "Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too" episode of the Netflix anthology sci-fi horror series when her $2.525 million Malibu home burned down in the 2018 Woolsey fire.

Speaking on her new TikTok series "Used to Be Young", she said, "I was in South Africa, but it was taking place in Malibu. So it was just a real trip. Like probably two or three years later after this happened, I didn't understand, but I would have this anxiety attack with the vision attached that I would be strapped down to a gurney. So I would have these dreams anytime I would go to perform and I thought that was just an anxious vision that made no sense, but actually as my house was burning down I was strapped to a gurney with my hands locked in handcuffs strapped to a bed."

The day after her home was destroyed in the blaze, she was on set filming her pop star character's "On a Roll" fictional music video. She added, "The show must go on."

The "Flowers" hitmaker lived in the property with her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth before it burned down in the California wildfires nearly five years ago, and in spite of their split, Miley still has very fond memories of living there. She said in a recent TikTok video, "The 'Meet Miley Cyrus' record was really where I started writing my own songs as a solo artist. And so I was working with a producer in Malibu that lived in a house in Ramirez Canyon, which I would've never known 15 years later I would be living in that house, which would eventually burn down. That house had so much magic to it. It ended up really changing my life."

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A bench warrant has been issued after Chad Michael Busto, who showed up to the actress' Long Island home in August without an invite, failed to attend a fitting for his GPS monitor.

Sep 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - The man accused of stalking Drew Barrymore has a warrant out for his arrest. A bench warrant has been issued after Chad Michael Busto, 43, after he failed to attend a fitting for his GPS monitor. As reported by TMZ, a Southampton Town Justice Court judge issued the order after he didn't show up to have the monitor fitted.

Having the GPS was conditional after Busto was arrested last month after showing up to Barrymore's Long Island, New York home without an invite just days after he showed up during a speaking engagement which ended with her being whisked off stage. He was taken into custody on August 23 and later charged with misdemeanor fourth-degree stalking.

According to the outlet, he had been seen scouring the Hamptons neighbourhood looking for her $6 million home. It's said the 48-year-old actress was not at home at the time of his arrest.

Two days earlier, he had charged at the stage she was on during a live interview with Renee Rapp at New York City's 92nd Street Y venue. As reported by the New York Post, he shouted, "You know who I am! I need to see you at some point while you're in New York!"

A security guard restrained him and prevented him from getting on stage. The outlet reported that according to police sources Busto has a "lengthy criminal record" ranging from 1999 and January 2022, including criminal trespass, harassment, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, indecent exposure and theft.

At a Southampton Town Justice Court hearing on August 25, Judge Barbara Wilson released him under the condition he was to be fitted with a GPS cracker. He told the court he was bankrupt and planning to live at a shelter, with a September 3 hearing reportedly set for federal court in Texas.

Meanwhile, a source said, "Drew feels good, feels safe, and even at the moment, it happened so fast she was OK and didn't stress about it. She has moved on from the incident ... "

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In a new interview, the 64-year-old 'Love Actually' star has revealed she's longed to live in the Italian city since she was a child and she's now close to make her dream come true.

Sep 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Dame Emma Thompson is planning to fulfill a life-long dream by moving to Venice. The "Love Actually" star has revealed she's longed to live in the Italian city since she was a child and she's now one-step closer to a permanent move there after snapping up a property where she can spend several months of the year before settling in the city full-time.

According to the Daily Mail newspaper's Eden Confidential column, she told Italian publication Il Gazzettino, "Since I was a child I have dreamed of living in a magical place like Venice. Now, I have realised my dream. I have moved into a house in the city and when I can, I spend at least two or three months there. And, in the meantime, I'm studying Italian, which I want to know and speak as best as possible."

Emma insisted she still officially lives in London so she can help look after her elderly mother, but she does hope to relocate to Venice for a whole year. She added, "I still live in London, in the same street as my children and my mother, who is 91 years old and needs me, but my greatest desire is to settle in Venice for the whole year. Meanwhile, I'm happy to be able to enjoy the city for at least a couple of months."

It comes three years after the 64-year-old actress was made an honourary citizen of Venice alongside her husband Greg Wise. The title has no legal status but at the time deputy mayor of Venice Simone Venturini insisted he was thrilled to honour the couple's connection to the city.

He said, "They wanted to be resident citizens to come and live in Venice. They bought in the historic centre, not a 'second home'. She was very happy and said that she loves Venice very much. They told me they are attending Italian courses. We are truly happy and proud to have Emma Thompson and Greg Wise as our fellow citizens, for what they represent and for the love they show for Venice."

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In a statement, the 51-year-old musician announces the 'difficult' decision to pull out of the band's world tour so he can spend more time with his family.

Sep 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro has pulled out of the band's world tour so he can spend more time with his family. The 51-year-old musician, who joined the band in 2015, had been due to perform with the group on the North American leg of their "Crush The World" tour which kicks off in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Wednesday, September 6, after previously touring around Europe. However, Kiko has decided to step away from the trek to be with his children.

In a statement shared via Instagram, he explained, "I have something that is difficult to share, but we always like to keep you informed with the truth. I have to leave the tour for now, to be home with my children, and to help them face the difficult challenges that arise from us being 'dads that work away from home'."

He added that frontman Dave Mustaine supports his decision and fans will see musician Teemu Mantysaari filling in for him at the upcoming shows throughout the autumn. Kiko added, "I found a guitarist, Teemu Mantysaari, to fill in for me during the fall, and I think you'll be very happy. He's an amazing, incredible player. I have shared this with my partner in shred, Dave Mustaine, and to no surprise, he said, 'Go! Go be there for your family and keep us posted!' To my bandmates and all our fans around the world, see you all very soon, back out on the Killing Road."

The statement from Mustaine added, "We will not be cancelling the tour and we will introduce you to Teemu on September 6th in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Revel Arena. We are asking for your support and understanding at this time."

Kiko is married to fellow musician Maria Ilmoniemi and they are parents to daughter Livia, who was born in 2011, and twins Dante and Stella who arrived in 2016.

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The 'Jungle Cruise' actor announces the arrival of his and his model girlfriend's first child and expresses his excitement to have started his own family via social media.

Sep 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Congratulations are in order for Jack Whitehall and Roxy Horner. The "Jungle Cruise" actor expressed his excitement to have started his own family via social media as he announced the arrival of his first child with his model girlfriend.

On Wednesday, September 6, the 35-year-old comedian revealed that he and Roxy have welcomed their baby no. 1 via Instagram. In a post, he exclaimed, "Well this just happened!" He went on to gush, "Utterly overwhelming and joyous in ways I couldn't have even imagined. In awe of my partner @roxyhorner who has been amazing throughout this journey and is going to be the greatest mum ever."

"So excited to have started a family of my own," Jack further penned. "Having vowed I'd never be that guy I am now 100% going to be the parent that shows everyone endless pictures of their kid. I also wore skechers to hospital, I think I must accept I am a full blown dad now." He also jokingly teased the name of his newborn by writing, "Name wise after this weekend I think 'rice, rice, baby' has a nice ring to it."

In the post, the "Clifford the Big Red Dog" actor uploaded a series of pictures from a hospital room. One of the photos captured him cradling his new bundle of joy in his arms. In the snap, he looked comfortable sitting on a sofa while the baby was asleep. Appearing joyful, he let out a sweet smile to the camera.

Another photo saw Jack taking his first family photo together with Roxy and their baby. The new parents could not help but show their happiness with their facial expressions by smiling widely for the picture. He posed next to Roxy who was lying on a hospital bed and holding their newborn baby in her arms.

Aside from Jack, Roxy herself shared the exciting news on her own Instagram page. She uploaded a slew of pictures, including a similar one which Jack released on his account. She also unleashed a close up photo of the couple's baby from behind. In the snap, the model could be seen softly kissing her newborn's head as the baby was placed on her chest. Along with it, she marveled, "The love of my life," adding a purple heart emoji.

A few months prior, Jack and Roxy revealed that they were expecting their first child together. In May, the couple announced the joyful news on their Instagram pages separately. Later on, in June, she spilled that the two were having a baby girl. "We are having a little girl," the 32-year-old blonde beauty said on "Steph's Packed Lunch" at that time.

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The Peltz family and Plan Design, the company hired to plan Brooklyn and Nicola's lavish 2022 Miami wedding, both parties have come to an agreement after months of back and forth.

Sep 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - The lawsuits over Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz's wedding have been settled. The Peltz family and Plan Design, the company hired to plan Brooklyn and Nicola's lavish 2022 Miami wedding, both parties have come to an agreement after months of back and forth.

They said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE, "The parties believe that this contract dispute between Nelson Peltz and Plan Design should be resolved on the terms agreed. As part of the settlement, PDE will make a donation in the name of Nicola and Brooklyn to the CARE Ukraine Crisis Fund. PDE wishes Nicola and Brooklyn Peltz Beckham happiness and a fruitful life together."

Nicola's father Nelson Peltz previously filed a lawsuit against two of the couple's wedding planners, Plan Design's Nicole Eichenwald Braghin and Arianna Grijalba, who were hired six weeks before the wedding and let go nine days later.

He claimed he did not get his $159,000 deposit back, and according to his filing, he alleged, "During their nine days of negotiations (they) failed to book a single new wedding vendor, failed to finalize the terms of any agreements with any of the vendors that had previously been selected by Peltz and his family and failed to attend previously scheduled meetings with Peltz."

"The celebrity of the wedding couple combined with the anticipated attendance of many high-profile guests required that the wedding planner have the expertise and staffing to plan, coordinate and execute a wedding event of the expected caliber and complexity," he continued. "The guest list included more than five hundred people, including numerous celebrities, athletes, dignitaries and other influential individuals, who traveled from all around the globe to attend."

However, the wedding planners hit back, with their lawyer telling the Mail On Sunday, "My clients have impeccable reputations within the event-planning industry and among their high-end clientele worldwide. They operate their business with the utmost integrity and discretion."

"The lawsuit that was filed by Nelson Peltz is frivolous and unimpressive," the wedding planners added. "Relevant and complete emails and text messages that address the misleading statements contained in the complaint will be revealed in discovery as part of my clients' response to the complaint, including in support of the counterclaim they intend to file."

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The 40-year-old momfluencer, who is known for her YouTube channel '8 Passengers', was taken into custody in August under suspicion of two counts of aggravated child abuse.

Sep 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - YouTube has banned Ruby Franke after she was arrested for aggravated child abuse. The video sharing platform reveals in a new statement that it has deleted all of her channels in the aftermath of her legal issue.

A spokesperson for YouTube confirmed the news on Wednesday, September 6. "We can confirm that we have terminated two channels linked to Ruby Franke in accordance with our creator responsibility guidelines," YouTube spokesman Jack Malon said in a statement.

YouTube additionally confirmed that it removed two of the "8 Passengers" host's channels. According to the repeat infringer policy in YouTube's Terms of Service, the momfluencer will also no longer be able to use, own, or create any other YouTube channels. If a new channel tries to upload material from a deleted one, the platform will remove the new content and terminate the channel.

Ruby was arrested in Utah on August 30 on two counts of aggravated child abuse. The 41-year-old was also slapped with four additional counts of child abuse. Her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt, was also arrested that day under the same suspicions.

The arrest record claimed that a child fled through a window of Jodi's house in Ivins and asked a neighbor for food and water. According to the Good Samaritan, who called the police, the child "appeared to be emaciated and malnourished" and had duct tape around their ankles and wrists. The child's condition was so "severe" that the child was taken to Saint George Regional Hospital.

The child was placed on a medical hold "due to deep lacerations from being tied up with rope." Shortly after, another allegedly malnourished child was discovered and was also taken to the hospital.

According to the police report, Ruby filmed a video in Jodi's home just days before the incident, indicating that the former had "knowledge of the abuse, malnourishment and neglect." Ruby, who was held without bail at Washington County Jail, declined to speak to authorities and requested a lawyer instead. Meanwhile, four of her children are in the temporary care of the Department of Child and Family Services.

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The former Fox News host is criticized for giving a platform to convicted criminal Larry Sinclair, who has made claims that he smoked cocaine and had intercourse with Barack Obama in 1999.

Sep 8, 2023

AceShowbiz - Tucker Carlson has landed in hot water over his interview with Larry Sinclair. Attempting to gain traction on his interview on X, formerly known as Twitter, the former Fox News host recently shared a clip of the conversation he had with the con-artist, who has made bombshell allegations against Barack Obama.

In the clip, Sinclair said he smoked crack and had an intimate encounter with the former U.S. president in 1999, the claims which he has made over the years. Sinclair alleged he gave Obama $250 to purchase drugs, which the pair took and then engaged in sexual activity.

"I was holed up in a bar outside and there was this guy who introduced himself as Barack Obama. I gave him $250 to pay for coke (cocaine) and start putting a line on a CD tray, and just snort," he said.

Sinclair said he had no idea that Obama was an Illinois state senator back then. "So you had sex with him twice, had cocaine with him and watched him smoke crack twice, and you didn't know who he was?" Carlson pressed Sinclair, who insisted that he "had no idea."

"It was definitely not Barack's first time," Sinclair then said, when Carlson asked him if the intercourse was transactional.

In the clip, Carlson described Sinclair's claims as "credible information that [Obama is] smoking crack and having sex with dudes." He further captioned the footage, "A man who claims he had sex with Barack Obama in 1999 tells his story."

After the video was posted on the micro-blogging site, many chastised Carlson for giving a platform to the convicted criminal, as well as dredging up conspiracy theories which reek of homophobia. "Tucker Carlson and his kind are still angry Barack Obama is first Black US president," author, lawyer and activist Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu said.

"They questioned his birth certificate, called him Muslim, got mad he wore a tan suit, lied about his policies etc. Now [they] claim he took drugs and got a blow job," she continued. "Racism, homophobia, Islamophobia et al."

Another user pointed out that the interview showed "how low Tucker Carlson has fallen." Influencer Matt Bernstein sarcastically remarked, "Tucker Carlson has a history of reporting LGBT stories with honesty and integrity."

Meanwhile, liberal fake-news website the Palmer Report said, "Tucker Carlson's relevance ended the minute he lost his spot on cable news. Now, like so many irrelevant has-beens, he's resorting to humiliating himself with nonsensical antics in a desperate attempt at getting people to remember he exists. I wouldn't worry about it. He's done."

Sinclair made similar allegations against Obama in 2008 when he was running for U.S. President. He made the claims at a press conference that ended in his arrest. Sinclair claimed to have had sex with Obama twice, once in the back of a limo and another in a hotel room in Gurnee, Illinois. He, however, has never been able to prove any of his claims and independent fact-checkers have been unable to verify his story.

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The MAGA ringleader would love to face off the Duchess of Sussex in a debate as he thinks the 'Suits' alum and her husband Harry treated the queen with 'great disrespect.'

Sep 7, 2023

AceShowbiz - Donald Trump wants to debate Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex. The 77-year-old former US president has slammed the former "Suits" actress and accused her of treating the late Queen Elizabeth with "disrespect" and admitted he "disagrees so much" with the way she and husband Prince Harry have conducted themselves since stepping down as senior royals and moving to the US three years ago.

"I don't know that they don't like me. I said that I don't think they are very appropriate, what they're saying, what they're doing, and I didn't like the way she dealt with the queen," the controversial politician replied when asked by conservative radio show host Hugh Hewitt if he would debate Harry and Meghan who "don't like you much."

"They treated her with great disrespect, and I didn't like it. And I didn't like the idea that they were getting US security when they came over here. No, I think it's not a good situation going on with the two of them, but I didn't know that they don't like me."

Asked again about the possibility of a debate, he added, "Oh, if you want to set it up, let's set it up. Let's go do something. I'll, I'd love to debate her. I would love it. I disagree so much with what they're doing."

Trump also claimed current US leader Joe Biden is not as "sharp" as the late queen was. He said, "I became very friendly with the queen. She was an incredible woman. At 95, she was so sharp. She was 100%. When you watch Biden, you say, this is a different planet."

Ahead of the billionaire's election victory in 2016, Meghan - who has Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two, with Harry - branded Trump "divisive" and "misogynistic."

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The 'Wilde' actor has been evacuated from his hotel room in Kyiv, Ukraine to a bomb shelter due to a possible air raid amid the country's ongoing war with Russia.

Sep 8, 2023

AceShowbiz - Stephen Fry was taken to a bomb shelter during his trip to Ukraine amid reports of a fresh Russian attack on Kyiv. The actor visited the city to give a speech at a conference on mental health organised by Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on Wednesday, September 6 and he's revealed he was evacuated from his hotel room in the middle of the night and taken to a shelter in the basement after the alarm was raised over a possible bombing raid amid the ongoing war with Russia.

"Awoken at 4:45 am by an insistent voice ordering all at the hotel to go down to the air raid shelter," Fry posted about the experience in an update on his Instagram page.

"So here we are. Someone showed me an app to download, as you can see, agrees with the order to stay sheltered. So here we all are down in the basement of the hotel. Coffee machine. Loungers. People laughing and chattering quite happily. No sound of drones or inbound missiles that I can detect ... "

He went on to reveal that after an hour inside the shelter, there was an update which urged everyone to stay put. Fry added, "An hour later and a no all-clear. In fact a new announcement, 'Your attention please, there are explosions in the city. Stay in the shelter.' Some hotel guests had shrugged and gone back up the their rooms 10 minutes ago but are now sheepishly appearing again  "

The "Wilde" star later admitted he didn't think to bring his laptop with him to the shelter while other guests were seen keeping themselves entertained with their computers. The all clear was eventually sounded and Fry was able to leave the shelter, updating his followers on Instagram by writing, "The all clear sounds and life goes on in Kyiv  "

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2023  The American Chemical Society (ACS) announces Christopher M. Reddy as the recipient of the James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public. Reddy is being honored for communicating the value of environmental chemistry to diverse audiences and building connections between the scientific community and societal stakeholders.

Reddy, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, studies the degradation of chemicals and plastics in the ocean from shipping accidents, dumping and oil spills, such as the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. He is also pioneering the development of biofuels and the replacement of hydrocarbons from fossil fuels in personal care products with chemicals from marine algae. His current emphasis is the design of safer and more sustainable plastics through ongoing collaborations with his colleagues and the chemical industry. Reddy received a B.S. in chemistry from Rhode Island College and a Ph.D. in chemical oceanography from the University of Rhode Island. He has earned certificates from Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government and the MIT Sloan School of Management.

This ACS award is presented annually to recognize, encourage and stimulate outstanding reporting directly to the public, with the aim of materially increasing the public's knowledge and understanding of chemistry, chemical engineering and related fields.

Reddy exemplifies the spirit of the award through his efforts to bridge the gap between scientific researchers and the public. His recently published Science Communication in a Crisis: An Insiders Guide discusses his career experiences as a way to help scientists navigate conversations amid an emergency. Reddy is renowned as a trusted source among journalists, policymakers and government agencies, yet his influence extends beyond academic circles. He has been an advocate for incorporating scientific reasoning into societal discussions, fostering public understanding of chemistry and equipping fellow scientists with practical communication skills.

Chris excels in elucidating the how, what, why and whats next? in engaging, clear and bias-free ways, says David L. Valentine, distinguished professor of geochemistry and microbiology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Reddy's impact resonates through his efforts to cultivate the next generation of science communicators. His collaboration on a biennial science communication course, How Not to Write for Peer-Reviewed Journals: Talking to Everyone Else, has equipped graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and early-career chemists with essential communication skills. His commitment to education ensures a legacy of effective science communication.

Throughout his career, Reddy's expertise has been sought after through more than 500 interviews, ranging from local publications to international news outlets. His contributions extend beyond media engagements, encompassing op-ed articles for national publications, TED talks and testimonies before legislative bodies.

I am deeply honored to receive the Grady-Stack Award, says Reddy. It has cemented my resolve to provide clear, timely and actionable insights on the ocean's chemistry and how it responds to pollution.

The Grady-Stack award consists of $5,000, a medallion and a certificate. The award will be presented to Reddy at the national awards ceremony at ACS Spring 2024 in New Orleans.

Nominations for the 2025 Grady-Stack award are being accepted through Nov. 1, 2023. A nominee must have made noteworthy presentations through a medium of public communication to increase the American publics understanding of chemistry and chemical progress. The award will be granted regardless of race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, presence of disabilities and educational background.
Disney Star unveils the Words of Pride campaign, an advocacy initiative aimed at cultivating awareness and use of the right vocabulary for addressing LGBTQIA+ community across India. The central theme of the campaign, The world is evolving; its time our words do too, reinforces the companys commitment as the nations storyteller and endeavour to ignite a transformative social change by equipping people with respectful and appropriate language for the LGBTQIA+ community. The campaign highlights the convergence of language and respect, underscoring the importance of choosing appropriate terminology when addressing the LGBTQIA+ community.

Disney Star has launched a website which hosts a lexicon of respectful words to address the LGBTQIA+ community. Put together with language experts and linguists from the LGBTQIA+ community, it is made for everyone and is currently available in English, Hindi, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil. This is merely a prologue towards our unwavering commitment to expand this lexicon and encompass more words and languages in the future.

Minakshi Achan, Head - Network Brand & Creative Communications, Disney Star, Words hold extraordinary power  they can make us feel seen, heard, and valued. Fortunately, respectable words to address the LGBTQIA+ community do exist in our languages, but over the years they have been misused or forgotten. Our effort has only been to reclaim them such that they become a part of our daily discourse. At Disney Star we believe that by harnessing the power of language and advocating for appropriate terminology, meaningful conversations can be ignited, facilitating an intentional and dignified approach to using inclusive vocabulary with the LGBTQIA+ community.

In an era characterized by evolving inclusivity, the Words of Pride campaign stands as a potent catalyst for transformation. Rooted in the core mission of the campaign, it squarely confronts historical biases perpetuated by the continued misuse of language. With a strong emphasis on advocacy, the campaign strives to reintroduce and promote respectful terminology within Indian languages, unveiling a rich linguistic heritage that aligns harmoniously with contemporary progressive values.

At its core, the campaign empowers individuals to cultivate understanding and empathy. Harnessing its diverse social media platforms, Disney Star will actively promote respectful discourse, elevate awareness, and nurture compassion. The campaign's digital microsite is poised to serve as a dynamic hub, offering educational resources concerning LGBTQIA+ terminology, pronouns, and personal narratives.
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV, announced its partnership with Imagine Communications to unveil an innovative FAST monetization solution for direct inventory sales. The combined solution will debut at IBC2023 (Sept. 15-18 at the RAI in Amsterdam). This partnership pioneers ad monetization transformation for FAST by integrating Amagis THUNDERSTORM dynamic ad insertion platform with Imagine Communications' SureFire video ad server. The solution empowers FAST providers to enhance ad revenue through direct sales placements alongside programmatic and offers advanced, broadcast-quality ad serving.



In an era where FAST companies and broadcasters launch channels with programmatic pipelines as the backbone of their monetization strategy, the industry is experiencing a paradigm shift. As audience engagement flourishes, the potential of direct sales inventory emerges  offering substantial opportunities for premium sponsorships and advertising collaborations, which in turn lead to higher revenue streams, while simultaneously reducing programmatic costs. This dynamic solution presents an enticing prospect for the industry, with Imagine Communications and Amagi emerging as trailblazers with a transformative approach.



Amagi THUNDERSTORM offers content monetization at scale through automated ad detection and dynamic ad insertion. Imagine Communications' SureFire, a broadcast-quality ad server, introduces an intuitive user interface that perfectly complements Amagi THUNDERSTORM'S DAI-as-a-service for linear, live, and VOD channels and platforms. The combined solution empowers FAST providers to seamlessly manage and serve direct-sales booking for dynamic use in FAST services.



At IBC2023, Amagi will demonstrate how combining Amagi THUNDERSTORM and Amagi ADS PLUS provides content publishers and streaming platforms a comprehensive toolset to implement advertising strategies with support for new ad formats and better/granular contextual metadata. By combining these capabilities with SureFire's simplified workflows for targeted ad campaigns and user-friendly tracking dashboards, Amagi's FAST customers can establish their direct sales operation with ease, inviting advertisers and sponsorship partners to upload their ads seamlessly. With these ads placed on channels using broadcast-quality standards, connectivity to programmatic demand sources remains unaltered.



Baskar Subramanian, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Amagi, articulated the transformative potential of this collaboration, stating, "Our partnership with Imagine Communications underscores our commitment to empowering customers with solutions that amplify their monetization strategies. The introduction of direct sales tools within the FAST landscape is poised to usher in a new era of revenue optimization."



Tom Cotney, Chief Executive Officer at Imagine Communications, shared his perspective, stating, "Incorporating SureFire's new user interface for easy direct ad sales operations complements Amagi's suite, enriching FAST customers revenue by offering direct sales, as well as programmatic monetization capabilities."



As the media landscape evolves and viewer engagement redefines consumption patterns, the collaboration between Imagine Communications and Amagi leads the charge in innovation. Witness the transformative capabilities at the upcoming IBC2023 show in Amsterdam, where Imagine Communications (stand 2.A15) and Amagi (stand 5.A81) will showcase the fusion of direct sales tools with dynamic FAST monetization.



For further insights into Imagine Communications and its portfolio of innovative products, please visit www.imaginecommunications.com. To explore the cutting-edge solutions and technologies offered by Amagi, visit www.amagi.com.
Actor Ravie Dubey is surely setting new records! The actor had performed a 28 minute monologue for his show Lakhan Leela Bhargava, leaving his audience and fans stunned. Also, buzz is that he performed this in a single take! Now, that is something!

The actor plays the role of a criminal lawyer in the show and the monologue is of a concluding statement that he is making in the court. His friends and fans took to social media to congratulate the actor. Salim Merchant wrote, Incredible truly bro! historic performance, while Ravi Kishan also congratulated him on social media. Badshah also congratulated the actor, while Neha Kakkar wrote, Youre a star! A real one!

Popular writer wrote, Fantastic, while Salim Merchant wrote, Incredible truly bro! historic performance.

Well! This one is surely a game changer for Ravie! The actor also has the film Farradday lined up for release. The actors look in the film has shocked his fans and we cannot wait to see the actor perform!

If you want to watch the longest monologue in the world, click on the link below!
Taboola, a global leader in powering recommendations for the open web, helping people discover things they may like, today announced continued growth for Taboola India. Taboola is a market leader in India with partnerships across major publishers in the country, including India Today group, NDTV, Zee Group, The Indian Express, ABP, and Network18. In September, Taboola India celebrates its monumental milestone of 10 years in the market, with a gala event in honor of key publishers and advertisers and strengthening of its leadership team.

To spearhead and further accelerate Taboola Indias recent momentum, Taboola has appointed Kanika Mittal as the new Country Manager for Taboola India. With over 19 years of visionary leadership and a demonstrated history spanning Digital, Tech, e-commerce, Retail, and Consumer Goods, Kanika brings a wealth of experience to her new position, marked by a proven track record to drive growth, and implement strategic initiatives in the digital landscape.

Assuming her new role as Country Head for Taboola India, Kanika Mittal will shoulder the responsibility for our Indian operations, with a primary objective of propelling revenue growth and solidifying our cherished partnerships. Furthermore, Kanika will take a central role in nurturing and expanding Taboola's publishing partnerships in India, actively contributing to their trajectory. Her multifaceted responsibilities extend to elevating Brand, Reputation and Culture with a focus on Growth to contribute to the organization's overall success.

As the Former Country Head at Twitter, she drove revenue growth, cultivated a high-performance culture, and fostered cross-functional collaboration. Her notable achievement includes spearheading the "India 5X by 2025" initiative, propelling India towards exponential revenue and audience growth. Previously, as Country Marketing Director at Reebok (adidas group), she successfully repositioned the brand into a premium fitness label, championed an Omni-Channel, Digital First Approach, and pioneered a groundbreaking women's-first movement with #FitToFight.

Kanika advocates for purpose-driven brands, founded D.E.A.R. Indiya, curated The Enchanted Festival of Stories, and authored "The Adventures of Sugi & the Banshee." which is now an Amazon Bestseller. She's received accolades for digital, business and brand leadership, and she was actively involved in mentorship through organizations like the Marketing Society in India and the Vedica Scholars Program for Women.
General Secretariat FDHA

Bern, 07.09.2023 - The secretary general of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic Buric, visited Switzerland on Thursday, 7 September, and met with President Alain Berset. The talks were devoted to the Council of Europe's outlook in the follow-up to the Reykjavik Summit. Other key topics included addressing the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the protection of human rights in Europe. The president presented the secretary general with Switzerlands instrument of ratification on Convention 108+ strengthening data protection.

Both parties praised the momentum generated by the summit in the spring and the results achieved, including the Reykjavik Principles for Democracy. The task now, in a time of great challenges for the continent and scarce resources, is to put these goals into practice. President Berset reiterated Switzerland's position that the ties between the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the European Political Community and the UN organisations - including those based in Geneva - should be strengthened.

The outcomes of the summit include the establishment of a register to document the damage caused by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. This should help to secure evidence of the crimes committed by Russia. President Berset signed a declaration of intent in Reykjavik, and the Federal Council announced its decision to join the Register of Damage on 30 August, thereby underscoring Switzerland's support for the political process of reconstruction initiated by the Ukraine Recovery Conference held in Lugano last year.

A further topic of discussion at Thursday's meeting was Kosovo's aspiration to join the Council of Europe. Switzerland welcomes this step. Among other things, the country's inhabitants - including members of the Serb minority and other communities - would gain access to the European Court of Human Rights. In April, in a first step, the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers approved Kosovo's accession request. Before a final decision is taken, an evaluation will take place as to whether Kosovo's legal. system meets the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The Convention has become a key point of reference for European legislative and judicial authorities. From Switzerland's perspective, the independence and strong role of the European Court of Human Rights is one of the most important achievements of the Council of Europe and its member states. President Berset expressed his regret that the Convention and its mechanism are under pressure today. It is more important than ever to stand up for the fundamental values on which it is based. In 2024, the Council of Europe celebrates its 75th anniversary. This will also mark the 50th anniversary of Switzerland's ratification of the Convention. The two anniversaries will once again provide an opportunity for the organisation and Switzerland to highlight the Council of Europe's achievements in advancing the protection of human rights.

Strengthening data protection

At the meeting in Bern, President Berset also presented the Council of Europe's secretary general with the instrument of ratification confirming Switzerland's adoption of the modernised Convention on Data Protection of 1981 (Convention 108). The amending protocol (Convention 108+) is intended to respond to the challenges resulting from the use of new information and communication technologies.

As the only legally binding international instrument for the protection of personal data, Convention 108 plays a crucial role in promoting the right to privacy worldwide. The modernised convention (Convention 108+) will reinforce this role, but it will not enter into force until it has been ratified by 38 States Parties. The Convention and the amending protocol are open to states that are not members of the Council of Europe and so also have an impact beyond Europe.

Address for enquiries

GS-FDHA Communications, Tel. +41 58 462 85 79, media@gs-edi.admin.ch

Publisher

General Secretariat FDHA

http://www.edi.admin.ch




After AL.com inquiries into the practice of seclusion and restraint in Alabama schools, state officials will update how they track and record incidents.

But questions remain about reporting in recent years  and whether anyone in the state was keeping track. In July, Alabama delivered some records, after three years of requests from AL.com, but they offer no detail, conflict with local and federal reports and do not match AL.coms own reporting.

Were making the assumption that theyre doing everything right, said Candice Cortiella, executive director of The Advocacy Institute, about poor data and secretive processes surrounding seclusion and restraint. Thats not necessarily the best assumption to make, right?

Spreadsheets of reported incidents show that the state department only could provide numbers for a quarter of Alabamas school districts and only for three of the six years requested.

We gave you everything we have, State Superintendent Eric Mackey said. The department was unable to explain what happened to the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 records.

What we know

Alabama does not allow schools to use seclusion, the practice of locking or isolating a student alone in a room. Alabama allows staff to physically restrain a student if necessary to protect the student or other people; staff are not allowed to use restraints as punishment, or to mechanically strap a student down or chemically drug them into submission. Prone restraint, or laying students face-down on a flat surface, is also prohibited.

The table below shows numbers of incidents reported by local school districts to the Alabama Department of Education.

The states reports, one for each of the three school years, are titled Seclusion and Restraint with a line item for each school district. A single column contained either a number, an asterisk indicated 10 or fewer incidents or was left blank. Reports of seclusion and restraint were not separated into separate columns.

The vast majority of Alabama school districts listed in the state reports have blanks in the column for reported incidents. A spokesman said a blank means zero incidents were reported to the state, but AL.com found that at least one district had, in fact, reported numbers that were missing from that state data.

An asterisk denotes at least one incident but fewer than 11.

In an effort to determine what the single column of numbers represent, AL.com asked the three school districts that reported the highest numbers for the 2021-22 school year - Hoover City, Alabaster City and Shelby County - for more information.

All three said all of the incidents were cases of physical restraint, allowed under the state rule. Each indicated that they do not use seclusion and that use of physical restraint is documented.

Related: Help AL.com report on seclusion, restraint in Alabama schools

Related: What do we know about seclusion and restraint in Alabama schools? See the data.

Shelby County Schools Communications Director Cindy Warner said many schools have calm-down corners and sensory rooms. Students in those spaces are supervised by an adult who encourages the student to use self-calming strategies and assists the student in working through the situation.

Most of the students who were restrained are from self-contained behavior units located at schools across the district, Warner said. Teachers and behavior specialists work with these students on coping skills, anger management, conflict resolution, and other skills. Physical restraint is used as a last resort and only if the student is going to be a danger to himself/herself or others.

Physical restraint is used as a last resort and only if the student is going to be a danger to himself/herself or others, Warner said.

Bad data

In an attempt to verify the states data, AL.com asked several large school districts to confirm that they had reported zero incidents in recent school years.

According to the state departments records, Baldwin County had zero incidents of seclusion or restraint. But Baldwin County provided reports to AL.com showing they in fact reported hundreds of incidents in both 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Baldwin County Communications Director Chasity Riddick provided proof that the district submitted the reports to two people in the state department.

The department did not respond when asked why Baldwin Countys report was not included in the data they provided AL.com.

Related: Seclusion and restraint in Alabama schools: What do parents need to know?

Poor record-keeping is not unique to Alabama, according to Cortiella. Cortiella has followed efforts to collect better information on the number of incidents of seclusion and restraint for many years.

First off, she said, asking schools to report their own numbers is problematic.

Were at the mercy of the schools and districts to self-report, Cortiella said. Because publicly reporting the use of seclusion and restraint can raise red flags, she said, There certainly would be a human inclination to try to tamp [the number of incidents] down if they can, if they could.

But low numbers and a lack of reports dont necessarily mean that its not happening, Cortiella said. She recommends setting parameters that would trigger a state review and that could mean reporting no incidents or reporting a high number of incidents.

A lot of attention seems to be paid on the side of youre reporting a lot of kids so what is your problem, she said. There doesnt seem to be any attention being paid to youre reporting no kids so what is your problem?

In 2020, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found multiple problems with the federal Office for Civil Rights seclusion and restraint data collection. GAO made six recommendations for quality checks to get more accurate information which included setting parameters like those Cortiella mentioned.

Because the state department did not provide 2017-18 data as requested, it isnt possible to verify if the state is receiving the same information schools report to the federal Office for Civil Rights for their every-other-year data collection.

The U.S. Office for Civil Rights is expected to release data for the 2020-21 school year soon, which AL.com plans to compare what schools reported to the state and what was reported to federal officials.

Accountability

Getting accurate numbers is important, but doing something with the numbers is something different entirely.

Cortiella said under federal special education law, state education agencies are required to monitor and follow up on reports for students with disabilities. Alabamas reports do not include information about whether the student that is restrained or secluded has a disability.

There is no federal law addressing restraint and seclusion, leaving states free to make their own rules. Alabama is one of six states that specifically bans seclusion in public schools according to reporting from AL.com affiliate NJ.com.

The state boards 2011 rule does not specify any actions the department is required to take regarding incidents listed on reports, only that districts submit the reports to the department. It does not specify what happens when a teacher or other staff member violates the rule, either.

Mackey said districts report inappropriate incidents directly to the state department. State officials do not rely on the annual report.

If we get a report that somebody has restrained a child or secluded a child that is beyond what the code allows, then we would absolutely initiate an investigation, Mackey said. And theres a whole process for that.

Mackey was not aware of any investigations that have been initiated in recent years.

I literally do not know of any such accusations in my time [as superintendent] that have been about inappropriate seclusion or restraint, he said.

Education Department attorney Jason Swann said they may have received calls that were looked into, but those were resolved after being deemed inaccurate or wrong or fake or from another state and no full investigations or procedures to revoke anyones teaching certificate were initiated.

Theres no question, Mackey said, if we got a report from a district or a report from third-party sources that ABC school district down the road is restraining kids every day, even if it were allowed by the Code, I can assure you that Dr. Jeter would be following up and saying okay, whats going on or sending somebody down there.

But not knowing how many incidents of seclusion and restraint there are makes it hard to determine whether schools are overusing these methods or if there are patterns within districts that need addressing.

I dont think theres a serious issue, Mackey said, because I think it would be reported [through other pathways]. I really do believe that.

Again, there are no numbers to back up Mackeys assertion.

I do think we need a better reporting system, he said. And thats why weve gone to a new reporting system.

Mackey is referring to a Google form created for 2023 reporting that standardized the way districts file reports with the Department. The form did not initially include a separate column for incidents of seclusion, but that column was added after AL.com asked whether numbers were combined.
When the pork rinds hit the table, theyre still cracking and popping like the worlds biggest, hottest Rice Krispies. When they hit your mouth theyre about that light, too, so crisp they almost melt on your tongue.

Welcome to Southwood Kitchen in Daphne, where these rinds come with the whipped pimento cheese appetizer. Maybe its wrong to dwell on them. Even on the appetizer menu, theyre just one great option among many. You might find grilled Spanish octopus, a salad of pork belly with watermelon, Alabama crab chili rellenos or tempura squash blossoms stuffed with goat cheese and served with mango jalapeno compote.

But they do serve as a nice introduction to what makes Southwood Kitchen such a fun place to dine. Its not just the novelty value of elevating this lowbrow, guilty-pleasure snack into something thats such a far cry from the tooth-cracking bagged version or the greasy county-fair take. Its the culinary joy of finding imagination and execution both displayed at such high levels.

Alabama crab chili rellenos at Southwood Kitchen in Daphne.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

And if you havent heard of Southwood, it might be because the people who do know about it deliberately decided not to tell you about it. Because theyre having a hard enough time getting in as it is.

If you dont have a reservation by Tuesday for Friday, youre not going to get one, said chef and owner Jeremiah Matthews, marveling at the loyal clientele he and his staff have built since August 2017.

Hes not bragging. Its just a fair warning. Southwood Kitchen is not a big place and its in demand, so you dont want to take a walk-up availability for granted  even if its not Friday. Fortunately, theres a workaround: They dont take reservations at the adjacent Southbar, run by partner Tracy Lynn Ong, which doesnt allow children and which has a more casual bar vibe but the same menu.

Back to the lunch menu. Dont want the pork rinds ($8), however elevated the presentation might be? Fine. Try the hot crawfish artichoke dip ($12), which doesnt skimp on the crawfish, and which comes with some crostini so tasty youd probably be happy with just them. Or skip the appetizer and go straight for the Snake River Wagyu French Dip, a savory avalanche of textures from crisp baguette to gooey provolone on buttery beef. Or go for that regional staple, shrimp and grits. Matthews version, with parmesan gorgonzola grits, is on that select list of dishes that incorporate Conecuh sausage without being overwhelmed by it.

The shrimp & grits at Southwood Kitchen uses Conecuh sausage without being overwhelmed by it.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

Where did it come from, this willingness to mix highbrow and humble ingredients? Probably from Matthews unusually eclectic path to his role as owner and head chef.

He started out as a kid growing up in Magnolia Springs and got his first restaurant job washing dishes in a place called Bogarts in Gulf Shores. His family moved to Florida for a while and he worked at Busters in Destin, starting as a dishwasher and working his way up to oyster shucker and cook. He liked it, but he tried his hand at landscaping and boat rigging before getting on with Ruby Tuesday in Fairhope.

He was a still a kid, but he was picking up on different aspects of the business. The menu at Ruby Tuesday didnt necessarily seem like the be-all and end-all, but their systems for doing business were impressive. He became a trainer for a while, helping new restaurants get up and running. His dad suggested he give culinary school a shot and he did, at Paul Smiths College in upstate New York.

They offered a French internship program. Somehow I made it, he said. And thats how this young American came to spend a few months working the lower rungs of the ladder at one of the worlds most famous restaurants, LArpege.

Jeremiah Matthews and Tracy Lynn Ong of Southwood Kitchen.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

The chefs name was Alain Passard. Hes still a chef there, he still owns it. Still has three Michelin stars, said Matthews. As a matter of fact in 2001 he took meat off the menu, went completely vegetarian, and still maintained three Michelin stars. Hes an animal. (Note: Passard later returned fish and poultry to the menu on a limited basis.)

Matthews wasnt on the front line. He recalls mornings down in the bakery, juicing lemons and limes by the case. But the overall experience was life-changing. I loved it, he said. It was awesome.

Back in the Mobile area he worked at a series of restaurants before the economic downturn in 2008 drove him to branch out. He began taking on seasonal work as a chef for hunting parties out west. I would take 10 guests in the backcountry, load everything up on horses, and Id cook for them back there. It was just amazing, he said. Elk season was really fun because these guys are paying 10 grand for an eight-day hunt. So they expect to eat good.

In between such ventures, in places such as Jackson Hole, Wyo., hed come back to short-term jobs in coastal Alabama. One of these landed him at Jesses in Magnolia Springs, not far from where hed grown up. He stopped roving as a four-month consulting job turned into six years. Leaving Jesses wasnt an easy choice, he said, but the opportunity to open Southwood Kitchen was a chance to go his own way.

He opened Southwood in August 2017, and found he had a few kinks to work out. He started with small plates. Come to find out, people in this area were happy enough to buy one small plate and eat that as dinner, which wasnt working, he said. We even had a burger on the nighttime menu. It took six or eight months, we made some adjustments.

Growth followed, but so did the COVID-19 pandemic.

Don't take it for granted that you'll find an open seat at Southwood Kitchen in Daphne.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

We pivoted into takeout. We changed the menu, he said. We pivoted the menu to stuff that would travel well, stuff that when you got home it was still going to be hot and look good.

The to-go orders were insane. Wed do 300 to-go orders a night, he said. It was a struggle. Our sales definitely dipped but it was enough to keep going.

Matthews remains profoundly grateful for the patrons who stuck with him through the pandemic. And with those days fading further into the past, hes gotten better and better at giving them what they want. We have great support from our clientele, he said. We have a lot of the same regulars that eat here two or three times a week.

As his earlier remark indicates, theres no longer a burger on the dinner menu. You wont miss it. The short slate presents a balance of scale & shells and feathers & feet. in a nod to Matthews backcountry-chef days, elk is always on the menu. You might find Durham Ranch elk tenderloin ($45) seared with Aleppo pepper and dressed with pickled garlic chimichurri, black garlic lacquer and shiitake spinach risotto, but thats not written in stone. Depending on your timing you might find elk chops, elk tamales or even elk Wellington.

Diver scallops are artfully presented at Southwood Kitchen in Daphne.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

On a recent visit, my companion chose the diver scallops ($34), pan-seared and served with roasted red pepper coulis, goat cheese green onion orzo, sunflower sprouts and garlic chili crunch. The presentation was beautiful, and better yet, the delicate flavor of the scallops themselves came through.

My golden tile ($32) wasnt nearly as photogenic, given that its presentation involved grits and sauce. But it was the flavor that mattered. The tilefish itself was a fine, firm slab of fish. Bronzed and served with crawfish and smoked tomato potlikker, over pimento cheese grits, over cider-braised collards, strewn with charred corn pico and cotija. If that sounds like a lot, well, it was a lot. Much in the way a symphony is a lot of instruments. Im still thinking about that little note of sweet-tartness that the cider snuck into the collards.

The Golden Tile at Southwood Kitchen presents a slab of tilefish bronzed and served with crawfish and smoked tomato potlikker, over pimento cheese grits, over cider-braised collards, strewn with charred corn pico and cotija.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

There are ingredients and other elements here, starting with the pork rinds and pimento cheese, that suggest farm-to-table thinking. Matthews says he doesnt personally embrace the term. Hell reach far past local sources to get the elk or the wagyu beef he wants, for example.

At the same time, he can reel off a list of exclusive local providers that he does use, from farms to Fairhope Fish House. They run a true day boat, he said. Their freshness is beyond what I can get from anybody else.

The real guiding principle here is a little looser, maybe a little more playful.

The concept, we really didnt have one in the beginning. It was kind of, make food fun again, said Matthews. Its still a little all over the place.

Hes always taking in new ideas, he said, and he encourages his kitchen staff to do the same: He wants them to look at menus, cookbooks, magazines. He wants them to feel good about bringing inspiration into the kitchen.

Im real big on involving my kitchen crew on menu decisions and menu research and stuff like that, he said. Im one person. One person only has so many ideas. Its so much better when you have several minds.

Hes branching out himself. He has partnered with Foosacklys co-founder Will Fusaiotti to bring a Fairhope landmark, Bens Jr. Bar-B-Que, back to life. He also owns the site of the former La Cocina Mexican restaurant and has plans for that.

I need them to be able to think on their own and come up with their own stuff, he said of his kitchen staff at Southwood. I worked for a few chefs years ago who did that for me, and it kind of left a mark.

Nowadays, it seems, Matthews is leaving a mark of his own.

Southwood Kitchen is at 1203 U.S. 98, Suite D., in Daphne. For menus, reservations and other information, visit southwoodkitchen.com. For tantalizing images of lunch and dinner specials, visit www.facebook.com/southwoodkitchen.

Related:

Swordfish pastrami? Wild Game Cook-Off winner is a Reuben to remember

Bens, a barbecue landmark in Fairhope, soon will come back to life

How a bad day fishing inspired an Alabama chefs national cook-off win
A traffic stop on an Alabama interstate led to the seizure of 7 kilograms of cocaine found hidden inside a cooler.

The 17th Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force  which covers multiple west Alabama counties - made the bust Wednesday night.

Task force Commander Clint Sumlin said investigators stopped a 2019 GMC Terrain on Interstate 20/59 near the Eutaw exit for a traffic violation.

They learned the 36-year-old driver was traveling from Roma, Texas to New York.

He gave officers consent to search the SUV, where they found wrapped kilos hidden in the liner of an Igloo cooler. The 7 kilos, Sumlin said, have a combined wholesale value $210,000.

Rolando Garza was arrested on a charge of trafficking cocaine. He is being held in the Greene County Jail.
For over 30 years, the University of South Alabama Foundation has owned 63 acres of Dauphin Island property that included a sandy beachfront along Aloe Bay.

As of August, the property valued at $1.9 million is now part of the University of South Alabamas portfolio.

And for some of the students who are part of the growing Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences, it will soon mean more visits to the beach.

Some of the students are already calling it Jaguar Beach, said Sean Powers, director of the Stokes School. They have plans that dont necessarily agree with ours. But its an amazing place for students to drag kayaks, paddleboats, and all other things and to enjoy the environment and develop that appreciation.

The USA Foundations gift to the university was officially announced on Wednesday during a news conference inside the administrations building. The property transaction officially occurred on August 24, and Powers said classes are already preparing to utilize the property for lab and research activities.

Jo Bonner, president of the University of South Alabama, speaks during a news conference on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, at the university's administrative building in Mobile, Ala. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

Its going to have an immediate impact on our ability to teach our students, said University of South Alabama President Jo Bonner. Its really a gift that ties into the mission of the university, with our role in serving the community doing research and in teaching.

Maxey Roberts, director of the USA Foundation, said the transactions timing aligns with supporting the Stoke Schools mission and the Town of Dauphin Island, which is looking to generate environmental and economic activity within the area surrounding Aloe Bay.

The Bay is in the heart of Dauphin Island, and has long been a site for commercial fishing and tourism activity. Its also home to the annual Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo.

We saw this as the perfect time to convey the property to the university to allow the university to continue with the use of that property, she said.

Said Powers, It signifies our program is on the move.

Indeed, the school launched Bachelor of Science degrees in marine sciences and environmental and sustainability sciences this year with initial projections of about 40 students enrolled by the second year.

Sean Powers, director of the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of South Alabama, speaks during a news conference on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, at the university's administrative building in Mobile, Ala. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

Powers said that 205 students have signed up. The schools graduate program has increased its enrollment from 60 to 90. And the number of faculty is on the rise  from 10 a few years ago to 14 this year, and with plans to add two more.

I think more and more people are recognizing that South Alabama is a place to study marine environmental sciences, Powers said.

The better-than-expected enrollment coincides with investments into the school. Approximately six months ago, Dr. Steven Stokes and his wife, Angela, donated $2 million to the School which led to the Universitys board of trustees to name it after them. In total, the Stokes family has contributed over $6.8 million to the university.

The gift also comes at a time that Dauphin Island officials are moving forward with a total of $25 million in grant projects to preserve the Aloe Bay shoreline adjacent to the Dauphin Island Bridge.

The town intends to dredge the Aloe Bay Channel and utilize the dredged materials to extend the beach area of the property 150 feet into the bay. The work is aimed at restoring the beach back to its historical shoreline.

Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier speaks during a news conference on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, at the university's administrative building in Mobile, Ala. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

Dauphin Island Mayor Jeff Collier said the property transaction allows for a restoration of the area for future generations while enhancing the towns environmental research stewardship and education. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab is also expected to utilize the land for its research projects.

The overall Aloe Bay project is being supported through grants that were made available after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster and oil spill.

Were a barrier island and we recognize that the environment is crucial to our success going forward, Collier said. We know preservation and restoration are key opportunities to take advantage of while funding is available.

Powers said the property  a majority of which is submerged land  will allow students access to oyster farming and aquaculture husbandry, among other things. Officials called the property a living laboratory for the school.

He said the university is hoping to build a pavilion and restrooms on the property, but not much else.

Most of our labs are four hours, said Powers. Its enough time to spend two hours out there and to get them back to their next class.

Dauphin Islands Aloe Bay is approximately 35 miles south of USAs campus in west Mobile.
This column originally appeared in Kyle Whitmires newsletter, Alabamafication. Sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every Wednesday.

Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter must think Alabamians are stupid.

On Tuesday, a panel of three federal judges ruled against the states Congressional districting map  again. The judges excoriated the Alabama Legislature and accused it of defying the court.

Following the decision, the Alabama House speaker took to Twitter to share a little home cooking from Yellowhammer News and retreated to a familiar foxhole  blaming activist judges.

The legislature worked together to meet the courts vague requirements, so todays ruling is disappointing, the speaker said. Above all, its frustrating that the court chooses to legislate when the Alabama Legislature knows our citizens, hometowns, and communities better than any federal judge.

(Screenshot: Twitter)

Lets put that statement under our microscope and consider its pieces, one at a time.

The legislature worked together to meet the courts vague requirements 

Theres video you can go back and watch. The Legislature did not work together. Heck, for much of the special session, it was an open question whether the Legislature would manage to pass a new map at all.

In the end, they did what they often do  the Republican supermajority disregarded the concerns of Black lawmakers and passed what they wanted over their objections.

Togetherness, that aint.

But lets turn the knob on our microscope and zoom in a little further.

The legislature worked 

The plaintiffs in this case deposed the co-chairs of the Legislatures joint reapportionment committee. Under oath, Rep. Chris Pringle and Sen. Steve Livingston said something that should be remarkable if it werent absolutely expected  they didnt know who drew the map they passed.

In its ruling, the court noted this peculiarity.

The availability of the 2023 Plan is noteworthy not only because of its late timing, but also because of its apparently mysterious provenance: its original source and cartographer were unknown to one of the Committee chairs, Senator Livingston, when he voted on it, the judges wrote. To this day, the record before us does not make clear who prepared the 2023 Plan.

Ledbetter wants you to believe the legislature worked when really it signed its name to someone elses homework, apparently without knowing who that someone else was.

Either that or somebodys committing perjury.

Ledbetter says the legislature knows our citizens, hometowns, and communities, but it doesnt know who drew the map it passed?

Moving on 

 the courts vague requirements 

There wasnt anything vague here. The courts have said, any remedial plan will need to include two districts in which Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close.

Whats vague about that?

They knew what the courts wanted, and they refused to abide. Thats it. That is old Alabama politics, but at least George Wallace wasnt squirrelly about it when he thumbed his nose at the courts.

But we have one more sentence to consider.

Above all, its frustrating that the court chooses to legislate 

Ah, the old activist judiciary routine.

Heres the thing  two of those three judges are Trump appointees. Two of the five Supreme Court justices who ruled against the state were Republican appointees.

This isnt an activist judiciary. Its a panel of judges who now have to do what the Alabama Legislature should have done to start with.

Alabamas House Speaker needs to be honest about what happened here.

The court didnt choose to legislate.

It now must do the job because the Alabama Legislature chose not to.

All this carrying on isnt free. It will cost Alabama  money, time and reputation.

And when the bill comes due, guess who gets to pay? It will be money out of taxpayers pockets or cut from our classrooms.

Alabamas House Speaker owes Alabamians the truth.

What Ledbetter should have said was, The Republican supermajority disregarded the concerns of Black lawmakers by signing our names to someone elses work in an effort to defy a federal court order. We didnt do our jobs so now the courts have to do it for us.

Thats the truth.

And if he wont give us that, then he should at least pick up the tab.

Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for AL.com and the 2023 recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Get his newsletter Alabamafication delivered to your inbox every Wednesday.

Go deeper with more from Kyle Whitmire

This will cost us: In Milligan case, Alabamians will pay

Found this in the wastebasket: A discarded Republican map shows Alabama cheated Black voters

How Alabama hopes for a SCOTUS do-over: Alabamas poisonous plan to get back to the Supreme Court and gut the Voting Rights Act

Meet the man behind the final map: The architect behind Alabamas voting rights defiance

How Alabama blew its chance to gut the VRA: The moment Alabamas lawyers turned a sure thing into blistering defeat

Black lawmakers fight to be heard: Legislating while Black in Alabama: CRT and the struggle for respect

Where it all started: How 155 angry white men chained Alabama to its Confederate past
A south Alabama woman is going to federal prison after she hung racially offensive homemade dolls on her Black neighbors fence in an attempt to get them to move.

Cheryl Lynn Pytleski, 64, pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of her neighbors, Middle District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Sandra Stewart announced Thursday.

Pytleski, of Chancellor, was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

The incident happened in Dale County on Oct. 18, 2019.

According to authorities, Pytleski hung racially offensive homemade dolls on the fence of her next-door neighbors, an African American family, in an attempt make the family move away.

Pytleski in April pleaded guilty to a criminal violation of the Fair Housing Act in March of this year.

In her plea agreement, Pytleski specifically admitted to using the threat of force to intimidate her neighbors because of their race and because they were occupying a dwelling next to her.

A person violates the Fair Housing Act if he or she uses force, or threatens the use of force, to willfully injure, intimidate, or interfere with, any person because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, who is or has been engaged in the selling, purchasing, renting, financing, occupying, or contracting or negotiating for the sale, purchase, rental, financing, or occupation of any dwelling.

The 12-month sentence, ordered on September 6, 2023, is the maximum allowed under the federal statute. There is no parole in the federal system.

The FBI and the Ozark Police Department investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Brett J. Talley prosecuted.
A 22-year-old Birmingham man has been charged in the 2021 Easter Sunday shooting at W.C. Patton Park that killed Areyelle Yarbrough and injured five others.

Jalynd Rashad Rayford, 22, was taken into custody in Georgia this morning, Birmingham police announced at a Thursday press conference attended by officials from the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, FBI, ATF and Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, all of which worked on the case.

Rayford is charged with murder in the shooting death of Areyelle Yarbrough, 32.

The arrest was made about 5:15 a.m. by the U.S. Marshals Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, Georgia state police SWAT, and the Gwinnett County Sherriffs Office. U.S. Marshal Marty Keely said Rayford was arrested without incident, and evidence was recovered from the scene.

Rayford was booked into the Gwinnett County Jail at 7:25 a.m. and remains held pending extradition to Alabama.

Court records show Rayford is also charged with an unrelated robbery of a woman that took place several weeks after the park shooting.

This is the whole reason youre a law enforcement officer, to be able to tell a family you have arrested the person responsible for their loved ones death,' said Birmingham police Chief Scott Thurmond. This case generated a lot of anguish for many of ourcitizens and to be able to get that for our citizens and our city is really big.

The other five surviving victims were ages 5 to 21 at the time of the shooting.The 5-year-old, Justice Holness, was shot in the lungs and the bullet also and fractured his collar bone.

Thurmond said Rayford is not charged in those crimes, and investigators are still searching for those responsible in their shootings.

The important thing to focus on is our investigators never give up, regardless of how a case may be' the chief said. Theyre also working to solve those cases.

I know the frustration of many families is they feel like their case is not being worked, but this just shows that this is a 2-year-old case and weve worked together with all of these agencies...to bring it to this point,' he said.

Yarbroughs mother died before an arrest was made, but detectives notified her father, the Rev. Michael Yarbrough, of this mornings arrest.

He was delighted, very happy,' said homicide Det. Jonathan Ross. Im as happy as he is. We dont give up. At all.

The gunfire erupted just after 7 p.m. that Sunday, April 4, 2021, while hundreds, if not more, were gathered celebrating the holiday.

Officers arrived to find Yarbrough laying on the ground just outside the passenger door of her vehicle wounded by gunfire.

She was pronounced dead outside vehicle, and those with her said she was trying to protect some of the children who were with her.

A witness said two women were sitting on top of a blue Dodge Charger when someone opened fire, striking the Charger and the two women.

The witness said one of those women was shot in the chest; the witness said the other was Yarbrough.

Multiple people then started shooting.

They didnt even know what they were shooting at, she said, estimating about 100 shots were fired.

Yarbrough was a graduate of Alabama A&M University graduate and currently working on her MBA.

She was a manager over 12 employees at the Jefferson County Department of Revenue where she headed principal accounting for business and sale tax licensing.

The FBI and Birmingham police on April 10, 2023, announced a $30,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case.

Thurmond has previously said investigators believe members the Birmingham street gang - H2K or Hard to Kill  were behind the dozens of bullets fired in the park that day.

H2K became very prevalent with the Patton Park shooting, Thurmond said in a previous AL.com interview.

H2K has since been the target of Birmingham, county, state and federal investigations. Some leaders and members have been jailed on other charges.

He said he did not know if Rayford was a member of that gang.

The chief had previously said he hoped the passing of time would change the minds of those who know what happened that night.

We hope that some of the people involved could possibly be in jail or things have changes in the past two years that would make somebody more akin to coming forward and giving information, Thurmond said previously.

People are potentially scared of retaliation if they come forward, but the thing is, there are killers on our streets that still remain. Until people come forward, that narrative isnt going to change.

This story will be updated once the press conference concludes.
A Birmingham man is in custody after police say he got into an argument with a stranger on the side of Interstate 20 and then chased him down and shot him.

The incident happened Thursday afternoon in Oxford.

The suspect is accused of not only shooting the victim  who is in critical condition  but also of firing multiple shots into a RaceTrac store.

Oxford Police Chief Bill Partridge said the suspect, whose name has not yet been released, exited Interstate 20, drove recklessly along Alabama 21 and then got back up on the interstate.

At that point, the man stopped, jumped out of his vehicle and approached another man who was standing on the side of the interstate.

The two men did not know each other, Partridge said. An altercation ensued.

Another motorist in a Chevrolet Tahoe then pulled up and told the suspect to stop what he was doing.

The suspect brandished a semi-automatic rifle and shot one round in the Tahoe.

The man with whom the suspect had initially argued took off running toward the RaceTrac store on Alabama 21 and Grace Street.

The suspect pursued him and fired on him again at the entrance to RaceTrac. The wounded victim dropped to the ground.

The shooter then approached the store and fired multiple rounds into the business. The employees had heard the previous shots and locked the doors before he got to the store, the chief said.

Multiple police officers arrived at the scene. Partridge said the suspect then surrendered.

The victim was airlifted to UAB Hospital where he is in critical condition.

Partridge said he has no idea why the suspect committed the crimes for which he is accused.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Dozens of people gathered Tuesday at the Autauga-Prattville Public Library to demand the local library maintain its independence amid an attack on the organizations collection of books.

The approximately 100 people in attendance later stopped at meetings of the Autauga County Commission and the Prattville City Council, urging officials to vote down a service contract that could have stripped the library of its autonomy and potentially its funding.

Prattville City Council members voted against the contract in a 4-3 vote Monday evening.

More from Alabama Reflector

I was just incredibly relieved to find out that the library wouldnt be backed into a corner and forced to make the difficult decision to either compromise everything that the library is supposed to be for the community, or turn down the contract and ultimately end up with the doors closed, said Angie Hayden of Read Freely Prattville, the group that helped organized the event.

Members also spoke at the county commission meeting to ensure that commissioners are aware of where they stood on the issue. Funding for the library is tied to the city and county budgets, which commissioners will vote on in October. There was no vote taken at Mondays commission meeting.

The Autauga County Commission appreciates and supports our local library for being a hub of information and providing free access to educational, news, historic resources, programs and more, for all our citizens. said Autauga County Administrator Scott Kramer.

Had the service contract been approved, it would have increased the age designation of the young adult section to people 18 years old or older, essentially discouraging teenagers from having access to the materials in that section.

It would have also codified terms that were defined as sexually explicit material, prohibiting anyone younger than 18 years old from checking out the materials. Classic books from The Kite Runner to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings could have fallen under that definition and prevented children in high school from accessing the materials, according to Hayden.

Council members would also have had the right to pull library funding at any time, for whatever reason, which had never been considered before. In the past, the funding had simply gone through, according to Hayden.

The incident is one of several this year involving Alabama libraries. A call to remove LGBTQ-themed books from a library in Ozark led to a tense meeting last week that drew over 100 people.

The service contract was the most recent episode in a series of events that started back in the spring of 2023 over the appropriateness of some materials in the library. Hannah Rees of Clean Up Prattville, the organization campaigning for the contract, specifically cited books that speak to LGBTQ issues, particularly with transgender individuals.

When we are talking about sexual content for kids is where I draw the line, that is all that we are saying, she said. The books we originally found were just very radical, gender ideologies, where it was talking to kids, very, very small kids, about transitioning into the opposite sex.

Andrew Foster, the librarys current director, said the campaign began with one book.

There was an incident where a family checked out a book called the Pronoun Book, took it home before realizing it was an inclusive pronoun book, that it wasnt just binary, he and she, but instead had some other representations in the book, he said.

While that was the first book challenged, there have been more, and the library responded by implementing a process laid out within its policies for reviewing the books to determine how they should be classified. People complete a form allowing them to explain their problems with the material before a committee composed of employees and board members who will read the book to determine if the book needs to be moved or recategorized.

Books typically are not removed from circulation altogether simply because someone objects to the content.

We have a process for weeding out books from our collection, but that is only going to be from disuse, it is not circulating from the shelves, or it is damaged, or things like that, rather than content, Foster said.

Unhappy with the responses they were receiving from the library board, members of Clean Up Prattville began soliciting support from their local elected officials back in May.

The service contract was the result of several discussions and attempts to resolve the matter. It was not however, what members of Clean Up Prattville wanted, believing the measure did not go far enough in addressing their concerns.

Despite that, Rees and her supporters are undeterred, who are looking to expand the fight statewide. In one respect, they have already gotten the attention of state officials.

Gov. Kay Ivey wrote a letter dated Friday to Nancy Pack, director of the Alabama Public Library Service, asking for an accounting of money given to the American Library Association, a target of Clean Up Prattville.

I hate that the governor has fallen for what I believe is a very targeted, specific tactic by these groups to alienate LGBTQ people, Hayden said.

Hayden has a history with the library dating back to when her children were growing up.

I love this library, one of my daughters is here, both of my girls are grown now, and I have pictures of them with books stacked up to their little noses, Hayden said. I feel like they are trying to compromise with a group that doesnt actually have any interest in compromise. They want control  and they have stated very openly that they will not stop at this. They have a whole list of demands that they will make for the library.

For others, it is a matter of choice.

I think apart from my personal opinions, and how I choose to raise my family and the things that I choose to let into my home, that nobody has the right to tell you what you can read and what you can let into your home, said Jess Woods, president of Friends of the Library.
A Mountain Brook doctor has been charged in the traffic crash death of her 10-year-old daughter while she was fleeing police, police announced on Wednesday.

Mountain Brook police said Sarah Kathleen Cumbest Mullican, an anesthesiologist, is charged with reckless manslaughter and felony attempting to elude.

The warrants were issued Wednesday by the Jefferson County District Attorneys Office in connection with the death of Annabelle Mullican.

Dr. Mullican is not yet in police custody.

She is represented by attorneys Tommy Spina, Brett Bloomston and Ben Preston.

This is such a tragic event with so many far-reaching collateral consequences on so many levels to so many people,' Spina said.

Spina said they are arranging for Dr. Mullicans surrender.

I hope this tragedy causes others to pause and reflect about how life can turn about quickly,' Spina said. Please keep Annabelles family, friends and the community affected by this event in your thoughts and prayers.

The crash happened about 5:30 p.m. Saturday, July 22, on Cherokee Road in Mountain Brook.

According to a police report, an officer was parked in the driveway of a residence on Old Leeds Road when he saw a white Toyota Highlander coming towards him traveling from Crosshill Road on Old Leeds Road at a high rate of speed.

The officer clocked Mullican with his radar driving 47 mph in a 30- mph zone.

The officer followed the SUV and saw it swerve out of its lane several times, the report states.

It then turned left onto Cherokee Road, nearly striking a vehicle that it turned in front of, the report states.

The officer then activated his emergency equipment and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.

The officer saw the driver throw a cup out the window along with another unidentified object in the 3500 block of Cherokee Road, police have said.

The vehicle appeared to accelerate after (the officer) turned his lights and siren on, the report states.

The SUV then negotiated the curve as the roadway curved to the right. As the roadway curved back to the left, the vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway.

It then struck several trees and overturned before coming to a stop in the ditch on the right side of the road.

The crash was recorded on the officers dash cam.

It showed that when the SUV ran off the right side of the road, the passengers side of the vehicle struck a tree. The vehicle began spinning before it struck another tree on the passengers side.

The vehicle then spun around and overturned as it struck another tree while sliding further down the ditch, according to the report.

The SUV then hit a fourth tree with its front bumper before coming to a stop while it was still overturned.

Mullican had several abrasions on her arms and legs. She was treated by Mountain Brook Fire on the scene and released.

Callie Mullican, 8, also sustained abrasions on her arms and legs. Police believe she was seated in the passengers side backseat, with her seatbelt locked in place, records state.

She was taken to Childrens of Alabama.

Annabelle was seated in the drivers side back seat. Her seat belt was not locked in place indicating that she was not wearing her seatbelt, according to the report.

Annabelle had a major head injury and was unresponsive at the scene, the officer wrote.

She was taken to Childrens of Alabama where she was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. The Jefferson County Coroners Office told police Annabelles fatal injuries included a skull fracture.

The report says Dr. Mullican was taken by police to Childrens of Alabama.

A search warrant for Dr. Mullicans blood and saliva was later carried out at Brookwood Baptist Medical Center.

Dr. Mullican was admitted to Brookwood hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and issued a traffic citation by police for reckless driving.

The results of the toxicology report were not immediately available.

Mountain Brook police Chief Jaye Loggins said Wednesday more information will be released when the warrants are served on Mullican.

Annabelle was bright, loving and a joy to be around, Canterbury United Methodist Church posted on Facebook. Our hearts break alongside the Mullican familys as they grieve Annabelles passing.
Actor Gary Busey is under investigation after an alleged hit-and-run crash in Malibu.

In a video published by TMZ, a woman films herself driving next to Busey and shouting out her window, Sir, you hit my car, I need your information, before he speeds off. TMZ reported the woman said Busey rear-ended her vehicle as he was exiting a shopping center.

The video cuts to the woman confronting him in the parking lot of a restaurant. Busey says he has Progressive insurance but otherwise refuses to provide contact information for the woman, saying, Im private.

You cant hit someone and then leave, the woman says in response as Busey drives off.

A member of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Lost Hills Station, which has jurisdiction over the part of Pacific Coast Highway where the crash allegedly occurred, did not answer a phone call for comment.

A representative for Busey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The hit-and-run is not the first crash Busey has been accused of causing; in 2015, he allegedly hit a woman as he was backing up in a Malibu shopping center parking lot. No charges were filed.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

2023 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A massage therapist from Georgia was arrested in the long-running investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S Capitol riot.

Tonya Elizabeth Webb described herself on her business website as a having worn a lot of different hats in my life, moving from a total hippie to the corporate world as a marketing professional to owning her own massage business out of her Henry County home. But according to an FBI affidavit, it was the black Trump hat she wore while inside the Capitol with the mob that helped identify her as she moved through the building, entering and exiting twice.

Webb was arrested Aug. 25 in Huntsville and charged with entering a restricted area, two counts of disorderly conduct, and one count of illegally demonstrating inside the Capitol, all misdemeanors.

According to court documents, Webb spent a total of about 30 minutes inside the building, walking through the Senate wing and into the Capitol Crypt taking video with her mobile phone. Multiple photos included in court records show a woman identified as Webb surrounded by other rioters in multiple places inside and outside the building.

One photo appears to show Webb motioning through a window from inside the Capitol to the mob outside. A still from a livestream appears to show Webb inside the Capitol with her phone while rioters climb through a broken window.

Although a warrant for her arrest was not issued until last month, the FBI had been investigating Webbs alleged participation in the riot at least since December 2021 when a neighbor positively identified her from a photo taken on Jan. 6. Court records do not reflect why it took another 20 months to charge her.

Attempts to contact Webb by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for this report were unsuccessful, but it appears she may have recently relocated to Alabama. Her Jodeco Road home is listed for sale, her massage business has been dissolved and the federal public defender assigned to her case is in Birmingham.

In the more than two and a half years since the riot, authorities have charged almost 1,150 people with various crimes relating to the unrest that followed former President Donald Trumps Stop the Steal rally that day.

Her misdemeanor charges are common to defendants alleged to have entered the Capitol but not to have committed more serious crime that day, such as fighting with police or conspiring to obstruct Congress.

-------

2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
A federal judge has overturned a Trump-era decision that the eastern hellbender does not need Endangered Species Act protections. The judge instead ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to issue a new decision on whether the salamander should be listed as threatened or endangered.

Judge Lewis J. Liman ruled Wednesday in a U.S. District Court in New York that the Fish and Wildlife Services 2019 decision not to protect the salamander was arbitrary and capricious, siding with five environmental groups that had challenged the decision in 2021.

The groups argued, and Liman agreed, that the Wildlife Service had relied too much on unproven restoration and re-population efforts to determine that the giant salamander was not in danger of extinction.

This ruling is a lifesaving victory for hellbenders and their declining freshwater habitats, Elise Bennett, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity said in a news release.

The Center for Biological Diversity challenged the 2019 decision in a lawsuit along with the Waterkeeper Alliance, Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper, Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper and Waterkeepers Chesapeake.

The Fish and Wildlife Service can no longer ignore overwhelming scientific evidence that hellbenders are in danger of extinction and face even greater threats ahead, Bennett said. These odd and charming salamanders can survive, but they desperately need the help of the Endangered Species Act.

The eastern hellbender is the largest salamander in North America, reaching two feet or more in length. It historically lived in rocky creeks and streams with clear, flowing waters across 15 states from northern Mississippi and Alabama through the Appalachians to southern New York, but many of those populations are gone or in severe decline.

The eastern hellbender is a large, stout-bodied, fully-aquatic salamander.Courtesy Jim Godwin

The slimy looking amphibians have long lifespans -- at least 25-30 years and maybe longer -- and live under rocks in streambeds during the day, emerging at night to hunt crayfish, other small fish or insects. Hellbenders can breathe through ruffles along their sides and have generated a number of clever nicknames like snot otter, lasagna lizard, and devil dog.

In Alabama, the salamanders were found in Tennessee River tributaries in the nothern part of the state, but populations appeared to plummet due to human activity.

The biggest cause for the decline of the hellbender is reduced water quality, Jim Godwin, a biologist with the Alabama Natural Heritage Program and Auburn University, told AL.com. Silt and sedimentation fills in the cracks and crevices in the rocks and gravel that young hellbenders need. We may also have chemical degradation issues, things that would affect the water like low dissolved oxygen, high conductivity.

Some wondered whether the hellbender still survived in Alabama before Godwin and colleague Lesley De Souza captured one in the Flint River in 2015.

Since then, Godwin said testing in creek waters showed the presence of hellbender DNA in multiple north Alabama streams, but researchers trying to find them have come up empty since that 2015 sighting.

Godwin said those DNA detections add hope that the elusive hellbenders are still out there in Alabama, but they dont tell anything about the population size, or even whether the animal that left its DNA is alive or dead. Since the hellbenders can live 30 years or longer, its possible to still pick up readings from populations that are in dire straits because they are having trouble reproducing.

That we got a fair number of environmental DNA detections over several years is encouraging that we still have hellbenders in Alabama, Godwin said.

The flip side is that that we cant seem to find any.

Godwin said he had not reviewed the judges ruling, but that many biologists were surprised when the Fish and Wildlife Service chose not to list the species in 2019. He said in Alabama and likely elsewhere, reducing sediment runoff into streams would be the best way to protect and preserve the salamander.

What needs to be done is maybe stream restoration actions, working with landowners to reduce sediment pollution, Godwin said. Things such as fencing cattle out of streams, stabilizing stream banks where they might be sloughing off into the water and things like that.

In its 2019 decision, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that listing the salamander as endangered was not necessary, partially because of efforts like building nesting boxes for hellbenders and hatching hellbenders in captivity and releasing them into the wild.

However, Liman and the groups noted that these efforts are still unproven and its not clear whether hellbenders are able to successfully reproduce in the man-made nest boxes or whether captive-born hellbenders are able to survive to adulthood (5-6 years) and reestablish lost or diminished populations.

The Trump administrations refusal to federally protect the eastern hellbender was scientifically and legally indefensible, and were relieved that the federal court has now recognized the significant flaw in their analysis, Daniel E. Estrin, general counsel and legal director for Waterkeeper Alliance, said in a news release.

With the judges ruling, the Fish and Wildlife Service will have to make a new determination on whether the hellbender should be protected, and if it chooses not to list the species, it will have to justify its decision without relying on these unproven restoration techniques.

Godwin said that if the hellbender is listed as threatened or endangered, then more research money could be made available to determine the salamanders status in Alabama. He also said that protecting Alabamas streams and creeks from excess sediment pollution could benefit many species besides the hellbender.

The streams that have hellbenders also have a wide range of other aquatic diversity there, Godwin said. Fish, mussels, crayfish, and another kind of aquatic salamander called the mud puppy that I think we should be concerned about. Because these species depend on the same habitat, theyre under the same stress as the hellbender.
A court hearing on lawsuits against the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission in Montgomery on Wednesday turned into a negotiating session between the commissions lawyers and lawyers representing companies seeking business licenses.

About 20 attorneys left the courtroom to meet behind closed doors for 25 minutes at the request of Montgomery County Circuit Judge James Anderson.

When the hearing resumed, the lawyers gave few specifics but did agree to ask the judge to extend a temporary restraining order on the licensing process.

After the hearing, lawyers for the AMCC and for one of the companies that has been most critical of the AMCC both said they were encouraged.

The judge wanted us to talk, so we did, said William Somerville, attorney for Alabama Always, a Montgomery company that applied for but was not awarded an integrated license. Weve agreed to extend the temporary restraining order. And weve also agreed to try to work out a solution to these issues with the Cannabis Commission. Were very hopeful that we can arrive at a process that will be best for everybody involved, including the patients who need medical cannabis.

William Webster, an attorney for the AMCC, said the lawyers would meet again on Monday.

We did talk some procedural things today about how this is going to work, how it might work, some ideas that people have for the commissions consideration, Webster said. So, were encouraged that people are talking and maybe we can get this medical cannabis out for the people of the state of Alabama quicker by doing this.

About 15 companies are involved in litigation over the licensing process, which has dragged out through the summer.

In June, the AMCC awarded licenses to 21 companies but did not issue those after discovering errors in scores used to rank applicants.

At a meeting In August, the AMCC announced that the scores were fixed. The AMCC voided the June license awards and voted to award licenses to 24 companies, 19 that were awarded in June and five others.

But the license awards stalled again because of the lawsuits, which allege the AMCC violated the open meetings act, among other complaints.

The licenses are for cultivators, processors, secure transporters, dispensaries, testing labs, as well as integrated licensees who can cultivate, process, transport, and dispense.

There may be progress in the dispute over the open meetings act violations.

AMCC attorney Webster said the commission will not hold another executive session, or closed session, on the license awards, reiterating what AMCC Chair Rex Vaughn had said at the AMCCs meeting last week.

Alabama Always has been one of the harshest critics of the commission for holding closed meetings. Somerville, the companys attorney, said the commitment to keep the meetings open is a positive step.

If they will comply with the law going forward, and I see no reason to believe they dont intend to, then I think this is going to be a much better process than what weve seen so far, Somerville said.

Somerville said the goal of the negotiations is to arrive at a license award process that is fair and can withstand legal challenges.

Right now it would be a solution that allows the best applicants to show that theyre the best applicants and also that is defensible in court and not subject to a lot of attacks so that we can streamline the process and make sure the best applicants get a license and that its not stuck in court for years to come, Somerville said.

Ninety companies applied for licenses. The law authorizing medical cannabis, passed by the Legislature in 2021, placed a cap on how many licenses the AMCC could issue in some of the categories. For example, the AMCC can award only five integrated licenses.

A sticking point has been the scores used to rank the applicants. The scores were compiled by evaluators recruited by the University of South Alabama. Errors in the scores led to the voiding of the license awards in June. Although the AMCC says the mistakes were fixed, some companies that were not awarded licenses believe the scores are flawed and should be disregarded. AMCC Vaughn said at the August 31 meeting the AMCC would not redo the scores and commissioners could still use them as a guideline in making license decisions.

AMCC attorney Webster said Wednesday that the use of the scores is a topic in the ongoing discussions among the lawyers.

Somerville, the attorney for Alabama Always, said he did not think the AMCC should use the scores.

I personally dont see it, Somerville said. But Im certainly willing to consider what anybody has to say about it. But I dont think so.

Alabama Always had the 26th ranked score among the 38 applicants for integrated licenses. But officials with the company, which has built a facility in west Montgomery to cultivate and process medical marijuana, have said the scores are flawed that the AMCC could make better decisions if it visited the sites of license applicants.

You can see the scores listed by license category here.

Ray French, CEO of Specialty Medical Products of Alabama, based in Foley, also called for the scores to be discarded and for site visits. Specialty Medical Products of Alabama ranked 33rd among the 38 integrated license applicants. But French said the scores were flawed. French said his company is ready to cultivate and make products quickly. He is CEO of another company, Oscity Labs, which grows hemp under a program regulated by the Department of Agriculture and Industries makes CBD oil, gummies, and other products derived from hemp.

French said the AMCC should do site visits and learn more about before another round of license awards.

We think there are some really good people on the commission, French said. We know theres some great commissioners. And they just havent been really given the opportunity to understand who the applicants are.

What were asking for is site visits and follow the spirit of the law and what was written in the law to actually go and see the people that are already operating in the state.

AMCC Executive Director John McMillan has said the AMCC planned to do site visits to applicants who are awarded licenses as part of a review before actually issuing licenses. McMillan said there were too many applicants to visit all the sites.

Judge Anderson agreed with requests consolidate most of the lawsuits against the AMCC.

An exception is a lawsuit filed by Verano Alabama, an applicant for an integrated license. Verano Alabama had the highest score among the integrated license applicants both for the June awards and after the mistakes were fixed in August. The AMCC awarded Verano Alabama a license in June. But the AMCC voided that, like all the other licenses awarded in June. And Verano was not awarded a license in August, despite still having the highest score.

Verano Alabamas lawsuit says the AMCC had no legal authority to void the June license awards. The company has asked the court to order the AMCC to reverse that decision and issue its license.

Anderson agreed to let Verano Alabamas lawsuit stand alone after the companys lawyers said they opposed consolidation. The judge said the case was a different issue than the others.

The Legislature created the AMCC to oversee the seed-to-sale regulation of the new industry. AMCC officials have said before the licensing process stalled that they hoped products could be available by the end of this year.

Products can include gummies, tablets, capsules, tinctures, patches, oils, and other forms allowed by the legislation.

Patients who receive a medical cannabis card from a doctor will be able to buy the products at licensed dispensaries.

The products can be used to treat a wide range of conditions, including chronic pain, weight loss and nausea from cancer, depression, panic disorder, epilepsy, muscle spasms caused by disease or spinal cord injuries, PTSD, and others.
Alabama Sen. Katie Britt is co-sponsoring a Republican bill that would prohibit mask mandates by the federal government, a fallout of mask requirements imposed during the COVID pandemic.

Britt joined eight other senators in co-sponsoring legislation introduced by Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, which blocks any federal official, including the president, from imposing mask mandates for domestic air travel, public transit or public schools. It also prohibits air carriers, transit authorities and schools from refusing service to those who choose not to wear a mask.

Related: Sen. Katie Britt has recovered well after attack of facial numbness: Your prayers have been felt

Vances bill is known as the Freedom to Breathe Act. Vance requested the bill be passed by unanimous consent and sent to the U.S. House of Representatives. But Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., objected Thursday to the bills quick passage.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, draconian shutdowns and mask mandates inflicted immense damage across our nation, Britt said in a statement. Just look at the consequences our children faced, from devastating learning loss that put students years behind to deteriorating mental health in kids and teenagers. Enough is enough.

More than three years later, its clear we need to embrace individual liberty and facts rather than a society gripped by fear. Democrats have claimed that mask mandates and lockdowns are not coming back  however, their objection to this legislation reveals their true intentions.

In the press release, Britt cited an elementary school just north of the District of Columbia in Silver Spring, Md., that began requiring students to wear masks this week after three cases of COVID were detected in one classroom. The requirement will last 10 days, according to media reports.

In Alabama, Talladega City Schools last month said it is encouraging students and faculty to wear masks but made clear it was not a mandate. A similar request went out to students and teachers at Kinterbush Junior High School in Cuba in Sumter County.

We cannot return to the failed policies of the COVID pandemic, Vance said in a Senate floor speech. Im not mad that we screwed up. I made mistakes. Many people in this body made mistakes. What I do think we should avoid is repeating the mistakes in 2023. Lets learn from the mistakes we made instead of just doubling down on them.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Markey hammered Republicans for their votes on other health care issues and described Vances bill as a red herring.

It makes no sense to put limits on how communities and individuals can protect themselves, Markey said. This bill is a red herring. It is a false debate. We should have an aquarium down in the well of the Senate to capture all the red herrings that are being introduced into this public health debate. Its a distraction. Its misleading and it is meant to deflect from what the GOP really stands for right now -- gimmicks over people.

Other co-sponsors of the bill are Senate Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kans.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
One of the women killed when gunfire erupted outside a Birmingham nightclub in the early-morning hours of Labor Day was a Miles College student.

Markiezia Atkins, 24, was among two women killed in the shooting that also injured three other people.

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of one of our own, sophomore Markiezia Atkins. Markiezia left us on Monday morning, leaving behind her precious one-year-old daughter, Miles College officials wrote in a Facebook post Wednesday.

Markiezia was not only a dedicated student but also a loving and devoted mother, the post reads.

Her determination to excel in her studies while caring for her daughter was truly inspirational. She embodied the spirit of resilience and determination.

We extend our deepest condolences to Markiezias family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate this loss, according to the post. The Golden Bear family will miss Markiezia immensely, and her memory will forever remain in our hearts.

The other woman killed was 33-year-old Chaveda Willis, a postal worker in Center Point and also a mother. Police said both women were innocent victims in the targeted shooting.

Chaveda Willis (Facebook)

The initial shooting happened about 2 a.m. Monday following an altercation that began at Aria Restaurant and Lounge in the 900 block of Fifth Avenue North. More gunfire then erupted when three of the victims arrived at UAB Hospital in an SUV.

Investigators say at least two gunmen opened fire on the SUV outside the emergency room, but no one was struck at the hospital.

We believe the gunfire stemmed from a targeted attack, said Officer Truman Fitzgerald, however many of the victims who were struck by gunfire appear to have been bystanders.

Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond released this statement following the deadly shooting:

Two females lost their lives to yet again another senseless act of violence in our city, Thurmond said. Early indications are those who were shot were most likely innocent victims.

As a result, we have two women whose lives were cut entirely too short. Two families were destroyed, and three other victims will have to live with the scars of this senseless violence for the rest of their lives, he said.

The chief said the vast majority of Birmingham residents want a safer, better Birmingham, yet there continues to be a small group of people who can only resolve conflict by gunfire.

Our city and its leadership will continue to work hard every day to hold those accountable for senseless acts of violence such as this mornings incident, he said. It is imperative for everyone to work together to prevent and eliminate future acts of violence.

Put the guns down, they dont solve problems, they only create bigger problems, and destroy families and our city, Thurmond said. Birmingham and our residents deserve better.

Chaveda Willis (Facebook)

Authorities said Atkins, Willis and a man whose identity has not been released, were inside a Chevrolet Tahoe that arrived at UABs emergency about 2:17 a.m.

When the SUV got to UAB, another vehicle pulled up and opened fire on the Tahoe. Witnesses said they heard multiple shots fired, describing the sounds as iron pipes hitting.

The gunfire hit a UAB police vehicle and a hospital window, but no other people were injured in that shooting.

Birmingham and UAB police officers shut down the area surrounding the emergency room. The hospital was placed on lockdown.

Willis was pronounced dead at 2:30 a.m. Atkins was pronounced dead at 2:55 a.m.

The wounded man was admitted in critical condition.

Two other women showed up at the hospital with gunshot injuries, but they are expected to be OK.

Willis and Atkins are Birminghams 90th and 91st homicide victims this year. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 127 homicides including the 91 in Birmingham.

No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
An uptick in COVID hospitalizations and concerns over another surge has many people once again seeking out free virus testing kits.

Expiration of the Public Health Emergency on May 11 put an end to much of the free testing and many of the previously free kits mailed to the public have expired. You can check to see if the expiration date on your at-home test has been extended at a Food and Drug Administration site here.

While at-home kits may now come with a cost, free testing is available at some 15,000 retail locations across the country, CBS News reported. This includes locations such as CVS, Walgreens and other pharmacies and clinics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a website that allows you to search for free COVID testing sites. Users can search by distance and ZIP code or street address. You can search that site here.

You can also search for Alabama Department of Public Health testing sites here.

When should you get tested for COVID-19?

According to the CDC, people with symptoms should get tested immediately, preferrable with a PCR test as opposed to an antigen, or rapid, test. You can see the difference in those here. If you do use an antigen test, the CDC said a positive result is reliable but a negative one might not be. If your antigen test is negative, its recommended you take another antigen test after 48 hours or take a PCR test as soon as you can.

If you do not have symptoms but know youve been exposed to COVID-19, you should wait at least five full days after exposure before taking a test. Its also recommended people who dont have symptoms or recent COVID exposure to test if they are going to be around someone at higher risk.
Former U.S. Attorney General and ex-Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions suggested Americas founding fathers did not make a mistake by not abolishing slavery under the Constitution.

Sessions made the remark while speaking Tuesday to the Governors Commission on Teaching and Learning, where he argued educators teaching Alabama students about Americas founding are condemning the country on almost every category, the Alabama Daily News reported.

Did [the founders] make a mistake in not ending slavery in the Constitutionwell, it was a failure, but was it really a mistake? Sessions said, according to the outlet. Didnt it allow for the progress to occur? And its not perfect now, I know that, but most of the legal barriers have been knocked down. So I think we should celebrate America, we have every right to; it was the greatest advancement for human liberty, freedom, equality, and the respect for individuals at the time.

Sessions claimed Alabama students are being taught that America is fundamentally flawed.

We dont need to be implying to our students that the foundation is not honorable, and that the country isnt worthy of being respected and loved, Sessions told the commission.

He argued Alabama students should be taught to take pride in the country.

I want you to not denigrate history in civics, Sessions told the commission. I really think you cant have a great nation if you dont love it. I do think teaching history is important, and I do think the message should be that were going to help teachers, not dictate to them.

Gov. Kay Ivey created the commission through an executive order earlier this year. She said the group will have boots on the ground and help advise us on big changes we can make to recruit, retain, and prepare the teacher of tomorrow.
A roundup of conversations we're having daily on the site. Subscribe to the Reckon Daily for stories centering marginalized communities and speaking to the under-covered issues of the moment.

Update: A three-judge panel has issued an emergency stay, allowing the buoys to remain in the interim. Its unclear when there will a hearing regarding Abbotts appeal of the federal judges decision.

A federal judge in Texas has ruled that the state must remove its 1,000 foot long floating buoy barrier along the Rio Grande River following a complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), claiming that installing the obstruction presented humanitarian concerns.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who the suit names as a defendant, had the marine barriers placed in a stretch of river alongside Eagle Pass typically used by migrants to travel into the U.S.

The obstruction was launched as part of Operation Lone Star, a border security program enacted by Abbott in 2021. It is attached to a two-feet long anti-dive net made of stainless-steel mesh and separated by serrated saw blades. The body of one migrant was recently found attached to the structure.

Now, Abbotts administration has approximately nine days to get the barrier out of the water. The governor immediately appealed the decision Wednesday.

Our battle to defend Texas sovereign authority to protect lives from the chaos caused by President Bidens open border policies has only begun. Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Abbott said in a statement.

In an added effort to stop border crossings, the state also put up about two miles of border fencing which has left at least 133 migrants injured, according to the Houston Chronicle.

In July, Texas employees installed the water buoys without the consent of the federal government, which the DOJ argued is required because the state anchored them with concrete onto federal property. Additionally, the agency suggested that the barriers themselves are a violation of federal law.

We must all recognize that there are laws and policies in place  both domestic and international  to ensure that safety and security of everything working, living and traveling along the river, U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas, where the suit was filed, said in a written statement.

These laws cannot be ignored and my office will take and support the appropriate legal action to uphold them.

A federal judge agreed. Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nations navigable waters, U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra wrote in the ruling granting the DOJs preliminary injunction.

Abbotts administration is currently prohibited from installing additional structures of any kind into the river pending a final decision on the matter. Its unclear if Abbott intends to defy the most recent order following his offices filing of an appeal.

The Immigrant Legal Resource Center, which works to improve immigration law and policy, applauded Ezra for his decision.

The buoys are a symbol of the hate-filled and inhumane policies Gov. Abbott has embraced as he continues to wage war on immigrants seeking to make better lives for themselves, said the organizations Senior Texas Strategist Caroline Canizales in a press release.

We hope this ruling leads to the complete dismantling of Operation Lone Star.
The Declaration of Independence...America's first document of liberty. When is the last time you read it, or maybe you've never read it all? Why is it important that we even know it? For a document that is the foundation America was built upon, we don't hear much about the Declaration of Independence except on the Fourth of July. Even then, America's first document of liberty takes a backseat to barbecues, parades, and fireworks.

Schools certainly don't teach the Declaration of Independence with the same intensity as they do America's inherent racism, gender identity, and climate change.

Is it any wonder this country is weakening and possibly dying? Much like gender confusion, we're not sure who we are as Americans.

How did this happen, this radical yet gradual transformation? Why is the only thought uniting us right now "What the heck is happening to this country?"

The answer is simple. For generations, we farmed out our stewardship of liberty from ourselves to the government.

This was and is a tragedy in its truest definition. Picture us as the sheep, giving wolves the power to shepherd us.

Let's get this straight: government is God's divine construct for the people's protection and, therefore, necessary. The problem is, historically, that man's fallen nature and insatiable lust for more power corrupts governments. Unfortunately, America is a testament to that truism of man's fallen nature and insatiable lust for power as we slouch into tyranny.

Patriotic Americans have an inherent hatred of tyranny. It's in our DNA because tyranny sparked the American colonies to break away from the British crown. Hence the Declaration of Independence.

Those educated in the American public school system may have forgotten that the Declaration of Independence was a formal assertion by the people of the right to choose their own government. The first document of liberty presented to the world the colonists' case for revolution against British rule.

Here's the part most people know about the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Powerful and timeless words  a resounding testament to the wisdom of the Founding Fathers. But guess what: those words are the second paragraph of the Declaration.

What's in the opening paragraph, the opening statement of their case? This:

In Congress, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

In this introduction is the justification to separate from British rule according to the Laws of Nature and of God, the Creator of Nature. Simply put, they declared their revolution a righteous cause.

And here's what follows that section about "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness":

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Governments are instituted deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. This means that the government has power only if we consent to it. Put another way, government serves with our consent.

"That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it and to institute new Government." This is the part that our rulers want to keep the younger generation ignorant of: their right to get rid of government that's become destructive. It's a Right with a capital R to remove it and replace it with a government dedicated to protecting the country and the people.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

Of course, the Founders, in their brilliant wisdom, cautioned that that nothing is casual about revolution. It opens the door to the ugliness and brutality of war. Revolution can also be a double-edged sword: the government you get might be worse than the previous. A classic example was the French Revolution. Two modern examples include the communist takeover of Cuba (1959), led by Fidel Castro, and the overthrow of the Shah of Iran (1979).

As follows, the colonists took the course of revolution with prudent deliberation and presented their case to England and the world.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

The Founders then lay out in detail the long train of abuses and usurpations, which you can read here. Read and re-read, especially the passages made challenging because of the English of the time. Use a dictionary if needed.

After the extensive checklist of abuses comes the build-up to the robust climax, beginning with this statement:

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

That paragraph is timely. Seems like deja vu all over again.

The Founders ensured that our system of redress lay in our vote. But what is the state of our vote in America now? Instead of defending that sacred vote of the citizenry, bought and blackmailed politicians legislate to weaken our power at the ballot box.

Who is fighting for us? Local district attorneys? Many of them are corrupt. The Legislature? They are beholden to the DNC and the RNC instead of local interests. Congressmen and senators? With few exceptions, party interests trump the people. Federal judges? Certain jurisdictions place partisan politics above the rule of law. The president? The compromised Biden administration is America-last first and always.

So here we are, a sea of enemies within. It is up to us, the people. But what do we do? The odds seem against us.

Now you have an idea of what the 56 signers of the Declaration must have felt. Read the last line before the signatures:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Divine Providence is the governance of the God throughout His creation. The Founders were mostly God-fearing men who placed their faith and trust in His perfect will.

Many of these men lost their lives, fortunes and even families. As for their sacred honor, it has stood the test of time.

We have forgotten the meaning of the Declaration of Independence. In the times we are living, this blissful ignorance is not just unacceptable; it is negligence.

By not knowing the origin, the inflection points of this country, and the sacrifices made, we allow scoundrels to dictate who we are.

Make it your mission to study this fundamental deed of freedom. This is not a call for violence or revolution, but a clarion to throw off the spiritual and intellectual chains of Marxism, socialism, and communism that have clouded our thinking and divided us.

Become inspired by the faith and trust the Founding Fathers had for God. Learn America's first document of liberty to the point where you can articulate it for anyone, especially your children and grandchildren. We will re-embrace our American heritage when we fear God more than man.

Dex Bahr blogs at the Discerning Pundit.com and is the author of the book No Christian Man Is an Island: Leading the Spiritual Quest in America's Culture Wars. His latest book, American Christian: A Treatise of Spiritual, Cultural, and Political Discernment will be released in November.

Image: Josh Hallett via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Here's what never happened in the hospital during COVID: a doctor sat down next to a patient and said, "You have a choice. We can give you Remdesivir, which killed 53% of the patients in an Ebola trial. It was so bad the trial had to be shut down. And you'll notice here in Remdesivir's fact sheet, it says, 'Not a lot of people have used Remdesivir. Serious and unexpected side effects may happen.' Or we can give you ivermectin, a safe and effective drug that's been successfully used for decades, and send you home. Which do you prefer?"

The reason that conversation never happened is that it would have cost the hospital too much money. If the hospital gave you ivermectin and sent you home, the federal government paid the hospital $3,200. If the hospital gave you Remdesivir, the federal government paid the entire hospital bill, plus a 20% bonus. So the hospital executives' choice was to receive $3,200 or $500,000, which was the average hospital bill. No contest. Patients were going to get Remdesivir  whether they wanted it or not.

Informed consent died a grotesque death in the hospitals during COVID, and we need an autopsy. There was no information, and there was no consent, and without them, patients are reduced to helpless victims, exploited for corrupt financial gain and immoral experiments.

Informed consent has been enshrined in numerous judicial rulings as the foundation of ethical medical practice and seared into the public's conscience from the Nuremberg trials. Seven Nazi doctors were hanged in Germany by an American military tribunal for "murders, tortures, and other atrocities committed in the name of medical science." Yet murders, tortures, and other atrocities are exactly what was committed by medical staff in the hospitals against thousands of Americans during COVID.

Take, for example, Ray Lamar, who arrived in the emergency room with a message written with a black sharpie pen on his arm: " NO VENT NO REMDESIVIR." On his other arm, he wrote the same message and added his wife's name and phone number. Yet the doctors gave him Remdesivir anyway, without ever informing him. His widow Patti told me she constantly wonders what she could have done to save him.



Image via Patti Lamar.

Christine Johnson told the doctors that she discussed all her medications with her daughter, who is a nurse, and she concluded that she didn't want Remdesivir. It didn't matter. Christine was given Remdesivir while she was sleeping, and now her daughter Michelle doesn't have her mother.

Rebecca Stevens was an avid reader of Epoch Times, where she learned about Remdesivir's dangers. She declined Remdesivir on five separate occasions, as her hospital records confirm. But the medical staff didn't care what Rebecca wanted. She was given Remdesivir without her knowledge, and now Rebecca's five grandsons are bereft.

I asked Michael Hamilton how it's possible to give Remdesivir to patients without them knowing. Hamilton is a lawyer for several families who are suing California hospitals for the murder of their loved ones, and he's heard thousands of victims' stories. "They would lie right to your face," he said. "You'd tell the nurse that you didn't want Remdesivir and she'd say, 'Fine. But you're a bit dehydrated, so let's get some fluids in you.' And she'd hook up the IV, but it wasn't fluids. It was Remdesivir."

Hamilton told me that another favored tactic was to knock out patients with sedatives like morphine and fentanyl. While they lay there in a stupor, they were injected with Remdesivir.

If secret injections of Remdesivir weren't enough to kill you, the hospitals had more torture lined up. After all, the federal government paid hospitals a big bonus to ventilate patients  so patients were going to get ventilated, whether they wanted to or not. A lot of patients turned down being vented, because the whole process is a nightmare. You're painfully intubated, rendered unable to talk; your lungs start shredding, and you may acquire bacterial pneumonia, which the hospital will refuse to treat.

But "no" is not an acceptable answer when the hospital has money at stake. The medical staff's preferred method for gaining "consent" was relentless bullying, screaming, coercion, and threats until the patient finally caved. Patti Lamar, Ray's widow, told me that when she refused to let them ventilate her husband, the doctors screamed at her over and over, "You're killing him! You're killing him! You're killing him!" When she couldn't take it anymore, she reluctantly gave in. Ray died shortly thereafter, and Patti lives with the trauma of that moment.



Image via Dayna Stevens.

Michael Hamilton told me the fate of his friend who was a nurse, hospitalized in the place where she had worked for 26 years. When she refused ventilation, the doctor shrieked, "You're refusing medical advice! Now your insurance company won't pay your hospital bill when you die! Do you want to bankrupt your family? Do you? Do you?" The nurse panicked, and to protect her family, she "consented." Two days later, she died.

"This was a very common technique," Hamilton said. "I've heard it hundreds of times. You tell the patient that unless they do what the doctor says, they'll bankrupt their family because insurance won't pay the hospital bills. Nobody wants to do that to their family." Does this sound like informed consent to you? It sounds more like medical battery to me.

The entire hospital environment was a hellscape of abuse in which informed consent wasn't even a distant memory. Hamilton told me that patients were routinely denied all access to food and water, stupefied with 50 medications that included drugs contraindicated for each other, tortured with oxygen machines set at such high levels that they couldn't breathe, and zip-tied to the bed till their wrists bled and their hands turned black. His stories align with 1,000 collected testimonies of the COVID-19 Human Betrayal Memory Project, which documents the victims' fates.

The ultimate denial of informed consent was the hospitals' refusal to allow the patients to leave. "Patients lost all rights when they went in the hospital," Senator Ron Johnson told Patty Myers in her documentary, Making A Killing. "They became prisoners." A cottage industry of hospital rescues cropped up, as desperate family members hired lawyers to try to spring their loved ones out of hospital "care." Ralph Lorigo, a lawyer in Buffalo, told me that in every case when he succeeded in getting a patient's case before a judge and the judge ruled in the family's favor, the patient went home and survived. In all cases where the judge refused to hear the case or ruled against the family, the patient died.

Every American is a sovereign individual with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, not a sack of meat to be treated as a profit opportunity. Informed consent must be revived from the grave if Americans are to have a fighting chance against powerful financial interests allied against them.

Stella Paul is on X at @StellaPaulNY. You can reach her at stellapaulny@gmail.com.

Doctors in surgery image via Pxfuel.
Today in history witnessed an epic battle between Christians and Muslims. The sheer ferocity and valor displayed at the battle of Arsuf would make most otherwise breathtaking battle scenes emanating from Hollywood seem like childs play.

Context: in late August, 1191, Richard the Lionhearted, at the head of a large force of Crusaders, set out from Acre to Jaffa. Along with the fierce Syrian sun, the Christians were harried by a nonstop deluge of arrows from the hordes of Saladin, he who a few years earlier had all but annihilated the Crusaders at the Horns of Hattin.

Despite the casualties from arrows, sunstroke, snakebite, starvation, and disease, the Christian warriors remained undaunted and pressed on. Saladins own biographer, Baha al-Din, expressed dismay: I saw various individuals amongst the Franks with ten arrows fixed in their backs, pressing on in this fashion quite unconcerned Consider the endurance of these people, bearing exhausting tasks without any pay or material gain.

Finally, on September 6, as the Crusaders emerged from a dense wood, there on the vast plains of Arsuf, they saw all the forces of Islam marshalled before them, from Damascus and Persia, from the Mediterranean Sea to the East, writes a chronicler. There was not a single warlike Muslim people whom Saladin had not summoned to aid him in crushing the Christian people, for he hoped to wipe the Christians completely off the face of the earth.

Battle commenced on the morning of September 7, 1191. A wild din erupted from the Muslim camp. Drums, horns, and cymbals banged and brayed, to reverberant cries of Allahu Akbar and other horrible yells. As the Crusaders knelt in prayer and went into battle formation, the land all around resounded with the echo of their [Muslims] harsh cries and roaring noise. Suddenly, in the midst of this terrifying racket, thousands of Turks rushed down on our people on horses driven like lightning. The dust storm caused by this stampede filled the sky like a dark cloud. Behind the galloping Turks ran a devilish race, very black in color.

In this manner, the Muslims fell on our army from all sides... There was not a space for two miles around, not even a fistful, which was not covered with the hostile Turkish race. As they kept up their persistent assaults they inflicted very grave losses on our people.

Unlike the better rested and provisioned Muslims, the already exhausted Crusaders fought back as best they could. Unhorsed knights were seen walking on foot and returning blow for blow as far as means and strength allowed, even as the Turks galloped about and continued to rain down darts on them.

For long, Richard commanded his men not to break rank but stay in a defensive posture. Only when the entire Muslim army had gotten close enough, and their horses had tired, would he give the signal for a counteroffensive.

Inevitably, however, two knights who could not bear to wait any longer burst out of the line, whereupon everything was thrown into confusion. They charged at and began slaughtering their enemies. The rest of the Christians heard these two calling with loud voices for St Georges aid as they charged boldly on the Turks, and so immediately followed suit -- charging as one into the relentlessly attacking enemy.

On seeing this, Richard signaled for the general assault, and sped to where the fighting was thickest. He broke through his own men and crashed with thunderous violence into the enemy. Stunned by the strength of the blows he and his force inflicted on them, the Muslims fell back to the right and the left. Many were butchered on the spot, while a great number were but headless corpses trodden underfoot by friend and foe regardless. Driven into a battle frenzy, and in the words of the chronicler:

King Richard pursued the Turks with singular ferocity, fell upon them and scattered them across the ground. No one escaped when his sword made contact with them; wherever he went his brandished sword cleared a wide path on all sides. Continuing his advance with untiring sword strokes, he cut down that unspeakable race as if he was reaping the harvest with a sickle, so that the corpses of Turks he had killed covered the ground everywhere for the space of half a mile. The rest panicked at the sight of the dying and gave him a wider berth Constantly slaying and hammering away with their swords, the Christians wore down the terrified Turks, but for a long time the battle was in the balance. Each struck each other, each struggled to overcome; one drew back stained with blood, the other fell slain. How many banners and multiform flags, pennons and innumerable standards you would have seen fall to the ground!

In the end, the Christians prevailed, and the rout of the enemy was so complete that for two miles there was nothing to see except for people running away, although they had previously been so persistent, swollen with pride and very fierce. Arabic sources confirm the magnitude of this defeat.

Saladins lofty and invincible stature collapsed overnight. He, however, tried to blame his men. As the Crusaders under Richard continued making progress by taking Jaffa and consolidating their hold on the coast, Saladin berated his crestfallen captains:

The Christians travel through the land of Syria just as they like without meeting any opposition or resistance. Where are my soldiers great boasts and brilliant exploits now?... How the people of today have degenerated from our noble ancestors who gained so many brilliant and justly memorable victories against the Christians, victories which are retold to us daily and whose memory will endure forever!

One of Saladins emirs dared offer reply: Most sacred sultan, saving your majestys grace, you have blamed us unjustly, for we attacked the Franks with all our effort [to no avail]. He continued by lamenting Western armor, which is not like ours but rather incalculable, impenetrable.

But that was not all:

[T]here is something especially amazing about one of them. He threw our people into disorder and destroyed them. We have never seen his like nor known anyone similar. He was always at the head of the others; in every engagement he was first and foremost.. It is he who mutilates our people. No one can stand against him, and when he seizes anyone, no one can rescue them from his hands. They call him in their language Melech [King] Richard.

It took Saladin all his powers of self-control not to pull his beard and howl in rage.

This article was excerpted from the authors recent book, Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam, which features a chapter on Richard. Raymond Ibrahim is the Distinguished Senior Shillman Fellow at the Gatestone Institute and the Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Image: Public Domain
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was sentenced Tuesday to 22 years in prison for orchestrating what the Biden Department of Justice called a "seditious conspiracy" after a jury found sufficient evidence to convict and a judge rendered sentence.

U.S. district judge Timothy Kelly, who was appointed to the bench by Trump, said Tarrio was motivated by "revolutionary zeal" to lead the conspiracy that resulted in "200 men, amped up for battle, encircling the Capitol" on January 6, 2021. Noting that Tarrio had not previously shown any remorse publicly for his crimes, the judge said a stiff punishment was necessary to deter future political violence.

Judge Kelly further concluded that Tarrio's conduct constituted an official act of terrorism and applied an enhancement to his final sentence.

"Today's sentencing demonstrates that those who attempted to undermine the workings of American democracy will be held criminally accountable," said FBI director Christopher Wray.

By what standard of justice and by what standard of proof of anti-constitutional intent was Tarrio so sentenced?

In 1794, when the French Jacobins ramped up defense of their Republic of Virtue by terrorizing those who thought differently, they passed a law opening up the maw of voracious oppression to gorge upon the French people. That law created a Revolutionary Tribunal to "punish the enemies of the people."

Passed on June 10, 1794, this law has been known to historians as the Law of 22 Prairial for the day and month of its passage according to the new Revolutionary calendar adopted by the National Convention as part of the transformation of France from monarchy to guided democracy.

Under this law, every citizen was authorized to "seize conspirators and counter-revolutionaries and to arraign them before the magistrates." Every citizen was required to denounce the guilty "as soon as he knows of them."

Enemies of the people included, among others, those who sought to disparage or dissolve the "National Convention and the revolutionary government of which it is the center," abused the "principles of the Revolution or government laws and regulations by false and perfidious manipulations," deceived the people "in order to lead them into undertakings contrary to the interests of liberty," inspired "discouragement or disseminated false news in order to divide or disturb the people," or "misled public opinion or impaired the energy and purity of revolutionary and republican principles."

Finally, in a catch-all roundup of evil-minded malefactors, all those who "by whatever means or by whatever appearances they assume" had made efforts "against the liberty, unity, and security of the Republic, or who have labored to prevent the strengthening thereof" were declared enemies of the people.

Next, the Law of 22 Prairial made it easy to convict an accused. Proof could be either material or "moral"  in other words, suspicion, slander, or prejudiced opinion would suffice to convict. Once such "proof" was proffered, no witness could be called to testify in defense of an accused.

Proof necessary for conviction need only "secure the approval of every just and reasonable mind." A judgment could follow the "conscience" of the jurors, who had to be enlightened by love of country and dedicated to the triumph of the Republic and the ruin of its enemies.

This law provided for a heinous tyranny that still lives in infamy among civilized peoples along with Stalin's Gulag, Hitler's Holocaust, and Mao's re-education camps.

Is something tending along these lines now what we want in our America?

The trials and sentencing of persons for what they did on Jan. 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol were at least superficially complicit with the Law of 22 Prairial. Those accused by Democrats of making efforts against the "liberty, unity, and security" of a Democrat party government, or who had "labored to prevent the political strengthening" of such government, were judged guilty by others who may very well have been, in their conscience, "enlightened" by love of the Democrat party and "dedicated" to the triumph of the Democrat party over its enemies.

To go back to the 1794 origin of modern revolutionary justice as "Terror," one of the early victims of the Jacobins was Madame Roland, a moderate. Her last words, spoken at the foot of the guillotine, were "Liberty: what crimes are committed in your name."

Image via Pxfuel.
Liberty Safe produces residential and commercial gun safes, not just under its own name but also under the labels Cabelas, Remington, and John Deere. For years, people buying the product were concerned about pragmatic things: a safes price, ability to hold their weapons, and resistance to theft. What they didnt realize, though, was that Liberty Safe would hand over access codes the moment the FBI came a-knockin at safe owners doors. But that is exactly what it will do, and by its own admission, too.

Last week, Nathan Hughes was the most recent person to find the FBI on his doorstep based on allegations regarding January 6. (The FBI, while disinterested in BLM and Antifa riots, or the attack on the White House, or domestic crime, is determined to destroy anyone who was within a two-state radius of the White House on January 6.) I have no idea what Hughes is alleged to have done regarding January 6, but I do know what Liberty Safe did last week.

Image: Liberty Safe logo, fair use for editorial purposes

The Hodge Twins were the first to describe what happened: the FBI arrived at Hughess Fayetteville, Arkansas, home, arrested him at gunpoint, turned off his security cameras and internet, and tossed his house, including his gun safe:

 Last week, a friend of ours was raided by the feds over J6, his name is Nathan Hughes and hes from Fayetteville, Arkansas. Nate was raided by the FBI and arrested at gun point. His girlfriend (who just had a miscarriage) was held at gun point and put in handcuffs. The FBI pic.twitter.com/LOpMQ28eUJ  Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) September 5, 2023

Hughes later confirmed that Liberty Safe handed over information allowing the FBI to open his safe:

Update: Heres what happened with my Liberty Safe and the FBI raid. pic.twitter.com/Tf4dTimHS3  Nathan Hughes (@rallynate) September 6, 2023

That report set off a furor. I saw the Hodge Twins tweet when it first appeared and decided to hold my fire until I learned whether the FBI presented Liberty Safe with a warrant allowing agents to open the safe. Liberty Safe responded that there was a warrantexcept when you read the fine print, you learn that it was a warrant to search the house, not to open the safe:

If you can read Liberty Safes tweet, the pertinent language says, Our company protocol is to provide access codes to law enforcement if a warrant grants them access to the property. Thats a far cry from a warrant granting them access to a safe.

Also, what kind of a safe company is it that has a backdoor key to your safe? If thats the case, the safe is just a high school locker, with the principal holding the master code (or having the right to slice through your padlock). Moreover, the company website misleads consumers by implying that the only way to get into a safe is through mechanical means (i.e., a locksmith):

Why does .@libertysafeinc make their customers hire a locksmith if they lose their passcode? But if the Feds want in your safe, theyll immediately send them your code. pic.twitter.com/mPuRfiM6dT  Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) September 6, 2023

In effect, Liberty Safe has turned a search warrant into the type of general warrant that helped drive the American Revolution and that led to the Fourth Amendment. General warrants were issued to customs officials and allowed them to search a property anywhere, anytime, and in any way. That is why the Founders insisted that

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. (Emphasis added.)

Those paying attention were not pleased and have vowed that they will never buy a Liberty Safe product again, nor should anyone else:

Liberty Safe has a customer list and address and back door access to everyones safe. Who needs a federal gun registry when you have Liberty Safe?  Cernovich (@Cernovich) September 6, 2023

Are there any anti woke safe companies that wont give the feds a back door into your personal property??  Hodgetwins (@hodgetwins) September 6, 2023

NEW: Americas top gun safe manufacturer, Liberty Safe, gave the FBI an access code to a safe owned by someone who was present at the J6 protest.



We have officially found the Bud Light of gun safes. Enjoy going out of business, @libertysafeinc.



The situation gets even worse: On pic.twitter.com/MY7jSlJoyK  Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 6, 2023

The free market works quickly, though, and one companys stupid policies are another companys opportunity:

We firmly believe in our customers' right and freedom to control their personal property. pic.twitter.com/3UfdsvPTxN  SecureIt Gun Storage (@SecureItStorage) September 6, 2023

The last few years have provided a clarity long lacking in America. Between COVID, BLM and Antifa, and January 6, we are learning who in America believes in the Constitution and who does not, and who will comply with a government acting outside of the Constitution and who will not. I hate living in hard times, I really do, but its refreshing to be rid of those blinders that the mainstream media put on our faces in the 1950s, and that controlled much of our behavior and many of our beliefs ever since.
Last night, Tucker Carlson released his interview with Larry Sinclair, the man who alleges that, in 1999, while in Chicago, he did cocaine with Obama (who preferred to smoke his) and then performed oral sex on Obama. This is a tale that Sinclair has told before. Its worth noting because it reminds us of the partnership between the media and the Democrat party. There were also some interesting details about big tech and a strange death (or maybe a few strange deaths).

Here's the interview:

Ep. 22 Larry Sinclair says he had a night of crack cocaine-fueled sex with Barack Obama, and that Obama came back for more the next day. Assess for yourself. Heres our interview. pic.twitter.com/R6CXwKv6gs  Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) September 6, 2023

As I said, nothing new. However, I found it very amusing when, after hearing Sinclair detail how he shared drugs with Obama and performed oral sex on him, Tucker asked Sinclair if that left a bad taste in his mouth, and Sinclair said that it did. Tucker and Sinclair were obviously speaking about the entire two-day interlude, from first meeting Obama to never seeing the man again, but I can be remarkably literal and, well, you get the joke.

Image: Larry Sinclair and Tucker Carlson. X screen grab.

There were two interesting parts of the interview with which I was not familiar. The first was Sinclairs discussion about how the media and big tech went after him. Some media outlets lied about Sinclairs criminal history (which hed been quite open about in the YouTube video he originally made), grossly exaggerating it, and then dismissed him as a criminal and a crackpot.

Others blacked out the story after the Obama campaign said that, if they reported on it, the campaign would blacklist them. They chose access over investigative reporting and honesty. They also chose it over national security. After all, a president with a secret life of drugs and gay sex is perfectly situated to be blackmailed, with huge national security consequences. But for the national political media, getting a black man into the White House was more important than Americas well-being and safety.

Sinclair also explained that he was very quickly locked out of YouTube. YouTube gave someone else access to his account after he took a polygraph test and then deleted the video. Microsoft, meanwhile, allowed someone else access to his Hotmail account, with that person circulating his emails on the internet and creating an obscene automatic response to any emails sent to the account.

The second interesting thing was Sinclair explaining how, in late 2007, he reached out to the Obama campaign suggesting that the campaign stop telling all sorts of conflicting stories about Obamas drug use. The campaign, he said, should just admit that Obama was still using drugs at least as late as 1999. Sinclair didnt hear back from the campaign. Instead, he heard from Donald Young, who explained that the campaign wouldnt acknowledge any sex or drug stories about Obama.

According to Sinclair, Young eventually told him that he was the gay choirmaster at the Reverend Wrights church, the one where Obama sat in the pews for 20 years as Wright blasted America. He also said that he had a long-term intimate relationship with Obama. Not long after that, Young was murdered in his apartment. Youngs mother believes that it was to silence him (according to Sinclair).

Curious about this, I searched Youngs name on the internet and stumbled across an anti-Obama article from 2009. According to this article, Young was one of three gay men in Wrights congregation who were executed within less than two months of each other. The local media suspected a gay killing rampage. However, the 2009 article suggests that they were killed because its possible that all three, not just Young, could have talked about Obama.

Thats conspiracy theory stuff, but if true, it would also answer a question Ive always asked myself: If Obama was indeed having gay sex in Chicago, how was it that only one person talked? Can that many people really keep a secret? Well, they could if those who knew were getting knocked off. Then, its very likely that others would discover the virtue of silence.
Hunter Bided failed to pay federal income taxes on millions in income and some of that income was earned while Biden was living in California, so he likely failed to pay state taxes as well.

The Plea Agreement between Hunter Biden and federal prosecutors filed in the Delaware shows that Hunter failed to pay taxes on millions from companies and individuals in Ukraine, China and Romania. Hunter was living in California for at least part of the time according to the later filing by prosecutors to dismiss the tax charges in the plea bargain agreement and the intent to refile in California or the District of Columbia.

We can assume that Hunter failed to pay his state income tax as well, since federal and state returns are filed together.

Newsoms hand-picked Attorney General, Rob Bonta, has pledged to prosecute tax cheats. In a statement issued last year on a two-year prison sentence for an individual who filed to pay taxes on income approaching $1 million, Bonta said This sentence exemplifies my offices commitment to upholding Californias laws, and to holding individuals accountable for knowingly defrauding our taxpayers.

In spite of Bontas stated commitment, Hunter has thus far escaped any prosecution in California and neither Bonta nor Newsom has pledged to do anything about it. California is especially in need of revenue since the states budget is about $30 billion in the red.

Of course, Newsom would face political backlash if he did push for a prosecution, but we can certainly expose his and his AGs hypocrisy if failing to do so. Also, if Hunter were convicted in a State Court, the President could not pardon him. He could serve jail time.

Richard Henry Lee is a pen name.

Image: Photo illustration by Monica Showalter with use of image by Acaben/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 2.0, and Pixabay.
During COVID, there were allegedly no treatments available, according to the FDA and CDC. Even through a number of front-line doctors were having success with ivermectin and HCQ, the CDC and FDA put real barriers in place for working doctors to utilize those treatments. Many doctors were threatened with losing their license if they continued to treat patients, and some doctors were fired.

As the dust has begun to settle, there is a legal issue that might explain the lack of curiosity about a potential cheap treatment for COVID. If there had been a treatment for COVID, then the Emergency Use Authorization could not be used for the vaccine. Explained here very well, "Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) is a mechanism used by the FDA to facilitate making products available quickly during a public health emergency, when there is no other adequate and approved medical product available."

Well, an interesting development occurred when doctors sued the FDA for interfering in their off-label use of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID. The FDA has now tried to argue that it never told anyone not to use it. It just made fun of people for considering using it.

I believe that the people running the FDA have misrepresented the pressures applied to doctors and pharmacists not to prescribe this and help people.

And we are also learning that FDA and CDC had plenty of warning that the so-called vaccines were dangerous, information they completely hid and ignored.

This is all a setup for a few thoughts.

1) An international study has concluded that ivermectin prevented more serious illness in approximately 62% of cases. See the Gateway Pundit article referenced above, and find this fabulous line: "There have now been 99 Ivermectin COVID-19 controlled studies that show a 62% improvement in COVID patients." Think of the number of ventilator hours saved, and the number of hospital beds that could have been freed up with even a 50% effective rate.

2) Ivermectin was been approved for human use since 1996. At the start of the pandemic, we had 24 years of data on ivermectin. In addition, if you review the emails being sent to Dr. Fauci, as early as January 2020, international doctors were describing treatment success with ivermectin and HCQ. Instead, we had to have an expensive drug for treatment with little to no data. How many human data are in the public sphere about Remdesivir and the so-called vaccines? (Hint: It is nearly zero).

3) Can informed consent for a treatment actually be given if there is no public information available to make the informed consent? We are still waiting on detailed knowledge of Remdesivir and the so-called vaccines. This was a major failing of the courts in my humble opinion.

4) Would we have needed to lock down anything (except to protect the most vulnerable) with the knowledge that a treatment existed and was able to make the risk more manageable for nearly everyone?

5) Remdesivir was quite literally killing people as they were used as test subjects with no friend or family allowed to speak for them. This seemed like a risky treatment that did more harm than good.

6) If there was a conspiracy to defraud the American people about ivermectin, and if it is a treatment with substantial benefits, is the Emergency Use Authorization actually valid? And can people sue the drug-makers over the harm they have endured?

7) Who was working to hide the truth and why? Was it just about money for a new vaccine that could generate no-risk returns for Big Pharma?

Congress and the Judicial Branch failed the American people at every turn. Instead of some skepticism of the claims being made, many judges accepted assertions from Dr. Fauci and others as actual facts. In several Supreme Court hearings, justices quoted the talking points in the briefs rather than the actual facts. Congressional oversight has been nonexistent, and they are already preparing to do this to us again.

Why should you care, and why should we answer question #6? The vaccine was improperly approved. It is not a vaccine, and it is hurting people even now. Also, the vaccines do not work. Because the FDA and CDC claimed that no treatment was available, they were able to approve the vaccine under emergency use authorization  removing all risk from Big Pharma. And no one can sue anyone over it because it was approved for an Emergency Use Authorization. Is it possible for the best lawyers in American to crack open the improperly issued EUA and allow lawsuits for harm? Is it possible for Congress to start investigating and preparing for a Republican administration to take names and hold people accountable?

The politics and the so-called science moved so much faster than the law and oversight. Rumbles of more lockdowns, new vaccines, and mask mandates are already in the air. Our president started wearing a mask this week and has begun talking about a new vaccine "that works." This seems like a tacit acknowledgement that the so-called vaccines did not work. And who gets to define and monitor the success of these drugs? The same people who pushed the ineffective vaccine? I think I'll pass, again.

Maker S. Mark (a pseudonym) is a patriot who can understand and explain advanced math and science and is worried about the state of the nation and how to solve the problems we face. United we stand, divided we fall.

Image via Pexels.
In the far eastern edge of the desolate Taklamakan Desert, hundreds of kilometers from the nearest settlement, a clump of dense wooden stakes mark the spot of a 4,000-year-old cemetery.

The cemetery lies on top of a small sand dune. The wooden posts, whose tops have been splintered by centuries of strong wind, are the tombstones of those who lie buried beneath. The dry summer and frigid winters have helped preserve the bodies to such an extent that one can still see the features and contours of their faces. One of these mummified bodies, nicknamed the Beauty of Xiaohe, must have been a stunningly beautiful women when she was alive. Her body has survived even down to her delicate eyelashes.

The cemetery was discovered in the early 20th century by a local hunter named Ordek. The Uighur hunter was wandering through a patch of the inhospitable desert when he stumbled across the forest of wooden poles with human bones and ancient religious artifacts littered around. Believing the place to be haunted, he hurried away never to return again. Decades later, a Swedish explorer and archeologist, Folke Bergman, was poking around the region looking for ancient ruins related to the fabled Silk Road when someone directed him to Ordek. Ordek explained to Bergman how to find the cemetery but refused to go with him. Bergman managed to find the site anyhow and named it Ordeks Necropolis.

Bergman excavated about a dozen bodies, and recovered some 200 artifacts. He left a fairly detailed account of his findings in the book Archaeological Researches in Sinkiang Especially the Lop-nor Region. The entire book can be read online now in the digital format. Bergman noted the unusual shape of the coffins, which looked like overturned boats. After placing the dead in these overturned boats, they were carefully covered with cowhide and buried in the sand along with straw baskets containing wheat and other food grains. Wooden stakes were then driven into the ground. The entire site, Bergman wrote, was littered with oar-shaped wooden monuments and wooden human figures.

The cemetery was nearly forgotten until the early 2000s, when Chinese archeologists conducted an expedition to the site. They found that Bergmans discovery was far more remarkable than initially thought.

Archaeologists found hundreds of bodies buried five layers deep, along with intact mummiesthe oldest and best-preserved mummies in the Tarim Basin area of China.

"Never before have such a large number of mummies been found in a single site anywhere in the world," said Idelisi Abuduresule, a researcher and head of the Xinjiang Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute.

Archaeologists also discovered miscellaneous large wood-carved figures and animals, small wooden masks, and wood carvings of male and female genitalia, among other things.

All these led us into a mysterious world permeated with an original, religious atmosphere, said Idelisi. The rich cultural connotation of the Xiaohe Tombs is unparalleled among Chinese and foreign archaeological discoveries.

The Ordeks Necropolis was now called the Xiaohe Cemetery, after a dry river nearby. But archeologist prefer to call it the Small River Cemetery No. 5.

One of the more interesting finds is that although the cemetery lies in China, the corpses have strong European features with brown hair and long noses. Genetic analyses of the mummies showed that the maternal lineages of the Xiaohe people originated from both East Asia and West Eurasia, whereas the paternal lineages all originated from Europe. Archeologists believe that the European and Siberian populations probably intermarried before entering the Tarim Basin some 4,000 years ago. The Tarim Basin was already dry when the Xiaohe people entered it forcing them to live at the edge of survival until the lakes and rivers on which they depended finally dried up around A.D. 400.
In 1925, when British archeologist Leonard Woolley and his team were excavating at Ur, in the modern-day Dhi Qar Governorate of Iraq, they discovered a curious collection of artefacts among the ruins of a Babylonian palace. What made this discovery especially noteworthy was the fact that these items hailed from diverse geographical regions and historical periods, yet they were neatly assembled together. A striking feature was the presence of labels accompanying many of these artifacts, giving details about the objects. These inscriptions were written in three languages, one of which was Sumerian. Woolley determined that these artifacts were, in fact, early examples of museum pieces, thoughtfully collected, preserved, and thoroughly documented. This site marked the inception of the world's first museum, and the remarkable woman who is believed to have been its curator is the Mesopotamian princess, Ennigaldi-Nanna.

The Ziggurat of Ur near which the worlds first museum was founded. Photo credit: Wasfi Akab/Flickr

Ennigaldi inherited a profound appreciation for history and archaeology from her father, King Nabonidus, who ruled over Babylon from 556 to 539 BC. King Nabonidus displayed an exceptional passion for these fields, leading expansive excavations and incorporating references to previous rulers in his writings. He is the earliest known person in history to attempt to chronologically date archaeological artifacts. Indeed, many of the items featured in the collection were originally discovered by him. It is reasonable to infer that Ennigaldi's own fascination with archaeology and history was nurtured by her father's deep interest in these subjects.

In 547 BC, Ennigaldi was appointed high priestess, known as entu, of Ura position that had remained unoccupied since the time of Nebuchadnezzar I in the 12th century BC. The entu held a sacred duty to the moon-god Sin (referred to as Nanna in Sumerian antiquity) and held the highest ecclesiastical authority in the land. Supposedly, the entu was chosen by divine intervention, with the god Sin himself making the selection evident through omens. The motivation to reinstate this venerable office was said to have arisen in Nabonidus after he interpreted a partial lunar eclipse in 554 BC as an auspicious omen. Additionally, the discovery of a stele depicting the investiture of Nebuchadnezzar I's daughter as the entu further inspired him to restore the position. According to Nabonidus, his choice of Ennigaldi as entu was made only after a meticulous and extensive process of divination, which confirmed that she was indeed the selected candidate of Sin.

As the entu, Ennigaldi dedicated a significant portion of her religious duties to the worship of Sin, particularly during the evening hours, within a small azure chamber atop the Ziggurat of Ur. Her official residence, known as the giparu, stood adjacent to the ziggurat. Among the entu's most vital religious responsibilities was to assume the role of the human wife of the god Sin and to carry out rituals associated with this sacred union, although the exact details of these rites remain shrouded in mystery.

A clay cylinder inscribed with a description in three languages, as used in Ennigaldi's museum to accompany an ancient artifact; these are the earliest known "museum labels". Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Furthermore, the entu was tasked with offering prayers for the well-being and longevity of the king, who symbolized the embodiment of Babylonia's prosperity. She also played a role in providing comfort and adornment to Ningal, the divine consort of Sin. Additionally, the entu held the administrative reins of the vast estates and wealth associated with the Ur temple complex.

In addition to these pivotal duties, Ennigaldi also took charge of, and quite possibly taught in a school tailored for young women aspiring to become priestesses, primarily hailing from upper-class Babylonian families.

In 530 BC, Ennigaldi founded a museum containing artifacts from past Mesopotamian civilizations. It was located about five hundred feet southeast of the ziggurat.

Some of the objects on display may have been personally excavated by Ennigaldi and her father. While the majority of these artifacts hailed from the 20th century BC, the collection encompassed a vast timespan, spanning approximately 1,500 years from 2100 BC to 600 BC. Ennigaldi took the initiative to establish a comprehensive research program centered around the museum's assortment of relics, and it is presumed that she herself undertook the responsibility of cataloging and labeling these collections.

Among the items on display were artifacts once in possession of Nebuchadnezzar II, including a ceremonial mace-head, a Kassite boundary stele (kudurru), and a meticulously restored statue of Shulgi, a renowned Sumerian monarch of Ur who reigned from 2094 to 2046 BC, which had been carefully restored to preserve the inscriptions on it. The museum boasted an array of clay tablets and cones, each inscribed with descriptions of the objects in three distinct languages, including Sumerian. Furthermore, the museum featured tablets containing lists detailing the items on display, marking the earliest known instances of museum catalogs.

Ennigaldis later life is not known. The museum itself ceased to exist around 500 BC. Deteriorating climate conditions, including a change in the course of the Euphrates river, a drought, and the recession of the Persian Gulf caused Ur to rapidly decline and rendered the city uninhabitable, and was abandoned.
Promoting a human community with a shared future

13:46, September 07, 2023 By Liu Jianchao ( China Daily

JIN DING/CHINA DAILY

In March this year, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, proposed the Global Civilization Initiative at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting. The GCI was the third global initiative he proposed to promote global organic unity after the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative in order to build a human community with a shared future.

The unity, following the trend of human progress and in response to the unprecedented changes in the world, points to the direction in which the world, which now is at a crossroad, should go. It is a new development of Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy and speaks volumes about the sense of history, mission and responsibility, and the global vision of Chinese communists with Xi Jinping as their chief representative. To break new ground in advancing major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, we must get a sound grasp of the scientific nature and the considerable significance of this unity and the inherent relationship between the vision and the three global initiatives.

From the historical perspective, the three global initiatives, reflecting three major themes of human progress, constitute three pillars that support the overarching vision of a human community with a shared future.

In the long river of history, different civilizations, flowing and converging from time to time, have surged forward like waves. Along with the continuous progress of human society and the deepening of globalization, countries have become increasingly connected and inter-dependent, forming a community with a shared future.

People of all countries have come to realize that material abundance, peace and stability and cultural prosperity are what all societies aspire for. To achieve them, we need growth, security and civilization, which complement and reinforce each other.

As an ancient Chinese saying goes, "Only when the granary is full will people learn etiquette; only when people are well fed and clothed will they know honor and shame." Growth is the basis for security and civilization. Only when all countries prosper can peace last and civilizations thrive.

"Stability brings a country prosperity, while instability leads a country to poverty," is another ancient Chinese saying. Security is a prerequisite of growth and civilization. Chinese people in ancient times believed that the civilized tend to enjoy safety while the uncivilized are more prone to face troubles and encounter danger. Civilization develops on the basis of economic growth and security. It is the accumulation of a people's cultural pursuit and carries the imprint of a nation's history. It has a gradual and imperceptible influence on people's way of thinking and doing things, providing spiritual strength to the cause of development and security.

The three global initiatives, inherently connected and reinforcing each other, point the way forward for the progress of human society from three different perspectives: growth, security and civilization. They are the main buttresses supporting the vision to build a human community with a shared future.

The GDI, from the perspective of growth, answers the question of what development philosophy people need and how to achieve global development. It is aimed at creating the material foundation for a human community with a shared future. The GSI, from the viewpoint of security, focuses on the issue of what sort of security humanity needs and how to achieve universal security. It is aimed at providing security guarantee for the community. The GCI, from the perspective of the upper structure, answers the question of how to view different civilizations and promote exchanges and mutual-learning among them. It aims to build the cultural foundation for the human community.

From the perspective of practice, the three global initiatives, focusing on prominent issues amid the profound changes unseen in a century, provide viable paths for the world to build a human community with a shared future.

Today, our world, our times and the historical course are changing in ways like never before. The global economic recovery is weak and faltering, various security challenges keep emerging, misunderstandings, estrangement and conflicts among civilizations still exist, and deficits in global peace, development, security and governance are getting from bad to worse. With the world entering a new round of turbulence and transformation, humanity has once again reached a crossroad in history. Its future depends on the choice of all peoples around the world.

At this historical juncture, CPC Central Committee General Secretary Xi Jinping, with his great foresight, has set the direction for the world by proposing the vision of building a human community with a shared future as the overarching goal, and the three global initiatives as the action plans to address the outstanding issues facing humanity, calling on all countries to join the just cause.

The three global initiatives, centering on the overarching goal of building a human community with a shared future, are three well-conceived prescriptions that aim to cure the fundamental ills of the world. This is an excellent example of a problem-oriented approach. Targeting issues like humanity's survival, development and modernization, the GDI effectively responds to the strong aspiration and urgent need of the international community, developing countries in particular, to achieve faster economic growth.

It also focuses on tackling the unbalanced and inadequate development within and among nations, thus setting the direction for the cause of global development and global cooperation on development. Going forward, China will work hard to implement the GDI, so as to help the international community to achieve the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at a faster pace and inject strong impetus into global economic growth. On issues related to conflicts, wars, stability and peace, the GSI sheds light on a practical pathway to global security governance. It serves not only as a sound guidance for humanity to deal with global security challenges, but is also a viable solution to regional hot-spot issues and geopolitical conflicts.

China's success in brokering a rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and its commitment to promoting the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis through peace talks are all cases in point of how we address security dilemmas by following the GSI. Targeting issues such as misunderstandings, estrangement, lack of mutual trust and inclusiveness among civilizations, the GCI aims to achieve dialectical unity based on the commonality and despite the diversity of civilizations, by seeking the common ground among them while fully respecting their diversity.

On the one hand, the GCI highlights the importance of inheritance as each civilization has its own rich past. It also emphasizes the need to fully harness the relevance of its past to the present as history is a mirror to understand the present and the future. It then advocates building a global network for inter-civilization dialogue and robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation to promote mutual understanding and friendship among people of all countries and reach a consensus on inter-civilization exchanges and mutual learning.

From the perspective of philosophy, the vision of building a human community with a shared future and the three global initiatives demonstrate salient theoretical characteristics and the unity of the worldview and methodology.

The vision of building a human community with a shared future provides scientific answers to the epochal questions of what kind of world we should build and how to build it. The vision, together with the new outlook on growth, security and civilization encompassed in the three global initiatives, represent the worldview of China and the Chinese communists in the new era. They also provide the methodology for putting that worldview into practice, as they contain not only profound political wisdom but also many practical pathways and measures. Thus, they represent the unity of both the worldview and the methodology.

The vision of building a human community with a shared future and the three global initiatives are scientific. They encapsulate the stances, viewpoints, and methods of Marxism, reflecting the hallmarks of Marxism, and demonstrating salient theoretical characters. Underpinned by dialectical and historical materialism, the vision and the three global initiatives reveal the laws governing the development of human society and its future direction. They also provide scientific methods and pathways to advance human society, demonstrating the great power of truth.

The vision of building a human community with a shared future and the three global initiatives are people-centered. Focusing on the aspiration for a better life of the peoples across the world, the vision and the three global initiatives highlight the overall interests of humanity and strive to improve the common wellbeing of all peoples.

Moreover, their vision of caring for every individual is self-evident. Responding to the yearning of peoples of different countries for peace, development and cooperation, the vision and the three global initiatives are committed to creating the right conditions to realize and guarantee each individual's well-rounded development.

The vision of building a human community with a shared future and the three global initiatives are practical. They embody the CPC's strong sense of responsibility to promote global harmony through concrete actions. And facts will prove their correctness and imperativeness. Their meaning and theoretical system will be further enriched with the changes in the situation.

From the perspective of civilization, the vision of a human community with a shared future and the three global initiatives, rooted in the Chinese civilization, steer theoretical innovation on international relations in the new era.

As CPC Central Committee General Secretary Xi Jinping said, "To meet our common challenges and create a better future for all, we look to culture and civilization to play their role, which is as important as the role played by economy, science, and technology."

The Chinese civilization advocates kinship between all people and all creatures, and peace among all nations as it believes that humanity rises and falls together, which underlies the way we Chinese view and understand societies and peoples of different regions and languages. For us, an ideal society pursues the common good as a just cause and advances common interests. Sound economic ethics put people's enrichment and well-being first and uphold justice while pursuing common interests. The right security concept favors peace over war, and believes that the essence of using force is to stop violence. The correct way to engage with other civilizations is to seek harmony without uniformity and appreciate other cultures and promote shared prosperity.

The most important principle to uphold when interacting with other countries is credibility, amity and good-neighborliness. What the vision of a human community with a shared future and the three global initiatives pursue, namely peaceful co-existence, win-win cooperation, inclusiveness, and shared growth, have all along been a part of the Chinese civilization. They speak volumes about the defining features of the Chinese civilization  its continuity, creativity, consistency, inclusiveness, and peaceful nature. They are a fine example of how our Party applies the basic tenets of Marxism to China's specific realities and its fine traditional culture. They also represent a major breakthrough by the Party in its exploration for the future of humanity.

Traditional Western theories of international relations tend to view the world from the perspective of strength and geopolitics. Theories such as "hegemonic stability" and the "clash of civilizations" are imbued with exclusionary ideas. In contrast, the core tenets of the vision of a human community with a shared future and the three global initiatives are rooted in the Chinese civilization.

At the same time, they are highly consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter including developing friendly relations among nations based on sovereign equality and respect for equal rights of peoples, maintaining international security by collective and peaceful means, and establishing international cooperation to solve global economic, social and/or cultural problems. These creative and ingenious views on international relations demonstrate Oriental wisdom and provide a new perspective and paradigm for humanity to think about ways of engaging with other nations and ways to tackle global challenges.

Such a mindset, totally different from that of the traditional Western theories, determines that China will never tread the path of seeking hegemony even when it grows in strength, engage in hegemonism or power politics, pursue its own security at the cost of others, stoke divisions or confrontations, or create small circles to alienate those with views different from its own. Instead, China will remain committed to promoting world peace, driving global development and safeguarding the international order.

The vision of a human community with a shared future and the three global initiatives uphold and apply Marxist stances, viewpoints and methods, and constitute a well-developed system of thought with compelling logic. They reflect China's keen grasp of the law of history and its civilization, and its deep reflection on the questions that have emerged in modern times.

The three global initiatives, which are interconnected, interdependent and mutually reinforcing, provide a strong underpinning for the vision of building a global community with a shared future and offer China's solution to build a better world. On the new journey ahead, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we, who have undertaken the Party's external work, will continue to implement Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy, hold high the banner of the human community with a shared future, and pool positive energy from across the world to make the three global initiatives a grand success.

We will honor the Party's solemn commitment to seeking progress for humanity and harmony for the world, and make even greater contributions to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the advancement of the cause of human progress.

The author is minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee.

The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
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DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman believes the US government should use Nvidia chips as leverage to push the adoption of AI rules across the world.

The White House has already invited Big Tech to form a union to battle and mitigate AI risks. Major companies like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI are a part of this group to highlight and reduce AI risks for US citizens and the rest of the world. The group is committed to rigorously testing AI models before releasing them to the public. Investing in cybersecurity and Identifying content produced by AI are some other preventive measures that must be applied.

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According to the Fortune report (via FT), Suleyman claims that the widespread use of Nvidia chips in training large language models such as ChatGPT and Google Bard allows Washington to push others into obeying its AI rules. The DeepMind co-founder added that Nvidia processors are an incredibly practical chokepoint. And would allow the US to impose itself on all other actors.

DeepMind co-founder asks the US government to impose its AI regulations on others by using Nvidia chips

Referring to the agreement made between the White House and Big Tech, Suleyman says any AI developer who is a customer of Nvidia must sign up for at least the voluntary commitments and presumably even more. Nvidia has not yet responded to the case. Other companies that made the agreement stayed tight-lipped so far about their measures to mitigate AI risks.

Suleymans former company, DeepMind, was acquired by Google in 2015. Its now the heart of AI development for the tech giant. After leaving Google in 2022, Suleyman founded Inflection AI, a machine learning startup aiming to create personal AI for everyone. The startup is now valued at $1.3 billion and recently launched chatbot Pi as a digital assistant.

While DeepMind co-founder blamed the US for falling behind, he praised the EU for heading in the right direction. Suleyman also said the odds of passing legislation in the US are very low.

In an interview with The Diary Of A CEO channel on YouTube, Suleyman highlighted the potential dangers of AI for the human race and asked for containment. He said AI can be a very dangerous weapon if it falls into the hands of the wrong people.
Most Android users turn to Google Calendar to manage their lives. Its integration with Google Tasks is tight, and that makes using both of these services seamless. According to Android Police, Google Calendar will automatically hide completed tasks.

If you use Google Tasks and Calendar, then you know the struggle of seeing a cluttered Calendar interface. The completed remain in your Calendar interface, and they can clutter the whole app. If left unattended, this could really make for a messy interface.

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Thankfully, Google Calendar will automatically hide completed tasks

At the moment, this seems to still be rolling out, as not everyone is seeing it right now. As you can imagine, when you mark a task as complete in Google Tasks, that task will automatically be hidden in Google Calendar.

This is a great way to clear up the interface if you have a bunch of tasks. If you want to show the tasks again, its a simple task to bring them back. If you have the feature, youll see the toggle in the general settings. Youll see the toggle right under the Show week number toggle. At the moment, it seems that this could be a server-side update, so youll probably have to wait a bit for it to make it to your device.

In other Google Calendar news

Google Calendar now shows Microsoft Outlook attendees when in a meeting. Microsoft Outlook users are able to invite Google Calendar users to meetings. However, previously, the Outlook users name would not be visible to the Google Calendar user.

However, Google eventually changed. So, if you get a meeting invite from a Microsoft Outlook user, youll be able to see the users name. This is great because youd want to know whos inviting you to the meeting. If this is a business meeting, this is information you should have.
MediaTek today announced that it has successfully developed a 3nm smartphone processor. The Taiwanese chipmaker became the worlds first semiconductor company to formally announce a 3nm chipset for smartphones. Samsung and Qualcomm are using 4nm process nodes for their next-gen flagship chipsets. Apples upcoming Bionic A17 SoC for the iPhone 15 series will be a 3nm solution, but its not yet official.

MediaTeks first 3nm processor will be manufactured using TSMCs industry-leading 3nm chip fabrication technology. However, the company hasnt shared many details about the chip, not even its name. It has only said that the chipset will be a flagship offering under its Dimensity lineup. It will enter mass production next year. Devices powered by the chip will arrive on the market in the second half of 2024.

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According to MediaTek, its first 3nm solution wont be limited to smartphones and tablets. The Taiwanese chip giant also expects the chip to power intelligent cars and various other devices. It says the processor is equipped with technologies necessary to meet the ever-increasing user experience requirements for mobile computing, high-speed connectivity, artificial intelligence (AI), and multimedia.

We are committed to our vision of using the worlds most advanced technology to create cutting-edge products that improve our lives in meaningful ways, said MediaTek President Joe Chen. TSMCs consistent and high-quality manufacturing capabilities enable MediaTek to fully demonstrate its superior design in flagship chipsets, offering the highest performance and quality solutions to our global customers and enhancing the user experience in the flagship market.

MediaTek will benefit from TSMCs more efficient 3nm process

TSMCs 3nm process technology brings power, performance, and logic density improvements over older generations. Compared to its 5nm solutions, 3nm chips will deliver 18 percent after performance at the same power. Keeping the speed unchanged will result in a 32 percent power reduction. 3nm chips also bring a 60% increase in logic density, freeing up some space inside devices. Mediatek will benefit from these improvements.

As said earlier, the Taiwanese firm will beat both Samsung and Qualcomm to the 3nm race. The latter two companies are sticking to the 4nm tech for at least one more year. Their 3nm smartphone chips wont be available until early 2025. So MediaTek will have a few months of headstart over its two arch-rivals in the semiconductor industry. Time will tell whether this helps it make further inroads into the premium phone segment, which is largely dominated by Qualcomm.
Threat actors are always on the lookout for new means to gain unauthorized access and steal money. Now, according to a new report from cybersecurity firm Morphisec, threat actors have developed a new strain of malware known as Chaes 4, which utilizes Googles DevTools Protocol to illicitly gather data from its victims.

Originally identified as malware targeting e-commerce customers in Latin America, the latest iteration of Chae$ 4 introduces new techniques for extracting credentials and employs a sophisticated approach to intercept clipboard data. Additionally, the malwares reliance on Googles DevTools Protocol signifies a strategic shift in its tactics, providing direct access to a victims browser and an array of intrusive capabilities.

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How does the attack work?

According to the report, when a potential victim visits a compromised website, the threat actors present a deceptive pop-up message, enticing them to download an installer for Java Runtime or an antivirus solution. Upon installation, the malware deploys a malicious MSI file, which subsequently initiates a core module known as ChaesCore.

From there, ChaesCore establishes a communication channel with the command-and-control (C2) server and retrieves additional modules, which allow the malware to gather comprehensive information about the victims device, and extract stored credentials from the browser. To make matters worse, certain modules are even capable of intercepting financial transactions on the victims device, thus posing a significant risk.

Who is behind the Chaes malware attacks?

In early 2022, security experts at Avast traced these attacks back to a group known as Lucifer, which primarily targets organizations in the banking and logistics sectors. However, it is important to note that these threat actors, with over 800 compromised WordPress websites, are currently focusing on Latin America, particularly Brazil.

It has a specific focus on customers of prominent platforms and banks such as Mercado Libre, Mercado Pago, WhatsApp Web, Itau Bank, Caixa Bank, and even MetaMask. Furthermore, dozens of CMS (Content Management) services havent been spared either, including WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and Magento, reads the report.
The Xiaomi 13 series was announced on December 11 in China, last year. It arrived to global markets months after that. Well, according to a new report, the Xiaomi 14 series could launch sooner than expected.

The Xiaomi 14 series could launch sooner than you think

Based on the information from Digital Chat Station, a well-known tipster, the Xiaomi 14 could arrive in November. In fact, it could arrive before November 11, so in early November, basically.

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The tipster seems to be quite sure about this. November 11 is actually Double 11 in China, its a big sales day also known as the Singles Day event. Xiaomi allegedly wants to release the phones before this date due to the popularity of the Xiaomi 13 series.

Some of you may be wondering if this is doable, due to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 launch. Well, Qualcomm is doing its launch earlier this year too, on October 24. So the timing fits. The Xiaomi 14 series could actually be the first to get the new chip.

The Xiaomi 14 phones will get a new main camera

The Xiaomi 14 devices likely wont look much different than the Xiaomi 13 series. What is rumored is that the Xiaomi 14 phones will get a new camera sensor, a 50-megapixel 1/1.28-inch camera. Do note that were talking about the Xiaomi 14 and Xiaomi 14 Pro, as the Ultra model will likely arrive later on.

The Xiaomi 14 is said to include a 4,860mAh battery, and support 90W wired, and 50W wireless charging. The Pro model will include a 5,000mAh battery, and support 120W wired, and 50W wireless charging.

We still dont have a lot of information about either of these two devices. You can, however, expect both of them to offer a 120Hz display, and high-end specs overall.

Leica lenses and some camera software will once again be a part of the package. The partnership between Leica and Xiaomi is going strong.
NASA has been hunting for life on Mars for the past years; doing numerous explorations to find signs of life.

However, one scientist believes that the International Space Union might have accidentally killed life on the Red Planet.

Scientist Claims NASA Accidentally Killed Life on Mars

According to Live Science, Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist at the Technical University of Berlin, suggested that NASA might have accidentally killed living organisms on Mars.

He said this via his official Big Think article, which was published on June 27. The space experts shared that he was invited to speak at a symposium, which was organized by the Amsterdam Royal Palace Foundation.

He said that the conference focused on the search for extraterrestrial life. Dirk said that he shared a possibility that many people will find provocative.

"I dropped a suggestion that some people surely will find provocative: that we already did find life on Mars nearly 50 years ago - but that we inadvertently killed it," said the astrobiologist in his official blog post.

The scientists said that NASA possibly killed Mars' living things when it landed on the Red Planet back in 1976; the year when NASA's Viking landers reached the planet.

Read Also: India Seeks To Observe Sun in New Cosmic Mission Following Historic Moon Landing

NASA Experiments Too Much for Life on Mars?

Dirk explained that NASA's Viking landers in the mid-1970s reached the surface of Mars. These spacecraft carried scientific tools to conduct life-detecting experiments.

He explained that NASA's Viking landers tried using water to pressure living organisms on the Red Planet to show themselves.

The astrobiologist stated that NASA did this since it thinks that life on Mars also reacts to water just like how living organisms on Earth do.

But, Dirk said that the scientific activities of NASA, especially those involving the use of water, might have overwhelmed the microbes that were possibly living on Mars during that period.

The scientist concluded this since he and other researchers learned that living things in Earth's extremely dry places tend to make gradual progress as their habitats get more arid.

If you want to learn more about Dirk's explanation as to why NASA might have accidentally killed Mars' living organisms, you can click here.

Related Article: Voyager 1's Gold Vinyl for Aliens: Experts Say Music Disks Could Outlive Humans

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 7 - Researchers have discovered records of the people including many Jews who found shelter from Nazi-Fascist persecution in Catholic institutions in the Italian capital during World War II.

The documentation, found in the archives of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, lists more than 4,300 people who sheltered as the properties of 100 women's and 55 men's religious orders, of whom 3,600 are identified by name.

A comparison with documents kept in the archives of the Jewish Community of Rome shows that about 3,200 of them were definitely Jewish.

"Of the latter it is known where they were hidden and, in certain circumstances, where they lived before the persecution.

The documentation thus significantly increases the information on the history of the rescue of Jews in the context of the Catholic institutions of Rome," said a joint statement from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem and Rome's Jewish Community.

The names of the people who found shelter are not being released for reasons of privacy, the statement added.

Rome was occupied by the Nazis for nine months, from September 10, 1943 until liberation by Allied forces on June 4, 1944.

During that period, nearly 2,000 Jews, including hundreds of children and adolescents, were deported and murdered from a community of between 10,000 and 15,000 people. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 7 - PETRA and ANSA have signed an international collaboration accord, with the presence in video-link of the Italian Ambassador in Amman Luciano Pezzotti and representatives of the Jordanian Embassy in Italy. The "cooperation programme" envisages the availability and the exchange of content to be able to be used on the platforms of the two Agencies and the possibility of developing commercial collaboration projects in support of the communication of institutions and businesses in their respective Countries.

"I welcome with great pleasure the signing of today's accord between the Italian news agency ANSA and the Jordanian one PETRA," declared Ambassador Pezzotti, "aimed at increasing the flow of information between the two Countries as well as the knowledge of developments and initiatives of common interest to their respective publics. Today's agreement fits into a framework of deep and historical friendship, in which the already very sold bilateral relations can only draw further impetus from this new instrument at their disposal as of today".

For his part, Jordanian Ambassador Kais Abu Dayyeh underlined "it is a great pleasure for me to be with you and to witness the signing of the cooperation programme between the Jordanian news agency PETRA and its counterpart, the Italian news agency ANSA.

I am confident that this accord will help deepen and strengthen the solid relations between our two Countries, increasing mutual knowledge and shedding more light on all the aspects of bilateral cooperation, in particular trade, tourism, sustainable development and culture. Furthermore, this partnership will offer a great opportunity to improve the flow of information and will furnish an ample coverage of national and local events in both Countries. In this context, allow me to stress that next year, 2024, both our countries will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations; I have no doubt that the synergy between the two agencies will play a significant role in underscoring this important occasion, which will constitute a step forward in the strengthening of the long-established relations between our two nations." PETRA's director-general, Fayrouz Al-Mubaiddieen, stated that the cooperation programme will help enrich the two agencies' news services and to broaden the public's knowledge and information; Al-Mubaideen stressed the importance of this programme in contributing to the exchange of journalistic experience and good practices, able to improve the professionalism of work and boost the two agencies' information services. He also underscored that PETRA is keen to develop and modernise its services and therefore seeks to collaborate and exchange experiences with various news agencies, above all among the fast-developing modern media.

Stefano De Alessandri, ANSA's Managing Director, voiced satisfaction with the new accord that has been reached, which joins the 54 already forged over the last few months with the main agencies of the whole world: "The exchange of our respective news services is essential for a better coverage of what happens in the two Countries: the new accord will constitute the occasion for stipulating commercial agreements able to promote the visibility of Italian businesses in Jordan, and vice versa, as well as supporting technological development with the exchange of our respective best practices".

photo: combo of ANSA Managing Director Stefano De Alessandri (L) and Jordanian Ambassador Ambassador Kais Abu Dayyeh (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 7 - Premier Giorgia Meloni on Thursday presided a meeting of the Interministerial Committee for the Security of the Republic looking at how to reduce the flow of irregular migrants to Italy.

The hour-long meeting followed on from a first session last month, when it was decided to create a task force dedicated specifically to this issue. Italy is struggling to manage a significant increase in the number of migrants and refugees arriving in the country in search of protection and better opportunities in Europe.

Some 115,281 people have arrived by sea since the start of this year according to interior ministry figures.

This compares to 61,871 in the same period in 2022 and 39,965 in 2021.

The number of migrants and refugees arriving in Italy by land across the northeastern border with Slovenia is also reported to be growing, although accurate figures are more difficult to come by.

So far the government of Premier Giorgia Meloni has taken a largely security-driven approach, clamping down on human trafficking and search and rescue operations carried out by NGOs and seeking to strengthen cooperation with countries of transit such as Libya and Tunisia to reduce the flows, with a greater involvement by the European Union. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 7 - There is no squeeze on porn sites in the government's new decree against youth crime and teenage gangs, sources said after the decree was approved by cabinet Thursday.

According to the cabinet sources, the crackdown on children accessing porn sites is not in the final version of the decree.

The measures had been strongly advocated by Families, Equal Opportunities and Birth Rate Minister Eugenia Roccella.

The decree was passed after several cases of youth gang rapes.

(ANSA).


The family of a teenage girl killed in a car crash face a wait to discover whether the drink and drug driver jailed for causing her death will have his prison sentence increased by the Court of Appeal.

Keilan Roberts pleaded guilty to four charges relating to the death of Chloe Hayman, 17, who was a passenger in his car in the early hours of July 24 last year.

The 22-year-old had consumed alcohol, cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy before getting behind the wheel of his Skoda Octavia following a night out in Pontypridd, south Wales.

In June, a judge at Cardiff Crown Court jailed Roberts for three years and nine months and banned him from driving for 10 years.

But at a Court of Appeal hearing in London on Thursday, the Attorney Generals Office (AGO) challenged the sentence as being unduly lenient.

Lord Justice Popplewell, sitting with Mr Justice Lavender and Mr Justice Bryan, said they hoped to give their written decision within the next few days.

He told members of Chloes family and friends following the hearing in court and via video-link, that whatever the outcome of the hearing the judges were very conscious no sentence can make up for the grievous loss of Chloes life.

Cardiff Crown Court was told that Roberts, of Rhymney, had not met Chloe before the evening of the crash and offered to take her to her home in Tonypandy after arguing with his girlfriend.

Roberts lost control of his car in the village of Fochriw, with the collision resulting in fatal chest injuries to Chloe who died at the scene.

At Thursdays hearing, Philip McGhee, for the AGO, said sentencing judge David Wynn Morgan had made an insufficient increase in the jail term handed to Roberts to reflect the gravity of his offending.

Roberts, who joined the hearing via video-link from HMP Parc in Bridgend, south Wales, pleaded guilty to four counts of causing death by careless driving while under the influence, with each count reflecting the substances he had taken.

Judge Morgan said in June that his sentencing of Roberts was within guidelines but acknowledged it may seem inadequate.

It is inadequate for the simple reason that no sentence can have the effect of restoring Chloe Hayman to her loved ones, he added.

In written arguments for Thursdays hearing, the AGO said the judges approach to sentencing did not properly reflect the aggravating factors.

These included Roberts driving with two dangerously defective rear tyres, drinking alcohol after the collision in an attempt to frustrate the breathalyser process and failing to have any regard to the warnings or concerns expressed by others about his behaviour.

The AGO also said the judge had insufficiently adjusted the sentence to take account of the offenders levels of intoxication which were substantially in excess of the specified limit in respect of each of the three controlled drugs.

The AGO document concluded that the sentence was not just and proportionate to the overall seriousness of the offending.

Jeffrey Jones, representing Roberts, said that the sentence passed was proportionate with the judge significantly increasing it to reflect all the drugs.

The lawyer added: The effect of this crime clearly is going to be devastating to Chloes family. This offender will carry the memory of what hes done for a very long time and his remorse is genuine.

At sentencing, the court was told that Roberts, who had worked in plumbing and had a history of drug and alcohol misuse, had no previous convictions and had experienced a fractured and sad childhood.

Chloes mother Danielle OHalloran, who attended Thursdays hearing, previously said in a victim personal statement that her daughters death had left her utterly broken.

I thought time was meant to heal but this isnt the case when you lose a child. If anything, it hurts more and more each day, she said.

Chloes stepmother Alix Hayman described Chloe in her statement as a fiercely loyal teenager who lived and loved life, telling Roberts that he had torn this family apart.

She said the familys loss was like living your worst nightmare daily.
The last Labour prime minister has warned against the dangers of aggressive nationalism, which he says is taking over the world.

Gordon Brown was speaking at the Dunfermline Outwith Festival on Thursday, where he said nationalist countries must stop blaming each other for their problems and should instead come together to find a solution.

He spoke with host Arabella Weir, a famous Scottish Comedian and actor at the fringe event held at the Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries.

The former prime minister, who once served as MP for Dunfermline East, now known as Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, sold exclusive signed copies of his new, unreleased book to attendees.

The book, titled Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World, was co-authored by Mohamed A El-Erian, president of Queens College, Cambridge, Michael Spence, dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Reid Lidow, executive officer to the Mayor of Los Angeles.

During the talk, he warned that aggressive nationalism has taken over America, China, Japan, Russia and India.

He said: What has happened is that people are seeing the world in terms of a struggle between us and them.

So, theres us, and then there are them.

He referenced former US president Donald Trump, whom he said has turned Americans against anybody who they think is responsible for the very obvious sign that the standards of living of middle income and lower income Americans is declining.

Mr Brown said Globalisation has meant that American manufacturers have been undercut by the Chinese government and that Mr Trump has told the American population youve got to blame the immigrants, youve got to blame the black population, youve got to blame China, youve got to blame someone.

He added: And what Trump really, sort of exploits, is the sense that people have lost out, and giving the impression that he will make America great again.

He also spoke of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, calling him a populist xenophobic nationalist for his treatment of immigrants, despite the country having so few.

He said: Hungary has got hardly any immigration. Its got the least immigration, I think, of any country in Europe.

And we see now, there are a lot of anti-immigrant parties in Hungary, where there arent immigrants. Thats how bad it is.

He told the audience Mr Orban has convinced his country they are constantly getting a raw deal and blames immigration for the Hungarys problems.

Mr Brown moved on to India where he said Hindu nationalism is very hostile towards Muslims and other religions.

He continued: You see, this is happening everywhere and the world is sort of turning in on itself.

What you need is leaders who are prepared to stand up to that and be prepared to say: We cannot blame everybody else for our problems. We have got to solve our problems ourselves.

We cannot survive in a world where youve got climate change, pandemics, financial instability  which is global.

[These are] global problems, which need a global solution, without having some way of working together instead of blaming each other for what goes wrong.

Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World will reach bookstore shelves on September 28.
An independent investigation will take place following the prison escape of a former soldier accused of terrorism, the Justice Secretary has said.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, who according to reports is accused of gathering information for Iran, went missing in his cooks uniform from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday, prompting extra security checks at major transport hubs.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told MPs that two urgent reviews would also take place regarding the categorisation and placement of all HMP Wandsworth prisoners and all those in custody charged with terrorism offences.

Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, told the PA news agency staff shortages are the source of many problems at the prison, adding: Something obviously went wrong in terms of security, and that will come out over time.

Mr Chalk said that strapping was found underneath a delivery vehicle which he added may indicate Khalife held on to the underside of it in order to escape.

There are fears the fugitive  who has been missing since 8am on Wednesday  might try to flee the country.

Detailing what he knew of Khalifes escape, Mr Chalk told MPs on Thursday: At approximately 7.30 yesterday morning, a vehicle which had made a delivery to the prisons kitchen left HMP Wandsworth.

Shortly afterwards, local contingency plans for an unaccounted prisoner were activated and in line with standard procedure the police were informed.

The prison was put into a state of lockdown while staff attempted to determine Daniel Khalifes whereabouts.

The vehicle was stopped and searched by police after the alert was raised.

Strapping was found underneath the vehicle which appeared to indicate Daniel Khalife may have held onto the underside of it in order to escape.

Mr Chalk ended his statement by saying: Daniel Khalife will be found and will be made to face justice.

The M20 J8-9 coastbound has been closed due to delays caused by enhanced port security checks. Click the link for more information  https://t.co/pMRN2vbxaa pic.twitter.com/oWvUBW18xi  Kent Police (UK) (@kent_police) September 7, 2023

Khalife, who was awaiting trial after allegedly planting a fake bomb at an RAF base and gathering information that might be useful to terrorists or enemies of the UK, was discharged from the Army in May 2023.

He has denied the three charges against him.

He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown, steel toe-cap boots, the Metropolitan Police said. He is described as slim and 6ft 2in, with short brown hair.

Kent Police confirmed junctions eight and nine of the M20 were temporarily shut on Thursday due to the enhanced security checks  and to allow freight heading for mainland Europe to queue on the empty section of the motorway.

The head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, Commander Dominic Murphy, previously said there was no reason to believe Khalife poses a threat to the wider public but urged people not to approach him and to call 999 if they spotted him.

Responding to Mr Chalks statement for Labour, shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood urged Mr Chalk to get a grip of the criminal justice system.

Lorries queue for the Port of Dover along the A20 due to the increased security checks (Gareth Fuller/PA)

She said: It simply beggars belief that a man being held on suspected terror charges was able to escape a prison by clinging to the bottom of a food delivery van.

The simplest question for the Justice Secretary today is how on earth was this allowed to happen?

Downing Street said the Prime Minister has confidence in the Justice Secretary over the handling of a prison escape and rejected blame for the incident being apportioned to cuts to the prison service.

Rishi Sunaks official spokesman did however admit there was a need for more staff at the prison.

Wandsworth prisons performance was rated as a serious concern and watchdogs had issued a string of warnings about the jail in the past year.

Meanwhile, the Government is facing growing calls to urgently honour its manifesto pledge of launching a royal commission to examine the criminal justice system in the wake of the incident.

John Podmore, a former governor at HMP Brixton and HMP Belmarsh, told the BBC Radio 4s World At One programme that there was a possibility Khalifes escape was an inside job.

He added: My view is that he shouldve been at Belmarsh.

Its much more suited to the levels of security that someone like this, charged with not convicted, needs. I cant understand why he wasnt at Belmarsh.

Khalife was held at Belmarsh prison but later transferred to Wandsworth, according to reports.

He has links to north-west England and Kingston in London but Mr Murphy said the hunt was covering the whole of the UK.

Khalife was previously stationed at the Ministry of Defences Beacon Barracks in Stafford.
The Metropolitan Polices counter-terrorism commander has said it is testament to the ingenuity of former soldier Daniel Khalife that there have been no confirmed sightings since he escaped prison.

Khalife, who according to reports is accused of gathering information for Iran, went missing in his cooks uniform from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday, prompting extra security checks at major transport hubs.

Strapping was found on the underside of a Bidfood delivery vehicle which police stopped just over an hour after it left the prison, with officers suggesting the 21-year-old held on to the underside of the lorry to escape.

(PA Graphics)

The Mets counter-terrorism commander, Dominic Murphy, told reporters it was unusual that there had been no confirmed sightings, before praising the UK for having some of the best military in the world.

He said the force had received more than 50 calls from the public which had provided some really valuable lines of inquiry.

Mr Murphy also said he was keeping an open mind as to whether Khalife had received support from somebody to escape prison and whether or not he had managed to leave the country.

He said the lorry Khalife is believed to be strapped to the bottom of left HMP Wandsworth at 7.32am on Wednesday. He was declared missing at 7.50am.

Police were then notified at 8.15am and the lorry was stopped on Upper Richmond Road near to the junction of Carlton Drive at 8.37am.

Lorries queue for the Port of Dover along the M20 due to extra security checks (Gareth Fuller/PA)

In a press briefing on Thursday, Mr Murphy said: This was a really busy area of London and weve had no confirmed sightings in any of that information, which is a little unusual, and perhaps testament to Daniel Khalifes ingenuity in his escape and some of his movements after his escape.

Its important that we remember that we have some of the best military in the world here in the UK and he was trained.

He was a trained soldier  so ultimately he has skills that perhaps some sections of the public dont have.

Mr Murphy added: Hes a very resourceful individual, clearly, and our experience of him shows that, so nothing is off the table with him at the moment.

The Justice Secretary confirmed an independent investigation will take place following Khalifes escape.

Alex Chalk told MPs that two urgent reviews would also take place regarding the categorisation and placement of all HMP Wandsworth prisoners and all those in custody charged with terrorism offences.

We are urgently appealing to trace Daniel Khalife, who escaped from Wandsworth Prison this morning. He has links to #Kingston  police efforts to trace him are ongoing. He should not be approached. If you have info on his whereabouts, call 999 quoting CAD 1631/06SEP23 pic.twitter.com/Q7B9uKV9uJ  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) September 6, 2023

Mr Murphy said there were more than 150 investigators and police staff from counter terrorism command working in London on the fast-paced investigation.

Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor told the PA news agency that staff shortages are the source of many problems at the prison, adding: Something obviously went wrong in terms of security, and that will come out over time.

Khalife, who was awaiting trial after allegedly planting a fake bomb at an RAF base and gathering information that might be useful to terrorists or enemies of the UK, was discharged from the Army in May 2023.

He has denied the three charges against him.

He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown, steel toe-cap boots, the Metropolitan Police said. He is described as slim and 6ft 2in, with short brown hair.

A CCTV image of the vehicle searched by police in the hunt for Daniel Khalife (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Mr Murphy told reporters: However, he clearly could very quickly change those clothes, so I wouldnt want to focus too much on that.

Kent Police confirmed junctions eight and nine of the M20 were temporarily shut on Thursday due to the enhanced security checks  and to allow freight heading for mainland Europe to queue on the empty section of the motorway.

Mr Murphy previously said there was no reason to believe Khalife poses a threat to the wider public but urged people not to approach him and to call 999 if they spotted him.

Khalife has links to the West Midlands and Kingston in London, but Mr Murphy said the hunt was covering the whole of the UK.

He was previously stationed at the Ministry of Defences Beacon Barracks in Stafford.

A man was stopped by police at Banbury train station in Oxfordshire on Thursday but Scotland Yard said it was not Khalife.

A Bidfood spokesman said: Yesterday morning we were made aware of a security incident involving one of our vehicles, whilst out on delivery.

We can confirm that our driver fully co-operated with the police on this matter before returning back to the depot. We will continue to assist the authorities in their ongoing investigation.
A legal challenge has been launched against the Governments controversial proposed legislation aimed at dealing with Northern Irelands troubled past.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill includes a form of limited immunity for some perpetrators of crimes committed during the conflict and would also prevent future civil cases and inquests into Troubles offences.

All of the main political parties in Northern Ireland and victims groups are opposed to the Bill.

On Tuesday, the House of Lords supported an amendment setting out conditions for legal immunity as part of reconciliation efforts, including consent from the families of victims.

Victims campaigner Raymond McCord has launched a legal challenge (Liam McBurney/PA)

But MPs voted 288 to 205, majority 83, to reject this amendment.

The legislation is expected to receive royal assent and become law next week.

On Thursday victims campaigner Raymond McCord launched a legal challenge against it at the High Court in Belfast.

Mr McCord said he is seeking a judicial review, arguing it is a breach of his human rights under the European Convention.

He is set to rely on the argument that the legislation is in breach of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Mr McCord told the PA news agency: Today in Belfasts High Court my legal challenge against the British Governments shameful Legacy Bill began.

There is a long way to go yet but I believe this is how we will defeat this Bill.

This challenge would not be necessary if the Conservatives had listened to those most affected by the Bill, the victims and their families, and if the Government had not ignored our human rights.

Mr McCord has long campaigned for answers around the death of his son Raymond McCord Junior, who was killed by loyalist paramilitaries in 1997.

Time does not make the pain any easier, he said.

Human rights of victims are irrelevant to the Conservative Government.

I have no doubt that victims will be delighted that legal action has started. In the courts we are victims, not Catholics and Protestants.

Different political parties in Northern Ireland have confirmed they are supporting this case and will be at the court with us. Unity for the victims.

The Conservatives will now realise the will and determination of victims and others together seeking truth and justice and human rights determined by the law through a court in Northern Ireland in an action which affects thousands.

We have the support of all our political parties, now we seek the opinion and support of our courts.

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern (Niall Carson/PA)

Meanwhile former Irish premier Bertie Ahern said the current Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tanaiste Micheal Martin were discussing the Irish governments response to the legislation earlier.

Mr Ahern, who served as taoiseach during the Good Friday Agreement peace talks in 1998, urged the UK Government not to seek royal assent for the Bill, describing it as unworkable.

He told RTEs Today With Claire Byrne show: I dont know what the King can do, but he seems to be a fair person, he understands Ireland; they should not be asking him to sign a Bill that is clearly against civil rights and human rights.

Why bring everyone to this point when this Bill should be stood down?

You never should bring in legislation you know is not workable, and they know this wont work.

Mr Ahern urged the UK Government to look for a workable arrangement.

This legislation  which is effectively saying that criminal cases, civil cases, inquests would all be gone  seems to be a very cruel way of dealing with victims, he said.

What may happen is either the Irish government deal with this  which is being talked about today by the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste  or individuals will take it to court. One way or another, this is headed to court.
Police are continuing to hunt for a former soldier accused of terrorism, as a senior Government minister admitted there were questions to answer about the prison escape.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, went missing in his cooks uniform from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday, prompting extra security checks at major transport hubs.

Kent Police confirmed junctions eight and nine of the M20 were temporarily shut on Thursday due to the enhanced security checks  and to allow freight heading for mainland Europe to queue on the empty section of the motorway.

There are fears the fugitive  who has been missing since 8am on Wednesday  might try to flee the country.

It has been reported that he escaped from a prison kitchen by clinging to a delivery van.

Cabinet minister Michelle Donelan acknowledged that the public would be concerned about the incident, but insisted prison escapes were incredibly rare and the incident was being looked into.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also insisted prison escapes are extremely rare and rejected calls for an independent inquiry as an internal inquiry had already been initiated.

Professor Ian Acheson, a former head of security at Wandsworth, said Khalifes escape was at best a catastrophic system failure.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Its incredibly embarrassing for the prison service but its not entirely surprising given what we know about whats going on Wandsworth at the moment.

Professor Acheson said the prison was in freefall.

He added: I mean, frankly, if you cannot even manage to get the bins emptied in a place like Wandsworth what else is going wrong?

Ms Donelan said there were questions to answer, including over the type of prison Khalife was being held at, with HMP Wandsworth  a category B prison  having the second-highest level of security.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, who went missing from HMP Wandsworth (Metropolitan Police/PA)

She later told ITVs Good Morning Britain: This is not an epidemic or anything of that nature. This is an isolated incident.

Khalife, who was awaiting trial after allegedly planting a fake bomb at an RAF base and gathering information that might be useful to terrorists or enemies of the UK, was discharged from the Army in May 2023.

He has denied the three charges against him.

He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown, steel toe-cap boots, the Metropolitan Police said, and is slim and 6ft 2in, with short brown hair.

The jail was put on lockdown after he fled.

Ms Donelan told LBC: It is my understanding it is not as black and white as that when you determine where somebody goes into which type of prison, but that is something that is being looked at.

Ive spoken to the Justice Secretary, I know that the investigation is taking place.

I think there are a lot of questions to answer here. But the top priority obviously needs to be catching him as well.

She batted away questions about a link between the escape and the UKs over-stretched prison system.

Weve always said that the prison estate needs an upgrade and we need to expand the capacity.

But I dont think that we should draw a parallel between the two things here. It is extremely rare for a prisoner to escape.

We shouldnt politicise the topic, really. We should look at exactly what has happened and then how can we deal with that to ensure it doesnt happen again, Ms Donelan said.

The head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, Commander Dominic Murphy, has said there is no reason to believe Khalife poses a threat to the wider public but has urged people not to approach him and to call 999 if they spot him.

Khalife was held at Belmarsh prison but later transferred to Wandsworth, according to reports.

He has links to north-west England and Kingston in London but Mr Murphy said the hunt is covering the whole of the UK.

We are urgently appealing to trace Daniel Khalife, who escaped from Wandsworth Prison this morning. He has links to #Kingston  police efforts to trace him are ongoing. He should not be approached. If you have info on his whereabouts, call 999 quoting CAD 1631/06SEP23 pic.twitter.com/Q7B9uKV9uJ  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) September 6, 2023

Khalife was previously stationed at the Ministry of Defences Beacon Barracks in Stafford.

The barracks are home to the Royal Corps of Signals 1st Signal Brigade, the Defence Electronics Agency, the RAF Joint Helicopter Commands Tactical Supply Wing and No 22 Group air force cadets.

According to the Telegraph, he described his role on social media as being a computer specialist with skills including information technology and system administration.

The 21-year-old appeared at the Old Bailey in late July where he denied the charges.

He is accused of eliciting or trying to elicit information that could be useful for a terrorist on August 2 2021, and breaching the Official Secrets Act by gathering information that could be useful to an enemy between May 1 2019 and January 6 2022.

The ex-serviceman is also accused of a criminal offence relating to the alleged bomb hoax.

It is claimed that he placed three cannisters with wires on a desk in his accommodation with the intention of inducing in another a belief this was likely to explode or ignite and thereby cause personal injury or damage to property.

A trial date has been set for November 13 at Woolwich Crown Court.
(Photo : Photo by Pedro Vilela/Getty Images)

JANUARY 12: Aerial view of Cars and rubble after the Rio das Velhas overflow on January 12, 2022 in Honorio Bicalho, Brazil. Heavy rains over the weekend caused landslides and floods in the Minas Gerais region. A maximum alert was issued due to the risk of the Carioca dam in Para de Minas bursting as a result of intense rains. According to authorities 10 people died between sunday and monday and the number of affected population is over 17 thousand people.

A catastrophic cyclone has unleashed relentless flooding in southern Brazil, devastating houses, stranding motorists in submerged vehicles, and inundating streets across numerous cities.

Authorities reported on Wednesday that this natural calamity has tragically claimed at least 31 lives and rendered approximately 1,600 residents homeless.

Southern Brazil Struggles Amidst Devastating Floods

According to Governor Eduardo Leite, the storm has devastated over 60 Rio Grande do Sul communities since Monday night, making it the deadliest cyclone event the state has ever experienced.

In a video shared on the state's social media platforms, Governor Leite stated, "The fly-over we just conducted demonstrates the magnitude of a truly extraordinary event." It wasn't just riverside communities that were affected; entire cities were also severely damaged.

Videos captured by rescue teams on Tuesday and published by the online news site G1 depict families pleading for assistance while stranded atop their flooded homes and surrounded by rivers overflowing their banks. Several regions have been effectively cut off from the outside world due to the transformation of broad avenues into raging rivers.

On Wednesday, Governor Leite verified that the death toll had risen to 31, and state emergency authorities reported that at least 1,600 people had been displaced. In the roughly 50,000-person city of Mucum, where rescuers encountered a horrifying scene, 15 bodies were discovered in a single house.

As soon as the storm subsided, residents found a heartbreaking trail of devastation along the riverbanks, where most structures had been ruthlessly swept away, leaving only the ground level behind. Images of a sheep dangling from an electrical line went viral, depicting the astounding height of the inundation.

"The water arrived very quickly; it was rising 6.5 feet per hour," Mucum resident Marcos Antonio Gomes said while standing atop a debris mound.

Not even attire, In light of Mucum's protracted crisis, the city hall advised residents to stock up on supplies for the next 72 hours, highlighting the uncertainty and challenges encountered by survivors. For Gomes, a 55-year-old businessman, this was the fourth time in the previous 15 years that floods had wreaked havoc on his home. He believed this disaster to be the worst and anticipated future inundation.

The majority of the tragic deaths caused by electrical shock or vehicle entrapment, according to the news website G1, occurred as a result of the cyclone's inundation. A sad account described a lady who perished while being swept away during a rescue attempt.

The Taquari Valley, located roughly 50 kilometers northwest of the state capital of Porto Alegre, is where the majority of victims and damage have been reported.

Read Also: Australia: 3 Men Rescued from Inflatable Boat Stranded in Coral Sea After Shark Attack

Southern Brazil Braces for More Rain and Flooding

However, on Wednesday morning, helicopters were dispatched to the Rio Pardo Valley to extend these operations further west. More heavy precipitation is anticipated to fall in the state's central-southern region, although it may spare the worst-affected areas.

The authorities have issued three flood warnings for the rivers Jacui, Cai, and Taquari, highlighting the ongoing danger. In June, a second cyclone struck Rio Grande do Sul, resulting in the loss of 16 lives and widespread destruction in forty cities, notably those surrounding Porto Alegre.

Dozens of people have perished, and thousands have been rendered destitute due to a cyclone-caused flood in southern Brazil. Undoubtedly, the affected communities' resilience and cohesion will be tested as they come to grips with the unprecedented scale of destruction.

In the aftermath of this natural disaster, emergency response efforts and support for those affected will play a crucial role in reconstructing lives and communities.

Related Article: Hollywood Strike: SAG-AFTRA Asks Members to Vote for Strike Authorization vs. Video Game Firms

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Eco activists have hit Ryanair boss Michael OLeary with cream pies outside the European Commissions headquarters in Brussels.

The incident happened on Thursday morning as Mr OLeary was preparing to hand in a petition.

He was approached by two women who hit him in the face and back of the head with cream pies before walking off.

One shouted: Welcome to Belgium! Stop the pollution of your planes.

Mr OLeary responded by saying well done and attempting to wipe the cream off his face with a handkerchief.

Ryanairs account on X  formerly known as Twitter  made light of the incident.

One post stated: Instead of buying cream pies, could have bought a flight from Belgium for the same price.

Another post said: Shame it was soy-based cream, definitely not as tasty as the real stuff.

Mr OLeary was handing in a petition with 1.5 million signatures for European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

It calls for the European Union to stop preventing airlines from flying over countries  even if they are not landing in them  during local air traffic control (ATC) strikes.

This rule has caused widespread disruption to flights this year, particularly due to ATC strikes in France.
More than three-quarters of Scotlands schools could shut when support staff take three days of strike action in a dispute over pay, unions have warned.

Unison said more than 21,000 members will take part in the co-ordinated action over three days from Tuesday September 26 to Thursday September 28.

Members of the Unite and GMB Scotland unions will also take part in the action.

Those going on strike include cleaners, caterers, janitors and school support assistants.

Unions have said workers deserve far more than the below inflation 5% pay offer from employer body Cosla.

 Scotland's largest local government union, UNISON, announces strike dates over pay disputes. Let's support fair wages for council workers! #PayUpForCouncilStaff Full info: https://t.co/QJ8tVV8keN pic.twitter.com/6GGmSBEjod  UNISON Scotland (@unisonscot) September 7, 2023

Unison Scotlands head of local government, Johanna Baxter, said: Going on strike is always a last resort  our members want to be in schools supporting children not on picket lines outside them.

But they have been left with no option. Local government workers overwhelmingly rejected Coslas below-inflation pay offer back in March and despite our repeated representations, no improvement has been forthcoming.

A real-terms pay cut in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis is a cut our members simply cannot afford. This is not a highly-paid workforce  three-quarters of local government workers earn less than the average Scottish wage.

All they want is to be paid fairly for the vital work they do supporting Scotlands communities.

Cosla and the Scottish Government need to get back round the table and work with us to deliver that.

In August, Unison members working in schools voted to take strike action with mandates in 24 local authority areas across Scotland.

Local authority areas affected are: Aberdeenshire Council; Highland Council; Orkney Islands Council; Shetland Islands Council; The City of Edinburgh Council; Comhairle nan Eilean Siar; Fife Council; South Lanarkshire Council; Aberdeen City Council; Glasgow City Council and Clackmannanshire Council.

Also affected are Moray Council; South Ayrshire Council; Stirling Council; West Dunbartonshire Council; North Ayrshire Council; East Dunbartonshire Council; Dundee City Council; Inverclyde Council; Angus Council; East Renfrewshire Council; Perth & Kinross Council; Dumfries & Galloway Council; and Renfrewshire Council.

Unite chief Sharon Graham said Cosla and the Scottish Government had been warned strike action was inevitable without an improved pay offer (PA)

Unite members will take action in Clackmannanshire, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Dundee, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Fife, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, and Orkney.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: Cosla and the Scottish Government have been given warning after warning that strike action will be inevitable unless there is an improved pay offer.

The entire blame for this situation is down to Coslas ineptitude, and the Scottish Governments dithering.

Unites hard working council members deserve far more than 5%. They will have their unions total support in the fight for better jobs, pay and conditions in local government.

GMB Scotland members had planned to walk out in 10 council areas for two days next week but suspended that action to join the other unions in the co-ordinated strike later this month.

Keir Greenaway, GMB Scotland senior organiser in public services, said: Our members are absolutely essential to the operation of schools and early years and the support children receive there.

We have tried repeatedly to find a way forward with Cosla but until an improved offer is made, one that workers believe is acceptable, then disruptive action seems increasingly inevitable.

A Cosla spokesperson said: There was a positive meeting of council leaders earlier this week and we hope to meet the trade union colleagues as soon as possible to discuss next steps.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: Local government pay negotiations are a matter for local authorities as employers and unions. The Scottish Government and Cosla have committed to respect this negotiating arrangement.

Despite UK Government cuts, the Scottish Government has provided a further 155 million to support a meaningful pay rise for local government workers, which has been taken into account in the pay offer already made by Cosla.

The Scottish Government urges all the parties involved to work together constructively to avoid strike action by reaching an agreement which is fair for the workforce and affordable for employers.
The selection process for the next Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is to complete in November.

Deirdre Toner, chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said the process of finding a new chief constable has begun and the recruitment competition will open at the end of September.

It follows the resignation last week of former chief constable Simon Byrne following a string of controversies.

The PSNIs oversight body met behind closed doors for most of Thursday.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd and chief operating officer Pamela McCreedy attended at one stage in the afternoon for a briefing.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd attended the meeting on Thursday afternoon (Liam McBurney/PA)

In a press conference on Thursday evening, Ms Toner said recent board meetings have not been held in public due to the sensitive nature of what was being discussed.

She said the board agreed the timescale and started the process for the appointment of a new chief constable, with the selection process scheduled to complete in early November.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris welcomed the statement.

Their priority of delivering stability is correct and I fully agree that officers and staff throughout the PSNI deserve everyones support, he said.

I look forward to continuing to work closely with the PSNIs senior leadership team, who have a wealth of experience and are dedicated to keeping the people of Northern Ireland safe.

I welcome the Policing Boards statement this evening. Their priority of delivering stability is correct and I fully agree that officers and staff throughout the PSNI deserve everyones support. 1/2  Chris Heaton-Harris MP (@chhcalling) September 7, 2023

Pressure has been mounting on the leadership of the PSNI after a data breach which disclosed personal details of officers and staff, and a critical High Court judgment which said the disciplining of two officers following an arrest at a Troubles memorial event in Belfast in 2021 was unlawful.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton was to assume the responsibilities of the chief.

He had been expected to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, on Wednesday but was unable to attend due to an unplanned medical procedure.

Ms Toner said she expects Mr Hamilton to be back at his desk in a few days.

She added he is still in that role and some duties have been delegated to his senior management team.

Vice-chair of the board Edgar Jardine said yes when asked if the assistant chief constables were currently in charge.

Ms Toner emphasised that as well as the data breach, the PSNI is also facing an extremely difficult financial position that needs to be resolved, including recovery and financial implications of the data breach.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton was unable to attend a Police Federation meeting (Liam McBurney/PA)

The boards priority over the last few days has been to bring stability and confidence in what has been an unprecedented time for policing, and for our role as a Policing Board, she said.

At this time, we also appreciate that police officers and staff at all levels across the organisation continue to deliver an essential public service to the community and deserve everyones support.

During the meeting of the Police Federation on Wednesday, the federation unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Hamilton, and also expressed no confidence in Ms McCreedy and assistant chief officer Clare Duffield.

There have been calls for the appointment of an interim leader to steer the service during the period of crisis.

Ms Toner said the authority gaps within the force need to be addressed and were discussed on Thursday, but that public commentary on confidence in individuals on the services senior leadership team is not endorsed by the board.

Ms Toner also rejected criticisms that the board is not working around the clock to fix all of the issues that we need to look at.

She said there were complex legal and HR issues to navigate, and a funding crisis that faced the police force.

It is a challenging board, she said.

Mr Jardine said the structures of the Policing Board were designed to work within a functioning Assembly and the fact that power-sharing institutions were not operating does create difficulties, not least the absence of a finance minister.

Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly speaks to the media following a meeting in Belfast to discuss the recruitment of a new chief constable for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. (Liam McBurney/PA)

Speaking after the meeting, Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly said they want to stabilise the situation and look for the way forward for police.

There is a huge gap which is confidence in policing, and we need to make the moves which build towards that, he said.

Things wont happen in a day, probably wont happen in a few days but I can certainly say with some confidence that today this board has moved the process forward.

DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said he felt the board was making quick progress in starting the process to find a new chief constable.

Democratic Unionist Party MLA Trevor Clarke (Liam McBurney/PA)

Ultimately the confidence we want to give the public today is the process in terms of the chief constable has started, well be in a position that youll hear of an offer in early November  you cant under estimate the work the Policing Board has put in to get to that stage, he said.

Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister hailed progress, but said there is a long way to go.

I do accept that there is a long way to go, that there are more steps to take but we are making good progress but it is not over until we see all of those reviews and the recommendations that are laid within, she said.
Thursday is provisionally the hottest day of the year so far, with 32.6C recorded in Wisley, Surrey, the Met Office has said.

The heatwave is about to break the record for the most consecutive days with temperatures above 30C in September, according to the forecaster, with Saharan dust generating vivid sunsets and sunrises in the clear conditions.

Wednesday was the third day above 30C, matching a record seen on four previous occasions, most recently in 2016.

 After getting very close yesterday, today is provisionally the hottest day of the year so far, with 32.6C recorded in Wisley pic.twitter.com/TRplAHKRtR  Met Office (@metoffice) September 7, 2023

The high temperatures are expected to continue through the weekend, peaking as high as 33C on Saturday.

Septembers highest daily temperature reading was 35.6C recorded on September 2 1906 in South Yorkshire, according to the Met Office.

Prolonged heat above 30C leaves older people and those with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases at greater risk, with the UK Health Security Agency issuing an amber warning until 9pm on Sunday evening in nearly every area of England.

People enjoying the warm weather in Potters Field near Tower Bridge, London (Lucy North/PA)

A yellow heat alert is in place until the same time in the north east of England.

The Met Office said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter: After getting very close yesterday, today is provisionally the hottest day of the year so far, with 32.6C recorded in Wisley.
A third man has been arrested by police investigating the fire which destroyed the Crooked House pub last month.

Staffordshire Police confirmed on Thursday that a 51-year-old man, from Buckingham, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent or being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

It comes after police began an arson investigation into the fire that destroyed the 18th-century pub, known as Britains wonkiest, in Himley, near Dudley, on August 5.

Two other men, aged 66 and 33, were arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life on August 24.

All three suspects have been released on conditional bail.

The force said: Officers have been trawling through CCTV footage and speaking to those who have come forward with information since the fire on August 5.

We would like to thank everyone who has already come forward with important information about this investigation and those who are continuing to engage positively with officers.

We understand that speculation is still widespread, both locally and online.

Wed like to reiterate that we are working hard to get through an extensive list of inquiries at this time.

We are still asking those people who might have information which can help us to get in touch if they havent already.

Anyone with information that could help officers is urged to contact the force on 101.

News of the latest arrest came as Conservative MP Marco Longhi, who represents Dudley North, told the Commons that the events struck a very real chord of sadness and anger among his constituents.

Speaking during business questions, he asked the Commons Leader for a debate to see what this place can do to better protect these heritage pubs.
Thousands of airline passengers were hit by flight cancellations on Wednesday night due to another air traffic control (ATC) issue.

Gatwick Airport said it was subjected to a restriction in the number of planes that could take off and land because of short notice sickness in its ATC tower, which is managed by National Air Traffic Services (Nats).

EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren warned that passengers were being let down once again and claimed Nats staff shortages had caused disruption at Gatwick on 29 days since May.

EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren called for an independent and wide-ranging review of Nats (Matt Alexander/PA)

Nats said it is working in line with a staffing plan agreed with Gatwick bosses when it took over the provision of ATC services at the airport in October 2022, which includes training further controllers.

A Nats technical glitch last week caused widespread disruption at airports across the UK, leaving thousands of holidaymakers stranded overseas for several days.

PA news agency analysis of flight data websites suggests around 58 flights to or from Gatwick  the UKs second busiest airport  were cancelled on Wednesday night, meaning around 9,000 passengers were affected.

EasyJet, which operates the most flights at the West Sussex airport, was the worst affected, with 42 cancellations.

The first flight affected by the disruption appeared to be the airlines arrival from the Greek island of Zakynthos, which was diverted to Luton.

EasyJet said in a statement: Nats air traffic control staffing shortages at Gatwick yesterday led to a significantly reduced flow rate being imposed on airlines, meaning some flights were delayed and some were unable to operate.

While this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers and did all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption, notifying those on cancelled flights of options to rebook or receive a refund and provided hotel accommodation and meals where required.

Among the other airlines to cancel flights from Gatwick on Wednesday night were Lufthansa, Norwegian, Iberia Express and Vueling.

Affected passengers are not entitled to compensation as the disruption was outside of the airlines control.

Gatwick is the UKs second busiest airport (Nick Ansell/PA)

A Gatwick Airport spokeswoman said: Due to short-notice sickness in the air traffic control tower, temporary air traffic control restrictions were put in place yesterday (Wednesday), resulting in some delays and cancellations by airlines.

London Gatwick would like to apologise to any passengers who have been impacted by these restrictions. Please contact your airline for more information.

A Nats spokesman said: We are training new controllers to safely oversee the 900 aircraft per day that use Gatwick, the worlds busiest and most complex single runway airport.

Even a qualified controller will take up to a year to complete the specific training required.

In the meantime, we are working closely with the airport and airlines to deliver the best possible level of safe and efficient service.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced on Wednesday that an independent review would be carried out into last weeks ATC failure.

Mr Lundgren said: Customers are being let down once again. Since May, we have seen 29 days of traffic restrictions at Gatwick due to Nats staff shortages.

We're launching an independent review into the technical issue NATS faced on Monday 28 August. Our review will look at the wider issues around the system failure and how NATS responded to the incident. Find out morehttps://t.co/xCT5eP3Xaw#AirTrafficDisruption pic.twitter.com/182QIAusGF  UK Civil Aviation Authority (@UK_CAA) September 6, 2023

An independent and wide-ranging review of Nats has never been more urgent.

Passengers departing from UK airports and ports also saw longer wait times on Wednesday due to enhanced security checks as the authorities search for an escaped prisoner.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, a former soldier accused of terrorism, went missing in his cooks uniform from HMP Wandsworth, south-west London on Wednesday.
The UK is expected to rejoin the European Unions 85 billion Horizon science research programme which it was locked out of in a Brexit row.

Science Secretary Michelle Donelan appears set to confirm Britains associate membership as she tours broadcast studios on Thursday morning, the PA news agency understands, drawing a line under months of tense talks.

Sources familiar with the negotiations between the two sides said a day earlier that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had given the go-ahead for a deal to be finalised.

Britain continued to participate under the post-Brexit trade deal brokered with Brussels but was frozen out in a tit-for-tat retaliation in a dispute over Northern Ireland arrangements.

Rishi Sunak appears set to agree terms to rejoin the Horizon scheme (Daniel Leal/PA)

Scientists welcomed news of the agreement, first reported by Bloomberg, having warned that the sector was disadvantaged by two missed years of collaboration.

At Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday, Mr Sunak told MPs his priority and preference was to associate with Horizon but on terms that are right for both the British taxpayer and for British science and research.

In a hint at a possible breakthrough, he said the Government had been extensively involved in discussions with the EU and I hope to be able to conclude those successfully.

The level of compensation the EU will pay the UK for being excluded from the scheme during the bitter row over trading rules for Northern Ireland in 2020 was still thought to be an issue.

One source told PA that Mr Sunak had signalled his approval of the deal but that the rebate for the absent years could still be an issue.

A conversation with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was expected before the announcement.

Whitehall sources said in July that a draft deal was with the Prime Minister, prompting scientists to cautiously celebrate the development.

But Downing Street said a UK-based alternative known as Pioneer remained on the table as Mr Sunak continued to be concerned about value for money.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen held out the prospect of Horizon co-operation after the signing of the Windsor Agreement with Rishi Sunak (Dan Kitwood/PA)

A senior scientist at Londons Francis Crick Institute welcomed the latest developments as fantastic news.

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge told BBC Radio 4s PM programme: Weve really been missing being able to work properly with other European scientists.

Dame Kate Bingham, managing partner of the healthcare fund manager SV Health Investors, said: Collaboration with the top European researchers is critical if the UK is to become a real science superpower.

But Labour criticised the delay, with shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson saying: I seriously hope that comes to pass but I do have to say what on earth have they been doing and why has it taken so long?

This is damaging our competitiveness, its damaging our country and I really hope that we see progress as soon as possible.

Horizon is a collaboration involving Europes leading research institutes and technology companies.

EU member states contribute funds, which are then allocated to individuals or organisations on merit to explore subjects such as climate change, medical advances and artificial intelligence.
The UK will host a global food security summit in November in response to Russias stranglehold on grain exports from war-torn Ukraine, Downing Street has announced.

It comes as the Prime Minister prepares to continue his denouncement of Russias invasion of Ukraine at the G20 summit in India.

Rishi Sunak will also highlight the impact that Russian president Vladimir Putins decision to collapse the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed ships carrying grain to leave southern Ukrainian ports without fear of attack, is having on the worlds poorest.

Mr Putin has opted not to attend the New Delhi G20 leaders gathering in person but his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to attend.

No 10 has vowed that Mr Sunak will not shy away from criticising Mr Lavrov to his face during sessions over the weekend, as the UK Government announced military and financial support to ensure food exports could leave Kyiv.

Speaking ahead of his flight to India on Thursday, the Prime Minister said: Once again, Vladimir Putin is failing to show his face at the G20.

He is the architect of his own diplomatic exile, isolating himself in his presidential palace and blocking out criticism and reality.

The rest of the G20, meanwhile, are demonstrating that we will turn up and work together to pick up the pieces of Putins destruction.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was flying to India on Thursday to attend the G20 summit (Chris Furlong/PA)

That starts with dealing with the terrible global consequences of Putins stranglehold over the most fundamental resources, including his blockade of and attacks on Ukrainian grain.

Mr Putin has said the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, will not be restored until the West meets Moscows demands on its own agricultural exports.

Russia refused to extend the deal in July, complaining that a parallel agreement promising to remove obstacles to Russian exports of food and fertiliser had not been honoured  an argument the West rejects.

Before Mr Putins attack in February 2022, Ukraine was the worlds fifth largest wheat exporter, fourth largest corn exporter and third largest rapeseed exporter.

The pact, first signed in July 2022 and extended every three months for a year, led to 33 million tonnes of grain and food exports leaving Ukraine, with the majority going to areas of the globe struggling with nutrition supplies, according to the UN.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative led to 33 million tonnes of grain and food exports leaving Ukraine (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Ahead of Mr Sunaks arrival in India, Downing Street announced that the UK would host an international food security summit on Monday November 20.

It is taking place in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Childrens Investment Fund, the United Arab Emirates and Somalia.

Since pulling out of the grain deal, Russia has declared that all ships transiting to Ukrainian Black Sea ports will be treated as military vessels  irrespective of the cargo they are carrying.

The UK Government officials said Moscow had acted upon this stance by firing shots and boarding a cargo ship bound for one of Ukraines Danube ports  action London thinks may constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.

No 10 said the UK was gearing up to use intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to monitor Russian activity in the Black Sea, calling out Moscow if there were warning signs that the Kremlins forces were preparing attacks on civilian shipping or infrastructure.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has opted not to attend the New Delhi G20 leaders gathering (Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

It would also attempt to attribute attacks to prevent false flag claims from Russia that aimed to deflect blame onto others.

As part of the surveillance operations, RAF aircraft were conducting flights over the area to deter Russia from carrying out strikes against civilian vessels transporting grain, Downing Street confirmed.

Alongside military efforts to deter Russian attacks, the UK would also contribute 3 million in funding for the World Food Programme to continue work started under Volodymyr Zelenskys Grain From Ukraine initiative.

The Ukrainian presidents programme was established in November to send his countrys produce to countries where people were suffering from the high global price of staple foods.
The UK will return to the European Union (EU)s 85 billion Horizon research programme in a breakthrough welcomed by scientists frozen out of the scheme in a post-Brexit row.

Researchers based in the UK can from Thursday apply for grants to take part in the collaboration programme after Rishi Sunak secured what he called the right deal for British taxpayers.

According to the EUs estimate, Britain will contribute around 2.2 billion (almost 2.6 billion euros) per year to participate in both Horizon and the Copernicus space programme from January 1, when its association membership with the projects begins.

But it will not take part in the blocs nuclear technology scheme Euratom.

I have always championed our world-leading scientists and innovators. Were joining Horizon on improved financial terms, increasing the benefits to UK scientists with better value for money for the British taxpayer. All UK scientists can start applying today. https://t.co/NshDepRG1p  Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) September 7, 2023

With costs a key barrier for negotiators to overcome, the UK will not have to pay into the scheme for the two years it was frozen out in a tit-for-tat retaliation in a dispute over post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland in 2020.

The Government said the deal includes a clawback mechanism, which will see the UK compensated if British scientists receive significantly less money than the UK puts into the programme.

The Prime Minister said talks ended in a specific deal for the UK that works in the best interest of our researchers and scientists but also in the best interest of British taxpayers.

The bespoke #Horizon deal has been widely welcomed by some of the top UK scientists. Read more here https://t.co/eYbVY3PTcH  Michelle Donelan MP (@michelledonelan) September 7, 2023

Labour called the deal a relief but said it comes too late for many researchers.

Party leader Sir Keir Starmer said: I think there is a sense that we have lost two years, that this should have happened two years ago and that is a big loss.

He said the decision not to join Euratom is a gap Labour will look at.

However, Mr Sunak told science reporters during a visit to Warwick University that the fusion industry said loud and clear it did not want to associate with the programme.

So part of our research community said that there are bits of this that we would rather not be a part of because we think were better off having a bespoke UK scheme, he said.

During negotiations, Downing Street insisted that a UK-based alternative to Horizon known as Pioneer remained on the table because Mr Sunak was concerned about value for money.

But the Prime Ministers official spokesman denied that drawing up plans for that project had been a waste of civil servants time.

All of their work, whether they were working on Pioneer or Horizon negotiation, has helped us negotiate a much better position than the one we were in, he said.

The spokesman said the UK has secured much better financial terms, protections and transitional arrangements for Horizon.

He did not rule out Britain making financial contributions to rejoin other EU institutions, such as border agency Frontex.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who signed off on the deal with Mr Sunak on a call on Wednesday, said: The EU and UK are key strategic partners and allies and todays agreement proves that point.

The agreement was immediately welcomed by scientists after years of warnings that UK researchers have been missing out on collaboration with colleagues in the EU.

Sir Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society, said it is fantastic news.

Our president, Sir Adrian Smith, has welcomed the news of UK's association to the Horizon Europe research programme "Our associationis fantastic news, not just for the UK but for scientists across the EU and for all the people of Europe." Full statement https://t.co/FVpKXGbW0G pic.twitter.com/CDd80jV6Fq  The Royal Society (@royalsociety) September 7, 2023

Science has so much to offer in terms of tackling global challenges and improving lives. Today the Government and the EU have given that a big boost, he said.

Sir Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute, said he is thrilled to finally see that partnerships with EU scientists can continue.

This is an essential step in rebuilding and strengthening our global scientific standing, he said.

Thank you to the huge number of researchers in the UK and across Europe who, over many years, didnt give up on stressing the importance of international collaboration for science.

Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said it will be overwhelmingly in the best interests of cancer patients and scientists.

Fantastic news this morning that the UK will continue to be at the heart of this fantastic community https://t.co/VyA6DJvTun@SciTechgovuk  Universities UK (@UniversitiesUK) September 7, 2023

Horizon is a collaboration involving Europes leading research institutes and technology companies.

EU member states contribute funds, which are then allocated to individuals or organisations on merit to explore subjects such as climate change, medical advances and artificial intelligence.

Months of negotiations between London and Brussels on Britains return followed the signing of the Windsor Framework deal, which was agreed in February and designed to address concerns over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland.

This is a fantastic day for UK science. We have reached an agreement with the EU on a bespoke deal on Horizon, that works for UK scientists and for our taxpayers. Where better to tell you all about it than from the iconic @sciencemuseum  pic.twitter.com/Bb18i0281g  Michelle Donelan MP (@michelledonelan) September 7, 2023

Science Secretary Michelle Donelan said the Horizon programme is unrivalled in its scope, adding that it is a fantastic day for British science and technology.
Students could struggle to access high-quality education in the future under the current funding model for higher education, a university chief will warn.

Dame Sally Mapstone, the new president of Universities UK (UUK), will say universities need increased public investment to protect higher education.

In her inaugural speech as president of UUK, which represents 140 institutions, Dame Sally will suggest that British universities incurred an annual 1 billion loss in teaching domestic students last year.

She will warn: This situation must not persist. It threatens the opportunity for future students to have access to properly resourced and high-quality higher education simply due to when they were born.

And it threatens to diminish the UKs ability to deliver world-leading research and innovation to drive our knowledge-intensive and globally competitive economy.

The Government raised the cap on university tuition fees in England to 9,000 a year in 2012 and it has been fixed at 9,250 since 2017.

The UUK chief will warn that funding per student in England will be the lowest in nearly 25 years by 2025-26 and only worth 5,800 at 2011-12 prices.

Dame Sally, who is vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews, will say that the funding situation in Scotland is even more acute and similar declines have been seen in Wales and Northern Ireland.

In a speech at the UUKs conference in Manchester, Dame Sally will say: It is manifest that the UK needs our universities to be engines of innovation and change. To do this though our universities need a sustainable funding model.

Last month, universities minister Robert Halfon suggested that raising the cap on tuition fees in England during a cost-of-living crisis was not going to happen in a million years.

HEIs contribute 130bn to the UK economy, including the contribution of international students Our report shows that HEIs contributed 15.4 BILLION to the hotel, restaurant and transport industries alone, as well as supporting 127,800 jobs https://t.co/qy2IkuxpsX pic.twitter.com/YLsuoQamQg  Universities UK (@UniversitiesUK) September 6, 2023

In her address to hundreds of university leaders on Thursday, Dame Sally will say: To gain the increased investment we need, we must help earn it.

She will add: We cannot ask for increased public investment in the current context unless we have done everything we can to ensure our universities and the ways they operate are as efficient and innovative as possible.

We must make absolutely sure that we are delivering value for money and high-quality education to our students.

In her speech, the UUK chief will highlight a new London Economics report which suggests that universities had a positive economic impact of nearly 116 billion and supported more than 760,000 jobs in the UK in 2021/22.

The report, commissioned by the UUK, adds that the total economic impact from UK universities was more than 130 billion as international students generated an additional 14.8 billion.

Our new report with @LondonEconomics shows that HEIs support 768,000 jobs in the UK 25,700 in West Yorkshire14,200 in North of Tyne 45,900 in the West Midlands Thousands of jobs are at risk without sustainable funding for higher education https://t.co/qy2IkuxpsX pic.twitter.com/NY47rYLEP4  Universities UK (@UniversitiesUK) September 6, 2023

Dame Sally will add that sharing stories of the transformative benefits of higher education matters now more than ever given the counter-narrative that a university education isnt worth it.

Mr Halfon, minister for skills, apprenticeships and higher education, will make a speech at the UUKs conference at the University of Manchester.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan had originally been scheduled to appear at the conference, but she had to withdraw due to other priorities.

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson and Professor Arif Ahmed, director for freedom of speech and academic freedom at the Office for Students (OfS), will both speak at the event.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: To support our world-class higher education sector, were investing 10.7 billion in subsidised tuition fee loans in financial year 2022-23, 1.5 billion in Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) funding this year, and 450 million in SPG capital funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/5.

This will support universities to provide the skills we need for the 21st century, through high-quality courses and investment in world-class facilities that lead to good jobs for students, supported by our taxpayer-backed student finance system.
Disabled Americans could be higher in numbers, as claimed by the Center for American Progress' disability justice initiative director, Mia Ives-Rublee.

The question is, what does having a disability mean during job hunting? Here's what experts say.

Disabled Americans Could Be Higher Than Expected

According to CNBC's latest report, the Pew Research Center recently released a survey to show how many U.S. residents have disabilities.

Based on its database, around 13% of Americans identify as disabled people. Pew's survey stated that this is around 42.5 million disabled U.S. residents.

The American think tank added that the disabilities that residents have are usually hearing, walking, and vision, as well as self-care or independent living difficulties. But, Ives-Rublee explained that this could be an undercount.

She explained that efforts are also conducted to know how many disabled people are working and how many Americans have disabilities.

But, Mia said that the numbers acquired are "always an undercount" because there's a stigma around identifying with the disability.

The Center for American Progress official explained that disabled people can choose if they will self-identify in their job applications or not.

Now, should disabled Americans disclose their disabilities when applying for work or not?

Read Also: Why Amateur Mushroom Pickers Should Avoid AI-Generated Books

Is It Necessary to Disclose Your Disability?

Ives-Rublee explained that most companies provide three options that Americans can choose when asked about their disability status:

Yes: Confirming that you have a disability.

No: Saying you don't have a disability.

Will not answer the question.

Employers don't really have the right to ask if applicants have disabilities during a job interview. However, they can still include voluntary questions about disabilities.

Ives-Rublee explained that the information about Americans' disabilities can't be flagged by employers.

"Anything around race, disability, and gender are all supposed to be anonymous and are taken for federal reporting guidelines," she added.

This means that you have the option of disclosing your disability or not disclosing it at all.

However, Mia stated that there are many reasons why Americans should consider disclosing their disabilities to their employers.

These include being able to ask for the assistance that applicants legally deserve.

"You have to assess on your own whether disclosing is beneficial to you," said Ives-Rublee.

If you want to learn more details about disclosing disabilities in job applicants, you can click here.

Related Article: Research Shows Unemployed Veterans are Increasing

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
More than 2 months after an asylum-seeker from Nicaragua died in immigration custody, his family say they have more questions than answers about the circumstances surrounding his death. He had filed grievances alleging physical mistreatment by the facilitys staff and had also repeatedly complained to his family.

Ernesto Rocha-Cuadra, 42, died June 23 after having spent over a year in the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena, Louisiana, as he waited for his immigration case to be reviewed.

An ICE panel had recommended him for release in November, but officials at the detention center declined to release him, according to attorneys and immigrant advocacy groups, NBC News reported in June.

Glenda Perez and her fiancee Ernesto Rocha Cuadra. (Courtesy Glenda Perez)

Notes from ICEs medical records the family provided to NBC News indicate Rocha-Cuadra was found unresponsive, sitting in a chair. He was placed on oxygen and given naloxone, a medication used to reverse the effects of opioids. The drug is commonly administered in emergency situations when people are unresponsive, regardless of whether they have used drugs. His brother said the coroner told him that an initial drug test was negative.

Once Rocha-Cuadra became responsive, he was taken to the emergency room at LaSalle General Hospital and arrived in stable condition. Shortly after, he lost consciousness, went into respiratory arrest and then cardiac arrest, which ICE listed as the preliminary cause of death. Resuscitation attempts failed and he was declared dead at 2:59 p.m., according to the notes.

Rocha-Cuadras family, who have been living in the Los Angeles area for over 30 years, said it took three days for them to find out he had died.

The ICE facility in Jena, La., on Aug. 9, 2019. (Melinda Martinez via USA TODAY Network)

According to the familys account, the day after Rocha-Cuadra died, one of his brothers, Frank Rocha-Cuadra, received a call from a detainee who was worried that Ernesto had not returned to detention and wanted to know whether the family knew how he was doing. Not aware that anything had happened, the family began calling the detention center but kept getting a recorded message until they got through on June 26, a Monday.

I got transferred to someone and when I gave him my brothers information, he said: Let me pray for the family. Im so sorry, said Frank. So right then and there he told me that my brother had passed away.

It wasnt until 4 p.m. that day that ICE called his mother notifying them of Ernestos death, Frank Rocha-Cuadra said.

Allegations and questions

According to the ICE medical records provided by the family and a more condensed version of his record ICE sent to NBC News, Ernesto Rocha-Cuadra had been physically tortured by authorities in Nicaragua over a four-month period in 2020. He was on medication for depression and anxiety, and there was documentation of a right-hand fracture and a history of issues with his hand and wrist.

Family members and his fiancee said Rocha-Cuadra had complained to them of being mistreated since he arrived at the ICE processing center, which is owned by a private prison firm, the GEO Group. The company runs the day-to-day operations while ICE is responsible for medical services.

Rocha-Cuadra filed numerous grievances with ICE while in detention making allegations of abuse. The grievances became part of a habeas corpus motion he filed, which allows detained individuals to go before a judge to challenge their detention. NBC News obtained the habeas corpus petition from Homero Lopez, executive director of Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy [ISLA] in New Orleans who was representing Rocha-Cuadra at the time.

In one grievance filed on Sept. 2, 2022, Rocha-Cuadra described being in EXCRUTIATING pain and alleged that the detention centers medical center called an ambulance but the GEO staff refused and said they would take him themselves in their car. NEXT THING I REMEMBER WAS WAS COMING WAKEING UP WHEN THEY THREW ME IN THE SUV AND ME HITTING MY HEAD AND THEY THREW ME IN SHACKLED FROM HEAD TO TOE ON MY BACK AS THE CAMERA WILL SHOW VOMITING AND CHOKING ON MY SELF .. THINK I WAS GOING TO DIE.

According to the petition, in another grievance filed the same day, Sept. 2, 2022, Rocha-Cuadra stated that a sergeant and a lieutenant went to his pod and started recording with their phones. He asked to be moved to another cell or that they close the flap between him and his neighbor; in previous grievances he had complained that his neighbor was throwing urine and feces at him through the flap. They came in with riot gear and attacked me, he wrote in the Sept. 2 grievance. He said they used excessive force that resulted in bruising all over his body. According to the petition, on that same day he filed a grievance saying an inmate assaulted him seven times in front of GEO staff.

He also complained about being left in solitary confinement for prolonged periods of time, according to the petition.

ICE declined to comment on Rocha-Cuadra's grievances against the facility.

The GEO Group said it cannot comment on specific cases regarding individuals in ICE custody, including grievances.

Ernesto Rocha Cuadra and Glenda Perez in Mexico on their way to the United States in March 2022. (Courtesy Glenda Perez)

Glenda Perez, Ernesto Rocha-Cuadras fiancee, said that during the last couple of weeks before his death, things did not seem quite right. His phone calls went from 30 minutes to three minutes the last two weeks he was alive. On their last video call, she and Rocha-Cuadras mother said they saw he had a cast on his arm that went up to his underarm, though that is not in the medical records sent to NBC News.

Family members said that when they viewed his body, he had bruises around his face. Perez said that when she received Rocha-Cuadras belongings, there was blood on a T-shirt.

His family insist they deserve to know more about what took place inside the facility in the days and moments before he died at the hospital.

The autopsy report is not yet complete, but Frank Rocha-Cuadra said the coroner told him a drug test was negative. The family filed Freedom of Information Act requests for records from ICE, like camera footage from inside the facility and a list of grievances that Rocha-Cuadra had filed at the facility regarding his treatment there.

ICE denied all the records requests, citing an open investigation, according to Jeremy Jong, a staff attorney with Al Otro Lado, an immigrant legal advocacy organization. The family has appealed the decision, arguing that it is not the type of investigation that would allow immigration officials to withhold records. The appeals are pending.

A life in the U.S.  and then a return

Rocha-Cuadra spent most of his life in the U.S. He came as a young boy in the 1980s and became a legal permanent resident when he was 11 years old. He and his family settled in the Los Angeles area, where he grew up.

He was always looking out for me, his mother, Martha Rocha-Cuadra, said. He even translated for me during medical appointments.

After some run-ins with the law, including convictions for marijuana possession, second-degree burglary and driving under the influence, Rocha-Cuadra was deported to Nicaragua in 2009.

He settled in the capital, Managua, where he worked at call centers for American companies. He met Perez, who owned an upholstery business, and the two started a 13-year relationship.

In 2018, as Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega grew more authoritarian, the couple took part in nationwide street protests that quickly turned violent. They also participated in smaller subsequent protests, and Perez said Rocha-Cuadra was briefly detained by authorities. In 2022, she said, there was an order for Rocha-Cuadras arrest in Nicaragua, and thats when the couple decided to travel to the U.S.-Mexico border, a two-month ordeal, and seek asylum in the U.S.

People protest in Managua, Nicaragua, on May 17, 2018. (Inti Ocon / AFP via Getty Images file)

Rocha-Cuadra crossed the border last year near Andrade, California. At the time, under Title 42  an emergency health order, since rescinded, that allowed authorities during the pandemic to turn away migrants  there was no way to ask for asylum at a port of entry. Asylum-seekers had to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally and then ask for asylum.

His family described Rocha-Cuadra as a good-hearted man who always went out of his way to help others.

When I met him, I thought, hes not gorgeous, but I fell in love with his heart, said Perez.

ICE did not directly answer whether Rocha-Cuadra had been recommended for release. It said in an emailed statement that regardless of nationality, ICE makes custody determinations on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with U.S. law and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy, considering the individual merits and factors of each case.

The statement went on to say that ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers are required to conduct individualized periodic custody review determinations, weighing a variety of factors including criminal record, immigration history, community ties, flight risk, and whether the individual poses a potential threat to public safety.

Many detention centers in Louisiana, like the one Rocha-Cuadra was held in, used to be private prisons that were emptied out after the state enacted a sweeping criminal justice overhaul. The for-profit prisons then set up contracts with ICE to house migrant detainees.

A Customs and Border Protection officer sits on watch near the port of entry between Andrade, Calif. - Los Algodones, Mexico, on Feb. 12, 2019. (Caitlin O'Hara for The Washington Post via Getty Images file)

The GEO Group said in an emailed statement, We express our condolences to Mr. Rocha-Cuadras family members and loved ones. As a service provider to ICE, GEO plays no role in decisions related to the assignment, transfer, or release of individuals to or from ICE Processing Centers. We are unable to provide comment regarding specific cases related to individuals in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which would include any grievances filed by such individuals. Healthcare services at the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center are provided directly by the federal government through the ICE Health Services Corps and not by GEO.

Mich Gonzalez, an attorney with the Southern Poverty Law Center, says he thinks the history of detention centers as prisons has an impact on the way detainees are treated.

He said one major problem with these detention centers is that theyre not supposed to be punitive in nature, but they are.

In 2021, the Department of Homeland Security's Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties opened an investigation, which continues, into several ICE detention facilities within the New Orleans area due to the volume and severity of allegations received concerning them.

The last time Rocha-Cuadra spoke to his mother was June 21. She says the 21st of each month is a reminder that it was the last time she heard his voice and saw him on video.

He was always trying to help everyone since he was a kid. He was always looking after his brothers and cousins, said Martha Rocha-Cuadra. Im proud of my son because of his actions. He continues to protect us from heaven. He is an angel guiding all of us.
ELECTRICITY CAN be made from the sun, the wind or the atom rather than by burning fossil fuels. Cars, buses and perhaps even lorries can be powered by batteries rather than petrol or diesel. But other parts of the economy are trickier to decarbonise. One such awkward chunk is the heating, in homes and business, of air and water. In the EU, where much of this is done by burning oil or natural gas, commercial and residential heating accounts for about 12% of the blocs greenhouse-gas emissions (see chart).

In principle there is a solution, in the form of heat pumps. These work like a refrigerator in reverse, gathering heat from the outside, concentrating it, and piping it into a building. The EU hopes to replace a third of the 68m gas and 18m oil boilers in residential buildings with heat pumps by 2030. That could mean a 28% fall in the total residential emissions generated by oil and gasand that number should rise as more of the electricity powering those pumps comes from low-carbon sources.

But there are problems with ambitious targets. Compared with boilers, heat pumps are expensive, often costing twice or three times as much as a fossil-fired boiler. Another is that, since they pump cooler water to radiators, they work best in new, well-insulated buildings. Around 60% of Europes housing stock is estimated to fall short of the required standards, and will need extensiveand expensiverenovation work to make them suitable.

And there is another drawback, too. Although heat pumps powered by low-carbon electricity are undoubtedly better, from an environmental point of view, than fossil-fuelled boilers, their credentials are not entirely green. Most residential models contain environmentally damaging gases which European legislators are poised to outlaw. Redesigning the machines to work without them could mean delays in installing them.

In some places, the politics of heat pumps have become bad-tempered. A German law had planned to forbid the installation of new gas-fired boilers in homes from next year. A backlash from cross voters sparked a row in the countrys coalition government before the rules were scrapped in June. On September 8th, after we published this article, German lawmakers were expected to pass a watered-down version of the rules.

Warming up

A heat pump works by warming a refrigerant in a network of pipes using the ambient heat present in the air, or from an array of pipes that are buried in the ground or under water. This turns the refrigerant from a liquid into a gas. The gas is then compressed, which raises its temperature. The resulting hot gas is pumped through a heat exchanger, where it warms the water or air that is used to heat the building. As the gas cools it returns to its liquid state, ready to repeat the process.

Because heat pumps merely move existing heat around, rather than generating it themselves, they can be extremely efficient. Some models boast efficiencies of 400% or more, which means that four kilowatts of heat can be piped into a house for every one kilowatt of electricity consumed by the pump. Modern gas boilers, which generate heat from combustion, can reach about 90% efficiency, and are prevented by the laws of physics from exceeding 100%.

A heat pumps efficiency is lower in winter, when there is less heat to be gathered from the air, although they work at temperatures as low as -25C. But heat pumps tend to produce water heated to around 55C. This is lower than most gas boilers, which might manage 75C or so. That means that fitting heat pumps to older buildings often needs extra insulation, bigger radiators or even underfloor heating, all of which is disruptive and pricey.

Most modern heat pumps use hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as their refrigerants. These transform from liquid to gas at the right sort of temperature, and can carry a good deal of heat. But HFCs are also potent greenhouse gases, with climate-changing power that can be several thousand times higher than carbon dioxide, the main man-made greenhouse gas. Leaks of HFCs from heat pumps and other equipment, such as certain types of refrigeration and air-conditioning systems, account for around 2.5% of the EUs total greenhouse-gas emissionsnot far off the amount caused by air travel in the region.

Propane, and propane accessories

With that in mind, the EU had planned this summer to put the finishing touches to new rules that would have required HFCs to be replaced with cleaner alternatives by 2027. But discussions have broken down. One side, backed by Germany and the Netherlands, is keen to get on with the phase-out. The other, supported by a number of eastern European countries and some heat-pump manufacturers, wants the deadline moved into the 2030s.

Other refrigerants exist. The chemical industry has developed a class of chemicals called hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs). These are less powerful greenhouse gases than HFCs, although still more potent than carbon dioxide. But some countries, including Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, want to restrict HFOs, too, because studies show they could pollute rainwater. Many heat-pump manufacturers are therefore turning to so-called natural refrigerants, which have the lowest global warming potentials of all. Some of these were employed in refrigeration long before synthetic substances were developed. They include ammonia and even carbon dioxide itself. But the front-runner to replace HFCs in residential heat pumps is propane.

The global-warming effect of propane is only a little stronger than that of carbon dioxide. The problem with using it in a heat pump is that, unlike HFCs, it is flammable. It is also odourless, which is why when propane is used as a fuel it is given a rotten egg smell so that it can be easily detected if it leaks. That is not possible in a heat pump, since the chemicals that produce the smell interfere with the refrigeration process.

For that reason, extra rules apply to propane-powered pumps. If propane is pumped inside a building, as in split systems which mount the heat-exchanging equipment indoors, then the volume of gas in the system is limited to 150 grams, about a fifth of the amount of refrigerant typically used in an HFC model. If more gas is used, extra safety features, such as leak sensors and automatic venting systems, have to be fitted. This raises the cost still higher, and makes installation even more fiddlyespecially in the older buildings less well-suited to the technology.

According to the European Heat Pump Association (although not all its members seem to agree), the rapid phasing out of HFCs would slam on the brakes for heat pump deployment. It argues that a laxer schedule would give the industry more time to develop propane-based systems that could be installed more easily in a greater variety of homes.

Delaying things is unnecessary, according to a paper presented to European legislators by a group of more than 40 scientists. They point out that it took the refrigerator industry between three and five years to switch to cleaner gases, like isobutane, in the 1990s. (Chlorofluorocarbons, that industrys refrigerants of choice, were phased out in that decade because of the damage they do to the ozone layer.) What heat-pump makers have failed to do, the paper argues, is to reduce the amount of refrigerants which heat pumps contain because this was not considered to be important with non-flammable HFCs.

Despite what their trade body says, a number of producers, including Viessman and Robert Bosch, two German firms, along with Mitsubishi Electric, a Japanese one, have already launched propane-filled heat-pumps. They tend to be large monoblock systems that are mounted outdoors, where any escaping gas can disperse quickly and harmlessly into the air. Viessman says that, besides its eco-friendly credentials, propane also makes it easier to produce heat pumps that can supply water at 70Cthe sorts of temperatures that gas boilers produce. That could remove the need to replace radiators or install underfloor heating in many cases, saving a considerable amount of money.

Many properties, and especially flats, may lack enough outside space for a monoblock. Firms are therefore working on split systems that can get by on modest quantities of propane. They are being helped by Lena Schnabel and her colleagues at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg, Germany. Dr Schnabels group have tested a number of designs, including one that can make do with just 146 grams of propane. That was achieved by redesigning and optimising most of the pumps important components, such as the compressor, heat-exchanger and pipework, and the use of prototype parts.

Dr Schnabel is optimistic that new designs containing a small charge of propane will, in the next few years, mean it is possible to directly replace a gas boiler inside a flat with a heat pump that will be safe, eco-friendly and produce similar temperatures. The heat source could be a communal one, on the roof of a building or buried in a basement, powering dozens of individual indoor units. There is even talk of raising the 150-gram limit, though, says Dr Schnabel, for safety it really makes sense to use as little refrigerant as possible.

If such devices can be perfected, then many of the downsides of heat pumps could be eliminated. Not only would they become greener machines in their own right, they would become easier and cheaper to fit in old properties, too. And that would help take some of the heat out of the arguments that surround them.

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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/science-and-technology/2023/09/06/propane-powered-heat-pumps-are-greener
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to visit the White House for a public event next week, but the plans are in flux because first lady Jill Biden tested positive for Covid, according to two people familiar with the planning.

Clinton is scheduled to appear with the first lady Tuesday at a ceremony honoring winners of a prestigious international arts award, the sources said. But, they said, because Jill Biden tested positive for Covid this week, the joint appearance of the current and former first ladies may not happen.

If Biden is unable to attend, however, the event will go forward at the White House with Clinton, a person familiar with the planning said.

The first lady's office said Wednesday that Biden continues to have mild symptoms.

If Tuesdays ceremony takes place, it would be the first time Clinton has appeared at a public event at the Biden White House.

During President Joe Bidens first year in office, Clinton met privately at the White House with Vice President Kamala Harris, said a person familiar with the meeting. The source didnt know whether Clinton also met in person with the president, though the two have spoken on the phone, said a person familiar with the matter. Clinton was also among the dignitaries who attended a dinner with the Bidens honoring former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Former President Bill Clinton had lunch with Biden at the White House last year.

President Biden is scheduled to be traveling overseas until late Monday. Its unclear whether he would have any time with Hillary Clinton if she is at the White House for the arts event.

The event is to honor recipients of Japans Praemium Imperiale, an award sometimes referred to as the Nobel Prize of the Arts. The organization announced that Clinton would take part in an event Tuesday announcing the entity that will be awarded its young artists grant.

The Grant for Young Artists will be also announced at the press conference in Washington DC, presided over by International Advisor, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and followed by the presentation of the grant, the organizations website says.

Bill Clinton hosted an event for Praemium Imperiale recipients when he was in office, thanking the winners in each of the five categories  painting, sculpture, architecture, music and film  for stirring our imaginations and our souls.

The world is better for their efforts, Clinton said at the 1994 East Room ceremony.

Hillary Clinton would appear at the White House next week after a report detailing tensions between her and the Biden administration over the presidents decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan in August 2021.

Clinton said on NBC's Meet the Press last year when she was asked about the impact of the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal on President Bidens standing with voters: I dont think it helped.
GOP Sen. Mitt Romney thinks a government shutdown is very likely, citing the House for his pessimism.

Senate GOP Whip John Thune says that House Republicans are going to have to show some movement in the impasse.

And Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito thinks the House GOP shouldnt have abandoned a bipartisan deal that Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached with the White House that was meant to make it easier to fund the government and avoid their current predicament.

When you make a deal, I think you should stick to the deal, Capito told CNN.

As an end-of-the-month deadline to avoid a shutdown is rapidly approaching, tension in the GOP ranks is only rising.

Lawmakers have to navigate a whole host of major differences between the two chambers  not just on overall spending levels, but also on critical policy issues. That includes whether to maintain the United States investment to help Ukraine in its war against Russia, an issue that is strongly supported by top Senate Republicans and Democrats but has badly divided the House GOP.

Plus the differences between the two chambers go beyond Ukraine.

Under pressure from his right flank, which held the House hostage for about a week over the summer in protest over the debt ceiling law, McCarthy agreed to seek deeper cuts than outlined in that law, which was drafted in painstaking negotiations in his own office.

Now, the House and the Senate are about $153 billion apart in funding levels for the federal government for the fiscal year that starts October 1  a gulf that even Republican senators fear will be difficult, if not impossible, to bridge.

It makes the appropriations process really challenging, Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican and member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said of the House backing away from the funding levels in the debt limit law, also known as the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

On top of all of that: Threats persist from McCarthys right wing that if he agrees to funding levels higher than theyd like, they could seek to oust from his speakership. They would need just one member to call for a vote and five to vote against him, throwing the House into chaos.

But first Congress will have to approve a short-term spending bill to avoid a shutdown, but its not even clear that will pass by the September 30 deadline.

Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, a member of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, said Wednesday that many Republicans would rebel if McCarthy agreed to even a short-term extension of current funding levels, saying there need to be cuts imposed in the must-pass measure  a position that is a non-starter with Democrats.

I cant imagine that most (Republicans) are going to want to vote for a continuing resolution of a number that they voted against, Buck said on The Lead with Jake Tapper, referring to the funding levels in last years spending law that would be extended under a short-term bill. So it puts the speaker as you said, between a rock and a hard place.

Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy, who is demanding more border security measures in the short-term funding bill, dismissed concerns over the possibility of a government shutdown.

Swamp dwellers hand-wringing over a possible shutdown for a week or two  are the same lunatics who shut down your entire American economy, schools, & healthcare for over a year, leaving people to die alone, he posted on social media. Spare me.

McCarthy has repeatedly defended his approach by saying that that the overall budget agreement set out the maximum amount of money to spend and that nothing should stop Congress from taking further steps to rein in sky-high deficits.

You can always do less, he told reporters in the Capitol before the recess.

But the move to seek deeper cuts has only made it harder for McCarthy to get agreement within his own conference to advance spending bills.

Indeed, as House Republicans have struggled to pass partisan spending bills amid internal disagreements, the Senate is planning to bring a package of three bipartisan spending bills to the floor next week  a stark contrast from the House, and a move that could give senators more leverage in the funding fight. The Senate bills, unlike the House, stick to the topline spending levels agreed to in the bipartisan debt ceiling deal.

I know you constantly want me to comment on the House. But we are focused on our job, said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee. I am proud of the fact that in a bipartisan way, with seven of the bills passing unanimously, we got all of the bills, all 12 reported before the August recess for the first time in five years.

Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn acknowledged that House and Senate Republicans arent completely aligned on spending  particularly on the issue of Ukraine aid, which could emerge as a major point of contention if it is tacked on to a short-term bill to fund the government.

The challenge is going to be in the House, he said. I know theres a strong core of support for Ukraine funding, certainly in the Senate.

Indeed, even trying to pass the short-term bill is filled with legislative landmines. A large number of senators in both parties are pushing hard to include $24 billion in aid to Ukraine and another $16 billion in funds for communities ravaged by natural disasters. But a sizable bloc of House Republicans wants to punt on Ukraine and only move on the disaster relief, a move that the White House opposes.

Indeed, sources say McCarthy is considering delinking the two issues, only including disaster relief in the short-term spending bill and trying to move Ukraine money separately at a later date  teeing up a showdown with the White House and Senate leaders in both parties, who want to see Ukraine aid remain in the government funding package.

If the House passes a short-term funding bill with only disaster aid, the Senate could add Ukraine money back into it, risking a shutdown since the House is opposed to that move. But passing a standalone Ukraine bill is going to be difficult, as House Republicans, in exchange, are going to demand more money and reforms to the southern border that the Senate is likely to oppose.

Rep. Kevin Hern, an Oklahoma Republican who chairs a conservative group known as the Republican Study Committee, said that the two issues  disaster aid and Ukraine funding  should be separate and called on the White House to detail why it needs such a massive package for a foreign war.

The American people deserve to kind of know what our game plan is, Hern said. Is it just to continue to send money to Ukraine, or is it to have some kind of resolve set forth?

But Republican proponents of the Ukraine aid say that Russian President Vladimir Putin will win the war if the US relents, arguing it would lead to devastating consequences for the world.

To these people who say its not in our interest to support Ukraine, youre the same folks that criticized Biden for getting out of Afghanistan. Youre right to do that, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, who traveled to Ukraine over the August recess. Pulling the plug on Ukraine and letting Putin get away with this invasion will destabilize the world more than Afghanistan.

The GOPs divide on Ukraine is echoed by its party leaders. While McCarthy has repeatedly insisted on no blank check for Ukraine, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell made an impassioned case  both on the Senate floor and during a closed-door party lunch on Wednesday  that they need to keep resources flowing to Ukraine at a critical time in its war with Russia.

Hes supportive of our involvement (in Ukraine). And he wants the rest of us to continue to support our involvement in Ukraine, said Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican. I do, and most Republicans do.

Louisiana GOP Sen. John Kennedy said he was supportive of both disaster aid and more Ukraine money, but has no qualms with the House GOPs hardline approach to the spending battle.

I dont agree with everything thats said by my House colleagues, but theyre right on the need to control spending and debt accumulation, he said. The rubbers gonna meet the road when we get a conference committee.

CNNs Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.

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A federal judge in Austin on Wednesday ordered Texas to remove river barriers that the state assembled along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border to repel migrants, giving the Biden administration an early victory in its lawsuit against the buoys approved by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

Senior U.S. District Court Judge David Ezra issued a preliminary injunction directing Texas officials to remove the floating border barriers from the middle of the Rio Grande by Sept. 15, at the state's own expense. He also prohibited the state from setting up similar structures in the middle of the Rio Grande, the international boundary between the U.S. and Mexico in Texas.

In his opinion, Ezra found that Texas' buoys obstructed free navigation in the Rio Grande, in violation of a longstanding law governing waterways controlled by the federal government. Texas, he concluded, needed to obtain permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a federal agency, to place the barriers in the river.

Ezra noted he was directing Texas state officials to remove the floating barriers from the middle of the Rio Grande by moving them to the riverbank on the U.S. side, rather than ordering its "removal entirely from the river."

The Biden administration filed its lawsuit against the floating barriers in late July, arguing that Texas needed permission from the federal government to set up the buoys, and that the state had failed to acquire it. The administration also said the structures impeded Border Patrol agents from patrolling the border, endangered migrants and hurt U.S.-Mexico relations.

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

Ezra agreed with the administration's arguments. "To the extent that further findings are required, the Court also finds that Texas's conduct irreparably harms the public safety, navigation, and the operations of federal agency officials in and around the Rio Grande," he wrote in his ruling.

In a statement, Abbott's office said Texas would appeal the ruling. "Today's court decision merely prolongs President Biden's willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along. This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal," the office said.

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said the Justice Department was "pleased that the court ruled that the barrier was unlawful and irreparably harms diplomatic relations, public safety, navigation, and the operations of federal agency officials in and around the Rio Grande."

Last month, Texas repositioned the buoys closer to American soil after federal officials disclosed a joint U.S.-Mexico survey that concluded that roughly 80% of the barriers had been set up in Mexican territory. Mexico's government has vocally denounced the buoys, saying they violate the country's sovereignty.

While Abbott and other Texas officials have said the river barriers are designed to discourage migrants from attempting to enter the U.S. unlawfully and unsafely, human rights activists, Democratic lawmakers and a Texas state medic have raised concerns about the structures forcing migrants to swim across deepers parts of the Rio Grande where the risk of drowning is greater.

The legal fight over the buoys has become the latest flash point in a two-year political feud between the Biden administration and Abbott, who has accused the federal government of not doing enough to deter migrants from crossing the southern border illegally.

As part of a state border initiative, dubbed Operation Lone Star, Abbott has directed National Guard units to impede the entry of migrants through the use of razor wire. The state's Department of Public Safety, for its part, has been instructed to arrest and jail migrant adults on state trespassing charges.

The most high-profile component of Abbott's operation has been an effort to bus thousands of migrants from the southern border to large Democratic-led cities like New York, Chicago and Denver, which now find themselves struggling to house destitute newcomers who lack ties to the U.S.

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(Jim Cooke / Los Angeles Times; photo by Getty Images)

Americans think New York is more dangerous than New Orleans, even though the Crescent City's homicide rate is 12 times higher this year. Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents rank Washington, D.C., as one of the country's safer big cities, above cities like Miami, where the homicide rate is much lower. Republicans and Republican-leaning independents see Seattle as ominously dangerous, even though Houston has twice the homicide rate so far this year.

Americans are worried about crime ahead of the 2024 elections, but few have an accurate sense of the problem, according to a Times review of crime data and a recent Gallup poll that asked adults to judge whether 16 major cities are safe places to live or visit.

Los Angeles, which has the fifth lowest homicide rate so far this year among the 16 cities in the survey, was ranked as the third most dangerous. Forty-one percent of Americans described L.A. as a safe place to live or visit, the highest number Gallup has ever recorded for the city.

L.A.'s results showed that partisanship now plays a huge role in Americans' perceptions of crime and safety. Sixty-four percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents ranked L.A. safe, while only 21% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents gave it the all-clear, the biggest gap in the poll. The gap between the two coalitions' assessments of cities in the survey was 29 points on average. That's new: Political affiliation barely affected the results in 2006, the last time Gallup asked Americans about big-city safety.

People are bad at perceiving crime rates, said Jeff Asher, a crime data analyst and consultant who runs a widely used website. Theyre not good judges of what is or what is not safe in another city.

Read more:Mississippi has problems, but it's handling homelessness better than L.A.

Assessing cities' safety is tricky. Homicide rates spiked across the country during the pandemic and have since fallen, but are still likely to be higher this year than they were in 2019. Auto theft is surging nationally, but some cities, including Los Angeles, are experiencing a small decline. And rates for almost all types of crime have fallen since the early 1990s.

Voters opinions probably are being informed by partisanship, media portrayals  including an increase in neighborhood websites and email listservs  and factors such as public homelessness, drug use, shoplifting and other signs of disorder, policy and political experts said.

Asher called the Gallup survey the bane of my existence. The results made so little sense to him that he abandoned a column he tried to write on the subject. Although he tracks crime closely, he says it is nearly impossible to fully characterize national trends on safety in real time, in part because FBI data on violent crime can lag years behind and because it is difficult to define which offenses detract most from community security.

Cities such as Miami and Dallas that are in states with Republican governors appeared to get a boost in their reputations for safety compared with their record, while Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, which are in states with Democratic governors, took a hit, according to Anna Harvey, a political scientist and founder and director of the Public Safety Lab at New York University.

Republicans have painted Democratic-run cities as dens of crime and disorder since at least the 1960s. Candidates at the Republican presidential primary debate last month talked over one another to decry hollowed-out cities, a national identity crisis and Democrats who have been talking about defunding the police for the last five years.

Republican criticisms of Democratic big-city leaders have been bolstered by tech barons such as Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who have couched safety concerns as part of a broader argument against the woke orientation of certain cities, their ungovernability, said Richard Florida, a University of Toronto professor who has written extensively about trends in cities.

GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has tried to channel that energy in his presidential run, claiming in a recent video he posted from San Francisco that he saw people defecating and using crack cocaine and other drugs on the street, and warning of a collapse resulting from leftist policies. Fox News has reinforced those impressions with frequent segments on homelessness and drugs in big cities on the West Coast.

"The political rhetoric is public nuisance crimes, Harvey said. That may not be correlated with where the most serious violent crime is happening.

Yet voters do have cause for concern, she and others say. Experts do not yet know whether homicide rates will continue to fall. Localized problems, including carjackings in New Orleans, rattle entire communities. Violent crimes, which appear to be falling, are still more common than they were in 2019, before the pandemic, the murder of George Floyd, and the resulting protests, according to a July study by the Council on Criminal Justice.

Harvey said Democrats should come out swinging in places where homicide and other violent crimes have subsided, such as Boston, L.A., Seattle and San Francisco, and be more vocal that crime in Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia represents a serious policy problem that needs serious policies.

Just ignoring it or trying to change the subject is not going to be an effective tactic, she said.

Democrats acknowledge that the public's worries about crime are likely to hurt them more than they hurt the GOP, given that Democrats control the White House and most big-city governments. Only 35% of people in an NPR/Marist survey conducted in March said President Biden was doing a good job handling crime, a lower mark than his already low approval rating. He earned similarly poor marks from people of color and those under 45, voters he needs to motivate if he wants to win reelection.

Read more:In a Florida boom town, builders and homeless services providers fret: 'We can't be L.A.'

What youve got to do is say, Hey, I know its a serious issue and heres what Ive done, said John Anzalone, a Democratic pollster who has worked for Biden, pointing to a mayors work in hiring and recruiting police and taking guns off the street as examples.

Republicans are not about to let up. Whit Ayres, a veteran Republican pollster, pointed to an effort by residents in the higher-income Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta earlier this year to secede from the city, which he said was driven by fear of crime.

Georgia has become a crucial swing state in presidential elections and, in recent elections, for control of the Senate. Ayres argues that that catapults the issue into national importance, and he scoffs at those who say his party is overhyping it.

Tell that to the people who are scared to go shopping at Lenox mall in Buckhead, he said. They are not making that up. And having some economist or political analyst downplay their fear is a good way to whistle past the graveyard for Democratic candidates.

Get the best of the Los Angeles Times politics coverage with the Essential Politics newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
By Kirsty Needham

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia and China have made progress in returning to "unimpeded trade" and more is needed, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday as he met Chinese Premier Li Qiang at a regional summit in Indonesia.

Albanese, who took office in 2022 at the head of government intent on patching up relations with Australia's biggest trading partner, also said that he would visit China this year, the first by an Australian leader since 2016, and confirmation of a significant step in stabilising ties.

"The progress we have made in resuming unimpeded trade is good for both countries and we want to see that progress continue," Albanese said in his opening comments at the meeting in Jakarta.

Relations between the two countries were virtually frozen for years over various issues including an Australian call for an international inquiry into the origins of COVID-19. China responded with a raft of trade reprisals on Australian exports.

But with their interactions warming, China has recently lifted tariffs on Australian barley exports. Australia still wants curbs on wine and lobsters and other exports lifted.

Albanese said that while Australia's views would not always align with China they had to talk.

"We understand dialogue is absolutely critical," he said.

Li also welcomed the improvement in relations and said China was ready to work with Australia to resume economic exchanges and to safeguard peace and stability in the region.

"China-Australia relations have maintained a positive momentum of improvement thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides over the past year," Li said.

China hoped Australia would adopt an "objective and fair" attitude towards Chinese firms investing and operating in Australia.

The good news on bilateral relations came as weak data from the world's second-largest economy has raised doubts in other markets about its prospects.

Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday said a slowdown in China would put pressure on Australia's economy.

Chinese customs data on Thursday showed imports from Australia shrank 0.8% in August from a year earlier, slower than the 10.9% contraction in July.

The value of their to-way trade rose to $18.59 billion last month from $18.21 billion in July as trade ties improved.

Li also said he would Albanese on his visit to China, while the Australian prime minister referred to the anniversary of the first visit to communist China by an Australian leader, then prime minister Gough Whitlam, in 1973.

"I look forward to visiting China later this year to mark the 50th anniversary of Prime Minister Whitlam's historic visit," Albanese said in a statement.

Albanese said he raised human rights cases in his talks, including two detained Australian journalists, Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, telling reporters he had said Australians "want to see Cheng Lei reunited with her children".

Albanese will travel next to the Philippines, the first bilateral visit by an Australian leader in 20 years, after a period of renewed tension between the Philippines and China in waters they both claim in the South China Sea.

Australia last month held military exercises near the South China Sea with the Philippines and has said it planned joint navy patrols.

(Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney, Ella Cao, Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo in Beijing)
Russian businessman and former State Duma member Ashot Yegiazaryan at a home in Beverly Hills. A court filing by a former business partner of Yegiazaryan says that "he may be planning to leave  or perhaps already has left  the country." (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Ashot Yegiazaryan, a former Moscow real estate developer and State Duma member who sought asylum in the U.S., is suspected to have fled the country after allegedly repudiating pledges he made in federal court in Los Angeles to turn over more than $150 million in a politically tinged business dispute.

The Beverly Hills resident, 58, signed documents before U.S. District Court Judge Gary Klausner on July 18 promising to take a series of legal actions in foreign courts that would allow a former partner, Vitaly Smagin, to collect on an $84-million judgment awarded him by an arbitration panel in 2014. That judgment, which stemmed from a dispute over a Moscow mall, has grown substantially with interest.

Yegiazaryan signed the document at a civil contempt hearing under the threat of incarceration after years of financial and legal maneuvers designed to keep Smagin at bay. The documents required him to stop interfering with a Liechtenstein trust that holds funds and withdraw a request in divorce proceedings in Moscow to divide the trust funds with his former wife, among other actions.

Read more:Exiled in Beverly Hills, a refugee from Putin's Russia fights to keep his $200-million fortune

Yegiazaryan has maintained that he is the subject of a witch hunt conducted by his adversaries in the Putin government, with whom Smagin has collaborated, according to a 2015 federal court filing in Los Angeles opposing a worldwide freeze of his assets.

Smagin's lead attorney, Nicholas Kennedy, has strenuously denied that his client is associated with the Russian government. In court filings last month, Kennedy accused Yegiazaryan of not only breaking his promises to allow Smagin to be paid but of explicitly disavowing them in a notarized statement.

"The only reason I was forced into signing those documents was the fact that I was threatened by Judge Klausner that he was going to put me in jail and have me held in custody for an indefinite amount of time," wrote Yegiazaryan, according to a copy of the statement submitted by Kennedy in the court file. He asserted that his promises made to Klausner "have absolutely no legal effect and should be disregarded and deemed null and void in their entirety."

Yegiazaryan's case has drawn international attention: He fled Russia in 2010, saying he feared for his life after getting into a dispute with oligarchs closely aligned with the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The legal battle has been cited in two think tank reports as an example of the regime's use of foreign judiciaries to attain its ends.

Yegiazaryan signed the statement repudiating his federal court pledges immediately after the July court hearing and had it notarized by notary Daniel Lerman of Dokument USA in West Hollywood. The company specializes in rapidly obtaining travel documents for Russian nationals, according to the court filing.

Kennedy alleged the statement amounts to perjury and criminal contempt, and sought to have Klausner issue an arrest warrant for Yegiazaryan. The judge turned down the request on Friday, ruling the notarized document was not legally valid.

Kennedy thinks Yegiazaryan may no longer be in the United States, even though the Russian government has sought his arrest should he travel internationally.

"That Mr. Yegiazaryan made a beeline for West Hollywood to enlist the notarial services of Mr. Lerman only hours after his appearance before this court creates a reasonable basis to believe that he may be planning to leave  or perhaps already has left  the country, in order to escape the jurisdiction of this court and the most severe sanctions that this contemptuous conduct necessitates," wrote Kennedy, in his motion to Klausner.

Read more:The fight over 'The One'  L.A.s biggest and most extravagant mansion

Yegiazaryan has used the services of the notary at least once before last year, when submitting translated Russian court documents for his Los Angeles divorce proceeding.

Yegiazaryan did not respond to requests for comment and no one answered the bell at gated homes where he has lived in Beverly Hills and Pacific Palisades. His attorney, David Golubchik, declined comment. Lerman, at his shop, also declined to comment but expressed surprise at his inclusion in the court papers.

It's unclear how Smagin's legal team obtained the notarized document, or how it might be used, but with multiple ongoing legal cases abroad it presumably could be referenced to disavow the pledges Yegiazaryan signed in federal court. Kennedy said he could not comment beyond the court filing.

The allegations and possible departure of Yegiazaryan from the country in which he sought political refuge mark the latest twist in a long-running dispute stemming from two linked Moscow real estate projects. Yegiazaryan has claimed the ultimate source of his legal troubles is a political break he made with Putin in the mid-2000s, when he backed a rival for the Russian presidency.

Yegiazaryan, a former banker whose father was a prominent Soviet economist, was elected to the State Duma in 1999 as an ally of Putin, but continued a second career as a real estate developer.

In the early 2000s, he was selected by Moscow officials to reconstruct the historic Hotel Moskva near the Kremlin after a deal with Donald Trump fell through. Yegiazaryan raised hundreds of millions of dollars of financing but ultimately lost control of the project to Suleyman Kerimov, a Russian billionaire seen as closely aligned with Putin who has been sanctioned by the U.S.

Read more:He found fame on 'Real Housewives' and sold a $70 million Malibu mansion. Then his trouble started

Yegiazaryan said he was forced to flee Russia after masked police armed with automatic weapons raided his offices and he received threats that his children would be beheaded. After settling in Beverly Hills, Yegiazaryan won a $250-million arbitration award against Kerimov in the London Court of International Arbitration that was settled for nearly $200 million. It is those funds that Smagin is now seeking to access.

Kerimov's attorney declined comment this year on Yegiazaryan's allegations made in at least two federal court filings that his client was among those behind the terror campaign, but when they were first made last decade another of the billionaire's attorneys called them "total fabrications."

Smagin won his own $84-million arbitration award against Yegiazaryan in a dispute over a Moscow shopping mall they had developed together. The mall, called Europark, was used as collateral for a Hotel Moskva construction loan that later was sold by the issuing bank, causing Smagin to lose his interest in the mall. Smagin alleged he had been defrauded.

But Yegiazaryan claims the award obtained by Smagin, also in the London arbitration court, was tainted by the interference of Kerimov and Russian authorities. Kennedy says such claims have been rejected by judiciaries around the world.

Yegiazaryan was convicted of criminal fraud in absentia in Moscow in 2018 in the mall dispute and sentenced to seven years in a penal colony  a proceeding he characterizes as a kangaroo court. He also has fought paying Smagin through legal actions in courts in the U.S., Europe, Russia and elsewhere  but in recent years has found himself running out of moves after repeated losses in U.S. and Liechtenstein courts.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a little-noticed ruling, voted 6 to 3 to allow Smagin to pursue a racketeering case against him, expanding the application of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act originally written to target mobsters. The RICO statute allows for treble damages that could amount to more than $300 million in Yegiazaryan's case.

Yegiazaryan has said he does not have either a U.S. or Russian passport, so it is unclear if he fled the U.S. how he could travel internationally. The family has a villa in Nice, France, that has been the subject of divorce proceedings in the U.S. and Russia, where his former wife now lives. The divorced couple are now battling over the distribution of assets, including the villa and the funds in the Liechtenstein trust.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
President Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland at the White House in October 2021. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

The Biden administration announced Wednesday it was canceling seven oil drilling leases sold by the Trump administration in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

As the climate crisis warms the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, we have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages, President Biden said in a statement.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the cancellation of the leases, issued under former President Donald Trump, was legally justified because the environmental review conducted under the previous administration was inadequate.

With todays action, no one will have rights to drill for oil in one of the most sensitive landscapes on Earth, Haaland said on a press call.

The Alaska congressional delegation and the fossil fuel industry blasted the decision, which they argue will harm the local economy and increase energy costs.

Making good on a pledge

Caribou on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP)

Under pressure from climate activists, Biden pledged in 2020 to ban new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters.

Continued oil drilling greatly increases the chances that the world will exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming that studies have shown will cause catastrophic consequences.

But to the frustration of environmental activists, Biden has been largely unable to keep his promise. After he paused fossil fuel leasing upon taking office, a federal judge in Louisiana ordered the administration to resume selling offshore oil drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has continued granting permits to drill on existing leases at an even faster rate than under Trump. And the BLM recently greenlit the controversial Willow project, an oil and gas extraction contract on Alaskas North Slope, which the White House argued it was legally obligated to do under a preexisting lease.

But the Biden administration has also proposed new environmental safeguards for drilling, put some areas off limits altogether and is demanding more money from oil and gas companies that drill on federal land, drawing Republican ire in the process.

In 2017, congressional Republicans passed and Trump signed a tax cut law that included a provision requiring oil drilling in a part of the ANWR. Haaland suspended the leases in June 2021 in order to examine whether the Trump administration had conducted an adequate environmental review.

Since the 2017 law is still in place, the Interior Department is obligated to hold a new lease sale by 2024. However, it intends to implement stricter environmental safeguards and to make an additional 13 million acres of federal land in the area off limits for oil and gas drilling.

Read more from Yahoo News:Biden administration cancels years-long attempt to drill in Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, via CNN

Political fallout

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on July 11. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo)

Oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Refuge is incompatible with the long-term survival of the Arctic, the Gwichin Nations way of life, and life as we know it, Sierra Club executive director Ben Jealous said in a statement. By protecting these landscapes and canceling these leases, the White House has made it clear they will take bold action to avert climate catastrophe.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, predicted that Bidens action will result in fewer jobs at home, more imports for California and higher prices for everyone.

Alaskas other Republican senator, Dan Sullivan, and the states sole congressional representative, Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, also condemned the decision in a joint press release with Murkowski.

This industry needs clear, consistent policies in place to support the long-term investment needed to produce affordable, reliable energy, but the Biden administration instead continues to send mixed signals, the American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil and gas industry, complained in a statement.

The implications for 2024

An oil rig and pump in Stanton, Texas. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)

While Bidens action on Wednesday may bolster his standing among young voters who express concern over climate change and favor an end to fossil fuel leasing, Republicans will use it to try to show he has stifled American energy independence.

Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, called the ANWR move a war on American energy.

Even though U.S. oil production is currently at an all-time high, gas prices are rising due to global market pressures. The GOP has signaled its intention to make energy costs central to its critique of Biden in 2024. Fact checkers say federal fossil fuel leasing has no short-term effect on gas prices, but polls show voters favor all forms of domestic energy production.
SEOUL (Reuters) - A Chinese Communist Party and government delegation headed by Vice Premier Liu Guozhong will visit North Korea to take part in the celebration of the country's founding day later this week, state media KCNA reported on Thursday.

The visit comes at the invitation of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the report said.

The WPK is the sole party in the reclusive country.

North Korea celebrates its founding day on Sept. 9 known as the Day of the Foundation of the Republic and this year will mark the 75th anniversary.

In July, a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong visited Pyongyang and attended a military parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War -- the first visit by a Chinese delegation since the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the parade the Chinese official was seen in North Korean state media shoulder-to-shoulder with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un alongside Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, who was also visiting the country.

(Reporting by Hyunsu Yim; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra Maler)
A young valet attendant died in Atlanta, Georgia, after trying to stop car thieves. The Atlanta police announced that they have issued arrest warrants to catch the suspect who killed Harrison Olvey.

Georgia: Valet Attendant Dead After Trying to Stop Car Thieves

According to Fox News' latest report, the incident happened on Sunday, Sept. 3, at a nightclub on Piedmont Road Northeast.

Authorities said that Harrison was trying to stop a car break-in. Sadly, he was shot at around 1:40 a.m. that day.

The 25-year-old valet attendant was quickly taken to the Grady Memorial Hospital. However, his injuries were fatal, leading to his death shortly.

The Atlanta police said that they had a lead to the suspect who shot Harrison. On Sunday, officers shared photos of an armed and dangerous man on social media.

In the images, the guy can be seen driving what could be a newer Kia K5 with dark-tinted windows.

As of writing, police authorities are still investigating if the man they have arrest warrants for and the guy in the photos are the same individual.

Since they are not sure if the man in the photos is the one who killed Olvey, officers decided to keep his identity anonymous, for now.

Read Also: [VIRAL] Maryland Police Officer Suspended After Footage Shows Him Kissing a Female, Getting Into Patrol SUV

Harrison's Mom Shares Strong Words for Shooter

The valet attendant's mother shared strong words for the man who killed his son. "He's a poor excuse for a human being," said Autumn Ernst via Fox5 Atlanta.

She said that the killer should be sentenced to prison for the rest of his life and never be allowed to step outside ever again.

Harrison's mother, who is deeply devastated by her son's passing, also shared stronger statements about the man and his mother.

"I want his mom to suffer, I want her to lose her son. I want her to have his life taken, so she knows what it feels like. I want her to hurt," said Autumn.

Meanwhile, Harrison's brother, Addison Olvey, said that his sibling's death has been very hard for them. He added that Harrison was his best friend, best sibling, and the older brother that anyone can ask for.

Harrison's family and friends organized a fundraiser for the valet attendant's funeral. Their goal is to acquire $50,000 in donations. As of press time, they already achieved over $49,000.

If you wish to help the heroic Atlanta valet attendant, you can click here to send your donations.

Related Article: At Least 61 Arrested in Georgia Over Racketeering Charges in Relation With 'Stop Copy City' Movement

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization said it has dismissed a biosecurity expert after an internal inquiry upheld allegations of sexual misconduct but the man's lawyer dismissed the investigation as a smear campaign.

The details of the allegations were not made public.

"(The expert) has been dismissed from WHO following findings of sexual misconduct against him and corresponding disciplinary process," WHO spokesperson Marcia Poole said in an email to Reuters overnight. She said the expert had been informed of his dismissal on Sept. 6.

Swiss privacy laws prevent identification of people accused of wrongdoing unless they are well known and there is a serious need for the public to know the details of the alleged acts.

The expert's lawyer told Reuters on Thursday that her client contested the allegations against him and would challenge the dismissal.

"Proceedings against my client were unlawfully based on vague claims and hearsay, without factual statements supported by dates or alleged words or behaviours that would meet the legal definition of improper conduct," she told Reuters.

"This shows the true aim of the campaign - which was to smear my client without a visible accuser."

Asked to respond, the WHO spokesperson said the staff member had been dismissed following a thorough investigation.

The dismissal can be appealed through the U.N. internal hearings process.

(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Jon Boyle)
By Nate Raymond

BOSTON (Reuters) - A former correctional counselor at a federal prison in Massachusetts pleaded guilty on Wednesday to secretly accepting tens of thousands of dollars from a wealthy inmate identified by a source as Galleon Group hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam.

William Tidwell, 49, did not mention Rajaratnam by name when appearing before a judge in Boston to admit to accepting about $90,000 in exchange for giving favorable treatment to a wealthy inmate at the Federal Medical Center Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts.

But a person familiar with the matter has previously said the inmate was Rajaratnam, who was convicted and sentenced in 2011 to 11 years in prison for insider trading and was released early in 2019.

Prosecutors have said Rajaratnam, the founder of the New York-based Galleon Group, made as much as $63.8 million in illicit profit from 2003 to 2009 trading on stocks including eBay, Goldman Sachs and Google.

No charges have been filed against Rajaratnam in relation to Tidwell. Rajaratnam's lawyer, Samidh Guha, has said he would "cooperate appropriately with the government if and when they reach out to us." Guha did not respond to a request for comment.

Tidwell pleaded guilty to receiving a bribe, making false statements to a bank and identity theft. In court, he said he was admitting wrongdoing to "put it behind me."

Under a plea deal, prosecutors plan to recommend that U.S. District Judge William Young sentence him to no more than two years in prison on Dec. 7.

During Wednesday's hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kunal Pasricha said Tidwell starting in 2018 received a stream of financial benefits from an "ultra-high net worth" inmate and one of his close friends.

Those benefits included $25,000 to help pay off loans for a family member and more than $65,000 in fees and other benefits to help manage certain properties, including one Tidwell lived at, according to charging documents.

Later, after the inmate's release from prison, Tidwell in 2020 received a $50,000 loan from the ex-inmate's friend to buy a house. Prosecutors said he lied on a bank loan application about the source of that money.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; editing by Grant McCool)
A federal judge ordered Texas to remove floating barriers in the Rio Grande and barred the state from building new or placing additional buoys in the river, according to a Wednesday court filing, marking a victory for the Biden administration.

Judge David Alan Ezra ordered Texas to take down the barriers by September 15 at its own expense.

The border buoys have been a hot button immigration issue since they were deployed in the Rio Grande as part of Gov. Greg Abbotts border security initiative known as Operation Lone Star. The Justice Department had sued the state of Texas in July claiming that the buoys were installed unlawfully and asking the judge to force the state to remove them.

In the lawsuit, filed in US District Court in the Western District of Texas, the Justice Department alleged that Texas and Abbott violated the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act by building a structure in US water without permission from United States Army Corps of Engineers and sought an injunction to bar Texas from building additional barriers in the river. The Republican governor, meanwhile, has argued the buoys are intended to deter migrants from crossing into the state from Mexico.

Texas swiftly appealed the judges order.

This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal. We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers, Abbotts office said in a statement, adding that the state is prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ezra wrote Wednesday that Abbott needed permission to install the barriers, as dictated by law.

Governor Abbott announced that he was not asking for permission for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas constructed the floating barrier. Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nations navigable waters, the judge wrote in his ruling.

Ezra also found Texas self-defense argument  that the barriers have been placed in the face of invasion  unconvincing.

This argument fails because (1) the RHA has already balanced policy interests and determined that the nations interest in free navigation of its waterways is supreme to unauthorized state action, and (2) whether Texass claim of invasion is legitimate is a non-justiciable political question demonstrably committed to the federal political branches, he wrote.

CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement following the order that the Justice Department is pleased that the court ruled that the barrier was unlawful and irreparably harms diplomatic relations, public safety, navigation, and the operations of federal agency officials in and around the Rio Grande. 

The Justice Department had brought the lawsuit after Abbott said he would not order the removal of the floating barriers from the Rio Grande, in defiance of the departments request days before.

Ezra heard arguments in the case last month, during which the Justice Department focused on its claim that the barriers violated federal law, but also on the buoys role in fraying relations with Mexico  which has voiced concern with the inhumane barriers and claimed they reside in part on the countrys territory.

Texas, meanwhile, maintained it had constitutional authority to deploy the floating barriers. Ezra at times requested that the states attorneys focus on the buoys and not dive into other issues like fentanyl and overall illegal immigration on the US southern border.

The state is facing another lawsuit over the barriers, brought in early July by the owner of a Texas canoe and kayaking company operating on the Rio Grande.

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNNs Rosa Flores, Sara Weisfeldt and Jack Forrest contributed to this report.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
The Frieze art fair returned to South Korea for a second year on Wednesday, with dealers hoping the event would provide a boost for the burgeoning local art market, after economic woes triggered a slump in sales this year.

Art buyers flocked to Seouls COEX convention center to see cutting-edge works by emerging artists, antiquity art through the 20th century and offerings from established galleries, such as Gallery Hyundai, Kukje and Gana.

The fair, run by Endeavor Group-owned Frieze, made its Asia debut in South Korea last year, drawing over 70,000 visitors.

South Koreas art market reached 1 trillion won ($750.85 million) in revenue for the first time in 2022, according to data from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

However, the market shrank in the first half of this year, with the volume of art sales by major South Korean auction houses dropping 44.8% from a year ago, according to the Korea Arts Management Service.

Visitors take a look around at the Frieze art fair in Seoul, South Korea. - Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

Despite this backdrop, the South Korean and the Asian art market remain resilient, Patrick Lee, Director of Frieze Seoul, told Reuters.

I think it is sort of a natural evolution as collectors get a little more sophisticated and discerning.

With Covid travel restrictions gone, Lee is optimistic about hosting more international visitors during this years four-day fair.

Over 120 galleries from 30 countries are taking part, with more than half of them operating spaces in Asia, the organizers have said.

We have a great contingent of visitors from China coming, Japan, all throughout the region. Weve done a lot of outreach, Lee said.

Seungjin Chung, founder and director of G Gallery, said South Koreas art market has enjoyed growth in recent years led in part by Millennial and Gen Z collectors.

"Weave Magenta, 2023" (right), by artist Sean Scully, on show at Frieze Seoul 2023. - Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images

From around three years ago, young collectors started to show interest in the market. Celebrities and influential people also began collecting (artwork), which I think has had an impact.

Some South Korean celebrities, such as RM, a member of K-pop group BTS, have shown off their art collection and shared images of them visiting art galleries on social media, fueling an interest in art among young people.

Jungmin Cho who directs Seoul-based White Noise said taking part in Frieze Seoul has been a new experience as her gallery has been more of an independent, project space instead of actively pursuing buyers.

It is a great opportunity to promote the artists we support internationally and build relationships, she said.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -The G20 grouping of nations has agreed to grant permanent membership to the African Union, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The move would give the African Union, a continental body of 55 member states, the same status as the EU, up from its current designation of "invited international organization", it added.

However, two Indian sources told Reuters that membership for AU would only be formalised next year when Brazil takes over the helm of the group of the world's biggest economies from India.

There is no opposition to the move from within the G20, one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity citing government rules.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to the leaders of the G20 nations in June proposing the AU be given full, permanent membership of the bloc at the upcoming summit in the Indian capital.

In an article published across Indian and international newspapers on Thursday, Modi wrote, "Our presidency has not only seen the largest-ever participation from African countries but has also pushed for the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20."

The G20 currently comprises 19 countries and the European Union. The members represent around 85% of global GDP, over 75% of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.

South Africa, which is a G20 member and has supported the admission of the AU, declined immediate comment ahead of the Delhi summit. South African presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said: We wouldn't comment now until the official announcement or post the summit.

A South African foreign ministry spokesperson welcomed the news report about the G20 agreeing to make the African bloc a member along the lines of the EU. "The EU is also a member. We (South Africa) lobbied for and supported this move."

G20 leaders are expected to announce the decision during the summit, the Bloomberg report said.

Countries like Germany, Brazil, South Africa and Canada have also voiced support for African Union membership.

(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru, Carien du Plessis in Johannesburg and New Delhi bureau; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
By Francis Tang, Maki Shiraki and Kantaro Komiya

TOKYO (Reuters) -The niece of Johnny Kitagawa, the late J-pop mogul at the centre of a sex scandal that has shocked Japan, said on Thursday that she had stepped down as the head of the talent agency her uncle had founded.

Kitagawa, who died in 2019 aged 87, has been accused of sexually abusing hundreds of boys and young men over several decades while heading the most powerful talent agency in Japan's pop music industry.

Since the BBC aired a tell-all documentary in March, the national sense of outrage in Japan has borne similarities to the reactions seen in the United States and Britain after the scandals involving Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein, and TV star Jimmy Savile.

As more Japanese media took up the story, lawmakers voiced outrage, while the United Nations' human rights experts also criticised the talent agency for its handling of the allegations.

Founded by Kitagawa in 1962, Johnny & Associates has an outsized cultural presence in Japan, producing some of the most popular names in J-pop including SMAP and Arashi, both with massive fan bases across East Asia.

At a press conference carried live by most broadcasters, Kitagawa's niece Julie K. Fujishima, 57, bowed deeply, apologising for the abuses and saying she had stepped down on Tuesday.

Noriyuki Higashiyama, a former member of the hit 1980s boy-band Shonentai, was the new head of the agency, she said.

Higashiyama, 56, said he had never been a victim of the abuse or witnessed it, but had been aware of the rumours. "I couldn't, and didn't, do anything about it," he said.

"It will take time to win back the lost trust, but I will devote the rest of my life to dealing with this problem," he told the press conference, saying he would retire from performing at the end of the year.

Calling the scandal "the most pitiful incident in human history", Higashiyama said there had been debate, but no conclusion, as to whether the agency should change its name.

Major insurer Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance said on Thursday it would consider terminating its contract with Johnny & Associates for the use of its talent in TV commercials and other advertisements.

SECRET LIFE

The first media reports of Kitagawa's abuses of boys and young men, known as Johnny's Juniors, were carried by local tabloid Shukan Bunshun in 1999, but the scandal blew wide open this year as more victims came forward after the BBC's report.

A victims' group called for a formal apology from the talent agency, and revisions to laws to protect children not only from abuse by a parent or guardian but other adults in positions of power. An opposition party put forward a bill, which failed to pass during the last session of parliament.

One former "Junior", Kauan Okamoto, told a press conference in April that he had been the target of Kitagawa's advances on as many as 20 occasions since he was 15.

"Juniors" would regularly sleep over at Kitagawa's apartment in groups, with one or several being targeted by Kitagawa for the night, he said. On one occasion, Okamoto said he had received oral sex from Kitagawa, and cash the following day.

A report published last week by a third-party investigation team led by a former attorney general and commissioned by the agency also described similar testimony from victims.

Despite his status, Kitagawa kept a low profile in public and few photographs of him are available. He never faced criminal charges and continued recruiting teenage boys until his death.

Born in Los Angeles and raised in Japan, Kitigawa was known as Johnny-san by the boys on his agency's books. He cultivated generations of male idols and all-boy bands, a business model that has been emulated across East Asia. He holds several Guinness World Records, including for the most #1 singles produced by an individual.

(Reporting by Francis Tang and Maki Shiraki, Additional reporting by Kantaro Komiya and Kiyoshi TakenakaWriting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced a new executive order on artificial intelligence. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed an executive order directing state agencies to examine the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence that can generate text, images and other content.

The executive order sets the stage for potential regulation around whats known as generative AI technology, which has already raised concerns about misinformation, plagiarism, bias and child safety. The governor and California lawmakers thus far have been cautious about regulating technology they might not fully understand and hindering business innovations that fuel the states economy.

"We recognize both the potential benefits and risks these tools enable. Were neither frozen by the fears nor hypnotized by the upside," Newsom said in a statement. "Were taking a clear-eyed, humble approach to this world-changing technology."

Tech companies including Microsoft, Google and Facebook parent company Meta have been scrambling to incorporate generative AI in their products as firms, such as OpenAI, release popular tools such as ChatGPT. AI has the potential to transform various industries, including state government and politics.

The executive order outlines steps state agencies can take to better understand AI. Under the order, the California Department of Technology, the Office of Data and Innovation, and other state agencies must examine the most significant and beneficial ways generative AI can be used by the state within 60 days. The governor also ordered the agencies to look at potential AI risks to individuals, communities and state workers. They have until January 2024 to issue guidelines for the procurement, uses and training required for use of generative AI.

Darrell West, senior fellow at the Center for Technology Innovation within the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution, said the executive order was comprehensive and could influence action taken by other states.

California has long been a trendsetter, and the governor's executive order is continuing that tradition on AI, West said. If one large state makes a major movement it's going to force the tech companies to come along, whether they want to or not.

Child safety groups such as the nonprofit Common Sense Media say that they see the executive order as a first step but that lawmakers will need to pass legislation to combat AI's risks, including child sexual abuse imagery. These safety issues will only be exacerbated by AI, said Jim Steyer, chief executive of Common Sense Media.

"We have to put major protections and guardrails in place and you have to do that legislatively," he said.

The executive order comes before tech executives including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and others are expected to head to Washington next week for an AI forum hosted by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Newsom has previously signaled that hes cautious about AI regulation. At a Los Angeles conference in May, he said that the biggest mistake politicians can make is asserting themselves without first seeking to understand. Newsom also participated in an AI roundtable in June with President Biden, whose administration has met with tech executives and released a Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights ."

Newsoms office said the governor wasnt available for an interview. He told Bloomberg he thought there was a Pandoras box being opened with generative AI and the state wants "it done in a safe way.

Peter Leroe-Munoz, general counsel and senior vice president for technology and innovation at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, said he was pleased that the governors office has been engaging with tech companies and other interested parties. AI, he said, has the potential to make government work more efficient and effective and services more accessible to Californians.

This executive order really shows that the governor is placing California in the driver's seat as we road map AIs future in America, he said.

Get the best of the Los Angeles Times politics coverage with the Essential Politics newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
SALEM, Ore. (AP)  In the predawn hours of March 20, 1998, a neighbor heard screams coming from the home in Salem of Harriet Sunny Thompson and then saw a white man run from the house, leaving Thompson inside dead of stab wounds.

Yet a Black man, Jesse Johnson, was convicted by a jury in 2004 of aggravated murder and sentenced to death. He walked free this week after 25 years behind bars when prosecutors decided to drop retrial efforts, two years after the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed Johnson's conviction.

The jury never got a chance to hear neighbor Patricia Hubbard testify to what she saw and heard that night. After Johnson was convicted, Hubbard told investigators that when she began describing what she had seen to a police detective, he responded, twice using a racial epithet: a Black woman got murdered and a Black man "is going to pay for it.

Johnson's trial attorney never sought out Hubbard, a fact that the appeals court cited when it reversed the conviction in October 2021.

The Oregon Innocence Project, which represented Johnson in his appeal, on Wednesday accused the state of committing a heinous injustice in its handling of the case.

There were clear and unambiguous statements of racism by a detective involved in the case who discouraged a neighbor from sharing that she witnessed a white man running away from the scene on the night of the murder, said Steve Wax, Oregon Innocence Projects legal director.

The district attorneys office on Tuesday asked the Marion County Circuit Court to dismiss the case against Johnson, saying that based upon the amount of time that has passed and the unavailability of critical evidence in this case, the state no longer believes that it can prove the defendants guilt. The court granted the motion. Prosecutors said no other suspect has been identified in Thompsons murder.

On Tuesday afternoon, Johnson walked out of the jail in Salem. Video showed Johnson, smiling and wearing gray sweats with white socks and black slides, walking next to a sheriffs deputy who was pushing a cart with belongings inside.

Oh yeah, oh yeah, Johnson said as supporters hugged him.

Johnsons DNA wasnt on any of the tested murder evidence. He repeatedly claimed innocence and refused a plea deal over the years.

Wax, a former federal public defender, said the Marion County district attorney and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum resisted requests for additional DNA testing of crime scene evidence that might have shed light on what really happened to Sunny Thompson.

For 25 years, the State of Oregon has fought to defend their deeply flawed case against our former client, Jesse Johnson, Wax said. There can be no more heinous injustice imaginable than for Mr. Johnson to have heard a sentence of death pronounced against him all those years ago in Marion County and to then waste away for years on death row.

Asked for comment, Rosenblum said in an emailed statement Thursday: The Marion County District Attorneys office made the decision not to retry this case due to the passage of time and loss of witnesses. We respect their decision.

The Oregon Innocence Project had asked a court to allow additional DNA testing of crime-scene evidence, but it went unresolved due to the appeals court reversing Johnson's conviction, Rosenblum said.

Hubbard told investigators that she had seen a white man park his van in Thompsons driveway around 3:45 a.m. March 20, 1998, and go inside. Seconds later, Hubbard heard screaming coming from Thompsons house, a thud and then silence. She said she then saw a white man run from the house. A few minutes later, she saw a Black man walk down the driveway. She did not identify him as Johnson.

Former Gov. John Kitzhaber declared a moratorium on executions in 2011. Last year, then-Gov. Kate Brown commuted all of the states 17 death sentences and ordered the dismantling of the states execution chamber.
MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines has signed a free trade deal with South Korea, its president said on Thursday, completing four years of negotiations between the countries on trade and investment ties.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who was in Jakarta for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, announced the signing of the deal in a video message on his YouTube page.

He said the signing was "a testament to the realization of the many opportunities for complementation and collaboration between the Philippines and the South Korea and an even greater milestone for our economic friendship".

Marcos did not provide details about the agreement, but the Philippines' Department of Trade and Industry has said previously that it should give Manila improved market access for a wide range of goods, including agricultural products such as bananas.

In 2022, the Philippines exported $3.12 billion worth of goods to South Korea, making it the country's seventh-largest export market.

(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Helen Popper)
With the upcoming synod of bishops scheduled to begin in October, a new book was published warning readers of what the authors considered a threat to the very existence of the Catholic Church.

Authored by Latin American Catholic thinkers Jose Antonio Ureta and Julio Loredo de Izcue, the book, titled "The Synodal Process is a Pandora's Box" (which can be read for free online here), utilizes a comprehensive 100-item question-and-answer format to argue that the synodal process is rehabilitating old heresies once condemned by the church and imposing a harmful radical progressive agenda as a result.

Both authors are senior members of the Brazilian Plinio Correa de Oliveira Institute, a Catholic association seeking to defend the pillars of Christian civilization threatened by de-Christianization in the West, as per the National Catholic Register. They are also leading figures of Correa de Oliveira's organization Tradition, Family, and Property (TFP).

Authors See Synod as "Revolutionary," Self-Destructive

Loredo and Ureta viewed the upcoming synod, which is currently running a three-year process beginning October 2021 and culminating in two general assemblies in Rome in October 2023 and October 2024, as a "revolutionary" process that would re-promote heresies that were already condemned by the Holy See.

The Vatican promoted the process under the theme "For a synodal Church: communion, participation, and mission," and allegedly provided it as an opportunity for the church to practice introspection of its character and mission, as well as to promote an approach that the authors feared would destabilize the church's very institution which steadily progressed for almost 2,000 years.

The authors also assert the new "synodal" church would include those who profess to be Catholic but are doctrinally and morally heterodox, such as LGBT+ people, unmarried couples, and people living in "polygamous marriages" at the expense of heterosexual families (i.e. a family where children have a biologically male father and a biologically female mother), as well as those who are open to discuss "women's ordination to the priesthood, or at least the diaconate," which the Vatican categorically and vehemently prohibits prior to the synod's announcement.

The Vatican also sought to reconsider Catholic doctrine on homosexuality and marriage and "tamper with the Church's form of government by transforming it into an 'inverted pyramid' whose top is beneath the base," the authors further claimed.

In other words, the authors criticize those within the Vatican organizing the synod for promoting the heresy of conciliarism by wanting a more "democratic and participatory" church that, they said, would destroy the very essence of the Catholic faith.

"It's not a hidden agenda, because they've been making discreet references here and there about their goals, but it's a discreet agenda," Ureta told the Register. "Not even the bishops we have spoken with are aware of all that is at stake."

Ureta added that, through the book, he and Loredo precisely intended "to alert the hierarchy, the circles of the Catholic intelligentsia and the common faithful about the heterodox serpents and lizards inside the Pandora's Box that is being opened."

Read Also: Ukrainians Slam Pope Francis for Message to Russian Catholic Minority

Past Lessons and Caveats

The 110-page book has been divided into six chapters and an introduction, in which the authors explained why they saw the synod as a revolutionary threat and a "watershed" in the church's history, specifically in the pontificate of Francis, himself a Latin American cleric prior to his election in 2013.

In the introduction of the book, the authors said the term synodality risked becoming a "talismanic word," quoting Correa de Oliveira.

The authors also quoted many significant Catholic intellectuals who are concerned with the whole concept, including the late Australian Cardinal George Pell, French Vaticanist Jean-Marie Guenois, as well as former Anglican bishops and Catholic converts Dr. Gavin Ashenden and Msgr. Michael Nazir-Ali explained why the Church of England failed miserably in their synods.

Ashenden - who remained a Catholic lay person unlike his former Anglican peers, such as Nazir-Ali, who were ordained into the Catholic priesthood as part of personal ordinariates for former Anglicans converting to Catholicism - was particularly quoted by the authors for denouncing the concept of "inclusion" in the synod, specifically its Working Document for the Continental Stage, as a "Trojan horse" seeking to "manipulate" people's hearts and minds by engaging in wordplay.

"The words trick is easily explained. The association with being excluded is being unloved," he said in a November 2022 Catholic Herald article. "Since God is love, he obviously doesn't want anyone to experience being unloved and therefore excluded; ergo God, who is Love, must be in favor of radical inclusion. Consequently, the language of hell and judgment in the New Testament must be some form of aberrational hyperbole which must not be taken seriously, because the idea of God as inclusive love takes precedence. And since these two concepts are mutually contradictory, one of them has to go. Inclusion stays, judgment and hell go. Which is another way of saying 'Jesus goes and Marx stays.'"

Prior to conversion, Ashenden was an Anglican bishop who later became a chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth II, the mother of the current British monarch King Charles III.

In addition, the authors quoted the late Pope Benedict XVI, who as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under John Paul II, denounced attempts to upend the church's hierarchical structure as a "delusion" that "would lack all legitimacy" and should be "decisively and clearly refused."

The German Problem

Meanwhile, the main body of the book aims to understand what a synod of bishops is, what synodality really meant, whether its conclusions were binding, what the organizers meant by listening, and the drawbacks and disadvantages of relying on what they called the "modern concept of listening."

The book also heavily criticized the proposal of the Catholic bishops of Germany of a radical interpretation of synodality, which they called "Der Synodaler Weg" - "The Synodal Way" in English. The authors condemned the proposal as it not only passed motions to approve same-sex church blessings, lay preachers, and a push towards ending priestly celibacy, but it also emphasized the fear of some Vaticanists that "the influence of German and Dutch progressives could be decisive in the synodal work," just like what the German and Dutch congregations did in the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), when they figuratively allowed "the Rhine [to flow] into the Tiber," referring to the principal rivers of several Germanic-speaking cities and Rome, respectively.

The authors have also lashed out criticism against Francis's attitude and response to the German Synodal Way, saying that his criticisms were more about method than its substance, and that no one was punished for formulating heterodox propositions during the universal process. That thought was written despite the Vatican's veto on the German Synodal Way and concerns coming from several bishops and lay Catholics worldwide, which the leaders of the movement and its allies from several national-level bishops' conferences ignored.

Moreover, the authors have quoted a German bishop dissenting the German Synodal Way, Cardinal Gerhard Muller - who was Benedict's successor as the Vatican's chief theologian upon the latter's election in 2005 - when he said the majority of his fellow Germans were "dreaming of another church that has nothing to do with the Catholic faith" and was leading the church into its destruction.

In the concluding portion of the book, both authors recalled how they were continuing Correa de Oliveira's work and legacy, which denounced the widespread infiltration of neo-modernist and leftist errors in the church. They have also asked for the intercession of the Virgin Mary to not allow the church's "disfigurement," as well as hoped for the fulfillment of her message in Fatima in 1917 that her "immaculate heart [would] triumph" in the end.

Read Also: Pope Francis Summons Jesuit Priest Running LGBT+ Catholic Outreach to Major Vatican Meeting in October

Cardinal Burke's Approval

The book's foreword was written by US Cardinal Raymond Burke, who congratulated Loredo and Ureta and everyone involved in the publishing of the book. He said the work was "diligently and excellently" accomplished to formulate the appropriate questions and provide authoritative answers.

Burke also praised the book for "clearly and comprehensively" addressing what he called "a most serious situation" in the Catholic Church.

"We are told that the Church which we profess, in communion with our ancestors in the faith from the time of the Apostles, to be One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic is now to be defined by synodality, a term which has no history in the doctrine of the Church and for which there is no reasonable definition," he emphasized. "Synodality and its adjective, synodal, have become slogans behind which a revolution is at work to change radically the Church's self-understanding, in accord with a contemporary ideology which denies much of what the Church has always taught and practiced."

Burke further stressed that only the divine truth taught by Jesus himself, as well as the unchangeable doctrine of the church and its disciplines could effectively address the situation by "uncovering the ideology at work."

He concluded his remarks with the hope that the book would "become available to Catholics throughout the world for the building up of the Church."

True Catholic Doctrine Scandalizes Sometimes, Francis Says

During the interview on his flight back to Rome following his visit to Mongolia, Francis responded to Burke's recommendation of the book by claiming that the root of ideas like the upcoming synod would irrevocably change Catholic doctrine was "ideologies" that were supposed to be responsible for dividing the faithful.

He further recalled how some religious sisters also expressed to him their fears about the upcoming synod, particularly their fears that it would change the church's doctrine, and that a "'doctrine' in quotation marks" was a doctrine likened to "distilled water," that is, "without any taste and is not true Catholic doctrine."

"Many times true Catholic doctrine scandalizes - how scandalous is the idea that God became flesh, that God became man, that Our Lady [the Virgin Mary] preserved her virginity. This scandalizes," he added. "Catholic doctrine sometimes scandalizes. Ideologies are all 'distilled' and never scandalize."

However, in January this year, the Associated Press reportedly quoted the pope calling the German Synodal Way "elitist" and "ideological."

Related Article: Pope Francis Admits Comments on Russian Imperialism Were Badly Phrased

The US Stake at the Synod

In an opinion article for the Washington Post, Fordham University Center on Religion and Culture director David Gibson criticized critics of the upcoming synod, specifically conservative US Catholics and their media organs like EWTN, for its purported focus on what he called a "pelvic theology," as a result of the country's cultural and sexual wars between conservatives and progressives.

"American conservatives don't simply disagree with Francis or dissent from his teaching," he said. "They actually see themselves as more Catholic than the pope, and they're not shy about saying so."

In response, Stephen White, the executive director of The Catholic Project at the Catholic University of America (CUA), wrote in The Catholic Thing, saying Gibson was not aware of what he was talking about.

"The problem with Gibson's just-so-story is not so much the progressive worldview that underlies it, as the fact that it relies on a highly tendentious retelling of the American Catholic life in the post-Conciliar era," he said.

White added that few American Catholics are interested in a return to the church's status prior to Vatican II, especially among US bishops. However, US Catholics also do not wish to return to what he said was "the tepid, low-stakes Catholicism that decimated the American Church in the last half-century."

Ashenden: Book Slams Francis's Diversity, Inclusion, Equality Agenda

Meanwhile, in a separate article for the Catholic Herald, Ashenden reviewed Loredo and Ureta's book where he was quoted to say that the integration of the contemporary concept of diversity, inclusion, and equality (DIE) into the synod - and extension, in the church - was a "Trojan horse."

He commended the authors for the "simplicity and clarity" of how it was written and how they presented the issues in such a way that everything the world perceived about the Catholic Church was at risk.

"This kind of language might strike some as unreasonably alarmist at first sight," he said. "And so to make their case as accessibly as possible they have written in the form of questions and answers, in a familiar catechetical style to help Catholics work it out for themselves."

Ashenden also reflected on how the authors detected alleged Marxist and Orwellian undertones in the way the synod was formulated and organized and how the Vatican failed miserably in addressing global concerns without compromising its key principles, doctrines, and policies. On the other hand, he also noticed that, aside from a vocal few, most people who were concerned about where the church was going were not made aware of the contextual implications such ideologies would have on the future of the church.

"If it is true that both our bishops, thinking Catholics and the Church, in general, have yet to grasp the character and the alleged strategy of the present turbulence, then reading [Loredo and Ureta's book] may be as important a task as the authors believe it to be," he concluded.

Related Article: US Catholics Slam Pope Francis's Pick to Lead Vatican Office Dealing with Sex Abuse Cases

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
PHOENIX (AP)  Phoenix, already the hottest large city in America, is poised to set yet another heat record this weekend while confirmed heat-associated deaths are on track for a record of their own.

The National Weather Service says after a brief respite from the heat over the Labor Day holiday, the city is expected to break its previous record of 53 days of 110-degree Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) weather in a single year, set in 2020. Afternoon weekend highs will range between 108 and 113 degrees Fahrenheit (42.2-45 Celsius) across Arizona's lower deserts.

Remember to stay hydrated and avoid sun exposure from 10am to 6pm this weekend! the weather service advised on social media.

Phoenix has now seen 52 days of temperatures at or above 110 degrees in 2023 and is expected to hit that mark again on both Saturday and Sunday, when an extreme heat watch will be in effect, local meteorologists said. The temperature could also hit 110 degrees on Monday.

The high on Wednesday was 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42.2 Celsius).

The desert city set a record in July with a 31-day streak of highs at or above 110 degrees. The previous record was 18 straight days, set in 1974.

It was part of a historic heat wave this summer that stretched from Texas across New Mexico and Arizona and into Californias desert.

Phoenix has now seen 100 days with 100-degree Fahrenheit-plus (37.7 Celsius) temperatures this year as of Wednesday. That's in line so far with the average of 111 days hitting triple digits every year between 1991 and 2020.

Maricopa County, home to Phoenix and the most populous county in Arizona, also appears headed toward an annual record for heat-associated deaths.

The suspected heat victims have included a hiker who collapsed in the blazing sun on a city trail, and a 9-year-old migrant boy who died in Mesa, Arizona after falling ill while crossing the Arizona-Mexico border with his family.

County public health officials said Wednesday there have been 194 heat-associated deaths confirmed for this year as of Sept. 2. Another 351 are under investigation.

There were 153 heat-associated deaths in the county confirmed by the same week last year, with another 238 deaths under investigation.

Maricopa County has confirmed 425 heat-related deaths in 2022.

Given the number of confirmed heat-associated deaths and the number that are currently under investigation, its possible we could have even more heat-associated deaths this year than in 2022, said Sonia Singh, supervisor for Maricopa County Public Health Department's office of communications. These heat deaths are preventable, however, and with the temperatures we are still seeing, its important that people dont let their guard down.

"Continue to take precautions like staying hydrated, do outdoor work or exercise in the cooler parts of the day, and stay in air-conditioned spaces during the hottest parts of the day, Singh added.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs in mid-August declared a state of emergency following more than a month of extreme heat statewide.

Hobbs said then that the declaration would allow the state to reimburse various government entities for funds spent on providing relief from high temperatures.
SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with China's Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on Thursday, just hours after Yoon called for a rules-based maritime order in the South China Sea.

Yoon's meeting with Li comes after the South Korean leader vowed to enhance cooperation with China and Japan. In an interview with Indonesia's Kompas newspaper published on Tuesday, Yoon said it was time to put relations among the three Asian countries "back on track."

Just hours earlier, Yoon said any attempts to change the status quo by force in the South China Sea cannot be tolerated. He was speaking at the East Asia Summit which includes the ASEAN bloc, China, Japan, the United States and others.

"We need to establish a rules-based maritime order in the South China Sea, a key sea lane in the region, for the Indo-Pacific region to continue prospering with the ASEAN playing a pivotal role for growth," he said.

Yoon also said North Korea's nuclear programme was a real threat that can target all countries participating at the summit, and stressed that United Nations member states should follow the Security Council's resolutions.

"The responsibility is heavier for the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council who actually adopted the resolutions," he said.

For the past several years, the U.N. council has been divided over how to deal with Pyongyang. Russia and China have said more sanctions will not help and want such measures to be eased.

The remarks come amid reports North Korean leader Kim Jong Un plans to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin and discuss weapons supplies to Moscow.

The United States has said North Korea would pay a price for supplying Russia with weapons to use in Ukraine. South Korea has said the United Nations member states should not violate sanctions, including through arms deals.

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi and Jack Kim; Editing by Tom Hogue and Michael Perry)
More than 150 rescuers are racing to reach an American stranded deep inside a cave in Turkey after he became ill.

Mark Dickey, 40, is suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding  but he has been stuck several thousand feet below the ground inside the vast Morca cave since Saturday.

The Turkish Caving Federation, which is assisting in the rescue, said Dickey was at a campsite 3,400 feet from the entrance to the 4,100-foot cave, the third-deepest in the country.

The federation said Wednesday that his condition was stabilizing and that the bleeding had stopped. He can walk with assistance, but needs a stretcher to be removed from the cave, it said in a statement.

The operation is logistically and technically one of the largest cave rescues in the world, said the caving federation, which is working with the Turkish government.

Mark Dickey. (via Facebook)

A friend of Dickey's and a fellow caving enthusiast told NBC News on Thursday that Dickey has told rescuers he intends to climb out of the cave himself  but he warned that to do so is the underground equivalent of climbing Mount Everest.

"You cant say strenuous enough. Mark is an elite caver, theres only a couple thousand people of his caliber in the world who are doing really deep systems like this with the technical rope skills and the physical ability," said Carl Heitmeyer, public information officer for the New Jersey Initial Response Team.

It could be another week until Dickey makes it to the surface, he estimated.

Heitmeyer explained that Dickey started to feel ill Saturday, began to cough and found blood in his stools. Dickey was unable to eat and was semiconscious for three days, he said.

Turkeys Disaster and Emergency Management Authority, part of the Interior Ministry, said it had teams on standby and was working in coordination with the Turkish Caving Federation.

Rescuers were setting up rope lines Wednesday as part of the rescue effort. The National Cave Rescue Commission, based in Alabama, said on Facebook early Thursday that multiple rescue teams are working at the site.

More cave rescue teams are arriving, and they are dividing the cave up into sections. Different teams are helping to rig those sections, the group said.

Dickey was with his fiancee, Jessica, also a caver, but Heitmeyer said Thursday that she was going to exit the cave ahead of Dickey's rescue.

Dickey is an instructor with the National Cave Rescue Commission, and he has been for 10 years, said Gretchen Baker, the group's national coordinator. He was co-leading an expedition to find and map a new passage in the cave, she said.

He fell ill at a depth of around 3,674 feet, the Turkish Caving Federation said, before being moved to the group's base camp at around 3,412 feet.

Dickey is being cared for by doctors, his parents, Andrew and Deborah Ann Dickey, said in a statement. They declined to be interviewed.

Mark is strong, but he needed his fellow cavers, including, of course, the doctors, to allow a devastatingly scary situation to turn positive, they said.

"Our prayers are being answered and we cannot express how much that means, and will always mean, to us," they added.

US man rescued from Turkey cave (tumaf.org)

Units of blood were delivered to Dickey this week, according to the Turkish Caving Federation. It said the operation to remove him and the stretcher was expected to be complex and lengthy, adding that it takes around 15 hours for an experienced caver to reach the surface in ideal conditions.

"Its still expected to take quite a few days to get him all the way out of the cave, as its such a difficult and technical cave and he is so far deep in it right now," Baker said in an email Wednesday evening.

Heitmeyer said that the process of getting in and out of the cave  which is in the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey  was a challenge to even experienced cavers at the best of times.

"The cave is mostly vertical, but it doesnt go straight down, there are turns in the rope and that complicates things. It makes the climbing more difficult and it just takes time," he said.

"Theres water in-feeding from two points near the top of the cave and some of the passages are filled with water, and there are tight squeezes and corkscrews where you have to turn your body in certain way."

CORRECTION (Sept. 6, 2023, 10:30 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misspelled the cavers name. He is Mark Dickey, not Marc.
YAHIDNE, Ukraine  Ukraine's military is making very tangible progress in its counteroffensive against Russian forces, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC News on Thursday.

Speaking on a trip to underscore ongoing U.S. support for Ukraine's fight, he acknowledged the challenge of keeping public attention on the conflict while rejecting concerns that American backing for Kyiv may be waning. He also placed the blame for a lack of peace talks at the door of the Kremlin.

The military campaign in Ukraines south and east is seen as key to shoring up allied support for the countrys cause, and after a slow start there have been positive signs.

Ukrainians knew this was going to be a hard fight but especially over the last couple of weeks, we are seeing very tangible progress, Blinken said in an interview.

He said that he had heard a very detailed report from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who recently visited the front lines, and his military advisers.

I think we are seeing real forward movement, Blinken added. But again, this is going to go on. This is tough, this is hard.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaking with NBC's Richard Engel in Yahidne, Ukraine, on Thursday. (Ted Turner / NBC News)

He was speaking during a visit to the town of Yahidne in northern Ukraine, where he toured a former elementary school in which some 300 people, including children, were held for a month by Russian forces shortly after last year's invasion. The site has since been turned into a museum.

The Russians had a lot of time in this case to prepare for the counteroffensive. They put tens of thousands of mines in places, other defensive fortifications, he said. The Ukrainians are working and going through it, but at the end of the day, they have a determination, they have a desire that will outmatch whatever the Russians put into this.

Russian missile attack shows 'what this means'

Blinken, the first senior U.S. official to visit since the Ukrainian counteroffensive began three months ago, flew into Kyiv on Wednesday where he met with Zelenskyy and other senior members of his government.

The first day of his visit was marred by a Russian missile attack on a market in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka. Ukrainian officials said 17 people, including a child, were killed and 38 injured in the strike.

These were people who were simply going shopping, trying to put food on the table, Blinken said. So its so important not to lose sight of what this means to the men and women of Ukraine.

Kostiantynivka is close to the front lines in the east, where Ukrainian forces have been battling to seize back occupied land before winter sets in.

Blinken announced a new package of U.S. wartime assistance worth more than $1 billion late Wednesday.

This included money for munitions, military financing and humanitarian assistance, as well as tackling corruption, the State Department said. More than $200 million was allocated to anti-corruption reforms and strengthening the justice sector.

The aid package is drawn from funding approved by Congress.

Beyond even the equipment, beyond even the training, beyond even the resources that were giving them, fundamentally what theyre fighting for is what will make the difference, Blinken said.

Ukraine had no choice but to fight on because Russian President Vladimir Putin shows no evidence that he is interested in meaningful diplomacy, he added.

Putin was wrong if he thought that somehow he can outlast Ukraine, outlast us, outlast the dozens of countries that are supporting Ukraine, Blinken said.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken announced over $1 billion of new assistance to Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv on September 6, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images)

Asked about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's potential upcoming trip to Russia for arms talks with Putin, Blinken said this was a sign of the Kremlin's "desperation."

Russia has already largely dismissed the Ukrainian counteroffensive as a failure, and the slow nature of any progress since it was launched in June has led to growing criticism from some of Kyiv's closest partners about the way it is managing the war and fueled doubts about its ability to win a decisive military victory.

That in turn has led to sharp pushback from some Ukrainian officials, and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told critics to shut up in a briefing to reporters last week.

Despite staunch U.S. support for Ukraine since Russias invasion in February last year, several Republican presidential hopefuls, including former President Donald Trump, have questioned the aid, fueling concerns over whether Washington will still back Kyiv at the same level once the 2024 election campaign intensifies.

The U.S. government has so far provided more than $43 billion in weaponry and other military aid to Ukraine and last month President Joe Biden asked Congress to approve about $40 billion in additional spending, including $24 billion for Ukraine and other international needs.

Richard Engel reported from Ukraine, and Gabe Joselow and Henry Austin from London.
By Raphael Satter and Susan Heavey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States and Britain have sanctioned additional members of a Russian hacking gang known as Trickbot and U.S. officials have indicted nine people with ties to the group's malicious software and the Conti ransomware schemes, the U.S. Treasury Department and the British Foreign Office said on Thursday.

The two countries previously imposed sanctions against seven leading members of Trickbot in February, noting the group's role in targeting hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the U.S. government and American companies.

Treasury said Thursday's action targeted "key actors involved in management and procurement for the Trickbot group," and cited the gang's ties to Russian intelligence services. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the move was an attempt to disrupt their business model and strip them of their anonymity.

"We know who they are and what they are doing," he said in a statement.

While such sanctions tend to be largely symbolic given that Russia is already heavily sanctioned and cybercriminals based there tend to steer clear of the United States or Britain, officials have said they can make it harder for hackers to launder money.

The U.S. Justice Department was also unsealing indictments against nine individuals tied to the gang, British and American officials said.

The Department of Justice did not return a message, but a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday showed that at least four alleged members of the group - Maksim Galochkin, Maksim Rudenskiy, Mikhail Mikhailovich Tsarev and Andrey Yuryevich Zhuikov - were being charged in Tennessee with conspiring to use the Conti strain of ransomware to extort victims into making digital payments.

Reuters could not immediately locate contact information for the men.

Trickbot draws its name from the eponymous suite of malware tools that the gang members use to hack and extort their victims. The rogue program, whose roots stretch back at least a decade, has been used to infect millions of computers worldwide, Treasury said. British officials said the Trickbot gang had extorted at least $180 million from people across the globe.

The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately return an email seeking comment on the announcement.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Raphael Satter; editing by Doina Chiacu, Alexandra Hudson)
TOKYO (Reuters) -U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy called China's position on the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant "unfair" and "false" during a visit to Tokyo on Thursday.

Japan started its discharges from the wrecked plant last month, provoking strong criticism from China. In retaliation for the release into the ocean, China has placed a blanket ban on all aquatic imports from Japan.

"I just view it as another way of the Communist Party of China putting falsities out there, trying to divide," McCarthy told reporters.

"And it's just an unfair position that they have and a false position that they have from the rest of the world's stance," McCarthy said, adding that he had no concern whatsoever about eating produce from Fukushima.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he explained Japan's position on the matter to Chinese Premier Li Qiang during a brief talk on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Indonesia on Thursday. He declined to say how Li had responded.

The talk marked the first time the two had met in person, and was also the first high-level talk between the two countries since the release of the water.

The water from the Fukushima nuclear plant is treated to remove most radioactive elements except for tritium, a radionuclide difficult to separate from water, and then diluted to internationally accepted levels before being released into the ocean.

(Reporting by Yukiko Toyoda and Sakura Murakami; Editing by Clarence Fernandez & Simon Cameron-Moore)
Prince Harry is set to arrive in the UK today on the eve of the first anniversary of the Queens death, but will not meet the royal family during his visit, according to reports.

The Duke of Sussex, who is flying to London without his wife Meghan Markle, will attend an awards ceremony organised by WellChild, a childrens charity of which Harry has been a patron for 15 years.

The duke will be in London for the Queens first death anniversary on Friday 8 September, but palace sources told Mail Online Harry will not be meeting any members of the royal family  including King Charles and Prince William.

Harry will join WellChild to celebrate the resilience and achievements of the countrys seriously ill children and youngsters during an event on Thursday evening.

An insider told the newspaper Charles had no time in his diary to meet Harry, as the relationships between the duke and the rest of the family remain strained after the publication of his bombshell memoir Spare in January this year.

The Independent has contacted representatives for Kensington and Buckingam palaces for comment.

In his tell-all memoir, Harry claimed William physically attacked him during an altercation that stemmed from an argument about Meghan.

He also revealed the last words he said to the Queen on her deathbed at her summer residence, Balmoral estate, last year.

He described how he whispered to her that he hoped she was happy and would be reunited with her husband Philip, who died in April 2021.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are currently Balmoral in Scotland and are not expected to attend any public engagements this week.

Instead, they will mark the queens death anniversary privately, the newspaper reported.

Announcing Harrys visit last month, WellChild shared a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

We are delighted to announce that WellChild Patron Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, will attend the WellChild Awards, in association with GSK, on 7 September.

We are delighted to announce that WellChild Patron Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, will attend the WellChild Awards, in association with @GSK, on 7th September.



More #WellChildAwards information will be announced in the coming weeks. https://t.co/p19zC4cIrZ pic.twitter.com/qsuEDpMfOw  WellChild (@WellChild) August 24, 2023

The event begins at 6:15pm BST and will be livestreamed, with organisers declining to reveal its location.

After his London visit, Harry will travel to Dusseldorf, Germany for the opening ceremony of his Invictus Games on 9 September, but will not be joined by Meghan who will remain in California with their two children.

The duchess will reportedly fly out later in the week for the closing ceremony, where singer Rita Ora will perform. Both Harry and Meghan are scheduled to give speeches.

Harry came up with the idea for the tournament after a visit to the US to watch Warrior Games, the Department of Defenses annual sporting event for injured or ill service personnel and veterans.

He credited the experience for helping him realise how sport can benefit service personnel in their recovery journeys and launched the Invictus Games as a paralympic-style sporting competition in 2014.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at United Nations headquarters, Monday, July 18, 2022 (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The Invictus Games will focus on what they can achieve post injury and celebrate their fighting spirit, through an inclusive sporting competition that recognises the sacrifice they have made, Prince Harry said, at the time.

Harrys new docuseries Heart of Invictus, which follows a group of extraordinary competitors from around the globe: service members who have experienced life-changing injuries or illnesses on their road to the Invictus Games, was released on Netflix on 30 August.

During the series, Harry recalled how returning from his final tour of service in Afghanistan led to an unravelling that triggered the trauma of losing his mother Diana at a very young age.

He added: I didnt have that support structure, that network or that expert advice to identify actually what was going on with me.

It follows their six-part documentary Harry & Meghan, which was released last December.

During the series, the duke and duchess shed light on their lives as senior members of the royal family, including alleged speculation of the colour of their son Archies skin within the palace.

They also claimed palace staff leaked stories about Meghan to the British press.

Additional reporting by agencies.
Rescuers are rushing to save an American man trapped in the third-deepest cave in Turkey after he became ill, the Turkish Caving Federation said.

Some 150 rescuers are involved in a complex operation to save Mark Dickey, who was part of a research team in Morca Valley, the Turkish Caving Federation said. The rescue operation was first announced on Monday.

In the Morca Sinkhole, the 3rd deepest cave in Turkey with a depth of 1,276 meters (4,186 feet), during an exploration mission involving local and international teams, American caver Mark Dickey fell ill at a depth of 1,120 meters (3,675 feet) and was placed under observation at the cave base camp located at 1,040 meters (3,412 feet), the Turkish Caving Federation said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

The federation said six units of blood had been delivered to Dickey, who is thought to be suffering gastrointestinal bleeding. It described his condition as stable and said he was able to walk on his own.

In a video shared by Turkeys directorate of communications Wednesday, Dickey said he was doing well.

I was very close to the edge, he added, crediting the quick response by the Turkish government with saving his life.

As you can see Im up, Im alert, Im talking. But Im not healed on the inside yet so Im going to need a lot of help to get out of here, Dickey said.

American caver Mark Dickey, left, 40, talks to a colleague inside the Morca cave near Anamur, southern Turkey, on Sept. 7, 2023. - Turkish Government Directorate of Communications/AP

Despite remaining nearly 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) below ground, Dickey said the situation was a great opportunity to showcase the strength of the caving community.

Im hoping to see many people from many countries all coming together, Dickey said. We take care of our own.

Bulent Genc, head of the federation, told CNN Thursday that the rescue could take days due to the fact that the cave is deep and narrow. Short movements will be required to carry Dickey out on a stretcher, Genc added.

Caving rescue workers from several countries have arrived in Turkey to assist in the operation, including Hungarian, Italian, Croatian and American rescuers, according to Genc.

The cave features narrow winding passages and several rappels, the Turkish Caving Federation said, adding that it takes 15 hours for an experienced caver to reach the surface in ideal conditions.

Gretchen Baker, from National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC), who has known and worked with Dickey for several years and has been in communication with the rescue team, expressed cautious optimism about Dickeys safe passage out of the cave.

In an interview with CNNs Isa Soares on Thursday, Baker said the team on the ground is very happy that Marks condition seems to be improving, so that it looks like that he will not have to be in a [rescue] litter the entire way out.

The more he can help, the faster the rescue can go, she said.

Despite Dickeys improving medical situation, Baker said even with him helping, the rescue operation still has some way to go.

Were anticipating that it will take days to get him out of the cave, she said.

A rescue mission at this depth is very rare, extremely difficult and needs many very experienced cave rescuers, according to the European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA), which is involved in the operation.

The association received a call on Saturday to report that Dickey was suffering from severe gastric pain.

On Sunday, a team from the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, including a doctor, descended into the cave and set up a tent providing intensive medical care, the ECRA said.

On Monday, 17 people including a doctor and a paramedic from the Bulgarian rescue team reached the base site of the cave.

On Wednesday, Italian, Croatian and Polish teams were on their way to the base camp.

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Its not every day you hear top officials at the Pentagon publicly accuse a US senator of aiding communist states and enemies of the US.

But thats where weve arrived in todays story of modern Washington; an old-time custom is being used to grind the machinery of modern government to a halt as a senator takes a controversial public stand in the culture wars.

The senator is Tommy Tuberville, the Alabama Republican known for making controversial statements.

The old time custom hes exploiting is the informal Senate policy of allowing individual lawmakers to place holds on presidential nominations.

In the US military, where most service members move between jobs every few years, Tubervilles blanket hold has halted promotions and movement among general officers.

The culture war issue is abortion rights.

A public pressure campaign against a single senator

Months into Tubervilles protest, the number of unfilled general officer positions is growing and it is having an adverse effect on the military and military families, according to Pentagon officials.

The civilian secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force appeared on CNNs The Lead with Jake Tapper Tuesday to publicly shame Tuberville.

I would have never imagined one of our own senators would actually be aiding and abetting a communist and other autocratic regimes around the world, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, who was born under communist rule in Cuba, told Tapper, arguing that US military readiness is suffering.

Hes playing Russian roulette with the very lives of our service members by denying them the opportunity to actually have the most experienced combat leaders in those positions to lead them in times of peace and in times of combat, Del Toro said at another point.

Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said holding these promotions will have a trickle-down effect and turn people off from a military career.

I really worry that a lot of those officers who volunteer are going to walk away and basically say, I dont want to deal with this, Wormuth said.

Top US general must retire this month

The Washington Post has an exhaustive look at more than 300 promotions being held up, and how its affecting bases across the US and around the world, including the top positions for each major service branch.

The list of unfilled posts could soon include Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the top US military officer.

The current Chairman, Gen. Mark Milley, is required by law to retire before October 1 after eight years on the job. President Joe Biden tapped Air Force Gen. C. Q. Brown back in May to become the next chairman. Rather than schedule an individual vote to confirm Brown, Democrats are hoping the pressure of standing in the way of such a key position will make Tuberville relent on the entire array of held-up generals.

Tuberville said hes not going to budge and told CNNs Manu Raju that as far as hes concerned, Milley can work overtime. To be clear, Milley cant do that. The law specifically requires he step down.

Related: Raju has the latest on the Tubervilles military blockade

While some fellow Republicans are publicly expressing frustration at the blockade, Tuberville told Raju hes not feeling pressured by them to relent.

What does Tuberville want?

He doesnt like a Pentagon policy meant to help service members stationed in states without abortion rights travel to other states to access abortion care. Tuberville thinks the policy violates a longtime prohibition against taxpayer dollars being used for abortions and he wants a debate and vote on the issue. But he has not offered an amendment or bill of his own.

Writing in The Washington Post, the service secretaries argued the reproductive rights policy is completely legal and also critical and necessary to meet our obligations to the force.

Where is this rule about holds written down?

Its not. Theres nothing in the Constitution, US law or the Senate rulebook that spells out affirmatively why and how individual senator should have the power to gum things up.

The holds courtesy evolved in the 1950s, according to this informative 11-page report from the Congressional Research Service, an offshoot of Senate rules, which allow individuals to insist on relatively large amounts of floor time to be used for anything, including relatively routine nominations. Normally, these noncontroversial nominations are dispensed with unanimous consent, meaning without the use of floor time.

Could Democrats get around the holds?

Technically, yes. It is possible to get around a hold by simply scheduling a debate and vote on each of the nominations.

But if Tuberville then insisted on using all available floor time  multiple days each  for hundreds of Pentagon nominations, the Senate wouldnt have time for anything else.

Also, from a political standpoint, Democrats are clearly not minding that a Republican senator has put himself at odds with the nations military leaders. Theyre looking for Republicans to lean on Tuberville.

The shut-things-down philosophy

Its hard not to place Tubervilles uncompromising and unapologetic view of the effect his promotion blockade will have on the military alongside a larger view of government on display in recent years.

Government shutdowns  those times when funding for government programs lapse, causing headaches for government workers and agencies  have become relatively frequent occurrences in recent years. Theres another one on the horizon.

CNNs latest reporting is that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is urging his fellow Republicans to back a short-term funding bill and instead focus on a second funding standoff later in the fall.

These government spending negotiations are also a good reason why the Senate cant spend all of its time on military nominations.

The spending standoff comes come directly on the heels of the fractious debate this spring in which Republicans insisted on cuts in exchange for meeting the nations debt obligations.

The Freedom Caucus has leverage because in order to become Speaker of the House, McCarthy had to agree to give them the ability to more easily challenge his position. There are already rumblings about a vote against him if he does not pursue an impeachment effort against Biden.

All of it adds up to a Washington where individual lawmakers on the right are perfectly willing to make government stop functioning to change the way it functions.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
AI-generated 2024 U.S. election ads are now required by Google to include clear disclaimers when artificial intelligence is used.

The search engine giant announced the new policy the GOP released two ad campaigns they created using AI tools.

AI-Generated 2024 US Election Ads Required to Include Clear Disclaimers

Google confirmed that election ads for the 2024 U.S. election will be required to put clear disclaimers.

Via its official blog post, the search engine giant said that they will be updating their Political content policy in mid-November.

Google stated that all verified election advertisers (in regions that have verification requirements) will need to disclose if ever they used synthetic content that falsely portrays realistic events and individuals.

"This disclosure must be clear and conspicuous, and must be placed in a location where it is likely to be noticed by users," said the tech giant.

Read Also: Will Tech CEOs Allow US to Be First Country With AI Laws?

What Election Ads are Included?

Google said that the new policy will apply to audio, video, as well as image content. Google provided examples of election ads that will fall in the new guideline:

An ad with synthetic content that alters footage of a real event or generates a realistic portrayal of an event to depict scenes that did not actually take place.

An ad with synthetic content that makes it appear as if a person is saying or doing something they didn't say or do.

The search engine firm also clarified that election ads that use artificial intelligence to generate content that is "inconsequential" to the advertisements' claims will be exempted.

Google said that if the ads only used AI tools for their editing techniques, such as color grading, image resizing, cropping, defect correction, and background editing, they are no longer required to include disclaimers.

AI as a Political Weapon

Gizmodo reported that the new policy was announced by Google since AI is already being used as a political weapon.

Recently, the Republican Party released an advertisement titled "Beat Biden." The GOP published this AI-generated election ad after U.S. President Joe Biden confirmed that he is running for the presidency again.

Another AI-generated election ad was released by a super PAC, which supports Ron DeSantis. These are just some of the instances when artificial intelligence tools are used for political purposes.

Related Article: AI Tech Creates Fictional Adult Versions of Vanished Children From Argentina's Military Dictatorship

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
In his first video since falling ill and becoming stuck in a Turkish cave, an American explorer thanked authorities for saving his life.

Mark Dickey, 40, who is described as an expert caver, was 3,400 feet below the surface in the Morca cave when he began suffering from gastrointestinal bleeding on Saturday.

I was very close to the edge, Mr Dickey said in a video obtained by The Associated Press.

Authorities in Turkey are working with a group of more than 150 international cave rescue experts to safely remove Mr Dickey from his location after he experienced the medical emergency.

Throughout the week, rescuers were able to send six units of blood and doctors to Mr Dickey. While his condition has improved, he may still need a stretcher to exit.

Rescuers began setting up rope lines on Wednesday as part of the effort, though it is unclear when they can begin the mission due to its extreme complexity.

The cave system is described as extremely narrow with many twists and turns, making it difficult to navigate. It typically takes a person in good health around 15 hours to exit.

Key Points

Heres what we know about the cave rescue mission so far

Mark Dickeys condition continues to improve

A look into the depth of the Morca cave

Where is the Morca cave?

Mark Dickey says he was very close to the edge in emotional first video from Turkish cave

More rescuers to join Dickeys extraction mission

10:30 , Namita Singh

A team of rescuers from Italys National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Team will be flying to Turkey on Thursday night. A total of around 50 rescuers will be at the entrance of the cave early on Friday ready to participate in the operation directed by Turkish authorities.

The rescue teams hope that the extraction can begin on Saturday or Sunday. Kovacs said that lifting Mark Dickey will likely take several days, and that several bivouac points are being prepared along the way so that Dickey and rescue teams can rest.

The cave has been divided into several sections, with each countrys rescue team being responsible for one section.

The Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, made up of volunteer rescuers, was the first to arrive at Mr Dickeys location and provided emergency blood transfusions to stabilize his condition.

How deep is the cave Mark Dickey is in?

10:14 , Chris Stevenson

An image depicting the vertical depth of the cave where Mark Dickey is (Turkish Caving Federation)

Rescue will not be quick'

09:55 , Chris Stevenson

This will not be a quick rescue due to where he is in the cave and the challenging terrain ahead, Gretchen Baker, a representative of the National Cave Rescue Commission in Huntsville, Alabama, said in an emailed statement. But the cave rescuers on scene are extremely talented, and many have worked in deep caves. Mark has caved in several European countries and knows some of these rescuers from other expeditions.

Who is Mark Dickey?

09:30 , Namita Singh

Experienced caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly became ill during an expedition with a handful of others, including three other Americans, in the Morca cave in southern Turkeys Taurus Mountains, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said.

Described by the association as a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself, Dickey is well known as a cave researcher, or speleologist, from his participation in many international expeditions. He is secretary of the associations medical committee.

Mr Dickey was on an expedition mapping the 1,276m (4,186ft) deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association (ASPEG) when he ran into trouble about 1,000m down. He initially became ill on 2 September, but it took until the morning of 3 September to notify others who were above ground.

Justin Hanley, a 28-year-old firefighter from near Dallas, Texas, said he met Mr Dickey a few months ago when he took a cave rescue course Dickey taught in Hungary and Croatia. He described Mr Dickey as upbeat and as someone who sees the good in everyone.

Mark is the guy that should be on that rescue mission thats leading and consulting and for him to be the one that needs to be rescued is kind of a tragedy in and of itself, he said.

International rescue agencies join together in Dickey extraction mission

09:00 , Namita Singh

Marton Kovacs of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said that the cave is being prepared for Mark Dickeys safe extraction. Passages are being widened and the danger of falling rocks is also being addressed.

Turkish disaster relief agency AFAD and rescue team UMKE are working with Turkish and international cavers on the plan to hoist Mr Dickey out of the cave system, the European Cave Rescue Association said.

Mark Dickey, the US caver who is currently trapped near Morca (Reuters)

The rescue effort currently involves more than 170 people, including doctors, paramedics who are tending to Dickey and experienced cavers, Ogrenecek said, adding that the rescue operation could take up to two to three weeks.

The operation includes rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Turkey.

Communication with Dickey takes about five to seven hours

08:30 , Namita Singh

Communication with Mark Dickey takes about five to seven hours and is carried out by runners, who go from him to the camp below the surface where a telephone line to speak with the surface has been set up.

Experts said it will be a challenge to successfully rescue Mr Dickey.

Yusuf Ogrenecek of the Speleological Federation of Turkey said that one of the most difficult tasks of cave rescue operations is widening the narrow cave passages to allow stretcher lines to pass through at low depths.

Stretcher lines are labor intensive and require experienced cave rescuers working long hours, Mr Ogrenecek said. He added that other difficult factors range from navigating through mud and water at low temperatures to the psychological toll of staying inside a cave for long periods of time.

Catch up with the situation

08:00 , Ariana Baio

Race against time to save cave rescuer trapped in one of deepest caves in Turkey

Dickey issues video message thanking authorities for support

07:30 , Namita Singh

Mark Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts to help him in a video message.

The caving world is a really tight-knit group and its amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface, said Mr Dickey.  ... I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge.

American caver Mark Dickey, left, 40, talks to a colleague inside the Morca cave near Anamur, southern Turkey, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (AP)

Mr Dickey, who is seen standing and moving around in the video, said that while he is alert and talking, he is not healed on the inside and will need a lot of help to get out of the cave. Doctors will decide whether he will need to leave the cave on a stretcher or if he can leave under his own power.

Mr Dickey, who had been bleeding and losing fluid from his stomach, has stopped vomiting and has eaten for the first time in days, according to a New Jersey-based cave rescue group hes affiliated with. Its unclear what caused his medical issue.

Ailing American explorer trapped 3,000 feet deep in Turkish cave awaits difficult rescue

07:00 , Namita Singh

Rescuers from across Europe rushed to a cave in Turkey on Thursday, launching an operation to save an American researcher who became trapped almost 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) below the caves entrance after suffering stomach bleeding.

Experienced caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly became ill during an expedition with a handful of others, including three other Americans, in the Morca cave in southern Turkeys Taurus Mountains, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said.

While rescuers, including a Hungarian doctor, have reached and treated Mr Dickey, it could be days and possibly weeks before they are able to get him out of the cave, which is too narrow in places for a stretcher to pass through.

Mark Dickey awaiting doctors permission to transport out

06:00 , Ariana Baio

On Thursday, the European Cave Rescue Association provided an update to Mark Dickeys condition and the possibility to exiting him from the cave.

The patients medical condition is stabilized. With support, he could move slowly [sic] on his own and is feeling better, the press release said. Technical teams are actually preparing the cave for transporting him out smoothly. As soon as the doctors are giving their permission, the transport will start.

GoFundMe set up for rescue efforts

04:00 , Ariana Baio

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up to benefit the rescue teams involved in helping extract American Mark Dickey from the cave in Turkey.

This fundraiser is started on behalf of the National Cave Rescue Commission (for whom Mark is also an instructor) and will be used to be distributed to the rescue teams to cover the logistical costs of aiding him out of the cave.

Click here for the GoFundMe.

Map shows where the Morca cave is

02:00 , Ariana Baio

Communication between officials and cavers is difficult

01:00 , Ariana Baio

Extracting Mark Dickey from the Morca cave is already a challenging feat.

But to make matters more complicated, communication between the underground team and the surface team is very limited.

Runners are being used to travel from the camp where Mr Dickey is to the surface where a telephone line is to speak with officials, according to AP.

Watch: Rescue operation underway for ill American stuck deep in Turkish cave

Friday 8 September 2023 00:00 , Ariana Baio

Doctors deciding if Mark Dickey can walk out of cave

Thursday 7 September 2023 23:00 , Ariana Baio

As of Thursday afternoon, Mark Dickeys condition was improving and doctors were considering if he still needs a stretcher to leave, the Speleogical Federation of Turkey said in a press release.

Mr Dickey initially was determined to need a stretcher to leave after experiencing gastrointestinal bleeding.

Expedition was intended to set up camps and survey

Thursday 7 September 2023 22:00 , Ariana Baio

The expedition that Mark Dickey set about on in the Morca cave was intended to help set up camp, survey the cave and collection information, a friend of Mr Dickeys told The Associated Press.

Justin Hanley, a 28-year-old firefighter from near Dallas, Texas, said he met Mr Dickey a few months ago when he took a cave rescue course Mr Dickey taught in Hungary and Croatia. He described Mr Dickey as upbeat and as someone who sees the good in everyone.

Mark is the guy that should be on that rescue mission thats leading and consulting and for him to be the one that needs to be rescued is kind of a tragedy in and of itself, Mr Hanley said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Watch: Mark Dickeys message from the cave

Thursday 7 September 2023 21:00 , Ariana Baio

What happened to Mark Dickey?

Thursday 7 September 2023 20:30 , Ariana Baio

While on an exploration of the Morca cave in Turkey, Mark Dickey fell ill, causing the mission team to stop and alert authorities in the hopes to recieve medical attention.

It began with severe gastric pain that was escalating quickly.

Though there was initial hope that Mr Dickey could exit the cave on his own, the pain turned into gastrointestinal bleeding.

The Speleological Federation of Turkey sent a medical team and six units of blood in the following days in the hopes of stabilising Mr Dickeys medical situation.

While doctors worked to assist Mr Dickey, cave experts began putting their teams together to figure out how to rescue Mr Dickey through one of the deepest, and very complicated, cave systems.

A long and challenging rescue operation is initiated to carry Mark out on a stretcher, the ECRA said in a statement.

How international teams plan to rescue Mark Dickey

Thursday 7 September 2023 19:50 , Ariana Baio

To tackle the issue of rescuing Mark Dickey, the team of international experts has divided up the depths of the cave and assigned it to a specific team to figure out a solution for that specific area.

At multiple very narrow spots, a demolition team will need to widen them so Mr Dickey can pass through on a stretcher. They will also need to set up several camp spots on the way up to continuously monitor Mr Dickey and give him and his team sections to rest in.

To make the matter more complicated, communication between the underground team and the surface team is limited. Runners are being used to travel from the camp where Mr Dickey is to the surface where a telephone line is to speak with officials, according to AP.

Hungarian Cave Rescue Service member, Marton Kovacs, told CBS News that they were also addressing the danger of falling rocks in several places. The Hungarian team is working between the 590 to 1180-feet depths

Mr Kovacs said Mr Dickeys exit will take several days and they hope to begin on Saturday or Sunday depending on Mr Dickeys condition.

Mark Dickey delivers message to people on surface

Thursday 7 September 2023 19:20 , Ariana Baio

In a video, obtained by The Associated Press, caver Mark Dickey shares a message to the people on the surface.

Hi! Mark Dickey from nearly a thousand meters, Mr Dickey begins.

The caving world is a really tight-knit group and its amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface. Were still waiting for communications actually to reach down here. So right now its a day or two days of travel for information to get back and forth. I dont quite know whats happened, but I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I needed, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge.

Mark Dickey says he was very close to the edge in emotional first video from Turkish cave

Thursday 7 September 2023 18:56 , Ariana Baio

A trapped American explorer has said he was very close to the edge as he thanked Turkish authorities for rescuing him in an emotional video from deep inside a cave system.

Mark Dickey, 40, became trapped 3,400ft below the surface after he suffered stomach bleeding while in the Morca cave on Saturday, sparking an international rescue mission with hundreds of caving experts brought in to help.

I was very close to the edge, Mr Dickey admitted in the video obtained by The Associated Press.

Graeme Massie reports:

Trapped American explorer releases emotional video from deep in Turkish cave

Mark Dickey is an expert cave explorer

Thursday 7 September 2023 18:10 , Ariana Baio

Mark Dickey is a highly-trained caver, cave rescuer himself and well-known in the international speleological (cave expert) community, according to the European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA).

His resume of cave explorations and expert status is endless: secretary of the ECRA medical committee, lead instructor for Caving Academy, a US-based organisation that prepares other cavers for exploration, and a national instructor for the National Cave Rescue Commission.

Having participated in many cave explorations in karst areas around the world for many years, Mr Dickey is knowledgeable and skilled  the kind of person youd want on complicated cave exploration like the Morca mission.

Mark Dickey, the US caver who is currently trapped near Morca (via REUTERS)

In Photos: Rescue efforts underway

Thursday 7 September 2023 17:30 , Ariana Baio

European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) members work next to the entrance of Morca cave near Anamur, southern Turkey, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 (AP)

European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) members and Turkish gendarmerie officers stand next to the entrance of Morca cave near Anamur, southern Turkey, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 (AP)

European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) members and Turkish gendarmerie officers stand next to the entrance of Morca cave near Anamur, southern Turkey, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 (AP)

Timeline in the Turkey cave rescue

Thursday 7 September 2023 17:00 , Ariana Baio

Saturday 2 September  Mark Dickey falls ill while exploring the Morca cave in the Taurus Mountain region of Turkey. The Turkey Caving Federation is contacted for help.

Sunday 3 September  Hungarian Cave Rescue Service sends a team and doctor down to the cave to reach Mr Dickey and provide medical care.

Monday 4 September  More people from the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service as well as four other rescuers from Bulgarian Cave Rescue reach the Morca base camp to assist.

Tuesday 5 September  Team members begin to think of solutions to get Mr Dickey out of the cave. Six units of blood are delivered to assist in helping Mr Dickey get better

Wednesday 6 September  Cave rescuers from Italy, Croatia and Poland are called in. Mr Dickeys condition begins to stabilise.

Thursday 7 September  Mr Dickeys condition still improving.

Where is the Morca cave?

Thursday 7 September 2023 16:30 , Ariana Baio

International groups join forces to help recuse Mark Dickey

Thursday 7 September 2023 16:00 , Ariana Baio

Several international cave rescue teams are involved in the mission to rescue Mark Dickey from the cave in Turkey.

This includes teams from Turkey, Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, Italy and Poland

A look into the depth of the Morca cave

Thursday 7 September 2023 15:30 , Ariana Baio

The Turkish Caving Federation shared a photo depicting the vertical of the cave where 40-year-old American Mark Dickey is currently stuck.

An image depicting the vertical depth of the cave where Mark Dickey is (Turkish Caving Federation)

GoFundMe set up for Mark Dickey

Thursday 7 September 2023 15:06 , Ariana Baio

A fundraiser benefitting the rescue efforts to save American Mark Dickey from a cave in Turkey has been set up and raised over $40,000

The GoFundMe, set up by the National Cave Rescue Commission where Mr Dickey is an instructor, will be used to benefit the teams of people aiding the mission.

The ill caver is a well-known figure in the international speleological community, a highly trained caver, and a cave rescuer himself. He has participated in caving expeditions in many karst areas of the world for many years. In addition to his activities as a speleologist, he is also the secretary of the ECRA medical committee and an instructor for cave rescue organizations in the USA, a description for the GoFundMe reads.

Several international rescue teams are involved in the mission including some from Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria and Poland.

Why the rescue is so complex

Thursday 7 September 2023 14:40 , Ariana Baio

For rescuers to reach and remove Mark Dickey will be a very complicated process, according to the Turkish Caving Federation.

In a post from Tuesday, the federation described the extremely complicated process of removing a caver at the depths that Mr Dickey is currently at.

The open cross-section of the Morca Cave. Mark is currently residing at the campsite at 3400 feet (1040 meters) from the entrance. It takes a full 15 hours for an experienced caver to reach to the surface in ideal conditions.

Mr Dickey is unable to walk without assistance of now and needs a stretcher to be removed.

The cave features narrow winding passages and several rappels, the Turkish Caving Federation continued.

National Cave Rescue Commission shares photos of rescue team

Thursday 7 September 2023 14:30 , Ariana Baio

Mark Dickeys condition continues to improve

Thursday 7 September 2023 14:26 , Ariana Baio

The Turkish Caving Federation said that medical officers and Mark Dickeys doctor believe his condition is still improving.

In a tweet posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday, the federation said that the medical officer, Tulga Sener, spoke with Mr Dickeys doctor to determine if he will be able to leave the cave without a stretcher.

Son gelen bilgiye gore telefon hatt Mark'n bulundugu -1040 m kampna ulastrld. Medikal sorumlumuz Tulga Sener, dogrudan Mark'n doktoru Zsofia ile gorustu. Mark'n durumu iyilesmeye devam ediyor. Doktorlar sedyesiz ckmasnn mumkun olup olmadgna karar verecek. #MarkDickey  Turkiye Magaraclk Federasyonu (@tumaf1) September 7, 2023

Heres what we know about the cave rescue mission so far

Thursday 7 September 2023 14:23 , Ariana Baio

Mark Dickey has been at the bottom of Morca Cave for three days after falling ill while exploring underground

Barney Davis reports:

Race against time to save cave rescuer trapped in one of deepest caves in Turkey
Your chicken wings, hot dogs, and breakfast sausage could soon essentially transport themselves with the help of artificial intelligence.

Tyson Foods (TSN) announced Wednesday it teamed up with autonomous vehicle maker Gatik to test out driverless trucks in northwest Arkansas.

The multiyear contract kicked off last week with a four-truck fleet of Class 7 autonomous vehicles created to carry heavier frozen meats, and the next several trucks will be delivered in about a month, Tyson Foods vice president of transportation Patrick Simmons told Yahoo Finance.

Don't expect these self-driving trucks at your local supermarket, though. Right now they are being used to make short deliveries from a production plant to multiple cold storage facilities, which are typically 10 to 15 miles apart.

"Were after what I would call our middle mile," Simmons said. "If everything goes well, which we plan on it being that way at scale, there's really 40 sites that we've identified across the United States at some point in the future that we could roll this out."

Tyson Foods, Inc. and Gatik AI Inc. are testing autonomous trucks to deliver cold food from the plant to the storage facility. (Courtesy: Tyson Foods).

For the time being, drivers will continue to be in the vehicles as the AI software learns the routes. Eventually, the trucks will be completely driverless, which could happen in as soon as six months.

Other companies that Gatik has worked with include Kroger (KR), which in March announced plans to deliver groceries to stores in Dallas, and Tyson's neighbor in northwest Arkansas, Walmart (WMT).

'A better fit'

According to Simmons, now is the right time for innovation around transportation.

"Coming out of the lessons of COVID, there was a lot of supply chain struggles, not just within our industry but within every industry across the globe," he said. "This enables us to become more self-reliant, more agile, mobile, flexible, and better serve the business and ultimately our customers."

Tyson turned to AI technology in part due to the truck driver shortage "that was amplified during the pandemic" and still exists today, Simmons said. He also stressed that the autonomous trucks were not about eliminating jobs but finding a better fit for existing drivers.

"Truck drivers don't like to do those short-term runs that are in and out of traffic," he said. "They like to get out on the highway and go 65 miles an hour and go 300, 400, 500 miles at a time."

A Tyson Foods semi-truck on Interstate 80 near North Platte, Nebraska. (Getty Images)

The AI component of the driverless truck also allows the company to use each vehicle longer than a traditional truck driver would be able to based on safety rules from the Department of Transportation. Instead of having drivers operate vehicles for 11 hours at a time, Tyson is planning on running the driverless trucks 18 hours a day.

As the company looks to the future, Simmons also said the efforts could help attract younger generations of workers, who are generally more interested in technology careers and will be able to manage the fleet remotely or by drone.

"That's a productivity gain for us," Simmons said. "Then we're able to repurpose our truck driver. It's a better fit for what that driver would like to be doing anyhow."

Tyson faces 'challenging' year

Tyson has been looking to get back on its feet after a string of disappointing quarterly results. Shares of the mass food producer are down 30% over the past 12 months.

Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King told Yahoo Finance recently in an exclusive interview that there has never been "a more challenging time" in his 40 years in the business. "The macro environment is challenging, and it'll continue to be challenging for a bit," King added.

In the most recent quarter, Tyson's earnings fell short of estimates as weakened consumer demand and a supply glut caused prices to fall for many products.

The company also shared plans to shutter three chicken-processing locations in October of this year, including facilities located in North Little Rock, Ark.; Noel, Mo.; and Dexter, Mo. The fourth location  in Corydon, Ind.  will close on or around March 1, 2024.

Following the results, JPMorgan analyst Ken Goldman wrote that the closures were "helpful to margins but not to an industry that remains arguably over-supplied."

"Either way, its good to see the company lean into what Donnie King sometimes does best  run efficient businesses  and we think its reasonable to model MSD operating margins for this segment as soon as 4Q23," Goldman added.

As part of those plans to streamline operations, Tyson also said it will launch a new supply chain center and announced that Brady Stewart, who previously oversaw the fresh meats business, will become the company's chief supply chain officer.

As far as the outlook for 2023, the company now expects total sales between $53 billion and $54 billion for the full year, with sales growth flat year over year.



Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.

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
When Robert Whittaker, the former middleweight champion, made the walk to the Octagon on July 8 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to face Dricus Du Plessis in the co-main event of UFC 290, a legitimate argument could have been made that Whittaker belonged in the MMA pound-for-pound Top 10. He was that good.

He'd lost to Israel Adesanya at UFC 243 and UFC 271, but other than those two, Whittaker had reeled off 13 wins since a 2014 win over Mike Rhodes. In that span, he'd beaten Yoel Romero twice, as well as Jacare Souza, Jared Cannonier, Kelvin Gastelum and Marvin Vettori, among others.

He was, in short, the real deal.

And then the bell rang and everything changed. Du Plessis dominated Whittaker, much to the delight of Adesanya, who was seated ringside. He knew he needed fresh blood as an opponent, and given he'd beaten Whittaker twice, a win by Whittaker over Du Plessis did him little good.

It didn't hurt that Adesanya, who was born in Nigeria, took offense to comments made by Du Plessis, who is from South Africa, about Adesanya not being "a real African." Adesanya left Nigeria in search of fighting knowledge and fought in China extensively before settling in New Zealand.

When Du Plessis won, Adesanya came into the ring and the two did a staredown. UFC president Dana White generally does not like such occurrences, but when Adesanya promised he wouldn't get physical, White relented.

It seemed for all the world that Du Plessis would be facing Adesanya for the middleweight title Saturday in the main event of UFC 293 in Sydney, Australia.

But then Du Plessis said he had a foot injury that he didn't specify and said he couldn't fight. Adesanya had so thoroughly cleaned out the division that the only fighter in the top six he hadn't faced was Sean Strickland. And so, on Saturday, it will be Strickland, and not Du Plessis, who will challenge for the title.

Strickland has done what Strickland does, talk to anyone who will listen and even a lot who don't want to hear what he has to say. He made a mini-controversy when he said he punched a fan not long after getting into Australia.

He's made one outrageous comment after another, though none of it surprised White. He ordered members of his security staff to follow Strickland everywhere he goes in Sydney to prevent any type of incident.

"Going into this, I knew; I knew what this week was going to be like," White said Tuesday at the "Contender Series" post-fight news conference. "Yes, we were prepared for it and yes, we have people around him now, so he wont be punching people in the stomach any more, whether for fun or not for fun. "

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya could have been facing Dricus Du Plessis on Saturday were it not for a mysterious foot injury. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

A legitimate question exists, though, about whether Strickland should even be in this fight. Du Plessis, based on his win over Whittaker and his dominance since joining the UFC, clearly earned the title shot. He's No. 1 in rankings, he's 20-2 overall and 6-0 with five finishes in the UFC. It's a compelling resume.

Adesanya, though, had no time for him once he said he injured his foot.

"He's a p****," Adesanya said to Yahoo Sports, interrupting a question about Du Plessis. "I fought my last fight with my knee jacked and did you see me [wimp] out?"

Du Plessis' withdrawal created a lot of problems for the UFC. Rescheduling Adesanya wasn't really possible, because the entire card was built around him and the crowd in Australia is coming to see him. The undercard is filled with fighters from Australia and New Zealand.

But at least Du Plessis could have been promised the winner when he was healthy, but that's not the case, either.

"You know how much I love guys who turn down fights," White said, sarcastically, when asked if Du Plessis would get the next shot. "I dont know. Well see what happens Saturday and then well go from there."

The real money in the UFC comes from fighting for and then winning the title, and Du Plessis knows that. So should he have gone into the Octagon limited, with a foot injury, against one of the pound-for-pound greats and arguably the finest middleweight in MMA history, despite that?

Well, it's a tough call.

Title shots don't come around often, and most of the UFC fighters never come close to getting one. White's opinion on that topic is well known: He loves fighters who step up despite adverse circumstances, and rewards them handsomely.

But when you say no, White doesn't necessarily blacklist you, but he's not looking to do you any favors, either.

Khamzat Chimaev's days as a welterweight appear over, despite him still being in the UFC's welterweight rankings at No. 4. He'll fight Paulo Costa on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and a win there would likely make him the top contender at middleweight. If Strickland were to pull the upset and win, it would likely mean a rematch with Adesanya.

But if Adesanya, as expected, defeats Strickland, we're looking at an Adesanya-Chimaev bout next year if Chimaev beats Costa. That would be a huge match that could be put on UFC 300, which is slated to occur early in 2024.

"He's an interesting guy," Adesanya said of Chimaev. "He's looked good [at welterweight] but we'll see what he is all about."

In the UFC, the champion is given great latitude over who he'll fight, and having been at the top so long, Adesanya understands that as well as anyone. He's let Du Plessis know that in no uncertain terms.

Du Plessis hasn't spoken about the significance of his injury or its exact nature. And he did the right thing if he was going to be so compromised that it would severely impact his performance against Adesanya. Adesanya has great movement and he'll pick an opponent who is stationary apart.

But given the way he looked against Whittaker, it's easy to question how serious the injury he suffered was.

The beneficiary, of course, was Strickland, who gets a shot to pull one of the biggest upsets in UFC history.

Du Plessis faces an uncertain future, particularly if Adesanya defeats Strickland and then Chimaev beats Costa next month in impressive fashion.

Du Plessis made the choice he felt was best for his career, but whether it was actually the right move will only be told in part by how Adesanya, Strickland, Chimaev and Costa perform over the next six weeks.
University of Iowa police are investigating a body found on campus Wednesday morning.

Officers were called around 7:15 a.m. to the north patio of Stanley Hydraulic Laboratory, at 320 S. Riverside Drive for a report of an unconscious or possibly deceased man, according to Chief of Staff Public Information Officer Hayley Bruce

Officials said the death is not believed to be suspicious based on their preliminary investigation

The identity of the man has not been released. Officials say the person was neither a current student nor an employee, and the incident does not threaten campus safety.

This story will be updated.

Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter@NoelleHannika or email her at NAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: University of Iowa police open probe after body found on campus


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The Human Rights Watch claims that Russia is using cluster munitions, leading to hundreds of deaths in Ukraine.

The NYC-based international non-governmental organization said that they fact-checked the denial statements of Putin and other Russian officials regarding the use of cluster munitions.

Is Russia Using Cluster Munitions in Ukraine? Human Rights Watch Says Yes

The Human Rights Watch said that the new annual cluster munitions report "Cluster Munition Monitor 2023" has attracted the interest of strong global media outlets.

The agency said that the yearly cluster munitions documentation, which it helped produce, was also covered by Russia's state-controlled media.

HRW describes these news outlets as propaganda outlets for the government.

The human rights organization said that these Russian-backed media companies didn't include the documentation about the Kremlin's repeated use of cluster munitions in Ukraine.

The Human Rights Watch stated that they left out important details about Russia's use of cluster munitions, especially the one in 2022 that killed around 58 Ukrainian civilians.

The international organization said that Putin and other Russian officials, such as Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, repeatedly denied the use of cluster munitions in Ukraine.

However, HRW said that it worked with the United Nations (UN) and Ukrainian officials to fact-check the denial statements of Russian leaders.

Based on their investigation, Russia is responsible for over 90% of cluster munition deaths in Ukraine. HRW revealed that in 2022, more than 890 Ukrainians were injured and killed by the Russian military's cluster bombs.

Read Also: North Korea's Kim Jong-Un Set To Meet With Russian President Vladimir Putin To Advance Arms Negotiations

Is Russia Allowed to Use Cluster Munitions in War?

Reuters reported that the use of cluster munitions is banned in more than 100 countries (specifically 124 countries).

This is because these cluster bombs can lead to civilian deaths during wars. Aside from this, experts said that some bomblets also tend to malfunction.

They can remain dormant for years or decades only to explode suddenly, which can lead to deaths even when wars are over.

But, although cluster bombs are highly criticized, Human Rights Watch said that the United States, Russia, and Ukraine are allowed to use them.

Recently, Vladimir Putin claimed that they haven't used cluster bombs in Ukraine yet. The Russian leader said that they will only use these deadly bombs if their enemies also use them.

"But of course, if they are used against us, we reserve the right to take reciprocal action," explained Putin.

Related Article: Russian Nuclear Strike Could Hit US Territories, Warns Russia's State TV

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. Member of Parliament Sargis Khandanyan representing the ruling Civil Contract party has said that parliament ought to ratify the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Khandanyan, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that the Rome Statute has been sent to parliament and it must pass through discussions in the faction and the relevant committee within defined timeframes. As of this moment, there are no reservations in the version sent to parliament. I believe that,indeed, it must be ratified, Khandanyan told reporters.

He dismissed Moscows concerns and request to clarify the move.

I dont know what kind of questions theyve asked Armenia and I dont know whether or not theyve already received the answers. Nonetheless, I reiterate that joining such treaties is the sovereign right of Armenia and theres no need to make clarifications. If you read the Statute, youd see it addressing a number of war crimes, such as the ones taking place during the Azerbaijani aggressions in the territory of Armenia during the past two years. Besides, the Statute addresses genocide as a crime, and I think that Armenia, as a country of descendants of genocide, is morally bound to join this mechanism, Khandanyan said.

The Armenian government on September 1 sent the Rome Statute to parliament for ratification.

In 2022, the Pashinyan Administration explained that it seeks to join the Rome Statute because it would allow to hold the government of Azerbaijan to account for its aggressions against Armenia.

On 17 March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, after an investigation of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine.

The ICC arrest warrant for Putin accuses the Russian leader of unlawfully deporting thousands of Ukrainian children, a war crime.

This has been denied by the Russian government.

Countries that are signatories to the Rome Statute would have to enforce the arrest warrant once Putin travels into their territory.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS/BTA. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel headed the Bulgarian delegation to the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) Summit here on September 6 and 7, her ministry said in a press release on Thursday. Attending were the leaders of the twelve participating countries, and the key topics on the agenda were economic development, strengthening regional security, improving regional connectivity, and mobilizing the necessary investments for infrastructure projects of regional importance.

Addressing the 3SI Summit, Gabriel put an emphasis on the key significance of connectivity and notable results in the strategic cross-border and regional projects. In her words, better connectivity in the region will be of use both to the countries there and to the entire EU, because it means better economic opportunities and quality of life for citizens as well as a more united and stronger European Union that is better prepared for the current and future challenges.

Gabriel noted the importance of Bulgaria and Romania joining Schengen, which will contribute to the achievement of 3SI's goals. She stressed the need of greater interaction between priority projects and the Initiative and the EU's innovation-oriented financial instruments and programmes, such as the Digital Europe Programme.

Of key importance for Bulgaria is the development of the the 3SI's Innovation Fund and the opportunity for funding of projects of strategic importance for this country, she said.

The Bulgarian Foreign Minister welcomed the accession of Greece as the 13th country participating in the Initiative and of Ukraine and Moldova as associated members.

At the Summit, the 3SI countries adopted a joint declaration presenting their common goals and priorities.

On the sidelines of the forum, Gabriel held bilateral meetings with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Deputy Secretary-General Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development President Odile Renaud-Basso.

(This information is being published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA.)
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to the statement by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs released on September 7 after the Cabinet meeting.

Regarding the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan after the speech of Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan at the meeting of the Government of Armenia on September 7, 2023, we consider it necessary to emphasise the following.

Azerbaijani users of social networks and media themselves published information regarding the accumulation of Azerbaijani troops near the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is confirmed by information from other sources as well.

In the above-mentioned speech, the Prime Minister of Armenia stated that Armenia is committed to the agreements reached on October 6, 2022 in Prague, October 31, 2022 in Sochi and May 14, 2023 in Brussels, which confirmed the mutual unconditional recognition by Armenia and Azerbaijan of each other's territorial integrity. Armenia has no territorial claims against Azerbaijan and expects the same from Azerbaijan, which has not yet publicly confirmed its commitment to these agreements.

Armenia is not interested in military escalation, it is now proposing mechanisms to exclude such risks, as it did previously, but until now has not yet received answers. Armenia is ready to discuss the introduction of other effective mechanisms as well.

Armenia is ready to continue making active efforts to complete the work on the draft of the agreement on peace and normalization of relations with Azerbaijan and sign it as soon as possible.

Armenia is dedicated and remains committed to the agenda of peace and stability in the South Caucasus, while emphasising the need for similar rhetoric and practical signals from official Baku.

It is obvious that the blockade of the Lachin corridor, the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and the absence of Baku-Stepanakert dialogue under an international mechanism do not contribute to the improvement of the atmosphere in the region.
The G-20 summits outcome and the crucial bilateral visit will be determined not by what happens but how the Western media plays it up.

Trust a journalist to crow, but it feels nice to be proved right. I evaluated last week that Xi Jinping, for reasons other those which held Vladimir Putin back, will not attend this G-20. The absence of two statesmen may diminish the G-20 but it gives Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the choreographer, a stage with more space.

His media advisers will anguish over a different matter: how to balance his solo performance as G-20 president and a summiteer with President Joe Biden, thats if hes able to attend.

The twin events, in days of yore, would be an editors nightmare. President Kennedy shot dead in Dallas. This coincided with an Indian tragedy: five generals of the Indian armed forces died in a helicopter crash the same day. Editors anguished: which story to lead with.

No such anguish for todays editors. They have been downgraded by TV channels. The channels will get instructions from minions of the master choreographer. It will be fascinating to see how anchors conceal their obsequiousness.

Once the dust settles on G-20, both Mr Modi and Mr Biden will be staring at their 2024 election prospects. Mr Bidens deadline is fixed: elections in November next year. Mr Modi by now is an expert handler of American Presidents. He has come a long way from the early Barack, Barack days when someone tried to drape him in a pinstripe suit with his name embroidered in between the stripes.

At the Howdy Modi event in Houston 2019, he was audacious enough to put his arms around then President Donald Trump and proclaim: Abki baar, Trump Sarkar. Which meant his hope was that Mr Trump would win the 2020 US election.

He didnt. When Mr Biden won, the pundits thought the new President would be cold to Mr Modi. But the global power play configuration since the messy US withdrawal from Afghanistan and rank miscalculation in Ukraine placed India in a sweet spot: wooed by the US as well as Russia. Since Russia and China are sworn to a no limits friendship, Mr Modi may be tempted to take temporary risks with China. Russia will be expected to bridge the New Delhi-Beijing distance should it increase, say, in the context of Mr Bidens visit.

Washingtons wish list from the Delhi summit will include a mention of Ukraine in the final communique, a statement by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at least virtually, give Mr Modis dexterous navigation between Brics and Quad a nudge towards the grouping designed to encircle China.

New Delhi too will read the fine print of US treasury secretary Janet Yellens talks in Beijing. On her heels, virtually, was US commerce secretary, Gina Raimando, looking chastened as she engaged her China counterpart. Then followed James Cleverly, Britains foreign secretary. The Beijing-Washington traffic is soaring. Military intentions are not on show. Even containment should be made of sterner stuff.

What does one make of all the anxious punditry from US think tanks that the US is making a bad bet on India if it imagines the country will ever be part of military action against China. The grouse in these US circles is that the word alliance is anathema to New Delhi. Washington on the other hand doesnt feel secure enough with terms like partnership, within which even interoperability is taboo. It fears that New Delhi will tease, but not go to bed. After the consistent Washington-Beijing high-level visits, in the bargain in any case is not a commitment in perpetuity. This three-way pirouette is as much a test of affections as of stamina.

The G-20 summits outcome as well as the crucial bilateral visit will be determined not by what happens but how the Western media plays it up. It must project Mr Biden carrying away a bagful of goodies. What will these be?

Much greater urgency attends what Mr Modi is seen to be carrying away. For the first time in the recent past will an Indian PM be projected by the media, which is already in his thrall, as one at ease and familiar with the worlds most powerful leaders? Will Mr Modi emerge with a sufficiently stellar performance, enabling him to advance the 2024 election date? He will thus be able to avoid headwinds that possible defeats in four state elections might generate.

It is another matter that for the first time since the Second World War the halo which marks the most powerful will be absent. The leaders will indeed look as diminished as the collective West does, and which has been in decline since the 2008 financial crisis.

Pick them out one by one, beginning with Frances Emmanuel Macron. Just consider the egg on his face in Francophone Africa. Burkina Faso, Mali and now Niger, one coup after another. The US has a military base in Niger. What for?

South Africas President Cyril Ramaphosa invited 35 African countries to the recent Brics summit in Johannesburg. The leaders acquainted themselves with the rapid expansion of Brics as their emancipators from the colonial, hegemonic world order which filled Western coffers and left Africans in poverty.

As the focus turns to Africa, a new colonial, imperial chapter is opening up. We are told Western troops in Africa were fighting Islamic terrorism. Really, or were they supervising Western loot? The US had built a $110 million drone base in Agadez, Niger. Its the worlds largest drone base. Over 1,000 US soldiers are deployed there. All this just to fight ISIS and Al-Qaeda?

Why do these coups resonate well with the people? In Niger, thousands turned up to register for Army duty as demanded by the coup leaders.
Today's headlines: Russia tries to enlist Cubans for the war in Ukraine; China proposes a ban on clothes that 'hurt the nation's sentiment'; Japan joins moon race; Myanmar sentences a photojournalist to 20 years in prison; Bangladesh in throes of worst dengue epidemic ever recorded.

NAGORNO  KARABAKH

Armenia, a longtime ally of Russia, has announced it will host a joint military exercise with the United States next week, at a time of mounting military tension with neighboring Azerbaijan, with which it is in conflict over control of the enclaves of the Nagorno-Karabakh. The decision comes at a time of Armenia's intense frustration with Moscow. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Russia, distracted by the war with Ukraine, of failing to protect Armenia from what he called continued aggression by Azerbaijan. For example, Armenian defense officials said Azerbaijan fired on their positions on the border last night.

RUSSIA  CUBA

Cuba's foreign ministry has denounced Russia for "trading in human personnel" in attempts to enlist Cubans for the war in Ukraine with economic promises, but "these attempts have been neutralized and criminal investigations have been opened against the organizers of the initiatives, above all because Cuba does not participate in the Ukrainian operation.

CHINA

After recent changes to public security laws, a bill was introduced in China to ban clothes that "hurt the nation's feelings," under which those who wear or force others to wear clothes that "undermine the spirit of the Chinese people risk 15 days of detention and a fine of up to 5,000 yuan (680). Chinese Internet users have wondered how law enforcement can determine when the nation's "feelings" may be "hurt."

JAPAN

Japan, after India, is also aiming for the moon: this morning a rocket was successfully launched carrying a spacecraft - called SLIM - for lunar exploration, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced ), after three launches in one week were postponed last month due to unfavorable weather. The 0 million mission is expected to reach the moon by February next year.

MYANMAR

A Myanmar court has sentenced photojournalist Sai Zaw Thaike to 20 years in prison after he was arrested while documenting the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha, which struck Rakhine State in May, killing dozens of people. The outlet he worked for, Myanmar Now, said it did not know what charges Sai Zaw Thaike was convicted of, after being held without access to a lawyer or family visits before his trial. Meanwhile, the military junta camp has announced that elections in the country will not be held before 2025.

AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTAN

Pakistani troops yesterday repulsed a cross-border attack from Afghanistan. Islamabad accuses Kabul of hosting militants linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Taliban who target Pakistan's government institutions. There were hundreds of them and they were armed with light and heavy weapons. We were ready to deal with the attack and the firefight continued for about four hours," said Mohammad Ali, deputy commissioner of Chitral district. The Torkham border crossing, along another part of the border, was then closed for other border skirmishes.

BANGLADESH

According to the World Health Organization, Bangladesh is afflicted by the worst dengue epidemic ever recorded, probably due to climate change which has caused an increase in the presence of mosquitoes, responsible for the transmission of the disease. Since the beginning of the epidemic in April, more than 135,000 cases of dengue and 650 deaths have been recorded. More than 300 deaths from the disease were reported in August alone.
by Mathias Hariyadi

The 43rd summit of South East Asian countries closes today in Jakarta. The decision a response to the Burmese military coup and violence since February 2021. The US Vice-President and the Chinese Premier also attended, as well as state and government leaders. By 2045, the region will contribute 5.4% to global GDP. Jokowi: trust and cooperation.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Myanmar will not assume the rotating presidency of the regional bloc in 2026, as foreseen by the natural rotation among member countries. This is the most important news, at least on a "political" level, which emerged at the conclusion of the 43rd ASEAN summit (an association that brings together 10 South-East Asian nations) scheduled for 5 to 7 September in Jakarta, Indonesia, and which closes today.

The basis for the decision, among the first acts taken by the member states at the opening of the meeting, was the violence and abuses perpetrated by the Burmese junta since the February 2021 coup.

In place of Naypyidaw, the Philippines will take over the leadership of the bloc according to an annual presidency criterion that follows the alphabetical order in English of the names of the member countries.

Speaking yesterday at the official inauguration ceremony, the Indonesian president and current leader of the group, Joko Widodo spoke of "mutual trust" which allows the countries of the group to "implement concrete and mutually beneficial cooperation".

This trust "must be built and maintained on all sides" starting from "respect for international law" he continued. Addressing Chinese premier Li Qiang, Jokowi present as official representative of Beijing, Widodo confirmed that China is a "strategic partner" of the ASEAN bloc, in the twentieth anniversary of the official relations formalized in the friendship and cooperation agreement.

The Indonesian president went on to say that it is necessary to transform this relationship into a "concrete and advantageous cooperation" only if the various countries are able to trust "one another" and for this the commitment "of all parties" is needed.

The 43rd ASEAN summit was also attended by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, US Vice-President Kemala Haris, Australian Prime Minister Anthony N. Albanese and Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau. Addressing those present, the Indonesian head of state confirmed how collaboration with Washington - among others - will be a factor of stabilization and prosperity for the entire Indo-Pacific region.

According to forecasts, relaunched by Jokowi, by 2045 Southeast Asia will be the backbone of international trade and will contribute 5.4% of global GDP, provided that the security and stability of the region itself are guaranteed.

Words welcomed and relaunched by Vice-President Harris, who underlined the "lasting commitment" made by the United States towards South-East Asia and the region more generally, with which it shares "historical ties and common values".

After all, the trade flow between the two blocks is already a guarantee of over 600,000 jobs in the US alone and, looking ahead, presents many "growth opportunities".

Finally, the United States and the ASEAN bloc reaffirmed cooperation on defense, security and stability for an "open, interconnected, prosperous, secure and resilient" region, concluded Harris.
by Andrea Lembo *

At the funeral of the auxiliary bishop of Tokyo, the PIME missionary, who replaced him at the helm of the Shinsei Kaikan Catholic Cultural Centre, remembered the prelate who loved to refer to God through the typically Japanese image of hot spring water. During his ministry, he shared a life of closeness and consolation with so many people.

Tokyo (AsiaNews)  Auxiliary Bishop Paul Kazuhiro Mori of Tokyo, who passed away on Saturday at the age of 84, was laid to rest yesterday. Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi led the funeral service in the presence of some 800 people in a simple ceremony, in keeping with Bishop Moris style.

Fr Andrea Lembo, a PIME missionary from Italy, was tasked with delivering the homily. He succeeded Bishop Mori as director of the Shinsei Kaikan Catholic Cultural Centre which the prelate had been the soul in Tokyo for many years.

What follows are Fr Lembos thoughts for AsiaNews readers.

As I thought back to Bishop Mori's ministry and its significance over so many years in Tokyo, I was reminded of Jesus's words in the Gospel of Matthew: Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. (Mt 11:28-29).

The three imperatives laid out by Jesus in this verse should be food for thought. First of all, "Come to me". How many people Bishop Mori led to Jesus, through his ministry, listening to them, but also through catechesis, conferences, retreats.

"Take my yoke upon you." The bishop was able to live these words by trying to lift the yoke that fell on the shoulders of far too many people in a country like Japan where social pressures impose heavy expectations at work and school, and in relationships. Many times, when he met people, the bishop took their concerns upon himself, lightening their burden.

Lastly, "learn from me". He certainly learnt from Jesus, experiencing the Gospel during his lifetime by being close to the poor and the young.

In my homily I cited two personal recollections from the many years in which I had the good fortune to regularly meet with him. The first one refers to our first meeting in 2011, on 26 December, the day when we priests meet in the Archdiocese of Tokyo.

We were sitting in the cathedral for the Te Deum and he sat next to me. At one point, he asked me: You're Father Andrea, right? I said yes.

Then he dropped on me an unexpected question: What nationality do you think God is? immediately adding: "For me he is certainly not Japanese, because we Japanese do not like to be praised. It's more likely that he's Italian like you.

The other recollection is about something I heard him repeat many times. He used to say that God was the onsen of his heart, the Japanese hot spring water that offers rest.

I believe that all his spirituality is contained in this word, i.e. the idea of letting oneself be embraced by God, in ones total nakedness, like in warm water in which we find rest and consolation.

It was also the way in which he bore witness to God in Japanese society, expressing it like someone close to you, who warms your heart, soothes and heals every wound.

Many friends were also present at the funeral, including Shintoists and Buddhists. Seeing them there made me understand that it will be important for us to revisit in depth his legacy, and look closely at his writings.

But the most moving moment was seeing so many young people  next to the coffin, at the back of the church, dressed in mourning on such a day, eyes swelling with tears.

In him they had found a man capable of closeness, which tells us how much his presence was a grace and how much we shall miss him.

* PIME missionary, director of the Shinsei Kaikan Catholic Cultural Centre in Tokyo
by Sumon Corraya

A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, he passed the bar last month. Until now he had worked in smaller courts, including the one in the capital Dhaka, to help the neediest in his community attain justice. He tells AsiaNews: 'I hope that more and more young Santal will take up this career.

Dhaka (AsiaNews) - Christian Probhat Tudu has become the first ethnic Santal lawyer in Bangladesh's Supreme Court, after passing the bar examination last month.

Tudu, 38, was born in Chapainawabganj, Northern Bangladesh, and the seventh child of a teacher and housewife. He obtained a law degree from Notre Dame College in Dhaka, a university run by the Catholic Church, and then completed his studies in a private institution. A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Northern Bangladesh, since 2018 he has worked in minor courts, including that of the capital.

He told AsiaNews that he has always had a passion for working for the least and for those who have the opportunity to make their voices heard.

Being needy and a minority, people in our Santal community are often persecuted by the majority. They have land rights issues. I already work for them as a lawyer, but now in the Supreme Court, I hope I can contribute more for them."

The Santals are an indigenous population originating from northern Bangladesh, where, with a population of about 126 thousand people, they form the largest ethnic minority in the country.

70% are Christians, and nowadays several tribes are also concentrated in the Indian states of Jharkhand and West Bengal.

After two sisters who had gone to collect rice were kidnapped by some Muslims in December last year, Tudu intervened to seek justice alongside the local parish priest, Fr. Belisario Ciro Montoya, Colombian fidei donum priest associated with PIME.

Rumila Mardi, 14, and her little sister Maria, 4, who had not returned to their village of Phulbaroiya Baghdanga, Chandpukur Naogaon, were found after a month.

Tudu also took legal action in a land dispute between the police and the Santal community at the Rangpur sugar mill in Gobindaganj upazila (an administrative sub-unit) in Gaibandha district, an issue first surfaced in November 2016 after the police had attacked the local Christian community.

Today he also works as a Christian leader: he is in charge of communication and publication of the Bangladesh Christian Lawyers' Association and is general secretary of the Uttorbango Adipashi Forum, an organization of northern indigenous tribes.

His hope is that more and more young Santals will embark on a career as a lawyer: If we get more Santal lawyers together we can claim our rights. I will work for free for needy Christians who go to court to get justice, he said.

Tudu, in addition to being the first santal lawyer of the Supreme Court, is only the fifth lawyer of his ethnicity in all of Bangladesh.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

The high profile arrest in Dushanbe, the excellentof the founder of a Tajik-Iranian clinic with ties to the national security leadership has President Rakhmon's supporters crying out for a conspiracy to change the course of local politics. Underlying the measure was a book containing criticism of various regional authorities, but also theses on the superiority of some citizens over others on the basis of ethnic-religious characteristics.

Dushanbe (AsiaNews) - The mystery is deepening in Tajikistan in the case of Abdukhalil Kholikzoda, founder and owner of the Ibn Sino Tajik-Iranian clinic, who may even be hiding a plan to seize power and change the course of Tajik politics.

His arrest on August 7 was linked to some of his reflections published in the book he wrote "The events of my life", released last March. The Supreme Court of Tajikistan had upheld the arrest warrant, for which the prosecution had advanced charges of "inciting social, racial, national, regional and religious (confessional) hostility" and even "preventively organized conspiracy for the purpose of conflict inside the republic".

Kholikzoda's book had aroused many emotional reactions, claiming the superiority of some citizens over others on the basis of ethno-religious characteristics, a thesis reiterated in various public interventions, on the internet and in the national media, and the author now risks a sentence of two at five years old. According to many observers, preventative imprisonment indicates a very high assessment of the risks associated with the personality of the owner of the clinic.

People close to Abdukhalil consider him a "true patriot", assuring that he has never even thought of leaving the country, after the strong reactions to his book and the widespread threats of arrest since the early days. Kholikzoda, moreover, is a friend of the president of the National Security Committee (GKNB) Saidmumin Jatimov, and of the Minister of the Interior Ramazon Rakhimzoda.

The book criticizes several regional authorities of Tajikistan, with strong concerns about the atmosphere regarding commercial activities in the country, and the author guarantees that he wrote everything by himself, without "external conspiracies, indeed largely while I was abroad". However, the journalist Abdukodir Rustam was also arrested with him, who assisted Kholikzoda in drafting the text.

According to sources close to the government and the presidency, who have remained anonymous in their confidences with Radio Ozody, the suspicions of a conspiracy against the state are fueled precisely by Kholikzoda's friendships with the heads of national security. Several events narrated in the text in fact come from confidences of Jatimov and Rakhimzoda, published with their consent.

The attorney general would therefore have seized the opportunity to discredit internal enemies of the power structures in the eyes of President Emomali Rakhmon, with the support of the Supreme Court, whose intervention in the matter appeared to everyone to be decidedly exaggerated.

The discussion on "The events of my life" had also been relaunched by a group of people on Facebook, accusing the author of offending the inhabitants of certain regions of Tajikistan, and this had attracted the interest of the prosecution, especially after some pages had been eliminated by order of the Gknb.

Three Facebook users admitted to having been contacted by security agents, with the pretension of giving up criticism against Kholikzoda. In mid-July, the issue was presented by the attorney general Yusuf Rakhmon (brother-in-law of the president) at the meeting of the presidential administration, demanding the arrest of the author of the book and railing against his "protectors" present at the session.

On August 30, the Dzhumkhuriat newspaper, the official organ of the government of Tajikistan, published a criticism by an authoritative literary critic, Abdudzhabbor Rakhmonzodi, Dushanbe's ambassador to Uzbekistan, according to whom the stories narrated are intended to defame the organs of the forces of the Tajik order, starting right from the attorney general with allusions to episodes of corruption.

According to the Tajik poet Isfandiyori Nazar, who lives abroad and whose opinion is very influential in the country, "the entrepreneur and writer fell victim to the internal war at the top of the institutions", and in reality the book did not deserve the indictment . Many want to take over Kholikzoda's business, Nazar believes, and it is "hard to believe that President Emomali Rakhmon is unaware of these plots".

The book that created so much scandal has been withdrawn from all newsstands and bookshops in the country, and now everyone is holding their breath to understand how the story will end, which could involve many other people. According to some, there are also links with Tajik opponents abroad, members of radical Islamic groups who have always been in conflict with Rakhmon, and the consequences could be truly unpredictable.
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A court in San Bernardino, California, has temporarily banned a policy that would notify parents when their kid requested to use a pronoun or identity that does not correspond with their given gender at birth.

On Wednesday, September 6, Superior Court Judge Thomas S. Garza granted a temporary restraining order against parts of the new Chino Valley Unified School District policy that address gender and sex. He warned that the issue was very sensitive and should be treated as such moving forward.

"How do we safeguard these students who identify as LGBTQ? And in my view, it's a situation that is singling out a class of protected individuals differently than the rest of the students," Garza said, according to CNN.

Notably, the judge's ruling does not affect the parts of the Chino Valley district policy that deal with parental notice in cases of attempted suicide, threats, and bullying.

Potential Harm to Non-Conforming Teens

The Chino Valley's policy was enacted by the school district in July. The verdict comes after California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against the district last month. Bonta has condemned the "forced outing policy" as a danger to the well-being of non-conforming teens who do not have a sense of belonging at school or home.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Bonta lauded the verdict, saying it properly safeguards children from harm and promotes the rights of our state's LGBTQ+ student community.

Meanwhile, on the same day the court handed down the decision, another school district in Sacramento decided to establish a policy mirroring Chino Valley's.

When a student in the Rocklin Unified School District chooses to use pronouns other than those associated with their biological sex or gender, or requests to be referred to by a name other than their given name, the district must notify the parents within three days. District trustee Dereck Counter remarked, "All we're doing is adding parent notification, parent communication, keeping those people involved."

Third-grade teacher Jessica Hardy expressed concern to the board that the policy might damage students' and teachers' relationships.

See Also: WSJ Editorial Details How Parents in Blue States Fight Back Against Gender Ideology

Parents' Right to Know

The policies are part of a broader trend by conservative lawmakers across the country to restrict LGBTQ people's ability to engage in a variety of daily activities, including access to health care, the use of public restrooms, and participation in sports.

Andi Johnston, a spokesman for the Chino Valley Unified School District, said they respect the court's decision and will continue to work toward the district's goal of strengthening ties between the school and the home.

Previously, School district president Sonja Shaw defended the policy and dismissed fears that it may do damage to students. Shaw made it clear that children who come to school seeking to be called anything other than their birth name are asking to be open with their transition. "The parent has every right to know about that."

See Also: Michigan Citizens Who Use Wrong Pronouns May Face Criminal Prosecution, $10,000 Fine

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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New 3M Skills Development Center Will Provide Comprehensive Collision Repair Training

Written by Stacey Phillips, Autobody News

Published Sept. 7, 2023

Collision repair instructors from across the country recently had the opportunity to attend a four-day training program at the new 3M Skills Development Center (SDC). Located in Saint Paul, MN, the multimillion-dollar, 15,000-square-foot training center anchors 3Ms vision to provide comprehensive training to the collision repair industry.

The automotive aftermarket is a very important segment of our business and people look to us as a leader in this industry, said Dave Gunderson, president of 3Ms Automotive Aftermarket Division. Being a leader doesn't mean just selling the best products, but also responding to the needs of the industry and helping it grow.

With a worldwide shortage of qualified technicians and increasingly complex vehicles being manufactured, 3M opened the SDC to bring awareness to the employment opportunities available in the industry, help instructors and technicians keep up with the latest technologies and ensure they are trained to repair vehicles properly.

The facility, located near the companys headquarters, includes classrooms, a shop area with a 35-foot paint booth, workshop stations with electrical and air service, 12 welding stations and the latest equipment and tooling. Camera stations are set up through the classroom and shop areas to broadcast training sessions.

Unique Upskilling Opportunity for Instructors

Each summer for the past 13 years, 3M has invited collision repair teachers to apply to its Collision Repair Academy Collision Repair Instructor Training program held at the former training center on the 3M Campus. Since then, nearly 250 instructors, representing 185 schools across North America, have attended. The classes, offered at no charge, are designed to help upskill instructors to be in the best position to teach their students.

To apply for the program, prospective attendees share information about themselves, their collision repair programs and why theyd like to attend. The 3M team then rates the applications based on specific attributes.

We really want to invite well-respected leaders who are impassioned about what they're doing in their organizations and want to support their students, explained Gunderson. We give priority to new teachers and instructors who have never attended before.

This year, 32 instructors were asked to attend one of two four-day programs in late July and early August at the SDC.

Related: Collision Repair Instructors Share Insight About 3M Training

3M instructors---Shawn Collins, Ryan Marrinan and Jason Garfoot---trained the trainers, using hands-on methods to reinforce key concepts supported by classroom theory and discussion. The program covered 3M-developed best practices in foundational body repair processes supported by OEM repair documentation in the areas of body repair tools and application techniques, panel removal and replacement, welding, corrosion protection techniques, aluminum substrate repair, dent repair methodology, paint preparation and masking, and paint finishing.

Jason Scharton, senior manager, Global Expertise Delivery for the 3M Automotive Aftermarket Division, said 3M instructors encouraged participants to push their skills, challenge their experience, advance their craft and learn from experts to expand their collision repair knowledge.

An important aspect of the program was teaching instructors how to approach the curriculum in their schools to engage students so they understand the material based on 3Ms unique training approach, The Science of Why.

Attendees were taught the why behind modern repair methods to absorb and retain practices that may vary from how things have been done over the last 30 years.

Historically, information has been passed down to technicians based on how things have always been done. Rather than teaching students to repair vehicles a certain way because someone said to, 3M explains the reasoning behind the repair process and the relevant importance based on OEM guidelines.

We want them to know what they are doing really matters, said Gunderson. Its not just that the car appearance looks good, but its repaired properly and safe to drive.

By introducing the Science of Why and explaining the reasoning, it allows them to understand and retain information so their behaviors change, said Scharton.

Not only did they receive in-depth training, attendees had an opportunity to bond with each other, Scharton said.

It's fun to see those connections and how they supported each other, he said.

Part of the week also included a custom painting and masking competition using speedshapes.
In 2023, Toyota introduced the Century SUV, and it was more than a premium vehicle; it was a car that redefined the luxury concept in the carmaker's philosophy.

The Japanese automaker put a lot of work and effort into developing this vehicle. It placed any high-tech piece of engineering that it had in its basket, and when it didn't have it, it developed it. It was the SUV designed and manufactured for clients obsessed with high-quality materials, fit, and finishes. But still, the exterior design department looked like it took inspiration from other luxurious SUVs.

The Century SUV was a statement vehicle. It was big and bold but without being aggressive. At the front, the four LED lamps inside each headlamp were clearly separated. The massive grille at the front was filled with a hexagonal-shaped pattern, and, surprisingly, there was no Toyota badge on it. Instead, the automaker used the Phoenix bird badge that took center stage and reminded customers about the older Century models. Underneath it, on the lower side of the bumper, Toyota installed the rear grille flanked by two side scoops. From its profile, the shaved corners resembled those from the 1967 Toyota Century executive car, while the D-pillars had a similar look to those from the 2018 Century. But one of the most interesting features of the Century was on its rear doors. These were front-hinged but could also slide rearward so passengers could easily ingress and egress from the rear seats.

Inside, the automaker installed a so-called Japanese luxury cabin. The vehicle was clearly divided into two distinct areas: for the driver and side passenger and for the rear seats. As expected, the rear ones were the most important. There were two individual seats, which could recline into an almost completely horizontal position, so those seated there could take a nap during their commute or travels around the country. In addition, the side windows were electrochromatic. They could be made opaque so the rear-seat occupants could enjoy more privacy. At the front, the driver faced a massive dashboard filled with an infotainment touchscreen placed atop the center stack and a TFT display for the instrument cluster. The wide center console that separated the front seats housed the transmission gear lever and several other buttons. Like in any other Century model, this SUV didn't show any Toyota badges, and the steering wheel was adorned with the same Phoenix bird.

Toyota focused on sustainable solutions and offered the Century SUV with a plug-in hybrid architecture, which allowed the vehicle to roam silently through the streets inside cities and speed up quickly when needed thanks to the gasoline V8 powerplant under the hood. Moreover, the car featured an all-wheel-drive system, which made it capable in slippery road conditions, unpaved surfaces, and light off-road situations.
The Century was Toyota's most luxurious car in its lineup, easily overtaking any Lexus ever made by the same automaker, and was considered a state vehicle built for those seated in the back. Moreover, it didn't even feature a Toyota badge on it.

The Japanese car market needed a luxurious vehicle back in the late '60s, and Toyota gladly produced it. It was the first generation of the Century. Fast forward to 2018, and it reached its third generation, which was later constantly upgraded and updated to keep up with the latest technological achievements. It was considered by many the Japanese interpretation of a Rolls-Royce.

With a design that took its inspiration from its predecessors, the model launched in 2018 was a mix of old-school design and new technologies. At the front, Toyota installed modern LEDs inside a set of headlights that looked strikingly similar to the ones from the first generation. Moreover, the grille was redesigned but still resembled the old ones due to its egg-crate styling with vertical and horizontal slats. Toyota installed in the middle of it the Century-specific badge, which was the Phoenix bird, and it was handmade and hand-painted by a human artist. Moreover, the automaker used the same process for all Century's badges that were spread in and around the vehicle. From its profile, the sedan was big and similar in size to the Rolls-Royce Ghost. Despite using the same proportions as its predecessors, the third generation of the Century featured door mirrors instead of fender-mounted ones. But what it carried over from those models was the thick C-pillar behind the rear doors. Finally, at the back, the majestic vehicle had recessed LED taillights that emerged from the rear quarter panels to the trunk lid.

Toyota said that the interior of the Century was inspired by Japanese culture, and it's easy to understand why. Unlike European, British, or American cars, the Century featured wool upholstery. In fact, not just the four individual seats were covered in that, but also the door cards and the headliner. In addition, the automaker added wood trims on several areas but strangely put carbon fiber around the gear selector that was on the center console. Fronting the driver was a mixed instrument cluster that featured two large analog dials for the speedometer and tachometer and a TFT display between them. On the dashboard, atop the center stack, Toyota added a screen for the infotainment system. Unlike those installed in Lexus or other Toyota models, this one was a touchscreen and wasn't controlled via a trackball or touchpad. But the most important seats in the house were those in the back. There, the owner could recline their seat and move the front passenger seat forward to stretch their legs. To improve their customers' privacy, Toyota installed a set of curtains on the rear windscreen and rear side windows.

Unlike the second generation of the Century, which was powered by a V12, the third generation of this luxurious vehicle came fitted with a hybrid drivetrain that featured a V8 under the hood and an electric motor. Unlike that, this one was carefully adjusted and balanced, so it didn't send any vibration to the cabin. Power went to the rear wheels only via an eCVT gearbox.
It's not hard for the maker of probably the world's best rally motorcycles to use the experience it gained over the years with this kind of bike and expand the same capabilities to more segments. Like, say, create a rally-adventure bike the likes of which we rarely get to see.

At least that's what the Austrians from KTM are promising with the 2024 model year incarnation of something called the 890 Adventure R Rally. Or, as the company would like us to know the bike, "the most performance driven Adventure motorcycle yet."It was only yesterday when we got word of the 2024 KTM 450 Rally Replica , a bike built for privateers racing in national and international rally competitions with the components deployed in the bike maker's Dakar-winning bike. We're told that the new 890 is also building on the experience gained with Kevin Benavides' 450.The bike uses KTM's 889cc parallel-twin engine for a heart, a beast capable of developing 105 horsepower and 100 Nm of torque. It breathes through an Akrapovic slip-on line exhaust system not unlike the one used on the factory race bikes.The engine spins heavy-duty Excel wheels sized 21 inches at the front and 18 inches at the rear, backed in their mission by a monster of a suspension system, comprising a WP Xplor fork and shock. The two offer 270 mm of travel, allowing the 890 to be just as nimble over harsh terrain even with large amounts of luggage on it.Sporting the same combination of colors we're used to from all other KTM bikes, the 890 Adventure R Rally will become available on September 20, when the order books open. Pricing has not been announced yet, but you should know there will only be 700 units of the thing made. And for 34 of its buyers, it comes with an incredible perk.To make sure the 890 Adventure R Rally is noticed and will forever be remembered, KTM will hold in March next year, all the way in Morocco, something it calls the Ultimate KTM Desert Experience.What that means 34 of this bike's buyers will be sent, in two groups, to the African desert for three days of riding in the harshest of conditions, in the same place where the KTM Factory Rally team conducts testing.The experience is not free, as KTM will charge 4,900 euros ($5,200) for it. In that buyers of the 890 Adventure R Rally get luxury accommodation for a three-night stay, but also one night of camping in the desert.For daytime activities, the bike maker throws in a fully prepped bike to be taken out in the desert (no, people won't use their own bikes for this), all the necessary technical support, and a fully guided route. The cherry on the cake, several off-road legends will be on site, including two-time enduro champion Johnny Aubert.
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Featuring a sloping roofline and flush-mounted door handles, as well as muscular arches, sporty side skirts, and, on the tester, large Y-spoke alloys, the Lotus Emeya has a sporty nose. The face features double LED DRLs positioned above the main clusters sitting in the bumper, has a large central air intake, an integrated apron, and a rather sizeable (for an) grille. We can also see some door sensors, cameras instead of the traditional mirrors with small screens on the inside, and beefy brakes with large cross-drilled discs behind the wheels.The back-end design is defined by the thin taillights, though rather surprisingly, this prototype didn't feature them. The bumper and diffuser are likely the ones that will reach production, and the same goes for the interior, which was kind enough to reveal its oddly-shaped steering wheel, a large center console with a minimalist gear shifter, tablet-like infotainment system, and thin digital instrument cluster. We can see that the dashboard has a double-layer styling, and it likely hides a third display under the cover on the passenger's side.Does this design look familiar? It is because it's identical to the one of the Lotus Eletre . It is likely that it will feature the same powertrain as its high-riding sibling, which uses a dual-motor setup generating a combined 603 hp (612 ps/450). Fed by a 112battery pack, the motors produce 524 lb-ft (710 Nm) of torque, allowing the Eletre to hit 62 mph (100 kph) in four and a half seconds. Given the lighter construction, the Emeya will be quicker. And it is understood to be topped by a new variant that's expected to boast over 900 horsepower, dropping the sprint time to under three seconds.Taking on the likes of the Audi e-tron GT, Tesla Model S, Porsche Taycan, and BMW i5, the Lotus Emeya is just a few hours from being officially unveiled. Production will commence soon, and it wont be built in the United Kingdom but in China. Is that another thing that sounds familiar? Then you remember that the Eletre zero-emission crossover also comes to life in the People's Republic. The high-rider is manufactured at the Hubei facility in Wuhan. This is the first Lotus product to be made in China, and the Emeya will be the second model to be assembled there. All the juicy details will be released soon, so stay tuned to find out everything about it.
Chevrolet notified early Blazer EV customers that they can now configure the crossover SUV to look exactly as they want and submit a buy order. Those who entered the online platform and reached the final step were confronted with a bleak reality  the Blazer EV wasn't a $45,000 EV any longer.

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Blazer EV 2LT - $56,715;

Blazer EV RS  60,215;

Blazer EV SS  no price yet.

Photo: Newspress

I received the email to convert my Blazer EV preorder into an order uhhhhh. I thought this car was supposed to be $40k? pic.twitter.com/083WOIrQFu  Aaron Fisher (@aaronmfisher) September 7, 2023

Last year, Chevrolet said the Blazer EV would have a starting cost of around $45,000 in the 1LT trim, $48,000 as a 2LT model, and $52,000 as an RS unit. The fully loaded SS version would be priced around $66,000.Fast forward to today, and customers finally see what they have to deal with in terms of costs. Someone who wanted to order a Blazer2LT eAWD realized the price before tax was a little over $58,000 - that's $10,000 more than anticipated. Others joined in and said they received the same email and were surprised to see the new values.Fortunately, the all-electric crossoveris eligible for the full EV tax credit. Assuming a sales tax rate of 7.5% and the buyer is eligible for the federal perk, the final price the customer must pay without any dealer markup and before any other local incentives is $54,850. That's still quite a departure from the initial estimated price of $48,000.Looking at the manufacturer's website, we find out that the 1LT trim has been discontinued, and the MSRPs are as follows:When we first reported these changes, General Motors reached out and explained that the new figures were higher because they reflected two-motor all-wheel-drive units. The first estimates were available for the single-motor front-wheel-drive models.Chevrolet has a very tough mission ahead of it. It must convince customers that the new prices are worth it. GM CEO Mary Barra stated that a $40,000 EV couldn't be profitable, but Tesla's entry-level Model Y, which is an all-wheel-drive unit, has a starting price of $47,740. Add the EV tax credit, and that makes its cost drop to $40,240.Even the Model Y Long Range is cheaper than the Blazer EV 2LT. There's a $6,225 difference between them. Even more problematic for Chevy is that Tesla will deliver its crossover SUV in a couple of weeks at the most, whereas getting the Blazer EV might take a couple of months to end up in your driveway if you place an order today. And that, by the way, is impossible if you're not among the pre-order holders.It gets even worse! The Model Y Performance  a car that goes from zero to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds  is still cheaper than the most accessible Blazer EV.But let's look at another electric crossover that's not being delivered yet  the Fisker Ocean Ultra. Buying that model means the customer is looking at an MSRP of $49,999. The Sport trim is even cheaper  it costs $37,499!However, it's worth noting that Fisker makes the Ocean in Austria. Early buyers were able to secure the EV tax credit. That's impossible now because of a rule saying the EV must be assembled in North America to be eligible for the federal incentive.Finally, Chevrolet should rush to launch cheaper versions of the made-in-Mexico Blazer EV. Even if they're just front-wheel drive variants, competing with Tesla on price might help the brand obtain new customers and prove that it didn't offer initial estimates just to attract attention.
The F-35 Lightning is the youngest military aircraft currently in operation. It arrived onto the scene in the mid-2000s as one of the world's first fifth-generation aircraft (the second one in the American arsenal after the F-22 Raptor), but also as the first-ever supersonic STOVL stealth fighter.

Collision Avoidance System

Despite its relatively young age the plane is subject to constant upgrades targeting the various systems it is equipped with. Some of these upgrades are relatively minor, while others target the plane's core components, all in a bid to keep the plane at the top of its game in the fast-changing world of ours.The latest upgrade being planned for the F-35 targets the plane's vehicle management computer (VMC). That's the artificial brain tasked with both flight control and some mission management, thus a crucial piece of equipment.The current VMC works, obviously, but one of the plane's main contractors, BAE Systems, believes it has something a tad better to take the F-35 into the next decade: a quad-core computer that should allow "for additional aircraft capabilities while reducing pilot workload."The new tech will also help enhance some of the F-35's other systems, including the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) and Auto Ground(AGCAS).The tech is still in the early stages, but a major development in its integration into the fighter plan was announced this week. As per BAE, a number of flight tests of F-35 Lighting IIs equipped with the new computer already took place at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland and Edwards Air Force Base in California, and proved to be a success.The tests were conducted by both the Navy and Air Force because the new VMC was designed to work just as well in all three variants of the F-35. The company however did not say when it will be ready for mass-scale implementation of the technology.The VMC is not the only upgrade for the F-35 BAE System is currently working on. The company is a major supplier for the American-made plane, and is in charge of delivering not only the VMC, but also the electronic warfare system, active inceptor control system, and aft fuselage.It was announced earlier this year BAE systems will supply Block 4 electronic warfare (EW) systems. The new version should allow the pilots flying these planes to better detect difficult-to-observe threats, and see more of these threats at the same time. The system should envelop the plane with a 360-degree bubble of electronic surveillance.Separately, the F-35 is presently at the center of another major modernization program, the so-called Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3). That would be a total of 75 upgrades targeting various systems of the F-335 in all its incarnations.
Some would say that "another one bites the dust," but that would be an inaccurate statement, to say the least. Honda realizes it must follow in its competitor's footsteps if it targets survival in the EV era, and, fortunately, it just did that. The brand signed an agreement with Tesla to implement the North American Charging Standard (NACS) port on its all-electric vehicles (that aren't on sale yet). Here's the gist of it.

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Not so long ago, we told you about Honda and Acura wanting to join the list of automakers that manufacture EVs with Tesla's connector. American Honda Motor President and CEO Noriya Kaihara admitted it was something they had "to push" when the all-new ZDX was launched.Now, here we are  Honda is jumping on the NACS bandwagon. Acura will most likely follow suit, but there's no official announcement about it when writing.But Honda had it easy. It's not selling any EVs yet. The GM-made Prologue hasn't been officially introduced. However, the brand confirmed that it will put the NACS port on itsmodels starting in 2025. That's also when the marque plans to launch a new EV.The upcoming Prologue will be equipped with the CCS Combo 1 until 2025, just as General Motors currently does with the Chevrolet Blazer EV. Both vehicles are produced in Mexico. Honda promised that the Prologue would be compatible with NACS-equipped fast chargers by using an adaptor.It has not, however, struck a deal with Tesla about early access to the high-power charging network as Ford did. Honda also didn't say if it will provide the said adapter at no charge to its customers who will get its EVs sporting the CCS Combo 1 port.Honda remains a serious player in the automotive industry despite the sluggish investment in adding EVs to its roster. It has recently announced a joint venture with General Motors, Stellantis, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, and Mercedes-Benz that aims to create an Ionity-like high-power charging network for all EVs that will boast both NACS- and CCS-equipped stalls.But there are some late adopter advantages. For example, it doesn't have to redesign everything and overhaul its manufacturing operations. The deal with GM is a blessing in disguise. The Japanese marque can wait until the industry figures out the best path forward and starts making dependable EVs with the latest technology at the right time. If it manages to figure out great pricing policies, it's guaranteed at least a minor win."Honda will continue offering a reliable and convenient charging environment for its customers to achieve widespread EV adoption and support Honda's efforts to realize carbon neutrality," concluded the automaker.The NACS party is in full swing, and, by the looks of it, Tesla's slimmer and simpler port, cord, and charger design helped it gain hundreds of thousands of customers in just a couple of months. That explains why the investments in the Supercharger network continue at a high pace.Finally, other automakers like Porsche, Lucid, and Hyundai will have a hard time signing an agreement with Tesla. Their EVs boast the 800V architecture, which isn't fully compatible with V2 and V3 Supercharger stalls. They charge best at places like Electrify America, which has 350-DC fast chargers.Tesla has introduced V4 Superchargers that can work with 800V-developed EVs, but it has capped their output at 250 kW, just like the V3 stalls.
The British American Tobacco (BAT) is finalizing its exit from the Russian market. BAT announced that it would end its sales in the controversial nation, saying that the last cigarettes would be sold within a month.

British American Tobacco Will No Longer Sell Cigarettes in Russia

The Guardian reported that BAT, the London-based tobacco maker behind Camel and Lucky Strike cigarettes, will soon end its business in Russia.

The decision of BAT to end its sales in the 4th largest tobacco market in the world is part of its effort to support Ukraine against the invasion of the Kremlin.

In March, British American Tobacco was criticized because it maintained its operation in the Russian market despite the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Now, BAT confirmed that it reached an agreement to sell its Belarusian and Russian businesses to another group, which is led by its Moscow management team.

"Upon completion, BAT will no longer have a presence in Russia or Belarus and will receive no financial gain from ongoing sales in these markets," said the cigarette seller via Reuters.

BAT said that once its businesses are completely sold to the consortium, they will be called as ITMS Group. The company added that the new owner will have the trademark for BAT cigarette brands.

These include its traditional tobacco products, as well as Vuse vapes and other cigarette alternatives.

Read Also: Japan to WTO: China's Seafood Ban Over Fukushima Wastewater Release Is Unacceptable

Importance of Russia to BAT

British American Tobacco is considered to be a key cigarette manufacturer in the global tobacco market. It runs its business operations in more than 100 countries.

Among its top cigarette brands are Camel and Newport. In the Russian tobacco market, BAT controls nearly 25% of the sector.

Since Russia is the 4th largest tobacco market in the world, the Russian nation is responsible for 2.7% of the $16.73 billion revenues of the London-based cigarette maker during the first half of 2023.

Once it completes its exit, analysts estimated that British American Tobacco could lose almost $1 billion (specifically over $900 million) in its yearly revenues.

But, since it prioritizes its "ethos and values," BAT has no other choice but to leave its businesses in Russia.

The tobacco maker is not the only company that pulled out from Russia. In 2022, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and Apple also stopped their business operations in the Russian market.

If you want to learn more details about these companies that no longer operate in Russia, you can click this link.

Related Article: Heineken Pulling Out of Russia, Sells Beer Business for 1

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Partly influenced by the IMO (International Maritime Organization) 's increasingly harsher regulations, the cruising industry is following the current green trend slowly yet surely. The biggest cruise operators are switching to LNG and other clean alternatives. All that French operator Ponant had to do was bring back to life its iconic sailing vessel.

Photo: Ponant

Photo: Ponant

Photo: Ponant

Ponant is an old naval term in the French language, meaning "west. The flagship of this French operator was rightfully named Le Ponant, as it symbolizes everything that Ponant is about  luxury, sustainability, and reliability.Le Ponant is not a new build but a new launch. It was restored after many decades and reintroduced in the cruising circuits as a fancy, superyacht-like sailing ship. More than a classic sailboat, it was a trailblazer, the first French-owned cruise ship. It also holds a special value for Ponant, as the company's first operating vessel back in 1991.As time passed, the operator moved on to contemporary cruise ships. However, after more than two decades, it was time to reinvent the old sailboat and allow cruising customers to enjoy the unique delights that only sailing can offer.The fully refurbished three-masted sailing yacht emerged in the summer of 2022. It took two years to complete the process, and more than 200 people worked on bringing Le Ponant back to life. The renovation process kicked off in late 2019 under the guidance of the Jean-Philippe Nuel architecture and design studio.The reborn vessel can be described as a seamless blend of French-style luxury and modern-day sustainability. One of the most drastic changes was to cut the number of cabins down to half. It used to boast 32 cabins, now it only has 16, which are more like suites. Lavishly spread across three floors, they provide the spaciousness and privacy that most cruise ships can't.Speaking of spaciousness, Le Ponant currently flaunts 930 square meters (more than 10,000 square feet) of deck space for a truly opulent onboard experience. It welcomes just 32 guests and ensures a one-to-one crew-to-guest ratio, which is the ultimate luxury when it comes to cruising. This is in line with one of the current cruising trends, aiming to mimic the experience onboard superyachts, as opposed to the standard ultra-crowded spaces of conventional cruise ships.In addition to replacing decks and floors and sprucing up the interiors, the revamping project added contemporary amenities such as a wellness center and a gym. Guests are free to work out in the small but well-equipped gym, attend yoga sessions on the top deck, or enjoy an extended massage in the dedicated beauty room. A relaxing saltwater pool is also available, while the ship's Marina back deck is the starting point for paddleboarding and swimming (under supervision).No luxury cruising experience would be complete without gourmet dining. Le Ponant's crown jewel is called Le Diamant, a sophisticated restaurant with both indoor and outdoor seating and carefully selected menus. The Emeraude Bar Lounge is equally stylish and the perfect spot for a classic afternoon tea. The top deck comes with generous pop-up bar space. It can be turned into a party stage, an outdoor cinema, or an extra lounge area.Style-wise, Le Ponant resembles contemporary superyachts. The minimalistic decor combines a neutral color palette with organic furniture shapes. A few retro-style accents pay tribute to the vessel's venerable past, while modern elements such as oversized windows and retractable glass doors add functionality and a fresh vibe.The newly revamped vessel is also big on sustainability. An advanced SCR filter cuts nitrous oxide emissions by 90%, and a state-of-the-art water treatment system provides desalinated drinking water for those onboard while also preventing wastewater from being dumped into the ocean. Single-use plastic isn't allowed on board, and all packaging is recycled. Guests are also encouraged to limit their impact on local environments during each stop.Ultimately, what makes Le Ponant supremely sustainable are its majestic sails. Although fitted with diesel propulsion, this giant ship of nearly 300 feet (91 meters) can often rely on wind power alone.Its captain described it perfectly as a sailing yacht, adding that "() mostly we never have to use the engine. We go with the wind at our back. We have the freedom to travel to uncrowded places. To change our route. To discover."This living legend started off traveling around Greece and Croatia and gradually expanded its itineraries. Cruising offers for next year's season start at $8,400 per person.At the moment, Le Ponant is still the French operator's only sailing yacht. However, Ponant has a bold vision for the future. It's working on a futuristic superyacht concept called Swap2Zero, which will integrate no less than six green technologies (including liquid hydrogen for propulsion, in conjunction with a modern sailing system).If it succeeds, Ponant might become the only cruising operator with two groundbreaking sailing ships operating side-by-side  an old icon and a representative of the new generation
Never mind IoT (Internet of Things) appliances scattered around your house and the sometimes gross invasion of privacy they can provide for you. The IoC (Internet of Cars) has slowly emerged in recent years, and we might be heading into a genuinely dystopian future from a privacy perspective because of it.

Everyone Is a Target

Photo: Engin Akyurt/Pexels

The Matrix Has You, then What?

Photo: Markus Spiske/Pexels

Risks not Only Involve Privacy Breaches

instead of saving your exact home address on your navigation system, set it to a nearby marker such as a store, or an intersection; you'll know your way home from there;

before selling your modern car, make sure you reset every system you've connected with in the car to its factory default - that includes clearing your synced addresses and phone contacts;

if you have an integrated garage door opener in your car, reset it as well - otherwise your sold car will continue to act as a rolling key to your house, via the garage;

if you are simply too afraid of your car being hacked remotely, just turn off your wi-fi and bluetooth features of your car or go for a much older model.

New research shows that modern cars can gather more than enough data about your whereabouts, biometric data, and even your sex life over time. That's not necessarily the bad news, but most carmakers are already selling the data they collect from you to third parties.George Orwell's 1984 was written about three-quarters of a century ago as a science-fiction novel and a cautionary tale about the future. The namesake movie from the 1980s was also part of the Sci-Fi genre, but the way things are going, part of it could soon be classified as a documentary.How often do you meticulously review all the intricate details when purchasing a modern vehicle? When I mention "new car," I'm not referring to something ultra-modern, luxurious, and filled with tech, but simply cars equipped with "connected services" that encompass features from in-car Internet radio to real-time weather updates and traffic alerts for the navigation system. Those encompass at least 90 percent of all new cars sold in recent years.As most of you know, contemporary automobiles rely on various data-gathering instruments, including microphones, cameras, and the smartphones drivers link to their vehicles through Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.Automakers also accumulate data through their own apps and websites, sometimes opting to distribute or exchange it with external parties, making you, the car's owner, a product.The Mozilla Foundation, established in July 2003, is a non-profit organization based in the United States. Its primary mission is to support and collaboratively oversee the open-source Mozilla project, including the Firefox Internet browser.Apart from that, the foundation sometimes indulges in tech product reviews from a privacy perspective, and it recently conducted a rather intricate study on no less than 25 carmakers active in the United States and Europe.Out of the 25 car brands examined in Mozilla Foundation's research, each one received the company's "Privacy Not Included" warning label. This designation officially places cars in the category of products with the poorest privacy features they have ever assessed.Unsurprisingly, Tesla was the worst offender of the carmakers tested, but things don't look dandy for either of them.All carmakers apparently collect and use way more data and personal information about their cars' owners than it is necessary to operate their vehicles and manage the brand's relationship with its customers.Modern vehicles can gather personal data through various channels, more than you would imagine. This includes information on how you engage with your vehicle, the connected services utilized within the vehicle, the car's dedicated app - often serving as a one-way portal to your smartphone data - and even more data sourced from third-party providers like Sirius XM or Google Maps.What kind of data, you ask? Well, this spying mission encompasses a wide range of data, from medical and genetic information to potentially even aspects like one's intimate life. Moreover, it can track your driving habits and how fast you drive, frequently taking routes, and even the music you choose to play in your vehicle.The collected data doesn't stop there; it's often used to create additional information through "inferences," which can include assessments of your intelligence, abilities, and interests, among other things. 1984's Big Brother would be proud. Heck, the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class W214 has Tik Tok preinstalled on its infotainment system, and more than one modern cars even have cameras both inside and outside the vehicle.The research conducted by the Mozilla Foundation revealed that a significant majority, specifically 84 percent of the car brands studied, can share your personal data with service providers, data brokers, and various other adjacent businesses.Even more concerning is that nineteen of these car brands, accounting for 76 percent of those studied, claim the ability to sell your personal data outright. In other words, you might also be funding a carmaker's data-selling side business whenever you drive your car.Furthermore, a rather unexpected discovery was made, as 56 percent of these carmakers indicated their readiness to share your information with government entities or law enforcement, and this could be triggered by a mere "request." This doesn't necessitate a stringent court order but could be as simple as an "informal request."On top of all this, all the carmakers studied seem to fail to keep their cybersecurity risks at a minimum. After reviewing examples going back only three years, the Mozilla Foundation found that no less than 17 of the 25 car brands have had a security leak, hack, or breach involving their customers' privacy.To make things worse, only two carmakers, Renault and Dacia, somewhat excelled in the data control category of the analysis by leaving their customers the right to request the deletion of their personal data.Coincidentally, the two car brands operate under the same umbrella, primarily in Europe, which has been protected by the robust General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy law. The other 23 carmakers tested seem to push the boundaries of what they can legally do with your personal data as long as there are no direct consequences for them.We've seen proof that modern cars have been susceptible to hacking for almost a decade, and integrating the Internet of Things (IoT) adds an entirely new dimension to these security threats.Remote hacking goes beyond simply unlocking your car's doors; it can potentially grant complete control over your vehicle, particularly with the prevalence of drive-by-wire controls in modern cars, essentially turning them into rolling robots.While we're not on the brink of succumbing to our robot overlords domination, it's essential to consider that we're nearing the advent of Level 4 SAE autonomous driving, which is just around the corner, as Level 3 is already here. This advancement in autonomous driving technology brings potentially even more concerning implications from a security perspective.From the 25 carmakers analyzed, Tesla's personal data security mishaps were closely followed by Japanese brands like Nissan/Infiniti and Honda/Acura, Korean like Hyundai/Kia, and all General Motors' car brands. That doesn't mean that premium German carmakers like Mercedes-Benz or BMW fared much better.General Motors boasts an impressive fleet of approximately 11 million vehicles equipped with 4G-LTE connectivity. Moreover, a vast majority of new cars from automakers such as Audi, BMW, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Mercedes-Benz either come with built-in internet connectivity or offer it as an optional feature.There is currently no sure way to be completely safe from all of this, apart from driving a classic forever, but here are some tips for protecting your privacy while driving a modern car, or after selling it:Welcome to the future. Welcome to 1984.
Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kids toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.

Full profile
Recurrent recently disclosed that fast charging shows "no statistically significant difference in range degradation." Several people took that as a free pass for frequently submitting battery packs to that charging process, which led StoreDot to manifest about that. Without mentioning the BEV analytics company, the Israeli battery startup warned that this is a dangerous assumption that can lead to problems in the long term unless these battery packs have something similar to the technology it wants to sell. StoreDot also disclosed more info about its future Extreme Fast Charging (XFC) cells.

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Photo: StoreDot

BEV

Photo: StoreDot

According to the Israeli startup, its 30-Ah pouch batteries deliver a net volumetric energy density of 860 Wh/l and a net gravimetric energy density of 330 Wh/kg, which is much higher than the 260 Wh/kg that some of the best NMC cells currently available offer. XFC batteries share the same chemistry (NMC811) in their cathodes, which Our Next Energy (ONE) said we should be worried about. The American battery startup believes mixing nickel and cobalt represents "a major thermal runaway risk." In other words, it considers NMC batteries can catch fire, which is why it bets on lithium iron phosphate (LFP). StoreDot does not seem to be concerned with that. Its manufacturing edge is the anode, which contains more than 40% of its "unique silicon-dominant chemistry." NIO uses WeLion semi-solid-state battery packs that deliver 360 Wh/kg, but they are still in limited distribution, available only for the company's 150-swappable battery pack. StoreDot promises its cells will charge from 10% to 80% capacity in less than ten minutes. That's a third of what most battery electric vehicles (BEVs) currently for sale can offer: they demand at least half an hour for the same task.When XFC cells hit the market in 2024, their competitive advantages compared to the ones sold nowadays will go beyond saving time: they are also supposed to last much longer. According to StoreDot, these batteries retain 80% of their capacities after 1,300 consecutive extreme fast charging cycles. If you imagine a battery pack that offers 300 miles (482.8 kilometers) of range, 1,300 cycles would mean 390,000 miles (627,644 km) if the capacity didn't drop  but it does. If that happened at a constant pace until it reached 240 miles (80% of the original capacity), that would reduce this lifespan to 351,160 miles (535,167 km).Bear in mind that mostmakers will only replace their battery packs under warranty if they drop below 70% of their capacities. That means such a battery pack with XFC cells would last way more than 1,300 cycles and 350,000 miles  which is pretty reasonable for any vehicle, especially BEVs. In a quick calculation  also using a hypothetical capacity decrease rate  such a BEV would need more than 1,950 cycles to drop below 210 miles of range. This vehicle would then have run 499,058 miles (803,156 km). Unfortunately, capacity drops are not linear, but this exercise can give us a fair idea of what to expect.On March 31, I wrote a story warning about another Recurrent study that people took at face value to demonstrate battery packs last for a long time. The BEV analytics company itself admitted it had several flaws. The truth is we still do not have enough old electric cars around to confirm their battery packs will outlast the vehicles they power. The stories we have right now even contradict that. Several Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S are dying because their battery packs are failing, and it does not make sense to replace them from a financial perspective: the battery packs cost more than the cars.This time, the Recurrent study analyzed over 12,500 Teslas that were charged often or just every once in a while. This group was divided into 6,300 Model 3 units and 4,400 Model Ys, which total 10,700 vehicles. The other 1,800 BEVs can only be Model S, Model X, and Roadsters. Most of them must be Model S units, but Recurrent did not release these numbers or make a graphic with them  probably because they were not statistically relevant. Yet, they are the group's most relevant members: the only ones that may have expired warranties. Recurrent did not reveal if the analyzed vehicles had their battery packs replaced under warranty. Supposing all of them still have the same component with which they left the factory, they are still too new to present a trustworthy example of the impact fast charging can have on battery packs in the long run. Some Model 3s are only 2,000 days (5.5 years) old, and the analytics company did not disclose how many fit into that description. The Model Y units are 1,000 days (2.7 years) old. All of them are still under warranty. If fast charging damaged these battery packs, Tesla would have had to replace them for free. In other words, Recurrent's study needs to answer several questions before it becomes a credible reference for anyone. That did not stop StoreDot from addressing it.The Israeli startup did not mention anyone directly, but it also did not have to. On the other hand, if Recurrent's study could be taken seriously, the only reason for anyone to consider XFC cells would be the charging speed, not the durability StoreDot promises they will have. It makes sense that the startup reinforces that its tech makes cells last longer even under constant fast-charging sessions and that regular cells don't. Even Recurrent makes charging recommendations at the end of its study, such as preconditioning the battery pack. It also states that "it's still difficult to quantify precisely how much routine fast charging affects battery health long term  5, 10, 20 years  but it's fine in small doses." That alone contradicts the study's conclusions (or at least puts them into the proper perspective).The first vehicles to use XFC cells should come from VinFast , Polestar, or Volvo, the automakers that officially support StoreDot. If the technical specifications the Israeli company disclosed are confirmed for production cells, they will be anxious to sell anything powered by them.
The 2023 Cannes Yachting Festival is around the corner, and some fascinating boats will make their world debut at the prestigious six-day yachting event in the South of France. One of them is Prestige Yachts' new F4 model, the first in the company's F-Line of third-generation flybridge cruisers.

Photo: Prestige Yachts

Prestige Yachts, a brand of French premier boatbuilder Groupe Beneteau, has unveiled renderings of the new 50-foot (15.2-meter) watercraft ahead of its world premiere in Cannes, showcasing a motor yacht focused on innovative design, high-end fittings, and "an unrivaled level of fit and finish."According to the shipyard, the F4 flybridge yacht boasts a brand-new hull design penned by renowned naval architect and yacht designer Michael Peters. The exterior design is characterized by a more pronounced V-shape than previous models and a rounder, higher bow, which enhances stability, efficiency, and maneuverability."The first model of the new generation of the F-Line represents a significant evolution in the motor yacht segment between 40-70ft, where Prestige is the market leader, bringing innovations to meet client's expectations while remaining true to the brand's DNA," said Erwin Bamps, Vice President of Prestige.Designed with plenty of outdoor living space and a seamless transition between interior and exterior spaces, the F4 is meant to allow future owners to make the most of the French Riviera climate. Moreover, the new model seems to be part of the yard's move upmarket strategy, as its distinctive design, with softened lines and curves, an innovative layout, and high-quality materials, represents an evolution rather than a revolution for the flybridge motor yacht design.Standout features on the outside include a fixed or hydraulic bathing platform at the stern and an infinity cockpit reached by twin staircases. The side decks are also outstanding, offering generous height and width and allowing a comfortable passage. The cockpit features freestanding furniture that the owners can arrange either in a conventional L-shape or facing each other to enjoy the seascape.A wide staircase from the cockpit leads up to the well-appointed flybridge , which houses an outdoor galley, a dining area, as well as a convivial sunbathing and seating area near the helm, and can be sheltered by a bimini or a hard top.Below decks, Prestige F4's layout breaks away from the norm. While boats in the same size category have the master cabin occupying the full beam amidships, F4's master suite is positioned forward and a few steps down from the saloon, allowing more privacy from the guest staterooms and shared living areas. It Includes an aft-facing king-sized bed, large wardrobes, and an en-suite bathroom. Windows in the hull and skylights in the ceiling keep the master suite well-lit.Two additional guest cabins can be found amidships, a larger one with a double bed to starboard and a smaller twin to port.The decor is influenced by the colors and reflections of the French Riviera, while the choice of materials adds character and richness to the vessel 's interior. These include natural stone countertops, shaped wood, and rattan, as well as materials with environmentally sustainable components, such as recycled and sustainable fabrics.In terms of performance, the new Prestige F4 will come equipped with twin 480hp Volvo Penta D6 turbo-diesel engines driving IPS 650 pod drives, which will endow the boat with a top speed of around 27 knots (31 mph/ 50 kph).Large enough to be a comfortable home away from home yet small and nimble enough to be steered exclusively by the owner, the Prestige F4 shapes up to be a great option for yachtsmen who want to cruise in style and elegance.
GRMN

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SUV

The Japanese automaker teased both of them during the official unveiling, and a teaser previewed the most unconventional of the two. We are talking about the rag-top variant, which, according to the company's Chief Branding Officer, Simon Humphries, will come to life at the hands of Toyota's "master craftspeople."The official hinted at discussions with potential buyers, though it has yet to be determined if they plan a convertible option. Chances are the vehicle is in the pipeline, but we reckon it will be built in extremely limited numbers  unless it's a one-off commission. And you can bet on the fact that it is going to dwarf the regular Toyota Century SUV in terms of pricing, which starts at the equivalent of roughly $170,000 (25 million yen) in the Land of the Rising Sun.Toyota's Gazoo Racing department will also have its way with the Bentley Bentayga and Rolls-Royce Cullinan rival. As a matter of fact, they already have, as a prototype was showcased on stage next to the standard model. Some of the highlights include the different front bumper with an integrated apron-like piece, dark accents on the grille, lower parts of the doors, side mirror casings, and roof rails, different wheels presumably backed up by uprated brakes, and likely a retuned chassis with lower ground clearance.The pre-production model also featured sliding rear doors, which will be on the options list of the standard Century SUV . We have yet to learn about the performance, but if it is really a, then expect more serious firepower than the 3.5-liter V6, which pumps out 406 hp (412 ps/303) on the regular variant of the high-rider. It is worth noting that the GRMN models sit above the GR and GR Sport cars in Toyota's family.Before wrapping it up, we will remind you that Toyota's Centuryis a Japan-only affair. Production will take place at the Tahara facility, where the manufacturer plans to assemble 30 units each month. It is based on the same platform as the Kluger, Highlander, Camry, and other Toyota vehicles, so despite sharing its name with the luxury sedan , it has nothing in common with it. The four-door uses the Lexus LS' architecture, featuring a gasoline hybrid assembly with a V8 instead of a V6. It tips the scales at almost 2.5 tons (~5,500 lbs), and its wheelbase is just short of that of the Mercedes S-Class.[YOUTUBE=https://www.youtube.com/live/KTMrIYWULJE]
SUV

GRMN

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Production will commence at the Tahara factory, and the automaker plans to build 30 copies of the car each month. Therefore, its availability will be very limited. Considering that it targets rivals such as the Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Bentley Bentayga, albeit with smaller proportions and a more affordable price tag of around $170,000 locally, or 25 million yen, this isn't the type of vehicle that would sell in great numbers.Toyota is well aware of this fact, and they plan to do great things with the Century. A performance-orientedderivative is in the pipeline. Previewed by a pre-production model shown during the presentation, it has a sporty exterior design, beefy brakes, and chassis enhancements. There is no word about the powertrain for now, but it's safe to assume it will be punchier than the regular variant. This one enjoys 406 brake horsepower (412 ps/303) from its plug-in hybrid 3.5-liter V6.In addition to the GRMN, Toyota has also teased a convertible option . The open-top model featured a foldable soft top, and it is possible that if it indeed hits the assembly line, then it might be built in very limited numbers. On a more positive note, only a few of them will ever see the light of day, and we wouldn't act surprised to learn that they will launch a one-of-one built at the request of a wealthy customer. Guess we'll have to wait and see what the plan is with this version.Now, while the Land of the Rising Sun-based company is gearing up for the launch of the Century SUV, the model has attracted the attention of the rendering crowd. One of the first batches of CGIs that we stumbled upon since the presentation keeps things on the simple side. There are no exaggerated body kits here, as the Vossen wheels that sport a larger diameter than the stock ones are the highlight of this digital proposal. The pixel manipulator, aka Kelsonik on Instagram, didn't draw the line at the alloys, as they also gave it new colors. These comprise a flashy shade of gold and a light hue of red, in addition to the black example that retains the original appearance.Make no mistake, some of the biggest tuners out there are probably already planning various upgrades for the first-ever Toyota Century SUV , but for now, you'll have to make do with renderings if you're into modified luxury high-riders. So, what's your take on these?
China is the world's biggest market for electric cars. So European and American EV manufacturers are battling not only in the US and on the Old Continent, but also on Chinese territory as well. And Tesla seems to be in the lead. The companys Giga Shanghai plant has just hit the 2 million cars mark.

EV

Gigafactory Shanghai achieves 2 million production milestone ???? pic.twitter.com/R3UxQ4Xal7  Tesla Asia (@Tesla_Asia) September 6, 2023

Tesla built the Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai, China, with the speed of light, in just about eight months. Construction started in January 2019 and by October, the plant already started production.The first Tesla cars rolled off the assembly line in December 2019. Originally, only the Model 3 was made there. But in late 2020, the Model Y entered production as well. Now, the production of the Y crossover doubles that of the Model 3 compact sedan.At first, the plant only built cars for the local market, before it started exporting to Europe and, eventually, Canada. 325,000 units were exported through the end of July.As of 2023, the capacity of the plant grew to 750,000 cars per year. The production center thus becomes the primary production site for Tesla. In 2021, Tesla opened a Superchargers factory.Four years after the plant started operations, it is the worlds biggestproduction facility. The factory has just hit the two million cars mark. Thus, two million Model 3s and Model Ys drove through the factory gate these past four years.The first million cars were completed back in August 2022, which means that the production center is working way faster than originally anticipated when it started operating: it rolled out one million cars in a little more than a year, exceeding the official 750,000 unit capacity. But probably the official figures announced are just a precaution. During the past 12 months, over 935,000 cars were built there.Tesla is producing a total of five million cars worldwide, which means that the Giga Shanghai accounts for two-fifths of all Teslas made, inching closer to half. The refreshed Model 3 that Tesla unveiled last week has recently entered production at the Gigafactory 3 as well.There are currently six Tesla Gigafactories in the world. The first of them was the factory in Fremont, California, which opened in 2010. The Gigafactory Nevada opened up next, followed by the plant in New York in 2017. Gigafactory Shanghai started operations in late 2019. Next on the list were Gigafactory Texas, where the Cybetruck will roll off the assembly line, and the first European Gigafactory, the one in Berlin, in 2022. Most of Teslas models see the light of day in Fremont: the Model 3, Model S, Model X, and Model Y. The former Toyota/General Motors plant now has 22,000 employees and still counting.
Echoing statements by other Armenian officials, Pashinian said that Azerbaijani troops have been massing along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact. He said Baku is thus demonstrating its intention to launch a new military provocation.

I think the situation is such that the international community, UN Security Council member states should take very serious measures to prevent a new explosion in our region, he added during a cabinet meeting in Yerevan.

The secretary of Armenias Security Council, Armen Grigorian, made the same appeal when he met with the Yerevan-based ambassadors of foreign countries on Wednesday.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry was quick to deny Pashinians claims and blame Armenia for rising tensions in the conflict zone. It said that Yerevan should end its military-political provocations, drop territorial claims to Azerbaijan and stop hampering the signing of an Armenian-Azerbaijani treaty.

Pashinian insisted that Armenia stands ready to sign such a treaty. He also reaffirmed his commitment to Armenian-Azerbaijani understandings brokered by Russia and the European Union.

Pashinian pledged in May to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh, drawing condemnation from Karabakhs leadership and the Armenian opposition. He complained afterwards that Baku is seeking the kind of peace deal that would not prevent it from laying claim to Armenian territory.

Pashinian on Thursday did not specifically request military assistance from Russia, Armenias increasingly estranged ally. The Armenian government has repeatedly accused Moscow and the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) of ignoring such requests made during the September 2022 large-scale fighting on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Tensions between Yerevan and Moscow have deepened since then. They escalated further last week after Pashinian said that his administration is trying to diversify our security policy because the Russians are unwilling or unable to defend Armenia.
7 September 2023 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

Abbas Ganbay Read more

The separatists are preparing the people for yet another, straight from the propaganda factory, a sealed package of lies and disinformation. Although in Armenia the political power and its structures are held on a glued chair leg, the desire to aggravate the conflict in Garabagh does not end. Knowing that children's minds quickly absorb information surrounding us, the patrons of Armenians introduce into children's literature, both in school and before school time, hatred towards neighbors and superiority over others, which as a consequence of psychological traumas, along with others, is used in further bloody plans of the patrons of Armenians, and rituals of sacrifice. We have already seen this somewhere, which eventually led to the destruction of the Roman Empire.

What outcome awaits Armenia, when the people dissatisfied with the policy of the Prime Minister, as well as many other political cliques, create riots, rallies, nominate new ruling parties, and do not want to see Azerbaijan's peace proposals for Armenia, as well as for the inhabitants of Garabagh, the Armenian minorities. Although the people of Yerevan think that there is a way out of the situation, after the psychological traumas of their childhood, they choose the road with bread crumbs, which are planted by cunning patrons.

Varuzhan Geghamyan, who calls himself a "Turkologist", resorted to another propaganda of future war with Armenia, in the face of both Turkiye and Azerbaijan, on his Meta page. He came to this conclusion after a meeting of the Turkish government, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his speech noted the provocations of the Armenian side in Garabagh and the aggravation of the situation with the signing of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Why don't they discuss the food cargo of 40 tons of flour products sent by Azerbaijan on the Aghdam-Khankendi road for the residents of Khankendi, where, due to psychological trauma in childhood, they refuse to help, shouting about the harassment of the cargo, or perhaps Armenians are holding Armenians at gunpoint? This is where the propaganda of Armenians related to the alleged road blockade and famine in Khankendi finally collapses.

I would like to remind you that for the 9th day in a row, the humanitarian cargo is standing on the Aghdam-Khankendi road, where on August 29 the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society organized the delivery of foodstuffs to meet the needs of the Armenian minority living in the Garabagh economic region of Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, some provocateurs affiliated with the separatist clique blocked the road on the Aghdam-Khankendi section and prevented the convoy from delivering food to Khankendi.

The Armenian side came up with clever solutions for the people, having started allegedly issuing bread coupons, which did not last long, as from September 6 the bread coupon distribution points in schools will cease to function! Now they have switched to pressurizing children in schools in order to propagandize anti-Azerbaijan sentiment.

While the patrons of the Armenians are preparing for another provocation, Pashinyan gives an interview to an Italian newspaper where a journalist spoils his reputation in his accusations against Russia, about its alleged imminent withdrawal from Garabagh and failure to fulfill the agreement, as well as inappropriate mention of the Holocaust in comparison with the alleged genocide against Armenians, to which the rabbis of the world harshly responded with criticism in the world media to Pashinyan's statements.

Pashinyan did not get on nerves of the World Jewish community, but also watered down all hopes of Russia with his perfidy. With a statement, Pashinyan, at a moment rejected the long-time partnership with Moscow, its only protector during the war in Azerbaijan's Garabagh. In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Pashinyan said that in his opinion, Armenia's dependence on Russia for security was a strategic mistake, thus adding that Armenia is not an ally of Russia in its war against Ukraine. Probably, when talking about its ex-patron Pashinyan forgot to mention E-001M landmines buried in the Ukrainina soils in honor of Russia or the chips his country delivers despite West's sanctions.

This is the simplest of these Armenian lies yet. And more complexes are related to the military potential of Armenia that has long been drained in the Second Garabagh War.

Nevertheless, the Armenian Ministry of Defense announced that Armenian-American military exercises would be held in 11-20 September, and this is all following the antics and propaganda information machine of Armenia, which refused to participate in the Agile Spirit 2017 and 2023 military exercises in southern Georgia, as well as refused to participate in the CSTO exercises that were to be held on the territory of Armenia under the name "Unbreakable Brotherhood-2023". And what happened again, Pashinyan?

We clearly know that the Armenian lobbysts and those in the US Congress are the only ones that embolden Pashinyan. Only due to their support Pashinyan is as though faces up Russia like a monkey versus tiger in a cage.

Abbas Ganbay is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @Noend33

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Feature: China's local opera troupe stages performance in Nairobi amid growing Sino-Kenyan ties

Xinhua) 13:49, September 07, 2023

Artists of the Zhejiang Wu Opera troupe perform in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept. 5, 2023. A thrilling performance of Wu Opera by a troupe from east China's Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center showcased Chinese dramas and musical compositions to the delight of the audience in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday night. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

NAIROBI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A thrilling performance of Wu Opera by a troupe from east China's Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center showcased Chinese dramas and musical compositions to the delight of the audience in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday night.

Hasnick Omondi, a student at the University of Nairobi where he is pursuing a degree in the Chinese language and tourism, praised the performance for the vivid depiction of the rich culture of China.

"I was motivated to watch China's local opera, and see what I have been learning in class," Omondi said.

Felix Kiplagat, a student at the University of Nairobi, said the performance was an enlightening experience because of the use of traditional Chinese cultural costumes and instruments to entertain the audience.

The 23-year-old student said Chinese culture is gaining popularity in Kenya as more and more locals get an opportunity to watch live performances by Chinese artists.

Wu Opera, also known as Jinhua Opera, has a history of more than 500 years and is the second major regional operatic genre in Zhejiang Province. It first grew in popularity in Jinhua and its surrounding areas, and was named after Wuzhou, the name of Jinhua in ancient China.

The Zhejiang Wu Opera troupe showcased nine performances, including the "9-Pieced Segmented Dragon", Suona Solo "Picking Dates", "the Sedan Ride" and "Three Triumphs Over the Skeletal Demon", using well-choreographed and acrobatic moves.

Michael Pundo, chief executive officer of the Kenya Cultural Center, said the traditional Chinese performance enlightened Kenyans about the classical rhythms and melodies of China.

Lou Sheng, a Wu Opera actor, said he was pleased to be in Kenya because it is his first visit to the East African country. He revealed that the repertoire for Africa was carefully selected to include martial arts, which have intense movements so as to enhance the experience of the audience.

"We hope that through the performance, we can establish a real communication with African audience so that they can fall in love with traditional Chinese culture," he added.

The event, which was jointly sponsored by the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, the Bureau of International Exchanges and Cooperation of the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism as well as the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, aims to further improve bilateral ties as this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Kenya.

Wang Xiaoping, director of the Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center, said he hoped that the performance will help deepen the Kenyan audience's understanding of Chinese culture, and promote people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Artists of the Zhejiang Wu Opera troupe perform in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept. 5, 2023. A thrilling performance of Wu Opera by a troupe from east China's Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center showcased Chinese dramas and musical compositions to the delight of the audience in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday night. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

Artists of the Zhejiang Wu Opera troupe take their curtain call after the performance in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept. 5, 2023. A thrilling performance of Wu Opera by a troupe from east China's Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center showcased Chinese dramas and musical compositions to the delight of the audience in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday night. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

Artists of the Zhejiang Wu Opera troupe perform in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept. 5, 2023. A thrilling performance of Wu Opera by a troupe from east China's Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center showcased Chinese dramas and musical compositions to the delight of the audience in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday night. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

An artist of the Zhejiang Wu Opera troupe performs in Nairobi, Kenya on Sept. 5, 2023. A thrilling performance of Wu Opera by a troupe from east China's Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Center showcased Chinese dramas and musical compositions to the delight of the audience in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday night. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Following news that China has tightened restrictions on iPhone usage by government employees in one of the US company's largest markets, Apple's shares dropped about 4% on Thursday, September 7. This triggers a decline in technology equities.

Tech Market After iPhone Ban

After the largest single-day decrease in more than a month on Wednesday, September 6, the market value of one of the largest businesses in the world was expected to plummet by roughly $100 billion, as reported by Reuters.

Stocks of Apple suppliers and firms with significant China exposure, such as Broadcom, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments, declined by 1.4% to 4.7%. The three major US market indexes also felt the effects of Apple's decline.

Previously, it was reported that Beijing has ordered several key government organizations to ban the use of Apple mobile devices in the workplace.

The new policy fueled concerns about the financial impact of escalating relations between Washington and Beijing.

The US has, in recent years, limited China's access to critical technologies like cutting-edge electronics, while Beijing has worked to lessen its dependence on American technology by limiting shipments from companies like Boeing.

Huawei's new Mate 60 Pro smartphone is powered by a sophisticated processor produced by Chinese contract chipmaker SMIC, marking a milestone for the pair affected by US sanctions. However, some experts have warned of a possible sales blow owing to the smartphone.

Huawei's sales in its own country have been severely damaged by the US tech sanctions, giving Apple an opportunity to gain ground on the national favorite.

There is a chance, though, that Apple's demand may increase following an event next week in which the company is scheduled to reveal the iPhone 15 series and new smartwatches.

See Also: China Bans iPhones in Government Offices as Conflicts With US Increase

Preventing Any Future Security Risks

The iPhone ban directives were sent over the course of the previous several weeks through emails from managers to their staff.

According to five sources with knowledge of the situation, the orders were sent in August to government employees in ministries responsible for investment, trade, and international relations. Until the end of this month, employees in the mentioned departments were pressured to switch to a different company-issued smartphone brand.

Apparently, these regulations were put in place to avoid any possible security risks presented by a US firm's telecom equipment.

A similar restriction has been in existence for certain government entities for years, yet the most recent decision seems to have significantly expanded the scope of that ban.

Apple's iPhone is the only foreign-made smartphone with a considerable market share in China, according to Counterpoint Research, which monitors the global technology sector. In terms of market share in China, the iPhone was tied with Oppo and trailed behind Vivo with 17.2%.

See Also: US Restricts AI Chip Exports by Nvidia, AMD to China, Middle East

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
7 September 2023 20:00 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

On a visit to Azerbaijan, the delegation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has been carrying on fact-finding in Azerbaijani territories formerly occupied by Armenians and exposed to Armenian vandalism. True to its mission, the delegation investigates facts about Armenia's destruction of religious and cultural monuments, and cemeteries belonging to Azerbaijanis, and collects materials about Azerbaijanis affected by occupation and rocket bombing, and lastly, prepares a report on the results of the mission in order to present it to the international community.

During the visit, the OIC delegation got acquainted with the atrocities committed by the Armenians not only in the First Garabagh War. They also closely familiarized themselves with the Armenian terrorist acts committed in Ganja during the Second Garabagh War.

However, it should be noted that terrorist acts of Armenians, as well as provocations against citizens of Turkish origin, are committed not only on our territory but also in other countries. For example, France, Iran, and Lebanon, which are members of the OIC, are places where Armenians still commit crimes against Turkish and Azerbaijani citizens. The worst thing is that the world community turns a blind eye to all the atrocities committed by the Armenians, and at the same time, some organizations even support them.

A question arises whether the information collected during the visit of the OIC will be powerful enough to prevent all Armenian atrocities.

Investigating this issue, the AZERNEWS editorial received comments from two different experts, members of the OIC from Muslim countries.

According to the Director of the Republican Center for Strategic Studies in Baghdad, Professor Moutaz Mouhi Abdel Hamid, the OIC is like any other international organization. Its decisions are not bound by its members, such as the League of Arab States and the UN. Therefore, the position of Syria and Lebanon is based on their interests and benefits with the countries of the region and the countries of the European Union and the influence of the Armenian lobby in these countries on political decision-makers. That is why they look at their interests with Armenia, historically, with the existence of common goals for hundreds of years.

"It seems to me that Azerbaijan should conduct a serious investigation on this issue and, if necessary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan should hold detailed discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the other side," the Professor said.

He noted that the Armenians in Lebanon and Syria constantly sent Armenian volunteers to Armenia before and after the 44-day war, in which Azerbaijan defeated the Armenian troops and liberated its territories. As such, arms and supplies remain an important weapon for the Lebanese of Armenian origin, those who seek to resume the war again.

"The Organization of Islamic Cooperation provided political and technical support to Azerbaijan during the years of the Armenian occupation of the Garabagh region."

While sharing his views, the Egyptian Researcher in the affairs of Asia and the Turkic world, Professor Dr. Ahmed Abdoh Tarabeik said. However, unfortunately, these political positions remain non-committal for member states to pursue specific policies, such as economic or political sanctions against Armenia. Therefore, during the visit, the Organization adopted resolutions condemning the occupation of the Garabagh region by Armenia and declared the destruction of Azerbaijani cultural and historical heritage in Garabagh.

"I believe that Azerbaijan's openness to Islamic countries and strengthening relations with them on a bilateral basis through political and economic cooperation is the best way to win positions and coordinate policies with these countries," the Professor added.

According to the expert, Syria, Lebanon, and other Arab, Islamic peoples are not hostile to Azerbaijan. "The reason is that many of these people know little about Azerbaijan, its history, culture, and civilization. And for this, the presence of Azerbaijan in various political, economic, and cultural spheres is necessary, these countries got acquainted with Azerbaijan and the ongoing problems about Azerbaijans Garabagh. Armenia is an aggressor country, which attacked the lands of Azerbaijan, and at the same time, spread lies in many countries of the world to show communities the opposite of what they have done," he emphasized.

Professor Tarabeik noted that the demography of Lebanon is based on religious division, as Muslims live there, as well as Maronite Christians. But since the First World War, a large number of Armenians have been living in Lebanon. These Lebanese of Armenian origin make up a large community in Lebanon, and according to the sectarian division of political positions in the country. The Armenian community has a permanent representation in the Lebanese Parliament, as well as in the Council of Ministers. In view of the difficult economic situation in Lebanon, the Armenian communities abroad, especially in France and the US, forming a strong lobby, take advantage of such circumstances in order to incite some Lebanese of Armenian origin to carry out provocative activities against the Turks and Azerbaijanis in Lebanon. Pointing the recent attack on the Azerbaijani Embassy in Beirut as another example, the expert condemned the act of Armenians.

"Provocative actions against innocent citizens and diplomatic institutions are unjustified and unacceptable, whatever the motives and reasons are. These are reprehensible actions that are not sanctioned by any international laws or norms. I see that these actions express the desperation of the Armenians and their disappointment as a result of their humiliating defeat in Garabagh in 2020. These provocative actions should increase the strength and determination of Azerbaijan to continue the process of pressure to liberate the rest of the lands of Garabagh," the professor added.

Ahmed Tarabeik said that in Syria, as well as in Lebanon, there is a large community of Armenian origin. And especially the Armenians living in Europe and the US have taken advantage of the deteriorating political and security situation during the civil war in Syria.

"Since 2012, the Armenians have recruited many Syrians of Armenian origin to fight on the side of the separatists. The Armenians took advantage of these poor conditions and the flight of many Syrians from the civil war outside their country, so they received a number of Syrian families of Armenian origin and settled in Garabagh," an Egyptian Professor added.

In conclusion, the Egyptian professor noted that Azerbaijan has achieved great and important successes in the liberation of its occupied lands during its great victory in 2020. And the Armenian separatists were trapped in a small area around Khankendi and Khojaly. A further siege placed on them will increase their frustration and despair. And in the end, more pressure on the Armenian separatists will force them to surrender and flee in search of peace. As Nikol Pashinyan did during the Second Garabagh War; after the collapse of the armed forces of Armenia, he asked to stop the war.

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Rena Murshud is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
7 September 2023 13:47 (UTC+04:00)

The first flight of Georgian Wings performed on the Tbilisi-Baku route successfully landed at Heydar Aliyev International Airport on 6 September, Azernews reports, citing International Airport.

The aircraft of the Georgian air carrier was traditionally welcomed with an arch of water.

The ceremony dedicated to the arrival of the first flight of Georgian Wings was attended by representatives of the airline, as well as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to Azerbaijan, Mr. Zurab Pataradze. They emphasized the importance of this event for the development of relations between the countries.

Our airport is committed to continuous development and expansion of its international partnerships, and the launch of this route opens even more opportunities for tourism, business, and cultural exchange between the two countries, said the Director of Heydar Aliyev International Airport, Mr. Teymur Hasanov.

We are proud to celebrate the successful landing of the first flight of Georgian Wings performed on the Tbilisi-Baku route at Heydar Aliyev International Airport. This important moment underlines the close and friendly neighborhood between Georgia and Azerbaijan. This route opens up endless opportunities for us to develop tourism, business, and cultural exchange between our countries. Regular flights on ATR72-500 A/C start this week, offering convenient flights between Tbilisi and Baku. We look forward to welcoming everyone on board of Georgian Wings to open new horizons and strengthen our partnership, emphasized Edison Pipia, CEO of Georgian Wings.

Georgian Wings will operate regular flights on the Tbilisi-Baku-Tbilisi route three times a week: on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

Tickets for this route can be purchased on the official website of the airline www.georgianwings.com, as well as at the airline's sales offices.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
7 September 2023 13:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Emin Sevdimaliyev, Day.az

Among the large amount of political news that has come to the fore in the past weeks, economic news is often lost. But this is very unfair, since this news indicates current trends and a general strategy that illustrates the desired pattern for the development of Azerbaijan's relations with foreign states.

In particular, two important news, or rather statements by high-ranking officials of European countries, deserve more detailed consideration. First of all, readers may be interested in the developing position of Hungary in relation to Azerbaijani energy resources.

Hungarian Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Relations Zoltan Kovacs took an interesting position that the EU should support the expansion of gas supplies from Azerbaijan.

In a social media post, he wrote: " Foreign Minister Szijjarto said that Brussels had lost its right to influence Hungary's natural gas sources due to its refusal to finance the expansion of energy infrastructure. He stressed the need to diversify energy sources and the importance of starting gas supplies from Azerbaijan. He noted the insufficient capacity of the infrastructure of South-Eastern Europe and called on the European Union to support the expansion of supplies ."

The second statement, which is interesting in the context of Azerbaijan's role in the energy security of Europe, was made in Greece. Greek Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Kostas Fragoyannis noted the vital importance of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) for ensuring the country's energy security.

For Hungary and Greece, the problem of energy security is one of the most important, given their access to resources and the existing structural constraints in international politics.

Why is it important?

These statements are very important for Baku, as they indicate that the current situation with energy security in the EU is far from optimal. Since the emergence of structural changes in the bloc's foreign policy, the issue of energy security has become existential, on which the well-being of people and the development of the economies of the EU countries depend. Each historical epoch can be characterized by a resource that is necessary for the development and strengthening of influence. Such resources at different times were steel, oil, coal. Today, one of the most important indicators of development is energy security. The ability to offer critically needed resources to Europe is one of the many reasons why Azerbaijan has become a stronger partner for Europe.

The second reason is that the economic growth of European countries correlates with their energy security. Without ensuring its proper level, the production of products and the work of the service sector are hampered, which ultimately leads to damage to the economies of countries. The complexity of the situation for the EU also lies in the fact that the slowdown in the growth of small European countries will also affect the large members of the bloc, which may jeopardize the development of the EU.

Europe is very interested in ensuring its energy security , so the expansion of cooperation with Azerbaijan is a very profitable prospect for both sides. And if everything is obvious with Baku's interest, then Europe has very serious reasons for being interested in expanding cooperation with Azerbaijan.

Why is Europe so interested in Azerbaijani resources?

Several factors dictate the European Union's interest in Azerbaijani resources.

The fact that Azerbaijan is able to communicate with the EU countries in a "language" understandable to the countries of the bloc is one of the most important reasons. The modern history of Europe goes back to the era after the end of World War II. To prevent a repetition of the horrors of the two world wars, European countries adopted an alternative philosophy of international interaction - commercial liberalism, the main element of which is trade interaction between countries. As a result, the European Union has become one of the most influential players on the world stage, having managed to unite about 30 countries with different goals, positions and interests on a wide range of issues. And today Baku approaches relations with European countries from the same position - through the prism of cooperation and promotion of mutually beneficial solutions. And the position of Azerbaijan,

The second aspect is the diversification of supplies. In the context of the issue of diversification, Europe is guided by the principle of minimizing risks, in other words, trying to guarantee the availability of supplies if any supplier fails to fulfill its obligations. Azerbaijan offers Europe supplies from the new region, which makes such cooperation interesting for European countries.

The third is the most important factor. The EU is interested in building long-term strategic relationships with partners, and Azerbaijan is no exception. For European countries, building mutually beneficial relations in the energy sector is a "guide" to future strategic cooperation in other areas as well. One of the areas of cooperation can be the transport sector, as well as a partnership in the field of renewable energy. Both sectors are strategically important for Europe, and Azerbaijan has a lot to offer in these areas.

Given the above, the reason for the shifts in the views of European countries on the issue of cooperation with Azerbaijan becomes clear. In the understanding of Europeans, Azerbaijan has ceased to be one of the countries of the "former USSR" and has transformed into an interesting partner, cooperation with which can bring dividends and long-term benefits. This fits into the foreign policy strategy of Azerbaijan, as it allows Baku to receive financial benefits and strengthen its political positions.

This approach allows Azerbaijan to use soft levers to build relationships with foreign partners, which is a more effective and long-term method.

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7 September 2023 14:09 (UTC+04:00)

Abbas Ganbay Read more

This year, a total of 1,105.19 hectares of the territory of the Kalbajar district is planned to be cleaned up from mines, Namig Hummatov, the first deputy chairman of the State Urban Planning and Architecture Committee, told journalists at the Urban Planning Working Group meeting held in Kalbajar, Azernews reports.

According to him, in 8 months of the current year, 653.46 ha (59.1%) of the territory of the district was cleared of mines.

Hummatov noted that in 2022, 983.71 ha of land in the residential areas was cleared of mines.

He added that following the presidential decree dated 18.03.2021 on urban development in the liberated territories, the Committee has ensured the allocation of 400 ha of land for 40 construction objects in the Kalbajar district to the relevant customer institutions.

The deputy added that the resettlement to Azerbaijans Kalbajar district is planned to start in 2024.

In 2024, about 13,000 people will be resettled in the liberated Kalbajar district, among them over 5,000 citizens will be resettled in new houses in the administrative center, and about 8,000 citizens more - in villages and towns, First Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture Namig Hummatov told journalists following the meeting of the Working Group on Urban Planning in Kalbajar.

Hummatov noted that 3,500 housing units (2,000 private houses and 1,500 apartments) will be built and commissioned in the Kalbajar district by 2026.

Among them, 1,115 housing units will be commissioned by 2024, 725 by 2025, and the last 1,610 houses will be ready by 2026, he said.

At the first stage of construction work on the restoration of settlements in Azerbaijan's Kalbajar district, which covers 20222026, the necessary work is being carried out to approve construction plans for the villages of Zar, Zallar, and Yanshag, First Vice Chairman of the State Committee for Urban Development and Architecture, Namig Hummatov said,

At the meeting of the working group on urban development held in Kalbajar, Hummatov said that in 2023, seven more settlements are planned to be designed in the Kalbajar district (Istisu settlement, Gamishli, Chaykend, Nadirkhanli, Gilinjli, Otagli, and Chirag villages), and in 2024, four villages (Chapli, Keshdak, Dalgilinjli, and Imanbinasi villages). According to Namig Hummatov, in general, 15 settlements will be restored by 2026, including one city, one settlement, and 13 villages.

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7 September 2023 17:23 (UTC+04:00)

Abbas Ganbay Read more

At the meeting with the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait in Azerbaijan the possibilities of cooperation between KOBIA and relevant institutions and business circles of Kuwait were discussed, Azernews reports, citing KOBIA.

Orkhan Mammadov, Chairman of the Board of KOBIA, met with Abdullah Mohamed Abdullah Almauidi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the State of Kuwait in Azerbaijan.

During the meeting, information was presented about the Agency's activities, support, and services it provides to SMEs, KOBIA's support in the direction of establishing and developing cooperation between local and foreign business circles, as well as exchange of views on the issues of coordination of the Agency's activities with the relevant institutions of Kuwait and opportunities for cooperation between SMEs of both countries.

The meeting was part of a series of diplomatic engagements between Kuwait and Azerbaijan.

In January 2022, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, held a meeting with the Ambassador of Kuwait, Saud Abdulaziz Mohammed al-Shamlan al-Rumi. During the meeting, Bayramov and al-Rumi exchanged views regarding the current state of the relations between Azerbaijan and Kuwait.

The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1994, and Kuwait opened an Embassy in Azerbaijan in 2006. Since then, the two countries have signed a number of agreements, including the Agreement on the creation of a Joint Commission on cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the State of Kuwait, the Agreement for the promotion and reciprocal protection of investments between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the State of Kuwait, and the Agreement on Trade agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the State of Kuwait.

In addition to diplomatic engagements, the two countries have also held cultural events. In 2009, Azerbaijan held in Baku, the Cultural Days of Kuwait, and in 2011, Kuwait held the Cultural Days of Azerbaijan.

The meeting between Mammadov and Almauidi is a sign of the strong relationship between Azerbaijan and Kuwait, and the two countries are looking to further expand their cooperation in various fields.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
7 September 2023 11:38 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

In the new academic year, 22 educational institutions, repaired and restored by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, as well as newly built ones, will be put into operation, Azernews reports.

Thus, on the eve of September 15 - Knowledge Day, 19 schools and 3 preschool institutions will be presented to teachers and students of Baku and the regions.

Since the existing buildings of these educational institutions are unsuitable for use, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation constructed new buildings for 17 secondary schools and 2 kindergartens and also carried out major renovations of the buildings of 3 schools and preschool institutions.

Thus, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, headed by the First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva, supports the state policy in the field of education and contributes to the upbringing of the younger generation and its quality education.

Since its establishment, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation has been implementing various projects and programs in the field of education. The main goal of the Foundations program New School for a Renewing Azerbaijan is to help solve existing problems in the field of education, create educational complexes throughout the country that meet modern standards, and eliminate problems that directly affect the level of education. As part of the Fund's Education Support program, educational institutions are provided with financial resources to improve the quality of education.

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Rena Murshud is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
7 September 2023 11:53 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

An exhibition of Azerbaijani carpets has opened at Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Berlin. The exhibition was co-organized by the Azerbaijani Embassy in Germany and Azerkhalcha OJSC, Azernews reports.

Representatives of German government agencies, ambassadors of foreign countries, media representatives, scientists and cultural figures, as well as members of Azerbaijani, Turkish and other communities living in Germany took part in the event organized in connection with the opening of the exhibition.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Germany Nasimi Aghayev noted that carpet weaving art in Azerbaijan has an ancient history, master carpet-makers successfully pass on the subtleties of this art to the younger generation, and the country's leadership attaches great importance to the development of this art.

Chairman of the Board of Azerkhalcha OJSC, Honored Art Worker Emin Mammadov also spoke about the history of the organization he represents.

He stressed that the main goal of Azerkhalcha OJSC is to preserve the tradition of carpet weaving and further develop this art. He stressed that Azerbaijani folk-applied art and its branch, carpet weaving, occupy a special place in the history of the national culture of our people.

Emin Mammadov also spoke about the carpets displayed at the exhibition, which belong to Karabakh, Gazakh, Nakhchivan and Shirvan carpet-making schools.

The German Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Dr. Ralph Horleman also spoke at the event. The ambassador shared the impressions he got about the art of carpet weaving in Azerbaijan during his activity with the participants of the event.

During the exhibition, the process of weaving a real Karabakh carpet was also demonstrated for the guests.

The exhibition participants have the opportunity to make their own loops on the carpet. Everyone who participated in the process of weaving the Karabakh carpet was also presented a special certificate from Azerkhalcha OJSC, approved by the Azerbaijani Ambassador Nasimi Aghayev and Emin Mammadov.

Within the framework of the event, the participants were also handed out books and brooches about the art of carpet weaving in Azerbaijan, compiled by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in exquisite design and in German, and a film about the art of carpet weaving in Azerbaijan, as well as the well-known Azerbaijani carpet weavers was shown.

The doors of the exhibition, organized at the Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Berlin, will be open to European carpet lovers until the end of September. The exhibition visitors will also be informed about the Azerbaijani carpet art and carpet making schools.

---

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7 September 2023 12:00 (UTC+04:00)

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 continues, Azernews reports.

Another group of citizens was sent from the Gobu Park 3 residential complex in the Garadagh district of Baku on September 7. At this stage, another 25 families (102 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 and 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 95 families - 349 people.

A resident of Fuzuli: 'We are returning to our native lands after 30 years of longing

"When I left Fuzuli I was 13-14 years old, now we are returning to our native lands after 30 years of longing," Anar Huseynov, a resident of the Fuzuli district told me.

"May the Almighty give rest to the souls of our martyrs who gave us the joy of returning, I wish health to our veterans. May Allah grant long life to our Supreme Commander-in-Chief, who put an end to our 30-year longing for our native lands. My family of 7 people and I are returning to native Fuzuli. I am overwhelmed with a sense of joy," Huseynov said.

It should be remembered that today another 102 residents of Fuzuli left for their native lands as part of the Great Return of former IDPs program.

---

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7 September 2023 14:58 (UTC+04:00)

Abbas Ganbay Read more

In accordance with the instruction of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the return of former internally displaced persons to the restored city of Fuzuli continues, Azernews reports, citing Azertag.

Another group of citizens was sent from the Gobu Park 3 residential complex in the Garadagh district of Baku on September 7. At this stage, another 25 families (102 people) moved to the city of Fuzuli.

On the way to, the former IDP's have shared their feelings and impressions on the day of their great return to homeland. A Fuzuli resident who returned home said the bad days left behind.

"For thirty years we lived the life of IDPs and settled in the city of Sumgait. I left my country when I was six years old. The bad days are behind me."

These are the words of Farid Mammadov, a resident of Fuzuli who returned to his native home.

"I visited Fuzuli once after our lands were liberated from occupation. There one is overwhelmed with completely different feelings. For a moment, the way our brave men fought for these lands came alive in my eyes. Beautiful living conditions have been created for us there, houses have been built. The natives of Fuzuli are returning," Farid Mammadov said.

The residents of Fuzuli expressed gratitude to the head of our state and the heroes of the Fatherland who fought for the freedom of our lands.

Another former IDP said that he was sending his son and grandchildren to Fuzuli and he would soon move there himself.

"Today I am sending my son and grandchildren away. I will soon move to Fuzuli myself. I am looking forward to returning to my homeland."

Fuzuli resident Isag Nasirov said .

"When I came to Baku, my son was a first-grader. Years have passed, I have grandchildren and they are returning to their ancestral homeland. Our brave army under the leadership of Azerbaijani President, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev liberated our lands from occupation," Isag Nasirov said, asking God to have mercy on our martyrs and wishing our veterans good health.

The Fuzuli resident, who noted that he will soon move to his homeland, hopes that things will be even better in his native land.

Fuzuli resident: It is very difficult to put into words the feelings of returning to the homeland"

"We are very happy to be returning to our native land after thirty years. It is very difficult to express these wonderful feelings in words."

A resident of Fuzuli Aflas Abbasova, who has returned to her native home, said.

"When we came to Baku with our family members, we had very difficult days. Memories of these moments make me fragile. I am very happy to see these days. When I reach my native land, the first thing I will do is visit the graves of my parents and relatives. I express my gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev who gave us this happiness, pray for mercy to our martyrs, wish good health to our veterans," the Fuzuli resident said.

Resident returns home: Better days await us in the future

"I was forced to move from Fuzuli when I was sixteen. Now, thirty years later, I am returning to my homeland. My joy knows no bounds. I am very excited."

These words were said by Narmina Namazova, a resident of Fuzuli who returned to her native home.

"When I return, the first thing I will do is visit my uncle's grave. I have been waiting for this moment for many years. More beautiful and prosperous days await us in the future. May God protect our state, the Azerbaijani Army. We are grateful to the head of our state for giving us this joy," said the Fuzuli resident.

Fuzuli resident: I am happy to return to my home

"I am very glad and happy to return to my native land. All the IDPs will soon return to their lands. Everyone is looking forward to this joyful day."

These are the words of Isa Nasirov, a resident of Fuzuli, who has returned to his native home.

"When I return, the first thing I will do is visit the graves of my relatives. I was 8 years old when I left Fuzuli. Although many years have passed, the memories are still vivid in my mind. There are wonderful days ahead of us. May God have mercy on our martyrs and cure our veterans!" - Isa Nasirov said.

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.

Thus, until today, a permanent settlement in the city of Fuzuli has been provided for 95 families - 349 people.

---

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7 September 2023 12:20 (UTC+04:00)

"A group of foreign NGOs and civil society representatives from 27 countries around the world have launched an international campaign called "World for Peace in the Caucasus". Despite the fact that the campaign has just been announced, it has received enormous resonance and support, and the number of civil society representatives from different countries of the world has already exceeded 500, Azernews reports, citing AzerTac.

The appeal posted on the international platform "Jotform" mentions that the disinformation spread about the alleged closure of the Lachin road and the biased campaigns conducted in this direction undermine the peace-building process in the South Caucasus, and expresses deep concern about it.

The appeal recommends that Armenian residents living in the Garabagh region of Azerbaijan not succumb to the provocations of Armenia and the remnants of the so-called regime, and their political manipulations, and to open the Aghdam-Khankendi road for peace.

Those who joined the appeal believe that Armenian residents living in the Garabagh region of Azerbaijan should be able to properly assess the positive messages of the Azerbaijani state and civil society for the sake of peace. It is noted with regret that the aid trucks of the Red Crescent Society cannot continue moving in the direction of Khankendi due to artificial obstacles. The campaign also condemns those who make false accusations against the Azerbaijani state that allegedly the Armenian residents living in Garabagh are facing a "humanitarian crisis", and calls them to see the realities.

This international campaign is a clear indication that the world is standing up against the false propaganda spread by Armenia and its allies. It is a call to action for all those who want to see peace in the region and an end to the conflict.

Representatives of foreign NGOs who want to join this appeal, which exposes Armenia's false propaganda around the Lachin road and welcomes reintegration, can express their support by signing the statement online through the following link:

https://form.jotform.com/232422927546459

The social media accounts of the campaign have also been created:

X: https://x.com/wforcaucasus

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldforpeaceincaucasus/

Telegram: https://t.me/worldforpeaceincaucasus.

---

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TikTok's first European data center is now up and running.

The popular social media platform recently started migrating European users' data to its new Ireland data center to calm regulators' privacy concerns over its operations.

TikTok expects its data migration process to continue into 2024, per the statement it released on Mar. 8.

TikTok's European Data Center

TikTok's European data center, which is located in Dublin, Ireland, is now operational, albeit partially. According to a report from Tech Crunch, the migration of the data of its European users will likely end sometime in late 2024 - specifically its last quarter.

This data center will be under the supervision of the NCC Group, a UK-based information assurance firm that will audit TikTok's data controls and protections in its data center, per Engadget. The NCC Group will also monitor its data flows, provide independent verification, and report any incidents if needed.

Additionally, TikTok also said the company will oversee the data center's incoming and outgoing data to ensure that only approved employees can access users' sensitive information. It will also be the one to respond to any suspicious or anomalous access attempts and provide assurance on the integrity of the enhanced security controls operations.

The company expects to establish two additional data centers in operation by 2024. The second will be Ireland-based like the first, while the third will be located in Norway, where it will run entirely on renewable energy.

Read More: Apple's iOS 17 Might Launch Without Some Features - What Are They?

TikTok's Project Clover

The establishment of these data centers is part of TikTok's Project Clover, which aims to address regulators' worries in the EU over its links to China. The plan also calls for fresh data access and control processes, including the so-called "security gateways" that dictate which employees can access European TikTok user data.

Regulators have a reason to be worried about TikTok's connections to China. ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, confirmed that some of its (now-fired) employees accessed the data of several users in the US, including journalists'.

ByteDance's revelation happened when state governments banned TikTok from government-owned devices to avoid something similar from happening. You may recall that 11 US states enacted such a ban in 2022, with Georgia being the 11th state to do so.

The US state of Montana also enacted a ban on TikTok but took it a step further. While it initially did ban the app on government devices, it also imposed a total ban on the social media platform by 2024; people living there couldn't install the app on their phones.

The US and other countries have also banned the app from government-issued devices for fear of cyber espionage and threats to national security, with New Zealand being one of the latest to do so. These countries claim that China's Xi Jinping and his administration under the CCP could use TikTok as a "massive surveillance and data collection [tool]," per cyber security analysts at ProtonMail (via Forbes).

Related Article: TikTok Prepares to Improve Messaging Features
7 September 2023 11:42 (UTC+04:00)

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the occasion of the national holiday.

The letter read:

Dear Mr. President,

On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my most sincere congratulations to you and through you all your people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Federative Republic of Brazil  the Independence Day.

This year Azerbaijan and Brazil will celebrate a significant anniversary - the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. I believe that through our joint efforts, our interstate relations will continue to develop in the spirit of friendship and cooperation, both bilaterally and within the framework of international institutions, in line with the interests of our peoples.

On this festive day, I wish you good health, happiness, success in your endeavors, and your people lasting peace and prosperity.

Sincerely,

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 4 September 2023

---

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7 September 2023 16:08 (UTC+04:00)

"The resettlement process to Zabukh was carried out very successfully. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva met with those families; a very interesting meeting was held, said Special Representative of the Azerbaijani President in the Lachin district Masim Mammadov, Azernews reports.

I hope that the Sus village project will be this successful. I think it is possible to resettle there by the beginning of next year. We will see thousands of local residents in Lachin until the end of the year. Likewise, we will ensure two to three resettlement processes per month to Zabukh until the end of the year, the Special Representative of the President noted.

The resettlement process was part of a larger effort to rebuild the region after the Garabagh War. The conflict resulted in the displacement of thousands of people from the region, and the Azerbaijani government has been working to provide assistance and support to those affected.

The resettlement process to Zabukh was part of a larger government initiative to provide housing and other services to those affected by the conflict. The government provided housing, medical care, and other services to those who were displaced.

The government also provided financial assistance to those who were affected by the conflict.

The resettlement process was successful, according to Mammadov, and the government has been praised for its efforts to help those affected by the conflict. The government has also been praised for its commitment to providing assistance and support to those who were affected by the conflict.

---

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7 September 2023 18:09 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

Armenia has now launched a campaign worldwide in order to denigrate Azerbaijan and to accuse us [Azerbaijan] in all possible sins and to manipulate with the humanitarian hardships on the ground is a tactical move which is aiming at consolidating the status quo on the ground imitating their participation in the peace process and trying to all the blames for the lack of progress on Azerbaijan, Representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan for Special Assignments Elchin Amirbayov said in an interview with the German DW channel, Azernews reports.

"The campaign that Armenia has launched worldwide in order to denigrate Azerbaijan and accuse us with all the possible things, and to manipulate with humanitarian hardships on the ground, is a tactical move, which is aiming at consolidating status quo on the ground, imitating their participation in the peace process, and trying to put all the blame for the lack of process on Azerbaijan. While Azerbaijan, on numerous occasions, has proven its good will and sincere desire to advance with the peace process, because it was us who proposed the draft of the peace agreement, reopening of communication lines and delimitating state border," he said.

In response to the question about the reason of his visit to Berlin, the presidents special Envoy noted that his visit to Berlin is mainly to take advantage of Germany's support on the issue of peace negotiations, as well as to pre-inform his colleagues and partners in Berlin about the Armenia's attempts to manipulate the situation concerning humanitarian aid.

"The idea is to go through, of course, bilateral agenda, but most importantly at this stage because of the circumstances to brief out German partners and friends about Azerbaijani vision on how we should proceed further in order to save the peace process with which is now at a very crucial moment and to seek the support of the German side to help us with facilitation of this peace process so that it is preserved and not diluted or diverted from the main track by artificially created manipulations or politicization of humanitarian issues," he said.

Besides that, the official has specified his points about Armenia's impeding peace process.

"First of all, we have to identify what is the opposite side. Well, I am talking first of all about the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, which has been going on for some time now, which the European Union and in person of Charles Michel, the president of European Council tried and tries to facilitate. So, in our assumption, I think the campaing that Armenia has now launched worldwide in order to denigrate Azerbaijan and to accuse us [Azerbaijan] in all possible sins and to manipulate with the humanitarian hardships on the ground is a tactical move which is aiming at consolidating the status quo on the ground imitating their their participation in the peace process and trying to all the blames for the lack of progress on Azerbaijan. While Azerbaijan has on numerous occasions has proven its goodwill and its sincere desire to advance with the peace process. Because it was us who proposed to Armenia the draft of the Peace Agreement. It is who proposed to talk about reopening of communication lines and delimitating the state border. It is also true that we view not the separatist entity in the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan as the only responsible party in this humanitarian crisis. Because they try to depict the things in black and white accusing Azerbaijan in making their population suffer from hunger, but at the same time, they basically reject any overture for finding a compromise. They block the roads which are proposed by Azerbaijan and supported by every other stakeholder to bring in all the necessary humanitarian food by other routs. So, if a population is in need of humanitarian assistance or food, there is no way it can prove to anyone that they can do that by rejecting the viable solution," Amirbayov added.

Azernews present the interview

---

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7 September 2023 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

Airline passengers have reportedly queued for hours, with some missing their flights, after airport staff searched for a suspected terrorist who escaped prison, Azernews reports, citing a foreign media outlet.

The Mets Counter Terrorism Command sent an urgent appeal to UK ports and borders while a manhunt was under way for Daniel Abed Khalife.

Khalife escaped Wandsworth prison just before 8am on Wednesday while awaiting trial for terror and Official Secrets Act offences, according to the Metropolitan Police.

Travellers complained of queues lasting several hours at major UK airports  including Heathrow, Stansted, Manchester and Glasgow Aiport.

Khalife, a 21-year-old serving member of the British Army, is reported to have escaped by clinging to the bottom of a delivery van after sneaking out of the prison kitchen.

He is accused of eliciting or trying to elicit information that could be useful for a terrorist on 2 August 2021; and breaching the Official Secrets Act by gathering information that could be useful to an enemy between 1 May 2019 and 6 January 2022. He has denied the charges.

Commander Dominic Murphy, Head of Counter Terrorism Command, said: We have a team of officers who are making extensive and urgent enquiries in order to locate and detain Khalife as quickly as possible.
7 September 2023 23:50 (UTC+04:00)

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Aibek Moldogaziev met with the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kyrgyz Republic Sunario Kartadinata, Azernews reports, citing Kabar.

During the meeting, the sides discussed topical issues on the agenda of the Kyrgyz-Indonesian cooperation. In particular, they discussed prospects for further cooperation in the field of the halal industry and patent law, as well as strengthening trade and economic cooperation.

In order to expand the legal framework between the countries, the sides noted the need to accelerate the process of agreeing on draft model agreements in the field of healthcare, culture, agriculture, environmental protection and sports. The sides also noted the importance of fruitful cooperation on mutual support within the framework of international organizations.

Sunario Kartadinata informed that as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kyrgyzstan and Indonesia, on September 11 this year, a Kyrgyz-Indonesian business forum will be held in Bishkek with the participation of representatives of state bodies and businesses of Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan.

In conclusion, the sides expressed their readiness to continue to make efforts to strengthen bilateral relations and achieve tangible results in areas of mutual interest.

---

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Uzbekistan and Israel reviewed new opportunities for the mutually profitable development in the field of air transport, Azernews reports, citing Trend.

The news followed a meeting between Ambassador of Uzbekistan Feruza Makhmudova and Minister of Transport and Road Safety of Israel Miri Regev, where the parties signed a Protocol between the aviation authorities of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the State of Israel on amendments to the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of the State of Israel on air traffic signed on July 4, 1994, in Uzbekistans Tashkent.

The protocol suggests lifting of restrictions on the number of air carriers and destinations for air traffic between the two countries, as well as provides new opportunities for the two countries to open promising air routes and attract new airlines, and increase mutual tourist flow.

Meanwhile, more than 12,000 Israeli citizens visited Uzbekistan in 2022. A visa-free regime has been operating for entry into Uzbekistan for citizens of Israel for a period of 30 days since 2018.

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7 September 2023 21:40 (UTC+04:00)

The delegation of Uzbekistan headed by the Chairperson of the Senate of Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbayeva is in the Republic of Belarus on an official visit. Yesterday, within the framework of the visit, the first business forum of business circles and women entrepreneurs of Uzbekistan and Belarus was held in Minsk, Azernews reports, citing Kun.uz news agency.

The event was attended by business circles and business women representing almost all sectors of the economy of our country, in particular, industry and agriculture, food, pharmaceutical, cultural-humanitarian, as well as such areas as tourism and transport.

The plenary session organized within the framework of the forum on the topic Women in business  the potential for developing business cooperation between Belarus and Uzbekistan was opened with an introductory speech by the Chairperson of the Senate of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus.

It was noted that the expansion of cooperation in the field of light industry, the exchange of advanced technologies, the expansion of cooperation between manufacturers of fabrics, clothing, footwear, fur and leather products and the development of ties in the field of IT, entrepreneurship, the joint development of digital products, especially for women, the involvement of women in digital economy, the exchange of experience in improving the literacy and skills of women in this regard will bring equal benefits to the entrepreneurs of the two countries.

In addition, at the plenary session, opinions were expressed on strengthening cooperation in the field of medicine, developing the pharmaceutical industry, creating medical clusters, implementing joint projects in the food industry, chemical products for the automotive industry, processing agricultural products and tourism.

At the end of the forum, a final document (declaration) was adopted. It reflects the issues of strengthening cooperation in trade-economic, investment, scientific and technical, socio-cultural, educational, humanitarian, tourism and other areas of mutual interest.

As a result of meetings held in the B2B format between women entrepreneurs of the two countries, 42 contracts and 17 memorandums were signed for a total of $92 million.

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7 September 2023 22:15 (UTC+04:00)

An Italian businesswoman who has been missing for seven years was murdered and her body fed to pigs by the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta mafia, Italian anti-mafia authorities in Catanzaro said Thursday, Azernews reports, citing ANSA.

Maria Chindamo, a 42-year-old Calabrian businesswoman who disappeared at Limbadi near Vibo Valentia on May 6 2016, was killed by an 'Ndrangheta clan that wanted to get their hands on the property she had been left by her husband when he committed suicide, said the local Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA).

The mobster who killed her and fed her body to the pigs, police said, was Salvatore Ascone, 57, who was arrested Thursday in a huge anti-'Ndrangheta sweep across Italy.

'Ndarngheta, Italy's most powerful and richest mafia thanks to its control of the European cocaine trade, often disposes of bodies by feeding them to pigs.

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7 September 2023 20:05 (UTC+04:00)

The Interpol database has information about more than 130,000 terrorists and their accomplices, as well as fingerprint cards and DNA of 665,000 people, whose traces were retrieved from sites of terror attacks, Valery Kalachev, chief of the National Central Bureau of Interpol of the Russian Interior Ministry, Azernews reports, citing TASS.

"As of the end of last year, Interpols data store held data on more than 130,000 people involved in terrorist activities, as well as on persons assisting them. Apart from that, the databases contain identification data (dactocards and DNA) for 665,000 people, whose traces were retrieved from sites of terrorism-related crimes," he said.

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7 September 2023 23:15 (UTC+04:00)

President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ersin Tatar thanked the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

"I am glad that the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev stated at the meeting of the Organization of Turkic States held in Baku that the flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will fly at the events in Azerbaijan. I would like to thank President Ilham Aliyev for his statements and I hope that our brotherhood and cooperation will last forever. I wish our relations with Azerbaijan to continue to develop," Tatar said, Day.Az reports .

It should be noted that speaking today at the meeting of the participants of the second meeting of ministers on disaster management and emergency situations of the member states and observer states of the Organization of Turkic States and the international exercises "Baku-2023", President Ilham Aliyev, in particular, said that at our event the flag of Northern Cyprus should and will fly.

"Today, for the first time, a representative of Northern Cyprus is present among us. I would like to especially greet our Turkic brothers from Northern Cyprus. The minister is represented here as an observer, but at the same time with his own flag. Of course, the flag of Northern Cyprus should and will fly at our event "Azerbaijan has always been close to our brothers, united throughout the Turkic world, and it is very gratifying that at the last Summit, Northern Cyprus was elected as an observer in the Organization of Turkic States. I cordially congratulate all our Turkic brothers on this occasion. This once again demonstrates our unity, once again demonstrates our will. This suggests that we are and will always be next to each other on the path of justice," the President said.

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The documentary "Free Chol Soo Lee" tells the story of a wrongfully convicted man in the 1970s. Courtesy of Connect Pictures



By Lee Gyu-lee



For Chol Soo Lee, a Korean American immigrant in San Francisco, 1973 was the year that turned his life completely upside down, going from a 21-year-old street punk to being wrongfully convicted of murder, spending 10 years in prison.



Lee was found guilty of the murder of a man in Chinatown following a racially profiled arrest and trial that only had three white visitors as witnesses, leaving many flaws in the case. He received life imprisonment, followed by death row for defending himself against a fellow inmate during his sentence.





Julie Ha and Eugene Yi, makers of the documentary "Free Chol Soo Lee" / Courtesy of Connect Pictures

The injustice he faced ignited an unprecedented pan-Asian movement that went on for years until his exoneration when the Sacramento Union's investigative reporter K.W. Lee brought his case to the surface.



A new documentary, "Free Chol Soo Lee" directed by Julie Ha and Eugene Yi, revisits this historic case, delving deep into the flawed justice system and the Asian community's unprecedented solidarity movement that helped set him free. The film, which premiered at Sundance last year, is set to open in Korea on Oct. 18.



The directors, who first came across the case through K.W., said they felt the story deserved public attention.



"Freeing a Korean immigrant from death row, it's an incredible story. It's such meaningful history but it was just totally forgotten. It wasn't taught and it felt like it should be," Yi said during an interview with The Korea Times in downtown Seoul, Wednesday.



Ha said learning about the case changed her life while interning for her journalism mentor K.W.



"It was very surprising to know at a young age that our American justice system was not just and that it could put an innocent man in prison. It changed my life  This was like a landmark, unprecedented Asian American movement in America," Ha said, adding she felt a huge emotion at Lee's funeral in 2014.



"It was at the funeral that I felt this heaviness. (It) has stayed with me for nine months. And it felt like the story needed to come out."





A scene from the documentary "Free Chol Soo Lee" / Courtesy of Connect Pictures



That's when the two journalists, with no background in documentary filmmaking, took a deeper look into Lee's life to tell his story, which they spent six years making.



"Free Chol Soo Lee" follows Lee's life from his birth, through the turbulent time of the Korean War and his upbringing in America with his single mother to the final years of his tragic life after he was set free from prison.



The narrative is enriched by Lee's self-written memoir, read aloud by Sebastian Yoon, who also helped the directors with scenes drawing on his own experience in prison, adding depth to the film. It presents extensive archival resources as well as interviews with the movement's activists and people involved in Lee's life.



Below is an excerpt from the interview with the co-directors, Ha and Yi, and the film's producer Su Kim. It has been edited for clarity and readability.



Q. How does it feel to finally release the film in Korea, the country where Chol Soo Lee was born?



Ha: It's a dream come true for us. This is where the story began and is where Chol Soo was born. He was a child of the Korean War. Back in the late 70s and early 80s, when the Free Chol Soo Lee movement started to gain attention, it reached the Korean people. The Korean people embraced him, and his story. They felt like he was one of them. So we knew maybe we could recapture that kind of connection between our film, Chol Soo Lee, and the Korean people.





Investigative reporter K.W. Lee, left, interviews Chol Soo Lee in prison. Courtesy of Connect Pictures



Kim: It was our No. 1 goal starting the movie. When I started, I asked the directors what are your goals? And one of the first ones we talked about was trying to release the film in South Korea.



My family immigrated (to America from Korea) in 1977  I remember my mom telling me that she often would not tell her family that things were not easy sometimes to not get them worried. And when she watched the film, she said to me that she felt like that. It captured the story of the immigration of her generation.



This was a really bad situation, but there were many little things that I think people experienced at the time that you can feel in the film. And that's what I hope in the release in Korea that people can see that story and understand how difficult the migration was.



Q. Once you decided to make the documentary, what was the process like to develop his story into the film?



Yi: In America, because we are minorities there, it's not always that your stories are valued as much as it feels like they should be. So when we looked in those archives, there were some but there wasn't a lot of material. We ended up needing to rely on the community to find this archive. And so we both had this experience as journalists and a relationship with K.W., who just shared all this material with us.



It wasn't long before we saw that there would be enough for a film. And it was just really extraordinary to see the community do just that; create this community archive. And we truly just wouldn't have the film if it wasn't for the fact that they had preserved this material.





A still from the documentary "Free Chol Soo Lee" / Courtesy of Connect Pictures



Q. K.W. was one of the key figures in Chol Soo's case and the movement, dedicating many years of his career and life to proving Chol Soo's innocence and becoming a father figure to Chol Soo. What was his reaction when he saw the film?



Ha: K.W. Lee knew if people knew this, it could actually lead to positive change. It could change the way we look at each other and at people who are marginalized in society. Even though Chol Soo Lee was the victim of this injustice, he was not an angel as he says in the film. He had a criminal record at the time. Yet after this terrible racism happened to him, it drew the compassion and courage of a whole group of people (from conservative elders to politically progressive students) in America who, for the first time, united.



Q. The documentary puts heavy emphasis on the journey to get him exonerated, then it takes a turn, touching on his struggles afterward and how his life went downhill. How did you structure the overall narrative of the story?





A picture of Chol Soo Lee, center, with his legal team / Courtesy of Connect Pictures



Ha: Our main motivation for the film was we want to give Chol Soo Lee agency, finally, to be able to tell his own story in full, the full arc of his life from his birth to his death. And so that people, especially his supporters, could understand what his life was like even before and after the movement started. Even though he was tremendously grateful, how burdensome it was to know that you owe your life to a community of people. How do you ever repay them for something like that? They worked for six years to free him. So he carried that heavy burden.



We also believe that's why Chol Soo Lee wanted this chance to explain why it was so hard for him to overcome the demons from 10 years of incarceration at some of the most violent prisons in America.



We always worry that this case felt too messy for our community. Model minority is a myth that's enforced upon us by mainstream society. But sometimes I think we Asian Americans buy into it too  But we're asserting that "No, we need to know the full truth." And then we can learn so much from that truth.





The documentary "Free Chol Soo Lee" will be released in Korea on Oct. 18. Courtesy of Connect Pictures
Visitors roam around the sophomore edition of Frieze Seoul at COEX in southern Seoul, Thursday. The global art fair kicked off with a VIP opening, Wednesday, attracting art aficionados from across Asia and around the world, especially those hailing from mainland China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia with the lifting of COVID-19-related travel restrictions. Yonhap



By Park Han-sol



Following a splashy debut last year, Frieze Seoul returned to COEX in the ritzy Gangnam District in the southern part of the capital this week to offer another two-for-one art fair experience with its local counterpart Kiaf Seoul.



A VIP opening was held, Wednesday, seeing no shortage of art lovers from across Asia and around the world, especially those hailing from mainland China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia following the lifting of COVID-19-related travel restrictions.



"We have over 100 museum groups here, (compared to) 25 last year. We have some of the most important curators from around the world. There are lots of American, European, Chinese and Japanese collectors," Frieze CEO Simon Fox noted during a press conference, Thursday.



Attracting over 120 galleries from around the world, with a stronger core of Asia-based exhibitors and those with outposts in the region, the sophomore edition of Frieze Seoul saw more booths run by blue-chip dealers catering to local collectors  in comparison to last year when they focused on introducing themselves to a new market through more of a "best-of-everything" presentation.



Elaine Kwok, Hauser & Wirth's managing partner for Asia, told The Korea Times that her gallery took a more adventurous approach this year because "the Korean market is also getting more adventurous and incredibly diverse."



"You've got the older, more mature collectors, but you also have lots of young collectors coming in. The booth is a reflection of that," Kwok said.



As a result, the blue-chip dealer decided to put modern masters like Philip Guston and Louise Bourgeois alongside the newest names to join the gallery, including Allison Katz, Angel Otero and Harmony Korine.



By the end of the preview day, over 13 of Hauser & Wirth's pieces of varying value were sold to museums, art centers and private collectors across East Asia, including Rashid Johnson's canvas work for $975,000 and George Condo's creation for $800,000.





Prominent art dealer Hauser & Wirth showcases Philip Guston's "Combat I" (1978) at its booth at Frieze Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap



Perrotin, which opened a new space in Gangnam District last year, focused on bringing a roster of its artists whose works have been exhibited in major museums across Korea in recent years  Maurizio Cattelan at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, Takashi Murakami at the Busan Museum of Art in Busan and Laurent Grasso at the Jeonnam Museum of Art in South Jeolla Province, among others.



"We wanted to remind the audience and the collectors here that our gallery represents the creatives who have already been featured in prominent institutions in the country and that their pieces are available in the primary market," said Bo Kim, managing director of Perrotin Seoul. Its presentation also includes "dansaekhwa" (monochrome painting) master Park Seo-bo and sculptor Shim Moon-seop  the Korean artists that the gallery has spotlighted in its other global locations.



Similarly, Lehmann Maupin has put forth its aim to "look back at our long-standing history with South Korea and honor the expanding legacy of our artists," according to Emma Son, senior director of the dealer's Seoul outpost. Historical pieces by avant-garde artist Sung Neung-kyung, paired with contemporary marquee works by Do Ho Suh, Lee Bul and Hong Soun, offer a glimpse into the world of Korean creatives, who make up 10 percent of the gallery's roster.



The powerhouse dealer sold over 15 pieces during the first hours of the fair on Wednesday, partly in thanks to "high demand for works by Korean artists" that included a $190,000 Lee Bul painting.



Other prominent galleries also reported a string of topline sales.



Gladstone Gallery announced that it sold Robert Rauschenberg's painting for $950,000 and Alex Katz's for $750,000, while Lisson Gallery's opening day sales included a canvas work by Stanley Whitney that sold for $550,000.









And it was Seoul-headquartered Kukje Gallery that sold Ha Chong-hyun's piece for between $110,000 and $132,000.



"With no travel restrictions, I noticed that there's much more traffic coming in from people overseas. Last year, many who came to the fair were professionals  journalists, critics, dealers, advisers and curators," Hauser & Wirth's Kwok said.



"This year, you have private collectors who are here to check out the art scene, those who have never been to private museums in Seoul and want to see them, and then those who are here just for the party. All of that together is what makes the scene exciting and dynamic."





Visitors look at Jeff Koons' "Gazing Ball (Centaur and Lapith Maiden)" (2013), exhibited by U.K.-based Robilant+Voena, during a VIP preview for Frieze Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Park Han-sol



Global attention on Korean art



Like last year, Frieze Masters, one of the fair's feature sections, offered a curated peek into the millennia-spanning collection that remains significant in global art history  from an eighth-century Japanese Buddhist manuscript to Lucio Fontana's 1960s "Spatial Concept" painting with an estimated value of $3 million.



The Korean masters spotlighted in the section include Gallery Hyundai's Rhee Seund-ja, a pioneering female abstract artist who has been the subject of renewed global attention after her "Subitement la Loi (A Sudden Law)" set the auction record at Christie's Hong Kong last year.



Do Hyung-teh, president of Gallery Hyundai, noted that more than five prominent museum representatives from around the world came to inquire about Rhee's paintings within an hour on the preview day. The dealer later announced that it sold a variety of her works ranging from $9,000 to $450,000.





Seoul-based Gallery Hyundai spotlights the pioneering oeuvre of Rhee Seund-ja, a first-generation Korean female abstract artist, at its booth at Frieze Seoul, Wednesday. Newsis



Focus Asia, a feature section unique to Frieze Seoul, also returned to showcase groundbreaking solo presentations put forth by 10 emerging Asia-based galleries.



Among the highlighted artists is Yutaka Kikutake Gallery's Yuko Mohri, whose delicate kinetic installation was featured at this year's Gwangju Biennale curated by Lee Sook-kyung. The two will unite once again next year at the Japanese Pavilion for the 60th edition of the Venice Biennale.





"The Great Ballroom" by Woo Hannah, whose organically-shaped fabric installations earned her the fair's inaugural Artist Award, hangs from the ceiling of COEX, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Park Han-sol

G Gallery presents Korean creative Woo Hannah, whose organically-shaped fabric installations earned her the fair's inaugural Artist Award. Her winning commission, "The Great Ballroom," made of draped fabrics reminiscent of an aging female body, hangs from the venue's ceiling.



The Artist Award and the newfound recognition that came with it have also "opened up a new chapter" in Woo's artistic practice, prompting her to incorporate hard materials like aluminum to make her latest fabric sculptures stand upright for the first time to "represent a sense of independence," the gallery's curator Lee Su-young explained.



As a platform, Focus Asia has already proven to be a creative stage with a lot of potential. The section is what allowed two of its participants last year  Seoul-based Whistle and Jakarta-based ROH  to link up and organize a joint booth at the fair this year.



Putting the four Korean creatives in dialogue with their four Indonesian counterparts at the shared booth marks the start of the two galleries' series of collaborative projects to come, according to Whistle's deputy director Kim Soo-hyun.



"Our artist Hyun Nahm will be heading to Jakarta soon to participate in the residency exchange program and hold a solo show in the Indonesian capital," she said, adding that the two dealers plan to host more exchange programs and joint exhibitions in the future.





Seoul-based Whistle and Jakarta-based ROH, last year's participants of Frieze Seoul's Focus Asia section, have organized a joint booth at the fair this year. Korea Times photo by Park Han-sol
The U.S. Supreme Court will not take up a case involving a Brunswick County charter school's disputed skirts requirement for female students. The school had asked the court to overturn a ruling that charter schools could be treated asJustices offered no reason for their decision Monday to deny ain the case Charter Day School v. Peltier. The Supreme Court issues a writ when it agrees to take a case.said Baker Mitchell, the school's founder, in a prepared statement.Mitchell added.Mitchell warned.Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar represents the federal government in court. She urged the U.S. Supreme Court in May to reject the case, which stemmed from a parent's complaint about the school dress code.Operators of the school, now known as Classical Charter Schools of Leland, asked the nation's highest court to take the case. The charter defenders wanted the Supreme Court to reverse a federal Appeals Court decision.The full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals split 10-6 in June 2022 when ruling against Charter Day School. The majority opinion labeled the charter operator ain the context of its dress code.Charter school operators were the petitioners in the case. Dress code challengers were the respondents.wrote Charter Day School's lawyers."The Government defends the Fourth Circuit's reliance on West v. Atkins," a 1988 precedent,the brief continued.Charter school lawyers rebutted Prelogar's argument that the school serves aOther appellate courts have taken a different stance than the 4th Circuit, the charter brief argued.A favorable Supreme Court decision would have made a real difference for the charter school, according to the brief.school lawyers wrote.The 4th Circuit's ruling would have a negative impact if it stands, the charter brief added.charter lawyers wrote.the brief added.the brief warned.The John Locke Foundation filed an amicus, or friend-of-the-court, brief in October 2022 urging the Supreme Court to take the case. Locke's brief focused on theissue.wrote attorney Dan Gibson, who filed the brief for Locke.The case started with a complaint from parent Bonnie Peltier. She objected to Charter Day School's dress code requiring female students to wear skirts. Peltier's attorneys argued in a federal lawsuit that a publicly funded school could not adopt that type of policy.With more than 3.4 million students attending nearly 7,700 charter schools nationwide, theissue has national importance, Gibson argued.he wrote.Mitchell's prepared statement indicated the school's next step.he said.
The Internal Revenue Service lost millions of sensitive tax records of individuals and businesses, according to a new watchdog report.The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released a report last week finding that the IRS was notsafeguarding tax information when shipping it to and from processing centers. The watchdog found that the IRS can't locate records that were supposed to be transferred from a facility in California to Kansas City, Missouri, and the agency is also missing thousands more records that were stored in Utah.the watchdog report said, adding,The watchdog said it found seven empty boxes that should have contained around 170 microfilm cartridges at a facility in Ogden, Utah, POLITICO reported. The cartridges hold up to 2,000 images each, and IRS employees at the facility did not know where they were. The report added that tax records from the 2010 fiscal year were supposed to be transferred from a facility in Fresno, California, to an IRS processing center in Kansas City after the California facility shut down - but the IRS couldn't locate those records either.the report added.The IRS blamed underfunding for the problem, claiming that it has been forced to place employees responsible for inventories in other jobs, according to POLITICO. The IRS said it isPresident Joe Biden's Inflation Reduction Act passed last year included $80 billion in new funding for the IRS for the next ten years, allowing it to hire additional agents. The additional funding for the IRS was broken into four categories: enforcement, operations support, business system modernization, and taxpayer services, according to the Tax Foundation. The IRS said some of the new funding would specifically go towardRepublicans on Capitol Hill have criticized the IRS for multiple instances of alleged mishandling of sensitive tax information. In 2021, the IRS destroyed 30 million paper tax returns, whichtax experts. GOP lawmakers also questioned the agency after ProPublica published an expose that included information from thousands of tax returns from wealthy Americans.
As School Choice is beginning to take shape in North Carolina: What is your position on what it should evolve into?

4.35% School Choice is only a distraction from the promise of real public education.91.3% 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.4.35% School Choice - I cannot see how it serves the Education Industry.
While Germany's largest state, Bavaria, has always been governed by the right, the parties of the right appear to be on the verge of their biggest landslide with the election only 30 days away. All political eyes in the country are on the Bavarian election as it is the only German state voting on Oct. 8.

The right is divided among three parties, the traditional conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), longtime partner party of the CDU nationally, although consistently to the CDU's right, the populist / nationalist anti-immigration Alternativ fur Deutschland (AfD), and the populist / nationalist anti-immigration Free Voters. Polls have consistently placed the three parties of the right in first, second, and third place, with all other parties trailing. All three parties are expected to gain vote shate and seats. Together they are polling at 70% of the vote, a gain of 12 points over the last state election.

The three parties of the national governing coalition which is led by the Social Democrats are all expected to lose vote share and seats based on the polling. One of them, the Free Democrats, is expected to lose every one of its seats in the Bavarian Landtag. Together, they are expected to receive about 25% of the vote.

An "August surprise" from the Social Democrats against the Free Voters leader seems to have backfired. The Free Voters are now junior partners in Bavaria's coalition government with the CSU. A retired school teacher who is a Social Democrat activist now and taught the Free Voters leader in high school, with great fanfare produced an anti-Semitic paper he claimed was written 30 years ago by the Free Voters leader. The establishment media demanded his resignation as the state's deputy prime minister and that the CSU end its coalition with the Free Voters. They expected to damage both parties. Instead the CSU stood by their ally, and the paper's real author came forward and took responsibility for it. The only poll since the smear collapsed, from the respected German pollster INSA showed both the Free Voters and the CSU gaining votes from the attempted hit job.

Immigration and the downside of expensive green energy are major issues in the campaign.

https://rmx.news/germany/left-in-shock-after-german-politician-is-smeared-as-an-anti-semite-his-free-voters-party-soars-to-2nd-place-in-bavarian-polls/
By: Ray Leary

What is going on here?

There is no denying that since three new school board members were seated on the Beaufort County School Board in December 2022, there have been some internecine disagreements on how the board should function.

During the election season of the spring and fall of 2022, the new candidates emphasized the school proficiency scores published by the NC Department of Public Instruction. For Beaufort County, the scores revealed that eight (8) of the 13 schools received a failing grade of D with a corresponding number grade in the 40-54 range.

The differences of opinion surfaced during the selection and attempted approval of a new social studies curriculum. The curriculum recommended by the selection committee provoked considerable angst among some board members and the public when information was revealed by the new board members that the SAVVAS curriculum was advertised as containing Critical Race Theory and Social Emotional Learning principles. Seeing the publics opposition as evidenced by over 100 citizens attending the meeting at which the curriculum was to be adopted, coupled with several opponents making public comments in opposition, there was no vote taken and the social studies curriculum has not resurfaced.

The synopsis and timeline below outlines discussions made after several board members expressed criticism over what they believed one or more of the new board members had violated a policy which states that no one board member acting alone does not represent the entire board. This was an unfortunate misunderstanding of a communication by one of the new board members to Representative Keith Kidwell.

April 20, 2023  Passes motion to limit activities of board members requiring board members be notified prior to any member speaking to anyone in Raleigh. The motion on May 20, 2023 as stated during the April 20 meeting and recorded in the meeting minutes-

that no member of this Board send any issue to any legislator or anybody in Raleigh without the full Board having knowledge of it.

The minutes presented for approval on May 25, 203 indicated this motion passed with a unanimous vote.

April 25, 2023  The Board attempts to approve the April 20, 2023 minutes. Charles Hickman reported he voted NO and asked for the minutes to be amended. Board member Shreve said he did not vote for or against the motion. Since he was present and did not vote for or against, his vote was counted for the prevailing position. The approval of the April 20 minutes was deferred until May 5, 2023.

May 5, 2023  Approved April 20, 2023, minutes with Hickmans no vote recorded

(Please note there were eight school board meetings between April 20 and August 1, 2023. The minutes of four of these meetings were not timely posted on the BCS website)

August 2, 2023  Ray Leary requested public records of the April 20, 2023 minutes which were not posted on the BCS website as of August 1, 2023

August 14, 2023  Minutes were posted on the BCS web site with the verbatim motion made by school board member Eltha Booth. This was one day prior to the August 15, 2023 regular board meeting.

August 15, 2023  At the regularly scheduled Board meeting, Ray Leary presented public comments on the delayed posting of the minutes.

August 28, 2023  Board member Hickman requested an item on the September 5, 2023 meeting to rescind the April 20, 2023 motion

August 31, 2023  The Education Committee, representing the Beaufort County Conservative Club, met and advised board members how to present the motion to rescind the 4/20/23 motion.

September 1, 2023  Chairman TW Allen placed a no action discussion of Policy Code 2122 on the September 5, 2023 meeting agenda. No further information.

September 5, 2023  School board work session with Agenda Item 4.5, Discussion of Policy Code 2122:

The Chairman asked Charles Hickman to explain what he was seeking under this item. Charles explained he did not ask for a discussion of Policy 2122, rather he asked for an agenda item to make a motion to rescind the errant motion of April 20. He noted the Board Policy 2340  Parliamentary Procedures, section 8-L allowed for such a procedural motion. After several minutes of discussion this led to Terry Williams making a motion to make this 4.5 agenda item for discussion to an actionable agenda item. The motion passed.

Charles Hickman made the motion to rescind the motion of April 20, 2023. The motion was seconded and passed by an 8-1 vote. The April 20, 2023 motion was rescinded and will be so noted in the minutes.

The video of this interaction at the September 5, 2023 board meeting is presented below.

************

Editors comment: This School Board reminds us of Platos Allegory of The Cave. ChatGPT returns: Plato describes a group of people who have lived chained to the wall of a cave all their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them and give names to these shadows. The shadows are the prisoners reality, but are not accurate representations of the real world1

And now look again, and see what will naturally follow if the prisoners are released and disabused of their error. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will have pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then conceive some one saying to him, that what he saw before was an illusion, but that now, when he is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned towards more real existence, he has a clearer vision, what will be his reply? And you may further imagine that his instructor is pointing to the objects as they pass and requiring him to name them, will he not be perplexed? Will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer than the objects which are now shown to him?   From Book VII of Platos Republic, 380 BC
Here are two anesthesia legal battles in the headlines that Becker's has reported on since Sept. 5:

1. A Fort Lewis, Wash.-based military anesthesiologist Michael Stockin, MD, at Joint Base Lewis McChord has been charged by the Army with alleged sexual assault.

2. A Sioux City, Iowa-based anesthesiologist, Dale Klein, MD, who was fired from MercyOne Siouxland Medical Center in December 2021, is alleging in a lawsuit that he was blacklisted by the hospital's administrators to prevent him from getting another job.
Declining patient volumes and financial challenges are two major factors driving hospital closures this year.

Here are eight hospitals that have closed or announced plans to close so far in 2023:
As COVID-19 cases rise, some hospitals and health systems are bringing back their mask mandates.

Here are nine hospitals and health systems who have updated their mask policies since Aug. 1:

St. Josephs Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, N.Y. brought back its mask policy for its emergency department setting, Syracuse.com reported Sept. 1 Samaritan Health in Watertown, N.Y., again require masks for staff, visitors and patients across all facilities. Nuvance Health in Danbury, Conn. reinstated its mask policy for several locations across the state, according to an Aug. 29 report from Connecticut News 12 Oswego (N.Y.) Hospital issued a 14-day mask policy for all clinical and patient settings. The policy went into effect Aug. 25 and will be reevaluated after 14 days. UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Mass., reinstated a mask mandate for staff Aug. 24, according to CBS News Boston. The policy will be revisited in four weeks. United Health Services in upstate New York brought back mask policies at several locations including UHS Wilson Medical Center, UHS Binghamton General Hospital, UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital and UHS Delaware Valley Hospital, as of Aug. 23. Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center reinstated its mask policy Aug. 22. Auburn (N.Y.) Community Hospital has restored its mask mandate Aug. 18. Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, N.Y., reinstated a mask mandate Aug. 1.
















Jungkook, a member of K-pop juggernaut BTS, will headline 2023 Global Citizen Festival, a large-scale U.S. charity concert set to be held this month, the group's agency said Thursday, citing the festival's official social media accounts.







The Global Citizen Festival is a large-scale charity concert organized by Global Citizen, a New York-based international civic group. The festival has been held annually since 2012 to raise awareness of global issues, such as extreme poverty, hunger and climate change.







This year's edition will be held on Sept. 23 at New York City's Central Park.







Taking part in the 2021 event through online streaming, BTS performed "Permission to Dance" and "Butter" against the backdrop of Sungnyemun, Korea's National Treasure No. 1, also known as Namdaemun.







Jungkook has been named a headliner for the 2023 event, along with rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and pop star Lauryn Hill. Jungkook is the first K-pop solo artist to perform at the festival.







"I'm really excited to participate in this year's Global Citizen Festival as a headliner," the BTS vocalist said through his agency. "I'm happy to be able to join a festival with such a meaningful cause. I want to perform before many people as soon as possible."







Jungkook has also been nominated in the Song of Summer category for his hit solo song "Seven" at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards set to take place Tuesday at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Yonhap)


Legislation pending in the New Jersey legislature could significantly limit noncompetes, according to a Sept. 5 article from law firm Saiber.

Here are five things to know:

1. The legislation would statutorily limit noncompetes to one year and limit the scope to the state's borders.

2. Under the proposed legislation, employers would be required to pay an employee 100 percent of the employee's pay and benefits for the length of the noncompete.

3. "Overly broad" noncompetes would be considered null and void, and courts would lose the ability to edit contracts to make them reasonable.

4. The legislation has been pending in the legislature for over a year, and it is "unclear whether it will gain the momentum necessary to be passed into law," the report said.

5. New York recently passed a bill banning noncompetes, which "could influence the New Jersey Legislature with regard to its pending legislation," according to the report.
This year, the Medical Society of the State of New York collaborated with state officials to defeat 15 pieces of legislation that would expand the scope of practice for nurse practitioners and physician assistants, allowing them to practice without physician supervision, according to a Sept. 6 report from the American Medical Association.

The group also fought to remove scope of practice expansions from a budget proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. New York was one of 15 states that introduced legislation that would allow pharmacists to test and treat patients over the counter without physician involvement.

The medical society attributes its success fighting scope creep to a communications campaign supported by a grant from the AMA. The campaign also educated physicians on the benefits of physician-led, team-based care.

Since 2007, the AMA scope of practice partnership coalition has awarded more than $3.5 million in grants to fund advocacy and awareness campaigns.

New York's medical society used its grant to produce radio ads that played throughout the state, alerting voters to the scope of practice expansion proposals and calling out the differences in education and training between physicians and nonphysicians.

The campaign against one bill that would allow psychologists to have conditional prescribing authority was also bolstered by a letter from the AMA's executive president to New York's legislative leaders.
Bridgeport, W.Va.-based physician Tracey Reilly, MD, has been charged with abusive sexual contact and simple assault, according to a Sept. 6 news release from the Justice Department.

Dr. Reilly, who is employed with Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, W.Va., allegedly touched another employee's breasts and buttocks with the intent of harassing and humiliating them, according to the report.
Knoxville-based East Tennessee Children's Hospital agreed to pay $1.55 million to resolve claims that it failed to protect patient information in a March 2022 data breach, Top Class Actions reported Sept. 7.

The plaintiffs alleged that the hospital should have taken stronger measures to prevent a data breach. By paying the settlement, the hospital doesn't admit to any wrongdoing. Class members who experienced losses resulting from fraud or identity theft can receive up to $5,000 in compensation.

The cyberattack was linked to several weeks of care disruptions, including email and X-ray services being taken offline.
Ibex Medical Analytics, an artificial intelligence-powered cancer diagnostics, raised $55 million in series C financing.

Ibexs Galen platform integrates AI into pathologists workflows. The platform has gone live at Pittsburgh-based UPMC, according to a Sept. 6 Ibex news release. The Israeli company will use the funding to expand further into the U.S.

Venture capital firm 83North led the funding round. The financing brought Ibexs total capital raised to over $100 million.
Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health, the nation's third-largest health system with 143 hospitals, recently said it would be adding its name to its hospitals for the first time.

The Catholic nonprofit will soon lose its distinction as the largest health system without its brand name on any of its hospitals. But which will take its place?

That would be Lifepoint Health, a private-equity backed, for-profit system headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., with 64 community hospitals and 42 specialty hospitals.

"Marketing is about creating a brand that people can have confidence in. Many investor-owned facilities like to keep a more local name, and use their overall name for the market," Thomas Beeman, PhD, a professor of the practice of healthcare administration at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia and a former health system CEO, told Becker's. "If, as in the case of academic medical centers, where there is a lot of prestige, the local hospitals often adopt the name. Sometimes, the names of health systems have no resonance with local communities so it doesn't help."

Of the 10 largest systems that aren't putting their brand names on their hospitals, seven are investor-owned, for-profit systems (including three that are publicly traded), two (Community Health Corp. and Great Plains Health Alliance) are nonprofit hospital management companies, while only one (Ballad Health, formed via a 2018 merger) is a regional nonprofit system.

Nashville, Tenn.-based Ardent Health Services, for instance, is owned by private equity firm Equity Group Investments, real estate investment trust Ventas, and members of Ardent's management team. Its 30 hospitals include regional hospital chains and partnerships with academic organizations such as the University of Texas and University of Kansas health systems.

"Ardent's local market brands have well-established trust with consumers in the communities we serve, with some names being community staples for more than a century," said Reed Smith, chief consumer officer at Ardent. "As Ardent evolves, we are building a consistent consumer experience across our markets that puts consumers at the center of all we do, which includes a trusted name and brand tied to a range of convenient health services."

CommonSpirit Health, meanwhile, was formed through the 2018 merger of the former Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives and San Francisco-based Dignity Health. Many of the Catholic nonprofit's names are still branded as CHI, Dignity Health or some of their former regional systems.

In August, CommonSpirit and Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth folded their joint venture  Centennial, Colo.-based Centura Health  and CommonSpirit said it would be putting its brand name on 20 former Centura hospitals in Colorado, Kansas and Utah, a first for the system.

"It is an exciting opportunity for our neighbors and communities across the country to connect with One CommonSpirit in a new, visible way," a health system spokesperson emailed Becker's.

Meanwhile, Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare was founded in 2001 by cardiologist Prem Reddy, MD, who is its chair, president and CEO. The for-profit system has 45 hospitals, including 14 that are owned by Prime's nonprofit charity foundation. None of them have the Prime name.

"Prime Healthcare rescues and transforms hospitals across the country, and many of these hospitals have a storied history and name recognition that should be respected and maintained, said Beth Nickels, vice president of communications and public relations. "Prime's hospitals are often named after the communities they serve, and as a family of hospitals, we are unified in our mission, values, and commitment to serving all who seek us for care."

She said Prime doesn't have any plans to change that, other than adding a "member of Prime Healthcare" tagline to its hospitals in advertising materials.

"Many of Quorum Health's affiliated hospitals have names that reflect local geographical or cultural elements," said Lisa Anderson, vice president of marketing and corporate communications for that 13-hospital private equity-owned system based in Brentwood, Tenn. "These hospitals have been caring for generations of families locally and we recognize the value in preserving their names  for residents and employees."

Here is the list of the 10 biggest systems that don't have their brand names on any of their hospitals (or plans to add them):

1. Lifepoint Health (Brentwood, Tenn.): 106 hospitals

2. ScionHealth (Louisville, Ky.): 94 hospitals

3. Community Health Systems (Franklin, Tenn.): 78 hospitals

4. Tenet Healthcare (Dallas): 61 hospitals

5. Prime Healthcare (Ontario, Calif.): 45 hospitals

6. Great Plains Health Alliance (Wichita, Kan.): 35 hospitals

7. Ardent Health Services (Nashville, Tenn.): 30 hospitals

8. Community Hospital Corp. (Plano, Texas): 28 hospitals

9. Universal Health Services (King of Prussia, Pa.): 27 hospitals

10. Ballad Health (Johnson City, Tenn.): 21 hospitals
In relaying the departure of CEO Rosalind Brewer on Sept. 1, Walgreens said it was looking for a replacement with "deep healthcare experience."

But could that person come from the hospital industry?

Experts told Becker's a new CEO with hospital experience is possible given Walgreens' push into directly providing healthcare. In 2021, the company paid $5.2 billion for a majority stake in primary care chain VillageMD. Earlier this year, VillageMD acquired provider group Summit Health for $8.9 billion, giving it more than 700 practices across 26 markets.

"Walgreens is very focused on building out the healthcare side of its business.  As such, it wants a CEO who has deep experience in the complex landscape of healthcare," Neil Saunders, an analyst with GlobalData Retail, told Becker's. "Someone with a background in the hospital industry, which is at the sharp end of healthcare, may fit the bill. However, I suspect Walgreens will cast the net very wide across all parts of the healthcare sector."

But it wouldn't be entirely without precedent. Two other healthcare disruptors  Walmart Health and Amazon's One Medical  both have hospital industry veterans at the helm. Brian Setzer, executive vice president of health and wellness for Walmart, is a former top executive with Pittsburgh-based Highmark Health. Both the outgoing and incoming CEOs of One Medical  Amir Dan Rubin and Trent Green  have years of experience in the hospital C-suite.

But both Walmart Health and One Medical are parts of larger conglomerates. Despite Walgreens Boots Alliance's forays into healthcare  the company also bought home health provider CareCentrix outright in March  pharmacy and retail still drive the vast majority of its revenues.

"We believe that the relationship between Roz and Walgreens soured due to the slow profitability ramp-up of WBA's U.S. healthcare business and expect the company to bring in someone who can appropriately guide this new business in the right path," Morningstar equity analyst Keonhee Kim told Becker's.

Asked whether that person could come from the hospital business, Mr. Kim said: "That is a difficult call to make, and management has not provided any information on where they will recruit the new CEO from."

Ms. Brewer arrived at Walgreens in 2021 after serving as COO of Starbucks and president and CEO of Sam's Club. Interim CEO Ginger Graham, a longtime Walgreens board member, comes from a pharma and medtech background. A Walgreens spokesperson told Becker's it wasn't providing any additional comment beyond what was in the Sept. 1 press release.

"Ginger is the ideal person to serve as interim CEO, given her leadership experience across multiple segments of the healthcare industry, deep knowledge of WBA, and strong operational skills," Walgreens executive chair Stefano Pessina said in the release. "Our board and leadership team will intensify our focus on creating value for our customers and our shareholders while we advance the search for a successor with deep healthcare experience to lead in today's dynamic environment."
Davis, Calif.-based CommuniCare Health Centers received $1.5 million in federal funds to install Epic across its eight locations, Sacramento Business Journal reported Sept. 7.

The health system will use the funding to pay for the implementation fee. CommuniCare will pay out of pocket to train employees on Epic and perform maintenance on the system.

Health system officials aim for the Epic system to allow them to easily receive and send patient records to other hospitals. The news comes as CommuniCare looks to merge with Napa, Calif.-based OLE Health.

"As we are challenged in recruiting and retaining quality providers into our system, this is a great recruitment tool to say we're on Epic," CommuniCare CEO Melissa Marshall, MD, told the Journal.
CMS has fined four more hospitals for alleged price transparency violations, according to a Sept. 1 update to its price transparency enforcement website.

The four hospitals were fined between Aug. 22 and 23, according to the website:

Jacksonville, Fla.-based UF Health North was fined $979,000.

Lares, Puerto Rico-based Hospital General Castaner was fined $101,400.

Dunn, N.C.-based Betsy Johnson Hospital was fined $99,540.

Samaritan Hospital-Albany (N.Y.) Memorial Campus was fined $56,940.

The hospitals have 30 days from the issuance date to appeal the fines.

UF Health's fine is the largest levied to date by CMS for price transparency violations, surpassing Atlanta-based Northside Hospital, which was fined $883,180.

CMS also fined three hospitals in July. It is the first time CMS has fined hospitals in back-to-back months. Two of those hospitals, Salem, Ark.-based Fulton County Hospital and Chicago-based Community First Medical Center, are appealing those fines; those fines are under review. Wichita Falls, Texas-based Kell West Medical Center, which was issued a fine in April, is also appealing its punishment. That fine is also under review.

To date, 11 hospitals have been fined for price transparency violations.
Wauwatosa, Wis.-based Froedtert Health has made a deal with Sherrie Williams, an African American cosmetologist, to source hair care products for its patients.

Ms. Williams' brand, Simplistic BSC, is shipping shampoo, conditioner and bonnets to the health system, which will offer them to all patients in all hospitals, according to a Sept. 1 interview with NBC affiliate TMJ4.

Simplistic BSC's products are designed for African American hair, which can require more specialized care than most stores and hospitals provide, according to Ms. Williams. She began mixing her own hair care products because she could not find any in major retailers for people of her race.

"The deal will impact hospitals by providing a product that everyone can benefit from," Ms. Williams told Afrotech in an interview. "The complaints and lawsuits for hair loss due to products used in hospitals will stop. Also some hospitals that African Americans wouldn't normally go to may have a change of mind when [they] realize diversity has been included. It's a small but big statement."

The partnership is the first of its kind between an African American-owned hair care line and a major health system.

"It's not just one race sick in hospitals, it's all races," Ms. Williams said, "and with African Americans embracing our natural hair, we need something in hospitals that will not strip it."
Woori Financial Group Chairman and CEO Yim Jong-yong speaks during his visit to a special branch office of the group's flagship affiliate, Woori Bank, that offers tailor-made services for senior citizens in Seoul, in this March 30 file photo. Courtesy of Woori Financial Group



By Yi Whan-woo



Woori Financial Group Chairman and CEO Yim Jong-yong will travel to London next week, engaging in his first overseas investor relations trip after he took office in March.



Yim will be one of the members of a delegation led by Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Governor Lee Bok-hyun, to promote the financial soundness of Korean finance services firms as well as their efforts in digital innovation and improving the environment for foreign investors.



Lee will host relevant events on Sept. 13.



"The trip will be meaningful as Yim will meet investors abroad for the first time as the group chairman," Woori Financial Group noted in a press release.



It explained that the topics to be addressed by Yim will include the group's yearly outlook concerning business performance, its policy on shareholder returns and growth capabilities in the long term.



The chairman has been pushing to improve investor sentiment for the company, purchasing 10,000 shares of the company's stocks, Sept. 6, amid its underwhelming performance on the benchmark KOSPI.



The company said the chairman bought each share for 11,880 won, bringing the total value to 118.8 million won ($88,900).



The banking group's share was priced as high as 13,440 won in January but has mostly stayed in the mid- to upper 11,000 won range since Yim took office, due to market risks associated with an economic slowdown in Korea.



The sluggish performance of the firm on the stock market raised concerns over its push to diversify its non-banking business portfolio after it ended more than two decades of government-led ownership and was fully privatized in 2021.



In particular, the company is interested in acquiring an insurer and a brokerage house. It is the country's only major banking group without such units.




Christopher Soska, former chief operating officer of Cleveland Clinic Martin Health in Stuart, Fla., has taken a new role in Wisconsin.

Mr. Soska is the new president of Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic Health System's Wausau-Weston Region and River Region, according to a Sept. 7 LinkedIn post. He assumed the role recently after a lengthy career with Cleveland Clinic  including stints as system executive director of hospital and ambulatory operations and system executive director of shared services in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio.
HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital has named Jeff Taylor its next CEO.

Mr. Taylor has more than 17 years of experience in healthcare administration, including 12 with Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, according to a Sept. 5 news release from the hospital operator. He most recently served as CEO of HCA's Summerville (S.C.) Medical Center.
Matt Wille will leave his position as president and CEO of Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Mich.

Mr. Wille is leaving to pursue a new role as COO of ThedaCare, according to a Sept. 7 news release. The departure comes as Milwaukee-based Froedtert and Neenah, Wis.-based ThedaCare have signed a definitive agreement to merge into an 18-hospital system.

Mr. Wille joined Munson Medical Center in 2019 from Allina Health's United Hospital in St. Paul, Minn. His last day at the organization will be Oct. 6, according to the release.

Kathy LaRaia, vice president of oncology and professional services, will serve as interim president of Munson Medical Center.

Munson Medical Center is part of Munson Healthcare, an eight-hospital system based in Traverse City.
Miami Beach, Fla.-based Mount Sinai Medical Center has purchased a $32 million development site in a move to expand its brand, TheRealDeal reported Sept. 6.

The health system purchased 5.6 acres in unincorporated west Miami-Dade County, although it did not release details on what the development is set to become.

Mount Sinai Medical Center's CEO told TheRealDeal that the move is part of the organization's ongoing growth plan.

"The recent land purchase in Westchester is part of a larger strategy intended to expand access to our brand," he said.

The land has two commercial buildings on it.
West Virginia may have one of the least healthy populations in the U.S., and there has to be much more focus on preventive health initiatives as a result, Albert Wright, CEO of Morgantown, W.Va.-based WVU Medicine, told Becker's in a recent interview.

He knows it's a long haul. But it's something that needs to be done over time, and taking steps to reach the eventual goal is all part of the plan.

"Rural healthcare is hard, but it's really hard to commit to it," Mr. Wright said. "You have to lean into it, understand the finances of rural healthcare, the models and the infrastructure."

One initiative to begin the long journey toward improved healthcare outcomes in WVU's home state is the formation of a Medicare Advantage program with the 24-hospital system's Peak Health insurance plan, which will begin Jan. 1. Rather than operate on a fee-for-service model, payments will be capitated.

More preventive screening and home monitoring of patients could be the result of such an initiative, Mr. Wright said.

"The way you change the health trajectory in a population is to incentivize both the patient and the health system, and we see that as an investment in preventive care."

Commitment showing in results?

Even as expenses rose, the system, the largest private employer in West Virginia, recently reported a 3 percent operating margin with operating income of $89.2 million on revenues of $2.9 billion for the first half of 2023.

While management described the 130 days' cash on hand at the time as of "significant concern," steps were being taken to improve the system's accounts receivable to "refocus on generating some cash," Mr. Wright said.

The system is also committed to capping its corporate overhead at 7.5 percent of its net revenue. Such overhead includes departments such as IT, legal services and human resources.

"That's a good secret sauce for us," Mr. Wright said. "It used to be between 9.5 and 10 percent."

As well as West Virginia, WVU Medicine also operates in Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Mr. Wright also talked with Scott Becker on a recent podcast. For more details, click here.
Members of the California Nurses Association held a one-day strike Sept. 6 at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital.

The union represents more than 250 nurses at the hospital, which is part of Cedars-Sinai, a nonprofit academic healthcare organization based in Los Angeles.

The nurses' contract with the hospital expired Feb. 28, and the two began negotiating a new labor contract in early 2023. By August, union members had voted to authorize a strike. Cedars-Sinai said in a statement shared with Becker's that during negotiations, the hospital had "hoped to avoid a strike with highly competitive contract offers that reward the skill, talent and dedication of our represented registered nurses while securing their long-term future as our hospital grows." However, the hospital prepared to remain fully open and operational during the strike, which included arranging for replacement nurses to cover for employed nurses who chose to strike.

The union contends the hospital has failed to adequately address nurse recruitment and retention issues affecting patient care during negotiations. "Cedars-Sinai management is driving nurses away from our hospital faster than they can hire them. We're striking because enough is enough. It's time management gets serious about the conditions driving nurses away from our facility. A fair contract that implements nurses' solutions to these problems is the best way to do that," Sophia Sabido, RN, said in a Sept. 5 union news release.

"While we respect the right of our represented registered nurses to participate in a strike, we strongly believe these kinds of activities distract from important work that can be done only through constructive discussions at the bargaining table," Cedars-Sinai said in its statement. "We have already reached agreement on many mutually important topics."






Officials at Memphis, Mo.-based Scotland County Hospital are attempting to have dismissed aspects of a lawsuit filed against an executive and the hospital itself by its former CEO, according to a Sept. 6 Missouri Independent report.

Randall Tobler, MD, sued over slander and defamation allegations, saying it was falsely stated he embezzled $16 million from the hospital. He was fired from his position in August 2022.

Achim Hoyal, who was offered a lucrative contract to serve as interim CFO after then-CFO Michael Brandon was also terminated with Dr. Tobler, is the only executive named in the lawsuit. The hospital is not seeking to dismiss allegations it violated state law on not holding open meetings in the case, according to the newspaper report.

No charges have been filed based on the allegations against Dr. Tobler, whose attorney, Ryan Harding, said Mr. Hoyal should face consequences for the allegations against his client.

"The hospital and Hoyal shouldn't escape liability for the damage done to Tobler's reputation and accusing someone of stealing money from their employer is defamation per se," he said.

A ruling is expected next week, according to the report. Becker's has reached out to the hospital for comment.
An Oklahoma nurse pleaded guilty to replacing pain medication with tap water.

Rebecca Holloway, 32, was a nurse in the intensive care unit at Mercy Hospital in Ardmore, Okla., according to a Sept. 5 Justice Department press release. She admitted to stealing fentanyl and hydromorphone and refilling empty vials with tap water before returning them to the controlled storage locker in March and April of 2022.

A Mercy spokesperson told Becker's, "As soon as leaders became aware of an issue April 22, 2022, involving a co-worker, the co-worker was removed from patient care and Mercy began looking into the situation. The appropriate state and federal authorities were notified as required by state and federal law. The co-worker was terminated May 6, 2022, as a result of Mercy's internal investigation."

Ms. Holloway was charged and pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with consumer products, which has a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Her sentencing is at a later date.
The victim in a possible murder-suicide at a Mississippi hospital has died, NBC affiliate WLBT reported Sept. 6.

On Sept. 5, Cecil Ivey, 95, reportedly entered the room of his 92-year-old wife, Loyce, around 2 a.m. at Jackson-based Baptist Memorial Hospital and allegedly shot her, then went into another room and shot himself.

Mr. Ivey was pronounced dead at the scene, and Ms. Ivey was in critical condition until she died the next day.

A hospital spokesperson told Becker's: "We are shocked by the domestic-related shooting involving a patient and their spouse in their early 90s that occurred in our hospital overnight. None of our staff or other patients were involved or harmed, and we have enacted our security protocols as a precaution."
Lupin, a Mumbai, India-based drug company, is collaborating with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. to sell its generic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease drug through the mail-order pharmacy.

Lupin's generic solution of tiotropium bromide inhalation powder is "the only generic product available that is therapeutically equivalent" to the brand-name Spiriva HandiHaler made by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Lupin said in a Sept. 6 news release.

Cost Plus Drugs' website says the drug costs $439 at a retail pharmacy, and it's selling the COPD drug for $361.

Four other updates on Mark Cuban's drug company:

1. Cost Plus Drugs began selling TheracosBio's Brenzavvy (bexagliflozin), a Type 2 diabetes medication, in July. It was the 10th brand-name drug to be added to the company's portfolio.

2. The company is constructing an $11 million drug manufacturing facility in Dallas that's focused on producing drugs commonly falling into shortage. CEO and co-founder Alex Oshmyansky, MD, PhD, said Cost Plus Drugs plans to sell drugs to hospitals in fall 2023.

3. Its network of affiliate pharmacies increased from about 100 to more than 2,000 after securing deals with pharmacy chains spanning multiple states, including Kroger.

4. In mid-August, Blue Shield of California restructured its pharmacy services to shrink its yearslong contract with CVS and add Cost Plus Drugs as a preferred pharmacy network.
Headquarters of DGB Daegu Bank in Korea's southeastern city of Daegu / Korea Times file



By Yi Whan-woo



The government's plan to increase the number of commercial banks operating nationwide faces a setback amid a slew of financial irregularities in the banking industry.



According to media report, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) extended its inspection of DGB Daegu Bank, which was scheduled to end on Sept. 1.



The Daegu-headquartered regional lender has been going through an inspection after it was revealed that its sales agents at multiple branches forged documents related to customers and opened more than 1,000 accounts under their names to increase sales.



The financial regulator reportedly extended the inspection on determination that it needs scrupulous review over the bank's internal control system.



With the extending of the inspection, it has become virtually impossible for DGB Daegu Bank to seek a transition into a nationwide bank within this year. The Daegu-headquartered regional lender has been pushing to expand across the country and serve the government's hope to tackle the oligopoly of a handful of large, Seoul-headquartered banks.



The situation at DGB, however, raises concerns over internal regulatory controls across the banking industry.



Subsequently, financial regulators are facing growing calls to think over boosting the number of banks in the name of tackling the oligopoly in the banking industry, without making sure they are trustworthy in managing customers' money and information.



Some industry sources alleged that DGB Daegu Bank tried to cover up suspicions concerning its sales agents to win approval to go nationwide, but the bank has flatly denied the allegation.



"Under the circumstances, it may be appropriate for the financial regulator to restore rules and order in the banking industry instead of expanding the size of the industry," a source said. "The oligopoly within the industry will only get worse if the problem is not resolved."



The financial regulator wanted to break the oligopoly of nationwide banks, namely KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NH NongHyup, by allowing promising new competitors into the market.



The regional banks have been less competent compared with their Seoul-based competitors, because regional lenders operate mainly in their cities or provinces of origin, whereas the nationwide banks run business throughout the country, meaning they naturally have a bigger pool of customers.


CMS has proposed establishing staffing requirements in nursing homes, touting the effort as a way to improve quality and safety at these facilities. However, a national group representing hospitals is expressing concerns that this approach could be significant for the broader continuum of care that won't resolve the structural healthcare workforce shortages.

On Sept. 1, CMS issued its proposed rule, which includes, for the first time, national minimum nurse staffing standards for nursing homes. The proposal would require nursing homes that receive Medicare and Medicaid funding to provide residents with a minimum of 0.55 hours of care from a registered nurse per resident per day, and 2.45 hours of care from a nurse aide per resident per day, CMS said. The agency estimates about 75 percent of nursing homes would have to strengthen staffing to comply, and it proposes that implementation of the final requirements will occur in three phases over three years for non-rural facilities.

"Establishing minimum staffing standards for nursing homes will improve resident safety and promote high-quality care so residents and their families can have peace of mind," HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a news release. "When facilities are understaffed, residents suffer. They might be unable to use the bathroom, shower, maintain hygiene, change clothes, get out of bed, or have someone respond to their call for assistance. Comprehensive staffing reforms can improve working conditions, leading to higher wages and better retention for this dedicated workforce."

But representatives from the American Hospital Association told Becker's they are concerned about the effort, especially given the complexity of healthcare staffing.

Akin Demehin, AHA senior director of quality and safety policy, specifically called the proposal a "one-size-fits-all" approach, "which we think takes away the vital role of clinical judgment and the facts on the ground as nursing leaders know them in helping to staff nursing facilities."

Mr. Demehin also cited potential effects a minimum level may have on hospitals if nursing homes are forced to close and it becomes harder to find a nursing home to discharge patients to. An analysis of federal data by The Wall Street Journal found that at least 600 nursing homes have closed in the last six years. At the same time, the AHA found that discharges to post-acute facilities climbed 24 percent between 2019 and 2022.

"This can have real ripple effects throughout the [continuum of care]," Mr. Demehin said. "The longer that a patient has to wait for a placement in a skilled nursing facility or other post-acute care facility, the longer they'll be in the hospital, and that can create some spillover effects for the rest of the hospital."

For example, patients may face longer wait times in emergency departments to get onto an inpatient unit, he added.

Caitlin Gillooley, director of quality and behavioral health policy at AHA, told Becker's she is also concerned that the CMS proposal is unsustainable without additionally robust and long-term plans to support the nursing workforce.

President Joe Biden's administration has announced more than $75 million in financial incentives, such as scholarships and tuition reimbursement, to support staffing in nursing homes. Miranda Lynch-Smith, senior official performing the duties of the assistant secretary for planning and evaluation within HHS, said in a news release that pay is "an important part of job quality and drive challenges in recruitment and retention of direct care workers. Our research shows that in many places these workers can earn higher wages doing other entry-level work."

Ms. Gillooley commended the investment but said more needs to be done given the magnitude of the workforce that is needed to care for older Americans and those in long-term care facilities.

"We really do have a long-term structural challenge with respect to the healthcare workforce," Mr. Demehin said. "These challenges have been building over decades, and putting a minimum staffing level in place doesn't solve that structural challenge. And it may lead to other challenges that we've described."






Electric Ireland has confirmed that there will be no price cuts for Northern Ireland customers, after announcing a 10% reduction in tariffs for its customers in the Republic.

On Thursday, Electric Ireland announced new tariffs that will see gas and electricity bills for more than one million households in the Republic reduced by up to 490 (421) per year.

Its electricity charges are coming down by 10% while gas will fall by 12%.

However, Electric Ireland, which is Northern Irelands third-largest electricity provider, has confirmed that there will be no price cuts for its 100,000 Northern Irish customers.

A spokesperson said: Todays pricing announcement in the Republic of Ireland does not apply to Northern Ireland. Electric Irelands business in Northern Ireland is required to operate separately to the Republic of Ireland business with different market requirements.

Aodhan ODonnell, founder of energy price comparison website Power to Switch, said that although electricity may all be bought from a single market on an all-Ireland basis, different jurisdictional charges, including taxes and infrastructural costs, can lead to discrepancies in prices between the jurisdictions.

Currently using the same amount of energy, if you are on a standard rate with Electric Ireland in Northern Ireland, you're going to be paying [more than consumers in the Republic], said Mr ODonnell.

However, he added that looking at Electric Irelands default standing charges does not give consumers the whole picture.

While the standing charges [for customers in Northern Ireland] are more expensive, they are competitive, if not more competitive, when it comes to discount rates, said Mr ODonnell.

According to Mr ODonnell, Northern Irish consumers can benefit from rates discounted up to 30%, while this is drastically reduced to 5.5% for consumers in the Republic.

He said that while suppliers, like Electric Ireland, often offer deals based on discounted prices, these are only typically valid for one year, after which they roll back onto the higher standard rates.

Mr ODonnell added: That really shifts the onus onto consumers to search out the data and the discount rates.

It emerged this week that Power NI, Northern Irelands leading electricity provider, would not be changing its tariffs following a review by Northern Irelands Utility Regulator.

But the Regulator said that combined gas and electricity bills for Northern Ireland remain on average 10% higher than those in Great Britain.

Customers of Power NI and SSE Airtricity in Northern Ireland will be paying around 2,415 a year for their electricity and gas, compared to a typical combined bill of 2,138 in Great Britain.

But customers of gas supplier Firmus Energy will see their tariffs reduced by nearly 8% following the review by the Utility Regulator.

Electric Ireland, which this week faced criticism after a fault left many of its keypad customers in Northern Ireland without electricity, said: We continue to monitor energy prices and when we are in a position to pass on any price decreases to customers, will do so.

As part of the latest review, the Utility Regulator confirmed that tariffs for the remaining regulated energy provider, SSE Airtricity, would remain the same.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak has accused the Conservatives of delivering a broken economic model during their time in office, rewarding wealth not work (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The leader of the TUC has accused the Conservatives of delivering a broken economic model during their time in office, rewarding wealth not work.

General secretary Paul Nowak called for an end to the grotesque inequality of the Tory era, which he said has been a disaster for working people.

In an interview with the PA news agency, he said workers have witnessed an unprecedented squeeze on their wages, in stark contrast to the highest paid in society.

We need to have political change in Westminster, and a national conversation about taxing wealth and windfalls to fix broken Britain, he said.

Ahead of the annual TUC Congress, which opens in Liverpool this weekend, Mr Nowak said living standards have plummeted and public services are on their knees, which has led to an unprecedented year of strikes across the country by hundreds of thousands of workers,

He said unions have won important deals in the private sector, and forced the Government to change its position on pay for public sector workers including teachers and civil servants.

We have demonstrated the difference unions can make, and our focus now is to continue to grow the union movement because we have a positive message to tell, he said.

Mr Nowak said the main cause of the strikes is a Government with no plan for boosting wages or building public services.

It is a Government without a message of hope.

Mr Nowak said unions know life would not be perfect under a Labour government, but the party is promising a new deal for workers, as well as repealing the legislation on minimum levels of service during strikes.

He confirmed the TUC is exploring a legal challenge to the new law and warned of a whole-movement response if and when the first worker is sacked as a result of the legislation.

The TUC has published a survey of more than 2,000 adults which showed significant cross-party support for increasing taxes on wealth and excess profits.

Three-quarters of respondents supported a windfall tax on banks excess profits  including 76% of Conservative 2019 voters, said the TUC.

Mr Nowak said huge inequality has become the norm in Britain, with official figures showing that the richest 1% of households each have wealth of more than 3.6 million, and the least wealthy 10% have 15,400 or less.

Chief executives pay is booming, City bonuses have been at a record level for the past two years, and banks and energy giants have been registering record profits, while workers are suffering the worst pay crisis in 200 years, said the TUC.

Mr Nowak added: Its time to end the grotesque inequality of the Tory era.

As households across the country have struggled to put food on the table, energy companies and banks have registered eyewatering profits, and chief executive pay has skyrocketed.

The wealthiest have feathered their nests while working people have suffered the worst pay crisis in two centuries.

Rampant inequalities are the direct result of a broken Tory economic model that rewards wealth not work.

We need a reset, and an economy that delivers better living standards for all, not just those at the top.

Our current tax system isnt fit for purpose. A nurse will pay a bigger share of their income in tax than a City trader does on profits from their investment portfolio.

Thats not only absurd and unfair  its bad for our economy and our public services too.

The public overwhelmingly back increased taxes on the wealthiest and companies that have made massive profits.

Its only right that the wealthiest pay their fair share.
Kourtney Kardashian is eternally grateful to her husband and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker for postponing a Belfast gig to be by her side in hospital during a pregnancy scare.

The reality TV star was pictured leaving a medical facility with her husband at the weekend.

Kourtney took to Instagram on Wednesday night to express relief following the health complication.

I will be forever grateful to my incredible doctors for saving our baby's life, she wrote.

"I am eternally grateful to my husband who rushed to my side from tour to be with me in the hospital and take care of me afterwards, my rock.

"And to my mom, thank you for holding my hand through this.

The wellness guru and Lemme founder told fans she has a newfound respect for mothers who have faced difficulties during pregnancy.

"As someone who has had three really easy pregnancies in the past, I wasn't prepared for the fear of rushing into urgent fetal surgery, she continued.

"I don't think anyone who hasn't been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear.

"I have a whole new understanding and respect for the mamas who have had to fight for their babies while pregnant.

"Praise be to God.

"Walking out of the hospital with my baby boy in my tummy and safe was the truest blessing.

It comes after Blink-182 postponed their upcoming Belfast due to Travis Barker having to return home due to an urgent family matter.

The punk rock band were due to play the SSE Arena Belfast on September 4 as part of their comeback world tour  their first in over 10 years.

The Glasgow and Dublin shows have also been postponed by the multi-platinum, award-winning bands whose hits include First Date and Feeling This.

Travis recently appeared in his son Landon Barkers TikTok after returning to California.

Kourtney announced she was pregnant with the couples first child together in June at a Blink-182 concert.

She stood in front of the crowd with a sign that read Travis, Im pregnant in a nod to the bands music video for their hit song All the Small Things.

The mum-of-three has given fans insights into her fourth pregnancy journey revealed the gender of her unborn baby on with a carousel of photos from her maternity shoot with Travis back in June.

Kourtney donned a form-fitting, long-sleeved blue dress with a sleek black belt purposely positioned under her bump.

The caption read: Little drummer boy coming soon.
Presenters Jermaine Jenas (back left) and Alex Jones (back right) with (left to right) Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Hannah Spearritt, Jon Lee, Rachel Stevens, Bradley McIntosh and Jo OMeara, of S Club 7 and actor Neil McDermott. (Jonathan Brady/PA)

S Club members have spoken about how their hearts feel emptier following the death of their bandmate Paul Cattermole.

The band has asked the public on Friday to back a campaign from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) following Cattermoles death at the age of 46 in April.

S Club 7 had announced in February that they were reforming for a 25th anniversary reunion tour.

Hannah Spearritt later said she would now not be joining the tour and the band has since rebranded to a five-piece as S Club  with Rachel Stevens, Bradley McIntosh, Jo OMeara, Jon Lee and Tina Barrett.

Paul Cattermole died at the age of 46 in April (S Club)

Lee, also known for his career in musical theatre, said: As a band we all personally know the devastating affect heart and circulatory diseases can have on peoples lives.

Our hearts feel emptier without him, and we miss him every single day.

Its heartbreaking to know that this isnt uncommon and far too many people die too soon from heart conditions they didnt know they had.

Thats why were asking everyone to show their heart and join the BHF by shining a spotlight on these conditions this September.

The band are encouraging fans to raise awareness with the hand heart gesture to show their support and hashtag #showyourhearts.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive at the British Heart Foundation, said: Were honoured to be joining forces with S Club to shine a spotlight on heart and circulatory conditions in memory of their beloved band member Paul.

Like too many families across the UK, Pauls loved ones only knew he had a heart condition after his tragic death at such a young age.

Hidden heart conditions cut people down in the prime of their lives and rob families of their loved ones in sudden and shocking ways.

Jon Lee (Ian West/PA)

S Club as a seven piece were known for hits including Reach, Dont Stop Movin and their debut Bring It All Back.

They were originally created by former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller in 1998 and disbanded in 2003.

They briefly got back together in 2014 to perform a medley of their best-known songs for the BBC Children In Need appeal.

The reformed group are still planning on embarking on their UK and Ireland arena tour later this year, which they said will be a celebration of all the hits.

It will begin on October 12 at Manchesters AO Arena before continuing to cities including London, Dublin, Glasgow, Newcastle and Liverpool.
The artwork will go on display at the Kelvingrove (Estate of Alasdair Gray/PA)

A mural by the late Alasdair Gray depicting post-war Glasgow will go on display at the gallery where the artist learnt to draw, after being acquired for the public.

Gray, a writer and artist, fondly recalled how childhood art classes at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum were one of the happiest times of his life.

He graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1957 and was credited with sparking a renaissance for Scottish culture until his death in 2019.

Gray described the mural, Cowcaddens Streetscape In The Fifties, as my best big oil painting, and it is recognised as one of his most significant artworks.

Dating from 1964, the painting shows a hilly street at night surrounded by Victorian spires and industrial pylons, with tenement flats illuminated, and sharply dressed young men walking down the street.

It has been added to Glasgow Life Museums collection with help from the National Fund for Acquisitions, administered with Scottish Government funding by National Museums Scotland.

It was previously owned by Grays friend Angela Mullane.

The painting will be conserved at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, where academics and fans will be able to see it through tours and research appointments.

It will then go on display at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, where Gray learnt to draw after his mother took him to classes there.

It was inspired by Garnethill and the canal near where the Alasdair Gray Archive is based.

Hand-painted shop signs and old-fashioned streetlights which still exist in Garnethill, a conservation area with connections to Charles Rennie Mackintosh, depict the citys visual character.

It shows a city of changing demographics, with a parent chasing a child down the street, and an old man with a peaked cap taking his whippet for a walk outside a pub.

A couple can be seen walking with their arms around each other towards industrial Port Dundas in the north of the city, while St Aloysius Church in Garnethill can be seen to the south.

The painting, which measures more than two metres wide, is described as bold and innovative in its use of altered perspective and time shift to portray the city and the stages of life of its inhabitants by the estate of Gray.

It was a key part of Grays retrospective, From The Personal To The Universal, at Kelvingrove in 2014.

Speaking about the impact of the gallery on his life, Gray said: I started making maps when I was small showing places, resources, where the enemy and where love lay.

Artist Alasdair Gray died in 2019 (Estate of Alasdair Gray/PA)

One day mum put some of my scribblings in a handbag and took me by tram to Kelvingrove.

She had read in a newspaper that Miss Jean Irwin held an art class on Saturday mornings in Kelvingrove. I drifted around looking at what these kids painted while mum showed my scribbles to Miss Irwin, who let me join her class.

For the next five years, Saturday mornings were my happiest times.

Bailie Annette Christie, chair of Glasgow Life, said: This painting is a remarkable addition to our collection of works by the legendary Alasdair Gray.

It is a powerful image of Glasgow by an artist with strong links to the city and belongs in a public collection where Glaswegians and visitors can enjoy it.

Acquisitions like this strengthen Glasgows world-class museum collections.

They also help people to get involved in and feel inspired by the culture our city has to offer.

Hazel Williamson, National Fund for Acquisitions manager, said: Were delighted to support the acquisition of this important work by Alasdair Gray, one of the most significant figures in Scottish art and literature during the post-war era.

The Estate of Alasdair Gray said: I am thankful for the city of Glasgow purchasing the Cowcaddens Streetscape on behalf of the citizens of Glasgow, Scotland and art lovers around the world.

The Alasdair Gray Archive said: This is Alasdair Grays most significant painting, and it is timely that it is now housed within the citys main public galleries.
Top Boy star Saffron Hocking has said the impact her domestic abuse storyline has had on survivors worldwide means more than anything (Philipp Raheem/Cosmopolitan UK/PA)

Top Boy star Saffron Hocking has said accolades are great but the impact her domestic abuse storyline has had on survivors worldwide means more than anything.

The 29-year-old was nominated for best supporting actress at the 2023 Bafta Television Awards following her portrayal of heavily pregnant Lauryn Lawrence, who was being coercively controlled by her partner and his sister, in the second series of the gritty drama on Netflix.

The third and final series is set to launch on the streaming service on Thursday.

Saffron Hocking is the new Cosmopolitan UK digital cover star (Philipp Raheem/Cosmopolitan UK/PA)

Hocking, who is an ambassador for Refuge, said the support she received from the charity was invaluable ahead of portraying a domestic abuse survivor on the series.

I felt that weight of responsibility for the first time in my acting career, she told Cosmopolitan UK.

Its an incredible storyline to have as an actor  something to sink your teeth into. Then the fear: I cannot get this wrong.

It would be my nightmare to portray something that wasnt real or relatable, or that amplified abuse negatively. I needed to find those people on the front line.

Saffron Hocking was nominated for best supporting actress at the 2023 Bafta Television Awards for her role in Top Boy (Philipp Raheem/Cosmopolitan UK/PA)

She continued: Accolades are great, but women from all over the world thanking me for embodying their stories is incredible.

I dont think I was totally prepared for that.

Ive received so many messages from survivors around the world  I took all the time to reply, usually in floods of tears That meant more than anything coming from my peers in the industry.

Hocking also said she wants to continue to challenge misconceptions with the parts she plays.

The actress, who is supporting a Make It Mandatory campaign calling for the signs of domestic abuse and coercive control to be taught in schools, said: This experience has broadened my acting, but also really awakened something in me.

I want to take on those roles that are meaningful for people It makes my job feel special.

Drake, Ashley Walters, Micheal Ward and Little Simz attend the UK premiere of Top Boy at the Hackney Picturehouse in London (Ian West/PA)

Top Boy first aired on Channel 4, starting in 2011, before it was revived by Netflix in 2019 following interest from rapper Drake, who serves as an executive producer on the new incarnation.

Created and written by Ronan Bennett, the show is set on the fictional Summerhouse Estate in Hackney, east London, and features gang kingpins Dushane and Sully, played by Ashley Walters and Kane Kano Robinson, as they ruthlessly strive to become the dominant local top boys.

It was previously announced that Oscar nominee Barry Keoghan and Brian Gleeson will join the show alongside returning cast members including rapper Little Simz, whose real name is Simbi Ajikawo.
The new cafe will create 15 jobs

An Australian-owned bakery specialising in muffins has arrived in Belfast with a 200,000 investment, creating 15 jobs.

Muffin Break has opened the new cafe, complete with scratch bakery, in CastleCourt Shopping Centre.

The chain already has one location in Newrys Buttercrane Shopping Centre and is aiming to further increase its Northern Ireland footprint, actively looking for new franchise opportunities across the country.

Scott Nicholas, National Operations Manager of FoodCo UK promised that the new cafe would bring premium coffee and fresh baked goods to Belfast.

He added: The response from shoppers to our Newry cafe has been incredible and weve been working hard to find the perfect location in Belfast. Centrally located, with a corner unit on the ground floor, Muffin Break, CastleCourt, presents the ideal location for coffee lovers to relax and for shoppers to try one of our famous muffins and light bites from our breakfast and lunch menus.

Muffin Breaks new outlet is open seven days a week, Monday to Saturday, 7.30am to 6pm, with late night opening on a Thursday and Sunday, from 12pm until 6pm. The bakery cafe is located at the Berry Street entrance to CastleCourt. Muffin Break, Belfast will be available on Deliveroo in the near future.

Commenting on Muffin Breaks new store location, CastleCourt Centre Manager, Leona Barr comments: As part of the ongoing programme of new store openings at CastleCourt this year, we are delighted to welcome Muffin Break to CastleCourt and to Belfast.

This quality brand complements our existing Food and Beverage line up and further enhances our mix of food, retail and leisure offer at the centre.

Owned by the FoodCo Group, the first Muffin Break bakery cafe in the UK opened its doors in 2001 and has now a footprint of 65 outlets nationwide, including its two Northern Ireland locations.

Muffin Breaks new store in CastleCourt, Belfast, sets the stage for a new chapter in FoodCos growth. In addition to this latest Muffin Break opening, last month, the FoodCo Group opened its second Jamaica Blue cafe as part of its planned expansion in Northern Ireland. It opened in Corn Market in Belfast, adding to the existing store in Forestside.
Travelers line up at check-in counters of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport, June 20. Newsis



By Lee Hae-rin



Japan continues to rank among the top holiday destination for Koreans despite Tokyo's release of treated wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, an issue that has raised anti-Japanese sentiment here.



A Seoul-based office worker surnamed Park said she will also visit Japan in a few weeks, although she is hesitant to eat local seafood for safety reasons. As a consumer, the wastewater issue seems "less of a political but more of a safety issue" for her, unlike the once-fervent "boycott Japan" campaign in Korea in 2019, she added.



Seoul resident surnamed Kim also chose Japan as her holiday destination.



She will depart for Japan in two weeks to explore Japanese cuisine and culture. As someone who has avoided buying Japanese products since 2019, she feels "slightly guilty" about choosing to travel to Japan amid the ongoing controversy.



"However, the country still has much to offer in terms of cultural exchange and does not deserve to be boycotted over an international matter," she added.



Kim and Park are among many Koreans visiting Japan.



One out of every three foreign inbound visitors to Japan, or over 3.75 million out of 13 million, were Korean nationals from January to July this year, according to the Japanese National Tourism Organization's (JNTO) statistics.



This is in stark contrast to 2019, when Koreans launched a "boycott Japan" campaign in response to Tokyo's economic retaliation. At that time, anti-Japan sentiment dissuaded many Korean consumers from traveling to Japan and purchasing Japanese products, which resulted in a steep decline in imports of Japan-made products and the exodus of Japanese brands in Korea.



According to Hana Tour, Korea's largest travel agency, Thursday, package tour reservations to Japan surged 34.6 percent for the upcoming Chuseok holiday from Sept. 28 to Oct. 3, compared to the previous week.



Another major travel agency, Modetour Network, said it suffered no damage from the wastewater issue in sales.



Both travel agencies confirmed that no complaints or cancellation requests were filed after the wastewater issue emerged and viewed Japan as likely to remain high for some time on the list of preferred holiday destinations alongside Southeast Asian countries.



Korea-Japan flights from key international airports, including Incheon, Jeju Island and Busan, show 80 to 90-percent booking rates. In response to soaring demand, domestic airlines such as Air Seoul and T-way have decided to increase the number of flights between the two countries for the Chuseok holiday season.



JNTO's Seoul office also confirmed that Koreans' preference for travel to Japan is likely to continue, regardless of the public's negative sentiments towards the wastewater discharge.



"Japan's geographic proximity, price competitiveness due to the weak yen and Japan's tourism infrastructure make the country an attractive destination for Korean travelers," a JNTO official said.


Former Miss NI contestant said the animal had been a great help during her brothers recovery from illness

As well as studying at Belfast Bible College, Anna is also a model and former Miss NI contestant

The 20-year-old student said she had grown very fond of Teal during the 12 weeks

Fostering a guide dog during her younger brothers recovery from illness was an emotional experience, a Co Down student and former Miss Northern Ireland contestant has said.

Anna Robinson (20) provided a home for guide dog Teal after seeing a flyer appealing for volunteers in a coffee shop.

The Moneyreagh woman said her family had been thinking about getting a dog for a while, but after her younger brother Ben was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma cancer, their plans were put on the back burner.

With Bens treatment plans, nobody was going to be in the house during the day, she told the Belfast Telegraph.

He would go into hospital every other week, so we didnt want to get a dog because it would have been unfair to leave it in the house during the day.

When I got Teal, Ben was just finished [his treatment] and having Teal there was great because he was a very gentle dog through his recovery. He almost knew Ben wasnt as able as we were and he was very good with him.

As well as studying at Belfast Bible College, Anna is also a model and former Miss NI contestant

After her first enquiry, Anna attended an interview with Guide Dogs  who facilitate the process of fostering a dog  and took on some basic training in the legalities and practicalities of owning a dog.

An initial five-day period quickly snowballed into a period of 12 weeks that saw the Belfast Bible College student and budding model develop a relationship with Teal.

To be honest, the five days were just so great I said Id keep him for the 10 weeks and then he needed a little extra training so he stayed for another two, she said.

We did build a relationship; hes a very emotional dog so was attached to my hip, but I guess thats the best quality of a guide dog.

I work for a youth organisation too so I have to spend my hours with teams, and he was able to come down with me, go into coffee shops and spend time with teenagers, which is great.

He was a wee comfort for them too and it really helped build on conversations. Kids are so anxious now after Covid, more kids are less social. With Teal it meant they had something to do as they were talking, so I loved bringing him in.

I do miss him, because I was so used to having him, but I didnt really get upset about it because I knew he was going to someone and changing their life.

When you have that mindset that hes going to do something good, I was happy to give him back in a sense.

Since Teal left Annas side, she has spotted him out and about a number of times in his new role as a guide dog.

Its weird how close to home he is. Ive seen him, but he hasnt seen me; Ive never approached him. Ive seen him twice in the car and then once I was right behind him, she said.

Its really rewarding, because you feel part of something that is so important and so special. To see the man that has him now out and about doing daily things he probably couldnt have before, Teal makes that easier.

The 20-year-old student said she had grown very fond of Teal during the 12 weeks

Since the experience, both Anna and her brother are hoping to foster more dogs in the future.

You do need a bit of a break between dogs, because it is quite full on, but I loved it and would definitely do it again, she said.

Ben, through seeing me look after Teal, just wants to do it as well. Hes going to Belfast Met, which is so close to the Guide Dogs office, so once hes physically better, hes going to do it. Hes very determined.

I would encourage people to even think about it or look into it a bit more. Its something I just applied for on a whim but it changed my perspective on things. There is a lot more work goes into those dogs than I could have imagined, but its so rewarding.

"I definitely think people should consider it because its so joyful.

To find out more about volunteering for Guide Dogs, call 0345 143 0191 or visit: guidedogs.org.uk/volunteer
Shepherd, who had played for Leeds United and Luton Town player in the 1990s was a trusted courier for the gang

Lawyers for former Leeds United player Paul Shepherd said he was full of remorse and regret after he was convicted for his role in a major cocaine-trafficking gang.

Shepherd, who had played for Leeds and Luton Town player in the 1990s was a trusted courier for the gang that had been busted when their coded phone messages were cracked by the authorities.

He played one senior game for Leeds  a 3-0 Premiership defeat to Arsenal at Highbury in 1996.

Shepherd was one of four underworld members who had been overheard talking about the wholesale buying and selling of massive quantities of high-grade cocaine for 42,000 per kilogramme, and cutting it with agents before selling it on.

However, they had no idea that the secret EncroChat service they were using had been compromised in April 2020, allowing police to monitor conversations.

The gang who were in contact with other criminals in Liverpool, Teesside and Kent, used a flat on Armley Road in Leeds, to cut the drugs before they were bagged up and sold on.

Shepherd, O'Flaherty, Marshall and Blakey

Ringleader Carl OFlaherty was jailed for 17 years and 10 months at Leeds Crown Court this week while Shepherd, who collected cash from around the country for OFlaherty, was jailed for nine years and six months.

The gangs chef Dane Marshall, whose job was to cut the cocaine with diluents before repackaging it to be sold on, was handed down a six years and six months sentence.

Clinton Blakey, who discussed buying kilogrammes of cocaine from OFlaherty was jailed for 12 years, plus three years and six months recall to serve additionally for a previous drugs conviction.

As well as their involvement in drugs, Shepherd and Marshall were charged with money-laundering offences.

Marshall had succeeded in securing a 50,000 Government bounce back Covid-19 business loan for a landscaping company he used as a front as there was no evidence there was ever any legitimate work taking place.

OFlaherty (38) of Leysolme Terrace, Wortley, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine, producing and conspiracy to supply amphetamine, among other offences including dangerous driving after an unrelated road-rage incident.

Shepherd (45) of Wensleydale Court, Chapel Allerton, was found guilty after a trial of conspiracy to supply cocaine, producing and conspiracy to supply amphetamine, money laundering and other offences.

Marshall (42) of Whinbrook Court, Moortown, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and acquiring criminal property.

Blakey (38) was extradited back to the UK in May this year from Marbella in Spain, where he fled after failing to appear at Leeds Magistrates Court three years ago for his first appearance. He admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis.

Saul Brody, mitigating for OFlaherty said he accepted he played a leading role.

While he was ascending the criminal ladder, he had not planted his flag on any summits. He was not quite yet a big-time character, he was maybe on his way but did not reach those heights yet, Mr Brody said, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Mr Brody said OFlaherty been held on remand for three years awaiting sentence, which is the longest he has ever known for a defendant.

Richard Simons, for Shepard, said that despite him being found guilty during a trial, he was full of remorse and regret.

Representing Marshall, Shila Whitehead said he had asked to be put on remand over a year ago because he knew he was expecting a lengthy sentence.

In mitigating for Blakey, Matthew Buckland said he had begun a new life in Spain as a personal trainer but accepted he must face a sentence.
The woman has a previous conviction for indecent exposure after she was seen having sex on a Belfast street with a man in 2020

A mother-of-four who performed a sex act with a man in view of passers by in a busy Dublin park in broad daylight has been jailed for two months.

Gardai found Natasha Rice (37) asleep on the grass with her accomplice, Peter OGorman, when they arrived but a search of his phone uncovered graphic pictures he had taken of their sexual activities.

The alarm had been raised by a distressed bystander who called 999.

Rice had a previous conviction for indecent exposure in Northern Ireland after she was seen having sex on a Belfast street with a man in 2020.

In the latest incident, the accused, with an address at Parliament Street in central Dublin, pleaded guilty to offensive conduct of a sexual nature on September 22, 2021.

Dublin District Court was told it happened at Our Ladys Park on Botanic Avenue in Drumcondra.

Detective Garda Eoin Morrison said he went to the small park by the river Tolka in response to a 999 call from a member of the public who had witnessed the pair engaged in sexual activity.

On arriving at 7.25pm, he encountered Rice and OGorman lying beside each other asleep on the grass, in a state of some intoxication.

OGorman was dealt with by the courts previously and sentenced to six months in prison.

On the day, OGorman was arrested for public order offences and his mobile phone was seized. When analysed, it contained images of the pair engaging in sexual activity at that location earlier in the evening, Det Gda Morrison said.

The images were previously described as graphic.

From the time stamp, the incident happened at 4.30pm, when it was still bright out and the area was busy.

She was offered an opportunity to make a statement in relation to the images and did not wish to do so, Det Gda Morrison said.

Rice had 214 previous convictions. As well as indecent exposure in Northern Ireland, she also had prior convictions for offences including assault, trespass and theft.

In September 2020, Rice and a 51 year old man were filmed having sex near a busy Belfast road junction.

Rice and Adrian Butler were spared jail but put on the sex offenders' register.

It happened on September 12, 2020 in Cromac Street, in the Market area, near the junction of East Bridge Street which is a major route into the city centre.

Natasha Rice filmed having sex on Cromac Street, Belfast City centre in September 2020.

Regarding the incident in Dublin, Rices lawyer said the accused had been in a "difficult set of circumstances" as she was homeless and had significant struggles with alcohol.

She was sleeping rough in the park and was intoxicated at the time, he said. This was what led up to the events. She is very apologetic for what she has done and knows its not an acceptable thing to do.

Rice was now engaged to another man. They had a couples room in the hotel she was staying in and risked losing that accommodation if her current one-month prison sentence for theft was extended. She was taking steps to address her alcoholism, the lawyer said, asking the judge not to add to her current sentence.

Judge Smyth noted her previous convictions and the fact that Rice had earlier pleaded not guilty.
By video-link from Hydebank womens prison, Kelly Ann Bradley entered guilty pleas to two counts of drugs into Maghaberry (Credit: Third Street Studios)

Appearing at Craigavon Crown Court by video-link from Hydebank womens prison, 36-year-old Kelly Ann Bradley entered guilty pleas to two counts of drugs into the maximum security jail on September 28 last year.

The Belfast woman took list A articles, namely buprenorphine and bromazolam, into HMP Maghaberry.

While she denied two further charges of having the class C drugs with intent to supply, prosecuting lawyer Joseph Murphy said it was clear by her pleas that Bradley accepted she intended to supply them to her partner who was a prisoner.

Read more Mum-of-four jailed for engaging in sex act with man in busy city park

Defence counsel Caitriona Keenan revealed that although Bradley is a sentenced prisoner herself, she is due to be released next week so in addition to applying for a pre-sentence report, she was also asking the court to order a pre-sentence probation report.

Granting Bradley 100 bail with a condition to live on the Antrim Road in north Belfast, Judge Patrick Lynch LC adjourned passing sentence until October 13.

In July this year, Bradley was jailed for nine months for stealing more than 1,000 worth of stock during repeated raids on a Co Antrim homeware store.

Belfast Magistrates Court heard the Antrim Road woman targeted The Range three times in less than a week as part of a stealing spree to fund her drug habit.

In one incident on June 13, a vacuum cleaner and air fryer worth a combined 150 were taken from the store.

Read more Linfield yob hits out at 'bulls**t' lifetime ban for throwing water balloon at fans

She was also dealt with for the theft of three bottles of vodka from a Spar outlet in Belfast last September.

District Judge Ted Magill told Bradley: This was a catalogue of offences, you were stealing in order to fund a drug habit.

Imposing three months for the latest thefts, Mr Magill also activated previous suspended terms to bring the total custodial sentence to nine months.

On that occasion Bradley was granted bail pending an appeal against her sentence.
Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick has called for the support to be reinstated.

The NIHE have said the decision will now be subject to an equality assessment

The NI Housing Executives restrictions on discretionary housing payments (DHPs) will lead to homelessness and destitution, an academic and anti-poverty campaigner has said.

DHPs are intended to help tenants living in the private rented sector sustain their tenancy and alleviate homelessness. They provide extra help with rent if Universal Credit or Housing Benefit does not fully cover the rent charge.

NIHE has said it has been overspending its 2023-24 budget at a rate of 150,000-200,000 per month since April, with cuts to Barnett consequentials  extra funding given to the devolved governments as a result of new spending in England  also having an impact.

It said its 6.49m budget would run out by November 2023 at the current rate of spending. During the previous two years, NIHE figures showed an underspend of approximately 2m each year, money NIHE say could not be carried over to 2023-24.

Letters have been sent to claimants who have been receiving the support for two years or longer to inform them that the payments would be ending.

Anyone still eligible to claim will have that support capped at a maximum of 20 per week.

No consultation was carried out ahead of the move, which will now be subject to an equality impact assessment (EQIA).

Meanwhile, a guide providing information on how to apply for a discretionary housing payment (DHP) and the circumstances in which it could be awarded has been removed from the NIHE website.

The NIHE said it was removed as the information it contained was no longer applicable.

Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick

Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick, Ulster University academic and anti-poverty campaigner, said she was seriously concerned by the cuts.

It is unfathomable that thousands of renters will lose Discretionary Housing Payments which support sustainable tenancies, in the current economic context, where rent has increased at an unprecedented 10% in the last 12 months and demand for the payments has increased exponentially.

This means that many more households, particularly those in the private rented sector will face a larger gap between what they will receive and their rental costs.

There is little doubt that homelessness and destitution will increase as people struggle to meet the cost of rent and other essentials as we head towards the winter months.

It is crucial that the NIHE immediately reinstate Discretionary Housing Payments that have been stopped and negotiate with the Secretary of State to secure more funding to prevent a significant homelessness.

One claimant from Co Antrim, who did not wish to be named, said the removal of the payments highlighted the need for an increase in housing allowance.

Things happen like your housing benefit stops because your universal credit changes by a penny and youre not finding out for six weeks, he told the Belfast Telegraph.

Then your landlord is phoning you wondering whats going on. It needs an increase in the local housing allowance. In reality, 409 does not cover a private rented house and when discretionary payments have to pick up the bill here, thats where the problem is.

The man said the stress of constantly having to fight his corner had taken a severe toll on his mental health.

I feel like scum. Ive worked all my life. By Christmas Ill have no money to live on. I shouldnt have to deal with this stress, he said.

They need to think about what is happening to people who are disadvantaged. I have had to avail of services like Lifeline to talk about things because money is so tight.

The whole place is adrift. This is how people like me are feeling what the politicians are doing. They are hitting the people in poverty and it is only going to lead to peoples deaths.

Read more Concern as NI housing waiting list continues to grow with over 45,000 applicants

The NIHE said the move marked a return to arrangements which had been in place until December 2021.

Previously, discretionary payments were limited to a maximum of two years, said a spokesperson.

In December 2021, support was extended beyond two years  this was to be kept under review and would be subject to budget availability. As a result of the cost of living crisis, there has been increased demand for discretionary housing payments.

We have maximised the available budget to help vulnerable people living in the private rented sector, as well as Housing Benefit customers impacted by the loss of the Family Premium.

After review  and in order to ensure we effectively manage the remaining budget  we have decided to revert back to the previous position of not providing funding beyond the two year period.

We must stress that while immediate steps must be taken to protect the remaining budget, no final decisions on the way forward have been made.

These decisions will be informed by the outcome of an Equality Screening process.

Meanwhile, if a recipient is not satisfied with a decision in their case, they may request a review via telephone, email or letter and this will be considered by the relevant manager in the customers local Housing Benefit Unit.
Police deal with on-going disorder in the Creggan area of Derry following a search operation. Credit: Northern Ireland Emergency Response Videos.

Police deal with on-going disorder in the Creggan area of Derry following a search operation. Credit: Northern Ireland Emergency Response Videos.

A photo of the suspected firearm found in the Creggan area of Derry on Thursday September 7, 2023.

Police are dealing with disorder in Creggan area of Derry.

An officer has been struck in the head after police came under attack while carrying out anti-terror raids and seizing a suspected firearm in Londonderry.

A number of suspected pipe bombs and a quantity of suspected ammunition have also been recovered during a series of search operations before being taken for forensic examination.

The leader of the SDLP Colum Eastwood has called for calm after rioting broke out in the Creggan area during three searches on Thursday afternoon.

Dozens of officers wearing riot gear have come under attack on Creevagh Heights near Blighs Lane.

Watch: Police deal with ongoing disorder in Creggan area of Derry following search operation

Large crowds including masked youths have gathered on the streets with some seen throwing stones and petrol bombs at PSNI Land Rovers.

A quantity of cash was also recovered in the operation with one of the searches ongoing.

Rocks, masonry, steel poles and traffic cones were thrown at police, a PSNI spokesperson said.

"One officer has been struck on the head.

Police remain in the area and would urge the public to avoid the area if possible.

A photo of the suspected firearm found in the Creggan area of Derry on Thursday September 7, 2023.

Detectives from the PSNIs Terrorism Investigation Unit (TIU) conducted three searches in Creggan as part of an ongoing terror probe.

Two of the searches have been completed.

A PSNI spokesperson previously said: Disorder developed this afternoon, at around 4pm in Creevagh Heights.

"Petrol bombs, rocks, masonry, steel poles and traffic cones were thrown at police, damaging police land rovers.

"Police remain in the area and would urge drivers to avoid the area if possible.

Police deal with on-going disorder in the Creggan area of Derry following a search operation. Credit: Northern Ireland Emergency Response Videos.

Derry City and Strabane Superintendent William Calderwood added: "The search in Creevagh Heights is continuing.

"We appreciate the disruption search activity can have but I want to reassure you of this  our presence in the area and activity we carry out is about keeping people safe.

"That is our priority and we would appeal for calm."

Eastwood appeals for end to Creggan disorder

SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood MP appealed for an end to disorder in the Creggan area of Derry after police recovered a firearm, ammunition and suspected pipe bomb material during a series of searches.

He said: The disorder on the streets of our city tonight needs to come to an end.

"There is nothing to be gained from attacking police officers in Derry, the young kids involved are only putting themselves and their futures in jeopardy, he said.

"I understand the frustration that people in our community experience during prolonged searches but this is not the way to respond.

"I am appealing for parents to get in touch with their children, to make sure they know where they are and that they are safe this evening.

Commenting specifically on the recovery of a suspected firearm and suspected pipe bombs and ammunition, Mr Eastwood described the development as clearly deeply concerning.

"There is no place for any of this in our city or anywhere in the North, he added.

People here want to leave in peace with their neighbours.

"Those who want to bring violence back to our community for their own ends have nothing to offer and have been rejected by the people of Derry and Ireland.

The SDLP will be meeting with the PSNI in the coming days to discuss these matters.
A controversial planning application for a 30m oil terminal outside Whitehead has been approved by Mid and East Antrim Borough Councils Planning Committee.

An application for the redevelopment of Cloghan Point was given the go-ahead at a meeting on Thursday morning despite 400 letters of objection.

Paul Duffy, the councils head of planning, told the committee the proposal is for the redevelopment of an existing oil terminal at Cloghan Point which currently stores oil reserves for the Republic of Ireland.

The application seeks to provide an import, storage and distribution facility for petrol, dual purpose kerosene, gas oil and diesel as well as the import, storage and blending of bio fuels.

It will also involve the demolition of existing buildings and chimney stack as well as jetty modifications, vapour recovery unit, four new storage tanks and operations building.

The committee heard the terminal was constructed more than 40 years ago to facilitate distribution of heavy fuel oil to Kilroot Power Station and Ballylumford Power Station in Islandmagee.

Members were told the site must be maintained in a safe, operational condition.

Mr Duffy went on to say an environmental statement includes an assessment of alternative sites which he said have been discounted for various reasons.

He noted the proposed redevelopment of an existing site meets policy requirements and would have no significant impact on the rural character adding that re-location of the terminal would not be possible.

He indicated a 30m redevelopment of the site would make a significant contribution to the local economy leading to the creation of 30 full-time jobs.

He said 300 vehicle movements daily is anticipated at the site which would be operational 24 hours but would be expected mostly between 6am and 10pm.

We are of the view that the development would not result in capacity issues at the junction of the A2 at Quay Lane. Traffic generation would have an insignificant effect on the surrounding highway network. The development will not have an unacceptable impact on tourism, he said.

He noted 400 letters of objection to the proposal with concerns about climate change, local roads, and the marine environment of Belfast Lough as well as encouraging further dependency on fossil fuels.

However, Mr Duffy suggested transition to a renewable source of energy will take time.

In the meantime, we will need a reliable source of fuels. Northern Ireland depends on the import of fuels such as gas and oil, he said.

He also noted there were concerns raised about potential environmental impact.

He reported the Northern Ireland Environment Agency has advised that it is content that this has been adequately assessed and has concluded the project will not have an adverse impact.

East Antrim Alliance MLA Danny Donnelly said the proposed development would have a very significant impact on the area with the arrival of tankers transporting fuel from the United States and Middle East.

The application deviates significantly from previous use which has been a static site with little activity, he said,

He also suggested there would be a high impact on the A2 with vehicles from the site travelling through Eden, Carrickfergus and Whiteabbey past primary schools along the route.

He emphasised the need to move away from fossil fuels saying that this requires a transition period.

I believe it will be detrimental to the area, he stated.

Professor Geraint Ellis, who represented the No to Cloghan Point campaign group, said that there was lack of evidence of public interest benefit.

The Queens University planning professor suggested the recommendation to approve was based on presumption.

Its emphasis is on existing use which has a long history of storage. Distribution is a completely new activity, he said.

He asked for conditions limiting hours of operation at the site, if the application is approved.

Planning agent Tom Stokes told the committee the Cookstown-based LCC Group bought the terminal which opened at Cloghan Point in 1980 from AES Kilroot.

He noted 68% of homes in Northern Ireland depend on oil for heating. He stressed the environmental impact assessment was robust and all statutory consultees were satisfied.

He indicated the development plan seeks to redevelop and use local infrastructure, adding: This proposal will result in sustainable reuse of an existing facility.

He also said if approved, it would provide 250 construction jobs and yield rates estimated at 25m over 20 years.

A proposal to approve the application was made by DUP councillor Tyler Hoey, seconded by Ulster Unionist Alan Barr and approved by the committee unanimously.

Commenting on social media after the decision to grant permission, Prof Ellis said: Our focus is now on Dept of Infrastructure to ask them to call it in so it can be assessed more thoroughly.
The selection process for the next Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is to complete in November.

Deirdre Toner, chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said the process of finding a new chief constable has begun and the recruitment competition will open at the end of September.

It follows the resignation last week of former chief constable Simon Byrne following a string of controversies.

The PSNIs oversight body met behind closed doors for most of Thursday.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd and chief operating officer Pamela McCreedy attended at one stage in the afternoon for a briefing.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd attended the meeting on Thursday afternoon (Liam McBurney/PA)

In a press conference on Thursday evening, Ms Toner said recent board meetings have not been held in public due to the sensitive nature of what was being discussed.

She said the board agreed the timescale and started the process for the appointment of a new chief constable, with the selection process scheduled to complete in early November.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris welcomed the statement.

Their priority of delivering stability is correct and I fully agree that officers and staff throughout the PSNI deserve everyones support, he said.

I look forward to continuing to work closely with the PSNIs senior leadership team, who have a wealth of experience and are dedicated to keeping the people of Northern Ireland safe.

Pressure has been mounting on the leadership of the PSNI after a data breach which disclosed personal details of officers and staff, and a critical High Court judgment which said the disciplining of two officers following an arrest at a Troubles memorial event in Belfast in 2021 was unlawful.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton was to assume the responsibilities of the chief.

He had been expected to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, on Wednesday but was unable to attend due to an unplanned medical procedure.

Ms Toner said she expects Mr Hamilton to be back at his desk in a few days.

She added he is still in that role and some duties have been delegated to his senior management team.

Vice-chair of the board Edgar Jardine said yes when asked if the assistant chief constables were currently in charge.

Ms Toner emphasised that as well as the data breach, the PSNI is also facing an extremely difficult financial position that needs to be resolved, including recovery and financial implications of the data breach.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton was unable to attend a Police Federation meeting (Liam McBurney/PA)

The boards priority over the last few days has been to bring stability and confidence in what has been an unprecedented time for policing, and for our role as a Policing Board, she said.

At this time, we also appreciate that police officers and staff at all levels across the organisation continue to deliver an essential public service to the community and deserve everyones support.

During the meeting of the Police Federation on Wednesday, the federation unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Hamilton, and also expressed no confidence in Ms McCreedy and assistant chief officer Clare Duffield.

There have been calls for the appointment of an interim leader to steer the service during the period of crisis.

Ms Toner said the authority gaps within the force need to be addressed and were discussed on Thursday, but that public commentary on confidence in individuals on the services senior leadership team is not endorsed by the board.

Ms Toner also rejected criticisms that the board is not working around the clock to fix all of the issues that we need to look at.

She said there were complex legal and HR issues to navigate, and a funding crisis that faced the police force.

It is a challenging board, she said.

Mr Jardine said the structures of the Policing Board were designed to work within a functioning Assembly and the fact that power-sharing institutions were not operating does create difficulties, not least the absence of a finance minister.

Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly speaks to the media following a meeting in Belfast to discuss the recruitment of a new chief constable for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. (Liam McBurney/PA)

Speaking after the meeting, Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly said they want to stabilise the situation and look for the way forward for police.

There is a huge gap which is confidence in policing, and we need to make the moves which build towards that, he said.

Things wont happen in a day, probably wont happen in a few days but I can certainly say with some confidence that today this board has moved the process forward.

DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said he felt the board was making quick progress in starting the process to find a new chief constable.

Democratic Unionist Party MLA Trevor Clarke (Liam McBurney/PA)

Ultimately the confidence we want to give the public today is the process in terms of the chief constable has started, well be in a position that youll hear of an offer in early November  you cant under estimate the work the Policing Board has put in to get to that stage, he said.

Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister hailed progress, but said there is a long way to go.

I do accept that there is a long way to go, that there are more steps to take but we are making good progress but it is not over until we see all of those reviews and the recommendations that are laid within, she said.
The former Fianna Fail leader said an approach based on the Stormont House Agreement should be taken.

Mr Ahern has said King Charles should not sign into law the new legislation

King Charles should not give his assent to a controversial Troubles legacy legislation that ignores civil and human rights, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said.

On Tuesday, MPs in the House of Commons rejected amendments from the House of Lords to the bill, which is now on the verge of becoming law.

It includes a form of limited immunity for some perpetrators of crimes committed during the Northern Ireland Troubles and would also prevent future civil cases and inquests into legacy offences.

Read more Protest against the Government's proposed legacy Bill has taken place in Belfast

The bill has been condemned by victims groups and politicians across Northern Ireland.

Mr Ahern said the British government should not be asking King Charles to sign off on legislation on which nobody agrees.

"If it was an Irish position, we would be looking to the President not to sign the bill, he told RTEs Today With Claire Byrne show.

Read more Troubles victims accuse Government of abandoning them with Legacy Bill

"I dont know what the King can do, but he seems to be a fair person, he understands Ireland; they should not be asking him to sign a bill that is clearly against civil rights and human rights.

Why bring everyone to this point when this bill should be stood down? If it was Michael D (Higgins), I could not see him signing this legislation.

Mr Ahern has said King Charles should not sign into law the new legislation

Mr Ahern also criticised the methodology of appealing to perpetrators to come forward of their own accord.

"The belief is that people will come forward or be contactable and make statements saying they have a case to answer, he said.

We know in the 100 years of Irish history that what happens is that people dont come forward. There might be a handful on their deathbed, but youre not going to get people coming forward.

"Im not too sure why the British government have pushed this so strongly. Clearly there is a lobby within the Tory party that believe that for the vets they should deal with this issue.

"I understand that a lot of vets have looked at this issue and feel this isnt the way to go.

"You never should bring in legislation you know is not workable, and they know this wont work.

The former Fianna Fail leader stopped short of calling for the Irish government to take inter-state legal action against the UK Government, but said there should be an appeal for a more workable arrangement.

"Ive met victims groups and Ive always tried to be honest and say I cannot see a system that can deal with every case ad infinitum into the future, he said.

"But you can try and deal with cases where there is new evidence which is what the Stormont House Agreement was.

"This legislation  which is effectively saying that criminal cases, civil cases, inquests would all be gone  seems to be a very cruel way of dealing with victims.

What may happen is either the Irish government deal with this  which is being talked about today by the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste  or individuals will take it to court. One way or another, this is headed to court."
Irish premier Leo Varadkar believes there will be a united Ireland in his lifetime (PA)

Irish premier Leo Varadkar believes there will be a united Ireland in his lifetime.

The Taoiseach also urged people to consider those in Northern Ireland who identify as British, and what actions could be construed by them as deeply offensive.

Mr Varadkar made the comments after being asked about the Wolfe Tones, an Irish folk band that drew the largest ever crowd to a tent at the Electric Picnic music festival in Stradbally, Co Laois, at the weekend.

The Wolfe Tones have subsequently announced their 60th anniversary concert on October 12 at Dublins 3Arena, which has a capacity of 13,000.

The band regularly spark debate over their song Celtic Symphony, which contains the words: Ooh, ahh, up the Ra.

Asked about the popularity of the band, Mr Varadkar said he was at the music festival at the weekend but didnt get a chance to see the Wolfe Tones or the Saw Doctors.

I probably have a more sanguine view of this than maybe other people, he told RTE Radios News at One.

People like ballads and they like songs that they can sing along to.

I think some people maybe read too much into the politics of this.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar believes there will be a united Ireland in his lifetime (PA)

But there is one thing that I would say: I believe we are on the path to unification.

I believe that there will be a united Ireland in my lifetime, and in that united Ireland there is going to be a minority, roughly a million people who are British.

And you judge the success and the quality of a country by the way it treats its minorities and thats something were going to have to think about.

Because what is, you know, a Republican ballad  a nice song to sing, easy words to learn for some people  can be deeply offensive to other people.

Bear in mind in the southern (US) states, for example, when people sing about the confederacy and Robert E Lee, they think its an expression of their culture and so on, and thats what they say.

But that is deeply offensive to the minority, the black community in America and if were going to unite this country and unite the people of this country, a bit like (Co Down comedian and The Late Late Show host) Patrick Kielty says, we just need to have a think about how our words and how the songs we sing might be heard by other people.

Mr Varadkar faced some criticism for stating in 2021 that Irish reunification could happen in his lifetime.

In January this year, he declined to answer whether he thought there would be a united Ireland in his lifetime during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

He said at the time that EU-UK talks on renegotiating the Northern Ireland Protocol  arrangements that outline post-Brexit trade arrangements for the region  had reached a sensitive stage.

Opposition party Sinn Fein has repeatedly called on the Irish government to set up a Citizens Assembly on Irish unity, which would see 100 citizens discuss issues around how unification would work in practice.




North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may opt for an unexpected route when he travels to Russia for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, according to South Korea's spy agency Thursday.







The New York Times reported earlier this week that Kim plans to travel to Russia's Vladivostok, possibly by armored train, later this month for talks with Putin about the possibility of supplying Russia with more weaponry for its war in Ukraine and other military cooperation.







"As it was revealed to the New York Times, there is a possibility of Kim Jong-un making a surprise move by choosing a different route than what is expected," a National Intelligence Service (NIS) official reported during a parliamentary intelligence committee meeting, according to Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling People Power Party.







During the meeting, NIS Director Kim Kyou-hyun said the agency is closely monitoring the planned visit and sharing intelligence with other national spy agencies as a summit between the North and Russia would have a big effect on the international situation.







The New York Times report said a delegation of some 20 North Korean officials traveled to Vladivostok in late August, indicating an upcoming trip by the North Korean leader. (Yonhap)


Childcare and early education reform will be key for four in 10 voters in their decision on who to back in a general election, according to a survey (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Childcare and early education reform will be key for four in 10 voters in their decision on who to back in a general election, a survey has suggested.

The research from the Early Education and Childcare Coalition (EECC) found that 51% think early education and childcare is about supporting a childs development and wellbeing, rather than just being a safe place for parents to leave their children.

Almost two-thirds (59%) of voters said they believe good early years education benefits the whole country, rather than just parents, while 42% said childcare and early education reform will be key in their decision about who to vote for in the next election.

The online polling by research agency More in Common of 2,046 adults from across Great Britain in April was published as the EECC  a coalition formed by more than 30 organisations representing parents, children, providers, those working in early education, and businesses  was officially launched at Westminster on Thursday.

Some 40% of those who took part across England, Scotland and Wales said they support investing more taxpayers money in early education and childcare even if it means higher taxes for everyone.

Just under half (44%) said they think those working in childcare and early education are underpaid, while 31% believe childcare staff are undervalued.

Almost half of all voters (49%) said well-trained staff is an important factor when it comes to providing good-quality early education and childcare, with more than a third (36%) saying the same about decent pay.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced reforms for England in the Budget in March which will allow some families of children as young as nine months to claim 30 hours of free childcare a week.

From April next year, working parents of two-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare. This will be extended to working parents of all children older than nine months from September next year.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced reforms for England in the Budget in March which will allow some families to claim 30 hours of free childcare a week (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

EECC acting director Sarah Ronan said: Right now, we have an opportunity to truly transform the future of early education and childcare through sustainable reform of the sector.

Voters understand that we all benefit from an early education and childcare sector with the right investment. Politicians need to understand that too, and invest accordingly.

Its clear from our data that childcare reform is not just a priority for parents now but for future parents too, and for grandparents who often find themselves plugging the gap created by the current broken system.

British voters have told us here that they think the early education workforce is underpaid and undervalued.

Parents dont want cheap childcare at the expense of quality or safety. They care about their childrens experience, and, importantly, they care about the people that care for and educate their children.

Christina McAnea, general secretary of trade union Unison, which is a member of the coalition, said: All children deserve high-quality care and education delivered by well-paid professionals.

But early-years staff have endured more than a decade of wage freezes and below-average pay awards. The cost-of-living crisis has devalued their income even further, causing staff to leave for better-paid work.

A proper wage is an investment in the workforce, leading to higher quality early-years care and learning.

Responding to the research, the Early Years Alliance said previous manifesto pledges and policies have focused on promising more and more free childcare, with no thought given to how to make this work in practice

Its chief executive, Neil Leitch, said: As the Coalitions research shows, all political parties need to head into next election with the early years at the heart of their respective policy agendas.

Anything less will not only fail to persuade voters but, in the long term, put the entire future of the sector at risk.

A Government spokeswoman said: We are rolling out the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever, expanding 30 free hours of childcare for working parents down to nine-months-old over the next two years, which is set to save a working parent using 30 hours of childcare up to an average of 6,500 per year.

At the same time, we are increasing the funding paid to nurseries to deliver free government hours with a 204 million cash boost this year and 288 million next year  which can be used to fund staff salaries, training and wider costs.

By 2027/28 we expect to be spending 8 billion in total every year to support parents with flexible and affordable childcare and give children the best quality early years education.
Queen Elizabeth II welcomed Ms Truss to her home in the Scottish Highlands on September 6 2022 (Jane Barlow/PA)

The late Queen told former prime minister Liz Truss they would be meeting again soon at her final official engagement before her death.

Ms Truss opened up about her last encounter with Queen Elizabeth II in Balmoral Castle just two days before the monarch died.

Speaking to GB News to mark the first anniversary of the late Queens death and recounting the period that followed, Ms Truss recalled the King was very, very resolute when she spoke to him on the phone the day his mother died and his reign began.

The late Queen had welcomed Ms Truss to her home in the Scottish Highlands on September 6 2022 to appoint her prime minister, with health issues meaning she was not able to travel to London to do so.

The late Queen greeting Liz Truss in her sitting room at Balmoral Castle for the audience (Jane Barlow/PA)

The politician described the 96-year-old sovereign as appearing frail, but she said she was mentally alert, absolutely on top of the proceedings and reassured Ms Truss they would meet again soon.

Ms Truss said: In the meeting at Balmoral, she was absolutely on top of what was happening.

She was very, very keen to reassure me that wed be meeting again soon. It was very important to her.

She added: Although she was physically quite frail, she was absolutely mentally alert.

Ms Truss said there was no indication the late Queen was gravely ill.

Former prime minister Liz Truss speaking in the House of Commons before she was advised about the late Queens worsening health (House of Commons/PA)

I was obviously only in the first few days of the job of being prime minister. I was thinking about many, many different things, she said.

But the assumption absolutely was that this would be the first of many meetings.

The monarch, using a walking stick, was pictured smiling warmly as she greeted Ms Truss in front of an open fire in her sitting room at the castle, appearing frail but bright-eyed and wearing a blouse, cardigan, and a skirt of Balmoral tartan.

Ms Truss added: She was very determined to do her duty, right to the end. We had a very, very good meeting. She was upbeat.

The former prime minister recounted how she was told of a worsening situation on September 7  with the postponement of a Privy Council.

I arrived just before 6pm for the meeting. Everybody was there waiting around and we waited for a few minutes and then the news arrived that the Queen would no longer be able to do the meeting. And that was the first I heard of it. But clearly it was a very ominous sign, she told GB News royal correspondent Cameron Walker.

She said of September 8: Things were clearly getting even worse the next day, so it was a dawning realisation I think, not just for me, but for my colleagues, that we were facing (it).

Ms Truss reading a statement outside 10 Downing Street following the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II (Ian West/PA)

Ms Truss was in the House of Commons chamber for an energy debate at around midday that day when the then-chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Nadhim Zahawi sat down next to her with a note and began urgently whispering to her.

The original plan was for Buckingham Palace to release a statement about the late Queens health at 11.15am, but it was delayed.

Mr Zahawis note contained a statement for Ms Truss to read out to the Commons if required.

In the end, Ms Truss left the chamber and headed back to Downing Street, and the Palaces statement saying Queen Elizabeth II was under medical supervision was issued at 12.32pm.

Ms Truss said she was really just waiting for the news and by that point knew it was very, very serious.

Describing the scene in Number 10 when confirmation of the late Queens death reached them at around 4.30pm, she said: We were in the Downing Street flat with officials, other people. So when the news came through, it was sort of confirming all the worst fears that wed had.

Ms Truss said she felt very sad about the situation, but her mind also turned to the practicalities of the days to come.

The late Queen at a State Opening of Parliament (Alastair Grant/PA)

Just knowing that I would have to deal with it. You know, part of your brain is thinking, my goodness me, this is a momentous occasion. This is our Queen whos been on the throne for 70 years, the absolute backdrop to our lives is now gone, she said.

But also, I tend to focus on the practical in those types of moments and just thinking right, I need to make sure my speech is ready. I need to make sure the right people are informed. I needed to make sure that the Cabinet ministers responsible for organising (were ready for) what was going to be a massive international occasion.

A pre-arranged statement for a sitting prime minister to read in the event of the monarchs death had long been drafted, but was reportedly out of date in tone so Ms Truss rewrote it.

I wanted to say it in my own words so I drafted it with a speech writer, she said.

She spoke to the King the same day and offered her sincere condolences and said that during the brief phone call he was very, very resolute.

She added of the new monarch: King Charles is somebody whod also been a very prominent part of British life. I think weve seen the continuity 

The King processing behind his mothers coffin (Stephane De Sakutin/PA)

I think because both of us were stepping into new roles, a lot of what youre thinking about is the practicalities of getting things done.

When the King held his first weekly audience with Ms Truss on October 12, he welcomed her to the Palace by saying: Back again? Dear oh dear.

Mr Truss insisted it was a joke and said the pair were at their third meeting that day.

She paid tribute to the late monarch as a major figure for Britain who was still very, very, very loved and treasured.

And she was still very much with us until the end, absolutely, she said.

And thats what just struck me about her is that right until that moment, she wanted to be there doing her duty.
Penny Mordaunt has raised concerns about the resurgence of Victorian diseases in certain cities in Scotland and a rat infestation.

Sharing her insights from her visits to Scotland over the summer, the Commons Leader expressed her shock at the reappearance of rickets, a disease often associated with Victorian slums.

She also told MPs the rat infestation in Glasgow has become so severe that binmen struggle to access certain streets.

Her comments were in response to SNP Commons leader Deidre Brock, who questioned the frequency of Ms Mordaunts visits to Scotland, humorously noting: Two visits in one year, it must be a record for a Tory minister.

Ms Mordaunt spoke at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last month.

Ms Brock said during business questions: The Leader of the House called me delusional when I pointed out to her previously Scotlands faster economic growth, lower unemployment and lower rates of child poverty than the rest of the UK, when I told her that not a single day in the Scottish NHS has been lost to industrial dispute, and that we have the best paid teachers in the UK.

So can I ask her the next time she comes back from a day trip to Scotland, can we have a debate on what she learned from us?

SNP Commons Leader Deidre Brock (Lesley Martin/PA)

Ms Mordaunt replied: She invites me to tell this House what Ive learned in my very pleasant trips to Scotland over the summer.

I did learn that Scotland has slower economic growth than England.

I was shocked to learn that Victorian diseases have actually returned to certain cities in Scotland such as rickets.

That Glasgows rat problem is now so bad, it is precluding binmen actually accessing certain streets because its too dangerous for them.

I discovered that the bill to Scottish taxpayers of the smelting business debacle stands at 32 million.

I discovered that 33 million that was ringfenced for Scottish farmers has gone Awol

The Commons Leader accused the SNP of being never short of a grievance, noting: It is now running out of excuses.

She went on: I look forward to next week what those excuses might be, the execution of Mary Queen of Scots, the Highland Clearances, the 100 Years War.

The grotesque chaos and appalling public services her constituents are suffering from and the rest of the Scottish people are entirely down to the SNP alone.

They are now a sad, spent force and no longer the UK separatist party.

That dubious honour now goes to the Labour Party in Wales.
An artist has painted four poetic and empowering portraits using 70s-style wallpaper of West Indian children from the Windrush generation to commemorate their 75th anniversary.

Yvadney Davis, 42, from Nunhead, south London, created an art exhibition called Proverbs of the Windrush Child as a love letter to the Windrush generation and to honour her Jamaican grandparents.

Proverbs of the Windrush Child exhibition at the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton (Yvadney Davis/PA)

She interviewed four people about their life in the Caribbean before and after arriving in England, and painted them on a linen canvas to highlight the sacks used to store grain and coffee in the West Indies.

Ms Davis came up with the idea for the exhibition when she spoke to her Jamaican father-in-law  who moved to England as a child  on Christmas Day after making him the islands hibiscus drink, Sorrel.

It struck me that we always focus on the adult who made the decision to come here, but there were so many children who didnt have a choice, she told the PA news agency.

They were left with relatives or friends and grew up in an abundance of nature  a different way of living that was very community-focused.

Photo of artist Yvadney Davis, 42 (Yvadney Davis/PA)

Then, suddenly, they were sent to live in England and they didnt have a choice in that, they may not have known their parents or remembered them, they may have had new siblings.

Then they had to deal with racism, probably for the first time in their life  I wanted to give them a voice and share their learnings, which is why I called it proverbs.

The mother-of-two painted the four individuals quotes swirling out of their heads in a semi-circle on the portrait.

The portraits were painted on a linen canvas to draw attention to the linen sacks commonly used for storing grain and coffee in the West Indies, Ms Davis said.

One of Ms Daviss portraits of Yvonne Bailey-Smith, author of The Day I Fell Off My Island (Yvadney Davis/PA)

She explained: I used a lot of vintage wallpaper from the 70s because the houses that I went into growing up were still decorated in this very distinctive style it was distinctly working class.

Each of the ones (wallpaper) I chose kind of reminds me of the Caribbean in their own way, like the water, the sea, the sun.

I also used linen canvas, because its quite rough, and thats what they would use to store grain and coffee.

So, I wanted that element of back home.

Ms Davis described her painting technique as very layered using a lot of paint strokes.

Its kind of like a rhythm in terms of how I paint and thats why people comment on my paint strokes, she said.

She used a quote from Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey to emphasise the importance of telling the stories of the Windrush generation.

Mother of two Yvadney Davis with Yvonne Bailey-Smith (Yvadney Davis/PA)

Ms Davis said: Marcus Garvey has a quote, its like, you need to know where youre coming from in order to go forward.

Were built on the back of people that made a lot of sacrifices, financially, their pride; they were qualified to do things and came here to work in the lowest roles.

My granny passed a couple of years ago they didnt come here for nothing, they came here to build something for us who are left.

For Caribbean kids, Ive seen it with my own children in school, the education system will label them as worthless, thugs, menaces and violent.

So, I think its important when we look at Windrush to have some pride in where we came from.

We came from very little, but from that little weve got the carnival, we created Desmonds (TV sitcom), the whole music scene, art, food.

Proverbs of the Windrush Child is currently on display at the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton until September 10th.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has brushed off questions about his health, reiterating his plans to finish his term in office.

The 81-year-old sought to reassure colleagues he is still up to the job in a lunch with senators on Wednesday after freezing at two news conferences.

A statement by attending physician Brian P Monahan, released by Mr McConnells office, ruled out any evidence of a stroke or seizure disorder. The Kentucky senator fell and suffered from a concussion earlier this year.

Dismissing questions about his health, Mr McConnell told reporters: Im going to finish my term as leader and Im going to finish my Senate term.

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell talks after the Republican meeting (Alex Brandon/AP)

Behind closed doors, Mr McConnell told other Republicans his health issues are linked to his concussion.

Texas senator John Cornyn said Mr McConnell hasnt missed a step in terms of his cognitive abilities or ability to lead.

He was more transparent, which Im glad he did, Mr Cornyn said of the leaders comments at the private lunch. This is not his style. But I dont think keeping things close to the vest serves his interests and it created a lot of speculation. So I think this is a positive development.

Other Republican senators also said they were satisfied with Mr McConnells explanation for the two incidents, the first in Washington in July and the second in Kentucky last week.

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell arrives for press briefing (Alex Brandon/AP)

North Dakota senator Kevin Cramer, who had called for more transparency from Mr McConnell, said the remarks were a strong message. It was confident on his part. It was very direct.

The letter from Dr Monahan, which was released on Tuesday said there is no evidence that you have a seizure disorder or that you experienced a stroke, TIA (transient ischemic attack or brief stroke) or movement disorder such as Parkinsons disease.

The doctor said the assessments entailed several medical evaluations, including a brain MRI scan and consultations with several neurologists for a comprehensive neurology assessment, but there was no elaboration as to what cause the episodes.

First elected to the Senate in 1984 and as leader in 2007, Mr McConnell became the longest-serving Senate party leader in January. He would have to run again for leader after next years elections and his next re-election to the Senate would be in 2026.
Federal prosecutors plan to ask a grand jury to indict US President Joe Bidens son Hunter by the end of the month, according to court documents filed on Wednesday.

The exact charges the presidents son would face were not immediately clear, but appeared related to a gun possession charge in which he was accused of having a firearm while being a drug user.

He has also been under investigation by federal prosecutors for his business dealings.

US attorney for Delaware David Weiss, newly named a special counsel in the case, referred to seeking an indictment before September 29 in a status report required by judge Maryellen Noreika.

Defence lawyers said Hunter Biden has kept to the terms of an agreement sparing him from prosecution on a felony gun charge if he stays clean and out of trouble.

President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden (Andrew Harnik/AP)

That agreement, which also contains an immunity clause against federal prosecutions for some other potential crimes, was part of a plea deal on misdemeanour tax offences that fell apart during a court appearance in July. Defence lawyers argue it remains in force.

News of an possible new indictment comes as Republicans are preparing for a likely impeachment inquiry of President Biden over unsubstantiated claims that he played a role in his sons foreign business affairs during his time as vice president.

If you look at all the information we have been able to gather so far, it is a natural step forward that you would have to go to an impeachment inquiry, House speaker Kevin McCarthy said recently.

The younger Biden has been the target of congressional investigations since Republicans gained control of the House in January, with lawmakers obtaining thousands of pages of financial records from various members of the Biden family through subpoenas to the Treasury Department and various financial institutions.

Three powerful committees are now pursuing several lines of inquiry related to the president and his son.

And while Republicans have sought to connect Hunter Bidens financial affairs directly to his father, they have failed to produce evidence that the president directly participated in his sons work, though he sometimes had dinner with Hunter Bidens clients or said hello to them on calls.

In recent months, Republicans have also shifted their focus to delving into the justice departments investigation of Hunter Biden after whistleblower testimony claimed he has received special treatment throughout the years-long case.

Hunter Biden was charged in June with two misdemeanour crimes of failure to pay more than 100,000 dollars (80,000) in taxes from more than 1.5 million dollars (1.2 million) in income in both 2017 and 2018.

He had been expected to plead guilty in July, after he made an agreement with prosecutors, who were planning to recommend two years of probation.

The case fell apart during the hearing after Ms Noreika, who was appointed by former president Donald Trump, raised multiple concerns about the specifics of the deal and her role in the proceedings.
A Russian missile tore through an outdoor market in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing 17 people and wounding dozens, as US secretary of state Antony Blinken returned to the country with more than one billion dollars (800 million) in new funding.

Mr Blinkens fourth visit to the country was overshadowed by the strike in the city of Kostiantynivka, near the front line in the Donetsk region, that turned the marketplace into an inferno.

It was one of the deadliest bombardments of civilians in the 18-month-old war. In addition to the dead, at least 32 people were wounded.

Those who know this place are well aware that it is a civilian area, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a news conference with the Danish prime minister in Kyiv.

There arent any military units nearby. The strike was deliberate.

Mr Blinkens visit was aimed at assessing Ukraines three-month-old counteroffensive and signalling continued US support as some western allies express worries about Kyivs slow progress against invading Russian forces.

We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long-term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent, Mr Blinken said.

Were also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy.

About 175 million dollars (140 million) of the total is in the form of weaponry to be provided from Pentagon stockpiles and another 100 million dollars (80 million) is in the form of grants to allow the Ukrainians to purchase additional arms and equipment, according to the state department.

In addition to the military assistance, Mr Blinken announced nearly 805 million dollars (644 million) in non-arms-related aid for Ukraine, including 300 million dollars (240 million) for law enforcement, 206 million dollars (165 million) in humanitarian aid, 203 million dollars (162 million) to combat corruption and 90.5 million dollars (72 million) for removing mines, the State Department said.

Rescue workers put out a fire after the rocket attack in Kostiantynivka (Evgeniy Maloletka/AP)

The package also includes a previously announced 5.4 million dollar (4.3 million) transfer to Ukraine of frozen Russian oligarch assets.

Mr Blinken was to discuss other issues, including support for Ukraines economy, building on his June announcement of 1.3 billion dollars (1 billion) to help Kyiv rebuild, with a focus on modernising its energy network, which was bombarded by Russia last winter.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said US assistance to Ukraine cant influence the course of the special military operation  Moscows euphemism for the war.

Mr Blinken arrived in Kyiv for an overnight visit hours after Russia launched a missile attack on the city.

On the train to Kyiv, Mr Blinken met the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, who was also on an official visit, and thanked her for Denmarks leadership in training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s and for promising to donate the fighter jets to Ukraine, according to state department spokesman Matthew Miller.

Washington officials said there will be discussions of alternative export routes for Ukrainian grain following Russias exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its frequent attacks on port facilities in the Odesa region.

After arriving in Kyiv Mr Blinken laid a wreath at the citys Berkovetske cemetery to commemorate Ukrainian troops killed defending the country.

He told foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba that the US has seen good progress in the counteroffensive. Its very heartening.

In another meeting, Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine is grateful the US money is coming in the form of grants, not loans that would drive it into debt.

The trip was Mr Blinkens fourth to Ukraine since the war began, including one brief excursion over the Polish-Ukrainian border in March 2022, just a month after the Russian invasion.

But it will be the first time Americas top diplomat spends the night in Kyiv since January 2022, before the invasion, in what US officials called another sign of American support.

Western analysts and military officials caution that the counteroffensives success is far from certain and that it could take years to rid Ukraine of entrenched, powerfully armed and skilled Russian troops.

Both sides will have to assess their supply shortages, with more battles of attrition likely over the winter.

A long war could stretch deep into next year and beyond, according to experts.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (center) addresses members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Jakarta, Sept. 7, 2023.

Time is running out for the world to avert a climate catastrophe from global warming, which is only getting worse, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned at an international meeting in Jakarta on Thursday.

This years record-setting summer of simmering should be a wake-up call for countries to cut carbon emissions and confront the threat from climate change, he said while urging big emitters to hammer out a climate solidarity pact.

The dog days of summer are not just barking, they are biting, Guterres said as he addressed the 13th ASEAN-U.N. summit, adding that wealthier countries must mobilize resources to help emerging economies reduce emissions.

We can still avoid the worst of climate chaos, but time is running out, and we do not have a moment to lose, he said.

Although he was addressing Southeast Asian leaders, the United Nations chief was directing his remarks mainly to the top industrialized countries, whose leaders he would meet at the G20 summit in New Delhi this weekend.

Those countries should make extra efforts to reduce emissions and help emerging economies transition to clean energy, he said.

Guterres also proposed a plan to super-charge the global response to climate change, which he called the acceleration agenda.

His proposal calls for developed countries to reach net-zero emissions as close as possible to 2040 and emerging economies to achieve that target as close as possible to 2050.

Guterres warned that the world is facing a cascade of crises that has neared the breaking point and threatens to undermine peace and stability.

Apart from the worsening climate emergency, he cited escalating wars and conflicts, growing poverty, widening inequalities and rising geopolitical tensions.

He expressed concern about the situation in ASEAN member-state Myanmar, where the military seized power in February 2021 and launched a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters and civilians.

All countries must continue to seek a unified strategy toward Myanmar, he said.

North Korea concerns

Meanwhile on Thursday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol urged strict enforcement of U.N. sanctions on North Korea, saying its nuclear and missile development posed a grave threat to the Asia-Pacific region.

North Koreas nuclear and missile development is a serious violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a direct challenge to world peace, he said, according to South Koreas Yonhap news agency. It is an existential threat that can target and strike all nations participating in todays meeting.

Yoon was speaking during the East Asia Summit, which brought together officials from ASEAN member-states as well as South Korea, the United States, Japan, China, Russia, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Attendees included U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Indonesian women sit on a hill overlooking the Suralaya coal power plant in Cilegon, Indonesia, Jan. 8, 2023. [Dita Alangkara/AP]

In a joint statement, the leaders highlighted the importance of a maritime order in the region that follows international law.

The leaders recognized that a maritime regime in the region that is consistent with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), has facilitated our regions impressive economic growth, the statement said.

The statement did not mention any specific disputes, but came out amid a controversy over Chinas new map. It was released last month and shows Beijings expansive claim over most of the South China Sea, including territories overlapping with the exclusive economic zones of ASEAN countries Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Chinas Li expressed hope that outside countries fully respect the efforts made by regional countries to negotiate the rules of conduct in the South China Sea and maintain peace and stability in the region, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

In other action, the leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation and partnership in areas such as trade and investment, energy security, food security, health security, connectivity, digital transformation and sustainable development.

In a speech opening the East Asia Summit, host Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo urged the leaders to work together to maintain peace and stability.

We all have the responsibility to not create new conflicts, to not create new tensions, to not create new wars, Jokowi said. And at the same time, we also have the responsibility to lower the hot tension, to thaw the frozen atmosphere, to create a space for dialogue and to bridge the existing differences.
An undocumented immigrant holds her daughter while detained during an immigration raid, in Segambut, Kuala Lumpur, July 1, 2022.

A Malaysian government project to move children of migrants from detention centers into a so-called child-friendly shelter is inadequate because they remain confined even at the new location, human rights and child welfare activists say.

The Ministry of Home Affairs says it has transferred 23 children and 10 of their parents or guardians to a shelter for migrants that would be guarded around the clock, and has plans to move hundreds more out of immigration detention centers and into similar shelters.

According to the critics, the ministry had promised to move this first batch into the care of an NGO.

When this shelter is guarded by RELA, it is still like a semi-detention center. As I have often said before, a golden cage is still a cage, Mahi Ramakrishnan, an activist and founder of the NGO Beyond Borders, told BenarNews.

RELA, or the Peoples Volunteers Corps, is under the home ministry and akin to a home guard, with some members allowed to carry firearms. The unit supports the police or the immigration department, as needed.

Mahi noted that the home ministry had strayed from the original plan.

In February, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had said the plan called for moving children away from detention centers and placing them in the care of welfare-based NGOs.

This does not look like [what is being promised] at all, Mahi said.

Putting children into any place where they are confined  even if accompanied by family members or guardians  will cause them mental and physical harm, said another group called the End Detention Network.

[D]espite taking steps to provide a more humane environment for children, [the new center] will continue to deprive children of their liberty, the group told BenarNews in a statement.

Baitul Mahabbah, a temporary shelter for housing children who were moved out of immigration detention centers, is seen in Negeri Sembilan state on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Sept. 4, 2023. [S. Mahfuz/BenarNews]

While inaugurating Baitul Mahabbah, the name for the new center for children located on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, the minister said NGOs and civil society groups would assist the ministrys efforts.

This initiative will involve several agencies under the home ministry. We have RELA to guard the premises 24 hours. We have NGOs and civil society groups to provide needs-based aid, Saifuddin told reporters during the inauguration on Monday.

He said the center features amenities such as learning spaces, health examination and treatment rooms, and a childrens playground. Children and their parents or guardians will also have access to basic healthcare.

Malaysias detention centers currently house 1,382 children and there are plans to move all them into new centers, Saifuddin said.

These children will stay in the newly opened center until after their documents are fully processed by the embassies of their countries, he said.

When all documents and processes are completed, we will repatriate them to their home countries, similar to other migrant detainees in immigration depots, Saifuddin said.

Noting that the children who had parents or guardians were moved with them to the center, Saifuddin said, theres one Syrian mother and three children as well as one Myanmar mother and a child.

This worries Mahi, the founder of Beyond Borders.

If these children are from Syria and Myanmar, they likely are refugees, Mahi said, referring to people who have fled the conflict-ridden countries.

Sending children along with their parents back to Syria or Myanmar would violate customary international law, which prohibits returning individuals to countries where they may face persecution, she said.

BenarNews contacted the home minister and his aide for more information on the children and to respond to child-welfare experts concerns, but did not hear back.

The government needs to prioritize child welfare and migrant childrens legal rights, rather than pursue deportation-focused solutions, said Hartini Zainudin, founder of Yayasan Chow Kit Foundation, a child welfare NGO.

Malaysia could learn from its neighbor Thailand, which in January 2019 said it would move children and their mothers from immigration detention centers to community-based residences, said Hannah Jambunathan from the International Detention Coalition.

The Home Ministry can and should learn from neighboring ASEAN countries like Thailand, which have made policy and legislative commitments to stop detaining children in immigration facilities and have released hundreds of children into community-based care, she told BenarNews.




The head of Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) visited China last week for the first time in six years and met with his Chinese counterpart, sources said Thursday.







Lee Bok-hyun met with Li Yunze, head of China's National Financial Regulatory Administration, on Aug. 31 and discussed improving financial cooperation between the two countries, according to the sources.







It marked the first time an FSS governor has visited China since 2017.







The visit came amid FSS' ongoing investigation into alleged fund mismanagement cases involving Lime, Optimus and Discovery asset management firms where some illegal fund money is suspected to have been transferred to foreign countries.







"Money laundering in unfair transaction and illegal wiring cases here frequently involves China, so cooperation between financial authorities of Korea and China is needed," an official familiar with the matter said.







Last year, the FSS found that 84 financial companies conducted abnormal wiring of foreign currencies worth a total of $12.2 billion but faced difficulties looking into cases where the money was sent to China.







Meanwhile, Lee also met with Liao Lin, President of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, during his trip and called for an expansion of the bank's activities in Korea. (Yonhap)


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BRATTLEBORO  Ann Braden, founder of GunSense Vermont, is being credited for strong leadership that resulted in a big impact.

"We owe an incredible debt of gratitude to Ann for her vision, for her hard work, for her commitment, and yes, for her courage and leadership, which I think is just the perfect name for this award," said U.S. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., who contributed the first ever donation to the group when it formed in 2012.

The inaugural Leadership & Courage Award ceremony for GunSense Vermont on Wednesday at Brattleboro Museum & Art Center was attended by state legislators, Vermont Treasurer Mike Pieciak, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and local officials. Braden lives in Brattleboro.

Conor Casey, executive director of GunSense Vermont and state rep for the Washington-4 district, said Braden founded the organization whose email list now stands at about "4,000 strong."

GunSense Vermont to recognize founder Ann Braden BRATTLEBORO  The founder of GunSense Vermont will be the organization's first recipient of 

"It's easy to vilify people who think differently than us but it's a lot harder to convince them that they change their mind," Casey said, recounting how people were brought to tears when Gov. Phil Scott signed landmark legislation raising the age to purchase a gun and limiting high capacity magazines. "Our Republican governor did this, and it wouldn't have been without the grassroots pressure there."

Braden stepped down from leadership in 2017 but she pushed for state legislation that was approved in the years to follow, including 2018's H. 422, which authorized law enforcement to remove a firearm from a person the officer arrests or cites for committing the crime of domestic assault. In 2018, the state approved S.221, also known as Act 97, a red flag law that prohibits a person from possessing a firearm for up to six months if the court finds that the persons possession of the weapon poses an extreme risk of harm to the person or to other people. The state also approved legislation that requires an unlicensed seller and prospective recipient to appear together with the firearm at the premises of a licensed dealer to request that the dealer process the sale or transfer and conduct a required background check.

Grace Walter, a member of Gunsense Vermont's Board of Trustees who participated in the group's youth chapter after growing up near Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., said the death of 20 innocent children and six educators at Sandy Hook in 2012 shattered the community's sense of security and their hearts. She described the nation mourning alongside her community and seeking change.

Braden refused to let grief (about the Newtown massacre) paralyze her and instead "turned her sorrow into action," Walter said. Braden "recognized that while the tragedy of Sandy Hook was a horrifying event, it was not an isolated incident. It was part of a larger pattern of gun violence that claims lives every single day across our nation."

Like many states, Walter said, Vermont has a strong gun culture but Braden was undeterred. Under Braden's leadership, GunSense Vermont advocated for universal background checks and the prevention of domestic abusers from obtaining firearms.

"Through her tireless efforts, the organization gained widespread support and made significant strides in promoting responsible gun ownership," Walter said, noted how during the last legislative session, "Vermont achieved a significant milestone in the realm of gun violence. Several critical gun safety bills were successfully passed into law."

H.230 implemented a 72-hour waiting period for firearm purchases, introduced a new criminal charge for negligent firearms storage, expanded the state's extreme risk protection orders and criminalized the possession of firearms with removed, obliterated or altered serial numbers. S.4 prohibited straw purchasing of firearms and S.3 banned paramilitary camps.

Balint, who previously served as Vermont's Senate president, acknowledged there's still much work to be done especially to prevent suicides.

"We need to find and nurture our bravery and our grit and our guts, and we cannot turn away and ask other people to do this work," Balint said. We have to do the work."

Bob Williamson, a founding member of the GunSense board, presented the award  a bowl meant to be "a symbol of care"  to Braden. Williamson said children, families and communities are safer as a result of her work on gun reform.

Braden urged people not to be afraid of the issue.

"One of the things I've learned is that we all have to find our own way to move this world in the right direction," she said. "And for it to be sustainable, it has to be something that feeds us too. And I think about that every time I look at our congresswoman, because she is doing what she was made to do and our world is infinitely better because of it."

As an author of novels written for middle schoolers, Braden travels the country promoting the books.

"Let me tell you, it is incredible to be in the basement of a library in rural Kansas with 80 people of all ages who have all read your book, getting to have a calm discussion about the common ground on gun laws," she said. "For too long, our country has been out of balance with an extremist wing using guns to further inflate the outsized power of a few and they claim their focus is on guns but really it's about pushing back, as people of color and women try to make their rightful place at the table."

Maisie Arnold and Isabella May, sophomores at Brattleboro Union High School, provided insight into what it's like in schools these days. A shelter in place directive had been issued on campus Tuesday.

"It was 40 minutes long," Arnold said in an interview. "There was not a lot of information."

Brattleboro campus shelters in place

In an email to the school community following the incident, administrators said the incident involved "a student who was dysregulated outside of the building." Brattleboro Police "assisted in supporting our community and ensuring everyone's safety," the email said, explaining that students and staff sheltering in place are "expected to stay in the classroom they are in and to continue with their classroom activities and learning."

On Tuesday, Speno told the Reformer the student was OK but was dysregulated to the point where administrators "made the call to shelter and assist him." Dysregulation, or emotional dysregulation, is described at verywellmind.com as "an inability to control or regulate one's emotional responses, which can lead to significant mood swings, significant changes in mood, or emotional lability."

Not knowing if a gun was involved was "the scariest thing," Arnold said. She texted her parents to tell them about the situation and say she loved them.

"When you hear it's not a drill, you just sprint into action and feel the adrenaline," May said in an interview. "I didn't really know what to do. Every classroom is different."

When the loud speaker goes off during the day, Arnold freezes and hopes the announcement is not about anything too serious, she said. Students are always conscious of where the nearest exit is, May added.

Arnold said she always felt strongly about gun laws especially as they pertain to preventing school shootings. May described being glad to be asked about her experience at Wednesday's event as adults are making laws that affect students.
Heres exciting news for those who seek out exceptional local food: After a three-year COVID-inspired hiatus, the Massachusetts Cheese Guild Festival is back! And, even more exciting for Berkshire residents is that its going to be held in Lee.

Some 20 cheesemakers and producers of accompanying products will meet at High Lawn Farm, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sept. 23, to celebrate the art of cheesemaking. Theyll have products to sample and for sale. In addition to goat and cows milk cheeses, youll discover regional beer, wine, biscuits, honey and charcuterie. There will also be farm tours and ice cream, gentle mooing and a farm-friendly environment for picnicking and family fun.

The event is happening on the same day as the Lenox Apple Squeeze  another returning fall tradition Its a great way to sample some of the best Massachusetts has to offer.

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IT STARTED IN MASSACHUSETTS

Cheesemaking and dairy in general was once a thriving industry in Massachusetts. In fact, artisan cheesemaking started in Massachusetts in 1624, by all accounts, the earliest in what would eventually become the United States. The European settlers knowledge of cheesemaking easily adapted to our New England climate, which helped sustain them through lean winters.

Cheese is milks leap toward immortality, said the American author and intellectual Clifton Fadiman. The waste-not-want-not necessity of farming meant families all over Massachusetts in the 1700s made their own wheels of cheese from spring and summer milk abundance for sustenance and, eventually, trade if someones wheels were particularly tasty.

THE GUILD IS BORN

In time, commodity dairy producers on cheaper land further west drove artisan production in Massachusetts to the brink. But, in the 2010s, the Massachusetts Cheese Guild was born, paralleling the rise of artisan cheese nationwide. While the pandemic and critical labor shortages wiped out some early-stage cheesemakers, consumer interest in local products has only grown.

Massachusetts Cheese Guild President Terri Lawton, owner and cheesemaker at Oake Knoll Farms in Foxborough, offers up this hopeful thought: Now, there are lots of opportunities for people interested in going into cheesemaking  with farms in the Midwest getting larger  its a great time for artisan cheesemakers to get in.

High Lawn Farm, owned and backed by the Wilde and Fields families, is a case in point. This year, the 1,600-acre property celebrates 100 years of raising Jersey cows, pasteurizing, bottling and selling some of the best milk youll ever have. (And for those who indulge, their chocolate milk is knee-buckling, while you have only to shake your whisk at and speak firmly to their heavy cream to make an immortal apple crisp topping.) However, like so many dairy farmers facing competition from plant-based milk alternatives, they turned to value-added products  in 2019 they started making cheese, butter, ghee and ice cream with their exceptional milk, all of which is available at their farm store right on site.

The Massachusetts Cheese Guild cheesemakers are scattered across the state, from Williamstown to Chilmark. They may make hundreds of pounds of cheese a week, or only 10 pounds; they may be rural or urban, they may be a year-round facility or seasonal, but they all are family-owned and operated.

High Lawn Farms Specialty Foods Operations Manager Amye Guluzian and Cheesemaker Matt Schweizer, along with all the makers who will be at the Festival, are working hard to make this a day to remember.

For more information about the upcoming festival or to buy tickets, go to macheeseguild.org. Tickets are $30 each or free with a $25 Cheese Lover membership.
Photo exhibition marking 160th anniversary of ICRC opens in Beijing

Xinhua) 13:53, September 07, 2023

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition marking the 160th anniversary of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement opened on Wednesday at the Capital Library of China in Beijing.

Titled "160 Years on the Side of Humanity," the exhibition features images and videos showing the history of the international Red Cross movement and the achievements made by the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC).

In her opening remarks, President of the ICRC Mirjana Spoljaric Egger said the ICRC is willing to share its experience and strengths, forge a strong humanitarian partnership with China, and jointly contribute to world peace, stability and development.

Wang Ke, Party chief and executive deputy head of the RCSC, said the RCSC is willing to join hands with partners such as the ICRC and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to uphold the humanitarian spirit, and contribute to the unity and development of the international Red Cross movement and building a better world. Among the exhibits are photos taken by Xinhua News Agency reporters, recording China's humanitarian assistance in countries such as Sudan, Syria and Lybia.

Yuan Bingzhong, vice president of Xinhua News Agency, said at the opening ceremony that Xinhua has always fulfilled its responsibility as a media organization and reported for the world to understand and acknowledge the humanitarian cause, and it has been playing a positive role as a media organization in advancing world peace and stability.

Co-organized by the ICRC, the RCSC, the IFRC and Xinhua News Agency, the exhibition will be open to the public free of charge from Sept. 7 to 27.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, and Vice Chairman Li Hongzhong of the standing committee of the China's National People's Congress, right, attend a military parade in Pyongyang, July 27, celebrated as "Victory Day," to mark the 70th anniversary of the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. AP-Yonhap



By Lee Hyo-jin



China will send a relatively low-profile delegation to North Korea to take part in the celebration of the nation's founding day later this week, in what appears to be an effort by Beijing to distance itself from rapidly improving ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, according to analysts, Thursday.



A Chinese delegation led by Liu Guozhong, vice premier of the State Council of China, will participate in the 75th anniversary celebration of North Korea's Foundation Day which falls on Sept. 9, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).



China is apparently sending a relatively lower-ranking official compared to a previous occasion, given that North Korea considers anniversaries marking multiples of five or 10 years as significant national holidays.



In 2018, a delegation team headed by Li Zhanshu, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China  a third-ranked official  attended the celebration event of the 70th anniversary of North Korea's founding day.



Diplomatic observers said that China's decision to send a lower-ranking official to its key ally for a major celebration event shows Beijing's caution against becoming too closely aligned with the North Korea-Russia partnership.



Pyongyang and Moscow have been boasting their improved ties based on military cooperation in recent months, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expected to travel to Vladivostok to attend the Eastern Economic Forum taking place Sept. 10 to 13 and possibly hold a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.



"China, which has been increasing efforts to manage the intense rivalry with the United States, would want to avoid causing a direct confrontation with the U.S.," said Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute of National Unification.






While the Heritage has to be turned over to the government by March 6, when Salame faces sentencing on two criminal conspiracy charges, its likely to be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Bill Schmick is registered as an investment adviser representative of Onota Partners Inc. in the Berkshires. He can be reached at 413-347-2401, or email him at billiams1948@gmail.com.
BRATTLEBORO, Vt.  A man accused of killing a 79-year-old Whitingham, Vt., woman and her 52-year-old son by shooting them in their home on Route 8A is being held without bail.

Christopher D. Ellis, 54, pleaded not guilty through his attorney Wednesday to two counts of first-degree murder and an additional charge of operating a vehicle without the owners consent. He was arraigned in Windham Superior Court, Criminal Division.

Judge John Treadwell ordered Ellis held without bail. Treadwell said the court would not schedule a weight of the evidence hearing until requested by the defense counsel.

Attorney Joshua Atkisson of the Windham County Public Defender's Office did not contest the state's request to hold Ellis without bail. He said he would reserve the right to have a weight of the evidence hearing at a future date.

In a police affidavit, Ellis described the murders as his "retirement plan." He told investigators "he would rather be in jail than an 'old folks' home' [describing] what he did as 'calculated.'"

"I did what I did, so I'm going to, you know, I have no problem with admitting it," Ellis said during an interview with the Vermont State Police late on the evening of Sept. 1, according to a police affidavit. "I mean, it was, it had to happen. I don't know, I know you probably won't understand it.

According to the affidavit submitted to the court by Vermont State Police Det. Sgt. James Vooris, the investigation began on Sept. 1 after Troopers received a report at just before 11 p.m. of a male covered in blood, a missing woman and a missing truck.

Upon arrival, troopers discovered the body of Michael Garvin in the living room of the home and the body of his mother, Lucy, in the bathroom. The bodies were initially found by a family member, who told investigators Ellis had been living in the house for "at least a few months."

Later that night, Ellis was located driving the truck on Putney Road by officers with the Brattleboro Police Department and taken into custody. He told investigators he had been living with the Garvins since April and shot them "either Wednesday or Thursday [Aug. 30 or 31], sometime between 12:00 and 2:00 p.m.," according to the affidavit.

Ellis blamed his actions on "the psychological and mental abuse" of living with the Garvins, states the affidavit. Ellis said he traveled to Holyoke on Sept. 1 and sold the firearm for $150, using the cash to purchase crack cocaine.

"Ellis advised he has not slept since the incident and was continually using crack cocaine," wrote Vooris.

During the interview, Ellis said he had met Michael Garvin in jail. However, a spokesman for the Vermont Department of Corrections said their records show the two men were not cellmates and had been housed at different facilities at different times.

Ellis also described Garvin as a child molester and sex offender. Garvin was convicted in 1994 of lewd and lascivious conduct with a child and sexual assault of a minor.

Garvin is not on the sex offender registry. Some offenders, after a certain amount of time, can be removed from the registry if they do not have a record of reoffending.

"Ellis advised he has been thinking about killing Michael for a few weeks," wrote Vooris, and that Michael Garvin, who he said he hated "... just has to go."

Ellis also said "it was unfortunate" that Michael's mother was at the house but "she had to go ..." too.

According to information from the Department of Corrections, neither Ellis nor Garvin were still under the supervision of Probation and Parole. Ellis had finished his sentence on Aug. 9, 2019, and Garvin had maxed out his sentence in 1999.

Ellis has previous felony convictions for unlawful mischief in 1989, grand larceny in 1994, burglary and grand larceny in 1996, escaping custody in 1999 and possession of stolen property in 2015.

In 2018, Ellis was facing a possible life sentence as a habitual offender after he was charged with trying to rob a woman. He faced charges of aggravated assault with a box cutter, assault and robbery with injury, reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of a crash with serious injury. It is unclear how those charges were settled.

VSP was aided by the Wilmington, Vt., Police Department in the initial response to the scene and the Brattleboro, Vt., Police Department in apprehending the suspect.
Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, seen in a file photo from 2008, was installed as bishop on this day in 1986. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)
Students, staff and families in the Pittsfield Public Schools district have lingering concerns about how hot it was inside schools the first few weeks of classes. The temperatures have raised questions about what, if anything, the school district can do the next time classrooms boil under hot temperatures.
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Tina Brotherton, 88, looks over the remains of her business, Tina's Dockside Inn, which was completely destroyed last month when Hurricane Idalia hit Horseshoe Beach, Fla. Climate change is among the current crises that are stressing out Americans.
A public database of law enforcement disciplinary records has raised concerns among some Berkshire police chiefs A week after its release, local police chiefs have questions about what was included on the states Peace Officers Standards and Training database, a tool for giving the public a window into disciplary records within Massachusetts law enforcement agencies.

The new state database of law enforcement disciplinary records released last month was bound to ruffle feathers. This new source of public information on the conduct of the commonwealths police officers is a step forward for accountability. Measures to increase transparency (whether its the police, the Legislature or the governors office) rarely get a warm welcome from those suddenly faced with a larger dose of disinfecting sunlight.

Nevertheless, as we argued last week while praising the databases contribution to a more transparent police culture in Massachusetts, there is room for refining this informational resource mandated by a 2020 police reform law and maintained by the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission. This database is the first of its kind in the state  an important creation with plenty of opportunity for improvement.

As such, we urge the POST Commission to heed the good-faith criticism offered by some Berkshire police chiefs in the wake of the databases rollout. Interim Pittsfield Police Chief Thomas Dawley, for instance, claimed the database entries lacked some necessary context for citizens to evaluate numerous instances of misconduct that run the gamut in type and severity. Dalton Police Chief Deanna Strout voiced a similar critique, saying the list lumped together serious misconduct  e.g., bias or excessive force  with comparably minor policy violations in an imbalanced manner.

Theres value in these perspectives, as a more contextually balanced database would likely be a more publicly informative one. The critiques of the databases structure we raised in an editorial last week are not only adjacent to these chiefs concerns but might offer a solution. One thing we found about the database was that, while expansive, many of its entries are far too vague to be sufficiently informative and transparent.

Take, for example, the entry for the only Lee Police Department officer on the POST Commissions list. The allegation type and subtype for the misconduct noted it as other, a meaningless data point that checks someones box but fails to meet the threshold of informing citizens or holding law enforcement to account.

Standardized, detailed entries would make the database more publicly illuminating while providing the greater context called for by some police chiefs.

This should be the number-one goal for the POST Commission as well as police departments, which are required by the 2020 law to publicly report records of sustained misconduct allegations. Departments should provide much more than the bare minimum of reporting details, which can and should be translated by the commission into more substantive entries so that the database more thoroughly informs the public while making greater distinction between types and degrees of misconduct.

Respecting police and preserving their oath to serve and protect means holding these public safety agents equipped with lethal force to a higher standard, which is why it is useful to have a public record of even minor sustained misconduct allegations. Still, Chief Strouts point about lumping together instances of misconduct ranging from policy infractions to criminal behavior is well taken and suggests a better structure for the database where all entries remain but are broken into categories. This distinction could be kept simple, not unlike that of misdemeanors and felonies  perhaps one alphabetized list for relatively minor violations and another for serious ones such as untruthfulness, excessive force, bias and criminal activity.

There are some risks to this formulation. Who gets to decide where the line is between minor and major violations? Should officers who have sustained complaints in both categories have their complaints split up across categories, therefore making the list longer and more complicated to read and search? Still, the upside of a potentially fairer and more informative database is worth consideration.

We make and echo these critiques not to wither the database but to make it stronger, both in terms of informing Bay Staters and incentivizing police departments to be as transparent as possible. Unlike the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, which sent a letter to the POST Commission asking it to take down the database until everything was taken care of, we dont think the predictable hiccups that come with this sort of rollout should kibosh it. The nature of increasing accountability is such that no matter what form the database takes, some within the new light it shines will lobby for its alteration or disappearance. Its up to the POST Commission to separate the wheat from the chaff and let the good-faith criticism guide the upgrades to this critical tool for transparency.
President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during their meeting at Jakarta Convention Center in Indonesia, Thursday (local time). Yonhap



Worsening NK issue will only boost trilateral cooperation between S. Korea, US, Japan



By Nam Hyun-woo



JAKARTA  President Yoon Suk Yeol told China, Thursday, that North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile threats will only strengthen the coupling of South Korea, the United States and Japan, and asked Beijing to play its role to prevent the issue from hindering relations with Seoul.



Yoon made those comments during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summits in Jakarta, Indonesia.



"North Korea's nuclear threat is a matter both of us face," Yoon said during the meeting.






Lets define the word "disappointed." According to Websters 1828 Dictionary, disappointed means Defeated of expectation, hope, desire, or design; frustrated. Its akin to an authority figure (parent, teacher, mentor) or a beloved one (spouse, etc.) saying with surprise, I expected so much more of you and you failed. The defeat extends to the one with expectations, as if its a vicarious fail. Sounds harsh, but thats what disappointment is.

As a Christian, though, if I do the wrong things, is God disappointed in me?

Is God Ever Disappointed?

To answer this question as best we can, we must look at Gods character and attributes as defined by the Bible. We can also go point-by-point through the list included in the definition of disappointed.

1. God is Infinite  Gods being and immensity have no limits. Psalm 147:5 states Gods understanding is beyond measure.

2. God is Immutable  God never changes. He just is and He will always be what He was and is.

3. God is self-sufficient  When we speak of the aseity of God, we mean He is independent. He doesnt need us because He is complete in Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

4. God is omnipotent  He is all powerful according to His perfect will.

5. God is omniscient  He knows everything and everyone from all of time (and He created time).

6. God is omnipresent  He was, is, and will be everywhere forever.

7. God is wise  He is wisdom

8. God is faithful  Even when we arent (2 Timothy 2:13).

9. God is good  Goodness is light, and in Him there is no darkness (1 John 1:5)

10. God is just  He is perfectly righteous (we, however, waver on this according to our flesh).

11. God is merciful  He is kindness unbounded and He keeps us from what we deserve (death). His forgiveness is part of His mercy.

12. God is gracious  He gifts us with what we do not deserve (eternal life with Jesus).

13. God is loving  He is love.

14. God is holy  He is wholly other (set apart).

15. God is glorious  His infinite and perfect beauty and greatness causes awestruck wonder.

Can God be disappointed in us? Yes, according to His standards, but His disappointment is better stated as displeasure. In the Bible, the use of the word disappointed is always used of men toward men, and not of God toward men.

Romans 1:18-32 remains a concise theological treatise on the faults of men who refuse to honor God or give Him glory for Who He is or what he has done. The Message version translates Gods wrath (Romans 1:18) as Gods angry displeasure. He knows we have no excuse for our grievous sins because Though they know Gods righteous decree that those who practice such things (sinful acts) deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them (Romans 1:32).

God created us in His image and we reflect Him by our emotions and actions; the only good in us is Jesus. We, as imperfect humans, however, can let our emotions get the better of us and allow them to control us. We look at the perfect from an imperfect point of view, so, allowing for the definition of disappointed as posted above and as regards Gods attributes, He isnt surprised when we sin, because He already knows when we will, and we all do. He is not given to rule by emotions, because He is perfect in all of His ways. His character is such that he is perfectly balanced; that is, His wrath works in perfect harmony with His love and mercy. We, on the other hand, often eschew mercy and even love when anger envelopes us.

God gave us His Law (Exodus 20:1-17) and we now know the Law was given to reveal sin (Romans 3:20).

God looks at all of us through His perfect heavenly lens. Only believers are seen through the Person and work of Jesus Christ, who bore all our sins on the cross (hallelujah!). Jesus said He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17), and thank God because we can never perfectly follow the law as delivered to Moses in Exodus 20.

I Still Sin; Is God Disappointed in Me?

As we ponder our Christian selves, we are limited in knowledge and wisdom, finite in experience, and confined to a worldview that, while kingdom-centered, remains earthly. For now, its all we know. When we are in our glorified state, we will be perfected in glory (1 Corinthians 15:40, 43; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 John 3:2). Only then will we understand all God wants us to understand.

At the Judgment Seat of Christ, Pastor Don Stewart writes, The Bible says unbelievers will be judged in the first sense - condemnation, while believers will be judged in the other sense - rewards. Only then will we be spotless from the stains of the world in which we now live, and will be pure, clothed in white linen (Revelation 7:9,13, 14; 19:14).

We are in the already-not-yet, strangers and aliens here but we are, fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (Ephesians 2:19). We Christians are in the kingdom which will be fulfilled when Christ brings about an end to this age of grace and ushers in His righteous kingdom.

For now, while we live as sojourners and exiles, we remember who God is (our Father), who Jesus is (our Lord and Savior), and who the Holy Spirit is (our Helper who has sealed us in Christ).

1 John 1:9 tells us when we sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Yes, He is displeased, but He is a forgiving and just Father. He, as our heavenly Father, disciplines us as only a perfect and holy Father can. We accept the discipline as part of our sanctification and continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, for He disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6).

Is My Shame a Good Thing?

Look at the history of the Hebrews. Every time they disobeyed the Lord God, they displeased Him and they paid many consequences. Their shame at displeasing God caused them to repent and seek His mercy (The Old Testament is full of the accounts of Israels rebellion/disobedience, repentance, and restoration). Exodus 20:5 is Gods command to the nation, You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me. They were to take His commands most seriously  it truly was a matter of life and death.

Our surrender to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is a matter of life and death, too. To refuse His kind invitation (Romans 2:4) is like saying, I dont need You or Your commands, God as you shake your fist at Him. The ultimate answer to what displeases God is our decision to follow and love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength  or not.

1 John 5:10-13 is a succinct revelation of the consequences of unbelief, Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.

What Must I Do to Please God?

We must make a choice whom we will serve: Jesus or the devil. There is no middle ground (Mark 12:30).

When Jesus shared the greatest commandment(s) with one of the Jewish rulers, Scripture notes, And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37-40).

The Bible tells us we are to speak the Gospel to please God, for He is the One who tests our hearts (1 Thessalonians 2:4).

The whole of the Bible serves to teach us about God, and the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed throughout Scripture. The Gospels and the Epistles teach us explicitly about Christ and how to walk in Him and please God (1 Thessalonians 4:1).

Romans 8:8 is a short verse which speaks volumes about how we are to please God, Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. So, then, to please God, we should:

Abide in Christ (John 15:4-7).

Be filled with and yield to the Spirit. Do not grieve Him (Romans 6:19; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18).

Pray with thanksgiving and praise (1 Thessalonians 5:17; 1 Timothy 2:8).

Read your Bible, meditate upon it and study it (Acts 17:10-12).

Know your role as one of Christs ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20.)

Surrender to Him every day. Take up your cross and follow Him (Mark 10:21), and die to self every day.

Do not be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind (Romans 12:2).

Rejoice in Him always (Psalm 150).

Grieve the sins of men (Romans 1:18-32) and pray for them.

Pleasing God is analogous to looking at life as a half-full glass. When we realize the joys inherent in His character and His plans for us, we cant wait for Him to completely fill us with His Spirit and do the good works in Christ Jesus for which He created us (Ephesians 2:10).

Photo credit: Getty Images/Khosrork

Lisa Loraine Baker is the multiple award-winning author of Someplace to be Somebody. She writes fiction and nonfiction. In addition to writing for the Salem Web Network, Lisa serves as a Word Weavers mentor and is part of a critique group. She also is a member of BRRC. Lisa and her husband, Stephen, a pastor, live in a small Ohio village with their crazy cat, Lewis.

LISTEN: Being Complete in Jesus (Understanding Matthew 5:21-48)

Hearing Jesus is a devotional journey through the gospels, where we explore the teachings of Jesus chapter by chapter. If you're seeking to live a life that reflects God's, this podcast is for you.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Salem Web Network and Salem Media Group.

WATCH: 10 Sins Christians Downplay (and Why They're So Destructive)

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The symbol of oxen being yoked is one that most of Pauls audience would have understood. In fact, it is still recognizable by cultures today, as it has been for thousands of years. When more than one ox are bound together, they are attached by a device called a yoke. It allows them to pull together as a team. For them to work together as efficiently as possible, the team needs to be made of oxen that are of relatively the same size and they need to be moving in the same direction. If there is one that is much bigger, it can push and pull the other around, and the smaller one is not as helpful, unable to pull its own weight. If the oxen are trying to go in different directions, they will not get very far.

In a Christian marriage, two believers can support each other, move with one purpose. They can bear the burden together because they are moving with a singular purpose - to glorify God and live for His purpose. Because they believe in God and the Bible, they have the same values and can support one anothers burdens.

For marriages that are between a believer and a non-believer, they may have different values or they may not. They may not love one another deeply, or they may. Where they will truly be incompatible is in spiritual matters. They will be moving in different directions, one towards an eternity with God and one away from the Lord. One will be working for Gods purposes and His glory, and one will not.

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The College has several active Regents and several Emeritus Regents

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon and Biocon Biologics has been appointed as Regent of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSed), at a ceremony earlier this month.

The RCSeds Court of Regents comprises a group of distinguished and accomplished individuals in their field who provide the College with advice and expertise. The concept of the RCSEd Court of Regents dates back to 1980, when College President at the time, Professor John Gillingham, noted the success of the Court in the Australasian College. Professor Gillingham discussed his idea for a Court of Regents with a Lord Kadoorie in Hong Kong, who agreed to become one of the first members. Initially ten members were elected, none of whom had medical backgrounds. Currently, the College has several active Regents and several Emeritus Regents.

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is a prestigious Scottish medical association which was founded in 1505 by Royal Charter granted from King James IV. It is the oldest Surgical Colleges in the world with nearly 30,000 members in 100 countries, and about half of them are from overseas, touching every stage of career path from medical students to consultants.

The RCSed holds a rich history of promoting excellence in the field of surgery. It plays a pivotal role in training and certifying surgeons, ensuring the highest standards of surgical practice worldwide. With a global reach, it provides a platform for knowledge exchange, research collaboration, and professional development within the surgical community.

Headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, the RCSEd has another location at Birminghams prestigious Colmore Row, UK. It also has an international office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, catering to its growing international membership.
This photo shows the members of a voice phishing scam ring nabbed in China, Aug. 24. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA)



Police have nabbed 16 members of a voice phishing ring based in China, officials said Thursday.



The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA), in cooperation with the Chinese police, has arrested three Chinese nationals and 13 Koreans for allegedly extorting 2.7 billion won ($2 million) from 68 people through voice phishing scams from December 2022 through August.



The police launched an investigation in April after receiving a report complaining of financial damage from the phishing scam and detained three Korean suspects residing in the country.



The Chinese police detained 12 other members, along with the ringleader, at the ring's office in Qingdao on Aug. 24, following a request for cooperation by the Korean police.



The ringleader, known to be a 38-year-old Chinese man, reportedly hired members of the scam group after setting up the Qingdao office last December.



The police said the ringleader, along with the other Chinese members, admitted to beating one of the Korean members, identified only as Kim, after he told them he wished to exit the group. Kim was later arrested by Korean police after arriving in the country to get treatment for his injuries.



The police plan to make a request to the Chinese authorities for the suspects' repatriation.



Including the latest case, the police have nabbed 42 members from 11 scam groups based overseas and formally arrested 19 of them so far, according to the officials. (Yonhap)


The University of Johannesburg's (UJ) Centre for Data and Digital Communication and the Artificial Institute of Intelligence, in collaboration with the UJ Business School (JBS) will host the fifth edition of Google Africa Internet Academy this year.

Source:  123rf 123rf The fifth edition of Google Africa Internet Academy takes place at UJ, from 11 to 12 September

Taking place next week from 11 to 12 September, this annual event on the continent is a two-day workshop that brings together business and technology leaders from across Africa to discuss the latest trends in technology policy and regulation and provide valuable content and opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs and other target groups in technology and related fields.

Focus on AI

This years discussions will include Googles focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and how AI works and what it does.

But most importantly, the workshops will examine what economic opportunities AI presents for the continent to enable current and future generations to live in a more prosperous, healthy, secure and sustainable world.

Or conversely, how can the spread of illegal and harmful content with unfair bias and abuse be curbed.

"The increased focus on artificial intelligence (AI) has fast-tracked the need for conversations between all stakeholders to look at the benefits of AI as well as the policy guardrails to mitigate risks, says Google SA country director, Dr Alistair Mokoena.

Other topics include collection and use of personal information, peoples ability to understand and control how their data is used, as well as the impact of data-driven technologies on people and society.

Collaborative initiatives

Our university has been at the cutting edge of technology and has, on many instances, been driving innovative advancements, says UJs Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi.

As a leading company in AI, Googles strategy is closely aligned with UJs strategic objective of innovation for societal impact and sustainability. We are thrilled to be hosting the fifth edition of this event, and we hope it will provide valuable insights and opportunities in the field, adds Mpedi.

The University of Johannesburgs pioneering work and agility in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) space makes the institution a valuable partner for collaborative initiatives in this field. The Google Africa Internet Academy is one such collaboration, and we look forward to this event at UJ, says Mokoena.

The first Google Africa Internet Academy was held at Wits University in 2016. Strathmore University in Mauritius and US International University (USIU-Africa) hosted the second and third events in 2017 and 2021, respectively.

The fourth was recently held in Kenya in May this year.
Retail legend Raymond Ackerman (92) has died. Pick n Pay, the retail group he founded, announced on Thursday morning.

Raymond Ackerman and his wife, Wendy. Source: https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/

"With profound sadness, we announce that Pick n Pay founder Raymond Ackerman has passed away," the group said in a short release.

"A visionary entrepreneur, humanitarian and a great South African. Our country has lost a brilliant patriot who always saw a positive future for South Africa."

According to Business Day, Ackerman was born in Cape Town in 1931, he was the son of the Ackermans clothing group founder, Gus Ackerman, and was educated at Bishops Diocesan College. He studied at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where he was taught about the dangers of monopolies and the importance of the customer in economic relationships. These principles formed the foundation of the policies he adopted as a retailer.

In 1951, he started working as a trainee manager at Ackermans. Ackerman accepted a job in Johannesburg when rival Greatermans acquired the group, where he convinced the business to build stores that sell food. He was tasked with starting the Checkers supermarket chain in 1955, and by the time he was 35, he was in command of 85 Checkers locations.

With the help of investors, he acquired four Pick n Pay businesses in Cape Town in 1967. Several years later, he opened South Africa's first hypermarket in 1975, a 22,000m2 store in Boksburg, and the chain soon grew.

According to Reuters, by the time Ackerman retired in 2010 and handed the chairman's reins to son Gareth, Pick n Pay was operating 20 hypermarkets and 402 supermarkets across South Africa, with a group turnover of almost R50bn.

Today it generates 106 billion rand in annual turnover and owns more than 2,000 stores across South Africa and seven other African countries.

Ackerman is survived by his wife, Wendy, children Gareth, Kathy, Suzanne, and Jonathan, his 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Ackerman was known for his retail sayings doing good is good business and poor people need low prices, rich people like low prices.

From the outset, he lived by the core values that the customer is queen, that we must treat others as we wish to be treated, and that doing good is good business. These values have guided the business for over 56 years, and today, the Pick n Pay Group serves millions of customers in more than 2,000 stores across South Africa and seven other African countries, the statement said.

Tributes have been pouring in across social media...

With profound sadness we announce that Pick n Pay founder Raymond Ackerman has passed away.

A visionary entrepreneur, humanitarian and a great South African. Our country has lost a brilliant patriot who always saw a positive future for South Africa. pic.twitter.com/Io0uunYhAJ  Pick n Pay (@PicknPay) September 7, 2023

A South African legend, pioneer and giant has passed.



Raymond Ackerman made an exceptional contribution to our beautiful country and her people, in so many powerful and positive ways, that his impact and legacy will be always be felt and remembered.



Few people fight for their https://t.co/VrvegPH6Pi  Mike Abel (@abelmike) September 7, 2023
In a celebration of excellence and innovation in agriculture, Nicky van der Linde, a 36-year-old grain farmer hailing from Standerton, has been named TLU SA's Young Farmer of the Year for 2023.

Your TLU SA Young Farmer of the Year is Nicky van der Linde. Source: Supplied

Reflecting on the competition, Van der Linde commented, Its always good to measure yourself against other farmers. Its good to learn, and a bit of healthy competition is a good thing. They were all dynamic guys who participated, and you can see they have a passion for farming.

The runner-up position was secured by Nets Turvey from the Tuinplaas Farmers Association in Limpopo, while Francois Prinsloo from Stoffberg in Belfast clinched third place.

Bennie van Zyl, the general manager of TLU SA, commended all 15 semi-finalists, noting the difficulty in selecting the finalists and eventual winner after extensive travels across South Africa.

Each of these farmers has filled our hearts with pride with their positivity, innovation, and farming expertise, and we are confident about the future with these young farmers in the industry, he said

Remarkable journey

Van der Linde's farming journey spans 17 years on the Cyrus farm of Geelbosboerdery. Taking over from his late father, who passed away from cancer in December, he has left an indelible mark on the farm, distinguished by his commitment to excellence.

Lourens Steyn, a judge from the Hatfield Motor Group, expressed admiration for his forward-thinking approach in the industry. His vision to vertically develop the multi-dimensional Geelbosboerdery using technology and international best practices while maintaining a strong foundation built on generations of experience and community involvement were the standout qualities that earned him the overall winner title.

Wannie Scribante, the deputy president of TLU SA, was equally impressed, emphasising his bold investment in grain silos, which promises benefits for both him and fellow farmers.

It was meticulous planning and attention to detail caught the eye of Clemens Senekal, TLU SAs Young Farmer committee chairman, who commended the impeccable state of the farm and even Van der Linde's daily polished shoes as a testament to his respect for his surroundings.

In recognition of their achievements, each finalist received a prize from Introlab, with Van der Linde and wife Adri also receiving a trip for two to the Manitou factory in France. TLU SA extended their heartfelt thanks to the sponsors of the Young Farmer Competition for their invaluable investment in the future of agriculture.
For centuries social workers have been at the forefront of helping people navigate times of disruption and radical change. Often referred to as a noble profession, social work has its roots in the 1800s when societies grappled with the emerging impacts of industrialisation. Social workers have historically played a critical role in advocating for social reforms and giving voice to people who are excluded, exploited, or left behind in a changing world. It is no surprise then, that in today's tech-driven revolution era, social work is one of the relevant fields for those with a passion to make a difference.

Despite the transition to democracy, South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the modern world. Poverty, crime, unemployment, and lack of equal opportunities are deeply rooted in many South African communities. Gender-based violence, substance abuse and mental health issues are prevalent throughout the country. Financial challenges and the digital divide exclude vast numbers of young South Africans from engaging in the global economy and finding chances to lift themselves and their families out of endemic poverty.

Dr Poppy Masinga, head of the Social Work & Community Development Faculty at SACAP (The South African College of Applied Psychology) says: The need for social workers in the country is urgent, if we are to fulfil the long-awaited promise of a democratic, free, and fair South Africa. The country needs social workers to take their place at the forefront of the fight for social, environmental, and economic justice, the building of a more inclusive, peaceful, and compassionate society.

Community empowerment

One of the primary functions of social workers in South Africa is to engage deeply in local communities to jointly identify unique needs and challenges, and work collaboratively to design and implement programmes that promote sustainable development. By empowering communities to take charge of their own growth, social workers help foster a sense of ownership and agency among the people. This approach promotes resourcefulness and resilience, strengthening the social fabric and creating a sense of unity and shared responsibility.

Mental health and trauma healing

South Africa has high rates of mental health issues and a lack of access to mental healthcare resources, especially in disadvantaged communities. Working in association with schools, primary healthcare clinics and non-government or community-based organisations, social workers can serve as vital frontline mental healthcare practitioners.

Social workers play an important role in mobilising resources, providing counselling, as well as coordinating interventions such as support groups and implementing awareness and educational campaigns. On-the-ground professional support helps individuals and communities heal from the psychological aftermath of historical injustices, intergenerational trauma, and promote mental wellbeing and social cohesion.

Advocacy and policy reform

Social workers in South Africa also contribute significantly to shaping policies that advance human rights, social justice, and equality. Drawing on their experiences working at the grassroots level, these professionals offer valuable insights to policymakers, helping to craft legislation that addresses the needs of vulnerable and marginalised populations. The advocacy role played by social workers drives positive change on a systemic level contributing to access to basic services, poverty alleviation, gender equality and respecting diversity. In addition, South African social workers are focused also on advocating for access to varied services such as access to the digital economy.

Dr Masinga says: Theres a need for social workers to operate across diverse sectors which amplifies their influence across the nation. Whether they are employed in government institutions, non-profit organisations or business settings, their presence is testament to their adaptability and commitment to improving lives. Social workers are catalysts for transformative change, ensuring that equality and justice permeates all walks of life.

Social workers in the climate change era

As the world grapples with the escalating challenges linked to climate change, social workers are poised to play an increasingly vital role. Dr Masinga says: The climate crisis exacerbates existing vulnerabilities, disproportionately affecting marginalised communities. Social workers, with their deep-rooted commitment to environmental justice, are well-equipped to address these challenges head-on. They are also capable of spearheading community resilience initiatives, preparing communities for the impending risks and building adaptive capacities.

In addition, as climate crises fuel mental health concerns and trauma, social workers are essential in providing counselling and support services. Their expertise is invaluable in helping individuals and communities cope with the emotional toll of environmental disruptions. It is clear that the social work profession is indispensable. At a time when the world of work is changing rapidly and some jobs are becoming obsolete, social work will remain a long-lasting, in-demand career.

Have you got what it takes to be a social worker?

Embarking on a career in social work in South Africa is an impactful decision. To thrive and make a meaningful difference in this field, young South Africans should develop a specific set of qualities that will empower them to navigate the complexities of social work and contribute effectively to the betterment of their communities.

Here are 10 top qualities that young South Africans considering a career in social work should cultivate through accredited social work education:

Empathy and compassion

Ethical integrity

Cultural sensitivity and diversity

Strong communication skills

Problem-solving abilities

Resilience and emotional well-being

Advocacy skills

Adaptability and flexibility

Teamwork and collaboration

Patience and persistence



Dr Masinga says: Its clear that social workers need to develop an in-depth understanding of self and others. This is why the Sacap Bachelor of Social Work degree is strongly underpinned by theories in applied psychology. An important aspect of social work is problem-solving, and when you can figure out what people are going through, you can figure out solutions.

Sacap is one of the only two private higher education institution that offers a fully accredited, four-year Bachelor of Social Work degree, which is available at its Cape Town and Johannesburg campuses. Applications for January 2024 are open now. Find out more here.




Trade between China and South Africa is set to grow further after several announcements on trade were made at the Brics summit, held in South Africa in August 2023. At the summit, the countries agreed to narrow the trade deficit by increasing access to Chinese markets for South African products.

In this regard, China has recently begun importing South African beef after a block on the product (due to foot and mouth disease) was lifted. The two countries also agreed to allow avocados to be exported from South Africa to China. China also announced at the summit that it would donate energy equipment worth around R167m ($8.97m) and a grant valued at around R500m ($26.9m) to South Africa to assist with its energy crisis, although no deadlines were given.

20 deals

In August, the countries jointly announced that Chinese companies had signed 20 deals to buy products worth around R41bn ($2.2bn) from major South African companies. The Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition in South Africa, Ebrahim Patel, said at the signing ceremony that the deals would assist South Africa in creating jobs and growing the economy. It was also noted at the signing that two-way trade between China and South Africa amounted to $47bn in 2022 and that both countries were committed to strengthening the relationship.

China Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao noted at the summit that there was a prospect of even greater growth in trade, not only with South Africa but with other African countries

Across Africa, China is increasingly importing agricultural products and manufacturing goods on the continent, in addition to its strong focus on oil, critical minerals and metals. African imports from China mainly focus on manufactured goods such as electronics, clothing, appliances and technology.

Recent data from the Chinese Ministry revealed that over the last two decades, China's trade with Africa as a whole has risen 20-fold, showing that China is one of Africa's biggest bilateral trading partners. To balance the trade gap, China pledged in 2021 to import $300bn of African products by 2025. The country has also increased the number of products that can be exported to China tariff-free.

Economist report

A recent report by Economist Corporate Network, supported by Baker McKenzie and Silk Road Associates, BRI Beyond 2020 (Economist report), showed how these strengthening trade links are, in part, a result of favourable financial incentives offered to African jurisdictions by China. According to the Economist report, 33 of the poorest jurisdictions in Africa export 97% of their exports to China with no tariffs or customs duties.

This report noted that bilateral trade was still heavily centred on Chinas import of Africas natural resources. However, in recent years, China has increased its imports of manufacturing products from more diversified economies, such as South Africa. At an official session of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee held at the 2023 BRICS summit, Minister Patel said the aim was for South Africa to export more manufactured and value-added products to China.

AfCFTA report

A Baker McKenzie report with Oxford Economics, AfCFTA: A Three Trillion Dollar Opportunity (AfCFTA report), revealed that over three-quarters of African exports to the rest of the world were still heavily focused on natural resources, but that on the import side, manufactured goods accounted for more than half the total volume of imports into African jurisdictions. Africas most important suppliers of manufactured goods were listed as Europe (35%) China (16%) and the rest of Asia, including India (14%).

The Economist report pointed out that political and policy commitments between China and Africa have strengthened and expanded in scope in recent years. Since its launch in 2000, the Forum on China-Africa Trade Cooperation (FOCAC) has focused on forming closer relationships between China and Africa. At FOCAC's last conference, held at the end of 2021, China announced that it would move away from state-backed projects in Africa, partly due to the impact of Covid-19. Instead, the focus would be on increasing reciprocal China-Africa trade, incentivising private firm investments from China into Africa and strengthening cooperation between the two regions.

At Chinas Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbins regular press conference in August 2023 it was noted that Chinese companies were growing in confidence in the African market, with 3000 Chinese enterprises, of which more than 70% are private, currently invested in Africa. It was also noted that the progress of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) meant that Chinese investors would find more opportunities to invest in the African market. Successful pan-African trade under AfCFTA will connect the regions wealthier and poorer nations, promote the growth of value chains and lay the foundations for increased international trade in the process.

Sustainable development

As Africa reduces its overdependence on natural resources and increases its manufacturing capacity, it must also ensure it develops other industries in a sustainable way.

To this end, the Economist report outlined how China and Africa have agreed to work together on improving Africas capacity for green, low-carbon, and sustainable development, and to roll out more than 50 projects on clean energy, wildlife protection, environment-friendly agriculture, and low-carbon development.

The trade in sustainable goods and services is also expected to reap benefits for the African continent in future years. A joint statement issues by the two countries in August 2023 acknowledged "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."
News of the WACS cable repair broke during the Novacom network resilience keynote panel discussion between three of South Africa's biggest internet infrastructure providers. Imran Abbas, CEO Link Africa, Ryan Sher, CEO WIOCC and Liquid's chief strategy officer, Willie Oosthuysen shared insights from decades of connectivity experience.

Panel discussion at Novacom

You can't have one cable feeding West Africa and say you have resilience, exclaimed Abbas.

We're preparing our networks to be futureproof and metaverse ready, so we need to think differently and get more hyperscalers into Africa and move data closer to the edge. This will help drop latency because we can add all the cables we want, but if were sending the traffic out of the continent then that 20ms latency will still be there.

He is speaking about the major cloud services from the likes of Microsoft, Amazon and Google. All three have established servers in South Africa, with Microsoft being first to market with a major data centre in 2019.

Bringing data to the edge

Hyperscale data centers are becoming increasingly common in Africa, with South Africa being a snapshot of things to come. Vantage Data Centers in December announced that it is building a second facility in Johannesburg.

Teraco already operates eight around the country and is expanding capacity at its JB4 facility in Ekurhuleni.

According to a report from Synergy Research Group, there are now around 900 large data centres operated by hyperscale companies, accounting for approximately 37% of global capacity. Only 94 of those are in Africa, which leaves the continent heavily reliant on connectivity to Europe.

This will only increase with the rapid change in the ratio of cloud to on-premise capacity. Hyperscale operators are expected to account for over half of all capacity by 2030.

The costs, however, are high. Teraco took out a R12bn loan from Absa in January to refinance debt and cover its continued growth. Half has been reserved for future expansion.

The problem is the customer

The big problem is that customers want to pay very little and unfortunately the costs of providing the service is high, explains Sher.

We (WIOCC) have two routes into South Africa and we still can't get the capacity that the customers demand, at a cost effective rate. In Nigeria there's no business case to build without a mobile network. The guys are managing to mesh the networks to some extent, but it's difficult to get diversity.

That diversity is a big part of the cable repair debate with the economics of the older and lower capacity SAT-3 proving a sticking point. Sher says that when new cables are installed it makes sense from a diversity perspective, but the maintenance costs add up quickly.

How Africa connects. Source: WIOCC

You need physical redundancy and logical redundancy, comments Oosthuysen. We have a retail customer with over 2,000 stores, but during stage 6 loadshedding they lose 4-6 hours of trade. For them to build resilience they go to satellite link and a battery pack which increases their cost.

Liquid Intelligent Technologies signed a multi-year, multi-beam agreement with Eutelsat Communications last September. The initial deal was to use the satellite operators Eutelsat Konnect satellite to serve customers across Africa.

Liquid has access to 11 cables in Africa. What we will do in the future is to bring the capacity from the landing stations into the data centres so that customers buy capacity at the data centres, and we can switch dynamically, he said. But does it make sense for us to buy and add capacity when customers are only buying 20% of that?

The panel agreed that the biggest hinderance to building the required resilience is costs and urged the audience to petition governments to invest in internet infrastructure to help share the financial burden.
African leaders on Wednesday proposed new global taxes and reforms to international financial institutions to help fund climate change action in a declaration that will form the basis of their negotiating position at November's COP28 summit.

African leaders are proposing new global taxes and reforms to international financial institutions to help fund climate change action, setting up their negotiating position ahead of November's COP28 summit. Some countries already have taxes on carbon, but a global tax has never gained much traction. Source: Reuters

The Nairobi Declaration capped the three-day Africa Climate Summit in Kenya, which was dominated by discussions of how to mobilise financing to adapt to increasingly extreme weather, conserve natural resources and develop renewable energy.

Despite suffering from some of the worst impacts of climate change, Africa only receives about 12% of the nearly $300bn in annual financing it needs to cope, according to researchers.

While organisers emphasised market-based solutions such as carbon credits in the lead-up to the summit, the final declaration was heaviest on demands that major polluters and global financial institutions commit more resources to help poorer nations and make it easier for them to borrow at affordable rates.

It urged world leaders "to rally behind the proposal for a global carbon taxation regime including a carbon tax on fossil fuel trade, maritime transport and aviation, that may also be augmented by a global financial transaction tax".

It said implementing such measures at a global level would ensure large-scale financing for climate-related investments and insulate the issue of tax raises from geopolitical and domestic political pressures.

About two dozen countries impose taxes on carbon, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but the idea of a global carbon tax regime has never gained much traction.

On Tuesday, 5 September, Kenyan President William Ruto cited proposals in the European Union for a financial transaction tax (FTT) as a potential model.

After the European Commission proposed an FTT in 2011, some conservation groups said the money should finance environmental priorities.

The commission's proposal never won the unanimous approval required from the European Council to become law, although some member states have enacted their own FTTs.

International Financial System

African countries will take the proposals in the Nairobi Declaration to a UN climate conference later this month and the COP28 summit which begins in the United Arab Emirates in late November.

Joab Bwire Okanda, a senior advisor at the Christian Aid charity, said the call for a global carbon tax was welcome but that "to make polluters really pay, false solutions like carbon credits that allow polluters a free ride without taking meaningful action need to be consigned to the dustbin".

Some activists say the credits, which allow polluters to offset emissions by funding green activities, are a pretext for big polluters to keep emitting carbon dioxide.

Ruto said governments, development banks, private investors and philanthropists committed a combined $23bn in all to green projects over the three days, including hundreds of millions to a major carbon markets initiative.

But African leaders acknowledged that those kinds of investments only scratch the surface of the continent's financial needs and said more systemic changes were needed.

For example, African countries say they are forced to pay borrowing costs that are five to eight times higher than wealthy countries, leading to recurrent debt crises and preventing them from spending more to respond to climate change.

The declaration called on multilateral development banks to increase concessional lending to poorer countries and for the "better deployment" of the IMF's special drawing rights mechanism.

Other proposals included measures to help indebted countries avoid default such as instruments that can grant 10-year grace periods and extend sovereign debt tenor.

Some analysts said the summit had not focused enough on how to help Africans adapt to extreme weather.

"Many communities bearing the brunt of increasing floods and droughts, while also at risk of conflict, are disappointed that there wasnt more emphasis on ensuring that green investments trickle down to them," said Nazanine Moshiri, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group think-tank.
In 2015, the birth of Beauty on TApp marked the genesis of a pioneering online beauty emporium owned entirely by women, specialising in top-notch skincare, haircare and self-care products.

Beauty on TApp founder Mathebe Molise (centre)

As its first step, the company launched a mobile application meticulously crafted to seamlessly connect users with local beauty services, including makeup artists, hair braiders, and skin therapists. Additionally, the app featured an exclusive directory that showcased distinctive and niche beauty brands.

Acknowledging the imperative need for sustainable financial growth, a strategic transformation was set into motion, culminating in the establishment of a robust e-commerce platform. This digital evolution revolved around the retail of cosmetics, initially sourced from the very brands previously highlighted in the app's directory.

In this interview, we engage in an insightful conversation with Mathebe Molise, the founder behind Beauty on TApp. We embark on a profound exploration of her journey through the tech industry, shedding light on the profound impact she has orchestrated. At the core of her exceptional achievements lies Beauty on TApp itself - an innovative enterprise seamlessly fusing technology with the realm of beauty services and products.

Congratulations on being recognised as one of TelkomZA's Phenomenal 10 Women in Tech! Can you share more about your journey in the tech industry and the impact you hope to make in the field?

Beauty on TApp has leveraged technology to make the beauty service and product acquisition process easier for customers and our community. The beauty industry has been quite slow to leverage technology however cosmetics are products we use daily and the buying process should be as seamless and as easy as possible and that is what we have done at Beauty on TApp.

The business has pivoted a number of times and the pivots have all been based on customer feedback. Initially, we had a find a beauty service offering on the app and a find a niche product side however app users gave us feedback that they want to shop products on one platform and pay one shipping fee and thats how our e-commerce platform was born. Since then weve worked to improve our website UX and efficiency and weve made progress thus far.

How did your business journey transform from a beauty service directory to a flourishing online beauty and wellness e-commerce platform, including the creation of your own skincare line, Pastry Skincare?

At Beauty on TApp we pride ourselves on constantly engaging with our community and listening to feedback. The online store came about after app users told us theyd like to shop products on our app directory on one platform and Shop Beauty on TApp was then borne.

It took a few iterations to get the shop site right but we eventually got it right. Pastry was also created from feedback received from the Beauty on TApp community. People were looking for body care with active ingredients and after searching in the market for a while we couldnt find anything and decided to launch our own skincare brand that caters for this request.

Our business evolution has largely been based on engaging with our community and working to fulfil gaps we identify in the market.

Which skills have you carried over from your career as a chartered accountant to your journey as an entrepreneur in the beauty tech industry?

My background is in banking and I spent eight years at an investment bank. I spent time as a credit analyst then worked as an executive assistant to both the head of Africa and then to the CEO of the bank. The skills I probably use daily are modeling/analytical review skills and financial management/cash flow management and risk management.

But more importantly - Im very strict about building processes and controls within the business to ensure the business operates without a hiccup and that mistakes are minimised.

I think my last role in banking which was EA to the CEO taught me a lot about leadership and business management and those are very important skills to have.

Beauty on TApp has been in business for eight years and continues to grow. If you were to offer advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, what would it be?

Consistency is very important as well as keeping your promise to customers. Whatever you do that requires that you be consistent do it. Whether it's posting daily on social media or keeping your delivery timelines - your promise to customers is important and should be kept. It also takes a lot of sacrifice and discipline (time, financial etc) to build a business so you need to be mentally ready for that as well.

But in the end, the consistency and discipline will hopefully pay off.

The Beauty on TApp and Pastry skincare brand has undeniably captured the affection of its social media community. How did you go about fostering such a deeply engaged audience?

Often brands just post but dont actively engage with their followers/community or enjoy it. We absolutely love engaging with all our community and creating content they can engage with.

We understand our markets - The Beauts/Besties and Pastry Dolls - so we use a specific tone to engage with them, use humour when engaging with them and engage using the simplest terms as cosmetic lingo can be intimidating and we want to make sure they fully understand what were saying.

We also seek to educate more than sell products and create engaging and educational content that our communities enjoy. I think it's also important to sell quality - I think both brands are also appreciated because they both sell top-tier service and quality. Pastry is so well formulated, caters to the local market and is effective so it has won the hearts of some whereas Beauty on TApp stocks quality brands and has what I think is the best customer service.

You expanded into physical retail this year with your flagship in-store in Mall of Africa and Pastry skincare products on sale at Egg in Cavendish. As the founder of an online store, what value do you see in physical retail?

The South African market and most markets are still heavily reliant on brick and mortar. I did some work to understand the e-comm vs brick and mortar sales percentages at international beauty stores and brick and mortar sales far outweigh e-comm. I think when it comes to some shopping experiences touching and feeling products is still important to consumers so the decision to tackle brick-and-mortar was well thought out and seems to have been a good decision.

What has been amazing to see is that brick-and-mortar expansion hasnt impacted online sales which means there was a whole market segment that we were missing that we have now included in our community.

What keeps you motivated amidst the inevitable shifts in the business landscape, both in your business pursuits and outside them?

I want to see Beauty on TApp become the biggest beauty business in Africa and I know it can happen. We have something special - a great business model with great brands supported by a strong team and community. Seeing the business grow every month despite the economic climate keeps us motivated because when things improve then I believe weve set ourselves up for success.

More than that - I want to inspire young women and show them that anything is possible. We operate in a market with very big cosmetic retailers and beauty brands but were growing our market share despite the odds. So were working to change the narrative and demonstrate that inclusivity - both internally and externally is crucial for business growth.
This Aug. 30 photo shows Saemangeum, a reclaimed tidal flat in North Jeolla Province, where the World Scout Jamboree took place earlier that month. Yonhap



By Jun Ji-hye



Local governments paid a total of nearly 15 billion won ($11 million) to cover the costs of offering accommodations, food and cultural events to World Scout Jamboree participants, who had to evacuate the campsite earlier than scheduled due to safety concerns and other problems, according to an opposition lawmaker, Thursday.



Rep. Lim Ho-seon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea said the money could have been saved if the Jamboree event had proceeded normally, claiming that taxpayers' money was wasted due to a lack of preparations for the event that resulted in hygiene problems, insect control failure and shortages of sanitary facilities, as well as safety concerns amid the heat wave and incoming Typhoon Khanun at the time.



Adding to the controversy is that some of those local governments are still waiting after more than a month for the money promised by the central government, which is meant to settle the costs.



The quadrennial event, which kicked off on Aug. 1 in Saemangeum, a reclaimed tidal flat in North Jeolla Province, brought to Korea over 43,000 young Scouts and adult volunteers from more than 150 countries. But the event devolved into a nightmare amid severe criticism internationally over the poor planning and unpleasant conditions.



The U.K., U.S. and Singapore delegations decided on an early departure from the campsite, citing health risks posed to the participants. The remaining participants were later evacuated to some 130 lodgings around Seoul and other regions on Aug. 8  four days ahead of their initial schedule  due to the approaching typhoon. They then participated in alternative programs offered by local governments until the event ended on Aug. 12.





Scouts head to buses at the campsite of the World Scout Jamboree in Saemangeum, a reclaimed tidal flat in North Jeolla Province, Aug. 8, to move to other parts of the country due to approaching Typhoon Khanun. Korea Times photo by Kim Jae-hyun



According to Lim, 11 local governments executed a budget of 14.9 billion won in total to pay for the Jamboree participants' transportation, accommodations, food and cultural events.



The government of North Jeolla Province spent 6.5 billion won, the most among other local administrations, followed by 2.12 billion won spent by Gyeonggi Province, 1.82 billion won by South Chungcheong Province and 1.81 billion won by Seoul.



On Aug. 9, the central government vowed to cover the costs spent by the local governments, but it has since failed to present a detailed measure and schedule for the payments.



"There has been no consensus yet about which ministry should make the payment," Lim said. "For example, a local government that provided a university dormitory in the region to accommodate relocated Jamboree participants still does not know whether the costs should be covered by the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of the Interior and Safety."



The lawmaker continued, "The government should promptly make the payment to local governments that fully supported the Jamboree participants."



In North Jeolla Province, drivers who lent their chartered buses to transport the Jamboree participants warned of a rally, claiming that the local government has postponed the rental payment.



Local media quoted one bus driver as saying that 1,100 buses were mobilized per day on average at the time, with the rental fees amounting to 5.6 billion won.



The drivers said they will hold a rally in Seoul if the North Jeolla Province government fails to pay by mid-September.





Members of the Provincial Council of North Jeolla Province have their heads shaved in front of the provincial office, Tuesday, in protest of the Ministry of Economy and Finance's decision to cut next year's budget for the projects to develop the Saemangeum area by nearly 80 percent. Yonhap


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Doing good work in Poland, Owen Gramley '25

Thanks to a grant from Bowdoins Russian department, Gramley spent much of the break as an international language volunteer in Krakow, Poland, where he worked at the distribution centers of two aid organizations.

Those groups are the Jewish Community Center of Krakow and the Dobro Zawsze Wraca Foundation (Polish for the good always comes back), both of which are working hard to help some of the millions of Ukrainian refugees who have entered Poland since their country was invaded by Russia in February 2022.

Gramley used his language skills (most Ukrainians speak Russian) to translate between refugees, staff, and English-speaking volunteers. Each day, he said, he organized resources to provide food, clothing, and administrative help to the 300 to 400 refugees who rely on these organizations for their daily needs.

Throughout my time in Poland, it was made abundantly clear to me how disastrous the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine really is, said the religion and Russian double major. However, it was exceedingly meaningful to employ my Russian language abilities to make a small difference abroad.

Chunwen Ko 25 spent the summer in Berlin, Germany, working for a nonprofit that promotes integration between new immigrants (including Ukrainian refugees) and longtime locals. The group, called Give Something Back to Berlin (GSBTB), provides free courses and activities in which Berliners from different backgrounds, whether newly arrived or born-and-raised, can learn, create, and share together, explained the government and Russian double major. Activities include music classes (open to all skill levels), community dinners, a weekly art space, and German language classes.




Police on Thursday began an investigation into independent lawmaker Youn Mee-hyang accused of attending a pro-North Korea group's event in Japan without notifying the government in a possible violation of the National Security Law.







According to police officials, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) plans to bring in a Seoul city councilor Friday, who filed a complaint against Youn participating in the controversial event organized by the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan in Tokyo last Friday to commemorate Korean victims of the Kanto Massacre in the wake of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.







The association, also known as Jochongryon, represents Korean residents in Japan who have allegiance to North Korea. South Koreans need to file prior notification with the government before contacting a Jochongryon member under the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act.







Supreme Court rulings define Jochongryon as an anti-state organization, which South Koreans are banned from praising and contacting under the National Security Law.







The SMPA has also taken over another complaint filed by a conservative civic group against Youn with the Seoul Western District Prosecutors Office, the police officials said. (Yonhap)


Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, meets the press to mark one year in office at the National Assembly in Seoul, Aug. 31. Yonhap



Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung will appear before prosecutors this weekend for questioning over his alleged involvement in a company's illegal money transfers to North Korea, his party said Thursday.



Lee, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), will show up at the Suwon District Prosecutors Office on Saturday, DPK spokesperson Park Sung-joon told reporters, after a tug-of-war between the two sides over the date of Lee's appearance.



Prosecutors had demanded Lee come for questioning between Thursday and Saturday. But the DPK insisted Lee will appear Tuesday next week after the end of this week's parliamentary interpellation session going on through Friday.



"After repeatedly slighting the National Assembly, the prosecution issued an unprecedented, coercive summons that Lee abandon his duty to attend a regular parliamentary session and appear" for questioning, the DPK spokesperson said.



"We express deep regret over the prosecution's anti-constitutional behavior of denying a lawmaker's legislative activity," he said. "Right after the interpellation session is over, Chairman Lee will appear at the prosecution office on Saturday."



It will mark the fifth time that Lee has appeared for prosecution questioning. He has been under investigation over a series of corruption allegations that he claims were fabricated, and was last questioned on Aug. 17.



The investigation centers on allegations that Ssangbangwool Group, an underwear manufacturer, unlawfully remitted $8 million to North Korea between January 2019 and January 2020 on behalf of Gyeonggi Province.



Prosecutors suspect that $3 million was intended to facilitate Lee's planned visit to Pyongyang, while the remainder was meant for Gyeonggi's smart farm support program in North Korea. (Yonhap)


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A company has claimed before the High Court that the proposed 9 million sale of its interest in a five-storey premises in Dublin has been put at risk due to a dispute with the building's property management firm.

The claim has been made by Distillery Commercial Limited, which hold a long-term lease in respect of the property known as Block C, Crosbie's Yard, Ossory Road in Dublin 3.

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Distillery Commercial claims that it has carried out works on two floors of the building, in order to convert what had been designated as office space into eight residential apartments.

It claims that the completion of those works is being held up by the actions of Newcomen Bridge Company Limited, which is the building's management company.

The two parties, the High Court heard, are involved in a legal dispute where the management company has sued Distillery Commercial claiming over 200,000 in services charges, plus continuing arrears.

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Distillery Commercial denies that allegation.

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They said that it commenced the conversion works some years ago and says those works have resulted in further difficulties between the parties.

Distillery Commercial, which required the management company's consent to carry out the works, claims that it has made painstaking efforts to comply with all of the conditions sought by Newcomen Bridge.

Distillery Commercial claims that the works cannot be finalised due to a difficulty over the proposed installation of fire safety measures known as Automatic Opening Vents (AOVs) on the building's roof.

Distillery Commercial claims that it believed had consent to install the AOV's and to remove two sets of cross doors on each of the floors being converted.

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It claims that the management company has "unreasonably" refused to approve those final works, which have been under consideration for over a year.

Distillery says that it has tried to engage with the management company to resolve the issues between them.

No agreement has been reached, Distillery Commercial claims.

Distillery Commercial also claims that the management company has refused to furnish it with documentation it needs to sell its interest in the building.

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It says it has a deal in place for the sale to a third party for 9 million.

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The refusal to furnish the material is having a serious impact on Distillery, which claims that the proposed sale is at risk, and it cannot rent out the newly converted apartments due to the management company's "unreasonable" stance.

This, it is claimed, is causing financial problems for Distillery Commercial,

The court heard that Distillery Commercial says its lawyers has given an undertaking to Newcomen Bridge that it would retain the amount of the service charges claimed until the finalisation of the proceedings.

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Represented by barrister Donnchadh McCarthy Bl, Distillery Commercial seeks orders including an injunction restraining Newcomen Bridge from interfering with it from carrying out the remaining works required to convert the two floors into residential units.

It also wants the court to direct Newcomen Bridge to provide Distillery with the documentation it requires to allow it to sell its interest in the building.

If granted the orders would remain in place pending the full hearing of the dispute.

The case came before Mr Justice Mark Heslin during Thursday's vacation sitting of the High Court.

The judge, who noted that the matter came before him on an ex-parte basis, adjourned the injunction application to a date in early October.

The judge also made directions for the exchange of documents in the case.
The Northern Ireland Policing Board is continuing to meet behind closed doors amid a crisis within policing in the region.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Simon Byrne resigned last week following a string of controversies.

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Pressure has been mounting on the leadership of the PSNI after a data breach which disclosed personal details of officers and staff, and a critical High Court judgment which said the disciplining of two officers following an arrest at a Troubles memorial event in Belfast in 2021 was unlawful.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton was to assume the responsibilities of the chief.

He had been expected to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, on Wednesday but was unable to attend due to an unplanned medical procedure.

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A PSNI spokesman said the senior executive team is leading the organisation while Mr Hamilton recovers.

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During the meeting on Wednesday, the federation unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Hamilton, and also expressed no confidence in the PSNIs chief operating officer, Pamela McCreedy, and assistant chief officer Clare Duffield.

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The Policing Board is meeting to discuss the appointment of a new Chief Constable.

There have been calls for the appointment of an interim leader to steer the service during the period of crisis.

Arriving at the board meeting on Thursday morning, DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said the board will aim to bring the PSNI back to where it should be.

The aim is to try and fix it and bring it back to where it should be, he said.

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I think it would be unfair to say no one is concerned at the minute because we all are.

Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister said the fixation on individuals is becoming damaging for the PSNI ahead of the board meeting in Belfast.

Alliance have been clear from the very start that we need to have proper process, and thats why we called for a review of the senior executive team, she said.

But the fixation on individuals I think is getting really unhealthy for the PSNI and we need to make sure that as a board, we do our work, we ask the right questions we hold people to account.

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Today there are many items on the agenda. Its not just about the crisis thats actually facing the PSNI today, but its about making sure that the PSNI continues because remember, there are officers on the ground still doing the work.

So theres a lot of issues to get through today, and well make sure that we do our role properly.

SDLP MLA Mark Durkan said the board would need to put their heads together, as they meet to discuss the crisis in leadership in the PSNI.

It is vitally important that we put our heads together and plot a way forward to get out of this to return some stability to the police service and to assist the officers doing their job, he said.

Asked on the concerns the Police Federation for Northern Ireland has expressed with the function of the policing board throughout the crisis in the PSNI, Mr Durkan said they could not be ignored.

I dont think its something that we can ignore, absolutely not. Ive heard their concerns and I have to say I share some of their concerns, so all those matters will be discussed today and many days after this I suppose, he said.
A Meath teenager took her own life three months after being drugged and raped while on holiday in Greece, an inquest has heard.

Julie Crowe (18), from Porterstown Lane, Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, died on November 4th, 2019.

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A sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court on Thursday heard the tragic circumstances of how Julie had developed a low mood and thoughts of self-harm after being drugged and raped while on holiday abroad with friends in August 2019.

The inquest was also informed that gardai had received no further feedback about the progress of any criminal investigation in Greece, despite several requests after providing a statement by Julie to their Greek counterparts via Interpol.

Julies father, Gary Crowe, told the inquest he had decided to work from home on the morning of November 4th, 2019, as his daughter had not slept.

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Mr Crowe recalled she was groggy and appeared very subdued and very detached when he woke her around 12.20pm.

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He said she apologised for the expense of a trip to the US from which they had recently returned.

Mr Crowe said he hugged his daughter to try and get her out of a daze.

As Julie went to have a shower, Mr Crowe said he noticed a note on her bed which he thought was part of a diary.

When he went to check on her at around 2.15pm, Mr Crowe said he could not find his daughter anywhere in the house before ringing his wife to express concern that Julie had run away.

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Note

At that point, he remembered the note and found it contained a reference to Rathbeggan Lakes.

The inquest heard Mr Crown went to the flyover bridge and saw traffic pulling over on the motorway.

He then spotted his daughter lying on the ground and went and started CPR after noticing her eyes were glazed over. Others came and helped with her attempted resuscitation.

A passing motorist, Jonathan Madden, told the inquest how he had dialled 999 after he was travelling along the M3 and noticed a girl standing outside the railing of the flyover bridge.

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Mr Madden said he exited the motorway at the next junction in order to get back to the bridge but that the girl was lying face down on the ground by the time he got to the scene.

The inquest heard it was a very wet day with poor visibility.

Garda Jeffrey Moroney said CCTV footage of the bridge had confirmed the evidence provided by eyewitnesses and that the investigation on the case had been closed.

Julies mother, Anna Crowe, gave evidence of formally identifying her daughters body to gardai at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown (CHB).

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Fighting back tears, Ms Crowe said she had been phoned by her husband, Gary, at around 2.20pm to say that Julie was at the M3 bridge.

When she arrived at the scene, Ms Crowe said she found her daughter lying on the motorway.

She recalled holding Julies hand which was very cold, while she could not detect any pulse.

Ms Crowe said she and her husband waited in a patrol car, while paramedics attended to her before they were brought to the hospital.

The inquest heard the family were informed at 3.50pm by medical staff that Julie had suffered catastrophic injuries which she would not survive, and she was pronounced dead nine minutes later.

PTSD

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Post-mortem results confirmed that Julie had suffered catastrophic head injuries consistent with a fall from a height.

In January 2020, Ms Crowe spoke about her daughters death on RTEs Liveline programme as a warning to others that there were predators who were targeting young boys and girls.

She outlined how Julie realised from talking to friends that she had been raped during their stay on the Greek island of Zakynthos.

Omer Chaudhary, a psychiatrist who examined Julie in the emergency department of CHB on October 21st 2019, said he had diagnosed her as suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and a moderate depressive episode.

Dr Chaudhary said Julie had also come out to her friends as gay in June 2019 and to her family after she returned from her holiday in Greece.

He recalled that the teenager complained of not being able to cope with things for the previous two weeks and suffering increasing nightmares.

However, Dr Chaudhary said she had not shown any active intent or plan to kill herself.

The psychiatrist said she was positive about her family and her studies at Technological University Dublin.

He said Julie also recognised her symptoms and triggers and that she needed professional help to get better but believed she had a bright future.

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The inquest heard that Julie declined to be admitted to the hospital on a voluntary basis, and she did not meet the criteria to be detained involuntarily as she was only considered a low-to-moderate risk of self-harm.

Dr Chaudhary said the teenager ultimately decided to attend her GP to discuss taking anti-depressant medication and to be referred to her local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service unit.

Family doctor

Ms Crowe said Julie attended her family doctor the next day who warned that she would need to be closely monitored while on medication.

She also revealed that her daughter feared she might be pregnant as a result of the rape, but tests showed that was not the case.

Detective Garda Michelle OBrien told the inquest that she had spent two long and difficult days taking a very detailed statement from the teenager about what happened in Greece.

Det Garda OBrien said she had also kept the girls towel and runners for evidence.

In reply to questions from the coroner, Aisling Gannon, she said she had received no updates about the status of the investigation by Greek police, despite sending several requests.

Det Garda OBrien said she could not engage directly with her Greek colleagues.

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She also stated she could not interview Julies friends who might also be able to provide evidence unless she received a direction from the Greek authorities.

At the end of the evidence, the Crowe family called for greater clarity about the ability of gardai to assist and to check on the progress of police investigations abroad.

They also recommended that organisations who deal with victims of sexual assault should engage with parents advocating for their children who had been raped regardless of their age.

Ms Crowe explained that the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre had been reluctant to speak to her about trying to get a more urgent appointment for her daughter because Julie was over 18 years and needed to make contact with them herself.

The coroner said she would raise the familys concerns with the relevant authorities and keep them informed of any response.

Ms Gannon returned a verdict of death by suicide based on the evidence.

Offering her condolences to the Crowe family, the coroner said it was a very, very tragic case in very sad circumstances.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.
Three men have pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of an Irish teenager who died in Australia after he fell from an apartment balcony during an armed robbery.

Cian English, 19, originally from Carlow town, but who lived in the Brisbane suburb of Hawthorne, suffered traumatic injuries when he fell from a fourth floor balcony at the View Pacific resort in Surfers Paradise in the early hours of Saturday, May 23nd, 2020.

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Lachlan Paul Soper-Lagas, 21, Hayden Paul Kratzmann, 23, and Jason Ryan Knowles, 25, were committed by the Southport Magistrates Court in May of last year to stand trial in the Queensland Supreme Court in Brisbane.

Super Lagas had previously not been able to be named due to legal reasons, but the court ordered that his name can now be published. The three men were aged between 18 and 22 at the time of Mr Englishs death.

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All three had been charged with murder but have now agreed to a plea deal, and are pleading guilty to manslaughter instead of murder, two of torture, two of armed robbery with actual violence, wounding, using personal violence and stealing on May 23, 2020.

The trio who are appearing in Queensland Supreme Court on day one of a two-day trial have been arraigned.

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Chief Justice Helen Bowskill Court three at 1pm was informed by Defence Counsels that all of the accused men have agreed to a plea deal.

Kratzmann and Soper-Lagas have been in custody since the fatal incident with Soper-Lagas remanded on bail.

The court was told that Kratzmann, from Caboolture, had previously been convicted for breaking into chemists and stealing large amounts of medication, and Knowles, who was born in Sydney, had a history of armed robbery. Soper-Lagas, did not have a criminal history in Queensland.

The court heard that Mr English had been partying with a friend, before they invited the group from the apartment directly above them to join them.

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He subsequently fell to his death when he was being robbed at knife point by the three men following the apartment party where the three men were high on prescription drugs. Mr English attempted to escape but tragically fell to his death.

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Their arraignment will now be followed by sentencing submissions and sentencing on Friday.

A spokesperson for the Supreme Court said: Sentencing all depends on how long submissions take from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and defence barristers.

The Chief Justice clarified with the Crown Prosecutor in court that there is no reason why any of the three defendants in this sentence cannot be named.

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There is a large contingent of the victims family, his mother Siobhan, brother Dylan, relatives who have travelled from Ireland and friends in court. The teenagers father Vincent was present on video link during the court hearing.

The two girls, who cannot be named for legal reasons, police allege filmed the beating, stabbing and fatal fall of Mr English subsequently posting video of the events on social media. Their cases are due before the Supreme Court on October 25th.

The Irish teenager was living with his parents Siobhan and Vinny and older brother Dylan. The family left Ireland 20 years ago, first to the Caribbean where Cians father worked for Digicel and then settled in Brisbane in 2011.

His ashes were laid to rest in St Marys cemetery, Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow several weeks after his death.
Two men have been released from custody in connection with the murder of a man in Ballymun, Dublin.

Patrick Lyons, who was Dad of one, was shot up to five times in February 2021 in Belclare Terrace.

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Two men in their 40s and 50s were arrested and questioned.

They have now been released, and a file is being sent to the DPP.
China to send a delegation, led by vice-premier Liu Guozhong, to join celebrations to mark North Koreas 75th anniversary as a nation on Saturday, state media has confirmed.

The Korean Central News Agency said the visit by Lius delegation comes following an invitation from North Koreas ruling Workers Party.

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The report did not specify if the Chinese delegation would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.



Vice Premier Liu will visit North Korea to participate in celebrations for its 75th founding anniversary, which is on Saturday, the Norths state media said Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (Park Ji-ho/Yonhap via AP)

News of the Chinese visit comes as speculation rises the Korean leader is preparing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an deal to replenish weapons supplies depleted by Russias invasion of Ukraine.

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In return for providing Russia with artillery shells and other ammunition, analysts believe North Korea may look to the Kremlin to supply critically needed energy aid, food aid, and advanced weapons technologies.

Such a trade of warfare technologies may increase North Koreas threat against the rest of the world, adding to Kims growing arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles designed to strike against Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

Mr Kim has been perceived as moving to break out of diplomatic isolation by strengthening ties with Moscow and Beijing.



North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns possible trip to Russia might be like his first one in 2019, where he shook hands with Russias Vladimir Putin. (Yuri Kadobnov/Pool Photo via AP)

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Strengthening of such ties would place Pyongyang at the centre of a united front with Russia and China.

Speaking at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Wednesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol urged all United Nations member states to fulfil their sanctions obligations under existing Security Council resolutions to limit North Koreas nuclear capabilities.

UN sanctions include a ban on arms trade with the country, Yoons office said in a statement.

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Mr Yoons office did not reveal if the South Korean president specifically called out Russia while expressing those concerns to his fellow UN counterparts.
Former Tory whip Chris Pincher has said he is resigning as an MP after losing his appeal against a suspension for drunkenly groping two men, paving the way for another by-election for Rishi Sunaks Conservatives.

Mr Pincher said he did not want to put any further uncertainty on his constituents in Tamworth, in the West Midlands, and has made arrangements to resign and leave the Commons.

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(PA Graphics)

He had sought to reduce the potentially by-election triggering eight-week suspension recommended by the UK Commons Standards Committee for what was found to be an egregious case of sexual misconduct at Londons exclusive Carlton Club last year.

But the British Parliaments Independent Expert Panel (IEP) dismissed his appeal on Monday.

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In a statement to the PA news agency, the former deputy chief whip said: I have said already that I will not stand at the next general election.

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However, following the Independent Expert Panels decision I wanted to talk to my office team and family.

I do not want my constituents to be put to further uncertainty, and so in consequence I have made arrangements to resign and leave the Commons.

Tamworth is a wonderful place and it has been an honour to represent its people.

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Mr Pincher is understood to have written to UK chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the archaic formality required to quit the Commons.

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The Standards Committee found in July the MPs conduct last summer was profoundly damaging and amounted to an abuse of power.

His actions were described as unwanted, inappropriate and upsetting.

The eight-week suspension would have triggered a recall petition if it had been approved by MPs, which was almost inevitable.

A by-election would then have followed if the petition was signed by 10% of constituents.

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Mr Pincher appealed the punishment, arguing it was disproportionate, but the IEP said Mr Pinchers arguments were misconceived or erroneous and backed the committees proposed sanction.

He resigned from his UK government post after the incident, which proved to be the final nail in the coffin of Boris Johnsons time as British prime minister amid anger at his handling of the affair.

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Mr Pincher subsequently lost the Tory whip, meaning he has been sitting in the Commons as an independent.

Since resigning as deputy chief whip, taxpayers have paid him 99,184 in salary and 7,920 in ministerial severance, while he has claimed 13,860 in rent as expenses.

Former Conservative culture secretary Nadine Dorries bitter exit from the Commons last week has already lined up a by-election in Mid Bedfordshire for October 19th.

The Tories have held that seat since 1931 and Ms Dorries held on to it in 2019 by 24,664 votes over second-placed Labour.

But the Conservatives are wary of any electoral test after a sustained period in which national polling has put the party lagging far behind Labour.

Mr Pincher has been comfortably voted for by Tamworth residents since 2010 and won a 19,634 vote majority at the last general election.

The treasury has been contacted over Mr Pinchers resignation letter.
Google has said political adverts using artificial intelligence (AI) must soon be accompanied by a prominent disclosure if imagery or sounds have been synthetically altered.

Starting in November, just under a year before the next US presidential election, the technology giant said in an update to its political content policy that disclosure of AI to alter images must be clear and conspicuous and be located somewhere that users are likely to notice it.

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Although fake images, videos or audio clips are not new to political advertising, generative AI tools are making it easier to do, and more realistic.

Some presidential campaigns in the 2024 race  including that of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis  are already using the technology.

In April, the Republican National Committee released an entirely AI-generated ad meant to show the future of the United States if President Joe Biden is re-elected.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is already using AI in his 2024 presidential campaign. Photo: John Raoux/AP.

It employed fake but realistic photos showing boarded-up shopfronts, armoured military patrols in the streets, and waves of immigrants creating panic.

In June, Mr DeSantiss campaign posted an attack ad against his primary opponent, Donald Trump, which used AI-generated images of the former president hugging infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci.

Last month the Federal Election Commission began a process to potentially regulate AI-generated deepfakes in political ads ahead of the 2024 election.

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Congress could pass legislation creating safeguards for AI-generated deceptive content, and politicians, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have expressed an intention to do so.

Several states have also discussed or passed legislation related to deepfake technology.

Google is not banning AI in political advertising outright.

Exceptions to the ban include synthetic content altered or generated in a way that is inconsequential to the claims made in the ad.

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AI can also be used in editing techniques like image resizing, cropping, colour, defect correction, or background edits.
Korea's Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, front right, shakes hands with his Philippine counterpart, Alfredo Pascual, after signing the Korea-Philippines free trade agreement in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday (local time), with President Yoon Suk Yeol and Philippine President Bongbong Marcos in attendance. Yonhap



Seoul to offer help with Jakarta's 2039 nuclear power project



By Nam Hyun-woo



JAKARTA  Korea and the Philippines signed a free trade agreement, Thursday, marking the fifth bilateral free trade pact Seoul inked with a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).



Following the pact, Korea and the Philippines will remove tariffs on approximately 95 percent of items traded between the two sides. In particular, duties on Korean cars and automotive parts will be lifted, opening up a lucrative market for Korean carmakers.



Korea's Minister for Trade Ahn Duk-geun and Philippines' Secretary of Trade and Industry Alfredo Pascual signed to the FTA at a summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and his Filipino counterpart Bongbong Marcos in Jakarta.



The two countries reached agreements in their free trade negotiations in October of 2021, but had been fine tuning datelines for removing tariffs, rules on agricultural safeguards and other details until they declared the final conclusion of the talks in July of 2022.



Following the official signing, the pact will undergo a ratification process at the Korean National Assembly, and the government anticipates that the FTA will take effect in the first half of next year.



The new pact is the third FTA that involves Korea and the Philippines. The two countries have been lowering their trade barriers through the Korea-ASEAN FTA and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).



"When the bilateral free trade agreement goes into effect, the Philippines will lift tariffs on 96.5 percent of all traded items and Korea will remove 94.8 percent," senior presidential secretary for economic affairs Choi Sang-mok said.



The FTA is anticipated to be the most beneficial to Korean carmakers. The five-percent tariff currently applied to Korean-made automobiles will be exempt immediately after the agreement takes effect, while up to a 30-percent tariff on automobile parts will be removed within a maximum period of five years. Tariffs on eco-friendly vehicles will be abolished within five years.



"This is expected to significantly enhance the export competitiveness of Korean automobiles in the Philippines, a market that Japan has traditionally dominated," Choi said.



The Philippines is the top car importer among ASEAN members, with Japanese brands accounting for 82.5 percent of the country's market as of 2022, followed by the United States at 7 percent, China at 6.4 percent and Korea at 2.5 percent.



The Philippines will see a boost in banana exports to Korea, which currently face a 30-percent tariff. The new pact will remove the tariff within five years, but the Korean industry ministry said it will employ a safeguard measure of reinstating the duty if the volume of banana imports exceeds the yearly cap for 10 years.



Korea already signed bilateral free trade pact with ASEAN members Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia and Indonesia.



Groundwork for nuclear power plant in Indonesia



Meanwhile, Yoon attended a Korea-Indonesia business roundtable in Jakarta, where businesses and other institutions of the two countries signed 16 memoranda of understanding (MOUs).



Korea Nuclear Association and its Indonesian counterpart signed an MOU on information exchanges on small modular reactors (SMRs) and other nuclear reactors.



Indonesia is seeking to build its first commercial nuclear power plant by 2039 as part of its carbon neutrality initiative, and SMRs are emerging as a viable option.



SMRs have a power capacity of up to 300 megawatts per unit, which is about one third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power reactors, and can be installed in locations not suitable for large nuclear power plants. Due to this, SMRs are viewed as a potential option for Indonesia and other emerging countries which are prone to earthquakes.



In March, Indonesia and the U.S. announced a strategic partnership where NuScale Power assists in Indonesia acquiring an SMR for the proposed nuclear plant in West Kalimantan. This is anticipated to create synergy with Korea, because Doosan Enerbility manufactures core parts for NuScale Power's SMRs.



Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering is also participating in Thorcon Power Indonesia's floating SMR project.



"Because Korea and Indonesia are pursuing bold initiatives for carbon neutrality, I expect cooperation between the two countries to burgeon in the field of nuclear power, including the SMR industry," Yoon said.




Britain's Prince Harry is to return to the UK for the first time since June to attend a charity awards ceremony.

Harry will celebrate the achievements and resilience of seriously-ill youngsters and their families who are supported by WellChild at the event in London on Thursday.

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The awards ceremony is taking place on the eve of the first anniversary of the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The UKs longest-serving monarch died peacefully at Balmoral in Scotland on September 8th last year, aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.

Prince Harry with WellChild award-winner Lyla-Rose ODonovan at a previous ceremony (Toby Melville/PA)

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Harry last appeared publicly in the UK three months ago for his high-profile legal case at the High Court against Mirror Group Newspapers.

He has been WellChilds patron for 15 years and regularly attends its annual awards ceremony, but Meghan Markle, a guest at past events, is not expected to join him.

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Last years awards were held on the day the Queen died, forcing the duke and duchess to withdraw from the event as Harry flew to Scotland to be with other members of the royal family.

The awards ceremony is being held a few days before Harrys Invictus Games  for wounded military personnel and veterans  begins in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Saturday and is staged over eight days.

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Harry said: For nearly 20 years, WellChild has been transforming the lives of children and young people across the UK, providing critical care that prioritises the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of these individuals and their families.

Harry with wife Meghan, who has been a guest at past WellChild events (Toby Melville/PA)

During the event, the duke will spend time with the winners and their families at a pre-ceremony reception before presenting the award for Inspirational Child (aged four to six) and delivering a speech.

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WellChild chief executive Matt James said: The number of children and young people in the UK living with long-term, complex medical needs is growing.

The WellChild Awards 2023, in association with GSK, will be a unique opportunity to shine a light on the immense challenges they face and to celebrate their remarkable resilience and spirit.

It will also provide an opportunity to recognise the selfless dedication of those around them, from siblings and parent carers to the professionals who have gone above and beyond to give them the very best chance to thrive.
A liberal group has filed a lawsuit to bar former president Donald Trump from the primary ballot in Colorado, arguing he is ineligible to run for the White House again under a rarely used clause in the US Constitution aimed at candidates who have supported an insurrection.

The lawsuit, citing the 14th Amendment, is likely to be the initial step in a legal challenge that seems destined for the US Supreme Court.

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The complaint was filed on behalf of six Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters by the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew).

It will jolt an already unsettled 2024 primary campaign that features the leading Republican candidate facing four separate criminal cases.





It's simple: Donald Trump is constitutionally disqualified from holding public office and appearing on the 2024 ballot.



We filed a lawsuit along with six courageous plaintiffs because the Constitution is not optional. https://t.co/1nfxhq3Byk Advertisement Advertisement  Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) September 7, 2023

Liberal groups have demanded that states top election officials bar Mr Trump under the clause which prohibits those who engaged in an insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution from holding higher office.

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None has taken that step, looking for guidance from the courts on how to interpret a clause that has only been used a handful of times since the 1860s.

While a few fringe figures have filed thinly written lawsuits in a few states citing the clause, Wednesdays litigation was the first by an organisation with significant legal resources.

It may lead to similar challenges in other states, holding out the potential for conflicting rulings that would require the Supreme Court to settle.

Colorados secretary of state, Democrat Jena Griswold, said in a statement that she hopes this case will provide guidance to election officials on Trumps eligibility as a candidate for office.

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The lawsuit contends the case is clear, given the attempt by the then-president to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden and his support for the assault of the US Capitol on January 6 2021. The Republican has said he did nothing wrong in his actions.

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, helped ensure civil rights for freed slaves  and eventually for all people in the United States. But it was also used to prevent former Confederate officials from becoming members of Congress after the Civil War and taking over the government against which they had just rebelled.

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The clause cited in the lawsuit allows Congress to lift the ban, which it did in 1872 as the political will to continue to bar former Confederates dwindled. The provision was almost never used after that.





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Donald Trump has expressed no remorse for what happened on January 6th. In fact, he's promised to pardon insurrectionists.



If we don't enforce his disqualification from office, there's a real danger he uses the same playbook again. That's why we sued.https://t.co/Nsn4rZPqKq  Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) September 7, 2023

Crew and law professors from both parties contend the amendment is clear and is a qualification for president, just as the Constitutions mandate that a candidate for the White House must be at least 35 years old and a natural-born citizen.

But others note there is much unsettled about the provision and that a case involving this issue has not reached the justices in Washington.

The clause cites a wide range of offices under the United States and states that the provision applies to, including presidential electors  but not the presidency itself. There is a debate among some experts about whether Mr Trumps actions constitute an insurrection under the language of the amendment.

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In its complaint, Crew asked the court to expedite the matter so it can be resolved before the states primary ballot is set on January 5 2024.

We understand that theres great interest in states across this country about this question, and it needs to be resolved expeditiously so theres clarity, said Donald Sherman, Crews chief counsel, told reporters in a teleconference.

A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit.

Georgias secretary of state, writing in The Wall Street Journal, warned that using the 14th Amendment in this way could take the country down a dark path.

For a secretary of state to remove a candidate would only reinforce the grievances of those who see the system as rigged and corrupt, said Republican Brad Raffensperger, who drew Mr Trumps ire when he refused to declare him the winner of Georgia in 2020. Denying voters the opportunity to choose is fundamentally un-American.

The 14th Amendment was used last year to bar from office a New Mexico county commissioner who entered the US Capitol on January 6, the first time it had been used in 100 years.

In 1919, Congress refused to seat a socialist, contending he gave aid and comfort to the countrys enemies during the First World War.

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Secretaries of State...are well within their authority to bar former President Trump from the ballot. We all know that Donald Trump incited an insurrection to stop the certification of the 2020 election."



Read our letters below. #TrumpIsDisqualifiedhttps://t.co/oJdVyIHrhh  FreeSpeechForPeople (@FSFP) September 6, 2023

Another liberal group, Free Speech For People, unsuccessfully tried to use the provision to prevent Republican Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina from running for re-election last year.

The judge overseeing Ms Greenes case ruled in her favour. Mr Cawthorns case became moot after he was defeated in his primary.

Crew said it expects to file more cases in other states and anticipates that different groups may do so as well.

It chose Colorado, its leaders said, because the state allows ballot challenges to go directly to court and it assembled a prominent roster of plaintiffs, including a former Republican leader of both houses of the legislature and a conservative columnist for the Denver Post.

There was another reason, Mr Sherman noted: In 2015, a Guyana-born naturalised citizen lost his lawsuit to be included on the states presidential primary ballot, failing to convince a federal magistrate that the Constitutions requirement that he be a natural-born citizen was unfair.

A federal appeals judge upheld that ruling barring him from the ballot. The judge was Neil Gorsuch, now at the US Supreme Court.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has brushed off questions about his health, reiterating his plans to finish his term in office.

The 81-year-old sought to reassure colleagues he is still up to the job in a lunch with senators on Wednesday after freezing at two news conferences.

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A statement by attending physician Brian P Monahan, released by Mr McConnells office, ruled out any evidence of a stroke or seizure disorder. The Kentucky senator fell and suffered from a concussion earlier this year.

Dismissing questions about his health, Mr McConnell told reporters: Im going to finish my term as leader and Im going to finish my Senate term.

Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell talks after the Republican meeting (Alex Brandon/AP)

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Behind closed doors, Mr McConnell told other Republicans his health issues are linked to his concussion.

Texas senator John Cornyn said Mr McConnell hasnt missed a step in terms of his cognitive abilities or ability to lead.

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He was more transparent, which Im glad he did, Mr Cornyn said of the leaders comments at the private lunch. This is not his style. But I dont think keeping things close to the vest serves his interests and it created a lot of speculation. So I think this is a positive development.

Other Republican senators also said they were satisfied with Mr McConnells explanation for the two incidents, the first in Washington in July and the second in Kentucky last week.

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Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell arrives for press briefing (Alex Brandon/AP)

North Dakota senator Kevin Cramer, who had called for more transparency from Mr McConnell, said the remarks were a strong message. It was confident on his part. It was very direct.

The letter from Dr Monahan, which was released on Tuesday said there is no evidence that you have a seizure disorder or that you experienced a stroke, TIA (transient ischemic attack or brief stroke) or movement disorder such as Parkinsons disease.

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The doctor said the assessments entailed several medical evaluations, including a brain MRI scan and consultations with several neurologists for a comprehensive neurology assessment, but there was no elaboration as to what cause the episodes.

First elected to the Senate in 1984 and as leader in 2007, Mr McConnell became the longest-serving Senate party leader in January. He would have to run again for leader after next years elections and his next re-election to the Senate would be in 2026.
That 70s Show star Danny Masterson could face as much as 30 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on Thursday for the rapes of two women two decades ago.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F Olmedo will sentence the 47-year-old actor after ruling on a defence motion for a new trial that she is very likely to reject, and after hearing impact statements from the victims.

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A jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty of two counts on May 31st after seven days of deliberations.

Both attacks took place in Mastersons Hollywood-area home in 2003, when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom.

The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.

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The verdicts followed a second trial after a jury failed to reach verdicts on three counts of forcible rape in December and a mistrial was declared.

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Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his prominence in the Church of Scientology  of which all three women were also members at the time  to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks.

The women blamed the church for their hesitancy in going to the police about Masterson.

They told the court that, when they reported him to Scientology officials, they were told they were not raped, were put through ethics programmes themselves, and were warned against reporting a member of such high standing.

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The women blamed the Church of Scientology for their hesitancy in going to the police about Danny Masterson (Ian West/PA)

Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told jurors: They were raped, they were punished for it, and they were retaliated against. Scientology told them theres no justice for them.

The church said in a statement after the verdict that the testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs during the trial were uniformly false.

The church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone  Scientologists or not  to law enforcement, the statement said.

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Masterson did not give evidence, and his lawyers called no witnesses.

The defence argued that the acts were consensual, and attempted to discredit the womens stories by highlighting changes and inconsistencies over time, which they said showed signs of coordination between them.

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The women whose evidence led to Mastersons conviction said that, in 2003, he gave them drinks and that they then became woozy or passed out before he violently raped them.

Judge Olmedo allowed prosecutors and accusers to say directly in the second trial that Masterson drugged the women, while only allowing the women to describe their condition in the first.

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Masterson was not charged with any counts of drugging, and there was no toxicology evidence to back up the assertion.

The issue could be a factor in a planned appeal by the defence against Mastersons conviction.

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused.

Masterson starred with Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace in That 70s Show from 1998 until 2006.

He had reunited with Kutcher on the 2016 Netflix comedy The Ranch, but was written out of the show when an LAPD investigation was revealed the following year.

While that investigation began before a wave of women shook Hollywood with stories about Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, the conviction and sentencing of Masterson still represents a major #MeToo era success for Los Angeles prosecutors, along with the conviction of Weinstein himself last year.
The UK is to return to the European Unions 98 billion (85 billion) Horizon research programme in a breakthrough welcomed by scientists who were frozen out of the scheme in a row over post-Brexit rules.

Researchers based in the UK can from Thursday apply for grants to take part in the collaboration programme after British prime minister Rishi Sunak secured what he called the right deal for British taxpayers.

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According to the EUs estimate, Britain will contribute around 2.2 billion (almost 2.6 billion) per year to participate in both Horizon and the Copernicus space programme from January 1st when its association membership with the projects begins.

But it will not take part in the blocs nuclear technology scheme, Euratom.

I have always championed our world-leading scientists and innovators.



Were joining Horizon on improved financial terms, increasing the benefits to UK scientists with better value for money for the British taxpayer.



All UK scientists can start applying today. https://t.co/NshDepRG1p Advertisement Advertisement  Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) September 7, 2023

With costs having been a key barrier for negotiators to overcome, the UK will not have to pay into the scheme for the two years it was frozen out in a tit-for-tat retaliation in a dispute over post-Brexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland in 2020.

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The British government said the deal includes a clawback mechanism, which means the UK will be compensated if British scientists receive significantly less money than the UK puts into the programme.

Mr Sunak said: With a wealth of expertise and experience to bring to the global stage, we have delivered a deal that enables UK scientists to confidently take part in the worlds largest research collaboration programme  Horizon Europe.

We have worked with our EU partners to make sure that this is right deal for the UK, unlocking unparalleled research opportunities, and also the right deal for British taxpayers.

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The bespoke #Horizon deal has been widely welcomed by some of the top UK scientists. Read more here https://t.co/eYbVY3PTcH  Michelle Donelan MP (@michelledonelan) September 7, 2023

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European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who signed off on the deal with the prime minister in a call on Wednesday, said: The EU and UK are key strategic partners and allies, and todays agreement proves that point.

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We will continue to be at the forefront of global science and research.

The move was immediately welcomed by scientists after years of warnings that UK researchers have been missing out on collaboration with colleagues in the EU.

Sir Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society, said it is fantastic news.

Our president, Sir Adrian Smith, has welcomed the news of UK's association to the Horizon Europe research programme "Our association...is fantastic news, not just for the UK but for scientists across the EU and for all the people of Europe." Full statement https://t.co/FVpKXGbW0G pic.twitter.com/CDd80jV6Fq  The Royal Society (@royalsociety) September 7, 2023

Science has so much to offer in terms of tackling global challenges and improving lives. Today the Government and the EU have given that a big boost, he said.

Sir Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute, said he is thrilled to finally see that partnerships with EU scientists can continue.

This is an essential step in rebuilding and strengthening our global scientific standing, he added.

Thank you to the huge number of researchers in the UK and across Europe who, over many years, didnt give up on stressing the importance of international collaboration for science.

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Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said it will be overwhelmingly in the best interests of cancer patients and scientists.

Fantastic news this morning that the UK will continue to be at the heart of this fantastic community



https://t.co/VyA6DJvTun@SciTechgovuk  Universities UK (@UniversitiesUK) September 7, 2023

Universities UK president Professor Dame Sally Mapstone said: Allowing our scientists to work together, irrespective of borders, is in all of our interests.

Our universities will now do everything possible to ensure the UK rapidly bounces back towards previous levels of participation and is able to secure genuine value, delivering the wealth of research opportunities available.

Horizon is a collaboration involving Europes leading research institutes and technology companies.

EU member states contribute funds, which are then allocated to individuals or organisations on merit to explore subjects such as climate change, medical advances and artificial intelligence.

Months of negotiations between London and Brussels on Britains return followed the signing of the Windsor Framework deal, agreed in February and designed to address concerns over post-Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland.

This is a fantastic day for UK science. We have reached an agreement with the EU on a bespoke deal on Horizon, that works for UK scientists and for our taxpayers.



Where better to tell you all about it than from the iconic @sciencemuseum  pic.twitter.com/Bb18i0281g Advertisement  Michelle Donelan MP (@michelledonelan) September 7, 2023

UK science secretary Michelle Donelan said the Horizon programme is unrivalled in its scope, adding that it is a fantastic day for British science and technology.

Newly-appointed shadow science secretary Peter Kyle told broadcasters that ministers now need to get on with it.

What were missing out on is two years worth of innovation, the Labour MP said.

Two years of global companies looking around the world for where to base their research centres and choosing other countries than Britain, because we are not part of Horizon This is two years of wasted opportunity for us as a country.




South Korea's top nuclear envoy on Thursday met with the U.N. special rapporteur for North Korea's human rights issues to discuss the repatriation of defectors and other pending issues, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.







During his meeting with Elizabeth Salmon, Kim Gunn expressed concerns that North Korean defectors may be forcibly repatriated to their home country amid reports that the secretive regime appears to be opening up its borders after years of stringent COVID-19 lockdown.







Echoing Kim's concerns, Salmon expressed her commitment to support the issue with continuing interest, the ministry said.







Separately, she also met Chun Young-hee, head of the ministry's Korean Peninsula Peace Regime Bureau, and exchanged views on the human rights problem in the North.







Salmon arrived in Seoul on Monday for a nine-day visit to meet with Seoul officials and North Korean defectors. It is her third trip to South Korea since assuming the post in July last year. (Yonhap)


The federal government has given its strongest signal yet that its about to move on recommendations to improve the regulation of airport slots, two years after they were first delivered, as consumer dissatisfaction surrounding high airfares continues.

Transport Minister Catherine King released the governments long-awaited green paper into Australian aviation to 2050 on Thursday, and stated Sydney Airports slot allocation scheme would be reformed in due course.

Transport Minister Catherine King. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Sydney Airport is the biggest gateway into Australia, but is governed by outdated regulation that is regularly criticised by its own management and its airline, airport and tourism partners. The green paper was released for industry consultation ahead of a formal white paper, which is due by the middle of next year.

We have recently concluded targeted consultation regarding potential changes to the [slot-management] scheme, with a particular eye to modernising the slot allocation framework and strengthening compliance measures to ensure that slots are not being misused by airlines. I will have more announcements to make about these reforms in due course, King said.
YouTubes advertising practices have drawn the ire of some media investors, who claim a lack of transparency over advertising returns could mean as much as 30 per cent of their spend is wasted.

Alphabet-owned YouTube makes between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in advertising revenue in Australia annually, according to multiple industry sources who asked not to be named so they could speak freely. YouTube and its search engine sister company Google dominate the digital advertising ecosystem in Australia.

YouTube will make its pitch to advertisers in Sydney next week. Credit: Google

The total revenue for digital advertising in 2022 in Australia landed at $14.2 billion, according to independent industry association IAB Australia. Digital video advertising contributed $3.5 billion, meaning YouTubes share is between 10 and 15 of every $1 spent on digital advertising that goes through the platform, and approximately 50 in every $1 spent on digital video.

By comparison, a recent report by free-to-air television lobbying body ThinkTV reported $392 million spent on Seven, Nine and Tens digital broadcast platforms in the 12 months to June 2023, by comparison. YouTube does not report local revenues.
Freddie Mercury brought down the house again on Wednesday night at Sothebys in London, when items from the late Queen frontmans estate blew past their estimate of 7.2 million to total 12.2 million ($23.9 million).

A high-energy, in-person audience regularly burst into applause and cheers. Many attendees dressed in Mercury-related outfits. One man, after purchasing Mercurys famous crown and cape for 635,000 jumped up with two fists clenched in the air in triumph.

Freddie Mercurys signature crown worn throughout the Magic Tour, on display at Sothebys auction rooms in London. The crown and the cape sold for $1.24 million. Credit: AP

The reception for the collection as a whole has been nothing short of phenomenal, said Sothebys specialist Thomas Williams, speaking ahead of the sale. What the fans have really enjoyed is getting to know the private side of Freddies life: The art he collected and what these objects show about Freddie and how he lived and what he was passionate about behind closed doors.

The 59 lots that hit the block are part of a series of six auctions Sothebys will hold in September of Mercurys items. In total, the auction house will attempt to sell 1406 lots which account for roughly 30,000 unique objects, according to Williams. The presale estimate of 7.6 million to 11.3 million was surpassed by the first auction.
A plaque has been installed by the Australian War Memorial at a Ben Roberts-Smith display acknowledging he was involved and complicit in unlawful killings.

The war memorial added a message to the display following the Victoria Cross recipients defeat in the defamation loss to The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times in June.

Accounts of alleged misconduct by a small number of Australian Special Forces soldiers in Afghanistan began appearing in the media from late 2016, the revised plaque reads.

A display within the Australian War Memorial of Benjamin Roberts-Smiths military uniform. Credit: Dean Sewell

Claims were later heard in a civil defamation case brought by Roberts-Smith against media outlets and journalists.

In June 2023 a Federal Court Judge determined that there was substantial truth to the allegations that Roberts-Smith had been involved and complicit in unlawful killings in Afghanistan. Roberts-Smith has appealed this decision.

Roberts-Smith has not been charged with any offence under criminal law.

Roberts-Smith has appealed Justice Besankos decision which is before the courts.

In July, the war memorial installed plaques acknowledging the gravity of the decision against Roberts-Smiths defamation case and stated the museum was considering what further content should be added to the exhibits.

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A man allegedly speeding across Sydneys south was filmed by the children in his car before he lost control at 136 km/h and slammed into a tree, killing two brothers, a court has heard.

Jimmy Martin Brito was refused bail in Sutherland Local Court on Thursday afternoon by magistrate Philip Stewart, who said a jail sentence would be inevitable if the 33-year-old was convicted.

The aftermath of the crash at Monterey. Credit: Nine News

Brito was charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death and one count of causing bodily harm by misconduct after the fatal crash in Monterey on August 25.

Brito was driving a Subaru WRX shortly before 10pm when it crossed over to the wrong side of the road and ploughed into a tree at the intersection of The Grand Parade and Culver Street.
Cian English fell to his death at the Surfers Paradise apartment in 2020. Credit: Nine News

On May 23, 2020, his little brother Cian was found dead outside a Gold Coast apartment block, having fallen from a fourth-floor balcony.

I knew there was something wrong, but I didnt know what, he told a court on Thursday.

Dylan English woke suddenly at 3.45am, checking the time on his phone.

Jason Ryan Knowles, Hayden Paul Kratzmann and Lachlan Paul Soper-Lagas were later charged with murder. The three men were aged between 18 and 22 at the time English had died.

In the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Thursday, the trio pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter. The prosecution discharged the murder charges.

They also pleaded guilty to torturing English, and his friend, and stealing items that night.

(From left) Hayden Paul Kratzmann, Lachlan Paul Soper-Lagas and Jason Ryan Knowles were charged over the death of Cian English, 19. Credit: Nine News

English, who lived in the Brisbane suburb of Hawthorne, had been partying with his friend that night before they invited the group from the apartment directly above them to join them.
Gympie Road as a tree-lined boulevard with dedicated mass transit lanes in a pedestrian-friendly environment is central to a new vision of Chermside as an alternative CBD for Brisbane.

Suburban Futures concept for Gympie Road, Chermside. Credit: MODE Design

But urban planning think tank Suburban Futures concept for the northside business hub depends on one major thing: the Gympie Road bypass tunnel going ahead.

In June, Treasurer Cameron Dick announced a $35 million study for a seven-kilometre tunnel between Kedron and Carseldine that would take through-traffic off Gympie Road.

Suburban Futures co-founder Ross Elliott said that would allow a transformation of Chermside akin to the one at Nundah, where its high street was bypassed with a tunnel in 2001.
Even so, as the Productivity Commission recently reported, progress is slow, unco-ordinated and piecemeal. In July, four targets were on track to be met, nine were improving but not on target for the goal, and four were going backwards. The original 2008 goals are not on track either, as five of these six graphics show. One, preschool participation, seems like a win, but there is more to the story. 1. To close the life expectancy gap within a generation The nominated deadline for this goal, both now and in 2008, is 2031. The trajectory suggests a miss.

The life expectancy of Indigenous babies born between 2015 and 2017 is better than for those born a decade earlier. But the life expectancy of non-Indigenous babies has also improved, so the gap has not narrowed much. Indigenous males can expect to die 8.6 years before non-Indigenous males and Indigenous females live 7.8 years fewer on average than their non-Indigenous counterparts. Indigenous people are more likely to die earlier from coronary heart disease, diabetes, chronic lower respiratory diseases, lung and related cancers, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The suicide rate is also more than twice as high as the general population and worsening. The Productivity Commission found the suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 27.1 per 100,000 in 2021. That was up from 25 per 100,000 in 2018. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports there were 12 suicide deaths per 100,000 in the general population in 2021, the lowest national rate since 2016.

2. To halve the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five within a decade This goal was a failure  the gap widened over the decade from 2008. As the graphic shows, Indigenous children are more than twice as likely to die before the age of five than the rest of the population. Child mortality has fallen for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous children but the gains have been much stronger for non-Indigenous children. Most child deaths are infants, aged less than one year, and the main cause for Indigenous babies is perinatal conditions such as birth trauma, foetal growth disorders, complications of pregnancy, respiratory and cardiovascular disorders.

For Indigenous children aged one to four, about half of deaths were external causes such as car accidents, drownings and other accidents and injuries. This metric is no longer part of the Closing the Gap framework. One of the replacement measures is birth weight. Nationally in 2021, AIHW figures show 87 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander babies have a healthy weight, compared with 92 per cent for the general population. 3. To ensure access to early childhood education for all Indigenous four-year-olds in remote communities within five years The original 2008 goal was focused on access to preschool in remote communities. Burneys office has clarified this was always measured by looking at the overall data on preschool participation.

The Closing the Gap target is for 95 per cent of Indigenous children to be enrolled in a preschool program in the year before school. As the graphic shows, weve exceeded that. In 2022, 99.2 per cent of Indigenous children attended preschool in the year before school, higher than the non-Indigenous population. Enrolments were lower in remote and very remote communities at 78.1 per cent. While preschool participation is a bright spot, it is not the full story. Liddle says it does not make up for the fact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are already behind their peers at this age. National figures from 2021 show only one in three Indigenous children are developmentally on track when they start school. Liddle says the original focus on preschool was because of data showing for the majority of the population preschool attendance made you more likely to finish school, enter a trade or university, and have successful life outcomes.

Loading What it didnt allow for was that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children werent doing as well in the early developmental gains, she says. If you start preschool with a gap, then you can expect that gap to get larger at every single stage of your educational journey. Liddle says the focus should be on supporting families in the first five years of life, including eliminating poverty and ensuring they have everything they need to support their children. Liddle says the first couple of years of life are when children are at greatest risk of being removed from their families. Yet the Productivity Commission reports that of the $8.2 billion spent nationally on child protection in 2021-22, only 16 per cent went to prevention or early intervention such as family support. People talk about a broken system, but the systems not broken, the system is designed to remove children and to place them into out of home care, Liddle says.

Children get the best results when they grow up with their families, if their families are strong. We know that at every stage of the decision-making tree, we see that ... the decisions are significantly harsher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and children. 4. To halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievements for children within a decade The gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children when they start school widens over time. This graphic shows how Indigenous 15-year-olds score lower on literacy, numeracy and scientific literacy than their non-Indigenous counterparts. In the international PISA test, usually held every three years, non-Indigenous children are more than twice as likely to meet the minimum national standards as their First Nations counterparts.

The most recent available figures are from 2018 and show a decline in standards across the board compared with 2009. (The 2021 test was delayed until 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the results will be out this year.) Looking at years 3, 5, 7 and 9 Naplan data reveals a similar trend, with the gap widening as children age. 5. To halve the gap for Indigenous students in year 12 attainment rates by 2020 The gap in learning outcomes also translates to finishing year 12. In 2006, only 45.4 per cent of Indigenous people aged 20 to 24 had completed year 12 or an equivalent qualification. This compared with 82.9 per cent of the non-Indigenous population  a gap of 37.5 percentage points.

By 2021, more young people were finishing year 12 across the board, and the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous attainment narrowed to 22.6 percentage points. But the gap is a long way off being halved, let alone closed. In the new framework, the baseline year is 63.2 per cent in 2016 and the goal is 96 per cent. This new goal is also not on track. The targets are also purely about finishing year 12 and do not consider grades.

6. To halve the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a decade Lower unemployment means more Indigenous jobs, but also more non-Indigenous jobs. But the graphic shows the gap itself has not budged. In 2008, 52 per cent of Indigenous people aged 15 to 64 were employed, compared with 74.4 per cent of non-Indigenous adults. In 2021, 55.7 per cent of Indigenous people were employed, compared with 77.7 per cent for non-Indigenous people.

That means Indigenous people are 22 percentage points less likely to be employed, the same as in 2008. The Productivity Commission is developing metrics around income, labour force participation and self-managed business owners. While less likely to be working, First Nations people are more likely to be incarcerated. This was not measured in the 2008 framework but is part of the 2020 agreement. In June 2022, the rate of imprisonment for Indigenous adults was up, while there was a decline in the rate of Indigenous young people aged 10 to 17 in detention. The Productivity Commission found governments were taking a business as usual approach and progress on Closing the Gap was often undermined by ordinary decisions of governments.
Halting the Melbourne Airport Rail Link has jeopardised an Andrews government commitment to spend $223 million on Sunshine and Albion stations, with fears that failing to deliver the work on schedule will stymie an economic boom in the citys west.

Sunshine and Albion stations were set to be redeveloped as part of the $13 billion airport rail project and intended to help trigger business and housing investment and turn the disadvantaged area into the capital of Melbournes west.

Shefton Parker from the Greater Sunshine Alliance. Credit: Jason South

But work on the long-awaited airport rail train ground to a halt in May when the Albanese government launched a review into the former Coalition governments infrastructure spending commitments.

Victorias government has confirmed delivering the two station upgrades also hinge on the federal review, which could result in Airport Rail being significantly delayed from its original 2029 completion date.
If you shovel your food, talk with your cutlery waving around your head and tell raunchy jokes with your mouth full, that dry retching sound youre hearing is your fellow guests. Were here to help. Youre at a backyard barbecue. The chops and snags are cooked. The salads are prepped. All the food is presented buffet-style on a long table. Youre invited to dig in. You dive straight in, hip-and-shouldering your way to the prime cuts. Not good. Take your time. Dont be the first to the table. Dont take three chops when its obvious that the party has catered for about two per person. Take one. Dont fill your plate to the max. Its not a $15 all-you-can-eat buffet at the footy club.

If, by being gracious and letting others serve themselves before you, you miss out on some of the food, so be it. Fewer calories never hurt anyone. Loading If youre at the buffet table with an older gent or lady, ask them if theyd like to go before you. You might think its a free-for-all but respect for your elders is still an important gesture. The same thing goes in a restaurant setting. Make sure your elders are seated comfortably and have what they need, rather than rush to your own chair and sit down without regard to your surroundings. Be thoughtful about others. You could be at a barbecue, a restaurant or a formal dinner party  no matter where you are, table manners are an illuminated signpost into the kind of person you are.

You dont want to be the person who others might say afterwards, Oh, how disgusting, did you see how Charlene shovelled her food? Eew! Put your cutlery on your plate between mouthfuls. Dont wave your knife and fork around while talking. Chew your food with a closed mouth. This is the biggest faux pas we see: the prole who talks while chewing and you can see it all, saliva, mashed up peas, stringy meat falling out of the mouth. Gentler folk have to look away, while you thrash your food around an open mouth like a ruminant. And dont for a moment think this is something only bogans or the ill-bred do. Weve been at many tables surrounded by the billionaires and the prominent, and some of the table manners are appalling. Never talk with your mouth full.

When youve finished your meal, lay your knife and fork down side-by-side with the forks tines facing up. Not only is this correct, but its a sign to your host or the waiter that you have indeed finished. The cutlery should be aligned straight up and down on the plate, the tines of the fork should be facing up, and the knife edge pointing in with the handles resting on the rim of the plate. Your mother was right. Never put your elbows on the table. Between bites, rest your hands in your lap or on the edge of the table. Elbows are verboten. If youre not enjoying a dish, dont make a song and dance about it. Just dont eat it. If youre in a restaurant and you believe the dish is badly cooked, quietly signal to the waiter and express your disappointment sotto voce. The entire table does not need to get involved in your complaint. Never be angry or boring about it. Doing so spoils the meal for others. In other words: dont be boorish.

Be kind to waitstaff. It never ceases to amaze how often dull, ill-mannered people make a point of bringing wait staff down a peg or two. Ive never understood the mindset that allows some oik to be dismissive to staff. It shows an inferior nature. Be better. Be kind to waitstaff, even if theres something wrong with your order. Its pretty simple. Credit: Getty Images Be a good guest. As my mother always said: Sing for your supper son. Have something interesting to say. Most importantly, ask other people about themselves. Show interest in others lives and jobs and sports, whatever. Again, the lack of self-awareness in this regard is epidemic in some circles where, typically, the alphas at the table will talk only about themselves and how brilliant they are.

Dont be like the Margaret River guy I sat beside at one dinner party, whose long and discursive tale had him as the hero rescuing an entire ship of tourists from the ravages of the Antarctic weather, while the many Antarctic-trained crew were apparently useless. On that occasion, I was looking for a sharp object with which to stab myself to death. Loading Dont be lured into an argument with a prickly, irksome or ignorant guest. Remember the Dunning-Kruger effect, named after the two psychiatrists who discovered it. It posits that those with limited competence are often the loudest and most forceful with their opinion. Weve all had too much to drink, but choose your audience. The man or woman who goes hard early and ends up talking Kurdish before mains are served is not a pretty sight. People will judge, as they should.




South Korea on Thursday gave the final nod for the operation of a new nuclear reactor, marking the first such approval under the current President Yoon Suk Yeol administration.







The Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) gave the go-ahead for the Shin Hanul No. 2 reactor in the coastal county of Uljin, 218 kilometers southeast of Seoul, at a meeting held earlier in the day.







Completed in August last year, the reactor has a power generation capacity of 1,400 megawatts and utilizes the APR1400 technology.







The reactor will enter into commercial operation after six months of testing, according to the NSSC.







Since taking office last year, Yoon has expressed his commitment to reverse the nuclear phase-out policy of the previous liberal administration and rebuild the country's nuclear energy industry.







The Shin Hanul 1 nuclear reactor went into full operation in December last year after getting approval in July 2021. (Yonhap)


The family of a young West Australian man jailed in California after being involved in a crash that killed two people believe their son could have made a terrible error in driving on the wrong side of the road.

Luke Nardini was just one day away from returning to Australia after a three-week trip to the US when the crash happened on Friday evening near the forested mountainous area of La Honda, about 50 kilometres south of San Francisco.

California Highway Patrol officer David LaRock told San Francisco Bay Area newspaper The Mercury News that Nardini was driving his white BMW M4 along a blind turn when it collided with a Ford Taurus carrying four people.

LaRock said drugs and alcohol were not suspected to have contributed to the collision, but Nardinis BMW was travelling on the wrong side of the road at the time.
Its like holding a poem, like holding a haiku, says Robert Yellin, his hands cupped around the small vessel, his eyes ablaze with passion. Its culture and history. Its the basic elements of life: fire, water and earth.

Yellin is talking about a cup, a sake cup, a piece of pottery moulded by an artisans practiced hands more than 400 years ago, and yet still very much a living thing, so beautiful and vital.

A cup is not just a cup. Certainly not to Yellin, an American expat whose love of Japanese ceramics drew him to Kyoto almost 40 years ago. Certainly not to true aficionados of sake, who understand that the vessel you drink from is as important as a wine glass, that it alters the flavour and the texture and the entire drinking experience.

A cup is not just a cup.: ceramic treasures at the Shuki Robert Yellin Gallery. Credit: Ben Groundwater

Yellin is a professional collector of pottery, but in particular of shuki, the cups from which sake is traditionally drunk. His eponymous gallery in the backstreets of Kyoto is more like a museum than a shop, with pieces sourced from across Japan and across history, linked by their beauty and the skill in their creation.
What in the World, a free weekly newsletter from our foreign correspondents, is sent every Thursday. Below is an excerpt. Sign up to get the whole newsletter delivered to your inbox.

The arrivals hall at Delhi airport is decked out in G20 billboards flashing pink, yellow and blue. People progress, they say. Let us work together for a new paradigm of human centric cooperation. At the centre of them all is a beaming Narendra Modi, Indias prime minister and the countrys most powerful politician in a generation.

One of the billboards decorating Delhi ahead of the G20 this week. Credit: Bloomberg

The face of India is now the face of the G20. The exclusive group makes up the worlds 20 largest economies and its leaders are gathering in the Indian capital this week.

The centre of the city has been cleared out to make way for motorcades carrying dignitaries. Retail has been shut down across New Delhi and facial recognition systems have been installed.
Istanbul: Rescuers from across Europe have rushed to a cave in Turkey, launching an operation to save an American researcher who became trapped almost 1000 metres below the caves entrance after suffering stomach bleeding.

Experienced caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly became ill during an expedition with a handful of others, including three other Americans, in the Morca cave in southern Turkeys Taurus Mountains, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said.

American caver Mark Dickey, 40, talks to camera next to a colleague inside the Morca cave near Anamur, southern Turkey. Credit: AP

In a video message from inside the cave and made available on Thursday by Turkeys communications directorate, Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts.

The caving world is a really tight-knit group and its amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface, said Dickey. I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge.
New York: Home-sharing giant Airbnb said it had to stop accepting some reservations in New York City after new regulations on short-term rentals went into effect, bringing big changes for travellers hoping to avoid the high cost of a Big Apple hotel.

The new rules are effectively intended to end a free-for-all in which city landlords and residents have been renting out their apartments by the week or the night to tourists or others in town for short stays.

New regulations have led Airbnb to stop accepting some reservations. Credit: Shuttershock

Under the new system, rentals shorter than 30 days are only allowed if hosts register with the city. Hosts must commit to being physically present in the home for the duration of the rental, sharing living quarters with their guest. More than two guests at a time are not allowed either, meaning families are effectively barred.

Platforms such as Airbnb, VRBO and others are not allowed to process rentals for unregistered hosts  and as of early this week, few had successfully registered. The city says it received more than 3800 applications, of which just under 300 have been approved.
Upon his return home on Thursday evening from a two-day visit to Indonesia, where he attended the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-India and East Asia Summits, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi surpassed the number of foreign visits made by his predecessor, Manmohan Singh, during his 10-year tenure.

Since his maiden foreign visit to Bhutan on June 1516, 2014, which marked the beginning of a transformative process that has seen New Delhi redefine the contours of its foreign policy, the PM has now completed 74 foreign visits, according to data available on the website of the Prime Ministers Office.

Singh undertook 73 foreign visits, commencing with his first trip to Thailand to attend the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Summit on July 29, 2004, and concluding with his final visit to Myanmar on March 3, 2014, also for participation in the BIMSTEC Summit. This highlights the increasing importance of multilateral engagements, especially in the Indian Ocean region, during his tenure.

Data suggests that while Modi has spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor (270 days versus Singhs 306), he has travelled more extensively and actively than any other Indian PM.

Modi has increased Indias engagement at the highest diplomatic level with Indias immediate neighbours in South Asia and its extended ones in Central and West Asia.

Singh undertook 35 visits abroad in his first term and 38 in his second. Modi embarked on 49 overseas visits in his first term, which dropped to 25 foreign visits in his second term.

Two years of the Covid-19 pandemic meant that the PM did not undertake a single foreign visit in 2020 and only three in 2021, attending at least 16 bilateral and multilateral virtual summits in 2020 and at least nine in 2021.

Former Ambassador Yogesh Gupta lists three key departures from the past in Modis foreign policy, apart from his outreach to the Indian Diaspora.

Gupta says the PM jettisoned the tendency of the Manmohan Singh era to view Indias relations with the US through the prism of Chinese concerns.

The Manmohan Singh government assessed any progress on India-US relations with the caveat that it shouldnt offend China. However, Modi realised India needed investments, technology, and military support, which could only come from the US, Gupta says.

Secondly, India bolstered its support for its South Asian neighbours more robustly over the past nine years as it countered growing Chinese influence, signing crucial agreements with them, particularly Bangladesh, which during the United Progressive Alliance years fell victim to the pulls and pressures of coalition politics, the former diplomat says.

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Modi has visited Nepal five times, while Singh could not visit Kathmandu even once.

Thirdly, Modis foreign policy towards West Asian countries is independent of their regional complexities, treating each on its own merit, Gupta says.

The PM de-hyphenated Indias relations with Israel and Palestine, visiting Tel Aviv in July 2017, the first-ever visit by an Indian PM, and Palestine a year later.

In 2015, Modi became the first PM in 34 years to visit the United Arab Emirates, and he has since visited that country on four more occasions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi who arrived in Indonesia early Thursday morning said that it is an "honour" for him to co-chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India summit.

In his address, PM Modi congratulated Indonesian President Joko Widodo for organising the Summit and said, "Our partnership has reached the fourth decade. It is an honour for me to co-chair this Summit. I want to congratulate Indonesian President Joko Widodo for organising this Summit..."

Earlier PM Modi said he is looking forward to "working with various leaders for making a better planet." He said, "Last year we celebrated the India-ASEAN Friendship Day and gave it a form of comprehensive strategic partnership..."

Prime Minister Modi was given a ceremonial welcome by the Indian diaspora on his arrival in Indonesia and at the venue of the Summit, the Jakarta Convention Centre, he was welcomed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

The ASEAN-India Summit is the first summit since the elevation of the ties between India and the ASEAN bloc of countries to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022.

"Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy," PM Modi said in his departure statement.

"I look forward to discussing with ASEAN leaders the future contours of our partnership, which has now entered its fourth decade. Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership entered into last year has injected new dynamism in our ties," he said.

The 20th ASEAN-India Summit is a "greatly cherished" partnership, PM Modi said in a post on X.

After the ASEAN-India Summit Prime Minister Modi will attend the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS).

Upon reaching Jakarta, PM Modi tweeted in Indonesian, "Landed in Jakarta. Looking forward to ASEAN related meetings and working with various leaders for a better planet."

The Prime Minister's visit to Indonesia comes ahead of the G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 under India's Presidency this year. Indonesia is part of the G20 'troika' as it had the presidency of the grouping last year.

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He also termed the engagement with the ASEAN group as an important pillar of India's 'Act East Policy'. The Prime Minister is visiting Jakarta at the invitation of the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday arrived in India for the G20 Summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10.

She was received at the airport by the Minister of State (MoS) in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Anupriya Singh Patel.

A special dance was performed at the airport upon her arrival.

India and the EU have a common interest in ensuring security, prosperity and sustainable development in a multi-polar world. Both India and the EU agreed to further build on these convergences and foster new synergies for jointly contributing to a safer, greener, cleaner, more digital, resilient and stable world, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement.

The EU is India's 2nd-largest trading partner (after the US) and India's 2nd-largest export market. India is the EU's 10th largest trading partner, accounting for 2 per cent of EU total trade in goods.Trade in services between the EU and India reached 40 billion Euro in 2021.

Meanwhile, New Delhi is geared up to host the G20 Leader's Summit in the national capital at the newly inaugurated Bharat Mandapam.

This is the first time that the G20 Summit is taking place under India's presidency. The event will be graced by many global leaders and delegates. Extensive preparations and arrangements have been made for the summit, with the intention of showcasing both India's soft power as well as modern face.

Formed in 1999, the G20 was formed to maintain global financial stability by incorporating middle-income countries.

India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country. The 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.

A G20 Leaders' declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the G20 Summit, stating Leaders' commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings.

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The next G20 presidency is going to be taken over by Brazil in 2024, followed by South Africa in 2025.

Recently, European Union Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis held a meeting with Union Minister Piyush Goyal and said that both sides would benefit enormously from a comprehensive trade and investment partnership.

Valdis Dombrovskis and the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry held a High-Level Economic Dialogue (HLED) on Trade and Investment in India in the national capital.

He further said that the European Union is India's largest trading partner but there still lies a lot of untapped potential.

"Minister Goyal and I held a positive and thorough discussion on advancing our Free Trade Agreement during our High-Level Economic Dialogue. Both sides would benefit enormously from a comprehensive trade and investment partnership. The EU is India's second-largest trading partner but there is still a lot of untapped potential. India stands much to gain from tapping into the world's biggest, most lucrative single market. There is a clear political willingness on both sides to change gear and make faster progress. We must now use this momentum to bridge major gaps that remain," he said in a statement.

The senior EU leader that the two countries will work on market access-related issues through Trade and Technology Forum (TTC).

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met Valdis Dombrovskis and discussed bilateral and financial issues of mutual interest.

In a meeting that was held in New Delhi, both the leaders exchanged views on ongoing consultations for India-EU Investment Protection Agreement IPA and India-EU Free Trade Agreement FTA, informed the Ministry of Finance.

EU Trade Commissioner also co-chaired the EU-India High-Level Dialogue on Trade and Investment with Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in Delhi.

The negotiations for an FTA between the EU and India were relaunched last year, marking a significant step in trade relations.

Prior to the meeting with the Union Finance minister, In a press conference, the EU Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis acknowledged that while progress has been made in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) discussions, there are still substantial challenges to address.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Indonesia on Thursday morning to attend the ASEAN-India and the East Asia summits during which he will discuss the future contours of India's partnership with the countries in the strategically important region.

"PM @narendramodi lands in Jakarta," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi posted on social media platform X.

Ahead of his departure from New Delhi, Modi said that the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and the ASEAN has injected new dynamism into the group's ties with New Delhi.

In Jakarta, Modi will attend the ASEAN-India Summit and will take part in the East Asia Summit.

Immediately after the meetings, he will return to Delhi, where India is hosting the G20 Summit on September 9 and 10.

"Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy," Modi said in his departure statement.

"I look forward to discussing with ASEAN leaders the future contours of our partnership, which has now entered its fourth decade. Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership entered into last year has injected new dynamism in our ties," he said.

After the ASEAN-India Summit, the prime minister will attend the 18th East Asia Summit.

"This forum provides a useful opportunity to deliberate on issues of importance to the region including food and energy security, environment, health, and digital transformation. I look forward to exchanging views with other EAS Leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address these global challenges," he said.

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By John Alderman Linton



Korea and its culture are in truth very different from what can be seen on the surface.



Historically speaking, my Celtic ancestors in Scotland lived wild and savage lives. But the Korean yangban, or nobility, practiced calligraphy, partook of the finer things, and cultivated an appreciation for culture of all kinds.



Perhaps that's why Korean culture keeps offering new discoveries. It's been more than 120 years since my ancestors first came to Korea, but remarkably, we're still learning new things today.



Not long after I finished up my medical residency in the United States and returned to Korea in 1991, I had a consultation with a young Caucasian woman who identified herself as a missionary to Korea.



That struck me as rather odd, since by that point most missionaries to Korea had already gone back home. In fact, the Korean Christian church was starting to send its own missionaries abroad. Today, South Korea alone sends nearly as many missionaries as the entire United States.



While talking to the young woman, I mentioned that Jonah's escape from the belly of the whale had to have been a miracle since it was scientifically impossible to survive for three days without any oxygen in a fish's belly. But the young woman said she didn't believe the Bible literally because some parts of it were fictional.



When I asked her if she believed that Mary had conceived while still a virgin, she said that couldn't have happened. She added that the story of Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the grave after three days was impossible and in fact ridiculous. She figured the disciples were so eager to see Jesus after his death that they started seeing visions. There was no actual resurrection, the young woman told me.



Her account was completely at odds with what I'd always heard in church. I couldn't help wondering what kind of mission work this young woman meant to do when she obviously rejected the message of the Bible.



As I listened doubtfully, she told me she'd come to Korea to help liberate its women. I warned her that when it comes to Korean women, there's more than meets the eye and started to share what I'd observed in my own experience.



I spent my early years in the city of Suncheon, in Jeolla Province. Because most Korean families worked on the farm back then, they tended to have a lot of children. Even my mother planned to have 12 children, though she ended up only having six. I was the youngest of the bunch.



When I went over to my friends' houses as a kid, I very quickly came to realize that the most important woman in those sprawling households, which often had multiple generations living under the same roof, was the eldest son's wife.



When it came time for my friends' eldest brothers to tie the knot, their families would agonize over which woman to accept into the family. It was a difficult decision that was only reached through a long and complicated process.



On the wedding day, even the poorest families would treat their guests to a bountiful feast of beef and pork. I remember eating my fill on those days.



But following the wedding, the eldest son's wife had to put up with the kind of persecution that Jesus faced in the Bible. She was held to blame for everything from a bad harvest to sickness among the old folks. Whatever went wrong, she was at fault.



And it got worse. She had to go to bed later than her mother-in-law and rise earlier than her. Throughout the day, she was saddled with housework of all kinds, along with endless nagging from her mother-in-law.



But after the eldest son's wife gave birth to a son or two, her position in the family began to change. She grew emotionally distant from her husband and shifted her focus to her sons.



As the family matriarch grew older, I observed how the eldest son's wife gradually took her place, managing the household and handling family matters both great and small. She eventually became the very heart of the family. She learned how to handle rude or improper behavior from her husband's younger brothers, calling the wife aside instead of calling the offender out to maintain family decorum.



"Do you know what the younger sons' wives call the eldest son's wife? They call her hyeongnim," I told the young woman who saw herself as a missionary. I explained that hyeongnim is not one of the typical feminine forms of address that women use around each other, but a masculine form of address that a man would use to address an older man.



I told her how, after the age of 60, men occupy a much weaker position in the family. Basically, their only role after that point is to attend weddings and funerals in the village as the ceremonial head of the family. Indeed, the majority of all decision-making in the family, including on financial matters, is made by the mother of the family.



It's true that many women have suffered from discrimination as a result of Korea's Confucian legacy. But taking a closer look at Korean families, we can find another side to that story  the central role that women have played in Korean society.



"Korean women have already been liberated," I told the young woman as our conversation wound down. "What I wish you'd do is learn how Korean women handle things and share those teachings with people back in the United States."





John Alderman Linton, an American-Korean whose Korean name is Ihn Yo-han, is a director at Yonsei University Severance Hospital International Health Care Center.




The worlds most powerful leaders will soon meet in New Delhi, heralding the culmination of Indias G20 presidency. While the G20 has delivered very little since its early successes following the 2008 global financial crisis, there are two reasons why the groups coming summit still matters for India.



First, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned the G20 presidency into a major domestic issue by involving all of India in the preparations. G20 posters featuring Modi are plastered across the country, signalling his intention to present India as a key player on the global stage. The more that Indians are persuaded their country is a vishwaguru (teacher to the world), the greater the ruling partys chances in upcoming state elections and next years national elections.



Second, India now faces a big strategic choice, following the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) decision to add Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Until recently, the Brics was anomalous in design and ineffective (and thus harmless) in operation.



But Brics+ is more political in focus, more China-centric in leadership, and more anti-West in motivation. Its composition is shaping its character. The question for India, then, is whether it still makes sense to belong to such a grouping.



That answer is probably not, for three reasons. First, consider the economics. The attraction of the original Brics (South Africa joined in 2010) lay in its members economic dynamism. Back in 2004, Brazil, Russia, India, and China were booming. But today, the Brics risks becoming a collective of fading stars. To be sure, many of the Brics still have high levels of wealth. In particular, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE still have the resources needed to partner with and donate to poorer countries. But wealth alone is no guarantee of global economic influence. Just look at Japan. Developing and emerging economies arent particularly interested in a potential partners glorious past; they want to align with countries that are on the rise.



There is no doubt that the Brics of 2023 is much less dynamic than it was two decades ago. Gone are the days when China could effortlessly achieve 10 per cent annual growth. The economic model that produced those spectacular results has broken down, such that most analysts now expect secular growth of 3 per cent or less. Meanwhile, Russia has been in terminal decline for years  and now its war of aggression will enfeeble it further. Though Brazil is currently enjoying a boom on the back of higher commodity prices, it remains to be seen if its fortunes can be sustained.



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As for the others, Argentina is teetering, yet again, on the edge of financial collapse, and South Africa remains saddled with astronomically high unemployment and profound governance and fiscal challenges. Egypt needs support from the International Monetary Fund to ensure any semblance of macroeconomic stability, and even Saudi Arabia and the UAE are living on borrowed time: A concerted global push on climate change will leave them stranded with devalued hydrocarbon assets.



In short, Brics+ comprises a bunch of economic has-beens. The big exception is India, which is still growing rapidly, with long-term prospects that have improved markedly in recent years. Since it no longer has much in common with the other Brics members, it should consider leaving  both for symbolic and practical reasons.



That brings us to the second big issue: politics. The new Brics+ shows every sign of becoming more political, and in ways that pose serious problems for India. For starters, its increasingly China-centric, anti-Western orientation runs counter to Indias longstanding principle of non-alignment. Maintaining equidistance from rival power blocs has always been a central tenet of Indian foreign policy, which it has upheld even in the face of Russias war on Ukraine.



To Modis enormous credit, India has managed to move closer to the United States and Japan while also maintaining its relations with Russia; it has also deepened its ties with Israel and forged better relations with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and especially the UAE. Is India prepared to jeopardise this success just to remain a member in good standing within the enlarged Brics+?



Moreover, apart from Argentina and Ethiopia, the new members are all autocracies, and this fact matters now that the group is becoming more political. Does India really want to belong to an authoritarian club? Notwithstanding its own political backsliding under Modi, it still counts democracy as its international calling card.



The third reason to quit the Brics concerns global governance. There is no longer any doubt that the US- and G7-led international order is unfit for purpose. After all, multilateral financial institutions do not give nearly enough voice to rising powers; multilateral trade institutions have been undermined through unilateral protectionist measures; and interdependence itself has been weaponised in the name of US national security.



But even if India would prefer a new world order, its vision would not coincide with that of China, Russia, or Saudi Arabia.



Among other things, the other Brics members aspire to dethrone the US dollar as the worlds dominant currency, and to provide alternative development resources and emergency funding to poorer countries. But these objectives imply that a better world would be based on renminbi dominance, Belt and Road Initiative-type lending, and a greater reluctance among official creditors to write off debts when poor countries face crises.



These solutions are not obviously better than the status quo, and from Indias perspective, they are almost certainly worse. How would India benefit from replacing US dominance with Chinese dominance? By lending its weight to Brics+, it would become complicit in supporting Chinas geopolitical aspirations.



Since India already eschewed membership in the China-centred Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, it would be rather odd for it to align with China in a quasi-political grouping. The feeling appears to be mutual: Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly intends to skip the G20 summit.



That should make Indias choice easier. The G7 is outdated, and Brics+ is no alternative. Tedious and performative though it has become, the multilateralism of the G20 remains a sliver of hope in navigating a new world of fragmented disorder.



As an assertion of its emerging strength, India should leave the Brics. And, as a signal of its commitment to constructive alternatives, it should strive to make the G20 a success.



Arvind Subramanian is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Josh Felman is a principal at

JH Consulting.  Project Syndicate
The Congress on Thursday held marches across the Jammu region to mark the first anniversary of the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, carrying forward the "message of love, religious harmony and brotherhood".

In Jammu, the main yatra was led by Rajni Patil, the Congress' Jammu and Kashmir in-charge. She was accompanied by the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit chief Vikar Rasool Wani and leader Manoj Yadav.

Last year's cross-country march witnessed Rahul Gandhi and several Congress leaders traverse over 4,000 kilometres and interact with a cross-section of society. Gandhi launched the yatra on September 7, 2022, in Kanyakumari. It ended on January 30 this year as Gandhi capped his ambitious 145-day journey in Srinagar.

The yatra replicated the Bharat Jodo Yatra and began with Patil hoisting the Tricolour. The march moved from Miran Sahib towards Satwari Chowk amid slogans of "Bharat jodo, nafrat chhodo".

Similar yatras were held by all Congress district units, led by senior leaders.

Addressing a gathering, Patil said the day is of great historical importance. The Bharat Jodo Yatra aimed to highlight the economic inequalities and the burning issues confronting the cross-section of the country's pluralistic culture.

"It was a unique and unprecedented yatra in the history of independent India," she said.

The yatra emerged as a turning point against the forces of division and hatred, Patil added.

Jammu and Kashmir has been an abode of religious tolerance and brotherhood for centuries and the people wholeheartedly supported the Bharat Jodo Yatra despite the inclement weather, she said.

According to Patil, the entire nation realises the pain and sufferings the people of Jammu and Kashmir went through during the long spell of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

She also lashed out at the BJP government at the Centre, saying people are facing unprecedented price rise and record unemployment.

Patil also alleged that the people are suffering from the "downgrading" of the state and the snatching away of their democratic rights, land and jobs.

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Wani said the Bharat Jodo Yatra made a mark in history as it was a unique initiative during a time when the country was facing great social and economic challenges.

The people of Jammu and Kashmir will remember Gandhi for his tireless efforts to extend a helping hand and give voice to the suffering people, he said.

People want the restoration of democracy and statehood at the earliest, the Congress leader said.
The Trinamool Congress has written fresh letters to the Delhi Police, seeking permission to hold demonstrations at three places in the national capital in early October to protest against the alleged withholding of funds under the rural jobs scheme by the Centre for West Bengal.

TMC's Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien wrote three letters on September 6 to DCP Parliament Street Police station, New Delhi, seeking permission to organise dharnas at Jantar Mantar, outside Krishi Bhavan and in front of Union agriculture minister Giriraj Singh's residence on October 2 and October 3.

In the letters, O'Brien requested the Delhi Police for permission for the Trinamool Congress to hold dharnas, involving workers from the state of Bengal, who have been denied wages under the MGNREGA scheme from 10 am to 6 pm on October 2 and 3 at Jantar Mantar, Krishi Bhavan and outside the minister's residence.

TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee will lead the protests in New Delhi.

The ruling party in West Bengal had, in August, asserted that the Delhi Police refused permission for their October protest rally at Ram Leela Maidan in the national capital.

However, the Delhi police subsequently stated that they received the application on August 30 and would review it.
By Jenny Leonard and Debby Wu

China plans to expand a ban on the use of iPhones in sensitive departments to government-backed agencies and state companies, a sign of growing challenges for Apple Inc. in its biggest foreign market and global production base.

Several agencies have begun instructing staff not to bring their iPhones to work, people familiar with the matter said, affirming a previous report from the Wall Street Journal. In addition, Beijing intends to extend that restriction far more broadly to a plethora of state-owned enterprises and other government-controlled organizations, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive matter.

If Beijing goes ahead, the unprecedented blockade will be the culmination of a yearslong effort to root out foreign technology use in sensitive environments, coinciding with Beijings effort to reduce its reliance on American software and circuitry. It threatens to erode Apples position in a market that yields about a fifth of its revenue, and from where it makes the majority of the worlds iPhones through sprawling factories that employ millions of Chinese.

Its unclear how many companies or agencies could eventually adopt restrictions on personal devices, and theres been no formal or written injunction as yet, the people said. State firms or organizations will likely vary in how strictly they enforce such bans, with some forbidding Apple devices from the workplace while others could bar employees from using them entirely.

Chinese state firms like oil giant PetroChina Co. employ millions and control vast swathes of a centrally planned economy. Given Apples relationship with Beijing and its importance to the economy, it has historically been viewed as relatively safe in China from government restrictions, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brandon Nispel said in a report Wednesday. Is the government changing its stance?

A representative for Cupertino, California-based Apple didnt respond to a request for comment. The State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the State Council Information Office didnt respond to faxed requests for comment.

The prospect of China souring on Apple jarred investors Wednesday. The shares slid 3.6% in New York, their biggest single-day drop since Aug. 4. Apple had gained 46% this year before the decline, part of a broader run-up in tech stocks.

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The company enjoys widespread popularity in China, despite rising resentment of American efforts to contain the Asian countrys technology industry. Apples iPhones are among the nations bestsellers and are common in both the government and private sector.

But the blockade on the devices coincides with stepped-up efforts to develop domestic technology that can match or even surpass American innovation. Last week, the release of a Huawei Technologies Co. smartphone that contained an advanced made-in-China processor caused a stir on both sides of the Pacific. State media celebrated an early triumph against harsh US sanctions, while one US lawmaker called for an investigation into possible violations of those curbs.

Foreign devices have long been discouraged in sensitive agencies, particularly as Beijing stepped up a campaign in recent years to reduce a reliance on technology from the US, Chinas geopolitical rival.

Employees at some central government regulators received instructions via chat groups and in meetings to stop bringing such gadgets into the office, the Journal reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter. Its not clear how widely the orders were issued, it said.

In 2022, Beijing ordered central government agencies and state-backed corporations to replace foreign-branded personal computers with domestic alternatives within two years, marking one of the most aggressive efforts to eradicate key overseas technology from within its most sensitive organs.

The Biden administration, meanwhile, has sought to limit exports of cutting-edge semiconductor equipment to China. And Chinas top chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., has come under scrutiny for supplying components to Huawei  a company the US has blacklisted.

Even with US-China ties fraying, Apple remains highly dependent on the Asian country  both as a manufacturing partner and a market for its products. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook celebrated that relationship during a trip to China earlier this year, calling it symbiotic.

China also was one of the highlights of Apples results last quarter, helping offset a generally sluggish period. The company is preparing to unveil its latest iPhones next week, setting the stage for a holiday quarter that is invariably its biggest sales period of the year.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday asked Bangladesh's Hindu community not to consider themselves minorities, saying the country belongs to everyone irrespective of caste, creed and religion as they fought for its independence against Pakistani occupation forces in 1971.

"Why would you call yourselves a minority? ... There is nothing like minority and majority here, she said during an interaction with leading Hindu community leaders coinciding with Janmashtami at her official Gano Bhaban residence here. Hasina said, Don't undermine yourselves as a minority...Why are you doing so when you are the people of this country?



She said those who were born on this soil, are the children of this soil and they have citizen rights "so, you will live accordingly".

"I want you all to practise your respective religions properly," Hasina said and simultaneously called for constant vigil against any move to destroy the country's religious harmony and propaganda against its advancement.

Hasina said all citizens would enjoy equal rights and urged all irrespective of caste, creed and religion to work together to build a developed, prosperous and Smart Bangladesh by 2041 as envisaged by her ruling Awami League-led government.

Hindus are the second largest religious community after Muslims while they are followed by Buddhists and Christians.

Hasina is set to leave Dhaka for New Delhi on Friday afternoon to attend this year's G20 summit while foreign minister AK Abdul Momen in a briefing said she was expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the G20 sidelines.

The Bangladesh premier said her government always tries to maintain religious and communal harmony in Bangladesh and keep social solidarity where one won't undermine another and all the people will lead life enjoying equal rights.

"We know there are some vested people everywhere, who want to create some problems. All will have to pay attention so that none can create problems," she said.

Bangladesh in recent years witnessed some sporadic clandestine attacks on Hindu temples with culprits vandalizing statues in the dark of night sparking protests by civil society and exposing pressures on law enforcement agencies to enforce stricter security vigils.

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US President Joe Biden is all set to visit India and is "very excited" about the important initiatives he will be championing at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, according to senior White House officials.

Biden will follow the Covid-19 guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during his visit to India for the G20 Summit.

First Lady Jill Biden, 72, tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday. President Biden, 80, was tested for the virus on Monday and Tuesday following his wife's positive test, but his results were negative.

The White House said the president has tested negative twice and there is no change in his travel plans for India.

After arriving in New Delhi on Friday evening, President Biden is likely to immediately get back to business by having his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same night.

His meetings and interactions with Modi and other world leaders during and on the sidelines of the G20 Summit would be driven by the Covid-19 protocols established by the CDC.

The First Lady is quarantined at her Delaware house after testing positive and is not travelling with the president to India and Vietnam.

The president tested negative for Covid-19 this morning following the negative test on Monday night and also yesterday. He is not experiencing any symptoms, which of course is a good thing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday.

Responding to a volley of questions from reporters, Jean-Pierre reiterated that there is no change in the president's travel plans.

The president and the travelling members of the US delegation would be tested frequently for Covid-19. Biden is expected to be tested at least one more time before his departure from the White House for India on Thursday evening.

He (Biden) leaves tomorrow, and he's very excited about the important initiatives that he will be championing at the G20," White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby told reporters at a separate news conference organised by Washington Foreign Press Center.

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He said Biden's focus is going to be on delivering economic opportunity for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people, from climate to technology, and showing US' commitment to the G20 itself as a viable, if not vital, forum to tackle these issues.

Of course, now, we're grateful for Prime Minister Modi's leadership during India's presidency of the G20, and the President is certainly looking forward to his bilateral meeting with the prime minister shortly after his arrival in New Delhi.

"He's also looking forward to warmly welcoming the African Union as a permanent member of the G20, the newest permanent member. And we believe that the African Union's voice will make the G20 even stronger than it already is, Kirby said.

He hoped that the G20 countries would be able to issue a joint statement.

We know that the Indians also would like to see a joint communique, if you will, so we'll see where it goes.

"Oftentimes the sticking point tends to be the war in Ukraine because countries like Russia and China are less likely to sign on to language that the rest of the international community is more uncomfortable signing on to, so we'll see where it goes. But we'd like to see that, absolutely, Kirby said.

Apart from President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are among the G20 leaders who have already confirmed their participation in the summit.

Prime Minister Modi will hand over the baton of the G20 Presidency to Brazilian President Lula on September 10.

Brazil will formally assume the G20 Presidency on December 1.

The G20 member countries 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 (EU).
ESR Australia, a subsidiary of the worlds third-largest listed real estate investment manager, has partnered with Sydney-based Solar Bay to deploy up to $500 million in renewable infrastructure across its $15 billion portfolio of office and industrial assets nationally.

Solar Bay, founded in 2016 by James Doyle and Andrew Archibald, builds and operates renewable energy infrastructure for the largest commercial and industrial property owners in Australia.

Doyle describes the deal as a first-of-its-kind partnership that creates a new blueprint for decarbonising the Australian property sector.

The agreement will accelerate the deployment of renewable energy infrastructure across ESR-managed assets nationally with the aim of reducing up to 56,000 tonnes of carbon-dioxide per year from these operations.

Solar Bay, which was founded to bridge the gap between companies looking to cut CO2 emissions and the technical capability and capital to do so, has an extensive portfolio in the field including the fit-out of an extensive rooftop solar and battery storage system at LOGOSs Moorebank Logistics Park in Sydney.

ESR Australia, which is part of the $230 billion Hong Kong-based ESR Group, says the partnership will help meet demand from its customers for renewable energy solutions.

Under the agreement, Solar Bay will deliver up to 50MW of solar panels, 300MW of battery storage capacity and EV charging infrastructure to ESR Australias properties over the next decade.

This will potentially include the installation of up to 125,000 solar panels to achieve the 50MW target.

Among ESR Australias assets are the Westlink Industry Park and Horsley Logistics Park in NSW and the West Industry Park and Southgate Towers office building in Victoria.

"It is imperative for ESR to future-proof its assets with consideration of environmental sustainability, and this significant investment into renewable energy infrastructure across our growing portfolio will ensure the continued viability of our operations and those of our customers, says ESR Australia CEO Phil Pearce.

We are delighted to partner with Solar Bay, an organisation at the forefront of Australia's renewable energy technology and infrastructure.

ESR Australia will draw on Solar Bay's expertise in technologies such as embedded networks, rooftop solar, electric vehicle charging, battery storage, and broader renewable energy solutions to deliver infrastructure that addresses our customers' energy needs today and into the future.

Pearce says the energy requirements of its customers have grown significantly with the adoption of electric-powered automation and he sees demand continuing to increase with the take up of electric vehicles.

Through the provision of clean energy, we are seeking to alleviate pressure on our customers from growing energy costs, while mitigating the environmental impact of the increasing electrification of operations, he says.

ESR Australia estimates its energy solutions could deliver savings of up to 50 per cent on energy bills.

Solar Bay will manage the development, design and installation of customised renewable energy infrastructure for ESR Australias clients.

The multi-year partnership also allows us to maximise renewable energy penetration across ESR's development pipeline by implementing innovative electrification solutions like embedded networks during the build stage, giving customers access to cost-competitive, 100 per cent renewable energy, says Doyle, director of Solar Bay.

This partnership is proof of the rapid increase in demand for green energy solutions, and together with ESR we look forward to continuing to play a leading role in the sector's transition away from carbon-based fuels over the coming years."

Since 2016, Solar Bay has accumulated 800MW of greenfield assets, including 50MW of rooftop Solar PV and 150MW of battery storage for commercial and industrial clients nationally, working with industry majors such as Charter Hall (ASX: CHC), Lendlease (ASX: LLC), LOGOS and Coles Group (ASX: COL).

Get our daily business news Sign up to our free email news updates. First Name: Email: Spam Verification Please tick to verify that you are not a robot
edition, MG India offers its customers yet another stylish option to choose from the popular MG Astor range. It offers a captivating appeal to customers who are looking for a Bold, Sophisticated, and Stylish SUV.

ASTOR BLACKSTORM

skyroof,

Variant Transmission Interior Color Ex-showroom Astor Smart Black Storm MT Black INR 14,47,800 CVT Black INR 15,76,800

MG Motor India, a British automobile brand with a 100-year-old legacy, today launched the BLACKSTORM edition of the MG ASTOR - India's Most Advanced SUV in its class. With the BLACKSTORMThelimited edition comes with a panoramican All-Black Honeycomb pattern Grille, Black alloy wheels with red front brake callipers, black finish Headlamps, glossy Black Door Garnish and Black Finish Roof Rails that amp up the overall look of ASTOR BLACKSTORM. The SUV has the BLACKSTORM emblem* on its front fenders on both sides. The interior of the model commands aesthetic appeal with a Tuxedo Black Upholstery with red stitching, Sangria red-themed AC Vents, an all-black Floor Console, steering wheel and doors with red stitches. The ASTOR BLACKSTORM also comes with JBL speakers* and customer can get them fitted at all authorized MG dealerships pan India.said, As the whole country preps up for the upcoming festive season, we at MG Motor India, want to ensure that our customers feel extra special with the Astors latest limited edition  BLACKSTORM. It has a premium finish with a bold and distinctive design that is sure to win our customers heart as they look to upgrade their existing vehicles with tech-enabled cars that are not only futuristic but also delivers a superior driving experience.Astor is the first car to get a personal AI assistant in the companys global portfolio. The Autonomous Level 2 MG Astor is powered by mid-range radars and a multi-purpose camera that can realize a series of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). Since its launch in 2021, Astor has been creating memories of a lifetime for our customers. With best-in-class tech, Digital Car Key, 49 + Safety and i-SMART features, MG Astor has truly captured the hearts of tech-savvy consumers who are looking for automotive innovations that deliver a fulfilling driving experience."*Ex-Showroom prices are inclusive of Accessory package. Accessory package will be Dealer Fitment.
Soaring above: A paragliding adventure over Sayram Lake, Xinjiang

13:59, September 07, 2023 By Elena Davydova, Xian Jiangnan, Su Yingxiang, Ebulayi ( People's Daily Online

This summer, Elana Davydova has journeyed all the way to China's far western region of Xinjiang to experience the adrenaline-pumping sport of paragliding. Maybe the simplest form of flight, paragliding is an adventure sport that has become a favorite among outdoor enthusiasts. Join her for an exhilarating paragliding adventure over Sayram Lake in Xinjiang!

(Web editor: Xian Jiangnan, Du Mingming)


Seoul must engage in diplomacy to lower tensions



If media reports are correct, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet early next week.



The diplomatic calculus is just right for the first summit between the two authoritarian leaders in four-and-a-half years. Russia badly needs North Korea's artillery shells and missiles for its protracted war in Ukraine. Pyongyang wants Moscow's technology for spy satellites, nuclear-powered submarines and economic aid, including food.



Such transactions, if materialized, are morally and legally unacceptable.



By providing lethal weapons for the unjustifiable war initiated by Russia, the North will worsen and prolong the Ukrainian people's plight. Russia, a standing member of the U.N. Security Council, will violate the council's resolutions by helping Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.



So, it was natural that Washington warned that Pyongyang would "pay a price" if it reached any arms deal with Russia. Seoul also urged Moscow to stop military cooperation with Pyongyang immediately.



However, these warnings may fall on deaf ears for both Kim and Putin. Putin could point out that President Yoon Suk Yeol hinted at sending lethal weapons to Ukraine in an interview with Reuters in May. The threat of additional U.N. sanctions against North Korea also won't likely change Kim's mind. The young North Korean leader may think Pyongyang has little left to lose due to the prolonged U.S. blockade.



Renewed military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang are a nightmare for Seoul. In 1950, the North started the Korean War, armed with former Soviet weaponry. Even more dangerous is China's possible inclusion with the two, making it a three-way bloc against the three-nation "quasi-alliance" of the U.S., Japan and South Korea. That will turn back the clock on this divided peninsula to 73 years ago once more. Beijing might already have decided so, to counter Washington and outdo Moscow in influencing Pyongyang.



The U.S., South Korean, and Japanese leaders must have fully considered the ongoing development when they met at Camp David last month. If not, they are self-centered to an unrealistic extent. However, in any alliance or "quasi-alliance," the weakest link suffers first and recovers last. The Korean Peninsula or the Taiwan Strait are likeliest candidates for military conflict between superpowers in this region. If it occurs here, prosperous South Korea has far more to lose than the impoverished North. However, both will suffer destruction beyond reparation.



That explains why successive governments in Seoul have struggled to create an enduring peace structure for this divided peninsula. But there were differences among governments. Liberal presidents sought to engage the North and denuclearize it as a result of detente. Conservative ones demanded denuclearization first, putting an end goal as a precondition for talks and freezing inter-Korean exchanges.



Conservatives accused liberals of assisting the North to gain more time to complete its nuclear weapons program while pretending to talk. Liberals thought that the hawks in Seoul and Washington left Pyongyang with no other options.



A case in point is right-wing President Lee Myung-bak (2008-2013). Due to antipathy toward his center-left predecessors and misjudgment that the North would collapse soon, Lee reversed their engagement policies and returned to confrontation. Inter-Korean ties had been in the doldrums for a decade until another liberal, Moon Jae-in, revived them.



Now, things can be no more similar to back then. The incumbent government copied the Lee administration from policies to personnel. After meeting with Lee and his close aides, a U.S. official reportedly said, "They are pro-U.S. and pro-Japan to the bone." Another U.S. official may make a similar remark after meeting President Yoon Suk Yeol and his confidants.



The former Lee administration at least tried to talk with the North in a unilateral way. But the incumbent government is not even doing so, severely downsizing and downgrading the unification ministry.



It may be idle to argue who's right or wrong. What is certain  and urgent  now is to keep this divided peninsula from returning to the mid-20th century.



Repeating, and not overcoming unfortunate and shameful history, is a crime for descendants.




By Park Jung-won



The most serious security matter facing South Korea today is the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear missiles. Many politicians and experts in South Korea argue that China has no reason to stand behind its neighbor, North Korea, due to the latter's increasingly reckless nuclear posture, and thus China's mediation efforts in inter-Korean affairs should align with South Korea's security aims. While this argument may have been persuasive in the past, in the geopolitical context of the new Cold War, it is now a delusion. The essence of the new Cold War is China's challenge to the liberal order led by the United States. North Korea, despite being an otherwise insignificant, poor country, is able to frustrate and threaten the U.S. with its nuclear weapons. Its misbehavior is thus useful to China.



Nevertheless, there are still people in South Korean society who speak as if China can play a positive role in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue. But it is clear from China's attitude toward North Korea that the security interests of South Korea and China are fundamentally different. Bolstered by Chinese (and Russian) vetoes at the U.N. Security Council, North Korea has continued to test-fire missiles without suffering any U.N. sanctions. How could China be an honest broker for more peaceful relations if it abets North Korea's fearless and provocative acts in this way?



In the past, former President Roh Moo-hyun insisted that South Korea should act as a "balancer" in Northeast Asia because it is sandwiched between continental and maritime powers. In this simplistic model, whichever of the two competing blocs the balancer favors becomes stronger, making the balancer a key player pursued by both sides. In 19th-century Europe, Britain was such a power, and thus it was also a balancer. Unfortunately, in 21st-century Asia, South Korea is neither. Although it is a competitive country on the world stage, it cannot tilt the geopolitical power balance in Northeast Asia on its own.



South Korea needs a strong military alliance to defend itself, and to further enhance its security it should also pursue a "minilateral" approach with countries with which it shares common values. Moreover, China has at times been very rude toward South Korea in their bilateral relations, acting contrary to even basic diplomatic etiquette. Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in, an ardent lover of "peace," uttered nary a word of protest against China when this occurred. By actively participating in various regional minilateral networks, South Korea can respond more effectively to China's rude behavior and increase its "bargaining power" against China.



At the heart of the Aug. 18 summit between the U.S., Japan and South Korea at Camp David, was an agreement by the three countries to jointly respond to common threats. While it may seem natural for countries that pursue the common value of liberal democracy to do so, the creation of the three-way consultative alliance is nevertheless historic, considering previous attempts by the U.S. which failed because of historical conflicts between South Korea and Japan and the domestic political situations of each country. With the Camp David agreements, East Asia's strategic security structure, based on the South Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty and the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, has entered a new stage for the first time in 70 years. The fact that the leaders of the three countries, as well as their national security advisers and ministers of foreign affairs, defense, commerce and industry will have regular meetings on economic security, advanced technology, and supply chains means that all significant pending issues will be discussed at the three-country level.



Some worry that North Korea will intensify its hardline provocations as a result of this strengthening cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo. However, such concerns stem from a misreading of causality. As North Korea's nuclear and missile threats grow increasingly worse, with no effort made by China to stop them, it is right to say that the combined deterrence of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan is necessary and inevitable.



The question is whether this level of institutionalization of trilateral cooperation can effectively respond to a localized provocation by the North, such as a surprise invasion of South Korea. South Korea is the most vulnerable target of North Korea's threats. The U.S. and Japan also feel threatened by the North's nuclear missiles, but the threat is different in nature from what South Korea faces. Although they have made it clear in the Camp David agreement that there is a "duty to consult" between the three countries in case of a contingency, this is not a legally binding duty and is subject to the discretionary evaluation of each country.



North Korea and China will likely try to test the strength of this trilateral solidarity. North Korea can at any time carry out localized provocations against South Korea. When that happens, China will inwardly welcome it, watching from behind while simultaneously showing off its "influence" by acting as a mediator to resolve it. How would the U.S. and Japan respond if North Korea initiated an artillery attack on Seoul combined with a threat to use tactical nuclear weapons? What would happen to the so-called trilateral security cooperation if the U.S. and Japan then failed to respond firmly? It is hard to exaggerate the extent of the damage that South Korea would incur.



To prevent such a nightmare scenario from becoming a reality, South Korea should redouble efforts to expand on the progress made at the Camp David summit through proactive interaction with the U.S. and Japan. And beyond the Camp David framework, South Korea should also undertake self-strengthening efforts. In this regard, it is regrettable that Seoul failed to win concessions from Washington at Camp David on revising the nuclear energy pact between the two countries to develop South Korea's "nuclear potential," at least in the worst-case scenario. No alliance or consultative regime can replace self-defense.





Park Jung-won (park_jungwon@hotmail.com), Ph.D. in law from the London School of Economics (LSE), is a professor of international law at Dankook University.




Samsung's flag flutters in the breeze in front of the company's building in Seoul in this 2022 file photo. Yonhap



By Park Jae-hyuk



Samsung Electronics is expected to benefit from the European Union's decision on Wednesday (local time) to designate Apple as one of the six global tech giants to be subject to stricter regulations, while excluding the Korean firm from the list, according to industry officials, Thursday.



The European Commission announced that Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and ByteDance were identified as "gatekeepers," which provide 22 core platform services, such as the App Store, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Chrome and Safari.



The gatekeepers will be banned from favoring their own services over those offered by competitors and will have to share key information with business customers, in accordance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which will take effect in March of next year.



There will be fines of up to 10 percent of a firm's global revenue for breaking the rules, and even up to 20 percent for repeat offenders. In cases of systematic infringements, the commission is also authorized to adopt additional remedies such as obliging a gatekeeper to sell a business or parts of it.



Before the announcement, Samsung was also mentioned as having the potential to be named as a gatekeeper.



However, the Korean firm was able to avoid the new rules, as it reportedly succeeded in convincing the commission to regard it as a "manufacturer" of smartphones, rather than an online platform provider.



"The commission has concluded that, although Gmail, Outlook.com and Samsung Internet Browser meet the thresholds under the DMA to qualify as gatekeepers, Alphabet, Microsoft and Samsung provided sufficiently justified arguments showing that these services do not qualify as gateways for the respective core platform services," the commission said. "It follows that Samsung is not designated as a gatekeeper with respect to any core platform service."



Samsung welcomed the decision, saying there will be no change to its business strategies.



In contrast, it has become difficult for Apple to avoid suffering a setback in its European operations, because iPhone users will be allowed to download apps outside of the App Store and provide limited personal data to the U.S. firm. In addition, the European Commission has not ruled out the possibility of putting Apple's iMessage on the list of core platform services subject to the DMA regulations.



"Apple will face difficulties in taking advantage of its closed ecosystem to maintain its lead in the premium market," an IT industry insider said. "Samsung has been able to avoid potential problems in selling its smartphones in Europe."



There remains the possibility that the gatekeepers may file lawsuits against the latest decision.



Apple said Wednesday that it was "very concerned about the privacy and data security risks the DMA poses for our users" and said it would seek to "mitigate these impacts."


Invitations to the upcoming G-20 Summit in New Delhi have just undergone a significant change. Instead of the traditional "President of India," the invite now states "President of Bharat," reviving a larger debate about the nation's name and its historical connotations.

What are the Historical Contexts for the Names "India" and "Bharat"?

Constitutionality

The Indian Constitution already uses the terms "India" and "Bharat" interchangeably, declaring that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States."

The Indian Constitution's preamble begins, "We the People of India," however the Hindi version uses "Bharat" instead of "India," signifying interchangeability.

Furthermore, certain official agencies, such as the Indian Railways, already have Hindi variations that incorporate "Bharatiya."

Origin of the Name Bharat

The term "Bharat" has extensive historical and cultural antecedents. Its roots can be found in Puranic literature and the epic Mahabharata.

According to the Vishnu Purana, "Bharata" is the country between the southern sea and the northern snowy Himalayan mountain range.

It denotes a religious and socio-cultural entity rather than a political or geographical one.

Bharata is also the name of a mythological ancient ruler who is considered the ancestor of the Rig Vedic tribes of Bharatas, as well as the founder of all people in the subcontinent.

Origin of the Name India

The term India is derived from the word Indus, which is the name of a river that flows through the subcontinent's northwestern region.

The people who lived beyond the Indus were known as Indoi, which means "people of the Indus" in Greek.

Later, the Persians and Arabs used the terms Hind or Hindustan to refer to the Indus Valley.

From these sources, Europeans adopted the term India, which became the country's official name under British colonial administration.

Constitutional Assembly Deliberation Regarding India and Bharat:

The controversy over the country's name is not new. There was disagreement about the name when the Constituent Assembly drafted the Constitution in 1949.

Some members felt that the term "India" evoked colonial tyranny and attempted to prioritize "Bharat" in official publications.

Seth Govind Das of Jabalpur campaigned for "Bharat" to be placed above "India," highlighting that the latter was simply an English translation of the former.

Hari Vishnu Kamath cited the Irish Constitution, which altered the country's name after independence, as a precedent for using "Bharat."

Hargovind Pant stated that the people preferred the word "Bharatvarsha" over the term "India" imposed by foreign rulers.

Recent Development

The Centre rejected a name change in 2015, claiming that the topic had been thoroughly debated during the Constitution's formulation.

The Supreme Court has twice rejected petitions to change the name "India" to "Bharat," once in 2016 and again in 2020, stating that both "Bharat" and "India" are mentioned in the Constitution.

Article 1 of the Constitution reads as follows

India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States. The states and territories are those stated in the First Schedule.

The territory of India shall comprise - the territories of the States; the Union territories specified in the First Schedule; and such other territories as may be acquired.

The Constitution stipulates in Article 1 that "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States."
Gandhiji worked as a journalist and edited four well-known Journals in the middle of his many pursuits. Young India, Navajivan, and Harijan in India, as well as Indian Opinion in South Africa.

Gandhi's View on Journalism

"The sole purpose of journalism," he stated, "is service." The Mahatma's journals not only spread his ideas, but also set a new standard in journalism. He was a man of the people who wrote about their issues, feelings, and dreams. His human approach gave his writings a distinct personality. His plan was to teach people about the importance of political, economic, and social independence through his works.

"One of the objects of a newspaper," Gandhiji explained, "is to understand popular feeling and give expression to it; another is to arouse among the people certain desirable sentiments; and the third is to fearlessly express popular defects."

How did he start his Career as a Journalist?

Gandhiji travelled to London at the age of nineteen and read a newspaper for the first time. "In India," he said in his book, "I had never read a newspaper." He became interested in writing articles and began to contribute to the Vegetarian, the Vegetarian Society of England's newspaper. During his three-year stay in London, he submitted nine pieces to that publication about Indian nutrition, customs, and festivals, among other topics. This provided him with the option to work as a freelance journalist.

During his return trip to India, the ship he was travelling on encountered a severe storm. He described it from the ship to the Vegetarian, which is a fantastic example of independent journalism.

In April 1893, the young barrister set off for South Africa to defend one of Dada Abdullah and Company's lawsuits. The political context in South Africa not only turned him into a Satyagrahi, but also a skilled journalist. He served as the South African Correspondent of the India founded by Dadabhai Naoroji and began sending dispatches regarding the South African situation, with a focus on Indians' grievances there. During the Boer War, Gandhiji and his band of Indian volunteers volunteered to care for the ill and injured on the battlefield. During this time, he was a "War Correspondent."

Gandhi as an Editor of Several Newspapers

On June 4, 1903, Gandhiji, with the assistance of Indians, launched his first journal, Indian Opinion, in Natal, South Africa, in order to effectively express the views of Indians living in South Africa under the harshest form of apartheid. He wrote the inaugural editorial, "Ourselves," which was unsigned at the time. It is distinguished by the simplicity of his words.

English, Gujarati, Tamil, and Hindi were the languages in which the Indian Opinion was published. Gandhiji not only wrote for the publication, but also contributed financially to cover its costs. Mr. Henry Polak, one of Gandhiji's close colleagues, described the problems experienced by Indian opinion at the time. "The printing press, where typesetting was done by hand," Mr. Polak said, "it was powered by an oil engine that frequently broke down."

When this happened, the settlers had to rely on hand-power to finish the paper in time for the regular postal delivery." When this happened, Gandhiji, according to Mr. Polak, physically put his shoulder to the wheel with the same zeal as the others. There were no servants, peons, or other forms of help. The press employees had to print the paper, fold it, paste the addresses, bundle it, and transport it to the railway station.

Gandhiji left Indian Opinion in the care of Mr. Polak as he departed South Africa. In 1916, he assigned his 23-year-old second son, Manilal Gandhi, to oversee the Gujarati edition of the Indian Opinion as well as the English edition. He wrote to Shri Manilal Gandhi on occasion, advising him on the documents. "The Editor", wrote his journalist-son's journalist-father, "must be patient and seek only the truth." You should write what is true in Indian opinion, but do not be impolite or give in to rage. Be careful with your language. If you are, do not be afraid to admit it." Gandhiji inspired many people to pursue careers in journalism in the service of the country and the people.

A Gujarati periodical first appeared on October 7, 1919. Gandhiji assumed command. The Young India began publication the next day. Both were edited by Gandhiji. The Harijan, his most popular publication devoted to the cause of Harijans, or men of God as he referred to the untouchables, debuted on February 1, 1933. The Harijan was thereafter devoted to the cause of the villages and constructive activities in rural areas. Gandhiji was always willing to guide young journalists in their job. Gandhiji always encouraged journalists to make sure that their reports did not harm the underprivileged.

During his last journey to Delhi in September 1947, he paid a visit to the Jamia Millia, the late President Dr. Zakir Hussain's basic education institution. As he was stepping out of his car, two of his fingers were crushed in the door and began to bleed. The institution's administration promptly dispatched first aid supplies and medication. But Gandhiji smiled and informed them that all he needed was a glass of water and a piece of cloth. He dipped his injured fingers in the glass and bandaged them himself with the handkerchief. Thereafter, he went round the institution.

During his railway excursions, Gandhiji published editorials and articles for the Harijan. When he was travelling in his third-class compartment, he asked his typist to type an article. The train was moving quickly. The typist did his best, however there were numerous typos and several words jumped. Gandhiji advised the typist to take his time with his work. He instructed him to bring the typewriter, and he typed the document properly. He told the typist, laughing, "Well, you see, I also know typing." As a journalist, I learned everything needed to publish a paper."
Aerospace Engineering is an area of engineering that attempts to provide students with the necessary skills and knowledge to design and build spacecraft, aircraft, and other related systems. This specialized work involves a high level of attention to detail and requires experts with strong numeracy and information technology skills. To become an aerospace engineer, a B.Tech is required as a first step, followed by a Master's degree in a specialism.

As an aeronautical engineer, you would be involved in a variety of sectors such as research, testing, production, and maintenance. Analytical capabilities, excellent communication skills, IT, numeracy, problem solving, and other abilities are required for a career in aerospace engineering. These skills will be acquired during your B.Tech in Aerospace Engineering program.

What skills are required to become an aerospace engineer?

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills

Creative and ability to see alternative ways of things

Communication skills

Speed and accuracy

Strong mathematics and Mechanics

Technical Expertise

Concern about safety

Interested in aviation and science

Sense of Responsibility

Work under pressure to meet the deadlines

Eligibility to Become an Aerospace Engineer

The essential eligibility criteria for admission to a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering are PCM in Class 12.

A good rank in JEE mains and JEE advanced is required for admission to top engineering institutes in India.

Clearing DGCA exams is required for obtaining a license in aircraft maintenance engineering.

After passing the GATE exam, one can pursue a Master's degree in Aerospace at premier institutions like IIT.

List of Aerospace Engineering Courses

Bachelor of Technology in Aeronautical Engineering

Bachelor of Engineering in Aeronautical Engineering

Bachelor of Technology in Aerospace Engineering

M.Tech in Aeronautical Engineering

During your Bachelor's degree, you will take the following courses to gain a basic understanding of Aerospace Engineering:

Strength of Materials

Fluid Mechanics

Thermodynamics

Mathematics

Mechanics

Basics of Aeronautical Engineering

Following that, you will be introduced to the degree's fundamental courses. Among them are:

Aircraft Design

Aircraft Structures

Aerodynamics

Flight Mechanics

Aircraft Propulsion

Aircraft Stability and Control

Gas Dynamics

Rocket Propulsion

Aircraft Systems

Role & Responsibilities of an Aerospace Engineer

To meet the demands of their work, aerospace engineers must be able to do the following duties.

Providing solutions to complicated aerospace design and engineering issues.

Analyze the mission profile's needs and create a mathematical model for it.

Using statistics and computational analysis, conduct computer modeling and predict flight characteristics.

Design and develop the required model's propulsion and control systems.

Analyze and test the performance of aeronautical products to ensure they meet the mission profile requirements.

New approaches for increasing efficiency are being researched and developed.

Plan and coordinate the manufacturing of the final product after successful prototype attempts.

Discover innovative technology for aerospace applications.

Aerospace Engineers work on the design, analysis, and manufacture of overall aircraft structures.

Analyze the aerodynamic parameters and performance of an aircraft.

Estimation and study for aircraft component safety.

Inspection and repair of damaged items and components, as well as identification of the underlying problem and possible corrective action or solutions

Tips to Become a Successful Aerospace Engineer

Aeronautical / Aerospace engineering is a fascinating and distinct course from the others. So, if you want to be a successful aerospace engineer, keep the following principles in mind:

You must be completely committed to it without hesitation.

Improve your analytical and mathematical abilities.

Consider something fresh and different.

Always make an effort to participate in tournaments.

Work on contemporary technology and software utilized in companies and research.

Internships/seminars provide the most hands-on experience during the course.

Obtain a bachelor's degree with a high CGPA and expertise.
Concept cars are basically manifestations of what an automakers direction is be it in design or technology. Thats why these two concept ca...
By Ko Dong-hwan





Starkey Korea Managing Director Richard Shim, left, meets Oh Seong-gyu at a sanatorium in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. Shim was there to donate his company's latest hearing aid to the former Korean freedom fighter. Courtesy of Starkey Korea
Recently, you may have seen a headline stating, Non-permanent residents in Canada undercounted by one million: CIBC.

My office received a few inquiries on this topic and some expressed concern.

For those unfamiliar with how the Canadian immigration process works, there is often confusion when a headline like this arises. People from all over the world come to Canada for various reasons. Some of the most common reasons include international students coming here to study, short-term visitors and temporary foreign workers who often work in agriculture on our local farms in our region.

Generally, these visitors to Canada are known as non-permanent" residents, even though they may be visiting Canada under a different type of visa, permit or program. Refugees claiming asylum also fall into this category.

The recent headline arose due to the chief economist from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) stating Statistics Canada does not correctly count those with an expired visa. The statement from CIBC observes that when the original form for entering Canada expires, many non-permanent residents do not leave Canada and remain here. This is mainly because the federal government lacks an adequate system to track people with expired visas who stay in Canada.

This is a concern, as stated by the same CIBC chief economist, because undercounting the number of visitors remaining here in Canada may distort the actual demands on housing and other critical services like health care.

Recently, the leader of the (Conservative) Opposition, Pierre Poilievre, stated it is unacceptable for refugee claimants to be sleeping on streets in cities like Toronto due to a lack of shelter spaces.

The government is aware of this problem. Recently, the new federal housing minister, Sean Fraser, suggested there could be a cap on the roughly 900,000 international students who come to Canada to study each year. Some provinces opposed that idea, as did many universities and even some members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus cabinet.

The prime minister has not announced any plan to address this challenge.

Statistics Canada (as reported by CBC) says, it will publish new data tables next month estimating the number of non-permanent residents in the country in response to the recent concerns expressed by the chief economist at CIBC.

It is critically important we have this data so those in public office, civil servants and the private sector can make the most informed decisions possible.

We must also recognize housing challenges affect all Canadians, and the federal government must ensure it can provide clear and accurate data to help find solutions.

My question for you this week:

Are you concerned it was CIBC who pointed out this challenge and not our federal government? Why or why not?

I can be reached at [email protected] or call toll-free 1-800-665-8711.

Dan Albas is the Conservative MP for Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Freedom Convoy organizer Chris Barber called for people to "flood the city" in one of a mountain of social media videos put to the court as part of his criminal trial Thursday.

Barber, who operated a trucking business in Swift Current, Sask., is co-accused with his fellow protest organizer Tamara Lich from Medicine Hat, Alta.

The trial is in its third day of testimony in Ottawa.

Lich and Barber face charges related to their role in organizing the protest against COVID-19 health restrictions last year that blockaded Ottawa city streets for weeks with big-rig trucks and encampments.

They were both among thousands of protesters who recorded and streamed videos from the protest as it unfolded.

In a video showed to the court, Barber told supporters he believed riot police were on their way to Ottawa. He said that if protest organizers' "phones go dark," people should use whatever means possible to come to the city and protest peacefully.

"You come here and you flood this city," Barber said in the video, posted to his TikTok account on Feb. 7, during the second week of the protest.

In the expletive-laden message, he said he didn't care if everyone in Canada came to Ottawa.

The video was part of five hours worth of TikTok and YouTube videos compiled by Ottawa police Sgt. Joanne Pilotte, who is on the stand as the Crown's witness today.

The Crown alleges that Lich and Barber orchestrated the protest, directed the movement of trucks and protesters, and counselled them to remain in Ottawa even has police ordered them to leave.

The Crown also hopes to prove that Lich and Barber conspired together during the protest, and that evidence against one of them would apply to both.

Barber sat in the first row of the courtroom Thursday, a notebook in hand, as video after video from his TikTok account, BigRed19755, were played for the court.

His face remained impassive as the Crown showed another video from Feb. 7 where Barber suggested an empty intersection near the National Art Gallery in downtown Ottawa looked "lonely."

"It doesn't look like there's anybody here," he said, and asked whether there was anything they could do about that before letting out a long laugh.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The head of the United Auto Workers warned Wednesday that the union plans to go on strike against any Detroit automaker that hasn't reached a new agreement by the time contracts expire next week.

Thats the plan, President Shawn Fain responded when asked if the union would strike any of the companies that havent reached a tentative deal by the time their national contracts end.

A strike against all three major automakers  General Motors, Stellantis and Ford  could cause damage not only to the industry as a whole but also to the Midwest and even national economy, depending on how long it lasted. The auto industry accounts for about 3% of the nation's economic output. A prolonged strike could also lead eventually to higher vehicle prices.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Fain left open the possibility of avoiding a strike. He acknowledged, more explicitly than he has before, that the union will have to give up some of its demands to reach agreements. Contracts with the three companies will all expire at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 14.

Theres a lot of back and forth in bargaining," he said, "and naturally, when you go into bargaining, you dont always get everything you demand. Our workers have high expectations. We made a lot of sacrifices going back to the economic recession.

In the interview, Fain did report some progress in the negotiations, saying the union will meet Thursday with GM to hear the companys response to the UAWs economic demands. In addition, discussions are under way with Ford on wages and benefits. Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, has yet to make a counteroffer on wage and benefit demands, he said.

Stellantis declined to comment Wednesday. GM confirmed that it would meet Thursday with union representatives but wouldn't comment further.

Last week, the union filed charges of unfair labor practices against Stellantis and GM, and it said Ford's economic offer fell far short of its demands.

Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, said he thought Fain's latest remarks suggest that he is opening up to the realities of bargaining as the strike deadline nears.

As you get close to the deadline," Masters said, "you begin to realize the importance of trying to resolve a problem rather than make a point. Strikes are painful, especially for workers, and also for companies.

Fain's willingness to acknowledge publicly that he isn't going to achieve all the union's demands shows there is more flexibility in his approach than previously thought, Masters said.

Some signs of movement in the negotiations have emerged, raising the possibility, Masters said, that an agreement might be reached with one automaker that would set the pattern for the others.

I think if they can avoid having to go out on strike and the pain that occurs and still get a very good bargain, I think theyll be better off, he said.

The unions demands include 46% across-the-board pay raises, a 32-hour week with 40 hours of pay, restoration of traditional pensions for new hires, union representation of workers at new battery plants and a restoration of traditional pensions. Top-scale UAW assembly plant workers make about $32 an hour, plus annual profit sharing checks.

In his remarks to the AP, Fain argued that worker pay isnt what has driven up vehicle prices. The average price of a new car has leaped to more than $48,000 on average, in part because of still-scarce supplies resulting from a global shortage of computer chips.

In the last four years, the price of vehicles went up 30%," he said. Our wages went up 6%. There were billions of dollars in shareholder dividends. So our wages arent the problem.

While saying a strike by up to 146,000 members against all three major automakers is a real possibility, Fain said the union doesn't want to strike and would prefer to to reach new contracts with them.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Tanisha Edison and her partner had to welcome the newest addition to their family more than 1,000 kilometres away from home.

Edison, a resident of Hay River, N.W.T., had a healthy baby girl on Aug. 23 at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital, a little more than a week after they were forced to leave home due to the wildfire.

It's hard to be in a different community like 13 hours from your home when you have a new baby and you know everything you have is in a different town," she said.

I went from having ideas, plans and having everything that I needed for the baby to having pretty much nothing."

However, she said she's thankful to have had her daughter, who she named Nova Grace, in the Alberta capital.

I think it turned out better for my delivery plans because they do have some of the best hospitals for babies and mothers in Edmonton, she said.

Edison and her partner, Mason Bruneau, are anxious to go home and to sleep in her own bed. Edison said she's especially excited to introduce her baby to the new crib they haven't been able to use yet.

Residents of Yellowknife and two nearby First Nations, which were evacuated three weeks ago, were allowed to return to their homes Wednesday.

But it still isn't safe for residents to return to some communities in the territory, including Hay River, where officials have said wildfire last month damaged some structures in the town of 3,500.

Fort Smith and Fort Providence remain at an extreme risk to wildfires, while Hay River also continues to be at risk.

More than 36,000 squared kilometres have burned so far this year in the territory due to wildfires, and 241 active fires remain.

Edison said having a baby in Edmonton turned out to be a good experience after all.

She had plenty of help from her family and was lucky to give birth to a quiet and calm baby.

She said her two older children helped to keep her mind occupied while they were evacuated. They've stayed at an evacuation centre, the hospital and hotels.

My daughter is autistic, so they really kept me on my feet," she said. "It was a little easier to keep my mind off of the stress and the evacuation, trying to make sure my children are settled and have what they need.

Edison's advice for expectant mothers who may be in her shoes is just getting as much rest as you can, and to make sure you have everything prepared.

There is still no sign when Edison and her family can return to Hay River and they are patiently waiting to be told it's safe.

The more time you have to prepare, the better," she said.
Photo: Contributed

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations has issued a scathing statement demanding the resignation of Canadas parole board members and the appointment of more First Nation people.

The demand comes after the release of Kenneth Mackay, convicted of the 2000 homicide of 21-year-old Crystal Paskemin, in Saskatoon. Mackay was granted parole Jan. 13 and released to a community residential facility on Vancouver Island.

Since that time, he has been taken back into custody after a woman made a complaint to Victoria police about his behaviour toward her.

The Parole Board of Canada is facing legitimacy and credibility concerns, states a release issued by the FSIN. The recent case of releasing killer Kenneth Mackay back into public to re-offend has exposed the flaws and biases of the board's decision-making process.

In harsh words, the statement condemned the release of Mackay.

We send our children back to school, college, or university this week, remembering what this monster did to someone's daughter. Consider your daughter not returning home and wondering where she could be. Imagine discovering she was out with friends, accepting a ride home from someone who appeared trustworthy, and then discovering he beat your daughter until her jaw broke, poured flammable liquid on her, lit her on fire, dragged her in chains behind his vehicle for approximately 15 city blocks, and then buried her body under the snow. Later, when taken to locate the body, he displayed a complete lack of remorse.

The statement demanded that Canada's justice system change the parole laws to be extremely harsh on monsters like Kenneth Mackay and to let them die in prison. Killers who inflict such devastating harm on First Nations women are unfit to be part of society.

The board has failed to protect the public and to uphold the principles of justice and reconciliation, said the FSIN statement, adding The board has also failed to reflect the diversity and needs of Canadian society, especially the First Nation people who are overrepresented in the prison system.

The resignation of the current members of the Parole Board of Canada and the appointment of more First Nation people to the board would ensure that the board is more accountable, transparent, and responsive to the realities and challenges of the First Nation communities, stated the FSIN.

The family of the late Crystal Paskemin of Sweetgrass First Nation has also expressed its shock at the early parole of Mackay.

We bear the burden of perpetual fear that another daughter or granddaughter will meet the same fate as our dear Crystal, said Paskemins younger sister Tanya.

A Victoria womans recent experience resulted in the arrest of Mackay for suspension of his parole.

I can confirm that Kenneth Mackay was arrested by VicPD officers on Sept. 1 for suspension of his parole, said Cst. Terri Healy in an email Tuesday afternoon.

When contacted by Joy, the Parole Board of Canada had little to say except that they are unable to discuss the specifics of Mackays case. They did indicate, however, that if an offender on parole fails to abide by conditions imposed, their release may be suspended by CSC and they will be returned to prison.
CEMEX supplies Vertua to Khalifa Port expansion

07 September 2023

CEMEX will provide over 200,000m3 of Vertua lower-carbon concrete for the development of the topside infrastructure for the expansion of the Khalifa Port in the UAE, one of the largest port infrastructure projects in the world.

Strategically situated midway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai and serving 25 major shipping lines with direct links to over 70 international destinations, Khalifa Port is an 18.5m deep-water multipurpose port with a total of 10.6km of quay wall that include two container terminals, a large general cargo and dry bulk facility, a logistics port, a liquid bulk terminal and a roll-on roll-off terminal.



CEMEX is proud to contribute to the reduction of the carbon footprint of major projects around the world, said Sergio Menendez, president of CEMEX Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia. Vertua is a family of sustainable products that meet our customers needs with the highest quality standards, leveraging the latest technology and innovation.



Since its inauguration in 2012, Khalifa Ports top-tier technology and infrastructure has ensured its position as of one the worlds fastest-growing ports on one of the most important global trade routes. Its sustainability agenda facilitated the choice of Vertua due to its capability of achieving up to 70 per cent reduction in CO 2 emissions without sacrificing performance.

Published under
MPA welcomes Lex Russell as new chair

07 September 2023

The Mineral Products Association (MPA) has appointed Lex Russell, managing director of CEMEX UK Materials, as its new chair for the next two years. Mr Russell takes over from Simon Willis, CEO of Hanson UK, who held the role for an extended three-year period, ensuring continuity during the period of leadership change with the appointment of Jon Prichard as MPA CEO.

According to the association, the role of MPA chair is a non-executive position responsible to the MPA Board, whilst also leading and managing it. The chair is the guardian of members interests, working closely with the chief executive to ensure that the association pursues its agreed objectives.

Mr Russell has worked in the building materials industry for 40 years, initially starting in 1984 with Scottish quarrying and concrete product business Alexander Russell, holding a variety of operational and technical roles. In 1989 he joined RMCs technical department before progressing through the organisation as quarry manager, operations manager, business manager and director. In 2005 RMC was acquired by CEMEX and two years later Mr Russell moved to Australia to lead a team in the post-merger integration of Rinker, acquired by CEMEX in 2007. He returned to the UK as vice president before becoming managing director of the CEMEX UK materials business in 2018.

Mr Prichard said, I am delighted to welcome Lex as the new MPA chair and look forward to working with him on a broad range of issues, from infrastructure, housing and planning reform to climate change and circular economy and biodiversity gain. Lex has a wealth of experience gained over four decades and his passion for the role our industry plays in helping to build a Greater Britain will generate energy and enthusiasm and we rise to meet the challenges ahead.

Published under
HD Hyundai President Chung Ki-sun, third from right, inspects the company's exhibition pavilion at Gastech 2023 in Singapore, Tuesday. Courtesy of HD Hyundai



HD Hyundai achieves goal of winning $15.7 billion shipbuilding orders in 2023



By Park Jae-hyuk



The Gastech 2023 industry conference in Singapore became an arena of competition between HD Hyundai President Chung Ki-sun and Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Dong-kwan, as Kim made a surprise visit to the venue on Thursday, after participating in the International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) in the Polish city of Kielce, where he met with Polish President Andrzej Duda, Tuesday (local time).



Chung, who has maintained a friendly rivalry with Kim, had been in Singapore from the beginning of the world's largest gas technologies show, indicating that HD Hyundai will focus more of its efforts on the commercial vessel market, which is larger and considered more lucrative than the naval ship market.



The HD Hyundai president met with global buyers during the event, aiming to win construction orders for eco-friendly ships. The company also held a seminar, Tuesday, to introduce to international shipping companies its technologies for ammonia-powered ships, ammonia carriers, liquefied carbon dioxide carriers and liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.



As a result, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, a subsidiary of HD Hyundai, succeeded in signing agreements at the event with Singapore's EPS and Greece's Capital for the construction of four 88,000-cubic-meter very large ammonia carriers (VLACs), collectively worth 616.8 billion won ($462 million). Those ships will be built at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' shipyard in Ulsan and delivered to the two clients by the end of 2027.



The agreements enabled the shipbuilder to achieve its goal of winning $15.7 billion worth of shipbuilding orders by the end of this year. The company said it has won orders for the construction of 122 ships this year, collectively worth $15.9 billion.



"HD Hyundai has led the market by providing the most innovative solutions for marine transportation," Chung said. "With the development of advanced technologies for the eco-friendly era, we will create a sustainable future."



The Hanwha Group vice chairman introduced the conglomerate's green energy and digital technologies to global energy company executives at Gastech, to seek cooperation in the construction of ships transporting LNG, ammonia and hydrogen, according to Hanwha Ocean, the group's shipbuilding unit.



"We will continue investments in developing solutions to lead the maritime industry in the future," Kim was quoted as saying, after visiting Hanwha Ocean's exhibition pavilion to see a miniature of its LNG carrier, which was unveiled at this year's Gastech.






By Lee Min-hyung







Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen expressed his gratitude to Homeplus for selling U.S. beef and raising awareness of the country's livestock products here, the discount supermarket chain said Thursday.







Homeplus is the only supermarket chain in Korea selling 1855 Black Angus Beef that was produced in Nebraska. The U.S. politician visited Homeplus' headquarters and one of its branches in Seoul, speaking highly of Homeplus for helping boost sales of U.S. beef products here.







"Nebraska is home to quality livestock and the state is doing its best to introduce better agricultural and livestock products to the market," the U.S. governor said. "I was deeply impressed Nebraska beef is beloved by Korean customers at Homeplus Mega Food Market."







Celebrating his visit to Seoul, Homeplus plans to sell 1855 Black Angus Beef at discounts up to 50 percent until Sept. 13 at its store in southwestern Seoul's Gangseo District. The 1855 Black Angus Beef is produced by Swift Beef Company, one of the largest meat companies in the U.S.







Homeplus also said it is pleased to hold the special event that will help contribute to stabilizing prices and providing quality beef products to customers.


By Harrison Moore via SWNS

A single mom with four kids left paralyzed following a car accident has finally returned to her home - after more than a year in hospital.

Jasvinder Kaur, 41, was driving on the A505 approaching Hitchin, UK, in May last year when she severed her spinal cord in a life-changing collision.

She has finally been discharged from the hospital, but her home is unsuitable for a wheelchair user and needs an extension to cater to her needs.

Her eldest child, Priya Binag, 19, has given up her dream of going to university so she can take on the role of caring for her family.

The teenager has started a GoFundMe to raise money to make the much-needed changes to their home.

Priya said: "Shes done her absolute best in raising me and my siblings after the passing of our father in 2013.

"She has always been our rock. She is strong, protective, fun and kind.

"Now it's my turn to attempt to return the favor, and make her life as manageable as possible, despite the challenges."

Jasvinder's accident happened barely a week after Priya's 18th birthday.

Her spine was dislocated in the crash and her spinal cord severed, leaving her with no movement or sensation below the waist, and limited sensation in her arms.

She's since spent a year in hospital receiving care.

Priya said: "A year ago, the lives of my family changed forever.

"Doctors have told my mom that lifelong paralysis is more than likely.

"She has neuron damage, which means she cant control her arms and fingers in the same way as she used to.

"At long last, after more than a year in hospital, my mom is home."

Despite the joy Jasvinder's return has brought her family, Priya says their home is completely unsuitable for someone in a wheelchair.

She says the family's only bathroom is upstairs along with all their bedrooms, and their hallways and doors are narrow.

Jasvinder now faces living in "a microenvironment," where she is "confined to one room" in her home and physiotherapy will cost 120 ($150 USD) per session.

Priya said: "A solution could be an extension at the back, for a bathroom that would be suitable for all of my mothers needs, but the potential funding my mother will receive is not enough for all the work that needs to be done to our home.

"Its scary to think that at this time were unable to afford to start building work or physio sessions. Were wasting crucial time that could be going towards her recovery.

"People who know my mom, know her as a proud woman.

"She's a woman who makes it all happen for me and my brothers and has always gone above and beyond for us to have everything weve ever needed.

"I'm fully devoted to looking after her and my siblings, but I'm still coming to terms with the fact my life may not ever be the way that it was before.

"My mom didnt deserve the cards she was dealt in this lifetime."

So far, more than 22,000 ($27,000) of the 40,000 ($50,000) target has been raised.

To donate to Priya's fundraiser visit here.
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, left, speaks with Hyundai Motor CEO Jang Jae-hoon, on the sidelines of the Korea-Indonesia business roundtable held at a hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday. Chung stressed that the two countries' economic partnership will expand deeper into cutting-edge fields, such as artificial intelligence and hydrogen energy. Yonhap
A handout picture made available by the Presidential Press Service shows Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shakes hands with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sept. 6, amid the Russian invasion. EPA-Yonhap



U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $1 billion of aid during a surprise visit Wednesday to Ukraine, which suffered a Russian strike that killed at least 17 people at a market.



The attack, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as deliberate and "heinous", drew international condemnation from the West, including accusations of war crimes.



Projectiles tore through the centre of Kostiantynivka  a town of nearly 70,000 people in the eastern Donetsk region  in one of the deadliest strikes in weeks.



"They smashed everything, all the shop windows, everything was strewn around," an eyewitness told AFP.



"Thank God we are alive, of course. But the girls who were selling there, they are all dead," the witness said.



Images distributed by officials showed rescue workers picking through the debris and carrying away some of the 32 people reportedly wounded in the blast, which left vehicles charred and kiosks torn to pieces.



"Anyone in the world who is still dealing with anything Russian simply ignores this reality," said Zelenskyy.



"Heinous evil. Brazen wickedness. Utter inhumanity."



He later accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians and said there were no military units "anywhere near" the scene.



The European Union condemned the strike along with the "escalation" of Russian attacks on "civilian objects" that has seen hundreds killed or wounded in recent weeks.



"Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes," the bloc said in a statement.



Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that "this Russian war of aggression is an attack on international law, on humanity."



Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the incident underscored "the importance of continuing to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their territory."





Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a press conference with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (not pictured) in front of the presidential palace in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sept. 6. Reuters-Yonhap
The Scenic City Womens Network will televise their annual event 9/11: A Day of Remembrance this coming Sunday and Monday. This event acknowledges military and first responders for their sacrifices made 22 years ago in the wake of the tragic events occurring on Sept. 11, 2001.USMC Veteran and Author Roger Helle is the keynote speaker. Mr. Helle joined the Marine Corps in 1965 right after High School. He served as an infantryman in Vietnam, a drill instructor and a CID (Criminal Investigation Division) investigator while in the Marines.He did three tours of duty in Vietnam, where he was wounded on three different occasions. On his last tour, however, he was critically wounded.While laying in the hospital, he heard the doctor tell his twin brother there was nothing else they could do. But God had different plans for Mr. Helle, who survived his severe wounds. He and his wife, Shirley, surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ in December 1974.While in the Marine Corps, Mr. Helle was awarded the Bronze Star medal with combat V, three Purple Heart medals, two personal Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry medals, a Good Conduct medal and other service medals and Unit Citation awards.This years 9/11: A Day of Remembrance event is made possible by The Patriot Post, The Patriot Foundation Trust, Morning Pointe Senior Living and State Representative Greg Vital, The Raines Group Real Estate, Camp Hidden Hollow and Resort and media partners Moody Radio WMBW 88.9 FM and Ran Design Media.Where to watch 9/11: A Day of Remembrance:? Sunday, Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. on WFLI (The CW Chattanooga); Digital: 23 (UHF); Virtual: 53;? Monday, Sept. 11 on ETVC (Fox Chattanooga) at 12:30 p.m.; and? Monday, Sept. 11 on WTNB 27.1 and on all streaming platforms, such as Roku, Amazon Firestick and others, at 2 p.m.
The Morning Pointe Foundation has added Dalton State College in Dalton as a partner college as it works to provide scholarship support for more students in North Georgia.The Morning Pointe Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Morning Pointe Senior Living. Founded in2014, the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization provides nursing scholarship opportunities, forms communitypartnerships and supports caregivers in its mission to advance the care of seniors.As a result of the partnership with Dalton State, the Foundation will fund two nursing scholarships at the college (one for the 2023-2024 school year and one for the 2024-2025 school year), as well as a social work scholarship for each year.The latter is the first social work scholarship ever presented by the Morning Pointe Foundation and marks an expansion from clinical-only support.Partners like Dalton State College are critical to the success of the Foundation as we strive to provide financial support for students pursuing a career in senior care, said Miranda Perez, executive director of the Morning Pointe Foundation. We have been focused on nursing scholarships since the Foundation was started, and we are still committed to contributing to helping rebuild the nursing workforce. After seeing the social work program at Dalton State, it was evident how the Foundation can also enrich the social work program at the college. There is a huge need for social workers in the region, and we are excited to be able to remove barriers for students wishing to pursue that career path.David Elrod, director of the Dalton State Foundation, said, We are honored that a company with the reach and reputation of Morning Pointe would make this kind of investment in our students at Dalton State. We know this relationship will pay dividends for the future of our community when these students graduate and become productive citizens and professionals. The quality of our nursing and social work programs make this partnership a natural fit. We are grateful for the Morning Pointe Foundations philanthropy.Greg A. Vital, co-founder and president of Morning Pointe Senior Living, said, Especially in our postpandemic environment, skilled professionals like our Morning Pointe Foundation scholars are an incredibly precious resource. It is our privilege to assist in bringing new and passionate nurses and social workers into the field.Since its inception, the Morning Pointe Foundation has funded over 75 nursing scholarships at partnercommunity colleges.
Chattanooga Police say a man who vandalized and burned the Masonic Temple across from Finley Stadium had made prior threats against the Masonic group.

Kadum Hunter Harwood, 29, of 96 Harris St., Ringgold, has been returned from Catoosa County, Ga., to Hamilton County to face charges.

Those include arson, harassment, burglary, vandalism and reckless endangerment.

Police said Harwood earlier made direct threats on social media to burn the center on W. 21st Street.

On Monday at 2:12 a.m., firefighters responded to a fire alarm at the center. Arriving firefighters noticed that the front door had been forced open and there were two separate fires on the property.

One fire was in shrubs to the left of the front door. The other was in the cafeteria on a podium that was pushed over.

Video showed Harwood used a chain that was on the front of his older model blue Toyota SUV and also attached to the front door to pull it open. He then went inside with a sledge hammer and vandalized multiple areas of the building.

Video showed him setting the fire on the podium.

He set the fire in the shrubs after exiting the building.

Harwood discharged a large-caliber handgun into the air prior to leaving, police said.

Police said Harwood was known to drive the Toyota SUV seen in the video.
Annette Stansel, 81, of Cleveland, passed peacefully into eternal life on Tuesday morning, September 5, 2023, surrounded by the love of her husband, children, grandchildren and dear friends. Annette was born in1942 in Orangeburg, SC to the late James H. and Helen Schulyler. She lived in many small towns throughout the United States, where she developed friendships that last until this day. She and her family settled in Cleveland in 1979 and knew they had found the place they wanted to stay for the rest of their lives.Annette was an active and loyal member of Wesley Memorial Church, where she participated in the Joy Sunday School Class and volunteered with the Sack Pack Program. She volunteered as a mentor for Tennessee Promise, answered the crisis phone line for New Hope and dedicated time to many other organizations over the years. She loved to travel with family and friends, particularly cruising and beach trips, where she enjoyed "riding the waves" and snorkeling. She had visited every U.S. State and six of the seven continents. She would have gone to Antarctica, given the chance. She documented all of her travels and family get-togethers with pictures and had them neatly labeled and organized in more than 100 albums. While on vacation, one of her favorite things to do was soak in a hot tub and have conversations with anyone who would listen. She never met a stranger and made friends wherever she went. She loved playing cards, especially bridge, and was a member of several bridge groups. She also enjoyed being part of the Ridgewood Ridgettes and always looked forward to neighborhood activities. Anyone who knew her knows that she loved to snack, and there was never a trip or gathering where snacks weren't provided.Annette is survived by by her husband of 60 years, Ben Stansel; her sister, Joyce Geaslen (Art), of New Bern, NC; her children, Jim (Christy) Stansel, of Cleveland, Pamela (Mike) McMillan, of Thompson's Station, Tn., and Amy Glenn, of Smyrna, Tn.; grandchildren, Zachary McMillan (and fiance, Sierra Todd), of Amarillo, Tx., Amanda (Donovan) Levenhagen, of Chattanooga, Wesley Glenn (Isabel Cook), of Charlottesville, Va,, Steven (Alejandra) Stansel, of Cleveland, Claire Glenn, of Louisville, Ky., and Allison McMillan, of Thompson's Station, Tn. She also leaves behind many additional relatives and very special friends.A memorial service will be held at Wesley Memorial Church in Cleveland at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8. Visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. The service will also be live-streamed on the church's website. Donations may be made to Hospice of Chattanooga/Cleveland.Share a personal memory of Annette or your condolences with her family at her online memorial at www.compaionfunerals.com.Companion Funeral Home of Cleveland and the Cody family are honored to assist the family with these arrangements.
A woman on Wheeler Avenue told police she and a man had gotten into a verbal disorder. The woman said the man had arrived at her home and she was able to tell that he was intoxicated. The woman is the only name listed on the lease and she wanted the man to leave and be trespassed from the residence. Police told the man of his trespass notice and transported him to another place because of his level of intoxication. His vehicle was left on the street in front of the womans home and she said it could remain there until he sobered up.



* * *

Police were called to Old Navy at 2220 Hamilton Place Blvd. on a report of a shoplifting. They were told three black females entered the store and immediately began concealing items into bags and purses. After a few minutes, the women exited the store with no attempt to pay for the items. Approximately $700 was stolen. They all left in a blue Nissan Maxima.

* * *

A woman on Bradt Street told police the inside of her vehicle had been rummaged through and the registration was stolen out of it. She discovered this when some kids knocked on her door to let her know. The vehicle's door was partially open and there was no damage. She last saw the vehicle around 11 p.m. the previous night and she forgot to lock it.

* * *

A woman on Windsor Street told police the drivers side door on her vehicle had been damaged and she can barely open it and there are black marks on it as well. She last saw the vehicle around 11 p.m. the night before and it was left parked on the street in front of her house.

* * *

A woman on Hooker Road said she arrived at her daughter's house at 11 p.m. to spend the night and parked her 2022 blue Nissan Pathfinder out front. When she woke up at 11 a.m. she noticed her car was gone. She believed she may have lost a key to the vehicle or that a key was left inside it. She did have an additional key to the vehicle. The car was entered into NCIC. Dispatch contacted the officer shortly after entering the vehicle as stolen to say the Pathfinder was involved in a hit and run accident. No driver was there and the vehicle was towed to Shackleford Towing on Calhoun Avenue. NCIC was contacted to have the vehicle removed and the woman was notified of the vehicle recovery.

* * *

A facility tech with AT&T told police he responded to a service call on Reads Lake Road and discovered that 200 feet of copper wire/cable had been cut away from a utility pole. About $3,000 worth of cable was stolen.

* * *

A caller reported a suspicious vehicle in Tacoa Park, 5205 Tacoa Cir. Police found two people who were sleeping in the vehicle. They told police they were tired and sleeping. Police told them they would have to move along. Neither of them had any warrants.

* * *

An employee at McDonald's, 4829 Brainerd Road, told police a man continues coming inside the store and they are requesting police trespass him from the property. The man was observed by police walking across the street to the church. Officers spoke with the man and informed him he is now trespassed from the McDonald's property.

* * *

While on patrol, police observed a white Volkswagen Tiguan at a watched address on W. 25th Street. Police ran the vehicle tag, which did not show registered to that vehicle. Police checked the vehicles VIN# and the vehicle showed not stolen.

* * *

Officers responded regarding a possible unconscious person lying on the sidewalk at 2100 Broad St. Officers observed the person flat out on the sidewalk, woke him up, identified him, provided him with water and contacted EMS regarding possible heat exhaustion. The man was accessed by EMS 9 and refused all further medical attention.

* * *

A man told police that about two weeks ago on a Thursday he was working at Murphy Oil, 5716 Highway 153, when a company phone must have fallen out of his vehicle. He said he could not find the phone, so that Friday they were able to ping the phone. The phone was pinging at the front of a Walmart. When speaking with Walmart employees, they said they didn't have the phone. The man then believed the phone must have been sold through the ecoATM. He said he then called ecoATM, and they said they would give him a call if the phone made its way to their factory. ecoATM later called him and said they had the phone, but they needed a police report done before they could release it to him. The man told police he believes he will be able to get camera footage of the suspect, but at this time the suspect is unknown.

* * *



A man came to the Police Service Center at 3410 Amnicola Hwy. and told police that he noticed the driver's side door to his black Cadillac was unlocked a couple weeks ago and that he smelled cigarette smoke in his car. He said that he left his debit card in the car, and it was stolen out of his car that same week. He said there have been no transactions on the card since it has been stolen. No suspects have been identified.

* * *

Police were called about a hazard at Signal Mountain Boulevard/Sunset Drive. While en route, police learned a tree was down across the roadway. Police observed where the tree caused a traffic hazard. Public Works responded to the scene and removed the tree from the roadway.

* * *

A facility technician with AT&T told police it has been discovered that around $3,000-$4,000 worth of copper wire was stolen between two utility poles at 5000 Adams Road. He said he discovered this after responding to a trouble call there, but he's not sure when it was actually stolen - possibly sometime the night before.

* * *



A woman called police and said her friend lives at an address on Dayton Boulevard and she hasn't heard from her in a while. Police drove to the residence and saw the electricity was working and the residence appeared to be currently lived in. Police knocked on the front door and a clean, healthy dog came to the front door. Police didn't make contact with anyone inside the residence. The woman said she would try to contact her friend later.

* * *

While on patrol, police observed a white Hyundai Sonata backed into a parking spot. The vehicle appeared to be ransacked and did not have a license plate. Police ran the VIN displayed on the vehicle and found it to be registered in Alabama and had expired in 2020. The vehicle did not return as stolen.

* * *

A person was seen on camera concealing items of merchandise while inside the Home Goods store at 2200 Hamilton Place Blvd., and then taking those items past the point of sale without rendering payment. The store employee was unable to provide an accurate value for the merchandise taken; however, it is believed to be approximately $200. A photo of the thief was given to police for investigative purposes.

* * *



A woman told police she rents a residence on Wheeler Avenue, and observed the chain link fence had been damaged (possibly by a vehicle). She said she does not know who could have damaged the fence and has no video footage of the incident.

* * *

A man told police he was traveling eastbound on I-24 in Lookout Valley when he saw a red semi with a white trailer driving very aggressively. He said the aggressive semi was following too close behind a passenger vehicle, nearly running them off the road for approximately three-four miles. The man was able to record the incident, but believes he did not capture a tag on the trailer. Police sent the man an evidence.com email for him to submit the video footage for them to review.



* * *

A woman told police she had been driving home from work NB on Highway 153 when the trailer hitch ball came off the pickup truck driving in front of her. She said the object was bouncing very high and she applied her brakes to attempt to avoid the object. She said the object struck her vehicle, causing substantial damage to the front end. She said she attempted to let the driver of the other vehicle know what had happened, however, she said he ignored her. She described the driver as a white male between the ages of 25-35, with brown hair. The woman took a photo of the license plate, which was a drive out tag with an expiration date 10/06/2023, displayed on a maroon Chevy Silverado with an Integrity Chevrolet license plate frame. The woman was uninjured in the event and her vehicle is drivable with the damage.
Theres an adage we sometimes hear that we can learn more from failure than we do from success. We could offer a variety of possible reasons for this, but my experience and that of many people I know is that, whether we like it or not, its true.

Success might be the result of vision, hard work and determination. But it might also be a product of being in the right place at the right time, or happenstance. Causes for failure, however, are usually easier to identify: Poor judgment; bad planning; not working hard enough; unwillingness to persevere, quitting too soon; downright sinful wrongdoing. Those are just some of possible contributors to failure.

But theres another one we dont often consider: God might be allowing adversity in our lives because He has some lessons we need to learn. The Bible calls it testing, tribulations or trials.

One of the earliest references in the Scriptures is Deuteronomy, after God had given to Moses His commandments and instructions for the people of Israel. Referring to the nomadic journey the Lord had taken them on after their escape from slavery in Egypt, Moses said, Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands (Deuteronomy 8:2).

If ever there were a stiff-necked people, it was the Israelites whom God had specifically and specially chosen to be His own people. He could have chosen many other people groups, but the people of Israel were those He ordained to be His for eternity. During their 40-year wanderings, they had rebelled against Him on numerous occasions. So, He kept them in the wilderness for four decades, not only to test what was in their hearts but also to shape their character for the future He had for them.

A number of New Testament passages speak to this as well. In James 1:3-4, the apostle exhorts his readers, Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Verses later James adds, Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12).

Theres a similar statement in the short book of 1 Peter. After opening his letter to readers he calls Gods elect, strangers in the world, Peter encourages, In this you greatly rejoice, though for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith  or greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire  may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus is revealed (1 Peter 1:1,7).

We could cite many other passages, but its clear that what we often regard as failure, or mistakenly believe to be the result of sinful disobedience, might actually part of the refining process God uses to mold and shape us into the people He desires for us to be.

I can think of many times of testing in my life, times when I often wondered, What did I do wrong? Why is this happening? The benefits of the testing began when I shifted my questioning to ask, What are you trying to teach me, Lord?

There was the time when after leaving the newspaper business to join the staff of a Christian ministry, our house in our former city sat on the market for an entire year. All the while we struggled to meet mortgage payments on that house and the house we had bought, along with a bridge loan to buy the purchase of the new house in the interim.

During that time, I dug deeply and diligently into the Scriptures, seeking to learn that nugget God was trying to teach me. I learned many things over that period, but the most important was this: The Lord telling me, I am God, Bob, and youre not! He was eagerly working to break down my self-sufficiency and learn to trust Him, no matter the circumstances.

Since then, I and my family have dealt with testing in many forms. We felt fear at times, as well as anger, frustration, you name it. But God knew exactly what He was doing. And weve learned much as weve gone through the process.

Some sculptors, they say, work on a block of granite or marble simply chipping away at everything that does not look like the image they have formed in their minds eye. I imagine God doing the same with us, knowing how broken we all are, and slowly chipping away at our flaws, determined to transform us into the image of His Son.

As 1 John 3:2 says, Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Wow! If thats the outcome of Gods faithful and loving testing in our lives, Im all for it. How about you?

* * *
Police were called to the Circle K gas station, in the 5000 block of Little Debbie Parkway, after a customer became upset about being charged an extra 20 cents for a drink when they only bought ice. The store refunded the 20 cents.

Police received reports of a truck dropping trash near Camp Road and University Drive. The area was checked but nothing was found.

An individual was found sleeping outside a business in the Crossroads Plaza when the workers came in to open the business for the day. The individual was told to move along and left without incident.

An officer responded to the Robinson Corners Shopping Center for an open door at one of the businesses. The business was checked and the door was found to have been left open by a painting crew who had permission to be on the property.

An officer responded to the 10600 block of Pine Hill Road after a cable line fell and blocked half the road. The officer was able to move the wires to the side of the road until they could be repaired by the cable company.

A social worker for Ooltewah High School called in to make a police report for a delayed child abuse that had been reported by a juvenile in the citys West District. The social worker had already notified the Department of Children Services.

An unknown 911 call came in from the 9600 block of Rookwood Circle. The area was checked but no emergencies were found.

The Department of Children Services made a delayed report of an unfounded child abuse complaint in the citys West District.

While eating lunch at Chick Fil A officers noticed a customer at another table who appeared to be under the influence of an intoxicant. Contact was made with the individual who was found to have multiple felony drug warrants out of Hamilton County. After being taken into custody the individual was also found to be in possession of methamphetamines, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia.

Police were called to the Imagination Station playground after receiving reports of an elderly individual approaching children and asking them if they "wanted a surprise." After speaking with the individual it was found that they had a bag of toys that they were giving to the children.

Police and fire department personnel responded to the campus of Southern Adventist University for a fire alarm. Everything checked out okay.

An individual came to city hall to report that they had been the victim of a scam over the past year.

An unknown 911 call came in from the Hills Parc apartment complex. The area was checked but no emergencies were found.

The management for Grindstone Estates trailer park requested police to keep the peace while they delivered eviction paperwork to a tenant in the 5800 block of Berdene Circle.

A traffic stop in the 9200 block of Lee Highway resulted in the driver being charged with driving on a suspended license and possession of illegal narcotics.

A traffic stop in the 5900 block of Elementary Way resulted in the drivers arrest for 2nd offense DUI, driving on a license revoked for DUI, having an open container of alcohol, possession of methamphetamines and drug paraphernalia.

A traffic stop on the I-75 exit 11 on-ramp for a light law violation observed inside the Collegedale city limits lead to the drivers arrest for possession of illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia, after K9 Krino alerted officers to the presence of drugs inside the vehicle. A passenger was also arrested for being in possession of illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia, as well as a failure appear warrant out of Whitfield County, Georgia.

Police arrested an individual in the Circle K parking lot, in the 5000 block of Little Debbie Parkway, for domestic assault after first being called there for a person bleeding.

Officers responded to the Hawthorne at the Crest apartment complex for a verbal disorder between siblings. A misdemeanor theft was reported to have also occurred but prosecution was declined.
John Anthony Smith grew up within a stone's throw of a castle-like mansion in the Sequatchie Valley, and this fall he will be opening its grounds to the public at the first annual Glancy Harvest Festival. The mansion itself will not be open.

Mr. Smith, who has built a highly successful anti-hacker business based in Chattanooga, was able to buy the Glancy Sherman Mansion at 4275 Valley View Highway in Sequatchie.

The new festival will be held there on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 3 p.m. until dark, featuring food, a live band, prizes, bouncy houses, fireworks, games, watching the Tennessee vs. Alabama game and more.

Traffic will be directed to parking.

Here is some history on the mansion:

Glancy Sherman was born on Oct. 10, 1862 and came to the town of Sequatchie in 1889 from Lundys Layne, Pennsylvania. He helped develop the towns water system, built the Sequatchie Supply Store in 1890, and started the Sequatchie Handle Works in 1899. He also bought up a considerable amount of farmland along the Little Sequatchie River and several thousand acres of mountain land laced with coal and other minerals. Within two decades Glancy was considered Marion Countys wealthiest landowner and industrialist. On January 3, 1906 Glancy married Miss Bertha Tower, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. B. Tower of Chattanooga.

After their honeymoon the couple resided at Glancys residence on Alabama Avenue in Sequatchie. Their daughter, Earline Sherman died at birth on February 17, 1907. The Shermans never had another child. In 1925 Glancy built the Sherman Filling Station in Sequatchie to accommodate the increasing number of automobiles. In 1927, Glancy built his wife a beautiful home on 30 acres of land in Sequatchie. The home was shaped like a castle, the stone was hauled in from Sewanee that it was built of. The grounds were laid out and beautified with many statues and ornaments.

For decades the Glancy mansion was the prettiest residence in Marion County, and Mrs. Shermans fame as an accommodating hostess spread throughout the region. Her housekeeper was Ms. Gladys Pernie Washer, who stood a mere 4'3" tall.

Glancy Sherman passed away on Oct. 17, 1935 and his wife, Bertha lived until March 21, 1967. The Sherman mansion would have several owners, including Judge Clifford Layne.
As they commence the 160th anniversary commemorating the Battle of Chickamauga, Americas National Parks, in partnership with the National Park Service, invites the public to meet authors David Powell, Perry Short and Robert Carter inside the visitor center beginning Sept. 16.Schedule of authors:David Powell: Sept. 16, 17, 19 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sept 20 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. - The Maps of Chickamauga; Decisions at Chickamauga; Failure in the Saddle; The Chickamauga Campaign (Trilogy); Impulse of Victory: Grant at Chattanooga; and more.Mr.Powell is a 1983 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute with a B.A. in history. He resides in Chicago and regularly leads tours through Chickamauga Battlefield. Mr. Powells extensive research has paved the way for anyone interested in gaining knowledge about the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga. Whether you are interested in a deep dive or to know the whys behind the decisions that were made, Mr. Powells titles are sure to provide that information.Perry Short: Sept. 21 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. - Generation of Warriors.Mr. Short is a resident of Bartlett, Tn., near Memphis, and attended the University of Memphis. Passionate about Civil War history, Mr. Short is involved with re-enactments and played roles in the Civil War movies Glory, Gettysburg, Gods & Generals and the North and South II. Generation of Warriors, a historical novel, surrounds the story of five actual men, primarily, Spillsby Dyer, a local resident, during the Civil War.Robert Carter: Sept 23 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. - The Fight for Snodgrass Hill and the Rock of Chickamauga; and Longstreets Breakthrough at Chickamauga.Mr. Carter received his bachelor of science and master of science in education degrees from Jacksonville State University. Mr. Carter, now retired, was an educator for over 40 years and resides in Georgia. He volunteers at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, where he shares his knowledge and love of history. His books focus on two of the primary areas of interest during the battle of Chickamauga - Snodgrass Hill and Longstreets Breakthrough."Join us during the 160th Commemoration of the Battle of Chickamauga and meet these authors. The purchase of your signed copies and other store items support the programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park," officials said.
The Lee University School of Music will present Dr. Muen Vanessa Wei, piano, in a faculty recital on Monday, Sept. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Squires Recital Hall.

Dr. Weis recital will be the first in a series of eight recitals titled Complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas Concert Series, which will showcase all 32 of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonatas over the next six semesters. This performance will feature Sonatas Op. 2, No. 2; Op. 10, No. 2; Op. 57 Appassionata; and Op. 110.

Beethovens piano sonatas are considered the New Testament in piano literature, so this is a very exciting and humbling experience for me, said Dr. Wei.

Dr. Wei joined Lees School of Music in 2021 as an assistant professor of piano and teaches courses such as applied piano, collaborative piano, and chamber music. Prior to Lee, she served as a guest professor at China West Normal University and piano faculty at New Tampa Piano and Pedagogy Academy. She has collaborated with many great musicians including Lynn Harrell, Ian Hobson, Peter Lloyd, and Joel Smirnoff. Dr. Wei also has a debut album titled Im 3/4 Takt that was considered one of Centaurs finest releases to date by Fanfare.

She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a Bachelor of Music from the China Conservatory of Music.

The recital is free, non-ticketed, and open to the public. Livestream viewing will be available at

leeu.live/.

For more information about the concert, contact the Lee University School of Music at

music@leeuniversity.edu or call 614-8240.




With the shared concern over global economic growth where Asia plays a pillar role, leaders of ASEAN members and dialogue partner countries are gathering in Jakarta for the 43rd ASEAN Summit and related meetings scheduled from Tuesday to Thursday.







While geopolitical tensions and disputes on some topics loom over the agenda, analysts said the group wants to strengthen its focus on dialogue, cooperation and peaceful development, which the U.S. has less interest in than its rivalry with China, and therefore it is sending the vice president to Indonesia.







Leaders from countries including China, the U.S., Japan, Korea, Australia, Canada, and organizations including the U.N. and the EU will attend this "diplomatic carnival" in Southeast Asia.







Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit from Tuesday to Friday, and pay an official visit to Indonesia, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Li will then attend the G20 summit scheduled on Saturday and Sunday in India.







The visit to Indonesia is Li's first visit to an Asian country after assuming the post and a visit by Chinese premier after five years. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership.







Under the theme of "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth," the group's leaders will discuss strengthening ASEAN integration and expanding collaboration in key areas such as the digital and green economies, per media reports.







Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday that against the backdrop of intensifying geopolitics, ASEAN focuses on economic growth and downplays political and security matters. Their main demands are not to take sides between major powers, but prioritize cooperation and regional integration.







China is working with the group in that direction, together making the cake bigger, pushing forward pragmatic cooperation projects and encouraging closer friendship through people-to-people exchanges, Xu said, citing bilateral trade volume and active building of a community with a shared future.







As for disputes over the South China Sea, it is a matter that could and should be settled only by parties involved via dialogue, and any acts escalating the situation and jeopardizing peace should be opposed, analysts said.







Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, when addressing the Global Town Hall 2023 on Saturday, said "Attempts by certain forces outside the region to undermine peace in the South China Sea will not succeed, and the evil claws behind the scenes must be uncovered."







China will implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea with ASEAN countries, strive to reach the "Code of Conduct" at an early date, and jointly build the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation, said Wang, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.







Some topics of discussion at ASEAN meetings can be contentious, yet the group, through more than half a century of development, upholds its centrality and has demonstrated resilience to changes, Ge Hongliang, deputy director of the College of ASEAN Studies at Guangxi University for Nationalities, told the Global Times on Monday.







Such resilience decides it will not be manipulated by the U.S. to serve Washington's "Indo-Pacific Strategy" which targets China, and the U.S. hence loses interest in it, analysts said.







Although the meetings were adjusted from November to September "reportedly at U.S. President Joe Biden's convenience," Biden decided to skip the ASEAN Summit and fly to Asia for the G20 summit scheduled right after ASEAN meetings, then visit Vietnam to elevate ties.







Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the ASEAN Summit instead.







The U.S. is not interested in large multilateral cooperation and mechanisms, and eyes realizing its strategic design in the Asia-Pacific through bilateral and "small-multilateral" formats, Ge said, citing U.S.-Philippines enhanced military ties.







For ASEAN, the U.S. wants it to be divided rather than integrated, as a fragmented ASEAN would be easier for the U.S. to hijack and manipulate, Ge said.







Some regional countries are leaning toward the U.S. for various reasons, but they should be cautious of the consequences  the U.S. will not hesitate to implant chaos and conflicts in the region to increase some countries' dependence on the U.S. At that time, it is Asia-Pacific countries that will suffer, not the U.S. itself, analysts noted. (Global Times)











This article was originally published on Global Times
The Chattanooga Area Historical Historical Association will meet Monday at Alexian Village on

Signal Mountain instead of at the First Presbyterian Church. Dr. Charles M. Hubbard will speak about "Lincoln's Dilemma: Slavery, Morality, and Politics." The meeting will be at Alexian Village at 437 Alexian Way.

There will be light refreshments and food and an artifact table at the event. There will be buses to take people from the Food City parking lot up the mountain to Alexian Village at 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Food City is at 703 Signal Mountain Road. The meeting begins at 6 p.m.

Mr. Hubbard is the executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Institute for the Study of Leadership and Public Policy. He is professor of History and Lincoln historian at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tn.

Dr. Hubbard is the author and editor of nine books Including "Lincoln Reshapes the Presidency" and "The Burden of Confederate Diplomacy". Dr. Hubbard's numerous articles and essays have appeared in prominent academic Journals, including the Journal of American History and the Journal of Civil War Studies. His recent essay, "King Cotton and Confederate Foreign Policy," was published by Routledge Press.

Dr. Hubbard received his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a specialization in American political and diplomatic history. He is a Research Fellow at the Center for the Study of American Humanities at Brown University.

In 2009, he was inducted into the Lincoln Academy of Illinois as a Lincoln laureate. He received the Lincoln Diploma of Honor in 2011 for his contributions to the field of Lincoln studies.

Dr. Hubbard is a Senior Fulbright scholar and has received several Fulbright fellowships to research and study abroad, particularly in Southeast Asia. In 2005, President George W. Bush appointed him to the Fulbright Foundation Review Board. In November of 2011, he received the prestigious Hay-Fulbright award from the U.S. State Department to deliver a series of lectures in the U.K. at King's College London and Corpus Christi College at Oxford.

Dr. Hubbard delivered the keynote address at the Rothermere Institute for American Studies at Cambridge University in 2017. His latest book is a collection of essays entitled "Lincoln: The Law and Presidential Leadership" released in 2015 by the Southern Illinois Press.




Lee University welcomes seven new faculty to its campus this year: one in the Helen DeVos College of Education, three to the School of Nursing, one to the School of Theology & Ministry, one to the School of Business, and one to the Squires Library.

Rene L. Diamond joins the HDCOE as a senior lecturer of education and the assessment coordinator for the HDCOE. She has served as an instructional supervisor with Bradley County Schools, an executive director for educator effectiveness for the University of Tennessee, and as a senior program manager for the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching.

Ms. Diamond earned her Master of Education (MEd) in education administration from Southeastern Louisiana University and her Bachelor of Science (BS) at Louisiana State University. She is pursuing her Doctor of Education degree in K-12 educational leadership at Tennessee State University.

Jacob Fast returns to the School of Nursing as an assistant professor of science in emergency management and as the Director of Disaster and Healthcare Mission Management. He has served at Lee for eight years, first as the enrollment and advising specialist for the School of Nursing, and then as the academic coordinator for LEAP (Learn-Engage-Achieve-Program). He is also the sponsor of the DHMM Club on campus.

Mr. Fast received his MEd in school counseling from UTC, his Master of Business Administration from Lee University, and his BS in psychology from Geneva College. He is on track to receive his Doctor of Science in Emergency Management from Jacksonville State University this December.

Dr. Kelli Noble joins the School of Nursing faculty as an assistant professor of nursing. Prior to Lee, Noble taught as an adjunct faculty for Cleveland State Community College and Chattanooga State Community College. Dr. Noble has over 30 years' research experience, including work on the study and reversal of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Dr. Noble earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice and Master of Science at Southern Adventist University, along with a Bachelor of Science Nursing from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Briley Williams joins the School of Nursing faculty as a visiting lecturer of nursing with experience in labor and delivery, as well as high-risk obstetrics and obstetrical emergency. Since earning her BSN at Lee, Ms. Williams has worked as a clinical faculty member at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale. Her research interests include the impact of high-quality healthcare education and relationships with students in the clinical field, as well as hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and the management thereof during the postpartum phase.

Dr. Steven Hall joins the School of Theology & Ministry as an associate professor of pastoral ministry, after teaching for Lee Online for the past three years. Prior to serving with the full-time faculty, Dr. Hall served as the clinical director as well as the lead pastor of the Heritage Pastoral Counseling Center in Severn, Maryland, where he held national certification as a professional counselor. He also served as an adjunct professor and doctoral supervisor at Ashland Theological Seminary, Pentecostal Theological Seminary, Richmont Graduate University, and Southeastern University.

Dr. Hall earned his Doctor of Ministry in spiritual formation at Ashland Theological Seminary, his MS in pastoral counseling at Loyola University, and his BS in biblical studies at Lee.

Jaimme Preston joins the School of Business faculty as an assistant professor of business. Prior to Lee, Ms. Preston served as a nursing home administrator and director of business development at Life Care Centers of America for 14 years.

She earned her MBA in healthcare administration and her Bachelor of Arts in long-term care administration at Southern Adventist University as well as her BS in finance at Tennessee Wesleyan College.

Dawn Bixler joins Lees faculty as the public services coordinator for the Lee University Squires Library. Prior to this position, she served at Squires as a reference assistant and daytime supervisor.

Ms. Bixler earned her MEd in Library Science at Middle Tennessee State University and her BA in Elementary Education at Lee University. She is currently working toward a Master of Library and Information Services from Indiana University.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has lifted a water contact advisory for Citico Creek in Chattanooga, not including an unnamed tributary to the creek. However, Citico Creek recreational use will stay listed as impaired due to pathogens.

Water contact advisories are issued when recreational use (swimming, wading, or fishing) has been impaired by significantly elevated pathogen levels. The duration, magnitude, and frequency of the pathogen levels is considered when issuing an advisory.

Pathogen data collected during 2019 and 2020 in Citico Creek, not including the unnamed tributary, show pathogen levels still do not reach a recreational use threshold but have decreased to a level where TDEC can lift the advisory on water contact.

We provide these advisories so the community can make informed decisions about water contact hazards, said TDEC Deputy Commissioner Greg Young. Data studied from the collection in Citico Creek have allowed TDEC to lift the previous water contact advisory, and we are pleased to make this change.

TDEC will remove warning signs at primary public access points.
A teacher at Calvin Donaldson School was among those charged after a recent two-day operation to address human trafficking in the Chattanooga area.

County school officials said David Acevedo was a special education teacher at Calvin Donaldson Elementary. He was suspended without pay on Aug. 29 pending an investigation.

Acevedo, 25, was charged with simple possession, unlawful carrying or possession of a weapon, drug paraphernalia and promoting prostitution.

The operation on Aug.

25 and 26 was a partnership between the TBIs Human Trafficking Unit, the Tennessee Human Trafficking Task Force, FBIs Safe Streets Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, the Chattanooga Police Department, the Office of 11th Judicial District Attorney General Coty Wamp and Grow Free Tennessee. Authorities worked to rescue potential trafficking victims, while identifying those engaged in trafficking, promoting, recruiting, or soliciting others for the purpose of commercial sex.
The trial date in the case in which former House Speaker Glen Casada and aide Cade Cothren are charged with bribery and kickbacks, wire fraud and money laundering has been moved to March 5, 2024. It had been set to start Oct. 3.

Attorneys in the case said, "During the course of the execution of search warrants, the United States seized a number of computers. Those computers were made available to defense for inspection. The United States completed digital extractions of some of those computers. Upon defense counsels request, the United States endeavored to make copies of those digital extractions for defense counsel. That process was time consuming, and hard drives containing those digital extractions were recently produced. The extractions are voluminous, approximately 500 GB. Defense counsel needs additional time to review the extractions."

The trial is expected to last two to three weeks with former state Rep. Robin Smith as the star witness for the government.

She resigned from the state House after facing federal wire fraud charges. Her sentencing on her guilty plea to wire fraud has been delayed until the conclusion of the Casada/Cothren trial that will be conducted by Federal Judge Eli Richardson in Nashville.

The initial setting of the trial had it at Oct. 25, 2022.

Authorities said in November 2019 that Casada aide Cothren set up a firm called Phoenix Consulting that was said to be headed by Matthew Phoenix, which in fact was a fictitious name and the actual operator of the firm was Cothren.

The firm was set up to get payments from a program in which legislators could use up to $3,000 each per year for mailings to constituents, the government says.
A group of employees terminated by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) pertaining to the Covid-19 vaccine mandate has filed suit in Chattanooga Federal Court against the insuror.

The suit was brought by lead plaintiffs James M. Abernathy, Kerrie Ingle and Heather Hutton.

A spokesman for the group said after a lengthy investigative process by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) since November 2021, the terminated employees have received their right to sue letters and had filed the class action suit in federal court.

Between October and November 2021, BCBST terminated 41 of their employees after BCBST implemented a Covid-19 vaccine mandate for 900 "customer facing roles."

The group said many of the 900 employees were not "customer facing" but were full time telecommuters and had been working from home during the entire pandemic.

The livelihoods of these 900 employees were threatened if they refused to comply with BCBST's vaccine mandate, the group said.

Out of the 900, 41 refused to comply with BCBSTs mandate and were fired from their positions. Some still have yet to secure employment, it was stated.

In October 2021, 19 employees were terminated. In November 2021, 22 additional employees were fired weeks ahead of a Tennessee law being passed to prevent BCBST from moving forward with the mandate. Many submitted requests for religious exemptions and reasonable accommodations, it was stated.

The group said, "Rather than provide a reasonable accommodation such as a telecommuting option (an option that was currently in place and was continuing for the entire year) or a testing option, BCBST's response was that you have 30 days to change your deeply held religious convictions and get the shot, find a new job, or be fired. Requests for religious exemptions were ultimately denied."
Meghan Markle and Princess Diana's biographer doesn't think the Duchess of Sussex will ever return to the U.K. full-time so she won't have to curtsy to Kate Middleton.

Since stepping down from royal duties, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have returned to the U.K. a handful of times. Some of the royal events they attended included Queen Elizabeth IIs Platinum Jubilee, as well as the late monarchs funeral, and Harry made a solo trip to attend King Charles coronation in May. The duke traveled to England again in September for the 2023 WellChild Awards before he and his wife head to Germany where the Invictus Games are being held.

However, a few royal experts say the duke and duchesss visits will remain infrequent and the pair wont ever consider returning on a permanent basis because of what Meghan would be expected to do when the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton) becomes queen.

Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton standing on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to view a flypast | Anwar Hussein/WireImage

Biographer insists Meghan wont curtsy to sister-in-law Kate

Andrew Morton, who wrote the biography Diana: Her True Story and Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, was asked during an appearance on Sky News if he believes the former Suits star will eventually make a permanent return to the U.K.

Thats not happening according to Morton because Meghan wouldnt ever be happy to defer to her sister-in-law.

What, and have Meghan Markle curtsying to Kate Middleton? I dont think so, Morton responded before adding, I dont see that as a runner. [The Sussexes] got their own lives in California. Theyve got their own set, theyve got their own influence, and theyve got their own companies.

Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Meghan Markle pay their respects in The Palace of Westminster after the procession for the Lying-in State of Queen Elizabeth II | Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Commentator says duchess wants to go where shes celebrated and elevated, not booed

A royal commentator has offered another reason why the Duchess of Sussex will likely avoid the U.K. as much as possible in the future.

To Di For Daily podcast host Kinsey Schofield opined that Meghan isnt keen to go back to her husbands home country unless she absolutely has to because she cant take being booed.

I certainly think that Meghan will avoid the U.K. for self-preservation. She does not want the boos, Scholfield told Talk TV (per Express). She doesnt want the negative attention  She wants to go where shes celebrated and elevated.

Author predicts Prince Harry wont want to return either when his brother becomes king

Author Petronella Petsy Wyatt doesnt believe Harry will be back when the Prince of Wales becomes the monarch given how strained their relationship has become.

He has no intention of ever coming back [to England], Wyatt said via GB News. Hes burnt all his bridges  his children who are American citizens will be brought up as Americans.

Also the relations between him and William are so atrocious. Lets say in 10 years time William is king or in 15 years, I cannot see Harry coming back to Britain when his brother is king.
Carrie Bradshaw feels like she's always been a part of Manhattan, but the 'Sex and the City' character wasn't born a New Yorker. Do you know when she arrived in the city?

For Sex and the City fans, it feels like Carrie Bradshaw has always been in Manhattan. Despite her knowledge of the city, the fictional sex columnist was not a born and raised New Yorker. The original series didnt delve too deeply into Carries upbringing, and what she has said about her early life greatly deviates from The Carrie Diaries.

Still, we have a pretty good sense of exactly when she started her love affair with Manhattan. Carrie Bradshaw moved to Manhattan as a 20-something and never left.

When did Carrie Bradshaw move to Manhattan?

Carrie Bradshaw carved out a niche in Manhattan as a sex columnist after arriving in 1986. When Sex and the City began in 1998, Carrie was 32 years old, which means she was born in 1966. If she came to Manhattan in June 1986, she was headed into her 20s as she forged a new, independent life. According to Summer in the City, Candace Bushnells prequel novel, Carrie opted to forgo college to move into the city despite an offer to attend Brown University.

Carrie Bradshaw | Brian Ach/WireImage

While June 1986 is generally accepted as the day Carrie Bradshaw arrived in Manhattan, there are some inconsistencies. In the 2008 movie Sex and the City: The Movie, Carrie said she had lived in Manhattan for 20 years. The assertion would suggest she arrived in the city in 1988, not 1986.

There are issues with Miranda and Charlottes timelines, too

A few inconsistencies with Carrie Bradshaws Manhattan arrival timeline do exist, but thats common amongst her group of friends. There are issues with the timetable surrounding Miranda Hobbes and Charlotte Yorks moves to New York, too.

In several Sex and the City projects, Carrie states that she met Charlotte on a subway car in 1987, a year after she arrived in Manhattan. Charlotte is believed to have been born in 1967, which would have made her 20 years old when she and Carrie met. In the original series, Charlotte noted that she graduated from Smith College. Traditionally, most people graduate from college at 21 or 22. That means she likely would not have moved to Manhattan until 1988 or 1989, at the earliest. Smith College is located in Massachusetts.

Carrie once said she met Miranda in 1989, two years after she met Charlotte. Miranda should have also been in Massachusetts when she allegedly met Carrie in Manhattan. According to the original series, Miranda graduated from Harvard University in 1990. In 1989, she should have been living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The lawyer never spoke about her time in Cambridge, though.

When did Samantha Jones arrive in Manhattan?

Samantha Jones might be a fan favorite, but shes the Sex and the City character we learned the least about, at least regarding Samanthas family and background. Fans did learn that Samantha had siblings, but they have yet to find out where she came from or when she arrived in Manhattan.

The cast of Sex and the City | Getty Images

Considering Samantha was about a decade older than her best pals, we can assume she arrived in the city upon college graduation. The year would have been 1979 or 1980. Carrie never mentioned the year she met Samantha but stated she knew her as a bartender at CBGB. We can assume Samantha served as a mentor to Carrie as she was still learning the ropes.
The residents of Virgin River must band together to save their town from a wildfire in season 5 of the Netflix drama.

Virgin River is under threat. In season 5 of the Netflix drama, the picture-perfect small town faces a disaster that has become increasingly common for many Americans: wildfire.

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Virgin River Season 5.]

A wildfire threatens Virgin River in season 5

Virgin River Season 5 | Courtesy of Netflix  2023

Though Virgin River is filmed in British Columbia, the show is set in northern California. Its a picturesque part of the state, but one thats also prone to devastating fires. In 2018, 85 people died when a fire tore through the small town of Paradise in Butte County. In 2020, the August Complex fire burned more than 1 million acres. Given the setting, it makes sense that Virgin River eventually incorporated a wildfire storyline into the show.

In season 5, a fire breaks out not far from Virgin River. At first, it seems like it wont be a huge deal. But eventually, the situation turns dire. As firefighters from CalFire battle the blaze, the residents of Virgin River band together to save the town and keep each other safe.

Virgin River survived the fire, but not every community is so lucky

Burned cars and homes in a Lahaina neighborhood destroyed by a wildfire | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

In Virgin River, the fire comes dangerously close to destroying the town. Thanks to Hopes (Annette OToole) evacuation plan, all residents are able to make it to safety, though some of them lose their homes. The quick-thinking Brady (Ben Hollingsworth) lights a backfire that saves Jacks bar. And Jack (Martin Henderson) teams up with a local pilot to dump water on the flames, which prevents the fire from destroying more structures.

We will rise from the ashes, Hope declares in the aftermath of the disaster.

In the end, the residents of Virgin River come through the crisis shaken and battered, but mostly OK. Sadly, thats not the case for everyone who experiences a fire. In early August, a fire on the island of Maui in Hawaii almost completely leveled the town of Lahaina and killed at least 115 people. Hundreds more are still missing.

Even people who dont live in areas traditionally at risk of fire are feeling the effects. Smoke from massive Canadian wildfires has affected air quality in cities such as New York and Chicago this summer. Overall, 16% of Americans now live in wildfire-prone areas, according to an analysis by the Washington Post. Fires are also becoming more frequent and severe, meaning many people would be wise to take a clue from Virgin Rivers Hope and develop with a plan to deal with fire risk.

If youre in anything but the lowest risk category, you should be talking to your neighbors about risk mitigation and what you can do, Greg Dillon, director of the Forest Services Fire Modeling Institute, told The New York Times. In a lot of the United States, theres a potential for fire.

Virgin River Season 5 Episodes 1-10 are now streaming on Netflix.

For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel.
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Indonesia warned leaders including US Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov against sharpening rivalries as they wrapped up an East Asia summit in Jakarta on Thursday.







The meeting brought Washington and Beijing into contact a day after Li warned major powers must manage differences to avoid a "new Cold War", and ahead of the G20 summit in New Delhi this week that Chinese President Xi Jinping will miss.







Interactions between the officials from the world's top two economies are being closely watched as they seek to control tensions that risk flaring anew over issues ranging from Taiwan to ties with Moscow and the competition for influence in the Pacific.







"Every leader has an equal responsibility to not create new conflicts, to not create new tensions, and at the same time we also have a responsibility to lower heated tensions," Indonesian President Joko Widodo, chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said in closing remarks.







"I can guarantee you that if we are not able to manage differences, we will be destroyed." (AFP)


James Nells, of the Navaho Tribe, and a teacher at Riverside Indian School, leads the Riverside Indian School color guard during opening ceremonies July 9, 2022, in Anadarko, Okla., for a meeting to allow U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, rear, to hear about the painful experiences of Native Americans who were sent to government-backed boarding schools designed to strip them of their cultural identities. The list of boarding schools in the U.S. that once sought to civilize Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians is getting longer. The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition released a new interactive map Aug. 30.
This thirty-two-year-old man lives in the UK and has been dating his girlfriend for nearly five years now. And since their relationship has been progressing really well, he has been thinking about proposing.

I mentioned it to a close friend whose girlfriend is close with my partner and her group of friends. But nothing serious has happened so far. I have just looked at a few rings and have been debating the idea for the past few weeks, he explained.

Nonetheless, his past relationship has kind of come back to haunt him in the process.

When he was in his early twenties, he became close friends with a girl he met in college. Then, they began dating, and their relationship lasted around three years.

We were perfect for each other and spent almost all of our time together, he recalled.

Tragically, though, she passed away in a car accident so his hopes of a future with her suddenly melted away.

His current girlfriend knows all about what happened in his last relationship, though, and has been extremely supportive of his grieving for example, when he visits his exs grave to pay respects on the anniversary of her death.

Moreover, his girlfriend has never expressed feeling hurt or upset about him doing this despite him asking multiple times. Plus, his girlfriend has even bought him flowers to bring to his exs grave on occasion.

Regardless of all this, though, he was recently approached by one of his girlfriends friends with a bizarre accusation.

Sign up for Chip Chicks newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
Today Heather sits down with Garrison Hayes, a content creator and former pastor, who has been called TokToks unofficial history professor and documentarian. As a scholar of forgotten Black history, and a talented filmmaker to boot, Garrison has garnered millions of views for his videos, including his much-talked-about TikTok on the history of whiteness. In fact, when Heather saw Garrisons provocative overview of how white people became white people, she found it so fascinating that she asked him to come on the podcast to discuss it further. In their lively conversation, Garrison also reveals why he believes God designed the Sabbath to be an instrument of disruption.

This week marks the kickoff of Disrupting American gods, our latest pod-class series. Over the next three episodes, Heather and her guests will explore Americas uses and abuses of race, politics, and religion. Were praying that this series will stretch your thinking and deepen your faith.

Elsewhere in this episode Heather also chats with her best friend and co-blogger Scarlett Longstreet in our new Safe Space segment, where Heather and Scarlett discuss social media, popular culture, and other topics of interest. Today they discuss a TikTok by Julia Mazur that went viral over the weekend after she shared what her Saturday looks like as a 29-year-old single woman.



Guest Bio

Garrison Hayes produces innovative short documentaries for his community of 300,000+ followers on TikTok. He also has a massive Instagram presence with over 100,000 followers there. He explores the hidden or forgotten corners of Black history, faith, and politics, as well as his love of books.

Additional Links

Garrisons TikTok on the history of whiteness: https://www.tiktok.com/@garrisonhayes/video/7258002292928974122?lang=en

Here is an article giving more context to this weeks Safe Space conversation about a young womans unexpectedly controversial viral video about the joys of singleness: https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/viral-29-and-single-tiktok-sparks-heated-debate-single-life-married-life

Sign up for Heathers encouraging devotional email, which goes out every Friday night at 7 p.m. EST, at www.heatherthompsonday.com/links

Host Bio

Heather Thompson Day is an associate professor of communication at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. She is the author of eight books, including Ill See You Tomorrow and Its Not Your Turn. Reach out to Heather on Twitter @HeatherTDay and on Instagram @heatherthompsonday.

Viral Jesus is a production of Christianity Today

Host and creator: Heather Thompson Day

Executive Producer: Ed Gilbreath

Producer: Loren Joseph

Associate Producer: Azurae Phelps

Mix Engineer: Alex Carter

Director of CT Podcasts: Mike Cosper
One of the most influential leaders in British evangelicalism used his spiritual authority to control people, exhibiting coercive behavior that led to inappropriate relationships, wrestling, and massages, the Church of England has concluded.

The churchs investigation into allegations of harmful behavior by Mike Pilavachi, the founder of the Soul Survivor youth festival and an ordained minister, was first announced in April.

Although the details were never made public either by Soul Survivor or the Church of England, in recent months national newspapers have published accounts by men who had served as staff members and interns at Soul Survivor. The accounts include allegations that Pilavachi massaged, straddled, and wrestled with the men and others as teens.

On Wednesday, the Church of England media team said that the investigation, carried out by the National Safeguarding Team, had concluded that these concerns were substantiated and spanned four decades: from Pilavachis time as a youth leader at St. Andrews Church in Chorleywood to the present day.

The overall substantiated concerns are described as an abuse of power relating to his ministry, and spiritual abuse, the statement read. It was concluded that he used his spiritual authority to control people and that his coercive and controlling behaviour led to inappropriate relationships, the physical wrestling of youths and massaging of young male interns.

The statement quoted the definition of spiritual abuse that has been adopted by the House of Bishops (the senior leadership of the Church of England): a form of emotional and psychological abuse characterised by a systematic pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour in a religious context.

The extent of Pilavachis influence has meant that the allegations have had a significant impact on British evangelicals. It is now 30 years since Pilavachi founded both the Soul Survivor festivalan annual gathering attended by up to 30,000 young people and youth leadersand the Soul Survivor church in Watford, a town north of London. Many people have taken to the internet to process either their personal experiences of Soul Survivor or their feelings about the revelations.

Gavin Calver, the CEO of the UKs Evangelical Alliance, shared a statement on X (formerly Twitter), offering prayers for all affected by Pilavachis abuse.

The longevity and the consistency of the accounts is heart-breaking, he said, and like many of you, Im left with uncomfortable questions as I wrestle through the conflicting realities of the lives transformed by Jesus through Soul Survivor, paired simultaneously with the long-term effects of trauma and pain caused by abuse in the same space.

Among those who have come forward with allegations is David Gate, a former worship leader at Soul Survivor. In May, he told the Sunday Times that Pilavachi had singled him out as a 16-year-old and told him he was going to do amazing things for God.

Wrestling, he said, was a sign that he liked youyou were one of Mikes boys  Looking back, it must have appeared strange, a 45-year-old, well-built man wrestling on the floor with a 16-year-old boy.

Pilavachi had the power to break your career, he said. The only doors that would open for you were the ones that he opened for you to go through. For a teenager, it was emotionally devastating. Like others, he described how Pilavachi related to him in a cycle of praise and attention followed by inattention and indifference.

The conclusion of the investigation isnt the end of the process for Pilavachi. The National Safeguarding Team is also bringing a complaint against him under the Clergy Discipline Measure (CDM)the means by which the Church of England handles allegations of serious misconduct.

Pilavachi already resigned as senior pastor of Soul Survivor in July, seeking forgiveness from any whom I have hurt during the course of my ministry, and returned his license to the Bishop of St. Albans, meaning that he cannot currently minister in the Church of England.

The most severe sanction that can be imposed by the CDM is prohibition for life from exercising ministry. The Church of England has said that it is committed to ensuring that relevant safeguarding information is passed on if he were to minister elsewhere both in this country and abroad. To date, Pilavachi has enjoyed an international ministry, traveling the world to preach at evangelical gatherings.

On Wednesday, Soul Survivor Watford announced that it had commissioned a senior litigator, Fiona Scolding, to lead a full and independent review of what had occurred. Some have claimed that top leaders at the church were aware of concerns about Pilavachi as early as 2004.

Soul Survivor Watford confirmed that the churchs senior pastor, Andy Croft, remained suspended. But the suspension of assistant pastor Ali Martin had been lifted, as concerns raised about her had not been substantiated. Both pastors were suspended in June in relation to concerns over the handling of allegations.

In its statement, the church said:

There has been a systematic pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour. We are saddened that these behaviours happened in a context that should have provided safety and spiritual support. We are committed to learning lessons from what has happened and to put in place further practices and procedures that will seek to ensure this kind of behaviour does not happen in the future.

In recent years, spiritual abuse has received more attention in the Church of England, drawing on research by experts including Lisa Oakley, a psychologist who is currently professor of safeguarding and knowledge exchange at the University of Chester.

In 2017, she worked with Justin Humphreys, chief executive of the safeguarding charity Thirtyone:eight, on an online survey seeking to measure the prevalence of spiritual abuse: 1,002 of the 1,591 Christians who replied said that they had personal experience of it.

In 2018, a former vicar in Oxfordshire, Timothy Davis, was convicted by a church tribunal of spiritual abuse against a teenage boy. It was thought to be the first judgment of its kind. Over a period of 18 months, Davis held private Bible study sessions in the victims bedroom, putting the victim under what was judged as unacceptable pressure.

Evangelicals are starting to take preventative action, although some have raised concerns about the term spiritual abuse and its definition. Next year, an evangelical umbrella organization, Affinity, is due to publish a resource book for churches, Challenging Leaders: Preventing and Investigating Allegations of Pastoral Malpractice.

In the meantime, Calver wrote that these stories of abuses of power are coming up too often and the evangelical church in the UK must do better.

As painful as it is, we must not resist the work of Gods Spirit to bring to light that which has been hidden in the shadows, he said. Environments, cultures and structures that allow, and even encourage, abuse to take place must be acknowledged and eradicated.
Greg Laurie lists 4 ways Christians will live as last days believers in the End Times

Harvest Christian Fellowship Pastor Greg Laurie tackled how Christians should live their lives in the End Times, describing his congregation as last days believers.

Laurie preached on Sunday the final message in a sermon series about the End Times, with him focusing in part on how Christians should act as the world gets worse before the rapture.

Laurie drew a parallel to the life of Noah, noting that the Bible periodically compares the End Times to the days of Noah, as recorded in the book of Genesis before the global flood occurred.

For his first point on how to live in the End Times, Laurie said, God revealed secrets to Noah, noting that Hebrews 11:7 says Noah was divinely warned of things not yet seen.

Christians know things that the world does not know, Laurie said. People in the culture today dont understand why things are unraveling. They dont understand why government is expanding its control.

They dont know why people are so depraved and do the horrible things that they do. They dont know why culture is collapsing, but we do because we know were living in the last days.

Laurie added that even the basic Christian knows more than some of the great intellects in the world right now because believers know that man is bad and God is good, and we know judgment is coming to planet Earth.

The second point that Laurie talked about was that Noah had great reverence for God, pointing to how Hebrews 11:7 said that Noah was moved with godly fear to build the ark.

We need to have that reverence as well, Laurie said. We have read the last page of the Bible. We win in the end. We know this from the pages of Scripture.

Laurie said that the third way to live in the End Times was to remember that Noah walked with God when no one else did, pointing to how Genesis 6:9 says, Noah walked with God.

All of us should walk with God, said Laurie. To walk with God is to get into harmony with Him, it's to stay in sync with Him. It's not to run ahead of Him; its not to lag behind Him. Youre in rhythm with God.

Be on time for your appointment with God. Stay in sync with what the Lord is doing. When the Lord moves, you want to move with Him as well. Noah walked with God.

For the final point, Laurie explained, Noah was a witness for God, telling his congregation that they are called to be a witness for Christ, even if they do not reach that many people in their witnessing.

Did Noah reach a lot of people? Actually, he did not, Laurie said. Maybe youll only reach a handful of people. Maybe it will be your child or your grandchild. But Noah did reach his family.

Laurie, who oversees a prominent multisite megachurch, acknowledged that, in the eyes of God, it does not matter how big or how small a ministry was while it operated on Earth.

When we stand before God, Hes not going to say to us, Well done, good and successful servant. Hes going to say, Well done, good and faithful servant, Laurie noted.

If youre a pastor of a large church, youre a pastor of a small church, what God requires of you is faithfulness. Whatever Hes called you to do, He wants you to be faithful. Our goal is not success; our goal is faithfulness. We leave success in the hands of God.

During his sermon, Laurie also focused on the modern state of Israel and how it relates to the End Times, at one point concluding that America needs Israel more than Israel needs America.

God made a promise to Abraham and his descendants in Genesis 12:3. He says, I will bless those that bless you, and I will curse those that curse you, he said.

Look at any nation that has raised their hand against Israel and the Jewish people, and look at where they are today. The story of history tells us all about this, the most recent being Nazi Germany.

One of the reasons God has blessed our nation is because we have been a faithful friend to the nation of Israel since she became a nation, and I pray that we continue in that trajectory.

Lauries sermon was part of a multi-week series at Harvest centered on themes of the End Times, such as the Second Coming of Jesus, the rapture, and the seven-year tribulation.

Lauries son, Pastor Jonathan Laurie, preached one of the sermons, describing the millennial reign referenced in the book of Revelation as a brief layover in paradise before the real Paradise begins.

This is the moment weve all been waiting for. No more corrupt politicians, no more unjust rulings, no more backroom quid pro quo deals, said Jonathan Laurie last month. There will be, finally, world peace. No more terrorism, no more bombs.

Theres no longer going to be need for weapons anymore, no need to lock doors or spy on each others countries.
California school district rejects Bible club for elementary students, attorneys say

A school district in California has been accused by a conservative legal group of wrongfully prohibiting a Christian student club from meeting at a local elementary school.

Hayward Unified School District allegedly rejected multiple requests from Child Evangelism Fellowship to let one of its Good News Club chapters meet at Fairview Elementary School.

Liberty Counsel recently sent a letter to HUSD Superintendent Jason Reimann demanding that the school district immediately approve CEFs renewed facilities use request to hold a Good News Club after school on campus at Fairview Elementary School.

Prior to COVID-19, a Good News Club was held for numerous years immediately after school at Fairview Elementary, the legal group stressed in their letter.

The District permits other similarly-situated groups to meet directly after school at multiple locations, including Girl Scouts  and Girls on the Run.

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said in a statement that it is unlawful for the school district to deny the club's meeting request.

According to the law, Good News Clubs must be given equal access as the non-religious groups on public school campuses, stated Staver.

Equal access means equal treatment including the use of on-campus facilities, fee waivers, time of meetings, and announcements. Liberty Counsel will work to ensure this happens.

A Hayward Unified School District spokesperson told The Christian Post that officials are investigating this matter and have no comment at this time.

In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Good News Club v. Milford Central Schoolthat public schools cannot ban Good News Clubs from meeting on school property after class hours solely because the club is Christian in nature.

But from time to time, efforts have been made not to allow the Christian student group to meet on public school property outside of class hours.

In March, the Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit against Providence Public School District in Rhode Island after officials blocked Good News Clubs from meeting at schools for about two years.

Providence PSD agreed to a consent order in July that allowed the Christian student club access to District facilities that is equal to and on the same terms as other similarly situated nonreligious organizations offering programs to students in the District.
Carlton Pearson, former megachurch pastor who says there is no Hell, brought to 'death's door' battling cancer

Bishop Carlton Pearson, an affiliate minister at All Souls Unitarian Church, who was once one of the most sought-after Pentecostal speakers in the U.S. before he lost his megachurch in Tulsa, Oklahoma, 20 years ago for declaring there is no Hell, says he was recently brought to "death's door," battling illnesses related to cancer.

"I don't know what happened. It [illness] just hit me all at once. We've been battling, you know, the prostate thing for 20 years, but had been free. And then all of a sudden, this thing hit me, and I haven't even had any treatment for it because my body was so toxic and so filled with sepsis and infection," Pearson revealed in a Facebook Live video Tuesday.

"I had no idea. By the time they got me to the hospital, I was at death's door. My son was with me. We went through all of that, ... like 17 days in the hospital and several in and out, but I want you to know I'm yet holding on," he added.

In an earlier video posted on Facebook this summer, Pearson told his followers from a hospital bed that while he has been a 20-year survivor of prostate cancer, there has been a "re-occurrence."

While Pearson did not disclose further details about his cancer prognosis, data from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program show that for patients diagnosed with prostate cancer discovered to be in the localized, meaning that it's "confined to the primary site," or regional, meaning it has "spread to regional lymph nodes," have a five-year relative survival rate of 100%. Patients diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer "that has spread to distant parts of the body" have a five-year relative survival rate of 34.1%.

Pearson, raised in the conservative Church of God in Christ, the world's most prominent black Pentecostal denomination, founded Higher Dimensions Evangelistic Center in Tulsa in 1981. The church grew from 75 to more than 5,000 members, according to the Christian Research Institute.

In the late 1980s, he started the Azusa Conferences at Oral Roberts University and became a mainstay on Christian television.

But after he challenged the biblical definition of Hell, the Joint College of African-American Pentecostal Bishops Congress branded him a heretic in 2004 for preaching inclusionism, which the Christian apologetics ministry Got Questions calls the "old heresy of universalism re-packaged and given a new name."

Inclusionism teaches, among other things, that Jesus died for all of humanity to enjoy eternal life in Heaven without any need for repentance; salvation is unconditional and does not even require faith in Jesus Christ as the payment for mankind's sin debt; and that all humanity will go to Heaven regardless of religious affiliation.

"The gospel of inclusion runs counter to the clear teachings of Jesus and the Bible. In John's Gospel, Jesus clearly states that the only path to salvation is through Him (John 14:6)," the ministry notes. "God sent Jesus into the world to secure salvation for fallen humanity, but that salvation is only available to those who place their faith in Jesus Christ as God's payment for their sin (John 3:16)."

Pearson has said that he knows the Bible teaches that Hell is real and opposes inclusionism, but he doesn't believe the Bible is "infallible or inerrant."

"I can take that Bible and denounce what I'm teaching. There [are] plenty of scriptures that say that salvation is limited to only those who trust Christ. The Bible clearly says that. ... If you take it literally, Jesus preached Hell, the way the King James translators translated it, which is inaccurate," Pearson previously said, according to CRI. "The average person, even preacher, that you approach and ask, 'Where did we get the Bible?' most of them can't tell you that. Men sat around tables in rooms for weeks drinking wine, eating, and taking breaks, fussing, and sometimes cussing, arguing over what would be in the Bible and what would not.

"I won't get into great detail, but I'm just saying that which we revere as the most sacred lexicon of truth on the planet is not necessarily  and any true scholar will tell you  infallible or inerrant. ... I am saying what we were taught was wrong. We've been sold a bill of goods. I'm assaulting 1,500 years of tradition."

Pearson, whose life is documented in the Netflix film "Come Sunday," said his sickness has caused him to lose a lot of weight. He now weighs 137 pounds.

"Hopefully, next Tuesday. I'll be in better shape. But we're working on this. Again, no treatment yet for cancer and hopefully no chemo, trying to find alternative measures to deal with it," Pearson said before thanking his thousands of supporters around the world for sending him encouragement.

"I just wanted to tell you I love you, your gifts, your cards, your calls, your emails, your messages, there've been thousands of them," he said. "I've literally been overwhelmed."
Church faces financial ruin as court orders repayment of $500K in ill-gotten donations

A 120-year-old Illinois church could be forced to shutter and sell off its assets if its members fail to raise $300,000 in the next month to pay off a $487,000 federal court judgment against them to recover long gone donations a businessman convicted of running a Ponzi scheme poured into their coffers over 10 years.

The church, Messiah Lutheran Church in Joliet, said they had no idea they were benefiting from the ill-gotten gains of convicted fraudster, Illinois resident Kenneth D. Courtright III.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Courtright and his company, Todays Growth Consultant Inc., raised at least $75 million from more than 500 investors throughout the United States and abroad in a Ponzi-like scheme from at least 2017 through at least October 2019.

Courtright and his company reportedly defrauded these investors through false promises on returns while using the proceeds from his Ponzi scheme to pay his personal expenses, including his mortgage and private school tuitions for his family.

Now, the court is seeking to recover the funds Courtright spent, including the donations he made to charities.

Messiah Lutheran Church explained on a website they established for a fundraising campaign at www.savemessiah.org that they received a total of $780,000 in donations from the businessman over the 10 years his benevolence lasted, but they already spent every dime of the money.

Of course, we don't have that money, Beth Hohisel, leader of Messiahs litigation committee, said in a video appeal posted on YouTube. We have used that money in our ministry, we've paid our staff, we've sent our youth to youth camp, we kept the lights on in our building. That money is long gone.

She added: When we tell someone what's happening to our church, the first response generally is, how can that be? That doesn't even seem fair at all.

Attorney James Murphy from Mahoney, Silverman & Cross said in a statement that there was no wrongdoing on the churchs part.

Unfortunately, Illinois law, under which the SEC Receivers lawsuit is brought, allows for the claw back of donations to charities based on the misdeeds of the donor. This type of lawsuit can be brought against any non-profit organization in Illinois, Murphy said.

The church explained that the SEC was unrelenting in demanding a large payback from Messiah Lutheran, and the $487,000 is due by Nov. 15.

To honor the demand, the church said on its website that it emptied its Building Fund in order to make a $187,000 payment on the judgment on Aug. 28, and now they are out of options to pay the remainder of the money.

The church says if they are unable to pay the remainder of the judgment by Nov. 15, the amount they owe will increase to $587,000 by the court. The churchs assets can then be frozen, and a forced sale of their property executed.

The SEC Receiver has made it clear that she does not care if Messiah losses its home and She does not care if Messiahs congregation is left without a place to worship, Brian Wielbik, president of Messiahs Church Council, said in a statement. Its a true David versus Goliath story.
China's foreign trade dips 0.1 pct in January-August

Xinhua) 14:02, September 07, 2023

BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's imports and exports in yuan terms edged down 0.1 percent year on year to 27.08 trillion yuan (about 3.76 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of the year, official data showed Thursday.

Exports grew 0.8 percent year on year to 15.47 trillion yuan for January-August, while imports declined 1.3 percent from one year earlier to 11.61 trillion yuan, according to the General Administration of Customs.

In August alone, the country's foreign trade declined 2.5 percent from one year earlier, but expanded 3.9 percent from the previous month, the data revealed.

The country's exports shrank 3.2 percent year on year last month, while imports went down 1.6 percent, with the pace of declines both easing compared with those registered in July.

In the first eight months of 2023, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remained China's largest trade partner. China's trade with ASEAN countries rose 1.6 percent year on year and accounted for 15.2 percent of the country's total trade value.

China's trade with the European Union fell 1.5 percent from a year earlier, while its trade with the United States declined 8.7 percent year on year during the January-August period. Its trade with countries along the Belt and Road rose 3.6 percent year on year.

A breakdown of the data showed China's exports of machinery and electronic products, which accounted for 58 percent of total exports, increased 3.6 percent during the period, with the export value of automobiles surging 104.4 percent from one year earlier.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
David Platt's adopted son arrives home after yearslong delay caused by COVID pandemic

David Platt is rejoicing and giving all glory to God after his adopted son arrived home following a yearslong delay due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

In a social media post Tuesday, Platt, pastor of McLean Bible Church in the Northern Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., revealed that his son, Jeremiah Daniel (J.D.), finally arrived from China.

"Three and a half years ago, we got a call saying that our international adoption would be postponed for a couple of weeks due to a strange virus that was spreading. By God's grace and through the work of so many people, including the many caregivers we honor who have provided for him in his home country, that adoption has finally come to completion, and Jeremiah Daniel Platt is home in our family!" Platt wrote.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you to so many of you who have heard about J.D. over these years and prayed for a precious little boy on the other side of the world that you have never met. He is a uniquely amazing kid. Please pray for him as he experiences the range of thoughts, emotions, joys, and challenges that adoption entails. And pray that ultimately he sees and knows God's love for him through his family and all who are around him."

"All glory be to the One is always working in our waiting and whose wisdom, power, and love are worthy of all our trust."

The Platts have six children, four of whom are adopted.

In January 2020, Platt told The Christian Post, "My family and I are about to adopt our fifth child next week. Two of our kids are adopted, and this will be our third child that we have adopted."

In August 2020, he revealed that travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic delayed adoption.

"Today was my son's 4th birthday. But I haven't met him yet. We were 5 days away from going overseas to adopt him when travel to his country shut down in early February," Platt wrote at the time. "For the last 6 months, I've been pleading every single day for a way to go to him. As a dad, I would do anything possible to make that happen."

"I woke up this morning to new pictures of him in his orphanage, and then I read the first verse that just so happened to be in my Bible reading plan. 'Jesus told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart'  Luke 18:1," Platt added. "Could I ask you to pause for a moment, pray for J.D., and ask God to make a way for him to come into our family?"

According to a recent report from the National Council for Adoption, 115,353 children were adopted in the U.S. in 2019. This includes international adoptions, but those numbers have been far lower. The council estimates that overall adoptions "declined dramatically" in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Platt touched on the delays in bringing J.D. into his family in his 2023 book Don't Hold Back: Leaving Behind the American Gospel to Follow Jesus.

Platt, who previously served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, told CP that participating in global missions is not reserved for a select few but is the calling of all Christians.

"Our purpose on the planet is not to promote the greatness of our nation, it's to spread the Gospel to all nations," he said. "We have more opportunities than ever before in history to spread the Gospel to the ends of the Earth today than any other people have ever had."

"How can we experience the multi-ethnic beauty of the Church? How can we make sure we're seeking God not as a means to an end but as the end?" he asked. "How can we be intentional about showing counter-cultural compassion in the world and doing justice in a world of injustice?"
Episcopal Church leader Michael Curry rejects claim that bishops get free pass on behavioral issues

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry recently rejected the claim that bishops in the mainline denomination get a free pass on behavioral issues, amid accusations that a retired bishop physically and verbally harassed an official within the denomination.

Recently, Episcopal Church House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris made public an allegation that a retired bishop had "physically overpowered" her and made "inappropriate verbal statements last year.

In a video message posted Tuesday, Curry addressed the allegations and fallout, which included a recent statement by several Episcopal bishops claiming that there is a perception  or reality  that bishops get a free pass on behavioral issues.

None of us want that to be the case, Curry stated. For the sake of the Gospel, for the sake of our integrity, and, above all, for the sake of the well-being of every child of God who is a part of this church, we cannot, must not, and we will not sit idly by when anyone is hurt or harmed in our midst.

Curry also spotlighted the work of the Standing Commission on Structure, Governance, Constitution and Canons, which is a representative body made up of 10 laity and 10 clergy that will oversee the complaint process.

The presiding bishop called on the Standing Commission to review past work on investigations into misconduct allegations against clergy and propose any necessary changes to the denomination's leadership.

We cannot change the past, and it is always true, as the Prayer Book says, we have erred and strayed [from Gods ways] like lost sheep, he continued.

But we can learn from the past, we can learn from our shortcomings and our good work, and we, having learned from our past, can turn, joining together to create a future, constructed in the spirit of Jesus and his way of love, where all are welcome, and all are safe.

Last month, Ayala Harris wrote a public letter accusing an unnamed former bishop of harassment and filed a Title IV complaint under the purview of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops.

Title IV refers to the section of the Episcopal Church's bylaws that addresses the "ecclesiastical discipline" procedures whenever a church leader is accused of misconduct.

"Going through the Title IV process this past year was not something I would want anyone to have to endure," Ayala Harris wrote in the letter, as quoted by Episcopal News Service.

"Yet, living through that experience has given me an important perspective that I can apply in my leadership role, and it has renewed my long-lasting commitment to increased safety in our communities."

The accused retired bishop was removed from serving on multiple denominational governance bodies and put on restrictive ministry during the Title IV process, reported ENS.

Although Harris had declined to name the accused retired bishop, a later report revealed that it was the Rt. Rev. Edward J. Konieczny, former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma.

The Rt. Rev. Poulson Reed, who serves as bishop over the Oklahoma diocese, sent a letter on Tuesday confirming that Konieczny was the accused retired bishop and that Reed, himself, was not involved in the disciplinary process.

I want to emphasize strongly and in the clearest possible terms that in the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, we do not and will not tolerate abuse or harassment, especially by religious leaders, wrote Reed.

Our diocesan disciplinary process is robust and does not minimize or downplay reports of abuse among our congregations and institutions. We continue to evaluate and strengthen the implementation of our disciplinary process in Oklahoma to ensure justice and fairness.

Reed called for prayers for both Ayala Harris and Konieczny and acknowledged that there is a widespread perception (and in some cases, reality) that bishops are treated too leniently, and complainants too often denied justice.

Without knowing what specifically happened in this particular case, I look forward to listening to and working with others (clergy and lay) to evaluate Title IV and make it more just for everyone involved, he added.
Experts warn of 'genocidal intent' behind Azerbaijans blockade starving 120,000 Armenians

Experts warned a bipartisan congressional human rights commission Wednesday that the United States must be careful to avoid complicity in what they said could be an ongoing "genocide" against 120,000 Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh whom Azerbaijan forces have deprived of food and other crucial supplies for months.

The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing on the ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which connects Armenians to Artsakh, a self-declared Armenian breakaway state internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan with a predominantly Christian population.

Azerbaijan sealed off the Lachin Corridor last December after regaining control of territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh after a six-week war with Armenia in 2020. Armenian forces had captured the territory in a conflict that ended in 1994.

A Russia-brokered armistice left the region connected to Armenia only by the Lachin Corridor, where Russian peacekeepers were supposed to ensure free movement.

Commission co-chair Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., led the hearing, which featured expert testimony from Luis Moreno Ocampo, an Argentine lawyer who served as the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court from 2003 to 2012; and David Phillips, the director of Columbia University's Artsakh Atrocities Project and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

As the U.S. government conducts negotiations, Smith said U.S. Congress must determine if what is happening against the Armenians is a genocide and what the government's duty is to prevent it under the Genocide Convention, an international treaty.

Smith highlighted Ocampo's written testimony, which cautioned the U.S. for taking on a mediatory role, warning that accepting the existence of "genocide" as part of a negotiation is "complicity."

During the hearing, Smith pointed out that two empty chairs were reserved for the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), both of which did not respond to multiple invite requests.

During his testimony, Ocampo clarified that one misconception people have is that an action must involve many deaths before it's considered genocide.

The witness noted that the Azerbaijani security forces' blockade of the Lachin Corridor impedes access to food and other essentials, arguing that the intent to starve the Armenians is a genocidal action.

"There are many different forms of genocide. One form requires zero victim," he said. "Genocide, under Article 2-C, requires just to create the conditions to destroy the people. The crime is to create the conditions and blocking the Lachin Corridor with the life system for the Nagorno-Karabakh people is exacting the conditions."

"The physical issue is intentions. Can we say President Ilham Aliyev or anyone else in the Azerbaijani state has genocidal intentions? My thing was if you follow different quotes, then something very clear, the facts speak for themselves," he added.

"In December '22, the blockade of the Lachin Corridor started by people not formally connected to the states. However, in January this year, Secretary of State [Antony] Blinken called President Aliyev, asking him to remove it. President Aliyev didn't follow the request. In February, the International Court of Justice unanimously said to President Aliyev, 'This is creating risk for life of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh' and ordered to open the Corridor. He did not follow. What he did instead was to create a security forces blockade."

In February, 15 judges from the International Court of Justice ordered Aliyev to remove the blockade, but the leader did not comply.

Ocampo said that Aliyev's actions send a "very clear signal" that he knows that the blockade puts lives at risk. According to Ocampo, this is a clear sign of Aliyev's genocidal intentions, as ICJ was clear about the consequences of the blockade and its impact on the Armenians.

"So when he is doing this now with security forces, obviously, he had intention to do that. That intention is confirmed because a few months later, he closed off all the traffic," Ocampo said. "For me, at this stage, there is no doubt that genocidal intentions are there."

In a report last month, Ocampo warned that there was a "reasonable basis to believe that a genocide is being committed," suggesting that starvation was being used as an "invisible genocide weapon." He called for the U.N. Security Council to intervene, which would be necessary because Azerbaijan is not a signatory to the statute that established the International Criminal Court.

Phillips agreed that Aliyev's actions could constitute genocide against the Armenians and discussed how Azerbaijan security forces are firing on Armenian farmers, shortening their food supply and terrorizing them with psychological torture.

In his testimony, Phillips argued that Aliyev has waged campaigns intended to dehumanize Armenian Christians.

Regarding the steps that the U.S. should take to prevent these atrocities, Phillips recommends enforcing the sanctions described in Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which restricts assistance to the government of Azerbaijan to prevent conflict with neighboring Armenia.

Phillips also cited the Global Magnitsky Act, which consists of targeted sanctions to combat human rights abuses and corruption.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of State announced that Blinken spoke with Aliyev about the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh earlier this month.

"[Blinken] reiterated our call to reopen the Lachin Corridor to humanitarian, commercial, and passenger traffic while recognizing the importance of additional routes from Azerbaijan," the statement read. "The Secretary underscored the need for a dialogue and compromise and the importance of building confidence between the parties. He pledged continued U.S. support to the peace process."

The bipartisan Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission was established by the House of Representatives in 2008 to promote and advocate for international human rights.
Pastor shot after refusing to recite Islamic profession of faith

LAHORE, Pakistan  A pastor was shot and wounded by hardline Muslims on Sunday evening in Jaranwala, Pakistan, a week after Islamist slogans were written on the walls of his church building, sources said.

The Rev. Eleazar Sidhu, pastor of a Presbyterian church in Kukranwala village in the Khanuwana area of Jaranwala tehsil, Faisalabad District, said the assailants ordered him to recite the Islamic creed before shooting him. He was returning home to Rehmat Town with an assistant after pastoral visits to church members when two bearded men stopped his motorcycle near the Khanuwana bus stop, he said.

One of the attackers pulled out a pistol and asked me to recite the Islamic Kalima, [profession of faith], Pastor Sidhu stated in the First Information Report (FIR) filed at the Saddar Police Station in Jaranwala. When I refused and instead started to recite the Apostles Creed, the man opened fire, resulting in a bullet wound on the upper half of my chest [on shoulder]. The assailants fled after the attack.

Unknown persons on Aug. 28 had vandalized the walls of his church with Islamist slogans that, translated into English, read, Muhammad is Allahs last prophet, Here I am at your service, O Messenger of Allah, and Vicky is accursed, referring to the 34-year-old pastors nickname, he said.

I was conducting early morning prayers in the church when a female member informed me that someone had smeared the church walls with Islamic slogans, Pastor Sidhu said. We immediately called the police, who got the walls whitewashed in their [officers] presence. I also registered a case against the unknown vandals.

Pastor Sidhu said he had received threats after police helped him remove the graffiti.

Three days later when I was returning home after picking up my son from school, we were stopped by some unidentified bearded men, he said. They threatened me, saying that I will be deleted from the world in the same manner in which I had removed the graffiti from the church walls.

He said the man who opened fire on him on Sunday was among those who had threatened him.

The pastor said that four Presbyterian churches were among the 21 church buildings that were attacked by Muslim mobs in Jaranwala on Aug. 16, after two Christian brothers were accused of desecrating the Koran.

My congregation was already fearful after the attacks in various colonies in Jaranwala, but they panicked when our church walls were vandalized on Aug. 28, he said. However, the timely intervention of the police and deployment of personnel had instilled some sense of security in the village.

Minorities Alliance Pakistan Chairman Advocate Akmal Bhatti condemned the attack on Pastor Sidhu, saying it had increased fear among Christians in Faisalabad District.

We thank God for saving the pastors life, Bhatti told Morning Star News. The doctors have removed the bullet after a successful operation on Sunday night. Eleazar is out of danger now, although he had lost a lot of blood.

The atmosphere in the Kukranwala Christian settlement was already tense after the vandalism on the church walls, he said.

Kukranwala is a relatively new Christian settlement comprising 200-250 families, Bhatti said. The police have deployed some personnel there for security, but we demand stern action against the perpetrators behind these incidents.

Court issues notice

Lahore High Court Justice Asim Hafeez on Monday ordered the Punjab Province government to respond to a petition seeking the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the Jarawanla riots.

Bishop Azad Marshall, president of the Church of Pakistan, filed the petition seeking the judicial inquiry into the mob violence against Christians in Jaranwala on Aug 16.

The court has ordered the Punjab government to submit its response on Sept. 11, Marshall said. We hope that the high court will consider our concerns regarding the investigation and will form a judicial commission to conduct a thorough and transparent probe.

He said Punjab police chief claims of a foreign conspiracy behind the riots and the alleged blasphemy that incited them raised concerns in the Christian community about the transparency of investigations, thus compelling the call for judicial oversight to reveal the facts.

The judicial inquiry should also ascertain the causes of such mob attacks, fix responsibility on the officials concerned and propose measures to curb these incidents, Marshall said.

Muslim mobs incited by the hardline Islamist party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) attacked churches and homes of Christian residents in Jaranwala on Aug. 16. Multiple churches were set on fire and homes and businesses of Christians were ransacked for hours while police were silent spectators, triggering condemnation across the world.

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.
Texas must remove floating barriers on Rio Grande, judge rules

A federal judge has ruled that Texas can't have a floating barrier on the Rio Grande without permission from the federal government, a victory for the Biden administration that the state has vowed to appeal.

U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra of the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday ordering Texas to remove a 1,000-foot buoy barrier along the Rio Grande by Sept. 15.

In July, under the directive of Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas deployed the buoy barrier as a way to curb illegal entry into the United States amid an increase in border crossings in recent years. The U.S. Department of Justice argued that the buoys were installed in violation of the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act because they were placed without permission from the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

"Governor Abbott announced that he was not 'asking for permission' for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which Texas constructed the floating barrier. Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nation's navigable waters," wrote Ezra, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan.

Ezra rejected Texas' claims that the barrier was justified in stopping a wave of undocumented immigration, writing that "courts of appeals have uniformly declined to consider whether and when an 'invasion' occurs because of illegal immigration, as it 'involves matters of foreign policy and defense,' which the Constitution specifically commits to the federal government."

"Under this logic, once Texas decides, in its sole discretion, that it has been invaded, it is subject to no oversight of its 'chosen means of waging war' Such a claim is breathtaking," continued Ezra.

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the U.S. Department of Justice praised the preliminary injunction.

"We are pleased that the court ruled that the barrier was unlawful and irreparably harms diplomatic relations, public safety, navigation, and the operations of federal agency officials in and around the Rio Grande," said Gupta in a statement.

The Texas Office of the Governor vowed to appeal the decision, declaring that the ruling "merely prolongs President Biden's willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along."

"This ruling is incorrect and will be overturned on appeal," the governor's office declared in a statement. "We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers," the governor's office said in a statement.

"Our battle to defend Texas' sovereign authority to protect lives from the chaos caused by President Biden's open border policies has only begun. Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court."

Texas and the Biden administration have had considerable differences over immigration policy for the U.S. southern border with Mexico, which has seen a significant increase in illegal migration since Biden took office. In the first 10 months of fiscal year 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported nearly 2 million encounters with illegal immigrants at the southwest border.

According to preliminary data from The Washington Post, a record number of migrants crossed the southern border in August. There were reportedly 177,000 arrests along the Mexico border last month, an increase from 132,652 in July and 99,539 in June. U.S. Border Patrol arrested at least 91,000 migrants who entered the country as part of a family group in August.

A DHS spokesperson told the outlet that the increases are part of "seasonal trends" and the government has repatriated over 17,000 parents and children who crossed the border as families since May.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 against Texas and Louisiana in their lawsuits against the Biden administration over 2021 immigration guidelines from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion, concluding that the states did not have standing to sue the federal government over the guidelines, which curbed the extent to which detention could be used on those who illegally entered the country.

"The States have not cited any precedent, history, or tradition of courts ordering the Executive Branch to change its arrest or prosecution policies so that the Executive Branch makes more arrests or initiates more prosecutions. On the contrary, this Court has previously ruled that a plaintiff lacks standing to bring such a suit," wrote Kavanaugh.
5 pro-lifers could face years in prison after guilty verdict  What's next?

Reactions from both sides of the abortion divide have come rolling in after the recent convictions of five pro-life activists found guilty of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE Act).

Christian Post reporter Samantha Kamman joins "The Inside Story" podcast this week to discuss the case centered on the activists' 2020 blockade of a Washington, D.C., abortion clinic. The case has ignited newfound discussions over abortion, clinic access and protest techniques.

"As the evidence at trial showed, the defendants, engaged in a conspiracy to create a blockade at the reproductive health care clinic to prevent the clinic from providing, and patients from receiving, reproductive health services," a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice reads.

Kamman joins the show to explain what unfolded, why it matters and how the defendants are behind bars while they await sentencing.

"The Inside Story" takes you behind the week's biggest faith, culture and political headlines. In 15 minutes or less, Christian Post staff reporters and editors will help you navigate and understand what's driving each story, the issues at play  and why it all matters.

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Elon Musk teases 'giant data dump' showing Anti-Defamation League's requests to censor Libs of TikTok

Elon Musk, the head of X, formerly known as Twitter, suggested that he may release a giant data dump of communications with organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, claiming that the Jewish advocacy group has repeatedly asked him to shut down Libs of TikToks account.

Libs of TikTok is a conservative social media account operated by Chaya Raichik that frequently posts content about LGBT issues and is critical of hospitals and providers that offer sex-change surgeries or puberty blockers to minors.

On Monday, Musk responded to a post on X by Babylon Bee journalist Ashley St. Clair that criticized the ADL for labeling Libs of TikTok as anti-LGBTQ+, noting that Raichik is an Orthodox Jew.

ADL has pushed hard for us to shut down accounts like Chayas, even though it has nothing to do with anti-Semitism, which is their supposed charter!  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2023

ADL has pushed hard for us to shut down accounts like Chayas, even though it has nothing to do with anti-Semitism, which is their supposed charter! Musk wrote in response.

Libs of TikTok replied to the X owners post, asking Musk to consider releasing all communications with ADL and other organizations that have pushed to censor certain accounts on Twitter/X. Musk appeared to agree with the idea, stating that a giant data dump would clear the air.

Dear Elon,



Please consider releasing all communications and providing full transparency on the ADL & all other organizations who have pushed to censor certain accounts on Twitter/X.



Sincerely,



Thousands of users who have been suspended, throttled, silenced, and shadowbanned. pic.twitter.com/ZcvoBSvR84  Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 4, 2023

However, Musk noted that such a list might take until next week, as were short-staffed this week.

Thats for sure.



Might take until next week, as were short-staffed this week.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2023

Musk also accused ADL on Monday of attempting to kill the X platform by accusing Musk of anti-Semitism. To clear our platforms name on the matter of anti-Semitism, it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League  oh the irony! Musk wrote.

Since the acquisition, The @ADL has been trying to kill this platform by falsely accusing it & me of being anti-Semitic  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2023

To clear our platforms name on the matter of anti-Semitism, it looks like we have no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti-Defamation League  oh the irony!  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2023

In response to a Wednesday inquiry from The Christian Post, an ADL spokesperson directed the outlet to a statement ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt issued Tuesday in response to the developments on X.

The ADL CEO questioned why Musk engaged with an account promoted by individuals known for sharing conspiracy theories, including Nick Fuentes, a far-right political commentator known for spreading anti-Semitic propaganda.

But to be clear, the real issue is neither ADL nor the threat of a frivolous lawsuit, Greenblatt stated. This urgent matter is the safety of the Jewish people in the face of increasing, intensifying antisemitism.

According to the ADL CEO, the situation with Musk comes amid reports showing an increase in anti-Semitic incidents, citing the groups annual audit for the year 2022. The report documented 3,697 anti-Semitic incidents in the United States in 2022, a 36% increase from 2021, and the data showed the highest number of anti-Semitic incidents since ADL began tracking them in 1979.

On its website, the ADL refers to the Libs of TikTok as a popular anti-LGBTQ+ account, accusing it of posting content created by LGBT people and liberals out-of-context, claiming that such actions subject these groups to harassment.

Earlier this month, the X account shared images on social media that purportedly show male employees at Disney theme parks wearing dresses while greeting children and families. One of the undated photos showed a bearded man outside the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at the Disneyland Resort in California dressed as the fairy godmother from Disneys Cinderella.

Disney has men dressed as women, wearing dresses greeting children at some of their attractions, Libs of TikTok wrote in an Aug. 25 post. Received both of these this week from disturbed visitors.

Following Musks takeover of the platform formerly known as Twitter, former New York Times columnist Bari Weiss released documentation from the Twitter Files showing that the Libs of TikTok was on a Trends Blacklist and was designated as Do Not Take Action on User Without Consulting With SIP-PES. Weiss said the social media company flagged the account to prevent its posts from trending and reduce its visibility.

The [Libs of TikTok] account  which Chaya Raichik began in November 2020 and now boasts over 1.4 million followers  was subjected to six suspensions in 2022 alone, Raichik says. Each time, Raichik was blocked from posting for as long as a week, Weiss stated.

Twitter reportedly told Raichik that she violated the platforms rules by posting hateful conduct. The social media account alleged that Raichiks posts criticizing body-altering treatments for kids with gender dysphoria encouraged online harassment of hospitals and medical providers.
School district offers books teaching kids to explore 'kinks' through porn, gay sex apps

A Wisconsin school district library reportedly offers books that feature guides about how to view pornography online and engage in gay intercourse, according to a recent report from Libs of TikTok.

Libs of TikTok, a conservative social media influencer named Chaya Raichik, highlighted the titles This Book Is Gay and Let's Talk About It offered to students by the Kenosha Unified School District in a Monday Substack report.

This Book is Gay, authored by Juno Dawson, contains a chapter called "The Ins and Outs of Gay Sex," while Let's Talk About It by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan features graphic depictions of genitalia and a guide for using porn to explore one's "fantasies."

Libs of TikTok began searching through the district's library, uncovering several titles it considered "pornographic" after receiving an email from a concerned parent.

In an email to the district, Libs of TikTok raised concerns about the availability of five book titles  Flamer, Me and Early and the Dying Girl, Gender Queer, Let's Talk About It and This Book Is Gay  at various schools throughout the district.

A spokesperson from the district stated that staff regularly uses "selection" and "deselection guidelines" to assess the collection of library books.

"At any point, they can deem titles no longer meet the needs of their school community and process books accordingly," the spokesperson stated. "Parents/guardians who have concerns are encouraged to contact their child's school office for assistance and support."

The Kenosha Unified School District did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment.

Libs of TikTok questioned the response, wondering how some titles passed an evaluation process. The Substack post included screenshots of Let's Talk About It and This Book Is Gay to highlight some of the content of the books mentioned in the email.

In addition to discussing gay sexual intercourse, This Book Is Gay depicts a diagram of a naked male, noting that if the reader is also a boy, then they have likely noticed "which parts FEEL NICE when you touch them." Another section of the book instructs students on how to take a photo of themselves and upload it to an application that will work out their location to tell them "who the nearest homosexuals are" so they can chat with them.

Screenshots of another book, Let's Talk About It, show how it informs readers that when porn is "consumed right," it can help people learn about their sexuality and help explore "kinks and fantasies."

Other photos of the book highlight text that assures readers that "there's nothing wrong with enjoying some porn," likening it to a "sugary treat." While one section of the book acknowledges that watching porn can be unethical or illegal depending on one's age, the text advises readers to do some research.

"Look up interviews with your fave porn performers, go to sites they recommend, and pay for your porn," the book states.

Controversy over the content students are exposed to in public schools and how much of a say parents should have over their child's education has arisen in multiple districts nationwide.

Last month, a federal judge rejected a request from parents for a preliminary injunction that would've allowed them to once again opt their kids out of lessons teaching LGBT ideology that conflicts with their religious values.

A group of interfaith parents had filed a lawsuit after the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland enacted a no-opt-out policy.

While the parents are not trying to ban books, they seek the right to determine the religious upbringing of their children. Some of the books the parents objected to offered to pre-K through fifth grades as part of an LGBT curriculum include Pride Puppy and Uncle Bob's Wedding.

Some parents have appeared at school board meetings to share their concerns about the material presented to their children.

During a 2021 Fairfax County Public School Board meeting, one mother objected to the availability of sexually explicit books in the district's high school libraries, including Lawn Boy and Gender Queer.

After reading aloud from both books, a school board member advised the mother to watch her mouth as children were present in the audience.

Last September, Libs of TikTok voiced concern about how This Book is Gay was made available to students at Newburyport Public School District in Newburyport, Massachusetts. A photograph posted with the tweet showed This Book is Gay on a bookshelf at an undisclosed location underneath a poster advertising "Banned Books Week."
Will Christians work in Heaven? John Piper weighs in: 'We will not be disappointed"

Author and pastor John Piper believes Christians will work in Heaven  but the work will be so profoundly satisfying and sweet and enjoyable that nobody in the world to come will say, I need a weekend.

I think we will work in the final age to come, Piper, founder of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota, wrote.

Whether we will do what we were gifted for here, or whether we will have wholly new giftings, a thousand times greater, or what kind of work John Piper will be doing, I leave in the hands of God, who planned the universe for the happiness of His people in Himself. We will not be disappointed.

Piper weighed in on whether or not Christians will work in Heaven on his Desiring God website following a question from a reader, who asked if the Bible gives any hints about what work will look like in the next life.

Will work be part of our experience of that eternal joy in Gods presence? I think the answer is yes. But I say that not because the Bible has decisive statements to that effect, but because there are significant pointers in that direction, he said.

The Bible identifies God as a worker, Piper said, referencing Genesis 2:2 and John 5:17, and created humans to work. As believers are to be more like Him in eternity, they, too, will work.

Parables also point toward future responsibility, the pastor said, and hint at continued responsibilities in the afterlife. He cited Luke 19:17, which speaks of servants being given authority over cities.

Christians are born again for good works, Piper continued, adding: When Paul identified a purpose for the new creature in Christ  us  he said the purpose was work, good works.

Finally, Piper said prophecies of the new creation include work. Isaiah 65:17-25, he said, gives a depiction of the new Heavens and the new Earth where humans are seen building, planting, and enjoying the fruits of their labor.

However, Piper expressed caution about being too definitive about the specifics of eternity. Drawing from various scriptures, he reminded listeners of the unimaginable and incomprehensible wonders that await believers.

"Perhaps (this is speculation) there will be sweet weariness of mind and body, the new body getting weary in the age to come such that it needs something different from its usual occupation  namely, rest and play. I dont know, because work itself will be so profoundly satisfying and sweet and enjoyable that nobody will say, 'I need a weekend. Ive got to have some play time,' because everything will be as happy and satisfying as play," he wrote.

Though he acknowledged that some of his Evangelical peers may "disagree" with him, Piper said he believes Christians will work in eternity but left the exact nature of such work, and whether earthly giftings would play a role, in the hands of a providential God.

Piper previously shared that God created work to be a blessing, not a curse. Work in Heaven will be as it was before the fall: thrilling, satisfying, creative.

Piper cited Genesis 3:17-19, which describes a punishment for sin to be that the work of tending to the field would become what he described as futile, burdensome, frustrating.

From the beginning, we were made for work  shaping, creating, subduing the world according to the wisdom and goodness and beauty of God, concluded Piper. This was not  it is not  a curse; it is a blessing. And I think it will last happily forever.

The late renowned evangelist Billy Graham previously weighed in on the same topic, contending that the Bible says God will have work for us in Heaven  and we ought to be glad for this!

After all, if all we did in Heaven was sit around with nothing to do, wed get very bored, he said. But Heaven wont be boring  and one reason is because God will have work for us to do.

But here is the amazing thing: In Heaven, well never grow weary or tired, like we do here. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God, from that moment on work became a burden for the whole human race (see Genesis 3:17-19). But in Heaven, that curse will be lifted, and work will no longer be a burden. Instead, it will be a joy! The Bible doesnt tell us exactly what it will be, but well be serving God  which is the highest honor imaginable.
53% Of Americans Communicate With The Dead, Schools Sue Social Media Over Teen Mental Health, Babylon Bee Tackles Gender Ideology

link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 06:50 06:50

Top headlines for Thursday, September 7, 2023

In today's episode, we discuss a fascinating study that reveals over half of Americans report having communicated with deceased relatives in dreams or other ways, with a unique twist as it's the moderately religious who claim this experience the most. Next, we unpack a developing story about a non-investigated case featuring an abortion clinic in Washington D.C., linked to the discovery of five aborted babies at a residential location. Then, we analyze a major educational challenge as a North Carolina board joins approximately 200 other school districts in a lawsuit against top social media companies. They argue that these giants are driving a youth mental health crisis. We wrap things up with a lively conversation with Kyle Mann and Joel Berry from The Babylon Bee, discussing their latest satirical work on gender identity and transgenderism.

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Top headlines for Thursday, September 7, 2023

In today's episode, we discuss a fascinating study that reveals over half of Americans report having communicated with deceased relatives in dreams or other ways, with a unique twist as it's the moderately religious who claim this experience the most. Next, we unpack a developing story about a non-investigated case featuring an abortion clinic in Washington D.C., linked to the discovery of five aborted babies at a residential location. Then, we analyze a major educational challenge as a North Carolina board joins approximately 200 other school districts in a lawsuit against top social media companies. They argue that these giants are driving a youth mental health crisis. We wrap things up with a lively conversation with Kyle Mann and Joel Berry from The Babylon Bee, discussing their latest satirical work on gender identity and transgenderism.
Beware of man-made gods in churches

God was explicit in His warning to the Israelites concerning the worship of man-made gods when they were about to go into the promised land. He knew what was coming and admonished them beforehand: The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell (Deuteronomy 4:27-28).

In the context of this op-ed, I would like to underscore the activities of man-made gods that are not made of wood and stone. These are human beings who have taken the place of God by arrogating supernatural powers to themselves and pervert the true worship of God. In many African churches today, worshipers are no longer adhering to the Word of God but the words of false teachers.

Their words have become more authoritative than the Bible to their followers. They made themselves appear so holy that no one dares criticize them. Every one of their follower bows down to them whenever they are passing by and everyone stands still at their presence. They have thugs and bodyguards who surround them and physically manhandle anyone who refuses to bow before them.

Some of these man-made gods are very subtle in their activities. They fake humility but latently shift the attention of their followers from God to themselves. They make their followers believe that the blessings of their followers are in their hands, and they have the prerogative to give it to those who are loyal to them. They give the impression that they are very spiritual and can see what their followers cannot see.

Believers should be careful of pastors who are always talking about how powerful they are, how they healed the sick, how they raised the dead and how they prophesied. When their followers testify, it is all about the potency of their pastors and not that of God. In their sermons you hardly hear them ascribe glory to God  its all about them.

It is appalling that these man-made gods are commanding lots of followers and have manipulative tendency to psychologically intimidate people to do their bidding. They are influential because of the enormous wealth which they have acquired from their followers. They have political connections with the high and mighty, and whatever they say is taken as Gospel truth.

They give the impression that they are doing great works as promised by Christ (John 14:12). If that were true, they wouldve served humbly like Christ instead of walking all over their supporters.

The consequence of the presence of man-made gods in any church is the departure of the glory of God. Perhaps we need to discern why the Church has lost its power and why the enemies seem to be having the upper hand. We need to bring the glory of God back to our churches by giving God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit their rightful places in our churches.

It is not a fair deal to denounce idolatry in paganism and come to Christ to meet another idol. Let our spiritual antennae be lifted high to pick every signal of the manifestation of man-made gods in our churches. I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images (Isaiah 42:8). No man no matter the degree of anointing on Him is qualified to receive worship.
Skepticism, cultural confusion and the Christian faith

Lets begin by eliminating semantical ambiguities and highlighting what is not meant by certain. It doesnt mean that doubts about any part of the Christian faith are forever gone. By certain, I mean that a Christian can know God personally with the absence of unbelief. The Bible teaches that God can be unmistakably known and trusted by Christians, regardless of backlash from a cultural quagmire.

There is a sense of knowingness in the Christian faith. As Paul said, I know whom I have believed (2 Tim. 1:12). Unbelief usually emerges from various points of confusion and I will show that in the Christian faith, unbelief differs from doubt.

Confusion is a tactic that is utilized effectively by determined skeptics. When it comes to debunking the Christian faith, notable examples of causing confusion are found in the writings of Richard Dawkins. He is truly masterful at confusing readers about Christianity. His seductive style is especially designed to confuse a Christian, with the ulterior motive of converting one to atheism. In a recent book, note what and how he says it:

Do you believe in God? Which god? Thousands of gods have been worshipped throughout the world, throughout history ... Countless Greeks and Romans thought their gods were real ... How do we know those ancient people werent right? Why does nobody believe in Zeus any more? ... Many of you reading may have been brought up on one particular holy book, the Bible of the Christians ... Who wrote it, and what reason has anyone to believe that what it says is true?

Do you see the confusion? Truthfully, the Bible of the Christians has a well-detailed history that is different from countless Greek and Roman gods. Throughout 16 centuries, and diverse cultural and political settings, various authors who mostly never met revealed with great harmony and symmetry Gods ongoing redemptive plan for humankind. Therein is a communicable and intelligible understanding of God unlike any other. Whether natural or supernatural, no other entity has such long-detailed documentation that continues to compel contemporary people. Nevertheless, eristic skeptics are determined to poke holes at the Christian faith, with the intention of debilitating belief through confusion.

Thinking people from around the world, however, are beginning to discern the fallacious arguments against the Christian faith. Last month, Coming to Faith Through Dawkins was published. It features twelve essays from scientists, professors, and professionals from various countries who explain how the writings of Dawkins and New Atheism were instrumental in why they embraced the Christian faith. In fact, I heard one of the editors on a podcast say that there were many others, but they declined to go public due to professional considerations. The essays are quite revealing as authors describe their journeys from skepticism to Christian faith, and how they found glaring bias in contemporary atheistic writings. What I am learning increasingly is that New Atheism is not following reason and evidence, but a predetermined path that is unwilling to even consider embracing the Christian faith.

Such close-minded narratives often assimilate subtly into mainstream culture. A specific mode of thinking is then communicated in movies, documentaries, literature, art, music, commercials, and public education. Sadly, these can become a mysterious force that intimidates people into compliance. Narratives are complimented by authority figures who provide official support. So, cultural thought accepts denials of the Christian faith ex-cathedra.

Of paramount importance, then, is to assess denials of the Christian faith apart from the supposed authority or overwhelming popularity of the pundit. In Discerning Culture, I questioned:

Honestly ask yourself how much undermining of the Christian faith has influenced you because of much consideration for the sources prestigious position. How often have you allowed your inward convictions ... to be forfeited or negotiated because of cultural pressure? Had you concentrated strictly on the content regardless of the presenter, wouldnt you have thought differently?

When objectively evaluated, arguments that claim to falsify the Christian faith become unwarranted as genuine defeaters. They serve more to confuse than to contribute meaningfully to a quest for Truth.

Now its important to note that a believer can have doubts about a doctrine, an attribute of God, a biblical event, or a biblical injunction, while their Christian belief remains intact. Such doubts are normal and can be worked through to mature a believers faith. The man in Mark 9:24 pleaded, Lord, I believe; help my unbelief. He truly believed that Jesus had healing powers and that He was the Christ, but was unsure whether his son would actually receive a miracle. So he pleaded for help.

Throughout the ages, the spiritual transition into the family of God has been a unique and indubitable experience of the Christian faith. The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Rom. 8:16). Contemporary believers can appreciate this experience of grace with certainty. Denials by skeptics will be ongoing, and a Christians counter-culturalism will require courage. Nevertheless, with meticulous discernment, a distinct awareness of the confusion, and with a commitment to the Golden Rule of Jesus, we can communicate the wonderful grace of the Gospel which will open the minds of our societal counterparts.



The Gospel continues to resonate powerfully and that is why it attracts antagonism, whereas Zeus and countless Greek and Roman gods are defunct.
Indian Supreme Court grants interim protection in religious conversion case in Uttar Pradesh

In a recent development, the Supreme Court has provided interim protection from arrest to the Chairman of the Broadwell Christian Hospital Society in Fatehpur district, Uttar Pradesh, amid allegations of forceful religious conversion.

A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala has also issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government regarding an appeal filed by Mathew Samuel and others. This appeal challenges a previous order from the Allahabad High Court, which had declined to quash the proceedings related to the First Information Report (FIR) filed against them by the state police.

The bench on September 1, 2023 stated, "Issue notice on the Special Leave Petition as well as on the Interlocutory Application for directions. In the meanwhile, no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioners in connection with FIR Nos 224/2022, 54/2023, 55/2023, and 60/2023, registered at Police Station Kotwali, District Fatehpur, UP."

Senior advocate CU Singh, representing the petitioners, has requested a stay on the investigation concerning the FIRs, alleging an abuse of the criminal justice process.

Previously, the high court had declined to quash the proceedings against Samuel and others in the FIR filed against them by the state police.

The Uttar Pradesh Police had registered FIRs against Samuel and others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, as well as the Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, following complaints of mass religious conversion.

The police had issued notices to various individuals and institutions linked to the Broadwell Christian Hospital, World Vision International's Fatehpur office, and the bishop of the Evangelical Church of India, Prayagraj in January. These notices were based on suspicions of their involvement in illegal conversions.

A notice was previously issued in December 2022 to the Broadwell Christian Hospital, a missionary hospital with roots dating back to British colonial times, requesting its officials to cooperate in the investigation and share relevant documents.

Similar actions were taken against prominent Christian institutions, including Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS) and the Allahabad Bible Seminary, which is affiliated to the Evangelical Church of India.

Three police stations in Fatehpur had filed at least seven First Information Reports (FIRs) and made numerous arrests since the beginning of 2022. These actions were initiated in response to complaints from Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, alleging that Christian groups or individuals were attempting to convert Hindus through various means, including allurements, trickery, and coercion.

Between April 15 and November 20, 2022, the police arrested 41 individuals associated with the Hariharganj church in Fatehpur, which was also accused of conducting conversions.

The police questioned the hospital about the distribution of goats, cycles and grocery items and the hospital officials admitted distributing these items to 16 people in different villages of Fatehpur.

The management of Broadwell Christian Hospital defended its actions, stating that the assistance provided to beneficiaries was part of an 'income generation program' under charitable work. Dr. Samuel explained that items such as goats and bicycles were given to impoverished villagers as part of a community income generation plan. He asserted that this was not intended as an allurement for conversions and that the local authorities were aware of these activities.

Dr. Samuel and hospital staff alleged that the police had misconstrued their charitable efforts as attempts to induce conversions. They claimed that the police had arrived at the hospital without a search warrant and seized computer hard discs.

The hospital's medical superintendent, Dr. A. Jesudoss, noted that the assistance provided to villagers had earned them a certificate of appreciation from the Hariapur gram Pradhan (village head). This suggests that their efforts were positively received by the local community, said Jesudoss.

 Christian Today India
Mike Pilavachi safeguarding concerns are 'substantiated'

The investigation into Mike Pilavachi has concluded and found that the safeguarding claims into the Soul Survivor founder are substantiated.

The concerns relate to an abuse of power in his ministry and spiritual abuse.

"It was concluded that he used his spiritual authority to control people and that his coercive and controlling behaviour led to inappropriate relationships, the physical wrestling of youths and massaging of young male interns," the Church of England said.

The investigation was conducted by the Church of England's National Safeguarding Team (NST) and the Diocese of St Albans.

The claims against Pilavachi span 40 years from his time as a youth leader through to the present day.

The NST is still investigating a safeguarding concern that relates to the time after his ordination in 2012.

The Bishop of St Albans, Alan Smith, said: "This has been a painful process for everyone involved, going back over years.

"I am sorry on behalf of the Church for the hurt caused and would like to acknowledge the courage of those who came forward to share their lived experience.

"I am aware there will be further contact with individuals about a more personalised response."



Soul Survivor has apologised in light of the findings.

"We are grateful to all those who have contributed to this process, who by coming forward have brought Mike's abusive behaviour into the light," it said.

"We are deeply sorry to all those people who have been victims of spiritual, emotional and psychological abuse, physical wrestling and massage under Mike's leadership. There has been a systematic pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour.

"We are saddened that these behaviours happened in a context that should have provided safety and spiritual support. We are committed to learning lessons from what has happened and to put in place further practices and procedures that will seek to ensure this kind of behaviour does not happen in the future."

Soul Survivor Watford has launched a separate independent review into Pilavachi and will publish its findings in due course.

Soul Survivor Senior Pastor Revd Andy Croft remains suspended under HR processes while the Church of England process runs its course.

The suspension of Assistant Pastor Ali Martin is being lifted after the NST investigation concluded that safeguarding concerns about her were unsubstantiated.

Counselling is being made available to people affected by the investigation.

Anyone with concerns relating to the investigation can contact safeguarding@stalbans.anglican.org or safeguarding@churchofengland.org or call the Safe Spaces helpline on 0300 303 1056.
The concrete crisis is creating a new 'lockdown' for children and parents amid culture of blame

This week, parents everywhere have been labelling uniforms, buying bigger school shoes, and planning a peaceful week after a long, wonderful, chaotic summer.

But now, with no warning, over 150 school closures have been announced following a report on 'crumbling' concrete in school buildings, leaving parents and children alike in a limbo that's too close to pandemic lockdowns for comfort.

Children and young people are already anxious about attending schools, and this is a serious addition to the stress they are experiencing.

But it's not just schools; it's hospitals as well. Up to 34 hospitals around the UK are considered to be at some risk following further investigations. From politicians to headteachers to hospital managers, everyone seems to be blaming everyone else.

And as always, it looks as though the money to fix the problem will be slow to appear, leaving teachers, parents, and pupils worse off once again as they scrabble to adapt.

Why do these situations, known about long in advance, take a crisis to address?

Why does it take a Grenfell to deal with unsafe cladding, or the risk of a school disaster to make us replace concrete that has been counting down to its sell-by date for decades?

Have we forgotten the trauma that hit Aberfan when similar can-kicking took place in the 1960s?

As a working mum, my heart goes out to those parents who now have another crisis to adapt to, and to the kids that were already feeling anxious about school. But we desperately need a culture of responsibility rather than blame, a culture in which people can put their hands up and say, 'We knew it was coming, and we will find a way to fix it,' without being thrown under the bus.

We need a culture that helps this already anxious and disrupted generation of young people to be safe and confident in school. More than that, we need to see a shift towards investing in the full sweep of human flourishing, not just higher GDP and infinite economic growth.

If quality education and healthcare were seen as true priorities in themselves, repairing schools and hospitals would not be such an afterthought.

Rev Jo Trickey is Church Advocate at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC).
Daniel Trevisanutto, owner of Carstar Thunder Bay (Half-Way Motors), walks through the long stretch of work bays as crews work to complete the new facility at 910 Carrick Street. Trevisanutto has been recognized by Carstar for his companys charitable work within the Thunder Bay community.
When it comes to safeguarding people and nations, innovation can never rest. Thats why, around the world, governments and the defense industry as a whole are now investing and exploring generative artificial intelligence (AI), or large language models (LLMs), to better understand whats possible.

At first blush, it seems that generative AI and LLM tools will present the defense industry with unprecedented breakthrough innovations. In other words, generative AI will be a force multiplier for governments and the defense industry, transforming capabilities beyond what was previously imagined. The use cases and new competencies hold significant promise.

Along with the potential of these next-level opportunities, however, come new challenges. First, there is the need to properly handle the critical data that fuels defense decisions and enables data-driven generative AI. Specifically, existing storage solutions are inadequate. Organizations need novel storage capabilities to handle the massive, real-time, unstructured data required to build, train and use generative AI. Without it, organizations can face final-mile issues that hinder generative AI capabilities. (more about this in my article about accelerating generative AI here).

The second challenge is managing new risks, which stem primarily from the threat of misinformation. Since the consequence of failure is high, the defense industry must strike a deft balance between innovation and risk management. Simply put, the defense industrys goal is to extract generative AIs unique value without introducing new vulnerabilities.

Defense investing in generative AI

To do so, countries around the world are increasing defense budgets to assess and leverage generative AI. MarketResearch.biz forecasts generative AIs growth in defense at 21% CAGR from 2022-2032, creating a market size of $2.91 billion by 2032. The major users of generative AI in defense are predominantly government and military at an estimated 47% share, followed by defense contractors and research institutions.

Currently, many national governments are in an assessment phase, testing generative AI capabilities to uncover its potential, identify its prospective use cases and better understand its risks. Assessments and investments must include generative AIs specific storage and data management needs. New storage solutions are vital to handle vast, diverse data sets (including unstructured data) with performance and scale. AI-enabled infrastructure must provide cutting-edge capabilities like distributed storage, data compression and efficient data indexingsuch as Dell PowerScale and ECS, which do just that.

Beyond governments, commercial defense developments in generative AI and AI are also emerging. Recently, Google AI released a model called Imagen that can produce realistic depictions of military equipment, aiding in their design and helping to train soldiers. Microsoft recently developed Synthia, a model that creates synthetic data, which could help defense companies develop military solutions.

Defense use cases for generative AI

The specific details of generative AI use in defense remain shrouded within its strictly confidential parameters. Its clear, however, that generative AI can boost innovation across a range of emerging use cases. Lets look at a handful of those possible use cases and the modern military capabilities they can provide:

Enhance situational awareness and decision-making

The very premise of generative AI and LLMs is to rapidly analyze large volumes of text to aid in complex decision-making. In defense, generative AI can enhance situational awareness by analyzing data from multiple sources and identifying patterns. This can be used to predict potential terrorist attacks and insurgent activities and then recommend preemptive actions.

In addition, generative AI can assist defense in strategic planning. LLM tools can simulate multiple scenarios and predict potential outcomes, supporting tactical, operational and strategic decisions.

Address cybersecurity threats

Defense systems are highly targeted by sophisticated cybercriminals and new threats are constantly emerging. Generative AI can proactively identify cyber vulnerabilities in software and infrastructure to help boost cybersecurity protection.

Develop and maintain equipment

Generative AI can hasten the development of military equipment and reduce costs by streamlining development cycles. Capabilities such as rapid prototyping, creating simulations for complex systems, and designing virtual prototypes help to speed up equipment development.

For existing military equipment, generative AI can help maintain operational readiness with proactive maintenance and repair. By predicting maintenance needs based on usage patterns and sensor data, generative AI helps reduce downtime and increase overall efficiency.

Enable realistic simulations

Military personnel training is essential but can be costly and risky. Simulations powered by generative AI can provide realistic training environments for military personnel, allowing skill-building practice without the steep costs and high risks.

Ease organization and deployment

Large-scale deployments, such as organizing troops and transporting equipment, are a reality for military operations. By optimizing factors such as terrain and weather, generative AI can create plans for more effective operations.

Further, generative AI can help defense forces deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Effective generative AI deployments can be planned, incorporating variables such as routes, resources, and response plans.

Facilitate collaboration and language translation

Generative AI can also help to streamline international defense operations. Using real-time language translation, generative AI can facilitate collaboration and multinational interactions.

Defense innovations

In the defense industry, generative AI is a promising venture, offering governments and commercial organizations several advantages. Benefits include improved situational awareness, better decision-making, and efficient, streamlined operations. Generative AIs promise is fueling global defense investments and will accelerate the growth of generative AI in the defense industry. Progress will be moderated by the need to preemptively mitigate risks and adopt the proper generative AI-enabling storage and infrastructure. The ultimate goal is to unlock newfound innovations while enhancing the security of nations and people around the world.

Read my related article about accelerating generative AI here.

Read more: Taking on the Compute and Sustainability Challenges of Generative AI
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Contractare si Achizitie Bunuri Anunturi de Angajare Granturi - Finantari Burse de studiu Stagii Profesionale Oportunitati de voluntariat Toate Articolele
Captain Tom Foundations total income has more than halved since the previous year, according to newly filed accounts.

Its financial accounts for the 18-month period from June 2021 to November 2022 show income of 403,000 compared with 1.1m in the previous 13 months.

It comes after the charity halted all fundraising activities this July after allegations that family members of the late fundraiser had used the charity's name to build a spa and pool complex.

There is an ongoing statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission. The charity is entirely reliant on donations and grants.

Its annual fundraising event Captain Tom Day was postponed last March because of the ongoing regulatory scrutiny.

For 2021-22, some 399,000 of the charity's income came from donations, while the remaining 4,000 was sourced from grants.

The charity's accounts read: The Charity Commission intervention in February 2022, and the subsequent statutory inquiry has had a massive adverse impact on the charity, our ability to raise new funds and deliver operational activities.

Captain Toms daughter paid over 60,000 to be interim CEO

Hannah Ingram-Moore was paid 63,800 to be interim CEO at the charity for nine months, according to its latest filed accounts.

Financial accounts for the 18-month period from June 2021 to November 2022 show Ingram-Moore was paid 7,600 for travel and administration expenses.

Following the conclusion of Ingram-Moores tenure as interim CEO, founding trustee of Holocaust Memorial Day, Jack Gilbert was appointed in April 2022.

This was in the hope that regulatory matters could be progressed more quickly and that we can regroup and rebuild, the accounts read.

However, the trustees made the decision to end the CEOs contract and close all payment channels while the statutory inquiry into the charity remains open.

The charity does not say that it has a new chief executive in its accounts.

Its accounts state that with the ongoing statutory inquiry, potential new trustees all withdrew their applications and they have not been able to progress matters to appoint more.

The three trustees of the charity, which include David Colin Ingram-Moore, did not receive any remuneration for their roles.

Staff costs over the 18-month period came to 180,000.

Civil Society has approached the charity for comment.

24,200 paid to company linked to Ingram-Moores

Expenditure at the charity rose to 681,000 for the 18-month period. Some 210,000 of this was given out in grants, an increase of 31% on the year prior (160,000).

The remaining 465,000 was spent on its charitable activities, the accounts state.

During the period no payments were made to Club Nook Limited, a company under the control of Hannah Ingram-Moore where Hannah and David Colin Ingram-Moore are directors. There were payments of 16,100 to the company the previous year.

Payments of 24,200 were made to Maytrix Group Limited, a company under the joint control of Hannah and David Colin Ingram-Moore.



These payments were made in respect to office rental and telephone costs. The payments to the company for 2020-21 amounted to 37,900.

sign up to receive the Civil Society daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
The Charity Commission has said that RSPB made a serious mistake in publishing a social media post last week that called government ministers liars.

It said it was encouraged by the RSPBs swift apology and was waiting for the charity to share what action it is taking to ensure such mistakes do not occur in future.

Meanwhile, RSPB has defended its decision not to delete the post for which it has apologised.

The charity told Civil Society it was important that the tweet remained so people could understand the context of its apology.

Meanwhile, charity sector lawyers shared their thoughts on potential legal issues around RSPBs post.

Commission engagement continues

The Charity Commission commented further after announcing its engagement earlier this week .

It is encouraging that the RSPB acknowledged the post was inappropriate and took swift corrective action to issue an apology, a spokesperson for the regulator said.

However, as this was a serious mistake, we continue to engage with the charity and are keen to be assured of the trustees work to investigate how the incident happened, and what action they are taking to ensure such mistakes do not occur in future.



The charity told Civil Society that it had been in contact with the regulator since the incident and will of course remain in close dialogue with them.

Original post remains live

RSPB has not deleted its social media calling ministers liars despite apologising for it and calling the framing of it incorrect and inappropriate.

The original post has over 10.6 million views on X, formerly known as Twitter, while its apology has 1.3 million views on the platform.

When asked why the original post had not been deleted, the charity said it was important the tweet remained on the platform.

The original tweet was quickly shared and reported on by the media and we know that nothing is ever removed from social media if simply deleted, a spokesperson said.

We felt it important that the tweet remained so people could understand the context of our robust apology.

Lawyers: Personal attacks problematic

Charity sector lawyers defended RSPBs right to campaign but warned that the personal nature of its post could create legal problems.

Suhan Rajkumar, senior associate at Bates Wells, said: It is difficult to see how RSPBs commentary, clearly tied to a live and relevant policy decision, would breach the prohibition against party political activity.

In divisive issue areas, though  and particularly ahead of an election  theres clearly a risk that policy-based commentary which focuses on individual politicians might be misinterpreted as having a party political aim, or as otherwise harmful to a charitys brand or reputation.

The Charity Commission often focuses heavily on these kinds of reputational risks, and is likely to reflect last weeks media furore in its new social media guidance expected to be published shortly.

Pippa Garland, partner at Russell-Cooke, said the post was driven by RSPBs concerns about the weakening of environmental protections, which I would say falls within their charitable remit.

But she said its use of an embedded image that can be distributed without its wider context increases the risk that RSPBs social media post could be misconstrued as party political campaigning.

It is not clear if the original tweet was authorised, she said.

While the tweet may have been against RSPBs own policy on campaigning, if a charity felt that this framing was the most effective way of furthering their purpose, it should be permitted to do so  subject to the usual legal restrictions, including the laws of defamation.

The Commissions own guidance does state that charities can campaign using emotive or controversial material, where this is lawful and justifiable in the context.

Tom Murdoch, partner at Stone King, also said that defamation could be a potential issue.

You can say something harmful to a persons reputation if it is factually correct. However, here it is arguable; I expect the three named ministers would hotly deny that this is factually correct, he said.

I am sure that the RSPB would not want to leave that to a court to decide  and in charity law terms, a charity would have to very carefully justify any activity which could lead to court proceedings (and associated expense and damages). Again, charity law trustee duties apply.

sign up to receive the Civil Society daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector,
When Elon Musk first expressed interest in buying Twitter (now known as X) last year, a number of observers (including us) wondered what the worlds richest man could possibly want with an unprofitable social media platform. Musk said that his interest in Twitter was driven in part by a desire to turn the platformwhich he called the worlds de facto town squareinto a bastion of free speech, and that he would see it as a victory if commenters from both the left and the right felt uncomfortable there. After his acquisition was finally completed in October, however, most of the changes Musk made seemed to favor the right. By December, The Atlantic tech writer Charlie Warzel had concluded that Musk had become a far-right activist.

Last week, we learned a little more about Musks motivations for buying Twitter when the Wall Street Journal published an excerpt from a new biography of Musk by Walter Isaacson, a former president of CNN and the author of a number of biographies, perhaps most notably of Steve Jobs. (The book will be released next week.) In April 2022, Isaacson reports, things were going well for Musk; shares of Tesla, his electric-vehicle company, had increased in value by about fifteen times in five years, and SpaceX, his other company, was also doing well. It promised to be a glorious year, if only Musk could leave well enough alone, Isaacson writes. But that was not in his nature. Instead, Musks nature was to behave impulsively. Per Isaacson, Musk decided to take over Twitter because it was an addictive playground and owning it would make him king of the school yard.

Musk told Isaacson that there was another aspect to his desire to acquire Twitter: his concern that American society had become infected with a woke mind virus, which he characterized as a belief system that was fundamentally anti-science, anti-merit, and anti-human in general. Unless it was stopped, he said, civilization would never become multiplanetary. According to Isaacson, Musks concern was triggered in part by Jenna, his eldest child, transitioning to a different gender and cutting off all contact with him. Jenna went beyond socialism to being a full communist and thinking that anyone rich is evil, Musk told Isaacson. He blamed her private school.

Once the idea of the woke mind virus got into his head, Musk saw it everywhere. Isaacson describes how Musk railed against Twitters cozy atmosphere when he toured the companys headquarters, making fun of staffers Stay Woke T-shirts and the gender-neutral bathrooms. Since then, Musk has reserved some of his strongest criticism for entities that he believes have helped broaden the reach of the woke ideology. One of those entities is the Anti-Defamation League, or ADL, a nonprofit that says its mission is to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.

This past weekend, Musk alleged in a series of posts that the ADL had pressured advertisers to remove their ads from X, and that this was the primary reason that the companys US ad revenue was down 60 percent since he acquired the company. They almost succeeded in killing X/Twitter, Musk wrote. He went on to allege that the ADL would not relent unless he agreed to secretly suspend or shadowban any account they dont like; that the ADL had the same relationship with Twitter before he acquired it; and that, presumably, they have a similar relationship with all western search or social media orgs. Musk concluded that the ADL was likely responsible for destroying 10 percent of Xs value, a figure he pegged at about forty billion dollars. He would have no choice, he said, but to file a defamation lawsuit (though, at time of writing, he had yet to do so).

According to a report from Rolling Stone, last Thursday, the hashtag #BanTheADL started trending on X, driven in part by a meeting between Jonathan Greenblatt, the organizations national director, and Linda Yaccarino, Xs CEO. (Greenblatt described the meeting as frank and productive.) Those who worked hardest to amplify the hashtag, according to Rolling Stone, included Keith Woods, whom the magazine described as an Irish YouTuber with connections to prominent white supremacists, and Andrew Torba, the chief executive of Gab, a platform popular among right-wingers and neo-Nazis. At one point, Musk liked a post in which Woods alleged that the ADL is blackmailing social media companies into removing free speech on their platform, and replied with a post of his own alleging that the ADL was doing its best to kill X.

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In Musks attacks on the ADL, many users of X saw a thinly veiled anti-Semitism. This week, in an open letter to Yaccarino, Claire Berlinski, an author and historian, called Musk the most dangerous anti-Semite in America, and the #BanTheADL campaign one of the most vile public outpourings of antisemitism in American history. By promoting it, Berlinski argued, X gave the accounts in question not only freedom of speech but extraordinary reach, with Musk bearing personal responsibility.

Musks enmity toward the ADL, it should be noted, didnt start with the hashtag campaign. As far back as last year, Greenblatt condemned Musks decision to reinstate Donald Trumps account, which had been suspended after the former president incited the January 6 riot in Washington. In May, Musk, echoing an anti-Semitic trope, tweeted that George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist, hates humanitya comment that the ADL criticized strongly; the same month, the ADL published a report finding that anti-Semitism on X increased dramatically following Musks acquisition of the platform. (The organization collected more than five thousand examples of anti-Semitic commentary in February, from more than two thousand accounts.) Per Rolling Stone, Musk and Greenblatt also clashed in August, after Musk claimed that there has been a genocide of white people in his native South Africa; Greenblatt said that there was no evidence to support this claim, leading Musk to respond with two exclamation marks. According to some recent tweets using the #BanTheADL hashtag, some of the groups critics now see it as an anti-white hate group.

Nor is the ADL the only supposedly woke institution or pressure group that Musk has gone after. During his tweetstorm about the ADL, Musk also claimed that Meta had caved to far left pressure groups and now allows them to silently dictate policy in exchange for ad money. This appeared to be a reference to the #StopHateForProfit ad boycott, which was organized by a number of nonprofit organizations, including, in addition to the ADL, the NAACP, Free Press, Common Sense Media, Color of Change, and a group known as Sleeping Giants, which pressures websites and media companies to stop running advertisements from Breitbart and other conservative entities. According to Politico, that hashtag campaign led to more than eight hundred companies pulling their ads from Facebook.

Even if Musk ends up suing the ADLwhich some observers, including The Atlantics Yair Rosenberg, view as highly unlikelyit wouldnt be the first time that he has sued a nonprofit group that fights hate speech. Just last month, X filed a lawsuit against a nonprofit called the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a group that published a report finding that X failed to take down 99 percent of the hate speech posted by users who pay for the X Premium service (a subscription plan that includes a blue checkmark); the report also suggested that Xs algorithm effectively boosts toxic tweets. In the lawsuit, X accused the CCDH of illegally accessing data and cherry-picking posts to show a rise in hate speech, and blamed that group, too, for hitting the platforms advertising revenue. (Jem Bartholomew of Columbias Tow Center for Digital Journalism spoke with Imran Ahmed, the executive director of the CCDH, about the lawsuit.)

Whatever Musk thinks about the woke mind virus, the available evidence suggests that he is desperately searching for scapegoats on whom he can blame the death spiral of a platform whose acquisition, as Isaacson reports, was not clearly thought through. Mike Rothschild, a disinformation researcher, perhaps put it best this week when he scoffed at the implication that erratic management, mass layoffs, incoherent moderationserial unbanning of racists, and crumbling infrastructure had nothing to do with twitter losing half its value. But Musks enabling and promotion of campaigns like #BanTheADL is clearly fomenting hatred. And, as Rosenberg put it, Musk seems to see the abuse of Jews on his site as the consequence of Jews complaining about the abuse.



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: Ben Hallman on the launch of The Examination

Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg.
 Lloyds of London is in talks with the United Nations over providing insurance cover for Ukrainian grain shipments if a new Black Sea corridor deal can be reached, its CEO John Neal told Reuters on Thursday.

NATO member Turkey is seeking to convince Russia to return to the so-called UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative after Moscow withdrew in July, ending a year of protected exports from Ukrainian ports amid the war.

Are we happy and able to continue to provide insurances in the event that a corridor can be re-operated and can be re-established? The answer to that is yes, Neal told Reuters in an interview.

We are in active discussions with the UN about how that might happen, Neal said, adding that those conversations included the possibility that cover may need to be structured differently than before.

Securing insurance cover is crucial for shipments leaving Ukraine.

Absent UN intervention and UN clearance, we would not sanction the insurance, Neal said.

The Lloyds market estimated loss, net of reinsurance, from the Ukraine conflict was 1.4 billion pounds ($1.74 billion), he added.

Insurer Beazley had covered ships in the grain corridor and also in the separate humanitarian channel that Ukraine has set up in recent weeks to enable ships stuck in Ukraine to leave, its CEO Adrian Cox told Reuters separately on Thursday.

Were in that market to provide the insurance thats required for these vessels to start moving, Cox added.

Lloyds asked its members in January to identify potential exposure to so-called realistic disaster scenarios related to potential conflict in Taiwan in insurance classes including marine, aviation and political risk, Reuters reported in August.

Neal said Lloyds had completed the survey, adding that there was no anxiety about the exercise.

It is manageable, he said, referring to any exposure.

The interests directly in terms of Taiwan are less than 1%. Its not a country in which we would be active in providing insurances. The complications are supply-chain related.

Beazleys Cox said the insurer had been scenario planning around conflict in Taiwan, but added that it was comfortable about its exposure there.

Neal also told Reuters that a landmark agreement around jets stranded in Russia was good news for insurers, with he and Cox expecting to see more settlements.

Aercap, the worlds largest aircraft lessor, this week agreed to settle an insurance claim over Russias refusal to return 17 jets leased to airline Aeroflot, in a dispute over 400 Western planes stranded in the wake of the Ukraine invasion.

The deal, an apparent compromise in an economic war between Moscow and the West, looks set to lower the bill facing insurers, who are locked in court cases over who should pay for the loss of up to $10 billion.

Lloyds recorded a first-half pre-tax profit of 3.9 billion pounds ($4.9 billion) versus a loss of 1.8 billion pounds in the first half of 2022, helped in part by higher premium rates.

Beazley posted a record interim pre-tax profit of $366 million, helped by its U.S. property and European cyber businesses. But its shares fell 5% as its results missed analyst expectations.
As Texas baked in this summers record temperatures, local UPS driver Chris Begley started feeling unwell before collapsing at a customers premises. The 57-year-olds death in hospital was announced in late August  just as his trade union was ratifying a deal with UPS on improved heat protections.

Chris Begley should still be alive to experience them, the Teamsters union said in a statement of provisions such as a promise to include air conditioning in new delivery vans from next year and to retrofit existing vehicles.

In a statement to local media, UPS said it was cooperating with the authorities as they investigated the cause of death. We train our people to recognize the symptoms of heat stress, and we respond immediately to any request for help, it said.

As global warming leads to more frequent spells of extreme heat around the world, workers are among the most exposed to serious health risks because their livelihoods often depend on them carrying on regardless.

At the same time, studies show that productivity starts to be impaired at temperatures above 24-26 degrees Celsius (75-79 degrees Fahrenheit) and, for some tasks, slashed by half from around 33-34C  levels repeatedly exceeded in a year which included the hottest July on record.

Unlike some occupational health and safety risks you see a direct impact (from heat) on the health of workers and a direct impact on productivity, said Halshka Graczyk, a specialist on the issue at the International Labour Organization (ILO).

So does it make sense for the employer to keep a job site running that day if it is more than 35C and productivity is less than 50% of what they are expecting? Graczyk said of an awkward cost-benefit ratio that more workplaces will start to face.

Worker Rights

Even on the optimistic assumption that the world hits its Paris Agreement goal of capping warming at 1.5C, productivity losses will amount to 2.2% of global work hours or $2.4 trillion in output by 2030, the ILO estimates.

But finding the point at which employer costs can be minimized without compromising worker welfare is all the harder given the lack of clear data, uneven regulation, and the unequal way that workers around the world will experience heat stress.

Not surprisingly, white-collar workers in air-conditioned offices will be less affected: the big impact will remain initially on outdoor workers in sectors from construction to agriculture and in particular those in the Global South.

Among the most exposed will be the worlds 170 million migrant workers. Chaya Vaddhanaphuti, a researcher at Chiang Mai University in Thailand, said his studies of migrant workers from Myanmar underlined their vulnerability.

These laborers tend to display extra stoicism and endurance  partly because they need to show to their Thai bosses that they can work and hence still get hired, he said.

This puts them in more danger during the heatwave period and they often lack any paperwork or access to medical services.

An internationally agreed ILO convention grants workers a right to leave a workplace without fear of retaliation if they have reasonable justification to believe they are in danger  but labor advocates say few workers know of the convention or dare use it.

Many European and other usually temperate countries still have no laws establishing maximum work temperatures. Where they exist  such as in China, with its decade-old 40C cap  monitoring and enforcement is patchy.

Often that is because workplace regulators lack resources: the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) would need 165 years to check each workplace in its remit, estimates labor advocacy group National Employment Law Project (NELP).

There has to be both carrots and sticks  and without enforcement there are not enough sticks, said Anastasia Christman, senior policy analyst at NELP.

Role for Automation

While work temperature caps may prevent some casualties, they do not account for the fact that workers experience stress differently, according to their job role and health profile.

The number on the thermostat is not as crucial as assessing the risks and talking to the workforce, said Owen Tudor, Deputy General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation.

Consultations might yield relatively cheap fixes: Tudor cited the example of a meatpacking plant which had found it could reduce heat transfer from worker to worker simply by spacing them out more.

Other solutions have wider societal repercussions. The oft-cited switching of work hours to the cooler hours of early morning or late evening leaves workers having to rearrange childcare or facing limited public transport options.

Automation will have a role to play. French winemaker Jerome Volle harvested before dawn this year  mechanizing much of the process  to avoid daytime temperatures of 42C which, he told Reuters, strain both plant and worker.

Heat exposure is already emerging as a source of worker grievance  be it the strikes by staff at the Greek Acropolis tourist site in July, or the successful suing of a Chinese employer last year for the heat stroke death of a cleaner.

As temperatures rise further, pay and performance practices currently favored in some sectors  for example piece work and output targets that discourage workers from taking rest breaks  may prove indefensible. And if an extreme weather event like a tornado destroys a factory, should workers still get paid?

Climate change is such a paradigm shift that all of us need to rethink these legacy economic assumptions, said NELPs Christman. Just doing workplace protection standards wont be enough.

Top photo: Construction worker Fernando Padilla wipes his face as he works in the heat, Friday, June 30, 2023 in Nashville, Tenn. Weather forecasts called for heat indexes to reach over 105 degrees Fahrenheit for the Middle Tennessee area through the weekend. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
A federal appellate court is asking the Alaska Supreme Court to decide whether the pollution exclusion in a homeowners insurance policy bars recovery for the death of a 17-year-old boy who was poisoned by carbon monoxide emitted by an improperly installed propane water heater.

A panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday asked the states high court to reply to a certified question about whether the pollution exclusion bars coverage for carbon monoxide exposure. The panel said in its order that the state court systems are divided on whether carbon monoxide is a pollutant and no clear case law exists in Alaska.

If the exclusion applies only to active industrial polluters or traditional environmental pollution, then there would be coverage in this case, the panel said. In contrast, if the plain language unambiguously encompasses carbon monoxide exhaust from a residential water heater, coverage might be precluded unless that result contravenes the reasonable expectations of the insured.

Josiah Wheeler rented a cabin owned by Deborah Overly and Terry Summers in Tok, Alaska, a small community about 300 miles northeast of Anchorage. He was found dead in the cabins bathtub in January 2019. An autopsy showed that he was killed by acute carbon monoxide poisoning.

A deputy fire marshal investigated and determined that Summers had installed a water heater in the cabins bathroom but failed to connect its flue to a venting system.

Wheelers parents, Keith and Rhetta Wheeler, filed a wrongful death suit against Overly and Summers. The homeowners admitted that their negligence caused Wheelers death and signed an agreement, called a confession of judgment, admitting liability for $1.68 million in damages. The homeowners then filed a claim with Garrison Property and Casualty Insurance Co., a USAA subsidiary.

The insurer denied the claim, pointing to a provision of the policy that excluded coverage for injuries caused by the discharge, dispersal, release, escape, seepage or migration of pollutants however caused and whenever occurring.

The Wheelers filed a lawsuit seeking a declaratory judgment that coverage was owed. US District Judge Sharon Gleason in Anchorage ruled in favor of the insurer.

The Wheelers attorney, Kenneth L. Covell in Fairbanks, said Josiah Wheeler was a bright young man who graduated high school early and moved to Alaska from his home in Montana to pursue a dream of teaching mathematics to indigenous people.

Covell said the insurers argument leads to an absurd result. To accept such a hard-line interpretation of the exclusion, he said, one would have to accept that an injury caused by slipping in a puddle of bleach would not be covered by the Garrison policy.

The exclusion swallows the policy, he said.

Covell said most homeowners would expect that an injury or death caused by the faulty installation of an appliance would be covered by their insurance policies. He said the Insurance Service Office has even published guidance that caution insurers to consider making an exception to any pollution exclusion so that damage or injuries caused by faulty water heaters are covered.

Alaska case law is sparse. The panels order says that opinions from state courts around the country can be roughly divided into two camps: Some courts have held that carbon monoxide is a pollutant that can be excluded, while others have held that such an interpretation would conflict with the reasonable expectation of the insured.

Rather than guess at the correct interpretation under Alaska law, the 9th Circuit panel decided to ask the Alaska Supreme Court to decide whether the exclusion applies.
Dear Amy: My husband of 50 years died over two years ago.

I was happy and content with my single life and have had no interest in dating.

Last year I went on a group trip to Spain. There were several single older people on the tour.

I was totally shocked when a gentleman asked me to join him for lunch when we returned home.

Both our spouses had died at about the same time and we had a lot of similar interests. Over the last year we have become great companions.

The trouble is that one of my daughters is adamant about not wanting to meet him.

I am not interested in marriage, only friendship.

He has no local family. I would like to have him meet her family and Id like to have him celebrate with us for holidays.

She says that she will let me know when she is ready.

I feel very bad that I have to exclude my friend when my daughter is around. I am sure that she would not come to my home for Thanksgiving if he was invited.

How should I handle this situation?

 Sad Mom

Dear Sad: Your daughter has told you that she will meet your male friend when she is ready. So  take her at her word.

You might not be able to knit this group together the way youd like to in the time frame youd prefer.

You do not have to exclude your friend when your daughter is around, thus letting your daughter control your friendship.

Your daughter can make her choices based on her own preferences and priorities.

I hope you will talk with her about this. Reassure her that you have no desire to replace her father and have no thoughts of marrying again. This gentleman and you have both lost spouses, and this friendship has helped you to move through your loss. Ask your daughter to share her own feelings or fears about this relationship, and listen with compassion. (Would she respond this way if you enjoyed companionship with a female friend?)

And then  move forward. Before inviting him to spend the holidays with your family, you should start with an invitation for coffee, and ask your daughter to join you. If your daughter wont share this time with him, be patient and trust that she will come around when she is ready.

Check out prior Ask Amy columns

(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)

2023 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  This season if fans scream Wooooo! at Cleveland Cavaliers games, it might not be because Donovan Mitchell hit a long three-point shot.

Its the catch-phrase weve heard from years from wrestling legend Ric Flair, who will be in Northeast Ohio to promote his Wooooo! Energy drink.

Flair is scheduled to promote the drink at several store locations Tuesday, Sept. 12:

 Noon, Watertower Giant Eagle, 27264 Lorain Road, North Olmsted

 3 p.m. Painesville Giant Eagle, 1201 Mentor Ave., Painesville

 6 p.m. Stow Hudson Giant Eagle, 1700 Norton Road, Stow

Interested folks must register for free via eventbrite. You can buy a six-pack of Wooooo Energy to secure place in line. Giant Eagle will be randomly giving away 30 autographed six-packs.

Wooooo! Energy comes in dragon fruit, lemon and strawberry banana flavors.

Sports betting is now legal in Ohio. Bets can be placed at sportsbooks, including DraftKings Ohio Sportsbook, BetMGM Ohio, Fan Duel Ohio, Barstool Ohio, Caesars Ohio, Bet365, PointsBet and Tipico.

Related coverage

 Gambling 101: Everything you need to know about sports betting in Ohio

 Get ready for some football  wagering, that is: A guide to betting

Browns merchandise for sale: Find hoodies to hats, socks to tumblers, wall decor, jerseys and more  including sales and next-day shipping.

I am on cleveland.coms life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. For my recent stories, heres a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursdays. Twitter: @mbona30. My latest book, co-authored with Dan Murphy, is Joe Thomas: Not Your Average Joe by Gray & Co.

Get a jumpstart on the weekend. Sign up for Cleveland.coms weekly In the CLE email newsletter, your essential guide to the top things to do in Greater Cleveland. It will arrive in your inbox on Friday mornings - an exclusive to-do list, focusing on the best of the weekend fun. Restaurants, music, movies, performing arts, family fun and more. Click here to subscribe. Cleveland.com newsletters are free.

Like cool local food + drinks photos and videos? Follow @DineDrinkCLE on Instagram.
RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- A man is being charged with felonious assault after allegedly shooting a woman inside a Stevenson Street home.

At about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 5), police were called to the 5100 block of Stevenson to perform a welfare check at a residence.

Officers were met outside the house by a woman who had dried blood on her body. The woman told officers that her friend, Giorgiy Shepov, 43, had shot her in the shoulder the night before while she was inside the house.

The woman told police that she believed he was still inside.

Richmond Heights Fire Department paramedics treated the woman.

Richmond Heights police, with the assistance of Highland Heights officers, set up a perimeter around the house and stayed on the scene until the arrival of the Suburban Police Anti-Crime Network (SPAN) SWAT team and the SPAN Crisis Negotiation Team. Police advised residents to avoid the area.

Members of the SPAN CNT team were able to make verbal contact with Shepov, but after an extended period of negotiation, he would not leave the house.

After negotiations failed, the SPAN SWAT team entered the house and took him into custody at about 9:30 p.m. He was transported to Hillcrest Hospital and, when medically cleared, was taken to the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Shepov remains in the county jail facing the felonious assault charge, a second-degree felony. According to a Richmond Heights police news release, further charges may be added.

Read more from the Sun Messenger.
BEREA, Ohio -- Two Berea-Midpark High School pupils were cited -- and they and two other Berea-Midpark students were suspended -- after police caught them with liquor, tobacco and marijuana outside the school.

A Berea-Midpark administrator called police at about 11 a.m. Aug. 28 and said that a 16-year-old pupil had left the school and walked to his car, which was parked outside St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, 276 E. Bagley Road. The church provides overflow parking for the school.

Police received a separate tip that the pupil was supplying other students with nicotine and vape products containing THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

Police spotted the pupils car in the St. Paul lot. The engine was running. As police approached, the 16-year-old boy opened the drivers-side front door and police immediately smelled marijuana.

Three other boys were in the car. Police told the boys the car smelled like marijuana. The 16-year-old said he disagreed with that opinion.

Police observed smoke coming from a leather pouch near the cars gear shifter. They advised the boys to smother the pouch before the entire car caught fire.

Police summoned Berea-Midpark school administrators to the parking lot. They searched the car -- which is allowed under school policy -- and found a half-empty bottle of peach margarita wine cocktail, four packs of cigarillos, five packs of marijuana rolling papers, three nicotine vape pens, a burned marijuana roach, two THC vape pens, five used THC vape cartridges, an open pack of THC gummies, four lighters and two pocketknives.

One of the cars passengers, a 15-year-old boy, claimed ownership of two of the vape pens, one containing nicotine and the other THC. He was cited along with the driver.

The two other boys in the car were not cited but faced suspension.

Read more from the News Sun.
CLEVELAND, Ohio Federal prosecutors in Cleveland and elsewhere in the country on Thursday charged 14 people in connection with a Russia-based international cybergang that wreaked havoc in Northeast Ohio and across the globe.

The Cleveland FBI led the yearslong investigation into the Trickbot cybergang and Conti, the offshoot that Trickbot morphed into after a 2022 takedown of the gang.

The indictments, including one unsealed Thursday in federal court in Cleveland, came on the same day as the U.S. Treasury Department and the United Kingdom sanctioned 11 of the 14 charged in the cases. The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans.

United Kingdom officials on Thursday said its believed the group extorted about $180 million worldwide, though the total amount of money they stole is unknown. They said the group was one of the first to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and received orders from Russian intelligence, according to a statement from U.K. officials.

Nine suspected Trickbot members are charged in Cleveland. Five Conti members are charged in Tennessee and California. None are in custody, officials said, and no attorneys are listed in court records.

The new indictments comes months after a Cleveland federal judge sentenced Trickbot developer Alla Witte to two years and eight months in prison. She is the only Trickbot member to be convicted in the U.S. Prosecutors also previously charged fellow Trickbot developer Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian national, in the case. Hes pleaded not guilty and his case is pending.

TrickBot and Conti have long been a target of U.S. authorities.

In February, the U.S. State Department issued sanctions against seven suspected TrickBot members. Prosecutors in New Jersey unsealed charges against one of them, Vitaly Kovalev, who is believed to be a senior member of the group.

The gang has ties to Russian intelligence services and started infecting computers in mid-2014. It grew to more than 400 members, in part by posting fake advertisements on websites for job-seekers.

It infected millions of computer networks in more than a dozen countries, including the U.S., United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico and Spain, according to the indictment.

The malware they used on the computers allowed the group to steal personal information, like bank account numbers, usernames and passwords of online accounts, social security numbers and money.

The groups targeted hospitals, governments, schools, banks, businesses and individuals. In some cases they used ransomware, where the group demanded payments in exchange for giving back stolen information.

The indictment specifically says it targeted Avon and Coventry schools, country clubs in California and Virginia, a law firm in Florida, a government agency in California and a staffing service in New York City, among others.

Members laundered the money they stole through banks across the globe, including in the U.S., the indictment said.

The nine charged in Cleveland are from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, according to the indictment. All are charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud, wire-fraud conspiracy, and conspiracy to launder money. The charges carry a maximum of 62 years in prison.

Those charged in the Cleveland case are accused in the indictment of carrying out specific roles for the gang, including:

Maksim Khaliullin, a top supervisor for the group;

Maksim Rudenskiy, aka Buza, a top supervisor who wrote manuals for Trickbot members and led the groups coders;

Dmitry Putilin, a supervisor who recruited and hired programmers and developers and bought Trickbot infrastructure;

Mikhail Mikhailovich Tsarev, a human resources manager and accountant for the group, who went on to work for Conti. Hes also charged in a separate indictment in Tennessee;

Maksim Galochkin, an instructor, who tested malware to make sure it worked;

Andrey Zhuykov, a senior administrator of the group and a malware developer and coder who, among other things, developed an automated program that immediately bought goods as soon as someone bank information was stolen;

Sergey Loguntsov, a developer;

Max Mikhaylov, who developed a way for gang members to control infected computers from afar; and

Valentin Karyagin, who developed and managed ransomware for the gang.

Adam Ferrise covers federal courts at cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. You can find his work here.
LORAIN, Ohio  A Lorain police officer who shot and killed a familys dog in July will not face criminal charges after an internal investigation found the shooting to be objectively reasonable, Police Chief James McCann said at a Thursday news conference.

Officer Elliott Palmer did not use excessive force when he shot the 3-year-old Labrador retriever-mix in the city July 2 according to an internal investigation, McCann said.

McCann said Officer Palmer is still on modified duty and will face discipline for breaking the departments body-worn camera policy because he did not activate his camera right away at the scene. He could not provide specifics on how Palmer would be disciplined.

The shooting caused an outcry from the community with protests demanding police accountability and justice for Dixie.

The dogs owner, Tammie Kerns, said she and her daughter were trying to gather her four dogs that got loose from her house near Oberlin Avenue and West 8th Street when Palmer instructed her to get them under control.

Palmers body camera footage released this summer by Lorain police showed one of Kerns dogs approached the officer and walked away. Dixie then ran towards Palmer, who shot the animal four times.

Audio from Palmers body-worn camera was not available for parts of the incident because he did not turn it on before leaving his police cruiser, McCann said.

McCann, who said that police are not animal behavior experts, also acknowledge that the department did not consult animal behavior experts as part of the investigation. The police department had Hamilton Township Police Chief Scott Hughs review the investigation as a third-party. He found Palmers actions consistent with what another reasonable police officer would do in a similar situation.

In an interview with investigators, Palmer, who has been with the department since 2021, said while patrolling the area he came across women struggling to control several dogs and determined that he must get control of the situation to prevent someone from being bit.

Palmer told investigators he did not feel threatened by the first dog that approached but said the second dog, Dixie, was intently staring at him while being yanked on before the woman let go of the dog. He said Dixie was hyper-focused on him.

Officer Palmer stated that based on his numerous experiences with dogs and other animals, and his training, he reasonably believed that the dog was coming to attack him, the investigation report says.

Palmer shot Dixie four times because he feared for his safety, according to the investigation. He also said he felt terrible for the dogs family but cant rectify the fact that the dog reasonably made him believe he was going to be injured and the dog triggered his fight or flight response.

Kerns daughter, Brittany Kaspirek, said their family is distraught from the investigations conclusion.

The dog should not have been shot like that, Kaspirek said. Were getting out of Ohio. We have no trust in the Ohio justice system whatsoever.

Kerns previously said she bought Dixie in 2020 and described her as a loving animal who liked to play in the pool and with children.

The Kerns family has a history of irresponsible animal ownership including owning more dogs than allowed by the city, McCann said. The family was cited by the Lorain County Health Districts Department of Environmental Health in May.

Police said the city has received numerous calls from neighbors with concerns about living conditions for the animals and neighbors who cannot open their windows due to the noxious odors and abundance of flies.

Kaspirek said her mom has a big heart and would take in stray animals but it became too overbearing.

She paid her price already for that, she said.

McCann said Lorain has had issues for decades with dogs running around the city. Palmer was bitten on the hand by a dog that appeared to be non-aggressive on April 8.

The city used to have an officer on staff trained for animal control but have not since the officer retired in 2019. After this shooting, McCann said the city is working to hire a new Animal Control officer.

Police officers are not animal behavioral experts and they never will be, McCann said.

Kaspirek said she believes if the department had an Animal Control officer on staff, Dixie would still be alive.

McCann said he believed charges should be filed against Dixies owners.

The owner of these dogs who are running at-large should be held accountable, McCann said. People need to control your dogs. Period.

Patrick Riley, the citys law director, disagreed with the police departments recommendation and said he did not think charges should be filed against the dogs owners because it was the first time the citys dog-at-large ordinance was broken by the family.

We already faced our charges, Kaspirek said. He shot our dog.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  A growing number of Ohio Republicans are calling for the resignation of a GOP state lawmaker accused of assaulting two relatives in July and then violating a restraining order related to the incident earlier this month.

Gov. Mike DeWine told reporters on Thursday that state Rep. Bob Young, of Green, should step down over the allegations, which led to him being arrested twice. Young was initially arrested in July, and then was arrested again last week after police said he violated the restraining order, spending several days in jail before being released with GPS monitoring.

This is a matter obviously that is up to the General Assembly, DeWine said. But these are some serious charges. Its not a good situation. So, yeah, I think he should resign.

DeWine joined 34 Republican House members, just over half the chambers GOP members, who signed a petition this week calling for Youngs resignation. All but two of the signers are House Republicans who opposed House Speaker Jason Stephens in a contentious leadership battle that played out at the beginning of the year.

Stephens also has called on Young, who supported Stephenss speakership, to resign. Stephens also removed Young from a committee leadership position following Youngs arrest last week.

Police say that Young assaulted two family members last month in two separate incidents. Initially, Young assaulted the first relative at Youngs home in Green following a political event, throwing the relatives phone into a swimming pool when they tried to call 911. That relative then went to the second relatives home for safety, where Young later arrived, assaulting the second relative while attempting to force his way into the home and falling through a glass screen door in the process, police said.

Cleveland.com / The Plain Dealer generally does not identify victims of domestic violence, and is withholding identifying details from this story.

Young, 41, has served in the Ohio House since January 2021, after he was elected to the office the previous November. He has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of assault, domestic violence and violating a protective order. A spokesperson, Ryan Stubenrauch, declined to comment for this story.

Statehouse / politics reporter Jeremy Pelzer contributed to this story
COLUMBUS, Ohio  Ohio will use the same congressional districts in 2024 that it used last year, as the Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday granted the dismissal of two legal challenges to the map the court previously deemed to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered in favor of Republicans.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuits, which include the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, the League of Women Voters of Ohio, and the A. Philip Randolph Institute of Ohio, had sought the dismissal of their own cases, saying they dont want voters to be in limbo ahead of the 2024 election.
BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- A small Pennsylvania college is offering free tuition to make higher education more accessible for students from lower-income backgrounds.

Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, located about 40 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, announced its Geneva Tuition Promise program in an effort to address rising college tuition costs.

The Geneva Tuition Promise program allows students from families with income below $70,000 annually to pay no undergraduate tuition at Geneva College, beginning with the Class of 2024. To be eligible for the Geneva Promise Tuition program, students must submit their admission application by March 1, 2024; be eligible to receive any amount of Pell Grant; and have official residency in Pennsylvania.

RELATED: West Virginia college announces plan to close weeks before new school year

We know that college affordability is a primary concern for families today, Willem de Ruijter, vice president of enrollment and marketing at Geneva College, said in a news release. We also know that Geneva has long been one of the most affordable options for Christian higher education. By launching the Geneva Tuition Promise we are doubling down on that legacy and are continuing to work towards making a rigorous Christian education accessible for all.

In addition to launching its Geneva Tuition Promise program, Geneva College is also increasing financial benefits for all students. Also beginning in fall 2024, the schools highest achieving academic students are eligible to receive up to $20,000 annually, totaling $80,000 over four years, toward the completion of their degree. That marks a more than 14% increase in financial aid compared to the previous figure, according to the school.

RELATED: The 15 best community colleges in Ohio, ranked

Geneva College is a private, four-year Christian college with an enrollment of 1,315 students, including 135 graduate students.

Geneva College has a long history of producing outstanding Pennsylvania graduates who are leaders in our communities locally, regionally, and internationally, Geneva College President Calvin Troup said. The Geneva Tuition Promise invites students from all over Pennsylvania to consider studying at Geneva College where they will be prepared for lives of fruitful and faithful service to God and neighbor.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - After a scorching Labor Day weekend, temperatures will be much milder this upcoming weekend.

The National Weather Services forecast for Northeast Ohio calls for highs in the low 70s all weekend with a slight chance of rain on both Friday and Saturday. Shower chances increase on Sunday. Overnight lows each night are expected to drop to around 60 degrees.

Lake Erie marine forecast

Showers are possible on the lake throughout the weekend. Wave heights will remain in the two-foot range as well. Get ready for highs on the water around 70 degrees each day with lows in the upper 60s. Current Lake Erie water temp off Cleveland is 74 degrees.

Work week forecast

Sunshine returns Monday with highs around 73 and lows in the upper 50s. Shower chances return Tuesday with highs in the upper 60s.

Ohio regional radar
From 30 November to 3 December, dozens of communists from across the American continent will be gathering in Mexico for the 5th Pan-American Cadre School of the IMT. We are expecting over 100 comrades from Canada, the US, Mexico, El Salvador, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Chile and Argentina will participate in the school, which is being organised around the theme of the life and ideas of Lenin, marking the 100 anniversary of his death in January 1924. The opening rally will take place at the Trotsky House Museum in Mexico City and the rest of the school will be held at a residential venue outside of the Mexican capital.

The period that has passed since the last Pan-American School in 2019 has seen rapid growth of the IMT across the world, including in the American continent, with new groups having been established in Chile and Peru. The need to train and educate our cadres is more important than ever.

The costs of organising the school, including transport and accommodation, will be covered by the comrades in the Americas themselves, who have been collecting money from members and supporters. However, the cost of tickets from some of these countries is very high, and this is why we appeal to comrades elsewhere to give their assistance by making a financial donation. Our aim is to raise $10,000.

Help build the forces of Marxism in the American continent!

Click on one of the following links in order to donate generously!

To donate in USD click here.

To donate in GBP click here.

To donate in EUR click here.
A spectre is haunting right-wing social media. From Denmark to the USA, from Canada to Great Britain, a reactionary online rabble is reeling at the success and ubiquity of the International Marxist Tendencys Are You A Communist campaign. In reply, we say: thank you for the free advertising  and youre right to fear us! The communists are getting organised, and we aim to bring down your entire system.

Laura Loomer, failed Republican congressional nominee; and pundit for racist conspiracy-theory-peddling platforms The Rebel Media and InfoWars, gave her 500,000 Twitter followers a close look at an Are You A Communist poster in Atlanta, about a block away from the Fulton County courthouse.

WATCH



Fulton County, Georgia is a hotbed for COMMUNIST recruiters like Fulton County DA Fani Willis.



About a block away from the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta Georgia, I saw several of these communist recruitment posters plastered on the street corners. pic.twitter.com/ASOvMG1SWI  Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 26, 2023

These are radical leftist individuals who want a communist takeover of our country, she says in the video. Thats why theyre trying to arrest Trump and lock him up, because they know that Donald Trump is our last hope to save America.

We have nothing to do with Donald Trumps legal troubles, nor can we comment on who put up the offending poster. We rather doubt it was bourgeois, anti-communist, Democratic-controlled Fulton County Board of Commissioners. What can be said is neither Trump, Biden, nor any other bourgeois politician will be able to save American capitalism from collapse, which will put a real communist takeover squarely on the agenda.

In Arizona, Morgonn McMichael (conservative social media influencer for Turning Point USA), tweeted a picture of a well-stocked stall, under a Join the Communists banner, with the caption: First day of school at Arizona State. This is what I found. Communism.

First day of school at Arizona State. This is what I found. Communism pic.twitter.com/EJMZMCQ0wG  MORGONN (@morgonnm) August 17, 2023

We congratulate the comrades at Arizona State: between their elan, and Ms. McMichaels advertising, radical freshmen looking for organised communists at the university will know exactly where to go. Not content with the publicity shed given our comrades, Ms. McMichael also shared a snap of a flyer listing the comrades entire schedule of events for the semester!

There is a website to join, she notes in a follow-up tweet. Any infiltrators feel like joining and wearing a wire? I know of a few dudes that would be willing. We urge caution. The last time Turning Point USA sent an infiltrator to one of our events, it simply provided our comrades a platform to demolish every boilerplate pro-capitalist argument they offered up, and eloquently present our revolutionary alternative.

It is perhaps for that reason Ms. McMichael has yet to post an interview she recorded with a comrade on our stall. Im assuming theres no video of this interaction because my girl got smoked, says one commenter. Even in the still it looks like shes contemplating her life choices.

Also from Turning Point, we have chapter president Carlos Turcios, who writes: University of Texas at Arlington students have been getting many stickers and posters of Are you a Communist over the past few weeks in several places across campus. The Left is after the youth and will do everything to make them into nihilistic Marxist activists.

University of Texas at Arlington students have been getting many stickers and posters of Are you a Communist over the past few weeks in several places across campus. The Left is after the youth and will do everything to make them into nihilistic Marxist activists. pic.twitter.com/yksYe91XLd  Carlos Turcios (@Carlos__Turcios) August 30, 2023

Speak for yourself, Mr Turcios! Far from nihilistic, Marxists are seemingly the only optimists around, because only we offer young people the prospect of a future free of grinding exploitation and misery.

North of the border, communists have been offending libertarian free speech advocates  by openly stating what they believe. Liberty Talk host Odessa Olewicz shared an image of a partially defaced poster on twitter, writing: Antifa is hiring. This is in my neighborhood in Vancouver. I ripped off the QR code. I would have needed a chisel to get the rest off. Just another day in clown Canada.

Antifa is hiring. This is in my neighborhood in Vancouver. I ripped off the QR code. I would have needed a chisel to get the rest off. Just another day in clown Canada. pic.twitter.com/xHo6tZNNVZ  Odessa Orlewicz (@OdessaOrlewicz) August 14, 2023

We can only commend whomever was responsible for putting up this poster for their thorough job, and Ms. Olewicz for having the courtesy to leave the join us URL fully intact.

We have also been graced with several tweets from Kristian Niemietz, Head of Political Economy at the Institute for Economic Affairs, libertarian think tank in London. Are you a communist? he says, sharing an image of a sticker. Then stop being one. It's silly. A rather bold statement from an acolyte of Ayn Rand, an author and philosopher for whom the discrediting of her ideas is matched only by the turgidity of her prose.

Are you a communist?

Then stop being one. It's silly. https://t.co/txJIwUJbdB  Kristian Niemietz (@K_Niemietz) May 9, 2023

Not only right-wing journalists and influencers but also capitalists are paying attention. Martin Buch Thorborg  businessman, hotelier and author of the modestly titled book, My Path as Leader  shared Danish versions of the Are You a Communist posters on twitter, writing:

My son goes to commercial high school in Lyngby and their whole school was plastered with them this morning. As my son said: We got them down quickly, we almost all vote LA [Liberal Alliance: a right-wing libertarian political party].

Min sn gar pa handelsgymnasium i Lyngby og hele deres skole var overplastret med dem her i morges.

Som min sn sagde  Dem fik vi hurtigt pillet ned, vi stemmer jo nsten alle sammen LA  pic.twitter.com/gNFMyElJtj  Martin Buch Thorborg (@thorborg) August 29, 2023

We thank Mr. Thorborg for taking time away from his many enterprises to plug the campaign. Despite his sons apparent efforts, given the school was plastered in the first place, it seems not all students share his views. No doubt, the posters will soon be replenished.

Amidst the predictable outrage from these characters reactionary followers, hundreds of people are posting positive messages about communism in general, and our campaign in particular. Here are a just few examples:

So if you haven't been paying attention, more young people are supporting communism. Go to any group or forum full of young people and you will see it. They feel like both parties & capitalism are letting them down. Seeing this makes me wanna get a year's membership from them just to spite you. This looks great, thanks for sharing. Communism all the way! Capitalism is a plague to humanity. Great. You should go to one of their meetings. You might learn what communism actually is.

Not only the rabid fringe but also the mainstream capitalist press is beginning to pay attention to our campaign. Basel jetzt in Switzerland recently posted an article, displaying a German-language Are You A Communist poster under the headline: Marx wants you! Mysterious organisation is looking for Basel communists.

Marx wants you! Mysterious organisation is looking for Basel communists. / Image: Basel jetzt

Perhaps you too recently met Karl Marx in Basel? it reads. The bearded philosopher points at you with one finger and asks if you are a communist. These posters are currently hanging all over the city. They come from Funke, the Swiss section of the organisation, International Marxist Tendency (IMT).

In fact, there is nothing especially mysterious about our Swiss organisation, nor any of our sections around the world. All are open about our revolutionary ideas and objectives. As the article itself notes:

A society that works according to needs and not according to profit  this is what the communist IMT wants. The organisation has sections in over 60 countries. In Switzerland, in addition to Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, Fribourg, Zurich and Kreuzlingen, it is also active in Basel. The aim of the posters is made clear on the website of the Swiss section. The organisation wishes for a communist society. It wants to overthrow capitalism in a revolutionary way, fundamentally transform society. But because capitalism cannot be fought on its own, the communists organise themselves  and seem to be looking for more members.

We couldnt have put it better ourselves! The entire point of our campaign is to raise the red flag of communism, wherever we are active, and bring new layers of workers and youth into the ranks of organised communists.

As attested in anxious terms by research from the right-wing Fraser Institute, tens of millions of young people regard communism as the ideal economic system. It is easy to see why. Between the increasingly unbearable cost of living, war and instability on a world stage, the looming climate crisis, and more besides, greater numbers of people are looking towards a revolutionary alternative to capitalism.

As Basel jetzt rightly notes, it is incumbent on every communist to spread their views, find like-minded people and organise in bigger numbers, so that we can become a force to be reckoned with in the almighty class battles to come.
Most people imagine reaching their career goals will result in lifelong happiness. The opposite was true for Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky.

For Chesky, the goal was an IPO, he recently told Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast. Even as Airbnb's popularity and private valuation soared throughout the 2010s, Chesky didn't feel successful, he said  and he thought taking the company public would help.

But when the IPO occurred in December 2020  with its opening valuation of $47 billion rising to $86.5 billion in less than a day  Chesky didn't feel happy, satisfied or even relieved. Instead, it marked "one of the saddest periods" of his life, he said.

Chesky had believed success would cure all his problems, he said. But the IPO left him feeling more isolated than ever  and not just because he watched his company go public over Zoom.

The Airbnb CEO originally moved to Silicon Valley and started his company in 2008 with co-founders Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk. Back then, the trio was constantly together. As the company grew, so did his co-founders' families, and Chesky gradually found himself with more alone time, he said.

In response, Chesky dedicated all his energy to making Airbnb more successful, hoping it'd fulfill him, he said.

"I had this image that if I got successful, I'd have all these people around me, have all these friends ... everything in my life would be fixed," said Chesky. "I do think people should achieve their dreams, [but] don't go into it [thinking] that just success is going to fill some hole in you."

A decades-long Harvard University study may offer an explanation. The ongoing research, which started in 1938, has found that career and financial success don't make participants feel more content. Instead, the happiest people prioritize "social fitness," or regularly make time for relationships.

"Money can't buy us happiness, but it's a tool that can give us security and safety and a sense of control over lives," Marc Schulz, one of the project's researchers, told Reuters in February. "At the end of the day, life is really about our connections with others. It's our relationships that keep us happy."

Optimal relationships can put us at ease, make us feel safer and offer opportunities for learning and growth, the study has found. People with positive connections are also more likely to live longer, the researchers have noted.

Chesky, in identifying his loneliness, decided to reinvest in his own social fitness, he said on the podcast. Part of his solution: Last year, he listed his own San Francisco home on Airbnb. On select weekends, guests crash in his spare room. Their stays include home-baked chocolate chip cookies and Chesky-led tours of Airbnb's headquarters.

Six months later, the company launched its Airbnb Rooms service, which allows hosts to rent out individual bedrooms in their homes. Since that announcement in early May, Airbnb's stock price has risen to $144.14 per share, up from $118.86.

"I feel like a lot of us try to climb a mountain because we feel like when we get to the top of that mountain, something will be filled inside of us," Chesky said. "Some of the ... most difficult periods in people's lives [aren't] when they fail, but when they get to the top of that mountain and realize they don't feel any differently."

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Luke Chan | E+ | Getty Images

Almost half  46%  of 401(k) investors don't know what investments are in their workplace retirement plan, according to a new CNBC Your Money Survey, conducted by SurveyMonkey. But that's not necessarily bad news, financial advisors said. That's because most employers that offer a 401(k) plan automatically enroll workers into it, selecting on workers' behalf how much money is contributed from each paycheck and how those funds are invested. (Workers can change these later or opt out altogether.) Odds are those workers are saving money in a target-date fund, or TDF, a well-diversified portfolio tailored to an investor's age.

The bottom line: Even if a 401(k) investor is unaware that they're saving money or clueless about the funds available for investment, it's likely they're exhibiting reasonable savings behavior by default, advisors said. Their investment allocation and diversification also are perhaps better than could be achieved on their own, especially for workers who don't possess much investment expertise. "I don't view that as a bad thing," Sean Deviney, a certified financial planner based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said of the survey statistic on investment awareness. "It's in their best interest to be saving for their future income needs. "It's in their best interest to be getting their employer match," he added. The CNBC survey polled 1,673 U.S. adults who participate in their company 401(k) plan.

Most 401(k) plans use auto-enrollment

Auto-enrollment hasn't always been a cornerstone of 401(k) savings. Employers started using the feature more regularly after the Pension Protection Act of 2006 made it easier to adopt. Twenty years ago, the CNBC statistic "would be more alarming," said Deviney, who is the director at Provenance Wealth Advisors. Almost 59% of employers sponsoring a 401(k) plan used auto-enrollment in 2021, up from 47% in 2012, according to the Plan Sponsor Council of America, a trade group. In behavioral finance terms, auto-enrollment is known as a "nudge," a mechanism that helps workers enroll and save in a 401(k) when they might not have otherwise, whether due to procrastination or some other roadblock.

watch now

"We're talking about human beings, who kind of live and breathe inertia," said Ellen Lander, principal and founder of Renaissance Benefit Advisors Group based in Pearl River, New York. "If they're automatically enrolled and being auto-enrolled into a target-date fund, that's probably one of the best decisions that was made for them," Lander said of 401(k) participants. About 87% of 401(k) plans use a TDF as their default investment option, according to PSCA data.

TDFs capture 60% of 401(k) contributions

Target-date funds are already the most popular 401(k) investments. They captured 60% of all 401(k) contributions made in 2021, according to Cerulli Associates. Cerulli estimates the share will rise to 66% by 2027. The funds automatically take care of important investment functions such as diversifying across asset classes, rebalancing investors' savings and getting less risky as participants near retirement, Lander said. "It's probably better for most people than trying to do it yourself," she said. That said, workers shouldn't assume their employer's auto-enrollment strategy will fit their needs. Companies don't always auto-enroll workers at an optimal savings rate, for example, Deviney said. It may also not be high enough to get their full 401(k) match  effectively leaving free money on the table. About 43% of 401(k) plans that automatically enroll workers then automatically increase their contributions over time, according to PSCA data.
US President Joe Biden looks on as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a meeting with senior officials and CEOs of American and Indian companies, in the East Room the White House in Washington, DC, on June 23, 2023. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images

President Joe Biden will travel to New Delhi to meet with the world's largest economies at the Group of 20 summit and once again flex his muscles as the diplomat in chief. Throughout his presidency, Biden has preached a gospel of diplomacy and multilateralism, assuring America's friends and its rivals that rule of law and alliances can serve as a bulwark against the rise of autocracy. "The United States' commitment to the G20 hasn't wavered and we hope this G20 summit will show that the world's major economies can work together even in challenging times," national security advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday. The Group of 20 represents 85% of global gross domestic product, 75% of international trade and two-thirds of the world's population. Russia's war in Ukraine, climate change, the economy and delivering for developing countries will be top of mind for the president as he meets with other world leaders, Sullivan said.

Biden nearly missed attending the event in person after his wife, first lady Jill Biden, tested positive for Covid-19 over Labor Day weekend. The president will continue on to Hanoi, Vietnam, on Sunday before traveling to Alaska to observe the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The leaders of two prominent members, Russia and China, will not be in attendance. Russian President Vladimir Putin will skip the summit for the second year in a row, as will Chinese President Xi Jinping. Both leaders are sending other officials in their absence.

A man walks past an installation on a skywalk ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, September 6, 2023. Francis Mascarenhas | Reuters
British American Tobacco has finalized its exit from Russia about 18 months after it pledged to do so in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The multinational cigarette maker said in a statement Thursday it agreed "to sell its Russian and Belarusian businesses in compliance with local and international laws."

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the transaction is expected to be completed within a month, the company said.

"Upon completion, BAT will no longer have a presence in Russia or Belarus and will receive no financial gain from ongoing sales in these markets," it added.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, thousands of companies such as Apple, McDonald's and Coca-Cola pulled out of Russia. However, other global tobacco giants are still doing business in the country, including Japan Tobacco International and Philip Morris International .

London-based BAT is a key player in the global tobacco market with business operations in more than 100 countries. BAT's top brands include Camel and Newport.

It controlled nearly 25% of Russia's tobacco market, which is the fourth largest in the world, according to Reuters.

The buyer is a consortium led by members of BAT Russia's management team, which will wholly own the Russian and Belarusian businesses, BAT said. They will then be known as the ITMS Group.

BAT said the employment of workers in Russia will remain comparable to their existing terms for at least two years after the deal closes.
Chinese state-aligned influence and disinformation campaigns are impersonating U.S. voters and targeting political candidates on multiple social media platforms with improved sophistication, Microsoft said in a threat analysis report Thursday.

Chinese Communist Party-affiliated "covert influence operations have now begun to successfully engage with target audiences on social media to a greater extent than previously observed," according to the report, which focused on the rise in "digital threats from East Asia."

The Microsoft report also cautioned that some Chinese influence campaigns are now using generative artificial intelligence to create visual content that's "already drawn higher levels of engagement from authentic" users, a trend the company said began around March.

Chinese influence campaigns have historically struggled to gain traction with intended targets, who in this case are U.S. voters and residents. But since the 2022 midterm elections, those efforts have become more effective, Microsoft warned.

Policymakers and industry experts have expressed concern about foreign influence campaigns on social media platforms, especially on X, formerly known as Twitter. In December, three Democratic House members asked X owner Elon Musk to provide information about manipulation campaigns on the platform.

Microsoft found content from Chinese influence campaigns on multiple apps, including Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, and X. In August, Facebook parent Meta announced it had disrupted the largest ever identified disinformation campaign and linked it to China state-affiliated actors.

Microsoft's report included screenshots of two different X posts in April that were identified as CCP-affiliated disinformation. Both were about the Black Lives Matter movement and had the same graphic. The first came from an automated CCP-affiliated account. The second, Microsoft said, was uploaded by an account impersonating a conservative U.S. voter seven hours later.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The operations identified by Microsoft shared hallmarks with one allegedly run by an elite group within China's national security apparatus, the company said. That organization, the 912 Special Working Group, was identified by the Justice Department in April as perpetrating a harassment campaign targeting Chinese nationals across the U.S. The government charged 44 defendants, including 34 officers from China's Ministry of Public Security.

WATCH: China has modernized its cyberspace offensive more than any country
The board picked by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee Walt Disney World's special tax district asked a state court to dismiss Disney 's bid to recover damages over a breach of contracts counterclaim.

"All of Disney's counterclaims fail as a matter of law," attorneys for the district board wrote in a court filing Wednesday in circuit court in Orange County, Florida.

That's mainly because Disney's contracts are "void as a matter of Florida law and therefore have never had any legal force or existence," the board wrote.

Disney denies that the contracts are void.

The filing came weeks after Disney, the defendant in the state-level case, went on offense and is now seeking damages against the governor's board members.

Disney is embroiled in two lawsuits stemming from its battle with DeSantis that began last year, when the company publicly denounced the controversial classroom bill dubbed "Don't Say Gay" by critics.

Shortly thereafter, DeSantis, who signed the Republican-backed legislation, targeted the special district that had allowed Disney to effectively self-govern its Orlando-area theme parks for decades. He signed measures changing its name  from Reedy Creek Improvement District to Central Florida Tourism Oversight District  and replacing its five-member board of supervisors with his own picks.

Both lawsuits relate to development deals that Disney says it struck to secure its future investments in Florida "amid a climate of escalating retaliation" by the state government.

The DeSantis-backed board members had voted to nullify Disney's contracts after accusing the company of trying to undermine the new board's authority and sneaking the deals through right before the change in leadership took place.
BRUSSELS  U.S. tech giants are facing stricter rules in Europe with more regulation announced this week, but one senior European Union official told CNBC the aim is to avoid forced breakups of large businesses.

The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, named six "gatekeepers" on Wednesday  these are companies that have an annual turnover above 7.5 billion euros ($8 billion) or 45 million monthly active users inside the bloc. They are Amazon , Alphabet , Apple , Microsoft , Meta and ByteDance, who now have six months to comply with stricter market rules  such as not being able to prevent users from uninstalling any pre-installed software or apps, or treating their own services more favorably.

"If these companies do not comply, and I hope that they will all comply, then we will have the ability to have [a] fine [of] up to 10% of the global revenue," Thierry Breton, the EU's commissioner for the internal market, told CNBC on Wednesday.

The fine could be increased to 20% if the company in question continues to not comply with the rules.

"And if they continue, yes, we have tools, including to break up these companies, but I will never want to use it. And I can tell you the discussion that we have with all these companies are professional and I believe are going in the right direction," Breton said.
Goldman Sachs is bullish on e-commerce in China, naming it as one of its "most preferred" areas within China's internet sector. In a Sept. 3 note, the bank pointed to upgrades in advertising technology and to a rise in consumption into the end of the year. The bank said that China's e-commerce sector posted a "solid" revenue beat following strong performance in the 6.18 shopping event  the nation's second-largest online annual shopping festival. Goldman Sachs added that other factors that contributed to the sector's performance are strong demand for apparel, air conditioners and mobile phones, along with continued online marketing initiatives. Goldman also noted that China has one of the world's lowest e-commerce take rates  the percentage of the value of transactions on e-commerce platforms that can be kept as revenue. That stands at around 3% to 4%, compared to the country's peers, which have rates in the high single digits to teens, according to Goldman. The bank expects an uplift in that take rate, with platforms having "more bargaining power than merchants." Top picks The analysts named Chinese e-commerce shares among the bank's top buy-rated stocks, two of which are on Goldman's conviction buy list of assets it expects will outperform the market. Its top pick is Chinese tech giant Alibaba . Goldman said that, in the long run, a valuation multiple re-rating for the stock will be driven by several factors that include management's "proactive steps" to crystallize shareholder value, such as ongoing buybacks, growth drivers across its Alibaba Cloud business, and more. Goldman gave a target price of $138 for Alibaba's U.S.-listed shares, and 134 Hong Kong dollars ($17.09) for its Hong Kong-listed shares. That represents a potential upside of around 45% for both. Another stock it named is search giant Baidu , which is also on its conviction list. It gave Baidu a target price of $197 for its U.S.-listed shares and of 193 Hong Kong dollars for its Hong Kong-listed shares. That represents a potential upside around 38% for both. "We continue to view Baidu as one of the best positioned China Internet names pivoting to the secular generative artificial intelligence theme backed by its 4 layers of Generative AI service offerings," the analysts said. Baidu  which has a price-to-earnings ratio of around 12x in 2023  has room for valuation multiple expansion supported by upward catalysts, creating a good entry point for a potential upside of around 38%, the analysts said. Two other stocks that Goldman names are online retailer Pinduoduo and internet giant Tencent . Goldman Sachs gave Pinduoduo a target price of $129, following expectations of a sizeable profit in the longer term. The price target represents a potential upside of around 27%. The bank gave Tencent a target price of 431 Hong Kong dollars, accounting for a potential upside of around 32%. "In our view, Tencent remains one of the most uniquely positioned China Internet companies given its unrivaled WeChat ecosystem, leadership in games and new growth vectors across Video Account and Fintech," Goldman analysts wrote.  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
Election ads running on Google and YouTube that are created with artificial intelligence will soon have to carry a clear disclosure, according to new rules created by the company.

The new disclosure requirement for digitally altered or created content comes as campaigning for the 2024 presidential and congressional elections kicks into high gear. New AI tools such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Bard have contributed to concerns about how easily deceptive information can be created and spread online.

"Given the growing prevalence of tools that produce synthetic content, we're expanding our policies a step further to require advertisers to disclose when their election ads include material that's been digitally altered or generated," a Google spokesperson said in a statement. "This update builds on our existing transparency efforts  it'll help further support responsible political advertising and provide voters with the information they need to make informed decisions."

The policy will take effect in mid-November and will require election advertisers to disclose that ads containing AI-generated elements have been computer-generated or do not show real events. Minor changes such as brightening or resizing an image do not require such a disclosure.

Election ads that have been digitally created or altered must include a disclosure such as, "This audio was computer-generated," or "This image does not depict real events."

Google and other digital ad platforms such as Meta's Facebook and Instagram already have some policies around election ads and digitally altered posts. In 2018, for example, Google began requiring an identity verification process to run election ads on its platforms. Meta in 2020 announced a general ban on "misleading manipulated media" such as deepfakes, which can use AI to create potentially convincing false videos.

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WATCH: How A.I. could impact jobs of outsourced coders in India
Widely followed investor Dan Niles revealed Thursday he dumped his Apple shares and started betting against the tech giant in a significant way. "Sold $AAPL & now our largest single stock short," the founder and senior portfolio manager of the Satori Fund said in a post on X , formerly known as Twitter. The hedge fund manager bought Apple on Aug. 18 and started selling Wednesday, he said. Shares of Apple were down for a second day in a row, bringing losses this week to more than 6%. The stock is still up 36% this year. Niles pointed to several reasons for his move. Firstly, he noted the risk stemming from China's potential ban. Bloomberg News reported China is planning to extend a ban on iPhone use to state-owned corporations. A day earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that China was moving to prohibit iPhone usage in government agencies. AAPL YTD mountain Apple Secondly, Niles said Huawei's resurgence could pose a threat to Apple. The Shenzhen-based telecommunications firm recently announced the latest version of its mobile operating system , HarmonyOS 4, and an enhanced artificial intelligence assistant, as the company ramps up efforts to reestablish strength for its smartphone business. Moreover, Niles thinks the restart of student loan payments could make consumers tighten their purse strings when it comes to buying the new iPhone this fall. Lastly, the investor expressed concerns about Apple's elevated valuation, considering its revenue has fallen in the past few quarters. This "will force investors to question 29x CY23 PE w/ no major AI play vs S & P at 21x," Niles said. Overall sales in the fiscal third quarter fell 1% year over year. Revenue in the company's iPhone, Mac and iPad lines were also down from a year earlier.
Pedestrians walk past a billboard installed along a street ahead of the two-day G20 summit in New Delhi on September 6, 2023.

But there was also vocal criticism, with opposition figures decrying what they said would be a cynical and self-defeating distortion of the country's identity.

"Better late than never," Akash Tiwari, a private security officer in New Delhi, told NBC News of the rumored change. "It used to be Bharat before. The change is good," he added.

The rumors were fueled by a state-issued invite to a dinner reception for world leaders during next weekend's G20 summit , which referred to the country's head as the "President of Bharat"  the Hindi or Sanskrit version of the word "India."

The streets of India's capital were rife with speculation Wednesday that the government might be about to scrap the use of the country's English name  a dramatic new step in an effort to break with its colonial heritage and appeal to its hard-line Hindu nationalist base.

For months ahead of the summit, visitors have been welcomed to the host's capital city with a bright logo that references the country's two official names, "Bharat" in Hindi or Sanskrit, and "India" in English.

The country's constitution references both names: India to be used for statements in English and Bharat to be used in Hindi. The country is also called Hindustan, which many right-wing Hindu groups have called for to be the official name.

Notably, all names have been in use long before the colonial era. The name India was derived centuries ago in connection to the Indus Valley, which lies in the northwest part of the country.

Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, his nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party government has been pushing to change colonial names across streets and venues of what it says are the remnants of a legacy of slavery.

Supporters say the name will help move past a colonial mentality.

"The meaning is the same, be it Bharat, Hindustan or India," said Amit Gihar, a fashion photographer. "Now we get to use it in our own language. We feel pride in saying it" said Gihar, 23, speaking in Hindi.

Many were also left wondering what a person from the country should be referred to in English, as in Hindi citizens are often called "Bharati" or "Bharatiyan."

Some were also bewildered about the government's priorities.

"The government shouldn't remove it. India is a very old name," said Vijender Singh, 28, who's been driving rickshaws around the capital for three years. He said that the president's focus should be on work and facilities for poor people.

Critics also say it's another attempt by the government to impose Hindi as the national language, and for the BJP to advance its own agenda. The Indian Constitution lists 22 existing languages, but none of them have been given the status of the national language.
The continued sell-off in Apple (AAPL) shares on speculation about a Chinese crackdown on iPhone usage among government workers should not scare investors away from the Big Tech name. Jim Cramer said Thursday he stands by the Club's "own it, don't trade it" designation on Apple, which was on a two-session losing streak that wiped out more than $200 billion in market value in the stock. The selling started Wednesday after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Chinese government was telling its workers not to use iPhones or any other foreign devices at work or even bring them into the office, in a new step to reduce that country's reliance on Western technology. Neither China nor Apple has said anything official about the report. However, if true, it's still unclear how this would potentially impact iPhone sales in China, the world's second-largest economy and where Apple derives 19% of its total revenue. That's because we don't know how many people would be prohibited under such a ban. Essentially, investors shouldn't jump the gun because there are a lot of questions here. "If I really felt like a disaster was coming, I would suspend" our mantra of "own it, don't trade it" on Apple stock, Jim Cramer said during the Club's Morning Meeting on Thursday. "When I source it, I don't get it," he said of the reports, adding that his social media contacts in China indicate people there are still "buying Apple [iPhones] like crazy." Jim said there were no indications of any bump in foot traffic at Huawei's China stores. Chinese tech giant Huawei, which faces trade restrictions in America, unveiled its latest smartphone during last week's visit to China by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. "Apple is in the doghouse right now" because the Chinese government isn't pleased with the way Raimondo's trip went, Jim speculated Thursday afternoon. While Beijing previously restricted some Chinese officials from using iPhones, the order has apparently been broadened. Bloomberg said it confirmed the Journal's reporting and added that such restrictions could extend to millions more people in China. The rumors have sent Apple shares into a tailspin over the past two trading sessions, losing more than 3% on Wednesday and another 3%-plus Thursday. Apple did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. AAPL YTD mountain Apple (AAPL) year-to-date performance In a research note on Wednesday, Bank of America said Apple would not be largely affected by any ban among Chinese government workers, citing an upbeat setup ahead of the company's highly-anticipated unveiling of the iPhone 15, which is expected to happen at an event this coming Tuesday. "We believe that positives of new product launches are offset by the risks of a weaker consumer spending backdrop," according to the note, led by analyst Wamsi Mohan. Elsewhere, Wedbush Securities' Daniel Ives says the market's reaction is "way overblown." The analyst said that a potential ban would equate to a hit of less than 500,000 units out of the approximate 45 million devices he forecasts to be sold in China over the next 12 months. "Despite the loud noise, Apple has seen massive share gains in [the] China smartphone market," Ives wrote in a Thursday note. Still, there's some downside protection here. While 19% of Apple's revenue comes from China, more than 43% comes from the Americas and some 25% comes from Europe, according to the company's latest quarter earnings report . Apple is also extending efforts into emerging economies such as India, which like China has roughly 1.4 billion people. Apple has been moving some of its supply chain out of China to offset the risks of growing geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and the Chinese government. The Club maintains that Apple is going to remain a premium brand in China that buyers with money are going to look to purchase regardless of speculation around Chinese government rules. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long AAPL. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

A view of Apple Store at Festival Walk shopping mall in Mong Kok District on August 15 2018 in Hong Kong, Hong Kong. S3studio | Getty Images
My top 10 things to watch Thursday 1. Stocks are poised to open lower Thursday for a third-straight day of losses this week, with the S & P 500 down 0.78% in premarket trading. Markets came under renewed pressure late Wednesday on news the economy could still be too hot, with the services sector expanding for an eighth-consecutive month in August, according to an index from the Institute for Supply Management. Bond yields remain elevated, with that of the 10-year Treasury just below 4.3%, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil is hovering around $87 a barrel. 2. China is banning state employees from using Apple's iPhones and other foreign-branded devices at work, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Is this a test of the 'own it, don't trade it' mantra on Club name Apple (AAPL)? Is $81 billion up for grabs? Here's the Club's initial take on the news. 3. Evercore ISI on Thursday downgrades analytics firm Verint Systems (VRNT) to in line, from outperform, on the back of a "lackluster quarter." The firm lowered its price target on the stock to $28 a share, down from $50. 4. Loop Capital on Thursday downgrades Roku Inc . (ROKU) to hold, from buy, arguing the streaming software company's latest restructuring could weigh on revenue growth in 2024. Roku on Wednesday said it would lay off 10% of its workforce in an effort to cut costs, sending shares soaring. 5. Jefferies on Thursday raises its price target on Club name Oracle (ORCL) to $145 a share, from $135, while maintaining a buy rating on the stock. The firm reiterates Oracle as a its value pick in the large cap software space. 6. Barclays on Thursday downgrades Dell Technologies (DELL) to underweight, from equal weight, citing challenges in PC and server/storage end markets. The firm leaves its price target unchanged, at $53 a share. 7. Mizuho on Thursday raises its price target on business-software firm Intuit (INTU) to $600 a share, up from $550, while reiterating a buy rating on the stock. The firm's call comes on the heels of the launch of Intuit Assist, a new generative artificial intelligence-powered assistant. 8. Despite reporting a "decent" quarter on Wednesday, C3.ai (AI) does not appear to be "benefiting from growing demand for AI," according to Bank of America. The firm reiterates an underperform rating on the enterprise AI stock and price target of $18 per share. 9. HSBC on Thursday initiates coverage on a number of banks  including club name Morgan Stanley (MS), with a buy rating and $99-per-share price target. 10. Credit Suisse on Thursday raises its price target on software firm HubSpot (HUBS) to $650 a share, up from $580, following the company's analyst day on Wednesday. The firm reiterates an outperform rating on the stock. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free . (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

My top 10 things to watch Thursday
One of my bigger regrets from college is that I couldn't  because of scheduling and other conflicts  go on a six-week trip the business school was offering to China. This was back in 2007, when it was just becoming clear that China was going to be the world's Next Big Thing.

It took several years, but I finally managed to visit, in 2012, as part of a work assignment with CNBC. I only had time to see Beijing, but that was plenty to take in. I was struck first and foremost by its sheer size; city blocks that made those in Washington, D.C., look small by comparison. There were few places to stop to pick up food or coffee while on a long walk  obvious opportunity for Starbucks. And on a grimmer note, because of the air pollution, the lack of birds chirping or squirrels flitting about (and the number of dying trees) gave the whole place a bit of a morbid feel.

Still, I would have thought that by 2023, we'd all be looking back on China's dazzling development and discussing how its myriad problems had been resolved. Instead, the opposite is happening. China's failed rebound post-Covid has drawn back the curtain on its larger economic challenges, and the bottom line for many U.S. investors and businesses is that Chinese exposure  which powered returns for the past 15 years  is turning into a liability.

Perhaps the most ominous headline in this direction is this week's report that Chinese officials have been banned from using Apple's iPhones (or other foreign devices) and bringing them in to work. Apple shares dropped 4% on that news yesterday, and are down 3% again this morning as Bloomberg is now reporting that China could broaden that ban to state-owned enterprises  a huge employer  and other government-controlled agencies.

Piper Sandler warns that this is part of a larger trend, one that comes right as U.S. and Chinese officials are arguing back and forth over whether our two nations are "decoupling" or "de-risking" or doing nothing of the sort. Companies with high China exposure have been underperforming since early 2022, the firm notes. Starbucks shares, for instance, traded as high as $125 in mid-2021, and are now at just $95, having dropped 4% this year.

The tech sector actually has the largest sales exposure, with roughly 15% coming from China, compared with about 7.5% for the S&P 500 overall. And the part of the industry with the highest exposure is semiconductors, which get "a whopping 30+% share of their sales from China," as Piper notes. Shares of Micron , for instance, even after a huge runup this year, are still trading more than 30% below their January 2022 highs. In May, the company was banned by China from having its products used in "vital infrastructure projects."

Other particularly vulnerable industries include autos, with Tesla's high China exposure driving the industry average above 20% for sales to China, and Tesla shares are still 40% below their late 2021 highs. Autos are also one of the industries China is leaning hard on to drive its global exports, as its BYD has become the world's biggest electric car maker.

Plus, certain luxury retail brands and myriad other industries from pharma to energy face trouble if their China exposure turns from a blessing to a curse. The billion-dollar question is whether they should double down on their existing exposure and even invest to grow their presence there, or not.

One major warning about doing so comes from China Beige Book and AEI analyst Derek Scissors. China is not "suddenly" doing poorly, he wrote last month; its economy "has been off course for at least 14 years and continues to slowly grind to a halt." In short, "Policy is stagnant, the debt burden is rising, and demographics are starting to bite," he wrote, adding that there is little hope that government stimulus can overcome that.

Add to that the risk of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan  which China's president, Xi Jinping, has told his military leadership to be ready for by 2027  and it's hard to imagine multinational companies wanting to make bigger long-term bets on China right now. It's amazing how we've seen the emergence, rise and potential decline of China all playing out in just the past 16 years or so.

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The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that SpaceX is not yet clear for another test flight of its Starship Super Heavy launch vehicle.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday that SpaceX is not yet clear for another test flight of its Starship Super Heavy launch vehicle.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had claimed Tuesday, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) which he now owns, that "Starship is ready to launch, awaiting FAA license approval."

However, his aerospace and defense company hasn't met the FAA's requirements to be able to fly again after an explosion in April 2023 during the first test flight of this vehicle.

The first Starship launch saw the nearly 400-foot-tall rocket fly for more than three minutes  but it lost multiple engines, caused severe damage to the ground infrastructure and failed to reach space after the rocket began to tumble and was intentionally destroyed in the air.

The mishap left a crater in the ground, flung concrete chunks into nearby tanks and other equipment, and impacted sensitive habitat that is home to some endangered wildlife. It also sparked an approximately 4-acre fire on state park land.
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Chinese tech giant Tencent is launching its artificial intelligence model "Hunyuan" for business use at an annual summit on Thursday, Dowson Tong, CEO of the cloud and smart industries group at Tencent, told CNBC in an exclusive interview ahead of the event. The news comes days after Baidu revealed a slew of AI-powered applications on Tuesday in the wake of more supportive regulation. Tencent has said it was internally testing its Hunyuan AI model on advertising and fintech. The gaming and social media giant is also set to release an AI chatbot on Thursday, the company said in an online post. Tencent is integrating Hunyuan's capabilities with its existing products for video conferencing and social media, Tong told CNBC. The company operates WeChat, a widely used messaging and payments app in China, and video conference platform Tencent Meeting.

Baidu and several other Chinese companies received the green light in the last few weeks to release AI-powered chatbots to the public. Similar to ChatGPT, the bots purport to respond to queries in a human-like, conversational fashion  but primarily in Chinese. Some, such as Baidu's Ernie bot, also convert text to images and video, with the help of plugins. OpenAI's ChatGPT isn't officially available in China. The chatbot releases follow new Chinese regulation on generative AI that took effect Aug. 15. When asked about the rules, Tong pointed out that such artificial intelligence is so new that no one knows what impact it will have on society.

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"It's prudent to put in some guardrails in place," he said. That will help make sure the technology or the services being offered are of high enough quality so they don't create and distribute false information, he said. Chinese authorities said the "interim" rules that took effect last month would not apply to companies developing the AI tech as long as the product was not available to the mass public. That's more relaxed than a draft released in April that said forthcoming rules would apply even at the research stage.

Development constraints

While Beijing has shown it is more supportive of generative AI than initially feared, Chinese companies also face U.S. restrictions on obtaining advanced semiconductors. The most cutting edge versions of the high-tech chips, known as graphics processing units (GPUs), allow companies to train AI models. "The constraint that we're facing will hinder the progress, the speed of development," Tong told CNBC in response to a question about U.S. restrictions.

watch now

He noted demand for computing power overall far exceeds supply in China. To mitigate the shortage, he said companies are "focusing on specific use cases, building models of the appropriate size." "And we are hoping that the supply of the GPU compute will be larger in the coming months, and therefore the development of these technologies can get faster."

AI for business
Chinese premier aboard bullet train bound for Bandung, site of historic conference of third world

Xinhua) 14:07, September 07, 2023

JAKARTA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang travelled aboard a bullet train on a trial run on Wednesday along the high speed railway connecting Indonesia's capital Jakarta and the country's cultural hub Bandung, site of the legendary Bandung Conference in 1955.

At the historical conference, dozens of Asian and African countries showed their collective strength behind independence amid a heightened Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The China-proposed five principles of peaceful co-existence were expanded into ten principles, which helped breed one of the cornerstones of modern international relations.

When Li sat down with Southeast Asian leaders earlier in the day at the 26th China-ASEAN summit, he noted the five principles of peaceful co-existence. He said that China and ASEAN have been deepening practical cooperation in the traditional and non-traditional security fields, and have upheld the five principles of peaceful co-existence and the purpose of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).

In 2003, China officially joined TAC, setting the precedent for other non-ASEAN nations to follow and join the treaty. Established in 1976, the TAC embodies universal principles of peaceful coexistence and friendly cooperation among states in Southeast Asia.

The Chinese premier made a strong appeal that China and ASEAN must strive for regional peace and prosperity while properly handling disagreements and disputes.

China and ASEAN have succeeded in blazing a correct path of long-term good-neighborliness and friendship, as well as common development and prosperity as the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, Li said.

At the 26th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit, Li said the APT countries, and indeed all countries in Asia, share so many things in common.

They share a common home, common interests and common opportunities, Li said.

The Chinese premier also warned against a new Cold War. He said, "to keep differences under control, what is essential now is to oppose picking sides, oppose bloc confrontation, and oppose a new Cold War and to ensure that disagreements and disputes among countries are properly handled."

Disagreements and disputes may arise between countries due to misperceptions, diverging interests or external interferences, said the Chinese premier. Whatever the cause, it is vital to face the issue squarely, remove misunderstandings and keep the differences in check, he noted.

The most effective way to clear up misunderstandings is to strengthen exchanges, and increase mutual understanding and trust through sincere communication, said the Chinese premier.

China has always been committed to deepening exchanges and cooperation with regional nations. According to a list of China's cooperation initiatives for ASEAN summits, future cooperation between the two sides is going to include more innovation areas like digital technology, new energy vehicles, solar photovoltaic and artificial intelligence.

"China is committed to further enhancing trade partnership with the bloc," Joseph Matthews, a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, observed.

"China is also committed to sharing its digital and technological knowledge with the bloc, thus bringing the countries to par excellence in the area of economic development," he said.

The Bandung Conference held great significance because it served as a reflection of the discontent felt by Asian and African nations towards the Western powers' perceived lack of willingness to engage in meaningful consultations regarding matters that directly impacted them.

Developing countries in East Asia were striving for independence, self-improvement and overall development, said Zhai Kun, deputy dean of the Institute of Area Studies of Peking University.

A Bloomberg report said that Indonesia is welcoming investments in electric vehicle battery plants from China rather than begging from the United States.

"We can't keep begging and begging from you," Luhut Panjaitan, a senior Indonesian minister, said in May. "You may be angry at us for trading with other countries, but we have to survive."

The East Asia cooperation framework is a predecessor in Global South, said Zhai. "After over two decades of development, it has a relatively stable framework and solid foundation. It also accommodates developed countries such as Australia and New Zealand."

"In today's international landscape, development and security are still two pillars of the Asia-Pacific region," he noted. "How the Asia-Pacific sustains its growth and maintains regional stability will largely shape the development and security of the whole world."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Tesla plans to install 20,000 electric vehicle charging stations across 2,000 Hilton properties in the U.S., Mexico and Canada beginning next year, the companies said Thursday.

For Tesla, the buildout of wall connectors is another way to increase mass adoption by offering more convenient charging locations. The company's Universal Wall Connector can charge any North American vehicle model, not just Tesla vehicles. For Hilton, it's about meeting demand from leisure and business travelers.

"We're seeing a rapid and steep increase in the number of requests for EV charging. We're trying to meet our guests' needs with this new agreement with Tesla," Matt Schuyler, Hilton's chief brand officer, told CNBC.

The announcement coincides with the beginning of business travel season, as more executives will be attending conferences such as the APEC Summit, Communacopia and Dreamforce, offering an opportunity for hotel operators to drive revenue. Over the summer, U.S. hotel rates fell as more Americans headed overseas to enjoy time in Europe. This fall, Wall Street analysts will want to see if hotel brands can get business travel bookings in the U.S. back to pre-pandemic levels.

Schuyler says the availability of EV charging stations is playing a significant role in driving hotel bookings.

"The number-one search attribute for our hotels is shuttle access for airports. That's No. 1. No. 2 is EV charging. And that's a dramatic change that wasn't even on the radar just a few years ago," said Schuyler.

Hilton will work with its owners to identify properties alongside roadways and in other key urban locations that would make most sense for Tesla to install its charging stations. The additions will make Hilton's charging network the largest of any hospitality player, says the company.

Deepwater Asset Management's managing partner Gene Munster predicts electric car adoption in the U.S. will steadily increase in the coming years, from 2% in 2020 to 22% by 2025.
U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, left, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis Reuters

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis tore into House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan on Thursday in a searing letter accusing the Ohio Republican of trying to obstruct her criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump. "There is no justification in the Constitution for Congress to interfere with a state criminal matter, as you attempt to do," Willis wrote in the nine-page retort to Jordan, whose committee last month launched a probe into the district attorney's prosecution of Trump.

Jordan, raising questions about whether Willis' case is "politically motivated," demanded in an Aug. 24 letter that she provide documents and communications between her office and the Department of Justice, among other information. He sent the letter on the same day Trump traveled to Atlanta to surrender at the Fulton County Jail after a grand jury indicted Trump on charges of conspiring to overturn President Joe Biden's victory in Georgia in the 2020 election. Trump and his 18 co-defendants in the sprawling racketeering case have pleaded not guilty. Willis on Thursday fired back that Jordan's letter "contains inaccurate information and misleading statements." She wrote that "settled constitutional law clearly permits me to ignore your unjustified and illegal intrusion into an open state criminal prosecution" before launching into a multipage diatribe accusing Jordan of holding Trump to a lower standard of justice than any other defendant.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, looks on as he attends the Viva Technology conference dedicated to innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris on June 16, 2023.

WASHINGTON  A Ukrainian official slammed Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk for ordering engineers to shut off Starlink's satellite network over Crimea last year in order to thwart a Ukrainian attack on Russian warships.

According to a new biography of Musk, the South African-born billionaire asked, "How am I in this war?" during an interview with author Walter Isaacson.

In the early days of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, as Western governments worked to supply Kyiv with artillery and air defense systems, the first of Musk's Starlink terminals arrived in the country. The billionaire eventually soured on the arrangement.

"Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes," Musk said, according to the book. He told Isaacson that he was worried the Ukrainian attack on Russian vessels would provoke the Kremlin into launching a nuclear war. The book, titled "Elon Musk," will be released Tuesday.

A top aide to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lashed out at Musk over the revelation.

"By not allowing Ukrainian drones to destroy part of the Russian military fleet via Starlink interference, Elon Musk allowed this fleet to fire Kalibr missiles at Ukrainian cities," Mykhailo Podolyak wrote Thursday on social media after CNN reported on some of the details from Isaacson's book.

"As a result, civilians, children are being killed. This is the price of a cocktail of ignorance and big ego," he added on X, which was formerly known as Twitter. Musk bought Twitter last year.

"The Starlink regions in question were not activated. SpaceX did not deactivate anything," Musk said Thursday night in an X thread about the revelation. He added: "Both sides should agree to a truce. Every day that passes, more Ukrainian and Russian youth die to gain and lose small pieces of land, with borders barely changing. This is not worth their lives."

Crimea, a peninsula on the Black Sea that Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, is home to Russia's Black Sea warships. In the days following Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the Black Sea fleet fired missiles on once-industrious Ukrainian coastal cities while imposing a devastating naval blockade.

Ukraine's digital minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, who had asked Musk for Starlink capability on Twitter, posted that Starlink was "here" in Ukraine  with a photo showing more than two dozen boxes in the back of a truck.

Starlink is SpaceX's global network of more than 4,000 satellites that provide service to more than 50 countries. In Ukraine, Starlink has worked as the connective tissue for crucial battlefield communications.
Russian officials slammed the U.S.' decision to supply Ukraine with depleted uranium weapons, with one describing the move as a "criminal act."

The Pentagon announced $175 million in additional security assistance for Kyiv on Wednesday that included depleted uranium ammunition for U.S.-made Abrams tanks. Top Russian officials lambasted the move, with the Russian Embassy to the U.S. saying it was "an indicator of inhumanity."

Depleted uranium munitions are used by a number of countries, including the U.S. and U.K.  as well as Russia  as it's known for its high density and ability to penetrate heavy armored vehicles, making it highly effective against tanks.

Despite Russia's protestations, military experts agree that Russia possesses depleted uranium ammunition too although it's not known for sure whether they have used the weapons in Ukraine.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks at a damaged vehicle while touring a State Border Guard of Ukraine Detached Commandant Office of Security and Resource Supply site September 7, 2023, in the Kyiv Oblast.

YAHIDNE, Ukraine  Ukraine's military is making "very tangible progress" in its counteroffensive against Russian forces, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC News on Thursday.

Speaking on a trip to underscore ongoing U.S. support for Ukraine's fight, he acknowledged the challenge of keeping public attention on the conflict while rejecting concerns that American backing for Kyiv may be waning. He also placed the blame for a lack of peace talks at the door of the Kremlin.

The military campaign in Ukraine's south and east is seen as key to shoring up allied support for the country's cause, and after a slow start there have been positive signs.

Ukrainians "knew this was going to be a hard fight but especially over the last couple of weeks, we are seeing very tangible progress," Blinken said in an interview.

He said that he had heard a very detailed report from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who recently visited the front lines, and his military advisers.

"I think we are seeing real forward movement," Blinken added. "But again, this is going to go on. This is tough, this is hard."

He was speaking during a visit to the town of Yahidne in northern Ukraine, where he toured a former elementary school in which some 300 people, including children, were held for a month by Russian forces shortly after last year's invasion. The site has since been turned into a museum.

"The Russians had a lot of time in this case to prepare for the counteroffensive. They put tens of thousands of mines in places, other defensive fortifications," he said. "The Ukrainians are working and going through it, but at the end of the day, they have a determination, they have a desire that will outmatch whatever the Russians put into this."
Peter Navarro, an advisor to former U.S. President Donald Trump, speaks to reporters as he is surrounded by protesters after being found guilty of contempt of Congress at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse on September 07, 2023 in Washington, DC.

A jury on Thursday convicted former Trump White House trade advisor Peter Navarro of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress. Navarro faces up to a year in prison, and U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta scheduled his sentencing for January 12.

Navarro had said he failed to comply with a congressional subpoena  which sought documents and his testimony to a House committee investigating efforts to reverse the 2020 election results  because former President Donald Trump instructed him to assert executive privilege.

Following the verdict, Navarro's lawyer said they would move for a mistrial, claiming the jurors were prejudiced by protesters' signs outside during a short break they took in deliberations.

"Peter Navarro made a choice. He chose not to comply with the congressional subpoena. Our government only works when people play by the rules," Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Aloi told jurors in closing arguments in Washington, D.C.
Weight loss drugs are being assessed for their ability to treat conditions like dementia and addiction after a landmark study showed that Wegovy helped reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

LONDON  Scientists have begun investigating whether so-called miracle obesity drugs could be used to treat conditions such as dementia and alcohol addiction after recent trials pointed to the drugs' efficacy in treating serious health issues. Late-stage trial data released last month by Novo Nordisk indicated that its Wegovy weight loss injection led to "large reductions" in heart failure-related symptoms among at-risk patients. It comes weeks after the Danish pharmaceutical company published the results of its much anticipated "SELECT" study, which showed the drug's role in reducing the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attacks or strokes. The findings mark a major milestone as the company seeks to broaden perceptions of its product  dubbed by some a "vanity drug"  and researchers are hopeful they spell positive news for the drugs' other applications. "The results show that this medication can have health benefits above and beyond the short-term," Christian Hendershot, director of the clinical and translational addiction research program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told CNBC via Zoom.

A treatment for drug and alcohol abuse

Hendershot is one researcher investigating whether the appetite-regulating mechanisms at play in weight loss drugs could be used to treat other conditions such as alcohol and drug addiction. Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Eli Lilly 's Mounjaro work by imitating a naturally occurring gut hormone that helps regulate appetite in the brain, ultimately leading to weight loss. For that, they rely on active ingredients called semaglutide and liraglutide, respectively, which belong to a group of drugs called GLP-1 receptor agonists. Pre-clinical trial data has for several years pointed to the efficacy of GLP-1 medication in reducing drug and alcohol intake among animals. Hendershot is now testing Ozempic  Wegovy's predecessor used to treat type 2 diabetes  to see whether those trends apply to humans, too.

If those two studies both readout ... it's hard to overstate the effect this will have on the field. Kyle Simmons rofessor of pharmacology and physiology at Oklahoma State University

"There is reason for optimism, particularly given the reports. Now it's our job to do the research to validate those findings with clinical data," said Hendershot, who expects to publish early findings next year. If broader applications of the drugs are proven to be effective, the implications could be vast, according to Kyle Simmons, professor of pharmacology and physiology at Oklahoma State University, who cited early indications of the drugs' efficacy in reducing cocaine, amphetamine and opioid cravings. Simmons is currently leading the Semaglutide Therapy for Alcohol Reduction (STAR) trial, a 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study, which is running in tandem with a separate but similar study at the University of Baltimore. "If those two studies both read out, and they're both positive, it's hard to overstate the effect this will have on the field," he said.

Applications in Alzheimer's disease

Some researchers are hopeful the drugs could also have use cases in the treatment of dementia and other cognitive disorders. Already, there is evidence to suggest that GLP-1 drugs can reduce the build-up of amyloid and tau on the brain  two proteins thought to be responsible for Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia. Now, a trial underway at the University of Oxford will test patients at risk of developing dementia  i.e. those with high levels of amyloid on the brain  to see whether the drugs lead to a reduction in tau accumulation and brain inflammation. "We want to see if these drugs are interfering with the core Alzheimer's disease pathology," said Ivan Koychev, a senior clinical researcher, who is leading the study.

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Elsewhere, others think the drugs could have potential applications in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a disorder that can cause irregular periods, hormone imbalances and fertility issues. "If women with PCOS exhibit positive outcomes in terms of irregular periods and hirsutism [excess hair growth] despite modest weight loss, it could underscore the medication's broader therapeutic potential," said Harshal Deshmukh, a consultant endocrinologist and senior clinical lecturer at the University of Hull, who is currently conducting one such trial.

Implications for reward signaling

Additional possible use cases for weight loss drugs could exacerbate the hurdles already faced by patients using them, however: high costs and supply shortages. Earlier this month, Novo Nordisk extended restrictions on starter doses of Wegovy due to production constraints, while Eli Lilly warned of continued delays in Mounjaro output for the same reason. Hendershot said his study was not currently being impacted by shortages, but Simmons described it as a "significant concern." Meantime, concerns have been raised about the possible adverse effects of the drugs after some patients reported thoughts of suicide or self-harm.

Is this medication ... turning down the gain on reward-signaling Kyle Simmons rofessor of pharmacology and physiology at Oklahoma State University
Experts share the steps to take if your flight is canceled or delayed.

When you travel via airplane, you run the risk of your flight being canceled or delayed and throwing a serious wrench in your plans. On Tuesday, United Airlines flights were grounded for more than an hour after the carrier experienced computer issues, the Federal Administration said. It's just the latest example of the many problems facing air travel this year. Situations like this make it important to know that as a passenger you always have rights. CNBC Make It talked to Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp and Clint Henderson, managing editor at The Points Guy, about the essential steps you should take when your flight is delayed or canceled.

How to find out if your flight is delayed or canceled

Airlines will often notify you about delays and cancellations by email, text, or app notification if you provide the appropriate contact information when booking. That said, doing your due diligence is also essential. Henderson says one of his favorite apps is Flightradar24, a live flight tracker showing real-time air traffic. "I'm always tracking my flights so I can see where my planes are coming from and the status," Henderson said.

By tracking where your plane is coming from, you can gauge whether your flight will be delayed. Martin-dm | E+ | Getty Images

What to do if your flight is delayed

Most airlines allow passengers to track flights via their applications. By tracking where your plane is coming from, you can gauge whether your flight will be delayed. If you notice a delay is imminent, it might be worth contacting the airline to see if they can rebook you on another. "You're not always going to get an airline willing to work with you in those situations," Henderson added. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Airline Customer Service Dashboard shares passenger rights for specific airlines and the agreement made by the 10 largest carriers, including Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, in the event of "controllable" cancellations and delays. Those passenger rights include major airlines having to rebook passengers on the same airline at no additional cost for "significant" delays and covering meals if there's a delay of three hours or more. Some will rebook on a partner airline at no additional cost.

What to do if your flight is canceled

The first thing you should do when you find out your flight is canceled is contact the airline. Pawliszyn recommends calling while getting in line at the customer service desk at the airport. But his biggest tip is to try to get rebooked on another flight immediately, even if it's with a different airline. "I always push to rebook on the same airline or airline group. It's quite standard for airlines to have agreements with each other," he said. "They tend to bend the rules in the spirit of good customer service. They might not always agree but it's always worth trying."

If an airline cancels your flight, remember that you're entitled to a full refund. Bunhill | E+ | Getty Images

Henderson suggests taking it further by reaching out to the airline on social media or even looking for the international toll-free number, especially during irregular hours. "You want to use every tool in the toolbox to get yourself pre-booked first," he said. Henderson added that it's important to remember that if an airline cancels your flight, you're legally entitled to a full refund, which includes the ticket price, taxes, baggage fees, extra charges, and ancillary fees. Passengers must receive that refund within seven business days if they paid by credit card and within 20 days if by cash or check.

Always have a plan B

As an expert traveler, Henderson suggests that passengers know what other airlines are running flights around the same time. That way, if your flight gets canceled, you can see if they are willing to book you on a competitor carrier. "All these airlines have interline agreements with each other," he said. "It's always an option you should have in your back pocket." Henderson added that when you contact the airline, give them the competitor's information and see how much they are willing to work with you.

If your flight is canceled, you may be entitled to additional compensation

Thanks to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Airline Customer Service Dashboard, all major airlines except for Frontierwill cover a hotel stay and transportation to the hotel in the event of an overnight cancellation. It also doesn't hurt to ask the airline for reimbursement of expenses brought on by a flight cancellation. And keep in mind that many credit cards offer customers travel protection. "When your flight is canceled, the credit card company can be your best friend," Pawliszyn said. "In this situation, you can process a chargeback, which means asking the credit card to return the money for services not executed."

Experts suggest keeping a record of all the expenses you have due to a flight cancellation. Monkeybusinessimages | Istock | Getty Images
Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, who arrived in India on Friday (September 7) to participate in the G20 Summit, praised India's choice of the theme, "One Earth, One Family, One Future." He emphasised the theme's relevance in addressing climate change and highlighted the global impact of individual nations' actions against the pressing issue.

"I think there could not have been a better theme that has been chosen by India - One Earth, One Family and One Future - which is drawn from the Sanskrit phase of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam'. I think this is pertinent more so when we look at the effect of climate change, because what one country does not only affects that country but also the whole world. That is why we have to reflect, and act, collectively."

He stressed the shared responsibility of safeguarding the planet and its population, expressing satisfaction with India's inclusive approach to engaging all stakeholders to address climate change issues. "Each one of us has a duty to save the planet and save the whole population. I am happy to see that India has taken this very inclusive approach and to try to get everybody on board," Jugnauth remarked.

on G20 Summit

Support for India's Diplomatic Efforts in Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict , Jugnauth commended India's consistent call for negotiation instead of confrontation. He expressed concern over the loss of lives and the economic impact caused by the conflict, affecting not only the two countries but also global commodity production and rising prices.

"India has excellent relations with both Russia and Ukraine. I have noted repeatedly that India has been calling for a negotiation instead of confrontation. I must say that Mauritius is very supportive of trying to see this conflict coming to an end as soon as possible because it is resulting in the loss of lives of so many people," Jugnauth said.

He highlighted the broader implications of the conflict, stating, "...there has been destruction in terms of production of commodities, rising prices, and therefore we will join with all the countries that are trying to see how they can help to bring the countries to the table, to have peaceful negotiations so that peace can prevail."

Enhancing Trade Relations Between Mauritius and India

On trade relations between Mauritius and India, Jugnauth emphasised the significance of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which marks India's first agreement with an African country. He noted that CEPA had opened up new trade opportunities for both nations and highlighted Mauritius' favourable ranking in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index.

"This (CEPA) has opened up new avenues for trade between the two countries...It is beneficial to both countries...We were classified as 13th in the whole world in terms of the last Ease of Doing Business ranking by the World Bank. I appeal to Indian entrepreneurs to use Mauritius as a gateway to Africa," Jugnauth added.
A suicide bomber blew himself up near a vehicle of Pakistan's security forces close to a nonfunctional airport in the country's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday but did not cause any casualties, an official said.

The explosives wrapped up around the bomber's body exploded with a big bang near the Bannu Airport, bordering north Waziristan. The airport has been nonfunctional for the last couple of years.

No casualty to life occurred in the attack, the official said.

The police and security force personnel rushed to the blast site and cordoned off the entire area. A search operation was also launched to arrest the perpetrators of the blast.

Meanwhile, five Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists were killed on Thursday after the Balochistan Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) carried out an operation in the Aghberg area of Quetta, the capital city of the troubled Balochistan province.

In a statement, the CTD said it also killed eight TTP and IS members in two intelligence-based operations conducted in the Quetta and Washuk districts on Saturday. The two operations brought the number of TTP and IS militants killed in the province this month to 13, the counter-terror police said.

Recently, Pakistan has been hit by a wave of terrorist activities orchestrated by the outlawed terror outfit.

The TTP, set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007, is believed to be close to Al-Qaeda and has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan.

Also Read:Suicide attack in northwest Pakistan kills 9 soldiers

.
Sudan's army chief traveled to Qatar on Thursday for talks with the country's emir, making his third international trip since fighting broke out between the military and a rival paramilitary force in April, Sudanese state media said.

Sudan plunged into chaos almost five months ago when long-simmering tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, escalated into open warfare on April 15.

Burhan planned to hold talks with Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in the Qatari capital, Doha, according to the state-run SUNA news agency.

In a video posted by the Sudanese army, Burhan was filmed leaving a plane in Doha and numerous Qatari officials greeting him on an airport tarmac. The army chief's arrival was also confirmed by the state-run Qatar News Agency.

During their meeting, Burhan and Al Thani discussed the challenges facing conflict-stricken Sudan, The Emiri Diwan said in statement. Al Thani reiterated his call for broad peace negotiations between all of Sudan's political forces and a lasting stop to the fighting, the statement said.

Acting Foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq and Gen. Ahmed Ibrahim Mufadel, head of the General Intelligence Authority, accompanied Burhan on the trip, SUNA said.

The visit comes amid a flurry of similar diplomatic meetings convened in Egypt and South Sudan. Burhan held talks about the conflict with South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, on Monday in Juba.

Last week, the general met with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt in the Egyptian coastal city of el-Alamein, Burhan's first trip abroad since the conflict broke out. Few details were made public about either trip.

The conflict in the northeast African country is estimated to have killed at least 4,000 people, according to the UN human rights office. Activists and doctors on the ground say the toll is likely far higher.

The fighting has displaced more than 5 million people, according to the most recent figures produced by the UN's International Organization for Migration.

Despite international efforts, the conflict has shown few signs of easing. Formal peace negations mediated by the United States and Saudi Arabia in the kingdoms coastal town of Jeddah were adjourned in late June with both mediators publicly calling out the Rapid Support Forces and the army for continually violating agreed-to truces.

There have been at least nine cease-fires between the army and the RSF since the fighting broke out. All were violated.

Also Read:PM Modi thanks Saudi Crown Prince for support during evacuation of Indians from Sudan
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 6)  Lawmakers are seeking to pass an improved law to better fight those who profit from agricultural economic sabotage.

The newly released Senate committee report expands the offenses considered to be economic sabotage to include hoarding, profiteering, and cartel.

Lawmakers said they want anyone who is proven to have participated in such practices to be given the penalty of life imprisonment.

It also takes away the power of the Bureau of Customs to file cases against participants, said Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the.Senate Committee on Agriculture

"The penalty of life imprisonment and a fine thrice the value of the agricultural and fishery products subject of the crime as economic sabotage shall be imposed on any person who commits, or aids or abets the commission of, any of the prohibited acts herein enumerated," the document said.

It added that anyone found guilty shall "also suffer the penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification to engage in any business involving importation, transportation, storage and warehousing, and domestic trade of agricultural and fishery products."

Government officials could also face perpetual disqualification from holding public office, exercising the right to vote, from participating in any public election, and forfeiture of employment monetary and financial benefits if they are proven to have participated in the acts named.

The report said hoarding happens when the stock is 30 percent more than the usual inventory, while profiteering involves misrepresentation of price, weight, and quality of products. For example, raising the price to more than 10 percent of the daily price index set by the agriculture department.

A cartel, meanwhile, is present when businesses conspire to create an artificial price increase.

An act will be considered economic sabotage when the amount involved is at least P1 million.

The report also seeks to create an anti-agricultural economic sabotage council to be led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as well as a special team of prosecutors and enforcers.

At a briefing on Wednesday, Villar said she is confident these are enough to go after the masterminds.

"Pumayag na ang Supreme Court that we will create a court especially for anti-agri smuggling and cartel hoarding law na parang kasing taas ng Sandiganbayan," she said.

[Translation: The Supreme Court agreed that we will create a court especially for anti-agri smuggling and cartel hoarding law that could be similar to the Sandiganbayan.]

Senators said they want the law passed before Christmas.

CNN Philippines' Eimor Santos and Pia Garcia contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 6)  A Quezon City court dismissed the conspiracy to commit sedition case against former senator Antonio Trillanes and several others due to insufficient evidence.

In the resolution dated July 14, the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court granted the demurrers to evidence separately filed by Trillanes along with accused Peter Joemel "Bikoy" Advincula, Jonnel Sangalang, Yolanda Villanueva Ong, Fr. Flaviano Villanueva, Fr. Albert Alejo, Vicente Romano Ill, and Ronnil Carlo Enriquez.

The case was related to the Ang Totoong Narcolist videos that circulated during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte and amid his war against illegal drugs.

The Court finds that the prosecution failed to present competent or sufficient evidence to sustain the indictment or support a verdict of guilt against all accused, read the resolution, which was made available to the media on Wednesday.

In the "Ang Totoong Narcolist" videos released in 2019, Advincula implicated former president Rodrigo Duterte, some of his family members, and Senator Bong Go in the illegal drug trade.

Advincula then made a turnaround in his claims against the Dutertes and said the opposition, under the supervision of Trillanes, was behind the series of videos, prompting the Philippine National Police to file the sedition complaint before the Department of Justice and cite his testimonies.

The court said that throughout cross-examinations, all the witnesses "consistently admitted" that they had no firsthand knowledge of the events described in Advincula's statement.

Ergo, in the absence of personal knowledge of the facts narrated in the Sinumpaang Salaysay, it necessarily follows that they also do not have any personal knowledge of the participation of each and every accused in the commission of the acts described in the Sinumpaang Salaysay, the court explained.

It also noted Advincula, who was a vital witness of the prosecution, was not presented in court to testify as to the veracity, truthfulness, and accuracy of his statements made regarding his sinumpaang salaysay, which is the chief evidence of the prosecution.

"This is fatal to the case of the prosecution," the court said. "The essential witness with personal knowledge of the entire incident was demonstrably not presented in Court to substantiate the very basis of the instant criminal action filed."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7)  Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is scheduled to visit the country on Friday, providing an opportunity between him and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to discuss defense and maritime security ties.

In a statement on Aug. 18, Malacanang said Albanese's visit will be a "significant milestone" as it would be the first time an Australian prime minister would arrive in the country since 2003.

"It follows a series of high-level engagements earlier this year between the Philippines and Australia, underscoring the shared commitment of both nations to advance the trajectory of their multifaceted partnership," said the statement.

In July, naval forces of the Philippines and Australia held the Exercise Lumbas joint military drills in Zambales.

RELATED: PH's military drills with US, Australia 'extremely important' amid region's volatile conditions - Marcos

"The prime minister's meeting on 8 September with President HE Ferdinand R Marcos Jr will focus on strengthening cooperation on defense and maritime security, development and education," said a statement from Albanese's office on Aug. 11.

Aside from the United States, Australia is the only ally with whom the Philippines shares a visiting forces agreement. The Status of Visiting Forces Agreement with Australia was signed in 2007 and ratified by the Senate in 2012.

"The agreement covers practical issues including immigration and customs; arrangements for visiting forces to wear uniforms while in the other country; and criminal and civil jurisdiction over visiting forces while in the other country," said a statement posted on the website of the Australian embassy in the Philippines.

RELATED: PH VFA with Australia addressed shortcomings of US agreement, expert says

Albanese's Manila visit is part of a three-nation trip that include Indonesia and India.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 7) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., United States Vice President Kamala Harris, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to work together against unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force in the disputed South China Sea, the Japanese government said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan on Wednesday said the three leaders reaffirmed their countries commitment towards cooperation during informal talks at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit gala dinner in Indonesia.

Prime Minister Kishida, President Marcos and Vice President Harris confirmed that the three countries would continue to promote the further strengthening of coordination among Japan, the U.S., and the Philippines in various ways, the ministry also wrote.

In a meeting in Tokyo in June, the national security advisors of the three nations vowed to advance trilateral defense ties.

They said this is in response to regional security challenges and to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Meanwhile, a statement released by the White House on Wednesday said Marcos and Harris separately talked about the sea dispute during a one-on-one pull-aside meeting.

Harris reiterated the US governments ironclad alliance commitment to the Philippines, with the two countries touching on the maritime security environment in the disputed waters, where China has sweeping claims.

The discussion also builds on previous talks with US President Joe Biden and Marcos in Washington earlier this year, the White House said.

[Harris and Marcos] discussed opportunities to deepen commercial and economic cooperation, as well as their shared commitment to upholding the rules-based international order, its readout stated.

The US official also expressed a desire to further deepen their maritime ties with the Philippines.

Harris likewise welcomed Marcos move to identify four additional American military sites, saying this would allow the US to pour in investments in local communities.

On Tuesday, Marcos said that achieving peace in the SCS remains a distant reality amid ongoing territorial disputes. However, he also said the Philippines has seen progress in talks on the SCS code of conduct.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 6)  Progressive groups said they believe authorities are involved in the abduction of female environmental activists Jhed Tamano and Jhonila Castro, who were reportedly forcibly taken in the evening of Sept. 2 in Orion, Bataan.

In a press conference at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Wednesday, members of different groups led by Anakbayan and Karapatan recalled the abduction of the two activists.

"Armado po yung mga kumuhakaya naniniwala po kami na ang mga nasa likod ng pandurukot sa kanila ay ang NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict), ang mga pulis at militar," said Kate Almenzo, national spokesperson of Anakbayan.

[Translation: Those who took them were armed...so we believe that those behind their abduction are the NTF-ELCAC, the police and the military.]

Anakbayan said Tamano and Castro previously reported about armed individuals following them wherever they went.

"Bago po mawala sila Jhonila at Jed, sunud-sunod din po yung mga naging report nila hinggil sa paniniktik sa kanila, pagsunod ng hindi kilalang armadong tao kung saan sila pumupunta," Almenzo noted.

[Translation: Before Jhonila and Jed disappeared, they had been reporting about unknown armed people spying on them, following them wherever they went.]

The Central Luzon group of rights watchdog Karapatan also holds the AFP, NTF-ELCAC, and the Philippine National Police (PNP) accountable for the "enforced disappearance" of Tamano and Castro as the group condemned the attacks on activists in the country.

According to Karapatan Central Luzon, several concerned citizens posted online, claiming to have witnessed the "violent abductions of then unidentified two young women by armed men, riding away in a gray SUV, just in front of the office of Orion Water District at Brgy. Lati, Orion, Bataan."

The two activists' last known correspondence was a text message to a friend at around 7:02 pm on Sept. 2, the group said.

PNP responds

The PNP denied the allegations, saying the parents of the two activists already have an idea on the whereabouts of their children.

"We categorically deny any knowledge doon po sa sinasabing abduction ng dalawang bata," said PCol. Jean Fajardo, PNP acting chief of Public Information Office and spokesperson.

"We have an idea -- mga magulang mismo may idea kung nasan ang mga anak nila," she also said, "but I'm not at liberty to reveal this information as to not pre-empt the efforts ng mga magulang to recover their children.".

[Translation: We categorically deny any knowledge of the alleged abduction of the two children. We have an idea, the parents themselves have an idea, where their children are, but I'm not at liberty to reveal this information so as to not pre-empt the efforts of parents to recover their children.]

Prior to the alleged abduction, Tamano and Castro were said to be in Orion to consult with communities that were affected by the new coastal road and reclamation project planned for the expansion of the free port of Bataan.

Meanwhile, AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar called the accusations "baseless and malicious" and nothing but propaganda against the government.

"Such accusation therefore needs no response from us," Medel told CNN Philippines in a message. "We would rather work with fair-minded people and organizations to protect and save lives than to be engaged in useless verbal tussle with individuals or groups whose minds are poisoned by lies and deceits of CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) cadres."

"But I must admit that they too need our help to be enlightened and to be led to the right path," he added.

 With reports from CNN Philippines' correspondent Crissy Dimatulac.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 8)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has returned to the Philippines after participating in the 43rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In his departure statement, Marcos said he was able to advance the countrys interest in the summit that bore a fruitful outcome.

I promoted and highlighted key interests in ASEAN, such as food and energy security, migrant workers protection, climate change, and digital transformation, issues that are of strategic importance to the Philippines, Marcos said.

Meanwhile, the president also called on participating countries to exercise self-restraint and refrain from unilateral and assertive activities that could increase tensions and misunderstandings in the South China Sea.

To recall, Marcos said during the summit's retreat session that attaining peace and stability in the disputed waterways remains a distant reality.

READ: After Chinas 10-dash line map, Marcos says global support a big help in asserting West PH Sea claims

He also decried the "dangerous" activities in the South China Sea, including illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, as well as the militarization of reclaimed features.

Other meetings

The president also held informal talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and United States Vice President Kamala Harris on strengthening cooperation in key areas of mutual interest during the ASEAN.

Marcos also had bilateral meetings with the leaders of Cambodia, Canada, Cook Islands, India, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as with the President of the World Bank Group.

READ: Marcos to raise West PH Sea issue during trilateral talks with US, Japan  envoy

A free trade agreement with South Korea that is expected to boost investment relations and generate jobs was also signed during the sidelines of the summit.
The primary concern of business leaders in Colorado has shifted from a lack of workers to an excess of regulations, a new poll found.

Of 156 business leaders from across the state, 48% identified regulations as their most important issue, according to the Colorado Chamber of Commerce's 2023 Business Leaders Survey released on Wednesday.

Last year, only 26% of business leaders said regulations topped their concerns, second to the 27% who said worker shortages. This year, only 11% cited worker shortages.

When ranking regulations, 73% of business leaders said labor and employment requirements, such as paid leave, are among the most burdensome. That's followed by environmental regulations with 46% and new regulatory fees with 40%. And 64% of business leaders said the greatest regulatory burdens come from the state, rather than federal and local governments.

Pat McFerron, president of the Cole Hargrave Snodgrass and Associates firm, which conducted the poll, said he's surveyed around a dozen other states and they all still have workforce shortages as their top issue.

"This is the greatest concern about the regulatory climate that Ive ever recorded," McFerron said. "I don't often see these striking of numbers because companies leave states when they have this kind of sense."

The specific regulations business leaders said are the most costly are relatively new.

The Colorado Family and Medical Leave Insurance program, approved by voters in November 2020, topped the list with 57% calling it the top two costliest. Paid sick leave mandates and wage transparency rules are nearly tied at 27% and 26%, respectively. The legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid sick leave in 2020, expanding the eligible uses of sick leave in August, and approved the wage transparency law in 2019.

Lawmakers need to understand that every new regulatory burden coming from the Capitol has a real impact on jobs and economic growth, said Colorado Chamber President and CEO Loren Furman.

Overall, Colorado business leaders are less optimistic this year than in the 2022 poll.

Six in 10 respondents said Colorado's economy is "on the wrong track," compared to 53% last year. While 83% maintained or increased their workforce in the past year  up from 78% in 2022  fewer business leaders expect to increase their workforce in the upcoming year: 41% this year versus 48% last year.

Nearly half of business leaders, 48%, said they have open positions that are difficult to fill, but that's down from 66% in 2022. When it comes to workforce, the top concerns are a lack of soft skills and technical skills. The greatest barriers for attracting and retaining talent are the cost of living and housing attainability, the poll said.

Only 15% of business leaders said they have "no hesitancy" in continuing to invest in Colorado, with the top reason for hesitancy being regulatory costs. Business leaders in the manufacturing industry and large employers expressed the most hesitancy. Nearly two-thirds of business leaders, 63%, said Colorados business climate is more costly than other states, and 46% said at least some of their future investments will be made out of state.

"That should really be a wake up call," McFerron said. "Colorado is at risk of people leaving the state because of the regulatory environment. That would be the top issue and concern here."

McFerron presented the poll results on Wednesday in a briefing with state legislators, staff and reporters. Legislators present at the briefing included Sens. Joann Ginal, Mark Baisley, Chris Kolker and Paul Lundeen, and Reps. Judy Amabile, Ron Weinberg, Bob Marshall and Don Wilson.

Furman said the chamber will use the poll results to help shape their policy priorities during the 2024 legislative session, and long-term goals for a plan the chamber intends to launch in October.

Besides just addressing the concerns around business regulations, the poll could lead the chamber to advocate for a variety of policy proposals. Of business leaders, 86% support efforts to improve housing affordability and availability, and 79% support incentives for students to meet workforce needs.

"We need to start addressing some of these concerns. We can't be complacent," Furman said. "Otherwise, we're going to continue to lose our competitiveness and our businesses are going to continue to consider other states."
The Court of Appeals also expressed skepticism that the judge could require the woman to explain how she would get along better with a new lawyer
Good news for PC users: Windows desktop software isnt going anywhere. In fact, every operating system wants to run it.

A decade ago, the tech media was full of pronouncements that PCs are dying at the hands of the iPad. But in 2023, the hot new commodity is Windows desktop software. More and more operating systems are now running the Windows desktop apps it once seemed everyone  including Microsoft itself  wanted to leave behind.

At a glance, its easy to say this is just about Windows business applications, or its just about PC gaming, or its just about people wanting to offer access to decades worth of software on their devices. It's definitely about all of those things  and more.

Love the latest on Windows? My free Windows Intelligence newsletter delivers all the best Windows news and tips straight to your inbox. Plus, youll get free copies of Paul Thurrotts Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (a $10 value) just for subscribing!

Windows apps are increasingly running in the cloud

Increasingly, Windows desktop applications run in the cloud so you can access them from any device. If your iPad or Chromebook or smart TV cant run Windows software, just run Windows software remotely on a server and access it there. These classic desktop applications are often called Win32 software, though they can be 64-bit applications as well.

Microsoft is betting big on this with Windows 365. Currently available only for businesses, Windows 365 is a Windows desktop-as-a-service hosted by Microsoft. Businesses can set up their employees with remotely accessed Windows desktops. Those employees can access them through nearly any device: a Chromebook, Mac, iPad, Android tablet, smart TV, smartphone, or whatever  even from a PC. Microsoft is building better support for accessing Windows 365 desktops into Windows 11, letting you flip between your cloud PC and local PC from the Task View button on your taskbar or even boot straight to a Windows 365 cloud PC desktop on a physical Windows 11 PC.

While this is only for businesses at the moment, internal documents show Microsoft is working on Windows 365 cloud PC plans for home users.

Its not just about Microsoft, either. Even Google now has a new solution for running Windows apps natively in ChromeOS called ChromeOS Virtual App Delivery. It turns those Windows desktop apps running remotely into apps that integrate with ChromeOS. Its like Windows 365, but Google is offering just individual apps and not a full Windows desktop.

Even consumer services are finding more success running Windows software remotely. Just take a quick glance at the cloud gaming space: Googles shuttered Stadia cloud gaming service relied on game developers porting their games to run on Stadias Linux-based system. Meanwhile, Nvidias GeForce Now cloud gaming service is running on Windows, using Windows games. Betting on Windows software (rather than requiring developers to port their games to Linux) looks like it was a winning bet for Nvidia.

Microsoft

Windows desktop apps are now ready for ARM PCs

Lets step back from the cloud and look at Windows itself running on PCs. A decade ago, Microsoft seemed to agree with all the chatter that desktop software was toast, launching a Windows 8 for traditional PCs that banished desktop software to a legacy interface and a Windows RT for ARM PCs that didnt run classic Windows desktop apps at all.

Obviously, Windows has changed a lot since then  Microsoft started undoing its work with Windows 8.1 just a year later, and Windows RT was axed pretty quickly.

But Windows still runs on ARM. Windows ARM PCs still arent very common because the hardware just isnt there yet  theres nothing quite as good in the ARM PC space as Apples M1 or M2 chips, although competitive ARM chips always seem to be coming next year according to the industrys promises.

Still, assuming the hardware ever does become competitive, those Windows ARM PCs are ready to run classic Windows desktop software. Not only can you run traditional desktop apps that have been built to work on ARM PCs, but those Windows ARM PCs also have a whole emulation layer that runs traditional desktop apps made for Intel and AMD CPUs in typical PCs.

Microsoft has spent a lot of time on this, which is why a modern MacBook can run Windows desktop software through a virtual machine like Parallels: the virtual machine runs the ARM version of Windows 11, and that version of Windows uses Microsofts emulation layer to run traditional Windows software on ARM.

A few more ways Microsoft has embraced desktop software

Microsoft has become a big believer in traditional Windows desktop applications over the last few years:

On Windows 11, the Microsoft Store now distributes traditional Windows desktop apps. (In Windows 8 and Windows 10, Microsoft required developers to create Metro/Modern/Universal Windows Platform apps, not desktop apps, if they wanted to be in the Store.)

Microsoft has officially deprecated that new-style Universal Windows Application application framework. New technologies dont require developers to abandon their traditional desktop apps anymore; they can now integrate new features into their existing Windows applications.

Even Microsofts big browser switch  abandoning the old Microsoft Edge with its EdgeHTML browser engine and creating a new version of Edge based on the Chromium code that underlies Google Chrome  was a move back toward traditional Windows desktop apps. The original version of Edge had been built with that new Universal Windows Platform framework, and the switch involved going back to a more traditional Windows desktop app experience.

The Steam Decks Linux system owes a lot to Windows

Valves Steam Deck is a runaway PC gaming success. It runs SteamOS, which is based on Linux. SteamOS has had a rocky road  Valve did a big push for Steam Machines that ran Linux years ago, but they never took off.

What's different this time? Well, the portable form factor clearly won a lot of hearts and minds, but none of that would have mattered if the system didnt have enough gaming software available. The reason it did? Valve put a lot of time and effort into Proton, a compatibility layer that lets Windows games run on Linux. With just Linux-native games, Steam Deck wouldnt have taken off.

Proton is actually based on Wine, an open-source Windows compatibility layer that Linux PCs and Macs have had available for many years. But Valve put a lot of work into providing an easy experience  and making sure Windows software runs well on their Linux system.

Valve

Apples big Mac gaming bet? Windows desktop software

Its not just Valve: Apple announced its making a big investment in macOS gaming at WWDC 2023. That investment? The Game Porting Toolkit, which is a Proton-like system that lets developers easily port their Windows games to run on macOS. Its based on CrossOver, which also uses code from Wine.

Whether youre gaming in the cloud, on a Linux-based system, or on a Mac, it seems as if the entire industry is standardizing on games built on Windows desktop software.

Remember, gaming isnt just about gaming. Powerful, high-end software is being written for Windows first and foremost. The Windows software platform isnt some old system were about to get rid of  its still powerful and used for bleeding-edge software where web technologies just wont cut it.

Apple

Backwards compatibility is back

A decade ago, the head of Xbox at Microsoft said: If youre backwards compatible, youre really backwards. He was talking about console gaming at the time, trying to sell the original vision of the Xbox One.

But it was hard not to see that statement and think of everything else going on at Microsoft, including Microsofts apparent eagerness to toss Windows desktop software aside with Windows 8. The future of desktop PC software looked grim if Microsoft now thought backwards compatibility was backward. That was always the big strength of Windows.

Now, so many years later, its great to see backwards compatibility is back with a vengeance.

Backward compatibility with Windows software is so important that everyone wants it, even on non-Windows platforms. Thats huge, and it positions both Microsoft and Windows well going forward. And if you like powerful PC software? It looks good for you, too.

Get even more Windows analysis and advice with my Windows Intelligence newsletter  three things to try every Friday. Plus, get free copies of Paul Thurrotts Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (a $10 value) for signing up.
Chinese cloud and social media conglomerate Tencent has announced that its Hunyuan large language model (LLM) will be available for enterprise use, as companies in the country stake their claim as technology industry and generative AI leaders.

A war of a hundred models has begun, said Tencent's vice president, Jiang Jie, in comments published by Reuters. He noted that by July, there were more than 130 LLMs in China. These include the AI models that were recently unveiled by Chinas largest search engine, Baidu, and AI software company SenseTime.

Hunyuan has more than 100 billion parameters and was trained with more than 2 trillion tokens, while OpenAI's GPT-3 AI model, backed by Microsoft, contained 175 billion parameters when it was released in 2020 and Meta's Llama-2 model had 70 billion parameters when it was released this year. Tokens are the units into which a piece of text is divided for processing, while parameters refers to how neural networks are configured.

More than 50 products and services provided by Tencent, which owns the WeChat social media app, are now running on Hunyuan, Tencent said. The company claims that its product is better than ChatGPT at writing long text and solving math problems. The model also reportedly experiences 30% less hallucinations  the phenomenon where AI models make up answers or presents false information as facts when faced with questions it cant accurately answer  compared to Llama 2.

Separately, Chinese search engine company Baidu has claimed its ChatGPT rival, Ernie, had outperformed OpenAIs ChatGPT chatbot in a series of tests.

China seeks position as AI leader

In April, China became one of the first countries to regulate AI, with the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) unveiling a number of draft measures for managing generative AI services, including making providers responsible for the validity of data used to train generative AI tools.

Under Chinese law, AI firms will be required to submit security assessments to the government before launching AI tools to the public, and any content generated by generative AI must be in line with the countrys core socialist values. Failure to comply with the rules will result in providers being fined, having their services suspended, or facing criminal investigations. In May, Chinese authorities detained a man in northern China for allegedly using ChatGPT to write fake news articles.

However, the escalating US-China trade war may dampen the countrys tech prospects, as US President Joe Biden continues to sign executive orders restricting the sale of certain AI-related exports to China.

In August, Biden signed an executive order further restricting the exportation of semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and AI systems such as software that uses AI for military or intelligence operations.

This program will seek to prevent foreign countries of concern from exploiting US investment in this narrow set of technologies that are critical to support their development of military, intelligence, surveillance, and cyber-enabled capabilities that risk US national security, Biden wrote in a letter to Congress.
Solar incentives in Kentucky The federal solar investment tax credit (ITC) is the biggest factor in reducing the cost of going solar in Kentucky. If you install a residential solar panel system by the end of 2032, you can deduct 30% of the systems total cost  including equipment, labor and permits  from your federal taxes. For example, for a $20,000 system, you can get a $6,000 credit when you file your taxes. The ITC drops to 26% in 2033 and 22% in 2034. The solar tax credit is not a rebate or refund  you must claim it when you file federal taxes in the year that your solar panel system becomes operational. To do this, you have to complete Form 5695. If you live in Lexington-Fayette County, you can take advantage of the Solarize Lexington program. The program helps you navigate the solar installation process and gives you access to discounted wholesale rates (up to 20% off).

Commercial solar incentives in Kentucky Kentucky has some financial incentives for businesses to invest in renewable energy. Incentives for Energy Independence Act In 2007, Kentucky introduced the Incentives for Energy Independence Act to boost renewable energy and other energy initiatives. The act offers incentives for companies that use renewable energy. Companies must apply to the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority before starting. The application requires a $1,000 nonrefundable fee and a subsequent 0.25% administrative fee (up to $50,000). Maximum incentives All tax credits combined may not exceed 50% of the capital investment in the project: 100% of the corporate income tax

100% of limited liability entity tax

4% of gross wages of each employee Terms $1,000,000 minimum capital investment

Solar power facilities must generate at least 50 kW

Other energy facilities must generate at least 1 MW

Negotiated incentive package may not exceed 25 years Tax exemption for large-scale renewable energy projects The IEIA also includes a tax exemption for large renewable energy projects. Qualifying facilities must generate at least 50 kilowatts (kW) from solar or 1 megawatt (MW) from other renewables and must sell their electricity. Companies can get up to a 100% sales tax incentive on project materials and equipment. Before investing, companies apply (with a $1,000 fee) to the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority. Each contract lasts up to 25 years. Incentive amount: Up to 100% of sales and use tax

Up to 100% of sales and use tax Maximum incentive: 50% of capital investment in the eligible project

What to know about net metering in Kentucky Net metering lets you make money off any excess power your solar panels produce. All Kentucky investor-owned utilities and electric co-ops, except TVA utilities, offer net metering. In 2021, the Kentucky Public Service Commission decided that the Kentucky Power Company must maintain its one-month net metering period with an export credit rate of 9.746 cents/kilowatt-hour (kWh). Keep in mind that net metering requires some coordination between your solar company and local utilities to get started. My electric company told me that they have not received the documents that they needed to get my system turned on and swap out my meter, Toriano in Bowling Green said. Though Im glad I went solar, this last leg of the process was really aggravating to me.  SOLAR PANELS: Solar panels: lease vs. buy

Find solar companies in Kentucky Compare popular solar companies available in Kentucky below. Read our guide about finding the best solar companies for more.

Find a Solar Energy partner near you. ZIP Code Find a match

FAQ Can I get free solar panels in Kentucky? You can lease or enter a PPA with little to no upfront costs for solar panels. Still, neither is totally free. Solar leases generally require a flat monthly fee; PPAs make you pay per unit of electricity.  MORE: Free solar panels: Are they really free? How can I pay for solar panels? You can pay cash, but most people finance solar panels. A solar loan works a lot like any other type of loan  theres an application and approval process, and you pay it back over time (with interest). If you're considering a solar loan, lease or PPA (power purchase agreement), always ask: Is there a down payment?

How much will I pay per month?

When will monthly payments increase, and by how much? How much can I save with solar panels? When you pay cash upfront, the average 25-year savings with solar is $20,247 in Kentucky, which is less than in many other states. Historically, Kentucky has had relatively low electricity rates. As utility rates increase over time, however, the savings from solar become more pronounced.

Bottom line: How much are solar panels in Kentucky? You can get a 6-kW home solar system for a little less than $10,000, but many households need a bigger system to cover all their energy needs. In Kentucky, the overall cost to install solar panels averages $25,740 before the federal tax credit ($18,018 after the tax credit). The ConsumerAffairs research team conducted an in-depth analysis to determine how much it costs to go solar in Kentucky and the average solar costs in other states. Solar costs: Kentucky vs. nearby states

Average cost per watt Typical system size Average upfront cost* Payback period** 25-year savings** Kentucky $2.34 11 kW $18,018 12 years $20,247 Tennessee $2.49 12 kW $20,916 13 years $19,688 Ohio $2.56 9.5 kW $16,128 12 years $19,272 Virginia $2.75 11 kW $21,175 12 years $21,692 West Virginia $2.64 11 kW $20,328 13 years $19,893 Indiana $2.68 9.5 kW $17,822 12 years $21,994 North Carolina $2.54 6 kW 13,815 13 years $20,035 * Before ITC federal tax credit; ** When you pay cash
Solar incentives in Virginia The best way to save on solar is to take advantage of the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC). The ITC provides a federal income tax credit equal to 30% of your systems cost if you install your solar energy system before the end of 2032. The ITC drops to 26% in 2033 and 22% in 2034. The ITC is based on the total cost of your solar equipment, labor and permits to get your solar up and running. Virginia residents typically receive a federal income tax credit of around $9,000 with the ITC. To get your ITC, you have to claim it on your federal taxes for the year you started using your system by filing Form 5695. More solar incentives in Virginia

Incentive type Incentive amount Applicable sectors Administrator Statewide Local option*: Residential Property Tax Exemption for Solar Property tax incentive Varies Residential Virginia Department of Energy Arlington County Green Building Incentive Program Green building incentive Varies Commercial, construction, residential, installers/contractors, multifamily residential Arlington County Energy Project and Equipment Financing Loan Program Loan program Varies Local government Virginia Resource Authority Commercial Solar Property Tax Exemption Property tax incentive 80% to 100% exemption Commercial, industrial, schools, agricultural Virginia Department Energy Small Business & Nonprofit Loan Program Loan program Varies Commercial, nonprofit Virginia Small Business Financing Authority Local option*: Renewable Energy Machinery and Tools Property Tax Exemption Property tax incentive Varies by local governing body Commercial, construction, industrial, nonprofit, residential, installers/contractors, agricultural, integrators Varies VirginiaSAVES Green Community Loan Program Loan program Minimum loan size: $500,000 to $1 million; maximum loan size: $5 million Commercial, industrial, local government, nonprofit, schools, state government, agricultural, institutional Virginia Small Business Finance Authority Green Job Creation Tax Credit Industry recruitment/support $500 tax credit per job created Commercial, industrial Virginia Department of Taxation *Local options are allowed by state law but not required. Availability varies by location.

Statewide residential solar incentives in Virginia While some states have very few solar incentives, Virginia has quite a few that can benefit residents and businesses. Tax breaks The Residential Property Tax Exemption for Solar gives counties and cities the option to disregard the value added by solar when determining property taxes. To qualify, your solar system can be up to 25 kW and must be inspected and certified by the local building department or the Department of Environmental Quality. Virginia also has two tax break incentives for nonresidential properties. The Commercial Solar Property Tax Exemption offers a 100% tax break on equipment and facilities used in projects that are 20 MW or less and serve a public college or private university. Projects that are more than 5 MW but less than 150 MW get an 80% property tax exemption on the assessed value. If your project is more than 20 MW, pay attention to the start date of construction. If it begins after Jan. 1, 2024, the exemption doesn't apply. The Renewable Energy Machinery and Tools Property Tax Exemption lets local governments lower the property tax on renewable energy-generating machinery and tools. The incentive amount varies depending on the local regulations.  MUST-KNOW: Tax deductions for homeowners Loan programs Virginia has three loan programs for small businesses and various other sectors but only one for residential properties. Commercial and agricultural energy loan programs include: Energy Project and Equipment Financing provides local governments with the funding they need for solar projects.

provides local governments with the funding they need for solar projects. The Small Business & Nonprofit Loan Program provides funding options for solar projects to small businesses and nonprofits.

provides funding options for solar projects to small businesses and nonprofits. The VirginiaSAVES Green Community Loan Program offers loans ranging from $500,000 to $5 million to local governments, commercial properties, schools, farms and institutions that want to go solar. You can take advantage of the PACE financing for residential projects. The program will pay for 100% of your solar installation costs, and you pay the program back through a fee that's added to your property tax. It takes around 10 to 20 years to pay this type of loan back.

What to know about net metering in Virginia Many people keep excess energy generated by their solar power system stored in a solar battery to use later when their panels arent producing enough energy. Others use net metering. Net metering is when you sell your excess energy to an electric company. The electric company typically pays for this exchange as a credit on your electric bill. To be eligible for net metering in Virginia, residential customers must have systems that are up to 25 kilowatts (kW) in capacity. Nonresidential customers must have systems up to 3,000 kW in capacity. If you rack up a credit on your electric bill, it can carry over to the next year as long as it doesnt exceed the amount of energy you purchased from the electric company. Drew in Suffolk pointed out how the time of year you get panels also affects your bottom line when it comes to net metering: The day that you go on the grid, your 12-month timer starts, he said. My highest usage months are June, July and August. So, the only way for me to maximize net metering and get the value out of the solar panels would be for me to go on the grid in September. By going on the grid in January, I miss September, October, November and December. That's four months of buildup of credits. If you're a net-metering customer with Dominion Virginia Power, youll need to pay "standby charges" for both transmission ($1.40 per kW every month) and distribution ($2.79 per kW every month). This applies to you if you own and run (or are planning to own and run) an electric generation system with a capacity that's more than 10 kW but less than 20 kW. The city of Danville has its own net metering program for commercial and residential properties. The residents must submit paperwork to Danville Utilities to be considered eligible for net metering. In an ideal scenario, your solar company helps with this process. Patrick in Purcellville told us his solar company did all the proper permitting (city and county), and all that I needed to do was submit HOA paperwork. Be sure to ask what assistance your solar installer provides for filing and submitting necessary paperwork.

Find solar companies in Virginia Compare popular solar companies available in Virginia below. Read our guide about finding the best solar companies for more.

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FAQ Can I get solar panels for free in Virginia? You cant get solar panels for free, but you can reduce your starting costs with a lease or a PPA. These options get you a solar system with little to no upfront costs and a flat monthly fee or a payment for how much electricity you use.  MORE: Free solar panels: Are they really free? How much can I save with solar panels in Virginia? In Virginia, the average savings after going solar is $21,692 over 25 years. Even if you dont generate 100% of your energy needs, you can still save a lot of money compared with paying traditional utility bills. Are there any commercial solar incentives in Virginia? Virginia has several commercial solar incentives, including the Arlington County Green Building Incentive Program, the Commercial Solar Property Tax Exemption, the Small Business & Nonprofit Loan Program, the Renewable Energy Machinery and Tools Property Tax Exemption Program, the VirginiaSAVES Green Community Loan Program and the Green Job Creation Tax Credit.  MORE: Commercial solar panel installation Are there any disadvantages to going solar in Virginia? There are a few things to consider before going solar in Virginia. First, the state only gets around 3 1/2 to 4 peak sun hours daily. That may not be enough sunlight to power your home or business without buying a lot of solar panels. Also, the average cost of solar panels is 26% higher than the national average. This could make solar out of reach for those on a budget. The average time it takes to pay off solar (if you pay cash) in the state is around 12 years, which may be prohibitive to some.  MORE: Solar energy pros and cons Is my HOA allowed to restrict solar panels? In Virginia, the HOA can limit the size and location of your solar panels. How can I pay for solar panels? While paying cash is an option, most people tend to finance solar panels. Another option is getting a solar loan that lets you pay back the money you borrowed for your solar system back over time with interest. You can also lease your solar system or get a PPA (power purchase agreement).  SOLAR PANELS: Lease vs. buy How do PACE programs work in Virginia? PACE in Virginia lets you finance 100% of your solar and pay it back through an additional fee to your property taxes. Financing has a fixed rate for up to 30 years.

Bottom line: How much are solar panels in Virginia? The ConsumerAffairs research team conducted an in-depth analysis to determine how much it costs to go solar in Virginia and the average solar costs in other states. Solar costs: Virginia vs. nearby states

Average cost per watt Typical system size Upfront cost* ITC value (30%) Payback period* Estimated net savings Virginia $2.75 11 kW $21,175 $9,075 12 years $21,692 West Virginia $2.64 11 kW $20,328 $8,712 13 years $19,893 Delaware $2.58 9.5 kW $17,157 $7,353 12 years $29,016 Maryland $2.77 10 kW $19,390 $8,310 12 years $21,395 North Carolina $2.54 6 kW $13,815 $5,921 13 years $20,035 Kentucky $2.34 11 kW $18,018 $7,722 12 years $20,247 * After ITC federal tax credit; ** When you pay cash
- AMD Radeon Anti-Lag+ - Takes responsive gaming to the next level by introducing per-game profiling to intelligently pace frames further reducing input lag on RDNA 3 based Radeon GPUs. For more information about game support click HERE.

- Takes responsive gaming to the next level by introducing per-game profiling to intelligently pace frames further reducing input lag on RDNA 3 based Radeon GPUs. For more information about game support click HERE. - AMD Radeon Boost  Now supports AMD Radeon Anti-Lag+ and improves image quality through awareness of mouse sensitivity, reducing the image quality impact of dynamic resolution switching during motiontypically seen with high-DPI mice.

 Now supports AMD Radeon Anti-Lag+ and improves image quality through awareness of mouse sensitivity, reducing the image quality impact of dynamic resolution switching during motiontypically seen with high-DPI mice. - AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 23.9.1 introduces AMD Radeon Boost support for Resident Evil 4 Remake and Ghostwire: Tokyo, which delivers extra performance and increased responsiveness with little perceived impact to quality.

- AMD HYPR-RX  Introducing a new driver experience that allows users to optimize their games using AMD Software features for their RDNA 3 based Radeon GPUs, achieving increased performance and lower latency with ease.

 Introducing a new driver experience that allows users to optimize their games using AMD Software features for their RDNA 3 based Radeon GPUs, achieving increased performance and lower latency with ease. - AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition 23.9.1 introduces the ability to intelligently combine AMD Radeon Anti-Lag+, Boost, and Radeon Super Resolution to achieve improved performance and latency reduction than these features can achieve on their own.

- Error message may be observed when selecting Spatial sound format of Dolby Atmos for home theatre.

- Performance Metrics Overlay may report N/A for FPS on various games.

- Audio may intermittently become out of sync with video when recording from AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition with AV1 codec.

- Display may not reach correct brightness with certain games on select SAMSUNG FreeSync Premium Pro monitors or TVs with local dimming setting enabled.

- Application crash may be observed while playing Baldur's Gate 3 with Vulkan API set on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon RX 7900 XTX.

- Application crash or driver timeout may be observed while playing SMITE on some AMD Graphics Products, such as the Radeon RX 7900 XT.

De nouveaux drivers sont disponibles chez, leset ces derniers ne se contentent pas d'une signature numerique. Ils sont necessaires si vous souhaitez installer une carte graphique RX 7700 XT ou RX 7800 XT, ils apportent egalement leur lot de nouveautes : Anti-Lag+, Boost et HYPR-RX.La page de telechargement se trouve ici
What do you get for the person who has everything?

Its a hard question at the best of times, but made even harder when the everything in question includes nuclear codes. World leaders sometimes become genuinely good friends, but a lot of the time theyre more like managers of different departments who keep getting brought to the same meetings. They spend hundreds of hours in one anothers company and know a lot about one anothers roles, but its not like theyre sharing a joint and watching Hot Rod together, or leaning up against a fence with a few beers, or any of the other things proper friends do.

However, they find themselves having to give each other gifts a lot. Official gifts, too, chronicled as matters of public record and scrutinized to a crazy degree  they cant cross the line from show of mutual respect to outright bribe, you see, so in the U.S. anything worth more than $390 (unless the president wants to pay the difference themselves) is passed onto the Protocol Gift Unit and usually ends up in a museum somewhere. (Well, not always  several presidents have accidentally forgotten to pass their gifts on, or pay the excess, and just kinda taken a whole load of shit.)

With the sheer amount of gift-giving, and the pressure added to everything by the worlds eyes, its no wonder world leaders sometimes present themselves with crappy, underwhelming, poorly-thought-through or simply bizarre gifts.

15 One Hump or Two? French President Francois Hollande received a camel in 2013 as thanks for his efforts in Mali. Unable to take it home unvaccinated, he left it with a Malinese family, who  and theres no gentle way to phrase this  ate it. (Source)

14 Nothing Says Cheap Gag Gift Like the Constant Threat of Nuclear Apocalypse When Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, she gave her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov a silly-looking big red button  real Carrot Top, prop-comedy shit. It said reset in English, and due to unfortunate mistranslation, Overload in Russian, muddying its message somewhat. (Source)

13 Toodle Pip, Heres a Big Bag of Bloomin Bollocks Former U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson gave gifts like a divorced dad hitting up a rest stop on Christmas morning. In 2021 he gave Joe Biden two dog bowls, a couple of blankets and a photo someone else took of a cool mural. (Source)

12 Thats Not an Insurance Policy, This Is an Insurance Policy On a state visit to Australia, the Obamas were presented with a crocodile insurance policy that would have given Michelle a cool 50 grand if Barack was eaten by a croc. That wouldnt have been a very gday. (Source) Advertisement Advertisement

11 The Bulgarian Rim Job Theres kissing ass and theres kissing ass. In 2002, Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov presented George W. Bush with, along with a dog named Balkan, the Bulgarian-language book The Leadership Genius of George W. Bush. (Source)

10 Whats the Hardest Thing About Being a Rollerblader? In 2008, Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende gave George W. Bush everything a leader of the free world would need if they wished, at 62, to get really into rollerblading: blades, helmet, pads, everything. COOL. (Source) Advertisement Advertisement

9 The Pencil Is Pricier Than the Sword Barack Obama was once given the unimpressive-sounding gift of a pencil by European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. However, it was a Graf von Faber-Castell Perfect Pencil  possibly the only pencil in the world to break the $390 limit. (Source)

8 Wanna Watch Raging Bull? Tough! Barack Obama once really shit the gifting bed. U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave him a pen holder made from the wood of a slaving ship, a reminder of Britains problematic history. Obama gave him 25 DVDs, unwatchable on U.K. players. (Source) Advertisement Advertisement

7 Astro-naughty Girl! JFK was given a dog, Pushinka, by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in 1961. It was a bit of a fuck-you, though  Pushinkas mother had been to space, so it was an adorable reminder that Russia was winning the space race. (Source)

6 The Most Dangerous Lizard on Earth? You Shouldnt Have! The first President Bush was given nine-foot Komodo dragon by Indonesian President Suharto in 1990. Komodo dragons are amazing but incredibly dangerous  it would be hard if given one not to see it as a fairly bold murder attempt. (Source) Advertisement Advertisement

5 Ah, An Ethically Questionable Noahs Ark Scenario, Just What I Always Wanted Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe once arranged to give North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-Il a mating pair of each of Zimbabwes rarest animals. However, international outcry at how this would absolutely kill most of them called off the plans. (Source)

4 Would Your Majesty Care for a Brewski from the Hideous Minifridge? In 1972, President Pompidou of France gave Queen Elizabeth II a wine cooler shaped like a grasshopper. Its a real room-filler, absolutely fucking hideous and as un-regal as it gets  the kind of thing a 10-year-old brings back from vacation. (Source) Advertisement Advertisement

3 The Pleasure Is All Yours The late Queen herself wasnt the greatest of gift-givers, presenting Joe Biden with a framed picture of herself. Thats simply not acceptable as a gift, goddamn it. What a show-off. (Source)

2 The War on Rugs In 1997, Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev decided to commemorate a meeting with the Clintons by having a rug made featuring big-ass portraits of the pair of them. Luckily, it didnt come out weird and creepy at all! (Source) Advertisement Advertisement
If, for whatever reason, you ever find yourself engaged in a heated argument with Rob Schneider on Twitter over his latest empty, troll-ish hate post, know that youre in award-winning company.

Within the last decade, Schneider has followed a familiar pipeline from schlock comedy star to Republican pander-performer as he realized that the base for banal, low-hanging jokes about race, gender and sexuality lies firmly on the Fox News side of American media. The man who once made his living playing borderline minstrel roles in Adam Sandler movies now enjoys success on the conservative comedy circuit where phrases like did you just assume my gender? and okay groomer count as punchlines  Schneider dropped his Fox Nation debut special Woke Up in America earlier this year and is currently on a packed tour of red states and right-leaning towns where owning the libs on Twitter is the best way to fill a theater.

This week, Schneider was fashionably way late to the pile-on party thrown for transgender influencer and comedian Dylan Mulvaney, who, unfortunately, is best known for inadvertently sparking the Bud Light controversy that, much like springtime, faded out back around Memorial Day. After Schneider posted an incendiary tweet in which he called Mulvaney a gentleman and accused her of gender appropriation, thousands of Twitter users took the bait and began flaming the professional provocateur in his replies. Well, before anyone else gives Schneider two thumbs down, just remember  Roger Ebert did it first.

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The background for the legendary Schneider-Ebert beef begins with a 2005 article written by LA Times film critic Patrick Goldstein in which he lamented how big Hollywood studios cheaped out on artistically ambitious films worthy of recognition at the Academy Awards while funding abortions like Schneiders Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, calling it a film that was sadly overlooked at Oscar time because apparently nobody had the foresight to invent a category for Best Running Penis Joke Delivered by a Third-Rate Comic.

Schneider shot back by buying full-page ad space in numerous trade magazines that featured the same open letter addressed to Goldstein in which he disparaged the writer for his lack of awards recognition equal to the Oscars, writing, Maybe, Mr. Goldstein, you didn't win a Pulitzer Prize because they haven't invented a category for Best Third-Rate, Unfunny Pompous Reporter, Who's Never Been Acknowledged By His Peers! Schneider even included vague physical threats in his tirade, continuing, "Patrick, I can honestly say that if I sat your colleagues at a luncheon (sic), afterwards, they'd say 'You know, that Rob Schneider is a pretty intelligent guy, I hope we can do that again.' Whereas, if you sat with my colleagues, after lunch, you would just be beaten beyond recognition."

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The critical world took note of the attack on one of their more esteemed members, and the most influential voice in film commentary decided to weigh in on the petty attacks with what would become one of the most iconic take-downs in movie media history. When Ebert reviewed Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, he trashed the script, the crass, unfunny jokes and, most importantly, Schneiders performance, writing, The best thing about it is that it runs for only 75 minutes.

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However, the film itself quickly took a backseat to Eberts reflection on Schneiders temper tantrums and his attacks on Eberts colleague, as the legendary critic noted how Goldstein was, in fact, an award-winning journalist with numerous recognitions from trade organizations and a high reputation among his peers. Ebert further noted how Schneider was nominated for a 2000 Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor, but lost to Jar-Jar Binks.

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After mercilessly trashing Schneiders movie, artistry and character, Ebert closed with an iconic line that would inspire the title for a book of his most scathing reviews, recalling Schneiders most emphatic point against Goldstein as he wrote, Schneider is correct, and Patrick Goldstein has not yet won a Pulitzer Prize. Therefore, Goldstein is not qualified to complain that Columbia financed Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo while passing on the opportunity to participate in Million Dollar Baby, Ray, The Aviator, Sideways and Finding Neverland. As chance would have it, I have won the Pulitzer Prize, and so I am qualified. Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks.

Years later, Schneider and Ebert would both publicly bury the hatchet as Schneider admitted his own childishness in the exchange and Ebert wrote sympathetically about Schneiders calling to create laughter in any way he can. After Eberts death, Schneider exchanged correspondence with Eberts widow Chaz, recalling the note he wrote to Ebert when he heard of his old foes cancer diagnosis, which read, "Roger, thank you for sharing your love of cinema with all of us. I hope you are back doing what you love most soon, watching movies from your La-Z-Boy chair! Signed, Rob Schneider, your least favorite movie star."

As todays Schneider fills the internet with vitriol, small-mindedness and an all-encompassing acrimony for those whose identities dont conform to his narrow beliefs, its important to remember that, at one point, Schneider was capable of accepting criticism and managed a face-turn most admirable of anyone who has ever had their ass handed on a preposterously public scale. Maybe he can do it again, even if hes still our least favorite comedian.
Student loans are the shackles that have held back generations from achieving their financial goals and, in some cases, prevented them from even dreaming about hitting certain life milestones. Its terrible and depressing; so of course, we have to try to find any way to laugh at the pain of those never-ending payments.

Click right here to get the best of Cracked sent to your inbox.

Here then are some of the funniest jokes about student loans...

13 Snakes Big Score On The Simpsons, career criminal Snake finally shakes off his debt with one armed robbery.

12 Zoidbergs Woes Look, even doctors on Futurama have trouble keeping up on payments, Mr. Millionaire.

11 Tone Bell Makes Student Lenders Owe Him Bell intentionally overpaid his last student loan payment to get what he always wanted: The ability to call them to pay him back.

10 Adam Devine Would Orally Please a Man to Pay Off Student Loans Advertisement Advertisement

9 The Menu Sides with the Working Class The chef in The Menu traps a bunch of wealthy elites into his restaurant for a mass killing but is willing to spare those who have student loans. Theyve been punished enough.

8 Conan OBriens Assistant Is Pro-Student Loans On Conan, OBriens assistant, Sona Movsesian, had a message for President Joe Biden after he didnt cancel $50,000 of student loan debt from borrowers. Advertisement Advertisement

7 College Humor Says to Not Pay Student Loans Listen, not paying student loans is something angels, devils, grandparents, bankers, your future children and stained mattresses all agree on.

6 Chloe Hilliards Critique of Kamala Harris Plan Kamala Harris came up with this new idea for debt forgiveness for student loan debt. But its so hard, and its so complicated. You gotta fill out paperwork. You got to start a business in an underprivileged, underserved neighborhood. Thats work! First of all, thats how we got student debt in the first place: signing shit we didnt read. Advertisement Advertisement

5 Saturday Night Live on Elizabeth Warren SNLs Weekend Update had Kate McKinnon make her Elizabeth Warren impression to discuss college debt forgiveness. After all, she needs to make good after that squirrel family incident.

4 Neal Brennan Doesnt Understand the Economics of College Student loans are basically small business loans, and the business is you. And youre maybe not such a great business. Advertisement Advertisement

3 The Daily Show Breaks It Down On The Daily Show, Trevor Noah touched upon how the student debt crisis has even impacted Social Security pensioners.

2 Maria Bamford Used Her Commencement Speech Payment to Pay Off Students Loans On Conan, Bamford shared that she was asked to give a commencement speech at her alma mater and asked them to pay up, especially since her degree didnt really achieve anything for her. In a classy move, she used the money to help pay for other students loans so they wouldnt get stuck. Advertisement Advertisement
Zanu PF leadership in Masvingo has started preparations for the Gutu West National Assembly by-election, as it is determined to win the seat and consolidate its dominance in the province.

The Gutu West elections could not be held on August 23 together with the rest of the general elections, following the death of an independent candidate Christopher Mutonho in a road traffic accident.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) will re-sit the Nomination Court to allow new candidates wishing to contest for the Gutu West seat to file their papers.

Zanu PF Masvingo provincial chairperson Cde Robson Mavhenyengwa yesterday said the ruling party was already gearing for the by-election.

He said Cde John Paradza, who was the sitting legislator for the constituency and won the ruling party primary elections uncontested ahead of the August 23 polls, remained the revolutionary partys candidate.

We are more than ready for the Gutu West parliamentary by-election whenever ZEC sets date for the duel and we are very confident that we will retain the seat and consolidate our undisputed dominance of the Masvingo political landscape, said Cde Mavhenyengwa.

In fact preparations for the by-elections by the party in the province (Masvingo) are already at an advanced stage and anytime from now we will hit the ground running campaigning for our candidate Cde John Paradza so that he wins resoundingly to put the icing on the cake following our superb performance in the August 23 elections.

Cde Mavhenyengwa said there was no doubt the ruling party would retain the Gutu West seat as it is a Zanu PF stronghold.

Gutu District as a whole is a Zanu PF stronghold and the opposition has repeatedly failed to make a presence in the district and the just-ended harmonised elections confirm that because we swept all the other seats in the district.

In fact our torch-bearer, President Mnangagwa amassed over 15 000 votes in the constituency, which shows the high support that Zanu PF and our President have there, he said.

Zanu PF won nine out of the 10 wards in the constituency during the August 23 elections in Gutu West.

We are waiting to trounce the opposition in the Gutu West parliamentary by-election. Gutu District, just like the whole province, is a Zanu PF fortress and we are ready to win and win big, said Cde Mavhenyengwa.

He paid tribute to ruling party supporters and the rest of the province for observing peace before, during and after the harmonised elections.

Zanu PF maintained its dominance in Masvingo Province after winning 23 out of the 25 National Assembly seats that were at stake in August.

The CCC won just seats; Chiredzi Central and Masvingo Urban. Herald
"If nothing else, generative AI does a great job at translating content, so countries that haven't experienced many phishing attempts so far may soon see more," McGladrey adds.

Others warn that other AI-enabled threats are on the horizon, saying they expect hackers will use deepfakes to mimic individuals -- such as high-profile executives and civic leaders (whose voices and images are widely and publicly available for which to train AI models).

"It's definitely something we're keeping an eye on, but already the possibilities are pretty clear. The technology is getting better and better, making it harder to discern what's real," says Ryan Bell, threat intelligence manager at cyber insurance provider Corvus, citing the use of deepfake images of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to pass along disinformation as evidence of the technology's use for nefarious purposes.

Moreover, the Finnish report offered a dire assessment of what's ahead: "In the near future, fast-paced AI advances will enhance and create a larger range of attack techniques through automation, stealth, social engineering, or information gathering. Therefore, we predict that AI-enabled attacks will become more widespread among less skilled attackers in the next five years. As conventional cyberattacks will become obsolete, AI technologies, skills and tools will become more available and affordable, incentivizing attackers to make use of AI-enabled cyberattacks."

Hijacking enterprise AI

On a related note, some security experts say hackers could use an organization's own chatbots against them.

As is the case with more conventional attack scenarios, attackers could try to hack into the chatbot systems to steal any data within those systems or to use them to access other systems that hold greater value to the bad actors.

That, of course, is not particularly novel. What is, though, is the potential for hackers to repurpose compromised chatbots and then use them as conduits to spread malware or perhaps interact with others -- customers, employees, or other systems -- in nefarious ways, says Matt Landers, a security engineer with security firm OccamSec.

Similar warnings recently came from Voyager18, the cyber risk research team, and security software company Vulcan. These researchers published a June 2023 advisory detailing how hackers could use generative AI, including ChatGTP, to spread malicious packages into developers' environments.

Wuchnersays the new threats posed by AI don't end there. He says organizations could find that errors, vulnerabilities, and malicious code could enter the enterprise as more workers -- particularly workers outside IT -- use gen AI to write code so they can quickly deploy it for use.

"All the studies show how easy it is to create scripts with AI, but trusting these technologies is bringing things into the organization that no one ever thought about," Wuchner adds.

Quantum computing

The United States passed the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act in December 2022, codifying into law a measure aimed at securing federal government systems and data against the quantum-enabled cyberattacks that many expect will happen as quantum computing matures.

Several months later, in June 2023, the European Policy Centre urged similar action, calling on European officials to prepare for the advent of quantum cyberattacks -- an anticipated event dubbed Q-Day.

According to experts, work on quantum computing could advance enough in the next five to 10 years to reach the point where it has the capability of breaking today's existing cryptographic algorithms -- a capability that could make all digital information protected by current encryption protocols vulnerable to cyberattacks.

"We know quantum computing will hit us in three to 10 years, but no one really knows what the full impact will be yet," Ruchie says. Worse still, he says bad actors could use quantum computing or quantum computing paired with AI to "spin out new threats."

Data and SEO poisoning

Another threat that has emerged is data poisoning, says Rony Thakur, collegiate associate professor at the University of Maryland Global Campus' School of Cybersecurity and IT.

With data poisoning, attackers tamper or corrupt the data used to train machine learning and deep-learning models. They can do so using a variety of techniques. Sometimes also called model poisoning, this attack aims to affect the accuracy of the AI's decision-making and outputs.

As Thakur summarizes: "You can manipulate algorithms by poisoning the data."

He notes that both insider and external bad actors are capable of data poisoning. Moreover, he says many organizations lack the skills to detect such a sophisticated attack. Although organizations have yet to see or report such attacks at any scale, researchers have explored and demonstrated that hackers could, in fact, be capable of such attacks.

Others cite an additional "poisoning" threat: search engine optimization (SEO) poisoning, which most commonly involves the manipulation of search engine rankings to redirect users to malicious websites that will install malware on their devices. Info-Tech Research Group called out the SEO poisoning threat in its June 2023 Threat Landscape Briefing, calling it a growing threat.

Preparing for what's next

A majority of CISOs are anticipating a changing threat landscape: 58% of security leaders expect a different set of cyber risks in the upcoming five years, according to a poll taken by search firm Heidrick & Struggles for its 2023 Global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Survey.

CISOs list AI and machine learning as the top themes in most significant cyber risks, with 46% saying as much. CISOs also list geopolitical, attacks, threats, cloud, quantum, and supply chain as other top cyber risk themes.

Authors of the Heidrick & Struggles survey noted that respondents offered some thoughts on the topic. For example, one wrote that there will be "a continued arms race for automation." Another wrote, "As attackers increase [the] attack cycle, respondents must move faster." A third shared that "Cyber threats [will be] at machine speed, whereas defenses will be at human speed."

The authors added, "Others expressed similar concerns, that skills will not scale from old to new. Still others had more existential fears, citing the 'dramatic erosion in our ability to discern truth from fiction.'"

Security leaders say the best way to prepare for evolving threats and any new ones that might emerge is to follow established best practices while also layering in new technologies and strategies to strengthen defenses and create proactive elements into enterprise security.

"It's taking the fundamentals and applying new techniques where you can to advance [your security posture] and create a defense in depth so you can get to that next level, so you can get to a point where you could detect anything novel," says Norman Kromberg, CISO of security software company NetSPI. "That approach could give you enough capability to identify that unknown thing."
The UK government's new artificial intelligence (AI) tsar Ian Hogarth has warned that cybercriminals could use AI to attack the National Health System (NHS). Hogarth, who is the chair of the UK's "Frontier AI" task force, said that AI could be weaponized to disrupt the NHS, potentially rivalling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or the WannaCry ransomware attack of 2017. He highlighted the risks of AI systems being used to launch cyberattacks on the health service, or even to design pathogens and toxins. Meanwhile, advances in AI technology, particularly in code writing, are lowering the barriers for cybercriminals to carry out attacks, he added.

"The government is quite rightly putting these threats to the very top of the agenda, but technology leaders need to heed the warning and get moving, to better prepare for the next inevitable attack," Hogarth told the Financial Times.

Announced by the Prime Minister in April, the UK government's Frontier AI task force was established in June to lead the safe and reliable development of frontier AI models, including generative AI large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Google Bard. It is backed with GBP100 million in funding to ensure sovereign capabilities and broad adoption of safe and reliable foundation models, helping cement the UK's position as a science and technology superpower by 2030.

International collaboration needed to address AI risks

The threats posed by advancing AI technology are fundamentally global risks, Hogarth said. "The kind of risks that we are paying most attention to are augmented national security risks. A huge number of people in technology right now are trying to develop AI systems that are superhuman at writing code. That technology is getting better and better by the day."

In the same way the UK collaborates with China in aspects of biosecurity and cybersecurity, there is a real value in international collaboration around the larger scale risks of AI, he added. "It's the sort of thing where you can't go it alone in terms of trying to contain these threats."

AI a "chronic risk" to UK national security

Last month, AI was officially classed as a security threat to the UK for the first time following the publication of the National Risk Register (NRR) 2023. The extensive document details the various threats that could have a significant impact on the UKs safety, security, or critical systems at a national level. The latest version describes AI as a chronic risk, meaning it poses a threat over the long term, as opposed to an acute one such as a terror attack.
Free Series Continues September 14

: UCLA professor Leisy J. Abrego will talk about "Communists, Criminals, and Caravans: Central Americans Seeking Refuge in the United States" - presenting the political and social context of U.S.-Central American relations and refugees - as part of the SMC Social Justice Series on September 26 at 11:15 a.m. in HSS 105 on the main SMC Campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.

Santa Monica College (SMC) continues its Social Justice Lecture Series in fall 2023 with presentations and discussions that explore the concept of social justice and a variety of aspects, issues, and developments affecting and shaping it in today's world.

All presentations in the series are free. Seating is strictly on a first-arrival basis.

The fall 2023 series lineup is:

 Thursday, September 14 at 11:15 a.m. in HSS 105 on the main SMC Campus (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica) - "Manzanar, Diverted: Documentary Screening and Q&A with Director Ann Kaneko." Director Ann Kaneko will screen and discuss her Emmy-winning feature documentary Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust, a fascinating retelling of the Los Angeles water story, covering more than 150 years of history. The documentary follows intergenerational women from three communities who defend their land, history, and culture from the insatiable thirst of Los Angeles, and reveals the unexpected alliance of Native Americans, Japanese-American WWII incarcerees, and environmentalists to preserve "the land of flowing water," Payahuunadu (Owens Valley). A professor in the Media Studies department at Pitzer College, Kaneko has been a Fulbright Fellow, Japan Foundation Artist, Film Independent Doc Lab Fellow, and Jackson Wild Multicultural Fellow, and is a member of BGDM, A-Doc, and the distribution coop New Day Films. Her films include A Flicker in Eternity, based on Stanley Hayami's diary; Against The Grain: An Artist's Survival Guide to Peru, highlighting Peruvian political artists; Overstay, about Japanese undocumented workers; and 100% Human Hair, a musical for the AFI Directing Workshop for Women. An audience Q&A with director Kaneko follows the screening. Sponsored by the SMC Associates, SMC Modern Languages & Cultures Department, SMC Earth Sciences Department, SMC History Department, and APIDA Club.

Santa Monica College The SMC Social Justice Series continues in fall 2023 with Director Ann Kaneko, who will screen and discuss her Emmy-winning feature documentary Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust on September 14 at 11:15 a.m. in HSS 105 on the main SMC Campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.

 Tuesday, September 26 at 11:15 a.m. in in HSS 105 on the main SMC Campus (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica) - Leisy J. Abrego: "Communists, Criminals, and Caravans: Central Americans Seeking Refuge in the United States." Over the past decade, thousands have left home in Central America to seek refuge in the United States. What is propelling their mass exodus and why should people in the U.S. care? Leisy J. Abrego presents the political and social context of U.S.-Central American relations to help explain how U.S. foreign policies produce refugees from this region while, at the same time, U.S. immigration policies criminalize them. Abrego is Professor of Chicana/o and Central American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Her books include Sacrificing Families: Navigating Laws, Labor, and Love Across Borders (Stanford University Press, 2014) and, co-edited with Genevieve Negron-Gonzales, We Are Not Dreamers: Undocumented Scholars Theorize Undocumented Life in the United States (Duke University Press, 2020). Sponsored by the SMC Associates, SMC Modern Languages & Cultures Department, and SMC Earth Sciences Department.

All programs are subject to change without notice, and new speakers may be added to the series. Up-to-date details are posted at smc.edu/events and available by calling 310-434-4100.

IMAGE CAPTIONS:

Ann-Kaneko.jpg: The SMC Social Justice Series continues in fall 2023 with Director Ann Kaneko, who will screen and discuss her Emmy-winning feature documentary Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust on September 14 at 11:15 a.m. in HSS 105 on the main SMC Campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.

LeisyAbrego.jpg: UCLA professor Leisy J. Abrego will talk about "Communists, Criminals, and Caravans: Central Americans Seeking Refuge in the United States" - presenting the political and social context of U.S.-Central American relations and refugees - as part of the SMC Social Justice Series on September 26 at 11:15 a.m. in HSS 105 on the main SMC Campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica.
News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism.
EUR/USD and EUR/JPY Forecast - Prices, Charts, and Analysis

Euro Area q/q growth is nominal at best.

EUR/USD eyes 1.0700 as the greenback remains better bid.

The final Q2 Euro Area GDP release shows that the block of 19 countries has barely expanded over the last quarters. Data from Eurostat, the statistics office of the European Union, showed Q2 growth of just 0.1%, down from a prior forecast of 0.3%, while Q1 GDP was revised up to 0.1% from 0.0%. The last three quarterly Euro Area GDP prints are -0.1%, +0.1% and +0.1%. While the Euro Area has stayed out of a technical recession, the near-complete lack of growth over the last nine months will heighten concerns within the ECB that their current monetary policy may be too restrictive.

DailyFX Calendar

The US dollar index remains on the front foot, aided by robust US Treasury yields and Euro weakness. The latest CME Fed Fund probabilities now point to the June 2024 FOMC for the first official rate cut. Of note also is that the probabilities of a 25 basis point hike in either November or December this year have grown recently, helped by stronger-than-expected US economic data.

Later in todays session, we have the weekly initial jobless claims data followed by speeches from four Federal Reserve members.

Recommended by Nick Cawley Trading Forex News: The Strategy Get My Guide

The daily EUR/USD chart shows the pair breaking below the 200-day simple moving average with conviction last Friday, leaving EUR/USD under pressure from all three smas. The next levels of support can be seen at 1.0635 and 1.0615, levels that were last traded in late-May and mid-March respectively. Initial resistance is at 1.0787 before the 200-dsma at 1.0821. The CCI indicator shows the pair in oversold territory, so this may delay or slow any further sell-off.

EUR/USD Daily Price Chart  September 7, 2023

Chart via TradingView

Download the Latest EUR/USD Sentiment Guide for Free

EUR/USD Mixed Data provided by of clients are net long. of clients are net short.

Change in Longs Shorts OI Daily -5% 18% 3% Weekly 19% -18% 1%

EUR/JPY remains a couple of points away from highs last seen back in 2008. The double-top made just under 160 in late August may come under pressure, but recent talk from Japanese officials that they may intervene if the Yen weakens too much further may make an attempt on this level more unlikely. While warnings by Japanese officials are nothing new, the Japanese Yen is closing in on levels where action is becoming increasingly likely. Any concerted action by the Bank of Japan or the Ministry of Finance could see EUR/JPY fall sharply with the 151.50 area as the likely first target.

Bank of Japan - Foreign Exchange Market Intervention

EUR/JPY Daily Price Chart  September 7, 2023

Recommended by Nick Cawley Building Confidence in 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.
My mother died in Bath's Royal United Hospital the day before Mothering Sunday last year. Our late Queen died six months later, on my 15th wedding anniversary.

And when I shed real tears for her, the mother of the nation, they were also for Mum, who always put her family first.

Gladys Mooney was 98; Elizabeth Windsor was 96. Mum was mourned by her daughter, son-in-law, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Elizabeth, our Queen for a magnificent 70 years, was mourned by her enormous family and by a country which often seems like the worst bunch of squabbling relatives, yet remains close kin for all that.

Those two mighty women would have been as one in agreeing that - for better for worse - family is the bedrock.

So different, their lives. Yet now, reflecting with sweet sorrow on both deaths, I can't help but link them - matriarchs both, their lives containing precious lessons for those of us who are left.

Getting on with it: Gladys Mooney (pictured) said goodbye to her dancing days in 1944 to start a family

In 1926, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor (named after her mother, great-grandmother and grandmother respectively) had been born in London's Mayfair into a world of unimaginable privilege. My mother, Gladys Norbury (the Christian name she loathed all her life), was not yet two - the youngest of ten children living in a three-bedroom rented house in the Old Swan district of Liverpool.

One the adored first-born of a future King and Queen; the other petted by all her older brothers and sisters, and barely registering the death of her father, who delivered coal, when she was two.

Both entered the world under the long shadow of the Great War, which was followed by the terrible Spanish flu epidemic. Both drew their first breaths in a land bruised and battered by the universal reality of grief, where savagely maimed veterans of the Western Front still begged in the streets.

(Later, all too soon, they would hear the bombs and witness the privations and grief of yet another hideous world war.)

The 20th century's pace of dizzying change - which was to accelerate far faster than their generation could possibly have imagined - had already begun.

Yet the Crown remained the symbol of unity and even the shock of the Abdication in 1936 could not dent the calm confidence of the ten-year-old girl who appeared on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, the new heir to the throne.

My mother died in Bath's Royal United Hospital the day before Mothering Sunday last year. Our late Queen (pictured) died six months later, on my 15th wedding anniversary, writes Bel Mooney

All their lives, both my parents (my father was born in 1922) supported the monarchy - and brought me up to do the same.

My father's father survived the Somme and Ypres and came back unscathed to marry his sweetheart - looking for work as a labourer yet never questioning the dogged, passionate patriotism which knew why he had fought for King and country.

Later, Churchill would articulate that belief with steely determination and galvanise a gallant nation. You never questioned it, my mother told me. Why would you?

By 1943, Elizabeth Windsor was being introduced to public life. The year before, at 16, she was made Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, while my mother was already walking out with Ted Mooney, a teenage dispatch rider who only joined up, he said, for the motorcycle and the gun.

In 1944, Elizabeth was a Second Subaltern at the ATS Mechanical Training Centre, but my typist mother's days of dancing and freedom were over: at 19, after a shotgun wedding, she gave birth to my brother. My parents lived with my grandparents in their rented house, and my mother gave birth to me in 1946 when she was 22 (Princess Elizabeth gave birth to her firstborn in 1948, when she was also 22). It was to be three more years before Gladys and Ted could get a council house in bombed-out Liverpool.

What did those two young women - worlds apart - have in common? I would say a dogged acceptance of fate and total rejection of fuss. In 1943, my mother had no wish to get married - and it defies belief to think that 25-year-old Princess Elizabeth wanted to become Queen in 1952.

Gladys and her daughter Bel Mooney are pictured in 1968 on Bel's wedding day

All my life the phrase I've most associated with my mother is: 'You just have to get on with it.' I'd ask her about rationing, having no nylons, the struggle for a home, being hard up and so on - and she'd shrug: 'We just got on with it.' Our late Queen would have smiled and nodded at that, for sure.

But get on with what? The job in hand. Making the best of what you have. Crying in private over a son who shames you. Being generous with calm advice but never gushing. Sadly shaking your head when a child's marriage ends, but helping the new start. Witnessing family problems, again and again. Both women endured more than one 'annus horribilis'. I recall how, in 1995, the Queen gave a terse order to her son and his estranged wife Diana that they must divorce.

And at the beginning of 2004, when it had become clear that my first husband would not return to me, my mother (who adored him) told me in no uncertain terms it was time to move on.

As ever, she was matter-of-fact. As ever, she knew you just had to roll with the punches.

Both women epitomised the vital quality of resilience, which feels sadly lacking these days. It's become almost a cliche to talk of the stoicism of that wartime generation, yet what better word to use?

Some of the characteristics that saw them through were, of course, the spirit of 'Keep Calm and Carry On', of fellowship, make do and mend, selflessness, tolerance, generosity and optimism.

Historian Robert MacKay has identified the 'morale derived from a very powerful feeling - 'visceral' would best describe it - which united elites and masses, haves and have-nots: that for all its faults, Britain was worth fighting for'.

Gladys Mooney was 98; Elizabeth Windsor was 96. Mum was mourned by her daughter, son-in-law, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren

'Elites and masses'  there's a phrase to encompass my mum and her monarch. Another characteristic of their generation - all classes - was a belief that appearance matters. My mother adored the late Queen's clothes, and I reckon the compliment would have been returned. Looking smart is a gift you give to others, as well as to yourself. On days out in the 1950s, working men and women liked to dress up; it was all the more important if you wore an overall for work.

In 1967, when I had a new boyfriend (the man I would marry) whom my family thought 'posh', Mum bought me a smart pinkish tweed coat, 'so you're as good as them'. She had pride.

The uniform scruffiness of modern actors and actresses appalled my mum, as did young mothers gawping at mobile phones instead of talking to their children.

So did the moaning and navel-gazing and wimpishness that characterise our age. Therapy? Oh, spare us. That generation believes in privacy. But Mum hated the nostalgia my father wallowed in; she knew you had to be fully alive in the present.

But although she'd always been up to date in her ideas and a merry, modern grandmother to both my children, the last decade saw her increasingly puzzled.

Queen Elizabeth II always moved with the times, too - how else could she have allowed the James Bond stunt for the 2012 Olympics and her 'Ma'malade' tea with Paddington ten years later?

But I suspect she despaired, too, as so many of the values cherished by their generation were trashed.

The age of deference - aka respect - and high standards that both women knew and accepted had dwindled into the age of crass disrespect when the Queen had to endure her own family life fictionalised and sensationalised on TV in The Crown.

'Disgusting,' said my mother, and absolutely refused to watch.

Until the day I die I will never forget our Queen's calm, brave message to the nation during that first, frightening lockdown, reassuring us that 'we should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return' and 'we will meet again'

She had no time for Diana or Meghan, but thoroughly approved of Kate, whose dignity and 'lovely taste' were such an asset to the monarchy. Might our Queen have echoed those views?

It was at Easter 2020, during the Covid pandemic, that I was struck most powerfully by the indomitable nature of these two women.

Until the day I die I will never forget our Queen's calm, brave message to the nation during that first, frightening lockdown, reassuring us that 'we should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return' and 'we will meet again'. How perfect to invoke Vera Lynn.

Of course, Mum made no speeches, but her private attitude echoed the Queen's public determination and grit. What was the point of her and Dad being alive if they couldn't be with their family? Better to be dead. 'Rule of six'? Ridiculous! Let's get on with life while we still have it.

And so they did.

Theirs was a special - now dying - generation, their steps increasingly slower, but as stalwart as ever, like the plod, plod, plod of Captain Tom's walking frame.

During their long lives, they saw wildflowers bloom on bombsites, saw a country rebuilt, weathered so many storms yet never lost sight of the 'bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover'.

So there is no need to mourn too long for the very old who gave so much, over so many years. Nor would they wish it.

On the contrary, one of their greatest legacies is the knowledge that life must go on, that we need to keep believing, and continually work at building and rebuilding our families, our communities and our nation - and that is a task too great for superfluous tears.

It is - both in the private and the public sphere - a duty.

Last year, I stepped forward sadly to take my place as the head of our little family. And good King Charles has donned his mother's mantle at last, as the head of his large family, of Great Britain and of the Commonwealth.

You know, I can almost hear my mother and our late Queen joining in a loving but matter-of-fact chorus of 'Don't let us down. Just get on with it!'

And so we all must - with the stalwart common sense that saw them through.
Amid all the usual froth and fury, Twitter did manage to throw up one decent observation during that historic week this time last year. 'There's a pint of milk in my fridge,' ran a much-repeated meme. 'It has seen two monarchs and two prime ministers - and it's still going strong.'

This not only had the merit of being true, given the appointment of Liz Truss as PM on September 6 and the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 8. It also seemed a thoroughly British response to what might become a very grave crisis.

For in most of the world, the idea of a country losing both a head of state and a head of government in the space of three days would be a recipe for serious civil disorder, if not civil war.

It can happen to the most advanced democracies. Witness the mayhem in the U.S. (where the two roles are merged) when it was time for Donald Trump to leave office and his henchmen laid siege to Capitol Hill in January 2021. Many organisations are at their most vulnerable when there is sudden transition at the top.

In Britain, however, no shots were fired, no mobs took to the streets. There was barely a cross word. Why such a seamless transition? It was, I believe, because of something we either mock or take for granted: the inherent stability and continuity that come with having a constitutional monarchy.

Charles's first year as King has reinforced royalty's granite sense of permanence. Pictured: Camilla and Charles on the day of his Coronation

A royal expert said Charles's Coronation photo showed the sovereign as a 'monarch who knows his own mind'

In his post-Coronation 'team' photo, who should be immediately to the King's right but the one other person in the family who has been performing royal duties for as long as he has: his sister

The Government had been inert all through the summer of 2022 and the political situation febrile and angry as ever that week. Yet it all seemed of secondary importance on September 8. The big question was: would the nation rally round its new King? And it did.

That was in no small part because Charles III hit the ground running. No one at the Palace needed any reminding of the perils of an absent monarch. The memory of 1997, when the Queen remained at Balmoral after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, still lingers. Although she did so with the best of motives, namely to throw a ring of compassion and normality around Diana's sons, a vociferous section of the public and the Press demanded that she should be with her people.

As the days went on, so tempers rose - only for a complete change of public mood once the Queen and Prince Philip finally reappeared in the capital on the eve of Diana's funeral. After stopping their car outside the Palace to look at the great expanse of flowers and candles, they heard the first indicator that the tide was turning: warm applause.

That is why, less than 24 hours after the death of Elizabeth II, the new King and Queen Camilla were on their way from Balmoral to London. They, too, stopped their car outside the Palace to meet the grieving crowds. I was in the thick of it that day and the response was not just one of deep sympathy - but also appreciation. In addition to seeing a son mourning his mother, here was the Sovereign leading his people.

Their first year in charge hardly enjoyed a 'honeymoon' period. Within weeks, the sniping from Montecito started as the Sussexes embarked on a protracted grumble about the awfulness of Britain, its Press and its first family

People forget that the King has been on the receiving end of protests and placards since his student days. The shouters move on. He does not

With dusk falling, the King made that historic address to the nation on television, solemnly pledging himself to his people, 'as the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion' and sending her on her 'last great journey to join my dear late papa'. A passionate champion of Shakespeare, he concluded with words from Hamlet: 'May 'flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.' ' That he had well and truly nailed it was confirmed three days later by a YouGov poll on public reactions to the broadcast. It showed that an astonishing 94 per cent thought it had been a 'very good' or 'good' speech. You don't normally see figures like that outside North Korea or Russia.

For the death of the longest-reigning sovereign in British history had not illustrated the fragility of the monarchy, as many commentators - especially republican ones - had foretold. Rather, it was a reminder of royalty's granite sense of permanence. How could this be? After all, we live in a fractious, secular 21st-century state, one entirely different from the social and cultural landscape which greeted the late Queen at the start of her reign. By common consent, she was an impossible act to follow.

I believe that it is down to a combination of factors, some beyond royal control but others which are down to the King.

Take that remarkable Accession Council two days after the Queen's death. This is when the Privy Council meet at St James's Palace to agree the proclamation of the death of one monarch and the accession of another. On this occasion, so many Privy Counsellors wanted to be present that their numbers had to be restricted to 200. (Many had been very miffed not to get a ticket.)

It had never previously been filmed, let alone screened live on television, so here was an indication of the greater degree of transparency we could expect under the new King.

In the event, it was not an unmitigated success from his point of view. Social media was soon buzzing with excitement after the cameras picked up the King's obvious irritation at what would be the first of several problems with royal signatures during those days. In this instance, there was too much clutter clogging the tiny desk on which he was supposed to sign these essential constitutional documents - and his facial expressions said it all.

However, the really striking thing was the contrast between the King and his Privy Counsellors. Here were the most eminent figures in the land - prime ministers past and present, archbishops, generals, the quintessential 'great and good'.

The death of the longest-reigning sovereign in British history had not illustrated the fragility of the monarchy, as many commentators - especially republican ones - had foretold. Rather, it was a reminder of royalty's granite sense of permanence

Yet, as the cameras panned around the room, who could claim the longest and deepest experience of public life? Who had been meeting statesmen and making televised speeches since before Liz Truss was born? The King himself. No one else present could point to more than 50 years of unbroken engagement with national and international affairs.

The Queen might have met and known 14 U.S. presidents but Charles III has met ten of them (his first visit to the White House was as a guest of Richard Nixon). No one else in that room could claim to have known de Gaulle, Churchill and Reagan.

Suddenly, the aura had changed. If the nation had tended to regard Charles as a frustrated activist in his princely days, he suddenly felt and looked properly regal. During that initial whistlestop tour of the home nations, it was the King who looked like the old pro while Liz Truss resembled the apprentice on day one of the new job. He wasted no time in getting on with it, either. While the late Queen's reign began with months of court mourning, this time it would last for a week.

'He likes having a lot on his plate,' says one old Palace hand, pointing to the King's capacity to hit the road all day and then stay up digesting briefs or writing letters. It also means that, at the age of 74 and 76 respectively, the King and Queen Camilla are as busy as ever.

Their first year in charge hardly enjoyed a 'honeymoon' period. Within weeks, the sniping from Montecito started as the Sussexes embarked on a protracted grumble about the awfulness of Britain, its Press and its first family. Frequently, on his travels, the King would be greeted by banners saying 'Not My King', organised by the pressure group Republic.

Although the protesters would be tiny in number in comparison to the crowds waiting to greet him at the same engagements, the shouters would always gather disproportionate publicity. The King's response, whether in the wake of a new Sussex bombshell or another shrill demo, has been simply to get on with the job cheerfully without reacting, let alone commenting.

Prince William, Princess Catherine, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis on the day of King Charles's Coronation

The noisiest protest was on the day he received the Honours of Scotland at a ceremony billed (wrongly) as his 'Scottish Coronation'. The Scottish authorities had given the republican posse a prime demonstrating position right opposite St Giles' Cathedral, which meant that we could hear some of the chanting from our seats inside.

Some royalists and church elders were appalled but the King and Queen were unfazed. Since then, the protests, like the Sussex broadsides, have gradually been losing their novelty value and newsworthiness. Monarchy has always been about playing the long game.

People forget that the King has been on the receiving end of protests and placards since his student days. The shouters move on. He does not. This time a year ago, his detractors were confident that King Charles would be a threat to himself. As an imperious Guardian commentator wrote of the King just days after the funeral of Elizabeth II: 'A fickle mixture of diffidence and entitlement, he offers hope to the republican cause because he is much more likely to voice his opinion than his mother, who believed that monarchs, like Victorian children, should be seen but not heard.'

That has turned out to be wishful thinking by anti-royalists. They had overlooked the fact that a man who had spent longer as heir to the throne than anyone in history might have given the matter quite considerable thought, hence the absence of those opinions.

As he had acknowledged in occasional interviews (one of them with me), he understood the boundaries which would be imposed on accession. However, he would still retain his 'convening power' - his capacity to bring people together and let them dole out the opinions.

We have seen it many times over the past year. Little more than a month after his Coronation, he was hosting one of his new-style receptions at Buckingham Palace, this time in honour of an initiative called the Astra Carta.

The King's views on protecting the planet are so well known, he hardly needs to repeat them. But this was about extending the same principles into space, in response to the quantity of space debris and human rubbish floating in orbit.

There was no long speech, as there might have been in pre-Throne days, just a few words of welcome. Yet the point was clear enough as the King expressed the hope that 'we can ensure the protection of outer space - having made rather a mess of this planet'. There was no question of crossing any constitutional lines.

Friends have noticed a renewed confidence in the King. This is bolstered by the fact that he no longer has to worry about stepping on his mother's toes but also by the good-humoured, mustn't-grumble enthusiasm of Queen Camilla. 'He is delighted by the way she has stepped into the role - and very proud, too,' says one close friend.

He has also been helped by external events. In turbulent times, people find reassurance in solid institutions which have stood the test of time. As the core team of 'working royals' go on their away days and walkabouts around the country, they may not be making headline news. They may not reflect the gloss and glamour of life chez Sussex. But it all makes a connection at a regional and local level.

Nor are these things just about ribbon-cutting and plaque-unveilng. Every engagement is planned to ensure interaction with parts of the country and sections of society which might not normally receive a royal visit but which deserve to be recognised by the State. The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal all have their own patronages and special interests but their primary objective is to work 'in support of the King'.

It was, perhaps, no coincidence that in his post-Coronation 'team' photo, who should be immediately to the King's right but the one other person in the family who has been performing royal duties for as long as he has: his sister.

The monarchy has many big challenges - not least a growing republican clamour in some of the King's 14 other realms and the uncertain futures of the Dukes of York and Sussex. However, it has some important factors working in its favour, too. It all goes back to that sense of permanence.

The public find it a lot easier to accept chaos and infighting at Westminster and the hurly-burly of political life, safe in the knowledge that the core pillars of the nation state - the judiciary, the Armed Forces, the civil service and so on - do not owe their allegiance to any politician. They are loyal to the Crown, not to a Putin or a Macron or an Erdogan.

Even The New York Times grudgingly agreed recently, lately, noting that monarchy 'meant Britain avoided the perils of presidentialism, which many political scientists now regard as a particularly unstable form of democracy'.

It's why, in times of trouble, we can still make jokes about the milk in the fridge, rather than bolting the door and listening out for the sound of gunfire.
Kneeling before the head of my college in a black, fur-lined gown, I stole a glance at the beaming faces of my parents, friends and supervisors.

They were all here, in Cambridge's famous 18th-century Senate House, on a sweltering June day this year, to watch me graduate in a ceremony that dates back 800 years.

This was the culmination of three years at one of the world's most revered academic institutions. You'd think after the all-nighters I pulled to make essay deadlines, hours spent in the library before my final exams and the odd tear shed over the workload, I'd feel relief - even pride.

Instead, I had a sinking feeling as I looked at my 'degree certificate'. It was nothing but a blank piece of paper - a prop for a false ceremony. Even the Latin proclamations, read out by each 'graduand', had been edited to acknowledge the fact that none of us had obtained real degrees.

I had a sinking feeling as I looked at my 'degree certificate'. It was nothing but a blank piece of paper - a prop for a false ceremony, writes Lucy Amory (pictured)

Havoc

For since April 20 this year across Britain, hundreds of lecturers at Cambridge and other institutions have refused to mark coursework or exams, as part of industrial action led by the University and College Union (UCU). The academics are demanding a steep 12 per cent pay increase.

As a result, like thousands of fellow students, my essays and final exams which I sat in May have not been marked. I've no idea whether I've scraped through with a third or aced it with a first.

Then-acting Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge, Anthony Freeling, suggested in June that over 50 per cent of final year students at the university have been impacted. And the situation is causing havoc up and down the country - with 145 higher-education institutions affected.

Last night, the UCU announced the end of the marking boycott - but warned in the same breath of five more days of strike action later this month. In other words, those students starting university will be punished from the get-go.

Despite this chaos, the Student Loans Company wasted no time in letting me know how much I owed them. Unlike my graduation, the email containing a bill for 27,750 was all too real.

This boycott - and that bill - are ugly proof that in the University's eyes, students were always just paying customers. Now they are willing callously to hold us all hostage in pursuit of more money.

This upsetting end to my university experience should have come as no surprise. The 'class of 2023' had already been battered and bruised by administration changes, the pandemic and industrial action.

First came changes to the GCSE exams while we were still at school. Then, in the final year of sixth form in March 2020, the pandemic struck. We never even sat A-levels and relied instead on predicted grades from our teachers - a flawed system which cost some of my friends a place at their chosen universities.

When school ended, there were no end-of-term celebrations - we weren't even allowed to say goodbye to classmates.

When I got a place at Cambridge I was delighted - ready to put the turbulence of my last years at school behind me. But no sooner had I unpacked in September 2020, than the country was plunged into a second lockdown, nearly as draconian as the first.

It was desperately lonely for us all: in a new city, away from our families for the first time and trying to navigate Britain's increasingly complex social distancing rules. During that bleak time, we weren't allowed to eat together and the majority of teaching was on Zoom.

The University and College Union (UCU) has confirmed the dates of 18 days of action in February and March where university staff will strike in disputes over pay, conditions and pensions

It seems laughable now, but some of my friends were even fined 100 for being caught chatting with one another.

Of course, it was the same at universities across the country. During Covid, students at Manchester woke to find that the university had built 'lockdown fences' around their accommodation block to control who entered and left. At Durham and Bristol, undergraduates were handed huge fines for merely meeting in each others' halls of residence for coffee.

No wonder many of my contemporaries dropped out and went home. In this year alone, there were almost 33,000 'student withdrawals', according to the Student Loans Company, 9 per cent more than the previous year.

Reignited

Finally, in December 2021, restrictions lifted - and that same month the industrial action started.

The pay row that had been rumbling on for years reignited. We'd turn up to lectures only to find they'd been cancelled. In my crucial Lent term of my final year, we had weeks of industrial action.

READ MORE: Now staff at 140 universities across the UK vow to strike for five days at start of term amid long-running row over pay and working conditions Advertisement

Initially, I was supportive. I liked and respected my tutors - they'd always be there if I had a last-minute panic before an exam or if I was struggling with an essay. But the strikes at the end of this academic year and the refusal to mark our work felt malicious, designed to inflict maximum chaos on students and our futures. They showed no willingness to negotiate on their lofty and stubborn demands.

This year, students at the University of Edinburgh, who had spent nearly a year on their dissertations, were told they would be completely disregarded under the boycott.

At Queen's University in Belfast, some students were awarded final results for their degrees - before having them withdrawn due to an error caused by the strikes.

Yes, the UCU has suspended strike action for now, but the disruption has not only held students in limbo, but badly affected our future plans.

Many have been unable to apply for jobs or graduate schemes. Worse still, some students have started - and paid thousands for - post-graduate courses with no option but to hope that they eventually achieve the necessary entry grades. If they fail to get the right marks, they may be booted off their courses.

Insulting

Some universities have made pitiful attempts at compensation. The University of Manchester has offered its final-year students up to 500 'in recognition of the distress and inconvenience' caused by not having their degrees. This is a pittance, insulting when compared to the near 50,000 that many students have paid for their degree.

It's sad but it's true: since Tony Blair's government introduced tuition fees in 1998, students have become paying customers. As a result, we deserve consumer rights.

If you bought a washing machine as faulty as Britain's university system, you'd return it and demand compensation. But some principled students, attempting to sue for breach of contract over lost teaching, have been told that the current stand-off is out of the universities' control.

The UCU shows no sign of dropping its pay demands, so these boycotts are far from over. That means yet more students who will be getting a second-rate education while being saddled with debt for life.

If enough of them have university experiences as uncertain as mine, I'm sure we'll see more dropping out - and fewer students applying in the first place. The strikers and universities must realise how self-destructive their tactics are.

They must drop this action before the whole system collapses. Or many others will suffer the same dispiriting experience that I and so many of my fellow graduates have endured this year.
But the Palace was dismayed, according to author Tom Bower

When aspiring actress Meghan Markle had the chance of a major interview with Vanity Fair magazine, her approach was agreed beforehand. She would be cautious.

Meghan would steer clear of such controversial subjects as racial politics, Donald Trump - or her burgeoning relationship with Prince Harry...

So a cover story with the headline 'She's just wild about Harry!' was decisively not in the schedule.

Within hours of the magazine's pre-publication copies being distributed, Meghan was on the phone to her public relations firm to tell them 'hysterically' of the Palace's dismay, according to author Tom Bower.

Vanity Fair's September 2017 edition cover, featuring Meghan Markle and the headline 'Wild About Harry!'

Prince Harry and Meghan during an official photocall to announce their engagement at Kensington Palace on November 27, 2017

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, at the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards in New York this year

Bower, the author of 'Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors', said Meghan had been 'ecstatic' when first asked to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair's September 2017 issue.

But that was then...

According to Bower, the interview was to focus on Meghan's philanthropy and the celebration of the 100th episode of her legal soap opera, Suits.

READ MORE: Harry and Meghan can still use their HRH titles despite their deletion from the Buckingham Palace website Advertisement

But when she was asked about her relationship with Harry, Meghan replied: 'We're a couple. We're in love.'

The interview was done at Meghan's home by Sam Kashner - a long-standing contributing editor at Vanity Fair, who admitted before the interview that he had no idea who Meghan was.

As reported by Vanity Fair in 2017, Meghan said: 'I'm sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time.

'This is for us. It's part of what makes it so special, that it's just ours. But we're happy. Personally, I love a great love story.'

Pre-publication copies of Vanity Fair's September 2017 edition were released to Megan's PR agency and Buckingham Palace.

'Her unexpected openness about Harry took the Palace by surprise, Bower wrote.

'Like a thunderclap, the interview triggered sensational reactions: Meghan had used her relationship with Harry to promote herself,' he said.

Meghan would later suggest that she had known little about the British Royal family before meeting Prince Harry and that she had, for example, 'never looked up her husband online'.

Others have called that apparent naivety into question, among them former childhood friend Ninaki Priddy.

Shortly before Meghan and Prince Harry's wedding in 2018, Priddy, told the Daily Mail: '[Meghan] was always fascinated by the royal family. She wants to be Princess Diana 2.0.'

A picture of a 15-year-old Meghan posing in front of Buckingham Palace, with her friend Ninaki, during a European trip in 1996 had previously emerged.

Others have called that apparently into question, among them former childhood friend Ninaki Priddy.

A 15-year-old Meghan Markle poses in front of Buckingham Palace with childhood friend Ninaki Priddy in 1996

A young Meghan is shown at an age reaching adolescence in the trailer to her Netflix documentary, Harry and Meghan

Speaking in 2018, Ninaki, whose friendship with Meghan ended before the duchess began seeing Prince Harry, said: 'I know the royal family was something she found fascinating.

'She had one of Princess Dianas books [Diana: Her True Story] on her bookshelf, and even when she was with Trevor she told me she wanted to go and stay in London for at least a month.

'I wasnt shocked or even surprised to hear about Prince Harry. I know she used to love The Princess Diaries  films about a commoner who becomes part of a Royal Family. She was very taken with that idea.'
A literacy expert has offered advice to parents on how to ensure their toddlers are speaking at the rate they should be, and some common mistakes to avoid.

Moira, a speech-language pathologist from a US-based literacy company, Rooted in Language, warned against a string of common mistakes parents often make when chatting with their children between the ages of 12 and 24 months.

The mother-of-two explained that a parents instinct - such as using a baby voice themselves - can often hamper a child's ability to 'quickly learn a lot of words' and offered her top three tips in the TikTok clip.

The video has quickly amassed over three million views, with many users saying they're planning to try the advice on their own children.

First, Moira advised against saying: 'say this, say that'.

Moira (pictured), a speech-language pathologist from a US-based literacy school, Rooted in Learning, offered advice to parents on how to raise talking toddlers

She explained that when telling a baby to say a certain word, such as 'mama', it dials up the pressure and 'your child is much less likely to say a word when you're demanding it of them.'

Moira added that when one says 'say this word' to a child, it's out of context and devoid of meaning.

'Children learn words better when they're contextualized and meaningful to them', she added.

Instead, parents should just aim to use the desired word a lot in daily language, rather than pressuring them to say repeat the word on demand.

Next, Moira warned: 'Stop the baby talk.'

She defined baby talk as: 'The purposeful misarticulation of sounds to sound like you're a small child.'

The expert warned that it 'actually hinders a child's ability to learn age-appropriate words and sounds.

The mother-of-two explained that a parents natural instinct can often hinder a child's ability to 'quickly learn a lot of words'

The third piece of advice that Moira offered was: 'Stop only repeating the single word your toddler says.'

When parents respond to a baby with the very word they said, the conversation ends, meaning the interaction is over without the child learning any new words.

Moira added: 'Instead, when your toddler says a word, expand their verbalization into a full phrase with more meaningful words.'

The speech-language pathologist concluded: 'Apply these three tips consistently and watch your toddler's language explode.'

Viewers on TikTok shared their thoughts on Moria's video. One said: 'This works! I didnt even know this and my 8-month-old says mama now. I would always name myself the entire day.'

Users on social media were quick to share their thoughts on Moira's advice, and many were impressed

A second user added: 'love this. we did this and my children come out with advanced words I had no idea they even knew.'

A third wrote: 'Thank you for this! I definitely feel like my toddler is behind in speech and this is some things I unconsciously do with her.'

A fourth added: 'Im a daycare provider and this is soooo true.'

Another said: 'These tips definitely worked for me!! Awesome practical information.'
But the clip sparked a widespread debate as many said their relationship is 'over'

The Austin woman insists that the couple are not breaking up despite the change

Maiah Police's boyfriend is moving out of her apartment to live with his brother

A woman has sparked a fierce relationship debate after revealing her boyfriend of three and a half years, who has lived with her for more than a year, is moving out to live with his brother.

Content creator Maiah Police, from Austin, Texas, took to TikTok to defend her new living arrangement, and explain why she and her boyfriend have decided to live apart.

'We're not breaking up,' she declared in the video, which has had more than 6.3 million views since it was posted on August 21.

'It's just a new phase for us,' she says chirpily in the clip. 'He's moving in with his brother, and he's always dreamed of living with his little brother so who am I to get in the way of that?'

Maiah Police, 26, has sparked a fierce relationship debate after revealing her boyfriend, who has lived with her for more than a year, is moving out to live with his brother

Ignorance is bliss? Maiah added that there wasn't some kind of 'contract' stating that she and her significant other have to live together until they get married

Maiah then insisted the arrangement wasn't weird - despite people's criticism.

She told DailyMail.com it was important to clarify there was a lot of discussion that went into the decision, and he initially wanted her to live with him and his brother - but she declined.

'I ultimately chose to live by myself because I have some intense sleeping issues that I need to take care of and, right now, our apartment is my living, social, and working space,' she explained to DailyMail.com

'Just because we chose to live together for 1.5 years doesn't mean we're obligated to share the same roof for the rest of our lives,' she continued.

'In fact, we've thoroughly enjoyed our time living together and think temporarily living apart will make us stronger.'

Another reason, Maiah explained, is that she is 26 while her boyfriend is 24.

'So if he's gonna live with his little brother, now's the time,' she quipped.

Although Maiah confessed she was less than thrilled by the idea when Austin, her boyfriend, initially proposed the idea.

In a follow-up video, Maiah said Austin hadn't moved out yet - but laughed at all the cautionary comments people had left, telling her he was trying to end the relationship

One of the reasons Austin wishes to move out, Maiah explained, is that she is 26 while he is still just 24

'We're not breaking up,' she declared in the video, which has had more than 5.7 million views since it was posted on August 21

'When he first told me the idea I was like "hmm, what the f**k?"' the content creator admitted, but said when she thought about it more she decided it was a 'great' idea.

'When we come together [now] it's more intentional time,' she said. 'Sometimes when you live with your partner it's easy to exist around each other.'

'It's a fun chapter that I'm ready for,' she added enthusiastically. 'And he's only living a mile away from me so he's not going too far.'

Despite Maiah's approach to the situation, TikTok users were horrified upon hearing the story, with many calling her 'delulu (delusional)' and labeling it an 'instant red flag.'

More than 11,600 users commented on the video, with plenty telling her it's just a matter of time before she finds her relationship is over.

'If a man wanted to MOVE OUT after we lived together he would never move back in,' one user commented on the post.

'He wants to be all moved out before he breaks up with you so he doesn't have to deal with the drama of moving after,' another prophesized.

'This is a sign and you should listen,' another cautioned. 'He's telling you without telling you.'

'My fiance and I are also moving out after 3.5 years together!!' another joked. 'Except we broke up and have no plans on getting back together lol.'

But, nonetheless, a select few said they thought the idea would be healthy for their relationship.

'Wow these comments are surprising. I thought this sounds so good and healthy for them,' a user wrote.

'I must have been the only one to think it was a healthy response,' another agreed.

'He's 24, y'all ain't got no kids, this is the only time in his life where he'd be appropriately able to live with his brother. I think it's refreshing to see a relationship that isn't overly possessive.'

In a follow-up video, Maiah said Austin hadn't moved out yet - but laughed at all the cautionary comments people had left, telling her he was trying to end the relationship.

'We have a lot of little psychologists and relationship gurus in my comments,' she said in the video, posted on September 3.

'Thank you so much for your advice and suggestions,' she continued sarcastically. 'I'll be taking those into consideration.'

Although it was 'confronting' having tens of thousands of people telling her she was going to be single soon, the sassy TikTok creator encouraged those people to look at their own relationships.

'If the idea of not sharing the same living space 24/7 makes you worry about the longevity of your relationship, I encourage you to consider the strength of your bond with your partner,' Maiah said.

'Relationships can thrive and evolve in various ways, and ours is no exception,' she continued.

'We now have thousands of people doubting our relationship and rooting against us, which is not what we expected, but we're just going to continue doing what works best for us, find the humor in it all, and focus on those that know and love us.'
I used to say how lucky I was to have such a wonderful family life  as if acknowledging my luck would keep bad things away. It didnt work.

Two years ago my daughter Martha died needlessly in hospital a few days before her 14th birthday.

She was a teen with an easy laugh and many enthusiasms  for music, food, books.

She could do many things better than my husband or me and I was in awe of her determination and the originality of her mind.

That her death was avoidable somehow makes her absence all the more painful.

My life now has a void at its centre: Merope and her daughter Martha in 2016

Because I miss and love her so, I am calling for Marthas Rule to be introduced across NHS hospitals in the hope that no other family has to go through such horror.

In the summer of 2021, we were on holiday in Wales and hired bikes to cycle a safe family trail to the beach.

On the way back, Martha slipped on some sand and fell off her bike in such a way that the end of the handlebars hit her abdomen very hard (she had an O-shaped bruise).

After going to the local medical centre and then A&E, we found out that Marthas pancreas was ruptured, and she was helicoptered to Kings College Hospital, in South London, which is one of three national centres of expertise for treating the trauma.

Its a tricky but not unheard of injury; no child at Kings has ever died of it.

Until Martha.

We ended up on Rays of Sunshine ward, which is run by the high-status paediatric liver team, described as world class.

My husband Paul and I spent alternate days at Marthas bedside and we kept being told we were in the best place; Martha was assured shed be back at school before too long.

We watched TV with her and arranged visits from friends; she put up pictures of our cat on the cubicle walls.

We know the details of how things went catastrophically wrong because weve asked Kings endless questions and investigations have been conducted into Marthas death.

I was told by nurses to trust the doctors

A few weeks into her time on the ward, she got an infection. After a couple of days she deteriorated and started to bleed through her tubes so that blood was soaking her sheets.

This was a very serious development. She had fast breathing, a fast heart rate and a fever.

At this point the nurses stated that Martha was at risk and should be moved to intensive care. But there was a particular culture on Rays of Sunshine ward.

The hierarchy in place meant that the senior doctors didnt seek to find out the nurses opinion.

These consultants had never seen bleeding with Marthas injury before, and didnt know the source of her infection.

But it seems that because they were used to treating chronically ill children they thought they had all the answers.

It turns out that the doctors knew at this point that Martha had severe sepsis, but neither Paul nor I were told this.

Her bleeding was, we were reassured, just a normal side-effect of infection.

In retrospect, this was dangerously misleading. We werent told of other serious symptoms, and were kept in the dark and managed.

Even if it were argued that the consultants withheld information to stop us worrying, the result is that they took away any agency we had to demand the appropriate care for our child.

Investigators have said that Martha should have gone to ICU at this stage, but she stayed on Rays of Sunshine ward.

One reason, according to the external investigators, was that many of the very experienced liver team consultants had complete disregard for junior colleagues in ICU.

Desperately missed: Martha at the age of ten

They kept Martha on their ward: we have learned that they would have regarded moving her as a sign of weakness. Pride and overconfidence can lead to fatal errors.

A national expert on sepsis worked in paediatric ICU but his opinion was never sought.

The liver team doctors, we were later told, never attended the optional sepsis training at Kings. No one was in overall charge of Marthas care.

Different consultants came and went every day, which meant no one was alert to her trajectory  to the fact that she was deteriorating in front of their eyes.

Whats more, the consultants didnt even write down notes about Marthas care, so there was no continuity of thinking.

The documentation is dreadful, Kings has admitted to us.

On Friday, Marthas bleeding stopped as a result of the many blood-clotting medicines she had been given, but her fever was still raging and she was in tears.

They took risks with my childs life that they would never take with their own children

At this point, thinking the worst, I myself raised the spectre of sepsis, and said to a consultant that I was worried Martha would go into septic shock over the bank holiday weekend, when consultants were mostly at home and the ward was eerily quiet. My concerns were dismissed.

Weekends were terrifying on the ward. Most senior doctors dont tend to work on these days  it is a privilege that goes with their status, but it makes hospitals more perilous.

The consultants we saw went home after the morning ward round, on call.

On Saturday, Martha got worse. She felt dizzy and her fever remained, but in the afternoon no consultant was present on the ward or  despite her previous bleeding  sufficiently interested in her condition to pay her a visit.

We were merely told not to worry: infections come and go.

Then on Sunday morning, she was much worse, with very low blood pressure. Two senior doctors whispered about Martha outside her cubicle, but I, straining to hear, was told nothing.

I found out later that the duty consultant knew she was critically ill with sepsis, but didnt stay on the ward  he went home, as planned.

He didnt draw up a plan for her care, and failed to make it clear that a line into Marthas arm shouldnt be used, even though it was a potential source of infection.

Martha had low blood pressure, a fever and a rapid heart rate. She then developed a rash.

These were all clear signs of a sepsis emergency, but inexplicably, she still wasnt moved to intensive care, where a bed was available.

Even when her risk metric called for immediate escalation, she wasnt moved. This was against hospital protocol.

The registrar in charge, who had little or no experience of treating Marthas injury, somehow managed to conclude that the rash wasnt caused by sepsis.

He dismissed my objections and I was told by the nurses to trust the doctors.

This registrar also failed to call for a blood test that would indicate if the sepsis was getting worse.

'Unlike her friends, Martha hasnt just begun the new school year, and isnt coming home with the gossip or stories about her day'

Perhaps most shocking of all, when called at home, the consultant didnt query the rash misdiagnosis and said categorically that a potentially life-saving bedside visit from a member of ICU shouldnt happen  because it would increase my anxiety.

Again this was directly against hospital guidelines.

If this isnt enough of a catalogue of horrendous decision-making and complacency, the senior house officer on the ward that night (the only doctor there) didnt once visit Martha  the most critically ill child in her care  because, as the external investigation told us later, she didnt think it was her job to look after the sick patients.

Early on Monday morning, Martha had a seizure. Lying on her bed, she told me she thought her condition was unfixable: she had been left for so long she knew she was going to die.

Finally, the medics woke up to the situation and arranged for her to be moved to ICU. But it was far too late  Martha was in septic shock and she never recovered.

What upsets me most is that I know the Kings doctors took risks with my childs life.

They werent safe, their actions were full of hubris, and I know for sure that they would never have taken such chances if one of their own children had been in Marthas place.

No patient should feel intimidated

The NHS saves innumerable lives, and I have spoken to wonderful medics who are expert at listening and who involve the testimony of patients and families in their diagnoses. We depend on doctors in a crisis and we rely on their expertise.

But as many medics have told me since Martha died, doctors are only human, and some are better than others. There are arrogant ones, brilliant ones, lazy ones, ones who dont listen.

So any patient who is worried things are going wrong shouldnt feel intimidated.

And they shouldnt feel that any conversation ends with doctor knows best.

I believe in the essential principles of the NHS but there needs to be more conversation about the culture in medicine and in hospitals.

Many medics have an us and them attitude to laypeople, and can be condescending.

The patient safety campaigner and airline pilot Martin Bromiley points out that there is very little oversight of consultants, who have always wielded immense clout within the NHS.

There needs to be more patient power. I knew so much about Marthas changing condition. Had I been listened to by the doctors, I could well have saved Marthas life.

This is why I am calling for Marthas Rule, which formalises the right to an urgent second opinion if a patient or family member feels that a deterioration isnt being addressed on a hospital ward.

The Health Secretary, Steve Barclay, said in the Commons this week hell explore its introduction and Wes Streeting, his shadow, has committed Labour to introducing Marthas Rule should they form a government.

The NHS has responded to say that patients can already ask for a second opinion. This is disingenuous. Everybody knows its daunting to challenge a medic, especially a swaggering senior doctor.

Patients and their family members often feel powerless in hospital  I know I did  and one means of increasing patient power is a formalised right to a second opinion, with information about how to exercise that right clearly visible on every ward.

Many medics have an us and them attitude

Doctors may object that it will be overused, but a form of Marthas Rule exists in other countries and the opposite has proved to be the case.

To argue that such an initiative would be abused is just another way of patronising patients.

NHS vested interests will put up lots of barriers to Marthas Rule, sounding empathetic the whole time, but for the benefit of patients these must be pushed aside.

Kings College Hospital has said they are deeply sorry we failed Martha when she needed us most.

They have put basic policies in place following her death, for instance compulsory sepsis training, adequate recognition of parental concern, and an outreach service involving paediatric ICU.

But each measure already existed in many other hospitals, which raises the question: why did Martha have to die for these changes to be made at Kings?

Who is answerable?

I shall never be able to forgive the hospital, but I can at least work for something good to emerge from this nightmare.

Marthas 16th birthday was a few days ago and I wonder what presents she would have asked for. But she is frozen in time.

Unlike her friends, she hasnt just begun the new school year, and isnt coming home with the gossip or stories about her day.

My life now has a void at its centre. Instead of listening to Martha telling me her plans, instead of seeing her sitting close to her sister, instead of cooking and caring for her, all I can do is put flowers on her bench in our local park  and desperately wish she was still with me every day.

SEPSIS: THE WARNING SIGNS If a child or adult who has had any infection  even a mild cold  develops one or more of the following symptoms, call 999 immediately and say you think they have sepsis: 1. ABNORMALLY cold to touch. 2. BREATHING rapidly or struggling for breath. 3. VERY lethargic or difficult to rouse. 4. NO URINE (or wet nappy) for more than 12 hours. 5. SKIN mottled, blueish or extremely pale. If sepsis is suspected by doctors, treatment with antibiotics must begin as soon as possible  ideally within one hour of diagnosis  even before blood tests have been carried out. Advertisement
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Princess Olympia of Greece looked elegant in a little black dress as she attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday for Breitling's new boutique in New York City.

The socialite, 27, opted for a slink black midi dress as she attended the event in the US last night alongside stars like Charlize Theron.

Olympia's grandfather is King Constantine, a relation of Prince Philip, who was exiled from Greece following the 1967 coup.

The family continue to use their royal titles decades after the abolition of the monarchy.

It comes amidst a busy summer for the socialite, who has been attending fashion shows and social events across the world.

Princess Olympia of Greece, 27, looked elegant in a little black dress as she attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday for Breitling's new boutique in New York City

Swiss luxury watchmaker Breitling was founded in 1884 by Leon Breitling in Saint-Imier, Switzerland.

Other stars at the event included Charlize Theron, who shared her outfit that included a sleeveless sheer top made of pearls on Instagram for her roughly 7.5 million followers.

'Pearl's night out,' Charlize wrote as a caption.

Charlize gave credit for her look to Givenchy and Givenchy creative director Matthew M Williams in her post along with makeup artist Kate Lee, stylist Leslie Fremar and hair stylist Jenny Cho.

The South Africa native, who recently shut down rumors that she got a facelift, also wore a long black skirt and matching black heels.

Charlize had her blonde hair swept over with wavy curls on the side and accessorized with multiple earrings.

The Oscar-winning actress covered up with a black coat while attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Breitling's new boutique in the Meatpacking District.

She cut a blue ribbon with the Breitling logo during the event along with Breitling CEO Georges Kern, 58, and Breitling USA president Thierry Prissert.

The socialite opted for a slink black midi dress as she attended the event in the US last night alongside stars like Charlize Theron

Olympia grew up in the London borough of Chelsea and studied Photography at the Parsons School of Design in New York.

She counts Diane von Furstenberg's model granddaughter, Princess Talita Natasha von Furstenberg and the Hilton sisters among her close friends.

Alongside her photography work, Olympia also works as a model - and has appeared in magazines such as Teen Vogue, Tatler and W.

Earlier this summer the fashionable socialite was spotted attending Paris Fashion Week.

Olympia is the eldest of Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie Chantal's five children and the only girl of the bunch.

The family, who have a house in London and in Gloucestershire, spend their summers in Harbour Island, Bahamas, and their winters in Gstaad, Switzerland - where Prince Pavlos proposed to Marie-Chantal on a chair lift in 1994.

Alexandra, Marie-Chantal and their older sister Pia - often referred to as 'The Miller Sisters' - all married into very wealthy families; Pia's ex-husband is Getty Oil heir Christopher Ronald Getty.

Marie-Chantal has a long history of associating with the rich and famous; before she married into the royal family, the London-born blonde - whose father was duty-free shopping co-founder Robert Warren Miller - worked for Andy Warhol.

Marie-Chantal began a degree in History of Art at NYU in 1993, but she dropped out after Prince Pavlos proposed to her the following year.

The couple met on a blind date set up by New York investment banker Alecko Papamarkou, a mutual friend who was convinced they would hit it off.

'We clicked,' the Princess told Vanity Fair in 2008. 'It was love at first sight. I knew that he was the person I would marry.'
Meghan Markle has been seen dancing to a reggae song in a bar in a previously unseen clip shared to Instagram.

The video, posted by her Suits co-star Patrick J. Adams, shows the former actress, now 42, pushing her arms out and rolling her shoulder as she sings along to Mr. Vegas's Heads High.

The clip - which was filmed in 2012 but posted to Instagram today - shows the royal with Suits co-stars and crew, including Rick Hoffman, who played Louis Litt in the legal drama, as well as Patrick's wife Troian Bellisario, who is also an actor.

The footage appears to be taken in a darkened bar - most likely in Toronto where Suits was filmed - and shows Rick animatedly singing along to the song before the camera pans to Meghan and Troian.

'April 1, 2012,' Patrick simply captioned the post.

Meghan Markle has been seen dancing to a reggae song in a bar in a previously unseen clip shared to Instagram

The video, posted by her Suits co-star Patrick J. Adams, shows the former actress, now 42, pushing her arms out and rolling her shoulder as she sings along to Mr. Vegas's Heads High

It comes as Patrick, who played Meghan's husband in the legal drama, has changed his Instagram profile to reference the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The Toronto-born actor, 42, described himself as: 'the guy from that show you're watching on that app because that girl married that prince'.

Suits tells the tale of Mike Ross (played by Adams) as a plucky law school drop out who cons his law into a prestigious law firm and falls in love with beautiful paralegal Rachel Zane (played by Markle).

Despite finishing in 2019, the show has seen a surge in viewers on screening platforms in recent months.

After launching on Netflix earlier this year, the series set a viewing time record for an acquired series in the week of June 26-July 2, with 3.14 billion minutes of watch time.

Following her exit from the show Meghan remained friendly with a possee of her former co-stars attending her wedding to Prince Harry, including Gabriel Macht, Abigail Spencer, Sarah Rafferty, and Patrick.

Meghan appears to be making a partying comeback in recent weeks, with her appearing at Beyonce's concerts in LA twice in a matter of days.

The royal partied with Katy Perry, the Kardashians, Lizzo, Chris Rock, Adele, the Biebers and a host of other stars at Beyonce's 42nd birthday concert.

The clip - which was filmed in 2012 but posted to Instagram today - shows the royal with Suits co-stars and crew, including Rick Hoffman (picutred), who played Louis Litt in the legal drama, as well as Patrick's wife Troian Bellisario, who is also an actor

The footage appears to be taken in a darkened bar - most likely in Toronto where Suits was filmed - and shows Rick (pictured) animatedly singing along to the song before the camera pans to Meghan and Troian

It comes as Patrick, who played Meghan's husband in the legal drama, has changed his Instagram profile to reference the Duke and Duchess of Sussex

The Toronto-born actor, 42, who played Meghan's on-screen husband in the legal drama from 2011 to 2019, described himself as: 'the guy from that show you're watching on that app because that girl married that prince'

Meghan is pictured this week at Beyonce's Renaissance World Tour with Kelly Rowland and Kerry Washington

The Duchess of Sussex stuck close to Tyler Perry, Lilibet's billionaire godfather, as she posed for pictures in a VIP Champagne bar at the SoFi Stadium.

Footage on social media showed Meghan laughing with Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland and A-list actress Kerry Washington as Hollywood glitterati including Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Jeff Bozos and other big names rubbed shoulders at one of the biggest celebrity gatherings of 2023.

Patrick, who has spoken in defense of Meghan on several occasions, last year complained of being 'pulled into' debates surrounding his former co-star.

'Hello to the people and many bots debating all things Markle and including me in the conversation. I just want you to know a couple of things. 1. I dont read any of it. 2. Life is short. 3. There has to got to be better things for you to be doing. Even you, bots,' he wrote.

Patrick has also previously described the monarchy as 'toxic, archaic, and shameless'.

He said that his 'powerful' and 'kind' friend has been the subject of underhanded behavior on the part of the monarchy after reports were published that Meghan had 'bullied' several former staff members at Kensington Palace, claims she has strongly denied.

Patrick J Adams has hit out after being constantly 'pulled into' debates surrounding his former co-star Meghan Markle, seen together in hit legal drama Suits which they starred in together from 2011 to 2017

'I cant remember. It might have been the directing producer at the time, or her agent,' he said, when asked who told him that she couldn't say 'poppycock.' Meghan's seen in the show

Following her interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2022, he said: 'She fell in love, moved to a new country, became a household name across the entire globe and began the difficult work of trying to find her place in a family dynamic that can at best be described as complicated and at worst, seemingly archaic and toxic,' he wrote in the eight-tweet rant.

At the time Buckingham Palace 'brought in an external legal firm' to carry out an investigation into the claims that Meghan bullied royal staff.

Recently, the creator of the legal drama sensationally claiming that the royal family insisted the word 'poppycock' be removed from her script over fears that clips would be edited to make it sound as though the Duchess of Sussex had said something crude.

Aaron Korsh, 56, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about how things changed on set after Meghan started dating Prince Harry - as well as the bizarre demands he claims the monarchy made when it came to her lines.

His claims echo those made by Harry, who alleged in his explosive memoir Spare that Suits writers had grown increasingly 'frustrated' with the 'palace communications' team 'advising' on changes to Meghan's lines.

According to showrunner Korsh, the royal family 'weighed in on some stuff' - including what the Duchess of Sussex's character said in episodes filmed after she and Harry began dating - which he found 'a little irritating.'

He said there was one particular word that he threw into the script as a tribute to his own in-laws - 'poppycock,' which is slang for nonsense - but claimed he was forced to change it after it was allegedly vetoed by the royals because it contained the term 'c**k.'
This couple have shared the shocking moment they discovered that one of the walls in their new home was full of empty bottles of rum.

Cathy and Roy Aukamp, 51 and 52, from New Jersey, were in the process of moving into their new home when they made the shocking discovery.

Only two days after moving into the house, the couple had to deal with a flooded basement after heavy storms in the area and that's when they made the unbelievable find.

Cathy said: 'My husband had to remove wet plasterboard and all these bottles came pouring out of one of the walls.'

In a 30 second video revealing their discovery, Roy can be seen kneeling down against the wall of his home as bottles pour out of an opening.

Cathy and Roy Aukamp, 51 and 52, from New Jersey, have shared the shocking moment they discovered that one of the walls in their new home was full of empty bottles of rum

In a 30 second video revealing their discovery, Roy can be seen kneeling down against the wall of his home as bottles pour out of an opening

The empty bottles can be seen spilling out onto the floor, while Roy looks on in apparent stunned silence.

He can be seen looking up at the camera as he moves the bottles across the room, before shaking his head.

Meanwhile Cathy can be heard questioning: 'Thirsty? It's five o'clock somewhere!'

After the couple shared a clip of their discovery online, many Instagram users were stunned by the mass of bottles.

One Instagram user commented: 'You bought a house from Captain Morgan himself!'

Another said: 'There is nothing funny about this, that poor person had a bad addiction, and I'm sorry that the new chapter in your life had to start off this way with your new home.'

However after Cathy posted the video online, she ended up hearing from the man who originally lived in the home - and had hidden the bottes.

She explained: 'The person who did it saw the video after it went viral and reached out and said there are hundreds more but also that he is now three years sober.'

Their discovery comes months after another couple uncovered a truly terrifying secret while exploring a new property they had just bought in east Sussex - so frightening it was considered as a horror film set.

After removing a section of the dry wall, Roy can be seen looking up at the camera as he moves the bottles across the room, shaking his head

Never ending! Roy continues to remove the bottles from the hole in the wall in apparent stunned silence

At the end of the video, as Roy looks around the room, his wife Cathy can be heard saying: 'Thirsty?'

Husband and wife Steven, 54, and Carolyn Sparks, 42, discovered a secret room behind a bathroom wall during a contractor survey at a property in Brighton, which contained just a single iron bed.

The pair needed detailed plans drawn up to refurbish the property and it was during the survey that Steven and the architect found the door to the secret room.

But when the architect went inside to measure the basement, he failed to mention the creepy single bed that still lay inside.

It was only when the couple went back in to explore with torches in hand that they made the frightening discovery.

Images show the single iron bed takes up the width of part of the room, which has exposed floors and walls and pipes around it.

There were also disused boxes stacked high in one corner of the room.

The room was part of the original Victorian house and was used to store coal. An access hole outside where the coal would have been poured down into can be seen in the images.

After the property is renovated, the only way to access the basement will be via the hallway, but only to ensure there is access to the pipework in case of emergencies.

In another twist, the room was considered to become the subject of a horror film.
Joe Jonas filed for divorce from Sophie Turner after four years of marriage on September 5, 2023.

The 'unhappy' singer, 34, reportedly tried to 'salvage' his marriage to the Game of Thrones star, 27, before he filed for divorce as a 'last resort' as per Page Six.

Turner's 'partying' seemingly caused a rift between the pair, as Joe is more of a homebody and 'likes to stay at home.'

There have been a number of signs pointing to trouble in paradise, including Sophie admitting she was homesick for the U.K. as well as the couple recently selling their Miami mansion.

The pair were married in two ceremonies in 2019, and share two children together: three-year-old daughter Willa and a one-year-old daughter, whose name they have not revealed, but who was listed as D.J. in the divorce filing.

As Joe and Sophie's marriage comes to an end - Dailymail.com looks back at their whirlwind romance...

As they were: After Joe Jonas, 34, filed for divorce from Sophie Turner, 27, following four years of marriage, we take a look at their whirlwind romance; Seen 2023

NOVEMBER 5, 2016 - FIRST PUBLIC SIGHTING

The first sighting: The couple were first seen together at the MTV EMAs

Joe was pictured with his arm around Sophie in the audience at the MTV EMAs leading people to wonder if they were dating.

NOVEMBER 28, 2016 - THE PAIR APPEAR AT A FRIEND'S WEDDING

Here they are: Sophie and Joe were pictured at a pal's wedding as their romance heats up

Sophie joined Joe in an photobooth picture at a pal's wedding, alongside Joe's brother Nick.

JANUARY 1, 2017 - SOPHIE CONFIRMS ROMANCE AS SHE SHARES SNAP OF JOE TO HER INSTAGRAM

Her man: Sophie shared this first picture of Joe on Instagram back in 2016

Sophie appears to confirm the romance when she shares a picture of Joe smoking a cigar on a boat to her Instagram.

JANUARY 10, 2017 - SOPHIE REMAINS MUM ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP

Sophie is left red-faced when host Mario Lopez asked her about the romance and she simply responded: 'I'm not saying anything... I'm very happy'

FEBRUARY 14, 2017 - JOE MAKES HIS FIRST PUBLIC COMMENT ON SOPHIE'S INSTAGRAM

Joe makes his first romantic and public declaration when he comments on one of Sophie's Instagram pictures with a flame emoji.

MAY 2, 2017 - THE COUPLE ATTEND THE MET GALA TOGETHER

The couple both attend the Met Gala together - it's their first public red carpet event but they choose to arrive separately and are not pictured together.

However, they were later seen going to the Marc Jacobs afterparty together.

First public appearance: The couple both attend the Met Gala together in 2017 - but they choose to arrive separately and were not pictured together at the event. They were later seen going to the Marc Jacobs afterparty (pictured)

SEPTEMBER 5, 2017 - THE PAIR ADOPT A HUSKY TOGETHER

Their baby: Sophie and Joe's puppy

Things are getting serious as they adopt a husky puppy together - they are now the proud owners of two dogs.

OCTOBER 15, 2017 - THE COUPLE REVEAL THEY ARE ENGAGED

Engaged! The couple shared a picture of Sophie's diamond spoiler after Joe proposed

The couple got engaged to one another and share a picture of their hands with rings on Instagram - Sophie wrote: 'I said yes!'

MARCH 1, 2018 - SOPHIE APPEARS IN JONAS BROTHERS' MUSIC VIDEO

Sucker for him: Sophie appeared in the Jonas Brothers' Sucker music video

Sophie joins Nick's wife Priyanka Chopra and Kevin's wife Danielle Jonas on the music video for the Jonas Brothers' new single, Sucker.

MAY 1, 2019 - THE COUPLE SAY 'I DO' IN A VEGAS CEREMONY

The couple tie the knot in a surprise $600 ceremony in Las Vegas with an Elvis impersonator officiating the ceremony.

They later revealed that they had not told their parents in advance, but their secret got out thanks to their guest Diplo, who livestreamed the ceremony with his phone.

Out of nowhere! They tied the knot in a surprise Las Vegas ceremony in May

JULY 2019 - SOPHIE AND JOE GET MARRIED FOR A SECOND TIME IN FRANCE

They tied the knot for a second time in a beautiful ceremony in the South of France, surrounded by their friends and loved ones.

The couple wed in a lavish ceremony at the Chateau du Martinet with a source telling E! News the newlyweds couldn't contain their tears as they said their vows.

'Joe and Sophie both teared up while reading their vows. Everyone stood and cheered, and they had huge smiles as they left as a couple. It was an emotional ceremony.'

The romantic ceremony came one month after the couple legally tied the knot in Las Vegas, with a source adding that Sophie and Joe had always hoped for a 'royal-style' and 'traditional' ceremony where the actress could wear white.

Second wedding: They tied the knot for a second time in a beautiful ceremony in the South of France, surrounded by their friends and loved ones

FEBRUARY 12, 2020 - IT'S REVEALED THAT THE ACTRESS AND THE SINGER ARE EXPECTING THEIR FIRST CHILD

In 2020 it's revealed that the pair are expecting a baby.

'The couple is keeping things very hush hush but their friends and family are super excited for them,' a source tells Just Jared.

Another insider added: 'Sophie has decidedly been choosing outfits to wear on and off the carpet to accommodate her changing body.'

Summer baby: In 2020 it was revealed that the pair were expecting their first child, with Sophie later sharing a snap of her baby bump after she already gave birth

JULY 2020 - SOPHIE GIVES BIRTH TO HER AND JOE'S FIRST CHILD - A DAUGHTER NAMED WILLA

Sophie and Joe confirmed they welcomed their first child in a statement that said they were 'delighted to announce the birth of their baby' - a daughter named Willa.

Sophie avoided sharing any photos featuring her pregnant stomach before the birth, and it wasn't until September of that year that she began posting throwback photos from her pregnancy.

Game of Thrones fans have theorized that Sophie took inspiration from her hit show for her daughter's name, noticing that Willa is the name of two minor characters from the series.

One of the characters named Willa appeared on two episodes of the show back in season five and was a wildling character. The second appearance of Willa came in season eight as a servant at Winterfell.

First baby: Sophie and Joe confirmed they welcomed their first child - a daughter named Willa - in 2020; seen with Willa in 2021

FEBRUARY 28, 2022 - SOPHIE SPARKS SECOND PREGNANCY RUMORS AS SHE TOUCHES HER BARE TUMMY WHILE OUT WITH JOE AND THEIR DAUGHTER

Sophie set the internet ablaze with rumors that she was expecting her second child after she stepped out in an outfit that highlighted what many fans believed was a baby bump.

The star only strengthened the social media speculation when she was seen out in Los Angeles' Los Feliz neighborhood with her husband Joe and their daughter Willa, 19 months at the time.

The actress wore a revealing white crop top that put the focus on her tummy, which she was seen placing her hand on delicately.

MAY 2022 - SOPHIE CONFIRMS SHE IS PREGNANT WITH HER SECOND CHILD

Sophie confirmed her second pregnancy during an interview with Elle UK in May, two years after giving birth to eldest child Willa.

The greatest thing in life is seeing my daughter go from strength to strength,' she told the publication. 'Were so excited to be expanding the family. Its the best blessing ever.

Baby number two: Sophie confirmed her second pregnancy during an interview with Elle UK in May, two years after giving birth to eldest child Willa; Seen showing her baby bump on Instagram

MAY 3, 2022 - PREGNANT SOPHIE PUTS HER BUMP ON DISPLAY IN A BLACK EMBELLISHED GOWN AS SHE AND JOE ARRIVE AT 2022 MET GALA

Sophie displayed full maternity glow as she and Joe arrived at the Met Gala in May of 2022.

She stunned in an embellished black gown while her husband looked dapper in a white and black tuxedo jacket with extra long tails.

The couple were both seen cradling Sophie's burgeoning baby bump on the red carpet, as they tenderly gazed at each other while posing for photographers.

Met Gala bump: Sophie displayed full maternity glow as she and Joe arrived at the Met Gala in May of 2022

MAY 2022 - SOPHIE SAYS SHE IS DESPERATE TO MOVE BACK TO THE U.K FOR HER 'MENTAL HEALTH'

Sophie seemingly hinted at tensions about where the couple wanted to be permanently based in an interview with Elle, where she admitted Joe was reluctant to relocate to England.

The actress, who was born in Northampton and grew up near Leamington Spa, said she was desperate to be back with her family and for their children to have a similar education to what she had.

She told the publication: 'I miss England so much. The people, the attitude, everything. Im slowly dragging my husband back.'

'I really love living in America but, for my mental health, I have to be around my friends and my family. And also for my daughter  I would love her to get the education and school life that I was so lucky to have.

'England would ideally be the final destination, but [Joe] might take quite a bit of convincing! My parents house is the epitome of the English countryside  horses, sheep, cows..'

MAY 7, 2022 - ACTRESS GUSHES ABOUT JOE DURING INTERVIEW: 'I LOVE THIS MAN SO MUCH!'

Sophie admitted that she knew Joe was the one for her the first time they met and 'wept' after he left her apartment, following their first unofficial date.

She opened up to host Jimmy Fallon during her appearance on The Tonight Show, revealing the details of the couple's first meeting.

'I remember he left my apartment, and it may have been the alcohol, but I just wept to my brother. I was like, "I love this man so much." And I knew. And that was it,' she shared.

The revelation came after Fallon asked her when she realized she would marry the DNCE frontman, to which she replied, 'I mean the first night I met him.'

When Fallon inquired whether Joe had been to her apartment for a date, she clarified: 'He didn't come over, no, I'm not that forward. We went out and we hung out at a bar with, like, all my friends, and all his friends, and then they all came back to my apartment and we had drinks after.'

Love at first sight: Sophie admitted that she knew Joe was the one for her the first time they met and 'wept' after he left her apartment, following their first date

14 JULY, 2022 - SOPHIE GIVES BIRTH TO A SECOND CHILD - ANOTHER BABY GIRL

In July it was revealed Sophie gave birth to the couple's second child - another baby girl.

A spokesperson told People: 'Joe and Sophie are happy to announce the arrival of their baby girl.'

APRIL 14, 2023 - THE LAST TIME THE PAIR ARE PICTURED TOGETHER

Following the birth of their second child, the pair are spotted together for the last time.

They are seen arriving at an afterparty in London that Jonas was DJing at.

The duo look in good spirits with Jonas wearing his wedding band.

Last sighting together: Following the birth of their second child, the pair are spotted together for the last time at an afterparty in London that Jonas was DJing at

AUGUST 11, 2023 - JOE IS SEEN WITHOUT HIS WEDDING RING

Joe has been seen going without his wedding ring multiple times in August.

At least as early as August 11, Jonas was seen with a bare left ring finger while taking care of some errands in The West Village in Manhattan.

On August 11, he was seen in a casual black T-shirt and matching shorts that showed off his fit, tattooed figure while out in New York City.

Missing from his left ring finger was the band he normally wears to commemorate his marriage to Sophie.

No ring: On August 11, Joe was seen pictured out in New York City without his wedding ring

AUGUST 15, 2023 - SOPHIE MISSES JOE'S 34TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

Joe shared a slew of images from his birthday celebrations in August, when he was joined by friends and family for a swanky meal.

The carousel of images alluded to the fact Sophie did not attend the bash.

Despite her absence from the party, Sophie marked the birthday with a picture on Instagram, with the last picture together appeared on the Game Of Thrones star's account on 14 August - the day before his birthday bash.

MIA: Joe shared a slew of images from his birthday celebrations in August. The carousel of images alluded to the fact Sophie did not attend the bash

AUGUST 18, 2023 - THE COUPLE SELL THEIR MIAMI MANSION

Joe and Sophie sell their stunning waterfront mansion in Miami for $15 million - months after they were forced to slash the price by $2 million.

The pair purchased the Florida abode back in 2021 for $11 million, but only a year later, they put it on the market.

Joe and Sophie bought the home around the same time that they sold their house in Encino, California.

They then enlisted interior designer Sarah Ivory to completely re-design the place. However, just over a year later, they put it up for sale.

It's unclear where the singer and the actress decided to reside after selling their home.

They also bought a condo in New York City back in 2018 for $5.6 million, but it was reported that it was put on the market for $5.9 million in 2020. It's not known if they ever sold it.

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023 - IT'S REPORTED THAT THE PAIR ARE 'HEADED FOR DIVORCE'

Sources close to the situation claim that Joe is preparing to file divorce documents, according to TMZ.

Joe has been meeting with divorce lawyers and has retained one, as per People.

Joe and Sophie are said to have been having 'serious problems' for the past half year.

Sources told the publication that Joe has been primarily handling parenting duties in recent months.

They said he had been caring for their two young daughters 'pretty much all of the time' for the past three months.

While Joe has been on tour with his band, Sophie has been filming the ITVX drama Joan in the UK since May.

That has meant that he has been handling solo parenting even as he tours with his brothers Nick and Kevin Jonas as The Jonas Brothers, and he's reportedly still the one with the kids currently.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2023 - JOE PUTS WEDDING RING BACK ON AS MARRIAGE RUMORS SWIRL

The mystery of Joe's appearing and disappearing wedding ring continued on Sunday as he sported the band during a Jonas Brothers concert in Texas.

He baffled fans earlier on Saturday when he sported the wedding band again in a snap with his brothers enjoying the Texas sunset.

He didn't address the rumours about his relationship in the post, simply wishing fans a happy Labor Day weekend and noting how their ongoing tour has been 'incredible so far.'

He added: 'Having a little family time in the Texas sunset tonight before a big Austin show tomorrow.'

Riddle of the ring: Following the divorce rumors on Sunday, Joe enjoyed Labor Day weekend with his brothers, Kevin and Nick, and was pictured with his wedding ring on his finger

SEPTEMBER 5, 2023 - JOE FILES FOR DIVORCE FROM SOPHIE

On September 5th Joe officially filed for divorce from Sophie, stating in paperwork that their relationship is 'irretrievably broken'.

He submitted the paperwork to end his marriage in a Miami Dade County courtroom - hours after it was revealed that he had hired a divorce lawyer.

The 'unhappy' singer reportedly tried to 'salvage' his marriage before he filed for divorce as a 'last resort.'

The pair 'were going through it this year' according to a source who spoke with Page Six, following reports that Turner's alleged 'partying' caused a rift in the marriage.

'Divorce was a last resort for Joe. He never wanted to break up his family, but he had to take what he felt was the best course of action for his girls,' the insider added.

'It just kept building, and Joe finally reached a point where he felt that he had exhausted all options to salvage the marriage.'

It comes after reports that Sophie's lifestyle is what caused her estranged husband to file for divorce.

The actress allegedly 'likes to party', which caused a clash with the musician, who is more of a homebody.

'She likes to party; he likes to stay at home. They have very different lifestyles,' a source revealed to TMZ.

Despite their differing lifestyles, the estranged couple will most likely not be fighting over money amid their divorce, as they have an 'ironclad prenuptial agreement in place,' according to The Blast.

'Irretrievably broken': On September 5th Joe officially filed for divorce from Sophie, stating in paperwork that their relationship is 'irretrievably broken'; Seen 2022

Jonas will keep all of his royalties from music, while Turner will keep the money she made from her acting career.

Both will get to keep any property they acquired prior to their marriage, and they will only have to split their marital home.

The only unknown at the moment is the pair's custody and child support, which will be decided by the judge.

The amount of child support will be determined by their monthly salaries, and who is making more money.
A dentistry student has revealed how his father, who has Down's syndrome, has supported him through his education.

Jad Issa worked a grueling job as a labourer in a wheat mill factory in Syria to raise money so his son Sader could pursue his dreams of becoming a dentist.

Speaking in a video for the Syrian Society for Social Development, Sader solemnly told the camera: 'My father has Down's Syndrome'.

He was candid about the challenges of being raised by a parent with the common genetic disorder, explaining: 'This is a challenge for many people and many people cannot do this'.

However he insisted that his parents union is just like any other, even though his father has Down's syndrome, saying: 'Their relationship is natural like other couples'.

Sader Issa has revealed how his father Jad, who has Down's syndrome, has supported him throughout dentistry school

Sader told Metro his parents, a happily married couple, have received some scathing remarks over the years because his mother does not have Down's syndrome

Sader told Metro his parents, a happily married couple, have received some scathing remarks over the years.

The dental student said: One of the concerns people have is how can a woman who doesnt have Downs syndrome marry a man with Down's syndrome?

He said: I believe if the two partners were on the same page then why not get married?

'They are intellectually suitable for each other; very simple but loving and caring people'.

Sader told the Syrian Society for Social Development,: 'I'm proud when he introduces me to a new person for the first time and says "My son is a doctor".'

He continued: 'You can see the pride and joy in his eyes. It's like he's saying "I have Down's syndrome but I raised my son and did everything to help him become a doctor'.

The grateful son finished: 'I'm proud of him'.

Jad still works in the wheat mill factory near where his son was born.

What is Down's Syndrome Down's syndrome is a genetic condition that typically causes some degree of learning disability and certain physical characteristics. Symptoms include: Floppiness at birth

Eyes that slant down and out

A small mouth

A flat back of head Screening tests can uncover Down's syndrome during pregnancy but are not completely accurate. It is caused by an extra chromosome in a baby's cell due to a genetic change in the sperm or egg. The chance of this increases according to the age of the mother. A 20-year-old woman has around a one in 1,500 chance of having a baby with Down's syndrome. Women in their 40s have a one in 100 chance. There is no evidence women can reduce their chances of having a child with Down's syndrome. Down's syndrome does not have a cure. Treatment focuses on supporting the patient's development. People with Down's syndrome have more chance of health complications such as heart disorders, hearing problems, thyroid issues and recurrent infections. Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

Jad (pictured left) supported his son (pictured right) both 'economically and psychologically' while pursuing his degree in dentistry

Sader explained: 'For many [in Syria] being pregnant with a child with Down's syndrome is the worst scenario. In fact many resort to abortion.

'If my grandmother was convinced of this idea, I wouldn't be here today. But for my father, it was easy.

'A child that grows up [around] in the lap of a person with Down's syndrome can have the [same] love and tenderness anyone can offer'.

Sader, whose father supported him through dental school both 'economically and psychologically', said he'd never dream of another father.

He stated: 'I'm proud of him the same way he is proud of me'.


She ultimately conceived naturally, but then the baby didn't have a heartbeat

Figure skater Tara Lipinski has recalled the devastating moment she discovered her baby didn't have a heartbeat.

The 41-year-old Olympian opened up about her fertility journey, and the struggles she and her 39-year-old husband, Todd Kapostasy, faced.

On the the third episode of her podcast, Tara Lipinski: Unexpected, which she hosts with partner Todd, she discussed how she found out their baby didn't have a heartbeat after suffering through a tough five-year journey of trying to have a child.

The athlete revealed that she has had multiple unsuccessful rounds of IVF, four miscarriages and surgeries, before she was able to conceive a baby naturally - only for her then to discover the baby didn't have a heartbeat.

Tara has recalled the devastating moment she discovered her baby didn't have a heartbeat

On the the third episode of her podcast, Tara Lipinski: Unexpected, with her co-host and partner Todd to discuss how she found out their baby didn't have a heartbeat

She revealed that she has had multiple unsuccessful rounds of IVF, four miscarriages and surgeries before she conceived naturally, which was when the baby didn't have a heartbeat

The athlete noted that she was 'praying' for a heartbeat, but 'just knew' from the look on the doctor's face something was wrong, adding she had been 'worried' in the weeks prior to the scan.

She began by retelling the story of when she found out she was pregnant after conceiving naturally.

'I had zero hopes that this was going to work, but somehow, and I don't know how or why, I was pregnant,' Tara said.

'And I just remember you looking at me and saying, "See? We worried for nothing,"' she directed at her husband.

Todd also revealed that when they discovered they were able to get pregnant naturally, he was frustrated that the pair even used IVF.

However, looking back he noted that he recognized he sounded like an 'a**hole at the time.'

The couple then jumped to the moment Tara found out there was no heartbeat, adding that she was 'critiquing her body for failing her.'

'So at five and a half weeks you have what's called a gestational scan,' Todd said.

The athlete noted that she was 'praying' for a heartbeat but 'just knew' by the look on the doctor's face something was wrong and had been 'worried' the week before the scan

She revealed that she was taking a pregnancy test everyday (shown asleep while clutching test)

When Tara discovered there was no heartbeat, she revealed that she was 'critiquing' her body for 'failing' her

Tara added: 'Right. Then we had to wait, we went to the gestational scan with Dr. Beck.'

'So what is that and what did our results show in that?' Todd asked.

Tara explained that she wasn't sure what to expect at the scan, but thought 'maybe it's going to be okay.'

'So we get to see almost every part of the progression of the pregnancy because we were working with an IVF clinic,' she said.

'And so we went to the scan and I didn't know what to expect, I thought you know, maybe these numbers are good enough. Maybe it's going to be okay.'

The Olympian skater noted that her doctor was hopeful at first.

'And then Dr. Beck, smile on her face, "There it is! I see it." And you see this little black package with your cute little embryo in the middle. So we saw a gestational sac and then inside is the yolk sac and hopefully a fetal pole,' she said.

'That was the next big jump and she's like, "Yes. It's there, looking good."

'They also check if you're up to date to exactly where you are in your pregnancy. I was looking good, I think I was a day ahead. And I thought, "OK now there's a little more hope."'

She noted that she was a 'little hopeful' and was 'praying' for a heartbeat to appear on the screen

But, when she got into the room, she 'just knew' that something was wrong and broke down

Tara explained that prior to her fertility journey, she never imagined she would have an issue getting pregnant

Then the skater said that she knew her husband was very hopeful and was attempting to persuade her to 'stop worrying.'

After the scan, the couple was set to attend another appointment where they would do a heartbeat scan.

Tara added that this was a 'crazy scan' to her in general and she was still feeling worried.

She noted that she was a 'little hopeful' and was 'praying' for a heartbeat to appear on the screen.

The athlete added: 'Well you know, I was a little hopeful and just praying for a heartbeat and it's crazy that this little thing has a flicker that you'll see on a screen. It's a big milestone to reach.

'And I walked in and sat down and I just knew.

'I knew from watching her, that awkward silence, that searching, I could tell she just wanted to find this heartbeat.

'And just the look on her face when she said, "I'm sorry, there's no fetal heartbeat."'

Tara explained that prior to her fertility journey, she never imagined she would have an issue getting pregnant.

The figure skater explained that she thought she would be fine because she worked out and lived a healthy lifestyle

Tara was just 15 years old when she won the gold figure skating medal at the 1998 Olympics in Japan

But she noted that she now knew she just wasn't 'educated' and wished she had thought about it more.

'I wasn't educated, there wasn't ever a moment that someone brought this to me to even think about, or to drop a seed in my brain to think about a fertility timeline and a biological clock,' Tara said.

'You kind of heard, "Oh your biological clock is ticking," and that's the only thing I feel like I ever heard that could remotely make me think that there was a timeline.'

The figure skater explained that she thought she would be fine because she worked out and lived a healthy lifestyle.

'I also felt like I work out, I work my muscles, I hydrate, I was an elite athlete at one point in my life. I eat healthy, and I just thought, "Oh maybe these things correlate,' and that's not necessarily true,' she said.

Tara was just 15 years old when she won the gold figure skating medal at the 1998 Olympics in Japan. The year before, at age 14, she was crowned World Champion.
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was stunning in a bright red dress as she joined Queen Margrethe for a royal film premiere last night.

The mother-of-four, 51, arrived alongside the monarch, 83, for the premiere of the film The Art of Seduction in Copenhagen yesterday.

The royal looked elegant in a vibrant scarlet dress for the occasion, which she paired with trendy silver accessories.

Meanwhile her mother-in-law, the Queen, opted for an ensemble in a similarly bright hue.

The Crown Princess was handed a huge bouquet of flowers as she arrived at the event, before she could be seen studying a number of pieces of artwork alongside the Queen.

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was stunning in a bright red dress as she joined Queen Margrethe for a royal film premiere last night

The mother-of-four, 51, arrived alongside the monarch for the premiere of the film The Art of Seduction in Copenhagen yesterday

It comes amidst a busy period for Mary, who earlier this week appeared to become emotional as she and Prince Frederik paid tribute to the country's fallen soldiers this morning at the annual Flag Day event.

The mother-of-four, 51, was pictured wiping her eye while at the Military Headquarters Kastellet, where she and her husband participated in the traditional wreath-laying ceremony for Danish soldiers abroad.

Honouring people who are or have been sent on a mission by Denmark, the service was also attended by veterans.

The Australian-born princess was dressed in a pink and blue floral skirt with a navy long sleeved blouse tucked in at the waist.

She teamed the elegant ensemble with a navy wide-brimmed hat, featuring an eye-catching purple flower.

The royal finished off her look with a pair of dainty pear earrings, plenty of gold bracelets and cream heels. In her hands, she carried a pair of grape coloured gloves and a matching clutch.

The Crown Prince, 55, who was dressed in military regalia, sat by Princess Mary's side during the ceremonies.

September 5 is an official day in Denmark to pay respect to deployed soldiers and is marked by a number of different events and ceremonies throughout the day.

Last month, Princess Mary returned from her summer holidays with her family and opened a centre to help people with grief in Vejle.

The Crown Princess was handed a huge bouquet of flowers as she arrived at the event, before she could be seen studying a number of pieces of artwork alongside the Queen

The royal looked elegant in a vibrant scarlet dress for the occasion, which she paired with trendy silver accessories

The royal mother-of-four could be seen gazing down at her huge bouquet of flowers as she arrived at the event

The mother-of-four donned a stunning white midi dress, which featured a subtle monochrome pattern, as she stepped out at the Danish National Center for Grief.

She opted for natural makeup and swept her long brown hair over her shoulder as she arrived.

It comes after the royal returned from her family's summer holiday in Ibiza, where she was spotted enjoying the sunshine and sea with her husband Crown Prince Frederik.

The Danish National Center for Grief offers free counselling to anyone who has lost a parent, a sibling, a child or spouse, or people who are relatives of people suffering from severe physical illness. The centre also offers a helpline, called Griefline.

Princess Mary was seen soaking up the sun on the Spanish island with her husband Prince Frederik in August.

The two royal women were perfectly matching in their scarlet ensembles at the event last night in Denmark

The Crown Princess and monarch appeared in high spirits as they attended the event in Copenhagen

Mary took a refreshing dip in the ocean with Frederik and flaunted her stunning figure in a one-piece green swimsuit by Danish brand Copenhagen Cartel.

The 51-year-old wore the same one-piece on Sydney's Palm Beach in December 2022.

Mary and Frederik were spotted taking a break from the kids and their luxury yacht when they took a dinghy to a beach with another couple.

The loved-up pair look relaxed as they swam, chatted and laughed together in the turquoise water.

Once on shore, Mary covered up with a bright yellow button-up shirt and khaki shorts while Frederik wore a blue T-shirt over his board shorts.

The princess protected herself from the sun with a white Panama hat and Wayfarer-style sunglasses.

Mary didn't skip the accessories with gold layered necklaces and a $256 Jerome Dreyfuss leather phone bag.
Bianca was seen shopping at luxury fashion house Marni alongside the rapper, 46, before hugging a friend

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Kanye West's 'wife' Bianca Censori has been spotted in a series of latest snaps shopping and hugging pals in the street while sporting that scandalous topless outfit - despite an ongoing police investigation into the couple's 'lewd' behavior.

The Australian architect, 28, has been causing quite the stir in Italy this week by stepping out alongside the rapper, 46, wearing her most indecent outfit yet - consisting of a pair of skin-tight nude pants and no shirt.

She has been clutching a pillow over her breasts to shield them from public view but - despite the bizarre outfit - new photos show the lovebirds, who started dating in January, making time to shop at luxury fashion house Marni before Bianca juggled her precarious ensemble to hug designer Francesco Risso.

The couple have sparked widespread outrage in recent months - which reached new heights when the pair were caught engaging in what appeared to be a risque act during a boat ride through Venice - and DailyMail.com has since revealed that Bianca's close friends have grown 'extremely concerned' about her increasingly-strange behavior.

Kanye West's 'wife' Bianca Censori has been spotted in the street while sporting that scandalous topless cushion outfit - despite an ongoing police investigation into the couple's 'lewd' behavior

New photos show the lovebirds, who started dating in January, making time to shop at luxury fashion house Marni before Bianca juggled her precarious ensemble to hug a man in the street

The Australian architect, 28, has been causing quite the stir in Milan this week by stepping out alongside the rapper, 46, wearing her most indecent outfit yet

Bianca was first seen holding onto the purple cushion in Florence on Tuesday - when she and Kanye enjoyed a late night dinner together, however, she appeared to be wearing a long-sleeved bodysuit for their evening meal.

But when they ventured out the following morning, the Kim Kardashian lookalike had nothing but a small piece of tattered fabric wrapped around her back underneath her breasts, leaving them entirely exposed behind the pillow, suggesting that the top she had been wearing the night before had either been ripped or DIY-ed with some scissors.

It seemed like the racy ensemble did not come as a result of a wardrobe malfunction however - because had it been a mishap she could have easily gone back inside the hotel to change.

She completed the strange look with a pair of clear heels.

As for the Stronger artist, he opted for a pair of black sweat pants, a black shirt, and a scarf wrapped around his face. He chose not to wear any shoes during the outing, walking the streets of Italy in only a pair of socks.

An onlooker told DailyMail.com that Bianca kept the pillow pressed tightly against her breasts the entire time that they dined on Tuesday evening.

After heading out of their hotel on Wednesday, they were spotted getting into a car - and it seems as though the pair embarked on a three-hour road trip after popping up in Milan where they went on a shopping trip to Italian designer Francesco Risso's boutique Marni.

The latest snaps taken by a local photographer caught them both embracing with the fashion icon, before heading into the store - and it looked as though they found something they liked because Kanye held onto a shopping bag as they exited afterwards.

Kanye also embraced the fashion icon before heading into the store - and it looked as though the couple found something they liked because the rapper held onto a shopping bag as they exited afterwards

Bianca, who has been wearing skin-tight nude pants and no shirt, has also been clutching a pillow over her breasts to shield them from public view in her latest public appearances in Milan

As for the Stronger artist (pictured emerging from Marni), he opted for a pair of black sweat pants, a black shirt, and a scarf wrapped around his face. He chose not to wear any shoes during the outing, walking the streets of Italy in only a pair of socks

No strangers to scandal, Kanye and Bianca have continuously raised eyebrows over their choices in clothing and, since arriving in Italy last month, Bianca's barely-there looks have continuously sparked fury from locals.

She has been seen donning sheer and mesh outfits that left her breasts clearly visible, which social media users described as 'disrespectful' in a country known for its conservative Catholic heritage.

Things reached new heights last week, when the two stars were caught engaging in what appeared to be a risque act during a boat ride through Venice.

The musician bared his naked buttocks to a slew of gawking tourists as he leaned against the back of the vessel, while Bianca nestled her head in his lap.

It appeared that things were getting very steamy as she faced the hitmaker and, at one point, rested her elbows on his knees, while he was then seen cradling her face as they sailed along the river.

The couple had been accompanied by a female friend, who seemed to spend much of her time up front with the boat's captain, giving the couple as much privacy as possible.

Still, the pair didn't appear to mind who spotted them during the trip - given that they were surrounded by other boats filled to the brim with tourists, all of whom had a perfect view of them putting on their amorous display and quickly whipped out their phones.

DailyMail.com exclusively revealed afterwards that police are investigating the couple over the compromising photos.

Bianca was first seen holding onto the purple cushion in Florence on Tuesday - when she and Kanye enjoyed a late night dinner together, however, she appeared to be wearing a long-sleeved bodysuit for their evening meal

But when they ventured out the following morning, the Kim Kardashian lookalike had nothing but a small piece of tattered fabric wrapped around her back underneath her breasts, leaving them entirely exposed behind the pillow

A law enforcement source said that they had identified the driver of the water taxi they were on and were expecting to question him in the next few days about what exactly went on.

'There are standards of public decorum that have to be followed by tourists and locals alike and any breaches are severely punished,' the insider dished.

'The images of [Kanye] with his trousers down while in a taxi as he and his partner crossed the lagoon were seen all over the globe.

'You could clearly see his trousers were half down and we have received complaints from people who witnessed it.

'Now we have identified the driver of the boat and we will be asking him what he saw as well.

'The images show the couple clearly in a state of intimacy and if the local prosecutor decides to press charges then we will notify the couple, most probably through the relevant embassies.

'The offence being investigated is acts contrary to public decency which is punishable by an administrative sanction.'

Kanye's behavior in recent months has said to have left Bianca's friends 'extremely concerned' that she's being manipulated by the 46-year-old.

The bizarre look suggested that the top she had been wearing the night before had either been ripped or DIY-ed with some scissors

It seemed like the racy ensemble did not come as a result of a wardrobe malfunction however - because had it been a mishap she could have easily gone back inside the hotel to change

'Bianca is stuck and her friends are trying to save her, but no one can because of the blockades Kayne has put up [around her],' a close pal of Bianca's told DailyMail.com.

'Everyone is extremely concerned. This isn't who she is. She is an incredibly outspoken and lively person who is never one to keep her mouth shut. But she has no one right now and it is scary.'

Bianca, who was hired as the Head of Architecture for Yeezy, was first linked to Kanye back in January 2023 - just months after his divorce from ex-wife Kim was finalized.

Kanye has become well known for pushing boundaries when it comes to his choices of clothing - and he's also earned a reputation for influencing what his significant others wear.

Almost everyone that Kanye has been linked to over the years has undergone a major style transformation after they started dating the rapper - including Kim, Julia Fox, and now Bianca.

'Kanye is trying to make Bianca into a radicalized version of Kim - almost like Kim 2.0,' the source continued.

'The difference is that when Kim was with Kanye he was respected in the fashion world. He has since lost this respect.'
Hoda Kotb officiated a wedding live on the Today show Thursday  nearly seven months after the couple got engaged on the plaza on Valentine's Day.

The co-anchor, who is an ordained minister, wed Ben Hebert, 30, and Mindy Shore, 29, in front of their family and friends outside of Studio 1A in New York City's Rockefeller Center.

Because the bride's father passed away recently and her mother was unable to travel for the event, Al Roker, 69, stepped in and walked her down the aisle.

The ceremony was years in the making for Shore, who grew up watching the Today show and met Kotb when she visited the plaza with her mother in celebration of her 20th and 21st birthdays.

Hoda Kotb wed Ben Hebert, 30, and Mindy Shore, 29, in front of their family and friends on the Today show Thursday

'When they were planning their wedding, I bet nobody thought that they would be sitting right here on the plaza on live TV, but, guys, isn't life such a funny and surprising thing?' Kotb acknowledged at the beginning of the ceremony

Because the bride's father passed away recently and her mother was unable to travel for the event, Al Roker stepped in and walked her down the aisle

'When they were planning their wedding, I bet nobody thought that they would be sitting right here on the plaza on live TV, but, guys, isn't life such a funny and surprising thing?' Kotb, 59, acknowledged at the beginning of the ceremony.

'I think you guys live on the edge. You take risks and take chances. Ben and Mindy knew maybe after a single swipe they would be dating. But did they know they would get married? It worked out just the way it should,' she continued.

'And, Mindy, that first trip to the plaza that you made with your mom. Look what it's kind of blossomed into. This is the place where you said "yes" to Ben after a proposal, and this is the place where you're going to say I do.

'It's a special place for you, for your mom, for your family, and we're so honored that you decided to choose us for the place to get married. We hope you have a memory that you'll have to take through your beautiful lives together.'

The couple fell in love during the pandemic after Hebert saw Shore's profile on a dating app and messaged her.

'There was this one cute picture where you were smiling really cute, and I thought, "I want to make her smile like that,"' he told his bride in a pre-wedding interview that aired on the show.

Shore and Hebert had their first date at Welles Park in Chicago in August 2020 and have been together ever since.

'The last three years have been full of a lot of adventures. We've gone on so many cool trips,' she shared.

The ceremony was years in the making for Shore, who grew up watching the Today show and met Kotb multiple times when she visited the plaza with her mother

The couple fell in love during the pandemic after Hebert saw Shore's profile on a dating app and messaged her. They had their first date in August 2020 and have been together ever since

Knowing Shore's love of the Today show, Hebert popped the question in front of Kotb on the plaza last Valentine's Day

Hebert added that they also 'went on TV and got engaged'  a perfect proposal for the Today show superfan.

Not only does Shore watch the show religiously, but she also has a collection of Today-themed mugs, wine glasses, and Kathie Lee and Hoda wrapping paper.

'Before that, it was just, "Oh she likes TODAY"  and then I saw the wrapping paper,' he told Today.com. 'That was when it sunk in exactly, the depths of her relationship with Toda and specifically Hoda Kotb.'

Shore and Hebert had already talked about marriage when he came across the Today show's post on X, formerly known as Twitter, looking for couples who were about to get engaged.

'I grew up watching the Today show, and I think he realized those memories I had with my mom were so special and so important to me,' she explained.

Three weeks after they were selected for the segment, Hebert surprised Shore by getting down on one knee in front of Kotb on the Today plaza.

'I've known for a long time that I wanted to do this, and this is exactly how I wanted to do it  at 8 in the morning on live TV, Hoda Kotb silently judging me,' he began. 'So I now kneel before you and America. Mindy, there's no one else I'd rather spend my life with. Will you marry me?'

After she accepted his proposal, they shared a sweet kiss  and then she beelined to Kotb to give her a hug.

When a Today producer reached out to the couple about getting married live on the show, it was an offer they couldn't refuse

'May you both always remember the way you feel in this moment standing in front of your family and friends and these wonderful strangers here on the Today show plaza,' Kotb said before pronouncing them husband and wife

The newlyweds, who are thinking about going to Greece for their honeymoon, were also gifted luggage and $3,000 to go toward their trip after the ceremony

Shore and Hebert had planned on having their wedding ceremony in 2025 followed by a small dinner with his family in New Orleans and a big reception with their friends in Chicago.

However, when a Today producer reached out to them about getting married live on the show, it was an offer they couldn't refuse.

'The fact that I have such an affinity for Hoda, and we have such fond memories coming to New York, it just seemed like this wild and crazy, spontaneous thing that felt so right for who we are as a couple,' Shore told Today.com.

The groom was dressed in a blue suit by Men's Warehouse, while the bride dazzled in a 'princess' gown by Kleinfeld Bridal on their big day.

Shore and Hebert added a personal touch by writing their own vows, which they exchanged during the televised ceremony.

'I promise to build the fun, colorful, spontaneous life that we've always dreamed of,' she told her groom.

'I promise that as long as I am all yours and you are all mine, I will never stop striving for a new best day of our lives,' he said.

After they exchanged rings, Kotb pronounced them husband and wife.

'May you both always remember the way you feel in this moment standing in front of your family and friends and these wonderful strangers here on the Today show plaza,' she said before they kissed.

The newlyweds were also gifted luggage and $3,000 to go toward their honeymoon.

They shared that they will 'probably' go to Greece in honor of the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, which premieres in theaters this weekend.

Roker noted that NBCUniversal's distribution company Focus Features helped plan the couple's dream wedding.

'Maybe we can get you a screener of the movie and you can watch it on [the plane],' the weatherman joked.
A newlywed couple have been praised for their 'genius' money-saving hack after driving over an hour for cheap wine.

The couple went to Aldi 80 minutes away and cleared the shelves of the award winning wine - which set them back just $3.35 a bottle.

'Glad I brought enough bubble wrap to make sure they arrived home safely,' the bride said - sharing a picture of her boot filled with the cheap alcohol.

The wine is the Winking Owl label in US stores. Australian wine lovers can pick up the Precious Earth range from $3.45.

The woman's post, in an Aldi group, received more than 10,000 likes from savvy shoppers who praised the couple for their strict budget.

'Before I read the post, I thought you were participating in an epic adult trunk or treat,' one fan said.

'No shame on that game! Would have been an epic tailgate,' said another.

A bride has shown off her 'epic' wine haul after driving an hour and 20 minutes to Aldi and grabbing every cheap bottle from the shelf

Some were keen to know which Aldi store stocked alcohol.

'It depends on your state and the rules,' one person said. The poster, who lives in the US, had to travel the distance to an Aldi - making many people think she was crossing state lines.

This was a red flag for many.

'If I were you I would remove photo asap! If your local Aldi can't not legally sell it, YOU can't import it into the state as state tax wasn't paid. So basically a bootlegging and tax avoidance charge if you got caught,' one woman said.

But this was rebuked by others.

'That would only apply if they purchased it to resell at their wedding. Most people just offer an open bar, or have the bottles out on tables available for their guests,' said one woman.

'She never said she was leaving the state. I have to travel an hour to my nearest Aldi.

Others said they also went with Aldi wine for their big day.

'We used Aldi wine too and everyone loved it! Another fun thing to do is make your own custom labels. We just printed ours out at home on scrapbooking paper. Everyone got a kick out of ours and didnt even know it was.'

'The Aldi wine was a big hit at our wedding last weekend! Despite the many nay-sayers on here saying my guests would be extremely disappointed,' said another.

Some people wished they thought of it.

'We spent way too much on wine at our wedding. Should have just had good stuff for the toasts and served cheap wine the rest of the night when people were too wasted to care.'
Farm work may be compulsory for some expats on a visa

A Canadian expat has issued a warning about how difficult moving to Australia can be amid the cost of living crisis.

Kirsty Feely moved Down Under earlier this year and touched on the dire state of the housing and job market.

While moving abroad has been one of the best experiences of her life, it's also been the most challenging.

She recommended expats adopt a cheap backpacker lifestyle to get on their feet and warned about farm work, which is compulsory on some visas.

'I want to hit you guys with a couple of truths about moving to Australia. Yes, it is so amazing, and yes, all these videos showing all the amazing content in Australia is true. But there are some harder aspects as well,' she said in a TikTok video.

Kirsty Feely moved Down Under earlier this year and touched on the dire state of the housing and job market

@kirstyfeely Replying to @Todd Valentine couple realistic battles to expect when moving here  original sound - Kirsty Feely

Rental availability and affordability are at crisis levels in Sydney, with more than a third of renters in the city paying more than 30 per cent of their monthly income on housing costs.

'The housing and the job search is very difficult,' Kirsty continued.

'I guess this depends on where you're looking. But if you're coming here for about a year to have some fun and meet some friends, the housing situation is a mild crisis for sure.

'And that's applicable to all the hot spots - Byron Bay, Bondi, Gold Coast, you name it.

'The job hunt can be very difficult too, especially if you're living in a smaller beach town. If you're looking in a bigger city, you're going to have a lot better luck.'

She recommended living a cheap backpacker lifestyle to get on your feet and warned about compulsory farm work

While some people attempt to start a whole new life when moving overseas, Kirsty warned that 'your problems' follow you.

'So many people expect that their life will just suddenly change once their in a new place, but it's still you. You're still living the same life, you're just in a new place,' she said.

After touching down in Australia Kirsty lived a backpacker lifestyle to get on her feet and save a bit of money. She said others may need to do the same.

'I'm still stuck in that [backpacker] scene a bit, which isn't a bad thing at all, I've had some of my best moments and met some amazing people,' she said.

'But ultimately it's not the life I'm trying to be living here.'

Lastly, she said farm work is 'not easy' but is often a requirement for some visas.

'If you're Canadian, you're going to have to do three months on a farm in order to extend your visa another two years. There's no way around it unless you get sponsored by a company,' she continued.

Read more: Melbourne woman reveals the odd thing she's noticed all Australians do Advertisement

It comes after an American expat shared one huge change she's noticed about Australia since moving to Sydney.

Brooke Laven, a brand strategist in the fitness industry, previously worked in the US, South Korea and Chile before making her way Down Under in early 2023.

Of the three, she said Aussies have 'the perfect work-life balance' and are 'hard working' but 'know when to draw the line'.

READ MORE: Dow Jones Bar Barcelona: Travellers rave about 'best bar ever' that changes drink price in real time based on popularity

American expat 'blown away' by everyday kitchen essential that everyone in Australia and New Zealand has

How I make an extra $1,400 a month from home on top of my regular job - and anyone can do it
A travel blogger has been slammed for being 'out of touch' after telling people to just 'book a flight' to Thailand amid the cost of living crisis sweeping the globe.

'What are y'all doing in America?' Kat Crittenden asked, showing off the tranquil blue waters the country is famous for.

'This could be five o'clock on a Thursday night for you if you just book a freaking flight,' she added with a smile.

She then jumped out of the water grinning.

Travel blogger Kat Crittenden has been slammed for being 'out of touch' after telling people to just 'book a flight' to Thailand

'This should freaking sell you. Get your a** out here.'

She captioned the video 'Me again, asking you to travel' and was quickly smashed by aggressive viewers, many of whom called her spoilt and tone deaf.

'I don't have rich parents,' one person wrote attracting 38,000 likes from other furious TikTokkers.

But the woman gave it back.

'I have only one parent and she ain't rich,' she said.

But that didn't diffuse the conversation.

This comment about not having rich parents was liked 36,000 times

'I am literally on my way home from work right now,' one complained.

'I have $10 in my account and never been on a plane, I can't just come to Thailand,' said another.

'I am living paycheck to paycheck,' added one woman.

'Out of touch Queen,' one man said.

Other people compared her post to other heartless messaging.

'If you are homeless just buy a house,' one snarled.

Some people asked the young woman to 'buy their ticket'.

This made her confess to only having $2000 to her name, which only made them more furious.

'I have $6,' one woman blasted.

'Bestie, you doing better than me, I have $2.12.'
Hundreds of Brits are expected to die this week as the 33C heatwave bares down on England.

Climate and health experts told MailOnline the nation should brace for another wave of excess deaths similar to the 3,000 recorded during last year's sizzling summer.

While the mercury isn't predicted to come close to last season's record 40C, experts warned not to underestimate how deadly 30C-plus temperatures can be.

The over 65s, newborn babies, and people with health conditions, like heart or lung conditions are said to be the most at risk.

However, even healthy adults have been warned they could also be at risk with the vast majority of England now falling under an 'amber' heat health alert.

Health bosses have issued an amber heat alert for most of England, meaning there is potential for the whole population, not just the vulnerable, to become ill from high temperatures

Joggers go for a morning run at Primrose Hill in North London today shortly after sunrise

Commuters cross London Bridge this morning amid hot and sunny weather in the capital

An amber warning means the whole population is considered to be at risk.

Only the North East of the country has been somewhat spared, with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issuing a 'yellow' alert, signifying that temperatures are only a major risk to the vulnerable.

The six-day alert, which began yesterday and will run until Sunday night, warns of higher death rates and 'significant impacts' on vulnerable people and the NHS.

It was the vulnerable who were the major victims of last year's five heatwaves, with an extra 2,800 fatalities officially recorded, mostly among the over 65s.

Analysts said at the time they had never seen such high levels of excess mortality in heatwaves since records began nearly two decades ago.

HOW DOES THE HEAT KILL? Hot weather can cause dehydration, which causes blood to thicken. This can raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes. It also lowers blood pressure, making it harder to push blood around the body. This, in extreme cases, can lead to blood clots and strokes. Overheating is particularly dangerous for patients with heart and breathing problems. There is also a higher risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, especially if exercising outdoors when it's hot. This is caused by not drinking enough and losing fluids through sweat. Studies have also found accidents and injuries, such as from car crashes, are higher worldwide during hot spells. Experts believe this is because heat can interfere with thinking, making mistakes more likely. Advertisement

Dr Antonio Gasparrini, an expert in statistics and epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, warned this heatwave would be no different and a spike in deaths was inevitable despite temperatures remaining below 40C.

'Heat-related mortality starts increasing well below such extreme temperatures, and it can be expected that a noticeable increase in deaths will occur even at ranges predicted in the current heatwave,' he said.

'An excess [of deaths] in the range of the hundreds would not be surprising.'

Dr Gasparrini said deaths from heat increase gradually from a certain 'optimal' temperature, about 18-20C in the UK, before increasingly sharply as it gets hotter.

However, he said the true scale of the problem will only emerge in the months to come as deaths are officially recorded and analysed.

Dr Gasparrini added that while the elderly and those with existing health conditions had been rightly highlighted as being the most at risk from the current heatwave, others shouldn't be complacent.

'Increases in risks are noticeable also in healthy and relatively young people,' he said.

However, he added that while tips on coping with the heat, like those being issued by the likes of UKHSA, was welcome more active projects like improving Britain's infrastructure to keep the public cool were needed.

Dr Friederike Otto, an expert in climate science from Imperial College London, also predicted a spike in deaths from the heat in the coming days.

'With many poorly insulated homes and people not very used to temperatures above 30C sadly a spike in excess mortality is to be expected,' she said.

'Heat is deadly, for the population and infrastructure in the UK, people die at 30C. People need to know this.'

Like Dr Gasparrini, she urged young people not to consider themselves 'invincible' from life-threatening heat.

Muscle cramps can also become more common due to dehydration, as electrolytes and minerals vital for muscle function are lost through sweat. Hot weather can also see some parts of the body, such as the hands, feet and ankles swell. Heat causes blood vessels to expand, which can cause fluid to leak into surrounding tissues, triggering swelling known as heat oedema

Commuters pack onto the London Underground during the heatwave today, temperatures in the capital are expected to reach 32C today

The graph shows the number of daily deaths between June and August 2022 (red line), the five-year average of daily deaths (blue line) and heatwave periods (red bars)

'When being outdoors in the sun, forgetting to hydrate and living in polluted cities, heat strokes and serious other health problems can occur for everyone.'

Dr Otto urged Brits to not only take care of themselves but check on vulnerable friends, family and neighbours.

'When high temperatures are forecast, people should follow heat advice from governments and local authorities, ensure they drink enough water and remain in cooler areas with shade or in cool buildings, especially during the warmest part of the day,' she said.

She also warned the UK was not doing enough to prepare for extreme heat events, preparations that could reduce excess deaths.

'Our cities and homes are not built to deal with extreme heat,' she said.

'But it is not a secret what needs to be done and redesigning our cities to be more resilient to weather extremes also reduces emissions and benefits health and biodiversity.

'It should be an absolute no-brainer to do this.'

One major of the concerns is that numerous Brits could experience heat exhaustion.

This condition, triggered by the body being unable to cool itself down, can cause dizziness, excessive sweating and lead to potentially fatal heat stroke.

People with circulation or breathing problems, which limit their ability to cool down are particularity at risk.

Brits with dementia are also at high risk, as they may forget to drink enough fluids during periods of high heat.

The experts' grim predictions come amid fears heatwave-related injuries and illnesses will pile pressure on the already overstretched NHS.

Health experts fear great swathes of the population, especially the elderly and those with dementia, will be hit by heat-related sickness  increasing demand for NHS services.

The NHS itself is also ill-equipped to deal with the mercury rising to these levels, with older buildings not designed to cope with the heat leading some hospitals to shut down wards or cancel operations.

The current heatwave has seen the UK's autumn start in an unseasonably warm fashion after a disappointing summer when Britain endured its sixth wettest July since records began.
NHS chiefs today backtracked on a pledge to eradicate 'aero bar' concrete from all hospitals by 2035 after admitting dozens more hospitals could be affected by the crisis than previously thought.

The Government has committed to eradicate reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC)  which is prone to collapse  from the NHS estate by 2035.

Officials have confirmed that this would involve work at 41 buildings across 23 NHS trusts where the material is present, including seven hospitals with RAAC present throughout.

But health chiefs admitted to MPs today that 'tens' more buildings were currently undergoing checks over fears they are also riddled with the material.

As a result, they didn't 'want to absolutely say' when the work would be completed by.

Addressing the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee today NHS chief financial officer Julian Kelly told the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had been working with the NHS on RAAC since 2019. But he refused to specify how many new NHS sites were being checked for RAAC

Hospitals affected include Airedale in West Yorkshire, Queen Elizabeth King's Lynn in Norfolk, Hinchingbrooke in Cambridgeshire, Mid Cheshire Leighton in Cheshire and Frimley Park in Surrey. The two worst affected include West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds and James Paget Hospital in Norfolk (pictured)

At West Suffolk Hospital (pictured), an assessment from April warned of a 'catastrophic' and 'likely' risk of collapse. This would cause 'loss of life and/or major injury' with 'asbestos and dust inhalation' a major risk, it said

Addressing the Public Accounts Committee today, NHS chief financial officer Julian Kelly said that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) had been working with the NHS on RAAC since 2019.

But he refused to specify how many new NHS sites were being checked for RAAC since a National Audit Office (NAO) report in July identified that 41 were affected.

'I don't want to say a precise number because it is moving', he said, before later confirming it was 'tens not hundreds'.

Some of the affected parts of hospitals are in non-patient areas, such as boiler rooms or offices, Mr Kelly said.

He said: 'There has been a commitment to eradicate them all by 2035 and it would include these new ones.

Read more: Seven hospitals are 'structurally unsound' and 34 more contain RAAC, NAO report found The National Audit Office revealed dozens more NHS buildings contain the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which has forced the full or partial closure of over 100 schools Advertisement

'But we have not done in all of them, full structural surveys to properly identify the total scale and level of the issue that people are dealing with.

'Given it is new I don't want to absolutely say we know by when it will be done.

'But we know there is a commitment by 2035 and there's nothing to lead me to believe at this point that that is not possible.'

He added: 'We are aiming to have full surveys done in a matter of weeks.

'But as I said, I don't want to absolutely confirm the timings of that because we are making sure we have the resource.'

His comments come after the DHSC said that it is 'committed to eradicating RAAC from the NHS estate entirely by 2035'.

More than a hundred schools have already been told to stop using buildings with the lightweight concrete due to concerns it could collapse at any time.

But earlier this week, NHS England asked all hospitals in England to survey their buildings amid concerns more sites may have been built

Writing to all hospital trusts, health service bosses also said those with known RAAC should review plans for patient evacuation 'as a matter of priority'.

Managers in hospitals where RAAC has already been confirmed have also been told to ensure that management plans to deal with it are 'sufficiently robust and being implemented'.

As part of its commitment to eradicate RAAC from the NHS estate by 2035, the Government allocated 685million over five years up to 2024-25 to mitigate immediate safety risks.

It came after the NAO report in July revealed that seven entire hospitals are 'structurally unsound' and urgently need replacing after being made with 'aero bar' concrete.

Hospitals affected include Airedale in West Yorkshire, Queen Elizabeth King's Lynn in Norfolk, Hinchingbrooke in Cambridgeshire, Mid Cheshire Leighton in Cheshire and Frimley Park in Surrey.

The two worst affected are West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds and James Paget Hospital in Norfolk.

The NAO report, published in July, found 41 buildings at 23 hospital trusts contained the material, with seven structurally unsound and at risk of collapse. One hospital affected includes Frimley Park in Surrey

As part of its commitment to eradicate RAAC from the NHS estate by 2035, the Government allocated 685 million over five years up to 2024-25 to mitigate immediate safety risks. One hospital affected is Airedale in West Yorkshire, pictured

At West Suffolk Hospital an assessment from April warned of a 'catastrophic' and 'likely' risk of collapse.

This would cause 'loss of life and/or major injury' with 'asbestos and dust inhalation' a major risk, it said.

The Government has confirmed that the seven hospitals would be fully replaced before 2030 under its new hospital programme.

But asked if this deadline should brought forward, Shona Dunn, permanent secretary at the DHSC, confessed to the committee today that the deadline would already be 'really challenging'.

She told the committee: 'Of course undoubtedly everybody would want to replace the RAAC hospitals as quickly as possible.'

READ MORE: Gillian Keegan accused of opening 'Pandora's box' after ordering which schools to close amid the crumbling concrete scandal, with critics claiming the Education Secretary 'blindsided officials' by acting before an agreement was reached between departments Gillian Keegan (pictured) has been accused of opening 'Pandora's box' with an overly cautious and 'unilateral' approach to closing school buildings at risk from crumbling concrete Advertisement

She added: 'Replacing those hospitals, given the scale of them, even where they have some previously developed plans, by 2030, is not a generous time scale.

'Under normal circumstances, under historical examples, you'd expect hospitals of that scale to take considerably longer to get from the start of planning through to welcoming patients through the door.

'We would all like to do it faster. I think actually doing it by 2030 is going to really challenge the programme anyway.'

Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam, Olivia Blake, said the committee had previously heard 'directly from staff' in hospitals who are 'having to conduct daily monitoring of RAAC' in case there is an incident, which was 'having an impact on the clinical work'.

She said quizzed NHS and DHSC officials on whether it was acceptable that wards were forced to close 'very urgently', with matrons 'on speed dial to property management'.

Ms Dunn acknowledged that measures taken in clinical spaces 'will have some impact'.

But she added: 'I'm also conscious that regular monitoring is an appropriate mitigation and therefore there will be some environments there part of the mitigation plan is to regularly monitor the position rather than anything more invasive.

'It's part of the ambition of the new hospitals programme to make sure we have clinical environments aren't affected by these issues. RAAC is one of the issues.

'This is an ongoing programme and not everything can be resolved straight away. Things have to be prioritised and categorised.'

Meanwhile, NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard admitted RAAC management can be 'really quite burdensome' for staff.

She told the committee that 'it can put a lot of pressure on teams, not least in terms of enhanced monitoring arrangements'.

However, she noted that the NHS continues to follow guidance from the Institution of Structural Engineers but even enhanced monitoring and 'all of those mitigations does not, and can't completely, eliminate the risk from RAAC'.

She said: 'That is why the eradication plan is so important and why we were really pleased that the seven hospitals that require a full rebuild have been brought into the remit of the new hospital programme.'

Under the programme, 40 hospitals are set to be built, with the first building work starting in 2025.

But in July the NAO report also revealed that as a result of the re-build prioritisation, eight hospitals that were originally due to be constructed towards the end of the decade will now be completed after the deadline.

According to the Health Service Journal however, one of the eight, Doncaster Royal Infirmary, has now been testing contingency plans for a 'full or partial site closure' due to problems with its main site.

During the committee, Ms Blake asked Mr Kelly: 'What are the implications if that enforced closure happens?'

He responded: We will continue to work with all trusts. Doncaster, or several others on this list is going to be a really important part of a major long term problem we've got to deal with.

'We will certainly be arguing we're going to have to increase investment in backlog maintenance as we head into the next parliament.

'As is exemplified by the issue in Doncaster, we have hospital teams which are managing these sorts of issues day in day out. We have examples of managing fire risk, flooding.

'It's why we will continue to argue for increased and appropriate investment in backlog maintenance.'

Asked if the NHS currently had the funds for such a contingency, Mr Kelly added: 'I'm not sat here saying I've got the funds to replace it.

'But we have examples all the time of where hospitals are having to shut units, decant patients into other spaces where we are losing theatres because of fire risk, which limits our capacity to treat patients.

'This is happening day in and day out and it is why I will continue to make the case for increased investment in backlog maintenance and increased investment in even where it is not wholescale hospital rebuilds, but in the capacity we need to maintain services.

'It's why the close on 2bn we are spending in increasing elective capacity right now is so important.'

It comes after the committee found in July 2020 that NHS trusts had a 6.5bn maintenance backlog to restore their estates. This has since increased to 10.2bn.
US officials are quietly shutting down a taxpayer-funded $125million project to hunt for new viruses due to fears it could spark another pandemic.

DEEP VZN - pronounced deep vision - was launched in October 2021 with the aim of finding and studying novel pathogens in wildlife in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

While the research was meant to prevent human outbreaks and pandemics, critics, including Biden administration officials, are afraid it could do the opposite and have voiced their fears about the potentially 'catastrophic risks' of virus hunting.

And their concerns are amplified due to the growing suspicion Covid emerged from an American-sponsored lab in Wuhan, China - a theory the FBI subscribes to.

The project was meant to run until 2026, but DEEP VZN was shut down without a formal public announcement in July 2023.

USAID's DEEP VZN (pronounced deep vision) project was hunting viruses among wildlife in Asia , Africa and Latin America.

Announcement of the closure came Thursday in a feature published in The BMJ by investigative journalist David Willman.

While this is the most recent to come to light, it is far from the first research the US has conducted on this matter.

For more than a decade the government has funded international projects aimed at identifying exotic viruses among wildlife that could infect humans someday, sending millions to support various similar projects.

Money has flown overseas from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

DEEP VZN, which stands for Discovery & Exploration of Emerging Pathogens - Viral Zoonoses, was launched by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in October 2021 and less than two years later, USAID officials informed members of Senate committees with jurisdiction over DEEP VZN the program was being shut down.

The premature closure of the project came abruptly and was privately relayed to Senate aides by the office of Atul Gawande, USAID's assistant administrator for global health.

The news was buried in a congressional budget document hundreds of pages long and was discussed during interviews Mr Willman conducted with federal lawmakers and researchers.

EXCLUSIVE: Virologist who funded Wuhan experiments admits lab leak is possible for first time  after years of squashing probes into Covid origins A scientist at the center of the Covid lab leak theory has admitted he cannot rule out the possibility the virus escaped a Chinese research facility. Advertisement

At its launch, USAID said the 'ambitious new project' was meant to work with partner countries and the global community to 'build better preparedness for future global health threats.'

The organization said the project would 'strengthen global capacity to detect and understand the risks of viral spillover from wildlife to humans that could cause another pandemic.

'The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how infectious diseases threaten all of society, up-ending people's lives and attacking societies at their cores.

'It is also a strong reminder of the connection between animals, humans, and the environment, and the effect that an emerging pathogen spilling over into humans can have on people's health and on global economies.'

The project was being carried out by scientists from the Washington State University Paul Allen School for Global Health among other research and partner entities.

The goal was to collect more than 800,000 samples over the five-year period, mostly from wildlife, to identify a subset of 'previously unknown' viruses that 'pose a significant pandemic threat.'

The university sought to detect 12,000 new viruses throughout the program's run and scientists hoped the information would not only help prevent future pandemics, but also better prepare health officials if one did emerge.

'DEEP VZN is a critical next step in the evolution of USAID's work to understand and address the risks posed by zoonotic diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans.'

However, in a statement regarding the closure of the program, USAID said it had determined the research was 'not an agency global health security priority at this time' and its decision reflected 'the relative risks and impact of our programming.'

Now, the organization said it will focus on improving laboratory capacity, disease monitoring, human resources, biosafety and security and risk communication.

Criticism of the program arose almost immediately after its launch from wide-ranging government figures and advisers, including health, biosafety and security officials, as well as Senators and White House officials.

In a private letter to a USAID administrator in November 2021, members and staff at both the Senate foreign relations committee and the Senate appropriations committee said they were 'particularly concerned' about DEEP VZN's research into 'studying unknown viruses in areas where there is high risk of animal to human spillover.'

They continued: 'Given all of the outstanding questions surrounding the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is critically important that this initiative be adequately vetted.'

Additionally, a biosecurity, biosafety and White House official, advised the same USAID administrator to shut down DEEP VZN in December 2021, Mr Willman wrote.

After a review of the project aimed to ensure it would be conducted in a way to adequately manage risks, USAID told researchers in March and November 2022 to not collect samples of viruses until proper safety protocols were reviewed.

However, federal records show through the spring of 2023, USAID continued to fund research while the project leaders established more labs, technicians and support staff needed to handle the volume of genetic samples collected.

In interviews, White House officials told Mr Willman the decision to discontinue DEEP VZN reflected the Biden Administration's 'commitment to weigh more rigorously the risks and potential benefits of research projects.'

Recent data found between 2015 and 2023, at least seven US entities supplied NIH grant money to labs in China performing animal experiments.

The officials referenced policy recommendations that only supported research like DEEP VZN's if there was no other safer method that would produce the same benefits and only after 'unnecessary risks have been eliminated.'

Virus hunting has been a point of contention long before the Covid pandemic and scientists have dismissed the notion it could lead to lifesaving drugs or the prevention of a pandemic.

Now, in the wake of the pandemic, more people in the science community have raised additional concerns, warning the risks of collecting animal-to-animal transmitted viruses should be highly considered as this type of research typically involves collecting animal blood, excrement or saliva and transporting samples to labs for analysis.

A misstep at any point in the process could produce a catastrophic outcome and result in a new pandemic.

In May, three leaders of the Republican-controlled House Energy and Commerce Committee asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the benefits and risks of virus hunting, expressing this very concern.

The lawmakers said in a letter to GAO that while similar research has identified thousands of new viruses, scientists question if collecting animal viruses can 'accurately predict those that may infect humans, or what the effect would be if and when humans are subsequently infected.'

They continued, according to The BMJ feature, warning that others in the community 'have suggested these types of programs risk unintentional infection of field or laboratory workers that could result in an accidental outbreak.'

GAO began an audit into DEEP VZN following the letter, but told Mr Willman it would not be completed until spring 2024.
Abortions have risen by up to 220 percent in states that border those with bans since Roe v Wade was overturned in June 2022, a study shows.

The data, from the pro-abortion research group Guttmacher Institute, suggests many women have been forced to cross state lines to end pregnancies.

New Mexico, which borders Oklahoma, and Wyoming, which borders three other states, saw the biggest percentage increases, with more than three times as many abortions provided in the first half of 2023 compared to 2020.

Kansas and South Carolina also saw their number of abortions double in that time.

Illinois, which borders Wisconsin, Missouri and Kentucky, saw the greatest total increase of abortions, with 18,300 performed between 2020 and 2023.

The researchers said their findings 'indicate that all aspects of the abortion infrastructureincluding facilities, funds and support networksrequire sustained support to serve increased patient caseloads.'

It comes as Mexico's Supreme Court decriminalized abortion on Wednesday, meaning that all government clinics must offer abortion to anyone who requests it during the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy.

Texas resident Kailee Lingo DeSpain was forced to drive 10 hours from Texas to New Mexico for an abortion last year with her husband David

Allie Phillips, 28, said abortion should be a 'right' after she was forced to travel from Tennessee to NYC for the procedure after being told her pregnancy wasn't viable

Some 22 states now ban or restrict abortion earlier in pregnancy than the standard set by Roe v Wade  before the beginning of the third trimester.

The data was published Thursday by the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy group that supports abortion rights.

They used estimates based on a regular survey of a core set of providers, which they expanded to the state level using a model to factor in historical trends.

The findings compare the amount of abortions given by the providers in the first half of 2023 with the first half of 2020.

The abortions included are those given in a formal healthcare setting, such as an in-person clinic, or abortions provided remotely using a pill and overseen by a clinician.

The increases were particularly noticeable in states that put in place policies to protect abortion rights, including Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois and Washington, as well as states bordering those with abortion bans.

Not all of the additional abortions can be said to be directly due to the overturning of Roe v Wade last year, said Isaac Maddow-Zimet, a data scientist at the Guttmacher Institute and lead researcher on the project.

The Covid pandemic might have made people more reluctant to seek abortion care, and increased access to at-home medication abortions through telehealth might have also had an impact.

Texas resident Kailee Lingo DeSpain was forced to travel from Texas to New Mexico for an abortion last year with her husband David.

The couple had had two miscarriages, and one daughter was born at 16 weeks and didnt survive.

When Kailee became pregnant for the fourth time with a boy they named Finley, they found out he had triploidy, a condition that causes growth problems in a fetus and can be fatal.

Kailee's health was also potentially at risk if she carried the baby to term, but she was refused an abortion because of Texas's so-called heartbeat law, which bans almost all terminations after six weeks.

She had to drive 10 hours to New Mexico for the termination, and pay $3,500 out-of-pocket, because Texas's law makes it far harder to claim the cost of a procedure on insurance.

Kailee was originally staunchly pro-life but said she converted to firmly pro-abortion after her own experience.

'We can't treat you unless you're having a heart attack' An Oklahoma woman with a deadly pregnancy complication claims she was told she could not be treated until her condition was critical due to the state's abortion ban. Advertisement

Meanwhile, a Tennessee mother was forced to fly to New York to have an abortion after an ultrasound found her unborn daughter had a rare brain defect.

Allie Phillips, 28, was 19 weeks pregnant with her daughter Miley Rose when she learned that she had a rare congenital defect known as holoprosencephaly (HPE) - which has a three percent survival rate for fetuses.

Ultimately, Phillips found out after traveling 1,000 miles to New York City for her abortion - which was covered by funds raised on GoFundMe - that her baby did not have a heartbeat, and she was immediately induced because she faced severe health risks.

Even if doctors in Tennessee had discovered there was no heartbeat, they would not have induced her unless she became severely ill, and she would have had to miscarry naturally.

The barrier to traveling to a clinic can have real health consequences. Research has found that in states with more abortion restrictions, maternal and neonatal mortality is increased.

And women with lower incomes face even greater risks because of the money and time it takes to reach an abortion care facility.

Increasing restrictions on abortion in parts of the United States stand in sharp contrast to Mexico's recent decriminalization.

Some American women were already seeking help from Mexican abortion rights activists to obtain pills used to end pregnancies.

However, 20 Mexican states still criminalize abortion. While judges in those states will have to abide by the Supreme Court's latest decision, further legal work will be required to remove all penalties.

Sen. Olga Sanchez Cordero, a former Supreme Court justice, applauded the ruling, saying on X that it represented an advance toward 'a more just society in which the rights of all are respected.'

She called on Mexicos Congress to pass legislation in response.

'Were not going to stop,' said Irma Barrientos, director of the Civil Association for the Rights of the Conceived. 'Lets remember what happened in the United States.

'After 40 years, the Supreme Court reversed its abortion decision, and we're not going to stop until Mexico guarantees the right to life from the moment of conception.'

The court said on X that 'the legal system that criminalized abortion' in Mexican federal law was unconstitutional because it 'violates the human rights of women and people with the ability to gestate.'

The decision came two years after the court ruled that abortion was not a crime in one northern state. That ruling set off a slow state-by-state process of decriminalizing it.

Mexico City was the first Mexican jurisdiction to decriminalize abortion 15 years ago.

Last week, the central state of Aguascalientes became the 12th state to drop criminal penalties.

Abortion rights activists will have to continue seeking legalization state by state, though Wednesdays decision should make that easier.

State legislatures can also act on their own to get rid of abortion penalties.

For now, the ruling does not mean that every Mexican women will be able to access the procedure immediately, explained Fernanda Diaz de Leon, sub-director and legal expert for womens rights group IPAS.

What it does do  in theory  is obligate federal agencies to provide the care to patients, which is likely to have a cascade of effects.

Diaz de Leon said removing the federal ban takes away another excuse used by care providers to deny abortions in states where the procedure is no longer a crime.

It also allows women with formal employment who are part of the social security system and government employees to seek the procedure in federal institutions in states where the abortion is still criminalized, she said.
While Ozempic has taken the US by storm for being touted as a magic weight-loss drug, scientists are now curious if it could also be used to treat other health conditions, like alcoholism, drug addiction and even dementia.

The injection of semaglutide, the active drug in Ozempic, is approved for treatment in diabetics to lower blood sugar levels. However, it has soared in popularity as an off-label weight-loss drug, despite a host of nasty side effects.

While people have anecdotally suggested the drug helped them kick undesired long-term habits alongside their binge eating, Ozempic's powers are being put to the test in human clinical trails for things like alcohol addiction and dementia.

One of the researchers involved in the trials, Kyle Simmons, a professor of pharmacology and physiology at Oklahoma State University, said if the studies' results are positive, 'it's hard to overstate the effect this will have on the field [of addiction medicine].'

Now Ozempic's powers are being put to the test for things like alcohol addiction and even dementia in human clinical trials

Henry Webb, from North Carolina, finished a two-month course of Wegovy, a drug similar to Ozempic, after hitting his weight goal. In the past, he would consistently have a couple of drinks in the evening, but said: 'On the medication I had zero desire for that'

Ozempic helps people

by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone, which curbs hunger and slows the rate at which a person's stomach empties, leaving them feeling fuller for longer.



Weight loss drug can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, study suggests The blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes by a fifth, trial results suggest. Advertisement But experts say it may also reduce the levels of dopamine, or the reward hormone, released in the brain. Cutting levels of this hormone could lead to a decline in the 'feel good' element of giving into unhealthy cravings or behaviors. Professor Simmons is currently leading a trial testing semaglutide's ability to reduce people's alcohol intake. An additional separate study is also taking place at the University of Baltimore. Simmons theorized the drug could be dulling the brain's reward signaling in a way that means people's ability to experience pleasure is reduced not just for food, but for everything. 'If this drug is used by more and more people, if it starts to promote a loss of interest in pleasure more generally, that might not be a great thing, for example, for people who have a history of major depressive disorder,' he told CNBC. More research, however, is necessary to understand the effect of semaglutide on the brain, Simmons added. Christian Hendershot, director of the translational addiction research program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is also investigating whether or not the appetite-regulating mechanism could help with alcohol and drug addiction. He hopes to publish early results next year, and said: 'There is reason for optimism, particularly given the reports. Now its our job to do the research to validate those findings with clinical data.' Meanwhile, a trial at the University of Oxford is testing semaglutide on patients at risk of dementia due to high levels in their brains of a certain protein associated with dementia. Researchers are investigating if the drug can reduce the amount of the protein, as well as calm down inflammation, another marker associated with a high risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

lose weight
BOOK OF THE WEEK

RUSKIN PARK

by Rory Cellan-Jones (September Publishing 18.99, 320pp)

In 1996, BBC journalist Rory Cellan-Jones was clearing out his mother's council flat in Ruskin Park House, South London, following her death. He came across a kind of treasure trove.

'Everywhere,' he writes, 'there were bundles of letters  hundreds, possibly thousands of them.'

In 1996, BBC journalist Rory Cellan-Jones was clearing out his mother Sylvia's council flat in Ruskin Park House, South London, following her death. Pictured: Sylvia as a young woman in the 1930s

His mother, Sylvia, had kept nearly every letter she had ever received and made carbon copies of many she had sent. In one rectangular red box, he found something special. A message to him from his mother: 'For Rory, to read and think about in the hope that it will help him to understand how it really was.' Also inside was a collection of love letters from the 1950s, exchanged between Sylvia and the father Rory did not even meet until he was 23.

It has taken Rory nearly 30 years to be ready 'to undertake the journey this accumulated pile of paper invited me on'. The result is this tender account of his mother's life, which also tells 'the story of how I came to be born'. His memories of his mother had been shaped by her later years, in which she had grown increasingly eccentric and potentially embarrassing. Now, through her letters, he was able to understand 'just what a remarkable person she was'.

He recalls visiting BBC Television Centre in West London for the first time in the 1960s in her company. She worked in the drama department there, and it 'seemed a magical place, more exciting than any theme park'. Where else could a small boy watch a Blue Peter rehearsal? Or spot Doctor Who villains queuing for their food in the canteen?

Sylvia had begun her BBC career during World War II, earning 3 10 shillings a week as a secretary in the Bristol offices. Within a short time, she had moved into the Talks department, working for the poet and critic Geoffrey Grigson.

Already married, she enjoyed the freedom and new opportunities that the war brought to many women. She was in a rewarding job, dealing with famous writers such as Walter de la Mare and Dylan Thomas.

Her husband expected her to leave all this behind when Stephen, Rory's half-brother, was born. 'The only thing seems to be to chuck the BBC job,' he wrote. Sylvia had no intention of doing so. Her marriage crumbled in the post-war years. In 1947, she left a letter for her husband on the table of their Bristol home and departed, taking Stephen with her.

She ended up in London, working in television in the pioneering years of the early 1950s, the era of live transmissions. As a production assistant, Sylvia had to cope with whatever was thrown at her.

One half-hour drama demanded the presence of an elephant in the studio. It was she who was expected to find the animal and a small boy to ride it. The job was given to Stephen, who was enjoying a budding career as a child actor.

It was during another BBC drama production in the summer of 1956 that Sylvia met Jim Cellan-Jones (pictured). She was a 42-year-old acting floor manager; he was 25 and her assistant

It has taken Rory nearly 30 years to be ready 'to undertake the journey this accumulated pile of paper invited me on'. Pictured: Sylvia, Rory and Stephen on the beach

It was during another BBC drama production in the summer of 1956 that Sylvia met Jim Cellan-Jones. She was a 42-year-old acting floor manager; he was 25 and her assistant.

'When I met you I thought you were pleasant and gentle, sweet and attractive, and I liked you more than anyone I had met for a very long time,' Jim later wrote to Sylvia. The love letters Sylvia placed in the red box allowed their son to follow a relationship doomed to end unhappily. The unplanned consequence of the affair was Rory.

He confesses to the embarrassment he felt on first reading the letters. 'No child really wants to have to imagine their parents' sex life,' he remarks.

'It was hell seeing you on Thursday,' Jim wrote, 'and not being able to sweep you off into a corner and neck furiously.' In what his son calls 'barrack-room crudity', Jim also remarked: 'As the soldier said, don't bother to paper the bedroom walls before I come over because all you'll be seeing is the ceiling.'

Outside the bedroom, Jim and Sylvia were enjoying nights on the town. Sylvia described a visit to a production of Dylan Thomas's Under Milk Wood, after which they went backstage to meet an actress Jim knew. They had, she reported, 'seen several good films and been to one rather interesting bottle party'.

At one point they even discussed marriage: 'Jim and I talked about it, and wondered if I might be able to get a divorce in America,' Sylvia wrote to her sister Joan, 'but it's all too involved, and one would need lots of money.'

The two were together so much that it's likely tongues were wagging at the BBC about an affair that was growing ever more obvious. On some occasions, Sylvia seemed confident in their relationship; at other times she fretted about the age difference. 'A great pity about all those years between us!' she wrote to Joan. 'But there's nothing I can do about it, so must make hay while the sun shines.'

Eventually, the sun ceased to shine. Rory was, in that quaint, old-fashioned phrase which, he notes, one contributor to his Wikipedia entry insists on using, 'born out of wedlock'.

Outside the bedroom, Jim (pictured as a young man) and Sylvia were enjoying nights on the town

By the time Rory was born, it was clear Sylvia would have to raise him alone, with only some financial support from Jim. Rory pictured as a baby with his mother Sylvia

When Sylvia announced her pregnancy, Jim initially took responsibility. 'I have committed misconduct with Mrs Rich on a number of occasions,' he informed her lawyer. 'I am the father of the child she expects.' He talked of marriage. It soon proved no more than talk. The age gap and the concerns of Jim's parents that there might be a public scandal contributed to the couple's estrangement. Before long, Sylvia wrote sadly to her lawyer that, 'he has said so many things and obviously not meant them'.

By the time Rory was born, it was clear Sylvia would have to raise him alone, with only some financial support from Jim, who went on to become a renowned TV director, responsible for episodes of The Forsyte Saga and the 1970s series The Roads To Freedom.

As a boy, Rory's connection with his father was limited to one brief visit to a BBC control room, accompanied by his mother. Sylvia blithely ignored the 'On Air, No Entry' sign and dragged him in to witness a director sharing a joke with his assistant. 'That was your father,' she remarked as they left a few minutes later.

Rory did not properly meet Jim until 1981 when, in his last year at Cambridge, he wrote a letter suggesting they should get to know one another. Over the next few decades he formed a loving relationship with both his father and the half-siblings he discovered he had. Meanwhile, Sylvia continued to work at the BBC until she retired in 1974. Her last years were not happy ones, living alone in a small flat, missing her son and her work at the BBC, which had given her life meaning, structure and excitement.

In their son's words, his father and mother were 'two people trapped by circumstances, boxed in by the social mores of the times'. Ruskin Park is Rory Cellan-Jones's touching tribute to both his parents, but particularly to the mother he came to know more fully from the letters she left behind.
HOPE

by Niall Harbison (HarperElement 18.99, 320pp)

Niall Harbison had been smoking, drinking, taking drugs and gambling since he was 13, and he finally hit rock bottom in his early 40s. After a six-day bender on booze and Valium, he ended up in intensive care in a Thai hospital, hooked up to drips and monitors.

Despite his addictions, Harbison had been successful in his career. A trained chef, he had worked in restaurants and then on yachts  rock star Bono was particularly partial to his full Irish breakfast.

The yachts were always fully stocked with expensive drinks, and Harbison often drank so much he'd black out. After a few years he gave up cooking and moved into digital marketing, eventually selling his company for several million euros. On a whim, Harbison moved to the island of Koh Samui in Thailand in 2018, taking his beloved rescue dog Snoop with him.

His recovery, which took a year, mostly involved long walks in the jungle with Snoop. On his walks he became aware of how many stray dogs were on the island: tens of thousands, he estimates. Pictured with Beagle McMuffin

When his girlfriend left him because of his drinking, he went into a downward spiral. After his stint in hospital, he realised that something had to change. 'I knew that whatever I did next, I had to do with all my heart and soul,' he said.

His recovery, which took a year, mostly involved long walks in the jungle with Snoop. On his walks he became aware of how many stray dogs were on the island: tens of thousands, he estimates. Many of them were ridden with fleas and worms, infected with ticks, and hobbling from injuries, yet he observed that 'their spirits were amazingly unbroken, despite their tough lives'.

Harbison started buying dried food for the dogs and, within a week, he was fully committed to feeding them every day. At least half the dogs, he realised, wanted affection as well as food, and 'after years of feeling I was a waste of space, I guess it was pathetically gratifying'.

While he longed to scoop them up and take them all home, Harbison accepted that the island dogs were content to live on the streets or in the jungle. 'They're often happiest in their natural environment,' he says.

Every day he would find new packs of dogs or litters of puppies, and he had visions of his moped toppling under the weight of gigantic sacks of kibble. On a day when he found 50 puppies, he felt like crying with frustration. Simply feeding the dogs was hopeless, he concluded: his strategy had to include neutering and other health treatments.

Pleasingly, he has been able to call on the skills from his old life. Kibble is expensive and, he thinks, probably tastes like cardboard. He decided to cook the dogs fresh food: a mixture of rice, vegetables and meat. Adding chicken blood, he says with relish, makes it particularly tasty for them and it's dirt cheap.

'I had a hunch the 'customers' would be a damn sight more appreciative than some of the rich and famous I'd served before.'

He has also put his expertise in social media to good use, raising money from all over the world. Harbison keeps his followers updated on the 'doggie nirvana' compound he's creating, and on dogs such as King Whacker, whose head was split open by an attacker but who made a miraculous recovery, or Britney, used in dog fights and then dumped in the jungle.

Every day he would find new packs of dogs or litters of puppies, and he had visions of his moped toppling under the weight of gigantic sacks of kibble

He claims to have only been badly bitten once, and he marvels at how sweet and trusting even the most scared, flea-bitten dog is.

Although he still suffers from depression, he has no fear of slipping back into addiction, because he's simply too busy helping the dogs. There is no time for a girlfriend and besides, he sighs, who would want a bald Irishman who smells permanently of dog food?

Harbison's aim is to help 10,000 dogs each month, and you wouldn't bet against him achieving it.

Hope is a lovely book about someone who has been lucky enough to find his true purpose in life. People think he has saved these dogs, he says, but 'really they saved me'.
MEMOIR

POLITICS ON THE EDGE

by Rory Stewart (Jonathan Cape 22, 464pp)

Anyone with the slightest interest in politics should get a copy of Rory Stewart's political memoir.

Not because he had a particularly long or even influential career: just nine years in Parliament and only months in the Cabinet. But you will learn more about the nature of Westminster machinations and how government actually works (or doesn't) from this volume than from those of many more illustrious politicians. In terms of the quality of writing, there has been nothing to approach it since the diaries of Alan Clark (who never made it to the Cabinet at all).

Anyone with the slightest interest in politics should get a copy of Rory Stewart's political memoir. The politician pictured in 2019

But whereas Clark was a genuinely bad person  part of the attraction, perhaps  Stewart is a fundamentally good man, even if his self-belief, touching on the messianic, occasionally made him appear preposterous. This, combined with his extraordinary career before entering Parliament in 2010  becoming a deputy governor of two Iraqi provinces at 30, while a foreign office official, and the author of an international best-seller about his earlier experiences in Afghanistan  made him the subject of deep jealousy among much longer-serving Conservative MPs with none of his talent or connections.

He doesn't say that himself, but it clearly explains the behaviour, described here, of one of his colleagues, after Stewart disagreed with him about Iraq, telling him in the House of Commons corridor: 'If you dare to speak to me like that again, I am going to punch you,' and then, after a pause, 'on the nose.' Stewart then 'wondered what it was going to be like to roll around with a 200lb, 60-year-old man, behind the Speaker's Chair.'

This particular MP is an extreme example, but it was just part of Stewart's rapid disillusionment: 'Too many of the jokes in the tea rooms seemed to have the tone of prisoners laughing . . . Even four weeks in, I sensed more impotence, suspicion, envy, resentment, claustrophobia and schadenfreude than I had seen in any other profession.'

Stewart was as ambitious as any of them, probably more than most. This comes out disarmingly when he records asking the then leader of the opposition, David Cameron, whether, if he became an MP, 'I might at some point be promoted to a minister'.

His fellow Old Etonian lectures him: 'If you are lucky enough to find a seat, and be elected, you will find being a backbench Member of Parliament the greatest honour you can have in life.

'I may be lucky enough to become prime minister, but when I cease to be prime minister I will return with great pride to the back benches as Member of Parliament for Witney for the rest of my life.'

Stewart goes on to record that after Cameron resigned as PM 'and then almost immediately resigned from his seat on the backbenches, I learnt something more about him'.

Cameron did, in fact, put Stewart into government, at the lowest level (parliamentary under-secretary of state). It was under Theresa May that he prospered  she was much more in tune with his high-mindedness.

Stewart goes on to record that after Cameron resigned as PM 'and then almost immediately resigned from his seat on the backbenches, I learnt something more about him'. Pictured in 2019

But despite his previous career as an official in the diplomatic service, some of Stewart's most devastating passages are about the failings of the civil service, as he encountered them when he was Secretary of State for International Development.

Their indifference to how British taxpayers' money was frittered away by corruption on the ground is laid bare here. And there is an extraordinary episode when, on coming into the job, he discovers that some of our largesse is funding municipal councils in north-west Syria.

'Are not these enclaves controlled by jihadi factions?' Stewart asks, getting the response from a civil servant 'in her early 20s, "I think, Minister, that there are many different groups in these areas." "So we are not funding jihadis?" "No, Minister." '

Stewart then asks if any of them have visited the area, or had any staff there. No and no. But still, these officials spend many weeks obstructing his efforts to stop the money.

Later, film footage emerges of one of those funded by HMG, appearing on stage at an Al-Qaeda event. Stewart concludes by observing that our funding to these jihadis then ceased, but his officials 'made no acknowledgment' of their resistance to his (correct) demands.

If those civil servants thought that Stewart was just another here-today, gone-tomorrow minister, they were right. Within three months he had resigned, as he had promised he would if Boris Johnson became prime minister (he was subsequently expelled by Johnson from the Conservative Party for saying he would vote in Parliament against a so-called 'No Deal' Brexit).

Stewart is blisteringly self-lacerating about his failure to make it to the last two of the 2019 Conservative leadership campaign, after a disastrous performance in the final TV debate between the various candidates: 'I had just performed a suicide routine. In one hour I had destroyed my hope of beating Boris . . . I sat in the green room still not quite able to understand what had occurred.'

He would never have beaten Johnson in the ballot of Conservative Party members, anyway. But we should grieve that he didn't get that far, if only because his account of a fight to the political death against a man he despised would have been the most fitting way to end this riveting memoir.
Chinese vice premier to attend commemorative events for DPRK's 75th founding anniversary

Xinhua) 14:10, September 07, 2023

BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong will lead a party and government delegation to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to attend the commemorative events for its 75th founding anniversary and visit the country, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning announced on Thursday.

Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will visit the country at the invitation of the Workers' Party of Korea and the government of the DPRK, Mao said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
LITERARY FICTION

If Christopher Nolan's film Oppenheimer has left you mesmerised by the appalling miracles of nuclear physics, then The Maniac is the novel for you

THE MANIAC

by Benjamin Labatut (Pushkin Press 20, 368pp)

If Christopher Nolan's film Oppenheimer has left you mesmerised by the appalling miracles of nuclear physics, then The Maniac is the novel for you.

It tells the story of the less well-known, utterly brilliant Hungarian mathematician Johnny von Neumann, who worked on the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bomb. He was also a pivotal figure in the development of the computer science we rely on so heavily today.

Labatut, whose previous novel When We Cease To Understand The World was championed by Barack Obama, deploys the same intoxicating blend of fact and fiction used in that book to recount von Neumann's life and achievements through the perspectives of those closest to him.

But he also tells, in two bookending chapters, the story of 1930s Austrian physicist Paul Ehrenfest, who killed himself in a fit of madness, and the portentous boardgame match between South Korean Lee Sedol and the DeepMind computer AlphaGo in 2016.

This marvel of a book, which inspires awe and dread in equal measure, is stalked by the greatest terrors of the 20th century, yet its final heart-stopping sentence makes clear the greatest terrors are yet to come.

For a while now Faulks has been exploring the wonders of neuroscience in his fiction, notably in his two linked Austrian-set novels, 2005's Human Traces and 2021's Snow Country, both of which set big human stories against historic advances in psychiatry

THE SEVENTH SON

by Sebastian Faulks (Hutchinson Heinemann 22, 368pp)

For a while now Faulks has been exploring the wonders of neuroscience in his fiction, notably in his two linked Austrian-set novels, 2005's Human Traces and 2021's Snow Country, both of which set big human stories against historic advances in psychiatry.

He takes a leap into a speculative future in The Seventh Son, in which a couple desperate for a baby employ the services of a ground-breaking lab and a willing surrogate in order to achieve their dream.

But the lab manipulates the sample for its own experimental ends, and the subsequent neurodivergent child, Seth, becomes, as an adult, an object of prurient public obsession after details of the experiment are leaked.

There's a lot of clunky scientific exposition in this novel and not a great deal of nuance: given the abundance of far from far-fetched ideas, it all feels oddly lifeless.

But there is a resonant hint of Frankenstein's wretched monster about Seth who, functional, capable and literate as he is, stands at the book's emotional centre, desperate for a companionship he can never find.

The prolific Tidhar has previously stuck to science fiction, but he is fast emerging as the leader of a new wave of Israeli literature

ADAMA

by Lavie Tidhar (Head of Zeus 20, 400pp)

Israeli literature has long been dominated by veteran heavyweights David Grossman and the late Amos Oz. The prolific Tidhar has previously stuck to science fiction, but he is fast emerging as the leader of a new wave of Israeli literature, thanks to his risky, exhilarating experiments with tone and genre.

His previous novel Maror, a drug and blood-splattered, potted, recent history of Israel, read like the literary equivalent of a Tarantino film. Adama, which means 'land' in Hebrew (although 'dam' means blood) reaches further back, to pre-state Palestine and its displaced persons camps, through the story of Ruth, whose family escaped the Nazis in Budapest and who spends much of her life on a kibbutz.

Yet in Tidhar's hands the kibbutz is no rose-tinted utopian community, but a harbinger of savage dislocation and violence. It's not an easy read, but Tidhar's imagination is both Old Testament through and through, and sick with a 21st-century disenchantment.
THRILLERS

In this, her fourth story, she is asked to investigate the disappearance of a young librarian, Bonnie Dahl

HOLLY

by Stephen King (Hodder & Stoughton 25, 448pp)

First appearing as a shy, reclusive character in Kings magnificent Mr Mercedes in 2014, Holly Gibney has matured into one of his most memorable creations  a resourceful private investigator.

In this, her fourth story, she is asked to investigate the disappearance of a young librarian, Bonnie Dahl.

At first, Holly is reluctant. Her demanding mother has just died, so she is supposed to be on leave. But she weakens and takes the case.

The focus is on two of Kings most remarkable villains: married octogenarian academics, who also happen to be cold-blooded serial killers hiding behind a facade of bourgeois respectability.

As ever, King reveals the horrors that lurk in plain sight. Holly emerges as brave and resolute in pursuing these unlikely monsters.

Truly chilling, it aptly demonstrates Kings inimitable talent as a storyteller.

The Irish-born author of a series of international best-sellers opens her seventh novel with an astonishingly bold premise

THE TRAP

by Catherine Ryan Howard (Bantam Press 14.99, 320pp)

The Irish-born author of a series of international best-sellers opens her seventh novel with an astonishingly bold premise.

A young woman deliberately accepts a lift late at night from a male stranger, in spite of all the warnings that this is both foolish and dangerous. As the couple drive through the darkness, her mood changes from fear to relief when he delivers her safely home.

But it was not what she wanted, because she has an ulterior motive for behaving so recklessly. She is trying to trap the man who was involved in her sisters disappearance a year ago  and placing herself in harms way to do so.

So begins a story of obsession and revenge, which reveals that other young women have been going missing in Irelands Wicklow Mountains. But who is responsible?

As the novel unfolds, it also reveals a portrait of the man who might have done it  he is happily married, yet with a terrifying dark side.

Elegant and twisty, it lingers in the memory.

This new novel from the author of the best-selling Truly Darkly Deeply confirms that she is a writer of great promise

ALL THE LITTLE LIARS

by Victoria Selman (Quercus 16.99, 384pp)

This new novel from the author of the best-selling Truly Darkly Deeply confirms that she is a writer of great promise.

A 13-year-old girl goes missing from a party at Turtle Lake in California. Three teenage girls went together, but only two returned, and the word liar is found written in blood on a nearby cottonwood tree.

A search is mounted, but then the two surviving girls confess to killing their friend. If they didnt do it, why would they confess?

Their story becomes an international sensation. Told through the eyes of the missing girls younger sister, who left her home in the U.S. for Britain in the wake of the scandal and changed her name to avoid the notoriety, the story evolves when she is approached by a television documentary-maker.

Cutting between the original events 20 years ago and the present day, it is both a mystery and a thriller, which is impossible to put down.
President Joe Biden's son Hunter has been at the center of an extremely lucrative multi-million dollar influence peddling scheme spanning decades - which could take down his father's political career say Republicans.

But how did Hunter get his hands on a 2.8-carat diamond from the Chinese, $83,000 a month from Ukrainians and $1 million from mysterious Romanians?

By trading in on the Biden family's influential 'brand,' the GOP claims.

The estimated up to $40 million was raked in through 20 shell companies and fake accounts created while Joe Biden was vice president, at the same time he was joining Hunter's business calls and stopping by at lavish dinners.

From the use of pseudonyms to discuss shady Ukraine deals, to an alleged $10 million bribery scheme to providing Hunter access to flights on Air Force Two and more, the president's involvement in his son's business is getting harder and harder to ignore.

Now Joe himself could face a Republican-led impeachment inquiry over his alleged participation in the in the profitable scheme with foreign adversaries of the U.S.

And federal prosecutors plan to indict Hunter on illegal gun charges that have a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail by the end of September.

DailyMail.com breaks down exactly how the Biden familys coffers have ballooned in the lucrative orbit around Washington, D.C., for years.

The emails show that Hunter's company 'frequently used the Biden name to gain access to and favors from the White House'

Then-Vice President Joe Biden waves as he walks out of Air Force Two with his granddaughter Finnegan Biden and son Hunter Biden on December 4, 2013 in Beijing, China
President Joe Biden departed Thursday for the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi, India after days of speculation over whether the president would catch COVID-19 from his wife and scrap the trip.

The maskless commander-in-chief didn't take questions from the press as he boarded Air Force One through the lower steps.

His trip begins just 24 hours after the Department of Justice warned they would seek to indict his son Hunter on gun charges by the end of the month, and he faced criticism from 9/11 families for marking Monday's 22nd anniversary of the attacks in Alaska.

And more poll results released by CNN on Thursday morning show the majority of voters - including Democrats - think he is too old to run, and he is neck-and neck with Donald Trump.

'We think this will be an important milestone moment for global cooperation at a critical time,' National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One while en route.

He indicated that a potential joint statement between the leaders wasn't yet ready, amid early indications that China or Russia might block it.

'There is still some distance to travel before a final communique is released to the public or agreed among the leaders,' he said.

He said China was seeking to 'hold climate hostage' by linking it to unrelated issues.

Leaders were also working on a potential infrastructure deal between the U.S., India, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

'We believe that connectivity from India across the Middle East to Europe is incredibly important and would bring a significant number of economic benefits, as well as strategic benefits, to all of the countries involved,' Sullivan said.

While press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that there were no 'contingency plans' being made if Biden had to skip, the White House didn't reveal too much of Biden's schedule either.

He's expected to meet with the G20's host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after Air Force One lands Friday and then attend G20 sessions Saturday and Sunday before jetting off to Vietnam.

President Joe Biden departed Thursday for the G20 Leaders ' Summit in New Delhi, India after days of speculation over whether the president would catch COVID-19 from his wife and scrap the trip

The maskless commander-in-chief didn't take questions from the press as he boarded Air Force One through the smaller steps

One addition that popped up on his schedule is a visit to the John McCain memorial in Hanoi. The two men were friends in the Senate.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan wouldn't say Tuesday if Biden planned to hold bilateral meetings with two of the most controversial leaders expected to attend - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is skipping the meeting of the world's richest economies amid the Ukraine invasion - sending Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in his stead - while Chinese President Xi Jinping is sitting the summit out amid tensions with host country India.

Last week, China and India got into a diplomatic tiff over an 'official map' released by China that claimed lands along the Himalayas that Indian officials say belong to them.

Xi is sending Premier Li Qiang in his place, Beijing announced Monday.

At the briefing Tuesday, Sullivan encouraged the Chinese delegation to still play ball, despite Xi's summit snub.

'As far as the question of tensions between India and China affecting the summit: Really, that's up to China,' Sullivan said. 'If China wants to come in and play the role of spoiler, of course, that option is available to them.'

His trip begins just 24 hours after the Department of Justice warned they would seek to indict his son Hunter on gun charges by the end of the month , and he faced criticism from 9/11 families for marking Monday's 22nd anniversary of the attacks in Alaska

Biden salutes as he boards the steps of Air Force One for his flight to New Delhi

Sullivan encouraged the Chinese to come to the summit 'in a constructive way' and work with other nations on the issues of 'climate, on multilateral development bank reform, on debt relief, on technology' and 'set aside the geopolitical questions.'

One of the top summit agenda items for the U.S. is World Bank reform, scaling up the lender to provide funds for climate and infrastructure projects.

This move is strategic in that it could move some developing economies toward Western nations and away from the Chinese Communist Party's lending practices, which the White House called 'coercive and unsustainable' when asking Congress in late August for $3.3 billion in additional funding.

Hunter Biden steps out in Malibu, California, with his Secret Service detail 24 hours after the Special Counsel warned they would seek the gun charge

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi, India. He hasn't left Russia since the International Criminal Court in March issued a warrant for his arrest

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrives at the gala dinner Wednesday night that's part of the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. Vice President Kamala Harris was also in attendance. He's attending the G20 in place of Putin this weekend in New Delhi

LEADERS ATTENDING THE G20 ARGENTINA: President Alberto Fernandez AUSTRALIA: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese BRAZIL: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva CANADA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau FRANCE: President Emmanuel Macron GERMANY: Chancellor Olaf Scholz INDIA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi (host) INDONESIA: President Joko Widodo ITALY: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni JAPAN: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida REPUBLIC OF KOREA: President Yoon Suk Yeol SAUDI ARABIA: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman SOUTH AFRICA: President Cyril Ramaphosa TURKEY: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan THE UNITED KINGDOM: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak THE UNITED STATES: President Joe Biden THE EUROPEAN UNION: President Ursula von der Leyen Advertisement

At the G7 in May in Hiroshima, Japan, some of the planned topics of discussion were overshadowed by the Ukraine war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise visit to the summit, meeting with Biden and the other leaders of the top industrialized nations.

The dynamic will be slightly different at the G20 - in part because Zelensky wasn't invited by India.

India has not condemned the Ukraine war as harshly as the United States and its top allies, as Russia is an important trading partner, though Modi did meet with Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 in Japan.

Also while Russia was expelled from the then-G8 in March 2014 after the annexation of Crimea, territory previously held by Ukraine, it remains a member of the G20.

Lavrov will be filling in for Putin during this weekend's Leaders' Summit, as the Russian leader hasn't traveled outside the country since the International Criminal Court in March issued a warrant for his arrest over war crimes, including the removal of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Lavrov has been on a world tour this week, appearing at the ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia - which was also attended by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Sullivan predicted there would be a 'continued focus on how the G20 deals with Russia's illegal and ongoing war in Ukraine.'

'The reality is that Russia's illegal war has had devastating social and economic consequences, and the poorest counties on the planet are bearing the brunt of that,' Sullivan pointed out.

No major headway is expected from the full G20, with Lavrov on Friday already saying that Russia would block the final declaration from the summit if it didn't reflect Moscow's views on Ukraine.

Meanwhile Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise trip to Kyiv earlier this week.

President Joe Biden (left) gave a controversial fist bump to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (right) during a trip to Saudi Arabia last July

LEADERS SNUBBING THE G20 CHINA: President Xi Jinping MEXICO: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador RUSSIA: President Vladimir Putin Advertisement

With Putin and Xi skipping the G20, no meeting of Biden's will be more closely watched than if he decides to sit down with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the summit.

Late last month, Axios reported that Biden was considering meeting with MBS, according to four sources in the know.

Sullivan wouldn't cement anything when asked about MBS - and Erdogan - on Tuesday.

'I'm not going to speak to how the schedule will shape up over the course of the coming days,' the national security adviser said.

Sullivan said there was a 'certain dynamic element' to G20 scheduling, meaning that some of the meetings 'will likely be announced at the last minute.'

'And we will do our darndest to make sure that they are done in a way where the U.S. press has the ability to participate in them,' he told the reporters in the briefing room.

On the table, potentially, is a 'mega-deal' between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. that could lead to Saudi and Israel normalizing relations.

It would be a historic breakthrough for Mideast peace.

Officials told Axios that the administration is trying to finish its diplomatic push before the 2024 presidential election ramps up.

While those sources pointed to how much of Biden's time his reelection campaign will eat up, Saudi relations are not popular among swaths of the U.S.

Besides the country's poor treatment of women, there was the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

And timing of an MBS meeting could also be awkward for Biden - who has decided to skip the traditional 9/11 ceremonies to mark the anniversary of the terror attacks Monday in Alaska on his way home from India and Vietnam.

For years, 9/11 families have gone after the Saudi government, as 15 of the 19 terrorist hijackers were Saudis.
On the night of 21 September 1940, a train wagon full of prisoners rolled up to the gates of Auschwitz.

After being forced out of the wagon and beaten senseless, the inmates were stripped, tattooed and photographed before being herded into filthy, cramped huts.

Included among the new arrivals was Witold Pilecki, who, unlike his fellow prisoners, was there through choice.

A member of Poland's main resistance organisation, the AK, Pilecki had wanted to find out more about leaked news of extreme violence that was being carried out inside the camp.

Auschwitz had been established as a concentration camp for political prisoners just four months earlier in the town of Oswiecim in occupied Poland.

Later in the Second World War, Auschwitz was converted for its new primary purpose: the murder of largely Jewish men, women and children as part of the Holocaust.

By the time it was liberated in 1945, more than one million victims had been gassed, shot, executed, starved or tortured to death there.

Before he escaped in 1943, Pilecki was a witness to the camp's horrors, describing how 'mass murder' took place in its gas chambers, which were disguised as showers.

Now a new film by James Bond and 1917 producer Jayne-Ann Tenggren is set to retell the incredible true story of Pilecki's life.

Named The Enemy of My Enemy, the screenplay by English actor and writer Matt King is based on the 2010 book 'The Volunteer' (Il Volontario) by Marco Patricelli.

Polish resistance fighter Witold Pilecki smuggled himself into Auschwitz to document the horrors that were taking place there. A new film is being made about his life

Pilecki was a witness to the camp's full horrors and described how 'mass murder' took place in gas chambers disguised as showers. Above: Pilecki during his time as an inmate at Auschwitz

Described by British historian Professor Michael Foot as one of the bravest resistance fighters of World War Two, Pilecki had volunteered to be arrested and sent to Auschwitz.

Pilecki's notes, smuggled out with prisoners' laundry, were among the first testimonies to the horrors of the Nazis' 'Final Solution'.

Following Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, 'gentleman farmer' Pilecki signed up to fight with the Polish army.

Having previously served during the 1918-1920 Polish-Bolshevik War, he was taken on as a Platoon Commander.

But following Stalin's pact with Hitler which saw the USSR launch a joint attack from the East, Poland's defence collapsed.

Pilecki joined the new resistance movement, where he became head of 'special services' and was responsible for recruiting agents as well as setting up a network of secret caches of documents and weapons.

Established in May 1940 when it first took in German 'career criminals as functionaries', by the time the war ended Auschwitz (pictured in January 1945) had become the biggest killing machine in history. More than 900,000 Jews, 70,000 Poles and 10,000 others were murdered

Pilecki's report of what he witnessed inside Auschwitz. He told how Jewish prisoners were 'driven like a herd of animals to slaughter'

Pilecki is seen with his wife and children. He smuggled himself into Auschwitz just months after it had been set up in 1940

Pilecki joined the new resistance movement after Poland was overwhelmed by the Nazis

Pilecki testifying during his trial after the war. He was found guilty of espionage by his country's communist rulers after the war

But it wasn't until the Gestapo arrested two senior resistance members and sent them to the newly established Auschwitz that the resistance was alerted to what was happening in the camp.

Arriving in mid-1940, the two men were able to smuggle out intelligence which subsequently made the camp 'a place of interest' for Pilecki and the AK.

During an emergency meeting, the resistance movement came up with the idea of infiltrating the camp and organising a mass escape.

A natural leader who was both brave and principled, Pilecki was the obvious choice to lead the operation.

At first he hesitated, fearing that he would never see his wife Maria and their two children, Andrzej and Zofia, then aged eight and six, ever again.

What made him finally decide to go is not known.

But after having fake identity documents made up and saying goodbye to his family, at 6am on the morning of the 21st he deliberately walked into an SS round-up of local men in Warsaw.

Arriving in Auschwitz two days later with the cover name of Tomasz Serafinski, he was registered as prisoner 4859.

Describing the arrival, he later wrote: 'Blinded by the spotlights, shoved, hit, kicked, savaged by dogs, we found ourselves in conditions unlike anything we had ever experienced.

'The weaker ones were dazed to such an extent that they literally formed a mindless mass.'

After describing how SS guards then machine-gunned a group of 11 men to death, Pilecki added: 'We were approaching a wire fence with a sign above it that read Arbeit macht frei ['work sets you free'].

'It was not until later that we learned the meaning of that inscription.'

He quickly set about organising an underground movement called the Zwiazek Organizacji Wojskowej (ZOW).

The initial intention was four-fold: to lift inmates' spirits by circulating news from the outside; to provide prisoners with additional food and clothing; to pass on information about the conditions inside the camp to the outside and, as Pilecki wrote, 'most importantly to prepare the ZOW's troops to seize control of the camp at an opportune moment, following an airdrop of weapons or troops landing in the area.'

SS man Gerhard Palitzsch, who was notorious for his brutal treatment of inmates at Auschwitz

Divided into cells of five people, the underground movement - which consisted of an estimated 800 people - operated on a need-to-know basis with only Pilecki knowing all those involved.

The first report was sent in November that year.

Pilecki wrote: 'Within a few days I felt dizzy, as if thrown on to another planet (...) it gave me the impression that we were locked in a mental institution.

'[The Germans] by beating [people] on the head, kicking the kidneys and other sensitive places of those already on the ground, jumping on their chests and stomachs with their boots, inflicted death with some incredible enthusiasm.'

Recalling how he and his fellow forced labour workers avoided being killed by the SS and camp functionaries known as Kapos (prisoners given special 'rights' to mete out punishment to other inmates), Pilecki wrote: 'We were dying in thousands... tens of thousands... and then hundreds of thousands'

'The Kapos had so much work with finishing off over a dozen hundred 'damned Polish dogs' that they either forgot about us, or did not want to make the effort of walking up to us through a muddy field.

'Each day they were more and more surprised that they [the prisoners] are still alive, walking, when we had been pushed far beyond the threshold of what the strongest human can endure.

'Some of the bodies, still warm, would swing their heads, smashed open with shovels, to the march of the column.

'From time to time a Kapo or Krankenmann, the block leader, would smash their clubs on to someone's head with philosophical detachment, hitting this or that prisoner with such force that they either killed them on the spot or left them unconscious to be flattened by an agricultural roller.

'Every day a large number of corpses was pulled out by their legs from that little carcass factory to be laid in rows and counted during the roll-call.

'In the evening Krankenmann, walking about the square with his hands behind his back, would look with a smile of satisfaction at the former prisoners, finally lying in peace.

'The sight of a man falling, kicking his legs, or moaning enraged Krankemann.

'Then he jumped on his chest, kicked in the kidneys, in the genitals, finished him off as soon as possible.'

Ernst Krankenmann was a convicted murderer who the SS took on to carry out murder inside the camp.

Despite being a prisoner, he was given privileged rights which saw him become one of the camp's most vicious killers.

He was later executed by other inmates.

Pilecki's report continued: 'The bestiality of the German torturers manifested in various forms, torturers had fun by smashing testicles  mostly Jews  with a wooden hammer.

Pilecki standing between the two men he escaped from Auschwitz with, Jan Redzej and Edward Ciesielski (right)

During his three years at Auschwitz, Pilecki saw it transform from a relatively small prison camp primarily for non-Jewish Poles and political prisoners into a chief instrument in the genocide of Jews

'It was the land of the SS man Gerhard Palitzsch. A handsome man who didn't beat anyone in the camp because it wasn't his style - but inside the closed courtyard he was the main instigator of macabre scenes.

'The inmates stood naked in a row at the "Wailing Wall", he put a small-caliber carbine under the skull at the back of their heads one by one and ended their lives.

'Sometimes he used an ordinary cattle bolt for this purpose. The spring-loaded pin cut into the brain, under the skull, and ended life.

'Sometimes a group of civilians was brought in and given to Palitzsch to play with.

'Palitzsch told the girls to undress and run around the closed yard. Standing in the middle, he took a long time, then aimed, shot, killed all of them in turn. No one knew who would die next.'

At his trial, camp commandant Rudolf Hoss said: 'Palitzsch was the most cunning and devious creature that I have met and experienced during my long, varied service at the various concentration camps.

'He literally walked over corpses to satisfy his thirst for power!'

During his three years at Auschwitz, Pilecki saw it transform from a relatively small prison camp primarily for non-Jewish Poles and political prisoners into a chief instrument in the genocide of Jews.

He wrote: 'Some of the prisoners were brought to the camp, and they were registered here, given numbers that already reached over 40,000, but the vast majority of transports went straight to Brzezinka, where people without registration were quickly turned into smoke and ashes.

'On average, about a thousand bodies were burned at that time.'

Brzezinka was the Polish name for the village where Auschwitz II, named Birkenau by the Germans, was set up as the camp's main extermination centre.

Pilecki wrote: 'They were being driven like a herd of animals to slaughter. Not sensing anything, on command the prisoners got off the ramp.

Auschwitz's Crematorium III - which functioned from June 1943 through November 1944. The Nazis then ordered its destruction, in the hope of covering up their crimes

Inmates at Auschwitz are seen after the camp's liberation by the Russian army in January 1945

Prisoners of Auschwitz are seen through the camp's barbed wire fence. More than 1.1million people were murdered at the camp network

Women prisoners in their bunks at Auschwitz, which stands today as a monument to the horrors of the Holocaust

'They were ordered to put food on one heap, and everything else on the other.

'Later they were divided into groups. Men and boys over 13 went to one group; women with children to the other.

'Under the pretext of the need to bathe, they were all ordered to undress in two separate groups, preserving the appearance of a sense of shame.

'The clothes were also arranged in two large piles by both groups, supposedly to be handed over for disinfection.

'Then, hundreds of them, women and children separately, and men separately, went to the barracks that were supposed to be bathhouses (they were gas chambers).

'The windows were only from the outside - fictitious, inside there was a wall. Once the sealed doors were closed, mass murder took place inside.

'From the balcony-cloister, an SS man in a gas mask dropped gas on the heads of the crowd gathered under him. [] It lasted several minutes.

'Then, the doors of the chambers on the opposite side of the ramp were ventilated, and Jewish kommandos transported the still-warm bodies in wheelbarrows and wagons to the nearby crematoria, where the corpses were quickly burned.

'In the meantime, hundreds more were going to the chambers.'

On June 20, 1942, four Poles carrying a detailed report by Pilecki escaped from the camp dressed as SS officers and drove out of the gates in a car belonging to Hoss.

The report was forwarded to the Polish government in exile in London and on to the British and the Allies.

This was the first comprehensive record of a Holocaust death camp to be obtained by the Allies.

In 1943, fearing that his underground movement would be discovered, on the night of April 26, Pilecki along with two other inmates made their escape.

Joining a group of prisoners from the 'bakers' commando' they were escorted by SS men each day to a large bakery about two kilometres outside the camp.

The bakery had an old iron door that was secured with an iron bar and locked.

The trio made a key and prepared civilian clothes, which they hid under their striped uniforms. They also prepared powdered tobacco to confuse tracker dogs.

Pilecki later wrote: 'I left at night - just as I arrived - so I was in this hell 947 days and as many nights.

'When I left, I had a few less teeth than when I came, as well as a broken sternum. So I paid very cheaply for such a period of time.'

Arriving back in Warsaw, Pilecki presented the AK with a plan for attacking Auschwitz, which was eventually rejected.

He also compiled a comprehensive report on what he had witnessed in the camp.

Including details about the gas chambers and crematoria where he reported that 'around 8,000 people were cremated every day', the Allies considered his reports 'exaggerated'.

Continuing his work for the resistance, after the war he gathered intelligence on the communist secret police.

Sentenced to death on 25 May 1948, he was shot in the back of the head by chief executioner Piotr Smietanski (pictured)

Hunted down and arrested in 1947, after months of brutal torture at the hands of sadistic interrogator Eugeniusz Chimczak he was put on trial where he was found guilty of espionage and sabotage.

Sentenced to death on 25 May 1948 he was shot in the back of the head by chief executioner Piotr Smietanski.

To this day, Pilecki's remains have never been found.

Actor Przemyslaw Wyszynski, who will play Pilecki, said: 'My task is to tell the story of a real man who was put in an impossible situation and yet managed to keep his humanity.

'I wanted to see the world through his eyes.'

Still in its early stages, and currently without a director, the producers say they plan to shoot in locations in Italy and Poland.
Friday September 8 2023 marks the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's death, after she passed away following 70 years on the British throne.

But what exactly will happen on the anniversary of the Queen's death? Will there be any official royal events on Accession Day?

Read on below for everything you need to know about events happening to mark a year since the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Friday September 8 2023 marks the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II 's death, after she passed away following 70 years on the British throne. Pictured: Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to Royal Papworth Hospital, Cambridge in July 2019

What will happen on the anniversary of the Queen's death?

According to reports, the Prince and Princess of Wales will carry out royal duties on the day, leading tributes to the late monarch on the anniversary of her death.

Prince William and Kate Middleton will reportedly deliver a message to Britons in honour of the Queen's legacy, although it is unclear whether this will be made in person, broadcast on television, or via social media channels.

King Charles III will not be making a public appearance, and there will nott be an official family gathering on the first anniversary of the Queen's death, a spokesperson for the royal family has confirmed.

Instead, King Charles is reportedly expected to spend the day 'quietly and privately' at Balmoral in Scotland, where she passed away.

While the Duke of Sussex is in London on Thursday September 7 to attend an event for WellChild - a charity for seriously ill children of which he is a patron - he is not expected to meet other royals.

Prince Harry is then expected to travel to Dusseldorf, Germany, for the start of his Invictus Games on Saturday September 9.

Will there be any official Royal events on Accession Day?

It is expected the family will privately remember the former helm of the family with their own remembrance.

However, we could expect to see tributes paid publicly via statements and on social media to mark the date of her passing.

King Charles is reportedly expected to spend the day 'quietly and privately' at Balmoral in Scotland. Pictured: King Charles III and Queen Camilla wave to the crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace after the coronation ceremony in London on Saturday 6 May 2023

Harry was last in the UK in early June of 2023, when he gave evidence at the High Court in a claim against the publisher of the Daily Mirror over hacking allegations.

Following the anniversary, Charles and Camilla are reportedly set to go on their postponed state visit to France.

The royal couple were originally scheduled to go in March, but were forced to postpone it due to widespread protests in the country over retirement age reforms.

According to reports, King Charles and Queen Camilla could visit Kenya in the autumn, which would be Charles' first major trip to a Commonwealth country since he ascended to the throne in September 2022.
It has brightened up Glasgow for years and become a tourist attraction in its own right.

But it has now emerged a giant mural of Sir Billy Connolly is set to be removed to make way for student flats.

The 50ft portrait, based on work by artist John Byrne, was unveiled in the citys Osborne Street in 2017 to mark the Big Yins 75th birthday.

Sir Billy, now 80, visited the site and said that seeing the artwork took his breath away and had a profound effect on him.

The student accommodation proposals have provoked anger among local residents, who say the mural should be protected by council bosses.

Billy Connolly previously said the artwork took his breath away

Billy Connolly in front of Jack Vettriano's portrait in mural form in Glasgow's Dixon Street

Billy Connolly in his prime on stage, left, and with wife and fellow comic Pamela Stephenson

A spokesman for the Merchant City and Trongate Community Council, which has lodged an official objection to the plans, said: Many of Glasgows murals are major tourist attractions, admired not only by residents but visitors from all around the world.

A spokesman for developers Nova Living said: We looked at ways to retain the mural, regrettably this will not be possible.

Glasgow City Council is due to make a decision on the planning application in the coming weeks.
He was taken to MountainView Hospital and named 'Nolan Doe' rather than 'John Doe'

The 60-year-old passed out in extreme heat and was pickpocketed while he laid on the street for eight hours

A Las Vegas man died alone at the hospital after being given a fake name instead of a 'John Doe' placeholder, leaving his grieving family questioning why and haunted by his final lonely moments.

Clifford Allen died on July 27 at MountainView Hospital aged 60. He passed out while walking near a gas station and was rushed to the hospital.

His sister, 75-year-old Lavonne Brubeck, spent 11 days phoning hospitals looking for him, or asking for John Does, to no avail.

It was only later she learned he was listed as 'Nolan Doe.'

'I could have been there to hold his hand,' Brubeck told 8 News. 'I could have called him by his name.'

The hospital admitted it used the 'Nolan' name as it is part of their policy and refused to give out information on patients, citing federal law.

Clifford Allen, 60, died on July 27 after passing out in extreme heat a week prior. He was found unconscious and unresponsive after laying in the sun for several hours

Allen's sister, Lavonne Brubeck, frantically called hospitals across Las Vegas in search of her brother. She assumed he would have been labeled 'John Doe,' which is standard for people whose identities cannot be confirmed

On July 16, Allen left the home he shared with his sister. They had grown close after her husband's death more than a decade ago.

While it was not unusual for him to be gone for several days, his sister grew concerned when he didn't pick up the phone. Allen suffered from COPD, a group of diseases that causes breathing-related problems.

She wrote a desperate plea in a missing persons group on Facebook, begging anyone in the Las Vegas area to give her a call if they saw her brother.

According to a Facebook post written by Brubeck, the 60-year-old was walking between a McDonald's drive-through and a Terrible Herbst gas station on July 18 when he passed out.

He appears to have fallen unconscious near the intersection at West Lake Mead Boulevard and North Rainbow Boulevard.

Brubeck said her brother laid in blistering 113-degree heat from 2pm to 10pm until a store clerk called an ambulance. He was missing his wallet, phone and portable oxygen he usually carried.

When paramedics arrived, Allen was breathing but unresponsive. His body temperature measured 106 degrees.

The 60-year-old was taken to MountainView Hospital, where he died alone nearly two weeks later.

His family was unable to see him once during the 11 days he laid comatose in a hospital bed.

Allen was taken to MountainView Hospital, where he laid in a hospital bed for 11 days before his death. His family was unable to find and visit him during that nearly two-week span

The 75-year-old told a local media outlet that she and her brother did everything together after her husband's death. They shared a home in the northwest valley and Allen would come and go frequently

Brubeck expressed her frustration and heartbreak on Facebook after learning that police had been asked to fingerprint her brother four times but did not have the authority to do so

Brubeck was appalled to learn that her brother had been found in the sweltering heat without his ID and belongings including his portable oxygen, which he needed for his COPD

Brubeck believed someone had stolen his belongings, including an ID, while his unconscious body was sprawled on the street. She said she couldn't believe how people drove past him without calling 911.

'I just can't believe that anyone could be that unconcerned about another human being,' she wrote. 'It breaks my heart every time I think about him being alone.'

She said she called every hospital in Las Vegas, asking if they had any John Does. Brubeck, who has a background in nursing, knew John Doe was the standard placeholder name for an unidentified man.

'No John Does, no Clifford Allens,' she said. 'Everything was a "no."'

Brubeck later learned the hospital gave her brother a real name, Nolan Doe, as per its own special policy.

Jennifer McDonnell, a spokeswoman for MountainView, said in an email statement: 'The hospital identifies anonymous patients with the last name of Doe, however assigns different first names to prevent the merging of medical records.'

She told MailOnline.com that the hospital doesn't provide 'random callers' information on unidentified patients due to HIPAA restrictions.

HIPAA is a federal law that prevents healthcare providers from sharing information about patients.

Allen suffered from COPD and usually carried portable oxygen. When he was discovered by paramedics, the oxygen had gone missing. His sister believes it was stolen along with his other belongings

The 60-year-old had no spouse or children, so his sister was left to cover the cost of the funeral. She set up a GoFundMe campaign, as she is on 'a fixed income' herself

Allen passed away just short of his 61st birthday on August 2

Brubeck filed a missing persons report with Las Vegas Metro police on July 26, who had no record of Allen because he had no ID.

Allen was identified almost two weeks after he left home by the coroner, who recognized him from a photo shared by a family member.

Brubeck doesn't believe that blame falls entirely on the hospital but thinks their flawed system is part of a bigger problem.

'I just found out that the nurses at MountainView hospital called the police to come out and fingerprint my brother four times in 10 days and they never came out,' she wrote on Facebook.

'Policy is here in Las Vegas, I'm told, is they only fingerprint at the coroner's office. Who the hell made that policy? How many John Does have passed away that the family could have been there with?'

Other family members have expressed their crushing grief as well.

'My uncle is no longer with us and my heart is completely broken right now,' Allen's niece, Alissa Ronquillo, posted on July 31.

As Allen had no wife or children, Brubeck was left to pay for the funeral. She set up a GoFundMe to help with expenses.

'Im on a fixed income and barely make it myself,' she wrote.

The goal was set at $10,000, but only $520 had been raised as of Wednesday.

Allen would've celebrated his birthday August 2. Brubeck posted a message to him on Facebook.

'HAPPY 61ST BIRTHDAY TO My Baby Brother in Heaven,' she stated.

'May you look down and smile at all of the loved ones and cause problems for those who ROBBED YOU. We miss you dearly.'
A hero prison warden who was held hostage for five days during one of Scotlands most notorious prison riots has died aged 93.

Jackie Stuart was beaten and stabbed by inmates during a siege at Peterhead Prison, Aberdeenshire, in September 1987.

The incident only ended when SAS troops stormed the building and rescued Mr Stuart.

The then 57-year-old gained international recognition when TV footage showed him being dragged across the roof on a chain by a prisoner.

He went on to write a book about his ordeal, Hostage on the Roof  and was instrumental in setting up Peterhead Prison Museum, which opened in 2016, where he would regularly recount his experience to visitors.

Jackie Stuart, who has died aged 93, being held in 1987

The museum yesterday hailed him a hero as it posted a notice on its social media page informing visitors of his passing.

Alex Geddes, the museums operations manager, paid tribute to a strong-willed and inspirational man who will be sadly missed.

He said meeting Mr Stuart, who was originally from Aberdeen, and hearing him recount the 1987 siege was the icing on the cake for thousands of visitors.

He said: His voice is carried on the audio tour, and always will be. He is now captured in history.

'We are deeply saddened, but for him we will continue to drive the museum forward.

Jackie Stuart has been described as a strong-willed and inspirational man

Peterhead Prison after the notorious riot in 1987

Inmates held a demonstration during the rampage which saw special forces sent in

Prisoners pictured before the SAS stormed the building

The rooftop demonstration by prisoners

Mr Stuart was beaten by inmates, who were serving life sentences for violent crimes, after 50 prisoners seized control of the buildings D-wing, taking him and another guard hostage.

The other guard was freed soon after but Mr Stuart was held captive without food or water on the roof for five days.

The SAS, kitted out in full body armour, fireproof overalls and respirators, stormed the building in the early hours.

On each of the three floors of D-wing, an SAS team fought their way in with explosives, hurling in CS gas and stun grenades, before rushing in to clear the cells.

They were also equipped with wooden batons, 9mm Browning pistols, flashbang grenades and tear gas canisters.

Speaking in 2016, Mr Stuart said: They [the inmates] got a big chain off a punching bag and put it round my neck and dragged me about and they filled my pockets with lighter fluid and said they would set me alight if they didnt get what they wanted.

These things happen and youve got to make the best of it.
The leader of bankrupt Birmingham council received joking flack from his brother over his 50th birthday jaunt in New York City.

John Cotton, who was handpicked for the role by Keir Starmer, is said to be on holiday in the Big Apple while the Labour-run authority has gone bust.

Mr Cotton conducted an interview via video link yesterday - with a totally white background - as it was announced that a section 114 notice had been filed.

His brother David, sharing a photo of a TalkTV presenter discussing his brother's soiree, wrote on Facebook: 'Needless to say Dad and I didnt get an invite in case anyone was wondering.'

The remarks comes as Mr Cotton was slammed today for not attending the council cabinet meeting in person. The Tories also blamed Labour 'incompetence' for the meltdown in Birmingham.

John Cotton conducted an interview via video link yesterday - with a totally white background - as it was announced that a section 114 notice had been filed

Today Mr Cotton received joking flack from his brother David over his 50th birthday jaunt in New York City

Birmingham council filed a section 114 order yesterday, meaning financial officers believe the it cannot meet its liabilities, and all new spending will stop immediately - with the exception of protecting vulnerable people and statutory services.

There is also speculation that residents will face a 10 per cent hike in council tax, as happened when other councils ended up in a similar plight.

The Labour-led council said in June it faces an equal pay liability of between 650million and 760million, which is growing at between 5million and 14 million a month and which is now estimated to be more than 1 billion.

It is also faces an in-year financial gap in its budget which currently stands in the region of 87million.

Mr Cotton was selected by the ruling Labour NEC to run the council in May after a report branded the party group 'dysfunctional'.

He was criticised for not attending a council cabinet meeting in person yesterday at which the section 114 notice was confirmed.

Speaking to BBC Radio West Midlands by video-link against a blank backdrop, Mr Cotton said the council would 'continue to deliver on essential services like children's safeguarding and social care, social care for adults, education, waste collection, road maintenance and library services'.

He insisted statutory services would continue for the city's 1.1million taxpayers.

A local Tory source said Mr Cotton was known to be in New York celebrating his 50th birthday.

Asked whether that was the case, a council spokesman said: 'Councillor Cotton is away on a long-standing family engagement but has been working around the clock since the Section 114 Notice was published.'

Speaking to BBC Radio West Midlands by video-link, Mr Cotton said the council would 'continue to deliver on essential services like children's safeguarding and social care, social care for adults, education, waste collection, road maintenance and library services'

Birmingham City Council has declared itself effectively bankrupt after facing a 760million bill

A worker clearing rubbish in Birmingham city centre yesterday. It is not clear what services will be affected by the crisis

Gary Sambrook, Conservative MP for Birmingham Northfield, told MailOnline: 'If anyone wants to see how Labour would behave in Government then look no further than Birmingham.

'Starmer's man was picked without a vote and when things get tough is nowhere to be seen.

'Labour have bankrupted Birmingham and they'll do the same to the country.'

Issues with equal pay settlements at the council have been ongoing for well over a decade.

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of 174 low-paid women workers at the council to ensure they were paid equally, which effectively extended the time workers have to bring equal pay compensation claims from six months to six years.

That added to a number of previous equal pay settlements dating back to 2006.

It was estimated at the time that existing and future equal pay claims could cost up to around 750 million, which the council had to borrow hundreds of millions of pounds to settle.

The liability has since grown to the current level, with the council unable to pay the bill from existing reserves as its entire revenue budget for all services annually stands at around 750million.

The council's deputy leader, Sharon Thomas, said the local authority has 'had 1billion of funding taken away by successive Conservative governments', which has contributed to the issue.

Sir Keir said he 'feels' for the city's 1.1million taxpayers, but insisted that councils across the country were also struggling

Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, Sir Keir said he 'feels' for the city's 1.1million taxpayers.

He said: 'I feel for the residents affected by this because they'll be very worried about their services.

'I think, if you take a step back from Birmingham, you will see there are versions of this across the country.

'And that's because, for 13 years, local authorities have been stripped of the funding they need. So we will have to look at that again.'

Meanwhile, talks remain ongoing to safeguard the jobs of thousands of staff at the authority, with Unite  which represents hundreds of workers at the organisation  claiming the council's bankruptcy came as a result of 'chronic financial mismanagement'.

A Government source said: 'Sadly this is another example of a Labour administration running out of other people's money and a red alert warning for a Keir Starmer-led government.'

The Conservative Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, said promises from the council to produce a plan for how to settle the liability had not been produced.

He said: 'The city of Birmingham deserves so much better and, truthfully, I am incredibly concerned that citizens  and the services they rely on  have been let down in this way.'

Birmingham becomes the latest of several councils to issue section 114 notices this century, after Hackney, Northamptonshire, Croydon, Thurrock and Woking.
More than 90 per cent of MailOnline readers believe XL bully dogs should be banned, according to a poll, after yet another Briton was savagely attacked by the 'mutant' breed.

Mother Katie Deere, 31, told how she suffered shocking injuries in a horrific mauling by a bully XL dog while walking with her daughter in a pushchair, but is unable to claim compensation because the animal is 'owned by a minor'.

The attack came after a leading dog behaviourist warned American bully XL pets are 'too dangerous to live'.

Stan Rawlinson wants to eradicate the 'intrinsically evil' dogs before more people are hurt.

Now a poll of nearly 12,000 MailOnline readers (as of early Thursday morning) has found that 94 per cent - or more than 11,000 - support a ban on the aggressive breed.

A poll of nearly 12,000 MailOnline readers found that 94 per cent (more than 11,000) want to ban the aggressive bully XL dog breed, against just 6 per cent who do not support a ban

An expert has claimed the controversial breed of XL bulldogs have 'no redeeming qualities' (file image)

A court was shown CCTV clips of a dog - which mauled Jack Lis, ten - demonstrating how it was repeatedly out of control, including here outside a shop

The dog was repeatedly aggressive on the streets, dragging along his owners and wriggling away from them

Jack Lis, ten, was attacked by the XL bully dog while playing with a friend at a house in Pentwyn, near Cardiff

Mr Rawlinson added that some of the animals, which are increasingly popular in the UK, were being bred by untrustworthy 'underground' owners in the US.

He believes the breeders are 'tinkering with DNA' to enhance the beasts' muscles, size and power - and to get around bans on dangerous dogs such as the American pit bull terrier.

His comments come amid fresh calls for XL bullys to be banned in Britain after shocking data revealed the breed has been involved in the majority of fatal dog attacks in the UK since 2021.

Two in four deadly dog attacks in the UK in 2021 involved the breed - rising to six in ten in 2022, including high-profile maulings of children Jack Lis, ten, and Bella-Rae Birch, who was just 17 months.

But Mr Rawlinson, 76, fears this could be the tip of the iceberg and that if urgent action isn't taken to stop the genetically engineered American crosses reaching Britain's shores, more people and pets will be killed.

XL bullys are usually bred from a combination of several breeds, including the American pit bull terrier, which is banned in the UK.

Teaching assistant Katie Deere, 31, was with her own dog when she was suddenly set upon by an unsupervised bully XL breed in August

Miss Deere had already picked up her own dog out of concern, before the bully ran across the road and clamped its jaws on her arm

She was rushed to hospital by ambulance, bleeding from wounds to both arms

However, with the XL bully still not banned, underground breeders are able to mix pit bulls with other breeds including the American bulldog, old English bulldog and the mastiff, to create the new killer breed and dodge the law.

Mr Rawlinson, who has more than 20 years of experience working with aggressive animals, said the controversial breed beloved by celebrities has 'no redeeming qualities'.

Teaching assistant Miss Deere was with her own dog when she was suddenly set upon by an unsupervised bully XL breed on August 17.

Miss Deere had already picked up her own dog out of concern for the loose bully, which then ran across the road and clamped its jaws on her arm.

She was rushed to hospital by ambulance, bleeding from wounds to both arms.

She underwent five hours of surgery on her arms, including 50 stitches and repair to a finger that was partially amputated.

She is now recovering with relatives. An aunt, who has set up an online fundraising appeal, said they had discovered Miss Deere is 'not entitled to any sort of compensation or government help as the dog was uninsured and owned by a minor'.

The incident happened at 11am on 17 August in Askern, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

Despite its relative popularity in the UK, the American bully XL is not officially registered as a breed by the UK Kennel Club, making it difficult to know exactly how many are in the country.

They are seen as 'status symbols' and are often purchased for their intimidating appearance.

Speaking to MailOnline, he said: 'These dogs are a danger to women, children and everyone else. They should all be euthanised as a breed. Theres something wrongly wired in these dogs.

'They can just flip. Youre talking nothing to full on and someone is dead in less than 15 seconds. You just cant stop them. These dogs can rip peoples heads off. Theyre incredibly powerful. They can open up your jugular veins almost immediately.

'Theyre too dangerous to be in the hands of the general public. You wouldnt walk around with a mountain lion on a lead  because thats effectively what youve got.'

A court this week heard how two out-of-control XL bullys had to be shot by a farmer in Wales after they escaped their owner, killing 22 pregnant sheep and injuring 48 more during a savage rampage.

Stan Rawlinson, who has more than 20 years of experience working with aggressive animals, warned the Bully XL is 'very, very reactive' and feared deaths caused by the breed could soar in the coming months and years

Jack Lis, pictured, suffered fatal injuries to the head and neck after he was attacked by the dog

Pictured is the dog that killed Jack Lis in 2021

Brandon Hayden, 19, was jailed for four years and six months at Cardiff Crown Court. His friend Amy Salter was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. Both were banned from owning a dog indefinitely

Mr Rawlinson, who was once called as an expert witness for the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, warned the bully XL is 'very, very reactive' and feared deaths caused by the breed could soar in the coming months and years.

Echoing warnings by Peta members and vets in the country, Mr Rawlinson said: 'We averaged three dog attack deaths a year for the past 25 years. From that, we had ten last year with up to seven related to the XL bully. This is only going to get worse.

'The type of dogs they're breeding to get these super strong, powerful-looking aggressive dogs are very reactive and have high prey drive. But then start messing with genetics and youve got a monster on your hands,' Mr Rawlinson said.

'The XL bully is intrinsically bad as a breed. They're an evil dog because of what's been done to them over in America, where amateur geneticists have tinkered about. Theres a screw loose.'

So far in 2023, there have been at least two fatal bully attacks - with fears the breed could have also been involved in three other dog killings.

Online adverts selling the breed and the surging number of the animals seized by police suggests the number of the dogs in the country could be rising rapidly.

Mr Rawlinson added: 'I wouldn't go near one. I've been around all sorts of dogs, even the most dangerous. But these XL bully dogs are very reactive. They're like the old Roman dogs of war that attacked Britain and helped forge an empire across the Continent.

'More people are going to die unless we do something about it.

'They aren't an official breed, it's impossible to track them. The American pitbull has been banned since 1991 but they are still coming in. That dog is the starting point for the XL bully and more are being brought in every day.'

On Monday, David Hughes, 26, of Pen y Wern, Rhosllanerchrugog, Wrexham, appeared at the city's magistrates' court and admitted being in charge of a dangerously out-of-control dog and being the owner of a dog worrying livestock.

It comes after two of his XL bulldogs were shot by a farmer after they slaughtered 22 pregnant sheep and injured 48 others.

The attack happened on private agricultural land at Rhosllanerchrugog in March after the dogs escaped from their home - with one turning on the terrified farmer.

Hughes was banned from keeping dogs for five years and ordered to pay 900 in fines. The financial cost of the incident totalled more than 14,000.

PC Chris James said: 'I welcome this result after what was a horrific scene for the victim, who is still suffering the effects of the incident today. The emotional and financial impact on the farmer has been considerable.                   

'Livestock attacks are extremely distressing not only for the animals, but for their keepers too.                                      

'The costs, both financially and emotionally, for such distressing incidents are wholly unacceptable.'

Elsewhere in Wales, ten-year-old schoolboy Jack Lis was mauled by a near-7st bully XL dog at a house in Caerphilly on November 8, 2021.

Amy Salter, 29, and Brandon Hayden, 19, took on Beast after the 'muscular' animal was advertised 'for free' on Facebook with a warning that it was 'not good with other dogs'.

What is an American Bully XL and what makes it so dangerous? American bullies are a relatively new breed, having originated in the 1980s. They are mixed breed bulldogs, typically American pitbull terriers crossed American, English and Olde English bulldogs. Despite their relative popularity in the UK, they are not officially registered as a breed by the UK Kennel Club, making it difficult to know exactly how many are in the country. They are seen as 'status symbols' and are often purchased for their intimidating looks. Though the bully XL is the most common, the dogs can also be bred with mastiffs and other larger dogs to make them bigger, XXL or even XXXL. Controversial and illegal practices such as ear cropping are also carried out to make them appear more intimidating. The males can weigh between 70 and 130 pounds of muscle bone and have enormous strength. The 'status symbol' nature of the dogs has seen them become something of a weapon, purchased by people who want a thuggish and scary looking dog. Despite their lack of official certification, there is also a booming market with puppies regularly sold on Facebook and through places like Gumtree for anywhere between 500 and 3,000. However, experts are at pains to warn of their potentially dangerous nature, especially if their aggression is encouraged. They descend from bull-baiting dogs and if they aren't trained properly then their aggression could surface. This could pose a real threat to humans, particularly children, and has been seen in several shocking recent deaths involving the dog. Advertisement

Tragedy struck when the raging animal killed the schoolboy inside a property near Hayden's home in South Wales. Armed police needed to fire seven rounds to kill the dog, which attacked Jack without provocation.

Jack had been playing with a friend after school when they went to the house where Beast was roaming around downstairs and then bit his face, head and neck.

Hayden, 19, was jailed for four years and six months at Cardiff Crown Court today. His friend Salter was sentenced to three years in jail. Both were banned from owning a dog indefinitely.

Elisa Allen, from Peta, believes that all bully XLs should be spayed or neutered to stop the breed spreading in Britain.

She explained how the breed's powerful bodies and strong jaws make them a threat to humans and also pointed out the dog was bred for bull-baiting and fighting - not as a family pet.

She said: 'It is an undeniable fact that most serious and fatal dog attacks are by bully breeds. These breeds were intentionally developed long ago for "gameness", meaning they are prey-focused and hard to distract once in attack mode and have extremely muscular, powerful bodies with strong jaws.

'When dogs attack, it can be because they have been tormented, beaten, poorly socialised, isolated, caged, or chained by a current or previous owner, but no one can pretend that owners are solely to blame, as these breeds were selectively bred for bull-baiting and fighting.

'We can prevent more attacks by banning the breeding of these types of dogs  which can be done by mandating that all bully dogs be spayed or neutered.'

The exact number of bully XL dogs in the UK is unclear as the Kennel Club doesn't officially recognise the breed.

However, social media is awash with bullies and, in June, the Met revealed it had seized 44 American bullies so far in 2023, up to May.

This is almost three times the next most common breed and means that, on average, the force confiscated up to two bullies a week.

To put it in greater context, in 2018 and 2019, no American bullies were seized by the Met.

These figures only apply to London, and with the majority of fatal attacks taking place outside the capital, there are potentially thousands of bullies across the UK.

These numbers are believed to have soared during lockdown, as dog ownership surged while people were stuck at home.

And the rise of TikTok, as well as the popularity of bullies with major celebrities such rapper Drake and Little Mix Leigh-Anne Pinnock, have made the dog a status symbol.

Various celebs own American bullies, including rapper Drake pictured with Winter (right)

Little Mix star Leigh-Anne Pinnock is known to own one

Dr Lawrence Newport, a law and criminology lecturer at Royal Holloway University, recently published a detailed report on the bully XL.

He told MailOnline the dog's breeding for fighting posed a big risk to children.

'The past two years has seen an unprecedented rise in the number of people killed by dogs, including several children,' he said.

'American bully XLs (closely related to the banned pitbull breed but larger, able to reach weights of 60kg) are disproportionately responsible for these deaths.

'Retrievers were bred to retrieve. Pointers to point. But these dogs were historically bred for fighting so we should not be surprised that even good owners have found themselves, or their children, maimed or even killed by these dogs.

'The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs can add these dogs immediately to the banned dogs list under the Dangerous Dogs Act and must do so now.'

Brighton-based vet Marc Abraham previously spoke about how the bully XL breed has become a status symbol instead of a pet.

'These dogs are a nightmare when they are in the wrong hands,' the vet said. 'And the trouble is, very few people have the right hands.

'These dogs have low frustration thresholds. Coupled with the fact they often aren't exercised enough because they are status dogs, they can act dangerously.

Aaron Chalmers, of Geordie Shore, also owns one of the dogs - and has attracted controversy for its cropped ears

'Genetically, they are compromised in terms of communication with other dogs and then they are trained to be killers.'

Jack Lis' mother Emma Whitfield has launched a campaign for a new law that would overhaul the Dangerous Dogs Act. She wants to see stricter penalties and stronger rules to stop illegal and irresponsible breeding and selling.

The grieving mother asked MPs to support her call in banning XL bullies and taking steps to ensure that 'nobody else is ever put in the position of me and my family'.

'There needed to be a ban of the breed. Get rid of every single one of them,' she said.

'This won't bring my son back, but I realise it's not as simple as banning certain dogs. There will always be another breed involved.'

The Met Police reportedly deal with at least one dangerous dog each day and seized 479 out-of-control animals last year. The force seized 333 in 2021.

The rise in dog attacks in recent years, which has ballooned from around 3,300 in 2002 to more than 8,800 in 2021, has sparked some calls for a revamp of the Dangerous Dogs Act.

That 1991 law saw a blanket ban imposed on four specific 'fighting-style' breeds in the UK; the pit bull terrier, Japanese tosa, dogo Argentino and fila Brasiliero.

Dog psychologist Bruce Clanford previously told MailOnline that dog attacks are undoubtedly on the rise and he shared his own fears about a lack of responsible dog owners.

He said: 'There's no regulation on owning dogs, or people handling them, there's also no standard of education which means there are too many people who don't know what they're doing.

Metropolitan Police data shows how the American Bully has become the most seized dog in London in recent years

The dogs are widely available on Facebook and sites like Gumtree (pictured) for potentially thousands

'Lockdown didn't help, many people had a knee-jerk reaction to just get a dog because it helped them get out and about while we were locked down.

'So many dogs have now come out over the past few years that have had to be rehomed, people didn't understand how to look after them.

'Personally, I've seen this a lot in the last two years.'

Hospital data for England also laid bare the increase in dog attacks in England.

It revealed that there has been an 88 per cent increase in attendances, from 4,699 in 2007 to a staggering 8,819 in 2021-22.

Dr John Tulloch, a veterinary public health expert at the University of Liverpool authored a 2021 research paper that revealed a startling rise in the number of dog bite incidents over the past 20 years.

He told MailOnline that although wider research into the cause of this explosion in attacks was limited, there had been an emergence of 'worrying' trends that he has witnessed in more recent dog ownership.

He said: 'In the last 20 years or so there's been a definite rise in cases of severe dog attacks, it has been creeping up and up and up and we should be calling it what it is, a growing public health problem.

'In most cases, it's a dog that is known to the victim as these events are occurring behind closed doors.

'Children still account for around 25 per cent of hospital admissions due to dog bites, but we need to understand why adults are being attacked more now, it's a striking problem.

'And more deprived areas of the country have higher dog bite hospitalisation rates compared to the least deprived communities, which had the lowest.'

As well as human maulings, the dogs are also responsible for a slew of attacks against other animals.

Campaign group Bully Watch UK claims there have been 34 such incidents in the past two weeks alone - with the breed being 'disproportionately responsible for some of the most brutal attacks'.

A spokesman for the group told MailOnline: 'In the past two weeks we have seen American Bullies responsible for cats killed, dogs killed, chunks of flesh torn from a horse, police helicopters called, a police sharpshooter called, a little girl's face bitten, and a court report showing two of them killed or injured 70 sheep.

'We've documented 34 attacks from them in the past two weeks alone. We think they've already caused 14 deaths. Over 40 per cent of all dog attacks are caused by only this one type of dog.

'We no longer feel it's a question of if American bullies should be banned. We feel it's a question of when the body count will be so intolerably high that Government is forced to act.'
Furious Notting Hill residents told community leaders they did not feel safe allowing their children to walk the streets during the Carnival as a public meeting with the council on the event's future descended into chaos.

A representative for Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea did apologise for security that 'didn't go smoothly' - as residents said housing associations had been 'kettled', while locked entrances and exits risked 'another Grenfell'.

The 'chaos' broke out at after the Notting Hill Carnival Village Trust held a post-event residents' meeting at the The Tabernacle in Notting Hill last night.

It came after it was revealed police had arrested 308 people over the two-day event in West London on the August Bank Holiday.

There were 'unsustainable' levels of violence with eight revellers stabbed and at least 75 officers assaulted. Six of the officers were bitten, one was sexually assaulted and another suffered a serious hand injury.

Last night residents gathered to discuss concerns over Notting Hill Carnival and the future of the event

A young man waves around a machete at Notting Hill Carnival in West London last month

A man is seen running across Ladbroke Grove holding a machete-type blade on August 28

Petrified carnival-goers also saw a hooded thug charging across the street wielding a foot-long machete, while another was spotted raising a zombie knife in the air. This year's event saw the highest number of stabbings since 2016, when there were 15.

Research by MailOnline established there have been 5,319 arrests made over the past 20 years at the carnival  with this year's total of 308 up by 47 percent on the 209 at last year's event, which also saw the first carnival murder since 2004.

At a Q&A between Metropolitan Police Chief Sir Mark Rowley and members of the General London Assembly on Tuesday, the Met boss said one of those stabbed was 'very very lucky his life could be saved' and said it was almost a murder case.

He continued: 'It's an event of over a million people and the vast majority have a fantastic time and its a very special event in the London calendar.

'The crime reported, associated with it is not disproportionate in terms of size, the thing that is different is the severity.

'It's not about the volume of crime, but the severity of crime  71 knives were recovered, one or two firearms these are matters of real concern to me.'

At last night's meeting, held in Notting Hill, was a mother of one of those who had been stabbed at the Carnival.

She said: 'My son has been the victim of the Carnival stabbings, he was all over social media [and in] the newspapers, and I just wanted you all to take a look at what a victim looks like.

'There is this perception that when there's a stabbing they're up to no good, they're selling drugs. I'm a normal mother. I work hard and try to provide the best for my children.

'And on [the] Monday, my son left the house not knowing he was going to be safe because he knows that every time he goes out he could be harassed by police or harassed by gangs.'

She said her son had 'prayed for his grandmother' before leaving the house, upon which he was immediately stopped by police officers and searched.

She continued: 'Then he was approached by a group of 20 young people with masks and they attacked him. The police were nowhere to be seen.

'It took a few seconds, maybe a minute - they tried to stab him on the chest. He was forced to walk all the way home without any support.

'I want to ask the police and the organisers - what are you going to do for young people in the area who are at risk of being attacked? Not just the Carnival, but starting today. What are you going to do about it?'

Another, Melanie Wolfe, who has lived in the area since the 1990s and founded a community kitchen in the borough, added: 'As the mother of a local child the number one thing that our parents, our children, our youth are concerned about is their safety.

Police detain a young man on Ladbroke Grove on August 28 during the Notting Hill Carnival

Crews who carried out the clean-up estimated collecting 13 tonnes of laughing gas canisters

Last night, organisers the Carnival Village Trust held a post-event residents' meeting

'How are they going to remain safe. Get the community involved and make sure our kids are safe.

'It was stated that there were safe areas on social media and I actually asked where they were. Nobody I know knows where these safe spaces are.

MORE THAN 5,000 NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL ARRESTS IN 20 YEARS YEAR ARRESTS 2023 308 2022 209 2021 n/a 2020 n/a 2019 354 2018 373 2017 313 2016 454 2015 407 2014 252 2013 301 2012 278 2011 245 2010 243 2009 243 2008 280 2007 246 2006 277 2005 183 2004 167 2003 186

Because my daughter has just turned 13 - what am I supposed to do?

'I want her to go out with her friends, I want her to be on parade, I want her to be loving it, but I also want her to be safe and I want to know what's happening.

'Other people are coming in - we're the residents, we're the community. Please work with us.'

Others slammed the meeting as a 'tick box exercise' lorded over by 'condescending' representatives who did not show enough respect for the crowd. But choruses of boos greeted the idea of moving the carnival - as residents delivered a resounding judgement on whether it should be held elsewhere in the future.

The representative from RBKC, Director of Cleaner, Greener and Cultural Services Terry Oliver, apologised for security issues on the Sunday of the event.

He said: 'What has happened this year is that, as most RBKC social housing residents would have known, there has been a change in contract and it didn't go smoothly on the Sunday and we all hold our hands up for that.

'But they should have corrected that as soon as possible. We got a lot of complaints on Sunday and they weren't performing their contracts and I personally met with them and said: "Pull those socks up because this isn't right."

'We've got a contract point, we've got a spec, they didn't deliver on it. They put their hands up and then they put more resources into it for Monday and I hope you can all agree that Monday was a lot better.

'It wasn't great over that weekend at all and I really do apologise for that.'

There have been growing calls for the annual party to be moved to another location such as nearby Hyde Park, with Policing Minister Chris Philp revealing he could be open to seeing it relocated if this was recommended by the Metropolitan Police.

Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate in the 2024 London mayoral election, called for the carnival to be moved to another area.

The Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents officers in the capital, has also echoed these suggestions.

This map issued in a booklet for residents this year reveals the Notting Hill Carnival area

A man is seen to wield a large machete-type blade on Ladbroke Grove on August 28

A man holds his face in his hands at the carnival as he is escorted away by police on August 28

A man waves a machete-type weapon around at Notting Hill Carnival on August 28

Its vice chairman Rick Prior last week condemned the level of violence as 'unsustainable', saying: 'It is just awful and this sort of violence against officers at this event has become normalised.

'The officers have a right to come to work and expect not to be attacked, injured, sexually assaulted or bitten. Those bitten will have had to be given anti-viral drugs if the skin was broken, and will now need all sorts of tests  it is horrendous.

'It has almost become a certainty we will have this violence and terrible treatment of police officers every year and it is just not acceptable.

'It is a very difficult event to police and of course we recognise the need for this event but it should perhaps be moved to somewhere like Hyde Park where it would be less problematic to police.'

But when suggested at the meeting by one resident, questioners received a resounding answer.

A man said: 'All I can see is a lot of complaints about the carnival. Everything is a complaint! This is terrible.

'I would like to ask the police whether we should move the carnival?'

Police officers detain a person during the first day of the Notting Hill Carnival on August 27

Mounted police officers make their way through the streets of Notting Hill last month

Chaotic scenes at Notting Hill Carnival on August 28, pictured around the Ladbroke Grove area

Police officers take their positions during the parade at Notting Hill Carnival on August 28

He received a resounding chorus of 'No!' and 'Never!' in response from the crowd that lasted nearly 40 seconds.

The carnival has been held on the streets of Notting Hill every year since 1966 - apart from in 2020 and 2021 when it was cancelled due to the pandemic.

When Ken Livingstone was mayor, he suggested it could be started in Hyde Park and then proceed to its normal venue - but the idea was dropped amid mass opposition.

Another issue raised at the meeting was one of fire safety. One resident complained that a road had been left with locks on each gate, with one security guard between them.

Mr Oliver clarified that these gates had been left with combination locks, and they increased the number of security guards for the next day.

The resident said: 'If there had been a fire, what would have happened and what would be your response to that if someone died?'

Another voice spoke up with a chilling message, saying: 'Another Grenfell.'

At one point Matthew Phillip, the CEO of the Carnival Village Trust, was forced to step in to control the crowd.

He said: 'This is getting into chaos. Are we here to do something constructive or not?

'With all due respect I want to hear from residents tonight. This is a residents meeting. If you're not clear on that and you are here for something else my office is open seven days a week.

'Today's meeting is a meeting for us to talk to residents and let's just try to focus on that.'

Dancers parade through the streets of West London on August 28 - the final day of the carnival

Performers at the Notting Hill Carnival make their way through the streets on August 28

Police officers patrol during the main parade of the Notting Hill Carnival on August 27

Taking on one of the attendee's claims that the carnival rakes in 100million a year, he added: 'Please have an understanding of the detail of their income before we are making accusations.

'It's nonsense and it's quite frankly embarrassing to us if we're not going to tackle these things in a constructive manner.'

Speaking about the meeting to those present, one lady said: 'From the beginning when you started speaking your attitude seemed very condescending. It seemed as if you were literally here to tick a box.

'This is a meeting that we have every year. The negativity that you started with to me was not very respectful to the residents and to the people who turned up to this meeting.

'This is clearly a tick box exercise. Very clearly a tick box exercise. All of these residents should be as angry as they are if this is the way you treat them year in, year out.'

The chair of the meeting countered the point - responding: 'I was not trying to be condescending, I was trying to control the meeting.'

One resident raged: 'You promise year after year that you're going to regenerate, to put money back into the community and instead of that you've gentrified the place, cost us more money to even walk around the streets in Ladbroke Grove.

'It's not Notting Hill carnival, it's Ladbroke Grove carnival - it always has been.

Police officers keep a lookout during the parade at the Notting Hill Carnival on August 28

Crowds pack the streets on the second day of this year's Notting Hill Carnival on August 28

Revellers at the Notting Hill Carnival on August 28 as they pass through gates in West London

Crowds pack the streets on the second day of this year's Notting Hill Carnival on August 28

'Every year you have your meetings and you talk about stuff but what about the money? Where's the money?

'The youth are all running around on the streets who you keep talking about, running about with nowhere to go.

'We're supposed to be putting back into our community - the community which gets trashed by all the foreigners all over the world every year.'

Others complained that letters, booklets and passes had not been delivered to residents - as the council representative said they knew there had been an 'issue' with London Letterbox, who are responsible for delivering them.

One man claimed his residents association had got so fed up that they printed passes on the council's letterhead after they were not delivered for his area.

He said: 'We as a residents association printed 2,000 RBKC passes on RBKC letterhead unofficially.

'We asked housing for 2,000 passes and they laughed at us. They thought it was very funny.

'You don't seem to understand residents - people with children at local comprehensives who want to invite their friends from other schools.

'They are young adults and people in their 30s who invite their friends to carnival.

'They are grandparents who lived there all their lives, their adult children being forced out of North Kensington by gentrification and they've asked them to carnival.

'And RBKC can't get them the passes.'

At this year's event, one 29-year-old man was in a critical condition after being knifed just after 9pm on the Monday, while a 19-year-old was in a stable condition having been stabbed an hour earlier.

Scotland Yard confirmed that 308 were arrested - up from an initial total of 275 that was given - at the carnival, which was attended by an estimated two million people.

The arrests were for offences such as possession of offensive weapons including guns, assaults, possession of drugs and sexual offences.

Shocking pictures showed one man brandishing a foot-long machete very close to other carnival-goers as he ran around the streets with other group members in masks.

One image showed him appearing to point the weapon at a person on the ground. As those in the vicinity fled, police on horseback tried to chase after the group.

As well as the two men left in hospital, six others aged between 18 and 40 were stabbed in separate incidents and sustained non life-threatening injuries.

A spokesperson for the organisers of Notting Hill Carnival said: 'As we do every year, we welcome the feedback, suggestions and discussion at the meetings we had with the local residents both before and after Notting Hill Carnival.

'It is an invaluable process in helping us to shape the event to ensure residents enjoy a positive experience.

'There are many challenges when organising an event of this scale, from the feedback we receive from these regular meetings it helps us address these issues and work toward a resolution in forthcoming years.

'Overall, the local community and residents overwhelmingly support Carnival and its place on the streets of Notting Hill, as was demonstrated at last night's meeting.

'The calls for the event to be moved from its home are from a very small minority. We welcome their feedback but their suggestions do not represent the vast majority of those who attend, the local residents, us as organisers, the local councils, GLA or our partners in the emergency services.

'The Notting Hill Carnival belongs on the streets of Notting Hill and moving it will not eliminate the issues our community suffered this year.

'We in no way condone what happened, these actions are not because of Carnival, there were 12,786 knife offences carried out in London alone over the 12 months to March 23 this is not acceptable ever!'
Nicola Sturgeon yesterday finally admitted that she is partly to blame for Scotlands divisive politics.

The former First Minister told MSPs that it is time for them to move on from acrimony and stalemate and start making improvements for people.

In a rare admission about her own role in stoking division, she said that she accepts a share of responsibility for the state of our political discourse  and vowed to try to help change it.

She said that she will now argue for Holyrood to get more powers, in a major move away from her previous demand for an immediate independence referendum this year.

Ms Sturgeon made the comments in her first speech in the Scottish parliament since resigning as First Minister and being arrested as part of the police probe into the SNPs finances.

Former SNP leader said he accepted her share of responsibility for the state of political discourse in Holyrood speech yesterday

It came as she robustly defended Humza Yousafs controversial programme for government  after the new First Minister was derided as a poor Nicola Sturgeon tribute act.

Scottish Conservatives deputy leader Meghan Gallacher said: If Nicola Sturgeon were really accepting responsibility for the current state of Scottish politics, shed be apologising for the toxic and divisive atmosphere she created.

Instead, she seems to think shes the very person to sort it out. It shows she still hasnt come to terms with her discredited legacy. It is telling that Nicola Sturgeon is being desperately wheeled out in this debate to defend her proteges plan. Because she pretty much wrote every policy in this document  and that is why this programme is so disappointing.

When Scotland needed a bold, new and ambitious plan to tackle the big challenges faced by our economy and public services, the best Humza Yousaf could do was copy Nicola Sturgeons homework and continue her dismal record of SNP failure.

Ms Sturgeon spoke during the second day of debate on Mr Yousafs programme for government yesterday. At the end of a speech which praised many of the measures, she said: I accept my share of responsibility for the state of our political discourse.

If anything, though, that makes me more determined to play a part in trying to change it.

Polarisation in politics is much maligned. It is the paralysis of action that it can result in, though, that should worry us most.

So perhaps we need to, as we embark on a new [parliamentary] term, have some principles in mind to guide us.

She said there needs to be collective recognition that challenges facing the country require tough decisions.

These are by definition hard, she said. They are often unpopular and will always meet resistance from those who benefit from the status quo.

Thats not an argument to ignore those voices but it is important that we make sure that they dont become an automatic veto on change that is necessary.

Mr Yousaf has faced a backlash after signalling that tax rates may need to be hiked in the upcoming Budget.

Ms Sturgeon said that there needs to be mature debate on how we pay for our policy priorities, but also on the powers this parliament has and needs.

Miss Sturgeon shares an exchange with SNP MSP Kate Forbes, who narrowly lost out to Humza Yousaf in the race to replace her as First Minister

Ms Sturgeon made her first speech in the Scottish parliament since resigning as First Minister

She added: I want this parliament to be independent and believe it soon will be, I dont think Im creating news with that statement. But that will never stop me arguing for incremental change along the way.

And likewise, those who oppose independence shouldnt close their minds to new powers that allow us to better tackle the big challenges that we face.

In her concluding remarks, Ms Sturgeon said: Disagreement and robust debate isnt just the essence of democracy, it is part of what makes us human.

But the dynamic that it creates is not fixed, thats for us to choose. Will it be acrimony and stalemate, or can we use the creative tension to drive improvement for all?

I hope that in this coming term we see more of the latter than the former and I look forward to playing my part in it.

In her resignation speech earlier this year, Ms Sturgeon said that it was time to hand over to a new leader who was not subject to the same polarised opinion and could reach across the divide.

She was then accused of trying to shamelessly rewrite history when she condemned how polarised Scottish politics had become in an article for the Guardian in May, saying that there was often highly toxic debate  and that she had underestimated the scale of the problem when she stood down from office.

Ms Sturgeon yesterday said she commended Mr Yousafs plans, adding they struck the right balance between building on progress and breaking new ground.
HUMZA Yousaf is heading for election disaster after a new poll put Labour on track to win more Scottish seats than the SNP.

The crisis facing the First Ministers divided party deepened yesterday after the latest voting survey found the Nationalists are neck and neck with Scottish Labour.

The results show Labour and the SNP tied on 35 per cent when people were asked how they would cast their ballot at a General Election.

It is only the second time Labour have drawn level with the SNP in any poll since the 2014 independence referendum.

Polling guru Sir John Curtice revealed Labour would win 26 Scottish seats if the results were replicated at a Westminster vote, four more than the SNP. Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: Its neck and neck between Labour and the SNP. While the SNP offer only rehashed ideas, failure and sleaze, Labour is offering a fresh start for the people of Scotland. Its time for change and Labour is determined to deliver it.

There is currently just one Scottish Labour MP  Ian Murray in Edinburgh South.

Humza Yousafs party would win 22 Westminster seats to Labours 26, survey reveals

Sir John Curtice said the Scottish Tories would retain all six of their current Scottish seats

But the Redfield and Wilton poll suggests the party would defeat the SNP in 25 other constituencies, with the Lib Dems gaining one from the Nationalists, taking them to five seats.

The Tories would retain all six of their MPs, Sir John predicted. A Scottish Tory spokesman said: Its little wonder Scots are continuing to desert the feuding and scandal-ridden SNP, when ministers ignore peoples real priorities  such as the global cost-of-living crisis, unacceptable NHS waiting times and economic growth.

Voters know that in swathes of seats only the Conservatives can unseat the SNP.

The disastrous poll is another headache for Mr Yousaf, who admitted to having sleepless nights about the scale of the turmoil engulfing the SNP.

Former leader Nicola Sturgeon, her husband and the SNPs treasurer have all been arrested as part of the police probe into the partys finances. All were later released without charge.

Meanwhile, Mr Yousafs attempt to kickstart his struggling government this week fell flat after his bid to tackle poverty was condemned as timid by bitterly disappointed anti-poverty groups.

The SNP leader is also set to face his first electoral test as leader in a crunch by-election on October 5 in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency.

The seat was held by disgraced Covid rulebreaker Margaret Ferrier, who was booted out by her constituents last month.

SNP deputy leader Keith Brown said his party would fight for every vote and added: Humza Yousaf remains the peoples choice as First Minister and his focus on the environment and a strong economy shows he is bang on the priorities of the people of Scotland.

But growing numbers of Scots believe Mr Yousafs government is incompetent  with the 44 per cent who hold that view up by one percentage point from last months Redfield and Wilton poll. Just 21 per cent (down one point) say it is competent.

Support for separation among the 1,100 Scots polled between September 2 and 6 also fell.

The proportion backing yes was down by one point to 44 per cent, while those who said they would vote no increased by one percentage point to 49 per cent.

Pamela Nash, chief executive of Scotland in Union, said: The SNP-Green coalition must take note of this poll and rethink its focus. No more spending on independence white papers and stoking up needless grievance with the rest of the UK.

The survey also showed Mr Yousaf has a net approval rating of -8, compared to +6 for Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and -23 for Scottish Tory rival Douglas Ross.
Doctors at the world-renowned Great Ormond Street Hospital are being discouraged from using gendered language when addressing staff, including 'boys', 'girls', 'ladies', 'gents' and 'dudes', it was reported last night.

Guidance called 'Using Pronouns at GOSH' published on the hospital's official intranet site reportedly urges staff to use more gender-neutral terms such as 'team', 'all' or 'everyone' when addressing colleagues.

The Telegraph reports that doctors are also being warned that deliberately misgendering a colleague could be considered 'harassment' and should take time to 'understand more about others' pronouns and how you can be an ally'.

The guidance, which was written by members of GOSH's LGBTQ+ community, is reportedly not part of the hospital's official policy, although employees are urged to read the document.

The document comes just months after Health Secretary Steve Barclay separately ordered an investigation into new taxpayer-funded guidelines that instructed NHS staff to treat all patients as gender-neutral.

Exterior view of Great Ormond Street Hospital

Health Secretary Steve Barclay walking on Downing Street

A spokesman for the hospital told MailOnline: 'We want all of our staff at GOSH to feel welcome and included at work in an environment that respects them for who they are, as well as the job they do.

'Anyone discriminating against another individual on the basis of race, gender, sexuality or any other protected characteristic will be addressed via our official Dignity at Work policy.

'The children and young people's gender service that is being established in collaboration with Evelina London Children's Hospital and south London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust is fully aligned to the recommendations of the Cass Review and the latest clinical evidence available.

'This is an urgently needed new service to address the large and rising waiting list of young people needing care.'

Stock image of staff on an NHS hospital ward

In February, Mr Barclay launched an investigation after learning taxpayers had funded an NHS guide to 'inclusive communication'.

The guidance instructs doctors and nurses not to use phrases such as 'Mr' and 'Mrs' or 'he' and 'she' until a patient has confirmed their gender identity. And they are told to consider that this may have changed since the individual's last appointment  even if they see them regularly.

The Department of Health warned that removing gendered language risked 'unintended adverse health consequences'.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research, which bankrolled the research and guidance, is one of the UK's largest funders of health and care research and is funded directly by the Department of Health and Social Care.

It is headed by the Department's chief scientific advisor and tasked with funding research that makes the system more 'efficient, effective and safe'. Doctors are expected to keep up to date with its published findings.
Loved ones tried to conceal his identity at police station

The father of a man accused of causing a horror head-on crash that killed two siblings has been arrested and charged with attempting to hinder the police investigation into the accident.

Johnson Kokozian's father, 61, was arrested at his home in Cartwright, south-west Sydney, on Wednesday and taken to Liverpool Police Station on Wednesday - where he was swarmed by reporters.

Video captured the moment over-protective loved ones made a futile attempt to conceal his identity from the media using a T-shirt as reporters bombarded him with questions about whether he was 'embarrassed' by the actions of his son, 20.

A young man supporting Mr Kokozian is seen whipping off his shirt and throwing it over the older man's head in a failed effort to protect his privacy. Kokozian's father, who uses a cane, angrily shakes the shirt off before another of his supporters pushes the lens of a news camera away.

In a bizarre effort to conceal his privacy, a young man supporting Mr Kokozian's father ripped off his t-shirt and used in an attempt to cover the older man's head as they left the station

The 61-year-old father of Johnson Kokozian, 20, was arrested at his Cartwright home and taken to Liverpool Police Station on Wednesday where he was charged with concealing an indictable offence and hindering an investigation in relation to the crash

Police will allege Kokozian fled to his father's home shortly after the crash last Friday. The pair allegedly returned to the scene and concocted a plan to report the Mercedes the 20-year-old had been driving as stolen.

Kokozian's pregnant girlfriend, Tiana Savignano, 22, and Cruz Pamoana Davis-Tuka, 21, an alleged passenger in the Mercedes, were also arrested on Wednesday.

They were each charged with concealing a serious indictable offence and hindering investigation of a serious indictable offence.

Ms Savignano attended Liverpool Local Court on Wednesday to support her partner during a brief hearing but was intercepted by police as she made her exit.

She made it just 30metres before officers swooped and took her for questioning.

Kokozian has been hit with several charges over the accident - upgraded on Wednesday to dangerous driving causing death - and has been refused bail.

Siblings Alina Kauffman, 24, and Ernesto Salazer, 15, were just metres away from their home when a Mercedes ploughed their vehicle into a stationary Toyota Rav4, flipping their Toyota Echo into its side and killing them instantly.

The two occupants of the Rav4 were not injured,

Johnson Kokozian, 20, has been hit with several charges over the accident - upgraded on Wednesday to dangerous driving causing death - and has been refused bail

Alina Kauffman, 24, and her Ernesto Salazer, 15 (pictured together) were killed in the crash

Cruz Pamoana Davis-Tuka, 21, who was allegedly a passenger in the car was pictured arriving at Liverpool Police station to be questioned by detectives

Angelina Kauffman, Ernesto and Alina's mother, was seen crying as she left Liverpool Police Station on Wednesday.

She told reporters she wanted justice 'for her beautiful kids'.

Kokozian is charged with seven offences in total, including two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death, negligent driving occasioning death, and driving a vehicle during a disqualification period.

The 20-year-old allegedly filmed himself eating KFC in the hours of Saturday morning before turning himself into police later that day.

The arrests came after around 150 people gathered for a roadside vigil at the crash scene on Sunday, with mourners leaving cards, flowers and toys.

Ms Kauffman said Alina was a dedicated nursing student with a kind heart, while Ernesto was an animal lover who was working at K-mart saving for his first car.

Kokozian's girlfriend is pictured being escorted by officers to Liverpool Police Station

The siblings' mother Angelina Kauffman is pictured leaving court on Wednesday

The siblings' devastated family was at the police station on Wednesday

She explained her daughter had collected her son from his new job at Kmart and the pair were nearly home when they were hit.

'Alina called me and said ''mum I picked up my brother, we are going to get some food and then we are coming home'',' Ms Kauffman said.

'I said ''are you okay'' and they said ''yes mummy''.'

When she didn't hear from them in 20 minutes, Ms Kauffman and her other child tracked their location down via social media.

The distraught mother said she arrived at the scene just minutes after the crash.

Kokozian will remand behind bars before his next court appearance in November.

His father was granted strict conditional bail to appear in Liverpool Local Court on October 19. Ms Savignano will return to court on September 26, while Mr Davis-Tuka is due to return to court on September 8.
An Australian bull has been sold for a world record price after it was picked up for a 'mind blowing' $150,000.

NSW farmers Andrew and Brooke Paff sold their Speckle Park bull at the East Coast Select Sale in Kempsey, on the NSW mid north coast, last Saturday.

The two farmers are still in shock over the mighty sale, after their bull 'Born Ready Shady' beat the previous record of $100,000 that was set in 2022.

'That was mind-blowing, to be honest - we still don't quite believe it,' Ms Paff told ABC News.

'It was a pretty special moment, that's for sure,' she said.

Queensland Farmers Stacey and Dale Jones (pictured middle) bought Shady, a black Speckle Park bull for a record price of $150,000 at an auction last Saturday

'Born Ready Shady' was the first bull Mr and Ms Paff have sold and the speckle park breed was only listed for $6,000.

The bull was sold to Dale and Stacey Jones who own Ivery Downs Speckle Park, a cattle farm that also breeds speckles in Colinton, in south-east Queensland.

Ms Jones told Daily Mail Australia they had been looking to buy a quality black bull and happened to come across Shady, before they decided to make a bid for him.

'I'll be honest when we saw the photos of Shady... [we thought] he's okay... the photos didn't do him justice,' she said.

Ms Jones said she was impressed by the eye muscle area (EMA) of Shady, after it returned a score of 143 following scans.

The EMA shows how much meat there is on the bone of the animal, which means the owners can sell it at a higher price.

'His EMA...was the biggest that we had ever heard of in the breed,' Ms Jones said.

'I called my husband and said maybe we should make a drive and have a look'.

After coming down to the auction, Ms Jones said they couldn't have been more happier at the sight of Shady, who tips the scales at 956 kilograms.

'He was everything we were hoping he would be'.

The two-year-old speckle park bull which weighs 956 kilograms was valued at $6,000 before it went on to be sold at a record price, after an impressive eye muscle area

NSW farmers Andrew and Brook Paff were shocked when their bull Shady netted the record price at an auction for their prized stud

'He's perfectly balanced... he's a very big bull... which for a two-year-old... that's a heavy weight.

Ms Jones said she and her husband hadn't given much thought to how much Shady was going to cost.

She said they thought he would go under the hammer for about $20,000.

'With the current market, we didn't think we would have to pay that much to get him. Before we knew it, the bidding just took off,' Ms Jones explained.

'[Dale] was outside and when it got to 50[thousand], he sent me a text and he said "are we still buying him"?'

After getting caught up bidding against each other, the couple decided to go all in for Shady after Dale told his wife 'he's the best black bull I've seen in the country'.

The pair who already own the highest selling female speckle park bull, plan to sell Shady's semen in Australia and globally including in the US.
His sister Ellen Hull said he was 'in the wrong place at the wrong time'

The farmhand was charged by a bull 'in heat' shortly after milking cows

A Connecticut farmhand has been left paralyzed from the waist down after he was charged by a bull 'in heat'.

Randy Jaquins, 59, had just finished milking cows and was leading the animals back into a barn when he was attacked by the bull at Locust Road Farm in Winsted, Connecticut on Friday.

'He was in the wrong place at the wrong time,' his sister Ellen Hull told Hearst Connecticut Media. 'The bull was in heat because it's their mating season at this time of year.'

Jaquins suffered a broken neck and his sister said he told her he was left lying with his injuries for 'quite some time' before he was found.

Randy Jaquins, 59, had just finished milking cows when he was charged by the bull

Experts warn that bulls are aggressive and unpredictable when they are in mating season (stock photo)

After the farmer was eventually discovered, Jaquins was rushed to a nearby hospital.

The farmhand was left paralyzed alone for 'quite some time' before he was found

Doctors were able to fuse a vertebrae in his neck, and Hull said when she visited her brother in the hospital he was conscious and speaking.

'He's aware of what happened,' she said.

'He told me that he had been laying in the field for quite some time that day before anyone found him.'

Hull added that his recovery will be a 'big adjustment', and said that his family 'don't even know hw long he's going to be at the hospital at this point.'

In a GoFundMe set up to help with his rehabilitation, his sister said: 'We are all hoping this will be temporary but are preparing for the worst.'

Experts warn that bulls can become violent and unpredictable when they are in heat, which occurs during mating season at the peak of summer.

The breed, which account for only around two percent of cattle numbers in the US, were responsible for 48 percent of deaths caused by cattle in 2020, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and the Surveillance of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses databases.
Police say no further action after golliwog dolls were seized from Essex pub

Police who removed a collection of golliwogs on display in a pub said two people who were voluntarily interviewed will face no further action.

Five officers seized the dolls - which are based on 18th century minstrels and now regarded as racist caricatures - from the White Hart Inn in Grays, Essex, on April 4 after a hate crime allegation.

The White Hart Inn was banned by Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) from receiving awards or inclusion in their Good Beer Guide after the controversy earlier this year.

The pub, which is run by Chris Ryley, in his 60s, and his wife Bernice, was graffitied and had five windows damaged on April 16, and reportedly closed to the public days later amid a boycott by suppliers.

Essex Police said on Wednesday that two people, who were interviewed voluntarily as part of the investigation into the alleged hate crime, have been told they will face no further action.

Chris Ryley runs the White Hart in Grays, Essex, along with his wife, Benice

Five officers seized the dolls - which are based on 18th century minstrels and now regarded as racist caricatures - from the White Hart Inn in Grays, Essex, on April 4 after a hate crime allegation

The pub, which is run by Chris Ryley and his wife Bernice, was graffitied and had five windows damaged on April 16, and reportedly closed to the public days later amid a boycott by suppliers

The force said a member of the public contacted them on February 14 after items displayed at a pub caused them alarm and distress.

Officers carried out a 'thorough investigation, following reasonable lines of inquiry, because the force wants everyone to feel safe in our county'.

The investigation was carried out under Section 4(a) of the Public Order Act 1986 and Section 31 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the force said.

A man and a woman were interviewed voluntarily and a file was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

A CPS spokesman said on Wednesday: 'The CPS has a duty to make fair and impartial legal decisions based on the evidence provided to us by the police.

'We considered the available evidence and concluded our legal test for a prosecution was not met.'

Essex Police Assistant Chief Constable Glen Pavelin said: 'We investigate crimes reported to us without fear or favour.

'This means we are sometimes faced with allegations of crime where people have strong opposing views, but it is the role of policing to remain impartial and investigate allegations raised to us.

'It's our job to support victims, investigate allegations of crime, ensuring we follow all reasonable lines of inquiry, interview suspects and witnesses, and present the evidence to the CPS to build a case for prosecution.'

Neil Woodbridge, chairman of the Thurrock Independent Advisory Group, a panel of community members who provide Essex Police with critical opinions on key policing issues, said they worked with the force as 'critical friends'.

'When an allegation is made, we need to feel confident that Essex Police will show due diligence and act in upholding the law and indeed be in tune with the concerns of the community; we feel they routinely do that,' he said.

'We feel Essex Police took the correct actions in investigating this matter fully.'We thank them for taking all potential hate crimes seriously and we would urge all the communities of Thurrock to report anything they have concerns about.'

Mrs Ryley was quizzed by officers after police received an anonymous complaint about the golliwog display at The White Hart Inn in Grays, Essex

Following the controversy, CAMRA in April banned the White Hart Inn from being considered for future awards or inclusion in the Good Beer Guide as long as they continue to display the 'discriminatory dolls'.

History of the golliwog doll: How the outdated children's toy became a symbol of bitter controversy The issue of whether the dolls are racist or not often sparks fierce debate. The golliwog was created by Florence Kate Upton in 1895 in her book 'The Adventures of Two Dutch Dolls and a Golliwog', where it was described as 'a horrid sight, the blackest gnome'. After the author created the golliwog, it became a favourite for collectors and was popular in the UK as the mascot of Robertson's jam. But by the 1980s, it was increasingly seen as an offensive racist caricature of black people. Some people hark back to fond childhood memories of the dolls, whereas others argue golliwogs are a racist icon of a bygone age. Marmalade firm Robertson's removed its iconic golliwog logo from its preserve jars in 2002 following complaints from campaigners. In a YouGov poll last year 53 per cent of respondents said they thought selling or displaying golliwogs was 'acceptable' compared to 27 per cent who did not. Asked if it was racist to sell or display a golliwog doll, 63 per cent of respondents said it was not, while 17 per cent did. Advertisement

On Twitter, the organisation said at the time: 'CAMRA believes pubs should be welcoming and inclusive places and it's baffling that any pub would choose to discriminate against customers or potential customers by continuing to display offensive material.

'We have had clear national guidelines in place since 2018 that no pub should be considered for an award if it displays offensive or discriminatory material on the premises, or on social media associated with the pub.

'We are currently discussing why this guidance was seemingly ignored by our South West Essex branch & instructing them not to consider the White Hart, Grays, Essex, for future awards, or inclusion in our Good Beer Guide, while these discriminatory dolls continue to be on display.'

The White Hart Inn was forced to close in May after Heineken and Carlsberg told the owners to stop serving their beer and a maintenance firm refused to work on site.

A Carlsberg spokesperson told MailOnline at the time: 'We believe pubs should be an enjoyable place for everyone and we will take steps to seek removal of our beers from venues who do not share our values.

'Whilst we do not directly supply the pub in question, after being made aware of the police investigation we contacted our third-party distributor to make our views clear.'

Heineken ordered the pub to stop serving its beer on April 20 citing the 'abhorrent display' that allegedly goes 'against everything the company stands for'.

'We advised the pub owners that we want nothing more to do with them,' a Heineken UK spokesperson told MailOnline. 'We believe pubs should be places of inclusivity and respect for all people, regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion or gender.

'We have made it clear that we want all Heineken UK brands removed, and there will be no further contact with the pub from Heineken UK.'
The family of a young couple who lost $90,000 in what they say was a bungled bank transfer has now claimed their account was mysteriously deleted.

Questions have been raised about how Elli Houston, 21, and her fiance Trae Murphy, 23, came to lose the large sum of money that they say was in an account with the Commonwealth Bank.

The pair had saved the money to buy a block of land in Yarrawonga, a small town located near the NSW and Victoria border.

The Melbourne couple came forward this week to say that after trying to transfer $90,000 from their CBA account to a Bank of Melbourne account, the money bounced back before disappearing altogether.

But the bank's version of events is entirely different, with the institution claiming the couple never had the money to begin with and the receipts and account numbers didn't match up.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal that Ms Houston's sister, Tori Lancaster, has now defended the couple, claiming the misunderstanding is due to their account somehow being deleted.

Questions have been raised about how Elli Houston, 21, and her fiance Trae Murphy, 23, came to lose the large sum of money that they say was in an account with the Commonwealth Bank

READ MORE: Commonwealth bank hits back Advertisement

'It's as simple as this, the money was in their account as per the transaction records. The money has been taken and the account deleted, gone, can't see it,' she said.

'Which is why their receipts and statements don't line up with Commonwealth Bank.

'There has been no foul play and they have been working their a***s off for years.'

Ms Lancaster's comment came after another Facebook user questioned the couple's claims in a community group.

She claimed Ms Houston had shared her story in the group weeks prior only to then delete the post.

Ms Lancaster said her sister was never in the group and never posted about the debacle.

'Next time it could be your mum, sister or daughter so pull your head in,' Ms Lancaster said.

However, banking sources suggested that Ms Lancaster may be mistaken.

Daily Mail Australia has been told that the bank can still see the historical data of bank accounts even after an account has been closed.

Ms Lancaster said her sister and her fiance had worked hard for years to save money for their property

The debacle began on June 30 when the couple claim they transferred $90,000 from their account which had a total of $96,000 in it, to a Bank of Melbourne account.

Ms Houston said the money bounced back days later on July 4.

That same day, the couple tried to transfer the money again. They flew out to Bali on July 5 for a holiday.

Ms Houston said the money bounced back for a second time on July 7, and because they were in Bali they weren't able to transfer the money internationally.

They returned from Bali on July 20 and went straight to a Commonwealth Bank branch to resolve the matter.

But they claimed after going into the branch, they were then told they had just 75c in their account.

A spokesman for Commonwealth Bank (CBA) said it had investigated the claims and had since told Mr Murphy that the receipt numbers he provided 'do not exist in CBA records'. The bank also said the couple have 75c in their account, not $90,000

The Commonwealth Bank has claimed the couple never had $90,000 in their bank account.

In a letter sent to the couple, the bank said on the dates they allegedly tried to transfer the money, their bank account only had 75c in it.

The highest balance their account had was $10,400 in July last year, the bank added.

CBA said they conducted a thorough review of their records and the screenshots provided by the couple of their accounts and the money being transferred, but said they did not match.

'CBA confirms that the screenshots do not match CBA's records of your accounts or the balance held in your accounts,' the bank's letter read.

'No transactions of $90,000 were attempted on either 30 June or 4 July.'

A spokesperson for CBA added: 'On examination of the images of the receipts provided, the documents differ from genuine CBA receipts and the receipt numbers do not exist in CBA's records.'

Another complication is the funds allegedly sent from the couple's bank account would not have been able to be directly transferred to the Bank of Melbourne.

This is because the money was in a NetBank saver account which can only transfer funds to other CBA accounts.

'The account from which the transfers allegedly took place is a NetBank Saver which only permits transfers to another CBA account and is unable to process transfers to another financial institution,' a CBA spokesperson said.

The debacle began on June 30 when the couple claim they transferred $90,000 from their account which had a total of $96,000 in it, to a Bank of Melbourne account

Ms Houston tearfully explained the debacle to 3AW's Neil Mitchell, adding she and her partner took a day off work to sit in the office of a bank employee in the hopes of finding the deposit.

'We were visibly distressed because we had lost so much money,' she told the radio program.

'They asked us if we were being held ransom because we were so upset. This was a whole day, then they took five weeks to come back with an answer.'

The couple said they waited five weeks to get a response from CBA, with the bank including a link to Beyond Blue, a suicide prevention hotline.

'They said ''we're really sorry, we're still investigating this, here are some links if you need some help'',' she recalled.

The couple have had to increase the amount of their existing loan to keep the land.

'My partner and I have been together since we were 15 years old, we've saved for so long for this land and our goal was always to pay it off before we put a house on it so we could then travel,' she said.

'It feels like everything's been taken from under us.'

The Bank of Melbourne declined to comment. Ms Houston and Mr Murphy were contacted for comment.


Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (File Photo) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a six-day trip to Europe arrived at Belgium's Brussels on Thursday morning and will hold interactions with Indian diaspora and European Union MPs. His EU tour comes at a time when New Delhi is scheduled to hold a much-anticipated G20 Summit in the national capital between September 9 and 10 where the leaders from the US, UK, Australia, China and others will mark their presence.



His tour also coincides with the first anniversary of Bharat Jodo Yatra.



According to party sources, the Congress leader will meet MPs of Europe in Brussels on September 7 around 2:30 p.m. and then hold a meeting with civil society at 7:30 p.m., where he will have dinner with non-Indian residents (NRIs) at around 11.30 p.m.



The sources also said he will also address a presser at 8:30 p.m.



On September 8, Rahul Gandhi will have breakfast with the businessmen in Brussels and then hold a meeting with top industrialists at around 9:30 a.m.



After concluding his visit to Brussels, Rahul Gandhi will arrive in France's Paris on September 8 itself and will hold an interaction programme at Sciences PO University in Paris, and will attend a meeting later. He also has a dinner programme.



He will have a press conference in Paris on September 8 around 9 p.m. and then hold a meeting with France's MPs and Indian diaspora.



On September 9, Rahul Gandhi will have interactions and meetings with MPs and interaction at Inalco University in Paris.



He will reach the Netherlands on September 10 and visit the famous 400-year-old Leiden University.



On September 11, he will be in Norway and meet the MPs and at the University of Oslo will present his address. He also has an interactive programme with the NRIs there.



This is Rahul Gandhi's first trip outside India after his membership was reinstated by the Lok Sabha following the Supreme Court's stay on his conviction in a 2019 Modi surname remarks defamation case on August 4.



Earlier this year, he visited the US for an over six day trip, where he addressed the Indian diaspora, attended a lecture programme at Stanford University and also visited San Francisco, Washington and New York.



In March this year, he visited the UK and attended several programmes there.



His statements in the US and UK drew sharp responses from the ruling BJP.






Deputy Brittan Morgan was able to flee the area and evacuate residents

The video was posted to Facebook and labeled 'Driving Through Hell on Earth'

Shocking bodycam video shows the moment a Spokane County Sheriff's Office deputy drove through a wildfire in an attempt to get to safety

Heart-stopping bodycam footage captured during a wildfire in Washington state shows a deputy screaming 'I don't wanna f**king die in this' as he flees the area.

The video, posted by the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, captures Deputy Brittan Morgan driving through a forestry inferno and warning residents to get out.

'Unless you wanna die!' Deputy Morgan can be heard warning one person of the blaze. The fire broke out on August 18 and has killed one person as of September 5.

According to officials, the law enforcement officer did not realize that his camera was still on when he drove through the flames.

'Clearly, he is not sure how it would end, but his determination to escape the flames is evident.,' the Spokane County Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook.

The video - labeled by the department as 'Driving Through Hell on Earth - has racked up 22,000 views online and dozens of comments from shocked viewers.

Heart-stopping bodycam footage captured during a wildfire in Washington state shows a deputy screaming 'I don't wanna f**king die in this' as he flees the area

The video, posted by the Spokane County Sheriff's Office, captures Deputy Brittan Morgan (right) driving through a forestry inferno and warning residents to get out

The deputy's bodycam continued to roll as he began to evacuate residents from the Oregon Road Fire which devastated the area.

In the eight-minute video, which was cut down by the department for time and language purposes, Deputy Morgan can be seen talking with a man who was attempting to save his horse.

The unidentified person refuses to leave the property and Morgan confirms that the man at least has a ride to get out before leaving the scene himself.

The deputy breaks out into a jog heading back toward his vehicle, hopping in, and taking off.

At one point, Morgan can be seen driving behind another car and urging the other vehicle to move faster as they drive straight through the flames.

Bright orange hues surround the deputy as trees and forestry are lit ablaze.

Smoke completely obstructs Deputy Morgan's windshield as he is driving and the fire appears to be mere feet away from his driver's side door.

Several minutes later, the deputy encounters a man attempting to drive in the direction of where he was coming from, which prompts a strong response.

'It's headed right for us, man, I was just there,' he says.

'Unless you wanna die, hurry up and go,' Morgan screams at the truck driver.

At one point, Morgan can be seen driving behind another car and urging the other vehicle to move faster as they drive straight through the flames

Bright orange hues surround the deputy as trees and forestry are lit ablaze

The sun is almost completely blocked by smoke caused by the fire

The video then jumps forward several minutes and shows Deputy Morgan once again encountering the man from the beginning of the video.

The man had gotten into his vehicle and fled from the original scene.

'Oh thank you, bro, I was so worried about you,' Morgan says.

The unidentified man appears to be crying as the law enforcement agent approaches him

'I know you're probably sad for your horse right now, I'm glad you're alive, Morgan continues.

The video struck a chord with dozens of Facebook users who were shocked by the video and shared their gratefulness for the law enforcement official.

'HEROS ALL AROUND,' wrote one person.

'That is so intense. You can tell that officer has so much heart. I'm so glad he was safe and that the other people got out,' another shared.

'Lost my house in the Oregon Rd fire. It sounded like a jet engine roaring in your ears!!' wrote Facebook user LeAnna Wallace-Hunt.

'Thank you to all the officers that help evacuate my family, neighbors and friends. It was one if the most terrifiying days of my life,' Wallace-Hunt continued.

'That is so intense. You can tell that officer has so much heart. I'm so glad he was safe and that the other people got out,' one person wrote of Deputy Morgan

The Oregon Road Fire has torn through 126 homes and 258 outbuildings

In total, the blaze tore through some 11,000 acres of land near Elk, Washington

The devastating fire has since been confirmed to have been human caused.

In total, the blaze tore through some 11,000 acres of land near Elk, Washington.

As of September 5, it has burned down 126 homes and 258 outbuildings.

The fire is now 90 percent contained and 213 personnel are still working to fully contain the fire.
An Ohio school board member flashed a Nazi salute and shouted 'sieg heil' at the board president after he refused to respond to her interruption.

Anne Zakkour - a Tipp City Schools board member who has faced controversy and calls for her ouster in the past over 'inappropriate conduct' - was attempting to interject on Simon Patry.

'I'm talking, do not interrupt me, do not make any noises or else I will - I will not tolerate it,' Patry, a local attorney, remarked.

Zakkour then made the infamous salute and said 'sieg heil' in an attempt to compare Patry to a Nazi.

Patry then immediately resigned and recommended his board's vice president, Amber Drum, to replace him without any explanation.

A member of a suburban Ohio school board flashed a Nazi salute and shouted 'sieg heil' at the board president after he had refused to respond to her interruption at a meeting

He later said his term was ending in a few months and he wanted to spend more time with family, though he condemned Zakkour in an interview the next day.

'I don't know why anybody would use that, that despicable phrase and gesture,' he said.

'When I walked into the doors was the time I felt that it was highly likely that I would do it today or yesterday,' he said, referencing his choice to step down.

Zakkour defended her actions. 'Mr. Patry has been acting like a dictator on our board for years and last night I had enough of his demands of total obedience,' Zakkour told WKEF.

'My reaction last night was symbolic and a sarcastic gesture of submission to a board officer acting as a dictator. Enough is enough.'

'What happened yesterday was a culmination of four years of being badgered and bullied and being miss represented...' she added.

Patry's response to questions about his behavior was that he was surprised anyone watched the meetings, but knows if they did, 'they'll know that's not true.'

Anne Zakkour - a Tipp City Schools board member who has faced controversy and calls for her ouster in the past over 'inappropriate conduct' - was attempting to interject on president Simon Patry when he became upset

Zakkour then made the infamous salute and said 'sieg heil' in an attempt to compare Patry to a Nazi

The remaining members of the board were split on the gesture, with Richard Mains showing frustration that Patry resigned.

'We lost a very good board member last night because of his moving out of our school,' Mains said. 'Simon is really good person and he did a lot for our schools.'

Theresa Dunaway, who was accused of inappropriate behavior alongside Zakkour earlier this year, was furious no one defended Zakkour.

'This is abusive behavior,' she said. 'Why did the Superintendent and two other board members sit there silently while he berated her? Nobody should be treated like this, his body language was horrible, his head in his hands, the loud sighing.

'This had been ongoing for 4 years and she's had enough, who could blame her?'

Zakkour and Dunaway were accused of 'willful neglect to enforce the law and uphold their duties' as well as 'misfeasance and/or nonfeasance in office' and abuse of power in the suit.

The pair refused to step down and the suit was eventually dismissed, according to the Dayton Daily News.

Drum, the would be successor to Patry, slammed Zakkour's behavior.

Patry then immediately resigned and recommended his board's vice president, Amber Drum, to replace him without any explanation

Patry later said that his term was ending in a few months and he wanted to spend more time with family, though he condemned Zakkour in an interview the next day

'At Tipp City Schools, our district motto is 'Where Excellence is a Tradition' and we ask those in our district to follow the 3 Pillars 'Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and to have Integrity,' she said.

'Those expectations were not met by Mrs. Zakkour's actions at last night's board meeting. I was unaware that the 'Salute' was made until I went back to watch the meeting. Her actions were of her own accord and in no way reflect my beliefs as a board member. I am shocked by her lack of professionalism.'

She said that she found Patry to be a decent man and not someone who engaged in the behavior Zakkour accused him of.

'As far as comments Mrs. Zakkour has made in regard to Mr. Patry, I feel Mr. Patry is a very kind, helpful, and a respectful member of the Board. I have never felt bullied by him or been made to feel less than by anything he has said to me.'

Tipp City Schools have declined comment on the matter.
The young daughter of a convicted drug kingpin from the Gold Coast has tragically passed away from a rare disease.

Storm Tesic, 3, who was the daughter of Ivan Tesic, 50, and Katie Wighton, died from Sandhoff disease - a genetic condition that shuts down the nervous system - on Sunday.

Her death comes after Tesic was released from a Queensland prison in May 2022.

He had served the mandatory half of his eight-year, nine-month sentence for drug possession and is completing the remainder of his parole in Sydney.

It follows his conviction in February 2019 for possession of 3.68kg of pure methamphetamine with a street value of up to $5.25million.

The three-year-old daughter of Gold Coast nightclub owner and drug kingpin Ivan Tesic (pictured), 50, has died

Storm Tesic (pictured), 3, tragically died from Sandhoff disease on Sunday. Her mother shared a heartfelt tribute on Monday

Symptoms of Sandhoff disease include muscle weakness, blindness, deafness, respiratory problems and seizures, according to the Medical Biochemistry Page.

Infants usually develop the condition by the time they're six months old. Most die before they turn four.

Ms Wighton learned about her daughter's condition after taking her to a paediatrician for a check-up when she realised she was losing her neck strength.

Storm's condition worsened quickly, with the infant losing most of her vision and hearing and control of the use of her arms, legs and head.

She also required oxygen assistance, developed seizures and had to be fed through a stomach feeding tube.

A devastated Ms Wighton confirmed her daughter died on Monday.

'Our baby, our precious Stormi,' she wrote.

'Snuggling mummy and daddy, our little girl was ready for her big sleep. As she drifted off, she was calm and comfortable, free of pain.

'The pain is insufferable. Our hearts ache for our baby.

'When it storms, please close your eyes and think of our girl.'

Storm had three brothers, one of whom was a twin.

Ms Wighton's friends on social media shared their condolences.

'Our deepest condolences. Hope everyone finds peace in this difficult time! Our thoughts are with you all,' said one.

Another wrote: 'So sorry for your loss. Sending you all so much love and strength.'

Both Tesic and Mr Wighton have no family members with Sandoff disease but carry the gene that causes it.

Ms Wighton recalled to the Courier Mail that her daughter 'had this cute sweet little laugh, I can't explain it, a gaggle like a cackle type of laugh'.

She said that Tesic was a great father to Storm.

'He has made her his whole priority. You wouldn't think of it to look at him, but he's an amazing, doting, hands-on dad,' she said.

The couple have four children, with Tesic having an older son from a previous relationship.
A family's campaign to give hospital patients greater rights over their care came a step closer to becoming law yesterday after winning support from politicians across the spectrum.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay and his Labour shadow Wes Streeting both signalled their support for 'Martha's Rule', named after teenager Martha Mills, who died after doctors failed to admit her to intensive care.

Martha's parents have campaigned for patients and their families to have the right to request an urgent second opinion from a senior doctor if they have serious concerns about their care, or fear a suspected deterioration.

Their 13-year-old daughter died after developing sepsis and a coroner ruled last year she would probably have survived if doctors had identified warning signs and transferred her to intensive care earlier.

Her parents raised concerns about Martha's deteriorating health with medics but their fears were not acted upon. The hospital trust has since apologised for mistakes in her care.

Two years ago Martha (left) died needlessly in hospital a few days before her 14th birthday. Pictured: Martha and her mother Merope Mills

Martha's parents have campaigned for patients and their families to have the right to request an urgent second opinion from a senior doctor if they have serious concerns about their care. Pictured: Martha aged 10

Health Secretary Steve Barclay (pictured) and his Labour shadow Wes Streeting both signalled their support for 'Martha's Rule'

Wes Streeting (pictured) pledged that Labour would implement the rule if it came to power

Writing in today's Mail, Martha's mother Merope Mills said her family had faced 'a catalogue of horrendous decision-making and complacency', and that doctors at King's College Hospital in South London 'took risks with my child's life'.

They ignored her warnings that Martha's condition was deteriorating and missed opportunities to save the teenager's life. Doctors treating her had not attended optional sepsis training and failed to move her to intensive care.

Ms Mills said: 'What upsets me most is that I know the King's doctors took risks with my child's life. Their actions were full of hubris, and I know for sure that they would never have taken such chances if one of their own children had been in Martha's place.'

Ms Mills said she and her husband Paul Laity had spearheaded the campaign for Martha's Rule because they wanted 'something good to emerge from this nightmare'.

She said: 'There needs to be more patient power. I knew so much about Martha's changing condition. Had I been listened to by the doctors, I could well have saved Martha's life.'

Under Martha's Rule, patients, their parents and carers would have the right to an urgent second opinion if they felt serious concerns were not being addressed by medics.

The Health Secretary has asked his department and the NHS to look at whether the measure can be implemented. Shadow health secretary Mr Streeting pledged that Labour would implement the rule if it came to power.

The King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has apologised for failures in Martha's care. It said it had introduced improvements, including mandatory sepsis training for all clinical staff in paediatrics, a formal record of parents' concerns and a team which reviews the cases of seriously ill children.
The very least parents expect when sending their children to school is that they will be learning in classrooms that are safe.

So when alarming new evidence emerged over the summer holidays that cheap concrete in some school buildings was prone to catastrophic collapse, the Education Secretary had no real choice but to order headteachers to close them.

It is simply not serious for unnamed ministerial colleagues to lambast Gillian Keegan for being excessively cautious.

Yes, her actions may risk dragging other public sector buildings, including hospitals, into the crisis. But what if she had ignored the warnings and a pupil or teacher was then killed by a ceiling crashing down?

The Government would rightly have been monstered. The Tories' hopes of winning the next election would have gone from highly unlikely to less than zero in an instant.

It is simply not serious for unnamed ministerial colleagues to lambast Gillian Keegan (pictured) for being excessively cautious

While the last-minute closures caused anxiety and disruption for some teachers, parents and pupils, the reality is only a tiny fraction of schools have been affected.

But the way the Conservatives have handled this issue has been disastrous. A well-intentioned measure to prevent tragedy has become a massive political stick with which the Left and hostile media, especially the BBC, are beating the Government.

The hysterical faux outrage of opposition politicians is risible. Politicians of all parties have turned a blind eye to the problem for decades, considering it too costly to fix.

Ministers must now work quickly and diligently to end this upheaval. With their competence already under the strongest scrutiny, nothing else will do.

Schools betrayal cont.

For six years, the Government has been promising guidance on what schools should do if a pupil says they are transgender.

This enormously sensitive matter has safeguarding, medical and legal ramifications, for instance, if teachers let children who say they are trans use toilets and changing rooms saved for the opposite sex.

Numerous teachers have been suspended or even lost their jobs for questioning the fashionable credo of trans extremists that boys can be girls, and vice versa.

For six years, the Government has been promising guidance on what schools should do if a pupil says they are transgender (File image)

So for ministers to decide they can't prevent pupils from 'socially transitioning'  and don't have time to change the law anyway  is a betrayal of staff, parents and children.

The Education Secretary (who worryingly believes children as young as 16 should be allowed to change gender) this week blasted those who have failed to tackle the concrete scandal for sitting on their backsides.

When it comes to trans guidance for schools, could she stop sitting on hers?

A second opinion

Bright, bubbly and with an infectious laugh, Martha Mills should be celebrating her 16th birthday. Instead, her bereaved family are battling to secure her legacy.

In 2021, she died needlessly after developing sepsis following appalling treatment at King's College Hospital, London.

When her parents tried to raise the alarm about her deteriorating condition, they were met with arrogance, disdain and indifference by doctors and nurses.

Now they are calling for 'Martha's Rule'  to give patients and families the right to request a second opinion from a senior doctor in the same hospital if they suspect their concerns aren't being taken seriously.

The proposal has cross-party support and would barely require any additional funding or resources. But NHS bosses, who never like change, are resisting.

Yet scandals happen far too often in the health service. 'Martha's Rule' would be an extra safeguard against medics and managers making mistakes  then covering them up.

Equally persuasive, it would save more patients' lives. There could be no more fitting way to commemorate Martha.
A 'bright' and 'talented' student has been left with 'life-altering' injuries after being abducted while walking home from school and attacked by a gang of knife-wielding thugs who pushed him out of their moving car.

Year 9 student Benjamin, 14, was bundled into a dark grey Volkswagen Tiguan moments after stepping out of the gates of Glen Eira College in Glen Huntly, in southeast Melbourne, on Monday afternoon.

Inside the vehicle, he was robbed of his mobile phone and other belongings and attacked before he was thrown from the moving car several hundred metres up the road.

Benjamin remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition, and police have revealed at least two other students - aged 14 and 16 - from the same school have come forward to report they were targeted in similar attacks.

'We had further victims come forward,' Victoria Police Inspector Scott Dwyer told 3AW on Wednesday.

'There have been some silent victims, they have suffered like this other boy, maybe not to the level of injuries he has, but they have not reported to their parents or police.'

Year 9 Glen Eira College student Benjamin (pictured) remains in a serious but stable condition after being abducted by thugs while walking home from school

Inspector Dwyer said Benjamin has suffered 'life-altering' injuries and severe mental trauma.

Police have revealed that the investigation has now broadened to consider if the attack was linked to a similar incident just ten minutes Benjamin's abduction.

In that incident, four teenagers were robbed by two machete-wielding offenders on Kambrook Road, in nearby Caulfield, about 3.25pm on Monday.

Alarmingly, five other schools across Melbourne's east have reported students being targeted by thieves in similar incidents over the past month - although police believe they are unrelated to the incidents on Monday.

Several students from Xavier College were targeted last week, while a pupil from Scotch College was robbed by three men on August 7, 9News reports.

Just three days before the attack on Benjamin, a student at Elwood College was approached by a woman in an SUV who tried to take his mobile phone, according to the Herald Sun.

Similar reports have also emerged from students from Carey Grammar, Sacre Coeur and St Bede's College.

Police have now stepped up patrols across the region, with Inspector Dwyer describing the attacks as 'sickening'.

The horrifying attack occurred on Neerim Road, out the front of Glen Eira College (pictured), with two other students from the school reporting being targeted in similar incidents

Schools are also urging child to keep mobile phones and headphones out of view and walk in groups to remain safe when leaving school.

'It's confronting and the issue is that we live in a safe city and when incidents like this are reported, it's shocking but there will be a response for it,' Inspector Dwyer said.

'This is an absolute priority for us.'

Speaking to reporters outside hospital, Benjamin's devastated aunt said her nephew tried his best to fight off his attackers and suffered horrible injuries.

'Its infuriating to feel, to know that they did this to just a child,' she told Channel 10 on Tuesday.

'They need to be caught, and these people need to be punished appropriately.

'Not a slap on the wrist. They need to go to jail.'

Pictured: Emergency services at the scene after Benjamin was found with critical injuries on Monday

A teacher who taught Benjamin for two years said the random attack has rattled the school community.

A teacher described Benjamin (pictured) as a 'bright' and 'talented' student

'He is a talented, well-mannered and bright young man. To think that this could happen in our school community is truly shocking,' the teacher told the Herald Sun.

'He comes from a really good family and I am thinking of them during this time. He is really lucky to be alive.

'I hope those responsible are caught soon, this should have never happened.'

Police are still working to track down Benjamin's attackers, who are believed to be of Caucasian appearance.

The terrifying attack took place in front of dozens of horrified students leaving school for the day.

One student saw the victim lying on the ground and coughing up blood after he fell out of the vehicle at the intersection of Neerim and Grange roads.

Benjamin was initially rushed to hospital fighting for life with critical injuries before his condition was downgraded the following day.

Police are pictured cordoning off the road on Monday as they investigated the attack, which is being treated as a random abduction and robbery

Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Lisa Watson said Benjamin was just an 'innocent victim walking home from school'.

'My detectives are working tirelessly to investigate those involved and the vehicle involved and links to other events that took place earlier that afternoon,' she said.

'As a parent, it makes me absolutely sick to think that my boy could be walking home from school and randomly confronted by people with knives.

'It is a heinous attack. It is reprehensible and we will do everything that we can in our power to bring these offenders to justice as soon as possible.'

She said police had found a Volkswagen burnt out in the outer eastern suburb of Dandenong around midnight on the same day, which is undergoing testing to determine if it was the same car used in the attack.

Anyone who witnessed either incident, has CCTV or dashcam footage or any other information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
A fired-up motorcyclist and two tradies have come to blows in a violent road rage incident after almost colliding minutes earlier on a busy Perth road.

In footage of the tense altercation two men are seen climbing out of a Toyota sedan and confronting the motorbike rider in Welshpool, in the city's southeast.

Traffic was brought to a standstill on Tuesday after the driver of the sedan and the rider started throwing punches in the middle of Orrong Road at about 4pm.

One of the tradies in yellow high-vis is seen grabbing a hammer from the boot of the sedan and threatening the motorcyclist, who is still wearing his gloves and helmet.

The same tradie then runs to the pavement to retrieve a large wheelie bin before launching it at the rider's head, who miraculously remains upright.

The rider then lands a series of blows, knocking one of the tradies over, before turning to the Toyota sedan and punching the drivers-side window several times.

Several onlookers are seen leaving their own cars to try and break up the brawl.

A tradie in yellow high-vis grabbed a wheelie bin and hurled it at the motorcyclist (pictured)

The same tradie was captured grabbing a hammer out of the boot of the white sedan (pictured)

Western Australian Police said officers were investigating a road rage incident that occurred on Orrong Road in Welshpool on Tuesday.

'About 4pm, a motorcyclist and driver of a vehicle became involved in a physical altercation after an earlier near-collision,' a spokesperson said.

'The physical altercation continued between the two before a male passenger from the vehicle armed himself with a hammer and threatened the motorcyclist.

'The male driver and passenger then left the scene in the vehicle.'

Police said the motorcyclist received minor injuries during the altercation.

The motorcyclist received minor injuries.

Inquiries remain ongoing at this time with anyone with information asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A man who allegedly drove his ex-wife off the road, instantly killing her and risking the lives of their two young children, remains in hospital almost three months later.

Troy Armstrong, 35, was charged with murder after his ex-wife Kristy Armstrong, 36, was killed in Molong, near Orange in central west NSW's, on June 9.

His lawyer Drew Hamilton told Orange Local Court on Thursday his client had been deemed 'unfit' to appear on audio-visual link during the case mention.

Armstrong was airlifted to Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital's intensive care unit with critical brain and spinal injuries following the crash.

Police allege Armstrong purposely ran his ute into Kristy's sedan while travelling at 140km/h following an argument at their children's primary school.

Kristy Armstrong (above) was killed in a car crash in Molong after he ex-husband allegedly drove her off the road

Police allege Troy Armstrong hit Kristy's sedan (above) while travelling at 140km/h following an argument between the former couple at their children's school

Emergency services rushed to the scene on Speedy Street but were unable to revive Kristy.

She had taken out an Apprehended Violence Order against Armstrong just two weeks before her death.

Troy Armstrong (above) was left with severe brain and spinal injuries from the crash

Armstrong has been charged with Kristy's murder and the attempted murder of their two daughters, who were in the back of her car.

Both children, aged eight and 13, were left with minor injuries from the crash.

They are now being cared for by their grandparents.

In a previous bail hearing, Mr Hamilton said part of Armstrong's skull had to be removed and cannot walk or take himself to the toilet.

He argued Armstrong's limited mobility meant he was of little threat to the community.

However, police prosecutor Carl Smith alleged Armstrong had made a number of violent threats before the crash, including a plan to drive himself into a tree.

He said Armstrong's two daughters are afraid of him and would be distressed if he was freed on bail.

Armstrong (right) has been charged for the murder of Kristy Armstrong (left) and the attempted murder of their two children

'(They) were terrified before this incident, they're even more terrified now,' Smith said.

'He knew driving 140 km/h into a car of the likelihood that he'd be killing his wife, but anyone also in that motor vehicle.'

Armstrong's case was adjourned until October 5.
Bear-baiting, which was once practically a national pastime, was abolished in the United Kingdom in 1835. But the sport of Tory-baiting endures, and is at present enjoying an extraordinary resurgence.

I should admit that I have from time to time dabbled in the sport with considerable pleasure. I took it quite seriously before the Conservatives were borne away in the 1997 election, and have periodically returned to it with gusto.

But when most of the media and all opposition parties are in full cry, and when a government minister cant appear in a broadcasting studio without being treated as a criminal, the time has surely come to take stock. I dont say Tory-baiting should be banned, but perhaps it should at least be restricted to the winter months.

Im speaking of the current hysteria about reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in our schools and other public buildings. Its obviously a serious issue. But is it really proof of unprecedented moral turpitude and incompetence on the part of this Government, and yet another egregious example of Broken Britain?

So far  thank God  no one has died or suffered even a minor injury. I believe a couple of school roofs have collapsed, one in 2018 and another this summer. Ministers appear, at last, to be getting to grips with the problem.

Park View School in Haringey, North, London, is among those affected by the Raac chaos

On the subject of Mrs Keegan (pictured), Im far from her biggest fan. Her foul-mouthed outburst on Monday was an awful example, though she didnt know she was being recorded by ITV News

Yet during a ponderously scripted performance at yesterdays Prime Ministers Questions, Sir Keir Starmer conjured up a Dickensian image of children in schools cowering under steel supports. Come off it!

As for the Labour leaders comparison of Rishi Sunak and the Government to cowboy builders, that is wildly over the top, and not even funny.

Nor did trade unionist Geoff Barton of the Association of School and College Leaders pull his punches on yesterdays Today programme on Radio 4. He reckoned the Great Concrete Crisis reinforces a sense weve got a government that frankly doesnt care, and hasnt cared, about education for many years. Thats nonsense.

Not wishing to be outdone in the anti-Tory festivities, the BBC yesterday released the latest findings of BBC Verify, a pompously styled new outfit whose name suggests that it towers above ordinary, fallible journalists, who may not bother to check their facts.

READ MORE: DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Stop squabbling and fix the concrete crisis Advertisement

BBC Verify itself needs verifying, or at any rate putting in context. Yesterday, it declared that 17 schools with RAAC problems had been on Labours list for rebuilding that was cancelled by the Tory-led coalition in 2010.

Yes, but the implied assumption  that Labour would have rebuilt all these schools had it won the 2010 election  is probably wrong. It would have been constrained by the same financial realities that afflicted the coalition. Labours outgoing Chief Secretary to the Treasury famously left a letter saying: Im afraid there is no money.

Sir Keir played the same misleading game during PMQs, tediously intoning the names of school after school that were on Labours list for rebuilding and now have RAAC problems. But anyone can draw up a to do list. Thats all it was. A list.

Am I being hopelessly naive in calling for some balance and proportion in the RAAC debate  or is the narrative of Tory stinginess and incompetence so powerful that we might as well sit back and watch the exaggerations multiply?

Here are a few facts, though unlike the BBC I dont claim omniscience. There are more than 22,000 schools in England. The Government yesterday finally produced a list of 147 schools with concrete that could crumble. That is significantly less than 1 per cent.

Needless to say, I dont at all dispute the inconvenience to children in these schools, and other schools that may be affected by RAAC. Parents are justifiably cross and upset. But its not a national disaster.

'The Tories are not always incompetent and feckless and nasty' (Stock image)

Could the Government have acted earlier? Probably. After the collapse of a roof in a primary school in Kent in 2018, it took until March 2022 for a questionnaire to be sent to schools.

Whitehall moves far too slowly, and it hasnt helped that last year there were five Education Secretaries. Some schools have also dawdled. According to Gillian Keegan, the present Education Secretary, 5 per cent of them have still not responded to the questionnaire.

On the subject of Mrs Keegan, Im far from her biggest fan. Her foul-mouthed outburst on Monday was an awful example, though she didnt know she was being recorded by ITV News.

But irritating though it has been for children and parents to learn about dodgy concrete at the start of a new school year, she surely had no alternative. Imagine if she had said nothing, and a ceiling had caved in, causing injury or even death. She and Mr Sunak knew there would be a political price to pay and they did the right thing.

Another charge against the Tories is that, in the words of Gareth Davies, the supposedly neutral head of the National Audit Office, they have adopted a sticking-plaster approach to essential maintenance. They should have spent more money refurbishing and rebuilding schools over the past 13 years.

Well, maybe. Its true that capital spending on schools has fallen throughout the period of Tory rule, though it is now growing. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the three-year average up to 202324 is about 26 per cent lower in real terms than the three-year average up to 200809.

All one can say is that taxation and government spending both stand at record levels in peacetime. We still have a huge deficit. There isnt a pot of money into which the Government can dip to build lots of new schools.

So far as spending per pupil in England is concerned, according to the IFS, this is about to return to 2010 levels in real terms, having suffered a decline during the years of austerity.

Whats not true is the assertion of trade unionists such as Geoff Barton that the Tories dont care about education. Over the past 13 years they have successfully promoted many more self-governing free schools in England.

This may explain why the UN Programme for International Student Assessment comparisons for England in 2018 (2022 results are due later this year) showed a significant improvement compared with 2015. Figures for the other home nations, where education is devolved, were not so rosy.

Englands mean score for reading skills was similar to Scotland and Northern Ireland and all three fared significantly better than Labour-run Wales. In both science and mathematics, the mean scores for England were higher than for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Not so bad, then. In fact, somewhat encouraging.

We can claim like Sir Keir Starmer that pupils are cowering under steel supports, and allege like Geoff Barton that the Tories couldnt give a fig about education. We can pretend RAAC in schools constitutes a national crisis, and forget that defective concrete found its way into schools, hospitals, prisons and courts under Labour governments as well as Conservative ones.

Or we can accept the truth  the Tories are not always incompetent and feckless and nasty. They can even get some things right. But that isnt the judgment of the media that sometimes resemble a mob.
A key figure behind the Indigenous voice has urged the government to have a comprehensive backup plan should the referendum fail.

Australians will be asked to vote on October 14 to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution through a new advisory body.

Indigenous academic Marcia Langton, a co-chair of the voice design group, said many people on the 'frontlines of dealing with the problems' were worried about the prospect of the voice referendum failing.

'They already have little say and a loss will mean they have even less,' Professor Langton told the National Press Club on Wednesday.

She said a reform plan should be based on common sense, inquiry and royal commission recommendations and the voice co-design process report she authored with Professor Tom Calma.

Professor Marcia Langton AO addresses the National Press Club in Canberra, Wednesday, imploring Australians to 'turn around' disadvantage by voting yes on the referendum

'There is another opportunity for this government and that is to consider what it would do should the voice referendum fail,' she said.

'I do hope that this government would turn to our report for inspiration for policy settings, to empower us, to involve us in closing the gap, and other issues that affect our lives.'

Professor Langton also shot down Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's proposal for a second referendum, should the first one fail, to recognise Indigenous people but not enshrine a voice.

'There's no point in a second referendum because it's not what we want,' she said.

'We asked for recognition through a voice combining the symbolic and practical to give us both dignity and a sense of empowerment and responsibility in matters that affect us.'

The government has accused the coalition of trying to sabotage the referendum next month by promising a second vote.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been criticised for 'failing to command the heights of the debate' around why Australians should vote for an Indigenous Voice

Prof Langton said the voice was not about opening wounds over the country's colonisation, and would take nothing away from others.

'This is not intended to make Australians feel guilty about the often-painful past of Australia's settlement and treatment of Indigenous people,' she said.

With tears welling in her eyes, Prof Langton spoke of the toll public vitriol and trolls had taken on leaders advocating for change.

She pleaded for the media not to participate in 'pile-ons' on decent people.

It was the nation's 'one chance' to turn around disadvantage, she said.

'Don't imagine that there's another opportunity around the corner. Don't think your 'no' vote goes into a different pile marked next time,' Prof Langton said.

She said the 'yes' vote would deliver hope and healing through working together.

A 'no' vote would bind the country closely to a 'broken status quo' which would continue the cycle of disadvantage and disempowerment.

Professor Langton warned there would be 'no point' in a second referendum without a Voice

The academic blasted the 'no' camp for its 'utter nonsense' in claiming the proposal would racially divide Australia.

The 'no' case argues the constitutional change is legally risky, divisive, permanent and lacks enough detail for Australians to make an informed decision.

On referendum day, voters will be asked to vote 'yes' or 'no' on a single question.

The question on the ballot paper will be: 'A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?'
Travel has long been celebrated as a means of relaxation and adventure, a break from the daily grind. But did you know that travel can also have significant positive impacts on your health and well-being?

From reducing stress to boosting mental agility, exploring new destinations can offer a plethora of health benefits. In this article, we'll delve into the various ways travel can contribute to your overall well-being.

1. Stress Reduction: A Ticket to Relaxation

One of the most immediate and noticeable benefits of travel is stress reduction. The simple act of using a trip planner, anticipating the adventure, and finally stepping out of your daily routine can significantly lower stress levels. A change of scenery allows your mind and body to unwind, giving you a break from the constant stressors of everyday life.

But it's not just the anticipation of travel that's therapeutic; being in a new environment can work wonders too. Whether you're basking on a sun-kissed beach, hiking through a lush forest, or exploring a bustling city, the change in surroundings promotes relaxation and reduces stress hormones like cortisol.

Research published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine found that travel, especially vacations, leads to significant reductions in stress and related symptoms, such as tension and fatigue. So, if you find yourself overwhelmed by the demands of work or life, consider planning your next getaway as a way to unwind and rejuvenate.

2. Mental Stimulation: Sharpening the Mind

Travel isn't just about rest and relaxation; it can also be mentally stimulating. Visiting new places, learning about different cultures, and navigating unfamiliar surroundings all require mental agility and adaptability. These cognitive challenges can help keep your mind sharp and agile.

When you travel, you're constantly exposed to new experiences and situations. You might need to decipher a foreign language, navigate intricate public transportation systems, or plan your itinerary on the fly. These mental exercises stimulate problem-solving skills, enhance creativity, and foster a sense of adaptability - all of which are beneficial for your brain's health.

Additionally, immersing yourself in a new culture can broaden your horizons and enhance your perspective. This exposure to diverse ideas and customs can boost your cognitive flexibility and increase your cultural intelligence, making you more adaptable and open-minded.

3. Physical Activity: Stay Active While Exploring

Travel often involves physical activities, whether it's hiking in the mountains, walking through historic cities, or swimming in pristine waters. These stress-free vacation activities provide an excellent opportunity to stay physically active while enjoying your vacation.

Engaging in physical activities while travelling not only helps you burn calories but also promotes cardiovascular health, improves muscular strength, and boosts endurance. Exploring new destinations on foot allows you to fully immerse yourself in the culture and experience the local way of life. You'll discover hidden gems that you might have missed while travelling by car or public transport.

For instance, exploring the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru involves a challenging hike along the Inca Trail, providing a great cardiovascular workout. Similarly, snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia allows you to witness stunning marine life while engaging in low-impact physical activity.

4. Social Connections: Building Meaningful Relationships

Travel offers opportunities to forge new social connections and strengthen existing relationships. Whether you're travelling solo and making new friends along the way or embarking on a trip with loved ones, these interactions can have a profound impact on your emotional well-being.

Meeting people from diverse backgrounds and cultures can broaden your perspective and deepen your understanding of the world. It fosters empathy, tolerance, and a sense of interconnectedness. These social connections can help reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation, which are detrimental to mental health.

Travelling with family or friends also allows you to create lasting memories together. Shared experiences, such as hiking to a mountain peak, exploring a bustling market, or savouring a local delicacy, can strengthen your bond and provide a sense of belonging. These positive memories contribute to emotional resilience and overall happiness.

5. Improved Mood: A Natural Antidepressant

Travelling can be a natural mood enhancer. It offers a break from the monotony of daily life and introduces novelty and excitement. Exploring new destinations and engaging in novel experiences trigger the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward.

Moreover, being in natural settings, such as forests, mountains, or beaches, can have a calming effect on the mind. Nature is known to reduce feelings of anxiety and depression. Researchers have found that spending time in natural environments decreases activity in the prefrontal cortex, the brain region responsible for rumination, which is often associated with depression.

A study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology found that just a 90-minute walk in a natural setting can reduce neural activity associated with negative thought patterns. Imagine the mood-boosting effects of an entire vacation immersed in nature!

6. Enhanced Creativity: Inspiring New Ideas

Travel has the power to spark creativity and inspire new ideas. Being in unfamiliar surroundings, exposed to novel experiences and cultures, can stimulate your imagination and encourage innovative thinking.

When you travel, you're more likely to step out of your comfort zone and embrace new challenges. This willingness to take risks and explore the unknown can lead to breakthroughs in your creative endeavours. Whether you're an artist seeking inspiration from a foreign landscape or an entrepreneur brainstorming new business ideas, travel can provide the fresh perspective you need.

In conclusion, travel is not merely a leisure activity; it's a powerful tool for enhancing your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. From reducing stress to stimulating creativity, fostering social connections, and promoting overall happiness, the benefits of travel are undeniable. So, if you've been contemplating your next adventure, remember that it's not just a vacation - it's an investment in your health and happiness.

Don't feel bad about taking some time away from the day-to-day - embrace it. Not only will it give you a well-needed break, but it will make you feel much better when you return. Bon voyage!
Laura Kuenssberg is thought to be the favourite to become the next presenter of the BBC's election night coverage.

The former BBC News political editor is the frontrunner in the race to replace Huw Edward's ahead of a possible election next year, although insiders said there was no 'obvious successor' for the high profile role.

Ms Kuenssberg, who currently presents the BBC's Sunday Politics show, a position she has had since last September when she took over the slot from Andrew Marr.

Meanwhile Mr Edwards, 62, is still thought to be earning his estimated 435,000 annual salary after he was taken off air following allegations published in the Sun that he paid a young person for sexually explicit images.

An internal investigation is underway after two police forces concluded that the Corporation's highest-paid newsreader had not committed a criminal offence.

Laura Kuenssberg is thought to be the favourite to replace Huw Edwards as the face of the BBC's election coverage

Little has been heard from him since his wife revealed that he was being treated for mental health, with text messages from colleagues reportedly going unanswered.

A senior journalist said Mr Edwards would be 'a big loss' for the Corporation, although some have suggested he could be planning legal action if he is forced to resign permanently from his role.

Many within the BBC believe it is unlikely the Welsh journalist will ever return to anchoring the 10pm news bulletin, the Times reported.

Aside from presenting the News at Ten, the Welsh journalist has been the go-to anchor for major national events including royal weddings and jubilees, and most notably broke the news of the Queen's death to the nation last year.

But it's Mr Edwards' shoes as the face of election coverage that are proving hard to fill.

He first anchored the election special in 2015, and led the overnight coverage in 2019, taking over from veteran David Dimbleby who had fronted all ten elections between 1979 and 2017.

Before being taken off air, Huw Edwards was the go-to anchor for major national events and had presented the election special since 2015

An insider described the job as a 'high wire act', adding that whoever takes it on needs to be able to both handle the fast-paced night packed with breaking news from various outside sources, and bring out the best in the team around them.

Despite her experience covering Westminster politics, Ms Kuenssberg has presented less rolling news coverage than some of her colleagues.

Since taking over the Sunday show, viewing figures have dropped by a third.

Another senior BBC figure suggested that it would be hard for any news presenter to establish themselves in the position if the public had any 'question marks' about them.

However, the BBC told MailOnline the broadcaster is happy with how the show is going and said that the figures don't accurately reflect the impact of the pandemic, and those who watch the show on catch-up.

A spokesperson said: 'These arent the right figures, as they dont take into account the many people who watch on screens, phones or tablets and on iPlayer catch up, bringing the actual average to 1.5m, which broadly compares to Andrew Marr before the pandemic  its meaningless to use the extraordinary period of the pandemic as a comparison.

'Were very pleased SWLK has become the weekends agenda-setting programme.'
The AG said a judge granted a temporary restraining order for the 'illegal' policy

A California judge has temporarily halted a policy advocates say was aimed at outing trans and non-binary students to their parents in one school district.

The San Bernardino Superior Court on Wednesday nullified Chino Valley Unified's new rule regarding children who identify as trans or gender-nonconforming.

In August, state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced he would take legal action against the SoCal district as he said they violated the rights of LGBTQ+ students.

'We've secured a temporary restraining order against Chino Valley Unified School District's illegal and dangerous forced outing policy,' Bonta announced on X.

The 'parental notification' policy immediately came under fire as it would have seen staff reporting an LGBTQ+ child to their parents if they changed their pronouns.

In August, state Attorney General Rob Bonta (pictured) announced he would take legal action against the SoCal school district as he said it violates the rights of LGBTQ+ students

CVUSD Board President Sonja Shaw - one of the biggest proponents for the policy - said she is committed to making sure the policy stays in place

During a June Chino Valley Unified School District meeting, more than 80 members of the public spoke out against the forced disclosure policy

On August 28, Bonta announced he would be filing a lawsuit against the Chino Valley Unified School District in the matter of the 'parental notification' policy.

In a statement, Bonta said the restraining order 'upholds the state rights of our LGBTQ+ student community and protects kids from harm.'

He said they will continue to challenge the policy in court and provide 'unwavering support' so each school district 'promotes safety, privacy, and inclusivity.'

'While this fight is far from over, today's ruling takes a significant step towards ensuring the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of transgender and gender-nonconforming students,' Bonta's statement read.

The issue will next be discussed again at a hearing on Oct. 13.

In July, the district school board held a meeting on whether to adopt the controversial policy, which eventually passed by a 4-1 vote.

The 'parental notification' policy requires personnel to 'out' transgender and gender nonconforming students to their parents or guardians without their consent.

In Bonta's lawsuit, the AG alleged that the policy would even out students against their express wishes.

At the school board meeting earlier this year, dozens of community members- held up signs and flags - speaking out against the forced disclosure policy.

'We've secured a temporary restraining order against Chino Valley Unified School District's illegal and dangerous forced outing policy,' Bonta announced on X

Pictured: Members of the Chino Valley United School District

Under the policy, Chino Valley schools would notify parents in writing within three days if district employees become aware that a student is asking to be identified or treated as a gender other than the one listed on official records.

Parents will also be informed if students are accessing sex-segregated activities or using bathroom facilities that don't align with their listed gender.

The policy also outlines steps for schools to notify parents of injuries or threats to their children and suicide attempts.

Anthony De Marco, an attorney for Chino Valley Unified, told ABC 7 the policy would not affect students who were holding private conversations with teachers.

'We need those parents to be part of a successful transition,' De Marco said.

In August, Andi Johnston - a spokesperson for Chino Valley Unified - said the district is working with its attorneys to review the lawsuit.

Johnston also said they were complying with state officials and have sent requested documents in response to a subpoena.

Supporters of the 'parental notification' system say it's not about outing students but rather about protecting parents' rights.

CVUSD Board President Sonja Shaw - one of the biggest proponents for the policy - said she is committed to making sure the policy stays in place.

'We're going to safeguard parental rights,' Shaw said in a statement. 'That is a constitutional right and we're going to make sure that our parents at Chino Valley know they're sending their kids here to be taught, not to be anything else.'

At the time the lawsuit was first filed, Shaw said she was not surprised as the state government has repeatedly taken steps 'to shut parents out of their children's lives.'

'We will stand our ground and protect our children with all we can because we are not breaking the law,' Shaw told ABC 7.

'Parents have a constitutional right in the upbringing of their children. Period.'
Sydney is the sixth most expensive city in the world for housing, beating out New York, London, Paris and Los Angeles, according to a new report.

Think tank the Committee of Sydney's report released this week claims the city's housing crisis has reached seriously detrimental levels, saying it costs the city $10 billion a year in lost talent, productivity and innovation.

Staggeringly an average home in Sydney costs more than 13 times the median salary.

More than just a short-term crisis, housing is a chronic issue for Sydney and represents a serious threat to the city long term if nothing is done, says the committee's chief executive, Eamon Waterford.

Mr Waterford said the costs are being felt most by young Sydneysiders at the start of their careers, 'putting a handbrake' on opportunities that would have been open to them if housing was more accessible and affordable.

Sydneysiders are battling one of the toughest housing markets in the world a new report reveals (pictured, a queue at a recent rental inspection)

Sydney is the sixth most expensive city in the world to rent or buy a house

'If we don't take urgent and sustained action, chronic housing unaffordability will continue to erode Sydney's competitiveness on the global stage and our city's long-term economic success,' he said.

The think tank said younger people were leaving the city en masse for cheaper locations or were less productive because they were unable to fund suitable accommodation near their work.

The report identified $1.5 billion in lost talent due to out-migration and diminished appeal, on top of $6.8 billion in lost productivity, and $2.9 billion in reduced innovation, including less patents and start-ups.

Rental availability and affordability are also at crisis levels, with 35.3 per cent of Sydney renter households experiencing rental stress, meaning they pay more than 30 per cent of monthly income on housing costs.

The report recommended three key actions to help fix the issue, beginning with introducing an inclusionary zoning target, to provide affordable housing in new developments on all rezonings.

Huge queues of Sydneysiders are seen lining up to inspect an apartment in Randwick recently

It also recommended the government invest in building much more social and affordable housing, and significantly increase the supply of high-quality housing, with good access to transport, open spaces, schools, child care, shops and other services.

'We can't solve this overnight, but we can commit to the bold, brave and long-term program required to send Sydney's chronic housing crisis into remission,' Mr Waterford said.

Sydney is in some pretty hefty company with Hong Kong (pictured) the most expensive

San Francisco is the second most expensive city to rent or buy a house or apartment in the world

Vancouver in Canada is also more expensive than Sydney at number four on the list

The Greens are seizing on analysis showing most investors prefer existing dwellings over new builds to argue for housing reform.

More than 80 per cent of investor finance went to buying existing dwellings, while the rest went towards the construction and purchase of new homes between 2019 and 2023, Australian Bureau of Statistics data reviewed by the Parliamentary Library shows.

The minor party is steadfastly against the government's signature Housing Australia Future Fund, in a bid to wring more money for social housing out of the budget and push for rental reform.

Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather also maintains his call for a rent freeze as a sticking point in negotiations with the government, something that state and territory governments have ruled out.

The government and economists have slammed the proposed rent freeze, saying it would impact supply by scaring investors out of the market.

Mr Chandler-Mather said the fact such a small portion of investment went to helping boost supply means the government's argument about supply doesn't make sense.

'The bottom line is if we want to tackle this housing crisis then we need to freeze and cap rent increases,' he said.

The Greens also want to phase out negative gearing and cut capital gains tax concessions.
The Albanese government's latest claim that it blocked Qatar Airways' planned expansion in Australia on human rights grounds, rather than because of a cosy arrangement with Qantas, has been mocked for its hypocrisy.

The decision, which will come at a high cost to Australian travellers, is completely at odds with the way the government treats the airlines of other nations that breach human rights.

Critics have pointed to the partnership between Qantas and Emirates, the national carrier of the UAE where homosexuality is illegal and departing CEO Alan Joyce could have faced jail time if he travelled with his husband.

Holding hands or a simple kiss can land same-sex couples behind bars for up to 14 years in the UAE's popular tourist destinations like Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

And given there is no statutory maximum sentence and capital punishment is still used in the country, human rights activists warn anyone caught having gay sex in the UAE risks a death sentence under its strict mediaeval Sharia law.

Despite that, Emirates is an official partner with Qantas and shares aircraft, passengers and even frequent flyer points with the Australian airline.

On Thursday, Minister for Transport Catherine King said it was Qatar's shocking treatment of women passengers in an incident three years ago that justified its ban on the airline being allowed an expanded presence in Australia.

The minister received a letter from the women on June 27th, 13 days before making the decision to block Qatar from expanding the number of flights into Australia.

Ex-Qantas CEO Alan Joyce could have faced the death penalty if he took husband Shane Lloyd (pictured together) on a business trip to meet bosses of partner airline, Emirates, in Dubai

The United Arab Emirates still criminalises homosexuality, - and even holding hands or a simple kiss can land same-sex married couples behind bars for up to 14 years

The couple live together at their penthouse at the Cove Apartments in Sydney's harbourside The Rocks district overlooking Sydney Opera House

The incident at Doha Airport in October 2020 saw 13 Australian women passengers get strip-searched and have their genitals inspected after the discovery of a newborn baby found dumped in a bathroom bin prompted a police search for its mother.

Federal Transport minister Catherine King told five Australian women suing over the incident that Qatar would be banned for expanding its Australian flights in the wake of the row.

'This is the only airline where this has happened, or anything like that,' Ms King said.

This moral high ground will come at a big cost to Australian travellers and tourist-reliant businesses.

The Qatar expansion would have seen international airfares to and from Australia slashed by an estimated 40 per cent and given a near-$1billion boost to the local tourism industry.

The biggest beneficiary of the Qatar ban is Qantas which can continue to dominate international traffic, and that has put the very chummy relationship between Mr Joyce and Mr Albanese in the spotlight.

But the government has now cited a long list of excuses for the Qatar ban, including the human rights breach at Doha in 2020.

However it begs the question that if the government was so disgusted by Qatar's human rights record and the 2020 Doha incident, why is its national airline allowed to operate in Australia at all?

'Why can't she give an honest answer to questions when she's asked them?' Liberal senator James Paterson said of the minister. 'Why has she given so many other contradictory explanations?

'If this (Doha incident) was the real reason, why didnt she just say so the first time she was asked when the question emerged weeks ago?

'If its a human rights issue or a safety issue or a national security issue, the question shouldnt be, "Are Qatar allowed to have 28 flights or 56 flights?"

'But whether they should have any flights at all.'

Kos Samaras, former Labor strategist for Victorian premier Dan Andrews - who now advises the Climate 200 independent Teal MPs - joined the outrage and questioned why other nations have escaped a similar backlash.

'I trust we will now stop importing oil from Saudi Arabia and stop all trade with China until they commit to address their human rights violations and release Australians currently imprisoned there,' he posted on social media on Thursday.

'We will also stop importing all Apple products until that company can guarantee us the components, like batteries were not made using slave labour in Africa.

'Our western lives are all propped up by contradictions, a blind eye turn here and there. All of us, no one lives a guilt free life.'

He added: 'Just like our tax dollars given to Qantas who then went onto sacking their workers and becoming the most complained about company in Australia over a two- year period.

'We propped them up in the national interest. Not sure what national interest means though. Does anyone?'

Ironically, it was Mr Joyce who signed the Qantas partnership deal with Emirates in 2013, which also took pork dishes off in-flight menus as a result, during his 15 years in charge

PM Anthony Albanese has faced increased scrutiny over his chummy relationship with Alan Joyce and the government's reasons for banning additional Qatar Airways flights into Australia

Ironically, it was Mr Joyce - who quit as the airline's boss on Tuesday - who signed the Qantas partnership deal with Emirates in 2013, and took pork dishes off in-flight menus during his 15 years in charge.

He married his husband Shane Lloyd in November 2019.

Emirates passengers are given dire warnings of the UAE's strict rules on homosexuality by government advisories and gay-friendly websites for travellers.

'Many things that are acceptable in Australia are illegal in the UAE,' warns Australia's government-run Smartraveller website.

'Same-sex relations are illegal, and same-sex marriage is not recognised.'

The UK government adds: 'There have been some reports of individuals being punished for homosexual activity, particularly where there is any public element, or the behaviour has caused offence.'

The Human Dignity Trust website warns federal laws can jail same-sex offenders for up to 14 years, and applies to both men and women.

But it adds: 'Same-sex sexual activity may also be penalised under Sharia law, under which the death penalty is possible.'

All cross-dressing or transgender behaviour is also prohibited, with schools forbidden from even discussing homosexuality.

It even banned the Disney film Lightyear in 2022 over a lesbian same-sex kiss in the animated children's movie.

The UAE also has strict laws on drugs and alcohol which means passengers may face jail for having a drink during the long flight to the UAE, even if they are just passing through Dubai to another destination.

The UK warned its citizens in 2018: 'It is a punishable offence to be under the influence of alcohol in public - including when transiting through the UAE.

'It can result in custodial sentences and/or fines.'

The government's ban on Qatar's additional flights came four years after then-Coalition government was first approached with the proposal.

The transport minister said there was no 'one factor' that she would point to that swayed her decision 'one way or the other'.

'In making this decision, I did have a national interest, not commercial interests at play when I was making that decision,' Ms King said.

She confirmed she had consulted with ministerial colleagues and considered stakeholder views.

Ms King said she made her decision on July 10 and she told Prime Minister Anthony Albanese before it was made public on July 18.

Trade Minister Don Farrell said he couldn't 'specifically' say if he had a conversation with Ms King about the proposal.

'I'm aware her department made it clear they were dealing with this issue and going to make a decision,' he told ABC radio.

UAE's human rights record has never been questioned in relation to Emirates flights from Dubai (pictured) while Qatar's record was 'one factor' behind the ban on more Doha flights

The opposition has now called for a Senate inquiry into the decision to block the extra Qtar Airways flights

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the government wasn't giving honest answers, which is why a Senate inquiry initiated by the Coalition was needed.

'This is now eight positions that the minister (Ms King) has come out with and she just keeps changing her story and I don't know what is fact and what's fiction,' he told 2GB.

Mr Dutton said there was a moral imperative for former Qantas boss Alan Joyce to front the inquiry.

The Senate committee is expected to invite submissions from past and present Qantas chief executives, other airlines, airports, economists, the Qatari ambassador, the consumer watchdog and the Productivity Commission.

The committee's report is expected by October.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Transport Minister's office for comment.
Mormon TikTok star Taylor Frankie Paul has reached a plea deal in her domestic violence case - and said she doesn't 'owe anyone an explanation besides the people involved.'

The 'soft-swinging' mom 'went ballistic' and threw chairs at boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, accidentally hitting her five-year-old daughter Indy in the head.

Paul pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, on August 25 and had the other four charges dismissed with prejudice as part of the deal.

She will now be required to go to counseling, receive a substance abuse and domestic violence evaluation and not break any further laws.

The charge will be dropped to a misdemeanor if she does for three years. In a TikTok on Sunday, Paul reflected on everything that had happened but remained defiant.

Mormon TikTok star Taylor Frankie Paul has reached a plea deal in a March domestic violence case and says in a reflective video that she doesn't 'owe anyone an explanation besides the people involved'

'I don't owe anyone an explanation besides the people involved,' she said. 'Court is officially over til next year. They'll just check in and see how I'm doing - if I'm still doing better.'

'As much as I wish that night had went differently, I felt like hitting rock bottom actually helped me in some ways. Made me seek help that I wasn't getting,' she added.

Paul flew into a rage when her boyfriend refused to take her to a concert because she was too drunk police bodycam video exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com revealed in late March.

And when police arrived at the scene in a Salt Lake City suburb, the influencer told them she was so scared she had 'peed' herself, the video shows.

Paul, 27, was arrested on February 17 at her home in Herriman, Utah, on misdemeanor charges.

But after Mortensen provided cops with video from his cell phone showing the chair hitting Indy, the charges were upgraded to felony aggravated assault, reckless child abuse, and domestic violence in the presence of a child.

Two weeks later the Salt Lake County District Attorney charged Paul with two counts of 3rd degree felony domestic violence in the presence of a child with injury, a Class A misdemeanor of child abuse with injury, and Class B misdemeanor criminal mischief.

If she had been convicted on all charges, she could have faced up to five years in state prison for each of the three felonies.

The 'soft-swinging' mom and influencer 'went ballistic' and threw chairs at boyfriend Dakota Mortensen, accidentally hitting her five-year-old daughter Indy in the head in the process

Video obtained by DailyMail.com shows an intoxicated and emotional Taylor Frankie Paul telling police she went 'ballistic' on boyfriend Dakota Mortensen after cops responded to a domestic violence call at her Utah home on February 17

The Mormon influencer, 27, can be seen crying and slurring her words as police attempt to talk to her about the altercation

Paul found fame on TikTok where she has more than 4 million followers after regularly sharing content about her day-to-day life, two children and now estranged husband.

She shocked her fans in the summer of 2022 when she admitted that she and husband Tate were divorcing because she had gone too far during a 'soft swinging' event.

Soft swinging involves couples swapping partners but not engaging in full sex.

After splitting with Tate  the father of her children  she started hooking up with Mortensen.

The bodycam video from the night of her arrest shows Herriman officers Ben Rugebregt and Alex Felsing knocking on Paul's door after receiving a 911 from a neighbor.

Both Paul and Mortensen, her boyfriend, are seen answering the door.

When the officers ask them what was going on, Dakota tells them Taylor was 'hammered.'

Taylor responds back saying 'so is he.' She then tells police, that Dakota 'threw me in the garage.'

Paul  pictured in a TikTok video with Mortensen and daughter Indy  was arrested after cops learned she threw a chair at Mortensen that ended up striking the five-year in the head

When police arrived at the scene in a Salt Lake City suburb, the influencer told them she was so scared she had 'peed' herself, the video shows

When Paul was being placed under arrest for domestic violence, she asked the cop, 'so he isn't being arrested? He pushed me and I'm under arrest?'

Mortensen, who was also interviewed, told cops Paul has been struggling with personal issues and adding alcohol to the mix causes her to explode

Rugebregt and Felsing then separate the couple, taking Paul outside. She can be seen crying and slurring her words as police attempt to talk to her.

'I'm emotionally hurting and going through a divorce,' she tells them.

But seconds later she turns belligerent and says: 'I don't give a f*** anymore.

'I don't give a f*** about him,' she says, referring to Mortensen. 'I just want him out.

'I pushed him, I hit him, he pushed me. I don't care. I went ballistic because he pushed me. I just want him out.'

She went on to explain that her boyfriend had picked her up from a girls night and he 'b****ed her out' all the way home.

Taylor admitted to police she threw things at Dakota because she was scared of him, and he had pushed her first.

She also told police she wet her pants because she was scared.

Mortensen, who had been dating Paul for six months, said he planned to pick her up from a friend's house to go to a concert, but as soon as he arrived he realized she was too intoxicated to go

The 'soft swinger' who has amassed 4million followers on TikTok, shocked her fans last summer when she admitted that she and husband Tate were divorcing. She introduced Mortensen as her boyfriend to fans in a March 19 Instagram post

In Herriman Police's report of the incident, the responding officer described smelling a 'strong odor of alcohol coming from Taylor'

Police also interviewed Mortensen who said Paul became angry and violent after he refused to take her to a concert, the report reveals

But Mortensen, 30, told cops in the video that he had picked Taylor up from girls' night out and she was drunk.

He said they had an agreement to stay away from alcohol as he's a recovering addict.

He told the police Paul is struggling with personal issues and adding alcohol to the mix causes her to explode.

He said he was supposed to go to a concert with a friend, but when Paul found out, she wanted to go along and asked him to pick him up from the party.

According to Mortensen, the original plan was to stop by Paul's house to get her ID and then go to the concert, but as soon as he arrived he realized she was in no condition to go.

He said she then became angry and began to berate him on the drive back.

They arrived back at her house and a family member, who had been watching Indy and Paul's two-year-old son Ocean, left.

Mortensen said over the next 90 minutes he tried to leave her house to 'deescalate' the situation, but Paul wouldn't let him.

He said she threw her phone at him. She took his truck keys jumped on the vehicle and slammed its doors several times.

She hurled a wooden play set at him, which hit his truck. She also threw heavy metal chairs at him so violently that they put holes in the walls.

In his report Sergeant Rugebregt said he 'observed multiple metal chairs and other household items on the floor by the front entryway. The chairs look like they may have come from a kitchen island'.

Cops reported seeing injuries on both Paul and Mortensen, but determined she was the primary aggressor

After Mortensen provided cops with video from his cell phone showing the chair hitting Indy, the charges were upgraded to felony aggravated assault, reckless child abuse, and domestic violence in the presence of a child, officers said

'I observed a case of roses on the ground by the kitchen island,' he added.

Mortensen said all of this violence took place in front of Indy. Ocean was upstairs asleep.

He told police that he started to feel scared for his life because of the weight of the chairs and said one bounced off his shoulder and hit Indy in the head.

He admitted pushing Paul out of his way, because she wouldn't let him leave.

'She fell down because she was hammered,' he said.

The cops clearly did not realize that Paul was an internet celebrity.

When Mortensen started asking if her mugshot would be released, one officer can be heard saying: 'It's not like she's going to make the news.'

When Paul was being placed under arrest for domestic violence, she asked the cop, 'so he isn't being arrested? He pushed me and I'm under arrest?'

After being placed in handcuffs she continued questioning the police officer on why she was being arrested.

She was booked on three misdemeanor charges  assault, criminal mischief and domestic violence in the presence of a child

Mortensen refused to say what caused her arrest, but let slip, 'She never hurt anyone intentionally.' Paul is pictured with daughter Indy, five, and two-year-old son Ocean

Taylor shares two young children, Indy and Ocean, with her ex-husband, Tate

She then added, 'when Dakota sees I'm being arrested he's not going to agree to it.' She then said, 'I p***ed my pants and I'm under arrest?'

During the arrest Paul's parents, Jeremy and Liann May, arrived to take the kids.

While being handcuffed Paul told her mother: 'I'm being arrested for pushing Dakota.' Liann replied, 'Yeah that's domestic violence.'

While being placed in the back of the patrol vehicle Paul was still complaining about her arrest. She told the cop: 'He punched me too and I'm a girl.'

Before she was led off to jail, Paul's mother talked to her through the window of the patrol vehicle and didn't mince her words, telling her, 'My grandkids should have never seen this. I'm surprised you are doing this.'

Paul took a month off social media following her arrest. But she recently posted on TikTok that she has been taking Zoloft to help her with her depression and anxiety and was going to therapy to help deal with her trauma.

She also said she recently spent time with Mortensen's family in Logan, Utah, and how she loves all of them. She announced that she is keeping her kids off TikTok for now, but not forever. She did not mention her pending court battle
WA police released a photo and description of Lachlan Bowles, 25, who was last seen in the Kellerberrin area about 8.40am on Thursday morning

An armed volunteer ambulance officer who went on the run after allegedly shooting dead another man in Western Australia's wheatbelt region is locked in a siege with police.

The residents of Kellerberrin, 200km east of Perth, were told by police to stay indoors after gunshots were fired at a grain silo in the area about 8.40am on Thursday.

One man was rushed to hospital with serious gunshot wounds but could not be saved.

WA Police believe the man responsible is 25-year-old Lachlan Bowles, who was seen wearing camouflage gear in the Kellerberrin area at the time of the shooting.

Bowles allegedly fled the area and was on the run for several hours, with locals claiming he had also opened fire at other people.

WA Police confirmed just after 2pm local time on Thursday they had found Mr Bowles 'in a rural location outside of Kellerberrin'.

'We are attempting to negotiate a peaceful resolution, however; the situation is still unfolding,' police said.

'Residents in the area are advised to remain alert. It has been confirmed that one man is now deceased and Homicide Squad are investigating.'

An effective no-fly zone is in place over the town as the gunman is believe to have a weapon with a range of up to 3km.

'He's taken a few potshots on people, that's what we've been told,' Warren Taylor, of the Kellerberrin and Districts Club, told The West Australian.

Mr Bowles is a St John WA volunteer ambulance officer, and was awarded for his service in 2021

The shooting is believed to have happened at Moylan Grain Silos, with locals saying the gunman had fired at several people

Mr Bowles is a St John WA volunteer ambulance officer, and was awarded for his service to the community on Australia Day in 2021.

The shooting is believed to have happened at Moylan Grain Silos, with locals saying the gunman had fired at several people.

Tony, who owns the local Kellerberrin Pie Shop and Bakery, claimed to have known the man who died.

'They are local guys that this has happened to,' Tony told The West Australian.

'The guy that died was only in my shop on Friday. We were talking about his plans for Father's Day.'

Armed police were seen looking for the gunman on Thursday afternoon

Kellerberrin locals received a text warning them to stay indoors as the incident unfolded

Locals have described Mr Bowles as a 'good kid', while expressing their shock at reports he was allegedly involved in the shooting.

'He was a good kid from a good family,' one wrote.

Mr Bowles was believed to have been driving a 2007 Grey Holden Commodore, with licence plates 1CRB764.

A large number of police resources have been deployed.

Police were due to hold a press conference but it was postponed due to 'operational requirements'.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police immediately.
Dr Charlie Teo has boarded a First Class flight to the Middle East after his surgical career was virtually destroyed by health authorities in Australia.

The embattled neurosurgeon, 65, was spotted checking in to his Qatar Airways flight to Doha at Sydney's International Airport on Tuesday evening.

Dr Teo appeared in good spirits as he chatted to an airline employee at the check-in desk before wheeling a small suitcase to his gate.

The high-profile surgeon dressed casually for the 15-hour flight in a pair of blue jeans, a t-shirt, a black blazer and a pair of comfortable sneakers.

His departure comes after he was found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct by the Medical Professional Standards Committee in July.

The decision came in the wake of findings from the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) that Dr Teo failed to properly inform two of his patients of the risks involved with 'experimental' operations that they failed to recover from.

The restrictions imposed by the HCCC have forced Dr Teo to admit his career is virtually over in Australia and to turn his attention to operating on patients overseas, providing advice to other neurosurgeons, and lecturing.

Dr Teo has previously indicated he will look to China to perform surgery because they had 'committed' to him, and would also continue to perform occasional operations in Europe and parts of Southeast Asia.

Dr Charlie Teo has boarded a First Class flight to the Middle East after his surgical career was virtually destroyed by authorities in Australia (pictured on Tuesday)

The embattled neurosurgeon, 65, was spotted checking in to his Qatar Airways flight to Doha at Sydney 's International Airport on Tuesday evening

Dr Teo appeared before the committee to face complaints that he had operated on patients where the risk of surgery outweighed any potential benefits.

It was also alleged that he did not obtain informed consent from the patients before the surgery, charged another patient an inappropriate fee of $35,000 and spoke inappropriately, with several swear words, to that patient's daughter post-surgery.

The committee ruled it had 'found these elements of the complaint proven'.

It found that Dr Teo was guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct in 2018 and 2019 while operating at the Prince of Wales Private Hospital in Sydney.

The committee concluded in one instance he did 'not exercise appropriate judgment in proceeding to surgical resection' of Patient A.

In another, with Patient B, 'the practitioner carried out surgery which was different to that proposed to the patient, and the surgical strategy led to unwarranted and excessive removal of normal functional brain'.

It was also found that Dr Teo's 'judgment in deciding to operate on Patient A was inappropriate (because) it was high-risk and inappropriate surgery by reason of the nature and location of the tumour, its genetic type, and that it was diffuse (spread over a wide area).'

Neither patient regained consciousness and both later died in hospital, one 10 days after surgery and the other several months later.

The Medical Professional Standards Committee found that the surgeon had 'for the most part, become isolated from the majority of his peers, and does not conform to a number of relevant accepted professional standards'.

Dr Teo appeared in good spirits as he chatted to an airline employee at the check-in desk before wheeling a small suitcase to his gate (pictured)

The high-profile surgeon dressed casually for the 15-hour flight in a pair of blue jeans, a t-shirt, a black blazer and a pair of comfortable sneakers (pictured)

Dr Teo was reprimanded by the HCCC for unsatisfactory professional conduct over two patients who suffered catastrophic results from his operations (pictured with Traci Griffiths)

The committee ordered that Dr Teo 'be reprimanded and imposed conditions on his registration to protect the public'.

Now, the surgeon must provide a written statement from a Medical Council-approved neurosurgeon which supports him performing recurrent malignant intracranial tumour and brain stem tumour surgical procedures.

He has also been barred from working in the United States and Singapore.

The restrictions placed on the high-profile surgeon were met with criticism from his large base of supporters, some of whom are former patients.

Earlier this week, brain cancer survivor Kellie-Anne Goodwin defended Dr Teo and said she was extraordinarily grateful to him.

Despite being confined to a wheelchair, Ms Goodwin said she would always have his back after a string of other surgeons refused to operate on her.

Her comments echoed those of Queensland woman Aimee Kennedy, who said her life had been over before Dr Teo decided to operate.

Dr Teo's departure from Australia this week comes after he was found guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct by the Medical Professional Standards Committee in February

Dr Teo is pictured at the Health Care Complaints Commission inquiry in February, 2023. The surgeon was supported by former patient and fiance Traci Griffiths

Following two operations to remove a brain tumour as a teenager, it grew back and doubled in size with doctors encouraging her to enjoy the time she had left.

She sought Dr Teo's help as a 19-year-old and said she was thoroughly informed of the risks before undergoing surgery.

'I'm 36 years old now, I'm married, got two kids and I'm still living,' she said.

Hundreds of the surgeon's fans intend to walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge on September 17 in protest to show their support.

'Many have asked what you can do to show your support  Well, I would be honoured if you would join me in solidarity on the Sydney Harbour Bridge,' Dr Teo wrote to supporters a week ago.

He said he was disappointed 'but not surprised' by conditions placed on his practice, but would 'never' accept he failed to gain proper consent or lacked empathy for his patients, adding that he had been 'demonised' by the media.
A romance scam that left three men duped out of almost $500,000 and a trio facing a string of fraud charges likely has more fraud victims that have not spoken up, police claim.

Two Benowa women, aged 52 and 29, and a 52-year-old Mermaid Beach man have been charged by Queensland Police with offences including fraud, receiving tainted property, possessing tainted property and contravening an order about access to information stored electronically.

It is alleged the trio defrauded three men between June 2022 and February this year.

Two men in their 70s engaged in a paid dating service after responding to a personal advertisement in a newspaper, making payments to a woman in her 50s who claimed to be a widow.

Police allege the woman claimed she needed large payments to get out of a work contract.

'There are likely to be other victims and complainants out there, not just locally, but across the nation,' Inspector Jason Chetham told reporters on Thursday.

'We would ask anyone who has information about these offences whether they're a witness or complainant themselves to come forward.

'We'd love to listen to their story. We won't be judging them at all.'

An advertisement in a newspaper that police allege is linked to the investigation

Police allege three men were defrauded almost half a million dollars

The two Benowa women have each been charged with five counts of fraud.

One of the men lost about $42,000 before raising concerns with a friend about a potential scam.

His matter was referred to police in February.

A second man from the Cassowary Coast lost a total of $343,500 before reporting the scam to police in March.

In July, police conducted searches at two addresses at Benowa on the Gold Coast and an address at Mermaid Beach, where they recovered $79,200 in cash stuffed in pillows.

Investigations at the properties led police to evidence of a third man duped under the same scam, with a man in his 50s from Western Australia allegedly defrauded out of more than $111,000.

The 52-year-old faces additional charges of receiving tainted property, possessing tainted property and contravening an order about access to information stored electronically.

Two women are due to face court next month over

Both are expected to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on October 3.

The 52-year-old Mermaid Beach man has been charged with four counts of fraud and is expected to appear in the same court on September 18.

Inspector Chetham said embarrassment can be a barrier for people to come forward but police treat these incidents in a non-judgemental way.

'We can also provide support services to them if they have been victims of crime,' he said.

'If you find yourself in a situation where you have to pay money to get an introduction to people, that's a red flag straight away.'
Two cousins killed in a tragic dirt bike accident during a Father's Day party at their uncle's house have been farewelled by more than a thousand mourners.

Ali Elhouli, 17, and Zena Houli, 18, died after crashing off-road motorbikes at their family's property on Beattys Rd in Grangefields, in Melbourne's northwest, about 6.35pm on Sunday.

Mourners streamed into the Australian Islamic Centre in Newport, just west of Melbourne, to pay their respects to the teenagers on Thursday.

Zena's father, Ali, arrived at the service in a wheelchair with a white blanket over his knees after he was injured while trying to reach the teenagers on a quad bike.

Attendees spanned in age from the very young to the elderly - some dressed in traditional Muslim garb.

The pair were laid to rest down the highway in Werribee near where they grew up.

An uncle of the pair said the family were all deeply traumatised by the loss of their loved ones.

Zena's injured father Ali, 43, was wheeled into the service for his daughter and nephew

Fatima Elhouli is pictured with her brother Ali, 17, who died in a dirt bike crash at Grangefields, in Melbourne's west, on Sunday night

Cousin Zena Houli, 18 (pictured) was also involved in the crash and tragically died at the scene

At one point Mr Elhouli, who had a white blanket on his knees, held a hand to his face

Two women embraced in a carpark before entering the Australian Islamic Centre on Thursday

Two women sat on a bench nearby before the memorial for Ali, 17, and Zena, 18, began

Mourners have farewelled Ali Elhouli, 17, and Zena Houli, 18, during a service in Newport

Police say they are still working to determine the cause of the crash as the family have been 'uncooperative', but detectives have determined the bikes were unregistered.

Family members on Monday told how Zena, from Altona Meadows, died almost instantly - with relatives rushing to the scene after hearing the crash.

Ali, from Hoppers Crossing, was rushed to hospital but later succumbed to his injuries.

Two young boys, aged 11 and 6, were also caught up in the accident.

They were rushed to hospital in critical conditions but are now stable. It is understood they each suffered multiple broken bones.

Zena's father, also called Ali, 43, was injured while trying to reach the teenagers on a quad bike.

It's understood he lost control of the bike as he got close to the incident and was also injured.

He was also taken to hospital, but his injuries are not life-threatening.

Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Lineham told Radio 3AW there was a Father's Day party being held at the property at the time of the crash.

A group of women dressed in traditional Muslim garb were seen entering the service

Mourners stream into the Australian Islamic Centre in Newport to farewell the two cousins

Mourners gathered outside the Newport mosque to farewell the pair after they died on Sunday

Mourners turned out in their hundreds to farewell the teenagers

The funeral was attended by more than a thousand mourners

He said the Major Collision Investigation Unit is probing the accident and exact circumstances surrounding the collision are yet to be established, but police are aware the bikes were unregistered.

'The family  members at the party  they're being uncooperative with police so inquiries are continuing but we're asking for anyone to come forward.

'We don't know how the two children were injured.

'It's incredibly hard for police to do their job when people won't provide the details.'

Sgt Lineham urged anyone who witnessed the accident to contact police.

'We do appeal to the family to come forward, regardless of how they feel about police,' he said.

The owner of the property and uncle of the teens killed, Omar El Houli, told reporters the loss was 'heartbreaking'.

'We were driving down (the road) and we got out.

It's understood the two bikes were being ridden on a private property before the incident. A man, 43, rode to the scene of the crash on a quad bike but was also injured when he lost control of the vehicle

Omar El Houli (pictured) said his nephew and niece were 'good kids'

Zena Elhouli is pictured in October 2022, when she passed her provisional license test

Tributes have begun pouring in online for the two teenagers. Pictured: Ali Elhouli (left)

Helmet parts were seen scattered by the roadside on Sunday night as officers investigated the crash

'My niece was on the floor dead and my nephew was also on the ground.

'I wanted to see who they were, it was my farm. I saw the motorbikes, I saw them, they were on the ground.

READ MORE: Tragedy as 9-year-old is killed after she was thrown off a quad bike her dad was driving near Perth Advertisement

'I couldn't imagine anything worse than what happened.'

Mr El Houli said the teenagers were family-oriented and loved spending time with their relatives.

'They loved just being happy, they loved being all together, they just enjoyed life,' he said.

'They're beautiful kids with beautiful parents, it's unfortunate what happened.

'They're in heaven looking down on us now.'

Meanwhile, tributes have begun to flow online for the teenagers' whose lives were tragically cut short.

'Love you Zena Houli,' one friend wrote.

'Forever 18 beautiful girl.'

'Fly high my angel.'

Jaz Haddara said she was so shocked by the news she has been lost for words.

Police wrapped up initial investigations into the crash on Monday

'Sending my condolences to Zena Houli who went to school with my son,' she said.

'Such a good girl. Thoughts to the family.'

Another friend said: 'Rest in peace now Ali.'

'I love you forever.'

Any witnesses or anyone with dashcam, CCTV footage, or information about the crash is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A seven-week old baby has been hospitalised in Central Queensland following an alleged domestic violence attack.

Queensland Police opened in investigation into the incident after the baby was taken to a hospital in Moranbah, 190km southwest of Mackay, with significant injuries on Tuesday.

Officers arrested a 23-year-old Moranbah man on Wednesday and charged him with one count of grievous bodily harm, domestic violence offence.

A seven-week old baby has been seriously injured in a suspected domestic violence attack

He is expected to appear at Moranbah Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Police with information about the alleged attack to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The Turkish leader noted that Russia's concerns should be addressed, adding that Turkiye and the United Nations (UN) had collaborated on a new package of suggestions to address Russia's concerns.





(Xinhua) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday failed to yield a breakthrough in the revival of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to experts.





Following the meeting, Erdogan expressed optimism about the initiative, but concrete evidence of a breakthrough remains elusive. Meanwhile, Putin reiterated accusations against the West for failing to meet its obligations under the agreement.





United Nations relief chief Martin Griffiths said in New York on July 21 that the world body will continue its engagement with all involved in the Black Sea Grain Initiative to ensure that Russian and Ukrainian food and fertilizer can continue to reach global markets. (Manuel Elias/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)





Analysts are concerned that the absence of the grain deal will threaten food security in low-income nations in the Middle East and Africa, urging the West to offer Russia the necessary guarantees to maintain a crucial food supply chain.





REVIVING GRAIN DEAL UPHILL BATTLE





"Persuading Russia to engage in a second grain deal is an uphill battle ... To secure a deal, Erdogan must redouble his efforts," said Serkan Demirtas, a foreign policy analyst based in Ankara, Turkiye's capital.





The Turkish leader noted that Russia's concerns should be addressed, adding that Turkiye and the United Nations (UN) had collaborated on a new package of suggestions to address Russia's concerns.





Erdogan also called on Ukraine to adopt a more flexible position in negotiations with Russia regarding the revival of the deal and consider exporting more grain to Africa rather than Europe.





However, Putin maintained that the revival of the UN-brokered deal hinges on whether the West can meet Moscow's demands related to agricultural exports and other issues.





Putin also emphasized the importance of keeping the Black Sea corridor free from military activities as a condition for a potential return to the agreement.





Despite acknowledging the deal's significance, Western nations remain hesitant to make concessions to Moscow. The United States and the European Union have dismissed Moscow's complaints as lacking merit, asserting that their sanctions do not target Russian grain or fertilizers.





German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticized on Monday Putin's decision to block the Black Sea grain deal, accusing him of playing "cynical" games.





However, analysts argue that the developed countries failed to recognize the situation's urgency as the developing countries in the Middle East and Africa do.





"The U.S. and NATO economic embargo decisions not only harmed Russia but also caused significant financial losses to many countries worldwide, especially in Africa and the Arab countries," said Kamal Ben Younes, the director of Ibn Rushd Foundation for Arab and African Studies in Tunisia.





"It is in the interest of Tunisia, African countries, and all countries worldwide to exert pressure on the deal talks to control the prices of such essential commodities," added the Tunisian scholar.





While Turkiye and the UN are having difficulty bringing the relevant parties together, recent reports have hinted at a potential new role for Qatar in finding a new way to export both Russian and Ukrainian grains.





"There is no doubt that Qatar, leveraging its soft power and growing regional and international presence, aims to address a global crisis and food dilemma that could threaten the food security of many impoverished and low-income countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East," said Kheir Diabat, a professor from the International Affairs Department of Qatar University.





THREAT FOR LOW-INCOME NATIONS





The failure to resurrect the Black Sea grain deal could have far-reaching consequences on low-income countries in the Middle East and Africa, which heavily rely on Ukrainian and Russian grain exports.





Before its suspension, the original deal facilitated the export of nearly 33 million tonnes of grain from Ukraine to global markets, benefiting developing countries, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.





Russia's withdrawal from the agreement in July had already impacted global grain prices, raising concerns about food security and a potential worldwide food crisis.





Egypt, one of the world's largest wheat importers, felt the repercussions of Russia's departure, with rising prices affecting its food supply.





"Egypt largely relies on grain imports from these warring countries, as 80 percent of its wheat imports come from Russia and Ukraine," said Al-Bahi Heikal, an Egyptian agricultural engineer.





He added that the increase in grain prices has strained Egypt's limited foreign currency reserves, preventing the most populous Arab country from importing fertilizers, seeds, agricultural tools and machinery necessary for expanding its agricultural lands.





Younes also said the Western sanctions on Russia "caused the increase of the trade deficit and the state budget deficit in Tunisia due to soaring global grain and fuel prices."





"The ban does not stop at depriving Tunisia of obtaining Russian and Ukrainian grain at a reasonable price but also suspending tourist income that was provided by Russian tourists to Tunisia every year," Younes added.





While the grain deal doesn't directly impact Gulf countries like Qatar, oil-rich countries in the region heavily rely on grain imports, rendering them susceptible to global price fluctuations, regardless of the Black Sea supply.





"Boosting strategic grain reserves and increasing domestic food production is key to strengthening Qatar and other Middle Eastern nations' long-term food security," said Steven Wright, associate professor of International Relations at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences of Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar.
The motive in the matter is unclear at this time and the children were not hurt

Cops say the five kids watched two gunmen forcefully remove their parents

A San Antonio couple have been kidnapped in front of their five children by two gunmen who broke into their home and 'forcefully' removed them.

Police were called to a home in the 3100 block of Mission Bell around 6am on Wednesday and were told by the children, who were unharmed, that the suspects fled in a white SUV.

Authorities have yet to identify the couple but DailyMail.com has confirmed that the missing individuals are Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga, 38, and Ricky Zuniga, 37.

A friend of the couple shared that the Texas parents were taken from their home point at gunpoint in front of their kids and that there is no motive yet.

'We have no idea where they were taken and the police and FBI are investigating,' one friend wrote in a social media post Wednesday afternoon.

A San Antonio couple was kidnapped by gunmen who broke into their home and removed them as their five kids watched. Pictured: Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga and Ricky Zuniga

Authorities have yet to identify the couple but DailyMail.com has confirmed that the missing individuals are Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga, 38, and Ricky Zuniga, 37

Police were called to a home in the 3100 block of Mission Bell around 6am on Wednesday and were told by the children that the suspects fled in a white SUV

According to local outlets, the children told police they didn't know the suspects. The couple was only described as having been in their 30s by authorities.

No description was given for the suspects in this case. It was friends and family members online who identified Samantha and Ricky as the parents.

'San Antonio friends and family, my cousin Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga, and her husband Ricky Zuniga, were kidnapped at gunpoint this morning from their home in front of their children,' wrote Mujer Fiera in a post.

'Growing up, she was my neighbor and the person who nicknamed me 'Honey.' I was part of the crew that welcomed her home as a baby and made it my goal to be a part of her care team,' Fiera continued.

The woman described Samantha as a 'fierce young woman' who has raised five children of her own in addition to her little sister.

'She's an incredible survivor, and I pray that she can come home safely to her babies very soon. Send love and prayers her way. Love you mija!' the post stated.

'Man if anyone knows ANYTHING let us kno aint NO REST til these 2 Ricky & Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga come home!!!' wrote John Garcia Jr

Police are seen outside the Zuniga family home on September 6

In one Facebook post, another friend begged friends to be on the lookout and asked for prayers and for God to look over the couple.

'Man if anyone knows ANYTHING let us kno aint NO REST til these 2 Ricky & Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga come home!!!' wrote John Garcia Jr.

In that post, Garcia Jr. shared a photo of himself with the couple along with a snip of a news story reporting the kidnapping.

'GOD I've came to u less than a handful of times in my life for something I really really loved or needed but this right here PLEASE IN THE NAME OF UR SON JESUS watch over my brother n sister & just bring them home,' Garcia wrote.

A motive in the kidnapping has yet to be identified

This is the couple's home in San Antonio where they were kidnapped

Both Garcia Jr. and Fiera's posts have been flooded with comments praying for their safe return and questioning who would do such a thing.

'God bring them home in the precious name of Jesus.' 'This is increasingly sad, I am hoping they are found safe.' 'Praying for their safe return- so terrible and thinking of them and their children.'

Property records indicate the couple have lived in the home since 2016.

DailyMail.com reached out to the San Antonio Police Department for confirmation on the couple's identities as well as additional information in the case.

Authorities did not respond by the time of publication.
Huntington Beach's council has voted to ban mask and COVID vaccine mandates - amid fears of a 'tripledemic' as the virus rises alongside flu and RSV.

The California city has a majority Republican mayor and city council, which pushed and voted for the ban.

Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark introduced the bill to a large crowd Wednesday, with 116 people signed up to give public comment.

She declared the city to be 'a no-mask, no-vaccine mandate city' as the measure passed by a 4-3 party line vote.

But there will be an exception to the rule for anyone who has tested positive for COVID, who will be mandated to wear masks in certain settings.

The California city of Huntington Beach's council voted to ban mask mandates and COVID vaccine mandates city-wide amid fears that the virus is beginning to rise again

'The government unnecessarily limited the freedoms of the citizens of Huntington Beach - even those who were not around anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 or at risk of any exposure,' Van Der Mark said.

She also said that private businesses would still be allowed to do whatever they wanted.

'If a business would like to ask for people to wear masks and be vaccinated and show vaccine cards, they should be entitled to do so themselves,' Van Der Mark said, 'but that should not be imposed on every citizen.'

COVID cases have been on the rise in nearby Los Angeles County, as well as hospitalizations.

Councilman Dan Kalmick, a Democrat, said that the whole idea was pointless because there had been no threat of new mandates, according to ABC7.

'There was no impetus for this. We've received no emails. This was strictly a political maneuver to rile folks up to gain support because these folks are losing support because of their very unpopular positions,' Kalmick said.

The council also proposed, but later tabled, an amendment that would theoretically ban LGBTQ+ Pride flags - and all flags aside from the national, state, city and POW flags - from public buildings.

A giant pride flag was placed on the steps in front of the building by protesters, according to the LA Times.

Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark (pictured) introduced the bill to a large crowd of both supporters and detractors

She declared the city to be 'a no-mask, no-vaccine mandate city' as the measure passed by a 4-3 party line vote

The council previously voted to stop flying it on city property every June in honor of Pride Month.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned medical professionals the rising rates of respiratory syncitial virus, or RSV, in Florida and Georgia in recent weeks signal the start of the respiratory virus season.

And the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advised healthcare workers to brace for what could be a 'tripledemic' of RSV, flu, and Covid-19 cases this winter.

Jill Biden tested positive for Covid for a second time Monday, prompting multiple rounds of tests on President Joe Biden, who continues to result negative.

As a precaution, the president, 80, wore a face mask for the first time in months as he went about his duties at the White House Tuesday.

However, he took it off during a Medal of Honor ceremony and did not put it back on - an act that encapsulated Americans' fatigue with Covid masks.

The 72-year-old First Lady's positive result is a reminder the virus that has been a backdrop issue for months is still disrupting people's lives as cases are on the rise again and positivity rates have climbed as high as 20 percent in some parts of the US.

But Covid is no longer the deadly threat it once was. While hospital admissions involving the virus have been rising for weeks, they are still about 10 times lower than levels seen at the peak in January 2022 and deaths are about 40 times below the peak in late 2020.

At least 116 people were signed up to give public comment on the bill

Jill Biden tested positive for Covid for a second time Monday, prompting multiple rounds of tests on President Joe Biden , who continues to result negative

Many doctors now compare the virus to the common cold or the flu, which while disruptive and deadly among vulnerable groups, will not cause serious illness in the vast majority of people.

The transition from deadly virus to manageable seasonal illness can be attributed to the high levels of immunity among Americans from infection or vaccination, plus an arsenal of highly-effective therapies and drugs.

For these reasons the federal government declared the pandemic over in May this year and ended the public health emergency, scrapping legal requirements to mask, isolate, test and get vaccinated.
But he didn't commit to blanket pardons, admitting some may have 'committed misconduct'

He said there was a double standard over a lack of prosecutions for BLM rioters

Ron DeSantis took aim at the 'excessive sentences' handed down to Proud Boys

Ron DeSantis has indicated he would 'look at' pardoning Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021 if he is elected president.

The Florida Governor took aim at the 'excessive sentences' handed down to the activists, the longest of which was set Tuesday to the group's former leader Enrique Tarrio - who was sentenced to 22 years for the breach.

Sentences for the four Proud Boys leaders who have been sent behind bars have ranged between 15 and 22 years, with Tarrio's lengthy stint seen as harsh by some as he was not even in DC at the time of the riot.

Desantis, 44, held off committing to blanket pardons as he admitted there were 'people that probably did commit misconduct, they may have been violent', but said there was a double standard over the lack of prosecutions for BLM rioters.

Tarrio is among several other high-ranking former or current Proud Boys leaders to be sentenced over the January 6 attack, and prosecutors continue to add to the over 1,100 people charged over the siege.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said if he is elected president, he plans to 'look' at the sentences handed down on some January 6 rioters

Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison this week for his role organizing the January 6, 2021 riots

DeSantis hinted at pardoning the Proud Boys in an interview with Newsmax's Eric Bolling on Wednesday, the day after Tarrio was jailed.

Asked if he would pardon or commute sentences handed down on the group, which hve ranged between 15 and 22 years, DeSantis said he would 'look at all those cases' if he became president.

'There's some examples of people that should not have been prosecuted. They just walked into the Capitol,' he said, arguing that if they had been BLM protestors, 'they would not have been prosecuted.'

'Then there's other examples of people that probably did commit misconduct, they may have been violent,' he continued.

'But to say it's an act of terrorism when it was basically a protest that devolved into a riot, to do excessive sentences you can look at, okay maybe they were guilty, but 22 years if other people that did other things got six months?'

He concluded with a veiled swipe at recent prosecutions against Donald Trump, which some Republicans claim are biased by President Biden's Department of Justice, as he called for 'a single standard of justice.'

'We'll use pardons and commutations as appropriate to ensure that everyone's treated equally, and as we know, a lot of people with the BLM riots, they didn't get prosecuted at all.'

Trump supporters surround a noose and a gallows near the Capitol, on January 6

Proud Boys members including Zachary Rehl, left, Ethan Nordean, center, and Joseph Biggs, walk toward the U.S. Capitol in Washington, in support of President Donald Trump

Proud Boys member Ethan Nordean walks toward the U.S. Capitol in Washington, in support of President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021

Prosecutors sought over three decades in prison in Tarrio's case as they described him as the ringleader of a plot to use violence at the January 6 riots.

Tarrio discussed 'revolutions' and 'storming' the Capitol complex prior to January 6, but was not in the capital at the time as he was arrested upon entry into the capital on January 5, 2021 for a prior offense of burning the Black Lives Matter flag and on several weapons charges.

He was joined in being prosecuted for the siege by self-described Proud Boys organizer Joe Biggs, who sobbed as he was sentenced to 17 years on Thursday for his role in the riot after pleading for leniency to take care of his daughter and ailing mother.

The judge ruled that Biggs qualified for a terrorism sentencing enhancement because he tore down a fence that stood between police and rioters.

Ethan Nordean, who prosecutors said was the Proud Boys' leader on the ground on January 6, was sentenced to 18 years in prison, tying the record for the longest sentence in the attack at the time before it was beaten by Tarrio.

Prosecutors had asked for 27 years for Nordean, who was a Seattle-area Proud Boys chapter president.

Lawyers for the Proud Boys deny that there was any plot to attack the Capitol or stop the transfer of presidential power.

'There is zero evidence to suggest Tarrio directed any participants to storm the U.S. Capitol building prior to or during the event,' Tarrio's attorneys wrote in court papers.

Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio (pictured with co-defendent Joseph Biggs) was found guilty of seditious conspiracy over the January 6 riot in 2021

Police arrested Tarrio in Washington on Jan. 4, 2021, on charges that he defaced a Black Lives Matter banner during an earlier rally in the nations capital, but law enforcement officials later said he was arrested in part over concerns about the potential for unrest during the certification.

He complied with a judges order to leave the city after his arrest.

On Jan. 6, dozens of Proud Boys leaders, members and associates were among the first rioters to breach the Capitol. The mobs assault overwhelmed police, forced lawmakers to flee the House and Senate floors and disrupted the joint session of Congress for certifying Bidens victory.

The backbone of the governments case was hundreds of messages exchanged by Proud Boys in the days leading up to Janury 6.

In one notable example as Proud Boys swarmed the Capitol, Tarrio cheered them on from afar, writing on social media: 'Do what must be done.' In a Proud Boys encrypted group chat later that day someone asked what they should do next.

Tarrio responded: 'Do it again.'

'Make no mistake,' Tarrio wrote in another message. 'We did this.'
An Australian-raised public health expert facing life behind bars on drug charges has broken his silence to proclaim his innocence and allege he was framed by police.

Elden Chamberlain, 60, has been detained in Cagayan de Oro City Jail ever since Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency officers stormed his home in a dramatic arrest in February last year.

He's been accused of selling 1,000 Philippine pesos ($27) of methamphetamine and being in possession of the drug, charges he says are 'entirely false.'

Mr Chamberlain, who's internationally renowned for his work in public health and HIV/AIDS, had been living in Cagayan de Oro and working with the Global Fund for HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria when he and colleague Ace Lanzaderas were arrested.

Elden Chamberlain (pictured before his arrest) has spent the last 19 months behind bars

Mr Chamberlain insists he would never risk his 'comfortable' life to get involved in a drug deal, adding that 1,000 pesos 'would not even buy a bottle of wine.'

He alleged the claims against him were fabricated by police and hopes the officers will be held accountable for their 'despicable actions'.

He hopes the charges will be dismissed within the next few months and vowed to get on the first flight out of the country as soon as he's released.

READ MORE: Aussie paedophile jailed for abusing children in the Philippines Advertisement

'For evil to flourish, it takes good men to do nothing. And I want to be a good man,' Mr Chamberlain told The West Australian from jail.

'Nothing will change here unless people speak out. I think it's important to speak out for everyone here who is caught up in the same horror that I am.'

His defence case was due to start on Thursday.

Mr Chamberlain is baffled as to why he was targeted by PDEA officers but believes it may have been due to his work helping drug users access health treatment for HIV.

'My whole working life has been to protect and support the most at-risk in our communities to HIV, TB and substance misuse,' he said.

'I have directed my working life to ensure that people who are substance users receive the care and treatment they need. It makes no sense that I would do anything so heinous as to contribute to creating substance use and addiction  the very conditions I fight against.'

Mr Chamberlain recalled the moment his life changed forever one night in February 2022 which left him fearing for this life.

Elden Chamberlain is fighting for the drugs charges to be dismissed and be freed from jail

The internationally renowned public health expert is currently detained in Cagayan de Oro City Jail (pictured) in the Philippines

He had just finished a business phone call and was relaxing in front of the TV with a glass of wine when 30 armed officers stormed inside his home in a gated community.

'As the last one came through the door and shoved me to the floor, he yelled out: 'Buy bust.' I was held at gunpoint on the living room floor, as was Ace (his co-accused), who had been sitting at the table doing some work. And these people just ran riot through the house,' Mr Chamberlain recalled.

He claimed the pair were dragged upstairs into a darkened room by police who then held them at gunpoint.

'Honestly, I thought I was going to die,' Mr Chamberlain said.

'They are known for just killing people ... and I thought, that was it. We are going to be shot.'

His arrest occurred under former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte's 'war on drugs' which led to thousands being killed.

Human Rights Watch has found police, including the PDEA, falsified evidence to justify killings, which is now subject to an investigation by the International Criminal Court.

Mr Chamberlain is a British citizen but grew up in Western Australia's south-west before moving to Perth where he graduated from Curtin University.

He has dedicated his career to public health which has included working with the likes of the United Nations USAID and AusAID

He still has family living in Western Australia, who are devastated about Mr Chamberlain's plight and hope a positive outcome will be reached.
He admitted he doesn't see a solution - and slammed the lack of help from Joe Biden

The former top cop's fury comes as over 110,000 refugees have flooded the city

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has torn into the migrant crisis crippling the Big Apple - which he warned will 'destroy' the city without urgent action.

Speaking to furious residents at a town hall meeting on Wednesday, he admitted he doesn't see a solution to the problem as he slammed the lack of help from Joe Biden.

'Let me tell you something, New Yorkers. Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I don't see an ending to this,' he conceded. 'This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City.'

The former top cop grew emotional as he talked about buses of migrants arriving on a near-daily basis, with over 10,000 arriving every month. Upwards of 110,000 are littered across the metro, and Adams' office has estimated the issue will cost New York City $12billion over three years.

Authorities are concerned that without an exit ramp, the situation could soon reach boiling point as furious protestors have clashed on the streets of the Five Boroughs while more migrants are left homeless by the limited space.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams took aim at the migrant crisis at a town hall on Wednesday, warning that it will 'destroy' the Big Apple without urgent recourse

The migrant crisis has plagued Adams' time as mayor since he took office in January 2022, and the former police officer warned Wednesday the problem is only getting worse.

'We're getting 10,000 migrants a month,' he said. 'Now we're getting people from all over the globe have made their minds up that they're going to come through the southern part of the border and come into New York City.'

The city has a legal obligation to give shelter to those who make their way to the metro, and Adams has desperately turned to a variety of city landmarks, makeshift shelters and temporary housing as short-term solutions.

Almost every decision he makes over the issue has caught the ire of New Yorkers, who slated the transformation of the historic Redbury and Roosevelt hotels into exclusive migrant shelters last month.

The mayor's desperation to provide housing even saw him propose moving refugees into the Manhattan's notorious MCC prison - the same run-down facility where Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in 2019.

Families have been prioritized for spaces in the hotels, leaving thousands to wait on streets for space to open up or move to shelters.

Last month, the city's deputy mayor for health and human services Anne Williams-Isom said the number of migrants in New York's homeless shelters is over 57,000 - over half the total.

In March, city officials launched a 24-hour center to handle the numbers, and created a new agency to help coordinate efforts.

Families have been given priority for housing in the city's hotels, leaving tens of thousands to fight for space in shelters or wait on the streets for a solution

Hundreds of refugees slept outside the Roosevelt Hotel in August when the historic establishment was transformed into a migrant camp

Adams said the Big Apple is receiving over 10,000 migrants every month as he warned the city could be transformed forever

Thousands of asylum seekers have been bussed to major cities from border states including Texas as unprecedented numbers continue to enter the United States

Adams has pleaded for months for help with the migrant influx, and has slammed President Biden for 'failing' to help New Yorkers

In Staten Island, a former Catholic school has become the epicenter of the borough's fury at the influx as several protests have been staged at the campus, where a 300-bed site has been set up.

Adams' former mayoral rival Curtis Sliwa, the head of vigilante group Guardian Angels, rallied the Staten Islanders on Tuesday as he pledged to shut down the nearby Verrazzano and Goethals Bridges to create travel chaos in protest of the situation.

Sliwa and Adams have been in a war of words over the persistent issue, with the mayor branding his activist opponent a 'buffoon' last month.

New York officials have been sounding the alarm for months over their inability to right the ship, with Adams cautioning that his office estimates the issue will cost the city in the region of $12 billion in just three years.

He declared a state of emergency in the fall and has repeatedly labelled the deluge a 'humanitarian crisis'. The mayor's failed requests for more federal funding led him to condemn President Biden in April for 'failing' the city.

The crisis is also far from contained to New York, as numerous major metros have also struggled with housing asylum seekers. In Chicago, residents were stunned to find a police precinct had been turned into a shelter in May.

In Staten Island Locals raged about the city's handling of the migrant crisis, which is costing officials millions every day as the buses continue arriving from the southern border

Adams has desperately turned to a variety of city landmarks, makeshift shelters and temporary housing to find room for the migrant influx, including former Catholic school St. John Villa Academy (pictured) in Staten Island

Curtis Sliwa whipped the crowd into a frenzy on Tuesday night as the migrant crisis continues to plague New Yorkers

The problems at the southern border were significantly escalated when Title 42, a pandemic-era border policy that gave officials advanced powers to detain people, ended in May.

The day the policy expired on May 12, the number of illegal border crossings topped 10,000 - a figure that was maintained for several days.

A large number of the refugees have moved from Venezuela amid the country's ongoing economic decline, with more than seven million residents leaving the nation of 29 million people as of February, reports The New York Times.

While the vast majority of the seven million have opted for neighboring countries, many have made their way to the US. From 2015 to 2018, only around 100 Venezuelans were stopped annually at the border.

From October 2021 to August 2022, that number stood at 150,000.

As well as the unprecedented numbers of asylum seekers flooding over the border, the reason New York has been hit so dramatically is also down to bus-loads of migrants being sent by frustrated southern states.

A leader in the move to bus migrants north has been Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has shuttled thousands to New York in a successful attempt to provoke controversy over the issue.

The large buoys were placed in the river over the summer by Governor Greg Abbott's administration as part of the Republican's escalating attempts to stop immigrants

A judge has ordered Texas to move a floating barrier that Gov. Greg Abbott placed on the river between the U.S. and Mexico to deter migrants from entering the U.S.

The large buoys were placed in the river over the summer by Abbott's administration as part of the Republican's escalating attempts to stop immigrants

Abbott has said the move is due to a need to bring the issue to the spotlight, but officials claim Texas is far better equipped and has far more resources to deal with the influx than the Big Apple.

As well as the buses, many migrants have also made their own way to New York City.

Abbott's handling of the migrant crisis in his own state took a major hit this week, however, as a judge ordered him to remove a floating barrier that the governor had placed on a river between the US and Mexico to deter border crossings.

The large buoys were placed in the river over the summer by Abbott's administration as part of the Republican's escalating attempts to stop immigrants.
The Mar-a-Lago IT director who flipped on Donald Trump in the classified documents case has struck a deal with Special Counsel Jack Smith to provide testimony and avoid criminal charges.

Yuscil Taveras, 45, is a part-time DJ and registered Democrat with a history of money troubles, DailyMail.com previously revealed.

The deal was made after Smith's office threatened to prosecute Taveras for lying to a grand jury, Taveras' former attorney, Stanley Woodward, said in the filing.

Prosecutors have said Taveras is likely to testify at trial, posing a potential conflict of interest for Woodward, who will face the prospect of a former client testifying against a current client.

Woodward currently represents Walt Nauta, one of the two Trump employees also charged in the documents case, in addition to having previously represented the IT head, who is not named in Wednesday's filing.

Yuscil Taveras, the Mar-a-Lago IT director who flipped on Donald Trump in the classified documents case has entered into a deal with Special Counsel Jack Smith to provide testimony, according to court filings

Woodward has not opposed the request for US District Judge Aileen Cannon, who is presiding over the case, to hold a hearing on the issue.

But he suggested in Wednesday's filing that prosecutors' handling of the IT manager's testimony was improper.

The case is one of four criminal prosecutions of Trump, who leads the field seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2024 election.

Prosecutors previously said that Taveras had information about efforts by Trumps personal aide Nauta and others to obstruct the classified documents investigation.

Taveras' current attorney had no immediate comment.

Prosecutors have charged Trump, Nauta and a third Mar-a-Lago employee, Carlos De Oliveira, with trying to thwart government efforts to retrieve sensitive documents taken to the Florida resort after Trump left office. All three have pleaded not guilty.

A spokesperson for Smiths office declined to comment. Woodward declined to comment.

Justice Department filings suggest that Taveras  described as 'Trump employee 4'  initially denied any knowledge of an alleged plot to wipe incriminating CCTV from a server at the former President's swish Florida residence.

Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower on September 6, 2023 in New York City

Taveras, 45, is a New York native and registered Democrat who had moonlighted as 'DJ Juicy'. He is pictured performing for a college radio station in Manhattan in 2009

After receiving a letter from the special counsel's office threatening him with prosecution, he dropped Woodward as his attorney and then detailed alleged efforts to delete security camera footage at Mar-a-Lago, they said.

Woodward rejected prosecutors' account in Wednesdays filing, saying the IT employee provided new testimony to the grand jury only after being offered a non-prosecution deal, which was reached after he was no longer representing the employee.

Taveras managed to rack up debts of nearly $750,000 despite holding down a string of well-paid tech jobs and moonlighting as 'DJ Juicy.'

The New York native has scrubbed his social media and kept a low profile since his explosive U-turn was revealed in an August 22 federal court filing.

He and his wife are currently renting a smart $850,000 home in a gated community in Lake Worth, Florida, less than 30 minutes from the Mar-a-Lago Club, where the longtime Trump organization employee has worked for the past several years.

When DailyMail.com dialed the number for Taveras on the estate's door entry system a female voice picked up and insisted: 'You have the wrong number.'

The father of two young boys ignored our calls and texts and blocked our reporter's number when we reached out via WhatsApp.

Taveras graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York in 2001 with a degree in computer information systems and went on to land a series of jobs in the luxury hotel industry.

He worked for Ritz-Carlton and Marriott before taking a position with the Trump Soho Hotel in 2010 and, five years later, the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York City, according to his now-deleted Linkedin page.

When he wasn't working in IT, Taveras was hitting the decks as his record-spinning alter-ego, DJ Juicy.

Taveras, a married father-of-two, currently lives in a rented $850,000 home in a gated community in Lake Worth, less than 30 minutes from the Mar-a-Lago Club, where the longtime Trump organization employee has worked for the past several years

Public records reveal Taveras and his wife of 20 years, Darleny Cabreja-Taveras, have had their share of financial woes, having filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in October 2017

Taveras is now expected to be called as a trial witness to testify against Trump. Pictured: Donald Trump inside a Manhattan courtroom in April

He was pictured in 2009 performing for a college radio station in Manhattan.

In 2017 he swapped the Bronx for the Sunshine State, where he is listed as Director of Information Technology for Trump Florida Properties. He registered as a Democrat in Florida in 2019 and and voted in the 2020 general election.

Taveras and his wife of 20 years, Darleny Cabreja-Taveras, have had their share of financial woes along the way, however, having filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in October 2017.

Court documents obtained by DailyMail.com show the couple owed $738,533 to a slew of creditors including banks, credit card firms, car leasing companies and a furniture store.

They paid back $67,133 over five years before being declared debt-free in December 2022.

The toll on the couple's finances did not stop systems administrator Darleny, 44, from recently launching a baking business called Sweet Cake Pops & More.

The entrepreneurial mom also worked for Trump Hotels from 2014 to 2016 and founded an IT firm, Synergy Tech Solution, in 2021.

New court filings show that the federal government 'anticipates calling Trump Employee 4 as a trial witness

Yuscil Taveras, the head of IT at Mar-a-Lago, received a 'target' letter from prosecutors, but has not been charged

Cameras at Mar-a-Lago overlooked the storeroom where Trump staffer De Oliveira and former White House valet Walt Nauta are alleged to have stashed boxes

Taveras appeared before a grand jury in May where he was asked why Mar-a-Lago maintenance manager Carlos De Oliveira called him last summer shortly after prosecutors issued a subpoena for surveillance camera footage.

The cameras overlooked the storeroom where De Oliveira and former White House valet Walt Nauta are alleged to have stashed boxes before prosecutors traveled to Palm Beach to demand the return of classified documents that Trump kept after leaving office in 2021.

Smith's lawyers wanted to know whether anyone considered deleting or interfering with the footage but Taveras repeatedly denied that any such conversations took place, it's alleged.

When an updated Trump indictment was revealed in July it claimed that Nauta and De Oliveira met up at Mar-a-Lago on June 25, 2022 to inspect the storeroom and surrounding cameras.

Two days later De Oliveira asked 'Employee 4' how long the system retained footage and told him 'the boss'  likely referring to Trump  wanted the server deleted.

'Trump Employee 4 responded that he would not know how to do that, and that he did not believe that he would have the rights to do that,' the indictment added.

Carlos De Oliveira, 56, (left) walked out of federal court on July 31. Walt Nauta, a former Trump aide and White House valet, has also been charged in the probe

He responded by ditching MAGA stalwart attorney Woodward  who is backed by Trump's Save America PAC  for a federal public defender before reversing his testimony.

He 'provided information that implicated Nauta, De Oliveira, and Trump' and the federal government 'anticipates calling Trump Employee 4 as a trial witness', the DOJ says in its latest filing.

Trump, currently the Republican primary frontrunner, was charged in June with 37 counts related to violations of the Espionage Act, willfully retaining classified documents and refusing to return them to the federal government.

He has pleaded not guilty and has denied every allegation in the four separate criminal indictments brought against him in federal and state courts.

Nauta is accused of conspiring to obstruct an FBI and grand jury investigation. The longtime aide to the 45th President has pleaded not guilty.

De Oliveira has denied charges of obstruction and lying to investigators. Prosecutors allege he falsely claimed he had not seen boxes moved into Mar-a-Lago after Trump left the White House.
Police are investigating if human remains found in South Australia are those of an alleged murder victim.

Human remains have been found on a property in the state's mid-north and could be those of Robert Atkins, thought to be the victim of a drug-related murder.

Detectives from Task Force Southern returned to the area on Wednesday and have confirmed the discovery of remains concealed in isolated scrubland on a property in Minvalara, southeast of Orroroo.

They remain at the scene along with forensic response officers, a forensic anthropologist and State Emergency Service volunteers.

Human remains have been found on a property in the South Australia's mid-north and could be those of Robert Atkins (pictured), thought to be the victim of a drug-related murder

Detectives from Task Force Southern returned to the area on Wednesday and have confirmed the discovery of remains concealed in isolated scrubland on a property in Minvalara, southeast of Orroroo (image from previous police search)

Mr Atkins' death is one of three being investigated by the task force and thought to be linked to the Adelaide drug trade.

Sean Clive Phypers, 32, was charged with his murder this year, with four other people charged in relation to his alleged detention.

Police said previously it would be alleged Mr Atkins was assaulted multiple times and held at a number of locations before being taken to SA's mid-north and killed.

The 29-year-old's death was thought to be linked to the drug trade, along with those of two other men, Trevor King and Jeff Mundy.

Sean Clive Phypers (pictured), 32, was charged with Mr Atkins' murder this year, with four other people charged in relation to his alleged detention

Mr King, 41, was found dead at suburban West Lakes in January 2020, with police believing his death was staged to look like a suicide.

In the months before his death, he was the victim of unlawful detention and serious assaults, resulting from a drug debt.

Mr Mundy, 36, was last seen in December 2020. His body has not been found, with police suspecting it was disposed of somewhere on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula.
A tenant has revealed the brutal response from a property agency after she was told her rent would go up by an extra $300.

May who lives in the shared home with three others in Kilburn, in Adelaide's north, was given a few days notice telling her she would have to pay $800 in rent.

The 21-year-old woman, who can't afford the rent was shocked when the property agency allegedly told her to 'move back in with your parents', if she couldn't pay up.

The uni student who is studying at the University of Adelaide and works part-time, told Yahoo she has been left with no choice but to fork out the extra money.

'Right before our lease renewed - which was at the start of August - they sent us an email saying they were increasing the rent to $800,' May said.

May who lives in a shared rental home with three others flat mates in South Australia was brutally told by the property agency to 'move back in with your parents' if she couldn't pay the rent

'if we were unhappy with that price, that, unfortunately, they wouldn't be able to renew our lease, because that's what the landlord was wanting'.

'So it was very blunt, and straightforward, and we really didn't have much room to negotiate or anything'.

May claims she and her flat mates have repeatedly asked the landlord and the property agency to fix several parts of the home that are broken.

She says the air conditioner and dishwasher don't work while the front gate is damaged. The home has also been fitted with faulty lighting and bad plumbing.

May said nothing has been repaired so far.

According to the tenant, requests for repairs are either ignored or it takes six months for the issue to get looked into.

In South Australia, rents can be increased within a minimum of 60 days.

A tenant's rent can also be increased at least 12 months after the agreement between the renter and the landlord begins.

Landlords can kick renters out without notice under South Australian law however, the state government has put forward a proposal to alter the legislation.

With low vacancy rates among rental properties across South Australia, May has put off arguing with the landlord over fears they could be forced to pack up and move out.

May said has faced homelessness before and said the thought paying more rent, is very stressful as she would have to find somewhere else to live.

According to Domain's latest quarterly rent report, rents for units in South Australia have reached record highs, after the median price rose by 2.4 per cent to $430.

The median rent for houses also jumped by almost 4 per cent to $540.
William Tyrell's foster father allegedly grabbed an 11-year-old girl's neck during a dispute, a support person testified in court.

During cross-examination at Parramatta Local Court on Thursday afternoon, it was revealed that the girl, known as LT, told the support person that her foster father, known as JS, 56, had 'mental health issues' at the time of the alleged assault.

She told the court that LT was 'sobbing' as she recounted the incident.

The new details were revealed after the court heard LT's pre-recorded testimony during a closed session.

The missing toddlers foster parents are in court to answer to a range of allegations relating to LT, including assault and a stalking or intimidation charge.

The revelation followed three dramatic days in which William Tyrell's former foster mother, known as SD, 58, broke down numerous times while a police prosecutor played back secret audio recordings of alleged assaults of LT.

A support person told the Local Parramatta Court on Thursday that the foster father of William Tyrrell (right) allegedly put his hands around the neck of an 11-year-old girl during a dispute

William Tyrrell's foster mother (centre) - who cannot be identified for legal reasons but is known to the court as SD - broke down multiple times as dozens of secret audio recordings were played

During cross-examination by the prosecution, the support worker recounted what LT had told her in December 2022 during a break in a police interview with the girl.

'We were sitting in a room and LT was quite upset and she was sobbing,' the witness said.

'She then turned to me and said "my dad put his hands around my neck, he has mental health issues".'

The support worker said she did not immediately tell the police about it as she 'did not want to breach trust', but that she did tell officers immediately after the meeting had ended.

During cross examination by the foster father's barrister Phillip English, the support worker clarified that she had accurately recalled what LT had said.

Rather than putting his hands around her neck, Mr English asked if the girl had instead described her foster father as using an open palm to apply force to her shoulder.

'No, she did not,' the support worker stated.

'She said exactly what I said in my statement.'

On Wednesday an audio recording was played to the court in which SD was heard to allegedly kick LT during an argument over household chores on October 20, 2021.

In the recording SD can be heard talking about what the family has endured since William went missing, and the ongoing mystery of what became of him.

'You don't know about the stuff we've had to do, you don't know about the stuff that's going on right now,' the foster mother told the girl after allegedly kicking her around 7.45am.

After the incident, the 11-year-old tells the foster father 'she kicked me', saying it was because the girl had threatened to kick another child.

READ MORE: William Tyrrell's foster mum pleads guilty to assault of an 11-year-old William Tyrrell's foster mum, known as JS Advertisement

The foster mother interrupts and says: 'Just be quiet and sit there, so now you know how it feels'.

The girl then says to SD: 'You're a bad mother'.

The kick was revisited on Thursday when former Salvation Army Captain and family friend Michelle White told the court that SD confided in her after the alleged assault.

Ms White described the foster mother as 'forthcoming' and that she acknowledged that she 'at times has not lived up to her own expectations' of being a mother.

According to the statement Ms White gave to police after the kick, the foster mother said she was ashamed' of what she had done, admitting that she had 'lost it' at the time.

Ms White then asked if the kick had left a visible mark and the foster mother said it had not.

A seperate incident between the foster mother and the child involved a wooden spoon, which was recorded and played before the court on Tuesday.

On the distressing audio tape, the foster mother can be heard telling the girl to go and get the wooden spoon, followed by the sound of the girl being hit.

The girl then repeatedly wails 'help me' before SD tells the girl to 'shut up'.

In a subsequent recorded phone call, the foster mother tells the foster father they had a problem because the assault had 'left a welt'.

The foster parents wept during the playing of the recording, which stemmed from a late night confrontation after they took away some of the child's clothes and toys.

The assault, to which the foster mother has pleaded guilty, happened on January 26, 2021.

William Tyrrell's foster parents exit Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday

The foster parents of missing toddler William Tyrrell (above) are accused of assaulting and stalking and intimidating a primary age schoolgirl in 2021 in a raft of incidents between January and August

The foster mother, 58, who has pleaded guilty to two charges of assaulting the 11-year-old, allegedly struck her the girl during one of several disciplinary sessions after the child called her a 'f***ing b***h'.

Police allege the foster mother threatened the girl while William's 56-year-old foster father allegedly 'grabbed' the girl by the neck and 'physically restrained her to sit back down' in the kitchen of a suburban home.

Following the two guilty pleas, the foster mother failed in a bid by her lawyer to have the five-day trial held in secret and closed off to the public and the media.

READ MORE: How William Tyrrell's foster parents escaped scrutiny... until now The problems that beset the William Tyrrell case from the moment the three-year-old vanished go directly to the heart of Australia's flawed foster parent system. On one side, you have a his foster parents, a wealthy, well-educated couple who live in a $4 million home on Sydney's exclusive north shore. And on the other are his biological parents, who fell under suspicion from police because of the problems which saw them lose custody of the little boy in the first place: substance abuse and issues with law and order. READ MORE: How toddler 'couldn't get up' after 'distressing' accident, hit and bit foster mum Advertisement

While pleading guilty to two counts of assault, the foster mother maintains she is not guilty of stalking the girl and has pleaded not guilty to two counts of intimidation against the same young child.

The foster father has pleaded not guilty to one charge each of common assault and stalk and intimidate.

But Magistrate Susan McIntyre said she was prepared to allow prosecution evidence on the stalk and intimidate charges.

Her Honour dismissed an application to have the prosecutions tendency evidence thrown out, saying it had probative value in pointing towards the foster mothers guilt.

'It is the cumulative effect of all these incidents to show that (the foster mother) knew her conduct was likely to cause fear but nonetheless continued.'

SD and her husband JS were charged with common assault of the girl in late 2021, as police embarked on a new search of bushland near the NSW Mid North Coast town of Kendall for the remains of William Tyrrell.

They have also entered guilty pleas to charges of using a dummy bidder to increase the sale price of their former 'forever home' for missing William on Sydney's North Shore at an auction in 2020.

The charges were downgraded to regulatory offences under the Property and Stock Agents Act and the pair will be sentenced this week and fined.

William disappeared aged three in September 2014 in the NSW Mid North Coast town of Kendall and no trace of the toddler has ever been found.

No-one has ever been charged over his disappearance.

A new search of bushland within 700m of the Kendall house where William was last seen was conducted in late 2021, but no items of significance have been identified.
A heartbroken mother has paid tribute to her 'beautiful, respectful' teenage daughter who died suddenly in her bed, devastating a close-knit family.

Melody Southon, 17, from Seabrook in the Melbourne's south-west, could not be woken up on Tuesday morning.

'My girl was special in every way possible,' her mother, Ellen Tonihi told Daily Mail Australia.

'[She was the] most beautiful respectful girl out.'

Agonisingly, Ms Tonihi confirmed her the cause of her New Zealand-born daughter's death is so far unknown.

Melody Southon, 17, from Seabrook, Melbourne, was 'suffering' at school on Monday and tragically could not be woken on Tuesday morning

Ellen Tonihi told Daily Mail Australia that her daughter Melody Southon, who died suddenly this week, 'was special in every way possible'

Instead the family must wait for the results of the coroner's report.

The Year 11 student went to school in Melbourne on Monday but was 'suffering' throughout the day.

'She looked weak and other people sensed that she looked sick and tired,' her sisters told news.com.au.

'There was times where she was sad, but she just used to push it all to the side for anyone around her.'

The sisters added 'we are strong humans' and that Melody probably expected to recover.

They described Melody as 'a beautiful' person and 'a role model'.

Tributes were pouring onto social media for the New Zealand-born girl.

'She was so bubbly, funny and bright,' one friend wrote.

'Rest in heaven baby sista, in our hearts forever,' said another.

'Moe mai ra darling,' said another. It is a Maori phrase meaning: 'sleep well'.

'F***ing heart breaking, bro I'm so sorry. Sending all the love and strength to you all,' a family friend wrote.

Ellen Tonihi said her daughter Melody Southon was 'a beautiful and respectful' girl

The family started an online fundraiser on the day she died 'to get enough money for a coffin and farewell'.

Melody Southon, who died this week was 'so bubbly, funny and bright' friends said in a tribute

'We want our last moments with her to be perfect and would love to have the opportunity and funds to do so,' wrote, Monaryelle Southon, Melody's older sister.

'She was our baby sister as well as a older sister to 11, we would really appreciate giving the rest of our baby siblings a proper way to say goodbye as its not something they should be witnessing so soon.'

The GoFundMe page had raised $7,228 by Thursday afternoon.

The family will hold a service for the beloved teenager on 22 September.
The U.S. Navy is expanding the number of APL-S-67 berthing barges it operates. These vessels are towed to where they are needed to temporarily house sailors while their ships are being updated, repaired or new ones completed. The navy has used these barges since World War II but the current ABL 67 class barges did not begin to appear until recently. A new class of berthing barges will begin to show up in 2024. These barges are the best solution for housing sailors temporarily.

In 2021 navy received the first of at least five APL-S-67 berthing barges. These Auxiliary Personnel Lighter-Small berthing barges are a new design, and the first new navy berthing barge design since the 1950s. Sailors who have seen the new APL-67s report that in addition to being new, they have a lot of the new features sailors have long sought for these temporary accommodations. These features include a post office, barber shop, bank, classrooms, laundry, medical clinic and exercise room.

The older berthing barges have not aged gracefully and the navy did not put a high priority on spending money required to keep the elderly berthing barges at least as accommodating as living quarters on warships. Another problem was that there were not enough berthing barges available to meet demand. In some emergency situations sailors are housed in local hotels temporarily and the difference between that and a berthing barge was considerable. Worse, many sailors or close kin had spent time on commercial berthing barges used in remote work sites. This was the standard the new navy berthing barges had to match.

Before the completion of the first APL-67 class barge, the most recently built berthing barge was twenty years old, and one of the World War II era APLs was still in service. The basic APL design was created in World War II and over fifty were built by 1945. Some went through refurbishment and were kept in service for decades. Some commercial berthing barges were also obtained during the naval build up in the Persian Gulf after 2001. Commercial berthing barges are widely used, with accommodation ranging from basic to motel-class for housing workers in areas where there are no suitable commercial accommodations. Oil field workers in remote parts of the world are frequently housed in berthing barges and morale was maintained by using modern, comfortable berthing barge designs. The APL-67 design is larger and with more amenities than the World War II APLs, which held about a hundred personnel each.

The APL-67s will replace six older berthing barges, some of them way past their replacement date. Thanks to the Internet, sailors assigned to these older barges reported to other naval personnel about the decrepit conditions on older barges, and a few sailors familiar with more recent berthing barge designs described the differences between those and the Navys existing barges in excruciating and embarrassing, for the navy, detail. The older barges had become a major morale problem, which was part of the motivation for the new APL design.

The first three of these new barges were in service by 2022. The first two will cost $39 million each and that includes the cost of designing them. All entered service by 2023 and ultimately the average cost per barge will be about $30 million. The new 2,700-ton barges have accommodations for 74 officers and 537 enlisted sailors. The new barges are built to accommodate mixed gender enlisted personnel. Each barge has all the facilities found on warships. This includes offices, classrooms, washrooms, laundry, medical treatment, barbershop and a fitness facility. There is a dining facility that can feed 228 enlisted and 56 officers per sitting. These six new berthing barges are the beginning of a program where all older berthing and messing (dining only) barges, especially those with accommodations inferior to those found in the latest warships, will be replaced. Improving ship accommodations was found to be a major factor in whether sailors reenlist in the navy.

The navy is also building a larger version of the new berthing barge that can accommodate about a thousand personnel and feed 3,000 a day. The new barges reflect changes in the last fifty years, with ships getting more amenities and mixed-gender crews. More crew members have families and can often live at home during longer periods when the unmarried crew is on the berthing barges. The barges are currently used at eight bases or shipyards in the mainland United States, plus some in Hawaii, Guam and Japan.

The navy has long used berthing barges to house crews when their ships are undergoing repairs or refurbishment that makes it impossible for the crews to still live on the ship. Since World War II the navy has used berthing barges, rather than barracks ashore, for this task. The berthing barges spend most of their time tied up to a dock and connected to shore-based electricity, sanitation and water supplies. The main advantage of berthing barges is that, when needed at another base or shipyard, they can be disconnected from local utilities and towed to the other base, just like any other barge.

The new barges will have better-living accommodations for enlisted crew and, most importantly, are new, not decades old. Moreover, the new barges are built to house civilians to support the navy assisting in disaster relief missions. This is a relatively new task but one that is much appreciated in U.S. and overseas locations where the navy shows up to provide supplies, electricity (from ships), communications and air (helicopters and surveillance) support. The APL-67s are built to last at least 40 years, including one or two rounds of refurbishment.
A First Nations leader has explained why she believes some Aboriginal Australians will be voting no in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum, declaring: 'It is a whitefellas' vote.'

Monica Morgan, who is the CEO of the Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation, said in her view, Indigenous people in the remote community of Cummeragunja on the NSW-Victorian border haven't been given enough details about what exactly the Voice is and how it will work to improve their lives.

'Truthfully I don't believe there was enough information provided at all at Cummeragunja,' she told NITV's The Point recently.

'People only get snippets, what they hear on the news, but not any real depth,' she said.

She said people in Australia with racist views towards Indigenous people have been around since settlement, but The Voice to Parliament debate has elevated their platform.

'The bigoted ones are given more of a voice now to be racist,' she said.

She also explained many non-Indigenous people have come to her asking how they should vote in the referendum.

'I say you can do what you like, but at the end of the day it is a whitefellas' vote, it's not a blackfellas' vote,' she said.

Monica Morgan who is CEO of the Yorta Yorta Nation said people in Cummeragunja weren't included enough or given enough information about the Voice

However, Ms Morgan ultimately supports a constitutional Voice, saying local communities would have an 'economic base' and be involved in making decisions for themselves.

'I'll give you an example, the local Aboriginal Land Council, I'm sure they have their heart in it, but not one of those board members live here on Cummeragunja.

'It's about people on Cummera being the ones making decisions for themselves'.

'I moved here with my family because this is self-determination, our mob chose this Country, our mob were part of a dream and I want to be part of that dream being carried through.'

READ MORE: These First Nations Aussies say they don't understand what The Voice is about and have some tough words for Anthony Albanese as they reveal why they will be voting NO Advertisement

Australians will be asked to vote Yes or No on October 14 on whether to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body to Parliament.

One local elder told the program she was hesitant to trust the government.

'I don't agree with the Voice. I think there's a hidden agenda because of so many things that have happened to our people,' she told the program.

'I'm part of the stolen generation, and I just don't trust the government anymore,' she added.

Another First Nations woman in Cummeragunja, a remote community with a history of grass roots activism, said she didn't know what the Voice is.

'I don't understand it. I don't know what it's going to do for us,' she said.

'I just think that it should have been explained more in detail. What we get out of it and what that Voice will mean to us.'

During the NITV show, a male elder said he was concerned the Voice would be a constant topic for divisive debate both in Indigenous communities and wider Australia that could not be removed from the Constitution.

'It's only going to make things worse, I say. That's my opinion, everyone's got their own opinion.'

While a fourth younger woman interviewed said it just isn't on the radar of people she knows, saying: 'I really don't know much about the referendum. No one here really talks about it'.

One First Nations woman from Cummeragunja said she does not understand how the Voice will work or deliver positive change for remote communities while another said people she knows just don't even talk about it

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the Voice as coming from Indigenous Australians, not politicians, and as something that the vast majority support.

'Indigenous people overwhelmingly want this. All the surveys show that somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent of Indigenous Australians support this,' Mr Albanese told Sydney radio station WSFM in June.

The information he refers to is from two polls conducted earlier this year.

An Ipsos poll in January and a YouGov poll in March found support for the Voice among First Nations Australians was 80 per cent and 83 per cent, respectively.

Both polls were commissioned by the Uluru Dialogue Group, which supports the Voice proposal.

The Ipsos poll surveyed 300 First Nations people, with 80 per cent saying they would vote yes, 10 per cent no and 10 per cent undecided.

The YouGov poll sampled 738 Indigenous Australians, with 83 per cent saying they would vote yes, 14 per cent no and 4 per cent undecided.

Volunteers for the Yes and No campaigns are mobilsing ahead of the referendum (pictured)

Prominent Indigenous lawyer and Yes campaigner Noel Pearson said the referendum would be a rare opportunity for Australians.

'We have everything in front of us, we have a world to gain,' Mr Pearson told ABC radio on Thursday.

He said the growing base of volunteers would be instrumental to the 'yes' campaign.

'We're not going to win this on social media, we're gonna win it at the train stations, in the malls, at the at the houses of people that we knock the doors on,' he said.

Professor Megan Davis, an architect of the Uluru Statement from the Heart which led to the referendum, also said 'face-to-face yarns' in communities will be the only path to success.

'What we found in our work is that in areas where undecided people come in, they more often leave as 'yes' because they get the facts unencumbered by ideological agenda,' she said.

Early voting for the referendum begins on October 2, but because of a public holiday observed in the ACT, SA, NSW and Qld, those jurisdictions will open pre-polling on October 3.
Elon Musk on Wednesday appeared to question Tucker Carlson's decision to air an interview with a convicted fraudster who claims he had gay sex with Barack Obama.

Carlson used his show on the Musk-owned X to air claims by the 'dubious' conman that he had sex twice with Obama in Chicago in 1999 - retelling a story he first told 15 years ago, and once again failing to provide any evidence for his wild claims.

Larry Sinclair claimed he met Obama through a limousine driver, who knew the then-Illinois representative. He claimed Obama smoked crack with him, and then Sinclair gave him oral sex in the car.

Sinclair alleged Obama turned up at his hotel the next day, and the same routine played out. He said he was sure Obama had had sex with men and smoked crack before. Musk called the story 'dubious', and pointed out there was no evidence.

'Of course, the probability that his claims are true would have to rest on objective evidence, rather than claims made by someone with a dubious history,' Musk tweeted.

Convicted con artist Larry Sinclair (left) appeared on Tucker Carlson's show on X on Wednesday night to revive his longstanding claims of drug-fueled sex with Barack Obama

Elon Musk was skeptical about the value of Carlson's interview

Musk strongly courted Carlson after the influential news anchor was fired by Fox in April.

In May, Carlson announced that he was now going to broadcast his shows on the Musk-owned platform - much to Musk's glee.

But Musk's skepticism was shared by others on social media.

'That's a good point. It's important to be skeptical of claims, especially when they're made by someone who has a history of being dishonest,' said one.

'I would find it very entertaining if true. But I'm at 10 per cent as for now. Maybe lower,' said another. Another agreed the story was 'weak'.

'Yes, the story is weak. Maybe true maybe not. It didn't really seem worth airing without more evidence.'

And another, a self-confessed fan of Carlson, questioned why he aired such thin claims.

'Truth or fiction, I could care less about another person's private sex life and history with the exception of my own husband. I like Tucker but don't agree with this topic. Salacious is putting it mild,' she said.

Sinclair's story has been told before.

The South Carolina-born fraudster hired a room in the Washington DC press club in 2008 to tell his story, and in 2009 self-published a book entitled: 'Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair: Cocaine, Sex, Lies & Murder?'

Sinclair's claims were given a new lease of life by the publication of a letter which Obama, then 21, wrote to his girlfriend Alex McNear in November 1982.

In the letter, he wrote that he 'loves making love to men daily, but in the imagination,' according to the New York Post.

Sinclair's claims were given fresh oxygen on Wednesday night by Tucker Carlson, who interviewed him for his show on X.

A spokesperson for Obama's personal office did not respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com on Wednesday evening.

Sinclair has a lengthy criminal history, including convictions on forgery, fraud and larceny charges, and has served prison time in Arizona, Florida and Colorado.

HOW SINCLAIR SAYS THEY MET

Sinclair, who grew up in South Carolina and now lives in Mexico, said that he was living in Colorado at the time and went to Chicago.

'I was in town for a few nights, and I was definitely looking to party,' he said.

'There was no doubt what I was looking for.'

He said a limousine driver picked him up, and introduced him to Obama.

'The driver definitely knew him, as he said he was a friend.

'I only found out later, dealing with a reporter from Bloomberg News, that the limousine company had been doing business with Tony Rezko.'

Syrian-born Rezko was a notorious Democrat donor, who contributed to Obama's campaign. He was later imprisoned for multiple counts of fraud.

Former US President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are seen at the US Open last week. They have been married since 1992 and share two daughters

SOURCING COCAINE

Sinclair said that he and Obama went to an 'upscale, quiet' bar, which he could not name - but 'where the glasses had three Xs on them'.

He said he was told Obama was having trouble in his marriage, but the issue was not discussed.

'My feeling is that Barack Obama is definitely bi. There is a lot of transactional qualities to him. I think whatever he does is looking for a hook, looking for a benefit,' said Sinclair.

Sinclair said he had no idea Obama was a politician.

The fraudster said he told Obama he was tired and 'wanted something to wake up,' and Obama immediately knew he meant cocaine, and told him he could get it.

'I had no idea that he was a representative in the Illinois House. I just knew that he was supposedly married, and at that time going through some issues in the marriage,' said Sinclair.

He said they returned to the limo, and were driven to a place where they could buy cocaine. Sinclair said he gave Obama $250 to buy cocaine: Obama went out, returned to the limo, and then they took the drugs.

Sinclair claims that Obama smoked the drug, while he snorted it.

GETTING INTIMATE - TWICE

Sinclair said that, after they had both taken cocaine, Sinclair began stroking Obama's thigh.

'Then you hit on him,' Carlson said. 'Did he seem shocked by that?'

Sinclair replied: 'Not at all.'

Larry Sinclair, who claims he performed a sexual act on Barack Obama, poses with women at Trump National Doral Miami in a photo he posted October 12, 2019 from Miami, Florida.

He continued: 'I've done a lot of crazy things in my lifetime. I'm a pretty good judge of character. I didn't feel like I was going in the wrong direction.

'I wasn't sure I could trust the individual. But I was somewhat buzzed, so caution went to the wind.'

Sinclair said he was someone who had 'been around', and was constantly worried his partners would pull a knife on him, or worse.

After the act, in the back of the limo, Sinclair said he returned to his hotel - a Comfort Inn, in the Chicago suburb of Gurnee.

'I got dropped off, and they left,' he told Carlson.

'The next day was somewhat interesting because he showed up at my hotel room.

'I got no warning - I was in my room, I get a knock on the door, he's standing there with more coke.

'Exact same program.'

He said again Obama smoked crack, and then Sinclair performed oral sex on him.

'You get off, you finish smoking, you leave,' he said.

OBAMA WAS 'A CON', LOOKING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE

Sinclair said he thought Obama was 'interesting, definitely a con.'

He added: 'I had definitely been around. You know when people are doing things because they actually really enjoy it, looking for a connection.

'Or they are looking for an in, a hook. I thought he was looking at it as in, is there something I can get out of it, other than the sexual part.'

He said he was left with 'a bad taste in his mouth'.

SINCLAIR DISCOVERS WHO OBAMA IS

Sinclair said he learnt Obama's identity five years later, in 2004.

'I had no idea who he was until I was sitting in my house in Mexico in 2004 and he walked onto the stage, at the convention,' he told Carlson.

'I hit the floor. I was laughing so hard.'

Sinclair is seen speaking to Tucker Carlson, for Carlson's show on X

Sinclair said he was in no doubt it was him.

'I don't forget people. He used his real name - he called himself Barack.

'I didn't know that much about him. You hook up. Today it's Grindr, back then it's a limo driver or bar tender. You ask, and somebody knows something or doesn't.'

Sinclair said he 'freaked out', and told friends who were at his house that night.

'You're not going to believe this,' he said he told them. 'I blew this guy twice!'

He said it was 'unreal'.

Sinclair added: 'It was a strange feeling sitting there seeing him walk across the stage, and realizing who he was.'

SINCLAIR CONTACTS THE 2008 CAMPAIGN

Sinclair said he got in touch with the campaign in 2007, when Obama said he was open about his drug use as a young man.

'The only reason I came out about it is - I had reached out to the campaign even in 2007,' said Sinclair.

'Only because I saw all these kids getting excited about it.'

Sinclair once ran for mayor of the town of Cocoa, in Florida

In his 1995 memoir, Obama mentioned smoking 'reefer' in 'the dorm room of some brother' and talked about 'getting high.'

He wrote that he had indulged in marijuana, alcohol and sometimes cocaine as a high school student in Hawaii, and made 'some bad decisions' as a teenager involving drugs and drinking - but he did not give specifics.

Sinclair said he felt Obama was not being honest.

'I simply pointed out: look, why don't you come out and say I did coke, and I've done it as recently as 1999. Put it out there, and let it stay as the truth.'

He said he reached out to the office of David Axelrod, Obama's chief campaign strategist, in Chicago, and sent three letters. Initially he did not mention sex.

OBAMA ON CRACK?

'What was Obama like on crack?' asked Carlson.

'I knew a lot of people who smoked it, as I was in Miami in the late 80s when it became popular,' said Sinclair.

'Similar to a friend of mine in Miami: extremely high, calm, euphoric. Then when it starts to come down twitching and looking. Anything that looks white you think is another piece you can smoke.

'Euphoric, talkative but not really saying anything.'

Carlson added: 'So, just like his presidency.'

Sinclair said he was sure it was not the first time Obama had smoked crack, because he 'got into a limo with a pipe in his pocket.'

SINCLAIR'S STORY IS DISMISSED

In 2008, when Sinclair first aired his claims, Politico reported on the saga, noting that the 'story has generally been ignored by the mainstream media, because he's been unable to substantiate his allegations.'

In June 2008, Sinclair rented a room at the National Press Club in Washington DC, and spoke for an hour, going into great detail about the two sexual liaisons.

The press conference ended in Sinclair's arrest on an open warrant from Delaware, after liberal bloggers who supported Obama apparently tipped off DC police to his scheduled appearance.

In June 2008, Sinclair rented a room at the National Press Club in Washington DC, and spoke for an hour about his claims. He is seen above at the press conference

For more than a decade, Sinclair's claims were taken seriously only by the furthest fringe of conspiracy theorists, and had largely receded from public discourse.

Sinclair urged Obama, on Wednesday night, to turn over his phone records from 1999 and prove Sinclair was not 'crazy'.

He said he did not anticipate the reaction, but it probably 'would not have stopped me.'

He added: 'My opinion was: if you are going to tell the story, tell the whole story and let the chips fall where they may.'

Sinclair said YouTube gave access to his account to someone, and when it was returned to him the video of his 2008 speech was deleted.

Carlson asked Sinclair why he was telling the story, saying he had not got rich from it.

'I think I have an answer for why a lot of reporters would not want to follow up,' said Sinclair.

He said someone in the Obama campaign told a Chicago Tribune reporter 'that they were aware of who I was, and it was their intention to destroy me, and if they mentioned my name they would be cut off from the campaign.'

Sinclair added: 'No one wanted to be blackballed by a historic campaign. It would be a story if the media really cared about telling the truth about anything.'

THE CRIMINAL RECORD

Sinclair attacked Politico, for saying he had a 27-year criminal record.

'My criminal record goes from 1980 to 1986. Any sentence I've been given, I've served,' said Sinclair.

He denied being a fugitive, or trying to escape justice.

'I've never hidden my past in regular, everyday life - why would I hide it with this?'

OBAMA'S RECORD

Sinclair said: 'I think he's the same grifter he always was. I think he's power hungry. I think he's calling the shots in the Biden administration.

'Race relations in this country has not only been pushed back. But everything is about race now. About victimization.

'I would be willing to bet you I'm not the only white male he had sex with. He got what he wanted - he's in DC, living the life, still looked upon as the savior of the country.

'Sadly people are still giving him that power.'

He said: 'I grew up as a gay kid in an area where being gay could get you killed, just as much as being black.

'I've watched it all my life. I know when people play. I knew because he was saying one thing on the campaign - remember when he told supporters to turn up for a fight with a knife, get in their face, argue with them, convince them.

'You don't say things like that, and then say you won't make it about race.'

Carlson concluded that that was 'the one part of your story that we can say, unequivocally, you are telling the truth about.'
Follows mudslinging from both sides of chamber

Teal Independent MP Kylea Tink stunned politicians into silence with a scathing assessment of their behaviour in the chamber at Question Time.

Ms Tink, the member for North Sydney, said shed spent much of this week feeling unsafe in her workplace, singling out an unnamed Coalition MP who allegedly addressed her in an aggressive manner during a particularly heated moment on Tuesday afternoon.

Yesterday left me feeling like my senses had been assaulted, she said, adding shed never experienced anything like the chaos in any other place of employment.

Teal Independent MP Kylea Tink (pictured) said shed spent much of this week feeling unsafe in her workplace, singling out an unnamed Coalition MP who allegedly addressed her in an aggressive manner during a particularly heated moment on Tuesday afternoon

Ms Tink noted the behaviour which was being displayed in the chamber would not be tolerated in any other workplace.

One particular member from the opposition while returning to his seat yelled at me aggressively his tone was hostile and his body language was aggressive, she said.

Initially, Ms Tink was greeted with jeers and loud sighs as she stood to her feet, but by the time she finished speaking, the chamber was uncharacteristically silent.

Speaker Milton Dick accepted it had been a particularly volatile week.

We must do better, he said.

Ms Tink said she had been weighing up whether she should address her concerns, out of fear it could rile up her colleagues further.

Ms Tink was greeted with jeers and loud sighs as she stood to her feet, but by the time she finished speaking, the chamber was uncharacteristically silent

Mr Speaker, if this was the first time I may have brushed it off, but it is not, she said, noting shed watched many other women in politics be treated in a similar way.

I do not feel proud of the way my workplace was represented yesterday and quite frankly I did not feel safe.

Ms Tink was referring to the extraordinary scenes in the House of Representatives during Question Time this week.

There has been more mudslinging across the chamber than usual as debate heats up over the Qatar Airways decision and Richard Marles flight logs, prompting several MPs from both major parties to be removed from the House at different times.
A family-of-nine left with an unfinished home after their building company collapsed have been hit with another blow as their insurance company won't cover them.

Queensland couple Valerie and Stephen Kenner were building their family's dream home in Flagstone, in the City of Logan, when their building company collapsed.

The builder, Landmark Building & Development (QLD) Pty Ltd, went into liquidation on March 16, owing $3.224 million in liabilities.

The couple, who have seven children to look after, remained hopeful they would receive compensation to help finish their home as they had insurance on the building site.

However, after a months-long insurance claim process, the pair were told they were not entitled to compensation.

Valerie and Stephen Kenner (pictured) along with their seven children were told they would not receive any compensation for their unfinished home after the company responsible for building collapsed

Mr and Ms Kenner received an email from Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) - the state's industry watchdog which also handles insurance schemes - explaining they would not receive a single dollar.

'Total approved claim: $0.0,' it read.

The regulator explained the insurance did not cover Mr and Ms Kenner's unfinished home because their original build price was 'underquoted' and the cost should have been much higher.

'At the time you entered the contract, (the price) should be $501,974.10,' the QBCC said

'Overall, we have established that an amount of $180,624.10 of underpricing will be increased into your liability based on the QBCC Underpricing assessment calculation attached'.

The Kenners will only receive the insurance if the remaining portion of the build exceeds $180,000, which is forcing the couple to complete the home themselves.

It's 'basically ruined us financially,' Ms Kenner told news.com.au.

'We were pretty much in shock. We had paid up to date, we just hadn't paid the final stage, the handover  we had $30,000 left.'

The family are now struggling to pay the bills on the unfinished home as they continue to rent in another suburb

Construction on their home began last year after the couple signed a contract with Landmark Building & Developments at the start of 2021 for $299,000, with the pair agreeing to pay an additional $21,000 a month later due to rising building costs.

The family were just six weeks away from moving into their home when they received the letter announcing the company's collapse.

The couple are now struggling financially as they continue to pay bills for the home including water, electricity, council rates and mortgage repayments.

Ms Kenner also enrolled her children in a school near the home in Flagstone, in the belief the family would be living in their house.

However, the family have paid rent for an extended period of time for a home in Sunnybank which is a 40-minute drive each way to the school.

Ms Kenner works six casual jobs while looking after her children, while her husband works full-time.

Six of their children are 'crammed' into the small rental, while their eldest daughter moved out of home as it would be 'easier' on the family.

Mr and Ms Kenner received an email (pictured) from Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) explaining they would not receive a single dollar in compensation because their original quote was 'underquoted'

The QBCC told Daily Mail Australia they could not comment on Mr and Ms Kenner's claim due to strict privacy laws as the matter is still ongoing.

'The Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991 requires the QBCC to comply with strict privacy and confidentiality obligations,' a QBCC spokesperson said.

'It would therefore be inappropriate for the QBCC to provide comment relating to this matter, which is ongoing and yet to be finalised.

'The QBCC-administered Queensland Home Warranty Scheme (QHWS) is the most accessible home warranty scheme in Australia.

The QBCC approved a total of $67.7 million in insurance claim costs during 2022-2023, including $47.3 million for non-completion claims.'

The Kenners are hoping to appeal the QBCC's decision.
This is the serving Met Police officer charged with six counts of rape after a woman was allegedly bundled into a car.

PC Clifford Mitchell, 23, is also charged with one count of making threats to kill and one count of breaching a non-molestation order.

The officer  who is attached to the West Area Basic Command Unit  was charged this morning.

It follows an investigation yesterday where a woman found distressed on the streets told officers she had been attacked inside a house and forced into a car.

PC Mitchell, who has now been suspended, appeared in custody at Westminster Magistrates' Court but did not enter a plea.

District judge Briony Clarke sent the case to Croydon Crown Court on October 5.

PC Cliff Mitchell, 23, is charged with six rapes and one count of making threats to kill

The officer  who is attached to the West Area Basic Command Unit  was charged today

The probe was sparked when police were called at 1.50pm yesterday by a member of the public who had found a woman in distress in Hackbridge.

They were told she had been attacked inside a residential property by a man who subsequently forced her into a car. They were known to one another.

Urgent enquiries were carried out and it was established that the suspect was a serving Met officer.

He was not on-duty at the time of the incident or his arrest.

PC Mitchell has been suspended from duty and a referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct

The officer has been suspended from duty and a referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: 'These are horrific allegations and the victim is being supported by specially trained officers.

'Officers from the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards are investigating. They are highly experienced detectives specialising in investigating domestic abuse and sexual offences.

'This is an active investigation and enquiries continue at pace.'

'The arrest of a serving police officer on suspicion of such serious offences is extremely concerning and I recognise will cause considerable concern among London's communities. I share those concerns and have made an immediate referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.'
A huge kamikaze drone explosion hit close to Vladimir Putin's war command headquarters in Rostov-on-Don in the early hours of the morning.

Shocking footage shows a giant fireball rising up over the city, which lies near Russian-occupied Ukraine.

The explosion whipped up a savage blaze in the vicinity of the military HQ, which Putin is reported to have visited several times throughout the war.

Three buildings and several cars were damaged according to an initial assessment by Rostov region governor Vasily Golubev.

The war command bunker is at the HQ of Russia's Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don.

It was here in June that slain Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin began his attempted coup against Putin's regime, later staging a march towards Moscow.

Shocking footage shows a giant fireball rising up over the city, which lies near Russian-occupied Ukraine

The explosion whipped up a savage blaze in the vicinity of the military HQ, which Putin is reported to have visited several times throughout the war

The war command bunker is at the HQ of Russia 's Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don

The aftermath of the drone strike in Rostov is revealed

Residents expressed shock at the attack and 20 blocks of flats on Pushkinskaya Street were left without electricity.

A state of emergency was declared in the centre of the city due to the kamikaze drone strike.

Reports said 99 residents were given hot food and offered to leave their homes.

As has become routine, Russian officials claimed a drone targeting in the city centre had been shot down, but it was unclear whether the drone managed to evade air defences.

Another drone came down outside the city.

'At about 3am an air defence system went off in Rostov-on-Don,' said Golubev.

'An unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down. The consequences on the ground are being clarified.'

Later he said: 'At the site of the UAV crash an emergency mode was introduced from 9am. 99 people live in these three blocks. Meals will be organised for them.'

Putin used the war command post in Rostov as a backdrop for his New Year message to Russians in 2023, posing with troops.

A block is seen on fire after the strike

A damaged car is seen after the strike

Vladimir Putin's New Year 2023 address to the nation from the HQ of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don

Police tape blocks off an accident scene outside a multi-storey residential building following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia, September 7, 2023

A view shows broken glass outside a multi-storey residential building following an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow, Russia, September 7, 2023

Some seven kamikaze drones in total attacked Russian targets during the night.

One - allegedly a Ukrainian Beaver drone capable of flying up to 620 miles - hit Ramenskoye near Moscow, close to Zhukovsky international airport.

The Russian authorities claimed they had shot it down, causing damage to a high rise residential building.

The attack triggered the closure of air space in Moscow, causing major flight disruption at the city's four international airports.

The capital's mayor Sergey Sobyanin said: 'Tonight in the Ramenskoye urban district, air defence forces thwarted an attempted drone attack on Moscow.'

The railway station in Bryansk - capital of a region bordering Ukraine - was also damaged by a drone attack.
A 14-year-old 'known gang member' has been arrested over the alleged abduction of a high school student who was thrown from a moving car and remains in a coma.

Victoria Police arrested the boy in Frankston and said the teen was assisting them with their inquiries.

Inspector Scott Dwyer alleges the teenager was the ringleader in the abduction of Benjamin, 14.

The Year 9 student was allegedly bundled into a dark grey Volkswagen Tiguan by a gang of knife-wielding thugs moments after stepping out of the gates of Glen Eira College in Glen Huntly, in south-east Melbourne, on Monday afternoon.

Benjamin was then pushed out of their moving car and suffered 'life-altering' injuries.

Year 9 Glen Eira College student Benjamin (pictured) remains in a serious but stable condition after being abducted by thugs while walking home from school

READ MORE: Glen Huntly, Melbourne, child abduction horror A 'bright' and 'talented' student has been left with 'life-altering' injuries after being abducted while walking home from school and attacked by a gang of knife-wielding thugs who pushed him out of their moving car. Advertisement

'We have identified all those persons we believe responsible for that attack and their arrests are imminent,' Inspector Dwyer said.

'In the next couple of hours, there will be further arrests and then further still over the next coming days.'

Inside the vehicle, the 'bright' and 'talented' student was robbed of his mobile phone and other belongings and attacked before being thrown out several hundred metres up the road.

Inspector Dwyer alleged the offenders had targeted multiple boys that day.

'I want to reassure our community, especially the mums and dads, the kids are safe to walk to school,' he said.

He said the police had dispatched extra patrols to key locations to give parents comfort and deter any potential crime.

Inspector Dwyer said youth crime, classified between the ages of 10-24, was lower than 2020 pre-Covid levels, though he said there had been an uptick in the 10-17 age range.

He said there are 590 youth gang members in Victoria from 44 gangs and alleged the boy arrested today belonged to one of those gangs.

'That is significantly down on where we were three years ago, where there were 747,' he said.

'Of those 590 offenders, 290 of those represent a significant challenge for us ... 'Eighty of those gang members have been arrested 10 times each.'

Pictured: Emergency services at the scene after Benjamin was found with critical injuries on Monday

The horrifying attack occurred on Neerim Road, out the front of Glen Eira College (pictured), with two other students from the school reporting being targeted in similar incidents

The inspector said the police were 'dealing' with youth crime in the state. 'We don't want people to be alarmed ... We are in there with them.'

He said it was too soon to say schools were being targeted for armed robberies.

Speaking earlier on Wednesday, Inspector Dwyer told radio station 3AW 'We had further victims come forward.

'There have been some silent victims, they have suffered like this other boy, maybe not to the level of injuries he has, but they have not reported to their parents or police.'

He said Benjamin has suffered 'life-altering' injuries and severe mental trauma.

The investigation has broadened to consider if the attack was linked to a similar incident just ten minutes Benjamin's abduction.

In that incident, four teenagers were robbed by two machete-wielding offenders on Kambrook Road, in nearby Caulfield, at about 3.25pm on Monday.

Alarmingly, five other schools across Melbourne's east have reported students being targeted by thieves in similar incidents over the past month - although police believe they are unrelated to the incidents on Monday.

Several students from Xavier College were targeted last week, while a pupil from Scotch College was robbed by three men on August 7, 9News reported.

Just three days before the attack on Benjamin, a student at Elwood College was approached by a woman in an SUV who tried to take his mobile phone, according to the Herald Sun.

Similar reports have also emerged from students from Carey Grammar, Sacre Coeur and St Bede's College.

Police have increased patrols across the region, with Inspector Dwyer describing the attacks as 'sickening'.

Schools are also urging child to keep mobile phones and headphones out of view and walk in groups to remain safe when leaving school.

'It's confronting and the issue is that we live in a safe city and when incidents like this are reported, it's shocking but there will be a response for it,' Inspector Dwyer said.

'This is an absolute priority for us.'

A teacher described Benjamin (pictured) as a 'bright' and 'talented' student

Speaking to reporters outside hospital, Benjamin's devastated aunt said her nephew tried his best to fight off his attackers and suffered horrible injuries.

'It's infuriating to feel, to know that they did this to just a child,' she told Channel 10 on Tuesday.

'They need to be caught, and these people need to be punished appropriately.

'Not a slap on the wrist. They need to go to jail.'
Sara Sharif's grandfather has said the 10-year-old's father should 'cooperate with the police and face the law' after it emerged police in Pakistan have raided 20 properties in their hunt for the young girl's fugitive family.

Sara Sharif's father, Urfan Sharif, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, are believed to have travelled to Pakistan the day before her body was found at the family home in Woking on August 10.

Mr Sharif's father, Muhammad Sharif, has now called on his son to 'tell [the police] the truth about what occurred', after a postmortem examination revealed his granddaughter Sara Sharif suffered 'multiple and extensive injuries'.

The grandfather's message comes after Sara Sharif's family broke their silence in a remarkable video, which saw the young girl's stepmother, Ms Batool, describe Sara's death as 'an incident' - without offering any further details.

The video shows Ms Batool explain the family have 'gone into hiding' as she denied claims that Sara 'fell down the stairs and broke her neck' and said the family are willing to fight their case in court.

Sara Sharif's body was found in their family house in Woking, Surey, with a post-mortem examination concluding she had suffered 'multiple and extensive injuries'

Sara Sharif's grandfather, Muhammad Sharif, has called on his son to cooperate with police

Police have raided 20 homes in Pakistan in the hunt for Sara Sharif's father, Urfan Sharif (left), and stepmother, Beinash Batool (right)

In a video, Sara Sharif's grandfather is shown saying: 'Yes, they (Urfan Sharif and his wife Beinash Batool) should cooperate with the police and face the law, the law is everything and life without law is difficult.

'My advice to them, is to face the law, they should present themselves to the police and tell them the truth about what occurred.'

'If they release a video message, it would be good. And if they have more details they need to share (them) with the police. Sharing the truth is their fundamental right, it is not possible to hide things. The more they details they share, the better for them.'

'No, he (Urfan) did not share any details with me, only that and incident occurred, thats it,' Muhammad Sharif said.

The grandfather's message comes after it emerged police raided 20 properties in their hunt for Sara's family.

The raids are understood to have been concentrated in the Pakistani cities of Mirpur and Jhelum, Sky News reported.

The police raids follow the release of a video yesterday in which Mr Sharif and Ms Batool said they are willing to co-operate with British police and fight their case in court.

The couple yesterday broke their silence for the first time following the discovery of 10-year-old Sara's body at a house in Woking, Surrey, as they described the young girl's death as 'an incident' - without offering further details.

A post-mortem examination concluding she had suffered 'multiple and extensive injuries' over a 'sustained and extended' period of time.

Ms Batool says in the video: 'Firstly I would like to talk about Sara. Sara's death was an incident. Our family in Pakistan is severely affected by all that is going on.

'All the media have been given wrong statements...Imran [one of Mr Sharif's brothers] did not give a statement that Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck. This was spread through a Pakistani media outlet.

'All of our family members have gone into hiding as everyone is scared for their safety. The kids are unable to attend school as they are afraid to leave the house. No one is leaving the house.

'The groceries have run out and there is no food for the kids as the adults are unable to leave their homes out of fear of safety. That is why we have gone into hiding.

'Lastly, we are willing to cooperate with the UK authorities and fight our case in court.' Sara's father, Mr Sharif, does not speak in the video.

Speaking on Polish television programme Uwaga! on the TVN Channel, Olga Sharif said: 'Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like'

Olga Sharif with a picture of her daughter Sara who was found dead at her home in Woking, Surrey

Faisal Malik is also on the run alongside Sara's father and his partner

The video came after Sara's mother Olga Sharif the Polish television programme Uwaga! on the TVN Channel that Ms Batool tried to stop her seeing her two children, one of whom is believed to be in Pakistan.

'Their stepmother wrote to me not to come anymore because the children did not want to see me,' she said.

'It's not normal that once the children were happy, and arguing about who would talk to Mum first, and then the kids don't even want to talk to me on the phone and are calling me the worst names.'

Sara's mother, Ms Sharif, also spoke in the interview of having to identify her daughter's body at the mortuary, saying she hardly recognised her because of her injuries.

'One of her cheeks was swollen and the other side was bruised,' the young girl's mother said. 'Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like.'

Ms Sharif said she had separated from her husband in 2015 and Sara and her older brother had been living with her until 2019 when the family court ruled they should live with their father.

Ms Sharif still had equal rights to see the children and said while that was easy to maintain initially it became harder over time.

Police were called by Sara's father, 41, who is understood to have rushed to Islamabad

Mr Sharif, 41, Ms Batool, 29, and his brother, Faisal Malik, 28, are thought to have travelled to Islamabad on August 9 and are wanted by police for questioning.

They travelled with five children aged between one and 13 years old, Surrey Police said - the eldest of which is Ms Sharif's son.

Sara's uncle said last month that his niece had fallen down the stairs and broken her neck - claims that were dismissed by Ms Batool today.

Imran Sharif 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.

He allegedly told officers: 'Beinash was home with the children. Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Beinash panicked and phoned Urfan.'

Imran denied knowing where Urfan and his family were, police in the city of Jhelum in Pakistan's Punjab province 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 Jhelum, have also now gone into hiding.

Ms 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.'

Police want to speak to Sara's father (left) and his partner Beinash Batool (right)

Police outside the home to Sara Sharif where her body was found at home on August 10

Flowers and police outside of the home to Sara Sharif, 10, in Woking, Surrey

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.'

Meanwhile, Sara's grandfather previously told the BBC that her death was an 'accident' and three family members who left the UK for Pakistan will 'ultimately' return to face police questioning.

Muhammad Sharif said he saw his son Urfan Sharif, Sara's father, soon after he arrived in the city of Jhelum, in the South Asian country, and said he had fled the UK out of 'fear'.

Surrey Police are appealing for information to help them piece together a picture of Sara's lifestyle prior to her death. Surrey County Council previously said that Sara was known to the local authority.

Authorities in Pakistan are searching for the trio and lawyers in the UK have said the nation's government is unlikely to block an extradition request in connection to Sara's death.

There is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan but people have been returned from the country before.

It comes as Sara's grandfather said this week that his son, the girl's father, had told him the death was an 'accident' and that he left the UK out of fear.

Muhammad Sharif told BBC News: 'His daughter died and when you go under so much trauma, obviously you can't think properly.'

He said he saw Urfan after he arrived in Pakistan, adding: 'It was an accident, he didn't tell me how it happened.

'All I can say is that they should have faced the case, they should have stayed there and faced it instead (of coming to Pakistan). They will ultimately go back to the UK and face their case.'

Faisal Malik is also on the run alongside Sara's father and his partner

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

It also emerged over the weekend that Urfan contacted a friend who owned a money transfer shop to get eight last-minute plane tickets before he and his family left the country.

The 41-year-old told Nadeem Riaz on August 8 he urgently needed the one way tickets due to the death of a cousin and wanted to fly out to Islamabad as soon as possible.

The next day Sharif, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother Faisal Malik, 28, left the UK on a British Airways flight with five of the couple's children, aged between one and 13.

After arriving in Pakistan, Sharif phoned 999 and informed police they would find the body of his oldest daughter at their address in Horsell.

She was discovered with 'multiple and extensive' injuries which are believed to have occurred over a 'sustained and extended' period of time.

Mr Riaz told the Times he had often had business with Sharif before, who would frequently end money to one of his brothers, Imran, in Pakistan.

His shop doubled as a travel agency, and he had previously secured flights for the family after the death of Sharif's mother last November.

He said: '[Sharif] sounded normal. No different to his usual self.'

After the call, Mr Riaz sent a message to Sharif and asked him what kind of tickets he wanted. Sharif is said to have responded: 'One way.'

The shop owner, who has known Sharif for 11 years, is said to be assisting police with their enquiries into Sara's death.

He told the paper: 'For the first few days after it happened, every time I looked at my own daughter I felt so sad for Sara.

'I love my daughter [who is six] so much. How could anyone leave their daughter?'

The international manhunt for the family is still underway, as Pakistan police this week claimed they were not asked to look for the relatives until five days after her body was discovered.

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.

Colourful tributes are left outside the home to Sara Sharif where her body was found at home on August 10

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.'

The full interview with Ms Sharif will air on the Polish TV programme at 7.55pm local time on Wednesday.
A 'Nazi flag-waving' gunman has taken his own life after shooting a colleague dead and leading police on a dramatic eight-hour manhunt and siege.

Volunteer paramedic Lachlan Bowles, 25, shot father-of-one Terry Czernowski dead at Moylan Grain Silos - where the pair were colleagues - at about 8.40am on Thursday before going on the run.

WA Police launched a manhunt for Bowles before tactical police cornered him just outside Kellerberrin - 200km east of Perth - where he had barricaded himself inside a rural property.

He was wearing camouflage uniform and The West Australian reported he was waving a Nazi flag and wearing a Swastika.

Police locked down the area and helicopters were ordered not to fly overhead for fears they could get shot down - and police said at least one car was shot at as Bowles fled.

Armed officers cornered Bowles in a field before he shot himself. Police later confirmed he had died.

Volunteer paramedic Lachlan Bowles, 25 (pictured), shot father-of-one Terry Czernowski dead about 8.40am on Thursday before going on the run.

Terry Czernowski, a father-of-one, was shot dead at Moylan Grain Silos

Armed officers cornered Bowles in a field before he shot himself. Police later confirmed he had died

TIMELINE OF TERROR 8.40am: Lachlan Bowles shoots dead Terry Czernowski at Moylan Grain Silos 9.23am: Police warn residents to stay indoors 9.44am: Police say a man has 'discharged a firearm' 10.31am: Anyone in Kellerberrin and Bencubbin urged to stay indoors 2.10pm: Police locate Lachlan Bowles 4.30pm: Police confirm Bowles dead Advertisement

It's unclear what Bowles' motive was, but Regional WA Commander Rod Wilde said police believe it was a workplace dispute.

Bowles, a volunteer St John's ambulance officer who is not believed to have had a criminal history, had two registered firearms and was carrying a high-powered rifle and a handgun with him during his rampage.

A local told Daily Mail Australia that Bowles went to his workplace at Moylan Grain Silos in Kellerberrin and 'shot someone about 25 times'.

'My mates work down the street and heard a bunch of gun shots and then the town was crawling with police,' he said.

Mitchell Harvey, a local sheep shearer, said a farmer miraculously survived after he approached Bowles.

'Some farmer who was checking his paddock drove past him and asked if he needed a lift and he shot his door,' Mr Harvey told the West Australian.

'I saw him this morning on the way to work. I had no idea he was going off there to kill someone.'

All facilities and public events in the Shire of Merredin, which includes Kellerberrin, were cancelled on Thursday with armoured police trucks patrolling the tense scene

Mr Bowles is a St John WA volunteer ambulance officer, and was awarded for his service in 2021

Father-of-one Terry Czernowski was shot dead at Moylan Grain Silos

The residents of Kellerberrin, 200km east of Perth, were told by police to stay indoors after gunshots were fired at a grain silo in the area about 8.40am on Thursday

Those living nearby were sent an alarming text earlier today as the situation escalated.

'Residents in the area are advised to remain alert. It has been confirmed that one man is now deceased and Homicide Squad are investigating,' Police said.

Bowles, who has a firearms licence and had two guns registered, is understood to have been armed with at least one gun with a 3km range.

All facilities and public events in the Shire of Merredin, which includes Kellerberrin, were cancelled until further notice armoured police trucks patrolled the tense scene.

Bowles was a St John WA volunteer ambulance officer, and was awarded for his service to the community on Australia Day in 2021

Kellerberrin locals received a text warning them to stay indoors as the incident unfolded

Bowles was a St John WA volunteer ambulance officer, and was awarded for his service to the community on Australia Day in 2021.

Tony, who owns the local Kellerberrin Pie Shop and Bakery, claimed to have known the man who died.

'They are local guys that this has happened to,' Tony told The West Australian.

'The guy that died was only in my shop on Friday. We were talking about his plans for Father's Day.'

Locals described Bowles as a 'good kid', while expressing their shock at reports he was allegedly involved in the shooting.

'He was a good kid from a good family,' one wrote.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police immediately.

For confidential 24-hour support in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
The three wives of a bigamist ex-soldier - who married two unsuspecting women at the same time, leaving one of them to handle debt collectors when his duplicity came to light - have today been revealed for the first time.

Jason Hayter, 48, was discovered to have two wives simultaneously when his daughter from one of his marriages messaged his second wife on Facebook asking what her connection to him was.

The guardsman is facing up to seven years in jail after admitting bigamy this week by marrying Tracey Larcombe in 2010 and Sara Hayter in 2016.

Today, they have been pictured for the first time, along with his first wife, Teresa Fortune, who told MailOnline how Hayter also lived a 'double life' with her and how she and another woman confronted him together after learning he was cheating on them both.

Mrs Fortune, 53, also spoke of Hayter's passion for 'playing away', calls from other women who would slam the phone down when she answered, and how he used two phones.

Sara Hayter married Jason Hayter in 2016, unaware that he was already wedded to Tracey Larcombe

Hayter's first wife, Teresa Fortune, pictured holding a snake, told MailOnline how Hayter also lived a 'double life' with her

Tracey Larcombe was even left to handle debt collectors after he abandoned her and her family

Jason Hayter, 48, had five children with his two wives and lived with one family in Germany , where he was stationed with the Army, and visited the other in the UK

She even warned Mrs Larcombe about her ex's philandering ways when she discovered they were an item - but her advice was rejected.

Still emotionally scarred by his mistreatment, she said: 'When you're younger you don't tend to analyse why you fall for someone. He treated me well and I thought I was in love  just like all the other women he's deceived.'

Mrs Fortune was living in Northern Ireland, where her then husband had been posted after switching from the 2nd Battalion The Coldstream Guards to join the Royal Military Police, when a soldier called Mel came to their home in around 2006.

'She asked where Jason was and said he was supposed to be with her the night before,' she recalled.

READ MORE: Bigamist ex-soldier faces seven years in jail for living double life married to TWO women in Britain and Germany at the same time Advertisement

'She said the times he'd disappeared from me had been to try and stop her from turning up at our house.

'Mel told me Jason had been having a relationship with her at the same time he had asked me to join him in Ireland, so he had been living a double life then with her and me.

'Mel knew about me and our daughter because he'd told her. But she thought he'd left me.'

She added: 'We decided to set him up and I went to pick him up and she followed me in her car. It all kicked off because she got out of her car and hit him and told me 'You're welcome to him'.

'All the way back home in the car he was begging me not to leave him and saying he was sorry. I had him back but two weeks later he went back to Mel.'

The couple, who also lived in Germany for a time, were eventually reunited but Mrs Fortune finally divorced Hayter on the grounds of adultery in 2009.

They met in 1993, when she was 22 and he was 18, and married the following year before honeymooning in Jersey.

'Within months of getting married there were phone calls to the house from other women who would hang up when I answered, which I used to ask him about,' said Mrs Fortune, who was working in admin for the Ministry of Defence at the time.

Mrs Fortune, 53, also spoke of Hayter's passion for 'playing away', calls from other women who would slam the phone down when she answered, and how he used two phones

When Ms Fortune discovered her estranged husband was dating Mrs Larcombe (pictured), she contacted her on Facebook to warn 'what he was like'

In her statement, Mrs Hayter (pictured) added she thought her husband's absences were due to training as a paramedic for the London Ambulance Service

Neither woman knew about the other, and Hayter explained his lengthy absences on being away with the Army

'He'd say they were probably from work and had meant to call him on his work phone.

'He was a convincing liar, always had an answer, and always made me think I was the one who'd got it wrong.

'Why did I stay? Well, I was in married quarters in Germany with a new baby and post-natal depression because I felt isolated.

'Jason was happy to let me get on with being a mum. Work and playing away were his priorities.'

She added: 'He always had two phones. which he said he needed for work, and would often disappear just saying it was work-related.'

When she discovered her estranged husband was dating Mrs Larcombe, she contacted her on Facebook to warn 'what he was like'. According to her 'calculations', Hayter was still seeing 'Mel' when his new fiancee was pregnant with their son.

'I messaged her to say he wasn't worth it and he'd end up treating her the same way,' said Mrs Fortune, who has since remarried.

'She blocked me and said I was just a jealous ex-wife, even told me to leave her alone.'

She added: 'Tracey contacted me in about 2014 and told me she wished she had listened to me. She said he had just walked out on her and the two kids.'

The court was told how Mrs Larcombe was even left to handle debt collectors after he abandoned her and her family.

Describing how she was 'not surprised he's been serially unfaithful', Mrs Fortune said: 'That who he is. But I am surprised that he's gone down the bigamy route thinking he would never get caught. I didn't think he was that stupid but obviously he is.'

Hayter was posted to Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan during his 24-year military career

Mrs Fortune even warned Mrs Larcombe (pictured) about her ex's philandering ways when she discovered they were an item - but her advice was rejected

Hayter, pictured with his second wife Tracey Larcombe, who claims he abandoned her with debts

Sara Hayter, who is the bigamist's third wife, declined to comment when approached

Mrs Fortune, who met Hayter in 1993, finally divorced him on the grounds of adultery in 2009

Hayter, who was posted to Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan during his 24-year military career, admitted bigamy at Norwich Magistrates Court on Tuesday. He will be sentenced at the city's crown court next month.

During the hearing, it emerged he was caught when one of his daughters sent a message to his second wife on Facebook asking who she was.

Neither wife knew about the other as he blamed his absences on being away with the Army, training with the RMP or on mental health problems.

Hayter, who had five children with the two women, turned up at court in a wheelchair. The Bench was told the defendant, who now lives in Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, was diagnosed with PTSD and suffered a stroke last year.

Prosecutor Sally Harris said the impact of his offence was 'very significant' and was aggravated by the length of time it covered and the involvement of children.

Neither victim wanted to comment when approached at their homes in Suffolk.

But Mrs Larcombe said in a statement read in court: 'I never thought anything was wrong. Him being away was normal.'

In her statement, Mrs Hayter added she thought her husband's absences were due to training as a paramedic for the London Ambulance Service.

She said: 'I believe everything he has said to me is a lie. I don't think he knows the truth anymore.'

Hayter refused to comment.
by Austin Bay September 7, 2023

When does a map become a diplomatic grenade primed to explode in the Indian and Pacific Oceans?

Answer: When Beijing's angry and a bit threatened Chinese Communist Party (CCP) dictatorship orders its Ministry of Natural Resources to issue -- get ready for the title -- the "2023 Edition of The Standard Map of China 2023" (SM2023) scant days before a G20 economic conference (held in India) that Chinese emperor Xi Jinping says he will not attend in person. Xi also has a domestic economic crisis on his hands.

OK, Xi is called a president. However, he rules with imperial demand and disdain. Is Xi as megalomaniacal as Russia's Vladimir Putin? I think so; he's not as desperate as Putin -- not yet. But understand that in 2004 Putin began laying out his agitprop case for invading Ukraine and building a 21st-century Russian Empire. In 2014 he kicked off his invasion.

President, czar or emperor? Apologies to Shakespeare, but what's in a name when power and territorial gain is the strong man's game?

When territory is the aim, a map with fake political borders matters. Though the map's borders are lies and propaganda, the aggressor bully uses his fake map to do several things: (1) to confuse uninformed minds that don't know geography and history; (2) to lay the predicate for lawfare gambits warping international law and ultimately breaking treaty-established agreements; and (3) to test the diplomatic and military reactions of immediate neighbors and their allies -- in the case of SM2023, the reactions of the U.S., Japan and Australia.

By the way, SM2023 was released during what the CCP proclaimed as "National Mapping Awareness Publicity Week." Sub propaganda for publicity and you've got it.

China's 2012 Nine-Dash Line Map in the South China Sea (SCS) is a cartographic crime and the predicate for a terrible regional war. Here's the necessary background. With the 2012 map Beijing attempted to illegally project power by claiming 85% of the SCS's 2.2 million square miles. The Nine-Dash Line encroached on territory belonging to the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore felt threatened. In 2016, the Hague's arbitration tribunal supported the Filipino accusation that China had stolen Filipino territory and sea resources. The tribunal relied heavily on the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which China signed.

The CCP dictatorship ignored the verdict.

With SM2023 Beijing adds a very dangerous tenth dash. Dash-10 scars the sea to the east of Taiwan. Dash-10 elicited this Aug. 31 response from a Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokesman (quoted in Maritime Executive Sept. 1): "No matter how the Chinese government twists its position on Taiwan's sovereignty, it cannot change the objective fact of our country's existence."

An Australian source quoted by Breaking Defense said Dash-10 indicates China claims Japanese islands in the Ryukyus. Okinawa is in the Ryukyus. For the record, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam rejected SM2023 as baseless. In fact, a Filipino jurist warned his countrymen that China regards the 10-Dash line as an "international border." That constitutes an outright invasion and annexation -- at least on the map.

Meanwhile, up in the Himalayas: India rejected Beijing's map. SM2023 depicts the entire Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh and the disputed Aksai Chin plateau (western India) as being sovereign Chinese territory. Chinese forces seized part of the region when they invaded Tibet in 1950. In the 1962 Sino-Indian War, China occupied over 80% of the plateau. However, India insistently notes no Chinese map before the 1920s showed Aksai Chin as Chinese territory.

The CCP's game in the Pacific and the Himalayas is classic potentate imperialism. The modern nation state system is rooted in the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) that ended the 30 Years War. Definitive boundaries were to bring peace among kings and princes.

The CCP doesn't recognize the international rules. In Xi's brain China is Earth's Middle Kingdom. Other tribes, states, entities -- they are either trading partners or vassals (tributaries to the emperor).

The CCP's totalitarians fiercely resists any political and economic interference -- foreign and domestic.

For two decades, Beijing has disdained legal borders and seized territory without consequence. Letting Beijing continue to get away with it will result in global disaster.
President Joe Biden will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his first official event in India under a comprehensive schedule that the White House released late Wednesday, after Biden again tested negative for COVID-19.

The trip will have Biden meeting with heads of the top industrial nations in New Delhi, although his only event Friday after a long-haul flight is his meeting with Modi.

The trip comes a day after Biden laughed off covid masking guidance at a White House labor event on Wednesday, entering the event without his black mask.

'I've been tested again today, I'm clear across the board. But they keep telling me, because this has to be 10 days or something, I got to keep wearing it,' he quipped.

'There is no change,' the White House said when asked if Biden's trip to India and Vietnam was still on. Biden tested negative for COVID-19 Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the White House said. It was unclear if he would take another test before his scheduled departure Thursday

'But dont tell them I didn't have it on when I walked in, alright?'

That came a day after he was slammed for walking out of a Medal of Honor ceremony, again unmasked, while Vietnam War hero Larry Taylor was left standing on stage. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that was done as planned.

She also brushed off questions about masking guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, which states that those exposed to the virus should mask up for 10 days. First lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID on Monday and is 'doing well,' said Jean-Pierre.

Biden is set to leave D.C. on Thursday afternoon, although Jean-Pierre was indirect when asked about Biden's testing regimen going forward.

'I dont have any timeline on his test  on his testing cadence,' she said.

She said the White House had been 'pretty transparent,' adding, 'We shared that on Monday. We shared on Tuesday. And, certainly, we shared that today.'

'But weve been very clear: All travelers who are going to India will be tested, including the President. As I mentioned, the President was tested today and tested negative, which is a good thing. Were happy to hear that.'

From left to right, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, China's Premier Li Qiang and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris walk to attend the East Asia Summit at the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. Biden will meet Modi on Friday as his first event at the G20 summit

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives for the gala dinner at the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta. Biden is scheduled to attend a dinner at the G20 summit in New Delhi

President Joe Biden holds up a face mask during a speech at the White House. It wasn't clear whether he would mask-up when meeting the leaders of the G20

Asked if Biden's trip was a go, Jean-Pierre responded: 'There is no change.'

According to the 'comprehensive' schedule released by the White House, Biden is set to take part in an official arrival and handshake with Modi on Saturday, then attend sessions on 'One Earth' and 'One Family,' along with an infrastructure event.

The schedule says he will participate in a 'dinner and cultural program with G20 leaders'  although he skipped it last year at the summit in Bali, Indonesia.

On Sunday, he and other G20 leaders will visit the Raj Ghat Memorial to Gandhi and other historic figures. Then he heads to Hanoi, where he will hold a press conference and meet with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

With Biden facing the risk of contracting covid, the White House was asked this week if Vice President Kamala Harris might go in his place.

She is completing her final events at the ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, with plans to head out Thursday with a stopover in Anchorage, Alaska.

Harris did attend the cultural evening program at her event.

Wednesday's dinner featured a red carpet, although such events have a diplomatic function. According to a White House official 'on the margins of the Gala Dinner,' Harris met with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, discussing maritime issues and other matters.

Neither China's President Xi Jinping nor Russia's President Vladimir Putin are attending the G20, although an India-China rivalry and Russia's war on Ukraine will be underlying subjects.
Whitehall staff appeared to shun the office in favour of working from home on one of the hottest days of the year.

Some 80 per cent of civil servants across three major Whitehall departments worked from home during the hot spell on Wednesday.

It comes as a sweltering heatwave grips Britain with highs of 32C recorded at Kew Gardens and more than 11 hours of blistering sunshine yesterday - making it the hottest September day since 2016.

But in the morning, 884 civil servants entered 2 Marsham Street, which houses the Home Office, Defra and the Department for Levelling Up, according to a head count by The Telegraph.

The building has 2,012 desks allocated for the Home Office, 1,145 desks allocated to Defra and 1,170 allocated to Levelling up, with a total of 4,327, a Freedom of Information request revealed last year.

A woman holding a brolly to shield herself from the midday sun outside the Palace of Westminster yesterday

An empty Piccadilly Line tube pictured this morning as commuters avoid the office during the heatwave

Meanwhile, the Met Office has predicted the longest September heatwave on record with temperatures set to top 30C

This means just one in five employees may have been working in the office, based on the numbers arriving to work.

Latest government figures show that 51 per cent of employees were working in the office at Defra, 49 per cent were in the office in the Home Office and 62 per cent were at work for the Development for Levelling Up from the week beginning August 21.

The Telegraph also reported that Downing Street is set to issue new guidance to all government departments as part of a crackdown on working from home.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ordered a review to boost public sector productivity by at least 0.5 per cent per year after new figures showed the civil service's pay has risen.

The number earning more than 100,000 a year has nearly doubled.

A government spokesman said: 'There is agreement across Government on the clear benefits from face-to-face, collaborative working and departments remain committed to staff coming into workplaces for this.

'We are ensuring that buildings are being used so we achieve maximum value for money.'

However, even the banking sector is also reportedly cracking down on working from home.

According to the FT, Lloyds is offering free food to entice staff to spend at least two days in the office from Monday.

HSBC also announced a tighter policy over the summer.

Goldman Sachs' chief executive David Solomon once described home-working as 'an aberration.

It comes as the Met Office predicts the longest September heatwave on record, with temperatures to stay above 30C in parts of the UK for the entire week.

Thursday looks set to become the hottest day of the year and beat the 32.2C record set on June 10.

In response to the climbing temperatures, Sadiq Khan has activated an emergency severe weather response for London.

The Mayor brought in London's Severe Weather Emergency Protocol amid forecasts highs of 33C (91F), which will continue until at least Sunday.

Meanwhile, the UK Health Security Agency has upgraded its heat health alert to amber across every region of England apart from the North East, where a yellow alert is in place.

The six-day alert, which will run until Sunday night, warns of higher death rates and 'significant impacts' on vulnerable people and the NHS.

These impacts are likely to be felt across the health service, with those aged above 65 or those with pre-existing respiratory or cardiovascular disease at greater risk.

It comes as autumn begins in an unseasonably warm fashion after a disappointing summer that saw Britain endure its sixth wettest July since records began.

Mail Online contacted the Cabinet Office for comment.
An undercover police officer used his fake identity to begin a 19-year relationship with a woman, who went on to have his child.

The Avon and Somerset Constabulary specialist was so keen to maintain his cover he even put his false name on to the birth certificate of the young boy.

They got engaged in 2019 and the deception could have continued forever, if not for the police who had discovered what was going on back in 2013.

For reasons it has not disclosed, the force then took seven years to break the news to the woman, who is known as Mary.

Officers went to the family home and told her in August 2020, relocating her to a hotel for a full briefing of the reality of her fiance.

Her relatives then claim they were put under pressure not to speak out about what happened - warning it could spark civil unrest or even criminal reprisals.

The force then took seven years to break the news to the woman, who is known as Mary. Stock picture

Mary's sister told The Guardian: 'They're supposed to serve and protect. I don't believe they will protect you, I believe they will protect themselves. They're using us and making us cover for them for their failings. They are trying to silence us.

'I remember my girls being babies and him holding them.

'There was always a secret side. Back then I didn't see it as a secret side, I just saw him as very private.'

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating senior officers at Avon and Somerset police.

They knew about the undercover officer's relationship back in 2013, but appeared to do nothing to alert her.

The truth about her partner has left her suicidal and 'completely broken the family'.

Both the officer and Mary are black and he was described as a 'charismatic but quiet' man by stunned relatives.

Avon and Somerset Police, whose headquarters are seen here, apologised for the deception

They said his hobbies were weightlifting and martial arts as well as an interest in cars.

A statement from Avon and Somerset Police said: 'While working in an undercover role, a former officer engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a member of the public using their pseudonym.

'The member of the public has no connection with policing and until recently they were entirely unaware of their links to an undercover police officer. They played no role in, and were not connected to, the officer's operational deployment. This deployment is historic and happened many years ago. We fully recognise for those involved it has been deeply upsetting over a number of years, and remains so today.

'We are sorry. We recognise and understand the devastating and appalling impact this has had on all those affected, and we have taken and continue to take our duty of care to them extremely seriously. Our commitment to support them is unwavering and our genuine and sincere intention is to ensure they're getting the support they need both now and in the future.

'In 2016 we recognised accountability for decisions should be reviewed independently and so we voluntarily referred these matters to the Undercover Policing Inquiry. We also referred ourselves to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) and these investigations are still ongoing. We are fully cooperating with both these inquiries and will implement all recommendations made.

'We expect all our officers and staff to act with the highest levels of integrity and professionalism at all times. We will not tolerate any misuse or abuse of position and there are serious consequences for anyone who engages in this behaviour.

'Our absolute priority is to keep the public safe as well as our officers and staff. We are unable to go into further details to protect the integrity of the ongoing independent inquiries and because we cannot risk putting information into the public arena which could pose a real and substantial threat of serious harm to others.'
An education chief warns that UK students will struggle to go to university in the future under the current funding model.

It comes as British universities incurred an annual 1 billion loss in teaching domestic students last year.

Dame Sally Mapstone, who was recently made president of Universities UK (UUK), which represents 140 institutions, says 'high quality' degrees are necessary for young people to thrive.

In her inaugural speech, Dame Sally will say universities need 'increased public investment' to allow Britain's homegrown students to access higher education across the country.

She will warn: 'This situation must not persist. It threatens the opportunity for future students to have access to properly resourced and high-quality higher education simply due to when they were born.

Dame Sally Mapstone, the new president of Universities UK (UUK), will say universities need 'increased public investment' to protect higher education

'And it threatens to diminish the UK's ability to deliver world-leading research and innovation to drive our knowledge-intensive and globally competitive economy.'

The Government raised the cap on university tuition fees in England to 9,000 a year in 2012 and it has been fixed at 9,250 since 2017.

The UUK chief will warn that funding per student in England will be the lowest in nearly 25 years by 2025-26 and only worth 5,800 at 2011-12 prices.

Dame Sally, who is vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews, will say that the funding situation in Scotland is 'even more acute' and similar declines have been seen in Wales and Northern Ireland.

In a speech at the UUK's conference in Manchester, Dame Sally will say: 'It is manifest that the UK needs our universities to be engines of innovation and change. To do this though our universities need a sustainable funding model.'

Last month, universities minister Robert Halfon suggested that raising the cap on tuition fees in England during a cost-of-living crisis was not going to happen 'in a million years'.

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson, seen right, will also speak at the event

In her address to hundreds of university leaders on Thursday, Dame Sally will say: 'To gain the increased investment we need, we must help earn it.'

She will add: 'We cannot ask for increased public investment in the current context unless we have done everything we can to ensure our universities and the ways they operate are as efficient and innovative as possible.

'We must make absolutely sure that we are delivering value for money and high-quality education to our students.'

In her speech, the UUK chief will highlight a new London Economics report which suggests that universities had a positive economic impact of nearly 116 billion and supported more than 760,000 jobs in the UK in 2021/22.

The report, commissioned by the UUK, adds that the total economic impact from UK universities was more than 130 billion as international students generated an additional 14.8 billion.

Dame Sally will add that sharing stories of the transformative benefits of higher education 'matters now more than ever given the counter-narrative that a university education isn't worth it'.

Mr Halfon, minister for skills, apprenticeships and higher education, will make a speech at the UUK's conference at the University of Manchester.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan had originally been scheduled to appear at the conference, but she had to withdraw due to other priorities.

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson and Professor Arif Ahmed, director for freedom of speech and academic freedom at the Office for Students (OfS), will both speak at the event.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: 'To support our world-class higher education sector, we're investing 10.7 billion in subsidised tuition fee loans in financial year 2022-23, 1.5 billion in Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) funding this year, and 450 million in SPG capital funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/5.

'This will support universities to provide the skills we need for the 21st century, through high-quality courses and investment in world-class facilities that lead to good jobs for students, supported by our taxpayer-backed student finance system.'
Rishi Sunak today hailed the 'right deal for British taxpayers' as it was confirmed the UK is rejoining the EU's flagship 85billion science research programme.

British scientists had previously been frozen out of the Horizon scheme for two years amid the dispute between London and Brussels over post-Brexit rules for Northern Ireland.

But the UK will return to membership of the programme under a 'bespoke deal' signed by the Prime Minister, it was announced this morning.

There will be a 2billion a year cost for British membership, but Cabinet minister Michelle Donelan insisted the UK would not be forced to stump up for the years it was absent from the scheme.

She also revealed there would be a 'clawback mechanism' which would effectively give Britain a 'rebate' on financial contributions if 'we weren't getting as much out of it as we were putting in'.

Rishi Sunak today hailed the 'right deal for British taxpayers' as it was confirmed the UK is rejoining the EU's flagship 85billion science research programme

British scientists had previously been frozen out of the Horizon scheme for two years amid the dispute between London and Brussels over post-Brexit rules for Northern Ireland

Mr Sunak's signing of the Windsor Framework on Northern Ireland in February, which he struck with the EU's Ursula von der Leyen, had paved the way Britain to rejoin Horizon

Mr Sunak's signing of the Windsor Framework on Northern Ireland in February had paved the way Britain to rejoin Horizon, but the UK's re-entry had continued to be held up by tensions over the amount it was expected to pay.

After finally sealing a deal with Brussels in a call with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen yesterday, the PM confirmed an agreement today.

Researchers based in the UK can now once again apply for grants to take part in the collaboration programme, as well as the Copernicus scheme.

But Britain will not take part in the bloc's nuclear technology scheme, Euratom.

Mr Sunak said: 'Innovation has long been the foundation for prosperity in the UK, from the breakthroughs improving healthcare to the technological advances growing our economy.

'With a wealth of expertise and experience to bring to the global stage, we have delivered a deal that enables UK scientists to confidently take part in the world's largest research collaboration programme  Horizon Europe.

'We have worked with our EU partners to make sure that this is right deal for the UK, unlocking unparalleled research opportunities, and also the right deal for British taxpayers.'

Ms von der Leyen said: 'The EU and UK are key strategic partners and allies, and today's agreement proves that point.

'We will continue to be at the forefront of global science and research.'

Ms Donelan, the Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary, said the conclusion of 'intense' negotiations over British re-entry to Horizon would 'benefit' scientists and researchers and 'actually produce more jobs'.

'We're not paying for the years we weren't associated for,' she told Times Radio.

'Also, we've got a clawback mechanism, which means that if there was a situation where we weren't getting as much out of it as we were putting in, the clawback mechanism would kick in and we could in effect get a rebate.

'We're also able to overperform and exceed expectations as part of our deal, which not all associate members get.

'In fact we've got the most generous deal in that sense of any third party country.'

The deal was also welcomed by scientists after years of warnings that UK researchers have been missing out on collaboration with colleagues in the EU.

Horizon is a collaboration involving Europe's leading research institutes and technology companies.

EU member states contribute funds, which are then allocated to individuals or organisations on merit to explore subjects such as climate change, medical advances and artificial intelligence.

Peter Kyle, Labour's shadow science secretary, said Britain had been 'missing out on is two years' worth of innovation' due to its absence from the scheme.

'Two years of global companies looking around the world for where to base their research centres and choosing other countries than Britain, because we are not part of Horizon This is two years of wasted opportunity for us as a country,' he added.

Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, the party's foreign affairs spokesperson, said: 'This is welcome news but it is long overdue.

'It is a tragedy that so much unnecessary damage was done to our scientists and researchers thanks to the Conservatives' botched deal with Europe.

'The Government's dither and delay means scientists will have missed out on vital funding and projects.

This announcement won't fix that damage - but it finally offers a positive step forward. It's about time.

'With this step forward, the Government must look to extend this cooperation to other schemes such as Erasmus and restore these obvious benefits to all those in the UK.'
The escape of former soldier Daniel Abed Khalife from HMP Wandsworth yesterday has sparked a major manhunt.

Khalife, who was being held on terror offences, escaped from the London jail's kitchen by strapping himself to the underside of a food delivery van.

The inmate's disappearance comes nearly 60 years since Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs escaped from the same prison, although he used a rope ladder to scale the wall.

Other famous escapes include those of MI6 spy-turned-traitor George Blake and 38 IRA prisoners from the Maze prison in Northern Ireland in 1983.

Below, MailOnline delves into the history of each remarkable escape.

Ronnie Biggs

In 1965, Ronnie Biggs - in jail for his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963 - pulled off what remains one of the best known prison escapes of all time

In 1965, Ronnie Biggs - in jail for his role in the Great Train Robbery of 1963 - pulled off what remains one of the best known prison escapes of all time.

Having served just 19 months of a 30-year sentence, he broke out of HMP Wandsworth using a rope ladder while out in the exercise yard.

He escaped with three other prisoners, as helpless guards - blocked by other inmates - watched on.

Once over the 20foot-high wall, Biggs and the other men dropped through the roof of a waiting removals van which had been converted into a dedicated escape machine.

Having served just 19 months of a 30-year sentence, he broke out of HMP Wandsworth using a rope ladder before dropping into a removals van which had been converted into a dedicated escape machine. It posted a platform lift and sliding roof. Once inside the van, Biggs and three other prisoners changed out of their prison clothes and sped away in getaway cars

The Daily Mail's coverage of Ronnie Biggs's escape from Wandsworth prison

The Daily Mail's graphic showing how Biggs escaped using a converted removals van

The rope ladders and equipment used by Ronnie Biggs and the other inmates to escape

As well as a sliding roof, the 14foot-high van boasted a platform lift and the rope ladders which had taken Biggs and the other convicts to liberty.

Biggs' accomplices helped him and the other men escape by winching the lift to the height of the prison wall and then hurling the four rope ladders over the side.

Once inside the van, the men threw off their prison overalls and flung on a change of clothes.

Biggs went on to be a fugitive for 36 years. After having plastic surgery to disguise his appearance, he lived in Australia and Brazil but then voluntarily came back to the UK in 2001 and was re-arrested.

He was released from prison in August 2009 on compassionate grounds after contracting pneumonia. He died in 2013.

Biggs was released from prison in August 2009 on compassionate grounds after contracting pneumonia. He died in 2013. Above: At the funeral of his fellow Great Train Robber Bruce Reynolds just weeks before his death

George Blake

Former MI6 spy George Blake was sentenced to 42 years in prison in 1961 after being exposed as a Soviet double agent.

But he was just five years into his sentence when he escaped from Wormwood Scrubs prison in west London with two other inmates.

The men climbed over the prison wall using a rope ladder with rungs made out of knitting needles.

Blake spent two months in hiding before being driven across Europe to East Berlin inside a wooden box attached under a car.

Former MI6 spy George Blake was sentenced to 42 years in prison in 1961 after being exposed as a Soviet double agent

He moved to Russia and spent the rest of his life living in a state-owned flat in central Moscow. He subsisted on a KGB pension.

He died aged 98 in 2020.

The spy's betrayal is believed to have led to the killing of at least 40 British agents in Russia.

In 1991, he insisted he did not regard himself as a traitor, having never 'felt' British.

'To betray, you first have to belong. I never belonged,' he said.

He once said in praise of communism: 'I think it is never wrong to give your life to a noble ideal. And to a noble experiment even if it doesn't succeed.'

He was just five years into his sentence when he escaped from Wormwood Scrubs prison in west London with two other inmates. The men climbed over the prison wall using a rope ladder with rungs made out of knitting needles. Above: The exterior wall of the prison after the escape

Blake moved to Russia and spent the rest of his life living in a state-owned flat in central Moscow. He subsisted on a KGB pension. He died aged 98 in 2020

The Daily Mail's coverage of Blake meeting with fellow traitor Kim Philby in Moscow in 1975

Alfred George Hinds

Alfred George Hinds broke out of two high security prisons while serving a 12-year prison sentence for his part in a jewellery robbery in 1953.

His first break-out, from Nottingham Jail, came in November 1955 when he scaled the prison's walls with another inmate.

His accomplice was caught soon after the escape, but Hinds evaded capture for 245 days.

Alfred George Hinds broke out of two high security prisons while serving a 12-year prison sentence for his part in a jewellery robbery in 1953

While on the run, Hinds embarked on a campaign to stress his innocence, declaring he had been convicted on false police evidence.

When he was finally re-arrested, Hinds found a reason to be escorted to court: by bringing a lawsuit against the authorities.

Two accomplices supplied him with a padlock and screw eyes, which he then put to good use by bundling two guards into a toilet cubicle and locking them in.

Escaping onto Fleet Street, Hinds made his way to the airport but was captured five hours later.

His final prison escape came less than a year later, when he made it out of Chelmsford Prison before fleeing to Ireland, where he lived for two years under an assumed name.

Police caught up with him when he was stopped while driving an unregistered car.

is final prison escape came when he made it out of Chelmsford Prison before fleeing to Ireland, where he lived for two years under an assumed name. Above: Hinds's escape route from Chelmsford prison

John Straffen

Double killer John Straffen escaped from Broadmoor psychiatric hospital in Berkshire in April 1952.

He climbed onto the roof of a shed on the estate and then jumped over a wall.

Within an hour of escaping, he murdered five-year-old girl Linda Bowyer.

He was recaptured the same day and sentenced to death for the girl's murder. The death sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.

Double killer John Straffen escaped from Broadmoor psychiatric hospital in Berkshire in April 1952

Straffen had been sent to Broadmoor after being deemed unfit to stand trial for the murders of two girls, aged nine and six respectively.

When he died in 2007 at the age of 77, Straffen was Broadmoor's longest-serving prisoner.

His escape led to the installation of an alarm to alert nearby residents that an inmate was on the loose. The siren is still tested every Monday.

An original Daily Mail graphic showing Broadmoor Hospital and where John Straffen escaped

IRA mass break-out

On September 25, 1983, the biggest prison escape in British history took place in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Thirty-eight IRA prisoners - who had been convicted of offences ranging from murder to being behind explosions - broke out from the maximum security Maze prison.

The inmates took several prison guards hostage as part of the plot. One was killed and another was seriously injured.

The prisoners had smuggled guns and knives to overpower staff. They then hijacked a food lorry to drive to the main gate.

On September 25, 1983, the biggest prison escape in British history took place in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Thirty-eight IRA prisoners - who had been convicted of offences ranging from murder to being behind explosions - broke out from the maximum security Maze prison

Matthew Baker

In November 2016, Matthew Baker, a man convicted of attempted murder, broke out of Pentonville prison in remarkable fashion.

Having put a mannequin in his bed to fool the guards, he broke out of his cell using diamond-tipped cutting equipment.

He removed an iron bar and wire netting from his cell's window before scaling the category B Victorian prison's walls using sheets that had been tied together.

On dropping to the ground, he broke his leg. Baker was arrested two days later at an address 12 miles from the prison.

His fellow escapee James Whitlock was arrested six days later in east London.

In November 2016, Matthew Baker, a man convicted of attempted murder, broke out of Pentonville prison in remarkable fashion

John Massey

Convicted murderer John Massey has escaped from custody on three occasions.

Massey's first escape was in 1994 during a home visit when he calmly walked out of a social club while his guards played pool and drank.

He fled to the Costa Del Sol and spent three years on the run before being caught and returned to Britain.

In 2007 he was released on parole but was told he must live in South London and could not stay with his family.

Convicted murderer John Massey has escaped from custody on three occasions

But he broke the conditions by travelling to stay with his father, Jack, 82, who was dying at the Royal Free Hospital, in North London.

Afterwards, Massey said: 'My dad had travelled the length and breadth of this country a thousand times in 30 years in order to visit me in various god-forsaken and dingy prisons.

'I could not fail him or my mother. To do so would have buckled my shoulders with guilt of unspeakable things to come.'

In 2010 he absconded from Ford open prison in West Sussex after being refused permission to visit his terminally ill sister Carol, who was in the same hospital where his father died.

Massey was originally jailed for the murder of pub doorman Charlie Higgins (above) in 1975

She died two weeks later but rather than hand himself in Massey went to live with his mother and was not caught for ten months.

His final escape came in 2012, when he used a makeshift rope to scale the walls of Pentonville prison.

He was arrested 48 hours later in Faversham, Kent.

Massey was originally jailed for the murder of pub doorman Charlie Higgins in 1975.

By the time he was paroled in 2018, Massey was the longest-serving prisoner in the UK, having served 43 years behind bars.
Stephen Fry found himself scrambling for cover in a Kyiv air raid shelter during a Russian attack this week while visiting the Ukrainian capital for a conference on mental health.

The actor and comedian, 66, recounted how he was jolted awake at 4.45am on Wednesday morning by hotel staff urging him to get to the basement shelter amid air raid alerts.

He was quickly ushered into the shelter alongside other guests, whom Fry said were remarkably relaxed despite the imminent danger.

'People were laughing and chattering quite happily,' Fry mused.

'No sign of drones or incoming missiles, as far as I can tell,' he said, adding that the shelter was well equipped with coffee machines and sofas - a sign of how the threat of missile strikes has become part of everyday life in Ukraine.

After an hour in the shelter, Fry said a new announcement startled everyone.

'Your attention, please! There are explosions in the city. Stay in the shelter,' the announcement said, prompting some hotel guests who had dared to go back to their rooms just minutes earlier to 'sheepishly return' below ground.

'I didn't have the foresight to bring a laptop,' Fry admitted, 'but the more seasoned citizens knew better.'

Actor Stephen Fry speaks to media during a press conference at the Third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 6 September 2023

The actor and comedian, 66, recounted how he was jolted awake at 4.45am on Wednesday morning by hotel staff urging him to get to the basement shelter amid air raid alerts

He was quickly ushered into the shelter alongside other hotel patrons, whom Fry reported were remarkably relaxed despite the imminent danger

Fry is seen on stage with a young speaker at the conference this week

Fry shared photos on his social media accounts showing how his hotel room came equipped with a gas mask

Fortunately, authorities eventually gave the all-clear, and life in Kyiv resumed its course. Fry documented the moment with a photo of a cafe, breathing a sigh of relief.

Moment Russian missile kills 17 people in Ukrainian market massacre as bloody war rages on Advertisement

Before the incident, Fry had been in Kyiv to co-host a conference initiated by Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine.

The event aimed to address mental health issues amid the war - a cause close to Fry's heart, as he is the president of the mental health charity Mind.

He described the conference as a 'real bringing together of neurologists, social scientists, psychology, and those working in mental health trauma'.

Earlier in the week, Fry even witnessed a very courageous surgical operation on a wounded Ukrainian soldier, where doctors courageously ignored an air raid warning to save a life.

He praised the 'extraordinary humour' and 'profound unshakeable determination' of the Ukrainian people in the face of adversity.

While Fry stood on stage in Kyiv, Russian artillery was targeting a packed market in the Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens, according to Ukrainian officials.

Cars caught fire in a scene of devastation as the market burns following Russian shelling

The attack, which targeted the Mercury shopping centre in the town in Donetsk, whipped up an inferno that tore through market stalls and destroyed several cars.

Shocking footage of the incident shared by locals on Telegram showed terrified residents sprinting from the scene as orange flames raged in the background, trailing thick black smoke.

Internal Minister Ihor Klymenko said emergency service workers extinguished the fire, but not before it damaged more than 30 stalls.

Twenty shops, power lines, an administrative building and the floor of an apartment building were damaged, according to the prosecutor general's office, as rescue workers continued to pick through the rubble in a search for more survivors.

In a short statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: 'At this moment, the artillery of Russian terrorists has killed 16 people in the city of Kostyantynivka, Donetsk region. A regular market. Shops. A pharmacy. People who did nothing wrong. Many wounded.

'This Russian evil must be defeated as soon as possible.'

The death toll later increased to 17 killed with 32 injured.

Konstianynivka is six miles from the city of Bakhmut, which has long been the epicentre of some of the war's bloodiest and hardest fought battles.
Ex-Tory minister Chris Pincher today quit the House of Commons after losing an appeal against his eight-week suspension from Parliament.

The former Conservative deputy chief whip failed in his bid to overturn the findings of a probe into claims he 'groped' two people in a bar last year.

The 53-year-old has now triggered a by-election in his Tamworth constituency in the coming weeks by resigning from the Commons.

It means Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces two tricky by-elections shortly after the Conservative Party conference in early October.

The Mid Bedfordshire seat is also up for grabs after ex-Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries confirmed her resignation from the Commons last month.

Ex-Tory minister Chris Pincher has quit the House of Commons after losing an appeal against his eight-week suspension from Parliament

It means Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces two tricky by-elections around the time of the Conservative Party conference in October

Mr Pincher quit as the Conservative deputy chief whip in June last year following claims he drunkenly groped two men at a posh London members' club.

He was subsequently suspended from the Tory parliamentary party and has since sat in the Commons as an independent MP.

Earlier this week, it was revealed Mr Pincher had lost his appeal against an eight-week suspension over the allegations about his behaviour at the exclusive Carlton Club last year.

It meant he faced the prospect of losing his Commons seat through a recall petition due to the length of his suspension, if the sanction was rubber-stamped by MPs.

Announcing he would now quit as an MP, Mr Pincher said in a statement this morning: 'I have said already that I will not stand at the next general election.

'However, following the Independent Expert Panel's decision I wanted to talk to my office team and family.

'I do not want my constituents to be put to further uncertainty, and so in consequence I have made arrangements to resign and leave the Commons.

'Tamworth is a wonderful place and it has been an honour to represent its people.

'I shall make no further comment at this time.'

It was later confirmed that Mr Pincher had been appointed as Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, which is one of the archaic means by which MPs can resign.

The Commons Standards Committee in July recommended a lengthy suspension for Mr Pincher after it found the MP's conduct last summer was 'profoundly damaging' and amounted to an abuse of power.

His actions were described as 'unwanted, inappropriate and upsetting', in what amounted to an 'egregious case of sexual misconduct'.

Mr Pincher had lodged an appeal against the committee's findings arguing the sanction was disproportionate.

He did not appeal against the conclusion that he had broken the MPs' code of conduct by behaving in a way that would cause 'significant damage to the reputation and integrity' of the Commons.

But he argued in his appeal submission that his behaviour had not damaged Parliament's reputation as he had spoken at the private members club as a minister rather than as an MP.

He said he had been unable to recall the events in question.

A fierce row over Boris Johnson's handling of the claims against Mr Pincher last year caused a fresh mutiny among Tory MPs against the then PM's leadership and his downfall as premier came days later in early July.

The Mid Bedfordshire by-election has already been called for 19 October, where Labour will be looking to overturn the Tories' 25,000-vote majority from the 2019 general election.

Mr Pincher retained his Tamworth seat with a near 20,000-vote majority in 2019.

The Staffordshire constituency was last held by Labour in 2005.

Mr Sunak today admitted the two by-elections will be 'difficult' for the Conservatives.

Speaking during a visit to the University of Warwick, the PM said: 'Mid-term by-elections are always difficult for incumbent governments and these will be no different, but we're going to keep working hard to deliver for the British people.'
Shoppers were forced to step in and catch a suspected 'watch thief' themselves amid growing fury at police failing to tackle everyday crime blighting Britain's streets.

Shocking video footage in London's upmarket Sloane Square yesterday showed the moment the have-a-go heroes caught the man, who was believed to have snatched a timepiece from the arm of a passerby.

But there was no sign of any police until the suspect had been already held by the public-spirited passersby. And by the time an officer was finally seen lumbering over to the 'crime scene', onlookers let out a sarcastic cheer as he was led away.

It is the latest shame in a growing number of incidents up and down the country, where police failure to crack down on crime has seen retail chiefs accusing them of allowing lawlessness to thrive.

Confidence in the force - after a series of devastating scandals - is also at a huge low, with London's Met bearing the brunt of criticism after criminals were exposed in its own ranks like Wayne Couzens, the killer of Sarah Everard.

On Monday, ASDA chairman Lord Stuart Rose said theft had effectively been 'decriminalised' due to a lack of police action. It was a devastating intervention, given a report just last year had already urged officers to do more to win back public trust.

HAVE YOU WITNESSED SHOPLIFTING ON BRITAIN'S HIGH STREETS? Tell us about your experience and send your pictures and video: Email dan.sales@mailonline.co.uk

A man, seen in the chair, was apprehended by passers-by in London after he allegedly stole a watch from someone

The X account - previously known as Twitter - added two party emojis showing a happy face to the video

In September 2022 police were told by a chief constable to spend more time catching criminals than involving themselves in 'spats on Twitter' and attempts at 'inclusion' like dancing on duty.

Andy Marsh, who had been head of the College of Policing since September 2021, said forces should prioritise reversing exceptionally low rates of solving crimes.

Home Office figures revealed forces were solving the lowest proportion of crimes ever, with only 6 per cent of all crimes resulting in a charge in the year to September 2021.

Mr Marsh had said: 'What so irritates the public when they see videos of officers on duty dancing is that they don't see an expression of inclusion, they see an officer who has closed their burglary case with no further action - without even visiting the scene - stepping over the line from respectful and polite policing of an event, into frivolity.'

In this latest example posted to social media, two men can be seen pinning the alleged thief to a chair outside John Lewis in the west London shopping district as they wait patiently for authorities to intervene.

When officers turned up after members of the public were forced to hold the fort, the man is put in handcuffs and led to a waiting police car. It is not known whether the officers were called or simply happened to be passing.

Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy says tougher laws are needed to deter people from attacking supermarket workers

There have been rallying cries by supermarket chiefs for the Government to step in and help supermarkets to better protect staff from abuse

John Lewis, Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Boots are now issuing staff bodycams and training to deter violence from aggressive thieves while at Dunelm, duvets and pillowcases were locked up in PIN-code-protected cabinets.

On shoplifting and the abuse of staff, Lord Rose blamed complacent authorities which he said have 'allowed' lawlessness to thrive.

Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari, said theft was 'actually just not seen as a crime anymore', adding: 'We've become risk averse.'

Retail thefts have reportedly risen by 27 per cent across ten of the UK's largest cities - and were up by 68 per cent in some, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.

Lord Rose's comments came after a rallying cry by Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy for the Government and police to help supermarkets to better protect staff from abuse.

Physical attacks on staff at Tesco  which employs around 300,000 people in 2,800 UK stores  are up a third on last years levels.

Union Jack flags can be seen festooned above the scene in Sloane Square yesterday

A video captures the moment a suspect is seen surrounded by members of the public in a busy shopping street in one of the most exclusive areas of London

Every frontline Tesco colleague will be given the option of a body-worn camera (file picture)

The boss of the UK's biggest supermarket chain described the impact on staff as heartbreaking, calling the assaults 'an insult to shoppers and retail workers'.

Writing in The Mail on Sunday, the chief executive called for changes to the law and policing. Officers currently fail to attend more than two-thirds of serious retail crimes, even though shoplifting costs businesses almost 1billion a year.

READ MORE: Police should investigate all instances of shoplifting even if the value of stolen goods is less than 200, policing minister claims Advertisement

The British Retail Consortium found that incidents of violence and abuse against retail workers almost doubled from more than 450 per day in 2019-20 to more than 850 last year.

Although Home Secretary Suella Braverman last month demanded police pursue all reasonable crime leads, law enforcement chiefs said they did not have the resources to pursue minor incidents.

Yesterday's alleged theft happened in one of the most exclusive parts of London where properties sell for millions.

'Oh here we go!' a witness says as two police officers approach, before they handcuff and put the man in the back of a police car.

The X account added two party emojis showing a happy face to the video ad captioned it: 'This happened on the pavilion road this evening a guy had his watch stolen.

'The guy was caught by a member of the public, the police came and he was arrested.'

Union Jack flags can be seen festooned above the scene.

One person who commented on the video joked: 'Oh would you look at that - society coming together to apprehend a criminal and await for the authorities to take them to the custody suite.

'Yet when I have the sheer temerity to suggest I would do that in other videos, I get people having a go at me. Funny that...'

The Metropolitan Police have been contacted for comment.

A reported altercation at a Tesco in Aston, Birmingham in January 2022 saw a Tesco worker punched in the face as security staff grappled with alleged shoplifters

A peal of applause erupts as the man is handcuffed and led to a waiting police car

Lord Stuart Rose (pictured) said authorities have turned their heads away from a shocking wave of crime being battled by shop staff
Two men have been jailed after they stole from a DPD delivery driver who had a heart attack and died at the scene.

Police and paramedics rushed to Handley Street in Horden, County Durham to attend to Andrew James Coyles, but the father-of-three could not be saved.

Joseph Henry Niles, 41, and Gary Peter Hepworth, 43, stole a mobile phone and a wallet belonging to Mr Coyles, and assaulted an attending paramedic.

The two thugs were were charged with manslaughter over the tragedy that occurred on Sunday, March 19 this year.

However the duo were this week cleared of causing Andrew James Coyles' death and instead convicted of theft alone after the prosecution offered no evidence.

Police and paramedics rushed to the scene where DPD delivery driver Andrew James Coyles had a heart attack, but the father-of-three could not be saved

Police launched an investigation and 41-year-old Niles, of no fixed abode, and 43-year-old Hepworth, of Greenside Avenue, Peterlee, were both charged with Mr Coyles' manslaughter.

When they appeared at a plea hearing Durham Crown Court on Wednesday April 19 they denied the manslaughter charge.

They also denied a separate count of theft of a mobile phone and a wallet belonging to Mr Coyles.

Hepworth faced a further charge of assaulting an emergency worker as he was being detained which he also denied.

A trial was due to begin at Teesside Crown Court on Wednesday but prosecution counsel Paul Abrahams said that following a review of the evidence, the Crown had decided not to pursue the manslaughter charge.

Recorder Peter Reid formally recorded a 'not guilty' verdict.

He said that while they were not considered legally responsible for Mr Coyles' death, they, 'undoubtedly' bore a 'moral' responsibility.

Both defendants changed their pleas and each admitted the theft charge.

DPD delivery driver and father-of-three Andrew James Coyles suffered a fatal heart attack while on Handley Street in Horden, County Durham

Police launched an investigation and 41-year-old Niles, of no fixed abode, and 43-year-old Hepworth, of Greenside Avenue, Peterlee, were both charged with Mr Coyles' manslaughter

The two thugs were were charged with manslaughter over the tragedy that occurred on Handley Street in Horden, County Durham on Sunday, March 19 this year

Hepworth also admitted the count relating to the assault of an emergency worker.

Recorder Reid imposed six-month prison sentences on both men for the theft, but added a further two months to Hepworth's sentence for the assault on the emergency worker.

In a tribute released via Durham Police, in the days following Mr Handley's death, his three children, Katie, Rebecca and James, said: 'There will never be the words to describe the way we feel.

'Nothing ever prepares you for this hurt and pain.

'Our hearts are broken. We love you so very much and will continue to make you

proud each and every day, they way you always told us.

'It's only: "See you later, dad". It's not: "goodbye".'
SHINERAY, the No. 1 in China, conquers Togo !

Since last Saturday, the Togolese have had a new choice of motorcycle to ensure their travel. These are SHINERAY brand motorcycles. The number 1 in China arrives on the Togolese market for two-wheeled vehicles with a wide range of motorcycles which combine power, comfort, elegance, and aesthetics.

It is through a large caravan that information on the arrival of this other possibility of choice among the choices available to lovers of two-wheeled vehicles was brought to the public. With its 14 models of motorcycles, this large caravan which set off from the headquarters of the SHINERAY brand, in the heart of Lome, in the Deckon district (former headquarters of Moov Togo), crisscrossed the main arteries of the city of Lome before fail again at the starting point.

Representative of this Italian-Chinese production motorcycle brand in Togo, Boon Hetty, announces a revolution through these new motorcycles. Its a very innovative brand. We have come to revolutionize the Togolese market with many surprises and we hope that the people will like it, she declared.

In addition to comfort, resistance and elegance, the promoters of this new motorcycle brand have not forgotten the energy expenditure and cost aspect. It is indicated by the latter that SHINERAY motorcycles are very economical in terms of fuel. Likewise, the prices, they informed, are accessible to the average Togolese. And always keen to support the driver of a SHINERAY machine, an after-sales service has been set up.

Thus, according to the explanations of the Vice General Manager of SHINERAY, Luna Lu, to date, SHINERAY is No. 1 in China. It produces more than a million motorcycles per month. These are motorcycles of all kinds intended for the city and which are deployed for the first time in Africa and Togo. A stock of spare parts is already available. You can get a SHINERAY motorcycle from only 515,000 FCFA.

And to attest to the best quality of these 14 high-end motorcycle models offered by SHINERAY and adapted to Togolese roads, there is no better way than to have them tested by national drivers. Which was the other objective of the caravan made last Saturday with nothing but SHINERAY machines. They already say so many good things about it. Its a very good bike. The engine does not make much noise and it is also very economical. I therefore invite those who wish to buy a new motorcycle to opt for SHINERAY. They wont regret it, assured one of the drivers.

If SHINERAY arrives on the Togolese market with motorcycles, it should be noted that it can, in the near future, strengthen its presence in Togo with other types of rolling vehicles. We are talking about automobiles, generators and pumps, and even more so energy, which are also areas in which it excels.

With all this information available, all that remains is for the Togolese public and especially lovers of two-wheeled vehicles to try SHINERAY, to tell us the news.

T228
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton makes a return to the White House she tried to capture next week with first lady Jill Biden, although she may want to mask up.

The former first lady and current one are set to host an event for an arts award. The recipient has not yet been announced.

The White House said that Clinton is scheduled to appear Tuesday to help honor the 2023 winners of the Praemium Imperiale, a global prize awarded annually by the Japan Art Association for lifetime achievement.

Praemium Imperiale laureates were first celebrated at the White House by President Bill Clinton and the then-first lady in 1994.

It all comes more than a week after Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19. The White House says her case is 'mild' and she is recovering well.

President Joe Biden has tested negative for the virus three times since his wife's test. She is recuperating at their Delaware beach house.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returns to the White House she tried to capture next week to present an arts award

Bill Clinton had lunch with Biden at the White House in May 2022, a month after former President Barack Obama returned to the White House for the first time since the end of his administration for an event celebrating his signature health care law.

Hillary Clinton, a former New York senator who served as Obama's secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, lost her 2016 bid for the presidency to Donald Trump.

The stinging defeat came in an election where Biden opted to sit out a run despite serving as Obama's vice president, following the death of his son, Beau.

The White House announcement means next Tuesday's event is set to go forward despite the first lady testing positive for COVID on Monday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that "the first lady is doing well" as she recovers.

Jean-Pierre said the president tested negative for COVID on Wednesday morning, following negative tests the previous two days. He is scheduled to leave Thursday for India to attend the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, and later travel to Vietnam and Alaska.
A Chinese businesswoman will have 85,000 seized from her Lloyds bank account by police over money laundering concerns, a judge has ruled.

Millionaire entrepreneur Wei Chen had 'deliberately tried to conceal' the money by taking it in wads of cash to her local branch in the Home Counties in batches of up to 4,000 at a time over the course of 33 days, a court heard.

Police had applied for Chen's bank account to be frozen after they were informed of suspicious activity on her account.

They discovered she had been given the cash by Taiwanese international businessman Chien-Hung Huang, who the court heard lives in a seven-bedroom home in Stanmore and has business interests in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the UK.

Investigators said Huang had not been able to explain how he had obtained the money, leading them to draw an 'inference' that it was the proceeds of crime.

District Judge Kathryn Verghis, ruling on a forfeiture application brought by Thames Valley Police at Slough Magistrates Court, said Huang had declined to attend court and said she did not find an explanation he gave in a witness statement 'remotely credible'.

But Chen, of Maidenhead, Berkshire, claimed she had received the money from Huang, whose wife is a distant relative of hers, 'in good faith' and argued she should be able to keep it.

Detective Constable Nicholas Widdison, a financial investigator, told Reading Magistrates Court there were 'very strict' restrictions on how much money can be removed from China (stock image)

An expert witness told the court that in China it is not uncommon for people to have large amounts of money, sometimes millions, in cash.

'In my culture, I do not expect cash will cause me so much trouble', she had said. 'After I asked people who had lived in the UK for a long time, I realised my behaviour could cause some misunderstanding.'

She added that she took the money in batches 'to avoid the risk of robbery', telling the court she had previously been the victim of a mugging where she was dragged down the street.

Ruling at a hearing on Tuesday, Judge Verghis said: 'It is an obvious point that the amount of cash is substantial. Such an amount being paid into any bank, especially the whole sum, would have raise suspicion.

'I reject Mrs Chen's evidence regarding her receipt and processing of cash by small amounts to the bank. Her claim regarding street crime is not, in my view, remotely credible.

'Whilst I have heard evidence about a cash culture in China and note the expert evidence, I reject the arguments.

'As a Tier One Entrepreneur, Mrs Chen would have been aware of the requirements of UK business practices and that large amounts of cash would attract attention. That is why she paid them in relatively small amounts.'

A Chinese businesswoman will have 85,000 seized from her Lloyds bank account by police over money laundering concerns, a judge has ruled (stock image)

Judge Verghis ruled Chen had tried to 'deliberately conceal the cash' and granted the order for forfeiture to TVP.

Chen moved to the UK from China on an entrepreneurs visa to further her business interests and has a background in business and finance.

The married mother-of-two was given the money by Huang after she sold a house in China for 1.73million.

Detective Constable Nicholas Widdison, a financial investigator, told Reading Magistrates Court there were 'very strict' restrictions on how much money can be removed from China.

'Mrs Chen has circumvented, has gone around, the laws in China in order to have those funds in her possession in the UK', Widdison said.

He said some of the proceeds from the sale of Chen's property in China had not left the country but had gone into a Chinese bank account owned by a woman referred to as QC, Huang's wife.

Huang had provided Chen with the money as 'recompense', which Widdison said was the 'very definition of the Chinese underground banking service'.

Police had not accused Chen of having committed a crime and she had not been charged with any offence. Their case was she should have known or could have discovered on making reasonable inquiries that the money was the proceeds of crime.
A serial killer allegedly murdered women he met in bars and buried more than ten of his victims in a hole he had dug in his kitchen in Rwanda, it has emerged.

The 34-year-old man, identified as Denis Kazungu in local media, was arrested on Tuesday and confessed to studying his victims before stalking them and luring them back to his rented home in a suburb of the capital Kigali.

Kazungu admitted to cops that once his victims, who were mostly prostitutes, had entered his property, he would rob them of their belongings before strangling them to death and dumping their bodies in a hole he had dug in his kitchen.

Horrified police officers discovered more than ten decomposing bodies piled up in the pit as they searched the man's home after he admitted to the murders.

Kazungu confessed that he had learned to kill from watching documentaries on famous serial killers and would pick mostly women who were prostitutes as his victims because they were most likely to not have any close family or friends who would look for them, police said.

A serial killer allegedly murdered women he met in bars and buried more than ten of his victims in a hole he had dug in his kitchen in Rwanda, it has emerged (file image of police in Kigali, Rwanda)

A source in the Rwanda Investigation Bureau said the number of victims discovered so far was 14 but Thierry Murangira, a spokesman for the RIB, declined to give a final number until forensic investigations were completed. The victims have yet to be identified.

Kazungu admitted to police that he dissolved some of his victims in acid, meaning that there could be more victims whose bodies will never be found.

He had initially been arrested in July on suspicion of robbery and rape among other offences but was granted bail due to a lack of evidence, Murangira said, quoted by local media.

But on Monday, police had gone to Kazungu's rented property to evict him after his landlord told them he had defaulted on rent for the last seven months.

A police officer told Rwandan newspaper The New Times that Kazungu put up a fight.

'He apologised and cried excessively, which raised our suspicions. We detained him and I personally took him to the police station,' the official said.

'It is at the police station where he confessed to having killed some people, prompting RIB to investigate his residence.'

Cops arrested the suspected serial killer on Tuesday and searched his home, leading to the discovery of the bodies dumped in the pit he had dug in his kitchen.

'The suspect confessed that he learned to kill from watching famous serial killers. He dissolved some of his victims in acid,' the RIB source said.

'He would study his victims before stalking them and usually went for those that are most likely not to have close family or friends to look out for them.'

Murangira said the suspect had confessed during interrogation to the killings and that preliminary investigations had found the victims were both male and female.

'He operated by luring his victims, mostly prostitutes, to his home where he would rob them of their phones and belongings and then strangled them to death and buried them in a hole dug in the kitchen of his rented house,' he added.

It is believed that most of Kazungu's victims were women he had met at bars, police say.

His neighbours told local media that at times they heard women screaming in the night - but they didn't think there was anything untoward happening.

A survivor who escaped from the serial killer's clutches reportedly led to his arrest - but police say he confessed after being evicted for not paying his rent for seven months.
A Tube advert featuring an artisan cheese guru has been blocked by Transport for London as it is deemed 'too unhealthy'.

The transport network put the brakes on the ads last month as they did not comply with its advertising regulations.

TfL's policy uses the Food Standards Agency's model 'to define foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt', The Times reports.

The rejected ad by Workspace featured Cheese Geek, fronted by entrepreneur Edward Hancock and had the support of Dragon's Den's Steven Bartlett.

Posters were due to be shown on the Underground as well as the side of London buses in the campaign led by Workspace, which provides flexible office spaces.

The ad campaign by Workspace featured Cheese Geek, fronted by entrepreneur Edward Hancock (pictured) and had the support of Dragon's Den 's Steven Bartlett

In July, a poster for West End play Tony n' Tina's Wedding was banned by TfL bosses because it featured a wedding cake

Mr Hancock, a former fund manager who quit his job to set up Cheese Geek in 2017, dubbed the decision 'crazy'.

He said he was 'frustrated' that adverts featuring fizzy drinks, alcohol and ultra-processed foods were given the go-ahead, but not for 'artisan cheese'.

Mr Hancock said: 'It's because the Government tried to simplify advice for people. But the problem is when you oversimplify it to such an extent... you get this issue with products that are actually proven to be very good for you.'

He insisted that artisan cheese 'has been shown in numerous recent studies to be beneficial for health'.

In evidence, he mentioned a recent podcast in which Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology, told listeners there could be benefit to the gut from eating cheese.

He said they should eat 'small portions, little and often and to get diversity of cheeses, for diversity of microbes'.

Mr Hancock reviews the latest cheeses for his brand and is a judge at the World Cheese Awards, International Cheese & Dairy Awards, The British Cheese Awards and the Artisan Cheese Awards.

On his website, he states: 'I didnt come from a cheese or food background, I just love cheese. Tasting, exploring, sharing.

'But cheese can be pretty scary, overwhelming and intimidating to get into. I found that myself personally.

'I wanted to make discovering cheese easy, convenient and fun. I wanted every cheese geek to be able to express themselves, whatever their cheese knowledge.'

A spokesman for Workspace said: 'We'll still be running this ad online and across social media, but it's a shame we're not able to do so on buses or the Tube.'

TfL has form when comes to banning advertising for unhealthy foods.

In July, a poster for a West End play featuring a Victoria sponge cake was censored by the network and had to be redesigned.

Producers for the show Tony n' Tina's Wedding created a poster of the two main characters standing on top of a two-tier wedding cake.

They spent nearly 20,000 on their marketing campaign and printed 200 posters which featured actors Ronnie Burden and Alabama Boatman ahead of the play's opening night next Saturday, The Sun reported.

However TfL bosses decided to take the posters down as they promote 'the consumption of high fat, salt and sugar foods' and do not comply with the organisation's advertising policy.

Despite appealing against the decision, the show's producers were forced to spend another 5,000 on a new ad campaign with the cake removed.

Since 2019, TfL has barred the advertising of junk food as part of a drive to cut down on childhood obesity. Products considered to be high in fat, sugar or salt are not permitted to be advertised on the platforms or carriages.

Regarding the Workspace ad featuring Cheese Geek, a TfL spokesman said: 'The advert does not comply with our advertising policy, which uses the Food Standards Agencys (FSA) model to define foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt.

'The rest of the advertising campaign for Workspace was deemed compliant and four different creatives will be running on our network.'
READ MORE: Sophie Monk trying for her first child

A man accused of stalking TV star Sophie Monk has been charged after allegedly breaching a restraining order.

Brian Rapley, 49, had arrived at the TV star's door with a red rose back in April claiming he believed he was in relationship with Monk after being 'catfished'.

He showed up and lingered at her Central Coast home with the hope he would be meeting her in person after exchanging loved-up messages online.

Rapley claims that a con artist posing as the Love Island host sent him romantic texts and DMs for four months before scamming him out of $7,000.

On Thursday morning he was arrested after he allegedly turned up at Monk's manager's office in Surry Hills, Sydney, earlier this week.

An alleged stalked of TV star Sophie Monk (pictured) has been arrested and charged with breaching an apprehended personal violence order

He was refused bail at Penrith Local Court charged with breaching an apprehended personal violence order - which stated he could not go within 500m of Monk or attempt to make contact with her.

The court heard Rapley allegedly entered the inner-city office building after announcing 'Sophie' into an intercom, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Footage shows a man dressed in dark clothes enter the building before walking up the stairs of the office where Monk often works out of.

Staff members then called the police after recognising the man.

Police prosecutor Shin Wahr told the court Rapley continues to pose a risk to Monk and should not be given bail.

'The defendant has been served an AVO which has rather strict conditions set up for the protection of the victim in which he is not to attend any place where she works and this is exactly what he's done,' Mr Wahr told the court.

The father-of-two will remain remanded in custody until his appearance at Downing Centre Local Court on September 14.

Police prosecutor Shin Wahr told the court Rapley continues to pose a risk to Monk (pictured) and should not be given bail

Brian Rapley, 49, had arrived at the TV star's door with a red rose back in April claiming he believed he was in relationship with Monk after being 'catfished'
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary was splattered in the face with a pair of cream pies by eco-activists as he prepared to speak to the media in Brussels earlier today.

O'Leary, 62, was in the Belgian capital to speak at a press conference and deliver a petition to protect overflights in Europe amid the news Ryanair pilots based in Belgium had called a strike.

He was delivering an interview - alongside a cardboard cut-out of European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen - when a black-clad woman ran up and smashed the pie into his face.

O'Leary reeled away and ducked his head down to avoid a potential blow - giving a second woman the opportunity to run up behind him and deliver a second spatter of cream down the back of his neck.

'Welcome to Belgium!', the activists cheered as they ran off, before O'Leary sportingly replied: 'Well done!'

The ordeal didn't appear to trouble the Ryanair boss too much. Speaking to media after the incident, he jokingly declared: 'I have never had such a warm welcome.

'Unfortunately it was environmentalists and the cream was artificial. I invite passengers to come to Ireland where the cream is better!'

Activists throw cream pie on Ryanair CEO Micheal O'Leary

Activists throw cream pie on Ryanair CEO Micheal O'Leary as he is on his way to deliver the 'Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open' petition to EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen's office in Brussels, Belgium, 07 September 2023

'Welcome to Belgium!', the activists cheered as the ran off, before O'Leary sportingly replied, 'well done'

Ryanair CEO Micheal O'Leary wipes cream pie from his face after activists threw it at him while he is on his way to deliver the 'Protect Overflights: Keep EU Skies Open' petition to EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen's office in Brussels

Ryanair's feed on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, later posted that O'Leary got a 'warm welcome in Brussels'.

'Passengers so happy with our routes and petition that they're celebrating with cake,' it said.

Ryanair pilots based in Belgium's Charleroi airport announced they would strike on September 14-15 - dates chosen specifically to coincide with a general meeting of Ryanair shareholders.

The pilots are demanding 'an immediate end to the blackmail carried out by the company to correlate the negotiation of a new collective work agreement with the abandonment of all individual legal procedures in progress'.

They demand 'strict compliance with Belgian law, the payment of arrears and the opening of negotiations without prerequisites'.

The drama is the latest twist in a long-running saga that saw Ryanair go toe-to-toe with the European Commission in a battle to protect overflights from being cancelled.

In May, O'Leary delivered another petition, signed by more than 1.1 million passengers, to von der Leyen's office, calling for the European Commission to protect overflights from being adversely impacted when air traffic controllers go on strike.

The airline argues it had been forced to 'disproportionately cancel' thousands of overflights from Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK and Ireland, blaming European aviation authorities for prioritising short-haul and domestic flights during strike times while leaving international travellers in the lurch.

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary (pictured in 2022) says he has still not been told by UK air traffic control firm NATS what caused the system-wide crash on Monday

The EC said several European states already had protections in place to prevent overflight cancellations, but Ryanair wants the same protections to be enforced in all EU member states.

'Europe's passengers are sick and tired of suffering unnecessary overflight cancellations during ATC strikes. The European Commission must now act upon the petition of more than 1.1 million EU citizens and insist that all states protect overflights during national ATC strikes as is already done in Greece, Italy and Spain,' O'Leary's petition read.

Last month, O'Leary hit out at national air traffic control (ATC) provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) for failing to provide answers as to what crippled its system for several hours and forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

NATS, which boasts on its website that it is the 'leading provider of air traffic control services' in the UK, admitted that the bug was caused by 'flight data' but has not elaborated on who was responsible.

'It's not acceptable that UK NATS simply allow their computer systems to be taken down and everybody's flights get cancelled,' O'Leary said.

The pie attack on O'Leary in Brussels today was the latest in a line of recent stunts by climate activists.

Activists who want the planet to survive without using gas or oil invaded Westminster Bridge during rush hour to light flares and display a banner earlier this week.

Protesters Fossil Free London are calling for a stop of the further development of the Rosebank oil field.

The stunt was timed to coincide with MPs' return to Parliament after their summer recess.

Campaigner Joanna Warrington said: 'Rishi Sunak wants to give billions of pounds of public money to a giant oil company in exchange for the climate time bomb, which will do absolutely nothing to lower our energy bills. It's reckless and absurd.

'People want clean, cheap renewable energy, but the government is on autopilot, handing money to their oily chums. Yet again, they are prioritising fossil fuel industry profits over a future safe from climate breakdown. We need to stop Rosebank and drive oily money out of our politics.'

The protesters - whose identities are not known - are calling for a stop of the further development of the Rosebank oil field

Eco-vandals deflated the tyres of more than 80 SUVs in the latest environmental protest against 'gas guzzler' cars

Every car that had its tyres slashed had a note left on it titled 'attention - your gas guzzler kills' - the group described it as its 'biggest action in Cornwall yet'

In August, eco-vandals went on a spree of slashing and deflating tyres of SUVs in a protest against 'gas guzzler' cars.

Vehicles were targeted in St Mawes and Falmouth, Cornwall on August 23 by a group who call themselves 'The Tyre Extinguishers'.

Every car had a note left on it titled 'attention - your gas guzzler kills' in the group's 'biggest action in Cornwall yet'.

Despite the aggressive approach, the group said it was a 'peaceful protest' and their intent was 'not to incite harm but rather catalyse change and ensure a safer environment for all'.

In response to the tyre slashing, one Twitter user said: 'I trust the person's tyre you let down was not someone getting medication for a loved one, or a member of the emergency services on call. Notices I don't mind but to cause a vehicle to be driven dangerously is reckless.'

Devon and Cornwall Police said enquiries were ongoing after 'multiple reports of car tyres having been deflated in residential streets'.

Weeks earlier, a group of protesters were arrested after climbing onto the roof of the Prime Minister's house.

Four Greenpeace activists were detained following the seven-hour demonstration at Rishi Sunak's 2million home while he was away on a family holiday.

The protesters arrived at the Prime Minister's mansion in Richmond, North Yorkshire, at 6am on August 3, two hours before police were alerted just after 8am. They eventually came down around 1pm before being loaded into the back of police vans and taken away.

A fifth person was later arrested in connection with the protest.

Greenpeace activists are led away by police after they climbed on the roof of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's house in Richmond, North Yorkshire, and covered it in black fabric today

Greenpeace activists are led away by police from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's house today

Police holding climbing gear after Greenpeace activists climbed onto Mr Sunak's roof today

Greenpeace activists on the roof of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's house in Richmond today

North Yorkshire Police initially said that two men and two women had been arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage and public nuisance. The force later added that a fifth man had been been arrested on suspicion of causing public nuisance.

Now, major security questions have been raised over how the stunt was carried out.

The security arrangement at Mr Sunak's house has not been revealed, although witnesses pointed out that any camera surveillance that may be in the area did not trigger an alert because police were not informed for two hours. Experts said Mr Sunak is normally protected by close protection officers, MI5 and anti-terror police.

Greenpeace said it draped his home in '200sq m (2,150sq ft) of oil-black fabric' in a protest at his backing for a major expansion of North Sea oil and gas drilling.

At the same time, two further activists on the ground unfurled a banner featuring the words 'Rishi Sunak - Oil Profits or Our Future?' across the grass in front of the house.

The group claimed they knocked on the door upon their arrival and said: 'This is a peaceful protest.' But there was no answer. It is not known who reported them to police, but by the time officers arrived, the four were on the roof, 40ft above ground.
Carol Vorderman has today made a humiliating climbdown after she deleted a series of 22 tweets about the chairman of the Conservative Party - who accused her of being 'defamatory' and 'damaging'.

The former Countdown presenter, 62, has been a vocal critic of the Tory government's handling of contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) in 2020 during the pandemic, specifically the 'VIP Lane'.

Among her targets was current Tory chairman Greg Hands, who she claimed was involved in the 25.8 million contract awarded to Luxe Lifestyles after an approach by a party activist. The company had no published accounts or history of supplying PPE.

A subsequent FOI showed nine million items provided by Luxe Lifestyles worth 20million were labelled 'do not supply', despite the company's apparent belief that they were usable.

Responding to Ms Vorderman's Twitter campaign, Mr Hands insisted his role was only to refer the company to officials on the Joint Action Coordination Team, commonly referred to as the VIP Lane - while she then deleted 22 tweets.

Carol Vorderman, 62, has been a vocal critic of the Tory government's handling of contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) in 2020 during the pandemic, specifically the 'VIP Lane'

Among her targets was current Tory chairman Greg Hands, who she claimed was involved in the 25.8 million contract awarded to Luxe Lifestyles after an approach by a party activist. The company had no published accounts or history of supplying PPE

Vorderman today wrote on X, formerly Twitter: 'I'm happy to accept Mr Hands assurance that his role in the process was simply to refer the approach to the JACT, and that there was no impropriety on his part'

Mr Hands wrote: 'After her six-month campaign against me, I welcome Carol Vorderman today deleting 22 tweets and setting the record straight that I had no involvement in the awarding of any PPE contracts'

She posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: 'I've been contacted by Greg Hands MP in response to my tweets about his involvement in the granting of a COVID-19 healthcare contract to Luxe Lifestyle in 2020.

'While the awarding of this contract was unfortunate, and there remain serious questions about the VIP Lane, I'm happy to accept Mr Hands assurance that his role in the process was simply to refer the approach to the JACT, and that there was no impropriety on his part.'

However, the presenter stopped short of apologising. She instead posted a revised timeline of the events leading up to the Luxe Lifestyle contract.

Mr Hands wrote: 'After a six month campaign of defamation & vilification, Carol Vorderman has today finally withdrawn her allegations. She accused me of illegal corruption, phoning a friend to say heres a nice little 25.8m PPE contract for you mate and having my hands in the cookie jar.

'The truth does matter. After her six-month campaign against me, I welcome Carol Vorderman today deleting 22 tweets & setting the record straight that I had no involvement in the awarding of any PPE contracts.

'These tweets were defamatory and damaging. An apology would help too.

'Also, the JACT was not a VIP Lane  it was the Governments official collection point for such offers.'

It is the latest in a series of public spats between the veteran broadcaster and leading Conservative figures.

In January, Ms Vorderman doubled down on allegations she made that Government Covid contracts funded the lifestyle of bra entrepreneur Michelle Mone's husband  as the former friends' extraordinary fallout turned bitter.

Carol Vorderman and Michelle Mone in London on September 15, 2010

Vorderman talked directly about the PPE scandal on ITV's This Morning breakfast show, ending by turning to the camera and addressing the embattled lingerie tycoon by saying: 'Sue me, Michelle.'

Baroness Mone remains under investigation by the National Crime Agency fraud experts and the House of Lords over claims she failed to declare an interest when lobbying for PPE Medpro to supply personal protection equipment to the Government and NHS for 203million during the Covid pandemic.

The peer, who denies claims she and her children pocketed 29million from the deals, has taken a leave of absence from the Lords to defend herself  while the Government sues PPE Medpro for supplying 25 million 'unusable' surgical gowns.

In a string of tweets, Ms Vorderman took further potshots at 'baroness bra', saying in one post: 'For some reason or other I feel obliged to reshare this article noting that after PPE firm linked to them received VIP lane contract MM/Husband/firm bought a jet & a boat & 3m in property for her children'.

In July, Vorderman fired off another salvo in her feud with Tory MP Johnny Mercer's wife by accusing her of 'harassment'.

Ms Vorderman found herself at war with Felicity Cornelius-Mercer, 43, and the veterans' minister, 41, since last week, and took things up a notch by sharing a reel showing a series of tweets she had sent her.

She wrote: 'I've been harassed by Johnny Mercer's wife for months. This is from just one day in April + much more abuse elsewhere. I didn't respond at all. Until he mocked military using foodbanks. She's paid c45k on MP expenses (+200% pay rise) to do this?'

Carol Vorderman accused Johnny Mercer's wife of 'harassing' her on Twitter

The former Countdown presenter found herself at war with Tory MP Johnny Mercer's wife Felicity Cornelius-Mercer in July

In response, Mrs Cornelius-Mercer said she had been tagging Ms Vorderman, 62, in abusive tweets sent to her husband to show how she had stirred up 'awful traffic' by 'telling followers to target MPs'.

She added: 'Feel free to stop the reel and read them. These hateful comments are sent to us as a direct result of @carolvorders drivel. I've only ever reacted to her rubbish about hating all Tories, which has been going on long before I got involved.'

In February, a spokesperson for Luxe Lifestyle said: 'Luxe Lifestyles contract to supply PPE was negotiated on an arm length basis through MoD procurement officers, seconded to the DHSC [Department of Health and Social Care].

'The company was awarded a single contract for two out of six products offered via a competitive process based on price and availability.

'No minister was ever directly contacted by the company and all products offered were uploaded on to the relevant DSHC PPE procurement website established by the government at the time of the pandemic for review and assessment alongside other PPE providers.

'No one at the company has ever contacted or spoken to Greg Hands.'
As the UK is in the midst of sweltering heatwave, hot and bothered Brits have taken to social media to share their sleepless nights, uncomfortable commutes and dreams of turning the clock back to a drearier time (August).

Despite the tropical nights - which has not seen the mercury drop below 20C - Brits have still maintained their sense of humour to get through it.

References to Dante's Inferno, melting Spongebob Squarepants ice lollies and sleeping in the wild outdoors are just some of the hilarious memes and funny reactions to the hot spell.

It comes as the Met Office predicts the longest September heatwave on record and forecasts this week will top the hottest day of the year already recorded in June.

Brits have been sharing their funniest memes as the UK is in the midst of a heatwave

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: 'A lot of people will probably think of the summer just gone as being pretty non-exceptional, pretty disappointing if you had plans in the UK.

'This week, it looks likely that we'll see the highest temperature of the year so far. Today will be the third day that some sites have seen three consecutive days of heatwave conditions.

'By the end of today, officially, it will be a heatwave, it is certain that it will be by tomorrow.'

While the weather will come as a welcome relief to many after a lacklustre summer that was unseasonably cold and rainy, a lot of Brits took to social media to complain about being unable to sleep.

Social media users have been posting their funniest memes to express just how hot they are

One user posted a gif of a skeleton burning in the fires of hell, adding: 'Trying to sleep in this heatwave be like.'

Another posted a picture of themselves aiming a gun at the sun in an apparent bid to threaten it to cool down.

Also, someone posted a picture of a man running around on fire, saying: 'Stepping out during the summer months.'

One person pictured themselves putting their foot in a lampshade as a pun, saying: 'It's so hot today I've had to step into some shade.'

Another posted a picture of a woman with her head in a freezer, saying: 'What a day to hug your refrigerator.'

One person posted a meme of a man crying uncontrollably in the shower: 'It's September. It's supposed to be cold. It's meant to rain.

'It's meant to suck for everyone but me because I overheat but I like autumn.

'Autumn is nice for me but no. It's HOT AS BALLS BECAUSE THE UK DECIDED ON ANOTHER HEATWAVE. IN SEPTEMBER.'

Another joked: 'You look tired Christine... THANKS I'VE HAD ALMOST 5 HOURS SLEEP IN THE PAST TWO DAYS.'

One person posted a picture of their dog squishing its face against a pillow and wrote: 'Lola has melted. #heatwaveuk #heatwave #hotdog.'

Another posted a photo of a sleeping cat and wrote: 'It's far too hot here in the UK, I've actually melted!'

One person pointed out: 'People that a few weeks ago where complaining that we have had no summer, are now complaining about the #heatwave.'

Countless people are struggling to sleep across the UK. It comes amid an amber weather warning

READ MORE: Health heat warning: NHS braced for influx of patients during heatwave as officials urge public to be cautious Advertisement

Somebody calling themselves S said: 'Personally, I think if your commute involves the central line then you should be allowed to sack off your compulsory office days in the midst of a heatwave.'

Another person said: 'The cat has started sleeping outside under a bush during this heatwave. I may join him.'

One user tweeted a picture of a cat passed out next to a fan, quipping: 'Might try and get some sleep now even though I'll be wide awake in 4.5 hours in a lake of my own sweat!'

Even celebs have complained about the weather with Holly Willoughby saying: 'Feeling hot hot hot Did anyone actually sleep last night???? See you on @thismorning with @craigadoyle @jamieoliver and @mralfieboe at 10am #hwstyle dress by @lkbennettlondon.'

Health bosses have issued an amber heat alert for most of England, meaning there is potential for the whole population, not just the vulnerable, to become ill from high temperatures

Commuters pack onto the London Underground during the heatwave today, temperatures in the capital are expected to reach 32C today

Joggers go for a morning run at Primrose Hill in North London today shortly after sunrise

It comes as the heatwave is about to break the record for the most consecutive days with temperatures above 30C in September, the Met Office has said, with Saharan dust generating vivid sunsets and sunrises in the clear conditions.

Wednesday was the third day above 30C, matching a record seen on four previous occasions, most recently in 2016.

The high temperatures are expected to continue on Thursday and through the weekend, peaking as high as 33C on Saturday, which is likely to be the hottest day of the year.

Stephen Dixon of the Met Office said temperatures above 30C in September are uncommon but not unheard of - the month's highest daily temperature reading was 35.6C in 1906 - but the length of this heatwave is particularly unusual.
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An entire Greek town has been submerged in flood water after a dam burst amid devastating storms this week.

The mayor of Palamas, Giorgos Sakellariou, told Open television that dozens were still trapped inside their flooded homes in Metamorfosi village after the Stavros dam broke due to floods caused by Storm Daniel.

The channel showed footage of houses underwater. Video shared on social media showed a dog and residents stranded on roofs, waiting for help, as water levels rose as high as 18ft.

Fire service spokesman Yannis Artopios told Ert that a 'large scale' operation was underway to reach villages where the water level had risen between five and seven feet.

Konstantinos Tsiukas, a resident of Metamorfosi in Palamas Karditas, said that two locals with fishing boats were going back and forth to save people.

'The whole village has disappeared,' he said. 'Only the tiles are visible nothing else. We are at God's mercy.'

Emergency services said they were also searching for an Austrian couple who went missing on their honeymoon in Potistika, further south, after their rented bungalow was swept away by flash floods on Tuesday, the BBC reported today.

Fierce storms battered Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria earlier this week, following a period of extreme heat and devastating wildfires, resulting in the deaths of more than a dozen people.

The community of 300 was left 'without assistance' after the Stavros dam broke and flooded the village. Left: a dog finds high ground on a roof in Metamorfosi. Right: extent of damage

A woman breaks down in tears as she embraces two others after being evacuated by volunteers, as storm Daniel hits central Greece, in Farkadona, Greece today

Flood waters cover the area, as Storm Daniel hits central Greece, near Larissa, on September 7

Twitter user Konstantinos said his grandfather (pictured) was trying to help stranded citizens from his old iron river boat

Mayor Sakellariou told private TV channel Skai that villagers in Metamorfosi were still stuck in their homes 'without any form of assistance'.

One resident told Greek TV channel Alpha: '[It is] literally a sea. We need help, for them to come and get us.

'We are in the community office, on the roof. We don't know what to do, we don't have water, we don't have food.

'We are around 60 people, the building is not stable, I can feel it shaking.

'About 300 people live in the community. Some have left, we stayed to save what we can. But there are also missing people.'

Twitter user Konstantinos said that his 80-year-old grandfather was out 'looking for his fellow citizens on the roofs of houses with the help of his old iron river boat'.

He said there was '4+ metres of water' in the village.

'Helpless, alone, abandoned,' he wrote.

Resident Mr Tsiukas added: 'They informed us a long time ago that they will come to take us by helicopter with boats with everything they can as long as they come because in the end we will drown.'

Reports today said helicopters had not been given permission to take off 'in the near future' due to low-lying clouds.

Government spokesperson Marinakis said that aircraft could not offer any help to the affected areas for now as they were not allowed to fly due to thunderstorms.

Local residents use a small boat during an evacuee operation from the village of Farkadona, Thessaly region, central Greece, Thursday, September 7, 2023

A woman was lifted to safety in one of many helicopter evacuations today, as storm Daniel continued to lash central Greece. This was the scene above the village of Agia Triada, near Karditsa, Greece, September 7, 2023

People distribute water after another storm in Agria, Greece September 7, 2023

Damage in the area of Lamia after the storm named Daniel, Greece, 07 September 2023. At least three people have died as unprecedented storms lash the country

The debris of a collapsed bridge is seen following heavy rains and floods in Farsala central Greece, on September 7

A woman walks in front of damaged seaside store at a beach after the storm named Daniel in the area of Milina at Pilio, Magnesia, Greece

A damaged house after the storm named Daniel in the area of Chorto at Pilio, Magnesia, Greece

READ MORE: Brits stranded on flooded Greek island are evacuated from apartments and made to share hotel rooms with strangers Advertisement

A fire brigade official added that emergency crews assisted by the army and coastguard used lifeboats in an effort to reach storm-hit villages, where water was 2 metres (6.5 feet) deep.

'Operations are been carried out very carefully as flood debris obstructed the boats, while, in other cases, the power of the water does not allow us to approach,' fire brigade spokesperson Vasilios Vathrakogiannis told a briefing.

An emergency message was sent out to residents of the Palamas region calling for them to 'move away from underground and ground floor areas of buildings'.

Another resident appealed for help, claiming that 'people have died, people have drowned'.

Deaths have not yet been confirmed in Metamorfosi. More than a dozen people are known to have died in events linked to Storm Daniel in Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece since Monday.

The deputy governor of Trikalon, Christos Michalakis, warned today that mountains were 'coming down' as storm devastation triggered multiple landslides in Greece.

Evacuation orders have also been issued in the last 48 hours to residents in Karditsa, Magnesia and Trikala.

British travel company Jet2 said on Wednesday it was cancelling all flights and holidays to the Aegean island of Skiathos, the closest to Volos, up to September 12 due to the weather.

Uprooted trees and debris are piled up next to a destroyed bungalow as rescue teams search for a missing person after a flood hit bungalow homes in the Igneada district of Kirklarel, Turkey, on September 7, 2023
The bottles appeared in a Tesco store on Byres Road near Glasgow University

Tesco put bottles of vodka on shelves above signs reading 'Student Essentials'

Tesco has been slammed for advertising vodka as essential for students at a store next to Glasgow University.

Bottles of vodka appeared on shelves alongside signs with 'Student Essentials' written on them at Tesco Express on Byres Road, in Glasgow.

The promotion saw four different types of the spirit marketed to undergraduates at Glasgow University, which has more than 25,000 students.

The 'Student Essentials' vodkas included 35cl bottles of Smirnoff and Glens alongside 35cl and 70cl bottles of Tesco's own-brand vodka.

Shopper Alistair McIntosh, 62, was horrified by the signs as he slammed Tesco for its 'irresponsible' marketing.

Tesco marketed bottles of vodka as 'Student Essentials' at a shop near Glasgow University

The shopper branded the display in the Tesco Express store in Glasgow city centre as 'shocking' and 'irresponsible.'

Included in the display were bottles of Smirnoff for 11.75, Glen's priced at 9 and Tesco own brand for 7.50.

The marketing display also had 70cl bottles of Tesco's own brand vodka on offer at prices of 14.50 a bottle.

The mini-supermarket is just yards from the University of Glasgow - which has over 25,000 students.

Byres Road is a major road that runs through the centre of Glasgow's West End.

The promotion appeared in Tesco's store on Byres Road, in Glasgow, near the city's university

Mr McIntosh, 62, who was shocked to see the display, said: 'I just popped in to pick up a few items.

'I thought it was a shocking and irresponsible approach to marketing. How can it be essential for students?

'The shop is right next to the uni,' the 62-year-old said. 'It is pathetic and wrong in every way.'

The supermarket giant said it has now removed the Student Essentials signs.

A Tesco spokesman said: 'This was an oversight and the signage has now been removed.'
A 14-year-old girl was gang-raped before being burned alive in a furnace - only for her horrified brother to discover her jewellery among charred remains in India.

Officers have charged 11 men over the shocking sex attack and murder in Rajasthan after the bones of the teenager were found burning inside the kiln.

The girl, who has not been named, left her house to take care of her family's goats before she went missing. After she failed to return home, her family launched an urgent search to find her.

Police officials told TOI: 'The girl's brother saw several charcoal furnaces (kilns) set up by the people of a nomadic community.

Police charged 11 men after the 14-year-old girl was gang-raped and killed in Rajasthan, India

They added: 'Smoke billowing from one of the kilns drew his attention and made him suspicious as they were not active in the evening.

'He rummaged through the kiln with a stick and sifted through the charred items.'

Among the items, he found a bracelet that belonged to his sister, which he had gifted to her only a few days earlier.

Following the shocking discovery, a team of police officers and forensic experts raced to the scene.

Some body parts, along with victims clothing and shoes, were recovered by the force.

People hold placards during a protest over sexual violence against women in India

The tragic incident took place last month, but police have only recently revealed further details of her murder and rape.

On Sunday, a spokesperson for the police confirmed the girl was alive when she was set on fire.

Court documents also suggest that the victim was splashed with petroleum-based chemicals before she was burned alive.

The horrifying murder has caused anger and outrage not only among the bereaved family but across the country.

Only a few months ago, two women in Manipur were allegedly paraded naked and sexually assaulted by a mob.

The violence against women and young girls has led to nation-wide protests, with people demanding urgent action for their safety.
Athlete-turned-adventurer Reza Baluchi hit the headlines this week when he was arrested after trying to cross the Atlantic in a giant home-made hamster wheel.

Baluchi, 51, was detained 70 nautical miles into his journey off Tybee Island, Georgia, after a three-day standoff with US coastguards.

But his failed attempt comes nearly 25 years after two Italian men successfully made it across the 3,000-mile stretch of ocean - in two floating cars.

In 1999 Marco Amoretti, his two brothers and his friend Marcolino De Candia set sail from the Canary Islands in a Volkswagen Passat and a Ford Taunus, bound for the Caribbean.

Although Marco's brothers had to abandon the trip due to severe sea sickness, he and his friend battled life-threatening setbacks to make it to their destination in 119 days.

In 1999 Marco Amoretti, his two brothers and his friend Marcolino De Candia set sail from the Canary Islands in a Volkswagen Passat and a Ford Taunus, bound for the Caribbean. Marco's brothers abandoned the trip after just ten days, but Marco and Marcolino continued

The two men enjoy a meal on one of the two cars during their trip across the Atlantic

The journey had been the lifetime goal of Marco's father, Giorgio.

When he was diagnosed with cancer and just six months to live, his sons started planning the trip for him.

Although he helped his sons get two cars to the Canary Islands for the start of the trip, he became too ill to join them on the actual journey and so Marcolino replaced him.

'We started without my father. But by the time I was in the middle, he was dead. So, he never got to see us to the end. But, he could imagine it,', Marco previously said.

The pair's cars were filled with buoyant polyurethane to keep them afloat.

Marco previously told the National Enquirer: 'The driver and passenger compartment was arranged as a shelter.

'On top of the car, we had a rubber boat with a hole in the middle that allowed us to climb in and out of the car.'

Ten days into the journey, the two cars hit a patch of bad weather, prompting Marco's brothers - one of whom was a skilled engineer - to decide to return home.

They were rescued by helicopter and Marco and Marcolino continued alone, their cars tied together by a length of rope.

Athlete-turned-adventurer Reza Baluchi hit the headlines this week when he was arrested after trying to cross the Atlantic in a giant home-made hamster wheel (pictured above in 2021

The pair's cars were filled with buoyant polyurethane to keep them afloat

The two men are seen inside one of their floating cars during their daring trip

Marco previously told the National Enquirer: 'The driver and passenger compartment was arranged as a shelter. 'On top of the car, we had a rubber boat with a hole in the middle that allowed us to climb in and out of the car.'

'In the evening, we [wrote] a little bit in a diary and the rest of the time was just to survive. We also fished,' Marco said in the South China Morning Post.

He added: 'But sometimes, the rope between the two cars snapped, so we'd have to swim out and fix it. It was a busy time.'

When their satellite phone broke, the two men lost all contact with their family back home. Without his brother's skills, it took Marco months to fix it.

It also meant that Marco did not know that his father's health was deteriorating.

By the time the phone had been fixed, his father had passed away. His mother opted not to tell him until the last week of the trip, to avoid him becoming overwhelmed with emotion.

After 119 days at sea, he and Marcolino finally made it to their destination, the French-controlled island of La Martinique.

Although they had originally planned to continue on to Cuba and then the United States, their funds were so low that they opted to return to Italy.

'Now I'm proud because I showed the world that my father's dream was not an impossible dream,' Marco added.

Baluchi's contraption consists of a metal drum, with paddle wheels on either side which are buoyant, theoretically allowing him to run across the waves.

On August 26 a US Coast Guard cutter intercepted him at sea before he allegedly threatened anyone attempting to arrest him that he would take his own life with a 12-inch knife and that he had a bomb onboard his vessel, according to Flagler County Sheriff's Office.

One of the adventurers' is seen on top of their Volkswagen Passatt shortly after arriving on the French-controlled island of La Martinique in the Caribbean

When their satellite phone broke, the two men lost all contact with their family back home. Without his brother's skills, it took Marco months to fix it

After two days Baluchi finally admitted that there was no bomb on his hamster wheel.

The day after that, he joined officers on their boat.

H e was brought ashore on September 1 and faces federal charges of obstruction of a boarding and violation of a Captain of the Port order.

It is not the first time Baluchi, who also takes part in charity endurance runs, has attempted to use the hamster wheel to travel across the ocean. He has made attempts in 2014, 2016 and 2021. Each of them were intercepted by a Coast Guard.

In 2014 he embarked for the first time on the 'hydro pod'. He hoped to travel from Pompano Beach in Florida to Bermuda and then back to Miami.

In 2016 he was given a written warning by the Coast Guard not to attempt the five month trip, which they deemed too dangerous.

But Baluchi ignored this and launched his homemade hydro pod bubble from Pompano Beach, Florida on Saturday, bound for Bermuda via the Caribbean.

In 2021 he tried to travel from Miami to New York City for charity but was washed ashore on a Florida beach not far from where he set off.
Another poll shows President Joe Biden in tight races with Donald Trump and the range of Republican presidential contenders  and running behind former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley by 6 points.

Biden narrowly trails Trump, the GOP frontrunner, 47 to 46 in a new CNN / SSRS poll. That is in keeping with polling averages like one by RealClearPolitics, which has Biden leading Trump by 1 percentage point.

Other Republican contenders run slightly better in head-to-head matchups, although, like Trump, those who hold leads are within the poll's 3.5 per cent margin of error, signifying a close race.

The exception is Haley, who leads Biden 49 to 43 per cent. Haley, 51, has been leading attacks on Biden's age, saying the 80-year-old president isn't fit and won't stay alive through 2028.

A new CNN poll shows Biden trailing Trump, Pence, Scott, Ramaswamy, Christie, and Haley, and tied with DeSantis

Biden is tied with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 47, trails former Vice President Mike Pence 46 to 44, and trails South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott 46 to 44.

Newcomer and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy leads Biden 46 to 45, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie leads Biden 44 to 42, in a poll of registered voters.

The gaps are similar between those who vociferously defend Trump, like Ramaswamy; DeSantis, who said he would consider pardoning Jan. 6 defendants; and Pence and Christie, who have criticized Trump over his election overturn effort.

Haley doesn't perform well against fellow Republicans in the polls, however. She is at just 6 per cent in the RealClearPolitics average.

'We all know Joe Biden thinks he's going to run and win this election and then he's going to hand it off to a president Kamala Harris,' Haley claimed on Fox News Wednesday night.

She said she would 'stomp all over Joe Biden' in a matchup. Then she said, 'Everybody really needs to know this is me running against Kamala Harris for president.'

Trump's continued performance in polls could undercut opponents who say he isn't as electable as they are due to his multiple indictments and criminal trials.

Former President Donald Trump leads President Biden 47 to 46 in a new CNN poll

President Joe Biden finds himself in close races with the entire GOP field, according to a new CNN poll. He trails Donald Trump by 1 percentage point, and Nikki Haley by 6

haley, the former South Carolina governor, has been leading attacks on Biden's age. She leads him by 6 points in the new poll

Voters continue to register deep concerns about Biden and his age in particular.

It shows 73 per cent seriously concerned about his mental competence and 76 per cent concerned about his ability to serve out his four-year term if reelected.

Two-thirds of Democrats, or 67 per cent, say the party should nominate someone besides Biden, up from 54 per cent in March.

Both Biden and Trump are at 35 per cent favorability.

The poll comes as Biden prepares to fly to India for a meeting of world leaders at the G20 summit.
An international team of rescue workers is racing against time to save an American scientist who is stricken with gastrointestinal bleeding 3,000 feet deep inside a Turkish cave.

Skilled caver Mark Dickey, 40, was in Morca cave in southern Turkeys Taurus Mountains when he became ill with a heavy cough and blood in his stools. He was unable to leave the cave on his own, according to the Turkish Caving Federation.

A friend of Dickey's told NBC News that the scientist has told rescue workers that he wants to climb out himself, something that is the 'underground equivalent of climbing Mount Everest.'

The friend added that Dickey had been semi-conscious underground for around three days and couldn't eat.

Officials said Thursday that Dickey's condition had stabilized and was improving. He is said to be in 'good spirits' and doctors would decide if he will leave the cave on a stretcher or under his own power.

In a statement, Dickey's parents, Andrew and Deborah, confirmed that their son's fiancee, Jessica, a fellow caver, is remaining by his side while the rescue effort continues.

Mark Dickey, 40, was in Morca cave in southern Turkeys Taurus Mountains when he experienced gastrointestinal bleeding

Dickey was on an expedition mapping the 1,276 meter deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association

European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA) members and Turkish gendarmerie officers stand next to the entrance of Morca cave near Anamur, southern Turkey on Thursday

'We are extremely grateful to the international caving community volunteers who have demonstrated such support for our son. Mark is strong, but he needed his fellow cavers, including, of course, doctors to allow a devastatingly scary situation to turn positive,' their statement read.

'We are thankful that Jessica, Mark's fiancee and fellow caver, has been with him during this ordeal. Our prayers are being answered and we cannot express how much that means, and will always mean to us,' the heartbroken parents said.

Dickey was on an expedition mapping the 4,000 foot deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association (ASPEG) when he was about 3,200 feet down, according to Yusuf Ogrenecek of the Speleological Federation of Turkey.

The European Cave Rescue Association described Dickey as 'a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself' who is well known as a cave researcher, or speleologist, from his participation in many international expeditions. He is secretary of the association's medical committee.

In an interview with NBC News, Dickey's friend Carl Heitmeyer called the stricken scientist an 'elite climber.'

'You cant say strenuous enough. Mark is an elite caver, theres only a couple thousand people of his caliber in the world who are doing really deep systems like this with the technical rope skills and the physical ability,' he said.

Turkish disaster relief agency AFAD and rescue team UMKE are working with Turkish and international cavers on a plan to hoist Dickey out of the cave system, the rescue association said.

The rescue effort involves more than 170 people, including doctors and paramedics who are tending to Dickey, and experienced cavers, Ogrenecek said, adding that the rescue operation could take up to two to three weeks. But it could take shorter depending on the situation.

A team of rescuers from Italy's National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Team will be flying to Turkey on Thursday night. A total of around 50 rescuers will be at the entrance of the cave early Friday ready to participate in the operation directed by Turkish authorities.

In an interview with NBC News, Dickey's friend Carl Heitmeyer called the stricken scientist an 'elite climber'

Marton Kovacs of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said that the cave is being prepared for his safe extraction. Narrow passages are being widened to accommodate a stretcher, and the danger of falling rocks is also being addressed.

The rescue teams, which are from Hungary, Bulgaria, Italy, Croatia and Poland, hope that the extraction can begin on Saturday or Sunday. Kovacs said that lifting Dickey will likely take several days, and that several bivouac points are being prepared along the way so that Dickey and rescue teams can rest.

The cave has been divided into several sections, with each countrys rescue team being responsible for one section.

The Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, made up of volunteer rescuers, was the first to arrive at Dickeys location and provided emergency blood transfusions to stabilize his condition. An additional Hungarian team of 15-20 rescuers will eave Hungary on Thursday evening on a military plane provided by the government and arrive at the rescue site on Friday morning, Kovacs said.

Six mountain rescuers, including two medics, have left for Antalya to help in the rescue operation, Jerzy Siodlak, the head of Polands mountain rescue service, GOPR, said Wednesday on Radio RMF24.

Thirteen other rescuers from southern Poland are also ready to join the rescue operation, GOPR authorities said. Siodlak noted the operation will be a challenging one given the condition of the American and the need to keep him medically fit for the rescue operation in difficult conditions.

He also stressed the need to provide the rescuers with light and communication possibilities at the depth the American is at.
EasyJet staff removed all passengers off a flight to Ibiza following a huge row involving a heavily-pregnant woman who was allegedly branded 'abusive' by an air hostess before she was ejected along with her family.

Siobhan Foster claims that herself and her entire family were thrown off the flight from Belfast to the Spanish party island on August 19 after a 'grumpy' air hostess allegedly 'singled her out' when she asked about overhead lockers.

The altercation meant that she and her husband as well as their disabled child were told they would not be flying from Belfast that day - meaning they had to spend 1500 flying from Dublin the next day in order to make her brother's wedding.

EasyJet have since confirmed to MailOnline that although all passengers were made to leave the plane due to the situation, the vast majority were then reboarded and flew on to Ibiza.

However, in a lengthy statement on Facebook, Ms Foster claims that other passengers including the wedding party she was with then mutinied in support of her over the stewardess before they were also then booted off.

Siobhan Foster (left) has claimed that she and her husband James (right) were thrown off an EasyJet flight from Belfast to Ibiza

A video shows passengers leaving the EasyJet flight following the alleged incident

Ms Foster, from Newtonabbey, Belfast claims that the family were escorted off by airport police, with approximately 180 passengers left in the lurch for several hours at Belfast International Airport. She alleges they had to wait overnight to board a flight the next morning.

Video footage shared on social media apparently shows a trail of passengers collecting luggage and bags on the runway.

EasyJet denies any wrongdoing and insists they are not to blame. A spokesperson said that staff took action due to a 'group of passengers behaving disruptively at check-in and then onboard', before adding that the airline does not 'tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour towards our crew or other passengers'.

Video shows a member of the wedding party, who is filming the alleged incident, saying to the staff: 'Everybody's seen it. The whole plane.'

The pilot can be seen standing in the doorway as someone repeats: 'Walk off.'

Siobhan Foster and her husband James are pictured together

This image shows the EasyJet plane which Ms Foster claims she was kicked off after a row with an air hostess

Ms Foster, who is holding her one-year-old daughter Florence, then walks to the exit as the camerawoman says: 'Hey Florence. Getting threw [sic] off the plane today, are we? Because of somebody thinking they're better than everyone else? Yeah. Because of this one person.'

An air hostess is shown turning her face away from the camera as she repeats 'Bye, bye' to the disembarking passengers.

The woman filming then pans the camera to show a passengers leaving the plane, as she says: 'This is going all over the internet, all over. Believe you, me.'

After disembarking the EasyJet flight, the camerawoman is then shown comforting Ms Foster who is in tears, reassuring her: 'B******s. Don't be crying, come on. As everyone else said on the plane, it's nothing to do with you. Don't be crying. Easy f***ing Jet.'

Ms Foster wrote on Facebook: 'I will never fly with easyJet again I understand why people call them sleezy [sic] jet.'

The video shows passengers leaving the EasyJet flight following the alleged altercation

Ms Foster (pictured with her husband James) wrote on Facebook: 'I will never fly with easyJet again I understand why people call them sleezy [sic] jet.

The Foster family was flying to Ibiza for Siobhan's brother's wedding. Siobhan Foster is pictured with her husband James

Ms Foster, her husband James and their daughter were flying to Ibiza for her brother's wedding when the alleged confrontation occurred.

She explained that they were seated in the 'first seats' after having paid for extra leg room in a bid to make her journey, at seven months pregnant, more comfortable.

'This particular flight attendant had such a grumpy look on her face,' she recalled. 'James sat down with Florence and I asked her was there any more space in the overhead lockers, her reply was a sharp "Clearly Not".

The heavily-pregnant mother says she asked the air hostess if she could help her find a place for her luggage but was instead told: 'You'll need to find somewhere yourself.'

Ms Foster, alleging there was 'literally was nowhere' to place her bag, claims she then said: 'Can you please help me I'm heavily pregnant and my husband has our daughter.'

She says the stewardess' response was: 'You're being abusive and it's not my job to help you.'

'Then another air hostess - an older lady - approached me to say "Look this isn't our job to help" so I said any other airline I've flown with have been more than helpful with me as I'm pregnant etc,' Ms Foster recalled.

In her post, she acknowledged that readers may question if she was acting abusively towards the flight crew, but she insists she wasn't. She also argued that the 'whole plane can vouch for me'.

Passengers were alleged forced to wait hours after the apparent incident

EasyJet said the passengers had been 'behaving disruptively at check-in and then onboard'

She then found a place for her bag, put it in the overhead bin and sat down, Ms Foster recalls. She said the crew then came over towards her 'saying I was being aggressive'.

The mother added: 'Bearing in mind I'm heavily pregnant, I'm not going to stand and be aggressive. I decided to ignore her and she started raising her voice saying 'Look at me!' First of all, I'm not a child to be spoken to like that, and I was ignoring her as I was so upset at the way I was being treated.

'Then her and another approached us to say we were being thrown off the plane - we asked why as we literally hadn't done anything, once again she said were being aggressive. My brother and mum spoke to her asking exactly why we were being put off and again they couldn't answer the question as they were in the wrong. After roughly one hour the whole plane was asked to get off.'

Ms Foster claims 'everyone went back inside' as police arrived. She recalled seeng roughly eight officers, three patrol cars and two officials from Swissport who she claims informed them that they were 'not getting back on the plane'.

'This was easyJet's decision, not the police,' she alleged, adding that her family then spent the entire fay in Belfast Airport.

'My legs were so swollen and sore with being on them all this time, I was crying uncontrollably.

'I'm so traumatised to the point I don't know how I'll ever fly again.

'Every person on that plane is putting complaints in - some actually stood up on the plane to say to the pilot it was that air hostess who was being aggressive towards me, not me at all.'

Ms Foster added that there is a 'full plane of witnesses' who have indicated they are 'willing to tell how unfairly we were treated'. She also claims there are videos and pictures that prove the air hostess demonstrated 'disgusting behaviour'.

Ms Foster says she got to her brother's wedding on a separate flight from Dublin airport

Ms Foster, pictured with her husband, said: 'I'm so traumatised to the point I don't know how I'll ever fly again. Every person on that plane is putting complaints in - some actually stood up on the plane to say to the pilot it was that air hostess who was being aggressive towards me, not me at all'

An EasyJet spokesman told MailOnline: 'We can confirm that flight EZY3003 from Belfast to Ibiza on 19th August was attended by police before departure due to a group of passenger behaving disruptively at check in and then onboard.

'easyJet's cabin crew and ground agents are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time.

'The Captain took the decision to ask all passengers on the flight to return to the terminal so the situation could be resolved and as soon as it was they reboarded and the aircraft continued to Ibiza.

'Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour towards our crew or other passengers. We would like to apologise to the other passengers for any inconvenience for the delay this caused.

'The safety and wellbeing of our passengers, crew and ground agents is always easyJet's priority.'
Rishi Sunak will fly to India tonight as he bids to secure a post-Brexit trade deal - but the Prime Minister has warned he won't relax student visa rules as part of an agreement.

Downing Street insisted there were 'no plans' to alter Britain's immigration policies in efforts to strike a free trade deal with the Asian country.

It followed reports of a Cabinet row between the PM and Home Secretary Suella Braverman over a possible liberalisation of visa restrictions for Indians coming to the UK.

Mr Sunak is heading to New Delhi for this weekend's G20 summit where it is expected he will hold face-to-face talks with Indian PM Narendra Modi.

He is set to push for the resolution of trade talks that have been running since January last year.

Rishi Sunak will fly to India tonight as he bids to secure a post-Brexit trade deal - but the Prime Minister has warned he won't relax student visa rules as part of an agreement

Mr Sunak is heading to New Delhi for this weekend's G20 summit where it is expected he will hold face-to-face talks with Indian PM Narendra Modi

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has previously been vocal about her 'reservations' over relaxing visa rules as part of a deal with India

Mrs Braverman has previously been vocal about her 'reservations' over relaxing visa rules as part of a deal with India.

According to The Sun, the Home Secretary challenged Mr Sunak at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting over plans for thousands more student and business visas.

But Downing Street today sought to quell concerns about increased immigration as part of a UK-India trade agreement.

Asked about the reports, the PM's official spokesman said: 'I can't get into what was or was not discussed in Cabinet.

'I think there's an important points to stress on visas: The PM has been clear he believes that the current levels of migration are too high.

'He and the Home Secretary, indeed the immigration minister, are united in their commitment to reducing net migration.

'I can't comment on the details of ongoing negotiations, but to be crystal clear, there are no plans to change our immigration policy to achieve this free trade agreement. That includes student visas.'

But the spokesment indicated an expansion of business visas for Indians would potentially be considered.

He added: 'The mobility provisions that are considered as part of trade deals as standard relate to the temporary movement of business people.

'We are not looking to change our approach to student visas as part of this free trade deal.'

Earlier this year, Mr Sunak announced a crackdown on foreign students bringing family members to Britain.

It came just ahead of the publication of figures showing net migration to Britain reached a record high of 606,000 in 2022.

Mrs Braverman has previously been accused of damaging the chances of a trade deal with India over her comments about visas.

In a magazine interview last October, the Home Secretary said she had 'some reservations' about reducing visa rules for Indians wishing to come to the UK.

I have concerns about having an open borders migration policy with India because I dont think thats what people voted for with Brexit,' Mrs Braverman said.

Former PM Boris Johnson and Mr Modi had previously set a deadline of October 24 last year for agreeing a trade deal.

But this was later ditched as negotiations dragged on.

Mr Sunak this week told his Cabinet ministers he would 'only agree an approach which worked for the whole of the UK'.
A 51-year-old man from Buckingham has become the third man to be arrested in connection with the suspected arson at the Crooked House pub, police have said.

The much-loved former farmhouse has been the focus of a community effort to rebuild it since it was bulldozed after a devastating fire on August 5.

Days after the incident, owners Adam Taylor, 44, and his wife Carly, 34, arranged for the pub to be demolished.

Staffordshire Police stated: 'We have arrested a third man as our investigation into the fire at the Crooked House pub continues.

'Officers have been trawling through CCTV footage and speaking to those who have come forward with information since the fire on 5 August.

The Crooked House pub, an 18th century drinking hole formerly known as Britain's wonkiest

How Staffordshire venue The Crooked House sunk 4ft into ground due to mine subsidence The Crooked House pub, pictured in 1907 The Crooked House in Himley, Staffordshire, attracted tourists from across the world and was a popular wedding venue. Prior to its destruction, the venue was described as Britain's wonkiest pub, 4ft lower on one side than the other. It was first built as a farmhouse in 1765, but sank into the ground due to mining works carried out in the 1800s. It was converted into a pub in around 1830 and was first known as The Siden House  'siden' being Black Country dialect for 'crooked'. It was later renamed the Glynne Arms after Sir Stephen Glynne, a brother-in-law of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, who owned the land. The Glynne Arms name remained above the door until the 1970s -when its nickname the 'Crooked House' was adopted as the formal moniker. Advertisement

'We can now confirm that a 51-year-old man, from Buckingham, has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent or being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

'He has since been released on conditional police bail while we continue to carry out a number of lines of enquiry.

'We would like to thank everyone who has already come forward with important information about this investigation and those who are continuing to engage positively with officers.

'We understand that speculation is still widespread, both locally and online. Wed like to reiterate that we are working hard to get through an extensive list of enquiries at this time.

'The 66-year-old man and the 33-year-old man, who were previously arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, remain on conditional police bail at this time.'

Last month, Historic England has said it is 'considering all possible avenues' to rebuild Britain's wonkiest pub after it went up in flames on August 5.

The body said it has already received 38 applications for the pub in Himley, Staffordshire, but no final decision has yet been made.

Ian Sandall, from the Save the Crooked House campaign, said: 'I'm absolutely delighted that Historic England are as keen as we are about preserving such a wonderfully weird but lovely pub.'

He said that the group was trying to 'structure an approach' with Historic England to work towards a full rebuild.

Since the fire, it emerged that The Crooked House had been put forward for listed status protection just days before it burned down.

Historic England had already received a submission from experts just a week before the inferno, requesting that the pub be given protection as a listed building.

Adam Taylor and his wife Carly owned the Crooked House in Himley, Staffordshire when a major blaze broke out over the weekend (the couple are pictured together)

Campaigners have pledged to rebuild the pub 'brick by brick' if necessary

The burnt out remains of The Crooked House pub near Dudley, Monday August 7, 2023

Local people are becoming increasingly angry about the perceived deliberate destruction of a very famous local landmark

The community at large have been left shocked and saddened at the demise of the Crooked House pub in Himley. Pictured: rubble after the fire

The blaze came just two weeks after the 18th century boozer was sold by brewer Marston's to a private buyer.

Staffordshire Police are treating the blaze as 'suspicious' following reports that individuals were seen inside the pub in the hours before it went up in flames.

The fire completely gutted the venue, which attracted tourists from around the world  and brings a sorry end to its nearly 200-year-old history.

South Staffordshire Council have since agreed that The Crooked House's owners, Adam Taylor and his wife Carly, can rip down the first floor of the boozer on safety grounds.

The council has not agreed to, nor deemed necessary, the site's total demolition.

Prior to its destruction this month, The Crooked House was often described as Britain's wonkiest pub, sitting four feet lower on one side than the other.

The taproom was first built as a farmhouse in 1765, but gradually sank into the ground on one side due to subsidence from mining works carried out in the 1800s.

It was converted into a pub in around 1830 and was first known as The Siden House  'siden' being Black Country dialect for 'crooked'.

The pub was later renamed the Glynne Arms after Sir Stephen Glynne, a brother-in-law of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, who owned the land on which the tavern stood.

While the Glynne Arms name remained above the door into the 1970s, the pub had acquired a more affectionate nickname among locals by then: The Crooked House, which was later adopted as the formal moniker.
The severity of the rough waters is believed to be triggered by the remnants of hurricanes Franklin and Idalia

A woman and a man both drowned off the coast of the Outer Banks, North Carolina in the span of 24 hours - as a swimmer recounted his harrowing rescue attempt in the 'thundering' waves.

Ferozan Walizai, 28, from Washington DC drowned off the coast of Avon on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on Monday afternoon. A man, 68, from Hillsboro, Ohio drowned nearby the next day. Both were tourists.

Local swimmer Jeff Dawson was one of two witnesses who tried to rescue Walizai, who had been 'overtaken by strong waves' and disappeared in the rough surf before being spotted face-down and unresponsive at around 2.30pm.

He and the female witness brought Walizai's body back to shore where resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

Dawson described to WTKR what he had said to the witness, saying: 'I was swimming up to her and I was like, "Sweetheart I am so sorry. I can save you, You're going to be fine, but that other person that was gone, she's gone. I am so sorry".'

Local swimmer Jeff Dawson was one of two witnesses who tried to rescue Walizai, who had been 'overtaken by strong waves' and disappeared in the rough surf before being spotted face-down and unresponsive at around 2.30pm

The first confirmed death, Ferozan Walizai was found off the coast of Avon on Monday, September 4. The second drowning victim was found off the Southern end of Cape Hatteras Island the following day

Dawson has helped many people in the water before but says that he's never experienced anything like this.

He described the pounding waves at the beach on Monday sounding like thunder, a sign he says should warn people to stay out of the water.

The second confirmed drowning was a man from Hillsboro, Ohio, who died off the Southern end of Cape Hatteras Island near the Hatteras Inlet Ferry.

Emergency personnel received a call at approximately 10.30am of an unresponsive person in the ocean.

Two witnesses ran in and pulled him out after they saw the man swimming before he called for help and disappeared under water.

By the time emergency responders arrived resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.

A beach hazards statement was in effect for Hatteras Island warning of large breaking waves.

David Hallac, the Superintendent of National Parks of Eastern North Carolina said in a statement: 'The Cape Hatteras National Seashore sends condolences to the families and friends of the swimmers that lost their lives over the last two days.'

Both drownings occurred at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore that flows along Outer Banks Highway 12

Hallac went on to add that 'high energy surf conditions' like rough waves and rip currents are expected to be present in the area for the next week.

The aftermath from hurricanes Franklin and Idalia have triggered rip currents for beaches from North Carolina all the way to New York.

On both days, ocean conditions warned about strong rip currents, which take the lives of 100 people every year in the US.

Though rip currents and tides are similar, they are two separate ocean occurrences.

Currents happen when waves get pushed up against the face of the beach, and tides occur when water gets pulled along through an inlet along a barrier beach.

The Outer Banks consist of three counties- Currituck, Dare and Hyde.

Also known as OBX, the Outer Banks is 200 miles long, 3 miles long at the widest point and 150 yards long at the narrowest.

OBX is a popular vacation spot for families who tend to rent beach houses during the summer.

Currents happen when waves get pushed up against the face of the beach, and tides occur when water gets pulled along through an inlet along a barrier beach

Dawson has helped many people in the water before but says that he's never experienced anything like this

Hallac said: 'Visitors wading into the surf, even as shallow as waist deep, may be overcome by large waves, suffer injuries, and may be overtaken by rough ocean conditions making it difficult, if not impossible, for all but the strongest, most experienced swimmers to survive.'

He also warned that swimmers should listen to lifeguards directions and consider wearing a floatation device in the dangerous waters.

The National Parks Service has encouraged people to find sound-side beaches like Haulover, Salvo and Devil Shoals Road sound access sites to enjoy the water in a safer environment.

Compared to beaches, sounds are known for being calmer and much safer with no rip tides, currents or undertows.
A convicted felon and home builder in Colorado owes $6million to customers who never received the tiny homes they purchased, with the company owner instead allegedly blowing customer cash on race cars, real estate, and trips to Las Vegas.

Matthew Sowash, the president and CEO of Holy Ground Tiny Homes and Revelations in Christ Ministries, filed for bankruptcy in October of 2022.

According to a trustee assigned by the US Bankruptcy Court in Denver, Sowash owes money back to 189 customers who forked over tens of thousands of dollars each to the man they thought would build them a house.

According to an 81-page report filed last week in Denver, the nonprofit company company allegedly spent more than $400,000 to purchase and repair race cars and other vehicles, in addition to spending $35,000 on real estate purchases in Colorado and Alaska.

Another $32,000 was spent on meals, and $55,000 on travel to Las Vegas. According to the court filing, just about $10,000 of the logged travel expenses 'appear to be related to the delivery of the tiny homes.'

The president and CEO of Holy Ground Tiny Homes, Matthew Sowash, owed some $million to customers who purchased houses from him that were never delivered

Last year, Sowash's company filed for bankruptcy and customers were told they would be violating a 'Stay Order' by attempting to get in contact with te company about their orders

Sowash's lawyers have claimed the Vegas trip was part of an 'employee appreciation benefit.'

The seemingly reckless spending spree occurred between October 2020 nd August 2022, as the company was collecting deposits from customers for tiny homes that were never built.

In October of 2022, the company filed for bankruptcy, and now Sowash has until the 22 of September to submit a plan for how he will turn the company around.

In a video Sowash posted to his company's website last month, the owner explained that his company was not going out of business, but was making efforts to 'reorganize and start over again' after its 'build calendar got to be way, way too big.'

He employed at least 25 workers at a factory in Arapahoe County, Colorado who fell drastically behind the production schedule due to overcommitment and supply chain issues.

Sowash claimed that only about '40 percent' of what's being said in the media is true, and he cannot control the other 60 percent, but invited customers and prospective buyers to come see the company's operation in full swing in an effort to reestablish trust.

He added that the company is offering a new option for financing the purchase of a tiny home, that can be done via a 'risk-free' third party financing company so that potential buyers feel more comfortable assuming the risk of purchase.

As for the customers who are currently owed tiny homes, Sowash says they will all be made whole, eventually. 'Every customer will be taken care of, entirely,' he said.

Joli Loftsteft, the attorney assigned to the bankruptcy investigation, said Sowash's business would need 'to almost double the sales price of the tiny homes' it marketed.

The company operated at a significant loss for at least two years, according to the report. In 2021, it spent $4.4million on materials to construct homes that were then sold for just $2.6million. And in 2022, it spent $5.3million on materials for homes sold for just $2million.

Sowash allegedly spent $400,000 buying and repairing racecars. Seen here is one such car with his company's name on it

According to a new filing in a Colorado court, Sowash spent some $400,000 of company money on racecars, real estate, hospitality and lavish trips to Vegas

Despite the current state of affairs, Sowash claims the company is merely undergoing restructuring and will be able to make their customers whole at the end of a 12-month period

Last year, just after Holy Ground Tiny Homes filed for bankruptcy, Samara Nait, then a 24-year-old mother of a three-year-old said she was really hoping Sowash didn't turn out to be 'a fraudster.'

Nait lived out of her car for a while with her child as she waited for the tiny home she paid $64,000 for had not been delivered.

'Its super stressful. I mean I feel like I have no other choice but to just trust that hes going to come through because I dont even want to think about losing that money,' she told KDVR at the time.

Nait had attempted to request a refund by showing up at the company's warehouse, but she was given a promissory note instead, insisting that her home would be delivered by October 14, a full six weeks after when it was initially scheduled to be delivered.

But, on October 7, customers including Nait were delivered with a 'Stay Order,' instructing them to cease contact with the business and informing them that all customer home orders had been halted.

Despite Sowash's position that things are fine and dandy at the company, and all will be well after a six-to-twelve month turnaround period, this is not the first time he has found himself in incredibly hot water pertaining to a business venture gone sideways.

Sowash was previously convicted and served jail time for defrauding investors in a prior business endeavor and failing to inform investors about his past business failures

Last year, just after Holy Ground Tiny Homes filed for bankruptcy, Samara Nait, then a 24-year-old mother of a three-year-old said she was really hoping Sowash didn't turn out to be 'a fraudster,' because she had already paid $64,000 in full for a tiny home

The company operated at a significant loss for at least two years, according to the report. In 2021, it spent $4.4million on materials to construct homes that were then sold for just $2.6million - the next year was worse

In 2009, Sowash was sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding investors in his Amateur Poker Tour of more than $470,000.

Prosecutors argued that Sowash, then 34, failed to notify eight investors of his previous failed business, a bankruptcy filing, and several lawsuits against him.

In Colorado, the lack of disclosure is a violation of the securities' fraud statute.

He was additionally convicted of misappropriating more than $140,000 from three investors who thought Sowash was looking for a business for them to invest in.

He pleaded guilty to felony theft, and wound up serving about two years of his sentence.
A dire new poll for Joe Biden reveals that well over the majority of Americans believe he was involved in his son Hunter's foreign business dealings while serving as vice president.

According to a new CNN poll released Thursday, 61 percent of Americans believe that then-VP Biden 'had some involvement' in Hunter's business dealings and 42 percent responded that Joe acted 'illegally.'

And 66 percent of respondents said that Joe Biden's 'actions related to his son Hunter Biden's business dealings in Ukraine and China' were illegal.

In addition, 55 percent said that President Biden has 'acted inappropriately' regarding the federal investigation into his son compared to the 44 percent who say he has acted 'appropriately.'

The White House has rejected every suggestion Joe was involved in his son Hunter's business deals over the years.

The poll results are fanning the flames of the Republican-led push to impeach the president over his alleged role in the Biden family's 'influence peddling scheme.'

'Despite efforts by Corporate Media and Democrats to cover up the Bidens' corruption, the American people aren't buying it,' House Oversight Chairman James Comer told DailyMail.com in reaction to the poll.

'There is evidence as plain as day that Joe Biden was involved in his family's shady influence peddling schemes. House Republicans will continue to follow the evidence and ensure accountability for the American people.'

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said that opening an impeachment inquiry into Joe's connections to Hunter's foreign dealings is on the table.

He said if the Biden administration continue to 'withhold' documents, Republicans will 'move forward with impeachment inquiry when we come back into session.'

The House is set to return to D.C. next week and the Judiciary Committee would lead impeachment proceedings.

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, has said Republicans are still collecting facts in order to assess whether to hold a resolution vote to open a formal impeachment inquiry.

But he told Fox News' Sean Hannity this week that 'it's looking like more everyday we need to go to that phase of our oversight work.'

'This impeachment inquiry will get to the American people what Joe Biden did and when he did it,' House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., added in the joint interview.

His committee has been leading the charge on investigations into the Biden family's business dealings and uncovered over 20 shell companies that foreign entities used to allegedly funnel money into.

Firebrand Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has said lawmakers will soon force a vote on impeaching Biden - and warned McCarthy could face the consequences if he tries to stop them.

Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., has expressed support for the House opening a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

He is also urging his colleagues to pass all of the remaining appropriations bills before government funding runs out at the end of September.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has promised to vote against funding the government if impeaching proceedings had not begun.

However, it may pose somewhat of a challenge to get more moderate House Republicans to back an impeachment push, which will be dead upon arrival in the Senate.

Comer has acknowledged this challenge, saying he's had 'conversations' with many of them, but insists the 'evidence is overwhelming.'

'Even members of the moderate wing of our party are realizing this could potentially be the biggest political scandal in my adult lifetime,' he insisted.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said Thursday that he's not a 'fan' of impeachment, but an inquiry could be a way to ensure GOP subpoenas are not being ignored.

'I am not rooting for impeachment, I want Joe Biden to lose an election. I don't think it is good for the country. We have seen the trauma inflicted on this country and continue to inflict because of that obsession,' he said on Fox and Friends.

The CNN poll was conducted before federal prosecutors revealed Wednesday that they plan to indict Hunter Biden on illegal gun charges - that have a maximum of 10 years in prison - by the end of September.

Republicans are also probing alleged political interference in the federal probe into Hunter.

'The Speedy Trial Act requires that the Government obtain the return of an indictment by a grand jury by Friday, September 29, 2023, at the earliest,' the filing by Special Counsel David Weiss' team read.

Hunter and his father are seen meeting Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Massimov (right) and oligarch Kenes Rakishev (left) in Cafe Milano in D.C. in 2015

Hunter allegedly lied on a firearm report (above) required for his gun transaction. A photo of the form shows he answered 'no' when asked if he was an 'unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance'

A picture from Hunter Biden's laptop showed the now 53-year-old first son posing nude with the firearm in question

'The Government intends to seek the return of an indictment in this case before that date.'

Hunter had lied on a 2018 application to buy a gun.

A photo of the form shows he answered 'no' when asked if he was an 'unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.'

Hunter wrote about his extensive drug use during that period of his life in his 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things.

The president's son appeared in federal court on July 26 prepared to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and walk away with just a slap on the wrist and no prison time.

Republicans had slammed as a 'sweetheart deal' that Biden's DOJ put together to protect him.

However, the deal blew up spectacularly after a hidden clause giving Hunter blanket immunity for a wide range of other potential charges, including illegal foreign lobbying, was uncovered by the judge.
  ,            Attica Group
A Wagner mercenary has revealed warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin trained his forces to kill Ukrainian women and children by throwing grenades through their windows and doors before entering their homes to 'finish them off'.

The fighter, Maksim Zelenov, confessed that Prigozhin, who is believed to have been assassinated in a plane crash last month, told him how to kill Wagner-style when invading villages in Ukraine.

In a video, the former police officer is asked by human rights activist Vladimir Osechkin: 'Who gave the order - two grenades into a window, two grenades into a door, and then walk in and finish off [the wounded]?'

Zelenov, seen on the video under the name Wagner man 1, replied: 'Prigozhin himself. Yes, I killed many people.'

Osechkin asked: 'Among those killed, how many elderly, adult people, and how many children were there?'

Zelenov responded: 'When we got to that 5-storey block of flats, we definitely killed about 40 people.'

In a video, the Wagner fighter, identified as former police officer Maksim Zelenov, is asked by human rights activist Vladimir Osechkin: 'Who gave the order - two grenades into a window, two grenades into a door, and then walk in and finish off [the wounded]?' Zelenov, seen on the video under the name Wagner man 1, replied: 'Prigozhin himself. Yes, I killed many people.'

A second fighter, Alexei Chernyavsky, said he was told by Prigozhin: 'Be prepared that once you enter houses, you'll have to kill women and children.'

A second fighter, Alexei Chernyavsky, said he was told by Prigozhin: 'Be prepared that once you enter houses, you'll have to kill women and children.

'No matter who, they would all have to be killed because they are Ukrainians.'

Chernyavsky, a former police officer identified as Wagner man 2 in the video, stressed again the orders he was given.

'They were saying when we take over towns and villages, and get into houses, we will be killing women and children,' he said.

'Before entering premises, we had to throw a grenade, then get inside and if women and children inside are wounded, not killed, then to finish them off - because they are Ukrainians.

'We had to kill everyone. We are Wagner, we kill everyone.'

The sickening admissions come as Ukraine's military intelligence agency has said it cannot confirm the death of Wagner warlord Prigozhin in a plane crash last month.

Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin personally ordered his fighters to commit war crimes by killing women and children in Ukraine , two of his troops have revealed (pictured)

Prigozhin is pictured with Wagner troops at an unknown location

It comes amid a wave of conspiracy theories that the Wagner boss may have cheated death by putting a body double on his doomed business jet which crashed in Russia on 23 August.

Many in the West believe he was assassinated at the behest of Vladimir Putin in revenge for the coup he led in June against the dictator's regime.

Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman Andrey Yusov said Kyiv is sure that Wagner military commander Dmitry Utkin, 53, died in the air crash in Russia's Tver region along with other Prigozhin associates.

But as to Prigozhin - whose death was announced by the Russian authorities based on DNA evidence - he said: 'We must operate with confirmed facts, we still need to wait.'

He said: 'I will simply focus on the fact that we can confirm the death of Utkin and several other associates of Prigozhin.'

Members of Wagner group on a military vehicle in Rostov-on-Don late on June 24, 2023 after Prigozhin sent his fighters to topple the military leaders in Moscow

The burning wreckage of Prigozhin's private plane near the village of Kuzhenkino in Russia on August 23

He said that with Prigozhin 'not all questions are closed yet'.

Telegram channel Brief said that Russia has classified all details of the air crash in which the warlord is said to have died.

'According to insiders, the case of the crash of the Embraer aircraft has been classified as 'secret', and special control has been established over the materials of the case, so that no information can leak to the media without authorisation,' said a report.

Russian political analyst Dr Valery Solovoy believes security-paranoid Prigozhin is still alive, having cheated death when his Embraer Legacy 600 jet crashed.

'[He] is enjoying life at a very good resort,' in a foreign country but not in Africa where Wagner has multiple deployments.

Solovoy said he would reveal which country has given Prigozhin a safe haven.
Disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh is seething over allegations of jury tampering during his double murder trial, his lawyer has claimed.

Aired by Jim Griffin in a bombshell interview, the assertion was made hours after he and high-profile partner Dick Harpootlian filed a motion demanding a new trial - based on allegations a clerk tampered with jurors and swayed them toward a verdict.

Much of the 65-page motion centers around Colleton County court clerk Rebecca Hill - who is accused of discussing Murdaugh's guilt with jurors and trying to coerce a conviction so she could secure a book deal.

In their motion, Murdaugh's attorneys cited 'newly discovered evidence' obtained during conversations with two jurors in particular, who were allegedly advised by Hill to not believe Murdaugh's testimony and other facets of the defense.

Speaking on behalf of Murdaugh Wednesday on Fox News, Griffin revealed he has spoken to fallen legal scion, and gave some insight to his reaction. It took jurors just three hours to find Murdaugh, 55, guilty of killing his wife and son back in March.

Scroll down for video:

Aired by Jim Griffin in a bombshell interview, the assertion was made hours after he filed a motion demanding a new trial - based on allegations a clerk tampered with jurors and swayed them toward a verdict

The clerk in question, Colleton County court's Rebecca Hill - seen here during the prosecution's closing arguments in March - is accused of tampering with jurors and coercing them toward a verdict

It took jurors just three hours to find Murdaugh, 55, guilty of killing his wife and son back in March. Griffin claimed Hill told jurors to not 'be fooled' by testimony from the legal scion - seen here with his two attorneys, Griffin and State Senator Dick Harpootlian, during sentencing

'What the jurors said about her conduct is absolutely shocking. It's shocking,' Griffin told The Story's Martha MacCallum over claims aired by the two jurors in the wake of the bombshell case.

'I spoke with Alex today,' the jurist continued. 'He is extremely angry and he's thankful for everything that we continue to do on his behalf.

'He thought that Becky Hill was a friend of his. He has known her while he was practicing law.'

Citing claims that Griffin told jurors 'not to be fooled' by the defense's case and that she warned jurors to 'watch [Murdaugh] closely', Griffin said: 'These revelations that the jury had sworn to, the jurors, completely caught him off guard.

'And frankly, [it] has caught us off guard.'

Griffin went on to hint how he and his partner - a member of the South Carolina Senate - had become aware of the clerk's alleged behavior, which he claimed he had began to hear rumblings of shortly after the double-murder wrapped.

'We were advised that we might be well-served to investigate it. We did. We started out pretty quickly.'

However, he told MacCallum, within days his team allegedly encountered road block within the South Carolina court - including a so-called 'zone of silence' around the jury.

'No doors would open for us,' Griffin told MacCallum. 'There was a zone of silence around the jury. We reached out. We did not get any response.

'Then things gradually changed,' Griffin said - citing the recent release of Hill's book about the proceedings, "Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders," which came out last month.

He said it served as the 'impetus for a number of jurors coming forward', after they became more acquainted with the clerk's mindset over the course of the two-month-long trial.

'I spoke with Alex today. He is extremely angry and he's thankful for everything that we continue to do on his behalf,' the jurist continued. 'He thought that Becky Hill was a friend of his. He has known her while he was practicing law'

The author of a book about the high-profile trial, Hill is seen here in a new interview for Fox Nation's 'The Fall of the House of Murdaugh'

'[They] did not like the things that [Hill] (seen top right) did during the course of the trial,' Griffin told The Story's Marth MacCallum (at left). He said jurors came to him after the release of her book in August, a memoir about the Murdaugh proceedings (bottom right)

Convicted killer Murdaugh - once the scion of a blue-blooded South Carolina legal dynasty - is currently serving two life sentences for the murders, despite insisting from the witness stand during his trial that he is not guilty

'[They] did not like the things that she did during the course of the trial,' Griffin told MacCallum.

Harpootlian aired similar sentiments during a presser earlier in the day about the motion.

'We were hitting brick walls until her book came out,' the veteran attorney told reporters. 'Then jurors who obviously were not comfortable in how she handled matters - and even less comfortable with her going on a book tour and making money off it - they reported it to us.

'She's trying to make a lot of money. Thats the point. Trying to make money off it by selling the book,' he continued, slamming the memoir as 'not well written.'

He added: 'The story is not accurate in our opinion.'

Hill, meanwhile, has already seen her book balloon to the top of Amazon's best-seller list, where it currently remains despite the recent allegations.

Other allegations aired in the filing include that Hill knowingly presented false information to Judge Clifton Newman to get a juror she thought was sympathetic to Murdaugh kicked off the panel, and that she pressured jurors to reach a quick verdict.

Other allegations aired in the filing include that Hill knowingly presented false information to Judge Clifton Newman to get a juror she thought was sympathetic to Murdaugh kicked off the panel, and that she pressured jurors to reach a quick verdict

Court documents claim Hill, right, would enter the jury room on a regular basis, as well as having private conversations with the jury foreperson 'lasting five or ten minutes'

It is also claimed she had 'frequent private conversations with the jury foreperson' to make this happen - and that in order to get the juror she believed to be sympathetic booted on the eve of deliberations, she created a phony story about a non-existent Facebook post published by the woman's ex-husband.

In it, Hill told Newman the man posted about the case and said his wife was seeking to acquit Murdaugh, and admitted himself to be under the influence of alcohol.

'None of that was true,' he told MacCallum. 'We talked to the ex-husband. He had not been interviewed by SLED. It did not happen... theres no such Facebook posts to say that.

He added that 'When Ms. Hill was asked to produce the Facebook post,' she came up with the story about it being 'deleted and found an apology post posted by someone with the ex-husband's same name.'

He claimed: 'But the dates on the apology post predated anything she claimed she saw on Facebook.'

The new documents further allege Hill 'invented' the post.

Hill, who is on her first term as elected Clerk of Court, published a book, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders, in August. The book's release, Griffin said, influenced jurors to come forward

'Ms. Hill never saw any such Facebook post. She made it up,' the newly filed motion - which references statements from four jurors in total but in two cases jurors did not sign affidavits that quote them - claims.

The juror's former spouse also denied the allegations that he wrote the post, as well as a follow-up apology, in a sworn affidavit.

Judge Newman ultimately dismissed the juror, but appeared to chide Hill at the time, stating: 'Oh boy. I'm not too pleased about the clerk interrogating a juror as opposed to coming to me and bringing it to me.'

The lawyers said there are additional jurors who won't speak to them, so they want them to be subpoenaed to testify under oath.

Griffin claimed Hill went as far as telling the jury to not 'be fooled' by Murdaugh's testimony.

'If these jurors are to be believed, it is an impossible burden by the state we get a new trial,' he added.

Harpootlian also said he is concerned that SLED, which led the murder investigation, would try to pressure the jurors.

'We're hoping those jurors do what the other two that gave us affidavits did - get a lawyer,' added Harpootlian.

Court documents seen by DailyMail.com state that Hill told jurors 'not to be fooled by' Murdaugh and told them their 'deliberations shouldn't take them long'.

It stated: 'Ms. Hill did these things to secure for herself a book deal and media appearances that would not happen in the event of a mistrial. Ms. Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame.'

Hill, who is on her first term as elected Clerk of Court, published a book, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders, on the trial in July.

Griffin and Harpootlian also claim Hill traveled with jurors to New York when they appeared on NBC's Today Show. Jurors James McDowell, Gwen Generette and Amie Williams waived their right to anonymity to appear on the show back in March

Griffin and Harpootlian also claim Hill traveled with jurors to New York when they appeared on NBC's Today Show.

NBC did not immediately respond when contacted by DailyMail.com for a request for comment.

Joe McCulloch, lawyer for two jurors who signed affidavits, told NewsNation that his clients 'reluctantly agreed' to speak to the defense team.

He added: 'This is one of those chips fall where they may. I have a lot of regard for the clerk and it's unfortunate that we find ourselves here.

'It is hard to say where this goes but it is a challenge to our court system to evaluate all this and determine what is the next right thing to do.

'I will say that the assertions by the defense today, with statements made by people I represent, they're serious and there certainly is a way that the court could find that this cannot be assigned as harmless error.

'But we'll have to wait for the court to do its work.'

Murdaugh's attorneys are arguing that Hill breached a South Carolina code which states: 'No public official, public member, or public employee may knowingly use his official office, membership, or employment to obtain an economic interest for himself.'

Hill is understood to have also organized a post-trial drink with members of the media and court staff, following Murdaugh's double murder conviction.

The appeal - the latest twist in the Murdaugh murder case - is currently making its ways through the proper channels.

As for Murdaugh, he is in the midst of two life sentences at maximum security McCormick Correctional Institution, where he is being kept separate from the general population in an 8-by-10-foot cell.

He reportedly has not received any preferential treatment.
CAMPAIGNERS have won a battle for a full independent public inquiry into a disgraced surgeon who botched operations.

Professor Sam Eljamel harmed dozens of patients at NHS Tayside, leaving some with life-changing injuries while he was head of neurosurgery at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

Mr Yousaf confirmed the decision to hold a public inquiry during First Ministers Questions at Holyrood.

It follows a long-running campaign, with almost 150 former patients of the surgeon and many MSPs demanding one.

It also comes after a damning review by NHS Tayside into the scandal.

Professor Eljamel worked for NHS Tayside between 1995 and 2013, when he was suspended.

Sam Eljamel was the head of the neurosurgery department in Ninewells Hospital in Dundee

Jules Rose (patient) outside the Scottish Parliament to present a petition calling for a public inquiry into Professor Eljamel's botched operations at NHS Tayside

Protesters outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh are asking for a public inquiry into the care given to patients by "disgraced surgeon"

Humza Yousaf (left) told the Scottish Parliament that Health Secretary Michael Matheson (right) will confirm to the chamber later today that the government has decided to commission a full independent public inquiry into Professor Eljamel.

The 66-year-old botched operations leaving patients with lifelong complications. Up to 200 people may be affected.

Prior to his suspension he was placed under indirect supervision amid complaints and concerns about his competency. But he was not supervised during his surgeries, putting even more patients at risk of harm.

Speaking at First Ministers Questions, Mr Yousaf said: This is a deeply important issue and I can inform the chamber today that Health Secretary Michael Matheson will use his statement to the chamber this afternoon to confirm that the government has decided to commission a full independent public inquiry.

This comes after very careful consideration of the recent Due Diligence review which says concerns about Professor Eljamel were not acted on with the urgency they deserved.

In commissioning an inquiry it remains important that those people directly affected are still supported to find the answers they need and both staff and patients across Scotland know lessons are being learned.

The move was welcomed by patients.

Jules Rose a 55-year-old mother-of-two from Kinross who has helped lead the campaign said: I am absolutely thrilled and delighted. I have been campaigning for a public inquiry for ten years and it should never have taken this long.

In August 2013 the rogue surgeon wrongly removed her tear duct instead of a brain tumour.

She added: The inquiry must get to the root cause of the management failures at NHS Tayside that allowed this to happen and make the NHS safer.
Wisconsin man who was arrested in connection with a brutal attack on a college student 'pretended to be an innocent bystander' and told a witness he 'just found' the survivor before fleeing.

Brandon Thompson, a 26-year-old local resident, refused to stay on the crime scene and left in his vehicle. Madison police confirmed his clothing matched the surveillance video which captured him walking behind the survivor prior to the alleged assault.

Thompson's vehicle was stopped for a registration violation at 1.18am Wednesday morning and he was booked into the jail at 7.02am.

He was arrested on charges of first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury and strangulation.

The University of Wisconsin student, 20, had been found at about 3.20am Sunday in between two houses in Madison, Wisconsin. She was reportedly 'snatched off the street by a stranger and dragged between two houses' - where a neighbor heard her cries for help.

Brandon Thompson, 26, who was arrested in connection with a brutal attack on a college student, 'pretended to be an innocent bystander' and told a witness he 'just found' the survivor before fleeing

Madison police arrested Thompson on charges of first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury and strangulation

The survivor was left with life-threatening injuries after she was brutally beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled by the suspect.

'This case will not be complete until this cowardly attacker receives the justice he deserves,' Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said.

The victim has 'severe signs of physical trauma' and is in 'critical condition.' But she will be expected to survive.

Online records show Thompson lived in Brooklyn, near Madison in Wisconsin, and had previous addresses near the UW-Milwaukee campus.

Attorney Jessa Nicholson Goetz and her firm, Nicholson Goetz & Otis, S.C., is representing Thompson.

'Brandon is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a degree in Criminal Justice Administration and a minor in Psychology,' Goetz said in the statement to News 3 Now.

'He grew up in a military family, with his father serving in the Army until his retirement and later working at the Department of Veteran's Affairs,' the statement reads.

The survivor was walking on a sidewalk when she was forced into an area between two houses at Bedford and Wilson streets

Madison police confirmed Thompson's clothing matched the surveillance video which captured him walking behind the survivor prior to the alleged assault

The University sent out an email regarding the incident, warning student to remain 'vigilant' and 'maintain awareness of their safety and surroundings'

Officials said there was no connection between the suspect and the victim.

A neighbor told WISN 12 News the survivor was walking on a sidewalk when she was forced into an area between two houses at Bedford and Wilson streets, where a homeowner heard her crying for help.

Fellow students were 'terrified' of a repeat attack.

University of Wisconsin student Azza Bayoudh said she was petrified when cops began knocking on student's doors at 4am after the attack.

'It was just kind of terrifying because I was like, that kind of could've been me,' Bayoudh said to WISN 12. 'So that's what scared me. So we have our doors locked now and we hope they catch whoever it was.

The University sent out an email regarding the incident, warning student to remain 'vigilant' and 'maintain awareness of their safety and surroundings.'

During a press conference, Madison police Assistant Chief Paige Valenta confirmed they collected DNA evidence from the scene, adding that they had called in multiple resources to investigate the incident.

She said: 'My heart goes out to the victim and her family.

'We have reached out to our partners in the Madison area, including the UW Police Department to ensure that they are supported as they try to cope with this terrible crime.'
Finland's former Prime Minister Sanna Marin, who narrowly lost an election in April, stepped down on Friday as chair of the centre-left Social Democrats and plans to resign from Parliament.

Marin, who had announced her intention to quit soon after the election loss, was the world's youngest prime minister when she took the post in 2019 aged 34, attracting attention around the globe and helping lift Finland's profile.

She leaves behind her political career to join former British Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair's Institute for Global Change, a London-based policy think tank, as a 'Strategic Counsellor'.

It is not yet clear how much the 37-year-old will earn in her new position. Finnish prime ministers receive at least 14,842 (12,733) per month in salary.

Marin is likely hoping to take the focus off her personal life with her resignation as an MP after an often turbulent four years at the helm.

She has appeared on the covers of Vogue and Time Magazine, has a million followers on Instagram and is considered by fans around the world as a millennial role model for progressive leaders.

But at home, voters concerned with issues like immigration and a growing public deficit in April handed Marin a narrow defeat to the right wing National Coalition and the far-right Finns party, triggering the government's fall.

She weathered several publicity storms while in office, including over her nightclubbing during the pandemic, hosting private parties at her official residence and voluntarily taking a drug test - which returned negative - after a party video was leaked to the media.

Former Prime Minister of Finland and member of the Finnish parliament (MP) Sanna Marin speaks to journalists at the Finnish parliament in Helsinki, Finland on September 7, 2023

Marin, now 37, is likely hoping to take the focus off her personal life with her resignation as an MP after an often turbulent four years at the helm

Sir Tony Blair speaks during the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change's Future of Britain Conference in central London. Picture date: Tuesday July 18, 2023

Speaking on Marin's announcement, Tony Blair said: 'Our mission is to help political leaders worldwide deliver change for their people  and Sanna Marin knows exactly how to do that. Ms Marin is bold and practical, understands the role that technology can play as the enabler of a more efficient and citizen-centred state, and will lend her experience to our mission in more countries throughout the world.'

A statement by the Institute on Marin's new post read: 'The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) is very pleased to announce that Sanna Marin, former Finnish prime minister and leader of the Social Democratic Party, is joining as a Strategic Counsellor.

'She will be working with colleagues and teams across TBIs portfolio of countries, advising political leaders on their reform programmes. Ms Marin has a record of accomplishment, from setting one of the worlds most ambitious climate targets  enabled by a full programme of digitalisation and deployment of technology  to shepherding her countrys accession to NATO following Russias aggression in Ukraine.'

The think tank was founded in 2017 by the former British PM, who at the time said he launched the organisation to 'refill the wide open space in the middle of politics', tackle the 'frightening authoritarian populism' that he said undermines Western democracy.

The Institute's funding is not publicly disclosed, but it receives funds from a variety of sources, including private donations, philanthropic foundations, and government contracts.

It conducts research, publishes reports, and engages with policymakers and leaders from various sectors to advise on policy decisions.

Finland's Social Democrats Party Chair, former Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin waves from the stage before her resignation speech at the Party Congress of the Social democrats of Finland in Jyvaskyla, central Finland, Friday, Sept. 1, 2023

After her election loss, Marin said she looked forward to a quieter life and later also announced a divorce from her husband

After leading her country through COVID-19 lockdowns and the ensuing economic turmoil, Marin became a vocal supporter of Ukraine after Russia's invasion last year and successfully pushed to end Finland's military non-alignment in favour of NATO membership.

She chaired her party's conference for the last time on Friday and in a brief speech, she reiterated her criticism of Finland's eastern neighbour.

'Russia and its representatives must be held accountable for the illegal crime of aggression, war crimes and the consequences of war,' Marin said.

'In addition to Finland's steadfast support for Ukraine and the Ukrainians, we must also send a strong message of hope for the reconstruction of the country, for a European future.'

Entering the stage on Friday to the beat of Aretha Franklin's 'Respect', Marin thanked her party for its support.

She was due to formally hand over the reins later on Friday after the Social Democrats elect a new leader.

After her election loss, Marin said she looked forward to a quieter life and later also announced a divorce from her husband.
King Charles is well within his rights to decide he 'has no time in his diary' to meet Prince Harry tomorrow on his brief return to Britain.

That's the view of Daily Mail Diary Editor Richard Eden, in his latest Palace Confidential newsletter.

Many had expected a family reunion at Balmoral for the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's death on Friday, September 8.

But as Mail on Sunday Assistant Editor Kate Mansey revealed last week, it's unlikely Harry will be there.

King Charles will mark the first anniversary of his mother's death at Balmoral on Friday September 8. It is his first anniversary as King. But Harry will not be there

Harry's memoir, Spare, proved to be an explosive best-seller. But it caused pain to his close relatives, says Richard Eden

Meghan looks pleased in this picture from the Buckingham Palace balcony. Her Late Majesty, The Queen, less so... They were gathered to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force in 2018

Instead, the King and Queen Camilla will spend the day privately at Balmoral, where Elizabeth died, while Prince William and Catherine are expected to lead the tributes in public.

Some have been upset by the apparent snub and say that Charles should take the opportunity to mend fences with his younger son, who will attend a charity awards ceremony in London this evening.

'I disagree,' writes Eden.

'The California-based couple showed scant regard for Harrys grandparents when they gave an explosive, appalling interview to Oprah Winfrey when Prince Philip was being treated in hospital for his final illness.

Queen Elizabeth, pictured in the Drawing Room at Balmoral before receiving Prime Minister Liz Truss on September 6 - two days before she passed away

The Duchess of Sussex, right, poses for the cameras with Kerry Washington and Kelly Rowland

'And, while the frail Queen was in worsening health, they added to her worries by announcing that Harry would be publishing a tell-all memoir and appearing in a Netflix series with more criticism of her family.

'Who can blame the King if he doesnt want to see the son and daughter-in-law who caused his dying mother such heartache?'

To read more of Richard's royal commentary, click here

And here
Two teenagers have been shot dead by a New York state cop after they 'tried to run him over in a stolen car'.

An unnamed deputy sheriff was investigating a burglary on his own in the Syracuse suburb of Dewitt when he fired three shots into the vehicle, fatally wounding two teens, at around dawn on September 6.

Speaking at a press conference, Onondaga County Sheriff Tobias Shelley said the officer fired at the car to protect himself, adding: 'He had nowhere to flee to. This whole thing happens in seconds.'

New York Attorney General Letitia James said she has opened an investigation into the double slaying and was conducting a 'preliminary assessment'.

Sources confirmed to syracuse.com that the two teens killed were aged 15 and 17 but their identities have not yet been released by police.

One teen was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was pronounced dead at a local hospital

Shelley said: 'He had nowhere to flee to. This whole thing happens in seconds.' He further added that the deputy was alone when the driver of the stolen vehicle tried to run over him.'

A local resident had called 911 on September 6 at 6.18am to report suspicious activity at the Milder Meadows mobile home park on Easy Molloy Road.

The caller had said three or four males wearing dark clothing were moving items between a sedan and a dark-colored minivan.

The deputy responded to the call and had been informed the vehicles matched the description of those seen on video from recent smoke shop burglaries.

He drove bumper to bumper with one of those vehicles, which backed up as the driver attempted to escape. The deputy was caught by his vehicle in a narrow space, according to the sheriff, and fired to protect himself. He was not injured.

The officer had not activated his body camera but a witness had recorded 'clear' video of the incident. The sheriff said he had reviewed this footage of the shooting and believed the deputy had 'no options'.

The vehicle shot at was later found on a Syracuse street more than a mile away with two people inside.

One teen was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was declared deceased at a local hospital.

A third person believed to be in the car is at large, along with another group in a second stolen car seen at the scene. Both vehicles had been reported stolen.

One of the cars involved in the burglaries was a Kia and the other a Hyundai.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has opened an investigation into the double slaying. The deputy was placed on a paid administrative leave by his department

Speaking at a news conference, Shelley did not detail how firing a weapon helped the deputy escape being struck. But he said he had reviewed the video of the shooting several times and felt the deputy had 'no options.'

The deputy was placed on a paid administrative leave by his department, which is an ordinary procedure when an officer has used lethal force.

The incident comes just two weeks after a pregnant black woman was shot dead by police after she drove into an officer in a Kroger parking lot in Ohio.

Ta'Kiya Young, 21, was a mother to two young children and was pregnant with a third when she was shot dead inside her car in Blendon Township, Ohio after driving her car into a police officer. Her unborn child was also killed.

Local police officers approached Young in her car after a Kroger store employee accused her of stealing. The family's lawyer denies she was involved in theft.

Police released the shocking bodycam footage and an investigation led by Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation remains ongoing.

Upon the investigation's conclusion the Franklin County Prosecutor's office will present the case to a grand jury for review.
After a string of smash and grab thefts in Wyoming, sheriff Brian Kozak has decided to tackle the issue in a unique way - by gathering a 'Wild West' style posse of volunteers to 'round up' the thieves ahead of the holiday shopping season.

The posse will be decked out in cowboy hats and uniform as a means to discourage lawlessness and theft in the community.

'Talking to the shop owners here in Cheyenne and some of the major box stores, they tell me there has been an increase in theft the last few months,' Kozak told the Cowboy State Daily.

'They would just feel better having a civilian uniform presence  someone who can immediately call the police, he added.

Kozak said that as crime increases across Wyoming, there is a perception that criminals won't get caught or prosecuted. But he insists that isn't true, and the posse was established to make that clear to the public.

After a string of smash and grab thefts in Wyoming, sheriff Brian Kozak has decided to tackle the issue in a unique way - by gathering a 'Wild West' style posse of volunteers to 'round up' the thieves ahead of the holiday shopping season

The local community is sensing the increasing crime rates, especially small businesses in the area. The Laramie Police Department has also reported an uptick in the number of stolen vehicles in the area

'There seems to be a perception out there that (thieves) are not going to be prosecuted; however, our new district attorney is doing a really good job of prosecuting cases and going back and prosecuting (old) cases,' Kozak said.

Laramie County District Attorney Sylvia Hackl was sworn in this January with a primary focus on criminal justice reform.

One of her priorities would be 'establishing communication with all the stakeholders,' including crime victims, law enforcement and courts, according to the Wyoming Business Report.

Laramie, a small town located in southeastern Wyoming, is home to the university of Wyoming and has a population of about 30,000.

The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Laramie is 1 in 56, according to FBI data.

But still, Laramie is considered not one of the safest communities in America.

For instance, as compared to Wyoming, Laramie has a crime rate that is higher than 86 percent of the state's cities and towns of all sizes.

The posse members won't make arrests, according to Kozak, despite Wyoming law permitting citizen arrests of burglars and thieves.

But the posse members' duties involve solely reporting the crime, and are not instructed to tackle or arrest criminals.

Kozak said he hopes the program will also lead to a sheriff's search and rescue program.

The chance of becoming a victim of either violent or property crime in Laramie is 1 in 56, according to FBI data

Laramie, a small town located in southeastern Wyoming, is home to the university of Wyoming and has a population of about 30,000

Laramie County District Attorney Sylvia Hackl was sworn in this January with a primary focus on criminal justice reform

Applicants must meet certain requirements to qualify as a member of the squad.

Posse members must be at least 18 years or older, have a GED or high school diploma, as well as a valid driver's license and no felonies, according to the outlet.

According to Kozak, the local community is sensing the increasing crime rates, especially small businesses in the area.

The Laramie Police Department has also reported an uptick in the number of stolen vehicles in the area.

At least ten stolen vehicle reports have been filed in the last 30 days in Albany County, according to Laramie Live News.

In addition to the 'Wild West' posse, new laws introduced in Wyoming are also being established to tackle the uptick in thefts.

A person convicted of four thefts in Wyoming can now face a felony, according to the Wyoming File, and up to a decade in prison - if they steal again.

House Bill 112  Theft-penalty for fifth or subsequent offense went into effect July 1.

It was previously a felony to steal something worth over $1,000 in Wyoming, or a 'firearm, horse, mule, sheep, cattle, buffalo or swine' of any value.

But the new law has made a fifth theft conviction a felony, regardless of the stolen good's price,' according to the outlet.

Misdemeanor thefts in Wyoming come with penalties of up to six months in county jail and a $750 fine, while felony thefts carry prison terms and fines of up to $10,000.

While the posse is dedicated to fighting crime, they also made sure they would do it in style,

According to Kozak, when he became sheriff, the first thing his deputies asked for were cowboy hats, so he gave them some.

'They like the tradition, the history of the Western sheriff, especially here in Wyoming,' he said to the Cowboy State Daily.

Kozak is planning to provide cowboy hats to posse members as well.

'They all wear hats. In fact, we issue (them),' Kozak added. 'And I think it does look good with the uniform.
A man has been taken into custody after his father was found dead inside a home in what is suspected to be a domestic violence incident.

Emergency services were called to the home in Berowra Heights in Sydney's North at about 4:20pm on Thursday after reports of a domestic incident.

The man had suffered 'serious injuries' by the time paramedics and police to arrive.

Despite the efforts of paramedics to save the man's life, he died at the scene.

A man has died inside a home on Kita Rd in Berowra Heights (pictured) after a suspected domestic incident on Thursday afternoon, a man believed to be his son is in police custody

NSW Police confirmed 'a man was arrested at the scene and taken to Hornsby Police Station' where he is assisting police with enquiries.

Daily Telegraph reported the deceased's wife was not home at the time of the incident.

Police are still unsure if a weapon was used and are investigating the motive behind the alleged attack.
The boy found in the river is not German, investigators have now announced

Remains of a boy found dead in a river in Germany - who Ben Needham's mother believes could be her missing son - are not from that country, DNA testing has confirmed.

Interpol says it has been flooded with leads to the identity of the body that was discovered after Kerry Needham, whose toddler son vanished in Greece 32 years ago, said the child looked similar to her own.

Her comments suggesting investigators look into whether the body could be Ben sparked widespread media coverage and resulted in dozens of tipoffs.

Interpol DNA Database Manager Francois-Xavier Laurent said: 'We have received 33 hints from the public.

'We can now assume that this boy was probably not German.'

Investigators are currently evaluating all the information they received.

Kerry Needham, 51, informed South Yorkshire Police of an Interpol appeal to identify the body of a boy found in the River Danube in Bavaria in May 2022

Ben Needham vanished while he was staying at his grandparents' farmhouse on the Greek island of Kos on July 24, 1991

Interpol released a reconstruction of the boy found in the the River Danube near Grossmehring in Bavaria on May 19, 2022

Kerry told the Mirror: Im pleased they are looking into it. Every possibility has to be investigated and ruled out. Our hope is that one day one piece of information will come forward which will uncover the truth."

The boy, believed to be aged five to six, was found wrapped in foil and weighed down with a flagstone slab. It is not known how long the body was in the water.

In the Interpol Black Notice, the organisation said it was 'seeking the public's help in identifying a deceased boy and to determine the suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.'

Interpol also published a graphic reconstruction of the boy's head.

READ MORE: Pictured: How missing Ben Needham would look now 30 years after he vanished as his mother refuses to believe police theory that he was killed by a digger on Greek island Advertisement

The blue-eyed boy staring out of the photo is described as between five and six years old.

The description went on: 'The boy is thought to be aged between five and six. He was approximately 110 cm (43.3 in) tall and 15 kg (2.36 st), with brown hair and blood type 0.'

The discovery of the unidentified body came more than three decades after Ms Needham's son vanished while he was staying at his grandparents' farmhouse on the Greek island of Kos on July 24, 1991.

When a picture showing how Ben would look aged 31 was released on July 23, 2021 Ms Needham revealed that she did not believe the police theory that he was killed by a digger.

The image was created by National Crime Agency listed forensic artist Tim Widden.

Ms Needham said 'we must keep searching' ahead of the 30th anniversary of his disappearance on July 24, 1991.

Police believe Ben died on the day he went missing as a result of an accident involving 'heavy machinery' as he played outside his grandparent's house, but his mother believes her son is still alive.

She told the Daily Mirror in 2021: 'I still have that hope that South Yorkshire Police are wrong.

A picture showing how Ben would look aged 31 was released on July 23, 2021

'And while there is no evidence to show me, I have to believe he is still alive. There's not a single thread of evidence to say otherwise.'

She added that she feels 'stuck' in 1991 and has devoted three decades to the search of her son.

She said: 'I've never had any dreams or goals apart from finding Ben.'

Ms Needham had moved from Sheffield to start a new life with her family in Greece and left her son with his grandparents while she went to work, but never saw him again.

South Yorkshire Police twice sent a team to Kos. The second police visit followed a witness coming forward to say that, before his death, digger driver Konstantinos 'Dino' Barkas confessed to killing Ben.

Police digs on land at the farmhouse failed to uncover remains and tests on a toy car and scrap of leather sandal did not find a DNA match with Ben.

This made Ms Needham doubt the digger theory, with the distraught mother adding that 'things don't add up'.

South Yorkshire Police Officers excavating and searching for Ben's remains

Police formally ended a search on the Greek island in October 2016, saying they believe Ben died as a result of an accident involving a digger on July 24, 1991

Appearing on Good Morning Britain, Ms Needham wiped away tears as she spoke about trying to stay strong during the police search in 2016

Detectives from South Yorkshire Police carried out a three-week search of Kos in 2016.

Speaking at the time, then-Detective Inspector Jon Cousins said: 'My team and I know that machinery, including a large digger, was used to clear an area of land on 24 July 1991, behind the farmhouse that was being renovated by the Needhams.

'It is my professional belief that Ben Needham died as a result of an accident near to the farmhouse in Iraklis where he was last seen playing.

'The events leading up to and following that incident have been explored by my team of experts to great lengths. The fact that we have not had a direct result during this visit to Kos does not preclude the facts that we know to be true.'

He said the investigation would not close and new information would be looked at, adding: 'We will not stop in our quest to find further answers for Ben's family.'

In September 2018, Ms Needham was told by forensic experts in Oxford they had found weak DNA profile from decomposed blood inside the car near to where Ben went missing.

She provided a DNA sample, only to be told there was no positive match.

Ben's mother Kerry holding up a clipping of the tragic story in 1991

Police digs on land at the farmhouse failed to uncover remains and tests on a toy car and scrap of leather sandal did not find a DNA match with Ben

At the time, Ms Needham said: 'If that blood is not Ben's  then who does it belong to? It's devastating. We had built ourselves up thinking it would be a positive result and would prove Ben had died.

'It would have given us closure and we would have been able to start the grieving process.

'When it came back negative it was a shock. I don't know what to think now. Is Ben dead or is he still alive?'

She added: 'I'm angry and I can't stop shaking my head.

'Some people on Kos have been lying for 27 years and we've suffered years of torture, slow torture.'
China-Singapore joint exercise kicks off

Xinhua) 15:02, September 07, 2023

SINGAPORE, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The bilateral training exercise between the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the Singapore Armed Forces kicked off at the Jurong Camp here on Wednesday, focusing on urban counter-terrorism operations.

Over 280 elite military personnel from both armies will perform equipment operations, small-arms live firing, real force counter-terrorism drills and command post exercise during the event.

Commanders from both task forces agreed that the joint exercise would improve mutual trust and enhance friendship.

The ongoing bilateral exercise is the fifth edition since its inauguration in 2009.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Karine Jean-Pierre has separated from Suzanne Malveaux, her partner of more than 10 years, the White House press secretary revealed in an interview with Vogue.

The two are sharing custody of their nine-year-old daughter Soleil.

'I'm a single mom who is co-parenting this amazing kid,' Jean-Pierre told the magazine. 'Our number-one priority is her privacy and to make sure we create an environment that's nurturing.'

Vogue gave Jean-Pierre the profile treatment in its September issue, giving her a glowing write-up as it has for other administration figures, including first lady Jill Biden and former White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

The 3,800-word profile features descriptions of the 'bright colors and bold eye shadow' that Jean-Pierre, 49, wears but it also talks about her suicide attempt and her difficulty in coming out to her parents as gay - topics Jean-Pierre also addressed in her memoir 'Moving Forward.'

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is profiled in the September issue of Vogue

Malveaux and Jean-Pierre met at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina where Malveaux, then a correspondent for CNN, was covering the event and Jean-Pierre was working for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign.

They moved in together in Washington, D.C., in early 2014, Jean-Pierre wrote in her memoir. Malveaux left her CNN anchor job shortly after Jean-Pierre was promoted from deputy press secretary to principal press secretary

Malveaux had already started the adoption process when she and Jean-Pierre were dating. She adopted Soleil - which is French for 'sun' - in May 2014. Jean-Pierre formally adopted Soleil a few years later.

The White House press secretary told Vogue that having a child was 'a thousand percent' not on her to-do list. Jean-Pierre, who was born in Martinique and moved to New York as a child with her family, had spent much of her childhood helping raise her younger siblings.

'I think that's one of the reasons I left to do campaigns,' Jean-Pierre said. 'Because it took me away from the responsibilities of home.'

But she said she now sees parenting as part of her job motivation.

Everything that we do, being led by the president, is going to matter, not just today, but tomorrow and for the rest of our lives,' Jean-Pierre said. 'What we do is certainly going to change the trajectory of her life.'

Karine Jean-Pierre and Suzanne Malveaux at the 2022 White House Correspondents dinner - Jean-Pierre revealed they two have separated

Jean-Pierre and Malveaux are sharing custody of their nine-year-old daughter Soleil

Jean-Pierre has faced criticism on the job of being too robotic and too dependent upon reading from the briefing book always close at hand.

The briefing book appears in one of the photos in Vogue where the White House press secretary clutches it to her as she poses in front of the West Wing.

'I take none of it personally,' she tells Vogue of the criticism. 'I'm representing the president, so petty is just not on the menu.'

In her daily press briefings, which last around 45 minutes to an hour, Jean-Pierre has to deal with a variety of topics such as the war in the Ukraine, Republicans on Capitol Hill and investigations into President Joe Biden's son Hunter.

She told Vogue that 'shes not speaking for herself at the podium.'

Her daily routine, as she told the magazine, involves waking up at 5 am and arriving at the White House at 7 am. At 8:15 am she's in her first meeting of the day in Chief of Staff Jeff Zients' office.

Ahead of her daily press briefings, she goes through 'prep' with staff from the White House press office. Any updates to news of the day or statements are printed out, hole-punched and added to Jean-Pierre's binder.

'No office in America relies on hole punchers like this one does,' Vogue notes, and says that if Jean-Pierre 'sounds rehearsed that is because she rehearses. In prep, she chooses adjectives and verbs with fastidious care.'

Karine Jean-Pierre was photographed in front of the West Wing holding her infamous briefing binder

Jean-Pierre in her office in the West Wing of the White House

The magazine writes of Jean-Pierre: 'She meets the White House press corps almost dailyfavoring bright colors and bold eye shadow when she doesand, while shes more reserved than some of her predecessors and less likely to respond to provocation with a social mediaready retort, she has sharpened her own technique: disarm with a smile, then lay out the facts at hand.'

Vogue also reveals Jean-Pierre doesn't drink coffee or alcohol and prefers to snack on roasted seaweed or a morning banana smoothie.

Jean-Pierre will not stay in the job 'forever,' the magazine notes without giving any indication of what's next for her.
Cops say the five kids watched two gunmen forcefully remove their parents

The couple have reportedly been found at a location off Culebra Road

A San Antonio couple who were kidnapped at gunpoint in front of their five children have been found safe by cops.

Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga, 38, and Ricky Zuniga, 37, were forcefully removed from their home in the 3100 block of Mission Bell early on Wednesday morning.

The pair were found early on Thursday morning at a location off Culebra Road near West Commerce Street on the West Side.

A San Antonio Police Department spokesperson confirmed to DailyMail.com the parents are back with their kids.

'Our Special Victims Unit detectives have been working tirelessly and we are happy to confirm that the victims have been reunited with their families and are safe,' they said on Thursday.

'We have made two arrests in this case, but we are still looking for a third person involved.

'This is all we can confirm a this time as this is an ongoing investigation.'

A San Antonio couple was kidnapped by gunmen who broke into their home and removed them as their five kids watched. Pictured: Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga and Ricky Zuniga

Authorities have yet to identify the couple but DailyMail.com has confirmed that the missing individuals are Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga, 38, and Ricky Zuniga, 37

Friends and family rushed to social media to announce the parents are safe.

'Sam and Rick have been found and okay,' Tim McOsker shared.

Another relative shared: 'They found Sam and Rick safe, thank you lord.'

Police were called to their home around 6am on Wednesday and were told by the children that the suspects fled in a white SUV.

When they arrived, police discovered the children who were unharmed but frightened.

A friend of the couple shared that the Texas parents were taken from their home point at gunpoint.

'We have no idea where they were taken and the police and FBI are investigating,' one friend wrote in a social media post Wednesday afternoon.

According to local outlets, the children told police the suspects were unknown. The couple was only described as having been in their 30s by authorities.

No description was given for the suspects in this case. It was friends and family members online who identified Samantha and Ricky as the parents.

'San Antonio friends and family, my cousin Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga, and her husband Ricky Zuniga, were kidnapped at gunpoint this morning from their home in front of their children,' wrote Mujer Fiera in a post.

'Growing up, she was my neighbor and the person who nicknamed me 'Honey.' I was part of the crew that welcomed her home as a baby and made it my goal to be a part of her care team,' Fiera continued.

The woman described Samantha as a 'fierce young woman' who has raised five children of her own in addition to her little sister.

'She's an incredible survivor, and I pray that she can come home safely to her babies very soon. Send love and prayers her way. Love you mija!' the post stated.

'Man if anyone knows ANYTHING let us kno aint NO REST til these 2 Ricky & Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga come home!!!' wrote John Garcia Jr

Police are seen outside the Zuniga family home on September 6

Police were called to a home in the 3100 block of Mission Bell around 6am on Wednesday and were told by the children that the suspects fled in a white SUV

In one Facebook post, another friend begged friends to be on the lookout and asked for prayers and for God to look over the couple.

'Man if anyone knows ANYTHING let us kno aint NO REST til these 2 Ricky & Samantha Esquivel-Zuniga come home!!!' wrote John Garcia Jr.

In that post, Garcia Jr. shared a photo of himself with the couple along with a snip of a news story reporting the kidnapping.

'GOD I've came to u less than a handful of times in my life for something I really really loved or needed but this right here PLEASE IN THE NAME OF UR SON JESUS watch over my brother n sister & just bring them home,' Garcia wrote.

A motive in the kidnapping has yet to be identified

This is the couple's home in San Antonio where they were kidnapped

Both Garcia Jr. and Fiera's posts were flooded with comments praying for their safe return and questioning who would do such a thing.

'God bring them home in the precious name of Jesus.' 'This is increasingly sad, I am hoping they are found safe.' 'Praying for their safe return- so terrible and thinking of them and their children.'

Property records indicate the couple have lived in the home since 2016.
Florida students could soon be offered an alternative to standard testing methods, such as the SAT and ACT, when applying to the state's public universities.

The Board of Governors is voting to make scores from the Classic Learning Test or CLT a third option and if approved would be introduced before the fall semester.

The CLT markets itself as an exam that focuses on Western tradition and texts and since its debut in 2016 has predominantly been used by homeschool students and mostly accepted at Christian colleges.

The new test has been pushed by Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis in a bid to shake up the education system as the number of students sitting the SAT dwindle.

Florida students could soon be offered an alternative to standard testing methods, such as the SAT and ACT, when seeking admission to the state's public universities

In May DeSantis signed into law a new measure that meant that teenagers could use the test to qualify for Florida's popular Bright Futures scholarships - which helps with tuition.

But despite his support, Jeremy Tate, founder of Classic Learning Initiatives, the company that developed the test, has insisted that it's strictly apolitical.

The company has described the CLT as part of the 'larger educational freedom movement of our time' with the hope of 'promoting a classical curriculum.'

DeSantis' administration has been fighting with the College Board - the makers of the SAT - about content in its Advanced Placement courses and is adamant it wants alternatives.

Speaking from Florida Southwestern State College, DeSantis railed against the board putting 'queer theory' and 'intersectionality' into a proposed advanced placement (AP) courses on African American studies, which led the state's Department of Education (DOE) to reject the courses.

Despite Gov. Ron DeSantis' support of the test, Jeremy Tate, founder of Classic Learning Initiatives, the company that developed the test has insisted that its strictly apolitical

'At the end of the day, we highlighted things that were very problematic,' DeSantis replied to reporters during a press conference in February on the matter.

'It wasn't just people like me saying that  across the political spectrum, people were saying that.

'You know, this really is junk,' he added. 'Why don't we just do and teach the things that matter? Why is it always someone has to try and shove their agenda down our throats?'

The College Board has in turn raised questions about the CLT saying its review of the practice tests found the math section too easy, with 25 percent of the questions below a high school level, they wrote in a statement.

The CLT tests grammar, English and math. It says two-thirds of its reading and writing passages come from its 'author bank,' focused heavily on ancient, medieval and 'early modern' (from mid-1400s to early 1800s) writers.

The test is carried out online, takes about two hours and can be taken at a school or at home remotely.

A study released in April showed how scores on the CLT test could be linked to the ACT and SAT.

It says, for example, that a 92 on the CLT, which has a top score of 120, would equates to a 28 on the ACT which has a top score of 36 and a 1,300 on the SAT which has a top score of 1600.

In May DeSantis signed into law a new measure that meant that teenagers could use the test to qualify for Florida's popular Bright Futures scholarships - which helps with tuition

The board is slated to vote on making the CLT an admissions option when it meets at the University of Florida in Gainesville

The College Board argued that the study didn't use enough students' scores, consider demographics, control when in high school the students sat the exam or base its findings on official scores, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

'The study relied largely on self-reported SAT scores, and over 20 percent of scores used in the study were different than the scores colleges had on record,' the College Board told the outlet.

Scores from 5,000 students were used in the study while a recent study equating SAT and ACT scores used nearly 590,000, they added.

'As a result, scoring very well on the CLT may not necessarily indicate an equally high score on the SAT, which is aligned to high school grade levels represented in state standards,' they added.

The CLT told the outlet that the critiques were not accurate and they stand by their study which was 'developed over months.'

'Technical representatives from all three organizations are meeting to discuss this, and hope all three organizations can collectively come to an agreement,' Noah Tyler, the CLT's chief financial officer, said.

The ACT has not publicly commented on the CLT testing method.

In 2022, about 87 percent of high school student's took the SAT and about 46 percent took the ACT.

The CLT is expecting approval with its website already listing seven of Florida's public universities, including the University of Central Florida and Florida State University, as 'partner' colleges.

The board is slated to vote on making the CLT an admissions option when it meets at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Do you think YOU could pass? Take the test here.
One of them most wanted drug lords in Europe was captured in Colombia on Thursday after spending the last three years on the run.

Spanish national Raul Moreno was arrested in a joint operation between the National Police and Interpol as he was about to receive a breakfast delivery at residence in the capital city of Bogota

The 45-year-old capo had been hiding out in a condominium in the high-end Bogota neighborhood of Chico.

'Moreno lived in luxury, but he did not go out at all,' a law enforcement source told El Tiempo. 'He knew that he was being wanted all over the world.'

Spanish drug trafficker Raul Moreno was arrested in Bogota, Colombia, on Thursday

Authorities say Raul Moreno was a contact for Colombian and Dutch networks involved with cocaine trafficking

Spanish officials accuse Moreno of being the middleman for cocaine deals involving cartels in Colombia and drug dealing networks in Holland.

Moreno and three other men were arrested in Valencia, Spain, in June 2020 after they attempted to kidnap a truck driver who was transporting 1,861 kilos of cocaine, according to the Civil Guard.

The incident caught the attention of bystanders, who alerted the police.

All four suspects were investigated for their possible ties to a Dutch drug lord who was on the run and were released after paying a bail bond.

Raul Moreno had been on the run since October 2020 when he fled Spain with his Colombian girlfriend

Moreno fled Spain with his Colombian girlfriend in October 2020 and settled in Bogota, where he managed to maintain a low profile.

Colombian authorities recently were able to track down Moreno's girlfriend before they discovered where he was living and apprehended him Thursday, the source said.

The source added that Moreno never left the apartment and ended up hiring a person who deliver all of his groceries.

'He contacted a person who became his entire trust for deliveries, which he did not go down to receive, but rather asked to be sent through the elevator,' the official said.
Former Metropolitan Police officers who today admitted sending 'grossly offensive' racist messages on WhatsApp - including about the Duchess of Sussex and migrants being sent to Rwanda - have been pictured for the first time.

Peter Booth, 66, Robert Lewis, 62, Anthony Elsom, 67, Alan Hall, 65, and Trevor Lewton, 65, pleaded guilty to sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages at Westminster Magistrates' Court this afternoon.

According to the charges, some of the messages shared in the chat referenced the Prince and Princess of Wales, the late Queen and Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, as well as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Sickening racist jokes about Romanians, Chinese and other nationalities were also shared in the private group titled 'Old Boys Beer Meet - Wales'.

They also made remarks about former Home Secretary Priti Patel and former Health Secretary Sajid Javid, as well as deadly floods in Pakistan, which killed thousands of people.

The five ex-officers entered their guilty pleas at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday afternoon.

Robert Lewis, who retired from the Met in May 2015, has since been sacked by the Home Office from his post with the Border Force

Trevor Lewton, of Swansea, South Wales, who retired from the Met in August 2009, pleaded guilty to one count of sending grossly offensive racist messages

Anthony Elsom, of Bournemouth, Dorset, who retired from the Met in May 2012, pleaded guilty to three counts of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages

The text messages include racist remarks about the Duchess of Sussex (pictured with her husband Prince Harry in 2020)

Lewis, who retired from the Met in May 2015, has since been sacked by the Home Office from his post with the Border Force.

Booth, of Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, who retired from the Met in April 2001, pleaded guilty to four counts of the charge.

Lewis, of Camberley, Surrey, admitted eight counts. He retired from the Met in May 2015 and became a Home Office official before he was dismissed for gross misconduct last November, according to the government department.

Elsom, of Bournemouth, Dorset, who retired from the Met in May 2012, pleaded guilty to three counts of sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages.

Hall, of Stowmarket, Suffolk, entered guilty pleas to three counts of the same charge. He retired from the Met in June 2015.

And Lewton, of Swansea, South Wales, who retired from the Met in August 2009, pleaded guilty to one count.

A sixth officer, Michael Chadwell, 62, of Hampshire, denies one like charge and disputes that the message was 'grossly offensive'. He retired in November 2015.

The officers who pleaded guilty will be sentenced after Chadwell's trial on a date to be fixed.

The maximum sentence for the offence is six months jail and or a fine.

The men served in various parts of the Met throughout their careers but all spent time in the Diplomatic Protection Group, now known as the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command. All the officers retired between 2001 and 2015.

After the men were charged, Commander James Harman, who leads the Met's Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command, said: '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.

Michael Chadwell, 62, of Hampshire, denies one like charge and disputes that the message was 'grossly offensive'. He retired in November 2015

The WhatsApp group is also alleged to have included comments about deadly floods in Pakistan, which killed thousands of people. Pictured: Floods in Dadu district of Sindh province, in September 2022

Five former Metropolitan Police officers have pleaded guilty to sending grossly offensive racist messages on WhatsApp (stock image)

'The honest majority of Met officers are fully behind this work. They are tired of being let down by a minority in policing and they are aware of the damage poor behaviour can do to our relationship with the communities we serve.

'I recognise announcements about the outcome of our investigations may have the potential to cause further public concern, but I hope it demonstrates our absolute commitment to investigate any corrupt and abusive behaviour from the Met.

'I hope the public will recognise that we are determined to take the necessary measures to investigate any wrongdoing wherever we find it.'

The charges, which relate to messages shared between September 2020 and 2022, come after a BBC Newsnight investigation in October last year that prompted a probe by the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards.

The officers, who retired between 2001 and 2015, were charged by post with offences under the Communications Act 2003.

The five men were not serving at any point during their participation in the group, the Met made clear.

It added that they served in various parts of the Met throughout their careers and all spent time in what is now known as the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.
Two Irish tourists, aged 59 and 60, have been run over and killed in a horrific car crash on what has been described as one of the most dangerous roads in Rome.

The two victims were walking across a pedestrian crossing in the southern outskirts of the Italian capital when they were hit by a car and reportedly thrown several yards by the impact this afternoon, reports Italian newspaper La Stampa.

The horrified driver of the Ford Fiesta reportedly got out of the car and provided first aid to the Irish victims before medics arrived on the scene.

But medics were unable to save the two Irish tourists, who were pronounced dead following the accident on the road Via Cristoforo Colombo.

The 54-year-old driver, who has not been named, was also injured in the crash and was transported to the nearby Sant'Eugenio hospital.

Two Irish tourists, aged 59 and 60, have been run over and killed in a horrific car crash in Rome. Pictured: Police officers at the scene today

The two victims were walking across a pedestrian crossing in the southern outskirts of the Italian capital when they were hit by a car and reportedly thrown several yards by the impact this afternoon, reports Italian newspaper La Stampa

The crash occurred near the presidential estate of Castel Porziano, near a campsite, at 12.50pm today on what has been described as one of the most dangerous roads in Rome.

Police are now investigating the case and will ascertain whether the motorist ran a red light when he hit the two Irish tourists.

The driver will be subjected to alcohol and drugs tests.

MailOnline has contacted the Irish embassy in Rome for comment.

Today's fatal accident involving two Irish tourists is just one of many such incidents that have occurred on Via Cristoforo Colombo in recent weeks.

On August 24, a 19-year-old man was killed while riding his scooter on the road. And ten days earlier, Italian businessman Saverio Piccioni was also killed while after his scooter colliding with a truck.

Francesco Valdiserri, 18, was also killed on Via Cristoforo Colombo in October 19 after he was hit by a car while he was walking along the pavement.

The driver, Chiara Silvestri, 24, was found to be three times over the legal alcohol limit and was speeding at the time of the fatal collision. She was sentenced last July to five years in prison.
READ MORE: Bijou Phillips speaks to Masterson 'DAILY' and is 'still very much in love with' the convicted rapist

Bijou Phillips was comforted in court as her husband Danny Masterson was jailed for 30 years for raping two women - with the perverted star seen blowing his spouse a kiss as he was escorted to the slammer.

The 47 year-old Scientologist had no reaction as Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo handed down her decision - 15 years for each felony rape, with the sentences to run consecutively.

His wife, actress Bijou Phillips, 43 - who had been at his side through two criminal trials - looked dejected as she sat amid a grim group of Scientology friends and family members. At one point, she held a handkerchief up to her face.

Before passing sentence Judge Olmedo told Masterson that although he had 'steadfastly claimed his innocence.you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago were criminal and that is why you are here today.'

At the sentencing trial, Jane Doe #1 called Masterson a 'true coward and heartless monster,' adding that to this day she suffer from an extreme fear of the dark and frequently wakes up crying.

Sometimes, she said, she hides in a closet or screams out the window: 'I'm not okay.'

'I think life is an appropriate sentence,' she concluded.

Convicted rapist Danny Masterson blows his wife Bijou Phillips a kiss in the court room as he is sentenced to 30 years behind bars

Bijou Phillips is seen sobbing in court as her husband, and the father of her young daughter, is sentenced to 30 years in prison for the rape of two women

Danny Masterson has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women. His wife, actress Bijou Phillips, 43 - who had been at his side through two criminal trials - looked dejected as she sat amid a grim group of Scientology friends and family members

Masterson played wise-cracking Steven Hyde on That '70s Show from 1998 to 2006

The woman continued telling the room that she was born into a family of Scientologists, and when she reported the rape to the church, a top official 'made it clear that Danny was untouchable.'

'I did not choose to be born into Scientology - and I did not choose to be raped by Danny Masterson,' said the mother of three daughters, fighting back tears. 'Scientology attempted to silence us  to intimidate us.'

'I wish I had reported him sooner to the police,' she said, adding that at no point did Masterson 'show an ounce of remorse for the pain I was suffering.'

'The first couple of years after the rape were pretty dark. I lost everything pretty much. I had to start my life over at the age of 29,' she said.

Before he was sentenced, Mastersons attorney, Shawn Holley, urged the judge to impose concurrent, not consecutive 15 year to life sentences saying that would be fair and just.

Prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller asked the judge to hand down a 30-to-life sentence, saying that Holleys plea for just 15 years was not fair and justabsolutely not. Thirty years to life in prison is deserved.

After Masterson raped the first time he had time to think about what he had inflicted, he said. Despite that, he raped again.'

Masterson had two trials. His first, six months earlier, resulted in a mistrial after a different jury were hopelessly deadlocked on all three rape charges.

Masterson was free on $3.3million bail throughout both trials. But that freedom ended with his double conviction May 31 and he has been locked up in the notorious Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles since then. The actor hasn't been pictured since.

Masterson's victims tearfully told the courtroom how he had ruined their lives.

'You are pathetic, disturbed and extremely violent and the world is a safer place with you in prison,' said Jane Doe #2, looking straight at the actor, dressed in a gray suit and open-neck gray shirt.

'You are a true coward and heartless monster,' added Jane Doe #1. 'I think life is an appropriate sentence.'

The 47 year-old Scientologist actor - best known for playing smart-mouthed Steven Hyde on That '70s Show - was found guilty by a jury last May on two counts of forcible rape. He's pictured in a sketch during his trial

Bijou is coming to terms with the prospect of raising her child alone after her husband, 47, was convicted on two counts of rape in an LA court in May

Earlier, as Bijou Philips looked on, trying to hid her emotions with a large pair of dark glasses, Jane Doe #2 stared down Masterson as she told him, 'I don't have to carry your shame any more. You have to carry it. You have to sit in a cell with it.

'I still have to contend with what you did to mein this brutal manner.' Saying the emotional and mental damage she has suffered from the rape 'takes a lifetime to repair,' she added that Masterson had been 'enabled and protected' by Scientology because of his celebrity standing in the church.

And she said she was 'enraged' to learn that there were other rape victims. That's when, after many years of keeping silent at the urging of the church, she finally decided report Masterson to the police.

'I decided to report him with the full understanding that my life would be demolished again (by going against the don't tell doctrine of) Scientology which has terrorized me since.'

Addressing Masterson directly again, Jane Doe #2 told him, 'When you raped me you stole my ability to have any stability in my life for decades. After you raped me I stopped living.'

She said that her 'promising' acting career 'nosedived after the 'heinous attack hijacked my life.'

'I know you take pride in hurting women. You treated me like I was less than trash. Your emptiness and cowardice will be your true legacy.

'You are pathetic, disturbed and extremely violent and the world is safer with you in prison. I would not wish rape on my worst enemy.

'You thought the law did not apply to you. You moved in smugness and spite.'

She concluded 'victim impact statement' by saying that despite the two decades of of trauma she's suffered since Masterson brutally raped her, 'I forgive you.'

Talking of the devastation forcible rape victims suffer, the prosecutor in the case added: This is something they carry with them forever. This is long lasting punishment for them. These lives will never be the same.

He scoffed at Holleys portrayal of Masterson as an exemplary husband and father.

That did not preclude the defendant from being a violent serial rapist, he added.

In addition to imposing 30 years to life in prison, Judge Olmedo ordered Masterson to register as a sex offender when he finishes his sentence.

Prosecutor Reinhold Mueller speaks outside the courthouse after the sentencing

A prison bus is seen bringing Danny Masterson back to jail after his sentencing on Thursday

'You are pathetic, disturbed and extremely violent and the world is a safer place with you in prison,' said Jane Doe #2, looking straight at the actor, dressed in a gray suit and open-neck gray shirt. A court sketch from his trial is shown

In her request for leniency from the judge, Masterson's attorney Shawn Holley sought a reduced sentence by arguing that prior to the rapes, the actor had no criminal history at all and he had lived a productive and positive life in TV'.

Holley said she had 50 letters from different people praising Masterson for selfless acts, opening his home, his wallet and his heart to people in need.'

She added he had been an exemplary father, husband, son, friend and co-worker,' and argued that a 30 year to life sentence meant that Mr Masterson (now 47) would likely die in prison.'

Her co-counsel on the defense team, Philip Cohen, told the court that a 15 years to life sentence is not 15 years, pointing out that if at the end of the 15 years, the parole board decided Masterson was not rehabilitated or had not been a model prisoner, it could add more years to his term, up to life.

On Thursday, he made the short journey in shackles from the jail to Courtroom 105 on the ninth floor of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center where he faced his victims.

A close friend revealed to DailyMail.com that wife Bijou 'feels like she is grieving a death' as she awaited her husband's sentencing.

'Currently Bijou is circling the drain and is filled with all the emotion and no emotion at all,' they said.

'She is a shell of who she has been. She is really trying to be strong for her daughter as she is trying to figure out life and what it will be like for her.

'It can only be compared to a divorce or a death for her not being able to be with Danny the way they were.'

Actor Billy Baldwin, 60 - who is married to Bijou's actress half-sister Chynna Phillips 55 - was also frequently in court during the trials.

Scientology was the elephant in the room during both trials. All three women testified that the reason they took so long to report him to the police was their fear of retribution from the Church of Scientology.

Actress and former scientology member Leah Remini, who was accused by Masterson in 2021 of trying to influence the case against him before his previous trial, praised the sentencing as a sign of the cult's declining influence.

'Sitting in court today with the women who survived Danny Masterson's predation was a surreal experience,' she said in a statement shared on X, formerly Twitter.

'Over the past seven decades, former Scientologists have sadly become used to Scientology using its financial resources, religious protection, and relationships to snatch justice away from them,' she continued.

'For over two decades, Danny Masterson avoided accountability for his crimes. While Danny was the only one sentenced, his conviction and sentence are indictments against Scientology, its operatives, and its criminal leader, David Miscavige.'

Actress Leah Remini (pictured with Masterson in 2009), a former scientology member who is now an outspoken critic of the church, praised the sentencing as an 'indictment' on the religion and its influence over legal proceedings

Remini added that hearing the heartbreaking impact statements at the sentencing displayed 'a level of bravery I am in awe of', particularly as they were read 'while the man who raped them and some of the very Scientologists who terrorized them over two decades were just a few feet away.'

His accusers - whom DailyMail.com is identifying only as Jane Does 1 through 3 - are all former Scientologists and are also suing the actor and the Church of Scientology in civil court, claiming that they've been harassed and intimidated since reporting him to police. A status hearing on that civil case is scheduled for September 26.

His victims said that scientology church officials warned them not to use the word rape, that turning in a fellow Scientologist to law enforcement was considered a 'high crime', and if they disobeyed that doctrine, they could be declared a 'suppressive person', cast out by the church and left alone, cut off from family and friends.

In the second trial, prosecutors put much more emphasis than they did in the first trial on their claims that Masterson drugged his victims by spiking drinks he gave them before raping them.

Another difference between the two trials was the addition in the second of testimony from another 'victim' - a woman who claimed Masterson raped her in Toronto in 2000, though he was never charged with the alleged assault.

A judge ordered he be taken into custody and scheduled a hearing for August 4. Bijou has stood by her husband's side

Actor Billy Baldwin, 60 - who is married to Bijou's actress half-sister Chynna Phillips 55 - was also frequently in court during the trials

Of the two women whose rape Masterson was convicted of, Jane Doe 1 testified that in April 2003 she was at the actor's house where he gave her a fruity red drink with vodka that made her feel woozy, then threw her in his Jacuzzi, carried her upstairs where she passed out and woke up to find him raping her

She fought back, pushed a pillow into his face, she told the jury. But he pushed it back into her face, smothering her and she blacked out again.

When she woke, she said, Masterson opened a bedside draw and pulled out a gun which he brandished, telling her, 'Don't fing move.'

Jane Doe 2 - whom the actor was also convicted of raping - met Masterson at a bar in 2003 and gave him her phone number. He called her and invited her to his home.

She went, and, after having a drink and a stint in his Jacuzzi, she found herself in his bathroom shower with him where, she told jurors, he 'suddenly shoved his penis into her vagina.She said no, I told you no sex.'

Leah Remini and Danny Masterson pictured at a benefit dinner and concert for Project Restart and the New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project, November 3, 2007 in Las Vegas

Scientology was front and center during both criminal trials. All three women testified that the reason they took so long to report him to the police was their fear of retribution from the Church of Scientology

Jane Doe #1 burst into tears as she haltingly recounted the night in September 2002 when she woke to find Masterson allegedly penetrating her anally

They ended up in Masterson's bed where, despite her protests, he flipped her over and started pounding her from behind 'like a jackhammer,' she testified, adding that she felt 'like a limp rag doll.'

Jane Doe 3 - whom Masterson was charged with, but not convicted of raping - lived with Masterson for six years. She was only 17 when she met him and he persuaded her to become a Scientologist, she told the court.

About a year into their relationship he became very 'controllingand very aggressive sexually' - she would often wake up at night and he would be on top of her, having sex with her, she said.

In one such incident in November 2001, when she woke up to find him having sex with her, she told him no and tried to push him off, the court heard.

When that didn't work, she pulled his hair. But he retaliated by hitting her across the face and calling her 'white trash,' she told the jury.

Masterson's attorney, Philip Cohen, challenged 'inconsistencies' in the womens' testimony and statements to police, accusing them of 'blatant fabrications.'

And he asserted that the three had 'colluded,' choreographing and 'tweaking' their rape stories to help get Masterson convicted - which in turn could help them win a big cash payout in the civil lawsuit they have brought against him and the Church of Scientology.
An award-winning Russian alpinist is feared dead after falling from one of the world's tallest mountains in Pakistan, officials said Thursday, potentially the fourth fatality in the nation's 2023 summiting season.

Dmitry Golovchenko, 40, 'suffered a likely lethal fall' from the 7,925-metre (26,000-foot) Gasherbrum IV - the world's 17th tallest mountain - sometime last week, the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP) said.

His partner Sergey Nilov was injured but made it back to the peak's basecamp on Pakistan's northeast border with China and was helicoptered out on Wednesday, the ACP said in a statement.

The pair had been 'attempting a high-difficulty route', the statement said.

ACP secretary Karrar Haidri told AFP the alarm was raised by Golovchenko's wife, whom he was in contact with during the climb, and that he suspected the veteran mountaineer had fallen into a crevasse.

Dmitry Golovchenko (right) hailed from 'a family of alpinists' and had been climbing with Nilov since (left) 2002

Gasherbrum IV is the 17th tallest mountain in the world and 6th highest in Pakistan

Authorities plan to launch a search effort on Friday, he added.

The Kremlin's embassy in Islamabad confirmed Russian mountaineers 'encountered certain problems' on Gasherbrum IV and said it was 'in direct contact with their families' in a statement to AFP.

Golovchenko and Nilov won a prestigious 'Piolets d'Or' award - described as the 'Oscars of the mountains' - in 2013 for their ascent of Pakistan's approximately 7,300-metre Muztagh Tower.

The pair won a second time in 2017 for a daring summit of India's Thalay Sagar via an unexplored buttress of ice and rock.

Golovchenko hailed from 'a family of alpinists' and had been climbing with Nilov since 2002, his biography on the awards website said.

Nilov (left) suffered some injuries while climbing the Pakistani mountain however authorities say that Golovchenko (right) "suffered a likely lethal fall" from the 7,925-metre (26,000-foot) Gasherbrum IV

Nilov made it back to the peak's basecamp on Pakistan's northeast border with China

Nilov is seen receiving treatment at a hospital in Pakistan for his injuries.

Pakistan is a hub for hardcore climbers, hosting five of the world's 14 mountains above 8,000 metres.

The world's second tallest mountain K2 is around 10 kilometers north of Gasherbrum IV in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, where the Karakoram mountain range is located.

The first casualty of Pakistan's summer climbing season was Polish national Pawel Tomasz Kopec, killed in July by suspected altitude sickness while descending 8,125-metre Nanga Parbat.

Later that month, a Pakistani porter died as hundreds ascended the K2 summit, including Norwegian climber Kristin Harila and her Nepali guide Tenjin 'Lama' Sherpa, who the same day became the fastest people to summit the world's 14 highest mountains.

A Japanese man also reportedly fell to his death while climbing a never-scaled mountain in northern Pakistan in August.
The under-fire leader of bankrupt Birmingham city council who took a trip to New York to celebrate his 50th birthday while the city was falling into disarray is not due to return from his trip until next Monday, MailOnline can reveal.

John Cotton, who was handpicked for the role by Keir Starmer, is in the Big Apple with his wife, Kalvinder for another five days.

He faced widespread criticism for being abroad while Birmingham residents face the uncertainty of a crippling financial crisis which could see vital services cut and a 10 per cent hike in council tax.

But speaking to MailOnline, Mr Cottons daughter Rose insisted: I know its not a good look for my father to be in the US while all this is going on in Birmingham but hes only a human being and deserved a birthday treat.

This birthday trip was arranged two years ago, and we didnt want him to miss it. I can understand why a lot of Birmingham residents are angry, but my dad works very hard and has the right to celebrate his birthday how he wants.

Under-fire council boss John Cotton (pictured with daughter Rose) told the BBC 'tough decisions' would need to be made, as it emerged he was dealing with the crisis remotely while on holiday with his family

Birmingham Council leader John Cotton with his daughter Rose

Birmingham City Council has declared itself effectively bankrupt after facing a 760million bill

Ms Cotton, 23, revealed that her father initially planned to cancel his New York trip as he knew that the announcement about Birminghams precarious finances would be made while he was there. He arrived in the US on Monday.

She said: He didnt want to go because he felt that he should be here in Birmingham dealing with this situation and helping the people. But I made him go. I told him that there was no way I would let him miss his special birthday treat.

He might be the leader of Birmingham City Council but hes also my dad and I wanted him to have a memorable day for his 50th. I have no regrets about making him go. We all love him very much and we know the pressure that hes under.

She insisted: Everybody is entitled to a break, and nobody deserves one more than him. Hes doing his best for this city and its people, but you only get one life and one 50th birthday so I hope people understand why he went.

Ms Cotton, who works for Birmingham City University said that the actual day of her fathers birthday is tomorrow which he plans to mark with a special dinner with his wife at an exclusive New York restaurant.

She said that since Birminghams financial woes became apparent had, her father had been under enormous stress and has been working more than 12 hours per day.

Ms Cotton added: Hes under a lot of pressure and stress and I dont want to lose my father. If the people of Birmingham could see how hard hes been working they would even say that he deserved this trip to New York.

We had a lot of conversations about it and my dad knew that this bad news about the citys finances was coming but as his daughter, it was my duty to make him go. And I still stand by my decision.

She continued: I totally understand why so many of the citys residents are unhappy about this. But my father is an amazing man, has nothing but the best interests of Birmingham at heart and will be dealing with this crisis full on once he returns next Monday.

Mr Cotton lives in a wealthy suburb of Birmingham, where fellow residents expressed anger that he is in New York.

Birmingham City Council ran a competition for locals to name six streets on a 1,400-home development - but the winning choice has been criticised

England's biggest council called the roads in Perry Barr: Diversity Grove, Equality Road, Destiny Road, Inspire Avenue, Respect Way and Humanity Close

Anthony Biswas, 36, who runs a bathroom construction business said: Its a disgrace that the leader of our city council is living it up in New York while we are in this crisis. It says it all really.

There has been chronic mismanagement in Birmingham City Council and a lot of money has been wasted on stupid things like the Commonwealth Games. And now were going to have to pay the price. Why isnt Mr Cotton here with us dealing with this mess?

His partner Lizzie, 34 said: I wish we could go to New York for a nice break, but we cant afford it. As a business, we have had a lot of financial problems, and this is only going to get worse with the financial state of our city.

Nice Stace, 52 said: Its terrible that Mr Cotton is in New York at this time. We all deserve a holiday or the chance to celebrate a landmark birthday but its all about timing. The cuts are going to hit us very hard and the council leader should be here explaining what went wrong and how were going to get out of it.

Self-employed designer Alan Ward, 63 fumed: Hes in New York while were facing an uncertain financial future. What a joke. It just shows you how interested Mr Cotton is in dealing with this mess. His birthday celebrations are more important to him than us ordinary Birmingham folk.
Manslaughter charges have been brought against a London hospital trust eight years after the death of a young woman who allegedly received poor treatment.

Alice Figueiredo, 22, died as a patient at Goodmayes Hospital in the borough of Redbridge on July 7, 2015.

In April 2016, an investigation was launched into the death of Miss Figueiredo.

For nearly five years, detectives carried out enquiries and a file of evidence was referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in March 2021.

Now, the CPS has authorised the Met Police to charge North East London NHS Foundation Trust with corporate manslaughter.

Alice Figueiredo, 22, died as a patient at Goodmayes Hospital in the borough of Redbridge on July 7, 2015

The CPS has authorised the Met Police to charge North East London NHS Foundation Trust with corporate manslaughter (Pictured: Goodmayes hospital)

Ward manager Benjamin Aninakwa, 52, of Grays, Essex, was also charged with gross negligence manslaughter.

They will appear at Barkingside Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, October 4.

Detectives have met with Alice's family and informed them of this development.

Police have warned the public to refrain from posting comments on social media as proceedings are now active and the defendants have the right to a fair trial.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has awarded a major contract to Abu Dhabi-based Masdar for the construction of the 1,800MW sixth phase of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, at a total cost of AED5.51 billion ($1.5 billion).

Masdar, the UAE's clean energy powerhouse, emerged the winner with a Levelised Cost of Energy (LCOE) of $1.6215 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), after beating competition from 23 high-calibre international bidders.

Masdar's bid was the lowest of any of Dewas solar Independent Power Producer (IPP) model projects to date. Also for the sixth phase it will be using photovoltaic solar panels based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model.

The agreement was signed by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar, and Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of Dewa in the presence of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, at a key ceremony held in Abu Dhabi.

According to Dewa, the current total production capacity of solar projects at the solar park is 2,427MW.

The Dubai utility is building another project with a total capacity of 433MW. The 1,800MW sixth phase of the solar park will increase total production capacity to 4,660MW.

Speaking on the deal, Sheikh Mohammed said: "Today, I witnessed with Mansour bin Zayed the signing of an agreement between the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and Masdar, Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, to implement the sixth phase of the world's largest single-site solar park, at a cost of AED5.5 billion. This phase will power over half a million residences while reducing carbon emissions by 2.36 million tonnes annually."

"All phases of this landmark project are expected to be completed by 2030, with a total investment of AED50 billion. We're on track to achieve our ambitious goal - 100 percent clean energy for Dubai by 2050," he added.

Dr Al Jaber said: "Being awarded this landmark renewable energy project on the world's largest single-site solar park is another significant milestone for Masdar. It is a testament to Masdars track record in pioneering clean energy projects as we continue to support the UAE's Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative."

"Ahead of our nation hosting COP28 later this year, it is vital that the world triples global renewable energy capacity by 2030 to keep the ambition of 1.5 degrees within reach. This landmark project demonstrates definitive action in our shared journey towards a cleaner, greener future," he added.

Al Tayer said this agreement underscores the UAEs prominent status as one of the worlds largest investors in clean and renewable energy projects.

"It also affirms our support for the UAEs hosting of the COP28 at Expo City Dubai, aligning our strategies and policies with the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 in sustainability, innovation and future-making," he added.

When completed, this phase will provide clean energy to approximately 540,000 residences and reduce 2.36 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

Masdar CEO Mohammed Jameel Al Ramahi said: "Following our successful delivery of phase three of the Al Maktoum Solar Park as part of an international consortium, this latest award once again shows that Masdar is a global leader in clean energy as we move forwards from 20GW capacity today to reach 100GW of clean energy capacity by 2030 driving decarbonisation at home and abroad."

"When fully completed, the solar park will reduce over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. The 1,800MW sixth phase will become operational in stages starting from Q4 next year, he addded.-TradeArabia News Service
An investigation is underway to determine where and who this skull is from

An Arizona Goodwill employee got a spooky surprise when they discovered a human skull complete with teeth inside a donation box amongst other gruesome taxidermy items.

The surprising discovery shocked an employee who found it late Tuesday at the Goodwill store in Goodyear, AZ.

The donation is suspected to have been dropped off over the weekend and did not make it to the floor to sell.

The Goodyear Police Department were called to the store after it was found and took what looked like a human skull to the medical examiner's office.

The creepy thrift store find was dark in color, with one plastic eye and long teeth.

The creepy thrift store find was dark in color, with one plastic eye and long teeth

The surprising discovery shocked an employee who found it late Tuesday at the Goodwill store in Goodyear, AZ

Frequent shoppers at the Arizona Goodwill were stunned to find out what was donated and told Fox 10: 'That's creepy. That's crazy. We come here all the time.'

They added: 'So many questions I think need to be asked.'

A spokesperson for Goodwill of Central and Northern Arizona said that the staff followed the appropriate protocol as they contacted local authorities right away.

After being dropped off at Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner, it was determined that the skull is believed to be of 'historic origin'.

After preliminary review, officials saw no forensic significance with the skull.

Lisa Berry, a spokesperson for Goodyear Police Department said: 'Goodwill did do the right thing. Anything suspicious should always be reported.'

The skull has no 'forensic significance, meaning there appears to be no associated crime,' said Berry.

Berry added: 'It did not ever make it to the floor. It was in the donation box, again, with other taxidermy items.'

The person that donated the skull is unknown, but they did drop it off along with taxidermy items.

Another customer heard the news and said: 'I've never found anything remotely close to that, that's really scary.'

Lisa Berry from the Goodyear Police Department said: 'Goodwill did do the right thing. Anything suspicious should always be reported'

Frequent shoppers at the Arizona Goodwill were stunned to find out what was donated and told Fox 10 : 'That's creepy. That's crazy. We come here all the time'

Another customer heard the news and said: 'I've never found anything remotely close to that, that's really scary'

Though officials think the skull is not involved in any criminal case, an investigation is underway to look further.

Goodyear Police think the investigation could take weeks and even months to get to the bottom of this jaw dropping mystery.

According to Arizona Republic it was unclear if the skull will be returned to the store and if so, what the price will be.
Former FTX executive Ryan Salame pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges as pressure mounts against disgraced founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange Sam Bankman-Fried.

Salame was slapped with two conspiracy charges for making unlawful political contributions and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. He could face a maximum of 10 years in prison.

He ran FTX's subsidiary in the Bahamas and was a known donor to Republican politicians - and is now the fourth executive to admit to criminal conduct among Bankman-Fried's close advisers.

Salame is believed to have played a key role in the exchange's political fundraising operations and told the court he made '$10 million in contributions.'

'I made $10 million in political contributions and called them loans, which I never intended to repay,' he said to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.

'This was supported by Sam Bankman-Fried. I knew it was prohibited,' he claimed.

Former FTX executive Ryan Salame pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges as pressure mounts against disgraced founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange Sam Bankman-Fried

Salame was slapped with two conspiracy charges for making unlawful political contributions and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business

Salame is believed to have played a key role in the exchange's political fundraising operations and told the court he made '$10 million in political contributions'

Salame joins three of Bankman-Fried's closest colleagues Nishad Singh, Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang who all pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to cooperate against him.

Salame was reportedly in talks with prosecutors over a plea deal in the case for several weeks and FBI agents searched his house in Washington D.C. earlier this year.

Judge Kaplan said: 'Under this plea agreement, you are waiving any right to appeal any sentence below the stipulated guideline of 120 months,' to which Salame said 'yes.'

The former exec is expected back in court for sentencing in March 2024.

The move has put legal pressure on Bankman-Fried who has been charged with fraud over the collapse of FTX and come less than a month before he's set to stand trial on Oct 3. He has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors have accused Bankman-Fried of misusing FTX customer funds for personal expenses, high risk bets through affiliated hedge fund Alameda Research and political donations meant to influence crypto regulation.

'I made $10 million in political contributions and called them loans, which I never intended to repay,' Salame said to U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan

Salame had been part of Bankman-Fried's inner circle and prosecutors allege that he used him and other executives as straw donors - which is when someone illegally uses another person's money to make political contributions.

It remains unclear whether Salame will testify against Bankman-Fried but prosecutors hope the plea will add another layer to the case against the failed FTX founder.

The accused fraudster was under house arrest at his parents' home in Palo Alto, California, since his December extradition from the Bahamas.

His $250 million bail package, which was the most expensive in US history, severely restricted his internet and phone usage.

Bankman-Fried is being held in the notorious MDC, which previously held high profile individuals including R. Kelly, Ghislaine Maxwell and Martin Shkreli.

The Metropolitan Detention Center houses more than 1,600 inmates and is situated near the waterfront in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Other inmates have been linked to high-profile drug trafficking and terrorism cases, while others are comparatively anonymous New Yorkers awaiting trial.

In 2019, the prison made headlines after inmates suffered days without heat or power during a cold snap.

On Wednesday, Bankman-Fried lost an appeal asking to be released from the Brooklyn jail complaining he cannot properly prepare for his trial.

In rejecting Bankman-Fried's request to be freed before his criminal trial, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said it would ask the next available three-judge panel to consider it.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan on Aug. 11 revoked Bankman-Fried's $250 million bail after finding that the former billionaire likely tampered with witnesses at least twice.

Bankman-Fried's lawyers had claimed he was being fed a 'flesh diet' and forced to make do with bread, water and peanut butter.

His legal team also complained that the crypto whizz kid, who appeared in Manhattan Federal court was unable to prepare without his correct medication.

Lawyers for Bankman-Fried argued that he needed access to computers and medication to prepare properly.

Salame joins three of Bankman-Fried's closest colleagues Nishad Singh, Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang who all pleaded guilty to fraud charges and agreed to cooperate against him

Salame had been part of Bankman-Fried's inner circle and prosecutors allege that he used him and other executives as straw donors - which is when someone illegally uses another person's money to make political contributions

He was previously granted access to Adderall, after his lawyers told the court that he would take 10mg tablets three to four times a day for his ADHD.

Bankham-Fried was also allowed 'uninterrupted access' access to his Emsam prescription for depression by Kaplan on August 14.

But just eight days later, his attorneys have complained he has not been given access to the drugs.

Prosecutors pushed for Bankman-Fried to be jailed after he shared the personal writings of Caroline Ellison, Alameda's former chief executive and his onetime romantic partner, with a New York Times reporter.

Prosecutors pushed for Bankman-Fried to be jailed after he shared the personal writings of Caroline Ellison, Alameda's former chief executive and his onetime romantic partner, with a New York Times reporter

Bankman-Fried has pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges, and said he shared Ellison's writings to defend his reputation, not to intimidate her.

Ellison, who ran Alameda Research, a cryptocurrency trading hedge fund that was one of his businesses, is expected to testify against her former lover at trial.

The judge said the writings were kinds of things that a former romantic partner was unlikely to share with anyone 'except to hurt, discredit, and frighten the subject of the material.'

Prosecutors say that the memo Ellison wrote will be used against Bankman-Fried in the trial, as well as testimony from members of his inner circle.

She described being racked with self-doubt over her decision making, with one message reading: 'At the end of the day I can't wait to go home and turn off my phone and have a drink and get away from it all.'

The state said it planned to use a memo she wrote after one conversation with him titled 'Things Sam Is Freaking Out About.'

A 70-page court document included a trove of financial records, political donations and private Slack messages.

In court papers on Tuesday, Bankman-Fried's lawyers said the arrangement to give him several hours a day to review evidence on a laptop at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn has proven inadequate.

They said he lost more than four hours on Friday when he had to return to his cell for a prisoner count, and lost more time over the weekend.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said the jail has authorized Bankman-Fried's purchase of a second laptop.
An Oregon man sentenced to death for murdering a young woman 20 years ago has finally been released two years after the Court of Appeals reversed his conviction.

Jesse Johnson, 62, was wrongfully found guilty for the fatal stabbing of 28-year-old nurse's aide Harriet 'Sunny' Thompson at her Salem home on March 20, 1998 - a crime he repeatedly denied over the years.

He had originally been sentenced to death when convicted in 2004, but his punishment was later commuted when former governor declared a moratorium on executions in 2011.

The Oregon Innocence Project, which represented Johnson during his appeal process, said racism played a role in Johnson's wrongful imprisonment. The group said Johnson's trial lawyers failed to interview a key witness who saw a white man fleeing the home of Thompson.

Johnson, who is black, said in an interview after being released: 'I was failed by the system. The detectives built a circumstantial case in a capital murder with no forensic evidence to tie me to the crime. It was all lies.'

Jesse Johnson, 62, has finally been released two years after the state's Court of Appeals reversed his 1998 murder conviction

Nurse's aide Harriet 'Sunny' Thompson, 28, at her Salem home in 1998

'I was failed by the system. The detectives built a circumstantial case in a capital murder with no forensic evidence to tie me to the crime. It was all lies,' Johnson said

After repeatedly protesting his innocence, Johnson's case was eventually sent back to Marion County Circuit Court to be retried in 2021 after the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed his conviction.

The Oregon Court of Appeals judge had found that his attorneys did not investigate evidence that could have changed the outcome.

The Marion County District Attorney's Office initially filed new charges against Johnson and the court began to look at information that had not been considered in the original trial.

The appeal found that a detective in the original investigation had discouraged a neighbor from sharing that she witnessed a white man running away from the scene on the night of the murder.

The discouraged neighbor, Patricia Hubbard, told the police - who contacted her only after Johnson was convicted - she had seen a white man park his van in Thompsons driveway and go inside around 3:45am on March 20, 1998.

Seconds later, Hubbard heard screaming coming from Thompsons house, a thud and then silence. She said she then saw the white man run from the house.

But it is reported that police told Hubbard that 'a n***** got murdered, and a n*****'s going to pay for it.'

Richard Wolf, one Johnson's current lawyers, also said there was a drop of blood found in Thompson's sink that did not match her or Johnson's DNA. The police did not conduct any other DNA tests on the blood.

John Lewis, left, stands with Jesse Johnson at a restaurant in Lake Oswego, Oregon after release

The case has not been completely closed and an investigation may resume if new evidence is uncovered

Johnson gestures while sitting with James Comstock in Lake Oswego, Oregon post release

These revelations led to a new trial being ordered for Johnson's case.

But before the scheduled hearing could take place, the prosecution dismissed the case and Johnson was released from county jail on September 5 as all key witnesses were now deceased.

Video shot outside the jail showed Johnson, smiling and wearing gray sweats with white socks and black slides, walking next to a sheriff's deputy who was pushing a cart with belongings inside.

'Oh yeah, oh yeah,' Johnson said as supporters hugged him.

The case has not been completely closed and an investigation may resume if new evidence is uncovered.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by James Comstock to help Johnson 'navigate life out of custody'.

The contributions will be used for clothing, housing, and other essential items as Johnson was not provided with any funds upon his release.

More than $15,000 has so far been raised, with a goal set of $20,000.
A man has died after his diabetic wife injected insulin into him to teach him what it's like to be hypoglycemic.

The diabetic wife, 59, injected the peptide hormone after her husband called the condition a 'benign illness'.

However, her actions took a turn for the worse when the husband was found unconscious in Cotes-d'Armor in France on July 28 , according to Ouest-France.

The man was rushed to the hospital, but he died within two weeks.

Now, a police investigation has been launched, and she has been indicted for attempted murder and placed in pre-trial detention.

The wife injected the insulin into her husband just before going to bed (file picture)

The public prosecutor of Saint-Brieuc, Nicolas Heitz, said: 'His wife told the police that she administered insulin to him the day before going to bed without him objecting in order to 'show him what it feels like to be in hypoglycemia' because he had told him that type 1 diabetes was a benign illness.

He added: 'She called the firefighters when she woke up in the morning and noticed that her partner was unconscious. No argument had apparently preceded the injections.'

At this time, it is unknown whether the woman was aware of the dangers of injecting insulin into her partner.

Type 1 diabetes causes the level of glucose (sugar) in your blood to become too high.

It happens when the body is unable to produce enough insulin that controls the glucose.

According to the National Institute of Health, unsupervised use of insulin to a non-diabetic can lead to serious downfalls in the blood glucose level, which may prove fatal.

Too much insulin can result in too much sugar being removed from the blood, resulting in a state called hypoglycemia.

Mild hypoglycemia may result in tiredness, lightheadedness, jitters and headaches.

However, severe hypoglycemia can induce seizures and loss of consciousness.

Overdosing on insulin or taking insulin as a non-diabetic can result in severe hypoglycemia, which can eventually lead to brain damage, heart attacks and death.
The man once extradited and arrested for the murder of six-year-old pageant princess JonBenet Ramsey has spoken out for the first time in years, hinting that his previous confession may have been an attempt to 'protect someone else.'

John Mark Karr, 58, claimed 17 years ago that he was with JonBenet when she died one decade prior at her family's home in Boulder, Colorado.

He said her death was an 'accident' and that he had loved her and was 'very sorry for what happened to JonBenet.'

In 2006, authorities extradited Karr from Thailand but were ultimately unable to link him to the scene of the crime and so felt compelled to release him.

In an interview with The Messenger, Karr said: 'I am not crazy. I am not delusional.'

'There's so much more to my story,' he said, adding that he has 'been investigated by the FBI for many more crimes' and is living outside the US 'for my own safety.'

John Mark Karr, then 42, was extradited from Thailand and arrested for the 1996 murder of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey

The beautiful young pageant girl was found murdered in her family's basement in Boulder, Colorado on the day after Christmas in 1996

Though most ultimately dismissed Karr's claims about being at the scene as elaborate lies, not everyone thought the tale was meritless.

'Everyone was so quick to say that I was a liar or delusional,' he said. 'Did it ever occur to someone that I might have been trying to protect someone else?'

He declined to elaborate, but one possible explanation that some police were open to at the time is that Ramsey's killer did not work alone.

When asked if he was with JonBenet when she died, or if he had killed her, Karr shut up and said he did not want to incriminate himself as the case continues to be investigated nearly 27 years after the crime.

When Karr was arrested and interrogated, he knew details of the murder case that had not been released to the public. According to authorities, many of his claims seemed to be backed up by physical evidence.

In 2006, Karr claimed to he drugged JonBenet and then had sex with her, but an autopsy said a blood screening showed no drugs or alcohol in her body.

And despite his claim of sexually assaulting Ramsey, no semen was found on her body. However, the little girl did have small vaginal abrasions.

There were also 11 days in December of 1996 - including the date of the killing - when Karr's precise location is unknown.

Relatives claimed he had been at family gatherings in Georgia, but no concrete evidence of that was ever presented. Karr's ex-wife said he had been with her in Alabama the entire Christmas season of 1996.

Furthermore, the DNA evidence found on Ramsey's undergarments did not belong to Karr. Local police believed his DNA would have been present at the crime scene if he were telling the truth.

He was released over the wishes of the FBI, who said the DNA that was found at the scene didn't clear Karr, it simply implied that someone else may also have been involved.

Karr was eventually released, over the objections of some FBI agents, when his DNA could not be matched to anything at the crime scene. Authorities said he knew details about the case that had not been released to the public

The crime scene at the Ramsey's upscale Colorado home following the murder of their six-year-old

Glammed-up shots of the pageant girl were circulated across US airwaves in the immediate aftermath of her death

Twenty-seven years after the child's killing, there is no resolution in the case. John Ramsey, her father, wrote an open letter to Colorado Governor Jared Polis last year, asking that the case be investigated by an independent agency

A single rose lays outside the Ramsey house on the day in 2006 that the Boulder district attorney confirmed that John Mark Karr had been taken into custody

A former FBI source told The Messenger, 'I didn't want him to be let go quite yet. I thought maybe we should have held onto him until we were absolutely sure. But it wasn't my call.'

'He was cagey and smart, and he knew a lot. Did that add up to murder? Or involvement on some level? I don't know. But I wanted to learn more,' the source added.

Four years after his release, it was reported that Karr had undergone surgery to transition into a woman.

'They wrote that to embarrass me,' he told the outlet. 'I am not living as a woman. My name is John Mark Karr. I am a man.'

He is, at present, going by a different name in an effort to dodge harassment.

'They said that I'd want to live as a woman to be closer to children. That's bulls--t. How many transgender nannies do you know?'

On the day after Christmas in 1996, JonBenet was reported missing and then found dead in the basement of her family home in an upper-middle class neighborhood in Boulder, Colorado.

The coroner determined that the pageant girl's cause of death was 'asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma,' meaning she had been choked and beaten to death. A garrote was found around her neck.

She was covered by a white blanket with a nylon cord around her neck, her wrists bound above her head and her mouth covered by duct tape.

There was no clear-cut evidence of rape, but police did not rule out sexual assault.

Unmatched DNA was found under the child's fingernails and on her clothes. A confusing ransom note demanding $118,000 was also found in the family's home.

Ramsey's parents - John and Patsy - were long considered primary suspects in their daughter's murder and were not removed from the suspect list until 2008, two years after Patsy succumbed to ovarian cancer

Several years ago, CBS aired The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey, which suggested that Burke Ramsey may have been responsible for killing his sister. Burke sued the network and settled that case after demanding damages of $750million

The grave of JonBenet Ramsey in Marietta, Georgia. She is buried in a family plot on a church cemetery. Her mother is now buried nearby

The country became extremely interested in the murder of the pretty little girl, and many glammed-up pictures were blasted across the airwaves because of her time in child pageants.

Investigators initially focused on the Ramsey family, comprised of her parents, John and Patsy, and her brother Burke. They were eventually all cleared as suspects - though not formally for many years.

Patsy Ramsey died of ovarian cancer in 2006, two years before she, John and Burke would officially be removed from the suspect list. John is now 78-years-old and aware that time is short to solve his daughter's murder.

In a 2022 open letter he wrote to Colorado Governor Jared Polis, John asked for the case to be transferred away from the Boulder PD to a different agency. He had previously criticized the Boulder Police for mishandling the investigation from the jump.

Several years ago, CBS aired The Case Of: JonBenet Ramsey, which concluded with investigators revealing that after extensive research into the events that happened on the night of the murder they believed Burke Ramsey was responsible for killing his sister - despite the fact that he was only nine-years-old at the time.

Burke sued the network and settled that case after demanding damages of $750million.
Mexico's Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on abortion Wednesday, indicating the procedure can no longer be penalized because it is unconstitutional and violates the rights of women.

Under the unanimous decision filed by 11 judges, the federal public health service and all federal health institutions are obligated to provide abortion access to any person who seeks it.

The ruling was one that the Information Group for Chosen Reproduction, or GIRE as it is known by its Spanish initial, and other human rights groups had been championing.

'No woman or pregnant person, nor any health worker, will be able to be punished for abortion,' the non-profit organization said in a statement.

The decision comes two years after the Supreme Court ruled in a case involving the northeastern state of Coahuila and said that a woman could not be jailed for having an abortion.

Hundreds of women protest with songs and posters during a protest in the state of Colima on September 28, 2019 to ask the Mexican government for the decriminalization of abortion. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court voted anonymously to remove a federal ban on abortions

Demonstrators hold a banner that reads, 'Abortion yes. Abortion no. I decided that,' during a march on September 28, 2020 in Queretaro, Mexico

Members of the 'Black Block' lay a banner in favor of legal abortion during a pro-choice rights demonstration on September 27, 2020 in Mexico City. On Wednesday, Mexico's Supreme Court unanimously voted to remove the federal ban on the procedure

Women take part in a demonstration, demanding the legalization of abortion in the framework of the International Safe Abortion Day in Mexico City, Mexico, on September 28, 2020

Abortion in Mexico was made illegal in 1931 and was only allowed if the pregnant mother's life was in danger or if the pregnancy was the product of rape.

Women are allowed to undergo abortions during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy in states of Oaxaca, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Coahuila, Colima, Sinaloa, Baja California, Baja California Sur Guerrero, Quintana Roo and Aguascalientes. The procedure is also permitted in the capital, Mexico City.

Still, 20 of Mexico's 32 states still criminalize it. Although regional judges in those states will have to abide by the Supreme Court abortion ruling, there is still a long road ahead to drop all penalties.

The historic ruling was celebrated across Mexico on social media.

'Today is a day of victory and justice for Mexican women!' Mexicos National Institute for Women wrote in a message on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The government organization called the decision a 'big step' toward gender equality.

Senator Olga Sanchez Cordero, a former Supreme Court justice, also went on X and called the ruling a step in 'a more just society in which the rights of all are respected.' She also called on Mexicos Congress to pass legislation in response.

Pro-life supporters slammed the historic ruling in a country where Roman Catholicism - which forbids abortion - is practiced by at least 80 percent of the population.

Irma Barrientos, director of the Civil Association for the Rights of the Conceived, vowed that abortion opponents will continue to press forward with plans to block its access.

'Were not going to stop,' Barrientos said. 'Lets remember what happened in the United States. After 40 years, the Supreme Court reversed its abortion decision, and were not going to stop until Mexico guarantees the right to life from the moment of conception.'

A banner reading, 'Abortion Out of the Penal Code,' hangs from a building during International Women's Day at the Zocalo Square in Mexico City on March 8. The Mexican Supreme Court unanimously voted Wednesday to remove the federal ban on the procedure

A woman holds up a sign that reads, 'In Mexico, we women decide', during a rally in favor of decriminalization of abortion on the International Safe Abortion Day on September 28, 2020 in Queretaro, Mexico

Women take part in a protest in support of safe and legal abortion access to mark International Safe Abortion Day in Mexico City on September 28, 2022

Presidential hopeful Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, who is running under the ruling Morena party ticket, and opposition candidate Xochitl Galvez, have yet to comment on the decision.

Mexico becomes the latest country in Latin America to move towards legalizing abortion.

Argentina legalized abortion in 2020, and Colombia did so in 2022.

The ruling still does not allow women in every Mexican state to access abortions right away, according to Fernanda Diaz de Leon, sub-director and legal expert for womens rights group IPAS.

It does force federal agencies to provide the care to patients. That will likely to have a cascade of effects.

Diaz de Leon said removing the federal ban takes away another excuse used by care providers to deny abortions in states where the procedure is no longer a crime.

It also allows women with formal employment who are part of the social security system and government employees to seek the procedure in federal institutions in states where the abortion is still criminalized, she said.

Diaz de Leon and officials at other feminist organizations worry that women, particularly in more conservative areas, may still be denied abortions.

'It's a very important step,' Diaz de Leon said. But 'we need to wait to see how this is going to be applied and how far it reaches.'
A relative of YouTube mom Ruby Franke said the news of her child abuse case is 'disgusting' but the problem is 'bigger than people know.'

The unnamed cousin of Franke, who is charged with six felony counts of abuse, claimed this is not the first time their family has experienced this behavior. Other members have also duct-taped, handcuffed and starved kids.

They described the unprovoked child abuse and slapping that took place in their house as a child - and said that after watching Ruby's YouTube channel 8 Passengers briefly, they said they noticed Ruby's same mannerisms.

Ruby, 41, was arrested on two counts of aggravated child abuse along with business partner Jodi Hildebrandt on August 30.

Abusing children, being physical, and withholding food is something that has been a 'multi-generational' problem in the Franke family, claimed the cousin.

YouTuber mom Ruby Franke (pictured) has been charged with six counts of felony child abuse after her 12-year-old son was found with open wounds and duct tape on their limbs

Ruby Franke is seen with her four daughters: Shari (red coat), Eve (gray dress), Julie (pink coat), and Abby (black coat)

The concealed cousin of Franke (right) spoke to Law&Crime about their own experience of child abuse within the family

The family member - who said the charges of child abuse are 'disgusting' - said that their entire family tree 'from the roots to the branches' is 'blighted.'

The cousin of Ruby Franke, whose identity was concealed, told Law & Crime: 'I'm not shocked. It's not a shock at all. The direction in which it went was not what I thought, but from which it came was to be expected.

'I wasn't expecting some of the details in that story to line up with details in my own family history.

'My mother handcuffed my sisters when they were young, and a lack of food wasn't uncommon, but it wasn't out of the lack of money and there was a time when it could have been prevented and it wasn't.'

'All I can say is my mother did duck tape my siblings. I'm not shocked.'

Asked when was the last time they saw Ruby, they said: 'When I was very young, it was a long time ago. Over 15 years ago.'

Describing their reaction, they said: 'Disgust. Because this is something multi generational.

'I am very privy to the way I was treated and the way my siblings were treated, so to see that further down the line is not shocking, but disgusting.'

'The whole tree from the bottom of the roots to the tips of the branches, the whole tree is blighted. It's multi-generational. '

Speaking about how the Mormon church and its teachings have allegedly justified this abuse, the family member said: 'I do feel and believe that those sorts of things are used to justify.'

'With every fiber of my being, I can understand. I hope they are okay.

'It's a lot bigger than people know.'

Franke's son climbed out of a window of Hildebrandt's home and ran to a neighbor for help, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by NBC states. This is what triggered the probe.

In addition to his wounds, the boy was found in an emaciated state. Ruby and husband Kevin Franke's 10-year-old daughter was found in a similar condition.

Hildebrandt is also charged with six counts of felony child abuse in Washington County, Utah. Each count carries a sentence of up to 15 years and a $10,000 fine.

At the time that Ruby's children were discovered, authorities said that Russell, 12, and Eve, 10, were so malnourished they needed to be taken to a hospital for care.

The family blew up on social media after beginning to post videos in 2015

Ruby, her husband, and their six kids were shot into stardom back in 2015, after she started sharing videos giving an inside look into her life as a Mormon mother-of-six on YouTube

Investigators said 'evidence consistent with the markings found on the juvenile' was located inside the home upon a search.

The woman's other four children - Shari, Chad, Abby, and Julie - were taken by the Utah Division of Child and Family Services.

In a statement to NBC News, the Washington County attorney said the two women are believed to have caused or permitted 'serious physical injury' in three ways.

'(1) a combination of multiple physical injuries or torture, (2) starvation or malnutrition that jeopardizes life, and (3) causing severe emotional harm,' they said.

According to the Washington County Sheriff's Office's website, both women are still in custody as of September 5.

Ruby and her business partner will next appear in court on September 8.

The Mormon woman first rose to fame for her strict parenting style which blew up on YouTube and made her 'millions' of dollars, she claimed.

She racked up more than 2.2million subscribers for documenting their day-to-day endeavors on social media, along with husband Kevin.

The pair stopped uploading videos in January 2022 and the page was taken down completely from the website earlier this year.

When asked why she left YouTube behind months later, she said she opted to stop uploading videos because she wanted to 'save her kids.'

Ruby Franke, (left) who ran the now-defunct 8 Passengers channel, was arrested along with her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt (right) on August 30

In July, she was called out online after video surfaced of her allowing Eve to go hungry after the young girl had forgotten to make her own lunch before school.

In a video posted to in 2020, Ruby said her daughter's teacher had texted her, telling her that the youngster didn't have anything to eat for lunch.

She said all her kids are responsible for preparing their own lunches in the morning, so she would not be dropping off any food for Eve to teach her a lesson.

Franke said: 'My hope [is that] she will be hungry and come home and be like 'that was really painful being hungry all day I'll make sure to always have a lunch with me.''

'The natural outcome is that she is just going to have to go hungry.'

It was this parenting style that helped the woman to gain a massive following on YouTube and shine a spotlight on herself and her family.

After her arrest, one of Ruby's adult children spoke out on social media and shared that she was excited to see justice finally served to her mom.

In an Instagram story after her mom's arrest, Shari, 20, celebrated her mom's arrest and said she had been 'trying to tell the police and CPS for years about this.'

Shari also said that she is 'so glad they finally decided to step up' and that her siblings are safe, DailyMail.com reported.

The 20-year-old shared an image of police officers outside the family's Springville, Utah, home along with the caption 'Finally.'

Ruby once came under fire for revealing her then-six-year-old daughter Eve had to 'go hungry' because the little girl had failed to make her own lunch before school

This is the house that Russell Franke reportedly ran from in order to get help

On Sunday, Kevin was spotted outside his home by DailyMail.com for the first time since his wife and her business partner were arrested last week.

Kevin was seen pacing around the property as a man came to remove the YouTube branding from a van parked outside the house.

The man is believed to have been kicked out of the family home last year.

He said last week he is 'trying to keep his children together' following the arrests.

Kevin's attorney, Randy S. Kester, told Page Six his client's 'urgent focus is simply to keep his children together under his fatherly care'.

Neighbors said they had been concerned about the children's wellbeing, and once saw the kids outside pulling weeds for hours during triple-degree heat.

DailyMail.com spoke to one of Hildebrandt's neighbors whose home is also in the Kayenta Community located at the base of the Red Mountains in Ivins, Utah.

They recalled seeing Franke's van, which had an '8 Passengers' sticker and license plate, regularly parked in front of the home at the time.

'One thing we noticed and we told the police the same thing, six to eight weeks ago when it was really hot I was outside in the late morning, afternoon pulling weeds and over at Jodi's home several kids were also outside her home pulling weeds.

'Over the course of the day the temperature was over 100 degrees and I gave up after a while because it was so hot but I noticed that the kids stayed out there,' the neighbor explained.
An Italian mother who vanished seven years ago was murdered and her body fed to pigs by a mobster from the notorious 'Ndrangheta mafia, police revealed today.

Maria Chindamo, 42, a mother of three, disappeared from her farm in Calabria in southern Italy in May 2016 after she refused offers to buy her land made by the mafia.

It has now emerged that her neighbour and mobster, Salvatore Ascone, 57, allegedly killed Chindamo for rejecting offers to buy the land she had inherited from her late husband, who committed suicide, according to anti-mafia police.

Ascone was one of 84 'Ndrangheta mafia mobsters who was arrested today by hundreds of Italian police officers in a huge crackdown on the feared Italian crime syndicate.

The mobster is accused of murdering Chindamo with two other people, one of whom was a minor who has since died, reports La Stampa.

Maria Chindamo, 42, (pictured) a mother of three, disappeared from her farm in Calabria in southern Italy in May 2016 after she refused offers to buy her land made by the mafia

It has now emerged that her neighbour and mobster, Salvatore Ascone, 57, (pictured) allegedly killed Chindamo for rejecting offers to buy the land she had inherited from her late husband, who committed suicide, according to anti-mafia police

Special police units conduct raids in the Spanish quarters of Naples, Italy, as part of a crackdown on the mafia on Thursday

'The murder of Maria Chindamo was also decided to punish the attitudes of a free and independent woman, who had enrolled at university and wanted to become an agricultural entrepreneur,' chief prosecutor of Catanzaro, Nicola Gratteri, said.

On 6 May, 2016, police found Chindamo's car abandoned with the engine still running. Inside the vehicle, there were traces of the mother-of-three's blood and pieces of her hair - but her body was never discovered.

Police say this is because Ascone allegedly killed Chindamo and fed her body to pigs who hadn't eaten for days.

Chindamo had been raising her three children at the farm alone after separating from her husband, who later killed himself following the separation.

He was arrested in 2019 but released due to lack of evidence. However, in 2021 a mafia informer who had been sharing a prison cell with mobster Emanuele Mancuso.

Mancuso is said to have told the mafia informer that Ascone had killed Chindamo because she had refused to sell her farm and thought that her husband's family would be blamed for her death.

'He made her disappear, knowing full well that the family of the husband would be held responsible,' Mancuso is alleged to have said, the Times reported at the time.

The 'Ndrangheta, of which Ascone is said to be part of, has now surpassed Cosa Nostra as the most powerful mafia group in the country, and one of the largest criminal networks in the world.

Its mobsters often dispose the bodies of their victims by feeding them to the pigs.

This morning, 600 Italian police officers arrested 84 suspected mafia mobsters in a huge raid across Italy.

The suspects are accused of mafia criminal association; murder; possession, production, and trafficking of drugs and weapons; criminal tax evasion and money laundering, reports Il Giornale.

A man is detained as special police units conduct a raid on the mafia in Rome, Italy, on Thursday

This morning, 600 Italian police officers arrested 84 suspected mafia mobsters in a huge raid across Italy

European authorities have been waging a campaign against 'Ndrangheta, arguably the world's richest organised crime group, in recent years.

The group has exploited tens of billions of dollars in cocaine revenues over decades to extend its criminal reach across Europe and into several continents as the Sicilian Mafia lost influence.

In May this year, police arrested more than 100 suspected mobsters thought to belong to the 'Ndrangheta mafia.

Under the cover of darkness, thousands of police officers across Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Portugal and Spain raided the suspected mobsters' homes as part of an investigation codenamed 'Operation Eureka' in May.

In Germany, more than 1,000 officers descended on their homes and offices across the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland Palatinate to the east, with more than 20 suspected criminals arrested in the raids.

And in Italy, 1,400 Carabinieri police officers backed by helicopters arrested 108 suspected 'Ndrangheta mobsters in the major operation which saw huge piles of cash, drugs and firearms seized.
A day before a volunteer paramedic shot his colleague dead, opened fire on passing cars and sparked a massive manhunt, he sat down for quiet lunch at a local bakery and politely chatted to staff.

Lachlan Bowles, 25, gunned down father-of-one Terry Czernowski at Moylan Grain Silos - where the pair worked - at about 8.40am on Thursday before going on the run and eventually turning the weapon on himself.

Kellerberrin Pie Shop and Bakery owner Tony Downs is reeling after the day's tragic events unfolded in the small Wheat Belt community - 200km east of Perth.

'He was in here yesterday having lunch,' Mr Downs told The West Australian. 'I said 'how you going?' and he was 'all good'.

'He's always been a quiet sort of a guy but you don't expect him to turn around and pick up a gun and shoot someone.

'Obviously something has happened at work and it's triggered him off and he's gone up there and shot him, along with two other people.'

Volunteer paramedic Lachlan Bowles, 25 (pictured), shot father-of-one Terry Czernowski dead about 8.40am on Thursday before going on the run.

Following the murder, WA Police launched a manhunt for Bowles before tactical police cornered him just outside Kellerberrin at a rural property.

He was wearing a camouflage uniform and waving a Nazi flag and wearing a Swastika.

Police locked down the area and helicopters were ordered not to fly overhead for fears they could get shot down - and police said at least one car was shot at as Bowles fled.

Armed officers cornered Bowles in a field before he shot himself. Police later confirmed he had died.

Bowles, who has a firearms licence and had two guns registered, is understood to have been armed with at least one weapon with a 3km range.

Local said he loved guns and was a member of the Kellerberrin pistol club - even wining awards for marksmanship.

He had dreamed of following others in his family and serving in the army.

But those plans were dashed in 2016 when he failed a psychological evaluation and was rejected.

Terry Czernowski, a father-of-one, was shot dead at Moylan Grain Silos

Armed officers cornered Bowles in a field before he shot himself. Police later confirmed he had died

TIMELINE OF TERROR 8.40am: Lachlan Bowles shoots dead Terry Czernowski at Moylan Grain Silos 9.23am: Police warn residents to stay indoors 9.44am: Police say a man has 'discharged a firearm' 10.31am: Anyone in Kellerberrin and Bencubbin urged to stay indoors 2.10pm: Police locate Lachlan Bowles 4.30pm: Police confirm Bowles dead Advertisement

It's unclear what Bowles' motive was, but Regional WA Commander Rod Wilde said police believe it was a workplace dispute.

Bowles, a volunteer St John's ambulance officer who is not believed to have had a criminal history, had two registered firearms and was carrying a high-powered rifle and a handgun with him during his rampage.

A local told Daily Mail Australia that Bowles went to his workplace at Moylan Grain Silos in Kellerberrin and 'shot someone about 25 times'.

'My mates work down the street and heard a bunch of gun shots and then the town was crawling with police,' he said.

Mitchell Harvey, a local sheep shearer, said a farmer miraculously survived after he approached Bowles.

'Some farmer who was checking his paddock drove past him and asked if he needed a lift and he shot his door,' Mr Harvey told the West Australian.

'I saw him this morning on the way to work. I had no idea he was going off there to kill someone.'

Those living nearby were sent an alarming text earlier today as the situation escalated.

All facilities and public events in the Shire of Merredin, which includes Kellerberrin, were cancelled on Thursday with armoured police trucks patrolling the tense scene

Mr Bowles is a St John WA volunteer ambulance officer, and was awarded for his service in 2021

Father-of-one Terry Czernowski was shot dead at Moylan Grain Silos

The residents of Kellerberrin, 200km east of Perth, were told by police to stay indoors after gunshots were fired at a grain silo in the area about 8.40am on Thursday

'Residents in the area are advised to remain alert. It has been confirmed that one man is now deceased and Homicide Squad are investigating,' Police said.

All facilities and public events in the Shire of Merredin, which includes Kellerberrin, were cancelled until further notice as armoured police trucks patrolled the tense scene.

Bowles was a St John WA volunteer ambulance officer, and was awarded for his service to the community on Australia Day in 2021.

Locals described Bowles as a 'good kid', while expressing their shock at reports he was allegedly involved in the shooting.

'He was a good kid from a good family,' one wrote.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police immediately.

For confidential 24-hour support in Australia call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Bowles was a St John WA volunteer ambulance officer, and was awarded for his service to the community on Australia Day in 2021
Oh argued that drones are a 'more effective version of security cameras' and emphasized his plan to prioritize safeguards and privacy

Republican candidate for Mayor of Philadelphia David Oh, has vowed to deploy police drones to clean up the city plagued by crime and open drug use.

The decision has sparked backlash among social justice activists and various organizations, such as the The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU.

But Oh told The New York Sun that despite the criticism that comes with promoting drone usage, crime has become so severe in Philadelphia that the idea is gaining support.

'When you look at a place like Kensington, it's just a horrific place, mental health problems, behavioral health, trauma,' he told The New York Sun.

'And so the idea of cleaning that place up is really resonating with a lot of people, but how do you do it?,' he added.

Republican candidate for Mayor of Philadelphia David Oh, has vowed to deploy police drones to clean up the city plagued by crime and open drug use

Crime is a primary focus in Council Member Oh's campaign against Democrat Cherelle Parker in the race to become the city's 100th mayor

Crime is a primary focus in Council Member Oh's campaign against Democrat Cherelle Parker in the race to become the city's 100th mayor.

Regarding privacy concerns, Oh emphasized his plan to implement safeguards and secure the drones in public areas.

Oh believes drones are a 'more effective version of security cameras,' according to the outlet.

'The idea of using cameras, like video cameras, is very problematic, because they're not mobile, they're usually fixed,' Oh said.

'Here in Philadelphia, and maybe a lot of the cities in the United States, our technology level is not that good. And what happens is we have a lot of cameras that don't even work.'

The Kensington area is so plagued by drug use and fatal overdoses that the New York Times dubbed it the 'Wal-Mart of Heroin.'

Philadelphia's drug overdose deaths are at their highest level ever recorded, with 1,276 fatalities in 2021 alone, according to the outlet, with Fentanyl involved in more than three quarters of the deaths.

The American Civil Liberties Union has actively fought against the rising use of drone surveillance by police departments, raising concerns over privacy issues.

Regarding privacy concerns, Oh emphasized his plan to implement safeguards and secure the drones in public areas

Oh said the city needs to do more to combat crime and the public dialogue surrounding police drones is misleading

Philadelphia's drug overdose deaths are at their highest level ever recorded, with 1,276 fatalities in 2021 alone

Fentanyl is involved in more than three quarters of drug related deaths in the city

The Kensington area is so plagued by drug use and fatal overdoses that the New York Times dubbed it the 'Wal-Mart of Heroin'

The group has warned that it could lead to 'suspect surveillance, anticipatory drone checks in certain areas, and patrols over entire cities.'

The ACLU also spoke out about the use of drones, claiming that it feared 'without strong privacy protections' Americans could be subjected to 'a mass surveillance regime in the skies,' according to the New York Sun.

Drone usage by police across states have sparked backlash, including New York City's decision to use drones to monitor Labor Day parties over the weekend.

New York Civil Liberties Union strategist, Daniel Schwarz, told The New York Sun that 'Deploying drones in this way is a sci-fi inspired scenario,' according to AP.

But Oh said the city needs to do more to combat crime and the public dialogue surrounding police drones is misleading.

'I think like all this verbiage, rhetoric that makes people feel like this is actually a good place, is simply not true,' Oh said to the New York Sun.

'People who go up there, any reporters with their cameras go up there, and they are shocked by what they see.'

Oh claims that many people misunderstand the function and abilities of drones and believes the devices can be integral in making the community safer.

By employing them, first responders can get visuals and be better prepared before arriving on scene,' he said.

He does not intend to use drone monitoring to put people in prison but only to identify the drug criminals, their backgrounds, and their methods, and then that data would be used to enforce the law to increase safety for families and businesses.

Each drone, including long-distance cameras, other sensors and software, costs police department about $35,000, according to the New York Times.

Philadelphia GOP mayoral nominee David Oh speaks at a Latino Town Hall meeting, Wednesday, Aug. 30

Democratic Mayoral candidate Cherelle Parker and Mayor Jim Kenney on September 4, in Philadephia

Police drones were used by the New York City police department on Labor Day weekend to monitor backyard parties and 'large gatherings'

The plans drew immediate backlash and sparked privacy fears among civil liberties groups. The concern was over whether drones violate existing police surveillance laws

Drones were used by the New York City police department on Labor Day weekend to monitor backyard parties and 'large gatherings'.

Plans were unveiled last Thursday to use the unmanned aircrafts in response to complaints about disorderly private events.

Assistant NYPD Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said officers would be 'utilizing our assets' to go and check up on parties.

But it drew immediate backlash and sparked privacy fears among civil liberties groups.

The concern was about whether the use of drones violates existing laws for police surveillance.

Albert Fox Cahn, executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, said: 'One of the biggest concerns with the rush to roll out new forms of aerial surveillance is how few protections we have against seeing these cameras aimed at our backyards or even our bedrooms.'

He added that city officials should be more transparent with the public about how police are currently using drones, with clear guardrails that prevent surveillance overreach in the future.

'Clearly, flying a drone over a backyard barbecue is a step too far for many New Yorkers,' Cahn said.
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company  Masdar has announced a partnership with Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform to identify, fast-track and scale clean energy projects across the continent.

The UAEs clean energy champion has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Africa50 which will work to bridge the infrastructure funding gap and mobilise public and private finance.

Masdar brings its technical expertise and extensive experience in emerging markets, while Africa50 brings its experience developing projects in Africa, which combined can help unlock Africas tremendous clean energy potential.

Sustainable development

Signed by Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar and Alain Ebobisse, Chief Executive Officer of Africa50 on the sidelines of Africa Climate Summit, the first of four global climate summits ahead of COP28, the agreement will see both parties work collaboratively to catalyse sustainable development of the clean energy sector in Africa.

Masdar, one of the worlds largest clean energy companies and the largest in Africa, committed $2 billion of equity as part of the UAE finance initiative, which was announced during Africa Climate Summit by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President-Designate.

The initiative brings together public, private, and development capital from UAE institutions, notably from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), Masdar, and AMEA Power. Africa50 is expected to also join this initiative as a strategic partner.

Al Jaber said: We welcome this important partnership with Africa50 which brings a key stakeholder to the table for an inclusive, equitable and just energy transition. We look forward to working with Africa for Africa. The world must continue to close the gap on climate finance for clean energy investment in the global south which is disproportionately affected by climate change.

Public-private cooperation

We need the public and private sectors to work together to deliver clean energy access across Africa  a key mission and objective of Africa50. This can be accelerated in countries with robust regulatory frameworks, clear transition strategies and a real commitment to developing grid structure.

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, said: As the largest renewable energy company in Africa, through our joint venture with Infinity Power, it is fitting that Masdar, with Africa50, should take this bold step forward which will unlock much needed climate finance for the energy transition. It is a key strategic market for Masdar and we are proud of our long-term partnerships and projects in Africa. Our portfolio today includes Senegals first utility-scale wind farm, under Masdars Infinity Power Holding platform (IPH), Mauritanias first and largest solar photovoltaic project, and the development of Africas largest wind farm in Egypt with IPH and other partners. With Africa50, Masdar looks forward to unlocking the enormous clean energy potential across the continent.

Masdar has committed a total of $10 billion in clean energy finance, of which $2 billion will be generated from equity, with an additional $8 billion mobilised from project finance. This landmark investment will target the delivery of 10GW of clean energy capacity in Africa by 2030.

Partnerships key

Alain Ebobisse, Chief Executive Officer of Africa50, commented: Partnerships are key to our goal of scaling up and accelerating the delivery of bankable and sustainable infrastructure across Africa. We are pleased to join forces with Masdar through this signing. We believe that this step will become one of many, on a journey to drive transformative projects that support Africas path to net-zero and help builder cleaner economies for future generations.

Africa50 and Masdar will also explore opportunities to collaborate on the implementation of the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA) which was launched at COP27 by the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and Africa50.

The UAE investment initiative sits under the umbrella of Etihad 7, a development platform launched by the UAE at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in 2022 and spear-headed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). Announced in 2022, Etihad 7 aims to provide 100 million people across the African continent with clean electricity by 2035.-- TradeArabia News Service
Vice President Kamala Harris insisted that President Joe Biden would win re-election next year, arguing in a new interview there is 'too much at stake' and dismissing concerns about his age.

She told CBS News' Margaret Brennan that, while she is prepared to become the next commander in chief, BIden is 'going to be fine.'

'Yes, I am, if necessary,' Harris said about stepping in as president, adding: 'But Joe Biden is going to be fine.'

The vice president, 58, has had to repeatedly defend the president's age as the two make their pitch to voters for a second term in the White House.

Vice President Kamala Harris told CBS News' Margaret Brennan that, while she is prepared to become the next commander in chief, BIden is 'going to be fine.'

A Wall Street Journal poll found that 75 percent of voters think Biden is too old to be president, compared to just 47 percent who feel the same about Donald Trump.

Although Biden, 80, is only three years older thanTrump, 77, there is a 26 percent margin between those who think Biden is too old and those who think the ex-President is too old to serve another term.

The poll also showed that only 36 percent of the 1,500 voters surveyed think Biden is mentally fit for office, while 46 percent think Trump is mentally competent for the job.

Harris, meanwhile, also down played concerns Trump would win a second term.

'We will win the election we will win re-election. There's too much at stake and the American people know it,' she said.

The interview will air Sunday on Face the Nation and was conducted during Harris' trip to in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the vice president was attending the ASEAN summit.

Biden announced in late April his bid for a second term with Harris  but questions have emerged in the last year over whether the President is too old or too unfit to serve for four more years.

Vice President Kamala Harris has had to repeatedly defend concerns about President Joe Biden's age as they compete for a second term

Donald Trump leads in polls for the Republican presidential nomination

There is a 26% negative margin between those who think President Joe Biden, 80, is too old to serve a second term and those who think 2024 Republican frontrunner and former President Donald Trump, 77, is too old for another shot at the presidency

Harris also had to defend the 80-year-old president's cognitive abilities when she gave an interview to the Associated Press during her Indonesia trip.

'I see him every day, a substantial amount of time we spend together is in the Oval Office, where I see how his ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way that no one else can, to make smart and important decisions on behalf of the American people, have played out,' Harris saidl

'And so I will say to you, that I think the American people ultimately want to know that their president delivers - and Joe Biden delivers,' she added.

Harris has been plagued with low approval numbers and in late June, NBC found that she hit a record for low approval among vice presidents since the network's polling began.

Just 32 percent of registered voters approved of her.

That, coupled with Biden's age problems, have turned Harris into a boogeyman for Republican presidential contenders, some of whom have been warning voters a vote for Biden could be a vote to put Harris in the Oval Office.

Nikki Haley, in particular, has said she's running against Harris. Haley, 51, has been leading attacks on Biden's age, saying the 80-year-old president isn't fit and won't stay alive through 2028.

'We cannot have Kamala Harris as president. We can't chance this,' Haley said on Fox Business' Sunday Morning Futures in late August. 'We have to make sure we have a new generational leader who will bring in not only Republicans, but independents, suburban women, Hispanics and the Asian community.'

'We have to make sure we win this because the thought of Kamala Harris being president should send a chill up every Americans' spine,' Haley added.

Nikki Haley has attacked Biden hard on the age issue

A new CNN poll shows Biden trailing Trump, Pence, Scott, Ramaswamy, Christie, and Haley, and tied with DeSantis

The former governor of South Carolina earlier this year suggested there should be an age limit on those who can run for the White House, suggesting 75 would be a good cap.

The strategy could be working. Haley Biden in a new poll on the 2024 presidential race - by six points.

In a new CNN / SSRS poll out Thursday, Biden Biden narrowly trails Trump, the GOP frontrunner, 47 to 46.

But Haley leads Biden 49 to 45 percent.
Police have searched two addresses in the UK as they continue to investigate the death of 10-year-old Sara Sharif, who was found dead at her home in Surrey four weeks ago.

Meanwhile authorities in Pakistan have also raided 20 properties there, with an international manhunt underway to find Sara's fugitive father, stepmother and uncle.

Sara's father, Urfan Sharif, and stepmother, Beinash Batool, are believed to have travelled to Pakistan the day before her body was found at the family home in Woking on August 10.

The family's previous address in Eden Grove Road, Byfleet, is being searched by police, as well as their most recent home address in Hammond Road, Horsell. Searches of the properties are expected to continue into next week and they will remain cordoned off.

The update in the murder probe comes after Sara's grandfather said the 10-year-old's father should 'cooperate with the police and face the law'.

Sara Sharif's body was found in their family house in Woking, Surey, with a post-mortem examination concluding she had suffered 'multiple and extensive injuries'

Sara Sharif's grandfather, Muhammad Sharif, has called on his son to cooperate with police

Muhammad Sharif, who is Mr Sharif's father, called on his son to 'tell [the police] the truth about what occurred', after a postmortem examination revealed his granddaughter Sara Sharif suffered 'multiple and extensive injuries'.

The grandfather's message comes after Sara Sharif's family broke their silence in a remarkable video, which saw the young girl's stepmother, Ms Batool, describe Sara's death as 'an incident' - without offering any further details.

The video shows Ms Batool explain the family have 'gone into hiding' as she denied claims that Sara 'fell down the stairs and broke her neck' and said the family are willing to fight their case in court.

In a video, Sara Sharif's grandfather is shown saying: 'Yes, they (Urfan Sharif and his wife Beinash Batool) should cooperate with the police and face the law, the law is everything and life without law is difficult.

'My advice to them, is to face the law, they should present themselves to the police and tell them the truth about what occurred.'

'If they release a video message, it would be good. And if they have more details they need to share (them) with the police. Sharing the truth is their fundamental right, it is not possible to hide things. The more they details they share, the better for them.'

Police have raided 20 homes in Pakistan in the hunt for Sara Sharif's father, Urfan Sharif (left), and stepmother, Beinash Batool (right)

'No, he (Urfan) did not share any details with me, only that and incident occurred, that's it,' Muhammad Sharif said.

The grandfather's message comes after it emerged police raided 20 properties in their hunt for Sara's family.

The raids are understood to have been concentrated in the Pakistani cities of Mirpur and Jhelum, Sky News reported.

The police raids follow the release of a video yesterday in which Mr Sharif and Ms Batool said they are willing to co-operate with British police and fight their case in court.

The couple yesterday broke their silence for the first time following the discovery of 10-year-old Sara's body at a house in Woking, Surrey, as they described the young girl's death as 'an incident' - without offering further details.

A post-mortem examination concluding she had suffered 'multiple and extensive injuries' over a 'sustained and extended' period of time.

Ms Batool says in the video: 'Firstly I would like to talk about Sara. Sara's death was an incident. Our family in Pakistan is severely affected by all that is going on.

'All the media have been given wrong statements...Imran [one of Mr Sharif's brothers] did not give a statement that Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck. This was spread through a Pakistani media outlet.

Police want to speak to Sara's father (left) and his partner Beinash Batool (right)

'All of our family members have gone into hiding as everyone is scared for their safety. The kids are unable to attend school as they are afraid to leave the house. No one is leaving the house.

'The groceries have run out and there is no food for the kids as the adults are unable to leave their homes out of fear of safety. That is why we have gone into hiding.

'Lastly, we are willing to cooperate with the UK authorities and fight our case in court.' Sara's father, Mr Sharif, does not speak in the video.

Speaking on Polish television programme Uwaga! on the TVN Channel, Olga Sharif said: 'Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like'

Olga Sharif with a picture of her daughter Sara who was found dead at her home in Woking, Surrey

Faisal Malik is also on the run alongside Sara's father and his partner

Sara's mother Olga Sharif also spoke to the Polish television programme Uwaga! on the TVN Channel.

She claimed that Ms Batool tried to stop her seeing her two children, one of whom is believed to be in Pakistan.

'Their stepmother wrote to me not to come anymore because the children did not want to see me,' she said.

'It's not normal that once the children were happy, and arguing about who would talk to Mum first, and then the kids don't even want to talk to me on the phone and are calling me the worst names.'

Sara's mother, Ms Sharif, also spoke in the interview of having to identify her daughter's body at the mortuary, saying she hardly recognised her because of her injuries.

'One of her cheeks was swollen and the other side was bruised,' the young girl's mother said. 'Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like.'

Ms Sharif said she had separated from her husband in 2015 and Sara and her older brother had been living with her until 2019 when the family court ruled they should live with their father.

Ms Sharif still had equal rights to see the children and said while that was easy to maintain initially it became harder over time.

Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman, from the Surrey Police and Sussex Police Major Crime Team, said: 'We are working hard to progress the investigation into Sara's murder and a key part of this is piecing together information about her life from anyone who knew her or her family.

'We are grateful to everyone who has come forward with information, and I would like to stress that any information, no matter how insignificant it might seem, could be of use in developing our understanding of her lifestyle.

'Every single piece of information that we receive is reviewed by the investigation team and further enquiries carried out if appropriate. I would urge anyone who may have information and hasn't yet come forward to reach out to us.

'There are a number of ways you can do this - you can report information via our portal, which is in both English and Urdu, you can call 101 if you would prefer to speak on the phone, or if you would like to remain anonymous, call the independent charity Crimestoppers.'

Police were called by Sara's father, 41, who is understood to have rushed to Islamabad

Mr Sharif, 41, Ms Batool, 29, and his brother, Faisal Malik, 28, are thought to have travelled to Islamabad on August 9 and are wanted by police for questioning.

They travelled with five children aged between one and 13 years old, Surrey Police said - the eldest of which is Ms Sharif's son.

Sara's uncle said last month that his niece had fallen down the stairs and broken her neck - claims that were dismissed by Ms Batool today.

Imran Sharif 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.

He allegedly told officers: 'Beinash was home with the children. Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Beinash panicked and phoned Urfan.'

Imran denied knowing where Urfan and his family were, police in the city of Jhelum in Pakistan's Punjab province 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 Jhelum, have also now gone into hiding.

Ms 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.'

Police outside the home to Sara Sharif where her body was found at home on August 10

Flowers and police outside of the home to Sara Sharif, 10, in Woking, Surrey

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.'

Meanwhile, Sara's grandfather previously told the BBC that her death was an 'accident' and three family members who left the UK for Pakistan will 'ultimately' return to face police questioning.

Muhammad Sharif said he saw his son Urfan Sharif, Sara's father, soon after he arrived in the city of Jhelum, in the South Asian country, and said he had fled the UK out of 'fear'.

Surrey Police are appealing for information to help them piece together a picture of Sara's lifestyle prior to her death. Surrey County Council previously said that Sara was known to the local authority.

Authorities in Pakistan are searching for the trio and lawyers in the UK have said the nation's government is unlikely to block an extradition request in connection to Sara's death.

There is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan but people have been returned from the country before.

It comes as Sara's grandfather said this week that his son, the girl's father, had told him the death was an 'accident' and that he left the UK out of fear.

Muhammad Sharif told BBC News: 'His daughter died and when you go under so much trauma, obviously you can't think properly.'

He said he saw Urfan after he arrived in Pakistan, adding: 'It was an accident, he didn't tell me how it happened.

'All I can say is that they should have faced the case, they should have stayed there and faced it instead (of coming to Pakistan). They will ultimately go back to the UK and face their case.'

Faisal Malik is also on the run alongside Sara's father and his partner

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

It also emerged over the weekend that Urfan contacted a friend who owned a money transfer shop to get eight last-minute plane tickets before he and his family left the country.

The 41-year-old told Nadeem Riaz on August 8 he urgently needed the one way tickets due to the death of a cousin and wanted to fly out to Islamabad as soon as possible.

The next day Sharif, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and his brother Faisal Malik, 28, left the UK on a British Airways flight with five of the couple's children, aged between one and 13.

After arriving in Pakistan, Sharif phoned 999 and informed police they would find the body of his oldest daughter at their address in Horsell.

She was discovered with 'multiple and extensive' injuries which are believed to have occurred over a 'sustained and extended' period of time.

Mr Riaz told the Times he had often had business with Sharif before, who would frequently end money to one of his brothers, Imran, in Pakistan.

His shop doubled as a travel agency, and he had previously secured flights for the family after the death of Sharif's mother last November.

He said: '[Sharif] sounded normal. No different to his usual self.'

After the call, Mr Riaz sent a message to Sharif and asked him what kind of tickets he wanted. Sharif is said to have responded: 'One way.'

The shop owner, who has known Sharif for 11 years, is said to be assisting police with their enquiries into Sara's death.

He told the paper: 'For the first few days after it happened, every time I looked at my own daughter I felt so sad for Sara.

'I love my daughter [who is six] so much. How could anyone leave their daughter?'

The international manhunt for the family is still underway, as Pakistan police this week claimed they were not asked to look for the relatives until five days after her body was discovered.

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.

Colourful tributes are left outside the home to Sara Sharif where her body was found at home on August 10

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.'

The full interview with Ms Sharif will air on the Polish TV programme at 7.55pm local time on Wednesday.
New York City's migrant crisis will cost the city more than $4billion this fiscal year if the situation continues - as mayor Eric Adams warned the influx of asylum seekers could destroy the city.

Despite mayor Adams' cries for help from the state and federal government, the city has not received aid to cover the extra costs, so the $4.7billion would come from the city's budget. That amount is equal to the budgets for the city's sanitation, fire and parks departments combined.

More than 110,000 asylum seekers have arrived in the city since the Spring of 2022, with over currently 10,000 arriving every month. and hundreds every single day.

There are now nearly 60,000 migrants in the city's care, with about 21,000 new migrant children starting school this year. As the school year kicked off on Thursday, some schools were forced to turn away students as the classrooms overflowed.

City officials have said they expect the number asylum seeker population to reach nearly 33,980 households this fiscal year.

New York City's migrant crisis is expected to cost the city $4.7billion this year. Above is a list of some of the landmarks that have been turned into emergency shelters as officials struggle to house nearly 60,000 migrants in the city's care

There are now nearly 60,000 migrants in the city's care, with about 21,000 new migrant children starting school this year. Ecuadorian migrant Kimberly Carchipulla, right, and her son 5-year-old Damien, center, wait for the bus on their way to school on Thursday, in New York

As the school year kicked off on Thursday, some schools were focused to turn away students as the classrooms overflowed

The city is currently paying about $385 a night per migrant family that needs housing and feeding. According to Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, asylum seekers are costing the city roughly $10 million every day.

An exasperated Adams did not mince words on Wednesday as he said the city's survival hangs on outside help to deal with the crisis, renewing his appeal to the federal government to help the city avert a budgetary crisis as expenses mount  now projected at $12.2 billion by the end of next year.

It started with a madman down in Texas deciding he wanted to bus people up to New York City,' he said, referencing Texas governor Gregg Abbot's busing of migrants to the city.

Adams continued: '110,000 migrants we have to feed, clothe, house... we have to educate their children, wash their laundry sheets... give them everything they need.'

Indeed, many of the migrants have been bused in from southern states like Texas and Florida as the conservatives governors of these states look to put some of the migration pressure on progressive governments.

They are not undocumented but do not have work permits, as they must wait months to receive them after applying for asylum.

Experts say this is one of the main issues, as the migrants can't work and become independent enough to find their own housing.

Adams warned that the city's services will be affected by the incredible additional expenses on the budget. He has previously stated the city is planning on cutting services such as library hours, meals for senior citizens, and free, full-day care for three-year-olds.

Migrants were seen sleeping outside The Roosevelt Hotel which has reached capacity since being turned into a designated center for asylum seekers

The Roosevelt Hotel (pictured), Paul Hotel and Paramount Hotel are among the hotels designated for housing migrants in Manhattan

A bus carrying the migrants from Texas arrives at the Port Authority bus station of New York on May 3

Meanwhile, the buses full of migrants continue to arrive, with at least four unloading on Port Authority in just two days.

While the migrants used to come mostly from Venezuela, which has the biggest refugee crisis in the world right now, tied only with Ukraine - more than seven million have left the nation as it has collapsed politically and economically.

From 2015 to 2018, only around 100 Venezuelans were stopped annually at the border. From October 2021 to August 2022, that number stood at 150,000.

However, experts and city officials now say most of the migrants come from Africa, particularly Senegal and Nigeria.

The city has a legal obligation to give shelter to those who make their way to the metro, and Adams has desperately turned to a variety of city landmarks, makeshift shelters and temporary housing as short-term solutions.

While officials have not revealed how many hotel rooms have been designated for migrants, hotel industry experts believe it's as many as 10,000, as reported by The City.

The Roosevelt Hotel, Paul Hotel and Paramount Hotel are among the hotels designated for housing migrants in Manhattan.

Long lines of migrants, mostly men from Africa, are now often seen outside the storied locations.

Women and children are prioritized, and they have said they are mostly fed pasta and salad, without many appropriate options for young children, as reported by CBS News.

Families have been given priority for housing in the city's hotels, leaving tens of thousands to fight for space in shelters or wait on the streets for a solution

Hundreds of refugees slept outside the Roosevelt Hotel in August when the historic establishment was transformed into a migrant camp

Many of them never intended to come to New York in the first place, but staying is easy given the city has to offer them shelter by law.

'A lot of these people arrive here without even knowing where they are. Many of them wanted to go to Florida, even with DeSantis there. Others to Atlanta and California,' said Edinson Calderon, founder of the organization Una Carta Salva Una Vida, which works to help asylum seekers after they are released from migrant detention centers.

Calderon told DailyMail.com that migrants from other cities have also taken advantage of the situation, and have come into the city to not have to pay rent and use a shelter.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently dispatched a small team to New York City to help determine how the federal government should respond.

The federal government has so far promised the city $140 million to help, although the city has yet to receive any of that money. A city spokesperson later clarified that requests for that money have been made but the delay could be because of routine bureaucratic reasons.

New York officials have been sounding the alarm for months over their inability to right the ship, with Adams cautioning that his office estimates the issue will cost the city in the region of $12 billion in just three years.

He declared a state of emergency in the fall and has repeatedly labelled the deluge a 'humanitarian crisis'. The mayor's failed requests for more federal funding led him to condemn President Biden in April for 'failing' the city.

The crisis is also far from contained to New York, as numerous major metros have also struggled with housing asylum seekers. In Chicago, residents were stunned to find a police precinct had been turned into a shelter in May.

The problems at the southern border were significantly escalated when Title 42, a pandemic-era border policy that gave officials advanced powers to detain people, ended in May.

The day the policy expired on May 12, the number of illegal border crossings topped 10,000 - a figure that was maintained for several days
A frail pensioner who was murdered and left to decompose in her home was an extreme hoarder, a court heard.

Susan Hawkey, 71, was found tied up under a duvet amongst piles of rubbish in her flat in Aylesbury Road, Neasden, northwest London, on September 26 2022.

Chelsea Grant, 28, who was pregnant at the time, and her boyfriend Xyaire Howard, 23, lived a two minute walk from her and are accused of strangling her to death three weeks earlier.

They had targeted Ms Hawkey, a retired bank worker, in a series of street robberies before using her stolen house keys to rob her at home, the Old Bailey heard.

Grant had googled how long a decomposing body would take to smell as the couple went on a three week spending spree on perfume, designer goods, a new television, clothing, shoes, sunglasses, watches and handbags, it is claimed.

Susan Hawkey, 71, was discovered tied up under a duvet in her flat in Neasden, northwest London in September last year. Evidence found in her home suggested she was an 'extreme hoarder'

Chelsea Grant, 28 and her boyfriend Xvaire Howard, 23 were charged with murdering the frail pensioner and leaving her body to decompose

Grant and Howard, from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean, deny murder, but admit to fraud by using her bank cards.

Jurors saw on Thursday body-worn camera footage from PC Ben Poole showing the discovery of Ms Hawkeys body.

Her flat had paint on the carpet, clothes piled high and rubbish and newspapers on the floor.

The kitchen was full of carrier bags and there was mould on the floor and doors.

The bed was unmade and was covered with other possessions, and little floor space was visible in the living room where the body was found.

Prosecutor Annabel Darlow, KC, earlier told jurors the flat showed signs of extreme hoarding'.

PC Poole said they had been called to the home on 26 September by a concerned neighbour.

He said that when they entered the house there was a very strong smell coming from the body.

Police saw two dirty duvets in the living room and lifted them up but did not initially see a body underneath.

They left the home to put on blue surgical gloves where neighbours were outside. One said You can smell it out here.

The stench in the premises was pretty bad, PC Poole said.

Police investigated Ms Hawkey's home (pictured) after being alerted by a concerned neighbour. They later found her body surrounded by rubbish after following a 'very strong smell'

One of the dirty duvets was in front of a pink armchair, which when lifted by PC Poole revealed Ms Hawkey's body.

He said the body was severely decomposed and partly stuck to the duvet.

PC Poole was heard on the footage theorising with another officer that Ms Hawkey had been sat on the armchair and fallen off.

Officers initially decided to treat the death as unexplained but non-suspicious.

A used condom with Howards semen and Grants DNA was found amongst the mess on Ms Hawkeys living room sofa, jurors have heard.

Grant and Howard, of Press Road, Neasden, deny murder.

Grant denies three counts of robbery while Howard denies two and admits one, while both admit to two counts of fraud.

The trial continues.
Police boarded the vessel after receiving a call about a possible overdose

A retired Colorado doctor who was arrested on drug and gun charges after police raided his luxury yacht and discovered '43g of cocaine, 14g of ketamine, two handguns and ammunition' on board has pleaded not guilty.

Dr Scott Burke, 69, who practiced in Denver, Colorado, but also has an address in Key Largo, Florida, has been charged with possessing a firearm without a permit, having ammunition, as well as possession and trafficking of Class A and B drugs.

Authorities boarded the boat named the Jess Conn in the harbor of the ritzy Massachusetts island. The 70-ft motor yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands.

Pictures obtained by DailyMail.com appear to show him spending the holiday season with his wife Ellen, 65, and two children, Jessica and Connor aboard a similar boat in 2017 - also called the Jess Conn.

Burke, was arraigned on Wednesday in Nantucket District Court in connection with the incident after authorities boarded Tuesday morning following a call about a woman who had possibly overdosed and wanted to leave the vessel.

Pictures obtained by DailyMail.com appear to show Dr Scott Burke (right) spending the holiday season with his wife Ellen, 65, and two children Jessica and Connor on a similar boat in 2017 - also called the Jess Conn

The retired doctor appears to be the manager of JessConn Charters LLC  based in Florida - though it is unclear how much or if he was charging customers to travel on the vessel

Burk pleaded not guilty and was ordered held, pending the detention hearing in Plymouth District Court, the Boston Globe reported.

Investigators found more than 43 grams of cocaine, roughly 14 grams of ketamine, two handguns and various ammunition in the main floor bedroom the outlet reported.

There was also a loaded gun rested on the bookshelf and a plastic bag of cocaine on the nightstand.

Burke claimed he has licenses for the guns but authorities said it had been issued outside Florida and expired last year.

Scott Burke, 69, has been charged with possessing a firearm without a permit, having ammunition, as well as processing Class A and B drugs - he's pleaded not guilty

Relatives declined to comment when contacted by DailyMail.com, but the Nantucket Police Department confirmed Burke's arrest.

In a statement, they confirmed that the woman was taken to Nantucket Cottage Hospital after reports that she needed 'medical assistance' on Tuesday at 7.45am.

They added: 'As a result of this information, the boat was identified and located within the Nantucket Harbor Anchorage.

'Authorities responded to the boat and located the involved woman and identified the owner who was also onboard.

'The owner of the boat was arrested by Nantucket Police Department for one count of Possession of a Firearm without a license. This case remains under investigation at this time.'

Burke has also been charged with one count of trafficking a Class B drug, one count of possession to distribute a Class A drug, one count of possession of ammunition without a license and four counts of possession of a large-capacity feeding device.

Law enforcement sources told the Nantucket Current that sex workers were discovered aboard the boat during the raid.

Burke, who owns a $2.3million mansion in Englewood, Colorado, appears to have named the vessel after his children.

The Coast Guard and Nantucket Police launched a probe after a woman was taken from the vessel, called the Jess Conn, after a 'wellness check'

The retired doctor, who set up a medical insurance company where both his children work, appears to have previously owned several other crafts. Pictured: Scott Burke (right)

Law enforcement sources confirmed that other contraband was found alongside the guns, drugs and prostitutes, but did not go into further details

Authorities boarded the boat in the harbor of the ritzy Massachusetts island, with the 70-ft motor yacht being registered in the Cayman Islands

The retired doctor, who set up a medical insurance company where both his children work, appears to have previously owned several other crafts.

He is also the manager of JessConn Charters  based in Florida - though it is unclear how much or if he was charging customers to travel on the vessel.

The Coast Guard and Nantucket Police launched a probe after a woman was taken from Burke's vessel after a 'wellness check'.

The Jess Conn arrived in Nantucket Harbor on August 23 after a voyage from Newport, Rhode Island.

Law enforcement sources confirmed that other contraband was found alongside the guns, drugs and prostitutes, but did not go into further details.

It recently ran aground in Florida in May, but appears to have escaped without significant damage in the incident.

Coast Guard Station Brant Point's executive petty officer Jeff Wecal confirmed that his crew is assisting the Nantucket Police Department in its investigation.

The boat was designed by Jeff Leishman, and boasts four decks of over 24 meters each.

It has three large guest cabins, an owner's cabin, a laundry room, as well as a main saloon and formal dining room.

The yacht also has a hot tub on board, and can house up to eight guests as well as accommodation for two crew members.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee made a dramatic claim that if former President Donald Trump is kept off the ballot, or loses the 2024 election, due to his legal woes it will be the last U.S. election 'decided by ballots rather than bullets.'

Huckabee, a longtime ally of the former president, made the comment on his Trinity Broadcasting Network show Wednesday evening.

He asked his audience if they knew how those in power in 'third world dictatorships, banana republics and communist regimes' dealt with their political opponents.

'Well, that's simple,' he said. 'People in power use their police agencies to arrest their opponents for made-up crimes in an attempt to discredit them, bankrupt them, imprison them, exile them, or all of the above.'

Huckabee pushed that this is what's happening to Trump - who has been indicted four times since late March and faces a total of 91 charges.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee made a dramatic claim that if former President Donald Trump is kept off the ballot, or loses the 2024 election, it will be the last U.S. election 'decided by ballots rather than bullets'

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted four times since late March and faces a total of 91 charges - which Huckabee suggested were the work of Democratic President Joe Biden

Trump faces state charges in New York and Georgia for his role in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case and attempt to overturn the 2020 election, respectively.

He also faces federal charges related overturning the election and January 6 as well as mishandling classified documents after leaving office.

Huckabee blamed Democratic President Joe Biden for the mess.

'And if you're not paying attention, you may not realize that Joe Biden is using exactly those tactics to make sure that Donald Trump is not his opponent in 2024,' he said.

'Here's the problem - if these tactics end up working to keep Trump from winning or even running in 2024 it is going to be the last American election that will be decided by ballots rather than bullets,' the former governor said.

Huckabee's civil war talk got quickly picked up by Right Wing Watch, which monitors rhetoric on the political right.

'In a healthy democratic system, it would be shocking for a major political leader to make such a threat. But apocalyptic rhetoric and threats of violence and civil war have become increasingly common among right-wing leaders and far-right activists,' wrote Right Wing Watch's Peter Montgomery.

The political reality for Biden is that he might actually prefer to go up against Trump in the general election as opposed to other Republican hopefuls.

In a new CNN/SSRS poll, Biden trails Trump 46 to 47 percent, while former Amb. Nikki Haley, who is getting attention after her strong first GOP debate appearance, leads Biden 49 to 43 percent.
A teenager took her own life three months after being drugged and raped while on holiday in Greece, an inquest heard.

Julie Crowe, 18, from Dunshaughlin, County Meath in Ireland, died after she jumped off a bridge over the M3 motorway near Rathbeggan Lakes on November 4, 2019.

Dublin district coroner's court on Thursday heard the tragic circumstances of how Julie had developed a low mood and thoughts of self-harm after she was attacked on the holiday with friends in August 2019.

The inquest was also informed that gardai had received no further feedback about the progress of any criminal investigation in Greece, despite several requests after they provided a statement by Julie to their Greek counterparts via Interpol.

Julie's father, Gary Crowe, told the inquest he had decided to work from home on the morning of November 4, 2019, as his daughter had not slept.

Teenager Julie Crowe, 18, took her own life three months after being drugged and raped while on holiday in Greece, an inquest has heard

Julie Crowe (pictured), 18, from Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, Ireland died after she jumped off a bridge over the M3 motorway near Rathbeggan Lakes on November 4, 2019

Mr Crowe recalled she was groggy and appeared 'very subdued and very detached' when he woke her around 12.20pm.

He said she apologised for the expense of a trip to the US from which the family had recently returned.

Mr Crowe said he hugged his daughter to try and get her 'out of a daze'.

As Julie took a shower, Mr Crowe said he noticed a note on her bed which he thought was part of a diary.

When he went to check on her at around 2.15pm, Mr Crowe said he could not find his daughter anywhere in the house before ringing his wife with fears that Julie had run away.

He read the note on her bed, which contained a reference to Rathbeggan Lakes.

When he got to the flyover bridge, Mr Crowe said he saw traffic pulling over on the motorway before spotting his daughter lying on the ground.

Attempts to resuscitate her by her father and passers-by were unsuccessful.

A passing motorist, Jonathan Madden, told the inquest how he dialled 999 after noticing a girl standing on the outside of the railing of the flyover bridge.

Mr Madden said he exited the motorway at the next junction in order to get back to the bridge but that she had already jumped by the time he arrived. The inquest heard it was a very wet day with poor visibility.

Garda Jeffrey Moroney said CCTV footage of the bridge had confirmed the evidence provided by eyewitnesses and that the investigation on the case had been closed.

Julie's mother, Anna Crowe, gave evidence of formally identifying her daughter's body to gardai at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown (CHB).

Ms Crowe said she had been phoned by her husband at around 2.20pm to say that Julie was at the M3 bridge.

When she arrived, Ms Crowe said she found her daughter lying on the motorway, and she could not detect a pulse.

Ms Crowe said she and her husband waited in a patrol car, while paramedics attended to her before they went to the hospital.

The inquest heard the family were informed at 3.50pm by medical staff that Julie had suffered catastrophic injuries which she would not survive and she was pronounced dead nine minutes later.

A post-mortem examination confirmed Julie had suffered head injuries consistent with a fall from a height.

In January 2020, Ms Crowe spoke about her daughter's death on RTE's Liveline programme as a warning to others that there were predators on the party island of Zakynthos targeting young boys and girls.

She said Julie realised only after talking to friends that she had been raped during their stay on the Greek island of Zakynthos.

Omer Chaudhary, a psychiatrist who examined Julie in the emergency department of CHB on October 21, 2019, said he had diagnosed her as suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and a moderate depressive episode.

Dr Chaudhary said Julie had also come out to her friends as gay in June 2019 and to her family after she returned from her holiday in Greece.

He recalled that the teenager complained of not being able to cope and said she suffered increasing nightmares.

However, Dr Chaudhary said she had not shown any active intent or plan to kill herself.

The psychiatrist said she was positive about her family and her studies at Technological University Dublin.

He said Julie also recognised her symptoms and triggers and that she needed professional help but believed she had a bright future.

The inquest heard that Julie declined to be admitted to the hospital on a voluntary basis and she did not meet the criteria to be detained involuntarily as she was only considered a low-to-moderate risk of self-harm.

Anna (second from left) and Gary Crowe, parents of the late Julie Crowe pictured this afternoon leaving the Dublin District Coroner's Court after giving evidence at the inquest

Dr Chaudhary said the teenager ultimately decided to attend her GP to discuss taking anti-depressant medication and to be referred to her local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service unit.

Julie and her mother attended her family doctor the next day who warned that she would need to be closely monitored while on medication.

She also revealed that her daughter feared she might be pregnant as a result of the rape but tests showed that was not the case.

Detective Garda Michelle O'Brien told the inquest that she had spent two 'long and difficult' days taking a very detailed statement from the teenager about what happened in Greece.

Det Garda O'Brien said she had also kept the girl's towel for evidence.

In reply to questions from the coroner, Aisling Gannon, she said she had received no updates about the status of the investigation by Greek police, despite sending several requests.

Det Garda O'Brien said she could not engage directly with her Greek colleagues.

She also stated she could not interview Julie's friends who might also be able to provide evidence unless she received a direction from the Greek authorities.

At the end of the evidence, the Crowe family called for greater clarity about the ability of gardai to assist and to check on the progress of police investigations abroad.

They also recommended that organisations who deal with victims of sexual assault should engage with parents advocating for their children regardless of their age.

Ms Crowe explained that the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre had been reluctant to speak to her about trying to get a more urgent appointment for her daughter because Julie was over 18 years and needed to make contact with them herself.

The coroner said she would raise the family's concerns with the relevant authorities and keep them informed of any response.

Ms Gannon returned a verdict of death by suicide based on the evidence.

Offering her condolences to the Crowe family, the coroner said it was 'a very, very tragic case in very sad circumstances'.

For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 116 123, visit a local Samaritans branch.
Alex Chalk, the matinee idol whose current role is Lord Chancellor, shimmered into the chamber to make a statement about the Wandsworth prison escape. A jailbreak is awkward for any prisons minister. After the frivolity of recent political 'scandals', this felt refreshingly substantial.

When the Soviet spy George Blake hopped over the wall of Wormwood Scrubs in 1966, the home secretary Roy Jenkins had to tell the Commons. The debate ended in rancour (a noun Woy enjoyed saying). Sourest contributor, you may not be amazed to hear, was a certain Edward Heath, the Sir Keir Starmer of his day.

This time the Commons was ill-attended. It was Thursday and MPs had themselves bolted, either to lunch or to their breeze-wafted constituencies. Ladies and gentlemen, there may be an MP at large in your locality. There is no cause for alarm but if you see one, hold tight to your wallet.

The deputy speaker, Dame Eleanor Laing, dropped her head to young Chalk to indicate his statement should begin. The minister rose and rose and continued to rise. Tall chap. To see him stand is like watching someone unpack an anglepoise lamp, or a sunflower resume the upright position after tying its shoelaces. Finally he was fully extended and gazed down at the house from such a height, it was a surprise he did not need an oxygen mask.

Following the escape of 'a prisoner by the name of Daniel Abed Khalife', he explained, Wandsworth prison 'was put into a state of lockdown'. A prison in lockdown. How very conventional. Penal reformers in Hampstead will be hopping.

Alex Chalk (pictured), the matinee idol whose current role is Lord Chancellor, shimmered into the chamber to make a statement about the Wandsworth prison escape

We had no raging at the bunglers (Mr Barraclough from TV's Porridge?) who failed to stop Daniel Khalife's (pictured) kitchen-van escape

Mr Chalk, in slender tie and elegant suit, was flawlessly grave. There was no acidity. We had no raging at the bunglers (Mr Barraclough from TV's Porridge?) who failed to stop Khalife's kitchen-van escape. Some ministers would have named certain officials. Chalk is classier than that. He spoke softly with spotless enunciation. He was courteous, even while plainly seething. 'Daniel Khalife will be found,' he said with ice. 'He will be made to face justice.'

Shabana Mahmood, the new shadow justice spokesman, shouted about 'yet another example of Conservative mismanagement'. She repeated the word 'crisis' three times and yelled at Mr Chalk: 'When will he get a grip?' Odd to learn she is a barrister. Mr Chalk floated above her megaphoned clunkiness. During Ms Mahmood's tirade her neighbour on the Labour front bench, Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) ate a yawn and made it last a long time. Well brought-up boy. Gives every mouthful numerous chews.

Amateur sleuths sounded off with theories. Mark Fletcher (Con, Bolsover) suggested Khalife may have had an accomplice. Mr Chalk could have said: 'Doh, we never thought of that!'. Instead, with the most perfect neutrality, he said: 'I hope he will not take it as a discourtesy when I say that nothing has occurred to him about lines of inquiry that has not occurred to me and my colleagues.' Dame Diana Johnson (Lab, Hull North): 'Was he surprised Khalife was allowed to work in the kitchens?' Mr Chalk: 'That is precisely a question that has occurred to me and that I want answered by the end of the week.'

Sarah Olney (Lib Dem) noted that Khalife had connections in her Richmond-on-Thames area and wondered  strike up the Jaws music - if he might return there. Mr Chalk told her to stop scaremongering her constituents but he did so, again, with such handsome manners that Mrs Olney smiled. His purring civility disarmed the house. You don't heckle Cary Grant.

One troubling testimony came from Fleur Anderson (Lab, Putney). When she arrived to visit HMP Wandsworth in June, six staff were being taken off to hospital after being assaulted.

Then that daft old horse Barry Sheerman (Lab, Huddersfield) went off on one about the George Blake case, saying he supposed Mr Chalk was 'very young indeed' when Blake escaped. Not quite, Barry. He was not born until a decade later. Lord Chancellors are looking younger these days.
Thousands of airline passengers were hit by more flight cancellations last night due to an air traffic control (ATC) issue at Gatwick.

Gatwick Airport said it was subjected to a restriction in the number of planes that could take off and land because of 'short notice sickness' in its ATC tower, which is managed by National Air Traffic Services (Nats).

EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren warned that passengers were 'being let down once again' and claimed Nats' 'staff shortages' had caused disruption at Gatwick on 29 days since May.

A Nats technical glitch last week caused widespread disruption at airports across the UK, leaving thousands of holidaymakers stranded overseas for several days.

Analysis of flight data websites suggests around 58 flights to or from Gatwick - the UK's second busiest airport - were cancelled on Wednesday night, meaning around 9,000 passengers were affected.

Gatwick Airport said it was subjected to a restriction in the number of planes that could take off and land because of 'short notice sickness' in its air traffic control tower (file photo), which is managed by National Air Traffic Services (Nats).

EasyJet, which operates the most flights at the West Sussex airport, was the worst affected, with 42 cancellations.

READ MORE: Air traffic control system failure that disrupted more than 300,000 travellers was 'one in 15million' event, expert claims A 'one in 15 million' computer failure in Britain's air traffic control system was to blame for the Bank Holiday meltdown in UK flight operations. Pictured: Passengers waiting at Stansted Airport on August 29 after flights were delayed Advertisement

The first flight affected by the disruption appeared to be the airline's arrival from the Greek island of Zakynthos, which was diverted to Luton.

EasyJet said in a statement: 'Nats air traffic control staffing shortages at Gatwick yesterday led to a significantly reduced flow rate being imposed on airlines, meaning some flights were delayed and some were unable to operate.

'While this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers and did all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption, notifying those on cancelled flights of options to rebook or receive a refund and provided hotel accommodation and meals where required.'

Among the other airlines to cancel flights from Gatwick on Wednesday night were Lufthansa, Norwegian, Iberia Express and Vueling.

Affected passengers are not entitled to compensation as the disruption was outside of the airlines' control.

A Gatwick Airport spokeswoman said: 'Due to short-notice sickness in the air traffic control tower, temporary air traffic control restrictions were put in place yesterday (Wednesday), resulting in some delays and cancellations by airlines.

'London Gatwick would like to apologise to any passengers who have been impacted by these restrictions. Please contact your airline for more information.'

Passengers wait at Gatwick Airport, south of London, on August 29 after UK flights were delayed over a technical issue

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced on Wednesday that an independent review would be carried out into last week's ATC failure.

Mr Lundgren said: 'Customers are being let down once again. Since May, we have seen 29 days of traffic restrictions at Gatwick due to Nats' staff shortages.

'An independent and wide-ranging review of Nats has never been more urgent.'

A NATS spokesperson said: 'NATS took over the provision of ATC services at Gatwick last October from the previous service provider. This included agreeing a staffing plan with Gatwick that we are working in line with and which includes adding further controllers.

'We are training new controllers to safely oversee the 900 aircraft per day that use Gatwick, the world's busiest and most complex single runway airport. Even a qualified controller will take up to a year to complete the specific training required. In the meantime, we are working closely with the airport and airlines to deliver the best possible level of safe and efficient service.

'Airports are free to choose who provides their tower air traffic services. Gatwick Airport Ltd selected NATS and this service is provided by our commercial business unit (NATS Services) not the economically regulated business (NATS En Route).

'As a result of our transition, resilience has significantly improved this summer compared to summer 2022, before we took on the contract. This improvement in resilience is due to the fact that we have already increased the Gatwick tower staffing (+17%) with air traffic controllers who were licensed to work in the Gatwick tower.

'Similar to pilots who only fly certain aircraft types, airport tower controllers have to be qualified for the specific airport they work in. For clarity, ATCOs train in our college for 6 months to get their initial qualification and then a further year at the relevant airport to gain the required validation.

'We are continuing to train more controllers to be able to further increase the resilience at Gatwick Airport tower. As we agreed with Gatwick airport when we took on the service provision last October it will take some time to increase the levels of staffing resilience in the tower to the target levels. We are working extremely closely with Gatwick airport to deliver this.

'Until it is complete, issues such as short notice sickness can occasionally lead to periods of air traffic flow restrictions at the airport to allow the ATCOs to safely manage flights. In most instances this does not lead to flight cancellations, such as those that unfortunately occurred at London Gatwick yesterday. We expect further resilience to be in place ahead of next summer.'

Passengers departing from UK airports and ports also saw longer wait times on Wednesday due to enhanced security checks as the authorities search for an escaped prisoner.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, a former soldier accused of terrorism, went missing in his cook's uniform from HMP Wandsworth, south-west London on Wednesday.
A serving Met Police officer has appeared in court charged with six rapes including one where he allegedly tied a woman's hands behind her back and raped her as he held a knife to her throat.

PC Clifford Mitchell is also charged with one count of making threats to kill and one count of breaching a non-molestation order.

The 23-year-old, who was attached to the West Area Basic Command Unit before being suspended, appeared in custody at Westminster Magistrates' Court but did not enter a plea.

Prosecutor David Burns said Mitchell had tied the woman's hands behind her back on September 5 and assaulted her with the knife to her throat.

District judge Briony Clarke sent the case to Croydon Crown Court on October 5.

PC Cliff Mitchell, 23, is charged with six rapes and one count of making threats to kill

The officer - who is attached to the West Area Basic Command Unit - was charged today

Urgent enquiries were carried out and it was established that the suspect was a serving Met officer.

He was not on-duty at the time of the incident or his arrest.

PC Mitchell, currently part way through his police constable training degree, has been suspended from duty and a referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: 'These are horrific allegations and the victim is being supported by specially trained officers.

'Officers from the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards are investigating. They are highly experienced detectives specialising in investigating domestic abuse and sexual offences.

'This is an active investigation and enquiries continue at pace.

PC Mitchell has been suspended from duty and a referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct

'The arrest of a serving police officer on suspicion of such serious offences is extremely concerning and I recognise will cause considerable concern among London's communities.

'I share those concerns and have made an immediate referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.'
Africa plays a vital role in the global oil market, with its producing nations contributing around 8 per cent of total global supply. However, the second quarter of 2023 has seen numerous production challenges.

From unplanned outages to maintenance activities, a plethora of events and circumstances contributed to a slight decrease in Africa's oil and condensate production during this period.

The African Energy Chamber (AEC) explores the production decline in our newly released report, The State of African Energy: 2Q 2023 Outlook." It notes that between January and May of this year, Africa lost approximately 180,000 barrels per day (bdp) of production due to unplanned outages, while planned maintenance activities shaved off an additional 83,000 bpd.

NIGERIA'S ONGOING STRUGGLE

At the heart of Africa's oil production decline lies Nigeria, a heavyweight in the continent's oil sector. The nation faced a series of unplanned outages during the first five months of this year, losing around 165,000 bpd.

One of the main causes of Nigerias production decline was force majeures implemented because of such issues as pipeline blasts, rampant crude theft, illegal connections on existing pipelines, fire incidents, and industrial disputes.

In addition, some terminals have not been operating at full capacity, leading to additional outages and declines in production. To make matters even worse, maintenance activities on fields flowing the Forcados, Usan, and Abo crude streams had an additional impact on Nigerias output in 2023.

This is not the first time Nigerias oil production has been impacted by security issues. It will be critical, going forward, for energy industry stakeholders and government leaders to cooperate to find sustainable solutions that protect Nigerias infrastructure and prevent more product outages.

BALANCING PRODUCTION WITH SUSTAINABILITY

Maintenance activities are necessary for sustaining production levels and ensuring the longevity of oil infrastructure. However, in Africa, maintenance efforts too often lead to declines in production.

Much like Nigeria, Angola, another significant contributor to the continent's oil supply, experienced a modest production outage due to maintenance activities at the Dalia and Kizomba development hubs, leading to a 30,000-bpd production loss.

No further maintenance activities have been announced for the second half of 2023, therefore, apart from regulatory cuts, no outages are expected.

That being said, African states must attempt to strike the right balance between production and essential maintenance activities to ensure the resilience of their oil and condensates production.

OPEC TARGETS AND VOLUNTARY CUTS

Opec production targets and voluntary cuts have further complicated Africa's oil production endeavors. Algeria stands as the only African Opec member nation with a production capacity above the Opec target in 2023.

Algeria's compliance with the cuts, which totaled 64,000 bpd in the first half of 2023, showcases the nation's commitment to supporting the stability of global oil markets.

These cuts, though intended to stabilise prices, have presented challenges for countries like Nigeria and Libya, where internal factors like civil struggles have already disrupted oil production.

The heavy production outages in Nigeria, for instance, have resulted in the countrys output being dragged down below the Opec targets.

Angola, Congo, and Gabon are also expected to see 100 per cent compliance with Opec targets during 2024 as their oil and condensate production is already less than Opec targets.

LIBYA'S SHIFTING LANDSCAPE

This isn't to say that there haven't been signs of promise and growth this quarter. After a year of volatile production in Libya last year, marked by multiple production outages due to civil unrest, the country's oil production seems to be stabilising.

Earlier this month, Libyas National Oil Corporation announced that international oil companies Eni (Italy) and BP (United Kingdom) had notified it about lifting force majeure and resuming activities in several onshore and offshore blocks.

Libya also is preparing to launch an oil and gas tender  its first in 17 years  in 2024. And the country is now claiming it can raise oil production from about 1.2 million bpd (to as much as 3 million bpd in the next several years.

NAVIGATING UNCERTAINTY

Assuming no more unplanned outages take place this year, AEC estimates that average output for this period will be approximately 6.66 bpd, and Africas annual output still will exceed last years flows by about 50,000 bpd.

NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber , said: The challenges faced by Africa's oil sector during the second quarter of 2023 must be the impetus for comprehensive measures to minimise further outages. Some situations are beyond anyone's control, but African nations must focus on addressing the vulnerabilities in their oil infrastructure and enhancing security measures to curb issues like crude theft and illegal pipeline connections.

Investments in new technology and innovation, made possible through collaborations with international oil companies, can help reduce unplanned outages as well and support more efficient maintenance activities. By adopting predictive maintenance techniques, countries can proactively address outage issues before they lead to output disruptions. -TradeArabia News Service
This is the dramatic moment in a courtroom when a distraught mother physically attacked the paedophile who raped and murdered her five-year-old daughter.

The killer, Saidolim Gayibnazarov, 48, was sentenced in Kazakhstan to chemical castration and life in a harsh penal colony.

He lured Erkezhan Nurmakhan - daughter of a neighbour - to his house by offering her money for an ice cream.

He then raped her before suffocating her with a plastic bag, then plunged a knife into her eight times.

The 'particularly cruel' Gayibnazarov hid her body in his attic, and then calmly joined her parents and other neighbours in looking for the missing child, and setting a false trail by claiming she had walked towards a local canal.

Erkezhan Nurmakhan was lured by the paedophile to his home when he offered her money for an ice cream

Killer Saidolim Gayibnazarov, 48, was sentenced in Kazakhstan to chemical castration and life in a harsh penal colony

As the paedophile killer was led from the court cage, the child's screaming mother Indira Erimbetova threw punches at him

Outraged villagers sought to lynch the 'beast' before police dragged him away, say local reports

Paedophile Saidolim Gayibnazarov, 48, who raped and killed the helpless little girl, has been sentenced to chemical castration and a life jail sentence in Kazakhstan

Her father Nurzhan Erejepov eventually spotted his daughter's T-shirt in Gayibnazarov's home and her naked body was found eight hours after the search began.

Outraged villagers sought to lynch the 'beast' before police dragged him away, say local reports.

Today's court hearing came two months after the sex attack and murder in Jibek Joly - or Silk Way - village, Turkestan region.

Gayibnazarov was sentenced by judge Dauren Madaliev to castration - routine for all male child sex offenders in Kazakhstan, and carried out by regular chemical injections - and a life term in a grim high security penal colony.

As the paedophile killer was led from the court cage, the child's screaming mother Indira Erimbetova threw punches at him.

Afterwards she was so overcome that she required medical attention.

Pallbearers and mourners at the funeral of five-year-old Erkezhan Nurmakhan

.Indira Erimbetova (middle), mother of Erkezhan Nurmakhan, pictured at the funeral of her daughter

Erkezhan's parents also have two sons. Her father said they will never forgive their daughter's killer

Erejepov, the devastated father of Erkezhan Nurmakhan. He had known his daughter's attacker since he was a child, and trusted him, he said

She said: 'He did not ask us for forgiveness.

'He did not admit he was guilty of raping my daughter, and referred to being drunk at the time.

'But I don't think he was drunk.

'He told me everything in detail, how he took my daughter to his house and how he killed her.

'Even when we were looking for my daughter, he 'helped' us with the search, saying that Erkezhan had gone towards the canal.

'Then he took all the people who were looking for my daughter to the canal and misled everyone.'

Today's court hearing came two months after the sex attack and murder in Jibek Joly - or Silk Way - village, Turkestan region

The girl's father said: 'May he be as tormented as my daughter when he did this.

'His guilt was fully proved and the convict's semen was found on my daughter's leggings.'

He had known his daughter's attacker since he was a child, and trusted him, he said.

'I had no idea he would commit such a crime,' he said.

'We will never forgive him.'

The couple have two sons.

Gayibnazarov was sentenced by judge Dauren Madaliev to castration - routine for all male child sex offenders in Kazakhstan, and carried out by regular chemical injections - and a life term in a grim high security penal colony

The killer had a previous conviction for using an axe to kill a man.

Kazakhstan has operated a system of forced castration for paedophiles for several years.

Child sex abusers have been shown on TV telling of their anguish after undergoing forced castration.

One said on TV: 'I know it's harmful to my body.

'I know it will affect my health in future.'

Another said: 'Now I am sorry I committed such a crime.'
Top Republican James Comer is accusing Hunter Biden prosecutor David Weiss of attempting to sneak through another 'sweetheart deal' for the president's son - who is facing an imminent indictment for his gun crimes.

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors on Weiss' team said in a filing that they plan to indict Hunter Biden on illegal gun charges - that have a maximum of 10 years in prison - by the end of September.

'They already tried to sneak something through once. We need to make sure that they don't do it again,' House Oversight Chairman Comer told WABC 770 AM's 'Cats & Cosby Show.'

'This is the least of all the crimes that Hunter Biden has committed,' he continued.

Comer referred to the original 'sweetheart deal' between Hunter and the DOJ from July that would have allowed him to walk away from gun and tax crimes with just a slap on the wrist and no prison time. Republicans had slammed as a 'sweetheart deal' that Biden's DOJ put together to protect him.

However, the deal blew up spectacularly after a hidden clause giving Hunter blanket immunity for a wide range of other potential charges, including illegal foreign lobbying, was uncovered by the judge.

'This is the least of all the crimes that Hunter Biden has committed,' said Chairman Comer

The discarded deal left Hunter to potentially face new and more serious charges, which could set him on the path for a jury trial.

In addition, Weiss was since elevated to special counsel status by Attorney General Merrick Garland, which gives him the broad authority to bring charges against the president's son in any district.

'Obviously, he violated the law and Joe Biden wants to create more gun laws,' Comer continued in the interview.

'I'm not surprised. But David Weiss has a long way to go.'

After the expected indictment this month, Hunter's legal team could try and strike another plea deal with the government to get him out of enduring a jury trial and jail time.

The Wednesday filing by Weiss' team revealed their timeline for Hunter's next indictment.

'The Speedy Trial Act requires that the Government obtain the return of an indictment by a grand jury by Friday, September 29, 2023, at the earliest,' the filing read.

'The Government intends to seek the return of an indictment in this case before that date.'

Hunter had lied on a 2018 application to buy a gun.

A photo of the form shows he answered 'no' when asked if he was an 'unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.'

Hunter wrote about his extensive drug use during that period of his life in his 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things.

Comer previously has said that at the end of his committee's investigation, Hunter can expect to face between six and 10 criminal referrals.

His committee is also investigating Joe Biden's role in the larger Biden family 'influence peddling' scheme.

A dire new poll for Joe Biden published Thursday says that well over the majority of Americans believe he was involved in his son Hunter's foreign business dealings while serving as vice president.

According to a new CNN poll released Thursday, 61 percent of Americans believe that then-VP Biden 'had some involvement' in Hunter's business dealings and 42 percent responded that Joe acted 'illegally.'

A picture from Hunter Biden's laptop showed the now 53-year-old first son posing nude with the firearm in question

Hunter allegedly lied on a firearm report (above) required for his gun transaction. A photo of the form shows he answered 'no' when asked if he was an 'unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance'

The White House has rejected every suggestion Joe was involved in his son Hunter's business deals over the years.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said that opening an impeachment inquiry into Joe's connections to Hunter's foreign dealings is on the table.

He said if the Biden administration continue to 'withhold' documents, Republicans will 'move forward with impeachment inquiry when we come back into session.'

The House is set to return to D.C. next week.
Workers at the company had unionized only two weeks earlier

Grindr lost 45 per cent of staff after the LGBTQ dating app forced workers that refused the return-to-office policy to resign.

The company based in West Hollywood enforced a strict policy that required employees to show up to work in-person at least two days a week.

The return-to-office mandate happened two weeks after staff at the dating app unionized with representation from the Communications Workers of America.

According to staffers - Grindr's CEO George Arison never announced a policy change and said they were keeping their options open with no plans for change in the next six months.

Despite what the CEO said Grindr presented workers with an ultimatum that forced employees to either work in one of the office locations which could require re-locating or resign from their jobs at the company. Around 80 out of 178 employees chose to resign.

Grindr employees unionized with the Communications Workers of America labor union

George Arison was named as CEO of the queer dating app Grindr in September 2022

Employees spoke out about being given an ultimatum by Grindr to relocate or resign and defended their right to organize as a union

The union estimates that 70 per cent of the engineering team, 80 per cent of the product department and 85 per cent of the product design team were forced to resign after the initial stage of the return-to-office policy.

Grindr offered six months of severance pay to employees that were not able to relocate who didn't agree to the in-office policy.

The CWA claims in a statement that the severance package was an effort to silence employees from speaking out about their working conditions.

The West Hollywood-based company offered a relocation stipend for the remaining employees.

Company spokesperson Sarah Bauer claims that the new in-office policy wasn't related to the employees' decision to unionize and said: 'We respect and support our team members' rights to make their own decision about union representation.'

Bauer also said that Grindr began the transition toward in-person work in April because the company started to focus on their Chicago hub where they were hiring engineers.

In a screenshot viewed by WIRED - the Grindr interim head of HR posted a Slack message about remote work saying that 'nothing is changing yet for our current team' and that in-person hubs would only be relevant for hiring new employees.

The Grindr company headquarters are in West Hollywood, California

Grindr is a dating app for the LGBTQ community that was launched in Los Angeles in 2009

Union members on X (formerly known as twitter) speculated that Grindr's return-to-office policy could be a response to the workers' unionization

Erick Cortez is a knowledge specialist on Grindr's customer experience team and a member of the organizing group. He said: 'These decisions have left Grindr dangerously understaffed and raises questions about the safety, security and stability of the app for users.'

Cortez said: 'It is clear Grindr wants workers to be silenced and deterred from exercising our right to organize, regardless of the expense.'

A statement on the Grindr United website says: 'We are members of the LGBTQIA+ community and strong allies who work in service of centering the queer experience. We're dedicated to the success of this organization and achieving it together by prioritizing the humanity and well-being of our users and ourselves as workers. As members and allies of communities that are systemically oppressed, we know that strength lies in working together, not alone.'

Grindr is the latest in a series of companies that have enforced return-to-office policies.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told staff that refused to work in the office at least three days a week 'it's probably not going to work out for you.'

Grindr is the most recent in a series of companies that have enforced return-to-office policies including amazon and zoom

Jassy told employees who choose to ignore his directive should consider leaving the company and was frustrated at workers for not taking the return-to-office policy seriously.

In an ironic turn of events even Zoom told their staff members to get back into the office.

Zoom was the go-to platform for working from home during the coronavirus pandemic but now the video calling company has told their employees near the London office that they have to work in the office at least twice a week.

Bankers at Lloyds and HSBC experienced a work-from-home crackdown and Citi Bank workers faced having their bonuses docked if they didn't make it into the office at least three days a week.
Police hunting escaped terror suspect Daniel Khalife accidentally detained a 'look-a-like' at an Oxfordshire train station, with the arrest caught on camera by a member of the public.

Officers swooped on the man at Banbury station earlier today as they continued to hunt for terror suspect Khalife, who escaped HMP Wandsworth strapped underneath a delivery van early on Wednesday morning.

It is understood the man police thought could have been the fugitive former soldier was arrested then de-arrested when officers established it was not in fact him.

A man claiming to be the person stopped by police during the incident has posted on X to say that a woman mistook him for Khalife before raising the alarm.

He went on to say that after being questioned for 20 minutes and giving his finger prints he was able to prove that he wasn't the escapee.

Officers swooped on a man at Banbury station earlier today as they continued to hunt for terror suspect Khalife

Daniel Khalife (pictured), a former soldier in the 22 Signal Regiment, was on remand at HMP Wandsworth ahead of his six-week terror trial

Khalife, 21, was on remand at HMP Wandsworth (pictured) awaiting trial in relation to terrorism and Official Secrets Act offences

As police dealt with possible sighting, train passenger Oliver, in his 20s, was left waiting outside the station while the incident took place.

When the train then pulled into the station, he was able to snap a clear picture of a man who many have said shares a striking similarity to 21-year-old Khalife.

Oliver said: 'We went through Banbury on the way to Basingstoke.

'Just before we got there, they said on the tannoy that we couldn't go to Banbury and they're delaying train as they think there's an escaped terrorist at station.

'It was a 15-minute wait - when we pulled into the station he was right outside my window - it looked like him a lot.

'When we were waiting at Banbury I was a bit worried at first, I was thinking a lot of things - is he on the track, is he trying to get on the train, what's going to happen.

'It was a bit daunting at first but I'm glad they told us correct info because sometimes they withhold it.'

There have so far been no confirmed sightings of Khalife, with the ex-Royal Signals soldier said to be 'resourceful' as he continues to allude authorities.

Thames Valley Police said: 'Officers dealt with a possible sighting of a wanted male at Banbury Train Station this afternoon.

Dressed as a chef, the soldier-turned-alleged-spy served fellow inmates breakfast and then evaded guards and CCTV while the vehicle was driven for 250 yards along an internal road

The Met Police admitted that Khalife's 'previous military experience' may make him harder to catch, as he is likely 'more aware of efforts to apprehend him'

'It was not the person we were looking for and the incident has been stood down. Thank you for your support at the time.'

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement reported by the Guardian: 'We are aware of a man being stopped by police in the Banbury area earlier today.

'We have liaised with colleagues in Thames Valley and confirmed the man in question is not Daniel Khalife.'

Commander Dominic Murphy, who is leading the investigation, asked for anyone with information about Khalife that may help us to get in touch urgently.

He said: 'Since yesterday, over 150 officers and staff have been working around the clock on apprehending Khalife.

'We have issued a nationwide alert that has resulted in increased security at our ports and borders, however currently there have not been any confirmed sightings.

'I recognise and am fully aware of the impact these measures are having on the public. We are working to ensure as minimal disruption as possible.

'It is crucial for the public to help us with this search and to call us immediately if they have any information on the whereabouts of Khalife.'

The fugitive, described as being of slim build, with short brown hair and 6ft 2ins tall, and was said to be wearing a white T-shirt, distinctive red and white chequered trousers and brown steel-toe boots, though the Met Police said that the public should not focus on his clothing.

Murphy said at a briefing: 'He clearly could very quickly change those clothes, so I wouldn't want to focus too much on that.'

He described him as a 'very resourceful individual', adding: 'Our experience of him shows that, so nothing is off the table with him at the moment.

'This was a really busy area of London and we've had no confirmed sightings in any of that information, which is a little unusual, and perhaps testament to Daniel Khalife's ingenuity in his escape and some of his movements after his escape.

'It's important that we remember that we have some of the best military in the world here in the UK and he was trained.

'He was a trained soldier - so ultimately he has skills that perhaps some sections of the public don't have.'
A network source says the accusations regarding Fallon's behavior are historic and 'everyone has moved on since then'

NBC bosses once held concerns 'something bad will happen' after a string of incidents around alcohol

He's one of TV's favorite talk show hosts known for popular celebrity segments and making audiences laugh.

But behind the scenes, NBC bosses at The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon once held concerns about the presenter's 'out-of-control' drinking.

Sources close to the show were worried 'something bad will happen' after a series of incidents - including one where he nearly severed his finger in horrific accident.

Now, he's facing serious accusations from colleagues who claim his 'erratic' behavior is creating a toxic work environment - though a source close to show says these are historic and 'everyone has moved on'.

Some of the most significant issues raised in a searing piece by Rolling Stone are alleged to have taken place between 2015 and 2020 - about the same time Fallon made headlines for his partying habits.

'It was like, if Jimmy is in a bad mood, everyones day is f**ked,' one former employee says

Claims emerged from 16 current and former employees about a series of issues at The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon

They claim the star's 'hissy-fits' forced them to sob in 'crying rooms', made their hair fall out and triggered suicidal thoughts

Concerns allege the star's 'erratic' behavior and 'outbursts' have created an ugly environment behind the scenes

It's claimed Fallon's 'outbursts' and inconsistent mood swings trickle down to other bosses, including varying showrunners at the helm over nine years

An NBC spokesperson said the network is 'incredibly proud' of the show, but acknowledged 'we have had employees raise issues'

In October of 2015, the NY Post published a story quoting sources who alleged NBC was worried his drinking had become 'excessive' after he fell and dropped a bottle of Jagermeister while receiving the Harvard Lampoons Elmer Award for Excellence in Humor.

'There [were] pools of blood everywhere,' he said when telling his studio audience about the incident once recovered, donning Sesame Street Band-Aids.

At the time, the publication claimed sources were 'worried that Fallon's drinking' had become 'excessive'.

It was the comedian's third injury in a matter of months after he nearly severed his finger just a few months earlier in June.

Fallon spent 10 days in the ICU after his wedding ring caught on the countertop when he tripped over a rug. He required a six-hour surgery to fix his hand.

'Tripped and caught my fall (good thing)!' he tweeted that day. 'Ring caught on side of table almost ripped my finger off (bad thing).'

Then two months later, he chipped his front tooth when trying to open a jar of scar-tissue-repair gel for his finger.

Fallon later refuted there were any issues with his social life, telling the New York Times in 2017, saying: 'I could never do a day-to-day job if I was drinking every night. Thats just kicking you when youre down.'

But two employees told Rolling Stone they saw him under the influence at work during this time.

Another two workers believed they smelled alcohol on his breath when he entered an elevator with them during the day on separate occasions in 2019 and 2020.

Eight other employees told the publication his energy and attitude would be dependent on if he was hungover.

It was also claimed Fallon's inconsistent behavior, which has included 'outbursts' toward workers, is the starting point for a 'pretty glum atmosphere'.

'It was like, if Jimmy is in a bad mood, everyones day is f**ked,' one former employee says.

'People wouldnt joke around in the office, and they wouldnt stand around and talk to each other. It was very much like, focus on whatever it is that you have to do because Jimmys in a bad mood, and if he sees that, he might fly off.'

Fallon seen in London on September 6 just days before the allegations surfaced

A Rolling Stone investigation by Krystie Lee Yandoli revealed the claims against Fallon and The Tonight Show

The talk show host is known for his hilarious anecdotes on screen but behind the scenes, concerns have been raised over Fallon's 'erratic' behavior at work

A source close to the Tonight Show said while there may have been issues in the past, the allegations are historic and changes have been made.

told DailyMail.com: The things being reported in this article happened years ago and just arent reflective of the atmosphere today.

'Nobody is denying that things happened in the past, but any previous issues have been dealt with and everyone has moved on since then.

A lot of these are old anecdotes that have already been reported and its unclear to everyone why theyre being brought up again years later.

'So many current staff members have positive things to say about the show but they arent being given a chance.

'This isnt who Jimmy is and this isnt in any way what the show is like today.

While The Tonight Show, which is produced by Universal Television, Broadway Video and Electric Hot Dog - Fallon's production company, is currently on hold due to the writers' strike, it was renewed by NBC until 2026.

In a statement, an NBC spokesperson said The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon is no different to anywhere else.

'We are incredibly proud of The Tonight Show, and providing a respectful working environment is a top priority,' the spokesperson said.

'As in any workplace, we have had employees raise issues; those have been investigated and action has been taken where appropriate.

'As is always the case, we encourage employees who feel they have experienced or observed behavior inconsistent with our policies to report their concerns so that we may address them accordingly.'
Former President Donald Trump signaled his intention to move a Georgia criminal case accusing him of seeking to reverse his 2020 presidential defeat out of county court to federal court, in a legal filing on Thursday.

Several of his co-defendants have made similar moves.

And it could give him certain advantages, such as allowing him and his lawyers additional arguments to have the case dropped and opening up a broader pool of potential jurors, rather than just taking them from predominantly liberal Atlanta.

'President Trump hereby notifies the court that he may seek removal of his prosecution to federal court,' lawyer Steven Sadow said in the court filing.

'To be timely, his notice of removal must be filed within 30 days of his arraignment.'

Donald Trump signaled his intention to move a Georgia criminal case accusing him of seeking to reverse his 2020 presidential defeat out of county court to federal court, in a filing Thursday

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee said Wednesday the first trials could start next month. He is allowing in TV cameras for the trial

Trump is currently the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination, despite battling legal troubles on four fronts.

In Georgia he was indicted with 18 others last month as part of a vast racketeering and conspiracy case.

They are accused of trying to pressure Georgia officials of overturning the 2020 result. And they have all denied any wrongdoing.

Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has already applied for a change of venue to federal court, where he is likely to argue he is immune from prosecution as he was a federal worker at the time of the alleged crime.

A judge is expected to rule on his petition and others in the coming weeks.

Trump could also argue that he was acting in his role as president and therefore cannot be prosecuted.

Prosecutors want to bring the huge case to trial as quickly as possible. On Wednesday Judge Scott McAfee asked them to set out exactly how long they will need in court.

'Firstly, we will contend that a trial of these 19 co-defendants will take four months and that does not include jury selection,' said Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade.

'And it's also predicated upon whether or not of course, the defendants elected to testify or not, but four months is our time estimate.

'In terms of the number of witnesses there are in excess of 150 witnesses that the state intends to call.'

'President Trump hereby notifies the court that he may seek removal of his prosecution to federal court,' lawyer Steven Sadow said in the brief court filing

Fulton County Sheriff officers in front of the Fulton County Courthouse on September 06

McAfee, who was broadcasting the hearing on his own YouTube channel, countered that it may well take twice as long.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis last month used the state's anti-racketeering law to obtain a vast 41-count indictment and has made clear that she wants to try all 19 defendants together. But the maneuvering and delays have already begun amid bewildering legal challenges.

Their target of October 23 seems a stretch already.

On Wednesday, it was the turn of attorneys for pro-Trump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell to make their arguments to have their cases tried rapidly, but separately.
The lawsuit accused Walgreens of being 'willfully blind' to fraud at Theranos and entering into a partnership with the blood-test technology startup in 2023

News of the settlement comes days after the chain abruptly fired its CEO after less than three years, and seven years after the class action was filed in 2016

The proposed settlement still needs court approval, but was aired in a memorandum left with a federal judge on Wednesday

Walgreens' holding company Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. has agreed to pay $44million in settlement money to quash a class action lawsuit filed by those who purchased faulty Theranos blood tests from its pharmacies.

The proposed settlement still needs court approval, but was aired in a memorandum left with an Arizona federal judge on Wednesday.

News of the settlement comes days after the chain abruptly parted ways with its CEO after less than three years, and a full seven years after the class action was filed by seven lead plaintiffs in 2016.

It also comes less than a year removed from the day the woman behind the phony tests, 39-year-old Elizabeth Holmes, was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in federal prison for defrauding investors.

The biggest of those investors, by far, was Walgreens - which entered an agreement with Holmes' Theranos in 2013 to conduct pilot testing in stores in Arizona and California. That partnership came apart when the Steve Jobs wannabe's fraud surfaced in 2015, and her products were found to be inaccurate and unreliable.

Walgreens' holding company Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. has agreed to pay $44million in settlement money to quash a class action lawsuit filed by those who purchased faulty Theranos blood tests from its pharmacies

It also comes less than a year removed from the sentencing of the woman behind the phony tests, 39-year-old Elizabeth Holmes. She is seen here being led into a federal prison in Bryan, Texas, to begin her 11-year sentence back in May. It has since been shortened to nine years

The years-old suit in turn accused Walgreens of willingly falling under the spell of the blonde businesswoman, and being 'willfully blind' to fraud at her company upon entering the partnership.

The basis behind those claims, lawyers wrote, were that board members at the then $70billion company had good reason to suspect its finger-prick testing technology did not really work.

Less than eight years later, Walgreens Boots Alliance is valued at just over $19billion - following a years-long nosedive in share price, and a series of failed leadership shuffles likely made to alleviate the drug chain's monetary woes.

That began in 2015, when long-time president and chief executive officer Greg Wasson went into a sudden retirement at age 56, following Walgreens' $10.7 billion purchase of Alliance Boots, a pharmacy-led health and beauty group in Switzerland.

Three years later, The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Wasson, now 65, with misleading investors about the increased risk the firm would miss a key financial goal after entering a smaller merger with the Swiss company in 2012.

Both men served in their positions when they entered a partnership with Holmes and her also incarcerated lieutenant, Ramesh Balwani, in November 2013. Walgreens eventually agreed to pay a $34.5million penalty to settle the SECs case.

In the span since, the store has failed to fill the hole left by Wasson - who started at the company as an intern in the 80s and climbed the ranks over the course of 30 years - and has suffered financially as a result.

Wasson was replaced on an interim basis by Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina, 'pending [a] board search' for a successor, brass at the chain said the time.

News of the settlement comes days after the chain abruptly parted ways with its CEO Rosalind Brewer after less than three years, and seven years after the class action was filed. No explanation was provided for her departure

It also comes in the wake of a series of failed leadership shuffles likely made to alleviate the drug chain's monetary woes, starting around the time the scandal surfaced

Holmes grabbed headlines with her vision of a small machine that could draw a drop of blood from a finger prick could run a range of tests more quickly and accurately than those in conventional laboratories - a pitch that seemingly swayed brass at the drug store chain

Despite that, Pessina - currently Walgreens largest individual shareholder and a member of its board - went on to serve as the company's top executive for six years, until making way for the firm's most recent failed experiment, Rosalind Brewer.

Previously the COO and group president at Starbucks, Brewer, 61, joined Walgreens in March 2021, becoming the only black female to lead a Fortune 500 company at the time in the process.

Prior to her stint at Starbucks, which also lasted three years, she served as president and CEO of Walmart's Sam's Club for five years, and was one of the most respected women in all of business.

That reputation earned Brewer a nearly $25 million signing bonus when she joined the company - which came in addition to her already eyewatering $1.5 million annual salary.

Brewer unexpectedly stepped down on August 31 without explanation, weeks after the company's chief financial officer and vice president, James Kehoe, also departed in mid-August to pursue other opportunities, the company said at the time.

Those announcements came just weeks after it was revealed that Homes had already shed two years after her 11-year federal prison sentence, which began in May after she was found guilty of four counts of wires fraud early last year.

That began in 2015, when long-time president and chief executive officer Greg Wasson went into a sudden retirement at age 56, following Walgreens' $10.7 billion purchase of Alliance Boots, a pharmacy-led health and beauty group in Switzerland

Wasson was replaced on an interim basis by Italian billionaire Stefano Pessina, 'pending [a] board search' for a successor, brass at the chain said the time. Despite that, Pessina went on to serve as the company's top executive for six years, until making way for the just nixed Brewer

In the span since, the store has failed to fill the hole left by Wasson, and has suffered financially as a result. Its parent company was worth some $70billion before the scandal surfaced, and is now valued at less than $20billion just eight years later

At the time, a jury in San Jose found that she deceived investors into sinking more than $945million into her faulty blood testing machines, though her profile on the Bureau of Prisons website states she now has nine years, six months and 29 days left on her sentence.

Her projected release day is now December 19, 2032.

During proceeding in the San Jose federal court , former lab associate Erika Cheung said that as well as alerting several managers, she also she warned several senior officials, Balwani and late board member George Shultz, a former Secretary of State, of the inaccurate results' Holmes tech was yielding

Cheung proceeded to provided six hours of scientific testimony bashing the bloodtests, stating the company's technology should never have bee used on patients, and the results it produced were about as reliable as 'flipping a coin.'

'Youd have about the same luck flipping a coin as to whether your results were right or wrong,' Cheung remarked concerning the blood-testing technology that Theranos employed.

'It was concerning to see this degree of failure - this was not typical for a normal lab.'

She also alleged that the company often cut corners to give the false impression that its products were ready for widespread use on patients.

Holmes faced accusations that she defrauded patients and investors with promises that her supposedly revolutionary blood-testing technology could diagnose more than 200 conditions with a few drops of blood from a finger prick. The tests proved to be completely inaccurate

Former lab associate Erika Cheung attested in 2022 that she warned several senior officials at the startup that the company's proprietary technology wasn't reliable enough to use on patients, and that the produced results were about as reliable as 'flipping a coin'

Theranos second-in-command Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani - also Holmes' ex-boyfriend -is serving his own 13-year sentence for his part in the fraud. According to the settlement, a separate deal with Balwani will allow another $1.3 million to be paid to the defendants' settlement fund

Still pending approval, it added that 'an agreement with Ms. Holmes, unfortunately, could not be reached'

She told the court she was 'really stressed and uncomfortable with what was going on' in her waning months at the company, and did not feel comfortable using Theranos' blood-testing technology to administer samples on patients.

She resigned in April 2014, after repeatedly stating the tests would regularly fail, and that Homes would then 'cherry pick' the best data points to gain certification.

She added that lab employees often manipulated data in an attempt to keep the devices operating, all while Holmes attempted to maintain the appearance of a successful businesswoman.

During her trial, she sought to deflect blame toward 58-year-old Balwani, who was also found guilty by a jury and is now serving a 13-year sentence.

According to the yet-to-be-approved settlement, a separate deal with Balwani will allow another $1.3 million to be paid to the settlement fund.

It added that 'an agreement with Ms. Holmes, unfortunately, could not be reached.'

Shares for Walgreens Boots Alliance slipped about 1 percent at the opening bell Friday.

If the defendants are found liable, plaintiffs, who could number in the hundreds of thousands, could receive money or benefits apart from the seven plaintiffs.

Arizonas attorney general had identified 175,000 consumers who purchased tests from Walgreens - at an average cost of $60 per test. If the settlement is approved, those who come forward with proof they paid for the tests will be entitled to a piece.
For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 116123, visit a local Samaritans branch

Inquest found individual failings after he did not get mental health referral

A trans teenager was 'disregarded' by school staff after telling them he wanted to kill himself in the weeks before he died, an inquest has heard.

A coroner found there were individual failings to follow support processes at a school attended by Alex Dews, 13, who died after telling staff he wanted to kill himself, but said there was no 'systemic failure'.

Alex's family told an inquest at Sheffield Coroner's Court earlier this year he was 'crying out for help and was disregarded' while he was a Year 8 pupil at Outwood Academy Shafton, in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

On Thursday, assistant coroner Abigail Combes told the resumed inquest: 'I'm satisfied that there are processes in place.

'There are absolutely identifiable individual failures of following those processes.

'These are not sufficient to amount to systemic failure.'

A coroner found there were individual failings to follow support processes at a school attended by Alex Dews (pictured), 13, who died after telling staff he wanted to kill himself, but said there was no 'systemic failure'

The coroner said she was 'slightly horrified' that the school was left to make crucial decisions about which services to refer Alex to in order make sure he had the right support.

Ms Combes said she had been told how a referral to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) was not made until three weeks before Alex died, because the school's past experience was that the waiting list was so long and Camhs would dump children from this list if they were accessing services elsewhere.

She said: 'This is not a position a school should be in.'

The hearing at Sheffield Coroner's Court heard how Alex was found with serious injuries in a park in Barnsley in July 2022 and died in hospital four days later.

Earlier this year Alex's family described how he had told them he wanted to change his name and identify as male after going to secondary school, and Outwood Shafton put him on its vulnerable register.

The coroner described how the teenager self-harmed in school in November 2021 - an incident which she said was not properly recorded by the school and should have triggered a risk assessment.

Alex made further disclosures about self-harm to a support service and, in March 2022, he wrote a letter seen by a teacher indicating that he wanted to end his life.

This triggered an accelerated referral by the school to the iSpace counselling service, in Barnsley.

The coroner noted that Alex began counselling and, at his second session, disclosed that he had attempted an overdose.

She said that he also told the deputy safeguarding lead at the school that he wanted to end his life.

The court heard that the iSpace sessions ended in May 2022 and, although a handover suggested further engagement might be useful in the future, there was no detail and no follow-up.

The coroner noted that despite there being evidence of a deterioration in Alex's behaviour at school, there were no further incidents of self-harm or expression of suicidal intent and the school could not have assumed 'there was a real or immediate threat to Alex's life'.

Ms Combes said the school eventually decided to make a referral to Camhs in June but this was about putting in place support for the next school year rather than an immediate fear for his life.

She said that, if staff had feared for Alex's immediate safety, they probably would have chosen another service rather than Camhs.

The coroner said she will be writing a prevention of future deaths report to organisations including the Department of Health and Social Care, about her concerns over the way referrals are made to Camhs.

She said she also had concerns about the way schools and counselling services share information.

Ms Combes said she did not have enough evidence to conclude that Alex died as a result of suicide and recorded a narrative conclusion.

She said she did not know if Alex deliberately intended to end his life when he took the steps he did in the park.

Alex's grandmother, Susan Dews, told the inquest earlier this year: 'What has happened to us has ripped us all apart and no amount of words will ever explain the emptiness and amount of pain we feel.'

Alex's family told an inquest at Sheffield Coroner's Court (pictured) earlier this year he was 'crying out for help and was disregarded' while he was a Year 8 pupil at Outwood Academy Shafton, in Barnsley, South Yorkshire

In a statement written by Mrs Dews on behalf all the family and read to the court, she said: 'He was not just some troubled teen, not a number lost in a system, but a scared child, struggling to come to terms with his own gender and how he could fit into society, how he was crying out for help and was disregarded.

'How he was let down and how we are now left trying to pick up the pieces of our shattered life.'

Mrs Dews said the family realised after Alex went to secondary school that 'he had been battling with his own body since the age of three'.

She described how he told his family he was transgender and how he had chosen a new name.

She said: 'I would have accepted Alex no matter what he was. He was my grandson and it did not matter what name or genitalia he had. We loved him no matter what.'

Mrs Dews said: 'The school did very little to build any sort of rapport or understanding of Alex during the difficult time he was going through. It almost felt that as they were not used to this type of situation, it was sort of brushed to one side.'

She said: 'Alex wasn't a troubled teenager going through a fashion phase, he was a child screaming out for help and no-one would listen or offer us the help he needed.'

She added: 'I just feel let down and that Alex was failed despite every attempt to get help and every cry for help that went un-listened to and unacted on.'

For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 116123, visit a local Samaritans branch.
Real life Wolf of Wall Street Jordan Belfort has claimed that an illegal psychedelic drug cured him of his addictions and could be the answer to the opioid crisis.

The 61-year-old told the New York Post that he recently went on an ibogaine trip that cured him of his vices.

'When I woke up from the trip, I no longer craved opiates. I had no more physical addiction,' he said.

Earlier this year, Belfort - who spent 22 months in prison for a pump-and-dump stock fraud scheme - was treated at a clinic outside of Cancun, Mexico earlier this year.

Ibogaine is a psychoactive drug that occurs naturally in some plants and possesses psychedelic and dissociative properties.

Belfort was famously once addicted to cocaine, a habit he claimed he quite some 25 years ago. However, he's now admitting that wasn't the whole truth.

'I got sober in 1997. Then over a period of two years I had six surgeries  I was taking Vicodin and I was at the point where Im like, you know, if this goes on much longer, Im going to get addicted,' he said.

'I call my doctors [and they said], Oh, you should go on Suboxone - you can stop taking any more opiates and it doesnt get you high.

'[They] didnt tell me how impossible it would be to get off it! So I was taking Suboxone for 10 years. I wasnt abusing Suboxone but I couldnt stop taking it,' he concluded.

Belfort recounted attempting to quit Suboxone many times over the years, but the withdrawals were always too terrible to see the effort through. His most recent attempt at a rapid detox center this year, he called a 'total disaster.'

He admits that he was at first doubtful of the psychedelic's healing properties.

''I grew up in the era when they really demonized psychedelics: 'If you take one hit of LSD you jump out a window and youll never be the same,'' he said.

'I stayed away from psychedelics. Ironically, some of these psychedelics are incredibly potent as a healing mechanism especially when administered the right way.'

Belfort headed to Mexico on the recommendation of Mike 'Zappy' Zapolin, who describes himself as a 'psychedelic concierge to the stars.'

Beond, the Mexican clinic, is a resort-style rehab that focuses entirely on ibogaine therapy treatments.

Jordan Belfort and his current wife Cristina Invernizzi. Belfort believes the tightly controlled usage of ibogaine could change the lives of many Americans impacted by the opioid crisis

Like any other resort, amenities include massages, world-class dining options, and other spa treatments, in addition to on-call therapists and doctors.

A one-to-two week stay at Beond will cost somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000.

Guests' vitals, including cardiac and blood pressure, are constantly monitored during the treatment, which carries with it the risk of a heart attack or seizure.

'Ibogaine can lead to changes in heart rhythm, which is why thorough cardiac screening and monitoring during experiences is essential. When ibogaine is combined with certain medications it can lead to deadly arrhythmias,' said Dr. Martin Polanco, an addiction medicine specialist who has been with the clinic for 23 years.

Belfort said he was under medical supervision for his entire 12-hour experience with the drug.

'Ibogaine is not something you take for fun. I couldnt imagine doing it for pleasure  I felt it working  burning through my body,' he recalled.

'You know, some people have [visions] very intensely. I saw some visions, but I didnt didnt go as far as to be having a conversation with my father whos passed away,' he said, adding that he does feel he walked away with a 'deeper understanding of myself.'

Critically, Belfort says he has been Suboxone-free ever since his treatment.

Polanco said that the drug - derived from an alkaloid found in the roots of Tabernanthe iboga, a shrub native to West Africa - is believed to function in a few different ways, including alleviating some of PTSD, depression, and addiction.

Jordan Belfort inspired the hit film Wolf of Wall Street. His character was played by Leonardo DiCaprio

While the science behind ibogaine remains largely unproven at this juncture, some research done on rats has indicated that the drug is able to reset the reward pathways in the brain, reducing cravings and withdrawal symptoms.

Though psychedelic drugs have not yet broken through to the mainstream as healing treatments for a variety of mental illnesses, an expanding number of advocates in government are pushing for funding to explore the territory.

Conservative Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who is currently running for the state's governorship, announced $42million in funding towards ibogaine treatment for opioid addiction. The funding is the result of the settlement the state received from the multiple, enormous lawsuits against corporations that generated the opioid epidemic.

Several Republican members of Congress have also joined with progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to co-sponsor a bill that expands psychedelic research and medical usage.

Belfort says he is baffled that the drug, which is currently classified as a Schedule I substance by the Drug Enforcement Agency, is illegal in the United States.

'It should be tightly controlled,' he said. 'It would save so many lived and help so many families.'
Former Prime Minister Liz Truss has revealed that Queen Elizabeth II was 'mentally alert' in their last meeting together as Britain gets ready to mark the first anniversary of the late monarch's death.

Ms Truss shed light on their final historic meeting at Balmoral Castle on September 6, 2022, explaining that the Queen was 'determined to do her duty to the end'.

'In the meeting at Balmoral, she was absolutely on top of what was happening,' she told GB News.

'She was very, very keen to reassure me that we'd be meeting again soon. It was very important to her.

'I'd met the Queen before when I was Justice Secretary. I've met her on several occasions. And although she was physically quite frail, she was always absolutely mentally alert and determined to do her duty.'

The moment Queen Elizabeth II met with Britain's new Prime Minister Liz Truss on September 6, 2022

Queen Elizabeth II died aged 96, bringing an end to her 70-year reign

Queen Elizabeth II appointed Truss as her fifteenth and final Prime Minister last year.

Just a day after their meeting, the Queen's health took a turn for the worse and she died at 15.10 at Balmoral Castle, aged, 96, bringing an end to her 70-year reign.

The official cause of death would later be recorded as 'old age'.

Ms Truss also discussed how she and her aides prepared for the worst possible news.

She said: 'I knew I would have to address the nation. I knew the situation was very, very serious, and it was really just getting through those crucial moments and making sure that we did all we could to pay tribute to the Queen, but also to make sure there was a smooth transition to support the new King.'

Earlier today, Prince Harry said the late Queen is 'looking down on us all' and is 'happy we're together' as he returned to the UK for the first time in three months to attend an annual charity awards ceremony.

The Duke of Sussex arrived in Britain to attend the WellChild Awards at the Hurlingham Club in London - an event he 'looks forward to each year'.

Former Prime Minister Liz Truss said the Queen 'was absolutely on top of what was happening'

'As you know, I was unable to attend the awards last year as my grandmother passed away,' he told the the audience, referencing how he pulled out of last year's ceremony following news the queen was seriously ill, and travelled to Balmoral -separately from the rest of the royal family - to attend her deathbed.

'As you also probably know, she would have been the first person to insist that I still come to be with you all instead of going to her. And that's precisely why I know, exactly one year on, she is looking down on all of us tonight, happy we're together continuing to spotlight such an incredible community.'
Shehryar Fazli at Al Jazeera:

Pakistan has introduced measures against modern slavery with mixed success. Climate change, however, is reinforcing the most egregious abuses due to mounting personal debt, and the economic relationship between sharecroppers and small farmers on the one hand, and landlords and local merchants on the other.

While sharecropping has declined significantly in Pakistans largest and wealthiest province, Punjab, it continues in more rural Sindh and Balochistan. Tenant farmers borrow to cover the expenses of a crop cycle. Since loans from microfinance banks require collateral and identity documentation, farmers prefer less formal arrangements with a landlord or local moneylender.

More here.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled she showed bias by hugging prosecutors

Judge Elizabeth Scherer faced criticism for her behavior during Parkland trial

The Parkland school shooter judge, who resigned amid backlash over how she handled the case, will take on a new job at her father's law firm.

Elizabeth Scherer, a former Broward Circuit Court judge, is moving to a new role as partner at Conrad & Scherer, a law firm founded by her father.

The retired judge posted on Instagram about the move writing: 'Excited to join my dad's law firm-along with my two brothers. Grateful to be given the opportunity to work with my incredible family.'

Scherer, 47, retired in June after a decade on the bench after the Florida Supreme Court removed her from overlooking a post-conviction proceeding for a death row inmate.

The Florida Supreme Court previously ruled that she showed bias by hugging prosecutors and victims' families in the courtroom.

Scherer's father, William R. Scherer, Jr. is a top Republican donor and political force in Broward County, Florida

Victim's families praised Scherer, saying she treated them with professionalism and kindness throughout the trial

Scherer was not able to overturn the jury's decision to sentence Cruz to life in prison

Gunman Nikolas Cruz plead guilty to murdering 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018.

Scherer oversaw the sentencing proceedings where the jury returned a verdict of life in prison after just one day of deliberations.

After handing down the sentence, she was seen hugging prosecutors who were seeking the death penalty and the victims' families while still wearing her judicial robe.

Scherer was overseeing post-conviction proceedings for Randy Tundidor, who was sentenced to death for the murder of his landlord.

One of the prosecutors on Tundidor's case, Assistant State Attorney Steven Klinger, was also on the team that prosecuted Cruz.

Tundidor thought the judge may be sympathetic to the prosecutor and filed a complaint to the Florida Supreme Court, who ruled in his favor.

PARKLAND SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIMS: Top Row L-R: Jaime Guttenberg, Nicholas Dworet, Martin Duque, Meadow Pollack, Cara Loughran -- Second Row L-R: Alyssa Alhadeff, Luke Hoyer, Joaquin Oliver, Gina Montalto -- Third Row L-R: Alaina Petty, Carmen Schentrup, Peter Wang, Alex Schachter -- Fourth Row L-R: Helena Ramsey, Scott Beigel, Aaron Feis, Chris Hixon

Scherer will join her brothers and father working at the family law firm

Florida's Judicial Qualifications Commission then investigated the judge's behavior during the trial and found that she should be reprimanded.

There were many moments throughout the trial when Scherer clashed with defense attorney Melisa McNeill.

In one instance, the judge refused to stop verbal attacks against the defense team and even ejected one McNeill's assistants.

The 15-member commission ruled Scherer should be publicly reprimanded for showing bias.

The ruling came after the judge announced her retirement.
U.S. Marshals said that Hernandez had unlawfully crossed the United States-Mexico border and that they were alerted of his whereabouts

Hernandez is accused of having participated in the November 4, 2019 roadside ambush in Sonora, Mexico, that left nine Americans dead

A man who is linked to the 2019 massacre of nine American citizens in northern Mexico has been arrested in New Mexico.

Ivan Hernandez, 24, was apprehended in New Mexico for unlawfully crossing the United States-Mexico border, the U.S. Marshals said in a statement.

The U.S. Marshals received a report regarding Hernandez's whereabouts and then alerted Homeland Security Investigation (HSI), which took him into custody.

'This arrest represents our relentless and unwavering dedication, along with our partners, in tracking down and apprehending violent foreign fugitives,' said Sonya K. Chavez, US Marshal for the District of New Mexico. 'Don't come to the State of New Mexico and attempt to hide, we will find you and ensure justice is served.'

DailyMail.com reached out to the U.S. Marshals for comments.

It's unknown for how long Hernandez was in the United States before he was arrested.

Hernandez is awaiting a court date for his illegal border entry charge at a federal court in Albuquerque. His extradition to Mexico is also pending.

Pictured: The three mothers and six young children who were savagely murdered by Mexican drug cartel gunmen on November 4, 2019

Members of the LeBaron family inspect a vehicle that was burned by La Linea, a gang linked to the Juarez Cartel, on November 5, 2019, in Sonora, Mexico. The gunmen ambushed three vehicles and killed three mothers and six children with dual Mexico-United States citizenship. The victims were part of an extended community of Mormons in Mexico not affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Hernandez is wanted by Mexican authorities for his role in the roadside ambush in Sonora, Mexico on November 4, 2019.

Adrian LeBaron, whose daughter Rhonita Miller, 30, and four grandchildren were murdered, lamented that a person as young as Hernandez would have gotten involved with illegal activities.

'They arrested another person involved in the massacre of my family, it is Ivan Gustavo Hdz, 'El Paquiao,' it was on Monday in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the US,' LeBaron wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as twitter. 'He is 24 years old, ahead of him he had hundreds of options, but something is so broken in our country that young people become cannon fodder.'

The attack led to the deaths of nine American Mormons - Dawna Ray, 43, and her two sons, Trevor, 11, and Rogan, 3; Miller, 30, and her children, eight-month-old twins Tiana and Titus, Howard Jr., 12, and Krystal, 10; and Christina Langford, 29.

Hernandez and other cartel gunmen intercepted a fleet of three SUVs in the Sonora town of Bavispe, opening fired and torching the vehicles.

Rhonita Miller (back, left) is one nine American Mormons who were ambushed and murdered November 4, 2019, in Bavispe, Mexico, by members of La Linea, the enforcement unit of the Juarez Cartel. Pictured with Miller are eight-month old twins Titus (held by Rhonita) and Tiana Miller (held by her husband Howard); Howard Jr. and Krystal (standing in front of Rhonita), all whom died in the attack. Pictured in the front from left to right are Zack, Amaryllis Miller, and Miller, who were not present the day of the attack. Rhonita's husband, Howard, also was not present

A baby car seat stained in blood is pictured in a bullet-riddled vehicle belonging to one of the Mexican-American Mormon families massacred by members of La Linea, a gang linked to the Juarez Cartel

Members of the LeBaron family look over the burned car, where part of the nine murdered members of the family were killed and burned by alleged members of a gang tied to the Juarez Cartel in Bavispe, Sonora, on November 9, 2019

Langford is said to have gotten out of her vehicle to confront the cartel henchmen and was shot dead. Her seven-month-old baby girl, Faith, survived.

Dawna Ray and two of her nine children were shot dead when her vehicle was stopped near Langford's Johnson's vehicle.

Miller and her children were intercepted about 10 miles down the road. They were shot dead and then had their vehicle set on fire while they were still inside.

Ray's seven surviving children, including five who were shot, and Langford's daughter were rescued hours later.

The horrifying attack prompted then-President Donald Trump to offer military support to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in an effort to track down the killers.
Ron DeSantis' campaign is taking cues from his wife Casey in its latest move to boost his presidential bid, as the Florida governor sinks in the polls.

Never Back Down, the DeSantis-affiliated super PAC, is rolling out a parents' coalition in key states, similar to the Moms for DeSantis effort Casey launched earlier this summer in Iowa.

It's already started Parents Never Back Down groups in Virginia, New Hampshire and South Carolina with more states to come.

The PAC is also turning to technology to reach voters. It will use an artificial intelligence chatbot to push a pro-DeSantis message via text messages directly to voters' smart devices, Politico reported, as it tries to get DeSantis momentum in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Florida governor is still running a distance second to Donald Trump. He is trailing the former president by 39 points in the RealClearPolitics polling average.

A super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis is launching a parents group similiar to the Mamas for DeSantis group that Casey DeSantis launched - above Ron and Casey DeSantis talk to Floridians affected by Hurricane Idalia

In fact, DeSantis has been on the decline and soon may find himself fighting to be the top alternative to Trump. He's under attack from the former president and his Republican rivals in the race.

Never Back Down's latest plan will target parents who are tired of a 'woke' agenda in schools. DeSantis has made the 'war on woke' a major part of his campaign push. Education was a top issue for voters in the 2022 election.

Casey DeSantis also has pushed the issue. When she launched her Mamas for DeSantis group in Iowa, she told the crowd: 'It should be up to the parents to decide what education they think are best for their children. And government should, again, get out of the way.'

She credited her husband with enabling 'parents to be able to go to the schools to say I want to see what kind of curriculum you're teaching our kids. And if they didn't give that information to the parent in a timely manner, they then had a right of action to be able to sue.'

She said it was those policies that led to him being re-elected as Florida governor in 2022 and her remarks on education garnered her some of the biggest applause of the night.

Meanwhile, Ron DeSantis is returning to the campaign trail on Saturday after being in Florida the past few weeks to deal with the fallout from Hurricane Idalia.

Even the storm became political when DeSantis refused to meet with Joe Biden when the president and first lady came to Florida to see the devastation. The two men had chatted on the phone but didn't meet in person - which was not the cas when the Bidens visited in 2022 after Hurricane Ian.

In fact Ron and Casey handed out Chik-fil-A to survivors of the hurricane last Saturday while Joe and Jill took an aerial tour of the ravaged coastline and visited Live Oak.

DeSantis had suggested a meeting with the president could hinder disaster response efforts but the White House quickly snapped back that the governor never mentioned that concern in any of his many conversations with Biden.

Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis handed out Chick-fil-A to survivors of Hurricane Idalia

Casey DeSantis filled in for Ron DeSantis in South Carolina's Faith & Freedom BBQ - the state's largest Republican event - on Aug. 28

Casey DeSantis is a frequent presence at her husband's side as seen above following the first Republican presidential primary debate

The Florida governor will be in Iowa on Saturday for a bus tour as he works to visit the state's 99 counties.

And Casey DeSantis has been doing her part. She is a frequent surrogate for the governor on the campaign trail and expected to up her presence in the coming months.

Never Back Down's chief operating officer Kristin Davison recently told donors - per audio of the event obtained by CNN - of Casey: 'With her help, they convert an entire room. She just brings a level of humility and warmness.'

Casey filled in for Ron at South Carolina's Faith & Freedom BBQ - the state's largest Republican event - on Aug. 28 when he was dealing with Hurricane Idalia preparations in Florida.

Before she spoke, Ron DeSantis, in a recorded video message, told the crowd: 'You're getting the better end of the deal by having my wife Casey there.'

And she showed the power of voter groups when she launched Mamas for DeSantis in Iowa in July.

'It's one thing when your policies come out after us - the mamas. It's another thing when they come after our children. And that's when the claws come out,' she said.

Casey DeSantis held her first solo campaign event - joining voters in Iowa

She vowed to crisscross the country to help her husband win the Republican presidential nomination and the White House.

'As long as I have breath in my body I will fight for Ron DeSantis - not just because he's my husband; that is part of it - but it's because I believe in him,' she said.

'If you want somebody to go up to Washington DC to clean house, to be able to put this country back on the trajectory where we are talking about - our rights coming up from our creator and our government being put in place to protect our rights that are ours, he is the man to do it and if I have to crisscross this country, I'll do it,' she vowed.

Gov. DeSantis won female voters in Florida by 9 percent in his gubernatorial re-election effort.
New York City mayor Eric Adams issued a grave warning on Wednesday as he told the nation the city will be destroyed by the current migrant crisis - but the Democrat was singing from a very different song sheet only a year ago.

Last August, Adams went to Port Authority to welcome a bus full of asylum seekers sent from Texas by Republican governor Gregg Abbot, who argued progressive cities should also bare the costs of the influx of asylum seekers crossing the southern border.

Speaking to reporters at the time, the mayor said: 'As the mayor of New York, I have to provide services families that are here, and that's what we're going to do - our responsibility as a city, and I'm proud that this is a Right to Shelter state, and we're going continue to do that.'

But the buses kept coming, and a year later, Adams is pleading for federal and state aid - asking a judge to suspend the Right to Shelter policy as the city struggles to find room for the 110,000 asylum seekers that have arrived since the Spring of 2022.

In May he made major changes to the 40-year-old 'Right to Shelter' law that guarantees a bed for anyone who needs it in the city, as his government asked for federal and state help to deal with the surge of migrants that he now says could destroy New York as we know it.

In August 2022, NYC mayor Eric Adams welcome migrants welcomed asylum seekers bused in from Texas at Port Authority, saying he was proud New York is a shelter state

A year later the mayor warned the migrant influx will destroy the city if he doesn't receive federal or state aid

With Executive Order 402, Adams suspended aspects of the law, meaning the city no longer had to provide migrant families with their own room and could direct them to a communal shelter instead.

In July, he told migrants the city was out of room, and to said it would distribute flyers at the US-Mexico border telling newly arrived migrants to 'consider another city.'

It's a stark shift for the mayor, who promised while campaigning that NYC would remain a sanctuary city under an Adams administration, saying in 2021, 'We should protect our immigrants. Period.'

But the city still has a legal obligation to give shelter to those who ask for it, and Adams has desperately turned to a variety of city landmarks, makeshift shelters and temporary housing as short-term solutions.

There are now nearly 60,000 migrants in the city's care, with about 21,000 new migrant children starting school this year. As the school year kicked off on Thursday, some schools were forced to turn away students as the classrooms overflowed.

The migrant crisis has plagued Adams' time as mayor since he took office in January 2022, and the former police officer warned Wednesday the problem is only getting worse.

'We're getting 10,000 migrants a month,' he said. 'Now we're getting people from all over the globe have made their minds up that they're going to come through the southern part of the border and come into New York City.'

It's a stark shift for the mayor, who promised while campaigning that NYC would remain a sanctuary city under an Adams administration

Thousands of asylum seekers have been bussed to major cities from border states including Texas as unprecedented numbers continue to enter the United States

'Let me tell you something, New Yorkers. Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I don't see an ending to this,' he conceded. 'This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City.'

Despite mayor Adams' cries for help from the state and federal government, the city has not received aid to cover the extra costs, so the $4.7billion would come from the city's budget. That amount is equal to the budgets for the city's sanitation, fire and parks departments combined.

Meanwhile, the buses full of migrants continue to arrive, with at least four unloading on Port Authority in just two days.

While officials have not revealed how many hotel rooms have been designated for migrants, hotel industry experts believe it's as many as 10,000, as reported by The City.

The Roosevelt Hotel, Paul Hotel and Paramount Hotel are among the hotels designated for housing migrants in Manhattan.

Long lines of migrants, mostly men from Africa, are now often seen outside the storied locations.

New York City's migrant crisis is expected to cost the city $4.7billion this year. Above is a list of some of the landmarks that have been turned into emergency shelters as officials struggle to house nearly 60,000 migrants in the city's care

Hundreds of refugees slept outside the Roosevelt Hotel in August when the historic establishment was transformed into a migrant camp

Many of them never intended to come to New York in the first place, but staying is easy given the city has to offer them shelter by law.

'A lot of these people arrive here without even knowing where theft are. Many of them wanted to go to Florida, even with DeSantis there. Others to Atlanta and California,' said Edinson Calderon, founder of the organization Una Carta Salva Una Vida, which works to help asylum seekers after they are released from migrant detention centers.

Calderon told DailyMail.com that migrants from other cities have also taken advantage of the situation, and have come into the city to not have to pay rent and use a shelter.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently dispatched a small team to New York City to help determine how the federal government should respond.

The federal government has so far promised the city $140 million to help, although the city has yet to receive any of that money. A city spokesperson later clarified that requests for that money have been made but the delay could be because of routine bureaucratic reasons.

New York officials have been sounding the alarm for months over their inability to right the ship, with Adams cautioning that his office estimates the issue will cost the city in the region of $12 billion in just three years.

A bus carrying the migrants from Texas arrives at the Port Authority bus station of New York on May 3

He declared a state of emergency in the fall and has repeatedly labelled the deluge a 'humanitarian crisis'. The mayor's failed requests for more federal funding led him to condemn President Biden in April for 'failing' the city.

The crisis is also far from contained to New York, as numerous major metros have also struggled with housing asylum seekers. In Chicago, residents were stunned to find a police precinct had been turned into a shelter in May.

The problems at the southern border were significantly escalated when Title 42, a pandemic-era border policy that gave officials advanced powers to detain people, ended in May.

The day the policy expired on May 12, the number of illegal border crossings topped 10,000 - a figure that was maintained for several days
A female grizzly bear that mauled a woman to death two months ago was euthanized on Saturday after breaking into a Montana home with her cub to steal dog food.

The hungry grizzly broke in through the kitchen window of the home while the homeowners were present before officials shot her dead, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks said.

The bear was genetically analyzed and found to be the same one that fatally mauled Amie Adamson, 47, from Derby, Kansas on July 22. The keen hiker was found dead at the Buttermilk Trail just west of Yellowstone National Park after heading out for her morning jog just before 8am.

It was also found to be the same bear responsible for injuring a person near Henrys Lake State Park in Idaho in 2020.

Officials said they had to shoot her 'due to an immediate public safety threat from the bear's food-conditioned behavior,' stated the FWP release.

The 46 pound male cub was right next to its mother when she was shot and was taken to the agency's wildlife rehabilitation center. The baby bear is expected to be transferred to the zoo.

Amie Adamson, 47, from Derby, Kansas who was found dead on a trail in Yellowstone National Park back in July after being mauled by the same female bear

The mama bear was confirmed to be the same bear that fatally attacked a woman two months ago in Yellowstone National Park

A resident's home in Yellowstone was broken into by a grizzly bear who killed hiker Amie Adamson two months ago

According to the release: 'Multiple efforts to trap and remove the bear were made after the fatal attack in July due to the incident's proximity to residents, campgrounds, and high-use OHV (off-highway vehicle) trails. These efforts were unsuccessful.'

The Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks said the same female grizzly was captured back in 2017 for research purposes, and her attacks in 2020 and July this year were determined to be 'defensive responses'.

After Adamson's death in July, her mother, Janet Adamson told Good Morning America: 'Every morning, she'd get up early, and she'd walk, hike or run.

'Running through that beauty of Yellowstone - she was almost in heaven. She died doing what she loved.'

Montana itself is often referred to as 'bear country' as many of its national forests are home to the big and powerful creature.

Yellowstone National Park is home to grizzly bears and black bears. Grizzlies are subspecies of of brown bears that used to live in the American West.

A map of where Amie Adamson was fatally attacked by the female grizzly on July 22 2023 on Buttermilk Trail near Yellowstone National Park

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' post about Amie Adamson's fatal mauling in July

Adamson (seen at right), an avid hiker who had been visiting Yellowstone National Park when she was killed in July

National Park Service said: 'Visitors should be aware that all bears are potentially dangerous. Park regulations require that people stay at least 100 yards from bears.'

According to Fox News: 'Grizzlies are protected by US law outside of Alaska. Elected officials in the Yellowstone region are pushing to allow grizzly hunting, and in February the Biden administration took a preliminary step toward ending federal protections for the animals.'

Grizzly bears are rarely known to show aggressive behavior towards humans, but are still protected as a 'threatened' species in 48 US states.
Former President Donald Trump advisor Peter Navarro was convicted for being in contempt of Congress after not complying with a House Jan. 6 Committee subpoena.

Navarro served as Trump's White House trade adviser and promoted the former president's claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election.

The verdict finding him guilty on two counts of contempt of Congress came down Thursday after a short trial. Navarro faces up to one year in jail and a minimum of 30 days.

The House January 6 Committee - which wrapped up its work in January - had issued a subpoena for documents and a deposition.

Navarro's attorneys claimed that he was not ignoring the congressional panel, and had asked them to contact the Trump administration to determine if the information they were seeking would have covered him under executive privilege.

But prosecutors said he was acting 'above the law' by not complying with the subpoena.

Former Trump White House trade adviser Peter Navarro arrives after lunch break at U.S. Federal Courthouse in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 7

Peter Navarro, adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump, returns from a break during his trial on contempt of Congress charges

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that executive privilege argument did not apply to Navarro.

He was heckled by protestors holding signs that read 'Trump lost' after departing the courthouse.

'I said from the beginning this was going to the Supreme Court,' Navarro said after his conviction in a short press conference before it was derailed by the hecklers.

'I am willing to go to prison to settle this issue,' he continued.

Navarro is the second Trump aide to face contempt of Congress charges.

Former White House adviser Steve Bannon was convicted of two counts in 2022. He was then sentenced to four months in prison, but has not served time yet since he appealed the decision.

The Select House committee investigating the Capitol attack urged the Justice Department to pursue at least three criminal charges against Donald Trump.

In a series of high-profile hearings last year, the committee made its case that Trump was pressuring his then-Vice President Mike Pence to throw the election results back to the states in an attempt to overturn the election results.

Trump is facing several lawsuits related to his attempts to overthrow the results of the 2020 election. He has denied wrongdoing and has said he was acting within the law.

Last month, he was indicted along with 18 co-defendants in Georgia for allegedly running a conspiracy ring to reverse his 2020 election defeat in the state.

He was indicted earlier this summer in a separate federal case in Washington, D.C., related to his alleged obstruction of the 2020 election.

Trump also faces prosecution in Manhattan on state charges of campaign finance violations in connection with alleged hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.

He also faces federal charges in connection to the mishandling of classified documents.
A 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with an alleged homophobic attack outside a pub in south London.

Two men, aged in their 20s and 30s, were attacked as they stood outside the Two Brewers on Clapham High Street in what has been described as a 'horrific incident'.

A teenager has now been arrested in South Norwood on suspicion of two counts of GBH and remains in police custody.

The attack happened around 10.15pm on August 13, sparking a manhunt for the perpetrator.

Detective Superintendent Vanessa Britton described the arrest as a 'significant development' in the Met Police's investigation.

Two men were attacked last month outside the Two Brewers on Clapham High Street in what has been described as a 'horrific incident'

'The two victims have been informed and continue to be supported by our officers, including our dedicated LGBT+ community liaison officer,' she said.

'I know the concern and distress this horrific incident has caused among the LGBT+ community and I want to reassure them - and Londoners as a whole - that a team of officers is working diligently to investigate.'

Following the brutal stabbing, both victims were treated in hospital and later discharged.

One, named only as Aniello, said he had been left with 'so many questions' in the aftermath of the attack.

One of the victims, named only as Aniello (pictured), said he had been left with 'so many questions' after the attack but felt 'lucky' after leaving hospital

Aniello wrote on Instagram: 'Didn't know if I should really say anything, but I suppose it feels right to.

'I've not been left feeling sad, nor angry, or confused.

'I've just been left so many questions - to think what can lead to changing a person's mind that much that they can feel it's OK to attack anyone.

'Whatever their reasons - and how we change that.

'What today has strengthened in me more than ever before is that I could never, and have never been prouder, happier or more comforted, by the community.

One of the victims said: 'What today has strengthened in me more than ever before is that I could never, and have never been prouder, happier or more comforted, by the community'

'I am lucky enough to have as my LGBTQ+ family!

'I would never change it for the world. I am so lucky to have all my family and friends who have reached out just to check on me today.

'Love you all - all of you.'

The attack sparked anger and distress among members of the LGBTQ+ community, with a march held outside the bar in its wake.

Drag star Baga Chipz, who performs at the Clapham bar on a Sunday night, said: 'I'm angry, but I'm also shocked, because these are our safe spaces.

'This is where LGBTQ+ people go to have fun, have a drink, let their hair down and you can't even be safe.'
Hunter Biden took a stroll in Malibu with his Secret Service detail - 24 hours after Special Counsel David Weiss warned they were seeking to indict him by the end of September for buying a gun while using drugs.

The president's scandal-hit son donned his trademark aviators and cap after spending an hour in an upscale restaurant near the $15,800-per-month pad he's renting with wife Melissa and son Beau.

The 53-year-old look relaxed, despite his growing legal problems and the firearms charges that could land him a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Hunter had reached a deal that would have allowed him to avoid trial for the firearms charges if he abided by parole conditions over 24 months.

But the deal spectacularly collapsed in court in July when the judge picked apart the agreement between prosecutors and his defense lawyers.

Now the charges for lying on a federal firearms form appear to be back on the table, according to a new filing signed on Wednesday by Special Counsel Weiss.

Hunter Biden took a stroll in Malibu with his Secret Service detail - 24 hours after Special Counsel David Weiss warned they were seeking to indict him by the end of September for buying a gun while on drugs

'The Speedy Trial Act requires that the Government obtain the return of an indictment by a grand jury by Friday, September 29, 2023, at the earliest,' the filing read. 'The Government intends to seek the return of an indictment in this case before that date.'

Hunter Biden is also under investigation for his foreign business dealings, which are also the focus of probes started by House Republicans in Congress.

He was supposed to be spared from jailtime when Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, and his lawyers inked a plea deal where the younger Biden would plead guilty to two misdemeanor crimes of failure to pay more than $100,000 in taxes.

Hunter had made more than $1.5 million in income in 2017 and 2018.

As part of the plea deal, he would have avoided prosecution for the gun charge if he met certain conditions over a 24-month.

The president's scandal-hit son donned his trademark aviators and cap after spending an hour in an upscale restaurant on the pier on Thursday afternoon

Hunter allegedly lied on a firearm report (above) required for his gun transaction. A photo of the form shows he answered 'no' when asked if he was an 'unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance'

The stretch of pier in Malibu, California, where Hunter ventured on Thursday as he faced the growing likelihood of another indictment

A picture from Hunter Biden's laptop showed the now 53-year-old first son posing nude with the firearm in question

Hunter had lied on a 2018 application to buy a gun.

A photo of the form shows he answered 'no' when asked if he was an 'unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.'

Hunter wrote about his extensive drug use during that period of his life in his 2021 memoir, Beautiful Things.

Republicans in Washington complained that the president's son had gotten himself a 'sweetheart deal.'
Elon Musk ordered engineers working at his Starlink internet company to cut off the service over the Crimean coast to prevent an attack on a Russian warship, according to a new book.

The world's richest man began providing free access to his Starlink internet terminals in the early days of the Russian invasion in February 2022, and his generosity has been vital in allowing Ukrainians to communicate and coordinate resistance.

But, at the end of last year, his enthusiasm began to wane, and he became increasingly concerned about taking sides - ultimately ordering that the internet be shut down to stop a 'kamikaze drone' submarine attack on Russian warships.

The exact date of the shutdown is not known, but CNN reported on Thursday that Musk made the decision to turn off Ukraine's internet after speaking to Russian officials, who left him certain nuclear war would ensue.

The move disrupted a Ukrainian sneak attack on the Russian fleet and caused drones to wash harmlessly on to the shore.

In a new biography, out on September 15, Musk asked author Walter Isaacson: 'How am I in this war?'

Ukraine planned to use submarine 'kamikaze drones', strapped with explosives, to attack the Russian fleet off Crimea. But Musk, according to a new biography, turned off his Starlink internet service to thwart the attack

In a new biography, out on September 15, Musk asked author Walter Isaacson: 'How am I in this war?'

Musk added: 'Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do good peaceful things, not drone strikes.'

The service had enabled Ukrainians to benefit from uninterrupted, independent and secure internet access amid Russia's consolidated missile attacks - which had caused significant damage to Ukraine's communications infrastructure.

In many cases, Starlink satellites became the only means of communication for the Ukrainian armed forces on the frontlines.

Not long after Starlink began to help in Ukraine, Musk became concerned about the potential ramifications, and began speaking to U.S. and Russian officials about the implications, as well as Ukrainian leaders.

He spoke to President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan; the chairman of the joint chiefs, General Mark Milley; and the Russian ambassador to the US, Isaacson writes.

Ukraine's military had harnessed the technology to pilot drones carrying anti-tank grenades, destroying Russian tanks and army trucks.

Kyiv had also pioneered the use of naval 'kamikaze' drones - unmanned vessels laden with explosives that are driven toward Russian warships and detonated upon impact.

Seafaring drones were also deployed to destroy or damage infrastructure controlled by Moscow - most notably a stretch of the Kerch bridge that connects occupied Crimea to mainland Russia.

The South African-born billionaire made the decision to turn the internet off when he learned that Ukrainian commanders were plotting a submarine drone attack on a Russian naval vessel, off the coast of Crimea.

Russian warships sail on the Neva river during the Navy Day parade in Saint Petersburg in July this year. Musk prevented an attack on the Russian fleet in 2022, feeling he halted a 'mini Pearl Harbor' that could have escalated to nuclear war

Ukrainians are pictured standing near a Starlink terminal in November 2022 in Kherson, to use the internet

A Ukrainian soldier of the 61st Separate Mechanized Brigade uses the Starlink system in June this year in the Chernihiv region

Kyiv planned to remote-pilot a drone to deliver an explosive strike on a Russian navy ship at a Black Sea base in occupied Crimea.

But Musk denied the Ukrainian military the use of his Starlink network.

When Musk switched the internet off, the drones, strapped with explosives, 'lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly,' Isaacson writes.

Musk was relieved he had prevented what he believed could have been a 'mini Pearl Harbor,' the author said.

The decision, the book claims, was driven by a concern that a Ukrainian attack would lead to a Russian response on Crimea with nuclear weapons. That fear was spurred by Musk's conversations with Russian officials.

In the wake of the aborted strike, Ukraine army chief Valery Zaluzhnyi reportedly sought contact with Milley, alleging Musk had the ability to dictate his military's capabilities to attack key Russian targets.

Zaluzhnyi said it was 'concerning' that Musk had ruined several planned attacks.

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi , commander-in-chief of Ukraine's army, complained to his U.S. counterpart about Musk's control over battlefield tactics

Musk's Starlink satellites have provided essential communication support for Ukraine's military since Russia invaded

Musk had maintained from the outset that his technology is meant 'for peaceful use only.'

Ukrainian officials begged Musk directly to turn the internet back on.

Mykhailo Fedorov, a deputy prime minister of Ukraine, pleaded with Musk via text message to restore the Starlink connection, telling Musk about their capabilities.

'I just want you - the person who is changing the world through technology - to know this,' Fedorov told Musk, according to Isaacson.

Musk told Fedorov he was impressed by the submarine, but would not restore the internet connection because he felt it was too provocative.

He told Fedorov that Ukraine 'is now going too far and inviting strategic defeat,' according to Isaacson.

Last month, Musk was accused of holding 'the Ukrainians and the U.S. government at gunpoint,' with his ability to switch off internet services on the Ukrainian front line at will.

Ultimately, the Pentagon paid Musk to keep the connection going, but journalist Ronan Farrow, in a profile of Musk for the New Yorker, spoke to Ukrainian and U.S. officials who were deeply uneasy about the power Musk held over the course of the war.

Farrow told CNN that there had been 'a standoff over internet access in Ukraine.'

Ronan Farrow told CNN that Elon Musk had 'the Ukrainians and the U.S. government at gunpoint'

'It appears he was talking to Vladimir Putin - he was telling multiple people that at the time, although he has since tried to deny that,' said Farrow.

'And then he was curtailing access specifically in areas that Russia was contesting.

'At the end of that one of the things that happened was the Pentagon did pay up.

'We're going to make a deal in place to make sure this doesn't shut off entirely.'

But Farrow said Ukrainians who had so praised Musk in the first year of the war were now worried about the whims of their mercurial benefactor.

Musk, in October 2022, was already complaining about the cost of providing the internet service.

He told the Pentagon that he could no longer fund the Starlink service.

Defense officials were 'panicked' by the prospect of the internet service being switched off and Colin Kahl, then the Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Pentagon, discussed the issue with Musk that month.

Kahl added: 'My inference was that he was getting nervous that Starlink's involvement was increasingly seen in Russia as enabling the Ukrainian war effort, and was looking for a way to placate Russian concerns.'

A senior defense official told the New Yorker that several conversations took place with US staff, and Musk revealed: 'Well, I had this great conversation with Putin.'

Musk ultimately backed down, and agreed to keep providing free internet to Ukraine.

'The hell with it  even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we'll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free,' Musk wrote.

Gwynne Shotwell, Musk's president at SpaceX, was furious at Musk for folding, according to Isaacson.

'The Pentagon had a $145 million check ready to hand to me, literally,' Isaacson quotes Shotwell as saying.

'Then Elon succumbed to the bulls*** on Twitter and to the haters at the Pentagon who leaked the story.'

Local residents use a Starlink terminal, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, on January 31

A Ukrainian soldier gestures as he stands next to the Starlink connection in October in Kherson

Farrow, in his New Yorker article, reported that Ukrainians were deeply troubled by the episode.

'People on the ground in Ukraine, on the front lines, remained spooked,' said Farrow.

'We bought his services, apparently at a very generous rate.

'This is a situation where, metaphorically, he had the Ukrainians and the U.S. government at gunpoint.

'And to this day they do fear that he is going to curtail service more.'

Four months later, in February this year, Shotwell formally announced the company was limiting Ukraine's use of Starlink for military purposes.

Shotwell stated the service could be used for typical communications and humanitarian efforts, such as connecting families and hospitals.

Starlink's terms of service document clearly states: 'Starlink is not designed or intended for use with or in offensive or defensive weaponry or other comparable end-uses.'

Musk, whose offered his network of satellites to support Ukraine's wartime communications for free in 2022, has maintained from the outset that his technology is meant 'for peaceful use only'

Reports that Musk had spoken with Putin about the war first surfaced last October, and the Tesla owner has denied the claim

Farrow said Musk's meetings with Putin raised eyebrows.

'There is nothing wrong with those kind of warm relationships between a private individual and significant government leadership, even in the context of a military contractor relationship,' he said.

'But this is something more, and different.'

He pointed out that the United States was now in the unprecedented position of relying on a private individual for NASA's space transport, and for completing its self-prescribed transition to electric vehicles.

Farrow called it 'a new extreme, and political, power.'

The report said Musk 'had said that his consultations with the Kremlin were regular'.

The report did not include further information about what Musk and the Russian president discussed.

Reports that Musk had spoken with Putin about the war first surfaced last October, and the Tesla owner has denied the claim.

The official who spoke to the New Yorker said the view in US defense circles about the alleged conversation was: 'Oh dear, this is not good.'

Kahl said that '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'.

Colin Kahl, then the Under-Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Pentagon, spoke with Elon Musk last October amid fears in the Pentagon that Musk might switch off the Starlink service in Ukraine

As Musk grew uneasy about funding Starlink in Ukraine, he also argued publicly with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky about possible diplomatic solutions which could be found to the war

As Musk grew uneasy about funding Starlink in Ukraine, he also argued publicly with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky about possible diplomatic solutions, which could be found to the war.

Musk had tweeted that a deal could be reached that allowed Russia to maintain control of the Crimean Peninsula, which it occupied in 2014.

Zelensky responded with a sarcastic Twitter poll which asked: 'Which Elon Musk do you like more?': 'One who supports Ukraine' or 'One who supports Russia.'

Musk said in October 2022 that he'd spoken to Putin 'only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space.'
One of Australia's greatest ever jockeys has opened up about why he kept competing after shocking falls killed both his brother and father and left him seriously injured. Oliver, 51, has won three Melbourne Cups (Doriemus, 1995), (Media Puzzle, 2002) and (Fiorente, 2013) as well as four Caulfield Cups, two Cox Plates and a Golden Slipper, achieving a rare 'Grand Slam' in the sport of kings. ...read
For the most famous woman in the world, there was an extraordinary - and very becoming - sense of modesty about Queen Elizabeth II.

Perhaps one of the most telling examples I witnessed was during a visit to Berkshire and Buckinghamshire as part of her Golden Jubilee tour in 2002.

The Queen was on a walkabout. The crowds lining the streets were ten-deep and in raptures, waving flags and bunting and cheering.

She visibly brightened and turned to me afterwards to ask: 'Are all these people really here for me?'

And yet, there is a contradiction here - at heart Her Majesty was shy and reserved and more at home in wellies and a headscarf than at state occasions in ball dresses and crowns.

By her side: Ailsa Anderson (right) helps Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth at a function

She was also unwaveringly kind. I found this out first-hand when I joined the Royal Household in May 2001 after working in central government communications.

I had no idea what to expect. I came into the Household as an assistant press secretary with a slightly cocky demeanour and an air of superiority. I had worked for four government ministers, for goodness' sake - this would be a walk in the park.

I could not have been more wrong. I committed all manner of faux pas. I would stand in the wrong place, say the wrong thing or turn into a bumbling bag of nerves when the Queen came into sight. I even once managed to call the wonderful Countess of Wessex 'Your Majesty'.

The point is that these things mattered. The eyes of the world were on you continuously and if you made a mistake you were letting Her Majesty down - something none of us ever wanted to do. Yet she forgave me. And I got better. Even though it was a steep learning curve.

Actually, you never quite knew what you were going to learn from the Queen. Once, I received a masterclass from her on corgis and dorgis.

I had travelled to Sandringham House in Norfolk to meet a small film crew who were making a documentary about her and her love of dogs.

Once the film crew had left, she explained how she'd trained them - something I really appreciated as a dog lover myself - and how she had accidentally invented the dorgi with the help of Princess Margaret's dachshund Pipkin. She also told me how they were fed.

I even once saw the Queen feed her corgis from the lunch table. She never gave them her own food, but would often have a pocketful of dog biscuits to hand. It could be quite disarming for some guests.

For the most famous woman in the world, there was an extraordinary - and very becoming - sense of modesty about Queen Elizabeth II, writes Ailsa Anderson (pictured)

She often used her dogs to break the ice when people came to see her. I saw this for myself when the world-famous All Blacks rugby team from New Zealand came to tea at Buckingham Palace.

The huge athletes towered over her, perhaps feeling a little self-conscious with the fine china cups in their rugby players' hands. Yet after the corgis had been ushered in, the conversation flowed and the laughter began.

Perhaps more than anyone through history, the Queen was used to a media frenzy. I was once part of a team which arranged a huge media reception for the Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Inevitably, the world's press crowded around Her Majesty.

I was terrified that she'd been overwhelmed - and it was entirely my fault. But as I escorted her out of the state rooms, stammering a desperate apology for the jamboree, she actually said she rather enjoyed it.

The Queen never failed to surprise me. Indeed, her sense of humour was legendary. I remember hearing a story about a couple of tourists moving towards her when she was out walking in Windsor Great Park, who exclaimed that she looked exactly like the Queen. 'That's reassuring,' she responded.

During a Privy Council meeting at Buckingham Palace, which had the most senior members of her government present, somebody's mobile phone went off. Quick as a flash the Queen quipped: 'You better answer that. It may be someone important!'

One morning at Balmoral, I was working away when there was a sharp rap on the window. I looked up to see the Queen smiling. She was setting out on her own for a walk with the dogs, as she often did. She was simply saying hello and enjoying catching me by surprise. It was a pinch-me moment.

People often speak of the Queen's acts of generosity and I can second that. I remember standing in a pre-lunch reception during the state visit of President Barack Obama. I looked up to see Her Majesty walking towards me with the President at her side.

The eyes of the world were on you continuously and if you made a mistake you were letting Her Majesty down - something none of us ever wanted to do. Yet she forgave me. And I got better. Even though it was a steep learning curve

I turned sideways to see who the Queen was taking him to meet, only to find that she was heading straight for me. 'Mr President,' she said, 'this is my press secretary. Her husband is in the Royal Navy.'

At Christmas, she and Prince Philip would always present the staff with thoughtful presents and we would also receive a Christmas pudding in a bespoke embossed bowl.

The Queen would similarly treat her own personal staff to lunch before the festive season.

That said, eating with the Queen wasn't always straightforward. Members of the Royal Family eat very quickly, even at a state banquet. And when they have finished, everyone else's plates are taken from them as well.

The Queen was ahead of her time when it came to food. Most of the produce she served, including at state banquets, was locally sourced, mostly from the royal estates such as Sandringham or the farms at Windsor.

Her love for local, organic food is certainly one trait inherited by King Charles, and to my mind a moving point of continuity across the years.

Before every state banquet she would inspect the table set for 170 people or so. She could spot a fork that was in the wrong place or a flower that didn't look right at 40 paces.

I worked for her for over 12 years and will never forget what a huge privilege it was.

One particular highlight was announcing the birth of Prince George. I received a call early that morning from my colleague Ed Perkins, press secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, saying that the then Duchess of Cambridge had gone into labour and was in hospital.

I went into the office and we prepared the historic frame ready to hang on the gates outside Buckingham Palace.

When at last the formal announcement arrived, on official embossed paper signed by all the medical staff involved, I was shaking with nerves.

Queen Elizabeth on the Golden Jubilee tour, Newcastle, in May 2002

I put the notice in the frame and walked across the forecourt with one of our footmen. It was such an electric atmosphere and the crowds were thrilled to be part of history. As was I.

I am in no doubt that the King and Queen will be hugely saddened today and will take great comfort from being with family in the glorious isolation of Balmoral - a place the late Queen adored and, of course, where she died.

I lost my own mother last year and therefore the death of the Queen seemed even more raw.

Today we will reflect on a woman who was a one-off. Her selflessness, her curiosity, her lack of ego, her smile.

A head of state, a global superstar, a person of extraordinary faith, a mother, our Queen - and someone it was an honour to serve.
The King has paid a moving tribute to his adored mother as the nation marks the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's death.

In an unprecedented break with tradition, signifying how touched he has been by the country's grief at her passing but also pride in a remarkable life of public duty, His Majesty recalled his mother's 'long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us'.

Initially Charles, 74, had planned only to mark his mother's death  and his own grief-tinged accession  in 'quiet contemplation' at home in Scotland.

In doing so he would follow the same pattern that Queen Elizabeth chose to adopt for 70 years, marking her father King George VI's death, at Sandringham in Norfolk, away from public gaze.

But in recent weeks he began to have a change of heart, having been so deeply touched by the global outpouring of grief after his mother died on September 8 last year.

King Charles has paid a moving tribute to his adored mother as the nation marks the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's death. Pictured: King Charles and Queen Camilla leaving Crathie Parish Church, Balmoral, on Sunday

In his message, Charles said: 'In marking the first anniversary of Her late Majesty's death and my Accession, we recall with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us'

Charles kisses the hand of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, after she presented him with a Royal Horticultural Society Victoria Medal of Honour in May 2009

'I am deeply grateful, too, for the love and support that has been shown to my wife and myself during this year as we do our utmost to be of service to you all,' wrote King Charles

Indeed, the Mail can reveal that the King and Queen Camilla chose last night not to return to their own home at Birkhall on the Balmoral estate as planned, but to remain at the castle itself where Elizabeth died at the age of 96, surrounded by the glory of the Scottish Highlands she adored.

They will remain there today, comforted by some of those who were closest to Her late Majesty, spending tonight there as well, before moving back to their neighbouring estate. A source said: 'I think it will be of comfort to be surrounded by so much that was familiar to her.'

Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales are to mark the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's death with a small private service in Wales. William and Kate will attend St Davids Cathedral in St Davids, the smallest city in Britain, in Pembrokeshire on Friday. They will also meet members of the local community in the adjacent cloister, including local people who met Elizabeth II during her visits to St Davids.

St Davids has been a site of pilgrimage and worship for more than 1,400 years, since St David - the patron saint of Wales - settled there with his monastic community in the sixth century.

Since the Reformation, one of the quire stalls has been in the possession of the Crown and is known as the Sovereign's Stall. This makes St Davids the only UK cathedral where the sovereign has a special stall in the quire among members of the chapter, the governing body of the cathedral.

Elizabeth II was the first monarch to visit St Davids Cathedral since the Reformation when she arrived at the site with her husband, the late Duke of Edinburgh, during a royal tour to Wales in August 1955 following her coronation.

In his message, Charles said: 'In marking the first anniversary of Her late Majesty's death and my Accession, we recall with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us.

'I am deeply grateful, too, for the love and support that has been shown to my wife and myself during this year as we do our utmost to be of service to you all.'

It was signed Charles R and accompanied by a portrait chosen by the King that has never been released before to the general public. The photograph was taken at Buckingham Palace on October 16, 1968, as part of an official sitting granted to the legendary Cecil Beaton  the last he was to ever undertake with Her late Majesty before he died.

It was shown at the National Portrait Gallery the following month but has not been on public release before now.

The King apparently selected the photograph because of the 'lovely'  and slightly mischievous  look in the eyes of his mother, who was 42 at the time.

His tribute was echoed by that of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who said: 'On the solemn anniversary of the passing of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, our thoughts are with His Majesty King Charles III and the whole Royal Family.

The King will spend today and tonight at Balmoral Castle (pictured) where his mother died a year ago

Queen Elizabeth welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, in September last year

'With the perspective of a year, the scale of Her late Majesty's service only seems greater. Her devotion to the nations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth only seems deeper. And our gratitude for such an extraordinary life of duty and dedication only continues to grow.

'I treasure my memories of those occasions when I met Her late Majesty, in particular the private audience I had with her at Buckingham Palace before presenting my first Budget as Chancellor. I was struck by her wisdom, by her incredible warmth and grace, but also her sharp wit.'

And he spoke for many when he recalled the effect that she had on everyone she met.

'People across the UK  whether they had the good fortune to meet Her late Majesty or not  will be reflecting today on what she meant to them and the example she set for us all. We will cherish those memories,' he said.

'The bond between country and monarch is sacred. It endures. So, while we continue to mourn Her late Majesty's passing, we should be proud that this remarkable legacy of service  and this remarkable bond  continues to grow today under the reign of His Majesty the King.'

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the long queues through the night to see the late Queen lying in state had shown that she 'always enjoyed a special bond with her people'.

'It was a relationship built from her understanding that service of this great nation is the thread that unites sovereign and subject,' he said.

'So, as we reflect on her legacy again today, let us embrace that spirit of public service as our guide towards a better future.'

Her last prime minister  albeit briefly  Liz Truss, with whom she was so memorably photographed for the final time, also opened up about their encounter.

She described how the frail but 'upbeat' and 'mentally alert' monarch had told her they would be 'meeting again soon'. The Queen had welcomed Ms Truss to Balmoral on September 6 to appoint her as prime minister.

'She was very, very keen to reassure me that we'd be meeting again soon. It was very important to her,' Ms Truss told GB News.

The Queen had welcomed Ms Truss to Balmoral on September 6 to appoint her as prime minister

Ms Truss added: 'She was very determined to do her duty, right to the end.'

The Queen died two days later, with Ms Truss describing the scene as she waited in Downing Street when the confirmation came at around 4.30pm.

'We were in the Downing Street flat with, officials, other people. So when the news came through, it was sort of confirming all the worst fears that we'd had,' she said.

She recalled the King was 'very, very resolute' when she spoke to him to express her condolences on the phone the day his mother died and his reign began.

Today, soldiers and horses which took part in the state funeral procession and proclamation salutes signifying the new reign are to return to perform Accession Day anniversary gun salutes in the King's honour.

Captain Amy Cooper  who was the lead rider in the procession which carried the Queen's coffin to lie in state in Westminster Hall  will give the order to fire a 41-gun salute at midday in London's Hyde Park.

Captain Cooper is with the King's Troop, almost all of whom played a role in the final farewell to the Queen a year ago.

There will also be a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London by The Honourable Artillery Company, while bells will be rung at Westminster Abbey at 1pm in commemoration of the King's accession.

The Prince and Princess of Wales will be in Wales at St David's Cathedral where they will commemorate the life of Queen Elizabeth and speak to members of the community she met during her visits to the city.

A source said it was important to William and Kate to be in Wales in honour of their new titles and to honour the bond the late monarch had with the Welsh nation.

A source said King Charles and Queen Camilla will 'balance between reflecting properly on the public nature of moment but finding the space for privacy to reflect in private'.
A SCOTTISH council is to ban the cash sales of disposable vaping products following a rise in the number of children buying them.

Aberdeen City Council hopes the move, which has the backing of police and health officials, will stop youngsters getting access to the single-use e-cigarettes.

It is illegal to sell the products to anyone under 18 but the new retailers charter has been adopted following evidence of children handing over 10 to strangers and asking them to buy the products on their behalf.

Known as proxy purchasing, councillors were told it has become an increasing problem in the city.

Trading Standards officials said their popularity has also shown that one in five retailers in the city were prepared to break the law by selling to under 18s during their test purchasing scheme.

The health effects of tobacco and vaping products is alarming, particularly in young people

But they said only one enforcement action has taken place in Scotland in the past 13 years due to a lack of evidence.

The new charter will mean any shopkeeper who signs up to the voluntary scheme will only be able to accept card payments for tobacco and vaping products.

A report that went before councillors on Tuesday stated: For as long as single-use, colourful, sweet-flavoured vapes are permitted to be sold, they will continue to appeal to those too young to buy them legally. The hope is that if a retailer will not accept cash, the child will not be willing to hand over their bank card to a stranger as they will have no control over how much that adult with spend in the shop Disposable vaping products are becoming so popular that in parts of Aberdeen they are now being sold in non-traditional outlets including mobile phone repair shops and hairdressers.

Convener of the communities, housing and public protection committee, councillor Miranda Radley, said: There is increasing public concern about young people accessing tobacco and vaping products and the negative effects that this can have on their health.

We need to continue to work with retailers to ensure that young people do not gain access to these products and ensure that retailers remain aware of their legal responsibility.

Councillors were told proxy purchasing was a growing problem across the UK and that, if successful, it was hoped the initiative could be rolled out across Scotland.

Vice convener Councillor Dell Henrickson said: The health effects of tobacco and vaping products is alarming, particularly in young people, and it is crucial that we work with retailers to tackle this issue.

Disposable vapes are increasingly popular with children

On Tuesday, First Minister Humza Yousaf said he the government was considering banning single use vapes.

Meanwhile, more than 20 businesses have been fined after being caught selling vapes to children during spot checks.

An investigation by Trading Standards officers in South Lanarkshire revealed under-18s were sold e-cigarettes at 21 shops.

In June and July test purchase operations were undertaken at 70 premises using volunteers under the age of 18.

Trading Standards enforcement officers worked with the young volunteers in tightly controlled test purchase situations to check that the retailers asked for proof of age where appropriate and, if this was not produced, then refused to sell.

In 21 of the 70 visits, the vapes were sold, and each retailer was subsequently served with a fixed penalty fine of 200. If they pay the penalty within 14 days this will decrease to 150.

The figures have been released after First Minister Humza Yousaf agreed to a consultation on the possible ban of disposable vapes.

George Currie, Divisional Trading Standards Officer at South Lanarkshire Council, said: These are significantly worse results than expected and may in large part be caused by the child appealing nature of (in particular single use) vapes, and their wide availability across a range of retailers.

Nonetheless, vapes are covered by the same trading laws as tobacco or alcohol and cant be sold to anyone under the age of 18, and after such concerning results we will be stepping up efforts to support sellers with advice and continue to take enforcement action where they break the law.

Ultimately, as well as a ban on the sale of single use vapes, we would like to see the same display rules applied to vapes as tobacco, that is, they are kept out of sight and not promoted in any way.

David Booth, the local authoritys executive director of Community and Enterprise Resources, added: While vapes can be a useful cessation aid for smokers, they were not intended to be the lifestyle product for children and young people, they have undoubtedly now become.

Unfortunately, the bright packaging, colours and flavours, as well as the easy availability of single use vapes in particular, has only worsened that trend. Worse still is that the children and often their parents mistakenly believe that vapes are a harmless alternative to smoking.

Earlier this week Mr Yousaf said his government would hold a consultation on a single-use vape ban as he set out his priorities for the coming year.

A recent Scottish government report found that 22 per cent of all under-18s - around 78,000 - are believed to have used a vape last year with more young people using them than smoking cigarettes.
The bolts were captured while tracking the early formation of Hurricane Franklin

Meteorologists call them 'gigantic jets'  powerful and vanishingly rare trees of lightning that contain 50-times more energy than the typical lightning bolt.

A Puerto Rico-based photographer documented this little-seen weather phenomenon late last month, August 20th, while documenting the tropical storm then developing westward into Hurricane Franklin.

Gigantic jets, much the related electrical phenomenon of 'red sprites,' gain their crimson hue from contact with Earth's ionosphere 50 to 400 miles above sea level.

The uncommon surging bolts of upward lightning, which occur only about 1,000 times a year worldwide, are believed to happen most often during thunderstorms out over the open ocean.

A Puerto Rico-based photographer, Frankie Lucena, documented the little-seen weather phenomenon known as 'gigantic jet' lightning late last month, on August 20th, while documenting the tropical storm then developing westward into Hurricane Franklin

Estimates suggest less than one percent of lightning travels in an 'upwards' direction like these gigantic jets.

First documented in July 2002, many of the gigantic jets that have been spotted were witnessed in tropical regions, particularly during escalating storms, according to an study last summer in Science Advances.

That study, which documented a May 14, 2018 gigantic jet over Oklahoma, constructed a map of the lightning phenomenon in 3D  identifying the structural details of its formation in high definition for the first time.

JETS AND SPRITES Blue jets are enormous bursts of electrical discharge spiking upward from storm clouds in the upper atmosphere. They emerge from the electrically-charged cores of thunderstorms and rise up to 30 miles upwards in the shape of a cone. Red sprites are electrical bursts of light that occur above highly active thunderstorms. They only last a few milliseconds and are relatively dim compared with other lightning. The late experimental physicist John Winckler accidentally discovered sprites, while helping to test a new low-light video camera in 1989. They show up red at higher altitudes and fade to blue at lower heights Advertisement

Levi Boggs, a researcher at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, assembled a team to review satellite, radar and radio-wave data of the Oklahoma jet after seeing a civilian photograph of the event not unlike these new images.

Photographer Frankie Lucena captured not just one, but three gigantic jet plasma events over the course of the tropical storm's movements last month.

The bolts rose up from the Caribbean southeast of Lucena's perch in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.

The lightning events occurred in the wee hours between 2:56 AM and 3:04 AM Eastern Time, which is equal to the time in Puerto Rico in summer during daylight savings time.

This August's gigantic jets are not the first to be brought to the public's attention by Lucena, who has proven to be an enthusiastic tracker of the rare weather phenomenon.

On July 24, 2017, Lucena noticed gigantic jets recorded by the Gemini Cloudcam at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii.

After downloading the time-lapse footage from the Gemini Cloudcam website, Lucena enhanced the colors to better show the striking phenomenon.

'They are related to sprites, but more powerful and easier to see with the naked eye.' he told SpaceWeather.com in 2017.

Lucena's July 2017 video also revealed equally rare ripples in the sky that can sometimes appear high in the sky above storms.

'The ripples in the sky high above the storm clouds are what is known as gravity waves,' Lucena explained on YouTube.

'These gravity waves are located very near the ionosphere at about 90km.'

Like the gigantic jets, these elusive electrical events have long been the subject of wonder, and some have even debated their existence over the years, as they are so fleeting and, thus, often difficult to observe.
Marine scientists have weighed in on the identity of the bizarre golden object removed from the bottom of the ocean off the Alaskan coast.

The shiny object is delicate to the touch, like skin tissue, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

It could be egg casing or the remains of a marine sponge, but DNA tests in the lab could reveal an entirely new animal completely unknown to science.

NOAA experts compared it to something 'from a horror movie' in reference to a scene in Alien where John Hurt's character discovers the 'facehugger' on another planet.

Dr Tammy Horton at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton couldn't say what the mystery object is but agreed it is 'potentially a new species'.

NOAA deployed a remotely operated arm to 'tickle' the object and remove it from its rock. It was then suctioned up a tube to bring it back to shore

READ MORE 'Golden egg' is discovered on the seafloor off Alaska NOAA posted a photo to Twitter with the caption: 'This golden orb, likely an egg casing, struck an imaginative chord for many watching' Advertisement

'It is not unusual to find unknowns in the deep sea  we have a lot to explore,' she told MailOnline.

'They have a sample and will be able to study it more closely and will probably do some genetic analyses to determine at least what sort of animal it came from.'

Notably, the object was found with a gaping hole at the front, suggesting something was birthed from it.

'It could indeed be an egg case of some kind (explaining the "exit" hole),' Dr Horton said.

Dr Lucy Woodall, associate professor in marine conservation at the University of Exeter, agreed it looks like a sponge  an immobile aquatic invertebrate much like coral.

'The hole is probably just damage that has been suffered over time, but then again it could provide a whole new insight as to how life in the deep sea survives and thrives,' she told MailOnline.

'However the deep sea is full of wonders that we are only just discovering.

'I look forward to learning more about it from the taxonomists who will be working on the collected specimen.'

Kerry Howell, a professor of deep-sea ecology at the University of Plymouth, said that the object is 'weird' and is unlike anything she's encountered.

'In my 20 years exploring the deep sea I have not seen anything like that,' she told MailOnline.

'It's always exciting to see new things and I will wait eagerly for the analysis on the sample to understand what it actually is.

An egg, the remains of a sponge, or something else? The mysterious golden object with a hole in it was discovered on the seafloor off the coast of Alaska

It could be egg casing or the remains of a marine sponge, but DNA tests in the lab could reveal an entirely new animal completely unknown to science

The shiny object is delicate to the touch, like skin tissue, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

What are marine sponges? Sponges are simple aquatic animals with dense, yet porous, skeletons that attach themselves to rocks. While immobile like coral, they are otherwise completely different organisms with distinct feeding methods and reproductive processes. Certain sponge species have a fossil record that goes back around 600million years. Source: NOAA Advertisement

'There are many, many undiscovered species in the deep sea so this could be related to a new species quite easily.'

Professor Howell also said the hole could be where the creature inhales and exhales if it is a sponge, or where the animal hatched from if it is egg casing.

Dr Pierre Josso, a postdoctoral research scientist at British Geological Survey, said the object is 'intriguing, but not truly surprising'.

'We discover new biological structures or species during most dives as the seabed has been seldom explored,' he told MailOnline.

'New species  or relics of development stages of known and unknown species  have been catalogued at an increasing rate over the last decade as the deep ocean is being explored with more scrutiny than ever before.

'As for its origin, function, and the reason for a hole in its structure, it is too early to tell.'

Whilst the 'golden' appearance is eye catching, this is mostly due to shine from the headlights from the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that removed it from its rock, Dr Josso added.

A later photo of the object in the lab after it had been brought to shore shows it has a light brown-yellowy colour, which is 'close to many other organic hues', he said.

Considering up to two thirds of life living in the deep oceans are thought to be unknown to science, it could mark an exciting new discovery

NOAA experts compared to something 'from a horror movie' in reference to a scene in Ridley Scott's 'Alien' (1979) where John Hurt's character discovers the 'facehugger' on another planet (pictured)

Murray Roberts, a professor of marine biology at the University of Edinburgh, agreed with NOAA scientists that it could be an egg case.

'Several species, including vulnerable deep-sea fish like sharks and rays, lay their egg cases on seamounts or in cold-water coral habitats,' he told MailOnline.

'Hence the hole  something hatched out and swam off.'

Meanwhile, a spokesman at the Natural History Museum in London said: 'Our experts have said that there are plenty of new species of deep-sea benthic sponge out in the deep sea.'

The 'golden egg' was found on day eight of NOAA's Seascape Alaska 5 expedition, which runs from August 23 to September 16.

Any fans who want to witness any similarly remarkable discoveries can follow the progress of the mission on a dedicated webpage on the NOAA website.
An amateur metal detectorist in Norway has made the gold 'find of the century' including coins dating back around a millennium and a half.

Erlend Bore, 51, believed he had come across some chocolate money when he made the find in a farmer's field on Rennesoey island, near Stavanger, in late August.

He was shocked to learn he had in fact dug up nine pendants, three rings and 10 gold pearls - some of which date back as far as the fall of the Roman Empire.

Mr Bore said that he had bought his first metal detector only this year after his doctor ordered him to get out more instead of sitting on the sofa at home.

Ole Madsen, director at the Archaeological Museum at the University of Stavanger, said that to find 'so much gold at the same time is extremely unusual'.

'This is the gold find of the century in Norway,' he said, announcing the find today.

Amateur archaeologist Erlend Bore poses with a gold treasure photographed shortly after he found it with the help of a metal detector on the island of Rennesoy in Stavanger

One of the nine gold pendants found at Rennesoy, in Stavanger, Norway, 06 September 2023

A reconstruction of a necklace with coin-like gold pendants that are part of a gold treasure found in August 2023 by amateur archaeologist Mr Bore

Archaeologists working on the site on the island of Rennesoy in Stavanger where a gold treasure was found by an amateur archaeologist with the help of a metal detector, August 30

Mr Bore first began walking around the mountainous island with his metal detector in August.

A statement issued by the university today Mr Bore first found some scrap, but soon after uncovered something 'completely unreal' - the treasure weighing a little more than 100 grams (3.5oz).

Under Norwegian law, objects from before 1537, and coins older than 1650, are considered state property and must be handed in.

Associate professor Hakon Reiersen, from the museum, said the gold pendants - flat, thin, single-sided gold medals called bracteates - date from around 500ad.

This dates them to what was known as the Migration Period in Norway, a period of European history marked by large-scale migrations that led to the ultimate fall of the western Roman Empire in 476ad.

The pendants and gold pearls were part of 'a very showy necklace' that was made by skilled jewellers and worn by society's most powerful, said Professor Reiersen.

He added that 'in Norway, no similar discovery has been made since the 19th century, and it is also a very unusual discovery in a Scandinavian context'.

An expert on such pendants, Professor Sigmund Oehrl, also from the museum, said about 1,000 golden bracteates - thin, flat gold medals - have so far been found in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

He said symbols on the pendants usually show the Norse god Odin healing his son's sick horse.

On the Rennesoey ones, a horse's tongue hangs out on the gold pendants, and 'its slumped posture and twisted legs show that it is injured', Professor Oehrl said.

'The horse symbol represented illness and distress, but at the same time hope for healing and new life,' he added.

The Archaeological Museum in Stavanger, about 200 miles (300km) south-west of Oslo, plans to exhibit Mr Bore's finds.

Yesterday, Israeli archeologists announced the discovery of four extremely rare Roman swords found in a cave overlooking the dead sea.

Experts from the Israel Antiquity Authority found weapons they linked to the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132-135ad.

They said they believed the weapons could have been stolen from Roman soldiers by Jewish rebels, hidden for nearly two millennia.

Conservator Hege Hollund holding the gold find at the Archaeological Museum at the University of Stavanger, Norway, 06 September 2023

The gold find at the Archaeological Museum at the University of Stavanger, in Stavanger, Norway, 06 September 2023

A handout photo made available by the Archaeological Museum shows one of the ten pearls found at Rennesoy, in Stavanger, Norway, 6 September 2023

Professor Sigmund Oehrl looking at the gold find at the Archaeological Museum at the University of Stavanger, Norway, 06 September 2023

The migratory period around the time the coins were found in Norway coincides with Germanic tribes moving north as the Huns swept through Europe.

There, the tribes consolidated power around local chieftains and leading to the construction of Norway's first forts.

By the 8th century, these groups were able to project enough power to oversee the conquest of Britain.

The oldest known Norwegian coin - minted in Norway - is a penny attributed to Olav Tryggvason, dating to 1000ad.

For much of its history, Norway had no need to mint its own coins and relied on the import of foreign currencies.
Black staff at Google make $20,000 less on average compared to their white coworkers and women are paid less than men in almost every department, according to leaked data reviewed by news site Insider.

The spreadsheets lay bare the salaries and bonuses of over 12,000 Google employees in white-collar roles across the search engine giant's US offices nationwide.

Beyond numerous eye-popping six-figure and seven-figure sums, the tech company does not appear to be upholding the 'equity' portion of its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policy  with clear trends in unequal pay by race and gender.

The revelations come despite recurring news in recent years of Google managers attempting to ban 'offensive' terms like 'man hours' and 'chubby,' or company plans to flag politically incorrect terms for users within search bars and Google docs.

For Google's offices in the Big Apple, the average 'minimum base salary' came to a reported $48,000, barely enough to make rent within the city in 2023. And, at Google's offices around the San Francisco Bay Area, the average 'minimum base salary' was just $39,962

The leaked salary data shows that Google employees of Black or African descent made over $20,000 less, on average, than their White or Asian counterparts. Above, Google CEO Sundar Pichai at a press event in Berlin for Germany's national women's team

But, in keeping with these gestures toward 'wokeness,' the leaked salaries did show some outliers within Google, where pay-rates defied corporate stereotypes: women on Google's sales team, for example, do earn more than men on average.

Google's average 'minimum base salary' is lowest in two of the most expensive areas to live in the US: New York City and Silicon Valley.

For Google's offices in the Big Apple, the average 'minimum base salary' came to a reported $48,000, barely enough to make rent within the city in 2023.

And, at Google's many offices around California's San Francisco Bay Area, which has the third highest cost of living of any city in America, the average 'minimum base salary' was just $39,962.

The statistic was culled from Google's eight office locations across Silicon Valley and its surrounding suburbs, including: Mountain View, Sunnyvale, San Francisco, San Bruno, South San Francisco, Redwood City, Palo Alto, San Jose

The data was compiled and shared internally by Googlers themselves, US employees who voluntarily submitted their 2022 salary, equity and bonus data.

Their spreadsheet was leaked to Insider, where data journalists crunched the numbers.

The pay data includes employees from many roles within the tech giant, including software engineers, business analysts, and salespeople.

It also included data tagged by race, showing that Google employees of Black or African descent made over $20,000 less, on average, than their White or Asian counterparts.

Indigenous and Hispanic/Latino employees also suffered from a pay disparity.

The issue may come down to company culture, as in the US as of 2023 the majority of Google's American staff is either Asian (44.8 percent) or White (46.2 percent) based on the company's own reporting.

Compensation at Google by race and ethnicity Race Base salary Equity Bonus percentage Bonus Asian $170,000 $88,000 43% $31,000 Black/African descent $147,000 $50,500 40% $25,000 Hispanic/Latino/Latinx $152,000 $70,000 43% $28,000 Indigenous $158,500 $92,000 N/A $27,750 Middle Eastern/North African $171,000 $90,938 42% $29,700 White/European descent(including mixed race) $170,750 $92,000 43% $31,000 White/European descent only $171,000 $93,000 43% $31,140 Two or more races $159,000 $78,535 41% $29,478

The leaked spreadsheet also included data on the how employee compensation was divided by gender, with the oft-stated disparity between male and female employees proving true to stereotypes  except in sales.

Female employees in 'enterprise direct sales' and female sales strategists both appear to be making more than their male coworkers, with the direct sales team earning tens of thousands of dollars more in base salary alone.

Company-wide and among software engineers, nonbinary employees appeared to be earning less in base salary than either men or woman on staff.

Compensation at Google by gender Gender Base salary Equity Bonuspercentage Bonus Female $165,000 $77,000 40% $29,500 Male $172,500 $95,000 43% $31,500 Nonbinary(neither male nor female) $154,070 $74,000 45% $27,750 Female software engineer $168,000 $90,000 N/A $30,500 Male software engineer $175,000 $103,000 N/A $32,000 Nonbinary (neither male nor female) software engineer $153,570 $75,000 N/A $27,500 Female engineering manager $245,000 $199,500 N/A $61,000 Male engineering manager $246,000 $210,000 N/A $59,000 Female enterprise direct sales $145,000 $41,250 150% N/A Male enterprise direct sales $127,500 $40,450 150% N/A Female legal corp. counsel $267,000 $136,875 N/A $59,500 Male legal corp. counsel $272,500 $163,000 N/A $75,000 Female sales strategy $186,000 $76,000 N/A $34,000 Male sales strategy $183,500 $71,000 N/A $32,000

Company-wide and among software engineers, nonbinary employees (neither male nor female) appeared to be earning less in base salary than either men or woman on staff

When reached for comment on the leaked spreadsheet, Google spokesperson Tamani Jayasinghe replied, 'We compensate Googlers based on what they do, not who they are.'

'We run a rigorous pay equity analysis every year to make sure salaries, bonuses and equity awards are fair,' Jayasinghe added. 'This spreadsheet has old, self-reported data that has not been verified and is not an accurate representation of compensation across our workforce.'

While the accuracy of the leaked spreadsheet and the overall fair treatment of all these sub-groups among Google's employees might be debatable, one thing that is certain is that Google employees are some of the highest paid in tech.

Including bonuses, and stock option equity stakes in the company, the median total compensation for the average Googler in 2022 was $279,802.

As noted in past reporting on the leaked dataset, the spreadsheet did not comprise a complete roster of Google talent, because it only goes up to level seven out of 11, meaning some earn far more than reported here.

But the highest-paid person in the data set worked in human resources, managing all the rest.

In 2022, Google's chief people officer, Fiona Cicconi, was reportedly paid a base salary of $1 million, according to Insider, which reports that other C-suite executives at the company enjoyed similar pay bump at the start of that year.

Dailymail.com has reached out to Google's press team for comment and will update this story with the company's reply.
Find out why Plaza Premium's lounges, priced from 44 for two hours, win praise

There are many independent lounges in UK airports now. Here's our guide to the 'Big Three'

You dont have to fly business class or be an airline gold card holder to enjoy being pampered at an airport lounge in the UK.

Travellers have long been able to book lounges run independently of the big carriers.

Simply turn up or, preferably, book in advance  peak-time spaces can fill up. Booking in advance also guarantees a comfortable place to see out delays caused by air traffic control woes. Such reservations usually allow you to stay beyond the normal two or three-hour lounge time slots in the event of trouble.

There are many independent lounges in UK airports now. Heres our guide to the Big Three with expert verdicts from headforpoints.com, thepointsguy.com and cabinbagsonly.com.

UPMARKET OPTION: PLAZA PREMIUM

Enjoy the snazzy interiors of Plaza Premium's lounges, which are priced from 44 for two hours. Above is Heathrow Terminal 2's Plaza Premium lounge

Known for its snazzy interiors, excellent staffing levels, plus good childrens play areas.

How many lounges: Six  Heathrow Terminals 2, 4 and 5, Gatwick North and Edinburgh.

Price: From 44 for two hours.

The basics: Complementary food and drink and access to private workstations. Lounges at Heathrow T2, 4 and 5 have showers.

Pros: Heathrow T2 lounge has private rooms for pre-flight naps. Voted the worlds best independent airport lounge for seven years by the airport consultancy Skytrax.

Cons: Shorter stays than at other UK lounge brands.

What the experts say: headforpoints.com says of the Gatwick North lounge: Extremely bright... a range of seating options depending on your mood, with luxury fittings such as the marble bar and colourful seating [but] things start to fall down when it comes to food and service. The food is average.

Despite that, this is still a quality lounge.

And of Edinburgh: Huge amount of natural light and fantastic runway views thanks to its dual aspect location... excellent family room where children and parents will feel comfortable. Buffet is impressive.

Thepointsguy.com says: A good option for a place to grab a snack, unwind in one of many seating options. Some locations go the extra mile, with food and decor that impress.

Nick DiAngelo, founder of cabinbagsonly.com, says: Its the best of the lot, not so busy, good facilities, well staffed.

Details: plazapremiumlounge.com

Rating: 4/5

REGIONAL PRESENCE: ASPIRE LOUNGES

Aspire Lounges can be found in 13 UK locations, including Belfast (four images above) and Birmingham

THE DOS AND DONTS DO... Sign up to a membership scheme such as prioritypass.com or dragonpass.com if you fly often.

Check opening hours and book online in advance. DONT... Arrive too early before your flight.

Drink too much - lounges can eject those who do.

Just turn up during a busy period and expect to get in. Advertisement

Aspire Lounges is the UKs largest independent lounge provider, operating 25 years with a strong presence outside Gatwick and Heathrow.

How many lounges: 13 covering Belfast, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Humberside, Inverness, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester and Newcastle.

Price: From 25 for three hours.

The basics: All offer free food and drink and dedicated quiet zones. Several have dedicated family booths with televisions.

Pros: Aspire offers 10 per cent discounts for seniors (over 65), Also, some lounges have pressreader.com access to 7,000-plus publications.

Cons: Not at Gatwick or Heathrow.

What the experts say: Of the Belfast City airport, headforpoints.com, says: The new Aspire lounge is a much better space [than an old BA lounge that closed at the location], with windows along its entire length filling the space with light... food selection was meagre, with just some pastries, crisps and soup.

Of the Manchester T1 lounge: While it is not one of the best lounges in the UK, it is spacious... and the staff are very pleasant.

Thepointsguy.com says of the lounge at Heathrow T3: Its very small... the food is basic. Theres a sleep area at the back with quite comfy-looking lounger beds. Mr DiAngelo says: They can be very busy, not always relaxing.

Details: executivelounges.com

Rating: 2.5/5

STYLISH VALUE: NO 1

No 1 Lounges are well designed, most with good runway views. The two images above show the No 1 Lounge at Gatwick Airport South Terminal

The No 1 Lounges at Gatwick and Heathrow have dedicated television rooms. Pictured is the No 1 Lounge at Gatwick Airport North Terminal

Those who access No 1 Lounges can enjoy free food and drink

No 1 Lounges are well designed, most with good runway views  sister brands include Club Aspire, My Lounge (best for families) and Club Rooms (a premium adults only offering).

How many lounges: There are 12 at Birmingham, Heathrow and Gatwick.

Price: From 25 for three hours.

The basics: Free food and drink and the lounges at Gatwick and Heathrow airport have dedicated television rooms.

Pros: The plush, armchair-filled cinema room at the Heathrow T3s No1 lounge is fantastic. All lounges are smart and stylish.

Cons: Lowest prices are only available from Birmingham.

What the experts say: Of the lounge at Birmingham, headforpoints.com says: I was very impressed, starting with the classy entrance. The lounge staff did a great job of topping up the buffet... alcohol is also available. Of the Gatwick South lounge: Not a particularly big lounge but it makes a very good first impression thanks to the amount of natural light.

Thepointsguy.com says of the Heathrow T3 lounge: [There are] little perks [such as] beer on tap and free spirits and mixers. Mr DiAngelo says: Theyre decent with a darker, hotel-esque decor but can get busy, especially at Gatwick.

Details: no1lounges.com

Rating: 3.5/5
Travel writer Jo Kessel filmed her climb up Japans highest and most sacred mountain. The footage shows how exhaustion, doubt and the odd stumble creep in during whats a lung-busting, relentless uphill ascent through and above the clouds. Plus, the video gives the inside scoop on where to stay and how to recover afterwards, including a saucy soak in a Japanese onsen (hot spring) where its obligatory to bathe naked.

Anyone can do it! said a friend when I mentioned I was thinking of climbing Mount Fuji.

Ive no idea why they thought this was the case seeing as theyd never climbed it themselves, but it was all the encouragement I needed to decide to sign up.

A few weeks later saw me heading to Japans capital Tokyo, which is only 62 miles (100km) away from the mountain. From here one of the countrys famous bullet trains delivered me to Fuji at 186mph (299kph).

At 3,776m (12,388ft) Mount Fuji is Japans highest mountain and its iconic flat-topped cone shape has made it one of the most photographed peaks in the world.

Travel writer Jo Kessel (pictured) films her climb up Mount Fuji, Japans highest and most sacred mountain

Jo says that Mount Fuji's 'iconic flat-topped cone shape has made it one of the most photographed peaks in the world'

The Japanese call it Fujisan and its thought to bring good luck, which is a curiosity seeing as the mountain is actually a giant volcano! It last erupted in 1708 and, while still active, it comes with a very low risk of eruption.

Mount Fuji stands alone and is visible from bottom to tip, soaring dramatically from the earth. Its summit is piercing the sky when I first glimpse it, ringed by a ruff of clouds. Its so disconcertingly sheer and high that doubts start creeping in about being able to make it to the top. Whatever happens Im hoping to capture the whole escapade on camera - sweat, exhaustion, stumbles and all.

There are four trails up Mount Fuji and the video begins at 4am on the Yoshida Trail, thought to be the easiest route. Why start at the crack of dawn?

Because the average climbing time from here is six hours up, four hours down and, if you want to do it in one day, its best to begin early.

Jo begins her ascent of the mountain with guide Etsuko (pictured left in image two) on the Yoshida Trail, thought to be the easiest route

In any event its a bonus to catch the sunrise. It blushes the ashen volcanic landscape a fiery red - a reminder of why Japan is called the Land of the Rising Sun.

Its possible to climb Mount Fuji independently, but Ive booked a private guide for peace of mind and to prevent getting lost. Her names Etsuko and, as we do some pre-hike stretching, she mentions that shes climbed this mountain an astonishing 700 times!

Its clear from the get-go that the ascent will require a slow, steady pace as the trail winds uphill.

The climb is punctuated by stations where mountain huts offer refreshments and shelter - we started at the fifth station and the summit sits at the tenth. Vegetation disappears the higher we climb and the constant uphill slog warms us up to the point that we start stripping off layers.

Terrain becomes rockier and more challenging and walking poles are helpful.

Around two hours into the hike, the video sees me reach a mountain hut where a gentleman called Hiro (hes a bit of a YouTube sensation) serves a special brew of mountain chai. Its not cheap.

A Barbie-size cup costs 500 yen (nearly 3!) but its worth every cent. Its hot, sweet and delicious and helps recharge tiring legs.

Jo finds that further up, the terrain becomes rockier and more challenging

If climbing Fuji in one day sounds too daunting, the alternative is to overnight in a mountain hut like the one featured next - be warned theres limited availability and theyre pricey to stay in.

Like the chai, everything up the mountain comes with an eye-watering price tag. Think $5 (4) for a 500ml bottle of water!

So Ive come with a backpack full of goodies and tuck into a picnic breakfast.

Fuelling up is essential to prepare for the steeper, rockier trail ahead. While huffing, puffing and putting one foot mindlessly in front of the other I remember my friends thoughts on climbing Mount Fuji: Anyone can do it!

Jo orders a special brew of mountain chai. 'Its hot, sweet and delicious and helps recharge tiring legs,' she says

If climbing Fuji in one day sounds too daunting, the alternative is to overnight in a mountain hut (above), Jo reveals

The footage shows me questioning this claim and captures audio of my laboured, lung-busting breaths. Truth is that Im not convinced anyone can climb Mount Fuji.

You dont need to be an athlete, but it does require a decent level of fitness and endurance.

The magnificent views above the clouds, however, are great at keeping you going... and going.

'The footage captures the euphoria when I reach the summit (three images above) after several challenging, gruelling and exhausting hours,' writes Jo

Jo notes that the descent, which takes around four hours, is 'hard on the knees'

The pace slows as the air thins and, just as Im starting to seriously flag, Etsuko points out a Shinto mountainside shrine. She shows me how to pray and somehow this helps me summon the energy and courage for the final push.

The footage captures the euphoria when I reach the summit after several challenging, gruelling and exhausting hours. No matter the trembling muscles and aching legs  were above the clouds and it feels like being on the top of the world.

Of course, what goes up must come down and the descent is hard on the knees. The terrain is slippery and the footage captures a scary moment where I stumble, skid and slide.

After hiking Mount Fuji, Jo returned to her room at the nearby Hotel Tominoko (above). 'Its a great spot to flop post-hike and to allow limbs to recover,' she says

Jo takes in the view of Tokyo from the city's skyscraper Park Hotel, where she stayed for a couple of nights

TRAVEL FACTS A private guided hike up Mount Fuji and two nights half board accommodation at the Tominoko Hotel, Kawaguchiko, costs from 925 based on two people sharing. HIS is an international travel agency that specialises in travel across Japan. Visit www.his-euro.co.uk or call +44(0)2074843333. Double Rooms at the Park Hotel Tokyo (www.parkhoteltokyo.com) cost from 270. Advertisement

The film ends by looking at accommodation, from the skyscraper Park Hotel in Tokyo (where I stayed a couple of nights after arriving in Japan) to Hotel Tominoko, near Mount Fuji. The Tominoko is in the lakeside town of Kawaguchiko and my rooms balcony has a superb lake and Mount Fuji view. Its a great spot to flop post-hike and to allow limbs to recover. The hotel has a natural hot spring Japanese bath (called an onsen) and the liquid heat is a balm for aching limbs. Be warned: its a cultural tradition to bathe naked in onsen, whether theyre single-sex or mixed. By a stroke of luck I have the bath to myself so, while its weird to be soaking in it starkers, its less embarrassing than it could have been!

Climbing Mount Fuji was one of the most challenging physical feats Ive experienced and feels like a great achievement. I was accompanied by my teenage son (he operated the camera) and even though hes young and fit he still found it tough-going. Listen out for his heavy breathing as he films my closing piece to camera!

It took less than six hours of actual climbing time to reach the summit (we stopped a lot to film and take photos) and four hours to get back down. Pleased I did it? Absolutely! Do it again? Probably not!

For more videos from Jo, visit her YouTube channel, Go With Jo. Ishikari Lore by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.
There's no doubt that Yannick Alleno is one of the world's greatest chefs  he's dripping in Michelin stars, with 15 across 17 restaurants around the world.

Two in France each hold three Michelin stars - Alleno Paris au Pavillon Ledoyen and Le 1947 a Cheval Blanc in France's Courchevel 1850 ski resort.

My review of Le 1947 declared the food to be 'out of this world'.

Now Britons have a chance to try the chef's stellar cuisine without the faff of a trip across France  because Monsieur Alleno has launched a restaurant set within the seductively suave Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane.

It's called Pavyllon, and it's a game-changer  artistry and a soupcon of flamboyance, but food that's filling, too. And the service? A masterclass in how it should be done. The wine is top-tier, too.

Legendary chef Yannick Alleno has opened his first-ever UK restaurant - Pavyllon (above) - at Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane. Ted Thornhill pulled up a stool at the 'magnificent' kitchen counter

Yannick Alleno (above) holds 15 Michelin stars across 17 restaurants, with two in France each boasting three stars

Ted writes: 'Pavyllon is a game-changer  artistry and a soupcon of flamboyance, but food that's filling, too'

And what's more, while a heavenly meal at Le 1947 costs 415 euros (370), the prices are more down to earth at Pavylloyn, with a five-course set lunch menu available for just 55.

Before you even sit down, you'll be feeling that whatever you're about to shell out will be money well spent.

The restaurant is sumptuous and smothered in calming hues by acclaimed Parisian designer Chahan Minassian, who oversaw the interior design. The piece de resistance - the magnificent 30-seat wooden counter, where I sat.

Here guests can dine and watch the impressively well-drilled kitchen brigade prepare their food, with waiters and sommeliers weaving in and out of the chefs with mesmerising efficiency, never losing their cool even in the most frantic of moments and delivering the food and drink with effortless charm.

'The restaurant is sumptuous and smothered in calming hues by acclaimed Parisian designer Chahan Minassian, who oversaw the interior design,' Ted reveals

Pictured left - some tempting bites that got the meal underway. On the right, the first course - a trio of warm potatoes glazed with lovage mayonnaise

Ted's refreshing 'modern gazpacho', served to him by Yannick himself

A 'stupendous' 2022 pear cider by Eric Bordelet that 'coupled wonderfully with the raspberry and coconut pudding'

If this scene was a TV channel  I'd tune in.

The bonus on the night I visited was that Yannick himself was present, gently guiding laser-focussed head chef Benjamin Ferra Y Castell and the rest of the team, and gamely pausing from time to time to pose for photographs for guests.

I tried a 148 tasting menu with paired wines. That's a hefty bill, but the quality never dips below impressive.

First up was a quirky number  a trio of warm potatoes glazed with lovage mayonnaise and served with cucumber and seaweed. This was followed by a refreshing 'modern gazpacho', served to me by (warmly smiling) Yannick himself, with cured ham and celery sorbet in the mouthwatering mix.

A beautifully cooked slice of red mullet garnished with chorizo butter and served with a chermoula sauce was the delicious third act, followed by a succulent lamb chop accompanied by green shiso coulis and moreish anchoiade.

The primary-school-aged version of me would have been licking the sauce off the plate.

Not the done thing here, so I wiped every last molecule up with some of the fantastic homemade bread that was in seemingly endless supply.

The final two acts? A duo of delectable desserts - raspberries with a coconut and dill sorbet (an unexpectedly flavoursome combination) and then a well-executed vanilla Napoleon (aka mille-feuille) with Earl Grey caramel (I felt uneasy about this one beforehand because I'm not partial to the pungent taste of Earl Grey, but the way it was blended in here was most pleasing).

By the time I'd finished dish number five I had room for only the thinnest of wafer-thin mints.

Each of the paired wines that knowledgeable head sommelier Baptiste Beaumard picked for the meal was thoughtfully matched with the food and enthusiastically presented.

He took my tastebuds from the Alsace (a white 2021 Domaine Ostertag Sylvaner Vieilles Vignes) to Austria (a knock-out Burgenland Umathum) via Normandy  a stupendous 2022 pear cider by Eric Bordelet that coupled wonderfully with the raspberry and coconut pudding.

The hospitality competition in this quarter of the UK capital has always been hot  Yannick and his able Pavyllon team have just turned up the temperature even further.
Benidorm is the most popular international destination for Brits to visit this autumn, according to Tripadvisor.

Costa Adeje, another Spanish seaside spot, comes second in a top ten ranking of the most popular international destinations, while Dubai proves to be the third most popular foreign destination for holidaying Brits.

Rounding out the top five is the Turkish resort city Antalya (fourth) and the Italian capital, Rome (fifth).

The ranking forms part of Tripadvisors Autumn Travel Index, which provides insight into Brits travel plans from September 1 to November 30 by using a combination of search data and a survey of over 2,400 consumers.

The index also names the top 10 trending international destinations - the fastest-growing holiday hotspots year on year in terms of popularity - for Brits.

Benidorm is the most popular international destination for Brits to visit this autumn, according to Tripadvisor

Taking the top spot is Hong Kong, followed by the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca in second place and New Delhi, India, in third.

Other trending destinations include the Qatari capital, Doha (fourth), and the Spanish resort town of Nerja (fifth).

Also revealed in the index are the 10 most popular domestic destinations for Brits to visit. London claims the top spot in the popularity ranking, followed by Blackpool in second place.

The rest of the top five comprises Edinburgh (third), Liverpool (fourth) and York (fifth).

The top 10 trending domestic destinations for Brits have also been named, with the small Cornish fishing village of Porthallow topping Tripadvisor's podium.

Its followed by Hampshire's Hayling Island in second place and the town of St. Peter Port on the island of Guernsey in third. Other UK destinations that are increasing in popularity include the Guernsey parishes of Castel (fourth) and St Martin (fifth).

TRIPADVISOR REVEALS THE MOST POPULAR AND TOP-TRENDING DESTINATIONS FOR BRITS - BOTH ABROAD AND IN THE UK MOST POPULAR INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS 1. Benidorm, Spain 2. Costa Adeje, Spain 3. Dubai, UAE 4. Antalya, Turkey 5. Rome, Italy 6. Amsterdam, The Netherlands 7. Paris, France 8. Benalmadena, Spain 9. Barcelona, Spain 10. New York City, U.S TOP TRENDING INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS 1. Hong Kong 2. Mecca, Saudi Arabia 3. New Delhi, India 4. Doha, Qatar 5. Nerja, Spain 6. Krakow, Poland 7. Benalmadena, Spain 8. Copenhagen, Denmark 9. Seville, Spain 10. Torremolinos, Spain MOST POPULAR DOMESTIC DESTINATIONS 1. London 2. Blackpool 3. Edinburgh 4. Liverpool 5. York 6. Manchester 7. Llandudno 8. Bournemouth 9. Windermere 10. Glasgow TOP TRENDING DOMESTIC DESTINATIONS 1. Porthallow, Cornwall 2. Hayling Island, Hampshire 3. St. Peter Port, Guernsey 4. Castel, Guernsey 5. St Martin, Guernsey 6. South Queensferry, Scotland 7. Corton, Suffolk 8. Abergele, North Wales 9. Gosforth, Lake District 10. Chard, Somerset Source: Tripadvisor Advertisement

Tripadvisor has named the top trending international destinations - the fastest-growing holiday hotspots year on year in terms of popularity - for Brits. Hong Kong (above) takes the top spot

The index has found that over three-quarters (77 per cent) of UK travellers are planning to head off on autumn breaks in search of some last-minute sun, and 85 per cent of those are planning one to two trips, which is slightly above the global average of 81 per cent.

Forty per cent are just planning to travel within the UK, while 60 per cent are plotting an international trip.

Amid rising living costs, 34 per cent of Brits surveyed are looking to take advantage of off-season discounts, with affordability (67 per cent) almost twice as important as other factors when trip planning this period.

Over a quarter (36 per cent) of Brits said macroeconomic factors will impact their holiday decisions, with millennials and Gen Zers most likely to alter travel plans for financial reasons.

Despite this, almost half (48 per cent) of Brits are planning to travel the same amount as this time last year and two in five (43 per cent) are planning to travel more. Over half (51 per cent) are planning to spend more on autumn travel this year, and another two in five (41 per cent) will match last years spend, Tripadvisor reveals.

London is the most popular destination for Brits to visit within the UK this autumn, according to Tripadvisor data

Tripadvisor has revealed the top trending domestic destinations for Brits, with the small Cornish fishing village of Porthallow (above) topping the podium

The biggest influence for Brits when it comes to choosing where to travel is recommendations from family and friends at 37 per cent, followed by online search (32 per cent) and travel review sites (24 per cent) - which are used significantly more by millennials.

When it comes to picking holiday dates, price (47 per cent) and weather (35 per cent) are bigger motivators than work schedules (30 per cent) and school holidays (30 per cent), Tripadvisor says.

The most popular holiday type for Brits is a trip themed around culture and sightseeing (32 per cent). Over half (54 per cent) have booked three to five activities on their upcoming holidays, with 41 per cent prioritising cultural tours and excursions.

Commenting on the research, Alice Jong, Research and Insights Senior Analyst at Tripadvisor, said: Summer may be over in the northern hemisphere, but travel demand continues momentum, with three quarters planning trips this autumn and almost half of these travellers planning to travel more than this time last year.

With around two in five looking to make the most of seasonal discounts as [the] cost of living continues to rise, the beginning of November is the most affordable time to visit some of the most popular destinations this season. [The] week of November 5 to November 11 is the most budget-friendly for travellers heading to London, Rome and New York City.
What to do if a flight is delayed or cancelled. Your rights explained

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has branded NATS' preliminary report into its recent system failure 'ludicrous', 'bogus' and 'full of rubbish'.

Thousands of holidaymakers were stranded when the computer systems at NATS - the national air-traffic control services provider for the UK  went into meltdown on August 28, with a preliminary report into the root causes issued on Monday.

Mr O'Leary lacerated the report in a lengthy statement from Ryanair  and in an accompanying video - with the findings labelled a 'whitewash' and 'numerous inaccuracies' within it listed.

'NATS claims 1,500 flights were cancelled, whereas Eurocontrol [a civil-military aviation support group] confirms "over 2,000" fewer flights over the UK that day,' Ryanair's statement said.

'NATS claims just 575 flights were "delayed", which is nonsense when over 1,000 Ryanair flights alone to, from, and over the UK that day were delayed.'

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary has branded NATS' preliminary report into its recent system failure 'ludicrous', 'bogus' and 'full of rubbish'

The budget Irish airline also claimed that 'NATS knew of this system collapse at 8.32am' but that 'the airlines were not advised until three hours later', adding: 'Ryanair was first notified by Eurocontrol - not NATS - just after 11am on Monday 28.'

In a further comment, Ryanair added: 'NATS' second line engineering team were "supporting remotely to reduce travel time", which is a cover-up of the fact that they were sitting at home doing nothing useful.'

NATS should explain why its back-up system failed, and what they are doing to introduce an effective back-up system, rather than the rubbish they have at the moment Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary

The airline also questioned why the air traffic control provider does not have a 24-hour back-up system instead of the 'four-hours of back-up flight plans' it said NATS claims to have.

It added: 'NATS fails to explain why one inaccurate flight plan brought down not just the NATS ATC system, but also its "back-up" system. 'Clearly NATS' back-up system is useless when the entire infrastructure can be brought down by one inaccurate flight plan filing.'

Addressing the issue of refunds, Ryanair said NATS, which is part-owned by the UK government, has 'a moral obligation to reimburse its customers for its lamentable incompetence which caused the cancellation of over 2,000 flights - 360,000 passengers - and delayed more than 5,000 flights - 900,000 passengers - on Monday 28 and Tuesday, 29 August'.

It added: 'NATS claims that it is "not within its remit" to provide cost reimbursement and compensation for airlines. This is false.

'NATS are free to, and should provide, cost reimbursement to airlines for the millions of pounds in hotels, meal costs and alternative transport reimbursements.'

Mr O'Leary said the report is 'factually inaccurate' and 'ridiculously understates the number of flights that were cancelled or delayed through the NATS system failure'.

He added: 'NATS should explain why its back-up system failed, and what they are doing to introduce an effective back-up system, rather than the rubbish they have at the moment. They should also explain why their second-line engineering team was sitting at home instead of being on-site and on the job.

Thousands of holidaymakers were stranded when the computer systems at NATS - the national air-traffic control services provider for the UK  went into meltdown on August 28. Pictured is the NATS station in Prestwick

NATS CEO Martin Rolfe said a 'one in 15 million' computer failure in Britain's air traffic control system was to blame for the meltdown in UK flight operations. Pictured: Passengers waiting at Stansted Airport on August 29 after flights were delayed

Travellers whose flights were cancelled or delayed at Stansted Airport last month

'Ryanair pays NATS almost 100million per year for an ATC service that is repeatedly short-staffed. The least NATS could and should do is to reimburse its airline customers for the tens of millions of pounds they have spent reimbursing passengers for their hotel, meals and transport expenses, which were entirely due to NATS system failure.

'If NATS fail to reimburse its customers for these expenses, then Secretary of Transport Mark Harper should intervene - as the largest shareholder in NATS - and instruct NATS to reimburse NATS' airline customers for these right-to-care expenses.'

Ryanair rival easyJet said the NATS report left some questions unanswered and called for a wide-ranging examination of its resources and IT systems 'to ensure it is fit for purpose today and in the future'.

Willie Walsh, director general of airline industry body IATA, said in a blog post that NATS management had 'some serious explaining to do'.

He also called for compensation to airlines and repairs to the control system funded by NATS budgets.

The cause of the crash

NATS CEO Martin Rolfe said a 'one in 15 million' computer failing in Britain's air traffic control system was to blame for the chaos.

The preliminary NATS report said a single flight plan with two identically labelled markers caused the chaos.

The flight plan met European standards but included two identically named but separate waypoints or navigational markers outside UK airspace, which forced the system - and its back-up - to enter a 'fail-safe' mode.

Mr O'Leary said the NATS report is 'factually inaccurate' and 'ridiculously understates the number of flights that were cancelled or delayed through the system failure'

NATS said: 'We stand by our report, which clearly explains the root cause, how our operation was recovered safely and the solution that is now in place to ensure it cannot happen again'

The system had faced the dilemma of neither being able to reject the flight plan without knowing what impact that might have, nor approve it and hence risk providing wrong safety-critical information.

'It therefore stopped operating, avoiding any opportunity for incorrect data being passed to a controller,' the report said.

The subsequent switch to manual processing meant the average number of plans that could be handled dropped from around 400 per hour to as few as 60, leading to restrictions on flights to and from UK airports.

NATS told MailOnline Travel it 'stands by' its report.

A NATS spokesperson said: 'We stand by our report, which clearly explains the root cause, how our operation was recovered safely and the solution that is now in place to ensure it cannot happen again.

'It is a preliminary report that makes clear the areas we continue to look at.'
OnlyFans performer Lucy Banks, who has made over $1million sharing racy content online, has had the last laugh with a former school bully.

The adult star announced that she finally got revenge on a 'girl from my home town who tried to ruin me' in a recent TikTok video.

Lucy is seen dancing in front of her pool while a modern version of the 'Chicken Dance' plays.

In the caption to her dance video, she writes that her bully's father 'just subscribed to me'.

While many fans expressed approval with laughing emoji and sharing the video, Lucy had a couple of detractors.

Many comments made reference to her size, suggesting the OnlyFans star was overweight, while others thought her behaviour was inappropriate.

'Lucy you need to get help. This is not healthy for you to act this way. Talk to someone please,' said one follower.

'Mercy girl, mercy,' said another.

It comes after Lucy recently came into conflict with the OnlyFans CEO, announcing she is quitting the platform.

OnlyFans content creator Lucy Banks (pictured) announced she got revenge on a 'girl from my home town who tried to ruin me' in a recent TikTok video

In a statement, the Australian mum-of-two claimed that even though she has driven significant revenue to the site, she felt unsupported.

'It's disappointing that we earn literal billions of dollars for this company as adult creators, and we receive zero support. OnlyFans treats its adult creators like cash cows,' Banks said.

'They love the revenue we bring them, but they're constantly trying to distance themselves from us. I'm out.'

Banks, who has been using the adult content platform for four years, claimed she had reached out to OnlyFans CEO Amrapali Gan after she was found out her account was scheduled for deletion.

'She told me I was being queued for deletion for selling my Snapchat code, which isn't even against the rules. I showed her screenshots of where I had reached out to OF Support to double check I was allowed to. She didn't care, just told me to appeal my account deletion after it happened,' said the porn star.

Lucy added that Ms Gan's dismissal 'feels gross'.

'We're out here baring all, and we get zero support. I was so excited when a new CEO was appointed recently. I did my research and found out she was a mum,' she said.

Banks, who has been using the adult content platform for four years, claimed she had reached out to OnlyFans CEO Amrapali Gan after she was found out her account was scheduled for deletion

The Perth-based mother recently admitted that becoming an OnlyFans millionaire cost her some relationships along the way.

'I come from a small town and everyone found out I did OnlyFans. Everyone wanted to have a sticky beak,' she told MamaMia.

'I fell out with my entire friend group. I felt so bad but another side that kicked in and told me, "You have not personally done anything to those people. You're still the same person",' she added.

The Perth -based mother recently admitted that becoming an OnlyFans millionaire cost her some relationships along the way

She was also shunned by her own family, with some relatives refusing to speak to her for almost two years.

Banks previously stated her motivation to stay on the adult platform was establishing a secure financial future for her two sons.

'I'm trying to build a future for my boys and that kept me going.'

The brunette beauty has over 500 subscribers on the platform and often earns over $3,000 a day, which led to her taking home more than $1million in just four years.
Jackie 'O' Henderson is the proud new owner of a Range Rover Sport, after admitting she scored the luxury vehicle because its intended owner went to prison.

The radio star, 48, was spotted running errands in Sydney's Paddington on Tuesday wearing an all-black ensemble which perfectly matched her tinted new vehicle.

The mother-of-one carefully parked her new ride before strutting down the footpath, looking chic in a black crop top and matching cargo pants.

She completed her look with a pair of white strappy heels, sunglasses and a large black handbag.

Earlier on Tuesday morning, Jackie revealed on The Kyle And Jackie O Show that her new car - which is worth around $500,000 - was actually intended to be sold to a criminal.

Jackie 'O' Henderson, 48, (pictured) proudly debuted her new Range Rover Sport during a shopping trip in Sydney's Paddington on Tuesday, after admitting she scored the luxury vehicle because its intended owner went to prison

'There's such a long wait for cars at the moment. So, this Range Rover came [into the dealership] unexpectedly, because the person who'd ordered it is going to jail. So can no longer pick it up,' she explained.

Laughing, Jackie's co-host Kyle Sandilands replied: 'So it was going to be some drug smuggler's car!'

Jackie explained the former owner had customised the car with sleek details like blacked-out rims and lights.

The mother-of-one carefully parked her new ride before strutting down the footpath, looking chic in a black crop top and matching cargo pants

'I drove out of that dealership in the car loving life. Listening to music. And I thought about that guy who's now in prison,' the mother-of-one admitted.

'And I thought, 'That really sucks for him. He was all looking forward to this car. This was his car! He had it all spec'd out to suit him, and here I am driving it,' she mused.

'I'd like to get in touch with him for some reason, and just let him know the car's gone to a good home.'

Earlier on Tuesday morning, Jackie revealed on The Kyle And Jackie O Show that her new car - which is worth around $500,000 - was actually intended to be sold to a criminal

Newsreader Brooklyn Ross immediately warned Jackie not to contact the jailed criminal, telling her: 'It's bad enough you've said all this on-air.'

Jackie's new purchase comes after her previous luxury car was vandalised at a Westfield shopping centre in June.

Describing the incident on-air at the time, the multi-millionaire said she'd returned to her car after a shopping expedition to find a scratch on her her passenger door.

'There's such a long wait for cars at the moment. So, this Range Rover came [into the dealership] unexpectedly, because the person who'd ordered it is going to jail. So can no longer pick it up,' she explained

Jackie's new purchase comes after her previous luxury car was vandalised at a Westfield shopping centre in June

'I was in a situation the other day, my car got keyed. I was in a Westfield carpark and someone was driving slow looking for a spot,' she told her co-host Kyle Sandilands.

'[The woman in front of me] was on the horn constantly like a b**ch. Then she goes into this car spot and there is one next to her so I park there.'

'Then I came back to the car and [my daughter] Kitty goes over to the passenger side and says, "OMG mum your car has been keyed."'
Austin Butler and Tom Hardy roared back into action on Wednesday with the release of the trailer for their upcoming biker drama The Bikeriders.

The 32-year-old Elvis star  whose appearance in Dune: Part Two has been pushed back to 2024 as studios continue to slow walk negotiations with striking writers and actors  and the 45-year-old Venom actor star as the leaders of a 1960s-era biker club in the upcoming film.

The movie charts how Hardy's character Johnny convinces his friend and mentee Benny to take his second-in-command position for the club, with plans to eventually succeed him as its leader.

But the trailer, which also features major contributions from Jodie Comer, Michael Shannon and West Side Story's Mike Faist, reveals how the group gets wrapped up in escalating criminality with potentially deadly consequences.

The movie, which will be released in theaters on December 1, marks the first picture directed by Jeff Nichols since 2016's Midnight Special.

Need for speed: Austin Butler and Tom Hardy roared back into action on Wednesday with the release of the trailer for their upcoming biker drama The Bikeriders, out on December 1

Leading men: Hardy stars as biker club leader Johnny, while Butler plays his mentee Benny who accepts a second-in-command position as the group descends into violence and criminality

'I've been thinkin'... I can't run this club forever,' Johnny says hesitantly during a late-night conversation with Benny at the start of the trailer.

'I built this from nothing,' he continues as he's seen leading a caravan of bikers from the Chicago-based Vandals club.

'This is our family,' he adds as the bikers, including Shannon, are seen drinking beer at a rural gathering.

'You and me kid,' he tells Benny, as the film cuts to Benny grabbing a revolver from a drawer and Johnny seemingly stabbing a man in the gut with a switchblade outside of a bar.

The trailer then reveals that the events of the film, inspired by real life and the 1068 photo book of the same name by Danny Lyon, are being presented after the fact by Benny's wife Kathy (Comer).

She's seen conversing with an interested journalist, played by Faist.

In flashback, she admits that she 'never felt as out of place in all my life' as she enters a smoky bar filled with bikers, only to see Benny dramatically raise his head into the light while at a pool table.

'He took my breath away,' she says in what sounds like it is meant to be a thick Chicago accent.

'I've been thinkin'... I can't run this club forever,' Johnny says during a late-night conversation with Benny at the start. 'I built this from nothing,' he continues as he's seen leading a caravan of bikers from the Chicago-based Vandals club

Letting loose: 'This is our family,' he adds as the bikers, including Shannon, are seen drinking beer at a rural gathering

Violence: 'You and me kid,' he tells Benny, as the film cuts to Benny grabbing a revolver from a drawer and Johnny seemingly stabbing a man in the gut with a switchblade outside of a bar

Her story: The trailer then reveals that the events of the film, inspired by real life and the 1068 photo book of the same name by Danny Lyon, are being presented after the fact by Benny's wife Kathy (Comer)

Record keeper: She's seen conversing with an interested journalist, played by Faist

She admits that they were married weeks later.

But Kathy says she hoped to change Benny, even though it's clear that would have been impossible as he's seen punching a group of men in a brawl.

Things escalate when he gets a drink at a bar run by a rival group. After the owners tell him to take his Vandals jacket off, Benny says they'd have to 'kill' him to remove it.

He gets a bar stool to the head for that line, and he's tossed out onto the street before he removes a switchblade from his boot and appears to slash one of his assailants on his face.

In retaliation for the attack, Johnny orders other bikers to set the bar ablaze.

Then Kathy shares how things went south for the biker gang.

'They started running drugs,' she says, adding that the group got into 'gambling' and 'prostitution.'

'Is that what this club is now?' Benny asks Johnny sternly as he appears to confront him over the gang's actions.

No hope: But Kathy says she hoped to change Benny, even though it's clear that would have been impossible as he's seen punching a group of men in a brawl

Ouch: Things escalate when he gets a drink at a bar run by a rival group, and they proceed to beat him up

Tit for tat: In retaliation for the attack, Johnny orders other bikers to set the bar ablaze

Downhill from here: Then Kathy shares how things went south for the biker gang. 'They started running drugs,' she says, adding that the group got into 'gambling' and 'prostitution'

Can't quit: Kathy begs Benny to quit the gang, but he refuses, and Johnny is seen telling him that he 'needs' him in the group

Coming soon: The Bikeriders will be released in theaters on December 1, 2023

Even murder seems to be on the menu, as men in Vandals jackets are seen holding guns to the backs of two men on their knees, as if they are about to execute them.

Kathy begs Benny to quit the gang, but he refuses, and Johnny is seen telling him that he 'needs' him in the group.

The trailer ends with Johnny telling Johnny to 'just think it over' with a sinister leer.

The Bikeriders will be released in theaters on December 1, 2023.
Rapper B.G. has been released from prison following a 12-year sentence in connection with a gun possession and witness tampering conviction.

The 43-year-old rapper, whose full name is Christopher Noel Dorsey, was released from federal custody Tuesday, a rep for the label Cash Money told Billboard.

The Hot Boys rapper was seen with the founder of the Cash Money label, Birdman, in a clip on the rap mogul's Instagram Live in the wake of his release.

B.G. in 2009 was arrested in his native New Orleans after police found three firearms, two of them stolen, when he was pulled over in a traffic stop.

In July of 2012, B.G. was sentenced to 14 years in custody after pleading guilty to two firearm possession counts and a count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Freedom: Rapper B.G., 43, has been released from prison following a 12-year sentence in connection with a gun possession and witness tampering conviction

He has spent the last 11 years in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution in Herlong, California, which is located near the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains.

According to the Los Angeles Times, records with the state's Bureau of Prisons indicated that Dorsey might have been released early, as his slated date of release was in July of 2024.

On Sunday, B.G. addressed his release from his decade-plus long stint in prison as he turned 43.

'After 12 winters and 13 summers, I see the end zone,' he said. 'Its my last #Birthday being buried alive. This year Im celebrating the whole Virgo cycle, matter of fact, from this year forward Im living and celebrating like everyday is #MyBIRTHDAY.'

In the social media post, B.G. said that his 'main focus' was 'to stay focused,' as his dreams are bigger and vision is clearer.

'Im not letting nobody rob me of my productivity, prosperity, positivity and peace of mind,' B.G. said, adding that '13 years was more then enough time for me to change the reckless path I was on.'

He wrapped up the social media post in saying, 'Im getting back in the 100MillionDolla race, and my big homie gave me the route.

'All the Real1s Ill see yall at the top, All you fake 1s Ill hear your echo from the bottom.'

The rapper, whose full name is Christopher Noel Dorsey, was released from federal custody Tuesday, a rep for the label Cash Money

The Hot Boys rapper was seen with the founder of the Cash Money label, Birdman, in a clip on Instagram Live in the wake of his release

Records with the state's Bureau of Prisons indicated that B.G. might have been released early, as his slated date of release was in July of 2024

B.G. was a part of the The Hot Boys ensemble alongside Lil Wayne, Juvenile and Turk.

The group released three albums, 1997's Get It How U Live!; 1999's Guerrilla Warfare and 2003's Let 'Em Burn.

Guerrilla Warfare was the biggest commercial success of the trio, going Platinum off the strength of the hit singles We on Fire and I Need a Hot Girl.

B.G. has also released 10 studio albums in his career, the biggest hit coming with the 1999 record Chopper City in the Ghetto, which spawned the hit single Bling Bling.
Jade Goody's mother Jackiey Budden reportedly slammed Jeff Brazier as a 'c**k' after watching her grandson Bobby Brazier win a National Television Award on Tuesday.

Bobby, 20, took home the Rising Star award for his work on EastEnders and thanked his father Jeff, 44, who broke down in tears of joy during his son's acceptance speech.

Jackiey, who is Bobby's maternal grandmother, is said to have told fans outside the event that she bought tickets to the show to watch her grandson triumph.

According to The Sun, she then alluded to some bad blood with Jeff, who Jade had Bobby and younger son Freddie, 19, with.

She said: 'I'm so proud of him [Bobby]. He's incredible. They didn't know I was there.

Spat: Jade Goody's mother Jackiey Budden reportedly slammed Jeff Brazier as a 'c**k' after watching her grandson Bobby Brazier win a National Television Award on Tuesday

Success: Bobby, 20, took home the Rising Star award for his work on EastEnders and thanked his father Jeff, 44, who broke down in tears of joy during his son's acceptance speech

'I didn't allow them to know I was there. I didn't want to see their dad. He's a c**k. But I'm going to wait until they're older before I let rip.'

MailOnline has contacted representatives of Jeff Brazier for comment.

There has been tension between Jeff and Jackiey in the past, with the TV presenter previously claiming Jackiey 'overstated' how much time she spent with Bobby and Freddie in the past.

However, in 2021 Bobby confirmed in an Instagram video that the pair were back in contact after losing touch with each other for a while.

He said: 'I didn't see her for ages - for way too long - but I went to see her twice recently.

'And honestly if there's one woman you shouldn't underestimate it's my nan.

'Honestly, she's like a wizard! It's nuts.'

Jackiey's daughter Jade found fame on Big Brother in 2002 and died in March 2009 aged 27 after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.

Show: Jackiey, who is Bobby's maternal grandmother, is said to have told fans outside the event that she bought tickets to the show to watch her grandson triumph

Tension: Jackiey then reportedly then alluded to some bad blood with Jeff, who Jade had Bobby and younger son Freddie, 19, with (Jeff and Jade Goody pictured together)

Tragedy: Bobby is the son of Jeff and reality star Jade Goody who died of cervical cancer when Bobby was just five years old (pictured with Jade in 2004)

Bobby, who plays Freddie Slater on EastEnders, thanked his father for the support he has shown him over the years during his acceptance speech.

He said: 'This actually has very, very, very little to do with me and everything to do with my dad.

'Over the course of the last 20 years, I've consistently heard him say "because I can".

'It was a mantra, or a motto of his. And him just saying that  "because I can"! Why not?'
Former Home and Away star Rhiannon Fish is set to star in a new romantic comedy to be filmed on Queensland's K'gari Fraser Island next month.

The 32-year-old brunette will play an American contestant on a Bachelor-type reality show who enters the dating competition for the money - but ends up falling in love.

Called He Loves Me Not, the Australian produced film will also feature 58-year-old Georgie Parker, beloved star of Channel Seven's classic 80s soap A Country Practice.

Queensland filmmaker Tam Sainsbury will direct the film and is currently finalising locations on K'gari Fraser Island ahead of filming in October reports The Courier Mail.

Famed for its spectacular scenery, Fraser Island lies off the Queensland coast 250kms north of Brisbane.

Former Home and Away star Rhiannon Fish is set to star in a new romantic comedy to be filmed on Queensland 's K'gari Fraser Island next month Pictured: Rhiannon on the red carpet in 2018

The upcoming film called He Loves Me Not will also feature 58-year-old Georgie Parker, beloved star of Channel Seven 's classic 80s soap A Country Practice Pictured: Parker on the red carpet in Sydney in 2016

Queensland filmmaker Tam Sainsbury will direct the film and is currently finalising locations on K'gari Fraser Island a head of filming in October reports The Courier Mail Pictured: the swish Kingfisher Bay Resort is be a major location for the film

Sainsbury plans to use the upscale Kingfisher Bay Resort as a major location for the film.

'There are so many beauty spots around the island  were really lucky,' she told The Courier Mail on Wednesday.

'Basically its about an American actor living and working on Kgari [Fraser Island]

'She wants to get into an acting course but she doesnt have money, then she finds out reality show is coming to the island and shes asked to join the show as a wildcard.

'But along the way falls love with the lead guy.'

In the upcoming rom-com the 32-year-old Canadian-born actress will play an American contestant on a Bachelor-type reality show who enters the dating competition for the money - but ends up falling in love with the show's star

This is the second film Sainsbury has filmed on the famed tourist destination in the last twelve months, having completed 13 Summers with Bec Hewitt and Georgie Parker earlier this year.

Fish, meanwhile, rose to fame in 2010 after playing the character of April in Seven's soap Home and Away.

The Canadian-born actress later starred in the Disney TV series As the Bell Rings.

She recently appeared in the Amazon Prime rom-com movie For the Love of Chocolate.
Quad Webb has broken her silence on the tragic death of her three-year-old great- niece Aryanna 'Ari' Rice, who police said drowned in the Married To Medicine star's pool on July 7.

The same week of Ari's passing, Webb  who has not posted to social media since July 4  also lost her aunt Bev in a 'separate occasion.'

In a statement published to Instagram Wednesday, Webb thanked fans for their support as well as for respecting her family's privacy as they continue to grieve.

'Dear Family, Friends and Supporters, I want to express my deepest gratitude for your love, prayers, condolences, emails, flowers, text messages, phone calls and support as we grapple with the losses of my beloved Ari and my aunt Bev,' she began.

'Your comforting words and gestures have been invaluable to us, providing strength and solace during these trying times.

Quad Webb has broken her silence on the tragic death of her three-year-old great niece Aryanna 'Ari' Rice, who police said drowned in the Married To Medicine star's pool on July 7

In a statement published to Instagram Wednesday, Webb thanked fans for their support as well as for respecting her family's privacy as they continue to grieve

RIP: Aryanna 'Ari' Rice drowned in the Married To Medicine star's pool on July 7

'Thank you also for honoring our request for privacy as we navigate our grief. This respect has allowed us the emotional space to be with family and come to terms with our losses,' Webb continued.

'Your understanding means the world to us and has been a significant part of our healing process... your unwavering support has been a bright spot during this dark period, providing a sense of unity and love that has been heartwarming.

'Thank you for enriching our lives during this challenging time, in ways that words can't fully capture,' wrote Webb, who signed off with 'heartfelt appreciation and love.'

Webb received condolences from her co-stars Dr. Jackie Walters and Dr. Heavenly Kimes  though she's since turned off the post's comment section.

News of Aryanna's death first broke in late July.

A police report revealed that the toddler had drowned at Webb's Marietta, Georgia home on the night of Friday, July 7. She was discovered unresponsive in the pool.

Two men told cops they were hanging out by the pool in the evening before going inside. They later noticed what they initially thought was a doll floating in the water.

After realizing it was a child, the report states that the men immediately called 911. When officers arrived they found firefighters rendering medical aid.

The little girl was then rushed to the nearby Scottish Rite Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

It is not clear whether Webb, whose full name is Quadriyyah Webb, was home at the time of the drowning.

TMZ confirmed that Webb was Ari's niece. Webb had previously posted about the little girl on her Instagram, posting in celebration of her third birthday back in April.

'Wow, I cant believe my baby is 3 years old today! I remember you falling to sleep laying on my chest. You absolutely stole my heart from the moment I saw you; Ari youre so special to me and Im grateful to be apart of your life! I got you forever!!! Happy birthday chocolate drop,' wrote the reality star alongside a large carousel of pictures.

Grief: The same week of Ari's passing, Webb (pictured)  who has not posted to social media since July 4  also lost her aunt Bev in a 'separate occasion.'

A police report revealed that the toddler had drowned at Webb's Marietta, Georgia home on the night of Friday, July 7. She was discovered unresponsive in the pool (pictured)

Officers determined that the child was the daughter of Tameka Webb of Memphis, Tennessee

The two men who were by the pool that day told police that they were visiting the house and were in the pool for around two hours from 6pm to 8pm.

They got out and ordered pizza before heading inside where they hung out for a while longer. When they went back downstairs they noticed the child, who they initially thought was a doll.

Officers determined that the child was the daughter of Tameka Webb of Memphis, Tennessee.

The report also listed Webb's Marietta mansion as the child's address, though officers say Ari was just at the home for a month-long vacation.

Authorities also spoke to the child's grandmother, Mary Loise Cox, who said the last time she saw her granddaughter was with her daughter, Quadrryah, but she was not able to remember the precise time.

Webb has not commented publicly on the accident, nor has she clarified what her precise relationship to the child is.

The outlet also shared a statement from Quad's rep that read: 'Quad Webb and family have suffered the loss of two beloved family members, in separate occasions, in just one week.

'This has been an incredibly challenging experience for the entire family. Your understanding and support are deeply valued.

'In this trying time, we extend our heartfelt gratitude for the kindness and compassion shown by the public, fans and media. We kindly request much needed privacy during this period of mourning as Quad is taking time to grieve with her family.'

Webb has been a cast member on Bravo's Married to medicine for the majority of its 10 seasons.

The show, which debuted in 2013, follows the lives of several Atlanta women who are in or involved with the medical community.

Webb has been a cast member on Bravo's Married to medicine for the majority of its 10 seasons

Webb has been a primary cast member on the show for most of the series - though in season eight, she was temporarily downgraded to a 'friend'; seen in 2021

The cast includes doctors and the wives of doctors.

Until 2018, Webb was married to Dr. Gregory Lunceford, who recently got remarried.

Webb has been a primary cast member on the show for most of the series - though in season eight, she was temporarily downgraded to a 'friend.'

According to Bravo, Webb is a former medical sales rep. and current business owner, author, fashion icon and philanthropist.
Margot Robbie and Liam Hemsworth fans are losing it over their accents in an unearthed clip of the pair from their early acting days.

The video, which is going viral on TikTok, sees Margot, 33, and Liam, also 33, starring in scene on long-running soap Neighbours together back in 2008.

Liam, who played Josh Taylor from 2007 to 2008, and Margot, who played Donna Freedman from 2008 to 2011, have a heated argument about their friends.

Margot's character says phrases like 'cut the pity party' and 'talk to the hand' while defending her friend Bridget, played by Eloise Mignon.

American fans were left stunned over the pair's very Aussie accents.

'I dont think Ive ever heard him talk with his Aussie accent,' one fan commented on the TikTok video.

'I dont think Ive ever heard him talk with his Aussie accent,' said another, while one wrote, 'I forgot Margot is Aussie.'

A fan also joked: 'Thank god for subtitles.'

Margot Robbie and Liam Hemsworth fans are losing it over their accents from an unearthed clip of the pair from their early acting days. The video, which is going viral on TikTok , sees Margot, 33, and Liam, also 33, starring in scene on long-running soap Neighbours together back in 2008

Liam, who played Josh Taylor from 2007 to 2008, and Margot, who played Donna Freedman from 2008 to 2011, have a heated argument about their friends

Liam and Margot both got their start in acting on the classic Aussie soap before they both went on to become Hollywood stars.

Fans also pointed out how several Australian actors began their careers on soaps like Neighbours or Home and Away.

'I love how basically all Australians actors start on neighbours,' someone said.

Liam and Margot both got their start in acting on the classic Aussie soap, before they both went on to become Hollywood stars

Margot bagged the role of Donna Freedman on the show when she was just 17 and moved to Melbourne where she had no friends or family.

She made a quick cameo in the final TV episode of the soap, which she found 'very emotional.'

While the show has since been saved and will be revived digitally, Margot was one of the many stars who returned for the star-studded finale.

Speaking at BAFTA: A Life In Pictures, supported by electronics brand TCL, in London last year, she explained: 'When it was ending it was a very emotional thing. I wrote everyone a big letter with all my memories and sent 37 bottles of champagne for the years it had been on air - and of course I did a video they could play.'

Margot bagged the role of Donna Freedman on the Australian show when she was just 17 and moved to Melbourne where she had no friends or family

After moving to Hollywood, Margot landed a role in TV series Pan Am and two years later in 2013 she bagged her first feature film role in Richard Curtis' romantic comedy About Time.

She most recently starred as Barbie in the 2023 film alongside Ryan Gosling.

Meanwhile, Liam launched his career playing wheelchair-bound hunk Josh Taylor on the street from 2007 to 2008.

He's since taken Hollywood by storm in his role as Gale Hawthorne in The Hunger Games and has recently been cast to replace Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in season four of The Witcher.
Kanye West and 'wife' Bianca Censori have become a laughing stock in Italy following their latest bizarre display on Wednesday.

Censori, who has worn a slew of eccentric outfits during the couple's Italian getaway, was spotted walking the streets of Florence almost topless while holding a purple cushion over her chest to cover up her breasts.

West, 46, meanwhile strolled beside the Australian architect, 28, in an all-black ensemble including a strange shawl and sock-like slippers.

In a humiliating twist, photos of have emerged of onlookers laughing at the pair behind their back as they made their way down the cobblestone footpath.

Online critics have also mocked West and Censori for attempting to look edgy, yet failing so spectacularly.

Kanye West, 46, (left) and 'wife' Bianca Censori, 28, (right) have become a laughing stock in Italy after they stepped out in Florence on Wednesday - with Censori covering her breasts with a pillow while West covered up in a bizarre black shawl and sock-like slippers

'Everyone laughing at her lol. Girl, what the hell are you thinking? Even if this is just a publicity stunt the joke is on you!' one commented.

'People are laughing at them. And not as in, 'Wow, look it's Kanye'. It's, 'Wow, these people are in our beautiful country and think they're really something'', another agreed.

'They think they're being so avant-garde but the world is laughing at them,' someone else added.

In a humiliating twist, photos of have since emerged of onlookers laughing at the pair behind their back as they made their way down the cobblestone footpath

Italian residents have also poked fun at the Censori and West's latest antics online.

'They are an embarrassment to our country. If it is for publicity, they are mistaken because all this behaviour does is disgust decent people,' someone wrote.

'We are laughing at you,' another added.

Online critics have also mocked West and Censori for attempting to look edgy, yet failing so spectacularly

Censori was first seen holding the pillow over her chest early on Wednesday morning as she and West made their way out of their hotel in Florence.

A local photographer later revealed the pair enjoyed a shopping trip at designer brand Marni, while she continued to sport the wild ensemble.

Even more bizarrely, Censori was seen clutching onto the same cushion hours earlier - when she and Kanye enjoyed a late night dinner together, however, she appeared to be wearing a long-sleeved bodysuit for their evening meal.

'They are an embarrassment to our country. If it is for publicity, they are mistaken because all this behavior does is disgust decent people,' one angry Italian wrote

But when they ventured out in the morning, the Kim Kardashian lookalike had nothing but a small piece of tattered fabric wrapped around her back underneath her breasts, leaving them entirely exposed behind the cushion.

This suggested that the top she had been wearing the night before had either been ripped or DIY-ed with some scissors.

It seemed like the racy ensemble did not come as a result of a wardrobe malfunction however - because had it been a mishap she could have easily gone back inside the hotel to change.

She completed the strange look with a pair of clear heels.

No strangers to scandal, West and Censori have continuously raised eyebrows over their choices in clothing. Since arriving in Italy last month, Bianca's barely-there looks have continuously sparked fury from locals. (The couple are pictured together in Italy last month)

As for the Stronger artist, he opted for a pair of black sweat pants, a black shirt, and a scarf wrapped around his face. He chose not to wear any shoes during the outing, walking the streets of Italy in only a pair of socks.

An onlooker told DailyMail.com that enjoyed kept the pillow pressed tightly against her breasts the entire time that they dined on Tuesday evening.

After heading out of their hotel on Wednesday, they went on a shopping trip to Italian designer Francesco Risso's boutique, Marni.

Sources have claimed West and Censori have been courting controversy in Italy to prepare for the launch of a new Yeezy fashion collection

A local photographer caught them embracing with the fashion icon, before heading into the store. It looks like they found something they liked because Kanye held onto a shopping bag as they exited afterwards.

No strangers to scandal, West and Censori have continuously raised eyebrows over their choices in clothing. Since arriving in Italy last month, Bianca's barely-there looks have continuously sparked fury from locals.

She has been seen donning sheer and mesh outfits that left her breasts clearly visible, which social media users described as 'disrespectful' in a country known for its conservative Catholic heritage.

West and Censori wed in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills in January, about two months after the rapper's divorce from Kim Kardashian was finalised (West and Censori are pictured in Los Angeles on May 13)

Things reached new heights last week, when the two stars were caught engaging in what appeared to be a risque act during a boat ride through Venice.

The musician bared his naked buttocks to a slew of gawking tourists as he leaned against the back of the vessel, while Bianca nestled her head in his lap.

Still, the pair didn't appear to mind who spotted them during the trip - given that they were surrounded by other boats filled to the brim with tourists, all of whom had a perfect view of them putting on their amorous display and quickly whipped out their phones.

Bianca has a degree in architecture and worked for Kanye's design company Yeezy

DailyMail.com exclusively revealed afterwards that police are investigating the couple over the compromising photos.

A law enforcement source said that they had identified the driver of the water taxi they were on and were expecting to question him in the next few days about what exactly went on.

Venezia Turismo Motoscafi, the company that rented the boat to Kanye and Bianca, also told Daily Mail Australia that the couple had been banned for life from using its services following the crude act.

Insiders have meanwhile theorised to Page Six that the Bianca and Kanye's attention-grabbing antics may be part of a publicity stunt to promote his 'imminent' new album.

They claimed he is currently planning a major career 'comeback' - and that his and his 'wife's' actions are all part of a bigger plan to get people talking about him.

Censori , who was hired as the Head of Architecture for Yeezy, was first linked to Kanye back in January 2023 - just months after his divorce from ex-wife Kim was finalised.
Todd and Julie Chrisley's daughter Savannah has slammed the 'awful' and 'violent' conditions that she says her parents are being subjected to in jail - claiming that 'corrupt' prison guards are punishing them by cutting off air conditioning and locking down ice machines while they suffer in blistering 100-degree heat.

Disgraced reality TV stars Todd, 54, and Julie, 50, were found guilty of a $30million tax fraud scheme in 2022, and sentenced to a combined 19 years in jail.

During their time in prison, the couple's lawyers have made repeated claims about their ill-treatment behind bars, while slamming officials for denying the couple's appeal for home confinement last month.

And according to their daughter Savannah, 26, there has been no end to their plight, with the reality star offspring sharing new details about the grim conditions Todd and Julie are currently facing in an exclusive video shared with DailyMail.com.

In the clip, which was filmed at LAX, Savanah said that her parents have complained about being locked up 'in 100-degree heat', claiming that they 'have no air conditioning' and that 'the prison is padlocking the ice machines just to retaliate against the inmates'.

Savannah Chrisley, 26, has shared brutal details of her parents' 'awful' and 'violent' life in federal prison

Disgraced reality stars Todd, 54, and Julie, 50, are currently serving a combined 19-year prison sentence after being found guilty of a $30 million tax fraud scheme

Savannah was pictured exiting LAX airport with an array of Louis Vuitton luggage - including a carry-on suitcase that retails for around $3,400

Todd is currently serving his 12-year sentence in Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Florida, while Julie, 50, is situated at the Federal Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, for her seven-year sentence.

'I mean it's all awful, our federal system is all out of whack and there needs to be reform and change,' Savannah - who was toting thousands of dollars worth of Louis Vuitton luggage - said.

'People are living in inhumane conditions, people are dying in these prisons, and they sweep it under the rug.

'The people who are running the prisons are the corrupt ones so they should be in there themselves.'

When asked what 'inhumane' conditions her parents have been subjected to Savannah said: 'Being in conditions where it's 100 degrees inside and having no air conditioning, and the prisons padlocking the ice machines just to retaliate against the inmates.'

She added: 'I know for a fact [this has happened] where dad is. Where mom is, they just don't... it's bad.'

Television personality Savannah revealed that she speaks to both her mom and dad 'multiple times a day', and revealed that they are living in open bays and they aren't locked in cells.

But while she is able to maintain contact with the shamed pair, Savannah said that her parents' communication with each other has been limited entirely to email because they believe prison officials are withholding and 'tampering' with their mail.

'They're emailing a little bit. What's unfortunate is you have people in these prisons who are holding their mail. And that's mail fraud. So they are tampering with federal mail,' she said.

When quizzed on whether her parents feel at all guilty about their actions, Savannah said they're maintaining their innocence.

Savannah told DailyMail.com that her parents have complained about being locked up inside 'in 100-degree heat and having no air conditioning'

Todd is serving his 12 year sentence Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Florida, pictured

Julie is serving her sentence inside the Federal Prison Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky

On July 16, the federal government rejected Todd and Julie's appeal for home confinement

'Definitely no guilt for actions because they were offered a plea deal and they turned it down, because they are not going to say something they haven't done,' she said, while also warning that there will be 'a lot of legal action'.

According to the star, Todd and Julie spend a lot of time reading and writing - and she said that they are both focused on using their own plight in order to raise awareness about the struggles of other inmates.

'There are a lot of people in the system who get lost and people don't care to hear their stories,' Savannah said, before hinting that Todd and Julie are planning to pen a tell-all book about their experiences.

'They may be working on books, they may, who knows... but they are definitely documenting every little thing that goes on,' she shared.

Savannah further claimed that prison guards have repeatedly punished her parents for sharing stories about their grim experiences behind bars - but insisted that they will not stop speaking out 'for the greater good.

'There's already retaliation happening because of how I'm exposing things,' she claimed. '[But] if it means we make a change for the greater good, then they're willing to be uncomfortable.

In August, a family insider told DailyMail.com that the pair were 'feeling completely hopeless about their situation' and are terrified at the idea of losing their latest appeal because it will 'mean at least another year of living in their hell hole' jails.

It came after the couple's lawyer Jay Surgent claimed Julie was menaced by a poisonous snake while her husband claimed a fellow inmate tried to sneak a photo of him while he was sleeping.

Speaking in an interview with Fox News Digital, he said: 'The living conditions are horrible, and it was reported to me that there was a poisonous snake that was got into Julie's cell area that had to be embolized and taken out.'

The reality star offspring wore cargo-style jeans and a white T-shirt as she wheeled her Louis Vuitton luggage out of the airport

The Chrisleys shot to fame in the reality show Chrisley Knows Best, which premiered in 2014

In August, the pair were said to be 'at the lowest point they have been yet' after their recent appeal for home confinement was rejected.

Surgent continued: 'As of this day she is sitting in 100 degree temperature with no air conditioning, and no one seems to care.

'Todd Chrisley was singled out in reference to the non-processing of his Cares Act application.

'Someone was allowed to take a photo of him while he was sleeping, and this is a result of his celebrity status.

'Todd has no air conditioning, plumbing conditions are bad, there is mold and fungus everywhere, and again no one seems to care.'

A source close to Julie also revealed that she had been 'broken down' by her brief time behind bars - and now bitterly 'regrets' the extreme lengths she went to for fame and money, blaming herself for allowing her husband Todd to 'push her into' a tax fraud scheme that ultimately saw them both sentenced to lengthy stints in prison.

'She is not doing well at all,' an insider said. 'She cannot fathom how she will spend years being locked up and feels that she let her family down.'

They added that Julie was now telling friends that she is furious with herself for allowing her husband convince her that they would 'never go to jail' for the scheme.

'Todd assured her that they would not go to jail and now Julie regrets what she did in the name of fame,' they continued, adding that the ex-reality matriarch is losing all hope that the pair will manage to pull off a successful appeal.

Meanwhile, Savannah has been left to care for her brother and her niece while her parents are behind bars, a role that she described as being the 'hardest, most rewarding job'.

'The kids are my number one focus. Being a bonus parent is the hardest, most rewarding job you'll ever have,' she said.

'Everything got stripped away and I just had to build myself back. And I'm building it back better than ever.'
Abbie Chatfield was hospitalised this week for a severe migraine amid her battle with work addiction.

The reality star, 28, shared a selfie of herself looking unwell in bed with some worrying words.

'I fear I won't survive the day,' she wrote.

She explained she went to hospital after vomiting all night and was given medication, but it had worn off and she was still in a lot of pain.

'Went to hospital last night. The medicine sedated me and it seemed to work until I woke up this morning with the same amount of pain,' she began.

Abbie Chatfield was hospitalised this week for a severe migraine amid her battle with work addiction

'Day three of migraine, help. PS: Feet in hot water didn't do anything but worth a try for anyone with a less severe migraine.'

Back in July, Abbie revealed she had been at a retreat in Thailand to recover from her work addiction issues.

The podcast host recorded a message for her It's A Lot listeners explaining she was taking a week off from work to re-prioritise her commitments.

The reality star, 28, shared a selfie of herself looking unwell in bed and captioned it with some worrying words

In an emotional voice recording, the radio host explained she has a 'genuine addiction to work' and was suffering from serious burnout because of it.

'I've been absolutely depleted and burnt out by the start of this year for a number of reasons,' she said.

'But I've been here for about five days and I think I've realised that my priorities need to shift a bit, to be honest, I've taken on so many jobs and so many roles.'

She continued: 'I'm trying to figure out what I do and don't want to do and I'm trying to not push myself to work way harder than I need to.'

She explained she went to hospital after vomiting all night and was given medication, but it had worn off and she was still in a lot of pain

Abbie went on to say all she had done over a five day period was 'sit around and get massages and swim', but it's still been 'mentally difficult'.

In August, Abbie announced she was quitting radio to focus on her TV career, podcast and personal life after suffering a severe case of burnout.

Despite the success of her Hit Network show Hot Nights with Abbie Chatfield, the 28-year-old told her fans via a 3-minute-long Instagram video that she was 'happy' with her decision to quit.

'I simply need to put my energy into projects that bring me joy and that energise me, rather than drain me,' she explained.

Abbie added that she had also been vomiting all night
Kim Kardashian put her hourglass curves on display in a set of images shared to her Instagram on Wednesday.

The SKIMS founder, 42, showed off her incredible figure in a tiny gold bikini that highlighted her ample bust and flat midriff.

The mother-of-four - who recently enjoyed a night out at Beyonce's Los Angeles concert - wore her long raven tresses parted in the middle and cascading down her back.

Kim struck two poses in front of a mirror as she admired her fit physique, captioning the post 'All that glitters is gold.'

And her 364M followers quickly agreed, with sister Khloe Kardashian commenting three sparkle emojis.

Wow! Kim Kardashian put her hourglass curves on display in a set of images shared to her Instagram on Wednesday

Va va voom! The SKIMS founder, 42, showed off her incredible figure in a tiny gold bikini that highlighted her ample bust and flat midriff

'Gorgeous,' another person added.

The snaps come after Kim - whose ex-husband Kanye West is reportedly trying to turn his new 'wife' Bianca Censori 'into radicalized version of Kim' - and her family enjoyed Beyonce's last Renaissance LA stop in Los Angeles on Monday.

Kim sported matching silver outfits with her family as they all attended the concert at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The reality star was joined by her sister Khloe Kardashian, 39, as well as her mother Kris, 67, daughter North West, 10, and niece Penelope Disick, 11.

Her younger sister Kylie Jenner, 26, was also in attendance and was pictured with boyfriend Timothee Chalamet, 27, for the first time, with the couple even sharing a kiss. Also joining them was sister Kendall Jenner, 27.

Kim and her mother Kris showed off their smooth visages as they posed for glamorous photographs while milling about the crowds at the concert.

The family also adhered to Beyonce's request for fans to wear all-silver outfits to her birthday concerts as they all sported very glitzy matching metallic ensembles.

Kim showed off her incredible figure in a bejewelled custom made Swarovski silver crop top complete with a choker necklace, which she styled with distressed grey jeans.

She clutched a silver handbag in one hand and showed off her smooth visage as she sported a high-glamour make-up palette.

Kris looked equally stylish in a metallic silver jacket and matching trousers, which she teamed with a glittering T-shirt and matching trainers.

Night out: The snaps come after Kim and her family enjoyed Beyonce's last Renaissance LA stop in Los Angeles on Monday.

Stunning: Kim showed off her incredible figure in a bejewelled custom made Swarovski silver crop top complete with a choker necklace, which she styled with distressed grey jeans

Sister power: She shared a number of snaps to her Instagram, including one of her and sister Khloe Kardashian, 39, who rocked skintight silver pants for the occasion

Fun: They were joined by Kim's daughter North West, 10, and niece Penelope Disick, 11

Party bus: Kim also shared footage from the party bus they took to the concert

Meanwhile, Khloe sported fitted silver trousers and a white crop top as she posed with her arm around her daughter Penelope.

Penelope and Kim's daughter North both smiled as they also posed in silver ensembles, nailing Beyonce's desired dress code.

They joined the star-studded line-up at the concert, including the likes of Diana Ross, Adele, Zendaya and Kate Hudson.

Before arriving, Kim, Khloe and the girls were seen singing their hearts out to Beyonce's 2013 hit song Drunk In Love in their party bus.

Kim acknowledged Beyonce's 42nd birthday, writing on her clip: 'On our way to see the birthday girl!' and adding a crown and a bee emoji.

After arriving to SoFi Stadium, Kim shared clips of them to her Instagram page enjoying the concert as a family.
Al Pacino in June welcomed his fourth child at the age of 83 with his 29-year-old ex-girlfriend, Noor Alfallah.

Pacino and Alfallah began dating last April and a source told Page Six at the time that Noor 'mostly dates very rich older men.'

With that in mind, DailyMail.com is taking a look at Noor's high-profile romances  including a tryst with legendary rocker Mick Jagger, 80  as well as her luxe Beverly Hills upbringing.

The socialite dated the Rolling Stones frontman in 2017, when Mick was 74 and she was just 22.

Coming soon: Representatives for The Godfather star confirmed that the glamorous film producer  who is 53 years his junior  is just one month away from giving birth

Following the end of their romance, Noor revealed her thoughts on their age difference - admitting that plenty of 'people made comments,' but insisting that it 'didn't matter to her.'

'Our ages didn't matter to me,' she told Hello. 'The heart doesn't know what it sees, it only knows what it feels. It was my first serious relationship, but it was a happy time for me.'

After she and Mick parted ways, Noor was linked to director and actor Clint Eastwood, 93, in 2019, however, she insisted that the pair were just family friends.

Noor then dated billionaire philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen, now 62, in 2018.

She was also spotted enjoying several dates with Hostel director Eli Roth, 51, that same year.

Noor grew up in the exclusive Beverly Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles and she studied at the UCLA School of Film and Television, before going on to secure a job as a film producer.

The oldest of four siblings, Noor was raised by a Kuwaiti father, Falah, and an American mother, Alana.

Her type: Noor 'mostly dates very rich older men,' according to Page Six; Al seen in April 2023

LA-based Noor was brought up in Beverly Hills, and she studied at the UCLA School of Film and Television

Both have their social media accounts set to private, and according to her dad's LinkedIn page, he is the president of a company called Q8 Capital Inc.

Noor is currently working as the vice president of Lynda Obst Productions at Sony, and is also reportedly developing two feature films with Obst.

The VP, along with her sister Remi, reportedly struck a pod-producing deal with Imagine Entertainment chairman Brian Grazer in 2021.

Noor's younger sister Remi made headlines back in 2013, when she was linked to late singer Michael Jackson's son Prince.

They reportedly dated while they both attended the super-private Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California, and the pair was spotted on a series of dates around LA at the time.

The New York Post reported in 2013 that Noor's family had a fortune 'estimated to be in the high nine-figures.'

Over the years, Noor has built up an impressive circle of high-profile friends - including Grazer, 70, and his wife Veronica, with whom she regularly posts photos on her Instagram account.

She also often flaunts her lavish jet-set lifestyle to her 17,000 followers. Last year, she posted snaps of herself vacationing in numerous luxury locations including Cap d'Antibes, France - where she spent time at fashion designer Jean Pigozzi's private villa.

She boasts an impressive network of high-profile friends, and has previously shared photos of herself with A-listers like Sienna Miller (right)

Noor (pictured left with Timothee Chalamet) is close friends with Imagine Entertainment chairman Brian Grazer and his wife Veronica (pictured back right)

She often flaunts her lavish jet-set lifestyle to her 17,000 followers, and has vacationed in places like Capris, Italy, and Saint-Tropez, France (pictured)

The oldest of four siblings, Noor was raised by a Kuwaiti father, Falah, and an American mother, Alana. She is pictured with her family as a baby

Both of Noor's parents (pictured left in a throwback photo and right more recently) have their social media set to private. Her dad is the president of a company called Q8 Capital Inc.

Noor (left), along with her sister Remi (right), reportedly struck a pod-producing deal with Imagine Entertainment chairman Brian Grazer in 2021

The New York Post reported in 2013 that Noor's family had a fortune 'estimated to be in the high nine-figures.' Noor is pictured as a baby with her father

The year before that, she jetted off to Capri, Italy, and in 2019, she spent time soaking up the sun in Saint-Tropez.

Other pictures see her posing up with a number of her A-list pals, including Sienna Miller, Timothee Chalamet, and Kelly Rutherford.

She is also often spotted eating at popular LA restaurants and partying at glamorous hotspots - including the well-known sushi eatery Nobu, which is often visited by the Kardashians.

In the wake of the news of her and Al's budding new romance, FEMAIL has taken a look back at her other very high-profile relationships - from her tryst with Mick to her fling with Nicolas.

The Rolling Stone rocker: Noor's brief romance with Mick Jagger was her 'first serious relationship' and began when she was 22 and he was 74

Noor and Mick were spotting enjoying a number of romantic dates back in October 2017, while the rocker was in France for the Rolling Stone's No Filter tour.

At the time, sources said that Mick first hooked up with the socialite in a private flat in the suburbs of Paris, with a chauffeur then taking the brunette beauty back to her hotel the following day.

They enjoyed more romantic evenings in the days that followed - including dinner at the Caviar Kaspia with the Stones' backing crew and a private meal at La Stresa.

Noor was also in attendance when the band played the city's U Arena. And the day after the gig, the Satisfaction singer was seen arriving at his new squeeze's hotel.

'Mick still has his legendary charm but even the band were surprised someone as young and beautiful as Noor came to Paris to see him,' an insider told DailyMail.com at the time.

'They are both single and seemed to have a lot of fun together, so everyone just let them get on with it.

Noor was previously in a relationship with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, now 79, whom she split from in 2017. They're pictured together left alongside Ronnie Wood and his wife Sally

'The heart doesn't know what it sees, it only knows what it feels,' she previously said of her age-gap romance with Mick Jagger

Noor said that despite all the negative 'comments' she received about it from people online, she 'didn't regret it' and 'had many great memories' with Mick

'Mick is showing absolutely no sign of slowing down. He certainly had a smile on his face and famous twinkle in his eye.

'Noor is very confident and well educated so she fitted in well at all the upmarket places they went together.'

However, despite sources saying that they were 'both single' at the time, their budding romance caused quite the stir after Mick's spokesperson insisted that he was still in a relationship with Melanie Hamrick - who he had been dating since 2014 and was the mother of his eighth and youngest child, Deveraux.

It's been said that Mick and Noor got together while he was still Melanie, and stayed together long after he and Melanie broke off their relationship - through much of 2017 and 2018.

In April 2018, Noor took to Instagram to share a throwback shot that showed Mick hugging her tightly from behind as they posed alongside Ronnie Wood and his wife, Sally Humphreys.

Captioning the pic, she wrote: 'Same time last year! Miss you guys!'

Eventually, things fizzled out between them, and while speaking to Hello! two years later, Noor - who was 22 when she dated the then-74 rock star - addressed their large age gap.

'Our ages didn't matter to me,' she insisted. 'The heart doesn't know what it sees, it only knows what it feels. It was my first serious relationship, but it was a happy time for me'

She said that despite all the negative 'comments' she received about it from people online, she 'didn't regret it' and 'had many great memories' with Mick.

'Our ages didn't matter to me,' she insisted. 'The heart doesn't know what it sees, it only knows what it feels. It was my first serious relationship, but it was a happy time for me.'

She revealed that they had been introduced at a dinner party weeks earlier, and had managed to keep their burgeoning relationship out of the public eye until they were spotted in Paris during the tour.

Noor was a close friend of Sally, the wife of Sir Mick's bandmate Ronnie, who had invited her to the party.

The billionaire philanthropist: 29-year-old's years-long relationship with art heir Nicolas Burggruen, 61

The son of an art collector and an actress, billionaire philanthropist Nicolas, who previously escorted supermodel Claudia Schiffer, was schooled in Switzerland but made his fortune in America, mostly in property.

He was first spotted having lunch with Noor in April 2018, but sources claimed that she and Mick were still an item at that time.

In 2019, she dated art heir and billionaire philanthropist Nicolas Burggruen, 61

She posted a picture of herself and Nicolas in honor of his birthday, wishing her 'partner in crime' a great day, adding: 'So happy I get to celebrate with you'

Throughout the summer, they were spotted jetting off on numerous romantic getaways to Capri, Italy, and Saint Tropez, France, and continued to share PDA-filled snaps on Instagram

By August of that year, however, it appears that she and Nicolas were going strong because she couldn't stop gushing over him on social media.

She posted a picture of herself and Nicolas in honor of his birthday, wishing her 'partner in crime' a great day, adding: 'So happy I get to celebrate with you.'

Throughout the summer, they were spotted jetting off on numerous romantic getaways to Capri, Italy, and Saint-Tropez, France, and continued to share PDA-filled snaps on Instagram.

In October, Noor and Nicolas were spotted at an art exhibition together in Los Angeles, and one month later, she posted a snap of herself hanging out with Nicolas and her younger brother while celebrating her birthday.

She continued to share snaps with him throughout 2019. It's unclear when exactly the pair split or what went wrong in the end, but the last time they were pictured publicly together was in early 2020.

A rumored romance with Clint Eastwood: How Noor was linked with 93-year-old director - but quickly insisted they were just 'family friends'

Rumors started to spread that Noor and Clint were dating in January 2019, after they were pictured heading off from a night out together.

The Oscar-winning actor and director was seen leaving celeb hotspot Craig's in West Hollywood with movie producer Noor in the back seat of his car, sparking speculation that they were an item.

Days earlier, Clint was also seen with Noor's parents outside of Japanese restaurant Nobu in Malibu, California.

Rumors started to spread that Noor and Clint Eastwood were dating in January 2019, after they were pictured heading off from a night out together (pictured)

However, when asked about the rumored romance, Noor was keen to insist that Clint was just a family friend, telling DailyMail.com, 'There is no relationship.'

'We're not dating. There is no relationship,' she told us. 'We're family friends, and my family was there and that's it.

'My parents were there, other friends were there. Trust me there's no relationship.'

A brief dalliance with Eli Roth: Hostel director, 51, was spotted enjoying several dates with the 28-year-old film producer

Two months after Eli split from his wife Lorenza Izzo, he was romantically linked to Noor.

Rumors started to circulate that they were dating after they both attended the same wedding reception in Malibu.

In the weeks that followed, the two were spotted on a series of dates together, and during one outing, the Noor was even photographed linking arms with the director as they put on a loved-up display on the way to a California-based restaurant.

Since the outings occurred around the same time that she was linked to Nicolas, it's still unclear whether or not Noor and Eli ever actually dated or if they were just friends.
A well-known influencer has been accused of taking photos in business class despite flying economy.

Popular Instagram account Influencer Updates urged their followers to anonymously submit celebrity stories for them to post.

One fan revealed how an influencer posted photos to Instagram from business class during an international flight despite flying economy.

'I work for Emirates and had [influencer] on my flight and her parents,' they began.

'She posted their seats in business class on her Instagram and then went back and sat in her seat in economy for the rest of the flight.'

Influencer takes photos in business class seat after being snuck in by her friend during flight before returning to economy

It comes after Influencer Updates AU also recently claimed an influencer is allegedly pretending to live in a mansion when she in fact resides in a standard three-bedder in Sydney's west.

The social media personality is apparently posting photos on Instagram that imply she lives in the palatial home but her actual living situation is far more humble.

The woman previously shared images of a stunning mansion with a grand entrance, lift and swimming pool - even though she allegedly doesnb't live there.

Popular Instagram account Influencer Updates urged their followers to anonymously submit celebrity stories for them to post

One fan revealed how an influencer posted photos to Instagram from business class during an international flight despite flying economy

She actually lives in a 'tiny three-bedroom house' down the road from one of Influencer Updates AU's followers in western Sydney, where house prices are cheaper than the ritzy east.

The blind item, which was submitted by the follower but blanked out the name of the influencer in question, read: '[Redacted] influencer from Sydney who takes photos like she lives in a mansion with a lift and pool when really it's a tiny three-bedroom house in the west up the road from me.'

The account admin posted two stock photos for illustrative purposes to show how different the real home and the mansion the woman claims to live in actually are.
Naomi Campbell looked every inch the golden girl at the star-studded Victoria's Secret The Tour '23 event in New York City on Wednesday.

The London-born model, 53, put her incredibly long legs on display in a golden mini dress, that also highlighted her toned arms.

The 90s runway sensation paired the look with unique gold heels, and wore her long raven tresses in a straight style. As for glam, the beauty opted for smoky eyeshadow, a touch of blush, and a light pink lipstick for the occasion.

The event is a celebration of the brand's upcoming film-style fashion show, set to be released on Prime Video on September 26.

The underwear brand has launched the campaign to bring back models from the lingerie brands once-iconic 'Angels' list alongside some newer faces.

Golden gal! Naomi Campbell looked every inch the golden girl at the star-studded Victoria's Secret The Tour '23 event in New York City on Wednesday

Dazzling: The London-born model, 53, put her incredibly long legs on display in a golden mini dress, that also highlighted her toned arms

The star-studded event was also attended by Gigi Hadid, Lourdes Leon, Emily Ratajkowski, Lila Moss, Julia Fox among others.

Naomi also shared a reel from Victoria's Secret to her Instagram Stories, where she put her fit form on display in a black lingerie set from the brand's latest The Icon collection.

In the clip she explains in a voiceover what makes a woman iconic: 'It's a woman that knows what she wants, loves what she does, and just keeps breaking the rules and raising the bar high.'

'The one, the only, @naomi,' the brand captioned the post.

Though Naomi was a frequent runway star at Victoria's Secret's famous fashion shows, she was never an Angel.

As reported by People in 2020, the iconic supermodel told The Sun that the brand 'could not afford' her.

The brand launched a new The Icon Victoria's Secret collection in August.

The campaign is part of the companys major rebrand, after it was criticised for promoting unrealistic body image with its non-inclusive culture and accused of failing to protect its models against sexual misconduct.

Glam! As for glam, the beauty opted for smokey eyeshadow, a touch of blush, and a light pink lipstick for the occasion

Unique: The runway sensation paired the look with unique gold heels, and wore her long raven tresses in a straight style

Naomi has proved she has been very busy since she recently modelled her own PrettyLittleThing collection.

The Vogue cover star looked sensational as she slipped into an array of items from her range, which will be stocked in sizes four to 30.

A description about the collaboration on PLT's official website states that the collection pays 'homage to Naomi's legacy and iconic signature style.'

The collab was engineered by the fashion brand's founder Umar Kamani, who happens to be very close friends with the catwalk queen.

Themes maintained throughout the star-studded fashion show included halter neck silhouettes, mini dresses, and sheer materials.

Naomi's collaboration with PLT was announced last month, with some expressing their distaste over promoting fast fashion.

Yet hitting back at the critics, Naomi revealed it was important for her to team up with the leading fashion brand in order to help the designers she'd worked with.

She told Women's Wear Daily: 'I'm looking at myself as a changemaker. As a changemaker, I thought this was something that was a good thing to do.

Lingerie: Naomi also shared a reel from Victoria's Secret to her Instagram Stories, where she put her fit form on display in a black lingerie set from the brand's latest The Icon collection

The one and only: In the clip she explains what makes a woman iconic: 'It's a woman that knows what she wants, loves what she does, and just keeps breaking the rules and raising the bar'

Stunner: 'The one, the only, @naomi,' the brand captioned the post

Iconic: Though Naomi was a frequent runway star at Victoria's Secret's fashion shows, she was never an Angel. The supermodel said the brand 'could not afford' her; Pictured at a 2003 show

Fierce! Naomi recently broke out her legendary catwalk skills as she modelled her new PrettyLittleThing collection during a New York Fashion Week show on Wednesday

'I know that it's fast fashion, and that people have their criticism. I'm not denying them. But as a changemaker, I felt this was a great way to effect change in the industry in getting my emerging designers recognized and seeing them on a global platform.'

Naomi - who has spoken openly about her issues with racism in the fashion world - also discussed her thoughts on 'diversity' in the industry today.

She explained: 'I'm so over the word. This is my point  I feel like so many people just use that word to tick a box, to make sure that they're not called out or anything like that.

'I don't use that word. For me, it's not about using the word or ticking a box  it's about doing the action, the pure action. It's giving a part of your platform and sharing it with someone, who is talented.'
A comedian hailing from the United States has been called out by Australians after his bizarre claim that the country is 'doing nothing' and has 'zero exports'.

Shane Gillis, 35, references Australia in his new stand-up special Beautiful Dogs, which is currently streaming on Netflix.

In a viral clip shared to Netflix Is A Joke's social media pages promoting the special, the comedian explains why Australia is a good country and what he likes about it.

'Australia's good, Australia might be number two, that's a good country dude,' he says.

'Its just a whole country doing nothing. Thats what I like about them. Theyre just down there  zero exports, creating nothing, dude.'

'The only export I've seen come out of Australia is just that YouTube video of that guy punching that kangaroo in the face,' he adds, laughing.

Australia does, in fact, have many exports.

They include iron ore, coal, natural gas, gold, agricultural products like beef and wheat, and minerals such as aluminum and copper.

Our university system, which attracts students from around the world, is also considered an export because it brings in money from overseas.

Australia is also responsible for many inventions and innovations that shape the modern world - including Wi-Fi, the black box flight recorder, hearing aids, the polymer banknote, the HPV vaccine and the ultrasound scanner.

Gillis' light-hearted joke sparked fury among patriotic Aussies, who blasted the skit on Instagram.

One user ranted: '"Australia might be number 2" - Pretty bold from someone who lives in a country without free ambulance usage, free hospital coverage, four weeks of sick leave, and, of course, the fact that we can send out children to school without fearing that they will be mass-murdered.

Comedian Shane Gillis, 35, references Australia in his new stand-up special Beautiful Dogs, which is currently streaming on Netflix. The funnyman makes a bizarre claim that the country is 'doing nothing' and has 'zero exports'

'So thankful to be "second place" to that hole of a country.'

Some users commented listing several exports Australia has provided.

'Wi-Fi, Cervical cancer vaccines, inflatable escape slides for aeroplanes, ultrasound scans, electric drills, cochlear implants, pacemakers, blackboxes,' one wrote.

'Umm, uranium, coal, meat, wool, gas, gold, wheat, copper, iron ore, alcohol, aluminium, crude petroleum. No, we dont export anything,' added another.

The light-hearted joke sparked fury among patriotic Aussies. And it's not the first time Gillis has copped backlash from his ruthless jokes

Someone simply added: 'The most American comment ever.'

It's not the first time Gillis has copped backlash from his ruthless jokes.

The funnyman has previously spoken about being 'destroyed' online after Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels terminated him over offensive remarks he made in 2018.

Gillis was let ago from SNL in 2019 after clips from his 2018 appearance on Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast surfaced only five days after the cast announcement.

Shane Gillis was fired from Saturday Night Live and canceled by the media in 2019. However, the comedian has made a comeback following a string of appearances and his new comedy special, Beautiful Dogs

The comedian used homophobic slurs on the podcast and referred to Asian people as 'ch***s', an ethnic slur directed at people of Asian descent, especially those from China.

After the offensive videos and podcasts surfaced, Gillis said: 'I'm happy to apologise to anyone who's actually offended by anything I've said. My intention is never to hurt anyone but I am trying to be the best comedian I can be and sometimes that requires risks.'

The apology landed badly, but the damage had already been done. Not only was he canceled by the live sketch show, he was also cut adrift by parts of the media and celebrities such as Sandra Oh.

Not only has Gillis apologised, he has continued to be open about the matter years after it happened, focusing on how he was 'destroyed' by Twitter.

Shane Gillis was originally going to be a featured Saturday Night Live cast member on Season 45. However, he was fired five days after the cast announcement

'It was a bad joke', he said during an episode of Bussin' With The Boys on April 28, 2022. 'I'm not saying I shouldn't have been fired.'

Gillis continued: 'It all blew up... It was number one on Twitter for like three days.'

He claimed that SNL attempted to keep him on the show, but that a part of him knew that he would be fired the moment the clips resurfaced.

He said: 'I had a feeling... I knew it was coming the second that I got in trouble.'

'I understood the rules, but why do we have those rules?'
Kanye West's 'wife' has been mercilessly mocked after she stepped out in Florence, Italy, almost topless while holding a purple cushion over her chest to cover up her breasts on Wednesday.

And Bianca Censori's mysterious cushion has now been traced back to one of Europe's most extravagant hotel suites.

While holidaying in Florence, West, 46, and Censori, 28, stayed at the Royal Suite della Gherardesca - a sprawling fifteenth-century palazzo located within the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze.

As seen in photos of the suite's lounge room, the couch is adorned with lavender velvet pillows that are identical to the cushion clutched by Censori in the now-viral pictures her outing on Wednesday.

It is unclear whether the Four Seasons Hotel Firenze has a policy when it comes to removing decor from its rooms.

Bianca Censori's mysterious cushion has now been traced back to one of Europe's most extravagant hotel suites, after the Australian architect, 28, (right) was spotted covering up with a purple pillow while out with 'husband' Kanye West, 46, (left) in Florence on Wednesday

The Royal Suite can be booked for around 17,504 (AUD$18,000) per night, and is regarded as one of Europe's most expensive and extravagant hotel rooms.

Located in the former nobles' quarters at the Palazzo della Gherardesca, it boasts sumptuous furnishings including intricate frescos, 18th-century Capodimonte ceramic floors, elegant stuccos and silk wallpaper.

Spanning 234square metres, the exquisite residence boasts a grandiose central hallway with vaulted ceilings and large windows overlooking the grounds.

While in Florence the couple stayed at the Royal Suite della Gherardesca, and photos of the suite's loungeroom shows the couch adorned with lavender velvet pillows that are identical to the cushion clutched by Censori in the now-viral photos

The Royal Suite can be booked for around 17,504 (AUD$18,000) per night, and is regarded as one of Europe's most expensive and extravagant hotel rooms

It also features an eight-person dining room, a study and a parquet-floored living area - all sumptuously decorated with restored antique details.

The cavernous bathroom, which was once the office of the Southern Railway Company's President, has a large central marble bathtub and tiled walls with industry-inspired iconography harking back to its previous owner.

The Palazzo della Gherardesca has also housed a number of prominent Florentines over the centuries, including members of the Medici Family and Pope Leo XI.

Located in the former nobles' quarters at the Palazzo della Gherardesca, the suite boasts sumptuous furnishings including intricate frescos, 18th-century Capodimonte ceramic floors, elegant stuccos and silk wallpaper

It also features an eight-person dining room, a study and a parquet-floored living area - all sumptuously decorated with restored antique details

Yet despite their regal lodgings, West and Censori looked anything but luxurious as they stepped out on Wednesday.

While Censori dared to bare in see-through Mesh, West sported an all-black ensemble including a strange shawl and sock-like slippers.

In a humiliating twist, photos of have emerged of onlookers laughing at the pair behind their back as they made their way down the cobblestone footpath.

The cavernous bathroom, which was once the office of the Southern Railway Company's President, has a large central marble bathtub and tiled walls with industry-inspired iconography harking back to its previous owner

Online critics have also mocked West and Censori for attempting to look edgy, yet failing so spectacularly.

'Everyone laughing at her lol. Girl, what the hell are you thinking? Even if this is just a publicity stunt the joke is on you!' one commented.

'People are laughing at them. And not as in, 'Wow, look it's Kanye'. It's, 'Wow, these people are in our beautiful country and think they're really something'', another agreed.

he Palazzo della Gherardesca has also housed a number of prominent Florentines over the centuries, including members of the Medici Family and Pope Leo XI

'They think they're being so avant-garde but the world is laughing at them,' someone else added.

Italian residents have also poked fun at the Censori and West's latest antics online.

'They are an embarrassment to our country. If it is for publicity, they are mistaken because all this behaviour does is disgust decent people,' someone wrote.

Online critics have also mocked West and Censori for attempting to look edgy, yet failing so spectacularly

'We are laughing at you,' another added.

Censori was first seen holding the pillow over her breasts early on Wednesday morning as she and West made their way out of their hotel in Florence.

A local photographer later revealed the pair enjoyed a shopping trip at designer brand Marni, while she continued to sport the wild ensemble.

Even more bizarrely, Censori was seen clutching onto the same cushion hours earlier - when she and Kanye enjoyed a late night dinner together, however, she appeared to be wearing a long-sleeved bodysuit for their evening meal.

'They are an embarrassment to our country. If it is for publicity, they are mistaken because all this behavior does is disgust decent people,' one angry Italian wrote

But when they ventured out in the morning, the Kim Kardashian lookalike had nothing but a small piece of tattered fabric wrapped around her back underneath her breasts, leaving them entirely exposed behind the cushion.

This suggested that the top she had been wearing the night before had either been ripped or DIY-ed with some scissors.

It seemed like the racy ensemble did not come as a result of a wardrobe malfunction however - because had it been a mishap she could have easily gone back inside the hotel to change.

She completed the strange look with a pair of clear heels.

No strangers to scandal, West and Censori have continuously raised eyebrows over their choices in clothing. Since arriving in Italy last month, Bianca's barely-there looks have continuously sparked fury from locals. (The couple are pictured together in Italy last month)

As for the Stronger artist, he opted for a pair of black sweat pants, a black shirt, and a scarf wrapped around his face. He chose not to wear any shoes during the outing, walking the streets of Italy in only a pair of socks.

An onlooker told DailyMail.com that enjoyed kept the pillow pressed tightly against her breasts the entire time that they dined on Tuesday evening.

After heading out of their hotel on Wednesday, they went on a shopping trip to Italian designer Francesco Risso's boutique, Marni.

Sources have claimed West and Censori have been courting controversy in Italy to prepare for the launch of a new Yeezy fashion collection

A local photographer caught them embracing with the fashion icon, before heading into the store. It looks like they found something they liked because Kanye held onto a shopping bag as they exited afterwards.

No strangers to scandal, West and Censori have continuously raised eyebrows over their choices in clothing. Since arriving in Italy last month, Bianca's barely-there looks have continuously sparked fury from locals.

She has been seen donning sheer and mesh outfits that left her breasts clearly visible, which social media users described as 'disrespectful' in a country known for its conservative Catholic heritage.

West and Censori wed in a private ceremony in Beverly Hills in January, about two months after the rapper's divorce from Kim Kardashian was finalised (West and Censori are pictured in Los Angeles on May 13)

Things reached new heights last week, when the two stars were caught engaging in what appeared to be a risque act during a boat ride through Venice.

The musician bared his naked buttocks to a slew of gawking tourists as he leaned against the back of the vessel, while Bianca nestled her head in his lap.

Still, the pair didn't appear to mind who spotted them during the trip - given that they were surrounded by other boats filled to the brim with tourists, all of whom had a perfect view of them putting on their amorous display and quickly whipped out their phones.

Bianca has a degree in architecture and worked for Kanye's design company Yeezy

DailyMail.com exclusively revealed afterwards that police are investigating the couple over the compromising photos.

A law enforcement source said that they had identified the driver of the water taxi they were on and were expecting to question him in the next few days about what exactly went on.

Venezia Turismo Motoscafi, the company that rented the boat to Kanye and Bianca, also told Daily Mail Australia that the couple had been banned for life from using its services following the crude act.

Insiders have meanwhile theorised to Page Six that the Bianca and Kanye's attention-grabbing antics may be part of a publicity stunt to promote his 'imminent' new album.

They claimed he is currently planning a major career 'comeback' - and that his and his 'wife's' actions are all part of a bigger plan to get people talking about him.

Censori , who was hired as the Head of Architecture for Yeezy, was first linked to Kanye back in January 2023 - just months after his divorce from ex-wife Kim was finalised.
It's not often that Mindy Kaling shares images of her two children for all to see.

But after camping under the stars in the state of Montana, and all of its lovely natural landscapes and habitat, The Office star couldn't resist teasing her 6.5 million Instagram fans and followers with a bundle of photos and videos taken during the trip.

Kaling, 44, shared the outdoors experience with daughter Katherine, five, and son Spence, two, along with several others who were either family or close friends.

'Montana has it all. River rafting, hiking, The Blackfoot River, campfires, s'mores and the full remains of a deer skeleton. You could not ask for more,' she boasted of the state in the caption of her post.

The actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer actually documented much of what she wrote in the caption with photos or video, including when the group stumbled upon the deer skeleton while out in nature. Her two young kids look mesmerized as they stood over the bones alongside a few of the adults who made the trip.

Family affair: Mindy Kaling, 44, documented her camping trip to Montana with a series of photos and videos in an Instagram post that included rare glimpses of her two children

The vast area where the group were camping was beautifully captured with a picture of Kaling standing on the dock of a gorgeous lake, and another of her lounging on a large rock in one of the region's many rivers and streams.

There's also one clip of her little girl pretending to be flying by putting her arms out to her sides as wings while walking along a bed of rocks towards a stream.

And what would a camping trip be without a fire to cook up some sweet treats like the marshmallows and s'mores?

One small fire could be seen burning away in a pit situation just off to the side of a brick home.

Of course, those fires always come in handy to cook up some BBQ classics, along with a few other healthy dishes that she showcased in one of her photos taken while she ate outside on a picnic bench.

Showing off filmmaking skills, The Mindy Project creator and star gave viewers another incredible view of the landscape by shooting a clip as she walked out of a tent. As soon as she came outside she began to take a pan of the hills, mountains and trees.

She would also appear to boast about her s'more's making abilities with a photo of herself holding up one of her creations that she made in the fire pit that was seen roaring even higher in another picture.

The mother of two also posted a video of the various ingredients used to make her s'mores that included marshmallows, Hershey's chocolate, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and graham crackers.

Gorgeous: The cover photo gave her 6,5 million Instagram fans and followers a great look at the lake where Kaling and company were staying

Wonder of flying: There's one clip of her daughter Katherine, five, pretending to be flying by putting her arms out to her sides as wings while walking along a bed of rocks towards a stream

Cooking up a storm: And what would a camping trip be without a fire to cook up some sweet treats like the marshmallows and s'mores?

Tasty: Of course, those fires always come in handy to cook up some BBQ classics, along with a few other healthy dishes that she showcased in one of her photos

Nature run: Katherine, five and Spence, two, were mesmerized when they stumbled upon the remains of a deer while out stroling through nature

And in one last image, her daughter Katherine played a little hide-and-seek behind a white bathrobe that was hanging in one of the rooms.

Kaling, 44, has never come out publicly to reveal the father of her two children, although there have been many people who have speculated that it was B.J. Novak, who starred with her on The Office.

The Waltham, Massachusetts native has never been bothered by all the chatter over Novak being the dad, in part, because of the long and respectful friendship they've had since meeting on the set.

Early on in their run on The Office as stars and writers the pair dated from 2004 to 2007, and have remained close friends ever since.

That close relationship led her to asking Novak to be godfather to both of her children, which again added speculation that her former beau and longtime best friend is the father of her two children.

Healing: The Office alum soacxked up the powers of a good fire while out in nature

Sweet treat: Kaling held up one of her many s'mores creations during the trip

Added Reese touch: The actress, comedian, writer and producer also shared a video of the various ingredients she used for her s'mores, which included Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Playful: Katharine played a bit of hide-and-seek behind a white bathrobe in a clip

Rumors: Many people have speculated that former boyfriend and colleague B.J. Novak, 44, is the father of her two children, which she has never confirmed, although she has acknowledges she had named him godfather to her kids; they are seen in March 2023

'It doesn't bother me,' Kaling said of all the rumors in an interview with Marie Claire. 'He's the godparent to both my kids -- and they have such a great relationship.'

Kaling went on to explain that at no point have the rumors 'affected my happiness at all, it hasn't affected my kids or B.J.... If that's what is going to be titillating to people, I'll take it.'

She also offered her good friend high praise, revealing that he's 'very good with children! He literally wrote a best-selling book called The Book With No Pictures for kids.'

'It comes very innately to him, you know, like being with children,' she added. 'So he's a great godfather.'
Former Victoria's Secret Angel Candice Swanepoel wore a leggy look for her triumphant return at the San Francisco bra brand's World Tour 2023 event, which took place inside the Manhattan Center in Midtown on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old Lions Model - who originally got her 'wings' in 2010 - flexed her sinewy arms in a black corseted mini-dress featuring a tiny hoop skirt and golden floral embellishment.

There was not an inch to pinch on Candice's sculpted 5ft10in figure as she modeled the 'one-of-a-kind VS look' from stylist Camilla Nickerson, which she paired with black slingback heels and an ankle bracelet.

'It feels incredible to be back. It's lovely to see some old faces that I haven't seen for many years. I'm having the best time!' Swanepoel gushed to VS at her August 30th fitting.

'I am feeling excited, a bit nostalgic...there's a lot going on. A lots of different sets, and some really incredible unique outfits. Like, mine takes quite a long time to get into.'

Former Victoria's Secret Angel! Candice Swanepoel wore a leggy look for her triumphant return at the San Francisco bra brand's World Tour 2023 event, which took place inside the Manhattan Center in Midtown on Wednesday

Hairstylist Leah Caso gave the South African bombshell's flaxen locks a big boost with extensions to elongate her braided updo.

Make-up artist Patrick Ta brought out Candice's beautiful blue eyes and bushy brows for the New York Fashion Week festivities.

Swanepoel originally began working for the lingerie label in 2007 and, six years later, she famously donned the $10M Mouawad 'Royal Fantasy Bra and Garter Belt' featuring 4,200 precious gems and a 52-carat ruby.

Fans can watch Victoria's Secret's World Tour on September 26 via Amazon Prime Video - the same streamer that broadcasts Rihanna's Savage X Fenty fashion extravaganzas.

The documentary-style fashion show project is filmed in Bogota, Lagos, and Tokyo, as well as London with models like Adriana Lima, Gisele Bundchen, Naomi Campbell, Adut Akech, Emily Ratajkowski, Hailey Bieber, Paloma Elsesser, and Sui He.

It's a reboot of the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show - which only employed tall, thin, and long-haired models when it was staged from 1995-2018 before being canceled by ABC due to low ratings.

The 46-year-old retailer experienced a massive reckoning culminating from the association of L Brands Inc.'s former CEO Les Wexner with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as well as the Me Too movement and call for more diversity.

In 2018, the mothers2mothers ambassador - who's fluent in Afrikaans, English, and Portuguese - broke out on her own by launching her swimwear company Tropic of C, which has now expanded into regular clothing.

On the personal front, Candice has two sons - Ariel, 5; and Anaca, turning 7 on October 5 - from her 13-year romance with ex-fiance Hermann Nicoli.

Swanepoel and the Brazilian 41-year-old model - who met when she was 17 and he was 23 - officially ended their three-year engagement in November 2018.

Gun show: The 34-year-old Lions Model - who originally got her 'wings' in 2010 - flexed her sinewy arms in a black corseted mini-dress featuring a tiny hoop skirt and golden floral embellishment

Babe: There was not an inch to pinch on Candice's sculpted 5ft10in figure as she modeled the 'one-of-a-kind VS look' from stylist Camilla Nickerson, which she paired with black slingback heels and an ankle bracelet

Swanepoel gushed to VS at her August 30th fitting: 'It feels incredible to be back. It's lovely to see some old faces that I haven't seen for many years. I'm having the best time! I am feeling excited, a bit nostalgic...there's a lot going on. A lots of different sets, and some really incredible unique outfits. Like, mine takes quite a long time to get into'

Plaited: Hairstylist Leah Caso gave the South African bombshell's flaxen locks a big boost with extensions to elongate her braided updo

Gorge: Make-up artist Patrick Ta brought out Candice's beautiful blue eyes and bushy brows for the New York Fashion Week festivities

Throwback! Swanepoel originally began working for the lingerie label in 2007 and, six years later, she famously donned the $10M Mouawad 'Royal Fantasy Bra and Garter Belt' featuring 4,200 precious gems and a 52-carat ruby (pictured in 2013)

Reboot! Fans can watch Victoria's Secret's World Tour on September 26 via Amazon Prime Video - the same streamer that broadcasts Rihanna's Savage X Fenty fashion extravaganzas

HBIC: In 2018, the mothers2mothers ambassador launched her swimwear company Tropic of C, which has now expanded into regular clothing (pictured August 11)
Jesinta Franklin is known for flaunting her glamorous style and stunning figure on Instagram.

But many of her over 300k followers may have had to look twice at her story on Wednesday, with the AFL WAG appearing to be naked.

However, she wasn't baring all for the world to see - the wife of Lance 'Buddy' Franklin was actually wearing a nude coloured dress.

The 32-year-old model wore the racy gown to a Giorgio Armani Beauty party in Sydney to promote its perfume Si.

Jesinta posted several videos and photos from the event, as she showed off her stunning figure in the skin tight dress.

AFL WAG Jesinta Franklin (pictured) often flaunts her glamorous style and stunning figure on Instagram. But many of her over 300k followers may have had to look twice at her story on Wednesday, as she appeared to be naked

In one clip, she strutted down the streets of Sydney with the Harbour Bridge visible in the background.

Another video showed the brunette beauty posing for photographers in the barely-there gown.

She kept her glossy long locks down in a loose wave as she opted for a glowy makeup look with a pink lip.

However, she wasn't baring all for the world to see- she was actually wearing a nude coloured dress

The influencer is an ambassador for Armani Beauty, and she is busy attending multiple events for the brand.

Last month, she stepped out in style in Melbourne for a makeup masterclass.

Jesinta played model for the evening, taking the stage while Armani's 'National Face Designer' and makeup artist Jason Branigan did her glam live on stage.

Jason painted the WAG's flawless face with brushes and bronzers as he spoke to the crowd about his techniques and spruiked Armani products.

Despite waving goodbye to his $10million contract with the Sydney Swans, Buddy Franklin and his model wife Jesinta certainly won't be hurting for cash any time soon.

Not only are the pair raking in big bucks thanks to lucrative endorsement deals, they also have a lavish $9million mansion on the Gold Coast, where they're rumoured to be relocating to permanently.

The 32-year-old model wore the racy gown to a Giorgio Armani Beauty party in Sydney to promote its perfume Si

Jesinta posted several videos and photos from the event, as she showed off her stunning figure in the skin tight dress

Much of Buddy and Jesinta's wealth comes from their brand power, with the pair picking up a slew of lucrative sponsorships over the years.

Jesinta, a former Miss Universe Australia, has worked with the likes of Cadbury, Dior, Lancome, Seafolly swimwear, Swisse vitamins, Olay skincare, Armani Beauty and more.

In 2018, she famously implied that David Jones could no longer afford to keep her on as an ambassador following a two-year partnership with the department store.

The influencer is an ambassador for Armani Beauty, and she is busy attending multiple events for the brand

'I don't know if department stores have the budget anymore, to be quite frank,' she told the Daily Telegraph at the time.

'I'm really happy being able to work alongside the likes of Harrolds and wear the best of the best,' she added.

Buddy has followed in his wife's footsteps by landing some big endorsement deals of his own over the years.

In addition to working with Jesinta on a joint Dior ambassadorship, the former Swans captain has also worked with luxury Swisse watch company Zenith and headphone brand Beats by Dre.
She stunned her followers recently by sharing dramatic before and after photos showing exactly what revellers experienced at the Burning Man Festival.

And now Kelly Gale is celebrating her safe return from the washout festival, attending Breitling x Charlize Theron Navitimer 'For The Journey' Launch in New York City with her fiance Joel Kinnaman on Wednesday.

The Victoria's Secret model, 28, was glowing while wearing a violet satin mini dress - featuring a unique high neckline that capped over her shoulders.

She accessorised with red velvet shoes that had black straps tying around her ankles, and a gorgeous black handbag.

The model also wore a new Breitling watch, gifted to her ahead of the event.

Kelly Gale (right) is celebrating her safe return from Burning Man Festival with her fiance Joel Kinnaman (left), attending Breitling x Charlize Theron Navitimer 'For The Journey' Launch in New York City on Wednesday

Kelly's dark brunette locks were slicked back into a high ponytail, while she opted for elegant evening makeup with a plum-coloured lip.

As for Joel, 43, the Swedish actor dressed sharp in a cream suit paired with a black T-shirt and dress shoes.

The Suicide Squad star paired his look with long chain necklaces.

The Victoria's Secret model, 28, was glowing while wearing a violet satin mini dress - featuring a unique high neckline that capped over her shoulders

The model also wore a new Breitling watch, gifted to her ahead of the event

Earlier that evening, Kelly sat in the makeup chair ready for her extravagant makeover, sharing a selfie to Instagram while getting her hair done.

'Good to be back in the city,' she wrote for her 1.7 million followers.

The engaged duo scrubbed up nicely after their harrowing ordeal at this year's Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert, after 73,000 revellers were told to shelter in place and conserve food and water on Saturday after a massive rainstorm turned the site into a mud pit.

Earlier that evening, Kelly sat in the makeup chair ready for her extravagant makeover, sharing a selfie to Instagram while getting her hair done. 'Good to be back in the city,' she wrote for her 1.7 million followers

Kelly shared before and after photos of the festival, which capture the hellish conditions she and her fiance faced as the event flooded - and the blissful hours beforehand.

She first posted an 'after' shot showing her and Joel, 43, looking downbeat and holding hands as they waded through the Nevada desert's muddy grounds.

Kelly protected herself from the harsh weather conditions in a baggy patterned blazer and jeans while Joel sported a tan T-shirt and matching pants.

'We're dressed for completely different climates,' Kelly wrote next to the photo and added a laughing emoji.

Kelly Gale stunned fans on Tuesday by sharing before and after the rain photos showing exactly what revelers experienced at the Burning Man Festival. One snap shows Kelly and Joel (pictured together) holding hands as they waded through the Nevada desert's muddy grounds

The stunner then posted a precious 'before' snap of her and Joel packing on the PDA with a big kiss outside the festival shortly before the rain impacted their day.

The final weekend of the hedonisitic event ground to a halt on Friday night as freezing, mud-caked conditions took over.

One festival-goer died during the event, with authorities yet to give details on their death.

The stunner then posted a precious 'before' snap of her and Joel packing on the PDA with a big kiss outside the festival shortly before the rain impacted their day

'Do not travel to Black Rock City!.' Burning Man organisers tweeted, referring to the desert area where the alternative festival takes place.

'Access to the city is closed for the remainder of the event, and you will be turned around', organisers said in a statement on social media.

'Rain over the last 24 hours has created a situation that required a full stop of vehicle movement,' they explained.

Kelly and Joel battled the challenging weather conditions on Sunday as they departed the Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert

About 150mm of rain is believed to have fallen on Friday at the festival site, located about 180km north of Reno, the National Weather Service in Reno said.

Organisers urged festivalgoers already on site to 'conserve food, water and fuel, and shelter in a warm, safe space.'

Those not trapped in the grounds tried not to let the storms dampen their mood, however, with local bars packed with festivalgoers still hoping to make the most of a bad situation.

Upwards of 100,000 people are believed to have made their way to the Nevada wasteland this year, making it among the most attended in Burning Man's history, and the event is always among the most hotly anticipated for festivalgoers every summer.

The Victoria's Secret model also posted a gallery of photos to her Instagram Stories showing herself and Joel wading their way through the desert mud back to civilisation
As the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes wage on, the overall deals of more creatives are being suspended.

J.J. Abrams (Lost, Star Wars), Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project), Greg Berlanti (Arrowverse shows) and Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso) have had their overall deals suspended by Warner Bros., according to Variety.

Other prominent writers such as Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men) and John Wells (E.R.) have also had their deals suspended.

Back in May, just weeks after the WGA strike started, many other companies such as Amazon, HBO, Warner Bros. TV, NBCUniversal, Disney, CBS Studios suspended several other overall deals.

Still, the deals have not been terminated altogether, which means the studios and streamers won't be paying the writers during the strike, though the deals still may be re-instated when the strike is over.

Suspended: As the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes wage on, the overall deals of more creatives are being suspended

Mindy: J.J. Abrams (Lost, Star Wars ), Mindy Kaling (The Mindy Project), Greg Berlanti (Arrowverse shows) and Bill Lawrence ( Ted Lasso ) have had their overall deals suspended by Warner Bros., according to Variety

Suspended: Back in May, just weeks after the WGA strike started, many other companies such as Amazon, HBO , Warner Bros. TV, NBCUniversal, Disney, CBS Studios suspended several other overall deals

Technically the studios could in fact terminate overall deals, since the writers strike has passed the 90-day mark.

Studios and streamers do have the option to kill any deals after the 90-day mark of a work stoppage due to 'force maejure' clauses.

Writers signed to overall deals by studios and streamers typically have their company's overhead paid by the studio/streamer.

When Paramount Television suspended Justin Simien's (Dear White People, Haunted Mansion) overall deal, he even started a GoFundMe page to literally keep the lights on at his company.

The suspension of these deals means that staffers at Abrams' Bad Robot, Kaling's Kaling International, Greg Berlanti Productions and Lawrence's Doozer Productions will not have their salaries paid by Warner Bros. until the strike is resolved.

Still, the fact that the studios haven't terminated the deals at all could be a sign of some progress, since studios did terminate many deals during the 2007-2008 WGA strike.

While the Directors Guild of America (DGA) did come to a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) - which represents most major studios and streamers - the combination of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes has ground practically all productions to a halt.

The only exceptions are productions that have been granted interim agreements with SAG-AFTRA, many of which are films that aren't produced by struck companies.

J.J.'s deal: Abrams signed a massive $250 million overall deal with Warner Bros. in September 2019 that spans five years

Mindy's deal: Kaling signed her overall deal with Warner Bros. Television in February 2019, which was reportedly a six-year pact that was worth $8.5 million per year

Greg's deal: Berlanti just signed a new pact wih WBTV in January that was set to run through 2027, after the original deal was set to expire in 2024

Bill's deal: Lawrence signed his current pact with WBTV in February 2022 that would keep him at the company through 2028, valued just north of $100 million

Abrams signed a massive $250 million overall deal with Warner Bros. in September 2019 that spans five years.

Kaling signed her overall deal with Warner Bros. Television in February 2019, which was reportedly a six-year pact that was worth $8.5 million per year.

Berlanti just signed a new pact wih WBTV in January that was set to run through 2027, after the original deal was set to expire in 2024.

Lawrence signed his current pact with WBTV in February 2022 that would keep him at the company through 2028, valued just north of $100 million.
Heidi Klum gave her 11.4 million Instagram fans and followers a glimpse into her beauty preparations leading to another results episode on America's Got Talent.

The longtime supermodel and television personality opted for a striking floral minidress and black thigh-high leather boots for her ride to the show's studio in Pasadena.

In the moments before leaving her home she decided to strike a few poses in the yellow-patterned number, which also had touches of white, black, green and burgundy, from Wolfgang Joop.

During the clip Klum revealed how the 'cute little dress was originally a little longer' but she decided to cut it down in order to make it a bit more leggy.

There's also a video of her hair stylist giving her an 'uber tousled' touch to her long blonde locks, complete with a healthy dose of volume that she described as a 'just got out of bed look.'

Stunner: Heidi Klum, 50, stunned in a yellow floral minidress from Wolfgang Joop and black thigh-high boots for the ride from her home to the AGT studio in Pasadena

Upon arrival, Klum made the grand walk from her car to the entrance doors for the AGT studio in the colorful ensemble while carrying a green purse and wearing cool dark sunglasses.

From there, the fashionista had little time to waste in getting into her outfit for the show.

On this all important episode, where some contestants will learn their fate, the German-born star changed into a white and silver minidress that came complete with thick rope trim along the neckline.

The fun but still elegant number appeared to have some sort of sparkles scattered throughout the piece, along with long strips of fabric hanging from the front.

Instead of those massive leather boots, Klum deiced to go more feminine and change into blingy open-toe heels that were a perfect match for the glistening minidress.

Looking for a change from her opening hairstyle, the longtime catwalk queen pulled the back of her voluminous locks into a ponytail, which gave it a youthful feel.

At one point, after the entire outfit came together, the legendary supermodel showed off her catwalk strut in a clip that she shot in what appeared to be a storage area.

She walked straight forward, with confidence, towards the photographer, and then did a perfect spin, before offering a kiss to the camera.

Messy beauty: The longtime supermodel said her hair stylist giving her an ' uber tousled' touch to her long blonde locks that she described as a 'just got out of bed look.'

Accessorizing: The German-born star also carried a lovely green purse and wore cool shades

The last strut: Upon arrival, Klum made the grand walk from her car to the entrance doors for the AGT studio

Socializing: In the moments before leaving her home she decided to strike a few poses in the yellow-patterned number, which also had touches of white, black, green and burgundy

Personal touch: During the clip, Klum revealed how the 'cute little dress was originally a little longer' but she decided to cut it down in order to make it a bit more leggy

Time to shine: After arriving at the AGT studio, Klum wasted little time in getting into her outfit for the episode and do a test run for her Instagram fans and followers

Working it: The longtime catwalk queen showed off some of her old skills by strutting her stuff in a storage area for an Instagram clip

Wardrobe change: The AGT judge changed into a white and silver minidress with rope trim along the neckline and the back region

Klum also showcased her new ponytail that she wore for the AGT episode

Wild time on set: While on the set of AGT, Klum shot some selfie clips with Sofia Vergara dancing all around her

Baby got back: The legendary supermodel showed how the rope trim went from the neckline into the back region, all while the entire piece seem to glisten under the harsh lights of the set

Do a little dance: Decked out in a yell and black animal print, Vegara continued to get the crowd all riled up by shaking her bootie

Before the cameras began to role for the all-important episode, the two elegant ladies of the judges panel couldn't resist getting playful.

Klum shot a number of clips in between segments of AGT where Sofia Vergara shook her fab figure in a yellow and black animal print dress that hugged her womanly curves.

She would dance all around Klum, all while she continued to shoot clips she posted on her Instagram page.

The iconic covergirl began her run on the competition reality show in 2013, which ran about five years through until 2018. Her hiatus from the series lasted a couple of years before she returned back to the judges panel in 2020.
Wannabe Blockheads can get their tools ready.

Channel Nine has announced that applications are now open for The Block 2024.

Next year will mark the 20th season for the blockbuster renovation show, which will once again be hosted by Scott Cam.

And producers have advised that successful applicants can expect filming to begin in February and continue for 12 weeks.

The show's creators are looking for 'enthusiastic, motivated, hardworking teams of two to participate in the twentieth season of Australias biggest and best renovating challenge.'

Channel Nine has announced that applications are now open for The Block 2024. Pictured: Host Scott Cam

Producers have advised that successful applicants can expect filming to begin in February and continue for 12 weeks Pictured: 2023 contestants Steph and Gian

Block judges: Shaynna Blaze (2nd L), Neale Whittaker (2nd R) and Darren Palmer (1st R)

The latest guidelines have advised successful applicants won't be able to continue their regular work during filming.

Producers are also encouraging teams with previous renovation experience to apply - though it is not a requirement.

The application also makes clear that successful contestants will receive a cash allowance to cover expenses.

No details have emerged about what fans can expect from the upcoming landmark season.

The latest guidelines say successful applicants won't be able to continue their regular work during filming

No details have emerged about what fans can expect from the upcoming landmark season, but the Herald Sun reported in May that The Block's producers were eyeing off the town of Daylesford, Victoria

However, the Herald Sun reported in May that The Block's producers were eyeing off the town of Daylesford, Victoria as a possible location.

Situated 108kms from Melbourne, the historic country village is known as aa lush holiday getaway.

According to the report, The Block's scouts have been looking at vacant lots outside of the town.

Meanwhile, Neale Whitaker will return as a judge next year, while his co-judges Shaynna Blaze or Darren Palmer are yet to be confirmed.
He retired from the West Coast Eagles after playing 213 games last month.

And retirement looks good on AFL star Nic Naitanui.

The footy star and his fiancee Brittany Brown looked relaxed during a holiday in Bali this week as they prepare to welcome a baby girl in November.

The couple already share an 11-month-old son called Ezekiel, who adorably clung onto his dad during his farewell celebrations at Optus Stadium.

A cute photo of Nic playing with his son in a pool at their Bali resort was posted to Instagram on Wednesday.

AFL star Nic Naitanui is enjoying family holiday in Bali with his pregnant fiancee and 11-month-old son after retiring from the West Coast Eagles

In the snap, he playfully threw his son into the air as he wore a West Coast Eagles rashie.

Nic's fiancee Britanny also shared a photo of herself playing with their baby on a sun lounger.

The mother lovingly kissed her child for the photo as he was dressed in an adorable brown-and-white striped matching set.

Nic's fiancee Britanny Brown (pictured) shared a photo of her playing with her 11-month-old son Ezekiel

The couple are getting ready to welcome a baby girl in November (both pictured)

Brittany showed off her growing baby bump in a blue-and-white bikini as she kept her head covered with a cream cap.

She captioned the photo: 'Mummas Boy 11 months with my little bestie'.

Nic retired from his beloved team this year along with three other West Coast legends, including captain Luke Shuey and Shannon Hurn.

Nic retired from his beloved team this year along with three other West Coast legends, including captain Luke Shuey and Shannon Hurn

At a recent award night for the team, Naitanui said he hopes his son follows in his footsteps.

'Thanks to my beautiful partner, Britt - weve got another one on the way - but for all that you do looking after our, hopefully, future ruckman, Ezekiel,' he said.

'Hes probably at home practicing his taps right now. Well get him ready for 18 years time.'
Julia Fox was a total head turner on Wednesday as she arrived at the celebration event for the upcoming Victoria's Secret 'The Tour' runway show in New York City.

The Uncut Gems star, 33  who will hit the catwalk for the lingerie brand in a feature film for Amazon Prime Video  delivered goth glamour while modeling a set of black angel wings for photographers.

She styled the dramatic accessory with a shimmering sheer dress that gave a glimpse at her chiseled physique.

Fox protected her modesty by layering a lacy white bra and underwear beneath her racy sheath.

She strolled the pink carpet in a pair of silver platform heels and opted to go without jewelry for the night.

Wow! Julia Fox was a total head turner on Wednesday as she arrived at the celebration event for the upcoming Victoria's Secret 'The Tour' runway show in New York City

Goth glam: The Uncut Gems star, 33  who will hit the catwalk for the lingerie brand in a feature film for Amazon Prime Video  delivered goth glamour while modeling a set of black angel wings for photographers

Fox rocked a funky black mullet that flowed down past her waist in wavy strands.

As for makeup, the mother-of-one made her blue eyes pop with smokey black eyeshadow.

Her already chiseled cheekbones were sculpted with pink blush and she painted her plump pout with nude lipstick.

Fox oozed confidence in front of the cameras before heading inside the event to mingle with the likes of Emily Ratajkowski, Gigi Hadid, Naomi Campbell and Adriana Lima.

Victoria's Secret made the decision to officially phase out their iconic 'Angels' in 2021 after over two-decades of recruiting the world's top models to hit the catwalk.

This go around, audiences will be treated to a 'reimagined' feature-length show on Amazon Prime Video.

It will highlight 'emerging global trailblazers' instead of strictly lingerie-clad vixens.

In a press release, the brand stated the film will 'unite fashion, film, art and culture featuring dynamic global creatives, top supermodels, musical talent and more.'

Sheer perfection: She styled the dramatic accessory with a shimmering sheer dress that gave a glimpse at her chiseled physique

Lace: Fox protected her modesty by layering a lacy white bra and underwear beneath her racy sheath

Edgy: Fox rocked a funky black mullet that flowed down past her waist in wavy strands

Arrival: Before hitting the pink carpet, Julia was caught strolling up to the venue

It will follow the 'VS20', 'a group of 20 innovative global creatives who will conceive four fashion curations from the vibrant cities of Bogota, Lagos, London and Tokyo.'

Victoria's Secret The Tour 2023  the first VS fashion show in four years  will begin streaming on September 26th.

Fox has been taking New York Fashion Week by storm.

Along with strutting her stuff for VS, Fox also made an appearance at an event put on by the jewelry company Pandora.

For the occasion, the former girlfriend of Kanye West made jaws drop as she struck a pose in a leather bandeau-style top, a thin strip of dark material decorated with various wristwatch heads.

She kept up the striking timepiece theme  which fit with the jewelry brand's event  with a similarly tiny black leather mini skirt with wristwatches dangling vertically along it.

She completed the look with tights and black open-toe heels covered in edgy silver spikes.

Before stripping down for the red carpet, Fox rolled up to the event in a black leather duster that was draped down on her arms.

Busy gal: Along with strutting her stuff for VS, Fox also made an appearance at an event put on by the jewelry company Pandora

Unique: For the occasion, the former girlfriend of Kanye West made jaws drop as she struck a pose in a leather bandeau-style top, a thin strip of dark material decorated with various wristwatch heads

Vinyl vixen: Earlier in the day, Fox was spotted shooting what appeared to be a campaign for Victoria's Secret on the streets of NYC

She turned the sidewalk into her own personal catwalk just steps from the star-studded venue.

Earlier in the day, Fox was spotted shooting what appeared to be a campaign for Victoria's Secret on the streets of NYC.

She looked every bit a vinyl vixen in a barely-there bandeau top and matching skintight pants.

Fox was wearing the same angel wings that she would later wear on the event red carpet.
Taylor Momsen revealed during a recent podcast interview that she was 'relentlessly' ridiculed at school over her role in 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas'.

The 30-year-old actress and rocker reflected on her experiences as a child actor after appearing in the 2000 Christmas classic based on the iconic Dr. Seuss book.

Appearing on SiriusXD's 'Podcrushed' podcast, she told her former Gossip Girl castmate and podcast host Penn Badgley: 'Making friends was always challenging for me.

'First of all, The Grinch changed my life in a multitude of ways  one of them being I was made fun of relentlessly. ...Every time I would start a new school or go somewhere else, I don't even think the kids knew my name. I was just ''Grinch Girl'',' said Taylor, who reunited with Penn, 36, more than a decade after the finale of the CW show Gossip Girl.

'Not even the character name [Cindy Lou Who], just ''Grinch Girl''. I got used to it, but it was alienating,' she revealed.

Relentlessly ridiculed: Taylor Momsen, shown in March 2022 in Los Angeles, revealed during a recent podcast interview that she was 'relentlessly' ridiculed at school over her role in 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas'

Penn joked that rather than being 'jealous', the digs from her classmates were 'because those young children are very confident in who they are, and they're just seeing reality'.

Taylor laughed and reflected on how she was able to 'make friends' with people by the time she hit middle school.

She said: 'That was the first [full] year where I was in school, and I had the opportunity to try and actually make friends.

'I put a band together. It was my first band, my middle-school band, a garage band.

'We never could settle on a name. But we would jam after school, and that was always fun. I was singing, playing guitar, writing.

'So as soon as I started to find my little groove in school as a normal kid, Gossip Girl came about and I got uprooted to New York. The band fell apart,' Taylor shared.

She joked that the band was 'gonna be huge', but after having to 'restart it all again in New York', she ended up starting The Pretty Reckless.

She added: 'And it took a minute to find the right band members ... I really wanted to make my own kind of makeshift family.

Christmas classic: Jim Carrey and Taylor are shown in a still from the 2000 film How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Mean kids: Every time I would start a new school or go somewhere else, I don't even think the kids knew my name. I was just ''Grinch Girl'',' said Taylor, shown in a still from the film

'I wanted to be in a band; I wanted to be part of something and not do it by myself. I wanted to be the Beatles; I didn't want to be Elvis  who wants to do this alone? I wanted to share it with people,' Taylor said.

For the taping, Penn kept it casual in a crewneck sweater worn on top of a navy blue t-shirt and slim-fitting black pants.

Meanwhile, Taylor oozed 90s grunge glam as she let an oversized flannel shirt fall off her shoulders and decked herself out in edgy silver chains.

The pair previously portrayed siblings Dan and Jen Humphrey in the long-running CW series, which concluded in 2012.

They made their respective debuts as the Humphrey siblings during Gossip Girl's first season in 2007.

In addition to the two, the program starred figures such as Blake Lively, Leighton Meester and Chace Crawford.

The show was centered on the lives of several students at an upper-class private school in New York City's Upper East Side.

Together again: Taylor reunited with her Gossip Girl castmate Penn Badgley for a recent episode of his podcast Podcrushed

While Penn remained with the program for all of its six seasons, Taylor departed the show at the end of its fourth and made a guest appearance in its series finale.

A rebooted version of the program eventually made its debut in 2021 and ran for two seasons.

The actor went on to found Podcrushed, which deals with the experience of adolescence, alongside co-hosts Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari in May of last year.

The performer has also had his former costars Leighton and Chace drop in for podcast appearances.
The eagerly-anticipated Pirelli Calendar has been unveiled, with Naomi Campbell, Idris Elba, Angela Bassett and Amanda Gorman at the helm.

The shoot, captured by self-taught visual artist Prince Gyasi, took place in both London and Ghana, which is also the hometown of the photographer, is focused on the theme of the calendar focuses on 'timelessness'.

Naomi, 53, who has just collaborated with budget clothing giant PrettyLittleThing, looked incredible in a shot focused on her endless legs while she posed in a studio for a breathtaking image for the company's 50th calendar.

The appearance is her fifth appearance on the iconic calendar, having appeared in both 1987, 1995, 2005 and 2018, with a host of other stars. She caused waves in her 1987 appearance as she was just 16 and went topless in the shoot.

Other talent featured in the 2024 Pirelli Calendar includes the likes King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, in the calendar for the year which will be the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Ashanti Kingdom with the reign of King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

Stunning: The eagerly-anticipated Pirelli Calendar has been unveiled, with Naomi Campbell , Idris Elba , Angela Bassett and Amanda Gorman at the helm

Stunning: The shoots were breathtaking and featured incredible backgrounds with Angela joining Naomi in stealing the show in a golden gown

Heading in: Angela was supported by Prince Gyasi as she strutted into the shoot

Chatting away: Idris, who has Ghanaian ancestry on his mother's side, and Prince Gyasi held hands while sitting on suitcases behind the scenes

Amazing: Author Margot Lee Shetterly (left) and poet Amanda Gorman (right) wore dresses made of hay while posing in front of a board on which the latter wrote

Timeless: Naomi, 53, looked incredible in a shot focused on her endless legs while she posed in a studio looking breathtaking image

Striking: The shoot, captured by self-taught visual artist Prince Gyasi, took place in both London and Ghana, which is also the hometown of the photographer, is focused on the theme of the calendar focuses on 'timelessness'

Snapped: Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the king of the Ashanti empire in Ghana, was photographed for the calendar alongside nearly two dozen elders

His subjects: The photographer posed with Margot and Amanda

The image used in the calendar will reflect the celebration of this anniversary.

Speaking about the theme, Prince Gyasi said: 'I named it Timeless because most of these people defy time. Theyve been able to touch certain heights and open doors for people like me to be able to come in.'

He went on to say that he wanted Timeless to be empowering for his subjects, and for other African people: 'Weve been given the platform to make sure our voices are heard....

'We are using the opportunity to redirect what people have heard over the years  their interpretations of our culture, traditions, what we believe in, who we are as a people. (Im) trying to change the narrative'.

Naomi looked astonishing in the shoot, where she sported a plunging brown dress with a perilously high-rise hem with a chic train.

In Naomi's first appearance in 1987, Terence Donovan caused stirs when he featured a 16-year-old Naomi at the start of her career posing topless.

She went on to appear in the 1995 calendar, shot by Richard Avedon, alongside fellow supermodel Christie Turlington.

Naomi made a comeback in 2005 when Patrick Demarchelier stood behind the camera in O espirito do Brasil themed shoot alongside Adriana Lima on beaches in Ipanema and Copacabana, before her later comeback in 2018.

Rain rain go away: Idris looked to the sky in the stunning shot while holding an umbrella and brief case

Wow! The image used in the calendar will reflect the celebration of this anniversary

Amazing: The ensembles on the shoot were bold and impressive

The calendar was first released in 1964 and caused a stir when it featured full nudity for the first time nine years later. After 10 years out of print due to financial constraints, Pirelli returned with a bang in 1984 - sexier than every before.

The Italian tyre company first signaled it was changing direction with its 2017 calendars, announcing it was 'ripping up the rule book' and giving the hotly-anticipated calendar a new feminist overhaul.

The spread featured Robin Wright, Julianne Moore, Charlotte Rampling, and Helen Mirren (then aged 50, 55, 70 and 71 respectively) and was hailed a triumph for its representation of older women.

The 2024 calendar marks the first ever black photographer to be selected for commission.

They were shot by photographers including Patrick Demarchelier, Nick Knight and Annie Leibovitz. Naomi previously said the Milan-based brand has always been 'very conscious about what's going on in the world'.

The 2024 Pirelli calendar will be released later this year

Golden girl: Angela looked sensational as she preened and posed

Stunning: Bold and bright images were the call of the day on the shoot
Amanda Holden was emotional on Thursday morning as she waved her youngest daughter Hollie, 11, off to school after the long summer break.

The Britain's Got Talent judge, 52, recreated a throwback photo of Hollie giving a thumbs up in her school uniform alongside their beloved dog Rudie.

In the photo, Hollie bore a striking resemblance to her mother as she grinned for the camera.

Amanda wrote: 'Wow. Those years just flew past. Year 7 already. Our little HRH all grown up.

'We couldn't be prouder of her. Smart, sassy and funny. The most loving girl. Let's do this Hollie'.

'Those years just flew past': Amanda Holden was emotional on Thursday morning as she recreated a school photo (L) with her daughter Hollie, 11, as she headed into Year 7 (R)

A host of Amanda's celebrity friend's took to the comment section and couldn't believe how past time has gone.

Kate Thornton wrote: 'She's so grown up!' Lisa Faulkner chimed: 'OMG where does the time go?!!'

Amanda is also proud mum to Lexi, 17. The teenager signed with Kate Moss' modelling agency, Storm last year.

Amanda previously told MailOnline: 'She's been taken on by Storm. She's 17 but I think when she's 18 we'll start looking for her to be in that field.

'At the minute they are working on her look book.'

When asked about her and Lexi's recent red carpet appearances, the TV personality admitted: 'I'm very mindful of what things we go to.

'We went to the Fashion Awards which was really exciting. So yeah, I want to take her to the right things, the relevant things. She's interested in the fashion side of things.'

'She's so grown up!': A host of Amanda's celebrity friend's took to the comment section to gush over the photo recreation

Proud mum: Amanda is also proud mum to Lexi, 17. The teenager signed with Kate Moss' modelling agency, Storm last year

Summer break: Amanda has just returned from a sun-soaked holiday with her girls and husband Chris Hughes

Lexi's modelling career won't come in front of her education though, as Amanda said: 'Lexi's an A* student so I don't want her to mess that up and she wants to do it all.'

The Britain's Got Talent judge told MailOnline that Storm, who have propelled the likes of Cara Delevingne and Cindy Crawford to catwalk stardom, 'came after' her daughter and it was Lexi's decision to sign on the dotted line ahead of interest from rival agencies.

She said at the time: 'Lexi was approached last year and obviously we were waiting until she was 16 to sign anything. It's something she actually wants to do, so I'm taking the lead from her.

'She's a very quiet girl but she knows her own mind. She's very bright and wants to continue her studies.

'There's no pressure and we'll just see what happens. But finishing her education is very much her plan, she'll have our support whatever she decides to do.'
Bobby Brazier heaped praise on dad Jeff as grandmother Jackiey Budden reportedly lashed out at him in a shock outburst.

The Strictly Come Dancing contestant, 20, won Rising Star at Tuesday's National Television Awards and immediately after his big win he confessed that the first thing he wanted to do was hug his father.

He told The Mirror: 'I feel so privileged and I feel like I'm a very little part of this award. I'm blessed. My dad cried, I think I'm going to cry when I see him.

'I just want to go and give him a hug now to be honest. I just want to go and hand this award to my dad, because all because of him.'

Yet as Bobby spoke fondly about his father inside, outside the venue his maternal grandmother was reportedly telling passersby that Jeff is a 'c**k'.

Like father, like son: Bobby Brazier heaped praise on dad Jeff as grandmother Jackiey Budden reportedly lashed out at him in a shock outburst (pictured at Tuesday's NTAs)

According to The Sun, she then alluded to some bad blood with Jeff, who Jade had Bobby and younger son Freddie, 19, with.

She reportedly told fans outside the event that she bought tickets to the show to watch her grandson triumph, saying: 'I'm so proud of him [Bobby]. He's incredible. They didn't know I was there.

'I didn't allow them to know I was there. I didn't want to see their dad. He's a c**k. But I'm going to wait until they're older before I let rip.'

There has been tension between Jeff and Jackiey in the past with the TV presenter previously claiming Jackiey 'overstated' how much time she spent with Bobby and Freddie in the past.

However, in 2021 he confirmed in an Instagram video the pair were back in contact after losing touch with each other for a while.

He said: 'I didn't see her for ages - for way too long - but I went to see her twice recently.

'And honestly if there's one woman you shouldn't underestimate it's my nan. Honestly, she's like a wizard! It's nuts.'

Jackiey's daughter Jade found fame on Big Brother in 2002 and died in March 2009 aged 27 after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.

Ouch: As Bobby spoke fondly about his father outside the venue his maternal grandmother Jackiey Budden was reportedly telling passersby that Jeff is a 'c**k' (pictured in 2019)

Bobby, who plays Freddie Slater on EastEnders, thanked his father for the support he has shown him over the years during his acceptance speech.

He said: 'This actually has very, very, very little to do with me and everything to do with my Dad. Over the course of the last 20 years, I've consistently heard him say "because I can".

'It was a mantra, or a motto of his. And him just saying that  because I can! Why not?'

The soap star later told MailOnline that he planned to give his father the award as thanks.

Jeff famously brought up his sons singlehandedly when their mother died.

Jade's death, like much of her life, was in the full glare of the media spotlight and saw her give heartwrenching interviews in the weeks leading up to it as she enjoyed her last outings with Bobby and his brother Freddie.

Away from the cameras, Jade's ex-partner found himself a single father to his boys, then aged five and four, and vowed to give them the best start possible.

Instead of attending her funeral, Jeff took the boys away to stay with family in Adelaide, south Australia, to escape the media attention.

He said: 'It was always our priority, we wanted to do everything right for the kids and that was the case right up until the moment, and it didn't stop at that point.

'That's when the boys really needed us to be on each other's side and we were.'

Jade and Jeff welcomed their first son Bobby in 2003, followed by Freddie in 2004 and split after two years together, while she was pregnant with their youngest child.

Jade went on to marry reality TV star Jack Tweed, just one month before her tragic death, signing a 700,000 exclusive deal with OK magazine for rights to the photos.
Roxy Horner was glowing as she cradled her newborn daughter on Thursday after welcoming her first child with boyfriend Jack Whitehall.

The model, 31, who gave birth to a baby girl at the Lindo Wing at St Mary's in London, was seen leaving the private hospital with comedian Jack, 35, on Tuesday evening.

Sharing some photos to Instagram as she arrived home, she looked flawless with her baby daughter laid across her chest.

Roxy propped herself up on some pillows and showed off her pink baby girl-themed manicure to celebrate the new arrival.

She captioned the sweet update: 'Snuggles at home,' and a heart emoji.

Adorable: Roxy Horner, 31, was glowing as she cradled her newborn daughter on Thursday after welcoming her first child with boyfriend Jack Whitehall

Cute: The model, who gave birth to a baby girl at the Lindo Wing at St Mary's in London, shared some photos after arriving home

Elsewhere, Jack was full of love on as he praised his 'amazing' girlfriend Roxy Horner and shared the first photos of their newborn daughter.

And taking to Instagram the following day, Jack admitted the experience was both 'utterly overwhelming' and 'joyous' in ways he 'couldn't have imagined'.

Sharing a snap of Roxy in the hospital bed after giving birth, Jack appeared happier than ever as he offered a wide grin and snapped a selfie.

In another snap, Jack can be seen cradling his daughter in his arms before leaving the hospital.

Writing alongside the adorable snaps, Jack penned: 'Well this just happened! Utterly overwhelming and joyous in ways I couldnt have even imagined.

'In awe of my partner @roxyhorner who has been amazing throughout this journey and is going to be the greatest mum ever. So excited to have started a family of my own.

'Having vowed Id never be that guy I am now 100% going to be the parent that shows everyone endless pictures of their kid. I also wore skechers to hospital, I think I must accept I am a full blown dad now.

'Name wise after this weekend I think rice, rice, baby has a nice ring to it.'

Perfect: Roxy propped herself up on some pillows and showed off her pink baby girl-themed manicure to celebrate the new arrival

Congrats! Elsewhere, Jack was full of love on as he praised his 'amazing' girlfriend Roxy Horner and shared the first photos of their newborn daughter

Adorable: The model, gave birth to a baby girl at the Lindo Wing at St Mary's in London and was seen leaving the private hospital with comedian Jack, 35, on Tuesday evening

Celebrating: Roxy looked glamorous in a black dress as she attended her baby shower on Friday ahead of welcoming her first child. She used crutches amid her struggles with SPD

In a nod to his beloved Arsenal, Jack's teasing name references Declan Rice's late winner against Manchester United on Sunday.

The Lindo Wing has seen a host of Royal births including The Princess of Wales who welcomed her three children there, as well as many other famous faces.

It comes after last week Roxy looked effortlessly glamorous in a black dress as she attended her baby shower ahead of welcoming her first child.

And she was joined by her friends and family for a 'last minute' baby shower on Friday, complete with pink balloons and floral displays.

Sharing snaps from the bash to Instagram, Roxy cut an elegant figure in a black strapped dress which hugged her growing baby bump.

She wore a pregnancy support belt over her dress and posed on crutches amid her struggles with pelvic pain due to symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD).

SPD is common in pregnancies and is a collection of uncomfortable symptoms caused by stiffness in the pelvis joints or the joints moving unevenly.

'If you have to wear crutches might as well have sparkly ones,' she wrote alongside the snap of herself, referring to her glitter crutches from Cool Crutches & Sticks.

For her baby shower, Roxy was joined by her mother Lisa Rae and her sister Riana, as well as a group of her close friends.

She praised her mother and sister for helping her through her difficult third trimester of pregnancy as she shared a snap of them all holding hands at the shower.

On her Instagram Stories, she wrote alongside the picture: 'My tribe who have kept me together this past month.'

It comes days after Roxy admitted she has been in 'excruciating' pain as she detailed her struggles during the third trimester of her pregnancy recently.

Roxy - who was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 2021 - took to her Instagram Stories recently to reveal that she has been left in pain while moving due to SPD.

Roxy has since been seen out-and-about using crutches as she continues to struggle walking due to her symptoms.

She explained: 'Thank god for my mumma looking after me during this final trimester. I actually don't know what I would have done without her.

Couple: Roxy and Jack have been dating for more than two years and they reside in a 17.5million, five-bedroom home in Notting Hill with their pooch Coco

'Getting everything baby ready with SPD has not been easy but my mumma has really helped me get things organised this last week and I'm starting to feel a bit more at ease with that.

'Just can't wait to have baby girl here and not feel this way anymore, it really is excruciating to walk or move right but not long to go and apparently all symptoms of SPD go away once bubba arrives.'

Roxy also shared a black and white video showing her baby bump and told how a pregnancy belt has helped her to manage her symptoms.

'Also I've only just got myself a pregnancy belt which has helped a lot with SPD, I would highly recommend any pregnant woman getting one asap to help avoid getting pelvic pain,' she added.

Roxy then shared a selfie of herself lying in bed as she thanked her fans for their support and told how she had 'ignored' her painful symptoms for a long time.

She continued: 'I'm so grateful for my female followers! It seems a lot of you have also suffered from SPD and can relate.

'From what I've learnt so far if you are experiencing pain during pregnancy, get it checked out because I ignored mine for too long thinking that was just normal, I kept holding my tummy for support as it was agonising to walk and felt like bub could just fall out!

'Even sleeping is rough but I've been told the best thing to do with SPD is rest as much as possible, get a pregnancy support belt, pregnancy pillow, painkillers and see a physio! Hope that helps anyone else going through the same thing.'

Roxy and Jack have been dating for more than two years and they reside in a 17.5million, five-bedroom home in Notting Hill with their pooch Coco.
Simon Gregson revealed that Coronation Street producers called in a doctor during his debilitating 20-year anxiety battle which saw him suffer 12 panic attacks a day.

The actor, 48, who has played the role of cab driver Steve McDonald since 1989, had to visit a psychiatrist after his mental health led him to believe he was suffering from mystery illnesses.

Speaking on ITV's Lorraine on Thursday, he explained: 'In 2015 it came to it's head and I didn't know what it was.

'I had heart scans and brain scans, they thought I had vertigo then we went back to the beginning and my GP figured out that I had an anxiety disorder.

'I'd get number fingers, tunnel vision, feel sick dizzy. Completely deliberating.'

Mental health: Simon Gregson, 48, revealed that Coronation Street producers called in a doctor during his debilitating 20-year anxiety battle

He continued: 'It came to a head when I had to ring my boss I was like, "look I'm in my car but I can't get off the drive."

Simon said that the soap's producers called in a doctor, who has helped the Royal Family and Navy officers, to come on to the set and help.

'I had six months off I went to the gym. I did a lot of research and I learnt how your brain is connected to the stomach. I retrained my brain not to worry,' he revealed.

He added: 'All the people who come into Corrie now are taken off into a room and they're told about what will happen, press intrusion, how being famous - for want of a better word - will change your life.

'But when we started, there was none of that so we just had to deal with it. And we kind of became massive overnight.

'It was the late 80s, early 90s and now I think being on TV or in the public eye is a lot easier.'

Speaking about his characters battle with depression, Simon explained how he struggled to act out panic attacks, despite having '10, 11, 12 a day' himself.

'I was like "this couldn't have come at a worse time" because I'm not feeling well.'

Tough: Speaking on ITV's Lorraine on Thursday, he explained: 'I had heart scans and brain scans, they thought I had vertigo then we went back to the beginning and my GP figured it out'

On screen: The actor, who joined the ITV soap when he was 14-years-old, explained that some of his favourite storylines have been those who highlighted major issues (pictured in 2006)

The actor added: 'But when it came to it and my character had to have a panic attack, I couldn't do it, after having 10 a day. I realised it was all psychosomatic.'

Speaking with Cheshire Life magazine in June this year, Simon revealed he has finally got control over the condition and has started to let things go easier.

He said: 'Everyone has a mental trigger that can help with recovery. For me, it was thinking, "Do I want to be surrounded by my family on my deathbed wishing I had worried more?"

'No, I didnt. That was a eureka moment. So now I just let things go. Ive learned to train my brain not to hold on to stuff that doesnt matter.'

He continued: 'I was always really anxious growing up, worrying about what people thought of me. There were also times of depression. You cant keep brushing stuff under the carpet when your kids start to notice things. I saw a psychiatrist and he said Id had anxiety for more than 20 years.'

In 2019, Simon first revealed he suffered with anxiety on a BBC documentary and explained how sufferers can struggle with carrying out typical day-to-day tasks.

Simon, who joined the ITV soap when he was 14-years-old, explained that some of his favourite storylines have been those who highlighted the major issues.

In 2014, he shared his own experience with depression through his character, who battled in secret.

He revealed that the storyline 'changed things for him personally' and that following the major issue being highlighted he had several other men thank him and say it 'changed their lives' as they got the help they needed.

Getting better: Simon said that the soap's producers called in a doctor, who has helped the Royal Family and Navy officers, to come to the set and help

On the cobbles, fan favourite character Steve had been suffering with the condition since the murder of Tina McIntyre (Michelle Keegan) but has chosen to keep his feelings to himself, driving a wedge between him and Michelle Connor.

Rovers Return barmaid Michelle - played by Kym Marsh - was left heartbroken when partner Steve walked away from their relationship after refusing to open up to her about his depression.

Kym told The Mirror at the time: 'She can't understand it. Every time they get a minute together he disappears. Michelle is absolutely heartbroken - she has no idea what she's done wrong.'

When she threatens to end their relationship, Steve lets her leave without putting up a fight.
Florence Pugh showed off her incredible sense of style as she stepped out of London's The Standard Hotel with a pal on Wednesday evening.

The actress, 27, went braless in a white crop top and a floating white skirt, which she styled with a pair of quirky platform embroidered mules.

She kept her essentials in a small brown handbag and shielded her eyes with a pair of tinted round sunglasses.

The Don't Worry Darling star styled her short platinum blonde locks in a spikey style as she continues to grow out her Met Gala buzzcut.

She walked arm-in-arm with a male pal, who cut a casual figure in dark trousers and a beige shirt as they headed off after a fun evening out.

Chic: Florence Pugh showed off her incredible sense of style as she stepped out of London's The Standard Hotel with a pal on Wednesday evening

Stylish: The actress, 27, went braless in a white crop top and a floating white skirt, which she styled with a pair of quirky platform embroidered mules

All smiles: She kept her essentials in a small brown handbag and shielded her eyes with a pair of tinted round sunglasses

Florence's latest outing comes after she spoke about her decision to show her 'cute' nipples in her famous pink Valentino dress as she hit back at critics.

Last July, Florence faced cruel backlash after she wore a nipple-baring, pink gown to the Valentino Haute Couture show in Rome.

Despite wowing in the show-stopping look, the star was faced with comments from 'vulgar' men who took to social media to point out her 'flaws' and 'tiny t**s'.

The Black Widow star hit back at the cruel trolls at the time and continued to discuss the backlash in an interview with ELLE magazine for its October edition.

She said: 'When everything went down with the Valentino pink dress a year ago, my nipples were on display through a piece of fabric, and it really wound people up.

'It's the freedom that people are scared of; the fact I'm comfortable and happy. Keeping women down by commenting on their bodies has worked for a very long time. I think we're in this swing now where lots of people are saying, 'I don't give a s**t.'

'Unfortunately, we've become so terrified of the human body that we can't even look at my two little cute nipples behind fabric in a way that isn't sexual.

Pals: She walked arm-in-arm with a male pal, who cut a casual figure in dark trousers and a beige shirt as they headed off after a fun evening out

Glam: Florence looked as elegant as ever as she strutted her stuff in her white outfit, adding a touch of colour with a pair of gold mules

New look: The Don't Worry Darling star styled her short platinum blonde locks in a spikey style as she continues to grow out her Met Gala buzzcut

Good form: The Oppenheimer star appeared to be in jovial spirits as she strutted her stuff

Home time! Florence flashed a huge smile as she got into her car and headed home after a fun night out

'We need to keep reminding everybody that there is more than one reason for women's bodies [to exist].'

At the time, Florence hit back at the comments she received from 'vulgar' men as well as those who chose to 'publicly destroy a woman's body' with their remarks.

She wrote in an impassioned post on Instagram: 'What's been interesting to watch and witness is just how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman's body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see.

'So many of you wanted to aggressively let me know how disappointed you were by my 'tiny t**s', or how I should be embarrassed by being so 'flat chested'.

'I've lived in my body for a long time. I'm fully aware of my breast size and am not scared of it.'

Florence received the British Icon Award at the ELLE Style Awards 2023 on Tuesday and she also spoke to the publication about her style evolution and why she isn't afraid of changing up her look.

In one striking look change, the star debuted her newly-shaved head at the Met Gala back in May, after previously styling long blonde locks.

Discussing her style, she said: 'I think I've always been interested in wearing loud clothing. When I was a teenager, I would buy the most outrageous things and sew them together.

Proud: Florence's latest outing comes after she spoke about her decision to show her 'cute' nipples in her famous pink Valentino dress and hit back at critics

Fashion: Florence received the British Icon Award at the ELLE Style Awards 2023 on Tuesday and she also spoke to the publication about her style evolution and changing up her look

Bold: In one striking look change, the star debuted her newly-shaved head at the Met Gala back in May, after previously styling long blonde locks

'I've always loved colour. I've always wanted to be bold and make a bit of a scene  I don't think that's gone away.

'When I first started doing red carpets, it was really tough. It takes ages to feel comfortable with 50 men all shouting, 'Picture, over here!''

'I've become more confident in the last few years, and I think that's hugely linked to the clothes I've been wearing.

'The more you can enjoy it, the more [people] can see that you're enjoying it.'
After a successful run since transitioning to Netflix in 2019, the fifth and final season of Top Boy dropped on Thursday on the streaming platform.

Six final episodes of the show became available to view, which will see main characters Dushane and Sully appear for one last showdown in the Summerhouse Estate.

The action-packed series - executive produced by Canadian rapper Drake - saw the duo rewrite their business rules at the end of season four, but the final series will mark new shared problems as their empire comes under threat from forces outside.

Top Boy is primarily set on the fictional Summerhouse Estate in Hackney, north east London, focusing on tension between the drug gangs that operate almost openly and those who strive to live honest lives against the odds in the crime-riddled area.

This means that street talk and British colloquialism is prevalent among many who live there - also used authentically by Top Boy characters.

Don't fret - MailOnline provides a handy guide on the lingo before you sit back and enjoy the final season.

The final bow: After a successful run since transitioning to Netflix in 2019, the fifth and final season of Top Boy has dropped today on the streaming platform

There are sure to be times you are left baffled at what the meaning behind a particular word or phrase could be while watching Top Boy if you're especially unfamiliar with British colloquial - or, Multicultural London English (MLE) - language.

Below is a list of recurring idioms used in the gritty crime drama, along with a definition and example of how the word or phrase is used in a sentence.

Top Boy slang and phrase guide:

You get me?

Meaning: A regular phrase used throughout the series, "you get me" is akin to the question, 'do you understand me?' or the phrase 'you know what I mean.'

It is used in conversation to establish whether someone has acknowledged a statement you have made.

Sentence use: 'I'm only at this party because the birthday girl is my cousin, you get me.'

Bruv

Meaning: Probably one of the simpler words to identify, "bruv" is like saying "brother." However, it is not exclusive to blood relatives. The word can be used to refer to a friend or extended family member, as well as a biological brother.

Use: 'Bruv, what are you doing tonight? I'll come meet you later.'

Cuz

Meaning: It is a simplified way of saying cousin. "Cuz" is often used in reference to a person belonging to the same extended family as you. But "cuz" is also commonly used to address one's friends too.

Use: 'What's up, cuz? How's everything with you?'

Wasteman

Meaning: A derogatory term used to describe a worthless person who has nothing positive going on in their lives.

Use: 'Danny has no job, he's living rent free with his girlfriend and owes me money. What a wasteman.'

What you sayin?

Meaning: It is a greeting which can be likened to "how are you?" or "what's up." Similarly, it is a way of asking your counterpart to fill you in on any details, a bit like saying, "what are you telling me?"

Use: 'What you sayin', Marcus. I ain't seen you since last year, man.'

End of an era: Six final episodes of the show became available for fans to view this morning on Netflix UK, with episodes ranging from 41 to 56 minutes in length

Yard

Meaning: In Jamaican Patois "yard" means home. In the U.K., the word is also used to refer to one's residence.

Use: 'I'm not going. The walk from my yard to the post office is long!'

Ps/Pees

Meaning: Quite simply "p's" or "pees" is another word for money or cash.

Use: 'We're going to make a lot of P's when we sell this.'

From Canada to London: The action-packed series - executive produced by Canadian rapper Drake - will see main characters Dushane and Sully appear for one last showdown in the Summerhouse Estate

Zoot

Meaning: It is a rolled up marijuana cigarette, which can also be referred to as a "spliff" or "joint."

Use: 'Do you want to come outside and smoke a zoot with me?'

Likkle

Meaning: Used to describe anything small in stature. It is another word for "little."

Use: 'Wow, I remember Lisa when she was just a likkle girl.'

Swear Down

Meaning: A phrase commonly used in and around London to signify that what you are saying is 100 percent true and no lies were told. It is a bit like saying "the whole truth and nothing but the truth." It is said to affirm something really happened how you said it did.

Use: 'I promise you I saw Angela kissing Darius. Saw it with my own eyes. Swear down!'

Pattern

Meaning: The word grew in popularity among youths in 2020 and means to organise, or to sort out something with someone.

Use: 'That situation with Kareem is over. I patterned him.'

The premise: Top Boy is primarily set on the fictional Summerhouse Estate in Hackney, north east London , focusing on tension between the drug gangs that operate almost openly and those who strive to live honest lives against the odds in the crime-riddled area

Bless up

Meaning: The phrase is used to leave the end of a conversation on a positive note and is a way of wishing someone well, a good day/time. It can also mean "blessing(s) from the most high (a God like figure)."

Use: 'It was good seeing you, Brenda. Bless Up!'

In a bit

Meaning: "In a bit" is comparable to "see you later" or "goodbye." It is said when bidding someone farewell. The phrase is derived from the saying "I'll see you in a bit."

Use: 'Good catching up with you, Trish. In a bit!'

Wagwan

Meaning: Believed to have first been used in the Caribbean, "wagwan" is the direct translation for "what's going on?" It is used as a greeting like "how are you?"

Use: 'Wagwan, Terrell. I saw your little cousin the other say, he's almost my height now!'

Cultural communication: Street talk and British colloquialism is prevalent among many who live in East End estates - used authentically and heavily by Top Boy characters.

Link

Meaning: "Link" is to go and see/meet up with someone, usually a person you are romantically interested in or have a continuous sexual relationship with.

Use: 'Hey, are you free to link later tonight?' or 'Zach and I are linking.'

Say no more

Meaning: To communicate one's total understanding of a conversation, a person would use the phrase, "say no more." The phrase is the equivalent of saying, "I understand."

Use: 'If you don't want to meet up that's fine. Say no more.'

Brudda

Meaning: Akin to "brother," "brudda" is an endearment used to refer to a sibling, close friend or comrade.

Use: 'Yes, brudda! Long time, no see!'

Shook

Meaning: The definition of "shook" is "to be scared." In other words, it is used to describe a person afraid or frightened of something or someone.

Use: 'You should have seen Anton's face when he saw me. He was shook, man!'

All-star cast: Returning actors and actresses in season five will include Walters, Robinson, Simbi Ajikawo, Jasmine Jobson, Saffron Hocking, and Araloyin Oshunremi, along with new cast members Barry Keoghan and Brian Gleeson

Mandem

Meaning: "Mandem" loosely translates to a "group of male friends." However, it can also be used to refer to a set of female friends too.

Use: 'When all the mandem come we'll head to the club and grab some drinks.'

Food

Meaning: Urban slang for illegal narcotics like weed.

Use: 'Did you pick up the food?'

Motive

Meaning: "Motive" has grown in prominence over the years. It loosely means "a reason to go out" and have a good time.

Use: 'Yo Smithy, have you got a motive for Friday night yet?"
Kate Garraway left her Good Morning Britain co-host Ben Shephard in hysterics on Thursday, as he returned to the show following his summer break.

The presenter, 56, suffered the 'embarrassing' gaffe during an interview with Doctor Who star Jemma Redgrave, after being led to believe that she was playing an octopus in her new stage show Octopolis.

The blunder left Ben struggling to hide his laughter, joking he 'needed a lie-down' despite this being his first day back on the show.

Jemma, who is set to reprise her role as Kate Stewart in Doctor Who next year, was discussing her upcoming stage role.

Host Kate stated that she would be playing an 'octopus on-stage,' claiming she was 'very intrigued to see that.'

Oops! Kate Garraway left her Good Morning Britain co-host Ben Shephard in hysterics on Thursday, as he returned to the show following his summer break

Trying to hide his laughter, Ben then explained that Kate was actually playing a scientist who looked after the creature, rather than the octopus itself.

Kate then admitted she'd been unnerved about the concept since it was brought up in the GMB morning meeting, leading Ben to admit: 'It's only my first day back as well. How has anyone coped?'

Kate then joked: 'They are all in therapy!' while Ben added: 'I need a lie down!'

After finishing the interview, Kate confessed that she was 'slightly embarrassed about the octopus error.'

It comes after Kate shared an update on her husband Derek Draper's progress as she attended the National Television Awards on Tuesday.

Derek was diagnosed with coronavirus at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 and left in a life-threatening condition.

Doctors put him in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator and he was in hospital for 13 months.

He has been seriously ill since 2020 and has been in and out of hospital ever since, relying on the use of a wheelchair.

Coming soon: Jemma, who is set to reprise her role as Kate Stewart in Doctor Who next year, was discussing her upcoming stage role in Octopolis

Amusing: The blunder left Ben struggling to hide his laughter, joking he 'needed a lie-down' despite this being his first day back on the show

She said: 'He's doing alright. There's been no dramatic progress I'm afraid but we keep ploughing on.

'Derek and the kids are all watching at home but we've got it on record too to watch together. I'm just glad I didn't fall over.'

Last week, Kate revealed her husband's airport ordeal in which he was stuck between passport gates for an hour.

Kate and her Good Morning Britain co-host Richard Madeley, 67, were speaking to Manchester bombing survivor Martin Hibbert on the degrading treatment of disabled people on Wednesday's show, when Kate recalled a shocking moment regarding her own husband.

Kate told of the shock moment her Covid-stricken husband became trapped between the automatic ePassport gates after being unable to free himself, telling the show that he was essentially 'stuck in no man's land'.
Australian designer Natalie De'Banco, who owns label Bronx and Banco, has spoken of her excitement at dressing Beyonce.

The American superstar wore one of De'Banco's custom catsuits embellished with Swarovski crystals on her Renaissance World Tour.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph on Thursday, Natalie said, 'It is unbelievable'.

Natalie went on to say she was still in shock at the megastar including her creation in the show.

'I am in shock blown away to be honest,' she added.

Sydney designer Natalie De'Banco told The Daily Telegraph on Thursday she was left in shock after Beyonce wore one of her outfits for her Renaissance World Tour in Las Vegas. Pictured

The painstaking construction of the creation was detailed on Instagram, with Natalie saying it took over '150 hours' to create.

Bronx and Banco has become a favourite of Beyonce over the years after becoming acquainted in New York.

The design star also made Beyonce a glamorous coat made from ethically-sourced ostrich feathers.

The luxurious design featured at the star's 42 birthday celebration and at the opening of her Las Vegas show.

'It is unbelievable,' Natalie said. 'I am in shock  blown away to be honest,' she added. Pictured

The Australian label was founded in 2009.

Natalie is quickly finding success with her clothing stocks in Saks Fifth Avenue.

Natalie's last showing at New York Fashion Week was in February, which was a mix of futuristic looks.

Despite rumours of a potential stadium show in Sydney, Beyonce is yet to announce any shows in Australia.
Maura Higgins brushed off her bust-up with Love Island star Faye Winter at the NTAs as she attended the Wilderness screening at Soho Farmhouse on Wednesday night.

It's been a busy week for the reality star, 32, as she made her second public appearance for Prime Video's exclusive screening of the series starring Jenna Coleman.

Maura put on a leggy display in a tiny white miniskirt and flashed a hint of her abs in a matching crop top.

The Love Island beauty teamed the look with brown knee-high boots and a Fendi shoulder bag.

And while many celebrities use the National Television Awards as a good excuse to party into the early hours, Maura showed no signs of hangover as she posed for photos after travelling to the Cotswolds for the event.

Shaking it off: Maura Higgins brushed off her bust-up with Love Island star Faye Winter at the NTAs as she attended the Wilderness screening at Soho Farmhouse on Wednesday night

Busy: It's a busy week for the reality star, 32, as she made her second public appearance for Prime Video's exclusive screening in the series starring Jenna Coleman

Feuding: Love Island stars Maura and Faye Winter were caught in a furious row backstage at the National Television Awards on Tuesday evening

The event also saw a number of other familiar reality stars attend including; TOWIE's Courtney Green, Chloe Meadows, Junaid Ahmed and Made In Chelsea's Melissa Tattam.

It was hosted by Yinka Bokinni for the series which tells the story of British couple Liv (Jenna) and Will (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who seem to have it all, until Liv learns about her husband's infidelity.

It is set to be released on Friday September 15.

It comes as Maura and Faye, 28, had to be separated during a furious backstage row at the National Television Awards on Tuesday evening.

Onlookers at the awards party spotted the reality stars locked in an 'hour-long' argument, which was captured in a video obtained by The Sun.

In the clip, Maura jabbed figures at each other during the feud, while Maura shouted: 'Don't you point your finger at me!'

According to the publication, a friend of one of the women was forced to intervene, saying: 'Girls, girls. Why are you fighting? This has been going on for an hour now. Stop it, stop it.'

The argument took place at the bar in a backstage area of the NTAs at the O2 Arena in front of a room full of attendees.

Both parties looked furious as they rowed back and forth over a currently unknown issue.

Arrival: Toby Watkins and Made In Chelsea's Melissa Tattum also attended

TOWIE girls:As did a glam Chloe Meadows and Courtney Green

Summery: Chloe flashed her abs in a bright patterned two-piece

Bright: Junaid Ahmed was also in attendance and rocked a pink look

One to watch: Wilderness tells the story of British couple Liv (Jenna ) and Will (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) who seem to have it all, until Liv learns about her husband's infidelity

Wow: At the NTAs, Maura made a bold choice in her illusion two-piece dress, but left fans divided with her very racy pearl-covered look

Razzle dazzle! Meanwhile, Faye opted for a dazzling silver mesh slip which was layered over a nude bodysuit

An onlooker told the Sun: 'Maura looked furious with Faye - the pair were arguing quite loudly and in front of a loads of people. It was quite embarrassing and they were at it for ages.'

Another attendee noted: 'Maura and Faye looked a bit worse for wear and were rowing for most of the evening. They seemed to be really p***** off at each other.

Maura appeared on season five of the popular ITV2 reality show, while Faye appeared the following year during series seven.

Maura, who was the social host of Love Island USA, was reportedly heard relaying the conversation she had with Faye to a friend later on.

Following the argument she missed last orders at the bar, as she was refused a glass of wine because they were no longer serving alcohol.

Maura and Faye's representatives have been contacted for comment.

Both have denied they were having a row, with Maura taking to Instagram to say she was just having an animated conversation.
Holly Willoughby joined her sister Kelly as they partied at a wedding in Gallipoli, Turkey, last week.

The This Morning host, 42, was all smiles as she posed for fun-filled snaps with her author sister, 45, and their pals.

Snaps from the lavish wedding were shared to Instagram by This Morning's celebrity chef Joseph Denison Carey, who joined Holly for the celebrations.

In one group shot, which Joseph wasn't in, Holly cut an elegant figure in a halter-neck blue floral print dress as she threw her arm around her pal's shoulders.

Her sister could be seen in the corner of the group shot flashing a huge grin towards the cameras as she crouched down alongside another pal.

Fun times! Holly Willoughby joined her sister Kelly (bottom right) as they partied at a wedding in Gallipoli, Turkey, last week. This Morning's chef Joseph Denison Carey was also there

Alongside the shot, and a gallery of other wedding snaps, Joseph penned: 'Gallipoli settings. Huge congrats to Jamie & Lucy. Thank you for having me out to such a beautiful wedding. Loved every minute and love you both.'

Holly's sister Kelly also took to her own Instagram to share a smiling selfie of herself and Holly as the siblings partied the night away together.

The selfie was shared to Instagram on Monday, just one day before Holly attended the National Television Awards with her fellow This Morning co-stars.

But This Morning's woes continued at the ceremony when they lost the Best Daytime prize for the first time in 12 years, with Holly also missing out on a nomination in the Best Presenter category.

The show has won the Daytime award for more than a decade but, following the Phillip Schofield scandal, lost out to The Repair Show.

Addressing their loss the next day on This Morning, Holly stayed very positive as she simply thanked fans for their support and heaped praise on The Repair Shop.

'A massive thank you for voting for us and getting us through to the short list, so thank you always for your love and support,' she gushed.

Speaking of The Repair Shop's host Jay Blades, Holly gushed over his kindness and told how they shared a hug after his win.

All smiles: Holly's sister Kelly also took to her own Instagram to share a smiling selfie of herself and Holly as the siblings partied the night away together

She said: 'A huge congratulations to The Repair Shop, well done you. Jay Blades, just a special squeeze and lots of love to him, he ran over to us and gave us all a big cuddle which I just thought was class and gorgeous, I didn't want to let go.'

During the ceremony, the NTA audience also appeared to boo scandal-plagued show This Morning during the star-studded ceremony at the O2 in London.

The incident occurred as The One Show's Jermaine Jenas and Roman Kemp took to the stage to announce the nominations for Best Daytime Show - an award typically scooped by This Morning.

While introducing a fun clip from the ITV series the audience were heard shouting and booing.

Since the NTAs, it has been claimed that Holly is in talks to front a string of primetime shows, as she pushes forward with her comeback in the wake of the Phillip Schofield scandal.

The star began her charm offensive with an appearance at the NTAs, with sources claiming she has 'fully moved on' from Phillip's departure.

And following a negatively-received return to the daytime show on Monday, sources claim she is keen to 'bulk up her roster' with a slew of new shows.

Glam: The selfie was shared to Instagram on Monday, just one day before Holly attended the National Television Awards with her fellow This Morning co-stars

Missed out: But This Morning's woes continued at the ceremony when they lost the Best Daytime prize, with Holly also missing out on a nomination in the Best Presenter category

Plans: Since the NTAs, it has been claimed that Holly is in talks to front a string of primetime shows, as she pushes forward with her comeback in the wake of the Phillip Schofield scandal

A source told The Mirror: 'Holly loves This Morning, sees her future very much on the sofa and is not going anywhere.

'But she is always keen to listen about any new ideas, and opportunities, particularly in primetime, to co-exist along her daytime role.'

The source added that Holly has 'fully moved on' from Phillip's scandal, which saw him quit ITV after admitting he had an affair with a younger This Morning colleague.

The source continued: 'It was a tough time, but Holly didnt do anything wrong, and she has always been really upfront and honest. In fact the fall-out has only made her mentally stronger, in many respects.'
China starts regular importation of Kenyan anchovies

Xinhua) 16:30, September 07, 2023

CHANGSHA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- A 52-tonne shipment of Kenyan anchovies arrived in central China's Hunan Province on Wednesday, marking the start of China's regular, large-scale importation of the small fish from the East African nation.

The dried anchovies were received in the city of Yueyang after a one-month journey across the ocean and on the Yangtze River, said Changsha Customs, which conducted the quarantine and clearance of the fish.

China started to import anchovies from Kenya in June with a 315-kg batch taking a flight to reach Hunan. Kenyan officials have hailed the historic consignment for injecting fresh vitality into the local blue economy.

Jinzai Food Group, a Hunan-based snack company that purchased the anchovies, said the fish will be made into a popular Hunan-flavored snack at its factory. The company has built a factory in Kenya for processing, drying and packaging anchovies before they set off for the Chinese market.

Changsha Customs said it is actively implementing China's initiative of building a "green channel" for agricultural and food imports from Africa and has taken multiple measures to raise customs clearance efficiency.

Hunan is one of the most active provinces in terms of economic and trade ties with Africa and a trailblazer in China-Africa cooperation. The province's trade with Africa reached 34.69 billion yuan (4.82 billion U.S. dollars), a yearly increase of 18 percent, in the first seven months of this year.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
First-look images for the upcoming series Expats starring Nicole Kidman were released by Prime Video on Thursday.

The six-part limited drama series - based on the internationally best-selling novel The Expatriates, by Janice Y. K. Lee. and set in Hong Kong, - will premiere in early 2024 on the streaming site.

The Lulu Wang-directed series stars Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning actor Nicole, 56, Sarayu Blue, Ji-young Yoo, Brian Tee and Jack Huston.

Set against the vibrant and tumultuous tapestry of 2014 Hong Kong, Expats centers on three American women - Margaret (Nicole), Hilary (Sarayu), and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo) - whose lives intersect after a sudden family tragedy.

First look images show Nicole's character Margaret looking tense as she read her phone in the bath before husband Clarke (Brian Tee) looks upset lying on her lap during a car ride.

First-look images for the upcoming series Expats starring Nicole Kidman were released by Prime Video on Thursday.

Tense: The six-part limited drama series - based on the internationally best-selling novel The Expatriates, by Janice Y. K. Lee. and set in Hong Kong , - will premiere in early 2024 on the streaming site (Nicole and on-screen husband Brian Tee pictured)

Expats will have the world premiere screening of its feature-length penultimate episode at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8.

The series interrogates privilege and explores what happens when the line between victimhood and culpability becomes blurred.

Brian Tee, who plays Margaret's husband Clarke and Jack Huston, who plays Hilary's husband David also star in the series.

Lulu Wang serves as a creator, director and writer for Expats. Wang also executive produces the series with Daniele Melia for Local Time.

Nicole Kidman serves as an executive producer for the series with Per Saari for Blossom Films, along with Alice Bell, who was the first writer onboarded to the series.

Nicole officially wrapped filming her new Amazon series The Expats last December.

The Australian star announced the news via Instagram, sharing a photo of herself jumping for joy during a photo shoot with director Lulu and co-star Brian.

'That's a wrap on #Expats! So lucky to work with such a darling and inspired director @ThumbeLulu and alongside a brilliant cast & crew, including my on-screen husband @Brian_Tee,' Nicole gushed.

Cast: The Lulu Wang-directed series stars Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning actor Nicole, 56, Sarayu Blue, Ji-young Yoo (pictured), Brian Tee and Jack Huston

Plot: Set against the vibrant and tumultuous tapestry of 2014 Hong Kong, Expats centers on three American women - Margaret (Nicole), Hilary (Sarayu), and Mercy (Ji-young Yoo) - pictured - whose lives intersect after a sudden family tragedy

Exciting: Expats will have the world premiere screening of its feature-length penultimate episode at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8 (Sarayu Blue pictured)

'Thank you everyone! Excited for you to see what we have created,' she added.

The Expats is based on Janice Y.K. Lee's novel The Expatriates, and follows the vibrant and extravagant lives of Hong Kong's wealthy expat community.

The show was produced in Hong Kong, a decision that has sparked some backlash given the country's rapidly declining political situation.

In September last year, exiled Hong Kong MP Ted Hui slammed the Australian actress as 'insensitive' and implored her to speak with his group on political issues in the troubled region.

Hui is part of a collective of MPs who are lobbying for strict measures to be taken against the Hong Kong government by international interests.

Hui, who fled Hong Kong and now lives in Australia, told The Sydney Morning Herald at the time: 'What does she have to say to my comrades thrown [in] jail?

'How insensitive can she be? A lot of people have to flee from Hong Kong, and probably they won't be able to go back home. But she can travel freely from Australia to Hong Kong, and continue her work and go shopping as if nothing has happened.'

Hui added: 'It's an endorsement of the Hong Kong situation that says it's okay, people can live on. It is not. People are in pain or in despair.'

It came after Nicole sparked criticism for gaining a government exception to side-step quarantine rules to film The Expats.

In August 2021, Nicole flew from Sydney to Hong Kong via private jet ahead of filming.

Interesting: The series interrogates privilege and explores what happens when the line between victimhood and culpability becomes blurred

Difficult: The show was produced in Hong Kong, a decision that has sparked some backlash given the country's rapidly declining political situation

Talent: Lulu Wang serves as a creator, director and writer for Expats. Wang also executive produces the series with Daniele Melia for Local Time

Over: Nicole officially wrapped filming her new Amazon series The Expats last December. The Australian star announced the news via Instagram, sharing a photo of herself jumping for joy during a photo shoot with director Lulu and co-star Brian

Happy: 'That's a wrap on #Expats! So lucky to work with such a darling and inspired director @ThumbeLulu and alongside a brilliant cast & crew, including my on-screen husband @Brian_Tee,' Nicole gushed

Complcicated: It came after Nicole sparked criticism for gaining a government exception to side-step quarantine rules to film The Expats

She stirred controversy two days later after photos surfaced of Kidman shopping at a designer boutique in the city's Central district with her bodyguard.

At the time, Hong Kong mandated that international travellers must complete at least seven days of quarantine upon arrival, followed by 'self-monitoring'.

However, The Hong Kong government confirmed it waived these tough quarantine rules for Kidman.

In a statement to HK01, Hong Kong's Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said that Kidman received an exemption from mandatory quarantine 'to carry out designated professional work'.
Sam Taylor-Johnson took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a slew of loved-up snaps with her husband Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

The director, 56, and actor, 33, met on the set of Nowhere Boy in 2009, when he was 18 and she was 42 and tied the knot in June 2012.

The couple posed together underneath a palm tree and for several shots with their arms wrapped around each other.

Sam put on a leggy display in a pair of denim black shorts and a matching top, while opting to go make-up free.

Meanwhile, Aaron also wore a pair of black shorts and went shirtless, showing off his incredibly ripped washboard abs.

Romantic: Sam Taylor-Johnson took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a slew of loved-up snaps with her husband Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Couple: The director, 56, and actor, 33, met on the set of Nowhere Boy in 2009, when he was 18 and she was 42 and tied the knot in June 2012

His 2017 tattoo tribute to Sam was visible on his muscled chest, which depicts her name and a hummingbird.

Captioning the sizzling photos, Sam wrote: 'Summer romance'.

The married couple are parents to daughters Wylda Rae, 13, and Romy Hero, 11, as well as Angelica, 26, and Jessie, 16, from Sam's previous marriage to Jay Jopling.

They celebrated their ten year wedding anniversary in June last year, and decided to renew their 'vows and confess our love in front of our nearest and dearest friends and family.'

Sam shared a loving snap to celebrate the milestone, dubbing her husband 'father to all 4 girls.'

She penned: '10 glorious years. My incredible husband, father to all 4 girls. I love you, I love you, I love you. love conquers all.'

Aaron also shared a romantic photo and gushed: 'It was a magical unforgettable day and the sun did not stop shining on us both.

'We are blessed beyond belief. Sammy you are my love, my life, my soulmate, my wife, my world!'

Looking good: The couple posed together underneath a palm tree and for several shots with their arms wrapped around each other

Stylish: Sam put on a leggy display in a black T-shirt and patterned miniskirt, while opting to go make-up free

Loved-up: Captioning the sizzling photos, Sam wrote: 'Summer romance'

Last month, Aaron said despite collaborating with Sam on three films he 'doesn't think it's accurate' to suggest the couple's relationship is rooted in their creative partnership.

Speaking to Esquire, the Kick-Ass star said: 'Yeah, we workedI met Sam as actor and director. I think we're really great at collaborating. But that's not why I fell in love with her.'

He also discussed the couple's home life and his shock that his children were already teenagers.

The family moved back to the UK from Los Angeles last year and have since settled in Somerset where Aaron said he has pigs and bees and 'loves' life in the country.

The Bullet Train star also spoke about his upcoming acting gigs after originally opting to work less stay to home with his children when they were younger.

Aaron said: 'I wanted, purely, to be with my babies, I didn't want to be taken away from them. I battled with what that would be like.'

He later admitted to the interviewer: 'I've probably talked to you more about my kids and Sam than I have with anybody. I've got really nothing to hide, and I'm secure in what we have. But I'm not going to unlock things that are actually precious to me.'

Family: The married couple are parents to daughters Wylda Rae, 13, and Romy Hero, 11, as well as Angelica, 26, and Jessie, 16, from Sam's previous marriage to Jay Jopling (pictured with Angelica and Jessie in 2011)
Julianne Moore was spotted this week enjoying a night out on the town in New York with her son Caleb Freundlich, 25.

The Oscar-winning actress and her husband Bart Freundlich, whom she married in 2003, share Caleb as well as a daughter called Liv, 21.

Caleb and his mother could be seen this Wednesday evening enjoying a cheerful conversation while dashing around the city that never sleeps.

She stuck to standard New York black, popping on a t-shirt and trousers and bringing along an anorak in case of a nighttime drop in temperatures.

Meanwhile her firstborn child was California casual in a yellow short-sleeved button-down shirt and a fashionably faded pair of jeans.

On the go: Julianne Moore was spotted this week enjoying a night out on the town in New York with her son Caleb Freundlich, 25

Family matters: The Oscar-winning actress and her husband Bart Freundlich, whom she married in 2003, share Caleb as well as a daughter called Liv, 21

Their outing comes one day after the release of a mysterious new trailer for Julianne's upcoming Netflix picture May December.

Directed by Todd Haynes, whose previous work includes the lesbian drama Carol, May December stars Julianne opposite Natalie Portman.

Natalie plays an actress called Elizabeth who is starring in a film-within-the-film about a shocking tabloid scandal involving Julianne's character Gracie.

May December is loosely based on the saga of Mary-Kay Letourneau, the schoolteacher who went to prison for molesting her 12-year-old student Vili Fualaau.

During the time that her legal case was unfolding, Mary-Kay conceived two children by Vili and hit the headlines for giving birth behind bars.

After she emerged from prison, Mary-Kay married Vili, and the pair of them remained together until their separation in 2019, one year before her death of cancer.

The cryptic new teaser for May December glancingly alludes to the Mary-Kay Letourneau story, showing a tabloid headline about a 'BABY BORN BEHIND BARS.'

Natalie's character Elizabeth, presumably preparing to act as Julianne's character Gracie, is heard intoning: 'My love, I think about you all the time.'

Incoming: Their outing comes one day after the release of a mysterious new trailer for Julianne's Netflix picture May December, co-starring Natalie Portman

Flashback: May December is loosely based on the saga of Mary-Kay Letourneau, the schoolteacher who went to prison for molesting her 12-year-old student Vili Fualaau

Reference: The cryptic new teaser for May December glancingly alludes to the Mary-Kay Letourneau story, showing a tabloid headline about a 'BABY BORN BEHIND BARS'

Who's who: Natalie plays an actress called Elizabeth who is starring in a film-within-the-film about a shocking tabloid scandal involving Julianne's character Gracie

In the offing: May December, which premiered at Cannes to critical acclaim, will get a limited US theatrical release on November 17 before bowing on Netflix December 1

Julianne appeared onstage at Cannes this year to discuss the upcoming film - but refrained from mentioning Mary-Kay Letourneau by name.

'The reason this movie feels so dangerous is because people dont know where anyones boundaries are,' the Hannibal star remarked.

'An age gap is one thing, but a relationship between an adult and a child is a different thing entirely,' she added, according to Indiewire.

May December, which premiered at Cannes to critical acclaim, will get a limited US theatrical release on November 17 before bowing on Netflix December 1.
Ivy Getty knew how to stay out in the crowd on Wednesday evening.

The redheaded star was at Victoria's Secret's celebration of The Tour '23 at Hammerstein Ballroom.

The model pulled a Julia Fox and wore almost nothing on the pink carpet at the event that saw Naomi Campbell and Gigi Hadid in attendance.

The 28-year-old star from San Francisco had on a sheer teal bra with undies riding up on her hips. Her only piece of clothing were off the hips black slacks.

She added blue strappy heels and little jewelry for her daring look and held onto a micro purse.

The beauty is from the Getty oil family.

Wow factor: Ivy Getty knew how to stay out in the crowd on Wednesday evening. The redheaded star was at Victoria's Secret's celebration of The Tour '23 at Hammerstein Ballroom

Light on clothing: The model pulled a Julia Fox and wore almost nothing on the red carpet at the event that saw Naomi Campbell and Gigi Hadid in attendance

Her idol? Fox is known for her very wild outfits; this top and skirt has watches on it; seen on Wednesday

Ivy is the only child of Jean Paul Getty's grandson, John Gilbert Getty.

Getty, 52, died of a fentanyl overdose and heart complications, it was been revealed in 2021.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office said he died of cardiomyopathy and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease complicated by fentanyl.

'I will forever be the proudest daughter,' she wrote in a tribute to her father on Instagram after his death.

Ivy's mother is jewelry designer Alyssa Boothby.

Getty was born on December 20, 1994, in San Francisco.

Ivy married photographer Tobias Engel in 2021 in a custom gown made of broken mirror shards designed by John Galliano for Maison Margiela in a ceremony officiated by US politician Nancy Pelosi.

Jean Paul Getty Sr. was an American born British petroleum industrialist who founded the Getty Oil Company in 1942 and was the patriarch of the Getty family.

Rising star: The 28-year-old star from San Francisco had on a sheer teal bra with undies riding up on her hips

Her dad: Ivy is the only child of Jean Paul Getty's grandson, John Gilbert Getty. Getty, 52, died of a fentanyl overdose and heart complications, it was been revealed in 2021

Mommy: Ivy's mother is jewelry designer Alyssa Boothby. Getty was born on December 20, 1994, in San Francisco

A native of Minneapolis, he was the son of pioneer oilman George Getty.

He died in 1976.

Despite his vast wealth, Getty was infamously frugal, notably negotiating his grandson's kidnapping ransom in 1973.

He had five children and divorced five times. Getty was an avid collector of art and antiquities. His collection formed the basis of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
Rylan Clark and his stricken mother Linda are finally headed home after her horror fall and subsequent surgery during their recent holiday.

The TV star, 34, took to Instagram on Thursday to reveal they were heading home following the the trip, which had been thwarted by her fall.

In his latest post he shared a trio of snaps showing his beloved mum, with whom he stars on Celebrity Gogglebox, on a stretcher attached to various medical apparatus and headed to a private jet - which Rylan admitted cost him 'an arm and a leg'.

He revealed he had used the services of Helicopteros Sanitarios, a 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year health care service which operates mobile services for medical care in the Costa Del Sol and provided the transport back to the UK.

In a caption, he penned: 'She might have broke an arm and a leg but shes cost me an arm and a leg! LINDAS COMING HOME!! Massive thank you to the amazing team and surgeons at Helicopteros Sanitarios. Thanks for looking after my mum x

Jetting off: Rylan Clark and his stricken mother Linda are finally headed home after her horror fall and subsequent surgery during their recent holiday

Pained: The TV star, 34, took to Instagram on Thursday to reveal they were heading home following the the trip, which had been thwarted by her fall

Off we go: In his latest post he shared a trio of snaps showing his beloved mum, with whom he stars on Celebrity Gogglebox, on a stretcher attached to various medical apparatus and headed to a private jet - which Rylan admitted cost him 'an arm and a leg'

Linda was kept on the stretcher for the entirety of the journey and strapped to various medical devices while they were accompanied by medical staff.

Last week, Rylan updated fans as he took to Instagram on Sunday morning to share a smiling photo of his mother in her hospital chair.

Linda could be seen putting on a brave face while both her arm and leg were wrapped up in bandages and braces.

Captioning the snap, Rylan wrote: 'Someone is out of the bed and in a chair. She cant believe how many people have sent messages.

'Thanks everyone. Will update you all with more as I can x'.

It comes after he announced his mum had made it out of surgery after suffering a serious fall on their holiday.

Rylan assured fans that 'all went well' after earlier announcing that he would be pulling out of his scheduled Radio 2 show, with Scott Mills replacing him.

Sharing a picture of his mother's hands with a cannula in, he wrote: 'Mum is out of surgery. All went well.

'Asked me if she can still have a new driveway. She's deffo come round. Thanks for all your lovely messages x'

Tough time: Last week, Rylan updated fans after his 71-year-old mum Linda was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery during their holiday.

Doing better! She took to Instagram on Sunday morning to share a smiling photo of his mother in her hospital chair

Grateful: Captioning the snap, Rylan wrote: 'Someone is out of the bed and in a chair. She cant believe how many people have sent messages. Thanks everyone'

Last week, the presenter took to Instagram to announce the worrying news that his mother had suffered a serious fall.

Rylan admitted he was praying for his mother and explained that he would be pulling out of his scheduled Radio 2 show.

After revealing his mother would need to go under the knife, he later told fans: 'Surgery has gone well. Will keep yas updated x'

Rylan filled fans in with his original post, which read: 'So unfortunately I took my mum away on her first holiday in a good few years and sadly she's had quite a bad fall, resulting in her having to have surgery out here.

Update: It comes after he announced his mum had made it out of surgery after suffering a serious fall on their holiday with a picture of his mother's hands with a cannula in

'She's not in the best health with her other conditions and this has made it more complicated. My priority at the moment is my mum.

'Cheers scott for covering me at radio 2 and Thanks to the people out here that have sent their well wishes.

'Praying for a successful surgery and a quick recovery. Will update you on mummy. Linda as and when I can x'

X Factor star Rylan's celebrity pals quickly flooded the comments section of his Instagram post with well-wishes.

Kate Garraway wrote: 'Sorry to hear Rylan,' while Jordan North added: 'Oh mate, hope she's doing ok. Big love,' and Catherine Tyldesley penned: 'Sending love, light and healing darlings.'

Vanessa Feltz commented: 'O my goodness I am sorry to hear it! Praying for a speedy recovery, while Ruth Langsford wrote on behalf of herself and husband Eamonn Holmes: 'Oh no.darling Linda. Sending you both all our love.'

Linda has battled with Crohn's since her 30s, a condition that causes inflammation of the lining of the digestive system.

She often has to undergo multiple operations to remove damaged parts of her bowel and takes numerous medicines each day for her condition.

Worrying: Last week, the presenter announced that his mother had suffered a serious fall and explained that he would be pulling out of his scheduled Radio 2 show

Rylan's mum also contracted sepsis in 2018, which almost killed her.

Back in 2027, Linda endured a six-week stay in hospital, after a procedure related to her Crohn's disease went wrong.

Rylan previously opened up to the Daily Mail about his mum's battle with the illness, which has affected many aspects of her life.

He explained: 'My mum lost her job because of the disease - it totally dictates her life. When she was diagnosed it really hit her hard because it wasn't picked up early enough.

'The earlier you pick it up the easier it is to control. I grew up with the disease as well because she was ill - it is life-threatening. It's scary.

'It could be difficult when I was young because sometimes she couldn't come on school trips and other times she was so embarrassed about her symptoms that I couldn't have my mates to stay over.'

Crohn's disease is a chronic condition, which affects around one in 1,200 people in the UK, causing inflammation of the lining of the digestive system, although it is most commons in the intestines.

It causes symptoms including diarrhoea, intense abdominal pain, weight loss and fatigue.

Support: Rylan issued his followers with an update after his celebrity pals flooded the comments section of his Instagram post with well-wishes

Special bond: Linda has become hugely popular since her first stint alongside her famous son on Celebrity Gogglebox in 2021

Linda has become hugely popular since her first stint alongside him on Celebrity Gogglebox in 2021, however Rylan previously admitted she has no idea of her level of fame.

He write in a Sunday Times Magazine article: 'She's not dealing with her fame, she doesn't really know. She's not on social media and I'm never gonna let her be.'

Rylan added: 'My mum, Linda, is my biggest f****** headache, but I don't know what I'd do without her.

'She's got the best of both worlds with me  I'm a son and a daughter. I can talk to her about make-up and blow-dry her hair, and I can tell her to f*** off. She's a liability.

'She's the ultimate cross between the nan from Catherine Tate and Pam from Gavin & Stacey.'
The cast of Coronation Street cast have paid tribute to soap legend John Stevenson after he died aged 86 on Thursday.

The screenwriter, who penned many of the programmes most memorable storylines, worked on more than 400 episodes - his final aired in 2006.

John worked on the soap for 40 years and curated stories such as Mike Baldwins battle with dementia, Ernie Bishop's shooting and the two-hander episode featuring Raquel (Sarah Lancashire) and Curly Watts (Kevin Kennedy).

Sean Wilson, who played Martin Platt on Coronation Street, announced the news on social media.

He wrote: 'Oh it is with great regret that I hear of the passing of John Stevenson- the talismanic writer of many an episode of the halcyon years of Coronation Street.'

Sad news: The cast of Coronation Street cast have paid tribute to soap legend John Stevenson after he died aged 86 on Thursday (pictured on The South Bank Show in 1995)

Sean continued: 'John headed up a writing team who steered the series into many 20 million viewer storylines and always, but always had one eye in the comedic charms of Northern life.

'From a little knowing wink to a rip roaring belly laugh, John was a craftsman of tv humour. I swear you could walk down any street in the UK at 7.30 and hear the whole country laughing at Johns special humour.

'His like will never be seen again in TV it seems. He always had kind words for me throughout my tenure there and wrote some of my favourite episodes ever. Rest well John with a wry smile of contentment.'

Sherrie Hewson, who played Maureen Holdsworth, commented: 'So very sad xxx.'

Charlie Lawson, best known for playing Jim McDonald, posted: 'He was a good mate and a great writer. See you at the funeral. X'

Fellow TV writer Daran Little also posted a tribute, he wrote: 'Just heard that John Stevenson has died. Totally devastated by this.

'Tony Warren aside, John was the greatest writer to ever work on Coronation Street. The creator of Mike Baldwin, Alec Gilroy, Jack Duckworth, Fred Elliott, Ashley Peacock and so many others. Taught me so much.

'John asked me to write his obit when it was his time but I cant find any of the notes he sent because Ive moved house! Oh John, my dear friend, dad figure once voted the Scriptwriters Scriptwriter by his peers. The best of the best. A true comic icon.'

Tribute: Charlie Lawson, best known for playing Jim McDonald, posted: 'He was a good mate and a great writer. See you at the funeral. X'

Condolences: Fellow TV writer Daran Little also posted a tribute, he wrote: 'Just heard that John Stevenson has died. Totally devastated by this.

Thoughts: Former ITV presenter Rob McLoughlin said: 'Very sad news: John was a gift to British Television and a sharp, brilliant writer who also created Brass for Granada TV.

Former ITV presenter Rob McLoughlin said: 'Very sad news: John was a gift to British Television and a sharp, brilliant writer who also created Brass for Granada TV.

'Lovely to work with. Understand audiences and the North. RIP.'
Pamela Anderson is selling her massive fashion collection that spans from the 1990s until more recent years.

The Baywatch actress wants to 'make room' for her 'new life,' she told People on Wednesday at the Pandora event in NYC.

The blonde will be selling 'all of' the iconic pieces from her closet, she shared.

'I don't like to waste,' says Anderson, 56. 'Better to clear my mind, clear my closet. Make room for this new life. I can't wait to see others enjoy these pieces.'

She continued, 'My style has undoubtedly changed over the years, and it thrills me to think others will find the joy I did. There's no reason to hang on to it. These memories are made to share.'

Anderson will unload the items sometime in the future.

And she will do so in a 'thoughtful,' 'sentimental' way, the Barb Wire star added.

Pamela Anderson is selling her massive fashion archives. The Baywatch actress wants to 'make room' for her 'new life,' she told People on Wednesday at the Pandora event in NYC. Left in 2005, right in 1992

On a pink carpet: The actress made her comments at the Pandora Celebrates Lab Grown Diamonds With A New Diamond District event in NYC on Wednesday

She is known for several sexy looks.

One of her best was the pink and red leather mini dress she wore when with husband Tommy Lee of Motley Crue in 1995.

She also made memories during the 2002 MTV European Music Awards in Barcelona, Spain when she wore a pink lace dress that was so sheer is revealed her undies.

In August she talked to Elle about her style.

'I don't know if it was a defense mechanism or what. I just thought, 'I'm going to have fun,' ' she said.

She was seen on Wednesday in NYC at the Pandora Celebrates Lab-Grown Diamonds with a New Diamond District event.

Anderson was joined at the event by her two kids, whom she shares with ex-husband Tommy Lee: sons Brandon Thomas Lee, 27, and Dylan Jagger Lee, 25.

She is the spokesperson for Danish jewelry brand Pandora.

The first commercial of Anderson modeling Pandora's fall designs were shared on last week.

Iconic: One of her best was the pink and red leather mini dress she wore when with husband Tommy Lee of Motley Crue in 1995

Sheer: She also made memories during the 2002 MTV European Music Awards in Barcelona, Spain when she wore a pink lace dress that was so sheer is revealed her undies

The 56-year-old blonde bombshell - who had a comeback this year with her tell-all book Love, Pamela - is part of the campaign for the lab-created diamond jewelry alongside Vogue editor Grace Coddington and model Precious Lee, among others.

Anderson shared that she is happy to be wearing lab created diamonds.

'I feel good about wearing it. It is actually the more radical, kind-of-glamorous move,' she said of the brand using recycled gold. And in the ad she said it was just 'fun' to wear diamonds.

New gig: Anderson has landed a high-profile modeling campaign for Pandora

Her handsome boys: (L-R) Brandon Lee, Pamela and Dylan Lee

The former Playboy model added she is thrilled to be a part of a more sustainable future for Pandora.

'I think I'm not a trend follower. I would prefer to be a trendsetter,' said Pamela.

'I think being a pioneer and being yourself is difficult to do in a world that's telling you to be something else. [Whatever I'm doing], I try and find the words that aren't the ones that everybody says. So I'm always trying to be a unique thinker.'

The commercial sees Pamela in an off white blazer with the sleeves rolled up.

She flashes a fresh Malibu tan as she shows off the shiny gold and diamond jewelry.

The star had little makeup on with her honey blonde hair worn down over her shoulders.

'Once in a lifetime is never enough,' Anderson says as she opens the commercial.

The theme of the ad is that diamonds can be worn all the time, not just for fancy occasions.

Pandora wrote on Instagram: 'Iconic. Legendary. Brilliant. We are beyond excited to introduce the ever-radiant @pamelaanderson for Pandora Lab-Grown Diamonds!'

Her comeback: At the beginning of 2023 she came out with her tell-all book Love, Pamela, right. In the early years of her career, Pamela was a Playboy cover girl

Another project to be proud of: Earlier this year Anderson collaborated with Frankies Bikinis

The three new lab-grown diamond collections are named Pandora Nova, Pandora Era and Pandora Talisman.

Pieces range from $290 to $4,450.

Anderson has on the 14k gold and 14k white gold Pandora Infinite Lab-created 0.25 ct tw Diamond Bangles.

And she also is seen in the 14k gold Pandora Infinite Lab-created 2.00 ct tw Diamond Ring rings.

Pandora's sustainable, lab-grown diamonds are identical to mined diamonds.

They are graded by the same standards which are the 4Cs  carat, clarity, color and cut.
The first trailer for the fifth season of Love Is Blind was released on Thursday.

'I just want to be loved unconditionally,' starts the new clip from the hit Netflix dating show.

It is, as to be expected, full of dramatic quotes, declarations of love and plenty of tears and accusations.

'I'm always going to think about you for the rest of my life,' one contestant says.

Another says: 'Women are getting territorial,' while someone else teases some in the pods drama with: 'When you love someone, you don't just leave without telling them.'

Love is blind: 'I just want to be loved unconditionally,' starts the new trailer for season 5 of Netflix 's Love is Blind

New trailer: The streamer released the first full trailer for the next season of the dating experiment reality show

'I could be finding my wife here,' 'When are you gonna propose to me' and 'My past sounds like 8,000 walking red flags,' are a few more of the enticing quotes featured in the trailer.

The new season, which debuts on September 22, was filmed in Houston.

The trailer teases the beach getaway the couples go on once they are all engaged and that also features some juicy quotes.

'I heard a lot of sketchy s**t about you,' one contestant says, while another asks: 'How is it that I like you without makeup so much bad?'

Once the newly engaged couples move into their Houston apartments together and meet each other's families, the drama kicks up a few notches.

As a female contestant exits a new BMW, the voiceover says: 'We have to go over all of it, the checking, the savings, the salary' after saying 'It's phony,' alluding to some lies and secrecy.

One woman's father says: 'Love is blind, I get that, but sometimes love wants to fly first class.'

And, of course, there is wedding day drama with whether or not the both the bride and the groom will go through with it.

Season 5: It is, as to be expected, full of dramatic quotes, declarations of love and plenty of tears and accusations

Drama: 'I'm always going to think about you for the rest of my life,' one contestant says

Pod people: Another says: 'Women are getting territorial,' while someone else teases some in the pods drama with: 'When you love someone, you don't just leave without telling them'

Bling: 'I could be finding my wife here,' 'When are you gonna propose to me' and 'My past sounds like 8,000 walking red flags,' are a few more of the enticing quotes featured in the trailer

The official Netflix statement about the new season reads: 'The fifth season of the cultural hit reality series returns with a new group of Houston singles ready to hit the pods and find love.

'As the experiment continues to expand, each participants individual journey, emotional growth, and ability to embrace a new approach to dating is key  whether they find love outwardly or within.

In the most shocking season yet, the singles face new challenges, unexpected twists, and surprising turns that will test their personal resolve, and the strength of their connections, more than ever before.'

The trailer dropped just one day after the streamer introduced the newest group of singles entering the pods.

One woman's father says: 'Love is blind, I get that, but sometimes love wants to fly first class'

Texas: The new season, which debuts on September 22, was filmed in Houston

Golden goblet: The streamer calls the new series the 'most shocking season yet'

Premiere: Season five of Love is Blind drops on Netflix on September 2022

In the teaser for season five released on Wednesday, the 28 contestants revealed why they're still single, what they're looking for in a future partner and more.

The singles range in age and occupation, but all of them have one thing in common - a desire to find their soulmate.

Maris, 30, an HR specialist, said: 'I'm still single because I have a mouth on me and I don't apologize about it.'

'I tend to pick people that don't fit me and I try to mold myself into a person for them,' Josh, 32, a sales rep, said.

Enter the pods! The contestants appearing on season five of Love Is Blind opened up about their love lives in a new teaser

'I have great taste and I just haven't found the right person yet,' Paige, 32, a stylist, said, before jokingly adding, 'A lie.'

'My parents would just say, "You need to sit your a** down somewhere so that you could actually fall in love with somebody!"' Aaliyah, 29, an ICU travel nurse, said.

'Either I can date the mailman, or the pool guy, or I got to get out of the house,' Renee, 32, a veterinarian, said.

'I'm definitely looking for someone that's goal-oriented in either a career or a passion they have,' Milton, a 25-year-old petroleum engineer, said.

'Somebody who will be able to support just who I am as well as be an encouragement,' Mayra, a 25-year-old minister, said.

Jared, 32, a firefighter, is looking for a 'fun-loving' partner: 'Caring, nice, and kind,' he said.

'Someone who will treat me like the queen that I deserve to be treated like,' Linda, 32, a talent acquisition recruiter, said. 'Because he's going to get that same thing back from me.'

'I'm looking for a partner that brings me peace,' Enoch, 27, a financial advisor, said. 'Who helps mellow me out and allow me to be comfortable.'

Candid: 'I tend to pick people that don't fit me and I try to mold myself into a person for them,' Josh, 32, a sales rep, said

Looking for love! 'I have great taste and I just haven't found the right person yet,' Paige, 32, a stylist, said, before jokingly adding, 'A lie.'

Single and ready to mingle: 'My parents would just say, "You need to sit your a** down somewhere so that you could actually fall in love with somebody!"' Aaliyah, 29, an ICU travel nurse, said

Looking for his partner-in-crime! Jared, 32, a firefighter, is looking for a 'fun-loving' partner: 'Caring, nice, and kind,' he said

Eye on the prize! 'I'm definitely looking for someone that's goal-oriented in either a career or a passion they have,' Milton, a 25-year-old petroleum engineer, said

Preach! 'Somebody who will be able to support just who I am as well as be an encouragement,' Mayra, a 25-year-old minister, said

'I'm looking for someone who's adventurous!' Jarred, 34, a university director, said. 'Somebody who's going to be able to go hike up a mountain with me.'

'Someone who's both responsible and intelligent,' Johnie, 32, a lawyer, said. 'But also someone who has a sense of humor.'

'A definite soulmate,' Ernesto, 32, suppler chain manager of oil and gas, said. 'Just finding the one.'

Love Is Blind's fifth season will take place in Houston, Texas, where various singles will meet virtually and make their marital decisions without meeting in person.

Meet the singles! Mayra, Renee, and Maris are among the contestants

Putting their hearts on the line! Stacy, Paige, and Lydia are seeking their soulmates in the pods

Ready for love! Justice, Milton, and Carter are among the contestants looking for their future spouses

The couples will subsequently be introduced to one another and decide if they want to tie the knot or separate over the following weeks.

Love Is Blind initially debuted on Netflix in February of 2020, and the show quickly became a hit with viewers.

The program subsequently returned for three more seasons, which were set in cities including Seattle and Dallas.

International versions of the series have been produced in Brazil and Japan, and several European iterations of the show are currently in development.

Will they find love? Robert, Enoch, and Uche will be taking a chance for love on the Netflix series

Ready for their match! Chris, Efrain and Jarred are among those entering the pods

Stream all about it! Watch Taylor, Shondra and Lydia's journey unfold on Netflix

Swipe right! Miriam, Erica, and Estefania will be looking for love off the apps this season

Will there be a spark? Linda, Johnie, and Aaliyah are among the cast of hopeful singles

All for love! Ernesto, Josh, and Connor are seeking their future partners

Looking for The One! Izzy and Jared 'JP' are hopeful their matches are in the pods

Check it out: Find out who will meet their future partners when season five debuts September 22

Nick Lachey, who co-hosts the program alongside his wife Vanessa, previously spoke to PopSugar and discussed how he attempted to remain level-headed for the show's cast members.

'You spend time with these people when they're going through a really, really vulnerable place in their life. So my goal is always to be as supportive as I can, emotionally and otherwise,' he said.

The 98 Degrees member went on to speak about the cast members to whom he felt the closest.

'I really gravitated towards [Matt] Barnett and Amber [Pike]. I just love them. They have a genuine love of life together. They're wild and crazy, and I love them being wild and crazy together,' he said.

The first four episodes of season five will debut on Netflix on September 22.
Strictly's Johannes Radebe broke down in tears as he spoke about his mother Jacobeth on Loose Women on Thursday, who he said is 'alone.'

The professional dancer, 36, appeared on the show to talk about his new book Jojo: Finally Home.

Johannes cried as he delved into the backstory of his autobiography which covers the experiences and challenges he faced as he grew up in Zamdela, South Africa with a passion for dance.

Reflecting on his childhood, the Latin champion said: 'It's so far from the life that I am living now, I can look after my family, my mother is comfortable.

'I was bullied for being a bit happy and flamboyant. Dance was my refuge. I hated school but I am so grateful for my teacher for calling people out.

Emotional: Strictly's Johannes Radebe broke down in tears as he spoke about his mother Jacobeth on Loose Women on Thursday

Family: The professional dancer, 36, appeared on the show to talk about his new book Jojo: Finally Home and his close relationship with his mother

Of his sexuality, he said: 'It was frowned upon, even by some of my family members, but now I am in a fortunate position where it is accepted.

'As I was writing the book I sat down and she had been interviewed and I asked her questions like, "Why did you make that decision? Why did you stay that long in a marriage that didn't serve you?"

Johannes choked up as he said: 'It's only recently where I have made peace with what has happened with the past.

'Because I had an opportunity to hear my mum's side of the story.'

Panellist Katie Piper asked: 'Was it hard to talk to your mum about it, about that?'

Getting emotional Johannes replied: 'It was. It was. And I dedicated the book to my mother because I want to applaud her love.

'Great things have happened in my life but my family is never there to enjoy it with me, my mother is alone and that is the reality, but I am so happy and I am proud of her.'

Keep dancing: After his interview, Johannes put on a pair of heels and showed off some moves with Kelly Holmes

Heartbreaking: Johannes endured homophobic physical and verbal abuse while he was growing up

Tearing up: 'It was frowned upon, even by some of my family members, but now I am in a fortunate position where it is accepted', Johannes said

Missing mum: 'Great things have happened in my life but my family is never there to enjoy it with me, my mother is alone and that is the reality', he said

Earlier this year, Johannes spoke about his 'horrid' time at school in South Africa where he endured homophobic physical and verbal abuse.

The dancer has been open about his sexuality during his time on the hit BBC competition and was chosen for Strictly's first same-sex couple alongside baker John Whaite in 2021.

But growing up in the township of Zamdela, near Johannesburg, Johannes said he had to 'duck and dive' from the bullies who would call him a 'sissy boy' and 'punch' him 'many times'.

Speaking to The Guardian about his latest solo venture, a tour called Freedom Unleashed, Johannes explained that despite the bad times he was still 'covered with love' from his mother.

He said: 'I had to duck and dive. School was horrid. They [the bullies] used to say to me, "Oh, sissy boy!"'

The dancer added that if he got far away enough, he would hit them back with a sassy reply: 'But if I was close by I would have been punched, which I was many times.'

Johannes also added that he still has friends living in his native South Africa who still endure homophobic abuse and that he is happy to be living in the UK.

'You guys have a long way to go still, but people make space for one another to coexist,' he added.
Cindy Crawford stepped out for dinner earlier this week in Malibu with her husband of 25 years, Rande Gerber.

The star of the upcoming documentary The Super Models, 57, looked casually chic in a long-sleeved black shirt with a sheer panel on the front. She wore the top over a black tank.

The mom of Kaia Gerber, 22, and Presley Gerber, 24, paired the top with a pair of light-wash, relaxed-fit jeans and black ballet flats.

Her trademark long, brown hair was full of body, slightly wavy and worn down around her shoulders and collarbone.

The former House of Style host accessorized with a simple necklace with a round pendant.

Dinner date: Cindy Crawford stepped out for dinner earlier this week in Malibu with her husband of 25 years, Rande Gerber

Cindy was fresh faced and makeup free in the snaps.

The Casamigos tequila co-founder wore jeans in the same wash as his wife with a black t-shirt and an army green jackets.

The couple dined out at the upscale Italian eatery Tra Di Noi in their Malibu neighborhood.

On Thursday, the star of George Michael's Freedom 90 video shared a short video of herself thumbing through her high school yearbook for her 7.9 million Instagram followers.

She captioned the video: 'A peek inside my high school yearbook in honor of back-to-school season.'

During the clip, she showed photos of herself in the yearbook and invited viewer to see her 'modeling in my high school yearbook.

She pointed out one photo and called her outfit 'Flashdance inspired all the way' as Michael Sembello's Maniac played in the background.

As she pointed out her photo in the grid of her classmates, she read out the activities she was involved in.

'Here it comes. Oh my God. See? Pep Club, Student Council, Sophomore Class Secretary, Math Team.'

Denim couple: The star of the upcoming documentary The Super Models, 57, looked casually chic in a long-sleeved black shirt with a sheer panel on the front

Chic: The mom of Kaia Gerber, 22, and Presley Gerber, 24, paired the top with a pair of light-wash, relaxed-fit jeans and black ballet flats

Flashback: On Thursday, the star of George Michael's Freedom 90 video shared a short video of herself thumbing through her high school yearbook for her 7.9 million Instagram followers

Throwback: She pointed out one photo and called her outfit 'Flashdance inspired all the way' as Michael Sembello's Maniac played in the background

Back to school: She captioned the video: 'A peek inside my high school yearbook in honor of back-to-school season'

Extra Curriculars: As she pointed out her photo in the grid of her classmates, she read out the activities she was involved in. 'Here it comes. Oh my God. See? Pep Club, Student Council, Sophomore Class Secretary, Math Team'

The video then cuts to an older interview of Cindy with her mom, Jennifer Crawford-Moluf.

The younger version of Cindy sat at a kitchen table wearing a baggy t-shirt and jeans.

'Did I get in trouble, well...' she said as she turned to her mom and added: 'Mom?' and giggled.

'She got in trouble enough for me,' her mom admitted.
Johnny Depp is back.

The 60-year-old Pirates Of The Caribbean actor was seen in a new commercial called The Call Of The Blazing Sun for the Dior fragrance Sauvage.

He talked about eagles, the sky, dry wood and the cold wind in a moody clip.

'Bold and powerful, in his essence, his truth, embodies the soul of Sauvage,' Dior said on Instagram. The brand also called him 'fearless.'

The Hollywood star looked gypsy handsome in his black clothing with his silver jewelry and his long hair worn down.

The ex of Vanessa Paradis was reportedly paid an eye-watering $20million to reup his contract with the French company earlier this year.

He never goes out of style: Johnny Depp is back. The 60-year-old Pirates Of The Caribbean actor was seen in a new commercial for the Dior cologne named Sauvage

Jack is back: .The Hollywood star was on stage strumming his guitar as his looked gypsy handsome in his black clothing with his silver jewelry and his long hair worn down

He first signed on as the face of Sauvage in 2015.

Depp - whose daughter Lily-Rose Depp dates 070 Shake - had on a black button-down vest over a black collared shirt with silver chains dancing down his chest.

Johnny added black coated denim jeans with silver buttons on the pockets.

He seemed to have on some eyeliner - which his POTC character Jack Sparrow was known for - as well as a deep Malibu tan.

The red carpet wonder had manicured facial hair that included a mustache with a scruffy goatee.

The ads were shared by Christian Dior on social media on Thursday.

In May it was reported that the What's Eating Gilbert Grape? actor would continue serving as the face of Dior Sauvage, after signing a three-year contract 'upwards of $20 million.'

T he Edward Scissorhands actor may have struck the largest mens fragrance deal in history, according to Variety.

Money bags: The ex of Vanessa Paradis was reportedly paid an eye-watering $20million to reup his contract with the French company

His image just got better after the drama: Dior wanted him back after he turned into a hero during his ugly trial with ex Amber Heard

The publication pointed out he was paid nearly twice what Robert Pattinson earned as a spokesperson for Dior Homme.

Similarly, Brad Pitt was paid $7 million to promote Chanel No. 5.

A source told the outlet that 'most A-listers with fragrance deals pull in around $2 million-$4 million per year like Chris Pine, whose deal with Armani is valued at $4 million a year over 3 years.'

Depp first became the face of the men's scent in 2015, and continued working with the luxury fashion house amid his legal woes with Heard, who accused him of physical abuse and sexual assault.

Eight years ago: He first signed on as the face of Sauvage in 2015

Through thick and thin: His public image has been on a rollercoaster ride since this image was first shared when he was 52

Dior stood by Johnny throughout his trial, and sales of the cologne he advertises, Sauvage, rose at retailers, the Wall Street Journal reported in June 2022.

The publication stated that Depp's cologne was among their top-selling fragrances online last year.

Johnny and Amber were married from 2015 until 2017, and the Pineapple Express actress alleged that the Pirates Of The Caribbean star had been physically abusive over the course of their marriage, which he denied.

Heard also had an op-ed published by The Washington Post in 2018, in which she outlined how she felt as if speaking out about the alleged abuse she suffered during her marriage negatively affected her career.

Not slowing down: Depp has been busier than ever after splitting from Heard; seen in 2015

It was ultimately found that the Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas star had been defamed by his ex; seen in May 2022

The actress went on to file suit against News Group Newspapers for printing various allegations about his marriage through The Sun in 2020, although he ultimately lost his case.

Depp went on to sue his former wife for defamation regarding the op-ed in 2019, and she followed suit before their trial began in July of last year.

It was ultimately found that the Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas star had been defamed by his ex, while a single statement that was made by his former lawyer Adam Waldman regarding the actress was also found to have been defamatory.

While both parties made appeals regarding the judgements, they dropped them and settled the case in December of last year, when it was decided that the actor would receive $1 million from his former spouse's insurance company.

Heard subsequently released a statement regarding the settlement and expressed via BBC that she had 'lost faith in the American legal system.'
Kimberley Garner sent temperatures soaring as she posed for a sizzling new swimsuit shoot in Capri, Italy while promoting her new mens swimwear range.

The former Made In Chelsea star, 32, displayed her jaw-dropping figure as she slipped into a white one-piece while posing in front of a picturesque sea view.

Letting her blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders, Kimberley accentuated her natural beauty with a light palette of makeup.

In another look, the model sizzled in a skimpy red two-piece that highlighted her sun-kissed tan.

The media personality showcased her figure further as she donned a bright yellow bikini while perched over a piano.

Stunning: Kimberley Garner sent temperatures soaring as she posed for a sizzling new swimsuit shoot in Capri, Italy while promoting her new mens swimwear range

Sizzling: In another look, the model sizzled in a skimpy red two-piece that highlighted her sun-kissed tan

Bombshell: Kimberley let her blonde locks fall loose down her shoulders for the shoot

She also slipped into a navy swimsuit while posing on the edge of a cliff against a blue and white beach chair.

Kimberley discussed her new men's range with MailOnline, saying she knows how to make men look good.

She said: 'Uniquely I'm a women designing for men. I know how I want a man to look - I know how a women wants a man to look.

'I'm designing for the opposite sex. Men's swimwear that will make her think, wow he looks hot.

'I tried many different fabrics but this was the one. It falls tailored and luxury to look at, but is total comfort as it's very stretchy, enough to play sport in.

'They are so soft, nearly as comfortable as being naked.

I have worked for 3 years with my London based team, I'm actually producing in London as keeping it British is important to me.'

Kimberley, who previously dated her MIC co-star Richard Dinan, first found fame on E4 reality series and has made a name for herself as a swimsuit brand entrepreneur.

Pose: The former Made In Chelsea star displayed her jaw-dropping figure as she slipped into a white one-piece while posing in front of a picturesque sea view

Radiant: The media personality showcased her figure further as she donned a bright yellow bikini while perched over a piano

Wow: She also slipped into a navy swimsuit while posing on the edge of a cliff against a blue and white beach chair

Fun in the sun: The star put on a leggy display as she posed on a balcony in a pair of sunglasses

Business: Kimberley discussed her new men's range with MailOnline, saying she knows how to make men look good

Despite now enjoying success as a swimwear designer, Kimberley has previously revealed how she used to pretend to be an intern when she first started the business because nobody took her seriously.

However, the property heiress insisted she's more than just the face of her line Kimberley London and is involved with every aspect of creating her sell-out swimwear range.

She told MailOnline: 'I think people sometimes think that Im only the face, but I am responsible for every bit of the business.'

She said: 'Uniquely I'm a women designing for men. I know how I want a man to look - I know how a women wants a man to look

She added: 'I'm designing for the opposite sex. Men's swimwear that will make her think, wow he looks hot'

'I was 18 when I started my first company - I came up with an idea, stayed up for days learning how to register the company and teaching myself. It became very successful overnight.'

She continued: 'However, as I was only 18, no one ever imagined it was mine. I was a young blonde girl with a soft voice.

'No one would take me seriously or realise it was my company. So, I pretended to be the Intern!

'I handled all the meetings, phone calls, and emails for the company. When it became a success, I put all the revenues into starting Kimberley London.'
Nicola and Simon Nightingale laughed as they left Cardiff Crown Court this week. As well they might. After swindling 150,000 from chef Stephen Terry, who owns The Hardwick restaurant in Abergavenny, the couple were fined a nominal 1 each.

One pound each! That wouldn't even buy you a cup of tea or an extra dollop of ice cream at any restaurant in the entire country.

This proceeds-of-crime hearing followed the original court case in May, when the married couple were given a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to do 100 hours of community sentence.

An examination of their finances found there are no releasable assets, so nothing was recouped to reimburse Mr Terry. Why? They had spent it all, of course. Who says crime doesn't pay? It certainly did for this pair of smirking grifters.

This week shattered chef Mr Terry - who has worked his fingers to the bone in a lifetime of kitchens and service - admitted he was disappointed there was no custodial sentence in the first place. He added that it was 'an absolute joke'.

After swindling 150,000 from chef Stephen Terry, who owns The Hardwick restaurant in Abergavenny, Nicola and Simon Nightingale were fined a nominal 1 each, writes Jan Moir. Pictured: The couple in May this year

Indeed it is, but no one is laughing. Except the Nightingales.

You have to wonder what has gone wrong in this country when someone can steal a six-figure sum from a hard-working businessman, pushing him to the brink of bankruptcy, but escape any real punishment. What the hell is going on?

This is how it happened. In 2018, Mr Terry hired Nicola Nightingale as a financial administrator. Flat out in his kitchen, he needed help with the accounts, and hiring an expert seemed a sensible move.

It certainly was, only his bad luck was to hire her; it was like inviting a vulture to the funeral feast and tying a bib around its disgusting neck.

Within two years, Nightingale had expertly bled him dry, fleecing his business of every penny she could get her hands on. A worried Mr Terry discovered what was going on only when the pandemic shut his restaurant-with-rooms, and he had time to take a good look at the books. What he saw was horrifying.

Nightingale had paid herself inflated wages; made payments into her and her husband's accounts; took out two 40,000 loans in Mr Terry's name; generated fake invoices from fictitious suppliers; and raided the business's pension pot to the tune of 10,000.

Funds totalling nearly 47,000 had been transferred into her husband's account and the family had spent the money on luxury goods and five-star holidays. Holidays that, Mr Terry wryly noted, he could never afford himself.

In court, Nightingale pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position while her husband argued he thought all the money barrelling into his account was simply her wages. He was found guilty of acquiring criminal property, but none of this was enough to send either of them to jail.

This seems even more ridiculous in a world where the police can come knocking at your door for misgendering a Starbucks barista; where you can be arrested and fined 1,000 for having a woodburning stove; and where a woman can be convicted and jailed for manslaughter after shouting at a cyclist to get off the pavement.

In this awful, topsy-turvy world, we have become sorely used to the police not bothering to investigate household crimes and any thefts which they deem minor. More recently they have also been turning a blind eye to the looting of High Street stores, as shoplifting has become 'downgraded' as a crime.

Yet even in this hellscape, one would have hoped that the theft of a six-figure sum from a small business would merit retribution and at least a blip on the scales of justice, but no. Not this time. I don't know Mr Terry personally, but I know him by reputation, and over the years have eaten in his restaurants. He is one of those proper, hard-working, old-school chefs who loves fresh food and good ingredients, prepares them with care and charges his customers a reasonable price to enjoy them.

He's been described as a celebrity chef who has been on television, someone who was best man at Gordon Ramsay's wedding. That is all true, but it doesn't really explain who he is or his dedication and craftsmanship. In fact, it makes him sound like a poser with a saucepan range in Harrods and an outpost in Dubai, but nothing could be further from the truth.

He's the kind of chef who is still up to his elbows in onions most days of the week and, at the age of 55, was probably fondly eyeing a nice retirement on the horizon.

That dream has been shattered. His business 'barely survived' the Nightingales' pillage, and now he has to start from scratch again.

The restaurant industry is full of big-name swindlers, desultory chains and downright chancers who charge a lot for inferior produce and don't care about customers.

Someone like Stephen Terry - an honest chef-patron working all hours to do his best by everyone - is a diamond among the spice dust, someone whose endeavour should be supported and respected by the courts, not insulted.

Today, Mr Terry must be feeling very let down by the justice system, which seems to have wronged him all over again. For if this serious crime against him and his restaurant is not going to be properly punished, where on Earth does that leave us all?

There's nothing faux about Sienna's style

One day you're starring in a film in your underwear, dating Jude Law but having a fling with Daniel Craig - no one would ever raise an eyebrow about that, Sienna, we understand.

The next you're in a yellow midaxi and scarf, being hailed as the new face of Marks & Spencer.

The new Sienna Miller (pictured) collection for M&S is fabulous; if this is part of the High Street store's renaissance, no wonder it is doing well

If that makes you sound like a frump, nothing could be further from the truth. The new Sienna Miller collection for M&S is fabulous; if this is part of the High Street store's renaissance, no wonder it is doing well.

It's all highly covetable - I'm just pausing to order Sienna's darling waistcoat - and reasonably priced.

My only query is with the faux shearling jacket. A fashion friend once told me never to buy 'faux' anything. If you can't afford the real deal, she said, use your imagination and get something else. Is she right?

The wedding drama we all want to see

The absurdly silly lives of the rich and famous, part 459.

Brooklyn Beckham and wife Nicola Peltz have settled the lawsuit with their wedding planners. The bride's billionaire father sued over their failure to return his 126,000 deposit when they were sacked after only nine days. The previous wedding planner had left after working for a year on the wedding.

Who said what to who about the napery, the bridesmaids' dresses, the place settings, the order of service and the colour of the ribbons?

Brooklyn Beckham and wife Nicola Peltz have settled the lawsuit with their wedding planners

Call me shallow, but I want this developed into a ten-part docu-drama, starring Margot Robbie as Nicola and Fozzie Bear as Brooklyn.

Posh could play herself, but she's too busy not making a wedding dress. Please someone, make this happen.

Will this be Pacino's happy ever after?

Some good news at last. Al Pacino, 83, and Noor Alfallah, 29, have NOT split three months after having a baby together.

Rumours that the mother had filed for physical custody to pave way for child support payments, while the father (who is old enough to be the mother's grandfather) continues with his indulged, millionaire movie-star life are not true. All is harmonious in the Pacino camp, it seems. Al has four children and has never married, while Noor is rumoured to have briefly dated Mick Jagger a few years ago; now they seem to have found a connection and a purpose.

Perhaps we have underestimated a couple who seem to have exerted little thought on bringing a new life into this world. They got together in April 2022 and the reading on my CTC (Celebrity Trimester Calculator) suggests Noor must have become pregnant around the moment Al said 'waiter, the check, please' on their second date.

Can this relationship possibly have a future and a happy ending? Fingers crossed.

Al Pacino, 83, and Noor Alfallah, 29, have not split three months after having a baby together

Birmingham City Council has been declared effectively bankrupt after years of foolish spending on all sorts of nonsense, including a botched IT system and silly street signs which are supposed to be inclusive, such as Humanity Close and Inspire Avenue.

City councils are supposed to do good, not make themselves feel good. No wonder they have ended up on Dead End Street.

I am loving Penny Mordaunt's punishment beatings, regularly handed out to the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons.

This week the Hammer of the Nats was at it again, pointing out that the economic growth in Scotland was slower than in England; that Victorian diseases such as rickets have returned to Scottish cities; that rats are running amok in Glasgow; that the Scottish taxpayers would have to stump up 70 million for the 'smelting business debacle'; that the 33 million that was ring-fenced for Scottish farmers has gone AWOL; and that the SNP has got to stop blaming everyone else for their mess.

'I look forward to next week what these excuses might be. The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, the Highland Clearances, the Hundred Years' War?' she sniffed.

Mordaunt by name, mordant by nature and even more impressive without her sword.
Laura Whitmore went topless as she enjoyed a couples massage with husband Iain Stirling during a PR trip to the Maldives on Thursday.

The former Love Island host, 38, took to her Instagram to share a glimpse of herself in nothing but leopard print bikini bottoms during the lavish pampering session.

Laura later revealed she and Iain were making the most of the trip and were enjoying a belated honeymoon, after tying the knot in 2020.

The pair's massage tables were set up with views of the ocean and they even had a glass panel in the floor for a close-up view of the fishes.

Laura and Iain, 35, celebrated their long over due honeymoon with swanky champagne before enjoying a romantic boat trip.

Stunner: Laura Whitmore went topless as she enjoyed a couples massage with husband Iain Stirling during a PR trip to the Maldives on Thursday

Figure: The former Love Island host, 38, took to Instagram to share snaps of herself in nothing but leopard print bikini bottoms during the lavish pampering session

Romantic: Laura later revealed she and Iain were making the most of the trip and were enjoying a belated honeymoon, after tying the knot in 2020

She captioned one snap: 'It took us 3 years but we found time to go on honeymoon'.

The Irish presenter took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a slew of snaps on her idyllic getaway while posing in a skimpy blue bikini that showcased her stunning figure.

Laura shared pictures of her day out snorkelling and a sweet image enjoying dinner with her husband.

She captioned the images: 'Into the blue BRB just having a lovely time in paradise thank you @coco_resorts #cocomoments #prtrip.'

While Laura looked like she could have been a Love Island contestant with her incredible bikini snaps, she revealed she'd more than moved on from the show since Maya Jama took on from hosting duties.

She opted not to watch the final of the last series - which was won by Jess Harding and Sammy Root - instead hosting Disaronnos cocktail event at Artotel Battersea Power Station.

Laura has since started filming investigative documentaries and previously expressed her relief at being a producer on her ITVX series Laura Whitmore Investigates, after having previously just been 'the face' of television projects.

The DJ admitted she sees the move as her way of 'reclaiming my power,' after having been 'frustrated' over having 'no control' over the shows she worked on.

Cheers! Laura and Iain, 35, celebrated their long over due honeymoon with swanky champagne before enjoying a romantic boat trip

Wow: The Irish presenter took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a slew of snaps on her idyllic getaway while posing in a skimpy blue bikini that showcased her stunning figure

Yum: Laura shared pictures of her day out snorkelling and a sweet image enjoying dinner with her husband Iain Stirling

In the interview, Laura also revealed she is having therapy after it was offered to her for the first time, and admitted: 'I never really feel like I fit in!'

The television personality also confessed that perhaps she has never asked for mental health support, because she 'didn't want to be seen to be weak.'

Speaking to The Telegraph, Laura said: 'Sometimes  a lot of the time  your job is to turn up and look a certain way. I've worked on shows where I've had no control over my script or producing or anything.

'When I first started on Radio 5 Live, I had comments on Twitter saying, "Why have you got that bimbo on that slot?" [] I never really feel like I fit in anywhere, but does anyone?'

Moved on: While Laura looked like she could have been a Love Island contestant with her incredible bikini snaps, she revealed she'd more than moved on from the show

Snubbed: Laura opted not to watch the final of the last series - which was won by Jess Harding and Sammy Root - and presented by Maya Jama (left)

She continued: 'Once I can add something to the narrative and I'm getting something from it I'll bloody well do it, and I hope I'll do it to the best ability I can.

'I have a lovely life, but I will also call out the s**t, because I hope I'll be able to continue to do this for years and it will get better and I'll have more power. I've definitely got more power now than I did 10 years ago in this industry.'

Laura also revealed she met with a therapist early on in the documentary-making process after it was offered, for the first time in her career.

She confessed: 'I've never had that before and I kind of wish I had done it before now... for any show.'

The former model also considered if she 'should have asked for help' rather than waiting for it to be offered, adding 'because people don't offer things.'

But, she admitted: 'maybe [I] didn't want to be seen to be weak, so I didn't,' adding: 'The more I work in TV the more I will be like, ''I'm finding this really hard''.'
Jerry Seinfeld has defended Jimmy Fallon and labeled claims The Tonight Show host scolded a crew member in front of him as an 'idiotic twisting of events.'

Fallon, 48, was accused of creating a 'toxic work environment' on The Tonight Show in a new Rolling Stone report, and the article included an alleged incident which involved Seinfeld, 69.

Two employees claim Seinfeld instructed Fallon to apologize to a crew member the talk show host had 'scolded'. The employee was responsible for Fallon's cue cards, and the alleged criticism occurred during a taping of Seinfeld's segment.

Fallon allegedly apologized for reprimanding the staffer after Seinfeld spoke up, and the incident was described as 'uncomfortable' by employees who recounted it with Rolling Stone.

But, in a comment submitted to the outlet after they published their article on Thursday, the Seinfeld star called the description an 'idiotic twisting of events.'

'This is so stupid. I remember this moment quite well I teased Jimmy about a flub, and we all had a fun laugh about how rarely Jimmy is thrown off. It was not uncomfortable at all. Jimmy and I still occasionally recall it and laugh. Idiotic twisting of events,' Seinfeld said.

'Idiotic twisting of events': Jerry Seinfeld has come to the defense of Jimmy Fallon after the comedian was accused of creating a 'toxic work environment' on The Tonight Show in a new Rolling Stone report; pictured on the show in 2018

Two employees claim Seinfeld instructed Fallon to apologize to a crew member the talk show host had 'scolded' in front of others. The employee had reportedly messed up an easy task while shooting a segment with Seinfeld; Fallon pictured April 2023

Rolling Stone alleged they sent multiple requests for comment to Seinfeld's representatives but never received any response. Seinfeld's statement was sent in following the story's publication.

The employee told the outlet of the alleged scolding moment: 'It was very awkward, and Jerry [Seinfeld] was like, "You should apologize to him," almost trying to make it a joke.

'It was one of the strangest moments ever and so many people were there, so its kind of hard to forget.'

An insider has also told the New York Post that Rolling Stone had gotten the Seinfeld story wrong.

An insider told The New York Post that the energy of the workplace had changed dramatically since new showrunner Chris Miller was brought on in May 2022.

'Hes brought a renewed enthusiasm and positive energy to the show. Chris prides himself on being available to the staff and a transparent leader. Hes exactly what the show needed.'

In addition, another producer on the program described Fallon as incredibly 'engaged' with workers and added 'the atmosphere is very different.

'Theres a new wave that came in a year and a half ago and has just made everything change,' the producer told The New York Post.

In the Rolling Stone article, Fallon has been accused of creating a 'toxic work environment' at The Tonight Show by sixteen current and past staffers who say the star's 'hissy-fits' forced them to sob in 'crying rooms', made their hair fall out and triggered suicidal thoughts.

Concerns have been raised by 14 former employees as well as two current workers about Fallon's 'erratic' workplace conduct and interactions with other bosses which left them feeling belittled or intimidated, according to the publication.

They claim Fallon's inconsistent behavior, which has included 'outbursts' toward workers, is the starting point for a 'pretty glum atmosphere'.

While the talk show host is known for his hilarious anecdotes on the screen with a range of games, challenges and trivia garnering millions of weekly views online, it's claimed Fallon has unexpected mood swings.

'It was like, if Jimmy is in a bad mood, everyones day is f**ked,' one former employee says.

'People wouldnt joke around in the office, and they wouldnt stand around and talk to each other. It was very much like, focus on whatever it is that you have to do because Jimmys in a bad mood, and if he sees that, he might fly off.'

Fallon seen in London on September 6 just days before the allegations surfaced

Claims emerged from 16 current and former employees about a series of issues at The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon

They claim the star's 'hissy-fits' forced them to sob in 'crying rooms', made their hair fall out and triggered suicidal thoughts

Concerns allege the star's 'erratic' behavior and 'outbursts' have created an ugly environment behind the scenes

It's claimed Fallon's 'outbursts' and inconsistent mood swings trickle down to other bosses, including varying showrunners at the helm over nine years

An NBC spokesperson said the network is 'incredibly proud' of the show, but acknowledged 'we have had employees raise issues'

It's alleged his inconsistent and snappy attitude trickles down throughout the program's hierarchy which has seen nine showrunners over nine years.

'I just dont think theyve landed on a leader who can keep it together,' one former staffer told Rolling Stone.

None of the nine showrunners opted to speak in a negative - or positive - light about the show.

The publication approached more than 50 current and former Tonight Show employees for the story. While many praised Fallon for his ability to crack a joke, no one put their hand up to speak on the record or had any good things to say about the work environment. The 16 who did speak up, under the condition of anonymity worked in a range of different roles, from production crews to the writers' room.

But a source close to the Tonight Show told DailyMail.com: 'The things being reported in this article happened years ago and just arent reflective of the atmosphere today.

'Nobody is denying that things happened in the past, but any previous issues have been dealt with and everyone has moved on since then.

A lot of these are old anecdotes that have already been reported and its unclear to everyone why theyre being brought up again years later.

'So many current staff members have positive things to say about the show but they arent being given a chance.

'This isnt who Jimmy is and this isnt in any way what the show is like today.

'It was like, if Jimmy is in a bad mood, everyones day is f**ked,' one former employee says

A Rolling Stone investigation by Krystie Lee Yandoli revealed the claims against Fallon and The Tonight Show

The talk show host is known for his hilarious anecdotes on screen but behind the scenes, concerns have been raised over Fallon's 'erratic' behavior at work

Among the allegations, one former employee said the environment shifted during the transition from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to The Tonight Show.

'The producers felt this pressure, and that translated down to all of their employees. People that worked under them then felt this pressure that if you made one mistake, you were gone and would be easily replaced,' one former employee said.

'You have all these NBC pages in the building who are ready, willing, and waiting to take your job.'

Many of the staffers said they left the show due to mental health concerns, with seven saying their overall wellbeing was impacted by their alleged experiences.

Others said they were fired from the show, with guest rooms reportedly referred to as 'crying rooms' to let out their emotions when it all became too much.

'Nobody told Jimmy, "No." Everybody walked on eggshells, especially showrunners,' another former employee claimed.

'You never knew which Jimmy we were going to get and when he was going to throw a hissy fit. Look how many showrunners went so quickly. We know they didnt last long.'

Many of the staffers who spoke out have described living in fear while employed with the talk show, with some saying they had nightmares or anxiety related to their work.

A person says they were put on anti-anxiety medication for the first time after having an anxiety attack while working at the show.

Another says their hair thinned and nail beds weakened as a physical reaction to the stress, while someone else lost nearly 20 pounds and cried themselves to sleep every night.

'I know other people who were in [my] department who also were unhappy with [mis]treatment but it was never a thing where any of us were empowered enough to say anything,' the employee said.

'It just always felt like, "You should be grateful that you have a job, and you should be grateful that you have this position at this show, at this network. Everyone wants to be in this spot. You have worked hard to get here  it shouldnt be a thing where youre being ungrateful".'

Fallon appears totally fascinated with guests who feature on the show (pictured: actress Keke Palmer)

Four people claim they are in therapy as a result of their experiences, while three revealed they had suicidal thoughts.

'Mentally, I was in the lowest place of my life. I didnt want to live anymore. I thought about taking my own life all the time,' one former employee described.

'I knew deep down I would never actually do it, but in my head, Im like, "Why do I think about this all the time?"'

One former worker said the ordeal of working for the show is 'a bummer' because it was their 'dream job'.

'Writing for late night is a lot of peoples dream jobs, and theyre coming into this and it becomes a nightmare very quickly.

'Its sad that its like that, especially knowing that it doesnt have to be that way.'

The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon is known for its popular segments and challenges

Concerns over Fallon's behavior have been raised previously. In 2015, the New York Post published a story quoting sources who alleged NBC was worried his drinking had become 'excessive'.

He refuted the claims, however, in an interview with the New York Times in 2017, saying: 'I could never do a day-to-day job if I was drinking every night. Thats just kicking you when youre down.'

Yet, two employees allege they saw him under the influence at work that same year. Another two workers believed they smelled alcohol on his breath when he entered an elevator with them during the day on separate occasions in 2019 and 2020.

Eight other employees claimed his energy and attitude could be attributed to whether he was hungover.

While The Tonight Show, which is produced by Universal Television, Broadway Video and Electric Hot Dog - Fallon's production company, is currently on hold due to the writers' strike, it was renewed by NBC until 2026.

In a statement to Rolling Stone, an NBC spokesperson said The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon is no different to anywhere else.

'We are incredibly proud of The Tonight Show, and providing a respectful working environment is a top priority,' the spokesperson said.

'As in any workplace, we have had employees raise issues; those have been investigated and action has been taken where appropriate.

'As is always the case, we encourage employees who feel they have experienced or observed behavior inconsistent with our policies to report their concerns so that we may address them accordingly.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to NBC and Fallon's representatives for additional comment.
READ MORE: Campbell hits back at critics of her new PrettyLittleThing range

The model discussed raising her two children during an interview with Today

Naomi Campbell has given a rare insight into her life as a mom-of-two, admitting that her two-year-old daughter has already picked up her diva attitude.

The 53-year-old supermodel told Today presenter Sheinelle Jones, 45, that while she is having 'a lot of fun' raising her tots  a daughter and a son, who arrived in June  she has had to discipline her eldest for demanding 'privacy' at parties.

'I love it,' Campbell said of motherhood. 'It's a lot of fun. Every day is a surprise. You don't know what's going to happen, what my daughter is going to say.'

Lifting the lid on her daughter's sass, Campbell continued: 'She goes to a party and she says, like, "Mom, privacy!" and I'm like, "huh?" And I said, "not to your mama. You can do that to everybody else, but to me!"

Naomi Campbell, 53, lifted the lid on motherhood during an interview with the Today show

The supermodel revealed her daughter, three, has already picked up her diva attitude

Campbell became a mom for the first time in 2021 when she welcomed her daughter, whose name has not been made public

In a TODAY exclusive, supermodel Naomi Campbell sits down with @SheinelleJones to open up about her career highlights, the Victoria's Secret World Tour, motherhood and the power of evolving. pic.twitter.com/NdG0KB0o8N  TODAY (@TODAYshow) September 7, 2023

The supermodel, who is infamous for her own diva-esque behaviors, then joked: 'I don't know where she got it from!'

Campbell is famed for being notoriously late and was given a stern warning for arriving to set three hours late while filming Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie in 2015.

Maybe in her past, nobodys ever asked her to be on time  they just expected her to be a diva, her co-star Jennifer Saunders told Page Six.

Campbell also once famously told fellow judge Nicole Trunfio on reality show The Face: Don't compare yourself to me... you are not on my level and you will never be.

And in 2019 she shared a video documenting her airplane routine which sees her thoroughly cleaning her business class compartment onboard and throwing on a hand washed seat cover.

Campbell became a mom for the first time in 2021 when she welcomed her daughter, whose name has not been revealed.

Her arrival sparked widespread speculation that she used a surrogate, a popular approach among older celebrity mothers, because she was not spotted with an obvious baby bump in the months leading up to the birth.

Campbell has previously hinted at surrogacy, claiming science has given her an opportunity to start a family 'whenever she wants'.

The London-born model announced in June that she had become a mother again at the age of 53.

She confirmed the arrival of a baby boy on Instagram, posting a photograph of her newborn son in her arms with her daughter holding his hands.

At the time, she told her followers: 'My little darling, know that you are cherished beyond measure and surrounded by love from the moment you graced us with your presence.

'A true gift from God. Blessed! Welcome baby boy. It's never too late to become a mother.'

While Campbell has not made public his name or details about his birth, her friends have claimed that she used a surrogate to have him.

Campbell welcomed her second child, a son, in June - his name has also been kept private

She announced her latest arrival on Instagram: 'My little darling, know that you are cherished beyond measure and surrounded by love from the moment you graced us with your presence'

The model, pictured with her daughter in Disneyland, revealed that she is loving motherhood and has described it as a 'lot of fun'

She treated her daughter to the unforgettable trip to the California theme park in July

They told the Daily Mail: 'It came as a surprise to her wider circle after she only told a handful of people that she was becoming a mom for the second time.

'Suddenly she postponed a work commitment because she needed to be at her surrogate's side and the next moment, she had a beautiful baby boy. There was a lot of surprise, and of course happiness.'

It's understood that Campbell is raising her children on her own and is not in a romantic relationship.

She has previously had high-profile romances with the likes of rapper Skepta, billionaire Vladislav Doronin and was linked to Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio.

Earlier this week, Campbell unveiled her new 90-piece PrettyLittleThing collection in New York.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail, she hit back at critics of her collaboration with the online brand and implored that 'fashion shouldn't discriminate.'

She said: 'I feel this collection was fun, chic, sexy, vibrant, inclusive, and fashion should not discriminate... who's to say that PrettyLittleThing are not going to continue working with young creatives and leading and changing into sustainability, who knows. New beginnings.'

Campbell unveiled her new 90-piece PrettyLittleThing collection in New York earlier this week

She fiercely hit back at critics of her collaboration with the online brand - and insisted that 'fashion shouldn't discriminate'

Campbell said that working with PrettyLittleThing has been an empowering experience following decades of wearing the designs of other fashion houses as she becomes the changing face of a new era.

She added: 'I have worked for years for everybody else. It's nice to do something for me.

'Whenever they think of working with someone, they never come to the actual models, they usually go to the celebrities.

'There are a few other models that have done fast fashion, and they were totally praised and adored and are loved.

'I don't think about other people when I say yes to something. If I understand it and I see what it can be then that's how I commit to the things I do.'
The number of wolves present in France has indeed been underestimated. This was denounced by the majority agricultural organizations on July 3, reports Le Figaro. According to a first press release from the prefecture of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, "the balance sheet [] for the winter of 2022-2023 [] establishes a provisional estimate of 906 wolves, a stable figure compared to the year last [921 wolves]".

Each year, the estimate of the wolf population in the country is eagerly awaited by breeders and nature protection associations. But the updating of the figures this summer proves breeders and hunters right. The referent prefect Jean-Paul Celet explains that "after taking into account the genetic analyses, the provisional figure 2023 amounts to 1,104 individuals [...]. Furthermore, the final wolf population estimate for 2022 is 1,096 individuals, which is 175 individuals more than the initial estimates.

Another contradiction raised by these new figures, the lupine population is not decreasing but increasing, contrary to the assertions of the public authorities. "We must review the calculation method for the next National Wolf Plan currently under negotiation so as not to have inconsistent estimates a few weeks apart", insists Claude Font, sheep breeder in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, president of the Federation sheep national (FNO).

The gray wolf is protected in the European Union. But shootings are planned as an exception, as a last resort, to protect the herds. The estimate of the wolf population allows to define the maximum number of wolves that can be eliminated each year. Since the wolf is a wild animal living over large areas, its population cannot be counted precisely and is therefore estimated on the basis of indices (visual observation, footprints, droppings, etc.) from which the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB ) publishes an estimate range.

The main lines of the next Wolf Plan (2024-2029) are expected in the fall. Breeders intend to obtain as many concessions as possible in this complex and politically sensitive issue.
The government on Wednesday approved Rs 3,760 crore for viability gap funding of up to 40 per cent of total capital cost to set up 4,000 MWh battery energy storage system in the country, Union minister Anurag Thakur said.

The entire Rs 3,760 crore viability gap funding (VGF) will be borne by the central government, the Information & Broadcasting Minister said while briefing the media about the Cabinet decisions.

The VGF will be released in five tranches till 2030-31 and help in creation of 4,000 MWh storage across the country.

The viability gap funding, Thakur said, will lead to an investment of Rs 9,500 crore.

About the progress of renewables, he said that the solar energy has increased from 2.6 GW in 2014 to 71 GW at present while wind energy has increased from 21 GW (in 2014) to 40 GW.

He said that India is meeting its 25 per cent of energy demand from renewable energy, including from large hydro plants.

He explained that India needs to develop BESS (battery energy storage system) for making round-the-clock renewable energy supply possible.

The BESS would enable use of stored renewable energy in peak hours, he said.

The minister opined that the scheme is in sync with Indias ambition to meet its 50 per cent of energy requirements through renewable energy and non-fossil energy sources by 2030 and also help reduce carbon emission.

An official statement said, The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister approves the Scheme for Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for development of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

The approved scheme envisages development of 4,000 MWh of BESS projects by 2030-31, with a financial support of up to 40 per cent of the capital cost in the form of VGF, it explained.

The move is expected to bring down the cost of battery storage systems increasing their viability.

Designed to harness the potential of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, the scheme aims to provide clean, reliable, and affordable electricity to the citizens, it stated.

The VGF for development of BESS scheme, with an initial outlay of Rs 9,400 crore, including a budgetary support of Rs 3,760 crore, signifies the governments commitment to sustainable energy solutions, it stated.

The scheme aims to achieve a Levelized Cost of Storage (LCoS) ranging from Rs 5.50 to Rs 6.60 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), making stored renewable energy a viable option for managing peak power demand across the country.

The VGF shall be disbursed in five tranches at various stages of implementation of BESS projects.

To ensure that the benefits of the scheme reach the consumers, a minimum of 85 per cent of the BESS project capacity will be made available to power distribution companies (discoms), it stated.

This will not only enhance the integration of renewable energy into the electricity grid but also minimize wastage while optimising the utilisation of transmission networks, the ministry statement said.

Consequently, it will reduce the need for costly infrastructure upgrades.
Xi Jinpings absence from the G20 conclave in Delhi, is primarily directed against the United States and the West

In diplomacy, doors for dialogue are never shut but China and India were entailed in a petty issue of scoring over each other which is evident from the recent controversy started by Dragon that Xi and Modi met on the sideline of the BRIC summit in Johannesburg at the request of India which gave birth to the pessimism of improvement in strained ties between two countries. The reports in foreign media as well as Indian press focused on the crux of the brief interaction that took place between Xi and Modi thereby slightly brightening the chances of intensifying efforts to de escalate tensions at the border which is mandatory to normalize the relations strained since the past more than three years. But it proved short-lived.

In this backdrop and latent attempt by China to take away credit for the success of the G20 summit from India, now it is confirmed that Chinese president, Xi Jinping will not willfully attend the G 2o meeting in Delhi on Sept 9 which is primarily aimed at undermining the success of summit besides hitting and snubbing United states and west though Russias president, Vladimir Putin has stood by India because he telephoned prime minister, Narender Modi to explain his decision not to attend G20 meet in person.

President of G20 nations, India will be hosting meetings of heads of member nations on Sept 9 and Sept 10, 2023, in New Delhi hence Xis presence would have made a lot of difference but uncertainty prevails. Experts say that a brief conversation between the two leaders had created a good atmosphere which was sullied by China as scoring over each other will not yield positive results. India faces a challenge to ensure the success of the G20 summit which will be attended by Joe Biden, the US president also. India needs to avoid any attempt by China to undermine the importance of the G20 meeting hence a signal has been sent to the world about Indias eagerness to have normal ties with Dragon.

Experts believe that Chinas attempt to emerge as a dominating power in the region has been thwarted by India which is also an emerging world economic power. China has tried to entrap poor nations in Asia through Debt policy which is a byproduct of its expansion strategy. However, such a policy is being resented by several nations as they are unable to repay huge loans. Nineteen rounds of talks held between India and China have not yielded tangible results as China has refused to restore pre-2020 status on LOC which reflects its lack of sincerity in resolving the border issue. The Chinese Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement that said President Xi stressed that improving China-India relations serves the common interests of the two countries and peoples, But Chinas track record shows that it seldom follows such a policy which is evident from its attempt to grab Indian territory and refusal to pull back its forces which were illegally piling up their strength on our side of LOC.

Secondly, China is very upset over the strategic partnership and close ties that have been developed between the United States and India thereby preventing Dragon from advancing towards its ambition of becoming the Superpower to replace the US. China keeps on encouraging Pakistan to create tension with India which suits its evil designs. Owing to open support to Russia, China stands to lose in the international arena after the Ukraine war. India has maintained good ties with Putin and taken a neutral stand on Ukraine aggression which helped India to get cheap oil amidst the sanctions imposed by the US and West. Indias role in different groupings including the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), a grouping of Japan, the US, India and Australia is widely seen by China as Americas initiative to counter the growing influence in the world arena.

Third, Amidst the pushback being faced by China and Russia owing to sanctions imposed by the United States, an aggressive posture was adopted by both nations to ensure the expansion of BRICS but India registered its strength as it had taken the lead in floating an idea of evolving the consensus over the admission of new six members in the block to develop new global developmental order of governance which should not be Unipolar. It was not to the liking of China as Russia took a stand that was not at the variance of India in BRIC. Biden was poised to raise the Ukraine issue and China has stood by Russia. China does not want to tolerate the dominance of Western powers and relations have further strained with India after the redrawing of the map.

(The writer is a political analyst and senior journalist based in Shimla)
On Chehlum, lets us resuscitate the message of lady Zainab, who stood tall without bowing down before the brutes

The pre-Islamic period in Arabia is known as the 'age of ignorance'. Scudding away from the noble attributes of human principles, Arabs were treading the path of retrogression and abhorrence. Practising all sorts of evils and vices, they were habitual of wreaking vengeance, killings on non-issues, group quarrels and tribal animosities, lasting for generations. They used to bury their newly born daughters alive. They had no sense of equality, human values, decency and brotherhood.

In this crucial moment, Prophet Mohammad brought the message of love, tolerance, humanity, kindness, compassion, forbearance, liberty, equality and securing justice for the persecuted. However, the conflict between good and evil remains perpetual. Both persist in their efforts to sustain. Mohammad was the messenger of peace but there inhabited a Satanic group of

'Ommayads' did not tolerate the sojourn of humanity and excellence and opposed the Prophet's teachings with heavy hands. Ommaya's grandson Abu Sufiyan forced the Prophet to migrate from Mecca to Medina. From this migration began the Hijri era of Islam. In Medina, the Prophet established the caliphate for administering the systematic "rule of law".

After the demise of the Prophet, the Muslim community was torn by conflicting claims of leadership. In total disregard to the Prophet's declaration of Hazrat Ali as his successor in the Gadeer e Khum area while returning from his last Haj, Muslim tribal leaders declared Abu Bakar as the first caliph, followed by Omar, Usman and then Hazrat Ali.

Muawiya of the Ommayad clan with the view to usurp the caliphate, mischievously and secretly planned the assassination of Hazrat Ali and his elder son Imam Hasan and declared himself as caliph and leader of the faithful. After Muawiya's death, his son Yazid usurped the seat of the caliphate forcibly and declared himself the so-called spiritual leader of the faithful. Yazid was a hardcore criminal, tyrant, great drunkard and libertine. The barest mention of his objectionable character is taboo in this civilised society.

After declaring himself as self-proclaimed caliph and leader of the faithful, accursed Yazid compelled Imam Husain, the younger grandson of the Holy Prophet Mohammad to acknowledge him as commander of the faithful.

Husain was known throughout the Arab world for his wisdom, compassion and piety. On the contrary, Yazid's immoral activities indicated the deliberate intentions of making vulgar and vociferous alterations to the established Islamic values. Imam Husain refused Yazid's allegiance. Husain as the Prophet's grandson and successor had to do his duty to save Islamic values against transgression as accursed Yazid was committed to defacing and disfiguring the true faith and then a pseudo-religion would emerge under the guise of Islam.

On Imam Husain's refusal of his allegiance, on 10th October, 680 AD, Yazid brutally assassinated Imam Husain and 71 of his family members in the desert of Karbala with mercury touching 50 degrees C, after keeping them hungry and thirsty for three days. When Husain asked the enemy to give water to his 6-month-old infant son Ali Asghar, the child was killed with an arrow, the buoyancy of whose innocent blood refloated the sinking ship of humanity.

After the massacre of 72, the bodies of the martyrs were trampled with the hoofs of the horses. Their heads including that of the infant were severed and mounted on lancers. The tents of Husain's family were torched. The innocent children, including the 4-year-old beloved daughter of Husain, Bibi Sakina, ladies and the only surviving ailing son of Husain, Zainul Abedeen were made prisoners and paraded from Karbala to Syria, a long distance of 2700 km, on the bare backs of Camels to be produced before the accursed Yazid.

Here in his secretariat, accursed Yazid played another trick by concealing the real identity of the victims. Yazid through his state-sponsored propaganda apparatus was now portraying the Prophet's Household as renegades. Yazid would have succeeded in his evil designs had Husain's sister Zainab and son Zain ul Abedeen not risen to the occasion.

Lady Zainab through her bold and eloquent sermons in that very state of captivity, bound in chains with the heart-rending spectacle of the severed heads of her brothers, sons and nephews, mounted on lancers before her, protected the withered tree of Islamic values and humanity before the fierce gales of disaster.

When Zainab and her remaining family members whose necks were bound in one long chain, which included the neck of a 4- year old Husain's daughter Sakina, were brought to the court of Yazid with 700 courtiers and ambassadors of other states sitting over there, Zainab exposed Yazid's tyranny and false propaganda through her bold and eloquent sermons. She said," What Yazid! By closing down all existence, imprisoning, chaining and parading us without food and water from place to place, have you thought that you have lowered our image and considered yourself to be a respectful person? Or you are under the wrong impression that the tragedy we met at your hands has elevated your status and therefore you are acting most arrogantly! You have caused this dilapidated condition of ours for no fault that where from our guardian- less caravan passes, huge throngs of spectators assemble to glance at us. She further said, "Oh the son of our freed slaves, is this justice?"

Lady Zainab again said fearlessly, "Oh Yazid! Be sure that the most inhuman treatment you have meted to us doesn't guarantee your success but the momentary respite given to you by the Almighty." Zainab quoted the verse of the Holy Quran, " And let not those who disbelieve think that our granting them respite is better for their souls; we grant them respite only that they may add to their sins; and they shall have a disgraceful chastisement."

Zainab unveiled the truth. The sermons had an electrifying effect on the misguided people. Soon after hearing her most influential sermons her, the large conglomeration of the people realised that these prisoners were none but the Household of the Holy Prophet. Most of them started weeping and the tyrant Yazid had to make a hasty retreat towards his palace. In a few months, Yazid was compelled to free the captives of the Holy family. Through her literary and philosophical sermons, she introduced Husain and his mission to the masses.

Lady Zainab's balance of mind, tolerance, patience, fearlessness, determination and spiritual stamina under heavily burdened adverse circumstances is beyond imagination and deserves full credit for the exemplary courage and aplomb with which she handled the ugly and the most difficult situation. Lady Zainab has proved how to stand tall without bowing down before the brutes in human form.

(The writer is a legal journalist and author. The views expressed are personal)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his first reaction to the outrage over insult to Sanatana Dharma across the nation, said on Wednesday that the remarks made by Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin require a proper response.

His response comes after Udhayanidhi once again attempted to justify his eradicate Sanatan Dharam remarks by citing the omission of an invitation from the Centre to President Droupadi Murmu for the inauguration of the new Parliament in May.

While the DMK leader went on to label it as an example of discrimination by practitioners of Sanatana Dharma, an FIR was registered in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, against Udhayanidhi and Priyank Kharge, the son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, for allegedly outraging religious feelings. Stalin was booked for his call to eradicate Sanatan Dharma, and Priyank was booked for supporting his remark, the police said.

Modi, during an informal conversation with the Ministers during the Cabinet meeting, is understood to have raised the issue and stated that the Ministers should provide a fitting response to the Sanatan Dharm debate.

Modi asked his Ministerial colleagues to educate themselves adequately on the subject and present facts to counter the Opposition leaders in the Sanatan row, without allowing the India versus Bharat controversy to overshadow the Sanatan row, said sources. The Prime Minister mentioned that only party spokespersons should speak on the India versus Bharat issue.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalins son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, made a comment comparing Sanatan Dharm to dengue and malaria and suggesting it should be eradicated. This comment has sparked a nationwide outrage, putting Udhyanidhi in the eye of the storm.

BJP leaders have questioned the Opposition alliance INDIA leaders whether it represents the collective opinion of the Opposition. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has stated that the attack on Sanatan Dharm is a deliberate strategy by the Opposition parties, led by the ghamandia alliance (INDIA).

Seeking to counter Stalins accusation that President Murmu had not been invited to the recent inauguration of the new Parliament building, which he saw as a discriminatory practice of Sanatan, State BJP president K Annamalai wondered why the DMK did not vote for her. Murmu, belonging to a tribal community, was made the President and the first citizen of the country, which is Sanatan Dharma, the Tamil Nadu BJP chief added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday stressed the need for building a rules-based post-Covid world order and said the progress of a free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the voice of the Global South is in the common interest of all.

He made these assertions in his address at the annual Association of South East Nations(ASEAN)-India summit in Jakarta and described the 10-nation ASEAN grouping as the epicentre of growth as the region plays a crucial role in global development.

The Prime Minister presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening India-ASEAN cooperation in areas like digital transformation, trade and economic engagement while addressing contemporary challenges like terrorism and deepening the strategic partnership. He also announced a decision to open an Indian embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste at the summit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

Modi said the ASEAN holds a prominent place in Indias Indo-Pacific initiative and that New Delhi is committed to working shoulder to shoulder with it.

The grouping is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners.

The 21st century is Asias century. It is our century. For this, it is necessary to build a rule-based post-COVID world order and efforts by all for human welfare, the Prime Minister, co-chairing the summit, said. The progress of free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the voice of the Global South is in the common interest of all, he said.

Modi also reaffirmed that ASEAN is the central pillar of Indias Act East Policy and it fully supports ASEAN centrality and its outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

Our history and geography connect India and ASEAN. Along with shared values, regional unity, peace, prosperity, and a shared belief in a multipolar world also binds us together, he said, adding the grouping holds a prominent place in Indias Indo-Pacific initiative.

It was the first summit between the two sides since the elevation of their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership last year.

Today, even in an environment of global uncertainties, there is continuous progress in every field in our mutual cooperation. This is a testament to the strength and resilience of our relationship, he said

In his opening remarks, Modi said: ASEAN matters because here everyones voice is heard, and ASEAN is the epicentre of growth because the ASEAN region plays a crucial role in global development.

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam  one earth, one family, one future  this sentiment is also the theme of Indias G-20 Presidency, Modi noted.

ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of a sectoral partnership in 1992.

This graduated to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and a summit-level partnership in 2002. The ties were elevated to a strategic partnership in 2012.

The 10 member countries of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

The ties between India and ASEAN have been on a significant upswing in the last few years with the focus being on boosting cooperation in the areas of trade and investment as well as security and defence.

Two joint statements  one on Maritime Cooperation, and the other on Food Security  were adopted at the summit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

At the summit, Prime Minister Modi held extensive discussions with ASEAN partners on further strengthening of ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and charting its future course, it said.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed ASEANs centrality in the Indo-Pacific region and highlighted the synergies between Indias Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative and ASEANs Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

He also emphasised the need to complete the review of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement in a time-bound manner.

The Prime Minister presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening India-ASEAN cooperation covering connectivity, digital transformation, trade and economic engagement, addressing contemporary challenges, people-to-people contacts and deepening strategic engagement.

Under the 12-point proposal, the prime minister called for a collective fight against terrorism, terror financing and cyber-disinformation.

He called for collectively raising issues being faced by Global South in multilateral fora, the statement said. The Prime Minister invited ASEAN countries to join the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine being established by World Health Organisation in India and called for working together on Mission LiFE, an India-led global mass movement to nudge individual and community action to protect and preserve the environment.

In addition to India and ASEAN Leaders, Timor-Leste participated in the Summit as an observer. In view of strengthening the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the meeting reviewed the progress made under ASEAN-India dialogue relations and welcomed the adoption of the Annex to the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity (2021-2025), ASEAN statement said.

Reiterating both sides shared vision for a peaceful, stable, prosperous, rules-based, open and inclusive region, the Leaders of ASEAN and India also adopted the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Maritime Cooperation, it said.

Modis proposal came days after a number of ASEAN member countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines reacted sharply to Chinas territorial claim over the South China Sea in its latest edition of the Standard Map of China. India had also rejected Chinas new map which showed Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as Chinese territories.

Modi also attended the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta. In his address, Modi reiterated the importance of the EAS mechanism and reaffirmed Indias support to further strengthen it.
To minimise inconvenience to the public and security personnel during the G20 summit, Union Ministers have been urged to forgo their official vehicles and utilise the shuttle service to reach Bharat Mandapam and other meeting venues.

This advice was given during Prime Minister Narendra Modis interaction with the Council of Ministers ahead of the G20 summit. The PM also encouraged them to download the G20 India mobile app and make the best use of its translation and other features when communicating with foreign dignitaries, according to officials at a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers.

In preparation for the G20 Summit, Modi outlined a set of guidelines for ministers to follow during the two-day event to ensure the visiting dignitaries experience minimal inconvenience.

According to sources, ministers have been instructed to leave their official vehicles behind and rely on the shuttle service to reach Bharat Mandapam and other meeting venues. They are required to arrive at the Parliament Complex in their own vehicles, from where a shuttle will transport them to Bharat Mandapam, the location of the dinner. This measure has been implemented for security reasons.

Furthermore, Modi has directed the Council of Ministers to acquaint themselves with the cultures of the respective foreign delegates they will be attending to. They have also been advised to familiarise themselves with the lifestyles, food, and fundamental aspects of these cultures. During the Council of Ministers meeting, Modi emphasised that only authorised individuals should discuss the G20 meeting.

The Chief Ministers of different States who have been invited to the dinner are instructed to arrive at the Parliament House complex at 5:30 pm in their own cars, after which they will use a shuttle to reach the dinner venue. The dinner is scheduled for 6:30 pm on September 9.

Ministers were also briefed on the courtesies they should extend when receiving delegates at the airport.

The G20 mobile app features an instant translation function that includes all Indian languages and those of G20 nations. The app provides users with a comprehensive, interactive guide to event-related information, including a calendar for the G20 India 2023 event, resources, media, and insightful details about the G20. The launch of the G20 India mobile app showcases Indias technological advancements and its commitment to utilising digital tools for international events.

According to sources, Modi will personally welcome the leaders of all countries at the venue, where he will also host a working lunch for them on Saturday.

The summit will see more than 40 delegations led by presidents, prime ministers, and, in some cases, their foreign ministers, as well as international organisations led by their secretary generals or executive directors.

On average, each delegation will consist of 150-200 people. When including security personnel, media representatives, catering staff, and others, nearly 10,000 people are expected to be present at Bharat Mandapam on Saturday and Sunday.

With nearly 40 world leaders, including those from international organisations, set to attend the summit on September 9-10, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra provided ministers with a detailed briefing on protocol and related matters.

Some ministers are expected to be on standby to assist world leaders who have already begun arriving for the summit.

Union Minister of State for Health SPS Singh Baghel welcomed President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu upon his arrival in Delhi on Tuesday. During an informal interaction prior to the Union Cabinet meeting, which lasted for nearly one hour, ministers were informed about the summits significance for India and its global image.
The Delhi Government on Wednesday said 80 teams of medical personnel, 130 ambulances, and Advanced Life Support (ALS) teams to escort VVIP carcades will be deployed as part of preparations to handle medical emergencies during the G20 Summit. Besides these, five Government hospitals and three private medical facilities have been put on "high alert" in view of the summit, officials said.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the city Government has extended all support to the Centre and has made all the arrangements. "The advanced life support system will accompany all carcades. It will have senior resident (doctors) to address any medical emergencies," he said. The officials said the health department has formed 80 teams of doctors and nursing staff to attend to medical issues and emergencies at hotels. Of these, 75 teams will work in shifts, they said. There will be 70 advanced and 60 well-equipped ambulances for the event, the officials added.

The five Government hospitals that have been put on "high alert" are Lok Nayak Hospital, GB Pant Hospital, GTB Hospital, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital and Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, while the private ones are Primus Hospital-Chanakyapuri, Max Hospital-Saket and Manipal Hospital-Dwarka, they said.

The private hospitals have been selected by taking into account their proximity to the hotels where guests would be staying, the officials said.

A state-of-the-art medical emergency facility with ICU services has also been set up within the premises of the Bharat Mandapam. Sources added that adequate arrangements have also been made at the Ram Mahohar Lohia Hospital and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in view of the Summit.

The officials said other Government and private hospitals have also been directed to make arrangements to deal with any emergency.

The Delhi Police has also made arrangements to provide assistance to medical emergency vehicles. An Ambulance Assistance Control Room will be operational from the intervening night of September 7 and September 8 to September 11 on the number 6828400604 and 112, according to a senior official.
Flag marches, enhanced patrolling and picket checking are among the measures taken by the Delhi Police to maintain law and order in the national Capital for the G20 Summit. The G20 Leaders' Summit will be held in Delhi from September 9-10.

A senior police officer said they are conducting flag marches in their district every day."Picket checking has been increased in the area and communication is being established with locals to give them a sense of confidence. Traffic arrangements have been put in place. The areas near Yamuna Khadar are being checked regularly. Mounted morchas have also been pressed into service," the officer said.

Apart from the local police, paramilitary personnel are also conducting flag marches. The forces continue to remain on high alert to thwart any untoward incident. The police have intensified patrolling and deployed extra pickets at vital installations, the officials said.

Thorough checking is being carried out at the borders. The police have warned of strict action against anyone trying to disrupt law and order in the national capital.

"Checking in the bordering areas has been intensified. Extra pickets are being installed in the borders. Drones are also being used for surveillance. Regular communication is being made with RWA (residents' welfare associations), MWA (market welfare associations) and Aman committee members," another senior officer said.

"Anti-terror measures are being used to sensitise the citizens and they have been asked to inform the police if they find any suspicious activity," the officer said.

Earlier, the Delhi Police prohibited flying sub-conventional aerial platforms such as paragliders, hang gliders and hot air balloons in the national capital from August 29 to September 12 for security reasons. According to officials, police will be maintaining a hawk-eye vigil during the summit, with the assistance of over 50,000 personnel, K9 dog squads and mounted police.

"From the airport to hotels and from hotels to the venues for the G20 Summit, foreign delegates will be provided foolproof security by the Delhi Police during the prestigious summit," a senior official said.

In order to strengthen the arrangements, the Delhi Police is also being assisted by the Indian Air Force and specialised central agencies like the National Security Guard (NSG) and some of the central armed police forces (CAPF).
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has approved the allotment of gram sabha land in Badarpur Khadar village for the construction of a school, installation of a water treatment plant and compensatory afforestation.

The LG has also directed the Revenue department to expedite drafting of a uniform policy for inter-departmental land allotment, as was directed to it 10 months ago, according to a note from the LG office.

In a major boost to school and water infrastructure as also afforestation requirements in the city, the LG has approved allotment of 220 acres of gram sabha land in Badarpur Khadar village in northeast Delhi district to Education department, Delhi Jal Board and Environment department, it said. Saxena has directed the Revenue department to allot the land to the departments concerned free of cost on a 99-year lease, it said.

North East Delhi BJP MP Manoj Tiwari had in March this year written to the LG requesting for land allotment to construct a school and stadium in his constituency.

According to a proposal, 12.39 acre land will be allotted to the Education department for construction of a government school for the village and another 32 acres of land will be retained for future development needs of the village.

The DJB will be allotted 0.12 acre of land each from two separate khasras (revenue document) for installation of RO water plant.

The LG has directed that land measuring 175.5 acres in various khasras, that is banjar' (barren) land, be allotted to the Environment and Forest department for carrying out compensatory afforestation in lieu of a Northern Railway project for the construction of third and fourth rail lines from Anand Vihar railway station to Tilak Bridge railway station, it said.

The Environment department and DDA will be allotted 65 acres each for carrying out compensatory plantations, it said.
Delhi Metro services will start from 4 am from terminal stations on all lines of the network on September 8, 9 and 10 in view of the G20 Summit in the national Capital.

This decision has been taken keeping in mind the convenience of citizens and the police personnel and other assisting agencies responsible for ensuring security, maintaining law and order, and managing traffic during the Summit, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said in a statement.

Parking facilities at Supreme Court, Patel Chowk and RK Ashram Marg Metro Stations will be closed from 4 AM on September 8 till September 11 noon, the DMRC said.

The mega event is slated to be held from September 9 to 10 at the newly-built international convention and exhibition centre -- Bharat Mandapam -- at Pragati Maidan.

DMRC said the trains will run with a frequency of 30 minutes on all lines till 6 AM and after 6 AM, Metro trains will run according to the normal timetable throughout the day on all lines.

In a letter to the DMRC, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora had requested it to start train services from 4 AM on September 8, 9 and 10 so that security personnel could reach their duty posts in time.

The reporting time for staffers to reach G20 venues will be from 5 AM onwards, according to the letter. It stated that "as all of us are aware, Delhi is hosting the prestigious G20 Summit on September 9 and 10. For the purpose, Delhi Police, in coordination with various stakeholders, has laid down elaborate security, law and order and traffic arrangements involving about 40,000 personnel in all, which will come into full scale deployment from September 7 onwards."

Since arrangements at G20 venues -- International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) and Rajghat -- will begin early in the morning, the reporting time for staffers for these venues has been kept from 5 AM onwards, the letter said. "In view of traffic restrictions in the venue-affected areas, primarily NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council) and southwest district areas, being put in place, the police and other support staff will be greatly facilitated if the Metro services on September 8, 9 and 10 can begin from about 4 AM," it added.

"This will enable hassle free travel of staff and timely reporting at the two prime venues that is IECC/ITPO and Rajghat," it stated.

"May I request you to kindly consider the request from Delhi Police and make necessary arrangements accordingly, as a welfare measure for staff of Delhi Police and other assisting agencies, for the duration as mentioned above," Arora said in his letter.

Special Commissioner of Police (Transport Division) Nuzhat Hassan will be available for any clarification and detailing, as maybe required, for operationalising this request, it added.
Pakistani authorities closed a key border crossing with landlocked Afghanistan on Wednesday shortly after border guards from the two sides exchanged fire, officials and residents said, in a sign of increasing tensions between the two neighbours. There were no reports of casualties, and it was not immediately known why the border guards from the two sides exchanged fire, said Nasrullah Khan, an official in Torkham, a town in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

He said Pakistani government and military officials were in contact with their Afghan counterparts to defuse tensions.

Abdul Mateen Qani, the Afghan Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Interior Ministry, confirmed the clash between Afghan and Pakistani forces. He said officials from both sides were attempting to find out what caused the clash and ways to prevent such incidents in the future.Pakistani authorities said dozens of trucks carrying perishable items, including vegetables and fruits, were waiting on both sides of the border for the reopening of the Torkham crossing, which is a vital commercial artery and trade route to Central Asian countries for Pakistan.The border closure comes two days after caretaker Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said US military equipment left behind during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan had fallen into militant hands and made its way to the Pakistani Taliban.

The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, have intensified attacks over the past months on Pakistan security forces. They are a separate group but an ally of the Afghan Taliban.

The Afghan Taliban overran Afghanistan in August 2021 as US and NATO troops were in the last weeks of a chaotic pullout from the country after 20 years of war.

The Pakistani Taliban have released statements and video clips in recent months claiming they possess weapons such as guns with laser and thermal imaging systems.Previous clashes at Torkham occurred after the two sides accused each other of trying to build new posts along the border. Afghanistan has never recognised the porous border that runs through the Pashtun heartland and dilutes the power of Afghanistans largest ethnic group on both sides.Pakistan says it has completed fencing along 97 per cent of the border to stop cross-border attacks and smuggling. Pakistan also accuses the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuaries to Pakistani militants who are living in Afghanistan.
American Homes 4 Rent is a real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on the US rental industry. The company is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and "American Homes 4 Rent" is fast becoming a nationally recognized brand. The company is known for high-quality rental homes, providing good value and tenant satisfaction while generating profits for investors. The primary investment objective is to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns through dividends and capital appreciation.

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Ravi is a well-known YouTuber. He started his YouTube channel RAVI TELUGU TRAVELLER in the year 2020. (Image: DC)

Hyderabad: Telugu Traveller, Ravi Prabhu is on a mission to travel to every country on the world map.

A Telugu Youtuber (Vlogger) runs 'RAVI TELUGU TRAVELLER" YouTube Channel, Ravis passion has been travel since very early childhood.

He travelled to 193 countries and is on the way to touch 195 countries (literally all the countries on the globe) very soon.

He has been travelling for the past 20 years.

Now only two countries, Libya and Venezuela are left. I have got visas for both of these countries. I obtained them very recently. I will be visiting Libya on September 11th. I am going there directly from here. Venezuela will be the next country, which I hope to complete by October this year, he says.

When he completes his 195th country, probably he would be the only Telugu man to have achieved that feat and one of the four or five Indians. He will also have another distinction of being one of the few hundred (below five hundred) out of the 650 crore world population to have visited every country on the globe.

He travelled a little over 30 lakh air miles (the distance equal to travelling eight times to the Moon) in over 1000 airlines. Invested INR 20 crore, his hard-earned money on those trips.

One he reaches the milestone; he would like to focus on knowledge sharing. He wants to visit educational institutions, sharing his vast knowledge. He will also focus on writing the book.

I am even willing to be a face to any Tourism Department of any state or destination. I would like to help organizations in promoting tourism. When I travel abroad I see a lot of Rajasthan, Kerala and Orissa Tourism promotions. But I hardly come across the tourism promotion of any of the Telugu states, Ravi says.

Ravi who is now 40 plus years started his travels when he was a 9 years old boy. The first country he visited was Bhutan and the next one was the USA, where he resides now along with his working wife Swathi and teenage daughter Anoushka. The first country he travelled to after moving to the USA was the Netherlands.

Ravi Prabhu, moved to the USA in 1996 and has been living there since then. He used to work before. For most of his travel journey, he continued while working. Now he left the job and is now an independent consultant.

Ravi is a well-known YouTuber. He started his YouTube channel "RAVI TELUGU TRAVELLER" in the year 2020. Much of his travel was done before starting that channel. After starting his YouTube channels, he started revisiting some of the countries.

With over 7.05 lakh subscribers, and a huge fan following, Ravi hails from Visakhapatnam and has a strong connection to Hyderabad. He studied in Hyderabad (Hyderabad Central University, studied Masters in Political Science).

En route to Libya, he went to Visakhapatnam, to meet his parents, who he met quite often in person in Vizag. On the way to Libya and Venezuela, the last two countries which are short of breaking a record as the first Telugu Traveller to achieve this feat, he was in Hyderabad and interacted with media at FTCCI in Red Hills.

His claim to fame of visiting every country on the globe is just a few months away. He is a proud Telugu man and an Indian. This is one feat many dream to achieve. Not many Indians are in the race. He is known as one of the most travelled Telugu persons.

This Telugu Man has visited almost every country in the World while continuing his job (until a few months back).

His YouTube channel features his travel experiences, and insights into his journeys, including the cultures, cuisines, and people he encounters along the way. Ravi's videos are a visual treat for travel enthusiasts, as he captures the beauty of each destination with his camera. Ravi's passion for travel is evident in his videos, and he hopes to inspire others to pursue their dreams of travelling and exploring the world. Through his channel, Ravi aims to provide a glimpse into the diverse cultures and lifestyles of people from different countries and to promote the idea of unity in diversity.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivers his remarks during a plenary session of the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta (Willy Kurniawan/Pool/ AFP)

Jakarta: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attended the 20th ASEAN Summit in Indonesias capital Jakarta and said that ASEAN is the central pillar of India's Act East policy and it has an important place in India's Indo-Pacific initiative.

In his address to the Summit, PM Modi stated that the India-ASEAN partnership has reached its fourth decade and it is an honour for him to co-chair the Summit. He also congratulated Indonesian President Joko Widodo for organising the Summit.

PM Modi highlighted the shared values, regional integration and shared beliefs in peace that unite India and the ASEAN.

"Our history and geography unite India and ASEAN. Along with it, our shared values, regional integration, and our shared belief in peace, prosperity and a multipolar world also unite us. ASEAN is the central pillar of India's Act East Policy. India supports ASEAN's outlook on ASEAN-India centrality and Indo-Pacific," PM Modi said in his address in Hindi.

In his opening remarks at the 20th ASEAN Summit, PM Modi said "This year's theme is ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. ASEAN matters because here everyone's voice is heard and ASEAN is epicentrum of growth because ASEAN plays an important role in global growth."

He referred to 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -One Earth, One Family, One Future that is the theme of the G20 under Indian presidency.

PM Modi also also called for amplifying the voice of the global south. The Prime Minister said in 2022 the India-ASEAN Friendship Day was celebrated and elevated the ties to comprehensive strategic partnership.

The Prime Minister congratulated Hune Manet, the Cambodia Prime Minster, who was appointed recently to office. He also mentioned Singapore, the Country Coordinator and Laos, which will assume ASEAN chairmanship in 2024.

The PM also attended attend the East Asia Summit today.

Upon his arrival in the country earlier today, PM Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Jakarta International Airport.

Prime Minister Modi met members of the Indian diaspora who welcomed him.

At the venue of the ASEAN Summit, the Jakarta Convention Centre, PM Modi was welcomed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Earlier, in his departure statement, Prime Minister Modi said that he is looking forward to exchanging views with other leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address the global challenges.

He also termed the engagement with the ASEAN group as an important pillar of Indias Act East Policy'. The Prime Minister is visiting Jakarta at the invitation of the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo.

PM Modi will return to New Delhi on Thursday evening ahead of the G20 Summit, which will be held on September 9-10.
Prime minister Narendra Modi delivers his remarks during a plenary session of the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta (Willy Kurniawan/Pool/ AFP)

New Delhi: In a firm but veiled message to China, which was represented by its Premier Li Qiang at the East Asia summit in the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi batted for the "positive agenda" of the four-nation Quad and the "central position" that Asean holds.

At the Asean-India summit also held in Jakarta on Thursday, the Prime Minister presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening India-Asean cooperation.

At the East Asia summit, the PM said, "The need of the hour is such that an Indo-Pacific, where international law, including the (1982) UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is equally applicable to all countries, where there is freedom of navigation and overflight and where there is unimpeded lawful commerce for the benefit of everyone".

The Prime Minister added that India believes that the code of conduct for the South China Sea should be effective and in accordance with UNCLOS and that it should take into consideration the interests of countries that are not directly involved in the discussions.

It may be noted that a code of conduct is currently being negotiated between the Asean bloc and China, with whom some of the Asean nations have maritime disputes. New Delhi is keen that its interests be protected in such a negotiation. The Quad is a four-nation arrangement that stands for a free and open Indo-Pacific region.

"Asean holds a central position in the vision of Quad. The positive agenda of the Quad complements the various mechanisms of Asean The present global landscape is surrounded by challenging circumstances and uncertainties. Terrorism, extremism and geopolitical conflicts are big challenges for all of us. Multilateralism and a rules-based international order are essential to countering them. It is imperative to adhere fully to international laws. Everyone's commitment and joint efforts are also necessary to strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries," Modi said in his remarks at the East Asia summit.

In a thinly veiled reference to the Ukraine crisis, Modi pointed out, "As I have said before, today's era is not one of war. Dialogue and diplomacy are the only paths to resolution".

A statement on promoting the region as an "epicentrum of growth" was also adopted at the summit that was attended by the 10-member Asean bloc besides China, Russia, the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

At the Asean-India summit, the Prime Minister presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening India-Asean cooperation covering connectivity, digital transformation, trade and economic engagement and deepening strategic engagement.

Modi also announced a decision to establish an Indian embassy in Dili, in the small nation of Timor-Leste, which is expected to become the 11th member of the Asean bloc. The Prime Minister also "called for enhanced cooperation on maritime safety, security and domain awareness" at the Asean-India summit following which "two joint statements, one on maritime cooperation and the other on food security, were adopted".

"Challenges pertaining to climate change, cyber security, food security, health, and energy are particularly impacting the Global South. During our G-20 presidency, we are focusing on these important issues related to the Global South," Modi said.

On the situation in Asean member nations and Indias neighbour Myanmar, the PM said, "India's policy in Myanmar takes into account Asean's views. At the same time, as a neighbouring country, ensuring peace and security on the borders and enhancing India-Asean connectivity is also our focus. Peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region are in the interest of us all."

The Prime Minister said: "The 21st century is Asia's century. It is our century. For this, it is necessary to build a rule-based post-Covid world order and efforts by all for human welfare. The progress of a free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the voice of the Global South is in the common interest of all."

Modi also emphasised the need to complete the review of the Asean-India free trade agreement in a timely manner. He added that Asean is the central pillar of India's Act East policy and India fully supports Asean's centrality and Asean's outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. (Image: Twitter)

VIJAYAWADA: The Family Doctor programme in Andhra Pradesh is yielding good results as more than one-and-a-half crore people availed the services in their native places/villages during the first three months of its launch in April.

Officials said, "As many as 1,57,29,183 persons availed the special healthcare services under this programme during the period. This significantly reduced the out-of-pocket expenses for patients and ensured continuous medication for individuals with proven non-communicable diseases (NCD)."

The motto of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Reddy is to provide medical services to the public at their doorsteps with a human touch. He stated in April that the programme would herald revolutionary changes in extending healthcare to the needy.

"Just like pensions are being handed over to the beneficiaries at their doorstep, healthcare will be provided to them at their doorstep," the Chief Minister had said.

Meanwhile, to further fortify the states healthcare services, the family doctor programme has recruited 52,000 employees, including 3,899 specialists and 2,552 medical officers.

Locals P. Nageswara Rao and N. Lakshmi said the family doctor scheme proved very useful to them, mainly the rural populations, to avail the best treatment. "Officials are informing us in advance about the visits of doctors," they said.

Health minister Vidadala Rajani said the family doctor concept was Jagan Mohan Reddys brainchild. "As many as 2,873 doctors and 15,516 support staff are part of this programme across 26 districts. This proved to be a role model for the country in preventive care," she said.

She said quality medicines would be supplied to all the needy patients free of charge in every village. "Necessary medical treatment is offered to bed-ridden patients in each village, right inside their homes, and this is the first of its kind initiative in the countrys health care sector," she said.
Tourism minister R.K. Roja (Image Source:culture.ap.gov.in)

VIJAYAWADA: Tourism minister R.K. Roja, in a fresh offensive, has asked Telugu Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu to show courage and face a probe into the Rs 118 crore Amaravati kickbacks case.

"Or, he will opt for other options to halt the inquiry, like getting a mental certificate as Nandamuri Balakrishna did. No one will feel sorrow if Naidu is arrested. The people will rather celebrate his arrest for his corruption and other illegalities," the minister said here.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Roja said the people would gain "if Chandrababu and Nara Lokesh are put behind the bars."

She recalled that Naidu had a habit of playing dramas to win peoples sympathy whenever he was caught in a corruption case. "Chandrababu escaped from Hyderabad and landed at Karrakatta when he was caught in the Vote-for-Note scam."

"Chandrababu tried to gain public sympathy from the Alipiri bomb explosion by conducting elections, but it boomeranged on him as the people did not fall into the sympathy trap of Naidu and voted against the TD in those elections," Roja said.

The minister said Chandrababu played another sympathy drama by saying Prime Minister Modi would arrest him before the 2019 elections. The public saw through his game and pulled him down from the government due to huge corruption and illegalities," she said.

Roja urged the CBI and ED to probe into the Rs 118 crore scam and arrest Chandrababu. "TD founder NTR's soul would cheer if Chandrababu is kept behind the bars," she said.
The flow of applications for a BJP ticket for the coming Assembly elections in the state is continuing . (Representational image: PTI)

HYDERABAD: The flow of applications for a BJP ticket for the coming Assembly elections in the state is continuing at the party headquarters with around 700 aspirants submitting their requests for the tickets on day three of the process so far.

The party had said it would accept applications till September 10 and also made it clear that irrespective of their standing in the party, anyone seeking to contest the elections, must submit an application for the party ticket.

On Wednesday, among those who applied for the BJP ticket were Vikram Goud, son of former Congress minister Mukesh Goud who expressed interest in contesting for the BJP from Goshamahal constituency in Hyderabad. Goshamahal is currently represented by D Raja Singh, who had won in the 2018 elections on a BJP ticket but is currently under suspension from the party.

Also seeking a ticket from Khairatabad constituency was NV Subhash, the partys spokesperson and also the grandson of former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao.

Party leaders said there was no clarity whether the current BJP MPs from Telangana, Union Minister and state BJP chief G Kishan Reddy, along Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Arvind Dharmapuri, Soyam Bapu Rao, will throw their hats into the ring. "It is up to them and the party high command to take a decision," a senior BJP leader said.
A man has been told that if he keeps breaching restraining orders he will keep going to prison.

Kieran Breslin (42) of Clooney Terrace in Derry admitted charges of breaching the order and assaulting his former partner on dates in April and July.

Derry Magistrate's Court heard that police were called on April 14 by Breslin's former partner at around 9.30pm to say she had been assaulted by the defendant.

She said he had punched her to the back of the head and on the 999 call a high pitched female voice could be heard saying 'send the cops he is going to kill me'.

When police arrived Breslin was still in the property.

The court also heard that on July 13 the former partner said that Breslin was at the house and had assaulted her by punching her in the face.

She told police she had invited Breslin to the house and a verbal argument had occurred.

She asked him to leave and he had assaulted her.

Defence counsel Sinead Rogan said that there were issues with both parties in this case.

She said her client had 'held his hands up' to breaching the order.

The barrister said that Breslin knew he was getting custody, the only question was the duration.

District Judge Barney McElholm said that it was 'a serious matter' to breach restraining orders.

Breslin was sentenced to eight months in prison.
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HIGHLIGHTS Google has leaked the Pixel 8 Pros 360-degree preview.

The leak revealed features like a new temperature sensor and physical SIM slot.

It also showed three colours: blue, porcelain and black.

Google has leaked the upcoming Pixel 8 Pro again. This time, the leak comes via the company's own 360-degree simulator that allows users to see the device from every angle. The leak revealed features like a new temperature sensor and physical SIM slot, along with three colours. However, it is still unclear if this was really an accident or just a move to create the hype.

This Google Pixel 8 Pro simulator (since down) was initially spotted by X user Jose Ruben, and Android expert Mishaal Rahman, reports Engadget. Rahman also posted screenshots of the 360-degree simulator on X, highlighting the Pixel 8 Pro smartphone with little yellow dots showing different sensors and ports. It not only revealed a new temperature sensor and physical SIM slot, but also three colours.

Also read: Pixel 8 Pro accidentally revealed ahead of the Google Pixel 8 launch on Oct 4 | Digit

Credit: X user Mishaal Rahman

According to the leak, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is expected to come in blue, porcelain and black colour options. Also, the upcoming smartphone will likely come with a home screen that looks similar to the previous Pixel 7 Pro.

Also read: Google Pixel 8 series: Tipped to launch in four colours at higher price | Digit

No way. It happened AGAIN. Google themselves leaked the Pixel 8 Pro. You can see a full 360 degree view of the phone here, confirming the colors (Licorice, Porcelain, and Sky) as well as the components (like the temperature sensor). https://t.co/xfpn4t3tyR pic.twitter.com/UzmtR7ov1L  Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) September 6, 2023

Earlier, it was rumoured that the Pixel 8 Pro might feature a 50-megapixel main camera that would let in 50 percent more light and a 64-megapixel ultrawide Sony camera.

The smartphone is also expected to come with a flat display instead of a curved one. Moreover, it will likely come packed with a 5,000 mAh battery and a 27W max charging speed.

The Pixel 8 Pro should be revealed at Google's next launch event, scheduled to be held on October 4, 2023.

Recently, it was reported that the Pixel 8 Pro could be priced at EUR 1235.72 (approx. 1,10,000) for the 128GB variant. The 256GB variant might launch with a price tag of EUR 1309.36 (approx. 1,17,000), and EUR 1461.24 (1,30,000) for the 512GB variant. These prices were tipped including 23 percent value-added tax (VAT).

On the other hand, the Pixel 8 smartphone is expected to launch at a starting price of EUR 874.25 (approx. 78,000) for the 128GB variant and EUR 949.30 (approx. 85,000) for the 258GB variant. These prices were also tipped including 23 percent VAT.

Source: Engadget
No lasting friends, no lasting enemies, only lasting interests

To ensure their competitiveness, vertical integration isn't merely a catchphrase for businesses; it's an ongoing imperative. When TSMC focuses on advanced packaging, what's ASE's game plan?

Back in 1995, Intel was manufacturing motherboards in Puerto Rico, while Taiwan's nascent motherboard industry grappled with uncertainty. Intel feared that Taiwan's motherboard sector might lag behind, sticking to previous-generation products and failing to keep pace with Intel's ever-evolving microprocessors. To tackle this challenge, Intel conjured up a hypothetical rival or enticing bait to keep Taiwanese enterprises on their toes. A similar approach can be observed in Microsoft's Surface Pro laptop strategy.

Currently, analogous scenarios are unfolding in Silicon Valley. Nvidia, with its technological edge, is poised to fortify its grip on loyal manufacturing facilities to bolster server production. Over time, it wouldn't be surprising if they channel efforts into brand-building or offering enhanced cloud services for clients. Among tech titans, Apple commands a US$3 trillion market cap, with Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and other internet giants all exceeding US$1 trillion. Tesla is also in the race, and each of these companies has blueprints for in-house chip development. Their affiliations with Nvidia may not remain steadfast, elevating the likelihood of competition not only in chip manufacturing but also in data center operations.

Google, Amazon, Tesla  these prospective rivals are likely to seek support from companies like Qualcomm, Broadcom, and Marvell. So, what roles will Taiwanese firms like MediaTek, Realtek, and Phison assume? While we've witnessed K.S. Pua facilitating Lisa Su's honorary doctorate from Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in the headlines, what I perceive is a covert alliance between AMD and Phison.

For upstream semiconductor foundries, their clientele is also undergoing structural shifts. In the past, CPUs and application processors (APs) were the primary patrons, catering to the high-end computing needs of the PC and smartphone markets, propelling advanced process development. As we step into an era of differentiation and diversification, high-end computing remains pivotal, but the focus may expand to include differentiation, functionality, hardware-software integration, and security considerations.

Historically, eminent tech leaders made occasional visits to Taiwan for specific purposes. Over the past half-century, the Microsoft president visited Taiwan just twice, once during the WCIT 2000 and again when Steve Ballmer journeyed to China in 2009, making a pit stop in Taiwan. Rumor has it he was highly content with his Taiwan trip and left a parting note: "If I ever have a three-day visit to Asia in the future, one day will be reserved for Taiwan." This time, Jensen Huang stayed for 10 days, and Lisa Su for five. It's evident that Taiwan has transformed into a "strategic hub," and their stay isn't solely about savoring local cuisine.

In essence, there are no permanent foes or friends in semiconductor industry, but as long as Taiwan maintains its prowess, everyone will extend their stay in Taiwan!
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Inaugural quantum forum at Semicon Taiwan highlights new tech apps, future development pathways

The inaugural Quantum Taiwan Forum, held on the opening day of SEMICON Taiwan 2023 running September 68 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, gathered experts from Fujitsu, IBM, IonQ, and the Quantum Computing Research Center under Hon Hai Research Institute to deliver keynote speeches, unveiling their latest technology applications and future development pathways. As this was the first time SEMICON Taiwan held a quantum forum in the country, the venue was tightly packed with attendees.

Many countries, including China, the US, France, the Netherlands, and Finland, are well aware of the significant military applications of quantum computers, quantum encrypted communication, and quantum sensing, and they each have their own development plans in these areas. As for the commercial applications of quantum computers, they are primarily used in areas such as production scheduling optimization, pharmaceuticals, and materials development, according to industry observers.

At the forum, Taisuke Iwai, vice president and executive director of the Strategic Alliance Unit at Fujitsu, introduced various quantum computing simulation applications using the company's digital annealing technology. Iwai pointed out that Toyota System Corporation in Japan is utilizing quantum computing for optimizing routes, resulting in cost savings of 2-5%, and is also applying it to optimize automobile manufacturing scheduling and parts warehouse management. Furthermore, the collaborative operations of artificial intelligence (AI), digital annealing, and high-performance computing (HPC) can further accelerate drug research and development.

IBM senior research scientist Shesha Raghunathan said that the more complex the quantum circuits, the higher the simulation costs, which is a barrier quantum computing must overcome. He stressed the future vision is for CPUs, GPUs, and quantum processing units (QPUs) to collaborate, ultimately solving various complex problems. In terms of error correction, IBM employs error mitigation and suppression techniques to enhance accuracy. The company plans to launch noise-free quantum bits in 2024, further marching toward achieving greater quantum advantage.

IonQ senior physicist Jwo-Sy Chen said while the outside world still lament about the inherent limitations in scaling up the ion trap quantum bits (qubits), his company has worked out a package of solution to address the problem of scaling up. Similarly, Hon Hai (Foxconn) Quantum Computing Research Center, which also utilizes ion trap technology, has made new advancements, and is experimenting with quantum circuits for neural networks to see if they can achieve better results.

Min-Hsiu Hsieh, director of the Hon Hai center, stated that since its inception in 2021, the center has produced 53 research papers, with 21 of them already published. Currently, Hon Hai has identified three major areas where it aims to make contributions: error correction, noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) algorithms for quantum machine learning with cross-validation, and drug development. Its latest quantum laboratory will be located in the "Baogao Science and Intellectual Park" in Xindian District, New Taipei City, and is set to open in October 2023, according to Hsieh.

The immense computing power of quantum computers will have a revolutionary impact on industry, finance, and national defense. Currently, quantum computers available in the world mainly use superconductors to perform quantum entanglement and quantum superposition in an absolute zero environment. As for the ion trap, a vacuum environment is required. After this forum, the National Science Council will hold an international conference on "Quantum Computer Hardware Subsystems" in November 2023 to delve deeper into the latest developments in quantum research technology.
1

On Wednesday, 6 September 2023, the European Commission unveiled a list of service providers that meet the criteria for inclusion within the scope of its forthcoming Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations. Scheduled to take effect in March 2024, the DMA will introduce a comprehensive set of rules and guidelines for technology companies, which are aimed at creating a fairer marketplace.

Following the announcement by the commission, the companies included on the list will be granted a six-month window to make their services compliant with the newly established regulations, or pursue legal action to challenge their classification as gatekeepers.

The EU has been diligently crafting increasingly stringent regulations for major tech companies with the aim of safeguarding European online users and promoting competition within an industry largely dominated by American giants.

Thierry Breton, the EUs industry commissioner, has revealed that discussions with these companies are in process regarding compliance. However, he emphasized that if the solutions they put forth fall short of expectations, we will not hesitate to pursue robust measures.

As per AFP reports, the EU has identified seven companies that have voluntarily disclosed their revenues and user metrics for designation as gatekeepers. They include Googles parent company, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance (the owner of TikTok), Meta (the owner of Facebook), Microsoft, and Samsung.

The classification as a gatekeeper applies when a service boasts more than 45 million monthly active users and exceeds 10,000 yearly active business users within the EU.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) will establish regulations that prohibit companies from showing preference to their own services over those of competitors. For instance, Microsoft has already declared its commitment to honoring users choices for their default browser.

Furthermore, businesses will be restricted from amalgamating personal data gathered from various services or leveraging third-party data to compete with these services. Additionally, companies will be required to enable users to download applications from rival platforms.

Another key objective of the DMA is to curb large companies ability to impede the growth of smaller competitors by acquiring them. According to the new regulations, companies will be obliged to notify the Commission of all acquisitions, irrespective of their size.
1

The consumer division of the Tata Group has begun negotiations to acquire a minimum of 51% ownership in the well-known Indian snack food manufacturer, Haldirams.

If the negotiations are successfully finalized, this agreement would position the Indian conglomerate in direct competition with Pepsi and billionaire Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Retail.

Haldirams, a renowned name in Indian households, is reportedly in discussions with private equity firms, including Bain Capital, regarding the potential sale of a 10% stake, as per their statements.

Haldirams is an Indian multinational corporation specializing in sweets, snacks, and restaurants, with its headquarters situated in Noida. The company operates manufacturing facilities in diverse locations, including Nagpur, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Hooghly, Rudrapur, and Noida.

In addition to its manufacturing operations, Haldirams maintains an extensive network of retail stores and a variety of restaurants located in Pune, Nagpur, Raipur, Kolkata, Noida, and Delhi.

Haldirams, a family-run enterprise, can trace its roots to a small shop established in 1937 in Bikaner in what is today Rajasthan state1937. It The firm has gained widespread recognition for its crispy bhujia snack, available for as low as Rs.10, rupees and widely distributed through local mom-and-pop stores as well as supermarkets.

Haldirams snacks are also available in international markets, including Singapore and the United States.

Additionally, tThe company operates approximately 150 restaurants, offering a diverse range of local cuisine, sweets, and Western dishes.

Tata Consumer Products is an Indian company specializing in fast-moving consumer goods and is a subsidiary of the Tata Group. While its registered office is situated in Kolkata, its corporate headquarters is based situated in Mumbai. The company holds the distinction of being is the worlds second-largest producer and distributor of tea, and it is also a significant player in the coffee industry.

Tata Consumer Products is the owner of the UK tea brand Tetley and a strategic partner of Starbucks in India.

According to some sources, Tatas intention is to acquire more than 51%, but they have communicated to Haldirams that the latters ir proposed terms are considerably high.

Reports indicate that Haldirams is reported to have has set a valuation of $10 billion for the stake sought by Tata Consumer Products.

The prospective acquisition presents an enticing opportunity for Tata, as Tata Consumer is primarily known as a tea company, whereas Haldirams holds a significant presence in the consumer sector and commands a substantial market share.

Haldirams holds approximately a 13% share of Indias $6.2 billion savory snack market, as reported by Euromonitor International.

Whether this deal will happen or collapse will depend on the determination of both parties. Meanwhile, Haldirams CEO, Krishan Kumar Chutani, and Bain Capital declined to offer any comments.

Haldirams has also officially denied any reports of negotiations with Tata Consumer Products.
Dundalk Karate celebrated their 10-year anniversary recently. And what better way to mark the occasion then by seeing three of the best martial artists earning some of the highest accolades in the sport.

Established back in 2013 by Sensei Marcus, who was then a black belt 1st Dan, she set about passing on what she had learned over the years since starting karate alongside her daughters.

Despite competition from other sporting clubs around Dundalk and the fact they only had a handful of students, Sensei Marcus didnt let this deter her and she set about laying the groundwork for the years ahead.

With her immediate and extended family and friends support and encouragement behind her, she quickly found her feet and set the bar high. This is when one of Dundalk Karates very first students got the bug for the sport and started getting noticed.

Liam Hoey, a very quiet but determined seven-year-old, joined Dundalk Karate in September 2013 and now, a decade later, not only has he come up through the grades, but he has also spent many evenings and weekends travelling across the country to attend Squad Trainings and Competitions.

Liam Hoey being presented with his 1st Dan Certificate from Sensei Fran Nangle 8th Dan

He also competed at not only local and national level but was selected on several occasions to represent Ireland at an International level.

Finally, after achieving 1st Kyu earlier this year, it was time to knuckle down and put in those extra hours alongside fellow Senior Member, Thea Mulholland and also Sensei Marcus, for one of the toughest grading sessions Dundalk Karate would hold to date.

With the hall booked, the tatami mats freshly cleaned, extra water bottles to hand and not forgetting sweat towels, the time had come for Sensei Fran Nangle, an 8th Dan, to enter the dojo at the Redeemer Family Resource Centre.

He called Liam, Thea and Sensei Marcus to the mats where they would be put through a rigorous ordeal that would see them all be thankful for all their hard work and dedication over the past few weeks and months.

With a range of Basics, Combinations, Blocks, Ohios, Kihons, Kumite techniques, fitness regimes and numerous katas covered over three hours, it was time for Sensei Nangle to announce his decision.

With everyone on tenderhooks, he announced his delight in awarding Thea Mulholland her 3rd Kyu, Liam Hoey his 1st Dan and Sensei Mary Marcus her 4th Dan.

Seeing members such as Liam and Thea achieve such accolades is reward in itself noted Sensei Marcus afterwards.

It just goes to show after all we went through as a club with Covid and our ups and downs over the years, we never gave up at Dundalk Karate.

I would not only like to personally say congratulations to Liam for being our very first member who achieved a 1st Dan at Dundalk Karate and to Thea for getting her 3rd Kyu, but to say, Thank You to each and every member of Dundalk Karate and their family for their continued support.

If you would like any information on Dundalk Karate and the classes they hold at the Redeemer Family Resource Centre, you can contact Sensei Marcus on 086 353 1625 or at karatequeen@live.com.

Congratulations to Dundalk Karate on their 10th Anniversary and their achievements to date, and we wish them every success in the year to come.
China, Australia pledge to boost exchanges, agree on importance of ties

Xinhua) 16:30, September 07, 2023

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

JAKARTA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged here on Thursday to boost bilateral exchanges. They also agreed on the importance of relations between the two countries.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Jakarta, namely the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit. It was also their first meeting.

China is ready to work with Australia to restart and resume bilateral exchanges in various fields, said Li.

China-Australia relations, he noted, have maintained a positive momentum of improvement thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides over the past year.

Li also said that a sound and stable China-Australia relationship serves the fundamental interests and common aspirations of the two peoples.

Albanese said Australia-China relations are very important. He also said that the Australian side is encouraged by the progress of bilateral relations.

Australia is willing to advance dialogue and exchanges with China in the spirit of mutual respect, deepen cooperation in such field as economy and trade, expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and properly manage differences, so as to build a stable and constructive relationship between the two countries, he said.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
A NEW therapy dog has been welcomed into a school community with open arms.

Therapy dogs in schools are becoming increasingly seen as important supports for students, with several schools across Cork city and county taking in therapy dogs in recent times.

Last year, local secondary school, Nagle Community College, introduced their therapy dog, Floyd, to their students and staff.

The school has since highlighted on a number of occasions the important impact Floyd has had among the school community.

This year, Holy Cross National School has introduced their very own therapy dog to students and staff at the local primary school.

In a statement on social media last week, the local primary school said: Meet Steve, our new school therapy dog!

Steve is an 11-week-old, Irish Doodle puppy who will be joining our school staff from this week. We look forward to all working together to train Steve and welcome him to our school community.

If any parent does not wish for their child to interact with Steve, please contact the office to let us know, the school advised further.

Steve looks forward to seeing all of our boys and girls on Thursday! Woof-woof!

Welcoming their new neighbour to the local area, Nagle Community College said: Floyd is looking forward to meeting his neighbour Steve, the new school therapy dog at Scoil na Croise Naofa. Come and meet Floyd at our annual Open Night on Tuesday, September 19, at 6.30pm, the secondary school added.

Many therapy dogs are provided by Cork-based charity, My Canine Companion

My Canine Companion is an Irish national charity which provides accredited service dogs to people with disabilities, predominantly autism. In addition MCC provides a range of therapy dog services and autism awareness programmes.
A shovel was used to break open the door of an apartment building in Cork by a man who also broke into a pub and left a trail of blood in an office after smashing a window to burgle the premises.

Two of these crimes were committed by 35-year-old Jonathan OSullivan of 30 Fairfield Avenue, Farranree, Cork, in April this year and another in September last year and now he has been given a ten-month jail term for three counts of burglary and one of heroin possession.

Frank Buttimer solicitor said the accused had done exceptionally well in the past in rehabilitation from a serious heroin addiction but had unfortunately relapsed.

Sergeant John Kelleher said that on April 26 this year he forced entry through fire escape doors at Crawford & Co. licensed premises and stole property.

On the same date at Coppergate House, Anglesea Terrace, the defendant and two others broke in causing damage to a front door using a shovel. A person passing by at the time saw the burglary in progress and used his phone to record the incident which involved the use of the shovel to break open the front door, which was extensively damaged.

He was later identified leaving the area with a blue carrier bag which he did not have at the time of the break-in. The defendant was arrested later that day and had 50 worth of heroin.

The office burglary occurred at South Mall, Cork, where the owners arrived on September 4 2022 to find that a window had been broken and 105 cash had been stolen. There was a trail of blood left at the scene which was forensically examined and matched the DNA of the accused.

He had 26 previous convictions for theft, three for burglary and two for handling stolen property.

Mr Buttimer said that while the accused had previous convictions the defendant had been notable for the substantial time and effort he had put into rehabilitation from drug addiction in the past but unfortunately relapsed. The solicitor said the accused was now rehabilitating again.

Judge Olann Kelleher imposed the sentence at Cork District Court.
A vigil will be held this evening for the little girl who died at Fountainstown on Tuesday.

Today would have been Emili Romans eighth birthday, and hundreds of people are expected to attend a vigil for Emili in Crosshaven Square at 8pm tonight.

Emili had been swimming off Fountainstown beach on Tuesday afternoon when she found herself in difficulty around at 4.30pm.

A major search operation followed, with emergency services, assisted by local people, looking for the Crosshaven girl throughout the afternoon.

Emilis body was recovered from the water around 7.45pm on Tuesday evening and brought to Cork University Hospital.

Emili was a pupil in second class at Templebreedy National School, and her loss has left a pall of grief and shock over the Fountainstown and Crosshaven areas.

Flowers left on the wall of as a tribute to Emili Roman who lost her life in a tragic incident at Fountainstown Beach, Co. Cork. - Picture: David Creedon

Funeral arrangements have been confirmed by Emilis heartbroken family, parents Martha and Slawomir and her older sister Inga and her twin brother Jeremy.

Emili will lie in repose at Fordes Funeral home in Carrigaline from 5pm to 6pm on Friday, with Requiem Mass at 11.30am on Saturday in the Church of Our Lady and St John in Carrigaline and burial afterwards at St Johns Cemetery, Ballinrea.

Emilis family has thanked all those who assisted in the search for their daughter, and they have asked for privacy as they grieve their loss.

A fundraiser to help Emilis family pay for funeral expenses, and to ensure her funeral is a heartfelt celebration of her beautiful life, had, by Thursday morning, raised over 31,000.

Beata OSullivan, a family friend who organised the fundraiser on GoFundMe, said Emili was taken from us while doing something she loved  swimming  and her loss has left an irreplaceable void in our lives.

Ms OSullivan added: We are grateful for your generosity, and we want to thank you  for your support during this profoundly challenging period in our lives. Emilys memory will live on in our hearts.

Bishop Paul Colton, who is the patron of Templebreedy National School, said the community was in shock at the news of Emilis death.

On behalf of us all in the Church of Ireland, in general, and in connection with Templebreedy National School and Templebreedy Parish, in particular, I too extend our sincere sympathy to everyone in the Roman family, to Emilis mother, Marta, father Slawomir, twin brother Jeremy, and older sister Inga. Bishop Colton said the tragedy had traumatised the small parish school and the wider community.

Practical support and prayers are assured for everyone in the school community, for Emilis family, her fellow students, the school principal, Doris Bryan, the teachers, staff, parents or guardians and members of the board of management, he said.

I extend sympathy to you all. I am also very conscious of the role played by the first responders, some of whom I know personally, and everyone in the rescue services, and Im conscious of the impact a tragedy such as this has on each of them as individuals.
CANNONBALL, the largest organised road trip in Europe, is set to return to Cork this month offering spectators a unique opportunity to witness the worlds most prestigious and sought-after supercars.

Lamborghini will play a starring role in this years event which will result in the largest-ever number of the supercar in Ireland at one time.

Spectators at Cannonball will get to see stunning new and current models such as the Lamborghini Huracan with models STO, EVO, Performante, Fluo Capsule as well as Lamborghini Urus and Urus model S.

Legacy Models including the Lamborghini Aventador with models S, SVJ and SV as well as Lamborghini Diablo with model GTC and Lamborghini Murcielago and Lamborghini Gallardo will also feature.

The supercar event attracts over 200,000 spectators with free family festivals all over the country every year and has now raised 1,538,602 for charities.

This year, the official charity of Cannonball is The Jack and Jill Childrens Foundation which funds and delivers in-home nursing care, respite support and end-of-life care for children who have highly complex and life-limiting medical conditions.

A total of 361 families in Cork have been supported by Jack and Jill since the charitys foundation in 1997.

Cannonball has already raised 1,538,602 for Irish charities. Cannonball, fuelled by milesPLUS from Circle K, will make a fuel stop at Circle K Fermoy on Sunday, September 17 at noon and a lunch stop at Fota Island Resort, Little Island at 1pm where spectators can take a rare opportunity to see the cars up close.

The Tour Sponsor this year is Apache Pizza and Cannonball official partners include Karl Goodwin Motors, AB Signs, HONE Energy, Majestic Ireland Road Trips, Capital Switchgear and SILENT-AIRE.

See cannonball.ie
An 89-year-old man who was fatally assaulted in hospital died of cardiac arrest due to a traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, which was complicated by aspiration of blood due to blunt force trauma, an inquest has heard.

Matthew Healy was a retired farmer who lived in Berrings in Co Cork. The widower died on January 22nd last at the Mercy University Hospital in Cork. He was a hospital patient at the time of his death.

Today at Cork Coroners Court State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, said that she performed a postmortem on Mr Healy at the City Morgue following his death.

After Dr Bolster gave the cause of death the inquest was adjourned as criminal proceedings are underway in the case.

Sgt Fergus Twomey said that a man has been charged with the murder of Mr Healy and is due to go on trial at the Central Criminal Court. A trial date has yet to be fixed.

Coroner Philip Comyn offered his condolences to a family member of the deceased who was present for the short hearing.

Sgt Twomey also extended his sympathy to the Healy family following the loss of a much-loved father and grandfather.

Mr Comyn adjourned the inquest until the finalisation of criminal proceedings in the case.

Mr Healy is survived by his sons Vincent and Gerard, daughter Claire and eight grandchildren. His wife Delia died just weeks before her husband. The couple were pre-deceased by their daughter Christine who drowned as a young child many years ago.

Matthew Healy was laid to rest in a private ceremony on January 26th last following a requiem mass at St Marys Church in Berrings, Co Cork.

Poignantly, a picture of a smiling Matthew and Delia Healy, taken in 2010 following the birth of their grandchild, Matthew, was placed on a table near the coffin at the start of the mass.

Chief celebrant Fr Patrick McCarthy told mourners gathered at the small parish church that Matthew was a "gentle" person who was proud of his family.

"He was proud of each and every one of his children and grandchildren always asking after them.

Fr McCarthy said that Matthew and his late wife Delia "meant the world" to their family. He added that whilst everyone has to endure grief some people experience it more than others.

A 30-year-old man has been sent forward for trial at the Central Criminal Court charged with the murder of Mr Healy.

He first appeared before Cork District Court on the 24th of January last charged with the murder, contrary of common law, of the pensioner at Room 2, St Josephs Ward, Mercy University Hospital on January 22nd.
President Michael D. Higgins has led tributes to distinguished UCC historian Emeritus Professor Dermot Keogh, who passed away on Wednesday.

Prof Keogh, who was 78, died peacefully at his Cork city home following an illness.

A former journalist with the Irish Press and RTE, he worked from 1980 as an academic with UCCs department of history, serving as Jean Monnet professor between 1990 and 1996, professor of history from 1997, and as head of department from 2002 to 2009.

He retired in 2010, but continued researching and writing.

President Higgins, who had been Prof Keoghs friend for many years, said he had heard about his death with sadness, describing him as one of our finest historians and praising his particular insight into the history of Irelands connection with South America.

Last year, Dermot called to Aras an Uachtarain to present me with a copy of his book Ireland and Argentina in the Twentieth Century, the president said.

I also recall very clearly his work on El Salvador and the revolt of the colonels in 1979.

Among his other most valuable contributions was his publications on Irish diplomatic relations with the Vatican, his time as editor of foreign policy archives for the RIA, and his important work on Jews in twentieth century Ireland.

President Higgins extended his condolences to Prof Keoghs family, friends and colleagues.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin, who studied history in UCC under Prof Keogh, told The Echo that Prof Keogh had been a mentor and a great friend.

He supervised my Masters degree, which was on the formation of the party political system in Ireland from 1918 to 1932, Mr Martin said.

He taught me an awful lot in relation to history, he lectured me in undergraduate history and he was a tremendously connected man.

I learned an awful lot from him, and I developed a good friendship with him after I left college.

"Ill always be in his debt for the insights he gave me in terms of history.

He was a prolific writer, he was an authority on the Church-State relationship in Ireland, particularly on the 1937 Constitution, and the interaction between Church and State, and Rome, its a fascinating read, the Tanaiste said.

Prof Keogh had been passionate about Latin America, and Archbishop Romero, Mr Martin said, and he had written a fantastic biography of Jack Lynch.

He was very active and energetic in the history field, and worked very, very hard, and lectured at numerous conferences.

Whenever I met him, he would always have a new insight on something, and he always had the interest of UCC at heart, Mr Martin said.

I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to his wife Ann and to all the family. I was deeply saddened to hear of his passing.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Kieran McCarthy, said Prof Keogh had been deeply respected in UCC, Cork, nationally and internationally.

Dermot had a life-long passion for and had written extensively on the history and politics of South America, Cllr McCarthy said.

Not only was he a renowned academic but he was a true gentleman who deeply believed in equality, solidarity and human rights. He was a man who strived to improve the lot of others. Ar dheis de go raibh a hanam.

President of UCC, Prof John OHalloran, said Prof Keogh had made a huge contribution to the understanding of twentieth century Ireland.

He was part of the fabric of UCC for many years and will be deeply missed here. We extend our sympathies to his wife Ann and all the family, he said.
A publican and restaurateur who had 48 patrons sitting outside his premises in breach of then Covid regulations allowing 15 people outside said through his solicitor that it was not as if the premises inside was packed with patrons doing the Hokey Pokey.

55-year-old Tony Campion, publican of The Silver Key, Ballintemple, Cork, and proprietor of the adjoining Il Primo restaurant, pleaded guilty to breaching an October 2020 Covid restriction.

Judge Marian OLeary convicted and fined him 500 at Cork District Court today.

Defence solicitor, Carl OMahony, said, This is an unusual situation. He got it completely wrong But it would be wrong to say the premises was full  no one was in the premises doing the Hokey Pokey. Restrictions were being eased at the time. And the gardai acknowledged there was a proper distance between people  it was just too many people.

He was mistakenly of the belief that because he had two licences (for pub and restaurant) he was entitled to have 30 people sitting outside. And he said some people were outside waiting for takeaway.

It should not have happened. He got it wrong. Inspector Brendan McKenna outlined the background to the incident.

On Saturday, October 10 2020, at 9.34 p.m., Garda Owen OMahony and Garda Mark ODonovan attended at The Silver Key for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the Health Act  Covid regulations.

Mr Tony Campion advised the attending members that he was in charge of the premises. Gardai observed 48 people consuming beverages and food in the outer environs of the licensed premises.

Mr Campion indicated that he was operating under two licences at the location. One was for The Silver Key and the other was for the adjacent Il Primo restaurant.

He was the person in charge of each premises operating under an on-licence and a restaurant certificate.

A breakdown of those present was 21 seated in an area outside Il Primo and 27 people present seated outside The Silver Key, Insp. McKenna said.

Limiting outside seating to 15 would have ensured compliance. After pleading guilty to a charge of contravening a penal provision of the Health Act to prevent, limit, minimise or slow the spread of Covid-19, Mr Campion was fined 500.

When the case was called and Judge OLeary asked if Mr Campion was present, Mr OMahony solicitor pointed to Mr Campion in Courtroom 3 saying, He is the gentleman in the high-vis jacket.
Gardai arrested a teenager and charged him with burglary and causing over 3,000 in damage to the sliding door of the Spar shop on Douglas Street in Cork.

Nathan OCallaghan of 28 Innishmore Square, Ballincollig, Cork, was arrested by Garda Rose Jennings and brought before Cork District Court.

The 18-year-old was charged with burglary at Spar on Douglas Street, Cork, on September 4, causing criminal damage to the front door of the premises, and being in possession of a large kitchen knife at Fitton Street on the same date.

Garda Jennings objected to bail being granted to the accused on the charges.

It was alleged that a large amount of property was stolen from the Spar store on Monday, September 4.

Garda Jennings said the accused was stopped in close proximity and found to be in possession of a knife.

Applying for bail, solicitor, Eddie Burke said: He has only just turned 18. He has no previous convictions. It is his first time ever in difficulty. There is an unfortunate background, just recently  a difficulty at home.

Mr Burke submitted that it was a suitable case for the defendant to be granted bail.

Judge Olann Kelleher agreed to grant bail to the teenager.

One of the conditions requires him to abide by a curfew to be at home at Innishmore Square between 10pm every night and 6am the following morning.

He is also required to supply a phone number to the investigating garda and to be contactable at all times.

The teenager is also required to sign on at Gurranabraher garda station.

As well as the charges related to September 4, there was one more related to September 1 where he was accused of burglary at the Unity shop on Lower Glanmire Road, Cork.

Judge Olann Kelleher adjourned the case until September 26, on the application of Sergeant John Kelleher, to allow time for directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Electric Picnic is somehow still expanding year on year and the 2023 festival was the most mainstream one yet. The shows by big pop acts such as The Script, Niall Horan and The Killers saw huge attendances flock to the main stages and Festival Republic director Melvin Benn has already been talking about further expansion for the 2024 event.

Last week I speculated that the change of date for next year might have been related to the Coldplay shows and Melvin Benn has deflected criticism of the change of date by promising that 2024 will be just a one-off. He has suggested that a specific artists availability next August was the main reason behind the switch but either way Id imagine 2024s event will sell out very quickly.

Electric Picnic is now one of the biggest festivals in Europe and I guess it had to go mainstream to expand so aggressively. From those early days as a small boutique festival it was an uncomfortable transition into this current juggernaut but this year I felt that they went back to the basics in some progressive ways too. When the Picnic started in in 2004 it was unlike anything else that was happening in Ireland at the time but as discussed here last time, other festivals have since surpassed it in this regard. Over the last few festivals I felt the Picnic had lost sight of what once made it great.

This year they got loads right. As someone with little personal interest in the big pop acts I was very impressed with what happened off the beaten tracks. This is what makes festivals such fun, and the best part of them often takes place in different areas miles away from the main stages. At the Electric Picnic, these areas were plentiful.

First up, lets talk about Freetown. This area is located through the woods and in a spot that many festival goers might not even have known about, depending on where they were camping. Freetown started before the pandemic, and its really coming into its own. Theres a huge tent  around twice the size of the Marquee  playing banging techno but the real fun happens in the multiple smaller bars and venues where a host of different DJs, artists, and performers bring their own unique colourful vibes to the festival.

I spent most of Saturday and Sunday evenings exploring these different areas where DJs such as Rosa, JWY, Angi, Eddie, and many more Ive never previously heard provided the soundtrack. The music was great but there were other performers from many other disciplines bringing their own energy and vibe to what was an incredible area all weekend. It was a million miles away from the main stage big pop outlook and like Body and Soul in the old days, it was a festival within a festival.

Body and Soul is now gone from the Picnic and there were some worthy attempts to revitalise that area of it with Croi, who hosted some wonderful artists and areas this time around. Its still lacking something but this area has huge potential, but will only succeed when it gets its own identity.

The usual favourites remain, and The Salty Dog, Trenchtown, Fishtown, and others continue to bring fun to the woods, while in the main arena the Trailer Park has always got some good stuff going on. Negro Impacto played there on Friday and were one of my personal highlights of the Picnic.

Elsewhere in the main arena there are some beautiful areas: Global Green, which continues to push transformative ideas, conversations and activities. I did a gig for Safe Gigs and Creativity and Change which was great fun, and I spent a lot of time in this arena each day.

The Greencrafts village next door was fantastic and also provided a nice contrast to the neighbouring main stage and huge commercial fun fairs. All of the big brands did their thing, and some, like Heineken, Red Bull, and Bacardi, have been part of the Electric Picnic for many years now.

Besides the main stage the bigger tents were lively too, and my own favourite act of the weekend, Steve Lacy, tore up the Electric Arena on Friday night.

Everyone will have their own memories, but overall it was a great weekend. The sun came out like never before and Electric Picnic 2023 came and went and for once it felt like the start of the summer rather than the end.
By David Young and Grainne Ni Aodha, PA

The Government has said requests from RTE for interim funding would be interrogated before a final decision is made on what the broadcaster should be allocated.

The Taoiseach and Minister for Media doubled down on requesting that RTE deliver concrete reform to rebuild trust as part of a long-term funding model.

Both Leo Varadkar and Catherine Martin repeated commitments that the government would provide a solution to the question of a funding model, but the Taoiseach said it was not sustainable for the vast majority of public service media funding to go to RTE.

I know some of it doesnt at the moment, there is a broadcasting fund, but the vast majority of it does, and I dont think thats entirely right in a modern era, he said.

The RTE headquarters at Donnybrook in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA)

There should be a greater degree of competition for what is ultimately public money.

So we need to decide very clearly what were going to fund and then have a mechanism by which theres greater opportunities for other media organisations to apply for that funding and compete for it.

Ms Martin delivered an update to Cabinet on Wednesday on the financial and governance difficulties facing the national broadcaster.

It included figures in the RTE annual report for 2022, published on Wednesday, showing the broadcaster incurred a deficit of 2.8 million euro last year  a 5.2 million decline compared to a surplus of 2.4 million in 2021.

Ms Martin confirmed that prior to the controversies, RTE had asked for 34.5 million in interim funding, and on Monday received a letter projecting a further loss of 21 million by year-end due to a fall in TV licence payments.

The figures from RTE have been referred to the state financial advisory body NewERA.

She said that interim funding for RTE had been agreed as part of the Future Of Media Commission report but the exact amount had not been decided.

Again, youre seeing the figure of (55.5 million) but NewERA would have to interrogate that That does not mean thats the figure that were considering right now, she said.

She said that reforms would be needed from RTE as part of the long-term funding model.

We need to see more of the cost-saving measures, for example the commitment in relation to presenters pay, we need to see more like the register of interests.

Mr Varadkar said any additional funding would be conditional on the contents of the national broadcasters strategic plan for reform.

I think everyone understands that there will be additional funding required, but it has to be conditional.

And were not going to be in a position as a Government to allocate any additional funding to RTE until weve seen the director generals new strategy and a strategic plan for RTE, and we expect to see that some time in October, because we believe that the public wont accept additional taxpayers money being provided to RTE without a reform programme and one thats being implemented.

I think the vast majority of the public do value what RTE does, in terms of news, in terms of funding Irish drama, childrens programming, Irish language programming.

Thats why most people do pay the TV licence and I encourage people to continue to do so.

But I dont think that the Irish public would accept a financial bailout of RTE with no strings attached. There have to be strings attached, it has to be conditional and thats why were not in a position to sign off on something like that until weve seen the new strategy and the reform plan from RTE which is due next month.

Its not just about fixing the irregularities that may have happened in the past around barter accounts and so on. Its about modernising and reforming the organisation, an organisation that we need and that we value.

So before we can agree any additional funding, were going to need to see that new strategy and that new reform plan.

He added of RTEs reform plan: This isnt something that has to be sorted out on Budget Day. This is something that has to be sorted out in this financial year, but it doesnt have to be on Budget Day.

A controversy engulfed the national broadcaster in June after revelations about the under-reporting of the salary paid to star presenter Ryan Tubridy. The row triggered a multi-million euro drop-off in the collection of TV licence revenue.

A report from the states financial advisory body NewEra into the broadcasters latest funding requirements is expected to be delivered to Ms Martin in two weeks time.

The Mazars final report will be delivered in October, and the six-month reviews into governance and culture at RTE will be finalised in January.

A Grant Thornton report on The Toy Show musical is to be delivered in October, and the voluntary exit report is to be delivered towards the end of September and the first week of October.
By Grainne Ni Aodha, PA

Gardai have appealed for witnesses and video footage of an Ironman swim race in which two competitors died.

Brendan Wall, 45, who lived in Solihull in England but was originally from Co Meath, and Ivan Chittenden, who was in his 60s and from Toronto, Canada, died while swimming off the Co Cork coast.

Several probes have been launched into the Ironman event at Claycastle Bay beach in Youghal on Sunday, August 20th.

A row has also broken out between Irelands national governing body for triathlons, Triathlon Ireland, and the events organisers on whether the event had been sanctioned.

Triathlon Ireland has said an investigation is ongoing, and Cork County Council, the events host sponsor, said it was seeking a full account of the incident from the organisers.

Gardai on Thursday issued an appeal for information as it assists the Cork County Coroner with its investigation and any subsequent inquest.

Gardai are requesting that anyone who was present at the swimming section of this event and who may have video footage, in any format, to contact Gardai at Midleton on 021 4621550, it said.

Gardai can also be contacted via email at Midleton.IncidentRoom@garda.ie.

The public are not requested to submit any footage at this time.

Members of the investigation team will make contact with them to arrange for the appropriate collection of any video footage.
READER Pat OReilly has written with sincere apologies to say that the picture he sent us last week, purporting to be of the 1955 confirmation class at Glasheen School, was in fact of an earlier grouping.

I sent you the wrong one! The photo shown is the 1952 Communion Class with its teacher Miss Murphy, said Pat.

The photograph was taken in the field behind the Old School. One of those guys in the photograph texted it to me and asked Is that you in the second row? The names given were the correct ones for 1955, but not the picture.

Not to worry, Pat, accidents happen in the best regulated households, or, as my mother used to say placidly, Could happen a bishop!

Here, then, is that 1955 Confirmation class on the facing page, with Mr Holly standing at the back on the right.

Some of the 1952 gang come up again in the 1955 class, says Pat.

Mike English was entertained by last weeks discussion of Glasheen NS and teacher Joe Holly, and from his own considerable archives he sends a few pictures which he thinks might be of interest.

He includes a Confirmation photo from 1953 with Mr Holly and the following pupils.

Back row: Martin Mannion, Michael Beamish, Sean OSullivan, Eamonn Casey, Pat Duggan, Paddy Tracey.

Second row from back. Tommy Lonergan, Dan OConnor, Paudie Murphy, Jack Matson, Michael Dillane, Billy Murphy, Jack OHerlihy, Donal Cronin, Richard Dineen, John OLehan, Noel Dooley.

Third row from back: Anthony OConnell, Jim Quinn, Gerry Mohally, Con Harrington, Jim Dineen, John Fraher, Michael English, Eddie Finn, Finbarr ODonovan.

Sitting. Michael Bogue, Kieran ORegan, Hugh Devlin, Noel Daly, Barry Ahern, Denis ODonovan, Michael OMahony, Barry Roche, Finbarr Desmond, Connie Forde.

Kneeling: Charlie Coughlan, Con Murphy Alec Rea.

Mike himself is in that confirmation picture and says: I left around 1954 and always had a lot of respect for Joe Holly. He was just different, though the other teachers were good too.

Those I remember were Mr OBrien, headmaster, who was replaced by Mr John Crowley. Miss Murphy, Miss Ahern, Mr OTuama, Dick Donegan (of guitar and concert fame), and Bernie Coughlan.

Mike also sent a picture of the unveiling of a plaque in 2019 on the site of the original school.

In the picture with Lord Mayor Cllr Mick Finn are the now past principals of the girls and boys schools, Angela Lynch and Michael Daly, with Joe Hollys daughters, Mary and Margaret.

Glasheen NS Confirmation Photo 1953 with teacher Mr Joe Holly. Back row: Martin Mannion, Michael Beamish, Sean OSullivan, Eamonn Casey, Pat Duggan, Paddy Tracey. Second row from back: Tommy Lonergan, Dan OConnor, Paudie Murphy, Jack Matson, Michael Dillane, Billy Murphy, Jack OHerlihy, Donal Cronin, Richard Dineen, John OLehan, Noel Dooley. Third row from back: Anthony OConnell, Jim Quinn, Gerry Mohally, Con Harrington, Jim Dineen, John Fraher, Michael English, Eddie Finn, Finbarr ODonovan. Sitting: Michael Bogue, Kieran ORegan, Hugh Devlin, Noel Daly, Barry Ahern, Denis ODonovan, Michael OMahony, Barry Roche, Finbarr Desmond, Connie Forde. Kneeling: Charlie Coughlan, Con Murphy Alec Rea

John Barry was also delighted to see Mr Holly mentioned last week.

He was indeed a great teacher and a nice man. If I remember correctly, he taught in the New School up the hill.

When I started in Glasheen we were in the old school, which was located on Glasheen Road, opposite where Clashduv Road is now. It was a very old building. The toilet in the yard consisted of walls only. A small square building with no roof. We only had about three teachers there.

John says that he was one of what was called the country boys.

When I started, I lived in Model Farm Road which was countryside in the early 1950s, but soon we moved out to the Ballinhassig region.

Myself and some neighbours got the bus to Wilton Cross and walked down.

Us country boys were always reminded about midday to put our milk bottles by the open fire behind the teacher to heat the milk. Many a time someone forgot to loosen the cork of the bottle and after a while at the fire the cork flew like a rocket!

At that time, John recalls, each week they spent a few hours bundling old newspaper as the Bishop had come up with a scheme to sell old paper to raise money.

By the way, he adds, I bought my first pair of wheels from your brother, Tommy. We were classmates at the Crawford and I saw your father Joey daily, but was never in his class, mores the pity!

But the wheels, John, the wheels? What were they?

An Austrian-made moped, a 50cc Puch. I sold a transistor radio to a cousin to fund the bike. I cannot recall what it cost.

John continues: I was often in the bike shed with Tommy on Summerhill, and I used to see this tall schoolgirl in, I seem to remember, a green St Angelas uniform, pass down to the house. It was you of course.

I really enjoy the Throwback Thursday articles. If you ever decide to put them together in a book it would be great. Keep er lit!

A Merchant Street sign still in place, although the street has gone

And then John remembered an old photo he had which he thought would interest readers, and are we glad he sent it on! Its an utterly marvellous panorama of Merchants Quay as she used to be in all her historic charm (admittedly a little ravaged by age but still wonderful) before progress cruelly swept all that history away and replaced it with bulging red anonymity.

Look at it! You can even see the side lanes leading down to Merchant Street which ran behind. That street has been obliterated, and no trace remains on the Patrick Street side, where the famous Tivoli shop and restaurant used to stand. (You can still see its first few yards on Parnell Square, though, just to the side of what was once Roches Stores car park, and its name plaque is still in place. Go look before that disappears too.)

And the forgotten connecting lanes and alleyways are part of history too.

Thomas Street ran down from the quay between a garage and Sheehan & Sullivan coal merchants, and North Street ran from the quay via Fish Lane, also to Merchant Street.

Are the echoes still there, beneath all that red brick and concrete, of older footfalls and voices? Listen out for them.

John also managed, after some searching, to find an image of part of an article which showed that original quayside at the top, with the new anonymous monster that stands there now, at the bottom.

There was no date or other identification on the partial news cutting, so we called in our features editor, John Dolan, who immediately identified it as having appeared as a centre spread in the Holly Bough a decade or so ago.

What was fascinating about that article was the list it gave of the businesses and industries which once thrived along Merchants Quay (indeed giving it its proud name.)

Starting from Parnell Place, it lists Queens Hotel on the corner, followed by Jack Kellehers pub, Bogans undertakers, Wm McBrides hardware, Meehans tailors, Wickhams tinsmiths, the legendary Crowleys music shop (where Rory Gallagher bought that Stratocaster in 1963), St Vincents Hostel, Foreman & Sons, a confectioners, Automotive Services, Kilgrews, McGregors electrical, Riordans pub (with restaurant overhead), Triumph garage (with Moriarty barber overhead), Sheehan & Sullivan coal merchants, Sayers forage and electrical, the main Kilgrews, OSullivans brush manufacturers, the Universal pub, the Pig & Whistle pub, Mrs Leahys restaurant, the Bulls Head pub, and Cork Gas Co.

The mens public convenience on the quay near here was still standing when the picture was taken; wasnt there one for women across on Lavitts Quay?

John Barry adds that the woman who owned the Queens Hotel was Hanna Connolly, and she also owned the Southern Hotel which was on the Grand Parade near the back entrance to St Augustines.

So many businesses and well known names, so many providers of the basics of everyday life. The many pubs are evidence of the work that went on along this quay for over a century and a half, with boats being loaded or unloaded, fishermen bringing in their catch, sailors searching for a peaceful pint - all the crowded activity of a living breathing quayside. And our city fathers wiped it all away.

Back then - and this is important - everything faced on to the quay, looked out at the Lee and its constant activities. Now everything looks inward. Why should that be? Cork wouldnt be here if it were not for our great river.

A Norwegian friend visiting was surprised to see life had almost departed from the quay side (apart from multitudes hurrying past from one enclave to another), whereas in their river cities it congregates there, constituting the chief attraction of the area. Isnt it time we tried to recapture some of the beauty and charm of old Cork?

Michael Ryan writes to say he was browsing through The Echo the other evening and noted a story about the plight of publicans, as excise duty was going up again.

The number of pubs that closed in the last 12 months is frightening. And Cork was the worst! We had 54 out of the 108 that closed across the whole country.

He realises that the cost of living is affecting everyone, but when you lose one of those venerable houses, you lose so much in the way of companionship, history, and neighbourliness.

We agree, Michael. So many of the legendary pubs of Cork city alone have disappeared.

Many will remember Kealys on Faulkeners Lane (for heavens sake, even the lane has gone, where once the lorries loaded up with that evenings edition of the Echo), and who recalls The Grand Circle, on Emmet Place? That one down off Coburg Street where the owner used to go in and restrain the greyhounds in the gents when anyone wanted to use the facilities? Mrs Hydes establishment on the Lower Glanmire Road, near the Harbour Commissioners, where the lady herself would sit on the steep enclosed wooden staircase and bump herself down at night to deal with customers?

As Jimmy Crowley sang in one version of The Boys Of Fair Hill:

If you want to join our club,

Come right down to Hydes pub...

Im sure you all remember many more and the stories that went with them.

Email your memories to jokerrigan1@gmail. com or leave a comment on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/echolivecork.
WHEN something describes itself as a Concept and Coffee(ish) Store, its an open invitation to be curious. What is a concept store? What does coffee(ish) mean?

For the naturally inquisitive, the only way to answer both is to leap over the threshold of the cottage-like exterior of bright whitewashed walls and pillar box red windows in Kinsale into the light-filled curiosity shop.

The Collector is a collaborative vision between partners in life Shannon and Michael Healey. Originally from Florida, they found Kinsale the place that ticked all boxes on a comprehensive wish list that would open a new chapter of their lives.

The duo met at art college in Fort Lauderdale and discovered a shared passion for travel, taking them across the US, Europe and Asia.

Now in Kinsale, The Collector is an expression of that lived spirit of adventure. While Michael can sometimes be seen in the store, he is often in his woodcraft studio creating handmade furniture under the name Mish.Works. The day-to-day operation of The Collector is down to Shannon shaping nuances of experience as you walk through the door, she says.

From about the second week we started dating, we started travelling. From that point, we started our journey of moving to lots of places, fuelling this philosophy for change, making the most of our lives and not feeling held back by scenarios that would seem uncomfortable for some, Shannon explains.

Weve lived in San Francisco, Chicago, a brief foray back in Florida, New York, Boston.

We moved to Europe where we lived in Switzerland for nearly four years before coming to Ireland - weve been here for a year and a half.

For years, Shannon and Michael had lived the lively, energetic, big city lifestyle. Ireland, specifically Kinsale, represented a place where they could live a mellower life; one that gave back energy rather than having it constantly taken away.

We sought out a place like Kinsale, and ultimately theres only one! A sweet, charming town on the coast, near a city and easy access for travel off this beautiful island. Very quickly, where we wanted to be to embark on the next chapter became Kinsale, says Shannon.

Shannon Healey, owner, The Collector, Concept Store & Coffee(ish) Bar, Kinsale. Picture: Denis Minihane.

The Collector is based on Market Lane, a lesser travelled street in the town, perhaps, but a location that provides a sense of sanctuary, especially in peak tourist season.

It can get a little crazy in town so its a nice little bit of respite here; a little quieter, theres a view of the church and steps from the new library.

The term Concept Store is still relatively new in Ireland, compared to the U.S, and is a retail experience that is usually hung on a theme or idea. So, what is The Collector?

What were trying to present is a crafted with care experience in terms of the beverages we provide, but also the items youll find on our shelves which are hand-selected with attention to story, brand, aesthetic, and to values we believe in. Thats where the collection starts to click, explains Shannon.

The things are really about lifestyle, personality and little items that reflect who you are. Ultimately, this is what I love; everything in here, and Michael as well. These little nods of our personality that we want to share with other people. And of course, over time, that curation will be malleable as we learn more about what other people are interested in and where that synergy is.

But, at the heart of it, its Quality, Craft and Care.

The Collector is a store full of beautiful things, but the beverages side of the business is as important as curating the retail items.

Walking in the door, Im looking for you to have a moment. This is meant to be a bit more of a slow coffee experience, to sip and talk. Each cup has its own ingredients, and something may take a little more time to prepare. That gives you some time to have a seat, have a look, settle in a bit. Those who are fast and furious buzzing through, were happy to serve you too, but the intent is more good vibes - to relax and enjoy this little slice of your day.

The beverages that make up the Coffee(ish) side of The Collector are where the fun is. There is a decidedly leftfield approach to the drinks on offer  not just coffee, those described as Not Coffee, too. The straight up cuppa Joe is there, but the constant invitation at The Collector is to adopt the mindset of a curious traveller and meander around the menu, experiencing tastes of coffee culture from around the world.

Shannon and Michael Healey in their Concept Store & Coffee(ish) Bar, The Collector, Kinsale.

Travel has become a strong component of our lifestyle. There are so many culinary experiences you can only really get in these unique places. Returning home, trying to recreate that in my own kitchen, a lot of that mindset has come into The Collector in terms of what we can bring to other people: the types of drinks, or inspired tastes that you really cant get elsewhere, says Shannon.

About 60% of the menu is directly influenced by things we have tasted in these different locations. Then theres just a healthy dose of creative licence, and I think thats where different flavours may remind us of a place, or a feeling even, which often connects you to memories or experiences. E

Even for some drinks that are iconic in their specific locale, there might be a Collector twist on it that we want to share with others.

Bananas Foster Latte is inspired by the New Orleans flambeed dessert and flavoured with freshly caramelised bananas. Vietnamese Coffee, made with small batch coffee from Vietnam, is an intensely robust and nutty drip, blended with sweetened condensed milk and served chilled. The Fizzy Americano is a marriage of Guatemalan espresso coffee from Soma in Cork, soda water, a squeeze of freshly sliced orange, and finished with a dash of demerara syrup. The Collectors take on the Instagrammable Korean-inspired Dalgona Coffee is smooth and silky with whipped coffee foam and milk. Or the Guinness lookalike Nitro Cold Brew enhanced with nitrogen for a velvety pour.

If this all sounds a little like a caffeine-fuelled expedition to an exciting cocktail bar, you would be in the right frame of mind.

Applying mixology mentality to daytime drinks is the seat that I put myself in, explains Shannon. At one point, I had dreams of opening a Tiki-style mod cocktail bar, so you may see me back here using a shaker for a few drinks or grabbing the tweezer to put the flower petal on top!

Bananas Foster Latte, Aren Latte and Lavender Matcha Latte at The Collector, Concept Store & Coffee(ish) Bar, Kinsale. Picture: Denis Minihane.

We all deserve lovely things for ourselves, and sometimes its those small luxuries every day that matter the most.

A drink from The Collector isnt particularly opulent but its just a nice little thing.

On the Not Coffee side of the menu is a nod to Shannon and Michaels Floridian roots with Orange Dream, a simple blend of orange and cream to satisfy your midday mocktail fix. Theres a refreshing Collector take on Chicha de Pina with spiced pineapple chicha. The NY Egg Cream, which contains neither eggs nor cream, is a 1950s Brooklyn soda shop throwback of sparkling chocolate milk. These are playful drinks made with serious attention to detail and care. The menu encapsulates the excitement of dancing from country to country with the life affirming boost of caffeine.

Its a wildly free approach to drinking coffee, and by creating a new language to these drinks  the language of beverages rather than coffee  Shannon and Michael effortlessly shake off the old rule book without so much as a passing glance over their shoulder.

When you look at the menu, there needs to be balance: sweet drinks versus no sugar, just light and refreshing, or high caffeine versus none of that, just a light bright juicy pick-me-up. Its difficult to hit a lot of flavour notes and temperature styles because when we look at coffee, people are all over the board. There are classists who like an Americano or Flat White, then others interested in trying our Nitro Cold Brew Irish Coffee.

We all eat with our eyes first, or sip in this case, and this is just as important at the taste to me. Part of that component of crafting a new drink is making sure it looks beautiful, and garnish is not just there to be pretty but an integral part as well.

Despite breaking all the coffee rules, The Collector is definitely not that pretentious coffee place.

Brazilian and Colombian coffee seems to be what is generally used in many other coffee shops, says Shannon. Thats the fan favourite  the crowd-pleaser. In true Collection fashion, we wanted something that was a little more different. The beans from Guatemala are a strong, robust coffee with an interesting finish. Those that are nuanced on coffee flavour might pick up on that, but that said, I want to make sure that when someone comes in, theres not that pretentious coffee experience. Thats off-putting.

We want people to feel comfortable but open to trying something unfamiliar.

Ultimately, says Shannon, The Collector has become a vehicle for sharing flavour, experimenting, and producing something scrumptious. In fact, she says, Ive never seen myself as a coffee person!

Customers can pair their funky beverages with equally funky treats. Vegan and gluten free treats from Wazzy Woo, and Lavanda Frescas famed alfajores, an Argentinian-style cookie cake.

Shannon says when they were choosing where to settle, Kinsale was a place they would go back to in memory.

There was something about the first time we came here  a feeling we had; one of those indescribable moments. Its safe to say we felt a pull to be here; we felt we had to answer that call.

We have been blessed by the positive reception living here, and as new business owners can only be incredibly thankful of the welcoming community who have been supportive and also intrigued by what sort of concept weve proposed.

The Collector opened in April and work is underway to bring in new menu items for autumn/winter; it is a project that will keep evolving as thats the kind of people Shannon and Michael are.

That constant curiosity and desire for difference will ensure The Collector is a place always worth stopping by.

The Collector is something Im truly passionate about and its amazing to put effort towards something that is driven by heart and soul. Its like were all chasing a satisfaction, and thats what I feel at the end of each day, says Shannon.
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.

Drone photo of a biomass plot photographed on June 10, 2023 in the Mucheni conservancy in Binga, Zimbabwe. ZINYANGE AUNTONY / AFP via Getty Images

An initiative at Africas first climate summit to boost production of the continents carbon credit program by nearly 20 times by 2030 brought pledges of hundreds of millions of dollars.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) investors pledged to purchase $450 million worth of Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) credits. ACMI was launched at COP27 in Egypt last year.

We must see in green growth, not just a climate imperative but also a fountain of multi-billion dollar economic opportunities that Africa and the world is primed to capitalise, said President of Kenya William Ruto, as Reuters reported.

Market-based financing mechanisms like carbon offsets are being encouraged by leaders in Africa. Carbon credits can be created by projects in developing countries that help keep emissions in check like transitioning to green energy or tree planting. The credits are then purchased by companies to help them meet their climate goals. One credit equals one ton of carbon dioxide saved.

Environmental groups denounced the focus on carbon credits at the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) in Nairobi, Kenya, which was attended by almost 25,000 delegates and more than 30 heads of state.

[I]t is regrettable that the Africa Climate Summit is becoming a bazaar for carbon credit speculators and propagandists that serve to greenwash rather than reduce harmful emissions, said Thandile Chinyavanhu, Greenpeace Africa climate and energy campaigner, as Climate Home News reported. They are risky diversions from real climate and biodiversity action that requires ending fossil fuel expansion and industrial destruction of our ecosystems.

Governments in Africa view carbon credits and the like as essential ways to obtain hard-to-come-by funding from wealthy donors, reported Reuters.

There hasnt been any success for an African country in attracting climate finance, said Bogolo Kenewendo, a United Nations climate adviser, as Reuters reported.

In 2021, the carbon offset market was worth about $2 billion and has been projected to climb to from $10 to $40 billion by 2030.

In addition to the $450 million from the UAE Carbon Alliance, an investment pledge of $200 million for ACMI credit projects was made by Climate Asset Management, a partnership between climate change advisory and investment firm Pollination and HSBC Asset Management.

Britain also planned to announce $62 million in UK-backed projects, and a $64 million debt swap was announced by Germany with Kenya that would make money available for renewables.

African Development Bank Vice President Kevin Kariuki told Reuters that African countries would advocate for the expansion of International Monetary Fund special drawing rights at COP28 in Dubai later this year. The drawing rights could make $500 billion in climate financing available, which could also be leveraged as many as five times.

The private sector really remains an untapped opportunity that now must be seized, said Commonwealth of Nations Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, as reported by Reuters.
For the first time in Joe Biden's presidency, Democrats will have a majority at the Federal Communications Commission and the ability to undo a wave of Trump-era deregulation in the internet and communications industries. The Senate has confirmed Anna Gomez as the agency's third Democratic commissioner, bringing an end to a long-standing partisan split on the panel.

Biden nominated Gomez, who is currently a State Department communications policy adviser, to the FCC in May. The president's previous pick for the FCC's open chair was Gigi Sohn, who withdrew from consideration in March after enduring attacks from politicians and industry lobbyists. Republicans and certain Democrats such as Sen. Joe Manchin refused to confirm Sohn, who is an advocate for affordable broadband.

However, senators found Gomez a more palatable choice and confirmed her to the panel on Thursday with a 55-43 vote. Gomez worked for the FCC in several positions over a 12-year period before moving into the private sector then onto the State Department earlier this year. She will be the FCC's first Latina commissioner since Gloria Tristani stepped down in 2001.

Industry bodies and figures such as the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association and former FCC chair and Broadland campaign co-chair Mignon Clyburn have welcomed Gomez's appointment. At long last, at this critical time for the US telecommunications and media industries, we have a full roster of FCC commissioners, Communications Workers of America President Claude Cummings Jr. told Engadget in a statement. Anna Gomez is a dedicated public servant who is highly qualified to serve on the FCC. We are looking forward to working with her to realize the potential of the bipartisan infrastructure bill to bring affordable internet service to all Americans and to reverse the decline of local news that threatens the foundations of our democracy.

After Gomez is sworn in, the Biden administration will be able to fulfill some of its major communications policy goals after a years-long partisan deadlock at the FCC. The agency has long had two Democratic and two Republican commissioners, who have often been unable to agree on policy votes since former chair Ajit Pai left the panel in January 2021.

The FCC is now expected to reverse some telecommunications sector deregulation efforts that the agency carried out under Donald Trump. Those include the potential restoration of Obama-era net neutrality rules, which the agency scrapped in 2017. In recent years, Democratic commissioners have had their hands largely tied, preventing them from taking meaningful action on issues such as internet data caps. However, the agency has still taken action on some fronts, including tackling problems such as robocallers and banning telecom equipment made by Chinese companies such as Huawei and ZTE.

The Democratic commissioners may need to act quickly to carry out agenda items on behalf of the Biden administration, however. Biden has nominated Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks for a second term. His initial term expired last year, but he has remained on the panel in an acting capacity. Unless the Senate re-confirms Starks, the FCC may be back in a deadlock scenario in the not-too-distant future.
AI-generated images and audio are already making their way into the 2024 Presidential election cycle. In an effort to staunch the flow of disinformation ahead of what is expected to be a contentious election, Google announced on Wednesday that it will require political advertisers to "prominently disclose" whenever their advertisement contains AI-altered or -generated aspects, "inclusive of AI tools." The new rules will based on the company's existing Manipulated Media Policy and will take effect in November.

Given the growing prevalence of tools that produce synthetic content, were expanding our policies a step further to require advertisers to disclose when their election ads include material thats been digitally altered or generated, a Google spokesperson said in a statement obtained by The Hill. Small and inconsequential edits like resizing images, minor cleanup to the background or color correction will all still be allowed  those that depict people or things doing stuff that they never actually did or those that otherwise alter actual footage will be flagged.

Those ads that do utilize AI aspects will need to label them as such in a "clear and conspicuous" manner that is easily seen by the user, per the Google policy. The ads will be moderated first through Google's own automated screening systems and then reviewed by a human as needed.

Google's actions run counter to other companies in social media. X/Twitter recently announced that it reversed its previous position and will allow political ads on the site, while Meta continues to take heat for its own lackadaisical ad moderation efforts.

The Federal Election Commission is also beginning to weigh in on the issue. LAst month it sought public comment on amending a standing regulation "that prohibits a candidate or their agent from fraudulently misrepresenting other candidates or political parties" to clarify that the "related statutory prohibition applies to deliberately deceptive Artificial Intelligence campaign advertisements" as well.
Japan's space agency has launched a rocket on September 6 at 7:42 PM EDT carrying a telescope that's more advanced than NASA's Chandra and other X-ray observatories already in orbit. The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission  or XRISM but pronounced as "crism"  is a mission led by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) in collaboration with NASA and with contributions by the European Space Agency. Lia Corrales, a University of Michigan astronomer and mission participant, told The New York Times that XRISM represents "the next step in X-ray observations."

The telescope is considered more powerful than its predecessors because of its tools. One of them, called Resolve, is a microcalorimeter spectrometer with the capability to measure tiny increases in temperature when X-rays hit its 6-by-6-pixel detector. It must operate in an environment that's a fraction of a degree above absolute zero, enabled by a multistage mechanical cooling process inside its refrigerator-sized container with liquid helium. But so long as it's working, the tool can measure each individual X-ray energy and can provide information on its source's composition, motion and physical state.

The Times says the mission team expects Resolve's spectroscopic data to be 30 times sharper than what Chandra's instruments can provide. It can detect X-rays with energies that range from 400 to 12,000 electron volts, which NASA says can give us the data needed to know more about the hottest regions, the largest structures and the objects with the strongest gravity pull in the universe. XRISM's science operations won't begin until January, though, since scientists still have to switch on its instruments and tune them in the next few months.

In addition to XRISM, the rocket also blasted off to space carrying the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) mission. The small-scale lander was nicknamed "Moon Sniper," because it was designed to demonstrate that a pinpoint landing within 100 meters of a specific target is possible. Based on the latest information from JAXA, XRISM had already separated from its rocket and had already been inserted into orbit. Meanwhile, SLIM will keep traveling for months until it reaches the moon.
What exactly constitutes high-end when it comes to a Polaroid camera? At least for the modern incarnation of the company, there really hasnt been such a thing until now. Thats not terribly shocking since, for much of its existence, Polaroid has been associated with instant gratification and point-and-shoot simplicity. Of course, in the digital age, waiting 10 to 15 minutes for a Polaroid to develop can seem like an eternity. And the soft, saturated images they create have a decidedly lo-fi feel when put side by side with the razor-sharp photos even the lowliest smartphone can capture.

The new Polaroid I-2, however, retains all of the quirks and charm people turn to instant film for, but packs a number of modern amenities and features that might appeal to a more serious photographer. Theres a lot to like, but there is one immediately obvious obstacle: the price. At $599, the I-2 costs four-times as much as the next most expensive camera in the companys lineup, the Polaroid Now+.

That premium does buy you the fastest lens in the current Polaroid lineup. Its 98mm f/8 which, according to the company, is roughly the equivalent of a 38mm f/2.8 on a 35mm camera. I punched the numbers into a few online calculators and got pretty close to that claim, around 40mm at f/3.1 equivalent on 35mm when accounting for the larger film of a Polaroid. Thats not an exceptionally wide aperture, but it's larger than most other Polaroid cameras which often top out at f/11 or even f/16. And youd have to go quite a ways back (to at least the 1980s as far as I could tell) to find something faster than f/8 from Polaroid.

The lens is made of acrylic and polycarbonate, instead of glass. But the company claims that the difference in quality was negligible without dramatically driving up the cost of the camera. Again, though, this is an area where Ill have to take the company's word, as I have no viable means of testing the claim.

Polaroid is very proud of this lens, though, regardless of how the specs might appear on paper. Its pitching the camera as a love letter to the instant cameras of yore, and even pulled two Olympus engineers out of retirement to help design it.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

It took roughly four years of development to bring the I-2 to fruition and while holding it, you do get the sense that this was a labor of love. Yes, it's almost entirely plastic, but it feels solid and, in my opinion, looks gorgeous. The matte black body with dark silver and red accents is decidedly classier than the more brightly festooned Now line. Almost every bit of the camera feels fussed over, right down to the underside which features a quote from Polaroid cofounder Edwin Land.

This is also the only camera in the current lineup that can use standard lens filters. This means you can just walk into B&H and grab a 49mm ND filter off the shelf and slap it on. That might be necessary too, since the I-2 has a top shutter speed of only 1/250 of a second. When combined with the 640 ASA of standard i-Type film, it can be tricky to get a proper exposure in bright sunlight.

Terrence O'Brien / Engadget

That shutter speed also means youre not gonna be freezing any fast-paced action in your frames. That being said, its still faster than the Now+ which tops out at 1/200. Oddly the $99 Polaroid Go can actually reach 1/300 of a second, making it the fastest camera in the family, and with a nearly as large f/9 aperture, too. That said, it does use smaller Go film.

What the I-2 has that the Go and all other current generation Polaroid cameras lack is on board manual settings. While the Now+ does offer some options via an app, only the I-2 gives you complete control of the aperture and shutter speed on the camera itself. Both are adjusted via a single ring around the lens, though, so you have to press a button to switch back and forth between them. Its much easier to opt for aperture or shutter priority mode where you only have to worry about one variable with the ring.
ISTANBUL (AP)  Rescuers from across Europe rushed to a cave in Turkey on Thursday, launching an operation to save an American researcher who became trapped almost 1,000 meters (3,000 feet) below the cave's entrance after suffering stomach bleeding.

Experienced caver Mark Dickey, 40, suddenly became ill during an expedition with a handful of others, including three other Americans, in the Morca cave in southern Turkey's Taurus Mountains, the European Association of Cave Rescuers said.

While rescuers, including a Hungarian doctor, have reached and treated Dickey, it could be days and possibly weeks before they are able to get him out of the cave, which is too narrow in places for a stretcher to pass through.

In a video message from inside the cave and made available Thursday by Turkeys communications directorate, Dickey thanked the caving community and the Turkish government for their efforts.

The caving world is a really tight-knit group and its amazing to see how many people have responded on the surface," said Dickey.  ... I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life. I was very close to the edge.

Dickey, who is seen standing and moving around in the video, said that while he is alert and talking, he is not healed on the inside and will need a lot of help to get out of the cave. Doctors will decide whether he will need to leave the cave on a stretcher or if he can leave under his own power.

Dickey, who had been bleeding and losing fluid from his stomach, has stopped vomiting and has eaten for the first time in days, according to a New Jersey-based cave rescue group hes affiliated with. Its unclear what caused his medical issue.

The New Jersey Initial Response Team said the rescue will require many teams and constant medical care. The group says the cave is also quite cold  about 4-6 C (39-42 F).

Communication with Dickey takes about five to seven hours and is carried out by runners, who go from Dickey to the camp below the surface where a telephone line to speak with the surface has been set up.

Experts said it will be a challenge to successfully rescue Dickey.

Yusuf Ogrenecek of the Speleological Federation of Turkey said that one of the most difficult tasks of cave rescue operations is widening the narrow cave passages to allow stretcher lines to pass through at low depths.

Stretcher lines are labor intensive and require experienced cave rescuers working long hours, Ogrenecek said. He added that other difficult factors range from navigating through mud and water at low temperatures to the psychological toll of staying inside a cave for long periods of time.

Marton Kovacs of the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service said that the cave is being prepared for Dickey's safe extraction. Passages are being widened and the danger of falling rocks is also being addressed.

Turkish disaster relief agency AFAD and rescue team UMKE are working with Turkish and international cavers on the plan to hoist Dickey out of the cave system, the European Cave Rescue Association said.

The rescue effort currently involves more than 170 people, including doctors, paramedics who are tending to Dickey and experienced cavers, Ogrenecek said, adding that the rescue operation could take up to two to three weeks.

The operation includes rescue teams from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Turkey.

Dickey was described by the association as a highly trained caver and a cave rescuer himself who is well known as a cave researcher, or speleologist, from his participation in many international expeditions. He is secretary of the associations medical committee.

Dickey was on an expedition mapping the 1,276-meter (4,186-feet) deep Morca cave system for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association (ASPEG) when he ran into trouble about 1,000 meters down, according to Ogrenecek. He initially became ill on Sept. 2, but it took until the morning of Sept. 3 to notify others who were above ground.

Justin Hanley, a 28-year-old firefighter from near Dallas, Texas, said he met Dickey a few months ago when he took a cave rescue course Dickey taught in Hungary and Croatia. He described Dickey as upbeat and as someone who sees the good in everyone.

Mark is the guy that should be on that rescue mission thats leading and consulting and for him to be the one that needs to be rescued is kind of a tragedy in and of itself, he said.

A team of rescuers from Italys National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Team will be flying to Turkey on Thursday night. A total of around 50 rescuers will be at the entrance of the cave early Friday ready to participate in the operation directed by Turkish authorities.

The rescue teams hope that the extraction can begin on Saturday or Sunday. Kovacs said that lifting Dickey will likely take several days, and that several bivouac points are being prepared along the way so that Dickey and rescue teams can rest.

The cave has been divided into several sections, with each countrys rescue team being responsible for one section.

The Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, made up of volunteer rescuers, was the first to arrive at Dickeys location and provided emergency blood transfusions to stabilize his condition.

___

Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, Darko Bandic in Zagreb, Croatia, Justin Spike in Budapest, Hungary, Aritz Parra in Madrid, Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, Patricia Thomas in Rome, and Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report.
Igualdad

Montero defiende el derecho al cuidado y pide al Estado que se haga "corresponsable" de una tarea que es "esencial"
Wednesday, September 6, 2023

As a small business owner or self-employed individual, youre entitled to various deductions that can significantly reduce your tax liability. One such valuable deduction is the Home Office Deduction, which you can claim using IRS Form 8829. In this comprehensive guide, well delve into the details of Form 8829, its purpose, who should use it, and when it should be employed.

What is Form 8829?

Form 8829 (Expenses for Business Use of Your Home) serves as a tax document designed to assist small business owners and self-employed individuals in calculating and declaring the proportion of their home expenses eligible for deduction as business expenses, thereby lowering their overall tax obligation.

Who Can Use Form 8829?

Youre eligible to use the Form 8829 if you meet the following conditions:

You use part of your home regularly and exclusively for your business or self-employment activities. Your home functions as your principal place of business, or you use a separate structure on your property for business purposes. Youre not an employee who works from home for the convenience of your employer.

Use Form 8829 if you wish to claim deductions for expenses related to the business use of your home. Keep in mind to maintain accurate records and supporting documentation to substantiate your claims.

What Types of Expenses Are Reportable on Form 8829?

The expenses that you can report on Form 8829 include:

Direct Expenses: These refer to expenses exclusively related to the business area of your home. For example, if you remodel your home office, those expenses would be considered direct.

Indirect Expenses: These pertain to expenses that benefit both the business and personal areas of your home, such as mortgage interest, property taxes, and utilities. You must allocate these expenses based on the square footage of your home office relative to your entire home.

File IRS Form 8829 The Right Way

Part I: Identification of Home Office

In Part I of Form 8829, youll measure the specific percentage of the portion of your home that you use for business purposes by dividing the square footage of your dedicated business area by the total square footage of your home and multiplying by 100.

Part II: Calculation of Expenses

Part II involves a detailed breakdown of your expenses related to your home office. Categorize your expenses into direct and indirect categories to give a comprehensive overview. Direct expenses are those that solely pertain to your home office, such as painting or repairs specifically done in that space. Indirect expenses, on the other hand, are costs that contribute to your entire home but can be apportioned based on the percentage of your homes square footage used for business purposes.

Part III: Depreciation

Part III of Form 8829 addresses depreciation expenses related to your home office, especially if you own your home. Its important to consult IRS guidelines or seek advice from a tax professional when calculating depreciation accurately. Depreciation takes into account the wear and tear your home office space undergoes over time.

Part IV: Carryover of Unallowed Expenses

If your home office deductions exceed your income in the current tax year, Part IV discusses the option to carry over the excess expenses to the following tax year. This is a critical provision for those with fluctuating income or higher expenses in a particular year.

Advice for Avoiding IRS Scrutiny

Maintain Documentation: If youre filing Form 8829, you must keep meticulous records of all expenses related to your home office. Receipts, invoices, and documents demonstrating business use will substantiate your claims in case of an audit.

Ensure Precise Home Office Calculation. It is essential that you measure and calculate the square footage of your home office accurately. This will safeguard you against the risk of potential errors and associated penalties.

Need Assistance?

IRS Form 8829 provides a valuable opportunity for small business owners and self-employed individuals to reduce their tax liability by claiming deductions related to their home office. If youre unsure about any aspect of claiming the home office deductions or filing Form 8829, contact Peace of Mind Tax Help at 775-245-4357 or email us at [email protected]. Taking this proactive step not only ensures compliance but also optimizes your deductions.
From: Author U -- Judith Briles For Immediate Release: Dateline: Denver , CO Thursday, September 7, 2023

Joining AuthorU-Your Guide to Publishing host Dr. Judith Briles is Rob Jacoban author, speaker, and living historian. If you were to meet him at an event hes featured in, he could be part of a Western Gun Fighter group or the Revolutionary War  or the golden age of piracy. Its time to learn about: Niche Writing, Niche Presenting and Niche Promoting! Your takeaways include: How to step out of your comfort zone.

How to do the research to move into a character and time zone.

Where to discover and get period garments that dont look like they are for Halloween.

How to create effective promo material.

How to determine which promo material to use for book presentations.

How to connect with college and library museums and bookstores.

How to create an impressive book signing and accessories to use. Join in  you will learn a lot! If you dont want you and your book to be ignored, then the AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing podcast is for you. Host Judith Briles has lots to share in this episode of the AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing podcast. Listen in at: http://bit.ly/BookPublishingPodcast Listen in at: http://bit.ly/iTunesAuthorPodcast Listen in at: http://bit.ly/BookPublishingPodcastGoogle Listen in at: http://bit.ly/BookPublishingPodcastAmazon see all) Latest posts by Judith Briles Was this helpful? Get more FREE tips and insight: see all) Latest posts by Judith Briles


(The Center Square)  Democrats objected Thursday afternoon to unanimous passage of Sen. J.D. Vances proposed legislation that would ban federal mask mandates through the end of 2024.

Without unanimous passage, Vances bill must work through Senate committees before possibly being returned to the floor for a vote.

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, objected on the Senate floor, saying the bill is a distraction and misleading, saying every health care option should be available to officials at the local level.

This bill is a red herring. Its a distraction. Its misleading and its meant to distract what the GOP stands for right now, which is gimmicks, Markey said. They will make us less safe because they will be tying the hands of health care professionals.

Vance, R-Ohio, said the legislation does not stop anyone from wearing a mask and allows local communities to make their own mask decisions. It would prevent a federal mandate.

The legislation doesnt prevent anyone from wearing a mask," Vance said. "What I would like is for the freedom of a school child to not be thrown out of class because he doesnt wear a mask. We are about to have some serious respiratory problems. We always do in the fall, and maybe it will be worse this fall and this winter than before. I think that what our children need is for us not to be chicken little about every single little respiratory problem. We cannot repeat the anxiety, the stress and the nonstop panic of the last couple of years.

On Tuesday, Vance announced the proposed legislation that would stop any federal official, including the president, from implementing a mask mandate through the end of next year.

It would stop mandates for domestic air travel, public transit systems or primary and secondary schools, along with colleges and universities.

It would also stop airlines, transit authorities and educational institutions from refusing to serve anyone not wearing a mask.

Co-sponsors include Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming; Josh Hawley, R-Missouri; Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri; Mike Braun, R-Indiana; Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming; Roger Marshall, R-Kansas; Ted Budd, R-North Carolina; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee; and Katie Britt, R-Alabama.
(The Center Square)  House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., pushed forward the investigation into President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, Wednesday by calling out a federal agency that may be withholding information.

Comer put the spotlight on the National Archives and Records Administration, the federal recordkeeping agency that tipped off the Department of Justice when former President Donald Trump had allegedly held on to classified documents. Comer says NARA has held back certain information, claiming it is personal.

In discussions between NARA and Committee staff regarding the Committees previous request for special access to Vice-Presidential records, NARA informed the Committee that certain documents in NARAs custody would not be produced to the Committee  and, indeed, NARA would not inform the Committee of their existence  if NARA deems those records to be personal records as defined by the PRA, Comer said in a letter to Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan.

Comer pushed back on that sentiment.

However, 'personal records' are defined as those records 'which do not relate to or have an effect upon the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official or ceremonial duties of' the Vice President, the letter said. The Committee has made clear that its investigation involves potential abuse by then-Vice President Biden of his official duties; it cannot be NARA that determines whether certain records do not relate to or have an effect upon those duties.

Comers letter is part of an ongoing effort to learn to what degree now President Biden was aware of and involved in his son Hunters business dealings. IRS whistleblowers testified that the Biden family and associates received about $20 million from entities overseas, including in Ukraine and China, via about 20 shell companies.

Long-time associate of Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, has said publicly that Hunter used phone calls from his father to help secure deals.

Joe Biden never built an absolute wall between his familys business dealings and his official government work  his office doors were wide open to Hunter Bidens associates, Comer said in a letter to Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan. There is evidence of collusion in the efforts to spin media stories about Burismas corruption while Vice President Biden was publicly pushing an anti-corruption agenda in Ukraine.

As The Center Square previously reported, Hunter Biden faces an array of legal challenges related to allegations of gun, tax and foreign influence crimes. Special Counsel David Weiss said in court filings Wednesday that Hunter could face another indictment before Sept. 19.

Suspiciously, Hunter Bidens associate had a media statement on Burisma approved by Vice President Biden himself the same day Hunter Biden called D.C. for help with the government pressure facing Burisma, the letter said. Americans demand accountability for this abuse of government office for the benefit of the Biden family.

Comer also has asked NARA for information on Air Force Two, which Hunter Biden allegedly used for travel in some of his dealings.
Montana is now the only state in the nation without a statewide ban on texting and driving.
UPDATE, SEPT. 7:

On Wednesday, searchers from the Stillwater County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue team located the remains of Stonehail Moccasin.

The remains were found about 16 miles east of where he was last seen, according to Roosevelt County Sheriff Jason Frederick.

Moccasin's family has set up a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses.

The cause of death will be released once autopsy results are available.

All of us at the RCSO extend our heartfelt condolences to the Moccasin family during this extraordinarily difficult time, Sheriff Frederick said. We would also like to express our gratitude to several agencies that provided personnel and resources to assist us in the search:

Stillwater County Sheriff's Office

Gallatin County Sheriff's Office

Lewis & Clark County Sheriff's Office

Cascade County Sheriff's Office

Park County Sheriff's Office

Valley County Sheriff's Office

Rosebud County Sheriff's Office

Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks

Glasgow Police Department

US Customs and Border Protection

Badlands Search and Rescue (Williston, ND)

Fort Peck Tribes

Again, thank you to everyone who helped bring Stonehail home.

UPDATE, SEPT. 2:

Lewis and Clark County Search and Rescue is helping in the search for Stonehail Moccasin using a remotely operated underwater vehicle to search the river using sonar imaging.

Roosevelt County Sheriff Jason Frederick says they appreciate the assistance and are hopeful the ROV will provide valuable information that will help find Stonehail.

People are asked to stay away from the Missouri River between Wolf Point and Bridge Park for the weekend as the ROV does its work.

WOLF POINT, Mont. - An 18-year-old is missing after getting into the Missouri River to help people who were caught by a current.

Around 12:46 am on Saturday, Aug. 26, Roosevelt County Sheriffs Deputies and Fort Peck Tribal Officers were dispatched to the Missouri River just south of the Town of Wolf Point for a missing person.

According to the Roosevelt County Sheriffs Office, several people at the river saw others who were caught by the current and in distress.

Wolf Point resident Stonehail Moccasin, 18, and another man helped the people out of the water, however, Moccasin was unable to get back to shore and has not been seen since.

A search of the river and the surrounding area was initiated by the sheriffs office and the Fort Peck Tribes that has used boats, helicopters and airplanes to try and locate Moccasin.

Sheriffs from Valley, Rosebud, Park, Lewis & Clark, Cascade and Stillwater counties have sent or are sending people, search equipment, boats and aircraft to assist in locating Moccasin.

Our thoughts and our efforts are in support of Stonehails family and friends. Any river, but especially the Missouri, presents hidden dangers to the public and to searchers. Strong currents that appear calm, hidden trees, and debris all can create a tragedy in an instant. I am very grateful to our neighbors and other counties for their support, Roosevelt County Sheriff Frederick said.
(This story was updated on Sept. 8.)

SALEM, Ohio  Since 2008, 22 counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia have been the source of 40% of the nations natural gas  but now this boom in natural gas extraction might be over.

Using data from the federal Energy Information Administration, the Ohio River Valley Institute concluded that the natural gas industry in the Marcellus and Utica shale region hit peak production in 2022, levels that wont be equaled again for decades. This means the economic growth and local prosperity promised by the Shale Gas boom will likely never come.

The report, an update of a similarly damning 2021 report, is being criticized by industry sources who called the data cherry-picked and off-base. They say it ignores all the good the industry has done in local communities.

What we would tell (them) to do is look at the DNR data, which is actually reported data, not a guess, not an estimate, not a projection, Mike Chadsey, public relations director for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, told Farm and Dairy.

What the report says

Gathered from the EIAs Annual Energy Outlook 2023, the report from the environmental think tank states that natural gas production in the 22 gas-rich counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia reached its peak in 2022 and wont reach the same amount until 2045. As a result, by the year 2050, the report states, Appalachias share of U.S. natural gas is expected to decline to 37.5%.

Instead, production in the Permian and Haynesville basins in the south and southwest will surpass Appalachia, becoming the next top dog in the country for producing natural gas.

One of the reasons why is location, according to Sean OLeary, the author of the report. Both basins are on the border of the Gulf of Mexico and have easy access to export terminals. The Appalachian region has to transport natural gas via pipelines to export terminals on either the East Coast or elsewhere.

Another reason natural gas production is expected to drop is the Russia-Ukraine war, which spurred countries in Europe and elsewhere to move from natural gas toward renewable energy. Natural gas power plants in the U.S. are also being retired as quickly as they are being built, which will equal minimal domestic growth moving forward.

Even when natural gas production was rising, the report says employment, income and population numbers in the region declined.

Between the years of 2008 to 2019, gross domestic product, or GDP, in the 22 most active gas-producing counties in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, grew three times more than the GDP of the United States and more than four times the rate of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia as a whole.

However, employment, income and population did not see the same success as GDP.

According to the report, federal data shows that the number of full-time jobs between 2008 to 2019 in the most fracked counties dropped 2.1%  worse than the combined states of Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, which saw a job increase of 3.8%. The population also fell by 4.6%, while the combined population in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia climbed 2.1%.

The report attributed this massive growth in GDP, but lack of growth in employment, income and population to the fact that natural gas extraction is one of the least labor-intensive activities in the U.S. economy with less than 10 cents of every dollar earned allocated to labor.

Industry response

Chadsey, of OOGA, says to disregard federal data and look at the quarterly state production data operators turn in to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas, which he says shows production continues to go up, quarter over quarter, year over year.

A missive from Energy In Depth, an online publication run by the Independent Petroleum Association of America, points to a 2023 Cleveland State University and JobsOhio study that shows oil and gas has invested more than $100 billion into Ohios economy, acting as an essential economic lifeblood to the Buckeye State.

Mandi Risko, with Energy In Depth, said ORVI ignored critical factors supporting growth, like millions of dollars in impact fees paid by operators in Pennsylvania and ad valorem, or property taxes, paid in Ohio. She added that the reports cherry-picked data is hardly reflective of what the Appalachian communities have experienced and leaves out the what the poverty and economic rates would be without oil and gas.

Jobs. Industry sources referred to an Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services Ohio Shale April 2020 report. Data from ODJFS shows that in Ohio, between the years of 2011 and 2019, employment grew in all areas except the Northwest region, where there was little drilling activity. The West, Northeast and Southeast all saw a significant increase in shale-related jobs.

The natural gas industry was not spared impacts by the COVID-19 pandemic. It too saw a drop in employment rates. In March 2020, Ohio had an unemployment rate of 5.5%, higher than the U.S. average of 4.4%. Nevertheless, Ohio gas-producing counties experienced worse unemployment rates than the U.S. during this time, despite natural gas production soaring, the ORVI report said.

It can be argued that the Appalachian natural gas boom did to a degree help protect job growth in the Frackalachian counties from the worst ravages of the Great Recession. But it can be equally persuasively argued that the gas industry helped drive job loss in the years prior to and during the COVID recession, OLeary said.

According to the latest available data from the American Petroleum Institute, gathered in 2021, Pennsylvania employed 423,700 people in the natural gas industry, Ohio employed 351,530 and West Virginia employed 73,120.

Regardless of how the numbers are interpreted and by whom, Chadsey said members of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association and others in the industry call St. Clairsville and Cambridge and Salem home.

So we have every incentive to make sure that were doing operations responsibly. This is home for us and thats often forgotten in this conversation, he said.

(Reporter Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@farmanddairy.com. Editor Rachel Wagoner contributed to this report and can be reached at rachel@farmanddairy.com or 724-201-1544.)
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.  Interested in learning how to balance rations to best meet nutritional requirements for sheep or goats? Two upcoming Penn State Extension workshops are aimed at teaching producers how to formulate rations using computer software.

There will be two Advanced Sheep and Goat Nutrition Schools held this fall, one in western Pennsylvania from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Penn State Extension office in Westmoreland County, 214 Greensburg-Donohoe Station Road, Greensburg.

This school is designed for intermediate and experienced producers interested in learning how to formulate rations that meet the nutritional requirements of animals at different ages and stages of production. Instructors will cover topics such as basic principles of ration balancing and nutrient requirements, understanding a forage analysis report, configuring a grain mix to supplement forages and balancing rations using computer programs, including an Excel-based ration evaluator program and an online sheep ration program.

Besides Barkley, workshop presenters will include Camren Maierle, livestock extension educator in Mercer County, and Justin Brackenrich, field and forage crops extension educator in Greene County.

The $10 registration fee covers handout materials, refreshments and lunch. Participants must register by Sept. 25 for the Greensburg location. More information is available on the Penn State Extension website at extension.psu.edu/advanced-sheep-and-goat-nutrition-school or by calling 877-345-0691.
PLUM, Pa.  Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Rich Negrin announced Aug. 25 they secured combustible gas detectors for the Rustic Ridge neighborhood in Plum Borough following an explosion that took the lives of six residents and damaged multiple homes. The detectors will be provided at no cost to residents. The origin of and cause of the incident in Plum remains undetermined and is under investigation.

Olympus Energy, a Pennsylvania-based company, donated 250 detectors to the Rustic Ridge Homeowners Association. DEP personnel are partnering with the homeowners association to distribute the detectors to residents of Rustic Ridge. DEPs team of experts will provide residents with guidance for identifying the best location in their homes to install the detectors.

DEP inspectors began conducting a stray gas investigation at the incident Aug. 14 to look for sources of combustible gas near the site of the explosion and inspecting nearby natural gas-related facilities and infrastructure under DEPs jurisdiction.
EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio  The Beaver Creek Wildlife Education Center will host two programs on Sept. 9.

Tina Laughlin will introduce her pet foxes and skunks under the pavilion in Live Foxes and Skunks, Oh My! from 1 to 3 p.m. Visitors are welcome to pet the animals and ask questions.

How Many Bears Can Live In This Forest? will be from 2 to 3 p.m. The activity is for ages 8 to 14 along with family members. Participants will compete for essential food items  well, essential for bears  in the yard behind the center.

Registration is required by sending contact information to beavercreekw@aol.com. The activity works best with 15 to 20 people. If there are not enough participants, an alternative activity is planned.
CANTON, Ohio  Canton Audubon Society, Huston-Brumbaugh Nature Center, Stark Parks and The Wilderness Center are hosting the Stark County Bird Quest from 4 p.m. Sept. 15 to 4 p.m. Sept. 16.

Bird and nature lovers are invited to participate in this free quest to discover bird life residing across Stark County. A free celebration for registered participants will take place immediately following the conclusion of Bird Quest at Fry Family Park beginning at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 16.

Interested participants can gather a friend or two and register to participate on the Bird Quest webpage at cantonaudubon.org/stark-county-bird-quest. Full details are available on the Bird Quest webpage.
Queen guitarist and anti-cull campaigner Sir Brian May has shared the experience of efforts to eradicate bovine tuberculosis on a farm he sponsors.

South Devon milk producer Gatcombe Farm, which is backed by Sir Brian, has been testing strategies to combat the devastating disease.

The 93ha farm, near Seaton, has trialled a series of alternative tests for detecting TB, as well as improving biosecurity measures and slurry management.

Speaking after addressing an audience of vets, farmers and academics at Aberystwyth University, Sir Brian May said he hoped for a "better life for farmers, cows and badgers."

I began researching bovine TB ten years ago, when I founded the Save-Me Trust; together we embarked on a mission to find out the truth about cows and badgers and the scourge of bTB, in which the badgers stood accused of being a wildlife reservoir of disease.

"After an introduction from the NFU, we set to work in collaboration, to battle the disease first-hand, at the dairy farm at Gatcombe in South Devon.

I am hoping my work will pave the way for a better understanding between the various stakeholders in the fight against bovine TB, and will eventually lead to a better life for farmers, cows, and badgers in the UK."

Sir Brian added: "It is clear that Aberystwyth University is doing very important research in this field, and their work deserves support from all involved so that the scientific research on this disease can continue apace.

The lecture was hosted by the Ser Cymru Centre of Excellence for Bovine Tuberculosis at Aberystwyth University.

Professor Glyn Hewinson, head of the centre, said such events were "important in promoting a dialogue about this devastating disease".

"We engage with all stakeholders in our joint endeavour to find new and better ways of combatting bovine tuberculosis," he said.

"We aim to provide a strong scientific evidence base to support the eradication of the disease and to grow and develop academic research expertise in Wales.
Kamala Harris has dismissed concerns about Joe Biden's age.

Kamala Harris isn't worried about Joe Biden's advancing years

A recent survey revealed that two-thirds of Americans consider the president too old to stand for re-election next year but the vice president insists that Biden could serve two full terms in the White House - meaning that he would remain in power until he was 86.

Harris, who has struggled with terrible approval ratings herself, said: "First of all, let me say that our president has been an extraordinary leader who has accomplished things that previous presidents hoped and dreamed and promised they would do and did not achieve.

"So yes, I see him every day, a substantial amount of time we spend together is in the Oval Office, where I see how his ability to understand issues and weave through complex issues in a way that no one else can, to make smart and important decisions on behalf of the American people, have played out.

"And so I will say to you, that I think the American people ultimately want to know that their president delivers - and Joe Biden delivers."

Harris confirmed that she would be willing to serve as president in the event that Biden was unable to run the country.

She said: "Well, first of all, let's - I'm answering your hypothetical - but Joe Biden is going to be fine, so that is not going to come to fruition.

"But let also understand that every vice president, every vice president, understands that when they take the oath, that they must be very clear about the responsibility they may have to take over the job of being president.

"I am no different."
Al Pacino and Noor Alfallah are still "together".

Al Pacino is still with Noor Alfallah

The couple sparked speculation they had gone their separate ways after the 29-year-old beauty filed a petition asking a court to grant her physical custody of their three-month-old son Roman, offering "reasonable visitation" to 'The Godfather' star.

However, a spokesperson for the 83-year-old actor insisted he and Noor are still in a relationship and have "mutually reached agreements" about their son.

The representative told the New York Post newspaper's Page Six column: Al and Noor have successfully worked together and have mutually reached agreements regarding their child, Roman.

They are still together.

In the paperwork - which was filed in California and obtained by The Blast - Noor has agreed to give Al joint legal custody of Roman, which would allow him to help make decisions on matters such as medical treatment, education and religion.

Also included with the filing was a voluntary declaration of parentage which was signed by both of them six days after the birth of their son.

Roman - who was born on June 6 at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles - is the actor's fourth child. He is also dad to 22-year-old twins Olivia and Anton Pacino with his former partner Beverly D'Angelo as well as Julie Pacino, 33, from his relationship with Jan Tarrant.

Prior to Roman's birth, the actor revealed he was looking forward to becoming a dad again and said having another child at this point in his life was "really special".

In a video obtained by the Daily Mail newspaper, he said: "It feels like it always will. It's very special, you know. I've got many kids. But this is really special coming at this time."

The 'Scent of a Woman' actor previously explained he "gets a lot" out of fatherhood and finds it "upsetting" not being involved in his children's lives.

He told The New Yorker in 2014: "I'm responsible to them. I'm a part of their life. When I'm not, it's upsetting to me and to them. So that's part of the gestalt. And I get a lot from it. It takes you out of yourself."
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It was a destined happenstance that Shama Zaidis sensibilities matched those of the parallel movement that gave Indian cinema an earthy alternative in the 70s. Beginning her career as art director and screenplay/dialogue writer with Shyam Benegal, their synergy celebrated milestones and decades, with Mujib: The Making Of A Nation being among her latest works with the filmmaker. Remarkable also was her stint with auteur Satyajit Ray for Shatranj Ke Khilari, which unravelled how addiction check-mated the political legacy of jagirdars in pre-Independence Avadh. If her alliance with her husband, filmmaker MS Sathyu, resulted in the critically acclaimed Garm Hava, Muzaffar Alis Umrao Jaan remains an elegiac screenplay in her prolific roster. An empath and a feminist, Shamas writings may have expressed female angst and oppression, but she herself was not spared patriarchy and gender bias either. The spirited Shama fought for parity in a male-dominated industry to finally win her due. A cheerleader of womens individualism, she maintains its the men who need to do a rethink. Women are naturally feminists. The problem is not with Indian women but with Indian men. I have a huge problem with Indian men. Theyre living in a different century. Women are in the 20th century, while men are still in the 18th. Thats the conflict.



Daughter of politician and educationist Bashir Hussain Zaidi and Hindustani Theatre proponent and playwright Begum Qudsia Zaidi, Shama Zaidi imbibed the best from both. Her interest in costume design took birth while doing theatre at Woodstock School in Mussoorie. During her term at Miranda House College in Delhi, Shama began helping out with the stage productions, apart from doing theatre. After receiving a diploma in stage design from the Slade School of Art, London, she returned to Delhi in the early 60s and designed costumes for Hindustani Theatre. In Mumbai, where she shifted in 1965, she contributed as a writer, designer, performer and director for the Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA). Shamas foray into films began by writing the screenplay for Shyam Benegals childrens film Charandas Chor (1975), though Garm Hava (1974), directed by her husband M.S. Sathyu was released first. Based on Vijaydan Dethas folktale, Charandas Chor was adapted into a play by famed playwright Habib Tanvir. Shyam changed the serious story into slapstick for children. It was Smita Patil's, then a well-known news reader, feature debut. The film was banned in the Emergency because it showed an autocratic Rani donning necklaces. They found parallels, smiles Shama.



Shama was doing a play based on Rajinder Singh Bedis novel Ek Chadar Maili Si, when the writer/director suggested that her husband, M.S. Sathyu, and she make a film on those Muslims, who refused to go to Pakistan after The Partition. Shama worked on the script for Garm Hava with writer Ismat Chugtai. The story had the protagonist, Salim Mirza (Balraj Sahni), eventually leaving for Pakistan. Her father remarked, The story is fine. The siyasat (politics) is not. Thats how writer Kaifi Azmi stepped in. He changed the story and also changed the background from Lucknow to Agra. The character of Salim Mirzas mother in Garm Hava (played by Badar Begum), who refuses to leave her ancestral home, was based on Ismat Apas own mother.





The women of western UP are more dabangg (fearless). Shaukat Azmis character was one such, says Shama, who did the costume design and also helped Sathyu, himself an art director, in the art direction. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay with Kaifi Azmi for Garm Hava. For Balraj Sahni, the character of Salim Mirza resonated with his inner turmoil. Sahni had witnessed the ravages of the Partition. Being a Leftist, sympathy for the underdog came naturally to him. Plus, hed been through a personal tragedy. Hed lost his daughter, Shabnam Sahni, around the same time. While shooting a similarly tragic scene in the film, Sathyu couldnt bring himself to tell Balrajji that he had to react to finding his daughter Amina (Gita Siddharth Kak) dead. Sathyu just said, Gita is lying on the bed. You have to open the door and see her, shares Shama. It was said that Shabnam had committed suicide. But it wasnt so. There was a growth in her brain that kept pressing down. She kept telling Balrajji that she felt sick. But he thought she was mentally unstable (after a bad marriage). He didnt pay much attention. Thats why he was more mortified. The guilt was eating him. She adds, The scene where he puts the matti on her grave and his expression were so poignant. Balrajji passed away the next day after completing the dubbing of Garm Hava. It seems he was just keeping himself alive for the film.



Shamas work with Shyam Benegal is an anthology of its own. After Charandas Chor, she was part of his films including Nishant, Manthan, Bhumika, Aarohan, Mandi, Susman, Trikaal, Haribhari, etc. from the 1970s to the 2000s  some for art design and some for the screenplay/script. Shyams wife, Nira (Benegal), and I attended the same school and college. Our mothers were at the same college in Lahore. Shyams women are feisty because he had a strong mother. He grew up with many sisters, and hence his background was pro-women. Guru Dutt was his first cousin, says Shama, who shared a great wavelength with Shyam. Bhumika (1977), based on the memoir of Marathi actress Hansa Wadkar and her search for identity, remains a landmark collaboration with Shama doing the art design. Anant Nags house in Bhumika was actually a Marathi actress house in Mumbai. Amrish Puris wada (house) was located in Sawantwadi, near Goa. The childhood scenes were shot in Goa. The only sets were the film sets in the film, she says. But Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda (1994), based on Dharamvir Bharatis novel), for which she wrote the screenplay, is her favourite. It was a layered film. Like a Rubik cube, one scene is repeated three times in a different context.



Having worked with Shabana Azmi and the late Smita Patil, the two poster girls of parallel cinema in the 1970s, she shares her perspective on them. Shabana is methodical as an actor. She studies the psychology of her character. Smita was more natural and spontaneous. The kind of range Shabana could give, perhaps Smita couldnt. Smita was always Smita. There were some aspects of Smita in her roles. But she had such an attractive personality that you forgot that. She traces Shabanas well-crafted talent to her mother. Shaukat Apa was part of Prithvi Theatre.



Shed drive people mad with her passion. Shed get into character two days before her stage performance. Saare ghar ko pareshan karti thi! Shed ask Kaifi Saab to read out her lines with the correct pronunciations. That's the kind of obsession even Shabana has, she explains. Yet there was something intrinsic to both Shabana and Smita. Usually, an actress is too self-conscious to be socially aware. But Smita and Shabana were both socially aware. They come from privileged backgrounds. Smitas father (late Shivajirao Patil) was a Minister.

It was a momentous curve when Shama wrote the dialogue and designed the costumes for Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977), stalwart Satyajit Rays period drama about nawabi indulgences and obsession for chess. I was told Ray was arrogant. But I found him extremely friendly. Actually, he was shy. It took effort on his part to talk. He wouldnt tell the actors to do this or thataisa karo, waisa karo! Yet he could draw out fantastic performances. Shyam also has the same quality. Shama, however, found designing the mens costume (Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan played the nawabs) a chore. Everyone had this idea that the costumes of the nawabs involved chikan ka kapda and dopalli topi. I had to show them the reference pictures of Mirza Wajid Ali Shah. The clothes worn by the nawabs in winter were different from those worn in summer. Youd be mad to wear a white chikan kurta in winter.

Another high point was co-writing the screenplay and dialogue with Javed Siddiqui for Muzaffar Alis Umrao Jaan (1981), based on the 19th-century Lucknow courtesan. The original poetry of Umrao Jaan was not as good. Muzaffar used Shahryars poetry and got him to write some more for the film. Muzaffar has a good sense of music and poetry. His sense of drama is a bit off, but he manages to make up for it with sentimentality and sensitivity.



Shama roots for the protagonist, Rekha. Shes always been a good actor, but it took a while for people to appreciate her potential, she says, adding, In Shyams Zubeidaa (2001), she was pretty good. I changed the character of Rekha from an evil woman to a sympathetic person. Those days, royal men had two to three wives; there was no need to make a drama out of it.

Though Shama had a long inning, it was not easy breaking in as a woman. One is never satisfied. If I were a man, Id have been able to do more. In the beginning, I was not accepted as an art director. They wouldnt make me a member of the art directors association. Theyd say, Aapke miyan art direction karte hain. I said, Sorry, Im a trained art director. My husband is not. Then two years later, they made me the secretary of the association.

She maintains that this kind of resistance, where women artistes are denied their due and recognition, was more in the technical fields like camera, art direction, editing, and even make-up than writing. She recalls another incident where she had to assert her rights. I was part of a Kannada film. The producer told Sathyu, Your wife neednt be paid separately as shes working with you. I told Sathyu Im not going to work with you as Im just considered an addition, an adjunct. Only when I became more established did anyone who hired him and also wanted to work with me begin paying me. I wasnt willing to be taken for granted. This battle was truly worth fighting for.


On the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami, veteran Bollywood actress Saira Banu took a moment to reflect on the extraordinary love story that unfolded in her life with the legendary actor, Late Dilip Kumar. This heartwarming tale, which reminds of a Bollywood plot, was shared by Saira Banu in her recent post on Instagram.

Recalling the magic of Janmashtami, Saira Banu shared that during the filming of the iconic song 'Kanha' from the movie, Shagird, she found herself shooting on the very day of the Janmashtami festival. Coincidentally, Dilip Kumar was shooting simultaneously in Madras (Chennai) for Ram Aur Shyam.

Facing date conflicts, Nazir Hussain, a renowned character actor who played a pivotal role in both their lives, shuttled between the two sets. Saira Banu shared a story that "Nazir Sahab treated me like his own kid and vibed very easily on the sets with me. As I sang the Bhajan on Janmashtami night in front of a beautiful statue of Lord Krishna with Lataji's melodious enthralling voice in the playback, I turned to Nazir Sahab and with a mischievous smile on my face asked him for a favour! "You are working with Dilip Sahab, Oh! You are so lucky enough to be working with Dilip Sahab. Please tell him that Saira is dying to work with him, and if he doesn't, then ask him to marry me!". Nazir Sahab was dumb-struck and then he rolled from side to side with the resounding laughter that he was famous for. So Nazir Sahab travelled to Madras the next morning and dutifully conveyed my impudent message to the Shahenshah. Dilip Sahab, I am told, gracefully smiled and acknowledged my cheeky message, to probably cover his embarrassment gracefully ---- although I think you could have knocked him down with a feather!

The next evening Nazir Sahab came onto the set of "SHAGIRD" to shoot with me and told me that he had conveyed to Dilip Sahab my exact imploring message. .......... " Dilip Sahab there is a Gudiya who is crazy about you"!

Wonder of wonders we finished the Janmashtami song and can you believe it within the next few days it so happened that Dilip Sahab walked into my life, gazed into my eyes and asked my grandmother and mother for my Hand in marriage."

Saira Banu described this extraordinary turn of events as nothing short of a miracle, and fans of the iconic couple continue to be enchanted by their timeless love story. On this Janmashtami, we remember this heartwarming tale of love that transcended the boundaries of time and cinema.
Vijay Sethupathi's Net Worth: Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi, popularly known as Makkal Selvan, is one of the most celebrated actors in the Indian film industry. He has earned immense acclaim for portraying complex characters with versatility.

He began his career in 2010 with Seenu Ramasamy's Thenmerku Paruvakatru and has done over 50 films to date. A prominent figure in the Tamil film industry, Vijay Sethupathi has won the hearts of fans with his commanding and impactful performances.

Some of his notable hit films include "Super Deluxe," "Sundarapandian," "Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom," and "Sindhubaadh." The actor is now in the headlines for his film Jawan, and people are already going gaga over his villainous look.

In addition to his acting prowess, Vijay Sethupathi boasts an impressively substantial net worth. From his net worth to an impressive collection of cars, here are some more details on the Farzi actor's earnings and possessions.

Vijay Sethupathi's net worth and income

Several media reports have claimed that Vijay Sethupathi has charged Rs 21 crore for his role of Kaali in the Shah Rukh Khan starrer Jawan. The actor has a net worth of USD 17 million approximate, which is 170 crore.

Jawan: Educational Qualifications Of Shah Rukh Khan, Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi & Other Cast Members

He charges 15 crore per film, and his monthly income is USD 122,213, or 1 cr in INR. He earns USD 5 million annually, which is $45 million. On the other hand, from brand endorsements, Vijay makes around USD 61,106, which is 50 lakhs.

Vijay Sethupathi property

The Master actor owns three lavish homes in North Chennai, Kilpauk, and Ennore. His Chennai mansion is priced at 50 cr, while he also has valuable properties across Tamil Nadu.

Vijay Sethupathi car collection

Coming to Vijay's rich car collection, the actor is a proud owner of some luxurious vehicles. He has a stunning collection of high-end motorcars, including a BMW 7 worth USD 195,540 (about Rs. 1.60 crore), a Mini Cooper costing USD 47,663, a Toyota Innova approximating USD 2,000,000 (roughly Rs. 20 crore), and a Toyota Fortuner approximating USD 4,000,000 (roughly Rs. 35 crore).

Jawan: Fans Go Berserk Over Deepika Padukones Cameo In SRK's Film, Wish Her Part Never Ended
Avinash Tiwary's unforgettable portrayal of Majnu in the timeless love saga, Laila Majnu," has marked its 5-year anniversary today. Directed by the renowned Imtiaz Ali, this modern-day adaptation of the classic love story remains a testament to Tiwary's prowess as an actor in capturing the essence of love like no other.

While talking about the film marking its 5th anniversary, Avinash says

"I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have been chosen as Imtiaz Ali's leading man in my debut film, Laila Majnu. The journey has been a remarkable one, and I am deeply appreciative of all the love my film has garnered over the years. Portraying a character crafted by Imtiaz Ali is a privilege shared by some of the industry's biggest stars, like Shah Rukh Khan, and Saif Ali Khan. It's an honor I cherish. It's beautiful how

Laila Majnu is so relevant after 5 years. From playing Majnu to now 'Bambai Ka Naya Baadshah, it's been an incredible journey. I am thankful to all my fans."

From the very moment the film graced the silver screen, Avinash Tiwary's portrayal of Majnu left an indelible mark on viewers' hearts. His performance was a perfect blend of authenticity, passion, and raw emotion, making him the quintessential Majnu of our generation. Meanwhile, on the work front, the star will next be seen in Bambai Meri Jaan and Kaala.
Jiya Shankar-Abhishek Malhan date: AbhiYa fans have not been able to control their excitement ever since the first promotional poster of Judaiyaan was unveiled. The two celebrities have been hogging all the attention on social media, courtesy of their sizzling chemistry. The duo, who participated in Bigg Boss OTT 2, has joined hands for a music video.

ABHIYA MUSIC VIDEO

Titled Judaiyaan, the song will showcase different elements including separation, love, heartbreak, pain and drama. It promises to be an emotional number that will portray the pain and split of two lovebirds. Abhishek Malhan and Jiya Shankar, who created ripples during their stint in Bigg Boss OTT 2, dropped the teaser of the song on September 5 on Teacher's Day 2023.

As they commenced the shoot of their song, Abhishek and Jiya received a heartfelt gift for their fans. They trended on Twitter (now known as X) after they featured on Times Square. It was a special gift from their AbhiYa fans as the two celebrities featured on the iconic spot in New York City.

'Abhiya On Times Square' trended on the micro-blogging site as fans expressed their joy on seeing them together. They also extended support and wished them luck for the new project.

JIYA SHANKAR YOUTUBE VLOG

Ahead of the release of their music video, Jiya Shankar gave a special surprise to her followers as she announced her YouTuber channel. Within 48 hours, she crossed the 1-lakh subscriber mark, beating the likes of Sumbul Touqeer and Shiv Thakare, who earlier opened their YouTube channels.

On Thursday (September 7), the Pishachini actress dropped her first vlog on her official YouTube channel. Guess what? She chronicled her trip to Chandigarh, giving us a glimpse of her memorable night with Fukra Insaan.

ABHISHEK MALHAN-JIYA SHANKAR FIRST DATE

Guess what? Jiya titled her first vlog as 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai". Her title will remind you of Pranali Rathod and Harshd Chopda's show of the same name.

Did Jiya and Abhishek really go on their first date? Well, the answer is no. In her vlog, she asked Abhishek, "Kidhar leke aaya mujhe date pe?" Responding to her, the YouTuber said, "Date with five other people."

Jiya laughed and quipped, "Date with so many boys. Date with Abhishek and his manager." AbhiYa's cute nok-jhok and fun moments are enough to make you gush over them. Someone should give them an award.

Are you excited for Judaiyaan that releases tomorrow on Play DMF? Do share your thoughts @Filmibeat.
Anupamaa twist: Star Plus' hit show starring Rupali Ganguly and Gaurav Khanna has captured the attention of the viewers with its drama-packed episodes. The daily soap, which is the Hindi remake of Sreemoyee, has completed three successful years. Despite running for three years, the show has been doing strong. At a time when dramas have ended within six months, Anupamaa has enjoyed a long run on Indian television.

ANUPAMAA SPOILER

Fans have been enjoying the melodrama in the show as Anupama and Anuj have finally reunited. After months of separation, MaAn are together under one roof. It took the makers a good time before they resolved the issues between the two lovebirds.

After Maya's death, the show started focusing on multiple tracks at the same time. From Malti Devi's revenge to Adhik-Pakhi's domestic violence, the creative team has churned out interesting tracks to entice the viewers.

After Malti Devi vowed to seek revenge from Anupama for ditching her at the last moment and not traveling to the United States of America, Anu tried to pacify her but to no avail. However, she learned a lesson when Nakul deceived her and took away her property.

The makers also revealed that Anuj and Malti Devi have a special connection as she is his real mother. She had abandoned him when he was a child as she wanted to focus on her career.

PAKHI TO DIE IN ROAD ACCIDENT IN ANUPAMAA?

Now, all eyes are on Adhik and Pakhi's track as Anupama has been trying to mend the issues between them. While she wants her daughter to part ways with Adhik, Pakhi is in no mood to listen to her mom. Amid the drama over domestic violence in Kapadia household, Pakhi is missing.

If the recent buzz is to be believed, she will meet with a major road accident. According to a report in India Forums, there will be a major road accident and Pakhi could be involved in it. While it has not been confirmed if Pakhi met with an accident or not, a girl is said to have suffered injuries.

I think we're in this phase of #Anupamaa's Dream, where Anuj told her Pakhi is no more, I don't think something will happen to Pakhi though.



Is it Pakhi and Romil or just Romil's plan to expose Adhik?



I would've suspected MD, but MD is too vulnerable to handle herself. pic.twitter.com/plEJyewYM2  Tee  (@MaAn_Muse) September 7, 2023

Guess what? Anuj Kapadia will turn out to be Anupamaa's saviour as he will help her amid the turbulences in life. MaAn will once again showcase their strong bond as they search for Pakhi.

Will Pakhi die after the accident? Is there any truth to the rumours? Is it Romil's plot to bring Adhik's truth in front of the family members? When will Pakhi return to Anupamaa? Only time will tell.
Bigg Boss Telugu 7 Contestants Photo Credit: Gallery

The brand new season of the Bigg Boss Telugu 7 began on September 3 with 14 contestants entering the ulta-pulta house set up. These contestants are yet to seal their position as a housemate in the much-hyped game show.

The first week nominations ignited silly discussions and heated arguments among the housemates who got settled down in the house and are trying to get along with others.

Bigg Boss Telugu 7 Nominated Contestants in Week 1

Rathika, Prince Yawar, Shakeela, Damini, Shobha Shetty, Pallavi Prashanth, Gautham Krishna, and Kiran Rathore are nominated to be sent out of the house during the first week.

No Elimination In The First Week Of Bigg Boss Telugu 7?

In the first week of the reality show's nominations process, Kiran Rathore, Shakeela, and Gautham Krishna are reportedly in the danger zone, going by the information on the fan pages. However, many predict that there might not be any elimination because it is unfair for the contestants to get evicted without a solid reason. In addition, since the makers promoted the season as unpredictable and ulta-pulta, there might not really be an elimination among the nominated contestants. Does this mean something else? We never know until the weekend episodes are aired.

Stay tuned to Star Maa on weekends at 9 pm and 10 pm on weekdays to catch the episodes of Bigg Boss 7 Telugu show. The contestant elimination program will happen on weekends. All the episodes of the show are available on digital OTT Disney+ Hotstar to stream online.
NUREMBERG, Germany, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Roboyo, the world's largest hyperautomation professional services company today announces its expansion into Singapore, marking a significant milestone in the company's journey.

Roboyo now has a global presence spanning 24 cities, across 15 countries, and 4 continents, and is poised to bring its hyperautomation expertise to the vibrant and thriving business landscape of Singapore.

The new office will be led by John Adamek, Director Process Mining and Excellence. John has over 30 years' experience in architecting strategic shifts and operational excellence on a global scale and has pioneered the creation of Digital Twins from data, ushering in profound insights for reshaping businesses.

"As we embark on this exciting journey to bring Roboyo's hyperautomation expertise to Singapore, we see Singapore's commitment to innovation as aligning perfectly with Roboyo's mission to revolutionize automation. We are eager to collaborate with local businesses, leveraging our global expertise in driving success and growth for our clients here in Singapore." John says.

The Singapore base ensures Roboyo is well-positioned to serve the entire Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The local team will be supported by the extensive capabilities of the 100-plus-person team in Australia and New Zealand, as well as teams from across the Roboyo network.

"Singapore's position as a hub of innovation and digital transformation makes it ideal for Roboyo's hyperautomation solutions. Under John's leadership and with our dedicated team, we look forward to empowering Singaporean businesses to unlock unprecedented efficiencies and drive next level digital transformation. This expansion reaffirms our commitment to providing world-class solutions tailored to the unique needs of each market we serve." - Nicolas Hess - Co-founder and CEO, Roboyo

Seize the opportunity for innovation and efficiency with Roboyo's hyperautomation solutions. Book a meeting today and kickstart your journey towards success.

About Roboyo

Roboyo helps clients operationalize a full spectrum of AI-powered hyperautomation technologies, creating hybrid Human+digital workforces elevating enterprise performance gains from increments to multiples.

This holistic approach to process automation helps businesses re-engineer enterprise operations, performing processes at many times the speed, a fraction of the cost and with zero errors, significantly improving both employee and customer experience.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/roboyo-expands-global-footprint-and-brings-hyperautomation-expertise-to-singapore-301918108.html
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION.

Smurfit Kappa Group ("Smurfit Kappa") (LSE:SKG; ISE:SKG), a FTSE 100 company, confirms that the boards of directors (the "Boards") of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock Company ("WestRock") (NYSE:WRK), a S&P 500 company, are discussing the key terms of a potential combination to create Smurfit WestRock, a global leader in sustainable packaging (the "Potential Combination").

The Potential Combination would be expected to involve the creation of a new holding company, Smurfit WestRock (the "Combined Group"). Smurfit WestRock would be incorporated and domiciled in Ireland with global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and North and South American operations headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The Potential Combination would be effected through an Irish scheme of arrangement involving Smurfit Kappa and a merger of a subsidiary with WestRock.

Any such combination would result in WestRock shareholders receiving consideration consisting primarily of shares of the Combined Group.

Strategic and Operational Rationale

The Boards of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock believe the Potential Combination will create the global "Go-To" packaging partner of choice:

Combining two highly complementary portfolios to create a global leader in sustainable packaging

Unparalleled geographic reach across 42 countries with a significant presence across both Europe and the Americas

Complementary portfolios with unique product diversity and innovative sustainability capabilities, with breadth and depth across renewable, recyclable and biodegradable packaging solutions

Culturally aligned with strong customer focus

Broader opportunities for approximately 100,000 employees

Improved operating efficiency and increased returns across over 500 converting operations and 67 mills

Shared sustainability ambitions for a sustainable future

Experienced management teams with strong track records of execution and delivery to support global operations

Immediate and long-term value creation opportunity for both sets of shareholders

Financial Rationale

The Boards of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock believe the Potential Combination represents a unique opportunity to create value:

Combined last twelve months' revenue and adjusted EBITDA as of 30 June 2023 of approximately $34 billion and $5.5 billion 1 , respectively

, respectively Strong cash flows for future growth and capital returns

Targeting annual pre-tax run-rate cost synergies in excess of $400 million at the end of the first full year following completion; delivery of synergies expected to require estimated one-off cash costs of approximately $235 million to be incurred

Expected to deliver compelling benefits to Smurfit WestRock shareholders, with transaction structure providing the opportunity for both sets of shareholders to participate meaningfully in Smurfit WestRock's significant upside value potential

Disciplined capital allocation expected to deliver improved operating efficiency and increased returns

Committed to strong investment grade credit rating

Further Details on the Potential Combination

Following completion of the Potential Combination: Smurfit WestRock's ordinary shares would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Combined Group would seek U.S. equity index inclusion as soon as possible thereafter. Smurfit Kappa's premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is expected to be cancelled and the Combined Group is expected to list on the standard listing segment. Smurfit Kappa would de-list from Euronext Dublin. The Combined Group would be incorporated and domiciled in Ireland with global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and North and South American operations headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.



Discussions between the parties remain ongoing regarding the Potential Combination. Smurfit Kappa and WestRock are engaged in a mutual due diligence process. The definitive terms and conditions of any transaction will be set out in a further announcement.

Any Potential Combination would be conditional, inter alia, upon the approval by shareholders of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock and receipt of required regulatory clearances as well as other customary conditions.

There can be no certainty that the Potential Combination or any other transaction between the parties will be agreed or will occur.

This announcement has been made with the consent of WestRock.

Further announcements may be made as and when appropriate.

This announcement contains Inside Information for the purposes of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 on Market Abuse (as onshored into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and the Market Abuse Exit Regulations 2019). The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of Smurfit Kappa is Gillian Carson-Callan, Company Secretary. The date and time of this announcement is the same as the date and time that it has been communicated to the media, at c. 2.20 am on 7 September 2023.

___________________________

1 Please refer to notes and sources of information and bases of calculation for further information.

About Smurfit Kappa

Smurfit Kappa, a FTSE 100 company, is one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions in the world, with more than 47,000 employees in over 350 production sites across 36 countries and with revenue of 12.8 billion in 2022. We are located in 22 countries in Europe, 13 in the Americas and one in Africa. We are the only large-scale pan-regional player in Latin America. Our products, which are 100% renewable and produced sustainably, improve the environmental footprint of our customers.

With our proactive team, we relentlessly use our extensive experience and expertise, supported by our scale, to open up opportunities for our customers. We collaborate with forward-thinking customers by sharing superior product knowledge, market understanding and insights in packaging trends to ensure business success in their markets. We have an unrivalled portfolio of paper-based packaging solutions, which is constantly updated with our market-leading innovations.

This is enhanced through the benefits of our integration, with optimal paper design, logistics, timeliness of service, and our packaging plants sourcing most of their raw materials from our own paper mills.

We have a proud tradition of supporting social, environmental and community initiatives in the countries where we operate. Through these projects we support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on where we believe we have the greatest impact.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube. smurfitkappa.com

About WestRock

WestRock partners with customers to provide differentiated, sustainable paper and packaging solutions that help them win in the marketplace. WestRock's team members support customers around the world from locations spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Learn more at www.westrock.com.

Important Additional Information

Neither this announcement nor any copy of it may be taken or transmitted directly or indirectly into or from any jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws or regulations of such jurisdiction. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of such laws or regulations. Persons into whose possession this announcement or other information referred to herein should inform themselves about, and observe, any restrictions in such laws or regulations.

This announcement has been prepared for the purpose of complying with the applicable law and regulation of the United Kingdom, the United States and Ireland and information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws and regulations of jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom, the United States or Ireland.

Additional Information about the Potential Combination and Where to Find It

In connection with the Potential Combination between Smurfit Kappa and WestRock, Smurfit Westrock, the combined company ("SW") would file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") a registration statement, which would include a proxy statement of WestRock that would also constitute a prospectus of SW (the "proxy statement/prospectus"). Each of Smurfit Kappa, WestRock and SW would also file other relevant documents in connection with the Potential Combination. The definitive proxy statement/prospectus would be sent to the shareholders of WestRock. Smurfit Kappa would also publish a shareholder circular approved by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (the "FCA"), which would be sent to Smurfit Kappa's shareholders or otherwise made available in accordance with Smurfit Kappa's articles of association and the UK Listing Rules. SW would publish a prospectus approved by the FCA, which would be made available in accordance with Rule 3.2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation Rules (the "UK listing prospectus"). This communication is not a substitute for any registration statement, proxy statement/prospectus, UK listing prospectus or other document Smurfit Kappa, WestRock and/or SW may file with the SEC or applicable securities regulators in the United Kingdom and Ireland in connection with the Potential Combination. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISIONS, INVESTORS, STOCKHOLDERS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF SMURFIT KAPPA AND WESTROCK ARE URGED TO READ CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, THE SHAREHOLDER CIRCULAR AND THE UK LISTING PROSPECTUS, AS APPLICABLE, AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT WOULD BE FILED WITH THE SEC OR APPLICABLE SECURITIES REGULATORS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, IN CONNECTION WITH THE POTENTIAL COMBINATION WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, AS THEY WOULD CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT SMURFIT KAPPA, WESTROCK, SW, THE POTENTIAL COMBINATION AND RELATED MATTERS. The registration statement and proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed by Smurfit Kappa, WestRock and SW with the SEC, when filed, would be available free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and shareholders would be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC by WestRock online at ir.westrock.com/ir-home/, upon written request delivered to 1000 Abernathy Road, Atlanta, Georgia or by calling (770) 448-2193, and would be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement, proxy statement/prospectus, shareholder circular, UK listing prospectus and other documents which would be filed with the SEC and applicable securities regulators in the United Kingdom and Ireland by SW or Smurfit Kappa online at www.smurfitkappa.com/investors, upon written request delivered to Beech Hill, Clonskeagh, Dublin 4, Ireland or by calling +353 1 202 7127. The information included on, or accessible through, Smurfit Kappa's or WestRock's website is not incorporated by reference into this communication.

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to, and shall not, constitute an offer to sell or buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell or buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to appropriate registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Participants in the Solicitation of Proxies

This communication is not a solicitation of proxies in connection with the Potential Combination. However, under SEC rules, Smurfit Kappa, WestRock, SW, and certain of their respective directors, executive officers and other members of the management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the Potential Combination. Information about WestRock's directors and executive officers may be found in its 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on November 18, 2022, available at ir.westrock.com/ir-home/ and www.sec.gov. Information about Smurfit Kappa's directors and executive officers may be found in its 2022 Annual Report filed with applicable securities regulators in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2023, available on its website at www.smurfitkappa.com/investors. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above. Additional information regarding the interests of such potential participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the Potential Combination will be included in the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials filed with the SEC when they become available.

Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can sometimes be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "shall," "should," "would," "could," "potential," "seeks," "aims," "projects," "predicts," "is optimistic," "intends," "plans," "estimates," "targets," "anticipates," "continues" or other comparable terms or negatives of these terms or other variations or comparable terminology or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions, but not all forward-looking statements include such identifying words.

Forward-looking statements are based upon current plans, estimates and expectations that are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. We can give no assurance that such plans, estimates or expectations will be achieved and therefore, actual results may differ materially from any plans, estimates or expectations in such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such plans, estimates or expectations include: the parties may not enter into an agreement providing for the Potential Combination; a condition to the closing of the Potential Combination may not be satisfied; the occurrence of any event that can give rise to termination of the Potential Combination; a regulatory approval that may be required for the Potential Combination is delayed, is not obtained in a timely manner or at all or is obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated; Smurfit Kappa is unable to achieve the synergies and value creation contemplated by the Potential Combination; Smurfit Kappa is unable to promptly and effectively integrate WestRock's businesses; management's time and attention is diverted on issues related to the Potential Combination; disruption from the Potential Combination makes it more difficult to maintain business, contractual and operational relationships; credit ratings decline following the Potential Combination; legal proceedings are instituted against Smurfit Kappa or WestRock; Smurfit Kappa or WestRock are unable to retain or hire key personnel; the announcement or the consummation of the Potential Combination has a negative effect on the market price of the capital stock of Smurfit Kappa or WestRock or on Smurfit Kappa or WestRock's operating results; evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes; changes in economic, financial, political and regulatory conditions, in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States and elsewhere, and other factors that contribute to uncertainty and volatility, natural and man-made disasters, civil unrest, pandemics (e.g., the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (the "COVID-19 pandemic")), geopolitical uncertainty, and conditions that may result from legislative, regulatory, trade and policy changes associated with the current or subsequent Irish, U.S. or U.K. administrations; the ability of Smurfit Kappa or WestRock to successfully recover from a disaster or other business continuity problem due to a hurricane, flood, earthquake, terrorist attack, war, pandemic, security breach, cyber-attack, power loss, telecommunications failure or other natural or man-made event, including the ability to function remotely during long-term disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic; the impact of public health crises, such as pandemics (including the COVID-19 pandemic) and epidemics and any related company or governmental policies and actions to protect the health and safety of individuals or governmental policies or actions to maintain the functioning of national or global economies and markets; actions by third parties, including government agencies; the risk that disruptions from the Potential Combination will harm Smurfit Kappa's or WestRock's business, including current plans and operations; certain restrictions during the pendency of the Potential Combination that may impact Smurfit Kappa's or WestRock's ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; Smurfit Kappa's or WestRock's ability to meet expectations regarding the accounting and tax treatments of the Potential Combination; the risks and uncertainties discussed in the "Risks and Uncertainties" section in Smurfit Kappa's reports available on the National Storage Mechanism at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism and on its website at https://www.smurfitkappa.com/investors; and the risks and uncertainties discussed in the "Risk Factors" and "Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" sections in WestRock's reports filed with the SEC. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the Potential Combination, will be more fully discussed in the proxy statement/prospectus, the shareholder circular, the UK listing prospectus and the other relevant materials filed with the SEC and applicable securities regulators in the United Kingdom. The list of factors presented here should not be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements as they are not guarantees of future performance or outcomes and that actual performance and outcomes, including, without limitation, our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of new markets or market segments in which we operate, may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this communication. Except as required by law, none of Smurfit Kappa, WestRock or SW assume any obligation to update or revise the information contained herein, which speaks only as of the date hereof.

Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit estimate or profit forecast. No statement in this announcement, including statements regarding the potential effect of the Potential Combination on cash flows and capital returns should be interpreted to mean that cash flows or capital returns of Smurfit Kappa, WestRock or SW for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical cash flows or capital returns of Smurfit Kappa or WestRock.

Completion of the Potential Combination would be subject to the satisfaction of several conditions as referenced elsewhere in this announcement. Consequently, there can be no certainty that the completion of the Potential Combination would be forthcoming.

This announcement is not a prospectus for the purposes of the UK Prospectus Regulation Rules or the EU Prospectus Regulation. It has been prepared solely for the Potential Combination referred to in this announcement.

Certain figures contained in this announcement, including financial information, have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, in certain instances, the sum or percentage change of the numbers contained in this announcement may not conform precisely with the total figure given. Except as explicitly stated in this announcement, none of the contents of Smurfit Kappa's or WestRock's websites, nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on Smurfit Kappa's or WestRock's websites, is incorporated in or forms part of, this announcement.

Notes

Unless otherwise stated: financial information relating to Smurfit Kappa has been extracted or derived from the audited results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2022 and unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2023 and financial information relating to WestRock has been extracted or derived from the audited results for the twelve months ended 30 September 2022, and the unaudited results up until the third quarter ended 30 June 2023.

Smurfit Kappa financials are prepared under IFRS and certain adjustments have been made to prepare the estimated adjusted EBITDA for Smurfit WestRock. This, and certain other statements, are based on non-IFRS and non-US GAAP financial information on Smurfit Kappa and WestRock. These statements may be subject to amendment in the Circular and Prospectus.

Sources of information and bases of calculation

Any references to Smurfit WestRock adjusted EBITDA are based on the following estimates and adjustments: Smurfit Kappa's EBITDA of 2,230 million for the last twelve months, as of 30 June 2023, less operating lease expenses of 108 million, and converted to U.S. Dollars using an exchange rate of 1.05x, being the average exchange rate over the last twelve months ended 30 June 2023, implying a Smurfit Kappa EBITDA of $2,289 million; and

WestRock's pro forma EBITDA of $3,228 million for the last twelve months, as of 30 June 2023, which is based on the following pro forma adjustments: WestRock EBITDA of $3,162 million; Subtracting the estimated EBITDA contribution from Joint Ventures and Associates of $30 million; Subtracting the estimated EBITDA contribution from RTS Packaging of $37 million; Adding back estimated EBITDA contribution from Gondi of $59 million; and Adding back share-based compensation of $75 million.



View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230906617295/en/

Contacts:

Enquiries:

Smurfit Kappa

Ciaran Potts

Head of Investor Relations

T: +353 1 202 7127

E: ir@smurfitkappa.com
Court Approves Convening of Scheme Meeting and Distribution of Scheme Booklet

Melbourne, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 6, 2023) - Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) (TSX: NCM) (PNGX: NCM) provides the following update in relation to the proposed acquisition of Newcrest by Newmont Overseas Holdings Pty Ltd, a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Newmont Corporation, by way of a scheme of arrangement (Scheme).

Court approval

The Federal Court of Australia has today made orders:

that Newcrest convene and hold a meeting of Newcrest shareholders to consider and vote on the Scheme (Scheme Meeting); and

approving the distribution of an explanatory statement providing information about the Scheme and the notice of meeting for the Scheme Meeting (Scheme Booklet) to Newcrest shareholders.

Scheme Booklet and Independent Expert's report

The Scheme Booklet will be released to the ASX, PNGX and TSX (via SEDAR) following registration with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and will also be made available on Newcrest's website (www.newcrest.com/investor-centre/schememeeting).

The Scheme Booklet will include a copy of the Independent Expert's report prepared by Grant Samuel & Associates Pty Limited and the notice of meeting for the Scheme Meeting.

The Scheme Booklet will also be sent to Newcrest shareholders as follows:

shareholders who have elected to receive electronic communications from Newcrest will receive an email containing instructions about how to view or download a copy of the Scheme Booklet, as well as instructions on how to lodge their proxy form;

shareholders who have elected to receive hard copies of all communications from Newcrest will receive a letter (by post) with a physical copy of the Scheme Booklet and a personalised proxy form; and

all other shareholders will receive a letter (by post) containing instructions about how to view or download a copy of the Scheme Booklet, as well as instructions on how to lodge their proxy form.

Newcrest shareholders should read the Scheme Booklet in its entirety before deciding whether to vote in favour of the Scheme.

Scheme Meeting

Newcrest shareholders will be asked to vote on the Scheme at 10.30am (Melbourne time) on Friday, 13 October 2023. The Scheme Meeting will be held in person at RACV City Club, 501 Bourke Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000 and online at https://meetings.linkgroup.com/NCMSCHEME.

All registered Newcrest shareholders as at 7.00pm (Melbourne time) on Wednesday, 11 October 2023 will be eligible to vote at the Scheme Meeting.

All Newcrest shareholders are encouraged to vote either by completing and returning the proxy form or alternatively by casting a direct vote or attending the Scheme Meeting in person, attending online or by proxy, attorney or corporate representative. The Scheme Booklet provides information on how to lodge your proxy form (if applicable).

Shareholder Information Line

If you have any questions in relation to the Scheme or the Scheme Booklet, please contact the Newcrest Shareholder Information Line on 1800 425 578 (within Australia) or +61 1800 425 578 (outside Australia), between 8.30am and 7.30pm (Melbourne time), Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).

Authorised by the Newcrest Disclosure Committee

For further information please contact

Investor Enquires

Tom Dixon

+61 3 9522 5570

+61 450 541 389

Tom.Dixon@newcrest.com.au

Rebecca Lay

+61 3 9522 5298

+61 438 355 511

Rebecca.Lay@newcrest.com.au

North American Investor Enquiries

Vlada Cvijetinovic

+1 604 335 9202

+1 604 240 2998

Vlada.Cvijetinovic@newcrest.com.au

Media Enquiries

Celina Watt

+61 3 9522 4264

+61 436 677 220

Celina.Watt@newcrest.com.au

This information is available on our website at www.newcrest.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179819
ABTECT Phase 3 Global Clinical Trial Enrollment Progressing as Planned; Induction and Maintenance Data Readouts Expected in Q1 2025 and Q1 2026, Respectively

Durability of Efficacy Results with No New Safety Signals Observed in Step-Down Dosing from 50 mg to 25 mg for Approximately the Third and Fifth Year of Open-Label Maintenance Treatment with Obefazimod in Ulcerative Colitis ("UC") Patients

Prioritizing the Goal of Expanding the Global IP Position of Obefazimod Beyond 2035 up to 2039

Expansion of U.S. Operations Commences with Focus on Potential Future Commercialization of Obefazimod in the U.S. Inflammatory Bowel Disease ("IBD") Market

Multi-Pronged Strategy to Support Financial Stability through Q2 2024 (with possible extension to Q4 2024 with drawdown of all debt facilities) with Catalysts Expected into 2026 and Operational Excellence Reinforced with Strengthened Management Team and Additional Board Members

PARIS, FRANCE / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Abivax SA (Euronext Paris: FR0012333284 - ABVX) ("Abivax" or the "Company") today announced updated business and operational goals along with changes to Abivax's overall strategy , focused on preparing Abivax for the potential commercialization of its investigational lead asset, obefazimod, in IBD.

Marc de Garidel, Chief Executive Officer of Abivax , says : "With our strategic roadmap in place, we are ready to move Abivax into its next chapter by strengthening our position within the U.S. We are working to extend patent protection for obefazimod and have brought on an experienced leadership team to help prepare obefazimod for commercialization in the U.S. Furthermore, we are in the process of executing a multi-pronged strategy to secure our future business and financial objectives."

Didier Blondel, Chief Financial Officer of Abivax, continues: "In 2023, we have successfully executed two financing rounds in equity and debt with top-tier investors, which we believe indicates investor confidence and belief in the potential of obefazimod. Moving forward, we intend to look for opportunities to further extend our operating capital, allowing us to deliver on our clinical development goals."

BUSINESS AND OPERATIONAL UPDATE

Strategic priorities

Advance Obefazimod- Establish obefazimod as a potential first-line advanced therapy for the treatment of IBD. This goal is based on (i) robust Phase 2a and 2b clinical trial data in patients with moderately to severely active UC, as well as (ii) obefazimod's novel mechanism of action that was demonstrated to enhance the expression of miR-124, a natural regulator of the inflammatory response. Initiation of the Phase 2a clinical trial in Crohn's disease ("CD") is expected in 2024 and evaluation of potential combination therapy opportunities in UC is ongoing.

Establish obefazimod as a potential first-line advanced therapy for the treatment of IBD. This goal is based on (i) robust Phase 2a and 2b clinical trial data in patients with moderately to severely active UC, as well as (ii) obefazimod's novel mechanism of action that was demonstrated to enhance the expression of miR-124, a natural regulator of the inflammatory response. Initiation of the Phase 2a clinical trial in Crohn's disease ("CD") is expected in 2024 and evaluation of potential combination therapy opportunities in UC is ongoing. Optimize Opportunity in IBD in the Near Term with Phase 3 Data Beginning in 2025- Overcome limitations of currently available treatments for UC to establish obefazimod as a differentiated treatment option with the goal of providing convenient oral administration, safety, tolerability, and durable efficacy.

Overcome limitations of currently available treatments for UC to establish obefazimod as a differentiated treatment option with the goal of providing convenient oral administration, safety, tolerability, and durable efficacy. Leverage Library of miR-124 Enhancers- Explore and expand development options of obefazimod in other inflammatory conditions and continue R&D work to identify additional drug candidates from Abivax's proprietary small molecule library that includes additional miR-124 enhancers.

ABTECT Phase 3 clinical program in UC

Abivax's focus is meeting enrollment goals of the ABTECT Phase 3 program with obefazimod for the treatment of moderately to severely active UC.

Primary endpoint for both induction trials is clinical remission at 8 weeks; for the maintenance trial it is clinical remission at 52 weeks (which is week 44 of the maintenance trial).

ABTECT top-line induction data readout is expected in Q1 2025; top-line maintenance trial data readout expected in Q1 2026.

Product pipeline and development milestone

Obefazimod in Crohn's Disease- Based on existing supportive data, Abivax plans to advance obefazimod in moderately to severely active CD. Preparations for an expected Investigational New Drug application in Q4 2023 are ongoing. A Phase 2a trial of obefazimod in CD is expected to start recruitment in Q1 2024, with top-line induction results expected in 2H 2025.

Based on existing supportive data, Abivax plans to advance obefazimod in moderately to severely active CD. Preparations for an expected Investigational New Drug application in Q4 2023 are ongoing. A Phase 2a trial of obefazimod in CD is expected to start recruitment in Q1 2024, with top-line induction results expected in 2H 2025. Obefazimod in Combination Therapy- Based on its early clinical profile, the use of obefazimod as a combination therapy for the treatment of moderately to severely active UC is expected to be explored.

Based on its early clinical profile, the use of obefazimod as a combination therapy for the treatment of moderately to severely active UC is expected to be explored. Obefazimod in Other Inflammatory Conditions- The anti-inflammatory effect of obefazimod observed during Phase 2 trials to date is encouraging and Abivax is exploring the potential of obefazimod in additional chronic inflammatory conditions. In 2024, Abivax expects to make decisions on other potential target indications.

The anti-inflammatory effect of obefazimod observed during Phase 2 trials to date is encouraging and Abivax is exploring the potential of obefazimod in additional chronic inflammatory conditions. In 2024, Abivax expects to make decisions on other potential target indications. Compound miR-124 Library- R&D work on potential follow-on drug candidates to be selected from Abivax's optimized compound library will continue. Pre-clinical development for the first selected follow-on drug candidate is expected to start in 2024 to further strengthen the pipeline.

Step-down dosing from 50 mg to 25 mg for approximately the third and fifth year of open-label maintenance treatment with obefazimod in UC patients

UC patients treated with 50 mg of oral, once-daily, obefazimod completing approximately four years of treatment in the Phase 2a program and approximately two years of treatment in the Phase 2b program, if eligible (Mayo Endoscopic subscore = 0 or 1, normal or mild disease), could roll over into a follow-on, open-label, maintenance trial with a reduced dose of 25 mg.

In an interim analysis (cut-off date of July 31, 2023) of the 71 eligible patients, 63 completed their 48-week visit, with a demonstrated disease control rate (stable or improved Modified Mayo Score) of 84% (53 of 63 patients) with the 25 mg once-daily dose of obefazimod.

No new safety signals were detected in UC patients treated up to five years with oral, once-daily obefazimod.

Full results expected to be submitted for presentation at upcoming medical conferences.

Strengthening of IP position

One of the two patents for obefazimod in the U.S. will be selected for Patent Term Extension (PTE) from 2035 to 2039. Potential extension of the method of use patents through PTE for obefazimod was assessed and confirmed by two globally recognized IP law firms.

Composition of matter patent or method of use patent (both granted) would extend the product patent protection until 2035 or the use patent until 2040 in the EU.

Expansion of U.S. operations and leadership team

The establishment of an Abivax U.S. presence is currently in progress.

U.S. employee presence has been strengthened to execute commercial launch preparation activities for obefazimod.

The addition of new executive team members with global expertise commercializing drug candidates in the immunology and IBD market.

Abivax U.S. office currently planned to open in the Greater Boston Area in Q4 2023.

Dual source Contract Manufacturing Organization (CMO) presence to be established in North America to complement EU CMO.

June Lee and Troy Ignelzi have joined the Abivax Board of Directors to add to existing skills and U.S. competencies and diversity.

FINANCIAL UPDATE

With 130M gross equity financing (123M net proceeds) raised in February 2023 and two additional structured debt agreements (27M net proceeds from the first tranches) signed in August 2023, Abivax has 118M cash on hand (as of August 2023, unaudited) and expects its current cash runway to finance Abivax's operations through Q2 2024. With an additional 90M financing that can be accessed by leveraging the existing debt agreements beyond the recent draw downs (subject to certain conditions precedent being met), Abivax could extend its cash runway into Q4 2024.

The new strategic pre-clinical and clinical initiatives as described above, as well as the expansion of Abivax's clinical, medical and commercial capabilities, will require additional capital.

To help ensure long-term financing and extend its current cash runway, Abivax is implementing a multi-pronged financing strategy. The final funding size and equity and debt allocation is expected to be made with the priority of funding Abivax's strategic initiatives.

*****

Financial agenda:

Thursday, September 21, 2023: Publication of financial statements as of June 30, 2023

Friday, September 29, 2023: Publication and release of 2023 half year report

*****

Contacts:

Abivax

Communications

Regina Jehle

regina.jehle@abivax.com

+33 6 24 50 69 63 Abivax

Investor Relations

Patrick Malloy

patrick.malloy@abivax.com

+1 847 987 4878 Public Relations France

Actifin

Ghislaine Gasparetto

ggasparetto@actifin.fr

+33 6 21 10 49 24

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates, including those relating to the Company's business and financial objectives. Words such as "continue," "could," "expect," "goal," "intend," "objective," "will" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although Abivax' management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks, contingencies and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Abivax, 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. A description of these risks, contingencies and uncertainties can be found in the documents filed by the Company with the French Autorite des Marches Financiers pursuant to its legal obligations including its universal registration document (Document d'Enregistrement Universel). These risks, contingencies and uncertainties include among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, future clinical data and analysis, decisions by regulatory authorities, such as the FDA or the EMA, regarding whether and when to approve any drug candidate, as well as their decisions regarding labelling and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of such product candidates. Special consideration should be given to the potential hurdles of clinical and pharmaceutical development including further assessment by the company and regulatory agencies and IRBs/ethics committees following the assessment of preclinical, pharmacokinetic, carcinogenicity, toxicity, CMC and clinical data. Furthermore, these forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates are only as of the date of this press release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Abivax disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, forecasts or estimates to reflect any subsequent changes that the Company becomes aware of, except as required by law. Information about pharmaceutical products (including products currently in development) which is included in this press release is not intended to constitute an advertisement. This press release is for information purposes only, and the information contained herein does not constitute either an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe securities of the Company in any jurisdiction. Similarly, it does not give and should not be treated as giving investment advice. It has no connection with the investment objectives, financial situation or specific needs of any recipient. It should not be regarded by recipients as a substitute for exercise of their own judgement. All opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.

SOURCE: ABIVAX

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781589/abivax-provides-business-and-operational-update
The acquisition points up the Group's ambition to provide its clinical research customers with best-in-class scientific input and critical flexibility for their drug development programs.

It will reinforce Pharmacokinetic Pharmacodynamic (PKPD) and Immunogenicity testing expertise to support the pharma industry.

CIRION's CAP/CLIA certifications and GLP certified facilities meeting regulatory standards in the North American market will sustain the Group's fast growth on this market.

Cerba HealthCare, a leading global player in medical diagnosis, today announced it has acquired CIRION BIOPHARMA RESEARCH INC (CIRION), a Canadian-controlled private company highly recognized for its integrated bioanalytical and global central laboratory services.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907759314/en/

CIRION, a leading contract research organization has been operating global clinical trials over 30 years. Besides its bioanalytical capabilities highly specialized in Biosimilars/Biologics development including PKPD and Immunogenicity testing, it offers central lab full solutions with fast start-up capabilities for managing international multi-center clinical studies and supports specimen management for complex development projects. The company has a workforce of over 80 employees comprised of PhD holders, medical specialists and a network of renowned university researchers.

Cerba HealthCare appreciates CIRION's reputation for its deep expertise with Large Molecules development and, high-quality services being fully GLP compliant, with an impressive client base including some of the world's top 10 global pharmaceutical companies. Being CAP (College of American Pathologists) and CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) accredited assures that their lab is scientifically endorsed to regulatory standards in the North American market.

CIRION offers a full range of services, from the development of specialized assays to laboratory testing required for clinical studies, allowing the company to meet the complex needs of their reputable clients. Furthermore, the company provides R&D services from preclinical drug discovery to phase IV clinical stage drug development.

Within Cerba HealthCare's comprehensive Group offering, and ranking under the Cerba Research brand, clinical laboratory and diagnostic solutions for clinical and IVD trials have grown considerably over the past years, demonstrating a strong track record in patient recruitment and clinical trial sample testing, as well as in white-glove logistics solutions for immuno-oncology, anti-infectives, cell gene therapies and metabolic disorders. Over the years, Cerba Research has evolved to become the precision medicine partner to CROs, the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, and non-profit organizations with growing needs for global complex clinical research programs.

CIRION will rank under Cerba HealthCare's business unit Cerba Research adding to its global network of cutting-edge laboratories in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific. CIRION's full-service offering will fit perfectly into Cerba Research's multispecialty services portfolio and complement it. By combining deep expertise and agility of a specialist laboratory with the capacity, breadth and global reach of a central lab, Cerba Research is expanding its one-stop-shop offering for its clients.

Cerba Research CEO Mario Papillon said: "I see CIRION as a true strategic step in improving our offering both geographically and scientifically. It deepens our North American presence while featuring sound expertise in PKPD assay development and testing, which is instrumental knowledge for our customers as it relates drug concentration to drug effect. Their extensive knowledge and unrivalled reputation will naturally make CIRION the Cerba Research center of excellence in bioanalytics across the globe, helping us accelerate fulfill our clients' needs in the development of personalized medicine. We are proud to welcome CIRION's renowned high-quality scientists and very much looking forward to onboarding the team.

Dr. Sylvain Desrochers and Dr. Lise Dallaire, founders of CIRION added: We are very proud of what CIRION has accomplished over the past 30 years, and yet, it was time to find a new foundation to bring our scientific contribution to the next level. It is an honor to join the Cerba HealthCare galaxy though their world class clinical research provider: with Cerba Research, we found the perfect breeding ground where our combined expertise and capabilities will help our teams meet the ever-changing scientific, logistical and analytical challenges of clinical studies. This is truly galvanizing stage for our people to see their purpose pursued at a greater scale and we will remain closely associated to the business operations of this new entity. The CIRION scientists and experts are very excited to join Cerba Research in their continuous quest to provide the best possible solutions to serve and improve the clinical trials of our life science customers."

About Cerba HealthCare

Cerba HealthCare, a leading global player in medical diagnosis, aims to support the evolution of health systems towards more prevention. It draws on more than 50 years of expertise in clinical pathology to better assess the risk of diseases development, detect and diagnose diseases earlier, and optimize the effectiveness of personalized medicine. Every day, on 5 continents, the Group's 15 000 employees sustain the transformation of medicine, driven by one deep conviction: to advance diagnosis is to advance health.

Cerba HealthCare, enlightening health.

Additional information is available at www.cerbahealthcare.com

About Cerba Research

We offer world-class clinical research that helps life science companies to successfully develop the predictive and precision medicines of the future.?

We combine the deep expertise and agility of the specialist laboratory with the capacity, breadth and global reach of a central lab. Our unique approach to patient data offers our customers the opportunity to have one partner for all their test services, with regular access and consistent support across all clinical trial phases.?

Our customer centric approach means flexible solutions to unique challenges, providing reassurance and efficacy, whilst offering agility at scale. Our customers today are our partners tomorrow.

For more information visit www.cerbaresearch.com

About CIRION

CIRION is a leading contract research laboratory providing global central laboratory services for clinical studies and bioanalytical services highly specialized in Biologics/Biosimilars. It offers a comprehensive selection of PKPD/Immunogenicity methods' development and validation, project management and clinical testing services (GLP and non GLP).

Based in the Montreal metropolitan area, a strategic hub for the management of multinational clinical trials, CIRION is well positioned to respond efficiently to international project requirements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907759314/en/

Contacts:

Press contacts:

Cerba HealthCare

Emmanuelle Saby

+33 6 09 10 76 10

emmanuelle.saby@cerbahealthcare.com

CIRION BioPharma Research Inc.

Dr Sylvain Desrochers

+1 (450) 682-2231

desrocherss@cirion.com
Evercore (NYSE: EVR) announced today that Giuseppe Monarchi and Laurence Hainault have joined the firm as senior managing directors to lead its Communications and Digital Infrastructure investment banking business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. They are being joined at Evercore by Managing Director Francesco Gurrieri and a team of highly experienced telecom bankers.

Mr. Monarchi will be based in London and comes to Evercore with over 30 years of advisory and investment banking leadership experience. Most recently, he served as the head of EMEA investment banking and capital markets at Credit Suisse, where he was also global head of media telecom. Prior to that, he held multiple leadership roles within Credit Suisse's EMEA investment banking business. At Evercore, he will be part of the senior team focused on the continuing build-out of the business across EMEA. Mr. Monarchi earned a degree in business and economics from the University of Rome La Sapienza.

Ms. Hainault, who will be based in Evercore's newly opened office in Paris, has more than 25 years of experience advising telecommunications and telecom infrastructure companies and funds at Credit Suisse and before that at DLJ in New York and London. Most recently, she served as a managing director and head of EMEA telecom for Credit Suisse based in Paris, where she was a driving force behind the establishment of its digital infrastructure advisory business. Ms. Hainault earned a Magistere in Bank, Finance Insurance as well as a DEA in International Economics from University of Paris-IX Dauphine and a master's in business law from Pantheon-Sorbonne University.

"Adding individuals of the calibre of Giuseppe and Laurence, along with their highly skilled team, exemplifies the firm's commitment to building top-tier coverage in the most active and important sectors in our region," said Matthew Lindsey-Clark, CEO of EMEA Advisory.

"We are delighted to join a firm with such commitment to client service and delivery of the highest-quality independent advice," said Mr. Monarchi. "We look forward to partnering with Evercore's highly talented team of professionals and establishing a thriving telecom and digital infrastructure advisory practice in EMEA."

Ms. Hainault said, "I am thrilled to be joining at the outset of Evercore's new office in Paris and to become part of an exceptional firm with a deep dedication to client success and great momentum in this region."

About Evercore

Evercore (NYSE: EVR) is a premier global independent investment banking advisory firm. We are dedicated to helping our clients achieve superior results through trusted independent and innovative advice on matters of strategic significance to boards of directors, management teams and shareholders, including mergers and acquisitions, strategic shareholder advisory, restructurings and capital structure. Evercore also assists clients in raising public and private capital, delivers equity research and equity sales and agency trading execution, and provides wealth and investment management services to high-net-worth and institutional investors. Founded in 1995, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices and affiliate offices in major financial centers in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. For more information, please visit www.evercore.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907772994/en/

Contacts:

Business Contact:

Matthew Lindsey-Clark

CEO, Global Advisory, EMEA

Communications@Evercore.com

Media Contact:

Jamie Easton

Head of Communications External Affairs

Communications@Evercore.com

Or

Shree Dhond Zach Kouwe

Dukas Linden Public Relations

Evercore@DLPR.com

(646) 722-6531

Investor Contact:

Katy Haber

Head of Investor Relations ESG

InvestorRelations@Evercore.com
BARCELONA, Spain, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- We Venture Capital, the corporate venture capital operation of Werfen, announces its launch today.

We Venture Capital is the Venture capital arm of Werfen committed to investing in diagnostics start-ups, as well as digital solutions and biotechnology, surrounding the diagnostics space.

Through a global reach, We Venture Capital invests primarily in Series A, and may also invest in Seed or Series B. With an early-stage focus, investments target start-ups close to market, or early market entrants ready to scale up.

We Venture Capital actively partners with its portfolio companies and supports their growth by leveraging its knowledge of specialized diagnostics worldwide.

Having an evergreen structure allows We Venture Capital to partner with portfolio companies to create long-term value all the way to the optimal point of exit.

Javier Gomez

Chief Financial Officer, Werfen

"We Venture Capital is further proof of Werfen's commitment to the advancement of patient care through innovation. This vehicle allows Werfen to invest in early-stage companies, understand trends in healthcare, and be at the forefront of disruptive technologies that will shape the future of diagnostics."

Louise Warme

Head of We Venture Capital

"Our investment team is truly passionate about partnering with start-ups that drive change and technological disruption in the diagnostics field, and we aim to become a leader in diagnostic venture capital. We want to thank everyone who has supported this launch and bringing We Venture Capital to life."

We Venture Capital currently holds [NN] portfolio companies, operating within diagnostics and digital solutions/AI.

About Werfen

Werfen is a growing, family-owned, innovative company founded in 1966 in Barcelona, Spain.

We are a worldwide leader in specialized diagnostics in the areas of Hemostasis, Acute Care Diagnostics, Autoimmunity, and Transfusion and Transplant. Through our Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) business line, we research, develop and manufacture customized assays and biomaterials.

We operate directly in 30 countries, and in more than 100 territories through distributors. Our headquarter is in Plaza de Europa 21-23, 08908 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain, and our Technology Centers are located in the US and Europe. Worldwide sales exceed US$2.2 billion annually, and our workforce is more than 7,000 strong.

weventurecapital.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2201084/We_Venture_Capital_Logo.jpg

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/launch-of-we-venture-capital-301917017.html
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.
LIAOCHENG, China, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This is a report from the Shandong Office of Hong Kong Business Daily. On September 1st, the "Journey to Liaocheng at the Intersection of the Yellow River and the Beijing Hangzhou Canal" Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition was exhibited on the Chinese Food Street in Hungary. The lifelike dough sculptures, vivid tiger head shoes, and other exquisite intangible cultural heritage handicrafts attracted many local people to stop and watch.

Cut shoe patterns, stick shoe uppers, embroider tiger faces, and make tiger shoes stitch by stitch. At the event, the cute tiger shoes were particularly popular. Tiger head shoes are a traditional folk handicraft in Dongchangfu District, Liaocheng City. The craftsmanship is complex, and various needle techniques such as embroidery, jacquard, and playing seed are needed on the tiger head alone. The finished tiger head shoes have a strong folk flavor, which is both domineering and cute. When the people on site learned that the tiger head shoes also carry the good wishes of the elders to the younger generation, they could hardly tear themselves away from it.

Liaocheng is currently the only city where the Yellow River meets the Grand Canal. The millennium intersection and collision of the "two rivers" not only created the glory of Liaocheng in the past and the prosperity of the present, but also left abundant intangible cultural heritage and traditional handicraft resources for Liaocheng. As of September 2022, our city currently has 479 intangible cultural heritage handicraft projects, 6 traditional craft revitalization projects, 15 Shandong time-honored brand projects, and 32 tourism products. These precious cultural resources embody the emotions and wisdom of our ancestors, showcase their unique vitality and creativity, and play an important role in strengthening cultural confidence and promoting the integration of culture and tourism.

Since the beginning of this year, Liaocheng has carried out multiple intangible cultural heritage promotion activities, continuously exploring and improving the innovation ability of intangible cultural heritage inheritance, and promoting the protection and inheritance of Liaocheng's intangible cultural heritage with new intangible cultural heritage forms and expressions. The successful "going out" of Liaocheng's intangible cultural heritage not only showcases the profound cultural heritage of Liaocheng as a "pearl of the two rivers", but also opens a window to attract people from around the world to have a deeper understanding of Liaocheng.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/the-intangible-cultural-heritage-exhibition-of-journey-to-liaocheng-through-the-two-rivers-was-held-in-hungary-301920292.html
Serbian supermarket chain to set up new distribution center at CTPark Belgrade City

Regulatory News:

CTP, Europe's largest listed developer, owner, and manager of industrial and logistics properties by gross lettable area (GLA), has leased approximately 68,000 sqm of industrial and warehouse space to Mercator, a major Serbian supermarket chain, at CTPark Belgrade City, which will be the largest logistics hub in Serbia when complete.

Mercator specialises in the retail and wholesale of fast-moving consumer goods, and its new space will be used for the company's new Serbian distribution center, with the aim of centralising all its warehousing requirements under one roof. The business wants to further improve the efficiency behind its point-of-sale network in Serbia of almost 300 Idea branded retail stores, 33 Roda supermarkets, two Mercator hypermarkets and four Velpro wholesale centers.

Mercator has taken approximately 68,000 sq m of space on a 15-year lease, at a new circa 110,000 sqm building currently under construction at CTPark Belgrade City that is almost 80% prelet now. Mercator will occupy around 59,000 sqm of warehouse space and 4,000 sqm of mezzanine space, with an additional 1,000 sqm of office space and around 3,000 sqm of sanitary space.

CTPark Belgrade City will comprise 135,000 sqm of industrial floorspace in total when complete. Situated in New Belgrade, the largest municipality in the capital, CTPark Belgrade City is perfectly located for last-mile and city logistics, being less than 10km away from the city center and only 10km from Belgrade Airport. With unit sizes starting from 2,500 sqm the modern park is also ideal for small and medium-sized enterprises operating across a wide range of sectors including FMCG, pharmaceutical, high tech and e-commerce. All space at CTPark Belgrade City will be modern, energy efficient and BREEAM certified, aiming to achieve a minimum of BREEAM Very Good, while offices, exhibition space and onsite amenities are also available for tenants.

Petar Kolognat, Director of Business Development at CTP Serbia, said: "We are pleased that Mercator has chosen CTPark Belgrade City as the location from which it will centralise its warehousing requirements. Despite its scale as the largest logistics hub in Serbia when complete, CTPark Belgrade City also provides occupiers with a unique city-center location and excellent highway and airport access, in a newly-developed setting that meets the highest ESG standards. At CTP we pride ourselves on strategic partnerships with our tenants, growing with them as their business expands, which is why we believe we will continue to attract other leading businesses like Mercator to our parks."

Violeta Kovacevic, CEO at Mercator Serbia, commented: "Mercator's future growth will be underpinned by enhanced operating excellence and cost efficiency across our businesses. Our new space at CTPark Belgrade City will help us achieve this enabling us to consolidate our operations under one roof in our new distribution center, and we know CTP is a partner that understands our current and future logistics real estate requirements. CTPark Belgrade City is also ideally located for our distribution center being so close to central Belgrade."

Since it started operating in Serbia, CTP has launched multiple projects and currently has 13 buildings across its portfolio with a total area of ??over 285,000 sqm, as well as 250,000 sqm under construction.

ENDS

About CTP

CTP is Europe's largest listed owner, developer, and manager of logistics and industrial real estate by gross lettable area, owning 11 million sqm of GLA across 10 countries as at 30 June 2023. CTP certifies all new buildings to BREEAM Very good or better and earned a 'Low-Risk' ESG rating by Sustainalytics, underlining its commitment to being a sustainable business. For more information, visit CTP's corporate website: www.ctp.eu

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907214275/en/

Contacts:

CONTACT DETAILS FOR ANALYST AND INVESTOR ENQUIRIES:

Maarten Otte, Head of Investor Relations

Mobile: +420 730 197 500

Email: maarten.otte@ctp.eu



CONTACT DETAILS FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

Patryk Statkiewicz, Group Head of Marketing PR

Mobile: +31 (0) 629 596 119

Email: patryk.statkiewicz@ctp.eu



SEC Newgate

Sara Champness

Mobile: +44 (0)7962 387 949

Email: CTP@SECNewgate.co.uk
TIBERIAS, Israel, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohh-Med Medical, a medtech startup located in the Tiberias Industrial Zone, has recently launched Ohh-Med UK, a wholly owned subsidiary located in England, to sell, market, and support sales of the Vertica medical device throughout the United Kingdom. Located in London, Ohh-Med UK will operate a dedicated Call centre for Customer Sales and Support to provide customers in the UK with the highest level of support.

Ohh-Med develops, manufactures and markets Vertica, a breakthrough medical device designed to improve the lives of thousands of men who experience erectile dysfunction (ED) or want to improve their erectile function. Thousands of satisfied customers are already enjoying the results of Vertica, and their testimonials attest to its success.

The company began sales of Vertica in the beginning of 2022 and received the CE-MDR approval to market throughout the EU in December of the same year. The company markets its product in Israel direct to consumers through its online shop and dedicated Call centre, and in Europe through a growing network of distributors.

Daniel Lischinsky, Ohh-Med Founder and CEO, explained the significance of the establishment of Ohh-Med UK, "We are expanding our successful sales model to the UK, complete with Call centre and Customer Support. Our experience in Israel selling thousands of medical devices through our sophisticated Call centre and online shop has convinced me that we can copy this success in the United Kingdom, which is a huge market for Vertica."

He continued, "The timing is perfect as the results of our first clinical study, showing more than 85% success rate, have recently been published in a leading scientific journal, the IJIR - International Journal of Impotence Research, a member of the Nature group of publications. Now we have the scientific proof to support what our customers have been saying all along - Vertica is changing their lives, restoring confidence and intimacy in their relationships."

About Ohh-Med

Ohh-Med Ltd, an Israeli medtech startup, develops, manufactures, and markets a growing suite of advanced, patented medical devices designed to treat male erectile dysfunction (ED). Established in Israel, the company was founded in 2017 by Daniel Lischinsky, a serial medtech entrepreneur, who also serves as the company's CEO.

Ohh-Med's advanced medical devices are targeted to both the consumer and professional healthcare markets. Vertica, the company's flagship device, is a non-invasive, easy-to-use device for use at home to treat erectile dysfunction. Implementing radiofrequency technology, the patented device is designed to restore the natural erectile mechanism by improving collagen quality in the penile erectile tissues.

The company began sales of Vertica during 2022 and received the European CE MDR to market in Europe in December of the same year. The company markets its products in Israel through its online shop and advanced Call centre, and through a growing network of international distributors.

For more information, please contact:

Sandra Ziv

+972-54-8051001

info@ohhmed.com, info@ohhmed.co.uk

Ohhmed.com, vertica-labs.com, vertica-labs.com/uk

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ohh-med-medical-launches-ohh-med-uk-to-expand-the-worldwide-reach-of-vertica-the-companys-home-use-device-for-treating-erectile-dysfunction-301919658.html
StoreDot reiterates its commitment to Extreme Fast Charging (XFC) chemistry that minimizes battery degradation in EVs

Amid claims of fast charge times and extended ranges from competitors, StoreDot stresses the importance of transparent communication on XFC including long-term battery health concerns

StoreDot's unique silicon-dominant chemistry prioritizes battery lifespan and safety while delivering high charge rates

Even after 1300 consecutive XFC cycles on a large 30Ah format cell, StoreDot's batteries maintain 80% of their original capacity, making them highly durable

Battery producers should be transparent as to the battery performance under extreme fast charging use case

StoreDot remains on target for mass production readiness of '100in5' cells next year delivering at least 100 miles, or 160 km of range in just 5 minutes of charging

StoreDot continues to foster a growing network of strategic partnerships with its investors, leading OEMs and manufacturing partners around the world

HERZLIYA, Israel, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- StoreDot, the pioneer of extreme fast charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles is reinforcing its commitment to advanced chemistries that ensure minimal battery degradation over the lifetime of an EV.

The company's announcement is in response to recent industry claims touting fast charge times and extended ranges, which often overlook the potential long-term impact on battery health and the resulting degradation in vehicle's driving range.

Without proper battery chemistry frequent fast charges can lead to reduced overall battery lifespan, due to degradation as a result of power charging which can compromise the integrity of battery cells.

Addressing this concern, StoreDot is emphasizing the importance of transparent communication from battery developers around critical factors associated with XFC such as battery health, cycle life, performance under extreme temperatures, safety parameters, and costs.

Even after 1300 consecutive XFC cycles on a large 30Ah format cell, StoreDot's batteries maintain 80% of their original capacity, making them highly durable whilst providing Extreme Fast Charging to EVs.

Dr Doron Myersdorf, StoreDot CEO, "At StoreDot we put battery safety at the top of our agenda, ensuring that cells can accept high charge rates without compromising their lifespan. This has been our North Star over the last decade of development as we have continuously refined and improved our technology, and its importance mustn't be underestimated."

"Even though battery deterioration and a decline in the state of health over the lifetime of the battery are inevitable, EV owners shouldn't have to sacrifice lifespan and vehicle's driving range for convenient daily use. A driver should be able to confidently charge at a consistently high rate, every time and regardless of how full the battery is when they arrive at the charging station."

"Additionally, OEMs are increasingly looking to extend battery warranties based on guaranteed states of health within specified mileage ranges. Thus, it's vital that manufacturers future-proof their batteries, whilst considering the increased rollout of higher-powered charging infrastructure and evolving XFC usage patterns."

StoreDot's commitment to innovation and collaboration is being demonstrated through its rapidly growing global network of strategic partnerships with investors, leading OEMs, and manufacturing partners. Global automotive and EV manufacturers Volvo, Polestar, VinFast, and Ola Electric are already key strategic partners of the company.

Recently StoreDot reported outstanding battery performance feedback for the A-Samples testing phase of its XFC electric vehicle battery cells. The comprehensive testing programs took place earlier this year over six months by leading global automotive manufacturers from Europe, Asia, and the US, as well as several of StoreDot's strategic ecosystem partners.

About StoreDot:

StoreDot is the pioneer and leader of extreme fast charging (XFC) electric vehicle batteries that overcome the critical barriers to mainstream EV adoption - range and charging anxiety. The company has revolutionized the conventional Li-ion battery by designing and synthesizing proprietary organic and inorganic compounds, optimized by Artificial Intelligence algorithms, making it possible to charge an EV in under 10minutes - the same experience as refuelling a conventional combustion engine car.

Through its '100inX' product roadmap, StoreDot's battery technology is delivering 'Range on Demand': 100 miles charged in 5 minutes in 2024, 100 miles charged in 3 minutes by 2028, and extreme energy density solution enabling 100 miles to be charged in 2 minutes by 2032. StoreDot's strategic investors and partners include BP, VinFast, Volvo Cars, Polestar, Daimler, Ola Electric, Samsung, TDK, and its manufacturing partner EVE Energy. In 2022, the company achieved a world first by demonstrating a live extreme fast charging of an EV battery cell in 10 minutes. StoreDot is on target for mass production readiness of 100in5 technology by 2024.

StoreDot's media kit can be found at this link.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204106/ScoreDot.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/dont-compromise-battery-health-storedot-warns-industry-amid-extreme-fast-charging-battery-technology-race-301920237.html
Press release

Atos wins six-year contract with CNES to provide engineering and space computing services

Paris, France -September 7, 2023 - Atos announces the renewal of a six-year framework agreement to provide engineering and space computing services to France's National Centre for Space Studies (CNES). CNES has selected Atos to lead one of the five French and European consortia contributing to its various civil, scientific and military programs under the Ingenierie Bord et Informatique Spatiale (IBIS) framework agreement.

Atos has joined forces with Ausy, Clemessy, OHB, Sercoand Termato form a consortium that meets CNES's objective to strengthen the role of digital technology in its innovation strategy while also covering all of its technical, functional and business areas. The members of the consortium, led by Atos, are experts in the space industry and are involved in major European programs in the sector.

Atos's expertise managing major projects, its ability to integrate technologies and its 20 years of collaboration with CNES, combined with the business know-how of its partners, will be applied to the industrial design and IT operation of the ground and onboard segments, as well as the communication resources between these two segments.

The groundsegment manages the satellite, the orbit modifications and receives the observation data. The Atos-led consortium will provide expertise in the design, maintenance and operation of these systems. The onboardsegment provides the satellite's onboard perimeter with instruments that transmit data to the ground. The consortium will be involved in the engineering and testing of both the onboard and ground systems.

Space expertise is provided from Toulouse, the European Space capital, by teams located at the Atos Technology Services center of excellence and its partners.

To leverage the complementary capabilities of the consortium, Atos has developed a collaborative innovation approach supported by its network of R&D centers and Inno'Labs in France, as well as by the innovation centers of its partners. The other members of the consortium will be able to rely on Atos's expertise to integrate digital technologies to optimize their business solutions.

For example, one of the innovation programs that the group is tasked with is to improve the data processing and transmission capacity of satellites. As the high-performance onboard satellite instrumentation generates a growing volume of data, the transmission of this data to the ground is becoming increasingly complex. The mission of Atos, an expert in artificial intelligence (AI), and its partners is to equip satellites with on-board AI technology to perform data processing farther upstream. This reduces the amount of data to be transmitted and maximizes the use of the limited bandwidth.

"New technologies such as artificial intelligence and automation are leading to innovations that are revolutionizing the industrial and digital models of the space industry. Together with Atos and its partners, CNES is taking full advantage of these advances, which are helping our ecosystem evolve, strengthening our sovereignty and competitiveness, and fostering the emergence of new services that will enable the space industry to assert France's and Europe's leadership," said Francois Sillion,Chief Technology and Digital Officer at CNES.

"Atos and its partners are very proud to contribute to the strategic missions of CNES in the civil and military domains. CNES can count on a group of European leaders whose diversity of expertise will provide it with a strong support to meet the needs of transformation and evolution of the space sector. For example, the introduction of AI as a digital transformation vector is a major challenge, and Atos's expertise in this field will enable CNES to open up a range of possibilities, with the challenge of preserving national and European sovereignty in the sensitive areas of application of this technology," said Stephane Richard, Director of Technology Services, Atos.

CNES is a public institution responsible for shaping and implementing France's space policy within Europe. The Agency designs satellites, placing them into orbit as well as inventing tomorrow's space systems, as well as fostering the deployment of new and practical everyday services.

Founded in 1961, CNES spearheads large-scale space projects, launchers and satellites, acting as the go-to partner for the industry to propel innovation. Supported by a passionate team of 2,400 employees, CNES is helping develop innovative applications guided by four strategic ambitions: national sovereignty, science, economic performance and climate.

CNES is leading the way in France's technological innovation, economic development and industrial policy. Finally, this agency strives to forge scientific partnerships, frequently collaborating at an international level. Thanks to CNES, France is one of the key contributors to the European Space Agency (ESA).

***

About Atos

Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with 107,000 employees and annual revenue of c.  11 billion. European number one in cybersecurity, cloud and high-performance computing, the Group provides tailored end-to-end solutions for all industries in 69 countries. A pioneer in decarbonization services and products, Atos is committed to a secure and decarbonized digital for its clients. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea) and listed on Euronext Paris.

The purpose of Atosis to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space.

Press contact

Isabelle Grange | isabelle.grange@atos.net| +33 (0) 6 64 56 74 88

Attachment


MADRID (dpa-AFX) - Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. (PEY), a Canadian energy company, said on Thursday that it entered into a deal to acquire Repsol Canada Energy Partnership, for $468 million in cash.



Repsol Canada holds the Canadian upstream oil and gas business of Repsol Exploracion, S.A.U. (REPYY.PK), including all related midstream facilities and infrastructure located predominantly in the Deep Basin.



Jean-Paul Lachance, CEO of Peyto, said: 'The Repsol assets fit perfectly with Peyto's existing Deep Basin acreage and offer a significant number of top-tier undeveloped locations that will immediately compete for capital within our portfolio. Furthermore, we have identified many opportunities to leverage our low-cost, operational expertise on these Assets which we expect will yield significant annual cost savings...'



In connection with acquisition, expected to be closed in mid-October, Peyto has entered into a debt commitment deal of $1.3 billion with the Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada.



In addition, Peyto has inked an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters led by BMO Capital Markets, CIBC Capital Markets, and National Bank Financial, for the issuance of 10.51 million subscription receipts at an offering price of $11.90 per receipt for total proceeds of around $125 million.



Upon conclusion of the deal, Peyto has developed a three-year plan with a capital spending of $450 million-$500 million a year, which is expected to grow production from the current pro-forma production level of 123,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day or boe/d to over 160,000 boe/d by the end of 2026.



Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Mega-Chance: Der Indien Report Ihre Chancen im groten Wachstumsmarkt: 3 indische Top-Aktien. Die Highlights dieses Spezialreports: 1. Indien als Wachstumsriese, 2. Indiens Wirtschaft boomt!, 3. 3 Top-Performance-Aktien. Jetzt kostenlos downloaden. Hier klicken
PARIS, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Curium, a world leader in nuclear medicine, announced today that it has entered into an exclusive rights agreement with b.e. Imaging, for the distribution of PYLCLARI (INN: Piflufolastat (18F) formerly known as (18F)-DCFPyL), indicated for the detection of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positive lesions with positron emission tomography in adults with prostate cancer.



Under the terms of the agreement, b.e. Imaging will be responsible for obtaining marketing authorization from Swiss competent authority Swissmedic, and will have exclusive distribution rights for PYLCLARI across Switzerland.

Dr. Michel Wuillemin, Head of Radiopharmaceuticals at b.e. Imaging commented, "b.e. Imaging has proven to be a crucial supplier for the whole range of Curium's SPECT products for Switzerland. The extension of the partnership with Curium to PSMA PET imaging with PYLCLARI underscores b.e. Imaging's focus in the field of prostate cancer. Curium's innovative PYLCLARI is in line with b.e. Imaging's experience in the field of radioligand therapy for prostate cancer."

Benoit Woessmer, PET Europe CEO at Curium commented, "Today's agreement builds on our existing collaboration with b.e. Imaging, and is an important milestone for prostate cancer patients in Switzerland. Once marketing authorization is obtained, we are extremely pleased to be improving the choice of diagnostic tools available to physicians in Switzerland to better diagnose and monitor prostate cancer - ultimately for the benefit of prostate cancer patients."

Today's announcement follows the decision in July 2023 by the European Commission granting marketing authorization for PYLCLARI in the European Union. b.e. Imaging currently distributes Curium's entire suite of SPECT imaging products across Switzerland.

For more information about PYLCLARI: https://pylclari.eu

About Curium

Curium is a world leader in nuclear medicine. We develop, manufacture, and distribute world-class radiopharmaceutical products to help patients around the globe. Our proven heritage combined with a pioneering approach are the hallmarks to deliver innovation, excellence, and unparalleled service. With manufacturing facilities across Europe and the United States, Curium delivers SPECT, PET and therapeutic radiopharmaceutical solutions for life-threatening diseases to over 14 million patients annually. The name 'Curium' honors the legacy of pioneering radioactive materials researchers Marie and Pierre Curie, after whom the radioactive element curium was named and emphasizes our focus on nuclear medicine. To learn more, visit www.curiumpharma.com.

For more information:

Ross Bethell

VP, Head of Global Communications

communications@curiumpharma.com

About b.e. Imaging AG

b.e. Imaging is the Swiss affiliate of the bender group (www.bendergruppe.com). The bender group is a family-owned pharmaceutical wholesaler and producer for contrast media and radiopharmaceuticals in Germany and Switzerland. Its focus on Radiology and Nuclear medicine includes their own developed software solutions as well as generic contrast media, medical devices, and medical education programs. With more than 160 employees we are fully dedicated to the needs of radiology and nuclear medicine in terms of imaging and therapy.
Booth C328 ESCRS - Masterclass on contact-free treatments of peripheral tears will showcase easy to control retinal laser care with an image-guided platform beyond slit-lamp lasers

TELTOW, Germany, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Just in time for the ESCRS conference taking place Sep 8-11, 2023 in Vienna, OD-OS GmbH is announcing that its Quality Management System and the Navilas Laser System 577s have been certified in accordance with the Medical Devices Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (EU MDR). Navilas is one of the first laser products for medical retina to achieve certification according to new MDR standards. The only navigated retina laser with integrated eye tracking technology is a step beyond traditional slit-lamp lasers. It is transforming posterior pole laser care thanks to enhanced precision, speed and digital integration paving the way to further standardization and automation. The 577nm yellow laser also includes a subthreshold microsecond pulsing and an anterior treatment mode.

- Picture is available at AP -

Dr. Winfried Teiwes, Managing Director, OD-OS GmbH: "We are very proud to have passed this important quality review of our processes and products. This confirms the high standards of our image-guided laser platform and enables us to develop future solutions to treat retinal diseases based on our unique navigation technology. We will continue to provide patients and our users in clinics and practices with more comfortable, minimally invasive and easy to control laser care."

At ESCRS in Vienna, Navilas treatments can be observed at OD-OS booth C328. In a masterclass on Sunday, Sep 10 at 11:00 am, the unique principle of non-contact peripheral tear treatments will be presented in a special session for booth visitors.

In many clinics, retinal laser is still performed with manually operated single spot or multi-spot laser systems which only provide a small slit lamp view on the retina. The high-resolution fundus image of the Navilas Laser System provides better overview during treatment. Caution zones on sensible areas like the fovea and the optic disk combined with the integrated eye tracking allow for tracked and therefore highly precise lasering. As a result, over the past years navigated laser technology has been adopted by leading institutions in more than 40 countries around the world. Watch video: http://www.od-os.com/navilas-laser-system

Navilas supports laser retinopexy and panretinal photocoagulation with uniform spot distribution which has been found to be faster and less painful for patients than PRP treatment with conventional slit-lamp lasers. Microaneurysms are more precisely targeted with computer assisted lasering. The yellow laser with 577nm wavelength also supports tissue-friendly microsecond pulsing applications and has an anterior treatment mode. www.od-os.com/publications

About: OD-OS GmbH is a medical device company founded in 2008 with offices in Teltow, Germany, and Irvine, CA. www.od-os.com

For further information, please contact: Stefanie Gehrke, Director Sales and Marketing | stefanie.gehrke@od-os.com, +49 (172) 3808 537

OD-OS GmbH | Warthestr. 21 | 14513 Teltow | Germany

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/od-os-gmbh-at-escrs-2023-recent-mdr-certification-of-navilas-underlines-its-advanced-standard-in-retina-lasers-and-opens-path-to-new-developments-301920369.html
Netcompany today acquired a 20% stake in the Danish based Festina Finance a leading provider of software for the Life and Pension industry with a customer base in Denmark and the Netherlands. The strategic investment will accelerate the entry into new markets for Festina Finance and enhance Netcompany's offering into the Financial Services Industry significantly.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907274052/en/

Netcompany acquires a 20% stake in leading FinTech company to form a strategic partnership (Photo: Business Wire)

Customers include large life pension companies like Pension Denmark and AP pension in Denmark and APG and AZL in the Netherlands.

In addition, Festina Finance offers a "state-of-the-art" software solution used for the advisory role in banks. Customers on that platform include SDC and more than 20 member banks in Denmark, as well as a few building societies in the UK.

The strategic investment in Festina Finance will significantly broaden Netcompany's offering and competences within the Financial Services Industry to cover both insurance, life pension and banking in line with the strategy and ambition to increase presence in that sector further. The two solutions from Festina Finance can be enhanced with current Netcompany platform solutions such as Pulse, Amplio, Ami and DX4B, and thereby increase customer value substantially.

The partnership will add further security to customers of large-scale IT projects by utilising Netcompany's capabilities and track record in managing and implementing large and complex IT solutions in time and at budget.

Andre Rogaczewski, CEO and Co-founder of Netcompany, says: "I am excited that Festina Finance joins forces with the Netcompany Group. Festina Finance has proven to be able to develop scalable software solutions that can be implemented in multiple countries. The large-scale implementation projects that these solutions often require are a perfect match for Netcompany's implementation capabilities, and we are certain that this investment will accelerate our growth in the Financial Services Industry throughout Europe significantly."

Morten Schantz, Founder of Festina Finance, says: "With the partnership that we are entering into with Netcompany we get to focus on what we do best develop software solutions, while Netcompany gets to do what they do best implement complex and mission critical IT solutions. To me that is a true "win-win" that will enable Festina Finance to accelerate its growth and together with Netcompany enter new markets."

The investment of DKK 107m all paid in cash will not impact Netcompany's financial guidance for 2023. Leverage will be increased by around 0.1-0.2x from the investment. Morten Schantz and the current executive management team will continue their roles in Festina Finance.

About Netcompany

Netcompany was founded by Andre Rogaczewski and Claus Jrgensen in 2000 with the ambition to become a market leader within digitalisation in both the public and private segments in Denmark. In 2015 this ambition was enhanced to become a Northern European market leader and a presence was established in Norway, the UK and the Netherlands.

In 2018 Netcompany Group was introduced to the Copenhagen Stock Exchange as a Unicorn and in 2021 Netcompany Group acquired Intrasoft S.A with strong presence in both the EU and Greece and enhanced its ambition to become European market leader.

Today Netcompany Group is active in more than 10 countries and employs close to 8.000 staff.

About Festina Finance

Festina Finance, founded by Morten Schantz, is a leading Danish fin-tech company, developing advanced financial software systems for pension administrators, pension funds, insurance companies and banks. The two main products are the Festina Finance Life and Pension Platform and the Advisor.

Festina Finance has more than 120 employees, with 10 30 years of experience within the sector. Revenue in 2022 was close to DKK 100m.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907274052/en/

Contacts:

Mikael Braagaard, CEO of Festina Finance

mikael@festinafinance.com

+45 26807045



David Tarp, Head of PR and Public Affairs, Netcompany

dtarp@netcompany.com

+45 2485 2453
BIELEFELD and WALLDORF, Germany, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following their long-standing partnership, NTT DATA Business Solutions AG acquired a majority stake in the Natuvion Group one year ago. Since then the leading global SAP consulting company for small to midsized enterprises (SMEs) and the recognized SAP Data Transformation Partner have together successfully enabled about 50 customers worldwide to migrate to SAP S/4HANA. The collaboration is based on a seamlessly integrated consulting and transformation service that provides customers with an all-inclusive package solution tailored to their individual needs.



"We want to make digital transformation as effective as possible for our customers, which is what makes Natuvion the perfect partner for us. We work as a team to reduce complexity and make transformation faster and more secure as well as more cost-efficient," said Norbert Rotter, CEO of NTT DATA Business Solutions and EVP of NTT DATA, Inc. "Our service package covers the entire SAP portfolio. We also offer premium solutions that range from selective migration to transformation and data cleansing."

The product portfolio we've developed together can be used in a wide range of customer segments and is commercially scalable. From planning and consulting to the successful go-live, NTT DATA Business Solutions and Natuvion have paved the way to transformation - especially for SMEs, but also for large enterprises. The two companies also offer a standardized migration path to SAP S/4HANA for SAP By Design customers seeking a more robust infrastructure. "Our shared customers include companies from all over the world, ranging from the Danish brewery Carlsberg to the German car manufacturer BMW. Together we are bringing our customers professionally onto the new digital platforms," said Patric Dahse, CEO of Natuvion. Most recently, the "moving experts" from Walldorf have further expanded internationally by acquiring all business operations of the Slovakian SAP consulting firm LL Consulting (LLC), thereby bolstering their central development, training and delivery team for digital data migration.

The importance of having a professional partner when migrating to SAP S/4HANA is also confirmed by the Transformation Study 2023 published by the two SAP experts. More than 600 department heads from nine countries were surveyed for the study. In the survey, 39 percent said their biggest challenge to transformation was a lack of expertise among their employees and 32 percent said it was a shortage of resources within the company. One in three of the companies responding said early involvement of external consultants was therefore crucial to their transformation success. "We are convinced that companies will not be able to allocate more capacity to an SAP S/4HANA transformation in the foreseeable future. The combination of NTT DATA Business Solutions and Natuvion in the portfolio enables a standardized yet custom-tailored and secured transformation for our customers," said Florian Sackmann, Customer Engagement Director at NTT DATA Business Solutions.

About NTT DATA Business Solutions

NTT DATA Business Solutions drives innovation: - from advisory and implementation, to managed services and beyond, continuously enhances SAP solutions to make them work for companies - and for their people. Aiming to help companies to transform, grow and become more successful, NTT DATA Business Solutions connects with a more than in-depth expertise for SAP solutions its clients' business opportunities with the latest technologies - individually and across all business areas. As part of the NTT DATA group and as a global strategic partner of SAP, with close ties to other partners, NTT DATA Business Solutions gives clients and prospects access to innovative solutions and developments and thus makes an important contribution to innovation and long-term business success. NTT DATA Business Solutions employs more than 13,500 people in more than 30 countries.

About NTT DATA

NTT DATA - a part of NTT Group - is a trusted global innovator of IT and business services headquartered in Tokyo. We help clients transform through consulting, industry solutions, business process services, digital & IT modernization and managed services. NTT DATA enables them, as well as society, to move confidently into the digital future. We are committed to our clients' long-term success and combine global reach with local client attention to serve them in over 50 countries around the globe. Visit us at nttdata.com.

About Natuvion

Natuvion is a digital moving company. Natuvion moves business-critical data and processes from one technological platform to another! The Natuvion experts are always required when medium-sized and large companies want to modernize, optimize, separate, merge or rebuild their IT systems! This exclusive technical transformation expertise enables Natuvion customers to always leverage their data and processes on the most advanced and innovative technologies. As Inc. 5000 and FT 1000, Natuvion Group has been one of the most dynamically growing software and IT consulting companies in Europe for 4 years in a row.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.

Press Contact

Jasmin Straeter

Head of Global Communications

NTT DATA Business Solutions AG

Konigsbreede 1, 33605 Bielefeld

T: +49 521 9 14 48 108

Email: Jasmin.Straeter@nttdata.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2203290/Norbert_Rotter_NTT_DATA_CEO.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2203291/Patric_Dahse_CEO_Natuvion.jpg





View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/one-year-majority-stake-acquisition-ntt-data-business-solutions-and-natuvion-offer-all-inclusive-package-solutions-for-digital-transformation-301919732.html
Lead, South Dakota--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Dakota Gold Corp. (NYSE American: DC) ("Dakota Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to report assays from nine drill holes including RH23C-016 at the Richmond Hill Gold Project ("Richmond Hill") in South Dakota. RH23C-016 was designed to validate historical drilling and to test for a higher-grade feeder zone associated with Precambrian structures below the known near-surface MW3 Main Zone gold mineralization. The intercepts in RH23C-016 demonstrate that additional Tertiary aged, Precambrian hosted gold mineralization is present in the basement rocks underlying the Paleozoic cover rocks; which were the primary focus of historical drilling in the northern half of the Richmond Hill property.

Highlights (See Table 1):

RH23C-016 intersected 0.102 oz/ton Au over 77.6 feet (3.50 grams/tonne over 23.7 meters) below the historical drilling at Richmond Hill. The intercept is possibly a feeder to the overlying MW3 Main Zone mineralization and adds a new exploration target at Richmond Hill. When length weighted, RH23C-016 had an average grade of 0.028 oz/ton Au (0.95 grams/tonne) over the 1,007 feet (306.9 meters) drill hole.

RH23C-015 intersected 0.055 oz/ton Au over 61.5 feet (1.89 grams/tonne over 18.7 meters) and 0.036 oz/ton Au over 196.1 feet (1.23 grams/tonne over 59.8 meters) of Tertiary gold mineralization validating historical drill intercepts.

The Company has completed the validation/metallurgical drill program at Richmond Hill and is awaiting assay results for the final drill holes before selecting metallurgical samples. The Company plans to return to exploration and step-out drilling now that the validation/metallurgical program has been completed.

James Berry, Vice President Exploration of Dakota Gold, said, "We are pleased with the continuing success of our Richmond Hill exploration program. Historical drilling at Richmond Hill indicates several opportunities for gold mineralization in Precambrian hosted breccia pipes, along structures within the Precambrian, and the overlying Cambrian Deadwood Formation. The mineralized basement zones, like those intercepted in RH23C-016, also return higher gold grades and are a great opportunity to improve the gold endowment at Richmond Hill. Identifying and then tracing the structures controlling the high-grade gold mineralization will be a priority for future drilling."

Exploration Update:

RH23C-016

RH23C-016 was designed to validate historical drilling in the MW3 Main Zone area. The drill hole intersected 0.102 oz/ton Au over 77.6 feet (3.50 grams/tonne over 23.7 meters) within Tertiary fractures in the Precambrian basement rocks, beneath Tertiary replacement mineralization in the Deadwood Formation. When length weighted, RH23C-016 had an average grade of 0.028 oz/ton Au (0.95 grams/tonne) over the 1,007 feet (306.9 meters) drill hole. Step-out drilling is planned along this zone to determine the extent of the basement hosted mineralization.

RH23C-015

RH23C-015 was designed to validate historical drilling in the MW3 Main Zone area. RH23C-015 was angled across a trend of higher-grade assays and extended into the Precambrian basement. The drill hole encountered Tertiary replacement mineralization at 41 feet (12.5 meters), Tertiary breccia mineralization at 155.1 feet (47.3 meters) and Tertiary fractured controlled mineralization in the Precambrian basement at 377.3 feet (115.0 meters).

RH23C-047

RH23C-047 was designed to test the Turnaround Breccia area and intersected 0.053 oz/ton Au over 59.3 feet (1.82 grams/tonne over 18.1 meters) and 0.066 oz/ton Au over 37.6 feet (2.26 grams/tonne over 11.5 meters).

RH23C-049

RH23C-049 was designed as a validation drill hole on the west side of the MW3 Main Zone area and intersected 0.042 oz/ton Au over 10.2 feet (1.44 grams/tonne over 3.1 meters) in Tertiary fractured Precambrian basement.

RH23C-050

RH23C-050 was designed as a validation drill hole beneath the historical Richmond Hill open pit mine. RH23C-050 intersected 0.096 oz/ton Au over 21.2 feet (3.29 grams/tonne over 6.5 meters) in Tertiary fractures and breccias in the Precambrian basement.

RH23C-052

RH23C-052 was designed to test the northern end of the MW3 East Zone area. The upper intervals were Tertiary mineralization hosted in the Cambrian Deadwood Formation. The lower intercept was in Precambrian hosted Tertiary gold mineralization.

RH23C-053

RH23C-053 was designed to test the MW3 East Zone area and encountered Deadwood Formation hosted gold mineralization. The lower intercept of 0.106 oz/ton Au over 27.7 feet (3.63 grams/tonne over 8.4 meters) was within the lower Deadwood Formation and extends higher grade mineralization intersected in the historical drilling to the north.

Table 1. RH23C-015, RH23C-016, RH23C-047, RH23C-048, RH23C-049, RH23C-050, RH23C-051, RH23C-052, and RH23C-053 Drill Results (Imperial / Metric Units)

Hole # From To Depth Interval* Gold From To Depth Interval* Gold Mineral Type ft ft ft ft oz/ton m m m m g/t RH23C-015 41 102.5 34.4 61.5 0.055 12.5 31.2 10.5 18.7 1.89 Td

155.1 351.2 123.0 196.1 0.036 47.3 107.0 37.5 59.8 1.23 Bx

377.3 400.1 296.5 22.8 0.041 115.0 122.0 90.4 6.9 1.41 Tp RH23C-016 0.0 77.7 0.0 77.7 0.026 0.0 23.7 0.0 23.7 0.89 Td

87.3 101.0 87.3 13.7 0.056 26.6 30.8 26.6 4.2 1.92 Tp

111.3 166.0 111.3 54.7 0.034 33.9 50.6 33.9 16.7 1.17 Tp

180.4 258.0 180.4 77.6 0.102 55.0 78.6 55.0 23.7 3.50 Tp

403.6 420.4 403.6 16.8 0.064 123.0 128.1 123.0 5.1 2.19 Tp

436.6 452.9 436.6 16.3 0.034 133.1 138.0 133.1 5.0 1.17 Tp

560.9 618.0 560.9 57.1 0.028 171.0 188.4 171.0 17.4 0.96 Tp

703.3 715.0 703.3 11.7 0.030 214.4 217.9 214.4 3.6 1.03 Tp

743.4 765.3 743.4 21.9 0.040 226.6 233.3 226.6 6.7 1.37 Tp

812.1 875.0 812.1 62.9 0.053 247.5 266.7 247.5 19.2 1.82 Tp

885.6 948.0 885.6 62.4 0.038 269.9 289.0 269.9 19.0 1.30 Tp

996.9 1007.0 996.9 10.1 0.027 303.9 306.9 303.9 3.1 0.93 Tp RH23C-047 0.0 45.5 0.0 45.5 0.016 0.0 13.9 0.0 13.9 0.55 Tert

113 172.3 108.6 59.3 0.053 34.4 52.5 33.1 18.1 1.82 Tp

192.7 230.3 188.6 37.6 0.066 58.7 70.2 57.5 11.5 2.26 Tp

276.2 286.6 256.8 10.4 0.017 84.2 87.4 78.3 3.2 0.58 Bx

515.8 545.9 454.7 30.1 0.022 157.2 166.4 138.6 9.2 0.75 Tp

1219.4 1254.4 1037.5 35.0 0.053 371.7 382.3 316.2 10.7 1.82 Bx RH23C-048 89.7 99.8 80.5 10.1 0.017 27.3 30.4 24.5 3.1 0.58 Bx

140.5 187.4 115.5 46.9 0.018 42.8 57.1 35.2 14.3 0.62 Bx

213.3 238.6 180.6 25.3 0.022 65.0 72.7 55.0 7.7 0.75 Bx

249.0 275.0 210.8 26.0 0.021 75.9 83.8 64.3 7.9 0.72 Bx

335.5 379.7 284.3 44.2 0.021 102.3 115.7 86.7 13.5 0.72 Bx

538.5 548.4 454.5 9.9 0.058 164.1 167.2 138.5 3.0 1.99 Tp RH23C-049 124.7 139.8 104.5 15.1 0.032 38.0 42.6 31.9 4.6 1.10 Tp

320.3 374.8 281.2 54.3 0.030 97.6 114.2 85.7 16.6 1.03 Tp

399.9 420.1 347.8 20.2 0.021 121.9 128.0 106.0 6.2 0.72 Tp

445.0 455.2 394.4 10.2 0.042 135.6 138.7 120.2 3.1 1.44 Tp RH23C-050 121.3 151.8 62.7 30.5 0.035 37.0 46.3 19.1 9.3 1.20 Tert

160.3 171.2 80.1 10.9 0.026 48.9 52.2 24.4 3.3 0.89 Td

271.4 282.9 132.2 11.5 0.033 82.7 86.2 40.3 3.5 1.13 Tp

344.0 365.2 175.3 21.2 0.096 104.9 111.3 53.4 6.5 3.29 Tp

930.3 942.9 521.8 12.6 0.023 283.6 287.4 159.0 3.8 0.79 Td RH23C-051 551.6 562.5 489.6 10.9 0.032 168.1 171.5 149.2 3.3 1.10 Td

846.0 857.8 697.0 11.8 0.017 257.9 261.5 212.4 3.6 0.58 Tert

876.0 889.9 715.7 13.9 0.039 267.0 271.2 218.1 4.2 1.34 Tp RH23C-052 109.8 135.0 91.5 25.2 0.031 33.5 41.1 27.9 7.7 1.06 Td

183.1 287.0 155.6 103.9 0.031 55.8 87.5 47.4 31.7 1.06 Td

445.7 475.8 394.4 30.1 0.038 135.8 145.0 120.2 9.2 1.30 Tp RH23C-053 143.5 199.8 105.0 56.3 0.037 43.7 60.9 32.0 17.2 1.27 Td

239.9 261.9 171.3 22.0 0.015 73.1 79.8 52.2 6.7 0.51 Td

277.0 314.0 197.4 37.0 0.022 84.4 95.7 60.2 11.3 0.75 Td

324.7 352.4 232.5 27.7 0.106 99.0 107.4 70.9 8.4 3.63 Td

Abbreviations in the table include ounces per ton ("oz/ton"); grams per tonne ("g/t"); feet ("ft"); meter ("m"); Tertiary breccia hosted mineralization ("Bx"); Cambrian Deadwood Fm hosted Tertiary mineralization("Td"); Tertiary intrusive hosted mineralization ("Tert"); and Precambrian hosted Tertiary mineralization ("Tp").





Figure 1. Plan View of Dakota Gold Corp. Richmond Hill Drill Holes with Highlighted Gold Intercepts.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8218/179776_d1ca8c52f44adbb4_002full.jpg





Figure 2. Cross Section View of Richmond Hill Drill Holes RH23C-015 and RH23C-016.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8218/179776_d1ca8c52f44adbb4_003full.jpg

The Company currently has four drills operating on its properties in the Homestake District of South Dakota, at the Maitland Gold Project (Maitland) and Richmond Hill Gold Project. The Maitland drills are targeting Homestake-hosted and Tertiary gold mineralization and the Richmond Hill drills are targeting Tertiary breccias and replacement mineralization. Richmond Hill is located 2.3 miles west of Maitland and 1.5 miles north of Coeur Mining, Inc.'s Wharf Mine.

About Dakota Gold Corp.

Dakota Gold (NYSE American: DC) is a South Dakota-based responsible gold exploration and development company with a specific focus on revitalizing the Homestake District in Lead, South Dakota. Dakota Gold has high-caliber gold mineral properties covering over 46 thousand acres surrounding the historic Homestake Mine.

The Dakota Gold team is focused on new gold discoveries and opportunities that build on the legacy of the Homestake District and its 145 years of gold mining history.

Subscribe to Dakota Gold's e-mail list at www.dakotagoldcorp.com to receive the latest news and other Company updates.

Shareholder and Investor Inquiries

For more information, please contact:

Jonathan Awde, President and Chief Executive Officer

Tel: +1 604-761-5251

Email: JAwde@dakotagoldcorp.com

Qualified Person and S-K 1300 Disclosure

James M. Berry, a Registered Member of SME and Vice President of Exploration of Dakota Gold Corp., is the Company's designated qualified person for this news release as defined in Subpart 1300 - Disclosure by Registrants Engaged in Mining Operations of Regulation S-K and has reviewed and approved its scientific and technical content.

The ranges of potential tonnage and grade (or quality) disclosed above in respect of the Richmond Hill Gold Project are conceptual in nature and could change as the proposed exploration activities are completed. There has been insufficient exploration of the Richmond Hill Gold Project to allow for an estimate of a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a mineral resource. The disclosure above in respect of the Richmond Hill Gold Project therefore does not represent, and should not be construed to be, an estimate of a mineral resource or mineral reserve.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control consists of regular insertion of certified reference materials, duplicate samples, and blanks into the sample stream. Check samples will be submitted to an umpire laboratory as the drill program progresses. Assay results are reviewed, and discrepancies are investigated prior to incorporation into the Company database. Samples are submitted to the ALS Geochemistry sample preparation facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Gold and multi-element analyses are performed at the ALS Geochemistry laboratory in Vancouver, British Columbia. ALS Minerals is an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited lab.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication 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. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and expectations that may not be realized and are inherently subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the execution and timing of our planned exploration activities, our use and evaluation of historic data, our ability to achieve our strategic goals, the state of the economy and financial markets generally and the effect on our industry, and the market for our common stock. The foregoing list is not exhaustive. For additional information regarding factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in our forward-looking statements, we refer you to the risk factors included in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KT for the nine-month transition period ended December 31, 2022, as amended, as updated by annual, quarterly and other reports and documents that we file with the SEC. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this communication. These statements speak only as of the date of this communication, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. We do not give any assurance that we will achieve our expectations.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179776
While 67% of companies increased cloud spending this year, a staggering 80% forecast higher spend next year

Companies utilized only 47% of the committed cloud spend

BENGALURU, India, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today unveiled the Infosys Cloud Radar 2023. One of the important findings in this annual research highlights how cloud, used for growth and transformation, is three times more important to companies, than cloud used to cut costs.

The research comprehensively highlights the shift of cloud utilization from beyond storage and cutting costs to utilizing cloud to gain access to new technology and capabilities, enable new revenue streams and replace or update current systems. It also indicates while companies will continue to invest in cloud, less than half of the committed spend is actually being utilized. While this does not indicate a near-term problem, companies that fail to meet their cloud contracts stand to face higher costs as cloud providers renegotiate contracts.

The Cloud Radar 2023, by the Infosys Knowledge Institute (IKI), a research arm of Infosys, surveyed over 2,500 respondents from companies across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and the Nordic countries. Based on interviews with subject matter experts and global business leaders, the report highlights the new sophistication and complexity of cloud and the subsequent management challenges.

Next up, the challenges that were identified:

Cloud spending remains high : 67% of companies increased cloud spending this year, and 80% intend to raise their spending next year

: 67% of companies increased cloud spending this year, and 80% intend to raise their spending next year Utilization : Only 47% of current cloud commitments are utilized, over $300 billion in corporate cloud commitments remain untapped

: Only 47% of current cloud commitments are utilized, over $300 billion in corporate cloud commitments remain untapped Cost is a headache : Roughly 50% of companies struggle to manage their cloud costs

: Roughly 50% of companies struggle to manage their cloud costs Cloud is complex : Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65%) use three or four cloud vendors, a 75% increase over the proportion who used three or four providers in 2021. Over the past two years, the proportion of companies using a single cloud provider has decreased from 21% in 2021 to 7% in 2023

: Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65%) use three or four cloud vendors, a 75% increase over the proportion who used three or four providers in 2021. Over the past two years, the proportion of companies using a single cloud provider has decreased from 21% in 2021 to 7% in 2023 Companies unable to control cloud deployments: 43% of companies report having unclear policies regarding the department or function head authorized to deploy cloud resources

43% of companies report having unclear policies regarding the department or function head authorized to deploy cloud resources Cloud decisions are siloed : For nearly half (45%), either the IT department alone or business leaders alone decide which cloud technology to deploy or how to manage cloud compliance

: For nearly half (45%), either the IT department alone or business leaders alone decide which cloud technology to deploy or how to manage cloud compliance Overall, cloud still matters: 73% agree that cloud migration achieves objectives, which drives further cloud interest and investment

The key insights from the Cloud Radar 2023 include three strategies of success:

Master monitoring and prediction - Establishing guardrails for governance and costs is paramount as complexity of cloud grows with the addition of technologies such as generative AI, IoT, etc. Embed the business case into cloud - Forging a transparent, agile, collaborative relationship between IT and business helps drive accountability and improves RoI Adopt a value-centric cloud operating model - An updated operating model will enable teams to track value flow, create alignment, and encourage engagement around measurable goals.

Anant Adya, EVP - Infosys Cobalt, said, "As cloud continues to evolve, it's imperative for organizations to integrate it as a strategic enabler for their growth and transformation. Leveraging multiple cloud providers allows organizations to optimize resources, improve resilience, and access specialized capabilities, which lead to improved efficiency and accelerated growth. Infosys' annual Cloud Radar surveys continue to shed light on the ever-changing cloud services landscape and explain cloud adoption dynamics and investments. The report highlights the growing need for enterprises to address the evolving complexity of the cloud landscape and craft the right strategy to better utilize and manage cloud."

To read the full report, please visit here.

View a short video on the Infosys Cloud Radar 2023 study here.

Methodology

Infosys used an anonymous format to conduct an online survey of more than 2,500 business executives across industries across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and the Nordics. To gain additional, qualitative insights, the researchers interviewed subject matter experts and business leaders.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. We enable clients in more than 56 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by cloud and AI. We enable them with an AI-first core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, or our future financial or operating performance are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the execution of our business strategy, our ability to attract and retain personnel, our transition to hybrid work model, economic uncertainties, technological innovations such as Generative AI, the complex and evolving regulatory landscape including immigration regulation changes, our ESG vision, our capital allocation policy and expectations concerning our market position, future operations, margins, profitability, liquidity, capital resources, and our corporate actions including acquisitions. Important factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in our US Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/cloud-for-organizational-growth-and-transformation-is-three-times-more-important-than-cloud-for-cost-optimization-infosys-research-301920450.html
16 patients have been enrolled in a multicenter international, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded Phase II clinical trial

Goal: to determine the effect size of Neuro-Cells  , a stem-cell treatment for Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (TSCI)

Confirmed excellent safety and tolerability of Neuro-Cells

Preclinical evidence showcases Neuro-Cells  potential in other indications, including traumatic brain injury

Primary outcomes expected in February 2024, full study completion projected in August 2024

GELEEN, The Netherlands, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuroplast, a Dutch clinical-stage biotech, focusing on cell-based treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, has successfully completed patient inclusion of its Phase II randomized placebo-controlled double-blinded clinical trial to evaluate the effect size of Neuro-Cells for Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (TSCI). Preliminary data indicate an excellent safety profile due to the complete absence of product related adverse events. Furthermore, patient feedback confirms excellent tolerability. The trial is conducted in collaboration with Hospital Nacional de Paraplejicos in Toledo, Spain, and Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Neuro-Cells technology platform uses the patient's own bone marrow to create a stem cell treatment that modulates inflammation and improves regeneration potential in the central nervous system. Neuro-Cells are administered intrathecally to patients in the sub-acute stage. This autologous treatment aims to preserve and restore function, mobility, and therefore independence.

Double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled multi-center study

The trial was conducted by Principal Investigators Antonio Oliviero, MD, PhD and Prof. Jorg Mey from Hospital Paraplejicos in Toledo, Spain, as well as Professor Fin Biering-Srensen and MD, PhD Claus Andersen from Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The study is a randomized, double-blinded and placebo-controlled trial, with an early and late intervention cross-over design. The intervention group received Neuro-Cells in the sub-acute phase after sustaining trauma, with six months follow-up to their primary endpoints. The placebo group received a placebo at first but have been or will be treated with Neuro-Cells after the initial six-month follow-up period. The multi-faceted follow-up for both groups includes standardized and validated outcome measures on motor and sensory function and multiple blood and cerebrospinal fluid measurements. Next to the absence of product related adverse events, the patients describe the intervention as easy and feasible as it does not require significant changes in daily living or medication intake.

Antonio Oliviero, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator at Hospital Nacional de Paraplejicos de Toledo, Spain, states:

"In our collaboration with Neuroplast to establish the role of cell transplantation in the recovery of individuals with spinal cord injury, it is great to hear that patients are pleased with the treatment that they experience as easy, feasible and safe."

Fin Biering-Srensen, MD, PhD, Principal investigator at Rigshospitalet, Denmark, adds :

"For decades we have been seeking a cure for spinal cord injury. This project may be one step on that road, which is very exciting, due to the fact that so far, we have only been able to treat the symptoms and complications caused by the spinal cord injury."

In total, the trial involves 16 patients that were included six to ten weeks after sustaining trauma to the spinal cord.

The trial is conducted under official approval from the Spanish and Danish medical ethical committees and competent authorities.

Neuroplast CEO Johannes de Munter concludes:

"This milestone takes us one step closer to offering an effective treatment for patients suffering from traumatic spinal cord injury. We are especially glad to see further confirmation of the excellent tolerability and safety of our Neuro-Cells product."

Potential relevance to other neurological conditions

Preclinical evidence suggests that the Neuro-Cells treatment may have broader applications in addressing various neurodegenerative diseases. Neuroplast has obtained orphan disease designations for traumatic spinal cord injury and frontotemporal dementia. Ongoing research efforts are actively exploring additional potential applications.

Neuroplast is open to discussing investment opportunities aimed at advancing the clinical pathways for addressing a broader range of conditions affecting the central nervous system, including traumatic brain injury.

About Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (TSCI)

Acute TSCI causes incurable impairment to the spinal cord, affecting approximately 12,000 people across Europe and 17,000 across the USA annually. The damage or trauma interrupts communication of the brain with the body regions below the site of injury. Spinal cord injuries are mainly caused by accidents and - in most of the cases - result in life-long loss of control of motor functions and sensations. After the primary injury to the spinal cord, a cascade of events leads to progressive loss of tissue which may further deteriorate the patient's prognosis. Current treatment approaches for TSCI are only symptomatic, leaving the underlying pathophysiology unchanged.

TSCI has a serious impact on the quality of life of patients, with severe implications on mobility and loss of independence. In addition, TSCI creates a lifetime financial burden for patients, payors, healthcare systems and societies at large.

About Neuro-Cells

Neuro-Cells is a transformative platform treatment under GMP. It contains a non-substantially manipulated bone marrow-derived integrated mixture of stem cells including hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells, manufactured from a patient's own bone marrow (donor and receiver are the same person). Inflammatory inducing components and pathogens are removed during this process.

About Neuroplast

Neuroplast is a Dutch stem cell technology company focusing on fast-track development programs using autologous cell products for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, with the aim of giving back perspective to people who suffer from those conditions.

The company was founded in August 2014 by physician Johannes de Munter and neurologist Erik Wolters. Current funders are Lumana Invest, Brightlands Venture Partners, LIOF and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Neuroplast is located in The Netherlands.

For more information, please visit www.neuroplast.com

About Hospital de Paraplejicos, Toledo, Spain

Hospital Nacional de Paraplejicos is the reference public hospital in Spain for the treatment of spinal cord injury, recognized by the Ministry of Health of the Government of Spain.

About Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Spain

Rigshospitalet is one of the two Danish national centers offering highly specialized treatment, rehabilitation and care of individuals with spinal cord lesions.

About Lumana Invest

Investment company Lumana was established by entrepreneurs and unique due to not having a predetermined investment horizon. The Lumana founders showcase strong commitment to their portfolio companies by actively supporting management in strategic decision making.

About Brightlands Venture Partners

Brightlands Venture Partners (BVP) is the fund manager of Chemelot Ventures and is a so-called ecosystem investor. BVP invests in companies benefiting from and contributing to the Brightlands campuses in the south of The Netherlands. Other funds under management are BVP Fund IV, Brightlands Agrifood Fund and Limburg Ventures. The funds of BVP focus on sustainability and health; together the funds have made 50 investments.

About LIOF

LIOF is the regional development agency for Limburg and supports innovative entrepreneurs with advice, network and financing. Together with entrepreneurs and partners, LIOF is working towards a smarter, more sustainable and healthier Limburg by focusing on the transitions of energy, circularity, health and digitalization.

About The Netherlands Enterprise Agency

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency operates under the auspices of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. It facilitates entrepreneurship, improves collaborations, strengthens positions and helps realize national and international ambitions with funding, networking, know-how and compliance with laws and regulations.

Forward looking statements

All statements other than statements of historical facts, including the statements about the clinical and therapeutic potential and future clinical milestones of Neuro-CellsO, the indications we intend to pursue and our possible clinical or other business strategies, and the timing of these events, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as "believes", "expects", "plans", "potential", "would" or similar expressions and the negative of those terms. These forward-looking statements are based on our management's current beliefs and assumptions about future events and on information currently available to management. Neuroplast B.V. does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the improper use of this article, accuracy, completeness or updated status of above-mentioned statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will Neuroplast B.V. be legally liable or liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements in this press release or for any related damages.

In case of any further questions, please contact:

Neuroplast

Johannes de Munter, CEO

T: +31 (0)85 076 1000

E: h.demunter@neuroplast.com

LifeSpring LifeSciences Communication, Amsterdam

Leon Melens

T: +31 6 538 16 427

E: lmelens@lifespring.nl

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/neuroplast-successfully-completes-patient-inclusion-of-phase-ii-clinical-trial-for-traumatic-spinal-cord-injury-301920456.html
Thuja Capital and founding investor Sofinnova Partners also joined the round

The funds will enable the company to advance the clinical development of its unique, minimally invasive ultrasound-based catheter for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, with initial focus on the Group 2 population, or heart failure accompanied by high pulmonary vascular resistance

Gradient Denervation Technologies ("Gradient"), a medical device company developing an innovative catheter-based solution for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, announces today the successful closing of a 14m Series A financing that will support ongoing clinical development and evaluation of the ultrasound-based catheter device. Asabys Partners led the round through its new fund Sabadell Asabys II and was joined by Thuja Capital and founding investor Sofinnova Partners. Gradient was established in 2020 through a 3.5m seed financing from Sofinnova MD Start, the venture capital firm's dedicated medtech accelerator.

Headquartered in Paris, the company is founded on cutting-edge innovation developed by the clinicians Dr. Swaminadhan Gnanashanmugam and Dr. Jeffrey Feinstein at the prestigious Stanford Biodesign Program. The company initiated a first-in-human clinical study earlier this year.

Gradient's novel technology aims to treat patients with pulmonary hypertension by reducing sympathetic input into the pulmonary vasculature. The company's initial focus is the Group 2 pulmonary hypertension patient population, which consists of patients with heart failure and associated high pulmonary vascular resistance. Up to 50% of heart failure patients have this debilitating condition, resulting in a large patient population with no approved therapies. Gradient's minimally invasive device, designed for use in the pulmonary arteries, harnesses therapeutic ultrasound energy to perform the denervation procedure.

Martin Grasse, Chief Executive Officer of Gradient, said, "I'm very happy to welcome Asabys Partners and Thuja Capital to the Gradient team. In addition to capital, these investors bring deep expertise and thought partnership to Gradient as we seek to bring our technology to patients."

Sylvain Sachot, Partner at Asabys Partners, said, "Gradient's technology has the potential to become a first-in-class treatment for patients suffering from heart failure and elevated pulmonary pressures. The company is ready to prove the concept of its technology in the clinic, and we look forward to joining the management in this exciting journey."

Evan Castiglia, Partner at Thuja Capital,added, "Gradient has the potential to significantly improve the care of patients with pulmonary hypertension due to left heart disease, a patient group with a substantial need for better treatment solutions. We are excited to support the team as they pursue this mission.

Mano Iyer, Venture Partner at Sofinnova Partners, commented, "Our continued support for Gradient underscores Sofinnova's mission of backing world-class innovation. The transformative potential we saw in Gradient's unique technology at the outset is increasingly apparent, reinforcing our early conviction. We are excited to work with an expanded investor base to make this technology available for all patients with heart failure and pulmonary hypertension."

About Gradient Denervation Technologies

Gradient Denervation Technologies has developed a minimally invasive device for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. Gradient leverages intellectual property developed at Stanford University and has been incubated since 2020 by Sofinnova MD Start, a Paris-based medtech accelerator that actively works with clinicians and entrepreneurs to develop disruptive medical devices. The Gradient device is for investigational use only and is not approved for commercial use. www.gradientdenervation.com

About Asabys Partners

Asabys Partners is a venture capital firm specialized in the healthcare sector, founded in 2018 by Josep Ll. Sanfeliu and Clara Campas, participated by Alantra and with the support of Banc Sabadell as anchor investor. With close to 217 million in AUM and 15 portfolio companies (+1 exit), Asabys invests in highly innovative and disruptive companies covering unmet medical needs in the biopharma and healthtech verticals. The firm's investment in the company comes from its vehicles Sabadell Asabys Health Innovation Investments II, FCR and Sabadell Asabys Health Innovation Investments 2B, SCR SA. This operation benefits from the support of the European Union under the InvestEU Fund. www.asabys.com

About Thuja Capital

Thuja Capital Management (Thuja Capital) manages several venture capital funds aimed at building and scaling companies in the fields of (bio)pharmaceuticals, medtech and digital health. In addition to generating a financial return for its investors, Thuja's investments aim to positively impact the health and well-being of patients. Thuja serves physicians and patients worldwide by providing capital and support to daring entrepreneurs with ground-breaking product concepts. For more information, please visit www.thujacapital.com

About Sofinnova Partners

Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital firm in life sciences, specializing in healthcare and sustainability. Based in Paris, London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of professionals from all over the world with strong scientific, medical, and business expertise. Sofinnova Partners is a hands-on company builder across the entire value chain of life sciences investments, from seed to later-stage. The firm actively partners with ambitious entrepreneurs as a lead or cornerstone investor to develop transformative innovations that have the potential to positively impact our collective future.

Founded in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is a deeply established venture capital firm in Europe, with 50 years of experience backing over 500 companies and creating market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners has over 2.5 billion under management. For more information, please visit: www.sofinnovapartners.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907643150/en/

Contacts:

CEO of Gradient

Martin Grasse

martin@gradientdenervation.com

www.gradientdenervation.com

+33 01 76 23 41 00


The ASEAN members have conducted summits with neighboring countries namely China, South Korea, Japan, and also the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) consisting of ASEAN members and three countries above.

JAKARTA, Sept 7, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - The ASEAN members conducted summits with neighboring countries China, South Korea, Japan and the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) consisting of ASEAN members and three countries above. The summits emphasized the need to maintain regional stability between ASEAN and the three East Asian countries in the effort to reduce tension between countries and achieve better joint cooperation between ASEAN and its closest Asian neighbors.- 23rd ASEAN-China Summit: Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) conveyed his belief to Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang that the relations between ASEAN countries and China could generate real cooperation if they rely on mutual trust with each other.Jokowi also drew attention to the escalating tension between China and several ASEAN members regarding the new China Standard Map that was considered to claim the South China Sea. In this matter, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines rejected China's new map.Indonesia then took the initiative to expedite the process of negotiating the code of conduct (CoC) for the disputed waters.- 24th ASEAN-South Korea Summit: President Jokowi appreciated South Korea for supporting the ASEAN-Indo Pacific Forum (AIPF), which he said showed real inclusive cooperation in maintaining stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.He conveyed that ASEAN-South Korea's partnership in the future will focus on energy transition and digital transformation which required large amounts of investment and technology transfer. "Therefore, collaboration and partnerships are needed to realize our common goals," he emphasized.- 26th ASEAN-Japan Summit: President Jokowi stated that a Strategic Comprehensive Partnership between the two parties showed mutually beneficial concrete cooperation.The president addressed that Japan is one of ASEAN's most active partners and a proponent of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Japan could also become the main contributor to ASEAN's development, including in infrastructure development with an annual cost of US$184 billion.Therefore, he hopes Japan continues to boost its contribution to the region through the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund and ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility to support connectivity and green infrastructure.Jokowi assessed that both parties have a huge responsibility to keep the region peaceful, stable, and prosperous in the future.- 26th ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit: The president invited the three countries to cooperate in developing an electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem. However, the president noted that this goal would be disrupted if regional peace and stability were not maintained.Responding to President Jokowi, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol mentioned if APT unites, countries in the mechanism could contribute not only to building ASEAN but also to realizing peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and the world.The results of the four Summits with East Asian countries are expected to realize regional stability for the sake of ASEAN's future with its adaptive, and inclusive development for the ASEAN community according to Indonesia's vision in chairing the association this year.After holding the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) in May 2023, Indonesia continued its ASEAN Chairmanship agenda with the 43rd Summit in Jakarta on September 5-7, 2023.The theme for ASEAN this year is 'ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth', which means ASEAN is relevant and important as a world growth center.COPYRIGHT (c) ANTARA 2023Source: ASEAN SummitsCopyright 2023 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
MONTREAL, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Innodem Neurosciences, a leading digital health and AI company, announced today that it has signed a multimillion, multi-year Commercial Framework Agreement with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. (Novartis) to support its continued efforts towards its innovative ETNATM technology (Eye Tracking Neurological Assessment).

ETNATM was granted Breakthrough Device designation by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) last year and this patented, mobile, software technology is embodied in an application that is used in an ongoing observational trial that began in 2021 in collaboration with Novartis. During the trial, ETNATM turns a home tablet into a device capable of capturing in minutes and analyzing through powerful machine learning algorithms several hundreds of functional Eye Movement Biomarkers (EMBs) and Gaze Mapping Biomarkers (GMBs) that can be used to support clinical management.

This commercial agreement follows the favorable results of the observational trial involving people living with multiple sclerosis (MS). The peer reviewed performance data, which are the subject of a publication in Frontiers in Neurology, can be accessed here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1243594/abstract. The promising data indicates that EMBs and GMBs may have the potential to assist healthcare professionals in detecting subtle signs of clinically significant disease progression including cognition that may not show up using conventional imaging or currently approved blood biomarkers.

"In the past year, the non-invasive, mobile ETNATM technology was used by people living with MS during an observational trial where they were able to self-test at home because of the powerful processing capabilities of today's off-the-shelf tablets. With the test results and using AI models, we were able to replicate similar findings of past published academic research papers demonstrating how eye tracking can be used to monitor MS disease status and progression. Novartis has recognized Innodem's scalable technology and pending its regulatory clearance, intends to help us bring it to the mainstream with this collaboration," said Marc Reeves, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, Innodem Neurosciences. "We believe that remote self-testing could improve the efficiencies of the healthcare system and extend this capability to people living with MS residing in rural areas who cannot easily access a specialist," he added.

"Pending regulatory clearance, the new agreement will include a pan-Canadian pilot project in up to -15 sites leading towards a jointly developed commercial plan to make ETNATM readily available to the Canadian MS community," said Dr. Etienne de Villers-Sidani, cognitive neurologist, main founder and Chief Executive Officer, Innodem Neurosciences.

"This commercial framework agreement with Innodem Neurosciences is an important example of our ongoing commitment to reimagining medicine and improving access to innovation that Canadians deserve," said Andrea Marazzi, Country President, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. "By paving the way for a more proactive approach to care in multiple sclerosis, we aim to accelerate the path to much needed solutions that could help improve outcomes for people living with this debilitating disease."

Founded in 2016, Innodem Neurosciences has developed patented mobile digital biomarking technology of neurodegenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and related disorders, Frontotemporal Dementia and related disorders and Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment ("chemo brain"). This novel eye-tracking and cognition testing technology is embodied in an ISO/HIPAA compliant system consisting of an intuitive tablet application connected to a cloud-based AI infrastructure. The app is made up of a series of simple visual tasks that are completed in minutes, where a user's eye movements and gaze patterns are extracted and recorded as hundreds of metrics called Eye Movement Biomarkers (EMBs) and Gaze Mapping Biomarkers (GMBs). Innodem's core team, led by cognitive neurologist & CEO Dr. Etienne de Villers-Sidani, is composed of an intersectional group of neuroscientists, software engineers, data scientists, healthcare professionals and serial entrepreneurs. The company's mission is to become the digital leader in mobile applications that can easily extract EMBs & GMBs using its AI-powered ETNATM technology to better serve the needs of the global health system. For further information, please consult www.innodemneurosciences.com.

Ms Valerie Gonzalo, AGO Communications, 514-923-1549, valerie@agocom.ca

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/innodem-neurosciences-signs-a-strategic-commercial-framework-agreement-with-novartis-pharmaceuticals-canada-inc-301919201.html
ZURICH, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Neoss Group, a leading innovator in dental implant solutions, is proud to announce the launch of a new Multi-Unit Abutment for its Neoss4+ Treatment Solution, a cutting-edge system designed to transform the way dental professionals approach full arch restorations. With the introduction of the Neoss4+ and its innovative Multi-Unit Abutment, Neoss is once again demonstrating its commitment to advancing patient care and dental implant technology.

"We are happy to introduce our new Multi-Unit Abutment with the Neoss4+ Treatment Solution to the dental community. Our commitment to innovation has led us to create a solution that will empower dental clinicians to provide great care to their patients. We believe that the Neoss4+ Treatment Solution will give more options for the full arch dental implantology and improve the lives of those seeking to restore their smiles." - Dr. Robert Gottlander, President and CEO of the Neoss Group.

With a focus on predictability, efficiency, esthetics, and affordability, Neoss4+ Treatment Solution empowers the clinician to provide their patients with three treatment options depending on the clinical situation and their preference, Multi-Unit, NeoBase (Neoss version of TiBase) and Access Abutments. The new Multi-Unit Abutment comes with exclusive features thanks to key Neoss patents, which makes it possible for a 10 option with lower vertical height and with the clinical screw fixed within the abutment preventing losing it during placement.

To learn more about the Neoss4+ Treatment Solution and its applications in full arch dental implant procedures for you and your patients, please visit https://neoss.com/neoss4.

About Neoss

Neoss was founded with a vision to enhance dental implant treatments for both clinicians and patients. With our extensive expertise in dental implant procedures, we are committed to develop user-friendly and cost-effective solutions that enhance the efficiency of dental professionals and improve patient outcomes. Our products and solutions are designed, researched, and developed in Gothenburg, Sweden - the birthplace of Osseointegration and the renowned pioneer, Professor Per-Ingvar Branemark. You can have confidence knowing that our offerings are supported by scientific research and long-term clinical results, providing you and your patients with peace of mind. To find out more visit https://neoss.com

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/neoss-group-announces-the-launch-of-a-new-multi-unit-abutment-with-their-neoss4-treatment-solution-for-full-arches-301920486.html
Expanded Global Reach and Extensive Range of Capabilities Will Serve the Needs of Corporate and Investor Clients of Both Firms

NEW YORK and LONDON, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Okapi Partners LLC, a recognized leader among proxy solicitation and investor response firms, today announced the opening of its London office and a strategic partnership with Investor Update Ltd., a prominent London-based shareholder intelligence and Investor Relations and Advisory firm. These initiatives will provide an expanded presence in global markets and the ability to offer a comprehensive range of strategic services for corporate and investor clients, including expanded market intelligence, surveillance, corporate advisory and proxy solicitation.

Okapi Partners, which has been rated the top proxy solicitation firm for shareholder activism campaigns by Insightia, Bloomberg and others, noted that having a physical presence in Europe will enable the firm to better serve the needs of corporate clients and institutional investors in a rapidly changing global corporate governance landscape. The partnership with Investor Update will expand Okapi Partners' existing strong stockholder identification and market intelligence capabilities and bolster its proxy solicitation resources by providing the ability to offer these services to a global clientele, complemented by Investor Update's ESG and Corporate Advisory offerings.

Patrick McHugh, Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director of Okapi, will lead the firm's London expansion. Tony Quinn, who has headed Investor Update's Proxy Solicitation team since 2020, has transferred to Okapi Partners as Senior Managing Director, and will report to Mr. McHugh. Mr. Quinn is an experienced proxy solicitor and investor response professional with more than 30 years of experience in shareholder activism campaigns, merger and acquisition transactions, and corporate proxy solicitation. In addition to the initial professional staffing in London, Alexandra Higgins, a Managing Director at Okapi Partners, will be joining the London office to spearhead the firm's Governance Consulting practice in EMEA while continuing to serve her current clients.

"The marketplace for proxy solicitation and investor response services evolves in extremely dynamic and complex ways sculpted by forces that include economic volatility, investor activism, ESG policies and practices, changing regulatory imperatives, and an increasingly challenging M&A environment," said Bruce H. Goldfarb, President and Chief Executive Officer of Okapi Partners. "I am delighted that our London initiative is being spearheaded by Pat McHugh, our firm's Co-Founder, which, in concert with our partnership with Investor Update, is indicative of our strong commitment to assist corporations and investors around the globe as they face these challenges."

Patrick McHugh added, "The new London office and our partnership with Investor Update will enhance Okapi Partners' ability to provide a full range of solicitation and investor response services, not only in the UK, but also throughout Europe as well as Japan and other key markets in Asia. I have worked with Tony Quinn on numerous and varied transactions over the past 30 years, ever since we started our careers at Georgeson, and I'm excited that he is joining us as the cornerstone of a growing team with a solid in-market presence and an experienced global perspective."

Patrick Mitchell, Managing Partner of Investor Update, commented, "Our firm has built a reputation for world-class expertise and a commitment to excellence in shareholder intelligence, ESG Analytics, Corporate Advisory and proxy solicitation. Partnering with Okapi will strengthen our collective resources and enhance our ability to deliver actionable insights, solid execution and impactful results for our clientele."

About Okapi Partners LLC

Founded in 2008, Okapi Partners is a leading strategic proxy solicitation and investor response firm that provides a full range of solicitation and information agent services, as well as support for M&A transactions, activist-related strategies, corporate governance and ESG consulting, market intelligence, and advisory services. Okapi represents corporations, institutional investors, investment management companies and their management firms, private equity firms, and hedge funds, and provides them with superior intellectual capital, industry relationships and execution capabilities.

About Investor Update

Investor Update was established in 2017 to provide corporate investor relations teams and their advisors with unparalleled shareholder intelligence and IR services. With the market's most experienced shareholder intelligence teams, built on decades of experience, the firm identifies and tracks key investors with pinpoint accuracy, complemented with innovative solutions such as in-depth investor targeting, ESG benchmarking, ESG and Corporate Advisory, and perception studies.

Media Contact:

Zach Kouwe

Dukas Linden Public Relations

okapi@dlpr.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/okapi-partners-a-leading-proxy-solicitation-and-investor-response-firm-launches-london-office-and-forms-strategic-partnership-with-investor-update-ltd-301920143.html








Toyota City, Japan, Sept 7, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - Woven by Toyota, Inc. ("Woven by Toyota"), a mobility technology subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation ("TMC"), decided on a new executive structure at its shareholders' meeting. These changes will take effect on October 1, 2023.Toyota's software platform, Arene and a test course for mobility, Toyota Woven City, will evolve from a preliminary development phase to an execution phase. These changes will ensure efficient decision making closer to the genba and delivery of Woven by Toyota's technology towards mass production. Woven by Toyota will strengthen cooperation with Toyota and Toyota Group to lead the evolution of advanced intelligent software that contributes to the transformation of Toyota into a mobility company.James Kuffner, Representative Director and CEO of Woven by Toyota stated, "I would like to thank all of our employees and stakeholders who have contributed to the development and growth of Woven by Toyota. We shipped new technology for ADAS on Toyota's MIRAI and LEXUS LS, and created Arene, a software platform designed to deliver new value to future customers. Woven City was also established with experimentation to begin in 2025. We are transitioning from early development to a mass production phase, which requires even further collaboration with Toyota and Toyota Group companies. As we enter this pivotal transition phase, I am confident that Kumabe-san, a leader who has extensive experience working closely with the Toyota Group while at Denso and J-QuAD DYNAMICS, is the best person to take on this important role as the new CEO of Woven by Toyota. In my new position as Senior Fellow at Toyota, I will manage the professional development of our software engineers and promote the principles of quality software development globally."Hajime Kumabe, who will become Woven by Toyota's new CEO as of October 1, stated, "I am honored to receive the baton from James and become Woven by Toyota's new CEO, starting October 1. The automotive industry is said to be undergoing a once-in-a-century transformation in which the role of software is becoming increasingly more important. I believe my mission as CEO of Woven by Toyota is to lead the company in becoming the front runner in the BEV and SDV era through the creation of high quality software for automobiles. We will revolutionize the development and utilization of software in the automotive industry and support Toyota's transformation into a true mobility company. By leveraging Woven by Toyota's incredible talent, operations, and advanced technologies such as Arene and AD/ADAS, that were built under James' leadership over the past five years, and Toyota and Toyota Group's expertise in car manufacturing and monozukuri, I am confident that Woven by Toyota will successfully implement our mobility technologies into Toyota products throughout this execution phase. Through the execution of our software platform, "Arene", our test course for mobility, "Toyota Woven City", and our Automated Driving/Advanced Driver Assistance System, "AD/ADAS", we will build mobility technologies and social infrastructures that connect "cars," "people," and "society" in our continued pursuit of well-being for all."About Woven by ToyotaWoven by Toyota is the mobility technology subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation. Our mission is to deliver safe, intelligent, human-centered mobility for all. Through our Arene mobility software platform, safety-first automated driving technology and Toyota Woven City-our test course for advanced mobility-we're bringing greater freedom, safety and happiness to people and society. You can learn more about our work at woven.toyota.Source: Toyota Motor CorporationCopyright 2023 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.


MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - The United States has announced new assistance totaling more than $1 billion to Ukraine, including $665.5 million in new military and civilian security assistance.



The U.S. Government has also committed an additional $206 million for humanitarian assistance, emergency shelter for those whose homes were destroyed in Russian attacks, and medical support and health care for survivors of relentless Russian missile attacks and shelling.



It is estimated that more than 6 million Ukrainians were displaced by the more than a year-old Russian onslaught.



In total, Washington committed more than $43 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian aggression.



One of the biggest U.S. assistance so far was announced by Secretary Of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Ukraine Wednesday.



It was his sixth trip as Secretary of State to Ukraine and the fourth since the Russian full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022.



At a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev, Blinken said U.S. Abrams tanks will arrive in Ukraine this fall and training will be provided to Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets in the United States, complementing the training that is already underway in Europe.



US Abrams tanks with shells are strong enough to pierce conventional tank armor.



A U.S. Department of Defense press release says the anti-tank weapons are made of depleted uranium, a by-product of uranium enrichment stripped of most radioactive material.



Russia criticized the move.



Ukrainian Foreign Minister said he discussed with Blinken about providing ATACMS long-range rockets.



'We never asked to send the U.S. troops to Ukraine, and we are not going to ask this. But we truly need support in this fight', he told reporters.



The latest U.S. security assistance package includes more ammunition for artillery and HIMARS systems, Javelin, and anti-armor systems; tank ammunitions for Abram tanks; and air defense system to help Ukraine protect its people from air strikes.



Wednesday, while Blinken was in Kiev, Russia launched a new wave of air strikes on a market in the eastern Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens more.



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Mega-Chance: Der Indien Report Ihre Chancen im groten Wachstumsmarkt: 3 indische Top-Aktien. Die Highlights dieses Spezialreports: 1. Indien als Wachstumsriese, 2. Indiens Wirtschaft boomt!, 3. 3 Top-Performance-Aktien. Jetzt kostenlos downloaden. Hier klicken
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Tincorp Metals Inc. (TSXV: TIN) (OTCQX: TINFF) ("Tincorp" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received the assay results for holes DPOV0002, DPOV0003, DPOV0004 and DPOV0006 from its Porvenir tin-zinc-silver (Sn-Zn-Ag) Project (the "Project"). Tincorp completed seven drill holes totaling 2,545 m for its 2023 drill campaign at the Project.

These four holes and the previously reported DPOV0001 were drilled to test the depth and lateral extension of the NNW-trending Condor Nasa structure (NWV1) and the NS-trending mineralized structures (NSV1 and NSV2, Fig. 1).

The assay results are highlighted by a 21.20 m intercept grading 334 g/t silver equivalent (AgEq) (0.65% Sn, 1.97% Zn, 4 g/t Ag and 0.10% Cu) in hole DPOV0006, which includes 828 g/t AgEq (1.71% Sn, 4.21% Zn, 7 g/t Ag and 0.16% Cu) over 6.13 m. This represents the mineralization of the NNW-trending Condor Nasa structure (Fig. 1 & 2). Figure 3 illustrates a high-grade section of DPOV0006.

In addition to the results of DPOV0006, the composite assay results are shown in Table 1 below:

Table 1. Composite assay results for hole DPOV0002, DPOV0003, DPOV0004 and DPOV0006.

Hole ID From

m To

m Length

m Sn

% Ag

g/t Pb

% Zn

% Cu

% AgEq

g/t Vein DPOV0002 140.35 142.55 2.20 0.28 73 0.52 2.16 0.14 290 NSV 243.40 253.58 10.18 0.25 25 0.01 4.14 0.16 294 NSV1 DPOV0003 73.50 84.30 10.80 0.40 20 0.01 4.43 0.21 361 NSV1 214.00 217.52 3.52 0.72 9 0.01 1.72 0.11 361 NSV2 261.08 297.80 36.72 0.17 5 0.00 0.92 0.08 113 NWV1 DPOV0004 50.62 57.90 7.28 0.20 11 0.03 2.59 0.05 190 NSV 206.90 216.67 9.77 0.08 16 0.00 1.29 0.17 115 NWV1 DPOV0006 192.50 213.70 21.20 0.65 4 0.00 1.97 0.10 334 NWV1 incl. 200.72 206.85 6.13 1.71 7 0.00 4.21 0.16 829 NWV1

Notes:

1. Drill intercepts are core lengths, and grades are length-weighted. The true width of mineralization is unknown at this time.

2. Analyses were from half-core samples, cut by diamond saw and collected from the entire hole.

3. Silver equivalent (AgEq g/t) is shown for illustrative purposes only to express the combined value of tin, zinc and silver as a grade of silver. AgEq is calculated using US$0.74 per gram of silver, US$2755 per tonne of zinc, US$8816 per tonne of copper and US$28000 per tonne of tin. Metal recoveries are not yet known.

4. The silver equivalent formula used was: AgEq g/t =Ag grade + ((Pb%*2094/100)+(Zn%*2755/100)+(Cu%*8816/100)+(Sn%*28000/100))/0.74





Figure 1. Surface plan map of Condor Nasa structures

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7553/179794_21794fe11434d893_003full.jpg





Figure 2. Cross section of drill hole DPOV0006 (Looking SSE)

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7553/179794_21794fe11434d893_004full.jpg





Figure 3. High-grade mineralization zone in hole DPOV0006, from 202.72 to 209.56 m.



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7553/179794_21794fe11434d893_005full.jpg

Other than the high-grade interval in DPOV0006, DPOV0003 and DPOV0004 also drilled through NWV1 (Fig. 1), with DPOV0003 intersecting 36.72 m of 113 g/t AgEq (0.17% Sn, 0.92% Zn, 5 g/t Ag and 0.08% Cu) and DPOV0004 intersecting 9.77 m of 115 g/t AgEq (0.08% Sn, 1.29% Zn, 16 g/t Ag and 0.17% Cu).

The 10.18 m high-grade interval in DPOV0002 (294 g/t AgEq, 0.25% Sn, 4.14% Zn, 25 g/t Ag and 0.16% Cu) and 10.80 m interval of DPOV0003 (361 g/t AgEq, 0.40% Sn, 4.43% Zn, 20 g/t Ag and 0.21% Cu) are related to the NS-extending vein, NSV1 (Fig.1).

The 3.52 m interval of 361 g/t AgEq (0.72% Sn, 1.72% Zn, 9 g/t Ag and 0.11% Cu) in DPOV0003 is related to NSV2 (Fig. 1).

DPOV0002, DPOV0003 and DPOV0004 have intercepted multiple NS-trending mineralized structures (NSV1 and NSV2) which has opened up new drilling targets to be tested in future drill programs at the Project.

Mineralization in the holes occurs as sulfide and gangue minerals permeated in veins, veinlets and breccias. The sulfide minerals recognized to date are predominantly pyrite, pyrrhotite, and sphalerite with lesser amounts of galena, chalcopyrite, and arsenopyrite. Sericite, siderite, and quartz are the predominant gangue minerals, though they form a minor portion of the mineralized zone. The mineralization is hosted within a chlorite-sericite altered shale and argillite sequence of the Silurian-aged Llallagua Formation.

"We are thrilled by the outstanding assay results from our recent drill campaign at the Porvenir Project. I am excited to witness the continued success of Tincorp's exploration efforts. These results confirm our belief in the richness of the mineralization at Porvenir and reinforce our commitment to unlocking the full value of this remarkable asset," stated Mr. Gordon Neal, CEO of Tincorp.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Tincorp maintains tight sample security and quality assurance and quality control for all aspects of its exploration program. All Porvenir core samples were logged, photographed and split on-site by staff geologists and were shipped in securely sealed bags by Company staff in the Company's vehicles directly from the field to ALS Bolivia Ltda., in Oruro, Bolivia, for preparation, and ALS Peru laboratory in Lima, Peru for geochemical analysis. ALS Global is an ISO 17025 accredited laboratory independent from New Pacific. All samples are first analyzed by a multi-element ICP package (ALS code ME-MS41) with ore grade specified limits for silver, lead, and zinc, further analyzed using ALS code OG46. The tin grades were analyzed by fusion XRF (ALS code ME-XRF15b). Certified reference materials, various types of blank samples and duplicate samples are inserted into normal drill core sample sequences prior to delivery to the laboratory for preparation and analysis. The overall ratio of quality control samples in sample sequences is around twenty percent.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Donald J. Birak, independent consultant geologist who is a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Resources ("NI 43-101"). The qualified person has visited the Porvenir property and is not aware of any significant risks and uncertainties that could be expected to affect the reliability or confidence in the information discussed herein.

About Tincorp

Tincorp Metals Inc. is a mineral exploration company focusing on tin projects in Bolivia and a gold project near Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The Company has signed agreements to acquire a 100% interest in the Porvenir Project and SF Tin Project, which are 70 km southeast of Oruro, Bolivia. The Company's 100% owned Skukum Gold Project is approximately 84 km south of Whitehorse by road. An independent mineral resource estimate update in respect of the Skukum Gold Project was completed in October 2022.

On Behalf of Tincorp Metals Inc.

signed "Gordon Neal"

Gordon Neal, CEO & Director

For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations, Tincorp Metals Inc.

Phone: +1 (604)-336-5919

Email: info@tincorp.com

www.tincorp.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 news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collective, "forward looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the terms of the Agreement, the payment of a finder's fee and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange are forward-looking statements. Estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources are also forward-looking information because they incorporate estimates of future developments including future mineral prices, costs and expenses and the amount of minerals that will be encountered if a property is developed. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "expects", "is expected", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategies", "targets", "goals", "forecasts", "objectives", "budgets", "schedules", "potential" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, assumptions, factors and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. The opinions, assumptions, factors and estimates which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to: whether the Company will acquire up to a 100% interest of the Porvenir Project; market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices; that there are no significant disruptions affecting operations, including labour disruptions, supply disruptions, power disruptions, security disruptions, damage to or loss of equipment, whether due to flooding, political changes, title issues, intervention by local landowners, environmental concerns, pandemics (including COVID-19) or otherwise; that the Company will be able to obtain and maintain governmental approvals, permits and licenses in connection with its current and planned operations, development and exploration activities, including at the Skukum Gold Project; that the Company will be able to meet its current and future obligations; that the Company will be able to comply with environmental, health and safety laws; and the assumptions underlying mineral resource estimates and the realization of such estimates.

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 information. Such risks and other factors include, among others: the risk that the Company will not acquire up to a 100% interest of the Porvenir Project; social and economic impacts of COVID-19; actual exploration results; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; results of future Mineral 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.

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 news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

Additional information in relation to the Company, including the Company's most recent annual information form, can be obtained under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at www.tincorp.com.

CAUTIONARY NOTE TO US INVESTORS

The technical and scientific information contained herein has been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, which differs from the standards adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Accordingly, the technical and scientific information contained herein, including any estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources, may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies subject to the disclosure requirements of the SEC.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179794
Anokion SA, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on treating autoimmune disease by restoring normal immune tolerance, today announced a series of senior leadership promotions and a new senior appointment, effective immediately. Kristie Grebe, Ph.D., has been promoted to chief scientific officer, Michael DiLeo has been promoted to senior vice president, corporate development and business operations and Nicole Luosey joins Anokion as senior vice president, product and development operations.

"We are pleased to announce these strategic leadership promotions and the expansion of our senior leadership team, all of which are a testament to the progress we have made advancing innovative solutions for autoimmune diseases," said Deborah Geraghty, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Anokion. "Kristie's proven drug development and translational expertise makes her an exceptional fit as chief scientific officer, where she will continue to steer our research and development initiatives. Mike's successful journey within Anokion, and deep contributions in corporate and business development, will continue to drive our growth and partnerships. Welcoming Nicole as senior vice president of product and development operations adds a wealth of experience and expertise to our strategic product development and operations function. With a progressing clinical pipeline and robust research and discovery effort underway, complemented by our talented team, we are poised to accelerate our mission of restoring normal immune tolerance and making a meaningful difference in the lives of patients suffering from autoimmune diseases."

Kristie Grebe, Ph.D., joined Anokion in 2019, leading immunology and translational medicine. In her new role as chief scientific officer, she will direct the company's research and development efforts, including drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics (DMPK), non-clinical toxicology and clinical development. Prior to joining Anokion, Dr. Grebe served in a variety of leadership roles at Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie from 2008 to 2019, including immunology clinical development, immunology discovery, and biologics. Dr. Grebe obtained Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology from University of Colorado Health Science Center and B.S. in microbiology and cell science from University of Florida.

Mike DiLeo joined Anokion in 2018 and has held roles of increasing responsibility, most recently serving as vice president, corporate and business development. As senior vice president, corporate and business development, he is responsible for the development and execution of Anokion's corporate strategy across the organization. Prior to joining Anokion, Mr. DiLeo served as associate director, commercial manufacturing operations at TESARO. Previously, he was a chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) lead at Shire following the company's acquisition of Dyax. Earlier, Mr. DiLeo spent over 10 years at Dyax as associate director, manufacturing and in a number of scientific roles with increasing responsibility. He obtained M.S. and B.S. in chemical engineering and MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Nicole Luosey joined Anokion in August 2023 as senior vice president, product and development operations and will oversee the company's product development and portfolio efforts. Prior to joining Anokion, Ms. Luosey served as vice president, portfolio strategy and program management at Replimune. Previously, she was vice president, strategic and program operations at Cadent Therapeutics prior the company's acquisition by Novartis. Earlier, she was vice president, head of program management at Syntimmune, which was acquired by Alexion. Prior to Syntimmune, she held a variety of program management roles at Dimension Therapeutics, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, EMD Serono and Dyax. Ms. Luosey obtained M.S. in project management from Boston University and B.F.A. from University of Hartford.

About Anokion

Anokion SA is a clinical-stage Swiss biotechnology company that aims to make a meaningful difference in the lives of patients suffering from autoimmune diseases by restoring normal immune tolerance. The company is focused on both prevalent and rare autoimmune diseases, including celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes. Anokion's distinct approach leverages the company's immune-based platform, which targets natural pathways in the liver to restore immune tolerance and address the underlying cause of autoimmune disease. For more information, please visit anokion.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907502353/en/

Contacts:

Bill Slattery, Jr.

THRUST Strategic Communications

bill@thrustsc.com
North America's largest advanced battery event brings original equipment manufacturers, business leaders, and top-industry companies together to discover ground-breaking products like high-voltage cables and safety-critical solutions for commercial electric vehicles.

SAINT-LAURENT, QC / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / ProEV, a division of Electrical Components International, is proud to be exhibiting at The Battery Show, the premier event for the North American battery and EV ecosystem. The event, from September 12-14 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan, brings together more than 15,000 engineers and business leaders from more than 775 battery and EV manufacturers to spotlight the latest developments in commercial EV high-voltage technology.

ProEV, the center of excellence for electric vehicles at ECI, will display and demonstrate its newest emerging electrification and high-voltage cable technology and safety-critical solutions at Booth 1957. The company said it expects the demonstrations to generate noteworthy discussions on high-voltage cables, which are essential in the development of commercial EVs.

"The Battery Show offers an unparalleled opportunity to exhibit our technology and meet with the top industry companies," said Jarred Knecht, President of ProEV. "It is a significant platform for conversations around evolving technology. Attendees can anticipate an enlightening experience from ProEV's participation."

Knecht said one strength of The Battery Show is how it creates opportunities for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to visit and learn from exhibitors about the supply chain for the electric vehicle market and how to partner with other manufacturers.

"We are always keeping up-to-date on the latest technologies to make sure we understand what is coming up in the future, and The Battery Show allows us to garner ideas with potential partners on how we can advance technology," Knecht said. "We can show new technical solutions, like how we are working with new interconnect solutions, more advanced connectors, more advanced high-voltage systems. We are inspecting and tracing all of our products using our proprietary AI, KonnectAI, a gap creator that is in line with our autonomous, zero-defect future."

Knecht said the show also will allow ProEV and other suppliers to demonstrate the strength of their supply chains and their ability to deliver what OEMs need. "We have long-term agreements with our customers, so their supply is solid," he said. "We have allocated capacity and support all raw materials, so they are protected. The theme today, and that we will see at the show, is about how to protect the supply chain in the future and learn and evolve from the past. We want to make sure it is solid because now, as volumes are already climbing."

The Battery Show also provides opportunities for component manufacturers who are not yet involved in vehicle electrification.

"If they want to figure out how they could use their products in electric vehicles, or manufacture different products for EV, they should definitely attend the show to educate themselves on where there might be opportunities and establish supply partners," Knecht said. "Any OEM that is building anything electric should attend this show because it gives them a perspective on the underlying componentry and technologies of what's available and what's coming."

To meet the ProEV team at The Battery Show, schedule an onsite meeting by contacting Catherine Dela Cruz at catherine.delacruz@ecintl.com. Individual sessions can provide exclusive opportunities for an in-depth examination of ProEV's latest electrification and high-voltage solutions and discussion about safety-critical components.

About ProEV

ProEV, a division of Electrical Components International (ECI), www.ecintl.com, is a center of excellence for electric vehicles within ECI. The company serves global electric vehicle players in the development and manufacture of their vehicle platforms. Founded in 1953, Electrical Components International is one of the world's leading wire harness manufacturers, as well as other critical engineered components for diverse markets. With 25,000 employees and 40 manufacturing locations worldwide, ECI creates smart, connected, and electrified solutions that enable the most advanced technologies to solve the most complex challenges. To learn more about ProEV, visit https://proelectricvehicle.com.

Contact Information

Maria Penaloza

Press Contact

maria.penaloza@newswire.com

SOURCE: ProEV

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/780654/proev-to-unveil-advanced-high-voltage-cable-solutions-for-commercial-ev-at-the-battery-show-2023
Series C1 funding closed at US $44M with the support of Fonds de solidarite FTQ, Investissement Quebec, BDC Capital, Climate Investment, Japan Energy Fund and BMO.

The investment will enable the company to accelerate its go-to-market strategy, develop new integrated solutions, and deploy more satellite and airborne measurement capacity.

MONTREAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / GHGSat, the global leader in greenhouse gas emissions intelligence, has completed its Series C1 funding round for a total of US $44 million in equity and debt. The company has raised more than US $126 million since its inception in 2011.

GHGSat Completes Series C1 Funding to Accelerate Commercialization

Equity participants in the funding round included Fonds de solidarite FTQ, BDC Capital, the investment arm of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), the Government of Quebec through Investissement Quebec, Climate Investment, and the Japan Energy Fund. BofA Securities acted as sole placement agent on the equity portion of the Series C1 funding round. The Bank of Montreal (BMO) has provided debt facilities to GHGSat.

This milestone underscores GHGSat's leading position in greenhouse gas emissions intelligence and demonstrates strong investor confidence in the company. GHGSat enjoys longstanding support from existing investors who have reinvested in this Series C1 round, expanding the foundation for future growth and innovation.

GHGSat has grown rapidly since its last funding round two years ago. The company has generated an eightfold revenue surge since its previous funding round, supported by a fourfold increase in commercial satellites and a threefold increase in airborne sensors deployed. The company has also achieved key milestones in the development of next-generation measurement and AI technologies.

Over the same period, GHGSat has enabled mitigation of 5.6 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions from industrial facilities around the world, which is equivalent to over 1.2 million gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year.

This new funding will enable the company to accelerate its go-to-market strategy, develop new integrated solutions, and deploy more satellite and airborne measurement capacity. GHGSat has satellite services agreements in place for hosted payloads on three new satellites scheduled to launch before the end of 2023 and another four new satellites scheduled for launch in 2024. One hosted payload in each of the 2023 and 2024 deployments will be dedicated to monitoring carbon dioxide. The company launched its first satellite in 2016 and now has nine satellites in orbit. GHGSat's measurements have been rigorously validated by third-party commercial and scientific organizations.

"This new investment will enable GHGSat to further accelerate growth," stated Stephane Germain, GHGSat CEO. "Over the last two years, we have proven that we can successfully scale and commercialize GHGSat's world-class services while enabling real emissions mitigations. The business expansion is remarkable, and we're gearing up to share more exciting updates in the forthcoming months."

Contact Information

Kaeden Ross

Marketing Coordinator

kross@ghgsat.com

SOURCE: GHGSat

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781291/ghgsat-completes-series-c1-funding-to-accelerate-commercialization
Fortifeye Vitamins - Introducing rTG Omega 3 Fish Oil

OCALA, FL / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / In a groundbreaking development in the world of nutritional supplements, Fortifeye Vitamins is proud to unveil its latest innovation in rTG omega 3: Fortifeye Super Omega and Fortifeye Super Omega 3 Max - rTG Omega-3 Fish Oil. These advanced formulas represent a significant leap forward in delivering the numerous health benefits associated with omega-3 fatty acids. The demand for Fortifeye Omega 3 supplements has gone up significantly over the years, and they have just released a 180 count of their Fortifeye Super Omega 3 supplement.

Omega-3 fatty acids, such as EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), are renowned for their positive impact on cardiovascular health, brain function, inflammation reduction, eye health and more. However, the bioavailability and absorption of traditional fish oil supplements have often left users wanting more.

Key Advantages of rTG Omega-3 Fish Oil:

1. Enhanced Bioavailability: Unlike conventional fish oil supplements, rTG Omega-3 Fish Oil utilizes the re-esterified triglyceride (rTG) form of omega-3s. This form closely mirrors the molecular structure of the omega-3s found in natural fish sources, leading to superior absorption and utilization by the body.

2. Clinically Proven Benefits: Extensive research and clinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of rTG Omega-3 Fish Oil in promoting heart health, cognitive function, joint mobility, eye health and overall well-being. The enhanced bioavailability of rTG omega-3s ensures that users can experience the full range of benefits with smaller, more manageable doses.

3. Sustainably Sourced: At Fortifeye Vitamins, we are committed to environmental sustainability. Our Super Omega and Super Omega 3 Max - rTG Omega-3 Fish Oils are sourced from responsibly managed fisheries, ensuring the health of marine ecosystems for generations to come.

4. Exceptional Purity: Each batch of rTG Omega-3 Fish Oil undergoes rigorous testing to guarantee its purity and absence of contaminants. Made by the top omega 3 experts in Norway. One can trust that they are receiving a premium-grade product that meets the highest industry standards.

5. Easy Integration: Easy-to-swallow soft gel of Super Omega in the rTG form and easy for one to adapt into their daily routines.

"Our team is thrilled to introduce Fortifeye Super Omega 3 an rTG Omega-3 Fish Oil to the market," said Dr. Michael Lange of Lange Eye Institute and Founder of Fortifeye Vitamins. "Through cutting-edge research and dedication to innovation, we have harnessed the power of re-esterified triglyceride omega-3s to provide a supplement that truly maximizes the benefits of these essential fatty acids. We believe this product has the potential to transform the way people approach their nutritional wellness." Do to high demand, Fortifeye Super Omega is now available in 180 count for only $68 a bottle.

Fortifeye Super Omega and Super Omega 3 Max-rTG Omega-3 Fish Oil is now available for purchase on Fortifeye Vitamins' website and through select practitioner offices. For more information about the product, its benefits, and purchasing details, please visit www.fortifeye.com.

Fortifeye Vitamins is a pioneering force in the field of nutritional supplements. With a commitment to scientific research, innovation, and customer well-being, the company aims to redefine the standards of nutritional health.

http://www.healthbenefitsofomega3.com/research/unlocking-the-wellness-wonder-the-incredible-health-benefits-of-omega-3-fish-oil/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20638827/

http://www.healthbenefitsofomega3.com/research/omega-3-and-lung-health/

https://www.drmichaellange.com/blog/the-remarkable-health-benefits-of-rtg-omega-3-fish-oil/

Contact Information

Mandy Baker

Director of Marketing

mandy@fortifeye.com

3522391692

SOURCE: Fortifeye Vitamins

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781299/fortifeye-vitamins-introduces-rtg-omgea-3-fish-oil-a-revolutionary-leap-forward-in-nutritional-health
Avanceon complements TrendMiner's advanced industrial analytics software with more than 40 years of operational technology experience

The partnership offers the opportunity to expand TrendMiner's global reach while providing operational insights to process engineers in more places

HASSELT, BELGIUM, DARMSTADT, GERMANY, and LAHORE, PAKISTAN / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / TrendMiner, a Software AG company, and Avanceon have formed a partnership to offer greater insights from operational data to more process engineers at manufacturing companies around the world.

Avanceon brings to the table more than 40 years of experience working in the field of operational technology. Its services have included installing sensors and devices at the physical layer, integrating IIoT devices into the PCS within the plant, and developing specialized optimization solutions at the corporate level.

The company is partnering with TrendMiner to advance their shared mission to make operational data available to everyone who needs it. Avanceon employs a cloud-based strategy that helps manufacturing companies modernize their historians and make time-series and contextual data available to engineers working offsite or in remote locations. The company also aims to empower engineers with the capabilities of advanced industrial analytics, which includes the preparation of data for a machine learning exercise.

"TrendMiner fits well with our cloud offerings and builds on the democratization of data achieved by enabling plant floor production staff to do machine learning on the fly," said Omer Bin Abdul Aziz, Vice President of Digital Transformation at Avanceon. "Our customers have been asking for this capability for quite some time. TrendMiner brings the promise that ML is not only for data scientists. Production engineers can execute and reap benefits from it. We are excited to bring this enablement to our customers and are already at an advanced level discussion with our Oil & Gas and Water & Wastewater customers to implement TrendMiner."

Avanceon has a strong market footprint through its offices in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which covers the Middle East; Lahore, Pakistan, which covers Southeast Asia; and Africa.

"This provides us with an opportunity to better serve the regions where Avanceon has a stronger foothold," said Hanne Neyens, Director of Strategic Partners & Projects at TrendMiner. "Our mission to make data more available to operational experts has the potential to generate significant value for our joint customers. We look forward to developing strong use cases that will help them achieve more sustainable operations."

About Avanceon

Avanceon is an industrial automation consultation and system integration company that operates in Pakistan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Africa. It develops end-to-end solutions that include design, supply, engineering, installation, testing, commissioning, and maintenance. Avanceon's products include PLC, DCS, and MDS systems; control valves; fire and gas protection; SCADA and HMI; VFDs and motors; and building technologies. The company is ISO 9001-2015, 14001-2015, and OHSMS ISO 45001-2018 compliant and holds certifications from TUV Austria and TRACE International. As a leading innovator within the automation industry, Avanceon provides state-of-the-art solutions for Fortune 500 companies in the oil & gas, food & beverage, chemicals, and water industries.

The company has been in the automation business since 1984 and has transformed into a 360-degree solution provider for automation, energy management, service, and maintenance for major blue-chip companies. Find out more at www.avanceon.ae.

About TrendMiner

TrendMiner delivers advanced analytics software to optimize process performance in industries such as chemical, petrochemical, oil & gas, pharmaceutical, food & beverages, metals & mining, water & wastewater, and other process manufacturing industries. TrendMiner unlocks the full advantage of their (IIoT) data infrastructure, regardless of vendor, and taps into the available human intelligence for making data-driven decisions. We offer standard integrations with a wide range of data sources such as OSIsoft PI, Yokogawa Exaquantum, AspenTech IP.21, Honeywell PHD, GE Proficy Historian and Wonderware InSQL, Cumulocity, OSIsoft OCS, AWS S3, SiteWise, Timestream, Microsoft ADL, ADX, TSI, SAP S/4 HANA DMC, and Siemens SIMATIC PCS 7 process historian. Visit www.trendminer.com.

Corporate Contact:

Matt Saxton

TrendMiner Editor

+1 408-490-5345

matthew_saxton@softwareag.com

Media Contact:

Muhammad Aasim Bin Iqbal

Manager Marketing & Communications - Avanceon Limited

+92 42 111 940 940 Ext: 109

miqbal@avanceon.ae

Valerie Harding

Ripple Effect Communications

+1 617-536-8887

valerie@RippleEffectPR.com

SOURCE: TrendMiner

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/780467/trendminer-partners-with-avanceon-to-further-democratize-operational-insights
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA and NIAGARA FALLS, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Hospital Products Australia (HPA), a prominent leader in delivering cutting-edge medical equipment and healthcare solutions, and Harris Data Integrity Solutions, the leading provider of best-in-class patient data integrity services and software, are excited to unveil a groundbreaking collaboration that marks a monumental leap in the realms of healthcare and technology. Under the partnership, HPA assumes a pivotal role alongside Harris Data Integrity Solutions to tackle the challenge of duplicated patient records within Australia's evolving Electronic Health Records (EHRs) landscape.

Renowned for its unwavering dedication to excellence in providing top-notch medical products and services, HPA stands as a trusted ally for healthcare institutions across the region. This strategic partnership with Harris Data Integrity Solutions not only bolsters HPA's commitment to excellence but also underscores its active role in incorporating advanced data management strategies that elevate patient care, streamline operations, and empower healthcare professionals with precise and timely information.

Shawn Wigham, Managing Director of HPA, affirmed the collaboration's significance, stating: "At HPA, we recognize the critical role of data integrity in transforming healthcare. Teaming up with Harris Data Integrity Solutions enables us to leverage their expertise in comprehensive data cleanups. By coupling EHR systems' potential duplicate/crossover reports with Harris Data Integrity Solutions' proprietary duplicate technology and skilled patient identity experts, we're set to achieve transformative outcomes, eliminating duplicate patient records and ensuring accurate patient identification."

Harris Data Integrity Solutions delivers industry-leading data integrity services and software to reduce duplicate medical records and minimize the ongoing cost of maintaining quality patient data. This includes a team of credentialled and highly experienced identity experts performing Master Patient Index (MPI) and Enterprise Master Patient Index (EMPI) cleanup services with Harris Data Integrity Solutions' proprietary automated duplicate resolution technology and third-party data sources.

"At Harris Data Integrity Solutions, we are committed to delivering the ongoing innovation necessary to meet the changing needs of patients and healthcare organizations. This partnership with HPA is a natural extension of that commitment by arming hospitals and health systems with the tools and expertise they need to maintain the integrity of their patient data," said Lora Hefton, Executive Vice President of Harris Data Integrity Solutions. "Eliminating duplicate and overlaid patient records mitigates the damage caused by a compromised MPI/EMPI, improving patient care, safety, and outcomes and optimizing health IT investments."

The collaboration between Hospital Products Australia and Harris Data Integrity Solutions stands poised to usher in a new era of enhanced patient care, streamlined operations, and fortified data integrity, with HPA's active involvement fueling the innovative transformation.

About HPA

HPA is a leading health solutions provider focused on sourcing the most innovative products to support medical staff in saving and enhancing lives. The HPA team advises, supplies, and manages all equipment required for patient care, including ICT and carts, patient monitoring and life support, surgical solutions, infrastructure, and, most recently, software to improve patient care and increase efficiency.

A combination of experience, knowledge, and a global supplier network enables HPA to offer the convenience of single-source procurement for all hospitals, day surgeries, and aged care facilities across Australia and New Zealand. The company is a distributor of leading global brands, including GCX, Derungs, DT Research, Mindray, and Zebra Technologies. HPA's ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 27001 certifications highlight dedication to quality, complemented by a patient and customer-centric approach.

HPA has headquarters in Sydney, with offices in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth, ensuring responsive service and support for healthcare providers nationwide. For more information, visit www.hpaust.com.

About Harris Data Integrity Solutions

Harris Data Integrity Solutions delivers industry-leading data integrity services and software to reduce duplicate medical records and minimize the ongoing cost of maintaining quality patient data. Created by the integration of two data integrity powerhouses, Just Associates, Inc. and QuadraMed Corporation, Harris Data Integrity Solutions offers the unparalleled depth and breadth of industry expertise and the commitment to ongoing innovation necessary to meet the changing needs of patients and healthcare organizations. Designed to address the broad spectrum of challenges associated with patient matching and data integrity, its suite of advanced technology solutions and services includes CuraMatchautomated duplicate resolution, SmartIX Enterprise Master Patient Index (EMPI) and MPI Clean-up Services. For more information, visit www.harrisdataintegritysolutions.com.

# # #

For media inquiries, please contact:

Harris Data Integrity Solutions:

Liz Goar

+1 813.333.2844

liz@npccs.com

HPA:

Carmen Peploe

+61 448 660 013

cpeploe@hpaust.com

SOURCE: Harris Data Integrity Solutions

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781654/hospital-products-australiaand-harris-data-integrity-solutions-partner-to-spearhead-patient-data-integrity-revolution
PALM BEACH, Fla., Sept. 7, 2023 FinancialNewsMedia.com News Commentary

/PRNewswire/ -- The majority industry reports project that the gold ore market should continue to see significant growth in the near and long future. Gold ore is a type of rock that contains gold mineral or particles in sufficient quantities to make it economically viable to mine and extract the gold. A report from ReportLinker projected that: The global gold ore market is expected to grow from $16.03 billion in 2022 to $17.86 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4%. It added that the gold ore market is expected to reach $26.96 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 10.8%. The report said: "The main gold ore mining methods include placer mining, hard rock mining, and others. Placer gold mining is the method of using water to excavate, transport, concentrate, and recover heavy minerals from placer deposits (collections of gold existing in discrete particles or mixed with sand). The applications include cupellation method refining, inquartation method refining, miller chlorination process refining, Wohlwill electrolytic process refining, and aqua regia process refining used in investment, jewelry, and others." Active Companies in the markets today include Asia Broadband Inc. (OTCPK: AABB), Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (NYSE: HMY), Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE: KGC) (TSX: K), Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE: SAND), (TSX: SSL), Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE: GOLD) (TSX: ABX).

ReportLinker continued: "Gold is extracted from the gold ores by using the gold mining process, and the extracted gold is then converted into a form such that it can be used for making gold jewelry. Gold jewelry refers to ornaments that are made of gold as a primary material. The increase in demand for gold jewelry propelled and is driving the growth of the gold ore market. Technological advancements are a key trend gaining popularity in the gold ore market. Companies operating in the gold ore market are adopting new technologies to sustain their position in the market."

Asia Broadband Inc. (OTCPK: AABB) BREAKING NEWS - Asia Broadband Signs Letter of Intent to Acquire High-Grade Gold Property in Jalisco Mexico -Asia Broadband Inc. ("AABB" or the "Company) is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire a high potential property in the prolific mining region of Hostotipaquillo, Jalisco, Mexico. The 4,081 hectare high-grade acquisition target concession #239735 named Picachos IV is located a rapidly developing area and is adjacent to GoGold Resources Inc.'s (TSX: GGD) OTCQX: GLGDF) Los Ricos South property. The Picachos gold project is another prospective high yield asset addition in the Company's strategic expansion initiative to acquire gold production and increase the AABB's physical gold holdings.

In the coming weeks, the Company will be conducting further due diligence and continuing its negotiations to acquire the new mining concession. AABB is expecting to confirm high-grade assay results in the coming weeks from the Company's initial due diligence activities on the property, as the mapping and rock sampling program continues. Company management is exhilarated with the Picachos project for its potential for rapid development, high production and low operating costs.

"The Picachos property is a key strategic acquisition for the Company's mining property portfolio that will facilitate the growth of our operations and profitability going forward", expressed Chris Torres, the Company President and CEO.

AABB continues to implement its mining property acquisition strategy to optimize development capital utilization by focusing operations in regions of Mexico where AABB has a comparative advantage of development resources and expertise readily available for rapid expansion and duplication of the Company's previous gold production success.CONTINUEDRead this full release for Asia Broadband at:https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-aabb/

Other recent developments in the mining industry include:

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (NYSE:HMY) recently announced its financial and operating results for the year ended 30 June 2023 (FY23).

"Our investment in our people, quality ounces and operational excellence continues to yield results. Over the past few years, we have shown resilience and demonstrated our ability to deliver to plan. We have created the necessary flexibility to maintain the strong momentum we have built at our mines. Our cost base is stable and predictable and we have implemented good controls ensuring our cost increases are in line with our plans. We have improved our safety performance and engineered a higher quality and diversified portfolio. As a result of our operational consistency and strong free cash flows, we have declared a full-year dividend of 75c per share, rewarding our shareholders alongside our growth aspirations. What we achieved in this financial year demonstrates we are succeeding in our goal of 'Mining with Purpose'", said Peter Steenkamp, chief executive officer of Harmony. See the full report for Harmony Gold by clicking the link above.

Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE: KGC) (TSX: K) recently announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") has accepted the notice filed by the Company to renew its normal course issuer bid ("NCIB") program. Under the NCIB program, the Company is authorized to purchase up to 108,440,227 of its common shares (out of the 1,227,579,280 common shares outstanding as at July 31, 2023) representing up to 10% of the Company's public float of 1,084,402,272 common shares, during the period starting on August 9, 2023 and ending on August 8, 2024.

In deciding to establish the NCIB program, the Company believes that the market price of the common shares may not, from time to time, fully reflect their value and accordingly the purchase of the common shares would be in the best interest of the Company and an attractive and appropriate use of available funds.

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE: SAND), (TSX: SSL) has recently released its results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 (all figures in U.S. dollars).

SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS WERE: Record revenue of $49.8 million (Q2 2022 - $36.0 million); Attributable gold equivalent ounces1 of 24,504 ounces (Q2 2022 - 19,276 ounces); Cash flows from operating activities, excluding changes in non-cash working capital1 of $38.0 million (Q2 2022 - $21.9 million); Average cash cost per attributable gold equivalent ounce1 of $228 resulting in cash operating margins1 of $1,744 per ounce (Q2 2022 - $273 per ounce and $1,593 per ounce respectively); Net income of $2.7 million (Q2 2022 - $39.7 million);

Sale of Antamina NPI and closing of Horizon Copper transaction: In June, Sandstorm closed the final component of its previously announced arrangement with Horizon Copper Corp. ("Horizon Copper") to sell a portion of the Company's Antamina royalty in consideration for a silver stream, debt, equity, and cash. The transaction furthers Sandstorm's strategy to acquire precious metal streams on high-quality copper assets. With the closing of the Antamina sale, Horizon Copper is positioned as a competitive copper company with a portfolio of high-quality cash-flowing and development stage copper assets; and Share buybacks: During the six months ended June 30, 2023 and under the Company's normal course issuer bid, the Company purchased and cancelled approximately 2.8 million common shares for total consideration of $14.2 million.

Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE:GOLD) (TSX:ABX) recently announced that following the August 24, 2023 closing of a private placement of units (the "Private Placement") by Cascadia Minerals Ltd. ("Cascadia"), Barrick's 2,788,696 common shares of Cascadia represent approximately 7.6% of Cascadia's outstanding common shares. Barrick did not acquire any securities in the Private Placement and, as a result of the Private Placement, Barrick has ceased to be an insider of Cascadia pursuant to Canadian securities laws.

Barrick is holding its Cascadia common shares for investment purposes. Depending on market conditions and other factors, including Cascadia's business and financial condition, Barrick may acquire additional common shares or other securities of Cascadia or dispose of some or all of the common shares or other securities of Cascadia that it owns at such time. An early warning report will be filed by Barrick in accordance with applicable securities laws.

DISCLAIMER: FN Media Group LLC (FNM), which owns and operates FinancialNewsMedia.com and MarketNewsUpdates.com, is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. FNM and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. FNM's market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult =a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. FNM is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed FNM has been compensated forty five hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press releases issued by Asia Broadband Inc. by the company. FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and FNM undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

Contact Information:

Media Contact email: editor@financialnewsmedia.com - +1(561)325-8757

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/gold-ore-market-expected-to-reach-26-96-billion-in-2027-as-significant-growth-is-forecasted-301920334.html
Grass Valley, California--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Rise Gold Corp. (CSE: RISE) (OTCQX: RYES) (the "Company" or "Rise Gold") is pleased to report that Mr. Clynton Nauman has been appointed as a director of the Company.

Mr. Clynton Nauman has more than 45 years of diversified operating experience in the mining industry ranging from exploration to mine construction and mine operations as well as business development, mine financing and senior management in the precious metals, base metals and coal sectors. Mr. Nauman also co-founded and grew a successful industrial environmental services company focussed on reclamation of historical mine-related liabilities in Canada and the United States.

Mr. Nauman was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alexco Resource Corp., Alexco Environmental Group Inc. and Asset Liability Management Group ULC until September 2022. He previously served as President of Viceroy Gold Corporation, Viceroy Minerals Corporation and was a director of Viceroy Resource Corporation, positions he held from February 1998 until February 2003. Mr. Nauman also previously served on the Boards of Novagold Resources Inc, Nova Copper Inc (now Trilogy Metals Inc), and Spectrum Gold Inc. Mr. Nauman was a General Manager of Kennecott Minerals from 1993 to 1998 where he oversaw the permitting, redevelopment, startup and operation of the Greens Creek Mine which lies within the Admiralty Island National Monument in Southeast Alaska. Mr. Nauman holds an Honours Bachelor of Science in Geology from Otago University, New Zealand.

About Rise Gold Corp.

Rise Gold is an exploration-stage mining company incorporated in Nevada, USA. The Company's principal asset is the historic past-producing Idaho-Maryland gold mine located in Nevada County, California, USA. To learn more about the company, visit www.risegoldcorp.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors:

Benjamin Mossman

President, CEO and Director

Rise Gold Corp.

For further information, please contact:

RISE GOLD CORP.

Suite 215, 333 Crown Point Circle

Grass Valley, CA 95945

T: 530.433.0188

info@risegoldcorp.com

www.risegoldcorp.com

The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur.

Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to certain factors including, without limitation, obtaining all necessary approvals, meeting expenditure and financing requirements, compliance with environmental regulations, title matters, operating hazards, metal prices, political and economic factors, competitive factors, general economic conditions, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulation and supervision, seasonality, technological change, industry practices, and one-time events that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information contained in this release. Rise undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements or information except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179644
Highlights

Drill rig secured for drill testing lithium pegmatite outcrops at its Ruby Hill West Lithium project in James Bay, Quebec

Program consists of approximately 4,000m targeting RHW-1 and RHW-2 and newly discovered M-1 and M-2 lithium pegmatite intrusions with a series of approximately 150m deep holes to verify lateral and depth extent of each system

Previous drilling by Benz at RHW-2 intersected 26.4m at 1.01% Li 2 O from 7.4m including 3.7m at 2.7% Li 2 O in 2022

Rock chips at M-1 are up to 5% Li 2 O at surface

Drill rig to arrive at site around 11 September with drilling to commence shortly thereafter

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Benz Mining Corp. (TSXV: BZ) (ASX: BNZ) (the Company or Benz) is pleased to announce that it has secured a single diamond helicopter supported drill rig to test spodumene bearing pegmatites at its Ruby Hill West Project in James Bay, Quebec.

Benz intends to undertake approximately 4,000m of drilling prior to the onset of winter, expected in late October or early November, which makes helicopter flying difficult due to weather conditions and less daylight time.

A series of 150m deep holes have been planned to target the outcropping spodumene bearing pegmatites recently identified during the limited summer field season. Drilling will predominantly target 3 areas - Ruby Hill West (RHW-2) and the Mikisiw (M-1 and M-2) outcrops.





Figure 1. Aerial view at Ruby Hill West looking to the west of the RHW-1 (to the right) and RHW-2 (to the left) pegmatites and 2023 trenching. The RHW-2 trench is 30m long with the collar from RHW22-06 located near the southern end of the trench.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/179843_50949a6d5431b85a_001full.jpg

Benz Executive Chairman, Evan Cranston, said:

"We are very excited with what our geologists have been able to identify in a very limited summer season. We will continue to conduct exploration to identify more Li- pegmatites along the interpreted 25km lithium trend at our Ruby Hill West Project in James Bay Quebec."

"Peeling back the moss and trenching has identified several large Li-pegmatites, up to 30m thick at surface, that contain spodumene and we are looking forward to seeing what this system does along strike and at depth by drilling."

"We are very fortunate to have been able to secure a drill rig and team this year with all the competition in this highly sought after region and we look forward to drilling as many metres as we can this year prior to the onset of the winter."

Ruby Hill West (RHW-1 and RHW-2)

Ruby Hill West (RHW-1 outcrop) was first identified by Eastmain Resources in 2017, then drill tested by Benz in April 2022[1]. The first 5 holes drilled under the RHW-1 outcrop only intersected thinner Li-pegmatites dykes (RHW22-01: 0.31% Li2O over 4.48 m and RHW22-02: 0.62% Li2O over 3 m). However, drilling to the south of the RHW-1 outcrop identified the RHW-2 intrusion with RHW22-06 intersecting 26.4m at 1.01% Li2O. This intrusion was exposed by trenching in August 2023 and channel sampled; analytical results are pending.

Trenching in 2022 and 2023 exposed the 2 pegmatite intrusions but drilling in this upcoming program will test mostly the lateral and depth extent of RHW-2.





Figure 2. A substantial pegmatite outcrop at Ruby Hill West following removal of the layer of moss and vegetation (this photo looks to the south east). Drilling in the vicinity of this outcrop intersected 26.4m at 1.01% Li2O from 7.4m. This outcrop was discovered after the maiden drill program due to being under shallow cover.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/179843_50949a6d5431b85a_002full.jpg

Mikisiw Outcrops (M-1 and M-2)

The Mikisiw targets were recently discovered by a brief field mapping season conducted by Benz in May and June of this year. The Mikisiw pegmatite (M-1) outcrops for about 50m but with multiple blocks and possible subcrops extending the surface expression of this intrusion. Rock chips at M-1 are up to 5% Li2O at surface[2]. This outcrop was stripped and channel sampled in 2023, with analytical result still pending.





Figure 3. Mikisiw Li-pegmatite outcrop looking to the southeast.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/179843_50949a6d5431b85a_003full.jpg





Figure 4. Spodumene crystals from the Mikisiw M-1 outcrop.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/179843_50949a6d5431b85a_004full.jpg

The M-2 outcrop is located approximately 2km west of M-1 and 420m east of a historical diamond drill hole (DDH 90-EM-003) drilled by Kingswood Explorations 1985 Limited in 1990 that intersected 30m of muscovite- bearing pegmatite from 140.5m - 171.7m depth and was not assayed for lithium. This intersection will be drill tested in this program.

Drilling on the M Trend will consist of a number of 150m deep holes testing the M-1 and M-2 outcrops as well as targeting the pegmatite that was intersected in hole DDH 90-EM-03.

Benz will be undertaking geological reconnaissance along the trend in September to further identify other potential spodumene bearing pegmatite outcrops. To help with the identification, we are concurrently flying a high resolution magnetic and radiometric survey, and a LiDAR with orthophotos survey. Benz has also acquired Maxar satellite imagery for the whole area.





Figure 5. Location of the new M-2 outcrop spodumene pegmatite discovery along the 25km+ lithium trend.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/179843_50949a6d5431b85a_005full.jpg

This release was prepared under supervision and approved by Dr. Danielle Giovenazzo, P. Geo, acting as Benz's qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 for the reporting of exploration and drilling results.

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board of Benz Mining Corp.

For more information please contact:

Evan Cranston

Executive Chairman,

Benz Mining Corp.

Telephone: +61 8 6143 6702

email: info@benzmining.com

Dannika Warburton

Principal

Investability Partners

Email: benzmining@investability.com.au

Telephone: +61 401 094 261

About Benz Mining Corp.

Benz Mining Corp. (TSXV: BZ) (ASX: BNZ) brings together an experienced team of geoscientists and finance professionals with a focused strategy to unlock the immense mineral potential of the Upper Eastmain Greenstone Belt in Northern Quebec, which is prospective for gold, lithium, nickel, copper, and other high-value minerals. Benz is earning a 100% interest in the former producing high grade Eastmain gold mine, Ruby Hill West and Ruby Hill East projects in Quebec and owns 100% of the Windy Mountain project.

At the Eastmain Gold Project, Benz has identified a combination of over 380 modelled in-hole and off-hole DHEM conductors over a strike length of 6km which is open in all directions (final interpretation of some of the conductors still pending).

In 2021, Benz confirmed the presence of visible spodumene in a pegmatite at the Ruby Hill West Project, indicating lithium mineralisation which Benz intends to further explore in 2022.





Benz tenure over Upper Eastmain Greenstone Belt on simplified geology.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/179843_50949a6d5431b85a_006full.jpg

About Eastmain Gold Project

The Eastmain Gold Project, situated on the Upper Eastmain Greenstone Belt in Quebec, Canada, currently hosts a NI 43-101 and JORC (2012) compliant resource of 1Moz at 6.1g/t gold (Indicated: 384koz at 9.0g/t gold, Inferred: 621koz at 5.1g/t gold). The existing gold mineralisation is associated with 15-20% semi-massive to massive pyrrhotite, pyrite and chalcopyrite in highly deformed and altered rocks making it amenable to detection using electromagnetic techniques. Multiple gold occurrences have been identified by previous explorers over a 12km long zone along strike from the Eastmain Mine with very limited but highly encouraging testing outside the existing resource area.

About Ruby Hill West Lithium Project

The Ruby Hill West Lithium project is a surface occurrence of spodumene bearing pegmatite within the Ruby Hill West project, located 50km due west of the Eastmain exploration camp. The occurrence was first sampled in 2016 by Eastmain Resources and then by Quebec government geologists in 2018. Only limited sampling was conducted by both groups.

In March 2022 Benz conducted a drilling program at the Ruby Hill West lithium pegmatite prospect and reported a 31.2m at 0.9% Li2O interval of visible spodumene rich pegmatite in the drilling (ASX & TSX-V releases dated 29 April 2022 "Multiple spodumene pegmatites intersected at Ruby Hill West").

Competent Person's Statement: The information in this announcement that relates to historical exploration results was first reported to the ASX in accordance with ASX Listing Rule 5.7. 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.

The mineral resource estimate in this announcement was reported by the Company in accordance with ASX Listing Rule 5.8 on 24 May 2023. The Company confirms it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the previous announcement and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the previous announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed.

Forward-Looking Information: Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations, and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change because of unforeseen events and that the Company obtains regulatory approval. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking information in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the risk that any of the assumptions referred to prove not to be valid or reliable, that occurrences such as those referred to above are realized and result in delays, or cessation in planned work, that the Company's financial condition and development plans change, and delays in regulatory approval, as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.

[1] Announcement: 1 August 2022 Ruby Hill West Discovery returns 26.4m at 1.01% Li2O from 7.4m including 3.7m at 2.7% Li2O

[2] Announcement: 3 August 2023: New high grade LCT pegmatite discovered at Ruby Hill West

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179843
H2FLY, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Joby Aviation, today announced the successful completion of the world's first piloted flight of a liquid hydrogen-powered electric aircraft.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907159821/en/

H2FLY's HY4 electric demonstrator aircraft flying above Maribor, Slovenia, powered by liquid hydrogen. Courtesy of H2FLY

H2FLY, acquired by Joby in 2021, continues to lead the industry on the development and testing of hydrogen aviation propulsion systems. The company completed a series of piloted flights with its HY4 demonstrator aircraft, including one that lasted more than three hours, fitted with a hydrogen-electric fuel cell propulsion system and liquid hydrogen that powered it for the entire flight.

The flights demonstrate the viability of using cryogenically-stored liquid hydrogen instead of gaseous hydrogen, which enables significantly lower tank weights and volume, leading to longer range. The successful installation and demonstration of flight with liquid hydrogen is believed to increase the range of H2FLY's HY4 demonstrator aircraft from 466 mi (750 km) to 932 mi (1500 km), marking a critical step towards the long-term decarbonization of mid- to long-range aviation.

"H2FLY are pioneers in their field, and we're proud of them achieving this watershed moment in the use of liquid hydrogen to power aircraft," said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation. "In the years to come, battery-electric and hydrogen-electric propulsion systems will enable us to build aircraft that are quieter and make mid- to long-range air travel possible with zero emissions. It's critical we take action now and invest aggressively in these technologies for the health of our planet and future generations to come."

The successful flights are the culmination of Project HEAVEN, a European-government-supported consortium assembled to demonstrate the feasibility of using liquid hydrogen in aircraft. The consortium is led by H2FLY and includes the partners Air Liquide, Pipistrel Vertical Solutions, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), EKPO Fuel Cell Technologies, and Fundacion Ayesa.

Following this test flight milestone, H2FLY will increasingly focus on its path to commercialization. In June, H2FLY announced the development of its new fuel cell systems, which will be capable of providing their full power range at altitudes high enough to enable commercial hydrogen-electric aircraft, demonstrating real-world commercial aircraft applications.

About Joby

Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) is a California-based transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing air taxi which it intends to operate as part of a fast, quiet, and convenient service in cities around the world. To learn more, visit www.jobyaviation.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding the development and performance of our aircraft and our regulatory outlook, progress and timing; our business plan, objectives, goals and market opportunity; plans for, and potential benefits of, alternative fuel sources, such as hydrogen and the expected benefits and performance characteristics of such fuel sources; and our current expectations relating to our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects, capital needs and growth of our operations. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "project", "plan", "intend", "believe", "may", "will", "should", "can have", "likely" and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. All forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including: our ability to launch our aerial ridesharing service and the growth of the urban air mobility market generally; our ability to produce aircraft that meet our performance expectations in the volumes and on the timelines that we project, and our ability to launch our service; the competitive environment in which we operate; our future capital needs; our ability to adequately protect and enforce our intellectual property rights; our ability to effectively respond to evolving regulations and standards relating to our aircraft; our reliance on third-party suppliers and service partners; uncertainties related to our estimates of the size of the market for our service and future revenue opportunities; and other important factors discussed in the section titled "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 1, 2023, and in future filings and other reports we file with or furnish to the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates and beliefs as of the date of this presentation. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907159821/en/

Contacts:

Joby Aviation

Investors:

investors@jobyaviation.com

Media:

press@jobyaviation.com
LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Tego Cyber Inc. (OTCQB:TGCB), a cybersecurity company focused on developing innovative cyber threat intelligence and autonomous correlation and threat hunting tools, today announced a top global managed security service provider (MSSP) is now including Tego's cyber threat correlation and hunting platform as part of its product portfolio and has already sold its first license agreement. This global MSSP has over 7,000 commercial customers worldwide and ranks among the 15 most significant managed security services providers as per a recent The Forrester Wave report. They will initially be reselling Tego's platform to their commercial customers using the Splunk SIEM or AWS Security Lake.

"Having an MSSP of this caliber who is finding commercial success with the Tego platform not only validates our technology and the value it adds to existing cybersecurity programs, but will build Tego's credibility within the cybersecurity industry," stated Shannon Wilkinson, President & CEO of Tego Cyber Inc.

"Our go-to-market strategy team set out to deepen our ties with established MSSPs who have one-to-many client relationships to expedite commercialization of our technology," added Kirk Horton, Chief Revenue Officer of Tego Cyber Inc. "Having a globally recognized MSSP selling our platform is a game changer. It is a testament that our go-to-market strategy is working, as this initial agreement is already generating revenue and has the potential to ramp-up exponentially."

"Under Kirk's leadership, we have developed a scalable strategic partnership program that is attractive to MSSPs as our technology adds significant value to an existing cybersecurity service offering, provides a value-added revenue stream to the MSSPs, and Tego offers a competitive commission structure. We designed the partnership program to accelerate revenue growth for Tego while enabling business opportunities for our MSSP partners," continued Mrs. Wilkinson.

What is a Management Security Service Provider?

A managed security service provider is a trusted cybersecurity focused business partner to organizations. MSSPs offer cybersecurity solutions and outsourced monitoring/management of security systems and devices. Common products/services include: firewalls, intrusion detection, virtual private network, vulnerability scanning and endpoint protection. As a third party, an MSSP can alleviate the strain on cybersecurity and IT teams, as well as free up crucial time the organization needs to support and expand business operations.

About Tego's Threat Correlation Engine

Tego's threat correlation and threat hunting solution integrates directly into existing Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and data lake solutions that provides enterprises the ability to quickly track threats, map out exposures, and expedite remediation to find the "signal in the noise." With high performing and low latency searches, Tego's threat correlation engine saves security operations teams time and money in an environment where timing is everything as efforts are made to lower mean-time-to-detection (MTTD) and mean-time-to-response (MTTR). What makes Tego's threat correlation engine different from other cyber threat correlation applications, is that it is the first commercially available solution that was specifically developed for the customer's existing SIEM or data lake platform. It operates within the customer's existing SIEM or data lake environment, so security operations teams do not have to use multiple tools and views to complete a specific task or research a threat. Tego cross-correlates threats in real time and not only looks forward but also backwards in order to see if the organization's network has been previously exposed (active foresight and hindsight).

About Tego Cyber Inc.

Tego Cyber Inc. (OTCQB: TGCB) was founded to mitigate the disparity in the rapidly evolving cyber threat hunting, correlation, and threat intelligence market. The Company is focused on developing solutions for threat intelligence and autonomous threat hunting/correlation. Tego's curated threat intelligence feed not only contains a comprehensive list of indicators of compromise, but also provides additional context including specific details needed to counteract threats so that security teams can spend less time searching for disjointed indicators of compromise. Tego's threat correlation engine integrates with top security and data lake platforms to proactively identify threats. The Tego threat correlation engine allows security teams to find threats faster using curated data feeds, powerful and low latency searches across large disparate data sets, and user-friendly visualizations that help reduce the time to detection and response. For more information, please visit https://tegocyber.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements contained in this press release, those which are not purely historical or which depend upon future events, may constitute 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. Statements regarding the Company's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future constitute forward-looking statements. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements because of various factors. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. Prospective investors should also consult the risks factors described from time to time in the Company's Reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K and Annual Reports to Shareholders.

Contact:

Tego Cyber Inc.

8565 S Eastern Avenue, Suite 150

Las Vegas, Nevada 89123

USA

Tel: 855-939-0100 (North America)

Tel: +1 725-726-7840 (International)

Email: info@tegocyber.com

Web: tegocyber.com

Facebook: facebook.com/tegocyber

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/tegocyber

Twitter: twitter.com/tegocyber

SOURCE: Tego Cyber Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781307/top-global-managed-security-service-provider-now-selling-tego-threat-correlation-hunting-platform
EVANSVILLE, IN / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Gerling Law Injury Attorneys, a renowned personal injury law firm with offices in Evansville and Indianapolis, Indiana, and Owensboro, Kentucky, announces its 60th anniversary of providing exceptional legal representation to clients in need. Since its inception in 1963, the firm has championed the rights of personal injury and disability clients, securing over $500 million in settlements and verdicts. As part of their milestone, Gerling Law is also commemorating their substantial community impact through numerous service projects and philanthropic initiatives.

Gerling Law Attorneys

For six decades, Gerling Law Injury Attorneys has built a strong reputation as a compassionate and results-driven law firm, ensuring justice for clients who have suffered due to accidents and injuries caused by others. Their team of seasoned attorneys, led by Gayle Gerling Pettinga, has consistently demonstrated unwavering dedication and expertise in navigating the complexities of personal injury and disability cases.

Gayle reflects on the firm's incredible journey, "Since day one, our mission has been to provide unwavering support and legal representation to those who have suffered due to the actions of others. We are proud of the milestones we have achieved, the lives we have positively impacted, and the communities we have served. Our 60th anniversary is a testament to the trust our clients have placed in us, and we are committed to continuing this legacy of excellence."

Throughout the years, Gerling Law has expanded its reach and influence, with offices now spanning across two states, Indiana and Kentucky. Their multiple offices enable them to serve a wider community and ensure that justice is accessible to all.

Beyond their legal accomplishments, Gerling Law has demonstrated a strong commitment to community engagement. The firm has been an active participant in various charitable initiatives, contributing to the well-being of the Evansville community and beyond. Over the years, they have engaged in service projects, including providing bicycle helmets to children to promote safety, supporting the YWCA in Evansville, and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity to build homes for those in need.

Gerling Law's 60-year anniversary not only marks a historic milestone for the firm but also an opportunity for clients, partners, and community members to join in celebrating their remarkable achievements. The firm remains dedicated to upholding its founding principles, seeking justice for those who have been wronged and supporting the communities they serve.

For more information about Gerling Law Injury Attorneys and their 60th-anniversary celebrations, please visit www.gerlinglaw.com/.

About Gerling Law Injury Attorneys:

Gerling Law Injury Attorneys is a leading injury law firm with offices in Evansville and Indianapolis, Indiana, and Owensboro, Kentucky. With six decades of legal expertise, the firm is committed to securing justice for personal injury and VA disability clients, having recovered over $500 million in settlements and verdicts. Beyond their legal accomplishments, Gerling Law is actively involved in community service projects, making a positive impact on the lives of individuals and families in the regions they serve.

Contact Information:

Gayle Pettinga

Owner

social@gerlinglaw.com

SOURCE: Gerling Law Injury Attorneys

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/780766/gerling-law-celebrates-60-years-of-dedicated-service-and-community-impact
This year's Annual Women of Legal Tech Summit put forth by the ABA has confirmed a seasoned line up of inspirational women taking on underrepresented areas of tech and legal, including prenup pioneer, Julia Rodgers, esq.-CEO and co-founder of HelloPrenup.

BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / The gender disparities in the tech sector are no secret. And in legal tech? There's no exception. Only a mere 15% of its founders are women as per the research of Kristin Sonday, co-founder of Paladin, and as daunting as these statistics may sound, women in the legal tech realm have been setting unprecedented benchmarks whose achievements, innovations, and determination remain unparalleled.

Julia Rodgers Panel ABA Women's Summit 2023

Julia Rodgers Panel ABA Women's Summit 2023

In acknowledgment of these formidable women, the 6th Annual Women of Legal Tech Summit is all set to roll out. This summit has been a cornerstone event for the past six years, offering a unique platform for the industry's brightest women to connect, collaborate, and chart the way forward. And this year? The panel includes legal tech powerhouse Julia Rodgers, CEO and co-founder of HelloPrenup-the premier and pioneer prenuptial agreement platform.

Event Highlights:

Celebration & Collaboration: The summit aims to celebrate the undying spirit of women in legal tech as an avenue to form valuable collaborations.

Growth and Resilience: By coming together, these women symbolize resilience, illustrating how they have been raising the bar in the industry against all odds.

Brainstorming for Progress: Dedicated segments for brainstorming sessions will allow participants to ideate and develop strategies to further break down barriers for women in legal tech.

Why Attend?

From legal tech entrepreneurs and lawyers representing tech companies to those harnessing technology to usher in a revolution in public service, the summit will feature a plethora of inspiring narratives. This event is not just a convergence of stories but also an amalgamation of solutions, strategies, and success blueprints.

Join us in celebrating the trailblazers, the changemakers, and the future of legal tech and honoring a new era of diversity and innovation together!

Event Details:

Date: Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Time: 11:00 AM-3:30 PM CT

Seats are expected to be reserved quickly. Register in advance or reach out to hello@helloprenup.com for more information.

About the American Bar Association (ABA):

The ABA stands as the world's largest voluntary professional organization. Boasting over 400,000 members, it offers law school accreditation, ongoing legal training, legal resources, support for lawyers and judges, and spearheads projects to enhance the legal system for the benefit of the public.

About HelloPrenup: HelloPrenup provides a robust platform assisting couples in navigating their financial future with clarity. Using clear and concise data, HelloPrenup is dedicated to offering essential resources to couples before marriage, ensuring they step forward with a firm foundation in both romance and legal understanding. For media inquiries, reach out to: hello@helloprenup.com

Contact Information:

Lauren Lavender

Chief Marketing Officer

lauren@helloprenup.com

408-476-0719

SOURCE: HelloPrenup

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/780780/women-of-legal-tech-summit-spotlighting-powerhouse-julia-rodgersceo-of-premier-prenup-platform-helloprenup
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Ball Corp. (BALL) announced Thursday that Scott Morrison, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will retire from the role after more than two decades with the company. Howard Yu has been named to succeed Morrison as executive vice president and CFO, starting September 25. Morrison will remain with the company as a senior advisor to ensure a smooth transition and in support of the successful completion of the proposed Aerospace transaction. Morrison joined Ball in 2000 as treasurer after 16 years in the banking industry. He became vice president and treasurer in 2002 and assumed increasing roles of responsibility including SVP and CFO in 2009, dual roles including interim COO, global beverage packaging, in 2014, and ultimately was promoted to EVP and CFO in 2020. Yu most recently served as SVP and CFO for Envista, a publicly traded global company and spin-off of Danaher. Throughout his 22-year Danaher and Envista career, Yu served as CFO for multiple global divisions in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prior to joining Danaher, he worked in finance at Hewlett-Packard and as Senior Auditor at Deloitte & Touche. 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.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Forum Energy Metals (TSXV: FMC) (OTCQB: FDCFF) will be presenting at the Energy Transition Session of the Beaver Creek Precious Metal Summit, September 12-15, 2023. Participation is by invite only and delegates must register at https://www.precioussummit.com/event/2023-precious-metals-summit-beaver-creek/.

The Energy Transition Session opens on Tuesday September 12 at 8am for a Panel discussion with David Talbot, Mining Analyst, Red Cloud Securities, John Feneck, Feneck Consulting and Michael Konnert, Inventa Capital Corp. The session will have presentations from twelve companies with energy metal projects - uranium, copper, nickel and tin.

"We are honoured to be part of the inaugural Energy Transition Session and look forward to sharing the preliminary indications from the summer drill program on our Thelon Basin uranium project in Nunavut as well as updating developments on our Athabasca Basin uranium projects in Saskatchewan," stated Rick Mazur, Forum's CEO.

CEO Richard Mazur and Dr. Rebecca Hunter, VP, Exploration will be presenting on Tuesday, September 12 at 11:30am, Room 2, Gerald Ford/Heritage Hall. Dr. Hunter will review the Company's recent uranium drill program in the Thelon Basin and the advancement of its Athabasca Basin uranium projects.

About Forum Energy Metals

Forum Energy Metals Corp. (TSXV: FMC) (OTCQB: FDCFF) is a diversified energy metal company with uranium, copper, nickel, and cobalt projects in Saskatchewan, Canada's Number One Rated mining province for exploration and development, a strategic uranium land position in Nunavut and a strategic cobalt land position in the Idaho Cobalt Belt. For further information: https://forumenergymetals.com/.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Richard J. Mazur, P.Geo.

President & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information contact:

Rick Mazur, P.Geo., President & CEO

mazur@forumenergymetals.com

Tel: 604-630-1585

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179788
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Hertz Lithium Inc. (CSE: HZ) (OTCQB: HZLIF) (FSE: QE2) (the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on its patent-pending lithium extraction technology being developed in partnership with Penn State University ("PSU").

The Technology is designed to be a novel process for the extraction of lithium from alpha spodumene. Spodumene mineral is the major source of high-purity lithium, however, current technologies do not allow leaching of lithium from alpha spodumene, and therefore most of the methods of lithium extraction from spodumene are focused on modifying the crystal structure of concentrated spodumene mineral using conventional heating (roasting) at 950-1100 degrees Celsius. However, such high-temperature roasting processes are very energy intensive and have been the bottleneck of the economic extraction of lithium from ores. Thus, there is a need for more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly methods for a high-yield extraction of lithium. Penn State discovered a method designed to satisfy these needs.

The Technology begins with taking spodumene concentrate, introducing sodium hydroxide, and then proceeding with conventional or microwave roasting which transforms the spodumene into a soluble phase. Next, the water leaching is used to recover water-soluble lithium and remove unwanted chemicals. A final acid leach and purification results in 90% recovery of lithium.

The Company recently executed the Sponsored Research Agreement with Penn State University moving the technology into the next phase of development. The primary objectives of the research project are to optimize the process conditions to maximize the recovery of lithium in water leaching to eliminate the acid leaching process or reduce the chemical consumption as well as conduct a kinetic study to obtain the required data for pilot scale testing.

Kal Malhi, CEO and Director of Hertz Lithium states, "As the lithium mineral deposits get discovered and the demand for lithium for electric batteries continues to surge, the focus is now shifting to developing lithium extraction technologies that are more economical and environmentally friendly. Hertz Lithium and Penn State are pleased to be fast tracking the development of our hard rock lithium extraction technology and take this to the next stage of development."

Additionally, the Company has entered into three service agreements for investor relations services.

The first is a service agreement dated August 8, 2023, (the "Think Ink Service Agreement") with Think Ink Marketing Data and Email Services ("Think Ink"). Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Think Ink Service Agreement, Think Ink has agreed to provide public relations services to the Company in an effort to increase public awareness of the Company and its products, services and securities, including product branding. The services may include facilitating the creation and distribution of marketing materials and paid advertisements. The Think Ink Service Agreement remains in effect from August 8, 2023 for an indefinite term unless terminated by mutual agreement of the parties upon thirty (30) days notice. In accordance with the terms and conditions of the Think Ink Service Agreement and as consideration for the services provided by Think Ink, the Company has agreed to provide Think Ink with a budget of USD$40,000 to cover the costs associated with the public relations campaign and related services. Think Ink shall retain the excess sums above the costs expended as its sole compensation for services provided. Think Ink and its principals are arm's length from the Company and do not have any interest, direct or indirect, in the Company or its securities nor do they have any right or intent to acquire such an interest. Think Ink's business is located at 3308 W. Warner Avenue, Santa Ana, CA, USA. Its email contact is claire@thinkinkmarketing.com and its phone number is Tel: 1-888-808-2161.

The second is a service agreement dated August 15, 2023 (the "BTV Service Agreement") with Milky Way Marketing Inc. + Blue Sun Productions Inc. ("BTV"). Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Service Agreement, BTV has agreed to provide the Company with a marketing package that includes TV ad spots and fifty (50) BNN Bloomberg broadcasts. BTV will provide its services for a period of approximately 6 weeks, which began on or around August 15, 2023. In accordance with the terms and conditions of the BTV Service Agreement and as consideration for the services provided by BTV, the Company has agreed to pay BTV a cash fee of CDN$30,050. BTV and its principals are arm's length from the Company and do not have any interest, direct or indirect, in the Company or its securities nor do they have any right or intent to acquire such an interest. BTV's business is located at #17-19257B Enterprise Way, Surrey, BC, Canada. Its email contact is jessica@b-tv.com and its phone number is Tel: 604-664-7401.

The third is a service agreement dated August 23, 2023 (the "Pinnacle Digest Agreement") with Maximus Strategic Consulting Inc. Pinnacle Digest and PinnacleDigest.com are business names of Maximus Strategic Consulting Inc. ("Maximus"). Maximus will produce and distribute via Pinnacle Digest's weekly email newsletter, YouTube channel, social feeds and online advertising on Google platforms engaging video content (the "Content") intended to explain the Company's achievements and development plans for the future. Additionally, all of the Company's news releases during the term of the marketing program will be featured in Pinnacle Digest's weekly email newsletter. Maximus and its principals are arm's length from the Company and do not have any interest, direct or indirect, in the Company or its securities, nor do they have any right or intent to acquire such an interest.

For the four-month marketing program listed above, Hertz Lithium Inc. will pay Maximus Strategic Consulting Inc. a one-time fee of CDN$65,000 plus GST. Pinnacle Digest's website is PinnacleDigest.com, and its contact is Aaron Hoddinott at email support@pinnacledigest.com. Pinnacle Digest's office is located at 1117 1 St SW, Unit 310, Calgary, Alberta, T2R 0T9.

Kal Malhi, CEO states, "As we progress Hertz from our recent public listing and US DTC eligibility and development on our projects, we felt this is the perfect time to engage a strong IR team to help us deliver our business message to the investment community. We plan to launch various plans under these agreements in the coming weeks and months."

About Hertz Lithium Inc.

Hertz Lithium Inc. is a British Columbia based mineral exploration company primarily engaged in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties. The Company currently has one material mineral property, the Lucky Mica Project, located in the Arizona Pegmatite Belt in the Maricopa County of Arizona, USA, which is in the exploration stage. The Company is also working with the PSRF in the development of a novel lithium extraction technology.

For further information, please contact Mr. Kal Malhi or view the Company's filings at www.sedar.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Kal Malhi

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Phone: 604-805-4602

Email: kal@bullruncapital.ca

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not in any way passed upon the merits of the matters referenced herein and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information

This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are 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. Although the Company 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 may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, 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. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179792
XIAMEN, China, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Xiamen Airlines recently announced that it will launch regular flights between Beijing Daxing and Doha on October 20th and Xiamen-Doha on October 31st. The opening of two direct flights to the Middle East coincides with the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Qatar. This marks an important initiative by Xiamen Airlines in implementing the "Belt and Road" initiative, further closing the distance between China and Qatar. It establishes an "Air Silk Road", facilitating economic and trade exchanges, cultural interactions, business and tourism between the two regions.

According to the latest plan, the Beijing-Doha route will operate daily, depart from Beijing at 1830 and arrive in Doha at 2245 local time, in return leave Doha at 0200 local time and arrive in Beijing at 1520, while the Xiamen-Doha route will operate two flights per week, depart from Xiamen at 0005 and arrive in Doha at 0500 local time, in return leave Doha at 1930 local time and back to Xiamen at 0755 the next day. Both routes will be operated by Boeing 787 Dreamliner, offering passengers more spacious and comfortable seats. The First-class and Business-class seats can recline to a fully flat position of 180 degrees, providing passengers with an enhanced sleeping experience during long-haul flights.

Doha's Hamad International Airport was named one of the top ten airports globally in 2023. It boasts the most architecturally significant terminal building in the world and is also one of the most luxurious airports, providing world-class transfer facilities and a seamless transfer experience. With the launch of the new routes, Xiamen Airlines will also engage in comprehensive cooperation with Qatar Airways. Both airlines will not only have codeshare cooperation on Beijing Daxing-Doha and Xiamen-Doha, but also extend their cooperation to full network interline, through check-in and lounge access. Leveraging the resources of Qatar Airways, Xiamen Airlines can extend its network to over 160 global destinations, including Dammam, Lagos, Algiers, etc. This offers passengers a wide range of transfer product choices and seamless travel experience. It's worth noting that both Xiamen Airlines and Qatar Airways were honored with the APEX World Class Award, earning a place among the "Top Eight Airlines in the World." In the future, the partnership of these two Five-Star airlines will bring more wonderful flying experience to the customers worldwide.

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/xiamen-airlines-to-launch-new-routes-from-beijing-and-xiamen-to-doha-301920812.html
Ashtead Group Plc - Change of Auditor

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, September 07

Ashtead Group plc

7 September 2023

ASHTEAD GROUP PLC

Change of auditor

Ashtead Group plc (the "Company") announces that, following the Company's Annual General Meeting ("AGM") yesterday, Deloitte LLP has stepped down as auditor of the Company. Deloitte LLP has provided the following statement in relation to ceasing to act as auditor of the Company:

We are not seeking reappointment as auditor of the Company and, accordingly, will cease to hold office at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting held on 6 September 2023. The reasons for our ceasing to hold office is that we have reached our maximum tenure under s494ZA Companies Act 2006.We confirm that there are no other circumstances connected with our ceasing to hold office that we consider should be brought to the attention of the members or creditors of the Company.

In line with the resolution approved at the AGM, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has been appointed as the Company's auditor for the financial year ending 30 April 2024.

Contact:

Eric Watkins, General Counsel

0207 726 9700
SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 6-8, Sinochem International made its debut at the China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE2023), showcasing its entire line of para-aramid products. These innovative solutions are tailored to meet the specific needs of the optical communication industry, serving as non-metallic reinforcement materials for optical-fiber cable applications.

Optical communication cables constitute a critical foundation for high-speed information networks. In the era of new-generation communication technology, optical transport networks demand higher speeds, increased capacity and longer reach. Therefore, optical communication cables need to have superior performance attributes, including elevated strength, enhanced modulus, extended lifespan, reduced weight, minimal creep, and heightened resistance to corrosion.

Sinochem International's proprietary para-aramids are used as non-metallic reinforcing materials for optical-fiber cables, offering a compelling alternative to traditional materials like glass fibers or steel wires. They significantly augment the overall performance of optical-fiber cables while enhancing the reliability of communication signal transmission.

Aramid is recognized globally as one of the three high-performance fibers. It has an outward appearance resembling ordinary spun fibers. But compared with steel wire, aramid exhibits a strength of 5-6 times and a toughness of 2 times, while weighing only one-fifth. These fibers excel in various aspects, including high strength, elevated modulus, resistance to high temperatures, tolerance to acidic and alkaline environments, insulation properties, anti-aging characteristics, and an extended lifecycle. In the realm of optical communication cables, they have rightfully earned their place as one of the industry's specified non-metallic reinforcement materials.

Para-aramid finds its utility not only in information communication but also in a diverse range of sectors, including new energy vehicles, rail transit, electronics, composite materials, and special workplace protection, among others.

Sinochem International entered the aramid fiber industry chain in 2013. After years of relentless independent research and development, a significant technological breakthrough was achieved in high-strength and high-modulus products in 2022, leading to successful mass production.

According to an assessment by the China National Textile and Apparel Council, the company's high-strength, high-modulus para-aramid products meet international benchmarks in terms of production process and quality.

As a state-owned enterprise specializing in new chemical materials in China, Sinochem International is committed the fine chemical industry with new chemical materials as its core focus. The company has embarked on a strategic transformation, guided by an industrial chain mindset and integrated industrial layout, with an aim to establish itself as a world-class materials science platform.

Currently, Sinochem International boasts an annual para-aramid production capacity of 5,500 tons, with high-strength and high-modulus products constituting a significant 75% of the total output. Beyond its impressive production capacity, the company consistently operates at full production capacity as demand surpasses supply. Robust sales are achieved across downstream markets, including optical communication cables, special workplace protection solutions, tire rubber, and composite materials.

An industry report showed that the global and Chinese demand for para-aramid fiber in 2022 stood at 85,000 tons and 13,000 tons, respectively. From 2023 to 2025, China's demand is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of about 10%.

To meet this surging demand, Sinochem International is pushing forward with a 2,500-ton-per-year expansion project. Slated for completion by 2024, this expansion will boost the company's total para-aramid fiber production capacity to 8,000 tons annually.

As for future growth, Sinochem International is adopting a comprehensive strategy that spans the entire supply chain, product lines, and product lifecycle.

The entire-supply-chain approach involves both upstream and downstream expansions. On the upstream side, the company is ramping up production of the core raw material, paraphenylenediamine. On the downstream side, it is developing an array of products such as pulp, short fibers, and aramid paper. Current initiatives include a technical upgrade for a 1,000-ton-per-year specialized unidirectional fabric line and a 2,500-ton-per-year para-aramid pulp and short fiber line, creating new revenue streams.

The all-product-lines strategy aims to offer a one-stop service by industrializing a complete portfolio of products, including meta-aramid, para-aramid, and heterocyclic aramid. This is achieved through in-house research and development, and operationalized in Yangzhou.

For full-lifecycle management, the company plans to implement a multi-step approach to utilize resources and therefore recycle waste aramid products. This will not only extend the lifespan of these products but also optimize resource use.

On the aramid industrial front, Sinochem International is poised to leverage its current advantages and the broader market landscape. The company has plans to roll out timely expansions, with the goal of becoming one of the top three global producers in terms of capacity. In doing so, it aims to establish a competitive edge in product quality, cost, and supply chain management. Concurrently, by fostering innovation, the company aspires to broaden the applications for para-aramid fiber- a "noble fiber" - thereby contributing to the advancement and security of modern technology and civilization.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/sinochem-international-expands-presence-in-aramid-fiber-industry-chain-301920837.html
OWIT Global (OWIT), the leader in cloud-based insurance-specific microservices architected solutions to digitalize the global insurance industry, announces the release of O/DIEM, OWIT's Digitalization Insurance Enterprise Management Platform.

O/DIEM is a strategic platform for the insurance industry that supports the industry's need for innovative processes and clean data from internal and external sources. Over the years, insurers have implemented various software solutions to support multiple lines of business and operational requirements. These solutions have created an enormous data integrity issue. In addition, the opportunity to streamline processes has become imperative to support the scaling of distribution channels.

O/DIEM provides carriers, brokers, reinsurers, TPAs, MGAs, MGUs, and other insurance entities with a strategic enterprise platform that gives total control to collect, cleanse, utilize, normalize, and distribute data to various counterparties and internal systems. Clients can connect their existing systems to O/DIEM to cleanse data or leverage OWIT's other solutions.

"We recognized the need to combine process and clean data. Innovation of customer experience and process and the operational challenge of dealing with disparate data led us to BDX-Central, our bordereaux management solution. This initially focused on the industry's need to automate the consumption and sending of bordereaux data. In time, our solution expanded to solve the bigger need of handling all data and creating the flexibility to build a platform to streamline processes, completing the digitalization circle," said Wendy Aarons-Corman, Chief Executive Officer of OWIT Global. "The industry cannot solve this problem by hiring more people or developing proprietary software solutions that need to change with additional distributions and needs. O/DIEM is a strategic platform for today's tactical need and tomorrow's unknowns."

"We are delighted to be working with a global London Market Broker in implementing a Delegated Data Management Solution, built on O/DIEM, that removes the need for conventional bordereaux," said Julian James, President of EMEA and AsiaPac and Global Chief Revenue Officer of OWIT Global. "With O/DIEM, the industry now has an alternative solution to enable direct access to the source data as a first step in digitalizing the end-to-end process."

About OWIT GLOBAL

The OWIT portfolio is built on a Digitalization Insurance Enterprise Management platform (O/DIEM) to support the industry need to re-invent and improve both process and the need for clean data across the value chain. O/DIEM assimilates data ingestion and transformation via OWIT's Delegated Data/Bordereaux/Binder Management solutions as well as other solutions such as broker portal, point of sale, rating, rules, and document generation. O/DIEM can also connect to a client's existing environments to enable the transformation (clean and normalized) of both data and (digitalization) process.

OWIT is a global insurance specialist technology provider for carriers, brokers, reinsurers, and MGA/MGUs. Since OWIT's incorporation in 2018, our solutions have been designed and built from the "ground-up" and the "cloud-down" on a modern architecture designed to optimize no-code and cloud deployment with a mission to simplify innovation via the digitalization of process and data, in harmony with the integration of our customers' existing environments to maximize their investments.

For more information about OWIT Global, please visit www.OWITGlobal.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907867457/en/

Contacts:

Media:

Gilda Migliore

gilda@owitglobal.com
Relativity announces its lineup of industry-leading speakers, highlights important event information and builds on Relativity Contracts product launch momentum

CHICAGO, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Relativity, a global legal technology company, today announced its speaker lineup and key event information for Relativity Fest, an annual conference designed to educate and connect the e-discovery community, taking place Sept. 26-28 in Chicago. Thousands attend the conference which challenges attendees to rethink how they conduct e-discovery with engaging panel discussions, hands-on exercises, breakout sessions and insights from industry leaders.

"It's been a watershed year for legal tech innovation and there are so many accomplishments from the entire Relativity community to celebrate at Relativity Fest," said Phil Saunders, CEO at Relativity. "We're acutely focused on purposeful innovation, which we channeled into product launches this year like Relativity Contracts and Review Center. We look forward to building on this momentum as we unveil new generative AI solutions and other product updates during the keynote that will transform the way our customers and partners work."

Industry-Leading Experts to Speak at Relativity Fest

Relativity Fest brings together the brightest minds in the industry and attracts expert speakers for three days of transformation, education and connection. Speakers at this year's event come from Big Tech, Am Law 200 firms, Fortune 500 companies, top government agencies and legal aid organizations. The conference, which will feature over 200 speakers, will cover a broad range of topics in addition to e-discovery. Session content spans from law firm challenges and the societal implications of AI to mental health in the workplace and the current state of access to justice. Relativity Fest will also welcome David Meade, an international corporate speaker and master mentalist, to lead the closing keynote Sept. 28.

Relativity to Present Generative AI Announcements at Keynote Address

At the keynote on Sept. 27 at 9:00 a.m. C.T., Relativity will share more details on new generative AI capabilities within RelativityOne. Saunders will also share his perspective on shifts in the industry, Relativity's ongoing commitment to responsible AI and how the company continues to empower its customers' success across several dimensions. Chief Product Officer Chris Brown and other special guests will join Saunders to share the latest and greatest product features and success stories.

Sessions Will Mark Milestones and Introduce New Capabilities

Across the 100+ sessions, Relativity Fest attendees can expect to learn more about a variety of areas pertinent to their daily work and the needs of their individual organizations. Key sessions of interest include:

The 10 th Annual Relativity Innovation Awards, 9/26 at 4:45 p.m. CT: The Innovation Awards celebrate organizations and individuals in the community who build innovative solutions, break down barriers for technology in the practice of law, and take Relativity and its community to the next level.

The Innovation Awards celebrate organizations and individuals in the community who build innovative solutions, break down barriers for technology in the practice of law, and take Relativity and its community to the next level. Transform Review with Generative AI, 9/27 at 10:45 a.m. CT: The audience will learn how Relativity is responsibly approaching and incorporating generative AI and large language models in RelativityOne, to continue optimizing and accelerating core workflows for investigations and litigation.

The audience will learn how Relativity is responsibly approaching and incorporating generative AI and large language models in RelativityOne, to continue optimizing and accelerating core workflows for investigations and litigation. 10 th Annual Judicial Panel, 9/27 at 1:00 p.m. CT: Relativity will look back at some of the issues that have made the law of e-discovery one of the most dynamic and cutting-edge areas of law over the past decade. Panelists will examine how the law has changed, how it has stayed the same, where the judges' predictions were correct, and when they were somewhat less than correct. This session will also look to the future to hear what the judges see on the horizon on topics from AI to the trinity of cooperation, proportionality and sanctions in e-discovery.

Relativity will look back at some of the issues that have made the law of e-discovery one of the most dynamic and cutting-edge areas of law over the past decade. Panelists will examine how the law has changed, how it has stayed the same, where the judges' predictions were correct, and when they were somewhat less than correct. This session will also look to the future to hear what the judges see on the horizon on topics from AI to the trinity of cooperation, proportionality and sanctions in e-discovery. The Law, The Taliban, and the Women Judges of Afghanistan, 9/27 at 2:30 p.m. CT : In this program developed by Relativity and the National Association of Women Judges, the audience will learn about the legal changes in Afghanistan and the judges' harrowing escapes from Afghanistan.

In this program developed by Relativity and the National Association of Women Judges, the audience will learn about the legal changes in Afghanistan and the judges' harrowing escapes from Afghanistan. ABCD... ESG: The ESG Basics for e-Discovery, 9/27 at 3:45 p.m. CT: While it may seem like the "alphabet soup of the day," ESG is here to stay. Panelists will discuss common misconceptions about ESG, ways that related policies and regulations may impact the industry, and how professionals can both do their part to support a better future and get ahead of the curve.

While it may seem like the "alphabet soup of the day," ESG is here to stay. Panelists will discuss common misconceptions about ESG, ways that related policies and regulations may impact the industry, and how professionals can both do their part to support a better future and get ahead of the curve. The Future of Short Message Discovery, 9/27 at 3:45 p.m. CT: Short messages add new dimensions to review data beyond just that of documents. This session will share Relativity's technical solutions enabling this transformative moment in the industry, and how Relativity is architecting the future experience of short message to continue empowering users.

Short messages add new dimensions to review data beyond just that of documents. This session will share Relativity's technical solutions enabling this transformative moment in the industry, and how Relativity is architecting the future experience of short message to continue empowering users. Access to Justice, 9/28 at 1:30 p.m. CT: Featuring a panel of legal professionals, this session will examine the state of access to justice in 2023, developments in the courts and Congress, and what the future holds for regulatory reform for lawyers.

Cultivate Connections at Relativity Fest

Relativity Fest provides attendees the opportunity to forge and strengthen connections within the e-discovery and technology communities. Attendees can tune into the Fest Desk, which consists of in-person interviews with domain experts that are held in the Community Pavillion. These interviews are broadcast to the Relativity Fest audience as well as virtual attendees. Listeners will enjoy informative, lighthearted conversation with Relativity and various customers and partners.

The Relativity Networking Party on Sept. 27 will be the perfect way to top off a day of learning and presentations. Held from 7:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. CT at The Old Post Office, In Our Orbit will be an extraordinary evening filled with music, networking and fun.

Relativity Builds on Contracts Launch Momentum

Relativity Fest comes on the heels of another significant conference for the legal industry, ILTACON, which took place August 20-24. At the event, Relativity announced the launch of Relativity Contracts, Relativity's integrated solution for contract analysis available in RelativityOne. Contracts allows users to glean actionable insights when analyzing agreements to meet changing regulatory requirements, realize business value and reduce legal risk. Relativity plans to continue to build on the momentum with additional product launch announcements at Relativity Fest.

There's still time to register!

Register to attend Relativity Fest virtually or in-person here.

About Relativity

Relativity makes software to help users organize data, discover the truth and act on it. Its SaaS product, RelativityOne, manages large volumes of data and quickly identifies key issues during litigation and internal investigations. Relativity has more than 300,000 users in approximately 40 countries serving thousands of organizations globally primarily in legal, financial services and government sectors, including the U.S. Department of Justice and 198 of the Am Law 200. Please contact Relativity at PR@relativity.com or visit www.relativity.com for more information.

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/legal-professionals-to-connect-and-share-e-discovery-expertise-at-relativity-fest-2023-301920640.html
Global retail manufacturing business transitions smoothly from MPLS to GTT's Managed SD-WAN solution, reducing their cost per site by 22% with no service interruptions.

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 07, 2023, a leading global provider of managed network and security services to multinational organizations, has completed a successful migration for a global leader in shop fitting and store design, HMY Group- upgrading legacy network technology to Managed SD-WANwithout interruption to its business. The Managed SD-WAN solution connects 15 of HMY Group's sites across Europe, Asia, North and South America in real time and provides a faster, more reliable network to support the company's continuing global expansion.



The move to SD-WAN effectively doubles the network capacity at every site while reducing the overall cost per site by 22%. At the same time, the SD-WAN's central traffic routing features enable the HMY Group to prioritize business applications and optimize data routing to make its operations more efficient and increase its return on investment.

"GTT's Tier 1 global managed SD-WAN positions our company for growth and delivers on this key business objective," said Teresa Tomas, CIO, HMY Group. "Like our clients in the retail sector, we operate across several continents, and we need to move fast when we add a new site to our network. GTT's managed SD-WAN solution makes our company more agile so that we can start conducting business in new locations much more efficiently."

The solution is built on GTT's global Tier 1 IP backbone which spans six continents and 140 countries. Crucially, the SD-WAN solution enables HMY Group to more rapidly onboard new sites onto its corporate network in hard-to-reach geographic locations like China and South America where local access options may not be well established. This is achieved by enabling the HMY Group to leverage any available local access type in a resilient configuration.

GTT Managed SD-WAN now connects 15 HMY Group sites in France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, United States, and China, with efficient routing and load balancing for fast performance and automatic network failover for increased resilience. GTT Cloud Connect gives users across HMY Group high-performance, secure connectivity to the Microsoft Azure cloud.

Further, the HMY Group takes advantage of GTT's EtherVision, a web-based customer portal, providing its IT team visibility of the entire global network with the ability to set policies and monitor the use and performance of devices and applications.

GTT supported HMY Group throughout the migration with additional solutions including Professional Services, SIP trunking, broadband wireless, and centralized firewalls, which GTT also manages as part of its integrated managed services offering.

"We are proud to support HMY Group's business objectives with our secure, high-performance global managed SD-WAN, voice and Cloud Connect solution as well as security services," said Tom Homer, President, Europe Division, GTT. "The partnership we have built with the HMY Group has been key to developing this secure and reliable network, helping the company expand its business in the fast-moving world of retail manufacturing while allowing its teams around the globe to work efficiently."

For more information, read the case study here.

About GTT

GTT is a managed network and security services provider to global organizations. We design and deliver solutions that leverage advanced cloud, networking and security technologies. We complement our solutions with a suite of professional services and exceptional sales and support teams in local markets around the world. We serve thousands of national and multinational companies with a portfolio that includes SD-WAN, security, Internet, voice and other connectivity options. Our services are uniquely enabled by our top-ranked, global, Tier 1 IP backbone, which spans more than 260 cities on six continents. The company culture is built on a customer-first service experience reinforced by our commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement in our business, environmental, social and governance practices. For more information, visit www.gtt.net .

GTT Media Inquiries: Americas: Europe: GTT Investor Relations: Mary Lynn Heath, GTT Siria Nielsen, GTT Charlie Lucas, VP of Finance, GTT +1-646-214-4078 +31-6-2835-4259 InvestorRelations@gtt.net (mailto:InvestorRelations@gtt.net) MaryLynn.Heath@gtt.net (mailto:MaryLynn.Heath@gtt.net) siria.nielsen@gtt.net (mailto:siria.nielsen@gtt.net)

Press releases can be downloaded from gtt.net.

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The transaction includes all cervical and lumbar fusion products, including the STALIF technology platform

FRAUENFELD, Switzerland, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Silony Medical International AG (the company), a growing challenger to "big medtech" in the global spinal fusion market, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Centinel Spine's Global Fusion Business. This combines Silony's Verticale posterior screw & rod fusion System, its Roccia and Favo Interbody Fusion (IBF) Systems with the STALIF Technology Platform to create a first in class occiput to sacrum, posterior, lateral and anterior Spinal Fusion Portfolio for open & minimally invasive spinal fusion cases.

"Adding Centinel's Fusion Products to Silony's portfolio significantly strengthens our technological and geographic footprint, without cannibalizing products and sales regions" said Silony CEO Constantin Schoen. "Uniting stand-alone/screw integrated cervical and lumbar solutions with our predominantly posterior capabilities is a logical move, that will further accelerate our global growth"

In addition to technology & geographic reach, Silony will welcome a team of professionals from Centinel Spine whose expertise in the anterior fusion market advances patient care every day. Silony is committed to successful long-term relationships, and we look forward to continuing to work with the established STALIF distributor, surgeon and hospital partners around the world.

The transaction is expected to close within 45 days. Terms were not disclosed.

About Silony Medical

Established in 2013 by the internationally renowned hospital group, Schon Clinic, in Germany, Silony Medical is a market disrupter aiming to change the status quo of how product manufacturers partner with hospital systems. Silony Spine curates and designs spinal hardware and tools that provide surgeons and hospitals with high-value product solutions that are highly compatible with enabling technologies.

For more information, please visit the company's website at www.silony-medical.com or contact:

Silony Medical International AG

Constantin Schoen

Chief Executive Officer

Bahnhofplatz 76a, 8500 Frauenfeld Switzerland

Phone: +49 711 78 25 25 21

Email: cschoen@silony-medical.com & info.schweiz@silony-medical.com

About Centinel Spine, LLC

Centinel Spine, LLC is a leading global medical device company addressing cervical and lumbar spinal disease by providing the most robust total disc replacement (TDR) technology platform in the world (prodisc). The Company's prodisc technology is the most studied and clinically-proven TDR system across the globe, validated by over 540 published papers and 240,000 implantations worldwide.

Centinel Spine continues to advance its pioneering culture and corporate mission to become a catalyst of change in the spine industry and alter the way spine surgery is perceived. The prodisc platform remains the only technology with multiple motion-preserving solutions for both cervical and lumbar anterior column reconstruction.

For more information, please visit the company's website at www.CentinelSpine.com or contact:

Centinel Spine

Varun Gandhi

Chief Financial Officer

900 Airport Road, Suite 3B

West Chester, PA 19380

Phone: +1 484-887-8871

Email: v.gandhi@centinelspine.com

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/silony-medical-acquires-centinel-spines-global-fusion-business-301919468.html
The "Global LED Lighting Market Size By Product Type, By Installation Type, By End-User, By Geographic Scope And Forecast" report has been published by Verified Market Research. The report provides an in-depth analysis of the global LED Lighting Market, including its growth prospects, market trends, and market challenges

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global LED Lighting Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.27% from 2022 to 2030, according to a new report published by Verified Market Research. The report reveals that the market was valued at USD 11.96 Billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 26.14 Billion by the end of the forecast period.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/download-sample?rid=9789

Browse in-depth TOC on "LED Lighting Market"

202 - Pages

126 - Tables

37 - Figures

Global LED Lighting Market Shines Bright with Remarkable Growth Prospects

The global LED Lighting Market is experiencing an electrifying surge, underpinned by a convergence of market drivers and propelled by a distinguished lineup of key players. As the world pivots towards energy efficiency, innovation, and sustainability, Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) have emerged as a beacon of illumination for the future.

Market Drivers Illuminating the LED Lighting Market Landscape:

Macroeconomic Conditions and New Construction: The LED Lighting Market is significantly influenced by macroeconomic conditions that drive new construction projects, consequently spurring demand for innovative lighting solutions.

Energy Efficiency and Cost Savings: LEDs represent the epitome of energy efficiency, delivering substantial cost savings and reduced operational expenses over their extensive lifespan.

Innovation and Technological Advancements: Key players are at the forefront of innovation, continually enhancing product designs and technology to meet evolving market demands.

Government Initiatives for Energy Conservation: Government initiatives aimed at energy conservation are fostering the adoption of LED lighting, aligning with global sustainability goals.

Regulatory Frameworks: Stringent regulatory policies, particularly in regions such as the United States, the European Union, China, and Canada, are propelling the transition from conventional lighting technologies to LEDs.

LED Lighting Market Outlook and Growth Prospects:

The global LED Lighting Market is poised for remarkable growth from 2015 to 2025, driven by the confluence of these market drivers. LEDs are gaining traction across a spectrum of applications, from indoor to outdoor settings, owing to their efficiency, durability, and extended lifespan. With a minimal environmental footprint, LEDs are a cost-effective and environmentally responsible choice, further contributing to their burgeoning adoption.

The market is witnessing a transformation from traditional lighting to eco-friendly solutions, with consumers and businesses increasingly prioritizing sustainability. Energy efficiency standards are evolving, and prices are declining, making LEDs an attractive proposition for the market.

In the coming years, the LED Lighting Market is anticipated to flourish, buoyed by the commitment of key players to push the boundaries of innovation and the unwavering support of governments worldwide for energy-efficient technologies. This growth trajectory aligns with the broader global objective of sustainable development and reduced energy consumption.

LED Lighting Market Key Players:

The LED Lighting Market is illuminated by a stellar cast of key players, including:

Cooper Industries, Inc.

Cree, Inc.

OSRAM Licht AG

Samsung

General Electric Company

Phillips Lighting Holding B.V.

Virtual Extension

Dialight plc

Zumtobel Group AG

Sharp Corporation

These industry leaders are at the forefront of innovation and are instrumental in shaping the landscape of LED lighting technology. Their contributions are pivotal in driving the global LED Lighting Market towards a brighter and more sustainable future.

To get market data, market insights, financial statements and a comprehensive analysis of the Global LED Lighting Market, please Contact Verified Market Research.

Based on the research, Verified Market Research has segmented the global LED Lighting Market into Product Type, Installation Type, End-User, And Geography.

LED Lighting Market, by Product Type

Luminaires



Lamps

LED Lighting Market, by Installation Type

Retrofit Installation



New Installation

LED Lighting Market, by End-User

Outdoor Lighting



Indoor Lighting

LED Lighting Market, by Geography

North America



U.S





Canada





Mexico



Europe



Germany





France





U.K





Rest of Europe



Asia Pacific



China





Japan





India





Rest of Asia Pacific



ROW



Middle East & Africa





Latin America

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Filament LED Bulb Market By Type (25-Watt Type, 40-Watt Type, 60-Watt Type), By Application (Restaurants, Bars, Hotels, Cafes & Homes), By Geography, And Forecast

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Top 8 LED Lighting Manufacturers, the eager beavers, appointing the barbell strategy

Visualize LED Lighting Market using Verified Market Intelligence -:

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New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Today, PDB Creative Studio, a leading provider of art supplies tailored for women aged 18 to 65, is proud to announce its recognition with the prestigious 2023 Global Recognition Award. This accolade is a testament to the company's unparalleled growth, innovation, and dedication to fostering entrepreneurship and career growth among its clientele.

PDB Creative Studio wins esteemed Global Recognition Award

Beginning its journey in a basement in Warrensburg, MO, PDB Creative Studio's trajectory has been nothing short of remarkable. On track to surpass the $2.5M sales benchmark this year, the company has seen a staggering 1000% revenue increase since 2019. The growth reflects the solid business model, the hard work and dedication of the entire team, and the visionary leadership of CEO Suzanne Turner.

Central to PDB Creative Studio's ethos is its unwavering commitment to its clients. By offering complimentary advice on transitioning from a side hustle to a full-fledged career, the company goes above and beyond mere sales, emphasizing a holistic, customer-centric approach.

Innovation remains at the heart of the company's operations. PDB Creative Studio has been a pioneer in the artisan craft glitter segment, introducing a groundbreaking supply chain model. This model, which allows direct purchases from on-hand inventory, has dramatically reduced customer wait times. Additionally, the company's trailblazing initiative - the first-ever artisan glitter subscription model - has set new industry standards, further enhancing customer experience.

What truly sets PDB Creative Studio apart is its combination of top-quality products and exceptional customer service. Ensuring timely shipments and providing mentoring opportunities via social platforms are just some ways the company prioritizes its clients. These efforts have garnered a robust customer base exceeding 100,000 and still counting.

In conclusion, as PDB Creative Studio looks to the future, this 2023 Global Recognition Award stands as both an acknowledgment of its achievements thus far and a beacon for further accomplishments. The award not only honors the company's milestones but also celebrates its impactful presence in the global business arena.

About Global Recognition AwardsTM:

Global Recognition AwardsTM is an international organization that recognizes exceptional companies and individuals who have significantly contributed to their industry. Their awards are highly regarded and sought after by businesses across the globe.

Contact Details:

James Sinclair

Global Recognition Awards

Email: contact@globalrecognitionawards.org/

Website: https://globalrecognitionawards.org/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179341
DCS launches new service to save money and improve ESG performance

Supporting building owners, operators, facility and property management

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Randy Burke, CEO of DCS Global ('DCS' 'the Company') is pleased to announce the appointment of Neil Lathangue as President.

DCS is a trusted advisor to building owners, operators and property managers, providing independent advice on cleaning performance and RFP support. The Company helps clients save money on cleaning costs, provides data-driven analysis and quality control, mitigates risk and enhances ESG performance.

"Neil brings a strategic mindset, a deep understanding of our business and world class leadership skills," said Randy Burke, CEO. "He is joining us at an important time, as our clients face economic headwinds and disruptive occupancy patterns. Neil will be instrumental in helping to launch our new service, saving clients 10-15% on cleaning costs and reducing the environmental footprint of cleaning operations."

Mr. Lathangue will manage the day-to-day administration of the Company, and be an integral part of the leadership team in strategic planning, business development, sales and client relationships, operations support and continuous improvement of the DCS value proposition.

Neil was previously CEO and Partner of Zoono Services Inc., an international company engaging in the research, development and sale of a range of antimicrobial products. He also served as President and Partner of TBM Service Group and has more than 15 years as a respected and award-winning leader in the Environmental Cleaning and Infection Control Industry (ECIC).

Previously, he co-founded and led GDI, one of North America's largest facilities services companies, and was Chief Commercial Officer of ICS, supporting many of Canada's largest real estate asset managers, property managers and landlords. He also co-founded Desiderata Capital LLP and held senior executive positions at Waste Solutions Canada, Sierra Alpha Facility Services and Omni Facility Services.

Mr. Lathangue holds a bachelor's degree from Brock University, a certificate from the Hotel Real Estate Investment and Asset Management Program at Cornell University and a certificate in Strategic Leadership from Western University.

DCS is a trusted cleaning subject-matter-expert, with over 30 years' experience as independent third party advisers. Our vision is to improve the state of the cleaning industry, driving transparency, fairness and value for all stakeholders. Our values are honesty, integrity, fairness, transparency, respect and diversity.

We help clients optimize the value of their cleaning contracts, collect data to benchmark and drive performance, support the health, safety and well-being of building occupants, lessen the environmental footprint of cleaning operations, and provide an additional level of governance in awarding and evaluating multi-million dollar cleaning contracts.

The Company supports leading facility management companies and building owners in commercial real estate, retail, education, transportation and the public sector. DCS services include RFP support, cost savings systems, data driven audits and inspections, KPIs, and cleaning-for-health specifications.

For information contact:

Randy Burke, CEO

r.burke@dcsglobal.ca

416-971-6666

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179855
CHICAGO, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MarketsandMarkets has released 360 Quadrant for Top 17 Membranes Companies, Worldwide 2023 to help businesses make quicker and more informed decisions. Companies' market presence and product footprint are used to build quadrants, which will be revised annually.

The size of the global membranes market was USD 6.4 billion in 2022, and it is anticipated that it will grow at a CAGR of 9.7% from 2022 to 2027 to reach USD 10.1 billion. Water and wastewater treatment applications are where membranes are most frequently employed. The membranes market is being driven by elements like rising consumer awareness of water and wastewater treatment, strict government restrictions on water treatment and the environment, and rising demand from end-use industries. Manufacturers of membranes can expand as a result of the increased need for water treatment in developing nations like China, India, and Brazil.

Download Sample PDF @ https://www.360quadrants.com/chemicals/membranes-market

Emerging regions with serious water shortage problems include Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. One of the main methods employed to address the issue is desalination. RO membrane use in desalination is widespread. The demand for membranes will rise as water becomes more scarce. The possibility for membrane manufacturers to build their business is a result of the rising need for sophisticated wastewater treatment technology for more effective and high-quality treated water as well as the rising demand for high-quality effluent.

Unveiling the Market Leaders: Honoring Excellence in Membranes Markets

DuPont one of the top producers of technologically based materials and solutions is DuPont. Membranes are available from the corporation through its water & protection business section. Municipal drinking water and wastewater, food and beverage, power generation, microelectronics, oil & gas, pharmaceutical, and industrial wastewater are just a few of the industries which DuPont supplies its products. With over 120 locations worldwide, DuPont has activities all over the world. For its water and protection business, the corporation operates 33 facilities across the US, Canada, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

one of the top producers of technologically based materials and solutions is DuPont. Membranes are available from the corporation through its water & protection business section. Municipal drinking water and wastewater, food and beverage, power generation, microelectronics, oil & gas, pharmaceutical, and industrial wastewater are just a few of the industries which DuPont supplies its products. With over 120 locations worldwide, DuPont has activities all over the world. For its water and protection business, the corporation operates 33 facilities across the US, Canada, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Toray Industries, Inc. is a multinational company that produces, processes and sells products connected to fibers, textiles, plastics, chemicals, IT, carbon fiber composite materials, the environment, engineering, and life sciences all over the world. The business' environment and engineering division sells a range of membrane products, including membrane bioreactors, UF & MF membranes, and RO & nanofiltration membranes. The corporation operates in more than 29 countries and has a presence there. Its water business uses seven manufacturing facilities. These facilities can be found all over the world, notably in North America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific.

is a multinational company that produces, processes and sells products connected to fibers, textiles, plastics, chemicals, IT, carbon fiber composite materials, the environment, engineering, and life sciences all over the world. The business' environment and engineering division sells a range of membrane products, including membrane bioreactors, UF & MF membranes, and RO & nanofiltration membranes. The corporation operates in more than 29 countries and has a presence there. Its water business uses seven manufacturing facilities. These facilities can be found all over the world, notably in North America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. Hydranautics one of the industry's top producers of cutting-edge, high-performance membrane products is Hydranautics. A member of the Nitto Global Membrane Division (NGMD), the business. Membranes for ultrafiltration and microfiltration based on polymeric hollow fibers are available from Hydranautics. The company offers its products for use in a variety of industries, including medicines, agricultural irrigation, surface water treatment, saltwater desalination, potable water, boiler feedwater, industrial process water, electronic rinse water, and pharmaceuticals. North America, Asia, Europe, and South America are all parts of Hydranautics' global sales network.

one of the industry's top producers of cutting-edge, high-performance membrane products is Hydranautics. A member of the Nitto Global Membrane Division (NGMD), the business. Membranes for ultrafiltration and microfiltration based on polymeric hollow fibers are available from Hydranautics. The company offers its products for use in a variety of industries, including medicines, agricultural irrigation, surface water treatment, saltwater desalination, potable water, boiler feedwater, industrial process water, electronic rinse water, and pharmaceuticals. North America, Asia, Europe, and South America are all parts of Hydranautics' global sales network. Koch Separation is a Membrane Systems a division of Koch Engineered Solutions. Globally, the business creates and produces separation and purification solutions. It creates filtration membranes, creates specialized and customized systems for different industries, and offers first-rate customer and technical support. In addition to having a global sales presence, the corporation has production sites in both North America and Europe. It offers solutions for a variety of industries, including oil & gas, automotive, textile, pulp & paper, life sciences, food, beverage, and life sciences.

is a Membrane Systems a division of Koch Engineered Solutions. Globally, the business creates and produces separation and purification solutions. It creates filtration membranes, creates specialized and customized systems for different industries, and offers first-rate customer and technical support. In addition to having a global sales presence, the corporation has production sites in both North America and Europe. It offers solutions for a variety of industries, including oil & gas, automotive, textile, pulp & paper, life sciences, food, beverage, and life sciences. Pall Corporation Filtration, separation, and purification technologies and products are produced and sold by Pall Corporation. It functions as a Danaher subsidiary. The business segments for environmental & applied solutions and life sciences are where the company offers membranes. The regions of North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East & Africa are all where Pall Corporation conducts business. Chemicals, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, the food and beverage industry, and the microelectronics industry are just a few of the industries that the company supplies its goods to.

Access Research Report @ https://www.360quadrants.com/chemicals/membranes-market

CATEGORIZATION OF MEMBRANES COMPANIES ON 360 QUADRANTS

Membranes evaluation was conducted for 100 companies, of which the top 17 were categorized and placed in the quadrant under Market Leaders, Contenders, Innovators, and Emerging Companies.

All the companies in the market leader segment demonstrated strong offerings and the ability to influence the market's direction with their deep expertise. These companies include DuPont, Toray, Veolia, Hydranautics, Pall Corp., 3M, Asahi Kasei, Koch Separation and Pentair.

Parker Hannifin has been recognized as contenders in the Membranes quadrant. The contenders are companies with a strong market presence, excelling in specific niches. While not offering the full range of market leaders, they wield significant influence and impact. These companies focus on specific technologies and aim to establish leadership within their chosen segment.

In the quadrant, innovators are highly innovative companies with a strong product portfolio, but a smaller market presence compared to leaders. They push industry boundaries with forward-thinking approaches and have the potential to become major players despite lower corporate growth strategies. LG Chem, GEA, Mann+Hummel and Merck KGaA have been identified as the innovators in the quadrant.

The 360 Quadrants effectively evaluates emerging companies in the Membranes industry. They focus on specific areas and offer specialized knowledge, targeted support, flexible terms, and competitive prices. While they may have limited capabilities, they are preferred for specific use cases. These companies employ strategies to expand sales and reach a broader client base. This segment of the quadrant has identified Ion Exchnage, Filteration Group and Aquatech as emerging companies.

Evaluation Criteria

The vendor evaluation was conducted on over 60 companies of which the top 20 were categorized and recognized as the quadrant leaders. Factors such as revenue, geographic presence, vendor's market share, and business strategies have been considered to evaluate the Membranes quadrant. The top criteria for company evaluation were By Material (Polymeric and Ceramic), Technology (RO, MF, UF and NF) and application.

Claim Your Free Marketing Kit @ https://www.360quadrants.com/chemicals/membranes-market

360Quadrants Scoring Methodology

360 Quadrants employs a comprehensive and transparent scoring methodology to evaluate companies. It identifies relevant evaluation criteria, collects, and validates data from multiple sources, and employs an algorithm that considers parameter weights to generate scores. Normalization ensures fair comparisons, and the aggregated scores categorize solutions into quadrants such as Market Leaders, Contenders, Innovators, and Emerging Companies. This unbiased approach equips users with accurate information, empowering them to make well-informed decisions and select solutions that best suit their needs and objectives.

See Also:

Top Paint and Coatings Companies, Worldwide 2023

Top Lubricants Companies, Worldwide 2023

Top 21 Sustainable Packaging Companies, Worldwide 2023

Top 21 Flexible Packaging Companies, Worldwide 2023

Top 20 Personal Care Ingredients Companies 2023

Top 21 Smart Grid Companies, Worldwide 2023

Top 20 Composites Companies, Worldwide 2023

Top 20 Hydrogen Generation Companies 2023

Top 3D Printing Materials Companies, Worldwide 2023

Top Smart Grid Companies, Worldwide 2023

Top Plastic Additive Companies, Worldwide 2023

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NEW DELHI (dpa-AFX) - A U.S.-ASEAN Center will be estabished in Washington, D.C.



The Center will be established through a public-private partnership.



This was decided by the leaders of ASEAN and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at the 2023 U.S.-ASEAN Summit held in Jakarta, Indonesia.



The State Department said it has established a public-private partnership with Arizona State University (ASU) to launch the Center. The Center will further institutionalize and deepen the relationship between the United States and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) while bolstering support for U.S. economic and cultural engagement with Southeast Asia.



Since the establishment of the dialogue partnership in 1977, ASEAN and the United States have built extensive cooperation in various areas under the political-security, economy, and socio-cultural pillars.



The United States is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Southeast Asia, and more than 6,200 U.S. businesses have contributed to a record $520.3 billion in total trade between the United States and the nations of ASEAN in 2022, creating 625,000 jobs in all 50 states, and 1 million jobs throughout Southeast Asia.



The close partnership between ASEAN and the United States is also reflected in the increasing people-to-people engagements, as well as the growing number of students from ASEAN countries in the United States.



Center activities will be aimed at supporting the United States' and ASEAN's joint efforts to promote an open, connected, prosperous, resilient, and secure region, according to a spokespesn for the State Department.



Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved



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Mega-Chance: Der Indien Report Ihre Chancen im groten Wachstumsmarkt: 3 indische Top-Aktien. Die Highlights dieses Spezialreports: 1. Indien als Wachstumsriese, 2. Indiens Wirtschaft boomt!, 3. 3 Top-Performance-Aktien. Jetzt kostenlos downloaden. Hier klicken
LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / UK payroll automation platform Pento has announced the public release of new features to support weekly payroll and flexible workers. This release allows a wider variety of companies to enjoy the benefits of simplified, error-free, faster, integrated payroll management workflows, using Pento's automation tools.

Prior to today's release, businesses in industries such as retail, hospitality, manufacturing and healthcare were largely unable to use payroll automation platforms. Pento is the first and only SaaS platform to offer payroll support for all UK businesses, regardless of their payroll complexity. Even companies with weekly payroll cycles, part-time workers, zero hour or four-day weeks can now use Pento seamlessly.

"Payroll has always been tedious, manual, and error-prone - and it becomes even more challenging when you're running it four times a month or managing employees who work any non-traditional schedule", said Jonas Larsen, Co-founder and CEO of Pento. "We're happy to see that our updates on weekly payroll and flexible working patterns are being leveraged by industries where 9-5 isn't the norm", he added.

The new update gives Payroll, HR, and Finance teams dealing with flexible or weekly payments an alternative to manual and error-prone payroll processes with traditional bureaus. Teams that oversee payroll often struggle to cope with short turnaround windows and working patterns that can change from month to month, or even week to week, which underscores the importance of automation tools.

Pento brings flexibility and accuracy to weekly and flexible payroll management. With Pento, payroll teams for UK companies can edit employee pay up until the night before payday. The solution automates real-time PAYE and other tax and HMRC reporting, and calculations for pro-rata pay, sick pay, NI contributions, pensions, student loan repayments, and more, making it easy to comply with regulations.

Pento is hosting a live event on 21 September at 11:00 BST, to demonstrate the new features, showing you how easy it now is to run payroll on a weekly basis, even for flex workers. Peek into the future of payroll with Pento and get your burning questions answered during the Q&A by registering for the event here .

About Pento

pento.io

Pento is a payroll solution that ensures People, Finance and Payroll teams can run stress-free payroll without any errors by automating repetitive manual tasks, removing payroll deadlines, and offering expert payroll guidance.

Contact

Dan Edelstein

pr@inboundjunction.com

SOURCE: Pento



View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781702/pento-launches-uk-payroll-automation-support-for-flex-workers-and-weekly-payroll-cycles
Company Will Provide GXC's Onyx Private Cellular Solution to Enterprises in Key Vertical Markets

AUSTIN, TX / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / GXC (www.gxc.io), a leading provider of private cellular network solutions, has signed a reseller agreement with Circle Computer Resources (CCR) (http://www.ccr.net/), a Technology Infrastructure and Managed Service Provider (MSP) that serves enterprise customers in the United States and across the globe. Through this relationship, CCR will offer GXC's Onyx private cellular solution to clients in the industrial, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors.

Headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, CCR was founded in 1986, and is a second-generation family-owned company. What started as a computer rental company quickly evolved into an appliance and electronics support services organization, before expanding into the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) spaces. CCR's growth as an ISP allowed it to serve media colocation infrastructure clients in the broadcast industry, and it continued to broaden its offerings to include its current portfolio of Connectivity Services and Managed IT Services. As the core services of CCR have evolved, its dedication to excellent service, as well as its highly skilled team, have positioned CCR as a solid partner for GXC.

"CCR consistently ranks among the leading MSPs in North America and has earned an outstanding reputation for developing a comprehensive mix of solutions that enable businesses to increase productivity, maximize efficiency, and lower operating costs," said Mike Henderson, chief revenue officer at GXC. "We are delighted that CCR will add GXC's private cellular solutions to its portfolio, and help clients substantially improve business operations and performance through our end-to-end private cellular network offering."

GXC is a recognized leader in the development of private cellular networks for enterprise applications. The company's patented solutions enable businesses to expand coverage, improve resiliency and security, and lower network operating costs. The company recently announced the release of its GXC Onyx platform, which utilizes proprietary interference cancellation technology that enables access to devices provided in the publicly available CBRS spectrum.

"We are excited to join forces with GXC, which has earned a stellar reputation for providing a private cellular network solution that is uniquely comprehensive, flexible, outcome-oriented, and cost-efficient," said Shea Kelly, chief executive officer of CCR. "As customers continue to evaluate new solutions that maximize performance and efficiency, I am convinced that GXC's value propositions will resonate with our clients who are looking for tangible, readily accessible solutions to tackle their most pressing business challenges."

To learn more about GXC and its groundbreaking 5G cellular mesh architecture for enterprises, please visit www.gxc.io.

About GXC

Founded in 2016, GXC is an Austin, Texas-based company that provides groundbreaking private cellular network solutions for enterprises. Through its turnkey proprietary platform, GXC Onyx, the company delivers comprehensive connectivity both indoors and out, enabling highly secure, resilient, and scalable coverage that supports critical business operations in manufacturing, logistics, transportation, agriculture, and other commercial venues. GXC is the only provider to offer private cellular mesh technology, building this capability based on years of advanced research. The company partners with leading technology providers and systems integrators to ensure that each system is professionally deployed and meets the expectations of sophisticated enterprises. Follow us on LinkedIn and X and contact us here for inquiries.

GXC Contact:

PR Contact

Glenn Goldberg

Parallel Communications Group

516-705-6116

X: @Parallel_PR

ggoldberg@parallelpr.com

CCR Contact:

Media Contact

Lynette Hemann

319-362-2384 ext. 269

Lynette.hemann@ccr.net

SOURCE: GXC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781746/gxc-signs-partnership-agreement-with-ccr
Regulatory News:

The Ordinary General Meeting of Claranova (Paris:CLA) shareholders was held on first notice on Monday, September 4, 2023 at 3 p.m., at the Business Center Tour Egee, 9-11 Allee de l'Arche, 92400 Courbevoie, under the chairmanship of Mr. Pierre Cesarini, Chairman and CEO of Claranova.

More than a thousand shareholders were present or represented at this Ordinary General Meeting. With a quorum of 42.60%, all the resolutions proposed by the Board of Directors (1 to 10) were approved by the Ordinary General Meeting at a large majority.

Resolution A, proposed by The Dadoun Family Trust represented by Mr. Michael Dadoun, 6673279 Canada Inc. represented by Mr. Michael Dadoun, 10422339 Canada Inc. represented by Mr. Daniel Assouline, and not approved by the Board of Directors, was submitted for vote and rejected by the Ordinary General Meeting.

Six new resolutions (B to J) not in the agenda were proposed during the meeting and submitted for vote. These resolutions concerned amendments to resolutions 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 proposing the "elimination or reducing to zero of all variable and exceptional components of compensation and benefits of any kind, leaving only the fixed compensation" of the company's officers and directors (B, C, D, E and F), the dismissal of Board members Ms. Viviane Chaine-Ribeiro (G) and Mr. Bloxberg (H), and the appointment of Ms. Caroline Alle-Crocquevieille (I) and Mr. Cyrille Crocquevieille (J) as new Board members (J). These resolutions, which had not been approved by the Board of Directors, were rejected.

Lastly, the six items added to the agenda at the request of The Dadoun Family Trust, 6673279 Canada Inc. and 10422339 Canada Inc. which did not result in a vote, were discussed in addition to exchanges with participants during the meeting and the written answers to the questions received prior to the Ordinary General Meeting.1

Appointment of two new independent directors

At the Ordinary General Meeting, the shareholders approved in particular the appointment of Gabrielle Gauthey and Craig Forman as independent directors. Claranova's new Board of Directors now comprises eight directors (four women and four men), six of whom are independent.

Claranova thanks the shareholders who attended the Ordinary General Meeting for their valuable contributions to the discussions. The Group also welcomes Ms. Gabrielle Gauthey and Mr. Craig Forman, who will provide new expertise to the Board of Directors and support Claranova's strategy and development.

Financial calendar:

October 11, 2023: FY 2022-2023 full-year results

November 29, 2023: Combined Ordinary and Extraordinary Annual General Meeting

About Claranova:

As a diversified global technology company, Claranova manages and coordinates a portfolio of majority interests in digital companies with strong growth potential. Supported by a team combining several decades of experience in the world of technology, Claranova has acquired a unique know-how in successfully turning around, creating and developing innovative companies.

Claranova has proven its capacity to turn a simple idea into a worldwide success in just a few short years. Present in 15 countries and leveraging the technology expertise of its 800+ employees across North America and Europe, Claranova is a truly international group, with 95% of its revenue derived from international markets.

Claranova's portfolio of companies is organized into three unique technology platforms operating in all major digital sectors. As an e-commerce leader in personalized objects, Claranova also stands out for its technological expertise in software publishing and the Internet of Things, through its businesses PlanetArt, Avanquest and myDevices. These three technology platforms share a common vision: empowering people through innovation by providing simple and intuitive digital solutions that facilitate everyday access to the very best of technology.

For more information on Claranova Group:

https://www.claranova.com

Appendices

Number of shares comprising the share capital: 57,206,910

Number of shares with voting rights: 53,096,302

Number of

shareholders Number of shares Number of votes Shareholders present or represented 311 17,116,497 19,566,817 Powers of the Chairman 280 703,842 733,690 Votes by mail 470 4,798,049 4,809,393 Total 1,061 22,618,388 25,109,900 Quorum 42.60%

Detailed information on the results of the Ordinary General Meeting of September 4, 2023 is available on the Group's website in the "Shareholders' Meetings" section:

https://www.claranova.com/investisseurs/assemblees-generales/

CODES

Ticker :? CLA

ISIN : FR0013426004

www.claranova.com

1 Questions and answers may be consulted on the Claranova website in the Investors/Shareholders' Meeting section

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907071917/en/

Contacts:

ANALYSTS INVESTORS

+33 1 41 27 19 74

ir@claranova.com



FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION

+33 1 75 77 54 68

ir@claranova.com
Regulatory News:

September 7th, 2023, the University of Birmingham and Acticor Biotech (Paris:ALACT) announce the full regulatory approval of LIBERATE clinical study.

In 2021, the University of Birmingham and Acticor Biotech signed a partnership agreement to evaluate glenzocimab efficacy in myocardial infarction in a new clinical trial called LIBERATE. The University has received full regulatory approvals to initiate the study.

This new clinical trial is based on a long-standing collaboration between Acticor Biotech and the University of Birmingham. The publication in August of a scientific paper from Dr Mark Thomas entitled: "Amplified inhibition of atherosclerotic plaque-induced platelet activation by glenzocimab with dual antiplatelet therapy (link to the publication) in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis, reinforced the mode of action of glenzocimab and its major role as an antithrombotic drug.

The randomised, double-blind Phase 2b LIBERATE study will recruit more than 200 patients suffering from a ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and planned for a percutaneous coronary intervention. The study aims to assess the safety and the efficacy of glenzocimab 1000 mg versus placebo to reduce the myocardial infarct size at Day 90 post-treatment. The trial will be conducted in two acute care hospitals in the UK: the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham and the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield. Patient recruitment is expected to start by the end of 2023.

Doctor Mark Thomas, Associate Professor of Cardiology at the University of Birmingham and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist, who designed the trial and led its development, said: "Our recent studies of glenzocimab at the University of Birmingham have just been published these explain the cellular mechanisms for why it is highly effective at reducing "blood stickiness", particularly when combined with existing medications. We are very pleased to receive regulatory approval to launch the LIBERATE clinical trial to investigate whether glenzocimab can reduce the type of blood clotting that causes heart damage during heart attacks. This exciting collaboration with Acticor has the potential to benefit our patients in Birmingham and Sheffield, and across the world.

Professor Jon Townend, Consultant Cardiologist at University Hospitals Birmingham, Honorary Professor of Cardiology in the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Birmingham, and Chief Investigator of the trial said: "This new drug looks extremely promising and we are excited to be within sight of beginning recruitment for this important trial

Yannick Pletan, Chief Medical Officer, and General Manager of Acticor Biotech declared: "Glenzocimab has already delivered very promising results in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke and we hope to confirm its therapeutics potential in other cardiovascular emergency indications. LIBERATE phase 2b study extends glenzocimab development programme to myocardial infarction. We are delighted to collaborate with all the teams involved, the University of Birmingham particularly, sponsor of this study, to extend the therapeutic field of glenzocimab."

ENDS

Notes to editor:

The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world's top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 6,500 international students from over 150 countries.

The University of Birmingham is a member of Birmingham Health Partners (BHP), a strategic alliance which transcends organisational boundaries to rapidly translate healthcare research findings into new diagnostics, drugs and devices for patients. Birmingham Health Partners is a strategic alliance between five organisations who collaborate to bring healthcare innovations through to clinical application: University of Birmingham University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust West Midlands Academic Health Science Network



About ACTICOR BIOTECH

Acticor Biotech is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, a spin-off from INSERM (the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research), which is aiming to develop an innovative treatment for cardiovascular emergencies, including ischemic stroke.

Acticor Biotech is developing glenzocimab (ACT017), a humanized monoclonal antibody (mAb) fragment directed against a novel target of major interest, platelet glycoprotein VI (GPVI). Glenzocimab inhibits platelet binding to the thrombus without affecting physiological hemostasis, thereby limiting the bleeding risk, particularly in the brain.

The positive results from its Phase 1b/2a study, ACTIMIS, confirmed the safety profile and showed a reduction in mortality and intracerebral hemorrhage in the glenzocimab-treated group in patients with stroke. The efficacy of glenzocimab is now being evaluated in ACTISAVE, an international Phase 2/3 study. In July 2022, Acticor Biotech was granted "PRIME" status by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for glenzocimab in the treatment of stroke. This designation will allow the company to strengthen its interactions and obtain early dialogues with regulatory authorities.

Acticor Biotech is supported by a panel of European and international investors (Karista, Go Capital, Newton Biocapital, CMS Medical Venture Investment (HK) Limited, A&B (HK) Limited, Mirae Asset Capital, Anaxago, Primer Capital, Mediolanum farmaceutici and the Armesa foundation). Acticor Biotech is listed on Euronext Growth Paris since November 2021 (ISIN: FR0014005OJ5 ALACT).

For more information, visit: www.acticor-biotech.com

Disclaimer

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Acticor Biotech and its business. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that Acticor Biotech considers to be reasonable. However, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will be verified, which statements are subject to numerous risks, including the risks set forth in the Document de reference registration document as approved by the Autorite des marches financiers under number R. 22-011 on 26 April 2022 and to the development of economic conditions, financial markets and the markets in which Acticor Biotech operates. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to risks not yet known to Acticor Biotech or not currently considered material by Acticor Biotech. The occurrence of all or part of such risks could cause actual results, financial conditions, performance or achievements of Acticor Biotech to be materially different from such forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907327505/en/

Contacts:

For media enquiries please contact Tim Mayo, Press Office, University of Birmingham, tel: +44 (0)7920 405040: email: t.mayo@bham.ac.uk

ACTICOR BIOTECH

Gilles AVENARD, MD

CEO and Founder

gilles.avenard@acticor-biotech.com

T.: +33 (0)6 76 23 38 13

Sophie BINAY, PhD

General Manager and CSO

Sophie.binay@acticor-biotech.com

T.: +33 (0)6 76 23 38 13

NewCap

Mathilde BOHIN Quentin MASSE

Investor Relations

acticor@newcap.eu

T.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 95

NewCap

Arthur ROUILLE

Media Relations

acticor@newcap.eu

T.: +33 (0)1 44 71 00 15
XIAMEN, China, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yealink, a global leading unified communications (UC) solution provider, has launched its 3rd-Gen MVC Series Microsoft Teams Rooms System, as the first to collaborate with Microsoft in integrating AI technologies like voice control, identity recognition, and transcription into video conferencing. The new solutions offer smart features for a more equitable video conferencing experience and flexible installation for various meeting environments, from standard rooms to boardrooms, training spaces, and divisible rooms. Elevate MTR journey with unmatched intelligence and versatility.

 Intelligent Meeting Experience

In 2023, hybrid work adoption has surged by 28.2% globally, as reported by Forbes. McKinsey's data underscores AI's potential to amplify efficiency, potentially saving 70% of work time. Driven by AI technology, Yealink's latest MTR solutions elevate collaboration to a whole new level of equity. With Copilot Integration, voice commands initiate and end the meetings, freeing participants' hands. Voice and facial recognition identifies and displays participant names in meetings and on real-time transcriptions. Whether through Multi-Stream People Feed (for regular meeting rooms) or Multi-Camera Intelliframe (for larger spaces), the system adeptly tracks the latest four active speakers, promoting seamless and natural conversations.

 Flexible Applications Deployment

Yealink's new MTR solutions offer flexible deployment for different application requirements. In terms of audio, various options are available, including wired, wireless, and ceiling microphones, tailored to users' specific needs. For screen-sharing, not only are wired connections like HDMI or USB-C supported, but the solutions also accommodate wireless sharing through Miracast, AirPlay, Google Cast, and Yealink's WPP30 wireless presentation pod, catering to versatile screen sharing requirements. As for display, the entire series comes with the MCore Pro mini-PC, which features built-in EDID recognition for different display resolutions, eliminating the need for additional connectors and ensuring optimal display quality.

 Diverse Pro-AV Solutions

In large enterprises, the complexity of meeting room setups necessitates the integration of a range of audiovisual devices such as lighting, sound systems, video conferencing, and digital signage. This creates a need for a more professional, high-end, and even customized comprehensive solution, commonly referred to as a Pro-AV solution (Professional Audiovisual solution). Strategically addressing this demand, Yealink's new MTR solutions offer a multi-camera setup for large meeting environments, supporting the simultaneous use of multiple cameras to capture diverse perspectives during discussion. Additionally, they boast broad compatibility with well-known third-party audio and control solutions, including Biamp, Kramer, AMX, and Q-SYS, amplifying the versatility and potential of users' meeting room experiences.

Yealink's new MTR solutions bring enhanced fairness and adaptability to every room. As we look to the next two years, Yealink will further integrate AI technologies into video conferencing, including advanced facial perspectives and spatial audio. The goal is to heighten the immersive quality of remote meetings and boost communication efficiency for businesses.

Explore more about the new MTR solutions demo room here to experience intelligent and flexible Teams meetings.

About Yealink Inc.

Yealink (Stock Code: 300628) is a global brand that specializes in video conferencing, voice communications and collaboration solutions with best-in-class quality, innovative technology and user-friendly experience. As one of the best providers in more than 140 countries and regions, Yealink is Top5 video conferencing provider (IDC Global Video Conferencing Market Statistics 2021), and ranks No.1 in the global market share of SIP phone shipments (Global IP Desktop Phone Growth Excellence Leadership Award Report, Frost & Sullivan, 2020). For more information, or to become a Yealink partner, please visit: www.yealink.com.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2198686/Yealink_launches_third_gen_MVC_Series_Microsoft_Teams_Rooms_Windows_a.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/yealink-launches-new-microsoft-teams-rooms-solutions-for-more-intelligent-and-flexible-meetings-301918698.html
Actiphy Inc., a prominent provider of backup, disaster recovery, and virtualization software, proudly announces the release of their updated version of "ActiveImage Protector 2022". This latest release introduces innovative features that substantially reduce backup times while improving backup data security.

Background

Companies today are constantly threatened by the looming menace of ransomware attacks. This pervasive threat compels them to divert resources to bolster security measures and instills a sense of apprehension and uncertainty. In an actual attack, the consequences are much more severe and include data loss, financial damages, and disrupted business operations.

Implementing efficient disaster recovery and protective countermeasures is paramount, and with a strategic backup strategy (that includes StorageServer), another layer of security is added that protects the backup image files from being compromised by a ransomware attack.

This updated version with the StorageServer option is available in both Windows and Linux.

What's New in ActiveImage Protector 2022 Update

StorageServer Option

"Actiphy StorageServer", a newly developed product in the ActiveImage Protector Solution Suite, has adopted an advanced protocol that not only secures data transfer but also safeguards that data in storage.

Additionally, Actiphy's StorageServer has been engineered to take advantage of cache devices to increase performance during data transfer, thereby substantially reducing backup time.

StorageServer, in effect, achieves increased data security and provides faster data transfers than the traditional Windows-shared folders or NAS based storage.

New Tracking Driver with no Reboot Required

Our newly developed tracking driver eliminates the need for a reboot after installation or upgrading, enabling users to install or upgrade ActiveImage Protector with no service interruptions.

QuickRecovery

Use QuickRecovery, a pre-prepared recovery environment to undo recent changes that have caused system instability due to a software or OS update. Select a specific restore point from the backup that was created prior to the current state of the system for an immediate recovery.

Recovery Media Maker

Create bootable recovery media with the backup source machine's image embedded for an ideal disaster recovery (DR) solution should the backup destination become inaccessible. This feature accommodates various media, including DVD/Blu-ray, USB HDD, and USB Memory. One button click from the booted media will initiate recovery from the embedded image file.

Support for VMware First Class Disk (FCD)

Direct backup and recovery of VMware's FCD formatted disks.

ActiveImage Protector 2022 is a backup and recovery solution that protects physical and virtual Windows and Linux environments. ActiveImage Protector includes all the tools necessary for enterprise-level deployment and management of backup, recovery, virtualization, standby switch-over, and migration.

Copyright 2023 Actiphy, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

All other brands and product names mentioned in this news release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

For more information about ActiveImage Protector, please visit https://www.actiphy.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907490056/en/

Contacts:

Actiphy Japan (Head Office)

Tomoko Hasegawa

+81 3-5256-0870

global-sales@actiphy.com



Actiphy EMEA

Daniela Price

+41 22 589 67 85

EMEA-sales@actiphy.com



Actiphy North America

Carol Cornell

+1 909-332-3773

global-sales@actiphy.com
AVAILABILITY OF THE EXEMPTION DOCUMENT PERTAINING TO THE PROPOSED COMBINATION BETWEEN EUTELSAT COMMUNICATIONS AND ONEWEB

Regulatory News:

Shareholders of Eutelsat Communications (ISIN: FR0010221234 Euronext Paris: ETL, "Eutelsat" or the "Company") (Paris:ETL) are invited to attend the Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting of Eutelsat shareholders to be held on:

28 September 2023 at 09:30 AM (Paris time)

at the Amphitheatre of Tour ACCOR SEQUANA

82 rue Henri Farman, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

At this Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting, the Company's shareholders will be asked in particular to vote on the proposed combination between the Company and OneWeb in the form of a non-cash contribution of OneWeb shares1 to Eutelsat.

The following documents can be found on the Company's website: the AGM agenda, the draft resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors, and the documents and information referred to in Article R. 22-10-23 of the French Code of Commerce.

All documents and information pertaining to the Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting are made available to shareholders at the Company's registered office (32, boulevard Gallieni 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux, France), as required by French law. Subject to the limitations and deadlines laid down by the regulations in force, shareholders may request that such documents be sent to them directly by writing to investors@eutelsat-communications.com.

The terms and conditions for attending and voting at the Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting are detailed in the notice of meeting posted on the Company's website (www.eutelsat.com/investors).

In accordance with Article L.621-18 IV of the French Monetary and Financial Code and Article 212-34 of the General Regulation of the Autorite des marches financiers ("AMF"), the Company has filed with the AMF and published on the Company's website (www.eutelsat.com/investors) an exemption document (the "Exemption Document") pertaining to the listing on Euronext Paris of the Company's shares to be issued as consideration for the contribution of OneWeb shares2 to the Company in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/528.

Further, the Company announces that a prospectus (the "Prospectus") dated today has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") and has been published by the Company so that its shares may be admitted to the standard listing segment of the FCA's Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's Main Market for listed securities, subject to completion of the combination. Copies of the Prospectus will be available from the Company's office during usual business hours on any day (except Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays) and on the Company's website at www.eutelsat.com/investorssubject to certain access restrictions.

The Prospectus has also been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism.

Disclaimer

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH ACTION WOULD CONSTITUTE A BREACH OF THE LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION

Investors are urged to carefully read all relevant documents reported in connection with the proposed combination, including the Exemption Document, as these documents will include important information about the proposed combination. Investors will be able to obtain a copy of the Exemption Document free of charge from the Company's website (https://eutelsat.com).

This announcement is not intended to and does not constitute, represent or form part of any offer or invitation to exchange or sell, or any solicitation of any offer to subscribe for or purchase, or any invitation to exchange, purchase or subscribe for, any securities of the Company, any part of the business or assets of the Company, or any other interest or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction in connection with the proposed combination or otherwise. This announcement should not be construed as a recommendation to anyone reading this communication.

There can be no assurance that the proposed combination between the Company and OneWeb will be consummated or that the anticipated benefits will be achieved.

About Eutelsat Communications

Founded in 1977, Eutelsat Communications is one of the world's leading satellite operators. With a global fleet of satellites and associated ground infrastructure, Eutelsat enables clients across Video, Data, Government, Fixed and Mobile Broadband markets to communicate effectively to their customers, irrespective of their location. Around 6,600 television channels operated by leading media groups are broadcast by Eutelsat to one billion viewers equipped for DTH reception or connected to terrestrial networks. Committed to promoting all facets of sustainable development across its business activities, Eutelsat leverages its in-orbit resources to help bridge the digital divide while maintaining a safe and uncluttered space environment. As an attractive and socially responsible employer, Eutelsat assembles 1,200 men and women from 50 countries who are dedicated to delivering the highest quality of service. Eutelsat Communications is listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (ticker: ETL).

For more about Eutelsat, go to www.eutelsat.com

1 Other than the OneWeb shares held by Eutelsat SA and the UK Government's "Golden Share" in OneWeb.

2 Other than the OneWeb shares held by Eutelsat SA and the UK Government's "Golden Share" in OneWeb.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907538025/en/

Contacts:

Medias

Anita Baltagi

Tel.: +33 1 53 98 47 47

abaltagi@eutelsat.com

Daphne Joseph-Gabriel

Tel.: +33 1 53 98 47 47

djosephgabriel@eutelsat.com

Baptiste Romeuf

Tel.: +33 6 63 80 87 54

eutelsat@agenceproches.com

Investors

Thomas Cardiel

Tel.: +33 6 99 07 86 47

tcardiel@eutelsat.com

Hugo Laurens-Berge

hlaurensberge@eutelsat.com

Christine Lopez

Tel.: +33 1 53 98 47 02

clopez@eutelsat.com
The new brand emphasizes Weichert Corporate Housing's creative temporary lodging solutions and furnished apartments that "Feel Like Home."

PARSIPPANY, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Weichert Corporate Housing, a leading global provider of temporary accommodations and furnished apartments, has unveiled a new brand identity that emphasizes the company's short-term housing solutions that truly "feel like home" for mobile employees and business travelers.

Weichert Corporate Housing Logo

With a network of over 80,000 apartments worldwide and a track record of notable industry awards and accolades, Weichert Corporate Housing delivers a uniquely customized level of service, well beyond the scope of traditional housing providers, to help clients and customers conquer the ever-changing hurdles of a world landscape that's constantly in flux.

"While we're proud of our 20-year legacy, it was time for a fresh new look that acknowledges our brand history while celebrating our commitment to elevating the employee experience," said Mark Pooley, Senior Vice President. "The invigorated look and feel of our brand is a distinctive expression of our ability to adapt our services and products to ensure that the business travelers, mobile talent and interns we serve feel at home, wherever work takes them."

The company's reputation as a leader in service excellence inspired much of this rebranding. Earlier this year, Weichert Corporate Housing earned its industry's highest service satisfaction score and the highest net satisfaction score in Trippel's Annual Relocation Managers' Survey on Relocation Mortgage, Spouse/Family Services, Corporate Temporary Housing Service and Rental/Destination Service Industries. This survey is the only impartial, industry-wide ranking of the quality of temporary housing services based on input from corporate managers.

At the heart of the company's new brand is a logo that embodies its mission to make every traveler feel at home. The roof of a house is merged with an upward arrow, indicative of a commitment to elevate the employee experience--for their own people and those they support--and to suggest the boundless potential for agility, creativity, and growth.

"The challenge was how to best modernize a brand with a long history of service excellence to align with our current identity as an industry thought leader and provider of innovative housing solutions," said Mindy Pauley, Vice President of Weichert Corporate Housing. "This new branding is as eye-catching as it is approachable, and a distinctive essence of what we are to our clients-a partner that is uniquely unrestrained in its ability and agility to curate best-fit housing solutions that keep traveling employees engaged, comfortable and productive."

"Our new brand message, This Feels Like Home, is optimistic, inviting, solutions-driven and flexible-key characteristics we all need in today's business environment," said Pauley. "Most importantly, it captures the collaborative spirit that is the foundation of every client partnership. Whether we are empowering clients to expand their global reach, get critical products to market or build their talent pipeline with intern programs, we remain hyper-focused on ensuring that their employees have access to contemporary, safe and welcoming spaces that feel like home."

Contact Information

Tim McCarney

VP Marketing

tmccarney@weichertwm.com

+1-781-982-5026

SOURCE: Weichert Corporate Housing

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781726/weichert-corporate-housing-unveils-new-brand-identity
Abbott

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / As a global company with a broad range of businesses, operations in over 160 countries and 115,000 people around the world, diversity is inherent to our business and organization.

The Billion Dollar Roundtable (BDR) is an organization dedicated to inspiring America's leading companies to expand and grow their work with diverse businesses across the country. They set a high bar - to join the BDR, companies need to spend $1 billion or more with diverse suppliers, every year. It's an important benchmark for demonstrating the positive impact that businesses can have in improving lives and advancing opportunity in diverse communities.

At the annual BDR Summit recently held in Chicago, Abbott was proud to be inducted into the exclusive group of Billion Dollar Roundtable members. We've made significant progress in expanding our work with diverse suppliers in recent years. We currently work with more than 1,300 diverse suppliers, including certified minority-, women-, disabled-, LGBTQ-, and veteran-owned businesses, spending $1.7 billion in 2022, an increase of 63% from the prior year.

Supplier diversity is an integral part of our broader work to build a resilient and sustainable supply chain, and our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. A wider pool of potential suppliers helps strengthen supply chain resilience and ensure business continuity, and also promotes competition in the supply chain, which can enhance products and services and decrease costs.

This work is having a significant economic impact as well. A recent analysis showed that our supplier diversity efforts have supported over 7,500 jobs and generated over $4.5 billion in economic impact in the communities where we operate across the U.S.

Delivering Even Greater Impact in the Years Ahead

Our inclusion in the Billion Dollar Roundtable is an important milestone. But we know it's not just about purchasing more products and services from diverse companies.

Diverse owners of small companies face real barriers in growing their businesses. Half of diverse businesses can't get a loan. And in healthcare, strict regulations and systemic budget challenges make it hard to compete with bigger, more established rivals.

That's why we're working with others to help address these gaps. One example: the Abbott-LISC Initiative to Support Diverse Businesses in Health is investing more than $37 million to provide diverse small businesses with the resources and support they need to compete, grow and create jobs in the healthcare industry. For more on these efforts, please see our story on the LISC collaboration.



View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Abbott on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Abbott

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/abbott

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Abbott

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781824/abbott-joins-billion-dollar-roundtable
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) -PORTOFINO RESOURCES INC. (TSXV: POR) (OTCQB: PFFOF) (FSE: POTA) ("Portofino" or the "Company") is pleased to provide further information regarding the Company's agreement to buy-out the Yergo Lithium Project (the "Project") option agreement (see News Release August 14, 2023) (the "Option Buy-Out").

Since announcing the Option Buy-Out, the Company has received renewed interest from groups that had previously engaged with Portofino pursuant to possible project-level investment, joint venture, and outright acquisition of the Project. At present, the Company is engaged in active discussions with multiple parties, including post-NDA due diligence. While no transaction is guaranteed, the Company is encouraged by the renewed interest in the Project and external recognition of its potential value especially given its close proximity to the world-class Tres Quebradas Salar (the "3Q Project") (see Figure 1) owned by Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. ("Zijin").

Recent buy-side demand for lithium-brine properties in Argentina has provided the Company with insight into values of well-located pre-exploration lithium-brine concessions, where values ranging from US$1,800 to more than $2,300 per hectare are being offered. This information, combined with current active discussions, has provided the Company's management with increased confidence that the drill-ready, Yergo Project's valuation may exceed the value range upon completion of the Option Buy-Out.

David Tafel, CEO of Portofino, commented: "The external validation that immediate value can be unlocked is proof-positive that our team's perseverance and determination on behalf of shareholders will have been worth the effort. Additionally, the inbound interest from other companies continues to show, that despite challenging capital markets, the demand for upstream lithium assets remains exceptionally strong and competitive."

Portofino's private placement financing (NR August 15-23) is progressing well and expected to close shortly. Proceeds from the financing are intended to be used towards finalizing the Option Buyout in September as well as drill permit finalization and associated initial drilling activities.

Yergo Lithium Project, Catamarca Argentina:

The Project is 2,932 hectares, controlling the entire Aparejos Salar. It is located approximately 9 kilometers from the 3Q Project, previously explored by Neo Lithium Corp., and acquired by Zijin for C$960 million in 2022 (see: Zijin - 3Q Project).

Portofino has completed and reported the results of a geophysical survey. The survey identified 2 large, aquifers within the Project measuring approximately 2.3km x 1km and 1.8km x 2.5km (POR News Release 06-APR-2021). In addition, the Company's surface sampling programs confirmed economically significant brine grades, returning values up to 373 mg/l Lithium and advancing the Project to a drill-ready stage.

Portofino's technical team has identified 4 priority drill targets and a drilling contract has been finalized.





Figure 1: Yergo Lithium Project, controlling 100% of the Aparejos Salar

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3751/179897_80ad9196544afb66_001full.jpg

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mike Kilbourne, P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person ("QP") as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The QP has not completed sufficient work to verify the historic information on the properties in Argentina and neighbouring companies.

About Portofino Resources Inc.

Portofino is a Vancouver-based Canadian company focused on exploring and developing mineral resource projects in the Americas. Portofino has an opportunity to earn a majority interest in several lithium projects in Salta, Argentina and up to 100% of the (2,932 hectare) Yergo Lithium property in Catamarca. The properties are situated in the heart of the world-renowned Argentine Lithium Triangle and in close proximity to multiple world-class lithium projects. The Company also has the right to earn 100% interest in three northwestern Ontario, Canada lithium projects: Allison Lake North, Greenheart Lake and McNamara Lake.

Portofino's South of Otter and Bruce Lake projects are in the historic gold mining district of Red Lake, Ontario, Canada proximal to the Dixie gold project discovered by Great Bear Resources and now owned by Kinross Gold Corp. In addition, Portofino holds three other northwestern Ontario gold projects; the Gold Creek property located immediately south of the historic Shebandowan mine, as well as the Sapawe West and Melema West properties located in the rapidly developing Atikokan gold mining camp.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"David G. Tafel"

Chief Executive Officer

For Further Information Contact:

David Tafel CEO,

Director 604-683-1991

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's future business plans. Forward-looking information in this news release is based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely the growth and development of the Company's business as currently anticipated. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179897
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Today, Ratsamy Consulting, a leading renewable energy firm based in Toronto, proudly announced the launch of its Grizzly Bear Creek Wind Farm in Alberta, Canada. Boasting a remarkable capacity of 154 MW, this new project underscores Ratsamy's commitment to spearheading a sustainable energy future.

The Grizzly Bear Creek Wind Farm will be completed within a swift six-month timeframe, showcasing Ratsamy Consulting's expertise in the sector and its dedication to promptly addressing the global demand for sustainable energy solutions.

A mix of investors and private funding backs the ambitious project. Philip Cocce, the contact person for Ratsamy Consulting, commented, "The confidence exhibited by our investors and partners in this venture reinforces that renewable energy is not just the future-it's the present. We're proud to be at the forefront of this movement."

The launch of Grizzly Bear Creek Wind Farm is more than just another project for Ratsamy Consulting-it's a manifestation of the firm's vision for a greener world and a testament to its capability. The firm has indeed made a giant stride with the launch of this wind farm, reinforcing its position as a critical player in the renewable energy landscape of Canada.

Interested parties, potential investors, or those seeking more information on the Grizzly Bear Creek Wind Farm are encouraged to contact Philip Cocce at Ratsamy Consulting.

About Ratsamy Consulting:

Ratsamy Consulting is a renowned renewable energy firm headquartered in Toronto, Canada. With a commitment to pioneering innovative and sustainable energy solutions, the company continually drives the sector forward, balancing technological advancements with environmental responsibility.

For media inquiries and additional information, please contact:

Philip Cocce

Ratsamy Consulting

Toronto, Canada

info@ratsamyconsulting.com

https://ratsamyconsulting.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179775
Ten leading forestry companies, managing almost 9 million hectares (22 million acres) of forests in 27 countries worth tens of billions of dollars, unite to help solve some of the world's largest environmental challenges.

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Prompted by the urgent call to action on climate change, biodiversity loss, reducing emissions by halting and reversing deforestation, some of the world's largest forestry companies are today launching a new initiative.

The group, known as the International Sustainable Forestry Coalition (ISFC), includes founding members Dasos Capital, F&W Forestry, Gresham House, Marubeni, Mitsui & Co., Ltd (Mitsui), New Forests, Oji Holdings Corporation, Rayonier, Stora Enso and UPM.

Collectively these companies manage almost 9 million hectares of forests in 27 countries being Australia, New Zealand, USA, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Ireland, UK, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, France, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique.

Executive Director of the ISFC Ross Hampton said, "ISFC's mission is to advocate for increasing the global provision of renewable materials in the context of a circular bioeconomy; supporting growth that is compatible with climate and nature recovery imperatives; embedding science-based principles in policy and incentives; and increasing benefits to rural and Indigenous Peoples."

"The ISFC is committed to help solve the challenges laid out in the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, being progressed by the Forests and Climate Leaders Partnership (FCLP). The private forestry sector is a vital partner to mobilize capital at the scale required to deliver on these ambitions and the applicable United Nations Sustainable Development Goals."

Convening Chair of the ISFC, and Chair of nature-based real assets manager, New Forests, Dr. David Brand said, "For the forestry sector to play a greater role in the overarching sustainability transition it needs to engage more directly with the Climate Change and Biodiversity COPs, with initiatives such as the Forests and Climate Leaders Partnership and with other policy processes related to the conservation and sustainable management of forests.

"There is an expectation that the forestry sector needs to grow and contribute to a transition to greater use of sustainable, renewable, naturally decomposable materials in society; to a sustainable built environment; and to thriving rural communities. This will require expanded investment, but also an approach that creates and perpetuates landscapes which effectively balance conservation and production functions."

The ISFC will undertake activities during New York Climate Week and at COP28 in Dubai.

Mark McHugh, President, Rayonier said, "Sustainably managed working forests will play a vital role in supporting the transition to a circular bioeconomy. At Rayonier, we are committed to realizing the full potential of our forests in meeting the needs of society, and we are pleased to join the International Sustainable Forestry Coalition with a view towards achieving this vision."

###

Notes to Editors:

The ISFC Position Paper can be downloaded here.

For more information about ISFC please visit www.isfc.world.

Dr. David Brand and several other senior members of the ISFC companies will be present in New York during Climate Week (17-24 September) and available for media interviews.

Contact: Ross Hampton, ISFC Executive Director

rhampton@isfc.world

+44 7930629814

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Rayonier on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Rayonier

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/rayonier

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Rayonier

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781844/launch-of-the-international-sustainable-forestry-coalition-isfc
SALT LAKE CITY, UT / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / With over 17 million women affected by lipedema in the United States, The Roxbury Institute is expanding access to its life-changing treatment. On Sept. 8, 2023, the leading medical institute for lipedema therapy and education will open its doors in Salt Lake City to the first facility in Utah dedicated specifically to treating this often painful disease. This new center marks a major milestone in the Institute's mission to advance knowledge and provide comprehensive treatment for lipedema.

Dr. David Amron

Dr. David Amron of the Roxbury Institute

Lipedema, a chronic condition marked by abnormal and disproportionate fat accumulation in the legs and arms, affects an estimated 1 in 9 women worldwide. Acknowledging the widespread impact of this little-understood disease, Advanced Lipedema Treatment has pioneered a dedicated facility to serve as a beacon of hope for those affected both locally and globally.

Under the guiding hand of Dr. David Amron, ALT is setting a new standard in lipedema care. Recognized internationally as the pioneer of lipedema treatment in the United States, Dr. Amron carries over 25 years of surgical experience and more than 12,000 successful surgeries. His leadership drives ALT towards delivering groundbreaking therapy for those battling lipedema.

"I'm excited about the meaningful change we can bring to Salt Lake City. Our center is more than a clinic; it's a place of healing where women can find expert care, renewed hope, and reclaim a stronger, healthier life," said Dr. Amron. "We also aim to be a trusted resource for medical professionals seeking to provide the best lipedema treatment for their patients."

Building on the model and impact achieved at its Beverly Hills location, ALT's vision of being the achievable solution for lipedema involves improved access through conveniently located facilities, and also simplifying the burden of complicated insurance coverage. To support this vision, ALT provides patients with an in-house insurance team at no additional cost. Their role assists in insurance navigation and securing approvals, which makes ALT's transformative treatments more easily attainable.

"In Salt Lake City, we're not just launching a new treatment facility. We're starting a new chapter in our journey to help women with lipedema regain control of their lives. As a doctor, it's truly rewarding to see patients turn a corner towards a healthier, more active future," added Dr. Amron.

Exclusive to the esteemed Institute, ALT's state-of-the-art facility will offer specialized lipedema treatments as the area's leading provider. The new medical institute provides localized access for Utah residents while also ensuring easier access for out-of-state patients seeking care.

With Salt Lake City setting the stage, through its Advanced Lipedema Treatment program, The Roxbury Institute is determined to expand its revolutionary support system for women battling lipedema and extend access to world-class treatment, pioneering a shift in lipedema patient care.

Starting today, consultations can be scheduled for the upcoming Salt Lake City facility. For more information, visit www.AdvancedLipedemaTreatment.com or call 424-333-9944.

ABOUT ADVANCED LIPEDEMA TREATMENT:

Led by renowned expert Dr. David Amron, the globally recognized Advanced Lipedema Treatment (ALT) program offers personalized, life-changing treatment for those battling lipedema. Leveraging decades of experience and over 12,000 successful surgeries, ALT pioneers breakthrough treatments that significantly enhance the quality of life for women afflicted by lipedema - helping these patients regain the active, healthy, and happy lives they deserve.

# # #

Contact Information

Tyler Barnett

Media Representative

tyler@tylerbarnettpr.com

SOURCE: The Roxbury Institute

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781848/leading-the-way-in-lipedema-treatment-new-medical-institute-in-salt-lake-city-expands-access-to-life-changing-therapy
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / The Watchlist by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews with Ridgeline Minerals, Fokus Mining, Biosenta and ARway.ai discussing their latest news.

The Watchlist by The Market Herald provides investors with a quick snapshot of what they need to know about the company's latest press release through exclusive insights and interviews with company executives.

Ridgeline Minerals Expands Big Blue Property Position by 33%

Ridgeline Minerals Corp. (TSXV:RDG) (OTCQB:RDGMF) (FSE:0GC0) has announced the staking of an additional one hundred and forty-one Bureau of Land Management ( lode claims at the Big Blue project in Elko County, Nevada.

For the full interview with President, CEO and Director Chad Peters and to learn more about Ridgeline Minerals' news, click here.

Fokus Mining Reports Gold Results On All Its Recent Drill Holes On The Rb Zone Of The Galloway Project

Fokus Mining Corporation (TSXV:FKM) (OTCQB:FKMCF) (FSE:F7E1) has announced assay results from its 4th exploration drilling campaign, held during the summer of 2023, aimed at furthering its knowledge of the RB Zone where it had previously drilled twelve holes Fokus has drilled seven holes for 1,735 metres, intersecting gold in all of them.

For the full interview with President and CEO Jean Rainville and to learn more about Fokus Mining's news, click here.

Biosenta builds on partnership with AMPAK to test and commercialize Tri-Filler

Biosenta Inc. (CSE:ZRO) has announced the next level of partnership with AMPAK Inc. and the University of Calgary. The new Agreement will see Tri-Filler being tested in plastics at AMPAK Inc. facilities with an eye to commercialization.

For the full interview with CEO Am Gill and to learn more about Biosenta's news, click here.

ARway.ai Announces Major Win As it Lands a Contract With Second Largest Academic Institution In Turkey

ARway.ai (CSE:ARWY) (OTCQB:ARWYF) (FSE:E65), an AI powered Augmented Reality Experience platform with a disruptive no-code, no beacon spatial computing solution enabled by visual marker tracking with centimeter precision announced a newly signed contract with Suleyman Demirel Universitesi situated in Isparta, Turkey.

For the full interview with CEO Evan Gappelberg and to learn more about ARway.ai's news, click here.

Interviews for The Watchlist by The Market Herald are released daily. To learn more about the companies featured in The Watchlist or to explore our other interviews visit The Watchlist by The Market Herald.

About The Market Herald

The Market Herald Canada is the leading source of authoritative breaking stock market news for self-directed investors. Our team of Canadian markets reporters, editors and technologists covers the entire listed company universe in Canada. We cover over 3,985 businesses, their people, their investors, and their customers. We write the stories that move the Canadian capital markets.

DISCLAIMER: Report Card Canada Media Ltd. ("Report Card") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market Herald Limited, an Australian company ("Market Herald"). Report Card is not an advisory service, and does not offer, buy, sell, or provide any other rating, analysis or opinion on the securities we discuss. We are retained and compensated by the companies that we provide information on to assist them with making information available to the public. All information available on themarketherald.ca and/or this press release should be considered as commercial advertisement and not an endorsement, offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities. Report Card is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority in any province or territory of Canada, will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies and do not provide nor claim to provide investment advice or recommendations to any visitor of this site or readers of any content on or originating from themarketherald.ca. Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees may from time to time acquire, hold or sell securities and/or commodities and/or commodity futures contracts in certain underlying companies mentioned in this site and which may also be clients of Market Herald's affiliates. In such instances, Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees will use all reasonable efforts to avoid engaging in activities that would lead to conflicts of interest and Market Herald and/or its affiliates will use all reasonable efforts to comply with conflicts of interest disclosures and regulations to minimize any conflict. All the information on this document and/or the website - themarketherald.ca - is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. Report Card does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this document and/or website (themarketherald.ca) is strictly at your own risk. Report Card will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website. From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone 'bad'. Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their "Terms of Service" before engaging in any business or uploading any information.

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SOURCE: The Market Herald

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781872/the-watchlist-by-the-market-herald-releases-new-interviews-with-ridgeline-minerals-fokus-mining-biosenta-and-arwayai-discussing-their-latest-news
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Today, the German startup, finanz-markt.com, unveils its ambitious debut in the US market with the launch of its cutting-edge finance application "PortfolioPeak". Designed for compatibility with both Android and Apple devices, the app provides users with tools and insights to navigate the financial landscape efficiently.





PortfolioPeak

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9578/179740_c2de1aef842b6830_002full.jpg

"The US financial market is both dynamic and diverse. Our aim is to offer a tool that is intuitive and comprehensive. By connecting real-time financial news with personal investment tracking, we believe our app delivers a distinct advantage to the American investor," commented Tobias Baumann, Public Relations Director of finanz-markt.com.

Key features of the application include:

Portfolio Tracking: Enables users to monitor their investments, helping them stay informed about their financial choices.





Enables users to monitor their investments, helping them stay informed about their financial choices. Custom Watchlist: Allows users to monitor specific assets, stocks, or commodities of their choice.





Allows users to monitor specific assets, stocks, or commodities of their choice. Community Feature: Encourages user engagement, discussions, and the sharing of insights, promoting an informed investment community.





Encourages user engagement, discussions, and the sharing of insights, promoting an informed investment community. Real-time Financial News: Integrated with the website finanz-markt.com, the app provides the latest financial updates, ensuring users are consistently informed about market developments.

The app is now available for download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. This release underscores finanz-markt.com's dedication to making financial information and tools accessible to a broad audience, from experienced investors to those new to finance.

About finanz-markt.com:

Recognized for its excellence in financial reporting and tools in Germany, finanz-markt.com is taking steps towards international expansion. Committed to delivering accurate and timely financial insights, its digital platforms are trusted resources for German investors and financial experts. As they broaden their global presence, they aim to offer the same level of trust and expertise to a worldwide audience.

For additional details, please visit: finanz-markt.com

Press Contact:

Tobias Baumann

Public Relations Department

tobias.baumann@finanz-markt.com

+49-177-45784774

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179740
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / CNH Industrial recently reached their goal of sending zero waste to landfills in all their production sites in Brazil. Since 2016, the company has been working toward this achievement at their Contagem (MG), Piracicaba (SP) and Sorocaba (SP) sites and is proud to have met their goal in 2023.

The company's aim has been to maximize the re-use and correct disposal of recyclable and organic waste and to reduce - or even eliminate - the disposal of these materials into landfills or for co-processing (energy generation). Sanitary landfills are no longer suitable for this purpose. They require large tracts of land and can cause environmental impacts, such as contamination of soil, air, groundwater and sediment, as well as pose risks to wildlife and surrounding communities.

"We believe that this is an ethical, cost-effective, efficient and visionary goal to guide not only the Company, but also for our employees and communities to change their ways of life and daily practices. We work to encourage natural and sustainable cycles. That means all materials are designed with an intent to reuse them and thus becoming part of the circular economy," said Fabio Belasco, Health, Safety and Environment Manager at CNH Industrial in Latin America.

"Environmental legislation determines that industrial waste is sent to licensed landfills. The landfill has controlled treatment, but its useful life is temporary. We understand that all materials can be transformed and we started to send the minimum amount of waste to these places. We gradually reduced the volume until reaching zero landfill, which is the complete elimination of sending waste to landfills. It is a way of making a difference, producing efficiently, doing the right thing and making our contribution to reducing our environmental impact," said Belasco.

"We have four sustainability priorities: carbon footprint, circularity and eco-efficiency; inclusion, equity and engagement; and governance commitment. In manufacturing processes, particular emphasis is placed on increasing waste recovery and reuse. And this result is also seen internationally. The factories have also increased waste recovery (materials, water, energy) to 96.5% globally," highlights Erika Michalik, CNH Industrial Sustainability Manager in Latin America. This year, the company was included in the S&P Global 2023 (Sustainability Yearbook with the highest score in the Machinery and Electrical Equipment Industry), in the CDP Climate Change A-List; and received an MSCI ESG rating of AAA.

CNH Industrial's zero waste accomplishment acts in support of the UN's global Sustainable Development Goals.



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: info@3blmedia.com



SOURCE: CNH Industrial

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781890/all-cnh-industrial-production-sites-in-brazil-achieve-zero-waste-to-landfill
The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

NEW DELHI, INDIA / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / "If we are to make meaningful progress in creating a more balanced, equitable and inclusive society, we must place women at the center stage of all development priorities," declared Amitabh Kant, India's Sherpa, or lead envoy, to the G20, at the opening of the first Asia Inclusive Growth Forum here on Friday.

The day-long event, hosted by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and brought to India in partnership with Sattva, gathered private and social sector leaders, fintechs, entrepreneurs, government officials, multilateral organizations and academics to share insights on what it will take to accelerate inclusive growth across Asia and close the continent's gender gap.

At the top of the list: making the long-term digitization of economies more equitable. That can be done in part through open-source APIs and citizen-owned data, finding new ways to improve access to credit for women entrepreneurs, and forging innovative partnerships to extend the benefits of digitization to women in rural areas.

To give women entrepreneurs in India better access to financial services, Airtel Payments Bank, Frontier Markets and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth announced the launch of She Leads Bharat: Udyam at the forum. In India, one in five micro, small and medium enterprises are owned by women, but women receive only 5% of total financing by public-sector banks.

"Access to credit is a massive challenge today, yet it holds the key to unlocking the next level of economic development - particularly when applied to women entrepreneurs," said Ari Sarker, Mastercard's Asia Pacific president.

The initiative will give 100,000 women small-business owners in rural areas access to resources, networks and tools via Frontier Markets' Meri-Saheli platform. It's a first-of-its-kind partnership that brings together private sector, social enterprise and philanthropy to show what a digital-first model can be, said Ajaita Shah, Frontier Markets' founder and CEO.

At the forum, participants highlighted three areas where centering on women can help drive sustainable development.

01

Digitization is core to equal opportunity creation

"What we have learned at the Center for Inclusive Growth is that when it comes to lending, women don't just pay it back, but also pay it forward to their communities and the country," says Shamina Singh, the center's founder and president. "Doing well and doing good, by choice or by chance, not only makes sense for society, but it also makes good business sense."

The digital acceleration has helped women across Asia, and in particular India, access services across sectors. The number of female internet users has risen significantly in the past few years, putting more power in their hands and bringing about a paradigm shift in commerce. Key to this momentum is keeping an open network as it's the economy's foundation, said T Koshy, CEO of the Open Network for Digital Commerce, a government-led interconnected e-commerce platform. He characterized his platform as an equal opportunity model, helping consumers select the best-quality product - not just the best-marketed one.

Women also need safe spaces to thrive on the internet, said Sairee Chahal, the co-founder and CEO of Mahila Money, a financial platform for women, and the founder of SHEROES, a women-only social network. "When you feel safe, when you feel included, you experiment, you learn," she said. "You can find work; you can become entrepreneurial."

02

Keep women at the forefront of climate action

Women account for about 80% of people displaced by the climate crisis, so gender mainstreaming - taking into account the different needs and circumstances of women and men when developing policy and programs - may be critical when looking at issues of climate finance, adaptation and mitigation, said Rathish Balakrishnan, managing partner at the social impact consulting group Sattva.

And that means including women in the decision-making process, said Deepali Khanna, the Rockefeller Foundation's chief representative for Asia. Consulting women and co-creating with a community, she said, is the way to create scalable solutions that properly address people's needs.

03

A healthy economy needs healthy women

Access to quality healthcare services is necessary to empower the next generation of female leaders. Women in Asia have been underserved, due in part to deep-rooted stigmas around a variety of health conditions and lack of practical treatment plans, said Shobhita Narain. She is the co-founder of Veera Health, an online clinic that treats polycystic ovary syndrome, which, if left untreated, can lead to reproductive problems and affects as many as one in five Indian women.

Digitizing health care, including access to online health care literature and telemedicine, is helping women, said Shobana Kamineni, executive vice chairperson of Apollo Hospitals, the largest hospital chain in India. Science and medicine need to focus more on women's health care, she said. Plus, employers need to modify benefits, such as offering support for maternity planning and prenatal needs - which will support women's choices and retain female employees in the workforce, she added.

Originally published by The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

Check out more content from The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/mastercard-center-inclusive-growth

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781895/mastercard-sustainable-development-unsustainable-without-women
SANTA CLARA (dpa-AFX) - Palo Alto-based biotech firm, Inceptive, led by former Google AI expert Jakob Uszkoreit, has raised $100 million in funding from Nvidia and Andreessen Horowitz. Inceptive's core innovation involves creating 'biological software' using state-of-the-art AI, envisioning it as a means to encode executable instructions within human cells. This transformative approach mirrors a broader trend of biotech startups securing billions in funding to harness AI for drug development, with the sector eyeing a $50 billion market opportunity. Founded just four years ago, Inceptive's valuation surged from $100 million in 2021 to over $300 million in this latest round, attracting investors like Obvious Ventures. The startup's AI platform designs unique mRNA-based molecules, similar to those used in Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccines. Once validated, Inceptive licenses these molecules to pharmaceutical firms for further development and clinical trials. Collaborating with a major European pharmaceutical company, Inceptive is working on an innovative infectious disease vaccine. While mRNA vaccines excelled against Covid-19, replicating their success in other vaccine categories remains a challenge. Inceptive aims to support the growing mRNA drug development landscape, with over 700 programs anticipated by the end of the decade. Numerous biotechs, including Exscientia, Verge Genomics, and Recursion Pharmaceuticals, have introduced AI-driven drugs. However, the primary hurdle in drug development remains clinical trials. Uszkoreit's prior work at Google in AI and biology paved the way for his vision. His former colleagues have also founded startups in the race for generative AI talent. Nvidia's venture capital arm, NVentures, is among Inceptive's backers, providing not just funding but access to cutting-edge computing platforms, including advanced chips. Inceptive's impressive growth underscores AI's growing role in pharmaceuticals, promising a revolution in drug discovery. 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.
NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- L'Occitane en Provence is proud to announce its collaboration with Aria Mia Loberti, the multi-faceted actress, writer, scholar, and human rights activist. As Managing Director Adrien Geiger expresses: "I am very proud to have Aria as L'Occitane en Provence Ambassador. This choice was obvious to both Aria and the company as we share the same values."

Named one of the 2023 TIFF Rising Stars by the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Aria stars in Shawn Levy's upcoming four-part film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr.

The emerging actress offers a unique perspective on the world, embracing the sum of her five senses to connect deeply with her surroundings. This wonderfully mirrors L'Occitane's own philosophy and approach, which encourages consumers to explore beauty and wellness through sensorial experiences.

In line with their shared values and commitments to drive positive change for people and the planet, L'Occitane is dedicated to cultivating opportunities for all individuals to be able to see and experience the exceptional beauty that nature has to offer. For more than two decades, the brand has been active in supporting projects and initiatives to combat avoidable blindness through the L'Occitane Foundation. Championing inclusivity since 1997, L'Occitane has also committed to helping those who are blind or have low vision by adding Braille to much of its product packaging. This commitment resonates deeply with Loberti, not only because of her own human rights advocacy, but also since she herself has low vision.

Aria's words reflect her affinity for L'Occitane's mission, stating, "During my first visit to Provence, I was profoundly moved by L'Occitane's commitment to nurturing authentic beauty within our world and ourselves."

L'Occitane's founder Olivier Baussan reflects on their first encounter, "The moment I met Aria Mia Loberti, it was clear that there was a serendipitous meeting of the minds. The synergy of philosophy and beauty is what brought us together."

This partnership marks the beginning of a harmonious collaboration. As one of L'Occitane's new brand ambassadors, Aria will represent L'Occitane's iconic shea butter hand cream. This selection stands as a tribute to the tactile nature of shea butter, and how it nourishes hands . . . hands that for some act as eyes and awaken other senses. Moreover, this choice embodies a pledge to the women of Burkina Faso, affirming the brand's global commitment to empowering women.

About L'Occitane - Cultivators of Change

Since 1976, L'OCCITANE has shared beauty with a respect for people and nature. Its vision is to turn consumption into regeneration with the belief that every action - big or small - can make a difference. L'OCCITANE offers a luxury range of skincare, fragrances, and wellbeing products enriched with authentic, traceable ingredients. Continuing to honor the Mediterranean art de vivre-the art of living beautifully- L'OCCITANE draws from local traditions and craftsmanship to share these sensorial experiences with the world.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204859/L_OCCITANE_en_Provence_Aria_Loberti.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204860/L_OCCITANE_en_Provence_Aria_Loberti.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/rising-star-aria-mia-loberti-named-global-brand-ambassador-by-loccitane-en-provence-301921346.html
BOSTON, Sept. 07, 2023the leading Asia Pacific centred biotech CRO with global execution capabilities, today published the latest specialist clinical trial report - "Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Global Clinical Trial Landscape".



According to the report, since 2018, the biopharma industry has initiated over 200 global clinical trials for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), with 60% of these located in Asia-Pacific and more than 30% in the US and Europe.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE

"NCP is the most common cancer originating from the nasopharyngeal epithelium and is mainly found in Asia and Africa. Non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma accounts for about 50% of all nasopharyngeal cancer cases. NCP has 5-year survival rates ranging from 40-70% worldwide," according to the report.

Environmental risk factors such as smoking, alcohol, nitrosamines, genetic predisposition, and EBV infection play a large role in the prevalence of NCP.

In 2020 there were more than 130,000 NPC cases globally. It is the 23rd most common cancer worldwide and is more frequent in men than women.

In 2020, Asia accounted for over 80% of global NPC cases, with China contributing the majority.

In 2020, the US and Canada accounted for approximately 2% of the global NPC incidence, with over 2,000 cases.

In 2020, Europe reported 5,204 cases of NPC, contributing nearly 4% of the global incidence.



Novotech has more than 3,000 employees operating across 25 geographies, with 34 office locations, including Greater China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Europe.

The CRO offers biotechs a unique and unparalleled suite of early to late-phase services across the US and Europe, with a foundation in Asia Pacific where the company has built a reputation for delivering high-quality expedited clinical trials.

Recognized for its industry-leading contributions, Novotech has received numerous prestigious awards, including the CRO Leadership Award 2023 and the Asia Pacific Cell & Gene Therapy Clinical Trials Excellence 2022 award. Additionally, the company was honored with the Asia-Pacific Contract Research Organization Company of the Year Award. Its commitment to collaboration is evident in the 50 Leading Site Partnership agreements it has signed over the past three years.

About Novotech Novotech-CRO.com

Founded in 1997, Novotech is internationally recognized as the leading Asia Pacific centred Contract Research Organization (CRO) with global execution capabilities. The Company has established itself as a clinical CRO with labs, phase I facilities, drug development consulting services and regulatory expertise. It has experience in over 5,000 clinical projects, including Phase I to Phase IV clinical trials and bioequivalence studies. Novotech employs over 3,000 staff globally across 34 office locations. Novotech is positioned to serve as a partner and ally to small and medium-sized biotech, biopharma and pharma sponsors seeking to conduct clinical trials in Asia Pacific, the US and Europe.
BOSTON, Sept. 07, 2023, the leading Asia Pacific centred biotech CRO with global execution capabilities, today published the latest specialist clinical trial report -"Gallbladder Cancer: Global Clinical Trials Landscape Report".

According to the report, biopharma companies have initiated approximately 250 ongoing clinical trials in gallbladder cancer (GBC) since 2016, with the Asia-Pacific region playing a pivotal role in over 50% of these trials, while more than 40% were conducted in the United States and Europe.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE

GBC represents the most prevalent type of biliary tract cancer globally, accounting for 80%-95% of cases, with more than 1 million new cases and more than 80,000 deaths recorded in 2020.

The global age-standardized incidence and mortality for GBC is 1.20 and 0.84 per 100,000 people respectively. Asia leads the world in both incidence and mortality cases, with 82,000 and 62,300 cases, respectively, representing 70% of global occurrences.

"Due to its large population and moderate volume of studies, the Asia-Pacific region has a low competing trial risk with a trial density about 17 times less than that of the US and about 4 times lower than Europe," states the Report.

According to the Report GBC is the sixth most common kind of gastrointestinal cancer and is more prevalent in women than in men. The leading causes are high estrogen levels, which are more common in women, and an abnormal pancreatic obstruction which is more common in people from Asia.

Additionally, the report delves into disease cases and mortality trends by region, including:

By 2030, GBC cases and mortality in Asia is predicted to reach 142,193 and 109,122 respectively.

Europe had incidence and mortality cases of about, 12,570 and 8,717 cases, respectively in 2020.

The US reported over 4,600 incident cases and about 2,300 deaths in GBC in 2020. According to the American Cancer Society estimates, there will be around 12,220 new cases and approximately 4,510 deaths due to GBC in 2023 in the country.

Canada reported an incidence of over 500 cases with an ASIR of about 0.66 per 100,000 population in 2020.

Novotech has more than 3,000 employees operating across 25 geographies, with 34 office locations, including Greater China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Europe.

The CRO offers biotechs a unique and unparalleled suite of early to late-phase services across the US and Europe, with a foundation in Asia Pacific where the company has built a reputation for delivering high-quality expedited clinical trials.

Recognized for its industry-leading contributions, Novotech has received numerous prestigious awards, including the CRO Leadership Award 2023 and the Asia Pacific Cell & Gene Therapy Clinical Trials Excellence 2022 award. Additionally, the company was honored with the Asia-Pacific Contract Research Organization Company of the Year Award. Its commitment to collaboration is evident in the 50 Leading Site Partnership agreements it has signed over the past three years.

About Novotech Novotech-CRO.com

Founded in 1997, Novotech is internationally recognized as the leading Asia Pacific centred Contract Research Organization (CRO) with global execution capabilities. The Company has established itself as a clinical CRO with labs, phase I facilities, drug development consulting services and regulatory expertise. It has experience in over 5,000 clinical projects, including Phase I to Phase IV clinical trials and bioequivalence studies. Novotech employs over 3,000 staff globally across 34 office locations. Novotech is positioned to serve as a partner and ally to small and medium-sized biotech, biopharma and pharma sponsors seeking to conduct clinical trials in Asia Pacific, the US and Europe.

For more information visit Novotech CRO
Jerusalem, Israel--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Renowned Iranian-American filmmaker, Hooman Khalili, brings his creative vision to the three largest cities in Israel with the unveiling of a powerful Woman Life Freedom mural, remembering the death of Mahsa Amini and 1,020 other Iranians who were either murdered or imprisoned by the regime. Following the success of his four murals in three different cities in Israel, Khalili wants to reinforce support for the Iranian women fighting for their freedom on the one year anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death, which set off the initial protests in Iran in September 2022.





Jooman Khalili

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9405/179863_f1d49051c4fe39e3_001full.jpg





The official unveiling ceremony will take place over three days, revealing four murals in total in Jerusalem, Haifa, and Tel Aviv, Israel and will be attended by local officials as well as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Fleur Hassan Nahum and Journalist Emily Schrader, both of whom worked with Khalili to bring about murals of support for the Iranian people to Israel.

On September 12, the first mural will be unveiled at 17:30 in Tel Aviv at 5 Shvil Hamifal St., Tel Aviv. On September 13, 2 murals will be unveiled in Haifa, the first of which will be at 15:00 at the Hecht Museum at Haifa University, and the second of which will be unveiled at 17:30 at 10 Wadi Salib, Haifa. Finally, on September 14, the fourth mural will be unveiled in Mevasseret Zion near Jerusalem. The mural will be unveiled at 16:30 at HarelMiddle School.



The murals were designed based on the creative vision of Khalili alongside designers Justin Mcginnis and Ryan Tseun, who created an AI mosaic image of Mahsa Amini. In each square, there are images of over 1,000 victims of the Iranian regime in the past year. "This moment, among countless others, reminds us of the pervasive injustice faced by the citizens of Iran every single day. I want these more than 1000 Iranians and their families to know that we stand in solidarity with them and believe in a future where they will be free, without the threat of imprisonment," said Khalili.



The murals follow in the footsteps of Khalili's previous designs, featuring an image depicting a woman holding a sword and riding a lion, symbolizing the strength and resilience of the woman-led revolution.



All of Hooman's murals can be viewed at www.hooman.tv



About Hooman Khalili Hooman Khalili is a highly acclaimed filmmaker known for producing OLIVE, the first full-length feature film shot entirely on a cell phone. OLIVE qualified for the Academy Awards in 2012 and stars the two-time Academy-nominated actress, Gena Rowlands, with five original songs written and performed by Dolly Parton. In addition, Khalili created the #1 most viewed non-partisan election video, aimed at inspiring the youth of America to vote in the presidential election. The video garnered 5.1 million views on YouTube and earned a place in the Museum of Radio and Television in NYC.

Media Contact

Hooman Khalili

Tvhooman@gmail.com

Los Angeles, USA

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179863
JAKARTA (dpa-AFX) - Japan is scheduled to release a batch of data on Friday, headlining a busy day in Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are Q2 figures for GDP, July numbers for current account and August results for bank lending and the eco watchers survey. GDP is expected to rise 1.5 percent on quarter and 6.0 percent on year after adding 0.7 percent on quarter and 2.7 percent on year in the previous three months. The current account is tipped to show a surplus of 2.296 trillion yen, up from 1.509 trillion yen in June. Overall bank lending is expected to rise 2.8 percent on year, easing from 2.9 percent in July. The eco watchers survey for current conditions is tipped to show a score of 54.4, steady from the July reading. South Korea will provide July figures for current account; in June, the current account surplus was $5.87 billion. Taiwan will release August numbers for imports, exports and trade balance. In July, imports tumbled 20.9 percent on year and exports sank 10.4 percent for a trade surplus of $8.38 billion. Indonesia will see August results for its consumer confidence index; in July, the index reading was 123.5. 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.
Astara Capital Partners, LP, a NYC-based middle market private equity firm, closed its inaugural fund, Astara Capital Partners Fund I, at $312m.

Astara now manages over $400 million of capital commitments.

Founded in 2020 by Michael Ranson, Founder, Astara is an operationally-focused private equity firm dedicated to partnering with middle market industrial, manufacturing, and services businesses in North America. Astara partners with companies in a variety of sectors where it has deep experience, including packaging and converting, food, building products, forest products, and industrial manufacturing, distribution, and services.

FinSMEs

07/09/2023
Laborie Medical Technologies, a Portsmouth, NH-based diagnostic and therapeutic medical technology company, acquired Urotronic, a Plymouth, MN-based medical device company, for up to $600M.

Under the terms of the agreement, the transaction consists of an upfront cash payment of $255M, and up to an additional $345M in potential commercial and reimbursement milestone payments. Net of Labories existing minority investment in Urotronic, the net upfront cash payment will be $232M with net potential milestone payments of up to $314M.

The acquisition expands Labories urology portfolio and demonstrates the companys commitment to providing proven, innovative solutions to physicians and patients globally.

In conjunction with the Urotronic acquisition, Laborie will also make a $5m strategic equity investment into GIE Medical, a clinical stage company spun out of Urotronic which is developing drug-coated balloon technology for treatment of strictures within the gastrointestinal tract which could, like Optilume urethral strictures, offer a differentiated solution for treatment of these conditions.

Led by David Perry, President and CEO, Urotronic is a medical device company currently conducting clinical trials to support global commercialization of their products. The Optilume drug-coated balloon technology provides a minimally invasive treatment option for men suffering from urinary tract conditions like urethral strictures and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The technology creates a change from the methods currently used by urologists to treat these conditions.

Led by Mike Frazzette, President, and CEO, Laborie is a medical technology company focused on Urology, Urogynecology, Gastroenterology, Obstetrics, Gynecology & Neonatal Health. It manufactures and delivers diagnostic and therapeutic products that help clinicians and hospitals preserve and restore patient dignity. It is a portfolio company of Patricia Industries.

FinSMEs

07/09/2023
Pentathlon Ventures, a Pune, Maharashtra, India-based early-stage B2B SaaS-focused venture capital firm, has announced the launch of its second fund with a target of $55M.

For Fund II, the firm is raising capital from a mix of Indian and global limited partners encompassing business leaders, corporations and institutions.

The fund aims to invest in 25 B2B SaaS startups, supporting solutions across Enterprise Digital Transformation, E-commerce Enablement, Fintech, Vertical SaaS, Applied AI, Sustainable Tech, and HealthTech.

Pentathlon Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm that aims to bridge the gap between Angel and Series A+ rounds, focusing on the B2B SaaS space of the Indian startup ecosystem. The firm works with early-stage technology companies to scale their business globally by providing Expertise, Ecosystem & Capital.

Pentathlon Ventures was founded in 2020 by a team of entrepreneurs with over 150 years of experience including:

Gireendra Kasmalkar (Ideas to Impacts, Verisoft);

Sandeep Chawda (Globant, Clarice, Veritas);

Saurabh Lahoti (Grassroots Business Fund, Ennovent);

Madhukar Bhatia (Sapience, Symphony, Veritas);

Ashok Mayya (Rising Pharma, Citron Pharma);

Hemant Joshi (Sapience, Symphony, Veritas), and

Shashank Deshpande (Globant, Clarice, Veritas).

Through its first fund, the VC firm has invested in 23 startups, with a track record which included exits and follow-on investments.

FinSMEs

07/09/2023
Youtooz, a Vancouver, Canada-based consumer product company which specializes in collectible items, received funding from Decathlon Capital Partners.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate its expansion through a dilution-free, revenue-based agreement. The funding will support its launch of new product lines, expanded distribution and new partnerships.

Led by Austin Long, Founder and CEO, Youtooz is a consumer product company that captures moments of the internet and brings them to life through product drops. It seeks inspiration from its community and content creators across the internet and works together, with its IP and License partners, to create collectibles, plushies and other products. Since its launch in 2019, Youtooz has released more than 500 figures.

FinSMEs

07/09/2023
Are you interested in BeenVerified? Are you unsure about the value of your time and money? Look nowhere else! Well examine this websites features, costs, and overall value in this in-depth analysis to help you choose if its the best option for you.

Our review has you covered whether youre attempting to get in touch with an old buddy, examining a suspected fraudster, or digging up background knowledge on a potential love interest.

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What is BeenVerified?

Background check sites have changed over time from being merely interesting side projects to powerful resources for gathering a variety of data. An internet resource called BeenVerified lets individuals look through public records.

The program enables users to look up information about people, including contact information, criminal histories, employment histories, social media profiles, and more, using a huge database with over a billion records.

This website is a well-liked option for consumers who need to do background checks, find missing family or friends, or confirm the information on potential business partners due to its user-friendly design and detailed reports.

With the expansion of its feature set and the size of the informative database at its disposal, this website has grown to become one of the top background check websites on the internet.

The site also provides various useful services that address a variety of demands in addition to its well-known person search.

Is BeenVerified Legit?

You might want to confirm this websites efficacy before spending any money on it. You might also be interested in learning if the platform can live up to its audacious claim that it will offer quick access to possibly unexpected information about anyone.

After all, such a claim demands close examination. Be confident that this website, as evidenced by multiple evaluations, lives up to its promise.

In this review, well look at whats in this websites report, how it works, and how well it can identify information thats hard to obtain or might not be readily available on Google.

Continue reading to learn more about this reliable platform.

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What Can You Do With It?

You may look up a variety of characteristics about people using this website, such as their contact information, address history, social media profiles, employment history, criminal history, education, and more.

With this data, you can run background checks on prospective business partners or find long-lost relatives or friends. You can watch your online reputation with this website and manage who can view what about you.

The site also provides you with a comprehensive variety of tools to help you learn more and make wise decisions.

BeenVerified Features?

This site gathers public data records to help people find one another nationwide. You can start a search by entering a name, address, phone number, email, social media account, or vehicle identifying number, among other starting points (VIN).

The website will then provide you with a list of potential matches, and you may download it to get a full report on any of them. Contact details, property records, criminal histories, and data from social media are all included in the report.

When it comes to BeenVerified cost, this website might not offer as much information on records like weapons licenses and traffic violations compared to other peoples search finders.

This website offers a number of fundamental features, including

Unclaimed Money Search

People Search

Saved History

Reverse Phone Lookup

Multi-Device Accessibility

Reveal Email Lookup

VIN Number Search

Additionally, this websites unclaimed property search is another element that distinguishes it from other search engines. If you want to find out if any state has unclaimed money or property in your name, you can search for yourself or others.

Although the majority of states offer complimentary access to identical search functionality on their websites, those who already have this sites account may find the BeenVerified reviews to be beneficial.

How does BeenVerified work?

This site gives customers a quick approach to getting information that would otherwise need a time-consuming independent investigation and frequent travels to different sites where records are held by gathering data from diverse public sources.

With BeenVerified reviews, users now have access to a tremendous amount of information that was previously dispersed throughout courthouses and public record repositories with just one search.

Despite the depth of information in the business background reports, this website only uses aggregated public records for all of its data. Data for this website is gathered from a variety of sources, including:

Public record offices at the federal, state, and local levels

Data on local and federal crime

Commercial company information, such as lists of magazine subscribers and land records

Court documents.

Data from the US census

Social networking sites

Agency for consumer reporting

Banks and credit unions are examples of financial institutions

Pros and Cons

Pros

Users who are dissatisfied with their reports can receive complete refunds from this site

Somewhat open for a background check business

Each month, members may conduct up to 100 background checks

Devoted customer service

Simple pricing structure

Top-notch mobile apps

Search by social media handle is provided

A variety of features are available with membership

People searches produce thorough, in-depth reports

Search for unclaimed property

Discounted three-month prepayment

Many choices for data input

Cons

Cannot purchase even one report

No free trial is available

It is not a consumer reporting agency as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, so it cannot be utilized for employee background checks

Sometimes there are long waits for search results

Search engine results arent always reliable

The Cancellation process is challenging

Unless users opt-out , memberships renew themselves automatically each month. Before the start of the following month, they terminate their memberships

>> Use BeenVerified >>

BeenVerified Cost

When considering BeenVerified reviews, you have a choice between two distinct pricing plans. The only difference between either is the length of the membership, which includes 100 monthly searches.

The BeenVerified cost for the two memberships is the same, however, consumers can save close to 35% by choosing the three-month membership option. Its important to remember that the 3-Month Membership is charged $52.44 every three months every quarter.

A 7-day trial with BeenVerified costs $1. After the 7-day trial time expires, your credit card will be charged $26.89 per month for the subscription; therefore, you must cancel it if you decide not to keep it.

Customer Support

BeenVerified reviews typically show that the customer support team is available and responsive to client needs.

Customer questions sent through the website or the support teams email are immediately and completely addressed by representatives on their customer service phone line, which is available 17.5 hours per day, seven days a week.

BeenVerified Reviews from Real Users  How Legit is it?

To save you time, we read through many BeenVerified reviews on the internet to discover what actual individuals thought of the service based on their own experiences.

This will make it easier for you to determine the BeenVerified cost and whether or not the service is reliable and works.

User Reviews from Sitejabber

BeenVerified reviews have given the company an average rating of 2.89 stars out of 316 reviews. According to this assessment, most customers appear to be dissatisfied with their purchases.

Customers often complain about issues with credit card transactions, the BeenVerified cost, the day trial, and difficulty getting access to criminal records in their reviews.





>> Try Out BeenVerified >>

Alternatives to BeenVerified

PeopleLooker is a platform that allows users to find out information about other people. PeopleLooker offers a variety of data, such as contact information, criminal histories, and social media profiles.

Reverse phone lookups can be used by users to find the owner of an erroneous phone number.

The platform has an intuitive user interface and a mobile app for quick access to search results. However, utilizing PeopleLooker comes at a price, and given the variety of membership choices offered, some users could find the pricing mechanism perplexing.

>> Try Out PeopleLooker >>

People can access information about other people thanks to TruthFinder, an online public records search service.

By using TruthFinder reviews, users can find information such as contact information, criminal histories, and property records by conducting searches using a name, phone number, email address, or physical address.

Truthfinder also provides a reverse phone lookup feature that can be used to find out who owns a given phone number.

TruthFinder has an intuitive user interface and a mobile app for easy access to search results. However, using it comes at a price, just like other services of a similar nature.

>> Try TruthFinder >>

If youre looking for a reliable background check service, this is a fantastic additional choice. The website gives users access to a variety of data, such as contact information, criminal histories, property records, and employment histories.

Also, Intelius has a background check option that enables customers to get a thorough report on a person. Moreover, Intelius offers a mobile app for easy access to search results and a reverse phone lookup service.

However, consumers should be informed that using Intelius has a cost and that some customers have noted inconsistencies in the data the platform provides.

>> Use Intelius >>

PeopleFinders is a people search engine that is distinguished by its distinctive features, which include a thorough criminal records database, the possibility to run background checks on people, and the capacity to look up people using their social security numbers.

PeopleFinders also has a people search plus tool that gives users access to further details about specific people, like their employment histories, educational backgrounds, and social media accounts.

Users of PeopleFinders can also create and manage their address book, which is helpful for remembering contacts and their details. Overall, PeopleFinders is an excellent resource for anyone wishing to learn about people and perform in-depth background investigations.

>> Check Out PeopleFinders >>

A service called Instant Checkmate allows users to search through other peoples public record information and do background checks. It is recognized as one of the most reliable and thorough background check services available today.

Despite the fact that it is illegal to use the service for business purposes like hiring new employees, people use it on a personal level to learn more about their neighbors, friends, and even potential romantic partners.

The website gives users access to numerous searchable databases that include social media profiles, criminal histories, phone numbers, email addresses, and postal addresses.

>> Try Instant Checkmate >>

Since its launch in 2006, this business has honed its capacity to offer background data, criminal records, or even leads for locating an old buddy. Over this time, the site has gained the trust of over 20 million users.

You can use Spokeo for free by entering a name or phone number to get the most basic results. It does offer a small bit of information, but practically all of it is illegible and obscured.

In searching through the data, those who can read between the lines should be able to glean some useful information.

>> Try Out Spokeo >>

Being one of the most well-known brands in the industry, US Search provides a straightforward and efficient background check tool and people finder.

The people you search for wont be aware that you are looking for them, which is the best part about how it is made to safeguard your privacy.

Searching through a vast collection of public documents, US Search compiles all the necessary information into a single report. It lowers the cost of discovery while providing a more economical and effective method of locating data.

>> Run US Search >>

Things to Consider Before Using a Background Check Service

The benefits of using a reputable background check agency such as the BeenVerified app are numerous. It used to be impractical and expensive to check ones criminal past or that of a potential employer. Still, now with BeenVerified cost-effective services, it is quick and easy to access that data.

BeenVerified reviews can be used to find out more about a new friend as well as to look into your own and your loved ones pasts. A persons address, phone number, and perhaps even the names of their relatives could all be found by conducting this websites search for them.

There is a reason why most services would provide you the choice of sharing your data with the provider due to the accessibility of people finding tools like background check services. Identifying opt-out status could be challenging.

This might be advantageous for you, as some firms grant their staff members the freedom to restore their internet reputation without having to pay for the BeenVerified cost.

>> Use BeenVerified >>

BeenVerified Review Frequently Asked Questions

Is BeenVerified Free?

BeenVerified reviews are a great way to learn about the subscription-based search engine. The platform offers numerous paid features that will surely benefit you in gathering factual data. This website offers free searches, but access to the data requires a monthly subscription.

Is BeenVerified Safe to Use?

Despite numerous BeenVerified reviews citing inaccurate information in reports and criminal records that didnt match the targeted profile, there hasnt been any allegation of information theft or data breaches.

Will the People I Search for Be Notified by BeenVerified?

This websites reports are private and confidential and those who are searched will not be notified of any reports. BeenVerified cost is also kept confidential.

Is BeenVerified Legal?

BeenVerified reviews indicate that while the company is not a consumer reporting agency and cannot be used for a tenant or employment screening, it claims that you can conduct background checks using privacy-friendly public record searches.

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Final Thoughts on BeenVerified

This site is a helpful tool for finding persons and provides a variety of search options. That can be especially useful if youre looking for someone using a VIN or social media account because many other platforms wont start a search with this information.

Unfortunately, this website prevents you from viewing your search results without first subscribing to a membership plan. Because of this, it can be challenging to predict the type of information you will receive before committing to a subscription.

>> Check Out BeenVerified >>

Disclaimer:

Firstpost is not responsible for any consequences that may arise as a result of ones decisions and gambling habits.

This is a Partnered Post.
Starting a business can be exciting, yet dealing with legal paperwork is often overwhelming and confusing. Fortunately, there are LLC services available to help simplify the process of establishing your business. By utilizing the online best LLC service, you can save time and energy and focus on bringing your business idea to life.

In this article, well provide information on the best LLC services available online and assist you in selecting the best service suited to your requirements. Its time to take the first step toward achieving your business goals!

>> Use ZenBusiness Services to Start an LLC >>

8 Best LLC Services

ZenBusiness  Best LLC Service Overall

Swyft Filing  Best for Quick Turnaround Time

Tailor Brands  Best for Branding Solutions

Northwest Registered Agent  Best for Registered Agent Service

Incfile  Best for Affordability

Inc Authority  Best for Startups

MyCompanyWorks  Best for Extra LLC Services

LegalZoom  Best for Legal Assistance

To create our rankings for the best LLC services online, we considered various factors to ensure that our rankings were based on merit. These factors included ease of use, pricing, customer service, and features offered by each service. Additionally, we examined user reviews and ratings to gain insight into customers experiences.

Considering all these factors, our rankings provide a comprehensive overview of the best LLC services available online.

ZenBusiness  Best LLC Service Overall

Star Rating: 4.9/5

If you expect to have a lot of queries regarding your LLC formation services, ZenBusiness is the recommended online best LLC service, owing to its extensive customer support hours, which includes the weekends.

ZenBusiness provides the best LLC services at a very reasonable cost, which offers compliance alerts at no extra charge. They use an interactive formation process with a chat function that assists in filling out your paperwork as you answer questions about your best LLC service plans.

ZenBusinesss Worry-Free Compliance feature sends reminders for required filings to keep your business in good standing. They also have website development and domain name registration services.

Pros:

The service includes annual compliance without any stress

Option to sign up for an additional service to have a registered agent

Various subscription levels are available, allowing you to pay only for the services you require

Cons:

The cost of add-on features is high

Pricing & Plans

Pro Plan: For a yearly fee of $199, the Pro Plan provides all the features offered by the Starter Plan and other services such as banking resolution, EIN registration, and an Operating Agreement.

Premium Plan: For a cost of $299 per year, the Premium Plan offers all the same features as the Pro Plan as well as faster filing, ensuring compliance, and a guarantee of no concerns.

Starter Plan: The initial package, called the Starter Plan, costs nothing for a year and state filing fees. It provides basic LLC formation services such as name availability search, preparation and submission of Articles of Organization, and registered agent services for the first year.

>> Start an LLC with ZenBusiness >>

Swyft Filings  Best LLC Service for Quick Turnaround Time

Star Rating: 4.6/5

If entrepreneurs need more time and need a quick business setup, Swyft Filings is the ideal choice. The company lives up to its name by providing one of the fastest processing times, usually within 7 to 10 business days, compared to similar services.

Swyft Filings is a straightforward service provider that enables the customization of packages, allowing clients to pay only for the services required.

At lower rates, they offer features such as registered agent services, operating agreement templates, business name availability searches, and EIN applications. The company provides several free services, including a one-hour tax consultation, a compliance alerts trial period, and a website domain via Squarespace.

Pros:

Filing can be done quickly with fast turnaround times

Theres an option to pay in installments

The prices offered are one of the most affordable on the market

Cons:

All the necessary formation paperwork is separate from the basic package

The costs for extra services can accumulate rapidly

The base price doesnt cover the registered agent service and EIN application cost

Pricing & Plans

Premium plan: The plan costs $299, which covers state fees and offers all the features of the Standard plan. In addition, it also includes a business website and domain, business email and phone number, and a report on the business license.

Basic plan: The cost of $49 , which covers state fees, covers everything from the preparation and submission of the Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Organization to check for name availability, as well as a registered agent service for a year.

Standard plan: For a price of $149 plus state fees, the Advanced plan provides all the functionalities of the Basic plan with additional features such as filing for EIN/Tax ID, creating an operating agreement or bylaws, and generating a banking resolution.

>> Start Using Swyft Filings >>

Tailor Brands  Best LLC Service for Branding Solutions

Star Rating: 4.3/5

Tailor Brands aims to empower entrepreneurs by providing a one-stop shop that includes the best LLC service, compliance, and branding/online presence.

Although Tailor Brands, the Elite Plan, offers three different plans is highly recommended, as it includes everything necessary for serious entrepreneurs to reach their target audience, the most important aspect of establishing an online presence. While creating a website and forming LLC formation services are crucial, theyre only the initial steps towards building a brand and reaching a market.

The additional features offered in Tailor Brands Elite Plan help entrepreneurs transform from having mere LLC formation services with a website to a recognized brand with a strong online presence.

Although Tailor Brands may not be the most affordable option for startups, its essential for those ready to invest in building a robust online presence.

Pros:

Other services may not offer as much customization, but this one provides additional features such as tools for graphic design and creating logos

Provides you with resources that concentrate on establishing your brand and constructing a digital identity

A comprehensive solution that covers all the necessary elements to set up your business on the internet

Getting started with this tool is straightforward and can be completed in as little as ten minutes with just a few clicks

Cons:

To fully utilize Tailor Brands, opting for the highest-priced plan is necessary

Pricing & Plans

Premium: You can pay $49.99 per month or an upfront payment of $12.99 monthly for a year.

Standard: The cost is $19.99 per month, or if you pay for the entire year at once, it is $5.99 .

Basic: If you pay for the year upfront, you can get a monthly subscription for $3.99 . Otherwise, it costs $9.99 monthly.

>> Try Tailor Brands >>

Northwest Registered Agent  Best LLC Service for Registered Agent Service

Star Rating: 4/5

If youre aware that you will need a registered agent service to manage your best LLC service, its recommended you go for Northwest Registered Agent. The companys basic LLC formation services include registered agent service at a reasonable price, and its Corporate Guide service can assist you with your requirements.

Northwest is known for being a user-friendly firm with flexible payment options and expert advice from industry veterans. Its Corporate Guide service connects small business owners with a professional who specializes in the formation process of their respective states and can assist with various issues.

Northwest also provides annual compliance filing services for an additional fee, which takes care of the filings instead of just sending reminders. It also offers installment payment plans to enable you to pay formation and state filing fees over time instead of all at once.

Pros:

Customer service is quick and tailored to an individuals needs

Filing is done on the same day as the business day

Free DIY option

Its possible to avoid paying the initial state fee by opting for monthly payments

Cons:

Legal services arent provided

Not as popular as other similar products or services

There arent many reviews from customers

Pricing & Plans

Northwest Registered Agent provides the best LLC service that starts at a reasonable rate of $225 per year. This package incorporates crucial features like preparing and submitting the Articles of Organization, verifying the business names availability, and registering agent service for one year.

Customers also receive access to all business documents online, free forwarding of legal and tax documents, and alerts and reminders for compliance. Northwest Registered Agent is one of the best LLC service providers.

Apart from its exceptional services, it offers numerous additional features and add-ons at a supplementary fee, making it a highly flexible and personalized option for businesses seeking to establish their LLCs conveniently.

>> Form an LLC With Northwest Registered Agent >>

Incfile  Best LLC Service for Affordability

Star Rating: 3.8/5

If youre on a tight budget and starting your business from scratch, we discovered that Incfile is the best LLC service provider among the best ones.

They only charge state filing fees and provide free registered agent services for a year. Despite incurring charges after the first year, Incfile remains the best option for cost-effective business establishment.

Incfiles most valuable offerings are undoubtedly their low prices and free first-year registered agent services. Although they offer fewer services than their competitors, theyre a reliable company with positive customer reviews.

They provide essential features such as LLC formation services, operating agreement templates, EIN filing, lifetime compliance alerts, and a secure online dashboard to store your documents.

Incfile provides all the necessary tools for entrepreneurs mindful of their budget to start LLC formation services.

Pros:

Prices are lower

Faster turnaround times are available at higher package tiers, including the option of same-day filing

The formation service and registered agent service are free for the first year

Unlimited LLC name searches are included

Cons:

The availability of customer support is limited

The usability of the website is not as high as that of competitors

The package doesnt include the application for EIN

Pricing & Plans

>> Visit Incfile >>

Inc Authority  Best LLC Service for Startups

Star Rating: 3.5/5

Inc Authority provides various economical packages that equip business owners with essential tools and resources to establish their best LLC service rapidly and effectively.

Along with LLC formation services, Inc Authority also furnishes a diverse range of supplementary amenities, including website design and business credit, to assist entrepreneurs in expanding their businesses.

The company has secured positive feedback and high customer ratings, indicating a high degree of contentment among its clientele. Additionally, Inc Authority offers lifetime customer support for their packages, ensuring entrepreneurs can access help and guidance throughout the LLC formation services and beyond.

Inc Authority is a dependable and cost-effective choice for LLC formation, as it also provides various auxiliary services to help business owners establish and grow their ventures.

Pros:

Excellent reputation with strong customer reviews and ratings

Packages range from basic to premium, with additional features

The LLC formation services are affordable and designed to cater to different businesses

Apart from LLC formation, other services are offered, such as business credit and website design

All packages come with lifetime customer support

Cons:

Registered agent services offered are also limited

Certain LLC formation services may lack certain features that are provided by other similar services, such as legal guidance or tax consultations

Certain packages have limited options for customization

Pricing & Plans

Starter Business Bundle : $399 + State Fees

Starter Package: Free + State Fees (Only pay state fees)

Tycoon LLC Business Bundle : $799 + State Fees

Business LLC Executive Bundle : $499 + State Fees

>> Start an LLC with Inc Authority >>

MyCompanyWorks  Best for Extra LLC Services

Star Rating: 3/5

MyCompanyWorks is a well-known service that specializes in LLC formation and provides a broad range of services to assist entrepreneurs in launching their businesses.

With over twenty years of experience, this company has earned the reputation of being among the providers of the best LLC services. Theyve helped thousands of clients form their LLCs quickly and efficiently.

Their highly skilled assistants specialize in copywriting, content writing, and all forms of digital marketing to create compelling, SEO and conversation-optimized content. They take pride in delivering nothing but the best to our clients.

MyCompanyWorks provides the best LLC service with a range of tailored packages to meet the unique needs of various businesses. Offerings include basic and premium LLC formation packages, registered agent services, and business compliance services to ensure your company meets all legal requirements.

Entrepreneurs seeking the best LLC service will be pleased that their packages have a satisfaction guarantee and a user-friendly platform that streamlines LLC formation, making it quick and efficient.

Furthermore, MyCompanyWorks has a team of seasoned professionals accessible around the clock to address queries and provide support throughout the LLC formation process.

Pros:

It offers a diverse selection of packages to cater to the distinct requirements of various businesses

Its user-friendly platform allows for hassle-free and speedy LLC formation services

A team of competent customer support representatives can offer assistance and address inquiries

The company ensures customer satisfaction by guaranteeing all its packages

With over two decades in the industry, this company is known for its expertise and reliability

Cons:

Specific features, such as legal advice or tax consultations, may not be included in some packages

Certain packages may have limited options for customization

The pricing is relatively higher

Pricing & Plans

Entrepreneur Package : $199 + State Fees

Complete Package : $279 + State Fees

Basic Package : $59 + State Fees

>> Use MyCompanyWorks >>

LegalZoom  Best LLC Service for Legal Assistance

Star Rating: 2.8/5

If you anticipate having ongoing legal requirements, such as the need for intellectual property protections, LegalZoom is recommended as the best LLC service for filing. LegalZooms legal services can be tailored to suit your business needs, making it a valuable option for startups and established businesses.

Despite being more expensive than competitors in some areas, LegalZooms Pro package provides the most comprehensive legal assistance by offering access to lawyers with various specialties in all 50 states.

In addition to legal advice, LegalZooms Business Advisory Plan provides extensive support on contracts, trademarks, and business trusts in addition to legal advice. LegalZoom also offers guidance on related services like tax, banking, insurance, and compliance.

Pros:

They provide a 60-day satisfaction guarantee or money-back offer

This reputable and established organization has assisted over 2 million business owners in starting their ventures

They offer legal services with various specialties, covering all 50 states

Cons:

Customer support has room for improvement

The cost of registered agent services is higher

The LLC formation services provided are pricier

Pricing & Plans

Express Gold Package : $349 + State Fees

Standard Package : $329 + State Fees

Economy Package: $79 + State Fees

>> Start an LLC with LegalZoom >>

Ranking Methodology for the Best LLC Services

Our clients trust us to present unbiased and precise information. Our team of certified legal professionals devised a detailed evaluation process for ranking online legal services to achieve this.

To compile our list of best LLC services, we conducted a thorough analysis of all providers, taking into account various factors, and assigned ratings based on their performance in the following areas:

Value for money: We evaluated the worth of each formation companys basic, middle, and premium packages, considering whether we were receiving a fair deal, being cheated, or receiving our moneys worth.

Customer service: To determine the quality of customer service, we evaluated the communication channels of various companies, including email, phone, and chat. We assessed the accuracy and promptness of their responses. The assessment helped us classify the customer service experience as good, fair, or poor.

Customer satisfaction: We evaluated customer feedback on trustworthy review platforms and gauged our level of contentment with the procedure.

Usability: Our focus was on determining whether we could effectively navigate through the website and identify obstacles that may have arisen. We assessed whether there were any challenges in adding features or logging into our account, and we compared our experiences before and after setting up our account.

Features: We examine the crucial aspects that a company provides for commencing the best LLC service . The vital elements that we consider include a registered agent facility, an operating agreement template, assistance in EIN application, guidance on licensing, professional consultation, tax advisory solutions, support with compliance, and a guarantee of acceptance.

Best LLC Services  Buyers Guide

What Is an LLC?

When a business owner forms LLC formation services or a limited liability company, it creates a legal distinction between their personal assets and those of the business.

This separation allows LLC owners to avoid personal liability for the companys debts. Some business owners may benefit from tax advantages associated with forming the best LLC services.

Opting for the best LLC service can improve your professional image and elevate your businesss overall appearance. By choosing the right LLC formation services, you can project a more professional image than conducting business as an individual.

How to Start an LLC by State?

To start LLC formation services, the initial step is to submit the necessary business formation paperwork to the state where the organization will be based.

Its essential to adhere to several procedures, including employing a registered agent, which is mandatory in every state. Moreover, before submitting articles of organization, one must determine the specific paperwork requisites of the state and gather all relevant documentation.

Your LLCs ideal state of operation may differ from your state of residency, depending on your circumstances. Its crucial to comply with each states regulations for conducting business, as they can differ significantly. For instance, certain states demand detailed annual reports, while others require only basic information.

If youre looking to establish the best LLC service, its important to remember that the cost of filing fees can vary from state to state. Some states may require an annual fee, while others may request a one-time payment. That being said, its essential to find the best LLC service that fits your budget and provides exceptional support throughout the process.

>> Start an LLC With ZenBusiness >>

Why Do I Need an LLC Formation Service?

There are a variety of factors that may require the use of LLC formation services.

Expertise: A company specializing in creating LLCs has a wealth of knowledge and can assist you in navigating the process, ensuring you take all crucial steps and errors.

Legal compliance: Employing LLC formation services can guarantee that your enterprise follows all the legal requirements and meets the necessary regulations for establishing the best LLC service in your state.

Liability protection: If you use LLC formation services to establish your business, you can safeguard your assets against any legal action or financial obligations that may arise.

Professional image: If you get LLC formation services to care for your business formation, it can enhance your companys image and make a positive impression on clients and investors. Its crucial to have a professional outlook when dealing with them.

Time-saving: By using the LLC formation services , you can free up your time as they handle the necessary paperwork and filing for you. This gives you more time to concentrate on other essential aspects of your business.

In general, entrepreneurs can benefit from utilizing LLC formation services to guarantee their best LLC services are established lawfully and accurately, as well as to safeguard their personal assets and save time.

How to Choose the Best LLC Service?

Even though LLC formation services are only one of the options for creating the best LLC services, they are a simple process in most states and can be done without utilizing (or paying for) such services.

Nevertheless, there are frequently additional advantages to utilizing LLC formation services. When narrowing down your options, its essential to consider some of the main benefits, such as the following:

Operating agreements: As a part of a filing package, you may receive an offer for a pre-made version of the document that can save you the hassle of creating one from scratch or personalizing a pre-existing template.

Registered agent services : In some instances, theres a possibility of getting extra services along with the best LLC filing companies that can safeguard personal information from being accessible or visible to the public on the internet. Moreover, hiring an expert to manage the documentation can save time and eliminate the requirement of extensive research.

Branding services : LLC formation services may provide options for protecting trademarks. If you have a logo or slogan that you wish to safeguard, this could be a crucial consideration in your decision-making process.

Articles of organization : When filing for LLC formation services , most states mandate the submission of certain documents. While many LLC formation services offer to create these documents as part of their filing package, ensure they dont charge any extra fees.

Multi-state availability : It could be essential for you, mainly if you reside close to a state boundary or consider the possibility of living in one state while running your LLC in another.

When selecting LLC formation services, consider each companys various services and costs and choose one that provides the necessary services at a reasonable price. Testing out a companys services with a free trial helps determine if they fit your needs well before committing to a long-term arrangement.

>> Use ZenBusiness to Start an LLC >>

Best LLC Services  Frequently Asked Questions

Weve compiled a list of frequently asked questions to address any additional inquiries you may have.

What Does an LLC Service Do?

To establish LLC formation services, the regulations, documentation, and costs vary from one state to another. However, if you use a professional service to create your LLC formation services, all prerequisites will be considered, ensuring that everything is noticed.

This means you wont have to search for specific paperwork or be concerned about missing filing deadlines. The best LLC services will provide the appropriate forms for your state and handle the incorporation process from beginning to end, minimizing the risk of costly errors.

Furthermore, if you have any queries, a customer support team can assist you, so you wont have to navigate the complexities of business formation alone.

Can I Set up an LLC by Myself?

Its possible to start a business on your own. Still, its essential to note that you must have the necessary documents, such as articles of incorporation or certificate of formation, tailored to your states requirements. An operating agreement may or may not be included depending on the state. Its also crucial to research state-specific filing fees and deadlines.

If you prefer a personal connection with someone nearby, a local business lawyer could suit you. However, remember that their services may cost more than the best LLC services mentioned earlier.

Is ZenBusiness Good for LLC Formation?

ZenBusiness fulfills its commitment to providing a hassle-free experience for starting LLC formation services. It has been rated as the top choice due to its user-friendly interface, reasonable pricing, availability of no-cost resources, and engaging formation guide.

Apart from aiding in initiating a business, ZenBusiness offers a Worry-Free Compliance feature that guarantees ongoing business operations by managing yearly filings and tax responsibilities.

Bottom Line on Best LLC Services

To sum up, creating an LLC can be challenging, but with the help of online services, it can be simplified. Our thorough research has identified the best LLC services available, and ZenBusiness stands out as our top choice.

No matter what your priorities are, whether its affordability, user-friendliness, or extensive features, there are LLC formation services that can fulfill your requirements. By selecting one of the recommended LLC formation services, you can secure your personal assets, establish trust in your business, and concentrate on expanding your enterprise.

>> Use ZenBusiness Services to Start an LLC >>

Disclaimer:

Firstpost is not responsible for any consequences that may arise as a result of ones decisions and gambling habits.

This is a Partnered Post.
Step into the captivating realm of expenses related to creating a Limited Liability Company (LLC)! Whether youre an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned business owner aiming to organize your company, comprehending the financial consequences involved is essential.

In this engaging cost to form an LLC blog post, we will explore the complexities of LLC formation, uncover the diverse array of expenses entailed, and offer valuable insights to empower you in navigating the cost landscape with confidence.

From filing fees and legal services to often overlooked hidden expenditures, join us on the cost of an LLC voyage as we guide you toward realizing your entrepreneurial vision by understanding the cost of forming an LLC.

>> Start Your LLC With ZenBusiness >>

How Much Does It Cost to Start an LLC?

An LLC (Limited Liability Company) is a helpful tool for entrepreneurs, offering protection from business liabilities and tax flexibility. Despite its significant benefits, the startup cost to form an LLC is relatively affordable compared to other business investments.

The cost to form an LLC can be classified into two main categories: LLC startup costs and LLC maintenance costs. The startup cost to set up an LLC primarily depends on the state in which its registered.

There are ongoing expenses involved in maintaining your LLC. Heres a breakdown of what you should be aware of when it comes to the cost of an LLC.

LLC Startup Costs

The formation and filing of legal documents to establish your company involve various costs to set up an LLC. Additional costs are associated with registering your LLC with state and local authorities.

The cost to set up an LLC may include obtaining the necessary permits, licenses, and certificates required by local, state, and federal governments. The total amount you spend on these aspects depends on your preference and ability to handle them independently.

Reserving an LLC Name

In numerous states, reserving a business name for your LLC is often necessary before initiating the formation paperwork.

The cost to set up an LLC associated with reserving an LLC name falls within the range of $10 to $50. However, note that in most states, reserving a company name before formation isnt mandatory.

The duration for which you can reserve a name for your LLC varies, typically ranging from one to two months and, in some cases, extending up to 120 days.

Filing Fees

The Typical cost of an LLC is $50 (legal services) plus $50 to $800 (filing fee, state-specific). For the majority of entrepreneurs, filing fees being part of the cost to setup an LLC will make up a significant portion of their startup cost to start an LLC.

While its not necessary to hire a lawyer to file the articles of organization for forming an LLC, using an LLC filing service can be beneficial, especially considering the affordable rates associated with these services. Numerous service providers are available that can register your LLC for less than $50, in addition to the state fee.

Opting for a legal services provider is highly advantageous, as it helps minimize the risk of incorrectly filing paperwork. Such errors can result in additional fees on top of your incurred cost to setup an LLC to rectify the application or reapply, not to mention the time wasted. Investing in a reliable service is well worth the cost to form an LLC.

State LLC LLC Filing Fee Annual/Biennial Fee for LLC Alabama LLC $200 $50 minimum (every year) Alaska LLC $250 $100 (every 2 years) Arizona LLC $50 $0 (no fee and no report of information) Arkansas LLC $45 $150 (every year) California LLC $70 $0 (The formation of California LLCs is free until June 2023!) $800 per year plus $20 every two years. Colorado LLC $50 $10 (every year) Connecticut LLC $120 $80 (every year) Delaware LLC $90 $300 (every year) Florida LLC $125 $138.75 (every year) Georgia LLC $100 $50 (every year) Hawaii LLC $50 $15 (every year) Idaho LLC $100 $0 (though an annual information report is required) Illinois LLC $150 $75 (every year) Indiana LLC $95 $31 (every 2 years) Iowa LLC $50 $30 (every 2 years) Kansas LLC $160 $50 (every year) Kentucky LLC $40 (I mistakenly stated $90 in the video) $15 (every year) Louisiana LLC $100 $35 (every year) Maine LLC $175 $85 (every year) Maryland LLC $100 $300 (every year) Massachusetts LLC $500 $500 (every year) Michigan LLC $50 $25 (every year) Minnesota LLC $155 $0 (though an annual information report is required) Mississippi LLC $50 $0 (though an annual information report is required) Missouri LLC $50 $0 (no fee and no report of information) Montana LLC $70 $35 $20 (every year) Nebraska LLC $100 $13 (every 2 years) Nevada LLC $425 $350 (every year) New Hampshire LLC $100 $100 (every year) New Jersey LLC $125 $75 (every year) New Mexico LLC $50 $0 (no fee and no report of any kind) New York LLC $200 $9 (every 2 years) North Carolina LLC $125 $200 (every year) North Dakota LLC $135 $50 (every year) Ohio LLC $99 $0 (no fee and no report of any kind) Oklahoma LLC $100 $25 (every year) Oregon LLC $100 $100 (every year) Pennsylvania LLC $125 $70 (every 10 years) Rhode Island LLC $150 $50 (every year) South Carolina LLC $110 $0 (no fee or information report, unless the LLC is taxed as an S-Corporation). South Dakota LLC $150 $50 (every year) Tennessee LLC $300 $300 (every year) Texas LLC $300 $0 for most LLCs (but a No Tax Due Report and a Public Information Report must be submitted each year). Utah LLC $54 $18 (every year) Vermont LLC $125 $35 (every year) Virginia LLC $100 $50 (every year) Washington LLC $200 $60 (every year) Washington DC LLC $99 $300 (every 2 years) West Virginia LLC $100 $25 (every year) Wisconsin LLC $130 $25 (every year) Wyoming LLC $100 Minimum of $60 (each year)

>> Start Your LLC With ZenBusiness >>

Operating Agreement

Typical costs: $0 to $200

An operating agreement is an internal document that outlines the operational framework of your LLC. It specifies how your LLC will be managed, clarifies the roles and contributions of the owners (also known as members), and establishes the decision-making processes within the company.

While its possible for individuals to create their own operating agreement at no cost, seeking professional assistance becomes crucial when dealing with complex matters such as the allocation of profits and losses among LLC owners.

Engaging legal service providers can help ensure the accurate execution of the agreement. These providers typically charge between $50 to $200 for their services.

You have the option to hire a local lawyer who can guide you through the process. Though there may be a small cost involved adding to your cost to setup an LLC, its a worthwhile investment to ensure clarity, alignment, and to minimize the likelihood of future disputes among LLC members.

Publication

Typical costs: Varies depending on the costs of the state and local newspapers therein.

Entrepreneurs establishing LLCs in New York, Nebraska, or Arizona should be aware of this additional cost to setup an LLC in the form of publication requirements.

In these states, LLCs must publish notices for a designated duration in one or more newspapers, covering one or more cities or counties. These publication costs are an important consideration cost to setup an LLC in these specific states.

Business Licenses and Permits

Obtaining federal, state, and local permits or licenses is often a necessity for businesses to operate legally, regardless of whether theyre structured as an LLC or any other business entity.

The specific permits and licenses required may vary based on factors such as the industry and geographical location of the business and are inquired into the formation cost of an LLC. Its crucial to comply with these regulatory requirements to ensure lawful operations.

>> Visit ZenBusiness to Start Your LLC >>

LLC Cost  LLC Maintenance Costs

After registering your LLC, you will be responsible for ongoing costs associated with its maintenance in addition to the cost to setup an LLC.

This includes fulfilling state and federal tax obligations, paying reporting fees, and covering any expenses related to the services utilized to maintain the LLCs operations. These ongoing costs ensure the continued compliance and smooth functioning of your LLC.

Taxes

Typical costs: Varies depending on the state

LLCs, like any other individuals or entities, are subject to taxation. However, the federal government does not directly collect taxes from the LLC itself. Instead, the taxes are paid by the owners based on the profits they receive as pass-through income.

LLCs can deduct certain startup cost to setup an LLC, up to a maximum of $5,000, which may include expenses such as attorney fees, market research, office space, equipment, and more.

Most states also tax the profits of LLCs similarly, with the profits passing through to the personal tax returns of the members. However, some states impose mandatory franchise taxes on LLCs. For instance, Delaware charges a franchise fee of $300, while California imposes a minimum annual franchise tax of $800.

LLCs may also be subject to reporting fees at the state government level. The specific amount of reporting fees varies between the states but typically averages around $100 per year.

Registered Agents

Typical costs: $0 to $300

A registered agent serves as the primary contact between an LLC and the state. They accept legal documents and notices on behalf of the LLC, including lawsuits, and can receive official mail. While any adult residing in the LLCs registered state and available during business hours can serve as a registered agent, there are no specific costs associated with appointing one.

However, there are service providers available who offer registered agent services for a fee, typically ranging from $100 to $300 per year. These providers being part of the cost of an LLCs operation handle the responsibilities of a registered agent on behalf of the LLC.

Franchise Tax

Certain states impose an annual tax on LLCs, commonly referred to as a franchise tax. This tax is typically a fixed amount, although in some states, it may vary based on the LLCs annual earnings. The specific regulations regarding the franchise tax can differ between the states.

Annual/Biennial Report

In many states, LLCs are required to submit an annual or biennial report to the authorities. This report typically includes updates on the LLCs name, address, and ownership information. The fee associated with filing the report varies between the states.

>> Visit ZenBusiness Today! >>

How to Register an LLC Yourself?

Forming an LLC on your own can be a straightforward process. Our comprehensive state-by-state LLC formation guides break it down into five simple steps, making it easier for you to navigate the process as well as understand the cost to setup an LLC.

Step 1: Name Your LLC

When selecting a name for your LLC, there are certain factors you need to consider:

If it meets the name standards set out by your state

Is a web domain accessible

Is usable in your state

Step 2: Choose a Registered Agent

In the majority of states, its a requirement for LLCs to appoint a registered agent making it a part of the cost to setup an LLC.

The registered agent serves as the primary point of contact between the LLC and the state government. Their key responsibility is to accept legal documents and official notices on behalf of the LLC, including service of process if the business is involved in a lawsuit.

A registered agent requirements are:

One must be at least 18 years old

Possess a physical presence in the state of the LLC

Available to receive process serving during regular business hours

Step 3: File the Articles of Organization

The articles of organization, also referred to as the certificate of formation or certificate of organization, are essential documents filed with the state to officially establish an LLC. The filing fee for the articles of organization as part of the cost to setup an LLC can vary significantly, ranging from $0 to $500, depending on the specific requirements and regulations of the state in which youre forming your LLC.

Step 4: Create an Operating Agreement

What exactly is an operational contract? An LLCs ownership and management are described in its operating agreement, a legal instrument. Why is it crucial to have operational agreements? All company owners will agree thanks to a thorough operating agreement, which also lowers the possibility of future disputes.

Step 5: Get an EIN

An EIN is what? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issues an Employer Identification Number (EIN), which is a nine-digit number, to identify a firm for tax filing. A companys EIN functions as the equivalent of a Social Security number (SSN).

Why do I need an EIN? For the following, you must have an EIN number:

For the purpose of state and federal taxes

Establishing a business bank account

To employ personnel

>> Start Your LLC With ZenBusiness >>

Hiring an LLC Service Provider

Should you work with a qualified LLC creation company? The establishment of your company is made simpler by LLC service providers, although theyre unnecessary. Here are the top five LLC creation services to help you along the way.

ZenBusiness  Best LLC Service Overall

ZenBusiness is indeed a reputable LLC service provider known for its user-friendly platform and range of services.

They offer an interactive process that simplifies the LLC formation journey by guiding users through a series of questions relevant to their specific business plans. This chat feature helps streamline the process and ensures that all necessary information about the cost of setting up an LLC is gathered accurately.

One notable advantage of ZenBusiness is its commitment to providing free resources and courses to help entrepreneurs explore new ideas and expand their businesses. This support can be valuable for individuals seeking to grow their ventures.

ZenBusiness offers three LLC service plans to cater to different needs. The Starter Plan cost to form an LLC, with no annual fee apart from state filing fees, provides essential services to get your LLC formed.

The Pro Plan cost to form an LLC, priced at $199 per year, offers comprehensive support, including the drafting of an Operating Agreement and help with EIN registration. The Premium Plan cost to form an LLC, available for $299 annually, includes additional benefits such as faster filing, compliance monitoring, and a worry-free guarantee.

By choosing ZenBusiness as your LLC service provider, you can expect a smooth and efficient formation process supported by their user-friendly platform and range of services tailored to meet your specific requirements.

>> Start Your LLC With ZenBusiness >>

Swyft Filings  Best LLC Service for Quick Turnaround Time

Swyft Filings is indeed a notable LLC service provider, particularly for entrepreneurs seeking a quick turnaround time in setting up their businesses. With processing times as fast as 7 to 10 business days, Swyft Filings prioritizes efficiency and expedited LLC formation and understanding of the cost of setting up an LLC.

Swyft Filings offers three LLC service plans to accommodate different needs. The Basic plan cost to form an LLC, priced at $49, covers state fees and provides essential services such as preparation and submission of articles of incorporation/organization, a name availability check, and one year of registered agent service.

The Standard plan cost to form an LLC offers the same services at the same price, ensuring a solid foundation for your LLC. The Premium plan cost to form an LLC, priced at $299, includes additional features such as a professional website, domain registration, business email, phone number, and a comprehensive business license report.

By selecting Swyft Filings as your LLC service provider, you can expect a swift and streamlined process for forming your LLC, backed by their commitment to efficiency. Their range of service plans allows you to choose the level of support and additional features that best align with your specific business requirements.

Please note that while Swyft Filings excels in speed, its important to carefully review their service plans and offerings to ensure they meet all your needs beyond just the speed and cost of an LLC formation.

>> Visit Swyft Filings to Start Your LLC >>

Tailor Brands  Best LLC Service for Branding Solutions

The top LLC service provider, Tailor Brands, aims to empower business owners by providing a complete and practical solution. LLC creation, compliance, and branding/online presence are all part of their offerings.

Although they have three different plans highlighting the formation cost of an LLC, we strongly suggest the Elite Plan since it has all the tools a professional business needs to successfully reach its target market.

Three price tiers are available from Tailor Brands for our cost of LLC services: Standard, Basic, and Premium. With the Basic plan cost to form an LLC, you may pay the yearly charge ahead and get a monthly rate of $3.99 instead of the standard monthly pricing of $9.99.

With an upfront annual purchase, the Standard plans cost to form an LLCs typical monthly price of $19.99 is reduced to $5.99. The Premium plan cost to form an LLC provides two pricing options: a reduced cost of $12.99 a month with an upfront annual purchase or $49.99 per month. Choose a plan based on your requirements and financial situation.

>> Visit Tailor Brands to Start Your LLC >>

Northwest Registered Agent  Best LLC Service for Registered Agent Service

We strongly advise using Northwest Registered Agent if you want to incorporate an LLC and need a registered agent service. As part of their entry-level package, they provide registered agent and LLC creation services. Their Corporate Guide service may assist you in effectively meeting all of your needs.

For $225 a year cost to form an LLC, Northwest Registered Agent provides top-notch LLC formation services. Their full package comprises registered agent services for a year, articles of organization preparation and submission, and name availability confirmation.

They provide practical and adaptable company solutions with online document access, free sending of legal and tax paperwork, and compliance reminders. The best option for a hassle-free and cost of an LLC formational help is Northwest Registered Agent.

>> Visit Northwest Registered Agent to Start Your LLC >>

Incfile  Best LLC Service for Affordability

Our extensive study on LLC formation services led us to the conclusion that Incfile is the best affordable choice for people beginning a company on a tight budget.

You simply need to pay the state filing cost to form an LLC when using Incfile, and youll get a free year of registered agent service. Even if there can be extra fees beyond the first year, Incfile is still our top pick for assisting you in starting your company on a small budget.

The Silver, Gold, and Platinum LLC costs to form an LLC packages are available through Incfile. The only cost to form an LLC associated with the Silver package is the state fees. The price of the Gold package is $199 plus state costs, while the price of the Platinum package is $299 plus state fees.

To start the LLC creation process, choose the package that best fits your requirements and cost to form an LLC.

>> Visit Incfile to Start Your LLC >>

How Much Does It Cost to Form an LLC?  Frequently Asked Questions

Do You Have to Pay for an LLC Every Year?

If youre interested in learning about the specific ongoing cost to form an LLC required in your state, its recommended to consult an LLC annual report guide. These guides provide detailed information about the annual franchise tax and annual report fees imposed by each state.

By selecting your state from the guide, you can gain precise knowledge regarding the ongoing cost to set up an LLC that you may be required to pay to maintain your LLCs compliance with state regulations.

Is an LLC Really Necessary?

Limited liability protection is offered by an LLC. This implies that in the case of a company loss, such as a lawsuit or unpaid debt, an LLC protects your personal assets. We advise forming an LLC for any small firm that has even the slightest risk or responsibility.

Can I Pay Myself a Salary From My LLC?

You have the option to take a salary from your Limited Liability Company (LLC), but the IRS will refer to this as a draw or distribution if the LLC is taxed using the default method.

>> Visit ZenBusiness to Start Your LLC >>

Bottom Line on How Much Does It Cost to Form an LLC?

An LLC Operating Agreement, which provides structure, security, and clarity to its members, is the foundation of a limited liability business.

It creates the framework for fruitful cooperation and reduces disputes by establishing ownership, management, and decision-making procedures. This vital document offers a strong framework for the successful functioning of the company while protecting individual interests and laying out the way forward.

Attempting to create a thorough Operating Agreement is a wise investment, whether youre launching a new business or want to fortify an existing LLC.

Its important to remember that its more than simply a legal necessity. Its also a potent instrument that enables company owners to create profitable enterprises while promoting responsibility, transparency, and long-term success.

>> Start Your LLC With ZenBusiness >>

Disclaimer:

Firstpost is not responsible for any consequences that may arise as a result of ones decisions and gambling habits.

This is a Partnered Post.
Are you in need of a reliable registered agent service to ensure your business stays compliant with regulations and operates seamlessly? Youve come to the right place! In the dynamic world of business, selecting the right registered agent is of utmost importance.

Thats why we have thoroughly assessed one of the leading players in the industry: Northwest Registered Agent. In this comprehensive Northwest Registered Agent Review, we will explore their services, pricing options, customer feedback, and more.

Stay tuned as we discover what makes Northwest Registered Agent stand out and why its the perfect solution for all your registered agent needs.

>> Choose Northwest Registered Agent Today! >>

Northwest Registered Agent Review: What Is Northwest Registered Agent?

This company, which is owned by a family, operates throughout the entire country and has offices in every state. Their team of knowledgeable Corporate Guides assists individuals in establishing an LLC in their respective states.

Northwest LLC formation comprehensive package is priced at $100, excluding state fees. This package is specifically designed to meet the needs of many small businesses.

They also offer separate services that can be purchased, such as registered agents, annual reports, foreign registration, and Certificates of Good Standing.

The company provides several free services for LLC formation, including downloadable forms and a free account that offers step-by-step guidance for those who prefer a do-it-yourself approach.

>> Get Started With Northwest Registered Agent >>

Northwest Registered Agent Review: Our Verdict

Northwest Registered Agent specializes in offering registered agent services and business formation services. Their primary focus is to provide exceptional customer support through their extensive network of agents across the country.

Ensuring data security is paramount to them, and they never sell customer data. Unlike other companies in the industry that provide multiple paid plans with features such as EIN filing and operating agreements, Northwest Registered Agent takes a different approach.

They offer a comprehensive paid plan that includes registered agent service and LLC filing. Any additional services required can be added as optional extras.

Northwest Registered Agent Review: Northwest Registered Agent At a Glance

At Northwest Registered Agent, we take pride in being a family-owned and operated business that distinguishes itself from startups and well-established companies.

Our primary focus is providing a personalized experience, ensuring that you can speak with a real person who can assist you. Even if you have to leave a message, you can expect a call back within two hours at the latest.

When meeting your basic needs, Northwest Registered Agent offers great value. The initial cost for filing an LLC is $39, and any additional fees specific to your state will be your responsibility.

By choosing our Pay In Full option, you will be charged $225 to file for your LLC in your state, and you will receive one year of registered agent services. Its important to note that certain states require a separate fee during the LLC process.

Although it may seem like an additional charge from Northwest Registered Agent, these filing fees are actually paid directly to the state (e.g., FL 4-Day Filing Time costs $125).

If you decide to go for our VIP Service, you have the flexibility to pay monthly for a year, with the option to renew. Our VIP Service includes business formation and state filing fees, registered agent service, an EIN, and any necessary.

Northwest Registered Agent Review: Availability

Northwest LLC formation services across the United States, including the District of Columbia. While their business management services are limited to certain states, they do offer mail forwarding and virtual office services in 10 states.

Their exclusive Law on Call service is exclusively available in Utah.

Northwest Registered Agent Review: Who should use It?

Northwest formation services are highly regarded across the United States, including the District of Columbia.

Focusing strongly on registered agent services, Northwest Registered Agent caters to businesses of all sizes and industries. Whether youre a small startup, a growing mid-sized company, or an established corporation, they can tailor their services to meet your specific requirements.

Protecting confidentiality is paramount at Northwest Registered Agent, making their services particularly advantageous for those who prioritize privacy. Their team of experts is always on hand to offer personalized and efficient customer support.

For businesses aiming to maintain compliance and concentrate on their core operations, Northwest Registered Agent is the ideal partner. They provide a comprehensive range of services, such as LLC formation, annual report filing, and document organization, to navigate the complexities of the business world.

>> Visit Northwest Registered Agent >>

Northwest Registered Agent Pricing

Northwest Registered Agent provides a variety of choices for businesses interested in forming an LLC, along with two free options. They offer diverse services that can be supplemented with standalone business management solutions.

These solutions encompass registered agent service, annual reports, phone service, virtual office, and payment processing.

What Plans Are Available From Northwest Registered Agent?

Northwest Registered Agent LLC formation package is designed specifically for small businesses. Our package includes all the essential features, including an EIN, mandatory for businesses with employees.

Its important to note that certain services, like registered agents, arent included in the package and must be purchased separately. However, other vendors in the same price range may include these services in their plans.

Northwest LLC formation service starts at $100, which includes a range of helpful features.

Bank resolutions

Membership certificates

Articles of organization

EIN

Custom operating agreement

Northwest Registered Agent offers a variety of pricing options tailored to meet the specific requirements of LLCs.

Registered agent service : For just $125, our service offers a variety of advantages to enhance your experience. These include helpful annual report reminders, convenient document scanning and storage, and pre-filled state forms for your convenience.

Annual report filings : Our complete service package includes the observation of state records, along with the state fees. You can access this all-inclusive service for a payment of $100.

Foreign qualifications or Certificates of Good Standing : If you want to expand your business beyond its original state, you must register it in a different state. The price for this service will differ depending on which state you choose.

Obtaining an EIN : The price for American individuals to use this service is $50, while non-US individuals are charged $200. Its worth mentioning that the companys $100 service for creating an LLC includes an EIN.

Corporate books: Discover the GoBook and classic binder options for organizing your important papers, available at $40 and $80, respectively.

Corporate seals: Enhance your brands image by personalizing your company name with our cost-effective embossing and stamping service, available at just $30.

Northwest Registered Agent provides a wide range of business management solutions to support different types of LLCs and other organizations.

Trademark registration: The price for this service is $249, in addition to the $250 fee imposed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Mail forwarding: This service is priced at $20 per month and is currently accessible in ten states: California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Montana, New York, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

VoIP phone service: Experience worry-free enjoyment of our subscription service for the low price of $9 per month. Benefit from our generous 60-day refund policy for complete peace of mind.

Virtual office service: The price for this service is $29 per month, and its offered in the same ten states as Northwests mail forwarding service.

Credit card payment processing: Following a free consultation, we will provide you with a personalized estimate tailored to your requirements.

Certified copies of business documents: The cost of our services varies depending on the state where you reside. Their prices range from no charge to $55. In some states, additional charges per page and a set fee may be included.

Northwest Registered Agent provides various services to assist small business owners in forming their LLCs. Their approach enables owners to easily and efficiently organize their companies independently.

Northwest offers free downloadable forms and provides step-by-step guidance throughout the LLC formation process, ensuring that owners have all the necessary resources available to them.

What sets Northwest Registered Agent apart from other LLC formation services is that their $100 service includes everything needed with no additional costs. This comprehensive package includes features such as a registered agent, annual report filing, and organizational minutes.

In contrast, some competing services charge $149 or more for a plan that includes an EIN, which is a crucial requirement for many new LLCs.

>> Start Your Business With Northwest Registered Agent >>

Northwest Registered Agent Pros and Cons

Pros

The following are advantages of utilizing Northwest Registered Agent:

No other business keeps your address a secret, but they do

Affordable LLC publishers from LLCU may help you save money since they have offices in convenient areas including Arizona, New York, and Nebraska

20 years or more of operation

Great customer serviceanything you want to know

No customer data is sold

Cons

While Northwest Registered Agent may not have the lowest prices available, we strongly believe in the importance of getting value for your money.

After carefully evaluating Northwest and other LLC filing companies, we have found no disadvantages. Northwest has consistently proven to be the best choice in every situation.

Northwest Registered Agent Review: Customer Service

Northwest Registered Agent is well-known for its outstanding customer support. The companys team of business experts, known as Corporate Guides, are highly experienced and easily accessible to help with questions or concerns.

What makes them stand out from other support teams is that Northwest ensures your call wont be transferred to various departments. They have simplified the phone system, eliminating the need for a complex phone tree.

Instead, the person who answers your call is knowledgeable and capable of guiding you through any issues you may have. As a family-owned business, Northwest values the personal touch and strives to provide it to every customer.

This devotion is shown in their steadfast adherence to:

Within 24 hours, email responses

Clients are not issued no-reply emails

Return of voicemails within two hours

>> Start Your Business With Northwest Registered Agent >>

Northwest Registered Agent Reviews From Real Users  How Legit Is It?

In order to save you valuable time, we conducted thorough research on the online reviews of Northwest Registered Agent. Our main objective was to gather feedback from genuine users, ensuring a reliable assessment of its credibility and effectiveness.

We carefully examined user reviews on Trustpilot.

Northwest Registered Agent has a star rating of 3.0 out of the total reviews posted on Trustpilot, which indicates that most customers are satisfied with the service.

>> Choose Northwest Registered Agent Today >>

Alternatives to Northwest Registered Agent

ZenBusiness is an online platform that specializes in supporting individuals in setting up Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). It offers a variety of solutions to aid entrepreneurs and small business owners in starting and expanding their ventures.

The platform provides packages that include registered agent services, annual report filing, and other beneficial features, offering a comprehensive solution for LLC formation. ZenBusiness offers ongoing assistance and valuable resources to help businesses stay compliant and reach their objectives.

>> Start Your Business With ZenBusiness >>

Swyft Filings is an expert in efficiently and smoothly helping businesses set up their LLCs. They provide a variety of services, such as incorporation, compliance, and registered agent services.

On top of that, Swyft Filings offers personalized assistance to guide businesses through the process of establishing an LLC and meeting state and federal regulations.

>> Start Your Business With Swyft Filings >>

Tailor Brands is an online platform that specializes in branding and design services, catering specifically to businesses aiming to establish a strong and unified brand identity.

They offer various branding packages, including logo design, business card design, and social media branding. Tailor Brands provides a diverse range of design tools and resources, enabling businesses to create and personalize their own branded materials.

>> Start Your Business With Tailor Brands >>

Northwest Registered Agent Review  Frequently Asked Questions

To assist you with questions, weve compiled a list of frequently asked questions about Northwest Registered Agent.

Can Northwest Registered Agent get my business an EIN or State Tax ID Number?

Northwest Registered Agent presents two pricing options for obtaining an EIN for an LLC. If you possess a Social Security number, the cost is $50. For individuals who are not U.S. citizens or do not have an SSN, the price is $200.

The company offers a comprehensive package priced at $275, which includes incorporation service, an EIN, registered agent service, and business forms, in addition to state fees.

Its important to mention that Northwest does not assist new businesses in acquiring a state tax ID, which is necessary for collecting sales tax within a specific state. Their state-specific LLC formation guides provide information on how to apply for a tax ID in that particular state.

Does Northwest Registered Agent Have an App?

No, at the moment, Northwest Registered Agent does not offer Northwest LLC formation services through a mobile application.

However, they do have the Corporate Phone mobile app, which is specifically designed for their VoIP phone service and is perfect for businesses. This app works smoothly on iOS and Android devices.

Does Northwest Registered Agent Have a Refund Policy?

You can choose to get your money back within 90 days. Keep in mind that the company can modify the refund or credit amount unless the law says otherwise. Please remember that state filing fees cannot be refunded.

>> Try Northwest Registered Agent >>

Bottom Line on Northwest Registered Agent Review

Based on our comprehensive assessment of different LLC services, we can confidently say that Northwest Registered Agent is a leading contender. What sets them apart is their outstanding customer support, surpassing their competitors. However, there are other factors that make them a compelling choice.

With a track record of over two decades and receiving positive feedback from happy clients, Northwest is a trusted option for individuals who want to establish an LLC.

Their pricing is transparent and straightforward, making them an appealing choice, particularly for those interested in bundled services for LLC formation and registered agent assistance.

>> Choose Northwest Registered Agent Today >>

Disclaimer:

Firstpost is not responsible for any consequences that may arise as a result of ones decisions and gambling habits.

This is a Partnered Post.
You understand the significance of resource management as the founder of a business. Making the most of time, money, and peopleall essential resourcescan make the difference between winning and losing. startup project management tools for startups may help with it.

These software programs are intended to make it easier for you to manage your workload, monitor your development, and work successfully with your team. Well look more closely at a few of the top toolkits for startups in this article so you can pick the best one for your company and start working more efficiently.

>> Use Monday.com for Your Startup >>

10 Best Startup Project Management Tools for Startups

Monday.com  Best startup Project Management Tool for Startups Overall

ClickUp  Best for a Full-Featured Tool at a Low-Cost

Asana  Best for Easy User Adoption

Wrike  Best for External Collaborators

Zoho Projects  Best for Scalability

Trello  Best for Kanban Boards

Teamwork  Best for Client-Facing Service Providers

Celoxis  Best All-In-One Startup Project Management Tools

Birdview PSA  Best for Resource Management and Collaboration

Smartsheet  Best for Automation

We considered important elements like functionality, simplicity of use, integrations, cost, and customer service while ranking the top project management software for startups. By thoroughly assessing each tool by these standards, we produced a thorough and reliable rating that aids startup teams in selecting the best project management platform for their requirements.

Startup Project Management Tools for startups Features Ease of Use Pricing Integrations Customer Support Monday.com A wide range of features include task management, team collaboration, time tracking, and reporting. User-friendly interface that makes it easy for startups to get started. Starts at $8/month. Integrates with over 50 third-party apps. Offers 24/7 customer support via chat and email. ClickUp Offers a comprehensive suite of features including task management, team collaboration, time tracking, and reporting. Intuitive interface that allows for easy navigation. Free plan available, with paid plans starting at $5/month. Integrates with over 1,000 third-party apps. Offers customer support via email and chat, with priority support available for paid plans. Asana Offers a range of features including task management, team collaboration, time tracking, and reporting. User-friendly interface that makes it easy for teams to collaborate. Free plan available, with paid plans starting at $10.99/user/month. Integrates with over 100 third-party apps. Offers customer support via email, chat, and phone. Wrike Offers a comprehensive suite of features including task management, team collaboration, time tracking, and reporting. User-friendly interface that allows for easy navigation. Starts at $9.80/user/month Integrate with over 400 third-party apps. Offers customer support via email, chat, and phone. Zoho Projects Offers a range of features including task management, team collaboration, time tracking, and reporting. Simple interface thats easy to use. Free plan available, with paid plans starting at $4/user/month. Integrates with over 40 third-party apps. Offers customer support via email, chat, and phone.

Monday.com  Best Startup Project Management Tools for Startups Overall

Fees: Starting at $8/mo

Star rating: 4.9/5

It would seem that the startup project management tool for startups used by professional athletes nowadays is Monday.com. The most beneficial technologies startup companies should think about incorporating early on is Monday.com so they can ultimately join the major players. Also, Monday.com is simple to set up, and we understand how crucial it is to maintain focus on all of your work as business expands.

Since Monday.com understands how crucial cooperation is for creative teams, it offers several options to communicate without ever leaving the site, file attachments, including comments, liking postings,@-tagging, and simple point-and-click job assignment. To make it simple for everyone to keep track of what is worked on, you can also create customized project boards and dashboards for your team.

With the help of Monday.com, scattered businesses of all sizes may enhance productivity by streamlining their operations and fostering more openness and cooperation.

Pros:

Attractive UI thats readily configurable

Collaboration between external teams and different organizations

More features are regularly introduced

Free version is offered

Many integrations

Test out advanced features for free

Version for mobile apps

Kanban and Gantt diagrams

Many templates

Cons:

Few possibilities for reporting

Messy boards for intricate or in-depth tasks

Sophisticated features with a steep learning curve

Lower levels have fewer features

Several bugs with new functionality

Features

Use various tables, Kanban boards, and dashboard views to visualize project data.

Use the WorkForms tool to personalize and distribute questionnaires for data collecting.

Use a wide range of choices to create automation rules and prebuilt automation.

Access connectors for developers, advertising, CRM, and program management.

Create individualized, vibrant interfaces that make project data come to life.



Plans & Pricing

Individual : The first two seats are free.

Basic : For small teams, $8 per user per month (paid yearly) is ideal.

Standard : For managing work, $10/user/month (paid yearly) is optimal.

Pro : The ideal price for businesses to join with teams is $16 per user per month (paid yearly).

Enterprise: Its best for businesses to manage and grow workflow, For the price, speak with Monday.com.

>> Use Monday.com for Your Startup >>

ClickUp  Best Full-Featured Tool at a Low-Cost

Fee: Starting at $5/mo

Star rating: 4.6/5

Startup project management tool for startups that consistently rank at the top is called ClickUp. This application offers all the capabilities entrepreneurs want, plus it includes a fantastic free version. amazing functionality for little to no cost

You may develop your one-pager, investment paperwork, and partner agreements with the use of collaborative docs. You may use whiteboards to generate ideas for a new product. Without having to purchase additional software or depend on instant messaging systems, their in-app conversation will keep your communications lively.

If you want more storage space than the free versions 100MB cap, you may upgrade to the tiny team package and even haggle a lower price by indicating how much youre ready to spend per user.

Pros:

There are several viewpoints

More than a thousand fusions

Sophisticated startup project management tools

Free plan for everyone, forever

Ready-made templates

Manage difficult tasks with ease

Several alternatives for automation

Strong characteristics

Cons:

Might be too much for first-time users

Its not always easy to monitor time

For tiny firms, top tiers might be rather expensive

Not really intuitive is the mobile app

Features

Control granular customizations of features and capabilities and security.

Use the Board, List, Gantt, Workload, Calendar, and Map views to visualize project data.

The Dashboards view allows you to monitor and display project data.

Tasks may be created, modified, or edited in bulk from a collection of potential actions.

Data from Asana, Monday.com, Trello, Jira, Basecamp, and Wrike should be imported.

Free Forever: Complimentary seat to be used privately. Unlimited: For small teams, $5 per user per month (paid yearly) is ideal. Business: Best for mid-sized businesses; $12 per user/month (paid yearly). Business Plus: For numerous teams, $19 per user per month (paid yearly) is ideal.



Enterprise: For price, get in touch with ClickUp. Ideal for several big teams.

>> Use ClickUp for Your Startup >>

Asana  Best Startup Project Management Tool for Easy User Adoption

Fee: Starting at $10.99/mo

Star rating: 4.3/5

A well-liked project and project management for startup applications is Asana. While youre missing out on a few of its more sophisticated capabilities, it provides a free subscription for up to Fifteen users that includes much of what Asana has to offer. Yet, this entry-level free version is a terrific spot for companies to join.

You may assign tasks and projects to as many as 15 workers at once. Its simple to give each job a due date, so everyone is aware of when work has to be completed. Changing the order of tasks is straightforward owing to the drag-and-drop interface.

So that the appropriate individuals are informed when work has to be done, task dependencies may be created. Managers may examine work in calendar and list formats and gain an overview of projects in the dashboard.

Pros:

Adaptable processes

A simple-to-use interface

Flexible for startup s

Powerful startup project management tools for cooperation

Cons:

Many notifications

Slope of learning

Few opportunities for modification

A limited number of reporting options

Features

Visualize project data through the list, board, timeline, calendar, and workload views.

Manage and create project data with custom fields, rules, and forms.

Enable the built-in time-tracking tool to visualize time spent on tasks.

Import data from Airtable, Google Sheets, Monday work management, Trello, Smartsheet, or Wrike.

Add integrations for communications, files, finance, IT, reporting, sales, and security.

Plans & Pricing

Basic : Free for individual use or small teams.

Premium : $10.99/user/month (billed annually), best for teams to create project plans.

Business: $24.99/user/month (billed annually), best for companies to manage.

>> Use Asana for Your Startup >>

Wrike  Best Startup Project Management Tool for External Collaborators

Fee: Starting at $9.80/mo

Star rating: 4/5

Wrike is a project management for startups solution that lets users customize workflows, set timelines by creating Gantt charts, prioritize important tasks with a pin feature, collaborate with proofing and approving features, and track time within the platform.

Wrike has a free plan for unlimited users and that includes at least 20 external collaborators! Collaborators are user types in Wrike that can be assigned to contractors or stakeholders that may not be a part of your core team. They will have access to the My To-do tab and the Wrike inbox, plus they can create tasks, folders, projects, and spaces. As an account owner, you can limit what they can and cannot see.

Wrike offers 400+ pre-built native integrations, including integrations with the most popular file management software from Microsoft, Google, and Dropbox, along with sales and marketing software from Salesforce and Marketo.

Pros:

Easy to use

Special account types for marketing/creative teams and professional services

Can manage projects and ongoing work

New intelligent features flag projects at risk of slipping

Cons:

Longer learning curve

Expensive compared to other startup project management tools for startups

Several startup project management tools for startups are only available as an add-on feature or a higher subscription

Features

Including connectors for file sharing, reporting, sales, IT, finance, and security.

Import information from Trello, Smartsheet, Monday Work Management, Google Sheets, Airtable, or Wrike.

To see how much time is spent on each job, activate the built-in time-tracking feature.

Use custom fields, filters, and forms to manage and produce project data.

Use the board, list, calendar, timeline, and workload views to visualize project data.

Free: Starting teams get no funding.

Team: $9.8 per user each month (paid yearly), ideal for expanding teams.

Business: The most affordable monthly fee for all teams within an organization is $24.8 (paid yearly).

Enterprise: Ideal for big teams. For cost, contact Wrike.

Pinnacle: Best for big teams. Inquire about cost with Wrike.

>> Use Wrike for Your Startup >>

Zoho Projects  Best Startup Project Management Tools for Scalability

Fee: Starting from $4/mo

Star rating: 3.9/5

Team members may plan, monitor, and collaborate on projects using the online project management for startup platform Zoho Projects. Small and startup companies may use the program.

Users of Zoho Projects may establish project schedules, as well as ad hoc tasks that can be distributed across the team. Further features of the application include baselines, critical routes in Gantt charts, collaborative job allocation, flexible work hours, and task reminders. Managers may prevent staff from being overworked by using time monitoring and resource utilization startup project management tools for startups.

Users may manage budgets using expenditure management capabilities, monitor activities and progress using advanced reports, and automate task transitions and workflows. A forum to discuss problems and solutions, team-wide and individual discussion management, a meeting tab to facilitate virtual meetings, a social feed to interact with and keep track of all your project activities, and a central document management module to manage all information are just a few of the collaboration features available.

There are additional mobile apps available.

Pros:

The subscription plans are available at a low cost and offer strong features.

The interface is user-friendly

Provides added value for current Zoho clients

Theres a free plan that accommodates up to five users

Integration capabilities for Zoho and Google applications

Time tracking is also available for hourly billing



Cons:

Using

Gantt charts can be difficult and inconvenient

Reporting startup project management tools for startups may not be suitable for larger teams

There are limited options for exporting files in different formats

Some reporting features are missing

Integration with QuickBooks isnt available

Features

The project data can be viewed in different ways such as Classic (spreadsheet), Plain (List), and Kanban views.

Project baselines can compare the expected progress with the actual progress on tasks.

The time spent on tasks can be tracked to manage workload and resources efficiently.

Integration with important apps like Google, Microsoft, code repositories, and more is also possible.

Zoho Apps like Mail, Docs, CRM, Desk, Analytics, and Forms can be easily accessed.

Plans & Pricing

Free : $0 for up to three users.

Premium : $4/user/month (billed annually), with a free 10-day trial.

Enterprise: $9/user/month (billed annually), with a free 10-day trial.

>> Use Zoho Projects for Your Startup >>

Trello  Best Startup Project Management Tools For Kanban Boards

Fee: Starting from $5/mo

Star rating: 3.6/5

The Kanban boards of Trello, a Project Management for Startups, are its most prominent feature. With the no workflow automation builder and an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface for customizing boards, it provides startup teams with a complete solution that can be rapidly set up and understood.

In opposition to many PM solutions that restrict automation to premium membership plans, their free plan allows you to conduct 250 automatic command runs each month. Startups, pay attention!

Thanks to a feature-rich free plan that will appeal especially to supporters of Kanban boards, Trello is excellent for startup teams. You receive limitless cards, limitless members, up to 10 boards per workspace, free plugins with other PM products (such as Google Drive, Slack, etc.), limitless activity logs, access to the mobile app, and two-factor authentication for log-ins.

Pros:

Cloud-based

There are several Powerups, or add-ons, that expand the functionality of your board

Team assistance

Support across platforms

May get insightful automation advice based on your regular behaviors

Cons:

Absence of built-in time tracking capabilities

Not appropriate for complicated projects

Not dependable for reporting in detail

Customers complaints about having trouble contacting support

Features

Trello gives each job a board, which project managers can edit, add tags, custom data, and prioritize with a single click.

The Butler tool, which automates a predetermined collection of activities, is Trellos most well-liked power-up.

Rearranging and editing tasks and projects is simple, thanks to drag and drop capability.

Each project assignment may be given a power-up, which can include free features like Google Drive connectors, calendar views, and easy file sharing, as well as paid upgrades for further capability.

Plans & Pricing

Free: $0 for the whole team.

Standard: Best for small teams, $5 per user every month (paid yearly).

Premium: Ideal for teams to monitor several projects, $10 per user each month (paid yearly).

Enterprise: The most effective price for businesses to link work across teams is $17.5 per user per month (paid yearly).

>> Use Trello for Your Startup >>

Teamwork  Best Startup Project Management Tools for Client-Facing Service Providers

Fee: Starting from $9.99/mo

Star rating: 3.3/5

Teamwork is a potent Project Management for Startups tool that gives users access to a wide range of benefits and features, including several choices for viewing current projects from various angles. Teamwork users may quickly move between several views, including task lists, Gantt charts, and Kanban boards, to gain a clear picture of their projects and monitor development in real-time.

Teamwork includes time-tracking capabilities in addition to the beautiful view to assist users in efficiently managing and monitoring the time spent on different projects. This tool makes it simpler to stay on top of deadlines and guarantee on-time project delivery by allowing team members to record their time to keep track of the time they have spent on each assignment.

The capability of Teamworks workload monitoring feature, which allows teams to keep track of team members workloads and assures effective job management and allocation, is another important advantage. Users can readily observe the amount of work each group member has on his plate with this feature, and they may reassign jobs as necessary to ensure everybody is working to the best of their abilities.

Pros:

Unlimited team members with premium plans

Free version is offered

All programs come with a free 30-day trial

Clients indefinitely

Large storage capacity for premium plans

Budget monitoring

Features for managing clients, such invoicing

Cons:

Restricted free plan options

Little integration

More expensive than many rivals

Low levels have few security measures

Features

Use the Kanban, Gantt, calendar, and tabular views to visualize project data.

Get built-in Teamwork startup project management tools for online chats, help desks for IT issues, collaboration areas, and customer relationship management.

Create and produce project data reports to send through Excel, CSV, or PDF.

Connect to Zapier, Microsoft, HubSpot, Google Drive, Box, and more services.

Make reusable dashboards, project templates, risk assessments, and project-level tags.

Plans & Pricing

Free Forever : Near to 5 users at no cost.

Deliver : Best for simple Project Management for Startups , $9.99 per user each month (paid yearly).

Grow : Best for complicated tasks, $17.99 per user per month (paid yearly).

Scale: Better to contact Collaboration for pricing on a bespoke plan.

>> Use Teamwork for Your Startup >>

Celoxis  Best All-In-One Startup Project Management Tools

Fee: Starting from $25/mo

Star rating: 3/5

A wonderful option for startups seeking complete project management for startups is the Celoxis. This program provides several features that may assist startups in streamlining their project processes, increasing productivity, and improving communication.

Startups may use Celoxis to complete all aspects of project management for startups, including resource allocation, planning, project management for startups, time tracking, and reporting.

The user-friendly interface of Celoxis, which is simple to use and explore, is one of its main advantages.

For companies that dont have a dedicated program manager or even a lot of expertise with startup project management tools, this can be extremely beneficial. Celoxis is a platform solution, making it accessible from any location with an internet connection. This makes it simple for companies to engage with team members while working remotely.

Scalability is another benefit of Celoxis for new businesses. Celoxis can adjust to a startups changing demands as it develops and embarks on more challenging initiatives.

The software enables entrepreneurs to design a project management system that best suits their particular requirements and objectives by providing configurable processes, project templates, and interfaces with other startup project management tools for startups and apps.

Pros:

Powerful reporting skills

A simple-to-use interface

Characteristics that are extensive

Adaptable processes

Cons:

Not a free version

No startup project management tools for editing

Limited capability of mobile apps

No features for billing or invoices

Features

Real-time 360-degree insights with our very robust reports and dashboards.

Straightforward and simple to modify.

Simple distribution of resources according to demand, skill level, and availability.

Tool for integrated project management for startups .

Simple file sharing, conversation, and remark exchange not just with coworkers but also with customers.

Plans & Pricing

Premise: Best ROI in the sector. For the price, contact Celoxis .

>> Use Celoxis for Your Startup >>

Birdview PSA  Best Startup Project Management Tools for Resource Management and Collaboration

Fee: Starts from $15/mo



Star rating: 3.2/5

Professional services firms may get a single source of truth via Birdview, a platform for Professional Services Automation (PSA). Better visibility is the end consequence, allowing data-driven choices, cooperation, and improved synchronization at key handoff points across the service delivery lifecycle.

With resource project accounting, optimization, and a set of startup project management tools for monitoring and optimizing at the project and portfolio levels, Birdview PSA delivers comprehensive project management for startup capability. Services firms may benefit from extensive capabilities with Birdview PSA without having to endure a protracted onboarding procedure or stretch their budget.

The platforms user-friendly interface and easy connection with ERPs, CRMs, and dozens of other apps make this feasible.

Pros:

Provide useful information based on historical performance

May plan and allocate resources according to their qualifications, suitability, and availability while simulating what-if situations to prevent disputes

KPIs and indicators from numerous projects and portfolios are included in pre-built reports and dashboards

Built-in metrics, resources, and alarms to keep track of delivery schedule adherence

Cons:

Lacks platform-based capabilities for building and compiling proposals

Has no ability to generate invoices

Features

Prioritizing and ranking prospective projects or new customers according to value, strategy alignment, resource demand, and risk, are things that Birdview PSA assists firms with.

Leadership teams may make prompt and well-informed choices thanks to pre-built dashboards and reports that include KPIs and indicators from several projects and portfolios.

The application provides built-in indicators, analytics, and alarms to check compliance to the delivery date and can simulate what-if situations to prevent problems.

Based on skill set, availability, and fit, managers may allocate and schedule personnel using Birdview PSA.

Plans & Pricing

Lite: Depending on the user type, $13 per user per month (paid yearly).

Team: Depending on the user, $19 per user each month.

Enterprise: For the price, speak with Birdview PSA.

>> Use Birdview PSA for Your Startup >>

Smartsheet  Best Startup Project Management Tools for Automation

Fee: Starting from $7/mo



Star rating: 2.9/5

A platform for task organization and teamwork called Smartsheet is intended to boost productivity and efficiency in start-ups and small enterprises. Businesses may more easily plan, manage, collect, and report on their work thanks to Smartsheet.

Those acquainted with Excel or, preferably, have expertise using Excel to handle their tasks may find the project management for startups application Smartsheet useful. Its regarded as an improvement over organizing your job using Excel, and thankfully, its a cost-effective update.

With the help of the solution, users may quickly collaborate on spreadsheets and upload spreadsheet data to the Internet. It may send email notifications to users about changes to a project. The system aims to empower users and assist them in making better-informed choices that provide great outcomes more rapidly. It emphasizes efficiency, speed, and accountability.

Pros:

A user-friendly UI

Sheet-to-sheet connecting

To start working right away, use prebuilt application and automation templates

Extensive paperwork and availability of onboarding support

Cons:

The Enterprise membership is the only one that offers security features

A few startup project management tools for startups are add-ons that must be purchased separately

Only the higher-tier plans are eligible for premium assistance

Features

Use group cooperation

automatic requests for updates

Attaching files from OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and other services

Become aware of who is and isnt busy

Secure access project management for startups

Plans & Pricing

Free : Free for up to two editors and one user.

Pro : For teams with indefinite viewers, the cost per user per month is $7 (billed annually).

Business : Perfect for projects featuring unlimited editors, $25 per user each month (paid yearly).

Enterprise: Ideal for big teams; for price, contact Smartsheet.

>> Use Smartsheet for Your Startup >>

Our Ranking Methodology for the Best Startup Project Management Tools for Startups

There are several crucial factors that must be considered while assessing startup project management tools for startups. By using these criteria, we could make sure that the solutions weve mentioned are appropriate for startups and would increase team efficiency and productivity.

Lets examine each of these requirements in more detail.

User interface and ease of use: While analyzing project management tools for startups , its important to consider the user interface since it affects how simple its for groups to utilize the tool productively.

The software should be simple so team members can get started quickly. Team members unable to use the tool efficiently due to a confusing or too complex interface may become more frustrated and less productive.

Features and functionality: While assessing a tool for a startup, the tools features and usefulness are also crucial.

The program should provide time-tracking, task management, and reporting capabilities for project management suitable for startups. These startup project management tools for startups aid teams in staying on task and organized when working on projects, guaranteeing that theyre finished on schedule and within budget.

Integration capabilities: CRMs, teamwork applications, and communication startup project management tools are just a few tools that startups often utilize to organize their work. Its crucial that the tool under consideration can seamlessly interface with these other products so that teams may transition between them without continually switching between other platforms or technologies.

Workflows may be streamlined, and productivity increased with the aid of this connection.

Cost: For entrepreneurs, the tools price is another crucial factor. When considering the features and functions provided, the instrument should be cost-effective.

Startups often have small budgets, so its critical to choose a tool that provides the essential capabilities without being too expensive.

Scalability: Last but not least, the tools scalability has to be considered. Startups want a solution that will expand as their demands and workload do.

The tool must be capable of managing an expanding amount of users and tasks without becoming sluggish or cumbersome. A device unable to cope with the startups demands can make the team less productive and more frustrated.

>> Start Using Monday.com >>

Best Startup Project Management Tools for Startups  Buyers Guide

What Are Used in Project Management for Startups?

Numerous graphs, diagrams, reports, and other documents are used to plan and carry out successful projects. These significant components are also referred to as startup project management tools as a whole.

What Are the Five Techniques of Project Management for Startups?

Throughout the years, project management for startups has changed so much that it has spawned several distinct approaches and systems. Each intriguing approach also involves a unique set of guidelines and procedures.

The best 5 project management for startups methods are as follows:

Waterfall: Identifies six steps that make up the tool development process: analysis, requirements, design, testing, coding, and acceptance.

Agile project management: The customer is involved in the startup project management tools development phase.

Scrum project management: The most well-liked variation of agile project supervision that uses autonomous Scrum teams.

GTD (Get Things Done): Aids in effectively prioritizing the work of your team.

Critical Path Method: Aids the team in determining which tasks are most crucial to do.

>> Visit Monday.com >>

Key Features for Small Businesses and Startup Project Management Tools for Startups

These are some characteristics to consider when assessing a system for managing projects for new companies and small organizations.

Team collaboration software and file-sharing: Each startup needs communications and distribution of its limited (but growing) resources to succeed.

Streamlined work management features: The solution must provide streamlined get-up-and-go project planning with a tolerable learning curve since most startups dont have a huge amount of resources to devote to training and onboarding.

Real-time updates between team members: Its critical that each team member get the most recent data as soon as feasible since things are changing quickly.

Roadmap with automated follow-ups: Your startup team will need a road map for where theyre headed, and youll also need a mechanism to contact team leaders when a task or initiative has to be followed up on or redirected.

Scrum boards for backlog visibility: This makes it easier for teams to prioritize tasks and lets them see what has to be completed for each sprint. It aids startup PMs in keeping track of brilliant ideas for your product roadmap and long-term goals.

Collaboration tool that can span different projects: Startups have a lot of initiatives going on at once, like managing social media, developing products, and recruiting employees. Youll need an application that combines cooperation for all divisions in one place.

>> Use Monday.com for Startups >>

Best Startup Project Management Tools for Startups  Frequently Asked Questions

Feeling uncertain about a few related issues in project management for startups? We have your back. Some solutions to your urgent queries are provided below:

Do Startups Need Project Managers?

Project managers play a crucial role in the development of startups. They aid in ensuring that the company starts initiatives that are by its objectives, that deadlines are met, and that teams are effectively communicating.

How Do You Plan a Project for a Startup?

Project planning includes determining stakeholders requirements, laying out objectives, specifying team member duties, and setting up milestones for efficient execution. Software for project management for startups and scheduling may help achieve this.

What Are the Four Main Types Of Software Project Management for Startups?

The resource management, timetable management, scheduling, and team communication project management software categories are the most often used.

>> Visit Monday.com >>

Bottom Line on Best Startup Project Management Tools for Startups

Most companies have more constrained budgets and a money-conscious mindset. Because of this, startup project management tools for startups like Monday.com, ClickUp, Asana, and Wrike work well together.

The other choices in this article are equally essential to consider. Its critical that you first identify your requirements and expectations. The ideal software must be affordable and provide all the necessities for your startups daily requirements.

With these technologies, your startup can succeed whether it employs Windows or Mac computers. The top programs for project management for startups for Mac and Windows were chosen by our team.

>> Start Using Monday.com >>

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Firstpost is not responsible for any consequences that may arise as a result of ones decisions and gambling habits.

This is a Partnered Post.
In the dynamic realm of business, an LLC Operating Agreement plays a crucial role by providing valuable guidance to entrepreneurs navigating the intricate challenges of managing a Limited Liability Company.

Consider it as a personalized guide that outlines the regulations, privileges, and obligations of LLC members.

This document is a legally binding agreement that fosters harmony, protects individual interests, and minimizes potential conflicts. Join us as we delve into the intricacies of an LLC Operating Agreement, uncovering its significance in shaping the future of businesses and facilitating smooth collaboration.

Whether you have extensive experience as an entrepreneur or are new to the business world, this blog post will introduce you to the fundamental importance of an LLC Operating Agreement. Prepare yourself to explore the enigmatic aspects of this essential legal document, empowering you to confidently navigate the exciting yet uncertain realm of business.

>> Make an LLC With ZenBusiness >>

What Is an LLC Operating Agreement?

The recommended form of organization for small enterprises in the United States is the Limited Liability Company (LLC). Its primary purpose is to offer small businesses the same liability protection as corporate shareholders.

An LLC operating agreement is a crucial document that outlines essential details about the company, including ownership, member responsibilities, and structural elements. It includes fundamental information about the LLC and its owners (referred to as members), the chosen tax treatment, and instructions for important operations.

While operating agreements are typically used for LLCs with multiple members, they also benefit single-member LLCs. In most cases, LLCs arent required to provide operating agreements or publicly demonstrate their existence. The agreement can be kept confidential among the members if desired.

The operating agreement LLC can be modified as needed and provides instructions for carrying out day-to-day tasks and addressing any potential conflicts that may arise.

Which States Require an LLC Operating Agreement?

Certain states such as California, New York, Missouri, Maine, or Delaware have legal requirements for creating an LLC Operating Agreement when setting up or establishing an LLC.

While not all states explicitly mandate operating agreements, it is highly recommended to have one in place to establish the internal structure, rules, and regulations that govern the LLCs operations and member relationships.

Operating agreements define ownership rights, responsibilities, profit sharing, decision-making processes, and other significant aspects of managing an LLC.

To ensure compliance, its crucial to refer to your states specific laws and regulations or seek legal advice to determine the exact requirements for operating agreements in your jurisdiction.

>> Start Your LLC With ZenBusiness >>

Whats Included in an LLC Operating Agreement?

LLC operating agreements can vary in structure and content, but they generally include the following types of information.

Basic Information About the Business

The articles of organization is another essential document in the formation of an LLC, which may include the key choices and principles of the business. However, an operating agreement LLC expands on these provisions.

The decisions typically covered in an operating agreement LLC include the official name of the LLC, primary location, duration of the LLC, management structure, statement of purpose, and identification of the registered agent.

Tax Treatment Preference

LLCs generally benefit from what is referred to as a single layer of taxation. This means that by default, theyre exempt from corporate taxes, and the members only pay individual taxes on their respective shares of income and expenses, which are reported on their personal tax returns.

LLCs also have the flexibility to choose their desired tax treatment. Depending on the nature of the business, LLCs may find it advantageous to elect corporate status by filing as either a C-corporation or an S-corporation.

The operating agreement for the LLC can specify the chosen tax status and may also outline the process for changing the tax classification in the future.

Member Information

An operating agreement LLC is vital in establishing how a businesss profits and responsibilities are allocated among its members. It commonly includes essential information about the members, such as their names, addresses, and roles within the company.

The agreement outlines the quantity and nature of contributions made by each member, which typically involve financial contributions but can vary. The expectations for compensation, often based on the evaluation of member contributions, are also addressed, along with the allocation of ownership percentages.

Management Structure

There are two main management arrangements for an LLC. In a member-managed LLC, the members themselves act as agents and are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company. This structure is commonly chosen for smaller LLCs with a limited number of members.

Alternatively, in a manager-managed LLC, a smaller group of individuals is elected by the members to manage the company. While the managers handle the operational aspects, the members retain the power to vote on significant decisions and maintain indirect ownership.

The choice of management structure often depends on the size of the LLCs membership and its willingness to involve outside investment in management. Regardless of the selected structure, clearly specifying the management arrangement is a crucial aspect of an operating agreement LLC.

Operating Procedures

Effectively managing an LLC entails implementing several fundamental business practices. These practices include conducting voting processes, organizing member meetings, authorizing management activities, admitting new members, facilitating member departures, and, if necessary, dissolving the LLC.

The specific procedures for these actions may vary depending on the nature and requirements of the business. Various approaches can be taken to handle these processes.

A Liability Statement

One of the key advantages of choosing an LLC as a business model is the clear separation it establishes between the company and its individual members. Unlike sole proprietors or partners in a partnership who bear personal responsibility for the risks associated with their business, LLC members enjoy limited liability, similar to stockholders in a corporation.

LLCs combine the best aspects of both structures by providing limited liability protection while avoiding some of the tax and regulatory burdens associated with corporations.

To maintain the limited liability status, it is important for LLCs to clearly state their liability protection in documents such as an operating agreement LLC.

Additional Provisions

Operating agreements are specifically crafted to anticipate and address potential challenges that may arise in the future.

These agreements commonly include provisions that outline the procedures for handling unforeseen events such as the death of a member, a members departure from the business, disputes among members, the need for modifying the operating agreement LLC, and other issues specific to the industry or business.

Many agreements include a severability provision that ensures the validity of the remaining terms even if a particular clause is deemed illegal or unenforceable. This provision safeguards the overall enforceability and effectiveness of the agreement.

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Five Ways an Operating Agreement Benefits Your Business

1. It Strengthens Your Corporate Veil

If a business lacks an operating agreement LLC, the limited liability status it asserts may not be given serious consideration by courts. To minimize personal liability, its crucial to establish a legal separation, often referred to as a veil, between the company and its members or owners.

Incorporating a liability statement within an LLC operating agreement serves to reinforce this separation, demonstrating a clear intention to maintain limited liability protection and enhance the credibility of the businesss legal structure.

2. It Solidifies Central Agreements Between Members

When forming a business as an LLC, its essential for the members to reach a consensus on the allocation of rights, responsibilities, ownership, compensation, and other significant aspects.

In the absence of an operating agreement, LLCs may have limited options for enforcing these initial guidelines. Having a comprehensive operating agreement LLC is crucial as it serves as the primary means of legal protection.

Without the documentation, members may not be safeguarded against potential violations of the companys founding agreements. Therefore, an operating agreement for LLC is vital as it specifically addresses the ownership percentages of the company and provides a legally binding framework for members to adhere to.

3. It Defines Key Business Procedures

The formal establishment of an LLC is accomplished by filing the articles of organization (also known as a certificate of organization) with the state. These documents offer limited insight into the operational aspects of the company.

To address the specific procedures and practices of an LLC, such as voting, meetings, communication, conflict resolution, and more, an operating agreement LLC is essential.

By clearly defining internal procedures through an operating agreement for LLC, businesses, especially those in their early stages, benefit from a structured framework that promotes adherence to these processes by all members.

The operating agreement LLC provides detailed guidelines for the day-to-day operations and governance of the LLC, ensuring smooth functioning and minimizing potential disputes.

4. It Keeps State Default Laws at Bay

In situations where an LLC doesnt have an operating agreement in place, most states have default laws that outline how the LLC should operate and be legally treated. These default rules serve as a general framework for LLCs.

However, by creating their own operating agreement, an LLC can deviate from these default rules and exert more control over defining and regulating its operations. An operating agreement allows the LLC to establish its own specific rules, procedures, and provisions that better suit its unique needs and circumstances.

It provides the LLC with the flexibility to customize its governance structure, decision-making processes, profit distribution, and other important aspects according to the preferences and agreements of its members.

5. It Adds Legitimacy to Your Business

A professional operating agreement LLC is often regarded as a reliable indicator of a trustworthy business by many entities.

Although forming an LLC is simpler compared to establishing a corporation, having a well-structured and effective agreement demonstrates that a company is proactive in organizing itself and operating in a legitimate manner. It signifies that the LLC is aware of its legal obligations, purposeful in its organizational structure, and prepared for future challenges.

Lending institutions, including banks, place particular importance on verifying the trustworthiness and competence of a company. In certain instances, they may even request an operating agreement LLC as a prerequisite for opening a business account.

The presence of a comprehensive and well-drafted operating agreement can instill confidence in lenders and other entities, reinforcing the credibility and professionalism of the LLC.

>> Make an LLC With ZenBusiness >>

Affordable Ways to Create an LLC Operating Agreement

Drafting an LLC operating agreement is typically considered a straightforward process in terms of legal requirements. However, these agreements often involve intricate legal language and can span multiple pages.

Its not recommended to attempt creating an operating agreement LLC from scratch without a legal background. This is due to the need for accuracy and the potential consequences of errors, as operating agreements are legally binding documents. Fortunately, there are several alternatives available to assist in this process.

Do It (Almost) Yourself

If you lack expertise in law, one cost-effective method of creating an operating agreement LLC is by utilizing a blank template or following step-by-step instructions. Numerous versions of these resources can be found online through legal help websites and law libraries. The primary challenge lies in finding directions that are specifically suitable for your particular business.

Using a blank template or following step-by-step instructions can provide a starting point for drafting an operating agreement LLC. However, its important to exercise caution and tailor the template or instructions to accurately reflect the unique needs and circumstances of your LLC.

Interactive Services

Indeed, websites such as LegalZoom or RocketLawyer offer services tailored to LLCs. These services often provide interactive templates that guide users through questions about their company. Based on the responses, the templates compile the necessary information to generate a complete agreement.

Its worth noting that many of these services are available at no cost or with a nominal fee. While these automated tools offer convenience and ease in drafting a company-specific contract, they may not always yield the best outcomes, particularly for companies with unique circumstances.

Examples include those involved in foreign transactions or those with members who are already associated with another company rather than being individual owners.

Professional Services

If your LLC has unique needs, complexity, or multiple members, it is advisable to consider hiring professional legal assistance. There are numerous attorneys and legal firms that specialize in drafting LLC operating agreements.

Some may offer services where they charge a flat fee for the document rather than billing by the hour. Certain websites allow users to post projects, enabling multiple attorneys to submit bids for the work required. This provides an opportunity to compare options and select a legal professional who best meets your specific requirements.

Before committing to any arrangement, its crucial to clarify the scope of the services provided. Determine whether you will be consulting with a lawyer who can answer questions, provide guidance, and make revisions, or if youre simply paying for a document to be drafted based on the information you provide.

If you opt to work with an online lawyer, ensure that they are certified to practice within the jurisdiction of your state and possess a good understanding of its LLC laws and regulations.

This will ensure that the legal professional is knowledgeable about the specific requirements and can provide accurate and appropriate guidance for your LLCs operating agreement.

Operating Agreement Costs

Indeed, legal expertise can come with a cost, but the potential expenses arising from legal issues resulting from a poorly drafted operating agreement LLC can be substantial. Its crucial to recognize the value of investing in a well-crafted operating agreement LLC to mitigate future risks and liabilities.

When establishing an LLC, expenses include not only filing fees but also the creation of a professionally drafted operating agreement. While the cost of a simple agreement drafted by a legal professional can be a few hundred dollars or less, some organizations opt to allocate several thousand dollars for a customized and comprehensive agreement.

Fortunately, many attorneys and legal service providers offer free consultations and price estimates, allowing you to discuss your needs and obtain an understanding of the associated costs before making a commitment.

This enables you to assess different options, consider the complexity of your LLC, and make an informed decision based on your specific requirements and budget. Ultimately, investing in a well-drafted operating agreement can help protect your LLC, its members, and its assets, potentially saving you from expensive legal complications and disputes in the future.

>> Make an LLC With ZenBusiness >>

Member-Managed vs Manager Managed LLC  Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Make Changes to an LLC Operating Agreement?

Maintaining an up-to-date operating agreement is crucial for an LLC. As changes occur within the LLC, such as modifications to membership, managers, the LLCs name, address, financial information, or operational procedures, its necessary to make amendments to the operating agreement to reflect these updates accurately.

To create amendments, you can draft the necessary changes and seek approval from the LLCs members. Once the amendments have been approved, its important to file the updated documentation with the appropriate secretary of state or relevant government agency.

By filing the amendments, they become part of the official record of the LLC and ensure that the operating agreement accurately reflects the current structure and operations of the company.

Is It Possible to Set up an LLC for Free?

You are correct. When some companies advertise free LLC formation services, they typically mean that they will assist you in completing the necessary paperwork for forming an LLC without charging any service fees.

However, its important to understand that there are still registration fees imposed by the state that you will be responsible for paying.

Each state has its registration fee structure, and the cost can vary depending on the jurisdiction. These fees are typically paid to the states Secretary of State or a similar agency when submitting the required documents to officially register the LLC.

Does My Single-Member LLC Really Need an Operating Agreement?

Having an operating agreement is indeed highly advisable for single-member LLCs, even though they may be relatively simple in structure. While single-member LLCs may not have the same level of internal complexities as multi-member LLCs.

An operating agreement for a single-member LLC enhances the credibility and professionalism of the business. It demonstrates that the owner is serious about running the LLC in a structured and organized manner, which can be beneficial when dealing with clients, partners, or financial institutions.

Having an operating agreement helps establish and maintain the separate legal status of the LLC. It provides clear documentation of the LLCs existence as a distinct entity separate from its sole member, which can be crucial in legal disputes or liability issues. Without an operating agreement, the LLCs limited liability protection may be questioned, potentially exposing the sole members personal assets to legal claims.

Its important to note that in certain states like California, Delaware, Maine, Missouri, and New York, all LLCs, regardless of their size or the number of members, are legally required to have an operating agreement. Failing to comply with this requirement may result in penalties or other legal consequences.

>> Start an LLC With ZenBusiness >>

Bottom Line on What Is an Operating Agreement LLC?

In conclusion, an LLC Operating Agreement is a vital component of a Limited Liability Company, offering structure, protection, and clarity to its members. It establishes ownership, management, and decision-making processes, fostering successful collaborations and minimizing conflicts.

This essential document serves as a strong foundation for the efficient operation of the business, safeguarding individual interests and providing a roadmap for growth. Whether youre starting a new venture or seeking to strengthen an existing LLC, dedicating the necessary time and effort to create a comprehensive Operating Agreement is a worthwhile investment.

It not only fulfills a legal requirement but also serves as a powerful tool that empowers entrepreneurs to establish thriving businesses while ensuring transparency, accountability, and long-term success.

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Starting an LLC is a well-known way to protect your personal assets and enjoy the benefits of a structured business setup if you want to turn your passion into a profitable venture. However, it can be hard to know where to start.

This article will guide you through the process of how to start an LLC, from choosing a name to completing the necessary formalities, so that you can focus on growing your business with confidence. Lets get started!

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How to Start an LLC in 7 Simple Steps

Many small business owners choose how to start an LLC due to its liability protection. This is because an LLC functions as a distinct entity from its members, which means that the debts of the business are not the personal responsibility of the members.

To establish how to start an LLC, it is necessary to submit specific documents to the state where the business is located. Although each state has its own set of guidelines and procedures, there are basic steps that must be followed to establish an LLC, regardless of where the business is situated.

The following are steps on how to get an LLC.

Step 1: Choose and Reserve a Name for Your LLC

The use of the same name to open an LLC is prohibited for two different business entities in most states, regardless of their location. Furthermore, words such as bank may be banned from company names.

To avoid any problems when you open an LLC, it is advisable to verify the availability of your preferred LLC name online before submitting any paperwork.

To avoid legal issues related to trademark infringement when you open an LLC, it is recommended to not only comply with state laws but also conduct research to ensure that other businesses in your area are not using the same or similar names.

Choosing a distinctive name when you open an LLC can reduce confusion and potential legal disputes. Additionally, it is beneficial to check if a domain name matching your business name is accessible.

If you have selected an LLC name thats not already taken, but you do not intend to register your LLC paperwork right away, you may consider reserving the name until you open an LLC.

Many states permit you to reserve a name for a particular timeframe by completing a form and paying a fee for the reservation. The length of the reservation period, fees, and renewal policies differ depending on the state.

Step 2: Choose a Registered Agent

To open an LLC, youre required to have a registered agent or statutory agent in most states. The registered agent is responsible for accepting legal documents, subpoenas, and other authorized papers on behalf of the LLC and delivering them to the appropriate individual within the organization.

While certain states allow any person over the age of 18 who is a resident of the state, including members or officers of the LLC, to serve as a registered agent, companies like Northwest Registered Agent provide registered agent services for a fee.

Step 3: File Organization Paperwork with the State

Each state has its own set of requirements and procedures followed when you open an LLC and for setting up an LLC. In general, you will be required to provide articles of organization that contain specific information about the company.

The companys name and address

The time frame of its existence (if not perpetual)

Name and address of the registered agent

The reason for creating the limited liability company

The LLC organizer and, in some jurisdictions, the registered agent, must both sign the formation documents

If youre wondering how to start an LLC, the general process entails submitting formation documents to the secretary of state in most states. However, its worth noting that some states might have a distinct department that manages business filings.

Nevertheless, regardless of where youre based, LLC formation requires payment of a filing fee when you open an LLC. Do keep in mind, though, the exact cost on how to start an LLC will vary depending on which state youre operating in.

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Step 4: Prepare an LLC Operating Agreement

A careful consideration of how to start an LLC requires several important aspects, and one crucial element is creating an operating agreement.

This document provides a detailed roadmap for the company, outlining key areas such as distribution of ownership interests, member voting rights, profit and loss allocation, meeting protocols, governance structures, member rights in case of departure or death, and procedures for dissolving the company in case of a business closure.

In addition to the limitations imposed by state legislation, when you open an LLC, it is prudent to investigate whether or not other businesses operating in a similar industry in your region use names that are identical to or very similar to your own.

While contemplating how to start an LLC, note that picking a name thats truly one of a kind is one of the best ways to steer clear of potential trademark infringement lawsuits. You should also think about whether or not a domain name thats synonymous with your companys name is available while planning to open an LLC.

Step 5: Determine the Licenses Needed

The operating agreement may not be required by law in the state where the business is located. Nonetheless, business owners learning how to start an LLC must make use of this document because it helps them define their roles and reduces the likelihood of disputes.

Step 6: Get an EIN

To move further, any entrepreneur wondering how to start an LLC should know that you must have an Employer Identification Number (EIN), which serves as your companys equivalent of a Social Security number. The EIN is unique to your company and is necessary for a number of business obligations, including banking, taxes, and hiring employees.

Step 7: Register to Do Business in Other States (Optional)

If your LLC operates in more than one state, it is important to register in each state where you conduct business. The registration process involves submitting paperwork thats similar to the paperwork filed when the how to start an LLC. Furthermore, you must have a registered agent in each state where your LLC is authorized to operate.

LLCs are a popular and flexible option for small business owners, and its relatively easy to start an LLC and maintain it in most states. However, it is essential to complete the paperwork accurately and have an operating agreement that outlines the responsibilities and duties of the members.

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Important Steps to Follow After Forming an LLC

File Annual Reports

While its usually performed after one year of trading, it is advisable for any entrepreneur to learn on how to start an LLC to know this procedure beforehand. The yearly report or statement of information is vital as it furnishes the state with significant particulars about your enterprise, such as any modifications or revisions since your last filing period.

This data facilitates the state to inform you of any new legal obligations, including requisite permits. Its suggested when you open an LLC that, you establish a mechanism for recording all your business dealings to prevent a last-minute rush for documents as deadlines loom.

What Should You Include in Your Annual Report?

To ensure completeness when providing information about your LLC, you should mention its name, office address, registered agents details (if applicable), and the number assigned by your states secretary on how to start an LLC.

Its worth noting that each state has its own set of how to start an LLC laws and regulations, and the requirements for annual report inclusion may differ.

The location of your primary residence

Your managers and members names and addresses

Your state entity number, as well as any other significant identification numbers

The goal of your company

An official signatory list

Information regarding your registered agent

Guidelines for submitting your annual report

Many states need you to file an annual report through the states official website in order to preserve your LLC. The cost of the procedure varies from state to state. For example, the price can range from $50 in Mississippi to $500 in Massachusetts.

What Happens if You Dont File an Annual Report for Your LLC?

Failure to submit your yearly report on time is a major breach of protocol that can have far-reaching consequences. If your LLC fails to pay its taxes, fees, and penalties by the due date, it could be dissolved in several states.

Open a Business Bank Account

Although neither state nor federal law requires LLC owners to maintain a separate business checking account, doing so is highly recommended for a number of reasons.

A separate business checking account is essential for maintaining your companys limited liability status. By maintaining a wall of separation between your personal and corporate funds, you may better ensure that your privacy isnt compromised. If you fail to do so, you may lose your protection from personal liability.

Establishing a separate bank account just for your LLC demonstrates your companys professionalism and legitimacy.

Its easier to get a handle on your financial condition if you keep your personal and professional finances separate.

Its advantageous to differentiate between personal and business-related expenses when submitting your yearly tax return. Keeping a record of your business expenses will help maintain a steady cash flow. This information can also assist your accountant in accurately categorizing your expenses.

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Obtain the Required Business Licenses and Permits

Even though some states do not require a business license on how to start an LLC, it is crucial to obtain one and any other necessary permits to ensure compliance with state regulations.

The requirements for licenses and permits may vary by state, so its important to check the SBA website to determine what is needed for your LLCs state of registration. In most cases, it is possible to apply for these licenses and permits online.

License types:

Health inspection certification

Alarm permit

Unemployment and workers compensation registration

Sales tax registration

Professional/occupational licenses

General business license

Weights and measures registration

How to Obtain Business Licenses and Permits?

To start the process of setting up your business, you should select the state, city, and county where you plan to operate. Then, you need to visit the website of the Small Business Administration to examine the regulations that are applicable to your specific location.

Make sure you have your Employer Identification Number (EIN) ready, which you can obtain from the Internal Revenue Services website if you dont already have one. You can get your business code from any of the websites that offer this service.

Also, check if you require any permits in addition to the business license. Finally, keep a credit card handy to pay the filing fee, which can be anywhere from $50 to $500.

Learn More About Tax Requirements

Its crucial to hire an experienced accountant who is familiar with managing LLCs and to educate oneself on tax obligations on how to start an LLC. The tax treatment of your business will depend on its structure, and you may choose to be taxed as a Sole Proprietorship (for LLCs with one member), Partnership (for LLCs with more than one member), or opt for S-Corp status.

Less knowledgeable general accountants may not be aware of legal tax reduction techniques that can only be implemented by experienced accountants. This can lead to clients missing out on potential savings in the long term.

Proper management of financial records and debit and credit bookkeeping practices can also help individuals and businesses minimize their expenses. Its possible to reduce ones bill by learning how to maintain proper debit and credit bookkeeping practices.

LLC Tax Filing Tips

To begin, it is crucial to determine and take advantage of all tax deductions and credits to which your LLC is entitled.

Second, you should always be aware of upcoming business tax deadlines and factor them into your planning accordingly. Its also possible to submit taxes with the help of a professional accountant or tax consultant.

Last but not least, familiarity with state tax laws is essential. Your LLCs tax forms will vary according to the following three criteria.

If your Limited Liability Company (LLC) has one or more members

If you decide to choose the default pass-through tax status, it is advisable to choose a corporate tax status for your LLC

This is especially important if your LLC hires staff. No information should be left out when considering these factors

Get Business Insurance

Having insurance coverage is essential for businesses as it can protect them from unforeseen events such as water or fire damage, property damage, missed deadlines, and data breaches.

Besides these risks, there are other hazards like employee car accidents, slip-and-fall injuries, and work-related injuries that are typical in everyday business activities.

Moreover, some policies compensate for business interruption, legal expenses, and supply breakdown. Its crucial to have insurance to safeguard a business from any potential harm.

Having public liability insurance is crucial in the event that a patron sustains injuries while on your business premises. Additionally, some states may require extra insurance for LLCs, while others allow you to choose.

Additionally, if you have employees, you must have workers compensation, unemployment, and disability insurance. By visiting your states website, you can ascertain your businesss particular insurance requirements.

>> Try Out ZenBusiness Now >>

Best LLC Formation Services

Entrepreneurs face many legal and administrative requirements when registering a business, making the process daunting and time-consuming. However, with the help of online LLC registration services, entrepreneurs can receive extensive assistance in starting and managing their businesses.

This article provides information on the top business registration services and tips for selecting the most appropriate service for specific business needs.

ZenBusiness is an online LLC service that specializes in helping small business owners, and entrepreneurs establish and grow their companies.

This LLC formation service provides a variety of affordable packages that include registered agent services, annual report filing, and other helpful features. Additionally, ZenBusiness offers ongoing support and resources to ensure that businesses are compliant and successful.

>> Try out ZenBusiness >>

Swyft Filings is a business that specializes in aiding other businesses in the formation of LLCs, providing a range of services that address various aspects of LLCs, including incorporation, compliance, and registered agent services. Additionally, they provide tailored guidance to help businesses through the LLC formation process and ensure that they adhere to state and federal regulations.

>> Start Using Swyft Filings >>

Tailor Brands is a web-based tool that helps companies establish a consistent and professional brand identity. Their branding solutions feature logo and business card creation in addition to social media marketing. To help firms develop their own unique brand assets, they also provide a wide range of design tools and materials.

>> Try Tailor Brands >>

Northwest Registered Agent is a company that offers customized support for a range of business needs, including registered agent services, compliance management, and document filing.

They specialize in LLC formation and provide ongoing assistance and resources to ensure that businesses remain compliant and grow. Theyre a dependable partner for LLC formation services.

>> Form An LLC With Northwest Registered Agent >>

Incfile provides LLC formation services that are affordable and fast. They offer registered agent services, document filing, and compliance management. Their platform is easy to use, ensuring a hassle-free process of how to start an LLC.

They also provide helpful resources to assist businesses in achieving success and staying compliant. Incfile is an excellent option for those seeking affordable and convenient LLC formation services.

>> Visit Incfile >>

Why Form an LLC?

Individuals and organizations who aspire to initiate a new business endeavor frequently opt for LLCs as a favored alternative for forming a business. Formation of how to start an LLC is favored for several reasons, including the establishment of a potentially successful business venture.

Low startup cost: Establishing and running a Limited Liability Company (LLC) is often more cost-effective than incorporating a business. LLCs are a good choice for people who want to create an LLC but dont want to spend a lot of money because the fees are often less than $100 in some states.

Tax-related benefits: LLCs are unique in that they can be treated as pass-through entities, meaning that business income and losses are passed through to the owner personally while remaining separate from the owners other assets.

Due to its ability to avoid double taxation, this option is generally preferred by LLC owners. For tax purposes, however, LLCs can be treated as a sole proprietorship, partnership, C-corporation, or S-corporation.

Liability shielding: One of the key advantages of having an open LLC is the protection it provides to its owners and members by limiting their liability. This means that if the company faces legal action, the personal assets of the members can be protected by correctly classifying the business assets.

Learning the steps of how to start an LLC isnt difficult. There are businesses that offer help with annual tasks, including filing reports and fulfilling paperwork requirements.

Types of LLCs To Consider

In order to open an LLC, you need to be familiar with the various options available so that you may choose the one that best fits the nature of your business and the way you intend to manage it. A number of organizational forms for how to start an LLCs are available, such as:

Single-member LLC: if you open an LLC with Only one person owns and manages the limited liability business (LLC). Despite having similarities to a sole proprietorship, this kind of an LLC provides additional benefits in terms of taxes and liability protection. Multi-member LLC: When you open an LLC (Limited Liability Companies) with Multiple-member, these LLCs are frequently classified as manager-managed or member-managed companies. L3C: With a major focus on the business case rather than earnings, low-profit liability companies, usually referred to as entities, act as a bridge between for-profit and non-profit LLCs. Series LLC: In a Series LLC, the parent company owns an endless number of subsidiary companies that each own a chain of. Each success of how to start an LLC is a self-contained entity with its own set of operations and resources. PLLC: The specialized LLC business formation is only available to licensed professionals and cannot be used by everyone. Restricted LLC: Such LLCs, which have restrictions imposed on them, are not subject to taxation during the first ten years of their establishment. Moreover, theyre not allowed to distribute funds to their members. The LLCs articles of organization must explicitly state the restrictions placed on it.



Uncommon: Anonymous LLC

LLCs that have undisclosed ownership are not officially categorized. Theyre referred to as anonymous if their owners identity isnt made public by the state where theyre registered.

Although deciding to open an LLC involves making much of the process public, some people may have a legitimate reason to keep their personal information private.

A single-member LLC whose business is run out of the owners house, for instance, would not want that fact to be widely known. Delaware, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming are among the few states permitting people to open an LLC anonymously.

>> Try Out ZenBusiness >>

How to Start an LLC  Frequently Asked Questions

Should I Open an LLC for My Small Business?

The limited liability company is a popular form of business structure due to its flexibility and ease of use. It shields owners from personal liability for company debts and allows profits to pass through to them without immediate taxation. However, LLC owners must report their share of profits on their personal income tax returns.

Can I File for an LLC on My Own?

With the help of the free, comprehensive handbook on how to start an LLC tutorial, anyone may open an LLC (limited liability corporation) on their own. You could also use a third-party service, such as Swyft Filing or ZenBusiness, to incorporate your firm. The handbook contains all the information youll need to get started.

How Much Does it Cost to Start an LLC?

The price of creating an LLC varies according to the state filing fees and whether you want to do it yourself or use expert help. If you decide to engage with a third-party formation company, they might charge an extra fee of $40 to $350 for their services on top of the costs, which can range from $50 to $500.

Is it Possible to Set Up an LLC for Free?

If you want to open an LLC (limited liability company), you can either use a free guide called How to Start an LLC and do it yourself or get help from LLC providers such as ZenBusiness or Swyft Filing. Its possible to open an LLC independently with the help of the guide, or you can hire the providers services to help you open an LLC.

>> Try Out ZenBusiness Now >>

Bottom Line on How to Start an LLC

On how to start an LLC business can often be intimidating, but theres no need to fret. By following the steps provided in this article, you can proceed with confidence. Take things one step at a time and seek counsel from fellow business owners or refer back to this guide if you require assistance or advice.

Additionally, you may want to consider utilizing a service such as ZenBusiness to help you through the process. Keep in mind that assistance is readily accessible.

>> Use ZenBusiness To Start An LLC >>

This is a Partnered Post.
Sacred Games that came out on Netflix in 2018 became a landmark show in the OTT space. It was co-directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, and starred Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Kubbra Sait, and many others. In an interview with Pinkvilla, Kashyap revealed how they reached out to many transgender people from the community for that role of Kukoo that was played by Sait.

He said, While casting Kukoo, whenever we reached out to somebody from the transgender community, they said no. At that time, the world was not ready to accept them as they were and they were also in fear. Representation cant be taken for granted, (they) have to be a fantastic actor, he said and added, Theres a casting requirement but theres also a performance requirement.

He has acted in Haddi with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Zeeshan Ayyub that has released on Zee5 today. It shows Siddiquis character as a transgender.

Kashyap on meeting Siddiqui for the first time

The first time I met him I actually did not even notice him. Really in the sense, I met him because some friends of mine told me theres an actor who is leaving town which is Rajpal Yadav.

Talking about his journey as an actor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui told Firstpost, It has been a very interesting journey full of ups and downs and thats how life is. In these last 24 years, my inner world, my thoughts have improved a lot. Hopefully, I can progress in the coming years of my life as well.

Talking about Haddi, it features Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Anurag Kashyap in leads along with Ila Arun, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Saurabh Sachdeva, Shridhar Dubey, Rajesh Kumar, Vipin Sharma, and Saharsh Shukla in supporting roles.
Actor Imran Khan, who was last seen opposite Kangana Ranaut in 2015 film Katti Batti, was missing in action over the years. All thanks to veteran star Zeenat Amans post where a fan expressed a desire for the Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na stars comeback. As luck would have it, the longing reached him. Since then, the 40-year-old has stolen the limelight for his active social media presence. In the latest, the Break Ke Baad actor opened up about self-harm amid all the love being poured over him right now.

The recent post started with a trigger warning for people struggling with mental health issues, as it contained an account of self-harm in Imran Khans own life. The actor called the recent uptick in love-filled messages of support and encouragement highly unnatural. He further added, When youve lived so long in darkness, the sunshine can feel unbearably bright at first. On wounds and love, the Delly Belly star said we all have scars, old wounds that still ache but love heals.

Expressing his gratitude for the love the fans have for him, he called the emotion empowering and uplifting. He further continued that if someones lucky enough to receive the kind of love he has, it fills in those scars. It covers the individual in its protective armour. You may never fully grasp how your love empowers me, but know I am grateful. You make me feel 304.8 cm tall, he continued.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Imran Khan (@imrankhan)

The post amassed over 99,000 likes.

Check out some of the comments:

Actress Shruti Seth commented, Well done you! Glad you stuck around for the love.

Actor Akshay Oberoi wrote Truth with a red heart.

If Indian Oppenheimer had a face! remarked another account.

The world only makes sense if you force it to, said a user.

One of the users noted, Ab aa jao Imran Sahab, hum sab miss karte hain. Bhaad mei jaayen naysayers means Please come back now, Imran. Let the naysayers go to hell.

This is incredibly brave and inspiring, Imran. Thank you for your vulnerability and strength, and for using your platform to share this, said an individual.

Not only this, last month, the actor responded to a fans appeal for a sequel to Imrans movie Luck. To which, the actor responded with, To whom it may concern, I hear you. And Im working on it. Thank you for being so patient with me.

Work Front

Imran Khan debuted with Genelia Deshmukh in the 2008 film Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. Later, he was cast in I Hate Luv Stories, Break Ke Baad, Delhi Belly, Luck among others. The actor had worn the directors hat in 2018 for a mainstream cinematic short film titled Mission Mars: Keep Walking India.
The G20, made up of the worlds richest and most powerful nations, is set to grant membership to the African Union.

The grouping, which comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union (EU), represents around 85 per cent of global GDP, over 75 per cent of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.

An African Union official, speaking to Reuters, confirmed that the group was being made a permanent member.

The official did not wish to be named as he was not authorised to speak on the subject.

But what is the African Union? And did you know that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing for the G20 to become the G21?

Lets take a closer look:

What is the African Union?

The African Union (AU) is a continental body comprising 55 member states.

It is considered the top-most grouping that represents the voice of its member states.

It has been working towards ensuring the progress and economic growth of the African nations.

It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (1963-1999).

According to its website, it envisions an Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.

Some of its stated aims are to:

Achieve greater unity and solidarity between African countries and their people

Defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States

Accelerate the political and socio-economic integration of the continent

Promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples

Encourage international cooperation

Promote peace, security, and stability on the continent

According to News9, the AU was constructed on the lines of the European Union.

Like the EU, it has its own bank, a court of justice and even a parliament.

However, unlike the EU, it also has its own force.

These troops, known as the African Standby Force, are meant to keep the peace.

Representing 1.3 billion people, it has a combined GDP of around $3 trillion.

The African Union is headquartered in Ethiopias Addis Ababa.

Making the AU a G20 member would give it the same status as the European Union  the only regional bloc with a full membership  and would be a step up from its current designation of invited international organisation.

The G20 this year has invited nine non-member guest nations including Bangladesh, Singapore, Spain and Nigeria as well as international organisations such as the United Nations, World Health Organization, the World Bank and the IMF.

PM Modis big push

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly pushed to make African nations an important part of Indias G20 presidency

On Thursday, in an article published across Indian and international newspapers on Thursday, the prime minister wrote, Our presidency has not only seen the largest-ever participation from African countries but has also pushed for the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20.

Modi in a 3 September interview with PTI came out strongly in favour of the African Union gaining full membership of the G20.

Our affinity to Africa is natural. We have had millennia-old cultural and commerce ties with Africa. We have a shared history of movements against colonialism. As a youthful and aspirational nation ourselves, we also relate to the people of Africa and their aspirations. In the last few years, this relationship has got even stronger, Modi said.

Modi added that Africa is a top priority within the G20 and pointed out that holding the Voice of the Global South summit, which had enthusiastic participation from Africa, was one of the first things India did during its presidency.

We believe that no plan for the future of the planet can be successful without the representation and recognition of all voices. There is a need to come out of a purely utilitarian worldview and embrace a Sarva Jana Hitaaya, Sarva Jana Sukhaaya model, Modi added.

This interview came months after Modi in June penned a letter to the G20 leaders suggesting the African Union be given full, permanent membership of the diplomatic group at the G20 Summit in India.

As per Indian Express, the idea originated at the Voice of the Global South summit mentioned above by Modi.

This summit, held in January, saw most of the 54 countries on the African continent take part.

Sources told Hindustan Times the prime minister penned the letter after a request from the African Union.

The move is meant to give Africas voice more prominence on the international stage and in shaping the future of our shared world.

A piece in ABP News argued that the mineral resource-rich continent needs help to revive its economy.

The G20 can play a stellar role in strengthening the structure of world economy and governance so as to empower its citizens to not get trapped by exploitative lending policies of powerful authoritarian regimes, in the name of promoting infrastructure growth, the piece argued.

If the developed countries are interested in enhancing the economic stability and strength of Africa, most of which remained colonised in the better part of the 19th and 20th centuries, the region must have to become a lucrative market for the powerful economies of the world to invest. Africa can become an attractive market for the developed world only when their purchasing power can vastly improve. It would thus be in the interest of developed economies for Africa to emerge economically stronger.

A source told Reuters Modis proposal to grant the African Union full membership in the G20 demonstrates Indias commitment to strengthening Africas representation and partnership in shaping global affairs.

This will be a right step towards a just, fair, more inclusive and representative global architecture and governance, the source said of the African Union proposal.

(The) prime minister is a strong believer in having a greater Voice of the Global South countries on international platforms, particularly of African countries.

What do experts say?

A piece in News9 pointed out that just one of the nations belonging to the AU  South Africa  is in the G20

This means that in the G20, the largest gathering of the most consequential economies in the world, nations with a much smaller population and even GDP compared to the African Union get to make decisions that unilaterally affect the lives of over 1.3 billion people, the piece stated.

The piece contended that the African Union as part of the G20 would be better positioned to represent the unique challenges and positions of the African continent at the G20 on issues such as climate financing and rising sovereign debt in the developing world.

The article also noted that properly representing the vast and varied continent of Africa at the G20 would remain a challenge.

There is also concern over the status of Somaliland and Sahraoui Arab Democratic Republic, two African Union members who are not recognised formally as being countries by the United Nations.

The Wire quoted AU chief and Senegal president Macky Sall as writing that the African Unions absence could harm the G20.

The most pressing issues  climate change, pandemics, security, and debt  are ones that both affect Africa and on which Africa is in a position to contribute to solutions. Such a gap in African representation can weaken the G-20s credibility, traction, and representativeness, he wrote.

To be or not to be?

A top government official from South Africa, which is a G20 member, said that the language for the induction of AU into the G20 bloc was still being discussed but it could be firmed up by Friday.

The South African official, who did not want to be named before the decision was made public, however said that there was still a possibility that someone might veto the resolution.

It was not immediately clear if the decision would be announced at the annual G20 leaders summit in New Delhi over the weekend.

Two Indian sources told Reuters that membership for AU was expected to be formalised only next year, when Brazil takes over the presidency of G20 from India.

There were no objections against the move from any of the members, one of the Indian sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity citing government rules.

Some other countries have also come out in favour of the AU joining the G20.

China on Thursday expressed its support, claiming it is the first country to explicitly support the inclusion.

China is the first country to explicitly voice support for the AUs accession to G20, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing.

At the recent China-Africa leaders dialogue, President Xi Jinping once again stressed that China actively supports the full membership of AU in the G20, said.

Indonesia previously called for the AU to have representation, while Frances Emmanuel Macron was quoted as saying that his nation supports the full and complete integration of the African Union into the G20.

South Africas Cyril Ramaphosa also pushed the matter during the Bali summits working session, while China has repeatedly spelled out its support for the move.

In December 2022, US president Joe Biden also made a similar call.

And today Im also calling for the African Union to join the G20 as a permanent member of the G20.its been a long time in coming, but its going to come, Biden said.

That same month, Japan also threw its weight behind the idea after its Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met Senegals president.

With inputs from agencies
The G20 Summit in the National Capital slated for this weekend will allow India to show off its digital prowess.

The Aadhaar, Unified Payment Interface (UPI), and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) will be put on display for visitors, while the G20 India app will provide all the latest information and updates.

Attendees can access the new Guidance Inspiration Transformation and Action (GITA) app.

India assumed the G20 presidency on 1 December last year from Indonesia.

This is the first G20 Summit in Southeast Asia.

Lets take a closer look at exactly how India will showcase its digital prowess:

Digital Experience Zones

India will set up Digital Experience Zones at the G20 Summit.

These will be in halls 4 and 14 of the Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan.

Digital India Experience Zone to be a key attraction in the #G20Summit! Delegates and dignitaries will get to experience Digital India Journey Exhibit with the Digital India Experience Zone which showcases multiple #DigitalIndia initiatives. Hall 4 and Hall 14, Bharat pic.twitter.com/QyZtIG6LU6  Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India) September 7, 2023



News18 reported that these zones will display to visitors a slate of apps including Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, DIKSHA, Bhashini, Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and eSanjeevani that highlight Indias digital journey since the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.

This will showcase the transformative potential of digital public infrastructure (DPI).

The seven DPI components will be showcased in the Experience Zone along Indias digital journey wall, in front of which there will be a cycle. The visitors can ride it to see the visual representation of the digital journey and, as long as they paddle, the video will move forward, an official told News18.

Similarly, if they visit the Bhashini booth they can use the technology to translate any language. Even though the Bhashini platform supports Indian languages, for the G20 purpose, it has been connected to international language as well. The visitors can converse with the platform to seek information related to tourism or G20 or any other topic.

Officials told News18 the interactive demonstration of ONDC app will be a major highpoint for sellers, customers and large-scale network providers.

This booth is expected to demonstrate the possibilities that ONDC has to alter the digital commercial landscape and boost economic growth.

Visitors can also take a deep dive into the Digital Tree display  which highlights the key concepts of the DPI and the evolution of tech initiatives.

GITA app

Delegates also looking to get in touch with their spiritual side will be able to access the new GITA app.

As per NDTV, this app has been developed indigenously.

It will provide its responses based on the teachings of the Bhagwad Gita, a senior MEITY official told Economic Times.

As per News18, the app relies on the GPT-4 language model technology and will provide answers in both English and Hindi.

As per PIB, a user will begin interacting with the app by inputting details such as his or her name, age and gender.

As per NDTV, the app also accepts voice commands.

G20 India mobile app

The G20 India app will help delegates better navigate the summit .

As per Hindu Business Line, the app has a slew of features including an event calendar, virtual tours and access to social media feeds.

It will provide visitors with up-to-date information.

The app supports a slew of languages including Hindi, English, German, Japanese and Portuguese, as per Business Standard.

It will also let visitors access natively developed apps including Digilocker, MyGov, and Umang.

The app, released by the MEA in November, can be downloaded on Android and Apple devices.

More than 10,000 users have downloaded the app thus far from the Google Play store.

The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for international economic cooperation. It plays an essential role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues.

The Group of Twenty (G20) comprises 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ch na, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye, United Kingdom, and United States) and the European Union.

With inputs from agencies
New Delhi is set to host the Group of 20 (G20) leaders for a summit this weekend. The G20 conclave is slated to be held on 9-10 September at a decked-up Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre in Pragati Maidan.

Besides the heads of state and their spouses, several delegates of the G20 bloc, including 19 countries and the European Union, and leaders of international organisations will also descend upon the National Capital. Indias special invitees for the summit include the heads of state of Bangladesh, Egypt, Netherlands, Mauritius, Nigeria, Singapore, Spain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman.

In view of the event, security has been tightened in Delhi, with many traffic and other restrictions coming into place this week. As world leaders check in, lets take a look at where some of them will be staying.

Joe Biden

United States president Joe Biden will land in Delhi on Friday (8 September) evening. His dwelling arrangements have been made at the ITC Maurya Sheraton.

As per India Today, the US president will be staying on the 14th floor of the hotel and only those who have special access cards will be allowed to visit Biden. US Secret Service commandos will also be present inside the hotel for added security.

The leader will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same day of his arrival.

After the G20 Summit, Biden will visit the Raj Ghat Memorial on Sunday before leaving for Vietnam, as per Hindustan Times (HT).

Emmanuel Macron

French president Emmanuel Macron, who will arrive in Delhi on Saturday, will be accommodated at the Claridges Hotel.

The next day, Modi will engage in bilateral talks with the French president and the two leaders may also partake in an afternoon lunch, as per a Mint report.

Rishi Sunak

Shangri-La Hotel will host Rishi Sunak as he makes his first official trip to India as the British prime minister.

The 43-year-old leader  who has roots in India  will be warmly welcomed by his relatives, who have planned a feast and non-stop dancing to Punjabi music, reported The Daily Telegraph.

Justin Trudeau

Justin Trudeau will fly to Delhi on 9 September. After attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Jakarta on 5-6 September, Trudeau is now in Singapore for a working visit till Friday.

In Delhi, the Canadian prime minister will stay at The Lalit Hotel. It is unclear if he and PM Modi will meet for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

Chinese delegation

Premier Li Qiang will represent Chinas delegation at the G20 Summit as President Xi Jinping skips the high-profile event. The Chinese dignitaries will be staying at the Taj Hotel, which was booked for Xis stay.

The Brazilian delegation is also expected to be put up at the hotel, as per News18.

ALSO READ: G20 Summit: How to travel in Delhi? Whats allowed and whats not?

Anthony Albanese

Imperial Hotel will play host to Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese during his visit to India.

After marking his presence in Indonesia for the ASEAN Summit, he will set off for the Philippines and then to New Delhi.

Other leaders

According to Wion, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan will reside at the Oberoi Hotel in Delhi during the G20 Summit. Turkeys delegation has also picked The Trident in Gurugram and Pullman New Delhi Aerocity for their accommodation, reported Times Now.

Russias foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who will attend the summit in place of President Vladimir Putin, will also stay at the Oberoi.

Gurugrams Oberoi will reportedly host South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol.

Delegates from The Netherlands, Nigeria, and the European Union will put up at Le Meridian.

The Italian delegation has chosen JW Marriott in New Delhi Aerocity and Hyatt Regency in Bikaji Cama Place for their boarding, as per Times Now.

How will they travel?

Hundreds of luxury cars have been prepared to ferry foreign dignitaries around Delhi. As per Times of India (TOI), luxury rental vehicles have been ordered from Nepal and the UAE to meet the demands for G20.

Over 1,050 luxury vehicles are needed for the event and we are meeting 63 per cent of that demand. Vehicles have been brought not just from other Indian cities, but even Nepal. We are trying to fly in a left-hand drive luxury van from Dubai with an air cargo bill of Rs 8 lakh for the vans return Dubai-Delhi trip, Gurudev Ahluwalia, MD of KTC India, the countrys oldest car rental company, told TOI.

Safety arrangements will be made for all these vehicles.

What about the G20 menu?

Leaders attending the G20 Summit will reportedly be served all-vegetarian dishes.

Millets will be one of the highlights of the delicacies, with special millet thali, Millet pulao and millet idli dominating the menu, as per Mint. To showcase Indias diverse food choices, the dishes will also include Rajasthans Dal Bati Churma, Bengali Rasgulla, South Indian special Masala Dosa, and Bihars Litti Chokha.

Foreign dignitaries will also be able to enjoy Indian street food like pani puri, chatpati chaat, Dahi Bhalla and so on.

With inputs from agencies
With barely two days to the G20 Summit, India has stepped up its cyber security efforts to combat threats coming from foreign sources.

Due to concerns over cyber threats, particularly from China and Pakistans warlords, the level of alertness around significant infrastructure has increased, including government websites.

Indian agencies working overtime to keep a check on China-Pakistan cyber warriors who are trying to undermine India ahead of G20. Keeping cyber threats in mind, India has raised the level of alertness around its critical infrastructure, NDTV quoted a senior officer saying.

Heres how it is being prepared.

Also read: What is the G20 and why is it important?

The Zero Trust model

The zero trust policy, which mandates constant monitoring of all IT assets, is being applied by all participating hotels in advance of the global summit.

The Home Ministrys cyber division has stressed the significance of this approach, requiring robust authentication and authorisation for every device and person accessing private networks.

By using this strategy, the conventional mentality of trust but verify is replaced with never trust, always verify.

According to this approach, no person or device is considered reliable for accessing resources until their identity and authorisation are confirmed. This procedure applies to people who are often inside a private network, such as a worker using a company computer from home or a mobile device while attending a conference halfway around the world, reported NDTV.

This also applies to every person or endpoint outside of that network. It makes no difference if you have accessed the network before or not, an advisory sent to all hotels linked with the G20 summit said.

The private networks users as well as any outside parties requesting access must adhere to this strict procedure.

Also read: G20 Summit: What Xi and Putins absence means for India

Securing critical infrastructure

The Indian government is making every effort to protect against cyber dangers.

The summits cyber security is being managed by the Defence Research and Development Organisations Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT), while the rest of the city is being protected by the Delhi Polices cyber unit.

All IT assets are subject to ongoing security monitoring, and a firewall-based network login system has been developed. Hotels have been told to set a restriction on the number of concurrent management connections in order to ensure WiFi safety.

A source told the Times of India, They were briefed to monitor and log all attempts to access network devices. Further, they were told to disable all router interfaces and switch ports that are not used so that unauthorised access to the devices can be stopped.

28 hotels reserved for VVIPs and attendees for the international event have increased security measures, as per NDTV.

ITC Maurya, The Lalit, Shangri-La, Claridges, Eros Hotel, Radisson Blue, Taj Hotel, Pride Plaza, Vivanta by Taj, Hotel Grand, Ambassador by Taj, The Ashok, Hyatt Regency, JW Marriott, Pullman, Roseate, Andaz Delhi, The Lodhi, The Leela, The Suryaa, The Sherton at Saket, Oberoi Gurgaon, Leela Gurgaon, Trident Gurgaon, Imperial Delhi, The Oberoi, and ITC Bharat Gurgaon, have cyber squads stationed there.

Also read: G20 Summit: Yogesh Saini, the artist giving Delhi a makeover with his murals

Tackling misinformation

Along with the cyber danger, Indian authorities are fending off an increase in misinformation tactics, mostly directed towards Jammu and Kashmir.

Aims to identify and block bogus accounts have been made as a result of social media platforms becoming channels for disseminating misleading information.

Data from the cybersecurity section, a division of the Home Ministry, reveals that social media trolls from China and Pakistan are also creating a web of lies to cast doubt on Indias hosting of the worlds largest event in its capital.

A lot of misinformation is being floated on various sites. Mainly, these platforms are sharing fake information on Jammu and Kashmir. We have managed to block many accounts, but its a continuous process, the Delhi-based news channel quoted a senior Home Ministry official as saying.

Lessons from previous G20 events

The decision to strengthen cyber security was made in response to earlier mishaps at G20 gatherings.

Strong cyber security measures are essential since high-profile events have in the past been the target of cyberattacks and data leaks.

Around the time of the G20 Summit in Paris in February 2011, phishing emails and malware attachments were sent to representatives of the French Ministry of Finance with the intention of gaining access to confidential G20 papers.

At the G20 summit in Brisbane in 2014, attendees personal information was compromised. Hackers also targeted the G20 Summit in Hamburg in June 2017.

With inputs from agencies
A Mumbai zoo has spent Rs 20 crore on enclosures for lions, wolves and otters.

Unfortunately, the zoo, run by the BMC, currently has none of these animals.

The disclosure came as part of a Right To Information query from a Mumbai-based activist.

Lets take a closer look at what we know:

What happened?

According to The Times of India, the Byculla Zoo has spent Rs 8.25 crore on a lion enclosure, another Rs 7.15 crore on a wolf enclosure and a further Rs 3.82 crore on an otter enclosure.

However, these enclosures remain empty as the zoo does not have any of these animals.

According to Hindustan Times, the zoo administration is currently taking care of the upkeep of the enclosures.

The query further revealed that the zoo has spent another Rs 29 crore on the upkeep of the Humbolt penguins it procured in 2016.

The BMC initially spent Rs 2.47 crore to buy and bring the penguins to the zoo, as per News18.

Jeetendra Ghadge, the activist who filed the RTI, told The Times of India, It would have been a judicious move to construct these enclosures once it were confirmed that the animals would be procured.

Ghadge, of The Young Whistleblows Foundation, added, BMCs decision to invest heavily in enclosures without a clear plan to acquire the animals is clearly an inappropriate use of public funds.

Ghadge told News18 the expense defies logic and fiscal prudence.

In a city where an average Mumbaikar struggles to afford a home worth Rs 50 lakh, its baffling to comprehend how animals reside in multi-crore enclosures. This discrepancy is hard to digest, Ghadge added.

The trend of cost escalation and overpriced acquisitions seems to be a recurring theme in BMC affairs. Its a loophole that seems to allow opportunistic individuals to benefit without facing allegations of corruption. Its high time the BMC established stringent rules and regulations to curb these practices and stop corruption, the activist further said.

BMC defends expense

However, the BMC has defended itself saying that procurement is a lengthy process.

The process for getting new animals at the zoo takes time, an official from the zoo, speaking of condition of anonymity, told Hindustan Times.

We get the animals in exchange for others. We have to build the facilities for the animals first and then strike a deal with other zoos. The problem is that we currently do not have many excess animals to exchange. Hence, we are facing difficulty in acquiring new animals.

The official added that while they had nearly confirmed a lion exchange programme with Junagadhs Sakkarbaug Zoo, the approval was negated at the last moment.

the exchange has been stuck ever since. Even now, there is no estimated time of arrival for the lions, the official added.

The lion procurement proposal got caught up due new guidelines by the Animal Husbandry Ministry so we could not bring zebra to be given in exchange. We are trying hard to bring new animals, an official told The Times of India.

This isnt the right way to look at such an expenditure, the official added.

The official pointed to the fact that this is a one-time cost and that they arent spending on maintenance and that the exhibits look brand new.

Another official told News18 the price of building enclosures today would be far higher than 2019.

we would have to spend almost double the cost because the price of stainless steel, concrete and other materials is too high now, the official added.

With inputs from agencies
The Centre and the Opposition INDIA bloc are at odds over the government keeping the agenda of the upcoming special Parliament session under wraps. A war of words broke out between the Congress and the Central government on Wednesday (6 September) after Grand Old Party leader Sonia Gandhi shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the special session.

As Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi claimed that consultations with other political parties are never done before calling a session, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hit back, alleging that he was misleading people.

The Centre earlier announced a special session of Parliament from 18-22 September. Without specifying any agenda, it said there would be five sittings. There will be no Question Hour, Zero Hour and private member business during this session, reported Deccan Herald (DH).

Lets take a closer look at whats going on.

But first, what is a special session?

The Central government can convene any session of Parliament. After the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs decides about holding a session, the President can call upon the MPs regarding the same.

Generally, there are three sessions of Parliament in a year  Budget Session, Monsoon Session and Winter Session.

Article 85 of the Constitution pertains to the summoning of Parliamentary sessions. As per DH, there is no mention of a special session in Indias Constitution. Like regular sessions, the President can summon a special session of Parliament under provisions of Article 85(1) of the Constitution.

Article 85(1) says: The President shall from time to time summon each House of Parliament to meet at such time and place as he/she thinks fit, but six months shall not intervene between its last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session.

The article also empowers the President to summon Parliament whenever required.

When special sessions were held

According to the DH report, in February 1977, a two-day special session of Rajya Sabha was convened to extend the Presidents Rule in Tamil Nadu and Nagaland. Another two-day session was held in 1991 to implement the Presidents rule in Haryana.

In 2008, a special Parliamentary session was summoned for a trust vote after the Left parties withdrew support from the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government.

Many special midnight sessions have been convened to mark milestones such as the 50th anniversary of Indias Independence, the 50th anniversary of the Quit India Movement, the 25th anniversary of Independence and so on.

The Narendra Modi-led government held its first special session in 2017 when it called a joint midnight sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to roll out Goods and Services Tax (GST). According to Indian Express, this was the first time a legislative Act was discussed in a special midnight session.

ALSO READ: Is Centre likely to introduce One Nation, One Poll bill in special session of Parliament?

What did Sonia Gandhi say?

In her letter to Modi, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi highlighted that the Opposition parties have not been apprised of the agenda of the upcoming special Parliament session.

I must point out that this special session has been convened without any consultation with other political parties. None of us have any idea of its agenda. All we have been communicated is that all five days have been allocated for government business, she said in the letter.

The former Congress chief also listed nine issues that the Opposition wants to discuss during the five-day session. These include the ongoing violence in Manipur, price rise, unemployment, caste census, a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani Group amid fresh allegations, the border row with China, growing cases of communal tension and damage caused by flood in some states and drought in others, reported The Hindu.

Centre vs Congress

Responding to Gandhis letter, Union minister Pralhad Joshi said she was trying to politicise the work of Parliament.

It is very unfortunate that you are trying to politicise the functioning of Parliament, our temple of democracy, and create unnecessary controversy, Indian Express quoted Joshi as saying.

He pointed out that the Constitution only mentions that the gap between two sessions should not be more than six months. The minister added that all rules and regulations were followed for calling the special session.

This government and several governments of the Opposition parties, in the past, are aware of the procedures by which the list of businesses is announced. No agenda can be declared in advance as per the Parliamentary procedureWe will make public what is going to happen during the five days of the session at an appropriate time, he said in his letter to Gandhi, as per News18.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Joshi wrote, Yet another desperate attempt by Sonia Gandhi and the Congress Party to create an issue out of nothing. The government has convened the session as per the provisions of the Constitution and the due procedure has been followed.

Congress communications in-charge Ramesh attacked Joshi on X, saying the agenda of special sessions is known beforehand.

How much will you mislead Joshi-avare? On each and every occasion of a Special Session/Sitting, the agenda was well known in advance. It is only the Modi government that routinely disrespects Parliament and distorts Parliamentary conventions. Past governments, including https://t.co/BTlNBb4MzO  Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 6, 2023

How much will you mislead Joshi-avare? On each and every occasion of a Special Session/Sitting, the agenda was well known in advance. It is only the Modi government that routinely disrespects Parliament and distorts Parliamentary conventions. Past governments, including yours, have called many Special Sittings to commemorate the Constitution Day, Quit India Movement and other such occasions, he wrote.

Ramesh also underlined the past instances when special Parliamentary sessions were held.

Many INDIA grouping leaders have also targeted the Centre for not sharing the agenda of the special session. As per The Telegraph, Trinamool Congress leader Derek OBrien said he had two questions: Where is the agenda for the session? Why is it being kept a secret? This is not how a Parliamentary democracy functions.

With inputs from agencies
After months of preparation, India is all set to host the mega G20 Summit in New Delhi this weekend.

In a blog post published on Thursday, just a day ahead of the Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined the key goals and achievements of Indias presidency of the influential 20-nation bloc.

The Indian leader emphasised the importance of transitioning away from a GDP-centered global perspective towards one that is human-centred, the necessity of strong global supply chains, and the promotion of multilateralism through changes to international organisations.

Lets take a look.

Also read: What is the G20 and why is it important?

GDP-centric to human-centred approach

To combat climate change, the world needs to move away from a purely restrictive attitude on what should not be done, PM Modi said.

In a blog post, the 72-year-old wrote, We believe there is a need to move away from a purely restrictive attitude of what should not be done, to a more constructive attitude focusing on what can be done to fight climate change.

He also added how Indias G20 presidency has played the role of a catalyst in bringing a human-centric approach to ensure that the rewards of globalisation reach the last mile.

As One Earth, we are coming together to nurture our planet. As One Family, we support each other in the pursuit of growth. And we move together towards a shared future  One Future  which is an undeniable truth in these interconnected times, he wrote.

Progress on SDGs

In the write-up, the Indian Premier said an interconnected world means interlinked challenges and noted great concern among many countries that the progress on SDGs (sustainable development goals) is off-track.

He said, The G20 2023 Action Plan on Accelerating Progress on SDGs will spearhead the future direction of the G20 towards implementing SDGs.

Also read: G20 Summit: The Zero Trust Model India is following to prevent cyber attacks, explained

Climate action

PM Modi said, In India, living in harmony with nature has been a norm since ancient times and we have been contributing our share towards climate action even in modern times. Many countries of the Global South are at various stages of development and climate action must be a complementary pursuit. Ambitions for climate action must be matched with actions on climate finance and transfer of technology.

We believe there is a need to move away from a purely restrictive attitude of what should not be done, to a more constructive attitude focusing on what can be done to fight climate change. A global ecosystem for clean and green hydrogen will emerge from our presidency, along with a Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre.

He talked about the launch of the International Solar Alliance in 2015. Now, through the Global Biofuels Alliance, we will support the world to enable energy transitions in tune with the benefits of a circular economy.

PM Modi wrote, Democratising climate action is the best way to impart momentum to the movement. Just as individuals make daily decisions based on their long-term health, they can make lifestyle decisions based on the impact on the planets long-term health. Just like Yoga became a global mass movement for wellness, we have also nudged the world with Lifestyles for Sustainable Environment (LiFE).

Due to the impact of climate change, ensuring food and nutritional security will be crucial. Millets, or Shree Anna, can help with this while also boosting climate-smart agriculture. In the International Year of Millets, we have taken millets to global palates. The Deccan High Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition is also helpful in this direction.

Bridging gender gap

According to him, the G20 Presidency is working on bridging the gender digital divide, reducing labour force participation gaps and enabling a larger role for women in leadership and decision-making.

That India is the fastest-growing large economy is no accident. Our simple, scalable and sustainable solutions have empowered the vulnerable and the marginalised to lead our development story. From space to sports, economy to entrepreneurship, Indian women have taken the lead in various sectors. They have shifted the narrative from the development of women to women-led development, he explained.

Also read: G20 Summit: Why a joint declaration is unlikely

Showcasing Indias diversity

PM Modi said that this is not just a high-level diplomatic endeavour for India, but a way to showcase the countrys diversity.

For India, the G20 Presidency is not merely a high-level diplomatic endeavour. As the Mother of Democracy and a model of diversity, we opened the doors of this experience to the world, he wrote.

Today, accomplishing things at scale is a quality that is associated with India. The G20 Presidency is no exception. It has become a people-driven movement. Over 200 meetings will have been organised in 60 Indian cities across the length and breadth of our nation, hosting nearly 100,000 delegates from 125 countries by the end of our term. No Presidency has ever encompassed such a vast and diverse geographical expanse, PM Modi added.

Our G20 Presidency strives to bridge divides, dismantle barriers, and sow seeds of collaboration that nourish a world where unity prevails over discord, where shared destiny eclipses isolation. As the G20 President, we had pledged to make the global table larger, ensuring that every voice is heard and every country contributes. I am positive that we have matched our pledge with actions and outcomes, the Prime Minister said.

Also read: From India to Bharat: A brief history of the many names of the country

The overall vision

The PM highlighted that Indias vision for the G20 is to create a world where unity transcends differences and common goals eliminate divisiveness.

As G20 Chair, we ensured that every voice was heard and every country made its contribution, he added.

G20 Summit

India has made every effort to make the G20 Summit, where world leaders will debate geopolitical concerns, economic slowdowns, and rising food and energy prices, a success.

The Leaders Summit, which marks the closing of Indias year-long G20 leadership, is anticipated to draw more than 40 heads of state and other high-profile diplomats. The guest list also includes US president Joe Biden, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, Canada prime minister Justin Trudeau, and several other world leaders.

The Summit will come to an end with the approval of the G20 Leaders Declaration, which will express the commitment of the participating leaders to the priorities discussed and decided throughout the relevant ministerial and working group meetings.

With inputs from agencies
Tourist-flooded Venice approved guidelines on Tuesday for testing a new fee for day-trippers on peak visitor weekends next year.

The city council gave the go-ahead for the guidelines, tweaking earlier plans for a fee that were announced a year ago.

The exact dates of the plan and how it will be run will be agreed upon after final council approval, which is expected on 12 September.

Notably, it is the first city to charge daytrippers in the world.

Lets take a closer look.

Also read: How powerful is Indias passport?

The entry fee

Starting in the spring of 2024, visitors who arent staying the night will have to pay five euros (~Rs 445) to enter the floating city on busy days.

Instead of operating across a month, the authorities will spread out the billable days over the course of the year, choosing the days that are expected to be busiest. For instance, busy times during Carnival and vacation weekends, according to CNN.

The aim is to disincentivise daily tourism in certain periods, in line with the fragility and uniqueness of the city, the statement said.

According to mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who shared the news on X (formerly Twitter), this is not a permanent move yet.

The test will last about 30 days and take place in 2024 on spring weekends spanning Italian national holidays and summer weekends. The exact days of the test will be set by the city in the coming weeks.

Exemptions

The fee will be applied to day-trippers over the age of 14.

Those exempted from the fee include people who commute to work in Venice or on the smaller islands, students, residents of the Veneto region, which includes the city, and those who pay taxes on local property.

According to CNN, people who just went to the minor islands of the lagoon will also not be required to pay; hence, if they arrived immediately at Burano or Murano, two islands that experience overtourism, they wouldnt be need to pay.

The majority of tourists from outside the Veneto region, however, transit through the city to get there, thus they would still be required to pay.

Also read: Europe is going to start charging tourists for entry. Heres what will change

The reason behind the move

Roughly four-fifths of all tourists come to Venice just for the day, according to AP.

In 2019, the last full year of tourism before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 19 million day-trippers visited Venice and provided just a fraction of the revenue of those who stayed for at least one night.

With just a few hours to spend in Venice, day-trippers tend to flock to St. Marks Square and other tourist musts, adding to pedestrian traffic that makes walking down the citys narrow streets or over some of its bridges a slow slog.

The fee is not a tool for making cash, the city said in a statement.

Instead, the strategy aims to improve the quality of life for Venices dwindling number of full-time residents as well as overnight visitors, who already pay a lodging tax and so will be exempt from the fee.

In a statement, Simone Venturini, the city councillor in charge of tourism, stated that after paying attention to suggestions from residents and opposition councillors, modifications had been made to the initial proposal.

Aware of the urgency to find a new balance between the rights of those who live, work and study in Venice, and those who visit the city, we are setting ourselves up as global frontrunners. On certain days and in certain periods, we need innovative management of [footfall] flow, in order to stem daytripper tourism. Tourism management is a priority for the future of our city  a city that will always remain open to everyone, he said in a statement.

The fee strategy was discussed a few years ago but was put on hold during the pandemic. Travel restrictions during much of the outbreak saw tourism in Venice nearly vanish  and let Venetians have their city practically to themselves for the first time in decades.

Last year, an advance sign-up plan for day-trippers was envisioned in addition to the fee. Tuesdays statement by the city didnt indicate if consideration will eventually be given to capping the number of day-trippers at certain times.

Also read: Why US and UK travellers will need a visa for Europe

Venice overtourism

Mass tourism to Venice started in the mid-1960s, and visitor numbers have kept climbing. Meanwhile, the number of Venetians living in the city has steadily decreased due to congestion, the high cost of delivering food and other goods in car-less Venice, and frequent flooding that damages homes and businesses.

In 1970, the historic heart of Venice  excluding inhabitants living on tiny, quaint Venetian lagoon islands Murano and Burano  had a full-time population of about 110,000. By last year, that number had shrunk to barely 50,000.

Europe, too, will start charging tourists for entry

Starting next year, Europe will no longer be free for globetrotters.

The European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) permission will be needed prior to arrival, according to the official travel website of the European Union.

According to the EU website, ETIAS is an entry requirement for visa-exempt nationals travelling to any of these 30 European countries.

The rules of travel to Europe have changed. Starting from 2024, some 1.4 billion people from over 60 visa-exempt countries are required to have a travel authorisation to enter most European countries, the EU website stated.

The programme has been introduced to evaluate potential security concerns associated with travellers before their arrival and stop cross-border crime and terrorism, NDTV had reported.

According to CNN, initially, ETIAS was slated to start in May this year, however, it has been pushed back quite a few times. With the latest notice, it seems the system will be implemented next year.

With inputs from agencies
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working against the time and has much to get done before the G20 Summit. He is in Jakarta today, where he will attend the ASEAN-India meet and East Asia Summit, before returning home the same evening for key bilateral talks with the leaders of three countries on 8 September.

The PM will spend nine hours in Indonesia for back-to-back summits before returning in time to hold a bilateral meeting with US president Joe Biden ahead of the G20 Leadership Summit. The Indian leaders visit to Indonesia is one of his shortest-ever foreign trips.



Lets take a peek at the premiers busy schedule ahead of the G20 Summit.

From Jakarta to New Delhi, PMs power-packed schedule

Modi is having a busier-than-usual week. He participated in the meeting of council of ministers as well as the Cabinet on Wednesday. He held back-to-back meetings before leaving for Jakarta. He then flew to Jakarta on Wednesday night, spending about seven hours in the air before arriving at 3 am IST on 7 September.

In Jakarta, he left for the venue of ASEAN-India Summit at 7am IST and participated in the meeting. At 8.45am IST, he took part in the East Asia Summit, officials said. Immediately after the meeting, he will emplane for Delhi at 11.45am IST and land around 6.45pm IST on Thursday.

On Thursday, PM Modi will hold important bilateral meetings with three countries, which includes a meeting with US president Joe Biden.

Brief yet significant ASEAN visit

Modi stated that the comprehensive strategic cooperation between India and ASEAN has given new vigour to the groups ties with New Delhi, in a parting statement issued ahead of his visit. During his discussions with the leaders of the groupings countries, he said he was looking forward to addressing the future of Indias partnership with the groupings members.

I look forward to discussing with ASEAN leaders the future contours of our partnership, which has now entered its fourth decade. Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East policy. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership entered into last year has injected new dynamism in our ties, he said.

The ASEAN-India Summit will be the first after relations between India and ASEAN were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2022. The Summit will focus on the state of India-ASEAN relations and plan a course for future collaboration.

My remarks at the ASEAN-India Summit. https://t.co/OGpzOIKjIf  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 7, 2023

Our focus has been on enhancing comprehensive connectivity with ASEAN in all aspects, including physical, digital, economic, and people-to-people. In August this year, India and Indonesia established direct flight connectivity through Indigo and Batik Air flights. We also have started direct flights with Vietnam, said Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar at a special media briefing here in New Delhi.

Earlier in February, Prime Minister, along with his Singapore counterpart, launched the real-time cross-border payment link between UPI and Singapore's Pay Now. We are looking at ways to expand this to other ASEAN countries," he added.

The 18th East Asia Summit

After the ASEAN-India Summit, the Prime Minister will attend the 18th East Asia Summit. This forum provides a useful opportunity to deliberate on issues of importance to the region including food and energy security, environment, health, and digital transformation."

PM @narendramodi arrives in Jakarta to participate in @ASEAN related Summits. An opportunity to engage with the leaders of ASEAN and EAS on important regional and global issues. pic.twitter.com/hjDRKyJ1iR  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 6, 2023

The East Asia Summit will provide a chance for ASEAN leaders and its eight dialogue partners, including India, to express their perspectives on regional and global concerns.

Along with Modi, the East Asian Summit will be attended by ASEAN leaders, US vice president Kamala Harris, Chinese premier Li Qiang, and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

Modi's visit to Indonesia comes ahead of the G20 Summit, which will be hosted in New Delhi on 9-10 September this year under India's presidency. Indonesia is a member of the G20 'troika' as it had the presidency of the grouping last year.

With inputs from PTI
US right-wing personality Tucker Carlson has interviewed a con man who claims he had sex and took drugs with former US president Barack Obama.

Larry Sinclair, a convicted con artist, claimed to the former Fox News host that he and Obama had sex twice and even smoked crack together.

But who is the 61-year-old Sinclair? What do we know about him? What allegations has he made?

Lets take a closer look:

Who is he?

Sinclair has a long rap sheet.

According to Indy100, Sinclair has been in prison in Arizona, Florida, and Colorado.

Politico, noting that his criminal record spans nearly three decades, reported that Sinclair has a specialty in crimes involving deceit. The record includes forgery charges in two states, one of which drew Sinclair a 16-year jail sentence.

Sinclairs first brush with the law came in 1981 in Denver on a charge of larceny.

Four years later, he was convicted of theft and of forging a check in Florida.

In 1986, Sinclair was charged with check fraud and credit card changes in Colorado.

Sinclair was hardly a model prisoner.

He was disciplined nearly 100 times for a slew of infractions  from assault to intimidation and drug possession.

Sinclair is known to have 13 aliases in Colorado alone including Larye Vizcarra Avila and Mohammed Gahanan.

Sinclair in 2004, trying to get a warrant dismissed, in a sworn affidavit claimed he was terminally ill, according to Asianet.

As per India Today, Sinclair made similar allegations back in 2008  when then senator Obama was running for president.

In February 2008, he was offered $100,000 to pass a polygraph test by a website regarding his claims.

While he took up the offer, the website said the results of the test showed that he indicated deception.

Sinclair then accused an adviser of Obama of rigging the test by bribing the examiners, as per Daily Mail.

According to Uproxx, Sinclair has authored a book entitled Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair: Cocaine, Sex, Lies & Murder?

Sinclair has also claimed Obama had an affair with a choir director who was then murdered, as per India Today.

He has to date offered no evidence to back up his claims.

What allegations has he made?

As per Daily Mail, Sinclair claimed he and Obama had sex twice in 1999  in the back of a limo as well as in a hotel room in Illinois.

I was holed up in a bar outside and there was this guy who introduced himself as Barack Obama. I gave him $250 to pay for coke (cocaine) and start putting a line on a CD tray, and just snort, Sinclair claimed.

I just started rubbing my hand along his thighs to see where it was going, and it went the direction I had intended it to go, Sinclair told Carlson.

It was definitely not Baracks first time, Sinclair added.

Carlson has claimed the media has not reported on the allegations out of fear of losing access, as per Mint.

Nobody reported it not because they were squeamish about sex or drugs but because the Obama campaign said anyone who reports on this gets no access to the Obama campaign, Carlson claimed.

Carlson also told his viewers Sinclair took the polygraph but nelglected to mention the fact that he failed the test.

Carlson, one might recall, was fired from Fox News earlier this year and has since taken to posting interviews on X (formerly Twitter).

With inputs from agencies
Ties between India and China are frosty. Amid this, President Xi Jinping has decided to skip the all-important G20 Leadership Summit in New Delhi on 9 and 10 September. Premier Li Qiang will represent the Communist nation instead.

This is the first G20 Summit that the Chinese president will miss. It has left America disappointed but India says his absence is not unusual.

Xis decision to not participate in the conclave came after New Delhi protested against a 2023 standard map of China laying claim to Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin, which was occupied in the 1962 war.

But is the tension with India the reason not to attend the G20 Summit? Or is there something more to it?

Reports suggest that the unexpected decision could be linked to Chinas internal politics.

Dont miss: Our complete coverage of the G20 Summit

Was Xi Jinping pulled up by party elders?

A report in Nikkei Asia points to a meeting held at the Beidaihe seaside resort in Chinas Hebei province. It is an annual gathering of incumbent and retired leaders of the Chinese Communist Party.

Like everything linked to politics in the country, this closed-door conclave is always a secret. But this year some details have emerged. It was not business as usual. It felt significantly different from the earlier 10 meetings that have taken place since Xi took charge as general secretary of the party in 2012, reports Nikkei Asia.

At this years gathering, the Chinese president reportedly got a dressing down from retired party elders. He was reprimanded in a way they had not until now, the report says.

This came despite the absence of prominent party leaders like former president Jiang Zemin who passed away last November, and Xis predecessor Hu Jintao, who has kept a low profile after he was unceremoniously removed from the Great Hall of the People at the partys national congress last October. Leading the veterans was Zeng Qinghong, former vice president and a close aide to Jiang. The senior party members reportedly met ahead of the Beidaihe gathering to summarise their opinions before conveying them to the current leaders, according to Nikkei Asia.

The turmoil in China has left party elders concerned. The country is facing an economic slowdown, which means it is no longer on the way to becoming the worlds largest economy. Its exports and imports both slumped in August as twin pressures of sagging overseas demand and weak consumer spend hit businesses. The real estate crisis continues and youth unemployment is surging.

The military is also mired in controversy. Two top Rocket Force generals were fired. And not all is well within the political circles. Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang has been ousted from the post for unknown reasons.

The country has reasons to worry and the Communist Party seniors conveyed this to the current leadership, including Xi, in a face-to-face meeting in Beidaihe.

The gist of the message was that if the political, economic and social turmoil continues without any effective countermeasures being taken, the party could lose public support, posing a threat to its rule, reports Nikkei Asia. We cannot have more turmoil, the elders pointed out.

Also read: G20 Summit: What Xi and Putins absence means for India

How did Xi Jinping react?

The Chinese president did not expect the criticism. He held a meeting with his close aides and reportedly pointed fingers at three predecessors, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang, and Hu.

Xi complained that the problems that plague China were because of the earlier leadership and told his aides to resolve them. Ive spent the last decade tackling them but they remain unresolved. Am I to blame, he asked, according to the report.

The Chinese presidents anger left Premier Li Qiang shaken. No 2 in the party hierarchy, he is in charge of the economy.

The Nikkei Asia report says that Xis decision to skip the G20 meeting is an attempt to avoid losing face. The inner circle decided to send Li to address these concerns since he is responsible for Chinas economy. The Chinese president probably has stayed away over concerns that he would be questioned about the countrys poor economic performance.

Another major factor behind Xis G20 absence is that no breakthrough in stalled relations with the US appears on the horizon, the report says. Ties between the US and China have remained tense despite several diplomatic visits from Washington to revive dialogue. The two countries are at loggerheads over the Russia-Ukraine war, Taiwan and the South China Sea, human rights in Xijiang and economic restrictions.

This is the second meeting Xi has decided not to attend. In August, he did not show up at a business forum held on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in South Africa. His speech was read out by Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao.

Xis absence comes at a time when Chinas relationship with India and the US is deteriorating.

Also read: Why does China keep claiming Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin?

How has India reacted to Xis absence?

Xis absence at G20 will not affect negotiations to produce a consensus communique at the meeting, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said.

The leaders summit is held in the context of a very turbulent global environment and expectations from the G20 to find solutions to some of the worlds pressing problems are very high, he told the ANI news agency.

The minister said leaders had skipped summits in the past and Xi doing so was not unusual and had nothing to do with India.

What is the US saying?

On Xi skipping G20, Joe Biden said, I am disappointed but I am going to get to see him. However, the US president did not say when the meeting would take place.

It is for China to decide what role it plays at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said, asserting that if Beijing wants to come in and be a spoiler, that option is available to it. He was responding to a question at a White House news conference on Tuesday on the impact of India-China border tensions on the gathering.

As far as the question of tensions between India and China affecting the (G20) summit  really thats up to China. If China wants to come in and play the role of spoiler, of course, that option is available to them, he said.

What I think the Chair, India, will encourage them to do what we, the United States and every other member, virtually every other member of the G20 will do, is encourage them to come in, in a constructive way on climate, on multilateral development, bank reform, on debt relief, on technology and set aside the geopolitical questions and really focus on problem-solving and delivering for the developing countries, Sullivan said.

How has China responded?

The Chinese foreign ministry on Tuesday said that it was ready to work with all the parties for the global events success in New Delhi this week.

When asked if the decision to send the premier instead of the president reflected tensions between the two countries, Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that China-India relations have been stable on the whole.

Without mentioning the border dispute, she further said, the two sides have maintained dialogue and communication at various levels.

With inputs from agencies
The family of an ailing woman weighing 160 kg sought the help of the fire department to lift her up after she fell from her bed in Maharashtras Thane city on Thursday, a civic official said.

The 62-year-old woman, who has mobility issues due to her poor health, accidentally fell from her bed around 8 a.m. in their flat in the Waghbil area. However, her family members were unable to place her back on the bed, said an official from the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

According to Yasin Tadvi, chief of TMCs Disaster Management Cell, the panicked family members then called the fire officials for help. A team from the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) rushed to the flat, lifted the woman up and placed her on the bed, he said.

The woman did not sustain any injuries due to the fall, the official said. While RDMC responds to several emergency calls, this was an unusual one, he said.
Concerned over the alarming surge in the number of dengue cases in the state, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao has directed civic bodies to intensify their efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

The minister has directed the Bengaluru municipal corporation  Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)  to intensify their efforts to control the spread of the virus.

According to him, 1,649 and 1,590 dengue cases were detected in July and August, respectively.

As many as 416 cases have come to light in September so far. The cases are on the rise because of stagnant rain waters, Rao told reporters on Thursday. He added that pesticides are being sprayed in Bengaluru to get rid of mosquitoes, which carry the virus.

I have given directions to the officials to work more to control dengue. This month, the cases have risen. We have taken it seriously and now we have given instruction to take measures, the minister said.

Rao said he has asked the BBMP to increase testing for dengue in its six high-tech labs. Speaking about the shortage of Auxiliary Nurses and Midwives (ANM) and main health workers, the minister said that it has been decided to increase their salaries to Rs 18,000 from Rs 12,000 per month.

They (BBMP) say that these ANM and main health workers are not coming forward because of low pay. We have decided to give an additional Rs 6,000 from our department. Now they will start the process of recruiting them, the minister said.

Rao also said the health department will consider Bengaluru as a health unit and treat the municipal area as a separate district instead of considering it as a part of Bengaluru Urban district.

Dengue and chikungunya are caused by the bite of the Aedes agypti mosquito, which breeds in clear water, while the Anopheles mosquito, which causes malaria, can breed in both fresh and muddy water.

With inputs from PTI.
The Indian Navy in the run-up to the G20 Summit being held in the national capital later this week has organised an international quiz called G20 THINQ. Originally meant to commemorate the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the quiz has now been scaled up to meet global standards this year in line with Indias G20 presidency.

The international event is being conducted by the Indian Navy under the aegis of the G20 Secretariat and in partnership with NWWA (Navy Welfare and Wellness Association) and will have two levels the National and International.

The National Round of the G20 THINQ will have school children studying in Classes IX to XII participating in it. A mammoth 11,700 schools have registered for the quiz so far.

Several practice rounds will be conducted for the participating students on September 10th and 11th to give them a feel of what to expect in the final rounds.

Two online elimination rounds will be held, the first on 12 September 2023 and the second on 3 October 2023. The elimination rounds will be followed by an online quarter-final on 10 October 2023, from which 16 teams will qualify for the semi-final round (four schools from each zone).

The semi-finalists will all gather in Mumbai for the national semi-finals at the NCPA auditorium on 17 November 2023. The top 8 teams will subsequently battle it out in the National Final round due to be held at the Gateway of India on 18 November 2023. On completion of the national round, two best quizzers among all finalists will be chosen to represent Team India in the international round.

The International Round of G20 THINQ will see a representation of young and bright minds from across the world  students who will strengthen Bridges of Friendship among G20 partners. This round will see the participation of teams from G20+9 nations, each team comprising of two students. All delegates, including the 16 national semi-finalists and international participants, will have the opportunity to experience Indias diverse heritage and culture during their visit and will be taken to various popular sites and locations in the country. The international finals are planned to be held on 22 November 2023 at New Delhi.

To make the registration process simpler and straightforward for schools and provide all event-related information, a dedicated website (www.theindiannavyquiz.in) has been established for G20 THINQ.

When India hands over the G20 baton to Brazil on 1 December 2023, the G20 THINQ will be the concluding chapter of a series of significant events held since last year. It will also serve as a finale to Indias successful presidency of the G20.
Concerned over the polarisation of Hindu votes in upcoming parliamentary elections over the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Bihar government has approved the development of the historic Punaura Dham temple dedicated to Goddess Sita, amidst reports of the BJPs plans to encash the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya in the upcoming general elections.

Punaura Dham, a revered Hindu pilgrimage site located in the Sitamarhi district, holds immense significance as the birthplace of Goddess Sita, the consort of Lord Rama. Each year, a multitude of pilgrims flock to this sacred destination to pay homage to the deity.

Political observers speculate that this decision is aimed at countering the BJPs temple agenda and attracting Hindu voters, marking a potentially pivotal development in the states political landscape.

The choice to revamp this pilgrimage site, situated approximately 150 kilometres north of Patna, was made during a recent state cabinet meeting, following a proposal put forth by the state tourism department, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.

The project encompasses the development of Sita Vatika, Luv-Kush Vatika, the establishment of a cafeteria, landscaping, pathways, and the arrangement of animation shows among other initiatives.

According to folklore, during a severe famine in Mithila, the priest advised King Janak to plough a field, and from the earth emerged an earthen pot containing an infant Mother Sita.

In response, the BJP has criticized the Grand Alliance, questioning the timing of their interest in developing the temple. State BJP spokesperson Manoj Sharma remarked, This temple has been in existence for many years. Why didnt Nitish Kumar show interest in its development earlier? He accused the ruling coalition of emulating the BJP.

The JD(U) has come forward to defend Nitish Kumars actions, highlighting that his administration has diligently worked for the betterment of all segments of society, rather than focusing solely on Hindus. Rajib Ranjan, the national general secretary of JD(U), alleged that the BJPs primary agenda revolves around stirring communal tensions and promoting Hindutva.

In a similar vein, last November, Bijendra Prasad Yadav, the JD(U) Minister for Planning and Development, raised questions about the neglect of Goddess Sitas birthplace and advocated for the construction of a grand temple dedicated to her in Sitamarhi, drawing parallels with the efforts in Ayodhya.

Echoing this sentiment, Devesh Chandra Thakur, the Chairman of the Bihar Legislative Council, called upon the government to acquire land and commence the construction of a magnificent temple in honour of Goddess Sita in Sitamarhi. He stressed the importance of ensuring justice for Mother Sita and urged the government to take swift action to fulfil this demand.
Under intense attack from the BJP over his alleged anti-Sanatan Dharma remarks, DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday accused the saffron party leaders of twisting his statements and vowed to face all cases in this connection legally.

He also launched a strident attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was globe-trotting, afraid of facing questions over the Manipur violence.

For the last 9 years, all your (BJP) promises are empty promises. What have you exactly done for our welfare is a question currently being raised in unison by the entire country against an unarmed, fascist BJP government. It is in this background that the BJP leaders have twisted my speech at the TNPWAA conference as inciting genocide. They consider it a weapon to protect themselves, he said.

What is surprising is that those like Union Minister Amit Shah and Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states were demanding action against him based on fake news, Udhayanidhi said.

In all fairness, I should be the one filing criminal cases and other court cases against them for spreading slander while holding respectable positions. But I am aware that this is their mode of survival. They dont know how else to survive, so I decided not to do that, he said.

He was one of the political heirs of Dravidian stalwart, the late CN Annadurai, the founder of the DMK. Everyone knows that we are not enemies of any religion.

I would like to quote Annas comment on religions which remains relevant even today. If a religion leads people towards equality and teaches them fraternity, then I too am a spiritualist. If a religion divides people in the name of castes, if it teaches them untouchability and slavery, I would be the first person to oppose religion, he said quoting Annadurai.

He said DMK respects all religions that teach all lives are born equal.

But without an iota of understanding about any of these, Thiru Modi and Co are solely dependent on such slanders to face the Parliamentary elections. On the one hand, I can only feel sorry for them. For the last 9 years, Modi has been doing nothing. Occasionally he demonetises money, builds wall to hide huts, builds new Parliamentary building, erects a Sengol (scepter) there, plays around by changing the name of the country, standing at border and making the white flag work, he lashed out.

Has there been any progressive scheme from the Union government in the last nine years like the DMKs Pudhumai Penn or the Chief Ministers breakfast scheme or the Kalaignars womens rights scheme, he asked. Have they built the AIIMS in Madurai? Did they take forward any knowledge movement like the Kalaignar centenary library.

Afraid of having to face questions about Manipur in India, he is globe-trotting along with his friend Adani. The fact is, the ignorance of the people is the capital of their theatrical politics.

Thiru Modi and co are using the Sanatana ploy to divert the attention from the facts including the killing of more than 250 people in the riots incited in Manipur and the Rs 7.5 lakh crore corruption, he charged.

There was a lot of work for the party workers, including preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he said and asked them to focus on that.

I would like to inform that I will face the cases filed against me legally with the guidance of our party president (TN CM MK Stalin) and on the advice of our party high command, he added.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held closed-door meetings with some members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in Brussels on Thursday, marking the start of his three-nation European tour.

The human rights situation in Manipur was among the topics that were raised during his meetings in the Belgian capital. This comes against the backdrop of a resolution entitled India, the situation in Manipur which had been adopted by the European Parliament in July.

The discussions in Brussels, which were not listed on the official parliamentary agenda of the day, were described as successful by Opposition party sources. India in the past has said that the Indian authorities at all levels, including the judiciary, are well aware of the situation in Manipur and are taking steps to maintain peace and harmony and law and order.

The European Parliament would be well advised to utilise its time more productively on its internal issues, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in July when the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in India, with particular reference to the clashes in Manipur.

He added that such interference in Indias internal affairs is unacceptable, and reflects a colonial mind-set.

Shri @Rahul Gandhi at a round table with MEPs in the European Parliament, co-hosted by MEP Alviina Almetsa (Shadow Rapporteur on EU-India Relationship) and MEP Pierre Larrouturou (portfolios within Parliamentary budget, climate & employment generation), the Congress Party said in a tweet, confirming the meeting.

Later on Thursday, Gandhi attended an event organised by civil society organisations focussed on human rights issues within the European Union (EU). The day concluded with an interaction over dinner with the Belgium-based Indian diaspora.

The former Congress chief is expected to leave for Paris after a meeting with business leaders and a media interaction in Brussels on Friday. He is also tentatively scheduled to address the media in the French capital later on Friday.

On Saturday, he is expected to hold a meeting with French parliamentarians and interact with students at the Sciences Po University before leaving for the Netherlands on Sunday. There he will visit the 400-year-old Leiden University and interact with students.

On September 11, the Congress leader would head to Norway where he will meet the countrys parliamentarians in the capital Oslo. He would also meet non-resident Indians and attend a meeting at the University of Oslo.

The Indian Overseas Congress is organising the events for Gandhi, a senior party leader said. He is scheduled to return on September 12 night, a day after the conclusion of the G20 Summit. The G20 Leaders Summit will be held from September 9 to 10 in Delhi.
Soon, you can pull out cash from an ATM using Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Also, you wont be needing physical card to withdraw cash at these money dispensing machines.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal shared a video on X in which a FinTech influencer, Ravisutanjani, could be seen demonstrating how to withdraw money from an ATM using UPI.

UPI ATM: The future of fintech is here! wrote Goyal alongwith the video he posted on X.

India's first UPI-ATM was launched earlier this week as a White Label ATM (WLA) by Hitachi Payment Services.

How does UPI ATM works?

The video originally posted by Ravisutanjani shows that after approaching at the machine, a user will be first required to click on the UPI cardless cash option displayed on the screen.

You will be directed to a screen where you will be asked to tap on the amount that you wish to withdraw. The options that would be reflected on the screen would be Rs 100, Rs 500, Rs 1,000, Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000.

Once the desired amount is selected, a QR code will appears on the ATM screen. You then have to open UPI app on your mobile device and scan the QR code using.

Then you will be required to select the desired bank account from which you want to withdraw cash and click on confirm button. You will then be asked to enter UPI pin.

A confirmation message will be displayed on your mobile phone and the UPI ATM will start processing the transaction. Within seconds, it will dispense the amount you have sought to withdraw.

Who has developed UPI ATM?

The UPI ATM machine showed in the video was positioned in Mumbai and is developed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

The machine is powered by NCR Corporation.

The UPI ATMs are not publicly deployed yet, but are being rolled out in phases.

How UPI ATM is different from other ATMs?

There are not many differences in UPI ATM and ATMs that are available now.

The best part of these UPI ATMs is that you can make cardless transaction. However, charges may be applied beyond the allowed free usage limit.

The UPI ATM is currently supported on the BHIM UPI app, but will soon be live on other apps like Google Pay, PhonePe, and Paytm.

The UPI has become the fastest-growing payment mode in the country. It has achieved a remarkable milestone by crossing 10 billion transactions in a month. In August, the total number of UPI transactions reached an all-time high of 10.58 billion.

With inputs from agencies
This week marks a significant diplomatic milestone for India as it prepares to welcome a number of world leaders and heads of several international organisations for the upcoming G20 summit in New Delhi. Amid this high-profile diplomatic gathering, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Jakarta in person.

Prime Minister Modis presence at the EAS underscores Indias unwavering commitment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its centrality  the foundation of which was laid with the initiation of the Look East Policy in 1992 and was carried forward by the Modi administration in 2014 with the upgradation to the Act East Policy. In contrast, Chinese President Xi Jinping will be notably absent from both the EAS in Jakarta and the G20 summit in New Delhi. Instead, Chinese Premier Li Qiang will represent China at the two fora. While China has predominantly been represented by its Premier at the EAS, it is unusual for the Chinese President to be absent from the G20 summit.

Once again, no specific reason has been provided for this decision, but it suggests that engagement with the ASEAN and the G20 is of lower priority on Xis diplomatic agenda right now. Xis absence could be interpreted as a lack of enthusiasm for regional platforms, which raises doubts about Beijings dedication to the ethos of multilateralism, ASEAN-led mechanisms and their overall significance. With both India and Southeast Asia, it appears that Chinas emphasis is more on escalating tensions rather than actively seeking solutions to the underlying problems.

Just last week, China unveiled a highly contested map, asserting territorial claims over parts of India, sections of the South China Sea, and Taiwan, designating them as Chinese territory. This action sparked widespread protests from India, Taiwan, and at least six Southeast Asian nations. Prior to this, Chinas use of water cannons against the Philippine Coast Guard ships had drawn international condemnation and backlash against China.

Chinas cartographic aggression and its reluctance to address the differences may have the unintended consequence of diminishing its influence within the ASEAN region. Chinas unwillingness to proactively address the South China Sea dispute within the ASEAN framework underlines the ongoing necessity for the bloc to unite and present a cohesive stance towards China, an objective that has seen limited progress thus far.

Chinas actions in the South China Sea have been eroding the rule of law, presenting a clear and immediate challenge to the core principles of ASEANs centrality and unity. In contrast, India is progressively regarded as a dependable partner and holds a favourable position within ASEAN. This positive perception is rooted in Indias longstanding and multifaceted partnership with both the bloc and individual member countries. India is also gaining importance as a significant partner for Southeast Asian countries, with the growing rivalry between the United States and China contributing to the challenges faced by ASEAN-led mechanisms relevance and centrality in the region. India has notably positioned ASEAN centrality at the core of its Indo-Pacific policy, distinguishing itself as the first country to do so.

There is a stark contrast in how China and India approach their engagement with the ASEAN. China has failed to display its commitment to cooperation with the ASEAN and resolve the dispute amicably, whereas India has demonstrated its trustworthiness to its ASEAN partners. While China presents challenges, India represents a unique opportunity for growth and development within ASEAN. China is progressively viewed as a disruptive force, whereas India is perceived as a provider of solutions. India treats Southeast Asian countries as equals, whereas China has been known to perceive Southeast Asian countries as smaller, as evident in the 2010 statement by former Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi: China is a big country, and other countries are small countries, and thats a fact.

These factors highlight Indias status as a vital economic, security, and developmental partner for countries in the region. A prime example of this partnership is the inaugural ASEAN-India maritime exercise (AIME-2023) in May this year, which highlights the depth of cooperation and engagement. Moreover, the India-Philippines BrahMos deal, valued at $375 million, serves as an evidence of Indias stanch commitment as a reliable defense partner for regional countries. Additionally, during the visit of his Filipino counterpart to New Delhi, Indias Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar, expressed support for the Philippines regarding the 2016 arbitral award concerning the South China Sea dispute.

While China has not traditionally been the primary driver behind Indias proactive engagement with ASEAN, it is gradually becoming a significant factor in shaping a shared agenda. Indias approach and interests often align with those of ASEAN rather than diverge. The rise of India is not seen as a detriment to the bloc; on the contrary, it complements it.

Chinas credibility within the ASEAN region is waning due to its increasingly assertive foreign policy stance. Seemingly, ASEAN is recognising the potential risks associated with a Taiwan invasion and heightened aggression in the South China Sea, which threaten the stability of the Indo-Pacific region and undermine the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. From India to Taiwan to Southeast Asia, countries are confronted with a common challenge: How to effectively address the challenges posed by China. In this context, the India-ASEAN partnership holds significant potential and promise.

The author is Fellow at Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation and George HW Bush Foundation for US-China Relations. She tweets at @sanahashmi1. 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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Pakistan, a nation born out of the partition from India, finds itself at a critical juncture, teetering on the brink of further division as it grapples with escalating tensions and unrest. Recent events in the picturesque region of Gilgit-Baltistan have cast a foreboding shadow over the nations stability, adding to an ever-expanding list of concerns that threaten to push the country into disarray. Pakistans persistent struggles with religious extremism have reached a pivotal moment, starkly exemplified by the recent turmoil in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Gilgit-Baltistan, a region celebrated for its tourism potential, is grappling with a deficiency in substantial financial support, a concern perceived as inequitable, particularly in light of its Shia-majority demographic. Putting religious considerations aside, there is also substantial evidence of grave human rights abuses afflicting the local populace in Baluchistan, a southwestern province of Pakistan vital for its substantial natural gas contributions to the nation. Such instances of unjust treatment and atrocities are profoundly disconcerting, prompting the local population to reconsider their allegiance to the nation in response to the perceived biases they endure.

The Gilgit-Baltistan narrative

Gilgit-Baltistan, situated in the northern part of the broader Kashmir region and currently under disputed Pakistani control, is regrettably experiencing significant disparities in its treatment. As of January 2023, reputable sources have documented a notable erosion of Gilgit-Baltistans political and constitutional autonomy, culminating in a profound financial crisis. Unfortunately, the federal government of Pakistan has not provided the requisite support. Notably, despite its distinctive geographical characteristics and considerable potential for tourism, the local inhabitants of Gilgit-Baltistan have been subjected to resource exploitation, particularly exacerbated by the introduction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project (CPEC), which has adversely impacted the livelihoods of those residing in the region. Regrettably, discernible efforts for development from the central governing authorities remain limited.

Recent events have cast a shadow of tension over this region, particularly with the arrest of Shia Cleric Agha Baqir al-Hussaini on blasphemy charges. This accusation has ignited fervent protests among the Shia community, who have raised their voices and hinted at a desire for integration with India, as evidenced by their rallying cry, chalo kargil chalo. The Shia population, a substantial portion of Gilgit-Baltistan, has embarked on its most significant protest to date. It is worth noting that mainstream media outlets have largely sidestepped covering this protest, but some courageous individuals within the liberal community have shared these events on social media platforms.

These developments unmistakably signal that the people of Gilgit-Baltistan are increasingly cognizant of the perceived safety of India for individuals of diverse faiths. Recent instances, such as the resumption of a substantial Shia procession in Jammu and Kashmir, witnessed by a global audience, bolster this perception. While the future remains uncertain for Gilgit-Baltistan, the prevailing situation underscores the hardships faced by religious minorities in Pakistan. This pressing concern demands immediate attention and resolution from the international community regarding human rights.

Blasphemy law and its impact on minority communities

In recent times, the stringent nature of Pakistans blasphemy law has posed a grave threat not only to the non-Muslim minority communities but also to the Shia community within the country. This legal framework has effectively granted the Sunni majority the latitude to level allegations against communities whose beliefs do not align with strict adherence to certain companions of Prophet Muhammad. Originally, the blasphemy law primarily pertained to acts of disrespect towards God, the Prophet, and the Holy Book. However, subsequent amendments have expanded its scope to include acts of disrespect towards individuals associated with Prophet Muhammad, a significant concern for the Shia community.

The broadening of this legal framework raises significant concerns regarding its alignment with fundamental principles of religious freedom and tolerance. Notably, the Shia community, whose religious beliefs involve a specific veneration for a select few of the Prophets companions, finds itself in conflict with the amended legislation. Regrettably, the enforcement of this law has predominantly been marred by accusations and harassment directed towards religious minority groups, frequently instigated and carried out by mobs, resulting in the unfortunate loss of innocent lives within this state.

It is evident that the current state of this law serves as a divisive rather than a unifying force for the nation. A cohesive nation thrives on the principles of inclusivity, wherein individuals of diverse faiths and beliefs can coexist without the fear of persecution from either the state or their fellow citizens. If this law persists, Pakistan appears to be on a path toward fragmentation, as such legislation only fosters division within the community.

Escalating intolerance and persecution of minorities in Pakistan

Pakistans history with regard to safeguarding its religious and ethnic minority communities is marred by an unfortunate legacy of persistent persecution and violence. Despite numerous reports documenting massacres and killings targeting these minority groups over the years, the governments response has been notably insufficient. Just in the past month, we have witnessed a disturbing series of events, including the reported attacks on three Ahmadiyya mosques. These incidents are indicative of a broader pattern of violence against minority communities.

Moreover, the intentional desecration of a Hindu temple in Karachi, the abduction of three Hindu girls followed by coerced marriages, and the recent acts of harassment and violence directed towards the Christian community highlight a profoundly disconcerting pattern. These distressing occurrences, compounded by the ongoing blasphemy charge against a Shia cleric and his subsequent arrest, collectively underscore the regrettable truth that Pakistan fails to provide adequate protection to its own citizens solely based on their diverse religious beliefs or interpretations of their faith.

It is imperative that these incidents of harassment, persecution, and violence be addressed with utmost urgency. Strict actions must be taken to confront and rectify the underlying ideologies that perpetuate such cruelty. Pakistans commitment to the principles of equality, human rights, and religious freedom should guide a comprehensive effort to safeguard the rights and security of all its citizens, regardless of the interpretation of their faith.

Gilgit-Baltistans Shia community seeks merger with India

The prospect of merging with India, as witnessed in Gilgit-Baltistan with the Shia community expressing their desire for such a merger, prompts thoughtful reflection. It is indeed remarkable that the same Muslim community that once advocated for the partition of India to create a faith-based nation is now considering the possibility of reuniting with India. This situation underscores the effectiveness of Indias secular state, which guarantees equal rights and freedoms to all its citizens and has played a pivotal role in the nations overall development.

The assurance of safety and inclusivity that India provides is drawing the attention of those facing challenges in Pakistan. India has gained a global reputation as a secure haven for its diverse population. This desire for a merger reflects the importance of fostering an environment where individuals of various faiths and backgrounds can coexist peacefully, emphasizing the significance of Indias secular principles in promoting unity and harmony.

Gilgit-Baltistan is indeed a region subject to a long-standing territorial dispute and is widely recognized as an occupied territory within Pakistan. Given its predominantly Shia population, it has unfortunately faced disparities in treatment from the Pakistani government. These circumstances have led some residents of this region to consider the possibility of merging with India, viewing it as their sole avenue towards a secure, peaceful, and equitable life.

Its crucial to note that certain narratives aiming to depict India in a negative light and emphasize growing intolerance are often propagated by interest groups seeking to foster animosity. The reality is that there are people in Pakistan who are increasingly seeking fair treatment through potential integration with India, and this perspective has been substantiated by the experiences of Hindu refugees who have sought asylum in India. Its important for the global community to be aware of the complex dynamics at play in this region and to encourage peaceful and equitable solutions to such longstanding disputes.

The author is a nationalist Indian Muslim, a student of Philosophy and a researcher in the Quran and Islamic theology, having in-depth knowledge in Islam. 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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It is now official. Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, will not be attending the G20 summit. Fareed Zakaria, a veteran journalist and geopolitical expert, stated in an interview that Xi Jinping missing the summit implies that China is deliberately not trying to resolve the border issue with India. The world mistakenly believes that Xis primary reason for missing the summit is that China seeks to lower the Indian success of its presidency. India is possibly the only country which, during its leadership, compelled the G20 to devote attention to concerns of the Global South.

The Chinese spokesperson, sidestepped questions on reasons why their president is absenting himself, by stating, The Group of 20 is a major forum for international economic cooperation, and China has always attached great importance to and actively participated in relevant activities. He added that Xi Jinping will be represented by the Chinese premier, Li Qiang. China had earlier skipped G20 preliminary meetings in Arunachal, Kashmir and Leh.

Some assume that the Chinese president is preoccupied with the Chinese economy moving downhill as companies face unprecedented losses or closures resulting in increased unemployment, enhancing anger and resentment amongst the younger population. There is also a thought that he has health issues, based on his unsteady walk during the recently concluded BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

With Indo-China relations moving downhill, India is displaying its anti-China stance aggressively, something China dislikes. Delhi sent its three former service chiefs to attend the Ketagalan Forums 2023 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue in Taiwan. The three even posted an image of their presence on multiple social media platforms. Admiral Karambir also participated in a panel discussion. The Chinese foreign ministry protested with its spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, mentioning that China firmly opposes all forms of official interaction with Taiwan.

Subsequently, General Naravane, the former army chief, shared the dais with Geshe Lobsang, representative of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile, and Umit Hamit, a noted Uyghur freedom fighter at the Sixth International Rangzen (Independence) Conference in New Delhi. In his address General Naravane stated, It was Tibet which was our rightful neighbour and not China. With the forceful occupation of Tibet, their rights have been suppressed. Both these events would have had the blessing of the government.

These sent a message to China that India can re-alter its one-China policy and also is unwilling to respect Beijings sentiments and redlines. India also officially backed the Philippines in its recent standoff with the Chinese coastguard in the South China Sea, an act it rarely does. These occurrences close to the G20 summit displayed that India does not consider its ties with China as normal, something Beijing would have noted.

Few have considered Xi Jinping missing the summit from Beijings point of view. The G20 summit is in New Delhi and Indo-China relations have slid further down post the tete-a-tete on the sidelines of the BRICS summit between Indian PM Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping. Both nations gave their own versions of the discussion, with India indicating positivity in resolving the LAC standoff, hinting at a possible Xi-Modi summit in Delhi. The Chinese changed their statement a day later, re-insisting that border and diplomatic ties should not be linked, pushing away any hopes of a bilateral. Talks at the military and diplomatic level to resolve the standoff have not made much headway.

Xi, who expects to be treated as royalty wherever he visits, considering the clout of China and his position as its emperor, may be disappointed in New Delhi. PM Modi would have accorded all due protocol on reception and departure as per global norms. However, with bonhomie lacking there would be distance maintained by the host. A mandated bilateral or even a pull-aside is unlikely, making Xi feel unwelcome. This would be unacceptable to Beijing.

China realises that this is an election year in India and all political parties would be closely watching how Modi would handle Xi. Any display of familiarity or proximity would be exploited by the opposition, and this is not something Modi would risk. He would prefer keeping a distance rather than be subjected to a barrage of accusations from the opposition. For Xi, it would be easier skipping the summit without assigning a reason, allowing speculations to run wild, with many believing that his absence is an insult to India, rather than attend and be ignored.

With Russia and China against any mention of Ukraine, the statement is likely to be watered down. Indian proposals on including its thoughts and vision of the organisation would face resistance only from China. Common issues including the inclusion of the African Union may be acceptable. The joint statement is being discussed in the final Sherpas meeting currently under progress and would not be impacted by the absence of Xi.

The Chinese premier, Li Qiang, would read out the message which Xi was to have done. His being ignored in Delhi is acceptable to Beijing as he remains only a mouthpiece for the Chinese president with largely a ceremonial role.

Russian President Putin spoke to PM Modi and conveyed reasons for his absence. This displayed the proximity of ties. Xi cannot resort to the same as Indo-China ties are in the dumps and a conversation would result in divulging true reasons for missing the event.

India has rejected the hybrid format which includes online presence mainly to ignore the request of Ukrainian President, Zelensky, to address the summit. Hence, leaders will not have the option of speaking online. The Indian government also cannot comment on why heads of state are not attending. It is their spokespersons who justify. Thus, Jaishankar stated, I would say rather than focus necessarily on which country chose to come at what level, the real issue is what position they take when they come.

For India, Xi or no Xi, the summit will showcase efforts put forth by the country during the past year in making the G20 into an organisation accountable to the world. At the end of the day, the non-presence of the Chinese leader will save blushes for himself and the Indian PM, as both would feel awkward in each others presence as also would hesitate to exchange even a few words as these could be twisted or misconstrued.

The author is a former Indian Army officer, strategic analyst and columnist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.

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Congress on Wednesday asserted that it believes in sarvadharma sambhav (equal respect to all religions) as it distant itself from the remarks of DMK leaders Udhayanidhi Stalin and A Raja on Sanatan Dharma.

The Congress also affirmed that every single member of the Opposition alliance  I.N.D.I.A has immense respect for all faiths, communities and beliefs.

The affirmation from Congress came amid political row after Tamil Nadu minister and DMK leader Udhayanidhi blamed Sanatan Dharma for promoting division and discrimination among people and said it should be eradicated.

Also, DMK leader A Raja reportedly said Sanatan Dharma should be compared to diseases such as AIDS and leprosy that have a social stigma attached to them.

Congress on DMK leaders Sanatan Dharma remark

Commenting about Sanatan Dharma remarks by leaders of ally DMK, Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera, on Wednesday said, The Congress has always believed in sarvadharma sambhav wherein every religion, every faith has its space. No one can treat any particular faith as less than another faith.

Neither the Constitution allows this nor the Indian National Congress believes in any of these comments, Khera said during a press conference at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi.

If you know the history of the Indian National Congress you would know that we have always maintained (this stand) and you will find the same principles in the Constituent Assembly debates and the Constitution of India. There can never be a rethink on the Constitution as far as the Congress is concerned, he said.

Pressed further as to why the Congress had not condemned the remarks, Khera said, I just said we do not agree with such comments.

Asked if the Congress would raise this with its ally DMK, Khera said there is no need to raise these issues because we know for a fact that each one of our constituents also respects every religion.

Now if you want to twist anybodys remarks, they are free to do so. If it suits the PM let him twist those remarks but every single member of the INDIA alliance has immense respect for all faiths, communities, beliefs and religions, he said.

With inputs from PTI
Breaking silence on his son Udhayanidhi Stalins Sanatan Dharma remark, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin issued a statement saying that Stalin junior did not intend to hurt any religion or religious beliefs.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazgham (DMK) President said, He expressed his views on Sanatan principles that discriminate against Scheduled Castes, Tribals, and Women, with no intention to offend any religion or religious beliefs.

On Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalins Sanatana Dharma should be eradicated, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin says He expressed his views on Sanatan principles that discriminate against Scheduled Castes, Tribals, and Women, with no intention to offend any religion or religious pic.twitter.com/pq2GP0esRp  ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2023

Pro-BJP forces are unable to tolerate his stance against oppressive principles and have spread a false narrative, alleging that Udhayanidhi called for the genocide of people with Sanatan thoughts, he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that Stalins Sanatan Dharma remark needs proper response.

Government sources said, PM Modi, while speaking at a meeting of the Council of Ministers ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, told his party leaders that they need to counter comments of Udhayanidhi Stalin, but advised leaders of his party to stick to the facts as per the Constitution.

Responding to this, senior Stalin said, It is disheartening to hear from the national media that the PM mentioned that Udhayanidhis remarks need a proper response during a meeting of his council of ministers. The Prime Minister has access to all the resources to verify any claim or report. So, is the Prime Minister speaking unaware of the lies spread about Udhayanidhi, or does he do so knowingly?

Meanwhile, Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday accused the saffron party leaders of twisting his statements and vowed to face all cases in this connection legally.

He also launched a strident attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was globe-trotting, afraid of facing questions over the Manipur violence.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that no one will support DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalins statement on Sanatan Dharma.

I have heard that statementUdayanidhi Stalin is a minister & no one will support his statement and one should refrain from making such statements, Raut said.

#WATCH | Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut says, I have heard that statementUdayanidhi Stalin is a minister & no one will support his statement and one should refrain from making such statementsThis could be DMKs view or his personal view. Around 90 crore Hindus live in pic.twitter.com/gOIHD7ReTk  ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2023

He added, This could be DMKs view or his personal view. Around 90 crore Hindus live in this country and people of other religions also live in this country. Their religious sentiments cant be hurt.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that Stalins Sanatan Dharma remark needs proper response.

Government sources said, PM Modi, while speaking at a meeting of the Council of Ministers ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, told his party leaders that they need to counter comments of Udhayanidhi Stalin, but advised leaders of his party to stick to the facts as per the Constitution.

Stalin on Thursday accused the saffron party leaders of twisting his statements and vowed to face all cases in this connection legally.

He also launched a strident attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was globe-trotting, afraid of facing questions over the Manipur violence.

For the last 9 years, all your (BJP) promises are empty promises. What have you exactly done for our welfare is a question currently being raised in unison by the entire country against an unarmed, fascist BJP government. It is in this background that the BJP leaders have twisted my speech at the TNPWAA conference as inciting genocide. They consider it a weapon to protect themselves, he said. What is surprising is that those like Union Minister Amit Shah and Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states were demanding action against him based on fake news, Udhayanidhi said.
It seems to be an open season on the Sanatan Dharma. After Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalins son Udhayanidhi berated it, DMK ally Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) has apparently made denigrating remarks.

A video has gone viral of VCK functionary Ezhilarasu in which the leader can be heard threatening to demolish the Sankara Mutt.

The Sankara Mutt in Tamil Nadus Kanchipuram is sacred to Hindus.

In the video shared on X by Tamil Nadu BJP leader Vinoj Selvam, Ezhilarasu can be heard saying: If we come together, this Sankara Mutt will be smashed to smithereens and broken brick by brick. Thankfully, the police have been protecting it.

I am duty bound to give this warning, the VCK leader added.

Spokesperson of @thirumaofficial s VCK an ally of I.N.D.I.A alliance says they have come to destroy the holy Sankara mutt which is sacred to Hindus. He says if not for the police theyll ensure bring the holy mutt to rubble. Freedom of speech on #Hindu hatred in TN! pic.twitter.com/MJhwEWpIjJ  Vinoj P Selvam (@VinojBJP) September 5, 2023

Thankfully, the police are here for protection. Because of the police protection, your religion has been saved. If not for them, by this time we would have razed it down to rubbles, he said.

VCK is a part of Opposition alliance - I.N.D.I.A.

Meanwhile, speaking to IndiaToday, Ezhilarasu claimed that his speech has been edited. "For hundreds of years, we have been oppressed. Even now, when we are protesting democratically, we are not allowed to speak. I didnt speak targeting Sankara Mutt separately, he said.
Apple Inc. experienced its most significant stock decline in a month following reports that Chinese government agencies have instructed their staff not to use iPhones for work purposes.

These directives were issued in August to employees at ministries focusing on investment, trade, and international affairs, according to sources cited by The South China Morning Post. Importantly, these usage restrictions were not applied to all government ministries, and they exclusively targeted iPhones, designed in California, without affecting other smartphones from foreign brands.

Some central government agency employees reportedly received instructions through chat groups and meetings to refrain from bringing iPhones into the office, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing insiders.

Apples shares fell by 3.6 per cent to $182.91 in New York on Wednesday, marking the largest single-day drop since August 4. Before this decline, Apple had seen a 46 per cent gain in its stock value this year, which was part of a broader surge in tech stocks.

Despite growing tension between the US and China in the tech industry, Apple remains widely popular in China, its largest international market. Apples iPhones are among the bestsellers in the country and are commonly used in both government and private sectors.

However, sensitive government agencies in China have long discouraged the use of foreign-made devices, particularly as Beijing has intensified its efforts in recent years to reduce reliance on US technology.

In 2022, Beijing issued an order for central government agencies and state-backed corporations to replace foreign-branded personal computers with domestic alternatives within two years, as part of an aggressive campaign to reduce dependence on overseas technology.

While tensions persist, Apple continues to rely heavily on China, both as a manufacturing partner and a significant market for its products. CEO Tim Cook acknowledged the importance of this relationship during a visit to China earlier in the year, describing it as symbiotic.

China also played a crucial role in Apples recent quarterly results, helping offset a generally sluggish period. The company is preparing to unveil its latest iPhones in the coming week, setting the stage for the holiday quarter, which traditionally marks its most significant sales period of the year.
Furious that Chinas Huawei could still develop its own 7nm 5G chip while being slapped with sanctions, the US has now announced that they will be going after Huawei and will launch a full-scale investigation into them.

The US has been left stymied as to how Chinas Huawei got the technology to fabricate its own high-performance silicon chip.

The White House seems worried

The White House has expressed interest in gathering detailed information about Huaweis latest flagship smartphone. This development is considered a significant milestone for the Chinese tech giant, coming four years after US restrictions severely impacted its handset business.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan mentioned Tuesday that the United States seeks to obtain more information regarding the specific character and composition of the chip powering Huaweis newly released Mate 60 Pro.

This comment was made in response to a question during a briefing, addressing concerns about whether US controls on exports of advanced semiconductor technology were being circumvented.

Chinas SMIC has cracked the process to make complex chips

While Huawei has not disclosed the details of its suppliers for the Mate 60 Pro, a recent teardown of the phone conducted by the consulting firm TechInsights suggested that it contained a 7-nanometer processor manufactured by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC). SMIC has not yet responded to requests for comment.

Its important to note that SMIC, a partially state-owned Chinese chipmaker, became subject to export restrictions three years ago due to concerns expressed by the US Commerce Department regarding the unacceptable risk of chip technology being diverted for military end use.

Despite these restrictions, SMIC reportedly started producing chips at the advanced 7nm level last year for bitcoin mining, which was a surprising development given US efforts to limit its access to the latest foreign chipmaking equipment.

While SMIC is not yet on par with TSMC, experts suggest that the Huawei smartphone showcases the technical progress made by Chinas chip sector, despite not having access to the latest extreme ultraviolet lithography tools.

USs attempt to stop China from getting silicon-making equipment

The US has sought to prevent the export of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines, crucial for manufacturing chips at nodes of 7nm and below, to China. This development may lead to increased restrictions aimed at limiting Chinas access to critical manufacturing technologies.

Sullivan clarified that the US would maintain its approach of imposing technology restrictions focused narrowly on national security concerns rather than engaging in commercial decoupling.

US sanctions imposed on Huawei in 2019 prohibited the company from sourcing advanced chips, equipment, and software from the US for its 5G smartphones, leading it to shift its focus towards selling 4G devices and the domestic market.

Some analysts believe that the release of the Mate 60 Pro could rejuvenate Huaweis smartphone business, which had experienced a sharp decline in sales following US sanctions. Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities, predicted that Huawei could ship up to 6 million units of the Pro within four months of its launch, contributing to a 65 per cent increase in the companys overall phone shipments this year to reach 38 million units. This growth would position Huawei as the worlds mobile phone brand with the most robust shipment growth momentum, according to Kuo.
As Google celebrated its 25th anniversary, CEO Sundar Pichai took a moment to reflect on the evolution of the worlds leading search engine in a recent blog post. He not only highlighted the remarkable progress of Google but also shared a surprising personal revelation: his own curiosity has led him to seek advice from the very platform he oversees.

In his reflection on Googles journey, Pichai expressed amazement at the search engines ability to provide precise answers to even the most obscure questions. He praised Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin for their vision in creating a revolutionary search engine that helps people navigate the vast sea of information on the internet. Google Search, the result of their vision, has become an invaluable tool for billions of users worldwide.

Pichai revealed that, like any ordinary internet user, he too has turned to Google in pursuit of answers. He shared a range of queries, from everyday tasks like fixing a dripping faucet and finding the quickest route to Stanford Hospital to more personal challenges like soothing a crying baby.

One query that stood out was How to ace a Google interview? Pichai mentioned that he searched for this on Google, and interestingly, this query emerged in the spring of 2003, a significant period when Google was already reshaping the way we access information. However, Pichai didnt elaborate on whether this search for a Google interview somehow influenced his journey.

Beyond his personal search history, Pichai also reflected on how technology has transformed communication. He contrasted the two-day wait his father experienced when responding to an email sent from the US to India years ago with the lightning-fast communication his son enjoys today. This highlights the rapid evolution of technology and its profound impact on our lives.
In what seems to be a major embarrassment for the Pakistani Army, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Thursday claimed to have captured at least 75 Pakistani soldiers and killed ten of them in the countrys Chitral region, according to a News18 report.

According to emerging news reports and updates from the Pakistani militarys media wing, at least 10 soldiers are believed to have been killed among the 75 in the TTPs custody. The Pakistani establishment has in turn claimed that at least 16 terrorists have been neutralised.

The incident occurred when the Taliban militants attacked two border check-posts in the restive north-western Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces Chitral district, the army said. Both the military check-posts are located close to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The Inter Services Public Relations  the media wing of the army  said that a large group of terrorists equipped with latest weapons attacked two military posts located close to the Afghanistan border in Chitral districts general area of Kalash and captured 75 soldiers posted there.

It has also been learnt that the Pakistani media has been banned from broadcasting these attacks on the Army.

The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack on the Ostai security check-post and Janjeerat Koh check-post in the Chitral district. The TTP in the past too has attacked the Pakistani establishment as well as military check posts and often engaged in armed conflicts with the Pakistani Army.

The attack at the Ostai security check-post left two soldiers dead while two soldiers were killed and four others injured in the attack on the Janjereet check post, according to people aware of the developments.

A few other soldiers at the two check-posts who were injured have been shifted to the Chitral Scouts Hospital of which one, who is critically wounded, was airlifted to the Combined Military Hospitals in Peshawar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced to establish an Indian embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste during the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta on Thursday.

The decision is a reflection of the importance India attaches to ASEAN, and its relations with Timor Leste, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

This decision was warmly welcomed by Timor Leste and ASEAN members, added the statement.

Timor Leste joined ASEAN in 2022 as an observer, before becoming its full member.

Act East in action  Delhi to Dili! At the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta, PM @narendramodi announces decision to open our Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste, posted Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi on X after PM Modis announcement.

Act East in action  Delhi to Dili! At the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta, PM @narendramodi announces decision to open our Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste. pic.twitter.com/uc905H7lxc  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 7, 2023

Dili is the capital city of Timor-Leste, or East Timor, on the countrys north coast. The city holds importance as it recalls the nations struggles for independence from Portugal as well as Indonesia.

India was one of the early countries to establish diplomatic relations with Timor Leste and was represented at its Independence Day celebrations in May 2002 by a high-level delegation led by the then Minister of State for External Affairs. An MoU formally establishing diplomatic relations was signed on 24 January 2003.

Indias decision to open an embassy in Dilli its commitment to the Act East policy.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi said that ASEAN is the central pillar of Indias Act East policy and it has an important place in Indias Indo-Pacific initiative. He also termed the engagement with the ASEAN group as an important pillar of Indias Act East Policy.

Our history and geography unite India and ASEAN. Along with it, our shared values, regional integration, and our shared belief in peace, prosperity and a multipolar world also unite us. ASEAN is the central pillar of Indias Act East Policy. India supports ASEANs outlook on ASEAN-India centrality and Indo-Pacific, PM Modi said in his address in Hindi.

In his departure statement, before leaving for Jakarta on Wednesday, PM Modi noted that engagement with the ASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East Policy, and said he is looking forward to exchanging views with leaders of the grouping on the future contours of partnership which has now entered its fourth decade.

My first engagement will be the 20th ASEAN-India Summit. I look forward to discussing with ASEAN leaders the future contours of our partnership, which has now entered its fourth decade. Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East policy, PM Modi said.

PM Modi, who is in Jakarta, will return to New Delhi on Thursday evening ahead of the G20 Summit, which will be held on 9 and 10 September.

With inputs from agencies
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that ASEAN is the centre point of Indias Act East Policy and this region occupies prominent place in Indias Indo-Pacific initiative.

VIDEO | ASEAN is the centre point of Indias Act East Policy. This region will also play a key role in Indias Indo-Pacific initiative, says PM Modi at the 20th ASEAN Summit. (Source: Third Party)#ASEANSummit pic.twitter.com/dG2NDncbCL  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 7, 2023

Addressing the 20th ASEAN Summit, PM Modi said, ASEAN is the centre point of Indias Act East Policy. This region will also play a key role in Indias Indo-Pacific initiative.

He said that the our history and geography unite India and ASEAN.

Along with it, our shared values, regional integration, and our shared belief in peace, prosperity and multipolar world also unites us, said the Prime Minister.

PM Modi said that India-Indonesia partnership is entering its fourth decade and at such a time, co-chairing the ASEAN-India Summit is a matter of pride for him.

He said that even in an environment of global uncertainties, our mutual cooperation is making steady progress.

VIDEO | Even in an environment of global uncertainties, our mutual cooperation is making steady progress. This is a testimony to the strength and resilience of our ties. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam  One Earth, One Family, One Future  is the theme of Indias G20 presidency, says pic.twitter.com/OtOXc7N8wr  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 7, 2023

This is a testimony to the strength and resilience of our ties. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam  One Earth, One Family, One Future  is the theme of Indias G20 presidency, he said.

PM Modi said last year the bloc celebrated the India-ASEAN friendship day and gave it a form of comprehensive strategic partnership.

#WATCH | At the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, This years theme is ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. ASEAN matters because here everyones voice is heard & ASEAN is epicentrum of growth because ASEAN plays an important role in pic.twitter.com/8LGB02Tqea  ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2023

This years theme is ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. ASEAN matters because here everyones voice is heard and ASEAN is epicentrum of growth because ASEAN plays an important role in global growth, said the Prime Minister.

In the early hours of Thursday, PM Modi arrived in Indonesia to attend the 18th East Asia Summit and 20th ASEAN-Indian Summit and received a grand welcome from the members of the Indian diaspora at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jakarta.

The Prime Minister was received by I. Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati, Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Protection, at the Jakarta International Airport and was accorded a ceremonial welcome.

With inputs from agencies
Australia and China opened their first high-level dialogue in three years Thursday in a sign of a slight thaw to relations between countries that have clashed on everything from human rights to COVID-19 origins to trade.

I welcome the recent positive developments in the bilateral relationship, but we know that there is more work to do, said Craig Emerson, the head of the Australian delegation and a former trade minister.

The dialogue being held in Beijing will focus on trade, people-to-people links and security.

Chinas former Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said the two countries should work together, but added that We should adhere to the liberalization of trade and jointly oppose the Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and trade protectionism.

Beijing often uses those terms in opposing the actions of Western countries, particularly the U.S.

During the freeze in relations with Beijing, Australia formed a nuclear partnership with the U.S. and the United Kingdom that enables Australia to access nuclear-powered submarines.

Australias current Foreign Minister Penny Wong has sought to stabilize the two countries relationship since her party won elections last year.

On Thursday, Australias Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also met with Chinas Premier Li Qiang at the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Indonesia, describing the engagement as positive.

I told Premier Li that we would continue to cooperate where we can, disagree where we must and engage in our national interest, Albanese said to reporters, according to a statement from his office, saying he would visit China later this year at the invitation of Chinas leader Xi Jinping.

Chinas and Australias relations sank to low depths during the pandemic. The previous Australian government passed laws that ban covert foreign interference in domestic politics, barring Chinese-owned telecommunications giant Huawei from rolling out Australias 5G network due to security concerns, and for calling for an independent investigation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In response, China effectively blocked out Australian barley in 2020 by imposing an 80.5 per cent tariff, widely regarded in Australia as punishment. China also put tariffs on Australian wine, beef, and coal, as well as other products. China recently lifted the tariff against barley.

Australia is also hoping to see a breakthrough in the cases of five detained Australians in China, among which is Cheng Lei, a journalist who has been imprisoned for three years.

We continue to advocate for positive progress on the cases of Australians detained in China, Emerson said.
Marred by serious cash flow problems, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is expected to stop receiving supply of spare parts from Boeing and Airbus.

According to a report by The News, Boeing and Airbus, which are top aircraft manufacturers, are likely to discontinue the supply of spare parts to cash-strapped Pakistan by mid-September.

PIA, in a summary sent to the Economic Coordination Committee (EEC) for an emergency bailout, expressed its inability to pay its creditors, aircraft lessor, fuel suppliers, airport operators, and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Pakistans largest airline which operates a fleet of more than 30 aircraft stated that it is facing a liquidity crunch.

Not all good for PIA

Pakistans carrier also informed that it has been forced to ground five out of 13 leased aircraft and it has been considering grounding four additional aircraft this week due to the prevailing crisis.

PIA, in the summary, also highlighted that keeping the state-run airline operating is necessary to determine the fair price of its shares for privatisation.

EEC rejects PIAs demand

In a meeting on Wednesday EEC rejected the PIA demand for the provision of Rs 22.9 billion and deferment of Rs 1.3 billion per month to the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) as well as loans and markup amount till the finalisation of the restructuring plan.

At the meeting, Pakistans Ministry of Aviation also submitted a summary on Financial support for PIACL & its Restructuring.

Addressing the meeting, the secretary of Aviation spoke in detail about the financial burdens, liabilities of PIA, and the need for restructuring the organisation.

The ECC reviewed and discussed the timelines as well as costs of the restructuring plan. After extensive deliberation, a decision was taken to constitute a separate committee for the assessment of PIAs restructuring plan.

The ECC also rejected the request for deferment of the payments of Rs 1.3 billion per month, which PIA pays to FBR against Federal excise duty (FED), and Rs 0.7 billion per month which PIA pays to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) against embarking charges.

During the meeting, a decision was taken that the Finance Division and State Bank of Pakistan would support PIA in tackling its financial challenges after a concrete plan for restructuring the airlines had been finalised and submitted to the satisfaction of the committee.
A high-level delegation of Chinese officials will visit North Korea this week to attend celebrations for a key national holiday, both sides said Thursday.

Pyongyang celebrates the 75th anniversary of the countrys founding day on 9 September and the nuclear-armed state has previously indicated it will hold a militia parade to mark the event.

A delegation headed by Chinas vice premier Liu Guozhong will visit the DPRK to participate in the celebrations of the 75th birthday, of the country, the official Korean Central News Agency said, using the Norths official acronyms.

The visit came on the invitation of North Koreas party and government, it added.

Chinas foreign ministry confirmed the trip, saying the delegation will visit North Korea starting from September 8.

Beijing is North Koreas most important ally and economic benefactor, their relationship forged in the bloodshed of the Korean War in the 1950s.

North Korea has been largely closed off from the outside world since early 2020, when it shut its borders in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But after three years of Covid-induced isolation, there are increasing signs Pyongyang may be becoming more flexible on border controls.

North Koreas first international commercial flight in three years landed in Beijing last month.

Pyongyang also allowed a delegation of athletes to attend a taekwondo competition in Kazakhstan in August.

The latest trip comes less than two months after high-level Chinese and Russian delegations visited Pyongyang.

They attended a military parade in the North Korean capital last month  the first foreign dignitaries to visit the country in years.

The Chinese delegation was led by politburo member Li Hongzhong. During the parade, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stood between Li and Russias defence minister Sergei Shoigu, who was also visiting the country.

Kim gave Shoigu a tour of a vast defence expo in Pyongyang, personally walking him through his countrys newest and most advanced weaponry.

There has been growing speculation that Kim  who rarely leaves the North  will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss arms trade on the sidelines of a key forum in Vladivostok next week.
Attended the East Asia Summit being held in Jakarta. We had productive discussions on enhancing closer cooperation in key areas to further human empowerment, he tweeted.

Attended the East Asia Summit being held in Jakarta. We had productive discussions on enhancing closer cooperation in key areas to further human empowerment. pic.twitter.com/UfN8LiR6Zk  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 7, 2023

PM Modi earlier on Thursday said that the voice of the Global South must be strengthened and called for building a rules-based post-COVID world order at the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.

During his address at the summit, PM Modi also stressed the importance of ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Modi arrived in Jakarta on Thursday morning, saying that it is an honour for him to co-chair the ASEAN-India summit

In the address at the Summit in Indonesia, PM Modi congratulated Indonesian President Joko Widodo for organising the Summit and said, Our partnership has reached the fourth decade. It is an honour for me to co-chair this Summit. I want to congratulate Indonesian President Joko Widodo for organising this Summit.

Calling ASEAN an epicenter of growth, Modi said that the bloc plays a crucial role in global development.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is in no rush to announce poll dates although it is holding meetings regularly to complete the process of delimitation of constituencies.

According to a report by The News, sources said, It is unlikely that polling day will be determined any time soon and even before the end of the month as the specific question isnt on the agenda of the ECPs meetings as yet.

They added that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja has been working out a way to ensure that the process of delimitation is undertaken in an unquestionable way.

Raja added that committees have been formed to supervise the process and members have been instructed to constitute subordinate committees that should include members whose integrity cannot be questioned.

Although the recent series of meetings have proven beneficial as no party has opposed the delimitation process, the question of a timeline for general elections still remains unanswered.

CEC Raja said, Undue haste will not be exercised during the delimitation process since this is a sensitive issue and provides the basis for the elections.

The sources have hinted that general elections in Pakistan, which is currently going through an economic slowdown, could be held in the last week of January next year. Currently, the country is being governed by a caretaker government.
A nationwide search is underway for a ex-UK soldier, Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, who is suspected of committing acts of terrorism and has managed to escape from HMP Wandsworth, a prison located in London.

The escape took place on Wednesday morning, leading to significant disruptions at airports and ports due to increased security measures.

Khalife, who had been awaiting trial, was accused of placing hoax explosive devices at a military base. His escape involved attaching himself to the underside of a food delivery van in the prisons kitchen, a daring move that allowed him to elude authorities.

Standing at 6 feet 2 inches, Khalife was last seen wearing a standard-issue chefs uniform comprising a white T-shirt, red and white checkered trousers, and brown steel toe cap boots. While the police consider him a low risk to the public, they strongly advise against approaching him and urge individuals to call 999 if they have any information regarding his whereabouts.

Khalife, who had enlisted in the Army in 2019, has connections to the Kingston area in London as well as the North West. As the manhunt unfolds, it extends beyond these regions and covers the entire country.

Despite extensive efforts, the police have not yet made a breakthrough in locating Khalife, and they have called upon the public for assistance. Counter-terrorism officers are being deployed throughout London, where the search is predominantly focused. However, the possibility of Khalife leaving the country remains a concern.

Khalife faced charges related to terrorism and offenses under the Official Secrets Act, including the preparation of terrorist acts and the collection of information that could be used by an enemy. He was alleged to have worked for a hostile state.

In February, the Westminster Magistrates Court heard that Khalife had placed fake explosive devices at MOD Stafford, where he was stationed, with the intent to create a false belief that they were capable of exploding or igniting. He was also accused of obtaining personal information about soldiers, which could be useful for terrorism-related activities.

Questions have arisen within the government regarding the appropriateness of holding Khalife in a lower security prison, such as HMP Wandsworth, rather than a high-security facility like Belmarsh in south-east London. Khalife had previously gone missing after the alleged offenses in January and was subsequently arrested later that month. He was denied bail and remained in HMP Wandsworth.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has initiated an investigation into Khalifes escape and sought assurances regarding prison security. No. 10 Downing Street is closely monitoring the situation. A spokesperson for the Prison Service confirmed that an internal investigation is underway to examine the categorization decision and the circumstances surrounding the escape.

Ian Acheson, a justice expert who has provided advice to the government on counter-terrorism in prisons, deemed the escape a grave matter. He noted that HMP Wandsworth, a category B prison, was an unconventional choice for someone facing terrorism charges and posing a potential national security risk.

Labour MP Rosena Allin-Khan, representing the constituency where the prison is located, highlighted chronic understaffing issues at HMP Wandsworth. She disclosed that nearly a third of the required shifts on a single day in December 2022 went unfilled.

At the time of his escape, Khalife was awaiting trial, scheduled to commence on November 13 at Woolwich Crown Court. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that he had been discharged from the Army earlier in the year due to his remand on charges, despite not yet being found guilty.

Prison escapes have been infrequent in recent years, with just five reported since 2017 and fewer than 20 since 2010. The last notable escape involving terrorism inmates occurred in 1994 when IRA prisoners escaped from Whitemoor prison.

A January 2022 report from HM Inspectorate of Prisons had identified a serious security breach resulting in an escape from HMP Wandsworth in 2019. While actions had been taken to prevent future escapes, concerns about physical security aspects persisted. Following Khalifes escape, the prison underwent a temporary lockdown, which has since been lifted.
US President Joe Biden is all set to travel to New Delhi on Friday for the G20 Summit and will hold a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi before the summit begins.

Starting Friday, the US president will have a packed schedule for three days. Following his departure from the US, Biden will travel to Ramstein, Germany on Friday for a brief stopover and will arrive in New Delhi on the same day.

Bidens schedule

The US President will, on Saturday, participate in the G20 Leaders Summit Session 1: One Earth.

Later in the day, he will participate in the G20 Leaders Summit Session 2: One Family. Biden will also participate in a Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment event. He will end his day with a dinner and cultural program with G20 Leaders.

On Sunday, the US President will visit the Raj Ghat Memorial along with other G20 Leaders.

Biden is then scheduled to travel from New Delhi to Hanoi, Vietnam.

Modi-Biden discussion

US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to hold discussions on the agenda of G20, particularly on economic cooperation and multilateral investment opportunities.

However, the National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for strategic communications, John Kirby said that there is very little possibility that PM Modi and President Biden will discuss climate and the ongoing Ukraine war.

India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country.

The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.

With inputs from ANI
Researchers have discovered new documentation that substantiates reports that Catholic convents and monasteries in Rome sheltered Jews during World War II, providing names of at least 3,200 Jews whose identities have been corroborated by the citys Jewish community, officials said on Thursday.

Researchers from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Israels Yad Vashem Holocaust research institute and Romes Jewish community released the findings at an academic conference Thursday held at the Museum of the Shoah, part of Romes main synagogue.

The documentation doesnt appear to shed any new light on the role of Pope Pius XII during the Nazi occupation of Rome. Historians have long debated Pius legacy, with supporters insisting he used quiet diplomacy to save Jewish lives and critics saying he remained silent as Roman Jews were rounded up and deported from the Vaticans backyard.

Rather, the new documentation provides names and addresses of people who were sheltered in Catholic institutions during the war, which had only previously been reported in vague terms and numbers by Italys preeminent historian of the period, Renzo de Felice, in a 1961 book, according to a joint statement from the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Yad Vashem and Romes Jewish Community.

The documentation was discovered in the archives of the Biblical Institute, which is affiliated with the Jesuit-run Pontifical Gregorian University. It lists more than 4,300 people who were sheltered in the properties of 100 womens and 55 mens religious orders. Of those, 3,600 are identified by name, and research in the archives of Romes Jewish community indicates that 3,200 certainly were Jews, the statement said.

Of the latter it is known where they were hidden and, in certain circumstances, where they lived before the persecution. The documentation thus significantly increases the information on the history of the rescue of Jews in the context of the Catholic institutions of Rome, the statement said.

The names are not being released to protect the privacy of the people and their descendants, it added.

It is unclear whether any of the Jews listed were baptized. Recently opened Vatican archives of the Pius papacy suggest that the Vatican worked hardest to save Jews who had converted to Catholicism or were children of Catholic-Jewish mixed marriages, according to the book The Pope at War, by US anthropologist David Kertzer.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Indonesia to attend the 18th East Asia Summit and 20th ASEAN-Indian Summit in the early hours of Thursday and received a grand welcome from the members of the Indian diaspora at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jakarta.

The Prime Minister was received by I. Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati, Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Protection, at the Jakarta International Airport and was accorded a ceremonial welcome.

As part of the welcome ceremony, the Indonesian cultural dance was performed at the airport.

Good morning. We have just arrived here at Jakarta International Airport. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is about to depart from the plane. Hes been given a warm ceremonial welcome here at Jakarta Airport, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, shared on his social media X a video of PM Modis arrival.

PM @narendramodi lands in Jakarta. Here is a brief overview of his visit to Indonesia. pic.twitter.com/s6FjSINQDv  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 6, 2023

This is very early in the morning, but he has a packed schedule here. A few hours later, he goes for the India-ASEAN summit and thereafter for the East Asia summit. There are important engagements. Both these activities entail. He will thereafter come back here and take the flight back to New Delhi. So literally a few hours in Jakarta, but we look forward to a very productive day. Prime Minister has come here despite the busy schedule for the G20 that starts effectively on Friday evening and just emphasises the importance that you attached to this visit. We will continue to bring you updates on this visit as it unfolds, he added.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived at the hotel Ritz-Carlton in Jakarta where he met the Indian diaspora.

Members of the Indian community were all excited to welcome PM Modi.

#WATCH | Indonesia: Members of Indian Diaspora greet and shake hands with PM Modi as he arrives at hotel in Jakarta pic.twitter.com/v8BPmXUlgW  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2023

The Indian diaspora, waiting at the hotel, chanted Modi, Modi, Humara Neta Kaisa Ho, Narendra Modiji Jaisa Ho (What kind of leader should we have? should be like Modiji), and Har Har Modi, Har Ghar Modi.

We are very excited to come here in the morning 03:00 now and now we are waiting eagerly for our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of the members of the Indian diaspora said while waiting for PM Modi at the hotel.

We are from the Tamil Association. We have been waiting here since 10:00 pm to welcome Modiji. Very happy to welcome here. I am sure his visit between India and Indonesia will strengthen further. The whole community can see. We are excited to welcome him. Thank you so much for bringing him here we are, another member of the Indian diaspora said.

Even children were waiting at the hotel to get a glimpse of PM Modi.

Today, in Indonesia, PM Modi will participate in the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit.

PM Modi took to his social media X, formerly known as Twitter, and said on Wednesday,

Leaving for Jakarta to take part in ASEAN related meetings. This includes the 20th ASEAN-India Summit, which focuses on a partnership we greatly cherish.

I will also take part in the 18th East Asia Summit, which focuses on important developmental sectors like healthcare, environment and digital innovations, he added.

Earlier, in his departure statement, the Prime Minister said that he is looking forward to exchanging views with other leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address the global challenges.

He also termed the engagement with the ASEAN group as an important pillar of Indias Act East Policy. The Prime Minister is visiting Jakarta at the invitation of the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo.

My first engagement will be the 20th ASEAN-India Summit. I look forward to discussing with ASEAN leaders the future contours of our partnership, which has entered its fourth decade. Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East policy. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership entered into last year has injected new dynamism in our ties, the Prime Minister said.

After that, I will be attending the 18th East Asia Summit. This forum provides a useful opportunity to deliberate on issues of importance to the region including food and energy security, environment, health, and digital transformation. I look forward to exchanging views with other EAS Leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address these global challenges, he added.

PM Modi will return to New Delhi on Thursday evening ahead of the G20 Summit, which will be held on 9 and 10 September.

With inputs from agencies
A Myanmar court has given a photojournalist a 20-year prison sentence with hard labor due to his reporting on the aftermath of a deadly cyclone.

This information comes from Myanmar Now, the media outlet he worked for.

Sai Zaw Thaike, a photographer for the independent online news service, received what seems to be the harshest punishment for any journalist detained since the military took control of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

Myanmar Now, operating covertly, reported that a military tribunal conducted the trial, found Sai Zaw Thaike guilty, and issued the sentence on Wednesday.

This marked the first court hearing since his apprehension in the western state of Rakhine.

According to the news service, he faced various charges, including one related to treason, also known as sedition.

Additional charges comprised incitement, spreading false information, and agitating against government personnel or the military, with a maximum prison term of three years.

He was also charged with online defamation, which could lead to a three-year imprisonment, and violating a natural disaster management law by allegedly spreading false disaster-related information with the intent to create public panic, carrying a potential one-year prison term.

These legal proceedings occurred within Insein prison in Yangon, Myanmars largest city, where the photographer had been detained.

The news agency reported that Sai Zaw Thaike had no access to family visits and was denied legal representation.

Swe Win, the editor-in-chief of Myanmar Now, stated, His sentencing highlights the complete suppression of press freedom under the military juntas rule and underscores the high price independent journalists in Myanmar must pay for their professional work.

Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom organization, previously reported in April that Myanmar ranked as the worlds second-largest jailer of journalists, after China.

Myanmars position on the 2023 World Press Freedom Index was dismal, at 176th out of 180 countries.

Sai Zaw Thaike was arrested on May 23 in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine, while documenting the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha, the most destructive storm in Myanmar in over a decade.

Cyclone Mocha had made landfall near Sittwe just over a week before his arrest, causing widespread flash floods and power outages.

The storm claimed the lives of at least 148 people in Rakhine state, with many belonging to the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority residing in internal displacement camps.

Additionally, it caused significant damage to more than 186,000 structures.

Myanmar Now indicated uncertainty regarding the charges covered by Wednesdays conviction. Authorities typically keep details of political trials closely guarded, and independent verification of Myanmar Nows report was unavailable.

Sai Zaw Thaikes conviction adds to the ongoing assault on press freedom and journalists by Myanmars military-led government, which has been cracking down on independent media.

Since the takeover in 2021, at least 13 media outlets, including Myanmar Now, have had their licenses revoked, and approximately 156 journalists have been arrested, with around 50 remaining in detention, according to the local monitoring group Detained Journalists Information.

Nearly half of those detained have already been convicted and sentenced.

Tragically, at least four media workers have lost their lives, and others have faced torture while in custody.

Despite the challenges and threats faced, some of the shuttered media outlets have continued their operations underground without official licenses, publishing online as their staff members persist in reporting while evading arrest.

Others operate from abroad in exile.

Approximately a month after the 2021 coup, the military raided Myanmar Nows office in Yangon, leading to some staff members, including chief editor Swe Win, facing criminal charges and going into hiding as their homes were sealed off.

Sai Zaw Thaike is the second journalist from Myanmar Now to be detained. Video journalist Kay Zon Nway was arrested while covering an anti-coup protest in Yangon in late February 2021 and was released four months later as part of a broad amnesty.

Swe Win, speaking from exile, affirmed, Despite the immense challenges we are facing, we will remain steadfast in our commitment to providing news and information to the people of Myanmar.
In the enduring debate over whether one should live to work or work to live, Britons seem to be more associated with the former perspective, according to a recent study.

The study encompassing 24 nations suggests that Britons place less significance on work compared to their global counterparts. Moreover, the belief that hard work leads to a better life has dwindled among Britons.

The study, conducted by the Policy Institute at Kings College London, found that nearly one-fifth of British participants considered work unimportant in their lives, marking the highest percentage among the 24 countries under scrutiny.

This diverse group included countries like France, Sweden, the United States, Nigeria, Japan, and China.

Additionally, the research indicated that Britons were among those least inclined to prioritize work over leisure time. When it came to the belief that hard work would yield a better life in the future, just 39% of Britons held this viewpoint, ranking 12th out of 18 nations.

This figure notably lagged behind the United States, where 55% of respondents subscribed to this notion.

The study also highlighted intergenerational disparities. While the opinions of most generations regarding the primacy of work remained relatively stable, millennials  born from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s  exhibited a substantial decline in agreement with this perspective.

In 2009, 41% of millennials prioritized work, but by 2022, this figure plummeted to 14%.

Professor Bobby Duffy, the director of the Policy Institute at Kings College London and the lead researcher, attributed this shift among millennials to long-term economic and wage stagnation.

Younger generations, Duffy noted, were beginning to question the value of work in light of these economic challenges.

Duffy further emphasized that these findings reflected a growing sense of a broken social contract in the UK. He pointed out, Its definitely true that the UK is not in a good place compared with other countries on both average income levels and income inequality.

These factors significantly impact peoples perceptions of the worthiness of work.

The study revealed that individuals who considered work highly important in their lives were primarily situated in lower- and middle-income nations.

Countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, and Nigeria topped the list. Notably, several European countries, including France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, and Norway, ranked higher than the UK in this regard.

Interestingly, since 1990, there has been an increase in the number of people in the UK who believe that luck plays an equally significant role as hard work in achieving success, rising from 40% to 49%.

Additionally, more Britons now endorse the idea that placing less emphasis on work would be beneficial, with this sentiment climbing from 26% to 43%.

Duffy argued that while specific factors in the UK contribute to these trends, there is also a broader, long-term shift in preferences for work-life balance in many affluent nations.

The study also examined perceptions of individuals who are not engaged in work.

The UK was second only to Sweden in being less likely to label non-workers as lazy. Duffy suggested that this shift reflects a cultural change away from the benefits cheat rhetoric prevalent in the 2000s.

He noted that several studies indicate a declining belief that welfare benefits are overly generous and that beneficiaries are undeserving.

This analysis was conducted as part of the World Values Survey (WVS), one of the worlds largest and most widely used academic social surveys since 1981. Ipsos collected nationally representative data from 3,056 UK adults in 2022 for this research.
Mexicos Supreme Court on Wednesday decriminalised abortion across the conservative Latin American country, moving in contrast to the United States where federally guaranteed abortion rights were overturned last year.

The court said on social media that the legal system that penalizes abortion in the Federal Penal Code is unconstitutional, since it violates the human rights of women and people with the capacity to gestate.

It follows a similar Supreme Court ruling two years ago that abortion was not a crime, de facto authorising it throughout Mexico.

That declaration followed a constitutional challenge to the penal code of the northern state of Coahuila, opening the way for women across the country to access the procedure without fear of prosecution.

The Information Group on Reproductive Choice (GIRE), which campaigns for abortion rights, welcomed the latest step decriminalizing abortion at the national level.

Federal health institutions throughout the country will have to provide abortion services to women and people with the capacity to gestate who request it, the group said on social media.

Mexicos reforms go in the opposite direction to the United States, where a Supreme Court ruling in June 2022 overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing the right to abortion nationwide

The situation has led to some women from the United States seeking help to have an abortion from activists across the border in Mexico.

Previously abortion had been decriminalized in a dozen of Mexicos 32 states, starting with Mexico City in 2007.

But in addition to a lack of facilities to carry out the procedure, many women dont know that they have this right because local governments have not carried out publicity campaigns about it, womens rights activist Sara Lovera said.

Thats why todays decision of the Supreme Court is important, Lovera told AFP.

In Catholic-majority Mexico, womens rights issues have generated some divisions, while both sides of the abortion debate regularly hold street protests.

The Church has previously objected to the abortion reforms.

There have also been reported cases of health workers reporting women for having had illegal abortions, leading to their arrest.

In Latin America, elective abortion is legal in Argentina, Colombia, Cuba and Uruguay, though Argentine presidential frontrunner Javier Milei wants to ban the procedure.

In several nations it is allowed in certain circumstances, such as rape or health risks, while outright bans apply in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Two women will compete for the Mexican presidency for the first time next year after the ruling party on Wednesday named former Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum as its candidate.

Sheinbaum, a 61-year-old scientist by training, will face Xochitl Galvez, an outspoken businesswoman and senator with Indigenous roots selected to represent an opposition coalition, the Broad Front for Mexico.

One of the two in all likelihood will become Mexicos first woman president, and both have invoked cracking the glass ceiling in a nation seeking to shake off a tradition of machismo  or sexism.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obradors Morena party announced that Sheinbaum had won an internal contest to run in the June 2024 election, beating rivals including former foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard.

Today democracy won, Sheinbaum said, adding: There will be a woman president of the republic!

Sheinbaum is a staunch supporter and confidant of Lopez Obrador, a leftwing populist who enjoys an approval rating of more than 60 percent but is required by the constitution to leave office after a single six-year term.

Sheinbaum is probably the greatest ally in the political history of Lopez Obrador, said analyst Pablo Majluf.

A student leader in the 1980s, Sheinbaum served as Mexico City environment secretary when Lopez Obrador was mayor from 2000-2005.

She was a spokesperson for Lopez Obrador during his failed 2006 election bid, and served as Mexico City mayor herself from 2018 until earlier this year when she stepped down to run for president.

Girls see an example in me, Sheinbaum told the magazine Gatopardo.

Being the first woman president would be historic in our country, she added.

In another sign of shifting winds, Mexicos Supreme Court Wednesday decriminalized abortion across the country, ruling that a legal system that penalizes abortion violates the human rights of women.

Both Morena and the opposition bloc opted to use public opinion polling to pick their nominees.

Hours before the ruling party announcement, Sheinbaums rival Ebrard denounced what he called important irregularities in Morenas polling process and called for a rerun.

The former top diplomat was noticeably absent at the announcement of the results.

Ovaries needed

Sheinbaum, the granddaughter of Bulgarian and Lithuanian Jewish migrants, is known for her reserved, cautious style and has vowed to continue Lopez Obradors policy agenda.

Having a scientific profile she tends to surround herself with people who know how to design public policies, Majluf said.

Like Lopez Obrador, Sheinbaum portrays herself as a defender of the poor, including Indigenous communities.

The entry of Galvez  born to an Indigenous Otomi father and mixed-race mother  has already shaken up the presidential race.

Her first name means flower in the Nahuatl Indigenous language, and her background sets her apart from the traditional conservative opposition.

She wears Indigenous clothing, uses colloquial language peppered with swear words and is known for traveling around Mexico City by bicycle.

The opposition coalition is made up of the Institutional Revolutionary Party  which ruled the country for more than 70 years until 2000  the conservative National Action Party and the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution.

Galvez, a 60-year-old computer engineer, has criticized Lopez Obradors security strategy and said that ovaries are needed to confront organized crime.

Sheinbaum in contrast wants to continue doing the same as Lopez Obrador, Galvez said in an interview with AFP on Monday, pledging a new approach.

I dont want to keep betting on fossil fuels. I dont want to keep betting on the militarization of the country. I dont want to keep betting on a collapsed health system, she said.

With me, there will be no going back on the rights won by both the LGBTQ community and women, Galvez vowed.

But she faces an uphill battle given the popularity of Morena.

In a survey published on 28 August by the Reforma newspaper, 46 per cent of respondents said they would vote for Sheinbaum in a two-way contest, compared with 31 per cent for Galvez.
A police officer in the UK used a fake identity to trick a woman into a 19-year long relationship and even had a child with her.

As per a report by the Guardian, the officer never told the woman he was a policeman and lied about his identity on their childs birth certificate.

In 2020, when they were about to get married, she discovered the truth  that he was not a businessman but a cop who had been deceiving her for nearly 20 years.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is now looking into senior officers at Avon and Somerset police who knew about this relationship back in 2013 but didnt tell the woman until seven years later. The IOPC confirmed they are investigating the case.

The woman, known as Mary to protect her identity, doesnt want to talk publicly about it. But her family says shes really suffering because of it.

The news has been incredibly tough on her family too. They claim the police have bullied and threatened them over the last three years to keep them from talking to the media.

The police warned them that if the public found out about this 19-year relationship, it could lead to trouble. But now, the family believes these warnings were just to keep them quiet about what they see as a big problem.

Avon and Somerset police didnt comment before this story came out, but later, they apologized. They said that a former officer had an inappropriate relationship with a member of the public while using a fake name.

They said they were deeply sorry and that they take their duty to care for people seriously.

No one knows why the undercover cop began this relationship with Mary in 2001. Mary wasnt being watched by the police, and her family had nothing to do with criminals. Sometimes, undercover cops try to build trust by forming relationships, even if theyre not real.

Mary is a respected member of her community with a good job. Her family remembers the undercover officer as someone who liked cars and working out. He was friendly, but he could also be controlling. When Mary had problems with their relationship, he would try to win over her family.

He made her give up her male friends, which was controlling. Their relationship got serious, and he became a stepdad to her daughter from a previous relationship. They also had a son together.

But he never told Mary he was a police officer. In 2013, after 12 years, he left the police, but nobody knows why. The police found out that he had deceived Mary in 2013 but didnt tell her until 2020, even though he was no longer a cop. This allowed him to keep up the act.

He continued being a father to Marys son and a stepdad to her daughter. They even got engaged in 2019.

In August 2020, the police finally told Mary the truth, and it was a shock. They spoke to her while her children were in bed, and then she had a more detailed talk with other police officers at a hotel.

The IOPC is now investigating how this 19-year relationship happened and why the police waited so long to tell Mary. They are also looking into the West Midlands police, where the officer worked from 2001 to 2006.

The police from West Midlands said they knew about the allegations but couldnt comment because of the investigation. The IOPC is also looking into complaints from people affected by the undercover officers behavior and claims that senior officers kept information from them.

Marys story is similar to cases in the spycops scandal where undercover police officers had relationships with people while spying on political groups. But in Marys case, her partner wasnt spying on anyone, just involved in regular police work.

Police rules say undercover officers cant have intimate relationships while using fake identities. Avon and Somerset police referred this case to a public inquiry in 2016.

For the past three years, Mary and her family have been struggling with what to do because the police told them not to speak out, saying it could lead to trouble. But now, they believe theyve been pushed around by the police twice  first by the undercover officer and then by his bosses, who they think are hiding the truth.

They are worried about what their community might think if they find out about the relationship and wrongly accuse Mary of working with the police. The family has asked the police to admit their mistakes and clear their name publicly, but the police have refused, saying its too risky.

The family now thinks its more dangerous to stay quiet and want the police to be held responsible for what happened. They feel like theyve been silenced for too long.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $1 billion of aid during a surprise visit Wednesday to Ukraine which suffered a Russian strike that killed at least 17 people at a market in the east.

The attack, which President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as deliberate and heinous, drew international condemnation from the West including accusations of war crimes.

Projectiles tore through the centre of Kostiantynivka  a town of nearly 70,000 people in the Donetsk region  in one of the deadliest strikes in weeks.

They smashed everything, all the shop windows, everything was strewn around, an eyewitness told AFP.

Thank God we are alive, of course. But the girls who were selling there, they are all dead, the witness said.

Rescue workers picked through the debris and carried some of the 32 people reportedly wounded for treatment past charred vehicles and kiosks torn to pieces in the blast, according to images distributed by officials.

Anyone in the world who is still dealing with anything Russian simply ignores this reality, said Zelensky.

Heinous evil. Brazen wickedness. Utter inhumanity.

He later accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians and said there were no military units anywhere near the scene.

The European Union condemned the strike along with the escalation of Russian attacks on civilian objects that has seen hundreds killed or wounded in recent weeks.

Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes, the bloc said in a statement.

Germanys Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that this Russian war of aggression is an attack on international law, on humanity.

Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the incident underscored the importance of continuing to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their territory.

Build momentum

During a meeting with Zelensky, Blinken reiterated Washingtons support for Kyiv in its fight to liberate territory in the south and east.

We are determined in the United States to continue to walk side by side with you. And President Biden asked me to come to reaffirm strongly our support, he told Zelensky.

We see the important progress thats being made now in the counteroffensive and thats very, very encouraging, he added.

The new $1 billion aid package, which includes $665.5 million in military and civilian security assistance, would further build momentum for the counteroffensive, Blinken said at a later press conference.

In addition to the funds, the Pentagon announced it will provide Ukraine with depleted uranium tank ammunition  a powerful but controversial weapon due its toxicity.

The Kremlin earlier dismissed Blinkens visit, arguing US aid would not influence the course of the special military operation  Moscows term for its offensive.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Washington of wanting to keep Ukraine in a state of war, to wage this war till the last Ukrainian.

Kyivs army meanwhile said it was pressing on with offensive operations towards eastern Ukraines war-battered town of Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces in May, and the southern Moscow-occupied city of Melitopol.

The boost in US aid to Ukraine follows criticisms in recent weeks that the counteroffensive has been too slow.

Russia said Wednesday it had improved its tactical position near the northwestern city of Kupiansk, where it has led a local offensive for weeks.

It also hit Ukraines south-western Odesa region, near the border with Romania, with drone attacks overnight, killing one person.

Romania on Wednesday announced it was investigating debris resembling that of a drone, which was discovered on its soil, after having rejected Kyivs claims that Iranian-made Russian drones fell and detonated on Romanian territory at the weekend.

A technical analysis of the debris  found near a village across from the Ukrainian port of Izmail  is underway, Romanias defence ministry said.

Everything possible and impossible

Ukrainian lawmakers approved Wednesday the nomination of Crimean Tatar Rustem Umerov as Kyivs new wartime defence minister, in what was hailed as a historic move.

Crimean Tatars are an ethnic minority hailing from the Black Sea peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

I will do everything possible and impossible for the victory of Ukraine  when we liberate every centimetre of our country and every one of our people, he said in a post on social media.

The 41-year-old businessman has been involved in prisoner exchange negotiations involving Saudi Arabia and grain export talks with Turkey and the United Nations.

Children, prisoners of war, political prisoners, civilians are waiting for us, he said.

Zelensky had nominated Umerov as new defence minister after the resignation of Oleksiy Reznikov, calling for new approaches in the wake of several corruption scandals in the ministry.

It is the highest state post ever held by a Tatar (from Crimea), Sergiy Leshchenko, an advisor to the presidential administration, told AFP.
The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) has issued a health advisory for rare and potentially deadly bacterial infections spreading rapidly across the United States. The flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus has claimed the lives of a dozen of Americans.

The bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus, is typically contracted by consuming raw or undercooked oysters and other shellfish. The most common way to become infected is when an open wound comes into contact with the bacteria in water. Symptoms of vibriosis can include abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, fever, and chills.

According to the CDC, a dozen people have died from the infection across the US this year. About 80,000 people get vibrio infections each year. Of those infected, about 100 people die from the infection annually in the US. The CDC recommends people avoid eating raw shellfish or at least wash their hands thoroughly before doing so. CDC has also urged people to stay out of saltwater or brackish water if they have a wound and to thoroughly wash with soap and water if exposed.

The warmer the water is, the more bacteria can reproduce faster, researcher Gabby Barbarite at Florida Atlantic Universitys Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute in Fort Pierce, Florida told USA Today.

According to research published in the journal Nature Portfolio, infections have increased eight-fold between 1988 and 2018 around the country.

Cases used to be concentrated almost exclusively in the Gulf of Mexico in the southern United States, Dr William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University, told USA TODAY earlier this year.

The bacteria eats away at the skin, muscles, nerves, fat and blood vessels around an infected wound.
The US wants the G20 nations to collaborate in reforming and expanding multilateral development institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, a top White House official has said.

John Kirby, the White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication, stated on Wednesday that the United States will emphasize its commitment to the G20 as a vital platform for addressing global challenges during President Joe Bidens upcoming visit to India.

President Biden is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on Friday to take part in the G20 Summit.

One of our main goals heading into the G20 is to help reshape and scale up multilateral development banks like the IMF, like the World Bank, Kirby told foreign reporters at a news conference here on Wednesday.

We know that these institutions are some of the most effective tools for mobilising transparent and high-quality investment in developing countries. And thats why the United States has championed the major effort that is currently underway to evolve these institutions so that theyre up for the challenges of tomorrow, he said.

Kirby said Biden asked the US Congress last month for additional funds that would have the impact of helping increase World Bank financing by more than USD 25 billion, and the US is working with its partners to see if they can pursue similar contributions.

During his India visit, Kirby said, Biden will also be calling on G20 members to provide meaningful debt relief so that low and middle-income countries can regain their footing after years of stress on their economies and their people.

Well also be making progress on other key priorities, from climate to health, and as I said at the very top, digital technology. In addition, well spotlight the progress that weve been making on the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment that the President calls PGII, he said.

Kirby noted that there will be continued focus on how the G20 deals with Russias illegal and ongoing war in Ukraine.

The reality is that Russias war has already had devastating social, and economic consequences, and the poorest countries on the planet are bearing the brunt of that, he said.

During the summit, Biden will call for a just and durable peace one founded in respect for international law, the principles of the UN Charter, and the precepts of territorial integrity and national sovereignty, he said.

We will also continue to emphasise that the United States will support Ukraine for as long as it takes to redeem these principles, he said.

Last but not least and this is certainly important youll see that the United States will make it clear that we remain committed to the G20 as a critical forum for all the major economies of the world to come together for global problem-solving.

The G20 itself, as a valuable and vital, as I said, venue, will be on the agenda. And in a sign of that commitment, the United States is looking forward to hosting the G20 ourselves in 2026, said the White House official.

The G20 member countries 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 (EU).

With inputs from agencies.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed that he will pardon all peaceful January 6 protesters if he gets elected as the next US president in 2024.

The 38-year-old Indian American entrepreneur has gained traction after he denounced the US Justice Department for its political persecution of non-violent protesters at the Republican primary presidential debate last month.

America now has a two-tiered justice system: Antifa and BLM rioters roam free while peaceful January 6 protesters are imprisoned without bail. Bidens Department of Injustice has executed over 1,000 arrests for nonviolent offenses related to January 6, casting a dark shadow over Lady Justice and the foundational principles of our legal system, he said in a statement.

To unify this country, I commit as president to pardon all Americans who were targets of politicised federal prosecutions and those denied due process. This includes all peaceful, nonviolent January 6 protesters who were denied their constitutional due process rights, he said on Wednesday.

The January 6 riot saw more than 2,000 people enter the US Capitol as lawmakers certified the results of the 2020 election, in which President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump.

The mob stormed the Capitol following a speech from Trump, who was speaking at a rally not far from the Capitol grounds. In his speech, Trump claimed election fraud and called on then-Vice-President Mike Pence to overturn the results.

The riot led to the biggest police investigation in US history with hundreds of people accused of criminal offences.

Ramaswamy said he will end the weaponisation of police power in America and noted that every Republican candidate must be clear on hard issues.

He said on Sunday that while he expects to become the partys nominee for the November 2024 US elections, he will vote for Trump if the former president secures the nomination.

He also expressed his intention to pardon Trump, who currently faces an array of legal challenges, should he be elected as President of the United States.

If Donald Trumps the nominee  yes, I will support him, and if Im the president, yes, I will pardon him because that will help reunite the country. But its not the most important thing Im going to do as the next president. It is the table stakes for moving this country forward, Ramaswamy told ABC news.

Following his impressive performance in the inaugural Republican primary presidential debate last month, Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur-turned-politician, has experienced a surge in popularity, competing alongside fellow Indian American rival Nikki Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina.

Meanwhile, several media outlets reported that Ramaswamy escaped unhurt when a sign reading Truth fell on him during a campaign event in New Hampshire over the weekend.

An opinion poll shared by the Trump Campaign showed that Ramaswamy (with 15 per cent) is now a distant second after former president Trump (68 per cent). Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is now at 13 per cent and at the third position.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Indonesia to attend the 18th East Asia Summit and 20th ASEAN-Indian Summit in the early hours of Thursday, received a grand welcome from the members of the Indian diaspora at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jakarta who had been waiting there since 3 am.

#WATCH | Indonesia: Members of Indian Diaspora greet and shake hands with PM Modi as he arrives at hotel in Jakarta pic.twitter.com/v8BPmXUlgW  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2023

The Indian diaspora, waiting at the hotel, chanted Modi, Modi, Humara Neta Kaisa Ho, Narendra Modiji Jaisa Ho and Har Har Modi, Har Ghar Modi.

We are very excited to come here at 3 am and now we are waiting eagerly for our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of the members of the Indian diaspora said while waiting for PM Modi at the hotel.

#WATCH | Were very excited to come here at 3 am in the morning, were eagerly for our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, say members of the Indian diaspora in Jakarta pic.twitter.com/B1GNa6JjCu  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2023

Members of the Tamil Association said they were waiting at the hotel since 10:00 pm on Wednesday to welcome PM Modi.

We are from the Tamil Association. We have been waiting here since 10:00 pm to welcome Modiji. Very happy to welcome him here. I am sure his visit will strengthen ties between India and Indonesia further. The whole community can see. We are excited to welcome him. Thank you so much for bringing him here, another member of the Indian diaspora said.

#WATCH | Indonesia: Indian Diaspora gathered outside Hotel to greet PM Modi, on his arrival in Jakarta pic.twitter.com/ll0jaG63aQ  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2023

Even children were waiting at the hotel to get a glimpse of PM Modi.

#WATCH | Indonesia: Children of Indian Diaspora in Jakarta gathered at hotel to welcome PM Modi, on his arrival in Jakarta pic.twitter.com/l6OtXXWLdi  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2023

Members of the Indonesian community too welcomed PM Modi as he arrived at the hotel in Jakarta.

#WATCH | Members of the Indonesian community welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he arrived at a hotel in Jakarta, earlier today. We are here from the Indonesian Community that loves India. We are excited to meet PM Modi and to welcome him to Indonesia, said members of pic.twitter.com/MTuZMrKzsU  ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2023

We are here from the Indonesian Community that loves India. We are excited to meet PM Modi and to welcome him to Indonesia, said members of the Indonesian diaspora.

With inputs from agencies
A wealthy Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin was sentenced on Thursday to nine years in prison for his role in a nearly $100 million stock market cheating scheme that relied on secret earnings information stolen through the hacking of US computer networks.

Vladislav Klyushin, who ran a Moscow-based information technology company that did work for the highest levels of the Russian government, was convicted in February of charges including wire fraud and securities fraud after a two-week trial in federal court in Boston.

Authorities say he personally pocketed more than $33 million in the scheme, which involved breaking into computer systems to steal earnings-related filings for hundreds of companies  including Microsoft and Tesla  and then using that insider information to make lucrative trades.

Klyushin, 42, has been jailed in the US since his extradition in 2021, and the more than two years hes been detained will be credited to his prison term. He was arrested in Switzerland after arriving on a private jet and just before he and his party were about to board a helicopter to whisk them to a nearby ski resort. After he completes his sentence, hes expected to be deported to Russia.

Klyushin, who walked into the courtroom in handcuffs, sat at a table with his attorneys and listened to an interpreter through headphones as lawyers argued over the sentence. At the advice of his attorney, he declined to address the judge before she sentenced him.

Four alleged co-conspirators  including a Russian military intelligence officer whos also been charged with meddling in the 2016 presidential election  remain at large, and even though prosecutors allege in a court filing that theyre still likely sitting at their keyboards, they acknowledge that they four will likely never be extradited to the U.S. to face charges.

Prosecutors had sought 14 years in prison, saying a stiff punishment was crucial to send a message to overseas cybercriminals. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto told the judge that Klyushin has accepted no responsibility for his crimes and that once he serves his sentence, hell return to Russia, where he is a powerful person with powerful friends in the highest echelons of Russian society.

Hackers will be watching this sentence to decide whether its worth engaging in this kind of conduct, Kosto said.

Prosecutors say the hackers stole employees usernames and passwords for two US-based vendors that publicly traded companies use to make filings through the Securities and Exchange Commission. They then broke into the vendors computer systems to get filings before they became public, prosecutors said.

Armed with insider information, they were able to cheat the stock market, buying shares of a company that was about to release positive financial results, and selling shares of a company that was about to post poor financial results, according to prosecutors. Many of the earnings reports were downloaded via a computer server in Boston, prosecutors said.

Klyushin has denied involvement in the scheme. His attorney told jurors that he was financially successful long before he began trading stocks and that he continued trading in many of the same companies even after access to the alleged insider information was shut off because the hacks were discovered.

Defense attorney Maksim Nemtsev called prosecutors prison request draconian, adding that there is no reason to think that he would risk the well-being of his family again by committing crimes.

His lawyers asked the court for leniency, saying Klyushin had no prior criminal history and has already been seriously punished. He spent months in solitary confinement in Switzerland while awaiting extradition to the US and his company has lost multimillion dollar contracts, his attorneys wrote.

Klyushin owned a Moscow-based information technology company that purported to provide services to detect vulnerabilities in computer systems. It counted among its clients the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ministry of Defense, according to prosecutors.

Klyushins close friend and an alleged co-conspirator in the case is military officer Ivan Ermakov, who was among 12 Russians charged in 2018 with hacking into key Democratic Party email accounts, including those belonging to Hilary Clintons presidential campaign chairman, John Podesta, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Ermakov, who worked for Klyushins company, remains at large.

Prosecutors have not alleged that Klyushin was involved in the election interference.
Beijing Daily: China has announced that it will host the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing this October. How does preparation for the Forum go and how many countries have confirmed their attendance?

Mao Ning: Today marks the 10th anniversary of the initiative of the Silk Road Economic Belt. China will host the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing this October. This will be the culmination of events marking the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative and an important platform that brings together parties for discussions on high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

As of today, representatives from more than 90 countries have confirmed that they will attend the Forum. Among them are official representatives such as leaders and ministers of Belt and Road partner countries, as well as people representing the business community, think tanks and civil societies who have actively supported and participated in Belt and Road cooperation. Many heads and representatives from international organizations have also confirmed their attendance. We believe more cooperation partners will do so in the coming days.

KBS: I have two questions. First, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that a joint military drill with the DPRK in the future is not ruled out. Other reports say the joint exercises will be trilateral with the participation of China as well. Can you confirm this? Whats the Chinese governments position? Second, reports say the leaders of the DPRK and Russia will hold talks. If the two countries were to engage in arms dealings, it would breach UN Security Council resolutions. Whats the Chinese governments position on this matter?

Mao Ning: On your first question, I do not have information regarding what you mentioned.

Your second question is about the relations between Russia and the DPRK. I will not comment on it.

Follow-up: If the DPRK and Russia were to engage in arms dealings, it would violate UN Security Council resolutions. Whats the Chinese governments position?

Mao Ning: Im not going to answer a hypothetical question.

Yonhap News Agency: Vice Premier of the State Council Liu Guozhong will visit the DPRK on September 8. Can you share more information about the visit?

Mao Ning: China and the DPRK are friendly neighbors connected by mountains and rivers. Our two parties and countries enjoy a good tradition of friendly exchanges. Having a high-level Chinese delegation attend the commemoration of the DPRKs 75th founding anniversary and visit the country upon invitation reflects our profound friendship and the high importance China attaches to our bilateral ties. We believe that with the concerted efforts of both sides, the visit will be a success and help further deepen and advance China-DPRK relations. The two sides are in touch about the details of the program. We will release information in a timely manner. Please check back for updates.

Reuters: Yesterday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held bilateral talks with Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the ASEAN summits. It is reported that the Japanese Prime Minister explained Japans stance on the release of waste water from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Can you give us more details about Premier Li Qiangs response?

Mao Ning: Yesterday afternoon local time, Premier Li Qiang had a brief conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida upon request on the sidelines of the summits on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta. In his conversation with the Japanese Prime Minister and his speech to the summit, Premier Li Qiang stated Chinas position on the ocean discharge of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water. He said that the handling of the nuclear-contaminated water bears on the global marine environment, peoples health and future generations. Japan needs to faithfully honor its international obligations, fully consult with its neighboring countries and other stakeholders, and dispose of the nuclear-contaminated water in a responsible way. We hope that Japan will work in the same direction with China, draw lessons from history, look to the future, and use this years 45th anniversary of the signing of the China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship as an opportunity to improve and grow bilateral ties.

AFP: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that he will visit China later this year. Can you confirm the visit and provide more details?

Mao Ning: China welcomes Prime Minister Albanese to visit China at the invitation of Premier Li Qiang and stands ready to work with Australia to make sound preparations for the visit. China always believes that a sound and stable China-Australia relationship is in the fundamental interests of the peoples of both countries, and conducive to peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific and the wider world. We intend to work with Australia to deliver on the common understandings between the leaders of the two countries, uphold the spirit of mutual respect and mutual benefit, properly handle differences, and continue to improve and grow our comprehensive strategic partnership.

Reuters: US President Joe Biden will visit Viet Nam on the 10th of this month. Before that, will Premier Li Qiang visit Viet Nam first?

Mao Ning: According to my knowledge, Premier Li Qiang and Prime Minister of Viet Nam Pham Minh Chinh held exchanges on the sidelines of the summits on East Asia cooperation. As to the visit you mentioned, I have no information to offer.

Reuters: Premier Li Qiang will attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India. Will he have bilateral talks on the sidelines of the summit? Can the foreign ministry tell us which leaders he will talk to?

Mao Ning: On Premier Li Qiangs bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, I have no information to offer for the time being, but we will release relevant information in a timely manner. Please check back for updates.

AFP: The US announced lately that it would extend tariff exclusions on 352 Chinese products until the end of 2023. Do you have any response?

Mao Ning: About specific questions regarding the tariffs, I would like to refer you to the competent authorities. Let me say broadly that we are against tariff wars. We believe that there is no winner in a tariff war. The USs unilateral imposition of additional tariffs on Chinese products violates WTO rules and does not serve the interests of the US, China or the world.

Bloomberg: Bloomberg has reported that the G20 nations agreed to grant the African Union permanent membership status, citing people familiar with the matter, who said that leaders are expected to announce the decision during a summit in India this weekend. Does the foreign ministry have any comment?

Mao Ning: China is the first country that explicitly expressed its support for the African Unions membership in the G20. At the China-Africa Leaders Dialogue last month, President Xi Jinping again stressed that China will work actively to support the AUs full membership in the G20. China and the AU are important partners in building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future and safeguarding international fairness and justice. China supports the AU in playing a bigger role in global governance.
Q: It is learned that the US delegate hurled accusations at China on Taiwan and the South China Sea at the East Asia Summit today. Whats Chinas response?

A: The accusations made by the US delegate were groundless and inconsistent with facts. We are firmly against it and will not accept it. We have made serious demarches to the US.

Let me stress that the Taiwan question is purely Chinas internal affair which brooks no foreign interference. The biggest threat to peace in the Taiwan Strait stems from separatist activities for Taiwan independence and the foreign connivance they receive. To effectively uphold cross-Strait peace and stability, it is absolutely necessary to firmly oppose Taiwan independence. We urge the US to earnestly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, stop using the Taiwan question to interfere in Chinas internal affairs and take concrete actions to uphold cross-Strait peace and stability, not otherwise.

Certain non-regional country has sought to stir up trouble and incite confrontation in the South China Sea and jeopardize regional peace and stability. China has always opposed that. China and ASEAN countries are making active efforts to advance the consultations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea. Countries outside the region need to respect the efforts made by regional countries to develop rules and uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea.

What happened at this East Asia Summit shows that the overwhelming majority of countries believe in strengthening cooperation through constructive dialogue and friendly consultation to jointly foster a regional epicentrum of growth. The US deliberately deviated from the theme of the meeting to sour the atmosphere for cooperation. This runs counter to the wish of the people in the region. It reveals the actual role of the US as a disruptor and saboteur of East Asian cooperation and regional stability. No one echoed the USs false accusations at the summit anyway. What the US has done will only make itself look bad and backfire on itself.
YouTube is revamping its streaming experience for both viewers and advertisers. In a Kantar survey, over half of weekly video viewers reported that YouTube was the first app they opened on their TV screens.

Moreover, Nielsen Gauge Report data reveals that YouTube has maintained its lead in streaming watch time on connected TVs for nine consecutive months.

New Formats for Enhanced Engagement

YouTube said that it is dedicated to providing the best possible streaming experience on connected TVs. Last year, the company updated the ad experience to give it a modern look.

In May, it introduced CTV-first formats, including non-skippable ads and Pause experiences, along with shoppable ads on CTV and a send-to-phone feature for second-screen users. Recently, theyve brought feed ads to the big screen, allowing viewers to interact with ads seamlessly.

Reducing Interruptions for Viewers

YouTube said that it understands that viewers prefer different ad experiences depending on the content theyre watching. For long-form content, 79% of viewers prefer grouped video ads rather than ads scattered throughout a video, it said.

To cater to this preference, YouTube said that it is exploring options to reduce interruptions, such as fewer, longer ad breaks, to create a smoother viewing experience.

Clarity on Ad Break Length

Google, YouTubes parent company, aims to improve ad transparency. They are working on providing viewers with more information about the length of ad breaks.

Research shows that viewers prefer knowing the total time remaining in the ad break rather than the number of ads being served. Google plans to test this updated CTV ad experience soon to help viewers gauge ad break length more easily.

Changes in YouTube Advertising Formats

Earlier on April 6, 2023, YouTube discontinued overlay ads. Starting in November, they will simplify ad format choices that appear before or after videos to enhance creator revenue.

Going forward, when you enable ads for new long-form videos, YouTube will display pre-roll, post-roll, skippable, or non-skippable ads as appropriate. Mid-roll ad settings will remain unchanged, and existing ad settings for long-form videos will be retained unless modified.

YouTube Advertising Formats at a Glance

Skippable video ads: Viewers can skip these ads after 5 seconds.

Non-skippable video ads: These ads must be watched before the video.

Bumper ads: Short, non-skippable ads of up to 6 seconds, shown before the video.

Bulk Ad Format Updates: Set ad formats for multiple videos at once.

YouTube Shorts Ads: Ads on Shorts are swipe-able video or image ads that appear between Shorts in the Shorts Feed.

Default Ad Settings: You can set default video ad types for your channels new uploads.

Ads Outside the Video Player: Watch feed ads appear in the recommended videos feed below the player on mobile and next to the player on computers, but they cannot be controlled from YouTube Studio.

Back-to-Back Ads: Also known as ad pods, back-to-back video ads occur when you enable skippable or non-skippable ads on long-form videos (at least 5 minutes in length).

Announcing the updates, Romana Pawar, Director, Product Management, YouTube Ads, said:
The source of the mighty Zambezi River lies at about 1 500 m (4 900ft) above sea level in the Mwinilunga District, very close to the border where Zambia, Angola and the Congo meet.



From there it flows through Zambia, Angola, Namibia and Botswana then back along the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe finally discharging into the Indian Ocean at its delta in Mozambique. The area of its catchment basin is 1 390 000 square km which is half that of the Nile.

It is thought Zambezi means Great River in the language of the Tonga people who inhabit its middle reaches. However the Lozi refer to the river as 'yambezhi' (pronounced 'le-am-by'), meaning 'heart of all', but it is possible the name has common ancestory in both languages.



For many years the river was spelt 'Zambesi', with the now popular spelling of 'Zambezi' becoming only widely used in the latter half of the last century.

The Zambezi River! Of course, the most famous place on the Zambezi River is Victoria Falls.
Iti doresti o presa libera si independenta, care nu da inapoi cand vine vorba de respectarea standardelor profesionale, refuza sa se lase cenzurata, sustine independenta justitiei, transparenta decizionala si valorile democratice. Alege sa o sustii.
George | What So Not on escaping Burning Man 2023 before the floods

George | What So Not on escaping Burning Man 2023 before the floods

00:00 / 02:05
Google unveils a new Android Logo: What's different Apps Software -Shonit Khanna Tech giant Google has unveiled significant changes to its Android branding, with modifications to the company logo, a distinct typeface and a 3D bug droid design. The refreshed branding is part of Googles ongoing commitment to make its software universally recognizable and user-friendly and will start to be rolled out later this year, likely alongside the anticipated Android 14 release.

Google is reportedly gearing up to unveil its latest Pixel smartphones, a new Pixel Watch, and the latest Android 14 at an event scheduled to take place next month.

In anticipation, the tech giant recently announced a significant facelift to its Android branding. This includes a refreshed logo and a 3D bug droid.

New Google Logo: What's Changed

The most conspicuous change is in Android's logo featuring a capital 'A' replacing the traditional lower case 'a'. Google believes that this subtle alteration will add more weight to the logo's appearance when juxtaposed with the Google logo.

The tech giant has even tweaked the Android logo's typeface. The new typeface has a close resemblance to Google's distinct typeface but still maintains its distinct identity. According to sources, the new visuals are greatly influenced by Material Design.

The adorable Android robot, aka the Bug Droid, has been endowed with a 3D look. Apart from added depth, its full-body appearance has also undergone an overhaul for a more playful and engaging feel.

Why the Change?

Google purports its refreshed look 'can easily transition between digital and real-life environments'. We can expect these refreshed visuals to start popping up across devices later this year, presumably with the Android 14 release.

This substantial overhaul marks the first brand refresh since Google's last significant change in 2019 which replaced dessert names for its Android versions. This sequence of changes resonates with Google's endeavor to align its Android brand language and identity more closely.

By revamping its branding and simplifying its naming convention, Google continues its commitment to make its software universally recognizable and user-friendly.

Android 14 Release Date

Google was expected to release the next major smartphone OS update, Android 14, earlier this month. However, new reports emerged that Google made a last-minute decision to postpone the release of Android 14.

According to the rumours, the Android 14 update will likely be released next month alongside the upcoming Pixel 8 series. Google's upcoming Pixel 8 series event is expected to take place on October 4.

Source

FAQ's What has Google announced for the Android brand? Google has announced a major facelift for its Android brand, including a new logo, a distinct typeface and a 3D bug droid.

What are the elements of the Android brand's facelift? The elements of the Android brand's facelift include a new logo, a distinct typeface and a 3D bug droid.

What new aspect will the branding refresh introduce? The branding refresh will introduce a new logo, a distinct typeface and a 3D bug droid for the Android brand.

When will the branding refresh take place? The branding refresh will accompany the release of the new Android 14.

What are the features of the new Android 14? The new Android 14 will come with a refreshed branding, including a new logo, a unique typeface, and a 3D bug droid.

Best Mobiles in India
Motorola Edge 40 Neo global launch officially confirmed: Check Expected Price, Specs News oi -Carlsen Martin

Motorola has officially confirmed the launch of a new smartphone in its Edge series. The Motorola Edge 40 Neo will be unveiled globally sometime this month. Motorola recently took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to confirm the launch of the Edge 40 Neo.

The Motorola Edge 40 Neo will arrive as the third smartphone in the line-up, following the Motorola Edge 40 and Edge 40 Pro. The Motorola Edge 40 Neo pricing and specifications were only recently leaked, giving us a detailed look at the device.

Motorola Edge 40 Neo Launch, Expected Pricing

The Motorola Edge 40 Neo global launch is set to take place soon. The handset is expected to launch in India following its global release. According to rumours, the Motorola Edge 40 Neo price is expected to start from under 290 (roughly Rs 25,900).

To recall, the Motorola Edge 40 price in India is set at Rs 29,999 for sole 8GB/256GB variant. The Motorola Edge 40 Neo is expected to come in Black Beauty, Caneel Bay, Soothing Sea. The Edge 40 Neo is also touted to weigh around 170 grams.

Motorola Edge 40 Neo Specifications

The Moto Edge 40 Neo will likely be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1050 SoC. The chip could be paired with up to 12GB of LPDDR4x RAM and up to 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The handset will run near-stock Android 13 out of the box.

For optics, the Edge 40 Neo is expected to get a dual-camera setup with a 50 MP primary sensor and a 13 MP ultrawide unit. Up front, the Edge 40 Neo will opt for a 32 MP selfie camera. Motorola is expected to equip the handset with a 5,000 mAh battery that supports 68W fast charging.

The Edge 40 Neo will sport a 6.55-inch FHD+ pOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate. The tipster also notes that the Edge 40 Neo will have an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Stay tuned to Gizbot for more details about the Motorola Edge 40 Neo launch in India.

Best Mobiles in India

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Redmi Note 13 Will Have Five Variants: Will The 4G, 5G, Pro, Pro Plus, And Turbo Editions Launch In India? News oi -Alap Naik Desai

The Redmi Note 12 will soon be succeeded by the Redmi Note 13 series. As expected, this series too will have multiple smartphones with slightly varying hardware and specifications.

According to a new report, Xiaomi is readying at least five different smartphones, which will collectively fall under the Redmi Note 13 series. Let's look at the latest details and see which of these Redmi Note 13 smartphones could launch outside China and arrive in India.

Xiaomi To Release Five Redmi Note 13 Series Smartphones?

The Redmi Note 12 series was one of the most expansive. While the Redmi Note 12 5G, Redmi Note 12 Pro 5G, and Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus 5G are available in India, Xiaomi has launched multiple models, including Redmi Note 12 4G, Redmi Note 12 Explorer Edition, Redmi Note 12 Turbo 5G, and Redmi Note 12 Pro Speed Edition.

There's even a special Redmi Note 12 Turbo "Harry Potter" edition. Needless to mention, only a few of the abovementioned models from the Redmi Note 12 series have landed in India.

The Redmi Note 13 series should include at least five models, a new report has claimed. This would include a 4G-only smartphone, called the Redmi Note 13 4G. The rest of the Android smartphones under the Note 13 series would be able to connect to 5G networks. Here's what the report claims:

Redmi Note 13 4G: This Redmi Note 13 iteration is codenamed "sapphire," and has a model number N7. It is tipped to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

This 4G-only iteration could be available with or without NFC. This model would be limited to Europe, Turkey, and Indonesia, and is not expected to be sold in India.

Redmi Note 13 5G: Codenamed "gold" with the model number N17, this is the entry-level 5G-enabled smartphone in the Redmi Note 13 series. It could feature a MediaTek Dimensity SoC with up to a 108MP main camera and ultra-wide and macro sensors.

The Redmi Note 12 5G is tipped to be a "global" smartphone, available in markets such as the EU and India. In some select markets, the Redmi Note 13 5G could be rebranded as a POCO smartphone.

Redmi Note 13 Pro and Note 13 Pro+: Traditionally, Xiaomi has offered a Pro and a Pro Plus model under the Redmi Note series. Xiaomi could continue this strategy and offer a Redmi Note 13 Pro and a Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus model.

However, the latest leak claims Xiaomi is developing a single device codenamed "zircon", bearing model number N16U. This device is tipped to feature the Samsung ISOCELL HP3 200MP main camera sensor, which would be coupled with an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP macro sensor on the back.

There should be a 16MP camera at the front of the Redmi Note 13 Pro | Plus. A midrange MediaTek Dimensity SoC would power this smartphone. The Redmi Note Pro, and possibly the Redmi Note 13 Pro Plus models would be available in multiple markets outside China.

Redmi Note 13 Turbo: As the name implies, the Redmi Note 13 Turbo would be the flagship smartphone in the series. Codenamed "garnet", this smartphone will feature the ISOCELL HP3 200MP main camera sensor, but this lens could be paired with a higher resolution ultra-wide-angle lens.

The Redmi Note 13 Turbo would be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Although the name of the chipset isn't known, Xiaomi may just embed the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC.

It is interesting to note that Xiaomi is expected to offer the Redmi Note 13 Turbo smartphone outside China. Its predecessor was restricted to its home country. However, it was rebranded as the POCO F5 for global markets.

The latest leak claims all the Redmi Note 13 series smartphones will run MIUI 14, which is based on Android 13. However, Xiaomi would send an OTA update that would upgrade the OS to MIUI 15 soon after these devices launch.

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Readout of President Biden's Meeting with the President's Intelligence Advisory Board

September 06, 2023

Yesterday, President Biden and members of his national security team met with the President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) to thank its members and staff for their service and to discuss the Board's efforts to evaluate the U.S. Intelligence Community's crucial work to protect our Nation. The President expressed his appreciation for the Board's efforts to ensure the U.S. Intelligence Community's authorities and activities are effective and comply with law and policy, specifically noting the Board's recent study on the value of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the vital intelligence collection authority that will expire later this year unless renewed by Congress. The President particularly welcomed the Board's unanimous finding that Congress' failure to reauthorize Section 702 could be "one of the worst intelligence failures of our time." The President also discussed with the Board how the Intelligence Community is set up to contribute to the U.S. Government-wide effort to combat the threat posed by illicit fentanyl. Lastly, the President emphasized his support for robust oversight of the U.S. Government's intelligence activities and commended the Intelligence Oversight Board, a subset of the PIAB tasked with this responsibility, for its ongoing work to ensure these activities comply with the Constitution and all applicable laws, Executive Orders, and Presidential Directives.

###

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SECURE platform enhances security enterprise capabilities

Published Sept. 5, 2023

By Marisa Alia-Novobilski

Air Force Materiel Command

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) -- A new tool aims to streamline operations, reduce data isolation and redundancy, and optimize resource usage across the security enterprise.

The Security Enterprise Communication and User Reporting Environment consolidates security-related information and data from multiple systems and users into a single platform, enabling security professionals to attain an enterprise risk picture more efficiently and stay ahead of adversaries.

"Within our security community, we have different mission areas that we each support, and the data is generally not shared between them. These sub-communities each have their own processes, though much of the data collected is common among all," said Lucas Wellman, Air Force Materiel Command Information Protection team. "This tool captures the requirement and connects the communities, ultimately resulting in a more holistic mission risk picture for professionals across the enterprise."

SECURE is the first Total Air Force digital security enterprise system. Built by the Air Force Research Laboratory and championed by AFMC, the platform includes a suite of tools for security process reporting, with the ability to build customized workflows and analytic reports.

"Security is always a top priority, but the research, development, and funding of new security tools is not always a top priority. I wanted to develop a tool that was specifically designed and created alongside the actual users," said Enoch May, strategic advisor, Integration and Operations at the Air Force Research Laboratory, and a key contributor to the SECURE platform development. "The goal was to be able to empower the security professionals to be able to provide leadership with recommendations based on actual data trends."

A key aspect of SECURE is the ability for users at all levels to input data into the system, which rapidly integrates information to generate an enterprise sight picture.

"We collect and have so many data points and useful information within the collective security community, but it often remains at the local level for action. This tool helps make the information widely accessible and actionable. It also greatly reduces the task time, alleviates inconsistencies in data and format, and helps us provide greater value to our customers," Wellman said.

Piloted at United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa, the initial release of SECURE's foreign travel and foreign contact monitoring module provided the ability to accurately track the data required to meet reporting requirements for employees with security clearances. SECURE eliminated manual data entry processes, consolidated the data into one system, and ensured compliance with Security Agent Directive 3 - Reporting Requirements for Personnel with Access to Classified Information or Who Hold a Sensitive Position.

"Using SECURE allows USAFE-AFAFRICA to accurately track foreign travel and foreign contacts to meet reporting requirements that otherwise would be unmanageable due to the amount of travel reporting by personnel in our region. The manual process is cumbersome and time-consuming. With SECURE, once a profile is built in the system, the process is seamless," said Joel Alaimo, director, Information Protection, USAFE-AFARICA Headquarters.

AFMC is currently deploying SECURE to manage foreign travel and foreign contact reporting across the major command.

The Risk Identification and Security Countermeasure module is also in the final stages of deployment, with the goal of augmenting science and technology information protection through greater awareness of research partnerships to mitigate technology compromise on a global scale.

Two additional SECURE modules will begin pilot testing in early 2024.

A Security Classification Management module will enable accurate and consistent classification levels and support classification management across the life cycle. SECURE will automate the development of the Security Classification Guide and help identify inconsistencies in common classification areas to ensure information is not over or under-classified.

The Security Incident Management module will help report and manage security incidents. SECURE will review loss and trends across a portfolio and help security professionals better understand what technology, systems or capabilities are compromised, generating decision data to support tailored countermeasures.

"SECURE remains at the forefront of security digital innovation, continually adapting to new challenges and refining its capabilities. As a grassroots idea within the security community, it quickly gained traction and support as a necessity in today's ever-evolving security and threat landscape," Wellman said. "As the tool continues to evolve, the community remains committed to its ongoing enhancement and the collective goal of a safer digital landscape."



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With the evaluation of bids for AD systems now complete, MOD is preparing to report a recommendation of the best solution to Slovakia's Air Defence Capability to the government

Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces of the Czech Republic

06.09.2023

The Slovak Defence Ministry has completed the bid evaluation process for very short-range and medium-range air defence (VSHORAD & MRAD) systems. Following up on the conclusions of the evaluation, a team of MOD experts have prepared the proposed best solutions to Slovakia's Air Defence Capability, taking account of all relevant criteria such as technical capabilities, total procurement price, integrated logistical support services, service life costs, schedule of delivery, and training of operators.

Following the evaluation results from the MOD experts, the MOD recommends that one (1) mobile medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM-M) system be procured from the State of Israel through a Government-to-Government (G2G) agreement under Stage 1 of the Slovak Air Defence Capability Programme. The best offer from Israel was followed by the offers from Germany and France.

The MOD also recommends that the very short-range man-portable/crew-served air defence (MANPAD/CREWPAD) systems be procured from Poland via a G2G agreement. The best offer from Poland was followed by the offers from Sweden, France and South Korea.

Today, the MOD has referred the proposal to the Ministry of Finance's Value for Money Office for consideration. Subsequently, the document along with the recommended solution will be submitted to the SVK government for a final approval decision.

If talks with the selected states are unsuccessful, the MOD will lead negotiations with the countries next on the list according to the final bidders' ranking.

As State Secretary of the SVK MOD Marian Majer reminds us, securing Slovakia's Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) has been among the shortages in our country's defence capabilities in the long run. "It holds true that thanks to our allies, we have the opportunity to address this need to our satisfaction, even in view of the value that we can get for the resources available. The proposed solution reflects the specific needs of our Armed Forces and our country," State Secretary Marian Majer said.

Director General of the MOD Modernisation Department and National Armaments Director Michal Homza said: "Based on our lessons learned from the ongoing conflict, Slovakia and many other allied states must urgently address the need to develop their Integrated Air and Missile Defence (IAMD) capabilities. Therefore, this situation places additional demands on existing production capacities, which results in higher prices and longer delivery periods. For these reasons, it is inevitable for Slovakia to make this decision as soon as possible."

According to the winning bids, the overall procurement costs for the two types of AD systems, initially estimated at 196,450,677 (including VAT), stand at 193,985,880 (including VAT). The VSHORAD & MRAD systems are set to be delivered into service with the Slovak Armed Forces from 2024 to 2027. The final approval decision on the best solution now rests with the SVK Government.

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September 6, 2023

By Jim Garamone , DOD News

DOD Expert Says U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy Is Seeing Successes

The past year has been truly historic in the Indo-Pacific region and the Defense Department looks to continue that progress, said Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs.

"We are delivering on our vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific and absolutely strengthening deterrence in the region," the assistant secretary said at the Defense News Conference in Arlington, Virginia.

Ratner discussed the progress made in the region, the need for communication between Chinese and U.S. defense leaders, and the need for continued bipartisan support for U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy.

Ratner said the past year has advanced implementation of U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific "in terms of fortifying our foreign defense perimeter." The region is squarely in the center of Pentagon concerns, with Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III making eight trips to the regionincluding his first trip as secretary to Japan, South Korea and India in February 2021.

American initiatives have gained traction in the region because they are built on the shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, based on rules that have kept the peace since the end of World War II.

U.S. military-to-military relations with the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the other countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations organization have improved, he said. "Our alliances and partnerships with those countries are stronger than they had ever been," Ratner said. "The upshot is that we have been engaging in a number of activities with them that have ... led to a more distributed mobile, resilient and lethal [U.S.] force posture in the region."

The United States military has also worked diligently with allies and partners "to develop the capabilities they need to defend themselves to be able to contribute more to our alliances," Ratner said.

These are not simply bilateral relationships. "We have been busy linking these relationships together like never before," Ratner said. Nations of the region are cooperating with each other in ways impossible to consider just a few short years ago.

China's behavior in the region is one reason for the increased cooperation among like-minded nations.

For the United States, China is the top challenge. "That has been reflected in our budget, in our approach to force posture, and in the types of concepts we're developing in our work with allies and partners," Ratner said. "That's going to continue."

That is because China is "the only country with both the will and, increasingly, the capability to overturn the international order and refashion the international order to suit its authoritarian interests in ways that would undermine the interests of the United States," Ratner said.

The assistant secretary said the need for contacts between defense leaders in China and the United States is crucial. Chinese leaders have rebuffed requests from Defense Secretary Austin.

Ratner said he has had contacts with Chinese counterparts, and Navy Adm. John Aquilino, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, spoke with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of a chiefs of defense meeting in Fiji last month. While he said those contacts are a good step, "I don't think those are a substitute for leader-level engagement in terms of ministerial level engagement."

The United States military has had substantive engagements and dialogues with China's army over the years, and Ratner said he would like to see those contacts resumewith the caveat that they not be hostage to political posturing. He said defense leaders would like to "share concerns that we have about PRC [People's Republic of China] operational behavior in the region."

There has been a sharp increase in "unsafe intercepts against the United States and its allies and partners in the region," Ratner said. These include very close approaches and unsafe maneuvers around U.S. and allied aircraft.

"We do need a mechanism to be able to talk about this behavior and communicate from the U.S. side," he said.

These maneuvers are not going to stop the United States or its allies from operating in the region. "It's dangerous, and the PLA [People's Liberation Army] has got to knock it off," he said.

Finally, Ratner discussed the bipartisan support for the U.S. strategy in the region. "We are engaging in discussions with our allies and partners that, in part, have a long trajectory on them and will take time to build," he said. "In every, almost every, one of these relationshipswhether it's South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Australia and otherswe're moving out now."

Trilateral meetings of the United States, South Korea and Japan, for example, will happen yearly. New agreements with India, the Philippines and Australia have components that will take years to put in place. These must have support across party lines.

"What I will say is that, in my experience, engaging with Capitol Hill, other Republican leaders, there is strong bipartisan support for our position in the Indo-Pacific and strong bipartisan support for our focus on the PRC as the pacing challenge," he said.

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September 6, 2023

By Joseph Clark , DOD News

Hicks Underscores DOD's Commitment to Suicide Prevention

The Defense Department remains relentlessly committed to the health and welfare of the total force, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said today as she recognized the people behind DOD's suicide prevention efforts.

Providing supportive and protective environments is a top priority at the highest reaches of the Pentagon, Hicks said as she underscored the dedication of those who have worked tirelessly to "spread hope, address stigma and other barriers to care, and drive a healthier culture."

"It takes devoted teams to tackle the difficult subject of suicide prevention," she said. "Over the years, we've understood that we cannot go about this work with a one-size-fits-all approach. Suicide has no single root cause or solution. That's why the department is taking a public health approach  because this problem requires a range of prevention methods and treatment options to get after it."

Hicks joined several top officials  including Gilbert Cisneros, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness; Elizabeth B. Foster, executive director of the Office of Force Resiliency; Jeffrey R. Register, director of Defense Human Resources Activity; and Liz Clark, director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office  in recognizing several units that demonstrated innovation and excellence in suicide prevention during fiscal 2021-2022.

"Today's recipients have been working tirelessly to implement that approach," Hicks said. "They've taken major steps to promote connectedness, belonging and community ... to find creative ways to promote new and available health care options."

Those units receiving the recognition include U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz in Kaiserlautern, Germany; Guam Army National Guard in Barrigada, Guam; Marine Aircraft Group 12 in Iwakuni, Japan; Naval Special Warfare U.S. Special Operations Command in San Diego; and Air Force Air Combat Command jointly with Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton and Newport News, Virginia.

"Our honorees' work on suicide prevention has been more than conceptual," Hicks said. "They've launched campaigns to get the word out on life-changing information. They've organized outreach events to increase awareness. They've helped match people to the community support systems that best suit their needs. And they've nurtured connectedness at every level  from individuals to the squadron, command, and battalion levels  to help save lives.

"These programs, and the people who implement and manage them, have made the fight against suicide a top priority," she said.

In recognition of September as National Suicide Prevention and Awareness Month, DOD has launched its 2023-2024 annual campaign, titled "Connect to Protect: Support is within Reach."

In his remarks during the recognition ceremony, Cisneros emphasized the importance of establishing healthy connections and relationships in suicide prevention.

"There is often a sense among the military community and among service members that they need to be strong and fully capable at all times," he said. "They believe strength is enduring their lowest moments, and darkest thoughts alone. But nothing could be further from the truth.

"We recognize that asking for help is challenging, but we are making it easier to get help in the military community by creating connections through local programing," he said. "We help by saying we are here for you. We help by creating supportive and protective environments. That is our goal and one which we must continue to strive towards."

While stationed in the 48 contiguous states, service members, veterans and family members in crisis can seek help through the veterans/military crisis line by:

Calling 988 and accessing option 1.

Texting to 838255.

Chatting at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.

Those stationed outside of the U.S. can access the crisis line by:

Calling 00800 1273 8255 or DSN 118 in Europe.

Calling 080-855-5118 or DSN 118 in Japan and Korea.

Dialing 1-800 273-8255 or DSN 111 in Afghanistan.

To access noncrisis support, service members and their immediate family members can connect with Military OneSource for free access to confidential counseling.

Mental health and counseling services are also available through Tricare.

DOD civilian employees can access resources, information and confidential help by calling 1-866-580-9046.

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September 6, 2023

By David Vergun , DOD News

DOD Official Says AUKUS Partnership Strengthens Indo-Pacific Security

The 2022 National Defense Strategy describes China as the most consequential strategic competitor for the coming decades, highlights Indo-Pacific security and stability and underscores the importance of new and fast-evolving technologies to meet the shifting global security environment.

AUKUS, the enhanced trilateral security partnership among Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States is a critical part of how those goals will be achieved, said Mara Karlin. Performing the duties of the deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, she testified today at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

In September 2021, leaders of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States announced the creation of AUKUS.

Under this partnership, Australia has demonstrated a commitment to purchasing conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines, she said.

"The United States, United Kingdom and Australia have committed to conducting naval nuclear propulsion cooperation in a manner that is fully consistent with our respective legal obligations, and that sets the highest nonproliferation standard. We are moving out swiftly," Karlin said.

This year, three Australian officers have graduated from U.S. nuclear power school and the USS North Carolina, a Virginia-class attack submarine, conducted the first port visit to Australia, she noted.

The U.S. and Australia are also enhancing cooperation on other critical military capabilities.

"In April, under the auspices of the Artificial Intelligence Working Group, we trilaterally demonstrated the joint deployment of artificial intelligence-enabled assets in a collaborative swarm to detect and track military targets in real time," Karlin said.

Karlin noted that the trilateral partnership isn't only about defense. The State and Commerce departments are also integral to the trilateral relationship, as is the support of Congress.

There are several areas which require congressional legislation, she said, including authorization to sell Virginia-class submarines to Australia as an interim capability, training Australia's submarine workforce and enabling export licensing exemptions.

"We cannot implement AUKUS without your critical support in all of these areas," she said.

The U.S. needs to expand defense cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific region even more, she said. "The U.S. network of alliances and partnerships is a strategic advantage that competitors cannot match."

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A look at the Defence news 28 August - 3 September

Netherlands Ministry of Defence

News item | 06-09-2023

The total value of military support provided to Ukraine is approaching  2 billion. However, the replacement value of the materiel supplied has been adjusted slightly downwards. According to Netherlands Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren, this is because several goods have been disposed of and will not be replaced.

Since the end of June, donations from the Netherlands have included bridge-laying Leopard 1 tanks, bridges, ammunition and demining equipment. Lorries, tents, field hospitals, computers and data systems, as well as other items, have also been delivered to Ukraine.

Air defence and command frigate HNLMS Tromp to NATO fleet

HNLMS Tromp has departed the port of Den Helder and is en route to the Baltic Sea. For the next 3 months, the air defence and command frigate will be part of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1). Its crew of over 180 members will participate in a range of exercises in order to be ready to deal with aerial, surface and underwater threats. The equipment and platforms used in these exercises will include the NH90 helicopter.

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Palestine criticizes U.S. for inaction on Israeli violations in West Bank

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:21, September 06, 2023

RAMALLAH, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Tuesday criticized the United States for its inaction on the "ongoing Israeli violations in the West Bank," urging it to take meaningful actions to end the "Palestinian suffering."

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesperson of the Palestinian presidency, said in a press statement that "the irrational U.S. silence has encouraged the Israeli government to continue its violations against our people in the West Bank."

As a result, Israel returned to its policy of storming the cities in the West Bank and killing young Palestinians as well as destroying the infrastructure of Palestinian cities and villages, Abu Rudeineh added.

"Palestinians will never give up their rights of defending their lands and holy places," he stressed.

He called on the U.S. to "intervene immediately to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression and not be satisfied with the policy of statements that do not change anything on the ground," warning that "the situation is on the verge of exploding as a result of the dangerous Israeli escalation."

Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian in overnight clashes in a West Bank refugee camp, Palestinian and Israeli sources said on Tuesday, amid rising tension in the occupied territory.

Since January, 33 people, most of them Israelis, have been killed in a series of attacks carried out by Palestinians, and more than 220 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers and settlers, according to official figures.

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Xinhua think tank report reveals perils of U.S. military hegemony

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 14:16, September 06, 2023

BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A new research report Xinhua News Agency's think tank released on Tuesday uncovers the damage and threats of U.S. military hegemony.

In the report titled Origins, Facts and Perils of U.S. Military Hegemony, Xinhua Institute outlines the formation of the U.S. military hegemony, summarizes the means Washington adopted to maintain it, and delves into its perils by presenting facts and data.

"This report ... aims to trace the root cause of U.S. military hegemony, to explore how the United States has pursued, maintained and abused its military hegemony, and to tell the truth about the perils of the practices of U.S. military hegemony to the whole world," the think tank said.

The concepts of "empire" and "hegemony" are found throughout the history of the United States, the report said. "The idea has continuously influenced U.S. policies and behavior on its way towards global military hegemony."

"As both a dream and a fact the American Empire was born before the United States," it quoted Bernard DeVoto, an American historian, as saying.

Throughout the 240-plus-year history of the United States, there were less than 20 years in which the country was not at war, stressed the report.

Since 2001, the United States has launched wars and military operations in more than 80 countries around the world in the name of "anti-terrorism," which have directly resulted in the death of about 929,000 people, including 387,000 civilians, displacing about 38 million people, it said.

"With its military hegemony, the United States has been promulgating hegemonic policies and actions, bringing tremendous harm to the whole world," the report added.

"The United States has a long and bloody history of military intervention and expansion. Its wars and interventions have caused immense human suffering and instability around the world. The United States must change its ways and adopt a more peaceful and cooperative approach to foreign policy," said Mohamed A. Elchime, professional associate of political science at Helwan University in Egypt.

The U.S. military hegemony is bound to backfire. "The pursuit of absolute security, political exclusion and military containment ... will not help establish a security framework, but lead to a dilemma and even turmoil," the report said.

"It could not foster peace and security, but only create war and disaster; it could not bring equality and freedom, but only slavery and oppression; it could not offer development and cooperation, but only cause conflicts and division," the report concluded.

Noting that the study is "of historic significance," said Zivadin Jovanovic, president of Belgrade Forum for a World of Equals.

"I have no doubts that this document will play an important role in strengthening global understanding, solidarity and coordination of efforts toward building a polycentric, more just, inclusive, truly democratic new world order," Jovanovic said.

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U.S. military hegemony causes humanitarian disasters worldwide: report

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 14:10, September 06, 2023

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military hegemony has inflicted humanitarian disasters upon civilians worldwide, a Xinhua think tank report has revealed.

The report, titled Origins, Facts and Perils of U.S. Military Hegemony and released Tuesday by Xinhua Institute, the think tank of Xinhua News Agency, outlines the formation of the U.S. military hegemony, summarizes the means Washington adopted to maintain it, and delves into its perils with facts and data.

To maintain its military hegemony, the United States has killed civilians, trampled on other countries' sovereignty and human dignity and damaged ecological environment, it said.

The United States has caused innumerable humanitarian catastrophes worldwide, the report said, pointing out that "the Vietnam War led to 2 million civilian deaths, the war in Afghanistan caused over 100,000 civilian casualties, and the Iraq War killed between 200,000 to 250,000 civilians."

Moreover, the frequently reported scandals of systemic prisoner abuse by the U.S. military in recent years are evidence of blatant disregard for human rights and trampling on human dignity.

In a report presented to the 64th session of the UN General Assembly, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism pointed out that the United States, along with its private contractors, resorted to interrogation techniques against male Muslims detained in Iraq and other countries, including but not limited to, forcing detainees to strip naked, piling detainees on top of each other naked, and threatening them with rape and sodomy.

"While the United States may verbally support environmental protection and carbon neutrality, the priorities of the U.S. military are its safety and lethality," it said, revealing that the U.S. military is the world's largest energy consumer of fossil fuel and its fuel consumption outside wartime along with the resulting carbon emissions exceeds that of most countries.

"Since the start of the so-called 'war on terror' in 2001, the U.S. military has generated over 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gases," the report said, citing data from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

"Over 350,000 tons of explosive bombs and landmines were left by the U.S. military in Vietnam, and it is estimated that it would take another 300 years to completely clear them," the report added.

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U.S. military hegemony tramples on other countries' sovereignty: report

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 14:10, September 06, 2023

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A new report Xinhua News Agency's think tank released here on Tuesday reveals how the United States uses military hegemony to violate the principle of sovereignty.

In the report titled Origins, Facts and Perils of U.S. Military Hegemony, Xinhua Institute outlines the formation of the U.S. military hegemony, summarizes the means Washington adopted to maintain it, and delves into its perils by presenting facts and data.

"Since the Declaration of Independence in 1776, U.S. foreign military interventions through direct invasion by force have spread across the globe," said the report.

According to a Tufts University report, the United States undertook nearly 400 military interventions globally between 1776 and 2019, 34 percent of which were in Latin America and the Caribbean, 23 percent in East Asia and the Pacific, 14 percent in the Middle East and North Africa, and 13 percent in Europe and Central Asia.

Currently, U.S. military interventions in the Middle East and North Africa as well as sub-Saharan Africa are on the rise, the Tufts University report added.

In addition to direct military invasions, the United States has also subverted lawful governments, exercised extraterritorial jurisdiction, and violated the airspace and territorial waters of other countries, according to the report of Xinhua Institute.

From 1947 to 1989, the United States carried out 64 covert operations of subversion and six overt ones in other countries, regardless of whether they were enemies or allies, or what political system they had adopted, the Xinhua Institute report said, quoting in "Covert Regime Change: America's Secret Cold War," written by the Boston College political scientist Lindsey O'Rourke.

Following the end of the Cold War, the United States undertook subversive operations in several countries, including Haiti, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Venezuela, said the report.

"It is common for U.S. military personnel to violate the local laws of the countries in which they are stationed. However, the U.S. government has tried to avoid subjecting U.S. military personnel to the jurisdiction of local governments, causing serious violations of judicial sovereignty of the countries in which they are stationed," said the report.

The report mentioned that a South Korean media outlet reported in 2017 that the non-prosecution rate for crimes committed by U.S. military personnel stationed in South Korea stands at a whopping 70.7 percent and the figure for violent crimes, including murder, rape and robbery, is even higher at 81.3 percent.

"In order to preserve its freedom to conduct military deployment worldwide, the United States began implementing 'freedom of navigation' in 1979 to threaten and undermine the sovereignty of other nations' territorial waters," said the report.

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U.S. military hegemony breaches international law and order: report

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 14:11, September 06, 2023

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United States, relying on its military hegemony, has consistently violated the basic principles of international law and the basic norms governing international relations, and has deliberately acted against them, said a report published on Tuesday.

The report, titled Origins, Facts and Perils of U.S. Military Hegemony, was released by Xinhua Institute, the think tank of Xinhua News Agency. It outlines the formation of the U.S. military hegemony, summarizes the means Washington adopted to maintain it, and delves into its perils.

The prohibition of the unlawful use of force or threat of force, a fundamental principle of international law, has been consistently ignored by the United States, a country that has repeatedly and brazenly launched wars against sovereign countries, said the report.

The creation of an independent U.S. Space Force and the establishment of a Space Command have accelerated the testing of U.S. space weapons and military exercises, seriously contradicting the concept of the peaceful use of space, it said.

Moreover, scandals of systemic prisoner abuse at the Guantanamo Bay prison proved the U.S. military has trampled on the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, it added.

The Biological Weapons Convention was opened for signature in 1972 and entered into force in 1975, with 185 States Parties and four Signatory States now. It serves as the foundation of global governance for biological security.

However, the United States, as one of the States Parties to the Convention, has been conducting dangerous biological experiments in countries such as South Korea and engaging in human experimentation in its own country for a long time, said the report.

Since the 1980s, the United States withdrew from 17 international organizations or agreements, including the UN Human Rights Council, the World Health Organization, UNESCO, the Paris Agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Arms Trade Treaty, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, and the Open Skies Treaty, according to the report.

The United States has habitually been selective in its approach to international laws, norms and organizations, complying when they serve its interests and withdrawing when they do not, it added.

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Palestinian govt. urges intl. pressure on Israel to reopen Gaza's sole commercial crossing

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 06 September 2023 4:23 PM

The Palestinian government has called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to reopen the Karim Abu Salem crossing for commercial goods, as Israeli authorities tighten the decades-long siege on the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Minister of National Economy Khaled Asili urged the international community to "put pressure on the Israeli occupying regime to cancel the collective punishment of preventing the marketing of Gaza Strip products in the West Bank."

He described the Israeli decision as "unjust" which "adds to the collective punishment policy pursued by the Israeli occupying regime since 2007."

The Palestinian minister pointed out that the Israeli siege on the Gaza Strip "has caused a profound humanitarian and economic crisis."

Karim Abu Salem is the only commercial crossing used for the entry of goods, aid and fuel from Israel into Gaza.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the minister held the Israeli regime responsible for "the repercussions of this decision, which inflicts heavy losses on the private sector and its various components, and deprives merchants, farmers and manufacturers of the ability to market their products, disrupting production and employment."

The Israeli authorities suspended all exports from the besieged coastal territory as of Tuesday, until further notice, under the pretext of an attempt to "smuggle explosive materials" through the crossing.

Karam Abu Salem is one of three main Gaza border crossings with Israel and Egypt, where most basic goods pass through daily, including much-needed fuel and gas.

It is also the only commercial crossing into Gaza, through which construction materials, goods, fuel and foodstuffs that the besieged area needs are brought in. Its closure is a major blow to the Palestinians in Gaza.

The regime brought the Gaza Strip under land, aerial, and naval blockade in June 2007.

In recent years, the territory has been receiving its bare essentials through the Kerem Shalom crossing as well as two others, including one with Egypt, which is being strictly controlled by the government in Cairo.

Israel's crippling siege of Gaza has turned it into the world's largest open-air prison and left many of its people destitute.

As a result of the siege, unemployment levels in Gaza are among the highest in the world, and as many as 1.3 million out of the 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza (62 percent) require food assistance as well, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Israel has also launched three major wars on Gaza since 2008.

In the most recent major bombardment campaign, the Tel Aviv regime launched a campaign of deadly bombings against the Gaza Strip on May 9 this year, killing dozens of Palestinians, including five of the Islamic Jihad's commanders.

The resistance group responded by firing over 1,000 rockets toward Israel.

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Chinese premier stresses solidarity with ASEAN amid map controversy

Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, pledges US commitment to the South China Sea region.

By Tria Dianti for BenarNews 2023.09.06 -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday extolled his country's "brotherly ties" with Southeast Asian nations, but skirted the issue of China's new map that shows Beijing's claim over some of its neighbors' waters in the South China Sea.

Disagreements must be handled through dialogue, Li said, addressing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders in Jakarta.

"We have preserved peace and tranquility in East Asia in a world caught with turbulence and change. In particular, we confronted the COVID-19 challenge by coming to each other's aid in those difficult times," Li said. "And that is a reflection of our brotherly ties in the face of adversity with concrete actions."

Li avoided any mention of China's new map, which was released last month and shows Beijing's expansive claim over most of the South China Sea, including territories overlapping with the exclusive economic zones of ASEAN countries Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Those countries, India and Taiwan have objected to the map.

In a statement Wednesday, Indonesia, the ASEAN chair, did not mention the Chinese map, but said disputes over the South China Sea must be settled "in accordance with the universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS (the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)."

The statement also did not specifically mention China Coast Guard firing water cannons at a Philippine Coast Guard ship in the disputed waters.

It did say that "some ASEAN member-states" expressed concern about "serious incidents in the area, including actions that put the safety of all persons at risk."

A day earlier Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in a meeting with his ASEAN counterparts did not name China but made strong statements about territorial integrity.

"We do not seek conflict; but it is our duty as citizens and as leaders to always rise to meet any challenge to our sovereignty, to our sovereign rights and our maritime jurisdictions in the South China Sea," he said.

"No country would expect any less. No country would do any less."

The Philippines, he said, calls upon all parties for self-restraint on activities that complicate South China Sea disputes.

"The Philippines firmly rejects misleading narratives that frame the disputes in the South China Sea solely through the lens of strategic competition between two powerful countries," Marcos said.

"This not only denies us our independence and our agency, but it also disregards our own legitimate interests."

The U.S. representative at the summit, Vice President Kamala Harris, pledged Washington's support of ASEAN.

"ASEAN is at the center of America's commitments to the Indo-Pacific. As the United States Indo-Pacific strategy makes clear we are committed to ASEAN centrality," Harris said.

"Since President Biden and I took office we have expanded ASEAN ties. To that end, we have upgraded the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. We invested in infrastructure and the digital economy. We launched major initiatives to address the climate crisis and health security."

Myanmar discussions

ASEAN members also addressed the crisis in member-state Myanmar, where a military coup in February 2021 toppled the elected government and unleashed a brutal crackdown on protesters and civilians.

More than 4,000 people have been killed and thousands more arrested by security forces since then, according to a monitoring group.

In a statement released Wednesday, the ASEAN leaders expressed grave concern over the lack of progress in implementing their five-point consensus on Myanmar adopted in April 2021. It calls for an immediate halt to violence and a dialogue among all parties.

The escalation of violence is "causing prolonged suffering for the people of Myanmar, humanitarian crisis, the destruction of houses and public facilities such as schools, hospitals, markets, churches and monasteries, and adverse impacts on regional stability, particularly along the border region," the statement said.

Still, the leaders reiterated their position that the consensus plan remains ASEAN's main reference to address the Myanmar situation.

Harris said the U.S. would continue efforts to return democracy to Myanmar.

"We have a shared commitment to international rules and norms and to our partnership on pressing national and regional issues such as the crisis in Myanmar," Harris said.

She said the U.S. would "press the regime to end the horrific violence, to release all those unjustly detained, and to reestablish Myanmar's path to inclusive democracy."

In a separate meeting with leaders of ASEAN, South Korea and Japan, Li urged those leaders to find common ground, avoid a new "Cold War" and reject attempts to force countries to take sides.

China has accused Washington of a "cold war" mentality as it pushes back against perceived efforts to contain Beijing's rise as a global superpower.

Beijing has also suggested that Washington, through its alliances and partnerships with other countries, seeks to isolate or pressure China on issues such as trade, technology and territorial disputes.

"To keep differences under control, what is essential now is to oppose picking sides, oppose bloc confrontation, and oppose a new Cold War and to ensure that disagreements and disputes among countries are properly handled," Li said.

Away from ASEAN proceedings, Li joined Luhut Pandjaitan, Indonesia's coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment, for a trial run of the China-funded high-speed train connecting Jakarta with the city of Bandung. The two discussed potentially extending the $7.2 billion project, according to Reuters news service.

The rail project is the most high-profile of China's Belt and Road Initiative projects in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy. It has been touted by Indonesia and China as a symbol of the close ties between the two countries.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated news service. Staff in Manila contributed to this report.

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 September 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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Chinese government treats diplomats to Tibet tour in run-up to rights review

Visit aimed to portray Tibetans enjoying human rights and freedom, expert says.

By Yeshi Dawa for RFA Tibetan 2023.09.06 -- The Chinese government hosted a group of U.N. ambassadors who visited Tibet on an arranged tour before the international body conducts a review of Beijing's human rights record in 2024, Tibetan experts on the region said.

Diplomats from authoritarian countries that are China's closest allies - Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Belarus and Pakistan - visited the far-western region on Aug. 28-30, photos posted on the social media platform X, formerly called Twitter, show.

"All members in the group visiting Tibet belong to an authoritarian nation that is economically dependent on China to a large extent," said Tenzin Dawa, director of Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy.

"And since the U.N. member states are set to publicly examine China's human rights record in early 2024 as part of a review process at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, this visit arranged by the Chinese government is clearly aimed at portraying a Tibet where China believes Tibetans enjoy human rights and freedom," she said.

The trip came amid growing criticism of China's policies in Tibet, where authorities restrict Tibetans' political activities and peaceful expression of cultural and religious identity. Tibetans frequently complain of discrimination and human rights abuses by Chinese authorities and policies they say are aimed at eradicating their national and cultural identity.

The diplomats visited the Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace, Sera Monastery and a secondary school in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

"We appreciate the visit to the secondary school no. 8 in Lhasa, Tibet, #China," tweeted Juan Antonio Quintanilla Roman, permanent representative of Cuba in Geneva, after the visit. "We confirm that education is a priority for the government There, more than a 1,000 students receive quality preparation in subjects such as science, art, language, while preserving Tibetan culture."

The U.N.'s Human Rights Council will scrutinize China's human rights records during the body's fourth Universal Periodic Review of China in Geneva, Switzerland, in early 2024.

Cuba and Pakistan are current members of the 47-member council, but their terms expire at the end of this year. Venezuela, Nicaragua and Belarus are not members. Nevertheless, as close allies, Beijing expects the countries to support it in the face of likely accusations.

Tenzin Lekshey, spokesman for Central Tibetan Administration said the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India, has repeatedly urged U.N. representatives and foreign journalists to visit Tibet on their own terms to see China's repression firsthand.

"But the Chinese government organizes these carefully choreographed visits aimed at hiding repression in Tibet, so it has become very difficult to learn about the actual reality," he told Radio Free Asia.

In May, U.N. human rights experts expressed concern that allegations of mandatory vocational training programs and labor transfer in the Tibet Autonomous Region could affect the human rights of Tibetans, similar to the situation with Uyghurs in Xinjiang, RFA reported.

The United States in August said it would impose visa sanctions against Chinese officials responsible for the forced assimilation of more than 1 million young Tibetan children into state-run boarding schools.

The coercive policies aimed to eliminate Tibet's distinct linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions among younger generations of Tibetans, the U.S. said.

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin rejected the move and said the sanctions were based on "fabricated lies on Tibet in disregard of the facts."

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi. 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 September 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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Germany, Italy, Sweden, Spain Join Forces to Develop New Battle Tank - Reports

Sputnik News

20230906

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Germany, Italy, Sweden and Spain have signed a contract for joint development of a new battle tank under the leadership of German defense manufacturers Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall, a German newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing political and industry sources.

The new tank is meant to become the successor to Germany's Leopard 2 model, the newspaper said.

The alliance of partners from Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Spain plan to request funding from the European Defense Fund, totaling a three-digit million amount, sources were cited as saying.

The new project comes amid reports that Germany's other joint project to develop the MGCS tank with France is on the verge of collapse due to disagreements between Berlin and Paris.

 Sputnik

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Secretary Blinken's Call with Polish Foreign Minister Rau

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

September 6, 2023

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary Blinken spoke with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau to discuss key bilateral priorities. Secretary Blinken welcomed Poland's generous ongoing assistance to Ukraine and its people and emphasized the United States' ironclad commitment to continued support of Ukraine's defense against Russia's war of aggression. The Secretary highlighted the importance of NATO unity and remaining in close consultation with our Allies and partners on evolving threats to our security.

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Deputy Secretary Verma's Meeting with Guatemalan President-Elect Arevalo

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

September 6, 2023

Deputy Secretary Richard Verma met with Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arevalo yesterday in Guatemala City. Deputy Secretary Verma and President-elect Arevalo emphasized the need to deepen U.S.-Guatemala cooperation to address the root causes of migration from Central America. They stressed their shared interest in working together to support inclusive economic prosperity and stronger democratic institutions in Guatemala. Deputy Secretary Verma noted the full support of the United States for a smooth transition to President-elect Arevalo's administration and the commitment of the United States to support the will of the Guatemalan people. Deputy Secretary Verma also reaffirmed that the United States stands with our partners in the international community and with the Guatemalan people in rejecting efforts to undermine Guatemala's democracy.

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Secretary Blinken's Meeting with Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen

US Department of State

Readout

Office of the Spokesperson

September 6, 2023

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen today on his way to Ukraine. Secretary Blinken and Prime Minister Frederiksen discussed the war in Ukraine and emphasized the importance of the U.S.-Danish Alliance to transatlantic security. The United States and Denmark share a long, close partnership rooted in shared democratic values and the two discussed ways to further that engagement. Secretary Blinken thanked Prime Minister Frederiksen for Denmark's leadership in the F-16 coalition of partner nations to train Ukrainian pilots, and for its decision to donate F-16 jets to Ukraine.

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Treasury Sanctions Sudanese Paramilitary Leader

U.S. Department of the Treasury

September 6, 2023

WASHINGTON -- Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo (Abdelrahim) for his leadership of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), an entity whose members have engaged in acts of violence and human rights abuses, including the massacre of civilians, ethnic killings, and use of sexual violence. Since the beginning of conflict between the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on April 15, 2023, both sides have failed to implement a ceasefire, and the RSF and allied militias have been credibly accused of extensive human rights abuses in Darfur and elsewhere.

"Today's action demonstrates Treasury's commitment to hold accountable those responsible for serious and extensive human rights abuses in Sudan," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. "The United States urges both sides of the conflict to cease the hostilities and violence perpetuating Sudan's dire humanitarian crisis."

The United States stands in solidarity with the people of Sudanand against those who commit human rights abuses and destabilize the region. These actions further demonstrate the United States' commitment to promoting accountability for perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict, consistent with the Presidential Memorandum signed by President Biden in November 2022.

ABDELRAHIM HAMDAN DAGALO

Abdelrahim is a high-ranking leader in the RSF and the brother of RSF Commander Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Abdelrahim is being designated pursuant to Executive Order 14098 for being a foreign person who is or has been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the RSF, an entity that has, or whose members have, engaged in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Sudan relating to the tenure of such leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors. Abdelrahim is also being designated for being a foreign person who is or has been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the RSF, an entity that has, or whose members have, engaged in the targeting of women, children, or any other civilians through the commission of acts of violence (including killing, maiming, torture, or rape or other sexual violence), abduction, forced displacement, or attacks on schools, hospitals, religious sites, or locations where civilians are seeking refuge, or through conduct that would constitute a serious abuse or violation of human rights or a violation of international humanitarian law relating to the tenure of such leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of today's action, all property and interests in property of the designated person described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC's regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.

In addition, financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the sanctioned entities and individuals may expose themselves to sanctions or be subject to an enforcement action. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC's ability to designate and add persons to the SDN List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior.For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC's Frequently Asked Question 897 here.

For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.

Click here for more information on the individual designated today.

###

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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

6 September 2023

The following is a near-verbatim transcript of today's noon briefing by Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General.

** Noon Briefing Guest

Good afternoon, everyone. Today, our guest will be Mohamed Ag Ayoya, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic, known as MINUSCA.

He will brief on the humanitarian situation, response and challenges in the Central African Republic.

** Climate

In a statement earlier today, the Secretary-General responded to the latest findings by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Copernicus to say that the dog days of summer are not just barking, they are biting.

WMO said that August was the hottest August on record  by a large margin  and the second hottest ever month after July 2023, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service ERA 5 dataset. This year so far  from January to August  is the second warmest on record behind 2016, when there was a powerful warming El Nino event.

The Secretary-General said that climate breakdown has begun. Our climate is imploding faster than we can cope with extreme weather events hitting every corner of the planet.

Surging temperatures demand a surge in action, he said. Leaders must turn up the heat now for climate solutions. We can still avoid the worst of climate chaos  and we don't have a moment to lose.

And according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization, extreme heat also has a measurable impact on air quality, human health (...) and the environment.

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heatwaves, and this trend is expected to continue in the future, the report says, adding that air quality and climate are interconnected because the substances responsible for climate change and for the degradation of air quality are often emitted by the same sources.

The full report is available online.

** Indonesia

Earlier today, the Secretary-General arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia, which is the host of this year's summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations  ASEAN.

Tomorrow, Thursday, he will deliver public remarks at the opening of the ASEAN-UN summit, which is traditionally held on the sidelines of the larger ASEAN summit. Just prior to that meeting, the Secretary-General will hold a press conference.

His remarks will highlight a number of issues from the strong cooperation between the United Nations and ASEAN to regional concerns and global challenges, including climate change and the reform of the global financial architecture.

You will be able to monitor both events on the UN's webcast page.

** Ukraine

Turning to Ukraine, our humanitarian colleagues tell us that new deadly attacks today hit Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Region. A few hours ago, an attack in Kostiantynivka Town, Donetsk Region, hit an open market area where many local residents do their daily shopping, reportedly causing dozens of civilian casualties, including children.

The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, issued a statement saying that this tragic and unacceptable event is another example of the suffering that Russia's invasion inflicts on civilians across the country.

She recalled that civilians and civilian infrastructure are protected under international humanitarian law.

Our humanitarian colleagues also tell us that earlier today, an education facility and houses were damaged in the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia Region, and port facilities were again hit in the Odesa Region in the south. Humanitarian partners on the ground are delivering emergency shelter materials and assisting the affected families.

Furthermore, the repetitive attacks on Ukrainian ports are depriving farmers of their livelihoods and the world of affordable food when millions are facing hunger in the poorest countries.

** Yemen

The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, concluded a visit to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, where he met with senior Emirati officials and Yemeni stakeholders.

He underlined the need for concerted regional and international efforts to progress toward lasting peace and the value of peace and stability in Yemen for the security and stability of the entire region.

He also underscored the importance of reaching an agreement on measures to improve living conditions in Yemen and implementing a nationwide ceasefire.

** Democratic Republic of Congo

We have an update from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where our peacekeeping mission  MONUSCO  has welcomed the actions taken by the Government in the wake of demonstrations on 30 August, in which protestors, as well as security and defence officers, were killed.

At a press conference in Kinshasa today, the Mission reiterated its condolences for the significant loss of life and acknowledged the Government's deployment of a high-level ministerial commission to Goma and the opening of trials against members of the armed forces of the DRC.

MONUSCO reiterated the importance of holding those responsible for the incident to account, regardless of their ranks, and ensuring that necessary measures are taken to prevent such a tragedy happening again.

** Central African Republic

And, in the Central African Republic, our peacekeeping colleagues are telling us that the Head of the United Nations Mission there, Valentine Rugwabiza, is in Birao today, in the Vakaga prefecture. She is accompanying the Prime Minister, Felix Moloua, as part of a joint mission.

As we have mentioned here, thousands of refugees from Sudan have arrived in the Vakaga prefecture over the past months. The Prime Minister and Ms. Rugwabiza are there today to assess progress, listen to the challenges and concerns of the local population and to mobilize support for the people of Vakaga.

This joint visit underscores the continued collaboration between the Government and the UN as they work together to deliver stability, peace and recovery in the Central Africa Republic.

** Costa Rica

Our UN team in Costa Rica, led by Resident Coordinator Allegra Baiocchi, launched yesterday a new guide to protect women in politics from digital violence, ahead of the country's local elections scheduled to take place in February of next year.

The UN team also released alarming new figures: While the overall rise in online hate speech rose 50 per cent in the past year, specifically targeted online hate against women jumped 72 per cent during the same period.

The Resident Coordinator said she hopes this new guide will be an important resource for women, encouraging them to run for office and helping them stay safe  online and offline. The new tool offers support for victims to report online hate and access legal assistance for individual or collective actions.

It also provides practical advice on reporting online violence against women on social media.

** UN Refugee Agency

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) today launched a new global campaign titled "Hope Away from Home". The campaign calls for renewed solidarity and firm commitments from States to uphold the rights of people seeking safety from war, violence and persecution.

UNHCR notes that the campaign comes amid record global levels of forced displacement, of up to 110 million people, with access to asylum under threat in many parts of the world  from increasingly restrictive policies and shrinking options for long-term solutions and resettlement.

In some places, UNHCR warns, populist anti-refugee sentiment, externalization of asylum obligations, rising discrimination and xenophobia, and tougher and more restrictive admission policies are threatening the right to seek safety.

** Press Briefings

After I am done, you will hear from our guest. And tomorrow, our guests will be Sarah E. Hendriks, UN-Women's Deputy Executive Director for Policy, Programme, Civil Society, and Intergovernmental Support; Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA); and Cindy Cox-Roman, the CEO of HelpAge USA.

They will launch the Gender Snapshot 2023.

And at 1 p.m., there will be a briefing here in this room by Gary Conille, UNICEF's (United Nations Children's Fund) Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, on "The Changing Face of Child Migration in Latin America and the Caribbean".

** Questions and Answers

Deputy Spokesman : So, are there any questions for me before we turn to our guest? Yes, Ibtisam?

Question : Farhan, thank you. I asked last week Stephane [Dujarric] about the brief that you got and confirmed that you got from the Algerian Foreign Ministry regarding Niger and the initiative. And any updates on that?

Deputy Spokesman : On which initiative?

Question : The Niger initiative... peace initiative of the Algerian Foreign Minister.

Deputy Spokesman : We're aware of the initiatives that various parties are putting forward. Right now, of course, we are dealing through our representative, Leonardo Santos Simao, trying to work with various partners to see what can be done to restore constitutional order in Niger.

Question : But you got the letter, and you have no comments on the letter or on the initiative itself?

Deputy Spokesman : Well, simply to say that Mr. Santos Simao will work with our various partners and deal with the various efforts trying to bring back the return of the constitutional process in Niger.

Edie?

Question : Thank you, Farhan. The son of Aung San Suu Kyi says that she has serious health issues and that she's being denied adequate health care by the military junta. I know the Secretary-General is in Jakarta, where ASEAN is discussing Myanmar. But does the UN have any comment on this reported denial of access to health care?

Deputy Spokesman : Well, first of all, everyone in detention should be able to have access to health care. That's a basic right. Beyond that, we've made clear our concerns about Aung San Suu Kyi. And we have called and continue to call for her release, as well as the release of the other leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD). So, we will continue with that call. As for the Secretary-General's discussions in ASEAN, he will speak to the press in Jakarta. And so, you can monitor that, and that will be available on the webcast.

Yes. Yes, please?

Question : Thank you, Farhan. Have you received a letter from the Government of Congo requesting the speed up of withdrawal of UN peacekeeping troops in the country?

Deputy Spokesman : Well, as you know, we have been continuing to discuss with the Congolese authorities the withdrawal of the UN Mission, MONUSCO. And, as you know, we've had those discussions ongoing since 2021. One thing that we have been mentioning, including in the special report that the Secretary-General put out in August, that the Secretary-General confirmed the commitment of the United Nations to work with the Government of the DRC towards an accelerated transition to create the minimum security conditions for the responsible withdrawal of MONUSCO. But, of course, ultimately, the transition of MONUSCO is a decision for the Security Council.

Benno?

Question : Thank you, Farhan. Regarding the attack on civilians in Ukraine, it might be one of the gravest attacks against civilians in the war in Ukraine. I wonder why the SG is not having a statement himself.

Deputy Spokesman : Well, you saw what Denise Brown herself had to say on this, but it's clear from the Secretary-General's perspective, as well as that of Denise Brown, that international humanitarian law and international human rights law needs to be respected. And so, we will continue to call for that from his side. But certainly, the Secretary-General believes that there needs to be accountability for all such attacks.

Question : And then I would have one follow-up to the hottest summer on record. So, the SG said the climate breakdown has begun. For me, that sounds like he thinks there's been an irreversible impact of the climate crisis on our daily lives. I wonder why he's still insisting that the 1.5-degree goal can be reached.

Deputy Spokesman : Well, as you know, the Secretary-General  and I believe we've said this on many occasions, on many different topics  believes sometimes in pessimism of the intellect but optimism of the will. And we have to try. And indeed, today, even as he mentioned the alarming data from the World Meteorological Organization and Copernicus, he did say that leaders must turn up the heat for climate solutions. And he said  and this is the quote from what he said is  we can still avoid the worst of climate chaos, and we don't have a moment to lose.

Dezhi?

Question : What does the UN have to say about the exchange of ambassadors of Saudi Arabia and Iran, which happened yesterday?

Deputy Spokesman : Obviously, we welcome any steps by nations to normalize relations with each other. That's always a positive step forward.

Question : I just have another, out of curiosity, because recently, we heard the stories, the rumours that India might change its name to Bharat. This happened before. Turkey changed the name to Turkiye. I was just wondering what would be the process for the United Nations to change the name if they really did that or would do that.

Deputy Spokesman : Well, in the case of Turkiye, we responded to a formal request delivered to us by the Government. Obviously, if we get requests like that, we consider them as they come.

Abdelhamid? [silence] Can you put up his audio? I can't hear him. Hold on one second, Abdelhamid. Okay. Try now.

Question : Can you hear me now?

Deputy Spokesman : Yeah. Now we have you.

Question : Okay. Thank you. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz indicated a few days ago that Israeli female soldiers stripped naked five Palestinian women while searching their homes in the city of Hebron. This news became [inaudible]; many statement came out including one from OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference) and from Saudi Arabia. Why these statement do not reach the ears of Mr. Tor Wennesland and say something?

Deputy Spokesman : Well, Abdelhamid, yesterday, I was asked specifically about this, and I did say that we would stand against any form of collective punishment. Obviously, this reported incident needs to be looked at and investigated thoroughly.

Stefano?

Question : Thank you, Farhan. It's a follow-up on climate crisis. It looks like to me, too, that the Secretary-General starts to... at least he used all the catchy phrases he could use. Now, there is the dog is biting and not barking anymore. So, isn't it time to propose something else? Maybe a binding resolution by the Security Council? Because he said if, on the one hand, that they cry that the world is ending, this is a security issue. Right? So, should he step up, what he is making the world aware of?

Deputy Spokesman : In terms of stepping up, making the world aware, that's exactly what he's doing right now. The data from organizations like the World Meteorological Organization, the speeches he gives, the places he's travelled  because as you notice, he has made climate change a focus of all his various stops, whether it's in Kenya, whether it's in Jakarta right now, whether it's in India in the next couple of days at the G20 or Havana next week. He is bringing this issue up with Governments. But, at the end of the day, the Secretary-General is not a Government. We need Governments of the world to take action, and he's pushing them in all of his efforts, all of his travels, and he will continue to do that, as you know, at the UN General Assembly later this month.

Yes, Amelie?

Question : Thanks, Farhan. A follow-up on that. The Climate Ambition Summit that the Secretary-General has convened for 20 September, he said that it will be only for first movers. So, do you have a list now of which countries have been invited and considered by the SG as the first movers?

Deputy Spokesman : Well, that list is being developed. Once we have something we can share with you, we will, but we don't have it just yet.

And with that, let me turn to our guest, Mohamed Ag Ayoya.

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As more people flee conflict in Sudan, conditions at South Sudan border deteriorate

UNHCR - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Those fleeing Sudan are arriving to remote parts of northern South Sudan where humanitarian organizations are struggling to provide emergency aid during the height of the rainy season.

By Donna Omulo and Moulid Hujale in Renk, South Sudan

06 September 2023

Every day, more people fleeing the vicious conflict in Sudan are crossing into neighbouring South Sudan at the Joda border point in Upper Nile State. The rainy season and a lack of donor funding have hampered efforts to help people move away from the border, worsening the humanitarian situation at the increasingly overcrowded transit centre in the border town of Renk.

The vast majority of the new arrivals are returning refugees who had been living in Sudan since fleeing South Sudan's own brutal civil war. A smaller number are Sudanese like Aziza Harba Idriss and her family, who were living comfortable lives in Khartoum, the capital, before the conflict broke out in April. They hid under their beds for several days as the violence intensified.

"Every day we heard bombs falling," said the mother of eight. "We heard about people we knew who died, including children; others were displaced. We lived in fear both day and night."

After running out of food and water, Aziza and her husband fled to Al Jazirah State where they stayed with relatives for three months. But as the conflict dragged on, Aziza embarked on a dangerous three-day journey to South Sudan with her children.

"We experienced a lot of challenges along the way," she said. "We were stopped at roadblocks [by armed men] and told to get out of the vehicle. They asked us where we were going. We said we were looking for a safe place to stay and survive. They harassed us and took our money."

Aziza's family eventually joined the more than 240,000 returning South Sudanese and Sudanese refugees who have crossed into South Sudan in recent months.



"When we arrived at the Joda border, we were warmly welcomed by people in South Sudan," said Aziza. "We went through health screening and were transported to this transit centre. WFP (the World Food Programme) and UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) gave us cash tokens, mats, and blankets for the family."

The family are now sharing a communal shelter with 16 other families. "The space is very small, but we try to squeeze ourselves and share the space because when it rains, we can't sleep outside," said Aziza.

Needs mounting

Each day, more people are arriving at the transit centre set up by UNHCR in Renk. Originally built to accommodate 3,000 people, more than 8,000 people are now living in and around the centre in increasingly difficult circumstances.

"We need to build more shelters and provide health services," said Jimmy Ogwang, UNHCR's Associate Field Officer in Renk. "We have children who are coming in malnourished, but also there are people who are coming with chronic illnesses."

He added that the rains have complicated urgent efforts to help people leave the congested transit centre and reach their home areas or more permanent camps.

The influx of South Sudanese returnees and refugees from Sudan is putting pressure on the limited resources of a country recovering from a protracted civil war and the devastating impacts of climate change. South Sudan was already hosting over 300,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in addition to more than 2.3 million internally displaced people.

Umjuma Achol Mut, 29, fled her home in Bentiu, South Sudan, in 2016 following brutal violence that left her traumatized. She first fled to a refugee camp in Ethiopia's Gambella region and later moved to Sudan where she hoped to rebuild her life.

"The situation forced me to come back," she said. "Now, the question remains in my mind - how are my children going to survive and get education?"

Lack of funding, poor access, and inadequate infrastructure are making it extremely challenging for aid agencies to respond to the emergency and ease pressure on the overcrowded transit centre and border area.

During a recent visit to South Sudan, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, observed the critical challenges faced by humanitarian organizations and called for urgent support for people fleeing the crisis in Sudan.

"The challenges are huge. Humanitarian needs are multiplying - for food, health care and proper shelter," Grandi said. "Special attention [needs to be given] to women who, in a situation like this, are exposed to very high risks.

Four months into the conflict in Sudan, some one million people have fled to neighbouring countries. That number is expected to reach more than 1.8 million people by the end of 2023, which will increase overall funding needs to over $1 billion.

Aziza wants to build a future for her children in South Sudan once she is able to leave the transit centre.

"People are just sitting here," she said. "Even the children can't go to school. Although the support we are receiving is helping us survive, we have challenges."

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Accountability key to Sri Lanka's future: UN rights chief

6 September 2023 - The UN human rights office (OHCHR) on Wednesday emphasized the pressing need for Sri Lanka to address its accountability deficit, ranging from war crimes to rights violations, corruption and abuse of power.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, stressed the urgency of addressing these challenges if the country is to move forward, recalling the 2022 anti-Government protests demanding a fairer and more inclusive society.

"But the potential for a historic transformation that would address long-standing challenges is far from being realized."

The UN rights chief's message coincides with the launch of a new report documenting the country's human rights situation. It outlines the challenges and opportunities to address them, in the wake of the 2022 economic crisis.

Families search for truth

Although the brutal decades-long civil war ended more than 14 years ago, tens of thousands of victims and their families in Sri Lanka still seek truth and justice.

While the Government proposed a new truth-seeking mechanism, meaningful and transparent consultations with victims and civil society are essential for the success of any transitional justice process, OHCHR said.

This includes putting an end to all forms of harassment and unlawful surveillance, and supporting initiatives to acknowledge and memorialize victims' experiences.

"Truth-seeking alone will not suffice. It must also be accompanied by a clear commitment to accountability and the political will to implement far-reaching change," Mr. Turk said.

Concerns over proposed laws

The report raises concerns over proposed new laws, such as the Anti-Terrorism Bill before parliament and legislation to regulate broadcasting.

It also highlights the need for comprehensive security sector reform, including reduced military spending and a cut in military personnel in areas affected by armed conflict.

The report also calls on the authorities to accelerate investigations and prosecutions into emblematic cases of human rights violations, as well as the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, which claimed 269 lives and injured over 500.

Economic crisis

The report summarizes the impact of the 2022 economic crisis on the human rights and well-being of Sri Lankans.

The crisis resulted in severe shortages in fuel, electricity, food, medicines, and other essential items. While some stabilization occurred in 2023, many experienced a sharp decline in living standards, and the country still grapples with a heavy debt burden.

Poverty has almost doubled - from 13 per cent in 2021 to 25 per cent in 2022, according to World Bank estimates, and it is projected to further rise to 27.4 per cent this year, and remain over 25 per cent for the next few years.

Women have borne a "distinct impact" post-crisis, as many are primarily engaged in informal sectors of the economy and face limited access to social protection, said OHCHR.

Food and education

Food insecurity and access to health and education also remain major concerns.

Across the country, about 37 per cent of households faced acute food insecurity in November 2022, leading to a significant number of families buying cheaper less nutritious food and sometimes skipping meals altogether, leading to fears of rising malnutrition among children.

Mental health has also been affected as people face multiple stresses due to price increases, scarcity and loss of income.

Access to education is also at risk, amid rising truancy due to competing economic needs, and higher transport and food costs.

Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and girls are particularly vulnerable, OHCHR noted.

Recommendations

The report outlines a series of recommendations, including a call on the Government to guarantee people's economic and social rights, tackle corruption and create an enabling environment for a successful and sustainable transitional justice process.

It also urges increased women's participation in political life and decision-making, as well as ensuring free and fair elections at all levels of government.

The report also calls on the international community to support effective and meaningful transitional justice processes, in compliance with international norms, and targeted sanctions against those credibly alleged to have perpetrated gross human rights violations.

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Biden Heads to G20 Summit; Putin, Xi Not Expected to Attend

By Anita Powell September 06, 2023

President Joe Biden heads to the G20 summit in India with big goals and high hopes that the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations can work together on major global issues, the White House said Tuesday - amid speculation over his health after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 the day before.

"He has no symptoms," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, adding that Biden also tested negative on Tuesday morning and would be tested on a schedule determined by his doctor. She did not say, when asked, what the plan would be if he were to test positive before his Thursday departure for New Delhi.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said the administration will be focused on issues like climate change, debt restructuring and the war in Ukraine. The gathering starts Saturday in the Indian capital.

"We hope this G20 summit will show that the world's major economies can work together even in challenging times," Sullivan said. "So as we head into New Delhi, our focus is going to be on delivering for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people from climate to technology, and showing our commitment to the G20 as a forum that can actually - as I said before - deliver."

Analysts say the absence of two key leaders - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping - will impact proceedings, especially around the biggest challenge facing its host, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"The great drama of this summit in Delhi is whether or not the countries can get a fully consensus communique, which they did last year at the last (summit) in Bali, which included paragraphs in which Russia agreed, as the communique said, that it had committed aggression in Ukraine," said professor John Kirton, who heads the G20 Research Group at the University of Toronto. He spoke to VOA on Zoom.

"Whether or not Mr. Modi can pull off a full consensus communique the way President Joko Widodo of Indonesia did last year, we'll have to wait and see. But I think it's good news that Putin yet again has decided to skip the summit, as he did Bali last year. And it even looks like Xi Jinping of China might not show up. That will make it a lot easier for all of the other countries to take action."

Biden recently said he was "disappointed" that the powerful Chinese leader was not planning to attend.

Nevertheless, he said, "I'm going to get to see him."

Sullivan, on Tuesday, did not say when such a meeting might happen.

And analysts say they hope that New Delhi and Beijing can see past their disagreement over a new Chinese map that India disputes.

"Geopolitical tensions were certainly there well before India's G20 year," said Stephanie Segal, a senior fellow of the economics program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The fact that they are heightened, and that there's a focus on them going into this leaders summit is not ideal. My hope and expectation would be again, the framing of this summit on economic issues, that they can manage to put the border dispute in a separate category."

She said she hopes the delegations can see beyond their differences and focus on reforming multilateral institutions like the World Bank, a move analysts say would have wide-ranging effects.

"What those reforms, if they actually go through, would accomplish is putting a greater focus on what we call global public goods - so things like climate, pandemic preparedness, fragility, food insecurity," she said. "And the reforms would allow these institutions including the World Bank to provide additional financing to both emerging market and low income countries and financing at far more preferential terms."

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Ethiopian Civil Society Groups Issue Call for Peace

By Maya Misikir September 06, 2023

Civil society organizations in Ethiopia on Wednesday called for a peaceful resolution to conflicts in the country that have caused thousands of deaths over the past 12 months.

Dan Yirga, executive director at the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, said this request was directed to all stakeholders in the country's peace-building process.

He said that most of the conflicts were started or aggravated because of a long-standing culture of using force to settle tensions. To create a lasting solution for this problem, a nationwide peace convention that includes all members of society needs to create a road map for solving current conflicts and avoiding new ones.

The call by the organizations highlighted the past year's many clashes, as well as encouraging steps toward peace building.

Over 1,000 political conflicts have been reported over the past year, according to data from the Ethiopian Peace Observatory, a local data collection project run by the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

Meseret Ali, from the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia, said fighting had displaced a lot of people from their homes. Civilians have died. Women and children have been raped. In the Benishangul-Gumuz region, elections were bypassed for a sixth time.

Armed opposition in the country's Oromia and Amhara regions, referendums held for the creation of new regional states, and protests over a schism in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church were some of the conflicts that took place.

The civil society organizations also addressed the government's common response to these conflicts, such as partial or full internet shutdowns; widespread, unlawful arrests; and restrictions on the rights and freedoms of citizens.

In April, Ethiopian government officials attended peace talks in Tanzania with members of the Oromo Liberation Army, a rebel faction. The talks ended with no agreement reached.

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Remarks by Vice President Harris at the 11th U.S.-ASEAN Summit

September 06, 2023

Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention Center

Jakarta, Indonesia

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mr. President. And congratulations on a successful year as the Chair of ASEAN.

It is my honor to be here in Indonesia and to be back in Southeast Asia. This is my third trip to Southeast Asia since taking office as vice president of the United States and my fourth to the Indo-Pacific. And in May of 2023, it was my pla-  pleasure to chair several sessions with ASEAN leaders at the historic U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, D.C. It is good to see so many of you again.

The United States has an enduring commitment to Southeast Asia and, more broadly, to the Indo-Pacific. We are a proud Pacific power, and the American people have a profound stake in the future of the Indo-Pacific.

We share historic bonds and common values with many of the people and nations here. And our alliances and partnerships support the security and prosperity of the United States and ASEAN.

For example, Mr. President, as you mentioned, the flow of commerce between Southeast Asia and the United States supports more than 600,000 American jobs, and U.S.-ASEAN economic cooperation represents a huge opportunity for growth for both of our markets. And the defense and deterrence commitments of the United States and our security presence in the Indo-Pacific help protect our homeland and ensure regional stability.

It is therefore in our vital interest to promote a region that is open, interconnected, prosperous, secure, and resilient.

Colleagues, ASEAN is at the center of America's commitments to the Indo-Pacific. As the United States Indo-Pacific Strategy makes clear, we are committed to ASEAN centrality.

And I'm pleased that our collective vision for the Indo-Pacific is in strong alignment. We have a shared commitment to international rules and norms and to our partnership on pressing national and regional issues, such as the crisis in Myanmar. The United States will continue to press the regime to end the horrific violence, to release all those unjustly detained, and to re-establish Myanmar's path to inclusive democracy, and we will continue to support ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus.

More broadly, in a demonstration of the enduring and important relationship between the United States and Southeast Asia, since President Biden and I took office, we have expanded U.S.-ASEAN ties.To that end, we have upgraded the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. We invested in infrastructure and the digital economy, we launched major initiatives to address the climate crisis and health security, and we expanded cultural and educational exchange programs.

And today, I am pleased to announce that we will establish, through a public-private partnership, the first-ever U.S.-ASEAN Center in Washington, D.C. The center will facilitate official ASEAN engagements and support further exchange between our people, businesses, and academic institutions.

To further strengthen our ties, I'm also pleased that our ambassador to ASEAN, Yohannes Abraham, is here in Jakarta. He has been a close advisor to President Biden and to me since we took office, and I know his leadership will help make progress on the many issues we will discuss today.

Additionally, I will acknowledge and welcome the presence of Timor-Leste in this meeting. The United States will continue to support Timor-Leste in its path towards ASEAN membership.

In conclusion, I believe, as leaders, we must address global challenges of today while also investing in a long-term vision. We must look 10, 20, 30 years out and measure our current steps against that vision.

The United States and the nations of Southeast Asia share many long-term interests and priorities, as well as a long-term vision.

So, with that in mind, I look forward to our discussion today, and I thank you.

END

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Remarks by Vice President Harris and President Joko Widodo of the Republic of Indonesia Before Bilateral Meeting

September 06, 2023

Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention Center

Jakarta, Indonesia

PRESIDENT WIDODO: Her Excellency, Vice President Kamala Harris, firstly I offer my condolences regarding the wildfire disaster in Maui, Hawaii. I hope the missing victims can be found and the affected families can recover and  as soon as possible.

Excellency, as a comprehensive strategic partner, the U.S. support is (inaudible) for the success of the ASEAN Summit, including ensuring the relevance of the  this ASEAN Summit.

Moreover, I also would like to discuss the strengthening of bilateral cooperation. But before, I invite Vice President Harris to deliver your opening remark.



VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS: Thank you, Mr. President. It is good to see you again. And thank you for the warm welcome to Jakarta, Mr. President.

We last saw each other in Bangkok last November at the APEC Leaders Meeting. And before that, it was my pleasure to join President Joe Biden in hosting you at the historic U.S.-ASEAN Summit  Special Summit in Washington, D.C., last May.

I thank you for your leadership of ASEAN 2023. You have made it a priority for ASEAN to deliver concrete results with a particular emphasis on economic growth. And you have been a strong partner as we work to restore Myanmar's path to democracy.

Today, we will continue in the important bilateral relationship that we will strengthen as we work together and as we reinforce the conversations that you have had with President Biden, most recently in Bali.

Indonesia is an important partner and friend to the United States. We have a longstanding friendship and relationship, which has helped promote both prosperity and security for our nations and a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Mr. President, there is an impressive amount of work underway between our nations as we share a desire to continue to strengthen our ties.

You have made economic growth a priority, which we appreciate, and it is a priority we share.

To that end, last year, we launched the Just Energy Transition Partnership  a $20 billion infrastructure initiative, which will reduce global emissions, accelerate the transition to clean energy, support broad-based economic growth, and help American companies here in Indonesia.

We also launched a $698 million Mille-  Millennium Challenge compact, which will help build sustainable infrastructure and further strengthen our economic relationship.

Moving forward, we also look forward to working with you to increase the flow of goods and services between our nations, including through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

We will also continue to work with Indonesia to build resilient supply chains, including for the critical minerals required to expand our clean energy economies.

And we will support your efforts to expand Indonesia's digital economy.

On the issue of security, we are proud to expand our defense partnership, to support your Maritime Security Agency, and to stand with you in defense of international rules-based order.

In conclusion, Mr. President, the United States is proud of our strong and growing ties. As two of the world's largest democracies, I'm confident our partnership will only grow stronger in the years and decades to come.

I thank you for the welcome.

PRESIDENT WIDODO: Thank you. END

###

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Readout of Vice President Harris's Participation in the U.S.-ASEAN Summit

September 06, 2023

Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention Center

Jakarta, Indonesia

Vice President Kamala Harris today joined leaders of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) member states and Timor-Leste, as well as the ASEAN Secretary General, for the annual U.S.-ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. She reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to strengthening our partnership with ASEAN, upholding ASEAN centrality, and supporting robust implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. The Vice President commended Indonesia's successful chairmanship of ASEAN and expressed support for Laos as it prepares to assume the ASEAN chairmanship in 2024. She welcomed the presence of Timor-Leste in its capacity as ASEAN observer, and pledged U.S. support for Timor-Leste's ASEAN accession process.

The Vice President reflected on the strength of the U.S.-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the historic outcomes of the 2022 U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, D.C. To ensure the United States' elevated partnership with ASEAN reaches its full potential, the leaders announced their intent to establish, through a public private partnership, a U.S.-ASEAN Center in Washington, D.C. The Vice President also highlighted new initiatives that are strengthening the United States' partnership with ASEAN on economics and trade, climate and energy, health, and maritime issues such as sustainable fishing, as well as education and cultural exchange.

The leaders discussed a range of regional and global issues, including the importance of upholding international law in the South China Sea, efforts to support the people of Burma in returning their country to the path of democratic transition, and Russia's brutal war against Ukraine - including its negative effects in Southeast Asia.

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Readout of Vice President Kamala Harris's Meeting with President Joko Widodo of Indonesia

September 06, 2023

Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention Center

Jakarta, Indonesia

Vice President Kamala Harris met today with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta, Indonesia. The two leaders highlighted the strength of U.S.-Indonesia ties and announced their intention to elevate the U.S.-Indonesia relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. In the context of this expanded partnership, the leaders look forward to deepening cooperation on economic growth and development; energy; maritime issues; defense; global and regional issues; people-to-people contacts; the digital economy and cybersecurity; global health; and building a sustainable future.

Vice President Harris congratulated Indonesia on its successful ASEAN chairmanship, and expressed support for Indonesia's leadership in the Indo-Pacific. She reiterated the United States' commitment to ASEAN centrality, support for Indonesia's chair year theme - "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth" - and support for robust implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. The two leaders discussed opportunities to expand economic cooperation, including through implementation of the $20 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership, which will mobilize historic levels of public and private financing to support Indonesia's energy transition and climate-aligned economic growth. They discussed the importance of respect for human rights and democratic institutions.

The Vice President and President Widodo also expressed concerns regarding the coup in Burma, underscoring their commitment to supporting the people of Burma in returning their country to the path of democratic transition. They also reviewed the importance of upholding international law and freedom of the seas in the South China Sea.

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Readout of Bilateral Meeting Between the Vice President Kamala Harris of the United States and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines

September 06, 2023

Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention Center

Jakarta, Indonesia

Vice President Kamala Harris met with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines on the margins of the U.S.-ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. They welcomed the strength of the bilateral relationship. They discussed opportunities to deepen commercial and economic cooperation, as well as their shared commitment to upholding the rules-based international order. This meeting builds on President Biden's and Vice President Harris' bilateral meetings with President Marcos in Washington D.C. in May 2023 and the Vice President's November 2022 trip to the Philippines.

The Vice President reaffirmed the United States' ironclad alliance commitment to the Philippines, and highlighted the role the U.S.-Philippines alliance plays in ensuring a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The two leaders discussed the maritime security environment in the South China Sea, and reviewed opportunities to enhance bilateral maritime cooperation, including alongside likeminded partners. They welcomed the identification of four additional sites pursuant to the U.S.-Philippines Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which will drive U.S. investment to local communities across the Philippines and improve our shared ability to rapidly deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. President Marcos and the Vice President also discussed opportunities to bolster bilateral economic cooperation and enhance economic resilience.

###

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Russo-Ukraine War - 07 September 2023 - Day 561

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

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 residents of the Russian-controlled area of Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine are now receiving Russian-language local news bulletins from one of Russia's major broadcast organisations. On 4 September, the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) opened a Donetsk franchise and commenced broadcasting in the internationally unrecognised Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). Local news bulletins are provided by Russia's Rossiya 1TV Channel and present the Russian view of the war. This is part of Russia's broader effort to assert enduring control of the area.

Ukraine-based Russian language television and radio stations were freely available in the now-annexed areas before 2014. After the invasion, pan-Ukraine providers continued to provide locally sourced Russian-language content. DPR-government-controlled and aligned broadcasters also rebroadcast Russian national news programming as part of a propaganda campaign but did not provide regional bulletins.

Broadcasting VGTRK in Donetsk has taken over a year to achieve, having first been announced in 2022. This was almost certainly due to the refusal to work of trained local technicians. Those sympathetic to the DPR and with the required skills have now likely been brought in from Crimea, Luhansk and elsewhere.

Although blocked over the airwaves, Ukrainian broadcasting is still accessible to a wide audience via the internet. Where Russian filtering restrictions are in force, audiences use VPN or other active circumvention technologies. Mobile phones linked to Ukrainian providers are highly likely unfettered.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day, there were 34 conflicts. Russian forces fired 4 missiles, 62 air strikes, 26 shelling from jet fire systems on the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements.

The operational situation in eastern and southern Ukraine remains difficult.

In the Volyn and Polish directions there is an operational environment without significant changes.

In the Siversky and Slobozhansky directions, Russian forces inflicted air strikes in the areas of Popivka Chernihiv region, Grabovsky, Old Sumy region, Granov Kharkiv region. Artillery and mortar shelling hit more than 25 settlements, namely, Chernihiv region, Cossacks, Ugroids, Grabovsky sumy region and uda, Veterinary, Vovchansk, Budarki, Ogirceve of Kharkiv region.

In the kupans komu direction the Ukrainian defense forces repelled the Russian attacks in the area of syn kivki. Artillery and mortar shelling of the Russian forces hit more than 10 settlements, including Red First, Stone, Figolivka, Dvorichna Kharkiv region.

In the limans komu Ukrainian defenders repelled the attacks of the Russian forces in the area of novoegorivki luhans koi region. Russian forces inflicted air strikes near the bilogorivka luhansk region, verhnyokamans kogo, controversial donetsk region. Artillery and mortar shelling were reported in more than 10 settlements, including Nevsky, Belogorivka of Luhansk region and Verhnyokamianske, Vesele, Yampolivka of Donetsk region.

In the Bakhmut direction, the Defense Forces repelled the attacks of the Russian enemy in the areas of Orikhovo-Vasilivka and Klishyivka of Donetsk region. Russian forces inflicted an aviation strike near the Ivanivsky Donetsk region. Artillery and mortar shelling were reported in more than 15 settlements, including the Hours of Yar, Ivanivsk, Klishyivka, Northern Donetsk region. In turn, as a result of assault operations, the Defense Forces have partial success south of Bakhmut, pushing Russian forces out of occupied positions and consolidating on the reached borders.

In the Avdiivsky direction Ukrainian soldiers repelled the attacks of the Russian forces in the areas of Novokalinovyo and Avdiivka Donetsk region. Russian forces struck an aviation strike near avdiivki donetsk region. Artillery and mortar shelling suffered more than 10 settlements, including Novokalinove, Keramik, Stepove, Avdiivka, Northern Donetsk region.

In the Maryinsky direction, the Defense Forces continue to suppress the advance of Russian troops in the areas of Krasnogorivka and Maryinka of Donetsk region. The Russian opponent caused an air strike near Krasnogorivka. Artillery and mortar shelling suffered about 10 settlements, among them Krasnogorivka, Marinka, Victory of Donetsk region.

In the Shakhtars komu direction, Ukrainian defenders continue to suppress the advance of Russian troops in the area of southern Precistivka. Russian forces struck an aviation strike near the Harvest. Artillery and mortar shelling suffered about 10 settlements, including Ugledar, Precistivka, Zolota Niva, Urozayne Donetsk region.

In the zaporizhzhya direction, the Russian opponent struck aviation strikes near small tokmachka, robotinogo, omelnyk zaporizhya region. Artillery and mortar shelling suffered more than 20 settlements, including olgivs ke, gulyajpole, mala tokmachka, robotine, kamians ke zaporizhzhia region.

In the Kherson direction, Russian forces inflicted aviation strikes near Kozatsky and Odradokamanki. Artillery and mortar shelling suffered antonivka, kherson, veletens ke, tomina balka kherson region.

At the same time, the Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to conduct an offensive operation in the melitopol direction, destroy the Russian forces and step by step release the occupied territories.

During the day, the Defense Forces aviation struck 9 strikes in the areas of focus of personnel, weapons and military equipment and in the positions of the Russian forces' aerial missile complexes.

Missile and artillery units were affected by 1 warehouse of ammunition, 5 artillery devices, 2 control points, 2 Russian air-missile complexes.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that in Zaporozhye direction, units of the Russian grouping of troops, aviation and artillery, have repelled fourteen AFU attacks close to Verbovoye and Rabotino (Zaporozhye region).

The enemy losses were up to 110 Ukrainian servicemen, two tanks, four infantry fighting vehicles, two armoured fighting vehicles, three motor vehicles, one M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery system, and one U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery system, one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, UK-manufactured FH-70, Msta-B and D-30 howitzers, as well as the Bukovel-AD electronic warfare station for detecting UAVs and blocking their control and navigation channels.

In Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces, in cooperation with aviation and artillery, have successfully repelled nine attacks by AFU assault groups close to Kleshcheevka, Andreevka and Khimki (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were over 320 Ukrainian servicemen killed and wounded, one tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, 12 motor vehicles, Polish-manufactured Krab and Gvozdika self-propelled artillery systems, two D-30 howitzers, and one D-20 gun.

In Kupyansk direction, as a result of active actions by units of the Zapad Group of Forces, in cooperation with aviation and artillery, four attacks by the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade of the AFU have been repelled. In addition, the Group's troops have inflicted a fire defeat on the enemy near Kislovka (Kharkov region).

The enemy losses were up to 55 Ukrainian servicemen, two motor vehicles, three U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery systems, and one Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system.

In Krasny Liman direction, as a result of coordinated actions of units of the Tsentr Group of Forces, Army Aviation and artillery, an attack by assault groups of the 67nd Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been repelled close to Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic).

The enemy losses were up to 60 Ukrainian personnel, two armoured fighting vehicles, and three pickup trucks.

In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces, in co-operation with Army Aviation and artillery, have inflicted a fire defeat on AFU units near Staromayorskoye (Donetsk People's Republic).

In addition, an enemy attack has been repelled near Novomayorskoye (Donetsk People's Republic), as well as the actions of two AFU sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been suppressed.

The enemy losses were up to 180 Ukrainian servicemen, two armoured fighting vehicles, five motor vehicles, one Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery system, two D-30 howitzers, and one Giatsint-B gun.

In Kherson direction, the enemy losses were up to 25 Ukrainian servicemen, two motor vehicles, and two U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery systems.

In addition, three Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups from the 126th Territorial Defence Brigade have been destroyed on the Pereyaslavsky Island.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have neutralised manpower and military hardware in 117 areas.

One S-300ps SAM system has been destroyed near Lyubimovka (Zaporozhye region).

Field ammunition depots of 3rd assault and 79th airborne assault brigades of the AFU have been destroyed close to Krasnoye and Novomikhailovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

Air defence facilities have intercepted eleven HIMARS multiple-launch rocket systems, as well as one JDAM guided aerial bomb.

In addition, 41 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles have been destroyed close to Belogorovka, Melovatka (Lugansk People's Republic), Spornoye, Vodyanoye (Donetsk People's Republic), Mirnoye (Zaporozhye region), and Golaya Pristan (Kherson region).

In total, 467 airplanes, 248 helicopters, 6,467 unmanned aerial vehicles, 436 air defence missile systems, 11,711 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,148 fighting vehicles equipped with MLRS, 6,274 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 12,776 special military motor vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation.

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Current impasse in drug enforcement cooperation the result of US' arbitrary and unilateral action: Chinese officials

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 07, 2023 01:40 AM

The current impasse in drug enforcement cooperation between China and the US is the result of the arbitrary and unilateral action taken by the US, while China in response is against unilateralism and politicization of drug enforcement cooperation and is keen to review cooperation with the US on the basis of equality and mutual trust, an official of China National Narcotics Control Commission (NNCC) said on Wednesday.

The official proposed at the press conference for the 14th Ministerial Meeting of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Drug Control in the Greater Mekong Subregion, in response to a reporter's requestion related to China-US drug enforcement cooperation.

The drug enforcement cooperation has been the highlight of law enforcement cooperation between the two countries, for they started in the 1980s, said Tsang Wai-hung, Vice Commissioner of China NNCC.

However, Tsang said the current impasse of the drug enforcement cooperation is unfortunate, which is the result of the arbitrary and unilateral action taken by the US.

US' sanction on the institute of forensic science under China's Ministry of Public Security has definitely hindered our work in the field of scientific research and drug examination and analysis, said Tsang.

Additionally, the US has been putting sanction of the Chinese enterprises for dealing with uncontrolled chemicals and unregulated equivalence, as well as the arrest and prosecution of Chinese national for dealing with these same substances, Tsang added.

The US has frequently criticized China for the fentanyl issue, and also blames China for its opioid crisis. It's has also claimed that they will push for legislation to sanction China in response to this issue.

In this regard, Tsang stressed that China is the first country to schedule and control fentanyl by class in May 2019.

Today, China is still the only country in the entire world to have scheduled and controlled fentanyl by the entire class, Tsang said. "What this means is any form of derivatives of fentanyl substance is controlled in China."

At the moment, China has control over 450 types of different types of drugs.

Regarding US' actions, Tsang said that China is against unilateralism and politicization of drug enforcement cooperation. "We are keen to review cooperation with the countries, including the US, on the basis of the equality and mutual trust," he said.

China is fully aware of the complexity and challenges of the global drug situation, said Tsang. "At the moment, China is doing all it can in the fight against drugs, not just within the country itself, but it's also fulfilling its responsibility worldwide," Tsang concluded.

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Exercise Bushido Guardian brings Japan and Australia together

Issued by Defence Media

6 September 2023

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has deployed six F-35A Lightning II aircraft to Japan for the first time as part of Exercise Bushido Guardian 23.

The exercise will take place at Komatsu Air Base until 15 September, and will include bilateral air combat training between RAAF and Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).

RAAF F-35As will conduct training alongside fourth and fifth-generation JASDF air capabilities, including Japan's F-35As.

Air Marshal Rob Chipman, Chief of Air Force, said the exercise demonstrated strength within Australia and Japan's commitment to a strong bilateral strategic partnership.

"Exercise Bushido Guardian 23 will enhance our interoperability with the JASDF, on ground and in the air, Air Marshal Chipman said.

"Developing a mutual understanding in how we each operate the F-35A, is essential to how Australia and Japan contribute to the collective security of the Indo-Pacific.

"Our aviators will develop their skills deploying overseas, 5,800 kilometres from home, and forge professional relationships with their Japanese counterparts."

The first Exercise Bushido Guardian was held in Japan in 2019, and this year's exercise builds on the success of recent cooperation at exercises Pitch Black and Cope North.

In August 2023, the Australia-Japan Reciprocal Access Agreement entered into force, providing opportunities for more sophisticated cooperation between both nations.

"Exercise Bushido Guardian 2023 follows a visit by JASDF F-35As to RAAF Base Tindal, which is the first time Japan's F-35As have embarked on an international visit, Air Marshal Chipman said.

"Collaborating in bilateral exercises across the Indo-Pacific, provides both nations valuable experiences in overcoming the challenges of distance in our shared region."

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Historic Australian first for Japan's F-35As

By Squadron Leader Eamon Hamilton

6 September 2023

A warm Northern Territory welcome greeted the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) on the first international deployment of its F-35A Lightning IIs.

On August 26, a pair of F-35As from Japan's 301st Tactical Fighter Squadron touched down at RAAF Base Tindal.

The 6400-kilometre journey from Japan involved a planned overnight stop in Guam and multiple air-to-air refuelling from a JASDF KC-767J.

The visit marked the first visit by any international F-35A to Australia, with approximately 60 JASDF personnel hosted at RAAF Base Tindal by fellow F-35A aviators from Air Force's 75 Squadron.

Both JASDF F-35As returned home three days later, with 75 Squadron concurrently leaving for Exercise Bushido Guardian 23 in Japan.

The historic deployment was the first conducted through the Japan-Australia Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), which was enacted on August 13.

Lieutenant Colonel Okamoto Kazuhito, Commander of JASDF's 301st Tactical Fighter Squadron, flew one of the F-35As to RAAF Base Tindal.

Addressing the gathered Australian and Japanese personnel on base, Lieutenant Colonel Kazuhito said the deployment was a highlight in the history of his squadron.

"2023 is a very special year for us - it is our 50th anniversary year, and we landed our F-35A for the first time on Australian soil," Lieutenant Colonel Kazuhito said.

"We would like to take a chance to build deeper cooperation and deeper relationships with Australia."

Greeting Lieutenant Colonel Kazuhito as he disembarked his F-35A was Wing Commander Martin Parker, Commanding Officer of Air Force's 75 Squadron.

Wing Commander Parker said the long journey to Australia made by his Japanese counterpart was a significant moment for both countries.

"Their arrival at Tindal was momentous - we are writing history together," Wing Commander Parker said.

"To be able to host them here in Tindal, to show them our home town, to support them for a few days is exciting, and to do that in return in Japan for Bushido Guardian 23 is significant to us as well.

"I think it's the first step in what's set to be a really strong and healthy relationship that will go for many years into the future."

On August 28, Secretary of Defence Greg Moriarty and Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Robert Chipman visited RAAF Base Tindal with Japanese and Australian Government representatives.

They included Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians; Japan's Vice Minister of Defense for International Affairs, Serizawa Kiyoshi; and Ambassador for Japan Suzuki Kazuhiro.

Air Marshal Chipman said both nations committed to the establishment of a reciprocal access agreement nine years ago.

"The agreement will facilitate access and cooperation between the Self-Defense Forces of Japan and the Australian Defence Force," Air Marshal Chipman said.

"It's a milestone that's looking to the future to make sure that we can work and train together more easily, and demonstrate our collective resolve to preserve stability in the Indo-Pacific region."

Air Marshal Chipman said he was proud to see RAAF Base Tindal, including 17 and 75 Squadrons, hosting the first-of-its-kind visit.

"The fact that we've brought the Japan Air Self-Defense Force to such a unique and remarkable part of Australia to celebrate that milestone is a wonderful occasion," Air Marshal Chipman said.

"This visit to Australia will build closer working-level relationships between our respective air forces, and enhance our mutual ability to cooperate in the Indo-Pacific region.

"It's our pleasure to host the Japan Air Self-Defense Force for this visit, and we look forward to seeing them return for future exercises here in Australia."

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Press conference - Jakarta

Transcript

06 Sep 2023

Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Special Envoy to Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia Economic Strategy; Qatar; Voice to Parliament; Lumpy Skin Disease; Air Services Agreements

E&OE

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: Well, I'm very pleased to be back here in Jakarta for my third visit to Indonesia as Prime Minister to attend the ASEAN Summit and the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum hosted by my friend, President Widodo, this week. And I'm particularly pleased to launch today, Invested: Australia Southeast Asia's Economic Strategy to 2040. This is a significant document for Australia's future. And I want to thank Nicholas Moore for the extraordinary work that he has done in developing this policy including visiting every single country in ASEAN except for Myanmar, having hundreds of submissions, and hundreds of meetings that are detailed in the document that we're launching here today. This document provides a strategic policy for the government to shape policy of the government right through to 2040. It outlines short, medium, and long term initiatives that will be required. Southeast Asia is experiencing remarkable growth. It will be the world's next economic powerhouse, the world's fourth largest economy by 2040. In 2022, our two-way trade with ASEAN passed $178 billion, two-way investment was worth $307 billion. But as the report indicates, Australia's trade and investment with the region hasn't kept pace with the growth of Southeast Asian economies and we can do much more. We are determined to fix this and to maximise the opportunities that can exist for our region when we work together in the same direction, which is why I was so proud to launch this document today, and why we chose to launch it here in Jakarta. 'Invested' is a good title because it describes my government's goals, as well as our outlook. We're invested in this diverse and vibrant region, our shared region. And I do want to certainly thank Nick for this report. It shows that Australia must do more to seize the opportunities our region presents and identifies four priorities to help us do that: raising awareness, strengthening understanding of markets, sectors and emerging trends; removing blockages, addressing barriers to trade and investment; building capability, ensuring Australia and the region had the skills and knowledge to work effectively together; and deepening investment, supporting Australian investors to identify, develop, and finalise prospective deals in the region. The report highlights key sectors with the potential for growth, including agriculture and food, energy security and the clean energy transition, infrastructure and education and skills. And today I've announced $95.4 million to support three initiatives that go to the heart of the strategies priorities. We will form new deal teams based in Southeast Asia to identify opportunities for Australian investors and to support projects through to finalisation. We will also embark on a new Southeast Asia Business Exchange Program to boost two-way trade. And we'll set up an exchange program for young professionals, building enduring links between Australian and Southeast Asian businesses. The Foreign Minister and the Treasurer will ensure implementation of the strategy remains on track by having annual reports about the report's initiatives. We want this to be an action document, not something that sits on the shelf, something that drives our economy, and our interconnectedness with Southeast Asia right up to 2040 for our mutual benefit. Australia's economic future is with Southeast Asia. And that's why this visit is so important. I look forward as well to visiting Manilla on Friday, where I'll demonstrate how the strategy will deepen our economic relationship with the Philippines. We invested, engaged and committed to the region. This strategy will help deliver on the extraordinary promise of Australia's and Southeast Asia's economies and what we can achieve together. We will continue to prioritise our engagement with Southeast Asia. And I look forward very much to hosting ASEAN leaders in Melbourne, I'm announcing today, between the 4th and 6th of March next year for the special summit, which will commemorate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations. And I've written to every ASEAN leader inviting them to attend that forum. And I'm sure it, as well as a bilateral activity that will take place as well as business to business activity that will take place in Melbourne, and indeed, right around Australia at that time, that will be a significant event for Australia.

PENNY WONG, MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Prime Minister, thank you very much for that and thanks Nicholas Moore for your work and for being here with us. And it's fantastic to be here in Jakarta, as the Prime Minister said, to launch the Southeast Asian Economic Strategy to 2040. In Opposition, this was something we considered deeply and the challenge and the problem that any government has to address is how do we increase our engagement with, our economic engagement with, and our strategic engagement with Southeast Asia. We know that too much of what has happened in Southeast Asia has been underdone by successive Australian governments. In fact, direct investment in Southeast Asia by Australia is lower now than it was in 2014 - lower than it was in 2014. And we know, as you as you would have heard me say, this Asian region is central to our security. So that is why, as the Prime Minister has said, deepening engagement with Southeast Asia is such a priority for our government. By 2040, ASEAN will be the fourth largest single market after the US, China and India. It's a huge opportunity for Southeast Asia, it's a huge opportunity for Australia. And for our children it's critical that this generation of political leaders ensure that we are in a better place than we are now to take advantage of that opportunity. If not, we know that Australia there are risks for Australia's prosperity and security in the years ahead. So this means more opportunities for Australian businesses, more Australian jobs and boosting economic prosperity. It's also about resilience. The smart businesses know that reducing reliance on a single market, a single trading partner, is part of doing business in this time and beyond. It's a smart thing to do. It's not easy to get a foothold into new markets and we recognise this is just the start of a conversation about how we boost our economic engagement with the region. The government sees this is a very important part, not only of prosperity, but also assuring Australian security, economic strength, military deterrence, and diplomatic reassurance. These three aspects of Australian power work together to secure Australia's prosperity and security. Shared value is a critical incentive for peace and stability at a time of heightened geostrategic contest. I want to thank Nick. I went to see Nick and I said, I don't want a report that does another commentating analysis, as interesting as it is. I said, I want to report that it comes from the perspective of a business person. And obviously Nick, through his previous work and current work, has a deep knowledge of this region, deep history in this region. And I said to him what the Prime Minister and I want, what the government wants, is a report that actually looks at what business will need, where we can make a difference, how do we ensure we can shift the dial in the in the years ahead on Australia's economic engagement in Southeast Asia. He's done an extraordinary job. And I'm really grateful to him as is the government, and I think he's done the country great service, because if we could actually utilise the insights in this report to grow our economic engagement it's good for our security, and it's good for Australian prosperity. It's good for the next generation of Australians.

NICHOLAS MOORE, SPECIAL ENVOY TO SOUTHEAST ASIA: Well thank you, Prime Minister and thank you, Foreign Minister, for those comments, I'm delighted also to be here in Jakarta to be launching the report and particularly delighted the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister are here. The report is all about Australia's engagement the region, so no better place to do it here in Jakarta at the ASEAN conference. It's only since November 2022 that the Prime Minister asked me to take on this role. I was very honoured to do it. And since then, as you've heard from the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister, we've been very busy. When I say we, me and the team at DFAT and AusTrade, travelling around the region, travelling around the country, meeting with all the interested parties for trade and investment across the region. So as you've heard, there's big picture numbers that we can look at in terms of where our trade and investment has gone. As you've heard from the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister, our trade has been constant while the region has been growing, our investments actually gone backwards, as you've heard. So we met with over 750 different people, we had over 200 different submissions with suggestions about what we should do. And as you heard from the Foreign Minister, the instructions were to come up with a practical set of recommendations, recommendations we can put forward and that the government can work through and implement or not. In that context, I'm delighted to hear the government actually is adopting three recommendations this morning. So a very quick response to the report that we that we've prepared. In terms of the structure of the report, if you've had a chance to look at it, it covers some general packs at the beginning and then talks about the recommendations that we've made in four different categories. Number one was in terms of raising awareness of the opportunities in Australia and in the region, what can we do to actually increase the awareness across the region of what we can offer each other. And we believe there's a lot that can be done. And certainly all the meetings we had gave me great optimism that there's a lot of enthusiasm out there for increased trade and investment across the region. The second category was removing blockages, although there's been great work that's been done over the years, in terms of Free Trade Agreements and other architecture put in place, still a lot can be done in that area and we make a number of practical recommendations. The third one is talking about building capability and in terms of building capability, it's very much about the skills of the individuals, the skills of the organisation, the skills of the government, and how we can work together with the region. And finally, a deepening investment, which says, as both the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister said, is where we're behind a behind the curve. So these are the recommendations. Hopefully, you'll all have a chance to read them.

JOURNALIST: Can you tell us what your inclination is for some of the recommendations like streamlining processes, visas and the interesting proposal for risk insurance, political risk insurance. Do you want to do those?

PRIME MINISTER: The reports already been considered by the National Security Committee and Nick came along to the NSC. And we've also given a consideration by our full Cabinet. This is a strategy for 2040, not a strategy for September-October. So there are 75 recommendations. We'll work them through in an orderly way. That's why Cabinet decided to have that 12 month timeframe of reporting back with Treasury and the Department of Foreign Affairs and tried to make sure that we're looking at where are we up to on these recommendations? How do we progress them? There are many recommendations here, of course, that don't require funding. They're recommendations that require, though, a shift in thought, if you like. And including in that is the recommendations around raising awareness, that is just about there being a consciousness. It strikes me, the first time I came to Indonesia, very early on, when I visited Jakarta here, I came with a business delegation. And for so many of those business leaders from Australia, it was their first visit to Indonesia that wasn't to Bali. We need to do much more. That's in part of what we do. And I thought it was very interesting that Nick had that there. I guess if I can frame it this way, we see this as a strategic policy for the government to shape the policy of the government. So, we haven't said all 75 recommendations. Obviously, some of these will be worked through in consultation with proper submissions and proper processes as well. But we are releasing the full report so people can see it and can make their determinations.

JOURNALIST: One thing I think that people in Indonesia were hoping for today was an announcement on visas. It's kind of low hanging fruit. It's a thing that Nicholas Moore has said that he's heard most about when he's gone the region in terms of access to Australia. We can't hope to raise awareness of the region if we won't let the region in. And right now there's a very big problem for Indonesians trying to access Australia. I note that you've made some recommendations today and I think the new deal officers will be very welcome. But why did you choose not to make any announcement on visas?

PRIME MINISTER: We have a migration review taking place. It's comprehensive. Clare O'Neil has addressed the National Press Club on it. My government works issues through in a methodical, orderly way to make sure that we get decision making right, so we're not making ad hoc decisions based upon the 24 hours media cycle, but based upon Australia's national interest. And that is the way that we'll consider these recommendations.

JOURNALIST: On the report, Joko Widodo said yesterday at the ASEAN summit that he didn't want ASEAN to descend into an arena of rivalries. How confident are you that this strategy won't create rivalries within ASEAN nations for investment within Australia in pitting them against each other? Or also potentially putting side other broader countries within the Indo-Pacific region who might feel like they not necessarily as included for investment and trade going forward to 2040?

PRIME MINISTER: I think this is a positive report that will be seen positively by all of the nations in ASEAN.

MOORE: I agree with the Prime Minister. All the countries in the region would welcome more investment from Australia.

JOURNALIST: The Chinese market has had obvious appeal to Australian exporters. High demand, good profit margins on high end profits. In a sense, simpler. And you're dealing with one major market. Are you confident that Australian businesses will learn from the cautionary tale of the last few years as relations destabilised? Or are you worried they'll rush back in where those connections are maybe a bit stronger and they know that there's a guaranteed return if they can access the market?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, China, of course, is our major trading partner. We support trade with China, and we've been working through some of the issues which have been there. But we know that it is in Australia's interest too - there are two themes that I've said consistently about Australia's economic interest going forward as a nation state. One is diversification of our trade and our economic relationships. It makes sense, particularly when you look at this economy here alone, potentially, it will be at some stage the fourth largest economy in the world. In a few days time we'll be together in India which will be the third largest economy in the world. We have enormous opportunities because of where we're positioned, because of where we are geographically, as well as our resources, both those in the ground but more importantly, those above the ground in the form of our human capital, to take enormous advantage of the growth that is occurring in this region. And I'm confident that businesses get that that is in our interests. So, trade is in our interest. One in four Australian jobs depends on trade. But also another theme is a future made in Australia. We need to look at and this report and some of the discussions I'll have here as well are about making more things in Australia as well.

JOURNALIST: Senator - you spoke with the Prime Minister of Qatar on Monday. Why did you make the call? And why were the 2020 strip searches raised? Were you seeking some kind of reassurance that wouldn't happen again? And was that the real reason behind why those additional flights weren't allowed?

MINISTER WONG: I initiated the call to discuss a range of bilateral matters. One of those, obviously, is in relation to the Hamad Airport incident. That's something I spoke about in Opposition. Obviously it was a very distressing event for the women concerned. I also wanted to raise some multilateral issues ahead of UNGA. As you have flagged the bilateral air services agreement was not discussed in the call.

JOURNALIST: INAUDIBLE

MINISTER WONG: I think the Qatari Government has already made some public statements in fact under the previous government on that.

JOURNALIST: Do you think a Yes vote in the Voice referendum would boost Australia's engagement with Southeast Asia? And conversely, would a No vote undermine that? Or do you think it has absolutely no bearing on our international relations?

PRIME MINISTER: I'd rather not get into, as you know, I'm happy to discuss those issues back in Australia on Monday. I have made my views clear and I refer you to previous comments as well as comments of anyone who is engaged in international relations.

JOURNALIST: I presume you are meeting with President Widodo while you're here in Indonesia?

PRIME MINISTER: I am indeed.

JOURNALIST: What are you intending to say to him regarding Australian cattle yards and the barriers put up against them relating to allegations of lumpy skin disease?

PRIME MINISTER: I will meet with my friend President Widodo while I am here. And I very much thank him for hosting us. This is a big event for Indonesia, coming off the back of Indonesia hosting the G20. President Widodo is a good friend of Australia, and I was very pleased to host him in Australia just a short time ago. I'm pleased, when it comes to LSD, that Malaysia has lifted the restrictions on its trade. I'm pleased that Australian and Indonesian officials are working through these issues. We have provided the evidence going forward that we remain free of lumpy skin disease. It is an important issue for Australia and officials will continue to engage with it. But I will also respectfully put forward my views.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, on China, there's been obvious progress in easing tensions in that relationship, particularly around trade. Is it disappointing you won't get the chance to meet President Xi on the sidelines of the G20 this weekend? And will you get the chance to meet Premier Li, either here at ASEAN or in India?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, it's a matter for nation states who they send to these events. My position on the relationship with China remains a consistent one, which is we'll cooperate where we can, we'll disagree where we must, and we'll engage in our national interest. And I'm sure that over the next period, both here and at the G20, Premier Li will be present. We will certainly be in the same room during those meetings.

JOURNALIST: You're meeting with the East Timorese PM today. And he recently characterised his post about Woodside as Australia being ready to finalise the project for the first part of next year. What's your view of whether or not that is the correct characterisation, and this is a chance for Australia to make amends?

PRIME MINISTER: I am very much looking forward to meeting with Xanana GusmAo soon, this morning. I have met with him before and I have known him for a long period of time. He is a friend of Australia and Australia is a friend of Timor Leste. I have, together with the Foreign Minister, we've been working with Steve Bracks, playing a role in sorting through these issues and I'm sure we'll have a constructive discussion about that.

JOURNALIST: One of the recommendations in the report increased air links between Australia and Southeast Asia. Is that a priority for the government to get more Asian airlines flying into the country? And maybe Mr. Moore could also comment on what would be needed to get that to happen.

PRIME MINISTER: The report, one of the recommendations, it's an important one. We have air services agreements with more than one hundred countries. We have, as I've said, the most open aviation system in the world. And because Australia is an end point destination, we're not a stop on the way to somewhere, then Australia's aviation system plays an important role in engagement. And certainly, air services agreements are currently being negotiated with a number of countries, including Vietnam, for example. The recommendation that is there is for reciprocal open skies agreements where that is in our national interest. So Australia has open skies agreements with a few countries, including with the United States. We don't have open skies agreements with Europe, with most countries. So there are limits on where Australia can go and limits on countries coming to Australia. But if you look at at our region, it is it is very important. Garuda, for example, have recently, when I had a discussion with the Indonesian Transport Minister this morning, who pointed out that Garuda has recently made a decision to come back to Melbourne and to Sydney. So some air services agreements are coming back post COVID that was suspended. But they used to fly to four destinations as well, including Perth. And obviously that is prospect of importance because people to people relations between Australia and ASEAN nations are part of what's identified here, both in terms of the diaspora as well as Australia. We're a multicultural nation, that's a great strength. That's an asset for us, with people with the knowledge of culture, language, and familiarity with the region. And one way that you can obviously do that is by having more people to people exchanges with the region.

JOURNALIST: So, obviously this is an economic strategy to 2040, but how much of this is also about regional security and offering trade and investment opportunities to countries in this region at the same time as China is stepping up what it offers?

PRIME MINISTER: There's a complete link between the economy and economic relations and national security. That's why this report's been considered not just by the Cabinet, but also by the National Security Committee of Cabinet. So our engagement is important, and we do think there's an obvious link between the two issues and the context in which this report is being handed down and considered by the government.

JOURNALIST: Do you have any kind of rough timeline or deadline to consider all 75 recommendations? You touched on it before, but is this months or years to consider all of them. And as you've already kind of looked at the report, you mentioned the NSC has already considered it, are there any recommendations that have been ruled out?

PRIME MINISTER: We'll give proper consideration to it. We received a briefing from Mr. Moore. I invited Mr. Moore to come along to brief the NSC. I thought that was appropriate that that occurred. We don't have many guest speakers, I've got to say, at the NSC, I think it's fair to say I can't think of another one who wasn't a member or one of the agencies. But we thought that was important going forward. Look, we have responded, I think, pretty quickly to the report with three recommendations. It's there for consideration. And what will occur, why we've set up a structure of the Treasury and Foreign Affairs and Trade examining and having annual reports on the status of the recommendations, the consideration, is so that we can have a considered, orderly way of dealing with what's in here. There's a lot here. This no doubt will continue to shape the way that the government responds to the whole range of issues in the region. And that's why I was completely rapped, to be frank, when I received a draft the report, which wasn't that long ago. The fact that such a substantive report is handed down - even the way the format, when you get to see it, of a couple of pages identifying the issues with each country in the ASEAN region - it's readable, it's digestible. And that's why I think Nick was a pretty good appointment because he's someone who knows business. He's someone who knows the region. He's someone who the region's businesses know him and Australian businesses know him as well. And I really thank, and I'll conclude here, I really thank Nick for being someone a leader of the business community who has done this out of his commitment to the national interest. That's his contribution. And it's fantastic that someone who has been very successful in the private sector wants to put something back to the public of Australia. And that's what this report does.

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Southeast Asia economic strategy to 2040

Speech

06 Sep 2023

ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum, Jakarta, Indonesia

Prime Minister

Check against delivery

When Australia became ASEAN's first Dialogue Partner in 1974, my predecessor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam described ASEAN as "unquestionably the most important, [and] the most relevant" group in our region.

Half a century later, Australia and Southeast Asia have both changed profoundly.

We are both more diverse - and we are more engaged.

Our economies are more open, more modern - and more connected.

Our prosperity and security and stability more intertwined.

We face environmental challenges, economic uncertainty and strategic competition on a level of complexity that could not have been imagined 49 years ago.

And yet for all that has changed, a defining truth endures.

The centrality of ASEAN is vital to Australia's future.

Because Australia and ASEAN are bound by more than an accident of geography or the virtue of history - we share a common belief in the opportunities of this region, the potential of our peoples.

And we hold a common responsibility to advance stability, peace and prosperity for every nation that calls Southeast Asia home.

To recognise the sovereignty of every country and the inherent dignity of every individual.

To ensure this is a region where each of us can shape our own destiny and secure our own future.

I am here today to affirm Australia's belief in the power and value of ASEAN centrality.

And to match those words with deeds.

Today I announce our Government's strategy for the most significant upgrade of Australia's economic engagement with ASEAN for a generation.

An overdue strengthening of our engagement to reflect the speed of the transformation underway - and the scale of the opportunities ahead.

The strategy we outline today reflects an enduring truth: this is where Australia's economic destiny lies.

And this is where our shared prosperity can be built.

This is where, working together, the peace, stability and security of this region - and the Indo-Pacific - can be assured.

The framework we are outlining today charts a course to 2040.

By which time, ASEAN's combined economy is expected to be the 4th largest in the world.

We are building on a strong foundation.

In 2022, ASEAN accounted for nearly 15 per cent of Australia's overall trade a greater than our two-way trade with Japan or the US.

But Australia's economic engagement with the region has not kept pace with the growth of Southeast Asian economies.

Australia should be a larger trade and investment partner for Southeast Asia.

The ambitious plan we are sharing today takes us beyond catching-up, it positions us for what's ahead.

Throughout 2023, Australia's Special Envoy to Southeast Asia, Nicholas Moore, has travelled up and down the region, visiting every ASEAN nation besides Myanmar.

He's had hundreds of conversations.

Absorbed hundreds of written submissions.

Today I am launching Nicholas' report, Invested: Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040.

Mr Moore has identified four key priorities:

Raising awareness - strengthening understanding of markets, sectors and emerging trends;

Removing blockages - addressing barriers to trade and investment;

Building capability - ensuring Australia and the region have the skills and knowledge to work effectively together;

And deepening investment - supporting Australian investors to identify, develop and finalise prospective deals in the region.

He's also identified a number of key sectors which offer the greatest potential for growth, including:

Agriculture and food

Energy security and the clean energy transition

Infrastructure

And education and skills.

Australia brings a lot to the table in expertise, goods, services and capital.

We are a provider of first-class services, particularly in health and education.

Our fast-growing tech sector is one of the largest in the southern hemisphere.

We are a reliable, high-quality supplier of commodities, including in agriculture, minerals and energy.

We are ready to use our strength in critical minerals - as well as abundant sun and wind resources - to support a secure and stable energy transition for the region.

There are significant opportunities for our businesses in Southeast Asia's fast-growing economies, including in infrastructure and the clean energy transition.

We will also benefit from further Southeast Asian investment and exports, which are already making a notable contribution to the Australian economy.

The foundations are there, too.

Businesses across the region are already engaging.

We've got Australian tech company, Powerledger, partnering with Thai solar providers to trial rooftop solar energy trading between apartment blocks in Bangkok.

There's the Malaysian engineering company, Gamuda, working with the New South Wales Government to build the Sydney Metro West.

There's Australian company, Aurecon, providing engineering and design services for exciting infrastructure and energy projects in Vietnam.

And Indonesia's cutting-edge technology company Bukalapak, which collaborated with the Victorian Government to open its first international technology hub in Melbourne in 2022.

Just a few examples among many.

It's the same story with trade.

Leading Australian company Cochlear has transformed the lives of over 9,000 people in Southeast Asia through distribution of its sophisticated hearing implants.

If you're lucky enough to be served a quintessential Australian lamington, the coconut is likely to hail from the Philippines.

Our economies and our cultures are already so intertwined a in ways big and small.

But what Nicholas kept hearing during his consultations was that both sides can do more.

Australia is ambitious for what we can achieve with the region to tackle the challenge of climate change, for example.

And we recognise that it's in all our interests to support the net zero transition.

Greater trade diversification, including through supply chains, is also in the region's and Australia's mutual interests.

There's so much potential still untapped.

My government will respond to all the findings of this comprehensive report in due course.

But there are some we're acting on right away.

Today I announce we will commit $95.4 million to support three initiatives that go to the heart of the strategy's priorities.

We'll form new Deal Teams, based in Southeast Asia and drawing on public and private sector expertise, to identify opportunities for Australian investors and support projects through to finalisation.

These teams will develop a pipeline of investment-ready projects and advise Australian investors on matters from regulatory approvals to finding local commercial partners.

We'll also embark on a new Southeast Asia Business Exchange Program to boost two-way trade.

This will improve awareness of trade opportunities both in Australia and in Southeast Asia.

And we'll set up an exchange program for young professionals, building enduring links between Australian and Southeast Asian businesses.

This will see talented young people from Australia gain experience working in Southeast Asian companies, as well as Southeast Asian professionals gaining experience in Australian businesses.

I look forward to getting these up and running.

Deepening our engagement with Southeast Asia is a priority for Australia.

But as I've said today, it's also an opportunity for the whole region. In the years ahead, all of us will benefit from the security we build together.

The prosperity we create together.

The stability we preserve together.

The sovereignty we respect together.

The environmental commitments we fulfil together.

The energy transition we drive together.

We can make ASEAN's next half-century even more successful than the last.

And we can share that success, together.

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Invested in Southeast Asia

Media release

06 Sep 2023

Prime Minister, Leader of the Government in the Senate, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Treasurer, Minister for Trade and Tourism



The Australian Government has today launched Invested: Australia's Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 to deepen Australia's economic engagement with our region and ensure our shared future prosperity.

The strategy, developed by Mr Nicholas Moore AO, Special Envoy for Southeast Asia, was announced by the Prime Minister at the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum in Jakarta today.

It sets out a practical pathway to increase Australia's two-way trade and investment with the region.

Southeast Asia is a centre of global activity and business, and one of the fastest-growing regions in the world. The strategy outlines how Australia can seize the vast opportunities our diverse and vibrant region presents. It also describes what Australia can offer our region, as a trusted and reliable partner.

The Special Envoy identified 10 priority sectors offering the most potential for growth: agriculture and food; resources; green energy transition; infrastructure; education and skills; visitor economy; healthcare; digital economy, professional and financial services; and creative industries.

The Prime Minister has committed to immediately support three initiatives that go to the heart of the strategy and are an investment in Australia's economic future:

Investment Deal Teams ($70.2 million over four years) who will be based in the ASEAN region and will work with Australian investors, Southeast Asian businesses and governments to identify and facilitate investment opportunities.

($70.2 million over four years) who will be based in the ASEAN region and will work with Australian investors, Southeast Asian businesses and governments to identify and facilitate investment opportunities. Southeast Asia Business Exchange ($19.2 million over four years) to boost two-way trade and support Australian exporters to enter, compete and grow in the fast-growing markets of Southeast Asia. This will include a trade and investment campaign to promote opportunities in Southeast Asian markets to Australian business and consumers.

($19.2 million over four years) to boost two-way trade and support Australian exporters to enter, compete and grow in the fast-growing markets of Southeast Asia. This will include a trade and investment campaign to promote opportunities in Southeast Asian markets to Australian business and consumers. Placements and Internships Pilot Program for Young Professionals ($6 million over four years) which will help to build enduring links between Australia and Southeast Asian businesses.

This strategy reaffirms the Australian Government's commitment to deepening our engagement with Southeast Asia.

The strategy is available at: Southeast Asia Economic Strategy | Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (dfat.gov.au).

Implementation of the strategy will be led by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Treasurer and the Minister for Trade and Tourism, supported by a joint taskforce between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Treasury.

Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:

"Southeast Asia's fast-growing economies present a major opportunity for Australian business, but we haven't kept pace with their exponential growth.

"Our economic future lies with Southeast Asia. This strategy outlines how we can harness this growth, and seize the vast trade and investment opportunities our region presents.

"I thank Special Envoy to Southeast Asia, Nicholas Moore, for developing a comprehensive strategy based on extensive consultation across the region."

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong:

"The Albanese Government is deploying all elements of our national power to make Australia stronger and more influential in the world, including by deepening our engagement in the region.

"Investing in priority sectors such as the green energy transition, infrastructure and food security is an investment in Australia's future and the future of the region.

"The strategy reinforces that trade and investment diversification is key to our shared future prosperity and economic security. We seek genuine partnership with Southeast Asian economies to capture untapped opportunities for our mutual benefit."

Quotes attributable to Treasurer Jim Chalmers:

"Australians can be the beneficiaries of the some of the big shifts that are underway in the region by deepening our engagement in Southeast Asia.

"Whether it be the energy transformation, high-skilled manufacturing or world-class produce, we have the goods and services that the region needs to power its growth in the decades ahead.

"Greater integration with the dynamic markets of Southeast Asia will ultimately help deliver better jobs and better opportunities here at home."

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell:

"This strategy reinforces our intent and priorities to expand and diversify trade and investment between Australia and Southeast Asia.

"It charts a pathway to help Australian exporters, investors, tourism businesses, higher education providers, and creative sectors make the most of the booming opportunities in our region."

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US senators question defense sharing with Australia

Australia's spy chief acknowledged Chinese espionage is rife, committee chair says.

By Alex Willemyns for RFA 2023.09.06 -- Australia and the United Kingdom need to adopt more stringent controls on the use of American military technology before the United States relaxes its export licensing requirements under the AUKUS pact, a State Department official told the Senate on Wednesday.

The AUKUS security arrangement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States includes a long-term goal of creating a "seamless" defense industry across the three nations, but Australia has complained of a burdensome process for its companies to receive licenses to import U.S. military technology needed for innovation.

Democrats in the House have expressed concerns about the security implications of making exemptions to licensing requirements, even as Republicans have argued the two close allies should be trusted.

On Wednesday, Sen. Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho who serves as his party's ranking member on the Foreign Relations Committee, noted Australia and the United Kingdom are trusted to receive intelligence, and so could be trusted with military technology.

"There is a very distinct difference between the way we treat allies in the intelligence field versus how we treat them on other things, like exports, and I think it probably would behoove State ... to spend a little bit of time with the intelligence community," Risch said.

He said the current requirements were "overly cumbersome."

"We share incredibly, incredibly sensitive and important material with the Five Eyes," he said. "I don't have the concerns that some have."

Public versus private

However, Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey who chairs the committee, said that there was a key difference between intelligence sharing and exempting countries from export controls.

"We share intelligence with government officials," he said. "Export controls, however, control U.S. defense technology to non-government persons." That required more careful oversight, he said.

He added Australia's spy chief, Mike Burgess, recently "warned about the extent of Chinese espionage directed at Australia," which he said should be weighed against the unwieldiness of licensing, given concerns that sensitive technology could end up in the wrong hands.

"The concerns are legitimate on both sides," he said.

Jessica Lewis, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, told the committee that the State Department was "really focussed on getting Australia and the U.K. over the line" but said the process was complex given the high stakes involved in licensing matters.

"What we're talking about is license-free movement of these defense articles. That means that if you are on the list of companies or entities that can receive it, you don't have to come and ask permission to export [from the United States] a lethal weapon," Lewis said.

"We want to make sure that if a country is trying to acquire a particular technology, it can't get around the system by going into a place where there's more room in their export controls," she said. "It's common sense to work together to bring all of us to similar standards."

Submarine deal

The viability of another part of AUKUS - the sale of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia - was also questioned during the hearing.

Sen. Bill Haggerty, a Republican from Tennessee, noted that the sale had been promised amid a massive backlog in American shipbuilding yards, with the U.S. Navy "25% short" of its goal of 66 submarines.

"The pace-of-making is, I've read, maybe 1.2 submarines a year," Haggerty said. "By giving these submarines to Australia, that'll put us three-to-four years behind in our production process."

"Looking at the Navy's most optimistic projection, they don't see realizing this goal of 66 attack subs until the year 2049 - that's before taking into account the submarines that we would send to Australia."

But Sen. Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia, called it a "chicken or an egg" problem, with Australia also promising massive investments in the U.S. shipbuilding industry to secure the nuclear-powered subs.

"Australia is going to make a historic investment in the U.S. industrial base," Kaine said, but only "if they know that during the 2030s, we will be willing to deliver to them three to five Virginia-class subs."

"If they make that investment, it will help us increase our pace of production," he said. "If they don't make that investment, it will be harder to increase the pace of production."

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 September 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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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese

Prime Minister of Canada - Justin Trudeau

September 6, 2023

Jakarta, Indonesia

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Prime Minister Trudeau thanked Prime Minister Albanese for Australia's support to Canada in battling the wildfires and underscored the importance of taking action on climate change.

Prime Minister Trudeau highlighted Canada's commitment to working with Australia to ensure a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, while underscoring Australia's role as a close partner and ally.

The prime ministers highlighted the importance of building stable, resilient, and responsible critical mineral supply chains and cooperating on priorities such as climate change, energy security, economic growth for all, and ongoing support for Ukraine in the face of Russia's illegal and unjustified war.

Prime Minister Trudeau and Prime Minister Albanese agreed to meet again at the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi, India.

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Joint Leaders' Statement on ASEAN-Canada Strategic Partnership

Prime Minister of Canada - Justin Trudeau

September 6, 2023

Jakarta, Indonesia

WE, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and

Canada gathered in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 6, 2023 at the ASEAN-Canada

Leaders' Summit;

RECALLING the commitment made during the ASEAN-Canada Commemorative Summit on 12 November 2022 to establish an ASEAN-Canada Strategic Partnership;

EMPHASISING the importance of adhering to key principles, shared values and norms enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the ASEAN Charter, the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS);

RECOGNISING the long history of cooperation between ASEAN and Canada since the establishment of Dialogue Relations in 1977;

NOTING that both the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy share relevant fundamental principles in promoting an open, inclusive, transparent and rules-based regional architecture in the Indo-Pacific region, in which ASEAN is central;

ACKNOWLEDGING Canada's consistent support for ASEAN Centrality in the evolving regional architecture which underscores Canada's commitment to regional peace, security and prosperity and to ASEAN integration and ASEAN Community-building process;

REAFFIRMING our shared commitment to strengthen ASEAN-Canada Dialogue

Relations for a strategic partnership that supports ASEAN and Canada to jointly address new challenges, including through cooperation in ASEAN-led mechanisms and international fora.

WE HEREBY DECLARE THE FOLLOWING:

Establish the ASEAN-Canada Strategic Partnership whereby ASEAN and Canada will closely collaborate in strategic areas of mutual interest.

Continue building on the Plan of Action to Implement the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-Canada Enhanced Partnership (2021-2025), and support the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and its Post-2025 Community Vision as well as the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

Political-Security Community

Promote maritime security and safety, freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded commerce, mutual trust and confidence, the exercise of self-restraint, the non-use of force or the threat to use force, and the resolution of disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the relevant Standards and Recommended Practices of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and the relevant instruments and conventions of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Enhance cooperation in maintaining peace, security and stability, and addressing common traditional and non-traditional security challenges in the region, including transnational crimes, non-proliferation, cybersecurity, terrorism and violent extremism, trafficking in persons and people smuggling and maritime security, including through the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) capacity building programmes and the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) annual consultations with Canada.

Deepen cooperation in cybersecurity including through the ASEAN-Singapore Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence to support ASEAN in its critical transition towards the digital economy.

Economic Cooperation

Strengthen economic ties, by encouraging investment and innovation partnership in key sectors and supporting capacity building and technical assistance aligned with ASEAN priorities, including women's economic empowerment, towards a stronger and more resilient ASEAN Economic Community for both ASEAN and Canada, as well as promoting, both private sector and state-owned enterprise engagement, including with Canadian pension funds subject to their own decision making process for strategic projects in ASEAN.

7. Enhance trade and investment ties through new initiatives including holding a trade event which would give Senior Economic Officials from both sides and business community the opportunity to engage with the Canadian private sector and industries.

8.Promote greater regional economic integration, development, and resilience, including through progress toward and timely conclusion of a commercially meaningful ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA), which will bring economic benefits to ASEAN and Canada and enhance our shared commitment to a rules-based trading system and achieving fair, open and free markets, as well as sustainable economic growth and development.

Support the participation of ASEAN Member States in negotiations toward ACAFTA.

Strengthen ASEAN's economic resilience and competitiveness and increase ASEAN Member States' ability to benefit fully from international trade and investment with Canada, including through the Canadian Trade and Investment Facility for Development and Expert Deployment Mechanism for Trade and Development.

Promote greater economic cooperation and innovation between ASEAN and Canada in the areas of business and investment engagement and networks to provide a modern, dynamic environment for ASEAN and Canadian businesses including through Canada's investment of CAD24 million in the Canadian Trade Gateway in Southeast Asia.

Work together to explore opportunities to advance the development and empowerment of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which are the backbone of our economy.

Support partnerships in Science, Technology and Innovation by striving to increase research and development (R&D) collaborations, and encourage new initiatives among research institutes, higher education institutes and enterprises to promote science, education technology, technology and innovation development in the region through capacity-building, technology transfer on voluntary and mutually agreed terms, and sharing of best practices on advanced and relevant technology and commercialisation. Canada and ASEAN will cooperate to identify and facilitate opportunities for our MSMEs to collaborate on innovation and business-oriented R&D partnerships in support of key areas of cooperation of the AOIP.

Enhance cooperation in key sectors such as, Industry 4.0, Cybersecurity, digital trade, 5G, Internet of Things (IoT) and other emerging technologies, aiming to connect ASEAN and Canadian companies, including MSMEs and the ASEAN's digital transformation agenda, including the Bandar Seri Begawan Roadmap for mutual benefits.

Strengthen ASEAN-Canada cooperation on food security to promote trade and investment; refraining from imposing restrictive measures that are inconsistent with the WTO Agreement, to prevent disruption to food trade.

Advance technical cooperation by sharing best practices and capacity building in research and development on agricultural product and agro-food innovation as well as support infrastructure development in the agricultural sector to support long-term, reliable trade relationships and a stronger supply chain. Look forward to the establishment of Canada's first Indo-Pacific Agriculture and Agri-food Office which will enable and amplify engagements with stakeholders, regulatory counterparts, and policy decision makers to deepen partnerships with ASEAN Member States and advance mutual trade objectives in the agriculture sector.

Work together to build new clean energy supply chains and promote clean energy technologies by exploring Canadian cleantech demonstration projects and sector discussions.

Support the implementation of connectivity agenda in ASEAN including through Canada's CAD 750 million recapitalisation of FinDev Canada, its development finance institution (DFI), to encourage and enable the financing of high-quality, sustainable infrastructure projects which could help contribute to achieving the objectives of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 (MPAC 2025) and its successor documents as well as Connectivity as one of the areas of cooperation of the AOIP.

Socio-cultural cooperation

Continue investing in human capital development and strengthening our peopleto-people linkages by promoting opportunities for all our peoples, particularly youth and the most vulnerable, including through increased funding for the Canada-ASEAN Scholarships and Educational Exchanges for Development (SEED) program which gives eligible students from ASEAN Member States the opportunity to undertake funded study and research at Canadian post-secondary institutions. Canada will expand the SEED Program with a further CAD14 million investment including its operations to facilitate ASEAN Member States students' contributions to the sustainable development of the region.

Strengthen efforts in advancing the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda globally, including through sharing of information and best practices, enhancing security related cooperation in the context of WPS within the ASEAN-led mechanisms, launching of a regional WPS initiative; the Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations and regionally, the 'Empowering Women for Sustainable Peace' initiative and cooperation with UN Women and the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, as well as through a CAD8.5 million initiative to support ASEAN-led efforts to advance the WPS agenda in ASEAN, including the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on WPS such as the ASEAN-led WPS module development and training for the ASEAN officials.

Welcome Canada's commitment to host a series of WPS dialogues in 2023, to support the implementation of the WPS agenda in ASEAN and meaningfully engaging women for an inclusive and sustainable approach to peace.

Continue to work together to strengthen health-security in the region through collaboration between ASEAN and Canada, including through the existing Mitigation of Biological Threats Programme to respond to all manner of biological threats, whether natural, accidental or deliberate in origin. Canada will seek to bolster health-security capabilities by building on existing support to the ASEAN Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Network and the ASEAN BioDiaspora Virtual Centre, as well as through the new ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED).

Work together to support Canada's engagement in the region to enhance ties with ASEAN countries across all three ASEAN pillars. Canada will also expand its diplomatic footprint in the region with additional positions in diplomatic missions in ASEAN Member States to improve capacity to engage with ASEAN and deliver programs and services.

Enhance cooperation on research and development on fisheries, and fishing activity, including protecting fish stocks, advancing ecosystem conservation, and reducing the use of plastic fish aggregating devices, through technical assistance and support related to these activities, as well as explore possible cooperation to promote responsible fishing practices and to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and welcome Canada's new Shared Ocean Fund to support such initiatives.

Cross-Pillar Issues

Welcome the establishment of an ASEAN-Canada Plan of Action Trust Fund to support the objectives of all three ASEAN Community pillars with an initial contribution of CAD1 million and note Canada's intention to increase its contribution by CAD10.7 million.

Support the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) and explore collaboration between the ASCN and the Canada Smart City Challenge.

Promote a sustainable and resilient future of the region, including through pursuing complementarities and shared priorities in the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with particular emphasis on eradicating poverty, promoting the conservation of natural resources and the environment, promoting peace and prosperity through equitable development and sustainable economic growth, including in the fields of energy resilience; clean and just energy transition and renewable energy deployment; decarbonization of the transportation sector; climate change mitigation and adaptation; health security; sustainable management of water and natural resources; food security; sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and land management.

Promote cooperation and exchange of experience, best practices and research on environmental protection, water resource management, chemical and waste management, innovative solutions and clean technologies. Enable a long-term cooperation between ASEAN and Canada on climate change, for global and regional harmonisation of climate actions, including through collaboration with the ASEAN Centre for Climate Change (ACCC) when it is established, in the focus areas of climate change adaptation and mitigation, climate finance and technology transfer. Further promote cooperation to combat marine pollution to contribute to the implementation of the ASEAN Regional Action Plan for Combating Marine Debris in the ASEAN Member States (2021- 2025) and the ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Blue Economy.

Strengthen cross-pillar and multi-sectoral collaboration on the protection and conservation of nature and biodiversity with the support of the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB) to contribute to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, in particular to advance biodiversity as part of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and Ecosystem-based Approaches (EbA), to address climate change and prevent future pandemics by investing in natural capital.

Enhance cooperation on capacity building, technology transfer, and R&D for sustainable forest management and wildland fire prevention, monitoring and management, especially working closely with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre on Transboundary Haze Pollution Control (ACC THPC), the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC), as well as other relevant ASEAN centres and entities.

Commit to strengthen ASEAN capacity and effectiveness, by supporting human resource development in ASEAN and increasing engagement, as well as exchanging best practices with ASEAN institutions, particularly the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR), the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Centre (ARMAC), ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue (ACSDSD), and with Canadian public service expertise.

Commit to consolidate ASEAN-Canada partnership and strategic engagement through more frequent and meaningful dialogues at various levels. We welcome

Canada's support for ASEAN-led mechanisms and note its interest in joining the East Asia Summit (EAS), the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus and the observership program of the ADMM-Plus Experts' Working Groups Maritime Security, and on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, subject to these mechanisms' respective enlargement processes. Support Timor-Leste in fulfilling the Roadmap for Timor-Leste's Membership in ASEAN.

Strengthen Canada's support for ASEAN's increased engagement with international fora, including the United Nations and G20, and in its role as G7 chair in 2025 and explore collaboration with ASEAN in its next phase of its Community Vision.

As we adopt this Joint Statement, we tasked our relevant officials to implement the above initiatives to complement the programmes and goals identified in the Plan of Action to Implement the Joint Declaration on ASEAN-Canada Enhanced Partnership (2021-2025) as well as in the ASEAN-Canada 45th Anniversary Commemorative Summit Joint Statement, based on mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual benefit, with a view to strengthen our Strategic Partnership.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh

Prime Minister of Canada - Justin Trudeau

September 6, 2023

Jakarta, Indonesia

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh, on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The two leaders noted that 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Canada-Vietnam diplomatic relations and welcomed the long-standing people-to-people ties between our two countries.

The prime ministers exchanged perspectives on fighting climate change, promoting biodiversity, creating good jobs, and supporting economic growth for all, including through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and ongoing negotiations toward the Canada-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement. Prime Minister Trudeau announced plans for a Team Canada Trade Mission to Vietnam in 2024.

Prime Minister Trudeau raised consular issues and the importance of advancing the promotion and protection of human rights. The two leaders also discussed their shared commitment to defending the rules-based international order and cooperating to foster a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Prime Minister Trudeau also reiterated Canada's commitment to deepening cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations members under the new Canada-ASEAN Strategic Partnership, and the broader region through Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim

Prime Minister of Canada - Justin Trudeau

September 6, 2023

Jakarta, Indonesia

Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Prime Minister Trudeau expressed his appreciation for Malaysia's support of the ASEAN-Canada Strategic Partnership, including in its capacity as Canada's coordinating country at ASEAN, and shared views on areas for collaboration to deepen bilateral relations and create good jobs in both countries.

The prime ministers discussed working together on strengthening democracy and democratic institutions, as well as deepening collaboration on renewable energy, agri-food, infrastructure, and clean and advanced technologies. Prime Minister Trudeau also announced plans for a Team Canada Trade Mission to Malaysia in 2024.

Prime Minister Trudeau provided an update on the implementation of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy to advance regional initiatives related to trade and investment, defence and security, sustainable development, and the fight against climate change. The leaders also discussed ongoing initiatives to strengthen people-to-people ties between Canada and Malaysia, including through the recently expanded Canada-ASEAN Scholarships and Educational Exchanges for Development program.

The leaders agreed on the importance of working together to strengthen support for the rules-based international order, especially in the wake of Russia's illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine.

Prime Minister Trudeau and Prime Minister Anwar reaffirmed their commitment to continue enhancing bilateral relations between Canada and Malaysia and agreed to remain in contact.

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Li calls for opposing new Cold War, promoting cooperation

Global Times

Premier makes a four-point proposal for closer China-ASEAN ties

By Yang Sheng, Li Xuanmin and Zhang Yuying Published: Sep 06, 2023 09:22 PM Updated: Sep 06, 2023 10:53 PM

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said at the 26th China-ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia Wednesday that as long as China and ASEAN countries keep to the right path, whatever storms may come, their cooperation will be as firm as ever and they can press ahead against all odds, and analysts said that China-ASEAN ties remain close and will continue to develop to withstand the impacts of any external interference that attempts to instigate tensions and conflicts.

Li said that China-ASEAN cooperation has come a long way thanks to their keen understanding about hardships. "China and ASEAN countries have been committed to the unwavering pursuit of peace with a strong aspiration for development, and both take real actions to safeguard regional stability," he said at the summit, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

The Chinese premier also said that China and ASEAN countries have properly handled disagreements by seeking common ground while shelving differences through dialogue and consultation.

"The two sides have been deepening practical cooperation in the traditional and non-traditional security fields, and have upheld the five principles of peaceful co-existence and the purpose of the TAC (Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia)," Li remarked.

Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday that "facing rising turbulence among the international community and the challenge of reverse globalization, China continues its attendance at the multilateral event held by ASEAN and chaired by Indonesia, where it presents China's solutions to global challenges with sincerity despite interruptions brought by external forces. These have shaped an image of China as a responsible major power."

The US is making great efforts to use disputes among regional countries on the South China Sea issue to instigate new tensions, interrupting the stability and development of the region to ruin the process of negotiation, experts said. These acts are not welcomed by the majority of ASEAN members, and with more pragmatic cooperation and dialogues with China, ASEAN is able to maintain peace and stability for the region to withstand external interruptions, they noted.

For ASEAN, the key is to see whether China or the US is sincere in its support of ASEAN's centrality in the region, Xu said. "While it openly expresses support, the US' actions show its duplicity. The Biden administration is trying to promote its Indo-Pacific strategy over and over again. It wants to force ASEAN members to join its small clique and to have unnecessary but dangerous tensions with China while offering no meaningful support to boost regional integration or economic development. It is only interested in costly security cooperation. This in fact weakens ASEAN's centrality and shows that the US' purpose is different from what ASEAN wants," Xu noted.

China has proven its respect and support for ASEAN by actions and notable cooperation projects like high-speed rail construction. China has always insisted on seeking solutions to disputes via diplomacy with relevant countries in the region, and China has never established any new multilateral platforms in the region to weaken the ASEAN's position. ASEAN members are crystal clear about these differences between China and the US, experts said.

Premier Li took a test ride Wednesday on Southeast Asia's first high-speed railway, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, which connects two Indonesian cities as part of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, media reported.

ASEAN's wisdom

According to Indonesian media TEMPO, Indonesian President Joko Widodo hailed the importance of China-ASEAN mutual trust as he opened the summit on Wednesday. He stressed the need for ASEAN and China to realize concrete cooperation that is mutually profitable. "This can only be done if we have trust in each other, which of course needs to be developed and maintained by all parties," Jokowi said at the Jakarta Convention Center on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, at the 43rd ASEAN Summit, Widodo stated that ASEAN would continue to uphold equality. As the world faces all kinds of issues, greater challenges will come, and there will be things leading to a tussle for influence by the superpowers. "ASEAN has agreed not to become a proxy for any power," Jokowi said, TEMPO reported.

Chinese analysts said as a major power in ASEAN, Indonesia realizes that with the rising tensions caused by the US-launched containment against China, as well as the tensions between the West and Russia over the Ukraine crisis, ASEAN is facing a danger of becoming an arena for confrontation between great powers.

Marzuki Alie, former speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview that "The relationship between China and the United States has a very complex and growing effect on Southeast Asian conditions. To attain stability and prosperity in Southeast Asia, it is essential that countries in the region maintain a balance and establish mutually beneficial relations with the two countries, as well as promote constructive dialogue and cooperation to achieve stability and prosperity in Southeast Asia."

"In some respects, China's contribution to ASEAN is greater than that of other nations, including the United States," Marzuki said.

Wirun Phichaiwongphakdee, director of the Thailand-China Research Center of the Belt and Road Initiative and researcher at the Thailand-China Strategic Research Center at the National Research Institute of Thailand, told the Global Times that "It seems like some Western countries have gone to great lengths to maintain their hegemonic position on the global stage, even at the cost of instigating divisions and even conflicts."

"But what ASEAN economies and other parts of the world need are cooperation and development, which are incorporated in the concepts and initiatives China has put forward. We welcome competition, but not in the form of veering into confrontation," said the Thai expert.

"China is not only the creator of mutually beneficial concepts, but also a true propeller of regional development, which are in stark contrast to some countries' empty promises. I would suggest that some countries not interfere and create chatter while interfering in China-ASEAN cooperation, because we know what is best for us," Wirun said.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at the ASEAN-China summit on Wednesday that the US and China need to "show leadership" to address a range of global issues, making it crucial for both to continue dialogue, build strategic trust at all levels and strive for greater cooperation, according to the CNA.

When the US only interested in containing China's development by all means to preserve its hegemony, it is impossible for the two biggest economies to "show leadership" together, even though China has always urged the US not to be driven by a cold war mentality, to cease its hostile containment strategy against China, and has called for cooperation to find a solution for global challenges, experts noted. On this matter, China shares a consensus with the majority of the international community, and the key is for the rest of the world to convince the US to change its mind, experts said.

Economic growth center

In his speech, Li outlined the Chinese economic situation with the ASEAN members and other Asian countries. According to Xinhua, Li said in his opening remarks at the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit that the "Chinese economy is on track to realize the annual growth target of around 5 percent." China is advancing high-quality development in Chinese modernization on all fronts. The Chinese economy enjoys bright prospects, and will continue to generate fresh and greater opportunities for the region and the rest of the world, he remarked.

Li stressed that the ASEAN Plus Three countries, and indeed all countries in Asia, share so many things in common. They share a common home, common interests and common opportunities, Li said at the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit.

Li made a four-point proposal for fostering a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future, the first of which is that China and ASEAN should work together to build an economic growth center, enhance interconnectivity, and deepen cooperation in industrial and supply chains.

Both sides should also jointly promote cooperation in emerging industries, and strengthen collaboration in such fields as new energy vehicles, photovoltaics and artificial intelligence, Li said.

Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that "the premier's remarks sent a strong signal to counter the recent narratives among Western media and politicians that have badmouthed China's economy. He delivers confidence to the region about not only China's economic growth, but also the joint growth that will benefit all countries in Asia."

"According to some data released by the US, it might be able to realize 2 to 3 percent annual growth, and if we take the US national debt into account, the US can only realize an annual growth of 0.2 to 0.3 percent at the most. Based on these facts, China, with a 5 percent annual growth, is still growing faster than the US, and with more potential," Li Haidong noted.

By badmouthing China's economy, the US is trying to spread fear and concern about a potential crisis in Asia, to drive talents and money away from the region and move to the US, so when US leaders and media talk about the economy, they do not care about benefiting everyone, but try to ruin the growth of others and use the crisis for their own benefit, Li Haidong said. "This is what the US is really good at, and it has tried many times in the past."

This is why China is encouraging ASEAN, as well as the whole of Asia, to remain confident and work together to build an economic growth center with strong certainty amid a world in turbulence, experts said.

During the summit, a joint statement was issued on mutually beneficial cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and a series of outcome documents were adopted, including a joint statement on deepening agricultural cooperation between China and ASEAN, an action plan on China-ASEAN green agricultural development (2023-2027), an initiative on enhancing bilateral e-commerce cooperation, and an initiative on jointly implementing China-ASEAN science and technology innovation enhancement program.

The summit also welcomed the signing of an agreement on China-ASEAN technical cooperation and announced the year of 2024 as the China-ASEAN year of people-to-people exchanges.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on September 6, 2023

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

CCTV: The 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) concludes today. As the global economy struggles to recover and China's economy faces pressure, what message do you think this year's CIFTIS sends to the world?

Mao Ning: The China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) provides the world with a window into China's high-level opening-up and an important platform for exchanges and cooperation between businesses around the globe. President Xi Jinping addressed the Global Trade in Services Summit of the 2023 CIFTIS via video and announced important measures on opening the services sector wider to the world. It shows China's determination and commitment to expand high-level opening-up and cooperation for shared benefit. By hosting CIFTIS, China hopes to share opportunities in trade in services, help grow global trade, and create new growth drivers for global economic recovery.

In recent years, despite the complex and challenging external environment, China's trade in services has grown fast and shown strong resilience. Imports and exports of services for 2022 approached RMB 6 trillion, up 12.9 percent year-on-year, hitting a record high and ranking second in the world for the ninth year in a row. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted in her video remarks to the summit that since China's accession to the WTO in 2001, its share in global trade in services has risen by over 1.5 times from 2.4 percent to 6.5 percent. China is now the world's fourth largest exporter and second largest importer of services, and is becoming a global center for the supply and demand of services.

The world economy thrives in openness and withers in seclusion. China stands ready to work with all parties to promote inclusive development with openness in the services sector, jointly safeguard free trade and the multilateral trade system, and provide more and better Chinese services to the world.

AFP: The US climate envoy John Kerry has said he hopes China and the US can come together on climate, adding that climate change is not a bilateral issue but a universal threat to the planet. Does China agree with Mr. Kerry's assessments or have any other comments on these remarks?

Mao Ning: Climate change is a global challenge and calls for a global response. China's position on addressing climate change is consistent and clear. China is committed to building a fair and equitable system of global climate governance that benefits all. We do our best to undertake due international responsibilities and obligations commensurate with China's national conditions and have made positive contributions to the international cooperation in addressing climate change. China and the US jointly facilitated the conclusion and coming into effect of the Paris Agreement. We hope the US will work with China to create enabling conditions and atmosphere for China-US climate cooperation.

Nikkei: The ASEAN Plus Three Summit is held in Indonesia today. Will China raise the issue of the ocean discharge of the "treated water" from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at the summit? China's reference to the "treated water" as "nuclear-contaminated water" has not been recognized by the international community. How do you view this?

Mao Ning: On China's participation in the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation, we will release information in due course. We noted the media reports that Japan said it would explain the discharge to other countries during the meetings. We hope Japan will face up to international concerns and explain its position with sincerity and a science-based attitude, which will gain the international community's faith, rather than continue to downplay or veil the harm of the discharge.

Japan coined the term "treated water" and keeps telling the world that the concentration of tritium is up to standard in order to create an impression that there is only tritium as a radioactive substance in the nuclear-contaminated water and that since the concentration of tritium is up to standard, the nuclear-contaminated water is harmless. But this narrative can hardly deceive the international community. As a matter of fact, the Fukushima waste water contains a complex range of elements. Even after purification, the water will still contain dozens of radionuclides such as carbon-14, cobalt-60, strontium-90, iodine-129 and caesium-137. No matter what name Japan gives to the water, these radionuclides will not just disappear by themselves. This is a fact that Japan needs to face.

China News Service: The first phase of the Dhaka Airport Elevated Expressway project in the capital of Bangladesh was recently completed. Chinese companies invested and participated in the construction and operation of the project. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended the ceremony to inaugurate the project and hailed it as a new milestone for Bangladesh's transportation infrastructure which is expected to ease traffic congestion in Dhaka and boost Bangladesh's economic growth. What's China's comment?

Mao Ning: Bangladesh is the first South Asian country to sign a Belt and Road cooperation MOU with China. Our two countries have had fruitful high-quality Belt and Road cooperation in recent years. The Dhaka Airport Elevated Expressway project is the first of its kind and the first and so far the biggest PPP project in Bangladesh. Chinese companies invested and participated in its construction and operation. As Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said at the inauguration ceremony, the project will greatly improve traffic in Dhaka and have a positive impact on Bangladesh's socioeconomic development.

As a friendly neighbor and strategic partner of Bangladesh, China will continue to work with the country to advance the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and support Bangladesh in realizing the "Sonar Bangla" dream at an early date.

AFP: Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno has criticized the release of a Chinese government map that shows what Japan calls the Senkaku Islands and what China calls the Diaoyu Islands belonging to China. Matsuno said that Japan had complained to China through diplomatic channels and demanded the retraction of that map. What's China's response to that?

Mao Ning: Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands have all along been China's territory. It is only natural that they are marked as Chinese territory on a map. China does not accept Japan's protest.

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China warns against 'new Cold War' at ASEAN summit

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 06 September 2023 7:10 PM

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has warned against the "new Cold War" at the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) when dealing with conflicts between countries, as leaders of the economic grouping gathered in Indonesia.

On Wednesday, Li sounded the alarm at the 43rd ASEAN summit held in Jakarta amid sharpening geopolitical rivalries across the Indo-Pacific region, stressing that countries needed to "appropriately handle differences and disputes."

"At present, it is very important to oppose taking sides, bloc confrontation and a new Cold War," Li told the annual meeting.

China has time and again expressed concern about US-backed blocs forming on its doorstep, while facing disputes with other powers in the region over the South China Sea and other issues.

"Disagreements and disputes may arise between countries due to misperceptions, diverging interests or external interferences," Li further said at the beginning of the ASEAN-plus-three meeting with Japan and South Korea.

Relations between China and the United States have deteriorated in recent years over Washington's constant meddling in Taiwan and more recetnly over the conflict in Ukraine.

Beijing has repeatedly accused Washington of various military provocations in the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and elsewhere across the region.

The 10-member political and economic union, which has already warned of the danger of getting dragged into disputes among major powers, is also holding further talks with Li, US Vice President Kamala Harris and leaders of partner countries, including Japan, South Korea, Australia and India.

Neither US President Joe Biden nor his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, is attending the summit.

ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Harris, for her part, claimed that Washington "has an enduring commitment to Southeast Asia and more broadly to the Indo-Pacific."

She also said the US would continue to pressure the ruling junta in Myanmar to put an end to "horrific violence" that has erupted since a military coup in 2021.

In a statement, ASEAN chair Indonesia noted that the bloc needed to "strengthen stability in the maritime sphere in our region ... and explore new initiatives towards these ends", stressing that regional leaders expressed "grave concern" over a lack of substantial progress on ASEAN's five-point peace plan for Myanmar.

An 18-member East Asia Summit is scheduled on Thursday to be attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, where broader geopolitical issues are expected to top the agenda.

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Hong Kong detention center overflowing as thousands serve time for protests

Prison visitors say they could be targeted by police for helping jailed pro-democracy protesters.

By Siyan Cheung for RFA Cantonese 2023.09.06 -- A major detention facility in Hong Kong is overflowing after a years-long crackdown on political opposition and peaceful dissent, official documents show.

The Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre, one of the biggest remand centers in the city, is already full, with the government expecting a "growing penal population" in the years to come, according to a document submitted to lawmakers in July.

More than 10,000 people have been arrested and at least 2,800 prosecuted in a citywide crackdown in the wake of the 2019 protest movement, mostly under public order charges.

At least 230 have been arrested under the national security law, which criminalizes public criticism of the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, as well as ties and funding arrangements with overseas organizations deemed hostile to China.

According to the U.S.-based Hong Kong Democracy Council, 1,618 of those defendants are classed as political prisoners - peaceful critics of the government. Defendants in national security cases are far less likely to be granted bail, swelling the population of remand prisoners.

A major detention center at Lai Chi Kok where defendants are taken to await trial is currently running at around 104% capacity, the government has said.

"In view of the aging facilities and the overcrowded custodial environment of the Lai Chi Kok Reception Center, the Correctional Services Department proposes an in-situ partial redevelopment to increase ... capacity ... to free up more space to relieve the overcrowding problem," officials from the department told the Legislative Council in a letter in July.

The plan is estimated to cost around HK$5.5 billion, according to the document, and will increase capacity to nearly 2,000 places, as well as enabling the building of a data center, new walls and fences as well as rooms where prisoners can attend remote hearings.

The number of people remanded in Hong Kong jails pending trial is at its highest in more than a decade, the South China Morning Post newspaper quoted correctional services chief Wong Kwok-hing as saying in February.

Targeted for their support

Fears are growing among supporters of those detained that they will be targeted themselves.

National security police continue to arrest people for supporting political prisoners via the 612 Humanitarian Relief fund.

Last month, police arrested 10 people in connection with the now-disbanded fund's activities. The arrests of outspoken Cardinal Joseph Zen and other trustees of the fund prompted an international outcry in May 2022.

The fund isn't the only prison-related charity to be targeted. Prisoner welfare charity Wall-fare disbanded after Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong from July 1, 2020.

Under the current crackdown, police are apt to view such charities as aiding and abetting "rioters" or people who seek to "harm national security," with social worker Ka Tung Lau serving an eight-month jail term for helping people detained during the 2019 protest movement against the rolling back of Hong Kong's diminishing freedoms.

Lau said the authorities had frozen his bank account, but he got to work raising further funds on Patreon to support prisoners with monthly donations.

Despite his time in prison, Lau is keeping going, but alone, this time.

"I feel that it is risky to do anything that is even remotely political ... so, given how easy it is for other people to get pulled into [such cases], it's better for me to do this alone," Lau said. "I also have a pretty clear idea of how much risk I can take, which I think makes me more flexible."

Lau keeps a court diary of his own, and keeps track of all the dates and times of the hearings, which he then observes from the public gallery.

He doesn't know whether such actions will put him at further risk, however.

"The idea of avoiding risk is really just a fantasy, because the boundaries are very unclear," Lau said.

Former Mong Kok District Councilor Derek Chu set up a platform called "Migratory Bird" to support prisoners, making money via the As One online shopping platform - part of the "yellow economic circle of pro-democracy businesses" - to support his prison work.

But he doesn't accept donations, as these can get a person or a group into trouble, especially as overseas donations are seen as funding by "foreign powers" under the national security law.

2019 protests

More than 90% of the prisoners Chu helps are being prosecuted or are serving jail terms for their role in the 2019 protests.

"I think just supporting prisoners is legal," Chu said. "But it's hard to predict whether I will run into obstacles or other risks."

Just being labeled as pro-democracy in people's minds can be a risk in today's Hong Kong, and Chu prefers to keep a low profile.

On Aug. 20, 15 national security police came along to a book reading event Chu held with social worker and former lawmaker Shiu Ka-chun and searched the venue.

Chu remains mentally prepared for his own arrest, he told Radio Free Asia.

According to Hong Kong court-reporting website The Witness, around 2,900 people had been prosecuted for taking part in the 2019 protests by December 2022, 819 for "rioting." Some 40% of sentences have already been served, while most of the remainder are scheduled for release this year.

However, arrests of people under the national security law continue.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by 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 September 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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China In Eurasia Briefing: The Belt And Road Turns 10

By Reid Standish September 06, 2023

The Belt And Road Turns 10

It's been 10 years since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese leader Xi Jinping's signature foreign-policy venture that has seen hundreds of billions of dollars invested into infrastructure around the world, was unveiled as part of a major push to build global influence.

But where does it stand after a decade?

Finding Perspective: It was September 6, 2013, when Xi touched down in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, and was warmly greeted by then-President Nursultan Nazarbaev. The next day, he gave a speech where he evoked imagery of camel caravans as he announced that he wanted to create a contemporary version of the ancient Silk Road.

A lot has changed since then. The initiative has been rebranded and renamed over the years and it has shifted from being seen as a rising economic tide that could lift all boats to the tip of the spear of a wider geopolitical contest for influence.

This evolution has seen BRI go a long way from its early days and has since become far more than just financing and building infrastructure. Today, there's no denying that it's an integral part of Chinese foreign policy and the Chinese Communist Party's global ambitions.

But what future does it hold?

In 10 years, it's grappled with scandals over corruption, environmental degradation, and saddling host countries with debt. The pandemic, by the Chinese Foreign Ministry's own accounting, has impacted up to 40 percent of BRI projects, while 20 percent have been severely impacted with delays or even canceled.

The flip side is that countless roads, railways, and other vital infrastructure have been built in the last decade that might not have otherwise been built -- filling a massive global need and providing a springboard for other Chinese initiatives to follow.

Why It Matters: The BRI has always been something of an ink-blot test that leaves things up for interpretation, but there's no denying that it has been undergoing some massive changes.

A series of projects across low- and middle-income countries have been sidelined or canceled in recent years over sustainability concerns in evidence of buyer's remorse from host governments. Italy, which recently announced that it plans to leave the BRI, is the latest example.

Elsewhere, it's clear that the BRI has slowed down, with fewer projects being funded amid concerns of an overseas debt crisis from the high-octane lending of the project's early days.

But datashows that while China's outbound lending has been in decline since 2016, the project is far from fading away. Rather, Beijing is learning from its mistakes. It's selecting projects and partners more carefully and research shows that it's prioritizing green initiatives and energy deals that are seen as more likely to bring a return on investment.

This makes October's Belt and Road summit in Beijing an important litmus test that raises plenty of questions: Which world leaders will be in attendance? Which countries will snub the event? How will Xi set up the next 10 years? And what new projects might be announced on the sidelines?

Podcast Corner: We're Back On September 13!

The Talking China In Eurasia podcast is back starting Wednesday, September 13!

It's been a while since you last heard from me on the podcast front, but I'm pleased to let you know that we have a brand new season.

I've been working with Katie Toth, who is a very talented producer, and we've redone the podcast. We'll be using a completely new format that's going to allow us to dig even deeper into stories about China's rising influence from Eastern Europe to Central Asia.

Tune in as I'll be joined by fellow journalists and expert guests to unpack exclusive investigations about China and Russia's growing ties, report on the ground from Georgia on Chinese infrastructure projects, and revisit the long and complicated history between Beijing and the Taliban -- and that's just a few of them!

For regular newsletter readers, this section is now rebranded as "podcast corner" and it will be where I'll unpack each episode.

Don't forget to subscribe on Spotify, Apple, Google or wherever else you like to listen so you don't miss an episode and stay tuned next week.

Three More Stories From Eurasia

1. The Taliban Looks To Build A Surveillance Camera Network In Kabul

Is the Taliban creating a surveillance state in Afghanistan? That's a question that my colleague Abubakar Siddique looked into after the Taliban's Interior Ministry announced on August 30 that it plans to install around 62,000 security cameras in Kabul.

The Details: There's still a lot of ambiguity about what's happening on the ground beyond the Taliban's announcement, but Bloomberg reported that the Taliban is working with Chinese tech giant Huawei to set up the surveillance camera network. Huawei denied this, although Bloomberg also reported that representatives from the company held meetings in Afghanistan in August.

The Taliban did not reveal how it obtained the cameras or if it has received assistance to install and operate them, but they have said that the system will improve security and help combat crime.

Such a network -- especially if it is indeed as sophisticated as those made by Huawei -- is a significant development. As Amnesty International warned, such a surveillance system would provide new ways to stifle dissent and enforce its repressive policies, including restrictions on Afghans' appearances, freedom of movement, and access to uncensored information.

For Beijing, a surveillance network in Afghanistan would be a significant step in calming its long-held security concerns in the country, especially over it becoming a safe haven for militants looking to attack China.

2. No More Illusions In Brussels About China?

I recently sat down with Reinhard Buetikofer, a leading member of the European Parliament, who warned that Europe will need to learn some tough lessons from its past national security failings with Russia if it is to successfully navigate ties with Beijing in the future.

Read the full interview here.

What You Need To Know: Buetikofer chairs the European Parliament's delegation on China and has become one of the EU's most hawkish voices when it comes to dealing with Beijing.

In a wide-ranging interview, he took aim at Beijing's equivocation for the Kremlin over the war in Ukraine and said the EU needed to apply the hard lessons learned from its dependence on Russian energy to the bloc's current ones on the Chinese market and its influence over vital supply chains for strategic industries.

"I think it is fair to say that this experience with Russia has taught us a lesson that should also be applied to our China relations," Buetikofer told me. "China is supporting Russia and does not want Russia to lose in any meaningful way. I certainly do not see them as anywhere near a neutral position. They are trying to take advantage of the war in Ukraine."

There's been lots of movement in the last few years from Brussels to how it sees China and Buetikofer has been a key part in moving that needle. Check out the interview for more.

3. The Prospective Heir Goes To Beijing

Rustam Emomali, the son of authoritarian Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, traveled to Beijing on August 23, where he met with Chinese Deputy Prime Minister He Lifeng and signed deals worth $400 million, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported.

What It Means: Rustam Emomali is the mayor of Dushanbe, the Tajik capital, the chairman of the Tajik parliament's upper chamber, and is widely seen as his father's likely successor.

This makes the trip to China interesting for a host of reasons. While Moscow is still influential across Central Asia, Beijing's influence continues to grow, especially in Tajikistan, which is relying on Chinese companies for investment to keep its economy running.

Should Rustam Emomali live up to his heir-apparent status, this trip would be seen as a crucial visit to build rapport with a vital ally for the future.

In another noteworthy development from the visit, the Chinese and Tajik sides agreed to create a joint venture to produce some 1,500 electric vehicles annually. The project involves Tajikistan's Avesto Group company, which is linked to Rustam Emomali personally.

Across The Supercontinent

A Kyrgyz TikTok Ban?: From targeting independent media outlets like Kloop to now going after TikTok, freedom of speech is finding itself under pressure in Kyrgyzstan, my colleague Chris Rickleton reports.

The New BRICS: Last month's BRICS summit saw the group expand with a series of six new members and increased momentum toward a joint currency to reduce the dominance of the U.S. dollar.

But how feasible is that plan? My colleague Todd Prince explores.

G20 Snub?: Xi -- who has never missed the annual G20 gathering since taking power in 2012 -- will miss this week's event in India and Premier Li Qiang will instead represent China. There's a host of possible explanations, ranging from tensions between Beijing and New Delhi to Xi not wanting to be out of the country for too long amid instability among the Communist Party's top brass.

Eye On Xinjiang: Beijing has changed its approach, but a recent report from Human Rights Watch shows how repressive policies and the forced assimilation of Turkic minorities in Xinjiang in western China -- such as Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and Kyrgyz -- is still under way.

One Thing To Watch

After years of tense bilateral ties with Beijing, the United Kingdom is looking to strike a new balancing act with China.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly visited the country last week, the first to do so in almost five years, and met with China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, and Vice President Han Zheng.

Cleverly came under fire at home for the trip, but he told the BBC a lack of in-person meetings can result in misunderstanding.

China's public reputation in much of the West has been in decline and policy with the country is becoming deeply intertwined with domestic politics in many capitals, especially Washington and London. It will be a tough tightrope to walk for many officials to keep reaching out and navigating the practicalities of foreign policy while also embracing hardening rhetoric toward China at home.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/eurasia-china-belt- road-decade/32580633.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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Ministry holds meeting with private firms, vows to take new measures to optimize employment

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Sep 07, 2023 12:51 AM

China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security hosted a meeting on Tuesday, aiming to solve enterprises' problems in attracting talent, and aiming to optimize employment and balance the labor-capital relationship. The meeting is part of a series of measures taken by the central government to support private enterprises.

The meeting aimed to understand the development of private enterprises and to listen to their opinions and suggestions to find measures in the field of human resources and social security to bolster the private economy, according to the ministry.

The ministry will support businesses in hiring talent, protecting legitimate rights and interests of workers, and building harmonious labor relations. The ministry will offer policy support for job expansion and entrepreneurship, so that private enterprises can assume more social responsibilities in stabilizing employment, protecting the rights and interests of workers, and promoting shared prosperity, said Wang Xiaoping, minister of human resources and social security.

The minister's commitments are in line with a series of new measures by the Chinese government. On Monday, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) launched a new bureau specializing in promoting the private economy's development. The bureau aims to strengthen policy coordination and ensure relevant measures are implemented.

The new policies and measures focus on providing targeted advice to the private economy, addressing the difficulties and problems firms face in the process of their development, Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies of the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

According to data from the NDRC, the private sector occupies an important position in China's economy. More than 90 percent of China's enterprises are private, and they contribute more than half of the country's tax revenues and foreign trade, making private businesses the most important engine to fuel China's economic growth.

The minister also stressed the importance of the private economy during the meeting, saying the ministry will encourage and support the development of private companies, and actively improve relevant policies and initiatives to promote the private economy to become bigger, better and stronger.

The government measures aim to solve the problems of the private economy and build a more equal market environment, Li said.

On July 19, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council issued a detailed guideline on boosting the growth of the private economy, ensuring enterprises engage in fair competition and are protected equally by the law. Following the release of the guideline, eight Chinese ministries issued 28 measures to support the private sector.

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France Struggles to Reshape Relations in Africa

By Lisa Bryant September 06, 2023

After hitting several resets, restoring historic treasures to former colonies, downsizing its military presence and striking new ties elsewhere on the continent, France's Africa strategy seems at an impasse, some experts say.

Coups in half a dozen former French colonies in West and Central Africa over three years a including two, in Niger and Gabon, in just over a month a are sparking fresh soul searching about what went wrong and how, if possible, to put longstanding relations and interests back on track.

Yet many suggest Paris can no longer call the shots, as some African governments cut ties altogether and carve new ones with foreign rivals, including Russia.

"French influence in the Sahel has collapsed," wrote France's influential Le Monde newspaper this past week. "Elsewhere on the continent, it is on the defensive, and nothing Paris says can restore it."

That assessment comes as the paper and other media report that discussions between Paris and Niger's military are under way about the withdrawal of some military elements from the African country.

Until now, French authorities have refused to recognize the military junta that seized power in Niger in late July, dismissing calls for its ambassador and 1,500 French troops stationed there to depart.

The power grab in Niamey followed a now-familiar playbook. Not so long ago, Niger, along with neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, cooperated closely with Paris in a broader Sahel alliance fighting a jihadist insurgency. All three since have seen civilian leaders toppled by their militaries, followed by protests, sprinkled with Russian flags and slogans calling for the ouster of French forces and diplomats.

The latest coup last week in oil-rich Gabon a once a staunch and long-standing ally of Paris a has taken a different path. Unlike in Niger, there have been no planeloads of French expatriates returning home or massive anti-French rallies. Although Paris suspended military cooperation a even though it has 400 troops in Gabon a it offered a muted reaction to the toppling of long-term leader Ali Bongo by his reported cousin, following disputed presidential elections.

Junta leader Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema has restored the transmission of French broadcasters France 24 and Radio France International, cut under Bongo a while the three Sahel coup countries, Burkina Faso, Mail and Niger, continue to keep those news organizations off the air.

Listening to Africans?

Berges Miette, an Africa research associate at Sciences-Po Bordeaux University in France, Miette takes the long view of simmering anti-French sentiment. In the late 1980s, he says, France continued to support some hardline regimes that held onto power, despite a wave of political uprisings.

African youth, Miette says, have now "stopped dreaming," pinning their hopes instead on heading to Europe.

While so far staying silent on Gabon, French President Emmanuel Macron has decried an "epidemic of putsches" in the Sahel. Two other coups a in Guinea and Chad a have also taken place since 2020, with a mixed response from France. The French have maintained ties with Chad, a strong military ally in the Sahel, drawing accusations of having a double standard.

In a lengthy interview in Le Monde, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna defended France's Africa strategy. She differentiated the ousting of Niger's democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, with the situation in Chad, where she said Paris counted on N'Djamena's military government delivering on its promise to restore civilian rule.

"One cannot see our relations with the continent through the single prism" of the Sahel crises, Colonna added. "It's not 3,000 or 5,000 people demonstrating in a stadium in Niamey ... that can resume our relations with 1.5 million Africans."

France's position, she said, "is to listen to Africans, not to decide in their place."

For a while, Macron a born after France's last colony in Africa, Djibouti, gained its independence a seemed the right man for the job.

"I am of a generation that doesn't tell Africans what to do," he told cheering students in Burkina Faso, shortly after his election six years ago.

Macron pledged to return looted colonial-era artifacts, although only a fraction has been shipped back, and sought new ties elsewhere, including with Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia and Angola. Like his recent predecessors, he maintained that the tangle of post-colonial business and political ties dubbed Francafrique was long dead.

In February, Macron promised to draw down French forces in Africa and create a new "security partnership," with bases on the continent transformed depending on African needs, and jointly managed with African staff.

A coherent policy

Skeptics say Macron hasn't always walked his talk. They point to many enduring trappings of French influence a from thousands of troops still stationed in Africa to a raft of longstanding mining concessions benefitting French companies, and the CFA franc, requiring West and Central African members to deposit half their foreign exchange reserves with the French treasury.

Anti-French sentiment is on the rise in more stable countries, like Senegal, due to a youthful population untethered to the past, but very aware of the challenges of getting visas to France.

Critics point to what they consider a series of French missteps, too, in the Sahel. Despite early wins, France's decade-long counterterrorism operation there lost local trust, they say, and finally was shuttered last year amid a spreading Islamist insurgency. Even as France promotes democracy, skeptics describe a tacit acceptance of some authoritarian governments like Chad.

"France needs to have a coherent policy," says Sciences-Po researcher Miette, who argues anti-French sentiment is not the real threat to Paris, but rather "a profound questioning of France's Africa policy."

He counts among those who believe it is not too late for Paris to hit the reset button yet again. With other authoritarian regimes potentially at risk of falling a in Congo Brazzaville, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea a the sooner, the better.

"France has everything to win in changing its Africa policy," Miette says. "It needs to go beyond talk and be concrete."

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Iran intelligence forces deal 'blow' to network planning riots

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 6, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Intelligence Ministry and the Intelligence Unit of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) have issued a joint statement, announcing "a serious blow" to a network planning riots in the Islamic Republic.

According to the statement issued on Wednesday, a number of members of the network were identified and dealt a blow by the Intelligence Ministry and the IRGC Intelligence Unit.

With financial support from the US State Department and under guidance from the Freedom House and The Nonviolent Initiative for Democracy Inc. -- both located in the United States -- and directed by "one of foreign-based political elements, members of the group were networking women and planning riots through giving trainings to "elements inside and outside Iran" by holding free online courses for civil and women activists, the statement said.

The network held its last workshop at SOAS University of London in July, the statement said, adding that the workshop was held "by a reporter of a hostile media outlet" for foreign-based women activists.

In addition, the statement said, the network planned an "online confidential meeting" on the 7th and 14th of this September for a group of civil and women activists.

Based on obtained information, these workshops and meetings were aimed "at making preparations and offering guidelines to rioters inside [Iran] to revive an environment of tension and riot," the statement concluded.

4194

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Iran urges Security Council to refrain from weaponizing sanctions

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Sep 6, 2023

New York, IRNA -- Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations has urged the UN Security Council to refrain from using sanctions as a weapon against countries for political purposes.

Addressing a UN Security Council debate on Tuesday, Amir Saeid Iravani said unilateral coercive measures have no legal basis and blatantly violate international law and the UN Charter.

"The penholders must refrain from using sanctions as a cover for illegal unilateral actions or as a weapon against the countries under the agenda to advance their narrow political purposes, all of which would be harmful to civilian populations and the well-being of independent sovereign states," he said.

The following is the full transcript of his statement:

Mr. President,

I thank you for convening this open debate.

Improving the Security Council's efficiency and effectiveness should be a continuous endeavor, grounded first and foremost in the commitment of its members since the dynamic and developing nature of global peace and security challenges needs such constant adaptation.

In pursuit of these goals, the most effective approach is to initiate a comprehensive reform that will transform the Security Council into an entirely transparent, rule-based, and, most importantly, accountable body that upholds the rule of law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter while serving the common interests of the entire membership.

Similarly, the Security Council's improper and unlawful practices, as well as the application of the double standard, which is detrimental to international peace and security, must be prioritized in such reform.

This highlights the significance of the Council's working methods as one of the five major topics now being discussed in the ongoing Security Council reform debates in the format of IGN.

Against this backdrop, and in alignment with the agenda for today's open debate, I would like to highlight the following points:

1. In all decisions, the Security Council must adhere to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, ensuring that its actions are consistent with its UN Charter-based mandate while preventing interference in the internal affairs of member states.

2. Any attempt to abuse the Security Council's rules of procedure, established practices, or working methods for political purposes undermines the Security Council's credibility and legitimacy, as well as the Security Council's ability to uphold the UN Charter. Regrettably, such wrongful endeavors are becoming more common, and certain member states have cynically abused the Council's Presidency to advance their narrow national interests, as was the case with the recent semi-annual briefing on the Security Council resolution 2231 held on July 6th, when the Council's Presidency extended an invitation to a member state with no relevance to the meeting's agenda item, a practice that is both irresponsible and a clear abuse of the process and position. Such irresponsible actions must be stopped.

3. The issue of the penholder system is an ongoing concern, as it has been exploited to promote the interests of specific members. Currently, the three Permanent members, with a colonial mentality, maintain control over most country-specific matters under the Council agenda, often disregarding the views and legitimate concerns of countries under the agenda and even subjecting them to undue pressure. This approach results in rushed decisions without comprehensive expert review, ignoring the views of other Council members, and leading to non-consensual documents. It is imperative that both penholders and co-penholders carry out their duties responsibly and impartially.

4. Finally, regarding sanctions, we believe that these measures must undergo rigorous and ongoing assessment for their profound humanitarian consequences, with a commitment to suspend or terminate them when deemed essential. When deliberating the imposition of sanctions, particularly in scenarios, where their necessity or justification is questionable, the Security Council should exercise its Chapter VII powers with deliberate care, wisdom, and profound consideration of the significant humanitarian and human rights repercussions on civilian populations. Furthermore, the penholders must refrain from using sanctions as a cover for illegal unilateral actions or as a weapon against the countries under the agenda to advance their narrow political purposes, all of which would be harmful to civilian populations and the well-being of independent sovereign states. Unilateral Coercive Measures (UCMs) have no legal basis and blatantly violate international law and the UN Charter.

I thank you, Mr. President.

4354**9417

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Foreign military presence in Persian Gulf brings nothing but insecurity: Iran cmdr.

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 06 September 2023 3:58 PM

A senior Iranian Army commander says the presence of extra-regional states in the Persian Gulf has brought nothing but insecurity for the strategic region.

Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the deputy chief of the Iranian Army for Coordination, made the remark on Wednesday as he pointed to the presence of foreign forces in the Persian Gulf under the pretext of providing security for the area.

"Ensuring the security of the Strait of Hormuz for the passage of foreign merchant vessels is among the greatest capabilities of the Islamic Iran, and that is established with the help of the countries in the region," Sayyari said.

Stressing that there is no need for the presence of extra-regional countries to establish security, the Iranian commander said, "The presence of extra-regional countries has brought about nothing for the region but insecurity and this has been proven by experience."

Sayyari also said that the Iranian Navy has ventured into the field of unmanned surface vessels (USVs), saying the USVs are definitely effective in improving the country's combat power and that the force will hold a drill using the new technology if needs be.

Last month, Abolfazl Shekarchi, the spokesman of the Iranian Armed Forces, said the security of the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean has nothing to do with the United States.

Pointing to various drills conducted by Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)'s Navy in the Persian Gulf, Shekarchi said the maneuvers are aimed at sending a message to the regional countries that they do not need to rely on foreigners in order to ensure security of the region.

Top Iranian commanders have repeatedly warned foreign military forces - particularly the US - against intruding into the Persian Gulf region under any excuse, insisting that the security of the strategic waterway must be provided by regional countries.

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Iran urges UN Security Council to refrain from using sanctions as weapon

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 06 September 2023 10:53 AM

Iran's permanent ambassador to the United Nations has urged the UN Security Council to refrain from using sanctions as a cover for the illegal and unilateral actions of certain member states, or as a weapon to advance their political agendas against the countries.

Amir Saeid Iravani made the remark while addressing a UN Security Council (UNSC) open debate on the body's working methods in New York City on Tuesday, emphasizing that unilateral coercive measures have no legal basis, and blatantly violate international law as well as the UN Charter.

He noted that sanctions are harmful to civilian populations and the well-being of independent sovereign states. Sanctions should "undergo rigorous and ongoing assessment for their profound humanitarian consequences, with a commitment to suspend or terminate them when deemed essential," he said.

"The penholders must refrain from using sanctions as a cover for illegal unilateral actions or as a weapon against the countries under the agenda to advance their narrow political purposes, all of which would be harmful to civilian populations and the well-being of independent sovereign states," he stressed.

The Security Council should "exercise its Chapter VII powers with deliberate care, wisdom, and profound consideration of the significant humanitarian and human rights repercussions on civilian populations" when deliberating the imposition of sanctions, he said.

The remarks come as Iran has been a target of severe unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States since its former president Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and implemented what he described as a "maximum pressure policy" against Tehran amid the failure of international organization, including the Security Council, to protect Iran's rights under the deal.

Meanwhile, the diplomat slammed certain Western states' efforts to use the UNSC to pursue their own political agenda.

"Currently, the three Permanent members, with a colonial mentality, maintain control over most country-specific matters under the Council agenda, often disregarding the views and legitimate concerns of countries under the agenda and even subjecting them to undue pressure," Iravani said, noting that the penholder system at the UNSC was an "ongoing concern, as it has been exploited to promote the interests of specific members."

Any attempt to abuse the Security Council's rules of procedure, established practices, or working methods for political purposes undermines the Security Council's credibility and legitimacy, he said.

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Suu Kyi requests for 'urgent' dental treatment go unheeded

The former de facto leader is suffering from gingivitis, but has only been examined by a prison doctor.

By RFA Burmese 2023.09.06 -- Myanmar's former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi is suffering from "urgent" dental issues in detention but junta authorities have ignored her request for permission to seek treatment, sources have told Radio Free Asia.

The 78-year-old Suu Kyi, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison, requested approval to visit a dentist outside of detention to treat gingivitis - a form of gum disease - and severe toothaches, but had yet to receive permission as of Tuesday, a source with ties to the place where she is being held in the capital Naypyidaw told RFA Burmese.

Prison authorities have reported the matter to the junta's Ministry of Interior, but have received no response, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity citing fear of reprisal.

The source said that Suu Kyi was examined by a prison doctor, but requires a dental specialist to deal with her condition. He said that the head of the deposed National League for Democracy, or NLD, party remains in prison, despite reports in August that she had been transferred to house arrest.

Bo Bo Oo, a former representative of the NLD in Yangon region, said that Suu Kyi must be allowed to receive treatment.

"When it comes to some health issues related to ears, eyes, bones and dental diseases, only the relevant specialist clinics can provide sufficient medical treatment," he said. "She needs to get proper treatment at a dental hospital."

He said that Suu Kyi and other political prisoners were "illegally detained" by the military following its February 2021 coup d'etat and expressed concern for their health, citing poor conditions in the nation's prisons.

Vomiting and 'unable to eat'

Suu Kyi's son, Kim Aris, told the BBC that his mother is being "denied" treatment as the junta had "blocked prison authorities' request" for "urgent care."

The 46-year-old, who is based in the U.K., said his mother has been vomiting and endures "severe dizziness" due to her ill health. He said the pain had left her "unable to eat."

The BBC also cited "long-time acquaintances" of the Nobel laureate as saying that she suffers from chronic gum disease and low blood pressure, as well as a source familiar with the matter who claimed that she has been served soft food and a medicated jelly intended to relieve her toothaches.

Attempts by RFA to reach the Naypyidaw Prison Department for comment on whether she would be allowed access to medical care outside of where she is being held went unanswered Wednesday.

Special approval needed

According to law, any inmate serving a sentence of more than five years must obtain permission from the Ministry of Interior to be taken outside of prison - a process that can take up to one month.

However, legal experts said that in cases where urgent health care is required, there is a procedure that allows for a verbal order granting such a request.

"As Aung San Suu Kyi is a state-level prisoner and since she is elderly, she should be allowed to seek the medical treatment she urgently needs as a special case," said a Yangon-based lawyer who declined to be named for security reasons, citing the allowance of permission granted by verbal order.

Political commentator Than Soe Naing said he believes that the junta is denying Suu Kyi the right to seek treatment to "deliberately harm her" and called for international pressure seeking her release.

"They think that it is best if Aung San Suu Kyi is no longer in Myanmar politics," he said. "As long as she is in the hands of the junta, Aung San Suu Kyi's fate is uncertain. That's why the world should pressure the junta to release her or provide better conditions for her."

The junta sentenced Suu Kyi 33 years in prison on 19 charges, but on Aug. 1 pardoned her for five of the cases, reducing her term to 27 years.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes 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 September 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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Myanmar junta hands out harsh sentences to people from martial law townships

The military is trying to crush support for anti-junta militia in Sagaing region.

By RFA Burmese 2023.09.06 -- Myanmar's junta has been handing out long prison sentences to people arrested in Sagaing region townships where it has imposed martial law, sentencing seven people to terms of between seven years and life over the past week, according to locals and People's Defense Force officials.

On June 14, troops arrested three residents of Ayadaw township in a restaurant before they planned to head to Yangon to attend a Korean language course.

On Aug. 31, a military tribunal sentenced one of them, 40-year-old Zaw Aung, to life in prison on three terrorism charges.

The Northwestern Military Command tribunal also sentenced 20-year-old Thiha Zaw and 19-year-old Pyae Sone Aung to seven years for terrorism.

The Information officer of the People's Defense Force in Ayadaw township, who wished to remain anonymous for security reasons, told Radio Free Asia he was surprised such harsh sentences were imposed on ordinary villagers.

"Those who have been arrested and sentenced are not part of the revolution," he said.

"Many of the families here go to Yangon to attend Korean courses in order to go abroad because the economy has become difficult. I thought that they would be released as they did not belong [to a People's Defense Force]. I was so surprised when this happened."

He added that nearly 30 civilians from Ayadaw township have been arrested and imprisoned in the seven months since the junta imposed martial law there.

In a separate case on Sept. 2, a military court in Indaw township sentenced two men to life imprisonment, according to a statement by the Indaw Revolution anti-junta group.

They were with another man and a woman arrested at a checkpoint at the township entrance in July.

On Saturday, the court sentenced Zaw Myo Naing and Tin Maung Win to life imprisonment for terrorism and treason.

It sentenced Kyaw Thet and Thida Win to seven years for supporting local People's Defense Forces.

An official of Indaw Revolution, who also declined to give his name, told RFA that despite the harsh punishments, the four had no ties to the group.

He added that more than 10 civilians have been sentenced to death or life imprisonment since the junta imposed martial law on Indaw township.

Calls to junta council spokesperson for Sagaing region, Tin Than Win, seeking comment on the sentences went unanswered.

A total of 14 townships, including Indaw in Sagaing region have been put under martial law by the junta since February, 2023.

Since then, 235 civilians have been sentenced to prison terms by military courts in Sagaing region, according to pro-junta Telegram messaging app channels.

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 September 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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Myanmar's Seat Empty as VP Harris Speaks to ASEAN Leaders

By Patsy Widakuswara September 06, 2023

A chair with Myanmar's flag was left empty as Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Southeast Asian leaders during the U.S.-ASEAN, or Association of Southeast Asian Nations, summit in Jakarta hosted by outgoing chair Indonesia.

"The United States will continue to press the regime to end the horrific violence to release all those unjustly detained and to reestablish Myanmar's path to inclusive democracy," Harris said at the opening of the summit Wednesday.

"And we will continue to support ASEAN's five-point consensus," she added, referring to the group's 2021 demands on the crisis triggered by the February 2021 military coup, which include immediate cessation of violence and constructive dialogue facilitated by ASEAN.

Last year, ASEAN agreed to bar Myanmar's ruling generals from meetings until they make progress to address the crisis. An empty Myanmar chair has been held as a symbol to urge the country to return to democracy.

The group announced earlier this week they are barring Myanmar from its turn as chair in 2026, as they blame the ongoing bloodshed on the country's junta. The Philippines will take ASEAN's helm instead.

ASEAN's statement demonstrates that the group is more united on Myanmar than some people thought, said Aaron Connelly, research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"It makes clear that the bloc blames the military for the violence, sustains a de facto suspension of the junta's leaders from ASEAN meetings, and forces the junta to give up its turn chairing the organization until the violence stops," he told VOA.

Myanmar's turn at chairing ASEAN was last skipped in 2006 as the United States and European Union demanded that the military-ruled country move toward democracy and release pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi.

Enduring commitment

As some Republican presidential candidates' display of isolationism toward regional conflicts triggers anxiety among some ASEAN members about U.S. staying power, Vice President Harris reaffirmed Washington's "enduring commitment" to Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific.

"The defense and deterrence commitments of the United States and our security presence in the Indo-Pacific help protect our homeland and ensure regional stability," she said. "It is therefore in our vital interest to promote a region that is open, interconnected, prosperous, secure and resilient."

As part of the administration's effort to ensure safe sea traffic, last month Washington signed a deal with the Pacific Island state of Palau that would allow U.S. Coast Guard ships to operate on that nation's behalf in its exclusive economic zone without a Palauan officer present.

Harris also welcomed the presence of Timor-Leste in its capacity as ASEAN observer, and she pledged U.S. support for Timor-Leste's ASEAN accession process.

Heightened tensions

Harris' visit comes at a time of heightened tensions in the region, as China released a 2023 territorial map that has drawn the ire of India, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines.

A White House official told VOA that throughout her engagements in Jakarta, the vice president will make clear that the U.S. rejects what the official described as China's unlawful maritime claims and provocative actions.

"She will express continued support for ASEAN's efforts to develop a code of conduct for the South China Sea, consistent with the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the rights of third parties," the official said.

During the China-ASEAN summit held the same day, Chinese Premier Li Qiang appeared to try to calm ruffled feathers, saying it is important to avoid a "new Cold War" when dealing with conflicts and that countries need to "appropriately handle differences and disputes."

In the same meeting, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong stressed the need for Beijing and Washington to continue talking with each other and to strive for greater trust and cooperation. He warned that sharpened geopolitical rivalries could easily stoke existing flashpoints in the region, endangering ASEAN's decades-long peace, prosperity and stability.

On Thursday, Harris will attend the East Asia Summit, which brings together ASEAN and its partners a the United States, China, Russia, Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. She will depart immediately after the summit and is scheduled to arrive in Washington on Friday, as President Joe Biden heads to the G20 summit in New Delhi, India.

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Pakistan: Clashes Near Afghan Border Kill 4 Soldiers, 12 'Terrorists'

By Ayaz Gul September 06, 2023

Pakistan said Wednesday that a "large group of terrorists" had stormed its security outposts close to the border with Afghanistan, prompting fierce clashes that killed four soldiers and 12 assailants.

The early morning militant raid targeted two Pakistani posts in the northern mountainous Kalash border valley at an elevation of 1,670 meters (5,480 feet).

A Pakistani military statement said its soldiers had repulsed the attack, noting the assailants were "equipped with [the] latest weapons." It suggested that the militants had come across the border from Afghanistan.

The banned Tehrik-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, claimed responsibility for the raid earlier. The group said its fighters had inflicted heavy casualties on Pakistani soldiers and seized their weapons while overrunning the posts.

TTP often issues inflated claims about its extremist activities.

The Pakistani military said its forces had previously detected "terrorists' movement and concentration" in several Afghan border areas opposite the Kalash region and "timely shared" it with Afghanistan's Taliban authorities.

The statement said the Taliban government "is expected to fulfill its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan."

Taliban authorities in Afghanistan did not immediately comment on Pakistani assertions.

TTP, listed as a global terrorist outfit by the United States and the United Nations, is a known offshoot and close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who returned to power in Kabul two years ago.

Pakistani officials say TTP and other insurgent groups have fled and taken shelter in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led NATO troop withdrawal in August 2021. They say the insurgents enjoy greater freedom of movement to plot cross-border terrorism after the Taliban takeover of the war-shattered country.

Over the past two years, the increased TTP-led insurgent violence has killed more than 1,500 people in Pakistan. This year alone, more than 500 Pakistanis, mostly security forces, have died in militant attacks. They included at least 220 soldiers and officers, according to official data.

The Taliban deny the charges, saying no one can use Afghan soil to threaten other countries, including Pakistan.

Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar repeatedly claimed this week that some of the equipment left behind by the U.S. military in Afghanistan has ended up with groups such as TTP.

"This surge in terrorism is happening because the fighting capacity of these outfits has been enhanced," Kakar told Islamabad-based international journalists on Monday.

The prime minister said that Islamabad was in close contact with Kabul to enhance bilateral security cooperation to combat the threat of cross-border terrorism.

The Taliban "are in a phase of transformation. I feel that room and space should be given to them," Kakar said when asked whether the de facto Afghan authorities are helping his country to counter the TTP-led threat of terrorism.

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South Korea names former North Korean diplomat as aide to unification minister

Appointment reflects Seoul's renewed hardline policy towards the North amid rising tensions.

By Jeong-Ho Lee for RFA 2023.09.06 -- Seoul has appointed a North Korean defector as its top policy aide on Wednesday, underscoring the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's renewed stance towards a more hardline policy on Pyongyang.

South Korea's Unification Ministry appointed Ko Young-hwan, who had worked as a North Korean diplomat before defecting to South Korea in 1991, as minister Kim Young-ho's Special Assistant Aide.

Ko is expected to advise the unification minister on issues concerning "international cooperation [on North Korea] and North Korean defectors", and to expose "the reality of North Korea," the unification ministry said in a statement.

The appointment of Ko is likely to incite fury from Pyongyang. North Korea has usually expressed its strong opposition when defectors take significant governmental roles in the South.

Before North Korean defector-turned-South Korean lawmaker Thae Yong-ho ran for election in 2020, North Korea called him "human scum" via its state media, condemning his potential rise to prominence in the South.

What appears to be emotionally-charged responses reflect both the Kim Jong Un administration's sense of betrayal, as well as its need to publicly denounce these individuals to maintain the regime's internal grip on power and propaganda.

North Korea, which relies on tightly controlled propaganda, perceives its defectors as threats to its regime, as they may counteract the state narrative with their firsthand accounts. High-profile defectors are particularly sensitive to the regime, as they directly challenge its legitimacy, inspiring internal dissent and jeopardizing the state's solidarity.

"The Kim regime perceives the success of defectors in the South as a direct threat against itself," said Ji Seong-ho, who defected from North Korea to South Korea, where he's now a member of the national assembly. "The North Korean people have long been propagated with this belief that survival outside the North is impossible. Defectors' success therefore undermines the regime's narrative.

"Given Ko's expertise on North Korea, he is most likely to pinpoint North Korea's human rights violations. I hope that he highlights these important issues, particularly on the issues of forced returns of defectors to the North."

Hardline policy on North Korea

Ko's appointment aligns with the Yoon administration's renewed stance in pursuit of a hardline policy on Pyongyang, amid its nuclear provocations.

"Until now, the unification ministry has functioned more like a 'North Korea-aid-organization', and this needs to change," Yoon said in July. Historically, the ministry has primarily focused on bolstering inter-Korean cooperation through humanitarian aid.

During past administrations, Seoul consistently sought ways to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea, both directly, and indirectly through China, even throughout the most strained periods of inter-Korean relations, a former unification ministry official told Radio Free Asia.

Yoon's policy is largely embraced by South Korea's conservatives as it closely aligns with the U.S. stance on North Korea's denuclearization. However, it faces substantial criticism from progressives who believe it escalates tensions with Pyongyang and ultimately undermines engagement efforts that could bring a permanent peace on the peninsula.

Ko, born in 1953 and a graduate of the prestigious Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies, started his diplomatic career in 1979. He also worked as a translator for the late North Korean leaders, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il.

Edited by Elaine Chan 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 September 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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Press release on Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's participation in the upcoming 18th East Asia Summit

5 September 2023 14:59

1690-05-09-2023

The 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) will convene in Jakarta on September 7. The EAS was established in 2005 as a forum for leaders of the Asia-Pacific region countries to engage in a broad spectrum of strategic, political, and economic issues representing common interests and to advance regional practical cooperation in alignment with the guidelines set by its leaders.

Initially, the East Asia Summit operated along six tracks: energy, finance, disaster response, healthcare, education, and regional connectivity. Today, following a revision conducted as part of the efforts to adjust the 2018-2022 Manila Plan of Action and the 2023-2028 Jakarta Plan of Action, this list has expanded to encompass additional areas, such as regional security, maritime cooperation, food security, the economy, sustainable development, poverty alleviation, environmental protection, climate, tourism, and support for women and youth.

The EAS comprises ASEAN member states, including Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines. Additionally, ASEAN dialogue partners, including Russia (since 2010), Australia, India, China, South Korea, New Zealand, the United States, and Japan are involved in EAS discussions. This year, East Timor has been invited to attend the EAS events as a candidate for ASEAN membership. The East Asia Summit is steered by the ASEAN Chair, which in 2023 is Indonesia, followed by Laos, in alphabetical order.

The annual EAS calendar includes annual meetings between the heads of state and government of the participating countries, meetings between foreign ministers and senior officials, as well as contacts via sector-specific mechanisms.

On July 12-14, in Jakarta, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took part in ministerial meetings held in formats such as Russia-ASEAN, EAS, and the ASEAN Regional Forum on Security (ARF).

The current activities within the East Asia Summit mechanism are monitored through regular consultations among permanent representatives of the EAS participating countries at ASEAN in Jakarta.

The agenda for the upcoming meeting will be structured around current regional issues and the development of practical cooperation. Priority areas for sectoral cooperation include the economy, energy, environmental protection, healthcare, maritime cooperation, disaster response, food security, education, and regional connectivity.

Russia advocates using the EAS platform to expand multi-pronged practical cooperation with a focus on sector-specific projects. Our initiatives on this platform include efforts to establish regionwide collaboration in pandemic response with the launch of a collective response mechanism to epidemic threats and the development of practical cooperation in the field of tourism. Relevant Russian proposals have been part of top-level thematic documents.

Responding to the increasing regional demand for expanding volunteerism, Russia has proposed including this area of activity on the EAS agenda. This proposal found reflection in a statement by the Chairman of the 17th East Asia Summit (Phnom Penh, November 13, 2022). This dynamically evolving phenomenon of civic responsibility shows prospects for deepening social and humanitarian interconnection in the region and strengthening people-to-people contacts. Despite Russia's initiative being supported by ASEAN, the Western wing of the EAS continues to attempt to block its advancement.

Work continues within the framework of an EAS-based dialogue for improving regional security architecture, something that was spearheaded by Russia in 2013. The most recent meeting in this format at the level of permanent representative of the EAS participating countries at ASEAN, with the participation of experts from the capitals, took place in Bandung, Indonesia, on May 23.

During the East Asia Summit, Russia considers it critical to highlight the growing risks to peaceful and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region against the backdrop of the West's confrontational policy aimed at militarising the regional space, with the potential involvement of NATO and the dismantling of the established ASEAN security architecture and replacing all of it with "Indo-Pacific" bloc-based constructs based on containment and counteraction principles.

Russia advocates strengthening the system of country-to-country relations in the region, including by aligning ASEAN with regional formats in the Eurasian space, primarily the SCO and the EAEU, which, like ASEAN, operate on a positive non-bloc agenda of connectivity and co-development.

Since 2017, the leadership of the executive bodies of the SCO and the EAEU has been regularly invited to attend ASEAN's top-level events. The SCO Secretary-General participated in the East Asia Summit in 2017 and 2022. This year, EAS guests will include the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the Pacific Islands Forum.

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Telephone conversation with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud

Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

September 6, 2023

12:20

The Crown Prince thanked the Russian side for consistently supporting Saudi Arabia's request to join BRICS. In turn, the President of Russia warmly congratulated the leadership of Saudi Arabia on the relevant decision, made at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, and informed the Crown Prince about the priorities of Russia's BRICS chairmanship in 2024.

The parties praised bilateral collaboration within the OPEC Plus format and noted that specific agreements on reducing oil production, combined with voluntary obligations to limit raw materials deliveries, made it possible to stabilise the global energy market.

The leaders expressed satisfaction with the development of diverse cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia and reviewed a number of topical issues related to further deepening cooperation in trade, the economy, transport, logistics and investment.

They agreed to continue their personal contacts.

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Russia finalizing second gas pipeline route to China

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 06 September 2023 7:10 PM

Russian authorities say a decision on the route planned for the country's second gas pipeline to China, known as Power of Siberia-2, is at the final stage.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in comments published on Wednesday that Power of Siberia-2, which will carry natural gas from areas in western Siberia to China, will traverse Mongolia after passing through regions south of Lake Baikal in Russia's Buryatia.

In an article for Russia's energy ministry's in-house magazine, Novak, a former energy minister, said the pipeline will pass near the eastern Siberian cities of Achinsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kansk, Sayansk, Angarsk and Irkutsk before reaching Buryatia.

The announcement comes as Russia is trying to compensate losses suffered because of reduced energy supplies to Europe amid a war in Ukraine.

Russia's existing Power of Siberia pipeline to China transfers some 38 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year of natural gas to the world's top energy consumer under a contract that runs until 2025.

Moscow hopes the new pipeline will increase the amount of gas delivered to China by 50 bcm per year.

State energy company Gazprom plans to start gas delivery to China via Power of Siberia-2 by 2030.

Russia's plans for increased gas exports to China comes some two years after planned gas deliveries via a new major pipeline to Europe, known as Nord Stream 2, came to a complete halt after European countries followed the United States in imposing sanctions on Moscow over its involvement in the war in Ukraine.

Russia then decided to boost its trade with Asia by ramping up energy exports to China and India, among other countries.

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UK set to declare Russia's Wagner as 'terrorist organization'

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 06 September 2023 8:09 AM

Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner Group is set to be proscribed as a terrorist organization by the British government, according to the UK Home Office.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry said a draft order, due to be laid before parliament, will allow Wagner's assets in the UK to be categorized as terrorist property and seized by the British government.

According to the draft order, it would be illegal to be a member of the group and/or support the organization in any way such as promoting it to the public, organizing or attending its meetings, and showing its logo.

The Wagner Group is "violent and destructive ... a military tool of Vladimir Putin's Russia," UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman told the BBC. "They are terrorists, plain and simple - and this proscription order makes that clear in UK law."

The Wagner Group, officially known as PMC Wagner, is a private military company founded in 2014. It began to operate in the war for Donbas, where it operated with regular Russian army units, and its membership of forces over the years grew from several hundred to tens of thousands, with the alleged support from Moscow.

Wagner fighters, since 2015, have actively participated in Russia's military operations, including against Western-backed Takfiri and separatist terrorism in Syria, in the liberation of Palmyra, Deir ez-Zor, and Ghouta near Damascus.

African states such as Sudan, Central African Republic, Mali, Mozambique, and Libya also employed Wagner forces to fight various rebel and terrorist groups wreaking havoc on the countries.

Wagner fighters have reportedly fought against the Ukrainians in eastern Ukraine for months, focusing their efforts on the small city of Bakhmut, which Russia sees as a stepping stone to liberate bigger cities like Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

The group's greatest contribution was fighting alongside Russian troops in the battle for Artyomovsk, which drastically depleted Ukrainian manpower and military equipment.

The group has made small but steady gains against Ukrainian troops fighting for the frontline town in the Donetsk region.

Earlier, the UK had sanctioned the now-dead Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Moreover, the Wagner Group, as a whole entity, was sanctioned in March 2022.

The move to declare the Russian PMC as a terrorist organization comes after UK lawmakers on the Foreign Affairs Committee in July urged the government to devise targeted sanctions on what it described as a "web of entities" working for the Wagner Group.

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Moldova Kicked Out Most Of Russia's Diplomats, But The Embassy In Chisinau Still Has Close Ties To Spies

By Denis Dermenji, Carl Schreck September 06, 2023

CHISINAU -- In August, Moldova kicked out 45 Russian diplomats and embassy staff, citing fears of Moscow's efforts to "destabilize" the country after a media investigation found an "excessive" number of antennas on the roof of the embassy buildings.

But diplomats with links to Russian intelligence remain among the skeleton staff at the Russian Embassy in Moldova following the mass expulsions, a new investigation by RFE/RL's Moldovan Service has found.

At least two of these diplomats have ties to the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia's powerful domestic intelligence agency, while two others have been associated with Moscow addresses linked to the Russian military's intelligence directorate. Known as the GRU, the organization has been implicated in poisonings and sabotage across Europe, according to databases of leaked government records reviewed by RFE/RL.

These records come from a range of official databases posted online thanks to Russia's leaky data market, which has helped unmask suspects in a range of Russian intelligence operations in recent years. The databases include Russian vehicle, employment, passport, and credit records dating back more than a decade.

The Russian diplomats at the Chisinau embassy with ties to the FSB include two first secretaries -- senior officials in Russian diplomatic ranks -- while the military attache and his assistant have been registered at addresses used by the GRU, the leaked records show.

The findings of RFE/RL's investigation indicate how Russia continues to staff its European embassies with personnel with intelligence backgrounds despite efforts by EU states to curb the number of Russian spies working under diplomatic cover following President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

An investigation by RFE/RL in March found that at least three Russian diplomats who were expelled or blacklisted by EU member states, several of which cited espionage by the banned emissaries, had resurfaced as accredited Russian diplomats in Serbia.

Asked about RFE/RL's new findings, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry said in a September 5 statement that the government has taken "several firm steps necessary to counter the destabilizing actions of the Russian Federation directed against our country," including the paring down of Moscow's diplomatic presence, in response to "unfriendly actions...including in the context of suspicions regarding possible espionage actions."

The ministry added that under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a 1961 treaty that codified diplomatic practices and principles among signatory states, the "selection of the diplomatic staff of the embassy of the Russian Federation is the responsibility of the Russian authorities."

The Russian Embassy in Chisinau did not respond to a request for comment on the findings of the RFE/RL investigation in time for publication.

Since Moldova's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Moscow has continued to wield considerable influence in the small country of 2.6 million people -- most significantly by exploiting Moldova's traditional dependence on Russian energy. Since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moldova has made moves to weaken its reliance on Russian gas and has repeatedly condemned the Kremlin's aggression, taking in more than 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.

Moscow still has more than 1,000 troops stationed in Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniester, ostensibly as peacekeepers after Chisinau and Russia-backed separatists fought a short but bloody war in 1992 that settled into a frozen conflict following Russia's intervention on the side of the insurgents.

FSB Addresses And GRU Housing

Diplomatic lists maintained by the Moldovan Foreign Ministry show that just 10 accredited diplomats remain at the Russian Embassy in Chisinau following the August expulsions.

Among them are two first secretaries, Boris Suchilin and Konstantin Zyablikov, who both have previous addresses associated with the FSB in Moscow, according to the databases of leaked Russian government records reviewed by RFE/RL.

Vehicle records from 2019 list Suchilin's address as Dobrolyubova Proyezd 3a in northeastern Moscow. That building was previously the registered address of the FSB's military unit No. 93544 and is now an FSB training center.

Other government records from 2010-15 show Zyablikov's listed address in Moscow as Bolshaya Lubyanka 2, the notorious former Soviet KGB headquarters that now serves as the FSB's headquarters. Zyablikov's place of employment in multiple leaked records is indicated as military unit No. 14057, the FSB's military counterintelligence directorate in the Moscow Military District.

Registering FSB employees at the agency's facilities is a common practice in Russia. Zyablikov himself was among hundreds of individuals that the Ukrainian military's intelligence directorate publicly identified in March 2022 as FSB employees registered at the agency's Moscow headquarters who were allegedly "participating in criminal activities" in Europe on Russia's behalf.

Zyablikov was accredited as a Russian diplomat in Chisinau in August 2021. The following month, he met with the leadership of the General Directorate of the Moldovan police. A Moldovan police press release said the meeting was required as Zyablikov was "responsible for the security of the internal premises" of the Russian Embassy.

The Attache And His Assistant

Meanwhile, the leaked government records also reveal potential GRU links of the Russian military attache and his assistant at the Chisinau embassy. Vehicle records for attache Andrei Lobov, who was accredited at the embassy in October 2021, list his address as Narodnogo Opolcheniya 48 in northwestern Moscow.

A contract with a company that provided utilities for the building where Lobov was registered stated that the facility was for Russian military housing, and the same building is home to a housing maintenance company attached to military unit No. 22177.

Multiple sources, including a Russian court record that RFE/RL located, have identified this unit as the Russian Defense Ministry's Military Academy, which is widely known as the GRU "conservatory" and responsible for training Russian military intelligence operatives.

Vehicle records for an alleged GRU officer expelled by the Netherlands in 2018 after operating there under diplomatic cover show his association with unit No. 22177 and a neighboring building to the one in which Lobov was registered, the Associated Press reported.

Russian military attaches have been ensnared in spy scandals in multiple European countries in recent years, including Bulgaria, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom.

Leaked vehicle records for Dmitry Kelov, Lobov's assistant at the Chisinau embassy, list his previous address as Marshal Biryuzov 4 in northwestern Moscow. According to the Dossier Center, an investigative group funded by Russian tycoon and Kremlin foe Mikhail Khodorkovsky, that building has been used to house employees of the GRU, including Anatoly Chepiga, an agent accused in the 2018 Novichok poisoning of Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the U.K. Czech authorities have also sought Chepiga for questioning in connection with a 2014 explosion at an arms depot in that country.

The Dossier Center reported that, based on a 2011 directive, the GRU masked the personal data of the children of Russian spies living in the building on Marshal Biryuzov street by backdating their dates of birth. As a result, some of these children were listed as being more than 100 years old, according to the report. RFE/RL reviewed leaked Russian state pension fund records for the building and confirmed that numerous residents there are listed as having been born more than a century ago.

In November 2021, Kelov joined the Russian delegation to the Joint Control Commission, a trilateral Moldovan-Transdniesterian-Russian body tasked with peacekeeping in the breakaway region.

In a photo published by the Transdniesterian news website Novosti Pridnestrovia, Kelov appears alongside Dmitry Zelenkov, head of the Operational Group of Russian Troops (GOTR) stationed on the left bank of the Dniester River.

Other Russian diplomats currently posted in Moldova have ties to the Russian military, including the embassy's commercial representative, Vladislav Darvai, who was born in Tiraspol, the capital of the Transdniester region. Leaked government records from 2011 and 2012 show Darvai's registered address as a dormitory at Sadovnicheskaya 53, which has been used by multiple entities controlled by the Russian military and is also a listed address for Russia's state-run defense procurement agency, Garnizon.

One of the Russian diplomats cited in the July investigation by the Latvian-based Russian news site The Insider and Moldova's Jurnal TV about the antennas on the roof of the Russian Embassy was Vladimir Gorokhov, an attache who was accredited by the Moldovan Foreign Ministry in July 2021, according to the ministry's diplomatic lists. The investigation alleged that Gorokhov was frequently seen on the roof of the embassy.

Gorokhov was not among the dozens of diplomats and embassy staff who left Moldova in August after Chisinau ordered the embassy to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country. He remains at his post in the Moldovan capital, according to the most recent diplomatic list maintained by the Moldovan Foreign Ministry.

After he was summoned to the Moldovan Foreign Ministry following the July investigation, Russia's ambassador to Moldova, Oleg Vasnetsov, who has remained in his post, argued that the antennas were installed during the construction of the embassy in the late 1990s when phone networks and the Internet were of poor quality in Moldova.

"This so-called espionage scandal is just an excuse to implement a decision already made some time ago to reduce the number of diplomatic staff," Vasnetsov said at the time.

Mark Krutov from RFE/RL's Russian Service, Riin Aljas from RFE/RL's Central Newsroom, Maja Zivanovic from RFE/RL's Balkan Service, and Andrei Soshnikov from Systema, RFE/RL's Russian investigative unit, contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/investigation-moldova- expels-russian-diplomats-spy-ties/32581071.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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Moldova To Propose $8.6 Million Payment To Gazprom To Settle Debt That Moscow Says Exceeds $700 Million

By RFE/RL's Moldovan Service September 06, 2023

Moldova's energy minister says the government will propose that Moldovagaz, a subsidiary of Gazprom, pay the Russian gas giant $8.6 million to settle a debt that Gazprom says is more than $700 million.

Energy Minister Victor Parlicov said the government would propose paying the $8.6 million, an amount he said was "arrived at following a complex estimate" and after an international audit that disputed Russia's claim that Moldovagaz owed $709 million.

The audit showed that there was no documentation for some of the debt and another portion of the debt was considered expired because it had accumulated over a long time while not being periodically reconfirmed by Gazprom.

The audit also found that the Moldovan government can demand compensation for Gazprom's decision in October 2022 to reduce the volumes of natural gas delivered to Moldova in violation of its contract.

The audit conducted by Forensic Risk Alliance of Britain and Wikborg Rein of Norway detailed "significant discrepancies" in the amount allegedly owed to Gazprom, the Moldovan government said in a statement on September 6.

It found that Moldovagaz, which is 50 percent owned by Gazprom and 36.6 percent by the Moldovan government, could insist that most of the alleged $709 million in debt be written off.

"Citizens of the Republic of Moldova should not bear the burden of nonexistent debts to Gazprom," Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean said in the statement.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu was quoted last week as saying that the audit had disproved Gazprom's claim that the Moldovan government owes it hundreds of millions of dollars.

Gazprom said it "categorically disagrees with the Moldovan side's assertions and intends to continue defending its rights by all possible means."

The auditors' conclusions "cannot in any way affect the amount and validity of the said debt," Gazprom said on Telegram, insisting it was confirmed in "documents regularly signed by Gazprom and Moldovagaz."

Moldova previously received Russian gas through its separatist region of Transdniester and through Ukraine, but Moscow cut deliveries after its invasion of Ukraine.

The audit also found that the Moldovan government can demand compensation for Gazprom's decision in October 2022 to reduce the volumes of natural gas delivered to Moldova in violation of its contract.

Moldova and Gazprom in October 2021 extended their gas contract by five years after a bitter standoff over a hike in gas prices. At that time, Gazprom and its Moldovan subsidiary said it had accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars in debt that had to be repaid to ensure further stable supplies.

With reporting by AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/moldova-gazprom-debt-russia- 8-6-million-700-million/32581331.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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Briefing by Chief of Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on U.S. military-biological activity

Materials of briefing by Chief of NBC Protection Troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation

06.09.2023

The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation continues to analyse the military and biological activities of the U.S. and its allies in Ukraine and on the territory of other countries.

The second meeting of the working group on strengthening the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention was held in Geneva from 8 to 17 August 2023. The event was held to develop concrete and effective measures to strengthen the BTWC regime.

Despite the purely expert nature of the meeting, due to the position of the United States and Ukraine, the discussion of the agenda was highly politicised.

The Western group of countries promoted the idea of creating a voluntary financial fund on the platform of the Convention, under the control of a specially created committee with the possibility of allocating earmarked funds for projects favourable to them.

The Russian Federation was in favour of ensuring equitable access to technologies and scientific achievements in the biological sphere and called for unilateral restrictive measures against States Parties to the Convention to be avoided.

Russia was supported by a number of countries, the number of which began to increase amid the reaction of the world's media to the publication of documents on the U.S. military-biological activities, even such as the American publication American Greitens, the British Bit Chute, the Italian La Presse, and the Greek Banking News.

The reports of non-governmental organisations as Interpol, the World Health Organisation, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Committee on UN Security Council Resolution No. 1540, whose tasks are in no way related to the subject matter and objectives of the Convention, traced pro-Western ideas about the non-mandatory nature of the BTWC verification regime and the possibility of replacing it with non-core mechanisms.

In discussing the issue of national implementation of the BTWC, the Russian Federation once again raised the issue of violations of the Convention by the Kiev regime and its Western curators. It was noted that the USA and Ukraine position military-biological research as cooperation for peaceful purposes, 'hiding behind' Article 10 of the Convention.

It is noteworthy that during the work in Geneva of the expert group on strengthening the BTWC, the Pentagon published a policy document 'Biosecurity Policy Review', which defines the actions of the U.S. Department of Defence in this area for the period up to 2035.

The policy developed by the U.S. administration is based on the U.S. National Defence Strategy, the National Biosecurity Strategy, and the Biological Threats and Pandemic Preparedness Plan.

Although its stated purpose is to: '...deter the use of biological weapons and respond to natural outbreaks...', the document creates a legal basis for further U.S. biological-military expansion and research outside of national territory.

In particular, the overseas network of United States-controlled biolaboratories will be expanded and the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which was previously imposed by the U.S. administration on post-Soviet countries, will be continued.

This is supposed to follow a well-established pattern of involving civilian ministries and intermediary organisations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the implementation of Pentagon plans.

As Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs Deborah Rosenblum stated, '...biosecurity is no longer the domain of specialised Army units alone...'.

The biological-military nature of the planned activity is also evident from the fact that it will be conducted by the Biodefence Council, chaired by U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defence William LaPlante.

In general, the number of administrative structures engaged in the implementation of bioprospecting in the USA has increased significantly.

We previously told you about the creation of the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness, which is headed by U.S. Air Force Major General Paul Friedrichs. It was noted that the work of the directorate would focus on pathogens that could trigger another global emergency.

As it turns out, this is not the only structure created by the U.S. administration in 2023 to organise dual-use research outside the national territory.

On 1 August, the State Department's Bureau of Global Health and Diplomacy was formed.

Its official purpose is stated as '...international cooperation in the effective prevention, detection and control of infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS...'. In practice, the office will be responsible for setting policy and coordinating Washington's efforts to establish a global infectious disease monitoring system and achieve United States leadership in this area.

Ambassador-at-Large John Nkengasong, who previously served as director of the Africa Regional Office of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a structure involved in the implementation of U.S. military biological programmes, has been appointed to head the new structure.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the State Department regularly emphasises its non-involvement in biological activities on the grounds that it is not a core foreign policy issue.

We have in our possession documented evidence of the State Department's involvement in the Biosecurity Engagement Programe since 2016. According to the funding plan, at least $40 million is envisaged for the involvement of various non-profit and non-governmental organisations alone.

The documents demonstrate the active participation of the U.S. State Department in bioprogrammes on the territory of foreign countries, as well as Washington's desire to use third-party performers to conceal the customers and purposes of the research being conducted.

Special attention is given to countries in the Middle East (Iraq, Yemen, Jordan), South-East Asia (Indonesia, Philippines) and Africa (Kenya, Morocco, Uganda). Mention is made of President Obama's role in promoting the State Department's proposed biological programmes.

It should also be noted that Ukraine occupies a special place in the planning documents and is singled out as a separate region.

Thus, Washington is making administrative, financial, and diplomatic efforts to establish U.S. global biological control.

The scale of the biological-military activities and the extensive cooperation of the perpetrators are confirmed not only by the documents received, but also by the statements of political representatives in the United States itself.

I would like to highlight a few statements by Democratic presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, Jr. During an interview with the American TV presenter Tucker Carlson, Kennedy spoke at length about the events of 11 September 2001 and the subsequent signing of the so-called Patriot Act, which, according to the American politician, '...resumed the arms race, but with the use of biological weapons, ... and the Pentagon began to invest huge sums of money in their development ...'.

The U.S. presidential candidate elaborated on the legal implications of the Patriot Act, in particular that since 2001, any official who violates the law on the use of biological weapons cannot be held criminally liable, although U.S. federal law provides for capital punishment for this offence. This provision was used as a loophole in international treaties that were ratified by the U.S. Congress.

I would like to recall that it was in 2001 that the United States blocked work on a legally binding protocol to the BTWC, thereby completely eliminating the possibility of international control of its military-biological research.

The statements by an American politician about the functioning of biological facilities controlled by the Pentagon on Ukrainian territory deserve special attention. '...We have biolaboratories in Ukraine because we are developing biological weapons and these biological weapons use various kinds of new synthetically bred strains, as well as CRISPR technologies and genetic engineering techniques that were not available to previous generations....'.

Such statements are confirmation of illegal military-biological activities by the United States and require a legal assessment followed by an independent investigation.

During the interview it became known that about 36 thousand people are involved in the U.S. biological weapons programme, while the list of facilities with BSL-3 and BSL-4 isolation levels, where such research is conducted, is concealed from the public.

Apparently, the exact number of biolabs is not known by the U.S. administration itself.

For example, in March 2023, a 'clandestine' laboratory carrying out activities with pathogens was discovered in an abandoned industrial building in Ridley, California. It contained about 30 refrigerators and freezers, thermostats and equipment for cultivating microorganisms.

About one thousand transgenic laboratory animals, about eight hundred samples of biomaterials were found in laboratory premises. Analysis by the Centre for Infection Control and Prevention revealed the presence of at least twenty pathogens in the samples, including COVID-19, HIV and hepatitis pathogens.

The investigation revealed that the laboratory has been operating since October 2022 with gross violations of basic biosecurity principles. For example, laboratory animals were kept in unsatisfactory conditions, leading to their deaths. The disposal of biomaterials, including blood, tissue and serum samples, was carried out without complying with the requirements of sanitary norms. At the same time, the real owner of the laboratory has never been found and the actual purpose of its activities has not been established.

It should be noted that this is not an isolated case, confirming the lack of proper control over dual-use developments. We have previously cited a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, as well as a report from the National Science Advisory Board for BiosecurityNZ These documents recognise the unwillingness of U.S. oversight bodies to monitor research potentially subject to the BTWC.

Given the United States' inability to control its own biological facilities, the activities of U.S. laboratories around the world are a constant source of biothreats, primarily to the populations of the countries where they are based. An example of this is Ukraine, which has several dozen such facilities operating on its territory, which have been removed from international control.

In the current situation, we consider it extremely important to resume work on a legally binding protocol to the Convention, which would be binding on all States parties to the BTWC and, first and foremost, on the United States of America.

Department for Media Affairs and Information

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US Seeks to Establish Global Biological Control - Russian Defense Ministry

Sputnik News

20230906

The United States is looking to establish worldwide dominance over biological situations and is making administrative, financial and diplomatic efforts to achieve this goal, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia's Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces, stated.

Russia has documented evidence that the US State Department has been participating in the implementation of the Biosecurity Enhancement Program since 2016, Kirillov told the briefing.

According to the general, the data shows that Washington has been actively taking part in bioresearch in other countries, striving to use third-party performers to conceal the customers and goals of the ongoing research.

The US is especially interested in conducting biological research in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Africa, while Ukraine has been designated as a separate region for bioprograms, Kirillov stressed.

"Thus, Washington is making administrative, financial and diplomatic efforts to establish US global biological control," the official emphasized.

"The scale of military-biological activities and the extensive cooperation between performers is confirmed not only by the documents received but also by statements of the US politicians," he added.

A Sputnik

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What is Russia's Dragon Teeth Defense?

Sputnik News

20230906

Ekaterina Blinova

The Russian defense has impeded Ukraine's advance along the front line, despite being earlier mocked by the Kiev regime and its Western patrons.

The botched nature of Ukraine's counteroffensive has largely been blamed on Moscow's elaborate network of fortifications erected last fall along the frontline to protect the territory which integrated into Russia following September referendums.

"Dragon teeth" barriers, "hedgehogs" and minefields are sending a clear signal to NATO and its Ukrainian proxies that Russia is here to stay and that the Kiev regime won't get an inch of Russia's soil.

What are Dragon Teeth?

Dragon's teeth - sometimes also referred to as "devil's teeth" in the Western press - are anti-tank pyramid-shaped concrete defense obstacles. The height of one "tooth" is from 90 to 120 cm (around 4 feet).

Are They Effective Against Tanks?

Dragon's teeth have repeatedly proven to be highly effective against tanks. Still, one should bear in mind that, first, these defensive obstacles are used as part of a larger sophisticated structure; second, they should be installed the right way and in the right place.

Dragon's teeth are not a fence, they are a special anti-tank trap: they don't just hinder the enemy tanks' raid, but create the illusion that this obstacle is easy to overcome. If the dragon's teeth are made and installed correctly, the enemy tanks, having overcome the first line of concrete defenses, will not be able to move either forward or backward. They will get stuck and become an easy target for artillery and other anti-tank weapons.

Prior to the failing counteroffensive in late May, the Ukrainian media shared footage of the UK-made Challenger-2 tank easily wiping chaotically scattered dragon's teeth away. An audio track attached to the video goes: "I'm on the highway to hell". The three-month-long counteroffensive attempt proved this line to be prophetic: having failed to reach its objectives the Ukrainian military has lost over 66,000 personnel and 7,600 weapons. The image of a burning Challenger 2 tank near Russia's defensive line this week came as the cherry on the cake.

How Do Dragon's Teeth Work?

Russian military observers list five conditions for the successful use of dragon's teeth:

First, the obstacles should be made of special reinforced concrete.

Second, it is necessary to carefully choose the place of their installation: it must be a true trap, i.e. a place that tanks cannot simply bypass from the flanks.

Third, installing one row of dragon's teeth wouldn't make any sense. The shards should be placed in several rows and in a special order to make it difficult to overcome. Moreover, the "teeth" could be of different shapes depending on the place of their installation.

Fourth, these anti-tank obstacles are typically hidden from the enemy and carefully camouflaged. It would be good if the enemy tanks suddenly stumble upon this obstacle in front of them and have no choice but to try to overcome them.

Fifth, installing dragon's teeth is just half the story: the gaps between the obstacles must be mined. The exact coordinates of the installation should be transferred to anti-tank units in advance, so that they could immediately unleash hell upon the enemy tanks once they slow down while trying to overcome the defenses.

When Were Dragon's Teeth Used First?

Dragon's teeth fortifications were widely used during the Second World War to impede the mobility of main battle tanks and mechanized infantry. The main task of this defensive structure was to slow down the advance of the enemy's armored vehicles, channel them into a killing zone, and then destroy them with anti-tank weapons.

Dragon's teeth were used by several European armies. The Germans extensively employed them on the Siegfried Line - a line of defenses built during the 1930s. The German defensive system stretched for more than 630 km (390 mi) with more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank traps.

France also used large numbers of dragon's teeth in the construction of the Maginot Line, located opposite Germany's Siegfried Line.

The Brits installed dragon's teeth in 1940-1941 in order to strengthen the country's coastal defenses against a possible German invasion. Some can still be found in the UK - for instance, above Studland Beach in Dorset.

What Other Fortifications Has Russia Employed in Ukraine?

The Western media cites satellite imagery showing multiple layers of Russian fortifications, which are sometimes 20 kilometers deep and roughly 2,000 kilometers long, running from Russia's border with Belarus to the Dnepr Delta.

Western think tanks name these fortifications as the most extensive defensive works in Europe since the Second World War. The Russian defenses consist of a network of trenches, minefields, razor wire, metal anti-tank barricades known as "hedgehogs", the now-famous dragon's teeth, and artillery positions.

As per Western observers, the most fortified is the Zaporozhye region, followed by Kherson, Donetsk, and Lugansk republics. Crimea has also been fortified. The Zaporozhye defensive system consists of around three subsystems; the Kherson defensive system also protects approaches to Crimea. The Donetsk front combines both new and old defensive fortifications, while "the construction of Luhansk's defensive system is less clear from satellite imagery."

Are Russia's Fortifications Only to Blame for the Botched Counteroffensive?

While Western media has largely blamed the Kiev regime's failures on Russia's formidable defense line, a number of reports indicate other serious Ukrainian military flaws. In particular, Ukrainians are criticizing NATO's training which was not only "too little, too late" but in many respects ineffective, starting from the shortened period of training to Western war practices per se. According to Sputnik's interlocutors, it has turned out that NATO's tactics don't actually work without the dominance in the air.

NATO-grade wonder weapons also proved to be not as efficient as they were previously advertised. Germany's Leopard tanks and British Challengers turned out to be difficult to maneuver on Ukraine's terrain and problematic to maintain.

US-made Patriots and other air defense systems do not shield the Ukrainian infantry and equipment from heavy losses and are especially vulnerable to Russia's hypersonic weapons, such as the Kinzhal missile. Western missiles and drones have also been detected and intercepted by Russia failing to inflict heavy damage on its positions. On top of that, NATO countries cannot produce enough 155 mm shells to satiate Ukraine's needs. None of NATO's conventional systems (including the F-16 jet fighters which are expected to be delivered to Ukraine soon) would become a "magic bullet" against Russia, according to Western military analysts.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive attempt has failed to meet the West's expectations, triggering skepticism among Americans and Europeans with regard to future military supplies and financial assistance for Kiev.

A Sputnik

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Taiwan military to showcase new Indian Challenger motorcycles at base opening

ROC Central News Agency

09/06/2023 05:52 PM

Taipei, Sept. 6 (CNA) Taiwan's Military Police is scheduled to debut its newly purchased heavy motorcycles in an upcoming military base opening event later this month, the Military News Agency (MNA) announced on Wednesday.

According to the MNA, the Taipei-based 202nd Military Police Command's Quick Response Company will showcase its new Indian Challenger motorcycles at the Sept. 24 opening of the army base in Hukou Township, Hsinchu County.

The MNA report said the company will hold a round of motorcycle performances during the opening event, which is expected to be attended by tens of thousands of civilian participants.

A military source told CNA that the opening of the Hukou Army Base will be an open house, and will feature armaments and display weapon systems, such as tanks, and an armored vehicles exhibition on land, as well as an aerial show by army choppers.

Taiwan's military regularly holds similar military base open-house events to promote national defense awareness among citizens. The last one was held on Aug. 12 at Taichung's Ching Chuan Kang Air Base and attracted nearly 100,000 visitors.

The 202nd Military Police Command's Quick Response Company is the only military unit in Taiwan equipped with heavy motorcycles.

The company previously used 65 aging Japanese-made Yamaha Royal Stars, before the Military Police Command spent NT$65 million (US$2.03 million) on replacing them with U.S.-made Indian Challengers.

The unit took delivery of them in November 2022.

The military police said the motorcycles are highly mobile, explaining that a rider would be able to hold a locally developed Kestrel anti-armor rocket and get to where they need to be much quicker than on other military vehicles.

Unlike many other countries, Taiwan's military police is a separate branch of the armed forces tasked with protecting government leaders from assassination or capture, guarding strategic facilities, and conducting counterintelligence against enemy infiltrators, spies and saboteurs.

(By Matt Yu and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/kb



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Taiwanese Divided on US Military Sales Amid Growing Chinese Threats

By William Yang September 06, 2023

The U.S. has renewed efforts to help Taiwan strengthen its defense capabilities in recent weeks, approving a series of million-dollar military sales to Taiwan and promising to resolve the $19 billion backlog of Taiwanese defense purchases from the U.S.

The latest moves received mixed responses from the Taiwanese government and the Taiwanese people. Taiwan's Presidential Office characterized the latest U.S. transfer of weapons to Taiwan under the Foreign Military Financing mechanism as the fulfillment of Washington's commitment to Taiwan's security.

However, some Taiwanese people are suspicious about the timing and motives behind the latest announcement.

"While the Ukraine War makes me realize U.S. military sales to Taiwan are necessary, I don't think the U.S. government respects the requests that Taiwan has made over the years," Kai Wang, a 46-year-old woman working in the pharmaceutical industry, told VOA in a phone interview.

In her view, Taiwan rarely has the autonomy to decide what types of weapons it wants to purchase from the U.S. Rather, the deliverables often seem to have been "decided" for Taiwan, which deepens public suspicion toward the motivation behind U.S. military sales to Taiwan.

"There should be more public discussions about the Taiwanese government's policies related to U.S. military sales," Wang added.

Other Taiwanese citizens think there are often deeper political meanings behind U.S. military sales to Taiwan.

"If the U.S. intends to support Taiwan through these military sales, they should be conducted more discreetly, rather than publicly announcing these programs," Peter Yang, a 36-year-old salesperson, told VOA in a phone interview.

Instead of continuing to acquire expensive military aircraft from the U.S., Yang thinks Taiwan needs more concrete international support and foreign investment.

"Receiving two fighter jets from the U.S. won't suddenly turn Taiwan into a military power," he said.

During a visit to Taiwan, Rob Wittman, vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, promised to resolve the $19 billion dollar backlog of Taiwan's defense purchases from the U.S. and reiterated that Washington would come to Taiwan's defense in the event of a Chinese invasion.

"Know that any hostile unprovoked attack on Taiwan will result in a resolute reaction from the U.S.," he said during a speech ahead of his meeting with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Sep. 1.

Political leaning influences Taiwanese people's views on U.S. military sales

Apart from the suspicion expressed by some Taiwanese people, several opinion polls in recent years also show contradicting views on U.S. military sales to Taiwan and Washington's security commitment to the island among Taiwanese people.

According to American Portrait, a study of Taiwanese people's perception of the U.S. released by Academia Sinica in January, 66.5% of the respondents support U.S. military sales to Taiwan. Additionally, more than 60% of Taiwanese people say when U.S. officials visit Taiwan or pledge to come to Taiwan's defense publicly, their confidence in the U.S. military coming to Taiwan's defense increases.

Some analysts say Taiwanese people's political leaning is an important factor that influences their attitude toward U.S. security commitment. "Among the 66.5% of the public who support U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the percentage of supporters of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is about three times that of supporters of the main opposition party Kuomintang (KMT,)" Pan Hsin-Hsin, a political scientist at Soochow University in Taiwan and one of the authors of American Portrait, told VOA in a written response.

Data from the survey also shows that while a certain percentage of Taiwanese people think the U.S. is untrustworthy, they believe Washington's security commitment to Taiwan is credible, Pan added.

Concerns about U.S. military sales turning Taiwan into a war zone

Another survey conducted by Global Views Monthly in 2021 found that 43.1% of respondents think U.S. military sales to Taiwan will further increase tension across the Taiwan Strait. Whereas 37.8% of the respondents think U.S. military sales to Taiwan can help maintain peace between China and Taiwan.

In recent years, China has increased its military aggression against Taiwan by constantly deploying military aircraft and naval vessels to areas near Taiwan and holding large-scale military exercises as responses to high-level engagement between Taiwan and foreign countries.

Some Taiwanese people told VOA that as the U.S. provides more offensive weapons for Taiwan through military sales, they believe it increases the risks of prompting a potential Chinese military attack on Taiwan.

"If the DPP government falls for Washington's conspiracy and acquires more offensive weapons, it will prompt Beijing to launch an attack on Taiwan and a war would break out across the Taiwan Strait," Denise Luo, a 56-year-old housewife, told VOA in a phone interview.

Instead of viewing U.S. military sales to Taiwan purely as an instigator of potential military conflicts across the Taiwan Strait, Albert Lin, a 47-year-old banker in Taiwan, thinks it's important to consider it as part of Washington's strategy to maintain the status quo across the Indo-Pacific region.

"I believe U.S. military sales to Taiwan is part of Washington's strategy to maintain a balanced environment in the Indo-Pacific region," he told VOA in a phone interview.

Despite the concerns expressed by some Taiwanese people, experts don't think "American skepticism" will become a mainstream topic in Taiwan, especially as the island gears up for the presidential election scheduled for next January.

"The best to know that is by looking at what political parties are saying during presidential elections," Lev Nachman, a political scientist at National Chengchi University in Taiwan, told VOA in a phone interview.

"Every Taiwanese presidential candidate just did or will do a big trip to the U.S., and from the electoral perspective, no presidential candidate will say anything that promotes American skepticism. They know the U.S.-Tawian relationship is Taiwan's most important relationship," he added.

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September 6, 2023

By Joseph Clark , DOD News

DOD Announces $175M in Additional Security Assistance for Ukraine

The Defense Department announced today an additional security assistance package valued at up to $175 million to help Ukraine counter Russia's unprovoked invasion.

The package includes additional air defense equipment, artillery rounds and anti-tank weapons.

The latest round of assistance marks the 46th drawdown of equipment from DOD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021 and reflects the U.S. enduring commitment in the face of Russian aggression.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, who traveled to Kyiv today to meet with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, underscored the United States' unwavering support.

"We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long term to make sure that it has a strong deterrent, strong defense capacity so that, in the future, aggressions like this don't happen again,"Blinken said ahead of his meeting with Kuleba.

The latest tranche is being provisioned as part of the $6.2 billion in presidential drawdown authority restored in June following a reevaluation of the total value of items already committed to Ukraine. As of the end of last month, there was approximately $5.75 billion in restored funding remaining.

The Biden administration has committed more than $43 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's invasion in February 2022.

That assistance has included more than 2,000 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, more than 10,000 Javelin anti-armor systems and more than 2 million 155-mm artillery rounds, among other items.

The assistance has been provisioned through drawdowns of existing U.S. stocks and through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, the authority under which the U.S. procures capabilities from industry and partners.

The Biden administration has pledged to extend support for Ukraine for as long as necessary to counter Russian aggression and the U.S. continues to lead the international coalition that has rallied behind Ukrainian forces.

Pentagon officials have also pledged to continue supporting Ukraine while maintaining U.S. readiness.

Speaking last week at the National Defense Industrial Association's emerging technologies conference, William A. LaPlante, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said DOD leaders are closely monitoring U.S. readiness as U.S. support continues.

"Every item that is decided and taken from the U.S. stock and provided to the Ukrainians, the chairman [of the Joint Chiefs] and secretary [of defense] go through it, and they look exactly at what is the effect for readiness," he said. "And if they think it's any impact, negative on readiness, or increases risk ... we won't do it.

"So, by definition, if it's taken out of drawdown, the assessment's been made [that] we can do it and we can manage the risk," he said.

The U.S. has also ramped up production of key artillery rounds used most by Ukraine in defending its territory against the invading Russian forces.

Last month, Douglas R. Bush, assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology, said the U.S. is currently producing new artillery rounds at a rate of 24,000 per month and is on track to produce more than 80,000 rounds per month over the following year.

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Russia/Ukraine: Statement by the Spokesperson on continued atrocities and attacks on civilian targets

European External Action Service (EEAS)

06.09.2023

EEAS Press Team

Russia continues terrorising Ukraine's civilian population. Today's heinous and barbaric missile attack on a market area in Kostyantynivka in Donetsk region killed at least 16 people, including a child and injured dozens others.

This attack follows an escalation over the past months of missile and drone attacks all over Ukraine, especially on civilian objects, killing and wounding more than 410 civilians over the past two weeks alone. It comes in addition to Russia's daily indiscriminate shelling and bombing near the frontlines causing hundreds of civilian victims. The EU strongly condemns these attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure and calls on Russia to stop immediately its inhumane and illegal aggression.

Russia also intensified attacks on key facilities for the export of Ukrainian grain including in the Odesa and Danube areas with the latest attack taking place last night. This further demonstrates how Russia is exacerbating the global food security crisis with its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, but also puts at full display Russia's logic of maximising its economic profits at the expense of Ukraine, putting deliberately at risk millions of most vulnerable people worldwide.

Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes. All commanders, perpetrators and accomplices of these atrocities will be held to account.

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Russia destroys drones in Kaluga, Moscow regions: defense ministry

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 10:55, September 06, 2023

BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Russian air defense forces have destroyed Ukrainian drones in the Kaluga and Moscow regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

"Today at night, air defense forces destroyed drones in the Kaluga Region and in the Istra district that were trying to commit an attack on Moscow," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his Telegram channel.

Sobyanin added that according to preliminary data, there was no damage or casualties on the crash site and emergency services are working on the site.

Russia has reported a series of drone attacks across the country recently and has repeatedly accused Ukraine of being behind the drone strikes.

On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that its air defenses have destroyed two Ukrainian drones overnight, one shot down over the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula and the other intercepted over the Kursk region.

In addition, the ministry said Sunday that its air defense had destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the Belgorod region, preventing it from carrying out a terrorist attack on Russian facilities.

On Aug. 30, four Il-76 transport aircraft were destroyed during an overnight drone attack at Pskov airport in western Russia, according to Ukrainian authorities.

According to the airport's website, Russia's 334th Military Transport Aviation Regiment, armed with II-76 aircraft, was stationed at the airport at the time of the drone attack.

A Ukrainian government official confirmed local reports that Ukrainian military intelligence was behind the attack, said the BBC report.

Meanwhile, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 31 that a new Ukrainian-made long-range weapon had successfully reached a target 700 km away, Kyiv Independent reported.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a weekly briefing last Wednesday that Ukraine would not have been able to hit targets deep inside Russian territory without satellite data obtained from the West.

Zakharova warned that Ukraine's actions will not be left unpunished.

Actually, drones have been deployed by both sides in the conflict.

Russia hit Ukraine's port infrastructure in an overnight drone attack on the southern Black Sea port city of Odesa, regional authorities said Sunday.

Two civilian port workers were injured in the attack, said the Odesa regional military administration.

Serhii Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian volunteer army "South," wrote in a Telegram post that a fire broke out in a port infrastructure facility following the attack.

According to Ukraine's Air Force, the country's air defense has intercepted 22 out of 25 Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 kamikaze drones launched against the region.

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Blinken visits Ukraine, says Washington ready to fund war to 'last Ukrainian'

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 06 September 2023 4:18 PM

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Kiev needs a "strong deterrent" in its war with Russia, stressing that the United States is ready to fund the ex-Soviet republic to "the last Ukrainian."

Blinken on Wednesday arrived in Kiev for a two-day visit amid Ukraine's grinding counteroffensive against Russian forces, and four hours after the latest Russian airstrike on the Ukrainian capital that reportedly led to no damage or casualties.

The US top diplomat, whose country is currently Ukraine's strongest ally, is likely to announce a fresh package of US wartime assistance worth more than $1 billion, a senior State Department official told reporters on the trip.

Blinken is scheduled to hold talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and also is due to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the official added.

"We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive, but has what it needs for the long term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent," Blinken said standing alongside Kuleba.

"We're also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy," Blinken stressed.

Washington on August 29 announced $250 million in fresh military aid to Ukraine, naming the components as equipment for clearing mines and obstacles as well as missiles, artillery rounds, anti-armor missiles, and more than three million rounds of small arms ammunition.

Kiev has already received more than $43 billion from the US in the form of weapons systems like howitzers and millions of rounds of ammunition, including widely-banned cluster munitions, since last February when Russia started a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

A number of Republican presidential hopefuls have questioned the US aid to Ukraine, fuelling concerns over whether Washington will still support Kiev at the same level once the US 2024 election campaign intensifies.

In reaction to Blinken's visit to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that, "We have heard repeated statements that they (the Americans) intend to continue to help Kiev for as long as it takes."

"In other words, they are going to continue to support Ukraine in a state of war and to wage this war to the last Ukrainian, sparing no money for this. That's how we perceive it, we know it. It's not going to affect the course of the special military operation," Peskov added.

Russia has repeatedly warned that a continued supply of Western arms and military equipment for the Ukrainian military would only prolong the war.

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Russian air defense shots down Ukrainian drone over Bryansk region

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 06 September 2023 11:06 AM

Russian Governor of the Bryansk region has said that the air defense systems defending the region successfully downed a Ukrainian drone flying over its airspace, foiling another "terrorist" attack by Kiev.

"The air defense forces of the Russian Defense Ministry have foiled an attack by Ukrainian terrorists. An aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicle has been shot down over the Navlinsky district," Alexander Bogomaz said early on Wednesday on Telegram.

"There are no casualties or damage," Bogomaz added on social media.

"Operational and emergency services are working at the site," the Russian official further added.

Following Kiev's abortive months-long counteroffensive, Ukrainian troops have resorted to drone warfare, targeting civilian infrastructure, to make up for their military shortcomings on the battlefield, failing to deliver as expected on its promises of a vain victory against the stronger Russian troops.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin has pointed out that the Moscow-Kiev conflict is a "proxy war" waged by the US and its NATO allies against Russia. It warned that the supply of arms and training to Kiev's troops and intelligence-sharing makes the Western nations complicit, which means they are already de-facto parties to the conflict.

Russia, which views NATO as a hostile bloc and vigorously opposes its eastward expansion, has also highlighted Kiev's aspirations of joining the US-led military alliance among the main reasons for launching its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.

World War III already underway: Ukraine

In related news, Ukraine's security chief said World War III had already begun.

The head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council has said that World War III had already begun, with the conflict between the two neighboring countries pulling in international players far beyond the region.

Speaking at the Kiev Security Forum on Tuesday, Aleksey Danilov argued that NATO needs Ukraine as a member, as global turbulence is set to continue. "We're going to strengthen the alliance," he insisted.

"If somebody thinks that World War III hasn't started then it's a huge mistake. It has already begun. It had been underway in a hybrid period for some time and has now entered an active phase," he said.

Sitting on stage beside ex-CIA Director General David Petraeus, Danilov said "If somebody thinks that it [the conflict in Ukraine] is about settling the scores between Kiev and Moscow then it's a mistake. Things are much more complicated."

Petraeus acknowledged the unprecedented scale of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, saying: "I haven't seen anything like it since World War II."

"The Russians are not particularly impressive in terms of knowledge or performance on the battlefield, but they have created a rather outstanding defense system, and it is quite difficult to punch through it," he claimed.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that during the three months of its vain counteroffensive, Ukraine had lost some 66,000 of its troops and lots of heavy weaponry while failing to achieve any notable goals.

Speaking about the Ukrainian counteroffensive earlier this week, Russia's President Vladimir Putin reiterated it "is not stalled; it is a failure."

In the meantime, according to Western media, Russian forces carried out air strikes on Kiev and the southern Ukrainian region of Odesa early on Wednesday.

One person died in the attack which caused a fire and damage at a Danube River port, Ukraine's military said.

Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said several agricultural and port facilities were damaged, and several fires were reported during a nearly three-hour drone attack on Odesa, in the Izmail district, an important grain exporting hub on the Danube River.

Kiev runs several river ports on the Danube as well as two major ports, Reni and Izmail, which have previously been targeted in Russian airstrikes.

Kiev's air force claimed its air defenses destroyed 23 out of the 33 air weapons Russia launched overnight, which included 25 drones, seven cruise missiles, and one ballistic missile.

Russia launched retaliatory attacks against Ukraine after Ukrainian forces' abortive counteroffensive prompted Kiev to frequently launch air attacks on the Russian capital, Moscow, and other cities and towns across the border inside Russia.

Kremlin launched its special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, aiming to stop NATO's encroachment and to liberate the regions where the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev's pro-Nazi forces persecuting the Russian-speaking inhabitants of Donbas.

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Russian Missile Strike Kills At Least 17 In East Ukraine, Overshadowing Blinken Visit

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service September 06, 2023

Ukrainian officials said at least 17 people were killed and many others wounded in a Russian missile strike on a busy market in the eastern city of Kostyantynivka, sparking immediate condemnation from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the United Nations, and Kyiv's allies.

A video of the attack, posted on social media by Ukrainian officials, showed people falling in the streets in the area where the missile hit in the industrial city, which is near Bakhmut and the front line of the war.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said 17 people died and 32 were injured, adding that the search and rescue operation had been completed. Zelenskiy said a child was among the dead.

"This Russian evil must be defeated as soon as possible," Zelenskiy said, describing the missile strike as a deliberate attack on a "peaceful city."

Denise Brown, the UN's humanitarian envoy for Ukraine, denounced the attack as "despicable," and the European Union condemned it as "heinous and barbaric."

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said these "brutal Russian attacks" underscore the importance of continuing to support the people of Ukraine.

The attack came during an unannounced visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met with top Ukrainian officials in Kyiv as he pledged U.S. support for Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive and "what it needs for the long term."

Blinken announced new aid for Ukraine totaling more than $1 billion, including over $665 million in military and civilian security assistance and millions of dollars in support for Ukraine's air defenses and other areas.

"We will continue to stand by Ukraine's side," Blinken told reporters at a press conference with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

The U.S. State Department said Blinken's visit was intended to demonstrate the United States' "unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democracy, especially in the face of Russia's aggression."

Unnamed U.S. officials told reporters traveling with Blinken that he would also announce a new military aid package of between $175 million and $200 million, with another, larger package expected to be announced later this week.

Blinken, who traveled to Kyiv by train, met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during the journey, according to a State Department spokesman, who said Blinken thanked Frederiksen for Denmark's offer to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets and for promising to donate the jets to Kyiv.

In a speech to Ukraine's parliament, Frederiksen told lawmakers that the world was in awe of Ukrainians' "incredible strength" and their "will never to give in" in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022.

"Your fight is our fight," she said.

After arriving, Blinken laid a wreath at a Kyiv cemetery commemorating members of the Ukrainian armed forces killed while defending the country, according to press reports.

"We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long-term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent," Blinken said in Kyiv. speaking alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

"We're also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy."

The trip is Blinken's fourth to Ukraine since Russia launched its ful-scale invasion.

Ukraine is in the third month of a major counteroffensive against Russia forces that it hopes will decisively shift the momentum of the war.

While Ukrainian forces have made some progress in the southern Zaporizhzhiya region, and in the eastern Donetsk region, the advances have been small. Some of Ukraine's Western backers have expressed frustration at the slow pace of the offensive.

Ahead of the visit, Russia again targeted the Ukrainian capital with cruise missiles. In a post on Telegram, Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said air defenses shot down the missiles, and there were no casualties or damage to the city in the early morning attack.

In Izmayil, a Danube River port southwest of Odesa, at least one person was killed in Russian drone attacks that lasted for three hours. Oleh Kiper, the region's governor, said on Telegram.

The port and some connected agricultural infrastructure had also been damaged, he said.

Izmayil borders NATO member Romania, which has become a major route for Ukrainian grain and agricultural shipments out of the country following Russia's withdrawal in July from a United Nations deal that had allowed maritime shipments of Ukrainian products via the Black Sea.

Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine's Odesa and Mykolayiv regions in recent weeks as talks on reviving the deal continue.

Blinken's meetings with Ukrainian officials were also expected to touch on alternative export routes for Ukrainian grain.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials complained that Russian drones had hit Romanian territory, a claim that Bucharest later "categorically denied."

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on September 5 that the attacks had taken place "very, very close" to his country's border.

Blinken's trip to Kyiv was his first since September 2022, and comes with Zelenskiy trying to tamp down concerns that his government was not doing enough to root out some of the endemic corruption Ukraine has grappled with for years.

Anti-corruption activists and some lawmakers have raised questions about weapons contracts and procurement procedures. Some lawmakers in the United States, Ukraine's biggest donor of military equipment, have voiced concerns.

Last month, Zelenskiy dismissed the heads of all military recruitment centers, amid questions of draft-eligible-age men being illegally allowed to leave the country. Ukraine's deputy defense minister also resigned after facing allegations of corruption.

Earlier this week, Zelenskiy sacked Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, who has served as the defense chief since before Russia's invasion in February 2022.

Last week, White House national-security adviser Jake Sullivan met with three top Ukrainian officials to discuss efforts to tackle wartime graft.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukrain-kosyantynivka- russian-missile-attack-16-dead/32581034.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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Breakthrough. Bridgehead. Salient. Glimmers Of Progress, And Hope, In Ukraine's Advances

By Mike Eckel September 06, 2023

The landscape between the Ukrainian villages of Robotyne and Verbove, in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhya region, is open and flat, rectangular farm fields now pocked with blackened artillery craters and lined by shrapnel-shredded trees that provide spotty cover. Scratched into the fields are rows of man-made trenches, tunnels, triangular concrete blocks called dragons' teeth, and an impossible number of anti-tank and anti-soldier land mines.

They're known as Surovikin Lines -- triple-layered defenses named for the Russian general who ordered their construction last year to thwart any Ukrainian effort to breach and try to outmaneuver Russian forces along a 1,200-kilometer front line.

Three months into its biggest counteroffensive of the 18-month-old Russian invasion, Ukraine is poised for a small but significant battlefield milestone near Orikhiv, in what many consider the main axis for the offensive: breaching the Surovikin Line.

Breaching the entire Surovikin Line outside Verbove would mean taking the village and expanding the pocket of control, or salient, that Ukrainian forces have carved out south of Robotyne, which was captured on August 28.

That could enable Ukrainian forces to threaten the key highway running from Orikhiv to Robotyne and then move south to Tokmak, a rail hub and road crossroads, which is 20 kilometers farther south through heavy fortifications. If they got to Tokmak, Ukrainian troops would then be close enough to strike Melitopol, a major river city another 50 kilometers farther south, and even threaten the coastal highway that Russian forces use to ferry people and supplies to the occupied Crimea Peninsula.

"The fact is that not only has the first line of [Russian] defense been crossed; at this moment there's also fighting ongoing inside the second line," said Yevhen Dikiy, a former officer with a Ukrainian military unit known as the Aidar Battalion.

"Russian command knows perfectly well what the cost of the question is now, what's at stake," he told Current Time, a Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. "That's why the battle for Tokmak will be very hard. They will throw there all the reserves they have left. And, in essence, the question now is who will run out of reserves first. Because we're suffering quite serious losses in this offensive, but the Russian losses are also very significant."

"I agree with the thesis that the Russians are afraid of a breakthrough and lack of control in Zaporizhzhya," said Maciej Korowaj, a Polish military analyst and reserve lieutenant colonel in the Polish Army. "Ukraine fights according to the principle: hit, bend, starve," he said. "It is precisely this Ukrainian tactic that the Russians are afraid of and are trying to counteract."

In an interview with The Guardian published on September 2, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, who commands Ukraine's Tavria grouping of forces, also claimed that troops had broken through the first lines of the Surovikin defenses near Robotyne.

"The enemy is [calling] up reserves, not only from Ukraine but also from Russia. But sooner or later, the Russians will run out of all the best soldiers. This will give us an impetus to attack more and faster," Tarnavskiy said. "Everything is ahead of us."

Reports of Ukrainian advances, or being on the verge of a breakthrough, have been corroborated by satellite imagery and open-source information. Russian military bloggers, some of whom are linked to military units or security agencies, also pointed to Ukrainian progress.

"The enemy is trying to assault between Verbove and Novoprokopivka," said one prominent Russian blogger, Yuriy Kotenok, in a Telegram post. "It's serious there. There is a threat of a breakthrough. Russia is committing reserves there. The line is held by highly resistant units. Unfortunately, they are not enough."

After months of regrouping and resupplying, on June 5 Ukraine launched a concentrated counteroffensive in three locations along the 1,200-kilometer front line: south of the town of Orikhiv, south of the settlement of Velyka Novosylka, and near the Donetsk region city of Bakhmut.

The Ukrainian effort was buoyed by hopes that legions of Western-supplied vehicles and weaponry -- U.S.-supplied Bradley armored personnel carriers, Leopard tanks and Marder infantry vehicles from Germany, and truck-mounted Caesar howitzers from France -- would help troops punch through Russian defenses.

In the days after the campaign got under way, however, Ukrainian units encountered the Surovikin Lines that Russia had spent months building. Since then, the tempo of progress has decreased substantially, with Ukrainian troops making slow, painstaking advances, village by village: "approximately 700-1,200 meters of progress every five days," according to one estimate.

About 100 kilometers northeast of Orikhiv, along the meandering Mokri Yaly River, it took Ukrainian forces more than three weeks to capture a pair of villages south of Velyka Novosylka. And in the vicinity of Orikhiv, which by some accounts has become the main thrust for the Ukrainian efforts, troops have advanced about 7 kilometers (4.2 miles).

On September 4-5, Ukrainian forces appeared to have breached at least one of the Surovikin Lines on the western outskirts of Verbove, according to analysts from the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War and other open-source researchers.

In comments to Ukrainian TV on September 4, Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Tavria grouping, said the second line of defense outside of Verbove was formidable but not as strong as the first lines.

Still, the snail's pace advance has sparked frustration in some Western capitals, most notably in Washington, where the U.S. administration has provided nearly $70 billion in weaponry, equipment, and other humanitarian aid, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which has tracked aid donations to Ukraine.

Russia has sought to capitalize on that frustration. Responding to a reporter's question at a news conference alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on September 4, President Vladimir Putin outright declared the Ukrainian campaign to be unsuccessful. "As for the Ukrainian counteroffensive spinning its wheels: It's not spinning; it's a failure," Putin said. "That's what it looks like today in any case."

Undermining Putin's assertion, however, were reports last week that Russian commanders had redeployed at least one major paratrooper unit -- the 76th Air Assault Brigade -- fighting around the northeast city of Kreminna to bolster troop strength north of Tokmak.

"This, combined with a lack of a coordinated and decisive response to [the] forming [of] a Ukrainian salient, appear to suggest a significant degradation of Russian combat potential in this sector," said Konrad Muzyka, a Polish-based defense analyst, said in a research note. "As a result, Ukrainian further gains are likely."

"Moscow will likely continue to attempt to degrade Ukrainian attacks in-depth and attrit its combat potential, forcing it to fight for every trench to the point when Ukrainians can no longer sustain the current tempo of attacks," he said.

"Redeployment of reserves of Russian airborne units is aimed at saturating the crooked front line," military analyst Korowaj said. "The Russian Army used up all operational and strategic reserves. If they want to save themselves, they have to take the best units from other directions," he said. "If the intensity of the fighting remains the same, theoretically, by the end of autumn, the Russian Army will have to let go of the Zaporizhzhya-Azov direction."

The "summer offensive is coming down to the balance of attrition over time, which side has more reserves, and who can better manage their combat power in a prolonged slugfest," they wrote.

White House spokesman John Kirby highlighted Ukrainian successes in comments to reporters on September 1. "We have noted over the last 72 hours or so some notable progress by Ukrainian armed forces...in that southern line of advance coming out of the Zaporizhzhya area, and they have achieved some success against that second line of Russian defenses," Kirby said.

Despite the grinding progress, some experts have cautioned patience, and realistic expectations of what Ukrainian troops will be able to achieve -- and when.

"Ukraine's current counteroffensive will not throw Russia out -- not that anyone expected it to. Nor is it likely to cut the occupation in half before the winter, which might have been one of the more optimistic aims," Richard Barrons, a former British Army general and former commander of Britain's Joint Forces Command, wrote in a Financial Times opinion piece.

"It has, however, shown how the Russian Army can be beaten. Not in 2023, but in 2024 or 2025. Thus, the refrain among Western allies of supporting Kyiv 'for as long as it takes.'"

In a report published on September 4, the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank, also argued that Russian forces had improved their performance since the early weeks after the February 2022 invasion, when Russian troops tried to seize the capital Kyiv but were thwarted by Ukrainian defenders.

"It is also important to recognize that Russian forces are fighting more competently and with reasonable tenacity in the defense," the report's authors, Jack Watling and Nick Reynolds, wrote.

In addition to laying complex minefields that try to funnel Ukrainian attacks into designated corridors where they can be targeted by artillery or tanks, Russian forces have built extensive trenches and even underground tunnel networks that can be used to rotate soldiers and bring in equipment and ammunition under cover. In some cases, they've built mined decoy trenches to be detonated if Ukrainian forces overrun them.

Russian troops have also improved their use of electronic warfare -- to confuse radar and jam drones, incoming GPS-guided rockets, and missiles. They've also utilized Ka-52 attack helicopters that pop up over tree lines, launch powerful anti-tank missiles, and then descend to lower altitudes, making them hard to hit for Ukrainian antiaircraft gunners.

"Given that it is unlikely, however, that this offensive will deliver a decisive liberation of ground, both Russia and Ukraine now face the question of how to regenerate combat power for the next round of fighting, into 2024 and beyond," Watling and Reynolds wrote.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-counteroffensive- hope-advances-breakthroughs/32581270.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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Top U.S. Diplomat Arrives In Kyiv Just Hours After Russian Air Attacks

By RFE/RL September 06, 2023

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with top Ukrainian officials in an unannounced trip to Kyiv as he pledged U.S. support for Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive and "what it needs for the long term."

Blinken's visit on September 6 came just hours after the Ukrainian capital was again targeted by Russian missiles.

It also came days after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced a major shake-up at the Defense Ministry amid mounting concerns of wartime corruption involving military contracts.

In a statement, the State Department said Blinken's visit was intended to demonstrate the United States' "unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democracy, especially in the face of Russia's aggression."

Unnamed U.S. officials told reporters traveling with Blinken that he would also announce of new military aid package of between $175 million and $200 million, with another, larger package expected to be announced later this week.

Blinken, who traveled to Kyiv by train, met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during the journey, according to a State Department spokesman, who said Blinken thanked Frederiksen for Denmark's offer to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16s fighter jets and for promising to donate the jets to Kyiv.

In a speech to Ukraine's parliament, Frederiksen told lawmakers that the world was in awe of Ukrainians' "incredible strength" and their "will never to give in" in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022.

"Your fight is our fight," she said.

After arriving, Blinken laid a wreath at a Kyiv cemetery commemorating members of the Ukrainian armed forces killed while defending the country, according to press reports.

"We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent," Blinken was quoted as telling reporters in Kyiv while standing alongside Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba.

"We're also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy."

The trip is Blinken's fourth to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine is in the third month of a major counteroffensive against Russia forces that it hopes will decisively shift the momentum of the war.

While Ukrainian forces have made some progress in the southern Zaporizhzhiya region, and in the eastern Donetsk region, the advances have been small. Some of Ukraine's Western backers have expressed frustration at the slow pace.

Ahead of the visit, Russia again targeted the Ukrainian capital with cruise missiles. In a post on Telegram, Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv city military administration, said air defenses shot down the missiles, and there were no casualties or damage to the city in the early morning attack.

In Izmayil, a Danube River port southwest of Odesa, at least one person was killed in Russian drone attacks that lasted for three hours. Oleh Kiper, the region's governor, said on Telegram.

The port and some connected agricultural infrastructure were also damaged, he said.

Izmayil borders NATO-member Romania, which has become a major route for Ukrainian grain and agricultural shipments out of the country following Russia's withdrawal in July from a United Nations deal that had allowed maritime shipments of Ukrainian products via the Black Sea.

Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine's Odesa and Mykolayiv regions in recent weeks as talks on reviving the deal continue.

Blinken's meetings with Ukrainian officials were also expected to touch on alternative export routes for Ukrainian grain.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials complained that Russian drones had hit Romanian territory, a claim that Bucharest later "categorically denied."

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on September 5 that the attacks had taken place "very, very close" to his country's border.

Blinken's trip to Kyiv was his first since September 2022, and comes with Zelenskiy trying to tamp down concerns that his government was not doing enough to root out some of the endemic corruption Ukraine has grappled with for years.

Anti-corruption activists and some lawmakers have raised questions about weapons contracts and procurement procedures. Some lawmakers in the United States, Ukraine's biggest donor of military equipment, have voiced concerns.

Last month, Zelenskiy dismissed the heads of all military recruitment centers, amid questions of draft-eligible men being illegally allowed to leave the country. Ukraine's deputy defense minister also resigned after facing allegations of corruption.

Earlier this week, Zelenskiy dismissed Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, who had served as the defense chief since before Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

On September 6, Ukrainian lawmakers approved Rustem Umerov as the new defense minister. A total of 338 lawmakers voted in favor of Umerov, the former head of the Ukrainian State Property Fund, well above 226 votes needed.

Last week, White House national-security adviser Jake Sullivan met with three top Ukrainian officials to discuss efforts to tackle wartime graft.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-us- visit-blinken/32580434.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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Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Rebukes Putin For Latest Anti-Semitic Comments

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service September 06, 2023

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said the latest statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's Jewish roots are "another manifestation of deep-rooted anti-Semitism of the Russian elites."

The ministry said on September 5 that Putin has a chronic fixation on the ethnic origin of the Ukrainian president and his statement shows that he connects Zelenskiy's Jewish origins with the "heroization of Nazism."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said Ukraine called on the world to strongly condemn Putin's anti-Semitic statements.

"There should be no place for ethnic hatred in today's world," Nikolenko said on Facebook.

Putin said in comments broadcast on Russian television that Western powers had installed Zelenskiy as president of Ukraine to cover up the glorification of Nazism. He presented no evidence for his allegation.

Moscow has previously accused Kyiv's leaders of pursuing a neo-Nazi "genocide" of Ukraine's native Russian speakers in seeking to justify its attack on Ukraine. Putin himself called the "denazification" of Ukraine the goal of the full-scale invasion.

Kyiv and its Western allies have called the accusations a baseless pretext for a war that only seeks to expand Russian territory, and human rights activists and representatives of the Jewish community have condemned such statements in the past.

Putin said Western powers had "put a person at the head of modern Ukraine -- an ethnic Jew, with Jewish roots, with Jewish origins. And thus, in my opinion, they seem to be covering up an anti-human essence that is the foundation...of the modern Ukrainian state.

"And this makes the whole situation extremely disgusting, in that an ethnic Jew is covering up the glorification of Nazism and covering up those who led the Holocaust in Ukraine at one time -- and this is the extermination of 1.5 million people."

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak, asked for comment by Reuters, said Putin himself was disgusting "when he tries to justify mass crimes against citizens of another country with a monstrous lie."

Putin in June tried to draw parallels between the Nazis who carried out the Holocaust during World War II and Ukraine's current democratically elected government, telling an economic forum in St. Petersburg, also without evidence, that some Jews considered Zelenskiy a disgrace to their people.

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-putin-zelenskiy-anti- semitism/32580432.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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Foreign Ministry statement on the grain deal

6 September 2023 13:13

1697-06-09-2023

Concluded in Istanbul on July 22, 2022, the Black Sea Initiative to export Ukrainian food products (suspended on July 17) has been receiving a lot of attention. It was part of a package deal along with the Russia-UN Memorandum on promoting Russian agricultural exports (in force until 2025), forming together the so-called grain deal. Against this backdrop, the Foreign Ministry considers that it must once again set forth Russia's position in this regard, in detail.

It is well known that the Black Sea initiative failed to live up to its humanitarian mission since less than 3 percent of the 32.8 million tonnes of shipments went to the countries in need, while Ukrainians used it to attack Russian facilities. Its termination did not bring about a disaster of any kind. The global price of grain is steadily declining, having decreased in the range of 4 to 5 percent in August to reach levels 25 to 40 percent below its peak in March 2022, contradicting the alarmist statements by the West and the UN Secretariat on surging food prices and the imminent threat of hunger.

Overall, there is no global food shortage in physical terms, while there are challenges in terms of distributing, not producing, food. In other words, no one died of hunger when exports of Ukrainian grain by sea stopped and a food crisis never materialised, defying the predictions by the Western capitals and the United Nations. This did not come as a surprise, since 32.8 million tonnes of shipments, mostly fodder corn and forage grain, would hardly suffice to feed the planet.

Ukraine's role as the world's breadbasket has also been blown out of proportion, once again at the initiative of the West and the United Nations. In fact, this country accounts for a relatively small portion of global wheat exports at about 5 percent, and this share has become even smaller recently due to objective factors, considering, among other things, the decrease in the planted acreage as a result of soil contamination by radioactive and chemical toxins following the use of depleted uranium munitions supplied by the West. At the same time, Ukrainians can easily rely on shipping routes other than the Black Sea for exporting their produce, including the land and river routes to the EU, the so-called solidarity corridors.

Of course, this carries higher transport costs. In addition, the Europeans have been in no hurry to live up to their stated solidarity with Kiev. In May, the European Commission banned imports of Ukrainian grain, corn, canola and sunflower seeds to Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, allowing only transit shipments through these territories. With this moratorium set to expire on September 15, Brussels will have a great opportunity to review its decision and lift the ban on Ukrainian grain imports which risk overwhelming the East European markets. It will also provide an opportunity to send Ukrainian grain for free to the African and Latin American countries that need it, considering that this is what causes so much concern in Washington and some European capitals. That said, we can hardly expect this to happen.

In these conditions, as Russia has pointed out many times and in detail, if the West and Kiev really need the Black Sea corridor, it is high time for them to take concrete steps to lift the illegal unilateral sanctions imposed on Russian entities which are involved in producing and exporting agricultural products and fertilisers. This includes restoring the normal operation of banks and companies, streamlining transport logistics and insurance, and resuming the supplies of machinery components. Not only does the Russia-UN Memorandum provide for addressing these systemic issues, but such action would be consistent with the bombastic statements by Americans and Europeans who have been claiming that their sanctions do not prevent Russian fertiliser and grain from reaching the global market.

However, instead of actual exemptions from sanctions, all Russia got was a new dose of promises from the UN Secretariat. This time, the UN Secretary-General and his experts have put forward what they presented as four breakthrough proposals: reconnecting a subsidiary of the Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT, creating an insurance platform, unblocking the foreign assets of Russian fertiliser producers and enabling our ships to enter European ports. In exchange, they want Russia to guarantee that the Black Sea Initiative resumes immediately and in full.

However, just like UN's earlier suggestions, these recent proposals do not contain any new elements and cannot serve as a foundation for making any tangible progress in terms of bringing our agricultural exports back to normal.

It has been stated many times, including in our public comments, that there is no viable alternative when it comes to reconnecting the Russian Agricultural Bank to SWIFT, be it through its branches or subsidiaries, or by having JP Morgan process the transactions. By the way, this was a marginal tool to begin with and it stopped working after the demise of the Black Sea initiative. Just a few days before the Russia-TArkiye Summit in Sochi, Frankfurt's Commerzbank notified the Russian Agricultural Bank that it had closed its euro-denominated correspondent account.

We have been hearing promises about setting up a dedicated insurance platform for Russian agricultural products since August 2022, but for some reason they have never materialised.

The same goes for allowing Russian ships and cargoes to enter foreign ports. The United Nations has not been able to address the relevant obstacles arising from sanctions - the entire Russian territory is viewed as a warlike and high-risk area, while specialised Russian transport and insurance entities and companies have been put on sanctions lists.

Moreover, fertiliser producers have been invited to recognise their sanctioned status as a way of unblocking their foreign assets in order to be able to ask for exemptions at their own risk.

It is obvious that all these superficial measures and workarounds are designed to imitate actual efforts without bringing about a real solution, i.e., lifting the sanctions and restrictions imposed on the relevant Russian economic entities. Sanctions have also been imposed on imports of components into Russia as these products are viewed as dual use goods. The United Nations has not even mentioned the need to address this systemic issue for the same reason.

The UN Secretary-General did not say anything about the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, despite his special trip to Kiev on March 8 and a separate proposal of April 26. This pipeline supplied enough fertiliser to grow food for 45 million people. When Ukraine blew up the pipeline on the territory under its control, the UN Secretariat decided not to mention this, despite the fact that it was a central element of both Istanbul agreements.

Also, it remains an open question what the United Nations plans to do next to carry out the Russia-UN Memorandum given Antonio Guterres' words about the UN not intending to withdraw from the agreement. However, the relevant efforts have been de facto suspended. UNCTAD's Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan who has been tasked with overseeing this agreement has had an invitation to visit Moscow since July 2023 in order to hold the next round of talks, but for now, even the regular performance reports have been suspended. That said, the United Nations is still represented in Istanbul's Joint Coordination Centre even though the termination of the Black Sea Initiative deprived them of this mandate.

In this context, Russia reaffirms its position of principle as set forth by President Vladimir Putin on September 4. We stand ready to explore opportunities for reviving the Black Sea Initiative. However, this can happen only once all the requirements are met to lift sanctions imposed on the Russian companies dealing with agricultural products and fertilisers. It is obvious that so far nothing suggests that the Western countries will take any steps down this path, while Kiev has gone as far as to say that it will continue pushing for the imposition of even tighter sanctions on Russia, not caring in the least about the fact that the Global South needs grain and fertilisers, or about global food security in general.

For its part, Russia will continue exporting its food and fertilisers which will have a stabilising effect on global prices and improve the availability of these products. We will also persist with our efforts to supply our products for free to those who need them.

In particular, Russian fertiliser has already been sent to Malawi and Kenya with shipments of 20,000 tonnes and 34,000 tonnes, respectively. We intend to send 23,000 tonnes to Zimbabwe, 34,000 tonnes to Nigeria, and 55,000 tonnes to Sri Lanka soon. In addition to this, In addition to this, free shipments for a total of 200,000 tonnes of Russian wheat will be on their way to Somalia, the Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali and Eritrea before the end of the year.

The joint project by Russia, TArkiye and Qatar to deliver 1 million tonnes of grain from Russia so that it can be processed in TArkiye and then delivered to the poorest countries for free has also been quite popular, especially considering that it matches, more or less, food shipments under the Black Sea Initiative to the neediest countries over a one-year period.

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Blinken Meets With Danish Prime Minister on Way to Kiev to Discuss F-16s

Sputnik News

20230906

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Wednesday on his way to Kiev to thank the country for donating F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the State Department said.

Denmark and the Netherlands will start the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine within the upcoming months, following the appropriate training of pilots in the United States, the Pentagon said in August.

The US will start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in October once they complete their English language training in September, according to the Pentagon.

Blinken is currently in Kiev on an unannounced visit. He is expected to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal for talks on Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive attempt. Blinken will also announce over $1 billion in new aid to Ukraine, according to media reports.

A Sputnik

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Ukraine Loses Up to 285 Military in Donetsk Direction in Past Day

Sputnik News

20230906

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine has lost up to 285 military in the Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

During the past day, Russian military repelled 10 attacks by Ukraine in the Donetsk direction, four in the Zaporozhye direction, two in the Krasny Liman direction, one in the South Donetsk direction, as well as two counterattacks in the Kupyansk direction. Also, there is no change in the tactical position of Russian troops in the Zaporozhye direction.

"During the fighting in this [Donetsk] direction, the enemy lost up to 285 Ukrainian military, a tank, two infantry fighting vehicles, five vehicles, a Gvozdika self-propelled artillery mount, a Rapira cannon, as well as a control center for unmanned aerial vehicles," the ministry said in a statement, adding that Ukraine also lost over 180 military in the South Donetsk direction.

Additionally, Aerospace Forces of Russia attacked a training base of sabotage groups of Ukrainian troops, the ministry said, noting that the goal was achieved.

A Sputnik

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Russian Troops Kill Up to 30 Azov Battalion Militants Near Krasny Liman

Sputnik News

20230906

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian troops fired at militants of Ukraine's Azov battalion* near the Serebryanskoye forestry, Alexander Savchuk, the head of the press center of Russia's Center Group of Forces, told Sputnik.

Russian troops fired at militants of Ukraine's Azov battalion* and troops of the 67th brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces using artillery and aviation near the Serebryanskoye forestry, with the enemy losing up to 30 militants, Alexander Savchuk announced.

Savchuk said the group's units have thwarted two attempts of the assault groups of the 21st and 63rd Mechanized Brigades of the Ukrainian armed forces to attack in the Krasny Liman near the Torsky section.

"In the area of Serebryanskoye forestry, air strikes and artillery fire defeated the assault groups of the 67th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces and the 12th Special Purpose Brigade of Azov. The enemy's losses amounted to up to 30 militants," the officer said.

He added that a Western-made artillery reconnaissance system had been destroyed in a counter-battery fire.

Savchuk also said that Russian bombers had struck a Ukrainian command and observation post and two temporary deployment hubs of enemy forces in the areas of the town of Kirovsk and the village of Serebrianka.

*terrorist organization banned in Russia

A Sputnik

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Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Before Their Meeting

US Department of State

Remarks

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Kyiv, Ukraine

September 6, 2023

PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY: Dear Antony, Mr. Secretary, your team - you're very welcome to have you and to host you today. And it's important visit for us, for Ukrainians. And I think that (inaudible) visit (inaudible) the full-scale war and a supporting message to our whole society. Especially now when the war is here, this is a difficult challenge and difficult - a tough period for our society. And always the leaders of United States, when they come, that's a great message of support.

Thank you so much. We are really thankful to you. We are very thankful to White House, to President Biden. Please pass that on to him from me. And we are thankful to bipartisan support, to Congress, that you show great unity around Ukraine. And you have different cases in the United States, but when we feel and when you speak about Ukraine you also - you're always together. Thank you so much. It really helps us. First of all, it helps us on the battlefield, because United States really are the leaders of supporting on the battlefield. My appreciation. And we are happy that we can count on you, and you know that total society of Ukraine totally understands it and appreciate it.

And thank you very much as you help us with energy sector. Difficult winter was ahead. I don't know, maybe if the difficulties or maybe we will have some new experience. We'll see. But we are happy that we are not alone through this winter. We will go together with our partners.

Thank you, and of course thank you from our society that your financial support of our budget is crucial. Welcome.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. President.

PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY: Now it's the (inaudible).

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Right there. Right in front of me.

PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY: Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Mr. President, it's so good to see you; as always, to see the entire team. As you mentioned, this is my fourth visit to Ukraine since the renewed Russian aggression in 2022. And I, as always, am so struck by the courage, the strength, the resilience of the Ukrainian soldiers, the Ukrainian people, and the Ukrainian leaders.

We are determined in the United States to continue to walk side by side with you. And President Biden asked me to come, to reaffirm strongly our support, to ensure that we are maximizing the efforts that we're making and other countries are making for the immediate challenge of the counteroffensive as well as the longer-term efforts to help Ukraine build a force for the future that can deter and defend against any future aggression, but also to work with you and support you as you engage in the critical work of strengthening your democracy, rebuilding your economy.

I know you were just on the front lines, and we're all very eager to hear your assessment. And certainly we see the important progress that's being made now in the counteroffensive, and that's very, very encouraging.

I look forward to discussing a whole variety of issues that we have, and I know the President will look forward to seeing you in the near future.

Finally, can I just say it was very moving to be part of the event this morning that the first lady was leading. I think the work that she's done on mental health is extraordinary, and we're very proud to be part of that and to help. But it was very powerful to be there, because we know the toll that this horrific aggression has taken on so many Ukrainians in ways that are not visible, and the work, the leadership of the first lady in addressing that challenge is very inspiring.

Thanks for having us today.

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Secretary Antony J. Blinken at a Meet and Greet with Embassy Kyiv

US Department of State

Remarks

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Kyiv, Ukraine

September 6, 2023

AMBASSADOR BRINK: It is a privilege and an honor for me to be here with you as we give a very, very warm welcome to our Secretary of State, Tony Blinken. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. (Applause.)

As members of Mission Kyiv, we all know the challenges and the demands of this work. The hours are long - sometimes dangerous - and the future can seem uncertain. But we also know why we're here and we know why it matters. We are here to enable Ukraine to use its own future, to be the sovereign, independent, prosperous country you are fighting for; to protect their choice of the European path, to be the secure democratic and values-based partner that is also in the strategic interests of the United States. And it's true - as U.S. ambassador here, I can tell you we have no greater advocate and no greater champion for our work then Secretary Blinken. Thank you, sir. (Applause.)

Secretary Blinken's presence here in Kyiv and his many visits before are proof that he is literally with us in this fight. Thank you, Mr. Secretary, and thanks to your extraordinary delegation for your total support to us in Kyiv. Mr. Secretary - and I know you know this, but I have to say it again - you are with one of the Department of States truly outstanding embassy teams here today. We are very proud that more than 20 American officers who served at Mission Kyiv made the promotion list just last week. Yeah. (Applause.)

Together, you and we are contributing to President Biden, the administration, Secretary Blinken's agenda and the strategy on Ukraine. To all of our staff, you have chosen to be here, many separated from families and friends. As we saw just last night again, it's dangerous and the pace of work is relentless. But Mr. Secretary, to a person, there is no other place we would rather be. To my team, I'm deeply grateful.

I want to relay a special thanks to our Ukrainian colleagues. We know what you are facing, what your families are facing. We know how difficult the past 560 days have been. We know what you have sacrificed. But each day in this embassy, I am inspired by your sense of hope, by your belief in victory, and by your faith in the future of this country. It's an honor of a lifetime to work shoulder to shoulder with you in Ukraine at this vital moment for your country, for Europe, and for all of us. I thank each of you for your service.

Mr. Secretary, it's my honor to welcome you back again to your embassy in Kyiv. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Please, have a seat. Should have done that at the start. (Laughter.) I always forget. I'm still not used to people standing up, never mind having to sit down. But it's wonderful to be back with this amazing team at Embassy Kyiv, Mission Ukraine. Everything that the ambassador said, I know because I get to experience it every day. I see the work you're doing. I see the pressure you're under; the conditions in which you're doing this work. I can't tell you how much I admire it, admire you, and I'm grateful for everything you're doing for both of our countries and, quite frankly, for much of the world that's standing with and standing up for Ukraine in this moment of need.

You also know better than anyone else why President Biden sent Ambassador Brink here to Ukraine. You have in Bridget one of the truly extraordinary leaders in our department, someone I've had the great privilege of working with for many years. We couldn't have a better leader for this mission at this critical time than Ambassador Brink. Bridget, thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)

Now, to everyone who made this particular trip possible, I wanted to say a special thank you. I know that sometimes the worst words in the English language for a Foreign Service Officer or civil servant is: The Secretary is coming to visit. (Laughter.) I have a pretty good idea of how much work goes into these visits. And I get to see the placid calm on the surface; I know there's always a little bit of churn underneath, and I just want to tell you how grateful I am for doing this work. Any visit at any embassy is challenging and complicated. To do it here in the middle of a war only adds to the complexity. I guess my best wish for you is to say, have a great wheels-up party when we get out of Dodge. (Laughter.)

And by the way, I know that it's not as if this is a rare drop-in. You're getting visits from many of my colleagues, from members of Congress, which is so vitally important, and I'm grateful for the work that you're doing to support all of these visits.

I'm also here with some extraordinary colleagues from Washington who, day-in, day-out, are working with you to make sure that we're maximizing everything we're doing with - for Ukraine:

The Acting Deputy Secretary of State Toria Nuland. Toria. (Applause.)

Our NSC Senior Director for European Affairs Amanda Sloat. Amanda. (Applause.)

And hiding back there in the distance, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the State Department Tom Sullivan. Thank you. (Applause.)

And I didn't want to mention this because I'm actually very concerned that I may have made a mistake. Also with us is Chris Smith. (Applause.) So I knew there was more than a little risk that in bringing back Chris to Ukraine, he might decide to stay - (laughter) - but no, he's coming back with us.

But you have another remarkable DCM here with you now, and I had a chance to meet with the senior leadership team this morning. Again, I couldn't be more proud, I couldn't be more impressed.

What I wanted to share with you is I know when you're working across an ocean, and you're going through what you're going through day-in, day-out to do this mission, it sometimes seems like no one knows it, no one understands what you're going through. And I want to tell you that I do and that we do.

You've endured a lot of hardship at this post: suspending operations and securing this facility and other facilities, figuring out how to do the job outside of Kyiv - and then outside of Ukraine - then - thankfully - returning to Kyiv, raising this flag again over the embassy, resuming operations - but all of that in the middle of a war.

Each of you has shown remarkable courage, remarkable resilience, remarkable resolve. And that has a profound impact on the entire institution - all of the State Department, other agencies of government. It's quite simply inspiring to your colleagues to see the work that you're doing and the way that you're doing it. I feel that very strongly all the way back in Washington.

You are at the top of our minds back home. Regular notifications we get on the phones remind us time and again that you have to go in and out of bunkers. And we know the toll that just doing that takes on each and every one of you.

The reason for this visit at the President's behest is simply to reaffirm first and foremost that we continue, we will continue to stand with Ukraine so that it has what it needs to defend itself, to deal with the current Russian aggression; that it's prepared for the future, able to deter future aggression; and at the same time that it helps rebuild a successful economy, a strong democracy. That's what's needed to make sure that Ukraine not only survives but actually thrives going forward.

Today, we've had an opportunity to meet with many of the people that you're working - work with, excuse me - day-in, day-out across the government. We'll also have a chance to meet with some leaders in the civil society - all of this with the objective of getting this work done together.

And tomorrow, we'll get a chance to see some of the work that some of you were doing as we work to support Ukraine's border guards - one of the many investments that you're making and we're making in Ukraine's security.

Never go to someone's home without bringing a housewarming gift. We come bearing some further assistance for Ukraine across multiple areas, but that assistance doesn't actually mean anything unless it is used effectively, and so many of you every single day are working closely with our Ukrainian colleagues to make sure that the assistance we're providing is being used effectively and is being used properly.

What the ambassador said could not be more true. The stakes of this mission couldn't be any higher, because - you all know this - yes, we're standing with and standing up for Ukraine, but we're also standing with and standing up for the very principles that are at the heart of the international system, that are necessary to help us keep peace, stability, and security around the world; the principles that animate the United Nations Charter; the concepts, the principles of territorial integrity, independence, sovereignty. All of those, as you know very well, are at stake right here in Ukraine, and what happens here has profound repercussions quite literally around the world.

So the stakes really couldn't be higher, which, again, is why I am so proud of the team we have here doing this.

There's another thing I wanted to share, because I see this in every embassy around the world. It really does take a village, and this is a village. And it's a village that has incredibly important communities that are each working together to make sure that the job gets done. Our RSOs, our Marine security guards - it starts with them, the security that they provide to us. And by the way, for the Marines who are here, I am so especially grateful to you. We have a unique partnership, the State Department and the Marine Corps. We know that any American anywhere the world going into a United States embassy, the first person they are likely to see is a United States Marine. We can't do our jobs without our Marines doing their jobs. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the partnership; thank you for the service. (Applause.)

Our Public Diplomacy and consular teams, our political and econ officers, Management, INL, PEPFAR, the Office of Inspector General colleagues who are doing vitally important work making sure that the resources that we are devoting to this enterprise are used properly and wisely, and so many of our partner agencies who are working hand in hand every day - DOD, DOJ, DOE, DOC, USDA, USAID, Federal Trade Commission, federal commercial service - excuse me, foreign commercial service - each and every one of these is part of this vitally important enterprise.

Finally, I just want to say how grateful I am for the compassion and solidarity you've shown to each other, because, especially when you have a difficult mission in difficult conditions, that's what makes all the difference. We saw that during COVID; we see that here in this mission - having each other's backs, looking out for each other. That really is the recipe for success, and I'm grateful to see that here.

Finally - and Bridget mentioned this - I really want to say a special word of thanks to our locally employed team. In every embassy around the world, the locally engaged staff is the lifeblood of our work. We couldn't do it without you. We could not be more grateful for the fact that you choose to serve alongside us as partners, as colleagues, as friends.

Now, 12 of you, hard as it is to believe, have been here for 30 years - when the embassy opened its doors not long after Ukraine declared its independence. That in and of itself speaks volumes, that we have 12 our locally engaged staff who've been with us for three decades. We know, as Bridget said, that no one in this mission is bearing the hardship of this moment more heavily than our local team. I know that many of you have lost friends, loved ones. Others have seen your communities destroyed.

Twenty members of our embassy family are bravely serving in Ukraine's armed forces - and we salute their service; we salute their courage. Two men who guarded this embassy for years - Serhey Timoshenko and Volodymyr Kapelka - were killed defending their country against Russian invasion. I know that each of you and all of us honor their memory, honor their sacrifice, and think of their family and friends.

A day will come when this war ends, Ukraine will have secured its right to choose its own future, because fundamentally that's what this is about. And when that day comes, it will be in no small measure because of the work that all of you have done. I couldn't be prouder to stand before this particularly team, I couldn't be prouder to be your Secretary at this moment in history, and I couldn't be more committed to supporting the work that you're doing every step of the way.

Thank you very, very much. (Applause.)

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Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal Before Their Meeting

US Department of State

Remarks

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Kyiv, Ukraine

September 6, 2023

PRIME MINISTER SHMYHAL: (Via interpreter) Your Excellency Secretary of State, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, I'm very happy to welcome you to Kyiv. The United States - our strategic partner, our friend, and a huge supporter in the defense, military, humanitarian, and other spheres - we are very grateful for this mighty support and assistance extended to us by the American nation, by the American President, by all of the United States.

And I thank you very much for your personal efforts in assisting us in bringing closer our victory in this war, in withstanding this aggression of Russia. And here, the United States remains the huge supporter of direct budget support - one third of all direct budget support, of all the amounts given by our partners and friends from all over the world, are given by the United States. And we are grateful that this money arrives as grants because this does not affect the state debt of Ukraine, and this is a very important factor in these difficult times.

We would like to especially thank you for the support that the United States gives us together with the World Bank to ensure the project PEACE in Ukraine, which we initiated in June 2022. Within the framework of this project, Ukraine has already received 17.9 billion U.S. dollars, including 8 billion this year. All wages that are now paid in Ukraine in the public sector over the past year, including social and other programs, are funded through this fund - peaceful Ukraine fund. We appreciate this very much, and we also appreciate the assistance and cooperation with the American side on preparing the bilateral agreement on temporary suspension of serving the budget debt within the framework of the memorandum vis-A -vis our relationship with the Paris Club countries.

I would also like to thank you, during our conversation, for all the support in the military, sanction, and other directions - wide spectrum of all assistance and support. You also assist us in our preparation for the next heating season which is going to be very difficult. We are grateful for the support of the grain initiative. We have touched upon this briefly. Thank you for all the support that you extend to us in these difficult times.

When you were on your way to Kyiv, the Russians again reminded of themselves and time and again demonstrated their relationship to all of us, their attitude towards all of us and towards all the civilized world. So I thank you for your - for being brave, for standing with us, for working with us - this is to Her Excellency Ambassador - so we stand united. Thank you very much indeed.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Prime Minister, thank you very, very much. Thank you for receiving us today, but thank you for - most important - the day-in, day-out partnership that we have. I mentioned earlier this is my third visit to Kyiv since the renewed Russian aggression in February of 2022, and each and every time - and already today - I'm struck by the extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian people, the strength of your military, and the very strong leadership that Ukraine has benefited from in this most difficult period.

And I'm here in large part at the behest of President Biden to reaffirm our commitment to stand with you - to stand with you to help ensure that you succeed militarily in dealing with the aggression, but also to stand with you to make sure that your efforts to build a strong economy and a strong democracy succeed, because all of those things - a military that's capable of deterring and defending against further aggression, but also a strong democracy and a strong economy - are the difference between a Ukraine that survives, which it will, and a Ukraine that thrives, which it must and can. And we will be your partners in that effort, along with many other countries around the world.

So I'm grateful for this opportunity for this opportunity to assess where we are in each of those areas and to continue the work that we're doing together. Thank you for having us today.

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Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba Before Their Meeting

US Department of State

Remarks

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Kyiv, Ukraine

September 6, 2023

FOREIGN MINISTER KULEBA: It's a great pleasure to welcome a colleague, a friend, Antony Blinken, State Secretary of the United States, here in Ukraine, and particularly in the foreign ministry. And as the Secretary was walking in, he said that he appreciates being in my home, and I responded with all my sincerity that: My home is your home. I think this testifies to the quality of personal but also - relationship but also the relationship between our countries. So welcome. I'm looking forward to a productive, result-oriented conversation with you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you very much, my friend. It's always good and, in fact, inspiring to be in Ukraine, to be back in Ukraine. This is now the fourth time I've been to Ukraine since the Russian aggression in February of 2022. Every time I'm here, I'm struck by the extraordinary bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people, Ukrainian forces, Ukraine's leadership. And I'm here first and foremost to demonstrate our ongoing and determined support for Ukraine as it deals with this aggression. We've seen good progress on the counteroffensive (inaudible). We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs it for the long term to make sure that it has a strong deterrent, strong defense capacity so that, in the future, aggressions like this don't happen again.

And we're also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, a strong democracy - all of that which is necessary to ensure that Ukraine not only survives, but it thrives in the future. And in that, Ukraine has a strong partner in the United States. For me, it's always a special pleasure to be with, again, not only my colleague, but my friend, Dmytro Kuleba. We've been working together around the world (inaudible). So good to be here, my friend. Thank you.

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Secretary Blinken's Travel to Ukraine

US Department of State

Press Statement

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

September 6, 2023

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken arrived in Ukraine today to meet with senior Ukrainian officials and demonstrate the United States' unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democracy, especially in the face of Russia's aggression. While in Ukraine, Secretary Blinken will meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba to discuss Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive and future recovery and reconstruction efforts. The Secretary will address Ukraine's energy, security, and humanitarian needs, and make announcements about how the United States can continue supporting Ukraine in these areas.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Antony Blinken discuss further support for Ukraine

President of Ukraine

6 September 2023 - 23:27

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, visiting our country.

The Head of State said that Blinken is visiting Ukraine for the third time since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. Zelenskyy called this visit an important manifestation of the unwavering support of our country and its citizens by the United States in the fight against the aggressor.

"This is a difficult challenge, a difficult period for our society, and I highly appreciate the visits of U.S. partners. I am very grateful to you, President Biden and the entire American people for supporting Ukraine," Zelenskyy said.

He provided the interlocutor with detailed information about the situation on the front, as well as urgent defense needs of the Ukrainian defenders, including long-range weapons, artillery and armored vehicles.

In this regard, the leadership position of the United States in providing comprehensive military, financial and humanitarian support was noted.

Given the continued missile terror from Russia, the need to strengthen Ukraine's capabilities in missile defense was emphasized, as the creation of a reliable air shield is the key to economic development and the preservation of the lives of Ukrainians.

The Head of State confirmed the invitation to the American side to participate in the Defense Industries Forum, scheduled for this autumn.

"I am extremely grateful that the United States is a leader in defense matters, provides consolidated international support in giving the necessary weapons. The Ukrainian people, the Armed Forces fully understand this and are sincerely grateful for it," he said.

Zelenskyy said that the assistance of the United States in the energy sector is important for Ukraine, especially on the eve of the winter period.

During the meeting, further ways of implementing the Ukrainian Peace Formula were discussed in detail.

The President expressed gratitude for the role of the United States in adopting the G7 declaration on support of Ukraine and noted the beginning of negotiations with the United States on preparing a draft bilateral agreement.

Attention was paid to the preparation for key international events, and the importance of the third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen in Kyiv was noted.

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Restrictions against Ukrainian exports now are scaling up of destruction caused by Russian terrorists - address of the President of Ukraine to participants of the Summit of the Three Seas Initiative

President of Ukraine

6 September 2023 - 21:07

Thank you!

Dear Mr. President Iohannis,

Thank you for this invitation, for your attention to Ukraine and the opportunity to address the participants of the Three Seas Summit.

Dear colleagues!

At this time, in our city of Kiliya, Odesa region, a city on the banks of the Danube, just across the river from Romania, a fire is being fought. The fire that started at night. After the Russian "Shahed" attack. Exactly on our infrastructure, which ensures the life of the Ukrainian part of the Black Sea and Danube regions... Actually, this is a fire in the body of our Three Seas.

And these consequences of the attacks on Kiliya, on Reni, on Izmail, on Odesa, - on those cities that open the southern gate to the world for Ukraine, - are very

vivid. Now Russia is hitting Ukraine. But what would have happened if it had succeeded, as it did earlier in history, in making Ukraine its foothold? That's what Putin was planning. Something that, unfortunately, your peoples have already seen! Along with the Ukrainian one. In the past. In the past, which became a time of captivity, because at key moments there was a lack of solidarity. February 24th changed everything.

Europe - all of us - managed to prove that we are capable of historic acts of solidarity. And now, when Ukraine is grateful to your countries, grateful to you personally for your support, this is the gratitude we feel... We! And this is a very broad "we". It includes not only Ukrainians, but your nations as well. We stand together. Our common freedom. Our common European home. The home in which people have learned for centuries to rely not on the strength of walls, but on the strength of ties... not on what can be limited but on what can be expanded. Cooperation gives more protection and strength, than any kind of self-isolation.

But have we really learned this?

This format of cooperation is called Three Seas, not "Three Walls" or "Penta Walls".

This format is about unity, not division. Like all other formats that strengthen our nations.

So why, when Ukrainian ports are burning almost every night after Russian strikes, do we also have to worry that our land logistics will stop?

When politics in Europe goes against the grain and ignores common commitments and shared values... when it happens in the midst of a brutal aggression against everything that is European, - everyone loses. Everyone! And only time separates us from the moment when the consequences of such a loss - will be revealed.

Ukraine is strongly against any further restrictions on the export of our grain!

We calmly watch as our grain becomes a source of good income for various European countries that process our agricultural products and make money on logistics. Farmers in different countries use Ukrainian feed for the benefit of their farms. Companies from different countries make money on transit. And this is a benefit for the entire European economy... But specifically for the Ukrainian segment of the European economy, it is not about making money, but about survival - in the face of Russian terror.

Only today and only one Russian shelling killed at least 16 people in Kostiantynivka town, in Donetsk region. And more than 20 people - this is the information for this time - more than 20 people were injured. Ordinary shops, a town market became a target. Please, do not turn Ukraine into a target either - economically or politically.

I am now directly addressing you, my friends, partners, my colleagues... You, Mr. President of Romania, you, Ms. Deputy Prime Minister of Bulgaria. You, Madam President of Slovakia. You, Mr. President of Poland. You, Madam President of Hungary. You, Madam President of Moldova... Everyone on whom the freedom of our agricultural exports depends in one way or another... Any restrictions against Ukrainian exports now are a

scaling-up of the destruction caused by Russian terrorists. This is exactly what it is.

And I would like to address the European Commission specifically. The foundation of Europe is, among other things, free competition and fulfillment of promises. Ukraine fulfills its promises and never interferes with free competition. But how can we not-calmly accept the violation of the promises given to us, the violation of the Association Agreement, the violation of free market conditions... European institutions should not multiply disappointments in Europe. And should increase confidence in the words and promises that are made in Europe.

Ukraine is fighting for life and for our common European values on the battlefield. It is fighting at sea and on land. It is fighting in the air. In cyberspace. In the information environment. In the sphere of commerce. But if we have to fight for Ukraine and the foundations of our common Europe in arbitration, we will fight. We don't want to, but we will fight in arbitration. If we need to fight on the platforms of international organizations, we will fight there as well. But we hope for unity. And we hope that unity will win. That truth will win.

May solidarity continue to unite us! May the whole Europe, from the Danube to the Vistula, continue to be a space of cooperation. Let the blame for the suffering in Europe be only on Russia.

And I am grateful to each of you who helps us!

Mr. President Iohannis, thank you so much for the invitation. We count on you, our friends!

 NNN!

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No one can be left alone with war and its consequences in mind and soul - speech of President of Ukraine at third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen

President of Ukraine

6 September 2023 - 19:30

Glory to Ukraine!

Dear our guests,

Dear our first ladies and gentlemen,

Dear Olena!

Dear Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette,

Everyone present.

I am very pleased to welcome all of you - thank you for the invitation - to welcome everyone to the third Kyiv Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen! I am glad that Ukrainian soft power manages to be effective.

Decisions always propel history forward. But each of these strong decisions is primarily the energy of the emotion flared up before its adoption, effectively paving the way for the decision.

It can be a very strong outburst. Or it can be barely noticeable, but no less important emotion. There are very special emotions that bring people to the square and add new colors to the streets with flags and slogans. And there are emotions that are important to be felt by only one person or one parliament, and then history becomes entirely different.

Ukraine knows how to make history different. In particular, through the diplomacy of emotions - the soft power of our state, which can speak to the soul of every nation. Speak in a way that in a world suffering from an excess of aggression, it is possible to fill the deficit of solutions that benefit people. It is the people who benefit. And after the people, the states benefit.

And for decisions to be implemented, one probably cannot build anything solely on the foundation of emotions. And just making decisions is not enough. Systematic action is always needed to turn the emotion into decisions, and decisions, in turn, into concrete results. Our soft power has such a systematic nature. And this is what truly strengthens Ukraine.

Ladies and Gentlemen!

I am pleased that this format - the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen - has truly become a platform for coordinating the soft power of Ukraine and our partner states. And today, Denmark, the Czech Republic, the United States, Lithuania, Estonia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Armenia, Moldova, Poland are represented here. I want to thank them. Public leaders from various countries, including from the United Kingdom, from France. I thank all of you for making this format happen! We thank you.

The format has indeed become a reality. And the summit, and Olena's team, and Olena - thank you for organizing it. It is very important.

The summit shows the world how significant the potential is in people who may not govern institutions but possess a power greater than any institution can provide - the power of sincerity. Although first ladies and gentlemen of states may not be politicians in the conventional sense, they often find such arguments and tones that politicians genuinely cannot. And it works. And this is the result.

By the way, thanks to Olena and her communication efforts in America, significant progress has been made in the issue of modern air defense for Ukraine. Achieving this required a lot of teamwork - of course, at various levels of the state - and the element of soft power played a role in opening up space for others.

Another example. Political. The Republic of Korea. Essentially, relations between our states have been restarted. The most successful visits by representatives of Ukraine - our government and the visit to Seoul by the First Lady and the Ukrainian delegation - laid the groundwork for this. Meetings, interactions with Korean politicians and society. It is what opened a new history. And this continued with the visit of the President of the Republic of Korea to Ukraine during the war and our important agreements.

The previous Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen was dedicated to Ukraine's reconstruction after hostilities. It is a colossal scale of problems and a truly tremendous need for global support. I am grateful to the states, thankful to the leaders who have already declared their participation in Ukraine's recovery and transformation after the war. Our foreign policy is working to make Ukraine's recovery a truly global project. And here, I want us to thank Mette - she is here. We will have the first office for recovery. It will be in Mykolaiv. Thank you so much Mette!

In addition to the level of states and international organizations, there is also the level of social leaders and businesses - philanthropists and companies that are guided, in particular, by moral motives for their choices. Thanks to our soft power, Ukraine now has such allies in recovery.

And thanks to the ability to work systematically and make decisions a reality, among the various concrete results of our soft power, there are, in particular, the ambulances purchased for Ukraine, for our people, for our heroes, for our military. And I believe it would be fair to applaud and support them - those who defend Ukraine every day.

And to thank the leaders for what you do. And indeed - shelters built in schools already guaranteeing protection for children, and equipped hospitals already operating for the Ukrainian strength.

This Summit opens another very important space - a space for action, and in my opinion, it is no less extensive than the points I mentioned earlier. The topic of mental health and the government's attention to this issue is much more than medicine, therapy and practices that should be accessible to people in today's society. Especially in a society that is going through the most difficult times - going through a war. It is about what society can and should do. And what society should definitely be wary of.

I not accidently began today with an emphasis on the power and importance of emotions. Mental and emotional burden is one of the heaviest baggage left by war. And, unfortunately, not everyone can bear this baggage. We know from the history of wars how such baggage really became a burden, both for individuals and for societies. A devastating burden.

Just as every decision that moves history forward is preceded by some emotional outburst, pushing the decision into life, emotions can break any story. Break the story of a person, break a story of a family, a story of life, a story of peace.

Post-war peace is vulnerable to emotions. To the accumulated pain of war that stays with people for a long time and becomes even more unbearable over time. War is a challenge that never completely disappears even after the end of hostilities and peace taking root. War smoulders as long as it can hit people from within. As long as they suffer because of the war. As long as the losses caused by war hurt. That's why no one should be left alone with war, with its consequences. With what war does to a person's mind and soul.

Every city and village in Ukraine erased by Russian artillery is reflected in scorched souls. Each loss of a comrade in battle can become a chasm between the warrior and the society that continues to live its life and does not notice this. Every time a child sees blood from injuries, he or she sees the worst of the adult world far too early. Unfortunately, there are countless such horrific, tragic examples.

People's resilience has its limits. Everyone has their own limit. But in everyone, that limit lies in emotions, in that invisible baggage of feelings that prompt a person to act. To act one way or another - for good or for evil, for the benefit or harm. To the detriment of yourself or, God forbid, your loved ones, society. Whether it will be one way or another is determined by a person's inner world, their mental health.

It is worth taking care that it is a person's health, not a chronic illness of war.

And I am grateful that this Summit and such a representative discussion is dedicated to the topic of mental health. It is a special direction that requires a special approach. New attention - and not only the attention of our state. New institutions. A new field of rehabilitation. Staff training and expanding therapy. A new social policy. A new international collaboration, not just assistance. New arrangements. Unwavering respect for people and better understanding of people and unwavering sincerity. That is, alongside other work - the diplomacy of emotions and systematic efforts of soft power, directed not just for the sake of external relations, but for the sake of people's inner world. So that people can prevail. People! Together with their state.

War always discards the non-essential, war always discards the hollow. But it also leaves people with what they need to know how to discard. To discard what destroys. Destroys lives. It is necessary to build a system that saves from these ruins. And let every emotional outburst help to make the movement forward brighter!

Thank you for your attention!

Glory to Ukraine!

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Security of the whole of Europe will depend on how strong cooperation between Ukraine and Denmark will be - Volodymyr Zelenskyy after meeting with Mette Frederiksen

President of Ukraine

6 September 2023 - 19:25

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting with Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark Mette Frederiksen arrived in our country on a visit.

The Head of State expressed gratitude to the head of the Danish government for helping Ukraine protect the lives of our people. He reminded that he recently visited Denmark, together with the First Lady of Ukraine, and today Frederiksen and her husband arrived in our country and are participating in the third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen.

"It is very valuable when there are different directions (of cooperation) between our states - defense, political, there is economic cooperation and there is a humanitarian issue. I am grateful for all the manifestations of our cooperation to you personally, Mette, and to all of Denmark," Zelenskyy said at a meeting with media representatives, jointly with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark, following the negotiations in Kyiv.

The President said that Denmark has already provided defense support to Ukraine worth over $1.6 billion, and today, the parties discussed the new, 12th defense package, being prepared for the current month.

"The training of our Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 continues in Denmark. The Ukrainian military has the task of preparing the necessary infrastructure in our country as soon as possible. This is one of the key tasks the defense forces must now complete. Of course, with the support of our partners," the Head of State said.

During the negotiations, the interlocutors paid attention to expanding opportunities for training and acceleration of the real integration of modern fighters into Ukraine's defense system. The first meeting of the working group of the aircraft coalition was held with the participation of a representative of Ukraine.

In addition, the parties discussed cooperation in demining.

"Regarding the localization of the production of demining machines - I also raised the issue today. Perhaps we will be able to work in this direction with Danish companies," Zelenskyy said.

He also invited Denmark and Danish companies to participate in the Defense Industries Forum, which will take place in Ukraine this autumn.

"The security of all of us, of all of Europe, will largely depend on how powerful our cooperation will be," the Head of State said.

Zelenskyy also briefed Frederiksen on the situation on the battlefield and Russia's constant missile attacks, in particular, on agricultural and port infrastructure in the southern regions of Ukraine.

"We discussed how we can defend our ports, defend the ability to operate the corridor of life - the grain corridor," Zelenskyy said.

The President also thanked Denmark for implementing projects in Mykolaiv region. He noted that soon the office of the Embassy of Denmark in Ukraine will open in Mykolaiv.

"This is an extremely important example. A real model of how solidarity can work for the restoration of normal life, for the protection of people. I thank you, Mette, and all the people of Denmark for this leadership," the Head of State said.

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President on Russia's attack on Kostiantynivka: Defeating Russian terror is a joint task for everyone in the world

President of Ukraine

6 September 2023 - 19:15

The Russian occupiers deliberately carried out a terrorist attack on civilian objects in the city of Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, due to the failures of their troops on the battlefield. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized this at a meeting with media representatives after negotiations with Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen in Kyiv.

"Another deliberate terrorist attack by the Russian Federation. We understand what is happening there, why they hit us. They always hit in this region. And now, they have deliberately targeted the market," Zelenskyy said.

"The attack right on the market, on shops, on a pharmacy. I have been to Kostiantynivka many times with my team, and anyone who knows this place knows perfectly well that it's a civilian area. There are hardly any military units nearby," the President added.

According to him, when successful advances of the defense forces of Ukraine take place at the front, the Russians always strike at civilians and civilian objects - wherever their missiles or artillery can reach.

The Head of State reported that rescue operations are currently underway at the scene.

Zelenskyy expressed his condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in this Russian terrorist attack.

The President of Ukraine emphasized that defeating Russian terror is a task for everyone in the world.

"First of all, for Ukrainians and for our partners," he concluded.

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Andriy Yermak communicates with director of National Security Office under President of Korea

President of Ukraine

6 September 2023 - 14:15

On the instructions of the President, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held a conversation with Director of the Office of National Security under the President of the Republic of Korea Cho Tae-yong.

Yermak thanked the Korean side for the recently announced additional financial assistance to Ukraine. In this context, the interlocutors emphasized mutual interest in deepening bilateral cooperation in Ukraine's reconstruction and attracting Korean investments.

The head of the President's Office spoke about the progress of preparations for the regular meeting of the national security advisors to the leaders of the states regarding the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and thanked Korea for its participation in several working groups regarding the implementation of individual points of the Peace Formula.

"We need to create added value, including through the progress in the activities of working groups on each of the points of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and the modalities of holding the Global Peace Summit," Yermak said.

The parties have also agreed on positions and joint actions in the context of upcoming international events, in particular within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly session.



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Take care of country, take care of our soldiers' lives - President gives epaulettes of generals to servicemen of Ukraine's defense forces, law enforcers

President of Ukraine

6 September 2023 - 13:35

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conferred the highest military and special ranks and presented epaulettes to servicemen of Ukraine's defense forces and law enforcement agencies.

"Military motivation has different components, but respect for everyone, a fair assessment of merits, and gratitude for the combat result are the components of motivation upon which the energy of other parts depends. The highest military and special ranks that have been bestowed upon you are a testament to the state's respect for each of you, for your service. It is an evaluation of your merits and leadership qualities, and it is also the state's gratitude for your achievements," the President said, addressing military personnel.

The Head of State talked about his recent trips to the location of 13 combat brigades that defend Ukraine from invaders in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia areas. As Zelenskyy noted, it was important for him to hear directly from the soldiers about their needs, in order to later focus on these areas during meetings with partners and in the production of domestic weapons.

"Understanding the mood of our soldiers is our shared responsibility, the duty of commanders at all levels," the President said.

According to him, the conferment of a high rank imposes the obligation to always, under any conditions, circumstances, moods and situations, lead people to the main goal - to Ukraine's victory.

"Always in such a way that the soldiers - all these young men and women of different ages and different generations - respect you, understand you, and you - them. And it's very important that each one considers it an honor to fight for Ukraine alongside you," Zelenskyy said.

At the request of the President, those present observed a moment of silence in memory of all the heroes who have been killed in the fight for Ukraine.

"You are people who do not avert your eyes when facing war. Please, take care of the lives of our soldiers, all servicemen, sailors, sergeants. Take care of the country, take care of our warriors. I wish you all only one thing - victory!" he said.

The Head of State conferred the rank of major general and presented the appropriate epaulettes to Head of the Military Law Enforcement Service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Chief of the Main Directorate of the Military Law Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Volodymyr Hutsol, Head of the Military Academy (Odesa) Dmytro Deliatytsky, Commander of the North task force of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Dmytro Krasylnykov, and Commander of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Horenko.

The President also conferred the rank of brigadier general and presented epaulettes to Chief of the Main Directorate of Missile Forces and Artillery, Unmanned Systems of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Baranov, Chief of the Rear Command of the Logistics Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Bulavka, Head of the Command-and-Staff Institute of the troops (forces) combat use of the National Defense University of Ukraine Yuriy Mykolenko, Chief of Staff, Deputy Commander of the East task force of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Sirchenko, Chief of Staff, Deputy Commander of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ihor Skybiuk, Chief of the Central Directorate of Ground Weapon Systems of the Logistics Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Sliusar, Chief of the Central Directorate for the provision of means of destruction of the Command of the Logistics Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Tsar and others.

Zelenskyy awarded the rank of commodore to First Deputy Head of the regional department, Chief of the Maritime Guard Staff of the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Oleksandr Nikolayenko.

Director of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) Oleksiy Sukhachev was awarded the special rank of SBI Major General by the Head of State.

The President also awarded the special rank of police general of the third rank and presented the appropriate epaulettes to Chief of the Cyber Police Department of the National Police of Ukraine Yuriy Vyhodets, Chief of the Patrol Police Department of the National Police Yevhen Zhukov, Chief of the Personnel Support Department of the National Police Serhiy Kobets, and Chief of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kherson Region Ihor Korol.



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Blinken Overnights in Kyiv Amid Russian Airstrikes

By Cindy Saine September 06, 2023

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Kyiv on an unannounced two-day visit, his fourth to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. It is the first time he and his entourage are spending the night in the country.

Blinken met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hear their assessment of their needs for the ongoing counteroffensive against Russia and the coming winter.

He had good news for them, announcing $1 billion more in U.S. aid for Ukraine. The security assistance part of the package totals up to $175 million and includes additional air defense equipment, artillery munitions, anti-tank weapons including depleted uranium rounds for previously committed Abrams tanks, and other equipment.

Asked if he is concerned about sustaining that level of U.S. aid among American citizens and lawmakers, Blinken was optimistic.

"I was last here almost exactly a year ago," he said. "And in that time, in the year since I was last here, Ukraine has taken back more than 50% of the territory that Russia has seized from it since February 2022. In the current counteroffensive, we are seeing real progress over the last few weeks."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba said what is being decided in this war is not just about Ukraine, but about what the world is going to look like after the war is over. If Russia wins, other autocrats will be empowered to invade their neighbors, he said, asking, 'If the West cannot win this war, what war can they win?"

But on Capitol Hill, one Republican senator expressed concerns to VOA, saying he would like to see a definitive strategy from the Biden administration for Ukraine to win the war.

"I'd like to see an announcement coming from all the NATO members saying that they are willing to step up. ... I just got back from a trip to Europe, and we encouraged our NATO allies to actually step up their game, and I would like to see that happen," Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee said.

The United States is the largest donor of military aid to Ukraine in total dollars. But a number of other countries, including Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic, are making larger financial contributions to Ukraine relative to the size of their own economies, according to the Kiel Institute.

Just three hours before Blinken arrived in Kyiv on a train from Poland, Russia carried out airstrikes on the capital and the southern region of Odesa. No casualties were reported in Kyiv, but Ukrainian officials say a civilian was killed and port infrastructure damaged in the south. And a Russian strike Wednesday on a market in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka killed more than 16 people and wounded 28 others, Ukrainian sources said.

Despite the Russian airstrikes, Blinken laid a wreath at a cemetery for fallen Ukrainian soldiers, visited a church to hear about the Ukrainian first lady's mental health program, visited diplomatic staff at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and even grabbed a snack with Foreign Minister Kuleba at a McDonald's near the opera.

Kuleba thanked Blinken for his help in getting the restaurant reopened, saying it sends a signal of confidence to his countrymen after 18 months of war and deprivation.

President Zelenskyy tweeted Wednesday that he has been meeting with his top staff to make plans for winter, and in his words, "anything the terrorist Russian state might do."

Russia has accused the United States of prolonging the war by supporting Ukraine, amid reports that Moscow faces a serious shortage of weapons and ammunition.

Some information in this report was provided by VOA congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson.

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17 Killed in Russian Attack on Shopping Area in Eastern Ukraine City

By VOA News September 06, 2023

At least 17 people were killed and nearly three dozen more injured in a Russian assault Wednesday on the central market in the eastern Ukraine city of Kostiantynivka, Ukrainian officials reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has condemned the attack, saying a market, shops and a pharmacy were hit in the industrial city close to the current front lines of the battlefield, about 30 kilometers from the city of Bakhmut, where there has been heavy combat for months.

"Those who know this place are well aware that it is a civilian area. There aren't any military units nearby," Zelenskyy said during a news conference in Kyiv.

"This Russian evil must be defeated as soon as possible," he added.

Video footage on the Telegram messaging app showed a loud explosion ripping through shopping alleys, with people falling to the ground and some running for cover. Local media described it as a missile attack.

"There was no military target here. This is a peaceful neighborhood in the city center," Stefan Slovak, who lives in Kostiantynivka, in a trembling voice, told The Associated Press.

Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klimenko posted pictures showing rescue workers sifting through the rubble and carrying out bodies in black sacks.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian officials said a Russia drone attack on a port area in the Odesa region killed one person.

Oleh Kiper, the regional governor, said on Telegram the Russian attack lasted for three hours and damaged agricultural infrastructure at the Danube River port of Izmail.

Russia also targeted Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, with a missile attack early Wednesday. But Serhiy Popko, head of the city's military administration, said on Telegram that air defenses shot down all the missiles aimed at Kyiv and that there were no reports of damage or casualties.

Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses destroyed a Ukrainian drone late Tuesday over the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine. The regional governor in Bryansk said there were no casualties reported.

Ukraine's parliament on Wednesday approved the appointment of Rustem Umerov as the country's new defense minister. Umerov is a Crimean Tatar and a former lawmaker who was in charge of Ukraine's main privatization fund.

Zelenskyy announced last weekend he was replacing Oleksii Reznikov, saying "the ministry needs new approaches and other formats of interaction with both the military and society as a whole."

Reznikov played a pivotal role in securing billions of dollars' worth of Western military aid to help the war effort. However, during his tenure, the Defense Ministry has been tarnished by graft allegations, which Reznikov has described as smears.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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Zelenskyy's New Defense Minister Known as Skilled, Tough Negotiator

By Myroslava Gongadze September 06, 2023

At a critical moment in Ukraine's counteroffensive, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered a changing of the guard, naming Rustem Umerov as the country's new defense minister.

On Wednesday, 338 of the 360 members of the Ukrainian parliament endorsed Umerov, a Crimean Tatar businessman, and a former parliamentarian. Observers see the replacement as part of Zelenskyy's efforts to address corruption in his administration as the Ukrainian military strives to retake southern Ukraine and areas near the Crimean Peninsula.

A long-time financial supporter of the Crimean Tatar community and father of three, Umerov, a practicing Muslim, became a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament with the Holos party in 2014, championing a reformist and progressive agenda.

Even before Russia's full-scale invasion, he played a pivotal role in negotiations with Moscow.

"He was part of the delegation that negotiated with Russia prior to the conflict. He played a key role in the grain deal due to his connections in Turkey, and our sources indicate his involvement in negotiations to secure the return of kidnapped Ukrainian children," said Sevgil Musaeva, editor of the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper.

In an interview with Euronews in April 2022, Umerov was resolute, affirming that Ukraine would not compromise on territorial issues. "We want our partners to understand that the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine are a red line for us. Nevertheless, we are ready to hear any possible solutions that do not endanger our territory, our independence, and our dignity," Umerov said in the interview.

Umerov brings with him a strong resumA as a skilled negotiator and has played a prominent role in efforts to return Crimea to Ukrainian control.

He serves as a co-chairman of the Crimean Platform, an international coordinating mechanism that seeks to negotiate the reversal of Russia's 2014 unilateral annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. He is a member of the group responsible for developing the Strategy for the De-occupation and Reintegration of Crimea and Sevastopol, initiated by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine in 2020.

Umerov has also led efforts to exchange political prisoners from Crimea and, as a member of parliament, helped shape legislation to provide social support to political prisoners and their families.

"He is involved in a number of negotiations about the release of prisoners, as well as difficult negotiations about supplies of humanitarian support, weapons," Tamila Tasheva, a prominent member of the Crimean Tatar community and the Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, told VOA, citing Umerov's strong communication skills and negotiating experience with Persian Gulf countries and Turkey.

In an interview with Ukrainska Pravda in October 2022, Umerov underscored his longstanding commitment to human rights, going back to when Ukraine was under pro-Russian governments before the Maidan Revolution of 2014.

"I was born in Uzbekistan, but I returned to Ukraine, where I engaged in activities related to European and NATO initiatives when they weren't popular," Umerov told the newspaper.

Why now?

The change was necessary at a time when Ukrainians have grown wary of corruption scandals at the Defense Ministry, according to political analyst and director at Think Tank Politics, Mykola Davydiuk. In addition to being a problem for Ukraine, "it was a bad message to our foreign partners," Davydiuk told VOA.

Rumors of Reznikov's impending replacement had been circulating for a year. In February 2023, Fox News quoted David Arakhamia, Ukraine's parliament majority leader as suggesting that Oleksiy Reznikov might be replaced, although the president chose not to act at the time, allowing then-Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov to remain in his position.

The decision to let Reznikov stay at the time came despite a shakeup at the Defense Ministry that included the resignations of Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov and Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko in late January of the same year amid allegations of fraud and a coverup involving the purchase military food rations and equipment at inflated prices.

The Defense Ministry denied any involvement in corrupt practices.

Last month, Ukrainian investigative reporter Mykhailo Tkach from Ukrainska Pravda exposed another scandal related to military procurement.

Reznikov himself does not face any charges in the corruption scandals.

But the more recent revelation sparked new outrage among Ukrainians and sent a negative signal to Western partners about retaining Reznikov in his role, according to Davydiuk, who points to several other reasons for the timing of Reznikov's removal.

"The start of the new political season, some unofficial push for replacement from the western partners, and preparation for the visit U.N. General Assembly to New York at the end of this month," Davydiuk said, are other reasons, at a time when President Zelenskyy needs to address the corruption allegations, regain his credibility, and restore his positive image in the eyes of Western partners.

As Ukraine slowly retakes territory and sets its eyes on reclaiming Crimea, the job of ensuring victory is now on the shoulders of Umerov.

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Mexico City, Sept. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AEROMEXICO INCREASES OPERATIONS AT AIFA BY UP TO 40%; IT WILL INCREASE TO MORE THAN 1,000 FLIGHTS PER MONTH

The company's offer at AIFA will account for 6 out of every 10 flights.

Aeromexico remains the airline with the largest number of domestic and international operations at the airport.

Mexico City, September 6th, 2023.- Starting October 5, Aeromexico will begin a new phase of growth at Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) and will be connecting 13 destinations through more than one thousand monthly departures and arrivals, which means a 40% growth in its operation and a total offer of more than 120 thousand seats each month.

With this adjustment, Aeromexico's operation at AIFA will account for 6 out of every 10 flights by the end of the year. The operation will be as follows: the route to Colima will be transferred from AICM to AIFA with seven weekly flights. The Leon and Aguascalientes destinations will be added, with seven frequencies per week each. Of the 28 weekly frequencies from AICM to Durango, 14 will be transferred to AIFA.

Date Destination Operation

(monthly) Seats

(monthlyl) September 9

Acapulco (7), Cancun (21), Guadalajara (14), Houston (7), Monterrey (14), Merida (7), Oaxaca (7), Puerto Vallarta (7) y Veracruz (7). 728 88 thousand Starting October 5th 13

Acapulco (7), Aguascalientes (7), Cancun (21), Colima (7), Durango (14), Guadalajara (14), Houston (7), Leon (7), Monterrey (14), Merida (7), Oaxaca (7), Puerto Vallarta (7), Veracruz (7) 1008 +120 thousand

Note: The weekly frequencies of each route are shown in parentheses.

With this increase, Aeromexico remains the largest operator at the AIFA, and consolidates its position as the airline that offers the greatest domestic and international connectivity to and from the center of the country.

-oo0oo-

About Aeromexico

Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V., is a holding company with subsidiaries engaged in commercial and cargo aviation in Mexico, training, assistance, and maintenance, as well as the control of its passenger loyalty program: Aeromexico, Aeromexico Connect, Aeromexico Cargo, Aeromexico Formacion, Aeromexico Servicios and Aeromexico Rewards. The company is Mexico's global airline and has its main hub at Mexico City International Airport. Its destinations network features Mexico, the United States, Canada, Central America, South America, Asia, and Europe. The Group's operating fleet is comprised of Boeing 787 and 737 jet airliners and Embraer 190 models. Aeromexico is a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance, which celebrated its 23rd anniversary and serves 184 countries with its 19 SkyTeam airline partners.

Media contact: amcomunicacioncorporativa@aeromexico.com
Dublin, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "BCG Vaccine Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2023 - 2028)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Global BCG Vaccine Market size is expected to grow from USD 149.67 million in 2023 to USD 202.86 million by 2028, at a CAGR of 6.27% during the forecast period (2023-2028).



The COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on the BCG vaccine market initially. The strict lockdowns and government regulations intended to slow down the spread of COVID-19 resulted in a decrease in demand for the BCG vaccine due to the lack of visits to healthcare facilities such as hospitals and clinics.

The outbreak of the pandemic also resulted in a shortage of support staff for pediatric vaccination, which includes BCG vaccination as well. Moreover, the vaccine manufacturing companies prioritized manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines instead of other vaccines, which in turn created a shortage of BCG vaccines as well.



For instance, a modeling study was conducted to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on global BCG vaccine coverage and was published in October 2021 in the journal of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). The results of the study showed that there was substantial variation in the impact of COVID-19 on routine BCG vaccination programs; some African countries showed average BCG coverage, while others showed lower rates from January to June 2020.

Further, the rising prevalence of tuberculosis, technological advancement in vaccine research and development, and rise in government initiatives for vaccination programs are among the significant factors driving the studied market growth. Poverty, homelessness, and HIV infections are the main causes of tuberculosis and the BCG vaccine is the only vaccine that prevents infection by the mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria.



Moreover, according to World Health Organization (WHO), 1.5 million died from tuberculosis in 2020. Tuberculosis is the 13th leading cause of death worldwide, and its also the second leading infectious disease after COVID-19. Additionally, in 2020 an estimated 10 million people fell ill due to tuberculosis worldwide its also stated that tuberculosis is present in all countries and can infect all age groups. Therefore, the rising prevalence of tuberculosis and increasing death due to it is expected to boost the BCG vaccine market globally, driving the need for BCG vaccine and thereby fueling the growth of the studied market over the forecast period.



In addition, the BCG vaccine is also used to treat patients who have bladder cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, it is the most common intravesical immunotherapy for treating early-stage bladder cancer. It is used to help keep cancer from growing and to help keep it from coming back. BCG is an inactivated germ that is used as a vaccine to prevent tuberculosis, but in the case of bladder cancer, this germ is put directly in the bladder through a catheter so that it can turn on the immune system of the patient.



BCG Vaccine Market Trends

The Pediatrics Segment Dominates the BCG Vaccine Market



BCG vaccination is given mostly to babies and young children as it provides consistent protection of up to 80 percent against the most severe forms of childhood tuberculosis, such as TB meningitis. Children have more risk of developing tuberculosis than adults. For instance, according to a report titled "India TB Report 2022," published by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Government of India in February 2022 in India, childhood tuberculosis was a staggering problem, contributing to approximately 31 percent of the global burden.



Moreover, according to an article published in August 2022 titled "BCG vaccine prevents tuberculosis in young children, but not adults," the Boston University School of Public Health said a new study suggested that the BCG vaccine was very effective against tuberculosis in children under five. Still, adults in high-burden countries may need additional protection to maintain immunity beyond childhood. Hence, owing to the increasing BCG vaccination of pediatrics, adopting these vaccines is likely to increase among the target population, ultimately driving market growth.



The Asia-Pacific is Expected to Witness Growth Over the Forecast Period



The Asia-Pacific is expected to witness the highest growth in the market owing to factors such as the high prevalence of tuberculosis, increasing susceptibility to tuberculosis due to poverty and homelessness, and the presence of a large number of BCG vaccine manufacturers in the region. An increase in the BCG vaccination of children in countries like India and China is among the key factors contributing to the growth of the studied market in Asia-Pacific.



The rising prevalence of tuberculosis in developing countries like India, Indonesia, and China is the main reason for the growth of the Asia-Pacific region. For instance, according to an article titled "Pediatric Tuberculosis with a Focus on Indonesia, "published by United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in June 2022, Indonesia has the second highest incidence of TB in the world (rate of 312 per 100,000 population) and accounts for 8.5 percent of global cases.

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes

AJ Biologics Sdn Bhd

Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd.

GSBPL

Taj Pharmaceuticals Limited

Japan BCG Laboratory

Merck & Co., Inc.

Microgen

Biomed Lublin S.A.

BCG Vaccine Laboratory

China Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/90yqgy

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Pune, India, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global automation testing market size was valued at USD 13.50 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 51.26 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 12.4% during the forecast period. Fortune Business Insights provides this information in its research report, titled Automation Testing Market Forecast, 2023-2030.

Growing Professional Services Demand to Propel Services Segment Expansion. The rise is propelled by the surging adoption of advanced solutions such as DevOps and Agile. Cloud-based tools enable teams to access the tool from any device.





Request a Sample PDF:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/automation-testing-market-107180





Key Industry Development:

March 2023  SmartBear announced its acquisition of Aspecto. The deal would offer developers the capability to identify and correct bugs at a rapid pace. This would be enabled through integration with SmartBears BugSnag, an industry-leading performance monitoring and error-tracking solution.





Key Takeaways

Rising Demand for Digital Products and Services during COVID-19 Boosted the Market

Increase in Agile and DevOps Practices in Software Development to Enhance the Market Growth

By Component Analysis: Growing Adoption of Professional Services to Drive Market Growth

Automation Testing Market Size in North America was USD 3.53 Billion in 2022





Discover the Leading Players Featured in the Report:

Companies leading the Automation Testing Market are Accenture (Ireland), Microsoft (U.S.), Tricentis (Austria), SmartBear Software (U.S.), Ranorex (U.S.), Parasoft (India), Cigniti Technologies Limited (U.S.), Applitools (U.S.), Cygnet Infotech (India)





Report Scope & Segmentation

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023 to 2030 Forecast Period 2023 to 2030 CAGR 18.8% 2030 Value Projection USD 51.26 Billion Base Year 2022 Automation Testing Market Size in 2022 USD 13.50 Billion Historical Data for 2019 to 2021 No. of Pages 150 Segments covered Component, Testing Type, Interface, Vertical and Geography





Browse Complete Report Details:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/automation-testing-market-107180





Drivers and Restraints:

Market Value to Surge with Soaring Integration of Machine Learning and AI in Test Automation

One of the vital factors propelling the automation testing market growth is the increasing integration of machine learning and artificial intelligence in solutions. The technologies are gaining traction in the areas of functional, regression, automation, and performance testing.

However, the market expansion may be hampered by the lack of data security and concerns associated with data theft.





Segments

By Component

Solution

API Testing

Performance Testing

Test Management

Code Quality

Others

Services

Professional

Managed

By Testing Type

Static

Dynamic

By Interface

Desktop Testing

Web Testing

Mobile Testing

Test Design

By Vertical

BFSI

IT & Telecom

Manufacturing

Retail

Healthcare

Government

Others

By Region

North America

Europe

Middle East & Africa

Asia Pacific





Regional Insights:

North America to Ace the Market Due to Increasing Popularity of Cloud-based Testing

The North America automation testing market share is estimated to exhibit substantial expansion over the projected period. The region accounts for a dominating share in the market in 2022. The rise is propelled by the escalating popularity of cloud-based testing and the soaring adoption of DevOps and Agile methodologies.

The Asia Pacific market is set to depict appreciable expansion over the analysis period. The surge is driven by the increasing demand for mobile applications and increasing product deployment for ensuring defect-free applications.





Quick Buy - Automation Testing Market Research Report:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/107180





Competitive Landscape:

Key Companies Ink Collaborations to Strengthen Industry Footing

Prominent industry players are focused on entering collaborations, partnerships, and the launch of numerous products for strengthening their market footings. These steps are being undertaken for expanding their geographical footprints and increasing the reach of their products.





FAQs

How big is the Automation Testing Market?

Automation Testing Market size was USD 13.50 billion in 2022.

How fast is the Automation Testing Market growing?

The Automation Testing Market will exhibit a CAGR of 18.8% during the forecast period, 2022-2029





Related Reports:

Automation-as-a-Service Market Size, Industry Share, Trends, Growth 2030

Home Automation Market Size, Share, Industry Analysis 2030

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Market Size, Industry Share, Forecast.





About Us:

Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

Contact Us:

Fortune Business Insights Pt. Ltd.

US: +1 424 253 0390

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Dublin, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Europe Next Generation Storage Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2023 - 2028)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Europe Next Generation Storage Market size is expected to grow from USD 12.45 billion in 2023 to USD 20.33 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 10.30% during the forecast period (2023-2028).



The European Union is investing and taking quick steps towards the AI and digitalizing the region's businesses. In comparison to 8.9 million ICT professionals in 2021, the EU wants to expand this number to at least 20 million by 2030, according to a report published by The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI).

At least 90% of SMEs in the EU must have a fundamental level of digital intensity by 2030 to meet the Digital Decade goal. By 2030, at least 75% of businesses should be using big data, cloud, and AI technology, and the EU hopes that at least 80% of individuals will have at least basic digital abilities. This growing demand in the IT sector for digitalization will create a need for High storage platforms.



Key Highlights

European Union proposed Data Act, specific regulations for connected devices. There is a lot of typically generated data by connected machines or connected devices, and the EU plans to put such data into productive use to benefit companies and society.

A vast amount of data is available, and it is increasing. One of the major difficulties in data management is storing this data in various silos. If data is stored somewhere, a third party can access it. This can be avoided by keeping checks on unwanted access by using a variety of security measures, such as encryption and relying on third-party suppliers.

Covid-19 gave businesses a new direction that firms can adapt and prosper even in challenging conditions. This insight brought a revolution in digitalization. European organizations are making a comeback by automating processes, reducing expenses, improving the ability to identify data dangers, and concentrating on providing the best possible customer experience. In challenging times, cutting-edge technologies and solutions increase revenue and reduce risks.

Europe Next Generation Storage Market Trends

Increasing Volume of Digital Data will drive the market

European Govt. regulates technology, and organizations in the EU are investing to become more digital. According to EIB's (European Investment Bank) Investment Survey (EIBIS), 46% of businesses claimed to have taken steps towards digitalization. A 42.39 million USD agreement between the EIB and Ormazabal will help the Basque industrial company develop its investment strategy for R&D operations in Spain during the subsequent four years.

France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK are Europe's most significant data center markets, showing a high potential for Storage markets in these countries. Foreign players in data security are making investments. Chinese social media company TikTok is looking for a way to expand its European data storage and announced opening data centers in Europe.

Switzerland bank introduced Alpian App, developed by Temenos, for core banking and payments solutions. The app will quickly assemble banking capabilities and scale them by business demand, enabling it to expand profitably while providing top-notch customer service.

Cloud Storage to Gain significant market share

Demand for telematic services has grown dramatically, urging users to adopt cloud storage. The cloud's speed, scalability, and security features play a crucial role in supplying the infrastructure and services needed. Almost 45% of IT spending on cloud-based solutions will replace traditional ones by 2024 for business process outsourcing, infrastructure software, application software, and system infrastructure.

Eurostat's report confirmed that although more than 98% of EU businesses with ten or more employees or collaborators have internet access, 41% use cloud services. This shows a high potential for cloud adaptation in the coming years. Moreover, the usage of cloud services is highest among large companies such as the information and communication industry and professional, technical, and scientific sectors.

Microsoft announced the rollout of an EU Data Boundary solution for public and commercial customers in the European Union and planned to expand its data centers for its cloud services. Microsoft intends to construct data centers in more than 17 regions in Europe.

European Union plans to create a computing infrastructure based on RISC-V instruction set architecture, for which it has announced an investment of at least 286 million. The project will target building high-performance computers based on RISC-V hardware and software.

Google Cloud joined the European partner network, Catena-X Automotive Network Association. Through its data analytics and native integration of advanced AI technologies, and open source efforts, Google will help Catena-X to succeed in its mission to become a data-driven business.

Europe Next Generation Storage Industry Overview



There is intense competition with several providers of Next Generation Storage. The major players include Hitachi, IBM, Dell, Toshiba, Hewett Packard, Netgear, and the list continues. Due to high competency, the market concentration will be low. To keep the competition on, manufacturers enhance products with technologies and invest in mergers and acquisitions to broaden their geographic reach.

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes

Dell Inc.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company

NetApp Inc.

Hitachi Ltd.

IBM Corporation

Toshiba Corp.

Pure Storage Inc.

DataDirect Networks.

Scality Inc.

Fujitsu Ltd.

Netgear Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cz8sxe

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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Bethesda, Maryland, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The de Beaumont Foundation today announced its third class of 40 Under 40 in Public Health honorees, recognizing rising leaders who are working to improve the health of communities across the nation. These honorees include epidemiologists, program managers, researchers, and policy analysts in state, local, and territorial health departments; colleges and universities; nonprofit organizations; and the private sector. Learn more at www.debeaumont.org/40Under40.

The professionals chosen for the 40 Under 40 in Public Health Class of 2023 demonstrate the determination, commitment, innovation, and resilience of the public health field, said Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, which launched the program in 2019. Their work is strengthening communities and improving lives, and I look forward to following their careers and learning from them.

The 2023 40 Under 40 in Public Health are:

Beatrice Abiero, Instacart

James Bell III, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Jana Blomberg, St. Louis County Public Health and Human Services

Karla Buru, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

Charles Chima, City of Sioux Falls

Shelly Choo, Maryland Department of Health

Shamaree Cromartie Jones, Virginia Department of Health

Mallory Cyr, Association of Maternal Child Health Programs

Deanna DAmore, Norwalk Health Department

Nelson Dunlap, Meharry Medical College

Omar Estrada, Colorado Department of Education

Jervelle Fort, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

Katarina Grande, Public Health Madison & Dane County

Erika Gutierrez Martinez, City of Laredo Health Department

Hana Hinkle, University of Illinois College of Medicine

Alicia Justice, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

Stacey Kallem, Philadelphia Department of Public Health

Nebu Kolenchery, St. Louis County Department of Public Health

Jessica Kristy, Naugatuck Valley Health District

David Lee, Public Health Accreditation Board

Brittany Lobo, Sonoma County Department of Health Services

Erin Mann, University of Minnesota

Keila Marlin, Mecklenburg County Health Department

Lucas McKinnon, City and County of Honolulu

Amanda Monroy, Pima County Health Department

Heather Pangelinan, Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation

Rebecca Rehr, Maryland League of Conservation Voters

Carolyn Rhodebeck, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Sade Richardson, University of Michigan School of Public Health

Katrina Saphrey, Virginia Department of Health - Crater Health District

Trinidad Solis, Fresno County Department of Public Health

Dwayne Steward, Equitas Health

Treemanisha Stewart, Sauk County Public Health

Eric Tang, California Department of Public Health

Kayla Tilton, Fraser Communications

Paula Tran, Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Salomeh Wagaw, Riverside University Health System - Public Health

Julian Watkins, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Keeley White, Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma

Tooka Zokaie, California Dental Association

*Affiliations are current as of the time of nomination.

A panel of public health leaders evaluated nominees for their leadership and contributions to their communitys health. Previous honorees have gone on to strengthen their professional networks, hone and expand their skills, and advance into senior roles in state and local health departments, nonprofits, and other organizations.

Im thrilled to see ASTHO members, staff, and affiliates again have been honored with de Beaumonts 40 Under 40 in Public Health award, said Michael Fraser, PhD, CEO at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). Each honoree is working hard to make our country healthier and create a more equitable future. Im proud of the winners and cant wait to see what they accomplish next.

Lori Tremmel Freeman, MBA, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), said, Strengthening our public health workforce is one of NACCHOs top priorities, and the work of local health departments is vital to the health and economic strength of our country. I want to congratulate the new class of 40 Under 40 in Public Health, and particularly the 16 honorees who are doing such great work in local health departments to help ensure the safety of the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. They are on the front lines of addressing complex and emerging issues, like the opioid crisis and the re-emergence of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Laura Magana, PhD, MS, president and CEO of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH), said the new 40 Under 40 in Public Health leaders will inspire future professionals. As an association dedicated to strengthening the public health workforce by working with our member schools and programs to educate the next generation of leaders, we could not be prouder to be able to recognize all of the honorees of this prestigious program, she said. These dedicated professionals truly epitomize the value of a public health education with their various career paths enabling them to play a vital role in advancing health in their communities.

For more information about the honorees and their accomplishments, visit www.debeaumont.org/40Under40.

About the de Beaumont Foundation

The de Beaumont Foundation creates and invests in bold solutions that improve the health of communities across the country. Its mission is to advance policy, build partnerships, and strengthen public health to create communities where everyone can achieve their best possible health. For more information, visit www.debeaumont.org.

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FRANKLIN, Tenn., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ProvisionAI, the only provider of a patented, optimized replenishment transportation scheduling solution, announces it has made the judges top twelve list of the First Annual 3 Vs Business Innovation Awards Contest, hosted by CSCMP. The award celebrates creativity and excellence in the world of entrepreneurship. ProvisionAIs LevelLoad solution is a next-generation transportation scheduling tool that fixes replenishment by bridging the gap between supply planning and execution.



This new genre of optimization software balances transportation costs and site capacities while meeting customer service goals, says Tom Moore, Founder and CEO, ProvisionAI. We are excited to be named to this prestigious list because LevelLoad is an innovative solution unique in the industry. It provides significant value for customers with savings in their transportation processes.

The 3 Vs Business Innovation Award is based on Art Mesher's 3V's Framework on the supply chain discipline. Mesher is one of the foremost pioneers and thought leaders in the supply chain. The 3 Vs principles teach companies to harness visibility, embrace variability, and compete on velocity.

Nominees were asked about the problem or challenge their innovation addresses, how the innovation stands out from competitors, what makes it unique, and how it contributes to industry advancements. ProvisionAI's LevelLoad bridges the gap between planning and operations, eliminating current silos within an organization and evening out shipment schedules that consider network constraints. The result is that shippers can meet an increase in demand, eliminate the need to use non-preferred carriers, and fill trucks fuller.

The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and CSCMPs Supply Chain Quarterly launched the Innovations Awards Contest this year. After reviewing many outstanding entries from companies across various industries, the esteemed panel of judges has selected twelve finalists who have demonstrated exceptional innovation and transformative ideas. From this list of finalists, the judges will pick the top three who will present their case at CSCMPs EDGE 2023 Supply Chain Conference & Exhibition in the exchanges Innovation Theater on Monday, October 2, 2023, at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Kissimmee, Florida.

About ProvisionAI

ProvisionAI provides global manufacturers with a transportation scheduling solution featuring optimized, capacity-constrained replenishment. LevelLoad, the flagship offering, attains long-term transportation planning objectives despite the realities of supply chain network constraints. The results include fuller loads, higher use of preferred freight carriers, and overall lower costs. Clients save millions by tendering loads early to reserve preferred carriers, filling truckloads optimally to minimize wasted capacity, improving customer order fulfillment, and ratcheting down costs. The patented technology was developed over five years by a team of logistics optimization experts that studied shippers like Unilever, Baxter, P&G, and Kimberly-Clark. For more information, visit www.provisionai.com.

For More Information, Contact:

Becky Boyd

MediaFirst

Becky@MediaFirst.Net

(404) 421-8497
Dublin, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Employment Screening Services Market Forecast to 2028 - Global Analysis By Service, End-User Industry, and Organization Size" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The employment screening services market is projected to grow from US$ 5.360 billion in 2022 to US$ 9.296 billion by 2028; it is estimated to record a CAGR of 9.9% from 2023 to 2028.



The employee screening process significantly reduces time and cost for the organization. By opting for employment screening services, organizations can save time in the long run as these services offer them clarity on responsibilities that should be taken to ensure the appropriate candidates are hired in the right way, which, in turn, increases efficiency and work quality. The employment screening services market is further flourishing due to the growing demand for time-efficient selection systems owing to the rising number of job applicants.

The integration of big data technology is further expected to create new opportunities for the employment screening services market during the forecast period. The key stakeholders in the employment screening services market are solution providers, system integrators, and end users. Solution providers are crucial stakeholders in the ecosystem of the employment screening services market.

The most prominent software providers of employment screening services are Capita; Sterling; First Advantage; Insperity; HireRight, LLC; Accurate Background Holdings LLC; AuthBridge Research Services Pvt Ltd; A-Check America Inc; and DataFlow LLC.; among others. In the market ecosystem, service providers offer various professional services, including operation and maintenance, integration, and consulting services.

System integrators engage in integrating employment screening solutions with the businesses as per the specific requirements of end users. The major end-user industries of employment screening services are IT and telecom, BFSI, government agencies, travel and hospitality, manufacturing, retail, and healthcare, among others.



Companies in the BFSI service sector are more stringent than other private-sector firms regarding pre-employment screening. The employee turnover in the BFSI sector has been rising in recent years, as the employees face employment cut-outs due to accountability in every part of their operations. As a middle or top management employee has access to confidential information about the customer's financial records, it is essential for these companies to properly scrutinize a candidate's background, criminal records, and past employment history, along with conducting other background checks.

The BFSI industry is highly regulated. The regulations precisely dictate the rules and eligibility for employees hired by financial companies. For instance, the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation provides guidance for developing effective criminal background checks for bank employees. Further, it encourages these checks as an efficient risk management process to ensure and verify the information provided by prospective candidates. Such factors are propelling the employment screening services market growth in the BFSI industry.



National, state, and city government offices often require new employees on board without delays. As most of these agencies deal with confidential and sensitive information, new employees should be reliable and entrusted with verified histories. In government agencies, a proper screening of employees, involving background checks, credit risk, criminal records, education checks, etc., is a must to avoid risk.

Also, since government employees are expected to access residents' personal information, tracking the appropriate criminal background of all the candidates shortlisted for the job is essential. The demand for employment screening services in government agencies is surging due to increased fraudulent incidences. Government employers of various countries run rigorous pre-employment screening, and several other checks. Criminal background checks, international background checks, drug and medical checks, qualification checks, credit checks, and sex offender checks are among the verification parameters. Such factors are propelling the employment screening services market growth among government agencies.



The employment screening services market is segmented on the basis of service, organization size, end-user industry, and geography. Based on service, the employment screening services market is categorized into background screening, verification, and medical and drug testing. Based on end-user industry, the employment screening services market is segmented into IT and telecom, BFSI, government agencies, travel and hospitality, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and others. In terms of organization size, the employment screening services market is segmented into SMEs and large enterprises. By geography, the employment screening services market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East & Africa, and South America.



Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 225 Forecast Period 2023 - 2028 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $5360.28 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2028 $9296.65 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 9.9% Regions Covered Global

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Demand for Time-Efficient Selection Systems Owing to Rising Number of Job Applicants

Increase in Job Immigrants Amid Globalization

Need to Mitigate Risks Associated with Fraudulent Activities of Applicants

Restraints

Concerns Related to Confidentiality of Candidate Data

Opportunities

Introduction of Big Data

Future Trends

Demand for Enterprise-Level Software and Database

Adoption of Blockchain and Other Advanced Technologies in Employee Screening

Modifications in Background Screening Processes

Companies Mentioned

Pinkerton Corporate Risk Management

HireRight, LLC

A-Check America, Inc.

Verity Screening Solutions LLC

Capita Plc

Triton

DataFlow Group

Sterling Talent Solutions

First Advantage

Accurate Background

AuthBridge

Insperity

GoodHire

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/h4w06

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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Washington, D.C., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Chertoff Group, a security and growth advisory firm, and Exiger, the SaaS company revolutionizing the way supply chains are managed, announced today the launch of a new strategic partnership designed to expand the breadth of complementary capabilities available in the market to help federal contractors across the defense industrial base and critical infrastructure illuminate, mitigate and monitor the risk of foreign ownership, control or influence (FOCI) in their supply chains.

From the White Houses recent Executive Order on national security technologies and products tied to countries of concern to stronger supply chain language in the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act, the U.S. Federal Government has honed-in on the acute and long-term risks that foreign influence hiding in supply chains poses to the safety and sustainability of the nations critical infrastructure, military and cybersecurity.

"Without careful attention to FOCI exposure and supply chain resiliency, contractors run the risk of being unable to do business with the U.S. Federal Government, said Michael Chertoff, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of The Chertoff Group and former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. With Exiger's highly accurate supply chain illumination technology and our extensive risk mitigation expertise, we are bringing to market capabilities that help companies to identify and effectively address these serious and sometimes hidden risks."

Under the partnership, The Chertoff Group and Exiger will offer a combined suite of solutions and services. Exiger brings supply chain mapping technologies, strategic FOCI risk analysis and C-SCRM[1] and SBOM[2] tools. The Chertoff Group provides expert-led regulatory support, national security market expertise, compliance guidance and CFIUS[3] assessments. The offering will target markets with the greatest FOCI risk, including mission critical technologies, companies selling to the U.S. Federal Government, critical minerals and materials, and industries with the greatest exposure to sanctions and the Xinjiang region.

Were at the beginning of a complete paradigm shift in how the government looks at this kind of risk and how they expect contractors to guard against adversarial control and sabotage on an ongoing and proactive basis, said Brandon Daniels, CEO of Exiger. To navigate this new environment, federal contractors and highly regulated industries are going to need to do a lot more than simply purchasing a risk dataset.

Were pleased to partner with The Chertoff Group to offer a comprehensive solution that combines AI technology, automated intelligence and informed expert advice, providing the kind of reliable and scalable solutions that federal contractors will inevitably need to deploy in order to demonstrate compliance with the growing framework of regulations aimed at combating FOCI risk in critical supply chains, said Carrie Wibben, President of Exiger Government Solutions.

About The Chertoff Group

The Chertoff Group is an advisory firm of highly qualified experts that uses proven frameworks to help organizations achieve their business and security objectives in a complex, global risk environment. The Chertoff Group helps organizations manage cyber, physical and geopolitical risks, navigate evolving regulatory and compliance requirements, and discover opportunities to win business and create value. Through its investment banking subsidiary Chertoff Capital, the firm provides M&A advisory services to companies in the defense technology, national security and cybersecurity markets. Learn more at Chertoffgroup.com and follow The Chertoff Group on LinkedIn.

About Exiger

Exiger is revolutionizing the way corporations, government agencies and banks navigate risk and compliance in their third-parties, supply chains and customers through its software and tech-enabled solutions. Exigers mission is to make the world a safer and more transparent place to succeed. Emboldening its 550 customers across the globe, including 150 in the Fortune 500 and over 50 government agencies, with award-winning AI technology, Exiger leads the way in ESG, cyber, financial crime, third-party and supply chain management. Its work has been recognized by 40+ AI, RegTech and Supply Chain partner awards. Learn more at Exiger.com and follow Exiger on LinkedIn.

[1] Cybersecurity Supply Chain Risk Management

[2] Software Bill of Materials

[3] Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States

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PARSIPPANY, N.J., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Acrow, a leading international bridge engineering and supply company, noted today one of its modular steel Mabey Universal panel bridges was recently installed on Colorado State Highway 133 (SH 133) between the small towns of Paonia and Somerset in the states Western Slope. The bridge is serving as a detour during construction to repair a damaged culvert and section of highway in the rural North Fork Valley area.



Heavy snowfall buildup on the Western Slope led to a higher-than-average spring runoff season, resulting in many rivers and creeks running higher and faster than usual. Such was the case with Bear Creek, whose rushing waters collapsed a culvert beneath SH 133, seven miles northeast of Paonia, causing the highway above to wash out, leaving a deep, impassable crevasse more than 20 feet across.

The regions economy is transportation-dependent, consisting primarily of agriculture, mining and ranching. In addition, although sparsely populated, it is also heavily reliant on tourists drawn to the abundance of summer recreation opportunities as well as wineries, restaurants and shops. When SH 133 was closed in May, it caused an immediate impact to residents and businesses. Although some vehicles, including first responders, Somerset residents, and those making necessary deliveries were allowed to pass around the damage, the only available route for most travelers was a detour of some 200 miles (320 km), creating an urgent need to reopen the route.

The Colorado Department of Transportation put the job out for an emergency bid and Ralph L. Wadsworth Construction was awarded the contract. The Acrow-designed structure provided to the contractor is a heavy-duty Mabey Universal bridge with a length of 103.35 feet (31.5 m) and a curb-to-curb width of 30 feet (9.15 m) to enable two-way traffic. The bridge, which is designed to AASHTO HL-93 and has an anti-skid epoxy coated deck, was installed in two weeks. The bridge was rented to the contractor and will be in place until repairs are completed, now anticipated to be November 2023.

Acrows robust Mabey Universal modular steel bridge was an ideal solution for this emergency project, said Eugene Sobecki, Acrows Director, National Sales & Military Business Development. With unprecedented heavy-load capacity, the Mabey Universal is quickly assembled and installed to reconnect critical routes.

Added Russ Parisi, Acrows Vice President, North America, In the wake of emergencies, Acrows modular steel solutions can help expedite the reconnection of critical routes. Available for rent or purchase and in-stock for immediate delivery, Acrows components are easily transported to the most difficult locations, providing an economical and reliable solution to rapidly restore damaged infrastructure.

About Acrow

Acrow has been serving the transportation and construction industries for more than 70 years with a wide range of modular steel bridging solutions for permanent, temporary, military and emergency use. Acrows extensive international presence includes leadership in the development and implementation of bridge infrastructure projects in over 150 countries across Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.acrow.com.

Media contact:

Tracy Van Buskirk

Marketcom PR

Main: (212) 537-5177, ext. 8; Mobile: (203) 246-6165

tvanbuskirk@marketcompr.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c39b305d-a941-4311-8290-adde2e37982e
Belleville, Illinois, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The average Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefit has increased 18 percent over the past three years, highlighting its crucial financial value for U.S. workers, according to Allsup, the nations premier provider of disability representation. The national average benefit was $1,486.60 in July 2023 for beneficiaries, compared with $1,258.91 in July 2020, according to SSA data- an increase of $227.69 per month.

Now, more than ever, its pivotal for the U.S. workforce to recognize the importance of their disability insurance coverage through Social Security. This includes the monthly income they may receive and support with returning to work, after a severe illness or injury, said T.J. Geist, Principal Advocate at Allsup. U.S. workers receive federal disability insurance coverage through their FICA payroll taxes, with a portion divided among Social Security retirement, disability insurance and Medicare programs. Nearly 160 million workers have SSDI coverage.

The financial crisis that can occur when someone must stop working is devastating, and its another reason we expanded our SSDI representation to include financial solutions, Geist explained. Allsup now provides SSDI representation and financial hope with its expansion into Disability Financial SolutionsSM that include credit card and medical debt relief, healthcare insurance assistance, as well as resource support that ranges from utilities to housing needs. These additional services are exclusively offered to customers when filing their claim or disability appeal with Allsup.

We know that money problems can become a crisis after a disability, and were the only representatives offering this combination of assistance to all of our customers, Geist explained. With nearly four decades of experience, Allsup has assisted over 375,000 people in obtaining the SSDI benefits they earned during their working careers.

Allsups Disability Financial Solutions include:

Healthcare insurance options: The Healthcare Insurance Services team at Allsup assists clients in exploring healthcare insurance options, ensuring access to essential medical treatment, and enhancing the likelihood of SSDI benefits approval.

Credit card and medical bill savings: Debt settlement experts negotiate with credit card and medical companies on behalf of Allsup customers, yielding substantial savings while alleviating financial strain.

Food, utility, prescription savings and more: Allsup connects customers with resources offering savings on everyday necessities like utilities, meals and prescriptions.

Mortgage relief: Leveraging an extensive network, Allsup provides customers with information on Housing Assistance Fund (HAF) resources available in their respective states, offering vital support during challenging periods.

Our goal at Allsup is to be a trusted resource for individuals with disabilities during the lengthy SSDI application process and beyond, Geist said. We help empower our clients to make choices, navigate their financial hardships effectively and help secure their financial future. With our expertise and support, clients can avoid financial pitfalls and confidently pursue their SSDI benefits.

Customers are also sharing their stories of relief with these new financial solutions: Allsup has been by my side every step of the way. Its comforting to know I can pay my debt off sooner. If Allsup only helped with my SSDI case and my debt, that would be enough. Instead, they also provided resources to help lower our monthly expenses. I am forever grateful for using Allsup!  said Karina, a satisfied Allsup customer.

For more information about applying for SSDI benefits, filing your appeal if you were denied, or to see if you are eligible, visit FileSSDI.Allsup.com or call 1-800-678-3276.

ABOUT ALLSUP

Allsup and its subsidiaries provide nationwide Social Security disability, veterans disability appeal, return to work, and healthcare benefits services for individuals, their employers and insurance carriers. Allsup professionals deliver specialized services supporting people with disabilities and seniors so they may lead lives that are as financially secure and as healthy as possible. Founded in 1984, the company is based in Belleville, Illinois, near St. Louis. Learn more at Allsup.com and @Allsup or download a free PDF of Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance: Getting It Right The First Time.

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Iselin, NJ, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- World Insurance Associates LLC (World), a Top 50 Insurance Brokerage, announced today that Providence Financial, Inc. (Providence) of Sioux Falls, SD and Lincoln, NE joined World on September 1, 2023. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Providence was founded in 2017 by Donald Joey Larsen. Today, the agency provides a variety of coverage options to meet the unique insurance needs of their clients, including personal insurance, business insurance and employee benefits.

Insurance is about protecting what matters mostour clients financial future, says Joey Larsen, ChFC, Owner, Providence Financial. We know that one unexpected event can turn a clients life or business upside down, and we work to prevent that. Im glad to be joining World and look forward to providing our clients with even more products and services.

On behalf of the World family Id like to welcome Joey and Providence Financial, says Rich Eknoian, CEO and Co-Founder of World. With the addition of Providence, World expands its business to the states of South Dakota and Nebraska. Providence is a knowledgeable, experienced team and I know they will continue to be successful as part of World.

Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla provided legal counsel and Fortrust Diligence advised World on the transaction. Cutler Law Firm LLP provided legal counsel to Providence on the transaction. No other advisors, diligence firms or legal counsel were disclosed.

About World Insurance Associates LLC

World Insurance Associates LLC (World) is headquartered in Iselin, N.J., and is a nationally ranked, full-service insurance organization providing individuals and businesses with top products and services across personal and commercial insurance, employee and executive benefits, retirement and financial services and human capital management solutions. Since its founding in 2011, World has completed over 200 acquisitions and serves its customers from more than 250 offices across the United States. World is ranked #28 on the 100 Largest Brokers of U.S. Business list by Business Insurance, ranked #3 on the Fastest Growing Brokers list by Business Insurance, ranked #3 on the Fastest Growing Benefits Brokers list by Business Insurance, ranked #24 on the Top 100 P&C Agencies by Insurance Journal, and ranked #20 on the Top 50 Personal Lines Agencies by Insurance Journal. For more information, please visit www.worldinsurance.com.

Media Contact:

Jean Wiskowski, Chief Marketing Officer

World Insurance Associates LLC

732-380-0900 Ext. 736

jeanwiskowski@worldinsurance.com

Mergers & Acquisitions Contact:

Bradley Unger, Senior Vice President, Business Development

World Insurance Associates LLC

732-712-2230 Ext. 186

bradleyunger@worldinsurance.com
Woburn, MA, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tami Bonnell, Co-Chair, EXIT Realty Corp. International, today announced that Kathy and Troy Dooley are taking on leadership roles for EXIT in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

"We're thrilled to extend our EXIT Realty family across Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Our goal is to connect with leaders who possess both a passion for people and a keen business acumen, says Mr. Dooley.

For the third time, the Dooleys and Director of Operations, Franke Joehl, were awarded Region of the Year in 2022, recognized for exceptional growth and development in an area with a population greater than seven million.

The Dooleys both have backgrounds with the worlds largest retailer, Walmart, and were mentored by founder, Sam Walton. Mr. Dooley excelled in multi-unit management and Mrs. Dooley in managing 13 stores plus a region that produced over one billion dollars in sales. Mrs. Dooley joined EXIT in 2010 as a salesperson and quickly advanced to regional ownership, joined by Mr. Dooley in 2012, the year they acquired the subfranchisor rights to Mississippi.

In 2016 they achieved their first Region of the Year recognition and acquired the rights to Alabama in 2017. Now having expanded EXITs footprint to almost 60 markets across both states, they are including Arkansas and Oklahoma in their overall strategy for aggressive growth.

This expansion opens doors for those looking to establish their own real estate brokerage or owners of brokerages wanting to take their business to the next level, says Mrs. Dooley. With steadfast dedication we are committed to nurturing real estate agents, unlocking their fullest potential through exceptional leadership, guidance and training."

Troy and Kathy have a proven track record of being true servant leaders and building agents, brokers and new offices, says Mrs. Bonnell. We are honored they are continuing to grow with EXIT.

About EXIT Realty: EXIT Realty is a company founded and built on human potential. A full service, forward-thinking, real estate franchisor with offices across North America, EXIT has to-date paid out more than a half a billion dollars in single-level residual income to its associates. A portion of every transaction fee received by EXIT Realty Corp. International is applied to its charitable fund, and to-date, $7 million has been allocated to charity. For more information, please visit www.exitrealty.com and www.joinexitrealty.com.

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OTTAWA, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, CIRA announces the launch of Whats up with the internet? a captivating new podcast series that examines the good, the bad and the ugly characteristics that make up one of the worlds most important resourcesthe internet. Hosted by award-winning Canadian journalist Takara Small, CIRAs Whats up with the internet? podcast will explore todays most pressing internet issues including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, smart tech, or virtual realityand provide listeners with insight into the technological challenges they pose and more importantly, solutions.



In its first season, CIRA will tackle the state of Canadian broadband by exploring pressing internet topics including affordability, online accessibility, safety and more across six episodes. The podcast will also feature commentary and guest interviews from powerful figures including renowned computer scientist Dr. Timnit Gebru, leading technology writer Paris Marx, the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Canadas Minister of Rural Economic Development and more. Listeners can learn more at cira.ca/podcast and subscribe to Whats up with the internet? on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Executive Quotes

The internet powers everything we do and everything we are in some ways. This series will look at how Canadiansnay the worldinteract with it and how it changes the systems we rely on everyday to make our world work. - Takara Small, Host, Whats Up With the Internet?

We fundamentally believe that the internet is a force for good in the world but lets face it, its not perfect. CIRAs Whats up with the internet? podcast is all about identifying problems and exploring solutions to some of the internets most pressing issues. Our first season covers internet access, which remains a hurdle that many rural and remote communities in Canada continue to face. Our hope is that this podcast inspires listeners to stay engaged in the evolving state of the digital world and allows everyone to reflect on their own relationship with the internet. - Spencer Callaghan, Director, Brand & Communications, CIRA

About Takara Small

Takara Small is Canadian journalist and radio host. She is a radio columnist for CBC (Canadas public broadcaster), radio contributor for BBC Radio and host at 680 News. Additionally, she was named one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada for her contributions to media and recently named a Young Leaders of America Fellow.

She was previously the contributing editor for Fortune magazine and host of the CBC podcast Death in Cryptoland, which was #1 on Apple podcast. Her work has appeared in numerous publications, which include Refinery29, Metro News, Chatelaine, Mic, and more.

About CIRA

CIRA manages the .CA top-level domain on behalf of all Canadians. CIRA also develops technologies and servicessuch as CIRA DNS Firewall and CIRA Canadian Shieldthat help support its goal of building a trusted internet for Canadians. The CIRA team operates one of the fastest-growing country code top-level domains (ccTLD), a high-performance global DNS network, and one of the world's most advanced back-end registry solutions. As a member-based, mission-driven not-for-profit, CIRA also has a much broader goal to promote a trusted internet for Canadians.
Pittsburgh, PA, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that Timothy K. Lewis, former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and Brandy S. Ringer have joined the firms Pittsburgh office in the Corporate Litigation group as senior counsel and associate, respectively. The duo joins from Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis where Judge Lewis was co-chair of the firms alternative dispute resolution practice and former co-chair of the appellate practice.

Judge Lewis was appointed to both judicial positions by President George H. W. Bush. Prior to his judicial service, Judge Lewis served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania and as an assistant district attorney in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Judge Lewis and Brandy are the latest additions in a string of strategic hires. Nationally, Blank Rome has experienced significant growth across the firms offices and practice groups since the start of the year, welcoming more than 24 lateral partners to date and opening a Dallas office. Recently the Pittsburgh office welcomed Andrew P. Cross and Alexander J. Bell.

We are honored to welcome Judge Lewis and Brandy to the firm, said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Romes Chair and Managing Partner. Judge Lewis has had a remarkable career as a prosecutor, judge, private practitioner, and activist, and we are fortunate to have him join our ranks. Whether he is helping a trial team steer an appellate case, a client navigate mediation, or aiding a nonprofit in the pursuit of civil rights, Judge Lewis draws upon his decades of unmatched experience to reach sound and successful resolutions. He and Brandy will be tremendous additions to our national litigation team.

Judge Lewis will advise domestic and international clients through arbitration, mediation, and other means of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Additionally, Judge Lewis counsels lawyers, businesses, and individuals on appellate strategy for matters pending in state and federal appellate courts throughout the country. Judge Lewis also handles federal and state criminal cases and corporate investigations.

Brandys practice spans all aspects of general commercial litigation, including product liability, aviation law, contractual litigation, internal investigations, and appellate litigation. She has experience in all facets of litigation, including drafting pleadings, facilitating pre-trial discovery, taking plaintiff and fact witness depositions, drafting and arguing dispositive motions, and participating in trial preparation, trial, and settlement negotiations. She also has experience briefing appeals in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, Superior Court, and Supreme Court; the Third Circuit; and the Ninth Circuit.

Were thrilled to have Judge Lewis and Brandy join our litigation team in Pittsburgh, said Amy Joseph Coles, Partner and Co-Chair of Blank Romes Pittsburgh office. Judge Lewis is a powerhouse figure in the Pennsylvania legal community and brings to Blank Rome expansive knowledge of state and federal courts as well as an impressive track record of successfully resolving disputes out of court.

Roy W. Arnold, Partner and Co-Chair of the Pittsburgh office, added, Since becoming co-chairs of the firms Pittsburgh office in January, Amy and I have been focused on the development and growth of the team here. We are very excited about the top-tier talent we have welcomed this year to serve clients, locally and nationally, and look forward to continued momentum in the months ahead. Judge Lewis and Brandy are highly skilled, service-oriented, collaborative attorneys and will be great fits with our office and firm culture.

While Im absolutely thrilled to join Blank Rome, I must acknowledge that I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Schnader, which gave Brandy and me an important platform to address professional matters and social issues of significance to our local communities and beyond, added Judge Lewis. Im extremely excited to bring all my experience to the firm. Ive worked with Blank Rome for years and many of the firms attorneys appeared before me when I sat on the bench. I am deeply impressed with the professionalism and experience of the firms lawyers, and I look forward to expanding my ADR and appellate counseling practices through Blank Romes national platform.

While at Blank Rome, Judge Lewis will also dedicate time to pro bono and community investment initiatives focused on issues related to civil and human rights, as well as judicial independence and upholding the integrity of the judiciary throughout the country. For example, he sits on the board of directors and officers and serves as treasurer of the Eradicate Hate Global Summit.

Judge Lewis is an active participant in many organizations in and outside of the legal community, including the American Law Institute; the American Arbitration Association; the CPR-International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution; the Council on Criminal Justice; The Appellate Project; and the Interbranch Commission for Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Fairness; among others. He has also served as an adjunct professor, faculty member, guest lecturer, moot court judge, and commencement speaker at various law schools, including the University of Pittsburgh, the Georgetown Law Center, Duquesne, Temple, and Harvard. He earned his J.D. from Duquesne University and his B.A. from Tufts University.

Brandy served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Christine L. Donohue at both the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the Pennsylvania Superior Court. As a judicial law clerk, Brandy worked on a wide array of matters and issues of first impression. She earned her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and her B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, magna cum laude.

About Blank Rome

Blank Rome is an Am Law 100 firm with 15 offices and more than 680 attorneys and principals who provide comprehensive legal and advocacy services to clients operating in the United States and around the world. Our professionals have built a reputation for their leading knowledge and experience across a spectrum of industries and are recognized for their commitment to pro bono work in their communities. Since our inception in 1946, Blank Romes culture has been dedicated to providing top-level service to all of our clients and has been rooted in the strength of our diversity and inclusion initiatives. For more information, please visit blankrome.com.

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Arlington, Va., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Institutes for Research has welcomed Kandace Jones as vice president to lead the institutions education systems and policy program area. Jones is an expert in providing technical assistance to states, school districts, and other entities to improve student outcomes and increase equity in education.

As vice president for education systems and policy, Jones will lead AIRs work with local, state, and national agencies and organizations to improve educational outcomes and support the implementation of evidence-based solutions to the challenges facing education. This program area includes AIRs work leading federally funded education programs, including the Regional Educational Laboratories (REL), the Regional Comprehensive Centers, and the What Works Clearinghouse.

Kandace brings a wealth of experience working with education systems across the country and a passion for educational equity that reflects AIRs mission and goals, said Julie Kochanek, senior vice president of the Human Services Division, which includes AIRs education practice areas. Throughout her career, Kandace has shown an ability to build partnerships, scale evidence-based practices, prioritize equity, and lead education reform efforts.

Prior to joining AIR, Jones was a project director at WestEd, where she served as co-director of the Region 15 Comprehensive Center. As the largest center in the U.S. Department of Education-funded Comprehensive Center Network, the Region 15 center provides technical assistance and capacity-building support to state and local education agencies in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. She also led the Western Educational Equity Assistance Center, which promotes equitable education opportunities and resources to 13 western states and three U.S. territories. Jones also worked at ICF, where she led the Region 8 Comprehensive Center that served Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio and was a state liaison for the Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center, serving Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Jones worked for the U.S. Department of Education as chief of staff and advisor for school turnaround in the departments Office of Elementary & Secondary Education. She has also served as president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan, director of the Office of Out-of-School Time Programs at District of Columbia Public Schools, and a resident at the Broad Center for the Management of School Systems.

She earned a Master of Business Administration in marketing and a bachelors degree in business administration from Florida A&M University. She volunteers on the mayor-appointed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for Saline, Michigan, and previously served as a Board of Education Trustee for Saline Area Schools.

AIRs education systems and policy program area includes the teams that manage two comprehensive centersRegion 1

(Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont) and Region 9 (Illinois and Iowa)as well as REL Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) and REL Southwest

(Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas).

About AIR

Established in 1946, with headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit institution that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education and the workforce. AIR's work is driven by its mission to generate and use rigorous evidence that contributes to a better, more equitable world. With headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, AIR has offices across the U.S. and abroad. For more information, visit www.air.org.

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Carson City, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Carson City, Nevada -

Talisman Casualty Insurance Company, based in Nevada, would like to discuss why businesses may want to choose Talisman as their insurance provider. Talisman Casualty challenges norms in the insurance industry by providing alternative ways to take on and manage risk. They offer high limits of coverage for unique specialized businesses. Taking control of business costs often means taking risks, and with the environment changing so rapidly in almost every market imaginable, it is important to have an insurance company that understands how to keep up with the ever-changing insurance industry. Through their unique captive insurance programs, Talisman allows businesses a greater degree of control over their own coverage.



When structured properly and expertly managed, captive insurance has the potential to provide lower premiums and expand capacity where needed. According to the firm, there are certain kinds of risk that may be considered uninsurable by traditional insurers. As such, working within a captive may provide insurance solutions that ordinary insurers cannot. Read more here: Why Choose Talisman Casualty Insurance.



Cell Captives are perfect vehicles for niche programs where access to capacity through international reinsurance markets can expand the capacity for growth, says Talisman Casualty Insurance. Creativity can often lead to new approaches and better efficiencies and savings to pass along to the cells participants.



Flexibility is what makes Talisman able to provide some of the unique coverage options it does. A prime example of Talisman Casultys flexibility at work is their Surety Program. A surety bond, sometimes simply referred to as a surety, is essentially a promise by what is called a surety or guarantor to pay another party a certain amount if a second party fails to meet a certain obligation. This can apply to any of a variety of obligations, such as a contract or some other type of agreement. The surety bond protects against losses that result from one partys failure to meet their obligations.



There are many different types of surety bonds. While it is, for the most part, provided by the insurance industry, surety is not insurance. The risk is usually underwritten with no (expected) losses, and the relationship between principal and surety is often a lot closer. Some of the most common types of surety include Payment and Performance, Compliance and Licensing, and Court and Legal bonds. The three are used by different industries for various purposes, and it is important to have a thorough understanding of what each type of surety is meant to do.



The captive insurance model is more personal than other, more traditional insurance models. This is due to the presence of a smaller number of participants. By having fewer principals, the captive insurance model facilitates the creation of more personal relationships between insurers and their insured, which in turn allows both to be more flexible. This extends to the creation of surety bonds. Everyone involved has a greater degree of control over how the bond is structured and is thus able to use the advantages conferred by this kind of agreement to the greatest extent possible.



Talisman Casualty Insurance Company provides all the infrastructure a business might need in order to take advantage of the Protected Cell model. The process of establishing captives can be challenging, but once established it gives insureds access to international reinsurance markets and negotiable pricing. Talisman strives to make the process of creating captives or surety bonds as easy as possible, making sure that clients gain access to all the aforementioned benefits as quickly as desired.



The companys goal is to provide excellent service that businesses in Las Vegas, Nevada, and beyond can count on. At Talisman, people come first. The company puts a lot of time and resources into understanding each and every business that chooses to work with Talisman Casualty. This commitment to providing the best possible service has made Talisman Casualty one of the biggest names in the industry.

Despite being so well known, Talisman Casualty has managed to maintain an excellent reputation over the years. Those interested may read more on how Talisman Casualty has managed to keep its reputation intact despite being one of the biggest companies in the area in this industry at the following link: Talisman Casualty Lawsuit. For more information on Talisman Casualty Insurance Company, clients may also visit their website.

###

For more information about Talisman Casualty Insurance Company, contact the company here:



Talisman Casualty Insurance Company

800-318-5317

info@talismancasualty.com

7881 W. Charleston Blvd, Suite 210 Las Vegas, NV 89117


WASHINGTON, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WASHINGTON  Today, Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice for Americas 33 million small businesses in President Bidens Cabinet, announced the call for nominations for the 2024 National Small Business Week (NSBW) Awards. The NSBW Awards recognize the outstanding achievements, triumphs, contributions, and resilience of SBA-assisted small businesses that help to drive the American economy.

Small businesses power our nations economy and are the realization of the American Dream for millions of entrepreneurs, said Administrator Guzman. From mom-and-pop shops to innovative startups, small businesses create good jobs, provide vital services, and help define the identities of the neighborhoods and communities they serve. National Small Business Week is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate their achievements and the essential contributions they make across the country.

To nominate a small business owner in your area or download related forms, criteria, and guidelines, visit sba.gov/nsbw. All nominations must be submitted electronically by 4 p.m. ET on December 7, 2023. The awards will be presented during the NSBW Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., from April 28-29, 2024.

For nearly 60 years, the SBA has celebrated National Small Business Week, highlighting the vital contributions of Americas entrepreneurs and small business owners.

The SBAs signature award during NSBW is the Small Business Person of the Year. A business owner from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam will be selected for individual State Winner awards. The state award winners will compete for the title of National Small Business Person of the Year.

In addition, nominations for the following award categories will be accepted:





Small Business Exporter of the Year

Phoenix Awards for Disaster Recovery: Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery - Mitigation Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery, Public Official Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery, Volunteer

Federal Procurement Awards: Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year Small Business Subcontractor of the Year Dwight D. Eisenhower Awards for Excellence (for large prime contractors who use small businesses as suppliers and contractors) 8(a) Graduate of the Year

Awards to SBA Resource Partners: Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Excellence and Innovation Center Award Womens Business Center of Excellence Award Veterans Business Outreach Center of the Year

Small Business Investment Company of the Year

For local area contact and other related information, visit online at https://www.sba.gov/national-small-business-week/district-office-awards.

###

About National Small Business Week

For nearly 60 years, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, recognizing the critical contributions of Americas entrepreneurs and small business owners. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, creating about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. As part of National Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Every day, theyre working to grow small businesses, create 21st-century jobs, drive innovation, and increase Americas global competitiveness. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov/nsbw.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, or expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
ATLANTA, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Holzer & Holzer, LLC informs investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against UiPath, Inc. (UiPath or the Company) (NYSE: PATH). The lawsuit alleges UiPath made false or misleading statements and/or omitted material adverse information regarding the Companys business, operations, and financial condition, including: (a) that UiPath = enacted a widespread discounting program prior to its IPO, which had the effect of temporarily boosting the Companys revenue and ARR metrics, cannibalizing its future sales, eroding the Companys margins, and increasing the risk of client churn; (b) that UiPaths actual total addressable market was not as large as portrayed by defendants; (c) that UiPath was losing customers to Microsoft, ServiceNow, SAP, Salesforce, IBM, and other established enterprise software vendors that were building automation into their platforms; (d) that UiPath was losing customers due to the increased availability of low-code automation software offered by vendors; (e) that UiPath was suffering from a loss of channel sales due to strained relationships with the Companys partners as a result of increased competition between UiPath and these partners.



If you bought shares of UiPath between April 21, 2021 and March 30, 2022, and you suffered a significant loss on that investment, you are encouraged to discuss your legal rights by contacting Corey Holzer, Esq. at cholzer@holzerlaw.com or Joshua Karr, Esq. at jkarr@holzerlaw.com, by toll-free telephone at (888) 508-6832 or you may visit the firms website at www.holzerlaw.com/case/uipath/ to learn more.

The deadline to ask the court to be appointed lead plaintiff in the case is November 6, 2023.

Holzer & Holzer, LLC, an ISS top rated securities litigation law firm for 2021 and 2022, dedicates its practice to vigorous representation of shareholders and investors in litigation nationwide, including shareholder class action and derivative litigation. Since its founding in 2000, Holzer & Holzer attorneys have played critical roles in recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for shareholders victimized by fraud and other corporate misconduct. More information about the firm is available through its website, www.holzerlaw.com, and upon request from the firm. Holzer & Holzer, LLC has paid for the dissemination of this promotional communication, and Corey Holzer is the attorney responsible for its content.

CONTACT:

Corey Holzer, Esq.

(888) 508-6832 (toll-free)

cholzer@holzerlaw.com
Charleston, South Carolina, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Award-winning Washington Post journalist Kathleen Parker speaks with South Carolina Senator Tom Davis, attorney Margaret Ann Muffy Kneece and Gary Hess, founder and executive director of the Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives, about cannabis legislation in South Carolina on the College of Charleston podcast, "Speaking of  College of Charleston".

Kathleen Parker writes a weekly column on politics and culture. In 2010, she received the Pulitzer Prize for Distinguished Commentary for her perceptive, often witty columns on an array of political and moral issues. gracefully sharing the experiences and values that lead her to unpredictable conclusions. A Florida native, Parker started her column in 1987 when she was a staff writer for the Orlando Sentinel. She joined the Washington Post Writers Group in 2006. She is the author of Save the Males: Why Men Matter, Why Women Should Care (2008).

Parker writes with grace, wit and style and is always prescient, prophetic, ahead of the curve.  Doug Marlette, Political cartoonist and author (1949-2007)

Honors and Awards:

Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award

South Carolina Academy of Authors

2010 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary

1993 H.L. Mencken Writing Award

Parker divides her time between Washington, D.C., and South Carolina  and points beyond. When she isnt immersed in writing, she enjoys interior design, an array of fur and winged friends and long pauses with nature.

Senator Tom Davis has lived in Beaufort, South Carolina, since 1985, practicing law at the firm of Harvey & Battey, P.A. He is the managing partner in the firms real estate department. Davis obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Furman University in 1982 and a juris doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1985. He served in Gov. Mark Sanfords administration as senior policy advisor, co-chief of staff, deputy chief of staff and chief of staff from 2003 to 2007. In November 2008, he was elected State Senator for South Carolina Senate District 46 and was re-elected to second and third four-year terms in 2012 and 2016.

Gary Hess is the founder and executive director of the Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives, CEO of Teleleaf and partner of Dynamic Growth Solutions  organizations he founded to help destigmatize and provide access to medical cannabis. Hess served in the Marine Corps for 11 years, both enlisted and as an infantry officer. After serving during the heaviest levels of fighting in Iraq, Hess experienced the challenges of living with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, chronic pain and pharmaceutical dependency first-hand. He used cannabis not only to manage his conditions safely on his path to recovery, but also to catalyze and expedite post-traumatic growth. He is now an advocate and activist for the use of medical cannabis in post-traumatic recovery  both for veterans and trauma survivors.

In 1992 Margaret Ann Muffy Kneece received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Carolina with a major in history. She received her juris doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1995. After law school, Kneece was employed with the Fifth Circuit Solicitors Office (S.C.). Kneece initially worked in the Family Court Division and was the chief prosecuting attorney for the Fifteenth Circuit Family Court when she returned to her true passion as a general sessions assistant solicitor for Georgetown County, South Carolina. It was there she tried an array of cases from murder, homicide by child abuse, criminal sexual assault, armed robbery, burglaries and financial crimes. Kneece currently has a contract with the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense which involves cases of varying crimes, including most serious and violent crimes, and she represents juveniles in Family Court as well.

"Speaking ofCollege of Charleston" is available on Apple and Spotify.

Attachment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Disclosure of total number of voting rights and

number of shares forming the capital

as of August 31, 2023

Clichy, France  07 September 2023

Article L 233-8-II of the French Code de Commerce and Article 223-16 of the General Regulations of the French Autorite des Marches Financiers.

As of August 31, 2023, the total number of issued shares of SOCIETE BIC is 43,952,226 shares, representing:

64,829,318 voting rights,

63,406,748 voting rights excluding shares without voting rights

ABOUT BIC

A world leader in stationery, lighters and shavers, BIC brings simplicity and joy to everyday Life. For more than 75 years, the Company has honored the tradition of providing high-quality, affordable, essential products to consumers everywhere. Through this unwavering dedication, BIC has become one of the most recognized brands and is a trademark registered worldwide. Today, BIC products are sold in more than 160 countries around the world and feature iconic brands such as BIC Kids, BIC FlexTM, BodyMark by BICTM, Cello, Djeep, Lucky Stationery, Rocketbook, Soleil, Tipp-Ex, Us. TM, Wite-Out, Inkbox and more. In 2022, BIC Net Sales were 2,233.9 million euros. The Company is listed on "Euronext Paris"," is part of the SBF120 and CAC Mid 60 indexes and is recognized for its commitment to sustainable development and education. It received an A- Leadership score from CDP. For more, visit www.bic.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube.

CONTACTS

Investor Relations team

investors.info@bicworld.com







Michele Ventura

Investor Relations Senior Manager

michele.ventura@bicworld.com







Isabelle de Segonzac

Image 7, Press Relations contact

+ 33 6 89 87 61 39

isegonzac@image7.fr

2023 AGENDA

ALL DATES TO BE CONFIRMED

3rd Quarter and 9 Months 2023 Results October 26, 2023 (post market close)

Attachment
LONDON, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Ship Lease, Inc. (NYSE:GSL) (the Company) announced today that the Companys Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.546875 per depositary share, each representing a 1/100th interest in a share of its 8.75% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Shares (the Series B Preferred Shares) (NYSE:GSLPrB). The dividend represents payment for the period from July 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023 and will be paid on October 2, 2023 to all Series B Preferred Shareholders of record as of September 25, 2023.



About Global Ship Lease

Global Ship Lease is a leading independent owner of containerships with a diversified fleet of mid-sized and smaller containerships. Incorporated in the Marshall Islands, Global Ship Lease commenced operations in December 2007 with a business of owning and chartering out containerships under fixed-rate charters to top tier container liner companies. It was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in August 2008.

As at June 30, 2023, Global Ship Lease owned 68 containerships ranging from 2,207 to 11,040 TEU, with an aggregate capacity of 375,406 TEU. 36 ships are wide-beam Post-Panamax.

As at June 30, 2023, the average remaining term of the Companys charters, to the mid-point of redelivery, including options under the Companys control and other than if a redelivery notice has been received, was 2.3 years on a TEU-weighted basis. Contracted revenue on the same basis was $1.97 billion. Contracted revenue was $2.39 billion, including options under charterers control and with latest redelivery date, representing a weighted average remaining term of 3.1 years.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements provide the Companys current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements include statements about the Companys expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, intentions, assumptions and other statements that are not historical facts. Words or phrases such as anticipate, believe, continue, estimate, expect, intend, may, ongoing, plan, potential, predict, project, will or similar words or phrases, or the negatives of those words or phrases, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not necessarily mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and the Company cannot assure you that the events or expectations included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including the factors described in Risk Factors in the Companys Annual Report on Form 20-F and the factors and risks the Company describes in subsequent reports filed from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accordingly, you should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Investor and Media Contact:

The IGB Group

Bryan Degnan

646-673-9701

or

Leon Berman

212-477-8438
MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (OPT or the Company) (NYSE American: OPTT), a leader in innovative and cost-effective low-carbon marine power, data and service solutions, today announced the award of three separate Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Multiple-Award Contracts (MAC) from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These awards further add to OPTs reputation as a reliable U.S. Government contractor and build on recent successes in the defense and national security space.



NOAA has selected OPT as one of several Multiple Award IDIQ contract holders to provide Uncrewed Maritime Systems (UMS) Services to NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), Uncrewed Systems Operation Center (UxSOC). These contracts have the potential to result in millions of dollars of revenue for OPT, and the ordering period is set to span three years, commencing on September 1, 2023, and concluding on August 31, 2026.

Under these contracts, OPT will bring its expertise to three crucial domains:

Living Marine Resource Surveys and Research: OPT will utilize cutting-edge Uncrewed Maritime Systems to support NOAA in conducting vital marine resource surveys and research. Meteorological and Oceanographic Observations: OPTs innovative technology will play a pivotal role in enhancing NOAAs meteorological and oceanographic observations, further advancing our understanding of the natural world. Ocean Exploration and Characterization: OPT will collaborate with NOAA to explore and characterize the depths of our oceans, contributing to the discovery and preservation of invaluable marine ecosystems.



OPTs CEO Philipp Stratmann stated, We are thrilled to be selected by NOAA for these significant and material contracts, which represent a pivotal moment in our companys history. OPT is committed to pushing the boundaries of technology and innovation in the marine industry, and these contracts underscore our dedication to creating sustainable and effective Uncrewed Maritime Systems and our capacity to deliver innovative and efficient solutions. We look forward to working closely with NOAA to achieve our shared goals of environmental stewardship and scientific advancement  while also generating value for our company and our shareholders in the process.

For more information about Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. and its groundbreaking work in Uncrewed Maritime Systems, please visit www.oceanpowertechnologies.com .

ABOUT OCEAN POWER TECHNOLOGIES

OPT, a leader in innovative and cost-effective, low carbon marine data, power, and consulting services, provides intelligent maritime solutions and services that enable safer, cleaner, and more productive ocean operations for the defense and security, oil and gas, science and research, and offshore wind markets. Our PowerBuoy platforms provide clean and reliable electric power and real-time data communications for remote maritime and subsea applications. We also provide WAM-V autonomous surface vessels (ASV) and marine robotics services through our wholly owned subsidiary Marine Advanced Robotics and strategic consulting services including simulation engineering, software engineering, concept design and motion analysis through our wholly owned subsidiary 3Dent. We are headquartered in Monroe Township, New Jersey, and have offices in Houston, Texas, and Richmond, California. To learn more, visit www.OceanPowerTechnologies.com .

Source: Ocean Power Technologies, Inc.
Vancouver, September 6, 2023 - Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: PBM) ("Pacific Bay" or, the "Company") reports that the Company has closed partial proceeds of the non-brokered, $500,000 private placement announced May 15, 2023, amended terms of which were announced May 30th, 2023 (the "Financing"), totaling $28,000. The balance of the Financing will not be proceeding. According to the amended terms of the Financing, the Company issued 560,000 units at $0.05 per share, consisting of one share and one warrant to purchase an additional share for three years at $0.10 per share. Proceeds of the Financing will be used for general working capital purposes. No finder's fees or commissions were paid with respect to the Financing.

About Pacific Bay Minerals Limited

Pacific Bay Minerals is a Canadian mineral exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mining projects. Pacific Bay Minerals is focused on its 100% owned properties located in British Columbia: Wheaton Creek Gold, Haskins Reed Polymetalic, and Weaver Gold.

Pacific Bay Minerals Ltd.

Per/

Reagan Glazier, President and CEO

reagan@pacificbayminerals.com

(604) 682-2421

pacificbayminerals.com / Twitter / LinkedIn

This news release contains "forwardlooking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forwardlooking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the timing for and expected completion of the debt consolidation transactions, statements regarding the financial condition of the Company, spending commitments, and regulatory approvals (including approvals of the TSXV). Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which Pacific Bay will operate in the future. Certain important factors that could cause actual results, performances or achievements to differ materially from those in the forwardlooking statements include, amongst others, the global economic climate, dilution, share price volatility and competition, results of exploration activities and development of the Company's properties, and risks relating to regulatory approvals. Although Pacific Bay has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forwardlooking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forwardlooking statements. Pacific Bay does not undertake to update any forwardlooking statements, except in accordance with 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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179787
Matilda Copper Project - Exploration Update

Serabi Gold Plc (AIM:SRB, TSX:SBI), the Brazilian-focused gold mining and development company, is pleased to provide an exploration update from its activities on the Matilda Copper Project in the Tapajos region of Para State, Northern Brazil. The Matilda Copper Project is being developed as part of the Exploration Alliance between the Company and Vale SA.

A full PDF version of this news release can be accessed using the following link - https://bit.ly/45Viw1Q

Highlights

Significant intercepts from the 2023 first phase drilling lie within a broad zone of pervasive Cu-Au mineralisation and include. Hole 23-MT-004 (partial results) - 59.45m @ 0.49% Cu and 0.13 ppm Au from 29.85m (including 6.93m @ 0.95% Cu and 0.28 ppm Au from 78m) Hole 23-MT-006 (full results) - 13.81m @ 0.47% Cu and 0.10 ppm Au from 200,95m

3,204 meters of diamond drilling have been completed in 9 holes at Matilda.

The copper mineralisation and hosting rocks have many characteristics that typify alkalic porphyry deposits found in Australia and Canada.

Reprocessing of data from the airborne geophysical survey completed in 2022 indicates that the positive drill results may lie within a 1.2 kilometre by 800 metre demagnetized structural zone. The zone remains untested both laterally and at depth.

A further 3,200 metre Phase 2 drill programme commenced in August 2023 to test the geochemical / geophysical trend along strike, and secondary targets generated from the interpretation of the drilling to date.

In addition, deep penetrating Induced Polarisation ("IP") and Audio-Magnetotelluric ("AMT") geophysical programmes have been designed to complement the drilling. The IP survey will begin in September 2023.

Mike Hodgson CEO commented

"We are very excited about these results and therefore the potential of Matilda. The new drilling results confirm the presence of good grades of copper mineralisation and opens new perspectives for the future of the Company. The results demonstrate that the Serabi tenement portfolio is located in a very fertile area of the Tapajos and the limited historic exploration activity provides a significant first mover advantage for the Company.

"We are still in the process of understanding the copper system at Matilda and while younger porphyry systems provide some reference, the Matilda system is Proterozoic in age and formed under considerably different conditions. This fact brings challenges but at the same time opens new perspectives in terms of the potential of our exploration ground."

"The Exploration Alliance with Vale is working extremely well and both teams continue to collaborate closely, to improve the understanding and definition of the copper system. These initial results are exceptionally positive, and bodes well for further encouraging results from the next phase of drilling".

To access Figure 1 please use the following link - https://bit.ly/3RbsLeh

Detailed Results and Technical Discussion

The 2023 first phase drill programme has confirmed the discovery of the copper system, first announced in July 2022 (see news release dated 5 July 2022 - Drilling confirms new Porphyry discovery at Matilda). This Proterozoic aged copper system has geological, mineralogical, and genetic features found in modern alkalic porphyry systems such as those found in Australia and Canada. The geochemical footprint from soil sampling suggests a target area measuring 4,000 metres by 2,500 metres which remains open to the west and southwest.

The Phase 1 drilling programme has focussed on the strongest part of the Matilda coincident copper / gold / silver soil anomaly with six drill holes along two drill sections spaced 400 metres apart. (see Figure 1). This initial focus area is also a semi-coincident magnetic susceptibility high, (see Figures 2 and 3), potentially associated with potassic (magnetite) alteration.

Mineralisation in hole 23-MT-001 occurs close to the top of the hole in an alteration assemblage associated with secondary biotite and magnetite replacement by chalcopyrite. The magnetic anomaly reflects an unmineralised magnetic, monzodiorite. Holes 23-MT-004 and 23-MT-006, (same drill section) both intersected mineralised zones. Partial results from the section are listed below and shown graphically in Figure 2.

23-MT-001

6.06m @ 0.36% Cu and 0.07 ppm Au from 30.00m

3.25m @ 0.44% Cu and 0.12 ppm Au from 102.00m

9.14m @ 0.36% Cu and 0.11 ppm Au from 122.60m

4.11m @ 0.27% Cu and 0.09 ppm Au from 187.40m

23-MT-004

72.88m @ 0.44% Cu and 0.12 ppm Au from 29.85m

5.37m @ 0.39% Cu and 0.09 ppm Au from 138.80m

48.49m @ 0.42% Cu and 0.11 ppm Au from 220.00m **

23-MT-006

12.99m @ 0.22% Cu and 0.05 ppm Au from 28.00m

23.77m @ 0.24% Cu and 0.06 ppm Au from 50.00m

12.12m @ 0.20% Cu and 0.04 ppm Au from 106.00m

6.97m @ 0.24% Cu and 0.02 ppm Au from 161.20m

29.19m @ 0.32% Cu and 0.07 ppm Au from 183.20m

Including 13.81m @ 0.47% Cu and 0.10 ppm from 200.95m

12.12m @ 0.20% Cu and 0.05 ppm Au from 305.00m

** Final Certified analyses awaited. These preliminary results are from analyses carried out at the Palito Mine Laboratory and are used for quick response in the further planning of the drill programme.

On the section, the overall mineralised package is approximately 600 metres wide and still potentially open to the north.

Figure 2: Drill section with 23-MT-001, 004 & 006 and copper results plotted over the magnetic susceptibility model.

To access Figure 2 please use the following link - https://bit.ly/3OZNxuM

Figure 3: Drill hole locations over magnetic image showing 1200 metres long, northwest orientated demagnetization trend.

To access Figure 3 please use the following link - https://bit.ly/44G04JM

Figure 4: Simplified model of an alkalic porphyry system based on preliminary core logging at Matilda.

To access Figure 4 please use the following link - https://bit.ly/481qTLg

Hole 23-MT-007 was drilled 200 metres south of drill hole 22-MT-001 that was completed in early 2022. Hole 23-MT-07 has extended the low-grade zone intersected in 22-MT-001. The upper part of 23-MT-007 has 39.84 metres of weak mineralisation from 22 metres to 68 metres at 0.20% Cu followed by isolated intervals of high-grade mineralisation including 3.46 metres @ 0.67% Cu from 160 metres, 5.20 metres @ 0.58% Cu from 201 metres (see drill hole intercepts below).

All the current holes test a small part of a northwest-southeast trending magnetic structure which extends over 1,200 metres, (see Figure 3 above) associated with high copper, gold and silver values in soils. To date, only 400 metres of this trend has been tested by the two drill sections.

Holes 23-MT-002 and 23-MT-005 (figure 3) aimed to test a different northeast trending structure approximately 400 metres to the south. These holes returned no significant mineralisation but the mineralogical interpretation at the top of 23-MT-002 indicates similarities with the positive drill holes in the other section. A new drill hole will be programmed to be located 200 metres south of 23-MT-002.

Hole 23-MT-003 was a shallow exploratory drill hole into the central part of the molybdenum anomaly and had no significant intersections. Holes 23-MT-008 and 23-MT-009 are situated on the South Matilda soil anomaly that need a better understanding of their position in the system.

At Matilda the main mineralised zone is interpreted as being at least 1.2 kilometres long by 800 metres wide and is related to magnetite brecciation associated with potassium feldspar with actinolite/apatite/biotite alteration and chalcopyrite. Copper grades vary from 0.2% to 1.8% with grade, thickness and shallow depth to the mineralisation suggesting good potential for the discovery of an economically viable deposit.

The mineralisation occurs as disseminated and veinlet hosted chalcopyrite and lesser pyrite replacing magnetite within locally brecciated magnetite rich zones. The observed alteration is both potassic (red haematite-potassium-feldspar with secondary biotite) and sodic-calcic (carbonate veinlets and epidote) with a vein paragenesis similar to alkalic porphyry copper systems.

Interpretation of the core indicates that mineralisation occurs in sub-vertical corridors, open along strike and at depth. Mineralisation in 23-MT-004 and 23-MT006, starts just below the weathering profile, indicating near-surface potential.

Serabi is continuing its drilling at Matilda and also over other regional exploration tenements and has now completed 8,435 metres of drilling in 2023. The initial first phase programme at Matilda comprised 3,204 metres with the remaining 5,231 metres being drilled on other regional targets including Cinderella, Ganso, Highway and Isla.

The Phase 2 drilling programme at Matilda commenced in August and will comprise a further 3,200 meters of diamond drilling. The programme will evaluate the mineralisation intercepted along strike with 400m deep drill holes and also test new targets based on ongoing geologic, geophysical and geochemical interpretations.

In September a 43 kilometre pole-dipole IP programme will be initiated and is expected to take two months. The programme will focus on mapping zones of increased sulphide content and structures and generate new drill targets. An AMT survey is also programmed on the same lines to identify deep controlling structures. It is expected that these surveys will help prioritise other soil geochemical targets within the Matilda zone.

Figure 5 showing the planned IP programme

To access Figure 5 please use the following link - https://bit.ly/3P7ErvZ

Examples of Alteration and Mineralisation from Matilda drill core.

Alteration

To access images of the alteration please use the following link - https://bit.ly/3Lej6jv

Mineralisation

To access images of the mineralisation please use the following link - https://bit.ly/460KcCx

Multi-element geochemistry data from the 3,204 metres completed, is being processed to aid in the definition of lithologies, alteration and mineralization and better understand the potential of the copper system.

Drillhole Intercepts

HOLE ID EAST

(UTM SAD69) NORTH (UTM SAD69) RL DEPTH (m) DIP/Azm

(/UTM)



Obs From To True Intersect length (m) Copper

Grade

(Cu %)) Gold

Grade

(Au g/t) 23-MT-001 609314 9291988 292 548.80 60 / 180 incl. 30.0 37.0 6.06 0.36 0.07 and 102.0 105.75 3.25 0.44 0.12 and 122.6 133.15 9.14 0.36 0.11 and 187.4 192.15 4.11 0.27 0.09 23-MT-002 609004 9291497 265 359.37 60 / 0 incl. NSI NSI 23 MT-003 608289 9291882 237 149.44 60 / 0 incl. NSI NSI 23-MT-004 609332 9292162 237 398.58 60 / 180 incl. 29.85 114.0 72.88 0.44 0.12 including 29.85 98.0 59.45 0.49 0.13 including 78.0 86.0 6.93 0.95 0.28 and 138.8 145.0 5.37 0.39 0.09 and* 220.0 276.0 48.49 0.42* 0.11* 23-MT-005 609002 9291696 299 404.69 60 / 0 incl. 43.0 54.0 9.53 0.24 0.08 23-MT-006 609332 9292162 261 443.49 60 / 0 incl. 28.0 43.0 12.99 0.22 0.05 and 50.0 77.45 23.77 0.24 0.06 and 106.0 120.0 12.12 0.20 0.04 and 161.2 169.25 6.97 0.24 0.02 and 183.2 216.9 29.19 0.32 0.07 including 200.95 216.9 13.81 0.47 0.10 and 305.0 319 12.12 0.20 0.05 23-MT-007 608978 9292372 283 350.91 60 / 180 incl. 22.0 68.0 39.84 0.20 0.06 and 160.0 164.0 3.46 0.67 0.04 and 201.0 207.0 5.20 0.58 0.07 23-MT-008 608626 9289542 267 298.62 60 / 0 incl. NSI NSI 23-MT-009 608598 9289763 249 150.46 60 / 180 incl. 36.55 46.0 8.18 0.20 0.11 Reported intercepts calculated based on a minimum weighted average grade and lower cut of 0.20% Cu and a maximum internal waste interval of 6.0m based on analysis by ALS Laboratories. *Exception for 23-MT-004 from 218.6m to 353m depth which had only Serabis on-site lab reported analyses with the analysis from ALS still pending. Based on the past analysis of results of this work, the Company's management are satisfied that the Company's own facility shows sufficiently good correlation with independent laboratory facilities for exploration drill samples. The Company would expect that in the preparation of any future independent Reserve/Resource statement undertaken in compliance with a recognised standard, the independent authors of such a statement would, wherever practical, use independent assay results and also verify the correlation with Serabi's internal laboratory analysis. NSI - No Significant Intersection.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

The person who arranged for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was Clive Line, Director.



Enquiries

Serabi Gold Plc

Michael Hodgson t +44 (0)20 7246 6830

Chief Executive m +44 (0)7799 473621

Clive Line t +44 (0)20 7246 6830

Finance Director m +44 (0)7710 151692

e contact@serabigold.com

www.serabigold.com

BEAUMONT CORNISH Limited

Nominated Adviser & Financial Adviser

Roland Cornish / Michael Cornish t +44 (0)20 7628 3396

PEEL HUNT LLP

Joint UK Broker

Ross Allister t +44 (0)20 7418 9000

TAMESIS PARTNERS LLP

Joint UK Broker

Charlie Bendon/ Richard Greenfield t +44 (0)20 3882 2868

CAMARCO

Financial PR

Gordon Poole / Emily Hall t +44 (0)20 3757 4980

Copies of this announcement are available from the Company's website at www.serabigold.com.

See www.serabigold.com for more information and follow us on twitter @Serabi_Gold

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

The following is a glossary of technical terms:

"actinolite" amphibole silicate mineral commonly found in metamorphic rocks, including those surrounding cooled intrusive igneous rocks "Ag" means silver. "alkalic porphyry" A class of copper-porphyry mineral deposits characterised by disseminated mineralisation within and immediately adjacent to silica-saturated to silica-undersaturated alkalic intrusive centres and being copper/gold/molybdenum-rich. "apatite" A mineral consisting of calcium phosphate with some fluorine, chlorine, and other elements "Au" means gold. "assay" in economic geology, means to analyse the proportions of metal in a rock or overburden sample; to test an ore or mineral for composition, purity, weight or other properties of commercial interest. "biotite" A phyllosilicate mineral composed of a silicate of iron, magnesium, potassium, and aluminum found in crystalline rocks and as an alteration mineral. "brecciation" Describes the process where large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks become cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. "CIM" means the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum. "chalcopyrite" is a sulphide of copper and iron. "Cu" means copper. "cut-off grade" the lowest grade of mineralised material that qualifies as ore in a given deposit; rock of the lowest assay included in an ore estimate. "dacite porphyry intrusive" a silica-rich igneous rock with larger phenocrysts (crystals) within a fine-grained matrixi "deposit" is a mineralised body which has been physically delineated by sufficient drilling, trenching, and/or underground work, and found to contain a sufficient average grade of metal or metals to warrant further exploration and/or development expenditures; such a deposit does not qualify as a commercially mineable ore body or as containing ore reserves, until final legal, technical, and economic factors have been resolved. "electromagnetics" is a geophysical technique tool measuring the magnetic field generated by subjecting the sub-surface to electrical currents. "garimpo" is a local artisanal mining operation "garimpeiro" is a local artisanal miner. "geochemical" refers to geological information using measurements derived from chemical analysis. "geophysical" refers to geological information using measurements derived from the use of magnetic and electrical readings. "geophysical techniques" include the exploration of an area by exploiting differences in physical properties of different rock types. Geophysical methods include seismic, magnetic, gravity, induced polarisation and other techniques; geophysical surveys can be undertaken from the ground or from the air. "gossan" is an iron-bearing weathered product that overlies a sulphide deposit. "grade" is the concentration of mineral within the host rock typically quoted as grams per tonne (g/t), parts per million (ppm) or parts per billion (ppb). "g/t" means grams per tonne. "granodiorite" is an igneous intrusive rock similar to granite. "hectare" or a "ha" is a unit of measurement equal to 10,000 square metres. "igneous" is a rock that has solidified from molten material or magma. "IP" refers to induced polarisation, a geophysical technique whereby an electric current is induced into the sub-surface and the conductivity of the sub-surface is recorded. "intrusive" is a body of rock that invades older rocks. "mineralisation" the concentration of metals and their chemical compounds within a body of rock. "mineralised" refers to rock which contains minerals e.g. iron, copper, gold. "Mo-Bi-As-Te-W-Sn" Molybdenum-Bismuth-Arsenic-Tellurium-Tungsten-Tin "magnetite" Magnetic mineral composed of iron oxide found in intrusive rocks and as an alteration mineral. "monzodiorite" Is an intrusive rock formed by slow cooling of underground magma. "monzogranite" a biotite rich granite, often part of the later-stage emplacement of a larger granite body. "mt" means million tonnes. "ore" means a metal or mineral or a combination of these of sufficient value as to quality and quantity to enable it to be mined at a profit. "oxides" are near surface bed-rock which has been weathered and oxidised by long term exposure to the effects of water and air. "paragenesis" Is a term used to describe the sequence on relative phases of origination of igneous and metamorphic rocks and the deposition of ore minerals and rock alteration. "phyllosilicate minerals" are a group of minerals that are fundamentally composed of extended flat sheets of linked silicon-oxygen tetrahedra "ppm" means parts per million. "proterozoic" means the geological eon (period) 2.5 billion years ago to 541 million years ago "saprolite" is a weathered or decomposed clay-rich rock. "sulphide" refers to minerals consisting of a chemical combination of sulphur with a metal. "vein" is a generic term to describe an occurrence of mineralised rock within an area of non-mineralised rock. "VTEM" refers to versa time domain electromagnetic, a particular variant of time-domain electromagnetic geophysical survey to prospect for conductive bodies below surface.

Assay Results

Assay results reported within this release include those provided by the Company's own on-site laboratory facilities at Palito and have not yet been independently verified. Serabi closely monitors the performance of its own facility against results from independent laboratory analysis for quality control purpose. As a matter of normal practice, the Company sends duplicate samples derived from a variety of the Company's activities to accredited laboratory facilities for independent verification. Since mid-2019, over 10,000 exploration drill core samples have been assayed at both the Palito laboratory and certified external laboratory, in most cases the ALS laboratory in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. When comparing significant assays with grades exceeding 1 g/t gold, comparison between Palito versus external results record an average over-estimation by the Palito laboratory of 6.7% over this period. Based on the results of this work, the Company's management are satisfied that the Company's own facility shows sufficiently good correlation with independent laboratory facilities for exploration drill samples. The Company would expect that in the preparation of any future independent Reserve/Resource statement undertaken in compliance with a recognised standard, the independent authors of such a statement would not use Palito assay results without sufficient duplicates from an appropriately certificated laboratory.

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements in this announcement are, or may be deemed to be, forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are identi?ed by their use of terms and phrases such as ''believe'', ''could'', "should" ''envisage'', ''estimate'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'', ''will'' or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof), competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such forward looking statements re?ect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements including risks associated with vulnerability to general economic and business conditions, competition, environmental and other regulatory changes, actions by governmental authorities, the availability of capital markets, reliance on key personnel, uninsured and underinsured losses and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are based upon what the Directors believe to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such forward looking statements.

Qualified Persons Statement

The scientific and technical information contained within this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Michael Hodgson, a Director of the Company. Mr Hodgson is an Economic Geologist by training with over 30 years' experience in the mining industry. He holds a BSc (Hons) Geology, University of London, a MSc Mining Geology, University of Leicester and is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and a Chartered Engineer of the Engineering Council of UK, recognizing him as both a Qualified Person for the purposes of Canadian National Instrument 43-101 and by the AIM Guidance Note on Mining and Oil & Gas Companies dated June 2009.

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange, nor any other securities regulatory authority, has approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release

Attachment
VANCOUVER, Sept. 7, 2023 - Foran Mining Corp. (TSX: FOM) (OTCQX: FMCXF) ("Foran" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has received approval for and entered into a strategic equipment finance arrangement (the "Facility") with Sandvik Financial Services Canada. The Facility is intended to cover the initial battery electric vehicle mining fleet and essential components, such as charging stations and batteries, provided by Sandvik Mining and Construction Canada Inc. and used for development and operation of its 100%-owned McIlvenna Bay Complex (the "Project") in Saskatchewan.

The Facility allows for draws up to C$67 million and will be initiated, at the Company's election, as equipment is delivered to the project site. Repayments on draws will commence immediately over a 60-month period. Interest accrued on draws against the Facility will be indexed to 5-year Canadian overnight index swaps plus a spread of 3.20%. The rate of interest will become fixed for each individual draw, at the time of drawdown.

James Steels, Foran's Chief Financial Officer, commented "We are extremely delighted to secure this noteworthy arrangement with Sandvik, complementing our financing package for McIlvenna Bay at an attractive cost of capital. Foran and its tax advisors have also reviewed the scope of planned purchases to be incurred under this facility, in conjunction with Canadian Federal legislative proposals relating to the Income Tax Act, and believe the purchases are likely to qualify for an up to 30% refundable investment tax credit associated with the proposed Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit. This is yet another positive step in our journey to unlocking McIlvenna Bay's value and advancing our targeted carbon reduction initiatives, all aligned with our primary objective of maximizing risk-adjusted returns for shareholders."

Neither the TSX Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About Foran Mining

Foran Mining is a copper-zinc-gold-silver exploration and development company, committed to supporting a greener future, empowering communities and creating circular economies which create value for all our stakeholders, while also safeguarding the environment. The McIlvenna Bay project is located entirely within the documented traditional territory of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. The Company also owns the Bigstone Project, a resource-development stage deposit located 25km southwest of its McIlvenna Bay project.

McIlvenna Bay is a copper-zinc-gold-silver rich VHMS deposit intended to be the centre of a new mining camp in a prolific district that has already been producing for 100 years. McIlvenna Bay sits just 65km West of Flin Flon, Manitoba and is part of the world class Flin Flon Greenstone Belt that extends from Snow Lake, Manitoba, through Flin Flon to Foran's ground in eastern Saskatchewan, a distance of over 225km.

McIlvenna Bay is the largest undeveloped VHMS deposit in the region. The Company announced the results from its Feasibility Study on February 28, 2022, outlining that current mineral reserves would potentially support an 18-year mine life producing an average of 65 million pounds of copper equivalent annually. The Company filed a NI 43-101 Technical Report for the McIlvenna Bay Feasibility Study on April 14, 2022. The Company filed a NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Bigstone Deposit resource estimate on February 11, 2022. Investors are encouraged to consult the full text of these technical reports which may be found on the Company's profile on www.sedar.com.

The Company's head office is located at 409 Granville Street, Suite 904, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6C 1T2. Common Shares of the Company are listed for trading on the TSX under the symbol "FOM" and on the OTCQX under the symbol "FMCXF".

Forward Looking Statements

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, as defined under applicable securities laws (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements"). These statements relate to future events or to the future performance of Foran Mining Corp. and reflect management's expectations and assumptions as of the date hereof or as of the date of such forward looking statement.

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", "potentially", "intends", "likely", "anticipates" 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. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release or as of the date specified in such statement.

Inherent in forward-looking statements are known and unknown risks, estimates, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors include management's belief or expectations relating to the following and, in certain cases, management's response with regard to the following: The proposed strategic investment by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan; the status and progression of credit facility discussions; unlocking the untapped value of the Company's properties, delivery of superior or any investment returns; scale, scope and location of future exploration and drilling activities; the potential for the Company's land package to be transformational, the focus of the Company's future drill programs, the incorporation of geotechnical and hydrogeological information into the overall project design; The long-term investment horizon of shareholders; The growth of the Company from developer to producer; The certainty of funding; The future of the Company; De-risking McIlvenna Bay; Delivering on the Company's Net Positive Business strategy; Ownership and reliance on the Company's mineral projects; The Company's history of losses and potential inability to generate sufficient revenue to be profitable or to generate positive cash flow on a sustained basis; The Company's statements about the expected life of mine, productive capacity and other technical estimates on its projects, and the Company's reliance on technical experts with respect thereto; The Company's exposure to risks related to mineral resources exploration and development; Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Infectious Diseases and Other Health Crises on the Company; Global financial volatility and its impact on the Company; The impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict; Government, securities, and stock exchange regulation and policy; Legal proceedings which may have a material adverse impact on the Company's operations and financial condition; Capital market conditions and their effect on the securities of the Company; Insurance and uninsurable risks; Environmental, health and safety regulation and policy; Mining hazards and risks; Title rights to the Company's projects; Indigenous peoples' title and other legal claims; Mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates; Uncertainties and risks relating to the Feasibility Studies; Fluctuations in commodity prices, including metals; Competition; Expertise and proficiency of management; Limited operating history; The availability of future financing; Dilutive effects; Impacts of global climate change and natural disasters; Inadequate infrastructure; Relationships with local communities; Reputational damage; Risks arising from the Company's reliance on financial instruments; Risks arising from future acquisitions; Management conflicts of interest; Security breaches of the Company's information systems; and the additional risks identified in our Annual Information Form dated March 23, 2023 and other securities filings with Canadian securities regulators available at www.sedar.com.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended. Readers are cautioned against undue reliance on forward-looking statements and should note that the assumptions and risk factors discussed above do not contain an exhaustive list of the factors or assumptions that may affect the forward-looking statements, and that the assumptions underlying such statements may prove to be incorrect. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the Company's securities filings and this news release. All forward-looking statements herein are qualified by this cautionary statement. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

SOURCE Foran Mining Corp.
VANCOUVER, Sept. 07, 2023 - Thesis Gold Inc. ("Thesis" or the "Company") (TSXV: TAU | WKN: A3EP87 | OTCQX: THSGF) is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into an agreement with Clarus Securities Inc. as lead agent (the "Lead Agent") and sole bookrunner (the "Bookrunner"), on behalf of a syndicate of agents (collectively, the "Agents"), in connection with a marketed best efforts private placement of up to approximately C$13 million (the "Offering").

Ewan Webster, President and CEO, shared, "Our 2023 drilling program is making significant progress towards our 50,000 metre target, with over 25,000 metres completed to date. Following the recent completion of our merger, our primary working capital consisted of hard dollars. This strategic placement now enables us to utilize much less dilutive flow-through funding. These funds are essential for achieving key milestones over the next 12 months, including the completion of our 50,000-meter drilling program, an updated global resource estimate covering both the Ranch and Lawyers Projects, followed by a new Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA)."

The Offering will consist of (i) up to 8,850,000 premium flow-through common shares (the "Premium FT Shares") at a price of C$1.13 per Premium FT Share for gross proceeds of up to C$10,000,500; and (ii) up to 3,225,500 flow-through common shares (the "FT Shares") at a price of $0.93 per FT Share for gross proceeds of up to $2,999,715. All securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a four-month hold period in accordance with the policies of the TSX venture Exchange and applicable securities laws. The Company does not expect that the Offering will result in the creation of any new control person of the Company. The Offering is subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to fund exploration and development expenditures at the Company's Ranch and Lawyers Gold-Silver Projects in British Columbia and for working capital purposes.

The gross proceeds from the sale of Premium FT Shares and FT Shares will be used by the Company to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that will qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures" as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Qualifying Expenditures") related to the Company's projects in Canada. All Qualifying Expenditures will be renounced in favour of the subscribers of the Flow-Through Shares effective December 31, 2024. The net proceeds from the sale of the shares will be used by the Company for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The Offering is scheduled to close on or about September 26, 2023, and is subject to certain conditions. The securities to be issued under this Offering will be offered by way of private placement exemptions in all the provinces of Canada and other jurisdictions as may be agreed between the Company and the Agents.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Thesis Gold Inc.

"Ewan Webster"

Ewan Webster Ph.D., P.Geo.

President, CEO, and Director

About Thesis Gold Inc.

Thesis Gold, following its strategic merger with Benchmark Metals, is unlocking the combined potential of the Ranch and Lawyers Gold-Silver Projects in the Toodoggone mining district of north central British Columbia, Canada. A 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Lawyers project alone projected an open-pit mining operation yielding 163,000 gold equivalent ounces annually over a 12-year span. By integrating the Ranch project, the company aims to enhance these figures and bolster the overall project's potential. Central to this ambition is the 50,000-metre drill program, which aims to define the high-grade underground resource at Lawyers and augment the near-surface high-grade deposits at Ranch. The company's roadmap includes releasing a combined Ranch-Lawyers resource estimate by Q2 2024, with an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment slated for Q3 2024. Through these strategic moves, Thesis Gold aspires to elevate the Ranch-Lawyers project to the forefront of global precious metals ventures.

For further information or investor relations inquiries, please contact:

Dave Burwell

Vice President Corporate Development

Email: daveb@thesisgold.com

Tel: 403-410-7907

Toll Free: 1-888-221-0915

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.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Company's recently completed financings and the future plans or prospects of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market, and economic risks, uncertainties, and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. 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. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management's discussion and analysis, which is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Highlights



Mr. Bein worked for Hudbay Minerals for more than ten years; a company that recently acquired Copper Mountain for $439 million, which is neighbouring to the Company's flagship project, the Princeton Project.

Mr. Bein led exploration for Rock Tech Lithium, which completed extensive drilling and field exploration programs in Ontario, where Collective Metals has two projects: the Landings Lake Lithium Project and the Whitemud Lithium Project.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 07, 2023 -- Collective Metals Inc. (CSE: COMT | OTC: CLLMF | FSE: TO1) (the "Company" or "Collective") is proud to announce the appointment of Mr. Amanuel Bein, P.Geo as a director of the Company (the "Appointment"). Mr. Bein will help lead the Company's exploration programs for its flagship Property, the Princeton Project, as well its Landings Lake Lithium Project and Whitemud Lithium Project.



"I am excited to join a strong team at Collective Metals and to help the Company achieve its goals through different exploration programs," said Amanuel Bain. "I believe the Princeton Project has significant potential and I will leverage my experience in the area to ensure the Company is remaining efficient and effective in its work."

Mr. Bein has 17 years of experience in the exploration and mining industry where he has gained world-class knowledge and expertise in several mineral deposit types that include LCT pegmatite, VMS, SEDEX, porphyry-skarn, and orogenic-gold. He began his career as a field geologist while working for several junior mineral exploration companies in the Arabian Nubian Shield between 2005 and 2008. Mr. Bein worked in the Bathurst Mining Camp between 2008 and 2010 while completing his graduate studies at University of New Brunswick.

Mr. Bein worked for Hudbay Minerals for more than ten years and was able to experience the full mining cycle, including the discovery of the 1901 deposit and closure of the Reed mine. At Hudbay Minerals, Mr. Bein led several regional and near-mine exploration programs in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Arizona. Mr. Bein also recently led an exploration team for Rock Tech Lithium that executed extensive exploration drilling and field exploration programs that enabled growth of mineral resources and discovery of several spodumene pegmatite prospects at Rock Tech's Georgia Lake project.

"The addition of Amanuel is a significant development for the Company and further strengthens our management team," said CEO of Collective Metals, Chris Huggins. "Through his prior experience, Amanuel will bring immeasurable value to our exploration work with the Princeton Project, Landings Lake Project and Whitemud Project. His previous work with Hudbay Minerals, which recently acquired Copper Mountain, a neighbour to our flagship property, the Princeton Project, will provide us with key insights and details as we prepare the next phases of our exploration programs."

About Collective Metals:

Collective Metals Inc. (CSE: COMT | OTC: CLLMF | FSE: TO1) is a resource exploration company specializing in precious metals exploration in North America. The Company's flagship property is the Princeton Project, located in south-central British Columbia, Canada, approximately 10 km west of the currently producing Copper Mountain Mine. The Princeton Project consists of 29 mineral tenures totaling approximately 28,560 ha (70,570 acres) in a well-documented and prolific copper-gold porphyry belt and is easily accessible by road, located immediately west of Highway 3.

The Company's Landings Lake Lithium Project is located in northwestern Ontario where numerous lithium deposits have been delineated to host significant reserves of Li 2 O. The Landings Lake Lithium Project is located 53 km east of Ear Falls, Ontario and covers 3,146 hectares. The Whitemud Project, with several identified pegmatite outcrops, neighbours the Landings Lake Project and consists of 381 single cell mining claims totaling 7,775 hectares.

Social Media



ON BEHALF OF Collective Metals Inc.

Christopher Huggins

Chief Executive Officer

T: 604-968-4844

E: chris@collectivemetalsinc.com

Forward Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, including with respect to future plans, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions, the ability to manage operating expenses, and dependence on key personnel. Forward looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements respecting: expected benefits of the Appointment. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, the continued availability of capital and financing, litigation, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
DENVER, September 7, 2023 - Solitario Resources Corp. ("Solitario") (NYSE American:XPL)(TSX:SLR), a gold and zinc exploration company with projects in North and South America, is pleased to report CEO Chris Herald will provide a live presentation at the 25th Annual Global HC Wainwright conference on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 2:30pm Eastern Time. For more information on the conference, please click HC Wainwright.

About Solitario

Solitario is a natural resource exploration company focused on high-quality Tier-1 gold and zinc projects. The Company is traded on the NYSE American ("XPL") and on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("SLR"). In addition to its South Dakota property holdings, Solitario holds a 50% joint venture interest (Teck Resources 50%) in the high-grade Lik zinc deposit in Alaska and a 39% joint venture interest (Nexa Resources holds the remaining 61% interest) on the high-grade Florida Canyon zinc project in Peru. Solitario is carried to production through its joint venture arrangement with Nexa. Solitario's Management and Directors hold approximately 8.7% (excluding options) of the Company's 69 million shares outstanding. Solitario's cash balance and marketable securities stand at approximately US$6.0 million. Additional information about Solitario is available online at www.solitarioresources.com.

Solitario has a long history of committed Environmental, Social and Responsible Governance ("ESG") of its business. We realize ESG issues are also important to investors, employees, and all stakeholders, including communities in which we work. We are pledged to operate our business in a manner that supports environmental and social initiatives and responsible corporate governance. Importantly, we select joint venture partners that not only value the importance of ESG issues in the conduct of their business on our joint venture projects but are leaders in the industry in this important segment of our business.

For More Information Please Contact:

Christopher E. Herald

President & CEO

(303) 534-1030, Ext. 14 Anne Hite

Investor Relations

(303) 519-5149

SOURCE: Solitario Zinc Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/781478/solitario-ceo-to-present-at-hc-wainwright-25th-annual-investment-conference
Edmonton, September 7, 2023 - Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSXV: GZD) (FSE: G6H) (OTCQB: GZDIF) ("Grizzly" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that after the Okanogan fire danger has subsided that geological crews are back at the Rock Creek camp and have re-commenced work at Midway, Copper Mountain and the Imperial target areas within the Greenwood Precious and Battery Metals Project. The Company is also pleased to announce that a large block of lands held in perpetuity for more than 30+ years by a competitor in the core of the Greenwood Project area surrounding and adjacent to the Phoenix Mine lapsed on July 31, 2023. Grizzly was able to acquire by staking close to 90 percent of the land that came open for a total of 6,478 acres highlighted in blue east of Greenwood in Figure 1.

Figure 1: New Mineral Claims Acquired August 1, 2023.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4488/179894_5ab2f8bed4807825_002full.jpg

Geological and prospecting crews have re-commenced prospecting, geological mapping, rock and soil sampling within the Greenwood Project area and will do an initial pass at the new mineral claim area, but will be focused on the Midway, Imperial, Copper Mountain and Sappho areas as we await drilling permits from the BC Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources. The intent is to prepare these target areas for drilling this fall. The Company is awaiting land use permits for conducting drilling and trenching at the Midway Mine area as well as drilling at Copper Mountain, Imperial and potentially the Sappho target areas (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Exploration Targets 2023.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4488/179894_5ab2f8bed4807825_003full.jpg

A number of existing showings and parts or extensions to known showings have been acquired with the staking of new mineral claims including but not limited to Marshall Lake, Sylvester K, the Great Laxey, Eholt and lands adjacent to and surrounding the historical Phoenix Mine.

The geological and prospecting crew has made several discoveries of sulphide, quartz vein zones and skarn on the new claims (Figure 3). Sulphide showings associated with skarn at Marshall Lake (Figure 1) are hosted in Triassic Brooklyn Formation sedimentary rocks including limestone that has been intruded by diorite. The showings have been trenched and bulk sampled in the past (1960's to 1970's) yielding significant copper, silver and gold. Little to no modern exploration has been performed at the Marshall Lake target as well as a number of other showings in the Brooklyn sequence such as the Great Laxey.

To date, more than 1,500 soil samples and 300 rock samples have been collected from the Midway, Copper Mountain, Imperial and Sappho target areas and have been submitted to ALS Global Laboratories (ALS) as well as an initial set of samples from the new mineral claims. Ground geophysical surveys will be performed where needed in September in order to be ready for the 2023 drilling campaign.

The goal is to have a pipeline of high priority precious metal and battery metal targets that are all permitted and ready for a long 2023 and 2024 drilling campaign in order to prioritize these assets into those that can deliver future mineral resources with additional drilling, eventually leading to some form of economic studies and scenarios that might be able to take advantage of local toll treating opportunities that exist in the Greenwood - Republic region.

Brian Testo, President and CEO of Grizzly Discoveries, stated, "The staking of this large land block marks a very important milestone for Grizzly. We have coveted these lands for many years and this block of claims checks all of the boxes for us. Grizzly has been very selective when it comes to staking new ground and are excited to add this to our already outstanding land package in the prolific Greenwood mining district. These claims fit perfectly with Grizzly's existing land package and offer a significant number of top-tier undeveloped drill targets."

Figure 3. Oxidized dump material at Marshall Lake (Left) and sulphide mineralization associated with skarn at the Great Laxey showing (Right).





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4488/179894_figure3.png

2023 Exploration Update for Greenwood

Additional drilling is warranted in 2023 at both the Dayton and Motherlode North target areas in order to follow-up the anomalous results of the 2022 drilling program. In addition, there other targets at Motherlode North in the vicinity of the Motherlode Pit, the Greyhound Pit and the Great Hopes crown grant that have yet be drill tested.

Drilling and trenching permit applications have been submitted for the 2023 season for the Midway, Sappho, Copper Mountain and Imperial target areas.

Additional permit applications for drilling at the Crown Point and the Overlander-Mt Attwood areas are in preparation and will be submitted in the near future.

The Midway area is being targeted for copper-gold skarn and epithermal gold-silver.

At Midway, selective rock grab and composite rock grab samples from outcrop collected from the Midway Mine-Picturestone area, with 4 of 7 rock grab samples from outcropping mineralization in the Midway Mine historical pit yielded a range of 12.05 g/t (or 0.351 ounces per ton [oz/t]) Au up to 70.8 g/t (2.065 oz/t) Au (See Company news release dated October17, 2022).

Three (3) of the 7 selective rock grab samples from the Midway Mine pits yielded from 1,360 g/t Ag (39.7 oz/t Ag) up to 2,140 g/T Ag (62.4 oz/t Ag) (see the Company news release dated October 17, 2022).

All highly anomalous samples are from outcrop and characterized by the presence of abundant pyrite, arsenopyrite with visible galena and sphalerite in a siliceous chalcedonic host. The mineralization is hosted in polymetallic veins that display the presence of Pb, Zn, Cu, arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) and are likely epithermal in nature.

A selective rock grab sample from outcrop 200 m west of the main Midway Mine yielded 15.85 g/t Au (0.462 oz/t Au) and 1,530 g/T Ag (44.6 oz/t Ag), illustrating that there is potential for additional high-grade mineralization in the area.

The Sappho area is being targeted for copper-gold-PGEs skarn and porphyry type targets associated with an alkalic intrusion and several diorite intrusions south of Greenwood near the US border.

At least five new showings of copper oxide/sulphide mineralization were found during the 2022 program at the Sappho Target.

Previous surface sampling and drilling by Grizzly at the Sappho area has yielded significant anomalous copper, gold, silver along with platinum and palladium.

Numerous rock grab samples have yielded greater than 1% copper, 1 g/t gold, 1 g/t platinum and 1 g/t palladium. The sampling work in 2022 yielded 17 rock grab samples with >1% Cu up to 9.06% Cu. (see Company news release dated November 3, 2022).

Historical drilling (by the Company) has yielded up to 0.31% Cu, 0.75 g/t Au, 0.34 g/t Pt, 0.39 g/t Pd and 6.57 g/t Ag over 6.5 m core length in skarn at Sappho in 2010.

Quality Assurance and Control

Rock and soil samples were analyzed at ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division) in Vancouver, Canada (an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited facility). Gold was assayed using a fire assay with atomic emission spectrometry and gravimetric finish when required (+10 g/t Au). Rock grab and rock chip samples from outcrop/bedrock are selective by nature and may not be representative of the mineralization hosted on the project.

The sampling program was undertaken by Company personnel under the direction of Michael B. Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo. A secure chain of custody is maintained in transporting and storing of all samples.

The technical content of this news release and the Company's technical disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Michael B. Dufresne, M. Sc., P. Geol., P.Geo., who is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

ABOUT GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC.

Grizzly is a diversified Canadian mineral exploration company with its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange focused on developing its approximately 66,000 ha (approximately 165,000 acres) of precious and base metals properties in southeastern British Columbia. Grizzly is run by a highly experienced junior resource sector management team, who have a track record of advancing exploration projects from early exploration stage through to feasibility stage.

On behalf of the Board,

Grizzly Discoveries Inc.

Brian Testo, CEO, President



Suite 363-9768 170 Street NW

Edmonton, Alberta T5T 5L4

For further information, please visit our website at www.grizzlydiscoveries.com or contact:

Nancy Massicotte

Corporate Development

Tel: 604-507-3377

Email: nancy@grizzlydiscoveries.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.

Caution concerning forward-looking information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. This information and statements address future activities, events, plans, developments and projections. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information and statements are frequently identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and similar terminology, and reflect assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management of Grizzly in light of its experience, current conditions, expectations of future developments and other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking information and statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Grizzly's actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information and statements and accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed thereon.

Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary include but are not limited to the availability of financing; fluctuations in commodity prices; changes to and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including environmental laws and obtaining requisite permits; political, economic and other risks; as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in our annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis and in other filings made by us with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. Grizzly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements except as may be required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179894
/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/

VANCOUVER, Sept. 7, 2023 - Quimbaya Gold Inc. (CSE: QIM) ("Quimbaya" or the "Company") is pleased to announce securing an additional claim for gold and silver mining property covering 694 hectares, adding to the Company's existing assets. The claim area is as follows: 508312 (694 Ha), which is located in the municipality of Segovia, northeast of Medellin, the regional capital of the Department of Antioquia, Colombia. A map visualization of the claim can be found below.

Mr. Alexandre P. Boivin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company stated: "I'm pleased to announce that we are expanding our territory adjacent to Colombia's largest high-grade gold producer, Aris Mining (Segovia), which produces over 200,000 ounces annually. Our project directly borders theirs to the northeast, following a good potential geological structure."

This additional mining property is sitting at approximately 2 km (straight length) of the easternmost area of the Segovia Project owned by Aris Mining Company, where the Sandra K, Cogotes and Vera mines are currently in operation (SRK, 2022). The new claim overlies Segovia Batholith rocks, cut by a structural assemblage comprised of Vera and Matuna faults which seems to be involved in the presence of several gold-silver occurrences in NE and NS directions along the claim.

Francois Goulet, M.Sc., P.Geo, a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards for Disclosure of Mineral Projects, has reviewed the news release and assumes responsibility for scientific and technical disclosure contained herein.

About Quimbaya

Quimbaya aims to consolidate gold reserves through exploration and acquisition of mining properties in Antioquia, Colombia. Managed by an experienced team in the mining sector, Quimbaya is focused on 3 projects in the regions of Segovia (the Tahami project), Puerto Berrio (the Berrio Project), and Abejorral (the Maitamac Project), all located in the Antioquia Province, Colombia.

Cautionary Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" as that term is defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking information. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information in relation to securing of additional claims and the prospectivity of those claims for gold, silver or other metals. 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 information by its nature is based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Quimbaya to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Although Quimbaya's management believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information. Readers are 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 Quimbaya as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Except as required by law, Quimbaya does not expect to update forward-looking statements and information continually as conditions change.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Quimbaya Gold Inc.
VANCOUVER, Sept. 7, 2023 - Getchell Gold Corp. (CSE: GTCH) (OTCQB: GGLDF) ("Getchell" or the "Company") announces that the Company has extended the expiry date of 1,398,750 common share purchase warrants (the "Warrants") that were issued pursuant to a non-brokered private placement of units of the Company that closed on September 28, 2020.

The Company has extended the expiry date of the Warrants from September 28, 2023 to September 28, 2024. All other terms and conditions of the Warrants remain unchanged. None of these Warrants have been exercised to date. Warrant holders are advised that replacement warrant certificates will not be issued and that the original warrant certificate must be presented to the Company in order to effect the exercise of the Warrants.

None of the warrant holders are related parties to the Company. In accordance with the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange, no compensation warrants issued in connection with the prior financing are being extended.

About Getchell Gold Corp.

The Company is a Nevada focused gold and copper exploration company trading on the CSE: GTCH and OTCQB: GGLDF. Getchell Gold is primarily directing its efforts on its most advanced stage asset, Fondaway Canyon, a past gold producer with a significant in-the-ground historic resource estimate. Complementing Getchell's asset portfolio is Dixie Comstock, a past gold producer with a historic resource and two earlier stage exploration projects, Star (Cu-Au-Ag) and Hot Springs Peak (Au). Getchell has the option to acquire 100% of the Fondaway Canyon and Dixie Comstock properties, Churchill County, Nevada.

Mr. William Wagener, Chairman & CEO

Getchell Gold Corp.

1-647-249-4798

info@getchellgold.com

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the extension of the Warrants. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although management of Getchell have 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. The Company 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 Getchell Gold Corp.
Lawson on course for full-time F1 seat says Marko

Liam Lawson is setting himself up for a full-time seat in Formula 1, according to Red Bull's Dr Helmut Marko.

Liam Lawson, Italian GP 2023

 Red Bull

The 80-year-old Austrian told Servus TV this week that the Alpha Tauri driver Lawson has replaced for now - Daniel Ricciardo - will be out for at least two more races.

Unfortunately, it's a fairly complicated fracture, Marko said.

"The assumption is six weeks, and we don't want to take any risks with that. Luckily we have found a great replacement in Liam Lawson.

I expect him (Ricciardo) to be able to race again in Qatar at the earliest. Singapore and Suzuka are especially two races that are the most difficult for the hand.

Before his crash and injury at Zandvoort, Ricciardo looked all set for a certain Alpha Tauri seat for 2024 - and perhaps then a Red Bull Racing seat to replace Sergio Perez.

21-year-old Lawson, however, has thrown a spanner in the works.

Lawson has been with us for some time, Marko said, "and he is a true New Zealander, just like Denny Hulme and Bruce McLaren. He takes a tough but smart stance in battles.

"He really is a man for the future. He could have won points (at Monza) if his strategy had been good at Alpha Tauri. We unfortunately have to note that.

He certainly had the speed, and he is really is someone for the future, Marko repeated.

He is now second in the Super Formula in Japan - a very tough class. Those cars are faster than in Formula 2, but because it is in Japan, there is not much attention of it here. Maybe he can still win there.

Franz Tost said at Monza that Yuki Tsunoda looks set for another year at Alpha Tauri next year.

Whether he will be in a car (full-time) or be a reserve driver? Marko wondered out loud. "As we have already seen, things can move quickly, and we only have four seats.
Ecobank Ghana engages employees on volunteerism

Business Desk Report Business News Sep - 07 - 2023 , 05:12

EMPLOYEES of Ecobank Ghana last Saturday made donations of various kinds to selected institutions across five towns and villages.

The programme, which took place simultaneously at all centres saw employees of the bank make presentations under the banks maiden Employee Volunteerism Initiative.

Donations for the maiden programme included the provision of water tanks, pumps and detergents, to the Weija Leprosarium, settlement of medical bills for expectant mothers, new mothers, and needy children at the Church of Pentecost Hospital in Madina and Suntreso Hospital in Kumasi, and the donation of a visitors shed, medical supplies, furniture, toiletries, detergents, a sewing machine and food to female inmates of the Sekondi Prisons, including the payment of one-year medical bills for three critically ill inmates of the prisons.

The donations also included a presentation of food items, stationery, used clothing and shoes, Malaria and Typhoid Test Kits, toiletries and detergents to the Potters Village orphanage at Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region. The total amount spent on these activities summed up to GH280,000.

Under this initiative, Ecobank employees will make cash and kind contributions annually, aimed at making donations to identifiable institutions in deprived communities around the country.

For its part, the bank will also supplement such contributions, as part of its broader corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities for the year.

Pillars

The banks original CSR policy mandates it to engage in activities around the four key pillars of education, health, financial inclusion and environmental sustainability.

Ecobank has, therefore, been engaging in philanthropic causes to requite the love and kindness of society, as part of its commitment to providing value to all stakeholders within its catchment areas.

Speaking to the media at Dodowa, the Acting Managing Director of the bank, Joana Mensah, indicated that Ecobank remains committed to actively participating in the development and well-being of the communities we operate in. Our Employee Volunteerism Initiative for 2023, which from today will form part of our CSR programmes, is a significant step forward in this journey, and we look forward to making an even greater impact in the years to come.

Testament

For his part, Nixon Amoah-Awuah, Regional Head of Human Resource for Ecobank Ghana and Anglophone West Africa Cluster said: These contributions by our employees are a testament to Ecobank's commitment to creating positive change in the communities we serve.

We, the employees of Ecobank, firmly believe that we are not just the backbone of our organisation but also a driving force behind the betterment of society. Through the Employee Volunteerism Initiative, we aim to foster a culture of giving, empathy and social responsibility within our workforce, he said.

At the Weija Leprosarium, the Founder and Chairman of Lepers Aid Committee  Rev. Fr Andrew Campbell, expressed gratitude and commended the employees of Ecobank for their selflessness, saying; I am happy to see so many here from Ecobank. They could have gone for weddings, engagements, funerals but they came here on a Saturday morning amidst the rain. We are always in need here and I am always begging for help because our needs are many, he said.
Policy expert advocates insurance fund for farmers

Elizabeth Nyaadu Adu Business News Sep - 07 - 2023 , 07:22

A policy Officer at AGRA, Dr Dorothy Effa, is calling for the establishment of an agricultural insurance fund to provide insurance cover for the countrys farmers.

At a time when farmers are still struggling to find the needed support to scale up their production, such a fund, she believes, would help them access loans from banks to boost their operations.

She pointed to study reports which indicated that financial institutions only devoted six per cent of their total loan portfolio to agriculture, citing financial risks associated with crop failures due to natural disasters, pests, diseases or adverse weather conditions as part of the reason for their action.

Much as she did not indicate how money for the fund would be raised, Dr Effa was optimistic that when insured, farmers could receive compensation for their losses, allow them to recover and continue their farming activities without suffering severe financial setbacks in the case of any eventuality.

It would also position them to pay back loans taken.

Agric sector at a glance

Reports over the years have pointed to the fact that agriculture remains an important but declining sector of the Ghanaian economy.

For instance a 2019 estimate by the World Bank put its contribution to the labour force at 30 per cent, down from 51 per cent in 2009.

Its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) is similarly declining.

An Oxford Business Group report which examined the sector in 2020 said that over the last decade, the sectors contribution to national growth more than halved.

In 2009, it amounted to 32 per cent of nominal GDP but went down to 15 per cent as of the second quarter of 2019.

The sector has great potential for growth, given Ghanas growing population for domestic consumption and the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area for exports, experts say, but limited access to finance to buy modern equipment, chemicals and seedlings have all held back sector growth.

Investment opportunity

In an interview with the media on the sidelines of a press soiree in Accra, Dr Effa said the availability of agricultural insurance would not only attract investors but enable farmers to become less vulnerable to the uncertainties of weather and other uncontrollable factors and help increase productivity.

The event was to brief the media on AGRAs upcoming Africa Food Systems Forum, as well as discuss its new strategy aimed at transforming Ghanas food systems through agro-processing.

It is very critical, if we want to improve our agriculture in the country, because without an agricultural insurance fund farmers are finding it difficult to get loans from financial institutions because of the high risks in agriculture such as fire outbreak, flood and pest infestation.

Farmers can lose everything which would make it difficult for them to pay back their loans.

That is why some banks are not interested in giving loans to farmers.

But if they are given an assurance that there is insurance no matter the risks involved, banks give out loans because they will be able to get their money back, she said.

She further said the National Insurance Act was amended in 2021 to include agriculture insurance, because that was not captured in it.

According to her, insurance agencies were not interested because there was no law backing them.

That is why AGRA worked with the Ghana Insurance Commission to amend the Act and include Agricultural insurance and in the act, they specified clearly that there should be an establishment of an agriculture insurance fund because agriculture insurance is very expensive, she said.

Therefore, there is an urgent need for a fund that can subsidise and provide insurance for farmers, she added.



Africa Food System

The Country Manager of AGRA Ghana, Juliette LampohAgroh, said over the years, AGRA has been working with the government to support an inclusive transformation of agriculture where there is an increase in human capacity and productivity in the country.

She said the Africa Food Systems Forum happening in Tanzania between September 5 and 8 on the theme; Recover, Regenerate, Act: Africas Solutions to Food Systems Transformation, will provide an opportunity to take forward the momentum that AGRA is building in the food system transformation conversation.

We want to be able to see that that momentum is kept. I expect the commitments that have been made for Ghanas food system transformation to be moving to more action.

In Ghana we have already developed a food systems investment plan and I am looking for investors to come into that programme and making a commitment towards them to support our agenda to transform our agriculture food systems, she said.
Lets make our roads safe

Daily Graphic Editorials Sep - 07 - 2023 , 08:54

The issue of road crashes and the resultant loss of lives is a great concern to Ghanaians, especially when one looks at the statistics.

It is a fact that human lives lost through these crashes have serious implications for the country.

Among them are economic and human resource losses and a negative impact on families who may have lost their respective breadwinners, just to mention a few.

The Daily Graphic of Monday, August 28, 2023, carried a story about the loss of 99 lives through road crashes in the Central Region alone in the first half of the year.

The crashes injured 1,121 people and involved 943 vehicles, of which 396 are commercial, 352 private and 195 motorcycles.

The Central Regional Director of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Linda Afotey Annan, disclosed this at the Central Regional Coordination Council meeting last month.

It is safe to conclude that Central Region Road accident figures mirror the national road accident figures.

Estimates are that about 10,000 fatal traffic accidents occur annually in the country, in which 1,600 people die and 15,000 are seriously injured.

The poor nature of the countrys roads, the carelessness of drivers and faulty vehicles are three of the leading causes of road accidents in Ghana.

The NRSA is authorised with policy implementation in road safety.

We commend them for their efforts.

However, the Daily Graphic notes with concern that despite their efforts, and those of their partners, road accidents seem to be increasing, judging by road crash figures from the Central Region.

Some are of the view that the figures of road crashes must ignite the passion of political, religious and social leaders to the extent that they become a campaign until our roads become safe and accident-free.

Others believe that road crashes must be given prominence similar to the one given the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was detected in the country initially.

Thus road traffic must be of such importance, meriting monthly presidential broadcasts that would focus on efforts by duty bearers, successes and challenges.

Before getting there, the Daily Graphic believes that the NRSA has what it takes to accomplish for Ghana roads to be safe.

Collaboration is key in efforts to ensure safe roads in the country.

Thus, the NRSA must collaborate with the Ministry of Information to get its sensitisation across the length and breadth of the country.

The media are also a key partner in the prevention of accidents, and the NRSA must engage them.

Also important is the messaging.

It is disheartening that currently, the site of the NRSA seems to be down.

In the past, the authority had an interactive website that published the number of accidents occurring nationwide, including fatalities, injuries and vehicles involved.

But the site is down.

Ensuring safe roads is all about having the relevant knowledge, and we cannot know without the appropriate information in documents or on websites.

The Daily Graphic urges the NRSA to, as a matter of urgency, ensure its website is up.

We also urge the government to ensure that the Authority gets the needed resources for its work to ensure safe roads, as that endeavour cannot be postponed.

Indeed, safe roads must be the target of all, as roads are used by all; and that can be possible only through a well-resourced NRSA.

The Daily Graphic is convinced that road traffic injuries and deaths can be prevented.

There is the need to take concrete steps to address road safety issues in a holistic manner.

This, therefore, requires a more elaborate plan that will involve multiple sectors such as transport, health, education, and the police, as well as actions that address the safety of roads, vehicles and road users.

Effective interventions should, therefore, include designing safer infrastructure and incorporating road safety features into land use and transport planning, improving the safety features of vehicles, enhancing post-crash care for victims of road traffic crashes, setting and enforcing laws relating to key risks and raising public awareness.

Care must also be taken not to blame the carnage on our roads on superstitious beliefs or an act of God when clearly, these accidents are avoidable.

While reducing the carnage internally, we will at the end of the day be achieving and contributing to the United Nations General Assemblys target of halving the global number of deaths and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2030.
The Iraqi YouTube star killed by her father

BBC Showbiz News Sep - 07 - 2023 , 22:19

Young, vibrant and bubbly, YouTuber Tiba al-Ali became a hit with her fun-loving videos about her life.

She started her channel after moving from her native Iraq to Turkey at the age of 17 in 2017, talking about her independence, her fiance, make-up and other things. Tiba appeared happy and attracted tens of thousands of subscribers.

This January she went back to Iraq to visit her family - and was murdered by her father. However, the killing was not considered to have been "pre-meditated" and her father was sentenced to only six months in prison.

Tiba's death sparked protests across Iraq about its laws regarding so-called "honour killings", the case highlighting how women are treated in a country where conservative attitudes remain dominant.

'Strangled in her sleep'

Tiba built an online following of more than 20,000 subscribers - a figure which has swelled since her death.

She posted videos daily and enjoyed the new lifestyle Turkey had opened up for her.

In her first video in November 2021, Tiba said she moved to improve her education, but chose to stay because she enjoyed life there.

According to reports, her father, Tayyip Ali, did not agree with her decision to move there - nor to marry her Syrian-born fiance, with whom she lived in Istanbul.

It is believed Tiba became involved in a family dispute when she returned to Iraq to visit her home in Diwaniya in January.

Reports say Tayyip Ali strangled her to death in her sleep on 31 January. He later turned himself in to the police.

A member of the local government where Tiba was killed said her father was sentenced in April to the short prison term.

In the wake of Tiba's murder, hundreds of women took to the streets in Iraq to protest against legislation around "honour killings".

The Iraqi Penal Code permits "honour" as a mitigation for crimes of violence committed against family members, according to Home Office analysis.

The Code allows for lenient punishments for "honour killings" on the grounds of provocation or if the accused had "honourable motives".

Iraq's interior ministry spokesman, Gen Saad Maan, told the BBC: "An accident happened to Tiba al-Ali. In the perspective of law, it is a criminal accident, and in other perspectives, it is an accident of honour killings."

Gen Maan said Tiba and her father had a heated argument during her stay in Iraq.

He also explained that the day before her murder, police had attempted to intervene.

When asked about the response of authorities to the killing, Gen Maan said: "Security forces dealt with the case with the highest standards of professionalism and applied the law.

"They started a preliminary and judicial investigation, gathered all the evidence and referred the file to the judiciary to pass a sentence."

'Rooted in misogyny'

Tiba's killing, and the lenient sentence handed to her father, sparked outrage among Iraqi women and women's rights activists across the world about the lack of protection from domestic violence for women and girls under Iraqi law.

For instance, in Article 41 of Iraq's penal code the "punishment of a wife by her husband" and "the disciplining by parents... of children under their authority within certain limits" are considered legal rights.

Article 409 meanwhile states: "Any person who surprises his wife in the act of adultery or finds his girlfriend in bed with her lover and kills them immediately or one of them, or assaults one of them so that he or she dies or is left permanently disabled, is punishable by a period of detention not exceeding three years."

Female rights activist, Dr Leyla Hussein told the BBC: "These killings are often rooted in misogyny and a desire to control women's bodies and behaviour.

"Using the term "honour killing" can be harmful to the victims and their families," she said. "It reinforces the idea that they are somehow responsible for their own deaths, that they brought it upon themselves by doing something wrong or shameful."

The UN has estimated that 5,000 women and girls across the world are murdered by family members each year in "honour killings".
Tripcy eyes Uncovered Artiste at GMA UK

Edith Mensah Showbiz News Sep - 07 - 2023 , 14:37

BUDDING musician, Tripcy is eyeing the Uncovered Artiste title at the upcoming Ghana Music Awards (GMA) UK.

With a growing fan base and a number of songs to his credit, Tripcy believes he stands tall in the category and believes he can grab the title.

In a chat with Graphic Showbiz, Tripcy, born Prince Selorm Gayome expressed excitement about the nomination.

It's an incredible honour to be nominated for this award. It's a testament to the hard work my team and I have put into creating music that resonates with people.

I am deeply grateful for the support of my fans, and I look forward to continue to share my music with the world," he stated.

He was equally hopeful that winning the award will provide him with the right exposure not only in the Ghanaian music industry but also build his popularity beyond the country.

With an artful blend of English, Twi, Ga, Ewe, and Pidgin, he seamlessly merges his Ghanaian heritage with the infectious rhythms of Afrobeats.

Tripcy made his notable entrance into the industry with Dangote, which didnt only showcase his lyrical prowess but also featured the iconic Dancehall act, Shatta Wale.

It was a bold announcement of his presence on the music scene and Tripcy has been working hard to cement the attention.

Tripcy's exploits continued with a series of remarkable collaborations, most notably Only One, where he teamed up with Camidoh.

Also, a significant milestone in his career was the release of his debut EP, Hasty which he collaborated with his colleague and longtime friend, Mega EJ.

Tripcy's journey soared to new heights with the release of his single, Freeway RMX which featured South Africa's Lady Du and Nigeria's Davido.

The song captured the hearts of music enthusiasts and received good reviews from the likes of Stonebwoy and King Promise.
Innovative solutions, investments critical in achieving UHC in Africa  Dr. Choonara

Zadok Kwame Gyesi Features Sep - 07 - 2023 , 11:03

A South African based public health practitioner and activist, Dr. Shakira Choonara, has called on African governments to make it a priority in investing more resources rightly in the health sector so as to enable the continent to achieve universal health coverage (UHC).

She was of the view that achieving UHC was not beyond the reach of African governments and that when the right investments and prioritisations are made, the region would be able to make a headway in that regard.

She particularly implored African governments to focus more on disease prevention and health promotion as some of the measures needed to achieve UHC and Sustainable Development Goal-3, which is about prevention of diseases and promotion of good health.

Dr. Choonara in an interview with Graphic Online said African nations could properly regulate some of the factors that cause sicknesses in the region, including tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks as well as the entire sugary industry.

She said it has become necessary to enhance the quality of care in the African region, saying When the quality of care is low, that means we are not making progress.

She added also that there was the need to bring down out-of-pocket expenses in the healthcare sector, noting that as a result of the inability of the governments in the region to provide the needed services in the public sector, many people are going into debts, trying to meet the cost of healthcare at the private facilities.

Dr. Choonara stressed that availability and accessibility of quality healthcare delivery was prerequisite for sustainable development in any developed society and that Africa cannot develop without thisUHC.

What is UHC?

UHC means that everyone has access to the healthcare services that they need without the risk of financial hardship when paying for them.

More importantly, UHC aims to provide health care and financial protection to all people in a given country with three related objectivesequity in access; quality of health services, and financial-risk protection.

In 2015, member states of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its accompanying Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the third goal of the agenda focusing on health  good health and well-being. This has the attainment of UHC as its umbrella target.

Health budgeting

Dr. Choonara holds the conviction that UHC is achievable if things are done right, pointing out that health budgeting distribution should be properly done such that public health facilities would get the needed resources to be able to operate at the optimal levels.

She expressed the concern that even though many African governments were investing in their health sectors, a chunk of such investments go to the private sector which many people could not access their services due to the high cost.

Citing South Africa, for instance, Dr Choonara, who is also currently a Technical Specialist at the World Health Organisation Headquarters, supporting the Department of Health Workforce and Sexual and Reproductive Health, indicated that South Africa has 80 per cent of its health budget going to the private sector and leaving only 20 per cent for the public sector.

That, she described the distribution of health budget, as inaccurate distribution of resources.

She, however, expressed the concern that when resources are put in the care of state actors, they are not efficiently utilised as compared to the private sector.

Dr. Choonara further urged policy makers, implementers and duty bearers in the region to factor the subject of UHC in their thinking, stressing that when leaders prioritise something, they make the necessary efforts to get it done.

Domestic resources

She also pointed out that achieving UHC would require significant financial commitment and for the African region to do that, it needed to wean itself from donor support systems and start domestic mobilisation of resources.

She explained that even though donor funding had contributed greatly towards improving the regions health, such monies come with conditions, making it difficult for the region to channel the monies to where they are needed most.

For as long as we are dependent on foreign aid, that means they set the priorities, Dr. Choonara, who is a UHC specialist stated.

Citing HIV, for instance, she said many African nations have enough resources towards HIV related activities due to donor support systems and that such monies could not be channeled into other uses including strengthening health systems, building infrastructure, or purchasing medical equipment.

She expressed the concern that in many African countries, unless something is donor-driven in the health system, nothing really happens.

Dr. Choonara also raised concerns over structural issues in the health sector in the region, pointing out that unlike the private sector where things are properly done to function effectively and efficiently, many public health facilities in the region lacked the right structures.

She said if the private sector is fast developing in terms of digitisation, modernisation and service delivery, the public sector could equally learn from it and upgrade their services.

Shortage of health personnel

She stressed the need for African countries to provide safer environment for their health workers in order to enable them to stay.

She expressed the concern that Africa continues to lose some of her finest health workers to other parts of the world due to poor conditions of service and lack of enabling environment.

Dr. Choonara, who is widely recognised for her work on gender equality, sexual and reproductive health rights and youth development, said the nature of health facilities in many parts of Africa contribute to pushing many health workers out of the region.

She said many health professionals in the region had to provide care for patients without the needed equipment, which all affect their work and morale.

For her, the growing exodus of health professionals from the African region is going to have a dire impact on us and added that these professionals are snapped out very quickly.

Why focus on Youth?

Concerning the involvement of adolescents and youth in the UHC discussion, Dr. Choonara, who is also a former member of the African Union Youth Council and Africa Health Agenda International Conference (AHAIC) Commission on universal health coverage in Africa, stressed that children and adolescent are so important in the discussion of UHC because that is the age you develop your health habits and your social practices.

Similarly, she noted, when adolescents and youth are involved in the UHC discussion, it would enable them to learn to prevent certain addictive lifestyles, including consumption of alcohol, processed foods, sugary foods and tobacco.

If you build a healthy population at that age, that means the entire life-cycle is likely to be healthy, she said, indicating that it would also help to reduce lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and hypertension in population.

Dr. Choonara argued that considering the critical role of the youth in achieving UHC, there was the need to involve the youth at all levels of decision making in order for them to make the right inputs in such thinking.

Innovation & Youth

She also urged African governments to help innovators in the region to come up with solutions to meet the regions health needs.

She explained that many regions of the world are now depending largely on technologies and innovations to provide quality health care for their people and that Africa should not be an exception.

She also entreated young innovators in the region to collaborate with the private sector if the governments are unable to meet up their funding needs.

Dr. Choonara therefore commended Speak Up Africa for its initiative in providing funding support for young African health innovators.

For her, having this source of incentives is excellent. It gives them a push that they need pointing out that countries such as India and China largely rely on innovations and technology in driving their healthcare and such things are mostly led by the youth.

She also implored African governments to embrace new ways of doing things to ensure that the region is not left out in providing quality, accessible, and affordable care to its citizens at all times in all areas.

Once the public sector healthcare system is functioning really in archaic way, nothing is going to change, she noted.

Africa Young Innovators for Health Award

The Africa Young Innovators for Health Award is a flagship programme launched by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) and Speak Up Africa to recognise and reward innovative projects by young African entrepreneurs in the health sector.

It is supported by AMREF Health Africa, BroadReach, Ecobank Academy, the Galien Foundation, IntraHealth International, Microsoft 4 Afrika, RBM Partnership to End Malaria, Social Change Factory, Africa.com and Scidev.net.

The first edition of the award, launched in December 2021, highlighted innovative solutions aimed at supporting health professionals who are leading the way in delivering care and promoting health.

NOTE: This article was produced with the support of Speak Up Africa's Media fellowship programme
What is Judicial Independence?

George Bernard Shaw Opinion Sep - 07 - 2023 , 14:16

An issue which has gained prominence in recent times and is currently trending in the media (both regular and social) is the concept of Judicial Independence.

The debate has been intense, partisan and acrimonious to say the least, exacerbating the already polarised political space.

Matters have come to a head, with the former President, John Dramani Mahama, in a closing speech at the just-ended Third Annual Lawyers Conference of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) last Saturday, September 2, accusing President Nana Akuffo Addo and his government of packing the judiciary with judges sympathetic to the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

This article attempts to explain the basic tenets of the concept of Judicial Independence.

Term

The term Judicial Independence does not lend itself to an exact definition as it differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

There is, however, a central theme which threads its way through the various definitions in vogue.

Broadly speaking, it means that in the determination of any judicial matter by a judge, he/she shall perform that function fairly and impartially in an objective legal manner without any promptings or interference (overt or covert) from other judges, regardless of their authority, or the other arms of government or, indeed, from any persons.

The concept was adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 1985 when it became an Instrument:

...that judges shall decide matters before them impartially, based on facts and per law, without any restrictions, improper influences, inducements, pressure, threats or interference, direct or indirect, from any quarter for any reason.

For the concept of judicial independence to work effectively, there are certain necessary and requisite guarantees which need to be in place: (i) selection of judges based on merit and integrity; (ii) protection from undue decisions for their advancement, appointments and transfers within the judicial system; and (iii) protection from abusive removal, while subjecting them to appropriate inspection and discipline.

As long as these parameters are strictly and religiously adhered to in any democracy, it is sure to pass the grade and it can be confidently posited that the democratic experiment in that country befits the accolade that the judiciary is truly independent.

Origins

The origin of the concept dates back to the passing of the Act of Settlement in 1701 by the English Parliament.

This Act of Parliament was the final nail in the coffin of monarchical hegemony, as it delivered the coup de grace to the untrammelled use of the powers of the Monarch.

The Act granted judges explicit protection from unilateral removal by the monarchy within the context of a larger shift of power from the monarchy to the courts and the legislature.

The concept of Judicial Independence is in sync with the term Separation of Powers, which was coined by the French Philosopher Montesquieu in his seminal work The Spirit of the Laws, to set up a model of government dividing governmental power and influence into separate watertight compartments, with each organ of government having distinct, separate and independent powers.

No branch must have, or be seen to have, any power and influence over the other.

Typically, under this system of government, the making of laws is the supreme and bona fide duty of the legislature (Parliament).

The Executive (that is the President and his Cabinet) is responsible for policy direction and implementation whilst the Judiciary adjudicates in disputes between private persons or between individuals/entities and the government.

Currently, the concept has come under attack in Hungary, America and Israel, where street protests continue to rage against any attempt to undermine the independence of the judiciary.

As to whether the Judiciary is truly independent in Ghana, one has to scrutinise controversial cases which come before it, in which the government in power has a stake.

One such case is Tuffour vs Attorney General.

Incidentally, in that case, the current President, Nana Akuffo Addo, and Tsatsu Tsikata were lawyers for the Plaintiff, Dr Amoako Tuffour.

Food for thought!
Spio-Garbrah donates scholarship directory to Ghana Library Authority

Diana Mensah & Linda Sah Education Sep - 07 - 2023 , 07:07

A former Minister of State, Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, has urged the government to consider the voices asking for a review of the educational system and not to dismiss them as mere critics.

Differing opinions, he said, should not be considered as an effort to find fault but as a way of improving on the educational system for the benefit of the country.

So the government should consider all the elements and different levels of education, and then see where to put much effort and resources and see what the effect is both on the quality of teaching and quality of learning, and the quality of resources that are available, he said.

He, however, indicated that in spite of many ups and downs in the educational system, the countrys educational sector remained among the most competitive in Africa and other developing countries.

Mr Spio-Garbrah made the comment when he presented 250 copies of Ghana Directory of Scholarship and Financial Assistance to the Ghana Library Authority (GhLA) to offer students and the public a directory of sources of educational funding.

The Ghana Directory of Scholarship and Financial Assistance (GDSFA) is a 200-page collection of foreign and local sources of financial assistance and scholarships on offer to Ghanaian students eligible to apply.

It contains 500 aggregated sources of scholarships that are reviewed every year to meet the numbers of financial assistance and scholarships available.

The presentation, which was a gesture by Mr Spio-Garbrah ahead of his birthday celebration, was also to create awareness about the Ghana Directory of Scholarships and Financial Assistance.

The donation also involved reading and interactive session by Mr Spio-Garbrah with learners of the Apostolic Church Academy, Happy Days Academy, Bishop Girls Basic and Ga Mashie SDA schools.

Presentation

Mr Spio-Garbrah indicated that the directory would assist students, especially those in the second cycle schools, to plot out much more effectively the numerous institutions they might wish to study at.

He expressed appreciation to the church Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints for helping to fund the directory and was hopeful that churches and organisations would help fund future directions as well, adding,  we plan another directory that would go beyond the shores of Ghana .

Importance

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Library Authority(GLA), Hayford Siaw, who received the books on behalf of the library commended GDSFA for the detailed research work in the compilation of the materials which would be made available to the public.

Relevant materials on the shelf at a public library have a direct contribution on patronage, he said.

Mr Siaw said it was important to increase the number of books on a shelf and the network of public libraries because the countrys population was increasing rapidly.

However, he encouraged corporate institutions to collaborate with ABCDE and GLA to print more copies of such materials and make it available and accessible to the public.
Academia, industry urged to collaborate - Sowa, Dr Narh provide context

Emelia Ennin Abbey Sep - 07 - 2023 , 06:52

The Director, Sales and Marketing, Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Franklin Sowa, has called for greater collaboration between academia and industry in the area of training and building capacity for the marketing and advertising sector for their mutual benefit.

Mr Sowa said the disconnect that existed between training and practice made it imperative for such collaboration.

He was speaking at the sixth edition of the International Advertising Association (IAA) Africa Rising Leadership Conference in Accra last Tuesday

He made the call during a panel discussion on the sub-theme: 'Living the reality from the lecture hall to the work field: building the partnership.'

The panel, moderated by the General Manager of Citi FM and CitiTV, Benard Avle, also had the Coordinator of the Master of Arts in Brands and Communications (MABC) at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), Dr Linda Narh, who also made a call for partnership between academia and industry.

Industry

Mr Sowa said although industry and academia had different needs, they must work together to bridge the gap.

He called for the development of specific industry-informed courses such as digital marketing, and courses relating to the tourism industry and politics.

"We have to build specific skill sets.

Let us identify the opportunities in the various sectors and apply the knowledge from the classroom," he said.

He said marketing and advertising professionals must identify and understand what people need and also communicate in simple language for better appreciation of the products or services they sell.

Mr Sowa said marketing was evolving and students needed to "not just know what their lecturers teach them but the full application of the knowledge they have gained".

Research

The Coordinator of MABC of UPSA emphasised the need for collaboration and urged industries to partner with academia for research and also take advantage of research outcomes.

Dr Narh said while academia and industry partnered, they must look at the specific roles they played.

Academia, she said, generated knowledge while industry applied the knowledge.

Academia and industry, Dr Narh added, must partner on how to train the next generation and offer opportunities for students to learn from experts through internship programmes.

When relevant research was leveraged, she said, it would promote innovation.

She indicated that mostly what students were thought in the classrooms was different from work on in the field.

" There has to be a link between what is done in industry and what is taught in the classroom, she said.

She said academia must know the needs of industry to meet them.

UPSA

"At UPSA, we focus on what the industry needs.

Our students do not write long essays as their project work but they conduct brand audit and apply the theory by identifying a problem and helping a company to solve it," Dr Narh, who has extensive practical experience in marketing and public relations working with multiple private sector companies, said.

She said since she started learning her marketing profession from the field after a first degree in English Language and Sociology when she joined Lintax for her national service, "I could easily relate to the things that were taught in the classroom."

Industry, she added, offered the opportunity for students and professionals to learn and make mistakes.
Catholic Relief Service provides water for Nakpanduri

Mohammed Fugu Sep - 07 - 2023 , 13:44

The Catholic Relief Service (CRS), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has provided a mechanised water system for the people of Nakpanduri in the North East Region.

Constructed at a cost of US$ 40,000, the facility is expected to serve the Assemblies of God Health Centre in Nakpanduri to improve health care as well as the wellbeing of residents of the community.

The Nakpanduri town has been facing water crisis for the past years due to lack of water supply systems.

The situation compelled the residents to rely on unsafe water sources.

The only source of water was a stream which the residents, particularly students, shared with animals.

Inauguration of the mechanised water system has, therefore, brought relief to the people, as they would now have access to potable drinking water.

Handing over

At a durbar to hand over the facility at Nankpanduri last Wednesday, the Senior Vice President for Overseas Operations at CRS, Shannon Senefeld, indicated that the facility, which was funded by Water Access Now (NAW), formed part of activities marking the 65th anniversary of CRS.

She said it was in fulfilment of the organisations ambition to improve water, hygiene and sanitation situations and health care in communities, and added that "Water and sanitation impacts almost every aspect of human life, including nutrition, menstrual hygiene management, educational development, food production and many more.

She noted that an estimated 2.1 million people living in rural areas in Ghana did not have access to safe drinking water, while 1.6 others travelled long distances daily in search of water for domestic purposes.

Ms Senefeld described the situation as disturbing, and called for concerted efforts to improve water coverage to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which advocated universal and equitable access to safe drinking water for all by 2030.

"Since 2012, CRS has invested over $20 million in the implementation of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) interventions in Ghana, reaching over 200,000 people with improved WASH services for the past years, Ms Senefeld noted.

She, therefore, appealed to the authorities to put in place the necessary mechanisms to ensure proper operation and maintenance management of the water system.

Proper care

For his part, the Country Director of CRS, Daniel Mumuni, admonished the people to take proper care of the facility to enable it to serve the intended purpose.

He indicated that since the beginning of the year, the organisation had provided a number of boreholes to communities, and that it would continue to invest in the WASH sector to improve on the wellbeing of the public.

The District Chief Executive for Bunkpurugu-Nakpanduri District, Joseph Louknaan, thanked CRS and its donors for the gesture and said the facility would provide potable drinking water for more than 5,000 people living in Nakpanduri town and its environs.
Central Regional Rice Cooperative Union launched

Francisca Eshun Sep - 07 - 2023 , 06:45

The Central Regional Rice Cooperative Union has been launched in Cape Coast to effectively galvanise rice farmers and actors in the value chain for increased productivity.

Prior to the launch, 30 leaders of smallholder rice farmer-based organisations (FBOs) and other rice value chain actors had undergone training on effective rice farming, processing and cooperative activities.

The participants who were from five districts including representatives from over 13 rice grower FBOs and other value chain actors from the five beneficiary communities, namely Gomoa East, Assin Fosu, Assin North, Assin South and Twifo Atti-Morkwa, were taken through a three-day training programme.

The launch was part of the KOICA Rice Value Chain Improvement (RVCI) project.

The RVCI project was launched in June 2021 by the government of the Republic of Korea, through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and its implementing partner, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), to bring rice value chain actors in the region together.

In a speech delivered on her behalf by the Chief Director of the Central Regional Coordinating Council, Kingsley Agyei Boahene, the Central Regional Minister, Justina Marigold Assan, indicated that the union was to ensure the successful launch and sustenance of a local rice brand, the Central Rice on the Ghanaian market.

However, she stated that the union must maintain open lines of communication, active dialogue and exchange of knowledge among members and also recommended that regular training should be organised to ensure they stayed updated with the latest agricultural practices and market trends, to maintain high brand quality on the market.

Mrs Assan urged that as the union progressed, members should ensure that the benefits of the collective efforts would reach every member.

In his remarks, the RVCI Project Manager, Dr Haegon Chung, encouraged the executive of the union to work hard to be an apex body in the near future.

He pledged to work with other stakeholders to provide the needed support in the union to ensure its sustainability.

The Central Regional Director of Agriculture, Dr Peter Omega, for his part, enjoined the executive to adopt modernised techniques and work hard to improve rice production in the region, to make it a renowned hub of high quality rice.

The Interim Chairman of the Central Regional Rice Cooperative Union, Felix Osew, thanked the project management for its facilitating role in training and forming the union and gave an assurance to work hard for its growth.

The Chief Executive Officer of Benda Service Group, the implementing partner of the project, Benjamin Edusah, observed that the impact of the RVCI project had improved the livelihood of farmers and rice value chain actors.
Ghana make strides in innovation, digital transformation  WIPO

Beatrice Laryea Sep - 07 - 2023 , 15:06

Ghana has become one of the fastest rising economies in the world in digitisation and innovation, according to the 2022 Global Innovation Index (GII) from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

The GII 2022 indicated that Ghana climbed to 95th place out of 132 economies, going up 17 places from 2021 and 13 places from 2020. In 2021, Ghana was ranked 112th among the 132 economies.

WIPO found that Ghana performed above the average for lower-middle-income economies in three areas  infrastructure, business sophistication and creative outputs  a category that included intangible assets as trademarks and goods and services.

The GII ranks world economies according to their innovation capabilities. Consisting of about 80 indicators, grouped into innovation inputs and outputs, the GII aims to capture the multi-dimensional facets of innovation.

Digital transformation

Special Advisor at the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Mr Oliver Boakye said the fact that Ghana had moved faster within the index indicated that government was seriously putting investment into the innovation ecosystem.

Mr Boakye was speaking on Wednesday at the launch of the 2023 Ghana Digital Innovation Week (GDIW) in Accra where he said that every year, the GII took several factors into consideration in determining where a country stood in the scheme of things.

CEO of Impact Investing Ghana and Atifi Sustainability Consultants, Amma Lartey (middle) and other participants at the launch of the GDIW

First they look at the kind of investment that your country is putting in innovation and every country that has been selected on the GII is known to have invested significant portions in their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) into innovation, he said.

When it comes to digital transformation, I am sure we have all observed how now you dont have to go and queue to get your passport, to clear things from the port, you dont need to have money in your pocket all the time and still be able to transact business and so on.

All these are transformations that are taking place on the ground and it is because of these initiatives that we are seeing this improvement on the GII, he added.

He assured of the MESTIs commitment to initiate more digital innovation systems in the country in the next three years saying: a lot will happen in this country when it comes to digital transformation and innovation.

The dignitaries and some participants at the launch of the Ghana Digital Innovation Week

The launch was attended by members of the trilateral cooperation, including the Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Shlomit Sufa, Head of Project, Digital Transformation Centre  GIZ, Mr David Robert, Director of Research at the Ministry of Communication and Digitization, Mr. Samuel Atwi Gyakye, Council Member of Ghana Hub Network, Dr Gordon Agbodza and Head of Innovation of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme, Mr. David Ofori.

GDIW

The Ghana Digital Innovation Week is a platform to celebrate the accomplishments of Ghanas digital innovation ecosystem and build momentum towards a common vision for its future development.

It is co-created and co-owned by a trilateral cooperation including the German Development Cooperation, Israels Agency for International Development Cooperation, the Ministry of Environment, Science and Innovation and the Ministry of Communication and Digitisation.

This years event is on the theme Innovate, Collaborate, Elevate: Shaping a future of endless potential.

A section of the participants at the launch

It is the third edition in Ghana and it is meant to build on better and bigger informative, educational and creative formats to engage and support all digital stakeholders.

Events

The launch officially facilitated activities leading to a three-day event to be held from Monday, November 6 to Wednesday, November 8, at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The actual Digital Innovation Week event in November will kick off with regional events in Tamale, Koforidua and Kumasi, leading up to the three-day finale in Greater Accra.

Activities lined up for the 2023 GDIW include workshops, panel discussions, exhibition and breakout sessions.
NDC determined to protect Constitution  Asiedu Nketiah

Daniel Kenu Sep - 07 - 2023 , 05:00

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has served notice to coup plotters that they will not receive its backing because it is ready to protect the constitution it signed into action.

We the opposition pride ourselves as the architects of the democratic stability we are enjoying and we are ready to protect it and no adventure will get our cooperation, the Chairman of the party, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, said at the swearing-in of appointees of the National Executive Committee in Accra yesterday.

Reacting to the happenings in the sub-region, Mr Nketiah said the situation was not pleasant.

Our luck is that though opposition groups will always collaborate with the military adventurers to stage a coup, in Ghana the situation is different because we will not support it, he stated.

The new appointees included a 30-member Council of Elders, a 26-member Political Committee and a three-member Disciplinary Committee.

Advantage

Mr Nketiah, fondly called General Mosquito, said as a result of the NDCs will to protect the constitution, the government had taken advantage of it to do worse things than what anybody could think of.

So let us rise up and speak out to save this democracy.

The youth are the most frustrated lot in the country.

They dont have jobs and at least they should be content with the opportunity to change government and install the government they like but what are we seeing?

The opportunity for them to register and participate in the voting process is being blocked, he said.

Once again, the machinations happening are all geared towards limiting them access and the right to participate in the democratic exercise, he said.

The NDC Chairman said if the government refused to do what the people had put them there to do, then they had every right to revolt against the government and bring another one.

Let us pray we dont get there, he added.

He said the youth should be given the opportunity to participate in the process to change governments peacefully because no one could predict what they could do.

He therefore called on civil society organisations, opinion leaders and faith-based organisations to bring pressure to bear on the government to protect the right of the youth to cast their ballot to determine who they want.

If you block a peaceful avenue of change, you will invite a violent avenue of change and we dont want to get there.

The happenings in the sub-region ought to be a wake-up call for all of us.

The challenges are daunting.

Somehow, I believe God is a Ghanaian and I believe we shall overcome.

But before we can do that, patriots must arise, act and speak with courage and say the unpleasant things that ought to be said, and take the unpleasant actions that ought to be taken so that we can prevent worse things from happening, he added.

Touching on the countrys democracy, Mr Nketiah said Ghana had never come this low in terms of its democratic practice where as a country it was unable to service its debts.

We have never come this low where corruption in government has become like an American buffet  eat all you can for $10.

The Chairman of the NDC said during such crisis periods, what helped to stabilise the situation was the freedom to demonstrate because, when people are frustrated and they get the opportunity to vent their feelings, it helps to prevent explosion. Unfortunately, this right too has been trampled upon.
Nii Ladjelor calls on Dr Bawumia, Chief Imam

Emmanuel Bonney Sep - 07 - 2023 , 07:36

The newly-installed Development Chief of Dome, Nii Kwame Ladjelor I, has paid courtesy calls on the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, and the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu.

The calls followed his installation last Saturday in Accra.

He first visited Sheikh Sharubutu at his residence at New Fadama last Monday and then, Dr Bawumia, also at his Cantonments residence on Wednesday.

Among other things, the visits were to enable Nii Ladjelor to formally introduce himself to these two personalities following his installation.

Relationship

The visits were also to strengthen and build on the cordial relationship between the personalities which has been existing for some years now.

Nii Ladjelor, a church leader known in private life as Nakoa Prophet Nazareth Ansah Jamson, is the founder of the Israel King of the Jews Church at Dome.

He is also the Spiritual Leader of the Spiritual Churches Council, Ghana.

For instance, he has over the years supported the Chief Imam, especially during the Ramadan period, with assorted food items.

Nii Ladjelor took the opportunity to invite the Imam to his outdooring which would be held in due course.

Both Dr Bawumia and Sheikh Sharubutu congratulated the spiritual leader on his installation.

Installation

He was installed development chief at Dome last Saturday after taken through the necessary rites.

Amidst drizzles of rain, the solemn and colourful ceremony was conducted peacefully with family, church members and other well-wishers in attendance.

Shortly after his installation, amid the fun fair, the Head of the Onamroko Adain Family, Carl Josiah Reindorf, said the installation was done in consultation with all the principal elders of the family.

He said when the decision was taken and Nakoa Jamson was informed, he went back to his elders and consulted with them after which he got back to us that he has also had consultation with his elders and that they had agreed that it was okay.

He said in the course of performing the installation, the chief was told what was expected of him, taken through the dos and donts, as well as his role.
Police interdict 3 high-ranking officers amidst Parliamentary investigation into Bugri Naabu leaked tape

Kweku Zurek Sep - 07 - 2023 , 08:49

The Ghana Police Service has interdicted three senior officers due to their involvement in a contentious audio recording, now under parliamentary scrutiny. The audio contains a discussion about why the Inspector General of Police. Dr George Akuffo Dampare should be removed from office.

The three officers, namely Commissioner of Police (COP) Mr. George Alex Mensah, Superintendent Mr. Emmanuel Eric Gyebi, and Superintendent Mr. George Lysander Asare, have been placed on interdiction while further disciplinary procedures are pursued in compliance with Police Service regulation, a statement dated September 7, 2023, signed and issued by the Director of Police Public Affairs, ACP Grace Ansah-Akrofi said.

Testimonies given by Commissioner of Police (COP) Alex Mensah and Superintendent Asare, who have already appeared before the Parliamentary Committee, assert that the tape being examined by the committee has been allegedly "doctored, cut and paste". Both officers have independently urged the committee to procure the original tape from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), George Akuffo Dampare.

The trio of senior police officers found themselves implicated in a leaked audio recording, brought to light by former Northern Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Daniel Bugri Naabu. Mr. Naabu, a key witness before the Ad-Hoc Parliamentary Committee tasked with probing an alleged conspiracy against Ghana's IGP, confirmed the authenticity of the contentious audio recording. This recording purportedly captures discussions regarding a scheme to replace IGP Akuffo Dampare prior to the 2024 elections.

The leaked audio, allegedly featuring a Police Commissioner and a politician discussing the plot, prompted the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, to establish the Committee.

Comprising seven members representing both the Majority and Minority factions of Parliament, as well as a technical expert, the Committee's remit is to investigate the covert recording and its potential ramifications concerning the reported plot against IGP Dampare.

The Committee is slated to present its findings by September 10, 2023.
Protect digital privacy of youth - Study advocates

Juliet Akyaa Safo Sep - 07 - 2023 , 07:55

A report on research on young people and their privacy in internet use has recommended that transparency and meaningful consent on how their data is collected and used be greatly improved.

Also, the report has recommended that authorities prevent excessive sharing or selling of the data of young people, end targeted advertising to the youth, ensure strong data security, as well as guarantee that less data is collected about them and same deleted when not needed.

The report follows a research on how the internet and digital privacy were impacting young people, who because of access to technology, were spending more time on the internet.

Conducted by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Africa Digital Rights Hub (ADRH), the research was aimed at assessing the knowledge and concerns of young people concerning their digital privacy.

The report was launched by the ADRH, in collaboration with Child Online Africa and funded by the Internet Society Foundation.

Research

A focus group of 21 young people aged 13 to 17 across Accra and an additional 101 respondents from different economic backgrounds were the respondents in the research.

They were asked about their views on online privacy, their trust in the technology that collects their data and how their privacy online could be improved.

Launching the report in Accra, the Board Chair of ADRH and a Retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Professor Date-Bah, said the research was part of an international research effort where similar national research was done in Antigua and Barbuda, Australia and Slovenia.

From the survey, he said children had nuanced understanding about privacy and were also not sure if their privacy was respected in the digital world.

Prof. Date-Bah said the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, all recognised that children had the right to be free from arbitrary interference with their privacy.

Data privacy

Also in Ghana, the Data Protection Act, 2012 (Act 843) under Section 37(1) restricted the processing of personal data of children by designating their information as special personal data.

However, he said the country was still experiencing a significant increase in the data footprints of children, without the requisite protections necessary.

There is the need to increase awareness of children's privacy and how to protect it.

Policymakers and public officials need to engage more with children on issues of online privacy, he said.

The Executive Director of Child Online Africa, Awo Aidam Amenyah, said the young children had expressed the belief that inappropriate content came to them because they were not recognised as consumers on the internet.

She said they wanted the algorithms to be changed in a way that could reflect their needs in the internet space.

She stressed that the Data Protection Commission must review the Data Protection Law, as there was just one mention of the protection of children in the law.

Clearly, it has almost zero child focus but we need to go back to that document and look at how we can tune it to reflect the needs of children and young people, she said.

The Executive Director of ADRH, Teki Akuetteh, made a clarion call on policymakers and agencies required to protect children and their online activities to do better.

She said they would continue to throw more light on such issues and get authorities to pay more attention to children and the privacy of data protection in the country.
Susu collectors urged to adopt technology use

Emelia Ennin Abbey Sep - 07 - 2023 , 07:49

Susu collectors in the country have been urged to adopt technology and innovation to improve their business operations and service delivery to their clients.

"Businesses are using new technology to break into new markets.

Technology has to be part of your marketing mix, if you expect to grow your client and revenue," the Executive Secretary of the Ghana Microfinance Institution Network, (GHAMFIN), Yaw Gyamfi ,has said.

He was addressing the opening of the annual general meeting of the Greater Accra Co-operative Susu Collectors Society (GACSCS) in Accra.

It was on the theme: "Re-positioning susu enterprises through innovation and technology, building systems for literacy and client satisfaction".

The occasion was also used to launch the 40th anniversary of the GACSCS.

Benefits

Susu is a popular means of saving for many people in the informal sector.

The susu collector serves as a source of soft loans and also collects money daily from a contributor.

At the end of a period, usually a month, all contributions collected, save one days, are returned to contributors with the one-day contribution held by the collector serving as his or her commission.

The adoption of technology, Mr Gyamfi said, had benefits including helping businesses to solve complex problems, improving communication, propeling marketing and business growth, improving branding, and boosting customer loyalty.

"The uncertainties and complex business situations faced by Susu operators are made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and current economic challenges.

General Manager of GACSCS, Esther Odjawo, said in an era where technological advancements shaped the course of businesses, susu enterprises needed to reinvent themselves by infusing innovation into their core strategies.

The society must harness the power of cutting-edge technologies to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and foster unprecedented growth, she said.

The President of GACSCS, Patrick Attahokyere, said the society would continue to train and build the capacity of its members to foster a positive customer experience.

Activities lined up for the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the GACSCS include a health talk and health screening for both members and traders at the Kaneshie Market, seminar and a donation to the neonatal intensive care unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
Tema Motorway tunnel closes for repair works

Della Russel Ocloo Sep - 07 - 2023 , 07:41

The tunnel on the Tema Motorway that connects Community 18 to Borteyman will be closed to traffic on Sunday, September 10 to Monday September 11, to allow for repair works following the removal of about 1,200 of the 2,000 bolts and nuts that hold the corrugated bridge together.

The removal of the bolts by thieves, officials of Ghana Highway Authority said, was having a severe impact on the motorway's concrete slabs, a situation which could cause that section of the motorway to cave in if the bolts were not replaced immediately.

A Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Stephen Pambiin Jalulah, who led a team of engineers from the Authority to inspect the damage in the tunnel, expressed concern about the extent of the theft, which, he said, could damage the bridges structural integrity, thus shortening the lifespan of that section of the motorway.

"The bolts are essential to the bridge's structural integrity and to prevent the corrugated metal from collapsing, which would sever the motorway into two," Mr Jalulah said.

The deputy minister was accompanied on the tour by another Deputy Minister, Thomas Mbombo, the Chief Director of the Ministry, Alhaji Abass Awolu, the Deputy Managing Director of the GHA, Collins Donkor, the Managing Director of Urban Roads, Godfried Amoo, and other directors of the GHA and Feeder Roads.

Concern

The deputy minister also expressed concern about the nonchalant attitude of citizens who stood by and did nothing when others damaged national infrastructure.

Citing the street lights along the motorway, which, he said, had all their cables stolen and the poles damaged barely two years after they were installed, Mr Jalulah encouraged members of the public to endeavour to report suspicious activities to authorities for the appropriate action to be taken.

Condition of motorway

Mr Jalulah, however, stressed that the Mobile Maintenance Unit of the Ghana Highway Authority would continue to undertake remedial works to seal the damaged portions to make it motorable while a permanent solution was found.

We all know that the motorway in its present form has outlived its purpose, leaving it with safety concerns and the government will continue to work on the rebuilding process so as to address the underlying challenges, Mr Jalulah said.

The deputy Managing Director of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), Collins Donkor, said vandalising of the bridge was a major setback for the GHA, which had been working to improve the conditions of the motorway.

The Project Manager of the Bridge Maintenance Unit at the GHA, Victor Baah Nyantakyi, said the scope of work included cleaning and excavating the areas around the bridge to cast concrete slabs of 11.2 cubic metres to prevent water from pooling around the tunnel.
Tertiary Business Sense Challenge: KNUST joins UEW, UCC for finals

Dickson Worlanyo Dotse & Linda Sah Sep - 07 - 2023 , 07:00

The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) is one step closer to retaining its title as the defending champions of the Graphic Business Tertiary Business Sense Challenge (TBSC).

KNUST secured its place in the finals for a third consecutive time after thrashing first-time semi-finalist, Academic City University College (ACUC), in a 67.8 point to 48.4 point thriller in the last semi-final contest, which was held in Accra yesterday.

In the grand finale, KNUST will test its might against first-time finalist, University of Education, Winneba, and two-time champion, University of Cape Coast (UCC), who secured its place after beating the University of Ghana (UG) and the Ghana Communication Technology University (GCTU) respectively in the first and second semi-final contests.

It will be held on Thursday, October 19, 2023 at the National Theatre in Accra.

TBSC

The TBSC is a tertiary business schools quiz organised by the Graphic Communications Group Limited's (GCGL) Graphic Business, in collaboration with the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG), to encourage intellectual development among students in various tertiary institutions across the country.

As the country's leading economic and financial newspaper, the Graphic Business believes that the challenge will serve as a fertile ground for nurturing students' and small business owners interest in business issues and entrepreneurship in general.

It also provides the contestants with the opportunity to demonstrate their intellectual prowess which could earn their schools verified bragging rights.

This years competition, which is the fifth version, is on the theme: "Preparation Ahead of Opportunity: Business as a Way of Life.

The quizmaster, Alhassan Trawule, asked the students questions on business theories, word problems requiring calculations, business case of the day, questions pertaining to articles from the Graphic Business newspaper and riddle-based quizzes.

Slow start

The contest got off to a slow start as both teams were unable to answer majority of the questions in the first and second rounds.

However, KNUST, represented by Prince Asante Adofo, Eric Ofosu and Kelvin Nketiah Sarfo, gained an early lead, securing 12 points in both rounds, while the ACUC trio, Eugene Kwame Asiedu-Dartey, Daniel Amanor and Enoch Banyerah, had seven points in the first round and three points in the second.

The contest eventually came alive during the third and fourth rounds which had to do with the business case of the day, where both teams delivered a presentation and answered questions pertaining to articles from the Graphic Business newspaper on a true/false section.

The ACUC, who was second best in the southern zone after UG, garnered an average of 7.4 points for its presentation and 28 points for the fourth round, while KNUST, who was champion of the northern zone, secured 7.8 points for the presentation and 30 points in the fourth round.

In a rather dull fifth round, which had to do with riddles on various business and financial concepts, KNUST only secured six points, with its first-time semi-finalist opponent, ACUC, securing three points.

Fear us

In an interview with the Daily Graphic after the competition, the KNUST team lead, Mr Sarfo, cautioned their final contenders, UEW, who has secured the highest points on average in the competition so far, and UCC to fear them despite acknowledging that his team did not put up the best of performances.

We know the other schools are well prepared and so based on the contest we have had today, we are going to do our homework well, sit down and prepare well to face them.

We have done it before and we still have the capacity, Mr Sarfo added.
Well tap your expertise in technology - Dr Bawumia to Colombian counterpart

Chris Nunoo Sep - 07 - 2023 , 08:08

The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has said that the country will learn from the expertise of Colombia in the application of digital technology.

He said digital technology could be used to help the vulnerable and the poor, and also accelerate the development of the country.

Colombia has one of the fastest growing information technology industries in the world.

Dr Bawumia was speaking during a bilateral meeting with the Vice-President of Colombia, Francia Elena Marquez Mina, at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday, after which they briefed the press.

Ms Mina, who is on a two-day visit to the country, was accompanied by her spouse and other officials from her country.

After the meeting with the Vice-President, she visited the Cape Coast and Elmina Castles.

Ms Mina would also call on the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, in Kumasi and later interact with the Colombian community, including investors in the country.

Strengthening of ties

The Vice-President said the country would also leverage its position as the host of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) secretariat to further strengthen its bilateral and economic relations with Colombia.

He described Ghana as the most peaceful country in West Africa and the second most peaceful in Africa, saying, we in Ghana are very thankful for the peace and political stability in the country.

Dr Bawumia said the two countries had signed several agreements which were at different stages of implementation.

He gave an assurance that both countries would continue to work together on issues relating to the environment, empowerment and gender equality which are some of the areas President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is concerned about.

He further recalled the historic relations between Ghana and Colombia and said that Ghana would reciprocate Colombias gesture by establishing an embassy in that country.

Colombia opened its embassy in Ghana in 2013 as part of efforts to strengthen the existing bond.

I also want to thank the government of Colombia for their effort in the teaching of the Spanish language to our diplomats, the Vice-President added.

He said Ghana had decided to join the Pacific Alliance countries, made up of Peru, Mexico, Chile and Colombia as an observer nation which decision Parliament was yet to approve.

We are very proud that in the whole of West Africa, we are the host of diplomatic missions of countries of the Pacific Alliance, the Vice-President added.

Tourism

On tourism, Dr Bawumia highlighted events such as PANAFEST, Year of Return and Beyond the Return which he said were to ensure our brothers and sisters in the diaspora can come back and experience their heritage.

The Vice-President extended an invitation to the Colombian Vice-President, saying we want to see Afro Caribbeans in particular come and participate in these events.

Dr Bawumia commended Ms Mina on her election as the first Afro Colombian female Vice-President and said it was a historic achievement for all Afro Colombians and Africans.

Concerns

For her part, Vice-President Mina, who spoke through an interpretor, expressed worry about the changing climate conditions and said although both countries lacked the resources to tackle the problem, there was the need to work to ensure climate sustainability to decarbonise the environment.

We have lots of experience in agriculture and we would also like to share our experience on, particularly, rice production, she added.

Ms Mina acknowledged the economic difficulties confronting the country in terms of indebtedness and said that Colombia was also facing similar problems.

The Colombian Vice-President also urged both countries to do more in the promotion of the rights of people, particularly women.
Workplace harassment produces high labour turnover, legal suits  Dr Angela Dwamena-Aboagye

Vincent Amenuveve Sep - 07 - 2023 , 06:35

Workplace sexual harassment tends to produce high labour turnover, decreased productivity and revenue if not checked by employers, a Consultant on Gender-related issues, Dr Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, has observed.

She further warned that if the practice was allowed to fester without effective policies to check it, organisations equally risked incurring legal suits resulting in liabilities and payment of hefty compensation damages for victims of harassment.

Such organisations, she said, could also face bad reputation and public embarrassment, leading to a dip in business fortunes.

Dr Dwamena-Aboagye made the observation in Accra last Thursday at the second workplace harassment prevention training workshop for 62 women in the mining industry.

It was organised by Women in Mining (WIM Ghana), a leading network that promotes the advancement of women in the natural resources sector, with support from the Ford Foundation.

The workshop, which was held both in-person and online, discussed topics such as the cost of sexual harassment to organisations, the responsibilities of both employers and employees in ensuring a safe work environment devoid of all forms of harassment and healing processes for victims of sexual harassment among others.

Responsibilities, prevention

Dr Dwamena-Aboagye pointed out that it was important for organisations to develop an effective sexual harassment workplace policy and establish proper reporting and complaint systems to ensure effective implementation of the policy.

"Wherever there is sexual harassment, there is trouble. And in some organisations, a lot of people will come and go; and if you are afraid to go to work because of that, it eventually causes a decrease in productivity," the consultant explained.

She stressed the need for employers to create awareness about the policy and provide training for all employees at every level, from the board members to cleaners and third-party contractors.

She advised workers to approach institutions such as the Ghana Police Service, the National Labour Commission, the Courts and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to seek both legal advice and redress.

Forms, effects

Another facilitator, Naana Frimpong, who is also a Gender Consultant, said there were various forms of harassment and their effects.

She mentioned them to include verbal, non-verbal and physical contact while their effects were psychological, low self-esteem, intimidation and a feeling of distress.

A leading member of WIM Ghana, Esther Aboagye, in her opening remarks, urged women in leadership positions to help create a conducive work environment for their female colleagues at the bottom of their respective organisational hierarchy.
Be transparent in limited voter registration exercise  Mahama to EC

Gertrude Ankah Nyavi Politics Sep - 07 - 2023 , 06:24

The flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has called on the Electoral Commission to be more transparent with processes preceding the start of the limited voter registration exercise, the replacement of IDs and the transfer of voters.

On Wednesday, August 16, 2023, the commission announced the commencement of a limited voter registration exercise for eligible Ghanaians who turned 18 years after the 2020 registration exercise and other eligible voters from September 12, 2023, to October 2, 2023.

In a Facebook live video yesterday (Wednesday, September 6, 2023), Mr Mahama said: We want to know when the names and pictures of registration supervisors, officers, assistants and other officials for the exercise will be published at the district level as stipulated by the EC regulations.

Mr Mahama said: Weve also requested the information on the exact number and distribution of workstations, registration kits and other logistics to be used in the exercise.

Increase centres

The former President further added his voice to calls for the exercise to be held at the electoral areas instead of limiting it to the district offices of the Electoral Commission

It is also our very strong recommendation that in line with regulation 22B of CI 91 as amended by CI 126, the commission listens to the calls for the extension of the exercise to take place in the electoral area and not limited to the district offices of the commission.

This, Mr Mahama said, would help curb many inconveniences including transportation, the lack of money to move from distant locations and access.

He also urged Ghanaians who have attained the age of 18 and above but do not have voter ID cards to take advantage of the Electoral Commissions limited voter registration exercise to get registered.

I am here to encourage you, wherever you are in Ghana or beyond, that if you dont have a voter ID card, especially if you have just turned 18, please take advantage of this exercise which starts on September 12, 2023.

Start making the necessary arrangements to register and get your voters ID card.

He added: It is your opportunity to hold your leaders accountable.

It is about your right.

It is about your future, it is about our dear nation Ghana.

Let us join hands and work together towards building the Ghana we want.

Economic challenges

Underscoring the need to kick the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in election 2024, Mr Mahama said the President Akufo-Addo led government has failed to address the pressing economic challenges they have exerted on the people of the country, misapplying our precious scarce resources and overspending on their creature comfort and largesse instead of building the critical infrastructure this country needs for job creation and development.

He stressed that, Their promises during their campaigns have yet to be fulfilled, leaving the ordinary Ghanaian burdened with the consequences of their incompetence, cluelessness and shameless arrogance.

He said Ghanaians could not afford to let the dire situation continue, adding that registering and acquiring a voter ID card to vote in the December 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections was not just a basic civic duty but an opportunity to start the process towards making their voices heard and shaping the future of Ghana.
FLASHBACK: Why Alan resigned from NPP in 2008

Graphic.com.gh Politics Sep - 07 - 2023 , 16:56

Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen on Tuesday announced his withdrawal from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) November 4, 2023 presidential race.

He announced his decision in a press statement signed and issued Tuesday evening [September 5, 2023].

There have been varying views about the political future of Mr Kyerematen following his withdrawal from the NPP presidential primary.

In what looked like a re-enactment of a 2008 scenario when he quit the party after a failed ambition to lead the party into the presidential race, Mr Kyerematen stepped down from the final stage of the partys presidential primary, citing intimidation, physical assault on his supporters, and an unlevel field that favoured a particular candidate.

Known for his calm disposition, the former Minister of Trade and Industrys appeal among political moderates has been touted as a direct function of his unpolitical character.

The businessman, who attains 68 years on October 3, 2023, had sought the partys blessings to contest the presidency 15 years ago, and was always touted as the partys anointed candidate after Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo until Dr Mahamudu Bawumia emerged.

We reproduce below an article published by the Daily Graphic on Friday, August 18, 2008 when Alan left the NPP and assigned reasons for his resignation from the party.

Alan quits NPP

Story by Kobby Asmah and Donald Ato Dapatem. First published on Friday, August 18, 2008.

Mr Alan Kyerematen, the defeated presidential aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has resigned from the party.

According to the Political Aide to Mr Kyerematen, Mr John Kumah, Mr Kyerematen would make his reasons known to Ghanaians later.

At the time of filing this report, no official reason had been given but snippets of information indicated that Mr Kyerematen's supporters had not been happy with the treatment meted out to them by the campaign team of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the flag bearer of the party.

However, another source close to Mr Kyerematen told the Daily Graphic that Mr Kyerematen presented his resignation letter to the party secretariat yesterday afternoon, copied to President John Agyekum Kufuor.

At the party office, the National Chairman, Mr Peter Mac Manu, was absent, having travelled outside the country, according to party insiders.

The source also told the Daily Graphic that Mr Kyerematen's resignation was as a result of the alleged harassment of some of his supporters who wanted to contest NPP parliamentary primaries.

Since he was named the Chairman of the Committee in charge of Identifiable Groups of the Akufo-Addo Campaign Team, Mr Kyerematen is said to have never attended any of its meetings.

Reports also indicate that Mr Kyerematen wants to run as an independent candidate in the December general election.

Mr Kyerematen, a former Trade and Industry Minister, contested the position of flag bearer of the NPP in December 2007 but lost to Nana Akufo-Addo when he polled 736 votes against the 1,060 obtained by the winner.

He has had an extensive and successful professional career in the private and public sectors spanning over a period of 24 years.

He was a senior corporate executive with a subsidiary of Unilever International in Ghana.

He also worked for a number of years as a Principal Consultant and Head of Public Systems Management with one of the leading management development institutions in Ghana, the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI).

He was responsible for establishing the EMPRETEC Programme in Ghana (an enterprise development programme sponsored by the UNDP and Barclays Bank Ghana Ltd in 1990.

As Chief Executive, he led in the transformation of EMPRETEC from a small UNDP project into an independent foundation which is internationally recognised as a best practice model for private sector development.

In 1998, Mr Kyerematen was appointed by the UNDP as the Regional Director to establish and manage the Enterprise

Africa Regional Programme, an Africa-wide regional programme for the development and promotion of SMEs, which is the UNDP's flagship programme for private sector development in Africa.

Under the umbrella of the Enterprise Africa Programme, Mr Kyerematen successfully expanded the EMPRETEC presence in Africa into 11 other countries, besides Ghana and Zimbabwe.

The new countries included Botswana, Ethiopia, Namibia, Nigeria, Mauritius, Mozambique, South Africa, Cameron, Senegal, Uganda and Swaziland.

He is a graduate in Economics from the University of Ghana and also holds a law degree from the same university. He has been called to the Ghana Bar and is a practising attorney-at-law in Ghana.

In addition, he is a Hubert Humphrey Fellow of the School of Management at the University of Min-nesota, U.S.A., having completed one year management studies under the Fulbright Scholarship pro-gramme in that institution.

Mr Kyrematen is a member of the Council of Governors of the British Executive Service Overseas (BESO) in the UK and also a board member of other organisations in Ghana.

In 1994, he was listed by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 Global Leaders for the new millennium, alongside Bill Gates (Microsoft Corporation), John F. Kennedy Jr and others.
NPP accepts Kyerematens withdrawal letter - Pledges to investigate alleged acts of violence

Daily Graphic Politics Sep - 07 - 2023 , 06:29

The leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said both the Presidential Elections and Disciplinary Committees of the party have initiated comprehensive investigations into all reported incidents of violations and infractions alleged to have occurred at various voting centres in the recently held Super Delegates Conference.

It has assured all stakeholders and the public that the reports of the aforementioned committees would be made readily available and persons found culpable would be held accountable.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Frimpong Kodua, to formally acknowledge receipt of Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematens letter to inform the party of his decision to withdraw from the November 4 presidential primary.

The leadership of the New Patriotic Party hereby acknowledges the receipt of a letter dated September 5, 2023, signed by Hon. Alan Kyerematen and the contents therein are duly noted.

We note with regret Hon. Kyerematen's decision to withdraw from the upcoming presidential primary, it said.

Recall

Mr Kyerematen in a press statement last Tuesday, September 5, 2023 announced his decision to withdraw from the November 4 presidential primary of the NPP, citing intimidation and various acts of violence unleashed on his supporters in the recent Super Delegates Conference.

In withdrawing from the upcoming election, Mr Kyerematen said the incident and various acts of violence and collusion reported in other voting centres, were appalling, unconscionable and despicable.

In the light of the foregoing, I wish to confirm that I am honourably withdrawing from the process that will lead to the presidential primary to be held on November 4, 2023.

In the upcoming weeks, I will provide an indication of the role that I will play in politics in Ghana, after consultations with my family and other well-wishers, various stakeholders and interest groups, he said.

The withdrawal of Mr Kyerematen from the race now reduces the key contestants for the flagbearership of the party to four.

They are the sitting Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong; a former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and a former MP for Mampong in the Ashanti Region, Francis Addai-Nimoh.
Green River Police Department reports for Aug. 23

At 1:25 p.m., officers responded to the area of W Flaming Gorge Way and observed a property in violation of the City ordinance 17-1(a). Officers made contact with the owner and advised of the violation, issued a notice to abate, and completed an incident report.

At 2:12 p.m., officers responded to the area of W Flaming Gorge Way for a report of a two-vehicle collision. It was reported one vehicle was reversing out of the parking area when the rear of the vehicle struck the front of a second vehicle, which was parked on the side of the roadway. The driver of the first vehicle, Claude T. York, of South Carolina, was issued a citation for alleged inattentive driving. Officers gathered information and completed an incident report.

At 8:06 p.m., officers responded to the area of W Teton Boulevard for a report of a two-vehicle collision. It was reported that one vehicle was traveling north on W Teton Boulevard while a second vehicle was pulling out of the Smiths west exit when the second vehicle struck the first vehicle. The second vehicle reversed and struck the first vehicle again, then left traveling southbound. The first vehicle then left the scene as well. Officers located both vehicles. They met with the driver of the second vehicle, but were unable to make contact with the driver of the first vehicle. Officers gathered information and completed an initial incident report.

Aug. 24

At 7:56 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Tigee Circle and issued the driver Mackenzie L. Malmstrom, of Rock Springs, a citation for alleged speed.

At 8:24 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Monroe Avenue and issued the driver a verbal warning for alleged speeding.

At 8:25 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Bridger Drive and issued the driver a written warning for alleged speed.

At 8:42 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of E Teton Boulevard and issued the driver Isaac Armando Orozco, of Rock Springs, a citation for alleged speed.

At 8:47 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Shoshone Avenue and issued the driver a verbal warning for an alleged brake light violation.

At 9:18 a.m., officers responded to the Roosevelt Learning Center located at 2200 E Teton Boulevard for a report of a juvenile who brought two vape pens to school. Officers met with the juvenile, staff, and a parent/guardian. Officers issued a citation for alleged unlawful use or possession of tobacco by a minor - 3rd offense to the juvenile, age 16, of Green River, and completed an incident report.

At 10:13 a.m., CSOs responded to the area of S 5 W Street for a report of a nuisance property. Officers observed the property in violation of the City ordinance 17-1(a) and made contact at the residence. Officers advised the property owner, issued a notice to abate, and completed a report of the incident.

At 10:22 a.m., officers responded to a report of a court order violation. Officers met with an individual who reported concerns about a protection order. Officers gathered information and completed a report of the incident.

At 1:50 p.m., officers responded to a residence on Cedar Street for a report of a scam. Officers met with an individual who reported they put an item up for sale on Marketplace and were contacted by a subject who wished to purchase the item. The subject advised they would pay through Venmo and requested the individuals email account to verify the account. The individual then received an email that appeared to be from Venmo requesting money to upgrade to a business account, so the transaction would go through. Additional funds were requested after the initial funds were sent. Once the individual contacted Venmo they learned it had been a scam. The individual contacted their financial institution and canceled the transactions. No monetary losses were reported. Officers gathered information and completed a report of the incident.

At 2:58 p.m., CSOs observed a property in violation of the City ordinance 17-1(a) and made contact with the property owner. Officers issued a notice to abate and completed a report of the incident.

At 5:35 p.m., officers responded to the area of N Center Street for a report of a larceny. Officers met with an individual who reported suspicious activity but no items appeared to be missing. Officers gathered information and completed a report of the incident.

At 8:37 p.m., officers responded to a report of domestic violence. Officers met with individuals involved in an assault, gathered information, and completed an incident report.

Aug. 25

At 5:41 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of E 2 S Street and issued the driver a written warning for alleged speed.

At 8:24 a.m., officers responded to the area of Greasewood Street for a report of a disturbance. Officers met with an individual who reported that a subject was being disruptive and causing property damage. Officers met with the subject, gathered information, and completed a report of the incident.

At 8:58 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Riverview Drive and issued the driver a written warning for an alleged stop sign violation.

At 10:37 a.m., CSOs observed a property in violation of the City ordinance 17-1(a) and made contact with the property owner. Officers advised of the violation, issued a notice to abate, and completed a report of the incident.

At 1:01 p.m., CSOs observed a property in violation of the City ordinance 17-1(a) and attempted to make contact with the property owner. Officers posted a notice to abate and completed a report of the incident.

At 1:35 p.m., CSOs observed a property in violation of the City ordinance 17-1(a) and attempted to make contact with the property owner. Officers posted a notice to abate and completed a report of the incident.

At 2:14 p.m., CSOs responded to the area of Logan Street for a report of abandoned vehicles. Officers observed three vehicles that appeared to be abandoned. Officers made contact with the owner of the vehicles, advised of the violation, and completed an incident report.

At 9:25 p.m., officers responded to the area of E Teton Boulevard for a report of a single-vehicle collision. It was reported that the vehicle was traveling northbound around the roadway curve when the vehicle struck the guardrail. Officers met with the driver, gathered information, and completed an incident report.

Aug. 26

At 1 a.m., officers responded to the area of E Railroad Avenue in reference to a disturbance. Officers met with individuals who were involved in a verbal altercation. Officers gathered information and completed an incident report.

At 8:42 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Uinta Drive and issued the driver a verbal warning for an alleged registration violation.

At 6:30 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Mountain View Street on a vehicle for multiple traffic violations. Officers met with the driver and subsequently submitted a request for re-examination of the driver to the Wyoming Department of Transportation.

At 7:02 p.m., officers responded to the area of Scotts Bottom Road for a report of a found property. Officers were contacted by the owner and the phone was returned.

Aug. 27

At 1:41 a.m., officers responded to the area of Aspen Street for a report of property damage. Officers met with an individual who reported hearing a loud bang and discovered a mailbox that appeared to have been blown up and found damage to a vehicle. Officers gathered information and completed an initial report of the incident, which is still under investigation.

At 5:31 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of E Flaming Gorge Way and issued the driver a verbal warning for a tail light violation.

At 11:57 a.m., officers responded to a report of property damage. Officers met with an individual who reported finding damage to their vehicle. Officers gathered information and completed an incident report.

At 5:23 p.m., officers responded to a report of an unattended death. Officers assisted EMS personnel and the coroner. Officers gathered information and completed an incident report. No suspicious circumstances were suspected.

At 6:10 p.m., officers responded to a report of domestic violence. Officers met with individuals involved in an altercation and gathered information. The parties were separated, and officers completed an incident report.

At 6:39 p.m., officers responded to a report of an assault. Officers met with individuals who reported a physical altercation and gathered information. The other involved individual was not located at the time the initial report was completed. The case is still under investigation.

Aug. 28

At 7:32 a.m., officers responded to the area of Shoshone Avenue for a report of a two-vehicle accident. It was reported the first vehicle was traveling eastbound when it struck the rear of a second vehicle which had been stopped for traffic. Officers gathered information and completed an incident report.

At 8:37 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Indian Hills Drive and issued the driver a verbal warning for alleged speeding.

At 9:40 a.m., officers responded to a report of lost property. Officers met with an individual who reported important documents missing. Officers gathered information and completed an incident report.

At 9:50 a.m., officers responded to Maverik at 59 Uinta Drive for a report of a vehicle that ran into a concrete bollard. It was reported that as the vehicle pulled away from the pump the vehicle ran into one of the concrete bollards on the ends of the pumps. Officers met with the driver, gathered information, and completed an incident report.

At 11:04 a.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Monroe Avenue and issued the driver a written warning for an alleged yield right of way at intersections violation.

At 2:22 p.m., officers responded to a two-vehicle collision in the GRHS parking lot. It was reported one vehicle was reversing and struck a second vehicle, which was traveling north in the parking lane. Officers met with the drivers, gathered information, and completed a report of the incident.

At 2:33 p.m., officers responded to Animal Clinic of GR at 460 E 2 S Street for a report of lost property. Officers met with an individual who reported they lost their keys. Officers gathered information and completed an incident report.

At 3 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Monroe Avenue and issued the driver a verbal warning for alleged speeding.

At 3:07 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Monroe Avenue and issued the driver a verbal warning for alleged speeding.

At 3:11 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Shoshone Avenue and issued the driver a verbal warning for alleged speeding.

At 3:14 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Monroe Avenue and issued the driver a verbal warning for alleged speeding.

At 3:21 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Shoshone Avenue and issued the driver a verbal warning for alleged speeding.

At 3:34 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Monroe Avenue and issued the driver a verbal warning for alleged speeding.

At 3:39 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Monroe Avenue and issued the driver a verbal warning for alleged speeding.

At 3:55 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of W Teton Boulevard and issued the driver a written warning for alleged speed.

At 7:04 p.m., officers responded to a report of domestic violence. Officers met with the individuals who were involved in a verbal dispute. Officers gathered information and completed an incident report.

Aug. 29

At 2:45 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Monroe Avenue and issued the driver a written warning for alleged speed.

At 3:08 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Monroe Avenue and issued the driver a written warning for alleged speed.

At 3:19 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Mountain View Street and issued the driver a verbal warning for alleged speeding and no valid drivers license.

At 3:35 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of Shoshone Avenue and issued the driver a written warning for alleged speed.

At 3:55 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop in the area of the intersection of Monroe Avenue and Andrews Street on a vehicle that was speeding and the use of a cell phone while driving. Officers met with the driver and found that their drivers license had expired and the driver was required to have an interlock device. Officers placed the driver Chad K. Manley, of Green River, under arrest and issued citations for alleged use of handheld electronic wireless communication devices prohibited and drive without interlock device - 1st offense. Officers transported Manley to the Sweetwater County Detention Center and completed a report of the incident.

Aug. 30

At 11:29 p.m., CSOs responded to the area of W 3 N Street for a report of a property in violation of the City ordinance 17-1(a). Officers attempted to contact the owner and posted a notice. Officers were later contacted by the property owner and advised of the violation. Officers issued a notice to abate and completed an incident report.

At 1:01 p.m., CSOs responded to the area of N 5 W Street for a report of a property in violation of the City ordinance 17-1(a). Officers attempted to contact the owner, posted a notice, and completed an incident report.

At 1:25 p.m., CSOs responded to the area of W 2 N Street for a report of a property in violation of the City ordinance 17-1(a). Officers made contact with the property owner, issued a notice to abate, and completed a report of the incident.

At 1:51 p.m., officers responded to the area of Crossbow Drive for a report of a subject removal request. Officers issued Mark Kalogris, of Green River, a citation for alleged disturbing the peace.

At 3:43 p.m., officers responded to the area of Uinta Drive for a report of a two-vehicle collision. It was reported both vehicles were traveling southbound on Uinta Drive, with one vehicle in the right lane and the second vehicle in the left lane. As the first vehicle began to merge into the left lane, it struck the passenger side of the second vehicle. Officers gathered information, issued the driver, a juvenile, age 16, of Green River, a citation for alleged inattentive driving, and completed an incident report.
CASPER  Though the three-day bench trial that will decide the fate of abortion in Wyoming remains months away, the contentious legal battle over the states two bans continues to play out in Teton County court.

Ninth District Court Judge Melissa Owens ruled last month in favor of the women challenging the bans after a monthslong clash over the fact-finding portion of the case, also known as discovery, forcing the state and the Wyoming Attorney Generals Office to answer questions about the laws and their meaning ahead of the trial.

Owens ruling represents a significant win for the women after the state refused to answer any of their questions in the first round of discovery. In legal filings, lawyers for the state argued that the court shouldnt allow discovery in part because the responses would be burdensome, would have no effect on the case and would tip the states hand ahead of trial, a line of reasoning that Owens ultimately rejected.

The Attorney General of Wyoming is in the position to defend the constitutionality of the statues and has the resources for responding to the discovery, Owens wrote. The discovery directly relates to the factual basis necessary to support the claims and defenses asserted in this matter and the burden of the discovery does not outweigh the benefit of the discovery.

Questions for the state

Discovery is the process by which the two sides in a lawsuit exchange information about the evidence and witnesses they will present to avoid a trial by ambush, according to the American Bar Association, the professional association for lawyers, law students and judges.

Lawyers for the group of medical providers, Wyoming women and the Wyoming abortion fund challenging the Life is a Human Right Act and the states first-of-its-kind medication abortion ban submitted their first set of questions to the state in April shortly after filing their initial lawsuit.

The groups 22 questions probed the states reasoning for the bans as well as the meaning of language in both laws.

The lawyers asked the state to describe each and every government interest that the state believes the abortion bans support, as well as how the bans further those interests. Their questions drew a direct line to the Wyoming Constitution and Article 1, Section 38, which guarantees that each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions.

While Section 38 establishes the right of health care access, it does allow the Wyoming Legislature to make reasonable and necessary restrictions  to protect the health and general welfare of the people or to accomplish the other purposes set forth in the Wyoming Constitution.

In their legal challenge, the women have argued that the abortion bans violates the right of women to make their own health care decisions, while the states lawyers have held that lawmakers had the power and the grounds to place restrictions on the right. With their questions, the women aimed to dig into the states justification for the restrictions, a point of contention that will be central to the trial.

Many of the groups other questions asked the state to explain the language of the bans and the process a doctor should go through when determining if they can legally provide an abortion. They questioned what qualifies as a substantial risk of death for a pregnant woman, as well what illnesses or circumstances would contribute to the serious and permanent impairment of a life-sustaining organ of a pregnant woman.

They also asked the state to identify what medical information and guidelines doctors should rely on when trying to make their decisions.

As part of their legal argument, the women and their lawyers have maintained that Wyomings abortion bans are unconstitutional because they are vague and dont give doctors enough information to know when they can act under the exceptions.

This information is directly relevant to Plaintiffs claim that the statutes are unconstitutionally vague, and also that these vague terms result in the denial of necessary health care, in violation of Section 38, the lawyers for the women wrote in a petition to force the state answer their questions.

In addition to their questions, the attorneys also submitted seven requests for admissions, which ask the state to confirm a series of facts, including that Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, and Rep. Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, co-sponsored the Life is a Human Right Act. Most notably, they asked the state to admit that there is no difference in the potential life of a fetus or embryo that results from incest or sexual assault compared to a fetus or embryo that does not result from incest or sexual assault.

Both of Wyomings abortion bans include exceptions in the cases of sexual assault or incest.

Since the State has claimed that one governmental purpose of the abortion statutes is to preserve potential life at all stages, this request is directly relevant to the States defense, the lawyers for the group wrote in a follow-up to their petition.

Pushback

The Wyoming Attorney Generals Office immediately pushed back against the discovery. In their May 31 response, lawyers for the state refused to answer any of the questions while outlining a myriad of objections.

The two sides tried to resolve the dispute but couldnt come to an agreement, leading the attorneys for the women to file their petition to force the state to answer their questions and the state to file a response again objecting to the questions.

In the states rebuttal, Wyoming Special Assistant Jay Jerde protested the requests and argued that the state shouldnt have to respond to any of the questions and discovery shouldnt take place at all. Among the states defenses was that some of the questions are overly burdensome because they ask the state to identify all medical manuals, publications, guidance literature or educational materials that establish medical definitions for the terms lawmakers used in crafting the bans.

Others asked the state to identify each and every condition, illness, injury or circumstance that could lead to a substantial risk of death for a pregnant woman, one of the exceptions included in Life is a Human Right Act.

Plaintiffs have not explained how asking the State Defendants to do an excessive amount of work that will have no benefit in resolving the issues in this case in any way leads to the conclusion that the Life Act and the chemical abortion statute are not reasonable or necessary to protect the public health and welfare, Jerde wrote.

Jerde and the Wyoming Attorney Generals Office also told Owens that the answers to some questions, specifically those about the states motivation for enacting an abortion ban, were protected because they would reveal the legal arguments that the state would make at trial.

The state interests or purposes are legal determinations, not facts or opinions related to facts. At this stage of this case, that information constitutes the mental impressions or legal theories of defense counsel so it cannot be disclosed in discovery, Jerde wrote.

A legal debate over discovery

While he presented several reasons why the state shouldnt have to answer each of the questions, Jerde asserted that it was all irrelevant because there shouldnt be discovery in the case in the first place.

Jerde and the states stance rests on the technical but important distinction between facial and as applied challenges in constitutional cases. In a facial challenge, a person claims that a law is unconstitutional as it is written, that is on its face, often because it is too vague or broad, according to the Free Speech Center at Middle Tennessee State University. Critically, a successful facial challenge strikes down the law for everyone.

In the case of Wyomings abortion bans, the women say that the laws as written violate the states constitution and the right to make personal health care decisions.

They seek to have the Life Act and the chemical abortion statute declared to be wholly invalid and to prevent enforcement of the statutes against everyone who falls within the reach of the statutes, Jerde wrote. The breadth of their requested remedies confirms that they are asserting only facial challenges.

Because the women are challenging the laws on their face, Owens and the court can only interpret and assess the laws as theyre written, without any added context about the purpose of the laws and how the state interprets them, according to the state.

These interrogatories are unrelated to the facts of this case because there are no facts in this case, Jerde wrote.

Without facts, there can be no fact finding and no discovery, Jerde asserted.

However, the women and their lawyers said that they are also challenging the bans as applied, meaning that the laws are unconstitutional because they also violate the personal constitutional rights of those in the group, including Drs. Giovannina Anthony and Rene Hinkle whose OB-GYN practices would be affected by the bans.

In their response to the state, the lawyers suggested that the state is attempting to conceal information that the group needs to prepare for trial and that the court will ultimately need to decide the case In short, the State seeks to engage in trial by ambush, they wrote.

A significant decision

After roughly four months of legal battles, Owens soundly rejected the states objections in an Aug. 16 decision, finding that the state must overwhelmingly respond to the questions of the women and their legal team by Sept. 6.

In some cases, Owens narrowed the questions, while she threw out four of the seven requests for admissions. However, her most significant decision was ruling that the women have established both facial and as applied challenges to the bans.

The Amended Complaint seeks declaratory relief supported by factual allegations that allege the statutes are unconstitutional because they prohibit the individual Plaintiffs from engaging in conduct that is protected by the Wyoming Constitution and are too vague for the Plaintiffs to properly interpret, Owens wrote.

In legal filings, the attorneys for the women said the states attempts to block discovery were telling, especially in light of their request that the state admit that there is no difference in the potential life of a fetus or embryo that results from incest or sexual assault compared to a fetus or embryo that does not result from incest or sexual assault.

It is understandable that the State does not wish to answer this request, the lawyers wrote. If it is truthful as is required, it must admit the request, thereby also admitting that the statutes do not further the asserted interest in protecting potential life.

The three-day bench trial that will decide the fate of abortion in Wyoming  barring an appeal to the Wyoming Supreme Court  will begin in Teton County District Court on April 15, 2024.
Edward Jones, 73, passed away June 30, 2023, at his home in Phoenix, Arizona.

He was born October 16, 1949, to Harry and Lucille Jones in Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Edward attended school in Rock Springs, graduating from Rock Springs High School in 1968. He then attended the University of Wyoming where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration in 1972.

Edward spent most of his career in retail. While working at Den's Place, he became part-owner of Brass Oak, both clothing stores. After closing both stores, Edward took a position with Dillard's Department Stores. He eventually settled in Phoenix while working at Paradise Valley Dillard's.

Edward veered his career path slightly when he used his experience to begin consulting work for businesses that were experiencing problems in their structure and systems. This opportunity allowed him to travel and meet new people, which provided him with countless stories he shared with friends and family.

He finished his career helping to manage two plastic injection manufacturing companies.

Edward married Donita Colson on December 18, 1999. They divorced in 2004.

Edward was a proud alumnus of UW and an avid Cowboys fan. He was very active in his church, where he held different positions. A car enthusiast, a high point in his year was attending the Barrett Jackson car show. Edward taught himself to play the Irish bodhran and played both with a local band and in Sunday sessions at local pubs. He was proud of his Irish and Welsh heritage and enjoyed learning his family history, which included two trips to Ireland. He enjoyed visiting with friends over a pint of Guinness and smoking a cigar with a glass of Redbreast.

Edward was preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Lucille, his brother John Jones and his sister and brother-in-law, Mary Jane and Marion Hinesley and nephew in law, Bryan Belcher.

He is survived by his nephew Dan Hinesley and wife Ellen, niece Seana Belcher, niece Maureen Jones, nephew Michael Jones. He is also survived by several great nieces and nephews.

Cremation has taken place, Graveside Services and Inurnment will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, September 16, 2023 at Rock Springs Municipal Cemetery.

Condolences may be left at http://www.vasefuneralhomes.com.
Every leakster is getting their two cents in when it comes to the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and that is still months away. The latest is Yogesh Brar, who posted a list of key specs that corroborates previous reports on Samsungs bar phone flagship (but also refute some).

The Ultra is expected to follow Apples lead in using a titanium frame. This wont have a major impact on weight, in fact, the new model is expected to be 1g lighter at 233g. Of course this is a change from aluminum to titanium, while while the iPhone Pros will lose some weight since they are changing from heavier stainless steel.

We heard news that Exynos is making a comeback, but that seems to be a Galaxy S24/S24+ thing  the S24 Ultra is expected to exclusively use Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (presumably the boosted for Galaxy version of it).

The display will be a 6.8 LTPO AMOLED panel with QHD+ resolution. It may switch to a flat design and is reported to be super bright with a peak brightness of 2,200 nits (compared to 1,750 nits for the S23 Ultra). The bezels will be kind chunky, though.

The current Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

There will be major upgrades to the rear camera, including a new 200MP sensor (HP25X). It will still measure 1/1.3 in size but will feature improved autofocus along with 4-in-1 and 16-in-1 pixel binning. On top of that, the 3x telephoto camera will get a new 50MP sensor (1/2.52, 0.7m pixels before binning, up from 10MP 1/3.52 sensor with 1.12m pixels). The 12MP ultra wide and the 12MP selfie camera are not getting upgraded. The periscope module will stick to its 10MP sensor.

Also, it seems that the rumors of 65W charging will not pan out and the new Ultra will stick with the old 5,000mAh battery with 45W wired charging. Again, the S24 series won't be out until next year, so reliable rumors are a couple of months out.

Source | Via
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A recent report by the Wall Street Journal claims that Chinese government officials are now banned from using iPhones and devices from foreign brands at work over potential security risks. The ban is essentially part of a larger plan for the Chinese government to cut its reliance on foreign technology and keep sensitive data from possibly leaking. As per the report, Chinese government officials are instructed to not use their iPhones for work-related tasks and are also banned from bringing them to the workplace.

A follow-up report from Bloomberg News suggests that the ban will likely extend to government-backed agencies and state-run companies as China seeks to become technologically self-reliant. China is one of Apples largest markets and is home to several of its large-scale manufacturing hubs. The new measures can be viewed as counters to the US ban on Huawei and ZTE and more recently Tik-Tok.

Source 1  Source 2 (both behind paywall)
Samsung launched the Galaxy Tab S9 series alongside its latest foldables in July and we now welcome their most premium representative in our office. For the second generation in a row, the biggest tablet in the company's lineup is the Ultra, but its advantages stretch beyond size.

The 14.6 tablet is the best the company can offer, and we'll do our best to examine it to determine whether the $1,200 starting price is worth it.

The Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra is massive with its 32.6 cm width and 20.8 cm height. It is designed with landscape usage in mind, so the notch for the dual cameras is along one of the long sides. Taking it out of the box we found the tablet is not easy to hold if you don't have anything to rest it against  it is heavy and unbalanced for one hand with its 732-gram body, and two hands mean you can't reach most of the display.

Our retail box had a USB-C to USB-C charging cable, and an S Pen. The stylus is a great addition because the huge canvas of the S9 Ultra really lets your creativity thrive.

We understand some artists prefer the slate to lay flat on the table, but in virtually any other scenario the tablet needs support.

Compared to Tab S8 Ultra, the S9 top dog comes with a brighter display, IP68 water and dust resistance, variable refresh rate, and, of course, the latest Qualcomm chipset.

There are also four AKG-tuned speakers, grouped in two on both sides  all of these are pretty intriguing specs worthy of detailed inspection.

Samsung built a tablet that aims to deliver a proper answer to the iPad Pro 12.9 by Apple. The review is already underway and once it's done we'll know how well that turned out. Stay tuned!
Just as previously teased by the company itself, today Samsung has officially announced the Thom Browne Editions for the Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Watch6.

The new, dressed up Galaxy Z Fold5 is "an homage to Thom Browne's signature design elements with its black pebble leather and grosgrain details", Samsung says in its official press release.

The exterior features Thom Browne's signature red, white, and blue stripes, a fabric texture etched on the back glass, an accentuating black frame and gold hinge, and gold rings around the camera lenses. The limited edition also comes with two distinct leather pouch cases as well as a special edition of the S Pen. The packaging boasts the iconic Thom Browne briefcase.

The Galaxy Watch6 gets a "graceful gold-tone body", a special watch face, and the Thom Browne logo engraved on the side. The Thom Browne red, white, and blue colors are applied to the buckle, and you get two leather straps: one with black pebble leather and the other with red, white, and blue striped leather. The colors are also used on the 25W travel adapter for the phone, the coin-style watch charger, and an exclusive USB-C to USB-C cable made from fabric.

Thom Browne said:

This continued collaboration with Samsung represents an evolution of what we've been creating together for years. Once again, we want to show that a perfect blend of top quality, innovative design and a classic aesthetic can become a powerful form of self-expression. I believe this Galaxy Z Fold5 Thom Browne Edition is the ultimate example of turning advanced technology into a bold statement.

The Galaxy Z Fold5 and Galaxy Watch6 Thom Browne Editions will become available from Samsung's online store "in limited numbers" from September 12 in select markets including Korea.
The Matao, Guams senior mens national soccer team, goes against Singapore in the second leg of the FIFA World Cup 26 and AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 Joint Preliminary Qualification Round 1.
The constant need for the Guam Power Authority to perform load shedding with generators going under emergency repairs has numerous elected officials wondering about the plans for GPA and the board of the Consolidated Commission on Utilities.

Sen. William Parkinson, chairperson of the legislative committee on power and energy utilities, shared his thoughts on the possibility of years of intermittent load-shedding until the Ukudu power plant can be operational.

The root of the issue is the CCU. At this point, we are barely generating enough electricity to keep the island running properly. No matter how we got to this point, the responsibility for planning and development of GPA rests squarely with the CCU, shared Parkinson.

Parkinson also noted that while the expected lifetime viability of a power plant is 30 years, Cabras 1 and 2, two of the baseload generators, are nearly 50 years old.

Weve reached a point where these two power plants are no longer reliable, and the CCU has had 20 years to come up with a solution to safely retire these power plants, said Parkinson. The gap in power generation we have today is their responsibility. As a consequence of their poor management, our people must suffer.

Parkinson has continued to introduce bills to help alleviate the energy loads on GPA.

With Bill 142-37, Parkinson intends to allow private entities the ability to have larger solar power capabilities with up to 500 kilowatts of non-residential solar generation.

Currently, GPA limits the capacity of non-residential solar generation to 100 kilowatts, according to a news release from Parkinsons office.

Simply put, Bill 142-37 is the private sector solution to load shedding. GPA cannot produce enough generation to provide stable and reliable power for all of Guam, noted Parkinson. We have load shedding on almost a daily basis. This bill would allow the private sector to provide their own power and lower the overall power demand on Guam. We should not limit the private sectors ability to generate their own power for their own operations.

Parkinson added that working together with the private sector can provide more power generation that Guam desperately needs.

Numerous testimonies from organizations were provided in support of Bill 142-37.

Jim Beighley, CEO of the Pacific Group, noted that the bill can help provide immediate solutions, especially during this time of frequent load shedding.

We understand the challenges that GPA is facing, with the limited existing generation capacity on island, noted Beighley. The additional capacity required to meet grid demand can either come from existing resources, or we can find alternative means to supplement the shortfalls.

Marcus Fong, CEO of Foremost, also shared that by being partially self-sufficient, the companies can help lighten the load.

The demand for electricity is straining the current public infrastructure, and it is expected to grow in the coming years, stressed Fong. The passage of this bill will enable the private sector, especially large utility consumers, to contribute towards a more comprehensive solution for the islands future utility needs.

Douglas Moylan, attorney general of Guam, went further to indicate that its possibly time for the CCU to be disbanded and for GPA to go back under the governors leadership.

Restore GPA and GWA leadership to the governor like the Guam Organic Act directed with one elected, full-time official to hold accountable, noted the AG in a letter to the editor. Allow the hard-working GPA and GWA employees good leadership to do their jobs effectively for us. The CCU is not just inorganic, but they are hurting this community.

Moylan further added that the CCUs poor planning can be shown through the inadequate power capacity and system failures.

Nice offices and flashy fliers telling us what they are doing and what we pay for, do nothing to keep our lights on, claimed Moylan in a letter to the editor. We and our families continue to suffer in 2023, especially after more than a month of Super Typhoon Mawar utility outages. Unacceptable.

Sen. Jesse Lujan also introduced Resolution Number 179-37 to call on the Biden administration and the U.S. Congress to help provide multi-year funding to upgrade and harden Guams infrastructure.

Now is the time for the Executive Branch and the U.S. Congress to jointly support the funding and upgrading of Guams civilian infrastructure. Our island is clearly in need of major upgrades to our power, water, telecommunication, roads, and more, said Lujan. The local government does not have the resources to make the much-needed improvements on its own. We cant do it without substantial financial help from the federal government.

Lujan further noted that as Guam is the tip of the spear in the Indo-Pacific theater, it is vital to the nations national security.

2023 has not been an easy year for Guam. With Chinese hackers targeting our island and attacking local business computer networks, and Typhoon Mawar wreaking havoc across Guam, significant damage was inflicted on many critical facilities, negatively affecting our people and residents, added Lujan. All of this happened in the midst of an ongoing major military buildup, and has highlighted the need for more resources to secure our island. Needless to say, the military can plainly see that without a strong civilian power, water, sewer, telecommunication and road infrastructure, their military readiness and capabilities are limited and ultimately threatened.

James Moylan, Guams congressional delegate to the US House of Representatives, did note that it is a monumental task if the federal government will take on the entire bill.

While the argument for improving Guams electrical infrastructure is indeed paramount, we are talking about estimations amounting to nearly $7 billion, noted the delegate.

James Moylan added that they remain committed to seeking different avenues in the process for stronger utility infrastructure.

As stated with the stakeholders, we are committed to seeking and utilizing all avenues in this process, stated James Moylan. This includes seeking federal grants for infrastructure and looking at the disaster relief fund, where we co-authored the house bill to replenish those monies. All parties must do their part to ensure history is not repeated by protecting our electrical grid from future disasters.
Michael Lujan Bevacqua is an author, artist, activist and the curator for The Guam Museum.




Haiti - FLASH : Results of the single Bac exams for 2 departments and per student





The Ministry of National Education has published the results of the single Bac exams (Secondary 4) 2022/2023 for 2 departments : Center and Grande-Anse, according to data provided by the National Bureau of State Examinations (BUNEXE)



Resuls by department of the Bac unique (S4) 2022/2023: (in descending order)



Center: out of 7,097 participants, 4,089 candidates were admitted, i.e. a success rate of 57.62% (slight increase) the previous year 56.67%

Grande Anse: out of 3,678 participants, 1,400 candidates were admitted, i.e. a success rate of 38.06% (sharp drop the previous year 50.36%



The Ministry informs that the results of the other departments will be communicated shortly.



School principals are invited to withdraw their school's prize list from the Departmental Directorate of Education (DDE) concerned.



To view the results per student for Center and Grande Anse CLICK ON THIS LINK



IMPORTANT :

This official BUNEXE address may be difficult to access due to the excessive number of applicants which overloads the Government server and sometimes makes it dysfunctional.



If you are unable to reach the BUNEXE site, avoid trying several times in a row to access it, you are only saturating the BUNEXE server even more. It is best to try again with an interval of 10-30 minutes and be very patient.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - FLASH : One of the Colombians arrested in the assassination of President Moise, turns around and will plead guilty





This Thursday, September 7, a former retired Colombian officer German Rivera (44 years old) alias "Mike" one of the key suspects in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July 7, 2021 in his residence hhttps://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html , arrested in Haiti and transferred to the USA will plead guilty in federal court in Florida, reveals the New York Times.



While he had pleaded not guilty to the crime on first appearance, today, facing the possibility of a life sentence, he decided to plead guilty to the charges. Rivera, 45, is accused by American justice of having recruited and organized a commando which committed the assassination of the Haitian Head of State.



The acceptance of the charges is a big step forward in the case, underline the legal experts consulted, because they hope that Rivera will cooperate with justice and testify against his co-defendants. Criminal lawyer Ivan Cancino explains "[...] admitting guilt and cooperating with the investigation may result in a less severe sentence or less strict detention conditions."



For Juan David Bazzani, criminal lawyer from the Externado de Colombia University agrees and explains that Rivera's decision to accept the charges indicates that "Cooperating requires accepting to have participated and organized the operation. This makes him the most important witness for the prosecution."



Let's recall that in June 2023 another member of the conspiracy, Haitian-Chilean Rodolphe Jaar, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39685-haiti-flash-rodolphe-jaar-sentenced-to-life-imprisonment-in-the-usa-in-the-assassination-of-president-moise.html for the assassination of President Moise. The prosecution ruled that he had conspired to "commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and provide material support resulting in death" and that he "was responsible for supplying weapons to members of the commando to facilitate the completion of the operation.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-34162-haiti-flash-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-by-mercenaries-official-updated-7am-+-video.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39685-haiti-flash-rodolphe-jaar-sentenced-to-life-imprisonment-in-the-usa-in-the-assassination-of-president-moise.html



Read about the assassination of President Moise (links) :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-36347-haiti-flash-former-colombian-soldier-mario-antonio-palacios-pleads-not-guilty-in-the-usa.html



SL/ HaitiLibre


















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(CNBC) China reported Thursday another monthly decline in imports and exports, albeit less steep than expected. Exports in U.S. dollar terms fell by 8.8% in August from a year ago. Thats better than the 9.2% drop forecast by a Reuters poll. Imports in U.S. dollar terms fell by 7.3% in August from a year ago, better than the 9% decline forecast by Reuters.

To read this article:
News of bankruptcies in the construction industry have been hard to avoid in recent months, with the number of bankruptcies soaring by 38 per cent year-on-year between January and August, according to information provided to the public broadcasting company by Asiakastieto.

THE WORST is yet to come for construction, Jukka Appelqvist , the chief economist at Finland Chamber of Commerce, stated to YLE on Tuesday.

The casualties have included a number of large companies, such as Visura and Jukkatalo.

Appelqvist told YLE that it is difficult for the government to alleviate the struggles of the industry given the urgent nature of the situation. Should there be a willingness to take action, he explained, the measured would be required immediately.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) stated to Kauppalehti on Tuesday that the government will decide on measures to support the industry at its budget session. Preparatory work on the measures is being carried out by a task force comprised of officials from the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of the Environment.

The situation is very difficult, he conceded. Construction is about to come to a complete standstill, which threatens housing supply in the future. Theres a need for new residential units, he commented to the business-oriented newspaper.

As one possible measure, the prime minister has floated the idea of launching infrastructure projects ahead of schedule.

Lasse Corin, the chief economist at Aktia, similarly described the situation in the construction industry as bleak in an interview with YLE on Tuesday. Building permits have fallen by a third while bankruptcies by construction companies have increased by roughly a third, he summarised.

The spring and summer are typically a busy season for construction firms, yet the number of employees who have been laid off  temporarily or permanently  has increased from the previous year. The big question currently is how long the crisis in construction will continue, analysed Appelqvist.

The end of the year and start of next year will be a very cold winter in terms of the economic situation. Itll be really tough, he said.

The Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries (RT) has estimated that the industry employs about 250,000 people. Timo Vikstrom, the board chairperson at RT, stated to Helsingin Sanomat on Saturday that he expects the ranks of the unemployed in the industry to grow by 2030,000 in 20232024.

When unemployment increases, it also has an impact on other parts of the economy, Corin reminded YLE on Tuesday.

The construction industry is indeed not the only cause for concern for economists.

The big question now is how contagious the deteriorating situation will be for the service sectors. The situation in industry and construction is already very difficult, said Appelqvist.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
Thousands gathered at the anti-racism protest in Helsinki Me Emme Vaikene (We are not silent) on September 3, Sunday as a show of strength for demonstration against racism and fascism in Finland. Finnish Police estimates that around 11,000 people were present in the gathering which went smoothly without any disruptions. The demonstration was also lined up by several artists like Loituma , Kuumo , Vesta , Paleface , Juno , among others.

The event in Helsinki was described as a peaceful and politically neutral protest with over 100 supporting organizations. It started in Senate Square at 1pm and protesters marched towards Toolonlahti Park. The demonstrations come at a time when the new government is embroiled with controversies about racism scandals revolving Ill politicians from the far-right parties and inefficiency in addressing these concerns in the new government programme. Protestors also believed that the new anti-racism measures announced by the government are not enough to eliminate the issue of systemic racism in Finland.

Prime Minister Orpo (NCP) announced plans to allocate 1-1.5 million euros for specific measures during the autumn budget session. The government statement defines racism as labelling individuals or population groups as inferior due to factors like ethnic origin, skin color, nationality, culture, language, or religion. It points out that racism can appear as discriminatory norms or practices in society and as discriminatory behavior between individuals and groups.

It shows the parliament returning from the summer break that racism that violates human rights, undermines democracy and undermines the sense of security of people belonging to minorities does not belong in Finland or the Finnish government, Elsi Sloan, from the working group that compiled the program of the demonstration, said in a release.

The atmosphere at the event resembled a vibrant summer concert, as numerous artists passionately lent their support and voiced their concerns regarding the pervasive issue of racism in Finland. Attendees were equally committed, arriving with a multitude of banners bearing powerful messages such as No room for racism, Racists out, Tolerating racism is racism, and Down with racism and fascism.

Some protestors shared their concerns with Helsinki Times about the rampant visibility of racism after the recent emergence of agendas against immigrants and hate-speeches by politicians.

Lilli Keh, owner of All Day Management, highlighted the racism in the structures, different opportunities, and salary negotiations with respect to people who are from mixed backgrounds as compared to Finnish people. The new measures introduced by the new government are not enough. And to cover it up, they are now talking about criminalizing the denying of the Holocaust. Definitely it happened, and it was horrible, but racism is still happening every day in many ways in our society, and that should be fixed as a first priority, Keh said.

Another protestor, Antti Vierta held a banner with Orpo on niin pihalla (Orpo is out of touch) and believes that the new government led by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo needs to criminalize racism in Finland.

Racism is unveiling in the country in a new way, the election of Finns party shows that. It is good that people have identified that, and we are beginning to resist it, Vierta said, who had come to Helsinki from Turku for the protest.

Racism should be criminalized by the government. It is a question of human rights, he added.

During the speeches at the Toolonlahti stage, participants engaged in traditional demonstration chants, with people shouting, What do we want?  Racists out! When?  Now. The crowd echoed with calls for immediate action, emphasizing the urgency by repeating, When, when, when?  Now, now, now!

The event featured speakers who represent the diversity and energy of civil society, with expertise in human rights. Notable figures included Ahmed Hassan from the Somaliland Association, anti-racism expert Paco Diop, poet and activist Laura Eklund Nhaga, and researcher Anette Akerlund.

Elina Sagne-Ollikainen, one of the organizers of the demonstration, highlighted Finance Minister Riikka Purra and Economic Affairs Minister Wille Rydmans involvement in recent racism discussions. The people will never support the highest positions of the society with racist ideas. It is unacceptable to have ministers like Purra and Rydman in the ministerial positions, she said. Purra faced criticism for past racist online remarks dating back to 2008, while Rydman was under scrutiny for racist private messages sent in 2016.

Helsinki Times had earlier reported that The Green League and Left Alliance parliamentary groups had announced their intention to submit motions of no confidence against Riikka Purra and Wille Rydman.

By Sonali Telang

HT
While the government is unlikely to collapse over the statement, the debate served as a vivid reminder of how the differently issue is understood within the Finns Party.

MEMBERS of Parliament on Wednesday got the opportunity to discuss the equality and non-discrimination statement the government drafted in response to revelations about the past online comments of Minister of Finance Riikka Purra and Minister of Economic Affairs Wille Rydman .

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) began the debate by underscoring that the work to weed out racism must continue, pointing to discriminatory attitudes and structures in, for example, education and labour markets. The government, he assured, treats the issue very seriously and is committed to taking long-term action to tackle it.

Ministers, representatives and other political actors have an especially big responsibility for not only creating the climate for societal debate, but also respecting each other, he was quoted saying in the session hall of the Parliament House on Wednesday by Helsingin Sanomat.

Jani Makela, the chairperson of the Finns Party Parliamentary Group, similarly assured that the government stands by its statement but promptly turned his attention to discrimination against boys and men, immigrant gangs harassing the native-born population and the woke culture that has labelled anything from board games to ice cream as racist.

It must be possible to talk about societal problems and even difficult issues without constantly worrying about who decides to get offended and whom youll have to ask for forgiveness tomorrow, he said.

Makela last summer described the government statement on equality and non-discrimination as an attempt to solve a problem that actually does not exist.

While the contents of the statement drew hardly any criticism, it was remarks such as this  and especially their steady stream during the summer  that prompted opposition parties to question whether the government is genuinely committed to the statement.

Oras Tynkkynen (Greens) said the Finns Party is mocking the statement and wondered why it is so hard for the group to accept the statement without any ifs and buts, reported YLE.

Li Andersson, the chairperson of the Left Alliance, stated that she values the prime ministers committed to combating discrimination and racism but questioned his assurances that the policies of the government would not change Finland. The government programme, she argues, sends the message that foreigners are not welcome to the country by raising tuition fees for foreign students, adopting a three-month re-employment requirement for foreign workers and separating the social security benefits of non-permanent residents.

How can you say Finland wont change? she asked according to Helsingin Sanomat.

Neither Purra nor Rydman felt it necessary to address the parliament. Purra made only a short comment after her silence had caught the attention of Annika Saarikko, the chairperson of the Centre: Ive made my apology, and weve all rejected racism.

The Social Democratic Party on Wednesday announced a motion of no confidence against the government, the Left Alliance against Rydman and the Green League against Purra.

The votes of confidence are scheduled for Friday. With the Centre intent on siding with the four ruling parties, the National Coalition, Finns Party, Swedish Peoples Party and Christian Democrats, the motions are not expected to succeed.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
This story originally appeared on Kveller.

Shanah Tovah, Happy, Healthy New Year! The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, is nearly here. I can tell this coming year is going to be a good one - the bar is already so low, we can only go up from here!

Rosh Hashanah, or "Head of the Year" is observed this year from sundown on Sept. 15 through Sept. 17. Rosh Hashanah celebrates the beginning of the next year on the Hebrew lunar calendar and is a time of great reflection, repentance and, of course, guilt.

In honor of this very important Jewish holiday, we eat special foods, don white attire, hea...
As Jews around the world herald in the Hebrew Year 5784, I am celebrating Rosh Hashanah with the release of my fourth book, "Keep Calm and Bake Challah: How I Survived the Pandemic, Politics, Pratfalls, and Other of Life's Problems."

Before you start getting out your baking pans, please be warned: No, this is NOT a cookbook!

In March 2020, as the reality of COVID-19 hit home, I started baking challah, the delicious, braided egg bread that is typically eaten on the Sabbath and other important Jewish holidays. More importantly, I started writing about baking challah. Getting inspiration...
Just in time for the High Holidays, Eden Grove and The Mesaper Theatre announced the New York premiere of Out of The Apple Orchard, an off-Broadway production based on award-winning author Yvonne Davids book Out of the Apple Orchard, the first book in the four-part childrens book Apple Tree Series. It was adapted for the stage by Ellen W. Kaplan and directed by Nicole Raphael of The Mesaper Theatre.

Out of The Apple Orchard was first performed at the Orlando Repertory Theatre in 2016 and was directed by Tony-award-winning producer Kenny Howard. The off-Broad...
Preparing for Rosh Hashanah should not be a downer. Its an auspicious, exciting time for clarity and closeness, grounded in positivity and love.

The Hebrew month of Elul, a spiritually super-charged time leading up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, has a surprising theme. The word Elul is an acronym for the phrase Ani ldodi vdodi li  I am for my beloved and my beloved is for me that comes from King Solomons Song of Songs (6:3).

To borrow from Tina Turners famous song, whats love got to do with it? Why does this phrase that articulates the deep longing bet...
As with every year, the Jewish High Holy Days provide the perfect opportunity to look back and commit to a better future for ourselves and our world. We at Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando are very grateful for all those who have joined with us over the years to help all those in need in our community, not just during the holidays but EVERY day through our FAMILY of services.

With the increased capacity of the Pearlman Food Pantry, we distributed record levels of food not seen in our 45-year history. Four of the past six months have exceeded our previous record of 447 sets, with th...
Cousins Richard Radutzky and Sandy Wiener grew up with major bragging rights. Both boys could boast to friends that their family made candy for a living. Career Day at their schools inevitably involved one of their fathers bringing in a giant bar of chocolate to wow the room and treats to share with all of their classmates. Richard and Sandy grew up in Brooklyn, New York in the shadow of their family business, Joyva, makers of tahini, halvah and other confections. The two, who now run the business along with Richard's son, Ben Radutzky, vividly remember operating the freight elevator (Ri...
(JNS)  One student has been told she doesnt get to talk because shes white and therefore couldnt have been oppressed. Another found colleagues to go ghost white, fearing for safety on campus in the face of anti-Israel activism when he chose to move forward with hosting an event with a former Israel Defense Forces soldier.The stories that pro-Israel college students shared with JNS earlier this week at the Israel on Campus Coalition National Leadership Summit about their experiences on campus ranged from being threatened and silenced to more promising feelings, which inspi...
September 2022

The Jewish community along with the rest of the world mourned the death by natural causes of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8, 2022. Just as September was about to leave, Hurricane Ian struck, causing massive flooding and power outages across Central Florida. Most severely harmed was the Fort Myers area. Federations doubled down on providing their community with food and emergency assistance.

October 2022

Lots of changes happened in October. Kinneret apartments, collectively known as Kinneret Inc., were sold to Fairstead for $57 million. Fairstead plans to preserve the affordabi...
(JNS) Americas ambassador to the United Nations emphasized at Mondays U.N. Security Council meeting last week, the Biden administration designated a Hezbollah-linked groupone that purports to be an environmental organizationa terror group. Linda Thomas-Greenfield also stamped the terror label on two Israelis who have been charged, but not yet tried, in a deadly incident earlier this month.

We strongly condemn the terror attacks by settlers in Burqa on August 4 that killed a 19-year-old Palestinian, said the ambassador, noting also that there have been recent dead...
(JNS)  The Biden administration told the Israeli government last week that it would have to make considerable concessions to the Palestinians if a U.S.-brokered deal with Saudi Arabia is to succeed.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israels Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, who visited Washington on Aug. 17, that Israels government is misreading the situation if it presumes it wont need to make concessions, two U.S. officials told Axios.

Saudi Arabia will need to show Muslims the world over that it succeeded in extracting promises from Israel regarding...
(JNS)  The Jerusalem Magistrates Court on Wednesday rejected Knesset member Simcha Rothmans request to issue a restraining order against 430 opponents of judicial reform, members of a WhatsApp messaging group called Looking for and harassing Rothman.

After weighing all the considerations, I found that the respondents activity apparently falls within the scope of a permissible political protest, in accordance with the rules of the democratic game, said Judge Naeel Mohana.

Such an order would restrict the basic fundamental rights of the individual, and therefore...
(JTA)  What appears to have been the first-ever passenger flight between Saudi Arabia and Israel has taken place  even though the two countries have not yet established diplomatic relations.

An Air Seychelles flight to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing on Monday in the the port city of Jeddah, where passengers spent the night. On Tuesday, they flew from there to Ben Gurion International Airport.

I really appreciate the warm way in which the Saudi authorities treated the Israeli passengers, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. I really appreciate the...
(JNS)  Mondays murderous terrorist attack on Route 60 in Hebron, in which an Israeli woman was shot dead and a man seriously injured, is just the latest indication of the sad fact that Israel is in the middle of a prolonged security escalation in Judea and Samariawith no end in sight.

The incident comes two days after an Israeli father and son were shot dead in Huwara, an attack that may have helped inspire Mondays shooting.

So far in 2023, 34 people (33 Israelis and an Italian tourist) were killed in Palestinian terrorism, and almost 200 shooting attacks occurred in Jude...
How do we pick up the pieces and start to live again? Everyone does it differently and in his or her own time frame.

Join a grief support group. Renew old friendships, find a job that you enjoy do volunteer work, find a new or renew an old hobby.... One of the best therapies is finding a friend you can talk to...one who will listen and support you as you ease back into the world! We are better than ever for our commitment. We are forever changed in a good way.... no one can ever take that total love away from us as we again join the world.

The Jewish Pavilion offers a grief support program...
Jerusalem police nab Palestinians for US embassy break-ins

(JNS)  Police recently arrested two Palestinians from the Hebron area for breaking into a U.S. embassy warehouse in Jerusalem and stealing property last month, the Israel Police said.

The suspects, both men in their 20s from the town of Tarqumiyah, worked at a construction site near the embassy in the capitals upscale Arnona neighborhood.

According to the police, the pair took advantage of their work permit in Israel to steal maintenance property during a series of break-ins.

The burglars were eventually apprehend...
(JNS)  Sex and the City fans appropriately expressed outrage after SATCs reboot And Just Like That made an offensive joke about the Holocaust on Holocaust Remembrance Day. They further charged that the show was permeated with overdone woke-ism.

But other deeply disturbing things about AJLT received little to no notice. First, AJLT repeatedly promoted the dangerous George Soros-funded Israel-bashing propaganda organization Human Rights Watch. This became even worse in the just-aired AJLT Season 2, which also displays giant HRW signs in numerous scenes.

The show also...
(JNS)  There are many kinds of blessings. Every situation, every occasion, has a different blessing. We wish success to some, to others long life or good health, and to still others we wish nachas and pride from their children.

When my sister was a small child, she was somewhat confused by the traditional Yiddish blessings we give people at various life milestones. Someone had a baby and she wished them biz hundert un tzvantzig! In plain English, that means, till 120! Its what we say when someone, particularly a more mature person, has a birthday: May you live a long life,...
The days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are devoted not only to examining our relationship with God, but also to self-reflection and our relationship with others.

Our tradition, developed over more than three thousand years, has created a rich narrative of prayers and readings which, selectively are an integral part of synagogue services for all denominations. Included in the High Holiday liturgy is the retelling of our rich history from the rituals and pageantry of the High Priest in the Holy Temple to our religious experiences throughout the centuries.

Also included in the holiday ob...
(JNS)  Reports confirm the Biden administration will gift Iran a whopping $6 billion in exchange for the release of five American hostages. This decision is a godsend for outcast regimes and terrorists around the worldstarting with Iran itselfthat will no doubt feel emboldened to pursue further acts of belligerence against America and its allies.

The decision reflects the presidents naive view that friendly diplomacy can subdue our enemies. Rather, Bidens policies have only encouraged rogue elements like Irans Islamist regime to continue on the path of aggression and te...
Gemini  21st May to 20th June Daily Horoscope Prediction says, you determine your life Today, troubleshoot the issues in the love life. Utilize the professional opportunities for better growth. Minor money-related issues will be there. Gemini Daily Horoscope for September 8 2023: Today, troubleshoot the issues in the love life. Utilize the professional opportunities for better growth.

A happy love life is waiting. Spend time together to be more romantic. Despite the challenges, you will perform brilliantly at the office. Financially you are not good to make major decisions while health will be good.

Gemini Love Horoscope Today

Your romantic life will be joyful and today is auspicious to make crucial love-related decisions. If you are married, do not fall into an extramarital relationship as this can make the family life disastrous. There can be issues connected with the in-laws, especially when you have an extended family. Troubleshoot every problem today through open communication. Single Gemini natives can propose to someone today and the relationship can also be taken to the next level if needed.

Gemini Career Horoscope Today

Youll see new opportunities to prove your mettle at the workplace. Be innovative at team meetings today and express your opinion backed by facts. This will help you stay in the good book of the management. Do not blindly trust the partner, especially in financial matters. You may launch a new concept or product today but only after proper homework.

Gemini Money Horoscope Today

Do not make crucial money decisions in a hurry. Think over an idea and analyze every angle before you make a final call. Partnership issues can be a problem for businessmen and this may impact the financial condition today. The second half of the day is good to buy a vehicle but ensure you have saved for the rainy day. You can also invest in a fixed deposit or buy a property as an investment.

Gemini Health Horoscope Today

No serious ailment will hurt you today. However, do not stop medications, and ensure you consult a doctor whenever necessary. Some senior Gemini natives may complain about breathing issues which may require medical attention. Avoid junk food, oily stuff, aerated drinks, and alcohol today. Minor Gemini natives may have a throat infection and viral fever that may disturb the day.

Gemini Sign Attributes

Strength: Insightful, Wise, Smart, Pleasant, Quick-witted, Charming

Weakness: Inconsistent, Gossipy, Lazy

Symbol: Twins

Element: Air

Body Part: Arms & Lungs

Sign Ruler: Mercury

Lucky Day: Wednesday

Lucky Color: Silver

Lucky Number: 7

Lucky Stone: Emerald

Gemini Sign Compatibility Chart

Natural affinity: Aries, Leo, Libra, Aquarius

Good compatibility: Gemini, Sagittarius

Fair compatibility: Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio, Capricorn

Less compatibility: Virgo, Pisces

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NEW DELHI: American investors find Indias proposed e-commerce policy restrictive, vague and open-ended in the form it was discussed with stakeholders on August 2, and the US may raise this issue with India, three people aware of the development said. The Indian overnment is all set to unveil the e-commerce policy after completing consultation with stakeholders (File Image)

The government is all set to unveil the e-commerce policy after completing consultation with stakeholders but companies have said they arent still clear about the fine print of the proposed policy and that only seven salient features of the expected policy were discussed with them during the presentation on August 2, the three added on condition of anonymity.

The seven points were: making e-commerce policy congruent with the consumer protection rules; unambiguous demarcation between the marketplace model (where foreign investment is allowed) and the inventory model (where foreign direct investment is prohibited); inclusive growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); exports promotion through ecommerce; stricter compliance to regulatory measures; enabling free and informed choice (for consumers); and determining responsibilities of ecommerce entities.

Quoting an unnamed senior official on August 20, news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) wrote that the proposed national e-commerce policy, being formulated by the commerce and industry ministry, was in the final stages of preparation and that no new draft would be issued seeking views of stakeholders. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on August 2 held detailed discussions with representatives of e-commerce firms and a domestic traders body on the proposed policy, it said.

Both current e-commerce players as well as potential investors are worried, what the fineprint will contain. Policy must take into account the existing industry (structure) and it should be unambiguous, one of the persons mentioned above, a sectoral consultant, said. According to Invest India, the domestic e-commerce market that was estimated at over $55 billion by gross merchandise value in 2021 is expected grow to $350 billion by 2030. Major e-commerce firms operating in India include Amazon, Flipkart, Jio Mart, Snapdeal, Nykaa, Indiamart, Grofers, big basket and ebay.

Email queries sent to DPIIT, department of consumers affairs, and American e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart (owned by Wal-Mart) did not elicit a response.

Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) secretary general Praveen Khandelwal, who was also present in the meeting on August 2, said, The governments presentation was on basic fundamentals of the proposed policy and it was sufficiently clear for all stakeholders. A policy is urgently needed to promote e-commerce in India and to protect millions of domestic kirana stores. CAIT represents over 80 million domestic kirana stores. The policy is being deliberated since July 2019.

Small Indian retailers have complained about large companies with foreign investment following the inventory model instead of being mere market places, and offering deep discounts to wean customers away from them. Meanwhile, large e-commerce companies have complained about restrictive policies that do not recognize the magnitude of investments being made by them across the chain; the benefits of economies of scale; or the advantages to customers.

The policy must check predatory pricing and deep discounting by multinational giants. It must ensure that FDI norms are strictly followed and multinationals must not get away from their responsibility to protect consumer by saying that they are intermediaries, hence they are not liable if any consumer is duped, Khandelwal said, adding that the policy must be announced soon else reckless growth of multinational companies would continue.

The draft policy proposed in 2019 focused on six key areas of the e-commerce ecosystem -- data, infrastructure development, e-commerce marketplaces, regulatory issues, stimulating domestic digital economy and export promotion through e-commerce.

Pritha Jha, Partner at Pioneer Legal said: The new e-commerce policy is being awaited with great anticipation. Hopefully it will create harmonious reading between the consumer protection rules and put in place provisions to regulate flash sales thereby protecting smaller businesses.

The policy is finally being released after consultation with many stakeholders over an extended period. It is also likely to provide impetus to use of technology and encouraging smaller and medium-sized businesses to view technology as an enabler rather than a challenge to growth of business. The new e-commerce policy is also expected to make the online marketplace more friendly towards consumer and steer them away from the larger giants who almost act as gatekeepers for online sales, she added.

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Bengaluru city celebrated Krishna Janmashtami with great fervour this year, with several residents decorating their homes, doing pujas, observing fasts, visiting temples and dressing up as Lord Krishna and Radha. Many donned new clothes, cooked elaborate meals and distributed sweets. Schools and other institutions held programmes for children. The ISKCON temple in Bengaluru is one of the largest Krishna temples in the world. (Praveen Bajpai/HT photo)

ALSO READ | Artistry beyond belief: Police to welcome Janmashtami with Jhankis, processions & temple celebrations in Lucknow

The well-known ISKCON centre - International Society for Krishna Consciousness - in Bengaluru was also decked up for the celebrations. Its Krishna and Radha idols were dressed in elaborate jewellery and flowers for the occasion. Devotees in the Karnataka capital flocked to the ISKCON temple on Wednesday and offered prayers.

The ISKCON temple in Bengaluru is one of the largest Krishna temples in the world, news agency PTI reported.

We cordially invite you to participate in the grand celebrations of Sri Krishna Janmashtami, and receive the blessings of the Supreme Lord, The centre posted on social media.

Here are some pictures of the celebrations:

Krishna Janmashtami at our homesimple alankaram, a resident posted on social media site X.

A Bengaluru resident from Judicial Layout, Kanakapura main road, also shared pictures of the decorations and puja at her residence.

A dance academy based in Karnataka also organised an event in Bangkok, Thailand, in which a number of individuals from Bengaluru, Mysuru, Tumkur and Davangere took part, putting on a show in view of Janmashtami.

Women including a Bengaluru resident, Mayuri, danced at the event, displaying a show on Lord Krishna.

A Bengaluru-based dancer, Mayuri, played Yashodha in the dance exhibit organised in Thailand.

ALSO READ | Janmashtami 2023: Date, history, significance, celebration of Lord Krishna's birth, and more about Krishna Janmashtami

Several notable political figures also conveyed wishes on Janmashtami, with chief minister Siddaramaiah saying, Let our religious thoughts follow the path of the human values of truth, compassion, love - attachment, the messages of Shri Krishna's life and achievement. I wish that unrighteousness will be extinguished and the light of religion will shine everywhere. Happy Shri Krishna Janmashtami to the people of the country.

The CM also inaugurated Sri Krishna Jayanti programme held at Ravindra Kalakshetra by the Department of Kannada and Culture.

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Amid the India-Bharat naming row, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that as the Lok Sabha elections are approaching, emotional issues are being brought out. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah. (PTI)

Speaking to reporters at Madhugiri in Tumakuru district, he said the Constitution of the country was adopted on November 26, 1949. Since then it is known as India.

ALSO READ | Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah calls BJP neech, asks people not to vote for it in the LS polls

The chief minister sought to know the need to change the name of the country now.

"The preamble of the Constitution says 'We the citizens of India'. There is no need to rename India. Emotional issues are being brought out ahead of the elections," he pointed out.

ALSO READ | Karnataka: Sugar Minister's statement on farmer suicides stirs controversy

He also said that religion does not discriminate, be it Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism or Buddhism.

Quoting the saying of 12 century AD social reformer Lord Basaveshwara, Siddaramaiah said, "Dayave Dharmada Moola'- Kindness is the root of the religion."

A political storm was kicked off in the country after invitations for a G20 dinner were sent out on behalf of President Droupadi Murmu describing her position as 'President of Bharat' instead of the customary 'President of India'.

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Senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Thursday said his party would hold state-wide protests in Karnataka against the 'anti-people' policies of the ruling Congress. The agitations will take place in Bengaluru and all the taluk headquarters, Yediyurappa told reporters. Karnataka BJP to stage demo on Sept 8 against 'anti-people policies' Cong govt

Also Read - Karnataka HC pulls up BBMP for not issuing death certificate of excavator operator washed away in 2017 heavy rains

"Tomorrow, our MLAs, MPs and more than 15,000 to 20,000 people will take part in the demonstration." "The administration has collapsed as anti-people policies are being adopted by this government. Drought is affecting people, there are power cuts and development works have stopped. So, we are staging demonstrations and rallies across the state including Bengaluru and Taluk headquarters," the former CM said. The BJP has given enough time to the Congress government, which has ignored all the development works and indulged in 'transfer business,' which compelled his party to hit the streets and stage protests, he said.

This is just the beginning of our fight from tomorrow. This fight is going to take place across the state. We dont know what shape it would take in future. It will be governments responsibility if law and order deteriorates, the BJP strongman cautioned. Yediyurappa also charged that everyday 5,000 cusecs of Cauvery water was being released to Tamil Nadu though Karnataka does not have enough water to meet its needs. Despite farmers' stir, the state government 'failed' to convince the Supreme Court to stop the flow of Cauvery water to the neighbouring state, Yediyurappa alleged. This apart, the Siddaramaiah government is involved in transfer business and the contractors are alleging that they are forced to pay commission to the government, he claimed. He added that the MLAs were not getting local area development funds for their constituencies.

Recalling that the previous BJP government provided 4,000 financial assistance to the farmers annually, Yediyurappa said the Congress government stopped it after coming to power.

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Indore, Amravati and Parwanoo have the cleanest air in India while Madurai, Jammu and Kohima have the worst, according to the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2023 (Clean Air Survey) report released in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on Thursday by Union environment minister Bhupender Yadav. Indore, Amravati and Parwanoo have the cleanest air in India (Representative Photo)

The survey was conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board.

According to the report, in cities with over one million population, Indore secured the first rank followed by Agra and Thane. Madurai, Howah and Jamshedpur ranked 46, 45 and 44, respectively. Bhopal stood fifth while Delhi took the ninth spot.

Speaking on the occasion, Yadav said, This year, the 4th International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies (Swachh Vayu Diwas 2023) is to create stronger partnerships, increase investment, and share responsibility to overcome air pollution, with the global theme Together for Clean Air.

In the second category, with a population between 300,000 to one million, Amravati secured the first rank followed by Moradabad and Guntur. Jammu, Guwahati and Jalandhar ranked 38, 37 and 36, respectively.

Similarly, for the third category, with a population of less than 300,000, Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh secured the first rank followed by Kala Amb and Angul, while Kohima was ranked last - 39, the report added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the intent and plan to improve the air quality in more than 100 cities through a holistic approach.

Also Read: Reviving lakes, bicycle sharing, sanitation: Projects that won cities awards

Following the PMs announcement, the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC) has been implementing a National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) as a national-level strategy outlining the actions for reducing the levels of air pollution at city and regional scales in India since 2019.

Under the programme, as many as 131 cities have been identified for the implementation of city-specific action plans to achieve improvement in air quality.

Yadav said that the NCAP, the government has also launched PRANA a portal for monitoring the implementation of NCAP. The best practices adopted by cities are shared on the PRANA portal for adopting these practices by other cities, he said.

On the occasion, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged Mission Life. Madhya Pradesh is working to implement all these concepts on the ground.

Indore has developed a habit of coming first in all competitions. I congratulate the cities that have received awards here. There is love for nature in the soil of India, he added.

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Thirty-five-year-old Balwinder Singh is scheduled to reach his native place Mallan village in Muktsar on Friday after escaping death penalty pronounced by a Riyadh court in 2013. Balwinder Singh (HT photo)

His family expressed gratitude to the public and philanthropist SPS Oberoi for raisng 2-crore blood money for Balwinders release from imprisonment in Saudi Arabia.

The family got a call from the Indian embassy in Riyadh that Balwinder would take off at 4.10 pm local Saudi time on Thursday and reach Amritsar via Delhi.

Balwinders sister Satpal Kaur (41) said she was indebted to all those helped the landless family. My parents passed away while hoping that Balwinder would return home alive. The past 15 years were devastating as my brother, who went to foreign to support his poor parents, entangled in legal issues, she said.

Balwinder was held guilty of killing a Saudi resident in 2013. His cousin Mandeep Singh said Balwinder had gone to Saudi Arabia in 2008 to work in a transport company. One day, a Saudi national was abusing few Punjab youth at the work place. Balwinder intervened and soon there was a brawl in which the Saudi national attempted to stab him. Balwinder got hold of a stick in self defence and unfortunately the Saudi man lost life in the brawl. Balwinder pleaded that he never intended to take anyones life but his action was in self defence, said Mandeep.

He called me up from jail and urged me not share the development with his parents and others as there was no means for the poor family to arrange a blood money of 2 crore to be paid to the aggrieved Saudi family. But we arranged the money through crowd funding and the funds were submitted to the Riyadh court through the External Affairs ministry last year. He is being released from jail following several procedural steps, he said.

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The district consumer disputes redressal commission has directed Air India and a travel agency to refund the air ticket amount of around 40,000 to a city resident and pay 20,000 as compensation for her flight was cancelled during the Covid-19 pandemic. Commission directs airlines, company to refund amount and pay  20k compensation. (Shutterstock)

The complainant, Narinder Kaur of Sector 44 had filed a complaint against Air India through and Yatra.com through their directors, both of whom have branch offices in Chandigarh.

Kaur, in her complaint, revealed that she planned to visit Melbourne in February 2020 and had booked a return air ticket from New Delhi. The flight, however, was cancelled amid the pandemic-induced lockdown and she tried to get a seat through Vande Bharat Mission from Australia.

She was then compelled to purchase a fresh ticket for her return journey in April since the opposing parties did not adjust/accommodate her on the old ticket. She returned to Delhi on July 19, 2020.

Kaur contended that the Union ministry of civil aviation had already announced that there will be a full refund for booking and travel during the lockdown period without cancellation, but the opposition parties had still not refunded the amount on her return ticket.

Air India resisted the consumer complaint and stated that there is no deficiency in service on their part as the woman had bought the ticket from Yatra.com, which is a third party platform. It added that Air India does not track status of the ticket once it has been sold to a third party.

Whereas, Yatra.com alleged that users of the answering opposing party are bound by the terms and conditions of master user agreement and as per the said agreement any dispute arising between the user and the answering opposing party shall be subject to exclusive jurisdiction of court of Gurgaon, Haryana and the commission has no jurisdiction.

It added that they are an intermediary and therefore, do not incur any liability on the travel ticket booked by the complainant from an independent airline.

The forum observed that the notification issued by the Union ministry clearly indicates that airlines were directed to refund the full amount collected without levy of cancellation charges during the lockdown period.

As the case of the complainant is duly covered under the above said notification, yet the opposition parties have not refunded the amount of return ticket to the complainant for which she was entitled despite of the repeated requests made by the complainant. The aforesaid act of the opposition parties amounts to deficiency in service and indulgence in unfair trade practice, the forum observed.

It directed the opposition parties to refund the price of return ticket of 39,676 to the complainant with interest @9% per annum from the date when the return journey was to be performed by the complainant, April 25, 2020, till payment.

It also directed them to pay 10,000 as compensation for causing mental agony and harassment to her to pay 10,000 as costs of litigation.

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In a major relief to the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC), the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) on Wednesday stayed the central goods and service tax (CGST) departments order of freezing the civic bodys accounts in 18 banks. The Chandigarh MC was, however, told by the HC to clear the pending dues to the tune of  3.37 crore to the CGST division Chandigarh, by September 8. (Shutterstock)

The MC was, however, told by the HC to clear the pending dues to the tune of 3.37 crore to the CGST division Chandigarh, by September 8.

The MC had petitioned against the order of the CGST division of the Union finance ministry, which had ordered freezing of as many as 18 bank accounts of the civic body on September 1, as the GST dues had piled up to 3.37 crore till March 2021.

In a notice to the banks and MC, the assistant commissioner of CGST Chandigarh division, Harshita Khatri, said, As per the notice issued on March 30, 2021, an amount of 3,37,10,995 is pending from the Chandigarh MC, while a penalty of 2,01,71,915 has also been imposed on the civic body. Hence, all the banks are directed that no further withdrawal be allowed without the consent of this office.

In the petition, the MC said that pursuant to the notice, all the banks have acted upon the notice, which is crippling the working and functioning of the Chandigarh MC. They also said that MC was ready to deposit the principal amount of 3.37 crore by September 8. The recovery notice which was dated September 1, is in pursuance of the ex parte proceedings order dated March 30, 2021, wherein proceedings were held during Covid 19 pandemic and which has led to the demand which is now being enforced, it argued.

Taking note of the submissions, the high court bench of justice GS Sandhawalia and justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan, observed that such attachment would cause extreme harassment to the public service utility, which are being serviced by the MC. Hence, directed that all the banks in question would not take any steps on the recovery notice issued on September 1.

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In a major comeback after six years, Congress Partys student wing, National Students Union of India (NSUI) won the presidents post at Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) elections by defeating Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samitis (CYSS), a student wing of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). NSUIs Jatinder Singh with his supporters at the Student Centre after winning the post of president in Panjab University Campus Student Council elections on Wednesday. (RAVI KUMAR/HT)

Jatinder Singh of NSUI, who had quit Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and joined the Congress student wing merely eight days before the polls, defeated CYSS candidate Divyansh Thakur by a margin of 603 votes. The CYSS had won the 2022 presidential election in its maiden foray at PU, hitting headlines. NSUI had last won the PU elections in 2017.

The election outcome assumes significance, especially ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year as the PU poll verdict is often referred to as the mood of the region. The varsity has a 15,000-strong student voter base, most of whom come from Punjab, Haryana, where student polls are not held, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

While Jatinder Singh polled 3,002 votes, CYSS Divyansh Thakur got 2,399 votes and Rakesh Deshwal of ABVP bagged 2,182 votes. ABVP was second in the race last year. Interestingly, last years CYSS winner was also an ABVP turncoat.

Jatinder got most of the votes from University Institute of Legal Studies (476) followed by UIET (276) and the department of laws (150).

The vice-presidents post went to Ranmeekjot Kaur of Sath, a local students group, who got 4,084 votes. The party which had used a picture of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra got its first win on the 28th anniversary of his forced disappearance.

Deepak Goyat of Indian National Student Organization (INSO), a student wing of Haryanas Jannayak Janta Party (JJP), was elected secretary with 4,431 votes and Gourav Chahal of Panjab University Helping Hands (PUHH), a homegrown student group, which was in an alliance with ABVP was elected joint secretary. NSUI had fought only for the presidents post this year.

Last year, the post of vice-president was won by NSUI, secretary by INSO and joint secretary by NSUI.

Shiromani Akali Dals student wing, Student Organization of India (SOI) and old war horses of the campus -- Panjab University Students Union (PUSU), Student Organization of Panjab University (SOPU), and 2018s presidential election winner Students for Society (SFS) failed to win any seat.

The presidential candidate winner Jatinder is a former convenor for ABVP in PU. The 26-year-old hails from Bathinda has been active in student politics for seven years as he has done BTech and MTech from UIET. He is currently a research scholar at Dr SS Bhatnagar University Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology where he is a PhD scholar. He claimed that in ABVP, he was not allowed to organise an event against the violence in Manipur after which he joined NSUI.

After victory, Jatinder said a committee would be formed to look into issue of granting twelve menstrual leaves to female and improving connectivity between the North campus and South campus.

A total of 10,323 votes were polled out of 15,693 votes. With 66 percent polling, this was marginally less than 66.1% polling seen last year. The

PU polls 2023: CONGratulations pour in for NSUI as party makes comeback after 6 years

poll process which started at 9 am, remained peaceful.

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Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday slammed the opposition parties for criticising his government for introducing various online portals for welfare schemes. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday slammed the opposition parties for criticising his government for introducing various online portals for welfare schemes. (HT File Photo)

On the second day of his Jan Samvad programme in Hisar, chief minister Khattar said that he has introduced various online portals to provide benefits of government schemes to eligible beneficiaries.

The opposition parties assert that they will dismantle this portal system if they return to power. This shows that they neither want development of the state nor welfare of the public, the CM added.

Addressing the gathering at Mirzapur village in Barwala assembly segment, Khattar said that his government believes in empowering youths to become self-reliant instead of offering freebies.

The Aam Aadmi party (AAP) wants to make entry into the state politics on the Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal issue, but the Haryana residents will not allow their nefarious designs to succeed. AAP leaders talk about offering free services to the people, but the public knows their agenda, he added.

Targeting the previous Congress and INLD governments, Khattar alleged that jobs were given through recommendations and financial influence, but the BJP has changed the system and gave jobs on merit basis.

To boost self-employment opportunities for women, the chief minister said that counter facilities will be made available at the district headquarters to provide a bigger market to the products made by the self-help groups (SHGs).

The CM instructed the district social welfare officer to provide electric tricycles to differently abled individuals with functional hands enabling them to move independently.

Matka Chowk in Hisar to be named after Bhajan Lal

On former Member of parliament Kuldeep Bishnois request, the chief minister announced to name Matka Chowk in Hisar after former chief minister Bhajan Lal. The chief minister also participated in a function on the occasion of Janmashtami and the 572nd incarnation day of Guru Jambheshwar Maharaj at Guru Jambheshwar Temple in Hisar. He also unveiled a statue of Bhajan Lal on the temple premises.

The CM assured Kuldeep Bishnoi and other people that he will write a letter to Union railways minister to name Hisar railways station after Bhajan Lal. He also announced a financial grant of 21 lakh to the Bishnoi Mahasabha.

The chief minister also announced a scheme to improve road infrastructure in villages incorporated into urban areas. Under this scheme, the roads leading to the fields in the villages incorporated into urban areas will be improved, providing convenience for farmers in transporting their crops to and from the fields.

He said that the work under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme has already been completed in Satrod Khas village, which has now become a part of the municipal corporation Hisar, and remaining works would be started by next month.

He directed Hisar deputy commissioner to remove illegal encroachment on 38 acres of land at Kharar village after receiving complaints from local people.

Meanwhile, AAP workers were detained ahead of CMs second day of public outreach programme. Senior AAP leader Ashok Tanwar reached a police station in Hisar and asked the cops why their volunteers were picked. The police officials refused to arrest their workers.

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A college student was on Thursday arrested for allegedly blackmailing a 17-year-old girl for money and posting morphed pictures of her on various social networking sites. College student held for blackmailing 17-year-old girl for money in Ludhiana. (ht file)

The accused, identified as Prince Gautam, 21, of Laxmi Nagar, also sent a QR code to the victim on Instagram, asking her to transfer 4,000 to his account.

After the father of the victim filed a complaint, the police traced the accused through the QR code and arrested him.

The complainant stated that the accused had created a fake account on Instagram in the name of his daughter and started chatting with their relatives and her friends.

Meanwhile, the accused sent a message to his daughter and demanded 4,000. The accused sent a QR code to her and asked her to transfer the money. He also threatened that if he did not send him money, he would make lewd pictures of her viral on social networking sites.

When my daughter refused to send him money, the accused morphed her pictures and posted them on Instagram from different accounts. The accused also sent the morphed pictures of his daughter to her friends with objectionable messages, said the complainant.

Inspector Gaganpreet Singh, who is investigating the case, said that a case under sections 354D (stalking), 465 (forgery), 471 ( using as genuine a forged document or electronic record), 474 ( having possession of document described in section 466 or 467, knowing it to be forged and intending to use it as genuine), 500 (defamation), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the IPC, sections 66E (violation of privacy), 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form), 67A (publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act, etc in electronic form.), 67B (publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in sexually explicit act, etc., in electronic form) of the Information and Technology Act has been lodged against the accused at Division number 2 police station.

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A day after the Haryana home department assigned him the temporary charge of president of the ad hoc committee of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC), Bhupinder Singh Assandh said that there is no need to conduct any inquiry against the former office-bearers of the HSGMC. A day after the Haryana home department assigned him the temporary charge of president of the ad hoc committee of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC), Bhupinder Singh Assandh said that there is no need to conduct any inquiry against the former office-bearers of the HSGMC. (Representational image)

The allegations of corruption and irregularities by the former office-bearers are baseless and there is no need for any inquiry. But I will work by taking all people and former presidents along, said Bhupinder Singh, who is also senior vice-president of the ad hoc committee of the HSGMC.

He said that he wants the elections for the appointment of the president of the Sikh body be conducted without any further delay. He said that they have also demanded the government to fix certain conditions for the voters and candidates as the contenders should fulfil all the conditions of the Sikh panth and must be an Amritdhari.

He said that a meeting has been called at Chandigarh regarding the polls of the HSGMC soon and voters forms in Punjabi language will be printed soon.

He thanked chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar for according him the responsibility of the HSGMC and said that he will do his duty with full dedication and devotion.

My top priority is to complete the pending works of all the grudwaras within a month, he added.

He, however, refused to comment over the resignations by the top functionaries of the HSGMC including Mahant Karamjit Singh and Gurvinder Dhamija, saying, I dont want to comment on it, but I want to tell that we are united, and we will take everybody along.

About a meeting of the representatives of the Akal Takht regarding the controversy during a meeting of the HSGMC members at Ambala on August 14, he said that he did not have any role to play in this investigation and he was not invited there. But he will submit his statement whenever they will ask, he added. Earlier, this week amid ongoing infighting between the senior office-bearers of the ad hoc committee of the HSGMC, Mahant Karamjit Singh and Gurvinder Singh Dhamija had submitted their resignations to the additional chief secretary (home) TVSN Prasad.

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Police have arrested a student and nominated four others for attacking four members of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) after a clash at the mandi ground, Sector 49, late on Wednesday in the lead-up to the Panjab University student elections. Police have arrested a student for assaulting NSUI members on the eve of PU polls. (HT File)

The arrested accused was identified as Aman Malik, while the other four include Sourav Sharma, Tushar Mehra, Kamaldeep, Jashan Shergill. Police have also booked a few unidentified persons accompanying the accused students

Police officials said members of the student party Sanatan Dharam College Union attacked NSUI members, also students of SD College, Sector 32, around 2.30 am.

The accused were booked following the complaint of one of the victim students, Hemant Kumar of Sector 63 and a BA final student at the college.

Aman Malik warned us of serious consequences for supporting NSUI and attacked us with his friends, the complainant said.

Police said Hemant Kumar besides Sehaj, Manjot and Parbhav Rana suffered multiple injuries after the accused along with their accomplices attacked them with with stones, sluggers and lathis

The victims were rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, in a police control room (PCR) vehicle, from where Ranas parents took him to the Fortis hospital in Mohali.

Sharing further details, probe officials said the four NSUI members who stay in paying guest accommodations were dropping off a friend Deepanshu at Senior Citizen Society in Sector 48 after celebrating a birthday.

They had stopped near the mandi ground when the accused showed up in their cars.

After heated arguments, both the groups broke into a clash. One of the accused hit Parbhav with his car, fracturing his leg and head. Hemant, who sustained a head injury, required six stitches. The other victims also sustained injuries to the head, back and arms.

Since the medical report of Rana confirmed fracture, we have added a section of grievous hurt in the case, a cop said.

All the accused have been booked under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 506 (criminal intimidation), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Sector 49 police station.

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The ethnic violence back home, the cultural and language barriers in a city, nothing could come in the way of this gritty 19-year-old girl from Manipur realising her political aspirations. PU elections: Benazirsana Yumkhaibam, 19, polled 327 out of the total 802 at MCM DAV, Sector 36, to become the colleges student council president. (HT Photo)

Benazirsana Yumkhaibam, 19, polled 327 out of the total 802 at MCM DAV, Sector 36, to become the colleges student council president. Others in the race with her were Charanpreet Kaur, Jasmine, Shaista Magra and Zoha Mufti.

A third-year student of History Honours, Benazirsana, lovingly called Sana by her friends, hails from Imphal and came to Chandigarh two years ago to pursue graduation.

Though not very fluent in Hindi, Sana, who is described as affable by her teachers, managed to make friends quickly and build a considerable support base around the campus. Her hostel friends are now teaching her Hindi as well as Punjabi.

Even while canvassing, she focused on approaching the voters personally instead of taking the social media route.

However, it was not all cakewalk for her.

When the ethnic clashes erupted in her hometown Imphal earlier this year, Sana was stuck there for almost a month. I wondered how I will catch up with my studies but my teachers and fellow students helped me a lot, says Sana. She refused to speak on the ethnic tensions, stating that its a sensitive issue.

On her plans for the college, Sana says her main focus will be on ensuring that food is available at reasonable rates on campus and adequate study material, especially that of Geography, is available for UPSC aspirants.

College principal Nisha Bhargava motivated the new council to work with authorities to promote leadership and entrepreneurial spirit in its students. She said, College elections are a good platform to build future leaders of the nation.

Sana was also encouraged by her family to pursue her ambitions. Her father is a deputy secretary at Manipur Assembly while her mother is an advocate in Manipur High court. Her elder sister is pursuing MBBS from Kazakhstan.

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The city municipal corporation and the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) on Thursday jointly organised a public awareness programme healthy air-healthy planet to mark International day of Clean Air for Blue Skies. The participants were also encouraged to take up plantation drives in their respective areas. (HT FILE)

The event was organised under National Clean Air Program (NCAP) at MC Zone D office in Sarabha Nagar. MC and PPCB officials along with a number of residents participated in the event.

During the event, the participants deliberated on different causes of pollution and remedial steps which can be taken to reduce pollution levels.

The participants were also encouraged to take up plantation drives in their respective areas.

The officials also appealed the residents to stop the use of banned plastic carry bags, use public transport, avoid open burning of garbage/horticulture waste, keep building material in covered areas, and avoid wastage of water.

The residents have also been asked to carry building material in covered vehicles and cover construction sites to avoid air pollution.

Demonstration of mechanical sweeping was done during the event as the authorities discussed measures that can be taken to reduce air pollution. Also, a demo of anti-smog guns was done as the authorities discussed different Environmental Disaster Response Services.

MC commissioner Sandeep Rishi said that regular plantation and awareness drives are organised by the civic body to sensitise the residents regarding the causes of pollution and what steps can be taken to reduce the same. A number of development projects have also been taken up to spread greenery in the city.

Rishi appreciated the authorities for organising the event and appealed to the residents to support the authorities in keeping the city clean and green.

MC executive engineer Balwinder Singh, junior engineer Kirpal Singh, PPCB officials, including environmental engineer Ravinder Bhatti, assistant environmental engineer Sushil Kumar, assistant environmental engineer Gurmehar Singh, junior environmental engineers Rishi Sikka and Chamandeep Singh among others also participated in the meeting.

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Uniting the divided but strong cadre and bringing in an outsider as consensus candidate appears to have helped the National Students Union of India (NSUI) script its grand victory on the presidents post at Panjab University Student Council elections. NSUIs Jatinder Singh with his supporters at the Student Centre after winning the post of president in Panjab University Campus Student Council elections on Wednesday. (RAVI KUMAR/HT)

Party insiders say, a divided cadre, atleast in three groups, was being held responsible for consecutive defeats since 2017. Hence, intervention started from the national-level and some former student leaders from Punjab and Haryana were consulted, especially in view of the fact that the polls come ahead of the Lok Sabha elections slated for next year. The PU polls are often seen as a parameter to gauge the mood of the region, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, from where most of the varsity students come.

To ensure the flock stayed together, National Students Union of India (NSUI) national in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar specially came down to Chandigarh to announce the joining of ABVP members, including that of presidential candidate Jatinder Singh, barely eight days before the polls. It gave a strong message to warring groups and helped in mobilising the cadre, a leader said.

As part of the strategy, The party decided to fight for only the presidents post and that too without any alliance, which often causes cross voting, said one of the key strategists of the party. It was also ensured that political leaders are not seen on the campus as AAPs constant indulgence in its student wings affairs on campus was not being well received by the students.

Party leaders admit that Jatinders UIET background also paid off as the department has the largest vote share on campus. Being from the chemical engineering department also tilted the scales in his favour. Infact, while deciding on him, this became a major factor, a party leader admitted, adding that Jatinder Singh, who carried Virk, as surname before polls, dropped it, in order to reach out to students of other states.

NSUIs campaign was a messy affair, to begin with, even though the party officially maintained that the victory was scripted by efforts done throughout the year.

We kept organising events and reaching out to students throughout the year and built up our ground connection with the students, NSUI PU president and municipal corporation (MC) councillor Sachin Galav said.

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After dilly-dallying for two decades on the plan to relocate the Sector 26 grain market to Sector 39, the UT administration has hit another hurdle after discovering that the Kajauli waterworks pipelines pass through the new site. The Sector-39 grain market was planned in 2002 to decongest the Sector-26 grain market, where there is no more room for expansion. (HT File)

The UT is now planning to shift the pipelines, a task that will take nearly five months and cost the administration around 5 crore.

The water lines had been first laid in 1980 and are connected to the entire citys supply network.

A senior officer of the Chandigarh municipal corporation explained the warehouse and cold storage sites of the Sector-39 grain market are located in a slushy area over the main Kajauli waterline.

It was decided in the last meeting on August 8 that two lines, which were originally laid in the 1980s, could be shifted closer to the other water lines. The MC chief engineer will require 45-ft land on the Mandi side and 15-ft on the waterworks side along Maloya Road for this, said the officer.

The officer further said that it will take at least five months to complete the relocation of the pipes, during which the water supply in the city is expected to be erratic.

Auction of 92 shops

The Sector-39 grain market was planned in 2002 to decongest the Sector-26 grain market, where there is no more room for expansion. The administration is now in the process of auctioning 92 shops at the new grain market.

Chandigarh state agriculture marketing board secretary Rupesh Kumar said the shifting of the water pipes will not affect the shop auction process. The revised plans have been submitted to the chief architect department for final approval. Once we get the approval, we will proceed with the auctioning of shops, he said.

Traders miffed

When contacted, Sector-26 Sabzi Mandi Arhtiya Association president Brij Mohan said, It took them two decades to discover that the water pipes run through the idea. We have no idea on about the shifting of the mandi as the UT never involves us.

He further said, We will not allow this auction to happen and will approach the court as the department is holding the auction as per the Chandigarh Estate Rules. UT administration should allot the sites according to the Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board (Sale and Transfer of Plots) Rules, 1961.

After the allotment of shops at the Sector-39 market, de-notification of the Sector-26 market will be done in a phased manner.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Hillary Victor Hillary Victor is a Principal Correspondent at Chandigarh. He covers Chandigarh administration, municipal corporation and all political parties. ...view detail
Strengthening the security measures ahead of the G20 Summit, Delhi Police on Thursday conducted anti-sabotage drills at all designated hotels, where heads of State, dignitaries and high-level officials will be staying, officials aware of the matter said. Security personnel near Pragati Maidan ahead of the G20 Summit, in New Delhi, Thursday. (PTI)

The drill includes checking rooms for presence of any explosive, and metal item, especially weapons, firearms, rods and knives, a police officer aware of the matter said.

An executive of one of the designated hotels in Lutyens Delhi informed other guests on Thursday about the drill that started there from 9:30am. The hotel said that security personnel, accompanied by the hotel staff, would inspect a room for about 10 minutes.

Dog squads and bomb disposal squad along with local police conduct the drill. Officials also use non-linear junction detector (NLJD) to check for any surveillance device in the said area where anti-sabotage check is conducted, the officer said, asking not to be named.

A second officer said that the corners and concealed areas are checked specifically by the teams. Explosive Vapour Detector (EVD) is also used to check for any explosives in powder, liquid, mixture of particle form, the officer said.

Police said that guests and the staff were requested to co-operate. We tried to make sure that guests were not inconvenienced, and they were informed of the reason of why the drill was conducted, another officer said.

The Centre has designated at least 16 hotels in the Capital for guests arriving for the Summit.

Police have been conducting similar drills over the last one week.

A sanitation drill and arrival drill was also conducted by police personnel. It happens every time whenever a VVIP stays in the country, general manager of one of the hotels said, requesting anonymity. Checks on entry and exit gates are routinely conducted but it has been heightened for the event at the moment.

An arrival drill involves rehearsal for how the delegate would arrive and the how the cars will be placed. This drill is conducted to ensure that there is no confusion at the time of the arrival of the delegate and their families, the second officer.

Outside the hotels, police have deployed three quick response teams each, 15 Border Security Force officials each, and 24 companies of other paramilitary forces in total across the hotels. Delhi Police teams, along with paramilitary and hotel staff, will check all the vehicles using door frame and hand held metal detectors, the first officer said.

On Thursday, Tripura State Rifles, BSF, and CISF personnel along with Delhi Police officials were deployed in Lutyens Delhi almost after every kilometre and private vehicles were not allowed to stop at any point.

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A 26-year-old doctor working in the orthopedic department of Safdarjung Hospital was injured after he was allegedly attacked with a screwdriver by a patient, police said. The doctor was left with injuries to his neck, abdomen and fingers after the attack. (Representative file image)

The doctor was left with injuries to his neck, abdomen and fingers after the attack.

Police said the patient got agitated after the doctor had asked him to seek a nurses help for the removal of a cannula from his arm on Monday.

The doctor, identified as Rahul Kaleva, was in the middle of work when the patient had asked for help.

Timely intervention by the doctors colleague saved him from further injuries from the patient who was overpowered by the security guards and handed over to the police.

Also Read:Two more arrested for assaulting retd army officials daughter

The accused has been booked for attempt to murder, and assault on a public servant while voluntarily causing obstruction in performing the official duty.

A case under Indian Penal Codes (IPC) sections 307, 186, 353, and 333 was registered at the Safdarjung Enclave police station on the doctors complaint, police said.

According to the first information report (FIR), a copy of which HT has seen, the doctors duty was in the emergency department on Monday.

Around 1pm, a patient came to the hospital for treatment. A few minutes later, the patient, whose name was not mentioned in the FIR, approached the doctor and asked him to remove the cannula from his arm.

As the doctor asked him to get the cannula removed by a nursing staff, the patient turned violent and began abusing him.

The patient took out an object that looked like a screwdriver and threatened the doctor to kill him. He

The doctor suffered injuries to two fingers of his right hand in the scuffle, the FIR read.

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US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese among other G20 leaders will arrive in India on Thursday -- a day ahead of the event on September 9 and 10. All schools, colleges and offices will be shut starting from Friday. Delhi Police have imposed some additional restrictions in the national capital in view of the VIP movement which will start from Friday as the delegates arrive. However, the police clarified that it is not like a lockdown that Delhi people will not be allowed on the streets at all. Some area-specific restrictions have been imposed and except that life will remain normal. G20 Summit traffic FAQs: Will Delhi Metro remain closed? Will cars be allowed? G20 restrictions in New Delhi: Which roads open, which vehicles allowed?

G20 restrictions in New Delhi: What's open, what's closed? All you need to know

1. Schools, colleges and all offices will remain closed. All business establishments in New Delhi district will remain shut which means no restaurants, malls etc. Tourist places, hotels will remain closed.

2. All commercial activities will remain banned from Friday to Sunday in the New Delhi Municipal Corporation area. The G20 event will be held at Pragati Maidan. So activities in and around that area will be restricted. New Delhi district is the central of the capital and covers areas including Connaught Place, Cantonment area etc.

3. What's open: Medical shops, grocery shops, milk booths, vegetable/fruit shops will remain open in the NDMC area and also in Delhi. Yes, ATMs will also be functional.

4. Transport: Commercial vehicles and buses will be allowed to ply on Ring Road and road network beyond Ring Road towards the borders of Delhi.

5. No Taxi will be available in New Delhi district from Saturday 5am. Tourists with valid bookings in hotels will be allowed and cars carrying bona fide residents will also not be stopped. So, will you be able to take a cab to New Delhi airport on Saturday or Sunday? Delhi Police advise the airport-bound travellers to take the metro route. However, it did not say vehicles with passengers with tickets will be stopped anywhere.

6. List of areas: Vehicle restrictions start from tonight. Vehicles including goods vehicles, commercial vehicles, interstate buses, and local city buses, will not be allowed to operate on Mathura Road (beyond Ashram Chowk), Bhairon Road, Purana Quila Road, and inside Pragati Maidan Tunnel from midnight on September 7 until 11:59pm on September 10.

7. Controlled Zone, Regulated Zone: New Delhi District will be designated as "Controlled Zone-I" from 5am on September 8 until 11:59pm on September 10. The area inside Ring Road (Mahatma Gandhi Marg) will be considered a "Regulated Zone" during the same period.

8. Metro service: Only the Supreme Court metro station on the blue line will remain closed on Saturday and Sunday. Metro services will start early at 4am on Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

9. There will be no online food delivery in the NDMC zone. There will be no online delivery of other items as well, so no Swiggy, Zomato, Flipkart or Amazon in the NDMC area. Medicine delivery is expected.

10. Why work from home for Gurugram offices? Traffic will be regulated on NH-48 on September 8 and hence all offices have been asked to tell their staff to work from home on Friday.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Poulomi Ghosh Poulomi Ghosh is a journalist with Hindustan Times, New Delhi. ...view detail
The Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4i) control room located in the police headquarters at Jai Singh Road is, undeniably, the nerve centre of the security apparatus surrounding the G20 Summit. Delhi Police personnel stand guard near Pragati Maidan ahead of G20 Summit in New Delhi on Thursday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

Officers there will keep watch on security and traffic at different locations during the Summit over the weekend. The control room has been connected with 1,443 new CCTV cameras installed recently across the city to monitor the movement of dignitaries, Delhi Police officials said on Thursday.

The control room may have been readied in anticipation of the Summit, the biggest event hosted by the city in terms of the number of heads of State attending (over 40), but it will outlive the summit, adding to Delhi Polices crime- and terror-fighting capabilities.

Lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena on Thursday visited the control room on the sixth floor of Delhi Police headquarters in central Delhi. Police commissioner Sanjay Arora briefed him about the security preparedness and details of the control room. The Union home secretary visited the control room on September 1.

Around 25 trained personnel have been monitoring footage from the 1,443 CCTV cameras since September 5. Of these cameras, 373 have been installed near Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, the main Summit venue.

Besides, 74 cameras have been installed at Kartavya Path, 56 at Parliament Street, 40 at Barakhamba Road, 21 at Connaught Place and 20 at Rajghat. Since Chanakyapuri has many embassies, we have installed 80 CCTV cameras there, a senior Delhi Police officer said, asking not to be named.

There will also be surveillance in the areas neighbouring Lutyens Delhi through 690 cameras. These CCTV cameras, focused on embarked areas, will observe the psychological and physical characteristics, traits and behaviour of people coming to place of visit as invitees or those who need to be there to perform a specific function, the officer added.

Detailing the features of the control room, the officer said: This control room has three walls with LED screens and two teams comprising 25 security personnel will be monitoring feeds in different shifts. Apart from the new CCTV cameras, the feed will also get inputs from the existing 5,000-odd CCTV cameras . At least 30 senior police officials have been deputed in the room too.

If a problem is identified, the control room will alert police officers of the areas concerned. Nearly 7,000 police personnel on the ground will be directly connected to the control room, to further act as per the instructions. They have been especially trained for this purpose, the officer said.

A second senior officer said that the supervisors of the control room have been asked to alert a DCP-rank sector officer is any of the equipment is found to be malfunctioning. A map indicating the zones of security arrangements has also been placed in the control room. The supervisor will also ensure that no monitor is left unattended. The officer will prepare a chart showing the location and place to be covered by pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) and Fixed CCTV cameras.

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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
KOLKATA: The West Bengal assembly on Thursday passed a resolution declaring Bengali New Year Day, which usually falls on April 14 or 15, as the states foundation day - Bangla Diwas. The assembly also adopted Banglar Mati Banglar Jol (The soil of Bengal, the water of Bengal), a patriotic song by Rabindranath Tagore, as the state anthem. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee addresses the assembly as a resolution to observe Poila Boishak (Bengali New Year) as West Bengal Day was passed (HT Photo)

We dont care whether the Governor signs this (resolution to observe the states foundation day on Poila Boisakh  Bengali New Year Day) or not. We will celebrate this on Poila Boisakh. I want to see who is more powerful  the people or the governor who has been nominated. The state anthem would be Banglar Mati Banglar Jol, Banerjee told the state assembly.

The resolution seek to neutralise governor CV Ananda Boses attempt to commemorate the states foundation day on June 20 to commemorate the day the Bengal Assembly in 1947 passed a resolution to divide the Bengal province.

Banerjee and the ruling Trinamool Congress have been opposed to celebrating June 20 as the state foundation day on the ground that it would rekindle bitter memories of the states creation after Partition that left tens of thousands dead.

In a letter to Bose on June 19, Banerjee said the state was not founded on any particular day, least of all on June 20, and that it was formed through the infamous Radcliffe Award, referring to the demarcation of IndiaPakistan and what is now India-Bangladeshfrontier.

Banerjee underlined that the people of Bengal have since independence, never rejoiced, commemorated, or celebrated any day as the foundation day of West Bengal. Rather, we have seen the Partition as a result of unleashing of communal forces that could not be resisted at that point in time, she said.

The state assembly, however, set up a committee on the topic which recommended that the Bengali New Year Day be celebrated as Bangla Diwas.

Mamata Banerjee convened an all-party meeting on August 29 but the Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and the Communist Party of India-Marxist skipped the meeting.

BJP legislator and leader of the opposition in the assembly Suvendu Adhikari said it was an insult to the President Droupadi Murmu who greeted the people on June 20.

No one has the power to alter the historical importance of June 20. She (Banerjee) may celebrate Bangla Diwas on any chosen day with money from multiple scams. The government, the Constitution and the law have nothing to do with that The chief minister has no right to insult the President of India who also greeted the people of West Bengal on the states foundation day on June 20, said Adhikari.

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LUCKNOW Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Opposition over Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalins statement against Sanatan, saying that no one can wipe out Sanatan Dharma, which is eternal. Yogi Adityanath spoke on Sanatan Dharma for the first time since Udhayanidhi made statements criticising Sanatan. (File Photo)

Niether Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and Ravan (the demon king in the epic Ramayan) could do it nor present-day political parasites would ever be able to do it, he said. .

Yogi Adityanath spoke on Sanatan Dharma for the first time since Udhayanidhi made statements criticising Sanatan.

Attempts are being made to point fingers at our Sanatan culture and insult our heritage. The Sanatan Dharma that could not be wiped out by the arrogance of Ravan, the Sanatan Dharma that did not shake because of Kansas (another demon king) challenge, or by atrocities of Babar and Aurangzeb, cannot be wiped out by political parasites who are calling for its eradication, said Adityanath at an annual Shri Krishna Janmashtami celebration event at the Lucknow Police Lines, without taking Stalins or anyones name.

These political parasites should be ashamed of their statements...they dont understand that when one spits at the Sun, nothing happens to the Sun. Rather the spit falls back on ones face, he added.

Adityanath further said: At a time when the country is progressing in the right direction, with renewed energy and zeal, while respecting our heritage, some people cannot stomach it. They dont like Indias rising global prestige and position. In the Amrit Kaal, India is making rapid strides, scripting new achievements every day. To weaken and stall the countrys march to progress, some people have resorted to pointing fingers at our Sanatan Dharma.

Udhayanidhis statement drew saffron fury, with BJP leaders and seers demanding that he take back his words and tender an apology.

The BJP also linked the DMK leaders rant to Opposition bloc INDIA, saying his words merely betrayed the anti-majoritarian mindset of the alliance.

The DMK and the Congress are partners in the ruling alliance in Tamil Nadu and also part of the 28-party Opposition bloc.

Referring to the upcoming Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Adityanath said: Some 500 years ago, Sanatan was insulted, but it roseand today a grand Ram Temple is coming up there.

Talking about Lord Krishna, Yogi said: Nearly 5,000 years ago, in Mathura -- which is in the present-day Uttar Pradesh -- Lord Krishna was born to establish dharma, truth, and justice...whenever injustice and atrocities rose in India, divine avatars guided the society.

Deputy chief minister Brijesh Pathak, chief secretary Durga Shankar Mishra, and top officers from the home and police departments were present on the occasion.

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The Sahar police on Thursday arrested a 30-year-old Bangladeshi flier for allegedly flashing at an airhostess and attempting to masturbate in a nearly full flight. HT Image

The accused, Mohammed Dulal, was on a Muscat to Mumbai Vistara flight, which landed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 4.30 am on Thursday. Dulal was supposed to take a connecting flight from Mumbai to Dhaka subsequently.

Half an hour before the scheduled landing, as the 22-year-old flight attendant was completing the dinner service and came to Dulals row, he jumped across from his seat (19E) and reached out to hug her and attempted to kiss her, but the woman backed away, said an officer from Sahar police.

The startled flight attendant then signalled to a male colleague for assistance. He tried to restrain and pull Dulal away, while he was still clutching her hand. He became abusive when the flight attendants asked him to return to his seat. Before fellow passengers could understand what was happening, the accused unzipped and flashed at the flight attendant, added the officer.

Dulal then started touching himself but was stopped by a flight supervisor and other passengers onboard. By this time, information about the incident had reached the pilot, who declared on the PA system that Dulal had become an unruly passenger by not obeying the flight attendant and supervisors instructions, said the policeman.

Once the cabin crew managed to restrain him, with the assistance of passengers, all the seats around him were vacated and the fliers were given alternate seating. He continued to hurl abuses at everyone around him.

When the flight landed, he was handed over to the security personnel who called us to inform about the incident, said the officer. Dulal has been booked under sections 354 (assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty), 354 (A) (sexual harassment), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code and the relevant sections of Aircraft Rules, 1937.

After arrest, he was produced before the Andheri metropolitan magistrate court, which has remanded him to three days in police custody. The Bangladesh consulate has also been apprised of the episode.

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Mumbai: A special CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) court has sentenced an Air Customs superintendent and a hawaldar posted at the airport to three years of imprisonment for accepting a bribe of 4,000 from a cinematographer to grant export certificates for the cameras and other equipment that he was carrying to Qatar. HT Image

The complainant, Omkar Raut, in his statement, told the CBI that Air Customs superintendent Vasudev Ninave had demanded 5,000 from him and his friend Punit Desai for issuing export certificates for the camera equipment, which they were carrying while travelling to Qatar. He added that after negotiation, on Ninaves instructions, Desai handed over 4,000 to Customs hawaldar JS Mondkar in the washroom at terminal T-2 at the departure lounge of the airport.

The case was, however, registered on February 18, 2019, after Raut and Desai returned to India. It was claimed that when Desai was bribing Mondkar, Raut had made a video of the incident on his mobile phone. The CBI recovered the footage from Rauts phone, which was used as evidence against the accused.

Besides, CCTV footage from the Customs (Air Cargo) also showed that the accused met Desai, thereafter, Desai went to the washroom where Mondkar followed him to collect the bribe amount. The CBI had obtained sanctions to prosecute the two before registering the FIR.

In their defence, the Customs personnel questioned the sanction, saying it was mechanically given without application of mind. However, the court noted that the sanctioning authority had granted prosecution sanction only after considering all the evidence gathered by CBI against the two.

Besides, the court also discarded their objections to accepting the video recorded by Raut as evidence against them and said that the accused were identified in the video. The court, while convicting the Customs officer and the hawaldar, said, The two accused had no explanation about the incident and sequence of events as captured in CCTV camera and later in the video recorded on the phone by Raut.

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The forest department has put its teams on alert after a leopard was reportedly sighted near the 47th Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) battalion campus in Govindpuram, Ghaziabad, officials aware of the matter said. Officials said that the PAC officials had written to the forest department on Wednesday, reporting the sighting and warning that the presence of the leopard could pose a risk to personnel and their families living on the campus. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Officials said that the PAC officials had written to the forest department on Wednesday, reporting the sighting and warning that the presence of the leopard could pose a risk to personnel and their families living on the campus.

Our teams will stay on alert for the next three days and will try to find out the presence of the leopard with the help of pug marks or other indications left by the animal. However, a midnight search proved futile and no traces of presence of leopard in the area came to light, said Manish Singh, divisional forest officer (DFO).

He added that a similar sighting was reported by residents in Dasna three days ago, but a search in the area did not yield any results.

The last confirmed sighting of a leopard in Ghaziabad was on May 21, when an adult animal was rescued from a drainage pipeline in Modinagar.

In February, another leopard attacked and injured 10 people at the Ghaziabad district court before being tranquilized and captured.

The DFO said that the forest department is also taking steps to prevent leopards from entering human settlements.

We have asked farmers to keep their sugarcane fields free of tall grass and bushes, which leopards use as hiding places, he said.

He added that the department is also conducting awareness campaigns in villages near forests to educate people about how to avoid conflict with leopards.

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The M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), a not-for-profit NGO founded by noted agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan, has objected to the proposal of granting a Geographical Indicator (GI) tag to Koraputs renowned Kala Jeera Rice, contending that it could exclude local farmers from benefits. (Representative Photo)

Last week, the Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai advertised the application for GI tag to Odishas Koraput Kala Jeera rice in its journal following the application for the same by Koraput-based Jaivik Shree Farmers Producers Company (JSFPC), a year ago.

Within three months of advertisement of the GI application, a petition can be made opposing the award of the GI tag. However, once the application for a GI is accepted, the geographical indication is awarded.

The Jeypore-based MSSRF has opposed the GI tag alleging that once the applicant company gains exclusive rights to cultivate and market Kala Jeera rice, poor tribal farmers in the district would find it very difficult to grow the same.

Kala Jeera rice is an exclusive product of Koraput district and the application for the GI tag has to be done by a government agency and not by any private organisation. Once a private organisation gets the GI tag then the applicant company will be the sole beneficiary, said Prasant Parida, MSSRF director.

Parida said MSSRF over the last decade, has worked extensively for the preservation and promotion of Kala Jeera rice in the district helping poor tribals benefit from it.

The Kala Jeera rice was on the verge of extinction. We, along with the Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS), helped tribals cultivate and market the same. Now ORMAS is making the Kala Jeera rice available on the e-commerce platform Amazon, said Parida, adding that his organisation would soon file an objection with the GI authorities, which functions under the jurisdiction of the Union government.

Koraput Kala Jeera rice is known as the Prince of Rice. It is an aromatic variety originating from the Koraput district, this lowland-scented rice variety looks like cumin seeds. Unique and typical and specific in its colour, taste texture and aroma, the paddy of Kala Jeera is black, but obtained rice from it is white. It is known to have antispasmodic, carminative, antibacterial, astringent and sedative properties. The ancient text explains that Kalajeera improves memory and controls diabetes.

Muralidhar Adhikari, chief executive officer of the JSFPC said his organisation represents farmers of 14 blocks of the district and its farmers themselves have applied for the GI tag.

He said that if gets the GI tag, the entire farmers community will benefit and not any single organisation.

The Jaivik Sri Farmers Producer Company Limited undertakes the business, production, harvesting procurement grading, processing, pooling, handling, marketing and selling of the Koraput Kala Jeera rice for the benefit of producers, traders, farmers and others associated with the production and marketing line of the Koraput Kala Jeera rice, Adhikari added.

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The travel routes connecting tourist destinations in Himachal Pradesh had been substantially restored and it was now safe enough to travel in the hill state, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Thursday, reassuring residents and tourists of safe stay. While interacting with the media in Nadaun on Wednesday evening, the chief minister said Himachal Pradesh was safe for visitors and they were welcome to Chamba, Kangra, Shimla and Solan, besides other parts of the state, as the roads had been repaired. (PTI file photo)

While interacting with the media in Nadaun on Wednesday evening, the chief minister said Himachal Pradesh was safe for visitors and they were welcome to Chamba, Kangra, Shimla and Solan, besides other parts of the state, as the roads had been repaired.

Reiterating the governments commitment of effectively addressing the disaster, the chief minister said the state was providing much-needed assistance to all affected families.

He expressed displeasure over the petty politics the opposition was playing in the name of disaster. The leader of opposition (LoP) was engaged in political manipulation instead of sympathising with the disaster affected, alleged the chief minister, adding that the LoP should take up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah and request for a special disaster package for Himachal Pradesh, akin to that provided in the aftermath of the Kedarnath and Bhuj tragedies.

Sukhu said the government had repeatedly appealed to the Union government to declare the disaster in Himachal Pradesh as a national calamity. But as of now, no steps had been taken by the Union government in this regard.

He assured that the state government will leave no stone unturned to provide assistance to the affected families from its own resources.

Sukhu lashed out at the previous BJP government for pushing the state into a debt of 75,000 crore. He alleged that the previous government made announcements only for political gains, but failed to provide arrears and allowances to employees.

He claimed that the Congress government, soon after taking over the reins of the state, made the groundbreaking decision to reinstate the old pension system for its employees, despite financial constraints.

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PATNA: Bihar chief secretary Amit Subhani has told the states district magistrates (DMs) to stop deploying teachers and education department staffers for verification of documents related to the recruitment of teachers by public service recruiter Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC). Aspirants coming out from an examination centre after appearing in BPSC Teacher Recruitment 2023 exam in Patna (HT File Photo/Santosh Kumar)

Subhanis move to red-flag the deployment of teachers was in line with objections raised by the education department earlier.

BPSC has responded to the missive from the states top bureaucrat and issued instructions to pause the verification of documents of candidates.

In his September 6 letter to the DMs, Subhani said: At present, the education department is carrying out a statewide drive to strengthen the government school system and daily monitoring, in which all the officials and teachers are engaged. Therefore, the education department officials and teachers need to be kept away from the work of verification and scanning of OMR answer sheets so that they could remain engaged with education.

The education department had also pointed out earlier that it was not against the recruitment rules to deploy teachers during the process of recruiting 170,000 teachers in the state.

BPSC conducted Bihars biggest school teacher recruitment examination for 1,70,461 school teacher posts from August 24 to August 26. More than 800,000 aspirants appeared in the examination at 870 centres across the state. The document verification process of the candidates has been going on since September 5 and was expected to continue till September 12.

In its letter on Tuesday, the education department told BPSC that the engagement of education department officials and teachers was neither acceptable nor in the interest of education.

The department also faulted the BPSC decision to conduct the verification at this stage. It said the verification of documents needs to be done prior to issuing appointment letters. Therefore, there is no logic to deploy officials and teachers for document verification in all the districts in contravention to the rules, without the recommendation of successful candidates, the department said.

BPSC plans to announce the results later this month.

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The Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand government has come under heavy criticism after the high court ordered a stay on the recruitment process of 26,000 teachers that had commenced on August 16. The Hemant Soren-led government has come under criticism after high court ordered a stay on recruitment process of teachers (ANI)

On September 5, the Jharkhand high court issued the stay order while hearing a petition filed by Bahadur Mahto, who had raised objections to the recruitment rules.

Mahto, a block resource person, objected, stating that while the recruitment rules formulated in 2022 provided for 50 per cent reservation for block resource persons (BRP) and cluster resource persons (CRP), the 2023 rules had no such provision.

BRPs and CRPs are individuals associated with block resource centres who work closely with schools and teachers to provide necessary resources and support to enhance their teaching practices.

The court, in its stay order, directed the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) to submit an affidavit and postponed the hearing for four weeks. As a result of this order, teaching job aspirants expressed concerns about the governments failure to formulate foolproof recruitment rules.

There is no one in the government responsible for formulating proper recruitment rules; otherwise, the court would not have stayed the recruitment process. Earlier, the high court had rejected the recruitment rules of the Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission, under which only students who had completed their 10th and 12th from the states institutes were eligible to participate in the recruitment process, said a Ranchi University student who is preparing for the recruitment test, the last date for which was September 15.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president and former chief minister Babulal Marandi also took a jab at the Soren government.

The state government has neither the intention nor the policy to employ the youth. The accidental chief minister has been making wrong rules and policies from the beginning to deceive the youth. The chief minister had announced 35 thousand new jobs just yesterday, and as an initial trend, the appointment of 25 thousand old teachers was halted due to incorrect rules. Last year, too, the government cancelled thousands of appointments due to its flawed planning policy. They seem to be playing with the future of the youth, selling positions, and making sensational headlines in the newspapers. Announcements are all they care about, Marandi said in a post on social media.

Supriyo Bhattacharya, a senior leader and spokesperson of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), refused to comment on the matter.

It is the governments responsibility. Only the advocate general (AG) can comment on this matter, Bhattacharya said.

AG Rajeev Kumar could not be reached for comment.

When contacted, JSSC secretary Madhumita Kumari said, The petitioner had not made JSSC a respondent in the case. Now, the court has made JSSC one of the respondents, and it will submit its affidavit in the case before the court.

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Lucknow University will close the registration process for B.Tech, B.Pharm and MCA courses on September 7, 2023. Candidates who want to apply for the courses mentioned above can do it through the official site of Lucknow University at lkouniv.ac.in. Lucknow University (HT File)

B.Tech has 480 seats, B.Pharm has 100 seats and MCA has 30 seats. To apply for the same, follow the steps given below.

Lucknow University Admission 2023: How to apply

Visit the official site of Lucknow University at lkouniv.ac.in.

Click on B.Tech, B.Pharm and MCA courses link available on the home page.

A new page will open where candidates will have to click on registration link.

Enter the required details and click on submit.

Once registration is done, login to the account.

Fill in the application form and make the payment of application fees.

Click on submit and download the page.

Keep a hard copy of the same for further need.

The merit list of the candidates who have registered for admission at University of Lucknow will be displayed on the website. The offline counselling will be conducted at Faculty of Engineering, 2nd Campus, Janakipuram, University of Lucknow during September 13-17, 2023. For more related details candidates can check the official site of Lucknow University.

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The Central Selection Board of Constables (CSBC) has released admit cards for the Bihar Police Constable recruitment examination, 2023. Candidates can download it from the official website of the board, csbc.bih.nic.in. CSBC Bihar Police Constable Admit Card 2023 Live Updates CSBC Bihar Police Constable admit card 2023 awaited (csbc.bih.nic.in)

The exam will be conducted on October 1, October 7 and October 15. The candidates will be able to download the admit card from September 12 at 12 a.m.

Direct link to download CSBC admit card

Candidates are advised to keep their login credentials (registration ID/mobile number) ready as this information will be required to download the document.

These are the steps to follow to download admit cards:

Go to csbc.bih.nic.in. Open the Constable admit card download link given under Bihar Police. Enter the required login details and submit. Check and download the admit card. Read the instructions, check exam date, time and centre details.

Recently, CSBC informed that applications of 45,667 candidates have been rejected. The board has published a list with names of such applicants and reasons why their candidature have not been approved.

This recruitment drive will fill a total of 21,391 Constable vacancies in Bihar Police.

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International Literacy Day is celebrated on September 8 every year to promote the importance of literacy for dignity and human rights, and a literate and sustainable society. International Literacy Day 2023: History, significance and this year's theme(unsplash)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1966, at the 14th session of its General Conference, announced the event and the first International Literacy Day was celebrated in 1967.

The theme of International Literacy Day 2023 is Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies.

Rapidly changing global context took a new meaning over the past years, hampering the literacy progress and widening inequalities across world regions, countries, and populations. In low- and middle-income countries, the share of 10-year-old children who could not read and understand a simple text with comprehension has increased from 57 per cent in 2019 to an estimated 70 per cent in 2022, UNESCO said in a statement.

ILD2023 will be an opportunity to join efforts to accelerate progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on education and lifelong learning and to reflect on the role of literacy in building more inclusive, peaceful, just, and sustainable societies, it said.

At the global level, UNESCO will hold a conference at its headquarters in Paris. This will also include the award ceremony of the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes 2023.

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Pakistani actor Nausheen Shah has slammed Kangana Ranaut for talking 's**t' about Pakistan without having any knowledge. On the chat show Had Kar Di with Momin Saqib, Nausheen said she would like to meet Kangana to give her two slaps. The actor then said Kangana has no respect for other people, and should keep her focus on her 'acting, controversies and ex-boyfriends.' (Also read: Kangana Ranaut reacts to name change buzz, says she predicted it years ago: We are Bhartiya not Indians) Pakistani actor Nausheen Shah said Kangana Ranaut is an extremist.

Kangana has no knowledge, says actor

During her appearance in the show Had Kar Di with Momin Saqib, Nausheen was asked if there was any actor from Bollywood she would like to meet. Responding to this question, she took the name of Kangana and said she wants to slap her. She said, "The way she says sh*t about my country, the way she says a lot of crap about the Pakistan army, I salute her audacity. She has no knowledge but talks about the country, that too someone elses country. Focus on your own country, focus on your acting, your direction focus on your controversies and ex-boyfriends and what not."

More comments

She further added, "How do you know people are mistreated in Pakistan? How do you know about the Pakistan Army? How do you know about our agencies? We ourselves dont know, the agencies are in our country, the Army is our countrys, they dont share these things with us. They are secrets, are they not?'" Nausheen went on to praise Kangana's acting prowess but called her an 'extremist.'

Kangana is vocal on social media about a number of issues, pertaining to Bollywood and even politics. On the work front, the actor is gearing up for the release of her upcoming film Chandramukhi 2, which sees her essay the role of a dancer in the king's court, who was known for her beauty and dance skills. The film is set to release in theatres on September 19. Apart from this, she also has her solo directorial debut Emergency lined up for release this year, where she plays Indira Gandhi. She also has the action film Tejas in the pipeline.

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Raghav on his first meeting with Parineeti

Speaking to YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, Raghav was asked about how he met Parineeti. To this, Raghav smiled and replied, "Hum jaise bhi mile (However we met), it was very magical and a very organic way of meeting. It is something that I thank god every day for, for giving me Parineeti in my life... Bahut badi blessing hai (It's a huge blessing) and I am extremely happy that I have her as my partner. As I said, I thank god every single day for giving her to me."

In the same conversation, the interviewer also said that the entire nation is happy and eager about their wedding. Responding to this, Raghav said, "Main desh se zyada khush hoon (I am happier than the country)."

Leaked wedding invite

Recently, an invite from their upcoming wedding reception went viral on social media. The invite revealed that after their week-long celebration in Udaipur, the couple will host a reception a week after on September 30 in Chandigarh. It read, "Alka and Sunil Chadha, parents of Raghav Chadha invite you for the Reception lunch of their son Raghav and Parineeti, daughter of Reena & Pawan Chopra on 30th September 2023 at Taj Chandigarh.

More details

Earlier, an exclusive report by Hindustan Times had stated that the wedding festivities would take place from September 17 to 24 in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The venue would be The Leela Palace, Udaipur. Only close family members and friends will be staying there. For the other guests, all luxury properties in and around the wedding venue have been booked. Its going to be a grand Punjabi wedding, the source was quoted as saying.

On the work front, Parineeti will be next seen in Mission Raniganj opposite Akshay Kumar, slated to release in cinemas on October 6. The teaser of the film was shared on Thursday. She also has Imtiaz Ali's musical Chamkila opposite Diljit Dosanjh in the pipeline.

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Pregnant Kourtney Kardashian has revealed that she had to undergo an urgent fetal surgery days after she was seen leaving a Los Angeles-area medical centre, sparking concerns among fans. In an Instagram post, Kourtney has spoken up about the medical emergency. Kourtney Kardashian is expecting her first child with Travis Barker (kourtneykardash/Instagram)

I will be forever grateful to my incredible doctors for saving our babys life. I am eternally grateful to my husband who rushed to my side from tour to be with me in the hospital and take care of me afterwards, my rock. And to my mom, thank you for holding my hand through this, Kourtney wrote.

She added, As someone who has had three really easy pregnancies in the past, I wasnt prepared for the fear of rushing into urgent fetal surgery. I dont think anyone who hasnt been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear. I have a whole new understanding and respect for the mamas who have had to fight for their babies while pregnant. Praise be to God. Walking out of the hospital with my baby boy in my tummy and safe was the truest blessing. "

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker were seen leaving a hospital

Kourtney and Travis were spotted leaving a hospital on Saturday, September 2, shortly after Travis and his band postponed a tour due to an urgent family matter. It was later revealed that Kourtney only had a brief hospital stay and is now back home now with her kids. "She is feeling better. She is happy to have Travis back home too, a source told the news outlet PEOPLE.

Kourtney is expecting her first child with Travis. She revealed her pregnancy on June 16, holding up a handwritten sign during her husbands Los Angeles concert with Blink-182. Kourtney is just beyond excited," a source previously told PEOPLE. She had happy tears when she told her family. They have all known for a while.
NEW DELHI: The Asian century requires creation of a rules-based post-Covid-19 world order and joint efforts are needed to strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday against the backdrop of Chinas assertive actions on territorial disputes. PM Narendra Modi, Chinas Premier Li Qiang, Indonesias President Joko Widodo, US Vice President Kamala Harris and Malaysias Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim arrive for the East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia (via REUTERS)

PM Modis remarks, made while addressing the Asean-India Summit and East Asia Summit in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, came days after Beijing released a standard map that includes swathes of territories of other countries within Chinas borders. India, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan have protested against the Chinese map.

During the Asean-India Summit, Modi proposed a 12-point plan to bolster cooperation with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Modi told the meeting that the two sides have a common interest in amplifying the voices of the Global South and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. India is determined to work with all Asean members to achieve these goals, he said.

Also Read: PM Modi will try to squeeze in pull-aside meetings with Sunak, Kishida and Albanese on G20 Summit day

The 21st century is the century of Asia. This is our century. This requires the creation of a rules-based post-Covid world order, and everyones effort for human welfare, he said at the Asean-India Summit, speaking in Hindi.

Modi was more pointed in his remarks at the East Asia Summit (EAS), which was attended by Chinese Premier Li Qiang. EAS groups Asean member states and eight dialogue partners, including Australia, China, Japan, Russia and the US.

PM Narendra Modi delivers his remarks during a plenary session of the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta (Reuters)

It is imperative to adhere fully to international laws, and everyones commitment and joint efforts are also necessary to strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, Modi told the EAS.

As I have said before  todays era is not of war. Dialogue and diplomacy is the only path to resolution, he added, speaking again in Hindi.

Modi also told the EAS that multilateralism and a rules-based global order are essential for countering challenges such as terrorism, extremism, and geopolitical conflicts in a global landscape surrounded by uncertainties.

The need of the hour is an Indo-Pacific where international law, including UNCLOS, applies equally to all countries; where there is freedom of navigation and overflight; and where there is unimpeded lawful commerce for the benefit of all, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the venue of 43rd Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, (REUTERS)

Modi further said that the Code of Conduct for South China Sea being negotiated by Asean states and China should be effective and in accordance with UNCLOS or United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Additionally, it should take into consideration the interests of countries that are not directly involved in the discussions, he added.

He described the EAS as the only leaders-led mechanism for cooperation on strategic matters in the Indo-Pacific that also plays a pivotal role as the primary confidence-building mechanism in Asia.

India-China relations are currently at a six-decade low because of a dragging military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Chinas President Xi Jinping has decided to skip the G20 Summit to be hosted by India this weekend, and Beijing will be represented at the meeting by Premier Li.

The Indian side lodged a strong protest over Chinas standard map for including Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh, with the external affairs ministry saying such steps will only complicate the resolution of the boundary question.

At both summits, Modi emphasised the centrality of Asean in Indias Act East policy and vision for the Indo-Pacific. India and the 10 Asean states are connected by history and geography, shared values, peace, prosperity, and a shared belief in a multipolar world, he said.

Asean holds a central position in the vision of the Quad, whose positive agenda complements various mechanisms of Asean, he added.

India and Asean elevated their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022, and the Indian side has strong economic and security ties with member states such as Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Modi also raised Indias policy on Myanmar, telling the EAS it takes into account the views of Asean while ensuring peace and security on the borders and enhancing India-Asean connectivity.

The 12-point plan unveiled by Modi for strengthening Asean-India cooperation covers areas ranging from connectivity to digital public infrastructure (DPI) and counter-terrorism. It envisages establishing multi-modal connectivity and an economic corridor that links India, Southeast Asia, West Asia and Europe.

Under the plan, India offered to share its DPI expertise with Asean partners and announced an Asean-India fund for digital future. The Indian side also announced the renewal of support to the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA).

The Indian side called for collectively raising issues of the Global South at multilateral forums and offered to share the countrys expertise in providing affordable and quality medicines through the Jan-Aushadhi Kendras.

It also called for a collective fight against terrorism, terror financing and cyber disinformation, cooperation in disaster management, and bolstering collaboration in maritime safety and security and domain awareness.

Other measures included in the plan are traditional medicine, Indias Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

At the Asean-India Summit, Modi announced Indias decision to open an embassy in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. Xanana Gusmao, the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, attended the summit as an observer.

Modi concluded his brief visit to Jakarta after attending the two summits, which were being organised back-to-back by host Indonesia at Indias request since New Delhi will host the G20 Summit over the weekend. Modi did not hold any bilateral meetings on the margins of the summits.

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Bengaluru Pralhad Joshi (PTI)

A day after chief minister Siddaramaiah called the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre neech (despicable), Union minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday called the Congress government in Karnataka ghamandi (arrogant), and defended central governments move to deny additional supply of rice to the state.

Siddaramaiah and the Congress party have tried to call PM Modi neech. Since PM Modi comes from a poor background, the Congress party is jealous of the chair of PM Modi. They think this belongs to the Gandhi family, Joshi said on Thursday.

The whole country is facing drought situation. We have fewer stocks of rice. Thats why we have banned the export of rice. The price of rice is increasing. Many BJP-governed states are also demanding rice. But we dont have it right now. The neech word used by the Congress is an example that they are ghamandi, Joshi added.

On Wednesday, Siddaramaiah, who was speaking at an event in Tumakuru to mark the 10th anniversary of the Ksheera Bhagya scheme, appealed to people not to vote for the BJP.

When I was the CM during my previous tenure, I was giving 7kg rice free but the previous BJP government reduced it to 4kg and 5kg. During the assembly election, I promised that we will give an additional 5kg more, Siddaramaiah said.

He said that they had also reached an agreement with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to procure the rice. The FCI had assured that it would provide the rice to the state , he said.

We trust them [FCI] but the Centre denied us rice. We did not ask for rice for free. We were ready to pay for it. When we asked for rice, they agreed and then backtracked. You have to decide how neech they are, he said, adding that they are anti-poor and have no humanity.

Joshi on Thursday asked Siddaramaiah that when he announced the Anna Bhagya scheme as one of the election promises then, had he mentioned that the scheme would be applicable only if the Centre provided extra rice. Due to the drought situation prevailing in the country, extra rice is being denied to every state, export has also been banned and the allegation is baseless, he added.

The state government is currently providing monetary aid through direct benefit transfer instead of an additional 5kg of rice to beneficiaries after it was unable to source additional rice from any of the central agencies.
KOCHI: Leader of Opposition in Kerala assembly VD Satheesan on Thursday asked chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to direct the police to withdraw the case filed against 94-year-old rights activist Ayinoor Vasu, popularly known as Grow Vasu, for a protest against the killing of two alleged Maoists in a police encounter seven years ago. Grow Vasu has refused to seek bail, saying there are different laws for different people and that he will not accept this

Vasu was arrested by the Medical College police in Kozhikode district and remanded in custody on July 29 for a November 2016 protest in front of the hospital mortuary where the bodies of two alleged Maoist leaders gunned down by security forces were kept. He, and some others, were then booked on charges of unlawful assembly and assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty.

This year, following his arrest, Vasu refused to pay a nominal fine or sign a self-bond for bail as a mark of his protest against the administration and has been in jail for over a month.

Satheesan said many be people who disagree with Vasus ideology, but the 94-year-olds fighting spirit has to be acknowledged.

Vasu-ettan has a public service experience which is more than the age of many of us...I saw a photo of police officers trying to cover his mouth to prevent him from speaking. The police are forcibly pinning his hands down to prevent him from raising slogans. Officers are using their caps to hide his face. Such visuals sadden those who believe in humanity, said Satheesan in a statement. The word ettan means elder brother in Malayalam.

What crime has he committed? He is not involved in terrorist, anti-national activities or murders, the Congress leader said, adding that his crime was that he publicly protested against the killing of people in the name of taking action against Maoists.

Satheesan said that the elderly activist was ill-treated by the police at a time when heinous murderers, impersonators and those close to the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist engaged in fraudulent activities were given royal treatment in police custody and jails.

The state government was earnest in writing off several cases like the assembly ruckus case. What is the issue in withdrawing the case against Vasu? he asked.
New Delhi/Chennai: Udhayanidhi Stalin (File)

Two constituents of the INDIA grouping, the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT), on Thursday struck a cautious tone on Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Udhayanidhi Stalins controversial comments on Sanatana Dharma even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) kept up its attack and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin defended his son.

On September 2, Udhayanidhi said that sanatana dharma is against social justice and equality and should hence be eradicated, triggering a political controversy. Union home minister Amit Shah accused him of insulting Hindu beliefs and the BJP alleged INDIA was indulging in appeasement politics, even as the DMK defended him, saying he was only speaking against the ills of the caste system.

On Thursday, Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut asked Udhayanidhi to keep his personal views to himself, and asked him to refrain from making such remarks.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said attempts are being made to point fingers at our Sanatana culture. ...But they forgot that Sanatana, which even Ravan (demon king in epic Ramayana) couldnt destroy with all his arrogance, and which came out unscathed even in the face of atrocities by Babar and Aurangzeb, can never be eradicated.

Udayanidhi Stalin is a minister and no one will support his statement and one should refrain from making such statements. We all are parties of the INDIA bloc...This could be DMKs view. Around 90 crore Hindus live in this country...Everyone has their sentiments. You cant hurt their sentiments...The BJP should not get ammunition to target us, Raut said.

The largest constituent in the INDIA bloc, the Congress, also appeared to distance itself from Udhayanidhis remarks.

The Congress has always believed in sarvadharma sambhav [communal amity] wherein every religion, every faith has its space. No one can treat any particular faith as less than another faith. Neither the Constitution allows this nor does the Indian National Congress believe in such comments, said Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera.

But Stalin hit back at the BJP, referring to reports in some media outlets that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for a proper response on the issue.

In a statement -- his first since the row broke out -- Stalin said his son expressed his views on sanatan principles that discriminate against scheduled castes, tribals and women, with no intention to offend any religion or religious beliefs.

The social media mob nurtured by the BJP has widely circulated...falsehood in northern states. However, minister Udhayanidhi never used the word genocide in either Tamil or English. Still, lies were spread claiming so, he said.

But the BJP continued its attack, with Union minister Anurag Thakur questioning Congress leader Rahul Gandhis silence on the matter, especially after another DMK leader A Raja likened Sanatan Dharma to a disease such as leprosy with social stigma.

Rahul Gandhi should explain why he is silent on the disrespect shown by the leaders, he said, adding that the country will not tolerate the disrespect and disrepute of sanatana dharma.

This came a day after multiple cases were filed in various parts of the country in connection with Udhayanidhis remarks and reactions against it. A first information report (FIR) was registered against Udhayanidhi and Priyank Kharge, the Karnataka minister who backed his remark,at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, while cases were also registered against BJP IT department in-charge Amit Malviya for allegedly distorting the DMK leaders remark and against an Ayodhya-based seer for allegedly putting a bounty on Udhayanidhi.

In his statement, Stalin said it was disheartening to read reports that the PM mentioned in a meeting of the council of ministers that Udhayanidhis remarks need a proper response.

The Prime Minister has access to all the resources to verify any claim or report. So, is the Prime Minister speaking unaware of the lies spread about Udhayanidhi, or does he do so knowingly? Stalin asked. The chief minister said that the formation of the INDIA grouping, which comprises 28 opposition parties, rattled the PM.

But the BJP refused to back off, criticising Raja and demanding an explanation from Rahul Gandhi.

Thakur said there seemed to be a competition between the Ghamandia alliance to denigrate sanatana dharma. They are demeaning Sanatana Dharma...Where is Rahul Gandhi sleeping? Wake up...Do you agree with these statements? Isnt it a violation of law and constitution? Isnt this hate speech? Shouldnt they apologise to the people of the country? he added.

His cabinet colleague Dharmendra Pradhan posted on X: Changing name does not conceal ones intent and character. Outrageous and vitriolic comments about Sanatana Dharma, this time by DMK minister A Raja, reflects the mental bankruptcy and deep-rooted Hinduphobia that engulfs the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. The country is watching how Congress and their friends are consciously maligning the soul, spirit and roots of Bharat...

Party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said sanatana dharma was given respect in the Constitution and no one could eradicate it. The Indian Constitution has the images of Lord Ram, Krishna, Arjuna, Nataraja and Hanuman on it and the signatures of Dr Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, BR Ambedkar and others. Sanatana dharma has been given respect in the Constitution, no one can eradicate it, he told ANI.
Some people, whose names were proposed by the West Bengal government to be appointed as vice-chancellors (V-Cs) of state-run universities were corrupt, others were accused of harassing female students and some others were playing political games, governor CV Ananda Bose said on Thursday, firing the latest shot in an ongoing scrap between him and the state government. Governor CV Ananda Bose also claimed some V-Cs of state-run universities resigned after they were threatened by goons and came under pressure from senior bureaucrats (PTI)

The governor also claimed some V-Cs of state-run universities resigned after they were threatened by goons and came under pressure from senior bureaucrats.

Do you want to know why I could not appoint the V-Cs from the list of names proposed by the state government? This is a fact that some were corrupt, some were accused of harassing female students and some were playing political games, Bose said in a recorded video message in Bengali.

He added that while the West Bengal government had appointed V-Cs in state universities the Supreme Court declared the governments actions were illegal, referring to the top courts decision taken in October last year where it upheld a Calcutta high court verdict setting aside the reappointment of the vice-chancellor of Calcutta University. The apex court had said that the West Bengal government had chosen an incorrect path under the law to usurp the power of the chancellor, who is the governor of the state.

The V-Cs had to resign. Now who would become the V-C? Under such circumstances as the chancellor of state-run universities I appointed interim V-Cs. The state education department said it was wrong. But the Calcutta high court said I was right, he added.

He also said that at least five V-Cs had to resign after they were threatened by goons intimidated by the state education department and pressurized by senior IAS officers.

This is what the V-Cs told me in confidence before they resigned. I did not ask anyone to resign. They resigned out of fear. It is very unfortunate that five V-Cs had to resign, he said.

Does he have any proof of what he is claiming or is he making some irresponsible political statements? In that case he should start getting into politics from the BJPs office. Why is he in Raj Bhavan spending public money? The V-Cs resigned because of the Governors attitude and steps. He is running a Tughlaq- Raj in appointing interim V-Cs. No one knows from where he got the names of interim V-Cs. Some of the appointees have no relation to the education system, Jay Prakash Majumdar, TMC state vice president, told the media.

Earlier this week Raj Bhavan issued a circular saying that university officials were not mandated to take direct orders from the state government or execute it without the knowledge and consent of the vice chancellor.

Later West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee threatened to block funds to state-run universities if they dared follow the orders of Bose and warned of a sit-in protest outside Raj Bhavan.

The functioning of state-run universities has been a bone of contention between the ruling Trinamool Congress and Raj Bhavan since 2019, when former governor Jagdeep Dhankhar (now the countrys vice president) assumed charge.

Bose, who is chancellor of all state-run universities, recently drew the ire of the TMC government by deciding to be acting vice-chancellor (VC) of 14 universities where the posts were lying vacant.

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A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan was killed while another sustained injuries allegedly after two drug peddlers attacked them with a knife along Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, police said on Thursday, adding that both the accused have been arrested. The incident happened at Bordumsa area along Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, according to the police (Representative photo)

The deceased, identified as Sunil Kumar Pandey, was a resident of Uttar Pradesh and was posted at the 106 Battalion in Arunachal Pradesh.

According to the police, the incident took place late on Wednesday when Pandey and the other jawan went to Bordumsa area of Tinsukia district in Assam in civil dresses on a tip-off about the presence of two drug peddlers in the area.

The two accused, however, attacked the soldiers during the operation with a knife and fled the spot.

The two soldiers were rushed to the hospital where Pandey was declared dead on arrival while the other soldier is undergoing treatment,superintendent of police (Tinsukia), Gaurav Abhijit Dilip, said. Later, the two accused were identified based on the CCTV footage from the area and arrested on Thursday morning.

The accused have been identified as Chou Newata Mein (26) and Chou Aravi Khen (25), both residents of Namsai area in Arunachal Pradesh, police said.

An officer added that Pandeys body has been sent to a local hospital for post-mortem examination and will be sent to his house in Uttar Pradesh after formalities.

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An eight-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped from her home and sexually assaulted by a man on Thursday in Keralas Aluva town, police said. The minor girl is stable but has injuries, police officials said. (Representative file image)

The minor is the daughter of a migrant worker hailing from Bihar and the suspect is a local, a police official said.

Around 2am, a person saw the minor girl coming along with the suspect after which he alerted the police. Local residents had taken the minor girl to the hospital. She is stable but has injuries in her private parts. She underwent surgery, Vivek Kumar, Ernakulam Rural SP, told reporters.

Also Read: Rajasthan: 28-yr-old man jailed for life over sexual assault, murder of minor girl

The minor girl has identified the suspect and in our knowledge, he is a local. The witness has also identified him. We are searching for him, and the investigation is ongoing, he added.

The incident comes just over a month after migrant workers daughter was kidnapped, raped and murdered near Aluva.

The accused in that case, also a migrant worker, was arrested.
A siren giving a warning about tsunami erroneously started playing from the Early Warning Dissemination System at Porvorim near here, triggering panic among the local residents, an official said on Thursday. People living in the nearby areas said the siren created panic among the locals. (Pexels)

The siren started sounding the alert after 9 pm on Wednesday and it continued for more than 20 minutes, local residents said.

Whether the siren went off due to any technical error or any other reason is being probed, with a state minister saying that he has sought a report into it.

The Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS) is installed on a hillock at Porvorim in North Goa on the outskirts of state capital Panaji.

Talking to reporters on Thursday, North Goa District Collector Mamu Hage said, "It was a false warning as there was no such intimation of tsunami from any of the authorities."

"There was no mock drill or anything. I have personally checked and found out that there was no warning either from Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) or the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)," she said. The collector said she has directed the state Water Resources Department (WRD) to find out why the siren started playing from the EWDS.

People living in the nearby areas said the siren created panic among the locals. Talking about it, local resident Avinash R said, "We were on a walk after dinner when we heard the siren. Initially we panicked, but we soon realised that it could be a mock drill."

When contacted, state WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar said he has sought a report from his office, which will be received by this evening.

North Goa District Disaster Authority said in a social media post, "There are certain reports of Siren alerting Early Warning Dissemination System at Porvorim of a Tsunami alert. It is clarified that no such Alert of Tsunami is issued by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).

"The citizens are requested not to panic," it added.
NEW DELHI: The G20 states have moved closer to an agreement on admitting the African Union (AU) as a member of the grouping, with an announcement expected during the summit to be hosted by India over the weekend, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The current members of the G20 represent about 85% of global GDP, more than 75% of world trade and about two-thirds of the global population (AFP)

The admission of the AU, a bloc of 55 countries from the African continent that was launched in 2002, has been included in the draft leaders declaration that is being negotiated by the G20 states, the people said on condition of anonymity.

Even if the proposal is not vetoed by any G20 member, it was not immediately clear whether the AUs membership process would be completed at the summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 or under the forthcoming Brazilian presidency of the G20 in 2024, the people said.

Also Read: Indias G20 presidency is already a big success

In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to his counterparts among G20 members that the AU should be given full membership of the grouping at the upcoming summit. The proposal was made following a request from the AU.

Russian Sherpa Svetlana Lukash told the daily Vedomosti that text regarding AUs admission had been included in the draft leaders declaration. She also said President Vladimir Putin  who is skipping the G20 Summit  had backed the AUs candidature during the Russia-Africa Summit in July.

The G20 includes 19 countries and the European Union (EU), which also has backed the proposal to include the AU. If the AU is admitted, it is expected to have the same status as the 27-member EU, the only regional bloc with full membership of the G20. The AUs admission is also not expected to lead to a change in the name of the G20, the people said.

Leaders of EU states that are also part of the G20  France, Italy, Germany and the UK  will hold a meeting with leaders of AU states attending the G20 Summit, including Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Mauritius and Comoros, in New Delhi on September 9. The meeting will be part of the EUs outreach to the Global South, a senior EU official said.

Among the issues expected to come up at this meeting are reforms of global institutions and multilateral development banks, infrastructure projects and investments, and resolution of regional conflicts in Africa.

The current members of the G20 represent about 85% of global GDP, more than 75% of world trade and about two-thirds of the global population. The AUs inclusion is expected to give African countries a greater say in tackling global challenges such as climate transition, debt restructuring and sustainable development.

Meanwhile, negotiators from the G20 states continued discussions to remove differences on issues that are holding up a consensus outcome document, primarily the Ukraine crisis.

Russia and China continue to oppose any text referring to the conflict. An official from a G7 state, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Chinas approach appeared to be aimed at obstructing all proposals from India.

The people said a proposal floated to overcome the deadlock over the Ukraine crisis was issuing two separate outcome documents  one on economic and developmental issues and another on geopolitical matters such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, the proposal had not found favour with the G7 states, the people said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rezaul H Laskar Rezaul H Laskar is the Foreign Affairs Editor at Hindustan Times. His interests include movies and music. ...view detail
Distinguished guests and delegates from across the world have begun arriving at the Bharat Mandapam convention centre, nestled within the newly revamped Pragati Maidan complex in the heart of New Delhi ahead of the upcoming G20 summit. This historic event, scheduled for September 9 and 10, marks a significant milestone as India becomes the inaugural South Asian nation to host the summit. A security personnel walks past the G20 logo installed along a street in New Delhi on September 7, 2023. AFP)

Delhi, in preparation for this prestigious conclave, has transformed into a highly secured enclave, resembling a fortress. Although it's not a full-scale lockdown, certain measures are in place, including the suspension of online order deliveries within New Delhi's district from September 8 to 10. While Delhi Metro services continue to operate as usual, several station including the Supreme Court station will remain closed on these three dates.

Among the global leaders expected to grace this summit with their presence are prominent figures like US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Canada PM Justin Trudeau. However, notable absences include Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping. Russia and China will still be represented, though, with their foreign minister and prime minister taking the helm, respectively.
A Cheriyal scroll painting from Telangana, a handwoven Tussar silk stole, and a handcrafted bell metal figurine of a woman made by artisans from Chattisgarh are among the gifts that first ladies or spouses of heads of state from around the world, who will gather for the upcoming G20 Summit, will receive during their visit to the Indian Agricultural Research (IARI) at Pusa campus on Saturday, officials familiar with the matter said. An Illuminated statue of Nataraja, the Hindu god of Dance, stands at the entrance of the main venue for the G20 summit in New Delhi, India, Thursday.(AP)

Also Read| G20 guests to glimpse Indias musical history at Prez dinner

According to officials, the three gift items, representing the rich traditional art culture of the country, will be presented to the spouses of the G20 leaders in a specially curated goodie bag. The visit to the institute is part of the itinerary planned for spouses of the leaders that also includes a visit to the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) for a curated shopping experience, and Rajghat.

The Cheriyal scroll painting  the art form is centuries-old  depicts myths and legends in narrative scrolls, said a senior official at the institute who asked not to be named. Rooted in local and artful motifs, these paintings are one of the oldest art forms of the region, embodying its rich storytelling traditions.

Also Read| Concrete plan needed for crypto: G20 paper

Cheriyal scrolls have geographical indication (GI) status that is given to products that have a specific geographical origin and that possess qualities or a reputation arising from their provenance.

The handwoven heritage stoles, which will also be presented, have been meticulously crafted from Tussar silk sourced from the Sal forests of Chhattisgarh. The silk stoles have been dyed from freshly extracted vegetable sources i.e Marigold flowers and turmeric. They are completely sustainable as the yarn is hand reeled and the fabric is hand woven, the official added.

The handcrafted bell metal figurine of a woman preparing food has been prepared by artisans from Chattisgarh taking inspiration from their surroundings using ancient lost-wax technique. The technique used in preparing this figurine is similar to the process used for creation of Harappan civilisations famous dancing girl artifact, the official said.

Explaining the lost-wax technique, the official said, In this technique, a wax sculpture of an image is covered in clay which is then baked. Once the clay is heated the wax melts leaving a negative image of the sculpture inside the hardened clay. Molten metal is then poured into it. Then they separate the metal image from the clay casing.

During their visit to IARI-Pusa campus, the spouses will also meet millet farmers from different states, and will also be served millet-based snacks cooked over live counters by celebrity chefs Kunal Kapur, Ajay Chopra and Anahita Dhondy.

The United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets based on a proposal moved by India and backed by over 70 nations. In her Budget 2023-24 speech, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman called for making India a global hub for millets, terming coarse cereals as Shree Anna. Nearly 25 million marginal farmers grow millets in 13 Indian states. The country produces nearly 18 million tonnes of millets annually, which are also known as coarse cereals, such as jowar (sorghum), bajra (pearl millet) and ragi (finger millet), among many other local varieties.

They will also visit millet fields of the IARI inside Pusa campus. They will also be shown a documentary on Indias agricultural progress capturing the countrys journey from being a net importer of food to being a food surplus country. The documentary will also showcase the recent advancements in farming including use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and startups, said a second official at Pusa, who too asked not to be named

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare will also be preparing two millet- based rangolis (colourful floor decorations created for special events) to greet the visitors at the NASC Complex of the institute. The rangolis will capture two themes i.e harmony of harvest and unity in sustenance. They will narrate stories of Indias commitment to sustainable agriculture, unity, and global food security. They serve as colourful symbols of our shared responsibility in fostering a world where sustenance knows no boundaries, the second official added.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to arrive in New Delhi on Friday at around 1.40 pm (IST) to participate in the G20 World Leaders' Summit hosted by India over the coming weekend, marking the conclusion of its Presidency. The summit will be attended by several other high-profile leaders from around the world, including US President Joe Biden and 28 other heads of state, as well as the heads of international organisations. Arrangements are in place to welcome the international guests, with some having already arrived in the national capital. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak(AP)

Meanwhile, Gautam Dev Sood, an Indian relative of Rishi Sunak expressed their desire to gather in the city to meet him, if possible. A Telegraph report mentioned that Sood is Sunak's maternal uncle.

Sood was quoted by news agency ANI as saying, We are very happy that he is coming to India. There is a great sense of excitement, and we are trying to assemble in Delhi if it is possible to meet him.

When asked about Sunak's plans to visit Ludhiana in Punjab during his stay in India for the summit, Sood mentioned that he is not aware of such plans. If authorities permit us, we would like to greet him, he added.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Telegraph report claimed that Sunak's relatives have been preparing for a grand welcome in New Delhi, including hosting a feast with flower bouquets and non-stop dancing to Punjabi music.

Rishi Sunak is unlikely to attend the event because of his intense work schedule between Friday and Sunday for the G20 summit and bilateral talks on its sidelines. He will be accompanied on his first visit to India as prime minister by his wife, Akshata Murty, who is the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy and author Sudha Murty.

As the Union government has assigned ministers of state to receive each head of state, Rishi Sunak will be received by Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Ashwini Kumar Choubey. Sunak and the UK delegation will be staying at the Shangri-La Hotel in Delhi's Connaught Place, which is also hosting Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz and his delegation.

What does Sunak feel about India hosting G20?

UK's Indian-origin Prime Minister Sunak said on Wednesday that India's diversity and its extraordinary successes make it the right country to hold the G20 presidency at the right time. He praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership over the past year.

Indias presidency of the bloc has come at a time when the world is facing innumerable challenges, UK PM told news agency PTI.

Sunak also emphasised that the relationship between the UK and India will shape the future of both countries even more significantly than it is defining the present.

He said, Given this country's scale, diversity, and its extraordinary successes, India is the right country at the right time to hold the G20 Presidency. I commend Prime Minister Modi's leadership over the past year, and it's wonderful to see India demonstrating such global leadership.

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The national capital is currently under tight security ahead of the upcoming G20 Summit scheduled for this weekend at the new complex, Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan. A list of Union ministers tasked with welcoming world leaders attending the summit was released on Thursday, according to sources cited by news agency ANI. Almost 40 world leaders, including those from international organisations, are expected to participate in the event. US President Joe Biden (AP)

During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi provided guidance to his ministers regarding the conduct expected during the G20 Summit, as it is a high-level event hosted by the country and will involve top leaders from around the world, including US President Joe Biden. He urged them to remain in the national capital throughout the summit and to fulfill any assigned duties to ensure the visiting dignitaries are not inconvenienced.

Ministers were also encouraged to use a shuttle service instead of their official vehicles to reach the primary venue, the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) complex, or the Bharat Mandapam located at Pragati Maidan in central Delhi, as well as other meeting venues.

Furthermore, during the Wednesday meeting, Modi advised ministers to download the G20 India mobile app and make the best use of its translation and other features when interacting with foreign dignitaries, according to sources.

The G20 mobile app includes an instant translation feature encompassing all Indian languages and those of G20 nations. We have compiled a list of ministers responsible for receiving world leaders, as reported by news agency ANI, citing sources.

Which minister will receive which world leader?

US President Joe Biden: He is expected to arrive at 6.55 pm (tentative time) on Friday and will be received by Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh.

UK PM Rishi Sunak: Scheduled to arrive at 1.40 pm in Delhi, he will be received by Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Ashwini Kumar Choubey.

Japan PM Fumio Kishida: He will also be received by Minister Choubey and is set to arrive in India by 2.15 pm.

Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina: She will reach New Delhi at 12.30 pm on Friday and will be received by Minister of State for Railways Darshana Jardosh.

Italy PM Giorgia Meloni: According to sources cited by ANI, Meloni will arrive in Delhi at 6.20 am on Friday and will be received by Minister of State for Agriculture Shobha Karadlaje.

China's Premier Li Qiang: Participating in the G20 Summit on behalf of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Li Qiang will also be received by Minister VK Singh and is expected to reach the national capital at 7.45 pm on Friday.

Australian PM Anthony Albanese: He will arrive at 6.15 pm on Friday and will be received by Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

French President Emmanuel Macron: Scheduled to arrive in New Delhi at 12.35 pm on Saturday, he will be received by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: He will be arriving at 8 am on Saturday and will be received by Minister of State for MSME Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma.

UAE President HH Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan: He will be received by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai as he arrives in the national capital at 8 pm on Friday.

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Ahead of the G20 Summit which is set to begin in the national capital on September 9-10, Tibetan Youth Congress President Gonpo Dhundup on Thursday informed that a protest will be organized tomorrow in Delhi against China over the illegal occupation of Tibet. Tibetan Youth Congress President Gonpo Dhundup on Thursday said, "We want to put a reminder for all 19 nations that China is not to be trusted."(ANI)

Speaking to ANI, Gonpo Dhundup said, "We are not protesting against India hosting the G20. We are very proud that India is hosting this prestigious G20 meeting in New Delhi. But our protest is against the Chinese Communist Government. Chinese Government illegally occupied our nation. Currently, the situation in Tibet is very critical."

He further stated that through these protests they want to remind G20 nations about China that its diplomatic assurances are not to be trusted.

"We want to inform the global community that China is not be trusted. For Indian security, Tibet's independence is necessary. Chinese CCP is a threat to the world. China's expansionist policy is creating disharmony and violence in the whole world. We must have a global collaboration to make China accountable. The Chinese president has no guts to come to India, no courage to show his face in a free nation," he said.

"We want to put a reminder for all 19 nations that China is not to be trusted. We are the victims. So, we are organizing a protest tomorrow against the Chinese Govt," he added.

Earlier on September 2 Tibetans-in-exile commemorated the 63rd anniversary of Democracy Day in Dharamshala which marks the inception of the Tibetan democratic system in exile.

Leaders of the exiled Tibetan Government including Tibetan parliamentarians and other dignitaries gathered at the main Buddhist temple, Tsuglagkhang in the north Indian hill town Dharmashala on Saturday to commemorate the occasion.

Delhi is gearing up for the 18th G20 Summit. It will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.

India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country.

The Peoples Republic of China asserts that Tibet has been a part of China since the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.In 1951 Tibetan leaders were forced to sign a treaty dictated by China. The treaty, known as the Seventeen Point Agreement, professes to guarantee Tibetan autonomy and to respect the Buddhist religion but also allows the establishment of Chinese civil and military headquarters at Lhasa (Tibets capital).However, the Tibetan people  including Dalai Lama  consider it invalid and signed under duress.This has often been described by the Tibetan people as a cultural genocide. In 1959, following the Tibetan uprising, the Dalai Lama (spiritual leader of Tibetan people) and many of his followers fled to India.
When Goan fashion designer Verma DMello first suggested that she would drape her models in indigenous tribal wear at the 2019 Cannes festival, she was met with bemusement, she remembers. Her forte was bridal collections, and this, after all, was one of the worlds biggest stages. DMello took the leap nonetheless, and jaws dropped when her models glided down the ramp in costumes made entirely of material indigenous to Goas Kunbi and Gauda tribes. That year, she was given the award for best red-carpet designer. PREMIUM Handwoven out of cotton yarn and then dyed in the earth, the Kunbi saree was for long ubiquitous with the Kunbis and the Gaudas, two scheduled tribes in Goa.

It gave fillip to a revival once unimaginable.

On August 22 this year, President of India Droupadi Murmu arrived in Goa, and at the state reception honouring her, she was given a shawl woven of Kunbi fabric and a full length Kunbi saree.Earlier in the year, when Australian member of parliament Zaneta Mascarenhas visited India for the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas meet in January, she wore a Kunbi saree gifted to her by DMello.

Over the decades, as demand evaporated, handlooms shut and modernity took over, it had seemed the Kunbi saree was fading into oblivion, relegated to a token curiosity from the villages of Goa. The reasons for its decline werent just external. For generations, the saree had become a caste and identity marker for scheduled tribes that wore them almost exclusively. As aspirational youth began to try and break free of those shackles, the Kunbi fabric was the first thing they shed.

But now, the Kunbi saree is back in Indias imagination of Goa, and Goas imagination of its heritage. It is front and centre on the fashion ramp; at ceremonial functions; even the focus of a government push that mandates all guests will be honoured with the saree.

But there are questions that linger. There are concerns of whether the benefits of this return to prominence is filtering down to the communities involved. And most importantly, given the complex questions of caste and identity, if the fate of the Kunbi saree should be left to the tribes themselves.

The Kunbi saree and its decline

Handwoven out of cotton yarn and then dyed in the earth, the Kunbi saree was for long ubiquitous with the Kunbis and the Gaudas, two scheduled tribes in Goa that live in the hills; are known for subsistence agriculture; and were employed as mining labourers during Portuguese rule.

Patterned in square checks, the material was used by women to drape a saree, usually up to the knee. The men used it as a loincloth, locally known as kashti. The pattern mainly consists of a chequered design in various sizes with a striped border called a Dobby. Originally made only in red, white and yellow, the introduction of other dyes like indigo also brought colours like blue and purple, used in times of mourning, a white paper released in 2022 by the Goa Livelihoods Forum, an NGO working with rural livelihoods, said.

The cotton saree was knotted in the right shoulder that allowed women to work freely in the fields and was also convenient for them to do household chores, providing comfort and ease in the sultry weather. Before the Portuguese arrived on Goas shores in the early 1500s, women would wear the saree without a blouse, until a colonial law forced them to include it as part of the dress.

But come the 21st century, the Kunbis and the Gaudas began to disassociate themselves with the most visible sign of their identity, looking to assimilate with a state changing around them. We were discriminated against, called names and looked down upon. The saree was only worn at cultural events and performances where men and women would re-enact their cultural legacy, said advocate Joao Fernandes, a Kunbi and an advocate for tribal rights.

There was a time, Fernandes said, the sarees were sought after as far as Ankola in coastal Karnataka. We used to buy the sarees and the material from local handloom makers. But because of declining demand, all of them shut shop and trade died out, Fernandes said. Officials of the state handicrafts department said that in 1961, the year Goa was liberated from colonial rule, there were 450-500 handloom weavers in the state. All of them had abandoned the traditional occupation by the turn of the century.

The revival

The first flash of resuscitation came in 2010, when model and actress Lisa Ray appeared in a saree, part of the Kunbi Tribe collection by the late Wendell Rodricks, at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion week in 2010. Rodricks, a Goan, admitted at the time that in his efforts to revive the saree, he had to change the colours and the checks to make the saree desirable to all castes.

In the next decade, fashion designers such as DMello were eager to experiment with garments that werent just unique, but had a singularly cultural story to tell. When I started to learn more about its existence, I learnt that Kunbi weaving had ceased in Goa. Not even a single weaver does it anymore. That really moved me, said DMello , also the executive director of Goa Sudharop, a California based Goan NGO. She has since presented the Kunbi fabric at Cannes, Africa and Paris.

But there are very few, DMello said, that still know how to make the fabric, and those that do are fading fast. A few men from the tribe and other rural areas were identified and trained in weaving, dyeing and other aspects of the Kunbi Process. The other difficulty was to convince rural parents to allow their young girls to be part of their heritage. We went through long counselling sessions, with the help of village elders, to gain their trust, DMello said. A handloom centre, with help from the Goa Sudharop, has been set up at Orlim in South Goa, and they intend to set up three more in different parts of the state. There is more demand that we can meet, DMello said.

The surge in popularity has meant that the Goa government has also begun promoting the saree, pumping in money to launch six handloom training centres for rural youth. Thus far, close to 450 women have relearnt the art of the Kunbi handloom since 2016, when the department first opened its training centres officials of the Department of Handloom Textile and Choir said.

In October 2022, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that as a means to preserve and promote the fabric, awardees at state functions would only be felicitated with a Kunbi shawl. Gifts to visiting dignitaries, he said, would either be the saree itself or cloth involving elements of the fabric. We have a demand of 2000 Kunbi sarees a month but have been unable to meet the demand, Director of Handicrafts Arvind Bugde said. The state is also in the process of applying for a GI tag, officials said.

There are however challenges to scaling up. The hard labour required to work on a hand loom, the patience that needs to co-exist with natural dyes, the low availability of authentic raw material and low pay for women who take up to 3 days to make a single saree is dissuading youngsters from taking to the job. Of the 450 women trained by the Goa government, only around 40 have taken up the job full time. There are weavers that know how to do it, but dont do it because cheap power looms are dominating. There is no comparison between the cost of weaving and the cost of powerloom sarees. It is impossible to ordinarily survive in the market, DMello said.

The way forward

Some experts have also raised fears that the present avatar of the saree still hasnt gone back to the community and has instead become confined to being showcased by the elite. Unlike a lot of other premium handloom sarees, Kunbi sarees cannot be dissociated from their working-class roots. Its transformation into designer clothing runs the risk of snatching it away from the very community that has kept it in circulation all these years, said Kaustubh Naik, a student of History at the school of South Asia studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and an expert on the states caste relations.

Naik said that those promoting the saree do not have to inherit the humiliation, rooted in generational apathy, that once came with a Kunbi saree. The saree and the way it is draped is a caste marker. At last years Goa Heritage Festival, several upper caste women did a fashion walk draping the saree, and not one Kunbi woman was there. These modes of appropriation take the product but erase the very woman that makes it or has kept the saree in circulation all these years, Naik added.

Members of the community said that while the revival has removed the stigma once attached to the saree , measures need to be put in place to ensure the community benefits from the revival. The revival of the saree, the support from the government and its promotion at official events has helped change attitudes towards our communities and now there is once again interest and a willingness to wear the saree without hesitation. But while we are willing to take what we get from the government the state may look at subsidizing labour to make a saree both affordable, with workers able to earn a fair living wage, said Blazia Fernandes, involved in preserving Kunbi cultural art.

Naik said that the solution was not that the Kunbi saree not be sold at all, but that the autonomy to do so should be retained by the women who make and wear it. Perhaps a cooperative is the way forward and women that are already into making the sarees can be trained at premier institutes like NIFT where they can be encouraged to modernise the designs and prints they want. Essentially, rather than museum-ising the saree, let the community take charge of deciding its future course.

Asha Vernekar of the Goa Livelihood Forum said, For the Kunbi saree to sustain itself, a romantic idea of revival isnt enough unless theres a market and that benefits the livelihood of these people.

But DMello said that the newfound recognition is already making change on the ground. In the villages where we intend to set up the looms, the tribal sarpanch has told me that she too has begun wearing the saree once again. The next destination for the Kunbi Saree? The October San Francisco Fashion Week.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has worked out an elaborate plan to guard Delhis skies during the G20 Summit on September 9-10, with a range of assets deployed to protect the national capital from a wide spectrum of possible threats, officials aware of the matter said on Thursday. An IAF helicopter attempts to land atop Le Meridien during a security drill in New Delhi. (PTI)

Also Read| G20: On climate, debt and digital, Bank and Fund pledge to work together

From fighter jets to surface-to-air missile systems and airborne surveillance platforms to anti-drone systems, the air force will be on high alert over the weekend to detect, track and neutralise any airborne threat, said one of the officials, asking not to be named.

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IAFs air defence cover is in place to defend the Capital against a broad range of threats including drones, gliders, smaller aircraft, missiles and even fighter planes, said a second official, who also asked not to be named. Surface-to-air missile systems have also been deployed in the National Capital Region (NCR), HT has learnt.

Also Read| G20 Summit: 1,400 CCTVs to be monitored from centralised control room

IAF has the capability to detect and track threats at a distance of a few kilometres to hundreds of kilometres and take the action necessary to neutralise them.

IAFs operations direction centre (ODC), headed by a senior officer, and the joint command and analysis centre (JCAC) operations room at IGI Airport will play a key role in securing the skies during the high-profile event to be attended by a battery of heads of state including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

After a threat is picked up, ODC will employ the right platform to tackle it, said the first official. Some fighter jets at airbases close to Delhi, including those in Punjab and Haryana, will be kept on operational readiness platform duties to get them airborne in 5 to 7 minutes to respond to any situation, he explained.

Also Read| NDMC launches dedicated control room numbers to ensure coordination for G20 Summit

IAFs airborne early warning and control aircraft and the indigenous airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) systems will be deployed during the summit for surveillance, and detection and tracking of possible threats at ranges of up to 400 km, the officials said.

Whenever high-profile events of the scale of G20 are hosted by the country, air defence measures are implemented as a security incident cannot be allowed to take place. These measures include deployment or air defence systems, airborne and ground-based radar coverage, anti-drone systems and keeping armed fighter jets on hot standby, said Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.

Counter-drone systems have been deployed in Delhi, the officials said. These systems also include those developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which have been installed across the diplomatic enclave in the Capital.

These systems come with both soft kill and hard kill options to tackle aerial threats. The first refers to jamming the hostile drone, while the second involves a laser-based kill system. The drone attack on an IAF base in Jammu two years ago  believed to be the first-ever offensive use of drones to target an Indian military facility  was a watershed in asymmetric warfare and underlined the need for the armed forces to build capabilities to deter, detect and neutralise such threats.

Close coordination with the civilian air traffic authorities is also critical to ensure there is no diversion from planned routes, Chopra added.

The G20 Summit is taking place a time when IAF is conducting a mega training exercise, involving its fighter planes, transport aircraft, helicopters and other assets, in the countrys northern and western sectors to test its combat readiness amid the ongoing military standoff with China in the Ladakh sector, as previously reported by Hindustan Times.

Exercise Trishul began on September 4 and will conclude on September 14. The aircraft taking part in the exercise include the Rafales, Sukhoi-30s, MiG-29s, C-17 heavy-lifters, Il-76 transport planes, C-130J special operations aircraft, AN-32s, Apache attack helicopters and Chinook multi-mission choppers.
In the run-up to the G20 Leaders Summit in New Delhi this weekend, where the reform and strengthening of multilateral development banks is among the top agenda items, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank have warned that the world faces major challenges and shocks and pledged to work together to deliver on climate, debt and digitisation in a structured way, based on their respective strengths. A security personnel seen along with the sniffer dog outside Bharat Mandapam ahead of G20 Summit at Pragati Maidan, in New Delhi. (Hindustan Times)

In a joint statement on Wednesday, IMFs managing director Kristalina Georgieva and World Banks president Ajay Banga said that the global economic growth has slowed, with the medium term outlook at its weakest in three decades.

They added that progress in poverty reduction has come to a halt; conflict and fragility have risen; the world confronts geoeconomic fragmentation, extreme natural disasters exacerbated by climate change, and rising public debt; and there are new opportunities and challenges posed by rapid digitalization.

Georgieva and Banga, who will both be present at the G20 summit in Delhi, said that Bretton Woods Institutions - the term used to refer to the Bank and Fund since they were conceived in New Hampshires Bretton Woods almost eight decades ago  were committed to addressing these challenges, which were beyond the capabilities of a single country to address.

The two institutional leaders said that the Bank brings diverse skills and experience on sustainable growth and structural transformation while the Fund has capabilities to support macroeconomic and financial stability and promote economic conditions conducive to growth and sustainability. We will coordinate closely our global, regional, and country level engagements to ensure that our resources are deployed efficiently and effectively, driven by a focus on results for our members.

This enhanced collaboration will take place in three areas, all of which will be discussed in different ways at the G20 summit and are areas where India has articulated a strong position and sought to build a global consensus.

Enhanced climate collaboration

The first is climate. Terming climate change a threat to global peace, security, economic stability and development, IMFs MD and the Banks president said that their institutions, together, in a coordinated manner, will provide help to all countries to integrate their climate and development goals.

Pointing out that the World Banks core mandate now includes climate  this is among the recommendations of the evolution road map endorsed by the Banks development committee as well as a part of the recommendations of the G20 expert group on MDBs set up under Indias presidency  Georgieva and Banga said that the Bank will build on its ongoing multiyear engagement on climate action and development. The Bank provides policy advice; it supports policy reforms through developing policy financing; and it provides financing for specific sectoral investments. This is built on on its Climate Change Action Plan, the Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs), and extensive country-level policy work. As a part of its country consultations and evaluations, the Fund has adopted a new climate strategy that includes coverage of macro climate issues. It also provides long term finance to vulnerable countries.

We will formalise the regular meetings of the new Bank-Fund Climate Advisory Group, tasked with ensuring coordination of our climate related work streams. The group will meet every two months to discuss global and country level engagements, including the results of CCDRs, country level climate analytical work, and the pipeline of key projects and policy-based lending. We will also incorporate climate considerations in our ongoing work on debt sustainability, including through the revised joint Low Income Country Debt Sustainability Framework, the IMF and Bank pledged.

Debt management

The second area is debt where elevated

debt vulnerabilities have made intensified collaboration more urgent.

On this, Georgieva and Banga said they will work together to help prevent further build-up of debt vulnerabilities, assisting countries to strengthen debt management and transparency and public finances, while improving the joint Low Income Country Debt Sustainability Framework to better account for current challenges. They also committed to deepening support to creditors and debtors engaged in debt restructuring, building on the work done at the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable.

India is a leader of the roundtable and debt issues are expected to figure prominently at G20. HT reported on Thursday that there has been progress on management of debt vulnerabilities in four cases  Gambia, Ethiopia, Ghana and Sri Lanka  that will be unveiled during the summit.

Digital transformation, new technologies

The third area of greater Bank-Fund collaboration will be the digital transition, which Georgieva and Banga termed as the forefront of development that provides a unique opportunity for countries to accelerate economic growth and connect citizens to services and jobs. But they said, in 2022, nearly three billion people remained offline, with wide asymmetries in use between and within countries.

In this domain, the Bank worked with governments to address regulatory and infrastructure concerns to digital inclusion and transformation, promote financial inclusion and low cost payment systems, and expand digitalisation of government services and operations. The Fund supported digital transformation in the financial sector, and the wider use of new fin tech while maintaining integrity of the financial system.

We will step up our joint work to help countries increase the effectiveness of revenue collection and expenditure systems in governments and reap the benefit of new digital technologies while mitigating the risks, including on ways to improve cross-border payments, support implementation of the G20 Roadmap to enhance cross-border payments, and ensure that payment innovations spur growth, poverty reduction and job creation, the IMF and Banks leaders said.

This is yet another domain which will play out in the G20 discussions where India has both positioned itself as a leader in the use of digital public infrastructure to enable financial inclusion and pushed for regulation of crypto currency, both of which speak to the direct concerns of the Bretton Woods Institutions.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced a decision to open an Indian embassy in Timor-Leste. Modi announced the decision while co-chairing the annual ASEAN-India summit in this Indonesian capital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi(PIB)

At the ASEAN-India summit, the prime minister announced the decision to establish an Indian Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

"The decision is a reflection of the importance India attaches to ASEAN, and its relations with Timor Leste," it said.

The MEA said the decision was warmly welcomed by Timor Leste and ASEAN member nations.

Timor Leste joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2022 as an Observer, before becoming its full member.

ASEAN is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan, and Australia are its dialogue partners.
Actor-politician Kamal Haasan put forth his opinion on the ongoing controversy over Sanatan Dharma and said minister Udhayanidhi Stalin is entitled to have his views on Sanatan Dharma. "If you disagree with his viewpoint, it is important to engage in a discussion based on the merits of Sanatana instead of resorting to threats of violence or legal intimidation tactics, or distorting his words to evoke emotional responses for narrow political gains," Kamal Haasan said speaking for the first time about the controversy which has become a national one with the BJP challenging the DMK to make it an election issue. Kamal Haasan says Udhayanidhi entitled to his view on Sanatan: If you disagree

Several cases have been filed against Udhayanidhi which the Tamil Nadu minister said he will fight legally. Ayodhya seer Acharya Paramhand has announced 10 crore reward for beheading Udhayanidhi to which Udhay, in a fresh statement on Thursday, expressed surprise and questioned how a seer has 20 crore with him.

"The hallmark of a true democracy is the ability of its citizens to disagree and engage in continued discussion. History has repeatedly taught us that asking the right questions has led to important answers and contributed to our development as a better society," Makkal Needhi Maiam leader Kamal Haasan said.

"Tamil Nadu has always been a safe space for healthy debates, and it will continue to remain so. It is crucial to critically evaluate our traditions, ensuring inclusivity, equality, and progress. Let's embrace constructive discussions to foster a harmonious and inclusive society," Kamal Haasan added.

Political slugfest over Udhayanidhi's comparison of Sanatan Dharma with dengue and malaria continued with Udhaya's father and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin speaking up on the issue. Stalin condemned PM Modi for speaking on the issue without knowing what Udhayanidhi had actually said. Stalin referred to reports that PM Modi instructed ministers to give befitting reply on the Sanatan row.

Sanatan row: What is the stand of the INDIA parties?

Congress, AAP, Trinamool, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) distanced themselves from the row though several Congress leaders including Karti Chidambaram, Priyank Kharge expressed their personal opinions on Udhayanidhi's statement. DMK MP A Raja on Thursday added to the row as he said Udhayanidhi's statement was mild as Sanatan should be compared with diseases ridden by social stigma like AIDS, leprosy and not merely with dengue, malaria.

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Another leopard was captured on the pedestrian pathway from Alipiri to Tirumala temple of the Seshachalam forests in Andhra Pradeshs Tirupati district on Thursday, temple authorities said. The wild cat was trapped in a cage placed in the woods near Lord Narasimha Swamy temple at seventh mile along the trekking route to Tirumala. (HT Photo)

Also Read| Ghaziabad: Forest team put on alert after leopard sighting reported near PAC, Govindpuram

The wild cat was trapped in a cage placed in the woods near Lord Narasimha Swamy temple at seventh mile along the trekking route to Tirumala. This was the fifth leopard captured in the area in the last two months, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) trust board chairman Karunakar Reddy Bhumana told reporters.

The forest officials later shifted the leopard to Sri Venkateshwara Zoological Park, Tirupati.

The movement of leopards close to the walkway of Alipiri in the last few weeks triggered panic among pilgrims who trek the hills to reach the pathway leading to Lord Venkateshwara Swamy temple on Tirumala hills.

Also Read| 4-year-old girl mauled to death by leopard in J&K's Udhampur

On August 11, a six-year-old girl was attacked by a leopard while she was walking to Tirumala along the Alipiri footpath. Her body was found behind Narasimha Swamy temple the next morning and the forest authorities noticed that the leopard which turned a maneater had consumed parts of her body.

Following the incident, the TTD, which manages the affairs of the hill shrine, along with the forest department stepped up vigil. The temple body imposed certain curbs on the movement of devotees trekking to the temple.

The forest officials, who held a series of meetings to review the situation, placed hundreds of cameras along the route, which revealed that an estimated 5-10 leopards were moving in the immediate vicinity of the Tirumala-Tirupati forests.

Subsequently, the forest department launched Operation Chirutha (Operation Leopard) and set up cages to catch the wild cats. On August 14, a female leopard, aged about 4-5 years, was trapped in the cage. It was shifted to the Tirupati zoo.

Three days later, another male leopard of five years was caught in the cage. A third leopard was captured on August 28 near the seventh mile.

Earlier, on June 25, the forest department had trapped a leopard three days after a three-year-old boy was attacked. The wild cat tried to drag the boy into the forest but it was chased by pilgrims and security personnel.

Bhumana said the TTD would take all possible measures to ensure security and safety of the devotees walking along the Alipiri and Srivari Mettu routes to reach Tirumala temple.

The TTD chairman, who visited the trapped leopard on Thursday, said, The Operation Chirutha under the supervision of the TTD and state forest officials with a forest staff will continue.

On Wednesday evening, the TTD chairman distributed sticks to the pilgrims trekking the hills, saying it was meant for giving self-confidence to them so that they could protect themselves from wild beast attacks.

He said the TTD had been sending devotees in a group of 100 on the footpaths with a security guard and a hand stick to everyone as a symbol of confidence. Devotees with children were barred from trekking after 2 pm keeping in view their safety, he said.

He said devotees were sent in groups on footpaths with security guards and police personnel were also stationed at frequent distances and wild animal-prone zones on the route.

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The Manipur government on Thursday relaxed the curfew in five Valley districts to allow local residents to purchase essential items, two days after it clamped prohibitory orders in these areas. Protesters gather during rally along a street in Phougakchao Ikhai bazaar of the Bishnupur district (AFP)

The decision came a day after more than 40 people were injured in Bishnupur district, when police fired a few rounds of teargas shells to disperse local groups which had gathered to remove army barricades.

The relaxation in curfew, the government stressed, will not be meant for gatherings, sit-in demonstrations or rallies without prior permission.

According to an official order, the curfew will be relaxed from 5am to 6pm for Imphal East, Imphal West and Kakching districts, and from 5am to 8pm for Thoubal district. For Bishnupur, restrictions will be relaxed from 5am to 11am.

This relaxation shall not include any gathering or sit in protest or rally, etc. without obtaining approval from competent authority, the order, seen by HT, said.

Since May 3, the northeastern state has been gripped by ethnic clashes  primarily between the tribal Kukis, which mostly reside in the hill districts, and majority Meiteis, the dominant community in Imphal Valley  in which at least 163 people have died and over 50,000 displaced.

On Tuesday, the state government hurriedly clamped full curfew in the five Valley districts amid a call by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a Meitei civil society organisation, to remove security barricades at Phougakchao Ikhai village in Bishnupur district.

The barricades serve as a boundary of a buffer zone, manned by security forces, to ensure that people from the two warring communities do not cross over and engage in violence.

COCOMI says it seeks the removal of barricades from Meitei-inhabited areas in Phougakchao Ikhai village up to Torbung, another Meitei-inhabited village, along the border of Bishnupur and Churachandpur districts to facilitate the resettlement of community members who have been displaced in the violence.

On Wednesday, local groups defied prohibitory restrictions and tried to remove army barricades, sparking clashes that left over 40 people injured.

According to officials aware of the details, the groups had gathered at Phougakchao Ikhai bazaar, 52 km south of Imphal, to march towards Phougakchao Ikhai and remove the barricades around 3pm. As the crowd tried to breach the barricades at Kwakta, police fired a few rounds of teargas shells in a bid to disperse the crowd. A total of at least 10,000 people had gathered at Phougakchao Ikhai bazaar and Kwakta, and more than 40 people, including a video journalist, were injured in the firing, the officials said.

Meanwhile, police dismantled at least 17 bunkers, recovered six guns and three country made mortars from Imphal West, Imphal East, Kangpokpi and Thoubal districts, officials said.

Police said no violence or protest was reported on Thursday. There was no gathering, and the situation was peaceful. But security forces are still on alert at different places along the border. Most of the people who were injured in Wednesdays incident were discharged from the Bishnupur district hospital and the Kwakta primary healthcare centre, a police official said, seeking anonymity.

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Amid ensuring security arrangements in Delhi ahead of the G20 Summit on Sep 9-10, the Delhi Police has come up with a new initiative. It has deployed a mobile police station in the national capital so that people who want to file a complaint or lodge an FIR may find it easier to do so. The mobile police station has a public display system that will flash important messages amid the ongoing G20 summit.(PTI)

The mobile police station has facilities such as CCTV cameras, computers, internet, walkie-talkie. It also has a public display system that will flash important messages amid the ongoing G20 summit.

According to the officials, more than 40,000 Delhi Police officers are on Summit duty till September 10. To ensure better security, police personnel have been asked to stay in station barracks or near the police stations till Sep 11 so that they can be called when the need arises.

Police personnel are working in double shifts to ensure the safety of people in the national capital amid G20 Summit, said Delhi Police PRO Suman Nalwa.

In a video posted by news agency ANI, police personnel were also seen patrolling the area near Raj Ghat with the help of a tractor.

10 police pickets are in place in Shahdra and are ensuring regular patrolling in the area. Speaking about the same, Shahdra DCP Incharge Harsh Indora said, "At Shahdra 10 pickets are in place. Forces from outside have come here. Our security is present round the clock. Foot march and patrolling is happening regularly. We are closing all market areas timely."

Delhi Police has provided security successfully to many international events. However, G20 is a generational event and each one of us takes pride in working tirelessly towards ensuring seamless event," PRO Suman Nalwa said.

World leaders including US President Joe Biden, UK PM Rishi Sunak, President of France Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese, Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov, Premier of the People's Republic of China Li Qiang and others will visit India to take part in the Group of 20 Summit on Sep 9-10.

(With inputs from agencies)
Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Pawan Khera on Thursday questioned a purported hoarding showing PM Modi ahead of world leaders in popularity and asked whether this is how BJP shows 'Atithi Devo Bhava'. The BJP was quick to point out that it was fake news and there was no such hoarding put up anywhere ahead of G20 summit. "This is fake news. No such hoarding has been put. Congress should desist from such petty politics at a time when India is hosting the world," BJP leader Vijay Goel tweeted as the purported hoarding had Vijay Goel's name. Security personnel stand guard outside the Bharat Mandapam near Pragati Maidan for the G-20 Summit.(Hindustan Times)

There is no such hoarding, the BJP claimed after Shashi Tharoor, Pawan Khera tweeted the photo. Both deleted their tweets.

The hoarding showing PM Modi ahead of the country heads of the United States, Brazil, Italy, Australia, Switzerland, Mexico is an old one. Both Pawan Khera and Shashi Tharoor later removed their tweets.

Vijay Goel whose name appears on the hoarding clarified that no such hoarding has been put out like this.

India as the president of G20 will hold the G20 summit in New Delhi in which many state heads are expected to come. The capital has been decked up for the arrival of the delegates and security has been tightened around Delhi. Union ministers have been allotted the duty of receiving the country heads as they start arriving on Friday.

US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are among the leaders to attend the G-20 meeting.

The Congress questioned the absence of the heads of state of Russia and China and said it is the responsibility of the external affairs ministry to ensure that all heads of states attend such a large-scale event. "Very good events being organised on a large scale but the absence of two very important countries, heads of states, gives rise to a lot of questions and the hope that the Minister of External Affairs will respond to these questions," Pawan Khera said. "We want to advise him (Jaishankar), that when the PM organises such big events with such large expenditure, the minister has a responsibility to ensure that all heads of state participate in it and benefit for India comes out of the rotational presidentship," the Congress leader said.

The Chinese foreign ministry announced that President Xi Jinping will not attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi and the delegation will be led by Premier Li Qiang. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier conveyed that he won't attend the G20 Summit in person as he has to focus on the "special military operation" in Ukraine.

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Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday reminded Prime Minister Narendra Modi of a statement made by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 regarding raj dharma, adding that it does not fit for the Prime Minister to advise ministers to deliver a befitting reply regarding the Sanatana Dharma controversy. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah (ANI)

During a meeting with ministers, prime minister Narendra Modi purportedly addressed both the Sanatana Dharma and the India versus Bharat controversies. While the prime minister called for restraint on the India versus Bharat debate, he reportedly directed ministers to respond strongly to the Sanatana row, which was triggered by Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalins statement comparing Sanatana Dharma to diseases dengue and malaria.

Siddaramaiah posted on X, If someone does anything wrong, action must be taken against them according to the law. Encouraging people to respond appropriately amounts to inciting them to take the law into their own hands.

PM Modi is not only the leader of the BJP; he also holds the constitutional position of Prime Minister. In such a capacity, his actions should align with the dignity and responsibilities of that position. It appears that Narendra Modi is still sheltering under the RSS umbrella. He seems to have forgotten that he is the Prime Minister of 140 crore people in this country, Siddaramaiah said.

Considering PM Modis past behaviour, his current statements are not surprising. The former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself expressed displeasure with Narendra Modis conduct as chief minister during the Gujarat riots and advised him to follow Rajdharma. I would like to remind Modi of the late Vajpayees words of wisdom, the CM said.

Later on Thursday, while addressing the public in Ramanagaram during the celebrations marking one year of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the chief minister said, He [PM Modi] came here 28 times, and held numerous rallies and roadshows, but the people chose Congress over the BJP. PM Modi is so upset over the loss that he still hasnt appointed a Leader of the Opposition [LoP] in the state. This marks the first time in history that a legislative assembly was held without an LoP, he remarked.

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Amid the rumours around a possible name change of India to Bharat, a top UN official on Wednesday said the world body considers requests from countries to change their names as and when it receives them. Deputy Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Farhan Haq cited the example of Turkey changing its name to Turkiye and the United Nations agreeing to the formal request, reported PTI. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.(Reuters)

Well, in the case of Turkiye, we responded to a formal request delivered to us by the Government. Obviously, if we get requests like that, we consider them as they come, he said in response to a question on reports that Indias name could be changed to Bharat, as quoted by PTI.

A political row erupted on Tuesday after the invites for the G20 dinner called President Droupadi Murmu the President of Bharat instead of the usual President of India, triggering speculation that the government may be about to change the country's name.

As the debate was triggered ahead of the upcoming special session of Parliament, the agenda of which is yet to be disclosed, it prompted unconfirmed reports that a change of name could be discussed and passed during the session. While the members of the ruling BJP suggested that the name Bharat should take primacy over India, opposition leaders termed it a distraction saying 'Bharat' is already mentioned in the constitution.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, however, told his ministerial colleagues on Wednesday to avoid the political row around the Bharat issue, noting that it has been the country's ancient name.

The preamble to the English version of the constitution starts with the words We, the people of India, and then in Part One of the document it states India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.

In Hindi, the constitution replaces India with Bharat everywhere, except the part defining the countrys names, which says in Hindi, Bharat, that is India, shall be a Union of States.

Changing India's name to only Bharat would require an amendment to the constitution which would need to be passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Union minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday hit out at the opposition's INDIA bloc over the Sanatana Dharma row that ignited after Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin's son Udhayanidhi's remarks, calling it a Ghamandiya (arrogant) alliance. The union minister questioned where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is amid the controversy, and said, I should make one thing clearwe won't tolerate the insult of Sanatana Dharma. Union Minister Anurag Thakur(ANI)

Speaking to the media, Anurag Thakur said, In this 'Nafrat ki dukaan' of Rahul Gandhi the members of 'Ghamandiya' alliance (referring to INDIA bloc) are selling 'Nafrat ka saamaan'. They are demeaning Sanatana Dharma."

Where is Rahul Gandhi sleeping? Wake up...Do you agree with these statements? Isn't it a violation of law and constitution? Isn't this hate speech? Shouldn't they apologise to the people of the country?" the union minister questioned.

A massive controversy erupted last week after Udhayanidhi Stalin compared the Sanatana Dharma with diseases like dengue and malaria and said it should not be merely opposed but "eradicated".

A few things cannot be opposed, that should be abolished only. We can't oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or corona. We have to eradicate this, that's how we have to eradicate Sanatana. Rather opposing Sanatana it should be eradicated," he said in Chennai.

An FIR was also launched against Udhayanidhi under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different religious groups), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on the complaints from advocates Harsh Gupta and Ram Singh Lodhi. The advocates in the complaint highlighted media reports on Stalin's statement alleging that the politician's comments had hurt their feelings, reported PTI.

MK Stalin backs son Udhayanidhi

Meanwhile, MK Stalin on Thursday backed his son amid the controversy saying some used the Sanatana doctrine to perpetuate oppression against women. He also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using the issue as a diversionary tactic.

BJP will find itself sinking in quicksand if it believes it can tarnish DMKs reputation over Udhayanidhi's comments, he said.
The Panchamasali community, a prominent Lingayat sub-sect in Karnataka, is preparing to launch a renewed agitation starting on September 10 over their unfulfilled demand of getting included in the 2A reservation category, which guarantees a 15% quota in government jobs and education, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. Panchamasali Lingayat seer Jaya Mrityunjaya Swamiji held a protest, in Bengaluru in January 2023. (ANI)

The decision to recommence the protest was announced during a meeting led by Jaya Mruthyunjaya, the seer of Kudalasangama Mutt, held on Wednesday in Bailhongal of Belgavi district.

We will start our agitation from Nippani on September 10, demanding reservation under the 2A category. After the public meeting, we will march on National Highway number 48 [NH-48]. Before that, the government should take note of our demands and act on them, the seer said.

The reservation issue has been a contentious topic, particularly during the Karnataka Assembly elections, earlier this year. Over the past three years, the Panchamasali community has consistently intensified its plea for a recognition under the 2A category.

In January 2023, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government initially abolished the 3A and 3B categories, which previously encompassed Vokkaligas and Panchamasalis.

These two prominent castes were subsequently reclassified under 2C and 2D, with no alterations in the reservation framework.

However, dissatisfied with this arrangement, the Panchamasalis continued to exert pressure on the government. Just prior to the announcement of election dates in March, the then BJP government withdrew reservation benefits for Muslims under the 2B category, which accounted for 4% of reservations and was evenly distributed between Vokkaligas and Lingayats.

Consequently, Vokkaligas reservations increased from 4% to 6%, while Panchamasalis saw their share rise from 5% to 7%. The Panchamasali community had halted their protests ahead of the elections, but they have now resorted to reignite their agitation.

However, the Congress had promised to reinstate reservation benefits for Muslims. This promise is yet to be fulfilled by the government. Should the Congress government opt to restore reservations for Muslims, it would necessitate the retraction of the additional 2% quota allocated to Vokkaligas and Lingayats, said officials familiar with the development.

Addressing a meeting of the Panchamsali community, the seer of Kudalasangam Panchamsalis Peeta emphasised that the second phase of the protest would commence in all the districts of the state by conducting a pooja to the Istalinga from September 10.

The pontiff said that the communitys movement is not only restricted to obtaining 2A reservations but also to urge the Union government to include the community in the OBC category.

Thousands of Panchamsalis are expected to gather for a public meeting at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj auditorium at 10 am on that day and later proceed to the national highway, he said.

The seer stressed that the government must make a concrete decision regarding providing 2A reservations before September 10 or else a massive public meeting of the community will be held at Kudalasangam Mutt.

He also mentioned that he and the community elders will tour neighbouring Athani, Kagwad, Raibag, and Chikkodi taluks to appeal to the community members to join the planned movements.

The seer added that despite numerous representations and meetings with the last government, the community was not given the attention it deserved.

The massive public meetings of the community to meet their demands also did not yield the desired results, that is why the second phase of the movement is being taken up.

We hope the current state government will consider our demand, he said.

The situation has also seen legal action in January, when a division bench led by chief justice PB Varale stayed the new categories from being introduced and instructed the previous BJP government to maintain status quo in the matter of OBC reservations. The courts decision came during the hearing of a PIL (public interest litigation) by Raghavendra DG challenging the creation of the new categories.

The Panchamasali Lingayat community is resolute in their demand to be included in category 2A (15%) of the OBC reservation matrix.

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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
The five-day special session of Parliament that has been scheduled from September 18 to 22, is likely to be partly held in the new Parliament building, said people familiar with the matter. While the first day of the session will be held in the old building, the remaining part of the session will be held in the new building that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 28. Lok Sabha officials said the new building is fully prepared for hosting the special session, the agenda for which is yet to be disclosed by the union government. (AFP)

Also Read| Congress leader Sonia Gandhi writes to PM Modi, lists issues for special Parliament session

Lok Sabha officials said the new building is fully prepared for hosting the special session, the agenda for which is yet to be disclosed by the union government.

The physical structure is ready, and the departments concerned have made all preparations to shift to the new building. Initially, only a few departments such as the Table office, Legislative branch and Notice office will shift to the new building. These three departments have been given new computer hardware, too, said a Lok Sabha official who asked not to be named.

Also Read| Parliamentary affairs minister responds to Sonia Gandhis letter to PM Modi

Another senior officer added that the secretariat has been informed that they might have to move at short notice; this person, who too asked not to be named said some of the offices could start shifting to the new building as early as Monday.

Till two months ago, the entire new building was under the supervision of the central security forces. Now, Parliament security officials are slowing taking over the charge for the new building. While the movement inside the building was previously restricted even for secretariat officials, now the restrictions have been lifted, the second official said.

The officials indicated that the Lok Sabha Speakers office will continue to operate from the existing Parliament building although a separate space has been allocated for this in the new building which is spread over 65,000 sq.m and houses the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, a library, and a Constitution Hall.

PM Modi, while inaugurating the building said it sends out a message about Indias determination and breathes fresh energy into the nation. This will be a medium for realizing the dreams of the freedom fighters and will witness the sunrise of Aatmnirbhar Bharat...

The new building has been divided into different zones. Lok Sabha officials said the main zone, which houses the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha is fully ready.

While work in some other zones including the ones on the higher floors where many officers will sit, are still continuing, the core area of the new Parliament building is ready to host sessions, said the first official.

Meanwhile, the Opposition is gearing up for the special session keeping options open for possible scenarios. A senior Congress leader said the Opposition expects the government to push the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, which was introduced in Rajya Sabha on August 10.

The new bill says that the CEC and other ECs will be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Selection Committee, comprising the Prime Minister as Chairperson, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.

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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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Smriti Kak Ramachandran Smriti covers an intersection of politics and governance. Having spent over a decade in journalism, she combines old fashioned leg work with modern story telling tools. ...view detail
India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) on Thursday unveiled a slew of initiatives to bolster maritime cooperation, including measures to counter piracy and illegal fishing, ensure sustainable use of marine resources and develop marine technology. PM Narendra Modi, Chinas Premier Li Qiang, Indonesias President Joko Widodo, US Vice President Kamala Harris and Malaysias Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim arrive for the East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Reuters)

The measures were outlined in a joint statement on maritime cooperation issued after the Asean-India Summit in Jakarta co-chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The two sides also issued a joint statement on strengthening food security and nutrition in response to crises, which said they will exchange information on national policies for rice and other priority crops.

The joint statement on maritime cooperation includes implementation of the Asean-India partnership for peace, progress and shared prosperity for 2021-25 and the Asean-India joint statement on cooperation on the Asean outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and strengthening cooperation on maritime safety and security through confidence-building measures and coordinating on emergency response and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

The two sides will focus on early warning systems, countering piracy, armed robbery against ships, trafficking in people and smuggling of arms and drugs, and combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

They will also enhance information-sharing and capacity building in the maritime domain and promote coordination between maritime authorities and law enforcement agencies, while exploring cooperation on sustainable use of the oceans and marine resources.

Also Read: At East Asia Summit, PM Modi stresses sovereignty of all, emphasises on dialogue

Asean and India will explore synergies between connectivity initiatives to ensure quality and resilient infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific. The two sides will also strengthen collaboration to prevent and reduce marine debris and foster engagement of relevant stakeholders to promote the blue economy.

They will also look at cooperation between national agencies in newer areas such as use of satellite data and digital tools for maritime domain awareness and disaster risk reduction.

The joint statement on strengthening food security committed the two sides to increasing efforts to sustain food supply chains despite disruptions and exchanging information on national policies for rice and other priority crops and agricultural diversity to enhance food security and nutrition.

The Asean member states and India will also collaborate on rapid actions to strengthen food security and nutrition in response to crises, including by ensuring unimpeded trade and flow of foodstuffs and other essential agricultural inputs, such as fertilisers, pesticides and raw materials, and enhancing market connectivity and distribution networks for food products.

The two sides will further promote efforts for public food stockholding and explore the exports of food grains from public stocks on a government-to-government basis for humanitarian purposes during crises. They will also work for long-term resilience of the agrifood system, including by strengthening regional food value chains and diversifying food sources.

Modi also participated in the East Asia Summit (EAS), which issued a leaders statement on promoting the region as an epicentrum of growth. The EAS groups the 10 Asean member states and eight dialogue partners, including India, Australia, China, Japan, Russia and the US.

The leaders committed themselves to creating an environment for enhancing cooperation in keeping with the principles of equality, partnership, consultation, and mutual respect to continue to promote peace, security, stability, and prosperity in the region.

They will also promote an enabling environment for peace, stability, good governance, prosperity and sustainable development through dialogue and cooperation, enhancing mutual trust and respect for international law.

The members of EAS will also strengthen economic resilience through regional economic integration, trade and investment, and accelerated inclusive digital transformation by facilitating cross-border flows of data while protecting personal information and strengthening consumer and business trust.

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With requests for bilateral meetings coming in from key allies and close associates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is simply running out of time during the G-20 summit. PM Modi returns from the ASEAN summit in Jakarta today at 645 pm. A file photo of PM Modi clearing official files in his official aircraft.

Such is the pressure of time that both US President Joe Biden and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina are virtually driving straight to Lok Kalyan Marg residence to hold meetings with PM Modi on Friday evening.

With the bilateral window closing on September 10 lunch between PM Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron, there is a strong possibility of Indian leader having what Americans call a pull aside meetings with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Australian PM Anthony Albanese and EU leaders during the summit on Saturday.



PM Modis close aides now are undergoing the onerous exercise to fit in meetings on priority like Sunak, who is committed to India-UK FTA, and QUAD partners Kishida and Albanese. Indias close ally Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be hosted by PM for a state visit on September 11 with no other bilateral on that day. Apart from these meetings, PM Modi will find time for his close friend and ally UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed.

Even though Bharat Mandapam has the wherewithal to allow PM Modi to have bilateral meetings and pull aside efficiently at the G-20 venue, the Indian leader will be constrained by the fact that he will be hosting sessions at the multilateral summit.

However, India and US are looking towards a key bilateral meeting, perhaps a working dinner, between PM Modi and US President Biden and outcome is expected out of the meeting. The meeting comes after the US Congress has approved the GE-414 engine deal of 100 per cent manufacturing TOT transfer with HAL and the two sides are working towards reviving the civilian nuclear deal as part of the clean energy initiative.



ALSO READ: Before President Biden meeting, PM Modi to meet Mauritius PM and African Union head during G20

There is progress on setting up resilient global supply chains in India in the field of semiconductors and quantum computing as well as 6G telecom technologies.

While PM Modi will be welcoming Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G-20 summit, the possibility of a bilateral or pull aside is remote as the visitor handles only economic issues in China under paramount leader Xi Jinping.

Even though President Xi chose not to attend the G-20 summit, the belligerence of China, demonstrated recently with a standard map through which Beijing has claimed Taiwan, South China Sea, parts of East Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh, will be discussed on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.

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Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said he would like to remind PM Narendra Modi of what Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said to Modi in 2002 on rajdharma and added that it does not behove the prime minister to advise ministers to give 'befitting reply' on the Sanatan Dharma row. PM Modi reportedly spoke on both the Sanatan Dharma and the India versus Bharat controversies raging in the country -- in his meeting with the ministers. While PM Modi asked to exercise restraint on the India versus Bharat controversy, he reportedly told ministers to give befitting replies to the Sanatan row triggered by Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin's statement that Sanatan is like dengue, malaria. Siddaramaiah said PM Modi's call is not only provocative but also anti-constitutional. "If someone does anything wrong, action must be taken against them as per the law. Prompting people to respond appropriately becomes a call to take the law into their own hands," Siddaramaiah tweeted. Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said PM calling for befitting reply will encourage organisations to call for violence in the Sanatan Dharma row,.

"PM Modi is not just the leader of the BJP, he also sits on the constitutional post of Prime Minister. In such a case, his actions should be in accordance with the dignity and responsibilities of that position. It seems that Narendra Modi is still in his shelter of RSS. He seems to have forgotten that he is the Prime Minister of 140 crore people of this country. It is a worrisome development that many leaders of his own party and organization are calling for violence, provoked by such statements of the Prime Minister," Siddaramaiah added.

Ayodhya seer Paramhans Acharya announced a reward of 10 crore on Udhayanidhi's head for his Sanatan remark.

"Given the past behaviour of PM Modi, his current statements are not surprising. The then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself had expressed displeasure with Narendra Modi's behaviour as the Chief Minister during the Gujarat riots and had called him to follow the Rajdharma. I would like to remind Modi of late Vajpayee's words of wisdom," Siddaramaiah said.

The controversy over Udhayanidhi's statement is far from dying down as now DMK MP A Raja has joined Udhayanidhi and said Udhayanidhi's statement was mild -- Sanatan should be compared with AIDS and leprosy -- diseases with social stigma.

Siddaramaiah's temple remark -- another epicentre of row

Siddaramaiah invited flak on Thursday after he said he refused to enter a temple in Kerala after he was asked to remove his shirt. "Once, I went to a temple in Kerala, they asked me to take off my shirt and enter. I refused to enter the temple and told them that I would pray from outside. They did not ask everyone to take off their shirts, but just a few. This is an inhumane practice. Everyone is equal before god," said Siddaramaiah.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called ASEAN as the central pillar of India's Act East Policy, adding the region will play a key role in India's Indo-Pacific initiative. Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at the 20th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta.

Our history and geography unite India and ASEAN. Along with it, our shared values, regional integration, and our shared belief in peace, prosperity and multipolar world also unites us, the prime minister said at the 20th ASEAN Summit in Jakarta.



This year's theme is ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. ASEAN matters because here everyone's voice is heard & ASEAN is epicentrum of growth because ASEAN plays an important role in global growth, Modi said.



The prime minister added,"Last year we celebrated the India-ASEAN friendship day & gave it a form of comprehensive strategic partnership. Our partnership has reached the fourth decade. It is an honour for me to co-chair this Summit. I want to congratulate Indonesian President Joko Widodo for organising this Summit".

Earlier, PM Modi received a grand welcome upon his arrival in Jakarta. The members of Indian diaspora greeted him after he landed in the Indonesian capital.



After the ASEAN summit, the prime minister will attend the East Asia Summit. After that, I will be attending the 18th East Asia Summit. This forum provides a useful opportunity to deliberate on issues of importance to the region including food and energy security, environment, health, and digital transformation. I look forward to exchanging views with other EAS Leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address these global challenges", Modi had posted on social media platform X before leaving for Jakarta.



He will return to Delhi tonight ahead of the G20 Summit which is being hosted in the national capital on September 9 and 10.

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The Asian century requires creation of a rules-based post-Covid-19 world order and joint efforts are needed to strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday against the backdrop of Chinas assertive actions on territorial disputes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the East Asia Summit at the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Sept. 7.(AP)

Modis remarks, made while addressing the Asean-India Summit and East Asia Summit in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, came days after Beijing released a standard map that includes swathes of territories of other countries within Chinas borders. India, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan have protested against the Chinese map.

During the Asean-India Summit, Modi proposed a 12-point plan to bolster cooperation with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Modi told the meeting that the two sides have a common interest in amplifying the voices of the Global South and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. India is determined to work with all Asean members to achieve these goals, he said.

The 21st century is the century of Asia. This is our century. This requires the creation of a rules-based post-Covid world order, and everyones effort for human welfare, he said at the Asean-India Summit, speaking in Hindi.

Modi was more pointed in his remarks at the East Asia Summit (EAS), which was attended by Chinese Premier Li Qiang. EAS groups Asean member states and eight dialogue partners, including Australia, China, Japan, Russia and the US.

It is imperative to adhere fully to international laws, and everyones commitment and joint efforts are also necessary to strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, Modi told the EAS.

As I have said before  todays era is not of war. Dialogue and diplomacy is the only path to resolution, he added, speaking again in Hindi.

Modi also told the EAS that multilateralism and a rules-based global order are essential for countering challenges such as terrorism, extremism, and geopolitical conflicts in a global landscape surrounded by uncertainties.

The need of the hour is an Indo-Pacific where international law, including UNCLOS, applies equally to all countries; where there is freedom of navigation and overflight; and where there is unimpeded lawful commerce for the benefit of all, he said.

Modi further said that the Code of Conduct for South China Sea being negotiated by Asean states and China should be effective and in accordance with UNCLOS or United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Additionally, it should take into consideration the interests of countries that are not directly involved in the discussions, he added.

He described the EAS as the only leaders-led mechanism for cooperation on strategic matters in the Indo-Pacific that also plays a pivotal role as the primary confidence-building mechanism in Asia.

India-China relations are currently at a six-decade low because of a dragging military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Chinas President Xi Jinping has decided to skip the G20 Summit to be hosted by India this weekend, and Beijing will be represented at the meeting by Premier Li.

The Indian side lodged a strong protest over Chinas standard map for including Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh, with the external affairs ministry saying such steps will only complicate the resolution of the boundary question.

At both summits, Modi emphasised the centrality of Asean in Indias Act East policy and vision for the Indo-Pacific. India and the 10 Asean states are connected by history and geography, shared values, peace, prosperity, and a shared belief in a multipolar world, he said.

Asean holds a central position in the vision of the Quad, whose positive agenda complements various mechanisms of Asean, he added.

India and Asean elevated their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022, and the Indian side has strong economic and security ties with member states such as Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Modi also mentioned Indias policy on Myanmar, telling the EAS it takes into account the views of Asean while ensuring peace and security on the borders and enhancing India-Asean connectivity.

The 12-point plan unveiled by Modi for strengthening Asean-India cooperation covers areas ranging from connectivity to digital public infrastructure (DPI) and counterterrorism. It envisages establishing multi-modal connectivity and an economic corridor that links India, Southeast Asia, West Asia and Europe.

Under the plan, India offered to share its DPI expertise with Asean partners and announced an Asean-India fund for digital future. The Indian side also announced the renewal of support to the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA).

The Indian side called for collectively raising issues of the Global South at multilateral forums and offered to share the countrys expertise in providing affordable and quality medicines through the Jan Aushadhi Kendras.

It also called for a collective fight against terrorism, terror financing and cyber disinformation, cooperation in disaster management, and bolstering collaboration in maritime safety and security and domain awareness.

Other measures included in the plan are traditional medicine, Indias Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

At the Asean-India Summit, Modi announced Indias decision to open an embassy in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. Xanana Gusmao, the Prime Minister of Timor-Leste, attended the summit as an observer.

Modi concluded his brief visit to Jakarta after attending the two summits, which were being organised back-to-back by host Indonesia at Indias request since New Delhi will host the G20 Summit over the weekend. Modi did not hold any bilateral meetings on the margins of the summits.

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Two constituents of the INDIA grouping, the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT), on Thursday struck a cautious tone on Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader Udhayanidhi Stalins controversial comments on Sanatana Dharma even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) kept up its attack and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin defended his son. On September 2, RN minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said that sanatana dharma is against social justice and equality and should hence be eradicated, triggering a political controversy. (Agency)

Also Read| Not fit for PM to ask ministers to give befitting reply: Karnataka CM on Sanatana Dharma row

On September 2, Udhayanidhi said that sanatana dharma is against social justice and equality and should hence be eradicated, triggering a political controversy. Union home minister Amit Shah accused him of insulting Hindu beliefs and the BJP alleged INDIA was indulging in appeasement politics, even as the DMK defended him, saying he was only speaking against the ills of the caste system.

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said attempts are being made to point fingers at our Sanatana culture. ...But they forgot that Sanatana, which even Ravan (demon king in epic Ramayana) couldnt destroy with all his arrogance, and which came out unscathed even in the face of atrocities by Babar and Aurangzeb, can never be eradicated.

Also Read| Rajas remark adds to Sanatan Dharma controversy

On Thursday, Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut asked Udhayanidhi to keep his personal views to himself, and asked him to refrain from making such remarks.

Udayanidhi Stalin is a minister and no one will support his statement and one should refrain from making such statements. We all are parties of the INDIA bloc...This could be DMKs view. Around 90 crore Hindus live in this country...Everyone has their sentiments. You cant hurt their sentiments...The BJP should not get ammunition to target us, Raut said.

The largest constituent in the INDIA bloc, the Congress, also appeared to distance itself from Udhayanidhis remarks.

The Congress has always believed in sarvadharma sambhav [communal amity] wherein every religion, every faith has its space. No one can treat any particular faith as less than another faith. Neither the Constitution allows this nor does the Indian National Congress believe in such comments, said Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera.

But Stalin hit back at the BJP, referring to reports in some media outlets that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for a proper response on the issue.

In a statement -- his first since the row broke out -- Stalin said his son expressed his views on sanatan principles that discriminate against scheduled castes, tribals and women, with no intention to offend any religion or religious beliefs.

Many leaders in our Indian subcontinent, such as Thanthal Periyar, Mahatma Phule, Babasaheb Ambedkar, Narayana Guru, Vallalaar and Valkuntar, have spoken out against regressive Varnasrama - Manuvad - Sanatan ideologies, which justify discrimination based on ones birth and the oppression of women. As an extension of that lineage, ideological arguments continue to resonate all over India against the justification of denying equal rights to the oppressed and women and exploiting them. Social scientists are well aware of this, Stalin added.

The social media mob nurtured by the BJP has widely circulated...falsehood in northern states. However, minister Udhayanidhi never used the word genocide in either Tamil or English. Still, lies were spread claiming so, he said.

But the BJP continued its attack, with Union minister Anurag Thakur questioning Congress leader Rahul Gandhis silence on the matter, especially after another DMK leader A Raja likened Sanatan Dharma to a disease such as leprosy with social stigma.

Rahul Gandhi should explain why he is silent on the disrespect shown by the leaders, he said, adding that the country will not tolerate the disrespect and disrepute of sanatana dharma.

This came a day after multiple cases were filed in various parts of the country in connection with Udhayanidhis remarks and reactions against it. A first information report (FIR) was registered against Udhayanidhi and Priyank Kharge, the Karnataka minister who backed his remark,at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh, while cases were also registered against BJP IT department in-charge Amit Malviya for allegedly distorting the DMK leaders remark and against an Ayodhya-based seer for allegedly putting a bounty on Udhayanidhi.

In his statement, Stalin said it was disheartening to read reports that the PM mentioned in a meeting of the council of ministers that Udhayanidhis remarks need a proper response.

The Prime Minister has access to all the resources to verify any claim or report. So, is the Prime Minister speaking unaware of the lies spread about Udhayanidhi, or does he do so knowingly? Stalin asked. The chief minister said that the formation of the INDIA grouping, which comprises 28 opposition parties, rattled the PM.

But the BJP refused to back off, criticising Raja and demanding an explanation from Rahul Gandhi.

Thakur said there seemed to be a competition between the Ghamandia alliance to denigrate sanatana dharma. They are demeaning Sanatana Dharma...Where is Rahul Gandhi sleeping? Wake up...Do you agree with these statements? Isnt it a violation of law and constitution? Isnt this hate speech? Shouldnt they apologise to the people of the country? he added.

His cabinet colleague Dharmendra Pradhan posted on X: Changing name does not conceal ones intent and character. Outrageous and vitriolic comments about Sanatana Dharma, this time by DMK minister A Raja, reflects the mental bankruptcy and deep-rooted Hinduphobia that engulfs the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. The country is watching how Congress and their friends are consciously maligning the soul, spirit and roots of Bharat...

Party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said sanatana dharma was given respect in the Constitution and no one could eradicate it. The Indian Constitution has the images of Lord Ram, Krishna, Arjuna, Nataraja and Hanuman on it and the signatures of Dr Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru, BR Ambedkar and others. Sanatana dharma has been given respect in the Constitution, no one can eradicate it, he told ANI.

Union minister Giriraj Singh sais, It has been five days since the Udhayanidhi Stalins statement...Rahul Gandhi, Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav are silent...When will they speak?

(With inputs from Delhi)

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Amid the ongoing political slugfest over Tamil Nadu minister Udhyanaidhi Stalin's remarks over 'Sanatana Dharma', his party DMK's MP Andimuthu Raja further kicked up the row by comparing it to social stigma and diseases like HIV and leprosy. DMK MP A Raja (HT)

While protesting against the central governments Vishwakarma Yojana in Chennai, Raja said that Udhyanaidhi's perspective on 'Sanatana Dharma' was relatively mild. "Sanatana and Vishwakarma schemes are not different. Udhayanidhi gently said that Santana Dharma should be eliminated like malaria and dengue," ANI quoted him as saying.

"But these diseases don't have a social stigma. To be honest, leprosy was seen as disgusting and so was HIV. So, we need to see this as diseases ridden with social plights like HIV and leprosy," the DMK MP further said.

The controversial comments sparked a huge controversy with BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya saying that this is unadulterated hate speech, targeting 80% of Bharats population, who follow Sanatana Dharma.

"After Udhayanidhi Stalin, it is now DMKs A Raja, who denigrates Sanatan Dharma This is nothing but unadulterated hate speech, targeting 80% of Bharats population, who follow Sanatana Dharma," he said.

He further asked if demeaning Hindus with such comments was decided as one of the agenda's in the third joint meet of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA)in Mumbai last month. "This is the true character of Congress led I.N.D.I Alliance, who think demeaning Hindus is the only way to win elections. Was this decided in the Mumbai meet?" he said.

Union minister Prahlad Patel slammed the DMK MP for his derogatory remarks against Sanatana Dharma saying that it's a well-planned conspiracy and frustration of the INDI alliance. ""Initially I was suspecting this to be a conspiracy by the INDIA alliance, but now I am confident. The silence of Congress leadership and then another remark by their alliance partner from Bihar, this shows that it's a well-planned conspiracy and frustration of the INDIA alliance," Patel told PTI.

Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin had sparked a controversy last week comparing the Sanatana Dharma with diseases like dengue and malaria. While addressing a seminar in Chennai, he had said it should not be merely opposed but "eradicated".

(With inputs from agencies)
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday slammed Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin's remark on Sanatana Dharma that has triggered a massive political row in the country. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut (ANI file)

I have heard that statement...Udayanidhi Stalin is a minister & no one will support his statement and one should refrain from making such statements...This could be DMK's view or his personal view. Around 90 crore Hindus live in this country & people of other religions also live in this country...Their religious sentiments can't be hurt..., Raut told news agency ANI.



The situation in the country should not deteriorate. The BJP should not get such ammunition to attack on us. MK Stalin is a respectable leader and the country looks up to him. He has joined us in a battle. So, his close ones should mind their words before making such statements, he added.



Udhayanidhi Stalin's remark calling for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma has triggered a massive political controversy in the country. The BJP has been attacking I.N.D.I.A alliance, of which DMK is a member, accusing it of insulting Hinduism.



Since the past two days, some DMK and Congress leaders are insulting Sanatan Dharma they are saying Sanatan Dharma should be erased... for their vote bank and appeasement politics, they are talking of ending Sanatan Dharma and insulting the culture and history of our country, Union home minister Amit Shah had said.



Congress, the ruling ally of DMK in Tamil Nadu, had defended its partner saying all political parties have the right to respect their views.



Our view is clear. Sarva Dharma Samabhava (respect for all religions) is the Congress ideology. But you have to understand every political party has the freedom to tell their views.We are respecting everybodys belief", Congress general secretary KC Venugopal had said.

A few things cannot be opposed, that should be abolished only. We can't oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or corona. We have to eradicate this, that's how we have to eradicate Sanatana. Rather opposing Sanatana it should be eradicated", Udhayanidhi Stalin had said.



ALSO READ: On Sanatan Dharma remark, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Priyank Kharge booked for hurting religious sentiments

I.N.D.I.A divided over Udhayanidhi's remark

The parties like Trinamool Congress and Aam Aadmi Party have distanced themselves from the DMK leader's remark.



West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had said,"Instead of saying 'condemn', my humble request to everybody is that we should not comment on anything which may hurt the major section or the small section. We have to remember unity in diversity".



We do not endorse such comments. It is a country of diversity and such comments should not be made. We do not support such sentiments and are against these, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said.

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NAGPUR: A six-year-old girl kidnapped in Mumbai was rescued from a train in Buldhana district of Maharashtra nearly 500km away on Wednesday, police said. Police said 33-year-old Rathinshankar Ghosh from Kolkata who allegedly kidnapped the girl was also arrested from the train by the joint team of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Railway Police and Shegaon Police. A joint team of RPF, Railway Police and the Shegaon Police carried out the search in Shalimar Express that led to the rescue of the little girl (PTI File Image)

Senior police inspector Ranveer Singh said the RPF received information from the Mumbai police that a girl was kidnapped by a man from Nagpada in Mumbai and that based on the CCTV footage, the kidnapper had boarded the Shalimar Express for Kolkata.

Security personnel at the Shegaon station conducted a thorough search of the train and found Ghosh hiding in a washroom. Police said Ghosh told them that he had been hiding in the washroom at previous stations too to stay under the radar. But at Shegaon station, the cops insisted that he come out.

The suspect was questioned by RPFs Ranjan Telang and Vinod Ingle. Ghosh finally took them to the girl in the trains unreserved compartment. He had convinced her to lie down on the top berth and covered her with a bed sheet.

We are also investigating whether Ghosh of Kolkata was involved in a larger human trafficking racket, Singh said.

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Persons who disobey orders and undertakings given to courts deserve no mercy, the Supreme Court has said in a recent ruling directing courts to be slow to accept apologies offered by such unscrupulous litigants who use it as a potent weapon and a legal trick to wriggle out of responsibility. Supreme Court of India. (Representative Photo)

The apex court sounded this warning while deciding a case from the Gujarat high court which sentenced five persons under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 for breaching an oral undertaking given to the court in 2015. The HC order of July 13, 2022 sentenced three persons to undergo 2 months simple imprisonment and two others to pay 1 lakh in lieu of sentencing. A fine of 2,000 was uniformly imposed on all contemnors. Simultaneously, the HC cancelled all sale agreements made in violation of the 2015 undertaking.

Upholding the HC order, a bench of justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said, The sanctity to judicial proceedings is paramount to a society governed by law. Otherwise, the very edifice of democracy breaks and anarchy reigns.

Also Read: In speeches at 2 summits in Jakarta, PM Modi delivers a clear message to China

The bench directed the contemnors to undergo the sentence as awarded by the HC and said, The 1971 Act intends to secure confidence of the people in the administration of justice by disciplining those erring in disobeying the orders of the Court/undertaking given to court. The litigating public cannot be encouraged that such a situation can continue or the court will not rise to the occasion to book people violating its orders.

Noting a disturbing trend of courts accepting apologies offered by persons found guilty under the Act, the bench said, There ought not to be a tendency by courts to show compassion when disobedience of an undertaking or an order is with impunity and with total consciousness.

The judges said that the litigants who proceeded for contempt of court realised that they have a very potent weapon in their hands in the form of apology. The Court took judicial notice of the fact that over a period of time, courts have shown undue leniency and magnanimity towards contemnors.

Justice Pardiwala, authoring the 83-page judgment, said, This lenient attitude shown by the courts over a period of time has actually emboldened unscrupulous litigants to disobey or commit breach of the order passed by any court or any undertaking given to the court with impunity.

In the present case, the four contemnors accepted that their action in selling off the property in breach of the undertaking to Court was a big mistake. The law is very clear that the court should not get compassionate and dilute an indictment and not follow it with conviction. The fact that the appellants have committed contempt is not in doubt. The law enjoins that a punishment must follow.

Section 12 of the 1971 Act provides for punishment for committing contempt of Court. Once convinced that the order or undertaking given to Court is breached, a simple imprisonment for a term extending up to 6 months may be awarded or fine extending up to 2,000 or both. This provision allows Court to let go a contemnor on an apology being made which is bona fide (in good faith).

The top court said, Apology is not just a word. The court should not accept the apology when it appears that saying sorry is nothing but a legal trick to wriggle out of responsibility. In the absence of a deep ethical act of introspection, self-introspection, atonement and self-reform. any apology will be farce, the Court held.

Referring to past decisions, the ruling reiterated that no court is bound to accept as a matter of course. Although, the apology may be unconditional, unqualified and bona fide, yet, if the conduct is serious which has caused damage to the dignity of the institution the same need not to be accepted, the Court held.

In the present case, the Supreme Court ourt was convinced that the apology offered by the contemnors was a gamble and a calculated risk to escape legal consequences for their alleged act of contempt after pocketing a sizeable amount towards the sale consideration obtained from the purchasers.

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Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Thursday backed his son and minister Udhayanidhi Stalin over the latters controversial remarks about the Sanatana Dharma, saying some used the Sanatana doctrine to perpetuate oppression against women. He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using the issue as a diversionary tactic. Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin. (PTI)

The chief minister said Tamil Nadus ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagamthe (DMK) provided the women what Sanatan denied them. We have promoted our ideology through enlightenment, eschewing violent means to achieve our goals.

He hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said it will find itself sinking in quicksand if it believes it can tarnish DMKs reputation over Udhayanidhi Stalins comments that Sanatana Dharma should be eradicated.

The chief minister cited media reports quoting Modis call for a proper response to Udhayanidhi Stalins remarks. He added this was disheartening.

M K Stalin said the formation of the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), which includes DMK, seems to have rattled Modi. He is proposing one nation, one election out of fear. It is evident that the BJP is not genuinely concerned about the discriminatory practices in Sanatan but rather desperate to create divisions within the Opposition alliance. It does not take a political genius to recognise this as a political gimmick.

He said contrary to what the BJP has alleged, his son never called for genocide. He added that Udhayanidhi Stalin spoke up against oppressive ideologies. The chief minister wondered whether Modi, who has access to all the resources to verify any claim or report, is unaware of the lies spread about Udhayanidhi Stalin or if he was doing it anyway knowingly.

...it raises questions about whether the Prime Minister, who has failed to fulfil any of his promises, is attempting to divert attention by invoking Sanatan, Stalin said. He added neither Modi nor his ministers have replied to questions raised over issues such as ethnic violence in Manipur. ...they convened the Cabinet on Sanatan. Can these leaders truly protect the backward castes, scheduled castes, and tribal people, and uplift women?

He added if the BJP needs further explanation on his sons speech, it should consult Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, who said some people have been left behind in the countrys social system.

M K Stalin said pro-BJP forces were unable to tolerate his sons stance against oppressive principles while accusing them of spreading a false narrative. The social media mob nurtured by the BJP has widely circulated this falsehood in northern states, Stalin said. If the troll army of BJP spreads these lies, the responsible Union ministers and chief ministers of the BJP should have cared to check

He said Union ministers Amit Shah and Rajnath Singh shared the same lie while condemning Udhayanidhi Stalin. Even after Udhayanidhis denial, these Union ministers did not retract their statements.

Stalin questioned the Uttar Pradesh governments inaction against the Ayodhya seer who announced a bounty on his sons head. Stalin wondered if Modi had an answer to how one can accept Sanatana Dharma. He cited an article by Bhimrao Ambedkars grandson, Prakash Ambedkar, saying Sanatana Dharma believes in untouchability.

Stalin hit out at Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi and accused him of supporting child marriages. The DMK government has been at loggerheads with the governor and accused him of working as a BJP agent.

The governor accused the state government of conducting the banned two-finger test on minors after police arrested temple priests for officiating child marriages.

MK Stalin said when they acted against those officiating child marriages, the governor defended them and blocked the investigation. Some individuals still denigrate women on spiritual platforms, arguing that women should not work, widowed women should not remarry, and there are no rituals or officiating chants for remarriage. They use the term Sanatan to perpetuate the oppression of women, who make up more than half of humankindUdhayanidhi spoke out against such oppressive ideologies and called to eradicate the practices based on those ideologies.

Udhyanidhi Stalin separately sought to clarify his comments and urged the DMK cadre against filing cases and burning effigies over the controversy. He asked them to lead the way in showing decency.

On Wednesday, DMK functionaries filed police complaints against the Ayodhya seer for putting the bounty, journalist Piyush Rai for posting a video related to it, and BJPs IT wing head Amit Malviya.

BJPs Tamil Nadu unit submitted two petitions to Ravi on Thursday for his intervention in filing a hate speech case against Udhayanidhi Stalin and dismissing his ministerial colleague Sekar Babu. Babu was present at the conference where Udhayanidhi Stalin made the Sanatana remarks.

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After Kaleshwaram, one of the largest lift irrigation projects of the world built on river Godavari at a cost of nearly 1 lakh crore in Telanganas Jayashankar Bhupalpally district, the state government is all set to commence Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) built on the Krishna at a cost of 35,000 crore in Nagarkurnool district. Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme has been built on the Krishna at a cost of  35,000 crore in Nagarkurnool district. (HT Photo)

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will formally inaugurate the project by switching on the motor at the first pump house to lift water from the river into the intake well of the project at Narlapur village of Kollapur block on September 16.

Describing the completion of Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation scheme is the biggest achievement of the century for the drought-prone Mahabubnagar and Rangareddy districts, state agriculture minister S Niranjan Reddy said in a statement that the government had taken up the project with its own financial resources without expecting any money from the Centre, after overcoming several hurdles in the last nine years.

He said the chief minister would address a big public rally at Narlapur, after dedicating the project to the nation. The project will transform the fate of southern Telangana in the coming days, the minister said.

Reddy said the project would make one million acres of parched lands in erstwhile combined Mahabubnagar district and 250,000 acres in Rangareddy and Nalgonda districts into fertile lands. It is a historic occasion to complete the project, which was neglected in the combined Andhra Pradesh regime, the minister said.

An official release from the chief ministers office on Thursday said KCR had called for celebrations in every village in the erstwhile combined Mahbubnagar and Rangareddy districts on September 17. Let us perform special prayers at the Krishna river and wash the feet of deities in the temples in every village under the project, he said.

The chief minister said some forces had created many hurdles in completing the PRLIS by moving the National Green Tribunal and other courts. But the government had overcome all the hurdles and completed the lift scheme after obtaining the environmental clearances.

The officials explained to the chief minister that as many as eight Bahubali motors, each of 145 MW capacity, were erected in the lift irrigation scheme for drawing 90 tmc of water in a span of 60 days. The weight of each bolt of the pumps is about 12 kg and its router weights 80 tons, the CMO official release, quoting the officials, said.

The PRLIS envisages lifting water from the foreshore of Srisailam reservoir at Yellure village of Kollapur block in Nagarkurnool district to the K P Laxmidevipally reservoir of Kondurg block in Rangareddy district with 5 stage lifting and then utilizing water by gravity.

It proposes to irrigate around 12 lakh acres in Mahabubnagar, Narayanpet, Rangareddy, Vikarabad, Nagarkurnool and Nalgonda, besides providing drinking water to en route villages and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and also for industrial use.

The foundation stone for the PRLIS was laid by the chief minister on June 11. The project was planned to be executed in two phases. Under Phase  I, drinking water will be provided to 1226 villages in 70 mandals (blocks), while Phase  II is planned for addressing irrigation requirements in drought-prone districts.

As part of Phase I, six balancing reservoirs, including Anjanagiri (Narlapur), Veeranjaneya (Yedula), Venkatadri (Vattem), Kurumurthyraya (Karivena), Udandapur and KP Lakshmidevipally were constructed. This also involves construction of five stages of lifting of 90 tmc during the flood season from the foreshore of Srisailam reservoir on River Krishna.

From Anjanagiri reservoir, water will be lifted to Veeranjaneya reservoir, Venkatadri reservoir, Kurumurthraya Reservoir, Udandapur Reservoir and finally into KP Lakshmidevipally reservoir from where it would be released into the canals through gravity.

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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
Three construction workers were killed and two others injured in Hyderabad on Thursday when a parapet wall of the sixth floor of the building under construction collapsed along with scaffolding on which they were standing, police said. Police said the workers were trapped under the debris of the parapet wall and the wooden poles that fell on them. (HT Archives)

The incident happened in Addagutta area of Kukatpally Housing Board (KPHB) colony. The deceased were identified as Santhu Badnayak (23), Saniya Challan (19) and Soniya Badnayak (23). While Santhu and Saniya died on the spot, Soniya succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment at a local private hospital.

Two others, Balram Badnayak and Budha Badnayak, who sustained injuries in the incident, were also rushed to the local hospital. The condition of one of them is critical, while the other person is out of danger, KPHB inspector of police D Venkatesh said, without disclosing the name of the person who is critical.

Inquiries with the other construction workers at the site revealed that the victims, who hailed from Malkangiri in Odisha, were engaged in plastering the parapet wall of the sixth floor of the building, while standing on the wooden scaffolding erected as supporting structure.

The parapet wall suddenly collapsed and fell on the workers, who fell down to the ground along with the supporting structure. The workers were trapped under the debris of the parapet wall and the wooden poles that fell on them, the police official said.

The other workers and locals immediately rushed to the spot to rescue the victims trapped under the debris, while alerting the police. Two of them were found dead on the spot and the others were shifted to the hospital, he said.

We are yet to ascertain the reason for the collapse of the parapet wall. Maybe, the recent rains might have dampened the wall and made the structure weak, the inspector said.

We have not arrested the building owner or the persons responsible for the collapse, Venkatesh said, adding that a case would be booked under appropriate sections, after identifying the reason.

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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
The Opposition Left Front has announced the boycott of the counting of votes polled in the by-polls to Tripuras Boxanagar and Dhanpur assembly seats on Tuesday, maintaining the elections were rigged. The counting is due on Friday. By-polls to Tripuras Boxanagar and Dhanpur assembly seats were held on Tuesday. (PTI)

The Left Front has demanded fresh by-polls in Boxanagar and Dhanpur, where 89.2% and 83.92% polling was recorded. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) were in a direct contest. The TIPRA Motha and Congress did not put up their candidates for the by-polls.

Left Front convener Narayan Kar said they demanded countermanding of the rigged election and a fresh polling but surprisingly the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not budged. Kar added the ECIs motive is clear. Therefore, we have decided to boycott the counting of rigged voting.

CPI(M) leader Jitendra Chaudhury on Tuesday wrote to the ECI demanding fresh polls while calling the by-polls to the two constituencies a mockery. He alleged the BJP rigged elections in both the constituencies with involvement of a section of police and civil administration through an  extraordinary terror situation.

Chaudhury accused minister Bikash Debbarma and BJP lawmaker Rampada Jamatia of rallying  outsiders to force the voters to either stay away or vote for the ruling party. He demanded Debbarmas arrest.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Thursday issued a sharp rebuttal defending the remarks of his cabinet colleague and son, Udhayanidhi Stalin, on Sanatan Dharma, saying they were aimed at the principles that discriminate against Scheduled Castes, tribals, and women. In a detailed statement, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader said many Indian leaders like Thanthai Periyar, Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, and Babasaheb Ambedkar have spoken out against regressive Sanatan ideologies which justify discrimination based on one's birth. Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin. (ANI File)

Even as we launch Chandrayaan to the Moon, some people continue to propagate caste discrimination, emphasizing social stratification based on Varnashrama principles and citing sastras and other ancient texts to support their sectarian claims, Stalin said.

Udhayanidhi spoke out only against such oppressive ideologies and called to eradicate the practices based on those ideologies, he added.

What exactly Udhayanidhi said about Sanatan Dharma

A major political controversy erupted earlier this month after a video of DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin calling for the eradication of Sanatana Dharma (a set of duties and way of living as proscribed in the Hindu religion) to establish social justice and equality surfaced on social media.

Addressing a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association in Chennai last Saturday, the minister said in Tamil, Few things cannot be opposed, they should only be abolished. We cant oppose dengue, mosquitoes, or corona [Covid-19], we have to eradicate them. In the same way, we have to eradicate Sanatana [Dharma]. Rather than merely opposing Sanatana, it should be eradicated.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a scathing attack on Udhayanidhi and alleged that the DMK leader was calling for genocide, which Stalin dismissed as a false narrative.

The social media mob nurtured by the BJP has widely circulated this falsehood in northern states. However, Hon'ble Minister Udhayanidhi never used the word 'genocide in either Tamil or English. Still, lies were spread claiming so. If the troll army of BJP spreads these lies, the responsible Union Ministers and State Chief Ministers who belong to BJP should have cared to check what Mr. Udhayanidhi has actually spoken before commenting on him, Stalin said.

Stalin reacts to PM Modi's remarks,  10 crore bounty

The chief minister hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government for not taking action against Ayodhya seer Paramhans Acharya who announced 10 crore reward for beheading Udhayanidhi.

Reacting to the reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his colleagues to fight falsehoods and attacks on issues of faith, Stalin said, In these circumstances, it is disheartening to hear from the national media that the Hon'ble Prime Minister mentioned that Udhayanidhi's remarks need a proper response during a meeting of his council of ministers.

The Hon'ble Prime Minister has access to all the resources to verify any claim or report. So, is the Hon'ble Prime Minister speaking unaware of the lies spread about Udhayanidhi, or does he do so knowingly?

The chief minister said that the opposition bloc INDIA seems to have rattled Prime Minister Modi who is proposing 'One Nation - One Election' out of fear.

It is evident that the BJP is not genuinely concerned about the discriminatory practices in Sanatan but rather desperate to create divisions within the opposition alliance. It doesn't take a political genius to recognise this as a political gimmick.

Under intense attack from the BJP over his alleged anti-Sanatan Dharma remarks, Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday mounted an offensive on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as he accused the saffron party leaders of "twisting" his statements made at a writers' conference in Chennai last week over the issue.

"For the last 9 years, all your (BJP) promises are empty promises. What have you exactly done for our welfare is a question currently being raised in unison by the entire country against an unarmed, fascist BJP government. It is in this background that the BJP leaders have twisted my speech at the TNPWAA conference as 'inciting genocide'. They consider it a weapon to protect themselves," he said in a statement.

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United States (US) President Joe Biden will arrive in New Delhi on Friday and have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi before attending the meeting of heads of the governments and states of the intergovernmental forum G20 over the weekend. President Joe Biden. (AP)

The White House said Biden will participate in an official arrival and handshake with Modi on Saturday and participate in the G20 Leaders Summit. He will visit the Raj Ghat Memorial to Mahatma Gandhi on Sunday before departing for Vietnam.

India assumed G20s presidency in December and has since held a series of meetings related to 32 sectors. The events will culminate with the meeting of heads of the governments and states of the worlds 20 largest economies.

Days before Bidens arrival in India, his national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that getting an absolute consensus on Ukraine at G20 was a challenge, and he did not expect Russia, which will be represented by foreign minister Sergey Lavrov at the Summit, to change its position. Sullivan said most members of both the United Nations (UN) as well as G20 opposed Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine.

He said that Biden will speak out against Russias war which has had devastating consequences and will seek just and durable peace in line with the UN charter, international law, and principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Moscow and Beijing have opposed even including the language agreed upon during the last summit at Bali on Ukraine, jeopardising the prospect of a joint communique. When asked about Indias position on the war, Sullivan said that India had signed on to the statement.

Sullivan said that the US was deeply committed to the G20 as a forum to deliver meaningful outcomes at a time of historic international economic shocks. Linking the American agenda at the Summit with Bidens domestic economic policy of greater investments at home, the NSA said that the US will push forward an ambitious agenda of reform of multilateral development banks, particularly the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and the quest to make it bigger and better.
US President Joe Biden on Thursday left for India to participate in the historic G20 Summit in New Delhi to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Joe Biden arrives to board Air Force One for a trip to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md.(AP)

Biden will follow the COVID-19 guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during his visit to India for the G20 Summit, the White House has said.

First Lady Jill Biden, 72, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. President Biden, 80, was tested for the virus on Monday and Tuesday following his wife's positive test, but his results were negative.

Less than an hour before his departure for India, the White House said, "The President tested negative for Covid."

The First Lady was quarantined at her Delaware house after testing positive and is not travelling with the president to India and Vietnam. On Thursday, her office said, "The First Lady tested negative for Covid today."

Travelling with the US president onboard the Air Force One include US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Deputy Chief of Staff Jen O'Malley Dillon, and Director of Oval Office operations Annie Tomasini.

Also accompanying the president are Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, Director of Speechwriting Vinay Reddy, Director of Communications Ben LaBolt, Director of Scheduling and Advance Ryan Montoya, Acting Chief of Protocol Ethan Rosenzweig, NSC Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific Kurt Campbell, NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby, Senior Advisor for Energy and Investment Amos Hochstein, Deputy Director of Communications Herbie Ziskend, Senior Director for South Asia, National Security Council Eileen Laubacher, among others.

According to the White House, Biden would arrive in New Delhi on Friday evening, with a refuelling stop at Ramstein, Germany.

The US president is looking forward to a successful G-20 Summit and advancing several of the causes dear to his heart like climate change, and reforms of international forums like the World Bank and the International Monetary Funds.

On his maiden trip to India as the president of the United States, Biden would welcome the African Union as a G20 member, an Indian move that has been supported and cheered by world leaders.

He is expected to have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi on Friday itself.

During the meeting, the two leaders are likely to review the progress made on the decisions that they took during Prime Minister Modi's official state visit to Washington in June.

Prominent issues that could feature during the meeting could be Ukraine, critical and emerging technology and some of the deals that were announced like that of the drones with General Atomics and jet engines with General Electric.

The next day President Biden will participate in an official arrival and handshake with Modi. Thereafter he would participate in a series of G20 Leaders Summit meetings including Session 1: "One Earth"; and Session 2: "One Family".

He will also participate in a Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment event and then end the day with a dinner and cultural programme with G20 leaders.

Before leaving for Hanoi in Vietnam, the President will visit the Raj Ghat Memorial with G20 leaders, the White House said.

On Wednesday, White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby told reporters that Biden's focus will be on delivering economic opportunity for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people such as climate and technology, and showing the US' commitment to the G20 itself as a viable, if not vital, forum to tackle these issues.

"Of course, we're grateful for Prime Minister Modi's leadership during India's presidency of the G20, and the President is certainly looking forward to his bilateral meeting with the prime minister shortly after his arrival in New Delhi."

"He is also looking forward to warmly welcoming the African Union as a permanent member of the G20. We believe that the African Union's voice will make the G20 even stronger than it already is," Kirby added.

The G20 member countries 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.

He hoped that the G20 countries would be able to issue a joint statement. "We know that the Indians also would like to see a joint communique if you will, so we'll see where it goes."

"Oftentimes the sticking point tends to be the war in Ukraine because countries like Russia and China are less likely to sign on to language that the rest of the international community is more uncomfortable signing on to, so we'll see where it goes," Kirby said.

Apart from President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are among the G20 leaders who have already confirmed their participation in the summit.

Prime Minister Modi will hand over the baton of the G20 Presidency to Brazilian President Lula on September 10. Brazil will formally assume the G20 Presidency on December 1.

The G20 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.
The United States on Wednesday expressed cautious optimism about the possibility of a joint declaration emerging from the upcoming G20 Summit while acknowledging the challenges of aligning the diverse interests of the participating nations. FILE PHOTO: U.S. National Security Council (NSC) Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington.(Reuters)

When asked about the prospects of a joint communique at the upcoming G20 Summit in New Delhi, John Kirby, the National Security Council (NSC) Coordinator for Strategic Communication, said, "We certainly hope so. But, I think you know it's difficult to get 20 clocks to chime at the same time; we're going to work on this. We know that the Indians also would like to see a joint communique...so we'll see where it goes.

The G20, comprised of major economies from around the world, has often struggled to reach a consensus on key issues due to differing priorities and political stances among its member nations.

Kirby highlighted that one of the key obstacles to reaching a joint declaration could be the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. He noted that countries like Russia and China have historically been less inclined to sign onto language that is in alignment with the rest of the international community.

"Oftentimes, the sticking point tends to be the war in Ukraine because countries like Russia and China are less likely to sign on to language that the rest of the international community is more comfortable signing on to, so we'll see where it goes," Kirby said.

The situation in Ukraine has been a point of contention among G20 members, with Western nations often calling for stronger condemnations of Russia's actions in the region.

The G20 member countries 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 (EU).

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As the national capital is gearing up for the G20 Summit this weekend, the Hotel Taj Palace in Delhi's Chanakyapuri was illuminated in the colours of Tricolour on Thursday evening. In an 11-second video posted by the news agency ANI, the hotel can be seen lit up with the Indian flag's colours. Taj Palace illuminated in tri-colour ahead of G20 Summit, in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI Photo)

The Taj Hotel was initially booked for Chinese President Xi Jinping, however, it has now been allocated to China's State Council Premier, Li Qiang, who will instead attend the G20 Summit.

Massive preparations are underway for the G20 Summit that will be held on September 9 and September 10 in the national capital for which several world leaders and delegates will be visiting India. Several decorations have also been presented at the India Gate area as the national capital decks up for the mega event.

Earlier, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) had taken a preparedness initiative at the Delhi airport under which special immigration counters have been set up for the guests.

About the G20 Summit

India is hosting the mega Summit this year after it assumed the G20 presidency on December 1, 2022, with the theme - One Earth, One Family, One Future. The Summit which will be hosted at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, will see participation from over 30 heads of state, top European Union officials, invited guest countries, and 14 heads of international organisations.

A G20 Leaders Declaration will also be adopted at the conclusion of the Summit, stating Leaders commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings.

(With inputs from agencies)
The West Bengal assembly on Thursday passed a resolution to observe Bengali New Year's Day, also known as Polia Baisakh, as the state's foundation day on April 15. This comes after chief minister Mamata Banerjee asserted that the day will be observed regardless of the approval of the state's governor. West Bengal assembly passes resolution to observe April 15 as Bengal Day

The resolution - under Rule 169 proposing to observe Poila Baisakh as Bangla Diwas and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's 'Banglar Mat, Banglar Jol' (Bengal's soil, Bengal's Water) as the state song - was passed with 167 members voting in favour of it in a House of 294 members. On the other hand, 62 BJP MLAs - who want to observe the state's foundation day on June 20 - voted against the resolution.

Notably, on June 20, 1947, MLAs from West Bengal voted for partition, which was celebrated as Bengal Day.

Speaking to the media, Mamata Banerjee said, I support the proposal of making Rabindranath Tagore's 'Banglar Mati Banglar Jol' the official song of Bengal.

Hitting out at the BJP, she said, People of Bengal don't support June 20, which is synonymous with violence and bloodshed which marked partition as the state foundation day, reported news agency PTI.

Last week, Banerjee had said that the Centre's choice of June 20 as the state's foundation day is wrong.

BJP slams resolution

Meanwhile, several BJP leaders hit out at the West Bengal government's decision to bring a resolution in the state Assembly over Bangla Diwas.

BJP leader Agnimitra Paul slammed Mamata Banerjee saying, She has a history of changing history.

But we are not going to accept her history. June 20 is Bengal Diwas and we will stick to it," she said.

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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
West Bengals ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has sought police permission for three sit-in demonstrations against the Union government in Delhi on October 2 and 3 to press for the demand of release of funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Chief minister Mamata Banerjee held a sit-in demonstration in Kolkata in March demanding the release of central funds. (Hindustan Times)

The party was earlier denied permission for a sit-in demonstration between September 30 and October 4 at Delhis Ramlila Maidan.

TMC Parliament member Derek OBrien wrote three letters to New Delhis Parliament Street police station on August 31 for permission for demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, outside Union rural development minister Giriraj Singhs residence and the Krishi Bhavan.

Bengal minister Shashi Panja said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost the 2021 assembly elections and is now taking revenge. MGNREGA funds have been blocked since December 2021. The TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has announced a sit-in to protest against this.

He said the Delhi Police, which reports to the Union home ministry, were yet to give them permission. We are waiting. This is undemocratic. TMC is going to protest against this.

Banerjee in April suggested an indefinite sit-in protest in Delhi. On July 21, he announced TMC will hold a rally on October 2 in Delhi.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee held a sit-in demonstration in central Kolkata in March demanding the release of central funds. She said she will hold another demonstration outside Prime Minister Narendra Modis residence.

BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya said it was up to the Delhi Police whether they grant permission for TMCs protests. ...in West Bengal, even the leader of the opposition in the assembly has to move the high court to get permission to hold a rally.

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New Delhi is gearing up to host the highly anticipated G20 Summit this weekend. The Union government is diligently preparing for stringent security measures, given the presence of world leaders. The 18th G20 Leaders' Summit being hosted by India will see participation from over 30 heads of state, top European Union officials, invited guest countries, and 14 heads of international organisations. At the Taj Palace New Delhi hotel, guests will be welcomed with a traditional tika and aarti. (X (formerly Twitter))

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu holds the distinction of being the first head of state to arrive in the national capital. According to media reports, a total of 23 hotels in Delhi, including ITC Maurya, Taj Mansingh, Taj Palace, Hotel Oberoi, Hotel Lalit, The Lodhi, Le Meridien, Hyatt Regency, Shangri-La, Leela Palace, Hotel Ashoka, Eros Hotel, The Surya, Radisson Blu Plaza, JW Marriott, Sheraton, The Leela Ambience Convention, Hotel Pullman, Rosette Hotel, and The Imperial, have been designated to accommodate the delegates.

Curious to know where US President Joe Biden and other world leaders will be staying? We have compiled a list for you based on media reports. Check it out!

Here's a list of hotels where world leaders will stay during G20 Summit

-US President Joe Biden will reportedly stay at the ITC Maurya Sheraton in Delhi's Chanakyapuri, where his service team and secret commandos will be present on every floor of the hotel. So far, around 400 rooms have been booked in the hotel, and a special elevator has been installed to take Biden to his room on the 14th floor.

-UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be accommodated at the Shangri-La Hotel in Delhi's Connaught Place, along with Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz. The delegations from the UK and Germany are also expected to stay in the same hotel.

-French President Emmanuel Macron and his accompanying officials will stay at Claridges in Motilal Nehru Marg Area, while the Australian Prime Minister will be staying at the Imperial Hotel in Connaught Place.

-South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will stay at the Oberoi Hotel in Gurugram, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will stay at the Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who will attend the conclave instead of Russian President Vladimir Putin will also be accommodated in Delhi's Oberoi Hotel. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will stay at The Lalit Hotel, where the Japanese delegation is also likely to stay.

-The Taj Palace in Delhi's Chanakyapuri was initially booked for Chinese President Xi Jinping, but it has now been allocated to China's State Council Premier, Li Qiang, who will attend the G20 Summit.

-The Saudi Arabian delegation, led by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, will stay at the Leela Hotel.

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Leader of Opposition in Kerala VD Satheesan wrote to chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday requesting him to direct the police to withdraw the case filed against 94-year-old human rights activist Ayinoor Vasu, popularly known as Grow Vasu, in connection with a protest seven years ago. Grow Vasu was arrested and remanded in custody on July 29 by the Medical College police in Kozhikode district for a protest he led in 2016 in front of the hospital mortuary where the bodies of two alleged Maoist leaders gunned down by security forces were kept. (HT Archives)

Vasu was arrested and remanded in custody on July 29 by the Medical College police in Kozhikode district for a protest he led in 2016 in front of the hospital mortuary where the bodies of two alleged Maoist leaders gunned down by security forces were kept. He, and a few others, had been booked then on charges of unlawful assembly and assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty. This year, following his arrest, Vasu refused to pay a nominal fine or sign a self-bond for bail as a mark of his protest against the administration and has been in jail for over a month.

Amid calls from various sections of society to withdraw the charges against the nonagenarian and release him from jail, the Leader of the Opposition said that there may be people who disagree with Vasus ideology, but the fighting spirit within the 94-year-old has to be acknowledged.

Vasu-ettan has a public service experience which is more than the age of many of us...I saw a photo of police officers trying to cover his mouth to prevent him from speaking. The police are forcibly pinning his hands down to prevent him from raising slogans. Officers are using their caps to hide his face. Such visuals sadden those who believe in humanity, said Satheesan in a statement. The word ettan means elder brother in Malayalam.

What crime has he committed? He is not involved in terrorist, anti-national activities or murders. His crime is that he publicly protested against the killing of people in the name of engaging in Maoist activities, the Congress leader said.

Satheesan said that the elderly activist is being mistreated by the police at a time when heinous murderers, impersonators and those close to the CPI(M) engaged in fraudulent activities are given a royal treatment in police custody and jails.

The state government was earnest in writing off several cases like the Assembly ruckus case. What is the issue in withdrawing the case against Vasu? he asked.

Vasu was drawn to the Left political movement in Kerala through the 40s and was an active member of the then undivided Communist Party of India (CPI). But in the 50s, when he felt that the party was going in a different direction, he left it to join the Naxalite movement which was taking roots in the state. For involvement in certain Naxal operations, Vasu was arrested by the police in 1970 and he spent the next seven years in jail. After his release from jail, Vasu took to umbrella making and sale, a craft he had learned during his teenage years and which he continued to this day. Ayinoor Vasu got the Grow tag to his name for being a part of the Gwalior Rayons Organisation of Workers (GROW) where he led workers to protest at the Gwalior Rayons factory in Mavoor, Kozhikode.

Malayalam novelist-poet Kalpetta Narayanan, who has known Vasu for years and spoke at a meeting last month in Kozhikode demanding his release, said, For the last seven and a half decades, he has been engaged in public service. Ideally, he should have grown as tall as CPI(M) stalwart AK Gopalan. Vasu has always spoken in favour of the marginalised and exploited sections of society. It is extremely sad that at such an advanced age, he should be locked behind bars that too under a Left government.

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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
Are chefs artists? I first asked his question five years ago. Then, as now, the question emerged out of a conversation with Daniel Humm. Daniel Humm sees himself as a craftsman and is too modest to call what he does art. But he started in the business at 14, won his first Michelin star in his 20s, and counts Picasso among his inspirations. (Eleven Madison Park)

Humms Eleven Madison Park has been rated the best restaurant in the world, he has been awarded four stars (the highest accolade) by The New York Times and the restaurant has held three Michelin stars for over a dozen years. (Eleven Madison park)

Eventually, he dropped out of school at 14 and ended up working in hotel and restaurant kitchens. He was brilliant and so precise in his cooking that he rose up quickly till he migrated to America and found fame and success in San Francisco. Humm now travels the world, telling people how good plant-based dishes can be. He was recently in Mumbai, hosted by Aditi and Aditya Dugar, who own Masque, and was cooking with Varun Totlani, the restaurants gifted chef. (Ye Fang)

It was Humms culinary version of the final painting in the Picasso series: you served the essence of the dish in the simplest form possible.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vir Sanghvi Why hide the papers? Why keep the conspiracy theories related to Netaji Subhas Boses death alive? And why deny India the truth about the death of one of its great freedom fighters? ...view detail
Philosopher Britney Spears said it back in 2003: Youre toxic, Im slippin under. We didnt listen. Ten years later, she sang, Youd better work, b***h. We still didnt pay attention. Its only now, in 2023, that were seeing the idea of bouncing back or carrying on in the face of adversity, regardless of its mental and emotional toll, as a worrying trait. Governments the world over are drafting bills to lighten worker loads. In India, we glorify personal sacrifice. (Adobestock)

Continuous mental stress, stemming from overextending at work, impacts people more than other triggers. (Adobestock)

As workers smile though it all, the poster-child for this phenomenon is fighting back. The kind, polite Japanese, are known globally for their gaman (roughly translated as perseverance, patience, or tolerance). Add that to their idea of karoshi or death from overwork and its easy to see how toxic resilience can topple a nation. Since the early 1970s, men working up to 70 hours a week have dropped dead from bodily failure or have ended their lives from the pressure to play the model employee. Half of Japans workers dont use their paid leave, prompting a 2018 bill forcing companies to get them to. The government is only now acknowledging that the stress has social repercussions too  families bear the cost of an absent or tired father, young folks delay marriage because they simply have no time for love. Japans 2022 birthrate is at its lowest in 17 years. We shame colleagues for leaving on time, for not responding to 9pm texts, for unplugging on the weekend, (Adobestock)

There are SubReddits devoted to Filipino Resiliency, a term used when victims of hurricanes are idolised for overcoming hardship without outside help, and why no one wants the next generation to endure it. In South Korea, which used to have 68-hour workweeks, a 2018 amendment capped the week at 52 hours. In June, there was a proposal to raise it back. It was rejected.

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Priyanka Chopra attended the Victoria's Secret World Tour event during the New York Fashion Week (NYFW). The guest list included stars like Gigi Hadid, Naomi Campbell, Winnie Harlow, Emily Ratajkowski, Lila Grace, and many other big names. Priyanka, the brand ambassador of the US lingerie giant, walked the pink carpet at the event. She chose a show-stealer look for the occasion - a see-through metallic dress worn over a black-coloured bikini set. Scroll through to check out her pictures from the show. Priyanka Chopra attends Victoria's Secret New York Fashion Week (NYFW) event in a see-through metallic dress and black bikini set. (Instagram)

Priyanka Chopra at Victoria's Secret event at NYFW

Several fan pages took to Instagram to share pictures and videos of Priyanka Chopra from the Victoria's Secret event. The snippets showed the actor posing on the pink carpet and exuding glamour and sensual styling. Her ensemble for the event is from the shelves of the luxury Italian fashion house Giambattista Valli's Fall/Winter 23 Ready To Wear collection. Meanwhile, the Victoria's Secret World Tour is a reimagined part fashion show and part documentary.

Priyanka Chopra attends the Victoria's Secret World Tour event during the New York Fashion Week (NYFW). (Instagram)

Decoding Priyanka Chopra's sizzling attire

Priyanka Chopra's black dress comes decked in hundreds of golden sequin embellishments decorated in vertical lines all over. The ensemble also features a cut-out detail on the torso exposing her decolletage, full-length sleeves with scalloped ends, a see-through silhouette flaunting her enviable frame, floor-grazing hem length, and a closed design on the neck.

Priyanka complemented the dress with a metallic gold and black belt cinched on her waist, featuring a flower-shaped buckle. She donned the ensemble over a black bra top and matching bikini bottoms. While the bikini top features noodle straps, a V neckline, a cropped hem, and a fitted bust, the bottoms have a high-rise waist and high-leg cut-outs.

Priyanka accessorised her head-turning Giambattista Valli ensemble with black peep-toe pumps featuring killer high heels, statement gold rings, and hoop earrings. Lastly, she chose shimmering golden eye shadow, mascara on the lashes, blushed cheekbones, glossy deep mauve lip shade, beaming highlighter, feathered brows, and light contouring for the glam picks. Centre-parted open wavy locks placed on one shoulder rounded off her glamorous look.

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Janmashtami, the festival that commemorates birth of Lord Krishna is celebrated with great enthusiasm and fervour across India. From Mathura-Vrindavan's grand celebrations that start 10 days prior to the festival, to Rajasthan's Phoolon Ki Holi; from Maharashtra's Dahi Handi to West Bengal's Nanda Utsav, there are many colours and flavours of Janmashtami celebrations in India. Many people keep a day-long nirjala fast on Janmashtami. Apart from this, the festival is also known for its grand spread which has 56 bhog items that are prepared and offered to Lord Krishna. Janmashtami special food comprises of rice, dal, seasonal vegetables, ghevar, malpua, pickles, cow ghee, peda, makhanas, butter, jalebi among many other delicacies. (Also read: Janmashtami 2023: What makes the celebrations of Lord Krishna's birth in Mathura and Vrindavan so special? Find out) People who have diabetes and want to restrict their sugar intake can prepare these 4 diabetes-friendly recipes to include in Lord Krishna's bhog.(Pinterest)

People who have diabetes and want to restrict their sugar intake can prepare these 4 diabetes-friendly recipes to include in Lord Krishna's bhog.

"Janmashtami is a Hindu festival celebrated with great enthusiasm, especially in India, to mark the birth of Lord Krishna. Sweets and other delicious dishes are an integral part of the celebration. If you or someone you know is diabetic and would like to enjoy diabetic-friendly sweets during Janmashtami, here are some ideas," says Sukanya Poojary, Executive Nutritionist, Cloudnine Group of Hospitals, Bangalore, Malleshwaram.

Here are sugar-free dessert recipes suggested by Sukanya Poojary:

1. Sattu laddoos

Ingredients

1 cup sattu

1/2 cup dates paste (use only if the blood sugar is in normal range, or replace with stevia)

2-3 tablespoons ghee

1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

A pinch of salt

Chopped nuts for garnishing

Instructions:

Roast the sattu : Heat a pan or kadai on low-medium heat. Add sattu and dry roast it for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Roasting sattu enhances its flavour.

: Heat a pan or kadai on low-medium heat. Add sattu and dry roast it for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Roasting sattu enhances its flavour. In a separate pan, add the paste of dates with 2-3 tablespoons of water. Heat it on low-medium heat until the dates melts.

Combine sattu and dates paste. Add a pinch of salt and cardamom powder for flavour, if desired. Mix everything well. Use a spoon to initially combine the ingredients.

Add a pinch of salt and cardamom powder for flavour, if desired. Mix everything well. Use a spoon to initially combine the ingredients. Add ghee: Gradually add ghee while mixing until the mixture can be easily shaped into laddus. The ghee helps bind the mixture together.

Gradually add ghee while mixing until the mixture can be easily shaped into laddus. The ghee helps bind the mixture together. Shape into laddoos: While the mixture is still warm but cool enough to handle, take a portion of it and shape it into round laddus.

While the mixture is still warm but cool enough to handle, take a portion of it and shape it into round laddus. Garnish: You can press chopped nuts onto the surface of each laddu while they are still warm.

2. Sugar-free Shrikhand

Ingredients

2 cups of Greek yogurt or hung curd

1/2 teaspoon of cardamom powder

A pinch of saffron strands

Stevia powder as per taste

1 tablespoon of warm milk

Chopped nuts for garnish (almonds, pistachios)

A few strands of saffron for garnish

Instructions:

Prepare hung curd: Take regular yogurt, remove excess water by staining and make hung curd. Place a cloth or a clean kitchen towel over a strainer or sieve and set it over a bowl. Pour the yogurt into the cloth, gather the edges, and tie it into a bundle. Allow it to hang for 4-6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

Take regular yogurt, remove excess water by staining and make hung curd. Place a cloth or a clean kitchen towel over a strainer or sieve and set it over a bowl. Pour the yogurt into the cloth, gather the edges, and tie it into a bundle. Allow it to hang for 4-6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Soak saffron: Soak a pinch of saffron strands in 1 tablespoon of warm milk and set it aside.

Soak a pinch of saffron strands in 1 tablespoon of warm milk and set it aside. Mix ingredients: In a mixing bowl, take the hung curd, stevia powder, cardamom powder, and the saffron-infused milk. Mix everything well until it's smooth and creamy.

In a mixing bowl, take the hung curd, stevia powder, cardamom powder, and the saffron-infused milk. Mix everything well until it's smooth and creamy. Chill: Place the Shrikhand in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours.

Place the Shrikhand in the refrigerator for at least 1-2 hours. Serve: Garnish with chopped nuts and a few saffron strands.

3. Paneer kheer

Ingredients:

200 grams of paneer

2 cups of milk

1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder

A pinch of saffron strands

1 tablespoon chopped nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios) for garnish

Instructions:

Prepare paneer: Grate or crumble the paneer and set it aside.

Heat milk: In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the milk over medium-low heat. Stir it continuously to prevent it from sticking to the bottom and simmer until it reduces slightly and thickens. This will take about 15-20 minutes.

Add paneer: Add the grated or crumbled paneer and stevia to the simmering milk. Stir well to combine.

Flavour with cardamom: Add cardamom powder and saffron strands to the kheer. Continue to cook for another 5-7 minutes.

Garnish: Turn off the heat and garnish the paneer kheer with chopped nuts.

Chill and serve: Allow the kheer to cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate it for a few hours before serving. Chilling enhances the flavours. Serve it cold as a sugar-free dessert.

4. Oats and dry fruit laddoo

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup mixed dry fruits (such as almonds, cashews, pistachios, and raisins), finely chopped

1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup dates, pitted and chopped [Use only if the blood sugars are within normal range, or replace with stevia].

2-3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)

1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder

2-3 tablespoons honey or maple syrup (adjust to taste)

Instructions

Dry roast oats: In a pan, dry roast the rolled oats until they become fragrant and slightly golden. Remove them from the heat and let them cool.

In a pan, dry roast the rolled oats until they become fragrant and slightly golden. Remove them from the heat and let them cool. Mix with dried fruits: Combine the roasted oats with the chopped dried fruits (apricots, figs, raisins) and unsweetened shredded coconut in a bowl.

Combine the roasted oats with the chopped dried fruits (apricots, figs, raisins) and unsweetened shredded coconut in a bowl. Add ghee: Add a small amount of ghee to the mixture. This will help bind the ingredients together. Start with a tablespoon of ghee and add more if needed.

Add a small amount of ghee to the mixture. This will help bind the ingredients together. Start with a tablespoon of ghee and add more if needed. Form laddoos: Take small portions of the mixture and press them firmly between your palms to shape them into laddoos. If the mixture isn't sticking together well, you can add a bit more ghee.

5. Panjiri

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup ghee

1/2 cup chopped nuts (almonds, cashews, pistachios)

1/4 cup stevia

1/4 cup grated coconut

1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder

A pinch of saffron strands

Raisins for garnish

Instructions

Dry roast whole wheat flour: Heat a heavy-bottomed pan over low-medium heat and add the whole wheat flour. Dry roast it, stirring continuously, until it turns golden brown and you can smell a nutty aroma. This will take about 10-12 minutes. Remove the roasted flour from the pan and set it aside to cool.

Heat a heavy-bottomed pan over low-medium heat and add the whole wheat flour. Dry roast it, stirring continuously, until it turns golden brown and you can smell a nutty aroma. This will take about 10-12 minutes. Remove the roasted flour from the pan and set it aside to cool. In the same pan, melt the ghee over low heat. Add the chopped nuts and saute until they become lightly golden.

Reduce the heat to the low flame, and add stevia to the ghee-nut mixture. Stir continuously until the stevia powder melts and combines with the ghee.

Add the roasted whole wheat flour to the ghee and stevia mixture. Mix well until everything is combined.

Stir in the cardamom powder, nutmeg powder, saffron strands and grated coconut.

Allow the mixture to cool down to a temperature where you can handle it comfortably with your hands. While it's still warm, shape it into laddus or store it as a loose mixture.

Garnish (optional): If you like, you can garnish each laddoo with a raisin on top.

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Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam  these two words capture a deep philosophy. It means the world is one family. This is an all-embracing outlook that encourages us to progress as one universal family, transcending borders, languages, and ideologies. During Indias G20 presidency, this translated into a call for human-centric progress. As One Earth, we came together to nurture our planet. As One Family, we support each other in the pursuit of growth. And we move together towards a shared future  One Future  which is an undeniable truth in these interconnected times. India is set to showcase its fintech prowess at the G20 Summit in New Delhi on September 9-10. (HT Photo)

The post-pandemic world order is very different from the one before it. There are three important changes, among others. First, there is a growing realisation that a shift away from a GDP-centric view of the world to a human-centric view is needed. Second, the world is recognising the importance of resilience and reliability in global supply chains. Third, there is a collective call for boosting multilateralism through the reform of global institutions. Our G20 presidency has played the role of a catalyst in these shifts.

In December 2022, when we took over the presidency from Indonesia, I wrote that a mindset shift must be catalysed by the G20. This was especially needed in the context of mainstreaming the marginalised aspirations of developing countries, the Global South and Africa.

The Voice of Global South Summit, which witnessed participation from 125 countries, was one of the foremost initiatives under our presidency. It was an important exercise to gather inputs and ideas from the Global South.

Further, our presidency has not only seen the largest ever participation from African countries but also pushed for the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20.

An interconnected world means our challenges across domains are interlinked. This is the midway year of the 2030 Agenda, and many are noting with great concern that the progress on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) is off-track. The G20 2023 Action Plan on Accelerating Progress on SDGs will spearhead the future direction of the G20 towards implementing SDGs.

In India, living in harmony with nature has been a norm since ancient times and we have been contributing our share towards climate action even in modern times. Many countries of the Global South are at various stages of development and climate action must be a complementary pursuit. Ambitions for climate action must be matched with actions on climate finance and the transfer of technology.

We believe there is a need to move away from a purely restrictive attitude of what should not be done to a more constructive attitude focusing on what can be done to fight climate change.

The Chennai HLPs for a Sustainable and Resilient Blue Economy focus on keeping our oceans healthy. A global ecosystem for clean and green hydrogen will emerge from our presidency, along with a Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre. In 2015, we launched the International Solar Alliance. Now, through the Global Biofuels Alliance, we will support the world to enable energy transitions in tune with the benefits of a circular economy.

Democratising climate action is the best way to impart momentum to the movement. Just as individuals make daily decisions based on their long-term health, they can make lifestyle decisions based on the impact on the planets long-term health. Just like yoga became a global mass movement for wellness, we have also nudged the world with Lifestyles for Sustainable Environment (LiFE).

Due to the impact of climate change, ensuring food and nutritional security will be crucial. Millets, or Shree Anna, can help with this while also boosting climate-smart agriculture. In the International Year of Millets, we have taken millets to global palates. The Deccan High Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition are also helpful in this direction.

Technology is transformative but it also needs to be made inclusive. In the past, the benefits of technological advancements have not benefited all sections of society equally. India, over the last few years, has shown how technology can be leveraged to narrow inequalities, rather than widen them.

For instance, the billions across the world that remain unbanked, or lack digital identities, can be financially included through digital public infrastructure (DPI). The solutions we have built using our DPI have now been recognised globally. Now, through the G20, we will help developing countries adapt, build, and scale DPI to unlock the power of inclusive growth.

That India is the fastest growing large economy is no accident. Our simple, scalable and sustainable solutions have empowered the vulnerable and the marginalised to lead our development story. From space to sports, economy to entrepreneurship, Indian women have taken the lead in various sectors. They have shifted the narrative from the development of women to women-led development. Our G20 presidency is working on bridging the gender digital divide, reducing labour force participation gaps and enabling a larger role for women in leadership and decision-making.

For India, the G20 presidency is not merely a high-level diplomatic endeavour. As the mother of democracy and a model of diversity, we opened the doors of this experience to the world.

Today, accomplishing things at scale is a quality that is associated with India. The G20 presidency is no exception. It has become a people-driven movement. Over 200 meetings have been organised in 60 Indian cities across our nation, hosting nearly 100,000 delegates from 125 countries by the end of our term. No presidency has ever encompassed such a vast and diverse geographical expanse. It is one thing to hear about Indias demography, democracy, diversity and development from someone else. It is totally different to experience them first-hand. I am sure our G20 delegates would vouch for this.

Our G20 presidency strives to bridge divides, dismantle barriers, and sow seeds of collaboration that nourish a world where unity prevails over discord, where shared destiny eclipses isolation. As the G20 president, we pledged to make the global table larger, ensuring that every voice is heard, and every country contributes. I am positive that we have matched our pledge with actions and outcomes.

Narendra Modi is Prime Minister of India.

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Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam  these two words capture a deep philosophy. It means the world is one family. This is an all-embracing outlook that encourages us to progress as one universal family, transcending borders, languages, and ideologies. During Indias G20 presidency, this translated into a call for human-centric progress. As One Earth, we came together to nurture our planet. As One Family, we support each other in the pursuit of growth. And we move together towards a shared future  One Future  which is an undeniable truth in these interconnected times. Prime Minister Narendra Modi(PIB)

The post-pandemic world order is very different from the one before it. There are three important changes, among others. First, there is a growing realisation that a shift away from a GDP-centric view of the world to a human-centric view is needed. Second, the world is recognising the importance of resilience and reliability in global supply chains. Third, there is a collective call for boosting multilateralism through the reform of global institutions. Our G20 presidency has played the role of a catalyst in these shifts.

In December 2022, when we took over the presidency from Indonesia, I wrote that a mindset shift must be catalysed by the G20. This was especially needed in the context of mainstreaming the marginalised aspirations of developing countries, the Global South and Africa.

The Voice of Global South Summit, which witnessed participation from 125 countries, was one of the foremost initiatives under our presidency. It was an important exercise to gather inputs and ideas from the Global South.

Further, our presidency has not only seen the largest ever participation from African countries but also pushed for the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20.

An interconnected world means our challenges across domains are interlinked. This is the midway year of the 2030 Agenda, and many are noting with great concern that the progress on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) is off-track. The G20 2023 Action Plan on Accelerating Progress on SDGs will spearhead the future direction of the G20 towards implementing SDGs.

In India, living in harmony with nature has been a norm since ancient times and we have been contributing our share towards climate action even in modern times. Many countries of the Global South are at various stages of development and climate action must be a complementary pursuit. Ambitions for climate action must be matched with actions on climate finance and transfer of technology.

We believe there is a need to move away from a purely restrictive attitude of what should not be done to a more constructive attitude focusing on what can be done to fight climate change.

The Chennai HLPs for a Sustainable and Resilient Blue Economy focus on keeping our oceans healthy. A global ecosystem for clean and green hydrogen will emerge from our presidency, along with a Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre. In 2015, we launched the International Solar Alliance. Now, through the Global Biofuels Alliance, we will support the world to enable energy transitions in tune with the benefits of a circular economy.

Democratising climate action is the best way to impart momentum to the movement. Just as individuals make daily decisions based on their long-term health, they can make lifestyle decisions based on the impact on the planets long-term health. Just like yoga became a global mass movement for wellness, we have also nudged the world with Lifestyles for Sustainable Environment (LiFE).

Due to the impact of climate change, ensuring food and nutritional security will be crucial. Millets, or Shree Anna, can help with this while also boosting climate-smart agriculture. In the International Year of Millets, we have taken millets to global palates. The Deccan High Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition are also helpful in this direction.

Technology is transformative but it also needs to be made inclusive. In the past, the benefits of technological advancements have not benefited all sections of society equally. India, over the last few years, has shown how technology can be leveraged to narrow inequalities, rather than widen them.

For instance, the billions across the world that remain unbanked, or lack digital identities, can be financially included through digital public infrastructure (DPI). The solutions we have built using our DPI have now been recognised globally. Now, through the G20, we will help developing countries adapt, build, and scale DPI to unlock the power of inclusive growth.

That India is the fastest growing large economy is no accident. Our simple, scalable and sustainable solutions have empowered the vulnerable and the marginalised to lead our development story. From space to sports, economy to entrepreneurship, Indian women have taken the lead in various sectors. They have shifted the narrative from the development of women to women-led development. Our G20 presidency is working on bridging the gender digital divide, reducing labour force participation gaps and enabling a larger role for women in leadership and decision-making.

For India, the G20 presidency is not merely a high-level diplomatic endeavour. As the mother of democracy and a model of diversity, we opened the doors of this experience to the world.

Today, accomplishing things at scale is a quality that is associated with India. The G20 presidency is no exception. It has become a people-driven movement. Over 200 meetings have been organised in 60 Indian cities across our nation, hosting nearly 100,000 delegates from 125 countries by the end of our term. No presidency has ever encompassed such a vast and diverse geographical expanse. It is one thing to hear about Indias demography, democracy, diversity and development from someone else. It is totally different to experience them first-hand. I am sure our G20 delegates would vouch for this.

Our G20 presidency strives to bridge divides, dismantle barriers, and sow seeds of collaboration that nourish a world where unity prevails over discord, where shared destiny eclipses isolation. As the G20 president, we pledged to make the global table larger, ensuring that every voice is heard, and every country contributes. I am positive that we have matched our pledge with actions and outcomes.

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Up until recently, it was hyperbolic to say that climate change would burn up the world, but its actually happening today. The string of wildfires in Hawaii, Spain, Canada and Greece this year has destroyed entire settlements, but climate change is not merely about wildfires. It is also the primary reason behind the torrential rainfall and landslides in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, Beijings worst flooding in 140 years and strangely enough, August 2023 was Indias driest August for 122 years despite the monsoons. The pattern is clear: Under the business-as-usual attitude, we have the makings of a serious challenge to organised life under runaway climate change. It will disturb sowing patterns, diminish crop yields, upend livelihoods and destabilise human development indicators. Excessive human-induced CO2 emissions are squarely responsible. Despite long-drawn negotiations on energy transition and finance, as the G20 meets in New Delhi over the weekend, the obvious solution to slash global fossil fuel use remains elusiv (Photo by TAUSEEF MUSTAFA / AFP)( )

There is new political salience for climate change which goes beyond emission reductions and environment conservation alone, and it is tied to every political and policy decision-making of strategic importance to countries. Climate policy is everything policy now. This also explains why international climate diplomacy is no longer limited to the annual UN-led climate meetings but has seeped into key international summits. The current G20 summit is one of them.

Despite long-drawn negotiations on energy transition and finance, as the G20 meets in New Delhi over the weekend, the obvious solution to slash global fossil fuel use remains elusive. Consensus on committing to the reduction in fossil fuel use has been difficult to achieve as each member nation follows its unique development pathway, and coal, oil and gas are seen as instrumental to predictable growth. Member nations, however, are simultaneously pledging carbon neutrality, net-zero emissions and low-carbon development, which could likely turn new fossil fuel investments into stranded assets in less than ten years if the net-zero trajectories are pursued in earnest.

Thats a heavy economic burden to take on and yet, an investor sentiment survey we collaborated on shows that global investment firms have evinced strong interest in natural gas both in terms of a bridge fuel to decarbonisation and as a fallback for energy security through the various geopolitical battles. Social licence for gas might not stay for much longer though as winds of change sweep through the energy sector. Coal is no longer king even as its use remains significant, but overall it will decline over the next decade and beyond.

A recent analysis by Ember, a data analytics group which analyses global trends of fossil fuels, shows that two heavily industrialised nations, Australia and South Korea, have reported the G20s highest per capita emissions from coal. Another analysis by the International Institute for Sustainable Development reveals that despite the knowledge of how fossil fuels affect the climate system, G20 members provided a record USD 1.4 trillion in public money to support fossil fuels in 2022. That amount  which includes fossil fuel subsidies (USD 1 trillion), investments by state-owned enterprises (USD 322 billion), and lending from public financial institutions (USD 50 billion)  is more than double the pre-Covid-19 and pre-energy crisis levels of 2019. Global investment in renewable energy reached a record high of USD 500 billion in 2022 but was still only around half of the investment in fossil fuels (USD 950 billion). Oil and gas drillers too had their best year in 2022 with the highest-ever profits of USD 219 billion in spite of the urgent calls to walk away from the fuels.

There are cleaner solutions which decouple emissions and industrial growth, but they hinge upon speedy and stable financing to be unlocked. To be at the forefront of the clean industry sectors of solar, wind, electric vehicles, and green hydrogen requires changing attitudes to multilateral and bilateral negotiations, and shedding the orthodox attitudes while looking into growth and development. Indias development trajectory is not the same as that of the United States or the West but today it commands significance in global supply chains, making it attractive to investors.

The climate change negotiations have hinged on finance as the central pillar to inspire global climate action but the G20 has to bring about realistic and transparent discussions on the topic.

One outcome from the G20 meet being reported is that the group will aim to triple its renewable energy capacity by 2030. Making this possible through more commercial capital in renewable energy in emerging markets across G20 will reduce the cost of capital to set clean energy projects, but will also de-risk the projects to allow for improved leverage of further funding. Solar PV is the cheapest source of electricity today. If the G20 leaders can infuse confidence and amplify their joint intentions to support renewable energy by committing to tripling targets, the markets will respond.

The mode in which the clean energy funds are delivered matters as well. The emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) must modernise their economies by building affordable housing, less carbon-intensive power plants, expanding the share of sustainable transport and building infrastructure that is climate-resilient. The latter is key to seeking private and commercial investments as the projects resilience against extreme weather will be essential to the financiers exit strategies.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are suspending debt repayments during the severest periods of the climate crisis. But extreme weather events are likely to get a lot worse and the situation calls for re-strategising the flow of the funds. In the aftermath of climate change, major insurers in the US not offering coverage to homeowners goes to show that those affected will bear the double loss of both their homes and their lifelong investments into arguably their biggest asset. This is a recipe for social disaster unless political will demonstrates unity on climate policy and action on all fronts.

Making it workable for public finance as well as institutional investors is a complex puzzle. For instance, the average cost of capital to finance solar PV projects in the US is reported to be as low as 3 pc, while the same in high-risk sub-Saharan Africa may be at least two to three times higher. Yet, these regions are the ones that are most in need of financing and clean energy investments here must be derisked.

The role of multilateral banks which could promise more money (up to three times the currently available funds) for developing countries to grow their clean energy capacities is primary. They should also double the concessional finance they usually sanction and provide more substantial guarantees for private investors to feel confident about clean asset classes in the developing world. Such lending reforms are essential to the G20 bloc addressing its vicious cycle of needing more investments in adaptation and mitigation measures but being overlooked as worsening climate impacts drive away Western investors.

The global climate discourse needs an urgent solution to turn the developing world into a destination for bankable investments. It is hoped that the G20 meeting this weekend will lead to the much-needed outcomes, and a race to the top that offers better jobs and livelihoods, more innovation, cleaner cities, and a new industrial era.

Aarti Khosla is director, Climate Trends and Aniruddha Bhattacharjee is researcher, Climate Trends. The views expressed are personal

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In a blog post celebrating Google's 25th anniversary, Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of the tech giant, wrote on Tuesday that he used Google Search services in 2003 to get help in his Google interview. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, founders of Google (L), Sundar Pichai Google CEO.

The product they (Larry Page and Sergey Brin) built, Google Search, went on to help billions of people around the world get answers to their questions, Pichai wrote.

Pichai shared that he was once a regular user of Google, just like anyone else on the web, and the questions he asked Google evolved over time. He mentioned queries like "How do you fix a dripping faucet?", "Fastest route to Stanford Hospital?" and "Ways to calm a crying baby?" He noted that in the spring of 2003, he might have asked, "How to ace a Google interview?"

Pichai joined Google in 2004 and rose through the ranks to become CEO in 2015.

Google's history

Google originated as a research project in March 1996 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were PhD students at Stanford University. The company was officially launched in 1998, with its primary product, Google Search, gaining significant success. Google relocated several times before settling in Mountain View, California, in 2003. The company went public with its initial offering in 2004 and rapidly grew to become one of the world's largest media companies.

'Google Search core of the company'

Pichai emphasised that, despite Google offering 15 products serving over half a billion people and six products with more than two billion users each, Google Search remains at the core of their mission. He referred to it as their "biggest moonshot" with much more potential for the future.

Pichai also discussed how technology has evolved over the past 25 years. Years ago, when I was studying in the U.S., my dad  who was back in India  got his first email address. I was really excited to have a faster (and cheaper) way to communicate with him, so I sent a message, said Google CEO. However, the reply took two full days.

'AI is the future'

The Google CEO expressed hope that artificial intelligence will enable them to accomplish even more meaningful feats on a larger scale in the coming years.

Our search for answers will drive extraordinary technology progress over the next 25 years. And in 2048, if, somewhere in the world, a teenager looks at all weve built with AI and shrugs, well know we succeeded. And then well get back to work, Pichai concluded.

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A maths question asked in Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) in Singapore a few years back is again doing the rounds on social media. It is leaving people exclaiming, What in the world is this!? Brain Teaser: Do you think you can solve this maths question asked in the PSLE in Singapore?(Screengrab)

The baffling maths question was originally shared by a Facebook page called Study Room in September 2019 with the caption, Some of the students cried after todays paper. This was one of the more challenging questions for todays #PSLE #Maths. Solution is in the comments section. Did you get it right?

X user Tansu Yegen reshared the maths question with the caption, Question from a primary school exam in Singapore.

The question in the screenshot is as follows: Five identical semi-circles are arranged as shown. Find the diameter of one circle. However, the given question is more challenging than it seems and might leave you staring at your screen for long.

Take a look at the brain-scrambling maths question below:

Since being shared a few hours ago, the tweet has accumulated over 3.3 lakh views, and the numbers are still increasing. A few even shared their thoughts on the posts comments section.

Heres how people reacted to this maths question:

What am I looking at? posted a Twitter user, while another added, What in the world is this!?

A third commented, The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.

Three circles plus 24 is the width of the line. Two circles plus 60 is the width of the line. So one circle is the difference between 24 & 60, or 36, shared a fourth.

A fifth wrote, d = diameter 3d + 12 + 12 = 2d +22 +16 +22 d = 60 -24 = 36.

Were you able to correctly solve this maths problem all by yourself? If yes, you surely deserve a pat on the back. For others, the below picture may help.

The image features the solution to the given maths question asked in PSLE in Singapore. (Facebook/Study Room)

Earlier, a brain teaser challenging netizens to crack the code of a lock gained significant traction online. Five sets of hints were given to the users to crack a 3-digit code. Do you think you can solve it in ten seconds or less? Give it a go and test your skills.

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Liberty Safe, a renowned American gun-safe manufacturer, finds itself in hot water with conservative customers after providing the FBI access to one of its clients' safes. The controversy has ignited a debate over privacy rights, government intrusion, and corporate responsibility. Liberty Safe faces backlash for granting FBI access to a customer's safe, sparking a debate on privacy rights and corporate responsibility.(X/CollinRugg)

The incident began when the FBI, armed with a valid search warrant, requested access to a safe owned by 34-year-old Nathan Hughes of Arkansas. Liberty Safe, in response, shared a statement on September 6, clarifying the sequence of events. The company revealed that it had consistently denied the FBI's requests for access to the code until a verified search warrant was presented, in accordance with their policy.

Nathan Hughes faced charges related to misdemeanors and felony civil disorder stemming from the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. This connection to a divisive event fueled the flames of controversy.

Liberty Safe's decision to cooperate with the FBI didn't sit well with some conservative supporters. Collin Rugg, an investor, took to social media to express his dissatisfaction, drawing comparisons to a past boycott of Bud Light over a collaboration with a transgender social media personality, which led to a significant financial hit for Anheuser-Busch.

Conservatives on the internet reacted swiftly, with calls to boycott Liberty Safe and cancel orders. Some argued that the company had merely received a request from the FBI, not an official order, yet chose to compromise its customers' trust.

Charlie Kirk, CEO of Turning Point USA, a conservative educational non-profit, did not mince words, stating, "Liberty Safe is an enemy to gun owners. They could have fought the warrantlike Apple didinstead they buckled and bent over. Your guns are not safe with @libertysafeinc Boycott. Ridicule. Ruin their company."

Also Read | Why Americas top-selling beer is no longer American as Bud Light loses the tag of most favourite beer?

This controversy underscores the varying approaches companies take when confronted with government requests for customer information. Notably, Apple has steadfastly refused such requests in the past.

Liberty Safe's unique design, with a backdoor to facilitate access, has raised concerns about customer privacy and freedom. As criticism erupted online, the company opted to disable comments on its social media posts.

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In a bizarre incident, a man from Florida found himself in trouble once again after attempting an audacious journey to "run to London" by crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a homemade vessel that resembled a hamster wheel, reported BBC. The event unfolded on August 26 when the US Coast Guard intercepted 44-year-old Reza Baluchi approximately 70 miles (110 kilometers) off the coast of Tybee Island, Georgia. What's even more astonishing is that Mr. Baluchi refused to leave his makeshift vessel for three days. The man from Florida tried to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a homemade vessel resembling a hamster wheel.(X)

This was not the first time Baluchi had embarked on such a daring voyage. He had previously attempted three similar journeys, and in each case, his escapades were brought to an end by Coast Guard intervention, BBC reported.

READ | Shocking video shows Florida officer slamming woman to the ground during arrest as she screams I'm pregnant!'

The statement issued by the US Coast Guard read, US Coast Guard Seventh District Crews terminated the manifestly unsafe voyage of Mr. Reza Baluchi and rescued him from his makeshift hydro-pod vessel approximately 60 nautical miles off the coast of Georgetown, South Carolina ahead of Hurricane Idalia, Tuesday, August 29. Coast Guard boarding team members embarked Mr. Baluchi aboard a Coast Guard cutter for basic medical treatment, shelter, food, and water before transferring him to law enforcement authorities ashore in Miami, Friday, September 1. The Coast Guard is working with the US Attorney's Office to pursue federal charges against Mr. Reza Baluchi for his alleged criminal conduct on the high seas.

Reza Baluchi's audacious ocean voyage took place as officials prepared for the arrival of a significant hurricane. Despite the impending weather challenges and the danger they posed, Mr. Baluchi adamantly refused to disembark from his homemade vessel. In a distressing turn of events, he reportedly made threats of self-harm and claimed to have a bomb on board, as documented in court papers.

After a tense standoff that lasted several days, Mr. Baluchi finally surrendered and abandoned his unusual vessel on September 1, the report said.

As a result of his daring and illegal ocean voyage, Reza Baluchi now finds himself facing federal charges. Specifically, he has been charged with obstruction of a boarding, which likely relates to his refusal to cooperate with the Coast Guard when they intercepted his vessel. Additionally, he is charged with violation of a Captain of the Port order, which suggests that he disregarded orders or regulations issued by maritime authorities in the area.
A teenager, hospitalised in a critical condition on Wednesday after his scooter collided with a police car after allegedly refusing to stop in Elancourt in the Yvelines, near Paris, has died, French media reported, citing the Versailles Public Prosecutor's office. Two probes have been opened - one for refusal to comply and another for involuntary injuries by driver. (AFP/File)

Two police officers were taken into custody, Agence France Presse and Le Monde reported.

Two probes have been opened - one for refusal to comply and another for involuntary injuries by driver.

In late June the killing of 17-year-old Nahel at a traffic stop in a Paris suburb sparked five days of riots and looting.

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The G20 grouping of nations has agreed to grant permanent membership to the African Union, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. A security personnel walks past the G20 logo installed along a street in New Delhi on September 7, 2023. (AFP )

The move would give the African Union, a continental body of 55 member states, the same status as the EU, up from its current designation of "invited international organization", it added.

However, two Indian sources told Reuters that membership for AU would only be formalised next year when Brazil takes over the helm of the group of the world's biggest economies from India.

There is no opposition to the move from within the G20, one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity citing government rules.

READ | Leaving none behind is Indias G20 legacy, PM Modi writes

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote to the leaders of the G20 nations in June proposing the AU be given full, permanent membership of the bloc at the upcoming summit in the Indian capital.

In an article published across Indian and international newspapers on Thursday, Modi wrote, "Our presidency has not only seen the largest-ever participation from African countries but has also pushed for the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20."

READ | US singer's praise for PM Modi for proposing to include African Union in G20

The G20 currently comprises 19 countries and the European Union. The members represent around 85% of global GDP, over 75% of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.

South Africa, which is a G20 member and has supported the admission of the AU, declined immediate comment ahead of the Delhi summit. South African presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said: We wouldn't comment now until the official announcement or post the summit.

A South African foreign ministry spokesperson welcomed the news report about the G20 agreeing to make the African bloc a member along the lines of the EU. "The EU is also a member. We (South Africa) lobbied for and supported this move."

G20 leaders are expected to announce the decision during the summit, the Bloomberg report said.

Countries like Germany, Brazil, South Africa and Canada have also voiced support for African Union membership.

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Hong Kong, which was battered by a super typhoon last week, faces the prospect of another day of disruptions caused by intense rain from a different storm. Drainage workers assist a driver stranded due to flooding to a safe place, during heavy rain in Hong Kong, China September 8.(REUTERS)

Schools will be suspended on Friday, the government said in a statement, warning extreme weather conditions will last until at least noon. It called on employers to give priority to staff safety and adopt flexible work arrangements. The citys main bus operators suspended service due to safety concerns.

The observatory raised the highest black rainstorm warning at 11:05 p.m. local time, which remained in place as of 5:57 a.m. The rain has been caused by the remnants of Typhoon Haikui.

There was 158.1 mm (6 inches) of rain recorded at the observatory headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui between 11 pm Thursday and midnight, which was the highest on record since 1884, the observatory said. Footage circulated widely on social media showed some roads turned into rivers and torrential water pouring down the escalators of an underground metro station. The videos couldnt be immediately verified.

MTR Corp. said it suspended part of its Kwun Tong Line due to flooding near Wong Tai Sin station. KMB and Citybus both said they halted their bus services, with Citybus saying it will assess weather and road conditions before resuming operations.

The stock market may also stay shut for at least some of the day. Under local stock exchange rules, morning trading will be delayed if the black rainstorm warning is still up by 7 a.m. The morning session of the stock market will be canceled if the warning continues to be raised by 9 a.m.

A black rainstorm warning means more than 70 mm of rain has fallen in an hour and is likely to continue. The topography of Hong Kong island  roads and buildings built into steep hillsides  makes the city vulnerable to flooding and landslides from torrential rain that typically comes during the summer months.

More than 600 mm of rain was recorded in parts of eastern Hong Kong island in the past 24 hours, according to the observatory. A landslide warning is also in place.

Saola Departs Hong Kong After Bringing Destructive Winds

The city was shut down on Friday and Saturday last week due to Super Typhoon Saola. That storm, the strongest to hit the city since Mangkhut in 2018, toppled trees and blocked roads. It was only the sixth time in the past four decades that the observatory raised its highest storm warning.

The storms are the latest examples of extreme weather experienced around the world this summer. In late July and August, dozens of people died in northern areas of China including Beijing due to flooding from a typhoon.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has raised serious concerns about the continuous influx of migrants into the city, warning that it could have a profound impact on neighborhoods and strain resources. His comments have garnered support from unexpected quarters, including GOP Presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, who retweeted a clip of the Mayor's speech, stating, "I don't care if he's a Democrat. This is the TRUTH signaling a growing bipartisan discussion on this pressing issue. FILE PHOTO: Former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at the first Republican candidates' debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. August 23, 2023.(REUTERS)

"Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I don't see an ending to this," Mayor Adams declared, highlighting the challenges posed by the continuous flow of migrants.

Mayor Adams, a Democrat, stressed the far-reaching impact of the migrant issue, stating, "This issue will destroy New York City The city we knew, we're about to lose." Republicans praised his candidness, using his remarks to promote their stance on reducing immigration and criticize the White House for perceived inaction.

"The first step towards solving a problem is admitting you have one. Credit to Mayor Adams for being truthful in this clip about the scope of NYC's migrant crisis," commented Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.). House Speaker Kevin McCarthy also seized on Adams' comments, making the migrant issue a central theme in upcoming 2024 elections.

Mayor Adams has consistently pointed to the financial burden of the recent migration wave, leading to multiple rounds of budget cuts. While the direct impact on city services has been limited so far, Adams hinted at further cuts in the upcoming budget cycle, citing a looming $12 billion deficit.

Also Read | Vivek Ramaswamy's better half: All you need to know about Apoorva Ramaswamy

Adams has called for increased federal funding, emphasizing that asylum-seeking migrants should not be solely New York's responsibility. The city has received approximately $140 million in federal funds while spending about $1.5 billion in the last fiscal year to support migrants, with expectations of rapid spending escalation to $4 billion this year.

Adams also called for a "decompression strategy" at the border to manage migration more effectively and for the White House to expedite work permits for asylum-seekers, allowing them to legally earn an income.
The body of California Netflix engineer Yohanes Kindane, 22, was reportedly found floating in the San Francisco Bay last week. Yohanes, who landed a job as a software engineer right after college, died by suicide, the Marin County Sheriffs Office said. His badly decomposed remains were pulled from waters northeast of the Golden Gate Bridge. Yohanes Kidane's cause of death was a combination of blunt impact injuries and drowning and that the manner of death was suicide (Yohanes Kidane/LinkedIn)

Yohanes body showed signs of advanced decomposition, prolonged exposure to the aquatic environment and appreciable depredation, according to the sheriffs office, New York Post reported. Initially, investigators were unable to identify his body as it carried no form of identification. However, the coroner later positively identified his remains, revealing that his cause of death was a combination of blunt impact injuries and drowning and that the manner of death was suicide, the sheriff said. Yohanes family has been notified.

When Yohanes Kidane disappeared

Yohanes disappeared after getting into an Uber. His family told KTVU that he was seen on security camera leaving his apartment building in downtown San Jose. He then boarded a vehicle with an Uber sticker.

Two young colleagues of his saw him and were able to talk to him, Yohanes brother, Yosief, said. He said he was heading to San Francisco to maybe meet a friend. The last footage Ive seen of him was leaving his apartment building and getting into a black Toyota Camry.

Yohanes had moved to the Bay Area in July. It was his second week at Netflix. For the majority of the day that he went missing, he was at the Golden Gate Bridge, his phones location revealed. Yohanes cell phone, wallet and backpack were later discovered near the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center in San Francisco.

We want to take him home. I need my son. I need my son, Mehret Hana Beyene, Yohanes heartbroken mother said at the time. Hes a good man who has a bright future, very loving to his family.

Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed that he will pardon all peaceful January 6 protesters if he gets elected as the next US president in 2024. FILE PHOTO: Former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at the first Republican candidates' debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign.(Reuters)

The 38-year-old Indian American entrepreneur has gained traction after he denounced the US Justice Department for its "political persecution" of non-violent protesters at the Republican primary presidential debate last month.

America now has a two-tiered justice system: Antifa and BLM rioters roam free while peaceful January 6 protesters are imprisoned without bail. Bidens Department of Injustice has executed over 1,000 arrests for nonviolent offenses related to January 6, casting a dark shadow over Lady Justice and the foundational principles of our legal system, he said in a statement.

To unify this country, I commit as president to pardon all Americans who were targets of politicised federal prosecutions and those denied due process. This includes all peaceful, nonviolent January 6 protesters who were denied their constitutional due process rights," he said on Wednesday.

The January 6 riot saw more than 2,000 people enter the US Capitol as lawmakers certified the results of the 2020 election, in which President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump.

The mob stormed the Capitol following a speech from Trump, who was speaking at a rally not far from the Capitol grounds. In his speech, Trump claimed election fraud and called on then-Vice-President Mike Pence to overturn the results.

The riot led to the biggest police investigation in US history with hundreds of people accused of criminal offences.

Ramaswamy said he will end the weaponisation of police power in America and noted that every Republican candidate must be clear on hard issues.

He said on Sunday that while he expects to become the party's nominee for the November 2024 US elections, he will vote for Trump if the former president secures the nomination.

He also expressed his intention to pardon Trump, who currently faces an array of legal challenges, should he be elected as President of the United States.

If Donald Trump's the nominee -- yes, I will support him, and if I'm the president, yes, I will pardon him because that will help reunite the country. But it's not the most important thing I'm going to do as the next president. It is the table stakes for moving this country forward, Ramaswamy told ABC news.

Following his impressive performance in the inaugural Republican primary presidential debate last month, Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur-turned-politician, has experienced a surge in popularity, competing alongside fellow Indian American rival Nikki Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina.

Meanwhile, several media outlets reported that Ramaswamy escaped unhurt when a sign reading Truth fell on him during a campaign event in New Hampshire over the weekend.

An opinion poll shared by the Trump Campaign showed that Ramaswamy (with 15 per cent) is now a distant second after former president Trump (68 per cent). Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is now at 13 per cent and at the third position.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a warm welcome from the Indian diaspora upon reaching Indonesia's Jakarta early on Thursday morning for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-India summit. PM Modi received a ceremonial welcome at the Jakarta International Airport with traditional Indonesian dance. (Narendra Modi/Twitter)

As per a video posted by news agency PTI, Modi met the diaspora members who received the Prime Minister with flowers and Indian flags. The PM was also seen briefly interacting with several people of the Indian diaspora in Jakarta. He was also seen fixing one of the children's headgear. Diaspora members also clicked selfies with Modi.

Days ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi made a brief visit to Indonesia to attend the India-Asean Summit and East Asia Summit.

PM Modi received a ceremonial welcome at the Jakarta International Airport with traditional Indonesian dance.



He (PM Modi) is such a big leader but he is so down to earth, he shook hands with all of us and gave time to each one of us, a member of Indian diaspora told news agency ANI.

Upon reaching Jakarta, Modi tweeted in Indonesian, Landed in Jakarta. Looking forward to ASEAN related meetings and working with various leaders for a better planet.

Modi left for Indonesia on Wednesday night and will be returning to New Delhi late in the evening on Thursday. Indonesia, the current chair of Asean summit, made several adjustments to the schedule for both its summits to facilitate Modis early return.

Officials said Modi will not be holding any bilateral meetings on the margins of the two summits in view of his tight schedule.

A new initiative on maritime security is expected to be among key outcomes of the Asean- India Summit to be held in Jakarta on Thursday, people familiar with the matter earlier told the Hindustan Times.

This will be the first Asean- India Summit since the two sides elevated their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2022, and the focus since then has been on maritime security, cyber-security, digital economy and emerging areas of cooperation. An Asean-India defence ministers meeting was held last November and the two sides conducted their first maritime exercise in May.

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Twitter users have decided to ban or cancel Liberty Safe, a leading gun-safe manufacturing company from Utah. The company was recently involved in a scandal where it shared the code of a person's safe with the FBI, whereas, it has always primed itself as being a vault of people's personal information. Time to Bud Light Liberty Safe!- commented a Twitter user.

FBI had an arrest warrant against an Arkansas man Nathan Hughes. The company provided the FBI with the access code of Nathan's safe when asked for it. The FBI had been actively searching for people who were linked to the January 6 riots and this raid was apparently linked to it.

The company mentioned in its statement that it had no prior information on the details surrounding the case, and people have lost all their trust in its name and worth.

Why is Liberty Safe being Bud Lighted?

The company that is apparently devoted to protecting its customer's privacy has breached the trust of its customers.

Many believe that sharing the access code of the safe was not justified just because of a search warrant. The same should have been done, if the person had been proved guilty.

It is being compared to Bud Light because according to Twitterati, the beer company sold off its customer base when it collaborated with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, a move that many were uncomfortable and unhappy with.

Therefore, when political commentator Colin Rugg wrote, We have officially found the Bud Light of gun safes, he began a similar movement of cancel culture against Liberty Safe. This move has resulted in the now popular hashtag #BudLightLibertySafe.
Tesla accuses a Chinese company of stealing its tech secrets. Since intellectual property theft is a very serious matter for tech giants, the EV maker decided to file a lawsuit against the chipmaker from China.

Tesla Accuses Chinese Chipmaker of Stealing Tech Secrets

According to Reuters' latest report, the Shanghai Securities Journal, a national securities daily newspaper in China, confirmed that Tesla sued Bingling Intelligent Technology.

The Changzhou-based company, which specializes in chipset designing and car parts manufacturing, is accused of infringing on Tesla's trade secrets.

Aside from this, the Chinese tech firm is also allegedly conducting unfair competition practices.

A hearing for Tesla's lawsuit against Bingling Intelligent Technology is expected to happen on Oct. 10 in the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court.

Tesla explained why it filed a legal action against the Chinese tech company. The Pandaily reported that Tesla is concerned that the tech secret infringement could lead to leakage and theft of its trade secrets.

Once this happens, the EV maker's market position, as well as business interests, will be adversely affected.

Read Also: Elon Musk Sparks Federal Investigation of EV Manufacturer Tesla Over Use of Company Funds on Secret House Project

Other Details of Tesla's Lawsuit

Bingling Intelligent Technology, which was founded back in May 2022, focuses on automotive component and accessory productions, integrated circuit chip services and design, as well as car part developments.

The main product of the Chinese tech firm is energy efficiency management sensors, which are used for motor drive control, EV power modules, battery system management, etc.

With these details, you can say that many of Bingling Intelligent Technology's products and services are quite similar/related to Tesla's.

Because of this, Tesla's lawsuit stated that the Chinese company could be infringing upon the EV maker's intellectual property rights in areas including integrated circuit chip design.

If the lawsuit favors Tesla, Bingling Intelligent Technology will not be the only one affected. Xiaomi Smart Factory, the largest shareholder of the Chinese chipmaker, will also be impacted.

The upcoming trial in October will be a big deal for Tesla and Bingling Intelligent Technology since the hearing could resolve the latest dispute between them.

Related Article: Elon Musk Plans to Sue Anti-Defamation League, Claiming Group's Statements Hurt X's Ad Revenue

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A popular Indonesia resort's elevator failed, leading to the deaths of five people on Friday, Sept. 1. The incident specifically took place at the Ayuterra Resort, which is located in the Ubud district of Bali, Indonesia.

Elevator Tragedy in Indonesia Kills Hotel Workers

Authorities said that the latest deadly elevator accident in Indonesia happened because a cable snapped.

Five hotel workers-three women and two men-were riding the lift when the cable failure happened. Officials said that they plunged 100 meters down a steep ravine at the hillside resort.

The elevator they were using was a glass lift, which is one of the attractions of the resort. It is very popular with visitors, especially Instagram influencers who want to create their content.

Metro UK reported that the five hotel workers have been identified as:

Kadek Hardiyanti (24 years old)

Ni Luh Superningsih (20 years old)

Wayan Aries Setiawan (23 years old)

Sang Putu Bayu Adi Krisna (19 years old)

Kadek Yanti Pradewi (19 years old)

The families of the victims said that they will no longer pursue legal action against the resort. They shared their decision after the Balinese resort paid them $20,000.

Hardiyanti's uncle, Nyoman Suarila, explained that even if they filed a lawsuit, their children would not return.

"But we believe in karma. If the company is wrong, then it will get it. That's our principle," added the victim's family member.

Read Also: Canadian Man Accused of Murdering Muslim Family in Truck Attack Pleads Not Guilty

Other Details of the Elevator Accident

According to The Guardian, the Balinese police are still investigating the elevator incident.

Police Chief Made Uder explained that the steel wing rope wasn't strong enough to pull the weight upwards.

He added that the brake/safety wedge wasn't functioning properly when the lift slid downwards at high speed. Aside from this, the resort's elevator is believed to have no emergency brake at all.

Bali's Deputy Governor Cok Ace said that he had seen a permit declaring that the elevator is safe was acquired by the resort.

However, this permit was a part of the routine inspections that were conducted in November 2022.

This means that there's a chance that the Balinese resort made some adjustments in the elevator. This is what Ketut Widiada, Gianyar regency's police chief, believes.

The official explained that they are investigating if there was a reduction in the number of sling ropes supporting the glass life that had caused the tragedy.

While the investigation is being conducted, the resort's guests have been moved to alternative accommodation.

Related Article: Construction Workers Cause 'Irreversible' Damage to Great Wall of China

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At least 61 people were indicted in Georgia over racketeering charges in relation to the "Stop Cop City" movement following a long-running state investigation.

The movement involves protests against a planned police and firefighter training facility that would be built in the Atlanta area that critics have called "Cop City." On Tuesday, authorities revealed the sweeping indictment, and Republican Attorney General Chris Carr alleged that the defendants in the case are "militant anarchists."

Stop Cop City Movement Leads to Arrests

The GOP lawmaker said that these people supported a violent movement that prosecutors could trace back to the widespread 2020 racial justice protests. The indictment on Aug. 29 is seen as the latest application of Georgia's anti-racketeering law, also dubbed the RICO law.

The situation also comes a few weeks after the Fulton County prosecutor used the same statute to charge former United States President Donald Trump and 18 other defendants. The "Stop Cop City" movement has been going on for more than two years and sometimes has resulted in vandalism and violence, as per Local10.

Opponents of the planned police training facility are concerned that the center will result in greater militarization of the police. Additionally, they fear constructing the center in an urban forest will only exacerbate environmental damage in a poor, majority-Black area.

Most indicted people have already been charged over their alleged involvement in the movement. Under Georgia law, RICO charges carry a heavy potential sentence that can be added to the penalty for various underlying acts.

Among the defendants that authorities arrested were more than three dozen people already facing domestic terrorism charges in relation to previous, violent protests. Additionally, they include three leaders of a bail fund that was previously accused of money laundering. Three activists were previously charged with felony intimidation after distributing flyers that called a state trooper a "murderer."

Read Also: Burning Man Timeline: Everything You Need to Know About This Famous Festival

Acts of Violence

In a statement during a news conference on Tuesday, Carr said that the 61 defendants had worked together to conspire to prevent the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. According to the Associated Press, he argued that they conducted, coordinated, and organized acts of violence, intimidation, and property destruction.

Prosecutors have made several allegations in trying to link the defendants to the alleged conspiracy, including possessing fire accelerants and throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers.

Activists leading an ongoing referendum effort to prevent the project's advancement have immediately condemned the charges against the defendants. They said that they are "anti-democratic."

In a statement, the Copy City Vote coalition said that Carr could use his prosecutors and power to build his gubernatorial campaign and silence free speech. However, it argued that the Republican's threats would not be able to silence their commitment to standing up for their future, community, and city.

Protests against the planned police training facility escalated following the fatal shooting of 26-year-old protester Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, also known as Tortuguita, in January. At the time, state troopers allegedly fired in self-defense after the protester shot at them while they were trying to clear activists from a wooded area near the site of the proposed facility, said USA Today.

Related Article: Massachusetts Teen Dies After Doing Viral TikTok 'One Chip Challenge'

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The New York Police Department (NYPD) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have reached a significant settlement regarding the NYPD's response to the Black Lives Matter protests that engulfed the city in 2020.

This historic agreement addresses several important issues, including the use of controversial crowd control methods, demonstrators' treatment, and the media's role during demonstrations.

NYPD and ACLU Addressing 2020 Black Lives Matter Protests

During the Black Lives Matter demonstrations of 2020 in New York City, the NYPD was heavily criticized for its treatment of protesters. It was reported that pepper spray, baton strikes, and bicycles were used as weapons against demonstrators.

Perhaps the most controversial tactic employed was "kettling," confining demonstrators in small areas, frequently leading to confrontations and escalation. Per NY Times, the NYPD has agreed to a series of reforms aimed at preventing a recurrence of such incidents as part of the settlement. Among the most notable terms are:

The NYPD is no longer permitted to use the controversial practice of kettling, which was a contentious issue during the protests. Limit on Helicopter Use: Additionally, "intimidating" helicopters are prohibited, preventing the NYPD from employing aerial tactics that instill fear in demonstrators.

Use of Force Restrictions: The use of force, including pepper spray, batons, and bicycle impacts, is subject to stringent restrictions. These measures are intended to ensure the demonstrators' physical safety.

Read Also: Cuba Reveals Human Trafficking of Cubans To Help Russia Fight Against Ukraine

NYPD's New Protest Approach Plan

A new four-tiered response system will govern the NYPD's response to protests, ensuring that the department's actions are proportional to the circumstance. The NYPD must now issue three dispersal orders before making any arrests, emphasizing the need for de-escalation and dialogue.

The settlement intends to reduce the number of police officers present at future demonstrations, altering the nature of law enforcement's interaction with protesters. Measures have been implemented to improve the treatment of journalists documenting protests, with an emphasis on media freedom and access to protest locations.

A committee of various stakeholders will be established to oversee implementing and observing the new practices. The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the lawsuit, applauded the settlement, noting its historic significance in limiting the excessive use of force and intimidation during demonstrations.

The group emphasized that the NYPD could no longer inundate protests with officers and that the infamous Strategic Response Group (SRG) would be deployed less frequently.

Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, emphasized the significance of protecting the right to peaceful assembly and reaffirmed her dedication to ensuring that demonstrators could exercise their rights without fear of reprisal.

Civil rights advocates and legal experts lauded the settlement for introducing novel approaches to policing protests, emphasizing that it would aid in preventing the indiscriminate violence and excessive policing of demonstrations that occurred in the summer of 2020.

The settlement is part of a more significant trend, as it follows New York City's accord to pay $13 million to more than 1,000 individuals arrested during George Floyd protests in 2020.

This lawsuit, filed on behalf of demonstrators against racial injustice, focused on 18 demonstrations that erupted in the city following George Floyd's tragic death. The settlement between the NYPD and the ACLU is a significant step towards reforming law enforcement practices during New York City demonstrations.

By addressing issues such as kettling, helicopter intimidation, and using force, this agreement aims to protect demonstrators' rights and ensure a proportionate and respectful response from the police. Establishing a monitoring committee and the commitment to improve media access highlight the significance of police transparency and accountability.

As New York City continues to contend with issues of racial injustice and police accountability, this settlement represents a significant step on the path to genuine change, Daily Mail reported.

Related Article: New York City Mayor Eric Adams Signs Deal To Provide $103 Million in Back Pay to Staten Island Ferry Workers

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A Canadian man accused of murdering a Muslim family in a truck attack has pleaded not guilty to the allegations.

The suspect, 22-year-old Nathaniel Veltman, is accused of intentionally targeting the Muslim family with his vehicle because of their faith in the incident in 2021. He has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder.

Muslim Family Massacre Trial

The jury selection for the case trial had already started, and the suspect stood silent in court. Veltman's murder charges include terrorism counts, meaning prosecutors must prove that his actions were intended, deliberate, and motivated by a political, religious, or ideological cause.

The massacre left three generations of the Afzaal family dead, leaving only one survivor. Salman Afzaal, 46 years old, and his wife, Madiha Salman, 44 years old, their daughter, Yumna Afzaal, 15 years old, and the husband's mother, Talat Afzaal, 74 years old, were all killed in the incident. The family was on an evening walk on June 6, 2021, as the couple's nine-year-old son was seriously injured but survived, as per BBC.

A relative said that the couple had traveled to Canada from Pakistan, looking for a better future for their family. Shortly after the incident that killed almost all of the family members, authorities arrested Veltman in a parking lot close to London's oldest mosque, where the Afzaal family were devoted members.

The suspect in the attack was wearing what appeared to be body armor and a helmet, said police authorities. The incident sent waves of grief and fear across the North American country as London's tight-knit Muslim community mourned the loss of the Afzaal family.

With the jury selection ongoing, the chair of the London Council of Imams, Abd Alfatah Twakkal, spoke outside the court. He said that Sept. 6, 2023, is exactly the 27th month since the death of the Afzaal family, which marked a tragedy for the Muslim community in London.

Read Also: Construction Workers Cause 'Irreversible' Damage to Great Wall of China

Charges of Murder

Defense lawyer Christopher Hicks stood beside Veltman in court as the court registrar read the charges against his client. He then pleaded not guilty to the charges of murder on behalf of the suspect, according to Yahoo News.

Last year, Superior Court Justice Renee Pomerance ruled that a change of venue was warranted in the case, which led to it being moved from London to Windsor, Ontario. Due to a publication ban, the reasons for that decision and the evidence and arguments presented in court cannot be disclosed.

In a statement released Monday afternoon, the National Council of Canadian Muslims advocacy group said they would watch Veltman's trial very closely. Shaukat Rizvi, a relative of the Afzaal family, said that justice should be served. He added that they had confidence in the Canadian justice system.

The massacre of the Afzaal family shook the Muslim community that was still reeling in the aftermath of a deadly assault on a Quebec City mosque in 2017. Aljazeera said it also comes after a fatal stabbing in 2020 at a different Mosque in Toronto.

Related Article: Russian FSB Official, Son Injured by Explosive Planted in Mobile Phone

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is rumored to be on the verge of filing a long-anticipated antitrust litigation against Amazon.com.

This legal action is the culmination of a four-year investigation into the company's business practices, including its influential online marketplace.

FTC Antitrust Suit Against Amazon

As the Biden administration intensifies its efforts to address antitrust concerns and promote competition, this impending lawsuit is expected to become the fourth lodged against Amazon this year, raising significant questions about the future of the online retail giant.

According to Bloomberg, the imminent FTC lawsuit will likely target Amazon's vast online marketplace, which has become the company's business strategy pillar. Over fifty percent of Amazon's online sales come from third-party sellers who utilize this marketplace to reach consumers worldwide.

However, the investigation has revealed concerns regarding Amazon's practices in this industry. According to insider sources, the lawsuit will likely address issues such as Amazon's commission structure, which requires third-party sellers to pay a fee for every sale made through the platform.

Numerous merchants have complained that Amazon unjustly ties access to its marketplace to the use of its logistics services, thereby imposing what they view as an unfair advantage. This anticipated legal action indicates the Biden administration's vigorous approach to antitrust matters, which places competition at the forefront of its economic agenda.

Read Also: Massachusetts Teen Dies After Doing Viral TikTok 'One Chip Challenge'

Amazon's Business Practices

The FTC chair appointed by President Biden, Lina Khan, has a history of investigating Amazon's business practices. As a law student, she authored a seminal paper that challenged conventional antitrust thinking regarding the digital age and online platforms, establishing her as a vocal advocate for reassessing antitrust laws in the context of companies like Amazon.

Amazon executives recently met with the three FTC commissioners in the middle of August to discuss the impending lawsuit. However, the discussions did not agree, indicating that the legal dispute will continue.

This lawsuit is not the first time the FTC has confronted Amazon in 2023. In May, the agency brought two cases against the company. In one instance, Amazon was accused of neglecting to delete children's data collected through its Alexa speakers. In contrast, in another, it was charged with illegally spying on users of its Ring doorbells and cameras.

Despite denying the allegations, Amazon consented to pay $30.8 million to settle these lawsuits, The Strait Times reported. In just one month, in June, the FTC sued Amazon once more, this time for consumer protection violations. The agency alleged that Amazon deceived consumers into signing up for Prime memberships, making it purposefully difficult to terminate these subscriptions. Amazon vehemently refuted these allegations, and the lawsuit continues.

As the FTC prepares to sue Amazon in a landmark antitrust case, industry stakeholders, legal experts, and competition advocates will closely monitor the outcome.

This legal action is part of a larger global movement that seeks to hold tech titans accountable for their market dominance and alleged anticompetitive practices. For Amazon, the lawsuit represents a significant legal challenge that could fundamentally alter its marketplace business model.

Regulators and legislators have scrutinized the company's extensive online ecosystem and reliance on third-party sellers. A potential unfavorable ruling could affect how Amazon administers its marketplace and substantially change the e-commerce industry.

In the broader context of the digital economy, this lawsuit may establish legal precedents that impact antitrust enforcement against other tech titans. Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Apple have been the subject of intensifying scrutiny regarding their market dominance and business practices.

A successful case against Amazon could signify a more aggressive approach by regulatory authorities to antitrust concerns throughout the technology industry, as per Fortune.

The imminent FTC litigation against Amazon highlights the growing significance of antitrust enforcement in the digital age and the necessity of fostering competition in the marketplace. As this legal battle unfolds, it will unquestionably shape the future of Amazon's marketplace and may have far-reaching effects on the broader tech industry.

Related Article: Here are the 5 Best Places To Retire in the United States

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In a significant development on the battlefield in Ukraine, the first verifiable imagery of a burning British Challenger 2 tank has surfaced, indicating the destruction of this armored vehicle in combat.

It is the first time in history that a British Challenger 2 tank has been verified to have been lost in war. This event sheds light on the dynamic evolution of the Ukrainian conflict and the role of foreign-supplied military assets, as per Sky News.

British Challenger 2 Tank Destroyed in Ukraine's Ongoing Conflict

The video obtained near Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast shows a Ukrainian vehicle passing by the charred remains of the tank. The tank in question is believed to be one of the erstwhile main battle tanks of the 82nd Air Assault Brigade, which have played a pivotal role in the ongoing counteroffensive in southern Ukraine.

The tank depicted in the video is a Challenger 2, and fortunate, the entire crew survived the incident. This revelation comes at a time when tensions are rising and combat operations are intensifying in the region.

The pro-war Russian channel Grey Zone also reported on this development, stating that the footage appears to be the first documented instance of a British Challenger 2 tank belonging to the Ukrainian Armed Forces being destroyed. However, the precise causes of the tank's devastation are unknown, leaving room for speculation and further investigation.

According to the Sun, the United Kingdom initially provided Ukraine with 14 Challenger 2 tanks before increasing the quantity to 28 in May. This assistance contributed significantly to Ukraine's efforts to counter Russian aggression.

This footage has prompted discussion regarding the efficacy of military equipment and the adaptability of tanks in contemporary warfare.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Pressures The World By Declining To Cooperate About Grain Deal Unless West Meets Its Obligation

82nd Air Assault Brigade's Battlefield Debut

In light of recent events, the Russian Telegram channel Military Informant suggested that the British Ministry of Defense may need to revise the official website description of the Challenger. The 82nd Air Assault Brigade, widely regarded as one of the most formidable brigades in Ukraine, made its debut on the battlefield just last month.

Modifications were made to the tanks, including the addition of mesh enclosures to reduce damage from drone-dropped munitions, to increase their ability to defend against drone attacks.

The entrance of this brigade into the conflict was crucial to the liberation of Robotyne from Russian control at the end of August. Using Challenger 2 tanks was instrumental in breaking the stalemate in the Zaporizhzhia region, which had been the epicenter of intense combat since the beginning of the conflict.

Russian sources have confirmed the presence of Challenger 2 tanks in the southern portion of Ukraine, specifically in an effort to impede Russian forces in Zaporizhia.

The pro-war channel Rybar speculated that British tanks and artillery may have been used to breach enemy defenses.

Notably, there has been no independent confirmation of the Russian claim regarding the destroyed tank's location, timing, or model. In addition, the Ukrainian forces involved in the incident who were retreating did not provide any specific information about the tank.

Separate footage emerged depicting Challenger 2 tanks deployed by the Ukrainian military in the conflict zone, highlighting the significance of these armored vehicles in the ongoing war.

This development emphasizes modern warfare's ever-changing nature and foreign-supplied military assets' influence on regional conflicts. The loss of a British Challenger 2 tank is a stark reminder of the complexities and difficulties Ukrainian and foreign forces engaged in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine confront.

Related Article: Russian FSB Official, Son Injured by Explosive Planted in Mobile Phone

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The renowned filmmaker Woody Allen recently gave an interview at the Venice Film Festival in which he spoke about a variety of subjects, including the long-running accusations made against him by Dylan Farrow, his adopted daughter, as well as his opinion on the idea of being canceled in contemporary American society.

Allen offered his thoughts on the documentary "Allen v. Farrow," which received praise for its in-depth analysis of the abuse claims made against him by Dylan Farrow.

Woody Allen's Venice Film Festival Interview

Allen reaffirmed his position by stating, "My reaction has always been the same."

He emphasized that two significant bodies had looked into the allegations and came to the conclusion that there was no basis for them. Both of these bodies concluded that there was no merit to the complaints. He pointed out that these findings are consistent with what he had written about in his book "Apropos of Nothing."

In spite of this, Allen admitted that the charges are still being brought up, leading him to ponder whether or not there is some allure in the fact that they are being brought up again and again.

Allen admitted, about his relationship with Dylan and her brother, the journalist Ronan Farrow, that he has not seen either of them, as per NY Times. However, he is still open to the possibility of doing so. During the conversation, the topic of "cancel culture" was also discussed, and in response to this, Woody Allen stated, "I feel that if you're going to be canceled, this is the culture to be canceled by."

He conveyed his disinterest in the concept and highlighted that, from his perspective, his filmmaking routine has not changed much. Allen maintains a busy schedule writing scripts, securing finance, producing films, editing them, and distributing them.

Allen highlighted that the difference he has witnessed is not because of any influence from contemporary culture but rather because of the presentation of his films. Regarding the #MeToo movement, Allen has stated that he supports it, mainly when it results in positive change for women.

On the other hand, he referred to specific situations as "silly" when they went beyond the confines of what could be considered fair and common sense.

Allen suggested that not every circumstance should be categorized as a feminist issue or unfair to women. He felt that this was an important point to make. He implied that there are occasions when the movement might go too far and magnify problems that most people would not consider offensive.

Allen remarked that he has "never" heard complaints about his behavior on set from actresses or staff members over his extended career. Allen was reflecting on his lengthy career when he made this statement. He made a point to emphasize his dedication to ensuring that women receive equal pay and the excellent working relationships he has with female partners.

Read Also: JRE on GTA 6? Insider Source Claims Rockstar Games Will Feature Joe Rogan Non-Satirically in Future Grand Theft Auto Installment

Woody Allen's Unblemished Collaborations: 50 Films and Counting

Allen's career in the industry, which spans 50 films, has been defined by collaboration with many actresses, ranging from unknown talents to established stars. Per Fox News, Allen claims that not one of these ladies has ever complained about his behavior.

Woody Allen has just finished working on his 50th picture, which is titled "Coup de Chance," and he is considering retiring as a filmmaker due to the difficulties in getting funding and the shifting distribution strategy in the film industry.

He voiced his displeasure with the idea that his work would be adapted so rapidly for television or streaming platforms so soon after its debut in the theater. Meanwhile, Woody Allen's attendance at the Venice International Film Festival drew both praise and criticism from festivalgoers.

Despite the persistent scrutiny and public controversies that surround Allen's private life, his most recent picture, 'Coup de Chance,' was well welcomed at the festival. Viewers gave Allen and his film a three-minute standing ovation after the film's screening, USA Today reported.

Related Article: Venice Boat Company Bans Kanye West and Wife After Scandal

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As geopolitical tensions rise between China and the United States, a small number of Chinese ministries have reportedly ordered their staff to cease using iPhones in the workplace.

iPhone Ban in China

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said that the instructions were sent by supervisors to their employees during the last several weeks. Five different people familiar with the matter said the directives were issued in August to workers in ministries whose responsibilities include investment, commerce, and foreign relations.

Reportedly, these restrictions were implemented to prevent any potential threats to national security posed by a US company's telecommunications devices.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), it is understood that a similar prohibition has been in effect for certain government agencies for years, but the most recent decision has widened that ban.

Until the end of this month, a source claimed that workers in the mentioned departments were urged to transfer to a different brand of work cellphones.

SCMP discovered that not all government agencies were subject to the phone ban. Also, the order solely affects the California-designed iPhone and has nothing to do with other brands of handsets manufactured elsewhere.

Counterpoint Research, which tracks the global technology industry, has found that Apple's iPhone is the only foreign-made smartphone to have a significant market share in China. As per the statistics, the iPhone had 17.2% of the Chinese market, putting it on par with Oppo and just below Vivo.

See Also: US Restricts AI Chip Exports by Nvidia, AMD to China, Middle East

US-China Tensions

China has been working to lessen its dependence on foreign technology for over a decade, encouraging domestic chip manufacturers and encouraging state-affiliated businesses like banks to use local software.

Reuters reported that as Beijing's worry about data security intensified, the city's officials advocated a "dual circulation" development model in 2020 to lessen the city's dependence on foreign markets and technology.

Increasing the stakes in the race amid disagreements with the US, China in May pushed large state-owned businesses to play a vital role in its quest to achieve technological autonomy.

Beijing has restricted shipments from key US corporations including Boeing and Micron Technology. Meanwhile, Washington has been working with allies to impede China's access to crucial equipment required to keep its semiconductor sector competitive, leading to heightened tensions between the two countries.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visited China last week and claimed American businesses had complained to her that the country had become "uninvestible" due to government activities such as fines, raids, and other regulatory burdens.

The United States has banned Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei Technologies and TikTok, controlled by China's ByteDance, and now China has implemented a ban of its own.

See Also: China's EV Industry Slows Down, Affecting Nvidia's Automotive Business

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The updated Moderna vaccine is effective against fast-spreading COVID-19 variants, such as Pirola.

The American pharmaceutical giant said that its early clinical trial data for the vaccine's new version shows that it is highly efficient in neutralizing Pirola, the new BA.2.86 variant.

Updated Moderna Vaccine Effective Against Pirola

According to Forbes' latest report, Moderna claims that the updated COVID-19 vaccine provokes a strong immune system against Pirola, Eris, and Fornax; fast-spreading variants of the COVID-19 virus.

The company shared this detail on Wednesday, Sept. 6, after acquiring early data from its clinical trial for the updated vaccine.

The Massachussets-based biotechnology company claims that the vaccine shot produced an 8.7-fold increase in protective antibodies against fast-spreading COVID-19 strains.

Moderna President Stephen Hoge shares his excitement, saying that the clinical trial data shows that their updated COVID-19 vaccine will continue to be an important tool for protection.

He added that the health company will continue assessing and responding to rising health threats across the globe.

As of press time, Moderna remains the only pharmaceutical firm that introduced updated vaccines for the new Pirola variant.

But, Novavax and Pfizer said that they will roll out new vaccines within the following weeks, as reported by CNBC.

Read Also: [STUDY] Choosing the Correct Arm for COVID-19 Vaccine Could Lead to Stronger Immune Response, But How?

Will It Help Prevent a Possible Face Mask Mandate?

Pilora and Eris are concerning officials and health experts. These fast-spreading variants are expected to increase the number of infections; even leading to COVID-19 surges.

Because of this, the return of face mask mandates is expected to happen. ABC News reported that Dr. Anthony Fauci recommends that mask mandates should return.

U.S. officials and other experts criticized Fauci. One of them is Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

"Fauci admits that masks don't work for the public at large, but still absurdly claims masks work on an individual basis. More subterfuge," said the U.S. senator.

While others are criticizing Fauci, some officials are taking action to ban face mask mandates. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law on Friday, Sept. 1, banning local governments from requiring COVID-19 face covers.

As of writing, it is still early to conclude whether the updated Moderna vaccine can prevent possible face mask mandates or if face mask requirements will even go back.

If you want to learn more details about Fauci's face mask mandate recommendations, you can click here.

Related Article: As New COVID Strains Emerge, Hospitalizations Are Up 22% This Week

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Australian police claimed on Wednesday, September 6, that they rescued three men from Russia and France whose inflatable catamaran had been attacked by sharks as they were sailing from Vanuatu.

Three Sailors Rescued

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said that they reacted to a notification from an emergency beacon around 1:30 AM local time. It was discovered by rescuers 500 miles east of Australia's coast in the Coral Sea that both sides of the men's 9-meter boat had been destroyed by several shark attacks.

According to CBS News, the agency solicited the aid of a ship flying the flag of Panama, the vehicle-carrying "Dugong Ace," which successfully carried out the rescue and took the two Russians and one Frenchman onboard. There was also a rescue aircraft that came to help.

A rescue helicopter's footage shows the catamaran slowly swaying in the water as the massive Dugong Ace approaches. According to Joe Zeller, the agency's duty manager in Canberra, "The three males were very happy to be rescued and are all healthy and well."

The guys, who range in age from 28 to 64, are expected to land in Brisbane, Australia, on Thursday, September 7. Zeller estimated that it would take two to three weeks for such a ship to go from Vanuatu in the Pacific to Australia.

Photos taken from above revealed severe damage to the catamaran, with the front part of one hull gone entirely.

Zeller said that the men's lives had been saved due to the GPS-encoded emergency beacon enabling rescuers to rapidly locate them and conduct a successful rescue.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has said that this incident serves as a timely reminder to always have a distress beacon on hand while out on the ocean. "GPS-equipped EPIRBs and personal locater beacons (PLBs) can save your life in an emergency," it stated.

See Also: Surfer in Critical Condition After Shark Attack in Australia

Shark Attacks in Australia

Shark attacks on boats may happen for a variety of causes, according to Zeller. However, it is unclear what drives these sharks.

Coral reef sharks and other top predators like tuna and marlin thrive in the Coral Sea's warm waters. The government of Australia claims that there are more sharks there "than almost any other survey site in the world."

Last month, a surfer attacked by a shark off the east coast of Australia was in serious condition. The 44-year-old man was surfing at Lighthouse Beach in Port Macquarie when a shark launched a sustained and prolonged attack, according to reports.

The surfer fought the shark for about 30 seconds before noticing how badly he was hurt and swam back to shore. Police said a witness used a tourniquet before paramedics rushed the injured surfer to Port Macquarie Hospital.

Australia had the second-highest number of reported shark attacks on humans in 2016 among all countries tracked by the Florida Museum's International Shark Attack File.

See Also: [VIDEO] Fisherman Captures Encounter With Massive Great White Shark off the Gold Coast

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The Japanese foreign ministry said late Monday, September 4, that it has complained to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over China's ban on seafood from Japan after the release of filtered water from the Fukushima nuclear facility.

WTO Talks With China and Japan

In a report by Reuters, China notified the WTO on August 31 that it was taking procedures to halt Japanese aquatic imports. Japan responded by saying it would clarify its viewpoints in relevant WTO bodies. It is urging China to promptly rescind the decision.

The US ambassador to Japan stated last week that the United States would assist Japan if it filed a complaint with the WTO. Some Japanese officials have indicated that this may happen.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters on Tuesday, September 5, that the country would address concerns about the safety of the released water in upcoming diplomatic forums such as the ASEAN Summit in Indonesia and the G20 Summit in India.

Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Matsuno emphasized that "nothing is decided" with regard to a summit between Japan and China's top leaders. Unlike Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang will be present at both the ASEAN and G20 meetings.

Japan has also requested talks with China over the import embargo in accordance with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) criteria, according to a separate statement released by the Japanese foreign ministry on Monday.

See Also: China's Seafood Ban Against Japan Could Greatly Benefit Russia-Here's How

The Seafood Market

In 2022, Japan shipped nearly $600 million worth of marine goods to China, making it the largest market for Japanese exports after Hong Kong. This is despite the fact that marine products only account for less than 1% of Japan's worldwide commerce, which is dominated by automobiles.

As reported by Tuesday's data, July saw a 23% year-on-year reduction in exports of aquatic items meant for China, at 7.7 billion yen ($52.44 million). This was the first annual decline in shipments to China in over two and a half years.

Shipments to China have been slowed by increased scrutiny at Japanese customs since Japan declared its intention to release the pristine Fukushima water.

In a separate report, more than 100 billion yen ($682 million) would be invested in Japan's domestic fisheries sector to help offset the impact of the lost seafood market.

As seafood sanctions against Japan persist, analysts think Russia's marine exports have greater potential in China.

Russia is drawn to China's enormous seafood market after the ban is implemented. Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia's food safety agency, said the Chinese market appears promising for fish goods.

Russia is one of China's top maritime goods suppliers. Over 890 Russian enterprises may export fish to Asia, according to Rosselkhoznadzor.

These Russian enterprises imported $15 billion in seafood in 2020. Russia exported 2.3 million metric tons of fish worth $6 billion in 2022.

See Also: China Allegedly Making Harassment Phone Calls to Japan-Is Fukushima Wastewater Release to Blame?

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In the old days, many Americans dreamt of becoming law enforcers, especially joining the police.

However, it looks like this is no longer the case because the U.S. is facing serious police shortages in many towns and cities.

US Faces Police Shortages-Here's Why

According to Forbes, over 520 cities and towns in the U.S. disbanded their police departments between 1972 and 2017.

Meanwhile, at least 12 small towns dissolved their police forces in the past two years. The police shortages are caused by the exodus from law enforcement.

Washington-based think tank Police Executive Research Forum revealed that police officer resignations were up by 47% in 2022.

Comparing it to 2019, with police resignations being up by 19%, 2022's police officer attrition rate is definitely higher.

The American think tank, which surveyed almost 200 police departments, said that officer shortages worsened after the peak of the global COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd's death; A Black American who died because of police brutality.

Aside from resigning police veterans, another reason why the U.S. experiences law enforcement shortages is the unwillingness of younger Americans to join the police.

Chuck Wexler, the Police Executive Forum's executive director, said that younger U.S. residents are no longer interested in going through months of training to become a police officer.

"Fewer people are applying to be police officers, and more officers are retiring or resigning at a tremendous rate," explained Wexler.

Read Also: [VIRAL] Maryland Police Officer Suspended After Footage Shows Him Kissing a Female, Getting Into Patrol SUV

Small Towns Disband Police Departments

The Associated Press provided some of the small towns in the U.S. that disbanded their police forces.

One of these is the Morris town in Minnesota, which dissolved its police department in 2022. Officials explained that they did this because their officers already resigned.

In Illinois, two Washburn officials also disbanded their police forces. After doing this in 2021, they allowed the county to take over law enforcement duties.

Surprisingly, a study conducted by Rice University revealed that crime rates in these small towns were unchanged despite the absence of police departments.

If you want to learn more about the existing police officer shortages in the U.S., you can click this link.

Related Article: NYPD To Scale Back Protest Response After Settlement with ACLU for BLM Protesters Attack in 2020

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Archaeologists have discovered four perfectly-preserved 1,900-year-old Roman swords in a cave in the Judean Desert, which experts believe were captured by Jewish rebels during the Bar Kokhba (or Second Jewish) revolt and placed in a narrow crevice overlooking the Dead Sea.

According to Israel Antiquities Authority's (IAA) Judean Desert Survey director Dr. Eitan Klein, the find near Ein Gedi National Park, near the Dead Sea, was "extremely rare" and such a find was unprecedented in Israeli history.

The cave was already well-known to archaeologists, as it contained a stalactite with a fragmentary ink inscription written in ancient Hebrew script characteristic of the First Temple period.

"Four swords amazingly preserved, including the fine condition of the metal, the handles, and the scabbards," Klein detailed the weapons found and their conditions.

The preliminary article on the swords is published in the volume "New Studies in the Archaeology of the Judean Desert: Collected Papers," which explored new archaeological finds discovered in the Judean Desert Survey Project, The Times of Israel reported.

A conference launching the book is taking place Wednesday (September 6) in Jerusalem.

Read Also: Human Almost Went Extinct, New Chinese Study Claims

Roman Swords in a Jewish Cave

When Dr. Asaf Gayer of Ariel University, geologist Boaz Langford of Hebrew University, and Israel Antiquities Authority photographer Shai Halevi returned to the cave to photograph the stalactite with multispectral photography to decipher additional parts of the discovered inscription not visible to the naked eye, they spotted an extremely well-preserved Roman pilum, a spear-javelin hybrid weapon the Romans used as projectiles prior to charging into enemy positions, in a deep, narrow crack in the rock.

Aside from the swords and spears, the scientists have also found pieces of carved wood in an adjacent niche, which turned out to be parts of the sword's scabbards, as well as pieces of wood and leather.

Archaeologists said three of the swords still have blades inside their scabbards. They likely belonged to Roman soldiers and were stolen by Judean rebels who hid them in a cave either for later use or to avoid being caught with them.

"The blades have been preserved so well, they look like they could be picked up and used right now, even 2,000 years after they were forged," Langford said. "You just realize that you are touching history, because here you are touching a find whose story you know."

Klein added the find was a "very rare and unique find" on an international level that would "shed light on the last moments of the war."

How Did the Swords Survive the Elements?

Another director of the IAA, Eli Escusido, was quoted by the BBC saying that the dry desert climate around the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth, enabled the preservation of artifacts that would not survive elsewhere in Israel.

"This is a unique time capsule, whereby fragments of scrolls, coins from the Jewish Revolt, leather sandals, and now even swords in their scabbards, sharp as if they had only just been hidden away today," he added.

The Bar Kokhba revolt, which lasted from 132 to 135 AD, was a Jewish rebellion against the Roman Empire and its rule over Judea led by a certain Simon Bar Kokhba.

Related Article: Underwater Village: Archaeologists Discover Ancient Settlement Beneath Albanian Lake

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New York City's new laws on short-term rentals took effect on Tuesday, September 5, which will have major ramifications for tourists who were expecting to find an alternative to the city's expensive hotel prices. As a result, home-sharing giant Airbnb announced it has had to cease taking certain bookings in the city.

New Short-Term Rental Policies

According to AP News, the new regulations are an attempt to put a stop to the current unrestricted situation that exists in the city when it comes to renting out apartments on a nightly or weekly basis to visitors.

Only registered hosts are permitted to provide short-term rentals of less than 30 days under the new system. When renting out their property, hosts must be there in person and available to their visitors 24/7. No more than two visitors are permitted at a time, which essentially excludes families.

Restrictions were pushed for by officials and housing activists who said they were required to prevent homes from functioning as hotels in disguise. According to Murray Cox of Inside Airbnb, a housing advocacy organization that tracks Airbnb's expansion across the globe, residential apartments in New York City should be for residential use.

About Fairness

Legal action has been taken by Airbnb because, as the company sees it, the regulations amount to a prohibition and would negatively impact tourists searching for cheap lodging.

The firm said on August 21 that it would no longer accept short-term bookings from any host who had not submitted either a municipal registration number or proof showing it was in progress. When the city's verification system was fully operational, it stated that temporary listings would be prohibited on the site unless a registration number was provided.

There were complaints from some hosts whose houses were smaller than average that they were being unjustly grouped in with hotels and motels.

Krystal Payne, who owns a two-family property in Brooklyn and was renting out one of the units to help pay her mortgage, told AP News, "I think this is a huge indication that our elected officials have let us down."

Also Read: Barbie's Dream House in Malibu Now Back on Airbnb: How to Get Free Overnight Stay?

Issues With Nightly, Weekly Rentals

The city council passed the ordinances in January 2022, according to The Washington Post, but they did not go into effect until this past month due to legal challenges.

Although internet rental listing services expanded visitors' choices in New York and benefited homeowners who leased out their properties while they were abroad, some locals have complained that the influx of visitors has driven up property prices in their districts. Tenants have complained about the building becoming more like a hotel, with guests and parties in the apartments.

After the court ruling last month, Airbnb released instructions telling hosts in New York City to register with the government or switch to long-term rentals if they have the option.

The business also said that any short-term reservations already made that had a check-in date on or before December 1 would be honored with a full refund of processing costs, but reservations with check-in dates after December 1 would be voided.

Also Read: Over 50% of Americans Bring Their Work on Vacations! Here's How to Avoid This Habit

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As part of a lawsuit settlement coming from its response to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, New York City's police department has agreed to implement new regulations aimed at protecting demonstrators' rights.

The 44-page deal, unsealed Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, compels the nation's largest police force to send fewer officers to most public rallies. It establishes a tiered system of protest response that favors de-escalation while outlawing the NYPD's notorious method of kettling, which includes detaining and arresting large numbers of demonstrators, as reported by CBS News.

Revisions Yet To Be Approved

A federal court must still approve the planned revisions. However, the deal suggests that the case brought by New York State Attorney General Letitia James in 2021, which revealed a pattern of civil rights violations committed by police when protests swept through the city in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder in May 2020, will be resolved.

(Photo: by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 27: NYPD officers stand guard as people participate in an anti-migrant rally and protest outside of Gracie Mansion on August 27, 2023, in New York City. Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa was joined by local officials and hundreds of protestors, as he held another anti-migrant protest after staging several in Brooklyn and Queen against the migrant relief shelters in the boroughs. NYPD made several arrests, including Sliwa and two supporters who were arrested for civil disobedience.

Mayor Eric Adams, a former police captain, said in a video message that the settlement found a proper balance to "ensure that we are both protecting public safety and respecting protesters' First Amendment rights."

Protests in 2020 escalated into chaotic street clashes as riot police used batons, pepper spray, and their own vehicles to aggressively disperse both peaceful and disorderly demonstrators. Some protestors set fire to police vehicles and threw bottles at cops.

Police surrounded nonviolent demonstrators in various areas across the city without provocation, resulting in hundreds of arrests for low-level offenses such as disorderly conduct or impeding traffic.

Read also: New York Police Arrest Fourth Teen Involved in Good Samaritan's Subway Death

Categorization of Protests

Police commanders will categorize protests as one of four tiers under the tiered enforcement system, with higher levels of mobilization occurring in response to direct threats to public safety or essential infrastructure. The NYPD must accommodate street rallies, even those that hinder traffic, under the lower-tier response, which is the norm for most protests.

The Strategic Response Group, a heavily armored police force specializing in crowd control, will not be deployed unless a police commander authorizes a tier three mobilization based on specific infractions committed by demonstration goers. Otherwise, the NYPD will rely on community affairs officers who have been trained in de-escalation techniques.

Separate claims made by the Legal Aid Society, the New York Civil Liberties Union, and other private attorneys, which were joined with the Attorney General's complaint, are also covered by the settlement. Plaintiffs are expected to receive monetary compensation, the amount of which has yet to be determined.

The settlement calls for the city to pay $1.6 million to the state's Department of Investigation, which will oversee the accord reached with other parties, including police leaders and civil rights organizations.

New York City has already agreed to pay at least $35 million to settle claims of police misconduct during the 2020 protests, including an estimated $10 million for those kettled during a rally in the South Bronx. Over 600 individuals have filed individual claims against the city, many of which are still ongoing.

Related article: Protesters Clash Outside New York City Mayor's Home Amid Worsening Migrants Surge

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A Florida guy who attempted to use a makeshift hamster wheel to run across the Atlantic Ocean to London has been detained.

Reza Baluchi, 44, was discovered by the US Coast Guard (USCG) on August 26 off the coast of Georgia. He reportedly claimed he wanted to continue all the way to the UK, as reported by Sky News.

In accordance with court records, the USCG determined that the homemade watercraft was "manifestly unsafe" and was only kept afloat by buoys and wiring.

He set off on his journey just days before Hurricane Franklin, which peaked at a category 4 storm, made landfall in the Caribbean and headed for the US.

However, Mr. Baluchi resisted getting off the boat for three days before officials were able to safely remove him and bring him back to land two days later, according to court documents.

According to the records, Mr. Baluchi demonstrated to authorities that he was armed with two knives measuring 12 inches (30 cm) and that he would try to murder himself if they tried to remove him.

Officers stayed at the scene, and Mr. Baluchi allegedly threatened to "blow himself up" the following day, on August 27. According to the records, the USCG stated that they "believed this to be a valid threat" as he possessed cables in his hand.

(Photo : by Jes Aznar/Getty Images)

MARIVELES, LUZON, PHILIPPINES - JUNE 06: Members of the Philippine Coast Guard take part in a simulation during a trilateral maritime exercise with Japan and the US Coast Guard on June 6, 2023, 15 nautical miles off the coast of Bataan province, western Philippines.

Before he revealed the threat was a hoax on August 28th, shortly after officers attempted to bring food and water, this caused officers to summon in bomb disposal experts.

Officers pulled Mr. Baluchi off the ship on August 29 and into a small boat before bringing him onshore on September 1.

According to the documents, this was Mr. Baluchi's most recent encounter with the Coast Guard; prior encounters with the agency allegedly involved a homemade vessel in 2014, 2016, and 2021.

Read also: Florida Fuel Contamination: Officials Warn of Risks After Alleged Human Error at Port of Tampa

More Homemade Vessels Coming Out

The US Coast Guard has reported an increase in encounters with homemade vessels, also known as "go-fasts" or "pangas." These vessels are often used by smugglers to transport drugs and other contraband across international waters.

The Coast Guard has expressed concern about the increasing use of homemade vessels by smugglers. These vessels are often difficult to detect and board, and they can be very dangerous to operate. In some cases, smugglers have been known to scuttle their vessels in an attempt to evade capture.

In addition to the challenges posed by smugglers, the Coast Guard also faces the problem of asylum seekers who use homemade vessels to try to reach the United States.

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of people who have attempted to make the journey across the Caribbean Sea in homemade boats.

Related article: Missing Florida Boy Murdered by Dad; Body Later Seen in Alligator Jaws

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Armenia said Wednesday (September 6) it would host a joint military exercise with the US next week.

The Armenian defense ministry said the purpose of the exercise called "Eagle Partner 2023" slated for September 11 to 20 was to prepare its forces to take part in international peacekeeping missions.

Meanwhile, a US military spokesperson was quoted by Reuters, saying 85 US military personnel - including a contingent from the Kansas National Guard, which has a 20-year-old training partnership with Armenia - and 175 Armenian troops would focus more on infantry training than on heavy weaponry like armor and artillery.

Russia Concerned with Joint US-Armenian Exercise

Despite the small scale of the exercise, the Kremlin said it would closely monitor it.

"Of course, such news causes concern, especially in the current situation. Therefore, we will deeply analyze this news and monitor the situation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Russia has a military base in Armenia and saw itself as the pre-eminent power in the south Caucasus region, which until 1991 was part of the Soviet Union. The Russians also maintain a peacekeeping force in the region to uphold an agreement that ended the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020, the second they have fought since the Soviet Union collapsed.

Read Also: Armenia Denounces Azerbaijan Claims Using Karabakh To Control, Worsens Spat Between the Two Countries

Armenian PM: Russia Failed to Protect Us

In an Italian newspaper interview over the weekend, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Russia failed to protect his country against what he called the continuing aggression from Azerbaijan. He also suggested that Russia's war in Ukraine meant it was unable to meet all Armenia's security needs.

On the other hand, Peskov dismissed Pashinyan's remarks, saying Russia was an "absolutely integral part" of the southern Caucasus.

"Russia plays a consistent, very important role in stabilizing the situation in this region...and we will continue to play this role," he added.

According to Al Jazeera, Armenia also refused to host military drills by the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a Russian-led alliance of post-Soviet countries, reflecting Yerevan's growing tensions with Moscow.

CSTO is Russia's answer to NATO.

The military escalation since the latest war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020 has been causing severe hunger in the ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan closed its border on the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting the enclave to Armenia, since December 2022.

Related Article: Investigation Reveals Use of Spyware in Azerbaijan-Armenia Conflict

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Washington-based watchdog group, CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics), decided to file a lawsuit to prevent Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot in Colorado.

This is one of the latest efforts of voters who don't want to former U.S. president to run in the upcoming 2024 U.S. election.

Watchdog CREW Files Lawsuit to Ban Trump

The Associated Press reported that the legal action was filed by CREW on Wednesday, Sept. 6. It was filed by the watchdog on behalf of six Colorado Republican voters (who are not affiliated with the group).

The lawsuit, which was quickly dismissed by Donald Trump's team, cites Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

ABC News reported that the legal action is one of the first serious challenges to Trump's presidential candidacy based on the rarely used clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The 14th Amendment's Section states that U.S. officials who took an oath to support the Constitution and engaged in rebellion/insurrection or gave aid to the enemies thereof while they were serving are not eligible for future office.

It added that they can only have a position if they are granted amnesty by a two-thirds vote of the U.S. Congress.

The previous use of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment against other Republicans was not successful. However, CREW managed to push to overthrow a county official in New Mexico in 2022.

This official was convicted of trespassing in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Read Also: Donald Trump Surrenders to Atlanta Authorities in Relation to Georgia Election Case After his Official Mug Shot was Released

What CREW's Lawsuit Says About Trump

CREW's lawsuit argues that Donald Trump aided the attack on the Capitol in 2021. This accusation is the same reason why the House of Representatives impeached the former American leader.

However, he was acquitted by the U.S. Senate. Trump also repeatedly defended himself, saying that he did not incite the violent protesters.

Noah Bookbinder, the president of CREW, explained that they filed the lawsuit as they believe that defending the republic today and in the future is necessary.

Trump's team defends the ex-POTUS from challenges like CREW's legal action.

"The people who are pursuing this absurd conspiracy theory and political attack on President Trump are stretching the law beyond recognition," said Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung.

He added that these allegations have no legal basis except in the minds of those who are using it.

Related Article: Sen. Kaine Claims Donald Trump Could Be Disqualified in US Presidential Election

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(Photo : SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP) (SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)

Federal judge rules in favor of Biden administration, ordering the buoy barriers in Texas to be relocated to an embankment on the state's side of the Rio Grande River.

A federal judge has ordered Texas to move the buoy barriers in the middle of the Rio Grande River to a dam on the state's side of the river.

On Wednesday, US District Court Judge David Ezra issued the preliminary injunction in Austin that mandates Texas authorities to relocate the floating obstructions. They are currently located near the city of Eagle Pass. The deadline for the relocation has been set to Sept. 15, and the order is siding with the Biden administration.

Texas Buoy Barriers

It comes after United States President Joe Biden's administration filed a legal challenge claiming that the buoy barriers were illegally disrupting navigation and installed without permission from the US Army Corps of Engineers.

The federal judge's ruling is seen as a setback for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican who has argued that Biden, a Democrat, has been too lenient with border security. The claim comes as record numbers of migrants have been caught trying to illegally cross the border in the last few years, as per Reuters.

The floating buoys were one of the various strategies that Abbott's administration launched amid efforts to deter migrants from crossing into the United States. Other strategies include coils of razor that were placed along the riverbank.

In a 42-page order, Ezra said that Abbott announced that he would not ask for permission for Operation Lone Star, the anti-immigration program under which the buoy barriers were placed in Texas. He added that, unfortunately, the state needed permission to install such obstructions in the navigable waters of the US.

The state of Texas, following the ruling, immediately appealed it to the conservative-leaning 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals. Additionally, Abbott's office said it would take the case to the Supreme Court if needed.

According to CNN, the lawsuit that led to the federal judge's decision was filed by the Justice Department, which argued that Texas and its governor violated the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act when the buoy barriers were installed in the Rio Grande River.

Read Also: NYPD To Scale Back Protest Response After Settlement for BLM Protesters Attack in 2020

Deterring Migrants From Illegal Crossing

The Justice Department also sought an injunction to bar Texas from building additional barriers in the river. This comes despite Abbott arguing that the buoy barriers were designed to deter migrants from crossing the river into the United States from Mexico.

In a statement, Abbott's office said that the federal judge's ruling was incorrect, adding that they will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including the deployment of the Texas National Guard's soldiers and the Department of Public Safety's troopers as well as the installation of strategic barriers.

On the other hand, associate US Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Justice Department said they were pleased with the federal judge's ruling. She argued that the buoy barriers were unlawful and caused irreparable harm to diplomatic relations, public safety, navigation, and the operations of federal agency officials in and around the Rio Grande, said the Dallas Morning News.

Related Article: New York Police Agree to New Rules on Protests After Legal Battle

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Domestic player CATL continues to be king of the hill, followed by BYD Chinese companies continued to dominate the global power battery market in the first seven months, responsible for over three-fifths of battery installations worldwide, said a report by South Korean market consultancy SNE Research on Wednesday. According to the latest report, six Chinese battery companies were among the Top 10 such firms globally in terms of battery installations, with a total market share of 62.9 percent, from January to July. South Korea followed with three firms and Japan with one. Specifically, Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd maintained its leading position with total installed capacity of 132.9 gigawatt hours, up 54.3 percent year-on-year. Its global market share stood at an impressive 36.6 percent. Chinese EV maker BYD ranked second worldwide at 58.1 GWh, up a whopping 94.1 percent year-on-year. South Korea's LG Energy Solution followed with 51.4 GWh. China's CALB, EVE, Gotion High-Tech and Sunwoda were also among the Top 10. SNE Research said BYD has shown a noteworthy performance in the first seven months and has achieved broad popularity based on its price competitiveness in aspects such as in-house battery supply chains and vehicle manufacturing. Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said: "The notable performance of Chinese battery companies can be attributed to rising demand from major overseas consumer countries for renewable energy and new energy vehicles. Also, local companies have made great technological advancements in lithium battery manufacturing." Similar views were shared by Pan Helin, co-director of the Digital Economy and Financial Innovation Research Center at Zhejiang University's International Business School. Chinese battery firms have exhibited increasing strength in overseas markets, he said. Currently, more than 10 Chinese power battery companies have announced plans for overseas investments. "For local battery firms and related companies in the industry chain, the global battery market still has the potential to grow manifold in terms of scale," Pan said. Over the past few years, CATL, for instance, has tried to penetrate overseas markets, and has been enjoying rapid growth in Europe and North America. At the IAA Munich Car Show on Monday, CATL's principal engineer Gao Pengfei said the company plans to manufacture its ultra high-speed charging Shenxing battery not only in China, but also at its facilities in Germany and Hungary. Shenxing, made with lithium iron phosphate (LFP), is able to deliver a driving range of 400 kilometers with a 10-minute charging time. It was unveiled in August with the company saying it is the world's first super-fast charging LFP battery. LFP chemistry offers cost advantages compared to nickel-cobalt-manganese batteries used in cylindrical cells by automakers such as BMW and Tesla, Gao said. chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn
Tech billionaire and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been one of the personalities at the forefront of the artificial intelligence (AI) race.

The new company, known as xAI, reportedly uses data taken from users from X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as real-world images captured by Tesla's Full Self-Driving system. This means that the billionaire entrepreneur would be capable of creating ChatGPT-style AI chatbots and physical robots that can navigate the real world.

Elon Musk's New AI Company

But in Musk's version of events, expressed during an interview with acclaimed journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson, he claims that he had recently realized that he was spending too much of his focus and time on Twitter.

Musk said he contemplated a not-too-distant future where intelligence machines will make humans obsolete. This is something that sci-fi writers refer to as "the singularity," and the billionaire entrepreneur said that he realized he could not just sit around and not do anything, as per Gizmodo.

When talking about the singularity, Musk said that it could happen sooner than anyone could have expected. That fear supposedly led the billionaire entrepreneur to launch xAI, which he claims is focused on AI safety.

The new company recruited top talent, including former Deepmind research engineer Igor Babuschkin. A Time report noted that in the near term, Musk had instructed xAI researchers to work on creating artificial intelligence capable of generating computer code and a "politically neutral" chatbot competitor to ChatGPT.

In its long-term vision, the company's website said its goal was to "understand the true nature of the universe." Previously, the billionaire entrepreneur worked on AI safety at OpenAI but later cut ties with the company after it received investment from Microsoft.

Musk's focus on artificial intelligence also comes after he reassured the public that his AI companies, including Tesla and Neuralink, will not use direct messages (DMs) or private user data to train their AI models, according to The Logical Indian.

Read Also: Will Tech CEOs Allow US to Be First Country With AI Laws?

Focus on AI Safety

The remarks come with mounting concerns over data privacy and AI ethics, which underscore the commitment to safeguarding user information and respecting privacy boundaries.

The billionaire entrepreneur's statements came in tweets after concerned users and observers posted queries about the situation. Musk addressed the growing apprehensions about using users' data in training AI models. This particular practice has, for years, raised ethical questions.

Musk's new AI company comes as Neuralink was able to raise $280 million in a fundraising round announced early last month. The Founders Fund, a San Francisco-based VC firm Peter Thiel established, led the Series D round.

The brain chip startup company said it wants to use implants to connect the human brain to a computer, a goal that Musk has been working on for the past five years. However, Neuralink has so far only tested on animals and has already faced scrutiny following the death of a monkey during a project testing in 2022 in trying to have the creature play Pong, said CNN.

Related Article: Elon Musk Plans to Sue Anti-Defamation League

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Mexico's Supreme Court has ruled to decriminalize abortion nationwide and gives local authorities the power to allow the procedure on a state-by-state basis.

The court's decision struck down the nation's federal penal code that made abortion illegal, saying it was "unconstitutional." The ruling made the procedure legally accessible in all federal health institutions across Mexico.

Mexico Supreme Court Decriminalizes Abortion Nationwide

The Supreme Court's latest ruling comes as Mexico is a predominantly Catholic country home to 130 million people. It points to how countries in Latin America are slowly taking a leading role in broadening abortion rights.

In a statement, the executive director of the leading abortion rights group, the Information Group for Chosen Reproduction (GIRE), Rebeca Ramos, said she was very moved and proud following the Supreme Court's ruling. Her group is known for filing an injunction last year against the Mexican regulation from 1931 that made abortion illegal.

Ramos argued that the latest development makes possible what they have not achieved in many years: to allow the legal and safe provision of abortion services in certain institutions across the country, as per the New York Times.

In 2021, the Mexican Supreme Court first ruled that criminalizing the procedure was unconstitutional, but at the time, it only applied to Coahuila, which borders Texas. Other states in the country have already eliminated criminal penalties for abortion, the latest of which was Aguascalientes being the latest to make such a decision last week.

The recent ruling also has no impact on local laws, which means that abortion would remain illegal in 20 states out of the country's 32. However, even in those areas, women can now legally seek abortions in federal hospitals and clinics.

The Supreme Court's decision also prohibits employees at these facilities from being penalized for carrying out abortion services. The founder of the feminist group Las Libres in Guanajuato, Mexico, Veronica Cruz, said that she hoped the ruling would be the preamble for the court to help local legislatures eliminate the crime of abortion.

Read Also: Hong Kong Court Calls for More Legal Protections for Same-Sex Unions

Historic Ruling

In a social media post, Mexico's National Institute for Women wrote that the day was a day of victory and justice for women. The government organization added that the Supreme Court's ruling is a "big step" toward gender equality, according to the Associated Press.

A former Supreme Court justice, Sen. Olga Sanchez Cordero, applauded the court's latest ruling, saying on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it represents an advance toward a more just society.

However, some decried the Supreme Court's latest decision, including the director of the Civil Association for the Rights of the Conceived, Irma Barrientos. She said that opponents will continue to fight against expanding abortion access in Mexico.

Barrientos cited 40 years ago in the United States when the US Supreme Court reversed its abortion decision. She said they will not stop until Mexico guarantees the right to life from conception.

Various social media users posted online with green hearts representing the so-called Green Wave. According to CNN, this social movement focuses on reproductive rights and is known for sweeping Latin America since the start of this century.

Related Article: French School Abaya Ban Sparks Debate Over Religious Freedom

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The United States Department of Defense (DOD) announced a $175 million support package for Ukraine's military, including anti-armor rounds and air defense equipment.

The latest assistance package marks the 46th equipment supply from DOD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. The decision to provide the aid reflects the White House's enduring commitment to support Kyiv's fight against Russia's continued aggression.

US Announces New $175 Million Military Aid for Ukraine

Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the United States' unwavering support for Kyiv amid the conflict. The remarks come ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

Ahead of his meeting with Kuleba, Blinken said that the American government wanted to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to not only win with its counteroffensive but also have enough for the long term to be equipped with a strong deterrent and defense capacity. This is to prevent such aggressions from happening in the future, as per the Defense Department.

The latest aid package is being provisioned as part of the $6.2 billion presidential drawdown authority restored in June. The latter followed a re-evaluation of the total value of items already committed to support Ukraine. Officials said that as of last month's end, roughly $5.75 billion in restored funding remained.

United States President Joe Biden's administration has committed more than $43 billion in security assistance for Ukraine since the start of Russia's unprovoked invasion in February 2022. The support packages have included over 2,000 stinger anti-aircraft systems, over 10,000 weapon anti-armor systems, and over 2 million 155-mm artillery rounds.

The current administration has pledged to extend support for Kyiv for as long as needed to help Ukraine fight against Russia's invasion. The US continues to lead the international coalition that has provided support to Ukraine's military forces.

Read Also: At Least 16 Dead in Russian Attack in East Ukraine During Blinken Visit to Kyiv

Inclusion of Anti-Armor Munitions

The latest aid package to Ukraine is also the first time that the US will be sending depleted uranium rounds, which are also known as armor-piercing munitions due to their high density that allows them to penetrate armored tanks and ignite on impact, according to CBS News.

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process done to manufacture nuclear weapons and is left after highly radioactive uranium is removed from the base ore.

The situation comes as there have been concerns regarding the impacts of the munitions since the US started using them on a large scale during the Gulf War. The Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs Administration have found that, in most cases, the health effects of the munitions are negligible.

The Pentagon said on Wednesday that the military aid to Ukraine would also include tactical air navigation systems and additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

The military aid also includes more than $655 million in new military and civilian security assistance and millions of dollars in support of Kyiv's air defenses and other areas. The Russian embassy in Washington denounced the decision, calling it an "indicator of inhumanity," said Reuters.

Related Article: Putin Declines To Cooperate With Grain Deal Unless West Meets Its Obligation





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(Photo : Luis Tato / AFP) (LUIS TATO/AFP via Getty Images)

African leaders are calling for global taxes and reforms of international financial institutions to help poorer nations fight against the rising threat of climate change.

African leaders have agreed to call on wealthier nations to conduct international finance reforms and implement global taxes to help poor nations fight against the climate crisis.

On Wednesday, officials proposed the new global taxes and reforms to help fund the country's climate change action. The declaration will form the basis of their negotiating position during the COP28 summit that will be held in November.

Global Taxes

The Nairobi Declaration capped the three-day Africa Climate Summit in Kenya, where most of the discussions focused on mobilizing financing to adapt to increasingly extreme weather conditions, conserving natural resources, and developing renewable energy.

Africa only receives roughly 12% of the nearly $300 billion in yearly financing it needs to cope with climate change despite suffering from one of the worst impacts of the crisis. In the lead-up to the recent summit, organizers emphasized market-based solutions, including carbon credits.

However, the final declaration focused more on demands that major polluters and global financial institutions commit more resources to help poorer countries and make it easier for these nations to borrow at affordable rates, as per Reuters.

The declaration also urged global leaders to "rally behind the proposal for a global carbon taxation regime" that would include a carbon tax on fossil fuel, maritime transport, and aviation trade. They added that a global financial transaction tax could further augment this.

It added that implementing such measures globally would ensure large-scale financing for climate-related investments and would insulate the issue of tax raises resulting from geopolitical and domestic political pressures.

Nearly two dozen countries currently impose carbon taxes, based on information from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, the idea of a global carbon tax regime has never gained much traction among nations.

Read Also: Paper Straws May Be Just as Harmful to the Environment as Plastic Straws, Study Finds

Funding Fight Against the Climate Crisis

During the African summit, investors also announced what totaled roughly $23 billion that would be used to fund projects that include solar microgrids, carbon markets, and reforestation efforts, according to the New York Times.

However, it remained unclear how much money represented commitments instead of simple intentions. Kenyan President William Ruto, the host and master of ceremonies during the summit, said that Africa had 60% of the world's renewable energy potential.

He added that the region has almost a third of the minerals crucial to powering industries currently dependent on planet-warming fossil fuels. Meanwhile, roughly 600 million people in the region have little or no access to electricity.

In 2011, conservation groups said that the money raised from similar taxation efforts should be used to finance environmental priorities. However, the European Commission's proposal never won the unanimous approval required by the European Council to make it into law.

A senior advisor at the Christian Aid charity, Joab Bwire Okanda, said that African leaders' call for a global carbon tax was welcome. However, he argued that "to make polluters pay, false solutions like carbon credits that allow polluters a free ride without taking meaningful action need to be consigned to the dustbin," said BBC.

Related Article: Natural Catastrophes No Longer Covered by Some Home Insurers as Climate Threats Rise

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Wednesday's lifting of the evacuation order was a welcome reprieve for the 20,000 residents of Yellowknife in Northern Canada, who had endured three weeks of disruption due to an approaching wildfire.

The evacuation order for the capital of the Northwest Territories and two nearby First Nation communities was downgraded to an evacuation alert.

Yellowknife Evacuation Order Lifted After 3-Week Canada Wildfire Scare

The conflagration that prompted the mass evacuation is now classified as "held," indicating that it is not anticipated to spread under current conditions. Per ABC News, this development has encouraged thousands of vehicles to return to Yellowknife, bringing relief and anticipation to the populace.

Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty took to social media as the evacuation order was lifted to convey her desire for the order to be lifted and to wish the returning residents safe travels. At the entrance to Yellowknife, a massive 'welcome home' banner was unfurled to salute the anticipated influx of vehicles in the coming days.

The return of residents restored Yellowknife's sense of normalcy, and Angela Canning, a lifelong resident, captured the spirit of the moment by waving at the procession of vehicles returning to the city.

Canning echoed the sentiments of many who yearned for the return of their daily routines when he said, "I'm very excited to see the city return to normalcy." Canning lived in a camping trailer for 17 days in Fort Providence, southwest of Yellowknife, while evacuating from Yellowknife.

She could return to Yellowknife over the weekend due to her husband's status as an essential worker. Her experience illustrates the difficulties encountered by evacuees during this emergency.

Residents returning to Yellowknife are advised to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours, as per BBC. This preparation is crucial to ensure that individuals and families are equipped to face any obstacles that may arise as the city resumes normalcy. During the evacuation period, thousands of Yellowknife residents flew to British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba destinations, while most left the city via road.

On Wednesday morning, the first flight returning to the territorial capital landed, marking another significant milestone in the community's recovery process. Smoke dispersing from out-of-control wildfires in Canada has caused air quality concerns in the Northern Plains and Midwest of the United States, apart from the fire's direct effects.

Multiple states have been issued air quality alerts by the National Weather Service (NWS), with some regions experiencing hazardous air quality conditions.

The alerts indicate that even healthy individuals may experience adverse health effects, and those sensitive to air quality should avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor activities. Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Colorado, Nebraska, and Maine are among the affected states.

Read Also: At Least 16 Dead in Russian Attack in East Ukraine During Blinken Visit to Kyiv

Wildfire Smoke Impacts Health Across States

Health departments have advised vulnerable populations in these states, such as the elderly, small children, and those with respiratory issues, to limit outdoor activities and physical exertion. According to AoL, the dispersing smoke has highlighted the far-reaching effects of wildfires and the necessity of air quality monitoring during such events.

The withdrawal of the evacuation order in Yellowknife signifies a significant turning point for the community. As life returns to normal, the community will draw strength from its resiliency and solidarity during these difficult times.

Moreover, the ongoing difficulties posed by wafting wildfire smoke highlight the significance of preparedness and vigilance in the face of environmental catastrophes.

Related Article: Mexico's Supreme Court Strikes Down Penal Code Criminalizing Abortion Nationwide, Giving States Power To Allow the Procedure

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(Photo : Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Utah conservationists are suing the state over its alleged failure to protect the Great Salt Lake that has been shrinking and is on the brink of ecological collapse.

Conservationists in Utah are suing the state over the alleged failure to protect the Great Salt Lake, which has continued to shrink and is on the brink of ecological collapse.

The situation results from officials allowing upstream water to be diverted to farmers growing alfalfa, hay, and other crops for several decades. The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of environmental groups on Wednesday.

Utah's Great Salt Lake

The conservationists are asking a court to step in and force the state of Utah to let more water reach the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi River. It is considered an oasis for millions of migratory birds, an engine for the state's billion-dollar mineral industry, and a popular tourist attraction.

The lawsuit argues that a diminished Great Salt Lake has risks that are not merely focused on beached sailboats and wider shores. It argues that they also include the extinction of various species and the spread of toxic dust clouds over nearby communities, as per Politico.

The first time Great Salt Lake hit a record low was in the summer of 2021, which renewed attention from Utah's Republican-led Legislature. However, lawmakers' actions have not been sufficient to address the concerns of a coalition that includes Earthjustice, the Utah Rivers Council, and the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, among others.

In a statement, the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment's Brian Moench said they are simply trying to prevent a disaster by forcing the state government to take serious action to address the issue.

A spokesperson for Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, Emma Williams, declined to comment regarding the situation, citing ongoing litigation. The head of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Joel Ferry, said that he could not comment on the case but that the state "has been actively working with many interested parties on the lake to fix the problem.

Read Also: Hurricane Idalia: Rare Blue Supermoon May Worsen Storm Surge

Addressing the Shrinking of the Lake

The coalition of conservationists is demanding the state find ways to get the Great Salt Lake back to 4,198 feet elevation, which is almost six feet higher than the lake's current levels. The executive director of the Utah Rivers Council, Zach Frankel, said that Utah has taken "baby steps" that were inadequate to sustain the American West's largest wetland ecosystem, according to KSL.

Frankel added that the state must stop ignoring the upstream water diversions damaging the lake and pushing its wildlife population into oblivion. The lawsuit contends that Utah's agencies are not following the state's public trust doctrine.

It comes roughly nine months after almost three dozen scientists and conservationists raised concerns that the Great Salt Lake is facing "unprecedented danger." They argued that unless the state's lawmakers fast-track emergency measures to increase the lake's inflow by 2024 dramatically, it will disappear in the next five years.

A senior attorney for Earthjustice, Stu Gillespie, said that an epic winter in 2022 helped boost the water levels in April. They argued that this likely extended the five-year timeline by roughly another year, said CNN.

Related Article: New Study Says Paper Cups are as Harmful as Plastic Cups; Scientists Explain Why

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(Photo : Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 20: School buses and drivers at the Atlantic Express Transportation Crop. in Queens head back to work after the drivers and matrons suspended their January 16th strike on February 20, 2013 in New York City. Bus drivers and matrons, who are represented by the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1181, serve more than 150,000 children, many of them with disabilities. After a one month strike and no concessions from the Bloomberg administration, workers decided to wait to bargain with prospective New York City mayoral candidates after this year's election.

Due to an ongoing labor dispute involving the Amalgamated Transit Union 1181 (ATU 1181) in New York City, Schools Chancellor David Banks has warned people who rely on school buses that they may experience disruptions and delays in their commutes.

This warning comes as students across the city prepare to return to in-person learning on Thursday.

Labor Dispute Casts Shadow Over NYC School Bus Commutes

The conflict started the week before last when ATU 1181, representing more than 8,000 school bus drivers, delayed the process of picking their routes for the upcoming year. This delay results from ongoing negotiations between the city and the union on the terms of a new contract, as per NY Post.

Chancellor Banks voiced his concerns by expressing the following: "This may result in some drivers being placed on unfamiliar bus routes, and some companies may not be able to provide families who use curb-to-school bus routes with pickup and drop-off times in advance of the first day of school."

According to the city's long-standing practice, bus drivers use their years of experience to determine which of the city's 4,400 routes they drive. On the other hand, due to the protracted conflict, many families are still waiting for confirmation of their bus routes.

"We want to make parents and families aware that they may, in fact, experience some disruptions and delays on their children's first day of school," Banks said. "We also want to ensure they are prepared for this possibility."

The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) has stated that bus service will be provided on Thursday and Friday. Still, it has yet to rule out the idea of continuing the strike beyond this week. During the course of negotiations with bus companies and local officials, the union maintains its position that a fair contract should be reached.

The United States Department of Education (DOE) introduced a pricey backup plan the week before last to offset the potential impact of a bus driver strike. As part of this plan, well-known ridesharing applications like Uber and Lyft, in addition to MetroCards, will be put to use to guarantee that thousands of kids will still be able to get to school.

Under this proposal, the Department of Education (DOE) will either pre-order rides for children through ridesharing firms or compensate families for their transportation expenditures, up to a maximum of $100 one way. If a strike were to take place, it would be the first incident of its kind to take place in the city since January of 2013, CBS News reported.

This would present substantial issues to the city's educational system and the families that it serves. However, the uncertainty around the bus routes is not the only problem plaguing schools in the city of New York as they prepare to begin the new school year, according to ABC7 via MSN.

Another issue was brought to light by Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday when she focused on the challenge that will be presented by the thousands of new migrant kids who will be attending school in the coming years.

Read Also: Federal Judge Orders Texas To Move Buoy Barriers, Rejects 'Invasion' Claim in Support of Biden Administration

NYC Welcomes Spanish-Speaking Asylum-Seekers

The majority of the 60,000 asylum-seekers presently being housed across the five boroughs have a low competence in English and largely speak Spanish, according to Governor Hochul, who voiced her concerns about the situation and stated that she is concerned about the situation.

The Department of Education has taken preventative measures to prepare for this language barrier by hiring 3,400 instructors with licenses to teach English to speakers of other languages and more than 1,700 Spanish teachers.

These efforts aim to ensure that the newly enrolled students receive the support they require to achieve academically, despite the fact that they may suffer language obstacles.

Students and teachers in New York City schools are hoping for a trouble-free start to the new school year despite the substantial problems they will face due to labor unrest and language barriers when the schools begin the new academic year.

Related Article: WSJ Editorial Details How Parents in Blue States Fight Back Against Gender Ideology

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Empire Navigation, a Greek shipping company, pleaded guilty to smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine, according to newly unsealed US court documents.

This revelation sheds light on the illicit world of Iranian crude oil smuggling, heightening concerns regarding the ongoing sanctions and the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.

Greek Shipping Company Guilty in Iranian Oil Smuggling, Fined $2.4M

The case against Empire Navigation, which has now been made public, represents the first admission by US prosecutors that the United States seized approximately one million barrels of oil from the tanker Suez Rajan. Under the plea agreement, Empire Navigation will serve a three-year probation, highlighting the gravity of the sanctions violations.

Per The Hill, this case has brought to light the clandestine world of Iranian crude oil smuggling, which has flourished despite Western sanctions, especially since the collapse of the 2015 nuclear agreement.

It has also contributed to escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, even as both nations engage in negotiations involving suspended Iranian assets in South Korea and the release of five Iranian Americans held in Tehran. Since 2019, the United States and its allies have been actively seizing Iranian crude cargoes, which has led to a series of Iranian-attributed attacks in the Middle East, according to The Independent.

These actions have also resulted in retaliatory ship seizures by Iranian military and paramilitary forces, posing a significant threat to global shipping, mainly through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital passageway in the Persian Gulf that facilitates the transit of about 20% of the world's oil.

In February 2022, the organization United Against Nuclear Iran raised suspicions that the Suez Rajan tanker was transporting oil from Iran's Khargh Island, a significant oil distribution terminal in the Persian Gulf.

The Associated Press analysis of satellite imagery and shipping data at the time supported these allegations. Using satellite images and official documents, newly unsealed court documents illustrate how the Suez Rajan attempted to conceal its loading of Iranian crude oil onto one tanker by falsely asserting that the oil originated from another source.

The ship was stationed in the South China Sea off the northeast coast of Singapore for several months before abruptly and without explanation departing for the Texas coastline. Later, the vessel transferred its cargo to a different tanker, which discharged the crude in Houston. The unsealed court documents confirm that the US government confiscated the crude.

A counsel for Empire Navigation, Apostolos Tourkantonis, pleaded guilty to a single count of violating Iran sanctions. The Athens, Greece-based headquarters of Empire did not immediately respond to inquiries regarding the case.

The US Treasury has asserted that Iranian crude smuggling funds the Quds Force, a Revolutionary Guard expeditionary unit that operates throughout the Middle East. Numerous vessels attempting to conceal their movements and ownership through foreign shell corporations are believed to be aided by the Revolutionary Guard.

Per ABC News, the case involving the Suez Rajan is unique because the tanker was owned by the Los Angeles-based private equity firm Oaktree Capital Management at the time of the transfer. This ownership structure likely afforded an advantage to American prosecutors in their pursuit of the case. Having sold the vessel to Empire in late May, Oaktree has repeatedly declined to comment on the matter.

Read Also: Alex Murdaugh Demands New Trial, Accuses Court Clerk of Jury Tampering

Former US Ambassador Applauds Greek Shipping Company for Exiting Iranian Oil Trade

Former US ambassador to the United Nations under George W. Bush and current leader of United Against Nuclear Iran, Mark Wallace, praised Empire Navigation for granting the request. He described Iran's oil smuggling operations as "mob-like" and urged others to withdraw from the trade.

Wallace's remarks alluded to the difficulties and potential dangers faced by those involved in this illegal industry, although the court documents did not disclose the specific nature of these dangers.

The lengthy delay in unloading the Suez Rajan's cargo had not only become a political issue, but also aroused questions within the Biden administration. The ship remained anchored in the Gulf of Mexico for months, with some corporations reluctant to move forward due to concerns regarding potential Iranian threats.

Iran has seized two tankers near the Strait of Hormuz since the Suez Rajan set sail for the United States, including one carrying cargo for the significant US oil company Chevron Corp. In July, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's naval wing issued threats against anyone who attempted to unload the Suez Rajan; Iranian state media linked these threats to the fate of the seized cargo.

Iran has maintained its threats and fury over the oil seizure, even summoning a Swiss diplomat to Tehran. Since the 1979 US Embassy takeover and ensuing hostage crisis, Switzerland has represented US interests in Iran. The United States has increased its naval presence in the Middle East in response to the escalating tensions, including dispatching the troop-and-aircraft-carrying USS Bataan through the Strait of Hormuz.

There are also considerations regarding the deployment of military personnel on commercial vessels transiting the strait to prevent additional Iranian seizures.

In an update late Wednesday, the US issued a warning to shippers traveling through the Middle East, stating that "Commercial vessels transiting through the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman continue to be illegally boarded, detained, or seized by Iranian forces."

Kepler data indicates that Iranian oil exports have remained above 1 million barrels per day for most of this year despite American sanctions. May and June exports exceeded 1.5 million barrels per day, with August exports at 1.4 million barrels per day. China is believed to be a significant purchaser of Iranian oil, presumably benefiting from substantial price reductions.

Empire Navigation's guilty plea is a significant development in the fight against Iranian oil smuggling. Still, it also highlights the need for a comprehensive policy review to address the broader problem of ongoing violations and the proliferation of such activities involving hundreds of vessels.

Related Article: Biden Unveils G20 Summit Agenda, Including World Bank Reform, New Funding

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(Photo : South Korean Defense Ministry via Getty Images)

EAST COAST, SOUTH KOREA - SEPTEMBER 4: In this handout photo released by the South Korean Defense Ministry, South Korea's Hyunmu-2 ballistic missile is fired during an exercise aimed to counter North Korea's nuclear test on September 4, 2017 in East Coast, South Korea. South Korea's military said Monday it conducted a combined live-fire exercise in response to North Korea's sixth nuclear test a day earlier.

A nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was put through an unarmed test by the United States Air Force off the coast of the West Coast.

This was done to reaffirm the nation's commitment to maintaining a robust nuclear deterrent. The launch consisted of a Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile that was not armed and was fitted with three test re-entry vehicles.

US Air Force Conducts Unarmed ICBM Test to Bolster Nuclear Deterrence

It was carried out at 1:26 a.m. PDT from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and traveled 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The ICBM weapon system's precision and dependability were put to the test in the course of this test's intended goal, said The Hill.

The Air Force Global Strike Command issued a statement emphasizing the value of such test launches, which give critical data to ensure that a nuclear deterrent can continue to be maintained safely, securely, and effectively.

The press secretary for the Pentagon, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, highlighted that this test was a typical event arranged years in advance and followed conventional operating procedures. Notably, following the established rules, the United States alerted the Russian government in advance of the test that was going to be conducted.

The United States Air Force emphasized that the test was not a reaction to recent happenings worldwide but rather a continuation of continuing efforts to validate the efficacy of the country's nuclear deterrent. It is essential to highlight that the United States routinely performs checks on its intercontinental weapon systems to guarantee that its missiles are in proper working order.

Throughout its history, the Air Force has carried out more than 300 experiments that are analogous to this one. However, throughout the past 18 months, specific tests have been delayed in order to prevent further escalating tensions with Russia and China.

Because Russia had just recently begun its invasion of Ukraine, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) made it official in April 2022 that they would no longer be conducting a test launch of the Minuteman III missile.

The postponement of that launch had been requested by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin back in March as a safety measure. In addition, the Defense Department shelved a scheduled test of an intercontinental ballistic missile in August 2022 due to rising tensions with China over Taiwan.

According to CNN, the Minuteman III system is comprised of missiles that are stored in underground silos throughout five Western states. This system is the only land-based component of the United States' nuclear triad. From the Vandenberg Space Force Base, the United States Air Force typically carries out four test launches each and every calendar year.

Read Also: Supreme Court Judge Samuel Alito Faces Complaint for Panning Ethics Bill

Nuclear Preparedness and Future Modernization

The most recent test launch was conducted to validate and verify the safety, security, efficacy, and readiness of the nuclear weapon system used by the United States.

The Air Force Global Strike Command emphasized the preparedness of United States nuclear forces and instilled confidence in the nation's nuclear deterrence by highlighting the competence and dedication of the individuals involved in these essential duties.

Per Daily Mail, it is projected that the LG-35A Sentinel will eventually replace the Minuteman III, and it is estimated to reach its full operational capability in the middle of the 2030s. The United States' dedicated intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test squadron is located at Vandenberg Space Force Base, which is also the location of the 576th Flight Test Squadron of the Air Force Global Strike Command.

The press secretary for the Pentagon, Brigadier General Pat Ryder, emphasized that the ICBM test launch program aims to demonstrate the preparedness of US nuclear forces and provide confidence of the lethality and efficacy of the nation's nuclear deterrent. These tests are critical to the upkeep of the strategic security posture that the government maintains.

Related Article: At Least 61 Arrested in Georgia Over Racketeering Charges in Relation With 'Stop Copy City' Movement

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Romano's, the renowned Italian dining destination nestled within the opulent confines of JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar, is pleased to announce the appointment of Chef Alessandro Piso as their new Italian Chef. Hailing from the enchanting port city of Genoa, Chef Piso brings a wealth of experience and a genuine passion for Italian cuisine to delight palates of discerning guests with an enticing fusion of authentic Italian delicacies.

Chef Alessandro Piso's culinary repertoire boasts a splendid mix of traditional delicacies from various regions of Italy. His culinary journey, spanning over 12 years, has been characterized by unwavering dedication and an innate love for the art of cooking. His remarkable career has taken him to renowned establishments across the globe including the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, Hilton Kuala Lumpur and prestigious Michelin - starred restaurants like Nido Del Picchio in Carpaneto Piacentino and Forlino in Singapore. Over the years, he has excelled in various culinary roles, including Chef De Partie, Sous Chef and Chef De Cuisine, each contributing to the honing of his exceptional culinary talent.

Through his illustrious career, Chef Piso has not only showcased his talent for creating exquisite dishes but also fostered a cohesive team environment. His profound expertise in Italian cuisine, combined with his proficiency in Japanese culinary techniques, makes him an invaluable addition to Romano's culinary team.

In his new role at Romano's, Chef Piso will present an extraordinary culinary experience, featuring a harmonious blend of authentic Italian delicacies modernized while maintaining traditional recipes. He will also take charge of nurturing and developing his team of talented chefs. With over a decade of experience in the food and beverage industry, Chef Piso is well - prepared to elevate guest satisfaction through the creation of indigenous menu offerings. Moreover, his integral role in overseeing all aspects of kitchen management will undoubtedly enhance the overall dining experience at Romano's.

With Chef Alessandro Piso leading the way, his culinary mastery is set to elevate the restaurant's offerings to new heights of excellence. Guests can expect an unforgettable gastronomic journey, showcasing the very best of Italian cuisine, under his expert and visionary leadership.
Joseph Leibowitz joins Fontainebleau Las Vegas by way of the acclaimed Michael Mina Restaurant Group, where he most recently held the role of Vice President of Culinary Operations and played an integral part in the company's relationships with its hotel partners. His career spans over 17 years in executive food and beverage roles both on the Strip and in Massachusetts, where he successfully contributed to the opening and operations of more than 55 restaurants and lounges.

Fontainebleau Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

United States Website
As a B2B marketing consultant to hospitality companies, LinkedIn is one of my most important tools. Companies can post content on the platform and reach a business audience, rather than the mixed bag on other social sites. After managing multiple company and organizational pages on LinkedIn, Ive observed that holiday posts might not necessarily bolster a brands image; in fact, they might harm it.

There isnt a single holiday devoid of some controversy. For example, many veterans dont appreciate wishes for a Happy Memorial Day, considering the day is meant to solemnly honor those who have fallen. Some religious groups object to Happy Holidays, whereas non-religious individuals might take issue with Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Happy Kwanzaa. Days like Mothers and Fathers Day can evoke unexpected emotions, and celebrating Columbus Day has become somewhat passe.

Furthermore, as a LinkedIn user, Ive often found my feed dominated by identical firework images on the Fourth of July, providing no unique value to anyone.

Do Holiday Posts Matter?

This made me question the actual effectiveness of holiday posts. To gather opinions, I first polled my LinkedIn network about their sentiments towards such posts. The unanimous response was indifference; most users werent offended by the absence of a celebratory post and would typically scroll past them.

Qualitative Research

Here are some of the responses I got when I asked if companies should post about holidays on LinkedIn.

I am here for the odd, obscure holidays. I love national ice cream day, dont really care about Happy New Year because I am not online then. But give me something fun and intriguing and why its important to your company (or how you celebrated it) and I am down.

I think its completely pointless for businesses to do so. Almost nobody is sitting around hoping a business will wish them Happy New Year or something. It provides no value to anybody. Its just done because others do and they feel they have to or because its easy content for the sake of creating some content.

Its not weird if you provide value. In our case, we signal World Tourism Day and tie it with an opinion on the state of travel or something we believe we should be celebrating.

Quantitative Research

To validate my theory, I reviewed posts from a representative business page over the past year, totaling 365 days and 164 posts. I categorized each post, labeling any related to holidays, heritage weeks, or other commemorations as holiday. This yielded 24 holiday-related posts.

At first glance, while holiday posts seemed to attract fewer viewers than regular content, they still maintained decent engagement rates. Surprisingly, holiday posts had a higher engagement rate than other posts. However, a deeper analysis revealed that two out of the 24 holiday posts, which featured carousel slides of employee photographs, were significant outliers. These specific posts garnered exceptional interaction, skewing the results.

Check for Outliers

How? These two posts were designed specifically to counteract the holiday post doldrums by including photo carousels of employees that would be sure to get a reaction. They couldnt lose.

 Source: Cayuga Hospitality Consultants

I removed the outliers and reassessed the data. I found that while holiday posts made up 13.4% of the content, they accounted for only 8.1% of impressions, 10.1% of reactions, 3.7% of comments, and 17.5% of re-posts or shares. In simpler terms, regardless of the occasion, holiday posts on a companys LinkedIn page dont resonate as well as regular content. Furthermore, my qualitative research indicates that most users are indifferent.

Avoid Generic Holiday Posts

My recommendation? Avoid generic holiday posts. Unless you have something unique or can use engaging photographs of people to boost interaction, it might be best to refrain. For instance, instead of a basic red, white, and blue graphic for Memorial Day, consider only posting if you have a compelling and distinctive message to share.

View source
Travel Takes on Generative AI

The industry has embraced artificial intelligence as a timesaving tool with vast potential, and advisors are studying use cases and developing best practices for deploying the nascent technology.

I propose to consider the question, Can machines think?

So begins British mathematician Alan Turings 1950 paper, Computing Machinery and Intelligence, a seminal piece in the world of artificial intelligence (AI).

Turing himself dismisses the question in the paper (I believe it to be too meaningless to deserve discussion) but goes on to ask whether a machine could imitate human behavior well enough to trick one human into believing they are speaking with another. The Turing test is still used today to determine a machines ability to replicate intelligence.

At the time, Turing could not know how technology would evolve, and in the 73 years since that paper was authored, AI has come a long way. But recent iterations of one particular form of AI  generative  can already replicate human tasks and do them more efficiently than we can, freeing up time and energy for other work.

Leisure-focused travel agencies are already jumping on board with generative AI, which uses other aspects of AI to create content that can include text and images. For some advisors, its become a go-to way to search the Internet. For others, its jump-starting marketing efforts and itinerary creation.

No matter how its being employed, generative AI is already proving helpful, and its potential is enormous.

Were only at the tip of the iceberg with where AI is going, said Scott Largay, director of marketing at Largay Travel in Waterbury, Conn. And with some of the enhancements that are happening as we speak, well be able to implement it fully into our business going forward, not only from a marketing and content standpoint but in how we run our business and overall strategy.

A TIMESAVING CURATOR

Among the most popular consumer-facing generative AI platforms that have launched in the past year are OpenAIs ChatGPT, Googles Bard and Microsofts Bing Chat.

For all of their potential, there remains a fundamental problem: They all can generate incorrect or biased information. And beyond that, many future use cases depend on integration with third-party systems and data. Additionally, there are ethical, legal and safety considerations; its use in, for instance, an agencys customer relationship management software can raise privacy and security concerns.

But despite these challenges, generative AI is already proving to be useful to advisors.

Liz Tippit, a Global Travel Collection affiliate based in Tulsa, Okla., uses ChatGPT, Bard and Bing Chat to create sample itineraries and curate attractions and activities. She particularly appreciates the fact that search results seem largely uninfluenced by paid advertising  at least for now.

And its a timesaver. Creating a detailed itinerary for a weeklong trip would have previously taken Tippit days. Now she can get input from generative AI in moments, then spend 30 minutes to an hour curating it and supplementing it with her own knowledge and client needs.

A lot of people feel like the Internet is a competitor, Tippit said, but its only replaced those who dont grow with the technology. Embrace it. Give it a shot.

Anne Densk, owner of Daybreak Destinations Travel in Danbury, Conn., has turned to generative AI for marketing. Like Tippit, she reviews and reworks any content the technology creates for her.

It helps get the creative juices flowing, Densk said.

Generative AI is also helping advisors with client interactions. San Diego-based Connie Majors, also a Global Travel Collection affiliate, uses it to bring up information quickly, especially when she doesnt know a destination very well.

And even when she does, an AI tool can fill in some blanks. For instance, although she considers herself knowledgeable about France, a film producer was asking about a particular location with which she wasnt familiar. She asked generative AI about it while on a call with the client, and it gave her enough information to satisfy the client.

A WAY TO STREAMLINE

Largay sees potential AI use cases in every part of his business, from streamlining processes and procedures to education, events and beyond.

Like others, he warned that content created by generative AI needs a human hand to be finalized. It gives you 75%, and then adjust from there, he said.

Most recently, Largay Travel partnered with Approach Guides, which gives its advisors access to a content portal filled with experiences showcasing destinations. They can brand the content with one click to either Largay Travel or to their own agency. Then, generative AI can be used to generate and hone social media posts, again with one click.

Its part of the agencys overall strategy to be more proactive when it comes to marketing. In a time when opting out from mass marketing is at an all-time high, Largay said, he wants his advisors to have access to branded, personalized content they can easily send to individual clients.

A lot of people have had the worries about AI replacing jobs, but I saw it very differently, Largay said. I saw it as a way to streamline a lot of manual processes that take time away from my team.

Travel42, owned by Travel Weekly parent company Northstar Travel Group, is currently experimenting with generative AI for social media post creation, best-of lists and training documents.

Were still very much in the exploratory stages, balancing its potential for future uses with maintaining our products standards for unbiased, firsthand content, said Karen Jordan, managing editor of Travel42.

THE ALL-IMPORTANT PROMPT

Jennifer Doncsecz, president of VIP Vacations in Bethlehem, Pa., started working with ChatGPT when it was first publicly released last year. Her early experiments included asking it to edit copy that she wrote and point out grammatical errors. She quickly learned that, even with that simple ask, it could make mistakes.

Doncsecz moved on to Googles Bard, which she prefers. She uses it to generate copy and asks it for trip-routing advice.

The most important thing shes learned is that prompting is all-important with generative AI.

Its all in the way you frame the question, Doncsecz said.

Shes come up with a format for all but her most simple requests: Act as a (role) to perform a (task) in this (format). The role could be, for instance, an expert travel advisor, a social media marketer, an editor, a CEO or a website designer. The task: an essay, ad copy, summary or blog post. The format? A list, PDF, presentation slides or code.

So, a prompt could look like this, she said: As a social media expert, please create five unique and innovative content ideas that will attract the attention of couples interested in finding a destination wedding travel advisor.

She ends by asking Bard to be sure to ask her if it has any questions so that you can produce with confidence what is being asked of you. And, shell often end the prompt with, Explain like Im a beginner.

EXCITEMENT ABOUT AI

At Global Travel Collection, Internovas luxury division, a task force was created to examine generative AI, headed by chief development officer Cindy Schlansky. Two dozen advisors were tasked with using generative AI in their businesses and sharing what they learned and best practices.

Participants included advisors who had never used generative AI and some already using pay versions.

Examples of use cases included generating client communications, helping those for whom English isnt their first language and creating marketing pieces.

Schlansky said shes seeing an excitement about the possibilities of generative AI that is uncommon in retail travel sales; there have been conversations, for instance, about creating a database using in-house and partner data to quickly deliver answers to agents or clients. And there have been larger conversations within Internova about potential consumer-facing tools to match consumers to the agents most appropriate to their travel-planning needs, Schlansky said.

The working group is on pause for the summer as Internova works to establish best practices to, among other things, guide advisors in regard to potential legal issues.

There are a lot of caveats in using it, she said.

ITS NOT GOING ANYWHERE

A lot of use cases for generative AI involve integrating the technology into proprietary data sets.

Expedia is experimenting with a ChatGPT-powered chatbot. On a recent call with investors, CEO Peter Kern said, I think the future lies much more in a better integration, which will come as more large language models come out and we figure out how to embrace them with our own data. Right now, they kind of live separately.

Virtuoso is watching the space closely. During Virtuoso Travel Week in August, CEO Matthew Upchurch said its likely the consortium will build its own generative AI technology.

I actually think AIs going to do a tremendous job of helping people do their job faster, and I think there are going to be many creative ways that our people will be using it, Upchurch said.

Most advisors view it as another potential weapon in their arsenal.

I think its going to be a tool, just like the Internet became a tool, Densk said. Everybody thought that travel advisors were just going to be wiped out because the Internet was there and everybody could just book their own trips. And while it did have some impact, travel advisors are very resilient and have learned how to pull things together and use technology to their own advantage.

Advisors should start using generative AI now, Densk said. That way, they can be pros with it down the line.

Casto Travel Philippines focuses on business process outsourcing for leisure and corporate agencies. Right now, the company uses generative AI for training modules and to assist agents located outside the U.S. with contextual information. The agency is also testing chat features that generate questions for travelers to engage with.

The more interesting applications are how we would be able to integrate it through our application programing interface stack, said CEO Marc Casto, adding that the company would need to work in consultation with clients to go in that direction.

As far as what the future of generative AI may hold, he said it could be applied to everything from fraud prevention to quality control, fare validation and even avoiding dreaded debit memos.

Even itinerary management is fair game, a use case that Casto himself has tested on recent trips. Oftentimes, its like, yeah, this actually is better routing, he said.

I just encourage people to not run away from this. Its not going anywhere, he continued. Its going to be a part of every industry and every business moving forward.

This article originally appeared on Travel Weekly.
Guestroom at the DoubleTree by Hilton Lansing

Waramaug Hospitality announced today the opening of the DoubleTree by Hilton Lansing, located in Lansing, Michigan.

The 256-room property, acquired by Waramaug in 2021, underwent a complete renovation, including all guestrooms and guest corridors, the lobby, Made Market, restaurants and bar, meeting rooms, and pre-function spaces. The property features an oversized lobby, onsite restaurant and bar, fitness center, two-story indoor pool, and over 10,000 square feet of meeting and function space. The second floor of the property connects to the Lansing Center, the city-owned 125,000-square-foot convention center.

"Positioned in the heart of Lansing, adjacent to the Lansing Convention Center, this property has remarkable growth potential with its diversified economy and the surge in insurance, insuretech, medtech and IT businesses," said Ferit Ferhangil, Principal of Waramaug Hospitality. "Our strategic decision to rebrand the property to a DoubleTree will increase the intrinsic value and unlock the untapped potential of the asset through Hilton's unparalleled distribution capability, systems, and strong loyalty program. We are also pleased that this will be the eighth property in our portfolio to operate under the Hilton family of brands."

The DoubleTree by Hilton Lansing is one block from the Michigan State Capitol building and in close proximity to Impression 5 Science Center, R.E. Olds Transportation Museum, Michigan History Center, Accident Fund Insurance, Sparrow Hospital, General Motors, Peckham Inc., and Auto Owners Insurance. Michigan State University is four miles away. Lansing ranks No. 15 in BestCities.org's 2020 rankings of America's best small cities.
Bahamas Experiencing Explosive Growth in Visitor Arrival Numbers

The Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation has announced that tourism performance has outpaced projections for the first seven months of 2023, with The Bahamas recording more than 5.89 million arrivals from January through the end of July. Current tourism performance puts the country well on the way to closing out the year at 8 million plus visitors.

Of the 5,893,118 total visitors who came to The Islands of The Bahamas in the first seven months of the year, 1,133,494 arrived by air and 4,759,624 by sea. July year-to-date overall arrivals are pacing 59 percent ahead of 2022 and 30 percent ahead of 2019, the busiest year on record.

Comparing 2023 overall arrivals by month, March arrivals peaked at 951,311, making it the busiest arrivals month in our history. To contextualize how significant the gains were in the first seven months of 2023, during the entirety of 2022, 1,470,244 visitors came to our shores by air; another 5,530,462 visitors arrived by sea.

Importantly, overall tourist spending is also up significantly. Major large New Providence hotels experienced increased occupancy and length of stay rates for 2023, eclipsing corresponding periods for 2019 and 2022. Average Daily Rate (ADR) is up an average of 59 percent compared to 2019 and Room Revenues are up 42 percent for the same period. More than 60 percent of visitors came to The Bahamas for the first time, with arrivals from every region showing an increase over the same period last year.

The Hon. I. Chester Cooper, Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation said, "The stronger than expected results speak to vibrancy of The Bahamas' brand, methodical business strategies and the hard work of tourism industry professionals and stakeholders."

"We are seeing record arrivals, because we have all worked together to resuscitate our tourism industry, coming out of the pandemic, and, because we continue to improve our tourism product," said DPM Cooper.

In our cruise business, The Port of Nassau welcomed the largest share of cruise arrivals, followed by The Berry Islands (Coco Cay), Bimini (Mainland and Ocean Cay), Half Moon Cay, Grand Bahama and Abaco (Castaway Cay), respectively. Overall, Cruise arrivals January through July, are up 72.1 percent over the corresponding period last year, and 43 percent ahead of the 2019 historic cruise arrivals figures.

Overall Air stopover arrivals, that represent "heads in beds", surpassed same period 2022 numbers by 24 percent, and matched 2019 figures.

The destination's biggest market for visitors remains the United States of America, representing 90 percent of overall visitor arrivals, followed by Canada and The United Kingdom/Europe. The Latin America market is gaining momentum in its steady return to pre-pandemic stopover levels.

Looking at visitor trends, from January through July, 70 percent of all stopover visitors came to The Bahamas primarily for a vacation, 15 percent for weddings and honeymoons, 6 percent to play in casinos, 4 percent for business and 5 percent for' "other/undisclosed" reasons.

DPM Cooper further elaborated on the country's impressive tourism performance:

"With a better developed downtown to complement the new cruise port and added destinations within The Bahamas coming on stream, the numbers will only continue to grow, if we continue to deliver great service and experiences. The plan for the redevelopment of Family Island airports will reap rewards for Bahamians well into the future," he said.

"The last seven months of 2022 were the strongest in our history, prior to 2023. The first seven months of 2023 exceeded the expectations of tourism officials. Our job is to stay ahead of the demand." Cooper explained that government initiatives like the restructured Tourism Development Corporation will present entrepreneurial opportunities for Bahamians.

"We are experiencing explosive growth in tourism that can no longer be explained by pent up post-pandemic demand," the Minister said.

"Great jobs and career opportunities are to be had in tourism, but there is also massive potential for ownership. The government is putting in place systems to allow Bahamians access to the training, certification, support and capital they need to take advantage of the country's popularity as a tourist destination."
TravelBoom to Host Free Digital Marketing Workshop for Hoteliers in Daytona Beach

TravelBoom COO, Pete DiMaio, will share leisure travel learnings, insights for 2024 on Oct. 19.

TravelBoom, the premier data-driven digital marketing agency for hotels, resorts, and vacation rental companies, is pleased to announce its upcoming one-day workshop, Supercharge Your Hotels Digital Marketing.

On Thursday, October 19, the company will welcome independent and small group hoteliers to Daytona Beach for a conversation on sharpening skills to increase profitability next year. Attendees will discover the major shifts expected for 2024 travel, learn how to own the search results page, and receive a step-by-step guide to what should and should not be included in your 2024 digital marketing budget.

At TravelBoom, we work around the clock to uncover the best insights to capture your best customers, said Pete DiMaio, TravelBoom COO. Im thrilled to share our timely research in an effort to inform hoteliers of small changes that can go a long way. Were confident this workshop will open new doors to increase direct bookings and customer loyalty.The free event, taking place at LPGA International, includes all conference materials, breakfast, lunch and swag. The days agenda includes:

8:30 a.m.: Check-in and breakfast

9:00 a.m.: Main conference topics and roundtable discussion

12:00 p.m.: Catered lunch with a special guest

1:00 p.m.: Budgeting for 2024 education session

2:00 p.m.: Q&A opportunity

2:30 p.m. Wrap up

Space is limited to 50 participants. To sign up, visit travelboommarketing.com/daytonabeach, or call Leanne deMaille at 843.848.2164.

About TravelBoom

TravelBoom specializes in developing and executing customized data-driven marketing solutions that drive direct bookings and growth for its clients. With over 25 years of experience in digital marketing for travel and hotels, TravelBoom leverages advanced data science and analytics to uncover insights and develop strategies that greatly enhance client results and reduce reliance on third-party channels. TravelBoom is also the host of the worlds #1 ranked Hotel Marketing Podcast and its quarterly Traveler Sentiment Study, both of which can be found at www.travelboommarketing.com.
Published: 7 Sep 2023 Share:





The So You Think You Want to be an Accountant? EBS Accounting Quiz 2023 was held throughout the month of August 2023. The final round of the quiz was held on 29 August 2023 at Heriot-Watt University Malaysia (HWUM) campus. The quiz attracted over 800 participants from various high schools across Malaysia, with 30 students making it to the final round of the quiz.

The grand finale of the quiz took place at Computer Lab 1, where participants put their accounting knowledge to the test, racing against time to complete 25 accountancy theoretical and computational problems. The winners were judged based on their accuracy and speed in solving the accountancy problems.

The much-awaited prize giving ceremony was given in two categories. Here are the winners:

Institutional Prize Category (Schools with most participants)

Ranking School 1st SMJK Chan Wa, Seremban 2nd Chong Hwa Independent High School, KL 3rd Han Chiang High School, Penang

Individual Prize Category

Ranking Name School 1st Sim Jia Yi Hin Hua High School, Selangor 2nd Jia Yee Tee Chong Hwa Independent High School, KL 3rd Qian Yu Tong SMK Taman Desa, KL

Lee Fan Sheng and Lam Tian Jin from SMJK Chan Wa expressed their feelings on clinching the top spot as champion said, We feel very proud; not everyone gets this opportunity. Out of 800 participants, we won! On this occasion, I would like to thank my teacher, Mrs. Sarala Devi, who gave us motivation and support throughout the competition.

Winner of the Individual Category, Sim Jia Yi from Hin Hua High School said, I am very surprised to win first place. I just gave my level best in this competition. I would like to thank my teachers, my parents, and friends who supported me in this competition.

Professor David Ong, the EBS Quiz Project Manager, applauded the participants for their exceptional skill and knowledge in the field of accounting, saying, Congratulations to all the participants who took part in the Accounting Quiz 2023 Final Round. This competition is testimonial to their skills and knowledge in accounting. Accounting is a promising career and it's a very interesting field to learn about. This competition is related to taxation and auditing, which is challenging. I would like to say that they should take this opportunity to explore more about accounting and I encourage them to take part in other accounting competitions out there; perhaps it will help their future and careers as well.

The event concluded with a campus tour and talk, allowing participants to explore HWUM's vibrant environment. The event stood a wonderful experience to the participants, encouraging them to continue pursuing their passion for accounting.
BCC Expresses Gratitude over Passage of State Budget

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Berkshire Community College celebrated the passage of the state's $56.2 billion budget, which includes several programs designed to increase access to education for all residents.

Berkshire Community College (BCC), the first community college established in the Commonwealth and now one of 15 across the state, will directly benefit from the funding directed to these programs.

Of importance is a change to the Commonwealth's General Laws that allows undocumented students living in Massachusetts to pay in-state tuition and fees. The Tuition Equity Bill stipulates that such undocumented students must have attended high school in Massachusetts for at least three years and either graduated from a Commonwealth high school or attained an equivalent degree.

"We are grateful to the legislature and to Governor Healey for a budget that invests in higher education and programs that help to ensure equitable access and support, especially for students who have been traditionally marginalized. We are particularly excited that the Tuition Equity Bill was approved," said Adam Klepetar, BCC Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. "We strive every day to be an equitable institution of higher learning, and this bill makes it possible for undocumented students in the Commonwealth to achieve their dreams."

Approved program funding includes:

Early College and Dual Enrollment Programs ($27 million)

Public colleges and universities in the Commonwealth will continue to receive funding for Early College and Dual Enrollment programs. BCC partners with Berkshire County high schools to offer students free tuition and fees for taking up to 15 college credits.

Community College Scholarships in High-Demand Fields ($25 million)

This funding supports students who are enrolled in high-demand career fields, as defined by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development's study on labor market conditions. The Workforce Development & Community Education department at BCC currently offers certificate and training programs in Advanced Manufacturing Technician, Certified Nursing Assistant, Medical Interpreter, Community Health Worker and Phlebotomy Technician.

MassReconnect ($20 million)

MassReconnect, which begins in fall 2023, provides Massachusetts residents ages 25 and older with access to free associate degrees and certificates at community colleges in the Commonwealth. Eligibility is open to those who have not yet earned a college degree or certificate. Tuition, fees, books and supplies are completely covered. BCC has held several information sessions on the program and has seen a tremendous interest from the community.

Scholarships for Community College Nursing Programs ($18 million)

This funding supports scholarships for community college nursing students, plus financial support to the colleges to recruit and retain qualified nursing professionals to teach in nursing programs. BCC's robust nursing program, with several certificates and degrees available, is poised to benefit from this funding.

SUCCESS Programs ($14 million)

All community colleges in Massachusetts will receive funding to continue their Supporting Urgent Community College Equity through Student Services (SUCCESS) programs, which focus on vulnerable populations.

Free Community College for All ($12 million)

In a bid to provide free community college to all students by the fall of 2024, the Commonwealth has earmarked funding for institutions to begin planning for such a program, including staffing and system upgrades and the creation of guidelines and implementation measures.
Heat Means Early Release for Clarksburg, Florida Schools

CLARKSBURG, Mass.  The forecast for unusually high temperatures and humidity on Thursday has prompted a planned early release for two local schools.

Clarksburg School and Gabriel Abbott Memorial School in the town of Florida will both release students at 12:30 p.m.

The National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., is warning that the heat index could approach advisory criteria by Thursay afternoon.

Superintendent John Franzoni said the lack of air conditioning in the two schools led to the decision to schedule a half day.

Both schools were built in the 1960s and are lacking modern ventilation and air conditioning systems. They are part of the Northern Berkshire School Union which also includes Emma Miller Memorial School in Savoy and Rowe Elementary.

"Savoy and Rowe have air conditioning systems that provide a safe learning space in the classrooms which will allow them to remain open for a full day on Thursday," Franzoni wrote in an email. "Neither Clarksburg or Florida have the ability to control temperature in the school buildings, creating oppressive heat conditions tomorrow [Thursday] afternoon."

Temperatures have been in the 80s since Sunday and Accuweather is predicting a high of 91 degrees on Thursday with a "realfeel" of 96. The temperature on Main Street in North Adams was 80 degrees at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

The School Committee will meet as usual on Thursday evening in the public library area, which has air conditioning.

Pittsfield High School also has postponed its Meet the Teacher Night scheduled for Thursday because of the high temperatures. It has been moved to Sept. 26.
Specialty Minerals is facing a slew of retirements in the coming years, representatives told the Selectmen on Wednesday.

Specialty Minerals Cites Housing, Schools as Obstacles to Recruitment



Specialty Minerals' Douglas Mayger, left, and Kyle Ledbetter take a question from a citizen on Wednesday night following a presentation to the Board of Selectmen. ADAMS, Mass.  Specialty Minerals Inc. is expecting to replace up to 40 percent of its workforce in next five years or so because of retirements.

Two critical areas in recruiting those workers is schools and affordable housing, Douglas Mayger, operations manager, told the Selectmen on Wednesday night.

"We're moving a lot of people into Adams and so I've got at least 13 new management employees," he said. "Every one of them that are coming in are asking about things like schools, affordable housing."

Mayger, who will be one of the retirees, said the company pays "pretty good" wages but it's been hard for new workers to find affordable housing prices in Adams and the surrounding area.

It's a problem he acknowledged that is shared by numerous employees in the region.

"I talked to a lot of business, and it's a difficult area around people and how to attract talent," he said. "But it's made easier with good schools."

Specialty Minerals has about 115 employees and a payroll of $11 million, making it an significant employer in the community.

But, he said, the makeup of the workforce has changed since in recent years as children are less likely to follow their parents into the same employment.

"We've been fortunate over the years to have a lot of local talent, first, second or third generations," Mayger said, later adding, "It's not that way anymore."

Now it's looking outside Adams to fill positions, with three more recent hires from Mexico and another from central Africa.

"We're bringing in a lot of talent that typically we would have had here locally, but we've had to go pretty far outside of the regions," Mayger said, noting that the worker may like the wages but their family may be less willing to move. "But it's made easier with good schools."

"What I would leave you with is this  help us to find affordable housing and help us to find and improve the schools," he said.

Specialty Minerals has been partnering with McCann Technical School in North Adams and Chair Christine Hoyt suggested Mayger reach out to Hoosac Valley High School, noting the school is implementing new career pathways, including engineering.

Specialty Minerals replaced Pfizer as the operator in 1992 but the limestone mine dates back to 1848. The quarry covers about 1,400 acres in Adams and North Adams and produces about 80,000 tons of lime a year for construction and industrial uses

Another 250,000 tons a year of ground calcium carbonate is sold for masonry, building projects, agricultural and environmental uses. Another product, precipitated calcium carbonate, is used in finishes such as automobile paint.

Kyle LedBetter, environmental health and safety manager, spoke to the safety at the plant, which has gone 294 days without an injury and 894 since an injury resulted in lost time.

"So considering we're around heavy equipment, a lot of people, a lot of moving parts, non routine work, that's a record that we're very proud of," he said. "We were recognized last year for 2022 for not having any lost time."

One environmental project that is coming to fruition is a minerals management landfill.

"It's the first step to reclaiming the quarry and restoring that original ecosystem," Ledbetter said. "So it's an area that we've already mined ... it involves a lot of hydroseeding and a lot of planting native plants and just bringing back the bird population."

Another initiative is the use of the FilterSense, an emission monitoring system, which aids workers in reducing dust emissions, a frequent complaint of neighbors.

Hoyt, who lives in the plant's neighborhood, said she had noticed less dust this year and fewer complaints directed to the board.

Operators are also using strobe lights at night as truck backup warnings rather than the "beep beep" so as not to intrude on neighbors' sleep.

The plant's also investing in sustainability, including reducing its water intake and discharge by about 17 percent and is aggressively pursuing buyers for its co-product waste.

"So a lot going on at the plant, a lot of action, and we believe we're doing it in a safe and environmentally friendly way," said Ledbetter.
Local and state officials cut the ribbon on the Mohican Trail in Williamstown on Thursday morning. One of the new signs marks the trail head near the corner of Syndicate Road and North Street (U.S. Route 7). The Western New England Greenway gave Williamstown two signs to designate its new multimodal trail as part of a network advocates envision from Canada to Connecticut. PreviousNext

Ribbon Cut on Williamstown's Mohican Trail

Berkshire Bike Path Council President Margie Cohen speaks at Thursday's ceremony.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  At the ribbon cutting for the new Mohican Trail on Thursday morning, the president of the Berkshire Bike Path Council remembered a time when not everyone believed such paths could be built.

"Twenty-three years ago, a small chorus of people started singing 'Bike path, bike path, bike path,' and everybody thought we were nuts  including Mayor Barrett," Margie Cohen said, nodding to now state Rep. John Barrett III, one of several state and local dignitaries on hand for the ceremony.

"Twenty-three years later, the Berkshire Bike Path Council has over 400 members singing, loudly, 'Bike path, bike path, bike path.' Included in that chorus is all of our state and local officials and so many partners.  All the voices are coming together to encourage a path from Vermont to Connecticut."

The 2.4-mile leg of that larger project was completed earlier this year by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which turned over ownership of the trail from Syndicate Road to the Spruces Park to the Town of Williamstown.

Thursday's ceremony was an opportunity for MassDOT officials and local representatives, along with community activists like Cohen, to celebrate the trail and recognize those who made it happen.

Barrett, who accepted Cohen's jest with good humor, was one of several to recognize the work of his predecessor in the State House.

"I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Gailanne Cariddi," Barrett said of the state representative who served the First Berkshire district from 2010 until her death in 2017. "Gail Cariddi was really part of how we have expanded the concept of outdoor recreation here in the Northern Berkshire area and Berkshire County and, eventually statewide. It reminds me when we talked about arts and council and how that has become an economic development piece  in our area, outdoor recreation has become and will continue to grow and economic developer of the area.

"[Cariddi] was one of the instigators in building the Ashuwillticook Trail. I can remember, as mayor, I asked her to be the liaison to it as the City Council president. She took it on, she grew it, and it magnified to such large proportions of what we see today."

Cohen emphasized in her remarks that the work is not done, and she talked about the Berkshire Bike Path Council's support of design work to complete the leg from Williamstown's Spruces Park, through North Adams to Mass MoCA and, eventually, south from downtown North Adams to the Ashuwillticook Trail head in Adams.

During Thursday's festivities, Cohen gifted the town two signs from the Western New England Greenway project, which sees the path through Williamstown as part of a larger network from Montreal, Quebec, to the Long Island Sound.

Throughout the half hour ceremony on Williams College's Cole Field, which abuts the Mohican Trail, officials provided reminders that those connections take time.

"Someone mentioned the Ashuwillticook and its extension to Crane [Avenue in Pittsfield]," state Sen. Paul Mark said. "In my first term in the House, back in 2012, I filed a bond bill earmarked to get a study done and get some of the easements. That was one of the first things I was successful at in the legislature.

"And it took 10 years  I couldn't believe it  for the extension actually to open. It made me think of Tip O'Neill and the Big Dig, just how difficult these projects can really be."

State Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca gave a list of some of the difficulties faced by planners for the Mohican Trail, the first of its kind in the county not to take advantage of existing railroad beds.

Fiandaca mentioned the 100-year flood plain, the wetlands, the endangered species and the development restrictions placed by FEMA on the Spruces Park among the obstacles the project faced.

"That's the hallmark of MassDOT, Fiandaca said. "We take on the big projects, take on the challenging projects, take on the projects that are important to the community."

Speaking for the Williamstown Select Board, longtime member Jane Patton said the project has the backing of the community.

"It took the connections of everybody who is here and everybody who is not here today to make this happen, to make a connection between Williamstown and our sister communities," Pattion said. "I think it takes connections to maintain this and take care of it, as Rep. Barrett suggested.

"I am just thrilled to be part of a community that values projects like this."

Robert Menicocci, the fourth Williamstown town manager to work on the project and the third in the corner office during its construction phase, said that while the Mohican Trail is an amenity that can add to the health and well-being of Williamstown residents, its impact goes further than that.

"The link to North Adams is an important economic driver that we're very excited about," Menicocci said. "It will help draw people to the region for tourism and things of that nature."

Menicocci also passed along the gratitude and well wishes of representatives of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, who were unable to attend Thursday's ceremony. Menicocci noted that leaders of the tribe, including its president, were in the county last week for a ceremony in Stockbridge and unable to make the return trip from Wisconsin for the trail's ribbon cutting.

He did note that Town Hall worked closely with Stockbridge-Munsee representatives to find an appropriate name for the trail.

"Mohican roughly translates to, 'The people of the waters that are never still,' " Menicocci said. "That came about largely due to the fact that, as a community, as a tribe, they settled many times in valleys along rivers. We really thought it was apropos given the fact that this trail really hugs the Hoosic River here.

"We thought it was a very impactful, meaningful name, in addition to honoring the Stockbridge-Munsee Community in the naming of it and honoring their ancestral lands."
Williamstown Road Closures to Accommodate Route 7 Repairs

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  In order to complete the road repairs on Route 7 in the Bulkley St and Jamieson Heights area, that section of road will be closed for a portion of Friday Sept. 8.

Closures are estimated to start at 7 am and are expected to last until 3:30 pm.

Closures for through traffic will be placed at Sand Springs Road at Simonds Rd, and North Street at Field Park, with local traffic able to access in the following ways:

Jamieson Heights can be reached by way of Simonds Road, while North Street will allow access up to Bulkley Street. Between those two streets, traffic will not be able to pass during the closure.




iciHaiti - Africa CARICOM Day : Message from PM Ariel Henry





Message from Acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry :

"My dear compatriots,

Brother peoples of CARICOM and Africa,



September 7 of each year is henceforth dedicated to the celebration of Africa-CARICOM Day. I welcome this initiative, adopted during the first Africa-CARICOM Summit held in Kenya in September 2021, which aims to deepen and strengthen relations between the African continent and the Caribbean Community.



Indeed, much of what defines our Caribbean region has its roots in Africa. The two regions share a common history marked by resilience, strength and the desire to find roots lost during centuries of slavery, colonization and displacement.



As a member of CARICOM, Haiti will strive to advance the Africa-CARICOM agenda in areas of priority action of mutual interest, with a view to making a quality contribution to the establishment of solid and in this new chapter of cooperation that is opening up between the two regions.



The African continent has always occupied an important place in Haitian diplomatic action. Thus, Haiti maintains diplomatic relations with certain African countries. And we plan to implement others gradually.



I welcome the fact that the diaspora has been listed since 2003 in the Charter of the African Union as the sixth region of Africa, with the aim of encouraging the participation of people of African descent residing outside the Africa in continental affairs. From this point of view, Africa-CARICOM Day should not be a purely State activity, but should be celebrated equally by all people of African descent living in the Caribbean, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity or citizenship.



Now is the time to act. Let's combine our efforts to make CARICOM and Africa regions more prosperous and more united, for the continued happiness of the peoples of our two regions.



Long live Haiti !

Long live Caricom !

Long live Africa !"



IH/ iciHaiti


















Globe Business solidifies its position in the digital transformation landscape as it announces a strategic partnership with Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, to provide enterprises in the Philippines with access to their Cloud technology.

[From L-R] Globe Business Cloud Portfolio Director, Jay Abada, and Vice President for Partner Ecosystem, Cocoy Claravall, together with Alibaba Cloud Intelligences General Manager of the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau SAR, Leo Liu, and Country Manager for the Philippines, Allen Guo.

Established in 2009, Alibaba Cloud is one of the biggest public Cloud service providers in Asia Pacific. It offers a comprehensive suite of Cloud services worldwide, including elastic computing, database management, storage, networking, security, and application services at full capacity, as well as localized solutions to assist enterprises and SMEs in the Philippines. The company also specializes in providing solutions in data analytics, machine learning and Internet of Things (IoT) services.

"We are thrilled to collaborate with Alibaba Cloud in this journey of transforming industries," said KD Dizon, Head for Globe Business. "This partnership gives us an opportunity to expand our portfolio of Cloud solutions to accommodate specific and unique needs of enterprises in the country.

The collaboration enables Globe Business to enhance its Cloud capabilities by tapping into Alibaba Cloud's ecosystem of solutions, maximizing their computing power, enterprise-grade stability, reliability, scalability, and continuous research and development.

With Alibaba Cloud on board, Globe Business is empowered further in addressing the evolving needs of various industries in the Philippines, including fintech, media, financial services, and retail. Alibaba Cloud is a global public Cloud service provider with a significant presence of data centers in Southeast Asia. By leveraging Alibaba Clouds public Cloud services alongside their local data center in the Philippines, enterprises can be equipped to provide better services with the help of comprehensive Cloud solutions tailored to their specific requirements.

"We are delighted to partner with Globe Business, a company that shares our vision for digital transformation and sustainable growth," said Allen Guo, Country Manager for the Philippines, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. "Together, we are confident in empowering enterprises in the Philippines with trusted and proven Cloud solutions and services that drive economic progress and enhance overall well-being."

Globe Business, through its subsidiary, envisions a fruitful partnership with Alibaba Cloud where both foster a digital ecosystem that encourages innovation, productivity, and inclusivity. The companies will continue to work closely to deliver transformative solutions and support the evolving technology landscape in the Philippines.

This partnership with the global Cloud service provider is another step towards Globes commitment to upholding the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly UN SDG No. 9 which highlights the role of innovation as a crucial driver of economic growth and development.
Are European film festivals becoming the last refuges for the ageing scoundrels of the film industry? This question has occurred to many during the 80th Venice Film Festival, which closes this weekend. They are asking why directors and stars with such troublesome reputations are still finding warm receptions on the Cannes Croisette or the Venice Lido. Alleged rapists, wife batterers and child abusers are being allowed to show their movies. Festival programmers are drawing a clear distinction between these figures tabloid reputations and their work.

Roman Polanski is just one of several disgraced veterans who had new movies at Venice this year. He unveiled his dreadful new comedy The Palace last weekend. Joining the Polish director on the Lido was Woody Allen, presenting his French-language feature Coup de Chance, and Luc Besson, premiering his eccentric new picture, Dogman. These are all filmmakers whove been involved in explosive court cases relating to their private lives.

Polanski is a hugely contentious figure. Post #MeToo, there has been renewed focus on his statutory rape of teenager Samantha Geimer in the 1970s, his flight from US justice and questions over whether its appropriate to continue showing his work.
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Brian May has admitted to finding an auction of Freddie Mercurys possessions too sad to think about.

On Wednesday (6 September) afternoon, more than 1,400 of the late Queen frontmans possessions sold during auction at Sothebys in London. The items were owned by Mercurys former fiancee Mary Austin, 72, to whom he left his possessions and home in his will.

The items sold for an eye-watering total of 12,172,290, the most expensive item being the piano on which Mercury composed songs such as Bohemian Rhapsody, which went for a record 1.7m.

A portion of the proceeds will go to charity, with one lump going to the Mercury Phoenix Trust and another to the Elton John Aids Foundation.

Ahead of the auction on Wednesday, Queen guitarist May shared an old photo to Instagram of Mercury playing the guitar.

In the caption, the 76-year-old said that hed been inescapably thinking so much about Freddie in these strange days. Mercury died in 1991 aged 45 following health complications relating to Aids.

At the time this photo was taken Im sure it didnt seem very important to see Freddies fingers dancing on my own home-made guitar, he wrote. Now it summons up waves of affection and great memories. He is so missed.

May then said that on Wednesday, while he was talking to Welsh farmers about his activism opposing the culling of badgers, Freddies most intimate personal effects, and writings that were part of what we shared for so many years, will go under the hammer, to be knocked down to the highest bidder and dispersed forever.

I cant look, May wrote. To us, his closest friends and family, its too sad.

The Independent has contacted Austin and Sothebys for comment.

Lyrics to Dont Stop Me Now were auctioned (Queen Music Limited / Sony Music Publishing UK Limited)

Other top-selling items in the auction included handwritten working lyrics for Bohemian Rhapsody, which sold for 1.4m, and Mercurys rainbow-coloured satin jacket which sold for 203,200.

Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up

Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up

A silver snake bangle worn in the Bohemian Rhapsody video in 1975 sold for almost 100 times its estimate at 698,500, Sothebys said. Meanwhile, a sparkling silver sequined stage-worn catsuit worn by Mercury on tours in 1977 and 1979 went for 139,700.

Wednesdays auction is the first of six devoted to Mercurys never-before-seen private collection.

Bidders at Wednesdays auction (Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sotheby's)

Reporting from the auction for The Independent, Annabel Nugent wrote that she thought of Mays words during the auction.

As [principal auctioneer Oliver Barker] introduces the lots for tonight, he speaks not only of Freddie the musician but Freddie the man, she said. He suggests the items for sale promise to shine a light upon his much talked-about private life.

Its a touching sentiment, but also one I cant help recall when Brian May later criticises the auction, writing that it was too sad to see his bandmates personal effects be knocked down to the highest bidder.
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A bizarre viral video about a Chinese teapot trying to escape from the British Museum has revitalised a row between the two countries about the return of historical artefacts.

The three-part series, entitled Escape from the British Museum, has already been viewed more than 310 million times since its release at the end of August on Chinas version of TikTok, Douyin.

The success of the series has sparked calls for the return of Chinese artefacts showcased in the British Museum, where former UK chancellor George Osborne sits as chair of the board of trustees.

A still from the Chinese social media hit series An Escape from the British Museum (Escape from the British Museum / YouTube)

As chancellor Mr Osborne pushed for closer ties between Britain and China, calling on a visit to Shanghai in 2015 for the founding of a golden decade for the UK-China relationship.

Mr Osborne had said: Lets stick together to grow our economies. Lets stick together to make Britain Chinas best partner in the West. Lets stick together and create a golden decade for both of our countries. Britain and China: well stick together.

Despite this, Chinas government and state-run media have continued to call for the return of precious artefacts, effectively thumbing its nose at his remarks.

In the series, the teapot turns into a woman before encountering a Chinese journalist on the bustling streets of London, who lends a helping hand in her quest for freedom.

The success of the series has been such that its creators, who claim to be independent filmmakers with no links to the government, have gained over five million new followers in a week.

The video tells the tale of a homesick teapot (Escape from the British Museum / YouTube)

The British Museum boasts the largest collection of Chinese artefacts anywhere in the Western world, totalling around 23,000 objects according to the museum website, that span from the Neolithic age to contemporary times.

Last month, the leading Chinese state-run newspaper The Global Times called for the British Museum to repatriate what it considers to be stolen artefacts in an editorial released on the eve of the UK foreign secretarys visit to China.

The editorial was published just ahead of James Cleverlys scheduled arrival in Beijing  the first visit by a British foreign secretary to China in five years.

The Global Times called on the British Museum to return all Chinese cultural relics acquired through improper channels to China free of charge.

The British Museums chairman George Osborne has pushed for closer ties between Britain and China (Getty Images)

The newspaper referred to Britains refusal over the years to return artefacts to other countries and accused the museum of adopting a resistant, protracted and perfunctory attitude.

Escape from the British Museum has also been endorsed by Chinese state media, with broadcaster CCTV commenting: We are very pleased to see Chinese young people are passionate about history and tradition We are also looking forward to the early return of Chinese artefacts that have been displaced overseas.

Earlier this year, during the Chinese Lunar New Year, a video featuring a Chinese influencer visiting the British Museum gained widespread attention on Douyin.

In the video, the influencer humorously remarked that the treasures in the museum must be feeling homesick. A comment proposing the idea of turning the escape of these treasures into an animated series reportedly served as the inspiration for the creation of the series.

Having seen the popularity of the series, other social media influencers have started creating similar content for their pages by donning attire resembling characters from ancient Chinese paintings and sculptures.

Maybe the Chinese cultural relics in the British Museum are also missing home right now, read one of the top comments on the series on Douyin, according to the BBC.

It comes as the British Museum has been rocked by a series of thefts (PA Wire)

But they can only be squeezed into the crowded booths. Will they be thinking Bring me home when they see Chinese faces there?

Another user from another Chinese social media app, Weibo, wrote about the viral series: Eventually, there will be a day when [the items] come home in a dignified way.

The clamour to get Chinese artefacts back to the country also grew after it was reported last month that approximately 2,000 treasures were believed to have been stolen from the British Museum. The museums director Hartwig Fischer stepped down from his position with immediate effect in the wake of the scandal.

The jade teapot itself was only made in 2011. The museum says it bought the delicate jadeware direct from the artist who made it, Yu Ting.

In China, the hashtag The British Museum please return Chinese antiquities dominated Weibos search rankings, garnering over half a billion views in under a day.

Sudan, Nigeria, Greece and Egypt have all made requests to the British Museum for the return of artefacts they believe were wrongfully acquired or removed from their respective countries.
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When Narendra Modi addressed the G20s foreign ministers at a gathering in Delhi earlier this year, he urged the worlds top diplomats to rise above their countries differences and build consensus. Citing Indias chosen theme of One Earth, One Family, One Future, he called upon member states to work together to achieve common and concrete objectives.

That meeting, like every other ministerial meeting of Indias G20 so far, ended without a joint statement. Now, with prime ministers and presidents descending on New Delhi for this weekends leaders summit, India faces the very real prospect of presiding over the first G20 ever to fail to agree a leaders communique.

Analysts say India has faced a seemingly insurmountable task in bridging the gap between Western nations on one side and allies Russia and China on the other, with their differences over the Ukraine war having only widened throughout the year since India assumed the G20 presidency.

Nonetheless, the Indian government has invested a huge amount of time and money in presenting this G20 as the moment when the country takes on a leadership role on the world stage, with Modi himself as the Vishwaguru or global teacher providing a voice for the whole developing world.

Preparations for Delhi to host the high-stakes summit on 9 and 10 September are in their final stages, with a beautification drive targeting unsightly open rubbish dumps and webs of hanging electrical wires, street dogs and monkeys temporarily driven out of the city centre, and new walls erected to obscure the view of slums and congested neighbourhoods.

A sprawling new convention centre, Bharat Mandapan, has been built in the heart of the national capital at the cost of Rs 27bn (250m) to host dignitaries and media delegations from across the world.

Behind closed doors, Indian officials are preparing for what will be Modis biggest diplomatic challenge yet. Indias foreign minister insisted in a recent interview that the government is still hopeful of agreeing a Delhi Declaration this weekend, with S Jaishankar telling NDTV he was very confident that among G20 member states there will be a shared interest in coming out with a common solution and a common statement about all the key problems in the world during the summit.

The world today is in a far more worrisome state than it has been. In such a situation, the G20 president should not just be a neutral country but also one that commands respect. That country is India today, he said.

The G20 began in 1999 in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis and India says this years summit is a huge opportunity at a time when global growth is projected to fall to 3 per cent, while more than 50 countries across the world face debt crises.

Yet, the economic forum is being overshadowed by the geopolitical fallout of Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine, and objections over the wording of joint communiques when it comes to the conflict have impacted all this years G20 meetings and working groups so far. Instead of joint statements, India has been issuing a chairmans summary after each event, outlining what was discussed.

If this weekends summit only ends in a similar chairmans summary it would be seen as an embarrassment for India, says Rand Corporation analyst Derek Grossman  but hardly a surprise.

It is mostly, if not entirely, a failure of the G20 format rather than Indias failure, he tells The Independent. It would be stunning if India succeeds in issuing a joint statement despite all the challenges.

My sense of it is that India is really trying hard to hash something out, because they know that it would be kind of an embarrassment, although a very predictable embarrassment, to the G20 platform [if they fail], he says.

The forum has a track record for producing surprising displays of unity in spite of strong undercurrents of global disagreement. Australias summit in 2014 managed a joint communique in 2014 shortly after Russia illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula, a move which was widely condemned by the Western world. That joint statement simply avoided mentioning Crimea, and there was even a family photo with all leaders including Putin.

Last years summit, under Indonesias presidency, remarkably came to an 11th-hour consensus on a joint statement, despite Russia dropping missiles on key Ukrainian infrastructure even as world leaders sat down for dinner. Putin did not attend that gathering, and a carefully-worded Bali Declaration noted that most members, but not all, strongly condemned Russias invasion of Ukraine.

India, which according to the White House played a key role in producing last years joint communique, had been hoping to gloss over the Ukraine issue by having members repeat their agreement to the Bali Declaration.

Migrant labourers climb over a wall, newly painted in preparation of the G20 summit, in New Delhi, India (AP)

But Russia and China have said that what they signed up to in Indonesia is no longer acceptable because the increased involvement of Western nations in arming and training the Ukrainian military has changed the status quo on the ground.

Modis government has had remarkable success in walking a tightrope of non-alignment between historical ally Russia and Western partners like the US and UK, but while this might work for justifying New Delhis own increased imports of cheap Russian oil, it is proving a lot trickier to navigate in multilateral forums.

Harsh V Pant, vice-president for studies and foreign policy at the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi, says that while this might be the first G20 summit to end without a joint communique, going forward one can safely assume that this is going to be the norm rather than the exception.

The world is entering into a phase where major power contestation is becoming the norm. So it is safe to assume that the G20 cannot remain immune from that process, he tells The Independent.

If China and the West are looking at the world [through] different lenses and this is permeating economic aspects, then its fair to assume that that is going to happen. This is, of course, about Russia and the West, he adds.

Modi will have to lead from the front to make the G20 a success in other ways, Pant suggests.

Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin have remained close despite the ongoing conflict in Ukraine (AFP via Getty)

While many countries focus remains on Ukraine, India is staking its G20 legacy on its position as a champion for the global South, saying it wants to be a voice for the aspirations of developing and underdeveloped countries in Asia as well as Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

One key agenda point being pushed by India is the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the grouping, similar to the EUs role now.

It is a test of Modis credibility among other leaders as to whether they will go along with India in projecting the summit as a success, with or without a joint statement, if progress can be made on other agenda items, according to Hamdullah Baycar from Exeter University.

Indias priority is not to have joint discussions on the table at all but rather to present the Delhi Summit as a platform where issues regarding the global South were discussed, most importantly the membership of the African Union, he says.

A joint declaration will be a victory for him, while a lack of it will situate him as an ordinary leader, not a problem solver or a leader of the global South.

Along with changes in the Ukraine conflict, the big difference between this year and Indonesias summit in 2022 is the role of China. There are concerns that Beijing would be happy to see the G20 fall flat while it is hosted by its rival Asian giant and one which it has been engaged in an active border conflict with since 2020.

China has now confirmed President Xi will not be travelling to Delhi and that it will instead be represented by prime minister Li Qiang, a downgrading of Beijings involvement that Grossman says sends a worrisome message. He says China may well find other ways to undermine its rivals hosting of the summit and thereby its emergence as a leader on the global stage.

Pant echoes these concerns, saying that China may arguably pose a bigger problem to the group than Russia given its status as the biggest economic power in the world after the US. [Beijing] can create more problems [for India]. Or it might just be happy with the fact there is already one problem  the Russia-Ukraine war  that will not allow it to be a grand success.

Russia confirmed some weeks ago that Putin will also not be attending the summit this weekend, a decision that India might have hoped would allow it to maintain its Ukraine balancing act and move the focus onto other issues.

But Grossman argues Indias position is increasingly becoming untenable as the Ukraine war drags on and becomes ever more consequential for the rest of the world.

If India does not take a stand in a situation when Russia goes Hitleresque across Europe or threatens nuclear war, then history will be very harsh on India for not making the right decision, he says. Putting national interest first is OK but values-based judgement matters in geopolitics. I feel like New Delhi is playing with fire.
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India could officially be renamed Bharat by the Narendra Modi government, according to recent reports that have been fueled by invites for the G20 summit that asked people to join the President of Bharat for dinner.

Various Indian media reports suggest Mr Modis ruling Hindu nationalist government is looking to change the countrys name during an upcoming special session of parliament, though this has not been confirmed by officials.

A new official document calling Mr Modi the prime minister of Bharat added to swirling rumours that the country could get a name change.

On Wednesday, photos emerged of the document on Mr Modis current visit to Indonesia, just two days before India plays host to scores of foreign leaders in its capital New Delhi for the high-profile G20 summit.

In recent years the Modi administration has steadily chipped away at the legacies of former governments and leaders, changing names of official landmarks and buildings of national importance, while the prime minister says India has left behind former rulers Britain in a move to break away from the countrys colonial past.

Some senior BJP figures have welcomed the rumoured name change, while it has been met with a backlash and derision from opposition politicians across India.

What is India officially called?

The official name for the country is mentioned in the Indian Constitution as India, that is Bharat that shall be a Union of states. The Indian Constitution was written and made public in 1951 and the issue had been heavily debated after India gained independence as well, in 1947.

Nehru, also a historian, had said in his book, Discovery of India: Often, as I wandered from meeting to meeting, I spoke to my audiences of this India of ours, of Hindustan and of Bharata, the old Sanskrit name derived from the mythical founders of the race. He had mentioned the three most popular names  Hindustan, India and Bharat  with their own roots, geographical and historical relevance to the country.

All the official documents for the country in English carry the name India when referring to the Republic, its ministries, domestic and foreign correspondence, and describe government figures as Indian leaders. Valid identity cards like passports and voting cards use the term India as the official marker of citizenship.

But documents published in Hindi, which alongside English is one of Indias 22 official languages, say Bharat instead of India.

Where do the names India and Bharat come from?

The earliest records used to identify the country reveal the usage of Bharat, Bharata or Bharatvarsha. These commonly used terms have found a place in the Constitution alongside India.

Bharat, a Sanskrit name for the country, comes from ancient Puranic literature and also from one of the two major epics of India  the Mahabharata  in which Indians are believed to be the descendants of king Bharat, a mythical figure Hindus claim had started the Indian race. Many historians believe it dates back to early Hindu texts. The word also means India in Hindi.

The name India traces its origins to the river Indus (now Sindhu), and closely-related words have been used to refer to the subcontinent as a whole for many centuries, dating back to the Ancient Greek historians. The English form India gained greater relevance when the country was ruled by the British from the late 18th century onwards, and was prominently used in historical maps. After gaining freedom, the countrys new leaders did not do away with the usage, but incorporated it in official documents.

Who is calling for Bharat to be used?

After centuries of the country being known as India both inside and outside its borders, the Modi administration is reported to be pushing for the name change.

Right-wing political leaders from Mr Modis BJP insist India was introduced by British colonialists, is a symbol of slavery and argue that a name change is an effort to reclaim Indias Hindu past. Several of Mr Modis ministers have dropped India from their social media bios and replaced it with Bharat in the past few weeks.

A number of officials in Mr Modis party have openly called for the country to be referred to only as Bharat, without explaining how official documents, prominent national buildings, hospitals, colleges and universities using India in their name will be renamed.

Several right-wing leaders of the ruling party cheered on the possible use of Bharat as the only official name for the country on Tuesday, after photos widely shared across social media showed an official invite for Indias G20 summit asking foreign dignitaries to join the President of Bharat with no mention of India on the card.

Recent media reports about a special session of the Indian parliament, coupled with the photo of the invite, have also sparked rumours that BJP is planning to use the rare session to announce its intention to officially rename the country.

Why is it in the news now?

Calls for the name change have occasionally been made for several years now, but the conversation around the topic has exploded after photos widely shared across social media showed an official invite for Indias G20 summit asking foreign dignitaries to join the President of Bharat for dinner, with no mention of India on the card.

But this also comes just weeks after the countrys opposition leaders formed an alliance bloc called INDIA  short for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance  in a bid to remove Mr Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from power in elections next year.

The opposition bloc says it wants to protect India and its democracy from a government pushing a Hindu majoritarian agenda, to the detriment of the countrys religious minorities including more than 200 million Muslims.
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India is currently abuzz with speculations about a potentially massive change  the official renaming of the country to Bharat.

The speculations were sparked when Indias president Draupadi Murmus invitation for the upcoming G20 summit showed the use of the phrase president of Bharat  the Hindi name for the country  instead of the traditional president of India.

Some Indian media outlets reported, quoting sources, that the Narendra Modi government, known for its Hindu nationalist agenda and history of rebranding cities to suit local culture, was planning to put forward a resolution to change the countrys name officially later this month in the five-day special session of parliament that starts on 18 September.

While there are many debates ongoing in India with opposition parties, experts, and citizens locking horns over the merit behind the name change, one specific concern is the cost associated with such a massive undertaking for a country the size of India.

Experts pointed out that an exercise like this would incur a massive financial cost, even for the worlds fifth-largest economy.

While the exercise of changing a countrys name might appear merely symbolic, the move would mean significant changes at local, national, and international levels.

From making changes to government documents to maps, highway landmarks, and publicising the rebranding, everything would entail a cost for the country.

To understand the potential cost of this name change, we can look at examples from other countries that have undergone similar transitions, such as eSwatini (formerly Swaziland), and how the cost was calculated for them in 2018.

While its not clear how much money the country spent, a formula devised by South Africa-based intellectual property lawyer and blogger Darren Olivier has caught the attention of everyone.

Mr Olivier posted on his blog after the official change that it will cost the country $6m to change its name.

For a large company the average marketing budget costs around 6 per cent of its revenue, he wrote. That would be $60m in the case of eSwatini  and rebranding budgets typically take up 10 per cent of those marketing costs.

This gives the $6m estimate that may ultimately have to be found by the eSwatini government.

Mr Olivier told BBC back in 2018 that for such a small country, that is not insignificant.

Theres value in that, theres intrinsic value in that identity and what it means for the people, he told BBC.

Yet at the same time theres a cost  a physical cost in changing the identity.

Using the same formula, for a country the size of India, the cost comes to be about Rs 14,000 crore ($172m; 136m), first reported by Outlook Business using Mr Olivers formula.

While this is as close an estimate one can make, the real cost could be much higher depending upon how much the Indian government decides to pay to publicise its move.

India itself has taken up this exercise several times for recent changes to the names of cities introduced by the Modi government. Earlier this year, the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra was renamed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar while Osmanabad in Maharashtra was rechristened to Dharashiv. Similarly, the city of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh was changed to Prayagraj in 2018.

Most of these changes are part of the Mr Modi governments attempts to get rid of names given by the British and Mughals, and reclaim Indias Hindu heritage. The exercises have been condemned by opposition leaders time and again who say it is unnecessary wastage of money. However, there is no cost estimate available for the money the country spent in changing these names.

Not just money, it also took a long time for countries to be officially known by their new names. Indias neighbour Sri Lanka changed its name from Ceylon in 1972, but it took decades for the island nation to get through the changes and be known with its new identity.
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A military tribunal in Myanmar sentenced a photojournalist to 20 years in prison with hard labour for covering the destruction in the aftermath of a cyclone.

This sentencing comes amid the militarys aggressive clampdown on independent media since it overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

Sai Zaw Thaike, an employee of the independent online news service Myanmar Now, has been reportedly handed over the most severe sentence for any journalist since the military coup.

The 40-year-old journalist was arrested in late May in Rakhine state while he was reporting on the deadly cyclone Mocha, which killed over 140 people, mostly those from the persecuted Rohingya community.

After his arrest, Sai Zaw Thaike was interrogated for nearly a week in Sittwe and Yangon, before being transferred to the notorious Insein prison in mid-June, Myanmar Now said.

The proceedings took place inside the Insein prison and Sai Zaw Thaike was denied family visits, while prison authorities restricted parcel deliveries addressed to him. He was also denied legal representation throughout his detention, according to the news outlet.

"His sentencing is yet another indication that freedom of the press has been completely quashed under the military junta's rule, and shows the hefty price independent journalists in Myanmar must pay for their professional work," Swe Win, the editor-in-chief of Myanmar Now said.

"We will not waver in our commitment to continue providing news and information to the people of Myanmar, despite the immense challenges we are facing," Swe Win said from exile.

While specifics of the charges against the photojournalist were not immediately clear, the initial indictment included charges for misinformation, incitement, and sedition.

"Burma officials should quash conviction, immediately and unconditionally release Sai Zaw Thaik," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch.

The journalist was also charged with online defamation, which is punishable by three years of imprisonment, and with violating a Natural Disaster Management law for allegedly spreading false information about a disaster with the intention of causing public panic.

Myanmar authorities grotesque 20-year sentencing of Myanmar Now journalist Sai Zaw Thaike on blatantly bogus charges is an outrage and should be immediately reversed, said Shawn Crispin, a senior Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Myanmars junta must stop imprisoning members of the press for merely doing their jobs as reporters."

Sai Zaw Thaike is the second Myanmar Now journalist to be arrested by the junta since the February coup. Kay Zon Nway was earlier arrested while covering an anti-coup protest in Yangon in 2021 and was later released.

At least 13 media outlets, including Myanmar Now, have had their media licences revoked and at least 156 journalists were arrested, about 50 of whom remain detained, according to the local monitoring group Detained Journalists Information. Nearly half of those still in custody have been convicted and sentenced.

At least four media workers have been killed and others were tortured while in detention.

The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said in April that Myanmar is the world's second-biggest jailer of journalists, behind only China. The country ranks near the bottom of the group's 2023 World Press Freedom Index, placing 176th out of 180 countries.
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Schools across the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast closed or dismissed students early this week as a heatwave hit the country just days after the start of the fall semester.

Students at dozens of schools without air conditioning in Philadelphia were sent home this week due to extreme heat.

Schools were also closed or moved to remote learning in Baltimore, Detroit, New Jersey, and northeast Ohio.

More than 80 million Americans are currently under heat alerts after a heatwave began on Saturday. It expanded into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions on Sunday and Monday.

Megan Kennedy, a science teacher at Parma Community Middle and High School, a charter school in northeast Ohio, said Tuesday was pretty miserable in her building, the Washington Post reported.

She said her building is only partially air-conditioned and her second-floor classroom does not have cooling.

I didnt really teach, she said.

MS Kennedy said her school was closed on Wednesday due to high temperatures.

I do think schools call off for heat a whole lot more than they used to, she said.

When we were growing up, we never got days off for heat.

While schools in Southern states are typically fitted with centralized air conditioning, cooling systems were considered unnecessary in the older cities of the Northeast when buildings were constructed decades ago.

However, climate change has altered such thinking as more children are unable to learn in sweltering temperatures.

Shari Camhi, superintendent of the Baldwin Union Free School District on Long Island, recalled the time last summer when she walked into a classroom last October with a thermometer and it read 95 degrees.

You cant learn in that kind of environment, she told the Washington Post. Its not possible.

Ms Camhi said her school was given a state grant to pay for air conditioning units and installation was installed in most classrooms two days before the current heatwave arrived.

A 2020 study by the Government Accountability Office found that about 41 per cent of public school districts in the United States, representing around 36,000 schools, need to update or replace the heating, cooling, and ventilation systems in at least half of their schools.

Experts have found that high temperatures inhibit learning and students score worse on standardized exams for every additional day of 80-degree weather or higher temperatures.

Researchers have also found that the number of heat days where schools are forced to close their doors has doubled, to six or seven days annually, compared to a decade ago.
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The Biden administration has banned oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a place of intense natural beauty and deep cultural signifance to Alaska Natives.

President Joe Biden released a statement on Tuesday confirming that he would cancel all remaining oil and gas leases issued under the Trump administration in the Arctic refuge, noting that we have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages.

The climate crisis, driven by the burning of fossil fuels, is warming the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the world.

The president also announced the protection of more than 13 million acres in the Western Arctic, to help conserve lands and wildlife, while honoring the culture, history, and enduring wisdom of Alaska Natives who have lived on these lands since time immemorial.

The seven leases, part of a sale in the dwindling days of the Trump era, were cancelled by the Department of Interior who said that the sales were legally flawed.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said that her decision means no one will have rights to drill for oil in one of the most sensitive landscapes on earth.

However, a 2017 law mandates another lease sale by late 2024, The Associated Press reported. Administration officials said they intend to comply with the law.

Two other leases that were issued as part of the first-of-its-kind sale for the refuge in January 2021 were previously given up by the small companies that held them amid legal wrangling and uncertainty over the drilling program.

Environmentalists applauded the decision with WWF calling it a monumental step in the right direction.

We appreciate the Biden Administrations ongoing efforts to support long-term protection of Americas Arctic: a vital ecosystem essential to the well-being of wildlife, communities and our entire planet, a statement read.

However the new ban will not halt the vast, Willow oil drilling project in the area which the Biden administration approved earlier this year. Climate campaigners warned that Willow would pump the carbon emissions equivalent of 66 new coal-fired power plants into the atmosphere.

The United States has no claim to international climate leadership if its approving deadly new fossil fuel projects that could operate for decades, the advocacy group, Oil Change International, said in March.
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Flamingos are being spotted across the continental United States in some cases thousands of miles from their usual habitats, and experts believe Hurricane Idalia is to blame.

The long-legged wading birds have been sighted as far afield as Ohio, Kentucky, the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee and Texas in recent days, according to Audubon Florida, a nonprofit that is tracking their movements.

Flamingos are also cropping up in parts of Florida where they are rarely seen, such as the north central Alachua County and Collier County on the southern Gulf Coast.

Audubon Floridas state director for research Jerry Lorenz told CNN the distinctive pink birds may have been flying from Cuba to the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico when they were blown off course by Idalia.

We have never seen anything like this, Mr Lorenz said, adding that fresh sightings were continuing to pour in.

We will get a flamingo or two following storms (but) this is really unprecedented.

In Kentucky, Amanda Frazier captured video of a flamingo at Cave Run Lake, 70 miles east of Lexington.

My husband looked over, and he said, Look at that flamingo! and we were laughing because we thought someone had brought a plastic one and pushed it down in the sand, Ms Frazier told WKYT.

It was just walking around, letting people come up to it and take its picture.

According to the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, it was the first ever recorded sighting of a flamingo in the state.

Spokesperson James Brunjer told WKYT that the bird would face challenges with the cooler temperatures and finding reliable food sources so far from its usual surroundings.

Flamingos are being sighted across the US after Idalia (file photo) (Associated Press)

Mr Lorenz told CNN that flamingos blown into unfamiliar locations would have been through a terrible ordeal, and asked people to give them plenty of space.

These birds are stressed right now, Mr Lorenz said. So dont get close enough to startle them, to frighten them or anything else, but enjoy their presence.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, more than 95 per cent of flamingo sightings in the state occur in the Everglades, Biscayne Bay and the Florida Keys.

The Independent has contacted Audubon Florida for further information.

Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on 30 August bringing catastrophic storm surge to parts of Florida.
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Storm Lee is now a hurricane after picking up speed over record-setting warm Atlantic waters.

A hurricane becomes a Category 1 once it achieves windspeeds of 74mph. Hurricane Lee's winds are now blowing at 75mph.

Forecasters believe the storm will increase to near Category 5 levels as its fueled by warm ocean waters on its way toward the eastern Carribean.

The storm is currently 1,130 miles off the coast of the northern-most Leeward Islands, according to the National Hurricane Centre.

Hurricane Lee is expected to undergo rapid intensification  in which its wind speeds increase by at least 35mph in less than 24 hours  over the coming days, according to CNN.

Forecasters believe the storm will become a Category 4 with sustained wind speeds of up to 150mph by Friday night.

To get to Category 4 or 5 intensity the environment has to be nearly perfect, which it looks like is the forecast for Lee, David Zierden, Florida's state climatologist, told the outlet.

The storm's 150mph forecast is only 7mph shy of it reaching a Category 5 hurricane.

The last Category 5 in the Atlantic was Hurricane Ian in 2022.

The spaghetti models for Hurricane Lee (10 Tampa Bay)

Hurricanes have increased in intensity in general due to the climate crisis contributing to warmer waters, and this year especially due to El Nino effects.

It's unclear at this time if Hurricane Lee will threaten the US mainland, though even if it doesn't reach the coast it will still produce dangerous surf and rip current conditions.

The storm's current path will threaten the eastern Caribbean  including Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and the Leeward Islands  as it travels north.

The storm is spinning up just as the climatological peak of hurricane season  10 September  draws near.
 Close Hurricane Nigel to rapidly intensify

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Hurricane Nigel has strengthened slightly overnight and is set to intensify further, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center.

Nigel, the sixth hurricane to form in the Atlantic Ocean this season, developed into a Category 1 storm yesterday and was forecast to rapidly intensify to become a Category 3 hurricane.

At the moment, Nigel has sustained winds of 80mph (130kph) but forecasters in the National Weather Service (NWS) and National Hurricane Center expect the storm to have sustained winds of at least 111mph as it grows.

Nigel was located approximately about 875miles (1,410km) east-southeast of Bermuda and was moving northwest at a speed of 12mph (19kph).

The hurricane is not expected to make landfall and no warnings or watches have been issued.

As of now, the National Hurricane Center predicts Nigel will veer off right into the open Atlantic Ocean by Wednesday morning.

Nigel developed shortly after Hurricane Lee landed in Nova Scotia as a post-tropical storm.
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George Russell was confirmed as Lewis Hamiltons new team-mate at Mercedes on this day in 2021.

The much-anticipated announcement came after Valtteri Bottas sealed a move to Alfa Romeo for 2022.

English driver Russell, then 23, earned the switch to the Silver Arrows after three impressive campaigns with Williams.

Commenting on his blockbuster transfer, Russell said: Its a special day for me personally and professionally.

Id be lying if I said I wasnt absolutely buzzing. Its a huge opportunity and one I want to grab with both hands.

But Im under no illusions as to the scale of the challenge; its going to be a steep learning curve.

I want to do my new team-mates proud. Of course, one of those new team-mates is in my opinion the greatest driver of all time.

Ive looked up to Lewis since I was in go-karts and the opportunity to learn from someone who has become a role model both on and off track can only benefit me as a driver, a professional, and a human being.

In a message posted on Instagram, seven-time world champion Hamilton said: I want to take a moment to welcome George Russell to the team.

I remember meeting him when he was young, dreaming of one day being a Formula One driver. Id only just reached my own dream of becoming an F1 driver, so I know what this day means and how it will feel for him.

He is a great example to all the kids out there that dreams do come true when you chase them wholeheartedly.

Through hard work he has rightly earned his spot on our team. I look forward to seeing him grow as a driver with this great team and working with him to raise Mercedes higher. See you next year.

In his first season with Mercedes, Russell landed his maiden victory at the penultimate round in Brazil. He also outscored Hamilton.

Ahead of last weekends Italian Grand Prix, Mercedes announced Russell, 25, will continue to partner Hamilton, 38, at Mercedes until at least the end of 2025.
Volodymyr Zelensky waited 17 months to admit publicly what intelligence agencies had suspected for some time: that, having kept Vladimir Putins forces at bay, the time had come to give Moscow a small taste of its own medicine.

Ukraine is getting stronger, he announced earlier this summer. Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia  to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.

What followed was a month unlike any other so far in this conflict, as Russia experienced at least 80 drone strikes peppering targets from the heart of Moscow to its border regions. Some of Putins most expensive war machines turned into mangled ruins in air raids that confirmed even military airbases hundreds of miles from Ukraine were not safe.
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The uptick of Covid transmissions this summer has raised questions about whether or not certain safety measures such as wearing masks should be brought back.

Several companies and schools nationwide decided to reinstate Covid mask mandates in light of the rising hospitalisations including Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Lionsgate headquarters in Los Angeles, Kaiser Permanente across all California locations, and several hospitals in the state of New York. Workers and attendees at these locations are now required to wear masks upon entry.

It is ticking up a little bit, but its not something that we need to raise any alarm bells over, Dr David Dowdy, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told the Seattle Times. Although many health experts like Dr Dowdy dont believe people have cause to worry, some have expressed their concerns.

While many people have forgone wearing masks, UC San Francisco infectious diseases expert, Dr Peter Chin-Hong, cautioned the Los Angeles Times that swearing off masks for good would put people at higher risk of contracting the virus, elaborating: Right now, when things are heating up all around the country with Covid, you might want to think about [masking at] public transit and airports.

Two new variants have emerged to the concern of public health officials. The World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned the public on two new variants, EG.5 and BA.2.86, that have emerged. Earlier in August, the former was classified as a variant of interest by the organization. BA.286 has spread to the US, UK, Denmark, Israel, and South Africa, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) risk summary assessment. In the same report, the CDC reported that as of 23 August the BA.2.86 variant is the more infectious of the two, and wrote that those with existing immunity from Covid - either from vaccines or prior infections - were more likely to get infected.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the number of Covid hospitalisations has risen an estimated 12 per cent weekly over the course of the last three weeks. But, compared to the heights of the pandemic, these reported numbers are rather low. Covid-19 hospital admissions were at 9,056 for the week ending 29 July, a number that is marginally less than past peaks such as 44,000 weekly hospital admissions in early January, or during the omicron surge of January 2022, in which there were 150,000 admissions.

As of 19 August, hospital admissions across the US have continued to rise by at least 15,000 due to the new variants. While a far cry from the heights of the pandemic, the numbers signal that the public should exercise caution all the same.

Its highly likely that, due to a lack of ongoing data collection nationally, the numbers may not truly reflect the number of people contracting Covid. Since President Joe Biden declared that Covid is no longer a national emergency in April, the majority of federal authorities have scaled back hypervigilance and data tracking, so the CDC and many states have not been tracking the number of positive test results since May.

Many health experts stress that people should remain vigilant.

Even though the declared emergency is over, Covid is still circulating - and it probably will be for quite some time. And so if you really dont want to get sick, you can protect yourself by wearing a mask when youre indoors, Dr Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County public health director and health officer, told the LA Times. But its, at this point, an individual decision.

Dr Cody said that wearing masks even only in a high-risk environment is better than nothing at all because the more people are together, the greater the chance that one of those people is going to be infectious and spread Covid to others.

Health experts also urged people to be respectful of those who choose to wear masks, especially since you never know their reasons for doing so. In Los Angeles, the Department of Health encouraged individuals to consider risk levels of close family or friends they spend time with, and the nature of the event or location when deciding whether or not to wear a mask.

If you are up to date on your vaccinations, the likelihood of you contracting coronavirus is lower, while those who have not received a booster shot since the September 2022 omicron surge are urged to schedule an appointment for overdue booster shots. Dr Chin-Hong suggests that, for those who are either immunocompromised or older, its better to get the 2022 boosters now rather than wait for the 2023 formula.

The 2023 version of the vaccine will be designed to combat the latest dominant Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5, which according to The New York Times, has reportedly seen a wave in hospitalisations on the East Coast.
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Dwayne Johnson gave fans the ultimate surprise when he pulled up next to a celebrity bus tour in Los Angeles, California.

In a video posted to Instagram, the wrestler-turned-actor spotted a group of tourists who appeared to be on a bus tour of celebrity homes in the Hollywood area. The clip, which was filmed inside his car, showed Johnson rolling down his window and pulling up next to the bus, as he greeted passengers.

How are you guys doing? Are you guys doing good? he asked the bus, which was full of cheering fans snapping pictures. The 51-year-old actor then cracked a joke about the tour bus visiting his own LA property.

Did you guys go to my house yet? Johnson asked, to which a few tourists replied that they hadnt yet. Okay, good. Keep it that way!

The Moana star noticed that a few fans wanted to take pictures with him from the bus, so he proceeded to pose for selfies behind the wheel. Gotta get the selfie, he said, before joking to get my big head in their photos.

Before driving away, he told the passengers to have fun on the remainder of their celebrity bus tour. While speaking to the camera, Johnson shared that the chance encounter with a bus full of fans was one of the best parts about being famous.

Alright, that was fun. That kind of stuff is some of the best parts of fame, right there. Making their day, Johnson said, before clarifying that receiving free s*** is also a perk to being an A-list celebrity.

The Jungle Cruise star captioned his amusing video: Tour bus surprises.

Im like a big kid, I get so much joy outta these holy s*** moments and seeing my peoples faces, he continued in the caption. Not too many pickup trucks rollin around my hood so I think look out for the Rocks pickup is becoming part of these tour bus attractions.

He added: Happy folks. Love to see it.

This isnt the first time The Rock has surprised a busload of fans. In November 2021, the Red Notice star presented tourists with a set of gifts that included a free Netflix subscription, his self-branded energy drinks and Tequila, an Xbox console and TV, as well as $500 (370) cash.

Johnson - who referred to himself as Dwanta Claus in the video - shared footage of the encounter on Instagram, in which hes seen approaching the tourist bus and asking them: Hey, you guys know where I can find The Rock?

In the caption, he wrote that he was bringing a little joy to some good folks.

Throughout his career, Johnson has been known to use his celebrity status to inspire others and give back to those who have helped him along the way. Most recently, he launched a relief fund alongside Oprah Winfrey to aid local residents affected by the Lahaina wildfires that devastated large sections of Maui, Hawaii.

He also donated a record seven-figure amount to the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) amid the actors unions strike. Last month, Johnson gifted UFC prospect Themba Gorimbo a house after learning that the Zimbabwean fighter had just $7 in bank account.
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Pamela Anderson is turning the page on her old life in a big way.

Speaking to People, the 56-year-old actress revealed she has plans to sell her entire wardrobe full of fashion archives, including her most sought-after piece: her Baywatch swimsuit. Her desire to clear out her closet stems from an intent to make room for a new life.

I dont like to waste. Better to clear my mind, clear my closet. Make room for this new life, she explained. I cant wait to see others enjoy these pieces.

Anderson continued: My style has undoubtedly changed over the years, and it thrills me to think others will find the joy I did. Theres no reason to hang on to it. These memories are made to share.

As of now, shes not announced the date of her closet sale but has expressed a will to dispose truly all of it in a thoughtful, sentimental way online.

While imagining the 90s icon breaking up with her renowned looks that irrevocably shaped beauty and style fads is difficult, this isnt the first time Anderson has mentioned leaving her old aesthetic in the past. Recently, the Borat star has been substituting heavy eye makeup with a light underpainting to enhance her natural facial features following the death of her former makeup artist, Alexis Vogel, in 2019. But, also to rebel against the now favoured exaggerated beauty features.

In conversation with Elle, Anderson noted of Vogel: She was the best. And since then, I just felt, without Alexis, its just better for me not to wear makeup.

She continued: I did notice that there were all these people doing big makeup looks, and its just like me to go against the grain and do the opposite.

Between bouncy blowouts, skinny brows, blue eyeshadow, and cropped clothing, Anderson was a driving factor in setting the fashion of the 90s and early 2000s. Being a model and on-screen star, her visibility was consuming, prompting her to become an icon of the time. Although her focus may have been more on her career, many were enamored by Andersons appearances behind the scenes, especially with her infamous beau Tommy Lee.

The two were known to match their looks under the same rockstar, grunge tone. Anderson stuck to bodices and mini skirts while the famed Motley Crue member donned leather everything. Her love for corsets was honoured by many of Vivienne Westwoods original designs. The designer, who recently passed away, often saw Anderson as a muse for her brand, like many other fashion enthusiasts.

From sitting front row at Chanel and Balmain, to stunting on the Hugo Boss runway for their spring/summer 2023 fashion show in Miami, its safe to say Andersons face is rooted in the industry. However, the Playboy model couldnt always credit herself for her iconic outfits, as she previously revealed a lot of her style creation was thought of by her partners.

There was a time in my life when everyone was doing everything for me - even my husbands were dressing me, she noted in an opinion piece for The Guardian. But for the first time in my life I dont have an army of people making decisions for me. I can finally decide for myself. In the same article, Anderson detailed her decision to no longer sport fur or leather as an animal rights activist and spokesperson for Peta.

However, the Home Improvement actor told Elle she thought her old looks from the 90s were wild and uninhibited.

I dont know if it was a defense mechanism or what. I just thought, Im going to have fun, she proclaimed.
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When you get a burger craving, there is little else that can satisfy it. If youre someone who simply cannot make do with a sub-par patty, then youre in good company and luckily for you, weve rounded up the best burgers to feast upon in London.

While we do tend to get these burger cravings more than wed like to admit, weve actually selflessly gone out to test the best that this city has to offer  whether thats at the OG spots we all know and love or to help you try something completely new. From beef and chicken options to plant-based patties, theres something for everyone.

For example, indulge in a dirty burger from Five Guys, an OG classic from Bleecker or be of the opinion that sometimes the humble patty alone just isnt enough  enter a 1kg tomahawk (yes, you read correctly). Whatever youre feeling, this list should have you covered.

Burgers and Beats

Looking for Instagrams iconic tomahawk burger? This is where to find it (Amira Arasteh)

A newcomer to the scene, Burgers and Beats has only been around since 2021. However, in that short space of time its fast cemented itself as one of Londons best burger offerings. You may have seen that iconic tomahawk burger making the rounds on Instagram  and we can confirm its not just a novelty. Every bit of it (complete with a fried egg, pico de gallo salsa, chimichurri and more) is absolutely delicious. However, the standard menu is also worth considering with the smashed double cheese and east meets west (with sweet chilli syrup and chimichurri mayo) being two of our all-time favourites in London. Also, do leave some room for the chicken tenders and loaded fries as theyre both excellent and worth stretching your stomach a little more for.

burgersandbeats.co.uk

Burger and Beyond

The former Camden Market stall has grown up (Amira Arasteh)

Ah, we remember Burger and Beyond back in the days of the Camden Market stall then its residency at the Camden Assembly. Well, its quite a different kettle of fish now, with four permanent sites up and running. Dining at the OG bricks and mortar spot in Londons Shoreditch, one bite of the bougie burger takes us straight back to those early days, but also proves just how far this place has come. Other standouts include the mushroom raclette burger (demonstrating that burgers most definitely do not have to be beef) and the vegan chicken entry with Korean sauce and gochujang mayo. We did love the krispie chicken, too, though we wished the miso butter was more prominent. If youre not a burger fan (weird), wed also recommend the trio of tacos, or the stellar dirty tots and bone marrow gravy fries.

burgerandbeyond.co.uk

Bleecker

Potentially Londons favourite burger joint, Bleecker is undeniably committed to its cause, with founder Zan Kaufman trying to recreate the moment of euphoria she experienced upon trying the best burger she had ever eaten in New York on this side of the pond. From a burger truck to its first kiosk in Spitalfields Market, then bricks and mortar restaurants, its been years but this burger joint is still going strong. Again, keeping things simple, the most adventurous it gets is adding blue cheese or Neil Rankins symplicity burger to the menu. Burgers can be at their best this way and at Bleecker, the double cheeseburger is more than enough to satisfy any craving.

bleecker.co.uk

Punk Chef

This burger truck employs staff from the deaf community (Amira Arasteh)

You can find professional chef and TV presenter Scott Garthwaites food truck in East Londons Spitalfields Market, which not only serves mouthwatering burgers but also employs three members of staff from the deaf community. We got our hands (and mouths) on Punk Chefs classic number The Legend, which is essentially a chicken parm burger (though plant-based escalopes are also available) with homemade bechamel sauce, melted cheese, gherkins and a special burger sauce. A standout among Londons already top burger offering.

punkchef.co.uk

Blacklock

Blacklocks burger proves it isnt just the place for steaks and chops (Amira Arasteh)

Known for its chops and iconic Sunday roast, wed also heard great things about the Blacklock burger. If youre dining there but dont fancy chops or steak, the burger offers so much more. Potentially more enjoyable, in our opinion, the double cheeseburger is packed full of onions that have been caramelised in a healthy glug of vermouth. Beautifully rich  but not overly so  and also a decent size. We have to say that while the rising trend of the bigger, the better may suit some, it might be overreaching for the humble burger. Bravo, Blacklock  well be back for this one.

theblacklock.com

Black Bear

An oldie but a goldie, Black Bear is worth revisiting (Amira Arasteh)

Another London burger staple and one whose market stall days we still remember, Black Bear proves its an oldie but a goldie. You cant come here and not get the Black Bear with cheese, smoked bacon and onion jam. However, the brisket burger, with 12-hour braised meat, and the miso bacon burger, with miso honey butter mayo, are very good choices, too. Share two and take one home for later? Also indulge in the cheeseburger spring roll, one of the restaurants signature snacks.

blackbearburger.com

Supernova Burger

Are the queues for Sohos newest burger joint worth it? (Amira Arasteh)

Not that we run to every new opening in London that has a queue but the fact that new kid on the Soho block Supernova Burger was selling out before closing and announcing that the team was looking into opening more days a week certainly caught our attention. We got there around 12.30pm to avoid queues (they started around 1pm) and secured the goods: a cheeseburger and the same with house sauce  plus fries, of course. In a world where 'the bigger, the better' has become synonymous with burgers, it is refreshing to see more joints go back to the understated (and underrated) classic of a smashed double cheese. Every bite we took proved that countless toppings and even bacon (dare we blaspheme?) is not actually necessary for a burger to hit the spot. Worth the hype if you're looking for an upgraded version of your beloved McDonald's classic, just make sure to arrive early as you don't want to miss out when they've sold out. P.S. don't miss grabbing a half lemonade, half iced tea combination  known to all the Americans as an Arnold Palmer, this glass of sugary goodness is now our new favourite drink.

supernovaburger.com

Shake Shack

Yes, we know everyone is well aquainted with the New York burger chain, but Shake Shack has come a long way since its days of being a hot dog stand in Madison Square. Originally the class roadside burger, what we really love about Shake Shack is the size. Like we said earlier, bigger doesnt necessarily mean better and whether you go for a single or double patty here, Shake Shack burgers tend to hit the spot every time. While our frontrunner remains the Shackmeister (with those perfectly crispy ale-marinated shallots), the vegan crispy shallot burger is another one of our favourites.

shakeshack.co.uk

Coqfighter

Coqfighter knows its stuff when it comes to fried chicken (Amira Arasteh)

Weve been pretty focused on beef burgers up until now  although still acknowledging the delicious vegan versions those burger brands have to offer  but heres a spot that knows its stuff when it comes to fried chicken. It seemed only fitting that we tried the variety of sides on the menu, with the laksa butter wings and classic buffalo options taking centre stage. Dont worry  we left room for the burgers, and thoroughly enjoyed devouring the iconic green chilli cheeseburger, featuring chipotle mayo and pickled green chilli. The honey ginger buffalo (what better string of words or ingredients is there?) is also a strong choice  but beware, its a messy one.

coqfighter.com

The Beaumont

For something a little more decadent, try The Beaumont (Amira Arasteh)

Stepping away from the classic burger joints, there are many standard restaurants in London that serve up burgers to rival those whose sole purpose is to cook them. The Beaumont is one of these spots, with Gatsbys Room, situated in the centre of the hotel, offering the perfect escape from the buzz of central London. The Beaumont cheeseburger features a juicy patty on top of caramelised onions and is slathered with a rich and moreish secret sauce  proving that a good old fashioned favourite can still leave a lasting impression. Served with thick cut chips, its ideal for anyone who fancies a more decadent setting when devouring such a meal.

thebeaumont.com

Five Guys

Another American food chain to make a long-lasting impression on the UK burger community, Five Guys is exactly where our brain goes when we think of the ultimate dirty burger. Things are kept simple, with a hamburger, cheeseburger, bacon burger and bacon cheeseburger on that side of the menu (the chain also includes hot dogs and various sandwiches, too) and if you ever have that intense craving, this may be the place to satisfy it. While a tricky one for anyone with a nut allergy (the chips are fried in peanut oil), the burgers come with two patties as standard and can be washed down with one of the many milkshake flavours on offer. New on the milkshake menu is a limited edition pistachio shake, with a creamy vanilla base blended with rich pistachio  you know, in case you needed more milkshake customisation possibilities. If you want to cement yourself as a firm fan, Five Guys has also released its own line of merchandise so you can fully embrace the burger brand.

fiveguys.co.uk

So weve covered food and now what about wine? Meet the sommeliers who are breaking the industrys stuffy stereotype
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A womans video giving a terrifying apartment tour recently went viral, seemingly exposing the reality of what its really like to hunt for apartments in New York City.

Vivi (@viviarmacost) posted the video to TikTok on 13 August, and since then, the video has amassed over 1.6 million views on the platform. After going on three terrifying, expensive apartment tours, she decided to share to experience.

Initially, the footage shows her staring straight into the camera while she says in the voiceover, Come with me to see three terrifying apartments in New York City. Im trying to find a studio right now and it is awful.

The video proceeds to chronicle Vivis journey as she tours three different apartments in Manhattan, the most expensive borough in New York City. At first, Vivi visits a unit in the Lower East Side. She prefaced the first tour saying that she knew it was gonna be gross, but ultimately went because online, it said that there was no brokers fee. However, upon arrival, she alleged that she was told there was a $4,000 brokers fee.

For a one-bedroom, its really well-priced but its literally a studio and they put up a fake wall, I can tell, she said in the clip. She also noted that there was no laundry machine included and that the Lower East Side location was also a downside because its a dangerous area to live by yourself as a girl.

The next apartment viewing took place in Manhattans coveted Chelsea neighbourhood, where Vivi was shown a small studio that she immediately adored. The footage showed a tiny room boasting a kitchen stove and sink built onto a side wall and a window at the end of the room. She remarked that the size didnt detract from its perks, This is literally a hallway but honestly in the best location ever.

She continued: Ive also been trying to negotiate and every time Ive done it, it worked. This apartment gave me $50 off a month... Sadly, this [the second listing] was taken off the market the moment I left the apartment...

According to Vivi, for the third apartment she looked at, she said she was given a $1,000 brokers fee. The listing was its also in Chelsea and its so beautiful. This is the biggest studio I think Ive ever seen. When she put in an application for the listing, she took issue with the fact that it was a 9-month lease and theyre still making you pay a brokers fee...

Many viewers commented that all of the listings shown resembled prison cells more so than luxury apartments.

One viewer wrote, These are jail cells, while someone else commented: Im sorry but this looks like prison.

Another asked: Is NY really worth this? They all make a jail cell look better.

idk [I dont know] why ppl [people] think anything in NY is worth living in THIS, one viewer remarked, and another one said: The fact that shes calling that last one beautiful, Im confused. Do ppl want to live in NY this bad??

Each apartment Vivi visited featured metal bars on the outside of the apartments windows. While the detail is reportedly common among apartments in the Chinatown area of Manhattan, viewers were shocked, to say the least.
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More than two years after the death of Queen Elizabeth IIs husband, Prince Philip, a former royal photographer has reflected on a particular book that almost appeared in one of his photos of the couple.

Julian Calder appeared on a Wednesday 6 September episode of Hello! A Right Royal Podcast in honour of the one-year anniversary of Queen Elizabeths death on 8 September. Calder is recognisable for his work capturing well-known portraits of the royal family, including the late Queen and Philip at the Scottish Order of the Thistle as well as her Diamond Jubilee portraits.

He explained in the podcast that there were no rules for him to follow when taking photos of the royal family, but a line was drawn when he had to ask for an erotic book to be taken out of the background when taking the late Duke of Edinburghs picture.

I once did a portrait of Prince Philip in his office, Calder recalled. And he was standing there, and I was quite young at the time.

The photographer continued: And Im looking through the lens, I thought: God just behind his right ear is a book The Joy of Sex. I had to say: Prince Philip, should we move that? And he laughed, and he got his equerry to come and move it. Id have looked stupid!

The Joy of Sex was published in 1972 and quickly became an international best seller. A revised edition of the book was published in 2008. According to Penguin Random House, Dr Alex Comforts classic work dared to celebrate the joy of human physical intimacy with such authority and candour that a whole generation felt empowered to enjoy sex.

This isnt the only time the late royal was remembered for being cheeky. In June, Prince William visited the East Belfast Mission at the Skainos Centre in Northern Ireland as part of his Homewards Initiative to combat homelessness in the United Kingdom. During his visit, he was told an anecdote about his grandfather Prince Philips work with the charity.

According to Hello! magazine, William was being shown around the centre by Reverend Brian Anderson when the minister stopped to tell him a story about his grandfather. The reverend recalled how Prince Philip had used some expletive-filled language during his last visit to the charity in 2008, when he asked why the new building for the East Belfast Mission had not been built yet.

He just immediately asked: Why dont you just give them the money? the reverend told William about his grandfather. There was an expletive in there but Im not going to say that. And three weeks later the money turned up.

In response to the anecdote, the Prince of Wales replied: That sounds like my grandfather.

After Prince Philips death in April 2021, William shared a tribute to him, saying: My grandfathers century of life was defined by service  to his country and Commonwealth, to his wife and Queen, and to our family.

I feel lucky to have not just had his example to guide me, but his enduring presence well into my own adult life  both through good times and the hardest days.
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Donald Trump has revealed he wants to go head-to-head with Meghan Markle for how she allegedly treated the late Queen Elizabeth II during her time in the British royal family.

Speaking to radio host Hugh Hewitt on The Hugh Hewitt Show on 6 September, the former US president claimed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were disrespectful to the Queen when they decided to step down from their roles as senior working royals in 2020.

I didnt like the way she dealt with the Queen, he said. They treated her with great disrespect and I didnt like it.

The 45th president previously met with Queen Elizabeth during his three-day state visit to the UK in June 2019. Trump claimed that he became very friendly with the Queen, who was 93 at the time, and took the opportunity to criticise his Democratic opponent, President Joe Biden.

She was an incredible woman. She was so sharp, she was 100 per cent, Trump said. When you watch Biden, you say this is a different planet.

The former president went on to say that he disagrees so much with what the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are doing, possibly in reference to the bombshell claims the couple has made about the royal family in Prince Harrys memoir, Spare, and their six-part Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.

I think its not a good situation going on with the two of them, but I didnt know that they dont like me. Somebody mentioned it might be possible. They wouldnt be the only ones, Trump added. If you want to set it up, lets set it up. Id love to debate her.

This isnt the first time Trump has expressed his negative opinions about Meghan Markle. Most recently, he reiterated that Markle was very disrespectful to the Queen during a GB News interview with Nigel Farage in May. "I think she [Meghan] has been very disrespectful to the Queen, Trump said. How can you be so disrespectful to the Queen?

She was incredible, for decades and decades she never made a mistake, he continued. I cannot think of a mistake she made, she was never controversial.

Trump added: She went through years and decades without controversy. You cannot be disrespectful to her and I think Meghan was very disrespectful to her, very disrespectful.

He previously took aim at Meghan in an interview with Piers Morgan last year, in which he claimed that the mother of two is leading Prince Harry by the nose. During an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, Trump said that the royal couples marriage was a ticking time bomb, which will blow up when Harry decides hes had enough of being bossed around.

The former president also said that Meghan might leave Harry when she decides that she likes some other guy better.

Im not a fan of Meghan, and I wasnt from the beginning. Poor Harry is being led around by his nose. And I think hes an embarrassment, he was quoted as saying.

In December 2021, he had claimed that Meghan had been disrespectful to the royal family and insisted that her husband had been used horribly. He previously said he was not a fan of Meghans and wished Harry a lot of luck in another attack on the couple.

The duke and duchess stepped down from their duties as senior working royals in 2020, before relocating their family to Montecito, California. Since then, they have shared many details about their time in the royal family  from their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, to their six-part Netflix docuseries, to Harrys autobiography.

Following their decision to step back from royal duties, Trump said it was sad and that he felt bad for the Queen at the time. I think its sad, he told Fox News. [The Queen] is a great woman. Shes never made a mistake Shes had a flawless time.

I dont want to get into the whole thing, but I just have such respect for the Queen," he continued, adding: I dont think this should be happening to her.

This week marks the one-year anniversary of Queen Elizabeths passing on 8 September 2022. Following her death, Trump claimed he and the late monarch talked all night long during his visit to the UK.

We had a good chemistry, Trump told Farage in May. And then as you remember that evening there was a big celebration and I sat next to the Queen, and we just talked all night long. She was incredible. She was incredible to speak to and so sharp. Her mind was so sharp and just to be with her was something very special.

In the days leading up to King Charles IIIs coronation last May, Trump also told Farage that he was surprised Harry had secured an invitation to his fathers coronation.

I was actually surprised that Harry was invited to be honest, Trump said. He said some terrible things the book [Spare] was just to me, it was horrible.
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A court in Myanmar sentenced a photojournalist for an underground news agency to 20 years in prison with hard labor for his coverage of a deadly May cyclone's aftermath, the media organization said Wednesday.

The sentence given Sai Zaw Thaike, a photographer for the independent online news service Myanmar Now, appeared to be the most severe for any journalist detained since the military overthrew the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.

The press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said in April that Myanmar is the worlds second- biggest jailer of journalists, behind only China. The country ranks near the bottom of the group's 2023 World Press Freedom Index, placing 176th out of 180 countries.

Myanmar Now, which operates underground, reported that a military tribunal tried, convicted and sentenced Sai Zaw Thaike, 40, during the first court hearing since he was detained in the western state of Rakhine.

The proceedings took place inside Insein prison in Yangon, Myanmars biggest city, where the photographer was jailed after his arrest. The news agency said Sai Zaw Thaike was allowed no family visits and denied legal representation.

"His sentencing is yet another indication that freedom of the press has been completely quashed under the military juntas rule, and shows the hefty price independent journalists in Myanmar must pay for their professional work, the news site quoted Myanmar Now Editor-in-Chief Swe Win as saying.

The news outlet said Sai Zaw Thaike was arrested on May 23 in Rakhines capital of Sittwe while recording the damage caused by Cyclone Mocha, the countrys most destructive storm in at least a decade. Mocha made landfall near Sittwe just over a week before his arrest and caused widespread flash floods and power outages.

The storm killed at least 148 people in Rakhine state, many of them members of the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority living in internal displacement camps, and damaged more than 186,000 buildings.

The news service said he was initially indicted on several charges, including under a statute that falls under the general heading of treason but is sometimes referred to as sedition. Other charges included incitement for allegedly causing fear, spreading false news and agitating against a government employee or the military, which carries a maximum prison term of three years.

He also was charged with online defamation, which is punishable by three years imprisonment, and with violating a Natural Disaster Management law for allegedly spreading false information about a disaster with the intention of causing public panic, which carries a potential prison term of up to one year.

Myanmar Now said it did not know which charges Wednesdays conviction covered. Details of political trials are generally closely held by the authorities, and Myanmar Now's report could not be independently confirmed.

The conviction of Sai Zaw Thaike is the latest assault on press freedom and journalists by the countrys military-installed government, which has cracked down heavily on independent media.

At least 13 media outlets, including Myanmar Now, have had their media licenses revoked and at least 156 journalists were arrested, about 50 of whom remain detained, according to the local monitoring group Detained Journalists Information. Nearly half of those still in custody have been convicted and sentenced.

At least four media workers have been killed and others were tortured while in detention.

Some of the media outlets ordered closed have continued operating underground without a license, publishing online as their staff members carry on reporting while trying to avoid arrest. Others operate from exile.

The military raided Myanmar Now's office in Yangon a month after the 2021 takeover and some staff members, including chief editor Swe Win, fled criminal charges and went into hiding as authorities had their homes sealed.

Sai Zaw Thaike was the second journalist from Myanmar Now to be arrested. Video journalist Kay Zon Nway was detained while covering an anti-coup protest in Yangon in late February 2021 and released four months later under a broad amnesty.

(asterisk)We will not waver in our commitment to continue providing news and information to the people of Myanmar, despite the immense challenges we are facing, Swe Win said from exile.
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A man sentenced to death for a 1998 murder is now free, two years after the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed the conviction.

The Oregon Innocence Project on Wednesday accused the state of committing a heinous injustice in its handling of the case. The Marion County District Attorney's office on Tuesday asked the Marion County Circuit Court to dismiss the case against Jesse Johnson, saying that based upon the amount of time that has passed and the unavailability of critical evidence in this case, the state no longer believes that it can prove the defendant's guilt.

The court granted the motion, and late Tuesday, Johnson walked out of the county jail where he was held while prosecutors had mulled a retrial for the stabbing death of nurses aide Harriet Sunny Thompson, 28, in her Salem home. Johnson, who is Black, has repeatedly claimed innocence and refused a plea deal over the years.

Video shot outside the jail Tuesday showed Johnson, smiling and wearing gray sweats with white socks and black slides, walking next to a sheriff's deputy who was pushing a cart with belongings inside.

Oh yeah, oh yeah, Johnson said as supporters hugged him.

While Johnson had been sentenced to death after he was convicted in 2004, former Gov. John Kitzhaber declared a moratorium on executions in 2011. Last year, then Gov. Kate Brown commuted all of the states 17 death sentences and ordered the dismantling of the states execution chamber

The Oregon Innocence Project, which represented Johnson during the appeal process, said racism played a role in Johnson's wrongful imprisonment. The group said Johnson's trial lawyers failed to interview a key witness who saw a white man fleeing the home of Thompson, who was Black.

There were clear and unambiguous statements of racism by a detective involved in the case who discouraged a neighbor from sharing that she witnessed a white man running away from the scene on the night of the murder, said Steve Wax, Oregon Innocence Projects legal director.

That neighbor was Patricia Hubbard, but Johnsons trial lawyers didnt seek her out. Hubbard told investigators  who contacted her only after Johnson was convicted  she had seen a white man park his van in Thompsons driveway around 3:45 a.m. March 20, 1998, and go inside.

Seconds later, Hubbard heard screaming coming from Thompsons house, a thud and then silence. She said she then saw the white man run from the house.

Soon after the murder, another of Thompsons neighbors had brought a Salem police detective to Hubbards house. When Hubbard began describing what she had seen, she alleges the detective said that a Black woman got murdered and a Black man is going to pay for it.

The Oregon Court of Appeals noted Johnson's defense team failed to interview Hubbard when it reversed his murder conviction in October 2021.

The state resisted requests for additional DNA testing that could have revealed other suspects, Wax said. Johnson's DNA wasn't on any of the tested murder evidence.

For 25 years, the State of Oregon has fought to defend their deeply flawed case against our former client, Jesse Johnson," Wax said in a statement. There can be no more heinous injustice imaginable than for Mr. Johnson to have heard a sentence of death pronounced against him all those years ago in Marion County and to then waste away for years on death row.

In their request that the case be dismissed, prosecutors said no other suspect has been identified in Thompsons murder despite ongoing investigation.

District Attorney Paige Clarkson and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Wax said Johnson is now a free man but has been left with absolutely nothing by the State of Oregon.

He didnt even get the paltry amount of gate money that someone would usually get when released because the dismissal of his case means he isnt entitled to it, Wax said.
 Close Jill Biden tested positive for Covid and experienced mild symptoms, per a 4 September statement from the White House.

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New Covid boosters from Pfizer and Moderna are now available at pharmacies nationwide, and the US has restarted its free Covid test program.

Tests can be ordered from COVIDTests.gov; you can order four per household.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are recommending one dose of the updated vaccine for everyone six months and older in the US; some children may be eligible for up to three doses depending on their age and previous vaccination status.

Hospitalisations and deaths rose steadily during the last weeks of summer, and global health authorities are monitoring two new variants, BA.2.86, known as Pirola, and EG.5, known as Eris.

First reported in February, Eris is now responsible for nearly 30 per cent of Covid cases in the US, per CDC estimates.

Some experts are urging Americans to wear a mask when necessary to slow the spread of the virus.

CDC Covid tracker

16,186 hospitalisations from 15 October to 21 October
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Bruce Springsteen cancelled all performances he had scheduled for September on Wednesday night, announcing that he needed to take time off from his tour due to symptoms of peptic ulcer disease.

In a statement posted to his Instagram account, the 73-year-olds team said he will reschedule all cancelled shows.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have postponed all performances currently scheduled for September 20203, beginning with tomorrows show scheduled for the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., the statement said. Mr. Springsteen is being treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease and the decision of his medical advisors is that he should postpone the remainder of his September shows.

An added message from Springsteen said: Were heartbroken to have to postpone these showsWell be back to pick these shows up and then some. Thank you for your understanding and supportLove and God bless all, Bruce.

Peptic ulcer disease occurs when painful ulcers or sores develop in either the lining of the stomach or the duodenum (which is part of the small intestine), per the Cleveland Clinic. Usually, a layer of mucus protects the stomach lining, but if that layer is damaged, ulcers can occur.

These are somewhat common: 10 per cent of people will develop a stomach ulcer. Some people are at an increased risk, including people who frequently use painkillers known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which include Advil and Motrin; people who have liver, kidney, or lung disease; people who regularly drink alcohol; people who smoke; and people with a family history of ulcers. Though its rare, people may also develop ulcers from other medications, like steroids, or after having surgery.

Studies suggest there are two main causes of ulcers: a type of bacteria called Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and NSAID medications. In the past, it was thought that certain foods caused stomach ulcers. However, there is no conclusive evidence to support that theory.

H. pylori bacteria are very common; about half of the worlds population have an H. pylori infection. Experts believe these bacteria can be transmitted from person-to-person, and that this happens more often during childhood. Not everyone who is infected with H. pylori develops symptoms.

H. pylori can stick to the layer of mucus that is supposed to protect the stomach lining. When this happens, the layer can be broken down. As a result, stomach acid, which helps digest food, can eat into the stomach tissue, causing ulcers. NSAIDS can also wear away at the mucosal layer, causing the same effects.

Symptoms of stomach ulcers include burning pain in the upper or middle stomach at night or in between meals; heartburn; nausea or vomiting; bloating; and pain that temporarily disappears after eating or taking an antacid. In severe cases, people may experience weight loss, black or dark stool caused by bleeding, and severe pain in the abdomen.

Tests arent necessarily needed to diagnose stomach ulcers; however, doctors sometimes recommend an endoscopy; an imaging test, such as an x-ray or CT scan; or an H. pylori test to confirm this diagnosis. H. pylori can be detected via a blood, stool, or breath test.

Ulcers may heal on their own, but its important to seek treatment if you start experiencing the symptoms. They can lead to major health issues including perforation of the stomach wall, bleeding, and gastric outlet obstruction, which can block the passageway between the stomach and the small intestine.

Many different medications are used to treat ulcers, including proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), histamine receptor blockers (H2 blockers), and antibiotics. Doctors often try to address and treat the underlying cause of the ulcers, such as an H. pylori infection or chronic NSAID use. It usually states several weeks for an ulcer to heal.

Fans applauded Springsteen for putting on three shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, over Labor Day weekend, and wished him well as he recovers. I admire his tenacity that he carried off the shows at Metlife Stadium. He really killed it on Sunday when I saw him, one user commented on his Instagram post. Another wrote: Get better soon! And thanks for a great Jersey show Sunday night.
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A new Covid variant dubbed Pirola is sweeping the United States and is currently being closely monitored by the World Health Organisation.

Pirola is a combination of the Greek letters Pi and Rho, has more than 30 mutations to its spike protein compared to XBB.1.5, a variant of Omicron that had been the dominant strain in the US, according to a Thursday bulletin in Yale Medicine.

Such a high number of mutations is notable, said Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist Scott Roberts, MD.

Dr Roberts said that this was similar to the number of mutations that differed between Delta, one of the early strains of the coronavirus, and Omicron.

When Omicron hit in the winter of 2021, there was a huge rise in COVID-19 cases because it was so different from the Delta variant, and it evaded immunity from both natural infection and vaccination, Dr Roberts added.

The other concern is that this strain has been picked up in at least six countries, and the cases are unrelated. This suggests some degree of transmission in the [international] community that were not detecting.

What is BA.2.86?

Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist and lead for the Covid response at the WHO, said very limited information was available on the newly discovered strain. But a large number of mutations within it needed closer monitoring, she wrote on Twitter.

Surveillance, sequencing and Covid-19 reporting [are] critical to track known and detect new variants, she added.

The variant, also referred to as BA.X, was found through genetic sequencing  a process where scientists determine the building blocks of a molecules DNA.

Scientists are on alert due to the overly high number of mutations of the variant, with more than 30 in the spike protein  the part of the virus that vaccines aim to neutralise.

How many cases are there in the US?

Pirola has been found in 10 states, according to data from GISAID , a global database.

So far, it has been found in Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

The CDC noted in a statement released 23 August that the current hospitalisations in the country are not likely driven by BA.2.86, but added, this assessment may change as additional data become available.

Globally, the variant has been detected in Denmark, Sweden, South Africa, Israel, Canada, the United Kingdom and the US, as The Independent previously reported.

Covid hospitalisations and deaths have steadily risen for the last several weeks, as the US sees the effect of a summer surge.

From 3 September to 9 September, hospitalisations from the virus rose 7.7 per cent compared to the previous week, the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show.

During that same time, deaths rose 4.5 per cent.

As the summer surge has gained traction, experts have started speaking more about preventative measures. In a recent interview with CNN, Dr Anthony Fauci said he hopes Americans wear masks to protect their loved ones if case counts continue to rise.

What can you do to protect yourself?

The CDC has advised people to protect themselves from the virus as it is not yet clear how well this variant spreads, however as a precautionary measure people have been asked to do the following:

 Get your Covid-19 vaccines.

 Get tested for Covid.

 Seek treatment if you have Covid-19 and are at high risk of getting very sick

 If you choose to wear a mask, wear a high-quality one that fits well over your nose and mouth Improve ventilation.

Wash your hands.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of the new variant include a runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing and a sore throat.

What are the experts saying?

Kristian G Andersen, an immunologist and infectious diseases expert, said the lineage had all the hallmarks of something that could take off, but added: Our immunity landscape is now complex, so its too early to say it will.

Dr S. Wesley Long, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist, a flagship Texan hospital, said it remained to be seen whether BA.2.86 would be able to out-compete other strains of the virus or have any advantage in escaping immune responses from prior infection or vaccination.

Researchers are currently studying how much  if any  protection against BA.2.86 might be offered from immunity from previous Covid infections, per The New York Times. However, the research on this topic is still in its infancy, so its difficult to say for sure how past infections may influence Pirola cases.
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The United Nations chief renewed an urgent call to the international community Thursday to seek a unified strategy to end the worsening crisis in Myanmar.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said declining financial aid should be boosted to previous levels to enable the world body to respond to an enormous tragedy. He said the situation in Myanmar has further deteriorated since he met with ASEAN leaders in a 2022 summit, and again called on the crisis-wracked countrys military-installed government to immediately free all political prisoners and open the door to a return to democratic rule.

Myanmars army seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, arresting her and top members of her governing National League for Democracy party, which had won a landslide victory for a new term in a November 2020 general election.

Security forces suppressed widespread opposition to the military takeover with lethal force, killing thousands of civilians and arresting thousands of others who engaged in nonviolent protests. The savage crackdown triggered armed resistance in much of the impoverished country.

Guterres made the case for an international response in a news conference Thursday before joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders summit meetings in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Guterres also renewed his alarm over other issues being aggravated by nations butting heads. He warned that there is a real risk of fragmentation  of a great fracture in world economic and financial systems with diverging strategies on technology and artificial intelligence and conflicting security frameworks.

"Our world is stretched to the breaking point by a cascade of crises: from the worsening climate emergency and escalating wars and conflicts, to growing poverty, widening inequalities and rising geopolitical tensions, Guterres said.

In August 2017, longstanding discrimination against Rohingya Muslims in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, including denial of citizenship and other rights, boiled over when Myanmars military launched what it called a clearance campaign in northern Rakhine state in response to attacks on police and border guards by a Rohingya militant group.

More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, where they remain in camps, as Myanmar troops allegedly committed mass rapes and killings and burned thousands of homes.

The International Court of Justice, the U.N.s top court, ordered Myanmar in January 2020 to do all it could to prevent genocide against the Rohingya.

"I remain deeply concerned about the worsening political, humanitarian, and human rights situation in Myanmar, including Rakhine State and the plight of the massive number of refugees living in desperate conditions, he said.

The U.N. chief expressed support to a five-point peace plan crafted by ASEAN leaders in 2021. It calls for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar and the start of dialogue among contending parties, including the ruling generals and Suu Kyis camp.

ASEAN leaders, however, acknowledged in a joint statement that their strategy has failed to make any progress in Myanmar.

Despite such failure, the 10-nation blocs leaders decided to stick with the plan and continue to prohibit Myanmars generals and their appointed officials from attending ASEANs high-level summits.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who flew to Jakarta to join the summit talks in lieu of President Joe Biden, told the ASEAN leaders Wednesday that Washington supports their peace plan.

"We have a shared commitment to international rules and norms and to our partnership on pressing national and regional issues such as the crisis in Myanmar, Harris said.

The United States will continue to press the regime to end the horrific violence, to release all those unjustly detained and to reestablish Myanmars inclusive democracy, Harris said.

___

Associated Press writer Edna Tarigan contributed to this report.
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Scientists have grown complete models of human embryos in the lab with all the known features found in normal embryos around two weeks old.

Known as stem cell-based embryo-like structures, or SEMs, they were developed without using sperm, eggs or a womb.

The researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel said their models contained hormones that caused a commercial pregnancy test to turn positive.

They stated that unlike previous embryo models, theirs have shown the ability to progress to the next developmental stage, offering an unprecedented opportunity to shed new light on the embryos mysterious beginnings.

It closely mimics the development of a real human embryo, particularly the emergence of its exquisitely fine architecture Professor Jacob Hanna

The team are hoping their work could shed light on the drama that occurs in the first weeks of human development and help gain insight into what causes birth defects or why miscarriages occur.

Professor Jacob Hanna who led the research, said: The drama is in the first month, the remaining eight months of pregnancy are mainly lots of growth.

But that first month is still largely a black box.

Our stem cellderived human embryo model offers an ethical and accessible way of peering into this box.

It closely mimics the development of a real human embryo, particularly the emergence of its exquisitely fine architecture.

For the study, published in the journal Nature, the researchers used naive stem cells  which have the potential to become any type of tissue in the body.

Chemicals were then used to coax these cells to grow.

The cells then arranged themselves into structures that mimicked the features of a real human embryo.

The models were allowed to grow until they reached a stage equivalent to a two-week old embryo after fertilisation.

Prof Hanna said: An embryo is self-driven by definition; we dont need to tell it what to do  we must only unleash its internally encoded potential.

Its critical to mix in the right kinds of cells at the beginning, which can only be derived from naive stem cells that have no developmental restrictions.

Once you do that, the embryo-like model itself says Go!'

In many countries, 14 days is the legal cut-off for normal embryo research.

However, these embryo models are not legally seen as embryos and are not governed by the same laws.

The researchers said this approach could help reveal the causes of many birth defects and types of infertility.

It could also lead to new ways of growing transplant organs as well as offer a way around experiments that cannot be performed on live embryos, the team added.

Prof Hanna said: Many failures of pregnancy occur in the first few weeks, often before the woman even knows shes pregnant.

Thats also when many birth defects originate, even though they tend to be discovered much later.

Our models can be used to reveal the biochemical and mechanical signals that ensure proper development at this early stage, and the ways in which that development can go wrong.

This research and other recent reports on models of the early human embryo show that models of human embryos are getting more sophisticated Darius Widera, University of Reading

Commenting on the study, Profesor Alfonso Martinez Arias, from the department of experimental and health sciences at Pompeu Fabra University in Spain said he expected the work to raise ethical issues but he added it was a most important piece of research.

He said: The work from the Hanna lab just published has, for the first time, achieved a faithful construction of the complete structure from stem cells, in vitro, thus opening the door for studies of the events that lead to the formation of the human body plan.

Darius Widera, professor of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine at the University of Reading, said: Despite being a significant stepping stone, this study is focused on early embryo development, and the protocols have a relatively low efficacy.

Importantly, although the embryo-like structures resemble early human embryos, they are not identical.

This research and other recent reports on models of the early human embryo show that models of human embryos are getting more sophisticated and closer to events that occur during normal development, highlighting that a robust regulatory framework is more needed than ever before.
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An independent investigation will take place following the prison escape of a former soldier accused of terrorism, the Justice Secretary has said.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, who according to reports is accused of gathering information for Iran, went missing in his cooks uniform from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday, prompting extra security checks at major transport hubs.

Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told MPs that two urgent reviews would also take place regarding the categorisation and placement of all HMP Wandsworth prisoners and all those in custody charged with terrorism offences.

Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, told the PA news agency staff shortages are the source of many problems at the prison, adding: Something obviously went wrong in terms of security, and that will come out over time.

Mr Chalk said that strapping was found underneath a delivery vehicle which he added may indicate Khalife held on to the underside of it in order to escape.

There are fears the fugitive  who has been missing since 8am on Wednesday  might try to flee the country.

Detailing what he knew of Khalifes escape, Mr Chalk told MPs on Thursday: At approximately 7.30 yesterday morning, a vehicle which had made a delivery to the prisons kitchen left HMP Wandsworth.

Shortly afterwards, local contingency plans for an unaccounted prisoner were activated and in line with standard procedure the police were informed.

The prison was put into a state of lockdown while staff attempted to determine Daniel Khalifes whereabouts.

The vehicle was stopped and searched by police after the alert was raised.

Strapping was found underneath the vehicle which appeared to indicate Daniel Khalife may have held onto the underside of it in order to escape.

Mr Chalk ended his statement by saying: Daniel Khalife will be found and will be made to face justice.

Khalife, who was awaiting trial after allegedly planting a fake bomb at an RAF base and gathering information that might be useful to terrorists or enemies of the UK, was discharged from the Army in May 2023.

He has denied the three charges against him.

He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown, steel toe-cap boots, the Metropolitan Police said. He is described as slim and 6ft 2in, with short brown hair.

Kent Police confirmed junctions eight and nine of the M20 were temporarily shut on Thursday due to the enhanced security checks  and to allow freight heading for mainland Europe to queue on the empty section of the motorway.

The head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, Commander Dominic Murphy, previously said there was no reason to believe Khalife poses a threat to the wider public but urged people not to approach him and to call 999 if they spotted him.

Responding to Mr Chalks statement for Labour, shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood urged Mr Chalk to get a grip of the criminal justice system.

She said: It simply beggars belief that a man being held on suspected terror charges was able to escape a prison by clinging to the bottom of a food delivery van.

The simplest question for the Justice Secretary today is how on earth was this allowed to happen?

Downing Street said the Prime Minister has confidence in the Justice Secretary over the handling of a prison escape and rejected blame for the incident being apportioned to cuts to the prison service.

Rishi Sunaks official spokesman did however admit there was a need for more staff at the prison.

Wandsworth prisons performance was rated as a serious concern and watchdogs had issued a string of warnings about the jail in the past year.

Meanwhile, the Government is facing growing calls to urgently honour its manifesto pledge of launching a royal commission to examine the criminal justice system in the wake of the incident.

My view is that he (Khalife) should've been at Belmarsh. It's much more suited to the levels of security that someone like this, charged with not convicted, needs. I can't understand why he wasn't at Belmarsh Former prison governor John Podmore

John Podmore, a former governor at HMP Brixton and HMP Belmarsh, told the BBC Radio 4s World At One programme that there was a possibility Khalifes escape was an inside job.

He added: My view is that he shouldve been at Belmarsh.

Its much more suited to the levels of security that someone like this, charged with not convicted, needs. I cant understand why he wasnt at Belmarsh.

Khalife was held at Belmarsh prison but later transferred to Wandsworth, according to reports.

He has links to north-west England and Kingston in London but Mr Murphy said the hunt was covering the whole of the UK.

Khalife was previously stationed at the Ministry of Defences Beacon Barracks in Stafford.
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Funding for Scotlands colleges has dropped by 8.5% in real terms since 2021-22 while costs have risen, leading to warnings from Audit Scotland over financial sustainability.

A report from the watchdog released on Thursday urges the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to accelerate efforts to protect the sector.

The SFC receives funding from the Government which it then provide to colleges in grants, with around 75% of revenue in the sector coming in this way in the 2021-22 academic year.

But funding for colleges is forecast to remain at the same level  675.7 million annually  until at least 2023-24, representing a drop of 8.5% in real terms since 2021-22.

Rising staffing costs, the report said, are the biggest financial pressures, with increased pay deals straining budgets.

But it also pointed out the importance of colleges to people from more deprived backgrounds, saying a drop in the standards of teaching would disproportionately impact those who are less well off.

Auditor General Stephen Boyle said: Scotlands colleges are vital to learners and local communities. But the risks to the sectors financial sustainability have increased in the last year.

Colleges are facing uncertainty about how the sector will operate in the future and they need more help from the Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Council to plan for change.

Scottish Conservative deputy education spokeswoman Roz McCall said the report is a stark reminder that colleges are being short-changed by Government.

Their funding for colleges has been cut by 8.5% in the last year, making a mockery of SNP claims that education is a top priority, she added.

Our colleges have warned us for years that they have been stretched beyond breaking point and that this situation is unsustainable. They desperately need a healthy injection of funding and a multi-year settlement to prevent managed, structural decline.

Without Government backing, these once-renowned Scottish institutions will struggle to compete internationally. Instead of SNP underfunding, we need to see radical investment in our higher education sector.

Scottish Liberal Democrat education spokesman Willie Rennie said: Once again nationalist ministers are cutting off their nose to spite their face.

Its this kind of short-term thinking which shows that its time for a change of government.

Shona Struthers, chief executive of Colleges Scotland, said the report was stark, adding: The signals from Scottish Government are that helping people out of poverty is the top priority for all public bodies, and for colleges to continue to do this there has to be sustainable investment.

Funding for the sector has reduced by 8.5 per cent in real terms between 2021/22 and 2023/24 which puts huge pressure on colleges to maintain delivery of education and training in an increasingly unsustainable environment.

I want colleges to thrive as education providers, as community anchors, as great training hubs  but there has to be the investment available to unleash the potential which colleges have.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: Ministers recognise the crucial role that our colleges play and the Audit Scotland report recognises the opportunities coming from reform.

Colleges Scotland have also welcomed the proposals in the Programme for Government this week around reform of skills planning and qualifications for post-school education, skills and research.

Right now, we are operating in the most difficult public spending environment since devolution.

We have committed to provide greater flexibility for institutions in how they use the investment that is available and autonomy to set ambitious, stretch targets for delivery.

As we progress with reform, we will work closely with colleges and other stakeholders to develop a new model of public funding for all forms of post-school education provision and investigate the options to deliver a single funding body.

Karen Watt, chief executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said: This is a tough environment for colleges and students.

We recognised the need for system-wide change in our comprehensive review of tertiary education and research.

We have subsequently increased our support to colleges in their financial management, introduced more flexibility into our funding model and encouraged forward planning to safeguard quality and outcomes for students.
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Rishi Sunak has a second by-election to defend after former Tory whip Chris Pincher resigned as an MP after losing his appeal against a suspension for drunkenly groping two men.

The Prime Minister conceded they will be difficult for his Conservative Party as they lag far behind Labour in national polls despite both seats having been previously considered as safe for the Tories.

Mr Pincher said he did not want to put any further uncertainty on his constituents in Tamworth, Staffordshire, before formally handing in his resignation to the Treasury.

When the by-election is held is for the Conservatives to decide, but it could be set for October 19 when former culture secretary Nadine Dorries Mid Bedfordshire constituency will be contested.

Mr Pincher had sought to reduce the potentially by-election triggering, eight-week suspension recommended by the Commons Standards Committee for what was found to be an egregious case of sexual misconduct at Londons exclusive Carlton Club last year.

But Parliaments Independent Expert Panel (IEP) dismissed his appeal on Monday.

In a statement to the PA news agency, the former deputy chief whip said: I have said already that I will not stand at the next general election.

However, following the Independent Expert Panels decision, I wanted to talk to my office team and family.

I do not want my constituents to be put to further uncertainty and so, in consequence, I have made arrangements to resign and leave the Commons.

Tamworth is a wonderful place and it has been an honour to represent its people.

Mid-term by-elections are always difficult for incumbent governments and these will be no different Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister

Under the archaic procedure to exit the Commons early, Mr Pincher wrote to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt before the Treasury appointed him Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead.

The last person to hold that nominal title was fellow former Tory David Warburton who quit after admitting he used cocaine amid allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denied.

The Tories fight to retain the seat has been complicated by the fact that the candidate they have lined up to fight the next general election in Tamworth is Eddie Hughes, the current Tory MP for Walsall North.

Mr Hughes ruled out fighting the by-election, saying he has a commitment to my constituents until the next general election.

The Conservatives said they will carry out a selection process for the Tamworth candidate, but what will happen to Mr Hughes if the Tories win the seat is uncertain because Walsall North is effectively being abolished in the constituency boundary review.

The Standards Committee found in July that Mr Pinchers conduct last summer was profoundly damaging and amounted to an abuse of power.

His actions were described as unwanted, inappropriate and upsetting.

The eight-week suspension would have triggered a recall petition if it had been approved by MPs, which was almost inevitable.

A by-election would then have followed if the petition was signed by 10% of constituents.

Mr Pincher appealed the punishment, arguing it was disproportionate, but the IEP said Mr Pinchers arguments were misconceived or erroneous and backed the committees proposed sanction.

He resigned from his Government post after the incident, which proved to be the final nail in the coffin of Boris Johnsons time as prime minister amid anger at his handling of the affair.

Mr Pincher subsequently lost the Tory whip, meaning he has been sitting in the Commons as an independent.

Since resigning as deputy chief whip, taxpayers have paid him 99,184 in salary and 7,920 in ministerial severance, while he has claimed 13,860 in rent as expenses.

Ms Dorries bitter exit from the Commons last week has already lined up a by-election in Mid Bedfordshire for October 19.

The Tories have held that seat since 1931 and Ms Dorries held on to it in 2019 by 24,664 votes over second-placed Labour.

But the Conservatives are wary of any electoral test after a sustained period in which national polling has put the party lagging far behind Labour.

Mr Pincher has been comfortably voted for by Tamworth residents since 2010 and won a 19,634 vote majority at the last general election.

Asked about his partys prospects in the by-elections, Mr Sunak told reporters in Warwick: Mid-term by-elections are always difficult for incumbent governments and these will be no different, but were going to keep working hard to deliver for the British people.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he will be hoping to to secure the seat for his party, which is riding about 18 percentage points clear of the Tories in national polling.

He said that the people of Tamworth had been desperately let down by Mr Pincher and the Tories.

The contrast this week couldnt be starker could it? Ive just put my top team on the table through the reshuffle that will take us into the election, focusing on the country.
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An American national has been found guilty of murdering a security guard who was trying to evict him from his flat due to unpaid rent.

Chad Henderson stabbed Nathan Burton four times in the chest at the property in Woodhurst Road, Moseley, Birmingham, shortly before 11pm on April 7 2021.

In a statement issued after the guilty verdict on Thursday, West Midlands Police said the 27-year-old victim, from Wolverhampton and father to a young daughter, was dragged back down the stairs by his colleagues but collapsed in the street.

He died within hours after being taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

Henderson will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on October 26 after refusing to appear in court for his trial.

The 46-year-old arrived in the UK in July 2020 and lived in a number of flats, amassing thousands of pounds in rent debt.

Police said Henderson called officers and told the operator I defended myself and later claimed in interview to have been putting measures in place to stop a home invasion.

Mr Burtons heartbroken father Rob Burton said after the case: The last two-and-a-half years have been extremely traumatic and challenging for us as parents, Nathans brothers, his partner, family, friends and colleagues.

Nathan was cruelly and brutally taken away from us in April 2021.

Nathan had recently become a father to a little girl aged 10 months at the time of this tragedy. He was a doting father and she is now asking her mum the whereabouts of daddy. What does she tell our grand-daughter?

The verdict does not bring Nathan back to us and we know that all we are left with is some great memories of a wonderful, kind and caring, selfless young man.

Whilst justice has now been served, for us, as parents, partner, daughter, family, friends and colleagues our life sentence continues.

Detective Inspector Ade George said: Nathan was a loving father who was much loved by his family. They have all been truly devastated by their loss and our thoughts go out to them at this time.

Henderson was a man obsessed with his property rights and exercising and protecting what he believed to be those rights.

He had decided he wouldnt be resolved to move from the property, even if that cost was to the life of a person, which turned out to be Mr Burton.

We are pleased the jury have come to a decision of guilty and that he will be spending many years behind bars.
 Close Escaped terror suspect Daniel Khalife arrested in west London

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Daniel Khalife used a material that may have been from bed sheets to strap himself to the underside of a van when he escaped from prison last week, a court has heard.

Khalife appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday after being captured and charged with escaping from prison. He was remanded in custody.

The suspected terrorist was arrested on a canal towpath in west London at 10.41am on Saturday after being pulled off a push bike by a plain-clothes counter-terrorism officer.

His detention brought a dramatic end to a 75-hour nationwide land and air manhunt after Khalife went missing from the prison on Wednesday.

Prior to his alleged escape, Khalife was on remand at HMP Wandsworth after being charged with terror offences in January.

The incident has highlighted inadequacies in the condition of the facility, with the chief inspector of prisons calling for it to be shut down.
BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Under the silvery moonlight of a summer night in 1990, Xi Jinping, then a municipal official in Fujian Province, felt emotional. An article about a revered grassroots official occupied his mind. "Who, among the common folks, does not appreciate a good public servant?" Xi then penned a heartfelt poem dedicated to the official. It was carried on a local newspaper the next day. The official was a household name in China -- Jiao Yulu. Jiao was Party chief of Lankao County in central China's Henan Province in the early 1960s. At the time, the county was plagued by sandstorms and battled against saline-alkali land and floods. Its residents struggled to put food on the table. The first thing Jiao did when landing on this posting was to head directly to the rural communities devastated by sandstorms to conduct research. "Faced with severe natural disasters, we should muster up our revolutionary courage and lead the people to fight a three-to-five-year tough battle to change the fate of Lankao," Jiao wrote in a note intended for his fellow Party cadres. "Unless that is done, we will never rest." Jiao was a man of action, favoring on-site research and investigation over sitting in the office reading subordinates' reports. "It is tasteless to eat buns chewed by others," he once said. Jiao worked tirelessly, disregarding self-interest to improve the lot of the people. Visiting the countryside, he often stayed in poor farmers' simple mud huts, eating and working with them. He turned down a plan to refurnish county government office. "Can't we work on broken chairs?" Jiao said. "People are still impoverished. We can't engage in any pomp. Not even think about it." Jiao led by example, and the county's cadres followed suit. Their efforts eventually helped Lankao bid farewell to chronic food shortages. The forests they planted withstood sandstorms. Floods were curbed. Harvests were reaped from alkali soil. But Jiao did not live to see this day. He succumbed to liver cancer in 1964. Xi's respect for Jiao was cultivated at an early age. Back in 1966, as a middle school student, he read a feature story penned by three Xinhua reporters -- "Jiao Yulu: A Model County Party Secretary." "I was deeply touched when I learned that Jiao kept on working even in the late stage of liver cancer, suffering from great pain," Xi recalled. "It still affects me today," Xi once said after becoming the general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, elaborating that Jiao's spirit, which features people first and tireless and selfless work, was like a lighthouse that steered him from a rural grassroots official toward the country's top leadership. Like Jiao, Xi is also known to be down-to-earth and interested in conducting on-site research and investigation to solve problems. Xi vowed to eliminate absolute poverty in China after assuming the Party's top post in late 2012. In this endeavor, he conducted over 50 inspections and research studies on poverty alleviation, which included visits to all 14 regions with the highest concentration of extreme poverty. This grand vision had been realized in just eight years, with nearly 100 million people lifted out of poverty across China. Today, in a country with 1.4 billion people, absolute poverty is a thing of the past. This feat would not have been achieved without the work of numerous Jiao-style cadres. In 2014, Xi visited Lankao. He went to Jiao's memorial and held a meeting to guide a Party-wide education campaign themed on adhering to the Party's mass line. At the meeting, Xi said: "Jiao built a lasting monument in local people's hearts, although he only worked in the county for over a year... A question to be pondered is what we can leave for future generations." Five other education campaigns followed the mass line campaign over the past decade. All were designed to train better Party cadres. For the education campaign launched earlier this year, Xi stressed that through the campaign, cadres must consolidate their ideals and convictions, gain wisdom, improve conduct, and be more motivated to work even harder. All these qualities should be the pursuit of every Party cadre. In the latter part of the poem Xi penned for Jiao, he wrote: "During the official's term in office, he brought benefits to the people, fulfilling his life-long aspiration."
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The route taken by the delivery van that Daniel Khalife was clinging to during his prison break has been revealed by police, as the nationwide manhunt continues.

The 21-year-old terror suspect only had one hour and five minutes from his escape at HMP Wandsworth at 7.32am until police stopped the van on Upper Richmond Road at 8.37am.

While no trace of Khalife was found inside the van, strappings were discovered which suggested he had been clinging on to its underside as it was exiting the prison gates.

Police are continuing to hunt for the former British Army soldier (PA) (PA Wire)

Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Met Polices Counter Terrorism Command, said it was a little unusual that there had been no confirmed sightings of Khalife and stressed that that he was a trained soldier and a very resourceful individual.

He also revealed that the police were alerted to the situation at 8.15am after the prison authorities became aware of Khalifes absence at 7.50am.

Timeline of one-hour window to escape

7.32am - A Bidfood delivery vehicle exits the gates of HMP Wandsworth, unaware that Khalife is clinging onto strappings on its underside. It is believed he was wearing a chefs outfit while working in the prison kitchens.

After leaving the prison, the delivery van turned right onto Heathfield Road and left onto Magdalen Road.

It then travelled left onto Trinity Road before heading up to the Wandsworth Road roundabout. The vehicle then took the first exit to Swandon Way and left onto Old York Road which is near Wandsworth Town train station.

A map of the escape route taken by Daniel Khalife (Google Earth)

7.50am - Prison guards realise Khalife is missing and the prison goes into an immediate lockdown, with security measures put in place.

8.15am - The Metropolitan Police are alerted to the situation.

Meanwhile, the van has taken a left into Fairfield Street and taken a right onto Wandsworth High Street before heading straight ahead to West Hill which leads up to Upper Richmond Road.

Shortly afterwards, the delivery driver is made aware of the situation and turns around to return to the prison.

The Bidfood delivery van was stopped on Upper Richmond Road (Metropolitan Police)

8.37am - The vehicle is stopped and searched by police on Upper Richmond Road at the junction with Carlton Drive but Khalife is nowhere to be seen.

As he set out details of the route taken by the van before it was stopped by police, Comander Murphy said the force had received more than 50 calls from the public which had provided some really valuable lines of inquiry.

In a briefing on Thursday, he told reporters: This was a really busy area of London and weve had no confirmed sightings in any of that information, which is a little unusual and perhaps a testament to Daniel Khalifes ingenuity in his escape and some of his movements after his escape.

Its important that we remember we have some of the best military in the world here in the UK and he was a trained soldier. So, ultimately, he has skills that perhaps some sections of the public dont have and I am really keen that we are using everything in our means to find him.

Khalife escaped by holding onto strappings of a delivery vehicle (PA)

Asked about whether Daniel Khalife had been helped to escape and if he had access to money, Commander Murphy added: Hes out in the open now, so whos to say whether he has money available to him now, but thats part of our inquiry and what were trying to understand.

Hes a very resourceful individual, clearly, and our experience of him shows that, so nothing is off the table with him at the moment.

As a result of his escape, border security at ports and airpots have tightened amid fears he could flee overseas.

The Victorian-era prison has been dogged by staff shortages (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Wire)

Khalife was being held on remand at the Category B prison while awaiting trial over terror and Official Secrets Act charges, including an alleged bomb hoax at an RAF base.

Prior to his arrest in January of this year, he had been a serving soldier since 2018 and had worked as a computer network engineer with the Royal Corps of Signals.

While originally from London, he had been based at the Ministry of Defences Stafford military base, also known as Beacon Barracks.

Despite the grave nature of his charges, he was held at HMP Wandsworth, which has the second highest level of security, and was allowed to work in the kitchens.

His escape has been described as a grave security breach by the justice secretary, amid reports that the prison was dogged by staff shortages and falling standards.
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A former head of security at Wandsworth Prison said terror suspect Daniel Abed Khalifes escape was at best a catastrophic system failure.

Police are continuing to hunt for the former soldier accused of terrorism who is believed to have escaped from a prison kitchen by clinging to a delivery van.

Khalife, 21, went missing in his cooks uniform from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday, prompting extra security checks at major transport hubs.

Daniel Abed Khalife escaped from Wandsworth prison on Wednesday at around 8am (Metropolitan Police/AP)

Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme on Thursday, Professor Ian Acheson said: Well, at best, this is a catastrophic system failure that actually starts with the allocation of Khalife to Wandsworth and ends with a terror suspect working in a prison kitchen of an establishment in crisis (and) escaping in a vehicle.

So its incredibly embarrassing for the prison service but its not entirely surprising given what we know about whats going on Wandsworth at the moment.

Prof Acheson, also a former prison governor, criticised the conditions at Wandsworth.

Well, Im afraid to say that Wandsworth, like so many of our flagship prisons, is in freefall, he said.

Youve only got to look at the most recent inspections, and other monitoring reports, that reveal its filthy, its vermin infested, on any day 30-44% of frontline staff are unavailable to work.

Morale is awful. I mean, frankly, if you cannot even manage to get the bins emptied in a place like Wandsworth what else is going wrong?

Serious questions have been emerged as to why the terror suspect was being held at HMP Wandsworth (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

Khalife, who was discharged from the Army in May 2023, was awaiting trial after allegedly planting a fake bomb at an RAF base and gathering information that might be useful to terrorists or enemies of the UK.

He has denied the three charges against him.

He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown, steel toe-cap boots, the Metropolitan Police said, and is slim and 6ft 2in, with short brown hair.

The jail was put on lockdown after he fled.

Describing the security around the perimeter of the prison, Prof Acheson said: The ingress and egress of vehicles into a prison that breach the security perimeter of a prison is a well-known vulnerability. Its one of the top vulnerabilities you can think of.

The key thing is, when the van goes back into the airlock, is to make the sure the vehicle is thoroughly searched.

The professor added any vehicle which exits the prison is normally searched on top and below to ensure no escapees.

The head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, Commander Dominic Murphy, said there was no reason to believe Khalife poses a threat to the wider public but urged people not to approach him and to call 999 if they spot him.
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Intelligence sources have said it is almost certain a terror suspect who escaped from prison while strapped to the bottom of a food delivery truck had inside help.

A manhunt is underway after former soldier Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, fled HMP Wandsworth wearing a chefs uniform on Wednesday morning.

Khalife, who is accused of planting fake bombs at a military base, allegedly graduated to attempted spying for Iran, The Independent understands, as the hunt continues to stop him fleeing the country.

All the indications are that this was an orchestrated job and not an opportunistic escape. It is almost certain that he had some inside help from the prison, the intelligence official said.

It comes as justice secretary Alex Chalk said no stone must be left unturned to uncover how Khalife escaped, while the chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, said the 170-year-old jail was in a real state and needs closing.

The soldier has been charged under the Official Secrets Act with collecting information about fellow members of the armed forces which could be of benefit to the enemy. It is alleged that he had obtained the material from the Ministry of Defences Joint Personnel Administration System.

Khalife, who served as an IT specialist with the Royal Signals Corps, is also accused of leaving fake bombs at a military base. He disappeared for three weeks after planting the devices before he was arrested on 26 January. He was subsequently dismissed from the army.

Khalif, a British citizen whose father is said to be Iranian, then allegedly attempted to pass on the information to a foreign power, believed to be Iran, according to security sources. They say that he sought to graduate into spying with the material he had obtained from the MoD.

A former soldier who has close knowledge of the suspects time in the army said he was not known to be religious or show a keen interest in politics. He wasnt any trouble and was always seen as a decent guy, they said.

Units from the 16 Signals regiment are attached to elite frontline British Army regiments including special forces, parachute regiment, Gurkhas and the royal marines. Khalife would have had access to state-of-the-art defence electrical equipment.

In an update on Thursday evening, police revealed Khalife had just a 65-minute window to make his break for freedom between when the Bidfood delivery van he fled on left the prison gates at 7.32am and when police caught up with it on Richmond Road at 8.37am.

Commander Dominic Murphy of the Mets Counter Terrorism Command Unit said it was a little unusual that there had been no confirmed sightings of him since.

The category B mens prison opened in 1851 (PA Archive)

Updating MPs on the manhunt earlier on Thursday, Mr Chalk told the Commons that strapping was found on the underside of the escape van, adding: All lines of inquiry being considered.

The independent investigation will look into why the suspected terrorist was placed in the category B prison, instead of the more secure category A Belmarsh prison.

The inquiry comes as it emerged that concerns around security at Wandsworth were flagged last year following the escape of a prisoner in 2019.

An inspection report for the southwest London prison, dated September 2021 but published last year, noted that a serious security breach had led to the previous escape.

Inspectors said they were given some assurance that steps had been taken to prevent further breakouts. However, they still noted some concerns in relation to physical aspects of the security.

Discussing further security measures, including the smuggling of drugs, it added: Although there had been some improvements to physical security measures to tackle drug supply, and mandatory drug testing had begun during the inspection week, more staff training was needed in key areas, such as the gatehouse and the post room, to provide a consistent approach.

John Podmore, former governor of Brixton and Belmarsh prisons, told The Independent that if Khalife had been in Belmarsh this wouldnt have happened  saying it was extraordinary that a terror suspect was held in a category B prison.

He said checks underneath, on top and inside vehicles were basic procedure, adding: Something has gone drastically wrong. Whether its nefarious with collusion from inside the prison or just a massive c**k up, I dont know.

But the longer hes out without being caught the more I think about collusion rather than the guy just got lucky and made an opportunistic escape.

Ben Shephard accuses MP of trying to score political points in terror suspect hunt

Mr Taylor said concerns at Wandsworth had been flagged over a number of years and that, with poor staffing, there is always a danger that people will drop the ball and make a mistake.

He said that when he inspected Wandsworth two years ago, Thirty per cent of staff were unavailable for full duty, which means that some of the basics just dont get done.

Labour leader Keir Starmer called for the inquiry to look at the already pretty damning reports into Wandsworth  issues about staffing, issues about buildings, adding that in the past 10 years there have been 10 justice secretaries.

Labour MP for Tooting Rosena Allin-Khan said she had raised concerns about staff shortages at the prison months ago citing one night last December when there were just seven prison officers on a night shift to look after 1,500 prisoners.

Frequently, only half of staffing slots are filled on any given shift and I believe it was only a matter of time before mistakes occurred and incidents took place.

She added: I just hope that this is a wake-up call for the government to listen to staff and their unions and sort out their mess.

Rob Preece, from the Howard League for Penal Reform, claimed the prison has been under significant pressure for a very long time, while the Prison Officers Association (POA) blasted the government for the decimation of the Prison Service following the escape.

Steve Gillan, general secretary of the POA, said: No one ever wants to see an escape from prison but since 2010 this union has been on record as saying cuts have consequences.

You cannot take out 900m from the budget with reduced staffing levels up and down the country and expect the Prison Service to operate as if nothing has happened.

He warned that there will be very difficult questions to be answered as the inquiry into the escape unfolds.

I hope everything is looked at and lessons are learned. If you cut your budget you have got to accept that there are consequences, he said.

However, Downing Street insisted it was too early to blame cuts for the escape. Rishi Sunaks official spokesperson said: That would be very much acting without all the facts. There is an investigation thats taking place.

We are delivering the biggest expansion of prison places in over a century. Theres an investment of 4bn to create 20,000 extra places. Were increasing pay to prison officers and so we are acting both to increase places and to boost staff.
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A passenger who was on a train that derailed near Stonehaven in 2020, killing three people, has said she no longer trusts Network Rail to keep her safe.

The woman, who has asked not to be named, was left with two permanent injuries following the crash near the Aberdeenshire town on August 12 that year.

Train driver Brett McCullough, 45, conductor Donald Dinnie, 58, and passenger Christopher Stuchbury, 62, died.

At the High Court in Aberdeen on Thursday, Network Rail pleaded guilty to health and safety failings over the crash.

The ScotRail train derailed at 9.37am after it struck a landslide, hitting gravel and other stony material washed out from a drain by heavy rain.

The train hit the side of a bridge, causing its power car and one of its four carriages to fall down an embankment.

There was a strange noise like metal dragging along metal. I will never forget that noise. I hit the window head on and I was knocked out Injured passenger

It had been a Glasgow-bound train, but was travelling back towards Aberdeen, where it originated from, as a result of the torrential rain that had fallen in the area in the early hours of August 12.

Upon impact, the 32-year-old woman passenger was thrown across the carriage and out of a window.

She woke up about 15 to 20 minutes later at the side of the railway with the train behind her, completely off the rails.

She said: I no longer trust Network Rail to keep me safe.

I dont know why I survived. But I feel lucky every day that I did.

The first time I realised there was an issue was when the movement on the train felt weird.

It just didnt feel typical  it was like floating or sliding  like when you aquaplane in a car.

There was a strange noise like metal dragging along metal. I will never forget that noise.

I hit the window head on and I was knocked out.

The carriage directly behind me was laying across the rail track, crushed under another carriage. I later found out that the crushed carriage was the one that I had been ejected from.

The woman said she became aware very quickly that she was hurt and had blood all over her face.

She felt a bone sticking out of her left shoulder.

She has been left with permanent scarring to her face and disfigurement as a result of the shoulder injury.

Network Rail has offered survivors of the crash very little support, the woman claimed.

The company said it is determined to build upon the significant changes that we have made since the accident.

The woman said an opportunity to revisit the scene of the crash would have helped her to mentally process things and understand the derailment.

After the derailment, the King, then the Prince of Wales, visited the scene, which the woman said made her angry because she never had the opportunity to see the crash site again.

The woman said she has totally changed as a person and is a lot more fearful.

When she had to travel by train for the first time since the crash, to get to work, her mother had to go with her.

I do still take the train  it took a long time to get the confidence but Im getting there, she said.

I am proud of myself for facing my fears of getting on a train.

I panicked the first time I got back on a train. My mum would come on the train with me so I could go to work.

The train derailment was not an accident. It was the result of Network Rails absolute negligence.

Network Rail failed me and everyone else on the train that day.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: To the families of those who lost their lives, we would say again how deeply sorry we are that this tragedy was able to happen.

To those survivors who were injured, we are very sorry for the pain and distress caused.

Since the accident, we have been working hard to make our railway safer and to learn the lessons of Carmont (Stonehaven).

We are also determined to build upon the significant changes that we have made since the accident, which have helped us to manage the risk of severe weather to the network.

We have invested millions to improve the resilience of the railway and continue to roll out new technology to respond better to extreme weather events.
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Police are preparing to launch an investigation into maternity cases of potentially significant concern at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUHT).

Chief Constable Kate Meynell said the decision came after a meeting with Donna Ockenden, who is leading the Nottingham maternity inquiry into the deaths of babies and poor care over more than a decade.

She said: We want to work alongside the review but also ensure that we do not hinder its progress. However, I am in a position to say we are preparing to launch a police investigation.

It comes as the inquiry is set to examine 1,800 cases in what could be the UKs largest-ever maternity scandal, first uncovered by The Independent in 2021.

Families of babies affected by the review have welcomed the forces decision to launch an investigation.

In a statement, they said: A large number of us have alleged crimes and we will be sharing our evidence with the police to assist them with their investigations.

We anticipate that we will be meeting with the chief constable soon to understand what the police investigation will mean for each and every one of us. We hope and believe it will encompass not just the care of individuals who have dead and seriously harmed babies and mothers, but also what families allege is a far-reaching cover-up by NUHT and NHS staff.

Jack and Sarah Hawkins who lost their baby Harriet following a catalogue of failings by the trust in 2016, complained to police at the time.

The Nottingham police probe follows another by West Mercie Police which was launched into deaths linked to the maternity scandal at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital.

Announcing that an investigation was being prepared, Ms Meynell said: We are currently looking at the work being done in Shrewsbury and Telford by West Mercia Police to understand how they conducted their investigation alongside Donna Ockendens review and any lessons learnt.

Now we have met with Donna Ockenden we plan to hold preliminary discussions with some local families in the near future.

Dr Jack and Sarah Hawkins, and their daughter Lottie, at their home in Nottingham (Callum Parke/PA) (PA Wire)

Ms Ockenden confirmed in July that the review into baby deaths had swelled but warned the numbers could be even larger depending on how many more families come forward.

The chief executive of NUHT, Anthony May, who inherited the scandal when he came into office last September, has committed to fully cooperate with the police investigation, the force said.

He said: From the time of my appointment at NUH, I have expressed my commitment to the Independent Review. I have given the same commitment to the Chief Constable in respect of any police investigation.

I also reiterate the commitment we made to the families involved at our Annual Public Meeting in July of an honest and transparent relationship with them.

My colleagues and I work closely with the review team led by Donna Ockenden, to ensure transparent and full engagement. This includes meeting regularly with Donna in order to listen and take action on feedback.

The review into maternity services provided by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) came after The Independent uncovered poor care over more than a decade, revealing failures in the cases of 61 babies.

In July this year, new concerns over the trusts treatment of Black and minority ethnic mothers were raised by Ms Ockenden in a letter. She flagged the treatment of Urdu-speaking women as an issue, including an example of one who did not speak English and had no option but to call her mother in Pakistan to translate when she needed an emergency casearean.
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The stepmother of a girl found dead at her home in Surrey has spoken out for the first time as her family hides out in Pakistan.

A murder investigation was launched after Sara Sharifs body was found in Woking on 10 August. A post-mortem examination found she had suffered multiple and extensive injuries over a sustained and extended period of time.

Detectives want to speak to Saras father, Urfan Sharif, 41, his partner Beinash Batool, 29, and Urfans brother, Faisal Malik, 28 in connection with her death.

Beinash Batool (R) speaks from Pakistan, sat next to Sara Sharifs father Urfan (Handout)

Saras stepmother Ms Batool read out a statement while sat side-by-side with her husband, in a clip released on Wednesday morning.

Have you been affected by this story? If so email barney.davis@independent.co.uk

Saras death was an incident, the stepmother said. Our family in Pakistan are severely affected by what is going on. All the media have been giving the wrong statements and are making up lies.

Imran did not give a statement that Sara fell down the stairs and broke her neck. Im very worried about Imrans safety. All the family are in hiding.

No-one is leaving the house as the adults are unable to leave their homes out of fear of safety. That is why we have gone into hiding.

We are willing to cooperate with the UK authorities and fight our case in court.

Sara was just 10 years-old when she was found dead (PA Media)

The statement comes after Saras birth mother Olga Sharif told TVN she couldnt recognise her daughter when identifying her body in the mortuary.

One of her cheeks was swollen and the other side was bruised, she said. Even now, when I close my eyes I can see what my baby looked like.

Surrey Police are appealing for information to help them piece together a picture of Saras lifestyle prior to her death.

Police want to speak to Saras father, stepmother and uncle (Surrey Police)

It is believed Urfan Sharif travelled to Islamabad, Pakistan, in company with his partner and his brother on 9 August. There were five children with them aged between a year and 13 years old.

Authorities in Pakistan are searching for the trio and lawyers in the UK have said the nations government is unlikely to block an extradition request in connection to Saras death. There is no formal extradition treaty between the UK and Pakistan but people have been returned from the Asian country before.

Surrey Police said they were aware of the video and any co-operation from the pair would assist the inquiry.

A police statement said: We were made aware this morning of a video apparently featuring Urfan Sharif and Beinash Batool that had been obtained by the UK media, in which Beinash Batool suggests that the family may be willing to co-operate with the British authorities.

Clearly this is significant and we have been liaising with our international partners, including Interpol, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the National Crime Agency, to determine the next steps.

As you will appreciate, progressing these inquiries through the appropriate channels has to be handled carefully and sensitively.

The welfare of the five children who travelled to Pakistan on 9 August is a priority for us.

We remain absolutely committed to conducting a thorough investigation into Saras death. Any co-operation from the people we want to speak to will assist the inquiry.
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A man has been arrested in connection with a homophobic attack outside a nightclub in south London in which two men were stabbed, the Metropolitan Police has said.

Two men, one aged in their 20s and the other in their 30s, were outside the Two Brewers in Clapham High Street at around 10.15pm on August 13 when they were stabbed in an unprovoked attack.

The two men were taken to hospital and have since been discharged.

The Metropolitan Police said a 19-year-old man was arrested in South Norwood, south-east London, on Thursday on suspicion of two counts of GBH. He remains in police custody.

Officers are following up on a number of lines of inquiry provided by witnesses and members of the public, the force added.

Detective Superintendent Vanessa Britton said: This arrest marks a significant development in our investigation. The two victims have been informed and continue to be supported by our officers, including our dedicated LGBT+ Community Liaison Officer.

I know the concern and distress this horrific incident has caused among the LGBT+ community and I want to reassure them  and Londoners as a whole  that a team of officers is working diligently to investigate.

Pc Hayley Jones, the LGBT+ community liaison officer for the Metropolitan Police in Lambeth and Southwark, said: We understand some people from the LGBT+ community may not have the confidence to speak to police.

My role was introduced to provide a dedicated LGBT+ point of contact to support the community and advise on investigations where homophobia and transphobia is a motive.

You can contact me directly for advice and support, or to assist this investigation.

Pc Hayley Jones can be contacted on 07825101104 or Hayley.Jones@met.police.uk.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or tweet @MetCC and quote CAD 7198/13Aug. People can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
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Serious security concerns at the prison where a terror suspect escaped by clinging to a food delivery van were flagged last year after another inmate fled the jail in 2019.

A nationwide manhunt is underway after former soldier Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, who escaped HMP Wandsworth while wearing a chefs uniform.

Khalife was being held on remand after he was accused of planting fake bombs at a military base and airports and ports have since been put on high alert over fears he will try to leave the country.

Concerns around security at the category B prison there were flagged last year following the escape of a prisoner five years ago.

An inspection report for the south west London prison, dated September 2021 but published last year, noted that a serious security breach had led to the previous escape.

Inspectors said they were given some assurance that steps had been taken to prevent further breakouts.

However, they still noted some concerns in relation to physical aspects of the security.

The report said: A serious security breach had led to an escape in 2019; we were given some assurance that action to prevent further escapes had been taken in response to the investigation that followed.

However, current local security data evidenced some concerns in the physical aspects of security.

Discussing security measures, it added: Although there had been some improvements to physical security measures to tackle drug supply, and mandatory drug testing had begun during the inspection week, more staff training was needed in key areas, such as the gatehouse and the post room, to provide a consistent approach.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, escaped from category B HMP Wandsworth (PA/Getty)

The report also described the Victorian prison as overcrowded, crumbling and vermin-infested.

Violence was on an upward trend, the report noted, while staff shortages at prevented the prison providing inmates with a basic regime.

Inspectors said that despite a reduction in population since the previous inspection, it remained one of the most one of the most overcrowded prisons in England and Wales with nearly three-quarters of prisoners doubling up in cells designed for one.

Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, also issued a warning over plans to increase the number of prisoners being held the following April.

Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: Leaders in this crumbling, overcrowded, vermin-infested prison will need considerable ongoing support from the prison service, notably with the recruitment and retention of staff, improving the infrastructure of the jail and making sure that external agencies such as the Home Office and the education provider pull their weight.

It is hard to see how HMP Wandsworths limited progress can be sustained if prisoner numbers in this jail are allowed to increase as they are scheduled to do next April [2022].

A progress review in April 2022 found the prison remained very overcrowded, with many prisoners living in very poor conditions.

Labour MP raised concerns months ago at prison where terror suspect escaped

Labour MP Rosena Allin-Khan said she raised concerns about staff shortages at the prison months ago.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast on Thursday, Ms Allin-Khan said: I was made aware that there were significant staff shortages so looked about investigating.

In December last year, only seven members of staff turned up to look after 1500 inmates. The prison itself was also without water for six days.

There have been ongoing staffing issues. What this meant for shifts like that, was people were asked to stay for double shifts to make up shortfall. Mistakes are going to be made.
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A soldier turned terror suspect, Daniel Abed Khalife has been the subject of a nationwide manhunt, having finally been captured 75 hours after outwitting the guards at a London prison.

He escaped in a chefs outfit by using straps to cling onto a food delivery van, with his current location unknown. Intelligence sources have told The Independent it is almost certain that he had inside help.

Follow The Independents live blog for the latest updates

Daniel Khalife in his military uniform ( )

Police commissioner Mark Rowley said the escape was clearly pre-planned  pointing to the fact he could strap himself onto the bottom of the wagon, referring to the delivery van Khalife used to flee.

With airports and ports installing additional security measures and holidaymakers reporting delays at border control, his escape has posed serious questions about the suitability of his incarceration at a Category B prison.

Prior to his arrest in January, the 21-year-old had formerly been a serving soldier in the British Army since 2018 and had worked as a computer network engineer with the Royal Corps of Signals.

With known links to Kingston in London, he was based at the Ministry of Defences Stafford military base while serving, which is also known as Beacon Barracks.

However, he was charged with terror offences and charges relating to the Official Secrets Act earlier this year, after he was accused of carrying out a bomb hoax at the RAF base.

According to court documents, he allegedly placed three canisters with wires at RAF Stafford with the intention of inducing in another a belief that the said article was likely to explode or ignite and thereby cause personal injury or damage to property, contrary to section 51 of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

An urgent manhunt is underway after Khalife escaped from HMP Wandsworth (Met Police)

He is also accused of eliciting or trying to elicit information that could be useful for a terrorist on 2 August 2021, and breaching the Official Secrets Act by gathering information that could be useful to an enemy between 1 May 2019 and 6 January 2022.

Khalif, a British citizen whose father is said to be Iranian, allegedly attempted to pass on the information to a foreign power, believed to be Iran, security sources told The Independent. They allege that he sought to graduate into spying with the material he had obtained from the MoD.

Khalife had initially been arrested in January 2022 on suspicion of a separate offence but was bailed before being re-arrested following an investigation by Scotland Yards counter-terrorism command.

The former British Army officer was dressed in a cooks outfit (Met Police)

During a court hearing earlier this year, a prosecutor told Westminster Magistrates Court that he had disappeared from the barracks after the alleged bomb hoax and there had been active efforts to look for him.

He was arrested a few weeks later in or near his car and has been remanded into custody ever since.

The former soldier has denied all charges against him and is due to face a six-week trial at Woolwich Crown Court on 13 November.

What is the Royal Corps of Signals?

Princess Anne is Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Corps of Signals and the Royal Logistic Corps (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Khalife was a computer network engineer with the Royal Corps of Signals, the British Armys communications arm, of whom Princess Anne has been Colonel-in-Chief since 1977.

The Royal Signals have been deployed in every Army operation since the corps establishment in 1920, and are described by the Ministry of Defence as leaders in IT, Cyber and Telecommunications, providing battle-winning communications to every part of the Army.

Those in the Royal Signals are trained to become experts in engineering and operating systems, networks and cyber equipment, the Army website adds.

Khalife had initially been arrested in January 2022 ( )

Regiments stationed at Beacon Barracks include the 1st Signal Regiment and 16th Signal Regiment, which deliver information and comms to the armoured brigades headquarters and the satellite link to communicate back to the UK, and the 22nd Signal Regiment, which serves Natos Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Headquarters.

Khalife served as part of the 22nd Signal Regiment, The Independent understands, and would have had access to state-of-the-art defence electrical equipment.

Why was he held in a Category B prison?

Questions have been raised as to why the terror suspect was being held at HMP Wandsworth (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

Questions have now arisen as to why Khalife was being held at HMP Wandsworth, given its grading as a Category B prison, the second highest level of security.

Those facing terror-related charges are often held in the Category A prison Belmarsh, which is located in south-east London.

Justice secretary Alex Chalk has held an urgent call with the prison governor and senior staff in the prison service to seek assurances about what is being done to ensure the jail is secure.

The Metropolitan Police said Khalife was arrested just before 11am on Saturday in Chiswick, west London, and is now in police custody, the force said.

It added: "We would like to thank the public and media for their support throughout our investigation to locate Khalife, and we will provide a further update on his arrest in due course."

Officers had been searching the district earlier on Saturday after confirmed sightings in the area.

Rishi Sunak, said he is "very pleased" terror suspect Daniel Khalife has been arrested, as he praised efforts by the police and the public in finding him.

Speaking to broadcasters at the G20 summit venue in New Delhi, the prime minister said: "I'm very pleased with the news and my thanks to the police officers for their fantastic work over the past couple of days, but also to the public who came forward with an enormous number of leads to help the police in their inquiries.

"It's good news that we captured the person concerned. As people already know, the Justice Secretary has initiated an inquiry into the circumstances of his escape and that work will continue.

"And this is obviously very welcome news. And again, my thanks to the police but also to the public for their help."
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Police are continuing to hunt for a former soldier accused of terrorism, as a senior Government minister admitted there were questions to answer about the prison escape.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, went missing in his cooks uniform from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday, prompting extra security checks at major transport hubs.

Kent Police confirmed junctions eight and nine of the M20 were temporarily shut on Thursday due to the enhanced security checks  and to allow freight heading for mainland Europe to queue on the empty section of the motorway.

There are fears the fugitive  who has been missing since 8am on Wednesday  might try to flee the country.

It has been reported that he escaped from a prison kitchen by clinging to a delivery van.

Cabinet minister Michelle Donelan acknowledged that the public would be concerned about the incident, but insisted prison escapes were incredibly rare and the incident was being looked into.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also insisted prison escapes are extremely rare and rejected calls for an independent inquiry as an internal inquiry had already been initiated.

Professor Ian Acheson, a former head of security at Wandsworth, said Khalifes escape was at best a catastrophic system failure.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Its incredibly embarrassing for the prison service but its not entirely surprising given what we know about whats going on Wandsworth at the moment.

Professor Acheson said the prison was in freefall.

He added: I mean, frankly, if you cannot even manage to get the bins emptied in a place like Wandsworth what else is going wrong?

Ms Donelan said there were questions to answer, including over the type of prison Khalife was being held at, with HMP Wandsworth  a category B prison  having the second-highest level of security.

She later told ITVs Good Morning Britain: This is not an epidemic or anything of that nature. This is an isolated incident.

Khalife, who was awaiting trial after allegedly planting a fake bomb at an RAF base and gathering information that might be useful to terrorists or enemies of the UK, was discharged from the Army in May 2023.

He has denied the three charges against him.

He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown, steel toe-cap boots, the Metropolitan Police said, and is slim and 6ft 2in, with short brown hair.

The jail was put on lockdown after he fled.

Ms Donelan told LBC: It is my understanding it is not as black and white as that when you determine where somebody goes into which type of prison, but that is something that is being looked at.

I think there are a lot of questions to answer here. But the top priority obviously needs to be catching him as well Michelle Donelan

Ive spoken to the Justice Secretary, I know that the investigation is taking place.

I think there are a lot of questions to answer here. But the top priority obviously needs to be catching him as well.

She batted away questions about a link between the escape and the UKs over-stretched prison system.

Weve always said that the prison estate needs an upgrade and we need to expand the capacity.

But I dont think that we should draw a parallel between the two things here. It is extremely rare for a prisoner to escape.

We shouldnt politicise the topic, really. We should look at exactly what has happened and then how can we deal with that to ensure it doesnt happen again, Ms Donelan said.

The head of the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command, Commander Dominic Murphy, has said there is no reason to believe Khalife poses a threat to the wider public but has urged people not to approach him and to call 999 if they spot him.

Khalife was held at Belmarsh prison but later transferred to Wandsworth, according to reports.

He has links to north-west England and Kingston in London but Mr Murphy said the hunt is covering the whole of the UK.

Khalife was previously stationed at the Ministry of Defences Beacon Barracks in Stafford.

The barracks are home to the Royal Corps of Signals 1st Signal Brigade, the Defence Electronics Agency, the RAF Joint Helicopter Commands Tactical Supply Wing and No 22 Group air force cadets.

According to the Telegraph, he described his role on social media as being a computer specialist with skills including information technology and system administration.

The 21-year-old appeared at the Old Bailey in late July where he denied the charges.

He is accused of eliciting or trying to elicit information that could be useful for a terrorist on August 2 2021, and breaching the Official Secrets Act by gathering information that could be useful to an enemy between May 1 2019 and January 6 2022.

The ex-serviceman is also accused of a criminal offence relating to the alleged bomb hoax.

It is claimed that he placed three cannisters with wires on a desk in his accommodation with the intention of inducing in another a belief this was likely to explode or ignite and thereby cause personal injury or damage to property.

A trial date has been set for November 13 at Woolwich Crown Court.
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An artist has painted four poetic and empowering portraits using 70s-style wallpaper of West Indian children from the Windrush generation to commemorate their 75th anniversary.

Yvadney Davis, 42, from Nunhead, south London, created an art exhibition called Proverbs of the Windrush Child as a love letter to the Windrush generation and to honour her Jamaican grandparents.

She interviewed four people about their life in the Caribbean before and after arriving in England, and painted them on a linen canvas to highlight the sacks used to store grain and coffee in the West Indies.

Ms Davis came up with the idea for the exhibition when she spoke to her Jamaican father-in-law  who moved to England as a child  on Christmas Day after making him the islands hibiscus drink, Sorrel.

It struck me that we always focus on the adult who made the decision to come here, but there were so many children who didnt have a choice, she told the PA news agency.

They were left with relatives or friends and grew up in an abundance of nature  a different way of living that was very community-focused.

Then, suddenly, they were sent to live in England and they didnt have a choice in that, they may not have known their parents or remembered them, they may have had new siblings.

Then they had to deal with racism, probably for the first time in their life  I wanted to give them a voice and share their learnings, which is why I called it proverbs.

The mother-of-two painted the four individuals quotes swirling out of their heads in a semi-circle on the portrait.

The portraits were painted on a linen canvas to draw attention to the linen sacks commonly used for storing grain and coffee in the West Indies, Ms Davis said.

She explained: I used a lot of vintage wallpaper from the 70s because the houses that I went into growing up were still decorated in this very distinctive style it was distinctly working class.

Each of the ones (wallpaper) I chose kind of reminds me of the Caribbean in their own way, like the water, the sea, the sun.

I also used linen canvas, because its quite rough, and thats what they would use to store grain and coffee.

So, I wanted that element of back home.

Ms Davis described her painting technique as very layered using a lot of paint strokes.

Its kind of like a rhythm in terms of how I paint and thats why people comment on my paint strokes, she said.

She used a quote from Jamaican political activist Marcus Garvey to emphasise the importance of telling the stories of the Windrush generation.

Ms Davis said: Marcus Garvey has a quote, its like, you need to know where youre coming from in order to go forward.

Were built on the back of people that made a lot of sacrifices, financially, their pride; they were qualified to do things and came here to work in the lowest roles.

My granny passed a couple of years ago they didnt come here for nothing, they came here to build something for us who are left.

For Caribbean kids, Ive seen it with my own children in school, the education system will label them as worthless, thugs, menaces and violent.

So, I think its important when we look at Windrush to have some pride in where we came from.

We came from very little, but from that little weve got the carnival, we created Desmonds (TV sitcom), the whole music scene, art, food.

Proverbs of the Windrush Child is currently on display at the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton until September 10th.
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Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross has accused the Scottish Government of using the north-east of the country as guinea pigs in a new policing pilot that will see some crimes not investigated.

Mr Rosss criticism  which was dismissed as seeking cheap political headlines by First Minister Humza Yousaf on Thursday  stems from an announcement this week of a trial where crimes which present no risk, harm or vulnerability nor which have any positive line of inquiry will be logged but no further action taken.

The plans drew criticism from opposition politicians and the Scottish Police Federation, with police claiming budget cuts in recent years had led to the decision.

Speaking at First Ministers Questions at Holyrood, Mr Ross said: This pilot is unfairly treating communities in the north-east as guinea pigs.

Officers don't have the resources to do their jobs, people who report crimes will be told 'tough luck' and it's open season for criminals under the SNP Douglas Ross

They will receive a poorer service, despite paying their taxes like everyone else.

He added: First Minister, this is a direct consequence of SNP funding cuts.

Officers dont have the resources to do their jobs, people who report crimes will be told tough luck and its open season for criminals under the SNP.

Why is the First Minister telling offenders that they can break the law and get away with it here in Scotland?

Responding, an angered First Minister said: Douglas Ross, with that question, demonstrates why he should never, ever be allowed to be first minister of this country.

Panicking people, alarming people, sensationalism  all for cheap political headlines.

He added: What we are interested in is results  those results see more police officers in Scotland than other parts of the UK per head.

What we see is further investment in our police in comparison to the previous year.

What we also see is lower recorded crime rates here in Scotland than when we took office.

The number of crimes reported to police dropped from 459,032 in 2007-08 to 289,352 in 2022-23, according to government figures.
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Thousands of airline passengers were hit by flight cancellations on Wednesday night due to another air traffic control (ATC) issue.

Gatwick Airport said it was subjected to a restriction in the number of planes that could take off and land because of short notice sickness in its ATC tower, which is managed by National Air Traffic Services (Nats).

EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren warned that passengers were being let down once again and claimed Nats staff shortages had caused disruption at Gatwick on 29 days since May.

Nats said it is working in line with a staffing plan agreed with Gatwick bosses when it took over the provision of ATC services at the airport in October 2022, which includes training further controllers.

A Nats technical glitch last week caused widespread disruption at airports across the UK, leaving thousands of holidaymakers stranded overseas for several days.

PA news agency analysis of flight data websites suggests around 58 flights to or from Gatwick  the UKs second busiest airport  were cancelled on Wednesday night, meaning around 9,000 passengers were affected.

EasyJet, which operates the most flights at the West Sussex airport, was the worst affected, with 42 cancellations.

The first flight affected by the disruption appeared to be the airlines arrival from the Greek island of Zakynthos, which was diverted to Luton.

Due to short-notice sickness in the air traffic control tower, temporary air traffic control restrictions were put in place yesterday (Wednesday), resulting in some delays and cancellations by airlines Gatwick Airport spokeswoman

EasyJet said in a statement: Nats air traffic control staffing shortages at Gatwick yesterday led to a significantly reduced flow rate being imposed on airlines, meaning some flights were delayed and some were unable to operate.

While this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers and did all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption, notifying those on cancelled flights of options to rebook or receive a refund and provided hotel accommodation and meals where required.

Among the other airlines to cancel flights from Gatwick on Wednesday night were Lufthansa, Norwegian, Iberia Express and Vueling.

Affected passengers are not entitled to compensation as the disruption was outside of the airlines control.

A Gatwick Airport spokeswoman said: Due to short-notice sickness in the air traffic control tower, temporary air traffic control restrictions were put in place yesterday (Wednesday), resulting in some delays and cancellations by airlines.

London Gatwick would like to apologise to any passengers who have been impacted by these restrictions. Please contact your airline for more information.

A Nats spokesman said: We are training new controllers to safely oversee the 900 aircraft per day that use Gatwick, the worlds busiest and most complex single runway airport.

Even a qualified controller will take up to a year to complete the specific training required.

In the meantime, we are working closely with the airport and airlines to deliver the best possible level of safe and efficient service.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced on Wednesday that an independent review would be carried out into last weeks ATC failure.

Mr Lundgren said: Customers are being let down once again. Since May, we have seen 29 days of traffic restrictions at Gatwick due to Nats staff shortages.

An independent and wide-ranging review of Nats has never been more urgent.

Passengers departing from UK airports and ports also saw longer wait times on Wednesday due to enhanced security checks as the authorities search for an escaped prisoner.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, a former soldier accused of terrorism, went missing in his cooks uniform from HMP Wandsworth, south-west London on Wednesday.
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The UK will host a global food security summit in November in response to Russias stranglehold on grain exports from war-torn Ukraine, Downing Street has announced.

It comes as the Prime Minister prepares to continue his denouncement of Russias invasion of Ukraine at the G20 summit in India.

Rishi Sunak will also highlight the impact that Russian president Vladimir Putins decision to collapse the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed ships carrying grain to leave southern Ukrainian ports without fear of attack, is having on the worlds poorest.

Once again, Vladimir Putin is failing to show his face at the G20. He is the architect of his own diplomatic exile, isolating himself in his presidential palace and blocking out criticism and reality Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

Mr Putin has opted not to attend the New Delhi G20 leaders gathering in person but his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov is expected to attend.

No 10 has vowed that Mr Sunak will not shy away from criticising Mr Lavrov to his face during sessions over the weekend, as the UK Government announced military and financial support to ensure food exports could leave Kyiv.

Speaking ahead of his flight to India on Thursday, the Prime Minister said: Once again, Vladimir Putin is failing to show his face at the G20.

He is the architect of his own diplomatic exile, isolating himself in his presidential palace and blocking out criticism and reality.

The rest of the G20, meanwhile, are demonstrating that we will turn up and work together to pick up the pieces of Putins destruction.

That starts with dealing with the terrible global consequences of Putins stranglehold over the most fundamental resources, including his blockade of and attacks on Ukrainian grain.

Mr Putin has said the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, will not be restored until the West meets Moscows demands on its own agricultural exports.

Russia refused to extend the deal in July, complaining that a parallel agreement promising to remove obstacles to Russian exports of food and fertiliser had not been honoured  an argument the West rejects.

Before Mr Putins attack in February 2022, Ukraine was the worlds fifth largest wheat exporter, fourth largest corn exporter and third largest rapeseed exporter.

The pact, first signed in July 2022 and extended every three months for a year, led to 33 million tonnes of grain and food exports leaving Ukraine, with the majority going to areas of the globe struggling with nutrition supplies, according to the UN.

Ahead of Mr Sunaks arrival in India, Downing Street announced that the UK would host an international food security summit on Monday November 20.

It is taking place in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Childrens Investment Fund, the United Arab Emirates and Somalia.

Since pulling out of the grain deal, Russia has declared that all ships transiting to Ukrainian Black Sea ports will be treated as military vessels  irrespective of the cargo they are carrying.

The UK Government officials said Moscow had acted upon this stance by firing shots and boarding a cargo ship bound for one of Ukraines Danube ports  action London thinks may constitute a violation of international humanitarian law.

No 10 said the UK was gearing up to use intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to monitor Russian activity in the Black Sea, calling out Moscow if there were warning signs that the Kremlins forces were preparing attacks on civilian shipping or infrastructure.

It would also attempt to attribute attacks to prevent false flag claims from Russia that aimed to deflect blame onto others.

As part of the surveillance operations, RAF aircraft were conducting flights over the area to deter Russia from carrying out strikes against civilian vessels transporting grain, Downing Street confirmed.

Alongside military efforts to deter Russian attacks, the UK would also contribute 3 million in funding for the World Food Programme to continue work started under Volodymyr Zelenskys Grain From Ukraine initiative.

The Ukrainian presidents programme was established in November to send his countrys produce to countries where people were suffering from the high global price of staple foods.
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Google is the subject of a new multibillion-pound legal claim in the UK which accuses the tech giant of shutting out competition in mobile search and driving up prices for consumers as a result.

The claim, filed with the Competition Appeal Tribunal, is seeking around 7 billion in damages for UK consumers.

It accuses the company of breaking competition law by using its dominance of the search engine market to raise the prices paid by advertisers for prominence on Google search pages, with these higher fees ultimately passed on to consumers, who are then charged higher prices for the goods and services they buy.

In addition, the claim says Google has abused its dominance in the sector by tying its Search app with other services; for example, requiring smartphone manufacturers to install Search on to their devices in order to access the Google Play app store.

It also points to Google paying Apple to ensure Google search was the default search engine on Apple devices as an example of the firm abusing its position in the market.

The claim, which has been filed by consumer champion Nikki Stopford, argues that almost every consumer in the UK has been affected by Googles actions, because of the companys importance as an advertising platform.

Almost everybody uses Google as their go-to search engine, often trusting the company to help them find the best products and services at reasonable prices. Unfortunately, Googles dominance of the search market has actually raised those prices for consumers Consumer champion Nikki Stopford

The UKs competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has previously expressed concerns over the dominance of Google in the mobile search advertising space, and has an ongoing investigation open into suspected anti-competitive conduct by the firm in the area of advertising technology.

According to CMA figures, Google is set as the default search engine on 94% of the mobile device sector.

Almost everybody uses Google as their go-to search engine, often trusting the company to help them find the best products and services at reasonable prices, Ms Stopford said.

Unfortunately, Googles dominance of the search market has actually raised those prices for consumers.

Despite judgments at the highest levels in Europe and complaints in the US, Google continues to rig the search market so that it can charge advertisers more.

Its a clear breach of competition law, for which consumers are paying the price.

Google has been warned about its behaviour by competition regulators repeatedly but has taken no meaningful action to stop the abuse.

This action aims to make the company accountable for its repeated lawbreaking and get consumers back the money theyre owed.

A Google spokesperson said: This case is speculative and opportunistic  we will argue against it vigorously. People use Google because it is helpful. We only make money if ads are useful and relevant, as indicated by clicks  at a price that is set by a real-time auction.

Advertising plays a crucial role in helping people discover new businesses, new causes and new products.
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The last Labour prime minister has warned against the dangers of aggressive nationalism, which he says is taking over the world.

Gordon Brown was speaking at the Dunfermline Outwith Festival on Thursday, where he said nationalist countries must stop blaming each other for their problems and should instead come together to find a solution.

He spoke with host Arabella Weir, a famous Scottish Comedian and actor at the fringe event held at the Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries.

The former prime minister, who once served as MP for Dunfermline East, now known as Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, sold exclusive signed copies of his new, unreleased book to attendees.

The book, titled Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World, was co-authored by Mohamed A El-Erian, president of Queens College, Cambridge, Michael Spence, dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and Reid Lidow, executive officer to the Mayor of Los Angeles.

During the talk, he warned that aggressive nationalism has taken over America, China, Japan, Russia and India.

What has happened is that people are seeing the world in terms of a struggle between 'us and them' Gordon Brown

He said: What has happened is that people are seeing the world in terms of a struggle between us and them.

So, theres us, and then there are them.

He referenced former US president Donald Trump, whom he said has turned Americans against anybody who they think is responsible for the very obvious sign that the standards of living of middle income and lower income Americans is declining.

Mr Brown said Globalisation has meant that American manufacturers have been undercut by the Chinese government and that Mr Trump has told the American population youve got to blame the immigrants, youve got to blame the black population, youve got to blame China, youve got to blame someone.

And we see now, there are a lot of anti-immigrant parties in Hungary, where there aren't immigrants. That's how bad it is Gordon Brown

He added: And what Trump really, sort of exploits, is the sense that people have lost out, and giving the impression that he will make America great again.

He also spoke of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, calling him a populist xenophobic nationalist for his treatment of immigrants, despite the country having so few.

He said: Hungary has got hardly any immigration. Its got the least immigration, I think, of any country in Europe.

And we see now, there are a lot of anti-immigrant parties in Hungary, where there arent immigrants. Thats how bad it is.

He told the audience Mr Orban has convinced his country they are constantly getting a raw deal and blames immigration for the Hungarys problems.

Mr Brown moved on to India where he said Hindu nationalism is very hostile towards Muslims and other religions.

What you need is leaders who are prepared to stand up to that and be prepared to say: 'We cannot blame everybody else for our problems. We have got to solve our problems ourselves Gordon Brown

He continued: You see, this is happening everywhere and the world is sort of turning in on itself.

What you need is leaders who are prepared to stand up to that and be prepared to say: We cannot blame everybody else for our problems. We have got to solve our problems ourselves.

We cannot survive in a world where youve got climate change, pandemics, financial instability  which is global.

[These are] global problems, which need a global solution, without having some way of working together instead of blaming each other for what goes wrong.

Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World will reach bookstore shelves on September 28.
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Rishi Sunaks Government is continuing its focus on artificial intelligence (AI), with a Turing Prize Laureate and the GCHQ joining a new taskforce.

The Prime Minister announced in April that the Government would invest 100 million in a taskforce on AI, as part of a drive to make the UK a world leader in the rapidly growing field.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said that the body would now focus on so-called frontier AI models, with a particular focus on any systems that could pose a risk to public safety and global security.

It comes as Turing Prize Laureate Yoshua Bengio and GCHQ director Anne Keast-Butler were named among the members of a new external advisory board.

The Department said that members were chosen after a robust due diligence process.

Mr Bengio, a world-leading computer scientist and global expert on AI, has been among those to have called for the rapidly developed technology to be regulated.

Alex Van Someren, the chief scientific adviser for national security, as well as deputy national security adviser Matt Collins, also join the board.

The coming months are expected to see the taskforce look at how AI could be used in the public sector, as well as boosting the UKs own capabilities.

Mr Bengio praised UK leadership on the issue, ahead of Mr Sunaks planned AI summit in November.

The safe and responsible development of AI is an issue which concerns all of us.

We have seen massive investment into improving AI capabilities, but not nearly enough investment into protecting the public, whether in terms of AI safety research or in terms of governance to make sure that AI is developed for the benefit of all, he said.

Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said that the appointments were huge vote of confidence in our status as a flagbearer for AI safety.
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Birmingham residents have been warned all bets are off on what services could be cut after the city council declared itself effectively bankrupt.

The Labour-run council might have to shut libraries, lessen the frequency of bin collections or raise council tax after it issued a section 114 notice  meaning it cannot meet its financial liabilities.

The council has blamed 760m of equal pay claims, the expenses of a new IT system, and years of funding cuts by successive Tory governments for its financial woes. It has an in-year financial gap in its budget of 87m.

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: Birmingham City Council has issued a 114 notice as part of the plans to meet the councils financial liabilities relating to equal pay claims and an in-year financial gap within its budget which currently stands in the region of 87m.

In June, the council announced it had a potential liability relating to equal pay claims in the region of 650m to 760m, with an ongoing liability accruing at a rate of 5m to 14m per month. The council is still in a position where it must fund the equal pay liability that has accrued to date (in the region of 650m to 760m), but it does not have the resources to do so.

Are you concerned about Birminghams cuts? Email joe.middleton@independent.co.uk

A section 114 notice means that Birmingham City Council, which is the largest authority in the UK and Europe, will stop all new spending, with the exception of protecting vulnerable people and statutory services.

Jonathan Werran, chief executive of Localis, an independent think-tank, said that a number of services for residents would now be in the firing line. Its like being up in a hot air balloon and then you throw things out of the basket to keep it up in the air... all bets are off, he said.

Services that could face budget cuts include street cleaning, parks and maintenance, leisure, childrens services that are not social care, libraries and even the frequency that your bins are collected.

Geoff Winterbottom, head of research and policy at Sigoma, who represents 47 urban authorities in England, said the council could also raise council tax to help its financial problems.

At the moment councils can only increase the local tax by a maximum of 5 per cent without a referendum. However, due to its perilous financial situation, Mr Winterbottom said the council could ask the government to allow it to increase it above the 5 per cent level without the need for a local poll.

Sharon Thompson, deputy leader of Birmingham City Council, told councillors at a meeting on Tuesday that the notice was a necessary step as we seek to get our city back on sound financial footing.

She said: I want to stress that despite the significant challenges that we face, we will prioritise core services that our residents rely on in line with our values of supporting the most vulnerable in this city.

In June, the council revealed it had paid almost 1.1bn in equal pay claims in the last 10 years after it lost a case at the Supreme Court in which female employees said they were not paid bonuses that were awarded to men on the same pay grade.

The council has a current liability relating to the claims between 650m to 760m, accruing at a rate of 5m to 14m per month. The council also said that Birmingham had 1bn of funding taken away by successive Conservative governments.

Leader of the Conservative opposition Robert Alden said it was cloud cuckoo land to say Birminghams problems are being replicated across the country and the situation was embarrassing for this great city.

In a statement, he said: Labours failure in Birmingham has become clear for all to see, what Labour pledged was a golden decade ahead to voters in 2022 turns out to be based on budgets in 20/21 and 21/22 that did not balance and were unfunded.

Combined with Birmingham Labours refusal to deal with equal pay over the last decade this has created this mess where residents will now lose valuable services and investment.

The first section 114 notice was issued by Hackney Council in 2000, with Northamptonshire County Council following suit in 2018.

Croydon council issued its third section 114 notice in November 2021, while Thurrock in Essex took the step in December last year after it got into difficulties over borrowing large sums to invest in solar energy.

Woking also issued a section 114 in June this year due to what it said was an extremely serious financial shortfall owing to its historic investment strategy that has resulted in unaffordable borrowing, inadequate steps to repay that borrowing and high values of irrecoverable loans.

Shaun Davies, Chair of the Local Government Association (LGA) said: Councils in England face a funding gap of almost 3bn over the next two years just to keep services standing still. Councils ability to mitigate these stark pressures are being continuously hampered by one-year funding settlements, one-off funding pots and uncertainty due to repeated delays to funding reforms.

The government needs to come up with a long-term plan to sufficiently fund local services. This must include greater funding certainty for councils through multi-year settlements and more clarity on financial reform so they can plan effectively.
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Birmingham City Council ignored advice not to host the Commonwealth Games despite serious financial difficulties, after it was effectively declared bankrupt this week.

Official advisers told council bosses that they should focus on its budgetary problems  warning that Birmingham would not have the resources to put on a major international sporting event in 2022.

On Tuesday, the Labour-run council, Europes largest local authority, issued a section 114 notice  which means all new spending will stop immediately and is likely to lead to cuts of several services.

Max Caller  a former non-executive director of the council who was appointed by the government in 2019 to help solve its financial issues  said he had told the authority in 2017 to focus on its serious problems.

He told The Times that council chiefs were determined to host event, which the Labour leadership claimed would launch a golden decade for the city.

I take nothing away from the city and the people for the brilliant job they did in delivering the Commonwealth Games, they did an amazing job, said Mr Caller.

But if youre doing that, there is a limit to the political and managerial capacity to focus on other things and it becomes all-consuming.

He added: We are 12 months after the event and the problems they faced before they started havent got better, they got worse, he added.

Cllr John Cotton, Birmingham City Councils leader (PA)

The council has been grappling with an equal pay bill which is now estimated to be worth more than 1bn and is growing by millions of pounds every month.

The problem has been growing for several years and has been compounded by an 87m in-year financial budget gap and a 100m bill to fix its IT system.

It remains unclear as to whether jobs will be cut at the authority, which has pledged to keep statutory services running amid the crisis, with unions calling for urgent talks.

Its leader, Councillor John Cotton, told BBC this week that tough decisions would need to be made but that he was committed to addressing the issues.

The council leader was criticised for being on holiday in New York while his authority declared effective bankruptcy. Mr Cotton was reportedly in the Big Apple for his 50th birthday when the local authority issued a section 114 notice.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said there are versions of the crisis at Birmingham City Council across the country as he pledged to look at a settlement for local authorities.

Sir Keir said he feels for the citys 1.1 million taxpayers. I feel for the residents affected by this because theyll be very worried about their services, he told the BBC.

I think, if you take a step back from Birmingham, you will see there are versions of this across the country. And thats because, for 13 years, local authorities have been stripped of the funding they need. So we will have to look at that again.

Rishi Sunak mocked Labours record at Birmingham City Council amid the authority woes at PMQs on Wednesday.

Now we are hearing about how Labour in Birmingham are failing hardworking people, losing control of taxpayers money, and driving their finances into the ground, said the PM. Theyve bankrupted Birmingham, we cant let them bankrupt Britain.
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A government report flags the risk to schools from earthquakes but fails to raise the alarm over collapsing buildings despite concerns about crumbling concrete dating back nearly three decades.

The 2023 report, which identifies national risks, also warns that schools could face disruption from a loss of drinking water, high and low temperatures and snow but makes no reference to the dangers from potentially structurally unsound buildings.

The Liberal Democrats accused the government of being blindsided by the scandal surrounding reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) while preparing for the most unlikely of scenarios.

It comes after more than 100 schools across England were forced to close or partially shut this week due to the potential risk from Raac, plunging the new term into chaos.

Raac is a less durable form of concrete, which has a lifespan of around 30 years and is prone to collapse when it gets wet. Concerns about its structural integrity were first raised by researchers in 1994.

On Wednesday, the government published a full list of the 147 schools containing Raac, although the number is expected to swell as more surveys are carried out in institutions up and down the country.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has conceded that hundreds more schools are likely to contain the material and it has also been found in hospitals, courts and a shopping centre. There are fears it could affect thousands of other public buildings such as offices, police stations, prisons and defence buildings.

General view of Park View School in London, which has been affected with sub standard reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac). Picture date: Wednesday September 6, 2023. (PA Wire)

Some 14 hospitals have been constructed either wholly or in major part with RAAC, seven of which are considered critical and not fit for purpose beyond 2030.

A three-year inspection programme was launched by the government in 2017 to examine the state of schools and part of its aim was to look at the materials such as Raac.

The governments National Risk Register, published last month for the first time in three years and which is based directly on the governments internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment, lists a number of events with the potential to cause disruption to schools, including extreme weather events such as earthquakes.

Temporary relocation of commercial premises or other infrastructure such as schools might be necessary where the properties have been damaged and are considered unsafe or unusable as the result of tremors, the report says.

It adds that if water treatment works were to fail this would have knock-on consequences to the functioning of essential services such as schools  until alternative water supplies are provided or supply is restored.

The National Risk Register also flags the threat to schools from low temperatures and heavy snowfall which pose a significant threat to human welfare. Snow falling and lying over multiple regions of the UK for a period of a week would result in schools being impacted by disruption.

Watch in full: Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer clash over school concrete crisis at PMQs

Last week parents of children at a school in Leicester affected by Raac described the nightmare they had endured due to the disruption caused by Raac, while others voiced concerns about safety.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has blamed the crumbling concrete crisis on the government cutting corners and sticking plaster politics.

Munira Wilson, the Lib Dems education spokesperson, said: The government has been completely blindsided by this concrete crisis. They have totally neglected to maintain our schools whilst they prepared for the most unlikely of scenarios.

She added: Ministers really do not have a grip on the day-to-day running of the country. The Conservatives priorities are totally in the wrong place and our public services are literally collapsing as a result.

Announcing the new National Risk Register last month Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister and secretary of state for the Cabinet Office, said the plan would ensure that the government and its partners can be ready for anything.

The Cabinet Office said that while the register flags potential disruption to schools from earthquakes, hot and cold temperatures and snow it does make clear that the risk and likelihood of serious harm from such events was low. The register does not aim to capture every risk the UK could face, it added.

A government spokesperson said ministers had acted decisively to tackle the Raac scandal.

The spokesperson added: The Office of Government Property wrote to all Government Property Leaders in 2021, and again in September 2022, highlighting safety alerts on Raac and signposting guidance on identification and remediation. The Government also created an urgent working group on Raac this year to address the issue.

Since then, departments have been surveying properties and depending on the assessment of the Raac, decided to either continue to monitor the structure, reinforce it, or replace it. This is in line with the approach recommended by the Institution of Structural Engineers.
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The Home Office told a five-year-old girl she must leave the UK immediately but allowed her mother to stay while she fights her own deportation.

The mother, from Nigeria, has lived in the UK for 19 years since the age of 16 and applied for leave to remain in the UK permanently on the grounds she has built a network of friends and family here.

The application was refused but while she was allowed to stay in the country to challenge the decision, she was told her daughter, who was born here and has never visited Nigeria, must go.

In August, the Home Office wrote to the childs case worker telling her: You applied as a family member (child). Your application has been refused. You do not have a right to appeal this decision because your human rights claim has been certified as clearly unfounded. You must now leave the United Kingdom.

The 35-year-old mother told The Independent: When I heard it I started crying, saying this is bad. It is very very bad.

She said she was despairing at the idea that her daughter might be made to leave the UK, saying: Where would she go? Who would she stay with? I felt so bad about it. They cant do that. Its not safe.

The only family member she is still in touch with in Nigeria is her elderly mother. But she is unwell with a leg injury that means she cannot move around, let alone help to look after a child, she said.

I have no friends in Nigeria, there is nobody I know there. Its here that I have friends and people to help me. If I went back I would feel very unsafe. I dont know anyone there, she repeated.

Moving her child to Nigeria would also disrupt her education, she added. Shes doing very well at school here. Yesterday she got a gift of a Disney Frozen poster from her teacher for answering all of the questions in class. Shes very happy, doing well, is kind and she has lots of friends.

The decision to remove the girl has now been temporarily reversed after it was challenged as negligent, uncaring and counter-productive by the mothers case worker. The child has now been given the right to appeal the negative leave to remain decision.

The mother, who is based in Thurrock, is not legally allowed to work while she is waiting on her leave to remain immigration decision, but she hopes to one day train to become a childminder and work in the care sector.

She broke down crying telling The Independent about how she desperately wanted the opportunity to work to support her daughter. She said: I just want to be able to work and get a salary to support myself and my daughter. I really need to be doing something. When I go out with my daughter and she wants something, I dont have any money to buy it for her. She starts crying but I tell her that when I start working I will be able to get it for her.

Applicants are entitled to leave to remain status in the UK if they have lived continuously in the country for 20 years or more.

Nick Beales, from charity Ramfel, which supported the mothers case, said it was highly likely she would be granted permission to stay as she has been in the UK for so long. He added: There is no public interest in making our client and her daughter wait idly for another year, housed at public expenses and with no right to work, when it is inevitable they will ultimately be allowed to remain in the UK.

He said it was shocking that the government initially said his clients daughter must leave the UK immediately and could not even appeal the decision to remove her from her country of birth and residence.

He continued: Though this was corrected, this negligent, uncaring and counter-productive approach infects the decision-making process in long residence cases.

In its rejection letter, the Home Office also falsely stated that the mother had spent the majority of her life in Nigeria when she has been in the UK for over 19 years.

A Home Office spokesperson said: We expect all visa applications to be carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with the Immigration Rules.

We apologise to the family for an administrative error and are in contact with them to make amendments.
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A serving Metropolitan Police officer has been charged with rape and threatening to kill.

Scotland Yard said 23-year-old Pc Cliff Mitchell will appear in court on Thursday to face six rape allegations, one count of making threats to kill and one count of breaching a non-molestation order.

The force said it began an investigation on Tuesday afternoon after a call from a person who had found a distressed woman in Hackbridge, south west London.

A Met statement said: Officers were told that the woman had been attacked inside a property by a man who subsequently forced her into a car.

Mitchell was not on duty when he was subsequently arrested over the incident.

He was charged on Thursday.

Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said: These are horrific allegations and the victim is being supported by specially trained officers.

Officers from the Mets Directorate of Professional Standards are investigating.

This is an active investigation and inquiries continue at pace.

The arrest of a serving police officer on suspicion of such serious offences is extremely concerning and I recognise will cause considerable concern among Londons communities.

I share those concerns and have made an immediate referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Mitchell is a member of the Mets West Area Basic Command Unit and will appear in custody at Westminster Magistrates Court.

He has been suspended from duty.

The force did not give an address for Mitchell in its statement announcing the charge.
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A meeting to discuss the future of Notting Hill Carnival is said to have descended into chaos as residents voiced safety concerns for their children but united against suggestions it should be moved to a different location.

Notting Hill Carnival organisers Carnival Village Trust on Wednesday held a post-event residents meeting to discuss the future of the festival, which saw multiple arrests, non-fatal stabbings, and attacks on police officers including one female PC who was sexually assaulted, this year.

Attendees criticised the meeting, held at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill, as a tick box exercise, presided over by condescending representatives, according to MailOnline.

They are said to have raised concerns about another Grenfell as housing associations complained they had been locked in during the course of the carnival.

The meeting also heard from the mother of a stabbing victim, while another woman said she was scared for her 13-year-old daughters well-being, urging officials to work with us to safeguard the community during the carnival.

However, the suggestion that Notting Hill Carnival be moved to a different location, such as nearby Hyde Park, was met with a chorus of boos and No and Never as the chief of the Carnival Village Trust Matthew Phillip tried to control the crowd, the news site said.

Eight people were stabbed at the festival in Notting Hill  the highest number of stabbings since 2016  as prime minister Rishi Sunak said the violence demonstrated the need to crack down on knife crime in the UK.

Carnival attendees were tormented by a hooded figure who was spotted wielding a foot-long machete, while another person was seen raising a so-called zombie knife in the air.

Police arrested 308 people over the two-day carnival, for a range of offences including possession of offensive weapons, assaults on police officers, possession of drugs and sexual offences during the carnival.

Notting Hill Carnival 2023 attracted huge crowds (PA Wire)

A female PC was sexually assaulted during the carnival as large crowds gathered for the carnival on 28 August, as the Met Police released CCTV footage of two suspects who allegedly assaulted the officer from behind.

During the meeting on Wednesday, housing associations are said to have described how one road was left with locks on all its gates, with just one security guard between them.

If there had been a fire, what would have happened and what would be your response to that if someone died? one person is said to have asked a representative for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, its Director of Cleaner, Greener and Cultural Services Terry Oliver.

Another Grenfell was the reported response from another attendee, referring to the devastating Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 that left 72 people dead.

The mother of a man who was stabbed at Notting Hill Carnival this year spoke to the gathering, explaining how her son was attacked by a group of young people wearing masks on 28 August.

Carnival goers stand next to police officers (EPA)

As the meeting progressed, Mr Phillip was forced to defend claims the trust earns 100m from the carnival each year, calling the claims nonsense.

Separately, he warned that the meeting was getting into chaos, asking: Are we going to do something constructive or not?

One of the residents told Mr Phillip his behaviour was condescending and disrespectful to the attendees, adding: This is a meeting that we have every year. The negativity that you started with to me was not very respectful to the residents and to the people who turned up to this meeting.

This is clearly a tick box exercise. All of these residents should be as angry as they are if this is the way you treat them year in, year out.

In a statement to The Independent, the organisers said the local community overwhelmingly support the festival and its place on the streets of Notting Hill.

They said: As we do every year, we welcome the feedback, suggestions and discussion at the meetings we had with the local residents both before and after Notting Hill Carnival.

It is an invaluable process in helping us to shape the event to ensure residents enjoy a positive experience.

There are many challenges when organising an event of this scale, from the feedback we receive from these regular meetings it helps us address these issues and work toward a resolution in forthcoming years.

Overall, the local community and residents overwhelmingly support Carnival and its place on the streets of Notting Hill, as was demonstrated at last nights meeting.

The calls for the event to be moved from its home are from a very small minority. We welcome their feedback but their suggestions do not represent the vast majority of those who attend, the local residents, us as organisers, the local councils, GLA or our partners in the emergency services.

The Notting Hill Carnival belongs on the streets of Notting Hill and moving it will not eliminate the issues our community suffered this year.

We in no way condone what happened, these actions are not because of Carnival, there were 12,786 knife offences carried out in London alone over the 12 months to March 2023 this is not acceptable ever!

This article was amended on September 8 2023. It originally reported as fact that the meeting had descended into chaos, but was changed to make it clear that this was a claim.
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The Duke of Sussex said his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II is looking down on all of us, happy were together during a charity awards ceremony on the eve of the anniversary of his grandmothers death.

Prince Harry, who landed in the UK without Meghan on Thursday for his first appearance since June, attended the WellChild Awards at the Hurlingham Club, where he sat with seriously ill children and their families ahead of the ceremony.

The duke, who has been patron of the childrens charity for 15 years, took to the stage on the eve of the first anniversary of the late Queens death and said: As you know, I was unable to attend the awards last year as my grandmother passed away.

As you also probably know, she would have been the first person to insist that I still come to be with you all instead of going to her, and thats precisely why I know exactly one year on that she is looking down on all of us tonight, happy were together, continuing to spotlight such an incredible community.

It was the first time the royal had been seen in the UK since his high-profile legal case at the High Court against Mirror Group Newspapers earlier in the year.

However, he is unlikely to meet up with his father, King Charles III, or brother, Prince William, during the fleeting visit, with relations between the trio still believed to be frosty after the publication of Harrys bombshell memoir Spare in January this year.

After arriving at the event, Harry was seen chatting to each young award winner at the reception. In one set of photos, he can be seen laughing with seven-year-old Poppy Higham, from Runcorn, as she danced to music by Ed Sheeran and spoke to him about her love of Disney.

Prince Harry with Poppy and her father Daniel Higham at the WellChild Awards (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

The duke then played around with a giraffe balloon and showed Poppy its rotating head, prompting her to play with it.

Noticing that each winners balloon represented a different animal, Harry asked: Is the theme Madagascar?

He was also seen fist bumping two of the boys receiving Inspirational Young Person awards  George Hall, 11, from Skipton, and Blake McCaughey, 15, from Country Armagh. Harry was then gifted a green Belfast Giants ice hockey shirt from Blake and his family, with his name personalised on the back.

The duke greeted award winner George Hall with a fist bump (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

The Duke of Sussex added in his speech: As a father of two  and three dogs, so basically five  Im acutely aware of the many joys and challenges that come with parenting.

And thats with kids who arent facing health challenges. So, to the parent carers in the room, you have my sincerest admiration and respect. The level of support and responsibility you share daily is unrivalled and without fail.

You deserve all the assistance you need  whether its training enough skilled carers to help shoulder the increasing demands of 24/7 care routines or simply providing time and space for you to take a break once in a while.

It is our collective responsibility to continue to provide new and existing resources for you, to advocate on your behalf, and to help in any way we can. You are proof that not all superheroes wear capes!

Prince Harry said Queen Elizabeth II was looking down on us all (Getty Images)

Harry will still be in the capital on Friday for the first anniversary of the death of the Queen, who died on 8 September last year after reigning for 70 years.

However, a royal source told MailOnline that Charles had no time in his diary to meet his son. The monarch is currently in Balmoral with Queen Camilla, while William is 100 miles away on a visit to Dorset, where he was given a surprise kiss by Paul Gascoigne in Pret.

After the event, Harry will jet off again on Saturday for Dusseldorf, Germany, for the opening ceremony of his Invictus Games.

However, Meghan is set to stay in California with their two children. She will reportedly fly out later in the week for the closing ceremony, where both she and Harry will give speeches.

Prince Harry shares a joke with Craig Hatch, Chairman of WellChild (AP)

The Invictus Games was set up by Harry in 2014 for injured and sick military personnel and veterans. A documentary, Heart of Invictus, was launched last week as part of the Sussexes multimillion-pound deal with Netflix.

It follows a group of service members on their road to the Paralympic-style sporting competition.

The couples other main output for the channel prior to that was last years Harry & Meghan documentary.

The six-part series followed the early courtship of the couple and Meghans struggle to adapt to the media glare that comes from being in the royal family.

The duke joked Is the theme Madagascar? while playing with the balloons (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

There were also a number of controversial moments, including Harrys claim that William screamed at him over plans to leave the royal family, and claims that the Palace leaked the couples exit strategy.

The trip to Europe comes a day after embattled former US president Donald Trump said he felt Meghan and Harry were disrespectful to the Queen when the couple stepped down as working royals in 2020.

Speaking to radio host Hugh Hewitt on The Hugh Hewitt Show on Wednesday, Mr Trump said: I didnt like the way she dealt with the Queen. They treated her with great disrespect and I didnt like it.

Mr Trump, who met the Queen on a three-day UK state visit in June 2019, described the late monarch as an incredible woman and said he wanted to go head-to-head with Meghan in a debate.
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The UK is expected to rejoin the European Unions 85bn Horizon science research programme which it was locked out of in a Brexit row.

Science secretary Michelle Donelan appears set to confirm Britains associate membership as she tours broadcast studios on Thursday morning, the PA news agency understands, drawing a line under months of tense talks.

Sources familiar with the negotiations between the two sides said a day earlier that prime minister Rishi Sunak had given the go-ahead for a deal to be finalised.

Britain continued to participate under the post-Brexit trade deal brokered with Brussels but was frozen out in a tit-for-tat retaliation in a dispute over Northern Ireland arrangements.

Scientists welcomed news of the agreement, first reported by Bloomberg, having warned that the sector was disadvantaged by two missed years of collaboration.

At Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday, Mr Sunak told MPs his priority and preference was to associate with Horizon but on terms that are right for both the British taxpayer and for British science and research.

In a hint at a possible breakthrough, he said the government had been extensively involved in discussions with the EU and I hope to be able to conclude those successfully.

The level of compensation the EU will pay the UK for being excluded from the scheme during the bitter row over trading rules for Northern Ireland in 2020 was still thought to be an issue.

One source told PA that Mr Sunak had signalled his approval of the deal but that the rebate for the absent years could still be an issue.

A conversation with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was expected before the announcement.

Whitehall sources said in July that a draft deal was with the prime minister, prompting scientists to cautiously celebrate the development.

But Downing Street said a UK-based alternative known as Pioneer remained on the table as Mr Sunak continued to be concerned about value for money.

A senior scientist at Londons Francis Crick Institute welcomed the latest developments as fantastic news.

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge told BBC Radio 4s PM programme: Weve really been missing being able to work properly with other European scientists.

Dame Kate Bingham, managing partner of the healthcare fund manager SV Health Investors, said: Collaboration with the top European researchers is critical if the UK is to become a real science superpower.

But Labour criticised the delay, with shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson saying: I seriously hope that comes to pass but I do have to say what on earth have they been doing and why has it taken so long?

This is damaging our competitiveness, its damaging our country and I really hope that we see progress as soon as possible.

Horizon is a collaboration involving Europes leading research institutes and technology companies.

EU member states contribute funds, which are then allocated to individuals or organisations on merit to explore subjects such as climate change, medical advances and artificial intelligence.
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More schools in Scotland have been confirmed to contain a collapse-risk concrete, Scotlands First Minister said as he pledged to review refurbishment applications through a Raac lens.

Speaking at First Ministers Questions on Thursday, Humza Yousaf said reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) has now been identified in 40 schools, with further investigations under way.

Ministers were informed of the substance years ago, he said, after it was linked to the collapse of a school roof south of the border, where more than 100 schools are set to close as a result of remedial works.

In Scotland, urgent work is under way following the discovery of the concrete at St Kentigerns Academy in Blackburn, West Lothian, with part of the estate including the kitchen and dining area closed, while Preston Lodge High School in East Lothian has closed impacted classrooms.

In response to a question from Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, the First Minister said: I can confirm that, given we have further information back from local authorities, 40 schools have been identified that have Raac in them, and of course the appropriate mitigations have been put in place.

Mr Sarwar urged the First Minister to urgently prioritise schools which have applied to the Scottish Governments Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP) which will see refurbishments carried out, or new schools built.

Local authorities applied for the scheme, which contributes to urgent infrastructure priorities, and were due to hear back by the end of 2022.

It is understood five schools which are confirmed to have Raac had applied to the scheme.

Mr Sarwar said: The Government has delayed the next phase of their school rebuilding programme. Local authorities submitted bids a year ago, they were meant to get an answer by the end of 2022 and we know that at least five of the schools on that list contain Raac, although I suspect that number will be far higher.

Those schools are still waiting so this must be dealt with urgently.

In response, the First Minister said: In terms of the school estate, we will be making decisions on LEIP imminently, but we are also now looking at that programme through a Raac lens, I think its important to do so.

This Government does have a good record when it comes to building schools, or indeed substantial refurbishments of schools.

Since 2007/8 weve had 1,098 school buildings or indeed substantial refurbishment projects that have taken place.

Mr Yousaf also said 254 NHS buildings are believed to have Raac, after a desktop review found two or more characteristics in each.

Following more extensive surveys, nine of 40 medical buildings surveyed so far have Raac, he said.
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Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has announced the formation of a public inquiry into rogue neurosurgeon Professor Sam Eljamel.

Prof Eljamel worked at NHS Tayside from 1995 until he was suspended in 2013 for what Mr Yousaf described as despicable actions.

Calls for a public inquiry have increased since NHS Tayside published a report last week which revealed Prof Eljamel operated on 111 patients between his suspension and leaving his employment.

The Scottish Government had previously been against the idea of a public inquiry, but Health Secretary Michael Matheson told MSPs the review undertaken by the health board had changed his mind, citing the fact that new information is still coming to light a decade on.

But he also said Prof Eljamel could not be compelled to appear before the inquiry, due to being outside Scottish and UK jurisdiction, with his last known whereabouts reportedly being in Libya.

Jules Rose  who has been campaigning for an inquiry for a decade and formed a pressure group to push for it  said earlier this month that more than 200 patients may have been impacted by Prof Eljamel.

Mr Yousaf told MSPs: This is a deeply important issue and I can inform the chamber today that Health Secretary Michael Matheson will use his statement to the chamber this afternoon to confirm that the Government has decided to commission a full, independent public inquiry.

This comes after very careful consideration of the recent due diligence review, which said concerns about Professor Eljamel were not acted on with the urgency they deserved.

In commissioning the inquiry, it remains important that those people directly affected are still supported to find the answers they need and that both staff and patients across Scotland know that lessons are being learned.

Scottish Labour MSP Michael Marra  who is among a group of Tayside and Perth-based politicians who have pushed for an inquiry  said the announcement had to be wrung out of the Government, and he paid tribute to Ms Rose and fellow campaigner Pat Kelly.

Mr Yousaf said he did not agree with the characterisation, saying both he and the Health Secretary never ruled out a public inquiry into the disgraced surgeon.

Conservative MSP Liz Smith, who has long been campaigning for the victims to receive answers, welcomed the decision, and asked if a victim support fund for those impacted could be considered.

Mr Yousaf said: There are, as Liz Smith knows well, appropriate routes in relation to compensation that families can go through when it comes to health boards.

Of course, if there are other avenues that we can explore to support patients, then we will give that consideration, but there are already established avenues for patients who have suffered as a result of the NHS to be able to claim compensation.

He did admit, however, that these routes to compensation can be difficult to navigate, reiterating the Government will investigate any support that can be offered.

In his statement to Holyrood, Mr Matheson said: I was of the view that there were other, potentially faster and more individually responsive ways to seek to find the answers for what (the victims) were looking for.

However after considering the findings of the due diligence review, my view has significantly changed.

The failings exposed in the review can only be examined through a public inquiry, Mr Matheson said, adding the Scottish Government had not previously been aware NHS Tayside did not respond to Prof Eljamels request for voluntary erasure from the medical register, that there was not oversight from the board of historical information or concerns, and there were multiple reviews where no follow up action was recorded.

Some documents relating to the scandal, the minister said, had also been destroyed, in line with normal practice, when they should have been retained.

I have reflected on the concerns of former patients and MSPs since the findings were considered by the board of NHS Tayside, and Im clear that the boards governance obligations were repeatedly not implemented, Mr Matheson said.

Asked by SNP MSP Jim Fairlie what can be done to force Prof Eljamel to return to Scotland and appear before the inquiry, the Health Secretary said: My understanding is that Mr Eljamel is outwith Scottish and UK jurisdictions, and it would be dependent on him actually being willing to return.

The announcement comes after patients harmed by Prof Eljamel during his time at NHS Tayside and campaigners gathered outside the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday wearing surgical garb to call for a public inquiry.

On the same day, Mr Matheson told journalists there was a chance the rogue doctor could be extradited back to Scotland from his current home in Libya to be brought to account.

NHS Tayside will continue to do whatever is required to support all independent processes which are established NHS Tayside spokeswoman

In a statement, a spokeswoman for NHS Tayside said the board supports the announcement and it would participate fully in the process.

NHS Tayside sincerely apologised to all former patients of the surgeon when it published the findings and recommendations of its due diligence review into the former neurosurgeon last week.

The aim of that review was to provide a fresh assessment of the professional, clinical and corporate governance position relating to Professor Eljamels tenure, which ended when he was suspended in 2013.

This is in line with this Boards commitment to an open and honest approach to learn lessons and make improvements when there have been failings.

The statement added: NHS Tayside will continue to do whatever is required to support all independent processes which are established.
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People born into poorer families could be finding it more difficult than at any point in the last 50 years to move up the wealth ladder, researchers have suggested.

Parental income and wealth is of even more importance nowadays in determining someones income across their lifetime, a new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said.

The economic research organisation said its predictions suggest inheritances will be twice as big on average for those born in the 1980s as for those born in the 1960s.

This is down to various factors including older generations having increased levels of wealth due to higher house prices and the fact that people are having fewer children than in the past, the IFS said.

Parental income is a stronger predictor of income for people born from the 1970s onwards than for previous generations, it added.

It may be harder now than at any point in over half a century to move up if you are born in a position of disadvantage David Sturrock, Institute for Fiscal Studies

But the organisation said there are stark differences for people from different backgrounds and in different areas of the country, with those growing up on free school meals (FSMs)  an indicator of disadvantage  earning thousands less than their peers by the time they reach their late 20s.

While children from most ethnic minority groups on FSMs tend to out-perform their white peers in school, this advantage is reversed when it comes to work, the IFS said, as men from Pakistani, black African and black Caribbean backgrounds who grew up on FSMs end up earning less than white men who had FSMs as children.

The research, part of the IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities funded by the Nuffield Foundation, looked at lifetime income distribution  how much income people get from employment earnings and inheritance over their lifetime compared with other people.

It found that young people from Pakistani and Bangladeshi families are less than half as likely as their white peers to receive a substantial financial gift from their parents over a two-year period.

Looking at geography, men and women who grew up on FSMs in London tend to have better earnings later in life than those in the North of England, the IFS said.

People with parents living in London stand to inherit about twice as much on average as those with parents living in the North East or Yorkshire and the Humber, the organisation said, making it more difficult for children from relatively low-income backgrounds in lower-wealth parts of the country to move up in terms of total lifetime income.

The IFS said its research has shown that a man born between 1986 and 1988 who grew up on FSMs earned on average 7,700 less at the age of 28 than a man who did not. For women, the difference was almost 10,000.

Poorer children from the North and Midlands face the combination of poorer educational outcomes, weaker local economies and relatively low levels of inheritance from their parents David Sturrock, Institute for Fiscal Studies

David Sturrock, a senior research economist at the IFS and an author of the report, said: It is bad enough that it seems harder for children from poorer families to move up in the earnings distribution than it was 40 years ago.

But this may understate the true challenges we face with respect to social mobility, which are made worse by a long period of overall earnings stagnation alongside the increased importance of wealth and growing wealth gaps between North and South.

Poorer children from the North and Midlands face the combination of poorer educational outcomes, weaker local economies and relatively low levels of inheritance from their parents.

While the educational achievements of ethnic minority children from poor backgrounds are a success story, for many of them this is not translating into higher later-life earnings as we might expect, and on average they can rely much less on receiving wealth from their parents than White children.

It may be harder now than at any point in over half a century to move up if you are born in a position of disadvantage.
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The Government in Westminsters dominance over national decision-making and politicians use of muscular unionism rhetoric risks undermining public support for maintaining the UK as a single state, research by a think tank suggests.

The latest survey of attitudes to the union across the UK showed a striking ambivalence towards the importance of retaining all four nations, according to analysis of the findings by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

Public opinion is therefore out of step with the UK Governments hardline approach to governance in the aftermath of the Scottish independence vote and Brexit referendums, when devolved nations have been denied control of policy areas they expected to take on.

This approach risks fuelling resentment and undermining backing for the union in its current form, the IPPR report said.

Furthermore, the analysis found sidelining devolved governments is likely to put off even those who support the union.

The term muscular unionism is used to describe the belief the union should be preserved by asserting the supremacy of the UK Parliament over those in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It has been applied to the approach taken by Boris Johnsons administration to maintaining the union, with the then-prime minister describing the UK as the awesome foursome and devolution as a disaster north of the border.

The Government has subsequently faced criticism for asserting itself in what have previously been devolved policy areas.

For example, devolved governments have largely been excluded from economic development schemes which replaced European structural funds, the IPPR said.

The authors of the report used the findings of the survey in 2021 to create a muscular unionism index to gauge the strength of public opinion across the UK for and against the union.

On the spectrum between strong support and rejection for muscular unionism, voters in all constituent countries were placed slightly off the centre away from muscular unionism, with Scottish voters the most strongly opposed.

In addition, the index shows only Conservative supporters in Scotland and those who back unionist parties in Northern Ireland lean towards a muscular unionist approach, placing them at odds with the opinions of most supporters of the union in England.

This suggests that adopting the rhetoric of muscular unionism risks weakening already ambivalent support, IPPR said.

The analysis found fewer than half of voters in all nations view maintaining the union in its current form as a priority.

The survey also found a strong backing for common social and economic support across the UK, but voters were much less in favour of sharing tax revenues across the union to make this happen.

The analysis found strong support for transferring money from richer to poorer parts of the UK to equalise the scope of public services, with 70% of voters in England backing the principle and 86% in Northern Ireland.

However, when asked about sharing tax revenue, just 28% in Wales and 41% in England supported the approach.

Support fell further when voters were questioned about specific nations, with just 15% of voters in Wales supporting sharing revenue with Scotland.

A third of voters in England backed sharing revenue with Wales or Northern Ireland.

The unions advocates might wish for a more muscular defence of its benefits, but the United Kingdom is, in many ways, an ambivalent union Professor Ailsa Henderson

The analysis also found widespread variation in what people in the UKs constituent nations see as their common British values.

The report said British national identity aligns with constitutional attitudes, but does so in different ways in different parts of the UK.

For example, in Scotland and Northern Ireland people who emphasise their Britishness exhibit similar levels of Euroscepticism to those in England who emphasise their English, but not their British, identity, the IPPR said.

Also, people in England who emphasise their Britishness were more likely to be pro-European Union.

Ailsa Henderson, professor of political science at the University of Edinburgh and an author of the report, said: Attitudes to the union are typically understood as polarised between those who want its end and those who believe its benefits should be defended more assertively.

Nowhere is that polarisation more obvious than in Scotland, but UK-wide there is also considerable ambivalence to the union, with much support either muted or conditional on perceived benefits.

In addition, the way Britishness coalesces around not just different but at times opposite values, preferences and attitudes across the UK must be seen as a considerable challenge to anyone hoping to identify a unifying narrative around what it means. The unions advocates might wish for a more muscular defence of its benefits, but the United Kingdom is, in many ways, an ambivalent union.

Richard Wyn Jones. professor of Welsh politics and director of the Wales Governance Centre at Cardiff University, co-author of the report, said: This new analysis suggests the idea that there is a single understanding of Britishness, held and cherished across all four constituent territories of the UK, is a myth.

This suggests in turn that attempts by recent UK governments to champion a single version of Britishness, to buttress what some have termed the precious Union, are not only doomed to failure but are likely to be self-defeating.

Philip Whyte, director of IPPR Scotland, said the analysis shows the rise of muscular unionism alongside an undermining of devolved nations is out of kilter with public opinion.
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Labour raised almost 7.5 million in donations between April and June this year, continuing one of the most successful fundraising periods in the partys history.

While Labour continued to receive funds from trade unions, the boost in its war chest came mainly from private individuals who donated more than 6 million.

The bulk of the money came from just two individuals. Lord Sainsbury, the long-standing Labour donor, provided 3 million while former Autoglass boss Gary Lubner gave 2.3 million.

Lord Sainsbury had previously cut off his support to the party under Jeremy Corbyns leadership and in 2019 gave 8 million to the Liberal Democrats, but returned to the Labour fold in 2022 with a 2 million donation.

Mr Lubners gift follows his pledge to provide Labour with 5 million ahead of the next general election, and he gave 500,000 to the party in the first three months of 2023.

The record level of donations comes two weeks after the party published accounts showing it returned a 2.7 million surplus last year.

So far this year the party has raised a total of 11.9 million in donations.

A Labour spokesman said: Thanks to Keir Starmers leadership, the Labour Party saw significant financial growth throughout 2022, and our finances have gone from strength to strength this year as we set out our five missions to transform Britain.

The Labour Party is a changed party that is serious about getting into government and building a better Britain.

Other significant donations to Labour included a combined 739,000 from trade unions GMB, Unison and Usdaw, 250,000 from former Slough MP Fiona Mactaggart and 50,000 from former Tory donor Gareth Quarry.

Figures published by the Electoral Commission also show the Conservatives enjoyed a successful three months after a challenging 2022, raising 9.9 million in donations.

More than half of that came from health entrepreneur Frank Hester, whose 5 million gift was revealed earlier this week.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Alan Howard gave 1 million to the Conservatives, his largest donation to the party yet. Since 2019, Mr Howard has given the party a total of 1.6 million.

The donations build on a successful fundraising start to 2023, in which the Conservatives have raised 22 million so far.

Turmoil within the party saw donations fall to just 7.5 million in the second half of last year, contributing to an overall loss for 2022.

The Liberal Democrats secured 1.5 million in donations, including 25,000 from former leader Sir Nick Clegg
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Laura Kuenssberg has defended her audience viewing figures since taking over the BBCs flagship Sunday politics programme from Andrew Marr.

The 47-year-old former BBC political editor had her first episode of Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg in September last year shortly before Liz Truss was revealed as Boris Johnsons successor as Prime Minister.

Marr had presented The Andrew Marr Show in the Sunday slot for 16 years before leaving the corporation at the end of 2021.

In a recent interview, Kuenssberg told the Telegraph that her show is in great shape and up in terms of audience following reports that TV ratings were down.

She said: The average viewing figures for Andrew Marr were 1.45 million in 2019, 1.36 million in 2018 and 1.5 million in 2017.

The average since I took over is 1.5 million, which in a time of fracturing audience figures is bucking the trend.

Kuenssberg also talked about the whole ecosystem of her reach which includes a weekend edition of Newscast with BBC Radio 4s Paddy OConnell along with her social media.

She said: Were reaching a broader, more female demographic. Im happy with where we are at but I am not going to relax.

Since Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg launched, she has changed the format from Marrs days to include a panel  which has featured comedians, journalists, actors and experts  that reacts to the weeks news.

This has generated headline moments such as when comedian Joe Lycett appeared to sarcastically praise Ms Truss and jokingly claimed he was very right-wing during the first instalment of the programme.

Comedian Ben Elton also criticised Rishi Sunak during an appearance on the show in June after listening to the Prime Minister being interviewed.

Kuenssberg also ruled out a Strictly Come Dancing appearance, saying youll never catch me wearing sparkly pants and said she steers clear of the personal in her job.

Other people in your life dont choose your work so why should they be the subject of anyone elses attention? she said. I made that rule years ago and Im not going to break it now.

She is set to head a BBC documentary, Laura Kuenssberg: State Of Chaos, which will look back at the Brexit referendum to the end of the leadership of Ms Truss.

Ahead of the first episode airing on Monday, Kuenssberg previously said: The referendum result triggered years of turbulence in our politics  chaos inside the Conservative Party and Parliament, with prime ministers coming and going in quick succession.

I want to take viewers behind the scenes to show them what really happened, and ask whether after all the craziness, politics will ever be the same again?
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Labour has called for legislation to block former prime minister Liz Truss from nominating people for honours.

A minister for the Cabinet Office said on Thursday that it has not yet seen a resignation honours list from Ms Truss.

Labour had also called on Rishi Sunaks Government to block former prime minister Boris Johnsons honours list, which ultimately went through despite a number of related controversies, including Nadine Dorries resigning as an MP because she was not included and accusations of cronyism.

Lucy Powell, speaking for the first time at questions relating to business of the House of Commons since being appointed shadow Commons leader earlier this week, called for legislation to block any such list from Ms Truss.

Will she bring forward legislation to stop our House being brought further into disrepute by the prime minister elevating her cronies to the House of Lords? Lucy Powell MP

Noting this week marks a year since Ms Truss first took office, Ms Powell said: In the interest of parliamentary accountability, its really an important event to debate as her six-week tenure left a crippling legacy for mortgage holders, with millions now paying hundreds of pounds a month more thanks to her reckless decisions, all of which were defended and supported by the Leader of the House (Penny Mordaunt).

She asked if Ms Mordaunt would apologise for her role in supporting Ms Truss while in office.

Ms Powell said: Will she bring forward legislation to stop our House being brought further into disrepute by the prime minister elevating her cronies to the House of Lords?

We have had no contrition. Its the Leader of the Houses job to uphold the integrity of this place and its members in the eyes of the public.

Ms Mordaunt said Ms Powell supported Jeremy Corbyns leadership of the Labour Party but focused her response in the Commons on other points raised by her opposite number and highlighting new figures that upgraded the assessment for the UKs economic performance since the pandemic.

We have not yet seen the list for the previous prime minister Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart

The question of a potential resignation honours list for Ms Truss was also raised earlier in the Commons as MPs put questions to Cabinet Office ministers.

SNP MP Patricia Gibson (North Ayrshire and Arran) said Ms Truss was the shortest-serving prime minister and still managed to crash the economy  but will enjoy the privilege of ennobling pals and cronies.

Ms Gibson asked: Does the Cabinet Office, does the Prime Minister, does the Cabinet feel this inappropriate in any way? And can he tell the House whether he thinks such a spectacle will help restore trust in politics?

Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart said: We have not yet seen the list for the previous prime minister. And I think its worthwhile remembering that people who are honoured in our system have often contributed greatly to our country.
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The selection process for the next Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is to complete in November.

Deirdre Toner, chair of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, said the process of finding a new chief constable has begun and the recruitment competition will open at the end of September.

It follows the resignation last week of former chief constable Simon Byrne following a string of controversies.

The PSNIs oversight body met behind closed doors for most of Thursday.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd and chief operating officer Pamela McCreedy attended at one stage in the afternoon for a briefing.

In a press conference on Thursday evening, Ms Toner said recent board meetings have not been held in public due to the sensitive nature of what was being discussed.

She said the board agreed the timescale and started the process for the appointment of a new chief constable, with the selection process scheduled to complete in early November.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris welcomed the statement.

Their priority of delivering stability is correct and I fully agree that officers and staff throughout the PSNI deserve everyones support, he said.

I look forward to continuing to work closely with the PSNIs senior leadership team, who have a wealth of experience and are dedicated to keeping the people of Northern Ireland safe.

Pressure has been mounting on the leadership of the PSNI after a data breach which disclosed personal details of officers and staff, and a critical High Court judgment which said the disciplining of two officers following an arrest at a Troubles memorial event in Belfast in 2021 was unlawful.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton was to assume the responsibilities of the chief.

He had been expected to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, on Wednesday but was unable to attend due to an unplanned medical procedure.

Ms Toner said she expects Mr Hamilton to be back at his desk in a few days.

She added he is still in that role and some duties have been delegated to his senior management team.

Vice-chair of the board Edgar Jardine said yes when asked if the assistant chief constables were currently in charge.

Ms Toner emphasised that as well as the data breach, the PSNI is also facing an extremely difficult financial position that needs to be resolved, including recovery and financial implications of the data breach.

The boards priority over the last few days has been to bring stability and confidence in what has been an unprecedented time for policing, and for our role as a Policing Board, she said.

At this time, we also appreciate that police officers and staff at all levels across the organisation continue to deliver an essential public service to the community and deserve everyones support.

During the meeting of the Police Federation on Wednesday, the federation unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Hamilton, and also expressed no confidence in Ms McCreedy and assistant chief officer Clare Duffield.

There have been calls for the appointment of an interim leader to steer the service during the period of crisis.

Ms Toner said the authority gaps within the force need to be addressed and were discussed on Thursday, but that public commentary on confidence in individuals on the services senior leadership team is not endorsed by the board.

Ms Toner also rejected criticisms that the board is not working around the clock to fix all of the issues that we need to look at.

She said there were complex legal and HR issues to navigate, and a funding crisis that faced the police force.

It is a challenging board, she said.

Mr Jardine said the structures of the Policing Board were designed to work within a functioning Assembly and the fact that power-sharing institutions were not operating does create difficulties, not least the absence of a finance minister.

Speaking after the meeting, Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly said they want to stabilise the situation and look for the way forward for police.

There is a huge gap which is confidence in policing, and we need to make the moves which build towards that, he said.

Things wont happen in a day, probably wont happen in a few days but I can certainly say with some confidence that today this board has moved the process forward.

DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said he felt the board was making quick progress in starting the process to find a new chief constable.

Ultimately the confidence we want to give the public today is the process in terms of the chief constable has started, well be in a position that youll hear of an offer in early November  you cant under estimate the work the Policing Board has put in to get to that stage, he said.

Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister hailed progress, but said there is a long way to go.

I do accept that there is a long way to go, that there are more steps to take but we are making good progress but it is not over until we see all of those reviews and the recommendations that are laid within, she said.
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The Metropolitan Polices counter-terrorism commander has said it is testament to the ingenuity of former soldier Daniel Khalife that there have been no confirmed sightings since he escaped prison.

Khalife, who according to reports is accused of gathering information for Iran, went missing in his cooks uniform from HMP Wandsworth on Wednesday, prompting extra security checks at major transport hubs.

Strapping was found on the underside of a Bidfood delivery vehicle which police stopped just over an hour after it left the prison, with officers suggesting the 21-year-old held on to the underside of the lorry to escape.

The Mets counter-terrorism commander, Dominic Murphy, told reporters it was unusual that there had been no confirmed sightings, before praising the UK for having some of the best military in the world.

He said the force had received more than 50 calls from the public which had provided some really valuable lines of inquiry.

Mr Murphy also said he was keeping an open mind as to whether Khalife had received support from somebody to escape prison and whether or not he had managed to leave the country.

He said the lorry Khalife is believed to be strapped to the bottom of left HMP Wandsworth at 7.32am on Wednesday. He was declared missing at 7.50am.

Police were then notified at 8.15am and the lorry was stopped on Upper Richmond Road near to the junction of Carlton Drive at 8.37am.

In a press briefing on Thursday, Mr Murphy said: This was a really busy area of London and weve had no confirmed sightings in any of that information, which is a little unusual, and perhaps testament to Daniel Khalifes ingenuity in his escape and some of his movements after his escape.

Its important that we remember that we have some of the best military in the world here in the UK and he was trained.

He was a trained soldier  so ultimately he has skills that perhaps some sections of the public dont have.

Mr Murphy added: Hes a very resourceful individual, clearly, and our experience of him shows that, so nothing is off the table with him at the moment.

The Justice Secretary confirmed an independent investigation will take place following Khalifes escape.

Alex Chalk told MPs that two urgent reviews would also take place regarding the categorisation and placement of all HMP Wandsworth prisoners and all those in custody charged with terrorism offences.

Mr Murphy said there were more than 150 investigators and police staff from counter terrorism command working in London on the fast-paced investigation.

Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor told the PA news agency that staff shortages are the source of many problems at the prison, adding: Something obviously went wrong in terms of security, and that will come out over time.

Khalife, who was awaiting trial after allegedly planting a fake bomb at an RAF base and gathering information that might be useful to terrorists or enemies of the UK, was discharged from the Army in May 2023.

He has denied the three charges against him.

He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, red and white chequered trousers and brown, steel toe-cap boots, the Metropolitan Police said. He is described as slim and 6ft 2in, with short brown hair.

Mr Murphy told reporters: However, he clearly could very quickly change those clothes, so I wouldnt want to focus too much on that.

Kent Police confirmed junctions eight and nine of the M20 were temporarily shut on Thursday due to the enhanced security checks  and to allow freight heading for mainland Europe to queue on the empty section of the motorway.

Mr Murphy previously said there was no reason to believe Khalife poses a threat to the wider public but urged people not to approach him and to call 999 if they spotted him.

Khalife has links to the West Midlands and Kingston in London, but Mr Murphy said the hunt was covering the whole of the UK.

He was previously stationed at the Ministry of Defences Beacon Barracks in Stafford.

A man was stopped by police at Banbury train station in Oxfordshire on Thursday but Scotland Yard said it was not Khalife.

A Bidfood spokesman said: Yesterday morning we were made aware of a security incident involving one of our vehicles, whilst out on delivery.

We can confirm that our driver fully co-operated with the police on this matter before returning back to the depot. We will continue to assist the authorities in their ongoing investigation.
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Almost a fifth of women in Scotland have experienced online violence, extremely sobering new research has found, with almost three-quarters saying this should be made a crime.

Research by The Open University found 17% of women in Scotland have experienced online threats, trolling, unwanted sexual remarks and other forms of abuse.

This rose to more than a quarter (27%) amongst women aged between 16 and 24, while 45% of LGBT+ women said they have experienced online violence.

Of these women, one in nine (11%) said the online abuse had progressed to violence in real life.

The Open University carried out the UKs largest ever study into societal attitudes and experiences of online violence against women and girls across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The results are extremely sobering and highlight how endemic online violence is Susan Stewart, The Open University Scotland

More than 2,000 adults across Scotland were questioned for the research, which involved 7,500 people across the four nations.

Susan Stewart, director of The Open University in Scotland, said: This new research represents the largest-ever study into societal attitudes and experiences of online violence against women and girls across the four nations.

For Scotland, the results are extremely sobering and highlight how endemic online violence is and what serious impacts it is having on girls and womens lives and on our society as a whole.

The research revealed that of those who have experienced online violence in Scotland, 85% said it had impacted them, with 61% reporting a negative impact on their mental health and wellbeing.

Seven in 10 (71%) believe current legislation is not effective at tackling online violence against women and girls.

Almost three-quarters (73%) of women in Scotland and more than half (55%) of men want online violence to be made a crime  with this higher than in England, where 69% of women and 50% of men want such action.

The survey revealed a lack of confidence on the part of women and girls that the authorities will deal effectively with online violence  with almost a third (32%) of women in Scotland who have experienced this saying they would seek support from friends, while 4% would turn to the police.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) said they thought the police lack the resources needed to tackle online violence against women and girls effectively, while over three-quarters (76%) of women who did report online violence said they were not satisfied with the outcome.

To tackle the problem, Scots overwhelmingly support new devolved laws designed to address online violence against women and girls  with 76% of men and 82% of women in favour of this.

Ms Stewart said it is hoped the research will open the dialogue among policymakers and authorities to help better tackle online violence and improve outcomes for those affected.

Professor Olga Jurasz, a senior lecturer in law at The Open University who led the project, said: Online violence against women and girls can take many forms such as trolling, threats, abuse, unwanted sexual remarks, non-consensual sharing of intimate photos and messages, among many other examples, and it disproportionately effects women.

This can have a serious impact on womens wellbeing and their behaviour, including a negative impact on mental and physical health, having to implement measures to protect themselves from abuse, and a change in willingness or ability to express views online.

Assistant Chief Constable Bex Smith of Police Scotland said the force is committed to creating a society where women and girls live free from violence, abuse, exploitation and harassment.

Progress has been made, she said, but: We want to do more to support the right of women and girls to feel safe.

By continuing to listen to the experiences of everyone, we will have a more informed approach and our Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy outlines the actions we will take as a service, along with our partners.

We are committed to continually improving the service we provide, to build confidence in reporting and in policing more widely.

Our role is crucial, but policing alone cannot stop this and we will continue to work with our partners to improve our response and drive the change needed to end violence against women and girls.

Catherine Murphy, executive director at feminist campaign group Engender, said: Violence against women and girls is endemic in Scotland and has devastating physical and psychological consequences, disproportionately impacting women of colour, LGBTQ+ people, and other marginalised groups. The new research from The Open University further confirms this fact.

She said Engender wants the Scottish Government to adopt a digital health and safety at work framework supporting employers to ensure womens right to workplace safety is upheld online.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: Its extremely concerning that this new research shows that more than a quarter of women aged 16-24 have experienced online violence.

The safety of women and girls is an absolute priority for the Scottish Government. That is why we will legislate in this Parliament to give effect to the ground-breaking recommendations for criminal law reform to address misogynistic harassment and abuse, both online and offline.

Equally Safe, our gender-based strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls, is also focussed on preventing violence from occurring in the first place. Backed by 19 million of annual funding, it supports 121 projects with a clear focus on preventing totally unacceptable violence against women.
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Rishi Sunak has cleared up another of Boris Johnsons Brexit messes by agreeing a deal with Brussels for the UK to rejoin the EUs 85bn Horizon science research programme.

After months of uncertainty, the government said a bespoke new agreement has been signed allowing British researchers to apply for grants and take part in Horizon projects.

The move comes as a huge relief to scientists, amid warnings that UK researchers have been missing out on collaboration with colleagues in Europe in much of the two years since Brexit.

It comes six months after Mr Sunak hammered out a deal on the Northern Ireland protocol and trade.

On Horizon, Britain initially wanted associate membership under the post-Brexit trade deal brokered with Brussels  but was frozen out in a tit-for-tat retaliation in Mr Johnsons dispute over Northern Ireland arrangements.

Announcing the deal on Thursday, Mr Sunak said he wanted to get the right deal for the UK, unlocking unparalleled research opportunities while making sure it was the right deal for British taxpayers.

Labours Peter Kyle, the shadow science minister, said Britain had missed out on two years of innovation and criticised two years of wasted opportunity. He said ministers now need to get on with it.

Prof Paul Stewart, the Academy of Medical Sciences vice president of clinical, said it was a pivotal moment for UK science and researchers were celebrating the tremendous news.

The scientist said it sends a very strong message that the UK is open for business, adding: Health research is an international endeavour, it relies on supporting the best ideas, but also on creating cross-border networks.

Rishi Sunak says he got right deal for British scientists (via REUTERS)

Associate membership of Horizon was agreed in principle as part of Boris Johnsons Brexit deal  but the issue became a victim of the ongoing row about the Northern Ireland protocol.

The Sunak government had drawn up an alternative scheme, Pioneer, as a research programme with other international partners. No 10 claimed that it was serious about the plan B, with Mr Sunak said to be concerned about the cost of Horizon membership.

But the Windsor Framework deal with the EU Commission aimed at resolving the row over post-Brexit checks on goods going into Northern Ireland raised hopes a science deal could be done.

The PM spoke to EU Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen in a call on Wednesday to confirm the deal. The UK will not need to pay into the scheme for the two years it was absent. British costs will begin again in January 2024.

With a wealth of expertise and experience to bring to the global stage, we have delivered a deal that enables UK scientists to confidently take part in the worlds largest research collaboration programme  Horizon Europe, Mr Sunak said.

The government also pointed to the inclusion of a so-called clawback mechanism in the deal, which will mean that the UK will be compensated if British scientists receive significantly less money than the UK puts into the programme.

Horizon is a collaboration involving Europes leading research institutes and tech companies. EU member states contribute funds, which are then allocated to individuals or organisations on merit to explore subjects such as climate change, medical advances and AI.

Universities UK president Prof Dame Sally Mapstone said academics would now do everything possible to ensure the UK rapidly bounces back towards previous levels of participation.

Sir Adrian Smith, president of the Royal Society, called it fantastic news, adding: Science has so much to offer in terms of tackling global challenges and improving lives  today the government and the EU have given that a big boost.
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Britain's departure from the European Union (EU) has cut earnings for most British musicians touring Europe, the artists believe.

A survey conducted by industry body UK Music found that eight out of 10 UK musicians who tour on the continent say they have lost earnings thanks to Brexit.

The end of EU free movement at the start of 2021 reintroduced costly bureaucracy and paperwork for UK musicians wanting to perform on the continent and vice versa.

Onerous regulations include so-called "cabotage" rules which restrict UK lorries to just three stops while touring, as well as work permits and visas for some countries.

Customs paper work and "carnets" are also required to instruments and equipment  a formality last seen decades ago before the foundation of the bloc.

The survey, first reported by PoliticsHome, found that in total around one third of 1,500 musicians and music professionals surveyed by the umbrella body said that Brexit had impacted their earnings

It comes after another survey last month by the by the Independent Society of Musicians found that Almost half of UK musicians (47 per cent) have had less work in the Europe since the countrys exit from the EU.

Last year The Independent revealed that bookings for UK musicians at the EU's biggest festivals had crashed by 45 per cent  a development that industry figures blame on the new red tape introduced by the government's policy.

It is claimed that UK negotiators rejected a proposal during Brexit talks for performers to be allowed to tour for up to 90 days  because the British government refused to reciprocate for EU musicians.

Countries ranging from United States to Saudi Arabia enjoy a permit-free exemption for performers in their deals with the EU, which offers the arrangement as standard.

The latest UK Music survey found that 43 per cent of those musicians impacted by Brexit believe it is no longer viable to tour in the EU, with nearly seven out of ten (65 per cent) saying they have received fewer invitations to perform on the continent.

Close to six out of ten (57 per cent) say they have had to turn down invitations because post-Brexit paperwork had made it too expensive to follow through on them.

Responding to the latest Labour's shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire said government choices on the subject had had "devastating consequences".

The opposition has said it will push for a visa waiver for touring artists "and negotiate an EU-wide cultural touring agreement including important allowances for cabotage, carnets and custom rules.

A government spokesperson said: "We have confirmed that almost all EU Member States, including the biggest touring markets such as Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands, offer visa and work permit free routes for UK performers and other creative professionals.

"We are supporting the UK's brilliant artists to adapt to the new arrangements and continue to make the case to every EU member state about the importance of touring.

"We are continuing dialogue with those few remaining countries which do not offer visa or work permit-free routes to make touring easier."

As noted above, visas and work permits are just one of a number of new hurdles created by government policy towards the EU.
? La presidenta de la republica, Dina Boluarte, corta la cinta que da por inaugurada la obra del puente Bailey sobre el rio Pichanaqui, infraestructura que beneficiara a miles de pobladores de las comunidades de Sanagani y Pichanaqui, en la region Junin. pic.twitter.com/gGZEkwJm4B
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There are growing fears that the crisis sparked by the closure of schools over crumbling concrete could spread to offices, shops and even housing, as one of Britains biggest landlords ordered a review of its buildings.

Landsec, a major owner of UK shopping centres and office blocks, is to survey its post-war buildings to check for the presence of the reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).

It comes as councils and housing associations were urged to review all their stock for the concrete material compared to an Aero bar, amid concerns that tenants could be living in unsafe homes.

The Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) has said Raac is not suspected to be widespread in post-war tower blocks, but has asked all social housing providers to check their buildings for the material. Experts told The Independent it could be in some high-rise roofs.

Clarion Housing Group, the nations largest housing association, has already began reviewing its buildings for RAAC concrete. A leading property consultancy told The Independent that they had been asked by another housing association to review eight of their older buildings.

The National Housing Federation  the umbrella body for social housing associations across England  said it was still consulting with its members on how to best review stock for Raac problems.

A spokesperson from the NHA said: The NHF is communicating with our members to make sure they have the most up to date advice and guidance on RAAC, and we stand ready to offer support to our members and government on this issue.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has ordered councils to review whether any buildings  including social housing  contain Raac.

Steve McSorley, director of the structural engineering consultancy Perega, said: Raac is less likely to be prevalent in 1960s tower blocks. It was rarely used in anything more than three storey high  but its possible it will be found in some roofs.

He added: The bigger issue is now in the private sector  you will have some in offices, factories, department stores and shops. The problem is you dont have government to overseeing the review.

Around 100 schools have been closed after Raac was found (PA Wire)

Mark Allan, chief executive of Landsec, told the Financial Times it would definitely survey for Raac, saying it would be targeted at a small number of buildings from the post-war period. It is incumbent on any responsible property owner to do some work to understand where we might have exposure, he said.

The Institution of Structural Engineers has urged commercial property owners to conduct a survey to identify or eliminate the possibility of Raac.

Mark Reynolds, head of the Construction Leadership Council, said it hadnt found any commercial buildings at risk of having Raac problems. But the expert said this would change once companies and individuals begin to investigate or become aware of the risks.

Social housing lawyers Winckworth Sherwood said all councils and housing associations should now commission surveys. [They] should not need reminding that they have a legal responsibility to manage their buildings, to meet repair and maintenance obligations . Inaction is not an option.

But campaigners have warned that leaseholders on housing estates  hit by major bills for cladding work in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy  could be liable for the cost of surveying buildings for Raac.

Liam Spender, a cladding campaigner, told the i: I suspect that, much as with cladding, it will snowball  After Grenfell everybody and his dog started inspecting their buildings and it may be the same with this.

Experts have told The Independent that some of the schools in England found to have crumbling concrete may have to be demolished if repairs become too expensive.

Mr McSorley said removing Raac can range anywhere between tens of thousands of pounds to the multimillions, depending on the scale. His own firm has been engaged in a 10m project to remove a Raac roof.

The TUC called on Thursday for the government to create a national risk register for all public buildings in the wake of the Raac crisis.

The union organisation warned that the issue in schools is likely to be the tip of the iceberg, with hospitals, libraries, community centres and other public buildings also at risk.
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Britains top union boss has piled pressure on Labour to promise a wealth tax, just days after shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves ruled one out if the party wins power.

The general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) called for a national debate about how to tax wealth, not work, in this country.

Paul Nowak said 13 years of Conservative government has seen the richest feathering their nests while working people suffer.

And he said Labour, which is reliant on donations from trade unions for much of its funding, does not need to set out its comprehensive tax plans a year before an expected general election, but said there is a conversation that needs to be had about wealth taxes.

Polling for the TUC conducted by Opinium showed "significant cross-party support" for increasing taxes on wealth and excess profits.

Almost two thirds of the public said wealthy people should pay more tax than they are now, including more than half of 2019 Conservative voters.

And three quarters of the public, including 73 per cent of those who backed the Tories in 2019, said capital gains should be taxed at the same rate or higher than income tax. Capital gains tax is currently 20 per cent for assets and 28 per cent for property, while the top rate of income tax is 45 per cent.

Mr Nowak said the system is set up to tax income but does not account for people making huge amounts from rental income, capital gains and dividends.

Theres something not right in the UK. economy because were not rewarding work, he said.

Ahead of the annual TUC Congress, which opens in Liverpool this weekend, Mr Nowak said a nurse will pay a bigger share of their income in tax than a City trader does on profits from their investment portfolio.

Thats not only absurd and unfair  its bad for our economy and our public services too, he said.

Reeves said in August a Labour government would not introduce a mansion tax on expensive properties or raise capital gains tax.

She also confirmed that Sir Keir Starmers leadership pledge to increase the 45p top rate of income tax is off the table, as the Labour leader had previously indicated.

It comes as the party steps up its efforts to demonstrate economic responsibility ahead of a likely general election next year.

Paul Nowak said 13 years of Conservative government has seen the richest feathering their nests while working people suffer (PA Wire)

But Mr Nowak, who represents 5.5m members of 48 affiliated unions, said the public overwhelmingly back increased taxes on the wealthiest.

He told The Independent: I will continue to bang the drum, because we have 5.5m people we are trying to represent and we desperately want to see investment in rebuilding our public services to give people some hope for the future.

I think that national debate on taxes is gonna be part of it.

He said on the positive side Labour has promised policies such as scrapping non-dom status and charging VAT on private school fees. But he warned Ms Reeves will have to think more ambitiously about how to fund Britains public services.

Mr Nowak said huge inequality has become the "norm" in Britain, with official figures showing that the richest 1 per cent of households each have wealth of more than 3.6m, and the least wealthy 10 per cent have 15,400 or less.

And he said living standards have plummeted and public services are "on their knees.

Rishi Sunak does not send his kids to our state schools, he is not reliant on our NHS, it is not like he is popping on the train to get to work - because he has his helicopters, Mr Nowak said.

I do not think they see and experience the crumbling of our public infrastructure in the way that our members do, he added.

He said unions have won important deals in the private sector, and forced the Government to change its position on pay for public sector workers including teachers and civil servants.

"We have demonstrated the difference unions can make, and our focus now is to continue to grow the union movement because we have a positive message to tell," he said.

Mr Nowak said the main cause of the strikes is a Government with no plan for boosting wages or building public services.

"It is a government without a message of hope."

Mr Nowak said unions know life would not be "perfect" under a Labour government, but the party is promising a new deal for workers, as well as repealing the legislation on minimum levels of service during strikes.
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The Northern Ireland Policing Board is continuing to meet behind closed doors amid a crisis within policing in the region.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Simon Byrne resigned last week following a string of controversies.

Pressure has been mounting on the leadership of the PSNI after a data breach which disclosed personal details of officers and staff, and a critical High Court judgment which said the disciplining of two officers following an arrest at a Troubles memorial event in Belfast in 2021 was unlawful.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton was to assume the responsibilities of the chief.

He had been expected to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, on Wednesday but was unable to attend due to an unplanned medical procedure.

It is vitally important that we put our heads together and plot a way forward to get out of this to return some stability to the police service Mark Durkan

A PSNI spokesman said the senior executive team is leading the organisation while Mr Hamilton recovers.

During the meeting on Wednesday, the federation unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Hamilton, and also expressed no confidence in the PSNIs chief operating officer, Pamela McCreedy, and assistant chief officer Clare Duffield.

The Policing Board is meeting to discuss the appointment of a new Chief Constable.

There have been calls for the appointment of an interim leader to steer the service during the period of crisis.

Arriving at the board meeting on Thursday morning, DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said the board will aim to bring the PSNI back to where it should be.

The aim is to try and fix it and bring it back to where it should be, he said.

I think it would be unfair to say no one is concerned at the minute because we all are.

Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister said the fixation on individuals is becoming damaging for the PSNI ahead of the board meeting in Belfast.

Alliance have been clear from the very start that we need to have proper process, and thats why we called for a review of the senior executive team, she said.

But the fixation on individuals I think is getting really unhealthy for the PSNI and we need to make sure that as a board, we do our work, we ask the right questions we hold people to account.

Today there are many items on the agenda. Its not just about the crisis thats actually facing the PSNI today, but its about making sure that the PSNI continues because remember, there are officers on the ground still doing the work.

So theres a lot of issues to get through today, and well make sure that we do our role properly.

SDLP MLA Mark Durkan said the board would need to put their heads together, as they meet to discuss the crisis in leadership in the PSNI.

It is vitally important that we put our heads together and plot a way forward to get out of this to return some stability to the police service and to assist the officers doing their job, he said.

Asked on the concerns the Police Federation for Northern Ireland has expressed with the function of the policing board throughout the crisis in the PSNI, Mr Durkan said they could not be ignored.

I dont think its something that we can ignore, absolutely not. Ive heard their concerns and I have to say I share some of their concerns, so all those matters will be discussed today and many days after this I suppose, he said.
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Nearly nine in 10 schools in England are providing uniforms and clothing to some pupils as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite, a report suggests.

More than two in three (70%) senior leaders in schools have reported offering food to some pupils  through food parcels, food banks, food vouchers and subsidised breakfasts, according to a survey.

The majority of senior leaders are providing subsidies for extra-curricular activities for some pupils (over 90%) and additional support for some children for uniforms and clothing (over 87%), the survey finds.

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) report acknowledges that most of the additional support schools are offering is not new, but it suggests schools have expanded the scale and range of support available for pupils over the last year in response to cost-of-living pressures.

More than four in five (over 84%) senior leaders reported that cost-of-living pressures have increased both the numbers of pupils requiring additional support and the level of need.

The survey, of 1,354 senior leaders and 1,317 teachers in state mainstream primary and secondary schools in England in April and May, suggests that cost-of-living pressures have exacerbated mental health needs among pupils.

Pupils whose most basic needs are not being met  whether it is going to school hungry, or being unable to afford uniform or transport costs  are less likely to attend school and successfully engage with learning Report co-author Jenna Julius

The report  conducted in collaboration with ASK Research and funded by the Nuffield Foundation  also included survey responses from 87 senior leaders and 41 teachers in special schools in England.

The majority of senior leaders (at least 60%) in mainstream schools reported an increase in the amount of time and resources dedicated towards offering different types of support compared with last year.

Warm spaces/banks and facilities for washing clothes are the support services most commonly reported as being newly introduced this academic year.

School leaders also reported that increases in the cost of living have led to an increase in safeguarding concerns, behaviour incidents and absenteeism.

The majority of senior leaders (over 80%) report that increases in the cost of living have increased safeguarding concerns and/or incidents in their school, the survey suggests.

Report co-author Jenna Julius, NFER research director, said: The cost-of-living crisis is having a profound impact on pupils and families. Schools are providing unprecedented levels of urgent support.

Pupils whose most basic needs are not being met  whether it is going to school hungry, or being unable to afford uniform or transport costs  are less likely to attend school and successfully engage with learning.

Without urgent action now there is a risk that the crisis will have far-reaching and long-lasting impacts on pupils.

The NFER report is calling on the Government to extend the current eligibility for free school meals in mainstream schools.

It adds that the Government should provide greater financial support to address pupils wellbeing and welfare needs.

Patrick Roach, general secretary of teaching union NASUWT, said the findings were a grave cause of concern and he said teachers should not be expected to pick up the pieces of Government failure.

He said: The cost-of-living crisis is creating widespread suffering, hardship and destitution amongst children and young people. No child should go to school hungry or wear dirty, ill-fitting clothes.

Despite the pressures on them, teachers and headteachers are providing access to food, basic hygiene products, and clothing in the absence of other support services.

We need to see a commitment from Government to delivering the educational entitlements of all children and to a Better Deal for all children and young people.

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said: The prevalence of poverty and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis have pushed many families into hardship. Schools and their staff are working harder than ever to provide the support they need.

No family should have to worry about the financial consequences of sending their child to school.

He added: The Government needs to urgently act to support those on the lowest incomes to have an equal experience of education, and reduce the burden on schools. Rolling out free school meals to all children, starting with those in primary, would be a great first step.
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A man who murdered his 10-month-old stepson will not have his sentence increased, the Attorney Generals Office has said.

Craig Crouch, 39, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years for the murder of Jacob Crouch, as well as three counts of child cruelty.

The boys mother, Gemma Barton, 33, was jailed for 10 years for causing or allowing his death and one count of child cruelty.

Last month the Attorney Generals Office (AGO) said both sentences were being considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

But the AGO has now said it will not refer either sentence to the Court of Appeal, as the test as to whether a sentence was unduly lenient was not met in this case.

A spokesman said: The Solicitor General was deeply saddened and appalled by this case.

After careful consideration, the Solicitor General has concluded that this case cannot properly be referred to the Court of Appeal.

A referral under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to the Court of Appeal can only be made if a sentence is not just lenient but unduly so, such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence.

The threshold is a high one and the test was not met in this case.

You caused Jacob acute physical and mental suffering Mr Justice Kerr

Crouch and Barton were both jailed after a seven-week trial at Derby Crown Court.

The court heard that Jacob was found dead in his cot at his home in Linton, near Swadlincote in Derbyshire, on December 30 2020 after a vicious fatal attack at the hands of his stepfather.

He was found to have 39 rib fractures, 19 visible bruises and internal injuries comparable with car crash victims, at the time of his death.

Sentencing him on August 4, Mr Justice Kerr told Crouch: You caused Jacob acute physical and mental suffering.

You inflicted first bruising and then fractured ribs on this little baby.

You have not shown any remorse for what you did.
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Officials will be trained to spot genuine radicalisation as part of an overhaul to the anti-terror Prevent programme, according to the Home Secretary.

Suella Braverman said face-to-face training will be rolled out alongside the first major revision of the Prevent duty guidance since its introduction in 2015 which, subject to the approval of Parliament, will come into force on December 31 this year.

Ms Braverman also told MPs that Prevent  which aims to stop people turning to terrorism  must not risk any perception of disparaging mainstream conservative commentators as extremists.

We will pilot and roll out new face-to-face training alongside this new guidance so that organisations across the sector have the appropriate skills to spot genuine radicalisation Suella Braverman

Her comments came as she updated the Commons about the overhaul of Prevent six months after ex-Charity Commission chairman William Shawcross made 34 recommendations to the scheme.

Mr Shawcross found Prevent was out of kilter with the rest of the counter-terrorism system, and the UK terrorism threat picture and must return to its overarching objective: to stop individuals from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.

Terrorism was wrongly treated as a mental illness and there was a failure by those working on Prevent to properly understand the nature of ideology in Islamist radicalisation which risks several potentially serious consequences, he said.

A litany of concerns was raised about how the deradicalisation programme was working after it emerged several terror attacks were carried out by extremists who had been referred to Prevent.

Some MPs and campaigners criticised the review, with human rights group Amnesty International UK claiming it was riddled with biased thinking.

The Home Office said 10 recommendations have been delivered in full and progress has been made on the remainder.

It added steps have been taken to ensure Prevent does not work with or fund those who legitimise or support extremists.

An updated list of glossary terms offers descriptions for extreme right-wing terrorism, Islamist terrorism and left-wing, anarchist and single-issue terrorism.

Speaking in the Commons, Ms Braverman said she accepted the reviews recommendation to reset thresholds to ensure proportionality across all extremist ideologies.

She said: Ricu, the Research, Information and Communications Unit, which provides analytical and analysis products on behalf of the Home Office, was identified by Sir William as a concern. In the past, Ricu has failed to draw clear distinctions between mainstream conservative commentary and the extreme right.

People, like (Tory MP) Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg and Douglas Murray, express mainstream, insightful and perfectly decent political views, people may disagree with them but in no way are they extremists. Prevent must not risk any perception of disparaging them as such again.

From now on all Ricu products which report on extremist trends and future themes will clearly state the purpose of such reporting and be proportionate.

Ms Braverman said new Prevent duty training will highlight the importance of ideology and enhance understanding of the drivers of Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorism.

She added: We will pilot and roll out new face-to-face training alongside this new guidance so that organisations across the sector have the appropriate skills to spot genuine radicalisation.

And a new security threat check ensures that strategic decision-making related to Prevent is informed by the current threat landscape, local threats and that activity is directed accordingly.

We literally have prisoners who are leaving prison more radicalised than when they went in Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper

Ms Braverman said the review recommended great care over terminology, noting: The term susceptibility to radicalisation should be used where appropriate and vulnerability only where necessary.

Many people who embrace extremism are affected by a range of complicating factors in their lives, but there is almost always an element of personal decision-making in the choices they make.

They must not be absolved of responsibility when they choose this path.

Ms Braverman said the top 20 areas in England and Wales with the highest risk ratings will receive multi-year funding, with Home Office expertise provided to Scotland.

Labour called on the Government to do more to prevent prisoners being radicalised.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper told the Commons: The independent review of Prevent highlighted what countless other reports have also warned about  the lack of sufficient action on deradicalisation and Prevent in our prisons. We literally have prisoners who are leaving prison more radicalised than when they went in.

The independent review said on extremism-related training for staff it became clear during the review that this training was further cancelled due to staff and resource shortages.

I was further told that there had been delays to staff beginning Prevent training and to extremist prisoners beginning rehabilitative programmes.

These delays are attributed to staffing and resourcing questions. So the Government has been warned repeatedly about this and I am concerned about there being a complete lack of reference to this in her statement.

Ms Braverman said the Government had acted on calls to deal with radicalisation in prisons, introducing new training for prison officers.

They will have more skills, more tools at their disposal to better identify terrorism and the risk that it poses within the prison estate, she said.
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Thursday was provisionally the hottest day of the year so far, with 32.6C recorded in Wisley, Surrey, the Met Office has said.

The previous highest temperature for the year was set in June at 32.2C.

The heatwave has also broken the record for the most consecutive days with temperatures above 30C in September, according to the forecaster, with Saharan dust generating vivid sunsets and sunrises in the clear conditions.

Thursday was the fourth day above 30C, beating the record of three days seen on four previous occasions, most recently in 2016.

The high temperatures are expected to continue through the weekend, peaking as high as 33C on Saturday.

Septembers highest daily temperature reading was 35.6C recorded on September 2 1906 in South Yorkshire, according to the Met Office.

Meteorologist Simon Partridge told the PA news agency there was no chance that the September daily temperature record could be broken in the coming days.

He said: There is potential that we might get a little bit warmer over the weekend, not by a massive amount, but enough to make it the warmest day of the year so far again.

It is always going to be around 32, close to 33 at the maximum temperature.

The forecaster added there could be heavy thundery showers on Sunday across England and Wales but temperatures will remain high.

Prolonged heat above 30C leaves older people and those with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases at greater risk, with the UK Health Security Agency issuing an amber warning until 9pm on Sunday evening in nearly every area of England.

A yellow heat alert is in place until the same time in the north east of England.

The Met Office said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter: After getting very close yesterday, today is provisionally the hottest day of the year so far, with 32.6C recorded in Wisley.

Councils have also made preparations to stop roads from melting in the heat, the Local Government Association (LGA) said.

Councillor David Fothergill, chairman of the LGAs community wellbeing board, said: Extreme heat can also lead to changes to council services where necessary.

This includes waste collections being undertaken earlier and additional support for those who receive adult social care.

We also have found this year that around half of councils have made preparations to treat road surfaces with sand to prevent them from melting.
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Irish police have appealed for witnesses and video footage of an Ironman swim race in which two competitors died.

Brendan Wall, 45, who lived in Solihull in England but was originally from Co Meath, and Ivan Chittenden, who was in his 60s and from Toronto, Canada, died while swimming off the Co Cork coast.

Several probes have been launched into the Ironman event at Claycastle Bay beach in Youghal on Sunday August 20.

A row has also broken out between Irelands national governing body for triathlons, Triathlon Ireland, and the events organisers on whether the event had been sanctioned.

Triathlon Ireland has said an investigation is ongoing, and Cork County Council, the events host sponsor, said it was seeking a full account of the incident from the organisers.

Gardai on Thursday issued an appeal for information as it assists the Cork County Coroner with its investigation and any subsequent inquest.

Gardai are requesting that anyone who was present at the swimming section of this event and who may have video footage, in any format, to contact Gardai at Midleton on 021 4621550, it said.

Gardai can also be contacted via email at Midleton.IncidentRoom@garda.ie.

The public are not requested to submit any footage at this time.

Members of the investigation team will make contact with them to arrange for the appropriate collection of any video footage.
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It is unsustainable for the UK Government to refuse to provide new funds for devolved administrations to replace potentially dangerous concrete, Scotlands Social Justice Secretary has said.

At least 40 schools in Scotland have been confirmed to have collapse-risk reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) so far, and the Scottish Government has pledged to spend what we need to spend to ensure buildings are safe.

Shirley-Anne Somerville took aim at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt over the announcement that there will be no new cash for the concrete crisis, despite previously saying the UK Government would spend what it takes.

In a ministerial update in Holyrood on Thursday, Ms Somerville said: The First Minister has been clear that while we dont have contingencies to spend on Raac we will of course spend what we need to spend to ensure that our buildings are safe for those that use them.

I was pleased to see the Chancellor seemingly commit over the weekend that the UK Government will spend what is needed on this, but the more recent briefings coming which suggest there will be no new money are deeply worrying.

It is simply not sustainable for the UK Government to say that no new money will be made available.

The UK Government cannot put their head in the sand. New capital money has to be made available, including to the devolved governments to allow us to take any action that may be required.

Anything else would be a dereliction of duty from the Prime Minister and the Chancellor.

She also accused UK ministers of spreading unnecessary alarm amongst parents, staff and children, by announcing more than 100 schools in England would close or partially close, without communicating the change with devolved governments who also have the substance, which was widely used in buildings from the 1950s to 1990s.

She denied the Scottish Government delayed taking action when it knew of the concrete concerns years ago.

Scottish Conservative MSP Craig Hoy asked Ms Somerville why the Scottish Government waited 18 months before taking action, to which she replied: There has been no delay on this.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: If ministers were really across this problem, dont you think that Parliament and the public would have been told sooner that at least 40 schools and an untold number of hospitals contain this potentially lethal concrete.

Ministers were nowhere near understanding this. No money was put aside. Instead, Liberal Democrats, not the Government, were the first to lay bare the scale of this problem.

Ms Somerville replied that national and local government in Scotland had been quietly getting on with the job, unlike the rigmarole from the UK Government.

To say that nothing is being done is, again, disingenuous and I would point to some of the projects that have already been undertaken through Leip (Learning Estate Investment Programme) phases one and two.

Earlier, Humza Yousaf said during First Ministers Questions that applications to replace or refurbish schools through Leip would be considered through a Raac lens, after five schools which had applied to the scheme were confirmed to have the material.

In Scotland, part of the St Kentigerns Academy estate in Blackburn has been closed, including the kitchen and dining area, following the discovery of Raac, while Preston Lodge High School in East Lothian has also closed impacted areas.

A UK Government spokesperson said: The Scottish Government is well-funded to deliver on its devolved responsibilities. The UK Government is providing a record 41 billion per year settlement  the largest since devolution.

The renewed Fiscal Framework also gives the Scottish Government greater certainty and flexibility to manage its Budget and deliver high-quality public services for Scotland and its people.
In my travels around the country on behalf of Current Archaeology, I have never written a column with so many twists and turns as that which follows, on County Durham and Tyne & Wear. This is a part of the country with a rich, distinctive, and, at times, brutal past linked to battles fought over and industries built upon its lands  and its archaeology reflects that complex history.

PEOPLE OF THE FRONTIER

I will begin with my first twist in the tale: of unexpected finds in unexpected locations. The bulk of this months column focuses on the Roman archaeology of this area; but what of its earlier inhabitants? CA 88 (August 1983) visited the excavation of an Iron Age farming community at Thorpe Thewles (just north of Stockton-on-Tees); 40 years later, CA 282 (September 2013) visited another Iron Age community, this time a coastal, industrial one at Greatham Creek (a suburb of Hartlepool), presenting the first known evidence of prehistoric occupation on the north bank of the Tees. A useful follow-up to both these stories came in CA 389 (August 2022), exploring the indigenous communities of the wider Roman frontier.

Moving into the Roman era proper, there are some seriously stunning sites and finds in this region associated with Hadrians Wall (see also my column in CA 326, May 2017). An exceptional starting point is CA 239 (February 2010), which explored the widespread impact and legacy

of the Roman occupation of modern-day County Durham. From there, it is best to head on to specific sites and finds  and wow, does the magazines archive deliver. Starting inland and moving anti-clockwise up to the coast and back west along the Tyne, I will commence in Binchester (Roman Vinovia/ Vinovium), just north of Bishop Auckland. CA 263, 291, and 295 (February 2012, June 2014, and October 2014) all visited the fort there, revealing what life was like at such a location right at the end of the period of formal Roman control, including a find, made in 2014, of a rare early-Christian ring.

Heading south, we next come to Piercebridge, a few miles to the west of Darlington, where the fort and associated bridge over the River Tees appeared first in CA 40 (September 1973), when the bridge was being hastily uncovered in advance of quarrying, and again in CA 55 (March 1976), when the full extent of the site was starting to be understood. CA then went quiet for 30 years until issues 220 and 221 (July and August 2008) revisited the site in the wake of the 1970s excavations being properly published, revealing a more nuanced story of interaction between the Romans and the existing local elites than had first been thought. Most recently, CA 378 (September 2021) dived (literally) into these waters to explore the more-than 3,600 artefacts discovered there  were they ritual, or just rubbish?

Roman Piercebridge first appeared in CA 40, when the bridge of the fort was uncovered, and, most recently, it was the cover of CA 378, which examined the more than 3,600 Roman artefactsfound in the River Tees.

Heading north and east, I arrive next at South Shields (Roman Arbeia) on the north-eastern coastal tip of the Tynes south bank. This is another well-known site  the best-preserved permanent military supply base in the Roman world  that has featured repeatedly in the magazine, including in CA 15 (July 1969), which examined the early history of its discovery in the mid-19th century; in CA 116 and 133 (August 1989 and March 1993), revealing the luxury that some of its residents enjoyed at the height of its success (see also CA 295, October 2014, on finds from the site); in CA 164 (August 1999), examining the forts later life in the 5th century AD; in CA 215 (February 2008), when a full-size reconstruction of one of its buildings was erected; and most recently in CA 353 (August 2019), which provides an overview of the latest thinking about both this site and nearby Wallsend (Roman Segedunum). As for the latter, beyond this most recent review, again the magazine has paid repeated visits down the years, including in CA 50 and 55 (May 1975 and March 1976) when the fort was first formally excavated in advance of new housing; in CA 116 (August 1989), by which time it had become the most extensively excavated fort along Hadrians Wall (see also CA 155, December 1997, on fieldwork in this period); in CA 164 (August 1999), after millions of pounds had been invested in the site in order to turn it into an archaeological park as part of the wider economic redevelopment of the neighbourhood; and in CA 240 and 277 (March 2010 and April 2013), which tell the more recent story of the site and its place in the overall history of Hadrians Wall.

Roman Arbeia (modern-day South Shields) featured in CA 215, when one of the forts buildings was reconstructed, and in CA 164, which explored evidence of destruction and rebuilding.

Finally, I conclude this Roman holiday, first in Byker and Throckley, and then in Ouseburn, further west along the Tyne towards central Newcastle. CA 195 (December 2004) visited the first two districts when fieldwork there revealed unusual evidence probably associated with the Walls defences: 49 pits extending for 32m, which appear to have been the supports for a form of early barbed wire where sharpened tree branches were embedded in the bases. And bringing things bang up to date, CA 400 (July 2023) was most recently at Ouseburn, examining a newly discovered turret, not only the first such discovery in 40 years, but also the largest identified to date.

TALES OF THE TYNE

After so much Roman richness, readers might wonder: can later periods compete? Thankfully, yes, but as I flagged in my introduction, in unexpected ways. For the early and later medieval periods, the story is a more conventional one. The great site and great supervisor are Monkwearmouth- Jarrow and Rosemary Cramp, respectively. Rosemary sadly died earlier this year after an extraordinary lifetime of archaeological achievement. The early monastery there, associated with the monk Bede and his life and writings, was one of the most important not only in the country but in wider western Christendom (see CA 346, January 2019). CA 4 (September 1967) first visited Cramps excavations there, which took place between 1963 and 1978, and again in 1984, and notes and news on the site periodically pop up across later years. But, surprisingly, the next big visit was not until CA 238 (January 2010), when the site was being considered for (but not awarded) World Heritage Site status  an ambiguous position that remains to this day. For those interested in this era, I would also flag a wonderful article about early and later medieval Hartlepool in CA 104 (April 1987), which celebrates the towns own archaeological riches.

What, finally, of the post-medieval and modern eras? Here we face the most unexpected twists and turns in the tale of the Tyne and the Wear. Firstly, in CA 308 (November 2015), a mass grave discovered in the shadow of Durham Cathedral during construction works turned out to have been for Scottish prisoners who were held  and died of disease (likely a virulent outbreak of dysentery)  there after the 1650 Battle of Dunbar. Secondly, CA 301 (April 2015) featured the extraordinary survival of the first ever purpose-built structure in the world of a type that we all now take for granted: the humble railway ticket office. In this case, it was associated with the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and was visited as part of a wider review of such structures at this time (Tynemouths greenhouse trainshed also receives a notable mention). Thirdly, CA 351 (June 2019) told the story of the SS Carica Milica, lost off Orford Ness in Norfolk in 1939 and rediscovered in 2016 in advance of works to a windfarm. The ship was built in 1928 in Sunderland, to which its bell has since been returned and put on display at the Maritime Heritage Visitor Centre. Fourthly, and finally, CA 276 (March 2013) told the brutal but beautiful story of Gatesheads Trinity Square car park. Constructed in 1969, it was the star of the 1971 film Get Carter, and was demolished in 2010, which featured as part of a review of carscapes heritage at this time.

In terms of non-Roman archaeology in the region, CA 301 explored the evolution of the English railway station, including the ticket office associated with the Stockton and Darlington Railway, while CA 351 told the story of the SS Carica Milica, lost off Orford Ness in Norfolk in 1939 and rediscovered in 2016.

So ends nearly a year of explorations by me in Scotland and the borders. In my next column I will head west across the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland, to explore its archaeological riches. I hope that you will join me.

About the author

Joe Flatman completed a PhD in medieval archaeology at the University of Southampton in 2003, and since then has held positions in universities, and local and  most recently  central government. Since March 2019, he has been a Consultancy Manager in the National Trusts London and South-East Region, leading a team working on Trust sites across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. You can follow him on Twitter @joeflatman.
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A new freedom-of-speech champion for UK universities has promised to be impartial and non-political as he takes up his new role.

Professor Arif Ahmed, director for freedom of speech and academic freedom at the Office for Students (OfS), said it was sometimes vital for students to explore a range of views at universities, some they might find offensive, and come to their own conclusions on issues.

The Government appointed Prof Ahmed, a philosophy lecturer at Cambridge University, to the post earlier this year to promote open debate.

This post, and this function of the OfS, is completely impartial, it's absolutely not political. Freedom of speech doesn't work, it can't work, unless it is and is seen to be not politically partisan. And that's especially true of universities Professor Arif Ahmed

His appointment followed the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act and protests surrounding feminist Professor Kathleen Stocks talk to the Oxford Union over her views on gender identity.

Speaking to university bosses at the Universities UK annual conference in Manchester, Prof Ahmed said: This post, and this function of the OfS, is completely impartial, its absolutely not political.

Freedom of speech doesnt work, it cant work, unless it is and is seen to be not politically partisan. And thats especially true of universities.

And that will be my first priority, to make that clear.

Is the Freedom of Speech Act not an Act that is looking for something to do? Professor Quintin McKellar

Chairing a panel discussion at the conference, Professor Quintin McKellar, vice chancellor and chief executive of the University of Hertfordshire, said there had been a vanishingly small number of actual no-platforming issues within higher education.

He added: And is the Freedom of Speech Act not an Act that is looking for something to do?

But Prof Ahmed suggested instances of no platforming were not a good measure of freedom of speech and censorship on campus.

He said events would sometimes still go ahead and not be cancelled, but with the speaker deemed to be problematic or disinvited.

Prof Ahmed pointed to a recent study by Kings College London, released this week, which he said concluded on balance that there was enough evidence to warrant action on the issue.

(The Academic Freedom Index) ranked the United Kingdom as 57th for academic freedom, behind Kosovo, behind Uruguay Professor Arif Ahmed

And he cited the Academic Freedom Index, which claims to provide an overview of the state of academic freedom in 179 countries in 2022.

Prof Ahmed said: They ranked the United Kingdom as 57th for academic freedom, behind Kosovo, behind Uruguay.

He also said the UK, along with the US, had suffered a significant decline in academic freedom over the last decade, according to the report.

He added: I think those are two examples, there are others, of good data that are quite convincing, that there is a problem that needs addressing.
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Experienced explorer Mark Dickey has emerged from a Turkish cave after a successful three-day rescue operation by teams from all over Europe to carry him out of one of the deepest caves in the world.

Mr Dickey said that it was Amazing to be above ground again, as he was taken to a medical tent for examination before he could be transferred to hospital after his ordeal, reported CNN.

And he thanked the rescue teams and Turkish government for bringing him to safety and said they had saved my life literally no questions asked.

And he added: I was underground for far longer than ever expected with an unexpected medical issue.

An international team of cave rescuers successfully brought Mr Dickey from 3,400 feet (1,036 metres) in the cave to safety at 12.37am on Tuesday local time, after a challenging operation that began on Saturday.

Mark Dickey was removed from the last exit of the cave at 00:37 and taken to the UMKE tent. Thus, the cave rescue part of the operation has ended successfully. We congratulate all those who have contributed! Turkish rescuers stated on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.

Turkish officials said that Mr Dickey would be taken by helicopter to a hospital in Mersin.

He seems fine at first look, Recep Salci of Turkeys disaster and emergency management authority (AFAD) said on Tuesday, according to CNN.

The 40-year-old American embarked on an expedition to map out one of the deepest cave systems in the world, in the Morca cave in Mersin provinces Taurus mountains on 2 September.

The Morca cave system descends through various, very narrow, twists, turns and rappels  making it a difficult exploration for any person in good health. The underground equivalent of the cave is like climbing Mount Everest.

But the expedition was suddenly cut short after Mr Dickey fell ill with gastrointestinal bleeding and became trapped at a depth of 1,040 metres (3,400 feet).

Video images from Turkish channel TRHaber show US caver Mark Dickey following his rescue (TRHaber)

His condition worsened quickly, making him unable to move and requiring a doctor to go down into the cave to administer vials of blood to keep him stabilised.

SON DAKIKA | Morca Magaras'nda arastrma yaparken mahsur kalan ABD'li bilim insan Mark Dickey'i kurtarma calsmas 10. gununde basaryla sonucland.



Dickey, helikopterle hastaneye sevk ediliyor. pic.twitter.com/kPmyi5aw8F  TRHaber (@trhaber_com) September 11, 2023

For days, rescuers were unsure if Mr Dickey would be strong enough to be rescued to the surface, but his condition began improving on Wednesday.

Members of the CNSAS, Italian alpine and speleological rescuers carry a stretcher holding American researcher Mark Dickey during a rescue operation in the Morca cave, near Anamur (AP)

Rescue teams from countries across Europe, including Turkey, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy and Poland, rushed to Mr Dickeys aid in the remote area in southern Turkey, with 158 of those rescuers being cave experts.

Mark Dickey was removed from the last exit of the cave at 00:37 and taken to the UMKE tent. Thus, the cave rescue part of the operation has ended successfully. We congratulate all those who have contributed! #MarkDickey #caverescue #Morca #tumaf@AFADBaskanlik  Turkiye Magaraclk Federasyonu (@tumaf1) September 11, 2023

And thus began the arduous rescue operation on Saturday 9 September, as Mr Dickey was slowly and carefully carried by stretcher through the dark, narrow underground passages.

Mark Dickey, who fell ill during an international expedition exploring the Morca cave in the south of Turkey (Sourced)

The base camp of international rescuers is seen near the Morca Cave (Umit Bektas/Reuters)

Cave rescue teams from several European countries conducted a extraction effort to rescue Dickey (AP Graphic)

Mr Dickeys fiancee and fellow caver Jessica Van Ord was with him when he fell ill and stayed with the 40-year-old until medics arrived and gave him IV fluid and blood.

She eventually climbed out and stayed at a base camp near the mouth of the cave, while working with the 150-strong team of cavers who have travelled to Turkey to help bring Mr Dickey out by stretcher.

The mouth of the Morca cave system in Turkey (REUTERS)

Rescuers initially worked to stabilise Mr Dickeys condition before he could be moved.

By Thursday, his bleeding had stopped and he was able to walk unassisted, according to Cave Rescue Bulgaria.

The mission to extricate Mr Dickey began on Saturday afternoon. Rescue teams set up medical base camps at various depths throughout the caves where they could rest and recuperate.

Rescue teams used explosives to blast open parts of the cave to safely extract him.

Apart from small explosives, rock hammers were also being used by rescuers to make way for a stretcher to ensure Mr Dickeys safety during ascent.

Mark Dickey is seen in Morca Cave, days before he fell ill (REUTERS)

A medical team takes care of Dickey inside the cave (AP)

Members of the CNSAS, Italian alpine and speleological rescuers, start to descent on ropes (AP)

The cave path from the surface is a known route, Denes Akos Nagy, a doctor with the Hungarian Cave Rescue Service, told the Wall Street Journal. But the path isnt frequently travelled and is difficult to navigate, he added.

If you imagine a skyscraper, that would be maybe 100 meters tall. They are 1,000 meters down there. Thats like 10 skyscrapers stacked on top of each other, Mr Nagy said. Its extremely far, far away.

In ideal conditions, it takes a full 15 hours for an experienced caver to reach the surface, the Speleological Federation of Turkey said. But this was not the case with Mr Dickey.

To tackle the issue, the team of international experts divided up the depths of the cave and assigned it to a specific team to figure out a solution for that specific area.

Officials from the Speleogical Federation of Turkey announced they had reached 100m below ground on Monday evening local time. Mr Dickey was reported to be in stable condition at the time.

An expert caver

A New Jersey native and current resident of Croton-on-Hudson, New York, Mr Dickey is a highly-trained caver, cave rescuer himself and well-known in the international speleological (cave expert) community, according to the European Cave Rescue Association (ECRA).

His resume of cave explorations and expert status is endless: secretary of the ECRA medical committee, lead instructor for Caving Academy, a US-based organisation that prepares other cavers for exploration and a national instructor for the National Cave Rescue Commission.

He also volunteers with the New Jersey Initial Response Team, a nonprofit search-and-rescue team.

Having participated in many cave explorations in karst areas around the world for many years, Mr Dickey is knowledgeable and skilled  the kind of person youd want on complicated cave exploration like the Morca mission.

Mr Dickey was on an expedition to map the 4,186-foot-deep cave system in southern Turkey for the Anatolian Speleology Group Association.

Photos from a Facebook page that seemingly belongs to Mr Dickey show him happily preparing for the mission by inspecting all the necessary gear before embarking.

But what Mr Dickey, and others, could not prepare for was the sudden emergency medical situation he found himself in during the journey.

On 2 September, Mr Dickey fell ill with severe gastric pain that was escalating quickly. Though there was initial hope that Mr Dickey could exit the cave on his own, the pain turned into gastrointestinal bleeding and it was clear he needed medical attention quickly.

The Speleological Federation of Turkey sent a medical team and six units of blood in the following days in the hopes of stabilising Mr Dickeys medical situation.

On Thursday, Mr Dickey appeared in a video for the first time, obtained by The Associated Press, where he thanked Turkish authorities for responding quickly to his medical needs.

As you can see, Im up. Im alert, Im talking, but Im not healed on the inside yet, he said.

I dont quite know whats happened, but I do know that the quick response of the Turkish government to get the medical supplies that I need, in my opinion, saved my life, Mr Dickey said. I was very close to the edge.

In this screen grab from video, American caver Mark Dickey, 40, talks to camera inside the Morca cave (AP)

While crews have been working to rescue Mr Dickey from the cave, a fundraiser for the efforts surpassed the $60,000 mark.

Many thanks to everyone who is contributing to Mark Dickeys rescue from Morca! The last cave rescue of this scale (Riesending, 2014) required 700 rescuers over the course of 2 weeks and cost approximately 960,000 Euros (about $1 million), the GoFundMe reads.

This GoFundMe is currently set to $100,000 and this will only be a start for the expenses. The funding will be put to good use towards the travel, food, gear and supplies that the rescuers have needed. This is a complex and expensive operation and your contributions to this effort are making a good impact towards supporting those involved!
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In the early morning hours of Sunday, a neighbour found the bloodied, naked body of a young woman lying on a sidewalk in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. A man towering over the victim told the neighbour he had just found her and had no idea what had happened to her.

The woman, a student at the University of Wisconsin campus nearby, had suffered a sexual assault and beating. But by the time first responders arrived at the scene, the man who had posed as an innocent bystander had already vanished.

Madison police have now accused that same man, identified as 26-year-old Brandon Thompson, of carrying out the horrible attack that left the woman fighting for her life. The woman remains in critical condition but is expected to recover from the life-threatening injuries she sustained.

Mr Thompson is now facing charges of first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury and strangulation. In a statement released shortly after his arrest, his attorneys noted that Mr Thompson, a Madison resident who comes from a military family, is innocent until proven guilty.

Police said that surveillance video provided by the community was key in placing Mr Thompson at the crime scene. Detectives are now awaiting results from DNA evidence that was sent to a state crime lab.

Heres everything we know about the case:

Shes covered in blood

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said that the victim was walking in the area between West Wilson and Bedford streets around 3.20am on 3 September when she was ambushed by an attacker. A neighbour told WISN 12 News that the young woman was forced into an alley between two houses, where she was then assaulted.

A resident of the area who heard cries for help came outside to find the disturbing scene. A man standing next to the victim, who investigators believe was Mr Thompson, told the witness that he had just found her in that condition.

The victim was found on a sidewalk between West Wilson and Bedford streets around 3.20am on Sunday (TMJ4)

The suspect then fled the scene in his vehicle.

In radio traffic calls obtained by TMJ4, officers are heard describing the harrowing state in which the victim was found.

Behind the house, a naked female covered in blood, a dispatcher is heard saying. Were in contact with her. Shes beaten up pretty good. Shes not really conscious.

Wisconsin student attacked, sexually assaulted

The woman suffered a broken jaw and other life-threatening injuries. She was transported to the hospital and remains in critical condition.

In addition to her severe physical injuries, the victim also faces a challenging emotional recovery ahead, authorities said.

Her life is forever changed, Assistant Chief Paige Valenta of the Madison Police Department said during a press conference on Wednesday. Her familys life is forever changed. We will continue to work hard to ensure that Mr Thompson is held fully accountable in a court of law for the heinous act he perpetrated.

The investigation

Authorities have said that the attack appeared to be random.

I think one of the most frightening things [is that it was a random attack], Chief Barnes said. ...This case will not be complete until this cowardly attacker receives the justice he deserves.

Fellow University of Wisconsin students told WISN that officers knocked on their doors shortly after the attack asking if they had seen anything suspicious.

The cops were knocking on our door at 4 in the morning. So, kind of scary, Azza Bayoudh told the outlet before Mr Thompsons arrest. It was just kind of terrifying because I was like, that kind of couldve been me.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes and Assistant Chief Paige Valenta during a press conference on Wednesday (TMJ4 News)

Investigators were able to link Mr Thompson to the scene thanks to surveillance video submitted by residents of the area that captured Mr Thompsons licence plate. Footage also reportedly shows that he was walking right behind the victim before the attack unfolded.

Chief Barnes said that approximately two hours before the attack, Mr Thompson was pulled over by Fitchburg police officers over a registration violation.

The neighbouring police department provided bodycam from the traffic stop that allegedly showed Mr Thompsons clothing matched what he was wearing during the Madison attack.

As a result of this video, detectives were able to read a licence plate that directly led to the identification of Brandon Thompson as the perpetrator of this assault, Ms Valenta said, thanking the community for their cooperation in gathering evidence.

DNA evidence has been collected from the scene and sent to a state crime lab. Authorities are awaiting the results but declined to say when they will be back.

The suspect

Mr Thompson is a local resident and appears to have no previous criminal history, police said.

He is waiting to be formally charged with first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury and strangulation.

Brandon Thompson is waiting to be formally charged with first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury and strangulation (Madison Police Department)

The suspects attorneys said in a statement to TMJ4 that he is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and has a degree in criminal justice and psychology. He reportedly works for a biotech company in Madison.

He grew up in a military family, with his father serving in the Army until his retirement and later working at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the statement read, adding that the family asked for privacy.

Mr Thompson is booked into the Dane County Jail. An arraignment date was not immediately available.
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The sister of Danelo Cavalcantes victim has revealed that her life has been tarnished with overwhelming fear since the convicts escape from prison last week.

Sarah Brandao, sister of the victim Deborah Brandao said in an interview that since Cavalcantes jailbreak last week, I have been waking up with fright at night.

Deborah Brandao was stabbed 38 times by her ex-boyfriend Danelo Cavalcante with a kitchen knife in Schuylkill Township Chester in County, Pennsylvania, back in April 2021.

Sarah Brandao told CNN: I havent slept for many days. She also recounted the day she was told about her sisters murder. She said her world ended.

She kept saying that he was extremely jealous, that when he drank he became a different person, that he kept going through her cell phone, Sarah Brandao said.

Chester County District Attorney Deb Ryan said during a press conference on Thursday that Ms Brandao and her family are being protected by police.

They do have protection and they are terrified. They havent left their home, theyre barricaded inside their home and they are very scared, Ms Ryan said. We do have police detail surrounding the home but I know they are very scared and very, very worried.

Prosecutors said Cavalcante killed Brandao to stop her from telling police about an active arrest warrant he was facing for another alleged murder in his home country of Brazil in 2017.

Just days into beginning his life sentence for Brandaos killing, Cavalcante broke free from the Chester State Prison on the morning of 31 August.

The manhunt for convicted killer Danelo Cavalcante has now entered its seventh day with details beginning to emerge about how he managed to escape from prison in Pennsylvania.

He managed to break out of prison using an unconventional method, according to officials, which involved crab-walking up a wall, pushing through razor wire and making a dash across a roof.

Acting warden Howard Holland of Chester County Prison said during a news conference on Wednesday that the 34-year-old executed his escape on the morning of 31 August while his prison block was in the exercise yard, and an officer in a tower failed to notice his departure.

The Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers have offered $10,000 for information that leads to Cavalcantes capture, bringing the reward total to $20,000.

Law enforcement teams, including the US Marshals, SWAT, local, state, and other federal agencies, have joined the search to find the fugitive.
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Actor Danny Masterson remained unmoved as his two rape victims gave powerful impact statements to a judge before the That 70s Show star was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the attacks.

When you raped me, you stole from me, said one woman who Masterson, 47, was convicted of raping in 2003. Thats what rape is, a theft of the spirit.

You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent, she added. The world is better off with you in prison.

The other victim told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo that the actor has not shown an ounce of remorse for the pain he caused.

I knew he belonged behind bars for the safety of all the women he came into contact with. I am so sorry, and Im so upset. I wish Id reported him sooner to the police, she told the court.

Masterson, who has been in custody since May, showed no visible reaction to the statements from the two former members of the Church of Scientology as he sat in court, reported The Associated Press.

He was found guilty by a jury of two counts of rape on 31 May after seven days of deliberations. The court was told that both attacks took place at Mastersons home in the Hollywood area of the city in 2003 when he was a member of the cast of the hit Fox sitcom.

Danny Masterson leaves Los Angeles superior Court with his wife Bijou Phillips in November, 2022. (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Masterson did not testify, and his defence team called no witnesses, arguing that the acts were consensual.

The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson had raped a longtime girlfriend.

A mistrial was declared in Mastersons first trial in December 2022 after a jury failed to reach verdicts on three counts of forcible rape.

Mr Masterson, I know that youre sitting here steadfast in your claims of innocence, and thus no doubt feeling victimized by a justice system that has failed you, Judge Olmedo told him before handing down the sentence.

But Mr Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another persons voice, and choice. One way or another you will have to come to terms with your prior actions, and their consequences.

Earlier the judge had rejected the defence teams request for a new trial. Mastersons lawyers had asked for both sentences to run simultaneously and for the judge to give their client 15 years to life.

Its his life that will be impacted by what you decide today, Mastersons lawyer Shawn Holley told the judge before she sentenced him. And the life of his nine-year-old daughter, who means the world to him, and to whom he means the world.

He has lived an exemplary life, he has been an extraordinary father, husband, brother, son, co-worker and community servant.

Masterson starred with Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace in That 70s Show from 1998 until 2006.

In 2016 he reunited with Kutcher for the Netflix comedy The Ranch but was written off the show when the LAPD opened a probe into the allegations made against him.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
 Close Actor Danny Masterson found guilty on two counts of rape

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Danny Masterson received letters of support from Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher ahead of his sentencing, it has been revealed.

Masterson, 47, was given a sentence of 30 years to life in a Los Angeles court on Thursday for the rapes of two women two decades ago.

It has since emerged that his That 70s Show co-stars Kunis and Kutcher were among 50 people who wrote letters of support before the sentencing.

In their letters, published by Los Angeles-based court reporter Meghann Cuniff, the couple vouched for Mastersons exceptional character and pleaded for Judge Charlaine Olmedos leniency.

A jury found Masterson guilty of two counts in May after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in Mastersons Hollywood Hills home in 2003, when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom.

The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.

Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his prominence in the Church of Scientology  where all three women were also members at the time  to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks.
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A 24-year-old man died at an Atlanta hospital after being found unresponsive at a jail that is already being investigated by federal authorities for potential civil rights violations - and where former president Donald Trump was arrested last month.

A Fulton County Jail officer found Shawndre Delmore during a routine check just before 8.30pm on 31 August, the county sheriff's office said in a news release Wednesday.

Jail staff attempted to revive Delmore until medical staff arrived, and he was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he died on 3 September, the release says.

Delmore is the sixth person to die in Fulton County custody since the end of July. He was arrested on 1 April by Atlanta police and was being held on $2,500 bond on a second-degree burglary charge.

Atlanta police will investigate his death, and the county medical examiner will do an autopsy, the sheriff's office said.

The US Department of Justice in July opened a civil rights investigation into jail conditions in the county, citing violence, filthy conditions and the death last year of a man whose body was found covered in insects.

Lashawn Thompson, 35, died last September in a bedbug-infested cell in the Fulton County Jails psychiatric wing.

An independent autopsy done at his familys request found he died from severe neglect. His family has since reached a settlement with the county.

Dayvion Blake, 23, was stabbed to death and four others were stabbed an injured during a fight at the jail on 31 August.

Samuel Lawrence, 34, died Saturday at Grady Memorial Hospital after he was found unresponsive in his cell at the jail.

The other three people who died in the last month include 66-year-old Alexander Hawkins, 34-year-old Christopher Smith and 40-year-old Montay Stinson.

The jail made international headlines for a very different reason last month as Mr Trump paid a visit to be booked on charges over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
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Two Colorado police officers involved in the shooting death of 14-year-old JorDell Richardson earlier this year will not face criminal charges, the 18th Judicial District Attorneys Office announced on Wednesday.

JorDell was shot and killed on 1 June in Aurora following a convenience store robbery when the responding officers James Snapp and Roch Gruszeczka believed he was armed with a 9mm pistol.

It was determined that the teen was instead carrying a pellet-gun replica of a pistol and his death sparked protests in the city.

Now, an investigative report has found that the officers belief that it was a real gun was reasonable at the time, and body camera video shows the gun clearly visible in his hands, according to the decision letter released by DA John Kellner.

The evidence shows that Officer Snapp was legally justified in using physical force during this incident, and that Officer Gruszeczka was legally justified in using deadly physical force, the letter read.

The Aurora Police officers responded to the June robbery at a liquor store near East Eighth Avenue and North Dayton Street where an officer had called for backup after seeing a group of teens wearing medical masks and looking suspicious.

Additional officers arrived as one of the teens, later identified to be JorDell, fled the store after robbing it of several vape pens and led police on a foot chase that was caught on body cam video.

It was later revealed that it was JorDell who had threatened the store clerk with the gun during the robbery. Investigators found that the people inside the store believed the gun was real, according to the report.

JorDell Richardson (JorDell Richardson/GoFundMe)

The chase ended a short time later when JorDell was tackled to the ground and Officer Gruszeczka could be heard on the body cam video yelling at the teen to let go of the gun.

The officer also yelled that he would shoot him as the teen can be heard on the body cam video pleading, Stop please, you got me.

A single round was fired and struck JorDells abdomen. He later died from his injuries.

According to the decision letter that provided a summary of the report, Officer Gruszeczka did not report hearing JorDell make any attempt to surrender and that the teen continued to struggle with him for the gun.

There is bodycam footage of the struggle, but it does not show JorDell reaching for the gun. However, surveillance video from a nearby bar and grill shows the teen moving his right hand toward his waist after he was tackled by police.

The teen was inially believed to have a semi-automatic weapon, but the DA wrote in the letter that investigators knew nearly immediately after the shooting that he was carrying a pellet gun.

(8th Judicial District Attorneys Office )

For eight days, JorDells family and the community believed he had been carrying a real gun as told by Aurora Police Interim Chief Art Acevedo.

It was confirmed on 8 June that he had actually been carrying a pellet gun. This implemented a new information-sharing process for future critical incidents.

The gun had "no markings, coloration, or alterations that would indicate upon visual inspection that this was a simulated or replica handgun, as opposed to an actual handgun capable of firing bullets, according to the letter.

It was concluded that Officer Gruszeczkas belief that JorDell was armed with a deadly weapon was objectively reasonable.

Mr Kellner said Officer Gruszeczka possessed an objectively reasonable belief that the individual (JorDell) was capable of inflicting serious bodily injury or death on either Officer Snapp or Officer Gruszeczka at the time of the OIS (officer-involved shooting), and concludes that the use of deadly physical force was not a criminal action.

Officer Gruszeczka, who has been with the department since 2017 and served on the gang unit since 2019, was placed on paid administrative leave but has since been returned to full duty.

Aurora Police Chief Art Acevedo released a statement following the news and called the DAs decision fair and just.

Regardless of this finding, the death of a young man is a tragedy for his family and extended community, and it will continue to weigh heavily on members of our department, he said.

We continue to offer our deepest sympathies to JorDell Richardsons family and friends. Consistent with my previous statements, our officers had to make split-second decisions based upon the information available to them and their own observations. I believe the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) made a fair and just decision today following a comprehensive analysis of all the facts over the last three months. Regardless of this finding, the death of a young man is a tragedy for his family and extended community, and it will continue to weigh heavily on members of our department.

"In addition to the aforementioned CIRT investigation, the department is in the final stages of a separate internal investigation to determine what, if any, policy violations occurred related to this incident and will share our findings as soon as the process is complete.

"Its my hope that our community will come closer together and direct our collective energy toward comprehensive, meaningful and lasting solutions to empower our youth. It is in this spirit that I called for a summit to address the many challenges facing todays youth ranging from high frequency of violence to lack of quality educational and economic opportunities. This effort will not succeed unless we secure commitments from a wide range of community, business, and government leaders."
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A mother is suing Peloton alleging one of the fitness companys exercise bikes fell on her son and sliced open his neck, killing him instantly.

Ryan Furtado, 32, a customer success manager, bought himself the popular stationary bike in July 2021 when sales were still booming from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Seven months later, he was found dead at his Downtown Brooklyn apartment by the New York City police. The bike was still resting on his neck and face.

According to the lawsuit filed earlier this year by his mother Johanna Furtado, her son was using the Peloton bike to do a Core workout on 13 January 2022 when the tragic incident happened.

The workout requires riders to disembark the bike to conduct exercises on the floor, according to the suit.

After finishing the floor routine, Furtado attempted to pull himself up using the equipment for leverage when the bike spun around and impacted him on his neck and face severing in his carotid artery in his neck killing him instantly.

The lawsuit says Peloton should have predicted and warned against the foreseeable misuse that people would also use the Subject Bike to pull themselves up from the floor during a workout increasing an unknown risk of injury to the user, such as the case with Ryan.

It notes that the company instructs riders to use the Bike for stretching, but that applying pressure on the Bike in a pulling and pushing fashion, caus[es] the Bike to destabilize and fall.

A warning label is located on the front right leg of the bike, but the lawsuit calls it inadequate, and should instead have multiple labels to the bikes stem and base to adequately warn the user of injury that could occur if the Subject Bike is used to pull oneself up from the floor during a workout.

Ms Furtado says the Peloton bikes are defective and/or unreasonably dangerous, and that the company failed to warn that its bikes could tip over when used as a brace to rise or go down.

As a direct and proximate result of the foregoing conduct of Peloton, Ryan was killed, the suit states.

Peloton filed a response to the lawsuit that put the blame on Furtado, stating that he died due to his own negligence, and that the company is not legally responsible.

Peloton users are obligated to defend, indemnify and hold Peloton harmless based upon the provisions set forth it further stated.

(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Furtados death is not the first one connected to the Peloton brand, but may be the first known death connected to the bike. The lawsuit also details an incident where a six-year-old child died after getting pulled into a Peloton treadmill. The company described it as a tragic accident.

In another incident, a three-year-old was left with significant brain injury after being found on a now-discontinued Peloton Tread Plus with tread marks on his back matching the slats of the treadmill, according to the suit.

In that case, Peloton was ordered to pay a $19m fine earlier this year over the treadmill issue, The Daily Beast reported.

In the most recent lawsuit against Peloton that was filed quietly in March, Ms Furtado asked the company to pay for her sons final healthcare expenses, funeral and burial costs, any financial support he would have contributed to the family, and damages for the conscious pain and suffering.

She also asked for compensatory damages for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and the cost of all past and future medical and psychiatric care.

The lawsuit comes after the company saw massive success when many people were forced to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. But that success began to fade when stay-at-home restrictions loosened.

The companys stock even took a hit last year when one of the main characters in the Sex and the City reboot died of a heart attack after a Peloton ride. Just weeks later, a character on the Showtime drama Billions also suffered a heart attack following a ride.

In May of this year, two million of its bikes were recalled after complaints of the seat post breaking and detaching from the bike during use, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC). Several minor injuries were reported from the defect.

An obituary published in Maui Now described Furtado, who was a native of Hawaii, as the best everything, son, grandson, brother, uncle and friend whose life was flourishing, and that his kind heart, witty humor, and overall zest for life will be forever cherished and missed.

Furtado was a graduate of the University of Redlands and loved family, friends, traveling, music, baking, games and all things Star Wars, the obit read. He loved the ocean and land alike and found adventures where he could, it continued. He left us far too soon and will be loved forever.

Furtado was employed at the B2B software firm Demandbase. One of his colleagues created a GoFundMe page following his death. It raised nearly $17,000 for his family.

Beloved colleague, dear friend, shining starthats how we remember Ryan, the campaign read. He was someone who made everyone feel welcome and special. Ryan was great at his job, and excelled at friendshipalways there for his people, of whom there are many. We are grieving the loss of Ryan, and all of us want to find ways to help. The funds raised by this campaign will be sent to his family to help with the many unexpected costs they are now dealing with as they navigate this very difficult time.
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The US Supreme Court may ultimately determine if a police dog breached the Fourth Amendment rights of a man who was found with illegal drugs.

In 2019 Kirby Dorff was stopped by police after apparently swerving across three lanes in his vehicle in Idaho.

An officer with a police dog named Nero was called to the scene. The Belgian Malinois approached the car, and leapt up, with its paws resting on the vehicle's door and window. The dog was eventually used in a search of Mr Dorff's car.

Nero rooted around inside, locating pills and a plastic bag containing meth residue. The items provided police with enough evidence to justify a warrant to search his hotel and to bring charges against Mr Dorff.

Police later found more drugs at Mr Dorff's motel room. He was tried and convicted on drug possession charges.

The driver challenged the charges, claiming he was subjected to an unreasonable search. However, Mr Dorff's challenge does not focus on Nero's search, but rather on the fact that the dog put its paws on his car door before police could justify a search.

As far as Mr Dorff is concerned, the Belgian Malinois violated his Constitutional rights. The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.

He appealed his case to the Idaho Supreme Court and won.

In a 3-2 decision, the court determined that a police dog can sniff the air around a car, but cannot touch the car while trying to sniff inside. They likened it to the difference between brushing up against a woman carrying a purse and grabbing her purse without consent, according to USA Today.

It is also the difference between a dogs tail that brushes against the bumper of your vehicle as it walks by  and a dog who, without privilege or consent, approaches your vehicle to jump on its roof, sit on its hood, stand on its window or door," the court wrote.

Justice Gregory Moeller wrote the dissenting opinion, saying he could not be made to believe "that an unreasonable search or a physical intrusion occurred because Nero's paws briefly touched the exterior of Dorff's vehicle."

Justice Richard Bevan called for a bit more flexibility in the interpretation of the law in his own dissenting opinion.

Reasonableness  requires us to consider the degree of government intrusion, not to simply suppress all evidence where any intrusion occurred," he wrote.

The US Supreme Court will likely determine within the next few months if it will hear the case.
Our cover feature represents a powerful and poignant project investigating the frequently overlooked lives of pauper apprentices, children as young as seven who were taken from urban workhouses and sent to labour away their often short lives in rural textile mills and farms. Recent research centred on cemetery evidence from Fewston in North Yorkshire is helping to bring their experiences to light once more.

Another story that deserves to be better known is that of Ballynahatty in County Down, where the remains of an intriguing Neolithic timber monument were excavated between 1990 and 2000. The full report of this investigation has only recently been published, and the findings are fascinating.

Our next feature showcases an ambitious aerial-survey project focused on almost 200 square kilometres of the South Downs National Park, which has documented archaeological features spanning the Neolithic to the Cold War.

We then turn to Hadrians Wall to learn how fortification of the Roman frontier sparked strikingly different settlement patterns on either side of the boundary.

Finally, we bring you an update on a burial that first featured in CA 339. This was the grave of an early medieval woman, discovered near Conington in Cambridgeshire during road improvement works on the A14. Unusually, she had been interred face-down, and now analysis of this enigmatic individuals remains has allowed archaeologists to piece together clues about her life and why she may have been treated differently in death.

P.S. Details of all the content of the magazine are available on our new site, The Past. Here you will be able to read each article in full as well as the content of our other magazines, Current World Archaeology, Minerva, and Military History Matters. Subscribers should see the advert inside the magazine for a very special offer!

In This Issue:

FEATURES

BALLYNAHATTY

Reconstructing a rare Neolithic timber monument

The enigmatic timber monument at Ballynahatty in Northern Ireland was excavated in 1990-2000. Now, a new publication has helped to reconstruct its original appearance, and its place in the archaeologically rich wider Neolithic landscape.

TIRED BEYOND ALL TELLING

Revealing the hard, often brief, lives of pauper apprentices

The partial excavation of a churchyard at Fewston in North Yorkshire has provided a rare look at a rural post-medieval population from the north of England, including the lives of many children who were brought from urban workhouses to labour in the nearby mills.

ABOVE THE DOWNS

Documenting human history from the Neolithic to the Cold War

A project combining recent LiDAR imagery with almost 10,000 aerial photographs taken between the 1920s and 2018 has documented archaeological features across a wide area of the South Downs National Park, from prehistoric monuments to more-modern military remains.

BEFORE AND AFTER HADRIANS WALL

Living on the Roman frontier east of the Pennines

Recent research has highlighted the dramatic impact that the construction of Hadrians Wall had on local Iron Age communities, and how fortification of the frontier sparked very different settlement patterns on either side of the new boundary.

THE CONINGTON TEENAGER

Being different in Anglo-Saxon England

What can the recent analysis of an unusual Anglo-Saxon burial  that of a teenage girl, found buried face-down in a repurposed posthole  tell us about her life and death, and how she may have been perceived by her local community?

NEWS

Another Antonine Wall fortlet found; Rare Neolithic axe-sharpening stone discovered in Dorset; Iron Age warrior woman identified on the Isles of Scilly; Iron Age coin hoard uncovered in Anglesey; First finds from Milecastle 46; Science Notes; Significant Mesolithic site excavated in Bedfordshire; Finds Tray

NEWS FOCUS

Green-fingered finds: Piecing together the history of Scotneys Old Castle

REGULARS

COMMENT

Joe Flatman excavates the CA archive

CONTEXT

Drawing Dinas Dinlle: Caernarfon, Gwynedd

REVIEWS

Footmarks: a journey into our restless past; The Road: a story of Romans and ways to the past; Wild History: journeys into lost Scotland; Repeopling La Manche: new perspectives on Neanderthal archaeology and landscapes from La Cotte de St Brelade; Millstones of the Pennines and North West England; Exploring Norfolks Deep History Coast

MUSEUM NEWS

The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions

EXHIBITION

Beneath Our Feet: Archaeology of the Cambridge Region at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology



HERITAGE OPEN DAYS

A selection of talks and events taking place during Englands biggest festival of history and culture

SCOTTISH ARCHAEOLOGY MONTH

Highlights from the programme of heritage-themed events taking place during Scotlands month-long celebration of archaeology

LISTINGS

Our selection of exhibitions and events, as well as historical, archaeological, and cultural resources from around the world that are still available online.

SHERDS

Chris Catlings irreverent take on heritage issues

ODD SOCS

The UK Paranormal Society

Have all this delivered directly to your door every month  click here to find out more about subscribing to Current Archaeology, the UKs favourite archaeology magazine.
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As he pleaded with a federal judge for leniency on 5 September, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys admitted that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.

Enrique Tarrio, 39, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for orchestrating a failed plot to keep the former president in power  marking the longest sentence ever to date among the hundreds of cases connected to the Capitol riot on 6 January, 2021, an attack fuelled by Mr Trumps false narrative that the election was stolen from him and rigged against him.

Before his sentence was handed down in US District Court in Washington DC, Tarrio apologised for his actions, branded the Capitol riot a national embarrassment and vowed that his days of meddling in politics are over.

He also publicly denounced his false claims that the election was stolen from Mr Trump.

My candidate lost, he admitted.

What happened on January 6 was a national embarrassment ... I do not think what happened that day was acceptable, he said.

Choking up with emotion, Tarrio said that he had let his family down with his actions as he begged the judge not to rob him of his 40s behind bars.

I am not a political zealot. Inflicting harm or changing the results of the election was not my goal, Tarrio said. Please show me mercy. I ask you that you not take my 40s from me.

He added: When I get back home I want nothing to do with politics, groups, activism or rallies ... and when you walk out that door your honour, I wont be saying anything other than that.

But the admission came too late to save him from being hit with the longest prison sentence to date over the Capitol riot that resulted in five deaths and hundreds of law enforcement officers injured.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly said that Tarrio was the ultimate leader of the Proud Boys conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election in Mr Trumps favour.

Enrique Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison (AP)

I do think the evidence of Mr Tarrios leadership was, quite frankly, evident during trial, the judge said. I do find the evidence shows that Mr Tarrio was on the top of the command structure with regard to the planning of the offence.

January 6 broke our previously unbroken tradition of peacefully transferring power, he added.

Tarrio was among four members of the group convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes earlier this year following a four-month trial.

A jury determined that Tarrio, as the groups leader, organised and directed a mob towards the US Capitol, where Proud Boys dismantled barricades and broke windows to breach the halls of Congress, then bragged about their actions on social media and in group chat messages that were later shared with jurors.

He served as a naturally charismatic leader, a savvy propagandist, and the celebrity Chairman of the group, wielding his influence over his subordinates and allies to organize and execute the conspiracy to forcibly stop the peaceful democratic transfer of power as lawmakers convened to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, federal prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo.

Tarrio instead used his talents to inflame and radicalise untold numbers of followers, promoting political violence in general and orchestrating the charged conspiracies in particular, they argued.

Federal sentencing guidelines indicated Tarrio could have faced 27 to 33 years in prison. Prosecutors sought a sentence of 33 years.

As he did with other Proud Boys cases, Judge Kelly applied what is called a terrorism enhancement to the sentencing guidelines but refrained from imposing larger prison sentences for crimes he has contrasted to mass casualty events.

Proud Boys members including Zachary Rehl, left, Ethan Nordean, center, and Joseph Biggs, walk toward the US Capitol on January 6 (AP)

Four other members of the group were sentenced last week for their roles in the attack. Ethan Nordean received a sentence of 18 years in prison, tying Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes for what is now the second-longest sentence to date among the hundreds of people convicted in connection with January 6.

Joe Biggs was sentenced to 17 years, Zachary Rehl was sentenced to 15 years, and Dominic Pezzola  the sole co-defendant among them who was not convicted of seditious conspiracy  was sentenced to 10 years.

Tarrios verdict marked the first successful seditious conspiracy conviction against a January 6 defendant who was not physically at the Capitol that day  he was barred from entering Washington DC after he was arrested for burning a Black Lives Matter banner outside a church during a riot weeks earlier. He watched the insurrection from a hotel room in Baltimore.

During the Proud Boys trial, prosecutors presented hundreds of internal messages revealing the groups culture of violence and preparations for an attack in the weeks leading up to January 6.

Prosecutors argued that Proud Boys were not merely obedient followers of then-President Trumps commands but were preparing for all-out war to undermine millions of Americans votes and upend a democratic election to preserve his presidency.

In the insurrections aftermath, Tarrio wrote on the social media platform Parler that when the government fears the people, there is liberty, a post he accompanied with a photo of House members ducking for cover.

When he wrote those words, Tarrio was not referring to politicians fear of being voted out of office, prosecutors wrote. He was speaking concretely and approvingly about what the members of Congress and their staffs were experiencing that very afternoon: fear of injury and death at the hands of a vicious mob that included Tarrios own hand-picked soldiers.

Defence attorney Sabino Jauregui claimed that his client was simply a misguided patriot who never intended to bring down the government. Tarrios attorneys sought unsuccessfully to separate Tarrio from the destructive actions of other Proud Boys on the ground.
 Close Rachel Morin: Maryland police release CCTV of suspect

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Rachel Morins family are pleading for information that leads to an arrest more than a month after her body was found on the Ma & Pa Trail after she failed to return home from an evening hike.

Authorities in Harford County, Maryland, continue to hunt for Morins killer amid fears that the suspect could strike again.

Police previously released footage from the scene of a home invasion and assault in Los Angeles, where DNA found matched DNA at the Morin crime scene.

But despite the developments, investigators have yet to make any arrests in the case.

Morins brother Michael Morin told NewsNation on Wednesday that his family was hopeful somebody would provide the key piece of information needed to bring the suspect to justice.

We only need one lead. We need a last name, we already have DNA and video, Mr Morin said.

Last week, Morins sister Rebekah Morin shared a behavioural profile built by a volunteer criminal profiler.

It suggested that the killer has psychopathic traits and may have travelled to Bel Air because he knew someone in the tight-knit community.
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A doctor was arrested after police found guns, drugs and prostitutes aboard a 70ft motor yacht anchored at a small island of Massachusetts.

The yacht Jess Conn, which is out of Georgetown in the Cayman Islands, was raided in Nantucket Harbor after a woman was evacuated from it and taken to a waiting ambulance.

The vessels owner Scott Burke, 69, was taken into custody after the raid by Nantucket Police and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Mr Burke, of Key Largo, Florida, faces drug trafficking and weapons charges and is set to be arraigned in Nantucket District Court on 11 September, reported The Nantucket Current.

He is a retired physician who worked in Colorado and founded Denver Spine and Rehab, according to the newspaper.

He is now the CEO of Injury Finance LLC, a company that offers personal injury victims lien access to our comprehensive network of medical providers.

Harbormaster Sheila Lucey said that the alarm was raised after a wellness check was performed on a woman on Tuesday morning.

The yacht reportedly arrived in Nantucket Harbor on 23 August after a journey from Newport, Rhode Island.

It was featured in PowerYachtBlog.com after it ran aground in Ocean Reef in the Florida Keys in May.

Nantucket Police Department say that Mr Burke was initially charged with two counts of possession of a firearm without a license.

After the search of the yacht, he was charged with additional drugs and firearm offences.
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Four US Navy officers had their felony convictions in a sprawling bribery case removed on Wednesday due to prosecutorial misconduct.

US District Judge Janis Sammartino called the misconduct outrageous and agreed to allow the four men to plead guilty to a misdemeanour and pay a $100 fine each.

The officers  former Capts. David Newland, James Dolan and David Lausman and former Cmdr. Mario Herrera  were convicted in one of the worst bribery cases in recent history for the Navy that centred around a defence contractor nicknamed Fat Leonard.

Defence attorneys for the officers had spent more than a year challenging the convictions and accusing the prosecution of misconduct. It was the latest misstep in the case.

A year ago, Leonard Francis, the defence contractor, fled from house arrest in San Diego. He was later captured in Venezuela, where he remains.

More than two dozen Navy officials, defence contractors and others have been convicted on various fraud and corruption charges in the case, which ran over years.
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Actor Gary Busey, who already faces a parade of separate charges, is accused of causing a hit-and-run accident in Malibu, California.

The 79-year-old actor allegedly rammed his blue Volvo into another vehicle on 30 August, the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department told USA Today.

The other driver identified Mr Busey and claimed that he refused to stop after the collision occurred and refused to provide proof of registration and financial responsibility.

The collision reportedly occurred on the 23000 block of Pacific Coast Highway, near the Malibu Pier.

The Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriffs Station is investigating the incident, including the drivers claim that the actor quickly fled the scene, the outlet reported.

TMZ obtained video footage of the incident, in which the driver can be seen chasing the actor in her own car, yelling out the window, Sir, you hit my car, I need your information. She yelled, Sir! again as Mr Buseys blue car jets off.

She finally caught up to him in a parking lot, where she got out of the car and talked to the actor telling him, You hit my car. You have scuffs all over your car

Then Mr Busey simply interjected: Progressive insurance.

I want the number. I want the information, the driver pleaded, to which the 79-year-old replied, No, no, as he reentered his car and started driving away.

The driver yelled, Yo, thats not okay! You hit my car. You dont just get to leave hitting someone. What the f***. You cant hit someone and just leave. Mr Busey at the same time can be seen doing a K-turn and driving out of the parking lot.

The Buddy Holly Story star has gotten into some other unrelated trouble recently. He was caught pulling his pants down  for unexplained reasons  in New Jersey last year. This embarrassing incident came just days after he was charged with several sexual offences: two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact, one count of attempted criminal sexual contact and one count of harassment.

A police source told Fox29 that three women had reported that the Academy Award nominee had touched them inappropriately during a meet and greet. He later told TMZ that the womens claims were all false and that nothing happened.

He added, There was my partner, a camera-lady, and me, and two girls. It took less than 10 seconds, and they left. Nothing happened, it was all false.

Mr Busey is also known for his roles in Lethal Weapon, Point Break, Drop Zone, and Eye of the Tiger. He suffered a serious brain injury in a 1988 motorcycle accident in Los Angeles, undergoing emergency neurosurgery and spending months in a rehabilitation clinic.

The Independent has reached out to Mr Buseys manager.
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A grizzly bear that killed a female hiker near Yellowstone National Park in July, and mauled a man in Idaho in 2020, has been euthanised after breaking into a home in Montana, officials say.

The 10-year-old female grizzly and her cub smashed a kitchen window at a home near the town of West Yellowstone on the morning of 2 September and stole dog food, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a statement.

Wildlife officers captured the cub and shot the adult grizzly dead later that evening after receiving clearance from the US Fish & Wildlife Service, due to grizzlies protected status under the Endangered Species Act.

Genetic analysis and other identifying features confirmed the grizzly had fatally mauled Amie Adamson, a 48-year-old from Kansas, on 22 July, officials said.

The former teacher was an avid hiker who was in heaven while on the trails near Yellowstone, her mother Janet Adamson said at the time.

Wildlife officers made multiple unsuccessfully attempts to trap the grizzly after the fatal attack due to its proximity to homes, campgrounds and popular hiking trails.

Amie Adamson was killed in a grizzly bear attack near Yellowstone in July (Family handout)

The bear was also confirmed to have injured hiker Gregory Godar near Henrys Lake State Park in Idaho in 2020, about 16 miles from West Yellowstone.

Mr Godar told the East Idaho News that year how the 500-pound bear appeared without warning, slashed his back, threw him to the ground and bit into his stomach.

I was convinced I was dead. After she chewed on my belly, I thought she was going to crush my neck and kill me, he said. Instead the bear suddenly paused the attack, and ran away, he said.

Both attacks were deemed to be defensive responses by the bear, according to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

The grizzly had been captured in 2017 for research purposes.

A grizzly bear pictured in Montana (file photo) (Getty Images)

The 46-pound cub is being held at the agencys wildlife rehabilitation centre in Helena before being transferred to a zoo in the coming weeks.

Officials warn that grizzly bear are increasingly coming into contact with humans as their population grows.

Bears are active for longer periods before going into hibernation, which is overlapping with hunting season and recreational activities in the fall, the agency said.

It advised hikers to take precautions by having bear spray ready to use in a moments notice, making noice to alert a bear to your presence, and staying away from animal carcasses.
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to make a rare public appearance at the White House since losing her 2016 bid for the presidency, attending an arts event next week with first lady Jill Biden.

The White House announced that Clinton is scheduled to appear Tuesday to help honour the 2023 winners of the Praemium Imperiale, a global prize awarded annually by the Japan Art Association for lifetime achievement in the arts.

Praemium Imperiale laureates were first celebrated at the White House by President Bill Clinton and the then-first lady in 1994.

Bill Clinton had lunch with Biden at the White House in May 2022, a month after former President Barack Obama returned to the White House for the first time since the end of his administration for an event celebrating his signature health care law.

Hillary Clinton, a former New York senator who served as Obama's secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, has kept a relatively low public profile since losing the presidency to Donald Trump.

The White House announcement means next Tuesday's event is set to go forward despite the first lady testing positive for COVID on Monday. She is recuperating in Delaware, and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that the first lady is doing well."

Jean-Pierre said the president tested negative for COVID on Wednesday morning, following negative tests the previous two days. He is scheduled to leave Thursday for India to attend the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, and later travel to Vietnam and Alaska.
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The body of windsurfer who went missing during Hurricane Idalia has been found, officials have said.

Greggory Johnston, 60, went missing off Floridas Space Coast on Wednesday, the day after Hurricane Idalia made landfall with 125 mph (201 kph) winds last week.

His car was found in the area of Kelly Park, where crews began their search for the man.

The 60-year-old is now considered the second death caused by Idalia in Florida.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement said a medical examiners report shows Johnston drowned while windsurfing during a tropical storm warning.

Johnston board and windsurfing sail were recovered on the eastern shore of the Banana river, across from Kelly Park on Thursday morning.

The other Idalia-related death in Florida confirmed by the states 25 local district medical examiners was in Gainesville, but officials didnt release details.

An unstilted home which came off its blocks sits partially submerged in a canal, in Horseshoe Beach after Hurricane Idalia (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A man in Valdosta, Georgia, also died when a tree fell on him as he tried to clear another tree out of the road, according to the Lowndes County Sheriff Office.

Idalia ploughed into Florida as a Category 3 hurricane on 30 August before losing power as it moved inland through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

At around 5pm on 2 September the National Hurricane Center issued what it said was its final advisory on Idalia, noting that the post-tropical cyclone had moved away off Bermuda and that the storm warning for the island was discontinued.

The storm ripped through houses and businesses, causing an estimated $9.36bn of damage, based on early estimates from UBS, a risk analysis firm.

Meanwhile, Accuweather predicted the total damage could be somewhere between $18bn and $20bn.

Idalia also caused devastating flooding and decimated the town of Steinhatchee, Florida.

The river that runs through the town rose 8 feet on the morning of 30 August, according to the National Weather Service, and flooded the town less than 20 miles from where Idalia made landfall.

Officials urged the 500 residents of the coastal community to evacuate the town on 29 August ahead of the storm surge.

The following morning, Hurricane Idalia has been downgraded to a tropical storm the National Hurricane Center reported.
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Mexicos Supreme Court decriminalised abortion in a historic decision welcomed by womens rights groups across the country.

The ruling would mean access to abortions for millions of Mexican women. The Supreme Court court said federal criminal penalties for abortions were unconstitutional.

The sweeping decision was an extension of a growing trend in Latin American countries of loosening restrictions on abortion in what has been referred to as a green wave.

Mexicos Supreme Court said that the legal system that criminalised abortion in Mexico was unconstitutional because it violates the human rights of women and people with the ability to gestate.

In cases of rape, no girl can be forced to become a mother  neither by the state nor by her parents nor her guardians, said Arturo Zaldivar, the head of the Supreme Court.

Here, the violation of her rights is more serious, not only because of her status as a victim, but also because of her age, which makes it necessary to analyse the issue from the perspective of the best interests of minors.

The ruling was a victory for the GIRE, a reproductive rights organisation headquartered in Mexico City. They initiated the landmark case against the Mexican state as a pivotal component of their years-long advocacy campaign for reform.

No woman or pregnant person, nor any health worker, will be able to be punished for abortion, GIRE (the Information Group for Chosen Reproduction) said.

While the federal ban has been lifted, a patchwork of state-level restrictions on abortion still exists in approximately 20 Mexican states.

The landmark decision comes two years after a court in Mexico ruled in favour of a challenge against criminalising abortion in the northern state of Coahuila. It set off a slow state-by-state process of decriminalising it.

The decision was celebrated by several, including women rights activists who posted green heart images in reference to the feminist movement but angered more conservative groups in Latin Americas second-largest Catholic nation.

Today is a day of victory and justice for Mexican women! Mexicos National Institute for Women wrote in a message on the social media platform X. The government organisation called the decision a big step toward gender equality.

But Irma Barrientos, an opponent of the ruling party and director of the Civil Association for the Rights of the Conceived, said they will continue the fight against expanded abortion access.

Were not going to stop, Ms Barrientos said. Lets remember what happened in the United States. After 40 years, the Supreme Court reversed its abortion decision, and were not going to stop until Mexico guarantees the right to life from the moment of conception.
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The body of a missing Netflix engineer and recent Cornell University graduate has been found in the San Francisco Bay, according to reports.

Yohanes Kidane, 22, recently moved to California after being hired by the streaming giant as a software engineer. He had only been working at Netflix for a few weeks before he vanished.

Kidane was last seen entering a black Toyota Camry Uber headed toward San Jose on 14 August at about 7.15pm. The next day, a commuter found the 22-year-olds phone and wallet and turned them in. Two days after he vanished, his backpack was recovered and his belongings appeared untouched, according to his brother.

The engineers body was reportedly found on 29 August by a passing boat in the San Francisco Bay waters northeast of the Golden Gate Bridge, according to Marin County Sheriffs Office.

The remains exhibited signs of advanced decomposition, prolonged exposure to the aquatic environment and appreciable depredation, wrote Roger G. Fielding, the countys Chief Deputy Coroner.

On 31 August, the coroner identified the body as Kidanes, concluding he had died by suicide. Mr Fielding wrote that his death was caused by blunt impact injuries with drowning.

The Marin County Sheriffs Office and personnel of the Coroner Division offers our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Kidane, the coroner added.

A fundraiser for the search for the missing young man garnered over $100,000.

The 22-year-olds older brother Yosief Kidane previously described him as my best friend, while his mother said he was a good man who has a bright future, very loving to his family.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The military-political situation in South Caucasus escalated significantly last week, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned Thursday.

The reason for that is Azerbaijans ongoing military buildup along the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting on September 7.

The anti-Armenian hate rhetoric has further escalated in the Azerbaijani press and propaganda platforms. The policy of encroachments against the sovereign territory of Armenia continues, he stated, adding that the September 1 Azeri provocation against the sovereign territory of Armenia resulted in the deaths of three Armenian servicemen near the village of Sotk, Gegharkunik Province.

This provocation was preceded by the dissemination of fake news by Azerbaijan falsely accusing the Armed Forces of Armenia of violating the ceasefire on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, Pashinyan said.
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A pilot who made headlines last year after his plane crashed in the Amazon rainforest leaving him stranded for 13 days, has died in a second crash.

Otavio Augusto Munhoz da Silva was 38 when he died last week after his aircraft crashed in Mucajai, Roraima, Brazil.

The incident occurred on Monday 28 August near the border with Venezuela  214km from the capital, Boa Vista, Jam Press reported.

According to authorities, the plane he was piloting crashed in the city of Pacaraima, in a forested area.

The body of Munhoz da Silva, originally from Parana, was reportedly found on Friday 1 September.

His cousin, Alexandre Munhoz, told local media the body was underwater for five days, and that the deceaseds mother is suffering a lot.

According to the family, Munhoz da Silva was a private pilot and worked with air taxis in the Boa Vista region.

In the incident last year, Munhoz da Silva had to walk for 13 days through the dense forest after the crash, before being found.

After recovering, he returned to the air to continue his work until his death.

The Civil Police have opened an investigation into the incident.

Munhoz da Silva will be buried in his hometown of Londrina.
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A Greek shipper has pleaded guilty to a charge over it smuggling sanctioned Iranian crude oil and agreed to pay a $2.4 million fine, U.S. federal court papers seen Thursday by The Associated Press show.

Empire Navigation agreed to be put on corporate probation under the plea agreement, according to the federal court filings.

The charge stems from the saga over the oil tanker Suez Rajan, which has become mired in the wider tensions between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic even as Tehran and Washington work toward a trade of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets in South Korea for the release of five Iranian Americans held in Tehran. Iran has been trying to evade sanctions and continue selling its oil abroad, while the U.S. and its allies have been seizing cargoes since 2019 after the countrys nuclear deal allowing the trade collapsed.

The saga over the Suez Rajan began in February 2022, when the group United Against Nuclear Iran said it suspected the tanker carried oil from Irans Khargh Island, its main oil distribution terminal in the Persian Gulf.

For months, the ship sat in the South China Sea off the northeast coast of Singapore before suddenly sailing for the Gulf of Mexico without explanation. The vessel discharged its cargo to another tanker, which released its oil in Houston, Texas, in recent days. The court documents seen Thursday confirm the U.S. government seized the oil.

A lawyer for Empire Navigation, Apostolos Tourkantonis, pleaded guilty to a single charge of violating the sanctions on Iran. Empire, based in Athens, Greece, did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Thursday.

Since the Suez Rajan headed for America, Iran has seized two tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, including one with cargo for U.S. oil major Chevron Corp. In July, the top commander of the Revolutionary Guards naval arm threatened further action against anyone offloading the Suez Rajan, with state media linking the recent seizures to the cargos fate.

Iran has continued to make threats over the seizure and summoned a Swiss diplomat in Tehran to express its anger. Switzerland has looked after U.S. interests in Iran since the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis.

Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Iran regained the ability to sell oil openly on the international market. But in 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the accord and reimposed American sanctions. That slammed the door on much of Irans lucrative crude oil trade, a major engine for its economy and its government. It also began a cat-and-mouse hunt for Iranian oil cargo  as well as series of escalating attacks attributed to Iran since 2019.

The delay in offloading the Suez Rajans cargo had become a political issue as well for the Biden administration as the ship had sat for months in the Gulf of Mexico, possibly due to companies being worried about the threat from Iran.

The U.S. Navy has increased its presence steadily in recent weeks in the Mideast, sending the troop-and-aircraft-carrying USS Bataan through the Strait of Hormuz and considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the strait to stop Iran from seizing additional ships.

Late Wednesday, the U.S. put out an updated warning to shippers traveling through the Mideast, warning: Commercial vessels transiting through the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman continue to be illegally boarded and detained or seized by Iranian forces.

___

Find more AP coverage of the Middle East at https://apnews.com/hub/middle-east
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As drone strikes continue to rain down on Russian soil, Vladimir Putins bloody war has reached his own doorstep.

The strikes are now daily and on Tuesday the Russian defence ministry said its air defence systems destroyed two drones over the Kaluga and Tver regions, which border the Moscow region, as well as one closer to the capital, over the Istra district.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said that the drones were trying to carry out an attack on Moscow and that a consumer services facility was damaged in the Istra district, which is located some 65 km (40 miles) northwest of the Kremlin.

Attacks on Russia have increased sharply, with the largest such strikes hitting six regions on one night last week.

That assault included two Russian military transport planes being destroyed  and two more damaged  at an airbase in the city of Pskov.

Apparent Ukrainian drone strikes have hit at least six regions deep inside Russia (EPA)

Ukraines military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the drones were launched from inside Russia. However, in speaking to the War Zone website, Mr Budanov did not say whether the attack  about 400 miles (700km) from the Ukraine border  was carried out by Ukrainian or Russian operatives. We are working from the territory of Russia, he said.

Officials confirmed attacks on six targets in the Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan and Moscow regions.

Meanwhile, Moscow has continued to carry out drone attacks on Ukrainian targets including port infrastructure. On Monday, 32 Russian kamikaze drones struck the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, damaging civilian and industrial buildings.

View more

The assault on the military airfield in Pskov that damaged aircraft has been deemed the most significant attack, situated more than 600km (400 miles) from Ukraine, it was where a number of elite paratroopers are stationed.

The state-run Tass news agency reported at least four giant Il-76 transport planes were damaged in the four-hour wave of drones, two of which had burst into flames.

Moscow retaliated on Wednesday by launching a massive combined attack on the Ukrainian capital using drones and missiles, that killed two people and injured another.

Russian forces responded by attacking Kyiv the night of 30 August killing two people and injuring another (EPA)

Kyiv officials normally neither claim nor deny responsibility for attacks on Russian soil, though they sometimes refer obliquely to them.

The apparent Ukrainian drones reaching deep into Russia and cross-border sabotage missions are part of Kyivs efforts to heap domestic pressure on the Kremlin, militarily and politically. Meantime, a Ukrainian counteroffensive launched in June is chipping away at some parts of the front line, Kyiv officials claim.
 Close Aftermath of Russian missile strike on Ukraine mail depot that killed six

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Ukrainian Armed Forces have said they successfully hit a strategic object of the air defence system in Crimeas west.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said its air defence systems destroyed eight Storm Shadow cruise missiles over Crimea in a fresh assault on the territory which Kyiv claims is a strategic target in its counteroffensive push. Russian military bloggers speculated the US-provided Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) or longe-range guided missiles were behind the attack.

Several Russian sources said that the latest attack was carried out using combined long-range assault weapons like ATACMS, Storm Shadow missiles and sea drones between Sunday and yesterday.

If confirmed, this would be the first time Ukraine has used the top-tier missile system provided by the US to hit targets on the Crimean coast.

This comes as Russia significantly bulks up its forces around the devastated city of Bakhmut in the east and has switched its troops from a defensive posture to taking active actions, a Ukrainian military commander said.

Russia captured Bakhmut, the scene of some of the most intense fighting of the 20-month war, in May. Ukraine has been on the counteroffensive since June to try to retake occupied land in the south and east, including the town.
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A 16-year-old boy has died after his scooter collided with a police vehicle near Paris.

The teenager was taken to Beaujon Hospital in Clichy and was in a serious condition after the accident on Wednesday evening at Elancourt in Yvelines, local media reported. The boy, however, passed away in the evening.

The teenager was not named by local media.

Government spokesman Olivier Veran called for calm, saying investigations were under way to determine the exact circumstances of Wednesdays collision.

Obviously I am calling for calm.... I am calling for restraint and careful consideration, he said on France Inter radio.

Regardless of how dramatic a situation is, it needs answers that we do not yet have.

At the time of the accident, another police car was trailing the teenager, authorities said. The scooter collided with the left side of one of the police vehicles.

The Versailles prosecutors office confirmed that both police officers operating the vehicles involved were arrested on Wednesday evening.

My colleagues shot in the area, they saw him a second time, at that time he fled again. A little further he hit a second police vehicle on an intersection, senior police official Tony Vallee was quoted as saying by BFMTV.

Two separate investigations have been initiated, with law enforcement authorities saying the tragedy stemmed from the boys refusal to comply.

An inquiry was initially launched for involuntary injury, but has been reclassified as a case of manslaughter, local media said.

Additionally, a second investigation has been initiated for refusal to comply and assigned to the Yvelines departmental security.

Several policemen were dispatched to Elancourt later during the day as a precautionary measure in case of potential incidents or disturbances.

In late June, the death of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk during a traffic stop in a Paris suburb ignited five days of riots and looting in the area.

The shooting had occurred after the 17-year-old was gunned down in his car for failing to stop. He was then allegedly caught driving through a bus lane at rush hour.

Nahels family claimed the officer planned the attack in his head.

They took my baby, Nahels mother had said in a TikTok video.

He was still a child, he needed his mother. This morning he gave me a big kiss and told me he loved me. I told him be careful and I loved him.
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Ukraines counter-offensive breakthrough will come as a shock to Russian President Vladimir Putin, an expert has said.

Mark Galeotti, professor of Slavonic studies at UCL, said Russians had become complacent and believed their defence to be more effective than Kyivs progress would suggest.

It comes after Ukrainian generals claimed troops had breached Russias first line near Zaporizhzhia and were gathering momentum in an offensive many observers claimed had failed.

It comes after Ukrainian generals claimed troops had breached Russias first line of defence near Zaporizhzhia (REUTERS)

Professor Galeotti explained there were three aspects to Ukraines counteroffensive gains that would particularly concern the Russian leadership.

One is on the battlefield, he told The Independent. It demonstrates their slow, methodical bite and hold strategy is in fact working and has the chance to hammer the second line of Russian defences.

The second is political, he continued. It is also a response to critics in the West who suggested it is time for Ukraine to negotiate because it wasnt going to make any move.

And thirdly, in terms of the Russians. I think they had started to get a little bit complacent as autumnal rains got closer. I think they thought they had pulled the defence off.

It will come as a shock, but we have seen on the whole the Russians are quite effective in the defence. So I think theyll be doing what they can to shore up that second line.

Brig Gen Oleksandr Tarnavisky, who leads Ukraines southern offensive, claimed Russian troops had devoted 60 per cent of their time to its first defence, and only 20 per cent each into its second and third.

He claimed Russia would soon run out of its best soldiers, giving Ukraine an advantage to attack more and faster.

However, Chatham House consulting fellow Keir Giles, who researches Russian security, said there was no sign of imminent collapse among Russian forces despite Kyivs latest breakthrough.

Ukraines defence spokesman claimed some of the drones exploded on Romanian territory (Oleg Nikolenko )

He told The Independent: There are optimistic noises from Ukraine about whether the offensive might progress a little faster now because they have broken through the first and strongest Russian defensive line.

But that of course does not mean that things are going to collapse imminently on the Russian side, as some have suggested.

The resilience of Russia and its forces remains imponderable. There is no sign of imminent collapse of the Russian economy or society.

Mr Giles added there were signs Russia feels it is in a position to drag the conflict out and wait for the Western coalition to collapse.

Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said their forces had retaken about 1.16 square miles of land in the past week around the eastern city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian troops in May after months of heavy fighting.

Moscow has continued to carry out drone attacks on Ukrainian targets including port infrastructure. Last night, 32 Russian kamikaze drones struck the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, damaging civilian and industrial buildings.

Vladimir Putins war has raged for more than 18 months now (Copyright 2023 Sputnik)

At least 23 of the Iranian-made Shahed drones were shot down by the Ukrainian military, the countrys Air Force said.

Soon after, Ukraines defence spokesman claimed some of the drones exploded on Romanian territory.

Romanias Ministry of Defence said it firmly denied the claim but reiterated its support for Ukraine and said Russian attacks on the country break all international humanitarian rules.

General Tarnavisky told the Guardian: When we started the counter-offensive we spent more time than we expected on de-mining the territories.

Unfortunately, the evacuation of the wounded was difficult for us. And this also complicated our advance.

In my opinion, the Russians believed the Ukrainians would not get through this line of defence. They had been preparing for over one year. They did everything to make sure that this area was prepared well.

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On Sunday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had decided to dismiss Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov from his post and would ask parliament this week to replace him with Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraines main privatisation fund.

The announcement, made in his nightly video address to the nation, sets the stage for the biggest shakeup of Ukraines defence establishment during the war launched by Russia in February 2022.
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Ukraines offensive against Russian forces is making slow progress, and there may not be a major breakthrough of Russian lines in the next two months as had previously been envisaged, according to Western officials.

However, focusing on such tactical issues is counterproductive and there is a need to look at the bigger picture, the officials said, adding that this shows that Vladimir Putin is losing the war, as Ukraine has retaken a sizeable amount of territory overall since Russias invasion began.

Natos secretary general Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that Ukraine is making progress in its efforts to regain territory that began in June, contradicting Mr Putins claims this week that the counteroffensive has failed, not stalled.

The Ukrainians are gradually gaining ground... They have been able to breach the defensive lines of the Russian forces, and they are moving forward, Mr Stoltenberg said in an update to MEPs at the European Parliament on Thursday.

The Ukrainian offensive is slower than we anticipated a couple of months ago, one Western official said. That is an acknowledgement of Russian defences. And its also an acknowledgement of how Ukraine is having to pull together a force that is a mixed fleet of both old equipment and donated equipment ... and a civilian population that has been thrown to the fore and doing some of the toughest things in land warfare, which is getting through a minefield. Mines form a layer of Russias defences.

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Russia has lost either killed or wounded over 270,000 people and [destroyed] over a couple of thousand tanks, and if you add that to armoured fighting vehicles [then it is] over 4,000 fighting vehicles, the official added.

There has been an enormous drain on Russia, and particularly its army and its combat effectiveness, the official said. And then in the broadest base, youre seeing Russia under economic pressure and under diplomatic pressure.

Armour supplied by the West, including German Leopard tanks, has been damaged or destroyed in the prolonged battles continuing in the east and south across the last three months. The first of 14 Challenger II tanks provided by Britain was put out of action near Zaporizhzhia this week.

According to defence sources, it was immobilised by a mine and then targeted by a Russian Lancet loitering drone. There are no plans, sources say, to replace it at present from within the 145 Challenger IIs currently available for deployment.

The Western officials said that arms supplies to Kyiv will continue, and denied that war fatigue will begin to spread unless Volodymyr Zelenskys government can show significant success in the near future. That is something that has been suggested by a number of European politicians.

It has also been argued that the Kremlin is banking on American support for Ukraine starting to fray as the US presidential campaign gets under way next year. The possibility of Donald Trump  who was accused of being the Muscovian candidate when he was previously in the White House  winning the election greatly adds to this concern.

Russia thinks time is on its side; we think time is on our side, another official said. It has been put that if youre Putin, youre gambling that Donald Trump wins the next [US] election. But that is quite a long way away.
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Ukraine will be armed with depleted uranium anti-tank rounds that can aid its troops in piercing Russian tanks, said the Pentagon.

The controversial 120mm anti-tanks shells will be used to boost the performance of 31 M1A1 Abram tanks the US will give Ukraine in the fall.

The US is looking to aid Kyiv in dismantling Russian lines in eastern, northeastern and southern regions amid a simmering counteroffensive by the Ukrainians.

The rounds, developed by the US during the Cold War, have previously destroyed Soviet tanks, including the decades old T-72 tanks dispatched by Moscow in the continuing war.

The 46th drawdown of military equipment from the Department of Defence includes additional air defence equipment, artillery rounds and anti-tank weapons, and was announced shortly after Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Ukrainian counterpart and foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday.

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We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long term to make sure that it has a strong deterrent, strong defence capacity so that, in the future, aggressions like this dont happen again, Mr Blinken said in a statement before the two leaders met.

The UK had also announced in March that it would give depleted uranium rounds to Ukraine, leaving Russia fuming and falsely claiming they had provided nuclear components.

On Thursday, Russia snapped at Washington and called the latest military aid of depleted uranium a criminal act beyond just escalation.

It is a reflection of Washingtons outrageous disregard for the environmental consequences of using this kind of ammunition in a combat zone. This is, in fact, a criminal act, I cannot give any other assessment, said Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov.

He also reiterated previous warnings by Russia about the risk of a nuclear war, because of what he called Western pressure on Moscow.

Now this pressure is dangerously balancing on the brink of direct armed conflict between nuclear powers, he said.

Russia has deployed hypersonic missiles to thermobaric weapons on civilian targets in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine which has continued for more than 20 months now.

Officials in Moscow have never taken responsibility for explaining using ballistic Kinzhal missiles, a barrage of which was fired on Ukraine in March this year.

The missile has a range of up to 2,000km (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept.

In April this year, the British defence ministry said Russia is likely handing over thermobaric multiple launch rocket systems to its elite airborne forces, suggesting its use in the continuing war.

Thermobaric weapons, fired using the multiple launch rocket systems, are considered to be some of the most brutal war weapons in existence.

The highly destructive TOS-1A, which Russia designates as a heavy flamethrower, is typically operated by Russias specialist Chemical, Biological and Radiological Protection Troops in Ukraine, and has not previously been formally associated with the VDV, the ministry had said.

Russia had admitted to using the flamethrower weapon in March last year. Also known as vacuum bombs, they suck in oxygen and generate a powerful explosion that can have a devastating impact on victims  especially in an enclosed space.

In another attack, Russia used cluster bombs which killed a child and two adults hiding in a pre-school in northeastern Ukraine.

While the depleted uranium rounds retain some radioactive properties, they cant generate a nuclear reaction like a nuclear weapon would, RAND nuclear expert and policy researcher Edward Geist said.

The Pentagon has defended the use of the munitions.

The US military has procured, stored, and used depleted uranium rounds for several decades, since these are a longstanding element of some conventional munitions, Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Lt Col Garron Garn said in a statement in March.
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The depleted uranium anti-tank rounds soon to be in Ukraines military stockpiles have kicked up a debate over its use in the continuing Russian invasion.

Announced by the Pentagon in the latest military tranche on Wednesday, the controversial rounds have spread alarm among Vladimir Putins ministers who have warned against the escalation yet again.

Britain has already promised armour-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium to Ukraine in March. Prime minister Rishi Sunak had backed drawing out the rounds from the UK militarys stockpiles ultimately to degrade and deter  primarily  Russian aggression.

But what are these depleted uranium munitions?

The 120mm anti-tank shells made of depleted uranium are self-sharpening and flammable penetrator in munitions. They are made of naturally occurring Uranium which has been stripped of mostly  not all  of its radioactive matter.

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So while it is not a nuclear weapon in itself, it acts as a fuel and also as a great explosive that can be used in tank armour, pressed between sheets of steel armour plate.

They can be paired with top-tier tanks Western nations have already provided to Ukraine, and are particularly expected to boost the performance of 31 M1A1 Abram tanks set to be sent to the war-hit nation this fall.

These rounds first emerged in the 1970s when the US army started making the armour-piercing rounds and has since used it along with tank armour to multiply the firing effect.

Incredibly dense, more than lead, depleted uranium is considered a top-tier choice for projectiles.

When fired, it becomes essentially an exotic metal dart fired at an extraordinarily high speed, RAND senior defence analyst Scott Boston said.

Its so dense and its got so much momentum that it just keeps going through the armour  and it heats it up so much that it catches on fire, Edward Geist, a nuclear expert at research organisation RAND said.

The depleted uranium has also been added to the US ammunition fired by the Air Forces A-10 close air support attack plane, known as the tank killer.

Depleted uranium munitions, as well as depleted uranium-enhanced armour, have been previously used by US tanks in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraqs T-72 tanks and again in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, as well as in Serbia and in Kosovo.

Is the risk alarming?

The UN nuclear watchdog has warned of the emissions of low levels of radiation from depleted uranium when handling and also warned of possible dangers of explosion. This is a bug, not a feature of the munition, says Mr Geist.

Categorically, depleted uranium is not marked as a nuclear weapon.

It is mainly a toxic chemical, as opposed to a radiation hazard. Particles in aerosols can be inhaled or ingested, and while most would be excreted again, some can enter the bloodstream and cause kidney damage.

High concentrations in the kidney can cause damage and, in extreme cases, renal failure, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said.

The US troops have questioned whether some of the ailments they now face were caused by inhaling or being exposed to fragments after a munition was fired or their tanks were struck, damaging uranium-enhanced armour.

Experts have said that if the US military could find another material with the same density but without the radioactivity, it would likely switch.

The IAEA has warned that handling of depleted uranium should be kept to a minimum and protective apparel (gloves) should be worn and a public information campaign may, therefore, be required to ensure that people avoid handling the projectiles.

Initial signs of radioactivity from the Ukraine war have started trickling in. Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova had recently claimed that the use of these munitions has already led to radioactive contamination.

How has Russia reacted?

In March, Russia was fuming after the Rishi Sunak administration announced it will give depleted uranium rounds to Ukraine, prompting them to issue nuclear threats.

This time, after the US joined Britain in sending the depleted uranium shells, Moscow snapped and called the latest military aid of depleted uranium a criminal act beyond just escalation.

It is a reflection of Washingtons outrageous disregard for the environmental consequences of using this kind of ammunition in a combat zone. This is, in fact, a criminal act, I cannot give any other assessment, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

He also reiterated previous warnings by Russia about the risk of a nuclear war, because of what he called Western pressure on Moscow.

Now this pressure is dangerously balancing on the brink of direct armed conflict between nuclear powers, he said.

In March, Vladimir Putin had warned that Moscow would "respond accordingly, given that the collective West is starting to use weapons with a nuclear component.

Several days later, Putin said Russias response will see Moscow stationing tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, action to which effect was announced in July as Putin and the Belarusian president said they had already shipped some of the weapons.
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SpaceX will not be cleared to launch its 400-foot-tall (121 metre) Starship rocket until a mishap investigation is completed, regulators have said.

A statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned of a launch delay for the biggest rocket ever built, just hours after SpaceX boss Elon Musk said the craft was ready to launch on Wednesday.

SpaceX made its first and only attempt at an orbital Starship launch in April, with the rocket exploding over the Gulf of Mexico just three minutes into the 90 minute flight.

The crewless rocket broke up into pieces over an empty stretch of water, however the debris blast created by Starships huge engines at its launchpad drew heavy scrutiny from regulators.

Concrete dust drifted more than 10 kilometres from the launch site, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, while concrete chunks and metal shards were discovered within a 700-acre zone surrounding the pad.

SpaceX claimed the mission was a success, as Starship and its Super Heavy booster were able to lift off on its maiden test flight, however the FAA launched an investigation soon afterwards.

View more

Following Mr Musks latest comments that the latest version of the rocket is ready to launch pending regulatory approval, the FAA warned SpaceX that it would need to wait for the investigation to conclude.

The SpaceX Starship mishap investigation remains open, the FAA said in a statement.

The FAA will not authorise another Starship launch until SpaceX implements the corrective actions identified during the mishap investigation and demonstrates compliance with all the regulatory requirements of the licence modification process.

SpaceX has made numerous alterations and improvements to Starship and its launch pad, including remedial measures aimed at preventing launch debris and a new method for separating the upper stage from its booster rocket.

Nasa has already awarded SpaceX a multi-billion dollar contract to develop Starship for its Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the surface of the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years.

Mr Musk also plans to use the rockets for more ambitious longer term goals, including establishing a permanent human colony on Mars before 2050.

As the most powerful launch system ever developed, Starship will be able to carry up to 100 people on long-duration, interplanetary flights, SpaceX notes on its website.

Starship will also help enable transport of many satellites, large space telescopes, and significant amounts of cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani media have reported the release of the three Nagorno-Karabakh students who were kidnapped by Azeri border guards while traveling to Armenia through Lachin Corridor in late August.

The three men were kidnapped and subsequently jailed on August 28. Azeri authorities had announced that the men would be jailed for 10 days for allegedly dishonoring the Azeri flag.

The kidnapping was condemned by the Armenian Foreign Ministry as a gross violation by Azerbaijan of the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, legally binding Orders of the UN International Court of Justice and open contempt for the unequivocal and targeted calls of the international community, including voiced by members of the UN Security Council.
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Synthetic viruses could be generated through the misuse of artificial intelligence and potentially spark pandemics, a former Google executive and AI expert has warned.

Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman expressed concern that the use of AI to engineer pathogens to cause more harm may lead to a scenario like a pandemic.

The darkest scenario is that people will experiment with pathogens, engineered synthetic pathogens that might end up accidentally or intentionally being more transmissible or more lethal, he said in a recent episode of a podcast.

Similar to how there are restrictions in place to prevent people from easily accessing pathogenic microbes like anthrax, Mr Suleyman has called for the means to restrict access to advanced AI technology and software that runs such models.

Thats where we need containment. We have to limit access to the tools and the know-how to carry out that kind of experimentation, he said in The Diary of a CEO podcast.

We cant let just anyone have access to them. We need to limit who can use the AI software, the cloud systems, and even some of the biological material, the Google DeepMind co-founder said.

And of course on the biology side it means restricting access to some of the substances, he said, adding that AI development needs to be approached with a precautionary principle.

Mr Suleymans statements echo concerns raised in a recent study that even undergraduates with no relevant background in biology can detail suggestions for bio-weapons from AI systems.

Researchers, including those from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, found chatbots can suggest four potential pandemic pathogens within an hour and explain how they can be generated from synthetic DNA.

The research found chatbots also supplied the names of DNA synthesis companies unlikely to screen orders, identified detailed protocols and how to troubleshoot them, and recommended that anyone lacking the skills to perform reverse genetics engage a core facility or contract research organization.

Such large language models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, will make pandemic-class agents widely accessible as soon as they are credibly identified, even to people with little or no laboratory training, the study said.

The study, whose authors included MIT bio risk expert Kevin Esvelt, called for non-proliferation measures.

Such measures could include pre-release evaluations of LLMs by third parties, curating training datasets to remove harmful concepts, and verifiably screening all DNA generated by synthesis providers or used by contract research organizations and robotic cloud laboratories to engineer organisms or viruses.
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Blancpain X Swatch: could this be the innovative collaboration they say it is?

The Swatch collaborations are back after a viral launch of the Omega MoonSwatch back in March last year.

Marking the 70th anniversary of the Fifty Fathoms collection, luxury watchmaker Blancpain says collaborating with Swatch will create a playful and unexpected version of its so-called iconic scuba diving watch.

The watch was built for French combat divers who required reliable watches that function underwater.

Now, the two well-known watch brands are teaming up for a non-limited collection which will feature five models full of joie de vivre,  which loosely translates to enjoyment of life.

A press release by Blancpain noted the brands are diving into the five oceans of the blue planet, combining the best of both brands with innovative, bioceramic, water-resistant timepieces and a mechanical movement with a 90-hour power reserve.

But does this collaboration really meet the hype?

With the brands finely crafted advertisements in newspapers across the United States, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and LA Times  teasing consumers for what is to come, could this be what watch lovers hoped for?

Here is everything you need to know about the Blancpain X Swatch collection collaboration

When will the Blancpain X Swatch collection launch?

Watch lovers, have no fear as the Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms drops worldwide on 9 September, according to an Instagram post by Swatch on 4 September.

Since its announcement, Swatch and Blancpain have released several teasers  getting fans excited for what is yet to come.

The collection faithfully reproduces all the Fifty Fathoms hallmarks, such as superior water resistance, outstanding legibility, mechanical movement secured rotating bezel, and anti-magnetic protection, Swatch said in one of its Instagram posts and people loved it.

One user commented under the post Shut up and take my money, while another said: Much better than Swatch-Omega collab!!!.

What will the collection look like?

Blancpain X Swatch will be launching five models with a unique and patented blend of two-thirds ceramic and one-third biomaterials derived from castor oil.

Each model is named after the worlds five oceans while featuring different bright colours with the words Blancpain Fifty Fathoms X Swatch inscribed inside.

The colours are the Atlantic Ocean in blue, the Arctic Ocean in red, the Pacific Ocean in yellow, the Indian Ocean in green, and the Antarctic Ocean in white.

For Blancpain President and CEO Marc A. Hayek, this collaboration is highly symbolic: "Without Swatch, the Swiss watch industry would simply not have survived and enjoyed such a wonderful destiny.

This collection is a source of pride for me. We owed it to ourselves to work with this brand that is as much a pioneer as we are  a reality vividly proven with this collection. Swatch has brilliantly reinterpreted our iconic model, in its own way, with its own vision, Hayek adds.

As a keen diver myself, I really appreciate the attention to detail in this collection and the many references to the Fifty Fathoms. The fact that it is water-resistant to a depth of 91 metres  corresponding to exactly 50 fathoms, a nautical unit of depth  is a fantastic nod."

I want to know more about the models and price points

Watch fanatics, weve got you covered with all you need to know about each model, style and price point, according to the Swatch website.

First up we have the Arctic Ocean:

(Blancpain x Swatch)

Price: 340

Case Material: Beige Bioceramic case including crown

Case diameter: 42.4mm

Case thickness: 14.4m

Lug to lug distance: 48.0 mm

Movement: SISTEM51 mechanical movement

Water resistance: 50 fathoms (91/300ft/9 bar)

Glass: Biosourced material with anti-scratch coating

Hand, hour markers, 60 minutes diving scale: Grade A Super-LumiNova

Bezel: One-direction rotating bezel in beige Bioceramic material with anti-scratch coating insert in orange

Strap: NATO strap made from recycled fishing nets removed from the sea

Pacific Ocean

(Blancpain x Swatch)

Price: 340

Case Material: Yellow-orange Bioceramic case including crown

Case diameter: 42.3 mm

Case thickness: 14.4 mm

Lug-to-lug distance: 48.0 mm

Movement: SISTEM51 mechanical movement

Water resistance: 50 fathoms (91 m / 300 ft / 9 bar)

Glass: Biosourced material treated with an anti-scratch coating

Hands, hour markers, 60 minutes diving scale: Grade A Super-LumiNova

Bezel: one-direction rotating bezel in warm yellow Bioceramic material with anti-scratch coating insert in black

Strap: NATO strap made from recycled fishing nets removed from the sea

Atlantic Ocean

(Blancpain x Swatch)

Price: 340

Case Material: blue Bioceramic case including crown

Case diameter: 42.3 mm

Case thickness: 14.4 mm

Lug-to-lug distance: 48.0 mm

Movement: SISTEM51 mechanical movement

Water resistance: 50 fathoms (91 m / 300 ft / 9 bar)

Glass: Biosourced material treated with an anti-scratch coating

Hands, hour markers, 60 minutes diving scale: Grade A Super-LumiNova

Bezel: one-direction rotating bezel in ocean blue Bioceramic material with anti-scratch coating insert in black

Strap: NATO strap made from recycled fishing nets removed from the sea

Indian Ocean

(Blancpain x Swatch)

Price: 340

Case Material: green Bioceramic case including crown

Case diameter: 42.3 mm

Case thickness: 14.4 mm

Lug-to-lug distance: 48.0 mm

Movement: SISTEM51 mechanical movement

Water resistance: 50 fathoms (91 m / 300 ft / 9 bar)

Glass: Biosourced material treated with an anti-scratch coating

Hands, hour markers, 60 minutes diving scale: Grade A Super-LumiNova

Bezel: one-direction rotating bezel in green Bioceramic material with anti-scratch coating insert in black

Strap: NATO strap made from recycled fishing nets removed from the sea

Antarctic Ocean

(Blancpain x Swatch)

Price: 340

Case Material: ice white Bioceramic case including crown

Case diameter: 42.3 mm

Case thickness: 14.4 mm

Lug-to-lug distance: 48.0 mm

Movement: SISTEM51 mechanical movement

Water resistance: 50 fathoms (91 m / 300 ft /9 bar)

Glass: Biosourced material treated with an anti-scratch coating

Hands, hour markers, 60 minutes diving scale: Grade A Super-LumiNova

Bezel: one-direction rotating bezel in ice-white Bioceramic material with anti-scratch coating insert in dark grey

Strap: NATO strap made from recycled fishing nets removed from the sea

Where can I buy the Blancpain X Swatch collection?

The non-limited collections mean the collaboration is set for continuous rollout, so the good news is  you wont have to rush to the nearest Swatch store to grab yours as soon as possible.

With the worldwide launch taking off on 9 September, you can purchase your selected watch in the nearest Swatch store.

What is bioceramic made of?

Swatch first began converting its collections to use a new bio-sourced plastic derived from castor oil in 2020.

This new plastic is also combined with ceramic to create bioceramic.

Noted by Swatch as a recipe for innovation, now, similar to the MoonSwatch, this years collab is housed in Swatchs hybrid plastic-ceramic material.

But what makes this watch slightly more pricy is the inside, built-in with an automatic movement in place of quartz. Despite the fancy upgrade, the Bioceramic Scuba Fifty Fathoms gives buyers the chance to wear the branded name on their wrists for hundreds of pounds.
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The first photo of Elon Musk and Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis with their baby twins has emerged.

Author Walter Isaacson posted the picture on X, formerly known as Twitter, which showed Mr Musk and Ms Zilis with their twins  who were 16 months old at the time  sitting on their laps.

Mr Musk fathered a set of twins with Ms Zilis, his director of operations and special projects at Neuralink, in 2021, Insider reported. The mother of two was also previously a board member at OpenAI, also owned by Mr Musk.

The children were born weeks before the billionaire welcomed his second child via surrogate with his on-again, off-again partner, the musician Grimes.

Ms Zilis reportedly told her colleagues at Neuralink that they had conceived the children via in vitro fertilization (IVF) and did not have a romantic relationship, according to Reuters.

Mr Isaacson, who is writing a biography on the Tesla CEO, said the photo was taken during a visit to Ms Zilis house in Austin, Texas where Mr Musk walked him and Ms Zilis through his concerns about AI.

This past March, Musk texted me, There are a few important things I would like to talk to you about. Can only be done in person, Mr Isaacson wrote in an excerpt from his biography posted in TIME Magazine.

He said we should leave our phones in the house while we sat outside, because, he said, someone could use them to monitor our conversation. But he later agreed that I could use what he said about AI in my book.

Mr Isaacson said Mr Musk told him of his concerns that AIs rapid development was on a collision course with a leveling off in human intelligence that Mr Musk attributed to lower human birth rates.

For a moment I was struck by the oddness of the scene, Mr Isaacson wrote.

We were sitting on a suburban patio by a tranquil backyard swimming pool on a sunny spring day, with two bright-eyed twins learning to toddle, as Musk somberly speculated about the window of opportunity for building a sustainable human colony on Mars before an AI apocalypse destroyed earthly civilization.

Mr Isaacson said the conversation was the beginning of Mr Musks latest company x.AI.

The billionaire has said the goal of the company is to find the true nature of the universe.

Mr Musk is a father to nine children with three different women.
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A wind turbine in China has set a new world record for the most amount of electricity generated in a single day, after operating during typhoon conditions.

The Goldwind GWH252-16MW turbine, which was installed at an offshore wind farm in Fujian Province in June, produced 384.1 megawatt hours in a single day  enough to power roughly 170,000 homes.

The record was achieved on 1 September, according to state-owned power company China Three Gorges (CTG), surpassing the previous record set by Danish company Vestas in August.

The turbines rotor has a diameter of 252 metres  more than double the diameter of the London Eye  and at full speed each blade can reach up to 70 per cent of the speed of sound.

The record-breaking wind turbine features an innovative design that allows it to adjust its blades in real time when winds reach high speeds. This allowed it to continue operating during Typhoon Haikui last week, during which conventional turbines were forced to shut down.

We are closely monitoring critical components like the main control programme, pitch system and generators to gradually lift power restrictions while ensuring operational safety, a spokesperson for Goldwind told the South China Morning Post.

Figures from the Chinese Wind Energy Association show that China installed more than 11,000 wind turbines last year, 90 per cent of which were at onshore wind farms.

Separate figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA) suggest that China added nearly three times as much wind capacity in 2022 compared to the European Union, and accounts for more than a third of all of the worlds installed wind capacity.

View more

Projections from the agency indicate that electricity from wind and solar will double over the next five years, providing almost 20 per cent of global power generation by 2027.

China is forecast to install almost half of new global renewable power capacity over 2022-27, as growth accelerates in the next fice years, a recent IEA report noted.

Very ambitious new renewable energy targets, market reforms and strong provincial government support provide long-term revenue certainty for renewables. In most Chinese provinces, utility-scale renewables are cheaper than regulated coal electricity prices, driving rapid adoption. In the main forecast, China is expected to reach its 2030 target of [renewable] capacity five years in advance.
Ben Shephard accused Conservative MP Michelle Donelan of trying to score political points as the manhunt for suspected terrorist Daniel Abed Khalife continues.

Science and Technology Minister Michelle Donelan told Good Morning Britain viewers that under the Conservative government, the figures of escaped prisoners is considerably less than when Labour was in power.

She was later interrupted by Shephard, who said: Right now I dont think anyone is going to be concerned whether Labour were able to keep more people in prison or the Conservatives. What people will be concerned about is that a suspected terrorist was able to escape.
A distressed driver who was stopped by police for speeding was given a hug by a deputy after explaining that he was going through some personal challenges,

Can I have a hug? I need a hug, the driver says, through tears, before getting out of the car and embracing the officer.

The exchange happened in Edgerton, Kansas.

A motorist was stopped recently for speeding, and he explained to the deputy that he was going through some personal challenges, Johnson County Sheriffs Office wrote.

After addressing the reason for the stop, Dep. Bussell offered words of encouragement to make sure the driver made it to his final destination.
This is the moment Ryanair boss Michael OLeary is splattered in the face with cream pies by an eco-activist as he prepared to speak to media in Brussels.

OLeary, 62, was in Belgium to speak at a press conference on Thursday and deliver a petition to protect overflights in Europe.

He was delivering an interview, alongside a cardboard cutout of European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, when a black-clad woman ran up and smashed the pie into his face.

The ordeal didnt appear to trouble OLeary too much. Speaking to media after the incident, he joked: I have never had such a warm welcome.
This is the incredible moment police rescue a toddler and woman from the roof of their home following devastating floods in Brazil.

The dramatic footage shows a police officer being lowered onto the roof of a house by a helicopter in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul on Tuesday, after the Taquari River overflowed.

Policia Rodoviaria Federal shared footage of the rescue and said: Our police officers rescued a toddler and a woman, who were on the roofs of their house waiting for help.

The police used PRFs Bell 407 model helicopter.
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What with the cost of living crisis, an all-out war in Europe, and schools seemingly dissolving in the rain, theres not much left of what Fleet Street used to call the silly season. But Donald Trumps public invitation to Meghan Markle to debate with him the question of whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been disrespectful to the Queen is certainly well, bizarre, even by his own often outlandish standards.

Its not, sadly, going to happen, but you have to admit it is an enticing prospect. There are no two figures on the global stage in style, substance and symbolic power than the 45th president and the former Suits star, and the clash of ideas that would erupt on the stage would be a spectacle to enthral the world.

At a time when so little seems to bind humanity together, the world would at least be as one as the Markle-Trump confrontation commanded a record-breaking audience. From Yucatan to Pyongyang, from Borneo to Malmo, it would be as if John Lennons Imagine had at last come true. Billions would willingly pay, queue or sell a kidney to see the pair tear chunks out of each other.

We already know what Trump, rather arrogantly, thinks he knows. December 2021, he said that Meghan had been disrespectful to the royal family and insisted that her husband had been used horribly. He previously said he was not a fan of Meghans and wished Harry a lot of luck in another attack on the couple.

The couple chose not to respond, but theyve made their own case in the famous interview with Oprah, the Netflix docs and the princes borderline paranoid but entertaining memoir Spare. So theres a lot of material to talk over during a more-heat-than-light TV debate.

It would be the greatest show in earth. The body language. Their respective dress. The zingers. The reaction shots of Harry and Melania. The audience groupies chanting lock him up. For an hour, planet earth would stand still. No wonder Trump fancies the idea. So do we all.

Of course, the main drawback with Trumps chosen subject for discussion is that only one person could ever know whether the Queen was disrespected, and she is very sadly no longer with us. We can all speculate about what she made of the Sussexes in her last years, but the fact that Trump chatted to her majesty during a banquet on subjects far removed from her familys private lives doesnt really qualify him to pass judgment.

He simply isnt in possession of all the facts, though thats never stopped him before. The Duchess, and Harry even more, have more claim to know her late majesty, but, such was her habit and the nature of the role she played, only she ever knew what she was really thinking.

Maybe, if one day her papers are published, we may learn a little more. The official biography, when it arrives, may offer a few hints. Bit for the foreseeable future, no one is able to definitively refute Trumps allegations, which suits Trump down to the ground.

A better subject for debate might be the meaning of woke, and whether its a good thing. In any other hands it would be wearily predictable, but Meghan v Trump would illuminate the cultural Grand Canyon that disfigures so much of the political and cultural life of the most powerful nation on the planet. It wouldnt settle anything, but it might just make Americans, and the rest of us who find ourselves unwillingly caught in the culture wars crossfire, to think a little more about whats at stake for all concerned.

Whats wrong with woke, if all it means is an awareness of social and racial injustice? How can cherished traditional values thrive in a woke world? Can we start to agree on what society stands for, and agree to respect democracy and rule of law?

Churchill had an old saying, jaw jaw is better than war war. We can only ever achieve reconciliation via reason, argument and indeed debate. Maybe Trump-Markle isnt so a mad idea after all.
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and President Joe Biden have Washingtons most simultaneously torrid relationships. The last time Mr Biden worked in the White House as Vice President, Mr McConnell, then Senate Majority Leader, blocked Merrick Garland from even having a confirmation hearing for an open Supreme Court seat.

At the same time, the two men, only nine months apart, have worked together to avoid government shutdowns and passed a flurry of legislation last Congress on guns, infrastructure and manufacturing semiconductors.

More than anything, the underlying rationale for their success has been that nobody else could do what they could do: Mr Biden won the Democratic nomination because primary voters, particularly African Americans, believed only he could defeat Donald Trump. And despite conservative gripes about him, even Mr McConnells biggest critics conceded that only he could have secure three conservative Supreme Court justices confirmation, which led to the end of Roe v Wade.

But now, both men find themselves facing the same questions from both the public and their parties: whether they are too old and whether they can do the job anymore.

On Thursday, CNN released a poll showing Mr Biden within the margins of error against Mr Trump and Florida Gov Ron DeSantis as he holds a dismal 39 per cent approval rating. Morever, when pollsters asked Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents what their main concern was, respondents didnt mince words: 49 per cent said he was too old or they wanted someone younger while 7 per cent said His mental competence/Sharpness/Senility.

Mr Biden entered the US Senate as the youngest legislator in recent history in 1972, but now at 80 years old, he is the oldest man to ever occupy the White House. Save for four years after Mr Trumps victory, Mr Biden has spent almost his entire adult life in the public eye. In the Obama administration, his boss Barack Obama dispatched him to Capitol Hill to deal with Republicans - such as Mr McConnell - given his 36 years as a Senator.

But now, that experience is the main reason voters are mostly dissatisfied with him. Indeed, once he won the Democratic nomination, many voters who would have preferred someone more progressive or younger set aside their concerns seeing Mr Bidens candidacy as a one-time thing meant to thwart Mr Trump, whom they saw as an existential threat to democracy.

Now, many are none too pleased about the idea of casting their ballot for him. While the poll is for an election more than a year away and much could change, it does symbolize dissatisfaction and shows some would want a fresh face.

Conversely, Mr McConnell has begun to face questions about his age and health. They first began earlier this year when he fell and suffered a concussion at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Washington (which coincidentally, used to be the Trump International Hotel).

Then, in July, during his weekly press conference, he froze up and was unable to answer questions. Then, once again, last month in Kentucky during the August recess, he again was unable to speak. Mr McConnells sudden freeze made people begin to wonder whether Mr McConnell, who has led the Senate GOP since 2007 and is the longest-serving Senate party leader in history, can actually continue to do the job as effectively as he has in the past.

But incidentally, the anxieties about both mens age comes just at a moment when their experience might be what Washington needs. The government is just weeks away from running out of money and House Republicans are hoping to extract cuts that even Senate Republicans will likely find unsavory.

Under typical circumstances, Mr Biden and Mr McConnell would be able to negotiate a deal to avoid a shutdown. But if Mr McConnell should find himself indisposed, the president could lose his chief Republican negotiating partner. Meanwhile any potential successor to Mr McConnell would likely be more beholden to right-wing forces that Mr McConnell has hoped to quell.

Similarly, should Mr Trump be the nominee but Mr Biden ultimately not be able to run, Democrats do not have a clear designated replacement for him, given Vice President Kamala Harriss low approval ratings. Many would-run candidates have said they would not challenge the incumbent president, so it seems apparent the country is heading for another Trump versus Biden match-up.

Americans anxiety about a lack of new blood might soon devolve into hand-wringing about a need for institutional experience.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. At this moment Armenia is not discussing withdrawing from the CSTO, MP Sargis Khandanyan representing the ruling Civil Contract party said Thursday when asked whether or not the Armenian authorities consider quitting the military bloc.

It seems like its the CSTO itself that has washed its hands of Armenia and is withdrawing. The technical aspects and processes are a matter of additional discussions. A complex discussion should take place on the right time, moment and consequences, Khandanyan, the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee of Foreign Relations, told reporters.

Khandanyan said Armenia is open to cooperate with other partners in security and defense.

Asked on a possible prospect of replacing the CSTO with another system, the MP said, How can the CSTO be replaced if the CSTO is displaying inaction towards Armenia? We dont want to cooperate with the kind of a mechanism that would again display inaction.
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The UK is set to experience a few more days of heatwave as the country recorded its hottest day of the year so far on Thursday with provisional data showing a high of 32.6C in Surrey.

It was the fourth consecutive day above 30C, a record for September, as many areas swelter in a late summer heatwave. But the heat is expected to last a bit longer before the weather takes a turn.

Friday is forecasted to be another very warm or hot day with plenty of sunshine, according to Met Office. Although some isolated thundery showers are possible in the west, temperatures will remain higher, with forecast highs of 27C in Manchester, 26C in Cardiff, 24C in Edinburgh and 29C in London.

But the warmth comes with a catch, with the Met Office warning of uncomfortable humid nights and thunderstorms in parts of the country.

The heat is set to climb even higher into the weekend with temperatures predicted to reach the low 30s across England and Wales.

The Met Office says it expects the hottest day of the year so far by the end of the week, with parts of England to see 33C on Saturday or sooner.

Parts of Scotland will reach 26C on Friday whereas the South of England will hit 29C (The Met Office )

The North East will see highs of 24C and the North West will reach 25C whilst Scotland will reach 22C, Northern Ireland 23C and Wales 24C.

Areas in the East Midlands are set to reach 30C whilst the West Midlands will experience highs of 29C.

Saturday could be the hottest day of this year with London hitting at least 31C (The Met Office)

Office Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: High pressure is situated to the southeast of the UK, which is bringing more settled conditions and temperatures well above average for the time of year.

While the highest temperatures are expected in the south, heatwave conditions are likely across much of England and Wales especially, with parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland also likely to see some unseasonably high temperatures.

The south will face the highest temperatures as Bristol in the South West will reach 28C and London in the South East will reach 33C.

(PA Wire)

Mr Gundersen explained why we are experiencing unusual highs for this time of year.

He said: An active tropical cyclone season in the North Atlantic has helped to amplify the pattern across the North Atlantic, pushing the jet stream well to the north of the UK, allowing some very warm air to be drawn north.

Its a marked contrast to the much of meteorological summer, when the UK was on the northern side of the jet stream with cooler air and more unsettled weather.

Conditions are expected to cool down a little by Sunday  but its expected to remain warm enough to have a BBQ instead of a roast dinner.

Temperatures are expected to ease off as Glasgow will hit 21C and Cardiff will hit 23C (The Met Office )

London will remain hot at 30C, the South West will reach 21C, Wales will hit 23C and the North West 24C. Northern Ireland and Scotland are expected to experience highs of 21C.

Theres also a chance of thunderstorms in western areas over the next couple of days and nights; this is unlikely to be very widespread, according to the Met Office.

Britons can expect uncomfortably warm nights to continue, especially in the South where residents can prepare to have to sleep through tropical conditions as temperatures remain over 20C.

The forecaster has warned that such temperatures are unusual for September and the increase is fuelled by the human-caused climate crisis.

Hot spells like this are becoming more frequent and severe, the Met Office said.

By 2070, the chance of exceeding 30C for two days or more throughout the year increases. Projections show that over southern parts of the UK exceeding 30C for two days or more becomes sixteen times more frequent than it is today.

How long will heatwave last?

While Septembers warm weather is set to continue into the weekend for much of the UK, theres a chance of some thundery rain and change in weather as soon as a cold front arrives.

A cold front will begin to influence things as it arrives from the northwest over the weekend, though itll remain very warm or hot to the southeast of this front, Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Nick Silkstone said.

Theres a chance the thunderstorm risk for some central and western areas from Friday, but more especially Saturday onwards may require a warning response, with some potentially impactful downpours, though exact details on the likely positioning of these downpours are still being determined, and indeed many places may see little if any rain on Friday and Saturday.

By the early part of next week, the Met Office predicts a return to normal temperatures with a mix of sunshine and some showers.
Ryanair's Michael O'Leary gets pied in the face

Climate activists have hit Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary with cream pies outside the European Commission's headquarters in Brussels.

The incident happened this morning as Mr O'Leary was preparing to hand in a petition to EC president Ursula von der Leyen.

He was approached by two women who hit him in the face and back of the head with cream pies before walking off.

One shouted: "Welcome to Belgium! Stop the pollution of your... planes."

Mr O'Leary responded by saying "well done" and attempting to wipe the cream off his face with a handkerchief.

Trying to keep his composure as journalists asked him about the stunt, then said: I love cream cakes, theyre my favourite!

Michael OLeary was struck with a cream pie as he stood alongside a cardboard cutout of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Photo: Oliver Hoslet/EPA

Ryanair's account on X  formerly known as Twitter  made light of the incident.

One post stated: "Instead of buying cream pies, could have bought a flight from Belgium for the same price."

Another post said: "Shame it was soy-based cream, definitely not as tasty as the real stuff."

Mr O'Leary was handing in a petition with 1.5 million signatures for European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen.

It calls for the European Union to stop preventing airlines from flying over countries - even if they are not landing in them - during local air traffic control (ATC) strikes.

This rule has caused widespread disruption to flights this year, particularly due to ATC strikes in France.
Smurfit Kappa may walk down the aisle after spurning their last approach

Merger of two packaging giants would create firm with combined revenues of $34bn

Tony Smurfit, chief executive officer of Smurfit Kappa Group. Photo: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

John Mulligan Thu 7 Sep 2023 at 19:27

Irish packaging giant Smurfit Kappa spurned its last suitor, but this time around it looks set to walk down the aisle.
The money from Brussels has to be spent by 2026

Sinn Fein MEP Chris MacManus has hit out at the delays in obtaining and spending the funds

Ireland has yet to apply for its 1bn share of the EUs pandemic recovery fund, exactly two years after the money was approved.

The application was scheduled to be made this summer. A spokesperson for the Department of Public Expenditure said a first payment request for 324m will be submitted shortly.

Sinn Fein MEP Chris MacManus has hit out at the delays, given the tight deadlines for drawing down the funds. The money must be spent by 2026.

We are now at the point where I must question whether the State actually has any intention of drawing down Irelands allocation of the recovery fund, Mr MacManus told the Irish Independent. The attitude seems to be, Its not worth it.

Well, for workers and struggling families, the State getting its act together to draw down 1bn is absolutely worth it and it is a disgrace we are now at a cliff-edge for drawing down our share.

The Government requested and was granted an extra year to build hundreds of new homes and roll out retrofitting loans that were part of its original plan, due to cost overruns and technical issues.

The schemes are under way and have been paid for, with the costs to be recouped from the EUs 750bn recovery and resilience fund.

Irelands plan for its share of the money covers 16 investment projects, including a 164m upgrade of Corks rail line, a 142m project to digitise the health system, a 27m work placement programme and a bog rewetting scheme.

I must question whether the State actually has any intention of drawing down Irelands allocation

The plan was submitted in May 2021 and approved in September that year.

According to Mr MacManus, the European Commission had a soft deadline this August for countries to draw down funds for use in 2024.

So far, 22 out of the EUs 27 members have submitted requests or received payments from the EU fund. Spain is already on its third multi-billion euro instalment.

While other countries draw down hundreds of millions in several tranches, Ireland remains at zero, Mr MacManus said.

We have already had to go and request a delay, are we going to have to make further excuses?

Irelands share of the fund is far smaller than many of its EU neighbours due to its booming economy, which was the only one in the bloc that did not enter recession in 2020.

While other countries draw down hundreds of millions in several tranches, Ireland remains at zero

It is also entitled to a separate 1bn in Brexit funding, part of which (150m) it is seeking to reallocate to its pandemic envelope to pay for energy upgrades.

A spokesperson for the Department of Public Expenditure said it is engaging with the European Commission on this transfer, which will require further amendments to Irelands 2021 recovery and resilience plan  and EU approval.

Despite vague statements from the minister about his plans to spend this extra funding, the European Commission have not officially received any signal that Ireland even intends to apply for it, Mr MacManus said.

Separately, Fianna Fail MEP Billy Kelleher has warned the Brexit money is in danger of not being spent, with a deadline for fishermen looming this month. He has asked for extra time to allow coastal communities to make the applications.
The Free State soldiers implicated in the murder of two Jews  and how the Army covered it up

There was an alarming rise in anti-Semitic assaults in Dublin in the early days of the Free State. In this extract from his new book A Lethal Legacy, Fin Dwyer tells the story of a long-forgotten murder case where a War of Independence veteran with links to Michael Collins was the chief suspect

Illustration graphic.

Fin Dwyer Thu 7 Sep 2023 at 14:10

Irelands Jewish community emerged in the late 19th century when hundreds of Jewish families fleeing persecution in the Russian Empire began to arrive. Violent anti-Semitic pogroms in 1881, 1883 and 1903, involving thousands of murders, saw Jews flee westwards in droves.
830 pedigree Jersey cows are milked in batches by 24 robots, with each taking just seven minutes to be milked and the whole process taking around four hours.

Farmer Klaus Jacobsen can milk 830 cows with one unskilled member of staff in four hours.

DeLaval has unveiled what it says is the world's largest robot batch milking farm at Lnholm Agro near Kolding, Denmark.

Batch milking utilises several robotic milking machines on a farm to milk cows twice a day by creating fixed milking sessions for batches of cows.

The routine is similar to that of a traditional parlour with cows being admitted to a collection area in front of the robots. As each cow is milked, she exits through a sorting gate making the robot free for the next.

The 830 strong pedigree Jersey herd is being milked by 24 VMS V310 robots in a batch milking system which it says will enable owner Klaus Jakobsen to grow the herd to 1400 cows in the near future.

830 pedigree Jersey cows are milked in batches by 24 robots, with each taking just seven minutes to be milked and the whole process taking around four hours.

We started milking in May this year and the cows adapted very quickly. Batch milking is the right system for our 700 hectare farm because we needed to reduce our dependence on skilled labour and have a milking method that could be scaled up easily and quickly, he says.

DeLaval launched the concept of batch milking in 2021 and there are now 150 VMS robots installed globally, with herd sizes ranging in size from 250 to 2000 cows.

The company claim batch milking requires only one unskilled staff member to milk a herd of up to 2000, which it says makes it attractive to markets where recruitment is difficult and skilled wages are high.

Farmer Klaus Jacobsen can milk 830 cows with one unskilled member of staff in four hours.

DeLavals Jonas Hallman, Executive Vice President, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) says the VMS batch setup is flexible and can easily be scaled up for a wide variety of farms, including very large ones.

"In addition, automatic milking requires little manual work, which can reduce labour dependencies and related costs.

According to the company, batch milking has provided Mr Jacobsen with a system that can be managed from anywhere in the world. Using just a mobile device he can monitor the productivity and health of every cow using data sent by the robots.

I can see milk yield, when and why it has fluctuated, monitor pregnancy using the robots progesterone testing module, and also use cameras to observe the cows being at rest and during milking, he says.

DeLaval suggests that whilst herd sizes are growing worldwide as farms consolidate, batch milking offers a solution to managing growing herds with less dependence on labour and the benefit of more data to improve productivity.

We focus on supporting our customers  the dairy farmers of the world  with their challenges, and we commit to being a true performance partner to them, Hallman concludes.
Farm leaders have taken aim at backbench TDs over confirmation by the Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue yesterday that thousands of farmers will face stricter Nitrates limits next year.

It comes as the Minister is set to meet farm organisations today over the changes which come on the back of declining water quality in recent years, with the EPA regarding agriculture as the most significant cause.

The tougher nitrates limits will restrict the number of cows dairy farmers can keep on their farms unless they can obtain more land.

The President of ICMSA accused the Government of 'selling out' family dairy farms and 'rolling over' for the EU Commission on the question of maintaining Ireland's current derogation on the Nitrates Directive.

Pat McCormack said that what he called the Government's "abject surrender" on the issue meant that Ireland's multi-billion Euro dairy sector was now in "a very dangerous place" due to failing farm prices and production restrictions.

Theres no point in being polite here; the Government's defence of our position was just downright unacceptable and amounted to an abject surrender of what was and is a vital national sector.

Even today, even after this surrender, farmers cannot check their nitrates figures online and there's no firm date for this online check facility to be put in place. The degree of real commitment shown by our Government can be gauged by the fact that they didn't even travel over to Brussels to make the case. They were happy to be told off via a video call and that's just about all they deserved. Everyone connected with this disaster  and I'm specifically including the Government's backbench TDs - should be ashamed of this whole episode and will have to own the consequences", McCormack said.

Meanwhile, the IFA has called on Taoiseach to intervene with the European Commission on the issue adding the decision would have massive ramifications for Irish farmers if it is allowed to transpire.

While he said dairy farmers would take a direct hit on income, he said, in reality, it will have knock-on repercussions for all sectors due to the massive disruption to the land market the decision will bring about.

Have no doubt about it, this is an absolute failure on behalf of both the Minister and the Department of Agriculture. As soon as they agreed to the flawed interim review process, without consulting anyone, they backed themselves into a corner that they have so far failed to get out of.

Given how serious this issue is, we need an intervention from the Taoiseach with the European Commission. This change will do very significant damage to the incomes of derogation farmers and will have knock-on consequences for all farmers in the land market, he said.

The President of Macra Elaine Houlihan called upon Minister McConologue to look for a way to extend the introduction of the new nitrates rates for 12 months.

Four months is too short of a period to either look for more land or to reduce stock.

We are all more than concerned about the quality of our water, however, we must follow the science, we havent given enough time to ascertain whether the measures that have been put in place in the last couple of years have had a positive effect or not. The cutting of the levels of Nitrogen seems to be a knee-jerk, one-size-fits-all all solution that is being imposed on us and in so doing, increasing the pressure on our food production industry.
British broadcaster Chris Evans has revealed how he risked life and limb to get Bono a bottle of brandy by approaching a US aircraft carrier by boat at 2am.

Ryan Tubridy made his first return to the airwaves with Evans yesterday since news of the RTE payments controversy broke in June.

He had shared his own boast with listeners on Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio UK before the ex-BBC broadcaster revealed he had instigated a gunboat chase for Bono in a bizarre celebrity run-in.

After explaining the Late Late Show to a British audience as the TARDIS and he was the third Doctor, Tubridy revealed U2 had gifted him a red vespa upon his departure from the programme in May.

"Well, hang on a minute Im very pleased for you but a little bit sad for my little me because Ive known Bono for forever, longer than you cause Im older than you  and Ive left places? Evans said, adding that surely Bono should have sent him something when he left the BBC.

"Have you ever approached a US aircraft carrier in a putt putt boat at 2am, asking for a bottle of brandy with Bono in France? he asked the former RTE star.

I risked life and limb to get him a bottle of brandy from the US Navy, and they didn't know who we were. We were banging on the hull of this aircraft carrier that towered over us like a city, let alone a building.

"And we banged on the hull  this is a true story  and they lowered a gunboat, because they thought somebody was trying to attach a mine or an explosive to the hull of the boat.

"And they chased after us in a gunboat and they realised it was Bono and they went, Oh, that's Bono. It's alright. What do you want? Brandy? Not now. Bars closed.

"Did all that nothing when I left Radio 2, nothing when I left TFI Friday! Nothing. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah. Thanks very much Bono  or whatever your name is.

Evans had introduced Tubridy as a legend of Irish broadcasting and even joked about his relocation to British airwaves on his Virgin Radio UK show yesterday.

Greeting Tubridy, he said: Welcome aboard  when do you start?

The former RTE star kept his cards close to his chest, joking that he would start on radio on Tuesday at half 10 as Evans said Tubridy was window shopping and attempted to recruit him to Virgin Radio UK.

Taking to his Instagram story after the show, he said: What a buzz it was to be on air again with the human dynamo that is Chris Evans. Love him!

Ryan Tubridy shares pic with Piers Morgan while visiting London

His appearance continues a trip to London that saw him catch-up with Piers Morgan the day before.

Morgan said they were both part of the sacked presenter club and Tubridys removal from the airwaves of the national broadcaster was RTEs loss as he shared a photo of the pair.

The former Late Late Show host also met with Irish Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick and kept followers on Instagram updated on his visit to the city this week.
The owners of a large development site in north Dublin with planning permission for 500 homes have lost an appeal to exempt it from the Residential Zoned Land Tax.

The former Chivers factory site in Coolock was rezoned from industrial to residential use in 2018 after its owners said it could deliver hundreds of homes for normal people, but they have yet to be built.

Dublin City councillors voted to rezone after the site was bought in 2016 by Irish property developer Andrew Gillick. He and his brother Maurice run London-based firm Platinum Land Limited and Irish company Veni Vidi Vici Limited.

Andrew Gillick lobbied officials for the change of zoning, saying they were successful developers who could deliver affordable homes for normal people. However, construction has not started.

Earlier this year, Dublin City Council ruled the Residential Zoned Land Tax would apply to the land.

The charge, due to come into force next year, means owners will have to pay a levy of 3pc of the market value of a site.

The levy aims to incentivise landowners to use existing planning permissions for housing.

In a submission to An Bord Pleanala, Veni Vidi Vici argued that the tax should not apply to the site. It said there were several issues that needed to be resolved by Irish Water and Gas Networks Ireland.

These included the presence of a foul sewer passing through the land, which it said had to be diverted. It said Irish Water had not yet put a plan in place to do so. The company also said there was no gas supply at the site.

However, An Bord Pleanala upheld the councils decision.

An inspector for the planning regulator said: Whilst it is submitted that infrastructure elements/connections may not be in place, these would be expected to be provided in conjunction of the site, generally developer-led. I recommend that the board confirm the determination of the local authority.

It was previously reported that the Chivers site was valued at 2.5m in 2016 when the Gillicks acquired the land. In 2021, the site was listed for sale for 25m after planning permission was secured for 500 build-to-rent apartments.

Andrew Gillick has written to state officials, saying funding could not be secured to develop the site.

I need development funding, an end occupier, or I am willing to sell the units to the government/state organisation now, he said.

After the Irish Independent called the phone number listed for Platinum Land, an unidentified male said: I have no interest in speaking to the media. He then hung up.
Dublin City Council (DCC) should urgently address what is described as a chronic shortage of up to 50,000 housing units in the capitals Docklands.

This is according to the Docklands Oversight and Consultative Forum (DOCF), who have been appointed by Housing Minister Darragh OBrien to advise the DCC on the strategic development of the area.

In its second report to the DCC, the forum said there was a disparity between office space and housing in the Docklands and this has resulted in a chronic shortage of between 25,000 and 50,000 housing units in Docklands.

The DOCF advised this disparity be urgently addressed as the housing shortage impacts all communities in the Docklands.

"There is an urgent need for an increase in social, affordable and private accommodation to create a more sustainable urban quarter, the forum says.

As recently as June 2023 the IDA identified the shortage of housing as a challenge in attracting foreign direct investment, the report points out.

Between 1997 and 2007 the Dublin Docklands Development Authority created office space for 40,000 employees but only living accommodation for 6,600 (two occupants per each of the 3,292 apartments developed) and the DCC granted commercial accommodation in the area for approximately 26,000 employees but living accommodation for only 8,000, the report states.

The result in this disparity has also created a negative deficit of living accommodation for 51,400 employees, and a significant majority are forced to seek accommodation far beyond where they work and often in the surrounding counties, the report said.

The DCC were also advised to build a more robust" anti-social behaviour policy and should advocate for a Garda station in the centre of the Docklands. The forum said that policing levels in the Docklands were insufficient to make a meaningful impact on growing levels of antisocial behaviour in the area.

"According to the most recently available data from the Central Statistics Office, and as widely reported, the DCC area has the highest crime rate in the country and the lowest detection rate. The Docklands is also severely impacted by the growing levels of crime in the city, the report says.

It is the view of the DOCF that the Docklands needs its own Garda station like the one recently opened on O'Connell Street. Pearse Street and Store Street Stations lie outside the Docklands area. Consequently, policing in Docklands is insufficient to make a meaningful impact on growing levels of antisocial behaviour.

The report also says the City Councils Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Policy, recently drawn up, needs to be more robust and must include a measurement of the cost of ASB, a dedicated phone line for reporting ASB; and key performance indicators to assess the policys success.

The forum also advised that the DCC resource and facilitate a concentrated effort to properly invest in the long-established areas of Sheriff and Pearse Streets.

"There is a persistent issue of communities not feeling the benefits of investment in the rest of Docklands. The DOCF is concerned a failure to finally tackle the ingrained antisocial problems within these areas will ultimately undo the efforts of the last 20 years, the report said.
China has long been wedded to bolstering services trade across the world, viewing it as a key component in the country's growth strategy and international cooperation. by Xinhua writer Ma Qian BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- China has long been wedded to bolstering services trade across the world, viewing it as a key component in the country's growth strategy and international cooperation. Through the lens of the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), the world's largest specialized fair of its kind, more international participants have witnessed China's stellar growth in services trade, and the development payoff from its accelerated higher-level opening-up. Particularly, the opening-up of the service sector serves the development pattern of the country's domestic and international "dual circulation," as China perceives trade liberalization and its institutional opening-up in a broader setting of economic globalization, regarding such endeavors as its striking demonstrations to uphold multilateralism. Most notably, China's domestic opening-up reforms are aligned with its deepened commitments to the international community, through offering growth-oriented policy agendas and facilitating robust commercial interactions, reducing uncertainty and injecting confidence into global businesses. On the first day of CIFTIS on Sept. 2, Tesla unveiled its new version of Chinese-made Model 3 sedan, marking the first time the global car-making giant has launched a new model in China ahead of the United States. President of Tesla China Wang Hao opined that a platform like CIFTIS is an excellent window for multinational enterprises to understand the Chinese market, as they can be well-informed of consumers' thoughts in a short period of time and feel the market vibes up close. In recent years, China has leveraged CIFTIS and other platforms such as the China International Import Expo to promote policy exchange and information sharing, as well as foster diverse partnerships with foreign governments, international organizations, business associations and enterprises. That also forms an indissociable part of China's pledge to help more countries share its far-reaching development dividends through trade liberalization and facilitation. China had expanded its share of global commercial services exports from 3 percent in 2005 to 5.4 percent in 2022, according to a report jointly released by the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization in July. In the first seven months of this year, China's services trade value grew 8.1 percent year on year to reach 3.67 trillion yuan (501.8 billion U.S. dollars), data from the Ministry of Commerce showed. In cross-border economic and trade practices, Mohammed Al Ajlan, chairman of the Saudi-Chinese Business Council, pointed out that China "continues to take the initiative to encourage the expansion of exports of knowledge-intensive services, and strengthen the cross-border flow of advanced technological services." That has "played a role in improving the industrial structure and promoting the process of modernization around the world," he stressed. As the world is saddled with weakening demand for goods and geo-economic fragmentation, there is an urgent need for the world's policy-makers to cement collaboration to overcome obstacles that hinder global trade and investment across the board. In this regard, the Chinese leadership has vowed to safeguard the hard-won free trade and multilateral trading system during the 2023 CITFIS, on the back of its vibrant drive to enhance openness of the services sector and ensure a more supportive business environment. In practice, the authorities have deepened reforms in the country's free trade zones (FTZs) to expand its globally-oriented network of high-standard FTZs. On June 29, China's State Council issued a circular, which contains measures of six aspects to allow FTZs in Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, Fujian and Beijing as well as the Hainan free trade port (FTP) as pilot forerunners to align their rules with high-standard international economic and trade rules to deepen institutional opening up. The 33 detailed pilot measures proposed in the circular, mainly focusing on trade in goods and services, business environment and risk control, are expected to help the pilot areas explore more paths to deepen reform and broaden opening up. With five measures directly related to facilitating customs clearance, the circular stressed the need to further improve the transparency of customs clearance time and reduce customs clearance costs. Deeming a sound business climate a key determinant of greater gains from growing trade, China has offered easier entry conditions to foreign businesses. Noticeably, the authorities have streamlined administrative procedures and increased transparency in policy agendas with a set of significant reform measures, sending uplifting signals to the global business community. The Ministry of Commerce canceled registration requirements for businesses engaged in foreign trade activities on Dec. 30, 2022, following a revision of the country's Foreign Trade Law. In concrete terms, market entities are no longer required to provide foreign-trade operator registration materials in applying for import and export licenses, registration certificates of technology import and export contracts, quotas, state-owned trade qualifications, and other relevant documents. A recent survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China showed that China is still the most favored destination for corporate investment, as over 90 percent of the surveyed companies consider China as one of their most important investment destinations, while 75 percent of the participants said they plan to reinvest in China in 2023. The dynamism of China's services trade has brought various countries vast opportunities for export-led growth, inflows of foreign investment and further integration into global value chains. China's vigorous drive to boost services trade liberalization and facilitation will continuously inject impetus into cross-border trade, thereby contributing to more sustainable globalization and a more open world economy.
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 7, ARMENPRESS. A senior Armenian lawmaker representing the ruling Civil Contract party on Thursday reacted to Russias concerns regarding Armenias planned joint military exercise with the United States, describing the move as Armenias sovereign right.

Armenia will host the Eagle Partner 2023 joint Armenian-U.S. military exercise from September 11-20, the Ministry of Defense announced Wednesday.

"In the framework of preparation for participation in international peacekeeping missions the Armenia-U.S. joint exercise "EAGLE PARTNER 2023" will be held from 11 to 20 September in Armenia, particularly in "Zar" Training Center of the Peacekeeping Brigade and the N Training Center of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

The exercise involves stabilization tasks between conflicting parties during peacekeeping missions.

This is Armenias sovereign right, MP, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations Sargis Khandanyan told reporters. I understand that various parties can have concerns and complaints, but this is Armenias sovereign right. And you know that these exercises that are to take place next week are aimed at improving Armenian-American partnership in peacekeeping mission. This is a result of the deepening Armenian-American relations, Khandanyan said.

He said that Armenia doesnt anyhow lose its sovereignty with its membership to the CSTO.
An academic has said the failure to tackle cyber violence against women in politics could lead to a perpetuation of inequality and silencing of women's voices.

Associate Professor Tom Felle of the University of Galway is now calling for new Irish and EU laws, including billion euro fines, to criminalise social media companies failing to tackle cyber violence against women in politics.

Addressing the Oireachtas Taskforce on Safe Participation in Political Life today, Mr Felle cited research findings and recommendations from University of Galway that highlighted the rampant prevalence of cyber violence, its impact and the policies needed to ensure a safe and inclusive political landscape.

The research said the cyber violence ranges from derogatory comments to threats of violence and rape, significantly impacting mental well-being, participation, and representation of women in Irish public life.

International research shows that the overwhelming majority of perpetrators are male, often utilising the relative anonymity of the online environment to engage in aggressive behaviour. The lack of consistent platform policies and enforcement mechanisms complicates addressing this issue effectively, Mr Felle said.

The research carried out by the college on 78 participants, including current and former members of the Oireachtas, and local councillors across political parties, also found that approximately 96pc received abusive social media or electronic messages containing hate speech, foul language, and inappropriate comments. While 73pc have encountered threats of physical violence, with 38pc having been subjected to threats of rape or sexual violence.

More than a quarter, 28pc, reported being verbally abused in public, including having faeces thrown at them and threats of acid attacks.

One in five have said they have considered quitting politics due to online harassment.

We need a comprehensive approach, including educational initiatives that emphasise digital literacy, critical thinking, and appropriate online behaviour. This should extend to schools and society to promote respectful online engagement. There is an urgent need to enforce existing laws to hold perpetrators accountable for online abuse and threats, Professor Felle said.

At national and EU level, legislators need to make social media platforms criminally responsible for allowing misogynistic content and threats to thrive  including hitting them in their pockets with billion euro fines. Clear and consistent policies against hate speech and harassment should be enforced.

Failure to address cyber violence against women in politics could lead to a perpetuation of inequality and silencing of women's voices, undermining gender equality and democratic principles, he concluded.
Caoimhe de Barra, CEO of Trocaire, and Ineza Umuhoza Grace, Founder and CEO of the Green Protector. Ineza Umuhoza Grace is an eco feminist, leading international climate activist from Rwanda, a Global Citizen Winner 2023, an Obama Leader 2022 and a Nat-Geo 2020 to name a few. PHOTO: Mark Stedman

Former president Mary Robinson has taken a swipe at the fossil fuel industry for operating on the dark side in the midst of the climate crisis.

Mrs Robinson was also critical of governments for failing to take the hard decisions needed to break free from fossil fuel dependence.

Climate shocks are everywhere with intensifying floods, intensifying forest fires, intensifying drought, and the whole world is aware that somethings happened, that somethings changed, she said.

And yet were not yet in crisis mode with solutions in mind.

She was speaking in a video address to a conference in Dublin to mark the 50th anniversary of Irish aid and development agency, Trocaire.

She said the climate and biodiversity crises were now so serious that there was an urgent need for leadership and solutions but she said there was a communications challenge.

The fossil fuel lobby spends about $4 billion every year communicating on the dark side - messing up the science, pretending its not real or denying it, muddying it, and then trying to prolong fossil fuel indefinitely into the future instead of phasing it out as quickly as possible, she said.

And frankly democracies are not coping well with the crisis because its difficult in a democracy to take hard decisions when you want to be re-elected.

Unfortunately were not taking hard decisions quickly enough. For example here in Ireland were not on course to cut our greenhouse gas emissions by 50pc by 2030 or 55pc as it is likely to be under new EU rules.

She said the 1.8 trillion governments collectively spent on fossil fuel subsidies each year needed to end immediately.

We need to switch the investment from financing whats harming us to financing clean and renewable energy, and making that affordable, she said.

We're up against it because we have very little time.

Trocaire chief executive Caoimhe de Barra spoke of how the climate crisis had become a critical part of the organisations work, being inseparable from the poverty and injustice it set out to alleviate.

Poverty is more than the absence of basic needs - it is the absence of opportunity, voice, power, and control over ones destiny, she said.

Over the past 50 years, Trocaire has supported millions of people to use their own power to fight injustice and poverty.

President Michael D. Higgins also paid tribute to the charity for its tireless work over the past half a century.

Trocaires dedication to alleviating global poverty and suffering have made a significant impact on countless lives, he said.

The compassion and empathy it has shown over these five decades demonstrates the positive change that can be achieved through collective efforts that support long-term development, as well as educational and advocacy work about the root causes of poverty and injustice.

The distinctive work of Trocaire, however, is its willingness to go beyond immediate humanitarian relief, desperately needed, and to challenge the structural sources of poverty and exclusion.

The two-day anniversary conference is being addressed by Trocaire key workers and representatives of partner agencies, human rights groups and campaign movements from all over the world.
The Irish Kidney Association said that at any one time, around 600 people are on the transplant list for various organs. Photo: Getty

A number of potential missed chances to secure organs have emerged, as around 600 people in Ireland are on transplant waiting lists.

Data was collected on a pilot basis in six hospital intensive care units between last November and February.

The survey was carried out by the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA) to look at organ donation practices in Ireland.

The aim of the audit was to ensure that every person who is approaching end of life in an intensive care unit or emergency department is offered the possibility of becoming an organ donor, where it is appropriate.

It found that around 23, or 10pc, of 231 patients during that time period had died in circumstances where they were eligible for organ donation. Thirteen of these patients went on to become organ donors.

Three of the patients could not become organ donors due to medical events, but in five other cases processes were not properly followed.

Dr Alan Gaffney, clinical lead for the potential donor organ development project, said: After accounting for all medical reasons why someone did not become an organ donor, 10 cases were considered as potential missed opportunities for donation.

Three of these patients would never have become donors due to medical events that made organ donation impossible.

There were five cases where ideal organ donation processes were not followed. While there is no guarantee that following ideal processes would have resulted in more donors, two to three of these cases might have resulted in donation, had ideal processes been followed.

Of the families of eligible donors who were approached about donation, 68pc agreed that it would have been their loved ones wish to become an organ donor and consented.

Four patients fulfilled the criteria for brainstem testing  which determines whether brain stem death has occurred  but did not undergo it. In one case, there was a reluctance to approach the family. In the three other cases, organ donation was discussed either before a conversation about brainstem testing or during the prognosis conversation.

The audit suggested that the full potential for donation after brain death (DBD) may not have been realised in a small number of cases. DBD results in a greater number of organs per donor than donation after circulatory death (DCD).

The audit found a 68pc rate of brainstem testing, which is lower than reported in the UK, although the fact the audit only covered a small number of hospitals and included patients over 80, who are excluded from donation, had to be taken in to account.

It is important that intensive care staff have input from organ donor staff to avoid missed opportunities, the report said.

There is also a need for a dedicated organ donor nurse manager in each participating hospital, as well as a greater need to approach families earlier.

The Irish Kidney Association said that at any one time, around 600 people are on the active transplant list for various organs.

Dr Gaffney said: Organ donation happens because of the generosity of people who die in our intensive care units.

It also happens because the healthcare system and those that work in it recognise the rare opportunities for organ donation that present themselves and manage the whole donation process in a professional and sensitive way.
Mairin Hughes pictured on her 109th birthday in May

Irelands oldest person, Mairin Hughes, has died at the age of 109.

Ms Hughes, who was a resident at Maryfield Nursing Home in Chapelizod, Dublin, died peacefully on Tuesday night surrounded by her Maryfield community.

Mairin celebrated her milestone birthday on May 22 and advised people to live life to the full.

She was born in Belfast and spent part of her long life in Kerry, Cork and Dublin.

Director of nursing at Maryfield Orla Quigg said Mairin was a resident at the nursing home for over 30 years.

Ms Quigg said Mairins passing is a big loss for the entire community and her extended family at Maryfield.

She was Maryfield, shes been part of the Maryfield community for decades, she told Independent.ie.

She was the oldest person in Ireland, but she used to meet people and new admissions and tell them how fabulous it is here. She just made everybody feel so welcome.

The whole of Chapelizod will know her really because she taught in the school in Ballyfermot, and she used to open the Chapelizod community festival every year, she even did that this year.

She was 109 and cognitively and physically well. Her biggest loss was her hearing, and she was so frustrated by that.

A celebration was held for Mairin Hughes, Ireland's oldest person, on her 109th birthday in May

Ms Quigg said the centenarian loved to play scrabble, kept busy with daily crossword puzzles, bird watching, playing cards and attending mass.

She graduated from UCC with a science degree in 1935 and is the universitys oldest known science graduate.

Mairin worked as a chemist until she married her husband Frank in 1950.

The couple then went to Dublin, where she became a teacher in Ballyfermot.

During her birthday celebrations in May, she was presented with medals for each year she lived as a centenarian, and read out a quote to the room that accompanied her latest medal, which she remarked was very true.

You have lived through remarkable times in the history of Ireland and the world. You have witnessed remarkable changes, unimaginable at the time of your birth in 1914, she said.

Sin a bhfuil, she added afterwards, Irish for that is all.

After her favourite song, Oro Se do Bheatha Bhaile, was played, she and her friends boarded the Vintage Tea bus that awaited them outside.

Her funeral is due to take place at 11am on Saturday at Maryfield with cremation after in Glasnevin.

She is survived by her niece Nuala and nephew Michael.
Anna and Gary Crowe, parents of the late Julie Crowe pictured this afternoon leaving the Dublin District Coroner's Court

A Meath teenager took her own life three months after being drugged and raped while on holiday in Greece, an inquest has heard.

Julie Crowe (18) from Porterstown Lane, Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, died on November 4, 2019.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court on Thursday heard how Julie had developed a low mood and thoughts of self-harm after being drugged and raped while on holiday abroad with friends in August 2019.

The inquest was also informed that gardai had received no further feedback about the progress of any criminal investigation in Greece, despite several requests after providing a statement by Julie to their Greek counterparts via Interpol.

Julies father, Gary Crowe, told the inquest he had decided to work from home on the morning of November 4, 2019 as his daughter had not slept.

Mr Crowe recalled she was groggy and appeared very subdued and very detached when he woke her around 12.20pm.

He said she apologised for the expense of a trip to the US from which they had recently returned.

Mr Crowe said he hugged his daughter to try and get her out of a daze.

As Julie went to have a shower, Mr Crowe said he noticed a note on her bed which he thought was part of a diary.

When he went to check on her at around 2.15pm, Mr Crowe said he could not find his daughter anywhere in the house before ringing his wife to express concern that Julie had run away.

At that point he remembered the note and found it contained a reference to Rathbeggan Lakes when he read it.

When he got to the flyover bridge, Mr Crowe said he saw traffic pulling over on the motorway before spotting his daughter lying on the ground.

He started CPR on her after noticing her eyes were glazed over before others came along and helped with her attempted resuscitation.

Garda Jeffrey Moroney said CCTV footage of the bridge had confirmed the evidence provided by eyewitnesses and that the investigation on the case had been closed.

Julies mother, Anna Crowe, gave evidence of formally identifying her daughters body to gardai at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown (CHB).

The inquest heard the family were informed at 3.50pm by medical staff that Julie had suffered catastrophic injuries which she would not survive and she was pronounced dead nine minutes later.

In January 2020, Ms Crowe spoke about her daughters death on RTEs Liveline programme as a warning to others that there were predators who were targeting young boys and girls.

She outlined how Julie realised from talking to friends that she had been raped during their stay on the Greek island of Zakynthos.

Omer Chaudhary, a psychiatrist who examined Julie in the emergency department of CHB on October 21, 2019, said he had diagnosed her as suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and a moderate depressive episode.

Dr Chaudhary said Julie had also come out to her friends as gay in June 2019 and to her family after she returned from her holiday in Greece.

He recalled that the teenager complained of not being able to cope with things for the previous two weeks and suffering increasing nightmares.

However, Dr Chaudhary said she had not shown any active intent or plan to kill herself.

The psychiatrist said she was positive about her family and her studies at Technological University Dublin.

The inquest heard that Julie declined to be admitted to the hospital on a voluntary basis and she did not meet the criteria to be detained involuntarily as she was only considered a low-to-moderate risk of self-harm.

Dr Chaudhary said the teenager ultimately decided to attend her GP to discuss taking anti-depressant medication and to be referred to her local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service unit.

Ms Crowe said Julie attended her family doctor the next day who warned that she would need to be closely monitored while on medication.

She also revealed that her daughter feared she might be pregnant as a result of the rape but tests showed that was not the case.

Detective Garda Michelle OBrien told the inquest that she had spent two long and difficult days taking a very detailed statement from the teenager about what happened in Greece.

Det Garda OBrien said she had also kept the girls towel and runners for evidence.

In reply to questions from the coroner, Aisling Gannon, she said she had received no updates about the status of the investigation by Greek police, despite sending several requests.

Det Garda OBrien said she could not engage directly with her Greek colleagues.

She also stated she could not interview Julies friends who might also be able to provide evidence unless she received a direction from the Greek authorities.

At the end of the evidence, the Crowe family called for greater clarity about the ability of gardai to assist and to check on the progress of police investigations abroad.

They also recommended that organisations who deal with victims of sexual assault should engage with parents advocating for their children who had been raped regardless of their age. She had been told because Julie was over 18 years and needed to make contact with them herself.

The coroner said she would raise the familys concerns with the relevant authorities and keep them informed of any response.

Ms Gannon returned a verdict of death by suicide based on the evidence.

Offering her condolences to the Crowe family, the coroner said it was a very, very tragic case in very sad circumstances.

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, call Childline on Freephone 1800 66 66 66 or text 50101, or call the Rape Crisis Centre on Freephone 1800 77 88 88; call Samaritans (free) on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.ie, or call Pieta House on 1800 247 247
Former executive team took a 10pc pay cut in 2020 but this was reversed last year. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA

RTE staff were shocked that top executives pay rose by 10pc last year while the broadcaster recorded a 2.8m deficit.

The former executive team took a 10pc pay cut in 2020 but this was reversed from the end of August last year.

An RTE spokesperson said the pay reduction had been an interim cost-cutting measure.

But some staff at the broadcaster, who did not want to be named, said they were unaware the executive pay cut was temporary.

Seamus Dooley, Irish secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), said the 10pc pay cut was not presented as a temporary reduction.

He said many staff would be surprised to learn that the cut had been reversed.

It was announced by management and was not a quid pro quo for the acceptance of pay cuts by staff, he said.

He said at the time, the Trade Union Group sought and was refused information on the salaries of all members of the then executive board.

At the time of the pay cuts, then director general Dee Forbes said: Our biggest cost in the organisation are people, and you would say it should be because were a people-led organisation... So as a result, given people are our biggest cost, its an area were going to have to look for savings.

Yesterday the RTE spokesperson confirmed the executive salaries were restored at the same time as fees paid to members of the RTE board  which had been waived during the same period.

A reduction in executive wages was taken from January 1, 2020, until August 31 last year.

The spokesperson also confirmed that all staff benefited from pay rises agreed from January this year  apart from Ms Forbes.

Yesterday saw the publication of the RTE annual report following months of controversy surrounding spending at the broadcaster, including the pay of former Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy.

The chair of the RTE board said it must deal with the legacy of a siloed and dysfunctional culture.

Siun Ni Raghallaigh said the report for 2022 represents a time when a different culture was prevalent.

As an organisation we cannot shy away from the shortcomings and challenges that have been identified, she said.

But the report also confirmed RTE gave its top executives a 10pc pay increase last September.

The RTE spokesperson said the 10pc cut to executive pay and fees waived by the board was part of cost-saving measures announced in 2019, which aimed to reduce projected costs by 60m over three years.

This was intended to be temporary, as was the waiving of fees by the RTE board at the time, he said.

He said the board had signed off on the decision to restore pay to top executives, including Ms Forbes.

Executive salaries were restored at the same time as fees paid to the members of the RTE board, which had also been waived during the same period.

The decision to restore the pay cut of 10pc to the RTE executive was made by the RTE board.

The release of the annual report comes after Tubridys departure from the national broadcaster following controversy over his salary and payments he received for Renault promotions.

Catherine Martin welcomes publication of RTEs plans for registers of interest and external activities

Meanwhile, Tanaiste Micheal Martin suggested the cost of the TV licence could be cut as part of reforms of RTE.

Speaking in Israel, he also ruled out the prospect of the Government directly funding RTE after it emerged the broadcaster is set to lose 21m in revenue this year.

In my view, we should replace the licence with a universal fee or charge that would be at the same if not reduced, he said. Itd mean an automatic higher income but would also guarantee independence for the media from government, from dependence on government for ongoing funding.

Mr Martin said the alternative was that the entire cost of running RTE would be paid directly from the Exchequer. This would undermine the independence of the media.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he understands the scepticism of the public as he vowed to have overhaul the 160 charge by 2025 since previous promises to do so by Government have not materialised. He said the fee would be overhauled next year, with the relevant laws in place by 2025.
Looking for a sandy strand with great food or a seaside stay just footsteps away?

Close to Louisburgh, this curved, sandy bay ticks all the beach boxes  calm waters for swimming, tree-lined cliffs for exploring and Croagh Patrick rising up behind the sea.

1. Old Head, Co Mayo

Old Head in Co Mayo

In summer, you can do yoga right on the sands before warming the cockles in the seaside sauna and getting a flat white from the adjoining coffee truck, all bookable through Wild Atlantic Sauna (thewildatlanticsauna.ie). You can also rent a kayak or head out for a guided SUP session with Summer SUP (summersup.ie). It runs sessions at sunrise and sunset too. A little piece of Mayo magic.

If you like that, try: The Hot Box Sauna at Rosses Point, right next to swimming spot Dead Mans Point and overlooking the beach; thehotboxsauna.ie.

2. Portstewart, Co Derry

Harry's Shack at Portstewart. Photo: Pol O Conghaile

When it comes to beachside restaurants, Harrys Shack (facebook.com/harrysshack) really is the spot to beat. Its set right on the sands of Portstewart beach, with killer views out over the water whether youre sitting inside or out on the deck. The menu is like a love letter to the best of Irish seafood, with gigantic Dublin Bay prawns cooked over the coals, lobsters caught in the bay and maybe the best beer-battered fish and chips youll ever eat.

If you like that, try: The Only Plaice in Downings, Donegal. This converted double-decker bus serves up battered hake, haddock and plaice on the pier; theonlyplaice.com.

3. Marble Hill, Co Donegal

The Shack at Marble Hill in Co Donegal

This corner of Donegal is a dream for eating  theres Cove, Fisk Seafood Bar and The Rusty Oven in nearby Dunfanaghy. But over at Marble Hill, things are kept simple at The Shack (shackcoffee.ie), where you can get proper coffee (they roast the beans themselves) and excellent ice cream. Its right on the edge of the sand  so you can make it down to the sea without your ice cream dripping all over you  and theres plenty of space on the beach for lounging and paddling too. They also make fresh juices, if you fancy something a little more virtuous.

If you like that, try: Rise at the Cove in Greystones, Co Wicklow. Heres a social enterprise cafe supporting the Tiglin charity where theres excellent coffee, treats and a sauna to boot; @rise_at_the_cove.

4. Enniscrone, Co Sligo

The Old Cliff Baths at Enniscrone Beach in Co Sligo

Strandhill often steals the spotlight when it comes to surfing, but Enniscrone is better for beginners, swimmers and often not as crowded. The wide sands are great for walking, there are rock pools for crab spotting and you can head out on both a surfboard or a SUP board, if you want a bit of variety  rent a board or take a tour with Harbour SUP (harboursupsail.com), right from the pier. And dont miss the beachside OffShore coffee truck (facebook.com/offshore.enniscrone) for fresh acai bowls and iced lattes. Ocean Sands Hotel (theoceansandshotel.ie) is right behind the sand dunes, and its self-catering apartments are even closer to the sea. Its dog friendly too.

If you like that, try: Morriscastle Strand in Wexford, for glamping pods just steps away from the sand; thepodsatmorriscastle.com.

5. Long Strand, Co Cork

With loads of outdoor seating, locally sourced seafood and a cracking location, The Fish Basket (thefishbasket.ie) is the beachside restaurant of your dreams. You can get the usual fish and chips, but you can also get a sharing box filled with scampi, lemon sole and calamari. Even better? It opens for breakfast, so early risers can get buttermilk pancakes or avocado toast before hitting the beach for a stroll. It also has two beach shacks to rent on the strand, or you can stay in the Celtic Ross Hotel (celticrosshotel.com) right on the water in Rosscarbery.

If you like that, try: Parknasilla Resort, with direct access to its own Dorothys Beach (residents only); parknasillaresort.com.

6. St Finians Bay, Co Kerry

Oysters from Driftwood Surf Cafe at St Finians Bay in Co Kerry

A great beach for surfing, St Finians Bay is a corker with cracking views of Skellig Michael as a bonus. But its also home to a beachside restaurant thats a destination in its own right. Driftwood Surf Cafe (driftwoodsurfcafe.com) was sustainably built with local stone, and the menu is filled with fresh, local produce like Kerry lamb and Cromane oysters, along with scallops and hake. Theres a great wine list, and its open for lunch and dinner. If you need any more convincing, there are profiteroles for dessert.

If you like that, try: Eithnas By the Sea in Mullaghmore, Co Sligo. You can eat seaweed bread and local crab claws by the water; eithnasrestaurant.com.

7. Mannin Bay, Co Galway

Mannin Bay in Co Galway

Catch them on a sunny day, and the beaches of Mannin Bay in Connemara are almost blinding, the white sands gleaming in the sun. Beach bunnies can explore the shore and take a dip in the crystal-clear waters, and those with itchy feet can set off to see the Mannin Bay Blueway on a kayak with Real Adventures Connemara (realadventures.ie). When its time to turn in, Connemara Sands Hotel (connemarasands-hotel.com) is right on the beach and has a seaweed spa, rooms overlooking the ocean and separate self-catering houses. Its currently installing beachside seaweed baths and hot tubs, which should be up and running in August.

If you like that, try: The Armada Hotel is just next to Co Clares Spanish Point, with sea view rooms and a great restaurant overlooking the bay; armadahotel.com.

8. Mulranny Beach, Co Mayo

Mulranny Park Hotel

If youre travelling with kids, the Blue Flag Mulranny beach is a great spot  the waters are calm and sheltered, and theres a lifeguard in the summer months. The nearby Mulranny Park Hotel (mulrannyparkhotel.ie) is toward the village end of the water at Trawoughter Bay, with a little causeway and wooden bridge, and its home to a rare saltwater marsh. In the school holidays, it offers a Seashore Safari for kids, so they can learn all about the local wildlife. Theres also a special kids check-in desk, and smores every evening on the terrace.

If you like that, try: Rathmullan House on Co Donegals Fanad Peninsula. Its set just next to the 3km-long sandy beach; rathmullanhouse.com.

9. Allihies Beach, Co Cork

Allihies in Co Cork

With a picture-perfect village and a great location on the outer reaches of the Beara Peninsula, Allihies Beach is a lovely Irish bay. And when you sit on the sand, you might notice something a little different: the beach was created from crushed quartz from the local copper mines. Youll also find Beara Barista (facebook.com/bearabarista), a converted 1963 Sprite caravan where you can get organic coffee, fruit salads and curry, along with burgers and cones from Kenmare Ice Cream.

If you like that, try: Fred & Nancys, a cool Airstream parked on Killiney Beach, Co Dublin. They bake their own bread for sausage sandwiches and serve great coffee; fredandnancys.com.

10. Falcarragh, Co Donegal

Mountain Melts, Co Donegal

Donegal has more than its share of great beaches and Blue Flags. Even so, Falcarragh feels special, thanks to its seaside resident, Mountain Melts (mountainmelts.ie). With a legion of loyal fans, this cool little caravan slings out toasted sandwiches with fillings like streaky bacon, brie and cranberry, or the classic thick-cut ham, cheese and mustard, right on Drumnatinny Beach. They make their toasties with sourdough from local bakery Blistered Breads, and also serve its almond croissants and cinnamon rolls.

If you like that, try: Little Catch Seafood Bar, a food truck parked at Tramore in Co Waterford selling lobster rolls and fish tacos; @littlecatchseafood.

11. Donabate, Co Dublin

The Shoreline Hotel in Donabate, Co Dublin

A great beach for long walks, be they along the 4km of sands or the clifftop path to Portrane, Donabate is also home to Dublins only beach hotel, the Shoreline (shorelinehotel.ie). You can see Lambay Island from the sea view rooms, where there are even windows in the shower so you can sea gaze as you scrub. If youre not staying the night, you can always pick up a toastie from its food truck, Cheddarella, or fish tacos from the Shore Shack.

If you like that, try: The Glyde Inn at Annagassan, Co Louth, where there are four B&B rooms and a restaurant overlooking Dundalk Bay; theglydeinn.ie.

12. Inchydoney, Co Cork

Inchydoney, Clonakilty

Set just outside of Clonakilty, Inchydoney is a watersport hotspot  you can go sea kayaking, surfing and swimming on this Blue Flag beach. But if you want to leave the hard work to someone else, you can head off whale watching, where you might see humpbacks, fin whales and dolphins, depending on the time of year. Inchydoney Island Lodge and Spa (inchydoneyisland.com) is right on the strand, and staff can help you organise any of those activities. The hotel also offers complimentary yoga on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings, held outside overlooking the ocean.

If you like that, try: Lissadell on the Sea, an incredible rental property from Co Sligos Lissadell House. Its set right on the sand; fivestar.ie.

More summer lists

Read our list of the 50 best beaches in Ireland

Read our list of the 50 best places to stay in Ireland in 2023

The 25 best summer walks in Ireland
Dr Dervla MacManus at Kilmainham Mills, a former flour and textile mill complex, for the launch of Open House Dublin, taking place from October 7 to 15

Ciaran Molumby and Laura Carroll, Islander Architects, Minister of State Malcolm Noonan, Dr Dervla MacManus, a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at UCD, and Emmett Scanlon, Director of the Irish Architecture Foundation, at Kilmainham Mills for the launch for Open House Dublin

Evelyn Cusack, former Head of Forecasting at Met Eireann, pictured at their offices in Glasnevin. Pic: Frank McGrath

Were all obsessed with the weather, and next month, Dubliners will have the chance to go behind the scenes at the home of Met Eireann.

As part of this years Open House Dublin programme, guided tours are available of some of the capitals more unusual and interesting buildings.

The free festival of architecture is taking place from October 7 to 15, with events across all of Dublin city and county.

One building on show this year is the home of Met Eireann in Glasnevin.

Designed by celebrated Irish architect Liam McCormick, the building is an unusual pyramid shape with lots of windows to give the best possible view of the sky.

For the first time, all four Dublin local authorities are part of Open House Dublin, with events taking place in Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and, new for this year, South Dublin.

Ciaran Molumby and Laura Carroll, Islander Architects, Minister of State Malcolm Noonan, Dr Dervla MacManus, a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at UCD, and Emmett Scanlon, Director of the Irish Architecture Foundation, at Kilmainham Mills for the launch for Open House Dublin

The programme for 2023 features over 150 buildings and spaces for everyone to visit free of charge this October, with walking tours, boat tours, exhibitions, films, podcasts, lectures, workshops and more on the line-up.

Emmett Scanlon, Director of the Irish Architecture Foundation, said: Architecture festivals are extraordinary moments of focus and delight, where shared lived experiences are told through stories which bind people and place.

The flagship festival of the Irish Architecture Foundation, Open House Dublin is dedicated to telling the stories of over 1.5 million lives lived in the company of buildings and the built environment.

This festival is a way to get to the heart of Dublin, the heart of what matters.

I hope more people than ever participate in Open House Dublin because a beautiful, sustainable and inclusive city invites us all to be in it together, he added.

This year, for the first time, the festival will start with a dedicated weekend for children and families on October 7 and 8, with a wider programme of tours and events from October 13 to 15.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Malcolm Noonan said: I would like to congratulate the Irish Architecture Foundation on the exciting new elements introduced to this years Open House Dublin programme.

The festival is a wonderful opportunity for people to interact and engage with a wide breadth of important aspects and inspirational ideas relating to the built environment of Dublin city and county.

Dr Dervla MacManus at Kilmainham Mills, a former flour and textile mill complex, for the launch of Open House Dublin, taking place from October 7 to 15

Among the highlights of this years events are:

A unique look inside the former Odlums Flour Mills at Dublin Port. The site is under development as an artists campus and workspace.

The Kilmainham Mills complex, which has just undergone a conservation process by Dublin City Council, with a view to it ultimately opening to the public as a community and cultural hub.

Dun Laoghaire Baths and new art workspaces, coastal bike tours and tours of Loughlinstown House and Ballyogan Court.

Swords Castle and Carnegie Library, as well as tours of Malahide Castle and the restored glasshouses at Ardgillan Castle, near Balbriggan in Fingal.

Reimagining the Iveagh Markets childrens exhibition at the Tivoli event space in the Liberties, Dublin 8.

Guided family tours of Farmleigh House, the Museum of Literature Ireland, Rathfarnham Castle, the National Library of Ireland, the National Museum of Ireland, Casino Marino, and the Old Library at Trinity College Dublin.

All Open House Dublin events are free, but pre-booking is required for some. Bookings open at 9am on September 14. Full details can be found on OpenHouseDublin.com
Just over 20 years since the launch of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the dream of a new even-handed and impartial police force is taking a terrible battering. Morale in the force is understandably low and there is evidence that communities across the North have limited confidence in it.

It is a far cry from the service envisaged by former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten, who framed plans deemed to be a global gold standard for best practice.

The huge data leak earlier this summer when PSNI members personal details fell into the hands of dissident republican paramilitaries, who deem its officers a target, was a body blow.

Then last week, a High Court judge in Belfast, Judge David Scoffield, ruled that two junior PSNI constables were unlawfully disciplined for an arrest following an event commemorating the 1992 massacre of nationalists by loyalist paramilitaries at Sean Graham bookies.

The judge said the officers, initially praised by their immediate superiors, had been disciplined to allay fears Sinn Fein might withdraw the partys support for policing. The party said there had been no such threat.

The now former chief constable, Simon Byrne, tried to persist but he was undone largely because of political pressure with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), loud in its calls for his departure.

The police union expressed its anger that Mr Byrne had moved from initial acceptance of the verdict to suggestions that he would appeal against it. Clearly, his reaction to these events proved the final straw.

Reviews of the forces workings and governance have been promised and these must happen with all due speed. There is also a need to promptly find a suitable replacement for Mr Byrne.

Its all a far cry from the early days of the PSNI under its first chief constable, Hugh Orde, who took over in May 2002. As a former leader in the Metropolitan Police, he brought a deal of even-handed professionalism which he succeeded in conveying to recruits, putting an emphasis on a police service working with and for all the people.

It is possible to see these events as an opportunity to effect real changes. Things are at a low ebb but it is plausible to believe that from here the only way is up.

Much will depend on the calibre of the new leader and the kind of support he or she can get. But yet again we see the bugbear of a non-functional power-sharing arrangement as an impediment to good outcomes.

There are many ironies associated with the current malaise in the PSNI. But among the more salient is that politicians who have chosen to boycott democratic structures still exert considerable influence  albeit a pernicious one  from the sidelines.

After the enforced departure of its chief constable, the PSNI is in deep crisis. It needs prompt but deft remedial work  including dialling down the evident party political influences, especially that of the DUP and Sinn Fein, which was all too evident throughout these sorry controversies.
Change. Do you love it? Are you afraid of it? Its a natural and constant part of life, but it can be overwhelming. Clinical psychologist Dr Claire Hayes explains why embracing change can lead to exciting new opportunities.

Embracing change can be a daunting experience, particularly when we are faced with a life-changing decision or dilemma. Change can often be laden with fear and anxiety.

But it doesnt have to be, according to clinical psychologist, lecturer and teacher Dr Claire Hayes, who joins me on the podcast today, to discuss the tricks and techniques for navigating change.

One of the things that can keep us stuck is a sense of embarrassment or shame or fear of I dont want to let myself down or being seen to be an embarrassment, Dr Hayes says.

A big problem in modern life lies with comparison with others, particularly since the advent of social media. Dr Hayes wants to remind everyone that our perception of ourselves is often very different to the truth and that a lot of these images we see are airbrushed.

Claire, who has 38 years of experience and training in clinical psychology, stresses the point that Irish people are often incredibly hard on themselves, whether that be the fear of changing colleges or the course of their life.

We are quick to put ourselves down, quick to blame ourselves, quick to judge ourselves, she explains, adding that when we think what if it doesnt work out we view it as a failure.

Dr Hayes believes that our view of failure in Irish culture is very different to other cultures.

It might be seen by other people as thats something I tried, but it didnt work out. Isnt it great I tried. Now I can try something else, she outlines in this episode.

For many, the sense of failure felt after a change doesnt work out can force them to feel worthless. So, how does one properly navigate that change, and the feeling of anxiety that accompanies it?

Dr Hayes believes there are three steps to approach the anxiety associated with change, which she draws on from her extensive experience in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT).

Anxiety is a reaction to danger and/or what we think or perceive to be danger, she says.

Our feelings of anxiety are a warning response based on what we think is danger. Just because we feel that sick feeling in our tummy, clammy hands, sweatiness. That doesnt necessarily mean theres danger. Someone approaching something new is going to feel those things.

Dr Hayes also explains how to break down ones core beliefs to get to the root of the overwhelming feeling of anxiety.

People believe they are not good enough, that they always fail, that they must do something perfectly. People believe that they cant change their core belief but maybe we can put a question mark there, she says.

You can listen to the full episode on Independent.ie or wherever you get your podcasts.
The Azeri military has again targeted Armenian border outposts in the Gegharkunik Province.

September 7, 2023, 09:35 Armenian border outposts come under Azerbaijani gunfire

STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 7, ARTSAKHPRESS: The cross-border shooting involving small arms took place in the early hours on Thursday, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

On September 7, at around 01:35 a.m., Azerbaijani armed forces units fired from fire arms towards the Armenian combat outposts nearby Norabak, Gegharkunik Province, the ministry said.
An inquest in Tralee has finally answered a three-year long question - who was the man found dead on Slieve Mish Mountain in Kerry in 2020 and how was the FBI involved?

The body of a man was found on November 14, 2020, in the mountainous Tonevane area in Kerry by a farmer out looking for his sheep.

The body was in an advanced state of decomposition, but papers found on the dead mans body lead Gardai to contact US authorities.

The story that unfolded would bring the search for the dead mans identity from Tralee all the way to Oregan in the USA.

Kevin Doyle is joined on the Indo Daily podcast by Sinead Kelleher, reporter with the Kerryman and the Irish Independent, and by Jerry O'Sullivan, host of Kerry Today on Radio Kerry, to ask what drove a man from his American home to a direct provision centre in Tralee, and how the FBI were connected in the tragic story of Thomas Stofiel
Jacqueline Higgins, Proprietor of the Angelic Healing Clinic at Strand St. Kanturk, is a finalist in the Irish Hair and Beauty Awards for Masseuse of the Year and Best Customer Experience. The competition will be held at the Raddison Blu Hotel in Cork on September 24th. Photo by Sheila Fitzgerald

Jacqueline Higgins, proprietor of the Angelic Healing Clinic at Strand St. Kanturk, is a finalist in the Irish Hair and Beauty Awards for Masseuse of the Year and Best Customer Experience.

The competition will be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Cork on September 24th and Jacqueline is really excited to be in the running for such a prestigious award. I want to say a huge thank you to my clients, who nominated me. It was a wonderful surprise in June, the day before my birthday, to get a notification that Im one of the finalists in these categories, said Jacqueline. My passion for this industry has never dwindled as there is always so much more to learn.

Jacqueline is simultaneously celebrating another milestone with the 10th anniversary of the opening of The Angelic Healing Clinic happening this week. I had just finished studying beauty and body therapy at Mallow College in May 2012 and I began working at Tantalize here in Kanturk for Deirdre OCallaghan. She taught me how to run a business and it was at her salon that my passion for massage and just giving the clients a full pampering experience began to grow, Jacqueline explained.

She also paid tribute to Sandra Lehane who, she said, taught her the holistic side of the business and became her Reiki master. I was so mesmerized by this new aspect that I knew what I wanted to do and that was to be a holistic therapist, she said.

Jacqueline acquired her current premises at Strand St. when the former occupant, Sandra Lehane, moved to New Zealand in 2013. I jumped at the opportunity and never looked back since. I built it from the ground up throughout the years, putting the clients needs, comfort and relaxation at the forefront, from the ambience of the room right through to the treatments.

I gained new qualifications through the years with reflexology and hot lava shell massages, she said.

Im blessed with all my clients both new and regulars for without them I wouldnt be able to achieve all of this. I thank you.

Also, to the amazing community of Kanturk and to The Beauty Zone, we have supported each other throughout the years and Im beyond grateful. Finally, thank you to my family and friends for your ongoing support, Jacqueline said as she celebrates her 10th anniversary in business and looks forward eagerly to the Irish Hair and Beauty Awards Ceremony at the end of the month.
Bruna Fonseca was found dead at a Cork City flat on New Years Day last.

AN inquest has heard that a 28-year-old Brazilian librarian who was found dead in a flat in Cork city centre last New Years Day died of asphyxia due to manual strangulation.

Bruna Fonseca was a native of Formiga in Minas Gerais. She graduated from the Centro Universitario de Formiga in 2018 and moved to Cork in September 2022.

She was working as a contract cleaner in the Mercy University Hospital at the time of her death. Her aim was to further improve her English.

On Thursday state pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster gave the cause of death in the case having performed a post-mortem on Bruna Fonseca at Cork University Hospital.

Sgt Fergus Twomey told Cork Coroners Court that a man has been charged with the murder of Ms Fonseca. He is due to go on trial at a sitting of the Central Criminal Court next year.

Coroner Philip Comyn adjourned the case until the conclusion of criminal proceedings.

More than 50,000 was raised after a Cork-based cousin and a niece of Bruna set up a Go Fund Me page in order to repatriate her body to her native country.

Ms Fonseca was buried in Formiga on January 16 last. She is survived by her parents Tadeu Jose Fonseca and Marina Dos Reis Palharares Fonseca and her sister Izabel.

Following the death of Bruna members of the Brazilian community organised a vigil at the Lough in Cork. She liked to go for walks in the picturesque area.

A 29-year-old Brazilian man was previously charged with the murder of Ms Fonseca who was found dead in a flat on Liberty Street in Cork.

He first appeared before a special sitting of Cork District Court on January 2.

The charge read that on January 1, 2023 at 5 Liberty Street he did murder one Bruna Fonseca contrary to common law.

The charge was translated for him by a Portuguese interpreter.
Fiona Twomey from Newtownshandrum will travel to the Horn of Africa next month.

Cork-based charity Brighter Communities Worldwide has been working to provide vitals services, education and business training to people in the Kericho County in Kenya for more than two-decades.

Fiona Twomey from Newtownshandrum on the summit of Carrauntoohil. She climbed the Kerry mountain to raise funds ahead of her trip to Kenya

A WOMAN from north Cork has spoken about how the work of a small Cobh-based charity has inspired her to travel to Africa with aim of empowering local communities to build sustainable and brighter futures.

Fiona Twomey will next month travel to Kenya as part of the Brighter Communities Worldwide charitys annual Harambee trip.

Somewhat aptly, Harambee means all pull together, which is the official motto of Kenya.

The country is situated in the Horn of Africa, which is gripped by the worst drought it has seen in more than four decades, putting more than five million people at immediate risk of hunger.

Fiona, who works as a global retail specialist with Bord Bia, said volunteering to work overseas with a charity was something she had always wanted to do.

When the opportunity came up to travel with Brighter Communities Worldwide in October, I kind of just went for it without over-thinking things  which is likely surprising for those who know me, grinned Fiona.

I know it will be a great experience and I feel very lucky to be able to do it. I really enjoy meeting and working with new people and I feel sure that gain an lot from the programme, she added.

Founded in 2002 as Friends of Londiani, Brighter Communities Worldwide works in East Africa in partnership with a locally-led organisation of the same name in Kenya. Since its inception, the charity has expanded and developed its programmes and now work across Kericho County in Kenya with a population of almost one million people. They are also in the process of expanding their operations into other east African regions.

Roughly 95% of the people in Kericho County live in rural areas, with little or no access to basic services such electricity, clean water sanitation and healthcare.

Up to 60% of them are living below the poverty line, meaning they earn less than $1a day.

Over the past two decades Brighter Futures Worldwide has given more than 59,000 households access to health services, with results including a 92% reduction in respiratory illnesses and a more than 250% increase in the safe delivery of babies.

Their Economic Empowerment Programme has seen a 67% take up in business training projects aimed at generating new income, with the provision of education a key element of their ongoing work.

During her time in Kenya, Fiona will work alongside other volunteers on the charitys life-skills peer education and economic empowerment programmes.

She said that priority on these programmes is given to girls and women, who undertake the bulk of unpaid work and people in other vulnerable groups such as those with disabilities.

Brighter Communities Worldwide is quite unique in that it works in partnership with local communities in Kenya and its success is largely built on facilitating communities to determine what they need. I really like that their programmes equip local people with the skills needed to create a sustainable future, whether that be in areas of health, equality or through delivery of information to help communities to set up income generating projects, said Fiona.

It means that after we, the volunteers have left , the local community can continue to educate and support each other. Its not a stop-start mission. It is this concept of partnership that Brighter Communities has excelled at, by empowering communities to achieve their goals, all the while providing support and friendship, she added.

During the trip to Kenya Fiona hopes to visit the Bakara Agricultural College, a vitally important facility in light of the fact that many people in Kericho County rely on agriculture for their main source of income.

The college is committed to the promotion of sustainable agriculture for rural development through education, training and a dedicated outreach programme, said Fiona.

I have started the Green Cert in Pallaskenry, Co Limerick so I might pick up a few useful tips on the trip to help with that too, she added.

Fiona has busy raising thousands of Euros ahead of the trip to Kenya, recently climbing Carrauntoohil with a group of friends as part of her fundraising drive.

Family and friends have been incredibly supportive of my trip to Kenya, said Fiona.

A lot of people have been interested to learn about the work of Brighter Communities Worldwide and hopefully by increasing awareness of the charity and the positive impact it has, more people might consider volunteering themselves in the future, she added.
Former Cork footballer Valerie Mulcahy and Meg Blyth were among the first same sex couples to get married in Cork after the marriage referendum.

The number of same sex couples in Cork has almost doubled in the six years between the 2016 and 2022 Censuses while its tripled since 2011, the last Census before the 2015 Marriage Referendum.

According to the latest release of figures from the Central Statistics Office regarding the 2022 Census, there were 1055 same sex couples in Cork City and County on Census Night last year.

This is up from 558 in Census 2016, the year after the Marriage Referendum and 287 in the 2011 Census. The increase from 2016 to 2022 expressed in percentage terms is 89 per cent. This compares with a 72 per cent increase across the State while the increase nationally since 2011 was 157 per cent. The highest percentage increase of same sex couples was in Meath - up 152 per cent  an increase of 194 couples. Of these same-sex couples, 5,930 were male couples with the remaining 43 per cent female.

The number of children in same sex couple families has also increased dramatically since 2011. That year there were 353 children in same sex couple families and this increased to 997 children in 2016. The figure for 2022 was 1,853 children in same sex couple families.

In terms of an overall picture in relation to families, the number of families in all types of accommodation in Cork City and County in 2022 was 146,235 while it was 138,895 in 2016. The corresponding figure for 2011 was 133, 343.

There has been a 4.14 per cent increase in the number of families in private households living in rented accommodation in Cork City and County between the 2016 and 2022 censuses. There were 34,326 families in rented accommodation in Cork in 2016 and this increased to 35,747.

According to the CSO release issued last week, Macroom electoral area is among the highest in the country for adults living with their parents

According to the statement issued last week, 16.1 per cent of adults inhabiting in the Macroom Electoral Division were living at home with their parents. The percentage of adults living with their parents in Carrigaline was also high at 15.7 per cent. The overall figure for Cork city and county was 13.57 per cent.

The number of adults living with their parents across the State has risen by 14 per cent since 2016 to 522,486. This represents an increase of 63,612 since 2016 and 83,008 since 2011. More than half of all adults living with their parents are working, with 54 per cent of men and 50 per cent of women in employment.

CSO findings on the number of adults living at home comes following data released by Eurostat earlier this month showing the number of Irish adults living with their parents had almost doubled in the last decade. Galway city had the lowest proportion of adults living with their parents at 9pc while South Dublin had the highest proportion at 16pc.

The Macroom electoral area is also among the municipal districts (MD) with the highest average number of children in the State. The CSO release from the Census disclosed the average family in the MD was 1.48, where the average for the county is 1.40. The highest in the country is in Finglas/Lusk in Dublin with 1.52.

These latest sets of figures give planners an interesting into insight into what the needs of Corks population will be in the coming years and where the expected areas of growth will be. It will be doubly interesting to see how they will respond.
The couple are having a ceremony ahead of World Alzheimers Day on September 21

Brid Kelly, who lives with Alzheimers, and her husband and primary carer Vincent, will celebrate 60 years of marriage

A Dublin couple who are affected by dementia are going to renew their vows on their 60th wedding anniversary.

Brid Kelly, who lives with Alzheimers, and Vincent Kelly, her primary carer, will celebrate six decades of marriage at The Alzheimer Society of Irelands (The ASI) Curlew Road Day Care Centre in Drimnagh, Dublin, on September 15.

Brid, who is originally from Monaghan, has been going to Curlew Road for several years.

She first met Dubliner Vincent in 1960 through his younger sister. Vincent says Brids blue eyes and smile stood out above everything else.

After a few more chance encounters, Vincent asked Brid out later the following year, and they got married in Rathfarnham Church on September 16, 1963.

The couple, who have five children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, are having a vow renewal ceremony ahead of World Alzheimers Day on September 21 to raise funds for the centre.

The ASI Manager for Curlew Road Day Care, Noel Quilantang, and his team are working hard to ensure the event is special.

Noel has also taken on the wedding coordinator and florist role as a way to create a meaningful experience for the family.

This wedding celebration is not just about reliving cherished memories, its a chance for the Kelly family to make new ones, he said.

Brid and Vincent Kelly on their wedding day in Rathfarnham on September 16, 1963

We want to create a day that will remain in Brid and Vincents hearts. Having Alzheimers or another form of dementia doesnt mean you cant experience new things.

You can still find joy and togetherness by being in the present. Despite the challenges posed by Brids Alzheimers, their commitment to one another remains unshakable.

Theyre a lovely couple, and we are so grateful they are marking this milestone by helping to raise funds for Curlew Road Day Care Centre, from which our service users will greatly benefit.

The event promises to be a great day for their friends and our service users - maybe even the wedding of the year, he added.

The ceremony will include a best man, bridesmaids, flower girls and a page boy, and will pay tribute to their original wedding day in 1963.

Brids wedding bouquet will be replicated, and the couple will drive to the church in Rathfarnham before the vow renewal ceremony at Curlew Road.

To add extra nostalgia, their first wedding dance song, Kiss Me Quick by Brendan Bowyer, which happened to be Irelands top song in September 1963, will be played at the reception.

Vincent said believes the key to a long, healthy marriage is talking and listening.

Rather than wedding gifts, he encourages well-wishers to donate to The ASIs Curlew Road Day Care Centre in Dublin, which has made a huge difference to their lives.

Brid enjoys being at the centre. She loves the music and learning new songs, he said.

Everyone I have come into contact with at The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is exceptional, and we want to give back to Curlew Road Day Care Centre for all the support they have given us.

An estimated 64,000 people live with dementia in Ireland. Its a progressive disease and there is currently no cure. You can find out more about the fundraiser here.
Sarah O'Connor, from Lucan in Dublin, takes on the role of Glinda in Wicked: The Musical

A Dublin woman is swapping her Lucan life for the magical fantasy world of Oz as she is taking on the lead role in Wicked the Musical.

Sarah OConnor will portray the bubbly and popular Glinda on the UK and Ireland tour alongside Laura Pick, who will paint the town green as fellow witch Elphaba.

Sarah (34), is in good company as pop superstar Ariana Grande is also taking on the role of Glinda in the upcoming Wicked movie, due out next year.

Sarah attended Dublins Westside Performing Arts and was a finalist in the RTE talent show Fame: The Musical, before making her West End debut in Mamma Mia! in 2011.

She has starred in a number of other West End shows including Les Miserables; as Imelda Quirke in The Commitments; Evita; Waitress; Dolly Partons Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol; and, most recently, as Anna in Disneys Frozen.

Its hard to express how thrilling it is to finally come home to Dublin and play Glinda - an iconic role in one of the best musicals ever written - at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Sarah said.

Its so exciting to get to perform in my hometown, for Irish audiences, in a role that has been a dream of mine for years.

Wicked tells the story of an unlikely friendship between the popular Glinda and a misunderstood green girl named Elphaba

The West End and Broadway musical tells the story of the Witches of Oz. Its returning to Dublins Bord Gais Energy Theatre for a third time, following sold-out visits in 2013 and 2018.

Wicked Executive Producer, Michael McCabe, said: As we prepare for a much-anticipated third visit to Dublins Bord Gais Energy Theatre, were delighted to announce a truly stellar cast led by Laura Pick and Sarah OConnor as Elphaba and Glinda.

Dirty Dancing stage cast discuss 'the lift', physical endurance, and teach some moves

The Tony Award winning show will run from July 23 next year to Sunday, September 15. Tickets are on sale now.

Wicked has won over 100 awards including three Tony Awards; six Drama Desk Awards; two Olivier Awards; eleven WhatsOnStage Awards; six Australian Helpmann Awards, and a Grammy - so its not one to be missed.
Residents living close to the Island of Geese amenity site in Tralee have called for CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras to monitor anti-social behaviour at night.

Some residents are objecting to gangs of youths congregating in the facility where they are drinking and creating a noise nuisance.

Residents also feel that as the amenity area is adjacent to Tralee Garda Station, it should be relatively straight forward to monitor and police.

The amphitheatre section of the Island of Geese was recently painted to cover over obscene graffiti that defaced the impressive public structure. Empty bottles and cans are left strewn on the steps of the amphitheatre after late-night drinking sessions.

Labour Party Councillor Terry OBrien was approached by residents asking if he would bring the issue before Kerry County Council (KCC), who are the custodians of the site.

Ive been contacted by people living close to it who say while its a lovely facility by day, at night there is an element of blackguarding going on. They are asking if cameras could cover the area, even for a short term, Cllr OBrien said.

Plans are already in place to construct apartments and a courthouse on much of the remaining open spaces at Island of Geese. It means much of the site is earmarked for a combination of commercial use and social housing.

The green areas that are there now will eventually be gone. But what the residents are telling me is that while the site is in its current format, there should be greater security and Garda presence. Personally, Im not one for CCTV as it will only make people move on to another spot and cause trouble there. However, the residents want this, he added.

Cllr OBrien raised the matter at the recent Tralee Municipal District meeting. KCC said the current legal basis for the provision of CCTV for the purposes of monitoring crime and anti-social behaviour in public spaces requires permission from the Garda Commissioner under Section 38 of the Garda Act 2005.

KCC added the permission would require a Data Protection Impact Assessment, whereby the Data Controllers, namely, in this instance, KCC, would undertake an assessment of the privacy risks, and that the scheme is necessary and proportionate. This assessment should be backed up by crime incidence data.

In addition, KCC stated: The Gardas CCTV advisory committee meet once each quarter to assess applications for approval and make a recommendation to the Garda Commissioner. Obviously, capital funding and operational supports need to be put in place for any such scheme.

The Garda Press Office was contacted asking if Tralee Garda Station plan to include the Island of Geese under its current CCTV remit. No reply has yet been received.
Concerns over what has been described as a large scale development of a hydrogen plant have been aired by councillors at Mondays County Council meeting. Gerry McLaughlin reports

The worlds largest facility for producing hydrogen using renewable energy is the Fukushima Hydrogen Energy Research Field

Sligo County Council will be asking An Bord Pleanala to hold a public oral hearing into plans to develop a major Hydrogen plant in West Sligo.

The call comes after concerns were raised about the 2oom plant which is proposed for Castleconnor.

The Council made the call after a motion from Cllr Declan Bree proposed that given the complex nature of the application and the need for openness and transparency we request An Bord Pleanala to hold an oral hearing as part of the Strategic Infrastructure Development process.

Before the meeting was a report on the Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID) application by Irish firm Mercury Renewables for a Hydrogen Plant within Castleconnor, Co Sligo and 13 no. wind turbines in Bunnyconnellan, Co Mayo, which was submitted to An Bord Pleanala last July subject to the attachment of any additional recommendations agreed by resolution at the meeting by councillors.

An SID is a specific class of development as defined in the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), and generally includes large-scale projects in energy, transport, environment, and health sectors where the decision-making procedure requires an application to be submitted directly to the Board as opposed to the local planning authority.

Mercury Renewables already has planning permission for 21 wind turbines at the Firlough site. The hydrogen plant will be located approximately 600m southwest of the N59 nearby to the junction with the L6612 within the townland of Carraun, approximately 7km south of Enniscrone and 5.6km northeast of Ballina

There are various items of ancillary infrastructure to accompany and facilitate the development (e.g. substations, underground cables, highway alterations, demolition of agricultural buildings, forestry felling and replanting etc) and this includes the interconnector between the wind farm and the hydrogen plant and which will partly be located in Co Sligo.

The development will also require both construction and alterations to the local road network (e.g. widening of roads and junctions) to allow for the delivery of turbine components and a significant element of this will be within Co. Sligo.

There will be alterations to the local road network including junction widening/improvement and provision of a roundabout at the entrance to the hydrogen plant.

The construction of the hydrogen plant is anticipated to last 21 months.

Cllr Bree said the provision of renewable energy is required to meet national energy needs and replace fossil fuel use.

Renewable energy will also contribute significantly in terms of climate change mitigation, he added.

However, I understand that serious questions have been asked about how this particular development could impact the Castleconnor community.

I therefore believe that an oral hearing would be appropriate.

The meeting was told the entire development consists of an application for a HydrogenPlant at Castleconnor and 13 wind turbines in Bunnyconnellan in County Mayo.

West Sligo Independent Cllr Joe Queenan said they were told that hydrogen is green energy and this was government policy.

But he said there genuine concerns in West Sligo about the location of the hydrogen plant.

He said the principle was fine but the issue had been diluted somewhat by the PR campaign the company had, in offering 500,000 per year to community groups which will be divided equally between Sligo and Mayo.

We know nothing about this hydrogen plant and it was something new in our area.

He said it was only natural that people would have concerns. There were no public meetings but in fairness to the company they held open days in Castleconnor and Bunnyconnellan and he was at those days.

Cllr Queenan said the big issue was the water-the amount of water that was being used and the hydrogen plant would need large volumes of water.

The company say they are going to dig it out of the ground and would use rain water.

That was fine, but if hundreds of gallons of water were being taken out of the ground, it has to lower the water levels and it has to have environmental challenges down the line.

The company were also saying they would take some local mains water from Lough Easkey.

I have concerns of the environmental impact on that whole area.

Cllr Queenan added that it was well known that anyone who applied for planning permission on the N59 from Ballisodare to the Mayo border had got zero tolerance from Transport Infrastructrue Ireland.

And here now is a big development and I am asking the TII to treat the small people the same as the big people.

Cllr Queenan said he was all for progress and for green energy but the Council needed to be careful as it was half Sligo and half Mayo with two different community groups and they are not together.

We have to be careful that we get it right from our side.

He said the proposed hydrogen plant was on the Sligo/Mayo border and while the turbines were in County Mayo, the bogs in that area were used by people in county Sligo.

If the 13 turbine development got the go ahead all the machinery would be coming up the Sligo road.

It was important that Sligo County Council staff were aware that these were very poor roads and a serious financial bond should be put in place to ensure that all these roads were re-instated.

West Sligo roads were going to be affected because of the proposed route, he stressed.

Cllr Queenan also asked that the bog roads be brought up to a proper standard as well.

And while turf cutting was in decline, these roads could also be used for walks.

Independent Cllr Marie Casserly said there were concerns in the community in west Sligo and she wondered if the planners would be submitting any other observations.

She added that there seemed to be some unanswered questions from those people who were living close to the proposed development.

Cllr Casserly said there were dangerous junctions on the N59 and they were barely mentioned in the transport and traffic report.

She wondered if the entire project was premature because there were huge transport issues.

She said the developers needed to engage a lot more with the local community.

Director of Services Dorothy Clarke said the Council has an opportunity to make a submission by September 13.

Before An Bord Pleanala make a decision, they may hold an oral hearing which meant that they would be coming down to Sligo and Mayo.

It would depend on the feedback they got through this process

Cllr Brees proposal was adopted.

A report from Ms Clarke concluded: As a general point, it is noted that the submitted application and assessment tends to focus of the impact on the wind energy development and with less emphasis on the hydrogen plant.

While this is partly understandable, it should be noted that, on an individual basis, the hydrogen plant site is a significant scale of development. As such, the Board, in making its decision, should ensure that appropriate weight and consideration should be given to this aspect of the development and the potential impacts on the environment and the proper planning and sustainable development of County Sligo.
RSK Group, a global leader in the delivery of sustainable solutions, comprises over 200 companies, which employ over 12,000 people. Its annual turnover in 2022 was 796 million.

Jennings ODonovan specialises in renewable energy, water supply, wastewater treatment and the provision of planning and environmental services. It was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Sligo with a workforce of 100, bringing RSK Groups team in Ireland to over 600.

The terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. All Jennings ODonovan staff and management will remain in place following the acquisition. RSKs acquisition adviser was Cortus Advisory Group.

Jennings ODonovans clients include local authorities, water and power utilities, private developers and industries in Ireland and overseas. The primary markets it currently operates in include Ireland, the United Kingdom and Eastern Europe.

Projects by Jennings ODonovan have included the award winning Meenadreen Wind Farm; Nysater Wind Farm, Sweden; Lumcloon Battery Energy Storage Facility, Co Offaly; Lough Rynn International Rowing Course, Co Leitrim; the Carrick-on-Shannon to Battlebridge Blueway, Co Leitrim and Sligo GAA Centre of Excellence at Scarden.

Jennings ODonovans workforce includes design engineers, planners, project managers, environmental scientists and resident engineers. With an annual turnover of 8.2 million, the consulting services provided by the company cover a broad range of sectors, including civil, structural and environmental engineering, health and safety, building and infrastructure, tourism and leisure amenity, water, wastewater, planning and the renewable energy sector.

Jennings ODonovan Director David Kiely, who will continue to lead the business, said:

We are delighted to be joining the RSK Group and becoming part of the wider RSK family. This acquisition will see our staff and business continuing as normal while moving to new ownership within a larger organisation that will support our continued growth and development in line with our commitment to the principles of climate action and the low carbon economy.

RSK Group Chief Executive Officer Alan Ryder said:

Jennings ODonovan has enviable skills and experience in crucial sectors that are so important to RSK across the world and are key to our commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These include renewables, water and wastewater, planning and environment and building and infrastructure, to name just a few. In renewables alone, the business has a project portfolio extending to more than 2500 MW of power and it is a recognised market leader in wind energy development. When this portfolio is completed, total investment will extend to 3 billion in the wind energy sector.

This acquisition is one that will play an important role in further strengthening our operations in the renewables, environmental and water sectors in particular but equally, Jennings ODonovans experience and track record for delivery and service excellence in other sectors adds to our diversity and growth.
The United States Congress Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission held a hearing on September 6 on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the blockade of the Lachin Corridor.

September 7, 2023, 10:17 U.S. congressman, experts call on Biden Administration to stop genocide by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh

STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 7, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: Chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), leading international legal expert Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) warned the United States is at risk of becoming complicit in an ongoing genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh, where 120,000 Armenians have been sealed off from food and medicine and are being starved to death by the government of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin Corridorthe lone road from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakhconstitutes genocide under Article II (c) of the Genocide Convention.

The Biden Administration must say immediately that this is genocideand put a stop to it, said Rep. Smith, Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, who noted that both the US State Department and USAID did not respond to his invitation to testify at the hearing. Delay is denial.

This crimeit is the crime of genocidewas planned, tested, and imposed by the government of Azerbaijan, that is to say by President Ilham Aliyev, who rules Azerbaijan as a dictator, said Smith, who met with Aliyev twicein 2013 and again in 2014to discuss his human rights abuses and later authored the Azerbaijan Democracy Act in 2015, Smiths office reported.

The Biden Administration must wake up, recognize the absolutely grave responsibility it has here, and focus on finding and implementing a humane solution, said Smith. And this must mean that the blockade is lifted and the people continue to live in their ancient homelandand not be subject to violence and threats. This situation is now a three-alarm fire.

In addition to Ocampos compelling testimony, Smiths hearing also included testimony from David Phillips, the Director of Columbia Universitys Artsakh Atrocities Project and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Universitys School of Foreign Service.

The language used by President Aliyev and his officials leaves no question about their genocidal intent, said Phillips, who provided extensive evidence as part of his testimony, including a list of perpetrators who are responsible for the atrocities in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The international community failed to sanction individuals who committed crimes after the war in 2016 and 2020, Phillips said. Its failure sent a message to the Government of Azerbaijan that it can act with impunity and escape repercussions for its crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and acts of genocide.

Smith, who chaired a hearing on the unfolding crisis two months ago in June, said the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is much more desperate now, and two-and-a-half more months of inaction raises the question whether there is, within our own government, any will to help. In August, when the Security Council met in special session to discuss the crisis, neither the US nor any other member took action to refer this matter to the International Criminal Court.

Of course we know the Biden administration does not want this genocide to advance to a horrible consummation in the death of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh or to their ethnic cleansing, but that is exactly where events are headed, said Smith.

The US should openly inform the Azerbaijan government that without the immediate and unconditional removal of the Lachin Corridor blockade, the US would consider Azerbaijan to be committing genocide, Ocampo said.
Launch of the Alzheimer Memory walk which will take place in Tintern Abbey on Sunday, September 24. From left; Sharon Pettit, Verona Murphy TD, Catherine O'Leary and Mary Conroy Thomas from Alzheimers society. Photo; Mary Browne

Pictured at the launch of the Alzheimer Society of Ireland's 'Memory Walk 2023' in Courtown were Linda Sinnott (Courtown Community Council), Tom Kinsella, Rebecca Roberts, Marc Pascoal (Gorey Meals-on-Wheels), Christina Furlong, Emma Hart, Colin Webb (Gorey Meals-on-Wheels), Cathryn O'Leary, Craig Lang (Riverchapel Community Complex) Mary Conroy Thoms. Pic: Jim Campbell

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland will hold the Alzheimer Memory Walk across various locations nationwide on Sunday, September 24, including at Tintern Abbey and Courtown Woods in Co Wexford.

The Memory Walks are family friendly events suitable for all ages and walking abilities to unite friends, families and communities to raise awareness and funds for dementia supports.

The society are hoping to attract 3,000 walkers from all across Ireland to join in and help raise funds for vital services that support so many people living with dementia and those who care for them. These services include daycare, daycare at home, family carer training, social clubs, cafes and a national helpline.

The Courtown Woods Alzheimers Memory Walk starts at 11am at the footbridge in Courtowns main car park and the Tintern Abbey Walk will commence from 2pm on Sunday, September 24.

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland provides many of these vital dementia-specific services. Funds raised from the Memory Walk will help to keep these services going.

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland opened a new Day Care branch at Riverchapel in Wexford last April which provides day care services for people living with Dementia in the area. The society also provides home care supports to 90 families across Wexford. These supports are a lifeline for many families who have a loved one living with Dementia.

Speaking of the Wexford events, Cathryn OLeary, National Community Engagement Manager and Local Champion for Wexfords Memory Walk said: Im absolutely delighted to be a memory walk champion as I work and live in Wexford and I can see firsthand the amazing work the Alzheimer Society of Ireland does here. With the help of people supporting the walk we can make those services even greater.

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland in Wexford has the support of many local groups and organisations including Courtown Community Council, Meals on Wheels in Gorey, Riverchapel Community Complex, Gorey Mens Shed and Active Tribe Limited who are sponsoring refreshments after the walk in Courtown and Tintern Abbey. Id like to sincerely thank these groups for their support.

An estimated 64,000 people live with dementia in Ireland, which according to leading dementia experts will more than double in the next 25 years to over 150,000 by 2045. In County Wexford, it is estimated there are currently close on 2,500 people living with dementia.

Independent TD for Wexford, Verona Murphy, will be a local champion and walk leader for the Alzheimers Memory Walk in South County Wexford.

Deputy Murphy said: Dementia, most sadly, gravely affects all aspects of a persons life. The person living with dementia is not the person they use to be and this can be extremely difficult to accept for everyone. Daily life is very different than it once use to be.

She said family and friends can find the psychological and emotional impact of dementia on their loved one extremely difficult to understand and accept. "Alzheimers and dementia is a debilitating illness that changes the lives of entire families and most sadly it is an illness which is becoming more prevalent each year. This walk gives families, friends and those living with dementia the opportunity to come together, honour, celebrate and most importantly raise funds for the vital support services the Alzheimer Society of Ireland provides.
The death occurred earlier this year of Rosbercon woman Lourdes Roche, who lived a full life, working in the media and travelling widely.

Late of Ballybeg House, Rosbercon and Burleigh Court, Ballsbridge, Lourdes (Lou) passed away peacefully on April 26, aged 95.

Lourdes was born at Ballybeg House on September 6,1927, to Agnes (nee Courtney) and Jimmy Roche.

The eldest of three  her sister Anne lives in Cork, while her brother Anthony still resides at Ballybeg  Lourdes grandfather was a Courtney from Annascaul, Co Kerry, whose nephew was the famous explorer Tom Crean, a family link Lourdes was particularly proud of and researched over the years.

Lourdes was educated locally in the Holy Faith Convent where she made lifelong friends, including Chrissie French and Betty Shannon. She finished her formal education in the Ursuline Convent in Thurles.

As a teenager Lourdes developed a hearing impairment and despite her disability she managed to pass her Leaving Cert.

After school, Lourdes moved to Dublin where she was to reside for the next 70 years of her life.

She started her career in The Irish Press Newspaper Group on Burgh Quay. Lourdes worked in the photography department and was informed from the get go that she needed to have a working knowledge of every department of the newspaper, from politics to sport to business and the arts.

Lourdes was especially interested in current affairs and read several newspapers from cover to cover every day, and never missed her weekly New Ross Standard.

On Lourdes first day at The Irish Press the editor introduced her to a woman a fellow countywoman  who haled from near New Ross, Rita Rackard, a brother of the famous Bobby and they remained firm friends for decades (even though Lourdes was technically from Kilkenny!).

Lourdes travelled widely, including to Rome on two ferry crossings in her twenties and later to Europe, America and even China.

She lived a vibrant and full life on her own terms. She was entertaining, good humoured and kind and did what she wanted to with her time, being independent minded.

She enjoyed books, fine dining and stimulating conversations.

Lourdes made new friends everywhere she went, but she held onto old friends too, visiting Biddy Meagher and Peggy Walsh on her regular visits home. She loved playing bridge and was active on her iPad chatting with her nieces up until her final weeks.

Lourdes was a much-loved auntie. Her apartment in Burleigh Court was a home from home for visitors to Dublin and for her nieces in college in the 1990s, for whom she provided regular lifts up and down to Dublin in her yellow Renault 5 stuffed to the roof with friends and luggage.

In her final days Lourdes was surrounded by family and friends and received wonderful care from the Little Sisters of the Poor in Ferrybank, Co Waterford.

She is deeply missed by her sister Anne (Murphy), brother Anthony, sister-in-law Margaret. Beloved aunt to Miriam, Rosemary, Orla, Eimear, Peter, Carmel and Marie. Also her nephews-in-law Bryan, Jack, Brian, Rob and Ike.

She was a treasured grand-aunt to Conor, Lucy, David, Bobby, Dan, Rosanne, Holly, Fionn and Paddy, and is dearly missed by her extended family, neighbours, and so many good friends.

A large crowd attended Lourdes Requiem Mass in St. Joseph's Nursing Home, Little Sisters of The Poor, Ferrybank followed by her burial in Rosbercon Cemetery

May she rest in peace.
Members of the 402 Art Collective pictured at the Abbey Lane mural community event in Arklow. Photo: Michael Kelly

The 402 Art Collective, in partnership with Arklow Town Team, hosted an afternoon of art, music and culture on Abbey Lane, where they commenced their medieval mural on the side of Talk to Toms building.

Festivities on the day included busking and art competitions, with crowds of eager participants invited to get involved in the painting of the mural, which was designed and painted by talented local artist Adam Burke, create their own shields and have a selfie taken with three real-life vikings.

Inhabiting the roles of the invading Danes were Cathal M. Gaffney, James Burke and Ulrich Loos-Keegan, accompanied by two medieval wenches, Patricia Clyne Kelly and Cara O Connor.

Providing the backing track for the fun-filled day, buskers Joe Shelton, Cian Doyle, Ravi Kasinathan and Bernard Naughton serenaded curious onlookers, while the Royal Hotel laid out a spread of free fish and chips that went down a treat.

I think it's safe to say that the 402 Art Collective Arklows community event on Abbey Lane was a fantastic success, a 402 spokesperson said.

Thank you to all the terrific 402 artist members who rolled up their sleeves, put on their battle gear and entertained the masses.

Adam Burke is a fantastic up-and-coming local artist who has designed and painted the mural. We are very fortunate to have him do it, as I really believe Adam is on the path to greatness in the art world.

The community were entertained by our four wonderful buskers all day, who were judged in the competition by Glenn Kinsella.

The whole community was fed by The Royal Arklow, and a big thanks goes to Kyle Hudson and Dean Dickenson for sponsoring the best fish and chips ever! We really appreciated the kind gesture and community give-back by this local business. There wasn't a bit left!

Finally, thank you to Talk to Tom and Donal Power for letting us use the wall for the mural. It was so well received, and it's going to be a great asset to the laneway.

The feedback from the day was amazing, with everyone wanting 'more of this' type of event in Arklow.

The Abbey Lane Mural Project came about after the historical findings on Abbey Lane and subsequent reports created by local historian Jim Rees and Yvonne Whitty, an archaeologist who is part of the Medieval Arklow Team.

The 402 Art Collective are encouraging everyone to learn more about their local heritage and become actively involved in protecting, conserving and restoring our natural and built heritage.

The new mural will hopefully play a large part in animating the stories of Arklows heritage through a series of QR codes, which will be integrated into the mural and linked to videos on the seaside towns natural and built heritage.

The Avoca River and the story of the journey of the salmon feature in the mural, with links to East Wicklow Rivers Trusts' 'A Vision of the Avoca' Document and Arklow Town Team and EWRTs Harbour to Headwater projects and videos are also important elements of the mural.

The project hopes to support local artists, the fantastic heritage museum at Arklow Maritime Museum, the work of the Community Archaeologist and WCC Heritage Team, Our Wicklow Heritage together with the great work of East Wicklow Rivers Trust, and would not be possible without the support of Creative Ireland Funding, Wicklow County Council, Lawpro and SSE Renewables.

402 Art Collective member Cllr Peir Leonard added: The event was great for the community, and loads of people came down. There were children doing art and buskers. It just showcased the laneway being the perfect location to have a little outdoor community hub  to help regenerate Main Street.

Everyone has a go at the mural, making clay mandalas and doing etchings. The Royal Hotel gave us free fish and chips, and it was absolutely gorgeous - everyone was raving about it!

There was a lovely vibe, and people have been messaging me asking for more of the same, saying it's exactly what Arklow needs. Were certainly hoping to have more events on the lane going forward.

You can visit the 402 Art Collective gallery at The Sheds Gallery, Ballyraine Campus, Arklow, which is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, and contact them directly via collective402@gmail.com or theshedsgallery@gmail.com
ADHD Ireland is running a free event for teenagers at Bray Bowl, starting at 6.00pm and running until 8.00pm, on Thursday, September 14. It is billed as a social occasion, something of a meet-up with free pizza, bowling and of course, plenty of time to mix and chat.

ADHD Irelands aim is to envisage a future where all individuals affected by ADHD are included, supported, and empowered in all contexts of their lives (e.g. school, work, home, and socially) to participate fully within, benefit from, and contribute meaningfully to Irish society.

ADHD Ireland is the national organisation that works to support those with ADHD and endeavours to enable this. ADHD is a genetic and long-term condition which affects learning and behaviour right through the school years and in many cases beyond into adulthood. ADHD is a disorder that can co-exist to a greater or lesser degree, with any or other disorders such as dyslexia, autism, learning disorder, dyspraxia, conduct disorder, oppositional defiance disorder.

ADHD Irelands objective is to support young people and adults with ADHD, and there are a range of supports in place. Entry to the bowling evening requires registration: adhdireland.ie
A new addition to the coffee houses of Bray has opened at the top of the towns Main Street, with Firehouse Cafe, which has embraced a unique theme to stand out above the crowd  namely the Fire Brigade.

With its shelves full of helmets, badges and other assorted paraphernalia, it sits directly opposite the location of the old Bray Fire Station, which was built in 1955 behind the Town Hall until the services were moved to Ballywaltrim in the late 1980s.

But that is not the only reason why a fire brigade-themed cafe was chosen, as its owner, Bray native John ORourke, is himself a firefighter, having followed in the footsteps of his father, who spent his career in the service.

John started out in catering school in the 1980s, studying at Cathal Brugha Street as his father worked in the Dublin Brigade, doing his best at regular intervals to encourage his son to follow suit.

John spent 10 years in the hospitality industry, in hotels and restaurants, and even running an Irish bar in France, until an opportunity came up in the Fire Brigade, which he took. He has now been working as a full-time fire fighter for 24 years in Dublin.

John though, clearly needs his coffee, working shift patterns of a day and two nights, or two days and one night, leaving the running of the new cafe to his son, Aaron, in his absence.

Youre in the station all the time, John says. A night shift is from six in the evening until nine in the morning. Thats what I was doing last night, he adds, as he takes a sip from something called a cortado.

There are those who go straight for their espressos for that direct hit and there are those who like to carry their Americanos or lattes with them as a trophy of sorts, sipping on them for hours as they go through their day. A cortado is something in between. It consists of espresso mixed with a roughly equal amount of warm milk to reduce that acidity, which normally requires a few strong mints to clear up.

The milk in a cortado is steamed, but not frothy, as with a macchiato. Its all a bit complex, but John insists the cortado is the way to go for the in-betweeners.

He also insists the strength does the job following a night shift or two with the Brigade.

Catering was always my passion, even from the age of 15 as a kitchen porter. Ive always had it in my blood and its come full circle, he says.

John rejuvenated his catering roots a number of years ago by first opening a trailer, just as Covid began to spread, in Newtowmountkennedy. As it turned out, it was something of a success given the closure of the sector.

People loved it because all the coffee shops closed. All the mums would come down with their babies and chat away. The whole thing about coffee shops, he explains, is you need to be able to have a chat with someone. You have to be able to react with people when they come in, he adds, as a customer walks by and gives a warm salutation.

Because he was powering his cortados and Americanos off a noisy generator, John eventually had to move and took up residence over in Belmont, where he spent a year until the restaurant opened, and he was forced to find a suitable premises around Bray, which, many would assume has enough coffee outlets already.

Were slow starting off, he admits, when the schools are back though, this will be massive for me as this will be my end of the town.

Indeed, given the number of schools in the area, John will surely be back to serving the jaded mums  and dads  all over again, as he is in a prime location to do just that. When the footfall increases, he hopes to slowly begin to add some food offerings  more pastries, possibly high-end toasties with decent sourdough bread.

There is a very, very good mark up on coffee, he explains. But Ive done this a bit off the cuff, and I know I can keep the costs down because one person, maybe two can run it. I roast my own beans, so Im lucky that way.

John uses the beans provided by importer, Greenbean, an Irish fella who lived over in Brazil for three years who he likes to support, but he does his own roasting - a skill he learnt after 100 hours on YouTube (but naturally, his years of experience in the catering industry comes into it). But it is a science, he adds.

The fire brigade theme, John explains, not only mirrors his own passion for the service but that of his father, who has since passed away. And on the recent strikes in the Retained Service, John says that while a retained service is fine for certain rural parts of the country, for Bray, it should be full-time.

Its not good enough with the size of Bray and Greystones, he says, adding the fire service is antiquated.

His cafe is open Monday to Saturday from 7.30am to 4pm, as a lot of people dont drink coffee after four. Unless, that is, youre a fire fighter. I drink coffee at all hours.
Delays in the processing of applications to the Solar Capital Investment Scheme are causing consternation in the Wicklow farming community.

Wicklow councillor Sylvester Bourke has empathised with Garden County farmers who have become frustrated by delays in processing their applications under the government's cumbersome Solar Capital Investment Scheme.

A tillage and poultry farmer from Arklow, Cllr Bourke is one of over 750 farmers who have applied for the scheme, which, much to the consternation of industry insiders, falls under the broader Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS).

Irish Farmers Association (IFA) Environment Chair Paul OBrien recently questioned the commitment of the Department of Agriculture to the solar scheme, which offers 60 per cent grant aid for solar, with a statement released by the IFA outlining that they had been inundated with queries seeking clarity on the scheme and the wider TAMS programme.

Echoing the IFAs sentiments, Cllr Bourke said that the combination of delays in solar grant applications, due to the processing of other grants within TAMS, and the lack of information provided to farmers on when approvals will be issued, despite Tranche 1 opening for applications in early Spring, is a source of much frustration on the ground.

There is certainly an annoyance there with the delays in the processing of applications, Cllr Bourke said.

I applied for and put up a 9 kilowatt set up, which Im looking to expand, and have an application in for it, but Ive heard nothing from the Department since. Ive been in touch with a supplier, and it seems like there might not be any movement on it until the end of the year.

I suppose, looking at the scheme more generally, there is a sentiment out there that the whole process is too cumbersome and further complicated by being under the broad umbrella of the TAMS.

Some farmers are put off by the cost associated with it, in terms of the time spent to complete the complicated application and the fact that you need someone  be it an energy expert or a Teagasc member  to help you fill out the application.

Wicklow farmers have clearly shown their commitment to sustainable practices and playing their part in easing the energy crisis, and are trying to embrace the scheme, but it has left a lot to be desired.

The lack of transparent information has left some farmers in limbo as they wait to hear back, and there is certainly a feeling that their commitment isnt being matched with an expeditious response from the Department.
The Hollywood St. Kevins Way group are hosting a guided 19km walk through the Wicklow Mountains on Saturday, October 14.

The Hollywood St. Kevins Way group are hosting a guided 19km walk through the Wicklow Mountains on Saturday, October 14.

The Hollywood St. Kevins Way group are hosting a guided 19km walk through the Wicklow Mountains on Saturday, October 14.

The Hollywood St. Kevins Way group are hosting a guided 19km walk through the Wicklow Mountains on Saturday, October 14.

The Hollywood St. Kevins Way group are hosting a guided 19km walk through the Wicklow Mountains on Saturday, October 14.

The Hollywood St. Kevins Way group are hosting a guided 19km walk through the Wicklow Mountains on Saturday, October 14.

The Hollywood St. Kevins Way group are hosting a guided 19km walk following the Glendalough saint's footsteps through the spectacular Wicklow Mountains on Saturday, October 14.

Meeting at 8 a.m., the walk will begin with registration in Granamore near Hollywood, with a bus providing transport to the start of the walk at Glendalough before the group walks via the Miners Village, over the scenic Wicklow Gap, down past St Kevin's Pool, to Ballinagee Bridge, then following the trail back to the starting point, finishing at approximately 3 p.m.

Parking on the day will be in Granamore, Valleymount, with the bus taking attendees from the parking location to the start in Glendalough. Refreshments, including tea, coffee and water refills will be provided for walkers. Enjoy Anns famous breakfast quiche, Roses delish chocolate biscuit and more!

St Kevin's Way Hollywood Group loves to host walkers from all over Ireland and beyond on our beautiful pilgrim path, an organiser said.

Come and experience the wild Wicklow mountains, the bubbling rivers and streams, come and enjoy the refreshments served and meet like-minded people!

There is a cost of 25 to attend the guided walk. Book your place via eventbrite.ie by searching St Kevins Way.

For more information, visit the St Kevins Way Facebook page.
The petition comes with an interactive Google Earth map showing the colour-coded zones for the land being referred to.

Rewild Wicklow chairperson and Social Democrats local election candidate, Danny Alvey, has launched a petition calling on 16,000 hectares of land to be added to the Wicklow Mountains National Park.

The current National Park is 23,000 hectares in size so this plan would mean almost doubling it to 39,000 hectares (390km2).

Danny maintains that the expansion wouldnt cost the State anything as the public already own the land and it would just require transferring its management from the state agencies Coillte to National Parks and Wildlife Service. The petition has already received nearly 1,000 signatures.

Recently, both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Heritage expressed their desire to increase National Parks in Ireland but were concerned about the costs. Specifically purchasing just 560 hectares at Conor Pass in Kerry for 10 million, said Danny.

This plan is an opportunity to expand our national park coverage by a dramatic 16,000 hectares and it won't cost the state a penny as we already own the land! Ireland has one of the lowest national park coverages in Europe at just a meagre 0.9% of our total land. In contrast, our nearest neighbours the UK have 8.2 per cent of their land set aside as national parks and France has 9.5 per cent.

In the midst of a biodiversity crisis and with a new law coming into force in the EU on nature restoration, we need big and ambitious plans here in Ireland. I think we have the perfect opportunity here in Wicklow to do something really significant and the result would have so much benefit for biodiversity and carbon sequestration but also all of our local Wicklow communities through the recreation and eco-tourism opportunities it would present.

The petition outlines how Glendalough is currently the only valley in the Wicklow Mountains planted with native woodland with the rest being managed by Coillte for clear-fell timber harvesting. Instead this plan seeks to add approximately nine of these valleys to the National Park, namely Glencree, Inchavore, Glenmacnass, Glendasan, Lugduff, Glenmalure, Ow River, St. Kevins Way and Kippure. The petition proposes that as each section of these valleys is clear-felled over the coming years, it is ecologically assessed and where suitable replanted with mixed native woodland or restored to its original peatland habitat.

Danny added: Across Europe, rewilding projects of this scale are already happening. The Affric Highlands in Scotland, the Central Apennines in Italy and the Greater Coa Valley in Portugal to name but a few. This project would be of appropriate size to become one of Irelands flagship nature restoration initiatives. Its scale and ambition has the potential for significant funding from the EU LIFE and Natura 2000 programmes, as well as many other international bodies.

It's time to stop dragging our heels on biodiversity. It's time for bold and ambitious action. And we have the perfect opportunity for that right here in Wicklow.

The petition comes with an interactive Google Earth map showing the colour-coded zones for the land being referred to. Green is the current National Park boundaries and blue and yellow is all land managed by Coillte in the county with the latter being the proposed expansion.

The petition can be read in more detail and signed on change.org.
Some of the Rise at the Cove crew meet with Minister Simon Harris, An Toiseach Leo Varadkar, with Tiglin Manager Phil Thompson (left) and Chairman Aubrey McCarthy.

Wicklow Fine Gael Minister Simon Harris welcomed members of the Cabinet to County Wicklow on Monday, September 6, as the first Cabinet meeting of the new term took place at the newly-restored Avondale House in Rathdrum.

The Cabinet was meeting for the first time since the summer break, ahead of the the Dail returning on September 20, and An Taoiseach later took the opportunity to embark on a whistle stop tour of the county, including a visit to Minister Harriss hometown of Greystones, his former school and his favourite cafe.

Minister Harris said: I am absolutely delighted to welcome Cabinet to our beautiful county today. I am particularly delighted that the Taoiseach has agreed to join me for the afternoon in Wicklow, where we will be visiting St Davids Secondary School and Tiglin.

This is a great opportunity to showcase our stunning county to members of Government and for the Taoiseach in particular to meet with the people of Wicklow and hear about the issues that are important to us here in County Wicklow, he added.

Following the Cabinet meeting, Minister Harris and An Taoiseach made the journey to Greystones, where they were first welcomed by St Davids Principal Simon Carey, who showcased the schools recently completed upgrades and renovations.

After visiting the new building, it was the turn of the students to meet with An Taoiseach and the Minster for a questions and answers session.

Speaking afterwards, Minister Harris, who is a former student of the school, said: It was fantastic to be able to welcome the Taoiseach to my own former secondary school and see first-hand the fantastic new school building and facilities. I am delighted that the Government has been able to deliver such an incredible school right here in the heart of Greystones.

I am proud to say I am a past pupil of St Davids and today saw that the school is still raising bright young students, as during our questions and answers session the students put a number of very well-thought-out questions to the Taoiseach and I.

This afternoon was a great opportunity for the Taoiseach to hear about and listen to the concerns of County Wicklows young people, and I want to thank Principal Simon Carey and the staff at St Davids for making it possible for us to visit them here today, he concluded.

Meanwhile, just a stones throw away at Rise at the Cove  the social enterprise cafe  Minister Harris joked to An Taoiseach about how the venue was fast becoming his second constituency office and certainly the source of his favourite brew.

He expressed how he was delighted and proud to show the Taoiseach the incredible work undertaken by Tiglin and the vital and integral part of our community that it is.

Tiglin said the importance of social enterprises and their value within communities was rubberstamped by the visit of An Taoiseach. From those who work behind the counter to those who make much of the products, they are the people who Tiglin support. Some are on the journey of overcoming homelessness, some have fled the war in Ukraine and some are standing strong in their recovery from addiction.

Chairman Aubrey Mc Carthy said: Collaboration and the strengths of community, spearheaded by Tiglin, is the recipe that has made Rise at the Cove the social enterprise of the year. Wicklow County Council, the people of Greystones and the amazing staff who work in the cafe all play their part in making sure that the transactions that take place in Rise at the Cove are more than monetary.

"These transactions are investments in people, their health and well being, their value to society and their place in community.
Our beauty experts handy guide to navigating the new wave of press-on nails for maximum effect

'With press-ons, you dont have to fork out for a pricey manicure to get the nails you want'

Long before I ever had a real manicure, I was obsessed with press-on nails. As a chronic nail-biter with small, child-like hands, press-ons were a gateway to the sophisticated fingers of my dreams. Once I discovered gel extensions, I relegated press-ons to my past, but over the last few years my curiosity has been piqued by developments in the market.

Once upon a time, there were few options when it came to length and design, but thats all changed now. These days, theres a press-on for everyone, no matter their personal style. Aside from that, innovation in product development means they wear better, too. Gone are the days of worrying about losing a nail while rummaging through your handbag. If well-applied and cared for, youll get ages out of a new set of press-ons.

The first step of applying your temporary pals well is cleaning them well. Then, push back the cuticles before painting on a layer of clear nail varnish. This will protect your natural nails while wearing the press-ons, and minimise any damage that might be caused when you remove them.

Select a nail size for each finger carefully  if its too big, it wont last and if its too small, it will look messy as soon as theres any regrowth. Then, carefully apply your glue. Even if your selected press-ons come with adhesive strips, glue is the secret to really making them last. A small dot spread thinly across the nail should hold them in place. Too much will make them look messy, while too little wont hold them.

When it comes to removal, the temptation for me has always been to simply rip them off with my other hand. This is a terrible idea, though, and will result in damage to your nails. Instead, apply cuticle oil and see if this will break down the bond. If that doesnt work, soaking them in acetone will dissolve the glue.

So, now you know what to do with them, where can you find the press-on nails of your dreams? If you like bright colours and fun designs, look no further than Paintlabs range of press-ons (14.50, via beautybay.com). From smiley faces to rainbows, swirls and exciting takes on a French tip, there are some great styles available.

Paintlab press-ons, 14.50, beautybay.com

Lottie London also have fabulous options (10.99, via asos.com) in the cool-design stakes, with regular collaborations with top-level nail artists.

Lottie London false nails, 10.99, asos.com

If youre a natural/neutral girlie (thats a gender-neutral term, by the way), I recommend Kiss Bare But Better Nails (11.99, via boots.ie). These come in a range of lengths and nude shades to ensure theres a neat, naturally pigmented nail for a wide range of skin tones.

Kiss Bare But Better Nails, 11.99, boots.ie

SoSu by Suzanne Jackson (from 5.99 at sosubysj.com) are brilliant at hopping on nail trends to make them accessible to people who like press-ons; they have several glazed donut options as well as ombre, diamante and many others.

SoSu nail range, from 5.99, sosubysj.com

If youre into colour but not length or design, Elegant Touch (from 6, via boots.ie) have great picks in both classic colours like red and brighter shades like mint or coral.

Elegant Touch, from 6, boots.ie

In short, you dont have to fork out for a pricey manicure to get the nails you want! @louisemcsharry

Buying Irish

KiwiSalt Spray, 28.99, kiwicutz.com

KiwiSalt Spray (28.99, kiwicutz.com) is the brainchild of Ciaran Kiwi OSullivan. The Cork-based barber and hairstylist wanted to create an Irish product that made use of Irish ingredients. Having discovered that many salt sprays dont actually include salt, he formulated this product with Achill Island salt, organically hand-harvested using a slow evaporation process. The result is a spray that effectively adds texture and holding power to the hair and its style. While this is the first of OSullivans products, he has plans to develop a full styling range.

Something old...

MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus foundation, 34, boots.ie

I remember the first time I tried MACs Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation (34, via boots.ie), it felt like magic. One swipe of the sponge across the compact was enough to make my skin look perfect. Redness: gone. Shine: gone. Instead, I was left with the smooth and polished skin of the women in the magazines. Now, I was literally 18, so my skin was basically perfect already, but I have returned to this product time and time again over the years and always found it to be excellent. It offers such impressive coverage without looking cakey and is perfect to have in your handbag on a night out, as it will quickly refresh your face if need be. It is matte, so be careful with placement if you want to retain some glow, or create some with highlighting products.

... Something new

Glorious Skin Powder Foundation, 24.99, bperfectcosmetics.com

Belfast brand BPerfect Cosmetics have become a significant name in the beauty industry right around the world. Their MRS Glam collaboration with makeup artist Michelle Regazzoli Stone includes lashes, tan and makeup, and the latest launch: Glorious Skin Powder Foundation (24.99, via bperfectcosmetics.com). Available in eight shades and undertones, this product contains hyaluronic acid and vitamin E to keep the skin looking fresh and radiant, despite the powder formula. Coverage is buildable, and it can also be used over foundation to set your makeup.
By Yuriy Umansky

New Canadian Media

When he first arrived in Canada from Ukraine last December, 19-year-old Ivan was faced with the choice of getting a work permit or applying to study here.

Like many of the roughly 200,000 Ukrainians who have come here under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) scheme, his main priority was to get a job and survive in a new country. He opted for a work permit but soon had second thoughts.

For about four months, Ivan worked in Vancouver at survival jobs for 60-70 hours per week. He saved some money during this time, but he realized that to get a skilled and well-paid job in Canada you need a local education.

At the time, the process of obtaining a study permit for longer than six months was lengthy. Applicants needed to apply for authorization by providing comprehensive information on their study program. It could take several months.

At the end of March, Ivan decided he would apply for a two-year graphic design diploma course at Vancouver Community College. But it started in May, and he wasnt confident there would be enough time to secure his study permit.

Based on advice from the forums of Ukrainian immigrants in Canada, Ivan flew out of Canada and back again, requesting a study permit at the airport of arrival as a Ukrainian under the CUAET scheme. He was refused, as he already had a valid work permit. The border officer advised him to apply through the regular channels.

Ivan did so and got the necessary documents a few days before his course began. His story ended well, but a lot of time and nervous energy was wasted.

Thousands of immigrants who come to Canada have found themselves in a similar situation. Many do not have the ability and time to go through the lengthy application process and get stuck for many years in a loop of low-skilled and survival jobs. Over time, the ambitions with which they came to start a new life in Canada give way to the daily work routine, and the prospects for success remain distant.

At the end of June, the situation for immigrants who have a valid work permit and want to get an education in Canada changed. On June 27, Sean Fraser, the then Immigration Minister, announced a new temporary measure that removed the limit on the length of study programs that temporary foreign workers could enrol in without a study permit.

This has been a barrier for those who wish to improve their education and receive more training, including those needing to upskill or validate their foreign credentials through certain programs, the government said in a press release.

According to the information from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website, this temporary measure will be in place for the next three years. In this term, foreign workers can study full-time or part-time while their work permits are valid or until the expiration of the policy, with no restrictions on the length of the program.

This measure applies to those who hold a valid work permit or who have submitted an application to renew their work permit on or before June 7, 2023, and are authorized to work. However, if a foreign worker wishes to study longer than the duration of their work permit, they still need to apply for a study permit.

With this policy in place, we hope to empower foreign nationals to improve their skills in order to meet their career goals and achieve their dreams, while providing a future potential source of talent for our labour market, Fraser said. This immigration measure helps employers, workers, and our economy by addressing critical labour shortages.

According to Aleksandr Piven, a lawyer who helps Ukrainian immigrants in Ontario to process different permits in Canada, this is a temporary measure to avoid the flood of applications for study permits.
Tighe Brennan and Jason Armstrong pictured during Good weather conditions at the Forefoot,Sandycove yesterday afternoon.. Pic Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

Met Eireann has issued a Status Yellow thunderstorm warning for 10 counties as temperatures are set to soar above 27C.

The alert, which covers Cavan, Monaghan, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly and Westmeath, is valid until 6pm this evening.

A separate warning is also in place for Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo, which is valid until 8pm.

Localised thunderstorms this afternoon may result in frequent lightning in affected counties.

This comes as the national forecaster issued a high temperature warning due to very warm and humid weather across the country.

The warning is in place since 8am this morning until the same time on Saturday morning.

While daytime temperatures may rise in excess of 27C, even nighttime temperatures will not fall below 15 degrees.

Met Eireann has warned that potential impacts of such weather include heat stress, uncomfortable sleeping conditions and an increased risk of water related incidents.

Temperatures today are expected to hit highs of 24C to 26C while it will remain dry and sunny this morning.

Showers will develop in the southeast and spread northwards over Leinster and may become heavy with thunderstorms and spot flooding possible.

This afternoon may bring both sunshine and isolated heavy or thundery showers.

Tonight will be warm, close and mainly dry with some patches of mist and fog.

Ireland's weather forecast

Lowest temperatures of 15 to 17 degrees are expected overnight.

Friday will also bring highs of 24 to 28 degrees, though some areas may experience even warmer.

It will be dry with sunny spells and some mist or fog in some coastal areas.

Isolated heavy or thundery showers may develop tomorrow afternoon before a warm and humid night.

Some showers are possible.

This weekend will see further warm, sunny days that bring with them high temperatures and the chance of thunderstorms.

Met Eireann forecasts temperatures of 21 to 25 degrees on Saturday, while Sunday will see a slight drop in temperatures of 19 to 24 degrees.

Monday will offer slight respite from the heat, as temperatures will drop to 15 to 19 degrees with outbreaks of rain and cooler, less humid air.

Met Eireann says current indications for next week show weather is likely to become more unsettles with rain or showers at times and temperatures in their mid to high teens.
Reports that Kim Jong Un may travel to Russia soon have drawn attention to the traditional method of travel for North Korean leaders: luxury, armoured trains that have long been a part of the dynastys lore and are symbols of its deep isolation.

In what would be his first foreign travel since the start of the pandemic, Kim may visit Russia this month for a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, a US official has said, possibly to discuss North Korean arms sales to refill Russian reserves drained by its war on Ukraine.
India Expands Industrial Cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union

India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are developing an industrial cooperation plan, fostering alignment across various sectors. This industrial alignment road map is a precursor to a potential Free Trade Agreement.

India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are developing a detailed industrial cooperation plan that will shortly be published, according to Nikolay Rogozhnik, Deputy Director of the EAEU Industrial Policy Department, and Ved Prakash Singh, First Secretary of the Head of the Economic and Commercial Division of the Embassy of India in Russia. The development is significant as India is negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the EAEU.

Rogozhnik stated that In order to create conditions for the transition to project-based industrial cooperation, we have prepared a draft roadmap for cooperation between the Commission and authorised bodies of India, containing a number of promising areas of sectoral industrial cooperation.

Russia and India have discussed a number of issues concerning interaction and expansion in industrial cooperation, holding joint exhibitions, thematic forums, exchange of experience, including within specific technologies and businesses. This development underlines the efforts both are making to align their industrial sectors to mutual advantage.

These include the implementation of joint projects in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, metallurgy, aircraft construction, automotive industry, mining, as well as in the production of medical equipment and materials, biological preparations, clothing, footwear, special steel, copper cable, information technology, including the creation of technoparks for the production of IT-industry products, hydrogen energy, diamond processing, and construction.

Rogozhnik adds that the roadmap will include promising areas and industries for future cooperation between the EAEU (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia) and India. The document also contains details concerning technology exchange, personnel training, analytical and statistical data, as well as proposals for mutual visits to each others facilities by leading industrial and scientific enterprises of the EAEU and India.

Rogozhnik and Singh have passed the draft industrial cooperation roadmap for consideration by the Government of India. Agreements have been reached that for the effective implementation of all the plans outlined it is necessary to build a direct dialogue between the EAEU with Industrial and Government representatives in India. It can be expected that this subject will be discussed on the sides of next weeks G20 summit in New Delhi, which Russias Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, will be attending.

Related Reading
Photo Courtesy: Pixabay

Kochi: Sastra Robotics, a startup incubating under Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), will export 150 robots to Britain following an agreement with one of the top IT companies in the United Kingdom (UK).

The robots perform quality checks using Artificial Intelligence (AI), a high-precision task beyond human abilities.

Equipped with advanced robotic arms, these robots function like human hands and fingers and are primarily used to figure out defects in areas like mobile, space, defence, banking, and sophisticated equipment.

Aronin Ponnappan, co-founder and CEO, Sastra Robotics said, The robots developed by our nascent firm have added another feather to projects like Made in Kerala and Make in India.

For a Kerala startup to get such a big contract can be scripted as the first-ever in the robotics sector, he said.

It has given us an opportunity to showcase our technological prowess in the field of robotics in Britain, he added.

The robots, completely designed and developed in Kerala, will reduce human intervention in discovering hardware and software failures in electronic smart devices with touch screens besides predicting the reasons for those failures by deploying AI technology.

The customers of Sastra Robotics, which has won many awards at national and international levels, include big names like German company Robert Bosch, HCL, Qualcomm, Tech Mahindra, and ABB.

Besides Britain, Sastra robots are being exported to the United States.

(With UNI inputs)
Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

Apple stocks fell 4%, triggering a rout in the US stock market, after the Chinese government widened curbs on iPhone use by government officials, Reuters reported.

The US company witnessed its worst one-day fall in over a month on Wednesday, said the report.

The setback came as China, one of the biggest markets of Apple, asked its employees to stop using iPhone at work.

According to the report, Apple suppliers and companies with large China exposure including Broadcom, Qualcomm and Texas Instruments fell between 1.2% and 2.8%.

The fall in Apple stocks also pulled down three main US stock indices.

China and the US have been engaged in a trade battle for a long time. While the US has cut Chinas access to various critical technologies, such as chips, China has reduced its dependence on American technology and restricted shipments from U.S. firms including planemaker Boeing.

Apple is also struggling with falling iPhone sales. The company would have reported a less-than-impressive quarterly earnings report last month had it not been for its performance in the Chinese market.
Earlier, Foxconn's venture with Vedanta to setup chip factory failed (Image Source: Screengrab )

New Delhi: Foxconn Technology Group is partnering with STMicroelectronics NV to boost its chances of securing government incentives to build a semiconductor factory in India, Bloomberg reported.

Earlier, Foxconn had joined hands with mining and metals company Vedanta to build a semiconductor factory in India.

Foxconn is best known as Apple Inc.s key assembly partner.

The joint venture could not progress as both the companies lacked very specialized expertise to run the project which requires billions of dollars in investment.

The Indian government has sought more details from Foxconn about its partnership with STMicro, the report said, citing sources.

Foxconn is also in talks with a few other companies that have chip-making technology, the report added.

India is looking to develop its backbone chip technology to reduce dependence on expensive imports and reliance on Taiwan and China.

Under the Centres semiconductor incentive scheme, $10 billion has been allocated to encourage chipmakers to set up factories in India.

Following this announcement, US memory chip firm Micron Technology Inc. announced a $2.75 billion assembly and testing facility in Modis home state of Gujarat.
Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi ahead of G20 Summit | Photo courtesy: PIB

New Delhi/IBNS: The national capital Delhi is all set to host the world leaders, who will be here to attend the G20 Summit on September 9 and 10.

To ensure smooth conduction of the global event with geopolitical implications, the Delhi Police has taken a slew of measures which will be in place from September 7 to September 10.

The restrictions have been imposed on the movement of commercial vehicles and other transport means.

From 5 pm on September 9 to 11:50 pm on September 10, no auto rickshaw or taxi will be allowed to operate in New Delhi.

Only vehicles of Armed Forces, Police, Disaster Management teams, ambulances and other emergency services will be allowed to operate without any restrictions.

The Delhi Airport will have a special corridor for the delegations to ensure a smooth clearance of immigration and customs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will individually welcome all global leaders at the newly-inaugurated Bharat Mandapam in Delhi's Pragati Maidan.

Modi will host a lunch for all global leaders on Saturday followed by a dinner which will be hosted by President Droupadi Murmu.

Xi Jinping, Putin to skip G20

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday confirmed the country's Premier Li Qiang and not President Xi Jinping will attend the G20 Summit in India this week, amid the bilateral tension between the two Asian giants.

Quoting foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, the statement read: "At the invitation of the government of the Republic of India, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will attend the 18th G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi, India on September 9 and 10."

Xi Jinping is now the second top world leader after Russian President Vladimir Putin who will not attend the G20 Meet in the Indian capital city.

China-India relations stable on the whole, says Beijing

China, a nation that has been engaged in a conflict with India in recent times, on Tuesday said it supports New Delhi in hosting the G20 Summit in New Delhi and is ready to work with all parties in making the event successful.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry made the comment just days after it announced that President Xi Jinping would not attend the G20 Summit.

Instead of him, the country's Premier Li Qiang will attend the event.

"The G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation. China always attaches high importance to and actively participates in relevant activities.

"We support India in hosting this years summit and stand ready to work with all parties to make the G20 summit a success," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

She said the China-India relationship has been stable on the whole and our two sides have maintained dialogue and communication at various levels.

"The continued improvement and growth of China-India relations serves the common interests of the two countries and two peoples. We stand ready to work with India to further improve and advance bilateral relations," she said.
Image Credit: Facebook/Narendra Modi

New Delhi/IBNS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his colleagues to refrain from commenting on the row which erupted over a G20 invitation carrying the term "President of Bharat" instead of the traditional use of "President of India".

"Do not comment," said Modi as various media reports claimed.

What is the row?

"President of Bharat" instead of the traditional use of "President of India" in an invitation to foreign leaders for a G20 dinner has triggered speculation over whether the Modi government is mulling a change in the country's name officially.

A letter from President Droupadi Murmu starts with "The President of Bharat requests..."

This is the first time the word "Bharat" is used instead of "India" in an official invitation.

"Bharat" has also reportedly been used in a G20 booklet which has been handed over to foreign delegates. The title of the booklet has been kept "Bharat, The Mother of Democracy".

Amid the new change in India's projection at the international level, officials argued "Bharat" is also in the Constitution whose Article 1 reads, "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States".

'Prime Minister Of Bharat' adds fuel to name change row

After the usage of 'President of Bharat' instead of the traditional 'President of India' on Tuesday, another document has come to light that refers to Narendra Modi as the 'Prime Minister of Bharat'.

This time a note on PM Modi's visit to Indonesia on Wednesday and Thursday for the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit refers to him as the 'Prime Minister of Bharat'.

The note was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by BJP National Spokesperson Sambit Patra and invited an immediate attack from the Congress.

The Prime Minister Of Bharat pic.twitter.com/lHozUHSoC4  Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) September 5, 2023




Photo courtesy: UNI

Bengaluru/UNI: Pushed on the backfoot after a public outcry against his remarks on the ongoing controversy around Sanatana Dharma kickstarted by Tamil Nadu Minister Udayanidhi Stalin, Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday clarified that he was not against any religion and does not care about an FIR filed against him.

"I did not speak against any religion. I simply said a religion that does not treat human beings equally is not a religion. I follow the Constitution, my religion is the Constitution," he told a section of media here.

"If they want to file an FIR against me or they want to arrest me, it is up to the individuals, I really don't care. These people do not understand Kannada, Hindi or English. All I have said is that the Constitution is my religion. Does the BJP have a problem with it? Let them file as many FIRs as they want, they are free to do so...," he added.

Earlier, Kharge junior had backed Udayanidhi's anti-Sanatana Dharma by implicating that Sanatana Dharma practises distinction between people and therefore it is not a religion.

Udayanidhi had given a clarion call to annihilate Sanatana Dharma and compared it to Malaria and Dengue at an event in Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad took on Kharge junior for his comments on the Constitution. He said those who swear on the Constitution do not have any understanding of it.

Prasad said the original Constitution has depictions of several Hindu God and Goddesses, illustrating the constitutional concepts included in it.

"For those who rant about the Constitution now and then, I want to show them something. This is the chapter on fundamental rights. The picture depicts Lord Ram, Mata Janaki and Laxman returning to Ayodhya after gaining victory over Sri Lanka. And, this is another picture where Lord Krishna is seen giving Geeta Upadesh. There are pictures of Nataraja and Bajarangbali.

"Members of the Constituent Assembly had discussed - how to present the Constitution with illustrations, and they decided on Nandlal Bose, a famous painter and disciple of Guru Rabindranath Tagore, to do the job ... And these pictures were duly signed by Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Dr BR Ambedkar and others," he said.
Fairchild Television is asking for Miss Chinese Vancouver Pageant nominations for its 30th-anniversary celebration. Nominators of the finalists will have a chance to win a round-trip business class to Hong Kong from Vancouver.

The pageant is a platform to showcase 17 - 27 aged womens intelligence, beauty and talents as a part of an annual charity event. Past pageant winners who served their community also were role models for young people.

Last years winner, YiYi Wang, first stepped into the pageant world as a dancer at 15. From that point on, she dedicated herself to her dance, honing public speaking and learning foreign languages to become the reigning champion.

Miss Chinese Vancouver 2021 Cindy Wu is an artist who promotes environmental awareness through her own paintings of calligraphy. She has sponsored her students at her art school to go on exchange programs. Wu said this training had empowered her with the confidence to handle the challenges of being in a pageant.

The 2020 pageant second runner-up winner Vicky Wu has since co-hosted a food program. She entered the pageant to overcome her shyness by building up self-confidence and becoming more comfortable in front of the camera.

Nicole Tanner, the 2nd Runner-up from 2023, is a pediatrician who brings her expertise in stand-up comedy, which incorporates elements of hip-hop, beatbox, and ventriloquism. The competition helped Tanner better understand Canadian culture and become integrated in society.

For the latest Pageant updates and information, please check out on Fairchild Televisions website www.fairchildtv.com and Miss Chinese Vancouver Pageant's official social media platforms (Facebook / IG @MCVPCanada). The application deadline is on August 30, 2023.
Photo courtesy: IBNS File

Kolkata/IBNS: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari had a massive faceoff in the state assembly during a debate over a bill regarding the state's foundation day on Thursday.

Passing the bill, Mamata announced her government will celebrate the foundation day on Bengali New Year or Poila Boishakh (April 15) even if Governor CV Ananda Bose, who is at loggerheads with the State, disapproves it.

In reference to Suvendu's speech, Mamata said, "We don't care whether the Governor approves or not. We will celebrate foundation day on Poila Boishakh.

"Let me see whose power is more, the people of a nominated person. I wouldn't have said this had the Governor not been dragged into the discussion."

I am delighted to announce that the West Bengal Legislative Assembly has passed a resolution and unanimously agreed on 'Bangla Dibas.'



Henceforth, Poila Boishakh, the auspicious day of the Bengali New Year, will be our Foundation Day, symbolising our rich heritage and vibrant  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) September 7, 2023

Mamata's response comes after Suvendu, whose party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) backs June 20 as the statehood day, says he would ask the Governor not to approve the government's pitch.

"This resolution will have the same fate as the one unsuccessfully moved by the government in renaming the state and in many other cases," Suvendu, who defeated Mamata in the 2021 polls from Nandigram, said.

Citing the reason behind opposing June 20, which the Centre has proposed to make the foundation day, the Chief Minister said the date reminds people of the partition of Bengal.

Mamata has announced Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore's "Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol" as the official song of West Bengal.

The government resolution, which was moved by West Bengal top ministers Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay and Shashi Panja, was passed easily by the government, which enjoys a landslide majority in the assembly.
Suvendu Adhikari leading protest march to Raj Bhavan/ courtesy: X profile

Kolkata/IBNS: Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari Thursday led a legislative party delegation to Governor C V Ananda Bose to submit a memorandum against the alleged "devious attempt" made by the state government to "distort the history", which led to the formation of the eastern state on June 20, 1947.

This comes as passing a bill to observe Bengal's foundation day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced the her government will celebrate the foundation day on Bengali New Year or Poila Boishakh (April 15) even if Governor CV Ananda Bose, who is at loggerheads with the state, disapproves it.

"We don't care whether the Governor approves or not. We will celebrate foundation day on Poila Boishakh. Let me see whose power is more, the people of a nominated person. I wouldn't have said this had the Governor not been dragged into the discussion," she said.

I am delighted to announce that the West Bengal Legislative Assembly has passed a resolution and unanimously agreed on 'Bangla Dibas.'



Henceforth, Poila Boishakh, the auspicious day of the Bengali New Year, will be our Foundation Day, symbolising our rich heritage and vibrant  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) September 7, 2023

Suvendu, meanwhile, said the Bharatiya Janata Party will vehemently oppose the state government's "ill-willed motive to erase the contribution of Bharat Kesari Syama Prasad Mookerjee and disregard the historical facts that necessitated the formation of the State of West Bengal in order to create a homeland for the Bengali Hindus."

"I would like to remind the Mamata Banerjee Govt that when the Bengal Legislative Assembly convened on June 20, 1947 to decide the fate of Bengal, as per the procedure laid down by the British Government on 3rd June, 1947 on the subject of India (Transfer of Power); the Majority view was that 'the Province of Bengal as a whole' should join a new and a separate Constituent Assembly," he wrote in a long post on X, formerly called Twitter.

I would like to remind the Mamata Banerjee Govt that when the Bengal Legislative Assembly convened on June 20, 1947 to decide the fate of Bengal, as per the procedure laid down by the British Government on 3rd June, 1947 on the subject of India (Transfer of Power); the Majority pic.twitter.com/ee2vTRBTGm  Suvendu Adhikari    (@SuvenduWB) September 7, 2023

"@MamataOfficial today you are in the majority, that's why you want to erase the history; how West Bengal was formed and under what circumstances. You may have been able to get your resolution passed by 167 votes in your favour today against 62 votes of ours, but I promise you, sooner or later your unethical majoritarian view would be overturned just like it happened in 1947," he said.

Citing the reason behind opposing June 20 to mark the state's foundation day, which the Centre has proposed, Chief Minister Banerjee said the date reminds people of the partition of Bengal.

She has announced Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore's "Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol" as the official song of West Bengal.

The government resolution, which was moved by West Bengal top ministers Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay and Shashi Panja, was passed easily by the government, which enjoys a landslide majority in the assembly.
At least 17 people, including a child, died after a suspected Russian missile hit a market in Ukraine's Kostyantynivka. Photo Courtesy: Screengrab from VolodymyrZelenskyy's X page

At least 17 people, including a child, died after a suspected Russian missile hit a market in Ukraine's Kostyantynivka city on Wednesday.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared a video footage of the incident on his X page and wrote: "At least 16 people have been killed by Russian shelling in Kostyantynivka, Donetsk region. Russian terrorists have attacked a regular market, shops, and a pharmacy, killing innocent people. The number of casualties could rise further."

At least 16 people have been killed by Russian shelling in Kostyantynivka, Donetsk region. Russian terrorists have attacked a regular market, shops, and a pharmacy, killing innocent people. The number of casualties could rise further.



Anyone in the world who is still dealing pic.twitter.com/PRfuGih2JD    (@ZelenskyyUa) September 6, 2023

"Anyone in the world who is still dealing with anything Russian simply ignores this reality. Heinous evil. Brazen wickedness. Utter inhumanity," he said.

He mourned the death of people in the incident.

Sending out a strong message to Moscow, he wrote on X: "The Russian evil must be defeated as soon as possible."

I received @SecBlinken in Kyiv.



I am grateful to the American people, both parties of the U.S. Congress, and personally to @POTUS Joe Biden for their unwavering support.



Ukrainian forces are advancing on the battlefield and we discussed steps to ensure their further successes. pic.twitter.com/gnf9xhCbWT    (@ZelenskyyUa) September 6, 2023

Russia began the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Kostyantynivka is located close to the front line.

The video shared by the Ukrainian President showed a missile hit the market at a time when people were busy shopping there.

The attack took place at a time when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Kyiv and met Ukraine's top officials including Zelenskyy.

Following his meeting with Blinken, Zelenskyy posted on X: "I received @SecBlinken in Kyiv. I am grateful to the American people, both parties of the U.S. Congress, and personally to @POTUS Joe Biden for their unwavering support."

"Ukrainian forces are advancing on the battlefield and we discussed steps to ensure their further successes," he said.

Following his meeting with Zelenskyy, Blinken said the US would continue to support the war-hit nation.

"Met with President @ZelenskyyUA to convey the United States unwavering commitment to Ukraine and its people. We stand with Ukraine, for as long as it takes," he posted on X.

Met with President @ZelenskyyUA to convey the United States unwavering commitment to Ukraine and its people. We stand with Ukraine, for as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/NugwW6eeKA  Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) September 6, 2023

Meanwhile, a top UN humanitarian official in Ukraine on Wednesday strongly condemned the Russian attack on a busy market in Kostiantynivka.

Other Russian strikes damaged schools and homes in the Zaporizhzhya region, and port and grain infrastructure in the Odesa region.

I am shattered by the news of a series of attacks that today, once again, have left a path of death and destruction in different parts of Ukraine, Denise Brown, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine said in a statement.

It is a truly sad day for Ukraine. This deeply tragic and unacceptable event is just another example of the suffering that Russias invasion inflicts on civilians across the country.

The statement also highlighted that repeated attacks on Ukrainian ports are depriving farmers of their livelihoods and the world of affordable food when millions are facing hunger in the poorest countries.

Over 9,500 killed

The attack on Kostyantynivka is one of the deadliest in recent months.

Since Russias invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 up to 27 August 2023, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) recorded 26,717 civilian casualties in the country, including 9,511 killed and 17,206 injured.

These include those killed and injured in both Ukraine-controlled and Russian-occupied territories.

OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are not yet verified.
Photo Courtesy: Wajul Baloch X Page

The Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan remained closed for the second consecutive day on Thursday following clashes between security forces of the neighbouring countries this week.

Trucks, laden with goods, have been seen standing close to the border.

Officials in Pakistan had blamed the other side for starting the midday firefight, which lasted for around two hours and came after the Afghan authorities started building a checkpoint on their side in a prohibited area, close to the main border crossing, reports Dawn News.

The officials said the Afghan authorities already had a checkpoint in the vicinity, commonly known as the Larram Post, but they started building another post over a small hill without discussing it with the Pakistani side.

They said border security officials had also held a meeting minutes before the crossfire began.

The agenda of the meeting and the reason behind the security forces opening fire is still not known.

Abdul Basir Zabuli, a spokesman for the Taliban-led police in Afghanistans eastern Nangarhar province, where the crossing lies, told Dawn News that authorities from both countries were trying to determine the reason for the clash.

The crossing remains the main and crucial transit point for travellers and goods between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Jamshed Khan, a Customs agent at Torkham, had told Dawn News on Wednesday that everyone near the Torkham border crossing immediately vacated their workplaces and ran for cover when the firing started.

He said that it was not clear which side initiated the firing.

First, we heard the sound of firing from small weapons and then heavy weapons were also used from both sides, he said, adding that the incident caused panic among clearing agents, transporters and ordinary people, with drivers of loaded and empty vehicles trying to flee the troubled spot.

Sabir Khan, a resident of the Bacha Maina residential compound near the border, had told Dawn News that people had sent their families to safer locations in Landi Kotal when some projectiles fired from the Afghan side landed inside some homes.

He said the projectiles left minor marks on some houses, but no one was injured.
Photo Courtesy: ISPR website

At least four Pakistani soldiers died while repulsing 'terrorist attacks' on two Pakistan Army check posts located near the Afghanistan border in Kalash region, media reports said.

"On 6 September 2023, a large group of terrorists equipped with the latest weapons, attacked two Pakistani military posts located closer to Pakistan Afghanistan border in general area Kalash, District Chitral," read a statement issued by the country's military media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

As per the statement, 12 terrorists were killed.

"Owing to heightened threat environment, own posts were already on high alert," the statement said.

"Interim Afghan Government is expected to fulfill its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan," read the statement.
Photo Courtesy: Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)/Wikimedia Commons

Chitral, Pakistan: The Kalash community of Pakistan on Tuesday complained their computerised national identity cards did not show their religion, making the people suffer from an 'identity crisis'.

During a consultative meeting organised by the Ishpata News Network Pakistan here, Kalash elders Luke Rehmat, Baras Khan, Sherzada, Michel, Zarmast Gul and Unat Beg complained that their community faced several issues as the CNICs had no mention of their religion, reports Dawn News.

They said the situation had blown to a full-fledged identity crisis for the Kalash community.

The community is known for their primitive ways of life and culture.

Elders of the community complained that the identity crisis was becoming an issue for the Kalash as they were no longer confined to their valleys and had become part of the national mainstream.

Despite their fight for several years, the problem faced by the community members has not been solved so far.

Civil society members and government officials including Mukhtar Azam Khan, Ayaz Zareen and others endorsed the views of Kalash elders and said that sometimes, the nonappearance of Kalash religion in the national documents deprived the community of many concessions and privileges, reports Dawn News.

As per the Wikipedia page, Kalash is an Indo-Aryan indigenous group of people who reside in the Chitral District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
Photo Courtesy: Pixabay

A Pakistani private school principal has been arrested from Karachi city over the alleged rape and blackmailing allegations, media reports said.

More than 45 women fell victim to the school principal, an Investigation Officer (IO) told Geo News.

The arrested principal was identified as Irfan Ghafoor Memon.

The head of the school used closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage to blackmail the victims while police also recovered 25 such short video clips from his cellphone, reports the Pakistani news channel.

The incident grabbed attention after one of the obscene videos of the principal and a teacher went viral over the internet.

The investigating authorities told Geo News that the office of the principal had been sealed and a forensics will be carried out.

The principal has been sent to jail on a seven-day physical remand.

A case has been registered with the Steel Town police station on the complaint of the state.

The first information report (FIR) includes provisions for sexual harassment, threatening, and blackmailing, the IO said.

He added that the principal under the pretext of giving jobs would sexually abuse the teachers.

"The accused used to blackmail the women by filming videos," it added.
The Uttarakhand High Court has directed the CBI to probe the felling of around 6,000 trees and illegal constructions in Uttarakhand's Corbett Tiger Reserve for building a tiger safari there.



On Wednesday, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Alok Kumar Verma delivered the order.

BCCL

No action taken against officials: HC

Citing the outcome of various enquiries conducted into the irregularities and field inspections, which indicated the involvement of highly placed forest officials, the court, in its 16-page order, said it could not remain a "mere bystander or spectator".

The Court noted that no serious action was taken against the erring officials.

"... the material on record, does disclose a prima facie case calling for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Therefore, the present matter is referred to the CBI for proper and uninfluenced investigation in accordance with law," the court said.

BOBINS ABRAHAM/ INDIATIMES

What the investigation found

It also asked all authorities in the state to cooperate with the probe agency in conducting a fair investigation of the case.

A committee formed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority had conducted a field inspection of Corbett and found that forest officers forged government records to allow illegal construction of roads, bridges, buildings and water bodies between Pakhro Forest Rest House and Kalagarh Rest House of Corbett Tiger Reserve.

According to a Forest Survey of India report cited in the order, over 6,000 trees were cut illegally for a tiger safari project in Corbett.

BCCL

On the action taken by the state government so far in the matter, the high court said, "In view of the serious allegations against the higher authorities of the state, merely suspending some officers and keeping the matter pending by giving charge sheets to them does not come under the purview of concrete action in any way."

Had no approvals for construction

The order was passed while dealing with a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) petition initiated by the Court, as well as a plea filed by a Dehradun resident, Anu Pant.

The Court was told that construction works of administrative buildings, internal roads, service roads, guard huts, and animal holding areas were being undertaken without any administrative and financial approval in the sensitive regions of Corbett.

Though the authorities initially said that only 163 trees were cut for the purpose, reports later revealed that nearly 6,000 trees were felled.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
Some European countries have five to six weeks of annual leave compared with Australias four. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

A workplace expert has called for Australia to fall in line with its overseas counterparts and increase annual leave from four weeks to six.

Workers havent seen any increases to annual leave since the mid-1970s Whitlam era when unions successfully pushed for an increase from three to four weeks leave.

Countries such as France, Sweden and Austria have a five-week annual leave entitlement, while employees who have been at a workplace for more than a year are entitled to six weeks.

HR and workplace expert Jonathon Woolfrey told 2GBs Chris OKeefe on Thursday that it was now time to rip this Band-Aid off.

Some European countries have five to six weeks of annual leave compared with Australias four. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

With two people working in most families, its time to actually acknowledge its very difficult to organise all the things you need to do  and you need a different way of being able to manage and deal with that in a modern workplace, he said.

Other countries have moved ahead of Australia.

Its time for six weeks.

With the rise of social media and digital communication platforms, Mr Woolfrey said employers had more access to their employees than ever before. and work often fell outside of the traditional 9-5 window.

Increased flexibility in how we work post-Covid has proven less time at the workplace doesnt necessarily equate to less output, the HR expert argued.

Theres (even) evidence that a four-day working week doesnt actually reduce the amount of output people put in, Mr Woolfrey said.

It lets them work more productively when they are at work and take the appropriate amount of break and rest.

There are some costs (associated with longer leave entitlements), but I think a lot of that will be mitigated by improved mental health (and) workplace productivity.

Increased leave entitlements are associated with improved mental health and stronger workplace productivity, its been argued. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

Independent economist Saul Eslake, however, fears increased annual leave would place higher costs on employers and lead to job losses and higher prices for consumers.

To grant an additional 10 days, two weeks of annual leave, that would be equivalent to an increase in the cost to employers of about 4.5 per cent, he told OKeefe.

Story continues

That might not sound like very much, and you might say that could be absorbed by profitable businesses, but not all businesses, especially small ones, are that profitable.

I think the result would be some combination of job losses in smaller businesses and larger businesses seeking to recoup that 4.5 per cent increase in their wages by increasing prices, which theyve been doing quite merrily over the past 15 months.

HR and workplace expert Jonathon Woolfrey says its time for six weeks. Picture: Facebook

Independent economist Saul Eslake fears that extra leave would lead to job losses and higher prices for consumers. Picture: Facebook

While Mr Eslake agrees there are a multitude of mental health and productivity benefits associated with more time off, he believes now is not the right time.

Future circumstances might be different, he said.

The economist also said the timing had never been better, given the tight labour market, for employees who felt they were being mistreated to find alternative employment with better conditions.

In June this year, Swinburne University of Technology surveyed 10 different Australian private-sector businesses trialling a four-day work week.

The organisations adopted the 100:80:100 model, where employees keep 100 per cent of their pay for 80 per cent of their former work hours, given they maintain 100 per cent productivity.

Trials of the model have had great success in Iceland, the UK and elsewhere.

Four of the 10 organisations in Australia decided to adopt the change permanently after trials, while the remaining six extended the trials.

Three of the workplaces found no loss of productivity and the remaining seven found increased productivity, while workers reported feeling more relaxed and energised.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) recently advised doctors and healthcare professionals to educate their patients not to use Digene gel in case of an Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR). They have also been asked to exercise caution in prescribing the product.

Apex drug controller, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), said on its website: "The impugned product may be unsafe, and its use may result in adverse reaction."



What is Digene gel used for?

Digene gel relieves acidity and its symptoms, such as heartburn, stomach discomfort, abdominal pain and gas.

It can be prescribed for gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining) and acid reflux (a condition where stomach acid flows back to the food pipe).

Digene gel/ Apollo Pharmacy

It uses basic compounds like magnesium hydroxide to neutralise stomach acid.



Manufactured by Abbott Health, it has some side effects such as confusion, asthma, black or bloody stools and a burning sensation.

What is the issue with Digene gel?

Digene gel has a sweet taste, is pink, and is released in multiple flavours such as orange, mint and mix-fruits.

The DGCI said in its advisory that they received a complaint on August 9 about the Digene gel mint flavour manufactured at the Goa facility. The complaint was about the gel being white instead of light pink. The impugned product was also bitter, and its smell was pungent.

In response, Abbott India voluntarily recalled the impugned product and all batches of Digene gel of all flavours (Mint, Orange, Mix Fruits flavour) within shelf life and manufactured at the Goa facility.

Unsplash/Representational Image

A spokesperson of Abbott said that other forms of Digene, such as tablets and stick packs, have not been impacted. Further, Digene gel manufactured at other company facilities has been unaffected.



Does India have a national drug recall law?

A drug recall occurs when a prescription or over-the-counter drug is removed from the market because of its harmful or side effects.

Drug recalls are typically issued when a product is found to be defective, contaminated, mislabeled, or poses a risk to the health and safety of patients.

BCCL

There is no law in India to withdraw the entire batch of substandard drugs from the market, but the demand for a national Drug Recall Law is a long-standing one.



At most, state drug regulators in India can order withdrawal of a particular batch from their state, but given that India is a common market, the same batch may be dispersed across multiple states.

According to the Hindu, India lacks regulatory infrastructure for substandard drugs due to various factors. Firstly, the Drug Regulation Section of the government lacks expertise and is apathetic towards complex drug regulatory issues, prioritising the growth of the pharmaceutical industry over public health.

Further, India has a highly fragmented regulatory structure, with each state having its own drug regulator, but drugs manufactured in one state can be sold in all states without any barriers.

But what has proven to be a major hurdle is that both the pharmaceutical industry and state drug regulators have opposed greater centralisation of regulatory powers.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


At least 28 people were injured in Manipur on Wednesday when security forces tried to stop a 30,000-strong crowd mobilised by a valley-based organisation to defy a curfew.

They tried to break through an army barricade along the Churachandpuir-Bishnupur border to reclaim Meitei homes in Kuki-inhabited areas.

AFP

Manipur continues to burn, 4 months in, into the worst ethnic violence the state has ever witnessed.



Displaced people of both communities seek to return to their villages

The clash occurred at Phougakchao Ikhai on NH2, which runs across the simmering border flashpoint around 52km from Imphal.

It began around 10.30 am in response to a call by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) for a mass movement to remove the Army barricade so that people could visit their abandoned houses at Torbung in Churachandpur district.

AFP

This was the latest in a phase of unrest recently over displaced people on either side of the ethnic communities seeking to return to their villages.



There was a two-tier security deployment - nearly 300 security personnel - ahead of the Army barricade, which had to fire 20-odd tear gas shells to disperse the large gathering of protesters.

The barricade was set up as a buffer zone to keep both sides separated.

For three hours, negotiations were held between security officials and COCOMI leaders, some of whom were allowed to cross the barrier to meet Army commanders. Even while negotiations were on, protestors tried to break the barrier.

Some armed men even fired at the RAF team and a riot-control vehicle, according to sources.

AFP

State information and public relations minister Sapam Ranjan appealed to COCOMI to withdraw its agitation, saying the state government had already removed many of the barricades and would do so elsewhere once the situation normalised.



On the other hand, COCOMI media coordinator Somendro Thokchom said the organisation had urged the BJP-led government and officials to remove the barricade at Phougakchao Ikhai by August 30.

Ethnic violence in Manipur

The Manipur violence began on May 3 and boiled down to hatred between Manipurs Meitei majority and the Kuki-Zo, one of several tribal groups in the state that comprise about 16 per cent of its population.

The Meitei are predominantly Hindu and largely live in the capital, Imphal and the prosperous valley around it. In contrast, the mainly Christian Kuki-Zo usually live in scattered settlements in the states hills.

Till now, over 180 people have lost their lives, and the violence has displaced thousands.

For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.


A new report states that over 4 lakh Indians will die before they receive a green card to the United States. Additionally, the report reveals over 11 lakh pending applications from Indians in the US employment-based green card backlog.

A green card, also known as a permanent resident card, is a document that grants US immigrants permanent residence in the United States.

The Cato Institute, a US-based think tank, reported that 63% of the total 1.8 million pending employment-based green card applications in the US are from India. This backlog combines with the 8.3 million pending applications from the family-sponsored system.

The report states that new Indian applicants face an extraordinarily long wait time, equivalent to over 134 years.

"About 424,000 employment-based applicants will die waiting, and over 90 percent will be Indians. Given that Indians are currently half of all new employer-sponsored applicants, roughly half of all newly sponsored immigrants will die before they receive a green card," it said.

The US hires many Indians and Chinese for STEM jobs.

However, only 7% of employment-based green cards can be given to people from one country yearly.

This means that Indians face a big problem because more than half of the backlog comprises employees working for US businesses with advanced degrees, including highly skilled STEM professionals and graduates who studied in the US.

The long wait times for green cards have become a growing problem in the US.

Despite efforts from the current Biden administration and initiatives from Indian-American lawmakers, Indian applicants remain stuck in a state of uncertainty.

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"These astounding backlogs and massive waits underscore that legal immigration to the United States is nearly impossible. Even to get to the point of entering the backlog takes an enormous amount of good fortune, and the lucky few that make it through the labyrinth face the daunting prospect of never actually receiving green cards in decades or even their lifetimes," the report said.



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A 33-year-old woman from Auckland, New Zealand, passed away due to a rare genetic disorder called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). Stephanie Aston's experience was challenging, as some healthcare professionals did not take her condition seriously and thought her illness was imaginary.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which comprises 13 distinct variants, affects the body's connective tissue, earning it the nickname of an "invisible disease."

What is EDS?

This term is fitting because people dealing with EDS can look healthy on the outside, even though they experience painful symptoms like severe migraines, joint dislocations, easy bruising, abdominal pain, iron deficiency, fainting episodes, and an abnormal heart rate.

Aston's tough journey started in 2016 when a doctor didn't take her symptoms seriously, making her think her struggles were just in her mind.

But her determination to find answers led her to three specialists who, after careful examination, confirmed that she had EDS, a genetic disorder affecting connective tissue.

Kelly McQuinlan, the founder of Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes New Zealand, expressed her sorrow over the fact that the medical community's approach to EDS has remained largely unchanged since 2018.

Aston's passing has deeply affected the EDS community, leaving many uncertain and concerned about their medical care.

She emphasized the unfortunate truth that many people with rare or hidden illnesses often have their diagnoses challenged or doubted by healthcare providers.

The outlook for individuals with EDS differs depending on their specific subtype, with the National Institutes of Health recognizing 13 subtypes.

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McQuinlan emphasized the significance of effectively managing symptoms, emphasizing that neglecting proper care could have serious consequences.

In 2017, McQuinlan and Aston collaborated to establish a non-profit charity, advocating for systemic changes within the healthcare system.

McQuinlan told The NZ Herald that the legacy of individuals like Aston would continue to fuel their efforts, as they aim to ensure that conditions such as EDS are no longer overlooked, thus preventing avoidable tragedies.

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The French president acknowledges that the issue of immigration is the subject of well-known disagreements
A massive and tenacious wildfire in the northeast Evros prefecture continued to rage for a 14th straight day on Friday. The blaze has achieved the unenviable distinction of being the biggest recorded wildfire in the European Union.

Fire-fighters and volunteers on Friday attempted to block flames from reaching the border town

of Soufli.

Nearly 600 fire-fighters are active on the front, with 129 fire brigade vehicles deployed, along with eight water-dropping aircraft operating on the day.

Numerous wildfires, some almost simultaneous erupting, have been recorded over the past two weeks in the border prefecture  Greeces only land border with Turkey. The development has led to heightened concerns over arson, and possibly a systemic plan, although authorities have released little relevant information so far.

In a related development, 25 foreign nationals, identified as illegal migrants that entered Greece from Turkey, were rescued by fire-fighters on Friday in Evros after they were surrounded by the wildfires flames.

The group of undocumented migrants were detected and rescued between the villages of Dadia and Yiannouli.

Meanwhile, 32 new wildfires broke out the previous day across the country, with the fire brigade reporting efforts to extinguish 68 actives blazes, from minor incidents to the massive fire in Evros.

Fire-fighters and equipment have been dispatched to Greece by Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Germany, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain.
Traffic on the Lamia -Katerini highway, in the direction of Thessaloniki, has been restored while traffic from Katerini to Lamia, in the direction of Athens , is carried out only in the left lane
The military junta in Gabon, has released Ali Bongo from house arrest, eight days after he was deposed as the countrys President.

According to them, Bongo is free to leave the country for medical treatment.

Bongo was toppled on the morning the electoral umpire announced that he had been re-elected to a third term in office.

On Monday, Brice Nguema, an army general who led the coup, was sworn in as interim President.

Nguema who is Bongos cousin, served as a bodyguard to Bongos late father and also headed the countrys republican guard, an elite military unit.

READ ALSO: Labour Party Rejects Election Tribunals Judgments

The statement announcing Bongos release from house arrest was signed by Nguema.

Ulrich Manfoumbi, the military spokesperson said in the statement read on national television on Wednesday evening said: Given his state of health, the former President of the Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba is free to move about.

He may, if he wishes, travel abroad for medical checkups.

Bongo became president when Omar, his father, died after ruling from 1967 to 2009.

The military is yet to announce a transition to civilian rule programme.
The Labour Party (LP) has rejected the judgments of the Presidential Election Petitions Court in the partys petitions challenging the electoral victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25, 2023 poll.

In a statement after the verdict of the Tribunal on Wednesday, LPs National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said justice was not served in the petitions of the party against the APC and Tinubu.

He also said the Labour Party will make its next move known upon consultation with its lawyers after receiving the Certified True Copy of the judgments.

READ ALSO: Court Declares APCs Petition Challenging Obis LP Membership Incompetent

The party said the judgment of the court did not reflect the law and the desire of the people.

Nigerians were witnesses to the electoral robbery that took place on February 25, 2023, which was globally condemned but the Tribunal in its wisdom refused to accept the obvious, the statement partly read.

What is at stake is democracy and we will not relent until the people will prevail.

We salute the doggedness of our team of lawyers who fearlessly exposed the wrath in our system. We can only weep for democracy in Nigeria but we refuse to give up on Nigeria.

Details of the partys position will be presented after consultation with our lawyers after the Certified True Copy of the judgment is made available to us.
A nursing student of the Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE), named Atanda Modupe Deborah, who was in her second year, has been found dead.

Deborah went missing after going to her class for a night reading session on Monday, September 4.

Her roommates who became worried when she didnt return, reported her missing, and found her belongings near a large pond during a search.

Unfortunately, on Wednesday, she was discovered buried in a shallow grave behind her faculty with her eyes removed, suffering severe head injuries, indicating that she may have been raped.

Deborah reportedly went out to read but was later found dead in a shallow grave on Wednesday evening with a lifeless body at Oye Ekiti with injuries on her head and her eyes were allegedly plucked out, an anonymous eyewitness said, according to Osun Defender.

Reacting to this incident, the management of the university released a statement on Wednesday evening, signed by the Registrar, Mufutau Ibrahim, instructing all students to leave the university campuses immediately.

The university management also mentioned that armed security personnel have been deployed to enhance patrol, surveillance, and overall security measures.

The statement read: The University Management has received a report on the case of Ms Modupe Deborah Atanda who was reported missing as at Wednesday, 6th September 2023; and Management is saddened at the current turn of events.

READ ALSO: Well Reveal Identities Of Oil Thieves  House Of Reps. Committee Vows

It is pertinent to promptly inform the entire University community that immediate steps have been taken in this regard, as all National Security Personnel have been drafted to handle the situation. As a matter of fact, several arrests have been made of suspects.

To this end, all students (Stream A and any other full-time student still on any of the Universitys campuses) are hereby directed to vacate the premises with immediate effect to ensure a proper, holistic and unimpeded thorough investigation, please.

It is worthy of note that armed security personnel have been quickly deployed for patrol, surveillance and security purposes.

Rest assured that all steps would be taken by the University to fish out any and all culpable persons; and they shall face the full and unmitigated consequences of their action(s).

A new resumption date for all students would be conveyed accordingly. We sincerely regret any inconveniences these may have caused. Thank you.

Upon the confirmation of her demise the school stated that current information reaching the security outfit of the University has disclosed that the said student is dead.

While the University Management condoles with the deceased family and the generality of the University community, particularly our dear students, the Management reiterates that the investigation is still ongoing and this is being done in collaboration with national security agencies with a view to getting to the root of the sad development and bringing to book the culprits.

We, therefore, appeal to students and all other stakeholders to remain calm.
Moscows forces have started covering some of their attack aircraft with car tires, in what experts say could be a makeshift attempt to protect them from Ukrainian drone strikes that have had increased recent success in targeting Russian military airports.

Satellite imagery from Maxar of Engels Airbase, deep inside Russia, shows two Tu-95 strategic bombers with car tires on top of the airframes.

CNN could not independently verify why the tires were placed on the aircraft, but experts say it could be a crude attempt at not only adding another layer of protection against Ukrainian drones but also reducing the visibility of the aircraft, especially at night.

The move may have limited effect, according to Francisco Serra-Martins of drone manufacturer One Way Aerospace whose drones have been used by Ukrainian forces.

It may reduce the thermal signature for exposed strategic aviation assets placed on airfield aprons, but they will still be observable under infrared cameras, he told CNN.

A satellite image shows car tires on a Russian aircraft. - Maxar Technologies

While it seems pretty goofy, they seem to be trying to do the best they can to up-armor the planes that are otherwise sitting ducks. Whether it works depends on what the warhead is on the missile/drone, said Steffan Watkins, an open-source research consultant who tracks aircraft and ships.

Watkins added that the tires could be used to stop fragmentation of an explosion above the plane from piercing the aircraft.

A NATO military official told CNN the alliance was aware of the tires. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

We believe its meant to protect against drones, the official told CNN. We dont know if this will have any effect.

Ukraine has become increasingly bold in targeting strategic assets inside Russia through aerial attacks in recent weeks, even as it suffers assaults on its own cities, setting up a new phase of the conflict defined by Kyivs apparent efforts to wear down domestic Russian support for the war.

Story continues

Last week six Russian regions including Moscow came under attack, in the biggest drone assault on its territory since it launched its invasion of Ukraine. In the city of Pskov, near the Estonian border, several transport planes were reportedly damaged when drones targeted an airport.

Earlier in August, Ukraine said it had carried out drone strikes on bases that house supersonic bombers deep in Russian territory  in what appeared to be an effort to make a dent in Russias air power, which has been a major obstacle for Ukraines counteroffensive.

Russian forces have previously resorted to unusual DIY solutions to protect equipment from Ukrainian attacks, including covering the often vulnerable turrets of their tanks with metal cages in a bid to reduce the impact of modern anti-tank weapons that attack with armor penetrating rounds from above.

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Nigerias Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Wednesday, posited that the country is deep into lot of challenges.

Speaking at the graduation dinner and award night for participants of the National Defence College Course 31 in Abuja, he called for enduring solutions to the deepening security crisis plaguing the country.

Affirming that the college had spent its precious time in nurturing the participants with strategic knowledge, he maintained that Nigerians demand that the government deliver a dividend of democracy based on the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and improve the quality of governance.

So I look forward to receiving the thoughtful and workable solutions to the myriad of challenges bedevilling our nation. We also remember that the nation is also caught up in global challenges, which have far-reaching consequences.

Meanwhile, the world has grown from the external defensive approach to security management, where the military and security agencies were forced to be the exclusive custodians of security globally, the Senate president stated.

READ ALSO: Were You Expecting Us To Gather Evidence For You In The Market?  Tribunal To Peter Obi, LP (Video)

Akpabio,represented by Senate Committee on Navy chair, Gbenga Daniel, stressed that the war has several factors, both external and internal. It easily impacts on security of nations and it behooves on the security to develop resilience to all the dynamics that impact negatively on our national security.

He added, It is, however, heartwarming to note that for this Course 31, the theme was Building Resilience for National Security Development. It is my sincere hope that the solutions emanating from this college will become veritable tools that will enhance defence transformation and national security in years ahead.

Akpabio explained that the defence corporation with friendly nations in Africa and the world had brought great benefits to Nigeria and other members and expressed appreciation to foreign participants for partnering with Nigeria and the National Defence College.
A faction of the Labour Party (LP) led by Lamidi Apapa has accepted the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) on the case filed by the Partys 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Recall that the tribunal on Wednesday ruled that the petition filed by Obi and his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar had no merit and unanimously upheld the election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The judgment was delivered by the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, assisted by other members of the panel-Justices Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Stephen Adah, Moses Ugo and Abba Mohammed.

In a statement issued by the factional National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, Apapa said it was shameful that Obi and his legal team were unable to prove the allegations of irregularities in the February 25 polls.

READ ALSO: Well Not Relent  Labour Party Rejects PEPT Judgement

Apapa also accused Obi of allegedly siphoning money donated for his presidential campaign in 2022.

It is a shame that the legal team of Mr Peter Obi failed to advise him properly before going to the tribunal.

Peter Obi has just gone on a wild goose chase. Imagine the candidate that failed to fund the party in order to engage the number of required polling agents, also the filing of the witnesses outside the stipulated time has shown that the legal team is a failure.

Some of us have been saying that Peter Obi decided to go to the tribunal to justify all the money he collected during the campaign, all that money was corruptly siphoned, the statement read.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, has told all the affiliate unions to return to work on Thursday after the successful execution of the two-day warning strike to draw the attention of the government to the hardship facing Nigerians as a result of the removal of petrol subsidy.

In a statement by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, commended all affiliate unions, state councils, and members that participated in the warning strike.

According to him, the strike was necessary in order to draw the attention of the government to the need to prioritize the welfare of workers.

Ajaero, revealed that workers should get ready for an indefinite strike action if the federal government fails to take necessary action to curb the hardship brought about as a result of the fuel subsidy removal policy.

The statement reads: We write to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our dedicated Affiliates, State Councils, and esteemed members for their unwavering support and active participation in the recent two-day nationwide warning strike. This collective effort was undertaken to emphasize our strong conviction that the government should prioritize the welfare of our citizens and adhere to our established statutes.

We are pleased to report that, thanks to your resolute commitment, we have made significant strides in achieving the goals set during our National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, which prompted the initiation of this warning strike.

It is abundantly clear that our united message has resonated loudly with the government, and it would take a truly inattentive ear not to hear it.

As we mark the end of the two-day nationwide warning strike today, at the stroke of midnight, we earnestly call upon you all to gracefully conclude the strike and return to work tomorrow, in accordance with our initial agreement.

READ MORE: NLC Strike: Patients Stranded As Doctors Refuse To Work In Warri

We would like to take this moment to express our profound appreciation for your unwavering determination and dedication, which played a pivotal role in the resounding success of this action.

Your contributions during this warning strike exemplify your unwavering commitment to our shared cause.

In the event that the government fails to provide the appropriate responses to our demands, we encourage you to maintain your steadfast resolve.

The same passion and determination that fueled this warning strike will be crucial if we find ourselves compelled to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike.

Congress is not unmindful of the actions of detractors and fifth columnists but in the face of them all, we remain undaunted and more committed to the defence of Nigerian workers and people at any given time. Our nation deserves better.
The Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Thursday, said that presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, have no ground to challenge President Bola Ahmed Tinubus February 25th election victory at the Court of Appeal.

Recall that on Wednesday, the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, upheld the victory of President Tinubu as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) months ago.

However, Governor Bello in his reaction, urged all opposition parties who lost their cases at the Tribunal to shun further actions and support the President to fix Nigeria.

According to him, Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora are happy with the courts outcome, hence, the losers should drop any form of appeal at the higher court.

The APC chieftain led this out while addressing journalists today, shortly after he paid a solidarity visit to the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Governor Bello said: Nothing is as successful as success. We are happy; Nigerians are happy, and the truth is out there. We appreciate all that happened on Wednesday. The truth has been exposed.

READ MORE: Tribunal Judgement Will Destroy Electoral Act 2022 If Allowed To Stand  Kenneth Okonkwo

Imagine the Justices sitting down for almost 14 hours to deliver that landmark judgement. Nigerians within the country and in the diaspora are happy, and I think its time to settle down and face governance.

 I advise all those that feel aggrieved, we have only one country, Nigeria. They should all come together and support President Bola Tinubu to ensure that we fix this country.

Definitely, we have Mr Fix it, who is trying his best to travel around the world to ensure that Nigeria is fixed. So, we are happy the matter is settled.

As far as Im concerned, I dont think there is any ground for appeal. I would rather appeal to them that they should drop any appeal going to the higher court.

They should save the resources, save the trouble, advise their supporters, admonish them that they should accept Wednesdays judgement. No flaw. I thank God for all that happened.
Popular Nollywood actor and Labour Partys chieftain, Kenneth Okonkwo, has expressed displeasure over the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT), saying it is inherently contradictory and illogical.

Recall that PEPT, on Wednesday, affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu and dismissed the petitions of LP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Atiku Abubakar.

However, the tribunal, while ruling on whether the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was right to return Tinubu as the duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast, held that Atiku and Obi did not successfully prove their petition seeking to remove Tinubu from office.

READ MORE: Well Not Relent  Labour Party Rejects PEPT Judgement

On the issue of 25% in Abuja, Court also ruled that the FCT does not enjoy special privileges ahead of other states.

The veteran actor noted that the judgement would set the country back to the pre-democratic era when manual collation was an albatross of election.

Kenneth further said it was an analogue judgement applied to a technologically advanced Electoral Act 2022, adding disathat he disgrees with the entire verdict.

He wrote: The PEPC judgement is inherently contradictory and illogical and, if allowed to stand, will destroy every achievement the Electoral Act 2022, was designed to achieve.

This judgement will set us back to pre-1999 election era when manual collation was the albatross of our elections.

Those who publicly stated that BVAS will destroy our democracy are now trying to destroy the BVAS using this judgement. This judgement does not appreciate the intendment of the Legislature for the technological advancement of our elections and appears bent on destroying it.

This judgement is an analogue judgement applied to a technologically advanced Electoral Act 2022. To rule that civil forfeiture is not a fine as contemplated by the Constitution is to overule the decision of the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
The House of Representatives ad hoc committee set up to investigate crude oil theft and loss of revenue from gas has vowed to unveil the identities of those behind oil theft in the country.

Rep. Kabiru Rurum, chairman of the committee said this while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) ahead of its investigative hearing slated for Sept. 7.

He said the oil sector remained the major source of revenue for the country, adding that it was determined that the investigation would not be like the previous ones.

READ ALSO: Oil Theft: NNPC Limited Security Partner Intercepts 800,000 Litre Crude Headed For Cameroon (Video)

According to him, oil and gas are the major areas where the country gets its resources but the problem of oil theft has continued to go from bad to worse on a daily basis.

The purpose of the committee is to reveal who and who are the architect of what is going on in the area of crude oil theft.

He said apportioning blame to security agencies would not suffice, adding that stakeholders in the oil sectors should be held responsible including Chevron, Shell, communities among others.

We need to identify the culprists, this is the purpose of the investigation, everybody including critical stakeholders should come and tell us their side of the story.

He said the modalities and ways to stop or minimise theft in the oil sector should be suggested by all stakeholders which was the main purpose of the committee.

He said the committee had invited the Nigerian Navy as the custodian of the nations water, Airforce, Civil Defence, Police Intelligence Agency among others.

According to him, the challenges confronting the oil sector and the probable solution will be discussed.

He said the Norwagean Embassy which had earlier promised Nigeria to assist in three areas to curtail oil theft had been invited to proffer solution.

He said its recommendation would be firm because the government knew that there were serious challenges in the sector, adding that it would work in synergy with the National Security Adviser.

it would be recalled that Rep. Philip Agbese (APC-Benue) had earlier moved a motion on the need to investigate crude oil theft and loss of revenue accrued from the oil and gas sector in Nigeria

The house, however, constituted an ad hoc committee to investigate the issues and ensured that everyone complicit in the theft was brought to book.
Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today unveiled the Infosys Cloud Radar 2023. One of the important findings in this annual research highlights how cloud, used for growth and transformation, is three times more important to companies, than cloud used to cut costs.

The research comprehensively highlights the shift of cloud utilization from beyond storage and cutting costs to utilizing cloud to gain access to new technology and capabilities, enable new revenue streams and replace or update current systems. It also indicates while companies will continue to invest in cloud, less than half of the committed spend is actually being utilized. While this does not indicate a near-term problem, companies that fail to meet their cloud contracts stand to face higher costs as cloud providers renegotiate contracts.

The Cloud Radar 2023, by the Infosys Knowledge Institute (IKI), a research arm of Infosys, surveyed over 2,500 respondents from companies across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and the Nordic countries. Based on interviews with subject matter experts and global business leaders, the report highlights the new sophistication and complexity of cloud and the subsequent management challenges.

Next up, the challenges that were identified:

Cloud spending remains high : 67% of companies increased cloud spending this year, and 80% intend to raise their spending next year

: 67% of companies increased cloud spending this year, and 80% intend to raise their spending next year Utilization : Only 47% of current cloud commitments are utilized, over $300 billion in corporate cloud commitments remain untapped

: Only 47% of current cloud commitments are utilized, over $300 billion in corporate cloud commitments remain untapped Cost is a headache : Roughly 50% of companies struggle to manage their cloud costs

: Roughly 50% of companies struggle to manage their cloud costs Cloud is complex : Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65%) use three or four cloud vendors, a 75% increase over the proportion who used three or four providers in 2021. Over the past two years, the proportion of companies using a single cloud provider has decreased from 21% in 2021 to 7% in 2023

: Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65%) use three or four cloud vendors, a 75% increase over the proportion who used three or four providers in 2021. Over the past two years, the proportion of companies using a single cloud provider has decreased from 21% in 2021 to 7% in 2023 Companies unable to control cloud deployments : 43% of companies report having unclear policies regarding the department or function head authorized to deploy cloud resources

: 43% of companies report having unclear policies regarding the department or function head authorized to deploy cloud resources Cloud decisions are siloed : For nearly half (45%), either the IT department alone or business leaders alone decide which cloud technology to deploy or how to manage cloud compliance

: For nearly half (45%), either the IT department alone or business leaders alone decide which cloud technology to deploy or how to manage cloud compliance Overall, cloud still matters: 73% agree that cloud migration achieves objectives, which drives further cloud interest and investment

The key insights from the Cloud Radar 2023 include three strategies of success:

Master monitoring and prediction - Establishing guardrails for governance and costs is paramount as complexity of cloud grows with the addition of technologies such as generative AI, IoT, etc.

- Establishing guardrails for governance and costs is paramount as complexity of cloud grows with the addition of technologies such as generative AI, IoT, etc. Embed the business case into cloud  Forging a transparent, agile, collaborative relationship between IT and business helps drive accountability and improves RoI

 Forging a transparent, agile, collaborative relationship between IT and business helps drive accountability and improves RoI Adopt a value-centric cloud operating model  An updated operating model will enable teams to track value flow, create alignment, and encourage engagement around measurable goals.

Anant Adya, EVP - Infosys Cobalt, said, As cloud continues to evolve, its imperative for organizations to integrate it as a strategic enabler for their growth and transformation. Leveraging multiple cloud providers allows organizations to optimize resources, improve resilience, and access specialized capabilities, which lead to improved efficiency and accelerated growth. Infosys annual Cloud Radar surveys continue to shed light on the ever-changing cloud services landscape and explain cloud adoption dynamics and investments. The report highlights the growing need for enterprises to address the evolving complexity of the cloud landscape and craft the right strategy to better utilize and manage cloud.

To read the full report, please visit here.

View a short video on the Infosys Cloud Radar 2023 study here.

Methodology

Infosys used an anonymous format to conduct an online survey of more than 2,500 business executives across industries across the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and the Nordics. To gain additional, qualitative insights, the researchers interviewed subject matter experts and business leaders.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. We enable clients in more than 56 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by cloud and AI. We enable them with an AI-first core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, or our future financial or operating performance are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the execution of our business strategy, our ability to attract and retain personnel, our transition to hybrid work model, economic uncertainties, technological innovations such as Generative AI, the complex and evolving regulatory landscape including immigration regulation changes, our ESG vision, our capital allocation policy and expectations concerning our market position, future operations, margins, profitability, liquidity, capital resources, and our corporate actions including acquisitions. Important factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in our US Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

Media contacts:

For more information, please contact: PR_Global@infosys.com
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has never seemed to enjoy the spotlight.

On her first day in Philadelphia, she reported to work before dawn.

She was sworn in during a private ceremony at City Hall.

She rarely revealed much about herself publicly, leading some in the rank and file, city government, and the media to wonder what she was really like.

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And this week, when the city announced that Outlaw would be stepping down later this month, she gave interviews to a few reporters to explain her decision, but avoided a newsconference or a public appearance to discuss her reasons for moving on from Philadelphia.

 READ MORE: Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw resigns her post for another position

It is perhaps unsurprising, then, that Outlaws next chapter seems a few steps removed from the cauldron of being a big-city police chief. She will become a deputy chief at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, helping oversee emergency management, cybersecurity, and public safety for that regions bridges, tunnels, ports, and airports.

In an interview this week, Outlaw, 46, alluded to the appeal of a less public-facing position, saying she was looking forward to a new role after nearly 20 years climbing the ladder in municipal policing  first in her hometown of Oakland, Calif., then as chief for two years in Portland, Ore., and most recently in Philadelphia.

Ive been a major-city police chief for five and a half years, Outlaw said. Ive been going nonstop for a very long time.

The wariness for attention sometimes seemed at odds with the unrelenting nature of her job in Philadelphia  particularly as the demands of the position intensified after she took office in February 2020.

Although she was hired to address issues stemming from scandals centered on racism, sexism, and sexual harassment, Outlaw instead found herself quickly facing a diverse and urgent set of challenges, including the pandemic and its impact on policing, an unprecedented gun violence crisis, mass protests, and a staffing exodus.

Its been so much that happened simultaneously, Outlaw said. I did my absolute best with what I had, [and] tried to be honest, transparent, and make decisions while balancing trade-offs.

Community members and public officials have expressed mixed opinions about her three-and-a-half-year tenure, questioning decisions including her departments use of tear gas against protesters  which cost the city $10 million  and asking whether police had acted with sufficient urgency to address a record-setting homicide rate. The police officers union has had few positive things to say about her on the way out, describing morale as low and casting her as an absent leader.

Bilal Qayyum, a longtime anti-violence and community activist, said he thought Outlaw did pretty well given the array of challenges she faced, which he said also included a police force that appeared skeptical of her  the first Black woman to lead the department  and a mayor who sometimes came across as disengaged.

 LISTEN: Inquirer reporter Chris Palmer discusses Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaws resignation on City Cast Philly, a daily news podcast.

Could she have done better? We always say yes, Qayyum said. But I think she was pretty on top of stuff, and theres no question in my mind that she cared.

Heres how she fared in some other, more tangible aspects of the job:

More money, fewer officers

A key responsibility for any police commissioner is managing the departments budget. Police receive more city dollars than any other department, and the police budget grew more than 15% during her tenure, reaching $856 million this fiscal year.

Most of that is related to staffing. The largest increase in the departments budget allocation came in 2022 after the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 negotiated a new contract that included across-the-board pay raises for its members.

The department last year also spent a record amount on overtime  more than $100 million  as officers work longer hours amid a short-staffing problem that began in 2020.

Like many other industries and city agencies, the police department bled officers during the pandemic, losing hundreds to retirement and resignation. A nationwide shortage of recruits and pandemic-related gathering restrictions made it challenging to train cadets and fill open positions.

Outlaw has said struggles with recruiting were a result of the political environment and a perceived lack of support for police after the protests sparked by the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020.

She said the problem was exacerbated by a 2020 rule that required most municipal workers to live in the city for a year before applying for a job. Proponents, including current Democratic mayoral nominee Cherelle Parker, said the requirement was intended to diversify the workforce.

 READ MORE: Who is John Stanford? The Philadelphia Police deputy will step in as interim commissioner as Danielle Outlaw resigns

By early 2021, the police department had more than 250 vacancies. That number has ballooned to more than 400.

In March 2022, Mayor Jim Kenneys administration lifted the residency rule for police recruits, allowing the department to hire from outside the city.

But hiring has only slowly chipped away at the vacancies. During a recruiting drive this summer, the department saw a 42% increase in the number of applicants to the police academy compared to its winter drive, according to police statistics.

Still, thats far from enough to keep up with attrition. The department has roughly 6,500 employees despite budgeting for 7,400. And more than 800 police officers are enrolled in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP), meaning they intend to retire within the next four years.

The staffing challenges may have also impacted the departments ability to diversify. In testimony to City Council, the police department set goals to increase the number of officers who are women and people of color by 2% each, every year.

But as of December, the department was no more diverse than the year Outlaw was sworn in.

As of late last year, people of color made up 45% of the departments full-time staff, compared to 46% in 2020, according to Council testimony. And women accounted for 27% of department staff late last year, compared to 30% in 2020.

Did Outlaws PPD increase clearance rates?

Less than six months after she was sworn in, Outlaw released a near-40 page plan outlining a broad set of departmental goals. But two numbers stood out: She said she wanted to increase clearance rates in homicides and nonfatal shootings to 65% and 30%, respectively, by the end of 2021.

The department has yet to reach those targets.

The year-to-date clearance rates  the percentage of cases considered solved, typically by arrest  are 57.8% for homicides and 24.1% for nonfatal shootings, the department said.

Both of those rates reflect steady improvement over the last several years. In 2020, for example, the rates were 42.4% for homicides and 19.2% for shootings.

Still, the reality is that hundreds of gun crimes each year remain unsolved  leaving victims or their relatives without closure, and allowing shooters to remain on the street.

Outlaws most significant step in this area came in early 2022, when she rolled out a new unit dedicated solely to investigating nonfatal shootings. The shake-up made Philadelphia one of the few big cities in the country to have a group of detectives and supervisors focused solely on investigating that type of crime, as opposed to grouping them with robberies and other assaults.

Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore told City Council during a budget hearing this spring that investigators in the Shooting Investigations Group, as its called, often work closely with those in the Homicide unit, since shootings and murders are routinely connected  sometimes due to ongoing feuds, or retaliation, or drug-related issues. And he credited that collaboration with helping detectives in both units solve more cases.

Now weve got a very large group, its almost 200 people [between both units] who work really in an intelligence-led, investigative process, Vanore said. And that process is helping us not only in homicides but in our nonfatal shootings.

 READ MORE: Many Philadelphians liked Danielle Outlaw as a person, but as a commissioner, the job didnt seem to be getting done

Increasing investigative capacity

Vanore also said many of those cases are now solved by evidence beyond a traditional witness, such as ballistics tests, surveillance videos, or cell phone records. And police are in the process of expanding that capacity: Late last year, the state said it would award $50 million to the police department, district attorneys office, and SEPTA to upgrade the citys forensics crime lab.

Mike Garvey, the departments director of forensic science, told City Council in April that the city was still determining whether the new lab would be built from scratch or put into an existing building (a police spokesperson said Wednesday that several proposals were still being reviewed). In either case, Garvey said he believed the new facility would allow the department to hire around 100 or 120 new employees to analyze materials including DNA, ballistics, or cell phone data.

That added capacity, Garvey said, would help sharpen investigations earlier  either by giving detectives additional tips and information, or by helping them rule out bad leads.

Every time we increase the number of cases were able to analyze, we increase other things, Garvey said. With every productivity we do, the leads increase even more. So this will just keep going as we can work evidence as it comes in.

It wasnt until the last few years that Outlaw and the department had even been able to secure long-missing basics for investigators, such as department-issued cell phones. She said this week that shes hopeful that the department would continue to build on its crime-fighting and investigative plans once shes gone.

I believe firmly that the department will continue to move forward, she said.

 READ MORE: Mayoral candidate Cherelle Parker praises outgoing Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw despite Monday morning quarterbacks
Philadelphia police have arrested a man they say shot an 80-year-old in the head on Labor Day in what appears to have been a random attack, police said Wednesday.

The victim is now in critical condition, officials said.

Shortly after 9 a.m. Monday, police responded to the 2600 block of Tasker Street for a report of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found the 80-year-old man, whom police did not identify, unresponsive in the street, with gunshot wounds to his head and neck.

Police took him to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he was in critical condition Wednesday, said Capt. James Kearney, head of the nonfatal shootings unit.

On Tuesday, police arrested Nicholas Heyward-Walton, 25, at his home on the 1500 block of South Bailey Street. He was charged with attempted murder and related offenses, police said.

There was no altercation between the victim and the shooter, said Kearney, and the shooting appeared to be random.
Temple University has selected a leadership advisory firm and appointed a committee to search for its next president, with the goal of naming a new leader next spring, the school announced Thursday.

The university has tapped Spencer Stuart, an executive search firm that led the most recent presidential searches at the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania State University and Loyola University Chicago to lead the search. It also has hired a second firm, The Collective Genius, to hold in-person and virtual meetings with faculty, students and other key stakeholders to get input on what skills and experience the next president should have. Those sessions are expected to begin later this month.

This is a transformative moment for the university, and, with a team that will help center the voices of our community, key administration and stakeholders, we look forward to finding the right candidate who represents our institutional mission and can lead our great school into the future, Mitchell L. Morgan, chair of the board of trustees, said in a message to the nearly 31,000-student university, based in North Philadelphia.

In addition, a 16-member advisory committee made up largely of trustees, but also including two members of the faculty, two deans, a student leader and an administrator, was announced to support the search and ultimately evaluate candidates and make recommendations to the full trustees board.

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Among those on the committee, which will be chaired by Morgan, are Valerie Harrison, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion; Shohreh Amini, president of the faculty senate; and deans of the medical school and college of liberal arts.

JoAnne A. Epps, former Temple provost and law school dean, has been serving as acting president following the tumultuous brief tenure and resignation of Jason Wingard last March. Epps, 72, has said she will not be a candidate for the permanent post.

 READ MORE: After a tumultuous tenure, Jason Wingard has resigned as Temple University president

Why did Jason Wingard leave Temple?

Wingard stepped down after less than two years. His tenure was marked by a 42-day graduate student worker strike, dropping enrollment, the shooting death of an on-duty university police officer near campus, and criticism that he was not present enough on campus. Concerns also were voiced around the non-renewal of contracts for some nontenured faculty and vacancies in some key administrative jobs.

His resignation also came as the Temple Association of University Professionals, the faculty union, was preparing to hold a vote of no confidence in Wingard and followed a survey of 1,000 students by the Temple News, the student newspaper, that showed 92% disapproved of Wingards performance.

 READ MORE: JoAnne Epps, named Temples acting president, says she can calm waters

But some within the faculty union were concerned that it would send the wrong message to vote no confidence in Wingard, Temples first Black president, when he had so little time in the post and had been confronting post-pandemic problems like rising gun violence.

Wingards presidency wasnt the only one in Temples last decade to end on a sour note. In 2016, Neil D. Theobald resigned under pressure as the board was preparing to meet and vote on his dismissal, faulting him for a $22 million deficit in the universitys financial aid budget and his dismissal of provost Hai-Lung Dai weeks earlier. Then longtime Temple employee Richard M. Englert stepped into the post for five years.

The onus now is on the university to find a new leader who can be successful.

A new kind of search for a new moment

The search will be conducted as the university negotiates a new contract with its faculty union, which in April voted no confidence in Morgan and Provost Gregory N. Mandel. Both Morgan, founder and chairman of Morgan Properties, and Mandel have maintained their leadership positions.

It also comes as the school looks to stem enrollment losses. Temples enrollment this fall was projected to drop from last year by about 2,800 students or 8%, to just under 31,000 undergraduates and graduate students. Since 2019, before the pandemic, enrollment has fallen more than 20%.

The last search took place during the pandemic, limiting opportunities for public engagement. In addition to hiring a new search firm this time, Morgan said the university intends to survey the community as part of the process and produce a public report following community meetings held by The Collective Genius firm.

Were going to spend a fair amount of time reaching out to all of the important players, he said. We hired a specialty firm that does nothing but facilitate that type of environment. I think well have a better turnout and better community involvement than last time.

The search committee has also changed since 2020, when some in the community complained about a lack of diversity among members.

At that time, there were two Black men and a Hispanic man among the 16-member committee, which included 13 trustees; the university then added two Black women.

This time, there are six people of color on the committee, Morgan confirmed.

Morgan said he wasnt counting or looking at the racial or gender background of members, but rather who would be actively involved and help me in this situation. He said he also sought input from the faculty senate, university leaders and council of deans.

The university may add one more person to the committee, possibly someone from the Temple community, he said.

Im really hoping were going to get it right this time,he said. We have to.
The 38th annual CNY TomatoFest will bring a day of live music, food, family activities and more to downtown Auburn on Saturday, Sept. 9.

The festival, which continues to support local food pantries, will take place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the area of Genesee Street between South and William/Dill streets in the city.

Live music at this year's TomatoFest will include:

Genesee Street stage

11 a.m.: Julie Howard

Noon: Perform 4 Purpose

1:30 p.m.: The Healers

3 p.m.: Major Keys

4:30 p.m.: Glass Image

6 p.m.: Weekend at Bernie's

Exchange Street stage

11 a.m.: Luke Mock

12:30 p.m.: Alexander and Nodzo

2 p.m.: Mike McNabb

3:30 p.m.: Joey Dugan

5 p.m.: Bob Lyna and Friends

There will also be street performances by Unity Street Band and Genesee Street Voices.

The musical portion of TomatoFest is supported by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, administered locally by Finger Lakes Community Arts Grants.

Family Fun on Genesee Street will include:

All day: MaxMan Reptile Rescue, slime making and candle dipping

Noon to 1 p.m.: Absolute Dance Company

1 and 3 p.m.: Nate the Great

2 to 5 p.m.: Pete's Balloons

The Owasco Watershed Lake Association will also have a table with family activities, information and a shuttle to free boat rides on Owasco Lake at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30 p.m.

The Living History Players will perform free history tours from noon to 5 p.m. The traditional cutting of the Wegmans TomatoFest cake will take place at noon, and the Tomato Parade at 4 p.m.

Food vendors at TomatoFest will include:

A.T. Walley & Co.

Barlow's Concessions

Real Pit BBQ

Leo's Donut Factory

Pete's Treats

Crafters and commercial vendors will include:

Rhubarb Alpacas

Ordinary Mystical Photography

Greg Hypes (personalized books)

DJP Woodcrafters

Just Plane Fun (Brian Freeman)

Jeri Marcuccilli (fabric belt loop bags)

Rachel Feirman (nature-inspired art)

Three Creations

Haines Apiary

Marion Nydem (crafts)

Jsy'Neem & Things

Melody Johnson (Melody's)

Violet Sky Photography by Stacy Jordan

Renewal by Andersen of CNY

Altas Ornamentation

Norwex Sparkling Clean

Julies Crafts

LottsaBeads (Tara Arpino)

Picciano Family Foods

Sean M. Walsh K-9 Memorial Foundation

Cackling Crow Games

La Flor (Mexican jewelry by Anel)

Scentsy (Kelly LaSalle)

Juliet Mackin face painting

Daisy Hollow Farm

Local nonprofits with a presence at TomatoFest will include:

Auburn Community Cats TNR

Auburn Players Community Theatre

Cayuga County Habitat for Humanity

Fidelis

Finger Lakes SPCA of CNY

Pregnancy Care Center of Cayuga County

Tyburn Academy of Mary Immaculate

St. John Paul II Academy

Vineyard Church

VFW Auburn Post No.1975

Auburn Pop Warner

Cayuga Counseling Services

Central New York DDSO/WPWDD

Child Care Solutions

APE Scare and Care

Cayuga County Office of Tourism

Loretto of CNY

Glove House

As always, CNY TomatoFest supports Cayuga County food pantries. Canned and nonperishable food donations will be collected at all festival entry sites. Admission to the festival is free.

"That's the thing that's always kept TomatoFest going," TomatoFest board member and longtime organizer Gilda Brower told The Citizen in 2021. "There's always going to be someone who becomes ill and can't work, there's always a car that breaks down and someone has to go without their income. That's why we stay in place."

Participating food pantries this year include:

Calvary Food Pantry, Auburn (facebook.com/calvaryfoodpantrycnyinc)

Cato Christian pantry, Cato (catochristianfellowship.org)

Moravia Hope Pantry, Moravia ([315] 209-9420)

King Ferry Food Pantry, King Ferry (kingferryfoodpantry.org)

Salvation Army, Auburn (easternusa.salvationarmy.org/empire/auburn)

Western Cayuga County Emergency Food Pantry, Union Springs (facebook.com/tuccunionsprings)

Fair Haven Community Church food pantry, Fair Haven (fairhavenchurch.us/Ministries/Food_Pantry/food_pantry.html)

St. Alphonsus Food Pantry, Auburn (facebook.com/stalphonsusfoodpantry)

Brutus-Sennett Food Pantry, Weedsport ([315] 834-6749)

Port Byron Community Food Pantry, Port Byron (on Facebook)

Ahead of the festival, the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office will be accepting donations through Friday in the lobby of the Public Safety Building, 7445 County House Road, Sennett, and the security desk at the Cayuga County Office Building, 160 Genesee St., Auburn. The office has accepted a challenge from APE Scare and Care, of Auburn, to see who can collect the most donations for the event.

For more information, visit cnytomatofest.org.

Gallery: Family fun in downtown Auburn during CNY TomatoFest TomatoFest TomatoFest TomatoFest TomatoFest TomatoFest 5 TomatoFest 6 TomatoFest 7 TomatoFest 8 TomatoFest 9 TomatoFest
West Chester University's Council of Trustees voted to remove the name of Samuel Christian Schmucker from its science building. Schmucker taught science at the university, then a normal school, more than 100 years ago, and in the 1960s, the university placed his name on its science building. But a West Chester undergraduate uncovered another side of Schmucker: He advocated for eugenics. That discovery led to a deeper look by a university committee that found Schmucker's views were not in keeping with West Chester's values. Read more

A century ago, Samuel Christian Schmucker was thought to be a beloved professor at what was then West Chester Normal School, now West Chester University, and in the 1960s, the university in recognition placed his name on its science building.

But a West Chester student doing research for a history paper began to uncover another side of the science teacher.

As a proponent of eugenics, Schmucker advocated for the lifelong institutionalization and ultimate eradication of those who had intellectual disabilities, whom he called the feeble-minded, according to the university. He also espoused white-supremacist ideas, it said.

 READ MORE: West Chester University opens campus convenience store staffed by students with autism

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Now, after a campaign by students and a professor and a committee that spent months delving further into Schmuckers work, the universitys Council of Trustees on Thursday voted unanimously to remove the late teachers name from the building, noting that he does not represent West Chesters values. The decision followed a recommendation from the Namesake Committee, comprising students, professors, staff, and community members, a decision that was endorsed by President Christopher Fiorentino.

The surfacing of Samuel Christian Schmuckers legacy is a testament to the real-world, collaborative, and impactful work being done between students and faculty at WCU, the committee wrote. In the end, there is no conclusion to be drawn except that the name of the Schmucker building must be changed. The harm caused by Schmucker through his advocacy for a dangerous pseudo-science still reverberates on our campus today.

Under West Chesters policies, the council can remove a name if a donor fails to make payment or if the council determines that a continuing association with the donor or other namesake of the facility or program, will adversely impact the reputation, image, mission, or integrity of the university.

In Schmuckers case, there was no donation made.

The university also is planning to hold a program this fall, explaining the history of eugenics, to be taught by faculty who already teach the topic, said Tracey Ray Robinson, West Chesters chief diversity and inclusion officer.

A university that champions inclusivity

West Chester in recent years has championed its campus as a place for all students. Its one of 19 universities in Pennsylvania that has a program for students with intellectual disabilities, and in 2019, it became the first university in the country to open a convenience store on campus to provide workplace training for autistic students. It also in 2021 announced it would partner with Delaware County Community College through a national organization to close achievement gaps among racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic student groups by 2030.

 READ MORE: Bryn Mawr College to remove former presidents name from library after legacy of antisemitism and white supremacy

There are students on this campus that in another era would have been targets of eugenics, Fiorentino said. What message do we want to send to them?

He said if the university didnt remove Schmuckers name, it could be seen as a tacit stand in support of eugenics, which we cant support.

Its a bogus pseudoscience that has been totally debunked and has no place on a modern university campus.

The science building, which was built in the 1960s and currently houses West Chesters biology, chemistry, geology, and astronomy departments and planetarium, wont immediately be renamed, and for now likely will be known as the science center, Fiorentino said.

 READ MORE: Princeton strips Woodrow Wilsons name from school, citing his racist past

West Chesters move follows similar steps at other universities locally and nationally to reckon with their problematic pasts viewed through a modern lens. Stanford University in 2020 decided to rename campus spaces named after its founding president, David Starr Jordan, a leading proponent of eugenics, and better educate the university about his full history.

Closer to home, Princeton University that same year stripped the name of former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson from its public and international affairs school and a residential college. The move followed years of protest by students, who decried Wilsons prominence on campus, given his racist views and policies, including keeping Black students from enrolling at Princeton when he headed it.

And Bryn Mawr College earlier this year removed the name of its second president, M. Carey Thomas, from its library in recognition of her unwillingness to admit Black students or hire Jewish faculty.

 READ MORE: The choice should be there. More colleges enroll students with intellectual disabilities

I am just happy that the university and really all of its stakeholders found that change to be necessary, said Aaron Stoyack, a 2022 West Chester graduate whose research spawned a deeper look into Schmuckers past. It was a change that really aligns with our values.

I knew that it was an injustice

Stoyack, 23, a history major from Glenmoore, said he was researching another former West Chester professor, Henry Goddard, who was a known eugenicist when he found that one of Goddards good friends was Schmucker, who had taught at West Chester until 1923. That prompted him to read one of Schmuckers books.

Within a couple minutes, not even, I was able to clearly see that this man had some very intolerant ideas, said Stoyack, who now works as a park ranger in Virginia. I knew that it was an injustice, and I was surprised that no one really knew about this.

(Fiorentino, who has been at the university for 40 years, said he vaguely remembers something coming up in the past about Schmuckers ties but no organized campaign to get his name off the building until now.)

Stoyack raised the matter with his history professor, Brent Ruswick, who has taught at West Chester for a decade.

I said I would support Aaron and other students however they wanted to handle it, Ruswick said.

The two of them began reading more closely Schmuckers books, where Schmucker talked about feeble-mindedness, a taint from which society has the right and the duty of freeing itself, so far as in its power lies.

Schmucker also justified the forced sterilization of criminals and in one of his books wrote at length about the genetic superiority of Europeans, and Western Europeans in particular, according to the West Chester committee report.

Another student of Ruswicks, Sam Romeiser, 28, a history major from East Goshen, subsequently found more concerning information about Schmucker in a 1914 Colorado newspaper article. He talks about mandatory institutionalization for life for those with perceived or alleged intellectual disabilities, with those who live there working to offset their costs, Ruswick said.

The blight of feeblemindedness is hanging over humanity, Schmucker said, according to the article. We must segregate them with profitable labor if possible, for life, and not for a few years.

Romeiser said: Its crazy that anyone could even think this way.

It was an extreme view even among eugenics proponents of his time, Ruswick said, which emerged as another reason for the West Chester committees recommendation.

The newspaper article is what really pushed Ruswick to raise the matter with West Chesters administration, he said. He also edited for accuracy a letter that students wrote to the student newspaper, The Quad, urging the administration to take action.

This week, he said he was glad it had.

Im really proud of what it says about my history department and my university, he said. It shows that history matters and that we want to fund and support a vibrant humanities education.

All but one member of the West Chester community advocated for the removal of Schmuckers name, the committee report said.

The committee argued that Schmuckers positions on eugenics cannot be excused by the man of his times defense as his positions were considered extreme even in his own time.

Ruswick told the committee that removing Schmuckers name should not be regarded as erasing history.

Far from canceling history, our students are recovering and creating history, and doing so in a manner that epitomizes our universitys highest values, he said. This ought to be a moment of pride and celebration for our students and the humanities education offered by our history department.
West Chester University President Christopher Fiorentino, right, stands with Provost R. Lorraine "Laurie" Bernotsky outside the school's Sciences & Engineering Center and The Commons in 2022. Read more

R. Lorraine Laurie Bernotsky, executive vice president and provost of West Chester University, could become the schools next president when Christopher Fiorentino retires next summer.

In an unusual move, West Chesters Council of Trustees on Thursday approved a resolution that would make Bernotsky, who has worked at West Chester for about 27 years  though she is temporarily working at another state university with an intention to return to West Chester  the sole candidate to be considered by the search committee for the job, at least initially.

Daniel Greenstein, chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, and the executive committee of its board of governors approved the move.

We know her to be a very competent leader and a very exemplary individual, said council vice chair Barry C. Dozor, a Common Pleas Court judge. She brings an understanding of our university and the state system that is unparalleled.

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If Bernotsky decides to apply, the search committee appointed by the council Thursday would then evaluate her application and schedule interviews with the committee and the campus community, which could include open forums and presentations, according to the resolution passed by the council.

The search committee, after getting feedback from the university community, would then make a recommendation to the council if Bernotsky should be hired. If she were not hired, the university then would move to an open recruitment of candidates.

Bernotskys hire, if endorsed by the committee and the council, would still be subject to approval by the PASSHE board.

 READ MORE: West Chester Universitys president is retiring next year

Bernotsky has been serving as interim president of Pennsylvania Western University, which was the new entity formed more than a year ago when California, Clarion and Edinboro Universities were merged. She took the position in July and previously was the schools executive vice president and chief operating officer, a position she began last October. She has been on loan to Penn West from West Chester, according to Penn Wests website.

Bernotsky did not respond to requests for comment Thursday evening.

At West Chester, she is second-in-charge under Fiorentino, overseeing its academic affairs division with five colleges and 850 faculty and budget and labor relations. She started at West Chester in 1996 as a faculty member, then became associate provost and dean of graduate studies, followed by provost in 2015 and executive vice president in 2017.

She got her masters and doctorate in politics at the University of Oxford and a masters in sociology at Temple.

At more than 16,500 students, West Chester remains the state systems largest university and one of its strongest, growing for many years while other system schools lost enrollment, maintaining the largest budgetary reserve, and posting the highest graduation and retention rates. About three-quarters of its students graduate in six years, and about 85% of freshmen become sophomores.

The search committee, to be chaired by trustee Christopher Franklin, includes trustees, a dean, administrators and a graduate student. It will work with the search firm Greenwood Asher & Associates to develop a profile for the positions, according to a resolution approved by the council, with input from faculty, staff, students, alumni and others.
Bruce Springsteen has cancelled the remainder of his shows this month, saying in a late Wednesday announcement that hes being treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease.

The move comes after Springsteen canceled two shows in Philadelphia in August, also citing medical concerns.

Heres a primer on peptic ulcer disease, what causes it, and how its treated.

What is peptic ulcer disease, and what are its symptoms?

Peptic ulcers are sores in the stomach lining or the duodenum, the upper part of the small intestine. Peptic ulcer disease is the generic term for ulcers in this area, and does not denote a more severe form of ulcers, said Gregory Seltzer, the medical director for gastroenterology in New Jerseys Virtua Health System.

Some people with the condition never experience symptoms, but the most common sign of a peptic ulcer is pain in the stomach, Seltzer said.

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More serious symptoms include unexplained weight loss, appetite changes, and bleeding in the stomach or small intestine  which could present as black stool, Seltzer said.

According to the Mayo Clinic, other serious symptoms include vomiting even vomiting blood  difficulty breathing, or feeling faint.

Most people have about a 5% to 10% chance of getting an ulcer in their lifetimes, and the risk gets more common as they get older, said Leo Katz, the associate chief of Jefferson Healths Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

What causes peptic ulcer disease?

Most cases are caused by the overuse of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like naproxen sodium (for example, the brand-name drug Aleve) and ibuprofen (including the brand-name drug Advil). Those medications can decrease the production of lipids that contribute to the health of the stomach and small intestine and can help prevent or heal ulcers.

The best way to avoid an ulcer is to avoid medications that cause ulcers like ibuprofen and aspirin  or if you are going to take those medications, take them in moderation, Katz said.

The second-most common cause is an infection in the stomach caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. This bacterium can live symbiotically in the stomach, Seltzer said, but can also cause ulcers.

In rare cases, ulcers can present as a symptom of cancer.

Neither Seltzer nor Katz are involved with Springsteens care, and both said they cant say for certain what caused his ulcers without more information on his specific case.

Some lifestyle factors can affect ulcers, like smoking, drinking, eating spicy foods, and having untreated stress, the Mayo Clinic says. But those factors  including, say, stress related to millions of worried fans after a canceled concert  cannot cause ulcers on their own, Seltzer said.

Stress exacerbates the pain and causes people to seek out treatments. It doesnt actually cause the ulcer, Seltzer said.

How do you treat peptic ulcer disease?

In most cases, Seltzer said, peptic ulcers are treatable, and most people return to work within a few days. Springsteens decision to take more time off might indicate a more complicated case of ulcers, Katz said. Most of the time, most people with peptic ulcer disease dont have to modify their activities very much, he said.

A doctor might prescribe a medication called a proton pump inhibitor, sold under brand names like Prilosec and Nexium, to suppress acid in the stomach, allowing ulcers to heal.

Ideally, you want the stomach to heal itself, Seltzer said. For ulcers caused by H. pylori, a doctor will also prescribe an antibiotic. For ulcers caused by overuse of medications like Aleve or Advil, a doctor will advise the patient to stop taking them. Its important to get rid of the underlying cause, he said.

In more serious cases, ulcers can erode into a blood vessel and cause bleeding. They can also perforate the stomach or small intestine, which typically requires surgical intervention, Seltzer said.
The Philly regionalism, "jawn," has been included in dictionary.com. Read more

Jawn, Philadelphias renowned noun with a Swiss Army knifes versatility, is now in the dictionary.

The big event was announced Wednesday by dictionary.com, which calls itself the leading online and mobile English-language educational resource.

The word, anyone on SEPTA can tell you, means a thing, place, person, or event that one need not, or cannot give a specific name to.

And now, it has finally reached the point where including it in the dictionary was unavoidable, Grant Barrett, dictionary.coms head of lexicography, said in an interview Wednesday. It was sitting two years in our database, waiting, having been heard on TV, and in movies, books, songs, and blog posts. It became overwhelming, and we finally had to include it.

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Phillys once-humble offering has made it to the big time. A local entity thats rocketed, cheesesteak-like, into national stardom, right up there with Kevin Hart, Toukie Smith, Kevin Bacon, and Grace Kelly.

Jawn will become part of the wider American lexicon, thanks to this citation:

noun Informal, Chiefly Philadelphia.

Something or someone for which the speaker does not know or does not need a specific name:

Put some onions on those jawns or theyll be bland. Its gonna be crazy at that jawn tonight.

Barrett was enthusiastic: Jawn is such a fascinating word, and weve been seeing a steady hum of people looking it up.

He added that jawn is proof that American English isnt monolithic, and that it has room for a regional word with Philadelphia flavor.

Its a real win for Philadelphia, said Ricki Weisberg, 43, of Ardmore, who runs a nonprofit public-relations agency. And in Philadelphia, we take our wins where we can get them.

Weisberg wears clothing that displays the word jawn whenever she travels. She even has a hat that says jawn in the form of a Wawa logo, radiating a multi-layered expression of parochial pride thats dizzying.

Seemingly everywhere, jawn has been referenced on television programs such as Abbott Elementary (set in Philadelphia), as well as on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert; featured on the album Prime, by the New Jawn ensemble, led by West Philadelphia jazz great Christian McBride; and seen on billboards hawking attorney Jawn (John) Morgan.

Like Bryce Harper, jawn is not of Philadelphian origin, but has nevertheless been claimed by the populace with zealous fervor.

Various sources say jawn derives from the New York word joint (slang for a place or establishment) in African American vernacular English, according to the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Some linguists believe its related to the French word jointe, seen in texts from the 10th through 13th centuries, according to the encyclopedia. It had three meanings: the elbow joint, the act of joining, or a situation or part of something.

Jawn started flowing into popular culture via the early 1980s hip-hop group, Funky 4 + 1, in the song, Thats the Joint. Then, in 2013, Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill added to jawn fervor with his recording, Throwback Jawn, according to the encyclopedia

As exciting as jawns time in the spotlight is, the word might already be played around here, according to Thomas Keller, 27, an architect from Northern Liberties.

I used it a lot in high school in Levittown around 2011, he said. But its become one of those things that Philadelphians push a little too hard. These days, I say it only ironically.

In 2017, Merriam-Webster published a short entry online that defined the word without placing it in the dictionary. The piece included a reference to jawn being a big part of Philadelphia, just like Fishtowns indie-rock venue, Johnny Brendas.

Surprised by that, William Reed, co-owner of the club, was asked what he thinks about jawn blowing up.

After seeing that Jawn Morgan billboard, Reed said, I think the word may be in its death spiral around here, jumping the shark. Philadelphia has so many other, better words to be proud of  like the ones in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, both written here.

After its citation of jawn six years ago, Merriam-Webster may well include the word in its prestigious dictionary, said Peter Sokolowski, editor-at-large.

Jawn is in the pipeline to be in the dictionary, he said. Its on my radar as a word thats spreading, especially on social media. Were waiting for it to gain a little more traction.

For Sokolowski, Philadelphias jawn is akin to the word jimmies, a New England regionalism for sprinkles that made it into his dictionary (just as it also made its way down 95 and became part of Phillys lexicon).

Words like jawn inspire pride in Philadelphians, because the word comes from their city, Sokolowski said. And even if it gets into the dictionary, gaining a broader perspective, one thing will be true:

It will always be associated with Philadelphia.
A demonstrator holds a sign supporting workers at Good Karma Cafe during a rally outside City Hall last year. The company had four stores when workers unionized; two are currently open for business, and negotiations there have paused. Read more

Last year was busy for Local 80, Phillys labor union for cafe and coffee shop employees.

Its first bargaining unit, Korshak Bagels, reached a first contract in May 2022. Good Karma unionized in March 2022, then Elixr Coffee, Ultimo Coffee, Reanimator Coffee Roasters, and Eeva pizzeria all did so between fall 2022 and January 2023.

These campaigns are led by workers, said Lily Fender, a negotiator for Local 80. Thats the legacy were going to continue and build.

While the unions celebrated their elections, that wasnt the finish line for getting the work conditions they wanted.

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At Good Karma, three of four stores closed months after workers unionized, and the union was facing possible decertification  a process akin to a recall election  with voting on Thursday.

Meanwhile, organizers at Elixr, Ultimo Coffee, Reanimator, and Eeva say theyve been surprised by how long its taking to get a contract.

The process is much slower than we would like it to be, said Felix Kulik, lead negotiator for the union members at Elixr. We are kind of dragging along.

Phillys Local 80 organizers are part of a national trend of unionizing at small cafes and coffee shops, a story that is playing out against the backdrop of a highly public fight between Starbucks and Workers United, which represents baristas at the Seattle-based coffee giant.

Cafe unionization efforts built momentum in a job market that became extremely tight following recovery from COVID-19 shutdowns. More recently, the job market is cooling and people arent switching jobs as frequently, leading some to wonder whether workers might lose the power they gained in the Great Resignation.

But union approval is still high, and organizers are forging ahead in hopes that their efforts will lead an industrywide shift in jobs that are among the lowest-paying in the country.

Very unusual union proposals

Labor lawyers maintain that the process for Philly coffee shops is working as it is supposed to.

As with all negotiations, the parties are going to have differing views on some items, which the parties must work through in the bargaining process. These negotiations have been no different in that regard, said Paul Sopher, Elixrs lawyer.

Ultimo Coffees lawyer, Steven Paisner, noted that first contracts on average take over a year to negotiate.

Weve been working through some very unusual union proposals, Paisner said.

At Ultimo Coffee, for example, union leaders proposed a layoff procedure not based on seniority or ability, but rather, on how much money employees claim to have in their bank accounts, and a lateness policy that would excuse employees from any consequence even if they arrive hours late for an unverifiable reason, according Paisner, the employers lawyer.

Union negotiators agree that their approach is novel.

Kate Lord, lead negotiator for Ultimo Coffees union, says the unions layoff language didnt mention bank account balances but considered employees alternative income sources to avoid terminating the people who would be the most greatly impacted by layoffs.

She said the lateness policy idea wasnt meant to allow tardiness for no reason but to shift away from fear and toward building culture rather than having policies that are about force.

To call our proposals unusual doesnt mean that they are flawed in some way, it just means weve approached things a little differently, and were proud of that, Lord said.

Elixr, Ultimo Coffee, Reanimator, and Eeva will soon start negotiating economic terms of their contracts. Its the highest-pressure portion of the campaign, said Fender, the Local 80 negotiator.

Korshak Bagels and its union are also back at the table negotiating a new contract, Fender said.

The union wants better wages at all shops, ideally with members being paid well by their employer and not being subsidized by the customer via tipping. For all of the union members, keeping the right to strike has been a major priority.

Local 80 negotiators from different shops have collaborated, sharing drafts and amended language. Their leaders said they expected more collaboration from their bosses as well, but theyve mostly been interacting with their employers lawyers.

We dont expect to be able to anticipate every possible situation that might come up over time but are working hard to think through as many as we can so we can create a sustainable framework for the future, Mark Capriotti, cofounder of Reanimator and Eeva.

When organizing gets complicated

While most of the unionized Philly cafes are moving toward contracts, at Good Karma, the process has been interrupted.

Baristas at Good Karmas four locations voted to unionize in March 2022  20 for the union, three against and six who chose not to vote.

Three of the companys four shops shuttered within a year. Nesbit gave non-union-related reasons, like staffing shortages and building and equipment repairs. When he closed a third shop for renovations, Nesbit also alleged that a significant sum of money was embezzled from this location.

Local 80 organizer Eli Zastempowski contends that the three shuttered stores were all locations where bargaining committee members worked. Employees were not transferred to remaining locations and learned they would have to reapply for their jobs when their store reopened, according to the union.

One of the closed shops recently reopened, but contract negotiations paused after a group of employees petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to decertify the union.

The employee who started the decertification petition, Marco Camponeschi, is represented by the National Right to Work Foundation (NRWF). The same organization is working to decertify Workers United at several Starbucks locations, an effort that faces legal obstacles because of allegations of union-busting against Starbucks.

Good Karma Cafe will continue to commit to our values of providing a happy, supportive environment for our employees and customers, owner Shawn Nesbit said. We have maintained from the start we will respect our staffs decision on how to create that environment.

Workers seek union decertification much less frequently than they file for union representation. Last year, representation elections overseen by the NLRB outnumbered decertification elections by nearly 10-1.

Zastempowski acknowledged the decertification petition and said they understood that Camponeschi was against forming a union last year as well. Because of staff turnover, its unclear how many union supporters are left, Zastempowski said.

NRWF spokesperson Jacob Comello declined to say how many employees had joined the petition but said that it met the 30% threshold required by the NLRB.

If we win this, thats a ton of added pressure in negotiations, Zastempowski said.

The Starbucks effect

As the Local 80 organizers negotiate, several Starbucks locations in Philadelphia are among hundreds struggling to get a first contract after unionizing within the past year.

The company has faced hundreds of unfair labor practice charges throughout the United States, including in Philadelphia. Starbucks Workers United went on a bus tour this summer to demonstrate with bargaining units throughout the country, stopping in Philly in July.

Starbucks spokesperson Andrew Trull said that the company wants to see progress toward first contracts at unionized stores and that there had been a full day of bargaining with the 10th Street and Market Street store in Philadelphia.

Frances Beaver, lead union negotiator at Reanimator and Eeva, said the Starbucks union drive has been a useful cultural reference when trying to explain whats going on at Local 80, but the dynamics are different.

Theres this big, giant, insane battle going on [at Starbucks], while the rest of us are actually sitting in a room with people talking, Beaver said.

Reanimator employee Malek Hudson notes that local cafe owners are often more visible to their employees than Starbucks leaders. And theyre less insulated from the costs associated with labor violations than a large corporation like Starbucks.

Everything were talking about is so concrete and can be traced to real people, said Kulik, the negotiator at Elixr.

Still, Kulik said, watching the Starbucks baristas campaign and proposals made it seem possible for Local 80 members to push for similar changes.

That could go both ways, Hudson suggested.

Once we have our contract, the Starbucks campaign will have a better idea of potentially what they can win, Hudson said. If we, as small campaigns, can win wildly progressive contracts, we now set a standard for the industry.
It seemed like a good idea at the time.

In May, I finally became a lawyer at the age of 58, after caring for my mother during the last 10 years of her life, until she passed at 91. I thought that starting a law firm in my old neighborhood of Brewerytown, where I had worked a decade ago with as many as 200 neighbors to improve life there, would be a fitting evolution of my prior community activism. We had created and empowered organizations we called the African-American Business and Residents Association and the Songhai City Cultural Center.

I grew up in Brewerytown, left for college, worked for years in Silicon Valley and at Microsoft, then brought a ton of resources back home in the early 2000s.

Like every neighborhood in Philadelphia, Brewerytown has always had many facets. There are people who have lived here for decades, like my family, and more recent arrivals, who bring with them the promise and pitfalls of new development.

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And, like many neighborhoods in Philadelphia, Brewerytown has always had issues with crime.

Around 2002, the African-American Business and Residents Association  of which I was a part  began building coalitions among residents and businesses to improve the quality of life here.

We could never find lawyers to represent us, so we learned to fight well-connected opposition as a community. We took on a city government and state bodies dedicated to gentrifying neighborhoods like ours out of existence, as well as greedy developers.

 READ MORE: Brewerytown, set to be Philly's next hot neighborhood, experiences growing pains

We worked with the 23rd Police District to bring back beat cops and community policing, attended weekly meetings with local police captains, set up weekly bingo games to raise revenue and increase community spirit among the elders, and established community services such as the contract postal unit, Western Union, and computer training labs at the former Fidelity Bank building at 29th Street and Girard Avenue.

Crime was stabilizing, and life was improving here. People were still poor, but we had hope.

Unfortunately, over the last decade and a half or so, all of that started to disappear: the beat cops, the 23rd District (which merged with the 22nd District in 2010), the postal unit, bingo, and our boundless community spirit and activism. Many of the senior citizens who breathed life into a Brewerytown mini-renaissance had passed.

Things have changed

So, I thought an activist law firm could continue and strengthen some of that work, particularly protecting the property and rights of seniors.

I made plans back in May to establish my new law firm at the former Fidelity building, where my previous community organizing work was based.

In late June, as I eagerly awaited my law office signs to be delivered, I noticed a known drug dealer and purveyor of illegal goods setting up shop outside my office building. I knew this man; I once rented apartments to his mother and other family members. When he was younger, I would regularly give him come-to-Jesus talks about the moral importance of changing his ways. So, I thought nothing of asking him to move elsewhere so that his activities didnt interfere with a transformative new business coming there.

I was polite. I meant it as an innocent request. I didnt threaten to report him to the police; I simply asked that he relocate. Our mission a generation earlier, as now, was never to bring more African American males into the criminal justice system unnecessarily.

Quite astonishingly to me  from the moment I asked this man to move on, I became a target.

Soon after our conversation, around July 1, I came to my office and saw a group of nine people sitting in front of my building, many of whom I knew were drug dealers  something that had never happened before. I asked them to move. They told me, in no uncertain terms, that I did not run the neighborhood, they did. I could see my former tenant a half-block away, taking it all in.

On July Fourth, my security cameras revealed a man, someone I also recognized, lighting and placing an M-80 explosive at the front door of my office. It shattered virtually all of the glass, costing me thousands of dollars in repair costs and the total loss of my sense of security and well-being.

I contacted law enforcement, and started numerous rounds of fortifying my building  installing more security cameras, alarms, and bright lights.

After our law firm sign went up at the end of July, the attacks only intensified.

Over and over, especially after sundown, my building was surrounded by loud ATVs and drug dealers, screaming angry, humiliating insults up and down Girard Avenue, taunting me, inviting me to confront them outside. One of these people threatened to kill not just me, but each and every member of my family.

I cannot fight alone

I suspect that this activity is not particularly personal, but rather stems from fear that my law firm and I could help bring law and order back to Girard Avenue.

Sometimes, it feels like the intimidation campaign is working, and I am tempted to leave my old neighborhood. But then I think about what we endeavored to build here a generation ago, the people still here and the ancestors whose spirit I want to honor and invoke  Miss Bobbie, Ms. Chapman, Mrs. Morris, Mrs. Richardson, Ms. Tyler, Miss Peggy, Mr. Riley, Audrey, Jackie, Stephanie, Terrance, John, Phyllis, Cinnamon, Isaac and others  who volunteered long hours to give everything they had to Brewerytown.

I remember The Dance Lesson, the short film by former Temple University film student Chinonye Chukwu, now an acclaimed writer and director, most recently of the movie Till. The Dance Lesson is about a family who sacrificed to stay in Brewerytown against overwhelming odds.

I just cant just fold up my tent and run like a coward. But to fully open this office and rejoin the battle for Brewerytown, I cannot fight alone.

I need the 23rd District to be reestablished so that Brewerytown and nearby communities can receive prioritized police services once again.

I need the return of beat cops and the hourly patrols that disperse the usual suspects from our streets.

I need neighbors who are brave enough to come to meetings with the police  we will host them proudly at the former Fidelity building  and to chart a course to make criminals feel both unwelcome and exposed. That means repeated calls to 911 when one of the known dealers is present on anyones block, and a commitment from the police to respond quickly to these calls.

I need other business owners to pressure the next police commissioner for these and other changes so that they can bring their own services back to Brewerytown.

I would love to state, unequivocally, that I will open our doors, irrespective of the threats. But police and neighbors must start to do their parts. When that happens, I will take down the boards and other materials I had to place on my windows. I will have walk-in services, and I will donate half of my legal services to the people of Brewerytown.

Its now up to the police and my community to decide if theyre willing to do the work necessary for this office  and similar professional services  to function here. The rest is up to other entrepreneurs who are brave enough, optimistic enough, and adventurous enough to bring their talents back home. I hope that my office will be here to welcome them.

Al Alston runs the Law Offices of Alson Clayton Alston, Esq. at 29th Street and Girard Avenue in Brewerytown.
The coalition, called Press Forward, will invest directly in local news enterprises to "help ensure a healthy American democracy secured by a strong, independent local press," Jim Friedlich writes. Read more

On Thursday morning, a nonpartisan group of 22 foundations announced a nationwide coalition called Press Forward, backed by a commitment of more than $500 million over five years to help transform the local news industry in America.

Local news, including the once-thriving newspaper business, has been in decline for at least two decades. Since 2005, more than 2,200 American newspapers have closed. Roughly 20% of Americans now live in news deserts with no reliable, independent coverage of local government, schools, or current events.

Into this void have stepped an array of forces that threaten to destroy not only high-quality local journalism, but the American democracy that it supports. Just last week, the Washington Post reported that the worlds largest digital information providers  including X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook, and Google  are receding from their role as watchdogs against conspiracy theories ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Press Forward, including The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, the nonprofit owner of The Inquirer, will embark on a coordinated effort to help address this problem at scale. Press Forward will invest directly in local news enterprises, support policy initiatives, and fund business and technology solutions that support multiple newsrooms serving diverse communities nationwide.

With close to two dozen funders, Press Forward is by far the largest ever coordinated philanthropic effort to support local news. It is especially encouraging that several Press Forward funders told me that this is their first foray into journalism funding; their capital is intended to help ensure a healthy American democracy secured by a strong, independent local press.

The launch of Press Forward is both worth celebrating and keeping in perspective. A half-billion dollars for local news sounds like a lot of money. It is not  at least not relative to the scope of the problem or the powerful forces arrayed against independent journalism. If wisely deployed, the new funding will have a multiplier effect, attracting additional dollars and building solutions that scale.

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Press Forward is a national movement that Philadelphia helped inspire and that we should embrace. Philadelphias media ecosystem is now a flourishing tree with many branches. Comcast is the nations largest cable and residential internet provider, the owner of NBC News, and deeply committed to digital equity and public service. The Philadelphia Tribune is the oldest continuously operated Black newspaper in the nation. WHYY is among the leading public media outlets in the country. Philadelphia is home to a vital group of community news organizations serving our diverse city.

And Philadelphia has become a national leader in the business innovation required to reinvent local news. The Inquirer is now the largest American newspaper owned by a nonprofit and dedicated to public service. The Lenfest Institute is joined by thousands of individual donors in supporting investigative journalism, diversity, and product innovation at The Inquirer. The Lenfest business model of nonprofit ownership of major local news organizations has been mirrored in various forms from Baltimore to Salt Lake City, Chicago to Lancaster.

Philadelphia has become a national leader in the business innovation required to reinvent local news.

Philanthropy has become a vital part of Philadelphias news media landscape, and this trend deserves greater support. The Lenfest Institute has partnered with a broad coalition of foundations committed to a healthy Philadelphia democracy.

We are working now on an initiative to engage and inform Philadelphia voters. Led by the William Penn Foundation, the Every Voice, Every Vote coalition supports news coverage by over 25 local media outlets in collaboration with more than 50 community groups. Funders include William Penn, the Lenfest Institute, Comcast, the Wyncote Foundation, and the Knight Foundation, a leader of Press Forward and a national funder for whom Philadelphia is a key priority.

The Every Voice initiative helped drive issues-oriented, community-centered local news coverage, level the playing field for a diverse slate of candidates, and create a public record for use in accountability reporting postelection.

Local news collaboration in Philadelphia is one of several examples that give us faith that Press Forward can and will succeed. It is our fervent hope that the spirit of Press Forward will continue to take root here in Philadelphia, and that new funding and new funders will help us serve as a lasting beacon for independent journalism and a healthy democracy for the nation.

Jim Friedlich is CEO and executive director of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, the nonprofit organization that owns The Inquirer. @jimfriedlich
You didnt need to be a geologist or any other kind of expert to know from the start that hydraulic fracking was fraught with a host of health and safety questions in Pennsylvania.

Just consider what goes into using the controversial process. Up to 6 million gallons of water treated with toxic chemicals and sand are used to blast through a rock formation known as the Marcellus Shale to extract natural gas. Since the state embraced fracking in 2008, more than 13,000 such wells have been drilled thousands of feet underground.

The gas industry has long claimed fracking is safe but refused to disclose precisely which toxic chemicals are used in the process. It was a risky gambit of trust with no verification.

So, its been no surprise that study after study has found one health problem after another. Three recent reports by the state government and the University of Pittsburgh found increased incidences of childhood cancer, asthma and low birth weight among those living within 10 miles of natural gas wells.

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The studies bolster past research that raised red flags about fracking soon after then-Gov. Ed Rendell unleashed a gas drilling gold rush in 2008 by opening 2.2 million acres of state forests to Big Oil and touting the jobs and revenue that would pour into state coffers.

 READ MORE: Fracking in Pennsylvania used toxic forever chemicals as Pa. officials maintain willful ignorance | Editorial

Within a year, a series of water-contamination problems, including methane leaks, affecting drinking water in seven counties were linked to gas drilling in Pennsylvania.

In 2010, an HBO documentary titled Gasland detailed the health and environmental dangers from fracking, including the alarming image of a woman in the small town of Dimock, Pa.  about an hours drive north of Scranton  lighting tap water from her faucet on fire because it contained so much methane.

Despite the health concerns, Pennsylvania lawmakers looked the other way as the gas industry spent more than $60 million on lobbying and campaign contributions over a seven-year stretch. The flow of money kept lawmakers from imposing a severance tax on gas drilling, making Pennsylvania the only state without such a tax.

Harrisburgs embrace of fracking is a shameful study in contrast to what happened when lobbyists came knocking in New York. In 2010, the New York State Assembly approved a temporary moratorium on fracking. Four years later, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an executive order that banned fracking because of health concerns. State lawmakers in Albany codified the ban in 2020.

What did New York know that Pennsylvania lawmakers either didnt or willfully ignored?

Instead of safeguarding their constituents, legislators ensured that the fallout from fracking continues to impact Pennsylvanians. A 2015 study by researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that pregnant women living near fracking wells experienced more premature births and high-risk pregnancies.

A 2016 study, also by Johns Hopkins, found that people living near active gas wells were up to four times likelier to have asthma attacks. A 2020 study tied air pollution from fracking to deaths in Pennsylvania.

And what about the unnamed toxic chemicals used in the fracking process?

In 2021, it was disclosed that the Environmental Protection Agency long ago approved the use of so-called forever chemicals in fracking, which have been linked to a variety of cancers as well as asthma, low birth weight, and other health problems.

 READ MORE: Fracking ban in Delaware River Basin is a historic win, but its time to look downstream | Editorial

And what became of the residents in Dimock who could light their water on fire?

After long denying responsibility, Houston-based Coterra Energy Inc. pleaded no contest last year to criminal charges of drilling faulty gas wells that leaked flammable methane into residential water supplies. Coterra agreed to pay more than $16 million to build a new public water system and pay the impacted residents water bills for the next 75 years.

That plea deal was the result of criminal charges filed in 2020 against Coterras corporate predecessor, Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., by then-Attorney General Josh Shapiro. But in a shameless and irresponsible twist, the day after announcing the deal, the state Department of Environmental Protection lifted a 12-year ban and agreed to allow Coterra to resume drilling in Dimock.

At the time, Shapiro said the gas driller damaged our environment, harming our water supplies and endangering Pennsylvanians. The same could be said of the lawmakers and environmental officials who continue to enable the fracking industry.

Now that Shapiro is the governor of Pennsylvania, will he protect residents or the fracking industry?
Attendees at a March 2022 meeting of the Pennridge School Board. Jonathan Zimmerman writes that the fight over a new curriculum there reflects "a diverse and fractured nation." Read more

One side says we should teach students about Americas greatness, instead of harping on our history of racism. The other side says we should teach about that awful history, instead of simply praising America as great.

What if we did both?

Thats not something weve heard during the angry shouting matches in the Pennridge School District, which recently adopted a curriculum inspired by the ultraconservative Hillsdale College. As a historian, I share critics concern that the curriculum exaggerates our national virtues and whitewashes our misdeeds. But as an educator, I also know that students learn best when theyre confronted with contrasting points of view.

Thats why Pennridge should present the new curriculum alongside the old one, and let students sort things out on their own.

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The battle in Pennridge is part of a broader culture war that exploded in 2020, with the police murder of George Floyd. School districts across the country resolved to fight racism and promote equity, often by reframing their history curricula around the oppression suffered by minority populations. That prompted GOP-led state legislatures to pass measures prohibiting instruction that suggests America is a racist country, or that some people (read: whites) should feel discomfort, guilt, or anguish about it.

Lets leave aside the irony of Republicans seeking to protect fragile young psyches, even as they mock left-leaning snowflakes for their psychological fragility. The biggest problem is that the GOP wants to imprint a singular and rosy historical narrative upon a diverse and fractured nation.

Addressing the Moms for Liberty national convention in Philadelphia this summer, the right-wing consultant hired by Pennridge described his work as the fox in the henhouse. The other side  namely, liberals  has controlled schools for a century, Jordan Adams claimed. Now it was time to remake schooling on behalf of our side, he added. We have one chance at this, Adams told the convention. Its a do-or-die moment.

A Hillsdale graduate who taught at a charter school affiliated with the college, Adams has also said he wants to prevent bias  and promote critical thinking  in the classroom. But he and his supporters have their own biases, of course, starting with their belief in American exceptionalism. Cant we all agree that history is fundamental and the United States is the greatest country in the world? one citizen who favors the new curriculum asked at a Pennridge school board meeting.

No, we cant agree on that. We disagree  deeply and fundamentally  about America. But were afraid to admit that when the kids are in the room. We talk a good game about critical thinking, then we try to impose our own thoughts  and to prohibit criticism  in the classroom.

 READ MORE: Doomed to repeat it | Editorial Cartoon

And that includes people on the left, not just on the right. After Buffalo adopted the New York Times 1619 Project  which tells the story of America through the lens of slavery and racism  a city school leader said that criticism of the curriculum was just another form of oppression. She also decreed that any teacher who wanted to question it in class would need official permission first.

In Arizona, meanwhile, an educator said her school district had adopted materials from The 1619 Project so that students would learn the real story of America, not the mythical version. If we want to create a better society of young people and problem solvers and future leaders, they do have to understand and know Americas truth and what it was built on, she declared.

Please. If we really wanted to educate a new generation of problem solvers, we wouldnt try to solve Americas problems for them. Instead, wed share different perspectives so that each student could come to their truth, which might not be yours or mine.

The best educators have always done that. In the 1980s, when Howard Zinns left-wing Peoples History of the United States became a best-seller, teachers asked students to compare it to their state-approved textbook. More recently, they have had students compare The 1619 Project to the report by the 1776 Commission, which was convened by the Trump administration as a rejoinder to the New York Times curriculum.

Pennridge could do something similar, if it chose. Teachers could show students clips of Jordan Adams defending his curriculum and of opponents condemning it. They could assign excerpts of the texts Adams endorses alongside the ones he wants to replace.

But in a culture war, most people dont want inquiry; they want victory. Its do or die, remember? Nothing will change until Americans of every mind agree to let our future citizens make up their own minds  about America, and everything else.

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 published in a 20th-anniversary revised edition last year by University of Chicago Press.
The threatening late-night visits to her Philadelphia home. The strange men, one with a visible firearm, walking up and down her residential neighborhood, calling out her name. The goons who once rallied in the park across the street and called for her to be kidnapped off her front porch, and the time they placed flyers on telephone polls with the ridiculous false allegation that she was a registered sex offender. The constant online harassment.

For Gwen Snyder, a veteran political organizer and writer who researches and exposes right-wing extremism, the years of harassment by the violent, notorious Proud Boys are over.

For now.

It should have been the final chapter last month when the leader of the Proud Boys Philadelphia chapter, Zachary Rehl, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for his role  with other leaders of the right-wing paramilitary group, including ex-national leader Enrique Tarrio  in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection on Capitol Hill.

Snyder told me that Rehl was one of the many Proud Boys who took part in harassing her over those crazy years leading up to Jan. 6  showing up on the groups online Telegram channel to whip up support for their rally outside her home. Although she has complicated feelings about Rehls sentencing, Snyder obviously feels some relief that Rehl is currently behind bars, and that his Philadelphia outfit is in a state of disarray. (A suspected Proud Boy, Kyle Boell, pled guilty to harassing Snyder in 2022, according to officials.)

I personally feel its a safer time if people who have a personal grudge against me are behind bars, Snyder told me this week. But the activist is also well aware that Rehl could be a free man  and that right-wing radicals could be empowered and emboldened  in just 16 short months if Donald Trump regains the presidency.

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The all-but-certain GOP 2024 presidential nominee has made it clear in no uncertain terms that he will use  or abuse, according to most experts  his pardon powers to free most of the hundreds convicted so far on criminal charges stemming from the insurrection, almost immediately upon a possible return to the White House on Jan. 20, 2025. There is every reason to assume that would include Rehl, Tarrio, and the rest of the Proud Boys leadership convicted of seditious conspiracy.

I know hell pardon me, Proud Boys higher-up Joe Biggs, who was sentenced to 17 years behind bars on that same day as Rehl, told right-wing radio host and Jan. 6 attendee Alex Jones in an interview last week from his jail cell. I believe that with all my heart.

These are the stakes. That was the tag line from one of the most famous political TV ads in U.S. history  Lyndon Johnsons 1964 Daisy spot that superimposed a mushroom-cloud explosion over a flower-picking 3-year-old girl, to claim that a Barry Goldwater victory would risk a nuclear war. Sixty years later, the stakes are just as high  except a Trump victory threatens a metaphorical neutron bomb that will destroy the American way of justice, and democracy itself.

The first step to saving the American Experiment, launched right here in Zach Rehls hometown in 1776, involves making sure voters understand the stakes on Nov. 5, 2024. Those stakes include Trumps plans to implement Project 2025  a PowerPoint for demolishing democratic governance in the guise of undoing the administrative state. Voters must also understand Trumps plan to surrender to fossil-fuel interests in the war on climate change, right as wildfires and floods are threatening our way of life. And, of course, Trumps threats to unleash the U.S. justice system to avenge his political enemies.

In that context, Trumps pardon promises to the Jan. 6 defendants  including roughly 500 convicted so far, many of them by juries of their peers  might not be the most serious consequence if the 45th president also becomes the 47th. But it might be the most outrageous.

 READ MORE: Proud Boys only idea is violence. Penn State is wrong to give its leader a platform

I am inclined to pardon many of them, Trump said at a May town hall hosted by CNN in New Hampshire. I cant say for every single one, because a couple of them, probably they got out of control. In 2022, Trump even promised that his government would apologize to those who have been prosecuted for storming the Capitol in a riot blamed for five deaths and scores of injured police.

Trump may have lied more than 30,000 times during his time in the White House, but theres no reason to doubt that hes telling the truth about this. His abuse of the presidents constitutional pardon powers  intended as an olive branch to federal felons who have truly reformed  as a get-out-of-jail-free card for his corrupt friends and cronies like Roger Stone, Paul Manafort, Steve Bannon, or ex-Sheriff Joe Arpaio, was one of his first forays into American dictatorship.

Whats more, the unrepentant Trump even spoke at a couple of fundraisers on behalf of the Jan. 6 defendants  one of them just two days before he surrendered to Georgia authorities on felony charges stemming from his own election interference efforts. The ex-president loaned his voice to a recording of the Star Spangled Banner, rebranded as Justice for All, made by a group of jailed insurrectionists calling themselves the J6 Prison Choir.

Its no wonder that Rehl, the Philly Proud Boy chieftain, called from jail into a show hosted by the right-wing Infowars in May and begged for mercy from a would-be Trump presidency. If you get back in office, President Trump if youre listening, Rehl was recorded pleading, please look into this and really look into pardons and everything like that.

Rehls warped dreams could come true. A new CNN poll on Thursday showed Trump, with his massive lead among GOP primary voters, would currently defeat President Joe Biden by 1 percentage point in a head-to-head matchup. That reflects both Trumps sway as leader of an authoritarian movement on the right, and the electorates chilliness toward a second term for the 80-year-old Biden. The impact of a Trump victory, and the likely pardons of right-wing extremists, would be enormous.

Andy Campbell, author of a recent book on the rise of the Proud Boys, wrote this week for HuffPost that already the Jan. 6 prosecutions have done little to slow the inroads that members of the paramilitary group have made within the Republican Party, or to prevent appearances at school boards or LGBTQ events, or to undo the notion that violence has a place in U.S. politics. The fact that [political violence] is now normal and standard, such that every election is a crisis, means that our democracy is in ... potentially the worst political and constitutional crisis in over 150 years, professor Erica Chenoweth of Harvards Kennedy School of Government told Campbell.

We need to be sounding the alarm about these sweeping threats to the American Republic. But I also worry that sometimes we overlook how an authoritarian Trump presidency will affect actual people like Gwen Snyder in Philadelphia, wholl surely be gazing anxiously out at the streetlights if Rehl is released and his legion of goons are again empowered. But ditto for the undocumented immigrant trying to support his family in a dusty Texas town, the veteran EPA scientist facing the unemployment line, or the homeowner in mostly-Trump-voting eastern Oregon who lives on the edge of a wildfire tinderbox.

These are the stakes. There is zero chance that Cornel West or Joe Manchin or Nikki Haley will be the next president. The only choice is between Biden  an old man who occasionally mumbles the wrong word when defending democracy or offering aid to the middle class  or Trump, a bitter and almost-as-old man who plans to go all Scar from The Lion King and unleash the pathetic hyenas known as the Proud Boys as the brownshirts of his dystopian regime. And your neighbors like Gwen Snyder are depending on you to make the right decision.

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A bus shelter at 15th Street near Market on Wednesday when the temperature tied a record in Philly. Read more

The nation had other issues on its hot plate that year. More than 2,200 banks failed, and it is estimated that businesses closed at the rate of 133 a day. Fully one-sixth of the American workforce was unemployed.

And as an all-time climate upheaval was brewing in the Great Plains back in 1931 with the onset of the Dust Bowl droughts, weather was making major news that September from the Rockies to the East Coast.

A hot spell impressive for its tenacity and areal coverage set temperature records in Huron, S.D.; Moorhead, Minn.; Detroit; Baltimore; and, yes, Philadelphia.

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For Philly, it was the last time that the city experienced a six-day September heat wave  defined as at least three consecutive days of 90-degree highs. The temperature hit a record 97 for the date on Sept. 11 that still stands.

This hot spell is likely to match 1931s for duration, with the heat due to continue through Friday, said Eric Hoeflich, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly. But it probably wont survive the weekend.

 READ MORE: Sone schools will dismiss early all week

On Wednesday, the high reached 95 degrees at Philadelphia International Airport, tying the record for a Sept. 6, first set in 1983 and again in 2018. The record for a Sept. 7, however, appears safe: That would be 102, in 1881, several degrees above Thursdays forecast high.

About 1931

That 1931 heat wave was particularly notable in that it came later in the month  when the days were rapidly shortening  than this one.

It did not begin until Sept. 9, then picked up steam on the 11th.

The Inquirers coverage reported that some Pennsylvania schools decided to close, but not a peep about Phillys.

The Associated Press reported one death in the city in the September hot spell of 92 years ago. But it is safe to say that no one could reliably estimate how many people were dying from the heat in those days, said Laurence Kalkstein, a climatologist who helped the city launch its heat-response plan in the 1990s.

 READ MORE: Philly's decision on counting heat deaths may have save thousands of lives

In 1931, no one, or almost no one, had air-conditioning, although prototypes were in the works.

Cool revolutions

Health officials have credited Philadelphias heat-response system with helping to reduce heat-related fatalities across the nation  the city has reported only one so far this year  and it happens that the city also was instrumental in the development of air-conditioning.

 READ MORE: Philly had an important role in the air-conditioning revolution

In 1923 it was the venue for the installation of Willis Carriers breakthrough invention, the centrifugal chiller, at the Stephen F. Whitman candy company plant. Thats where they made those Whitman Sampler chocolates, and where heat was the enemy.

The chiller, a critical building block for future systems that would cool, filter, and wring moisture out of indoor air, constituted Carriers single most influential innovation, according to the company history.

Two years later Carrier persuaded the Rivoli Theater in New York City to install one of his cooling units, the impetus for turning movie houses into mass cooling centers featuring summer blockbusters.

It took awhile for the cooling movement to reach American homes, but once it did, it was unstoppable, even though it did meet with some early resistance. Said Abeer Saha with the Smithsonian Institutions National Museum of American History. People were just used to being hot in the summer.

And when window units first went on the market in 1932, the costs were prohibitive. Besides, this was the Depression.

But a more compact and affordable version eventually became available, and in 1947 about 43,000 were sold.

By 1973, about half of U.S. homes had air-conditioning, and these days that figure is closer to 90%, according to the Energy Department.

Its almost over

You can expect to hear the hums of air-conditioners at least through Friday, with highs in the record-challenging mid 90s on Thursday, before backing off a few degrees.

A front approaching the region is expected to set off showers and thunderstorms on Saturday, keeping the highs in the upper 80s and preventing this from becoming the longest September heat wave on record.
Understanding the true impact of floods and bushfires quickly, can transform response and improve recovery outcomes for survivors, said Andy Read (pictured above), ICEYEs global head of government solutions. This partnership is about bringing that transformation to federal, state, and territory-level agencies across Australia.
Often the fires happen when they are at sea far away so there is no assistance and there are no tugboats, said Kuhl. So they have to deal with it but ideally, they would be removed and it would be automated and there would be water curtains and more automated systems including larger scale, fixed water monitors.
This is something that's going be here for years, and eventually, well see other countries start to realize the benefits of cannabis, Kamel said. There's a big opportunity here; Canada is at the forefront of it, but I believe it's going to be a worldwide traded product.
Ultimately, what were trying to do is build up our business thoughtfully for the future, he said. Were trying to build a business that's going be around decades from now, and were doing this in a shifting and evolving industry.
Here in the Midwest, we like to deal with people one-on-one, but we also want sophisticated solutions and access to all the markets. With this new partnership, we can provide both. We can be that small-town business, but with global support and economies of scale behind us.
HUB has experienced fivefold growth over the last 10 years, driven by both organic growth and broadened client relationships as well as our active M&A strategy, Cohen said. It is that growth that is fueling the opportunity to leverage Robs talent to elevate our client experiences across borders, lines of business, industries, and services to advance our organic growth. We look forward to working with Rob to help drive efficiency that benefits our clients and our employees.
The Auburn Enlarged City School District is joining other school districts in taking legal action against social media companies due to their effects of their platforms on student mental health.

At its Aug. 29 meeting, Auburn's board of education approved a resolution allowing the district to begin litigation against the companies.

Every board member present at the meeting voted for the resolution. It authorizes Ferrara Fiorenza PC, the district's law firm, and Wagstaff & Cartmell LLP to file suit "against any appropriate parties" seeking compensation for damages suffered by the district and its students due to the development, marketing and operation of social media platforms.

While no particular company is named, the resolution said the district has continually dealt with significant issues connected to students using social media. It has created "a substantial and ongoing interruption of and disturbance" to the district's educational mission, the resolution continued. The district said these problems have "resulted in the diversion of substantial resources in an attempt to abate and prevent" social media use. Social media also poses a significant risk to Auburn students' health and well-being, the resolution said.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, issued an advisory in May on how social media (Facebook, TikTok, etc.) is affecting the mental health of children. Saying there is currently a "national youth mental health crisis," Murthy shared his worry that social media, based on growing evidence, is a major driver of that crisis.

After one portion of the board meeting, Auburn Superintendent Jeff Pirozzolo said Ferrara Fiorenza suggested the litigation. School board president Ian Phillips said in an email Wednesday the resolution is the district's first step in joining a "mass action" with other school districts, but the details are not yet finalized.
Another thing that we saw with the flooding from Hillary was that the areas affected were dominated by non mandatory purchase areas, which is why insurance recoveries are going to be nominal, but the economic impacts are going to be larger, Dickson said.
The new generation of leaders is recognizing that they need to be clear on their value proposition, the CEO said. Our members missions are attractive to younger generations, who want to do business with socially responsible companies. But communicating this unique value proposition is not so easy. It takes the right words and the right mediums.
As the states market leader, Texas Mutual plays an important role in the workers compensation system by bringing stability to the industry for over 30 years. On behalf of the board, we celebrate Johns contributions and service to Texas Mutual during his tenure. We are appreciative to Gov. Abbott for Garys appointment, Kristis reappointment, and Im personally grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve as chair, Simmons said.
Everest Insurance Division Names Higham Head of Everest Underwriting Partners

Everest Group, Ltd. appointed Charlie Higham as senior vice president and head of Everest Underwriting Partners. He succeeds Brian Drum, who retired from Everest on Sept. 1 after 16 years with the company.

Higham has 20 years of specialty insurance experience. He most recently served as Everests head of financial and professional lines. Before joining Everest, Higham ran the financial institutions group at Zurich North America. Earlier in his career, he held underwriting and management positions at Arch Insurance Group and The Hartford.

Kincaide Joins Jimcor as Commercial Underwriter

Jimcor Agency, Inc., headquartered in Montvale, N.J., hired Cody Kinkaide as a commercial lines underwriter. Kincaide is based in Pennsylvania.

Kinkaide has worked in the insurance industry for over ten years, most recently as a commercial lines broker and producer at USG and as a real estate agent at Keller Williams, Inc.

Topics Underwriting
A bronze bust believed to depict the daughter of an ancient Roman emperor has been seized from an art museum in Massachusetts by New York authorities investigating antiquities stolen from Turkey.

The seizure is the latest in an ongoing investigation into a smuggling network involving objects looted from Bubon in southwestern Turkey and trafficked through Manhattan. A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not provide further details of the investigation.

The bust known as Portrait of a Lady was acquired in 1966 by the Worcester Art Museum about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Boston. The seizure comes weeks after the Manhattan district attorney`s office seized a statue thought to portray the Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius from a Cleveland, Ohio, museum.

Worcester Art Museum officials said in a statement that the bust taken from their possession dates from A.D. 160 to 180 and is believed to be a life-sized portrayal of a daughter of Marcus Aurelius or another Roman emperor, Septimius Severus.

Museum officials said they had limited information about the bust`s history when they acquired it nearly six decades ago.

We are very thankful for the new information provided to us, said Matthias Waschek, the museum`s director. The ethical standards applicable to museums are much changed since the 1960s, and the Museum is committed to managing its collection consistent with modern ethical standards.

The bust shows a young woman with a heavy-lidded gaze and hair carefully combed into waves.

Marcus Aurelius ruled as Roman emperor from A.D. 161 to 180 and was a Stoic philosopher whose Meditations have been studied over the centuries. Septimius Severus` reign from A.D. 193 to 211 was marked by his efforts to convert the government into a military monarchy.

Turkey first made claims about the Marcus Aurelius statue in 2012 when it released a list of nearly two dozen objects in the Cleveland museums collection that it said had been looted from Bubon and other locations. Museum officials said at the time that Turkey had provided no hard evidence of looting.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Massachusetts
The Delaware Supreme Court has broken with its own precedent to rule that a workers compensation insurance carrier may assert a lien against benefits an injured employee recovers from other sources.

The particular issue before the court was whether an employer or its workers compensation insurance carrier may assert a lien against uninsured motorists (UIM) benefits paid to an employee under the employers UIM policy for injuries previously compensated under workers compensation. The high court has now said the answer is yes  it is statutorily permitted.

The ruling came in a case familiar to the court involving John Henry, who was injured in an accident in 2015 while traveling in a vehicle owned by his employer, Horizon Services, Inc. while acting in the course of his employment.

In a previous action between these parties, the high court addressed whether the exclusive-remedies provision in the workers compensation act precluded Henry from pursuing recovery from an uninsured motorist policy. There, the court held that the exclusive-remedies provision did not apply, and the injured employee could pursue uninsured motorists coverage benefits.

Henry had received more than $584,000 in workers compensation benefits from Horizon and Eastern Alliance. Henry also pursued damages from the non-party tortfeasor who caused the accident and had a $50,000 liability insurance policy. Henry ultimately settled with the tortfeasors insurance carrier for the policy limit. After deducting attorneys fees and costs, Henry reimbursed the remainder of his recovery from the tortfeasors policy to his employer and his employers workers compensation carrier, Eastern Alliance Insurance Co., pursuant to Delawares Workers Compensation Act.

After recovering the tortfeasors policy limit, Henry filed a claim for UIM benefits under the employers policy issued by Cincinnati Insurance. After the carrier denied his claim, Henry and his wife sued Cincinnati in the Superior Court.

Horizon and its workers compensation carrier Eastern Alliance sought a judgment that they were permitted to assert a lien against any UIM recovery Henry might obtain for injuries already compensated by workers compensation.

Henry and Cincinnati opposed the lien, contending that any such lien was barred by statute. In so arguing, Henry relied on the high courts 2013 decision in Simendinger v. National Union Fire Insurance Co. The Superior Court followed that binding precedent and dismissed the declaratory judgment bid by Horizon and Eastern Alliances.

The state Supreme Court, recognizing the Superior Court had no choice but to follow its Simendinger precedent, has now reversed the Superior Courts decision and held that the states workers compensation act expressly allows the employer and its workers compensation carrier to assert a subrogation. The high court found that Simendinger was decided in error because it misinterpreted a 1993 amendment to Section 2363 of the workers compensation law that prevented an employer from obtaining a subrogation lien against an employee for personal injury protection (PIP)-eligible expenses, since the employee could not present evidence of those damages at a trial against a tortfeasor or a UIM insurer.

The high court acknowledged that the ruling in Simendinger did not recognize the limited scope of the 1993 amendment and instead mistakenly interpreted the statutory change as entirely eliminating an employers ability to obtain a lien against benefits paid under an employer-purchased UIM policy.

We therefore overrule Simendinger and hold that, except as to expenses excluded from evidence at trial under the PIP statute, Section 2363(e) gives an employer and its workers compensation insurer a right to assert a subrogation lien against an employees recovery of benefits under an employer-purchased UIM policy, the court wrote.

Cincinnati has also argued that terms in its UIM policy also bar the lien but the high court said those issues should be decided by the trial court.

Topics Workers' Compensation Talent
Executive summary: The key to getting useful model results is working with models that fit specific underwriting needs and making sure the models are regularly updated while employing qualitative analysis (in addition to the models quantitative analysis), say experts from KCC, Aon and Everest.

A wise statistician once said: All models are wrong, but some are useful. The key to getting useful (accurate) model results is working with models that fit specific underwriting needs and making sure the models are regularly updated while employing qualitative analysis (in addition to the models quantitative analysis). Those are the opinions of experts interviewed for this article.

Nevertheless, there are common complaints within the insurance industry that model outputs are inaccurate. Modeling experts provide some thoughts about how models are best usedwith one CEO suggesting that if model results are inaccurate, its time to make a change. Its easier to complain than change, said Karen Clark, chief executive officer of Karen Clark & Co. (KCC).

Users of property-catastrophe models should not assume that the model is 100 percent accurate, according to Dan Dick, global head of Catastrophe Management at Aon, in an interview. Its just a tool and part of the risk management underwriting solution, and it should strongly inform the underwriters view in their decision-making.

However, he emphasized, models should not be the only part of the decision-making process.

Reinsurers and insurers that use models to help support their analysis, but ultimately use underwriting judgment to make decisions, have better outcomes, according to Juan C. Andrade, president and CEO of Everest. I think companies that solely rely on models are just not going to do as well.

As the fourth-largest reinsurer in the world, Everest Re has a lot of tools, a lot of technology, a lot of data and analytics, but we also have some very talented underwriters, and at the end of the day, you cant supplant that human judgment, he said.

Expertise, experience, knowledge of the cedent, underwriting practices and knowledge of the geography become very important, particularly with climate change trends, Andrade said in an interview with Carrier Management.

As a reinsurance and insurance company, its important to update models and to continuously update underwriting judgment. Its really about understanding the shifts that are taking place and then how to react accordingly, he continued.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Its important to recognize that the models are not a one-size-fits-all solution, Dick said.

For example, a large carrier with a large market share for a particular peril and region could see that the model works fairly well when the law of large numbers kicks in, he explained. But when you have a much smaller market share, the model can grossly underestimate or overestimate your loss potential.

The models are trying to get the industry number right, which means the carriers with larger market shares may regress closer to the modeled output, but clients with smaller market shares could see wildly different results, he said.

The key for insurers is to have a view of risk, Dick said. You need to understand how you expect the models to perform. If youre expecting the model to pick the candle factory in Kentucky that got hit by a tornado or the Amazon warehouse in St. Louis, thats very difficult, he said. If you have a large, diverse book or a large, well-spread book, the models going to normalize out a little more.

On the quantitative side, the models do a great job, Dick said, noting that underwriters need to hone their qualitative analysis as well  by considering the following questions: How much do you agree with the model? How much do you adjust it to your view of risk? How do you think your portfolios going to perform when the event occurs?

For years, underwriters have failed to realize that the models are not necessarily tuned down to an individual carriers book, line of business and policy form, Dick explained. Models are a macro fit for the industry. Modeling firms dont build 115 versions of their U.S. model; they build one version and expect it to fit dozens or hundreds of different perspectives.

Dick said most of the industrys complaints about models occur after a natural disaster that is more extreme than the model had predicted, and the event hits much further up on their loss exceedance probability curves or the model indicates that the event should have had a lower probability.

Model accuracy is also based on the information that is entered, so if a company is not getting appropriate insurance-to-value, or if theyre paying out roof claims for more than the historical claims levels, youre going to see a disconnect, Dick said.

Another consideration is the fact that loss estimates are typically a very small percentage of the total economic value exposed. If a model misses by 20 percent, it is probably because there is much more value exposed, Dick explained.

People are surprised about models range of uncertainty, which is not a perfect distribution, he said. The range of uncertainty is such that if there is any uncertainty in the mean result, its typically going to be a higher loss than was actually predicted.

Modeling for Severe Convective Storms

While modeling firms do a good job of developing models based on historical experience for hurricanes and earthquakes, with some extreme events caused by severe convective storms (SCS) and flooding, accuracy is more difficult, Dick said.

He cited the example of the recent flooding in Vermont, which was considered a one-in-a-thousand-year event, but Hurricane Irene in 2011, which hit the same area, also caused massive flooding. As a result, the frequency of these extreme events is somewhat subjective, Dick said.

A big problem with modeling SCS, he said, is that some of the models have not been updated in a decade. If youre looking at 30 years of data and you havent updated your model in 10 years, youre looking at a much different population footprint, which causes model-misses.

In addition, Dick added, some vendors are using data from the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC data, released in 2022, actually used 30 years of data leading up to 2014, so if youre using that for your view on climate impact, youre already out of date.

When KCC was launched in 2007, Clark said, the biggest complaint she heard from reinsurers was that the legacy models for SCS, winter storm and frequency perils (also known as secondary perils) were inaccurate. She quickly realized that her new company needed a different approach. (Clark launched AIR Worldwide in 1987, which was purchased in 2002 by Insurance Services Office, now a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics, and rebranded as Verisk.)

While other modelers treat SCS like hurricanes based on historical data, KCC takes a different approach using physical modeling techniques and high-resolution atmospheric data. Along with the traditional stochastic catalogs providing exceedance probability (EP) curves, the KCC models provide real-time information on claims for individual insurers.

Frequency perils are a lot harder to model than hurricanes, which is why KCC developed the ability to validate models in real time.

Real-Time Model Validation

Clark said that KCC employs an advanced scientific technique called numerical weather prediction, which uses radar data and satellite data to create hail and tornado wind intensity footprint in real time.

Clients are able to access the data every day to see where their hail and wind claims are going to be and are able to continuously validate the models, commented Clark.

Every day clients can see what our model says on their loss, and then weeks or months later, they can compare it to their actual losses.

Clark questioned how insurers would be able to trust models for hypothetical events if they are inaccurate and dont match losses on real events.

Update Models

Clark emphasized that the industry is slowly starting to shift away from older models to newer, more advanced models. Older models, she added, do not provide real-time calculations for SCS nor high-resolution intensity footprints. We get continuous feedback with our real-time loss estimates, so we can make sure that our models are becoming more and more accurate.

If companies want more accurate models, they need to embrace change, Clark said. I have a new phrase Ive started to use: Its easier to complain than to change.'

Reinsurers and brokers, in particular, love to complain about models, she added. The solution is not to get rid of cat models. You just have to upgrade to better models. You cant keep using the same models for 30 years, the same methodology without any advancements, and think youre going to keep up with changes that are happening.

Reinsurers often say that they make their own adjustments, add their own factors and develop their own models, Clark said. We could ask them, How well did that work out? Why are you raising reinsurance prices by 80-100 hundred percent in the past couple years? Obviously, they were not pricing the product correctly. Its really time to upgrade the cat models.

Aons Impact Forecasting also forecasts in real time, which produces a relatively narrow range of meaningful numbers for a natural catastrophe based on real-time weather forecasts, rather than using a predefined stochastic catalog of similar eventsas some model vendors dowhich results in bad forecasting, said Adam Podlaha, Aons head of Impact Forecasting. If you use real-weather forecasting, as we are doing, you will produce a range which is meaningful, not too wide, and its more valuable than one answer.

As proof of Impact Forecastings model accuracy, Dick noted that the estimate for Hurricane Ian, which was issued on Oct. 2, 2023, has not been adjusted since that date, which shows the power of having real-time modeling capability.

Impact Forecasting maps out every building in the United States, Dick said, so when these events occur on an industry threshold, were able to quickly overlay those events against our industry database. And thats why were able to release some of these industry views very, very quickly.

We have a system for U.S. hurricane, European windstorm and Japanese typhoon, where we do loss forecasting. So, a few days before a U.S. hurricane, we actually are able to produce a forecast every six hours, said Podlaha.

Impact Forecasting provides clients with a well-managed range of numbers. We can produce one number if the user wants one number, but we also can produce a range, and the range will be always better because it provides more information, he added.

This article first was published in Insurance Journals sister publication, Carrier Management.

Topics Catastrophe Property
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  As industrial plants have overtaken historic Black communities and burdened neighborhoods with toxic air pollution, environmental advocates and residents of Louisianas chemical corridor have spent decades calling for change.

So when the countrys top environmental regulator opened a high-profile civil rights investigation into Louisianas Department of Environmental Quality last year, it felt like a watershed moment.

For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency stepped in to exercise its oversight and evaluate whether LDEQ has granted permits for companies to build and pollute in a way that has caused disproportionate harm to Black communities. Ultimately, they found signs that it has.

After pledging to clean up Cancer Alley  the nickname for the heavily industrialized, 85-mile stretch of the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans  the EPA issued a letter in October 2022 detailing preliminary evidence of racial discrimination and noncompliance by the state.

Advocates like Lisa Jordan, who leads the Tulane Environmental Law Clinic, and the clients she represents were cautiously optimistic.

We dared to hope, said Jordan, who filed one of the complaints that led to EPAs civil rights investigation.

The EPAs findings brought LDEQ to the negotiating table. Documents and emails newly uncovered by WWNO and WRKF show that staff from the two agencies spent months negotiating a 43-page agreement that would have fundamentally changed Louisianas air pollution permitting program so that state regulators would have no longer allowed toxic emissions to disproportionately impact certain communities. While the EPAs civil rights investigation could have led to a consent decree that forced LDEQ to change, this voluntary agreement offered a path to reform without punishment.

But, in late June, it all came to a grinding halt.

The EPA abruptly closed the case and ended discussions with the LDEQ, stopping its investigation without coming to a resolution or releasing its findings. The decision blindsided the River Parish residents who took part in the complaints.

Wed been out here fighting so hard for so long, it felt good to have someone shouldering the burden with us, and it felt good to not be gaslit, said Joy Banner, a St. John the Baptist Parish resident and cofounder of the Descendants Project, in the weeks after. After all of that fighting, they just abandoned us. 

WWNO/WRKFs reporting reveals for the first time the fullest details of the draft agreement and offers a window into how negotiations between the two agencies unraveled. With Louisianas attorney general now suing the EPA, environmental justice experts and advocates fear that the breakdown could mark the beginning of a major attack on a core aspect of the Civil Rights Act.

MEANINGFUL REFORM

In the month before negotiations ended, LDEQ and EPA staff closed in on an agreement. They exchanged a draft resolution on May 18 that would have ingrained sweeping new procedures for the state to ensure that future permitting decisions included an in-depth analysis into whether the adverse impacts of any new polluting facility would be disproportionately felt by people of a certain race, color or nationality  an outcome also known as disparate impact.

Had the agreement been finalized, Louisiana environmental advocates would also have received another major win: LDEQ would have begun studying how a proposed facility would add to a communitys cumulative burdens. For each permit application, the agency would be required to look at the local areas current exposure to air pollutants as well as how different social or health factors could leave the community vulnerable to harmful effects.

Deep South Center for Environmental Justice Director of Law and Policy Monique Harden, who has more than two decades of law experience, reviewed the May 18 draft of the informal resolution agreement, saying it would have led to meaningful reform of the state agency. She wasnt involved in any of the complaints the EPA investigated.

Most significantly, the agreement would have enforced the states legal obligation to request companies look at alternate sites or even deny a permit to lessen any disparate impacts found during its newly robust analysis.

You can consider, through mapping and statistical data collection and analysis, environmental justice. You can do that all day long and not have any change on the ground for Black communities, Harden said. Consideration is weak sauce. We need permit denials. We need reductions in pollution. We need mitigation of hazards. We need a holistic view of appropriate sites.

For years, Harden has watched progress on environmental justice issues stall as agencies quibble over meandering technical debates of definitions and procedures. In a break from the past, she felt the proposed agreement showed a commitment to creating real change.

This agreement between EPA and LDEQ was headed around results and outcomes, which is a tremendous step forward, Harden said.

Requests for disparity analyses and cumulative impact studies are nothing new. Advocacy groups and environmental lawyers like Harden and Jordan have called for LDEQ to conduct such studies since the 1980s.

A study published in the journal Environmental Challenges in January found that minority communities living in Louisianas chemical corridor are exposed to levels of toxic air pollution seven to 21 times higher than predominantly white communities.

But time and again, the state agency has maintained that it isnt statutorily required to consider disparate impact under environmental legislation like the Clean Air and Clean Water acts nor under Louisiana law.

They just never engaged at the level of saying its not possible or its too hard, or it would take too long. They just never entertained the idea at all, Jordan said.

In the EPAs letter of concern sent on Oct. 12, 2022, it said LDEQ staff should have conducted cumulative impact analyses in the past. It also brought attention to the lack of any written policies internally that guide when LDEQ staff should do such an analysis to comply with the Civil Rights Act.

According to the EPA, LDEQ went as far as to say it only needs to comply with environmental laws, not the Civil Rights Act  an assertion that EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for External Civil Rights Lilian Dorka called erroneous. 

LDEQ has two obligations: to ensure legal and lawful administration of Clean Air Act programs and to ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. And what this informal resolution agreement focuses on is that LDEQ is not doing either, said Harden.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

The negotiations were on precarious footing from the start. The EPA worked with LDEQ to make voluntary changes to its permitting process to avoid punishment, while simultaneously conducting a civil rights investigation that would potentially result in a compliance order.

Meanwhile, LDEQ moved forward with the voluntary agreement, even as the states attorney general (whose office was involved in the voluntary agreement negotiations) prepared a lawsuit against the EPAs investigation. Emails exchanged between LDEQ and the EPA show negotiations began to falter after the federal staff sent a version of the draft agreement back to LDEQ on May 18.

Days after the draft was sent, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry sued the EPA, the Department of Justice and the Biden administration over the civil rights investigation on May 24 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. The Attorney General office didnt respond to a request for comment.

The new lawsuit appeared to cast doubt over whether any parties were willing to proceed with the negotiations in good faith. But, despite the looming lawsuit, a June 1 email shows LDEQ staff reassured Dorka that the litigation wouldnt change the agencys commitment, promising to continue to flesh out the draft agreement.

The emails show, however, that progress slowed in the waning weeks of the investigation. The EPA and LDEQ traded blame and frustration over the state of negotiations as the draft agreement sat in limbo and regular meetings were canceled.

One week before the case was closed, the tension bubbled over in one final exchange. LDEQ lead counsel Courtney Burdette questioned the EPAs commitment to the ongoing talks, citing the frustration of the state staff.

Within hours of receiving the email, Dorka wrote back, pointing to the lack of a fully revised draft of the agreement from LDEQ as the reason for the series of meeting cancellations.

Given how busy everyone is, I will go ahead and cancel the rest of the meetings that I had scheduled and then reschedule as needed once we receive the rest of LDEQs draft IRA mark-up, Dorka replied.

But another meeting wasnt scheduled.

On June 27, the EPA sent a letter to LDEQ Secretary Roger Gingles stating they had closed the investigation, with little explanation beyond stating the EPAs Office of External Civil Rights Compliance felt an agreement wouldnt be reached by their July 11 deadline.

Yet, EPAs case resolution manual states that deadline requirements for ending an investigation are paused while working toward an informal agreement.

The reason for the investigations untimely end remains unclear. Jordan and other advocates involved in the case have speculated that the litigation from Landrys office increased pressure on the Biden administration to close the case in an attempt to quash a lawsuit that has the potential to evolve into a broader challenge to a key element of the Civil Rights Act if it moves forward.

The Department of Justice wrote in its notice to the court that the EPA had terminated the complaints at the center of Landrys lawsuit, raising the question of whether it should proceed. A response filed by the attorney generals office made clear that the state planned to continue the lawsuit  which challenges any federal review of disparate impact as a result of environmental permits  regardless of the civil rights investigations untimely end.

EPAs and DOJs entire rationale, we think, for having dismissed this complaint is to poise itself well to succeed in this litigation. So our clients sort of feel that theyve been sacrificed, Jordan said. Its not looking like EPA made a good trade if thats what they did.

TITLE VI PRECEDENT UNDER ATTACK

Since the early days of the EPAs investigation, LDEQ and other state officials have maintained that the agency shouldnt be punished for actions and decisions that comply with environmental laws  even if they result in violations of the Civil Rights Act.

The opposition came as the EPA finally pledged to step up its civil rights enforcement to match protocol that has been used by other federal agencies, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Department of Education, for decades.

The reason were here is because EPA was late to fulfill its obligations under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, said Carlton Waterhouse, a former EPA attorney and director of Howard University School of Laws Environmental and Climate Justice Center. And so now, as the agency is trying to fulfill its obligations, were finding pushback to say that not only are those not obligations, the agency is acting unlawfully by trying to enforce these regulations.

In the past, the EPA has only investigated cases of intentional discrimination,  or instances of blatant racism or differential treatment. But other agencies have historically taken into account the effect policies have. Even if a decision seems neutral on its face, does it disproportionately harm one group more than another? If so, the policy has a disparate impact, which is illegal. Courts across the country have upheld the use of disparate impact in rulings dating back to the 1970s.

In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the use of disparate impact in a housing discrimination case, writing in the decision that a focus on consequences permits plaintiffs to counteract unconscious prejudices and disguised animus that escape easy classification as disparate treatment.

But in his May 24 lawsuit, Attorney General Landry, who is now the leading candidate for Louisiana governor, disagreed. He argued the Civil Rights Act only prohibits intentional discrimination, and called the EPAs investigation a ploy by social justice warriors.

Activities that would be perfectly lawful under environmental law are thus now threatened because EPA believes those activities occur proximate to the wrong racial groups, wrote Landry in the suit.

The logic rings similar to other recent conservative legal attacks, including the argument recently used in overturning precedent on affirmative action, said Waterhouse.

This is the reverse discrimination argument, Waterhouse said. Use of that is very politically astute and even legally astute to the degree that the ears of the court are very open to those concerns.

As the Supreme Court has grown more conservative, advocates and legal experts have voiced concern over the potential for Landrys case to set back civil rights enforcement if it moves forward  and potentially reverse progress as well, said Waterhouse, by nullifying past wins for agencies like the Department of Education or eliminating the doctrine of disparate impact altogether.

Waterhouse said state agencies should expect to be required to follow more than one law at once, just like the average citizen. He likened it to driving a car.

Sometimes you get a no speeding and a no passing law. It means that you have to drive 55 (miles per hour) and stay in that right lane, even though somebody is driving slow in it, he said.

Its not an either-or, so its a false dichotomy.

THE FUTURE OF LOUISIANA`S AIR PROGRAM

Even with the EPAs investigation being closed, the draft informal agreement produced in May offers a blueprint for addressing decades-old complaints about LDEQs permitting process. Research and news investigations have repeatedly demonstrated that Black communities in Louisiana live with more air pollution than white communities.

Legal experts agree that nothing in the law prevents the state agency from implementing the measures developed over the 8-month negotiation to ensure it is in compliance with nondiscrimination laws.

States have the authority to go well beyond anything that the federal government has put in place, said Waterhouse. So they can be more protective for their citizens. They can be more attentive to preventing disparities in terms of who bears the burden of pollution. They have all kinds of authority to do that.

The draft agreement offered a step-by-step guide for considering various demographics when permitting, explaining how to analyze for potential disparities and what to do if any are found. It also laid out ways to facilitate a more robust public participation process.

EPA has given LDEQ all of the tools that it could need to do a better job than what it has done, said Jordan.

Whether LDEQ will use those tools remains an open question. When WWNO/WRKF asked LDEQ whether it planned to use the draft agreement, agency press secretary Greg Langley said, We are glad to have the complaint closed. LDEQ has no comment about the communications that occurred between EPA and LDEQ.

Langley didnt say if the agency planned to make any changes to its permitting program.

The EPA will still pursue other avenues to address the issues that came up in the complaints, including a major lawsuit it launched earlier this year against a neoprene plant in St. John the Baptist Parish and new proposed rules limiting the emission of certain cancer-causing chemicals plaguing Louisianas chemical corridor. It also plans to conduct its own cumulative impact study in St. John.

But the federal agency hasnt provided any indication that an overhaul of the states air permit program is in the cards. EPA staff has offered to help LDEQ implement changes if the state decides to strengthen its safeguards against discrimination.

Unless changes are made, Harden said, LDEQ will continue to have the same problems that the EPA identified  and racial disparities will continue to go unchecked.

Each permit that LDEQ issues in a predominantly Black community in Louisiana is a further violation of civil rights, she said.

Topics Louisiana Pollution
Hooters of Louisiana, LLC and associated companies (Hooters) have agreed to pay former African American employees $650,000 to settle a race and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.

According to the EEOCs lawsuit, Hooters subjected African American employees at a Metairie-located Hooters restaurant to a workplace environment of offensive and demeaning remarks based on their race since at least 2017. Hooters also did not rehire any of the restaurants African American employees after laying off staff in 2020 at the outset of the pandemic.

Instead, according to the lawsuit, Hooters initially restaffed the restaurant solely with non-Black employees. Several of the laid-off African American employees complained about the offensive racial remarks and hiring practices, but none of the former African American employees were rehired despite their qualifications.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which prohibits discriminating based on race. The EEOC filed its suit (Civil Action No. 2:23-cv-02864) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Under the three-year consent decree, approved (date), Hooters will pay the former employees $650,000 in backpay and damages, and also conduct training, revise policies, provide regular reports to the EEOC, and post a notice affirming its obligations under Title VII.

Source: EEOC

Topics Lawsuits Louisiana
Public adjusters cannot double as appraisers in claims disputes if their total fees exceed the statutory cap, a Florida appeals court decided Wednesday in what may be seen as another win in property insurers long battle against tactics allegedly employed by some public adjusters.

The decision in Monarch Claims Consultants vs. Fleming and Universal Property & Casualty Insurance underscores a 2018 Florida appeals court opinion and a 2023 ruling from the Florida Supreme Court, which found that public adjusters cannot act as appraisers in the same claim if the policy requires a disinterested appraiser.

The Wednesday opinion, by the 1st District Court of Appeals, may have been influenced by widespread stories of some public adjusters coming into distressed areas after hurricanes and signing up homeowners  but failing to follow through on claims, said Charles Chip George, of Coral Gables, one of the homeowners attorneys in the case.

You had a carpetbagger running up there and signing up people, then not doing any of the work hed promised to do, George said Wednesday.

The case stemmed from Hurricane Michael, which hit the Florida Panhandle in 2018. Cliff and Jane Flemings home in Panama City, Florida, suffered significant damage and they hired Monarch Claims Consultants, of Miami, as their public adjusting firm. The contract provided that the homeowners would also appoint Monarch as an appraiser if the loss amount was disputed and went to appraisal.

After a year, though, the Flemings terminated the service agreement because they said Monarch had made no progress on the claim, the court explained. The couple settled with their insurance company, Universal Property & Casualty. Monarch claimed it was entitled to a fee from the settlement. The Flemings filed suit, seeking a declaration from the Bay County Circuit Court that the contract with Monarch was invalid because it violated Florida law.

Florida statutes limit public adjusters fees, for up to a year after a declared state of emergency, to 10% of the insurance award or settlement, not including attorney fees. Outside of declared emergency periods, public adjusters may charge no more than 20%.

The adjusting firm sought to have the Flemings suit moved to Miami-Dade, per one section of the service agreement. But the trial court agreed with the Flemings attorney that the entire contract was invalid because an appraisal fee plus the adjuster fee would put the firms compensation at double the statutory limit.

The contract was absurd on its face, George said. It was taking advantage of people who were in dire straits and needed help.

Monarch appealed, but the 1st District Court of Appeals upheld the trial judge.

The trial court cannot enforce a venue selection clause when there was never a valid contract to begin with, reads the opinion, written by Appeals Court Judge Rachel Nordby.

Monarchs attorneys, Jessica and Henry Marinello, argued that the contract with the homeowners was a two-purpose contract, and the fee-limit statute applies only to the public adjuster fees.

But Monarchs argument fails to give full effect to the text of the statute, the court wrote.

A key point in the decision, George said, is that the court found that although Monarch had not yet seen any compensation from the contract, just the plan to double-dip on the fee is contrary to the fee limitations law.

Even if the added ten percent fee counts as an appraiser fee instead of a public adjuster fee as Monarch suggests, the contract would still violate the statute. The Flemings promise to appoint Monarch as their appraiser, on its own, is a thing of value that exceeds the ten percent cap, the appeals court noted.

The decision was supported by a 2018 opinion by Floridas 3rd District Court of Appeals, known as Gables Insurance Recovery vs. Citizens Property Insurance Corp. In that case, the court found that a homeowner hired a public adjuster and agreed to the statutory cap on fees. But in a second contract, the policyholder assigned benefits to the adjuster, granting another 20% of the insurance recovery.

The courts found that even as an assignee of benefits, the firm still was considered a public adjuster, and the AOB contract had to be voided. Section 626.854 says that a public adjuster may not even agree to compensation in excess of the statutory cap, the court said.

The opinion may be seen as another blow against public adjusters, who have been vilified by insurance carriers and by state officials for, in some cases, allegedly inflating damage estimates, conspiring with repair contractors and with trial attorneys, and interfering with insurers own adjustment efforts. After Hurricane Ian hit southwest Florida in 2022, Floridas chief financial officer said adjusters had swarmed the devastated area and he called for new regulations.

Six months later, the Florida Legislature placed additional limits on public adjusting firms. House Bill 1185, signed into law in May, prohibits public adjusters from contracting with anyone other than the named insured without the insureds written consent.

If the public adjuster does contract with a third party, the third party must pay the fee. The bill also allows policyholders to cancel a public adjuster contract within 30 days of the loss if the loss was caused by a declared emergency, or within 10 days of signing the contract.

Public Adjusters Cant Charge Up-front Fees Under New Law, Kentucky Commissioner Says

The issue of public adjusters serving as appraisers was complicated this year when the Florida Department of Financial Services argued in a high-profile disciplinary case that appraisers fall under the statutory definition of public adjusters, subject to insurance statutes and the adjusters code of ethics.

The Windstorm Insurance Network, which provides training for appraisers, said that could throw a wrench into the appraisal process, since many engineers who work as appraisers are not licensed as adjusters. The network petitioned DFS to clarify if it meant appraisers had to be licensed adjusters, and if current training courses were in compliance.

Citizens Property Insurance officials asked to intervene and argued that the law is clear: Appraisers must be licensed adjusters.

In May, DFS officials denied the Windstorm petition as being too broad. It left the license question unresolved.

In the underlying case, against public adjuster Scott David Thomas, an administrative law judge and DFS found that Thomas had engaged in aggressive, bullying behavior in blocking Citizens own adjusters. His adjusters license was ordered suspended for two years and he was fined $5,000. Floridas 4th District Court of Appeals in June barred the suspension from taking effect while Thomas appeal is pending.

In the Monarch case decision, the adjuster firms attorneys could not be reached for comment Wednesday. But George, the homeowners lawyer, suggested that after years of tinkering with the law to try and tamp down some public adjusters actions, perhaps tougher measures are needed.

There really needs to be some criminal violations for even writing contracts like that, in which adjusters are also hired as appraisers, George said.

Correction/Update: This article has been updated to show that an appeals court has stayed Scott David Thomas license suspension.

Topics Florida
BEIJING -- The 2023 World Manufacturing Convention will kick off on Sept 20 in Hefei, the capital of East China's Anhui province, with a record number of exhibitors expected to attend, the organizer said on Tuesday.

Covering an area of 80,000 square meters, the five-day event will highlight smart manufacturing, featuring the opening ceremony, exhibitions, summits and forums.

The exhibition hall will display a variety of cutting-edge technologies, including quantum computers, rockets and maglev trains with a maximum speed of 600 km per hour.

Around 1,200 guests from the manufacturing sector will attend the convention, including government officials, foreign ambassadors to China, heads of international organizations and senior executives of multinational corporations.

Promotional activities will also be held this year to introduce investment projects in European countries such as Germany, Britain, France and Italy.

Held since 2018, the World Manufacturing Convention has attracted over 14,800 participants. A total of 3,021 projects have been signed, with actual investment exceeding one trillion yuan ($139.3 billion).
DEWITT  A sheriff's deputy investigating a burglary fatally shot two teenagers Wednesday who were in a vehicle he thought was about to run him over, according to authorities.

The deputy fired three shots into the vehicle during an encounter around dawn in the Syracuse suburb of Dewitt, said Onondaga County Sheriff Tobias Shelley.

The deputy, who was investigating one of two smoke shop burglaries in the area, had responded to a call just before 6:30 a.m. about people seen transferring items between two vehicles. He drove bumper to bumper with one of those vehicles, which backed up as the driver attempted to escape.

The deputy was caught by his vehicle in a narrow space, according to the sheriff, and fired to protect himself.

He had nowhere to flee to. This whole thing happens in seconds, Shelley said.

The deputy did not activate his body camera but Shelley said a video taken by a resident documented the shooting. That video has not yet been made public.

The vehicle was later found on a Syracuse street, more than a mile away, with two people inside. One was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was pronounced dead at a local hospital, according to state Attorney General's office, which investigates deaths at the hand of police officers.

Authorities did not name the slain teens or give their exact ages, saying confirmation of their identities was not yet complete.

A third person believed to have been in the vehicle when the teens were shot was still at large, Shelley said. The second vehicle that had been at the scene drove off and had not been found as of Wednesday afternoon. Both vehicles had been reported stolen.

The deputy, who was not identified by authorities, was not injured.

Speaking at a news conference, Shelley did not detail how firing a weapon helped the deputy escape being struck. But he said he had reviewed the video of the shooting several times and felt the deputy had no options."

The shooting came after a series of thefts in the area, starting with two vehicles stolen Tuesday night in Syracuse. Those vehicles were linked to two subsequent smoke shop robberies early Wednesday in Oneida and suburban Syracuse.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office probes killings by law enforcement officers, opened an investigation into the double slaying. The deputy was placed on a paid administrative leave by his department, an ordinary procedure when an officer has used lethal force, Shelley said.
What Is BRICS?

BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The term was initially created as BRIC (without South Africa) by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill in 2001. He believed that by 2050 the four BRIC economies would come to dominate the global economy. South Africa was added to the list in 2010.

The BRICS countries operate as an organization that seeks to further economic cooperation amongst member nations and increase their economic and political standing in the world.



Key Takeaways BRICS is an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Economist Jim O'Neill created the term BRIC in 2001 (for Brazil, Russia, India, and China) with the belief that these economies would dominate global growth by 2050.

The BRICS nations offered a source of foreign expansion for firms and strong returns for institutional investors.

The organization seeks to deepen economic cooperation between the member countries and stand in contrast to the Western sphere of power.

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Argentina were invited to join BRICS in 2023.

Understanding BRICS

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa ranked among the world's fastest-growing emerging market economies for years. This was thanks to low labor costs, favorable demographics, and abundant natural resources at a time of a global commodities boom.

The group has a set of joint priorities including:

Working to resolve regional problems, such as the Iranian nuclear program and conflicts in Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan

Tackling financial and economic issues like reforms at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Establishing the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism

The Goldman Sachs thesis didn't suggest that these countries would become a political alliance like the European Union (EU) or even a formal trading association.

Instead, the investment banking firm believed that these countries had the potential to form a powerful economic bloc, even as it acknowledged that its forecasts were optimistic and dependent on significant policy assumptions.

Still, the implication was that economic power would bring political power, and indeed leaders from BRICS countries regularly attended summits together and often acted in concert with each others interests.

According to BRICS, the GDP of their nations accounts for 31.5% of global GDP as of 2023, compared to the 30.7% of the G7 nations.

History of BRICS

BRICS sees itself as countering the traditional Western-led global order, with some member states viewing the organization as a way to boost their influence around the world.

Still, the nations may disagree on fundamental factors, such as transparency and a balanced approach, which may hinder the growth of the group.

How It Works

The group operates as an informal confederation of nations that meets annually at the BRICS convention. There, members and heads of state seek to build economic cooperation between the nations.

The head of state of a member nation acts as the chairman of the group, rotating once a year. Informal meetings began in 2006 but the group's first official meeting was on June 16, 2009, in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

Because of their economic power and the appeal of disentangling from the West to a degree, BRICS claims that over 40 countries seek to join the group. It announced that it invited additional countries to join the group at its 2023 summit. Full membership will be granted to Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates on Jan. 1, 2024.

Other Key Developments

The growth of the New Development Bank. The institution was established in 2015 to provide emerging markets and developing countries with funding for infrastructure and sustainable development projects.

The establishment of the BRICS Parliamentary Forum, which is designed to "strengthen and promote contacts at the leadership level of chambers, committees and groups of parliamentarians." This body is responsible for inter-parliamentary exchanges and consultations along with the development of new mechanisms for inter-parliamentary cooperation.



The BRICS thesis of a non-Western global order became conventional market wisdom in the aughts. But there were always skeptics, including some who claimed the term was Goldman marketing hype for its BRICS-focused investment fund.

Goldman Sachs' BRIC Thesis

In 2001, Goldman Sach's ONeill noted that while global gross domestic product (GDP) was set to rise 1.7% in 2002, BRIC nations were forecasted to grow more quickly than the Group of Seven (G7). The G7 are the world's seven most advanced global economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.

In the paper "Building Better Economic BRICs," O'Neill outlined his view of the potential of the BRIC nations.

In 2003, O'Neill's Goldman colleagues Dominic Wilson and Roopa Purushothaman followed up with their report "Dreaming with BRICs: The Path to 2050.

The two authors claimed that by 2050, the BRIC cluster could grow to a size larger than the G6 (the G7 minus Russia), and the worlds largest economies would therefore look drastically different in four decades. That is, the largest global economic powers no longer would be the richest according to income per capita.

In 2007, Goldman published another report, "BRICs and Beyond," that focused on BRIC's growth potential, the environmental impact of these growing economies, and the sustainability of their rise.

The report also outlined a Next 11, a term for 11 emerging economies, in relationship to the BRIC nations, as well as the ascendancy of new global markets.



Closure of Goldman's BRICS Fund

Growth in the BRICS economies slowed down after the global financial crisis of 2007-2008 and the oil price collapse that began in 2014.

By 2015, the BRICS acronym no longer looked like an attractive investment venue, and funds aimed at these economies either shut down or merged with other investment vehicles.

Goldman Sachs merged its BRICS investment fund, which was focused on generating returns from these economies, with its broader Emerging Markets Equity Fund. The fund lost 88% of its assets from a 2010 peak.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Goldman Sachs stated that it did not expect "significant asset growth in the foreseeable future" in the BRICS fund. Per a Bloomberg report, the fund lost 21% in five years.



What Countries Are in BRICS? The BRICS nations are Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. In 2023, the group invited Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates to join. Full membership is expected to be granted as of Jan. 1, 2024.

Why Was BRICS Created? BRICS was created by Goldman Sachs as an analytical grouping of emerging market countries that experienced strong economic growth and were poised to dominate the world economy by 2050. These countries now operate as an informal organization that seeks to further economic ties with each other.



What Is the Main Goal of BRICS? The overarching goals of BRICS are cooperation, development, and influence in international affairs. Drilling down, BRICS seeks to build economic cooperation, development financing, political coordination, social and cultural exchanges, technology and innovation, sustainable development, and peace and security.

The Bottom Line

BRICS refers to certain emerging market countriesBrazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and morethat seek to establish deeper ties between member nations and cooperate on economic expansion, including trade. The countries act as a counterbalance to traditional Western influence. They seek to depend on each other to build growing influence in the world.




Source: Streetwise Reports

September 7, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) As drone-enabled conflict becomes that standard worldwide, DroneShield Ltd. is reaping the reward of protecting people and assets from these new weapons. With the market for its services exploding, the Australian company is projecting revenue of up to half a billion AU$ by 2028.

Based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, DroneShield Ltd. (DRO:ASX; DRSHF:OTC) is an anti-drone defense company. It produces a wide array of technologies designed to protect people, vehicles, and installations from the evolving collection of unmanned aerial threats.

The company provides both custom counter-drone and electronic warfare solutions and off-the-shelf products designed to meet a variety of terrestrial, maritime, and airborne requirements. Its more notable products include the DroneGun Tactical, DroneGun MK3, DroneGun MK4, DroneSentry, DroneSentry-C2, DroneSentry-X, and RfPatrol.

Since its founding in 2014, the firm has developed a wide array of different drone attack abatement technologies. These technologies, deployed in the products listed above, include radio frequency sensing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, sensor fusion, electronic warfare countermeasures, rapid prototyping, and MIL-SPEC manufacturing.

One of the company's most popular products is the DroneGun Tactical, a man-portable countermeasure designed for the long-range defeat of drone threats across the operational spectrum.

The Catalyst: Runaway Revenue

For DroneShield, 2023 has been a year of what the company characterizes as "explosive growth."

This growth has come, in large part, thanks to the firm's revelation on June 20 of "the expansion of its U.S. operations, including the expansion of its U.S. headquarters in Northern Virginia and the addition of top talent to its team."

The release states that "This strategic move comes as a direct response to the remarkable success and heightened demand for DroneShield's advanced Counter-UAS solutions across the United States."

During that announcement, Tom Branstetter, DroneShield's Director of Business Development, explained that "The strategic expansion of our U.S. headquarters underscores our position as a key leader in the C-UAS space and allows us to continue to increase our North American presence, which enables the company to penetrate new markets and extend our solutions to a broader audience."

Following that announcement, the firm's U.S. headquarters, located in Fauquier County, VA, has served as the company's central hub for expanded operations, enabling close collaboration with its growing customer base in the U.S.A.

The results of this shift have been immediate and notable. In 2023, DroneShield secured an AU$33 million government sale, as well as an AU$9.9 million 2-year R&D contract. It completed an AU$40 million capital raise and expanded to 90 employees spread across operations in both Sydney and Virginia. Currently, it's working through an AU$62 million order backlog backed by an AU$200 million pipeline.

Over the coming half decade, the company hopes to expand to employ some 120 to 150 staff supporting revenue of AU$300 million to AU$500 million per year, with roughly half of that income generated via SaaS and software R&D channels that are being developed alongside its manufacturing base.

Why This Sector?: Drones Dominating Modern Warfare

According to analysis firm Markets and Markets, "the global anti-drone market size is projected to reach US$3.8 billion by 2027 from US$1.47 billion in 2023, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 27.7% during the forecast period. The key factors fueling the growth of this market include rising incidence of security breaches, growing use of drones to counter terrorism and prevent illicit activities, and increased adoption of counter drones for remote sensing."

Allied Market Research concurs, explaining in a recent report that "The global anti-drone market size was valued at US$1.3 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach US$14.6 billion by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 27.9% from 2022 to 2031."

Fortune Business Insights reports, more conservatively, that "The global anti-drone market size was valued at US$1.34 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow from US$1.58 billion in 2022 to US$6.95 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 23.55% during the forecast period. The global COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and staggering, with Anti-Drone experiencing higher-than-anticipated demand across all regions compared to pre-pandemic levels."

Why This Company?: Homegrown Deterrence Without Violence

In a recent article in Australia's Financial Review, DroneShield CEO Oleg Vornik made a case for his company's philosophy of employing drone defense and deterrence without engaging in actual violence.

"Yes, we are unmistakably a defense business," he explained, "and I think for a lot of ethical-focused funds that automatically excludes us, but we do try to explain to people that our products are more defensive than offensive in nature. None of our products are able to harm a human being or even harm a drone, for that matter."

"In order for the private sector to execute the government's defense strategy, you need investment into it. And for that, we need the support of capital markets as we now seek to grow the homegrown defense industry."

Why Now? Analysts' Darling

DroneShield has been performing well as a security and, as such, has earned accolades from several analysts. On July 28, Technical Analyst Clive Maund wrote a piece about DroneShield titled "Stay Long on This Buy Rated Antidrone Co."

In it, he explains, "We bought DroneShield Limited at good prices last year, having correctly calculated that the company had a bright future, and never sold it, but mostly lost interest this year when it ran off into a long correction."

"Given what is going on in Eastern Europe and especially Ukraine and what the company manufactures, big orders look very likely soon, and the way that the stock has been behaving in recent days suggests that one or more may be just over the horizon."

"Ordinarily, we would not be interested in chasing a stock that has risen quite a lot toward a zone of resistance and that has almost 600 million shares in issue, but the fact that the stock has been behaving like a young, dynamic stock in recent days implies that something big is in the offing, so the current strong upside momentum looks set to continue and may even accelerate."

"The business environment for the company has been completely transformed over the past year or two due to the war in Ukraine, which NATO seems determined to continue and expand, and the resulting big demand for drones and related paraphernalia looks set to continue to grow rapidly. We, therefore, stay long, and DroneShield is rated a Buy again here."

Daniel Laing of Bell Potter Securities Ltd. came across as equally optimistic in a report a day earlier, stating that the company was "on track for a big year."

"We remain bullish on the outlook for DroneShield, with this update pointing to a strong H1/23 setting up the foundation for a record year," Laing wrote. "On the back of the recent AU$9.9M research and development (R&D) contract and AU$33M U.S. government contract, DroneShield has a record AU$62M contracted order backlog, with a sales pipeline of over AU$200M."

Darren Odell of Peloton Capital also wrote about the stock in July, remarking that "recent contract wins cement DroneShield's position as one of the key players in the global market for counter-drone solutions."

Odell noted that at the time, Peloton had a target price of AU$0.84 per share for the anti-drone equipment and services firm "based on increased confidence on the closure of larger contracts in full-year 2023 (FY23) and beyond."

He pointed out that DroneShield's repeat contracts with the U.S. government have increased in value over a two- to three-year span. The first one was AU$1M. The next was AU$11 M, and the latest was AU$33 M. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-10524]

"We would expect this trend to remain for the U.S. and Five Eyes countries (including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization)," Odell explained. "The war in Ukraine has ensured elevated interest in the capabilities of the likes of DroneShield, which is not expected to dissipate any time soon."

Ownership and Share Structure

Approximately 5.16% of the company is held by management and insiders. Charles Goode owns 3.66% with 21.50 million shares, CFO Carla Balanco owns 1.44% with 8.45 million shares, Angus Bean owns 1.26% with 7.39 million shares, Paul Jonathan Shaw owns 0.95% with 5.58 million shares, CEO Oleg Vornik owns 0.86% with 5.03 million shares, and Chairman Peter James owns 0.65% with 3.82 million shares.

Institutions own 8.31% of the company. Epirus Inc owns 3.15% with 18.50 million shares, SR Bennett Pty. Ltd. owns 0.91% with 5.35 million shares, and P & B Shaw FT CB Pty. Ltd. owns 0.59% of the company with 3.43 million shares.

There are 586.9 million outstanding shares, with 496.03 million free-float traded shares. The company has a market cap of AU$ 170.20 million. It trades in the 52-week period between AU$0.16 and AU$0.42.

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Irish farmers have vented their fury at Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue after changes to nitrates rules by the European Commission could force them to either reduce their cattle herds or spend money on additional land.

The European Commission has decided not to review its decision to cease Ireland's nitrates derogation. Nitrates loading rules mean that farmers must have sufficient land on which to spread the manure from their herds.

Irelands nitrates derogation allows farmers who meet certain more rigorous conditions to farm at higher stocking rates. However, the countrys current derogation is due to expire on January 1, 2026, with the limit due to reduce to 220kg/ha from 250kg/ha on January 1, 2024, in certain areas.

Without the derogation, the commissions limit is 170kg/ha.

This means thousands of dairy farmers could be forced to reduce their herd sizes over the next four months or spend money to acquire or rent additional land to adhere to the rules.

FREE Irish Examiner gilet with an annual digital subscription Subscribe for 1.54/week Billed as 80 for first year. Ts&Cs apply

The decision was met with protests from members of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) in Dublin outside the Department of Agriculture.

Irish Farmers' Association members protest before Thursday's meeting on the nitrates derogation.

Inside the department, representatives of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICSMA) were meeting with Mr McConalogue.

Pat McCormack, president of the ICSMA, said they told Mr McConalogue to go back to the European Commission and get the reduction changed.

This is not an abstract consideration; for hundreds of farmers, the decision he accepted means that generations of farming will end  it literally is as simple as that.

That cant happen, and it certainly cant happen when the kind of sweeping measures weve already introduced to improve water quality have not even been given a chance to demonstrate their effectiveness," said Mr McCormack.

Tim Cullinan, president of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), said Mr McConalogue allowing these changes to the derogation to go ahead without consultation with farmers has shown total disrespect and disregard for all farmers.

He said the changes would mean a 15% cut in the production of dairy and livestock farmers.

IFA president Tim Cullinan said Mr McConalogue allowing the changes to the derogation to go ahead without consultation with farmers 'has shown total disrespect'. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos

Mr Cullinan said the protests will be escalated, with plans to protest outside the parliamentary think-ins of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael next week.

Whatever length of time it takes with protests, we'll be there, he said.

The IFA was joined in its protest by Macra na Feirme, with the organisation's president Elaine Houlihan saying they firmly believe that a strong enough fight hasn't gone into save our derogation.

Patrick Walsh, a farmer from Offaly, said the decrease in production expected from farmers is going to hit farm incomes.

"To turn round and decrease production on the basis of nitrates is not right Its also putting pressure on food security, he said.

"Farmers have agreed to 30 measures with regard to the climate action plan and let those measures be implemented, and let those measures bear fruit till we see what they achieve.

Farmer Pat Farrell from Stradbally in Co Laois said a lot of improvements have been made on farms over the years and they haven't given them time to work.

Mr Farrell said Mr McConalogue needs to listen to farmers and to act.

A lot of people have invested over the years in dairy and now it transpires a few years later the rug has been pulled from under their feet, Mr Farrell said.

Mary Sheridan from Longford protests outside the Department of Agriculture.

Jim Mulhall from Kilkenny said the nitrates derogation decision means that farmers will face increased competition for land.

"You have no extra income for renting the land and people are being forced into the land market, which is the problem, he said.

The Government now has until September 30 to put forward its case in relation to the derogation decision, with politicians hoping that at the very least the implementation date can be extended.

Members of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee yesterday travelled to Brussels to meet with Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius on the issue.

Fine Gael senator Tim Lombard told the commissioner that implementing the changes would force a cull of dairy herds and would amount to "carnage for rural Ireland".

"We had a constructive meeting; we have now opened dialogue and we are now going to engage in direct correspondence with the commissioner," said Mr Lombard, who attended the meeting with fellow committee members Jackie Cahill, Michael Fitzmaurice, and Paul Daly.

"We have asked him for flexibility because if we don't get some flexibility, we are going to have a situation where farmers will be forced into a cull of cattle and that's not possible."
As the sun begins to shine and the weather warms up, that means one thing: its BBQ season.

Theres nothing better than the charred, delicious flavour food gets when cooked over fire  but the unpredictability can be quite daunting.

If youre looking to have the best BBQ season ever, this is what the professionals think you should be doing

Grill your veg

Chef Josh Katz knows a thing or two about cooking over fire  the first restaurant he set up was the Berber & Q Grill House.

While he isnt vegetarian or vegan, he wants people to build their BBQ confidence by grilling vegetables. Theres this perception a BBQ is for meat  people just think its for hamburgers, sausages, hot dogs and steak, he muses.

When actually, there are so many vegetables that are enhanced by grilling and cooking over charcoal or wood. Whether its broccoli, leeks, spring onions, or onions  I could go on.

Berber&Q: On Vegetables by Josh Katz (Kyle Books)

Food for days

The grill requires a slow and patient hand - take it easy, say the experts

Melissa Hemsleys top BBQ hack is about making life simpler for yourself. When I was younger, I used to think a BBQ was about BBQing food and eating it that day, she says.

But if Im bothered to get the BBQ going, I always make loads extra, so Ive got food for the whole weekend.

If I chargrill loads of extra courgettes and tomatoes and vegetable skewers and mushrooms  that can all form the basis of something delicious.

"Maybe Ill BBQ some broccoli and some extra corn on the cob.

"The night after, Ill make pasta  Ill fry up some garlic, Ill toss that chargrilled veg through, add my scoop of pasta water, throw my pasta in and add a little grating of cheese  theres my dinner, with that lovely, delicious BBQd veg through it.

I think whats important for a BBQ is to not make it a one-day-only event.

Feel Good by Melissa Hemsley (Ebury Press)

Try barbecued potatoes

My wife is quite fed up with me, because Ive got four different types of BBQs at home! says Atul Kochhar. I love cooking everything on the BBQ  during lockdown, we spent most of our days cooking outdoors.

I particularly like potatoes, courgette, tomatoes, cauliflower These things work incredibly well on the BBQ.

You just have to remember its a naked heat, and it can burn the vegetable very fast before it cooks it. So, you have to get the temperature right. Dont marinade it [before cooking]  first start cooking it, then have a marinade you can press on slowly as time goes by.

Kochhar recommends trying potatoes on the BBQ. I cut them into thick slices and brush them with a little bit of oil, salt, pepper, and then start cooking them on the lower heat.

Halfway through I bring them to the higher heat, so they get nicely charred, and then take them back to the slow heat area  and thats the time I brush the marinade on top. It cooks perfectly, and takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

Curry Everyday by Atul Kochhar (Bloomsbury Absolute)

A Mexican twist

Tlayuda: a thin BBQ tortilla that's served like a pizza

If youre looking for some new recipes this summer, why not try Mexican on the BBQ?

Im making a lot of tlayuda at the moment  its a bit like a pizza, says Thomasina Miers.

They serve them in Oaxaca [Mexico] in the streets late at night.

"Theyre normally made with corn, but my ones are made with organic flour.

"You make these flat wheat tortillas and you cook them on the barbecue until they puff up.

"And then you can top them with all sorts of things  chargrilled courgette, blackened aubergines, habanero oils, herb oil, slow-cooked lamb or mutton or goat. You could spatchcock a chicken and shred it.

Meat-Free Mexican: Vibrant Vegetarian Recipes by Thomasina Miers (Hodder & Stoughton)

Invest in a thermometer

Number one: dont give anyone food poisoning, Chris Baber says with a laugh.

His top tip for staying safe during BBQ season is invest in a meat thermometer, to make sure you have your product cooked.

To really make sure nothings raw, he also says: Start it in the oven  something like chicken  and finish it on the BBQ to give it the smoke.

Baber adds: Its all about the sides as well  not just what you cook on the BBQ. Really good sides can elevate everything you put on the BBQ.

Ultimately, Baber is all about keeping things easy. If you find quality meat, cook it on the BBQ nice and simple  dont overcomplicate it, I think thats the key.

Easy by Chris Baber (Ebury Press)

Season everything

Seasoning can really make your BBQ veg sizzle

For Megan McKenna, the key to nailing tasty BBQ food is seasoning.

You can make sauces from scratch, and marinate your meat before, she says.

McKenna is even keen on seasoning the sides properly.

Ill do some salads  tomato and onion and balsamic vinegar  its all about dressings and sauces for me. I think its got to be completely full of flavour  not just a sausage roll.

Can You Make That Gluten-Free? by Megan McKenna (Hamlyn)
Folk singer Anais Mitchell brings her Bonny Light Horseman project to Corks Songs From A Safe Harbour festival on Friday, September 8.

A collaboration with Fruit Bats frontman Eric Johnson, and National collaborator Josh Kaufman, the groups speciality in old-timey balladry, often of Celtic origin.

Here she talks about her belated passion for Taylor Swift, the legacy of her Hadestown Broadway musical and why Paul Brady was her gateway drug to traditional music.

Ed Power: Youve performed in Cork previously. How did you find it?

Anais Mitchell: I fucking love Cork. Ive been a handful of times, played at Coughlans, St Lukes, and I think I opened up for Josh Ritter at another spot. Im a great fan of Enda Walshs plays and Mick Flannerys songs, both of whom I associate with Cork. Last time I played in Cork someone gifted me A Ghost In The Throat by another local, Doireann Ni Ghriofa, and I absolutely lapped it up, so all of this conspires to make me think of Cork as a sort of... cultural Mecca.

Our coming to Sounds From A Safe Harbour is a bit of a full-circle event! Our first show ever was at Eaux Claires fest in Wisconsin  Justin [Vernon of Bon Iver] and the Dessners offered us a set at the fest before we even had a band name, let alone a record! The artists residency in Berlin was also sponsored by those same folks - 37d03d - PEOPLE. And the common denominator here is Mary Hickson, who organised all three of those events.

How did you get into folk music?

I was sort of a late-blooming trad folkie, like I didnt fall in till my late twenties, but once I did I was like Alice in the rabbit-hole, I fell and fell. The greats for me have been Martin Carthy, Nic Jones, and the early Paul Brady records. And Im just realising that Paul Brady was absolutely a gateway drug for me. I was playing a few shows in Ireland, and we had one of those nights where the gig finished and then there was a lock-in at the pub, and then when we had to leave the pub we all went to the band flat, and in the wee hours of the morning someone pulled out their phone and showed me Paul Brady singing Arthur MacBride on a television show in the 1970s, and it absolutely changed the course of my life.

What is the appeal of folk music do you think at a time when we are overloaded with screens and tweets etc. Do they connect us to an older simpler time? The song Bonny Light Horseman, for instance, dates from the Napoleonic Wars

I think theres something about singing an old song in a new way, that connects us to the ancestors, and whoevers coming next, in a way that feels pretty spiritual. Like, here we are falling in love, getting brokenhearted, dealing with desire, loss, politics, family and this happened hundreds of years ago, and people sang about it then, and it will happen hundreds of years from now, too. Its a way of locating ourselves and our turn at the wheel.

Youre obviously friendly with Bryce Dessner and The National. What did you think of them working with Taylor Swift?

I love that neither Taylor Swift nor Aaron Dessner [who co-wrote and produced most of Folklore] felt constrained by some imaginary "genre border" between them. Lifes too short for that territorial shit!

I have to admit that although Id always admired Taylors role as cultural girlboss, I never listened that carefully until suddenly all my friends were on her record! (Josh plays some guitar, JT plays some drums, etc.). And the biggest surprise is that her latest record Midnights is now a staple in our house, because both me and my 10-year-old daughter love it. So now Im in.

And Id say this however you respond or dont respond to Taylor Swifts music, you have to admire her extraordinary creative prolificness, adventurousness, stamina, and grace under the pressure of the public eye. Theres absolutely no one like her.

How do you feel now about Hadestown  it was obviously a huge success but it also of course took up a lot of your time?

I can honestly say I feel nothing but gratitude, now, for what that piece became, in my own life and in the lives of others. There were times, in the middle of rewriting it for the umpteenth time, when I worried that it had taken over my life to an extent that I wouldnt be able to come back from. But I feel so glad and lucky to be making regular old records again, reconnecting with the music world. And Im still awestruck by the theatre- what is possible on the theatrical stage- I hope to return to that world as well someday.

Tell us about the origins of Bonny Light Horseman:

I met Josh when we were both living in Brooklyn, around 2017. Id admired his guitar playing for some time and then we were put together by the Brassland label to make a one-off track for Amazon with our friend Kate Stables [of This Is The Kit]. We discovered we had a mutual love of traditional songs, especially stuff from across the pond, and we started messing around with some songs together.

Josh and Eric are friends since forever, and I had just discovered and fallen in love with Bats when Josh was passing through Los Angeles on tour and said, Im having dinner with my friend Eric, I think he might be perfect for our project. It was all sort of random and charmed but with distance, I can see how it was meant to be, we were all just deeply drawn to this material in different ways and for different reasons.

Bonny Light Horseman play Cork Opera House on Friday. Picture: Annie Beedy

Whats Vermont like as a place to grow up? Its rural and liberal - the opposite of how we think of the United States

Vermont is an anomaly. Very liberal, true, its the home of Bernie Sanders. A lot of left-leaning hippies, my parents included, moved here in the 1970s as part of the back to the land movement. They founded food coops, yoga studios, had children... There are also a lot of old-school conservatives here, old farm families, but they tend not to go in for Trumpism.

Its a state that really values neighbourliness, people often say that whatever your political ideology, if the roads get slippery in winter and your car ends up in a ditch, your neighbour will pull you out. There are in-person town meetings, and everything is smaller in scale maybe that tends to keep things more humane. Our Governor Phil Scott is the only Republican I ever voted for, a strong leader who often crosses political lines and has been outspoken against Trump from day one.
Brendan Courtney's name has been on a lot of people's lips recently as people speculate about who will take over a certain RTE radio slot.

But the man himself is paying no mind to the gossip as his current focus is on this year's Shine a Light event.

Courtney is proud to be an ambassador for Focus Ireland's sleep out fundraiser this year as it is a cause which he has supported all his life.

"Focus Ireland has been part of my life, from the Christmas choir events and fundraisers so I'm thrilled to be part of Shine a Light," he said at the launch of the event which is supported by Bord Gais Energy.

Homelessness is something Courtney has been aware of his whole life while living in Dublin. He recalls his schooldays seeing the students in Belvedere College doing their annual sleep out and being inspired by it.

The TV presenter believes it is important for children to be educated about homelessness especially as it is so prevalent in society with 1,839 families including children in emergency accommodation as of July 2023.

That is why he will be taking part in the Shine a Light fundraiser on Friday, October 13 with his niece and nephew.

They will be pitching a tent on the roof of Courtney's building and while they enjoy some fun family time with treats and spooky stories, they will also talk about homelessness.

"What it does is it actually educates children. They hear about homelessness but they will actually get a sense of, 'ok, imagine that this is your life'," he says.

There is a family I see up by Phoenix Park now with kids in a tent, right beside the Criminal Courts of Justice building. Right beside there. It is insane how bad things are at the moment."

Courtney says his 14-year-old niece was shocked when he said that there were children her age that are sleeping rough in Ireland.

He emphasised the importance of education and awareness for adults as well as children.

"We are sick of hearing about the housing crisis. We are sick of nothing being done," he says.

"Unless you have initiatives that inspire people like this, there is an apathy that grows."

As an ambassador, he will be documenting his sleep out experience on his social media channels as will other well-known people such as broadcaster Louise McSharry, Tipperary hurler Brendan Maher and lifestyle influencer Caroline Mooney.

To date, the Shine a Light campaign has supported over 7,000 families and directly prevented 458 vulnerable families from becoming homeless. This year, Focus Ireland are hoping to raise 1.2 million to support their work.

"There are thousands of families across Ireland, including children who are homeless or at risk of losing their homes and we need to come together and help combat this issue," Courtney says.

Over the years, the Keys to My Life host has used his platform to advocate for others.

Most notable was his 2017 documentary, We Need to Talk About Dad, which showed the Courtney family dealing with the challenges of finding homecare for his father.

Brendan Courtney launching the 2023 Shine a Light sleep out in aid of Focus Ireland supported by Bord Gais Energy. Picture Andres Poveda

One of the topics addressed was the lack of options for State-subsidised home care.

Six years on and the family are facing similar issues with his mother, Nuala, who broke her hip in December 2021.

Since the documentary aired, Courtney has been advocating for a scheme equivalent to the Fair Deal, which covers funding for nursing homes, to be established for homecare.

He told the Examiner that he was promised by the Dail and the then-minister for health Simon Harris that the homecare scheme was being piloted that year.

I was asking about Fair Deal for homecare, I was asking about it, they said its coming along. It wasnt coming along, nothing was done he said following his mother's hospitalisation.

Speaking at the Shine a Light launch, he says he is still pushing for Fair Deal for home care.

Although he would like to be able to bring his mother home, her geriatric team has said that it would be best for her to move to a nursing home.

The family have agreed that while it is a heartbreaking decision, it is for the best.

He credited the staff at Cappagh Hospital for the care they have given Nuala during her time there.

"She's in great form. She is happy and content and relaxed. So, once she's happy and content and relaxed, we are happy, content and relaxed," he says.

Despite the prolonged hospital stay, Nuala remains glam as ever with her son coming in frequently to do her hair for her.

"The other people in the ward think I'm her hairdresser and they're always asking me 'any appointments?'," he laughs.

It has been a tough time for the family but they are looking for the positives where they can find them.

In terms of his career, Courtney revealed that his brand Lennon Courtney, which he co-founded with fellow designer and tv personality Sonya Lennon, will be available to shop in November.

The duo had announced in February that Lennon Courtney's brand partnership with Dunnes Stores had come to an end.

But recently they announced the return saying it is "not just clothing but a launch of a brand new Lennon Courtney world".

As for that vacancy at RTE Radio 1? Courtney says that his contract has not changed and he has not had any conversations about taking over Ryan Tubridy's former slot.

He has been filling in on the 9am show along with Oliver Callan as a permanent replacement is sought.

The only thing I can tell you is that nobody knows... It is evolving but it doesn't involve me."

He said that he honestly does not know if he would accept the job if it was offered to him permanently.

For the moment, he is enjoying hosting the show but doesn't think about what-ifs and maybes when it comes to work.

"Unless somebody rings me and says 'do you want to talk about this?' and nobody has rung me and said 'do you want to talk about this?'

"But I don't believe anyone has been called. Yet."
Kourtney Kardashian has thanked doctors for saving her babys life as she revealed that she recently underwent foetal surgery.

It comes after her husband and Blink-182 member Travis Barker postponed their shows in Ireland and the UK as the drummer had to return to the US due to what was described at the time as an urgent family matter.

The band had been due to play Dublin's 3Arena this week.

Sharing an update to Instagram, Kourtney Kardashian  who announced her pregnancy in June  posted a black and white image of her husband holding her hand. The 44-year-old thanked her incredible doctors and her husband who she said rushed to her side.

I will be forever grateful to my incredible doctors for saving our babys life. I am eternally grateful to my husband who rushed to my side from tour to be with me in the hospital and take care of me afterwards, my rock. And to my mom, thank you for holding my hand through this, she said.

The reality TV star has three children with her former partner, Scott Disick and explained that she had three really easy pregnancies in the past and so, was not prepared for the fear" of rushing into urgent foetal surgery.

I dont think anyone who hasnt been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear. I have a whole new understanding and respect for the mamas who have had to fight for their babies while pregnant, she continued

Praise be to God. Walking out of the hospital with my baby boy in my tummy and safe was the truest blessing.

The pair announced that they were expecting a child together in June after getting married in Italy in May 2022.

Barker has been married twice previously, first briefly to Melissa Kennedy and then to actress and former Miss USA titleholder Shanna Moakler, with whom he shares two children.
Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said younger people need to be educated around the Troubles, the North and what people "lived through for 30 years" after thousands sang "Oh, ah, up the RA' at the Wolfe Tones concert at Electric Picnic.

The crowd sang the words while the band was performing its song Celtic Symphony. The Wolfe Tones drew thousands of concertgoers to the Electric Arena over the weekend  one of the biggest crowd ever seen at the arena in its 18-year history.

Mr Ahern said he believes concerns around whether we should worry about younger generations singing "rebel songs" has been "overblown". He said younger people do need to be educated on the events that happened from the late 1960s until 1998, when the Good Friday Agreement was signed.

"If you tell young people at a concert to not do something, well you can be fairly sure that they will do the opposite  they will only rebel," Mr Ahern told the Claire Byrne Show on RTE. "I think the way of handling this is to try and educate the rising population and I say that in a kind way.

"They were not around, so how would they know. But educating what the Troubles were about, about the huge amount of killings, bombings and murder and mayhem, economic damage, people having to emigrate, that families broke up, that's what people need to understand."

Mr Ahern added that it can be "glorifying" to sing those songs, but that there are "horrendous" songs on both sides. "So I think, let us try and educate the rising population of what we just lived through for 30 years in this country," he said.

Mr Ahern also said it is important to "talk about informing people instead of banning things".

The Wolfe Tones have come under criticism in the past for pro-IRA chants from fans attending their gigs. Earlier in August, unionists condemned the singing of the chant during a Wolfe Tones performance on the final night of the Feile An Phobail festival that took place in Belfast.

Democratic Unionist Party MLA, Emma Little-Pengelly, said the chanting at the event was the shame of Belfast.
The Northern Ireland Policing Board is continuing to meet behind closed doors amid a crisis within policing in the region.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Simon Byrne resigned last week following a string of controversies.

Pressure has been mounting on the leadership of the PSNI after a data breach which disclosed personal details of officers and staff, and a critical High Court judgment which said the disciplining of two officers following an arrest at a Troubles memorial event in Belfast in 2021 was unlawful.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton was to assume the responsibilities of the chief.

He had been expected to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, on Wednesday but was unable to attend due to an unplanned medical procedure.

It is vitally important that we put our heads together and plot a way forward to get out of this to return some stability to the police service

A PSNI spokesman said the senior executive team is leading the organisation while Mr Hamilton recovers.

During the meeting on Wednesday, the federation unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Hamilton, and also expressed no confidence in the PSNIs chief operating officer, Pamela McCreedy, and assistant chief officer Clare Duffield.

The Policing Board is meeting to discuss the appointment of a new Chief Constable.

There have been calls for the appointment of an interim leader to steer the service during the period of crisis.

Arriving at the board meeting on Thursday morning, DUP MLA Trevor Clarke said the board will aim to bring the PSNI back to where it should be.

The aim is to try and fix it and bring it back to where it should be, he said.

I think it would be unfair to say no one is concerned at the minute because we all are.

Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister said the fixation on individuals is becoming damaging for the PSNI ahead of the board meeting in Belfast.

Alliance have been clear from the very start that we need to have proper process, and thats why we called for a review of the senior executive team, she said.

But the fixation on individuals I think is getting really unhealthy for the PSNI and we need to make sure that as a board, we do our work, we ask the right questions we hold people to account.

Today there are many items on the agenda. Its not just about the crisis thats actually facing the PSNI today, but its about making sure that the PSNI continues because remember, there are officers on the ground still doing the work.

So theres a lot of issues to get through today, and well make sure that we do our role properly.

SDLP MLA Mark Durkan said the board would need to put their heads together, as they meet to discuss the crisis in leadership in the PSNI.

It is vitally important that we put our heads together and plot a way forward to get out of this to return some stability to the police service and to assist the officers doing their job, he said.

Asked on the concerns the Police Federation for Northern Ireland has expressed with the function of the policing board throughout the crisis in the PSNI, Mr Durkan said they could not be ignored.

I dont think its something that we can ignore, absolutely not. Ive heard their concerns and I have to say I share some of their concerns, so all those matters will be discussed today and many days after this I suppose, he said.
Beijing (Gasgoo)- On September 5, Chinese legacy automaker Great Wall Motor, insurance giant Ping An, and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) signed a cooperation agreement to build a joint innovation laboratory for automotive industry big data application.

Signing ceremony; photo credit: Great Wall Motor

This collaborative initiative, grounded in data security and compliance, aims to undertake research and specialized cooperation in areas such as industry development, technological innovation, and financial services. The partners will leverage user behavior to pioneer digital products and algorithm models, ultimately enhancing the quality of user services. Additionally, they intend to establish an industrial Internet application platform and ecosystem for "car + life," collectively exploring innovative applications of industrial big data.

Great Wall Motor, catering to a global user base, is committed to providing intelligent and eco-friendly mobility services, positioning itself as a global intelligent technology company. The company has made significant strides in various technology domains, including big data, artificial intelligence, and digital twinning.

Ping An, with various automotive and user related service platforms that focuses on the vehicle, users, and lifestyle, boasts over 200 million users closely tied to the automotive sector.

On the other hand, CAICT is a research institution directly under Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, serving as the sole domestic industry innovation platform bridging all aspects of the information and communication sector, from decision support to new technology research, standard development, testing, certification, and industry promotion.

This tripartite collaboration is centered on user requirements and aims to promote the development of the automotive and financial industries. Leveraging their respective resources and expertise in smart automobiles, financial insurance, industrial research, and vehicle owner operations, the partners will utilize advanced technologies like large-scale modeling and privacy computing. They will work together to facilitate business cooperation and innovative models in data interaction, mutual trust, market analysis, research, and industry services. All of this will occur while ensuring data security and compliance. Their combined efforts will encompass user-behavior-based digital products, collaborative research modeling methods, the application of privacy computing platforms, and the enhancement of intelligent claims processing. This holistic approach will empower users, create economic and societal value, and foster deep integration and mutually beneficial cooperation across the automotive industry, mobility sector, and data applications.
A Meath teenager took her own life three months after being drugged and raped while on holiday in Greece, an inquest has heard.

Julie Crowe (18) from Porterstown Lane, Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, died as a result of injuries sustained after she jumped off a bridge over the M3 motorway near Rathbeggan Lakes on November 4, 2019.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court on Thursday heard the tragic circumstances of how Julie had developed a low mood and thoughts of self-harm after being drugged and raped while on holiday abroad with friends in August 2019.

The inquest was also informed that gardai had received no further feedback about the progress of any criminal investigation in Greece, despite several requests after providing a statement by Julie to their Greek counterparts via Interpol.

Julies father, Gary Crowe, told the inquest he had decided to work from home on the morning of November 4, 2019, as his daughter had not slept. Mr Crowe recalled she was groggy and appeared very subdued and very detached when he woke her around 12.20pm.

He said she apologised for the expense of a trip to the US from which they had recently returned. Mr Crowe said he hugged his daughter to try and get her out of a daze. As Julie went to have a shower, Mr Crowe said he noticed a note on her bed which he thought was part of a diary.

When he went to check on her at around 2.15pm, Mr Crowe said he could not find his daughter anywhere in the house before ringing his wife to express concern that Julie had run away. At that point he remembered the note and found it contained a reference to Rathbeggan Lakes when he read it.

When he got to the flyover bridge, Mr Crowe said he saw traffic pulling over on the motorway before spotting his daughter lying on the ground. He started CPR on her after noticing her eyes were glazed over before others came along and helped with her attempted resuscitation.

A passing motorist, Jonathan Madden, told the inquest how he had dialled 999 after he was travelling along the M3 and noticed a girl standing outside the railing of the flyover bridge.

Mr Madden said he exited the motorway at the next junction in order to get back to the bridge but that the girl was lying face down on the ground by the time he got to the scene.

The inquest heard it was a very wet day with poor visibility. Garda Jeffrey Moroney said CCTV footage of the bridge had confirmed the evidence provided by eyewitnesses and that the investigation on the case had been closed.

Julies mother, Anna Crowe, gave evidence of formally identifying her daughters body to gardai at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown (CHB). Fighting back tears, Ms Crowe said she had been phoned by her husband, Gary, at around 2.20pm to say that Julie was at the M3 bridge.

When she arrived at the scene, Ms Crowe said she found her daughter lying on the motorway. She recalled holding Julies hand which was very cold, while she could not detect any pulse.

Anna Crowe gave evidence on Thursday at the inquest of formally identifying her daughters body to gardai at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown. Picture: Colin Keegan

Ms Crowe said she and her husband waited in a patrol car, while paramedics attended to her before they were brought to the hospital.

The inquest heard the family were informed at 3.50pm by medical staff that Julie had suffered catastrophic injuries which she would not survive and she was pronounced dead nine minutes later. Post-mortem results confirmed that Julie had suffered catastrophic head injuries consistent with a fall from a height.

In January 2020, Ms Crowe spoke about her daughters death on RTEs Liveline programme as a warning to others that there were predators who were targeting young boys and girls.

She outlined how Julie realised from talking to friends that she had been raped during their stay on the Greek island of Zakynthos.

Psychiatrist's testimony

Omer Chaudhary, a psychiatrist who examined Julie in the emergency department of CHB on October 21, 2019, said he had diagnosed her as suffering post-traumatic stress disorder and a moderate depressive episode.

Dr Chaudhary said Julie had also come out to her friends as gay in June 2019 and to her family after she returned from her holiday in Greece. He recalled that the teenager complained of not being able to cope with things for the previous two weeks and suffering increasing nightmares.

However, Dr Chaudhary said she had not shown any active intent or plan to kill herself. The psychiatrist said she was positive about her family and her studies at Technological University Dublin.

He said Julie also recognised her symptoms and triggers and that she needed professional help to get better but believed she had a bright future.

The inquest heard that Julie declined to be admitted to the hospital on a voluntary basis and she did not meet the criteria to be detained involuntarily as she was only considered a low-to-moderate risk of self-harm.

Dr Chaudhary said the teenager ultimately decided to attend her GP to discuss taking anti-depressant medication and to be referred to her local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service unit.

Ms Crowe said Julie attended her family doctor the next day who warned that she would need to be closely monitored while on medication. She also revealed that her daughter feared she might be pregnant as a result of the rape but tests showed that was not the case.

Garda testimony

Detective Garda Michelle OBrien told the inquest that she had spent two long and difficult days taking a very detailed statement from the teenager about what happened in Greece. Det. Garda OBrien said she had also kept the girls towel and runners for evidence.

In reply to questions from the coroner, Aisling Gannon, she said she had received no updates about the status of the investigation by Greek police, despite sending several requests. Det. Garda OBrien said she could not engage directly with her Greek colleagues.

She also stated she could not interview Julies friends who might also be able to provide evidence unless she received a direction from the Greek authorities.

Parents' recommendations

At the end of the evidence, the Crowe family called for greater clarity about the ability of gardai to assist and to check on the progress of police investigations abroad.

They also recommended that organisations who deal with victims of sexual assault should engage with parents advocating for their children who had been raped, regardless of their age.

Ms Crowe explained that the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre had been reluctant to speak to her about trying to get a more urgent appointment for her daughter because Julie was over 18 years and needed to make contact with them herself.

The coroner said she would raise the familys concerns with the relevant authorities and keep them informed of any response.

Ms Gannon returned a verdict of death by suicide based on the evidence. Offering her condolences to the Crowe family, the coroner said it was a very, very tragic case in very sad circumstances.

- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.
An Irish couple who died after being struck by a car while on holiday in Rome have been named locally as Paul and Mary O'Reilly, from Lanabeg, Kilmore, in South Wexford.

The incident occurred at lunchtime on Thursday on a busy intersection on the Via Cristoforo Colombo near a campsite on the outskirts of the city.

The bodies of the couple, understood to be aged 59 and 60, were brought to a local hospital for a post mortem examination.

The driver was said to be a 54-year-old man, who stayed at the scene to provide assistance.

It is believed he suffered minor injuries.

On Thursday, the rural South Wexford of Kilmore community was in shock as news filtered through of the death of the popular couple.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said they are "aware of the case and providing consular assistance."

In a statement, the DFA said: "As with all consular cases, the Department does not comment on the details of individual cases."

Local Fine Gael councillor Jim Moore, is a cousin of Ms O'Reilly said: "This came as a complete bolt out of the blue. It has left everyone devastated, the whole parish is numb as word filtered out. They were a couple familiar with travelling, so it was nothing new to them.

"Coming on the back of so many tragedies, this was different, they were pedestrians, unlike the car tragedies. It just shows how fragile life is," he said.

Speaking on RTE radio on Friday, Mr Moore said that the words stunned and shocked failed to adequately convey their sense of disbelief about the double tragedy.

"We have spent the last 18 hours making contact with the family and relations to inform them of the tragic news. So really we are on a long journey of trying to come to terms with the shock of it all," he said.

"We will gather around as a family and a community to support their children and obviously there is grandchildren involved as well and the local community here in the Kilmore area. But it is one (a feeling) of just stunned silence really.

Mr Moore said that Paul and Mary married a number of years back and the "very active" couple were well known and liked in Kilmore.

"Mary worked in the community centre as well as being busy as a seamstress. Paul worked in the marine industry. When he came from Dublin first he was involved in the fishing industry.

"Over a number of years he had moved in to the broader maritime world and received professional qualifications in Western Europe for the last many years and coming home very regularly to his family. The family often travelled out to meet him as well.

Kilmore parish priest Fr Patrick Mernagh said there is "disbelief among the whole community".

"It is a very tight knit community. Everyone would know Mary and Paul. It is just a sad thing thinking there they were looking forward to having a little holiday for themselves. I know next week they were going to take the two grandchildren to Disneyland for a special holiday for them. It is just such a tragic, tragic situation."

One neighbour described the married couple as "friendly and wonderful neighbours. This news has left everyone in the village and parish shattered. They were a lovely couple with a lovely family. It's shocking news, the loss of two young lives which has left their family and everyone devastated".

"We are a small community, but everyone will rally around over the coming days to lend whatever assistance to the family, a family left shocked and devastated, with their sad loss."
A woman was put in fear by a text from her ex-husband giving out about being told to stay away from the house and warning, I am going to go all out now.

This matter came to light at an in-camera hearing of Cork District Court to deal with the breach of a protection order under the Domestic Violence Act.

Sergeant John Kelleher said the breach consisted of a text message that put the defendants ex-wife in fear.

The text stated: You have no right to ask me not to come near my house. I will call any time I like when youre not there  Im sick of being used and I am going to go all out now.

Sgt Kelleher told Judge Olann Kelleher: She took the message to be a threat.

Defence solicitor Leo Murphy said the text dated back to January 31 and that the defendant had no previous convictions and had not come to any adverse attention since.

The couple are separated for a number of years. In December 2020 he moved out of the family home. A slightly unusual feature of the matter is that the text was sent to her via their adult son, Mr Murphy said.

The solicitor added that the middle-aged defendant had been out of work for a period but fortunately was back in employment and has an excellent relationship with his children. Mr Murphy said the defendant no longer attended the house except to collect or drop off his children.

Judge Olann Kelleher said the circumstances of the case are most unusual as the text was not sent directly to the injured party. Noting that there were no further difficulties and that the parties were in the process of divorcing, the judge said he would give the accused the benefit of a dismissal under the Probation of Offenders Act.
A file on the gangland murder of the brother of crime boss, Gerry The Monk Hutch, is to be forwarded to the DPP in the next few weeks, gardai have confirmed.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court heard on Thursday that gardai had made progress in their investigation into the fatal shooting of Eddie Hutch outside his home in Dublins north inner city over seven years ago.

Mr Hutch (58), a father of five and taxi driver from Poplar Row, Ballybough, Dublin 3, was approached by several gunmen as he pulled up in his taxi outside his house on February 8, 2016.

A silver BMW 3-series vehicle, which was believed to be the getaway car, was found abandoned a short distance away on St Patricks Parade in Drumcondra.

The fatal shooting occurred just three days after a member of the rival Kinahan cartel, David Byrne, was killed at a boxing weigh-in at the Regency Hotel in Whitehall. Gardai believe Mr Hutch was shot in retaliation for the brutal murder of Mr Byrne.

Today's hearing

At the latest hearing of the inquest into Mr Hutchs death, the coroner, Clare Keane, noted the case had last come before her court 12 months ago and had been adjourned to allow for an ongoing complex investigation. Detective Inspector Mary McCormack of Mountjoy Garda station, said a number of advances had been made over the intervening period including a number of arrests.

Although she did not specify any details of the investigation, it is known that at least three suspects have been arrested in relation to Mr Hutchs murder.

The scene in February 2016 of the fatal shooting of Eddie Hutch Snr on Poplar Row in Dublin. File picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

They included a male in his 40s who is believed to be a key figure in the Kinahan crime cartel. He was detained for questioning in May but later released without charge.

Another individual, who was serving a prison sentence was also arrested in April in relation to the murder of Mr Hutch. Det. Insp McCormack said a file was being prepared for the DPP which she expected would be forwarded very shortly.

She sought a further adjournment of the inquest under Section 25.1 of the Coroners Act on the basis that criminal proceedings are being considered. Dr Keane granted the application and adjourned the case until a date in March 2024 for mention.

No members of the Hutch family attended the hearing but the coroner was informed that the victims relatives were aware of the application for a further adjournment of the case.

Background

Byrnes death sparked a major killing spree by the Kinahan gang of relatives and associates of The Monk whom they believed planned the attack on the Regency Hotel in revenge for the killing of his nephew, Gary Hutch, in Spain in September 2015.

Eddie Hutch was the first of six people associated with the Hutch gang to be murdered by the Kinahan gang in 2016 in the aftermath of the Regency Hotel shooting in a gangland feud which has claimed a total of 18 lives to date since the killing of Gary Hutch.

It is believed that Mr Hutch was targeted by members of the Kinahan crime cartel solely because he was the brother of Gerry Hutch. Although he had a number of convictions for minor criminal offences for small-time fraud and shoplifting, Mr Hutch was not regarded as having any involvement in serious crime.

However, he was suspected of helping to launder some of the proceeds of crimes organised by his brother and he was the subject of an investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau in the late 1990s.
A liquidator has been appointed to the company that operates the after a proposed rescue plan for the business collapsed.

At the High Court on Thursday Mr Justice Michael Quinn made orders winding up Metron Stores Limited after a proposed investor in the firm had decided it was no longer interested in getting involved in the company.

The company, which had operated 26 stores, employing more than 300 people, had been placed into examinership by the High Court in June.

Seeking the protection of the courts from its creditors, the company said it was insolvent, unable to pay its debts as they fall due, and had debts of 36m.

Despite its difficulties, an independent expert's report had stated that Metron has a reasonable prospect of survival if certain steps, including getting fresh investment and the approval of a scheme of arrangement with the firm's creditors, were taken.

An investor had been identified and hopes were expressed that the company could survive as a going concern.

However, on Thursday, Mr Justice Quinn was informed that the proposed investor had pulled out of the process, with the result that there was no reality of a scheme being put together that would save the business.

Mr Justice Quinn agreed to make orders winding up the company and that Joe Walsh, who had been appointed as examiner to the retailer, act as the firm's liquidator.

Food Safety Authority order

Metron's difficulties arose from factors including the serving of an order on it by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, requiring the company to withdraw all imported frozen food of animal origin from its stores.

However, when the matter was before the court last month, the FSAI said it had concluded its investigation and is satisfied with all of the steps taken by the company.

Other difficulties cited by the company when it sought to enter the examinership process included that its cost base had significantly increased.

When the case was last before the court, the company's conduct just before and during the examinership was strongly criticised by its employees and their representatives.

The matter is due before the High Court on Friday morning.
The President has paid a personal tribute to the respected historian, Emeritus Professor Dermot Keogh, whose death was announced on Thursday.

Michael D Higgins described Prof Keogh as one of Irelands finest historians, who in particular brought a valuable insight into the history of Irelands connection with South America.

Last year, Dermot called to Aras an Uachtarain to present me with a copy of his book Ireland and Argentina in the 20th century, he said.

I also recall very clearly his work on El Salvador and the revolt of the colonels in 1979.

Among his other most valuable contributions was his publications on Irish diplomatic relations with the Vatican, his time as editor of foreign policy archives for the RIA, and his important work on Jews in 20th century Ireland.

Dermot Keogh will be missed by all those who he taught at University College Cork, as well as all those whose strong scholarship in UCC on South American issues owes much to his personal research interests.

May I extend my condolences to his wife Ann, to his children Eoin, Niall, Aoife and Clare, and to all his family, friends and colleagues.

Prof Keogh, who taught in UCCs department of history between 1980 and 2010, was Jean Monnet Professor in the department between 1990 and 1996, was professor of history from 1997 and served as head of department between 2002 and 2009, died peacefully at home in Cork city on Wednesday following an illness. He was 78.

Part of the fabric of UCC

The Lord Mayor of Cork, the historian Cllr Kieran McCarthy, said he was deeply saddened to learn of his death.

Dermot Keogh who was deeply respected in UCC, Cork, nationally and internationally for his understanding and analysis of modern Irish history, the role of the church and State and of our international relations particularly with Europe and the European Union, he said.

Not only was he a renowned academic but he was a true gentleman who deeply believed in equality, solidarity and human rights.

He was a man who strived to improve the lot of others.

The President of UCC, Professor John OHalloran, also paid tribute.

Dermot made a huge contribution to our understanding of 20th century Ireland, he said.

He was part of the fabric of UCC for many years and will be deeply missed here. We extend our sympathies to his wife Ann and all the family.

Dr Hiram Morgan, the head of UCCs school of history, said Prof Keogh was a generous, affable and genuinely humane individual who will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

Dermot a distinguished and prolific historian of many aspects of Ireland in the 20th century - labour history, the Irish Jewish community, Irish diplomatic history, Irish connections with Latin America especially Argentina and Irish political and constitutional history including a biography of Jack Lynch, he said.

Tanaiste Micheal Martin, who studied history in UCC under Prof Keogh, who also supervised his master, was among the first to lead the tributes earlier.

He was a great friend and a mentor, and a prolific writer with strong ethics in terms of his analysis of history and politics, particularly on the church and state issue and on the Irish constitution, among others, he said.

Whenever I met him, he would always have a new insight on something. And he always had the interest of UCC at heart.

Prof Keogh was a scholar of 20th century Ireland, including Irish diplomatic history, Irish political history, Church-state relations, and international relations, and had a very keen interest in human rights, refugee rights and the labour movement.

He also played a key role in shaping Corks future through his involvement in the local government review process established by former Local Government Minister Alan Kelly almost a decade ago.

He was part of a five-person committee which issued a report in September 2015 recommending a merger of Cork city and county council, a recommendation which split the committee.

But Prof Keogh and fellow UCC academic, Dr Theresa Reidy, issued a minority report which recommended a city boundary extension.

The split triggered an independent review which later saw the dual-local authority, boundary extension stance adopted by Prof Keogh and Dr Reidy emerging as the recommended way foward.

Professor Dermot Keogh

In 2017, Prof Keogh told the Irish Examiner that repeated failures to extend the citys boundary over the last 50 years had hurt the regions economic development.

Without delay, the Government should extend the Cork city boundary and allow the city to take the full economic leadership role it has long been denied, he said.

The city boundary extension, the first since 1965, took legal effect in 2019.

Throughout the course of his academic career, he was presented with a host of honours, including two Fulbright awards  one for study at Boston College in 2002  and fellowships in the United States, Ireland and across Europe.

The author of ten monographs, including the prize-winning Jews in Twentieth-Century Ireland in 2008, he co-edited 20 books and was twice a Woodrow Wilson fellow.

He was a frequent co-editor and contributor to dozens of books and scholarly journals as well as TV history programs, and he presented papers at conferences across Europe, in the US and in Argentina, a country for which he held a deep affection.

Prof Keogh is survived by his wife Ann, their children, Eoin, Niall, Aoife and Clare, and his nine grandchildren, Abi, Luke, David, Aisling, Darragh, Clodagh, Anna-Amy, Mani and Olan. He was a father-in-law to Caroline, Liz, Marco and Barry.

His funeral Mass will be celebrated in the Church of the Immaculate Conception at The Lough at 10am on Saturday. It will be streamed online.
Officials at EirGrid have been asked to provide councillors in East Cork with key documents relating to the Celtic Interconnector project.

It is the second time in nine months officials have been asked to provide the documents, which include correspondence from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and Irish Rail denying EirGrid permission to use part of the side of the N25 and the Midleton-Youghal greenway for laying cables as part of the crucial electricity project.

The interconnector project involves laying subsea cables to allow the exchange of electricity between Ireland and France.

EirGrid officials were asked at a meeting last December to show the documents to members of the East Cork Municipal District Council, but did not provide them.

They were reminded of this again at the latest municipal council meeting by its chair, Fianna Fail councillor Ann Marie Ahern, who was fully backed by Fine Gael councillor Michael Hegarty.

Two senior EirGrid officials were attending the meeting to provide councillors with an update on the Celtic Interconnector project, which is set to bring electricity from France to Ireland and which should become operational in three years time.

They maintained the utility had been completely transparent about the project since its inception in 2017/2018, but Ms Ahern said she had asked for copies of the correspondence last December and was taken aback that the council still had not received them.

She was asked to supply the company with her request via email.

I already did that very clearly in December, Ms Ahern said.

One EirGrid official said she should do it again, adding: Well see how best we can respond.

Ms Ahern and other councillors have expressed concern that moving cable ducting away from the side of the main N25 onto minor roads will cause significant disruption to a number of communities in the region, especially between Midleton and Carrigtwohill.

They also cannot understand why the side of the greenway, which is being developed by the county council, cannot be used either.

The local authority acquired a lease from Irish Rail for the greenway project, but Irish Rail remains owner of the land (once part of the former Cork-Youghal railway line) and needs to approve permission for any work on it.

The marine cable from France will make landfall in Youghal. Cables will connect this to a converter station at the former Amgen site at Ballyadam, Carrigtwohill, and onto the ESBs major substation in the region close to the village of Knockraha, where the electricity will enter the national grid.

In all, more than 1,000km of cables are being used.
The Government cannot rule out further use of tents for Ukrainian refugees arriving into Ireland, Integration Minister Roderic OGorman has said.

Approximately 750 Ukrainian refugees are due to be housed in tented accommodation, with most of those set to be accommodated in Stradbally, Co. Laois  the site of Electric Picnic.

The site itself is set to be used for the next six weeks, with the Department of Integration now having signed a contract for its use. The organisers of the National Ploughing Championships were also contacted, but a spokesperson said that the site in Ratheniska, Co. Laois, was not suitable as it does not have campsite facilities.

Mr OGorman said that there was always going to be a pinch point after the summer, as student accommodation used to house refugees is handed back to colleges and universities.

Over the summer, we've also seen an increase in the number of Ukrainians arriving here and we're seeing about, maybe, 500 a week arriving and needing accommodation, Mr OGorman said.

I suppose the confluence of that did put us under pressure in late August, early September.

Asked when he expected to see refugees taken out of tented accommodation, Mr OGorman said that he could not rule out tents being used again in future.

The Stradbally site will be used for six weeks and then we will cease using that. The people who will be living in Stradbally over the next weeks will be moved elsewhere, Mr OGorman said.

I can't rule out further use of tented accommodation, but I think it's important to remember in the context of accommodating 70,000 people, we will at maximum be accommodating 750 in tents.

The Integration Minister added that contact had been made with the Ukrainian embassy to inform them that there is pressure on the States accommodation system at present.

We are under pressure now and we are being as upfront with Ukrainians as possible in terms of the pressure and the difficulty in securing large amounts of additional accommodation.

On the number of people arriving, Mr OGorman said that it was difficult to give projections, citing the large influx of Ukrainian refugees in the early stages of the year before it then levelled off until the start of the summer.

Use of tents a 'new low'

It comes as Doras CEO John Lannon described the use of tents as very worrying and a new low.

Mr Lannon said tented accommodation is not a safe or healthy environment, and it is particularly worrying that children are being put at risk by living in tents.

Were calling on the Government to ensure that everyone is provided with safer accommodation that meets their basic needs within days, not weeks, he said.

Mr Lannon said the huge efforts made by the Department to find accommodation is appreciated, however added that more progress on medium to long-term accommodation is required.

Rapid-build modular units and the refurbishment of available buildings are part of the solution, but that needs to be resourced by people with the right expertise to manage the procurement, planning and construction work involved, he said.

While meeting short-term accommodation needs must be prioritised, he said it is also essential that Government addresses the longer-term reception, accommodation and integration needs as people continue to arrive seeking protection.

Many of the people who have arrived from Ukraine and other war zones will make Ireland their long-term home, he said.

Mr Lannon said the State has a very poor track record when it comes to solutions that are initially presented as temporary.

Some international protection applicants are still living in tents in Knockalisheen in Co Clare despite assurances from the Minister in December of last year that this would not be continued. And Direct Provision, a system that the Minister and the Government have acknowledged is not fit for purpose, is still in existence 23 years after it came into being, he said.

Mr Lannon said Doras has seen numerous examples of sub-standard accommodation for people from Ukraine, as well as international protection applicants, while there is also a lack of training for accommodation providers and their staff.

But the use of tents is a new low and is something that should not become the norm for people seeking protection in Ireland, he said.
More than 200 years after the international slave trade was formally abolished, the terrible truth is there has never been a better time to sell a human life than today. Business is booming for the criminals who engage in human trafficking, forced labour, and modern slavery, not just across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, but in mainland Europe and across the Channel into Britain too.

Every day, traffickers are pushing desperate men, women, and children into the hell of modern slavery in the knowledge that their crime is almost cost-free. There should be no hiding place for criminals who trade in people, but the likelihood of criminal exploiters being put behind bars is remote.

While there are 50m people living in modern slavery worldwide, only 15,159 traffickers were prosecuted in 2022 and just 5,577 guilty verdicts were returned, equating to one conviction for every 8,965 victims.

This weekends G20 leaders summit in New Delhi can seize the opportunity to ensure the UNs goal of eradicating modern slavery by 2030 does not fade from view.

I have written to the summit host, Narendra Modi, prime minister of India  the country with the highest number of people living in modern slavery  asking him to place on the G20 agenda the abject failure of any government in any part of the world to close down the slave traders. To put the size of the industry into context, its profits, which are nothing less than blood money, total more than $150bn annually.

Convictions against people-trafficking are so low that in the whole of the Americas, from Canada and the US to Argentina and Brazil, just 256 convictions were recorded last year. The UK is recognised in the Global Slavery Index as tougher on modern slavery, but while nearly 23,000 potential victims were identified in Britain from 2017 to 2019, only 64 offenders were sentenced for modern slavery and human trafficking offences under the Modern Slavery Act. Small wonder the traffickers, whose boats cross the Channel, feel they can act with impunity.

This low clear-up rate is all the more shameful because human slavery, the most heinous and barbaric of all crimes, is degrading 28m men and women through forced labour and demeaning conditions  and causing lifelong desolation to 22m girls and women, who have been forced into marriage against their will.

'Tactic of terrorism'

The scale of modern-day human enslavement means we all lose. For as the UN security council has stated, human trafficking is a  tactic of terrorism  and a significant source of terrorists funds.

Yet, slavery prosecutions are in decline. In 2015, there were 19,000 prosecutions worldwide; by 2022 the figure was almost 4,000 fewer.

Current reporting of slavery to the authorities is so low that last year only 115,000 victims were identified worldwide, with the majority of victims escaping from traffickers and alerting the authorities themselves, as opposed to being rescued by law enforcement.

Yet not far from where each of us live, there will be a trafficked boy or girl, man or woman, working as a domestic servant, car washer, or assembly worker. And many of us will buy items, including premium brands, that involve human trafficking or forced labour in their manufacture.

Religious organisations led by the G20 Interfaith Forum have highlighted the  urgent need  for G20 countries  which account for more than 75% of the worlds trade  to address crimes too often hidden in plain sight.

It will need coordinated action by the G20 to reform global supply chains and puncture the complacency of well-known clothing, electronics, and other brands that have been willfully ignoring the slave trade.

This action must include a call for the global introduction of due diligence laws that require businesses to monitor and report on the risks of slavery in their supply chains.

So far, countries including Norway, France, and Germany have adopted such laws and, to her credit, former british prime Minister Theresa May is setting up a global commission on modern slavery and human trafficking that is likely to make the case for extending such legislation worldwide.

It was in 2016, when the sustainable development goals for 2030 were being formulated by the UN, that Pope Francis urged nations around the world to help enslaved people and prosecute traffickers. There has followed seven lean years, during which little progress has been made. Now with just seven years left to meet the 2030 goal, the G20 must start to live up to its claim to be the worlds premier economic forum  and intensify its mission to eradicate the modern slave trade.

Gordon Brown is the UN envoy for global education and was UK prime minister from 2007 to 2010.
China to send a delegation, led by vice-premier Liu Guozhong, to join celebrations to mark North Koreas 75th anniversary as a nation on Saturday, state media has confirmed.

The Korean Central News Agency said the visit by Lius delegation comes following an invitation from North Koreas ruling Workers Party.

The report did not specify if the Chinese delegation would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Vice Premier Liu will visit North Korea to participate in celebrations for its 75th founding anniversary, which is on Saturday, the Norths state media said Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (Park Ji-ho/Yonhap via AP)

News of the Chinese visit comes as speculation rises the Korean leader is preparing to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an deal to replenish weapons supplies depleted by Russias invasion of Ukraine.

In return for providing Russia with artillery shells and other ammunition, analysts believe North Korea may look to the Kremlin to supply critically needed energy aid, food aid, and advanced weapons technologies.

Such a trade of warfare technologies may increase North Koreas threat against the rest of the world, adding to Kims growing arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles designed to strike against Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

Mr Kim has been perceived as moving to break out of diplomatic isolation by strengthening ties with Moscow and Beijing.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns possible trip to Russia might be like his first one in 2019, where he shook hands with Russias Vladimir Putin. (Yuri Kadobnov/Pool Photo via AP)

Strengthening of such ties would place Pyongyang at the centre of a united front with Russia and China.

Speaking at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Wednesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol urged all United Nations member states to fulfil their sanctions obligations under existing Security Council resolutions to limit North Koreas nuclear capabilities.

UN sanctions include a ban on arms trade with the country, Yoons office said in a statement.

Mr Yoons office did not reveal if the South Korean president specifically called out Russia while expressing those concerns to his fellow UN counterparts.
With Gasgoo Daily, we will offer daily important automotive news in China. For those we have reported, the title of the piece will include a hyperlink, which will provide detailed information.

XPeng plans to build 3,000 ultra-fast charging stations by 2025

General Manager of XPeng's Guangzhou Smart Charging Technology Co., Ltd., Gao Xiang, said at the 2023 China International Charging and Swapping Operator Conference that the company intends to construct 3,000 ultra-fast charging stations by the end of 2025, with a further goal of 5,000 by the end of 2027.

Photo credit: XPeng

Volkswagen Anhui inks MoU for net-zero emissions production

In a significant move towards achieving "net-zero emissions" production, Volkswagen Anhui, along with New Hope Group, Volkswagen Energy, and Volkswagen-ClimatePartner, today signed a memorandum of understanding (Mou) for the AWMS greenhouse gas reduction project in Anhui Province. This collaboration aims to offset the unavoidable greenhouse gas emissions from the automotive production process and represents a crucial milestone in Volkswagen Anhui's journey towards environmental sustainability.

Beijing aims for new energy dominance in public transport vehicles by 2025

During the 2023 Beijing International Metropolis Clean Air and Climate Action Forum, officials and experts discussed strategies for controlling mobile source pollution. According to the latest data, over 150,000 heavy-duty diesel vehicles in Beijing are now under online monitoring. It is anticipated that by 2025, public transportation and sanitation vehicles will predominantly operate on new energy sources, marking a substantial shift towards cleaner and more sustainable urban mobility.

Great Wall Motor, Ping An, CAICT to jointly establish automotive industry big data application lab

On September 5, Chinese legacy automaker Great Wall Motor, insurance giant Ping An, and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) signed a cooperation agreement to build a joint innovation laboratory for automotive industry big data application.

XPeng unveils interior images of 2024 G9 SUV model

After its official launch on the Chinese mainland on September 21 last year, followed by deliveries by the end of October, XPeng's flagship SUV, the G9, is now gearing up for the 2024 model year.

Changan Automobile unveils latest achievements in smart digitalized vehicle segment

Changan Automobile, the renowned Chinese legacy automaker, hosted the "2023 Changan Auto Tech Ecosystem Summit" and introduced the results of the companys leap into smart mobility.

HiPhis first overseas experience center opens for business in Munich

In a significant stride towards its global strategy, HiPhi, the Chinese luxury new energy vehicle (NEV) maker under Human Horizons, inaugurated its first overseas experience center in Munich, Germany, on September 5, according to its post on WeChat account.

BYD Seal DM-i hits market, starting at 166,800 yuan

On September 6, the BYD Seal DM-i sedan officially hit the market with an attractive price range of 166,800 yuan to 236,800 yuan, introducing a total of six trim levels.

Hyperview collaborates with Lanyou Technology to advance autonomous driving solutions

Hyperview, a Chinese commercial vehicle autonomous driving solutions provider, on September 5 inked a strategic partnership agreement with Lanyou Intelligent Connection Technology (Lanyou), in a bid to enhance their business values in the autonomous driving solutions sector and drive advancements in technology, product offerings, and support for automakers.
Intense fighting erupted between junta troops and resistance forces in Sagaings Yinmarbin Township again on Wednesday, killing at least four junta troops, local resistance forces say.

At least 15,000 civilians remain displaced in the southern township amid ongoing fighting since early August. In late July, 14 people in one village were massacred in a predawn raidthree of whom were beheaded.

The latest battle broke out near Kyauk Hmaw Village when a junta column of about 100 troops advanced into the surrounding area on Wednesday, according to the Union Liberation Front (ULF). The column is stationed at Say Thu Village log storage yard in the township.

At least four junta troops were killed and six were injured during the battle. We also seized three assault rifles and some ammunition, a representative of ULF told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. The ULF posted pictures on Facebook showing seized weapons and ammunition.

Six resistance fighters were also injured in the two-hour battle, he added.

The Irrawaddy could not independently confirm the casualty figures.

Sources said junta military reinforcements arrived in the area on Thursday.

At least 15 villages have been deserted in Yinmarbin Township since August 6 when junta infantry arrived in Say Thu Village to guard the transportation of logs from the storage yard, according to sources.

No one dares to stay in their homes. Almost all villages in the surrounding area have been deserted since last month, a source who fled Sone Chaung Village said.

Township volunteers say more than 15,000 displaced people cannot return to their homes due to ongoing raids by junta troops in the area.

They need food, shelter and medical assistance, but we dont have enough funding to help them in the long term, a local volunteer said.

Junta troops conducted indiscriminate shelling over surrounding villages near the log storage yard, sources said.

At least six clashes broke out in the township and two junta soldiers were captured in August, according to local resistance forces.

The Irrawaddy was unable to verify the reports.

In July, 11 civilians and three resistance members were massacred in Yinmarbins Sone Chaung Village. The three resistance members were beheaded.
India reportedly wants more academic collaboration with the Naypyitaw State Academy, which is touted by Myanmar junta boss Min Aung Hlaing as a potential international hub.

Indian ambassador Vinay Kumar proposed collaboration with Indian universities in doctorate programs to be launched at the Naypyitaw academy during his meeting with the juntas education minister on Monday.

Kumar had a hectic schedule this week, meeting the junta defense, foreign affairs, transport, electricity, construction and education ministers on Monday and Tuesday.

Kumar and Education Minister Nyunt Pe discussed collaboration between five Myanmar universities and Indian small- and medium-sized industries and more scholarships at Indian universities.

India joins Russia and China in offering support for the academy founded by Min Aung Hlaing last year.

The juntas key arms supplier, Russia, is helping to enhance the quality of the academy, which Min Aung Hlaing hopes to turn into an international community.

China has awarded Pauk Phaw or fraternal scholarships to 111 university students at the academy.

Despite international condemnation of the 2021 coup and terror campaign against Myanmars civilians, India, the worlds largest democracy, has been deepening ties with the regime.

As New Delhi is set to host the G20 summit this weekend, Burma Campaign UK has called on members to pressure India to stop supporting Myanmars junta. Myanmars civilian National Unity Government also urged G20 members on Wednesday not to ignore Myanmars crisis.

In his meeting with junta ministers on Monday and Tuesday, Kumar discussed a wide range of issues, including cementing bilateral ties in defense, trade, transport, communications, electricity and closer cooperation in ASEAN, the United Nations and other regional arenas, cross-border power line projects, capacity building training for regime civil servants and sending engineers to study in India.
More than 10,000 residents of Kantbalu Township, Sagaing Region, have been displaced by Myanmars junta and allied Pyu Saw Htee militias raids this week.

Around 200 junta soldiers and militia allies raided southern Kantbalu on Tuesday after they killed six civilians during raids in late August.

Kantbalu-based Artillery Battalion 6006 destroyed many villages with shelling, displacing residents who are exposed to poisonous snakes in the forest, the Infinity charity told The Irrawaddy.

There were 11 snakebite patients and two deaths in Kantbalu Township in August, according to the charity Kyun Hla.

The group said the district is repeatedly attacked by junta troops, meaning residents shelter in forest huts and continue their agricultural work. The lack of medicine leaves them vulnerable to poisonous snakes, the group said.

Junta troops looted Inn Lae Gyi village and torched homes on Tuesday and they torched Lay Hla and Mying Thar Yar villages on Wednesday.

Not long after the first troops left, different soldiers arrived and many residents fled again, a Kantbalu resident said.

The troops returned to their base on Wednesday but residents are still sheltering in forests and they are in urgent need of food and medicines, the charities said.
The United Nations has voiced concern over reports that Myanmars military regime is blocking urgent medical treatment for detained democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has fallen ill.

The 78-year-old Nobel laureate was arrested during the coup in February 2021. She has since been sentenced to 33 years in jail for a multitude of alleged offenses in a series of closed trials held by the military regime. She denies any wrongdoing. The regime cut six years from her sentence as part of a general amnesty in early August.

Prison sources said the 78-year-old was unwell last week, suffering with a serious toothache and unable to eat. She was also vomiting and felt dizzy.

However, her request to see an outside dentist was denied by prison authorities.

On Wednesday, the deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General said: Weve made clear our concerns about Aung San Suu Kyi, adding that everyone in detention should have access to healthcare.

We have called and continue to call for her release, as well as the release of the other leaders of the National League for Democracy, the deputy spokesperson said.

The detained ex-state counselor is being held in solitary confinement at a prison in Naypyitaw, the regimes nerve center.

She has been denied prison visits as well as access to her legal team since late last year.

A total of 19,424 political prisoners are being held in regime jails, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).

Political detainees are regularly denied deliveries of food, medicine and other necessities as punishment for staging protests inside jails.

The junta recently imposed restrictions on outside deliveries of food and medicines to political detainees in seven jails across the country, including Insein Prison in Yangon and Obo Prison in Mandalay, according to family members and volunteers.
Russias Sputnik International News Mediaalso known as the Firehose of Propagandahas signed a content sharing agreement with junta mouthpiece the Global New Light of Myanmar.

The pair signed a deal on Tuesday in Naypyitaw that they described as an information cooperation agreement.

Sputnik described the juntas propaganda newspaper as the leading newspaper of Myanmar, but failed to mention that all independent media outlets have been forced into exile since the coup.

At the signing ceremony, Vasily Pushkov, the director of international cooperation at Sputnik was quoted as saying: We always seek to boost the news flow from countries that are of strategic importance to Russia, including Myanmar.

Maung Maung Ohn, the juntas information minister, said the deal would improve journalistic standards in Myanmar. Through cooperation with an international news agency, Myanmar journalists will have the chance to study news writing, editing and photography techniques, he explained.

He also said that media cooperation should develop at the same pace as cooperation between the two countries, which he described as getting closer.

Sputnik is banned in the European Union because of its massive propaganda and disinformation campaign to justify its invasion of Ukraine.

The agreement with the Global New Light of Myanmar is the second signed by Sputnik with a Myanmar media outlet.

The first occurred during junta boss Min Aung Hlaings visit to Russia in September 2022 for the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. Sputnik and Myanmar military mouthpiece Myawaddy TV Channel signed a memorandum of understanding at the event.

The regime appears to be failing in its propaganda war, based on the intense flow of reports and statements claiming that the West is bullying it technologically.

Last year, the juntas state propaganda Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV) app was removed from Apples App Store and the Google Play Store, just one day after it was launched.

Following the coup in 2021, Facebook removed military-run businesses like Mytelone of four telecom operators in Myanmarand blocked junta-controlled media pages, such as Tatmadaw True News, Myawaddy TV and MRTV.

YouTube also removed five military-run television networksMRTV, Myawaddy Media, MWD Variety and MWD Myanmarfollowing the coup.

The information ministry later launched a platform called mTube, which features news about the junta. Junta spokesman Major General Zaw Min Tun told a press conference that the regime is building a social-media platform to replace Facebook.

Junta newspapers have been featuring editorials and articles in support of Russian-Myanmar media cooperation as well as the Innovation Diary of BRICS Media Forum, saying it will create a new global media landscape, and serve as a counterweight to Western media. The BRICS economic bloc is dominated by junta allies China, Russia and India.

In his trip to China last month, Maung Maung Ohn also looked into the potential for further media cooperation with Beijing.

At the same time, the regime continues cracking down on the media in Myanmar. Recently, it sentenced a well-known photojournalist to 20 years in prison for covering the post-cyclone disaster in Rakhine State. The western state was devastated by Cyclone Mocha in May. The junta has been accused of blocking humanitarian access to large swathes of the state.
East Timors President Jose Ramos-Horta said Myanmars military is not winning the war after he recognized the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) as the official administration.

The military in Myanmar is not winning this war. They control only 30 percent of the country. Today, it is between the people and the military, and the military will not win this war, Ramos-Horta told Al Jazeera.

Following Ramos-Hortas meeting with the NUGs foreign minister Daw Zin Mar Aung in his capital Dili in July, the junta last month expelled East Timors top diplomat from the country for encouraging the terrorist group to further commit their violations in Myanmar.

East Timor agreed in principle to join the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) last year and none of the nine other existing members of the bloc has officially recognized the NUG.

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao has said the nation may reconsider joining ASEAN if the bloc does not renew efforts to end the conflict in Myanmar.

Ramos-Horta said the prime minister was expressing his frustration and ours, of ASEAN countries and the wider international community in regards to the failure of the military in Myanmar to live up to the pledges contained in the five-point consensus, referring to the blocs peace plan for Myanmar that the junta has failed to honor.

The military in Myanmar seems not to realize the enormous harm they are doing to their own country, their own people and to the credibility of ASEAN, the president told the Qatar-based broadcaster.

He said East Timor will work with ASEAN to assist the bloc in addressing the problems of Myanmar but from within ASEAN, not outside it because ASEAN leaders were able to bring prosperity and stability to the region in the past.

I am confident that they will eventually be able to stabilize the situation in Myanmar, the president said.
A resistance group says it killed two regime officials in drone strikes on the administration department in Shwegu Township, Kachin State on Wednesday.

The Myo Hla Peoples Defense Force said it dropped four bombs by drone on the junta-run township general administration department office in Shwegu town at 11.05 am, as regime officials were holding a meeting in the building.

About 30 minutes later, its drones dropped another four bombs on the building. The strikes killed two regime officials and wounded nine others, the Myo Hla PDF said.

The Irrawaddy was unable to independently confirm the claim of casualties.

Regime troops stationed at the office responded to the strikes by opening fire randomly, while other junta troops set up roadblocks in the town.

The attack came three days after the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and resistance allies conducted a deadly drone strike on the junta-run Myawaddy District General Administration Department Office in Karen State on Sunday.

The KNLA-led drone attack killed five regime officials: U Soe Tint, junta-appointed district administrator; Lieutenant Colonel Aung Kyaw Min, the commander of Light Infantry Battalion 275; two members of the district administration department; and a traffic policeman. Another 11 police officers including a superintendent were wounded.

Following the attacks, resistance drone unit Federal Wings warned all junta civil servants and family members of regime troops to quit their jobs and leave government housing or risk more drone strikes.

On August 1, Myo Hla PDF also conducted pre-dawn raids on a police station and a military camp at Kyaukgyi village in Shwegu Township, killing five soldiers and seizing the junta base. It also seized weapons, ammunition and military equipment from the base.

A junta fighter jet and MI 35 helicopter gunship conducted airstrikes around the village after resistance fighters had left the area, the PDF group said.
Myanmars civilian National Unity Government (NUG) claimed that the junta has lost 30,000 troops, almost half of its total combat force, in the two years since the armed resistance began in September 2021.

In its report released on Thursday to mark the second anniversary of the declaration of the peoples defensive war against the junta, the NUGs Defense Ministry estimated that the juntas ground combat force at the start of the war numbered about 65,000, comprising 521 combat battalions including 214 Light Infantry Battalions and 307 Infantry Battalions.

Including air force, navy and reserve forces, the military junta had around 225,000 to 240,000 troops, the civilian Defense Ministry said.

Over the past two years, around 9,900 clashes took place and around 12.5 percent of the juntas total strength was lost, as around 30,000 troop were killed in the clashes, the ministry said.

It also said that 28 junta bases including outposts, police stations, border guard outposts and pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia camps were seized in the first year of the war of resistance and another 107 enemy camps were seized in the second year of the armed revolution.



However, The Irrawaddy was unable to independently confirm the civilian governments claims.

The NUG has organized Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs), consisting of 293 PDF battalions and 250 Township Defense Groups, to wage war against regime troops across the country, especially in Sagaing and Magwe regions and Chin, Karen, Kachin and Kayah states.

The PDFs are trained and armed by the countrys established ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) like the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) among others, and fight alongside them.

Also, 22 ethnic defense groups are fighting the junta alongside the PDFs and EAOs in five states.

Currently, clashes with junta forces are being reported across the whole country, except in Rakhine State, where the ethnic Arakan Army (AA) agreed to a temporary ceasefire with the junta in November last year.

The junta has lost control in most of the rural areas of the country and urban resistance attacks targeting regime forces, junta bases and regime-run government department offices are often reported in towns and cities.

The NUGs Defense Ministry said its armed forces had conducted urban attacks in more than 100 towns and cities.

Analysts and some leaders of ethnic revolutionary groups recently said that the military junta is now changing from offensive to defense military tactics amid the rising resistance.
On Aug. 29, 2023, Daw Zin Mar Aung, the National Unity Government (NUG)s foreign minister, held a virtual press conference addressing several points; one of which is its plan to dedicate more resources to diplomatic relations with neighboring countries including Thailand. As Thailand is now set to have a new government sworn in by Sept. 8, I posit that efforts by the NUG to engage with the incoming Thai government, in both a formal and informal capacity, require internal cooperation from relevant stakeholders. Moreover, it needs to develop a holistic understanding of Thailands interests and stakes in Myanmar.

With 2,401 km of shared border, Thailand faces a myriad of opportunities and challenges when it comes to navigating relations with Myanmar. On one hand, border trade through the six border stations has nurtured both countries markets with various types of products from rice, coal and fisheries to labor. The Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar (ISP-Myanmar) reported that this economic-driven relationship between Thailand and Myanmar has persisted, and even flourished, since the 2021 coup wherein three out of six border trade stations have experienced an increase in trade, amounting to over 66 percent of all border trade value.

On the other hand, it means that Thailand must constantly deal with different actors, particularly the Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs), as de facto territorial controllers along the border, to safeguard economic interests and security. After the coup, many of these border EAOs may not share the same views and affinities (e.g., pro-SAC, anti-SAC, neutralists, pro-China, etc.), making it more difficult for Thailand to navigate the already complex and precarious sociopolitical landscape of Myanmar in furtherance of its own interests. Apart from that, it is especially important to note about the depth and breadth of Thailands stake in Myanmars energy sector since three out of the four major offshore oil and gas fields in Myanmar that export to Thailand are regulated by the SAC-controlled Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).

Although a report from Earthrights has debunked Thailands claim of energy reliance on Myanmar, it is also possible that the symbiotic tie between the Myanmar and Thai juntas through state-owned enterprises is one of the reasons that underlies such a claim. Specifically, PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) is a subsidiary of the Thai state-owned PTT Public Company Limited; and since the 2014 coup in Thailand, the number of military personnel in state-owned enterprises, including PTT and its subsidiaries, have doubled. Since PTTEP operates two gas pipelines in Myanmar, Yadana and Zawtika, it effectively bankrolls the juntas of both sides in the process.

Pulling out from the projects at the appeal of the NUG, other Myanmar activist groups or even the international community, would mean an income loss for Thailand and for some military generals. Through this logic, it necessitates that Thailand maintain good relations with the SAC not only for energy, but also for the profitability of some elites. All in all, then, the post-coup situation makes it increasingly challenging for Thailand to achieve a balancing act and to keep optimal relations in a multistakeholder situation in which all relevant stakeholders need to be kept reasonably satisfied.

At the most rational level, Thailand generally prefers stability in Myanmar, which can ensure both economic productivity and border securityboth of which have been sufficiently fulfilled by working with Tatmadaw forces and border EAOs prior to the 2021 coup. This begs the question of the position of the NUG as a new actor in this existing equilibrium. Apart from its oft-cited legitimacy from the 2020 election, the NUG has been described as unconvincing by many sources as the potential leader of the future Myanmar, partly due to its lack of territorial control. From a political communication perspective, the NUG needs to remedy this lukewarm perception from both international and domestic audiences should it want to continue to be a part of the new Myanmar.

Chiefly, the NUG needs to reconsider its strategy on Thailand since the naming-and-shaming tactic, which eventually turned into a threat of a lawsuit, that it wielded in regards to PTTEPs investments in Myanmar, has proven to be futile. As mentioned, energy security is a sensitive and complicated issue with great implications for Thailands interests. Now that the Pheu Thai Party has formed a coalition government with the pro-establishment and former junta parties, any added pressure on the energy issue will be counterproductive. The NUGs objective for future engagements should be to foster amity with Thailand, not woes.

In a related issue, while the NUG is planning to pivot to requesting more humanitarian aid, it will need to better articulate the form of such requests to Thailand. At this stage, humanitarian assistance to neighboring countries is not a priority for most Thais amidst the domestic sociopolitical struggles. Combining that with a long history of indoctrination that cultivates resentment and adversary among the Thais towards the Burmese through education, it will be hard for any incoming government to produce new and positive policies on Myanmar. Consequently, it is important for Myanmar stakeholders, including the NUG, to identify and proffer alternative policy entry points that allow for quid-pro-quo scenarios. With the Pheu Thai Party leading the coalition, one can expect a more capitalistic approach to Myanmar without exacerbating the crisis. So, the integration of post-coup Myanmar migrants into the Thai market to contribute to the economy through revenue-generating schemes or transboundary healthcare provisions might be more appealing to them than the bare basis of human rights protection. More importantly, those policy proposals should be data-driven and evidence-based for them to be justifiable to broader Thai electorates; and hence, executable.

To leverage, then, any engagement initiatives from the NUG cannot be done without coordination with the EAOs, which have decades of relations with Thailand as border partners. To name a few, the Karen National Union (KNU) and Karenni Nationalities Progressive Party (KNPP)both of which have extensive governance and service provision systems to deliver public services to communities along the border and have been lifelines for aid delivery for yearsand their emerging entities in a future Federal Union. Coordination and cooperation from these entities, prima facie and at policy-level, will be crucial to the NUGs effective engagement with Thailand.

Moreover, future engagements should include a clear roadmap for the future of Myanmar. Since the 2021 coup, federal democracy and its variants have reemerged as the prime buzzwords for anti-Tatmadaw forces. However, it is observed with caution that some stakeholders may not share the same purviews about how federalism should be achieved. Without a clear discussion on how different expectations will be addressed and reconciled in the process, it will prove to be challenging not only for communication with international audiences but also to the very prospect of nation building down the road. Therefore, future engagements should include not only the goal of federal democracy, but also the plan on how such a goal can be realized. As such, it is necessary for the NUG, a Bamar-dominated apparatus, to recultivate trust among the ethnic groups and show that it can emerge as a true interlocutor to facilitate a nation building dialogue. This includes the reopening of space for difficult discussions such as state rights and autonomy, representation, and distribution of resources, which may even go beyond what is in the draft Federal Democracy Charter.

For international audiences, delivery of consolidated talking points though a unified front, obtained via domestic cooptation, will help tremendously in terms of boosting credibility. These points on coordination for leverage credibility should harken to the bigger reality-check for the NUG that it is not a government with actual governing power or authority in Myanmars terrain. In fact, it is, among many others, a revolutionary force. So, it is necessary to conduct itself as such and extend the olive branch to other groups, affording them equal voice and influence in the process.

Dr. Surachanee Sriyai is a lecturer and digital governance track lead at the School of Public Policy, Chiang Mai University. Her research interests include digital politics, political communication, comparative politics, and democratization.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- In a significant stride towards its global strategy, HiPhi, the Chinese luxury new energy vehicle (NEV) maker under Human Horizons, inaugurated its first overseas experience center in Munich, Germany, on September 5, according to its post on WeChat account.

Photo credit: HiPhi

Amid the ongoing IAA MOBILITY 2023, HiPhi unveiled its maiden overseas store, named HiPhi Hub, in the heart of Munich International Airport's ground-level terminal street, signifying the company's unwavering commitment and confidence in crafting high-end, environmentally conscious vehicles.

Ding Lei, the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of HiPhi, expressed his enthusiasm for this venture, stating that Europe is HiPhi's first destination in its global strategy. Europe, as the birthplace of automobiles, represents a hub of fashion, innovation, and high-end brands and products. In this region, HiPhi aims to introduce groundbreaking creations that epitomize the new era, providing users worldwide with green, low-carbon, and intelligently delightful future travel experiences.

HiPhi announced in June the prices of HiPhi X and HiPhi Z in the European market. The starting prices for the HiPhi X and the HiPhi Z in Germany are 109,000 euros and 105,000 euros respectively, while in Norway, the starting prices are 1,164,000 Norwegian kroner and 1,110,000 Norwegian kroner. Prospective customers can now schedule test drives and experience these innovative vehicles firsthand. The initial batch of vehicles has already arrived in Germany and will soon be delivered to customers.

HiPhi is also gearing up for the imminent opening of its second European experience center in Oslo, Norway, as preparations reach their final stages. Over the coming years, the automaker plans to progressively expand its network of experience centers in Europe, further enhancing its commitment to serving a growing European customer base.
Thursday, Sep 7th, 2023 (12:01 am) - Score 2,256

A new Attest survey of 1,000 UK broadband bill payers, which was commissioned by full fibre ISP Hyperoptic and conducted between 25th to 29th August 2023, has claimed that 25% of broadband customers feel furious, upset or confused after speaking to their internet provider, yet just 5% are in the process of switching.

The study also found that the thought of speaking to their broadband provider left 29.9% of respondents either feeling dread, or frustration at how difficult it is to get in touch with a real person. Similarly, 38.5% believe that UK ISPs offer the worst customer service of any industry, although the UK Customer Satisfaction Index (UKCSI) does tend to rank telecoms higher than other utilities, as well as transport and the public sector.

However, despite 60% saying that bad customer service would make them change their broadband provider, some 23% have never switched, and 30% say they want to but find it either too time consuming or too much hassle. Elsewhere, 22% said they would switch, but they know their current provider would make it hard for them to leave and 30% believe their provider doesnt care about them.

Finally, 39.5% of those unhappy with the service from their current provider say its difficult to get through to a real person, while 39.3% say they are passed around to different people. Naturally, Hyperoptic has a vested interest in these findings, not least because they tend to have a better reputation and have just relaunched with a renewed focus on its customer commitments.

Hyperoptic says theyre responding to these challenges by offering 24/7 access to their customer service team, 365 days a year, allowing customers to leave with no charges if they dont love their service within 30 days and simplifying the switching journey with a dedicated Hypercare rep to manage their switch. The brand is also committed to promising a competitor price match guarantee for new joiners, and ensuring existing customers always get access to the same prices as new customers on renewal.

Hyperoptics Founder and CEO, Dana Tobak, said: The customer experience offered by most broadband providers is mediocre at best and extremely poor at worst, and people are just putting up with it. Nearly a third of the people we spoke to said their broadband provider doesnt care about them, yet they continue to put up with it.

Hyperoptics own gigabit-capable full fibre (FTTP/B) network currently covers over 1.2 million homes (275,000+ customers), albeit primarily in dense UK urban areas and MDUs (large apartment blocks). The operator currently expects to cover 2 million premises with their network by some point in 2024 (the previous target was for the end of 2023).
Thursday, Sep 7th, 2023 (12:01 am) - Score 2,304

The Welsh Government (WG) has released a new update on the 52.5m Phase 2 Superfast Cymru contract with Openreach (BT), which confirms that the build phase of the contract has now concluded and a total of 37,497 extra premises (up from 36,869 in Q1) have gained access to their full fibre (FTTP) broadband ISP network.

The original plan consisted of two contracts, the first one was a 22.5m agreement (target of 26,000 premises by March 2021  later reduced due to the rising impact of commercial builds) and the second one was a 30m extension (13,000 premises by June 2022). The extension costs more per premises passed because the cost of build increases disproportionately as you tackle the more remote rural areas.

NOTE: The goal is to tackle some of those areas in the final c. 3% of Wales that still cannot access a superfast (30Mbps+) service.

However, its important to remind readers that the WG tweaked their contract agreement with Openreach last summer (here), which pushed the projects completion date back to 31st March 2023. The number of premises to be built to under the agreed roll-out was also adjusted to 37,137, which is slightly lower than the originally anticipated 39,000 total premises.

The change reflected the fact that commercial fibre builds were reaching further than expected, and some areas also had to be de-scoped from the contract as they were more expensive to tackle than anticipated. But the WG still expects that the total number of premises to benefit from the project may actually end up higher than 39,000 premises when the revised roll-out finally finishes.

According to the latest update from the WG, Openreach has so far built their full fibre network to a total of 37,497 premises (up from 36,869 in Q1-23 and 35,770 in Q4-22). Some 10,616 (unchanged) of these are in the Lot 1 area (North West Wales), while 11,985 are in Lot 2 (East Wales) and 14,896 in Lot 3 (South West Wales).

Take note that there are some edge cases below where the build may, for example, catch the odd property on the boundary of a separate local authority region and thus gets counted in the neighbouring county instead (e.g. the single figure results below).

However, the WG said that this data, despite the build phase of the contract having now concluded, does not represent the final figures for the project. This is said to be because work is continuing to collate and verify the final number of premises provided with access under the project and those details should follow later in the year.

Q2 2023 Breakdown by Local Authority

LOT/District Premises 3.1 10,616 Ceredigion 2,498 Conwy 1,561 Denbighshire 1,492 Flintshire 6 Gwynedd 3,961 Isle of Anglesey 1,098 3.2 11,985 Bridgend 8 Cardiff 850 Denbighshire 1 Flintshire 2,133 Monmouthshire 1,805 Newport 290 Powys 3,440 Vale of Glamorgan 927 Wrexham 2,531 3.3 14,896 Bridgend 1,291 Caerphilly 2,933 Cardiff 11 Carmarthenshire 3,174 Ceredigion 1 Merthyr Tydfil 468 Monmouthshire 1 Neath Port Talbot 780 Pembrokeshire 3,505 Rhondda Cynon Taf 1,641 Swansea 469 Torfaen Vale of Glamorgan 620 2 Total THP 37,497

Tens of thousands of premises are still expected to remain poorly served at the end of this project, but that will shrink further as a result of commercial builds (e.g. Openreach, Netomnia and Ogi are all going much deeper). Some others will hopefully be tackled by the gigabit voucher scheme and community fund, while the rest might have to wait for the 5bn Project Gigabit programme (Welsh Plan) to work its way toward fruition.

Speaking of Project Gigabit. Areas across North West Wales, Mid Wales and South East Wales are being included in a cross regional procurement (aka  Type C) that recently launched (here). In addition, the team are planning to launch a regional procurement in North Wales by the end of the year, and they are currently finalising the most appropriate approach for South West Wales.

Type C procurements will appoint a single supplier to target premises (i.e. subsidise the design, build and operation of a new gigabit network) in areas where no or no appropriate market interest has been expressed before, or areas that have been de-scoped or terminated from a prior plan. Such procurements tend to favour the appointment of a single large supplier.

On top of that, the WG appear to be exploring a 70m project of their own (here).
1371138342::cfb49c8e-2422-11e5-99a3-d7f5c6e8b241

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.
DOVER, Del./SPRINGFIELD, Ill.Age verification legislation in two U.S. states has been introduced by Republican state lawmakers just days after a Texas federal judge blocked a bill similarly requiring age verification in order to access pornographic websites on grounds that it is unconstitutional and violates the First Amendment. The immediate bills face state legislatures in Delaware and Illinois.

Delaware state Rep. Mike Smith of the city of Newark introduced House Bill (HB) 265.

Illinois state Sen. Erica Harriss of the village of Glen Carbon introduced Senate Bill (SB) 2950.

Both bills are similarly structured to laws implemented in states like Louisiana, Utah, Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas.

Upon review of Rep. Smiths HB 265 draft, the language is a carbon copy of civil liability and penalty enforcement outlined in legislation Louisianas government implemented on January 1.

The language indicates that jurisdiction of actions under this section shall be in Superior Court.

Such language could be interpreted to mean that an action under this section may be brought by the Attorney General [of Delaware] or any person, parent, or guardian of any person whose age was not verified. While the language in HB 265 stipulates the right of the attorney general to bring civil actions, it is additionally structured to emulate a potential bounty system for private citizens who wish to file actions against websites that fail to follow the statute once it is passed.

Violators of these rules would face a $250 fine per violation. The potential statute could grant the suing parties reprieve by obligating violators of the age verification requirements to pay related costs for harm caused to an individual, like a minor, and to cover legal fees. Smiths bill would not cover internet service providers like Comcast or Verizon, meaning that the requirements for age verification would only be applied to an interactive computer service and commercial entity that is reportedly targeting minors with harmful material. Smith adds that this type of material features depictions of sadomasochistic abuse, inferring all BDSM is non-consensual behavior.

AVN reported previously on Utahs so-called bounty law structured to enforce its mandate for age verification software for adult content websites through private civil enforcement actions. Smiths bill appears to permit the filing of private civil enforcement actions and actions taken by state officials, like the Attorney Generals office. Penalties are civil law matters, not criminal.

Sen. Harriss SB 2950 is likely to be similarly structured to the Delaware measure. At this point, no official draft has been released to the public because it hasnt been officially introduced to the state legislature. Documentation available to the general public is found on the Illinois Senate Republicans caucus website, where Harriss announced her proposal through a press release last week. Our youth are incredibly vulnerable on the internet, and they have access to a wide variety of adult content, some of which can be harmful, hurtful, and inappropriate, said Harriss in the release. I filed this legislation to help protect children from accessing explicit material intended for adult viewership by requiring more accountability from pornographic websites.

Both bills require platforms to adopt reasonable age verification methods. Texas House Bill 1181, the law that was blocked by Senior U.S. District Judge David Alan Ezra, features the same language. It is worth noting that Harriss and Smith both infer that adult content platforms purposefully target minors, despite the fact that this is a misconception used by anti-porn groups.

The Free Speech Coalition, an advocacy group for the adult industry, has not taken a position on these two bills and doesnt track them currently. Sen. Harriss intends to introduce SB 2950 in the Illinois state legislatures fall veto session or in the regular session next spring.
WASHINGTONThe Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate has confirmed Anna Gomez as the next commissioner to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

After about three years, Gomez fills the long-empty fifth seat for a voting majority to end a deadlock at the regulator for much of President Joe Bidens tenure at the White House.

A majority of 55 to 43 senators chose to adopt the nomination of Gomez, granting the FCCs first majority since the Trump era.

Anna brings with her a wealth of telecommunications experience, a substantial record of public service, and a history of working to ensure the United States stays on the cutting edge of keeping us all connected, says Jessica Rosenworcel, the current chair of the FCC, in a press statement.

Her international expertise will be a real asset to the agency. I look forward to working with her to advance the agencys mission to ensure the benefits of modern communications reach everyone, everywhere, and that the United States can continue to lead in the digital age.

Other members of the commission, including the conservatives, gave congratulatory remarks to Gomez for her recent victory in a Senate brutally split down partisan lines on who should be the next commissioner.

Brendan Carr, appointed by former President Donald Trump to the FCC in 2017, said in a statement, I welcome her as a colleague and look forward to working together on policies that will protect consumers and promote the interests of all Americans.

Gomez previously served at the U.S. State Department and in the private sector as a telecoms lawyer. President Biden tapped Gomez after a political battle erupted over the presidents first nominee for the position, Gigi Sohn. Sohn, an accomplished public interest and consumer rights attorney, was the target of a well-funded mud-slinging campaign that criticized her for being a lesbian woman and involved with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Outside of homophobic and sexist attacks by far-right news media outlets and telecom-funded social media campaigns, conservatives took issue with the foundations work to oppose FOSTA-SESTA legislation, which guts the safe harbor provision in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.

Sohn was also attacked for being in favor of net neutrality, which was gutted by former FCC chair Ajit Pai. Note that Carr served as general counsel for the FCC and an advisor to Pai during his chairmanship at the regulator.

The Free Speech Coalition has previously advocated for net neutrality and criticized the Trump administration and the Pai-controlled FCC for granting significant power on broadband speed throttling and censorship to large internet service providers like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon.
Wick Communications announced Tuesday that it would acquire the Arizona Daily Sun.

The paper had been owned by Lee Enterprises since 2005, when Lee bought the Sun from Pulitzer. All Daily Sun employees have been offered positions within the Arizona-based Wick Communications.

Wick owns 21 papers in several states, ranging from Louisiana to Alaska. In Arizona, this includes the Eastern Arizona Courier, Green Valley News and Nogales International.

The company began in 1926, when Milton Wick and his brother James Wick acquired the Niles Daily Times, a newspaper in Niles, Ohio. They expanded from there, eventually moving west. Wick Communications is now an Arizona-based company, with its home office located in Sierra Vista.

The companys current CEO, Francis Wick (Milton's grandson), said the family-owned company has been interested in expanding to Flagstaff for about 50 years. It had been in talks with Lee Enterprises in 2019, though nothing materialized at the time.

The market is unique in that it has a strong economic base, with a college, the tourism focus, Wick said. Quite frankly, the paper itself does an excellent job with its digital endeavors and the tenure of the staff and the way it has relationships within the community.

Daily Sun publisher Colleen Brady said Wicks family-owned nature was what appealed to her about the media company.

Its going to allow us to spend more time focused on the local community, and I think thats very important, she said. It also allows us to not only bring local news, but local advertising.

Brady said she hoped the partnership would allow the Daily Sun to focus on new partnerships in the community, while Wick wanted to focus on reliability. Wick's digital audience editor, Reilly Kneedler, similarly said he hoped to focus on communication and partnerships.

I would also just say were actively really interested in hearing feedback [from the community], Kneedler said, what they like, what can be improved, what they would like to see from the Daily Sun in the coming years.

Daily Sun history

The Arizona Daily Sun, and the news service which proceeded it, has had many owners since its first variant was printed in 1883 by Artemis Fay.

Most notably, Platt Cline became the papers publisher in 1952 and president in 1966.

The paper was moved to Flagstaff in 1884. In 1891, the paper was renamed to the Coconino Sun and then changed to the Arizona Daily Sun in 1946.

Like many newspapers, the 21st century has not been altogether kind to the Arizona Daily Sun.

As 20th century came to a close, the Arizona Daily Sun was owned by Scripps League Newspapers under the tutelage of Betty Knight Scripps.

In 1996, Scripps sold the Scripps League newspapers division, including the Arizona Daily Sun, to Pulitzer Publishing Co. Less than two years later, the Daily Sun and its staff of close to 100 had moved from its location on West Santa Fe Avenue to a new building on South Thompson Street, just off of West Route 66.

Pulitzers ownership of the Daily Sun didnt last long. In 2005, the Arizona Daily Sun was sold again, this time to Iowa-based media conglomerate Lee Enterprises.

The Great Recession hitting just a few years later, and a growing difficulty in monetizing news online, did no favors to Lee Enterprises, nor the newly purchased Flagstaff paper.

In the years since Lees purchase, and alongside similar cuts to papers across the country, the Arizona Daily Sun has gone through several periods of downsizing.

In 2013, the paper reduced its print schedule from seven days a week to six.

The COVID-19 pandemic then further rattled newspapers and, by proxy, the Arizona Daily Sun.

In May of 2021, the paper shuttered its pressroom, instead opting to have papers printed by the Phoenix-based Arizona Republic.

In early 2023, Lee Enterprises finalized the sale of the building that had housed the paper and its staff for close to 20 years. The paper then moved just a few blocks away, into office space along University Avenue.

In June of this year, the paper reduced the number of days it would deliver a print paper from six days a week to three days a week. Delivery of the print edition also changed, from dedicated deliverers to the U.S. Postal Service.

As of the purchase by Wick, the Arizona Daily Sun now has a staff of about 20.

During a meeting Tuesday with Arizona Daily Sun staff, Francis Wick acknowledged that the newspaper business remains challenging.

Feedback can be directed to Publisher Colleen Brady at cbrady@azdailysun.com or Editor Chris Etling at cetilng@azdailysun.com. More about Wick Communications is available at wickcommunications.com.

Updated for correction at 12:40 p.m. on September 9.
(Baonghean.vn) - On September 6, Mr. Bui Dinh Long - the Deputy Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee led the working delegation from Nghe An province to visit the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore.

The Nghe An provincial delegation took photos with the staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore. Photo: Thanh Huyen

The delegation included leaders from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Management Board of the Southeast Economic Zone, the Department of Industry and Trade, the Department of Planning and Investment as well as leaders from VSIP Group, WHA and representatives from relevant agencies and units.

The delegation was received by Mr. Mai Phuoc Dung - the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Singapore.

During the working session, Mr. Bui Dinh Long informed the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Singapore about the socio-economic achievements of Nghe An province in the past period as well as the current cooperation between Nghe An and Singapore.

Accordingly, in recent times, despite facing adverse impacts due to the rapid and complex changes in global politics, security and economy, Nghe An province has made efforts to overcome challenges and achieved comprehensive results in various fields.

The scale of the provincial economy is currently ranked 10th nationwide, with a growth rate of 9.08% in 2022, ranking 22nd across the country. In the first half of 2023, the province achieved a 5.79% economic growth rate.

The total state budget revenue reached VND 21,805 billion (equivalent to nearly USD 919 million) in 2022, and it is estimated to reach VND 8,489.4 billion (equivalent to nearly USD 358 million) in the first half of 2023.

VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In 2022, the province attracted nearly USD 1 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), ranking among the top 10 nationwide. In the first six months of 2023, Nghe An continued to be a bright spot in attracting FDI, securing the 8th position out of 63 localities across the country.

Nghe An always considers Singapore one of its top strategic partners for current and future cooperation. The presence of the VSIP Industrial Park is a vivid and convincing example of investment cooperation between the two countries, contributing positively to the province's socio-economic development.

In Nghe An province, there are 7 projects with FDI from Singapore, totaling committed investment capital of USD 486.41 million, covering various sectors such as textiles, electronic component manufacturing, telecommunications equipment, attracting over 10,000 employees.

In terms of trade, the export turnover to the Singaporean market reached USD 29.03 million in 2022 and USD 29.95 million in the first six months of 2023. Key export items include electronic components, electronics, various types of steel, textiles, and ceramic tiles.

Mr. Bui Dinh Long - Vice Chairman of Nghe Ans PPC presents a gift to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Singapore. Photo: Thanh Huyen

The import turnover was USD 56.7 million in 2022 and USD 58.78 million in the first six months of 2023, with major imported items including petroleum, machinery, raw materials for textiles, leather, and footwear.

The Deputy Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee expressed his hope that in the coming time, the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore would continue to show interest and support for the cooperation between Nghe An and Singapore, not only in attracting investment but also in other areas such as trade, education, training, tourism and so on.

In his remarks during the meeting, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Singapore, Mr. Mai Phuoc Dung, acknowledged the achievements in the economic and social development of Nghe An province.

He emphasized that the Vietnam-Singapore relationship is currently in its best phase ever. In the near future, the two countries will elevate their strategic partnership to a comprehensive one. With the existing potential and advantages, combined with the determination of provincial leaders, departments and sectors, Nghe An is truly an attractive destination for Singaporean investors. The presence of two VSIP industrial parks in Nghe An within just 7 years is a clear testament to Nghe An's commitment to investors.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore will support the province in connecting with Singaporean investors, particularly in fields such as electronics, clean energy, afforestation, etc. to turn the province's potential and advantages into a driving force for development.
Several senior officials from the United States visited China over the past three months to say that the Joe Biden administration has no intention of containing China's development. However, at the same time, Washington has approved arms sales to the Taiwan island, provided financial assistance to its military, and continues to stir up trouble on the Tibet and South China Sea issues.

These reflect the two-sided characteristics of the Biden administration's China policy: competition and competition management.

Competition is the main part of the US strategy toward China. It includes decoupling and breaking industry and supply chains in economy, cliquing in international politics, deterrence containment in security, and smearing in international public opinion. Its efforts at competition management are also apparent. While competition is strategic, competition management is tactic and serves to launch competition.

The new strategy reflects three goals of the US government: to provide pluralistic evidence and increase the difficulty of the opponent's judgment by releasing "mixed signals"; to soothe the opponent's emotions and prevent the opponent from "overreacting" by showing "self-restraint"; to expand influence channels by reserving "dialogue windows" and win limited cooperation from rivals.

But these attempts are doomed to fail, the fundamental reason being that history is not on the US' side.

At a time when the modernization process of the world is quickly advancing, the international community cannot allow a country known for hegemony and bullying to act recklessly.

China cannot move at the pace of the US. China will always maintain strong strategic determination and strategic confidence. Only when the US completely abandons its hegemonic thinking can it manage Sino-US relations well.

China will never relax its vigilance because of a few "beautiful words" from Washington. In the face of hegemony and bullying, China will resolutely fight back. To really make a breakthrough from the time the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali last year to their likely meeting in San Francisco this November, the US side needs to show enough sincerity.
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Ann Arbor (Informed Comment)  Tia Goldenberg at AP got the scoop. She landed an interview with the former head of Israeli intelligence, the Mossad, in which he unloaded on the Israeli system of Apartheid.

She quotes him as saying, There is an apartheid state here. In a territory where two people are judged under two legal systems, that is an apartheid state.

Tamir Pardo, roughly 69, served as the head of Mossad from 2011 to 2016. He is no leftist or bleeding heart liberal, but an exemplar of the tough, pragmatic and somewhat ruthless Israeli tradition of security officials. He once observed that Mossad is a criminal organization with a license and that is what makes it fun. I suspect the same thing can be said about most external intelligence organizations, including MI6 and the CIA.

Goldenberg added, Pardo said that as Mossad chief, he repeatedly warned Netanyahu that he needed to decide what Israels borders were, or risk the destruction of a state for the Jews . . . Pardo warned that if Israel doesnt set borders between it and the Palestinians, Israels existence as a Jewish state will be in danger.

What he means is that if the extremists in the current government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu succeed in their goal of annexing the occupied Palestinian territories, they will willy nilly make 5 million Palestinians Israeli citizens. Taking the land without the people and keeping the indigenous Palestinians stateless is the very definition of Apartheid. The only way to regularize and make legitimate such an annexation would be to give Palestinians citizenship. But if they were added to the nearly 2 million Israelis of Palestinian heritage, that would make about 7 million Palestinian-Israelis versus 7 million Jewish Israelis. Pardos point is that Israel would no longer be a Jewish state under those circumstances but a multi-ethnic one, like Belgium or Lebanon.

The Jewish Power and Religious Zionism extremists in the government, I think, hope to chase the Palestinians away to Jordan, creating a large new wave of refugees. Im not sure, though, that such a thing is possible now, as it had been in 1948 and 1967. Jordans army would try to stop it. If such expulsion or transfer succeeded, it would likely make Jordan unstable, with highly negative security implications for Israel. And of course such an expulsion of the Palestinians would be a major war crime that might well lead to sanctions on Israel.

Article continues after bonus IC video

Fmr. Mossad Director: Netanyahu should be brought to justice for turning Israel into a dictatorship.

Pardo supports the massive protests that have roiled Israel since January, and which aim to pressure PM Netanyahu to back off his plan to neuter the countrys High Court. Pardo also, like many Israelis, despises the Jewish Power and Religious Zionism zealots who now control key cabinet posts. He said in a radio interview in late July, Someone took the Ku Klux Klan and brought it into the government. The someone was of course Netanyahu, as Pardo acknowledged.

He even went so far as implicitly to compare Bezalel Smotrichs call for the Palestinian village of Huwara to be wiped out to the mass parties of the 1930s, including, presumably, the Nazis.

He said the governments rules allowing Jewish communities to exclude Palestinian-Israelis were antisemitic: Tomorrow morning, they cant enter a club, or a locality, or cant buy a house in a certain area, or have less rights, that is antisemitism for its own sake. I think his point was that Arabs are also Semites, and were being discriminated against on racial grounds.

Jonathan Shamir at Haaretz wrote, of Pardos revelations in his radio interview with Kan, When Pardo confronted Netanyahu with the fact that Israel rules from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [river] Jordan, and in practice, holds Gaza as the largest open air prison in the world, he said he was never met with any substantive response. His vision [on this issue] is the vision of Smotrich,Pardo charged.

Pardo worried about an exodus of physicians, the hi tech sector, and academics from Israel, without which, he said, we wont have a country anymore or it will become a third world state. He also worries about the military and Mossad being weakened by the increasing number of Israeli refuseniks who decline to serve.

Pardo not only had a long career in the Mossad, starting in 1980, but also was detailed to the Israeli Defense Forces for a while, and worked briefly in the tech sector himself. In 2011-2016 while heading Mossad, he came into conflict with Netanyahu over the prime ministers plans to launch a unilateral attack on Iran without parliamentary approval. On the other hand, Pardo has lobbied the international community hard to stop Irans nuclear enrichment program.

So he isnt saying that Israel is an Apartheid state, or that it keeps Gaza as an open air prison, or that the Israeli extremist parties are the KKK because he is a Marxist or has studied intersectionality. He is saying these things because as a former security official, he sees them as dire security threats to Israel.

The problem he points to, however, of not having settled borders and not really wanting them goes back to David Ben-Gurion. As Israel was coming into being in May 1948, Ben-Gurion wrote in his diary that the new state, like the US, had no recognized borders. He was implying that it could still grow, just as the US extended west through the nineteenth century under the doctrine of manifest destiny. It is one reason that the claim by Israel apologists that Israel recognized the 1947 UN General Assembly partition plan whereas the Arabs did not falls flat. The Israelis did not really recognize it. They took lots of territory that the UNGA did not award them, and in later years they tried to annex Egypts Sinai Peninsula, one tenth of Lebanon, and both the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza. They only managed to keep the latter two, but they were clearly attempting to grab as much of their neighbors territory as they could get away with. (The UNGA plan, by the way, did not have the force of law, since it was never ratified by the UN Security Council).

That is, Pardo seems to think he is asking for a return to pre-1967 normalcy, but what he is really asking for is for Israel to settle down and become an ordinary country instead of behaving like a messianic cause with an expansionist remit, as it generally has done since its founding.
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( RFE/ RL )  Relatives of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman whose death nearly a year ago sparked mass protests in Iran, have confirmed reports that one of her uncles has been arrested ahead of the anniversary of her death.

A brother of Aminis, Ashkan Amini, told RFE/RLs Radio Farda that Safa Aeli was arrested in their hometown of Saghez, in the northwestern Kurdistan Province, on September 5.

It is not known what the reasons are for the arrest or what entity carried it out, although social media posts indicated that security forces in Saghez were involved.

RFE/RL was unable to determine Aelis whereabouts.

The arrest took place as the anniversary of Aminis September 16, 2022, death approaches.

Amini was arrested in Tehran on September 13, 2022, while visiting the Iranian capital with her family. She was detained by Irans morality police for allegedly improperly wearing her hijab, or head scarf. Within hours of her detention, she was hospitalized in a coma and died on September 16.

Her family has denied that Amini suffered from a preexisting health condition that may have contributed to her death, as claimed by the Iranian authorities, and her father has cited eyewitnesses as saying she was beaten while en route to a detention facility.

Aminis death sparked protests in Saghez that spread around the country and ultimately posed one of the biggest threats to Irans clerical establishment since the foundation of the Islamic republic in 1979.

At least 500 people were killed around the country after the Iranian authorities clamped down on the demonstrations with brutal force.

Ahead of the anniversary of her death, the authorities have stepped up pressure against family members of those killed, including through arrests, summons for questioning, and warnings against them holding memorial events in honor of Amini or their loved ones.

Via RFE/ RL

Featured Image: A combo photo shows Mahsa Amini (left) in the hospital on September 16, 2022, and her father and grandmother right after her death.

Copyright (c)2023 RFE/RL, Inc. Used with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Pre-Tax NPV 5% of C$1.07 billion , After-Tax NPV 5% of C$588 million

Pre-Tax IRR of 24.9%, After-Tax IRR of 18.0%

Average LOM Annual Gold Production of 233 koz with AISC of US$976 /oz over 11-year LOM

VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 7, 2023 /CNW/ - First Mining Gold Corp. ("First Mining" or the "Company") (TSX: FF) (OTCQX: FFMGF) (FRANKFURT: FMG) is pleased to announce the positive results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") completed for its 100%-owned Duparquet Gold Project (the "Project" or "Duparquet") located in the Abitibi region of Quebec, Canada. The PEA results support a 15,000 tonnes per day open pit and underground mining operation over an 11-year mine life. The PEA only considers the Duparquet gold deposit located on the Beattie, Donchester, Central Duparquet and Dumico claim blocks and does not include the Pitt Gold and Duquesne deposits (see Mineral Resource Estimate section).

PEA Highlights

C$1.07 billion pre-tax NPV 5% and C$588 million after-tax NPV 5% at US$1,800 /oz gold ("Au")

pre-tax NPV and after-tax NPV at /oz gold ("Au") 24.9% pre-tax IRR; 18.0% after-tax IRR at US$1,800 /oz Au

/oz Au Annual Life-of-Mine ("LOM") recovered gold production of 233 koz

Total LOM recovered gold of 2.5 Moz over an 11-year mine life

Pre-tax payback of 3.8 years; after-tax payback of 4.8 years

Initial capital costs estimated at C$706 million ; sustaining and underground development capital costs estimated at C$738 million

; sustaining and underground development capital costs estimated at Average annual LOM Total Cash Cost of US$751 /oz(1); average annual LOM All-In Sustaining Costs ("AISC") of US$976 /oz(2)

Note: Base case parameters assume a gold price of US$1,800/oz and an exchange rate (C$ to US$) of 1.33. All currencies are reported in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified. NPV calculated as of the commencement of construction and excludes all pre-construction costs. (1) Total Cash Costs consist of mining costs, processing costs, mine-level G&A, treatment and refining charges and royalties. (2) AISC includes total cash costs plus sustaining capital, development capital and closure costs.

"This PEA demonstrates the robust economic potential of the Duparquet Gold Project," stated Dan Wilton, CEO of First Mining. "The +200 koz per year production profile, attractive capital and operating cost profile and strategic location of the deposit in the heart of the Abitibi gold belt all contribute to the recognition of Duparquet as one of the most meaningful development projects in Canada. We are also pleased to have completed such a robust PEA within a year of consolidating the ownership of the Project. Importantly, the Duparquet Gold Project represents a unique opportunity to address the environmental legacy issues from the historic mining operations while delivering an important economic development opportunity for the local and Indigenous communities around the Project. We look forward to continuing to work with regulators, the Municipality of Duparquet and other local and Indigenous communities to advance this parallel track of environmental stewardship and economic development."

This PEA for the Duparquet Gold Project was prepared by G Mining Services Inc. of Montreal, Quebec, in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), and a technical report for the PEA will be filed by the Company on SEDAR+ within 45 days of this news release.

PEA Overview

The Duparquet Gold Project, located in the Abitibi region of Quebec, Canada, is one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in North America. The Project is located immediately north of the town of Duparquet which is approximately 50 kilometres northwest of Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, a major mining service centre and home to the only remaining copper smelter in Canada. Duparquet currently hosts 3.4 million ounces of gold in the Indicated Mineral Resource category and 2.7 million ounces of gold in the Inferred Mineral Resource category, as set out in Table 5 in the Mineral Resource Estimate section.

The PEA evaluates recovery of gold from a 15,000 tonne-per-day ("tpd") open pit and underground mining operation, with a process plant that includes crushing, grinding, and flotation, producing a concentrate for sale.

Table 1: Key PEA Assumptions and Project Economics (1)

Key Assumptions Unit LOM Gold Price US$/oz US$1,800/oz Exchange Rate C$:US$ 1.33 Production Profile Unit LOM Total Open Pit Tonnage Mt 282.0 Total Open Pit Mineralized Material Mined Mt 43.6 Open Pit Strip Ratio w:o 5.4 Total UG Mineralized Material Mined Mt 12.0 Total Tailings Mineralized Material Mined Mt 4.1 Total Tonnes Processed Mt 59.7 Daily Throughput tpd 15,000 Mill Grade g/t Au 1.51 Mine Life Years 11 years Gold Recovery to Concentrate % 89.5 % LOM Metal Recovered koz Au 2,595 koz Au Average Annual Recovered koz Au 233 koz Au Operating Costs (US$/oz) Unit LOM Total Cash Costs (2) US$/oz $751 AISC (3) US$/oz $976 Capital Expenditures Unit LOM Initial Capital C$M C$706 Sustaining and Development Capital C$M C$738 Closure Costs C$M $30 Estimated Salvage Value C$M ($36) Economics Unit LOM NPV at 5% (pre-tax; post-tax) C$M C$1,073; C$588 IRR (pre-tax; post-tax) % 24.9%; 18.0% Payback (pre-tax; post-tax) Years 3.8 years; 4.8 years

(1) The reader is advised that the PEA is preliminary in nature and is intended to provide only an initial, high-level review of the Project potential and design options. The PEA mine plan and economic model include numerous assumptions and the use of Inferred mineral resources. Inferred mineral resources are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves and to be used in an economic analysis except as allowed for in PEA studies. There is no guarantee that Inferred resources can be converted to Indicated or Measured resources, and as such, there is no certainty that the PEA or Project economics described herein will be realized or achieved. (2) Total Cash costs consist of mining costs, processing costs, mine-level G&A, treatment and refining charges and royalties. (3) AISC includes total cash costs plus sustaining capital, development capital and closure costs.

Economic Sensitivities

The Project economics and cash flows are highly sensitive to changes in the price of gold.

Table 2: PEA Sensitivity to Gold Price, Operating Costs and Capital Costs

Sensitivity to Gold Price

Gold Price (US$/oz) $1,400 $1,600 $1,800 $2,000 $2,200 Pre-Tax NPV 5% C$168 million C$621 million C$1.07 billion C$1.53 billion C$1.98 billion Pre-Tax IRR 8.5 % 17.1 % 24.9 % 32.0 % 38.6 % After-Tax NPV 5% C$20 million C$310 million C$588 million C$859 million C$1.12 billion After-Tax IRR 5.5 % 12.1 % 18.0 % 23.2 % 28.0 %

Sensitivity to Initial Capital Costs

Initial Capital Costs +20 % +10 % C$706 million -10 % -20 % Pre-Tax NPV 5% C$814 million C$949 million C$1.07 billion C$1.18 billion C$1.28 billion Pre-Tax IRR 16.7 % 20.4 % 24.9 % 30.5 % 37.8 % After-Tax NPV 5% C$413 million C$503 million C$588 million C$661 million C$723 million After-Tax IRR 12.0 % 14.7 % 18.0 % 21.9 % 26.9 %

Sensitivity to Operating Costs

Operating Costs +20 % +10 % C$2.2 billion -10 % -20 % Pre-Tax NPV 5% C$761 million C$917 million C$1.07 billion C$1.23 billion C$1.39 billion Pre-Tax IRR 19.5 % 22.2 % 24.9 % 27.4 % 29.9 % After-Tax NPV 5% $398 million $494 million C$588 million $680 million $771 million After-Tax IRR 14.0 % 16.0 % 18.0 % 19.9 % 21.7 %

Mineral Resource Estimate

In September 2022, the Duparquet Gold Project Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") was updated by InnovExplo Inc. in accordance with NI 43-101. (See news release of September 12, 2022 for more details) The Duparquet Gold Project contains 3.44 million ounces of gold in the Measured & Indicated category, grading 1.55 g/t Au, and an additional 1.6 million ounces of gold in the Inferred category, grading 1.36 g/t Au (see Table 3).

In August 2023, new updated Mineral Resource Estimates were completed on First Mining's 100% owned Pitt Gold and Duquesne projects and have added 1.05 million ounces of gold grading 2.32 g/t Au in the Inferred category (see Table 4), which will now form part of the larger consolidated Duparquet Gold Project.

Following the updated Mineral Resource Estimate at Pitt Gold and Duquesne, the consolidated Duparquet Project now contains 3.44 million ounces of gold in the Measured & Indicated category, grading 1.55 g/t Au, and an additional 2.68 million ounces of gold in the Inferred category, grading 1.68 g/t Au.

Table 3: Duparquet Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate (Effective September 12, 2022)

Area (mining

method) Cut-off (g/t) Measured resource Indicated resource Inferred resource Tonnage

(t) Au (g/t) Ounces Tonnage (t) Au (g/t) Ounces Tonnage (t) Au (g/t) Ounces Potential Open Pit 0.40 163,700 1.37 7,200 59,410,600 1.52 2,909,600 28,333,000 1.07 970,400 Potential UG Mining 1.50 - - - 5,506,900 2.26 399,300 9,038,900 2.29 665,600 Tailings 0.40 19,900 2.03 1,300 4,105,200 0.93 123,200 - - - Total 183,600 1.43 8,500 69,022,700 1.55 3,432,100 37,371,900 1.36 1,636,000

Table 4: Pitt Gold and Duquesne Deposits Mineral Resource Estimate (Effective August 31, 2023) (not included in the PEA)

Area (mining method) Cut-off (g/t) Pitt Gold Inferred Resource Duquesne Inferred resource Tonnage (t) Au (g/t) Ounces Tonnage (t) Au (g/t) Ounces Potential Open Pit 0.50 - - - 6,300,000 1.56 316,000 Potential UG Mining 1.75 2,691,000 2.67 231,200 5,030,000 3.10 501,400 Total 2,691,000 2.67 231,200 11,330,000 2.24 817,400

Table 5: Duparquet Gold Project Consolidated Mineral Resource Estimate (Effective August 31, 2023)*

Area Total Measured Resource Total Indicated Resource Total Inferred Resource (mining method) Tonnage (t) Au Ounces Tonnage (t) Au Ounces Tonnage (t) Au Ounces (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) Potential Open Pit 163,700 1.37 7,200 59,410,600 1.52 2,909,600 34,633,000 1.16 1,286,400 Potential UG Mining - - - 5,506,900 2.26 399,300 16,759,900 2.59 1,398,200 Tailings 19,900 2.03 1,300 4,105,200 0.93 123,200 - - - Total 183,600 1.43 8,500 69,022,700 1.55 3,432,100 51,392,900 1.62 2,684,600

*Refer to respective deposit resource estimate table for cut-off grade

Notes to accompany the Duparquet Gold Project Mineral Resource Estimates:

1. The independent qualified persons for the Duparquet mineral resource estimate, as defined by NI 43-101, are Marina Iund, P.Geo., Carl Pelletier, P.Geo. and Simon Boudreau, P.Eng. from InnovExplo. The effective date of the estimate is September 12, 2022. 2. The independent qualified persons for the Pitt Gold and Duquesne mineral resource estimates, as defined by NI 43 101, are Olivier Vadnais-Leblanc, P.Geo., Carl Pelletier, P.Geo., and Simon Boudreau, P.Eng. from InnovExplo. The effective date of the estimate is August 31, 2023. 3. These mineral resources are not mineral reserves, as they do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is currently insufficient data to define these Inferred mineral resources as Indicated or Measured mineral resources and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an Indicated or Measured mineral resource category. The mineral resource estimate follows current CIM Definition Standards. 4. The results are presented in situ and undiluted and have reasonable prospects of eventual economical extraction. 5. In-pit and Underground estimates encompass sixty (60) mineralized domains and one dilution envelop using the grade of the adjacent material when assayed or a value of zero when not assayed; The tailings estimate encompass four (4) zones. 6. Duparquet: In-pit and Underground: High-grade capping of 25 g/t Au; Tailings: High-grade capping of 13.0 g/t Au for Zone 1, 3.5 g/t Au for Zone 2, 1.7 g/t Au for Zone 3 and 2.2 g/t Au for Zone 4. High-grade capping supported by statistical analysis was done on raw assay data before compositing. 7. Pitt Gold: Underground: High-grade capping of 20 g/t Au. High-grade capping supported by statistical analysis was done on composited assays. 8. Duquesne: In-pit and Underground: High-grade capping of 55 g/t Au. High-grade capping supported by statistical analysis was done on composited assays. 9. In-pit and Underground: For Duparquet, the estimate used a sub-block model in GEOVIA SURPAC 2021 with a unit block size of 5m x 5m x 5m and a minimum block size of 1.25m x 1.25m x1.25m. For Pitt Gold and Duquesne, the estimates used a sub-block model in GEOVIA SURPAC 2023 with a unit block size of 6m x 6m x 6m and a minimum block size of 1.5m x 0.5m x0.5m. Grade interpolations were obtained by ID2 using hard boundaries. Duparquet Tailings: The estimate used a block model in GEOVIA GEMS with a block size of 5m x 5m x 1m. Grade interpolation was obtained by ID2 using hard boundaries. 10. In-pit and Underground: For Duparquet, a density value of 2.73 g/cm3 was used for the mineralized domains and the envelope. For Pitt Gold and Duquesne, a density value of 2.7 g/cm3 was used for the mineralized domains and the envelope. A density value of 2.00 g/cm3 was used for the overburden. A density value of 1.00 g/cm3 was used for the excavation solids (drifts and stopes) assumed to be filled with water. Tailings: A fixed density of 1.45 g/cm3 was used in zones and waste. 11. In-pit and Underground: For Duparquet, the mineral resource estimate is classified as Measured, Indicated and Inferred. The measured category is defined by blocks having a volume of at least 25% within an envelope built at a distance of 10 m around existing channel samples. The Indicated category is defined by blocks meeting at least one (1) of the following conditions: Blocks falling within a 15-m buffer surrounding existing stopes and/or blocks for which the average distance to composites is less than 45 m. A clipping polygon was generated to constrain Indicated resources for each of the sixty (60) mineralized domains. Only the blocks for which reasonable geological and grade continuity have been demonstrated were selected. All remaining interpolated blocks were classified as Inferred resources. Blocks interpolated in the envelope were all classified as Inferred resources. Tailings: The Measured and Indicated categories were defined based on the drill hole spacing (Measured: Zones 1 and 2 = 30m x 30m grid; Indicated: Zone 3 = 100m x 100m grid and Zone 4 = 200m x 200m grid). For Pitt Gold and Duquesne, the mineral resource estimate are completely classified as Inferred due to a lack of confidence in certain drill hole collar and underground development locations. 12. The Mineral Resource Estimate for Duquesne and Pitt Gold was prepared using 3D block modelling and the inverse distance squared ("ID2") interpolation method. 13. The mineral resources are categorized as Inferred based on drill spacing, as well as geological and grade continuity. A maximum distance to the closest composite of 75 m for Inferred in all zones for Duquesne of 210 m for Inferred in all zones for Pitt Gold. 14. The reasonable prospect for an eventual economical extraction is met by having used reasonable cut-off grades both for a potential open pit and underground extraction scenarios (minimum mining width of 2m) and constraining volumes (Deswik optimized shapes and Whittle optimized pit-shells). 15. In-pit and Underground: The mineral resource estimate is locally pit-constrained with a bedrock slope angle of 50 and an overburden slope angle of 30. The out-pit mineral resource met the reasonable prospect for eventual economic extraction by having constraining volumes applied to any blocks (potential underground extraction scenario) using DSO. Duparquet resources is reported at a rounded cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t Au (in-pit and tailings) and 1.5 g/t Au (UG). The cut-off grades were calculated using the following parameters: mining cost = CA$70.00 (UG); processing cost = CA$11.9 (tailing) to CA$17.0 (pit& UG); G&A = CA$8.75; refining and selling costs = CA$ 5.00; gold price = US$ 1,650/oz; USD:CAD exchange rate = 1.31; and mill recovery = 93.9%. The cut-off grades should be re-evaluated in light of future prevailing market conditions (metal prices, exchange rates, mining costs etc.). Duquesne resources are reported at a rounded cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t Au (in-pit) and Pitt Gold and Duquesne resources are reported at a rounded cut-off grade of 1.75 g/t Au (UG). The cut-off grades were calculated using the following parameters: mining cost = CA$84.86 (UG); processing cost = CA$21.010; G&A = CA$11.75; refining and selling costs = CA$ 5.00; gold price = US$ 1,800/oz; USD:CAD exchange rate = 1.3; and mill recovery = 90%. The cut-off grades should be re-evaluated in light of future prevailing market conditions (metal prices, exchange rates, mining costs etc.). 16. The number of metric tons was rounded to the nearest thousand and ounces were rounded to the nearest hundred, following the recommendations in NI 43 101. Any discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding effects. 17. The qualified persons are not aware of any known environmental, permitting, legal, title-related, taxation, socio-political, or marketing issues, or any other relevant issue not reported herein, that could materially affect the Mineral Resource Estimate.

The database used for the Duparquet MRE contains 904 holes totalling 270,119m and 173,831 sampled intervals. The resource area has an E-W strike length of 4.5 km, a width of approximately 1 km, and a vertical extent of 1,050 m below surface. A total of 60 mineralized zones wireframes have been created for the Duparquet deposit.

The database used for the Duquesne MRE contains 1,011 underground drill holes for a total of 51,957.43m and 393 surface Diamond Drill Holes ("DDH") totaling 103,888.19m. The DDH intervals used for the interpretation contain 66,411 assays taken from the 1404 drill holes and surface channels (71,034.71m of core). A total of 389 mineralized zones wireframes have been created for the Duquesne deposit. Mineralized zones average thickness in the deposit varies between 0.69 m and 4.28 m with an interpreted average thickness of 1.89 m.

The database used for the Pitt Gold MRE contains 163 surface diamond drill holes totaling 70,364.67m. A total of 119 mineralized zones wireframes have been created for the Pitt Gold deposit. Mineralized zones average thickness in the deposit varies between 0.71 m and 3.03 m with an interpreted average thickness of 1.56 m.

Capital Costs

The capital cost estimate for the proposed open pit operation in the PEA is based on the scheduled plant throughput rates, as well as a review of similar sized open pit gold operations.

Table 6: Capital Cost Details

Total Capital Cost C$M Infrastructure $10 Power & Electrical $15 Water $37 Surface Operations $5 Mining $102 Process Plant $190 Indirect $90 Owner's Cost $54 Construction cost $503 Contingency $126 Pre-Production $57 Working Capital $20 Initial Capital $706 Sustaining and Development Capital $738 Closure Costs $30 Salvage Value ($36) Total Capital $1,438

Mining Capital Costs

The open pit mining activities for the Project were assumed to be undertaken by an equipment financed fleet. Mining capital costs were estimated based on a detailed equipment schedule matched to the mining production schedule. Total initial mining capital was estimated at C$102 million, inclusive of capitalized stripping, and equipment. The capital expenditure for the underground, which starts at year 1 of open pit operations, is $404 million of which C$255 million is attributed to mine development.

Processing Capital Costs

The process plant was designed using conventional processing unit operations. It will nominally treat 15,000 tpd or 679 dry tonne/hour based on 92% availability. The primary crushing plant design is based on 75% availability. The plant will operate two shifts per day, 365 days per year, and will produce a high-grade gold concentrate for sale to smelters.

Initial capital costs for the processing facility were estimated to be C$190 million, excluding contingency. No major plant re-build or expansion was considered during the LOM, with sustaining capital set to maintain the equipment in operating condition.

Operating Costs

Table 7: Operating Cost Details

Operating Costs per Tonne Unit LOM Mining Costs  OP (inc. historic tailings) C$/t mined C$3.16 Mining Costs  OP (inc. historic tailings) C$/t processed C$20.85 Mining Costs  UG C$/t processed C$44.26 Processing Costs C$/t processed C$10.59 G&A Costs C$/t processed C$2.90 Total Operating Costs C$/t processed C$78.60 Other Costs LOM Transport Costs C$/t $30 Treatment Charges C$/dmt $75 Refining Charges US$/oz $5

Mining Costs

The PEA contemplates open pit and underground mining undertaken by an equipment financed fleet. An average unit mining cost of C$3.16 per tonne of material mined from the open pit was used in the economics. The cost estimate was built from first principles with detailed haulage profiles, and is based on experience of similar sized open pit operations and local conditions. The open pit mining costs consider variations in haulage profiles by month and by year and variable equipment requirements necessary to meet the plant production.

Underground mining cost was also estimated using first principles with supplier's quotations for equipment, consumables, contractor work, and is based on experience with underground operations with similar size and environment. The underground mining costs of $44.26 per tonne of mineralized material mined from underground includes $2,257 per metre of OPEX development. A sustaining development cost of $16.64 per tonne is required to maintain production which is excluded from the operation costs.

Processing Costs

An average cost of C$10.59 per tonne of processed material was used in the PEA, based on the selected process flowsheet. This includes tailings handling, labour, consumables, maintenance, and supplies. A power cost of C$0.0524/kWh was assumed.

Mining

Open pit mining would occur in year one concurrent with underground development. Over the LOM, the open pit will deliver an average of 10,400 tpd of mineralized material to the mill. The annual peak of mineralized material delivered to the mill is 12,670 tpd in year 8. Underground production is expected to begin in year two with an average underground production rate of 3,500 tpd. Over an 11-year mine life, A total of 59.7 Mt of mineralized material (including pre-production) will be mined, which includes 4.1 Mt of historical tailings. The current LOM plan focuses on achieving consistent processing feed production rates, mining of higher-grade material early in the schedule, and balancing grade and strip ratios.

Mining Methods

The Duparquet Project is planned as a mix of conventional open pit mine and a long hole (transversal  longitudinal  uppers) underground mine.

Open pit mining will be done with the use of diesel equipment including drilling rigs and haul trucks coupled with hydraulic shovels. The Project consists of seven (7) pits with Pit 1 having three (3) phases. The LOM will last for 11 years including a pre-production and construction period where waste will be mined for construction purposes (dams, roads, etc.) and mineralized material will be stockpiled ahead of the process plant commissioning.

Production drilling and mining operations will take place on a 10 m bench height. The primary production equipment includes 12m diesel-hydraulic shovel coupled with 65 tonnes Drammis trucks for the mineralized material and 22m diesel-hydraulic production shovels coupled with 200 tonnes off highway mining trucks for the waste. An owner mining operation is planned with overburden stripping, topographic drilling activities, and supply of explosives outsourced to contractors.

For the underground mine, long hole stopping, both transverse and longitudinal with cemented rockfill ("CRF") is the preferred mining method. Mineralized material will be removed from the stopes using a high production sized load-haul-dump ("LHD"). The underground mine's main declines will be accessible from surface through a single portal located north of the site.

In addition to the open pit and underground mines, a portion of the historical tailings will be transported and processed at the mill. A maximum of 750,000 t of material will be processed yearly.

Metallurgical Testing

The PEA reflects gold recoveries that were a result of the extensive metallurgical test work completed by Clifton Star Resources Inc. ("Clifton Star") during 2012 to 2014. The test work involved several rounds of bench scale and pilot plant testing of flotation concentration. In addition, Clifton Star completed extensive metallurgical test work on follow-on processing to treat the sulfide concentrates with fine grinding and alkaline leaching, bio-oxidation, and pressure oxidation but was not included in the PEA flowsheet.

Based on the test work carried out and trade-off studies conducted as part of the PEA, the Project was scoped with a flowsheet that includes comminution circuit and rougher and cleaner flotation to produce a high-grade gold concentrate for sale. This flowsheet is based on a primary grind size of 80% passing ("P 80 ") of 150 microns ("m") ahead of flotation. The gold recoveries to the flotation concentrate expected and used for the economics presented in the PEA are 89.5% to a concentrate grading approximately 36 g/t Au. First Mining plans to undertake follow-up metallurgical test work to investigate additional opportunities to further increase recoveries and believes that this remains an important focus area for further improving the economics of the Project.

Processing

The preliminary process plant design for the Duparquet Project is based on a robust metallurgical flowsheet to treat gold bearing material to produce gold concentrate. The flowsheet is based on previous metallurgical test work by Clifton Star, industry standards and conventional unit operations.

The process plant is designed to nominally treat 15,000 tpd of mineralized material and reprocessing of existing tailings. The flowsheet will consist of primary crushing, SAG and ball mill grinding, rougher and cleaner gold flotation circuits, concentrate dewatering and load out facilities. Flotation tailings will be dewatered in a thickener to produce a tailings slurry for storage onsite. The process plant will include reagents, air systems and utilities to support the operation.

Figure 1 represents the overall flowsheet for the Duparquet Gold Project.

Site Infrastructure

The Project is located immediately north of the town of Duparquet with much of the site infrastructure optimized to utilize existing infrastructure within the town of Duparquet. No camp is planned on site and the administrative offices, the light vehicle truck shop and warehouse, among others are considered off site. The operation buildings, which will include the security office, offices for technical personnel, the conference rooms, a change room, an infirmary and a lunchroom, will be located at site entrance. An on-site temporary workshop is included in the initial capital with the permanent truck shop planned in year 4. The assay lab, the fuel storage (200,000 litres) and the explosive magazine among other essential infrastructure are also considered on site.

The infrastructure and process plant platform will be located on the north side of the pits. The waste rock stockpiles will be located on each side of the pits. A haul road is planned to connect the pits to the waste stockpiles, overburden stockpiles, process plant and Tailings Storage Facility.

Tailings Storage Facility

The Tailings Storage Facility ("TSF") design will take advantage of the existing topographic and ground conditions in the eastern part of the Project site. The TSF will provide enough capacity for 34.5 million cubic meters of tailings. A tailings deposit basin will be created by building a main dam at the downstream end of the valley and the tailings dams will be constructed in phases to minimize the initial capital. The process plant tailings will be pumped to the TSF through a 4 km pipeline and will be thickened prior to deposition. The reclaim water system will consist of a reclaim barge equipped with two reclaim water pumps.

Power Infrastructure

Approximately 22.7MW of electrical demand will be supplied via a new 120 kV overhead transmission line, built to connect to the provincial grid's 120 kV line approximately 15 km to the southeast in Reneault Hydro-Quebec substation. Main distribution network is made at 13.8 kV from the main substation where two (2) fully redundant power transformers are installed. Distribution to the equipment is made at 4.16 kV and 600V.

Environment & Community

The PEA has considered and incorporated the opportunity to leverage the Duparquet Gold Project development with the reclamation of the brownfield site conditions including the removal and reprocessing of over 4.1 Mt of uncontained historical mine tailings. With such measures incorporated into the PEA mine plan, in combination with the ability of the Project to collect and treat historically impacted groundwater via the excavation and dewatering of the open pit, the Project is positioned to deliver both environmental benefits and socio-economic benefits via employment, contracting and revenue for the Municipality of Duparquet. The PEA is anticipated to be refined and optimized based on consultation and input to be received by government, the Municipality of Duparquet and other local and regional stakeholders, and local First Nation community.

Since acquiring the Duparquet Gold Project in September of 2022, First Mining has prioritized meeting the people, communities and government representatives on project planning in an open and transparent manner. First Mining published the Mines d'Or Duparquet website to share project information and has recently finished renovations required to open a First Mining community relations office in Duparquet. The Project provides an opportunity to address historical environmental aspects at the Project site to improve long-term sustainability, economic activity and support sustainable municipal planning and development.

The Municipality of Duparquet is in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue region which has been shaped primarily by natural resource-based industries, including mining, and forestry, where the mining industry accounts for 1 in 7 jobs in the region.

Project Enhancement Opportunities

The PEA identified several opportunities to enhance the economics of the Duparquet Gold Project and will be investigated as First Mining continues to advance the Project. These opportunities include:

Exploration Drilling  opportunity to expand the resource with drilling regionally along 19 km of First Mining's property over the Destor -Porcupine fault zone; First Mining is in the process of completing an initial 5,000 metre drill program at the Project and intends to start a Phase II drill program later in 2023

opportunity to expand the resource with drilling regionally along 19 km of First Mining's property over the -Porcupine fault zone; First Mining is in the process of completing an initial 5,000 metre drill program at the Project and intends to start a Phase II drill program later in 2023 Infill Drilling  opportunity to expand the resource and increase the grade profile at the Project

opportunity to expand the resource and increase the grade profile at the Project Silver Mineralization  opportunity to incorporate silver mineralization into the economics; the PEA does not contemplate any payable silver ounces

 opportunity to incorporate silver mineralization into the economics; the PEA does not contemplate any payable silver ounces Additional Technical Studies  opportunity to optimize project economics by reducing sustaining capital, development capital and operating costs

opportunity to optimize project economics by reducing sustaining capital, development capital and operating costs Incorporating New Mineral Resource  opportunity to improve project economics by incorporating new mineral resource estimates into the mine plan from nearby Pitt and Duquesne deposits, which form part of the larger Duparquet Gold Project

 opportunity to improve project economics by incorporating new mineral resource estimates into the mine plan from nearby Pitt and deposits, which form part of the larger Duparquet Gold Project Regional Consolidation  opportunity to consolidate refractory deposits in the region to create a central processing facility to treat feed from other regional mines

opportunity to consolidate refractory deposits in the region to create a central processing facility to treat feed from other regional mines Test work on Historical Tailings  opportunity to optimize the blending of the old tailings through the process with additional test work

opportunity to optimize the blending of the old tailings through the process with additional test work Metallurgical Test work  opportunity to improve metallurgical recoveries and concentrate grade with additional metallurgical test work

 opportunity to improve metallurgical recoveries and concentrate grade with additional metallurgical test work Water Management  opportunity to optimize water treatment and services estimate with additional studies

 opportunity to optimize water treatment and services estimate with additional studies Tailings  opportunity to optimize tailings and design and cost estimates with additional studies

 opportunity to optimize tailings and design and cost estimates with additional studies Infrastructure  opportunity to optimize town infrastructure in project design

Qualified Persons and NI 43-101 Technical Report

The PEA for the Duparquet Gold Project summarized in this news release was prepared by G Mining Services Inc. and will be incorporated in a NI 43-101 technical report which will be available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedarplus.ca , and on the Company's website, within 45 days of this news release. The affiliation and areas of responsibility for each of the Qualified Persons involved in preparing the PEA, upon which the technical report will be based, are as follows:

Table 7: Qualified Persons for PEA NI 43-101

Qualified Persons Company Area of Expertise Carl Michaud, P.Eng. G Mining Services Inc. Operating Cost Estimation, Economic Analysis

and Mine Engineering Alexandre Dorval, P. Eng. G Mining Services Inc. Open pit Mine Engineering Marina Iund. P.Geo. InnovExplo Inc. Duparquet MRE Olivier Vadnais-Leblanc, P.Geo. InnovExplo Inc. Duquesne and Pitt Gold MRE Carl Pelletier. P.Geo. InnovExplo Inc. Duparquet, Duquesne and Pitt Gold MRE Simon Boudreau, P. Eng. InnovExplo Inc. Duparquet, Duquesne and Pitt Gold MRE Neil Lincoln, P. Eng. G Mining Services Inc. Mineral Processing and Recovery Methods Philip Rodrigue, P. Eng. G Mining Services Inc. Infrastructure and Capital Cost Estimation Sheldon Smith MES, P. Geo Stantec Consulting Ltd. Environmental and Permitting

Each QP has reviewed and approved the content of this news release.

The Company cautions that the results of the PEA are preliminary in nature and include Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the results of the PEA will be realized.

Data Verification

The Qualified Persons responsible for the preparation of the PEA and the technical report in respect thereof have verified the data disclosed in this news release, including sampling, analytical, and test data underlying the information contained in this news release. Geological, mine engineering and metallurgical reviews included, among other things, reviewing mapping, core logs, and re-logging existing drill holes, review of geotechnical and hydrological studies, environmental and community factors, the development of the life of mine plan, capital and operating costs, transportation, taxation and royalties, and review of existing metallurgical test work. In the opinion of the Qualified Persons, the data, assumptions, and parameters used to estimate Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, the metallurgical model, the economic analysis, and the PEA are sufficiently reliable for those purposes. The technical report in respect of the PEA, when filed, will contain more detailed information concerning individual responsibilities, associated quality assurance and quality control, and other data verification matters, and the key assumptions, parameters and methods used by the Company.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

The Company has included certain non-IFRS financial measures in this news release, such as Initial Capital Costs, Total Cash Costs and All-In Sustaining Costs, which are not measures recognized under IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. As a result, these measures may not be comparable to similar measures reported by other companies. Each of these measures used are intended to provide additional information to the user and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Certain Non-IFRS financial measures used in this news release and common to the gold mining industry are defined below.

Total Cash Costs and Total Cash Costs per Gold Ounce

Total Cash Costs are reflective of the cost of production. Total Cash Costs reported in the PEA include mining costs, processing, water & waste management costs, on-site general & administrative costs, treatment & refining costs, royalties and silver stream credits. Total Cash Costs per Ounce is calculated as Total Cash Costs divided by total LOM recovered gold ounces.

All-in Sustaining Costs ("AISC") and AISC per Gold Ounce

AISC is reflective of all of the expenditures that are required to produce an ounce of gold from operations. AISC reported in the PEA includes Total Cash Costs, sustaining capital and closure costs. AISC per Ounce is calculated as AISC divided by total LOM recovered gold ounces.

Qualified Persons

Mr. Louis Martin P.Geo., (OGQ 0364), a consultant of First Mining, is a "Qualified Person" for the purposes of NI 43-101, and he has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this news release.

About First Mining Gold Corp.

First Mining is a gold developer advancing two of the largest gold projects in Canada, the Springpole Gold Project in northwestern Ontario, where we have commenced a Feasibility Study and permitting activities are on-going with a draft Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") for the project published in June 2022, and the Duparquet Project in Quebec, a PEA stage development project located on the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone in the prolific Abitibi region. First Mining also owns the Cameron Gold Project in Ontario and a portfolio of gold project interests including the Pickle Crow Gold Project (being advanced in partnership with Auteco Minerals Ltd.), the Hope Brook Gold Project (being advanced in partnership with Big Ridge Gold Corp.), and a large equity interest in Treasury Metals Inc.

First Mining was established in 2015 by Mr. Keith Neumeyer, founding President and CEO of First Majestic Silver Corp.

ON BEHALF OF FIRST MINING GOLD CORP.

Daniel W. Wilton

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "intends", "estimates", "envisages", "potential", "possible", "strategy", "goals", "opportunities", "objectives", or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expression Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) the results of the PEA; (ii) the economic potential and merits of the Project; (iii) the estimated amount and grade of Mineral Resources at the Project; (iv) the PEA representing a viable development option for the Project; (v) construction of a mine at the Project; (vi) the Project being one of the most meaningful development projects in Canada; (vii) estimates of capital and operating costs; (viii) the estimated amount of future production from the Project (ix) life of mine estimates and economic returns from the Project; * environmental benefits of the Project; (xi) Project enhancement opportunities; and (xii) timing of filing a technical report for the PEA on SEDAR+.

Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to future events or future performance and reflect current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events. All forward-looking statements are based on First Mining's or its consultants' current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by them and information currently available to them. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Such factors include, without limitation the Company's business, operations and financial condition potentially being materially adversely affected by the outbreak of epidemics, pandemics or other health crises, such as COVID-19, and by reactions by government and private actors to such outbreaks; risks to employee health and safety as a result of the outbreak of epidemics, pandemics or other health crises, such as COVID-19, that may result in a slowdown or temporary suspension of operations at some or all of the Company's mineral properties as well as its head office; fluctuations in the spot and forward price of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in the currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar versus the U.S. dollar); changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins and flooding); the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities, indigenous populations and other stakeholders; availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development; title to properties; and the additional risks described in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca, and in the Company's Annual Report on Form 40-F filed with the SEC on EDGAR.

First Mining cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to First Mining, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. First Mining does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on our behalf, except as required by law.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors

The Company is a "foreign private issuer" as defined in Rule 3b-4 under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and is eligible to rely upon the Canada-U.S. Multi-Jurisdictional Disclosure System, and is therefore permitted to prepare the technical information contained herein in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of the securities laws currently in effect in the United States. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth herein may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards.

Technical disclosure contained in this news release has not been prepared in accordance with the requirements of United States securities laws and uses terms that comply with reporting standards in Canada with certain estimates prepared in accordance with NI 43-101.

NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators that establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning the issuer's material mineral projects.
ELKO, NV / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Lithium Corporation (OTCQB:LTUM) ("LTUM" or "the Company"), a North American exploration mining company focused on energy metals for the growing energy storage sector and high-tech industries, wishes to advise investors drilling has commenced at the Company's Fish Lake Valley prospect in Esmeralda County, Nevada.

Morella Corporation (ASX:1MC) (Morella), Lithium Corp.'s largest shareholder and Optionee on the prospect, has mobilized a reverse circulation drill to Northern Fish Lake and will "pre-collar" two 200 foot (61 meter) holes. These holes will be cased and cemented to depth to facilitate the later extension of the holes utilizing a core rig. Both holes are eventually slated to be drilled to 1200 feet (366 meters) to test the geophysical conductors at these separate and discrete locations on the east side of the playa, proximal to where boron/lithium enriched brine was produced in the 1800's to recover the boron content.

The drill campaign and earlier geophysical ground survey work are part of Morella's bid to earn an initial 60% interest in the Fish Lake Valley project. Morella is also the Optionee on Lithium Corporation's North Big Smoky Carvers prospect in Nye County, Nevada.

To view Morella's release for details with respect to the drilling plan please visit: https://wcsecure.weblink.com.au/pdf/1MC/02708184.pdf

Learn more about Lithium Corporation's complete portfolio of lithium, graphite, rare earth elements and titanium prospects: https://lithiumcorporation.com/projects/

About Lithium Corporation

Nevada based mineral exploration company, Lithium Corporation is one of a handful of Project Generators in the critical minerals space in North America. The Company's dual operational focuses cover exploration activities on several lithium prospects in Nevada, USA, as well as titanium/rare earth elements & graphite properties in British Columbia, Canada. Lithium Corp. has maintained a strategic alliance with Morella Corporation (the Company's single largest shareholder) for the past nine years and, apart from the Fish Lake Valley agreement, also has a formal agreement with Morella covering earn-ins on the Company's North Big Smoky lithium-in-brine prospect in Nye County, Nevada.

Website: www.lithiumcorporation.com

Contact Info:

Tom Lewis, CEO

775-410-5287

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About Morella Corporation

Morella is an exploration and resource development company focused on lithium and battery minerals. Morella is currently engaged in exploration, resource definition and development activities with projects strategically located in Tier 1 mining jurisdictions in both Australia and the United States. Morella will secure and develop lithium raw materials to support the surging demand for battery minerals, critical in enabling the global transition to green energy.

Contact Info:

James Brown, Managing Director

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Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This current report contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future.

Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of minerals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our most recent annual report for our last fiscal year, our quarterly reports, and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Lithium Corporation (OTC-LTUM) 1031 Railroad St. Ste 102B Elko NV 89801 (775) 410-5287 www.lithiumcorporation.com
TORONTO / Sep 07, 2023 / Business Wire / Kirkland Lake Discoveries Corp. (TSX-V - KLDC) (Kirkland Lake Discoveries or the Company) is pleased to announce that the Phase 1 drill program has been completed safely and efficiently at the Kirkland Lake Project. A total of nine drill holes (2,991m) were drilled on the Goodfish-Kirana property completing the first of three drill phases previously announced in the July 20, 2023 Press Release.

Phase 1 drilling focused on regional targets along the east-west trending Kirana Deformation Zone defined by coincident intersecting northwest structures, IP chargeability anomalies, and known gold mineralization at shallow depths. Two holes were also completed on the Jo Zone to investigate recent high-grade assays in the hanging-wall, where drilling in 2021 reported 155 g/t Au over 0.75m and 72 g/t Au over 0.50m.

Drill holes KLD23-08 and KLD23-09 were planned as significant down-dip step-outs to test the Jo Zone shear structure and previous high-grade intersections in the hanging-wall (Table 1). Both drill holes successfully intersected the primary shear zone. Assays are pending.

Drill Hole No. Easting Northing Elevation (m) Azimuth Dip Total Depth (m) KLD23-01 574531 5339050 269 350 -60 129 KLD23-02 574337 5339047 333 45 -45 147 KLD23-03 574327 5338119 334 45 -50 351 KLD23-04 574419 5338223 327 225 -50 339 KLD23-05 574223 5337887 331 155 -60 204 KLD23-06 573390 5338094 331 180 -55 399 KLD23-07 373390 5338094 331 225 -50 285 KLD23-08 573722 5339190 333 190 -50 558 KLD23-09a 573722 5339190 333 200 -48 15 KLD23-09 573722 5339190 333 200 -55 564 Coordinates in UTM NAD83 Zone 17 T datum. 2,991

Table 1 - Phase 1 drill holes location, orientation, and total depth.

"This drill program was planned through a meticulous targeting exercise incorporating all the exploration tools deployed over the Goodfish-Kirana claim package over the last ten years. The Kirana Deformation Zone, a second-order structure of the Larder Lake Cadillac Deformation Zone, remains a target of high merit. Initial observations indicate the presence of sulphide mineralization, alteration, and shearing at the targeted intervals, stated Daniele Spethmann, President and CEO of Kirkland Lake Discoveries.

The last samples of the Phase 1 drill program will be submitted for analyses by early September with results expected mid-October.

Regional Exploration Update

The analysis of the high-resolution airborne magnetic geophysical survey on the Lucky Strike property (see July 13, 2023 Press Release) has been finalized by ALS GoldSpot. The result of the interpretative work has enhanced the geological and structural understanding of the Lucky Strike property supporting target prioritization and field work.

The interpretative work of ALS GoldSpot has provided numerous insights and identified prospective targets for boots-on-the-ground follow-up, complementing the geology maps of the Ontario Geological Survey. Field crews have been mapping and sampling in recent weeks and continue to advance new prospective areas. Observations from this work include promising structural trends, mineralization, and alteration signatures, which have the Kirkland Lake Discoveries team enthused.

The newly named Hurricane target area, a recently re-discovered area located within a structurally complex zone accompanied by felsic to intermediate intrusions between the Mulven and Misema Mist Lake faults, is particularly compelling (Figure 1). Mapping has identified silicified, and epidote altered intermediate intrusions cut by quartz stockwork veinlets and pyrite mineralization (Figure 2). Historical results from work completed in 1936 (Table 2) indicate samples from this area returned multi-ounce gold assays.

Sample ID NAD83_E NAD83N Au$ ($35/Oz) Au Oz/ton Au g/t 1 594560 53422988 7.11 0.20 6.96 2 594560 53422988 16.91 0.48 16.56 3 594540 5342290 1.01 0.03 0.99 4 594540 5342290 15.24 0.44 14.93 5 594540 5342290 2.71 0.08 2.65 6 594420 5342248 6.10 0.17 5.98 7 594420 5342248 21.34 0.61 20.90 8 594673 5342280 9.82 0.28 9.62 9 594673 5342280 43.00 1.23 42.12 10 594673 5342280 16.93 0.48 16.58 11 594673 5342280 8.47 0.24 8.30 12 594673 5342280 35.85 1.02 35.12 13 594673 5342280 26.43 0.76 25.89 14 594673 5342280 98.54 2.82 96.53 15 594673 5342280 65.02 1.86 63.69

Table 2 - Multi-ounce gold assays from 1936  Norwood Kirkland Gold Mines. (Click Here)

Phase 2 drilling is being planned to test many of the new target areas re-prioritized through the 2023 fieldwork, and geophysical interpretation (Figure 3). Additional exploration permits are being prepared for submission and will cover these new areas on the Lucky Strike property. Drilling will recommence once permits have been received.

QP Statement

Mike Kilbourne, P. Geo., a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release on behalf of the Company.

About Kirkland Lake Discoveries Corp.

Kirkland Lake Discoveries Corp. is a TSX Venture Exchange listed company that has recently consolidated a district-scale and highly prospective land package in the Kirkland Lake Gold Camp in Ontario, Canada. The properties are hosted in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, one of the worlds best-endowed greenstone belts, with 200+ million ounces of gold produced to date.1 The properties are host to regional and property-scale mineralized structures that are considered second-order structures off the Larder Lake Cadillac Deformation Zone (LLCDZ), the regional structure in the belt known to be spatially associated with the gold mines hosted in the camp.

The properties assembled include the 100%-owned Lucky Strike Property, Goodfish-Kirana, the Arnold property, and the optioned KL West (KLW) and KL Central (KLC) properties. The KLDC land position comprises approximately 38,000 ha, over 1,338 claims and 29 patented claims and ranks the Company as the largest landholder in the Kirkland Lake region.

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.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating the future operations and activities of Kirkland Lake Discoveries, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as expects, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, potential, possible, and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results will, may, could, or should occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to, among other things, the Companys exploration plans, including the preparation and submission of exploration permits, and the submission of samples for analyses. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Kirkland Lake Discoveries, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation, the ability to complete proposed exploration work, the results of exploration, continued availability of capital, and changes in general economic, market and business conditions. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these items. Kirkland Lake Discoveries does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by applicable securities laws.

1 Canadas Gold Exploration Frontier: The Abitibi Greenstone Belt - Click Here
TORONTO, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evergold Corp. (TSX-V: EVER, OTC: EVGUF, WKN: A2PTHZ) (Evergold or the Company) is pleased to announce that it intends to complete a non-brokered private placement financing for aggregate gross proceeds of up to $1,500,000 through the issuance of a combination of flow-through units (FT Units) at a price of $0.06 per FT Unit and hard-dollar units of the Company (HD Units) at a price $0.055 per HD Unit (the Offering). It is expected that the majority of the gross proceeds from the sale of the FT Units will be used to support first-ever drilling of the newly optioned DEM Property (news, August 2, 2023), which hosts a large-scale copper-gold-silver porphyry target defined by multiple supporting data sets. Further details on the DEM prospect may be found on the Companys website at www.evergoldcorp.ca/projects/dem-property/ and in a NI 43-101 technical report entitled Technical Report on the DEM Property dated August 30, 2023, posted thereon and on the Companys issuer profile on SEDAR+.

In connection with the Offering, the Company has entered into a fiscal advisory agreement with Canaccord Genuity Corp. (Canaccord). Subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV), the Company shall compensate Canaccord in the amount of $25,000, payable in hard-dollar units of the Company (the Compensation Units) to be issued at C$0.055 per unit with the same terms as the Offering. In addition, finders fees in cash or securities, or a combination of both, may be payable by Evergold in connection with the Offering, subject to the rules of the TSXV.

Financing Details

Each FT Unit will be comprised of one (1) common share of the Company qualifying as a flow-through share as defined in subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (a FT Share), and one (1) common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a Warrant). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one additional common share of the Company (a Warrant Share) at an exercise price of $0.08 per Warrant Share for a period of twenty-four (24) months following the closing of the Offering. Each HD Unit will be comprised of one (1) common share of the Company (a Common Share), and one (1) Warrant.

The gross proceeds from the issuance of the FT Units will be used for Canadian exploration expenses on the Companys mineral properties and will qualify either as "flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures" or "flow-through mining expenditures" (the "Qualifying Expenditures"), each as defined in subsection 127(9) of the Income Tax Act (Canada). The Company intends to renounce the Qualifying Expenditures to subscribers of FT Units for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and to incur the Qualifying Expenditures on or before December 31, 2024. The net proceeds from the issuance of HD Units will be primarily used for exploration activities at the Companys properties, as well as for general working capital purposes.

The Option Agreement to acquire the DEM Property remains subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory and other approvals, including the final approval of the TSXV and the approval of disinterested shareholders of the Company, a vote in regards to which is scheduled for October 10, 2023. In the event such approvals are not obtained, the Company expects to re-direct the gross proceeds of the FT Units to incur Qualifying Expenditures on its other mineral properties.

It is expected that the Offering will close on or about September 27, 2023 or such other date or dates that the Company may determine (the "Closing Date"), subject to the receipt of all required regulatory approvals, including the acceptance of the TSXV. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the Closing Date, in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

The securities offered have not been 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 the registration requirements. This press 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 any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Charles J. Greig, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.

About Evergold

Evergold Corp. is a TSX-V listed mineral exploration company with projects in B.C. and Nevada. The Evergold team has a track record of success in the junior mining space, most recently the establishment of GT Gold Corp. in 2016 and the discovery of the Saddle South epithermal vein and Saddle North porphyry copper-gold deposits near Iskut B.C., sold to Newmont in 2021 for a fully diluted value of $456 million, representing a 1,136% (12.4 X) return on exploration outlays of $36.9 million.

For additional information, please contact:

Kevin M. Keough

President and CEO

Tel: (613) 622-1916

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www.evergoldcorp.ca

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward- looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Companys future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as believes, anticipates, expects, estimates, may, could, would, will, or plan. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet managements expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, risks related to the amendment of the size of the Offering and the completion, terms and expected closing date of the Offering, failure to identify mineral resources, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, inability to fulfill the duty to accommodate First Nations, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Companys public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. 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.
Vancouver, BC - TheNewswire - September 7, 2023 - Element 79 Gold Corp. (CSE:ELEM) (OTC:ELMGF) (FSE:7YS) ("Element 79 Gold", the "Company") a mining company focused on Gold and Silver, is pleased to announce the nomination of Mr. George Tumur to the Company's Board of Directors.

Distinguished senior business and operations leader, Mr. Tumur brings a wealth of experience and a profound understanding of mining, investment funding, and government relations. Former Ambassador to Singapore, Mr. Tumur's remarkable career has been characterized by visionary leadership, strategic acumen, and an exceptional ability to navigate complex challenges.

Mr. Tumur held several executive-level positions at minerals exploration and mining organizations, including Hunnu Coal Ltd. (ASX: HUN), Energy Resources LLC (later, MMC, HKEX: 0975) and other public and private entities. Most notably, in these roles, Mr Tumur has had a transformative impact in leadership, unlocking significant coal resources, estimated at 1 billion tons of measured and indicated coal across three projects at Hunnu Coal, and elevating the company's valuation nine-fold in just 18 months following IPO; as well as commencing a significant production of a private project within six months from a headstart, introducing an international contract mining experience into local mining industry, leading to a successful IPO.

Prior to his recent role as a senior advisor at Gateway Partners Ltd., a private equity investment fund in Singapore, Mr. Tumur has been appointed as Ambassador of Mongolia to Singapore, Philippines, and Brunei Darussalam, and applied his diplomatic skills to strengthen bilateral and multilateral relations, boasting trade and tourism between host countries and Mongolia.

Beyond his corporate success, Mr. Tumur is also a committed contributor to society and community organizations. He has held leadership positions in various organizations, including the Mongolian Chamber of Trade and Commerce in Singapore, the Asia Europe Foundation, and the Mongolian Mining Club. Tumur's academic background includes a Master of Science in Mining and Earth Systems Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgy and Materials Engineering from the same institution.

"This appointment marks a significant stride in the Company's journey toward strategic excellence and international expertise," said James Tworek, President and CEO of Element 79 Gold. "We look forward to benefiting from his wealth of experience, global perspective, and strategic insight."

The Company also announced that Mr. Shane Williams will step down from the Board of Directors. Mr. Williams departs from his position on Element 79 Gold's Board of Directors to focus on increasing professional commitments but will remain an advisor to the Company. Element 79 Gold would like to sincerely thank Mr. Williams for his valuable contributions and unwavering commitment during his tenure as a Director, and appreciates that he will continue to provide guidance through his advisory position as it navigates through both its current and future opportunities.

About Element79 Gold Corp.

Element79 Gold is a mining company focused on gold and silver committed to maximizing shareholder value through responsible mining practices and sustainable development of its projects. Element79 Gold's primary focus is on developing its previously-producing, high-grade gold and silver mine, the Lucero project located in Arequipa, Peru, with the intent to bring it back into production in the near term.

The Company also holds a portfolio of 5 properties along the Battle Mountain trend in Nevada, with the Clover and West Whistler projects believed to have significant potential for near-term resource development. Three properties in the Battle Mountain Portfolio are under contract for sale to Valdo Minerals Ltd., with an anticipated closing date around the end of 2023. The Company has also signed an Option Agreement to sell the Maverick Springs project, an advanced-stage exploratory property with an Inferred Resource of 3.71MMoz AuEq (1.37MMoz Au and 175MMoz Ag) and anticipates completing this sale before the end of 2023.

In British Columbia, Element79 Gold has executed a Letter of Intent and funded a drilling program to acquire a private company that holds the option to 100% interest of the Snowbird High-Grade Gold Project, which consists of 10 mineral claims located in Central British Columbia, approximately 20km west of Fort St. James. The Company also has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Dale Property, 90 unpatented mining claims located approximately 100 km southwest of Timmins, Ontario, and has recently announced that it has transferred this project to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Synergy Metals Corp, and is advancing through the Plan of Arrangement spin-out process through the rest of 2023.

For more information about the Company, please visit www.element79.gold

Contact Information

For corporate matters, please contact:

James C. Tworek, Chief Executive Officer

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For investor relations inquiries, please contact:

Investor Relations Department

Phone: +1.613.879.9387

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press contains "forwardlooking information" and "forward-looking statements" under applicable securities laws (collectively, "forwardlooking statements"). These statements relate to future events or the Company's future performance, business prospects or opportunities that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management made in light of management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the Company's business strategy; future planning processes; exploration activities; the timing and result of exploration activities; capital projects and exploration activities and the possible results thereof; acquisition opportunities; and the impact of acquisitions, if any, on the Company. Assumptions may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Consequently, forward-looking statements cannot be guaranteed. As such, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, assumptions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forwardlooking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "forecast", "potential", "target", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forwardlooking statements".

Actual results may vary from forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the duration and effects of the coronavirus and COVID-19; risks related to the integration of acquisitions; actual results of exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; commodity prices; variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; actual performance of plant, equipment or processes relative to specifications and expectations; accidents; labour relations; relations with local communities; changes in national or local governments; changes in applicable legislation or application thereof; delays in obtaining approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities; exchange rate fluctuations; requirements for additional capital; government regulation; environmental risks; reclamation expenses; outcomes of pending litigation; limitations on insurance coverage as well as those factors discussed in the Company's other public disclosure documents, available on www.sedarplus.ca. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forwardlooking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forwardlooking statements included herein should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date hereof. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 7, 2023 /CNW/ - Quimbaya Gold Inc. (CSE: QIM) ("Quimbaya" or the "Company") is pleased to announce securing an additional claim for gold and silver mining property covering 694 hectares, adding to the Company's existing assets. The claim area is as follows: 508312 (694 Ha), which is located in the municipality of Segovia, northeast of Medellin, the regional capital of the Department of Antioquia, Colombia. A map visualization of the claim can be found below.

Mr. Alexandre P. Boivin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company stated: "I'm pleased to announce that we are expanding our territory adjacent to Colombia's largest high-grade gold producer, Aris Mining (Segovia), which produces over 200,000 ounces annually. Our project directly borders theirs to the northeast, following a good potential geological structure."

This additional mining property is sitting at approximately 2 km (straight length) of the easternmost area of the Segovia Project owned by Aris Mining Company, where the Sandra K, Cogotes and Vera mines are currently in operation (SRK, 2022). The new claim overlies Segovia Batholith rocks, cut by a structural assemblage comprised of Vera and Matuna faults which seems to be involved in the presence of several gold-silver occurrences in NE and NS directions along the claim.

Francois Goulet, M.Sc., P.Geo, a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards for Disclosure of Mineral Projects, has reviewed the news release and assumes responsibility for scientific and technical disclosure contained herein.

About Quimbaya

Quimbaya aims to consolidate gold reserves through exploration and acquisition of mining properties in Antioquia, Colombia. Managed by an experienced team in the mining sector, Quimbaya is focused on 3 projects in the regions of Segovia (the Tahami project), Puerto Berrio (the Berrio Project), and Abejorral (the Maitamac Project), all located in the Antioquia Province, Colombia.

Cautionary Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" as that term is defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking information. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information in relation to securing of additional claims and the prospectivity of those claims for gold, silver or other metals. 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 information by its nature is based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Quimbaya to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Although Quimbaya's management believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information. Readers are 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 Quimbaya as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Except as required by law, Quimbaya does not expect to update forward-looking statements and information continually as conditions change.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Highlights

Mr. Bein worked for Hudbay Minerals for more than ten years; a company that recently acquired Copper Mountain for $439 million , which is neighbouring to the Companys flagship project, the Princeton Project.

Mr. Bein led exploration for Rock Tech Lithium, which completed extensive drilling and field exploration programs in Ontario, where Collective Metals has two projects: the Landings Lake Lithium Project and the Whitemud Lithium Project.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- COLLECTIVE METALS INC. (CSE: COMT | OTC: CLLMF | FSE: TO1) (the Company or Collective) is proud to announce the appointment of Mr. Amanuel Bein, P.Geo as a director of the Company (the Appointment). Mr. Bein will help lead the Companys exploration programs for its flagship Property, the Princeton Project, as well its Landings Lake Lithium Project and Whitemud Lithium Project.

I am excited to join a strong team at Collective Metals and to help the Company achieve its goals through different exploration programs, said Amanuel Bain. I believe the Princeton Project has significant potential and I will leverage my experience in the area to ensure the Company is remaining efficient and effective in its work.

Mr. Bein has 17 years of experience in the exploration and mining industry where he has gained world-class knowledge and expertise in several mineral deposit types that include LCT pegmatite, VMS, SEDEX, porphyry-skarn, and orogenic-gold. He began his career as a field geologist while working for several junior mineral exploration companies in the Arabian Nubian Shield between 2005 and 2008. Mr. Bein worked in the Bathurst Mining Camp between 2008 and 2010 while completing his graduate studies at University of New Brunswick.

Mr. Bein worked for Hudbay Minerals for more than ten years and was able to experience the full mining cycle, including the discovery of the 1901 deposit and closure of the Reed mine. At Hudbay Minerals, Mr. Bein led several regional and near-mine exploration programs in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Arizona. Mr. Bein also recently led an exploration team for Rock Tech Lithium that executed extensive exploration drilling and field exploration programs that enabled growth of mineral resources and discovery of several spodumene pegmatite prospects at Rock Tech's Georgia Lake project.

The addition of Amanuel is a significant development for the Company and further strengthens our management team, said CEO of Collective Metals, Chris Huggins. Through his prior experience, Amanuel will bring immeasurable value to our exploration work with the Princeton Project, Landings Lake Project and Whitemud Project. His previous work with Hudbay Minerals, which recently acquired Copper Mountain, a neighbour to our flagship property, the Princeton Project, will provide us with key insights and details as we prepare the next phases of our exploration programs.

About Collective Metals

Collective Metals Inc. (CSE: COMT | OTC: CLLMF | FSE: TO1) is a resource exploration company specializing in precious metals exploration in North America. The Companys flagship property is the Princeton Project, located in south-central British Columbia, Canada, approximately 10 km west of the currently producing Copper Mountain Mine. The Princeton Project consists of 29 mineral tenures totaling approximately 28,560 ha (70,570 acres) in a well-documented and prolific copper-gold porphyry belt and is easily accessible by road, located immediately west of Highway 3.

The Companys Landings Lake Lithium Project is located in northwestern Ontario where numerous lithium deposits have been delineated to host significant reserves of Li 2 O. The Landings Lake Lithium Project is located 53 km east of Ear Falls, Ontario and covers 3,146 hectares. The Whitemud Project, with several identified pegmatite outcrops, neighbours the Landings Lake Project and consists of 381 single cell mining claims totaling 7,775 hectares.

Social Media

ON BEHALF OF COLLECTIVE METALS INC.

Christopher Huggins

Chief Executive Officer

T: 604-968-4844

E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Forward Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, including with respect to future plans, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions, the ability to manage operating expenses, and dependence on key personnel. Forward looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements respecting: expected benefits of the Appointment. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, the continued availability of capital and financing, litigation, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
US President Joe Biden heads to India for the G20 summit this weekend aiming to capitalise on the glaring absence of China's and Russia's leaders to bolster alliances in the sharply divided bloc.

Deep disagreements on Russia's war in Ukraine, the phasing out of fossil fuels and debt restructuring will dominate talks and likely hamper agreements at the two-day meeting in New Delhi.

Biden will discuss "a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues" including climate change and "mitigating the economic and social impacts of Russia's war in Ukraine", National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said ahead of the summit.

China's Xi Jinping, president of the world's second-largest economy, will miss the meeting at a time of heightened trade and geopolitical tensions with the United States and India, with which it shares a long and disputed border.

Beijing also bristles at India's membership in the so-called Quad, a security partnership with Australia, Japan and the United States that China views as an effort to contain its influence in Asia.

China has given no reason why Xi will not attend the September 9-10 summit, confirming only that Premier Li Qiang would join the leaders of the world's biggest economies, which account for about 85 percent of global GDP and greenhouse gas emissions.

- 'Worrisome' -

Xi's absence will impact Washington's bid to keep the G20 the main forum of global economic cooperation and efforts to make a financing push for developing countries.

"Without China being on board... issues may not really see the light of day or reach any logical conclusion," said Happymon Jacob, a politics professor at India's Jawaharlal Nehru University.

The ongoing war in Ukraine also overshadows the event, with Russian President Vladimir Putin set to miss the meeting and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov taking his place at the table.

In March, the International Criminal Court announced an arrest warrant for Putin over the war crime accusation of unlawfully deporting Ukrainian children, allegations the Kremlin insists are "void".

"As long as Russia doesn't end this war, there can be no business as usual", German government spokesman Wolfgang Buechner said.

The global crises facing the bloc are "far more difficult, more complicated, more worrisome than it has been for a long time", Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar told India's NDTV news channel ahead of the meeting.

India, fresh from celebrating the cementing of its position as a space power by landing a craft on the Moon in August, has portrayed its hosting of the G20 as a coming-of-age moment that makes it a key global player.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pitched India as a self-styled leader of the "Global South", a bridge between developed and developing countries, and has pushed to expand the bloc into the "G21" with the inclusion of the African Union.

- Tackling climate change -

Modi has tried to use the G20 to build consensus among key economies to reform global multilateral institutions like the United Nations to give a greater say to developing countries such as India, Brazil and South Africa.

"India's emergence as the world's fastest-growing economy and its inclusive approach is good news for the Global South", said Sujan Chinoy, a former Indian diplomat and head of the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

Modi's efforts to urge G20 leaders to sidestep deep divisions to address critical global issues have been unsuccessful in ministerial meetings ahead of the summit, including global debt restructuring efforts and commodity price shocks following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A G20 energy ministers' meeting in July failed to agree on a roadmap to phase down the use of fossil fuels -- or even mention coal, the dirty fuel that remains a key energy source for economies like India and China.

Against a backdrop of record-breaking temperatures and deadly heatwaves across the globe, climate activists have warned of dire consequences -- particularly for developing countries -- if leaders fail to forge a consensus in New Delhi.

India and China are among the biggest global polluters but argue that historical contributors in the West need to take a much bigger responsibility for today's global climate crisis.

The G20 energy and climate consensus push has also faced resistance from countries like Saudi Arabia and Russia, who fear that a transition away from fossil fuels would dent their economies.
Chinese travellers throng the bazaars of old Kashgar, munching mutton kebabs and soaking up heavily commodified Uyghur culture -- part of a government push to remould troubled Xinjiang into a tourism paradise.

Kashgar, an ancient Silk Road oasis, was more recently on the frontlines of Beijing's sweeping anti-terrorism campaign in the northwestern region.

The city's outskirts are still pockmarked with facilities that the ruling Communist Party once called vocational schools but Western researchers describe as extralegal detention camps for Muslims -- with the United States linking them to policies of "genocide".

Now, after years of assault on Uyghur traditions and ways of life, the government is pumping cash into repackaging a state-approved version of their culture to attract domestic and foreign travellers.

On a recent visit by AFP journalists to old Kashgar, thousands of tourists crowded streetside stalls that were selling silk scarves and steaming naan.

Other visitors snapped selfies in front of the pastel-yellow Id Kah Mosque.

"The old town is the heart and soul of Kashgar, with a long history, rich culture and unique architecture," said a Uyghur tour guide as she whisked visitors, mainly from China's Han majority ethnic group, through the narrow streets.

"Many tourists like it so much that they come back, start businesses... and live here alongside other ethnic minorities as one big family."

Dozens of stores catered to a trend for "travel snaps" taken by a professional photographer, where tourists can pay over 1,500 yuan ($205) to don spangled veils and pose around the city in Uyghur clothing.

The celebration of traditional dress comes despite a ban authorities placed a few years ago on Uyghur women wearing veils and men growing long beards.

Looking beyond the tourist activities, there were other signs pointing to a loss of traditions and lifestyles for Uyghur residents.

An expanse of rubble lay at the site of Kashgar's former Grand Bazaar just beyond the fringes of the old town.

The vast market, where thousands of traders once hawked fabrics, spices and other wares, was reportedly razed by authorities last year.

Much of the old town had also been demolished and rebuilt over recent decades as part of the government's development drive.

- Tourism boom -

Chinese officials have long viewed tourism as a way to develop resource-rich but historically impoverished Xinjiang.

The strategy has gained new impetus this year as the economy staggers out of a hardline zero-Covid policy that gummed up domestic travel and throttled consumption.

Last month, President Xi Jinping called on officials to "strengthen positive publicity and show Xinjiang's new atmosphere of openness and self-confidence."

The region's tourism bureau plans to spend over 700 million yuan in 2023, more than double its pre-pandemic budget in 2019.

A suite of new projects has been announced across Xinjiang, from luxury hotels to campsites, rail routes and activity parks.

They include agreements totalling 12.6 billion yuan ($1.72 billion) with Western hotel brands like Hilton, Sheraton and InterContinental, the ruling party-run People's Daily newspaper reported in June.

Tourism has also provided an opportunity for Beijing to push back against criticism of its policies in the region.

A chorus of researchers, campaigners and Uyghurs overseas have alleged systematic rights abuses in Xinjiang stretching back years -- including mass internment, forced labour, coercive birth controls, political indoctrination and curbs on religion.

"Do people look oppressed? Does the city look like an open-air prison like the US said?" wrote one state-linked journalist in July on Twitter -- the platform rebranded as X, which is blocked in China -- alongside clips of herself dining and dancing with Kashgar locals.

China has dismissed a UN report detailing "serious" abuses that may constitute "crimes against humanity", and blasted US claims of a "genocide".

Its foreign ministry told AFP that in Xinjiang "people's lives are continuously improving, cultural spaces are prospering and religion is harmonious and agreeable."

The development push has coincided with a relaxation of security in cities where Uyghur residents were once subjected to pervasive body scans and other inspections by armed police.

In Kashgar, AFP saw just a handful of officers, and abandoned or barely used scanners dotted the streets.

- Prayers prohibited -

But off the main tourist trail, in the mostly Uyghur town of Yengisar, AFP reporters saw a sign in a cemetery prohibiting Islamic "religious activities" such as kneeling, prostrating, praying with palms facing upwards and reciting scripture.

The same sign permitted certain offerings for the Qingming Festival, typically observed by Han but not Uyghurs.

Around a dozen mosques in other towns and villages around Kashgar were found locked and rundown.

Some appeared to have had minarets and other Islamic markings removed, and many bore the same government slogan: "Love the country, love the party."

In Kashgar, no more than two dozen mostly elderly Uyghur men were seen entering Id Kah Mosque for Friday afternoon prayers, vastly outnumbered by tourists -- a stark change from the thousands of believers that would congregate a decade ago.

Three other community mosques within a few hundred metres were shuttered when AFP visited, with a store advertising adult products operating a stone's throw from one of them.

Such closures were largely deemed "unnecessary until the recent wave of repression" beginning in 2017, said Rian Thum, an expert on Uyghur history at Britain's University of Manchester.

"The destruction of religious sites... is part of a larger set of policies that are transforming the landscape and disconnecting Uyghur culture from the geography" of Xinjiang, Thum told AFP.

The sharpest reminders of Beijing's policies still lurk on Kashgar's periphery, which houses many of the alleged internment camps.

While some appear to have been converted or abandoned, others look to still be operating -- and provoke official unease when exposed.

"Don't take any photos!" yelled an unidentified woman in an unmarked car that followed AFP to a nondescript compound on a bleak industrial estate an hour's drive from the city.

"That's not permitted around here."

mjw/reb/je/ssy/kma

X
The European Union on Wednesday condemned the "heinous and barbaric" deadly attack by Russia on a market in east Ukraine.

"Russia continues terrorising Ukraine's civilian population. Today's heinous and barbaric missile attack on a market area in Kostyantynivka in Donetsk region killed at least 16 people, including a child and injured dozens others," a spokesperson for the bloc said in a statement.

"This attack follows an escalation over the past months of missile and drone attacks all over Ukraine, especially on civilian objects, killing and wounding more than 410 civilians over the past two weeks alone."

Ukrainian officials said at least 17 people at a market in east Ukraine Wednesday died in the attack that President Volodymyr Zelensky described as deliberate.

Projectiles tore through the centre of Kostiantynivka -- a town of nearly 70,000 people in the Donetsk region -- in one of the deadliest strikes in weeks.

"Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes. All commanders, perpetrators and accomplices of these atrocities will be held to account," the EU statement said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $1 billion of aid during a surprise visit Wednesday to Ukraine, which suffered a Russian strike that killed at least 17 people at a market.

The attack, which President Volodymyr Zelensky described as deliberate and "heinous", drew international condemnation from the West, including accusations of war crimes.

Projectiles tore through the centre of Kostiantynivka -- a town of nearly 70,000 people in the eastern Donetsk region -- in one of the deadliest strikes in weeks.

"They smashed everything, all the shop windows, everything was strewn around," an eyewitness told AFP.

"Thank God we are alive, of course. But the girls who were selling there, they are all dead," the witness said.

Images distributed by officials showed rescue workers picking through the debris and carrying away some of the 32 people reportedly wounded in the blast, which left vehicles charred and kiosks torn to pieces.

"Anyone in the world who is still dealing with anything Russian simply ignores this reality," said Zelensky.

"Heinous evil. Brazen wickedness. Utter inhumanity."

He later accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians and said there were no military units "anywhere near" the scene.

The European Union condemned the strike along with the "escalation" of Russian attacks on "civilian objects" that has seen hundreds killed or wounded in recent weeks.

"Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes," the bloc said in a statement.

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that "this Russian war of aggression is an attack on international law, on humanity."

Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the incident underscored "the importance of continuing to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their territory."

- 'Build momentum' -

During a meeting with Zelensky, Blinken reiterated Washington's support for Kyiv in its fight to liberate territory in the south and east.

"We are determined in the United States to continue to walk side by side with you. And President Biden asked me to come to reaffirm strongly our support," he told Zelensky.

"We see the important progress that's being made now in the counteroffensive and that's very, very encouraging," he added.

The new $1 billion aid package, which includes $665.5 million in military and civilian security assistance, would further "build momentum" for the counteroffensive, Blinken said at a later press conference.

In addition to the funds, the Pentagon announced it will provide Ukraine with depleted uranium tank ammunition -- a powerful but controversial weapon due its toxicity.

Russia's embassy in the United States said on Telegram that the move was "a clear sign of inhumanity" on Washington's part.

"The US is deliberately transferring weapons with indiscriminate effects," it said.

The Kremlin earlier dismissed Blinken's visit, arguing US aid would not "influence the course of the special military operation" -- Moscow's term for its offensive.

Kyiv's army meanwhile said it was pressing on with "offensive operations" towards eastern Ukraine's war-battered town of Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces in May, and the Moscow-occupied southern city of Melitopol.

The boost in US aid to Kyiv follows criticisms in recent weeks that Ukraine's counteroffensive has been too slow.

Russia said Wednesday it had "improved its tactical position" near the northwestern city of Kupiansk, where it has led a local offensive for weeks.

It earlier hit Ukraine's southwestern Odesa region, near the border with Romania, with overnight drone attacks killing one person.

Early Thursday, Russia's defence ministry said three Ukrainian drones had been destroyed during the night: one on the outskirts of Moscow and two over the southwestern Rostov region.

"Several cars were damaged" in the centre of Rostov, along with building facades and windows, regional governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram.

One person sustained cuts but declined hospital treatment, he added.

The Russian capital's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that debris from the "drone attack attempt on Moscow" caused no damage or casualties, according to initial reports.

- 'Everything possible and impossible' -

Ukrainian lawmakers approved Wednesday the nomination of Crimean Tatar Rustem Umerov as Kyiv's new wartime defence minister, in what was hailed as a historic move.

Crimean Tatars are an ethnic minority hailing from the Black Sea peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

"I will do everything possible and impossible for the victory of Ukraine -- when we liberate every centimetre of our country and every one of our people," he said on social media.

The 41-year-old businessman has been involved in prisoner exchange negotiations involving Saudi Arabia and grain export talks with Turkey and the United Nations.

Zelensky had nominated Umerov as new defence minister after the resignation of Oleksiy Reznikov, calling for "new approaches" in the wake of several corruption scandals within the ministry.

"It is the highest state post ever held by a Tatar (from Crimea)," Sergiy Leshchenko, an advisor to the presidential administration, told AFP.
The United States will provide depleted uranium tank ammunition to Ukraine as part of more than $1 billion in military and humanitarian aid announced by Washington on Wednesday.

The 120mm rounds -- included in $175 million in military equipment for Kyiv that will be drawn from US stocks -- are for M1 Abrams tanks that are expected to be delivered to Ukraine before the end of the year.

Depleted uranium munitions are controversial due to their association with health problems such as cancer and birth defects in areas where they were used in past conflicts, though they have not been definitively proven to have caused such issues.

The density of depleted uranium -- a by-product of the nuclear enrichment process -- helps rounds containing it to punch through heavy armor, making it ideal for use in ammunition designed to target tanks.

Depleted uranium munitions are part of the military arsenals of many countries, including those of the United States and Russia, and its use is not banned under international law.

Britain said earlier this year that it would provide Kyiv with armor-piercing ammunition containing depleted uranium, after which Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to begin using it in Ukraine.

The US promise of depleted uranium rounds comes about two months after Washington said it would provide cluster munitions to Ukraine -- a controversial decision that drew sharp criticism from rights groups due to the danger unexploded bomblets pose.

- Anti-tank missiles, artillery ammo -

The $175 million military assistance package for Ukraine also includes anti-tank missiles, artillery and mortar rounds, small arms ammunition, and demolitions munitions for clearing obstacles, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The aid announcement comes as Ukraine battles Russian forces in a slow-moving counteroffensive that Kyiv launched against Moscow's troops in June after building up Western-supplied weapons.

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken said during a visit to Kyiv on Wednesday that Washington would "maximize" efforts to support Ukraine, which he described as making "important progress" in its counteroffensive.

Blinken also announced hundreds of millions of dollars in new assistance for Kyiv.

This includes $100 million in foreign military financing, $90.5 million for demining assistance, $300 million to support law enforcement in areas recaptured from Russia, $206 million in humanitarian aid, and $203 million for reform efforts and the investigation of war crimes.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Blinken that Washington's support was "not charity," saying: "Today, thanks to our partners, Ukraine is restraining Russia's aggression."

US officials have spearheaded the push for international support for Ukraine, quickly forging a coalition to back Kyiv after Russia invaded last year and coordinating aid from dozens of countries.

Washington has promised Kyiv more than $43 billion in military assistance since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine's supporters have also provided training to Kyiv's troops, while the United States and other countries imposed tough sanctions on Russia, with targets including financial institutions, technology imports and energy exports.
Last week, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) presented one of its most politically significant indictments in six years of investigations and the most symbolic so far against a state agent in Colombia. It accused retired General Mario Montoya of having committed war crimes and crimes against humanity, the two most internationally reproached crimes, for his role as head of a Colombian army brigade that committed 130 extrajudicial executions between 2002 and 2003.

The special tribunal stemming from the 2016 peace agreement had already indicted two generals and 14 colonels for the murder of civilians who were then falsely presented as Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels killed in combat, a crime known to Colombians by the euphemism 'false positives'. But none had the public profile of Montoya, who became commander of the Army and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces between 2006 and 2008, coinciding with the peak of these crimes.

"Mario Montoya adopted a de facto policy in the Fourth Brigade that prioritised deaths as the only real indicator of military success. He required, demanded, pressured, compared and measured all troops under his command" according to this parameter, said justice Catalina Diaz, who led the investigation that also accused two colonels and six other military officers in the north-western department of Antioquia.

He was aware of what he was doing

Although the JEP did not accuse the general of committing any of these murders personally, it held him accountable for the crimes perpetrated by members of the six military units under his command. "All of these murders were committed with the ultimate aim of responding to the pressure for 'casualties' and 'litres of blood' exerted by General Mario Montoya," the indictment states. "This is not an accidental repetition, nor were they isolated or unconnected events." One unit, the 4th Artillery Battalion Colonel Jorge Eduardo Sanchez, was responsible for over a hundred crimes.

The special tribunal documented four reprehensible actions by Montoya. First, he pressured his subordinates to produce combat kills at all costs. Second, he ordered his men not to report captured or defecting rebels, regarding casualties as the only valid indicator of mission accomplishment. Third, he used notoriously violent language that incited the unlawful production of combat deaths. Finally, he lied about how these alleged casualties occurred and even covered up overreach by his men. For this reason, the JEP charged him with the war crime of wilful killing of protected persons and the crimes against humanity of homicide and enforced disappearance.

With this behaviour, the JEP established, Montoya "created the conditions conducive to the emergence of the macro-criminal pattern" and "influenced security forces members under his command, instigating the perpetration of crimes". The effect of his conduct was, according to the indictment, to "generate a permanent situation of risk for the civilian population that he himself was called upon to protect as institutional guarantor". In fact, the special tribunal says, it found no soldier who had heard clear messages from him about the duty to protect civilians not taking part in hostilities. He was, says the JEP, "aware of what he was doing".

In addition, the JEP established that the eastern region of Antioquia where these units operated - immersed at the time in an intense armed confrontation - became a kind of laboratory where this criminal pattern took shape and from where it spread to the rest of the country. "What happened in Antioquia was a determining factor in the national dynamics of the phenomenon," it said.

General Mario Montoya during his hearing before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in Colombia.  JEP

A fifth indictment but one same pattern

In this fifth indictment, the JEP details behaviours that it had already identified in previous accusations, providing new examples to illustrate the criminal pattern of murdering innocent civilians and falsely passing them off as rebels killed in combat. For example, it details the methods used by Fourth Brigade to profile and select victims, mostly poor peasants taken from their farms and singled out without proof of being rebels or their sympathisers, on what the JEP called "the premise that their forced coexistence with the guerrillas was an unequivocal sign of loyalty to them". Through this stigma, the special tribunal argues, the military justified their crimes.

The JEP magistrates also found in this region the seed of what would trigger scandal five years later: how many military officials lured people from other cities with fake employment promises and then killed them, choosing them because they were unemployed, had disabilities or problematic drug use, on the assumption that this reduced the likelihood that they would be searched for. In one particularly vicious episode, it recounts how soldiers in civilian clothes parked a van at a Medellin marketplace and recruited four day workers for a supposed housing move, instead driving them to a village in Granada - 80 kilometres away - where they were murdered and buried in a mass grave. The JEP also documented how soldiers under Montoya's command killed 14 guerrillas whod been captured or surrendered and were therefore out of combat according to international humanitarian law, including an invalid man at a FARC field hospital.

Similarly, the indictment documents how many of these murders were carried out in collusion with right-wing paramilitaries to the point that several victims reported having seen them changing armbands or patrolling together. Or how they planned and covered up crimes by forging operational documents and coordinating accounts before the justice system investigating them.

The only real indicator of military success

Perhaps the novelest aspect of the indictment against Montoya and the other members of the Fourth Brigade is that, rather than exhaustively describing its 130 extrajudicial executions, the special tribunal focuses on detailing the mechanisms that allowed them to occur and how commanders instigated them.

According to the JEP, military units in eastern Antioquia between 2002 and 2003 had a single mission: to produce as many guerrilla deaths as possible. For Montoya, other indicators of success in the counterinsurgency war - such as capturing enemy troops or encouraging them to voluntarily defect - had no value and were discouraged. Producing casualties was "the only real indicator of military success".

It was a message Montoya hammered home in his weekly radio addresses to troops and in interactions with his subordinates, which were then echoed by his battalion commanders and went down the chain of command. In these speeches, Montoya stressed the "need for units to catch up with casualties", encouraged them with exhortations such as "the best brigade is the one that gives more than 204 [casualties], we have to be the best" and, when there were none, pulled their ears by telling them that "manpower is not on par with operational results", as reconstructed by the JEP through dozens of military testimonies and official transcripts in military archives.

At the same time, Montoya discouraged any reporting of different achievements, encouraged competition between units and established rankings by number of casualties. "Don't give me faggotries, defections, surrenders, wounded or bullshit. What I want to see is blood," a corporal reportedly heard him say. His behaviour was emulated by his commanders, as another dialogue recounted by a lieutenant shows. "I have two captures," a soldier reported. "How many casualties?" his superior replied. "No, two captures," he clarified. "How many casualties?" came the reply again. "No yes, two, two," corrected the soldier. "Ah good, excellent," he complimented him.

This constant pressure led the military to internalise that, in one corporals words, "the result could not be less than a casualty". For this reason, the JEP concluded that this pressure for casualties was "the starting point" of the criminal pattern.

Rewards for casualties, punishments for not giving them

One factor that contributed to instilling this pressure among Fourth Brigade soldiers was an incentive system rewarding those who produced casualties and punishing those who didnt.

Those reporting the most combat casualties, either individually or as a group, received medals, cash bonuses, public praise, congratulations on their CVs that were useful for promotion, aviation course recommendations, patrol shifts in quiet villages, paid trips to the Caribbean and commissions to the Multinational Peace Force in the Sinai Peninsula. The most sought after by soldiers were the five days of leave that they received for each casualty and could accumulate, in what the JEP called an "arbitrary handling" that took advantage that this wasnt regulated. It was so effective that they even adopted it as a metonymy. "See, thats five days walking there," one soldier said. On the other hand, those who didnt produce casualties received public humiliations, annotations on their resume for "lack of work competence" and transfers to more violent and isolated regions of the country.

The measuring stick, according to the tribunal, was always how many deaths theyd achieved. "If you had many, you were good; if you had few, you were asleep; if you had none, you were bad and useless," said one corporal. The JEP documented 24 radio programmes where Montoya congratulated those whod produced casualties, but not those who made captures or weapons seizures.

These incentives had a significant impact on recipients careers. While Colonel Ivan Dario Pineda, also an indictee, was sent to the Chilean Artillery School as a teacher and later appointed director of the Colombian one, others saw General Montoya use his discretionary power to force their departure from the army or transfer them.

"Bring me litres of blood"

General Montoyas language, according to the JEP, "incited the indiscriminate use of lethal force". His interactions with subordinates were full of allusions to "litres", "jets", "rivers", "barrels" or "truckloads of blood", as several military officials testified. "Don't bring me problems, bring me litres of blood", a sergeant overheard him say. On his orders, they even had to report themselves saying "no news or litres of blood reported", repeating the salute if they omitted the last part, another sergeant said. This bloody leitmotif was, according to the JEP, what "had the greatest effect (...) in internalising the message that combat casualties were the only indicator of success".

Official military transcript of a speech by General Montoya to his troops calling for "results in barrels of blood" and "the need for units to catch up on combat kills".  JEP

In addition to the continuous references to blood, there was another linguistic peculiarity: ambiguous orders that did not indicate the purpose to be served on a detainee but were sufficiently suggestive, such as "you know what you have to do". A captain told the JEP that on one occasion he reported a casualty and two rifles, to which his commander replied: "You have one killed in combat and you have one rifle, look for the owner of the other rifle". When a sergeant reported finding an invalid guerrilla in a wheelchair, one of his colleagues said that the response of his superior, Colonel Julio Alberto Novoa, who is also accused, was "No, well, then I'll send the inspector there to do the search". This was a veiled allusion to the forensic officer who processes the bodies on a battlefield.

For the special tribunal, these were "implicit messages that led to the killing of persons then presented as combat casualties", expressed in language contrary to a military commanders duty of giving clear orders.

Cover-up in San Rafael

One of the JEPs harshest accusations against Montoya is that he lied about the unlawful nature of many of these casualties and even covered up excesses by the men under his watch. It does so recounting a specific episode: on 9 March 2002, soldiers shot at a pick-up truck in a rural area of San Rafael where a paramilitary known as 'Parmenio' was travelling, without realising that five civilians were inside and also killed on the spot. Among them were a 13-year-old and a 16-year-old girl, who had asked for a ride to a party because there was no public transport. The soldier reported the civilian deaths to his commander, Colonel Novoa, who in turn informed Montoya.

"We have to say that those killed are rebels from FARCs Ninth Front," Montoya reportedly said upon arriving the following day by helicopter. Novoa tried to correct his mistake but the general ordered him, in the JEPs words, to "sustain and publicly communicate this false version of facts". He himself called a press conference at the elderly hospice and publicly identified them as guerrillas. He never mentioned that they were civilians, as his subordinates warned him, or that two were children. "You'll need your whole life - and Ill have ample time - to prove that my daughter was a rebel!, Gloria Lucia Lopez, mother of 13-year-old Erika Viviana Castaneda, scolded him.

"This conduct by the commander sent a message to his subordinates that it was acceptable to lie when showing results in the fight against subversive groups and to cover up a possible irregularity," the JEP concluded.

Montoya's (and his political defenders) dilemma

General Montoya, who has so far denied responsibility, will now have six weeks to decide whether to accept the JEPs charges.

Under the transitional justices two-track system, he and the other eight new indictees may receive a more lenient 5-to-8-year sentence in a non-prison setting if - and only if - they meet three conditions: acknowledging their responsibility, telling victims families the truths they still yearn for, and personally redressing them. Most defendants have so far chosen this route: 55 of the 62 military officials accused in this macro-case have owned up to their crimes. The remaining seven will go to an adversarial route and, if convicted, face 15-to-20-year prison sentences. A month ago, the JEP prosecutor's office filed charges against the first of these, Colonel Hernan Mejia.

The political sectors that have staunchly defended Montoya also face a dilemma: whether to accept the evidence of a JEP theyve so far been sceptical of and the confessions of the implicated soldiers themselves. Former President Alvaro Uribe, who appointed Montoya as the Army's top commander and later as ambassador in the Dominican Republic, defended him until three years ago as "a national hero" and warned of an "injustice" against him. After the indictment, he defended his security policy and his corrective measures after learning of the extrajudicial executions and again attacked the transitional tribunal as "a FARC imposition", but admitted that "some members of the Armed Forces, in order to show off, violated human rights and committed false positives". He didnt name Montoya, who resigned from the army in 2008 just as Uribe took corrective measures.

Uribe's acknowledgement of this macabre reality, even if only partially, shows that after years of divisions on the issue, Colombians are closer to recognising that - as the JEP says - many in the military believed that "the way to fulfil their constitutional duty was to kill at all costs and display corpses".
Shougang Park, the once-largest steelmaker in Beijing,has just hosted the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services with over 2,000 enterprises across the globe taking part in offline exhibitions.

The former industrial complex was renowned for its Big Air stadium, which impressed the world during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

How did Shougang Park manage the stunt of industrial transformation and turn itself into a popular venue for big international events? Watch this video for more.
The aftermath of the controversy continues as Kim Hieora's appearance in "SNL Korea" got canceled due to her involvement with the infamous Iljin Gang at Sangji Girls' High School.

"Iljin" is a Korean term that refers to bullies within a school setting who take over control over fellow schoolmates using physical power.

Following the successful finale of "The Uncanny Counter" season 2, Kim Hieora is in hot water after Dispatch dropped bombshell news regarding her past.

It was after the media outlet received information about the actress' involvement in bullying incidents way back in middle school.

Kim Hieora's Guesting in 'SNL Korea' Halted

As soon as the news broke, media outlets cited that the actress' scheduled filming of "SNL Korea" season 4 was canceled by the producers.

It can be recalled that the show officially announced on September 4 that the 34-year-old actress will be appearing in the upcoming episode of the variety show's 4th season.

However, just days after the announcement and on the day that Dispatch revealed the shocking news, producers of the show have decided to postpone the scheduled recording and broadcast featuring the controversial actress.

In the same report, Kim Hieora expressed her thoughts on the abrupt cancellation of her guest appearance.

"There are so many facets to me that I want to share. I was planning to reveal a lot of these through SNL Korea," she said, adding, "Despite these recent happenings, I strive to perform at my best alongside the show's talented crew."

Was Kim Hieora Member of Big Sangji?

According to Dispatch, the actress' former classmate revealed that Kim Hieora was part of the notorious Big Sangji, known to extort money and physically as well as verbally abuse their classmates.

The outlet said that they received the tip in May and have met with approximately 10 individuals who went to the said school.

A former student named "B" claimed that "The Glory" actress was "also part of Big Sangji."

"There was a group called Big Sangji at the school. They extorted money from others and gave it to the oldest members of the group," the person said, adding, "If you didn't have money, they would curse at you and hit you."

Following this, Kim Hieora confessed that she was part of the Big Sangji but denied that she participated in school violence.

Admitting that she was not a model student back then, the stress said that she reflected on those days."

"I have never hit anyone. Of course, that doesn't mean I am not responsible. I lived as a bystander," she pointed out.

Dispatch also gathered evidence showing a screengrab from their online group message board, showing Kim Hieora actively commented on the group's activities.

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Following the bombshell news regarding breakout star Kim Hieora, Dispatch revealed more receipts involving the actress with the notorious Iljin gang during her middle school years.

In an exclusive report, the outlet published a handwritten letter that the actress personally wrote to reporters who were covering the school violence suspicion.

It was last May, months after "The Glory" part 2 ended and ahead of her then-upcoming K-drama "The Uncanny Counter" season 2.

Kim Hieora Personally Wrote to Reporter Covering Her Story

As posted by Dispatch, the handwritten letter was dated May 17, 2023, with the actress addressing it to reporter Kim So Jung. At the time, the reporter was covering her story regarding the alleged school bullying issue.

In a lengthy message, the actress said that she is "grateful and apologetic" for taking time to meet her and "put so much effort" into her story.

She then continued and explained why she was writing the letter, and that was to share her thoughts about the incident.

Acknowledging that she "went astray" and was "immature" when she was young, Kim Heiora said that she was "embarrassed" by who she was and "reprimanding" herself for it.

"Ever since I was young, I was either at the center of attention or the target of bullying and exclusion because of my uncommon name and uncommon appearance," she said, adding, "With those feelings of inferiority, I entered my second year of middle school, and against my will, issues arose over my older cousin."

The actress said that she was caught up in a situation where she "could not stand still and tell people to leave me alone."

Calling it an "immature decision," Kim Hieora explained, "I decided that being someone at the center of attention was better than being bullied or excluded."

The actress continued and pointed out that she "never harmed or bullied anyone repetitively for pleasure."

Admitting that she was not a "model student" back then, she mentioned that despite the existence of the group, referring to the BIG SANJI, a bullying gang in Sangji Girls' Middle School, she regretted her being a part of it and has decided to turn things around in high school and "lived diligently with the intention of being a good influence on others."

Concluding the length statement, Kim Hieora asked for a second chance and promised to "live always" by repaying her debts.

"I want to show you a good side through a good production. Or if you don't want to see me in any more productions, I will show you that I can change and grow with time and effort," she said.

Kim Hieora's 'SNL Korea' Guest Appearance Affected by Iljin Controversy

Amid the shocking bullying issue with the actress, her guest appearance in "SNL Korea" season 4 got canceled.

According to reports, she is scheduled to join the episode, which will air on September 9. Moreover, pre-recorded segments are set to be filmed on September 7; unfortunately, news broke before the filming schedule.

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Kwon Jae Kyung (Ha Joon) was shocked after he found out about Jang Shin Yu (Rowoon) and Lee Hong Jo's (Jo Bo Ah) complicated relationship in "Destined With You" episode 5.

'Destined With You' Episode 5: Lee Hong Jo & Jang Shin Yu Go Against Their Destinies

Jang Shin Yu respectfully joined Lee Hong Jo in commemorating her father's memorial. After their short meal, they went back to the beach where Hong Jo was already drunk and began talking to her father.

However, she ended up bickering with Shin Yu due to the love spell.

According to the story, their destinies cannot be severed, and they need to accept it. They decides to go against their destinies, and they don't have an interest in each other.

While they travel back to Seoul, Hong Jo lies on Shin Yu's shoulder and begins talking unconsciously.

The next day at the office, Hong Jo received a complaint stating that Mount Onju was covered in blood. Along with her officemates, they went to the mountain to fix it.

Later on, Jang Shin Yu called Hong Jo to his office to irritate her again.

After she left, he remembered Na Yeon's (Yura) proposal. He felt sad at the thought he was in love with Hong Jo, while also engaged to Na Yeon.

Jang Shin Yu Hallucinates Seeing Lee Hong Jo

The two went on a date, and while on his phone, Jang Shin Yu found a woman who looked like Lee Hong Jo and followed her. Unfortunately, the lady disappeared.

To confirm, he visited Hong Jo's place and asked her whereabouts. She stated that she went to see the Shaman. The next thing Hong Jo knew, she was hurt by the lawyer's words saying why he would fall for her when he had a girlfriend who people loved due to her beauty.

Hong Jo then remembered how Na Yeon bullied her back in school. She wondered how Shin Yu liked her.

The next day, Jang Shin Yu nagged at Lee Hong Jo while having lunch. The lawyer then got curious about her destiny on the first floor. After her work, she went to buy plants for the yard as a housewarming gift to Ha Joon. He tried to help but she refused so he just invited her for dinner.

Kwon Jae Kyung Invites Lee Hong Jo for Dinner

The two had a nice conversation and Hong Jo felt enthusiastic about the adrenaline rush she had while spending time with her crush. However, their convo was interrupted when Jang Shin Yu called her.

The lawyer found out that Hong Jo was with a man and enjoying beer, making him jealous.

In the following days, while he's with his friend, Jang Shin Yu, who never drinks due to his disease, he gets drunk to forget Hong Jo and the spell.

Unconsciously, he went to her home.

Kwon Jae Kyung Discovers Jang Shin Yu & Lee Hong Jo's Complicated Relationship

While talking outside, Kwon Jae Kyung appeared and saw Jang Shin Yu holding Hong Jo's hand. He asked him to leave as it is not appropriate to visit a woman's place at night while drunk.

Shin Yu learned that Jae Kyung was the one living on the first floor, remembering what Hong Jo said that her destiny was him.

Jang Shin Yu said he has no feelings for Hong Jo, but she is responsible for how he is feeling. Jae Kyung finds it hard to understand and offers to drive him home. However, Hong Jo clarified that it was her fault and needed to take Shin Yu home.

They went to a park for Shin Yu to relax after feeling drunk. Hong Jo then proposed meeting him again on the 19th so they could try to cast another spell and get rid of the love spell in him. Hong Jo then started to blush when Shin Yu said he had found his drunk habit, which is to kiss someone near him.

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article.

Shai Collins wrote this.
As a child, she aspired to be an interior designer.

But she would go on to enroll in cosmetology school before eventually receiving a degree in advertising and public relations from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Running a gift store at a nursery wasnt exactly in the plans, but now its the only thing Christy Taylor can see herself doing.

Taylor and her business partner, Mark Charipar, opened the store at the Landmark Nursery in Eagle in 2021 with the mission to create a slice of heaven out in the country.

The store, fittingly named The Refuge, has accomplished that goal, Taylor said.

A mulberry tree with soft lights strung around it and a black cat sleeping underneath sit in one corner of the shop, and plants fill nearly every other space.

A lot of customers from the city come out here and you see the look of relief on their face, Taylor said. Ive heard them say, This is my escape from the city, and thats part of The Refuge.

Taylor said she was likely the first applicant for this years Nebraska Passport Program, which features "hidden gems" around the state, including museums, parks, wineries, retail stores and more. Participants who make it to all 70 destinations from May 1 to Sept. 30 can win a series of prizes.

Then the beginning of this year, we found out we were a destination, Taylor said. I was really ecstatic.

Thanks to the exposure the store has received through being part of the program, Taylor said theyve had a lot of new customers.

Its just been a mixture of people coming to us from passport and word of mouth, which you know, is the best form of advertising, Taylor said.

Charipar handles the nursery side of the business, leaving Taylor complete creative freedom inside the gift shop, which she said she takes full advantage of.

I like to find things that are unique, that maybe you wouldnt see anywhere else, Taylor said. People are drawn into the whole experience.

Taylor typically hosts two festivals a year at The Refuge. Next years spring festival, likely in early June, will include farmers market vendors, live music and food trucks.

Creating a unique customer experience through events is important to Taylor, and so is giving back to other small businesses.

I like to order from small businesses all around the country, Taylor said. Because, you know, thats what its all about  giving back.

As the Passport Program season begins winding down, Taylor said she hopes to continue making The Refuge a place people will want to keep coming back to.

Im just very, very thankful for the experience, Taylor said.
Vancouver's West Vandenberg, a member of the performance art troupe MythMaker, dons a sword and shield and not much else on the muddy grounds of Black Rock City during this year's Burning Man event in a handout photo. Inches of rain turned the playa in the Nevada desert into a mess of mud that the group used to make dragon sculptures.
The owner of a Lincoln towing company crashed a car through his storefronts garage in an attempt to evade a cohort of law enforcement officers who had surrounded his business Wednesday morning to arrest him, authorities said.

Metro Fugitive Task Force investigators went to Jeremie Garrisons northeast Lincoln-based business, ALLways Towing Inc., at about 8 a.m. Wednesday after the 44-year-old failed to appear at a hearing last week in a felony court case against him, according to authorities and court filings.

Prosecutors in June charged Garrison with false imprisonment and terroristic threats for allegedly telling a 43-year-old he would smash (her) face in amid a confrontation at Garrisons southwest Lincoln house June 18, according to court records.

After Garrison failed to appear at a hearing in that case last week  marking the fourth time he has skipped a court appearance in the case, according to court filings  task force investigators went to ALLways Towing, at 5657 N. 57th St., to arrest him Wednesday, Chief Deputy Sheriff Ben Houchin said.

The 44-year-old first tried to run from authorities before retreating into his storefront, beginning a standoff that lasted nearly three hours Wednesday morning, Houchin said.

After negotiating with authorities, Garrison rammed a Dodge Charger through the towing companys garage and crashed into a law enforcement vehicle in his second attempt to escape, Houchin said.

He then retreated inside the business  where, Houchin said, he had a firearm  before investigators could apprehend him.

Garrison emerged from the garage with his hands in the air at 10:44 a.m., Houchin said, surrendering himself to authorities. Deputies took him to the Lancaster County Jail.

Houchin said he expects prosecutors will hit Garrison with additional charges for the alleged incident Wednesday.

We feel very fortunate that no law enforcement, innocent civilians or Mr. Garrison was injured in any way, the chief deputy said.

Judge Susan Strong signed an emergency protection order against Garrison in June that prohibits him from possessing or purchasing guns. But law enforcement officers dont seize weapons when they serve such protection orders.
By Peter Sserugo | Monitor

Makerere University management has instituted a seven-member committee to investigate alleged discrimination against Pentecostal Christians at Ugandas oldest public university.

This follows a petition submitted before the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) by Pastor Martin Ssempa, who has been leading prayers for Born- Again Christians, over the failure of the university to recognise and gazette their church.

Pastor Ssempa also accused the management of failure to avail them land at the university to construct a church. Read more
A Lincoln man who was rushed to a local hospital with a brain bleed that required emergency surgery after police found him unconscious with a head injury on a downtown street corner Aug. 27 died on Tuesday, according to police.

James Baylor was 55 years old.

Medical examiners will conduct an autopsy Wednesday to determine the exact cause of his death, Lincoln Police Capt. Todd Kocian said.

Police have already arrested the 22-year-old Lincoln man allegedly responsible for the attack that preceded Baylor's death.

Prosecutors charged Angel Rodriguez Alvis last week with first-degree assault, a felony punishable by up to 50 years in prison. He paid $50,000 to bond out of jail Aug. 30, according to court filings.

It's unclear if prosecutors intend to file enhanced charges against Rodriguez Alvis. Deputy County Attorney Chris Turner declined to comment Wednesday.

Kocian said investigators planned to meet with Baylor's family before meeting with prosecutors to determine whether Rodriguez Alvis will be charged with additional crimes.

Baylor's death comes nine days after police were dispatched to the southeast corner of 13th and P streets shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday on a report of a man who was "bleeding from the head and barely breathing," Lincoln Police Officer Brian Gruber said in the probable cause statement for Rodriguez Alvis' arrest, filed last week in Lancaster County Court.

Lincoln Fire and Rescue crews took the man, later identified as Baylor, to Bryan West Campus with a "significant brain bleed" that required immediate emergency surgery, Gruber said in the statement.

A 39-year-old man who witnessed the alleged attack told police that he saw a man wearing a plaid shirt get out of a green station wagon-style vehicle and approach Baylor, punching him in the face a single time, Gruber said.

Two women who had been with the man in plaid  later identified as Rodriguez Alvis  were trying to stop the 22-year-old from punching Baylor, the witness told police.

Baylor fell backwards after Rodriguez Alvis punched him and struck his head on the sidewalk. Rodriguez Alvis and his two acquaintances, who were not identified in court records, got back into the station wagon and drove away, Gruber said.

The witness photographed the car  a 1992 Subaru  before it fled north on 13th Street.

Less than an hour later, Rodriguez Alvis drove the distinct car back to the alleged crime scene, where police recognized it and followed it, Gruber said.

Police pulled Alvis over near 18th and O streets at around 1:45 a.m. Aug. 27 and took him into custody. He was the only one in the station wagon when police stopped it, Gruber said.

Investigators believe Rodriguez Alvis punched Baylor for purportedly talking to the women the 22-year-old was with that day, according to court filings.

He is scheduled to make his next court appearance later this month.

If pathologists determine Baylor's death is the result of a homicide, it would mark Lincoln's seventh suspected killing of 2023  a total that does not include the death of a 2-month-old in March and a 46-year-old man last month, both of which remain under investigation.
By Denis Edema & Sam Opio Caleb

The Njeru Grade One Magistrate has further remanded the owner of Cloud-9 Massage and Chill Outs in Bukaya West, Njeru Municipality, Buikwe district, to Bugungu prison until September 20.

Ms Patricia Nantume alias Malaika, 26, faces three counts of homosexuality and one count of trafficking in persons, contrary to Section 2(1) (2) of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023.

While remanding her, His Worship Egesa Masaaka on Wednesday said the case is only triable by the High Court. The accused was appearing before the same Magistrate for the second time in two weeks.

The Anti-Homosexuality Act was signed into law by President Museveni in May 2023 and offenders face life imprisonment upon conviction and 20 years for permitting usage of their premises for homosexual activities.

Prosecution alleges that Ms Nantume and another, still at large, between April and August 2023, performed a sexual act with a person of the same sex at the aforementioned premises.

According to documents tendered before Court, Ms Nantume, during the same period, allowed her rented house at Cloud -9 Massage and Chill Outs to be used for the purposes of homosexuality.

It is further alleged, through Court documents, that Ms Nantume, also during the same period, transported and maintained one of her staff for purposes of sexual exploitation.

Subsequently, charges of promotion of homosexuality, contrary to section 11(1) (2) (a) of the Anti-Homosexuality Act (2023), and trafficking in persons, contrary to Section 3(1) (a) of the Trafficking in Persons Act (2009), were slapped against her.

Earlier, four people, including Ms Nantume, were arrested following a raid on her massage parlor that was alleged to be offering gay and lesbianism sex services.

However, three suspects were released on grounds that some were victims and were turned into state witnesses.

Their arrest followed a tip-off to the area defense secretary by a worker at the massage parlor, who was concerned by the alleged illegal activities at the facility, Ms Hellen Butoto, the Ssezibwa Region Police Spokesperson, said.

A Police raid on the massage parlor uncovered a dildo, two packets of shisha flavor, bottles of oils used for either massage or as a lubricant for anal sex, two video cameras and a tripod (camera stand), Ms Butoto said.
By Mike Sebalu & Priscilla Maloba

President Museveni has been asked to use tonights address to assure the public that the security forces are able to handle the current situation in the country.

Solomon Asiimwe, a security expert and lecturer of International Relations at Nkumba University, says the presidents address should answer why there are such threats in the first place.

According to the Presidential Press Unit, the president is this evening expected to address the nation on security matters and other issues of national importance.

The presidents address comes days after revelations by the police that they had recovered and detonated about six Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDS) in Kampala before they caused harm to the public.

The recovery of the IEDs saw police issue a terror alert on Monday this week, urging the public to be vigilant.

13 people have since been arrested in connection with the latest terror threats.
The National Drug Authority (NDA) has spoken out after one of its officials revealed to parliaments Committee on HIV/AIDS that the authority whose core mandate is to ensure medicines and medical supplies in the country are safe and used to save lives, was aware but kept quiet on the abuse of ARVs by farmers to treat and fatten poultry and pigs.

According to Amos Atumanya, a senior Inspector of drugs at the authority, the matter was downplayed in order not to alarm the public or hurt the economy.

However, addressing journalists in Kampala today, NDAs Public Relations Manager Abiaz Rwamwiri, has explained that the authority is largely mandated to regulate drugs and keep the public informed in the event of any public health concerns attributed to any medicine.

NDA learnt of the recent studies relating to contamination of animal feeds and animal products like chicken and pork, from media publications. Since such reports concern the misuse of drugs, NDA conducted investigations and a scientific review and determined that the reported levels were very low to cause unnecessary public alarm, Rwamwiri told journalists on Thursday.

NDA further undertook several interventions including enforcement operations to curb the sources of the ARVs and other drugs being misused in animals. These ongoing operations have led to several arrests and prosecution of the culprits, he added.
The body of a Wolf Point man lost on the Missouri River near his hometown late last month has been found.

Search crews found the body of 18-year-old Stonehail Moccasin on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Roosevelt County Sheriffs Office. While his cause of death is still under investigation, the search for Moccasin began after he went into the river to save other swimmers, but did not return.

All of us at the RCSO extend our heartfelt condolences to the Moccasin family during this extraordinarily difficult time, Roosevelt County Sheriff Jason Frederick said in a statement posted to social media.

Stonehail and others were near the river a few miles south of Wolf Point on the night of Aug. 25, the Gazette previously reported. Some people went into the river, only to get caught in the current, according to statements from witnesses. Stonehail and one other person went into the water to help those trapped in the current. He was the only person who didnt make it out. Between Aug. 25 and 27, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Missouri River flowing past Wolf Point peaked at around 12 feet.

Search crews dredged the river every day since Stonehail was reported missing. The effort in the days after the start of the search included Roosevelt County personnel, Fort Peck tribal resources, Valley and Rosebud counties and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Other state and federal agencies joined in the search, which ended with a team from Stillwater County Sheriffs Office finding Moccasins remains about 16 miles east of where he was last seen.

In his statement posted online, Frederick said he was grateful to the 12 agencies that contributed personnel and equipment to the search.

West of Wolf Point, the Fergus County Sheriffs Office confirmed in June that a 78-year-old man had died of drowning in the Missouri River. The Wisconsin native was paddling upriver, Fergus County Sheriff Ryan Peterson said, and his body was found several miles downstream of the James Kipp Recreation Area on June 11 after a series of severe storms in the region.
If there is one family name even more closely linked with Kilkenny right now than Liam MacCarthy, it surely must be Smithwick.

The site around St. Francis Abbey has been associated with the brewing of beer ever since the 13th century when the records speak of the fulsome brew made there by the monks.

Using quality water, taken from the Friars own wells, mixed with natural ingredients from the lands around the abbey, monks began brewing on the site almost as soon as the abbey itself was established.

The Abbey grew in size, reach and importance for more than 300 uninterrupted years. The tragic mid 14th century Black Death which devastated the population of Kilkenny was recorded in stark terms by one of their members, Friar John Clynn.

His is perhaps the only contemporary record to survive of this devastating plague in Europe. It took Henry VIIIs dissolution of all monasteries in 1537 to force the Abbey to ultimately close its doors and cut for ever the close religious link with the area.

John Smithwick moved to Kilkenny in the early 1700s to forge a life for himself.

He went into the brewing business with Richard Cole on a piece of land that Cole had leased from the Duke of Ormond in 1705.

Smithwick worked hard and successfully, quickly becoming the sole owner. In time his business interests expanded. He was one of the few merchants who created a brisk trade selling tea.

He worked with skill and diligence to build a fortune amassing wealth in both land and commercial property. Johns sons didnt follow him into the brewing trade and the brewing and other business that had started the familys fortune passed from their hands but fortunately, not for long. Edmond Smithwick, son of John Smithwick II, bought the brewery back freehold and the Smithwick family name once again hung proudly above the door. He proved himself a natural businessman

Edmond was four times Mayor of Kilkenny. He gave generously to the city. When famine hit in 1847, with others he set up a soup kitchen to feed the poor and needy. He also made substantial contributions to the high costs of construction of St. Marys Cathedral and became a great supporter of Catholic Emancipation.

This interest cemented his friendship with the champion of that cause, the Irish Liberator, Daniel O Connell who was later to become godfather to one of his sons, Daniel OConnell Smithwick. They still talk of OConnells visit to the Brewery and his electrifying address on that memorable occasion.

Edmond Smithwick is credited with devising and introducing the business strategy of employing the most knowledgeable, the most progressive and the most skilled brewers and work force. He reasoned, correctly they could be relied upon to bring scientific and technical innovation to their task. The results gave Smithwicks beers a quality second to none. He even hired consultant chemists to vet and check the raw ingredients and oversee the final brew. The once, small almost obscure city brewery he had acquired was now a business to be reckoned with.

In the late 1800s export sales to England and Scotland were very difficult. Individual public houses in those countries were tied to specific English based breweries who sought to reduce competition and create for themselves captive markets by this practice. But Smithwicks found a way to survive and the company began selling mineral water and even delivered butter with their ale from the back of their drays. The business not alone survived but by 1892 Smithwicks won 1st prize in Ireland in the Dublin Rotunda Exhibition of Brewers and Distillers.

When James Smithwick took over in 1900 the fortunes of the company were at an all time low. Smithwicks still employed 200 people but output was down and auditors  never the most adventurous of advisers - recommended the brewery shut its doors. Instead the Smithwick family dug deep and keep the business going. The range of beers was reduced; new markets were sought; James won military contracts for the sale of beer to garrisoned troops. Output increased. By taking advantage of brewery closures in England he replaced and in the process upgraded his plant and machinery. Sullivans Kilkenny Breweries Ltd, his long-standing rival was bought which again provided vitally needed brewing machinery right on his door step. The new municipal water supply introduced in Kilkenny around that time was extremely pure and low in salt and was perfect for brewing ales. It eliminated dependence on local, well-water sources

Jamess son Walter Smithwick, already a successful solicitor, took control in the 1930s. At that time beer heading west went by canal barge, other destination were served by train and even by horse & cart. Walter purchased petrol lorries to serve customers as he realised distribution was to be a major key to success. On top of their salaries he incentivising his sales men all over Ireland who could now earn a commission on every barrel sold, a new and radical concept in the Ireland of the 1930s

Walter Smithwick was committed to advertising and marketing when that latter concept was hardly recognised as a separate factor in business. Large slogans referring to Smithwicks No.1 began to appear on buses, trams and in newspapers throughout the land. In October 1937 Smithwicks No.1 Ale won first prize at the London, Bottled Beer Competition. A national-wide, brand awareness was the companys far more valuable prize and result.

When the war ended in 1945 business was looking good and by 1949 sales had reached a record 51,500 barrels per annum. The next decade was one of fierce competition with Bass, Double Diamond, Macardles, Perrys and Phoenix all competing for market share. Ultimately none would prove a match for Smithwicks popular taste and sustained, high quality. By 1959 Smithwicks was as popular as ever.

Around this time Walter and his marketing director, the resourceful W. A. L. (Bill) Finnegan visited Munich and attended the long established and world famous Munich Beer Festival there. The verve, colour, music and excitement of it all captivated them both. That night a decision, which was to have a profound effect on the future progress of Kilkenny and the brewery was hatched. Kilkenny, they resolved, would have a Festival bringing all the trappings of a Bavarian Beer Festival to the banks of the Nore. The huge Beer Tent featuring a traditional Bavarian band and serving staff in suitable eye-catching uniforms is for many people one of the fondest memories of growing up in the Kilkenny during the 60. The festival proved an outstanding success for many years and can justly claim to be the first of Irelands marketing led festivals. With the strategic, guiding hand of Walter Smithwick, the drive and promotional expertise of Bill Finnegan and later the organisational skill of Mick McGuinness the festival broke new ground and put Kilkenny firmly on the tourist map, a premier position from where it never retreated but rather continued to grow and expand.

The world wide giant, Guinness & Co, one of Smithwicks oldest malting customers bought a controlling share in the business in 1964. Walter retired from the board the following year after 35 years service and his eldest son, Peter took his place marking the ninth generation this remarkable family has been associated with brewing in Kilkenny.

Peter, also a solicitor, in latter years continued a successful career as a judge and was honoured as President of the Circuit Court and later appointed by the Government as chairman of The Smithwick Enquiry. Meanwhile his high profile brother, Paul Smithwick continues to work to advance the good fortune of Kilkenny from his base in Dublin where he too practiced law for some time.

Meanwhile other branches of the family added to the name, business prowess and range of activities. The large, four story premises of D. Smithwick and Son was an imposing and significant presence on High Street. A second cousin of Walter, Joe Smithwick built up a thriving business in the large premises acquired by his family in 1910 from its previous owners - a Bank, which tradition has it failed in that year. Under his guidance the business prospered and expanded, their famous tea and other groceries being just part of its many services to the public. On his death in 1958 the business passed to his young son Daniel with the faithful John Clifford continuing on as manager. In addition to the business on High Street, Dan converted part of their old Bottling Store on New Street to develop the concept of Cash And Carry Wholesaling to smaller shops in County Kilkenny and beyond.

This was to prove a fortuitous decision when on Sunday, a far from glorious 12th of July in 1970 the entire High Street edifices was engulfed by fire and left a smouldering ruin. To make matters worst the fire took place during the Bank strike of that year and much cash and many cheques, the takings amassed over previous weeks, which perforce could not be lodged, were in jeopardy. Thanks to the quick thinking and bravery of the fire service all was rescued from the blazing building.

To this day the family are proud of the quick reactions that enabled them with the ready help of their suppliers and the generosity of the owner of a nearby vacant shop to declare it was business as usual by the following Friday  a remarkable triumph over sudden adversity and achieved in just 4 working days. The tenacity, determination and business acumen of the Smithwick family was never more tested and never more apparent than during that disastrous week. Later the business was moved in total to New Street where it continued until Daniels Smithwicks retirement recently.

It is worth recording the efforts made by the late Ron Girdham then Head Brewer in Saint Francis Abbey Brewery to re-establish the religious connection by having constructed within the walls of the old abbey a small oratory which he was pleased to title, perhaps somewhat grandly, as An International Room for Prayer and Contemplation. Rumour has it he was not much pleased when he overheard someone remark, tongue in cheek, Seems the ideal place to say an Ale-Mary!

The Smithwick name is long associated with Kilkenny, with quality and reliability reflecting the ideal combination of modern technology coupled with tradition values. Their family story embodies the best aspects of courage and confidence, enterprise and business triumph over adversity. How their story will unfold in the future we must leave to the future but if the past is anything to go by then one thing is certain, Members of the Smithwick families with continue to make their mark in Ireland and especially in their beloved Kilkenny.
The people of Freshford village and surrounds are still reeling in shock following the unexpected passing of one of its most popular residents, Ned Kennedy.

Ned, who took ill unexpectedly and passed away a week later at St Lukes Hospital in Kilkenny, was held in such high esteem in the village and locality. Heavily involved in the local community, he was a teacher for many years in the local national school and then served in Tullaroan NS for a number of years before returning back to St Lachtains NS, where he remained until his retirement.

A fluent Irish speaker, he was deeply involved in history and wrote books on local history including Friggers Alley, St Lachtains Old Graveyard Memorial survey, Freshford families in World War I and In Slips, the history of coursing in Freshford, as well as a book on the 19th Century artist Edmund Fitzpatrick, who was baptised in Freshford way back in 1822.

Ned was involved in the local groups over the years including St Lachtains GAA club, where he served in official roles for many years. He was also the president of the local branch of St Vincent de Paul, where he did Trojan work in helping people behind the scenes.

A keen GAA supporter, he would travel to games at the far end of the country. He was a keen walker and organised various walks over the years. He also travelled to Spain to do the famous Camino Walk a couple of years ago.

He was a kind and caring neighbour and was one of the founders of the Ionad Lachtain Arts and Heritage Centre at St Lachtains old church and was the instigator of the museum attached to the church.

A devoted husband, father and brother, he was a great man for the local community and will be sadly missed by all. The queues along Kilkenny Street on the evening of his reposing was testament to the respect and esteem in which he was held in as people travelled from far and wide to pay their respects.

The funeral mass was celebrated in St Lachtains Church by Monsignor Kennedy, assisted by Fr Ollie Maher and Fr Eamon OGorman. The local schoolchildren and the local GAA and various clubs formed a guard of honour. Burial was in St Lachtains Cemetery.

He is survived by his wife Eileen, sons John and Lachtain, daughters Niamh and Eadaoin, brother Murty, sister Margaret, brother-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, niece and extended family.
Tai Chi, an ancient Chinese practice known for its graceful and meditative movements, has gained popularity worldwide as a holistic exercise regimen.

Beyond its reputation for promoting balance and flexibility, Tai Chi offers a remarkable array of cardiovascular benefits that contribute to overall heart health.

At first glance, Tai Chis slow and deliberate motions might not appear to provide intense cardiovascular exercise.

However, research has shown that the gentle, rhythmic movements have a profound impact on heart health.

Engaging in regular Tai Chi practice can enhance blood circulation, lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of heart disease.

The deep, mindful breathing associated with Tai Chi also improves lung capacity, boosting oxygen intake for better cardiovascular function.

A unique aspect of Tai Chi is its stress-reducing prowess. Chronic stress can significantly strain the cardiovascular system, leading to hypertension and other heart-related issues. Tai Chis meditative component combats stress effectively, promoting relaxation and mental clarity. This, in turn, contributes to stabilized heart rates and reduced strain on the heart.

Moreover, Tai Chis low-impact nature makes it suitable for individuals of varying fitness levels, including those who may have limitations due to age or existing health conditions.

Its adaptability allows people to engage in regular physical activity, strengthening their hearts without subjecting them to high-impact stress.

Incorporating Tai Chi into a wellness routine can yield remarkable cardiovascular benefits, nurturing heart health from multiple angles.

As with any fitness practice, consistency is key. By dedicating time to Tai Chi, individuals can experience improved blood circulation, reduced blood pressure, enhanced lung capacity, and decreased stress levels.

Ultimately, embracing Tai Chi empowers individuals to embark on a journey toward a stronger, healthier heart and a more vibrant life.

To learn more about Tai Chi, there will be free talk and demonstration on Wednesday, September 13 at 6.30pm in the Kilkenny School Project on Waterford Road.

A new 10-week course for beginners will start on Wednesday, September 20. All are welcome.
The Burleigh County Commission on Wednesday appointed former Bismarck Mayor Steve Bakken to a vacant seat on the board, following two failed attempts to appoint others to replace Becky Matthews.

Matthews died Monday of cancer at age 49. Her death prompted the immediate appointment of a replacement. If the position was not immediately filled, the elected treasurer would take the seat, according to States Attorney Julie Lawyer. The elected treasurer and auditor for Burleigh County is Mark Splonskowski.

A move to appoint Amelia Doll -- the runner-up in the last county election -- failed on a tie vote, with Commissioners Brian Bitner and Steve Schwab voting no. Schwab did not state a reason for his vote; Bitner wanted to instead appoint former County Commissioner Jim Peluso, who did not seek reelection last year.

My only position is that I would support Peluso for (the seat); hes got the experience and the background, Bitner said.

His motion to appoint Peluso died for lack of a second.

Commissioner Jerry Woodcox said Peluso's "past voting history over the last 15 to 20 years has been against the Missouri Valley Complex, against the renaissance zone and those are all coming up -- they would automatically be dumped. We need someone thats independent and maybe someone that hasnt seen those projects before.

The commission is nearing the end of the budget season and is considering major items such as supporting the reinstatement of a renaissance zone and funding a potential equine center, among other items. A renaissance zone provides both property tax and income tax incentives to property and business owners who invest in qualified projects; the zone in Bismarck expired last year after failing to gather enough support from the county commission.

Bitner said he had been contacted earlier by Bakken, who was interested in filling the seat. Woodcox said, (Bakken) knows budgets, he knows what weve been doing in terms of projects around the county and the city."

The motion to appoint Bakken passed 3-1, with Commissioner Wayne Munson casting the lone opposing vote without citing a reason.

Bakken, who was not in attendance, will hold the position until the next general election in November 2024.

Matthews was elected to the commission in 2020. She stepped down as commission chair last month, citing her health issues, though she continued to serve. She died Monday after a two-year-battle with lymphoma.

Her funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bismarck. Visitation will be at the church Friday from 5-7 p.m. with a prayer service at 7 p.m., and for one hour prior to the funeral service, according to Eastgate funeral home.

Matthews was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 1974, and moved with her family to Hazen in 1983, where she graduated high school. She earned a bachelor's degree in occupational therapy from the University of North Dakota.

She is survived by her husband, Chris, and their five children.
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(Kitco News) The inversion of the yield curve has "incredible" predictive powers, and it is now telling investors that a global financial crisis 2.0 could hit the world economy in 2024, said George Gammon, an investor, macroeconomics expert, and host of the Rebel Capitalist Show.

A yield curve inversion happens when long-term bonds have a lower yield than short-term bonds. It is viewed as a reliable indicator that an economy could be heading for recession.

"If you go back to the 1950s, you see that the inversion of the yield curve has incredible accuracy as far as its predictive power," Gammon told Michelle Makori, Lead Anchor and Editor-in-Chief at Kitco News. "We have never had a recession without an inversion of the curve. So if you look at any other economic indicator, there's none that are close to as accurate as the inversion of the curve."

At the time of writing, the U.S. 10-year Treasury was yielding 4.2%, and the U.S. 2-year Treasury was yielding 4.9%. Yet, firms like Goldman Sachs have been lowering their forecasts for a recession in the U.S. In its latest economic update, Goldman has cut the chances of the U.S. falling into recession over the next 12 months to 15%  its third upgrade to its economic outlook in four months.

However, according to Gammon, this yield curve inversion is the key sign that a "black swan" event is coming because it points to what financial insiders are doing behind the scenes. "These financial insiders that control billions, if not trillions of dollars, have insider information, and it's not illegal insider information, but they have access to details that we don't have," Gammon noted.

When those financial insiders, or as Gammon described it  "a global intel syndicate," get a signal that something could be going off the rails, they buy the long end of the curve  the 10-year Treasuries and the 30-year Treasuries.

"This creates more demand. Therefore, the price goes up, and the yield goes down. Then, you combine this with the Federal Reserve raising rates at the front end of the curve. That's why it inverts," Gammon explained. "Is this because China is going to blow up? Is this because we're going to have a World War III? Is this because the commercial real estate market is going to blow up the balance sheet of all these regional banks that will have this systemic risk with the euro-dollar system? We don't know, but I can almost assure you that the Warren Buffett types do. And as a result, they buy that long into the curve."

Gammon also gave a concrete example from 2019 when this happened, which was before COVID-19 hit. He explained the real reason why the curve inverted back then. Watch the video above for details.

The host of the Rebel Capitalist Show clarified that investors won't see a serious economic fallout until the curve uninverts.

"What I would suggest all of your viewers do is very simple  just watch the 2-year and the 10-year. Right now, the 2-year yield is trading above the 10-year. Watch for that to slowly go down," he said. "When it gets down to that 10-year level and then drops below it, that's when you really have to be risk-off, and that's when you really have to be paying attention."

There is a very high probability that the yield curve could uninvert when the Federal Reserve starts dropping rates, Gammon pointed out. But the only way that could happen is if there is a black swan event in the form of a global financial crisis 2.0.

"What type of economic environment would we have to have in order for Jerome Powell to drop rates from 5.5% straight back down to 4%, 3%, 2%, maybe even back down to zero? That would require some sort of black swan  That would require some sort of, unfortunately, world war or a GFC 2.0 [global financial crisis]. And I think that's what that yield curve is predicting right now."

Gammon also revealed his "highest conviction" of what that black swan event could be going into 2024, discussing a potential China collapse, a WW3 scenario, and a real estate crisis. To find out the most likely outcome to lead the world into a global financial crisis 2.0, watch the video above.

The macro expert also broke down his portfolio allocation given these risks. "I always have 10% in gold. [Whether it's] recession, economic boom, inverted yield curve, it doesn't matter. I have that 10% gold for insurance. And it goes back to having purchasing power outside the system as well," Gammon said.

To find out how Gammon is allocating the other 90% of his portfolio, including what percentage he is dedicating to silver, Bitcoin, miners, and other essential assets, watch the video above.
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(Kitco News) - China's appetite for gold remains insatiable as the nation's central bank added more of the precious metal to its foreign reserves for the tenth consecutive month.

According to updated foreign reserve data, the People's Bank of China bought 29 tonnes of gold in August, lifting year-to-date purchases to 155 tonnes. Last month's data was also the central bank's biggest purchase since December.

The PBOC has been the leading central bank in the gold market. And its current buying spree has matched its previous 10-month run that ended in September 2019.

Looking ahead, many analysts said that they expect China to continue to buy gold as it strengthens the yuan's international credibility to compete with the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency.

"I don't think this scramble away from the U.S. dollar is going to end anytime soon, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.

In a recent interview with Kitco News, Chantelle Schieven, head of research at Capitalight Research, said that she expects China to remain a long-term gold buyer as part of the bigger de-dollarization trend.

"I don't believe the U.S. dollar is going to zero anytime soon, but there is a real effort to diversify away from the U.S. dollar and when you start looking for other assets, you don't have a lot of options other than gold, she said. "There are no political risks with gold, which is becoming very important.

Analysts note that central bank gold demand is a significant factor behind gold's resilience as the U.S. dollar index trades near a six-month high at 105 points. At the same time, U.S. 10-year bond yields continue to hold near 16-year highs above 4.2%.

Moya noted that while central bank demand continues to support the market, prices could continue to struggle in the near term.

"What gold prices need to go higher is for global growth to slow down and bond yields to move lower, he said.
BEIJING, Sept 7 (Reuters) - China's exports and imports extended declines in August as the twin pressures of sagging overseas demand and weak consumer spending at home squeezed businesses in the world's second-largest economy, although the falls were slower than expected.

While the trade numbers follow a run of other indicators showing a possible stabilisation in China's downturn, they remain far short of the growth economists anticipated earlier this year when the government abandoned its strict COVID curbs.

Exports dropped 8.8% in August year-on-year, customs data showed on Thursday, beating a forecast of 9.2% in a Reuters poll and off a 14.5% drop in July. Meanwhile, imports contracted 7.3%, slower than an expected 9.0% decline and last month's 12.4% fall.

China's economy is at risk of missing Beijing's annual growth target of about 5% as officials wrestle with a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending and tumbling credit growth, leading analysts to downgrade forecasts for the year.

"The trade data is marginally better, but I don't think we should be reading too much into that: trade is still contracting," said Frederic Neumann, chief Asia economist at HSBC.

"There is a bit of a sign here of stabilisation, but I think there's still a long way to go," he added.

Beijing has announced a series of measures in recent months to shore up growth, with the easing of some borrowing rules last week by the central bank and the top financial regulator to aid homebuyers.

But analysts warn the steps may have little impact with a labour market recovery slowing and household income expectations uncertain.

Containers are seen at the Yangshan Deep-Water Port in Shanghai, China October 19, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

"The figures suggest the headwinds remain, despite some marginal improvement," said Zhou Hao, chief economist at Guotai Junan International. "Looking ahead, whether China's trade growth has already hit the bottom will hinge on several factors, the most important of which is obviously domestic demand."

Governments around the world are nervous about China's economic slowdown with many exporting nations highly dependent on the country's market for growth.

South Korean shipments to China, a leading indicator of the latter's imports, dropped just a fifth last month, slowing from a decrease of 27.5% a month earlier, offering another nod to conditions stabilising in China.

Declines in trade with the United States, Southeast Asia and Australia also narrowed.

However, trade with Japan dropped sharply, with outbound shipments from China to its neighbour down 20% in August year-on-year, while imports worsened by 17%.

Policymakers in Tokyo fear China's deepening economic woes could hit Japan's fragile recovery, especially if Beijing fails to shore up demand with meaningful stimulus.

Crude oil shipments to China were 31% higher in August than the same period last year, and up 21% on July, while soybean imports in August also jumped 31% from a year ago, encouraged by cheap prices in Brazil.

While some analysts some saw signs of stabilisation in the data, investors were not so impressed with the yuan wallowing near a 10-month low and the Australian dollar, seen as a proxy for Chinese growth, turning weaker after the data.

China posted a trade surplus of $68.36 billion in August, compared with a forecast $73.80 billion and a July figure of $80.6 billion.

"Due to the low base at the end of last year, it's very likely for exports to return to growth at the end of this year," said Nie Wen, an economist at Hwabao Trust.
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(Kitco News) - Foran Mining (TSX: FOM) (OTCQX: FMCXF) announced today that it has received approval for and entered into a strategic equipment finance arrangement with Sandvik Financial Services Canada.

According to a press release, the facility is intended to cover the initial battery electric vehicle mining fleet and essential components, such as charging stations and batteries, provided by Sandvik Mining and Construction Canada and used for development and operation of the companys 100%-owned McIlvenna Bay Complex in Saskatchewan.

Foran said the facility allows for draws up to C$67 million and will be initiated, at the companys election, as equipment is delivered to the project site. Repayments on draws will commence immediately over a 60-month period.

The company added that interest accrued on draws against the facility will be indexed to 5-year Canadian overnight index swaps plus a spread of 3.20%. The rate of interest will become fixed for each individual draw, at the time of drawdown.

CFO James Steels commented, We are delighted to secure this noteworthy arrangement with Sandvik, complementing our financing package for McIlvenna Bay at an attractive cost of capital. This is yet another positive step in our journey to unlocking McIlvenna Bay's value and advancing our targeted carbon reduction initiatives.

Foran Mining is a copper-zinc-gold-silver exploration and development company. The companys McIlvenna Bay project is a copper-zinc-gold-silver rich VHMS deposit intended to be the centre of a new mining camp. McIlvenna Bay is the largest undeveloped VHMS deposit in the region.

The company announced the results from its feasibility study on February 28, 2022, outlining that current mineral reserves would potentially support an 18-year mine life producing an average of 65 million pounds of copper equivalent annually.
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(Kitco News) - The stablecoin landscape has undergone a significant shift over the past year and a half as the collapse of TerraUSD (UST) in May of 2022 shone a spotlight on the dangers that this subset of crypto-assets poses to the health of the broader crypto market.

Since then, algorithmic stablecoins like UST have all but disappeared from the market, and the third-ranked stablecoin by market capitalization, Binance USD (BUSD), experienced a fall from grace after regulators in the U.S. ordered Paxos, the company responsible for issuing BUSD, to halt minting any new tokens.

While Binance has distanced itself from BUSD and now recommends users adopt the newly issued stablecoin First Digital USD (FDUSD), the biggest story on the stablecoin front has been the release of PayPal USD (PYUSD) by digital payments provider PayPal.

To get a better understanding of how PayPal entering the stablecoin arena will affect the cryptocurrency ecosystem, Kitco Crypto had a conversation with Ran Goldi, senior vice president of payments at Fireblocks.

PayPal is a worldwide payment powerhouse serving hundreds of millions. Stepping into the stablecoin realm represents a profound shift in how mainstream financial institutions perceive digital assets, Goldi said. This strategic move not only widens the reach of digital assets but also carries the potential to inject increased liquidity into the digital asset market, spurring adoption among businesses and individual consumers alike.

He said PayPals decision to launch its own stablecoin is a significant development in the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology as it indicates that even established retail FinTech companies with millions of users and businesses are recognizing the potential of blockchain for the future of cross-border payments.

This move suggests that financial companies increasingly see the value in leveraging blockchain technology to improve their services, he said. In the next 18-24 months, we should expect a race among retail fintechs creating their own stablecoins.

Goldi said that the companys decision to launch PYUSD on the Ethereum network is an overlooked strategic decision for three reasons.

It will be interoperable with future central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and other stablecoins; It would be immediately compatible and easily integrated with the DeFi and Web3 ecosystems on Ethereum and all of Ethereum's Layer 2 blockchains; and It can unlock new incentive models for PayPals customers and massive revenue streams for PayPal, he said.

More importantly, PayPal comes with a built-in network of over 400 million retail customers and 29 million merchants, he added. They can now use the same interface they know and trust to swap into stablecoins. This is a major advantage that PayPal has over incumbents.

PYUSD also opens up PayPals otherwise closed ecosystem to allow liquidity to flow freely between PayPal and digital asset markets, he said.

When asked how PYUSD could help bring new participants into the crypto space, Goldi said the stablecoin can help more businesses accept cryptocurrencies, making them more accessible and accepted by a wider audience.

In 2023, PayPal worked with tens of millions of merchants across 202 countries and regions, ranging from small businesses to major retailers like Walmart, Amazon, Target, and Apple, he said. PayPal's extensive reach surpasses many competitors, making it well-positioned to onboard these businesses into the digital asset economy, potentially driving cryptocurrency adoption further than any incumbent.

By launching its own Web3-enabled currency, PayPal is now positioned as a reliable bridge between digital-native and fiat currencies, particularly the U.S. dollar, he added. This innovation will provide enhanced financial experiences for retail and B2B payments, enabling swift value transfers, remittances, international payments, and Web3 ecosystems.

Speaking about the broader cross-border payment industry, Goldi said that as blockchain technology matures, it is likely that PYUSD will be the preferred method of cross-border payments.

The use of blockchain technology can make cross-border transactions faster, more efficient, and cost-effective, he said. Additionally, its interoperability with other stablecoins and potentially even CBDCs can simplify cross-border transactions, reducing the need for currency conversion and intermediaries.

As for the impact that stablecoins issued by private companies like PayPal and Circle  the issuer of USD Coin (USDC)  could have on plans to launch a digital dollar in the U.S., Goldi said that CBDCs and stablecoins like PYUSD and USDC are just different forms of digital money, each with their pros and cons, serving different purposes in the financial system.

In a healthy and vibrant digital asset ecosystem, these different forms of tokenized money will likely exist side by side, giving consumers the ability to choose and providing resilience to the financial system, he said.

Central bank-issued CBDCs will be the ultimate risk-free asset in an economy, just as central bank money is today, he added. They will likely have a role as the unit of account in the digital asset ecosystem. Meanwhile, stablecoins may allow for programmability or might be most suited to cross-border use cases. Together, along with other forms of digital money like tokenized deposits, all of these forms of money will enable consumers and investors to interact with the digital asset ecosystem of the future.

When it comes to how banks will respond to the use of tokens like PYUSD and USDC, Goldi said, Banks have been waiting for regulatory clarity, and the SEC is still considering how to regulate stablecoins.

This makes banks reluctant to take on that risk. Banks need to comply with all applicable securities laws, which can be a complex and expensive process, he said. From the perspective of banks, stablecoins are a new and untested technology. Banks know that the potential benefits of stablecoins are too great to ignore, and it is likely that US banks will eventually embrace this technology.
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(Kitco News) - Mining services group Perenti (ASX: PRN) announced today that its surface mining business in Africa, African Mining Services (AMS), has been awarded the contract for open pit mining services at the A4 open pit within the larger Motheo copper mine in Botswana.

The company said that the contract is valued at US$235 million (~A$360 million) over a term of 73 months. The Motheo copper mine is owned by Sandfire Resources (ASX: SFR).

Under the terms of the contract, AMS will deliver all surface mining services associated with development and production activities at the A4 open pit.

The A4 open pit is located approximately 8km to the west of the Sandfires existing T3 open pit, where AMS has successfully progressed from development into production works.

Perenti anticipates A4 pre-production and development work to commence in September 2023, with pre-strip mining to start in October 2023.

The T3 and A4 open pits are expected to be operated as a larger, integrated mining operation and therefore will leverage the resulting benefits of scale and the operational synergies to optimize the return on capital aligned with our financial targets, the company said in a statement.

We are excited about the opportunity to expand our partnership with Sandfire Resources. Sandfire is now one of our largest clients and over the term of the combined contracts, the T3 and A4 open pits are expected to generate total revenue of over A$1.1 billion, delivering strong returns for Perenti and its shareholders, commented Mark Norwell, managing director and CEO of Perenti.

Perenti is a diversified mining services group with interests in contract mining, mining support services and future technology solutions. The Group was founded in Kalgoorlie in 1987 and is today one of the worlds largest mining services companies providing surface and underground mining at scale, technology solutions and mining support services.

Motheo is Sandfires new, long-life asset located in the central portion of the Kalahari Copper Belt in Botswana. The Motheo operations are centred on the development and mining of the T3 and A4 open pit mines and were officially opened in August 2023. With a central processing facility, Motheo produces high-quality copper concentrate (containing a silver by-product) that is transported by truck to Walvis Bay, Namibia, for shipping to smelters around the world.
The Mandan City Commission has unanimously approved the first consideration of an ordinance to allow cigar lounges in the city, but not everyone is happy about the prospect.

The commission will hold a public hearing on the matter before voting on final approval at a future meeting.

The request to allow cigar lounges in the city was first made in July by Josette Dupree, owner of Big Stick Cigars, which opened in March 2022. Mandan last December began allowing the mobile sale of cigars with a permit, after a request from Big Stick Cigars.

During the 2023 legislative session earlier this year Rep. Dan Ruby, R-Minot, brought forth House Bill 1229, which amends the state's smoking restrictions to allow for cigar lounges. The Legislature passed and Gov. Doug Burgum signed the bill, and it took effect in August.

The bill allows for indoor smoking of cigars at licensed lounges that are enclosed on all sides and equipped with a humidor and a ventilation system that does not move air into nonsmoking areas. Pipe tobacco is not permitted under the legislation.

The Mandan ordinance would allow lounges only in zoning areas that typically allow bars. It would not allow lounges in buildings with residential uses, and signage would be required with an age requirement and health statement. Cigar lounges in multitenant buildings would require consent from all tenants in the building.

Mandan City Planner Andrew Stromme said during Tuesday's city commission meeting that the cigar lounge permit would replicate the procedure that a liquor license would have.

Opponents of the ordinance pointed to the harmful effects of smoking as a reason not to approve the ordinance.

There is no ventilation system out there that removes all of the hazardous particles in secondhand smoke, Western Plains Public Health Health Promotions Director Brady Weaver said. There is no safe level of secondhand smoke. We know that; the surgeon general has told us again and again.

Dupree said that alcohol is legal but affects the public more than a cigar lounge would, and that she would be willing to make accommodations for delivery workers who would prefer to not step into the cigar lounge.

We have so many more health ramifications going on with alcohol, Dupree told commissioners. (A cigar lounge) is as safe as it possibly can be, because we know nothing can be 100% (safe).

Mayor Tim Helbling said he had received very little input from our community but he did receive letters and emails from outside of Mandan.
The "Speeding Slows You Down" enforcement campaign that ran from Aug. 1-17 resulted in 2,420 total citations. In addition to speeding there were a variety of other offenses, including 22 seat belt citations, eight distracted driving citations, 10 drug arrests and one DUI, according to the state Department of Transportation.
Whether its campaign appearances in New Hampshire or interviews on national TV, Gov. Doug Burgum has been hard at work running for president since he announced his candidacy in June.

So, just how much time has he spent campaigning and fundraising outside the state of North Dakota? And what state resources is he using to travel?

Its not exactly clear how often Burgum has been traveling out of the state, and neither the governors office nor his presidential campaign would provide an exact number of days hes been away.

But a review by The Forum of news reports and social media posts shows Burgum traveled outside the state for campaign reasons on about 30 days since he joined the race for the Republican partys nomination on June 7.

Burgums travel includes visits to the early presidential primary states of Iowa and New Hampshire, visits to New York to appear on national television programs, a trip to Milwaukee for an appearance in the first GOP presidential debate and a fundraising event in Washington, D.C.

As of Sept. 1, Burgum had officially been campaigning for president for 87 days, meaning the governor had traveled outside North Dakota for national election-related purposes on about a third of those days. Other undisclosed or unreported activities could put that number higher.

Is an official number of out-of-state travel days available? Governors office spokesman Mike Nowatzki said the administration did not have information on campaign travel. He referred questions about the number of days the governor has spent away from the state on campaign business to Burgums presidential campaign.

In turn, campaign spokesman Lance Trover directed questions about the number of days the governor has been on the campaign trail to the governors office.

Security and transportation

The governors office has also been hesitant to share details about state resources Burgum has used on the presidential campaign trail. Burgum, who is independently wealthy and has largely self-financed his campaign, has a North Dakota Highway Patrol security detail traveling with him.

Asked about the campaigns use of state resources and vehicles, Nowatzki pointed to state law, which directs the patrol to provide security and protection for the governor, the governor's immediate family, and other officers next in order of succession to the office of governor to the extent and in a manner the governor and the superintendent deem adequate and appropriate.

However, he declined to provide further information on specifics like the use of state vehicles.

North Dakota Legislative Council Director John Bjornson said it's something the state hasnt really encountered before. A sitting North Dakota governor has never run for president and made frequent out-of-state trips for fundraising and speech appearances.

Burgum has Highway Patrol security traveling with him on the campaign trail and used an unmarked patrol SUV to travel in Iowa. He appears to have used a nonstate private jet for at least one of his campaign trips to Iowa and New Hampshire.

For safety reasons, we dont publicly discuss details of the governors security, Nowatzki told The Forum in an email.

North Dakota ethics law restricts public officials use of state assets like vehicles for campaigning -- though the governor is entitled to security under state law. Nowatzki said Burgum plans to reimburse the state for security expenses -- something other governors running for president have done.

"The Governors Office and Highway Patrol have reached agreement with the campaign that, in an effort to minimize any campaign-related travel expenses to the citizens of North Dakota, the campaign will assume the travel costs associated with security for the campaign, including transportation, lodging and food," Nowatzki said.

As far as security costs for the governors 30 or so known days leaving the state to campaign, officials did not have a figure ready and said finding a number would require sifting through months of trip-related documents.

North Dakota Highway Patrol Maj. Aaron Hummel said the agency gets a biennial field operations budget, which includes money for security -- though there is no specific governors security line in the budget.

Governors who have run for the presidency in current and past elections have come under fire for racking up security bills for their states.

GOP presidential hopeful Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently faced scrutiny for his ballooning security costs. Records released in August showed the governors security expenses had risen by 70% over the past two years, costing the states taxpayers $13 million, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Security costs for Burgums campaign, which launched around three months ago and has not risen to the profile of DeSantis campaign, would likely be significantly lower. DeSantis officially announced his candidacy in spring but had long been seen as a top contender for the GOP nomination in 2024.

The Tampa Bay Times noted past candidates, including former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, paid their states back for security. Walker, whose 2015 presidential campaign lasted 71 days, announced hed give back $125,000 for security team travel.

Governors calendar

The Forum submitted a records request for the governors official schedule for the first two months of his campaign, though more than half of the days on the official schedule provided by the governor's office are blank, and it does not include campaign activities.

Its worth noting the schedule shows the governor attended to state business both in person and remotely on days he campaigned for president outside North Dakota.

Its not new to the governor, his office says: Burgum attended to state business remotely in the past when at out-of-state engagements like National Governors Association meetings.

Gov. Burgum continues to work remotely, communicating with team members, cabinet officials and others as he makes decisions in the best interest of the state and its citizens, Nowatzki said in an email. And he continues to fulfill his constitutional obligations, including chairing the North Dakota Industrial Commission and the state Land Board.

Leaving North Dakota for part of a day doesnt mean the governor wont return to attend to state business. The same day Burgum made a campaign appearance in northwestern Iowa, he was scheduled to return to Fargo to meet with the United Kingdoms foreign secretary, according to his calendar.

Hes also attended a state Industrial Commission and Land Board meeting and attended events in North Dakota, including the memorial for fallen Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin on July 26.

Burgum also traveled to Oklahoma City on the afternoon of July 20 for a meeting with the American Exploration and Production Council.
The mid-Missouri health care network announced Tuesday it had exceeded its operating margin goal by several million dollars.
Police in Miami are searching for man who went missing aboard cruise on Labor Day
Mark Dickey, the US caver who is currently trapped in Turkey, pictured in Alabama on May 12.
John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, speaks during a press briefing at the Washington Foreign Press Center, Sept. 6. Yonhap



North Korea will face repercussions from the United States and other countries should it provide weapons to Russia that can kill innocent people in Ukraine, a White House official said Wednesday.



John Kirby, National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for strategic communications, also called on North Korea to stop its negotiations with Russia for a potential arms deal.



"We are not seeing them provide any wholesale assistance to the Russian military, and we continue to urge North Korea not to do that," the NSC official said when asked if the North has already provided a significant amount of weapons to Russia.



"We have not seen the DPRK provide major munitions to the Russian military. We have seen them provide some rockets and artillery ammunition to the Wagner Group. This was months ago," he added in a press briefing at the Washington Foreign Press Center.



DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name. The country was earlier said to have provided artillery shells to Wagner, a Russian paramilitary group, in late 2022.



The remark by Kirby comes one day after National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan warned that Pyongyang will "pay a price" in the international community should it provide weapons to Russia.









"I would remind you that just a couple of weeks ago, the treasury department issued sanctions against three entities that were directly involved in trying to broker this particular arms deal," Kirby told the press briefing.



The U.S. has hinted at the possibility of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un traveling to Russia in the near future for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a potential arms deal, citing what it called "information" that Kim has expectations for high-level or leader-level engagement with Russia.



The reports about a potential arms deal between North Korea and Russia followed Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's trip to Pyongyang in late July. U.S. officials said earlier that Shoigu's visit had been followed by a trip of some 20 Russian officials to the North Korean capital, indicating what they called "active" negotiations between the two countries for an arms deal.





Figure North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, third from left, alongside Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, second from left, and Chinese Communist Party politburo member Li Hongzhong, right, waves during a military parade at Kim Il-sung Square in Pyongyang, July 27, in this photo carried by North's official Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap
President Yoon Suk Yeol listens to a speech at the 18th East Asia Summit at Jakarta Convention Center in Indonesia, Thursday (local time). Joint Press Corps





By Nam Hyun-woo







JAKARTA  President Yoon Suk Yeol stressed, Thursday, the "hefty responsibility" that the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council possess in handling North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, in an apparent signal to Russia and China, which have blocked the international community's attempts to punish Pyongyang's repeated provocations.







He also revealed South Korea's positions on volatile regional issues, including territorial disputes in the South China Sea and the war in Ukraine, noting that Seoul is against any attempt to change the status quo by force.







"North Korea's nuclear and missile programs are serious violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, a direct challenge to global peace and a tangible threat that can strike all countries participating in the East Asia Summit (EAS)," Yoon said during the 18th EAS, where Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Chinese Premier Li Qiang were also present.







"All members of the United Nations need to abide by the resolutions of the Security Council, and the council's permanent members, who adopted the resolutions, have a hefty responsibility to do so."







Yoon was referring to Russia and China, two permanent council members, which have long been vetoing additional sanctions on the North, despite the regime's repeated missile launches, including intercontinental ballistic missiles.







Of the two, the remarks appeared to be targeting Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are expected to hold a summit in Vladivostok as early as next week.






An open letter to Google CEO and YouTube CEO

Google LLC, D/B/A YouTube

901 Cherry Ave.

San Bruno, CA 94066

USA

Fax: +1 650-253-0001

Google CEO Mr. Pichai Sundararajan

YouTube CEO Mr. Neal Mohan



Please see: Chinese technical employees of Google and Youtube cooperated with Hong Kong cyber hackers and CCP agents to forcibly shut down my Google mailbox and Youtube video programs. In desperation, I had no choice but to write to the two CEOs, requesting to verify the intrusion of this Hong Kong hacker, and to restore my Google mailbox, Youtube account and all video programs.

Recently, because of my video program "Professor Liu Zheng's Daily Commentary on Current Affairs" on the YouTube program, some departments of the CCP have been angered. They have repeatedly organized trolls to leave messages on YouTube and Twitter, insulting me and personal attacks. After I fought back their rumors and slander with righteous words, nine more people left messages on Twitter: They threatened me and said, "They will send someone to kill me."

The reason I say they are organized is because all of them wrote messages and abused me in roughly the same language. Even the punctuation is exactly the same. It can be seen that these messages are entirely the result of certain organizations (CCP agents) operating behind the scenes. Especially in the last few video programs, I have continuously released and exposed the CCPs official fraud and malicious hype about Japans nuclear wastewater discharge issue. Because I have consulted various test reports and related articles in Chinese, English, and Japanese, I believe that Japan does not have any malicious discharge of waste water. But China is maliciously hyping up this matter. My program deeply offended the CCPs propaganda system and CCP agents.

On August 26, a hacker from Hong Kong hacked into my Google account and Youtube account for the first time. At that time, Microsoft system issued me a reminder of abnormal login activity. The hacker's login IP address is 182.239.115.27. On that day, he tried to hack into my Google mailbox and Youtube account many times. The following is a screenshot of the Microsoft prompt message I got:

At that time, I was full of trust and gratitude for the system prompt of "abnormal login activity" in the Microsoft system! I, an old man in his sixties, still use one index finger to type on the computerthis knowledge or technology is too big, too powerful, and too advanced for me! I can't learn it if I live another sixty years.

At about 5:00 a.m. on September 4th, U.S. time, this hacker was still from Hong Kong. His IP login address was still: 182.239.115.27. The name Liu Zheng was changed to Pan Vui, and only then did I know his name was Pam Yui.

And he also modified the contact number I reserved, and the system showed that he changed the last two digits of the registered phone number to 48 (of course, your computer technicians can see his complete phone number immediately), and the contact number I reserved The last two digits of the phone number are 87. The following is a screenshot of evidence that he changed my registered name:

His name is Pam Yui,my name is Liu Zheng,He changed my name on googlemail and continued to use my googlemail.

Then, this hacker massively deleted all the videos I posted on Youtube, all the video copywriting saved on my computer, and all the video backups. At that time, it was just after five o'clock in the morning of September 4th, US time, and I was asleep, when he actually managed to get into my computer and mailbox. I actually didn't receive an abnormal login prompt from the Microsoft system during his intrusion this time! This is so strange! When I opened YouTube, I found out that my account and Google mailbox have been closed by you. Please see the screenshot of the proof that Youtube shut down my show:

On the morning of September 4th, after I woke up, I realized that my Youtube account and my Google mailbox had all been stolen. In the end, I called and messaged YouTube and Google directly. During a few hours on the morning of September 4th, I reported the problem with Youtube and Google more than a dozen times, asking to restore my program and all data, and restore my Google mailbox. Request to verify the intrusion of this network hacker. However, in the face of my report and request, it is a pity that in the reply to my letter, the Chinese employees of Youtube actually decided that I violated the relevant regulations of Google and Youtube. Please see the reply below:

Apparently, YouTube and Google's Chinese computer technicians didn't seriously review the hacker's IP address and phone number at all? I have to ask: "Are the Chinese computer technicians of Youtube and Google helping Hong Kong hackers to frame me?"

Immediately afterwards, the Google system reminded me: "Someone is using this account to continue to post pornographic videos. This will cause my Google mailbox to be closed again." That is to say, when I was in contact with Youtube and Google, this hacker Still controlling my computer remotely! So, I appeal again as follows:

At about 5:00 am on September 4, US time, a hacker named Pam Yui from Hong Kong, whose IP login address is 182.239.115.27, successfully hacked into my YouTube account. He changed my name Liu Zheng to Pan Vui, the contact number has also been revised, the last two digits are 48, but my phone last two number is 87.

Then the hacker deleted my videos in large numbers and posted a lot of pornographic videos, causing the YouTube system to immediately close my account.

When he hacked into my account for the first time on August 26, the Google system gave me a reminder.

On the morning of September 4th, after I woke up, I realized that the oil pipe and personal mailbox had all been stolen. Finally made a direct call to YouTube and Google, and now Mailbox and Google have finally regained my control.

I have never posted any porn videos, please check the IP address of the poster.

See the screenshot of the letter from Google system:

All evidence shows that this hacker from Hong Kong has been using remote control technology to continue to hack into my account and post pornographic videos. (If the answer given to me by YouTube and Google's Chinese computer technicians is true)

Several of my friends who are computer majors understand that this is a very simple matter: whether my computer is remotely controlled or hacked, the computer technicians of Google and Youtube should be able to catch evidence of hacking in no time! However, your Chinese computer technicians did nothing! (Except that they accused and threatened my account for posting so-called pornographic videos.)

When I needed the support and help of the computer technicians of Google and Youtube the most, they stood on the side of the CCP and Hong Kong hackers and accused me of publishing pornographic videos!

Please tell me: I can understand posting on YouTube, but how to post pornographic videos on Google Chrome? ! Your Chinese computer technicians are obviously cooperating with Hong Kong hackers and CCP agents, threatening me and continuing to accuse me - and I am very innocent, my computer was only hacked and remotely controlled!

My major is history and I don't know much about computers. I felt really helpless about it, and even more alone. The other party was a professional cyber hacker from the Chinese Communist Party, but I was too weak to do anything, allowing him to remotely control my computer. He deleted all the documents I saved from January 1st to September 4th, about 400,000 words in length! He deleted all my video backups from January 1st to September 4th! And your Chinese computer technicians accused me of posting pornographic videos and wrote back threatening me.

Neither Google nor YouTube have shown me screenshots of evidence for this allegation! I thought: none of them noticed the fact that on August 26th this hacker hacked into my account from Hong Kong, and now I have told them many times that this is not a porn video I posted (if such a porn video is actually posted ), but why didn't they investigate the Hong Kong hacker's intrusion into my account? ! How many YouTube videos have been hacked by CCP hackers using such methods and reasons with the cooperation of YouTube and Google insiders?

In desperation, I had no choice but to write to the two CEOs, requesting to verify the intrusion of this Hong Kong hacker, and to restore my Google mailbox, Youtube account and all video programs.

American citizen Liu Zheng

September 6 afternoon



my email is kyotosizumoto@hotmail.com
Brazilian Ambassador to Korea Marcia Donner Abreu, left, takes the stage during the 201st anniversary of the Independence of Brazil event held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Kim Hyun-bin



By Kim Hyun-bin



Brazilian Ambassador to Korea Marcia Donner Abreu emphasized the significance of ongoing cooperation with Korea, as the Latin American country strives to enhance environmental sustainability and technological productivity.



"We see much room to cooperate with Korea, the high-tech prodigy of our times," Brazilian Ambassador to Korea Marcia Donner Abreu said. "Many top Korean companies are already well established in Brazil, and others are coming, attracted by the opportunities of our huge domestic market and natural resources base, the biggest economy and industrial GDP in Latin America, our green footprint, and a sophisticated services sector."



The remarks came during the 201st anniversary of the Independence of Brazil event held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, Wednesday.



The ambassador believes there will be more opportunities to enhance bilateral cooperation as the country undergoes significant changes, implementing low-carbon initiatives and transitioning to renewable energy.



Brazilian Ambassador to Korea Marcia Donner Abreu
Angola, IN (46703)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun in the morning followed by cloudy skies during the afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 38F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 24F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun in the morning followed by cloudy skies during the afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 38F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low near 25F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
MAMAMOO's Hwasa has done it again, captivating fans and music enthusiasts worldwide with her latest release, the music video for "I Love My Body."

In a time when body positivity and self-acceptance are more crucial than ever, Hwasa's empowering anthem has struck a chord, igniting a movement of self-love among her dedicated fanbase.

Hwasa's Anthem "I Love My Body" Sparks Global Empowerment Movement

The MV, a visual masterpiece, takes viewers on a journey through Hwasa's world, offering a glimpse into her personal exploration of self-acceptance.

You can watch it here:

From reflective moments in front of a mirror to carefree drives on a sunny day and infectious dance sequences with friends, the video encapsulates a heartfelt ode to appreciating and loving one's own body.

Hwasa's message is clear: embrace your uniqueness, reject society's beauty standards, and love your body for what it isa temple of self-expression and individuality.

READ ALSO: MAMAMOO Hwasa's 'I Love My Body' MV Teaser Garners Mixed Reaction Among Fans- Here's Why



International Fandom Celebrates Hwasa's Bold Empowerment in New Music Video

Fans from all corners of the globe have been effusive in their praise, hailing "I Love My Body" as an anthem of empowerment:

"This is an anthem! I dont know if you understand the importance of this song to me right now. From someone who has a lot of insecurities and struggles with my body, having a song that I can scream 'thats my body, I love my body' out loud with confidence is so important to me. Thank you so much for this Hwasa! This means a lot "

"Hwasa literally gave me the confidence that I don't even have within myself. I don't regret stanning her. She is really an inspiration. What she says is true, that if we don't fit society's beauty standard, then we make our own. Just continue with your music, uri queen Hwasa; we will always support you. Lots of love from the land of a thousand islands, the Philippines."

"The confidence rush I got from this song! Im so glad we have strong beautiful women in the industry like Hwasa who spread a positive and encouraging message for girls and women all over the world. Also, her vocals in this are incredible ."

"Hwasa is so iconic in this MV! The MV itself has a strong sense of humor, but at the same time, a strong sense of reality."

"Thank you for this powerful, uplifting message - loved the video!"

"I'm gonna use this song to start loving my body. THANK YOU, MARIA! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, QUEEN!"

"This is the song that makes her smile for the first time after haters attacked her for her performance of Dont in the university during MAMAMOO's US tour in New York."

"I love the message in the lyrics so much. Our queen serves once again."

It's evident that Hwasa's "I Love My Body" isn't just a songit's a movement. With its infectious melody and empowering lyrics, it's encouraging people to embrace their bodies, celebrate their individuality, and dance to the rhythm of self-acceptance.

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN: 5 Head-Turner Looks at BVLGARI's Seoul Event: BLACKPINK Lisa, MAMAMOO Hwasa, More!



Follow and subscribe to KpopStarz for more news.



KpopStarz own this article.

Madison Cullen wrote this.
In a vlog, TWICE Jihyo drew laughter after revealing how her parents initially reacted when she was born. Her mother confessed that she even doubted if her baby was switched with someone else's  for the idol's "ugly" look?

TWICE Jihyo Reveals Her Parents Called Her 'Ugly' After Birth  But Here's Plot Twist!

On September 6, "JIHYO Album-log "Zyo's Zone.Zip" EP.03" was released on TWICE's official YouTube channel.

In the vlog, Jihyo gathered with her family and introduced her parents and youngest sisters to the viewers. On this day then, the idol was anxious after pulling out a box full of her childhood albums.

"It's my first time to release this much in public."

Selecting her childhood photo album as the first thing to look at, Jihyo was surprised to know that her weight as a newborn baby was 3.5kg.

She asked her mother if it was normal and she said:

"It was a little on the chubbier side, but it was still normal."

After she revealed her baby photo, Jihyo asked her mom to tell the viewers about their reaction after seeing her for the first time.

Her father then said:

"(What did you say?) She was so ugly."

Jihyo's mother explained:

"Since you are my first baby, I thought all babies were born cute, but I was so shocked that you came out looking weird."

Jihyo added that her mother told her she cried when she was born because she was so ugly.

However, a plot twist happened when Jihyo became sick after she was born and her parents were prohibited from seeing her for four days!

Jihyo's mother was surprised after seeing her baby, saying:

"And when I saw you (again), your face had changed so much. All the swelling is gone, that, and they shaved your head only here, I was so shocked so I cried again. But the nurse told me that in her more than 10 years of experience working in the hospital, you were the prettiest baby she's ever seen."

With her sudden change, her mom revealed she initially thought her baby was switched with someone else's child!

"Totally. At first, I thought you weren't my baby. It's crazy, right?"

CUTIE BABY JIHYO  pic.twitter.com/QbSkMeuTxT  ron | zone (@imyeonnz) September 6, 2023

The idol's father continued:

"We really wondered whether our baby got switched or not."

Such an unserious family!

TWICE Jihyo's Recent Activities

Meanwhile, Jihyo, debuted as a soloist eight years since her debut, wrote history as the first half-million-selling among K-pop female solo artist mini-albums with her debut album, "ZONE."

Following her solo activities, the TWICE leader will also lead the group in part 2 of its 5th world tour, "READY TO BE," and announced the additional stages.

Starting with Singapore on September 2 & 3, the nonet will proceed to its European tour in the same month.

In November, TWICE will go to Australia, while they were also set to visit Indonesia in December.

The tour will continue in Brazil in February 2024.

For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Eunice Dawson.
A bunch of crooked naval officers are off the hook thanks to prosecutorial misconduct. God bless America.

U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino called the misconduct "outrageous" and agreed to allow the four men to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and pay a $100 fine each. Last year after the trial, Sammartino had ruled the lead federal prosecutor committed "flagrant misconduct" by withholding information from defense lawyers but said at the time that it was not enough to dismiss the case.  The officers  former Capts. David Newland, James Dolan and David Lausman and former Cmdr. Mario Herrera  were previously convicted by a federal jury on various counts of accepting bribes from foreign defense contractor Leonard Francis, and his company, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, or GDMA. On Wednesday three of them pleaded guilty to one count each of disclosing information to Francis, and Lausman pleaded guilty to a charge of destruction of government property, for smashing a hard drive with a hammer.

The good news is that the filth was exposed. We know about the service members who accepted a half million dollars in cash and finally admitted to *mumbles* in return for $100 fines. We know about the prosecutors who lied to make them look worse in court and withheld evidence that might have tilted jurors away from conviction. We know about the military procurement bureacracy around Fat Leonard, where vast sums of money sloshed around the leisure-filled lives of dozens of officers.

The bad news is that, even with all the generous contributions from abroad, we still get to pay for it.
New Delhi [India], September 7 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday extended wishes to his Brazilian Counterpart Mauro Luiz Iecker Vieira and the people of the country on Brazils Independence Day.

Taking to X, Jaishankar said, Warm felicitations to FM Mauro Vieira and the Government and people of Brazil on their Independence Day. In this historic 75th year of diplomatic ties, our strategic partnership and south-south solidarity continue to deepen.

Also Read | PM Modi in Indonesia: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Attends ASEAN-India Summit at Jakarta Convention Centre (Watch Video).

India and Brazil share a close and multifaceted relationship which is based on shared democratic values and convergence of views on many global issues, according to a release from the Ministry of External Affairs.

The release added that the two countries cooperate not only bilaterally but also at plurilateral fora such as BRICS, IBSA, G-20 and in multilateral bodies such as the UN and WTO, among others. IndiaBrazil relations were elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2006, thereby heralding a new phase in bilateral ties.

Also Read | Earthquake in Chile Videos: Powerful 6.2-Magnitude Quake Shakes Northern Chile, Causes Power Outage in Some Parts.

Indias relationship with Brazil has continued to grow over the past decade with various high-level exchanges and got further intensified in 2019 and early 2020 with the back-to-back VVIP visits.

PM Modi met then President Jair Bolsonaro on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka on 29 June 2019. Key issues of bilateral importance were discussed during the meetings, opening up opportunities on both sides to take the strategic partnership forward.

PM Modi also attended the XI BRICS Summit in Brasilia on 13-14 November 2019 and held a bilateral meeting with President Bolsonaro on the sidelines of the Summit on 13 November 2019. At the invitation of PM Modi, President Bolsonaro had paid a State Visit to India from 25-27 January 2020. He was the Chief Guest at Indias Republic Day Parade on 26 January 2020

Earlier last month, PM Modi and the Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva the Brazilian President attended the BRICS summit hosted by South Africa in Johannesburg. President Lula of Brazil is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi for the G20 summit on Saturday. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Tokyo, Sep 7 (AP) Tokyo prosecutors said Thursday they have arrested the former vice foreign minister of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet on suspicion of accepting more than 61 million yen (USD 414,000) in bribes from a wind power company in return for his promotion of wind power and other favourable treatment.

Masatoshi Akimoto, 48, was arrested on suspicion of accepting the bribes, including 30 million yen (USD 204,000) in cash at his parliamentary office , from a wind power company executive on several occasions between February 2019 and June this year, prosecutors said.

Also Read | Is Vietnams E-car Maker Hitting the Brakes in Europe?.

Akimoto had stepped down as vice foreign minister and left Kishida's governing Liberal Democratic Party in August after allegations surfaced and prosecutors raided his office as part of their bribery investigation.

Akimoto has advocated promotion of renewable energy and urged the government during parliamentary sessions in 2019 not to heavily regulate the waters off the coast of Aomori where the company, Japan Wind Development Co., was bidding for offshore wind power projects, Kyodo News agency reported.

Also Read | Satanic Sex Ring Busted in Glasgow: 7 Men, 4 Women Arrested for Raping Children, Forcing Them to Participate in Witchcraft.

Akimoto is suspected of receiving 30 million yen in cash as loans without interest or collateral around March 2019 from the windfarm executive in return for asking questions in ways to benefit the company, the prosecutors' office said in a statement.

He allegedly received another 31 million yen (USD 210,500) in connection to a racehorse owner's group between October 2021 and June this year. He took the money for his registration with the group, according to Japanese media reports.

Masayuki Tsukawaki, the 64-year-old former president of Japan Wind Development, has admitted that the payments were a reward for Akimoto, Kyodo said, quoting unnamed investigative sources.

Akimoto denied the allegations and said he asked questions at parliamentary sessions to promote renewable energy based on his political beliefs, not because he was asked to by Tsukawaki to benefit Japan Wind Development, NHK public television said, quoting him in a statement released by his lawyer.

He also denied accepting bribes as a reward for asking questions in parliamentary sessions.

I am innocent, he said, adding that he will provide a full explanation to prove that during the investigation, NHK said.

Akimoto's office wasn't immediately available for comment.

Kishida, who wrapped up the Southeast Asian regional summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, said the arrest of the lawmaker who used to belong to his party was extremely regrettable" and that parliamentarians must work for the people.

Renewable energy is extremely important to achieve decarbonization and a stable energy supply during a time that the world faces an energy crisis, Kishida said, adding that his government would continue to promote renewables with transparency.

Officials in the regions pushing for renewable energy say they are worried that the bribery scandal hurts the image of renewables when the energy needs to be further promoted.

We cannot build social infrastructure for the future of Japan without fair competition, said Norihisa Satake, governor of Akita, where Japan's first full commercial operation of wind power generation began in December. We want operators to compete fairly and squarely with technology.

Established in 1999, Japan Wind Development has developed 293 turbines in and outside Japan with a combined output of more than 570 megawatts, according to the company's website. (AP)

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Washington, Sep 7 (AP) A jury began weighing contempt of Congress charges against Trump White House official Peter Navarro on Thursday over his failure to cooperate with a subpoena from the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

Prosecutors argued that Navarro chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over obeying a subpoena from the House panel investigating after a mob of the Republican's supporters stormed the US Capitol and interrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential vote for Joe Biden, a Democrat.

Also Read | Is Vietnams E-car Maker Hitting the Brakes in Europe?.

Navarro, a former senior trade adviser, is charged with two counts of contempt of Congress. A defence attorney argued Navarro didn't purposely ignore the House Jan. 6 Committee. Navarro instead told staffers to contact Trump about what might be protected by executive privilege, something that didn't happen, defense attorney Stanley Woodward argued.

A judge has ruled the executive privilege argument isn't a defense against the charges, finding Navarro couldn't show that Trump had invoked it. But Woodward said prosecutors hadn't proven that Navarro acted willfully or only out of loyalty to Trump. Do we know that his failure to comply beyond reasonable doubt wasn't the result of accident, inadvertence or mistake? he said.

Also Read | Satanic Sex Ring Busted in Glasgow: 7 Men, 4 Women Arrested for Raping Children, Forcing Them to Participate in Witchcraft.

Prosecutors, though, said Navarro should have handed over what material he could and flagged any questions or documents believed to be protected under executive privilege.

"Peter Navarro made a choice. He chose not abide by the congressional subpoena, prosecutor Elizabeth Aloi said. The defendant chose allegiance to former President Donald Trump over compliance to the subpoena.

Navarro faces two charges, one for failing to produce documents and a second for failing to sit for a deposition. He faces up to a year behind bars on each count if convicted.

Navarro was the second Trump aide to face contempt of Congress charges after former White House adviser Steve Bannon. Bannon was convicted of two counts and was sentenced to four months behind bars, though he has been free pending appeal.

The House Jan. 6 committee finished its work in January, after a final report that said Trump criminally engaged in a multi-part conspiracy to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 election and failed to act to stop a mob of his supporters from attacking the Capitol.

Trump now faces a federal indictment in Washington, D.C., and a state indictment in Georgia over his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. He has denied wrongdoing and has said he was acting within the law. (AP)

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On 6 Septemberwon the internal contest to become the 2024 presidential candidate for Mexicos ruling Movimiento Regeneracion Nacional (Morena).

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Mexico's supreme court struck down criminal prohibitions on abortion in the nation's federal code, decriminalizing the procedure nationwide. It ruled that bans on it were unconstitutional and violate women's rights, in what the Associated Press described as "a sweeping decision that extended Latin American's trend of widening abortion access."

"No woman or pregnant person, nor any health worker, will be able to be punished for abortion," the Information Group for Chosen Reproduction, known by its Spanish initials GIRE, said in a statement.  "Today is a day of victory and justice for Mexican women!" Mexico's National Institute for Women wrote in a message on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The government organization called the decision a "big step" toward gender equality.

The ruling effectively prevents the 20 Mexican states (or 32) which criminalize abortion from enforcing those laws. The ruling does not provide access to the procedure, however, but is expected to lead to further state-level decriminalization and the establishment of services now that federal agencies are obliged to provide them.

Remember that scene from The Day After Tomorrow (2004) where people in Texas are wading south over the Rio to get away from the storm?
On 6 September Chiles former president(2010-2014, 2018-2022), of the conservative opposition Chile Vamos, said he would sign a declaration in support of democracy proposed by Presidentahead of the 50anniversary of the military coup led by General(1973-1990) but would not take part in official events to commemorate it.

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Special counsel David Weiss plans to seek an indictment against President Joe Biden's son about gun charges, a new development to the Hunter Biden case, according to the Justice Department.

This move comes after Hunter Biden's earlier deal, which involved a felony gun possession charge and required him to meet certain conditions over 24 months, fell apart due to issues related to resolving tax charges, according to CNN.

The Speedy Trial Act mandates that the government obtain an indictment by a grand jury no later than September 29, 2023, at the earliest.

The special counsel's office stated in a court filing that they intend to seek the indictment before this date.

However, the filing did not specify how many charges would be brought against Hunter Biden.

Hunter Biden's attorney, Abbe Lowell, emphasized that the previous deal prevented any additional charges from being filed against his client if he continued to abide by the conditions of release under the agreement, which included regular visits by the probation office.

This development occurs amid a broader, years-long investigation into Hunter Biden's overseas business dealings, which has faced significant legal twists and complications.

The special counsel's office intended to pursue a "fair resolution" of this investigation based on evidence and the law rather than political pressure.

READ NEXT: Hunter Biden Case: House Republicans Subpoena IRS, FBI Officials

Hunter Biden Gun Charges

Hunter Biden's legal troubles related to the gun case stem from his firearm purchase in October 2018, Yahoo! News noted.

During the purchase at a Delaware gun shop, he falsely stated on a federal form that he was not using or addicted to any illegal drugs despite struggling with crack cocaine addiction.

Lying on the ATF form and possessing a firearm as a drug user are federal crimes.

Hunter Biden possessed the gun for approximately 11 days in 2018.

Prosecutors have previously indicated that the statute of limitations for some of these offenses is set to expire in October.

David Weiss has been leading the investigation into Hunter Biden since late 2018.

The probe primarily focused on potential felony tax evasion, illegal foreign lobbying, money laundering, and other matters related to Hunter Biden's overseas business dealings.

In June, it appeared that the investigation was winding down when Weiss announced a two-pronged agreement.

Under this agreement, Hunter Biden would plead guilty to two federal tax misdemeanors, and a "diversion agreement" would allow the gun charge to be dropped in two years if he passed drug tests and stayed out of legal trouble.

Additionally, Weiss is still considering whether to add tax-related charges to the Hunter Biden case.

In a court filing last month, he mentioned that "a trial is now in order" for the tax offenses and that he "may bring tax charges," possibly in California or Washington, DC.

Development on Hunter Biden Case Comes Amid Possible Joe Biden Impeachment Inquiry

News of a possible new indictment against Hunter Biden coincides with House Republicans' preparations for a likely impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, AP reports.

This inquiry is based on unsubstantiated claims that the President played a role in his son's foreign business affairs as vice president.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, recently stated that, based on the information gathered, it seems like a natural step forward to initiate an impeachment inquiry.

Hunter Biden has been a focal point of congressional investigations since Republicans took control of the House in January.

Lawmakers have obtained thousands of pages of financial records from various members of the Biden family through subpoenas to the Treasury Department and various financial institutions.

Three influential House committees are pursuing multiple lines of inquiry related to the President and his son.

While Republicans have sought to establish a direct connection between Hunter Biden's financial dealings and his father, they have not produced concrete evidence that President Biden directly participated in his son's work.

However, it has been noted that he occasionally dined with Hunter Biden's clients or exchanged greetings with them during calls.

READ MORE: Hunter Biden Net Worth

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WATCH: Prosecutors eye Sept. 29 for possible Hunter Biden indictment | The Hill - From NewsNation
Kourtney Kardashian had a very scary experience as the reality star revealed that she required "urgent fetal surgery" as she is pregnant with Blink 182 rocker Travis Barker's baby.

"As someone who has had three really easy pregnancies in the past, I wasn't prepared for the fear of rushing into urgent fetal surgery," the reality show star and model revealed on social media. The post also showed a black and white photo of her rocker husband holding her hand in what appears to be a hospital bed.

"I don't think anyone who hasn't been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear. I have a whole new understanding and respect for the mamas who have had to fight for their babies while pregnant," Kourtney Kardashian added.

It seems that she and the baby did pull through, as she also wrote in that same post that the doctors managed to save the baby and thanked them, writing that she is "forever grateful" to the doctors who helped, according to CNN.

The baby would be her first child with the Blink 182 drummer and also her fourth child overall, as she is the mother of three children with her ex, Scott Disick. Meanwhile, Travis Barker is the father of two kids and the stepfather of another from a previous relationship.

Travis Barket Talks About Kourtney Kardashian's Surgery Amid Her Pregnancy

Travis Barker also confirmed that his wife has undergone a "life-threatening emergency surgery" to save their baby. In a tweet on X, formerly Twitter, the Blink-182 drummer also stated that he is grateful for their child being safe and announced that the Blink-182 World Tour is resuming on Friday.

READ MORE: Kris Jenner Shares Awesome Reaction to Kourtney Kardashian's Pregnancy

His return to the world tour will begin in Belgium and proceed as planned, though several venues in the UK are currently postponed. These are planned performances in Glasgow, Belfast, and Dublin, and new dates are expected to be announced soon. Barker notedly left the tour due to an "urgent family matter" last week.

After leaving the tour, he immediately flew back to California for that "urgent family matter," which turned out to really be an emergency. Barker did not reveal what the emergency was initially, though, and posted a photo of himself praying.

"Praise be to God," said Kourtney Kardashian in her post, adding, "Walking out of the hospital with my baby boy in my tummy and safe was the truest blessing."

Kourtney Kardashian Husband Appears in Son Landon Barker's TikTok Live

Barker did not just deal with Kourtney Kardashian's surgery while he was home in the US for that urgent family matter, as the Blink 182 drummer helped his son from a previous relationship with a TikTok video.

He made a cameo in his son, Travis Barker's TikTok Live on September 4, shortly after leaving the Blink 182 World Tour back on September 1. He gave Landon a hoodie in that video, according to E! News.

READ NEXT: Kim Kardashian 'Disgusted' and 'Horrified' Over Claims That Ex Kanye West Showed Explicit Photos of Her to Adidas, Yeezy Staff

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WATCH: Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker Exit Hospital After He Leaves Tour for 'Urgent Family Matter"- Entertainment Tonight
Former Elle Magazine writer E. Jean Carroll just keeps winning against Donald Trump after a federal judge ruled that the ex-POTUS is liable for defamatory statements that he made against her in 2019 after she went public with her claims that he raped her inside a high-end department store in the 90s.

Judge Lewis Kaplan stated that the former president must now pay her monetary damages for defaming her. He added that the upcoming trial for Carroll's lawsuit against Donald Trump will only determine exactly how much he should pay her.

Juries usually are the ones who determine if a defendant is liable for damages in a civil lawsuit. However, CNBC News noted that Kaplan found that the former Elle columnist was entitled to a partial summary judgment on the question of Trump's liability, citing that Trump was liable in a separate lawsuit by Carroll where another jury found Donald Trump liable for sexual abuse.

A New York jury found that Trump, while not liable for the legal definition of rape, was still liable for sexually assaulting Carroll. After losing the case, Trump railed his accuser and continued to blast her, making his defamation case even more complicated for himself.

Carroll's attorneys argued that the first case's verdict "effectively settled the legal question of whether Trump had defamed her in similar comments he made about Carroll in 2019."

Judge Kaplan agreed, writing, "The jury's finding that she did not therefore is binding in this case and precludes Mr. Trump from contesting the falsity of his 2019 statements."

Donald Trump Georgia Trial Could Take Four Months

His loss in the civil trial against E. Jean Carroll is but one of many legal cases, both civil and criminal, that former President Donald Trump is facing as he runs for the presidency again, which he reportedly is doing to avoid his legal problems. Among his most high-profile cases is the RICO case in Georgia, where Trump allegedly tried to steal the results of the election.

READ MORE: Donald Trump's Allies, Co-Defendants, Aides Are Turning Against Him, Says Report

Trump and his 18 co-defendants, including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, and Mark Meadows, have all pleaded "not guilty" in the case. Now, it seems that the trial might take longer than expected, given the number of defendants and witnesses.

According to the BBC, Georgia prosecutors have stated that the trial would take four months as 150 witnesses are set to testify in the Donald Trump Georgia election interference trial. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee stated that d he hopes to decide questions regarding the trial's schedule by "either the end of this week or early next week."

Donald Trump Says He Would 'Absolutely' Testify in His Criminal Trial

During a recent radio interview, Donald Trump was asked if he would take the stand in his own defense during his many criminal trials. To this, he answered, "Oh yes, absolutely. ... That, I would do." He even added that he actually looks forward to testifying.

According to NBC News, Trump also stated that he is confident that his cases will be dismissed as they are going to ask for a dismissal for all of these cases. He then called the four criminal cases against him "politically motivated," and added, "This is election interference."

However, while Trump is crying "election interference," he is being accused of the crime he is saying is being done against him, as shown in his federal and Georgia criminal cases where he had election workers intimidated, tried to install fake electors, and even tried to overthrow the peaceful transfer of power during January 6.

READ MORE: Donald Trump Election Interference Co-Conspirators Turning on Each Other

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WATCH: Trump is liable in the second E. Jean Carroll defamation case, judge rules - CNN
Mexico's Supreme Court has taken a significant step in the direction of abortion rights by ruling that all federal criminal penalties for abortion are unconstitutional and violate women's rights, AP reports.

This decision, which removes abortion from the federal penal code, means that federal health institutions, including the public health service, must offer abortion services to anyone who requests them.

The ruling decriminalizes abortion at the federal level in Mexico and ensures that neither women nor healthcare workers can be punished for seeking or providing abortion services.

However, it is worth noting that around 20 Mexican states still criminalize abortion, and legal changes will be needed to fully align with the Supreme Court's decision.

This landmark decision is part of a broader trend in Latin America toward expanding abortion access and recognizing women's reproductive rights.

It has been celebrated by women's rights advocates and organizations, representing a significant step toward gender equality and reproductive justice in Mexico.

READ NEXT: Mexico Gun Violence

Mexico Supreme Court Decision Comes Following GIRE's Legal Appeal

The Information Group for Chosen Reproduction (GIRE) played a pivotal role in advocating for reproductive rights in Mexico, and their legal appeal led to this groundbreaking ruling, per Al Jazeera.

The celebration of this decision on social media, marked by green hearts and hashtags like #SeptiembreVerde (Green September), underscores the significance of this moment for the abortion rights movement in Latin America.

Mexico's previous abortion laws were inconsistent and often restrictive, with varying regulations across different states.

Mexico City's federal district became the first to legalize abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy in 2007.

Since then, other states have joined, with Aguascalientes on August 30 becoming the 12th region to decriminalize abortion, following places like Oaxaca, Baja California, and Veracruz.

The Supreme Court's decision to remove federal criminal penalties for abortion is a significant step towards a more consistent and progressive approach to reproductive rights nationwide.

The fact that more states have been decriminalizing abortion in recent years shows a growing awareness and support for women's reproductive rights in Mexico.

With this ruling, women and individuals who can become pregnant will have better access to safe and legal abortion services across the country, marking a huge milestone in the fight for reproductive justice in Mexico.

Abortion Rights Endorsement Might Anger Mexico's Conservative Politicians

While Mexico's decision to decriminalize abortion is significant, the country's more conservative politicians and the Catholic Church may express opposition to this move, according to BBC.

However, it's worth noting that the Church's influence in Mexico has declined, and the Mexican government identifies itself as secular.

The legality of abortion in Latin America varies from country to country.

Some nations, like Colombia, Cuba, Uruguay, and Argentina, have legalized elective abortion, while others allow it in particular circumstances, such as rape or health risks.

Outright bans on abortion persist in countries like El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

These developments in Latin America stand in contrast to the United States, where abortion rights have faced significant challenges, including the Supreme Court's ruling that allows states to restrict access to abortion, overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

READ MORE: 6 Dead Following Clash Between Military, Shining Path Rebel in Peru

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WATCH: Protesters, police face off at protest for legalized abortion in Mexico - From Gobal News
Texas Governor Greg Abbott's controversial floating barriers must be removed from the Rio Grande, ruled a federal judge on Wednesday. The judge ruled that Abbott illegally installed these barriers along the US-Mexico border.

In his opinion, Federal District Judge David A. Ezra wrote that while Abbott announced that he was not "asking for permission" to install these barriers that were designed to keep migrants away from crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico, federal law still required permission to be filed because these barriers are obstructing navigable waters.

Greg Abbott and his administration are facing accusations of human rights violations thanks not only to his floating barriers but also because of Operation Lone Star, where a Texas State Trooper reported that migrants were denied water under the baking Texas heat and were forced back to the river even though some of them were wounded.

Despite this, however, the Texas Tribune reported that the governor remained defiant, and his office immediately appealed the ruling, stating that they were "prepared to take this fight all the way to the US Supreme Court."

"We will continue to utilize every strategy to secure the border, including deploying Texas National Guard soldiers and Department of Public Safety troopers and installing strategic barriers," Abbott added.

The federal government under the Biden administration sued the state of Texas over these floating barriers, arguing that they required federal authorization to install. Mexico also filed a diplomatic complaint regarding the barriers, while several civilian and migrant groups have also filed lawsuits.

READ MORE: Donald Trump Loses Against E. Jean Carrol Again

Reagan-Appointed Judge Blasts Texas Over Floating Barriers

In his decision to install the barriers, Abbott invoked his "invasion" powers to deploy aggressive new tactic to deter immigration. However, Judge Ezra, who was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, blasted Abbott for his justification.

"Under this logic, once Texas decides, in its sole discretion, that it has been invaded, it is subject to no oversight of its 'chosen means of waging war,'" the judge wrote in his decision. "Such a claim is breathtaking."

The judge also said these floating barriers, which includes large orange buoys and blade so that people would not climb over them, are "a threat to safety and relationships between the neighboring countries." He also called out Texas, writing that the state produced no "credible evidence that the buoy barrier as installed has significantly curtailed illegal immigration."

Majority of Texas Floating Barriers Are in the Mexico Side

Greg Abbott installed the barriers to stop migrants from crossing over from Mexico, though it certainly has not stopped migrants from trying to cross, as Abbott and his allies have claimed. Migrants continue to risk life and limb to get to the US, with or without barriers, even though two deaths have already been attributed to them.

As for the barriers themselves, Mexico has already repeatedly complained about them to the US federal government, claiming that nearly 80% of the barrier was on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande. This was confirmed by a federal government survey, according to CBS News.

Texas only has until Friday to remove these barriers.

READ MORE: Did Texas Install Chainsaws on Its Controversial Floating Barriers Along the Rio Grande? Critics Say Yes

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WATCH: A judge orders Texas to move a floating barrier used to deter migrants to the bank of the Rio Grande - KSAT 12
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has announced immediate measures to address the rising issues of violence, contraband, and drug-related inmate homicides within the state's prison system.

Over the past five years, the TDCJ has observed an increase in illegal narcotics entering correctional facilities, posing significant safety concerns for staff and inmates, according to Click2Houston.

According to the TDCJ's report, there have been 16 inmate-on-inmate homicides in 2023, with most of these incidents believed to be connected to illegal drugs.

In response to these challenges, TDCJ Executive Director Bryan Collier has declared a lockdown as an important step to address the root causes of the crisis, enhance security measures, and ensure the well-being of all individuals within the agency.

The Texas statewide prison lockdown aims to locate and eliminate narcotics within the correctional facilities while collaborating with the Office of Inspector General and external law enforcement agencies to dismantle drug trafficking networks.

READ NEXT: Another Dead Body Found Near Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's Floating Barriers

Texas Department of Criminal Justice to Conduct Intensify Search

Regional facilities are set to bolster security measures, involving rigorous searches of inmates and staff members.

TDCJ has also transitioned to a digital mail system effective September 6, 2023, per KSAT.

As per the new system, all incoming correspondence should be directed to a centralized digital mail processing hub.

Each piece of mail will undergo sorting and scanning before being uploaded to an inmate's designated secure tablet.

Those inmates not equipped with tablets will be provided with black-and-white printouts of their correspondence.

Meanwhile, despite the ongoing lockdown, inmates' access to the telephone system remains unaffected.

The TDCJ cites a disturbing rise in incidents as the rationale behind the digital transition. They have identified cases where paper mail directed to the prisons was impregnated with synthetic THC - a key component of marijuana or methamphetamines.

The new system aims to deter such attempts to introduce illicit substances into correctional facilities.

In addition to the above measures, the TDCJ has launched a dedicated tip line. This helpline is available to inmates, staff, and their families, allowing them to report any anomalies, suspicious activities, or information about contraband.

The TDCJ has remained tight-lipped about the exact duration of the systemwide lockdown. However, they have assured that standard operations will recommence once the meticulous searches are finalized.

Man on Death Row Calls Texas Senator Using Smuggled Phone in 2008

Texas prison system faced a significant security breach when a death row inmate made an unauthorized call to a state senator in 2008, The Texas Tribune noted.

The inmate claimed to have procured the cell phone via a prison guard. As a swift response to this glaring security lapse, former Gov. Rick Perry ordered a lockdown of 112 prisons.

The subsequent countermeasures taken by the agency included the acquisition of call jammers. Furthermore, to reduce contraband smuggling, staff underwent routine drug tests.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice introduced the "Inspect 2 Protect" initiative in 2021.

This multifaceted program focused on enhancing security during visiting days by deploying more drug-sniffing dogs.

The regulations were further tightened, allowing incoming mail to consist only of plain white paper and a limited number of photographs.

However, that very year, an investigative collaboration between The Texas Tribune and The Marshall Project unveiled concerning findings.

Their research, which considered testimonies from over a dozen individuals who resided in or were employed by Texas prisons, revealed that the primary conduits for drug smuggling were underpaid TDCJ employees working in inadequately staffed facilities.

Despite these revelations, prison officials stood by the effectiveness of the drug-sniffing dog program.

They argued that the presence of these canines resulted in the interception of a higher volume of suspicious mail.

Furthermore, there was a marked decrease in the number of inmates testing positive for illegal substances, reinforcing their belief in the program's efficacy.

READ MORE: North Carolina Student Found Dead

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WATCH: Violence, drug-related inmate murders trigger lockdown of entire Texas prison system - From 12NewsNow
When a half-dozen buses of asylum-seekers first began being bused from New York City to Erie County and staying at hotels near the Buffalo Niagara International Airport in mid-June, it immediately became a political issue. Republicans in the Erie County Legislature raised public questions and began pushing resolutions, while Democratic legislators largely avoided taking up the issue or talking about it at length or in committee on the Legislature floor.

New York City will keep paying for migrants' care in Erie County Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said that all indications are that New York City will continue to pay DocGo, the company that has increasingly come under fire for its handling of the migrant crisis.

But instead of becoming more divisive, the issue appears to be leading to bipartisanship in a year when all seats are up for re-election.

When this first started, nobody knew what this was going to look like, said Democratic Majority Leader Timothy Meyers, whose district includes Cheektowaga, where most of the asylum-seekers are being housed.

In a rare turn of events Thursday, Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature worked to craft and approve a resolution demanding more information about what expenses the county might be incurring to host the roughly 600 people being housed at hotels in Cheektowaga and Amherst over the last three months.

The Republican Minority Caucus initially crafted a resolution calling for more information about what expenses the county might incur after the New York City comptroller initially refused to approve a $432 million emergency contract with DocGo, the agency in charge of resettling migrants from that city in other parts of the state. Republican legislators and staff then began asking questions and trading ideas about where that leaves Erie County.

While it now seems more likely that Mayor Eric Adams will override the comptroller, concerns about New York Citys promise to cover the costs of resettled migrants in Erie County linger.

The Republican resolution sought answers from county department heads about any locally incurred costs associated with self-purported asylum seekers relocated to Erie County. New York City is on the hook to cover all food and shelter, and many human services expenses, associated with the relocation of migrants under New York Citys longstanding right-to-shelter law. But doubts about whether the city will continue to cover all associated expenses have been growing.

What will incoming asylum-seekers cost Erie County? Here is what we know Based on some fact-finding by The Buffalo News, including communication with state and county officials and advocates, here are the best answers we have right now on the who is bearing what costs, why this is happening and what we still don't know.

When the Republicans introduced the resolution for same-day approval on Thursday, they gave it to the Democratic majority in advance. The Democrats then decided to retool the original language to remove words and phrases like shipping self-purported asylum seekers across the state from the resolution, but much of the intent of the language remained intact. Democrats beefed up the resolution to ask that resettlement agencies, as well as department heads, appear before the Finance and Management Committee on Sept. 28 to answer questions. Both sides also asked that certain school district representatives appear, as well.

I think everybody wants the same thing, said Meyers, who chairs the finance committee. We just want to make sure things are done right and equitably. Theres a lot of questions that have to be answered.

Bryan Fiume, chief of staff for the Republican minority, agreed that both sides worked together to come up with a resolution all 11 legislators could unanimously support.

The conversations were actually very good, he said, and we are happy to finally get a discussion on how much this costs.

The resolution calls for at least 15 department heads, agency and school representatives to appear before the Finance and Management Committee on Sept. 28.

Fiume said questions about who is footing the costs for legal services for migrants who have been arrested, and the cost to taxpayers for education, public health and social services associated with relocated asylum-seekers, remain.

Meyers said this asylum-seeker resolution had bipartisan support because its focused strictly on financial costs. Its not a debate about where they should be living or whether they belong in this country.

This is about the costs associated with it, who is going to pick up the bill, and where do we go from there, he said.
The city of Allentown approved a resolution on Wednesday night to launch an investigation into whether claims by former and current city employees that institutional racism and other forms of discrimination are running unchecked within the citys workplace are true.

City council said it would also seek a third-party to review the claims against Mayor Matt Tuerk and his administration, and it will prioritize agencies that are not based in the Lehigh Valley, per residents requests.

Residents said that they did not trust the city council members or agencies within the Lehigh Valley to perform a fair assessment because of vested opinions and friendships that could sway the results.

The truth sometimes needs to come from the outside, said Dawn Godshall, executive director for Community Action Lehigh Valley.

Tuerk remained silent during the nearly hour-and a half public comment period while residents attempted to persuade council against taking the investigation into private chambers.

In his closing remarks, he said he welcomed the investigation, but warned it could have repercussions.

Theres a lot of improvement that needed to be made in City Hall, particularly around issues like thisan investigation of the magnitude that you really shouldnt undertake will create waves in the workplace. It will have an impact on our city and it will impact city services, he said. I welcome the investigation.

The vote to investigate follows months of allegations against Tuerk and his administration including a five-page letter penned by the secretary of the Allentown-branch of the NAACP which alleges widespread racism within City Hall and backlash over Tuerks decision to fire the citys recent HR director Nadeem Eli Shahzad.

Shahzad claims disagreements with Tuerk and his handling of allegations about racism in city hall led him to his ousting. In a letter by Shahzad to council, the former director said he would cooperate with the city, if an outside agency was hired to investigate.

And once the facts emerge, necessary remedies can be effectuated, and City residents may then see their trust in City government restored, he said in the letter shared with lehighvalleylive.com.

Tuerk said he stood by his decision to fire the citys former employees.

Weve got nothing to hide, he added.

An unexpected voice during Wednesday nights meeting was current HR Generalist for the city Karen Ocasio who earlier in the meeting spoke on an unrelated issue on behalf of the mayors administration.

Ocasio told council during public comment that microaggressions and discrimination have been prevalent within her department since she started her job in 2018.

From personal experience I can tell you this is going on, even to the point that when I first started I was told where the manager sits is called the United States and where administration sits is called Mexico.

Ocasio said shes sent formal complaints to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission regarding her long history with discrimination in the workplace.

The measure to spend the money to probe into the allegations was unanimously approved despite initial hesitancy by Council President Daryl Hendricks, who said he didnt want to waste tax money on the issue.

Residents called Hendricks comments a microaggression.

Allentown approved a flat tax rate in 2023. In a memo to lehighvalleylive.com the mayor stated:

Government is a service industry and depends on highly capable professionals to work properly. We must invest in our under-manned departments before we can turn to capital investments in our assets, facilities, and infrastructure.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Glenn Epps can be reached at gepps@lehighvalleylive.com or glenn_epps_on Twitter.
Catherine VanDyne didnt really know what she was getting herself into when she took the job as treasurer for Catasauqua Borough.

Shed done her due diligence before applying, of course.

Shed researched the borough and its previous budgets and there were no red flags at all.

So when she walked into her office for the first time and saw her new desk piled high with unpaid bills, overdue pension stubs, late notices and old sticky notes, topped with a notice, like a sundae cherry, for $290,000 due in a matter of days, she felt duped.

I was shocked and overwhelmed. I didnt know how bad it was and I prayed a lot.

Day after day, while VanDyne tried to find a way to condense the constantly growing list of bills, her job became more like an opening scene from a bad Hollywood movie about life in the workplace.

Everytime Id open the mailbox, bounced checks would fall out, she said. And of course, there was a stack of checks on my desk that had been cut and never mailed, because there was no money.

Because the borough was penniless actually in the hole and facing bankruptcy.

When VanDyne started working for Catasauqua, the boroughs debt to its general fund stood at $9.4 million and there was no plan in place to pay it off, she said.

In her 20 years as a treasurer in Massachusetts and even before that when she worked as a tax collector, shed never encountered anything like this, she said.

Massachusetts state law prohibits deficit spending outside of emergencies and requires municipalities to hire a treasurer and an accountant to oversee and maintain a balanced budget throughout the year. But in Pennsylvania, municipal money management is its own kind of Wild West.

Home rule prevails, said April Hutchinson, director of communications for the Office of Pennsylvanias Auditor General in Pennsylvania.

Without deliberate legislation, local governments can operate with very few checks or balances on spending. Audits are performed privately, and the state doesnt count every penny itself.

VanDyne said she considered quitting a few times when it seemed like the list of debts wouldnt ever shrink, but she couldnt bring herself to do it.

I think I can help, and I like putting things back together, she said. And I think about the people out there. This isnt fair to them. And if I dont help, who will?

An independent assessment in June 2023 by S&P Global Ratings, a national credit rating agency based in New York, gave Catasauqua a BB+ grade, a non-investment ranking signaling that the boroughs bonds are mostly worthless.

In its report, the agency wrote that its grading reflected the boroughs ongoing budgetary challenges, very weak liquidity and liability concerns that could be worsened by turnover of key management positions.

In other words: they have no money, too much debt and we dont know whos in charge.

VanDyne replaced the former treasurer Sandra Gyecsek.

Gyecsek, who did not respond to multiple calls for comment, resigned in August 2022 only a few weeks after former Borough Manager Steve Travers also left his role.

Travers said he left due to his concerns about the borough councils handling of the budget and in-fighting among council members.

Everyone who agreed to speak about Catasauqua Boroughs financial status said patterns of ambivalence, secrecy, overspending and financial mismanagement by the boroughs former managers and borough council created the current condition.

Former Borough Manager Eugene Goldfeder and Borough Council President Brian Bartholomew both refused multiple requests for a comment. Goldfeder served as borough manager for 40 years until his retirement in 2018.

As of August 2023, the boroughs general fund still remains $10 million in debt, VanDyne said.

The 105% Hail Mary

In December 2022, Catasauqua Borough Council passed a historic Hail Mary decision to save the one-square-mile town.

A 105% tax increase was approved as a last ditch effort to pay off some of the boroughs bills.

About a third of the revenue from the tax hike would appease a lenders requirements on an emergency loan for $2 million; one third would be used to balance previous years overestimated/underperforming budgets; and a final third would help cover a $1.2 million grant anticipation loan (due by 2024) on a fumbled deal to revitalize Catasauqua historic Crane Iron Works property.

But for homeowners that also means for every house valued at $200,000 under the new tax rate of 15.05 mills, they would be expected to pay at least $3,010 in property taxes, up from a rate of 7.35 mills and approximately $1,470 in property taxes.

Current Borough Manager Glenn Eckhart said he knows its an unfair burden to place on a town of 6,490 residents who share an average median household income of $66,040, but the borough had no other choice.

Over the last 5 years, this borough has spent more than $8 million they didnt have, he said. Thats why we needed to raise taxes (because)...The bulk is just to pay for bills that have been sitting on desks.

Eckhart previously served as Lehigh County Commissioner from 2006 through 2011, and then Lehigh County Controller from 2011 through 2022. He replaced Travers as borough manager in October 2022.

Eckhart said he took the job as borough manager because he believes he can help get Catasauquas finances sorted out, but its proven to be a larger undertaking than he imagined.

Even though the ordinance passed nearly a year ago, he said he still gets angry calls from residents who want to know why their taxes are so high, and how the boroughs finances got so mixed up.

I cant stand politics, Eckhart said. Theres nothing worse than a politician  and please put this in the article  than a politician who doesnt take responsibility for their own actions. The previous council, manager and treasurer have never taken responsibility for the problems in Catasauqua.

The industrial mistake

Borough employees say Catasauqua has been in critical condition for at least a decade  going as far back as 2013, when lawmakers agreed to purchase the Crane Iron Works property, a brownfield site at 326 Front St.

Catasauqua Borough Council Vice Chair Howard Cunningham, who took office in January 2022, called the propertys purchase the boroughs greatest mistake.

Historians cite the Crane Iron Works forge as one of the first and greatest contributors to the success of the American Industrial Revolution.

For more than a century, the furnace churned out high-quality iron rails, beams, rods, wires and castings for boilers and furnaces around the world. By 1900, the borough boasted the highest percentage of self-made millionaires of any town in the country, historians said.

It was the center of the valley, said Deb Mellish, vice president of the Historic Catasauqua Preservation Association.

But today, thats just history.

Take a peek into any one of a number of closed storefronts or walk through the boroughs overdeveloped neighborhoods saddled with narrow, beaten roads, and itd be hard to guess the borough was once teeming with wealth.

The Crane Iron Works facility fell out of industrial use by the early 2000s and today lays quiet  a concrete graveyard packed with overgrowth and piles of rubble.

To see the property revitalized, the borough council bought it for $750,000 in 2013.

The 12-acre property wasnt assessed prior to the purchase, according to property records.

An independent assessment conducted by Raymond Geiger Real Estate Real Property Appraisers & Consultants in August 2023 concluded that the property is now valued at $320,000.

Thats with the remediation weve done to it, Eckhart said. I didnt think wed get what we paid for it, but this situation just keeps getting worse.

Lawmakers who okayed the propertys purchase in 2013 said they planned to sell roughly 10 acres to the commercial real estate firm Dunn & Twiggar to be redeveloped as a mixed-use downtown center for an undecided sum.

The project wouldve cost the borough some $42 million to complete, and created apartments, a park, retail spaces, doctors offices and banks, and roughly 100 jobs, according to published reports; but the new guard jumped the gun, gave up too soon and killed the deal because they didnt understand it, said former Borough Council President Vince Smith (2006-2021).

Smith said the land purchase was part of a long-term strategy to boost the economy and eventually eliminate the boroughs debt.

Sometimes you have to deficit spend in order to recoup on the backend, he said, but current borough officials dont feel the same way.

A representative for Dunn & Twiggar said the company was forced to walk away from the negotiations in 2022, but could not comment on any details.

Eckhart said the 10-year delay in developing the site and rising costs associated with remediating the site, as well as legal fees, caused both parties to drop the deal.

So far, only the 1.2-acre site where the new municipal building now stands has been developed. It cost the borough $11 million, municipal records show.

The borough is still on the hook to pay back roughly $3.3 million it invested to remediate the brownfield site over the last decade, Eckhart said. Thats in addition to the roughly $500,000 itll be expected to pay each year through 2046 on the $11 million loan it took out to construct the building that opened in 2017.

The borough entered talks this year to offload the property to a developer through the Lehigh County Redevelopment Authority. So far, nine investors are purportedly interested in buying the property, officials involved with the contracts say.

The property could pass into a developers hands by early next year, Lehigh County Redevelopment Authority Contract Manager Christopher Gulotta said. The municipal building could not be included in the sale, he said.

It was financial abuse

Borough leaders tendency toward overspending often resulted in infrastructural projects being postponed, or altogether unaddressed, because of the boroughs outstanding debt and refusal to raise taxes.

And it was a pattern that repeated year after year, borough documents show.

Audit records that were immediately available show the borough overspent by $881,086 in 2020; $969,760 in 2019; $936,832 in 2018; and $2.6 million in 2016.

The overspending was often attributed to high solicitor fees, community development funding, late fees, and payments on outstanding debt or loan repayments related to the Crane Iron Works project and avoidable emergency repairs.

I dont think they were asking the right questions, Volunteer Fire Chief Rich Hertzog said, In fact, usually the room would stay quiet during budget hearings.

He described sitting through several hour-long budget hearings in silence while the boroughs lawmakers flipped through page after page of annual reports. At each hearing, everyone just wanted to go home and they trusted what was being presented to them, he said.

When nobody asks any questions it makes me wonder, are they paying attention or are we just checking a box? Are we just having an open forum just to say we did it? he said.

A lehighvalleylive.com investigation into Catasauquas finances shows that many of the budgets presented within the last decade contained errors that could have been caught through a thorough review and proper documentation.

A 2017 notice by the boroughs auditor included a letter notifying the borough that its finances contained significant deficiencies.

There is more than a remote likelihood that a misstatement of the Boroughs financial statements that is more than inconsequential will not be prevented or detected by the Boroughs internal control, the auditor wrote.

The agency suggested the borough increase its staff and segregate duties to provide more oversight to its accounting. Employees who spoke with lehighvalleylive.com said they were not aware of the letter.

Audit reports for that year showed a spending deficit of more than $8 million and a surplus of more than a million dollars an impossibility, according to VanDyne.

If you look at those (budget) reports, it looks like we made more money than we did because they added grant money to earnings. Its hard to tell whats accurate and whats not, VanDyne said. For example, in 2018, it says we had a total income of $5.2 million and we spent $5.1 million and loans were also counted as revenue, and thats not right.

And although the previous council was aware that they were overspending, they just didnt care, Cunningham said.

Annual budget summaries published by Goldfeder, the former borough manager, show that he also warned borough leaders to decrease spending and to raise taxes until his retirement, but his advice was never heeded.

When Travers took over, he faced the same obstacles, he said.

The treasurer and myself both explained it, he said. Did they understand it? I think some did, but I dont think they got the concept of cash flow, and what you cant do if you dont have the money.

Meanwhile, the boroughs water, sewer and public infrastructure continued to see little or no improvements.

Steps taken to replace water meter taps 20 years ago still remain incomplete. Concerns about sinkholes at Catasauquas public swimming pool have left the site closed for several years. And dozens of other planned improvements have fallen into worse states, employees and residents said.

In 2020, the borough was forced to spend $900,000 over two years to rent a temporary generator for the boroughs water plant while a permanent replacement was built. Eckhart said the generator, like many other borough assets, was long overdue to be replaced.

They just kept putting these things off, he said.

Catasauquas water plant services North Catasauqua, Allen Township and Hanover Township.

It was financial abuse, Cunningham said. It was obvious to me that the borough was going the wrong way financially and I was right.

He said he watched from the sidelines for years before eventually choosing to run for council.

When he took his seat with newly elected borough council members Jill Smerdon and Paul Cmil, their first objective was to reopen the 2022 budget and readjust the boroughs spending plan, but they faced pushback.

He claims he was told multiple times by the former Solicitor Thomas Dinkelacker and other council members to drop the issue, and ultimately the motion failed in February 2022.

Dinkelacker said he could not recall the details of his conversation with Cunningham.

There were multiple times when reopening the budget was discussed at a public meeting, he said. The decision to reopen a budget is a legislative decision of council, not a legal decision.

Cunningham said hes hired a private attorney to investigate whether Pennsylvanias statute regarding government officials handling of public money was violated.

The Lehigh County District Attorneys Office and the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office both said they are not investigating Travers or the boroughs handling of public funds.

Catasauquas longer-term solution

Its not fair to say Catasauqua didnt have a plan, said Vince Smith, who owns Bierys Port Auto Body at 307 Front St., just two blocks down from the Iron Works site and the municipal building.

There was a capital plan, he said. Could things have been done better in the past? For sure. Should they have let the project go through to fruition, so the money would start coming in? Yes.

He admitted borough leaders during his tenure made the choice to overrun expenses as they queued up for the project, but at the end of the day it was to bring a project to fruition, Smith said.

We dont spend like that anymore, VanDyne told lehighvalleylive.com.

On Aug. 8, the borough unveiled its first-ever capital spending plan, which outlines an investment of roughly $7.7 million into the boroughs infrastructure through 2028, as well as the boroughs timeline for repaying its interfund and General Fund debts.

The plan is a necessary step toward getting the borough back on track, VanDyne said.

On my first day, I remember Howard slid a piece of paper across the table and said Here. This is the financial status of the borough, VanDyne recalled. I still cant believe we made it through the year the people in Harrisburg still cant believe we made it either!

Its extremely rare for municipalities to declare bankruptcy. Its a last resort.

So far, Harrisburg and the City of Chester, located south of Philadelphia, are the only two municipalities to ever file for a Chapter 9 in Pennsylvania.

Chester declared bankruptcy in March 2023 citing its debt was as high as $500 million and its assets were worth less than $50 million, according to reports. If approved, the city will be forced to work closely with Pennsylvania to adjust its budget while it works to pay back creditors.

That wouldve been the worst case scenario for us, Eckhart said.

Fortunately, we have God on our side, and were not afraid to say it. And its been a lot of prayer and not letting people spend money, Eckhart said.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.

Glenn Epps can be reached at gepps@lehighvalleylive.com or glenn_epps_on Twitter.
Pennsylvania Department of Education officials this week visited Cedar Crest College in Allentown to discuss a new statewide program supporting post-secondary students with basic needs, such as more food and better shelter.

The program, PA MASLOW: A Hierarchy of Collegiate Basic Needs, is aimed at helping colleges identify more ways to help more students in need while attending their schools. Its based off the pyramid idea, Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, proposed by psychologist Abraham Maslow in the 1940s.

Its six pillars include: digital equity; mental health; housing and transportation; physical health; adult student needs; and safety and belonging.

School officials said in a news release by addressing these basic needs in a more individualized approach, it will ensure learners have everything they need to be successful and complete their credential. Each solution is tailored and personalized for individual students in need, they said.

The program also will look toward becoming a cross-agency partnership, allowing other statewide educational institutions to collaborate and learn from each other how best to provide students with more resources.

At the state level, PDE is committed to eliminating silos among our sister agencies, working collaboratively to break down systemic barriers and cycles of poverty, and provide pathways for todays modern students, Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin said. Together we can provide the tools, resources, and support students need to ensure that they can reach infinite possibilities of success.

Calley Stevens Taylor, Cedar Crests vice president for student success and engagement and dean of students, said no one can be their best without safe housing, sufficient food and support for physical and mental health.

 ... and we cant expect students to be successful in college without these either, Stevens said. For college students, transportation, textbooks, access to support services and educational technology are also fundamental basic needs, and I believe that we have an obligation to address these needs, on and across our campuses, in partnership, and in our communities.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
A 36-year-old man broke into a Warren County home last month, woke up the homeowner and began demanding cash, authorities said.

The Warren County Prosecutors Office said the incident happened around 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 9 in the Oak Hill housing development in Independence Township. The burglar, who is known to the victim, allegedly forced entry through a front door.

After that, authorities said the burglar fled but began sending the homeowner direct messages over Instagram. At 11:30 p.m. that night, the man allegedly returned to the home and attempted to make forced entry through the front door, but was unsuccessful.

The accused then went on to spray-paint vulgar statements about the victim on the front door, according to authorities.

The defendant is being charged with third-degree burglary, fourth-degree criminal trespass, third-degree making terroristic threats, fourth-degree cyber harassment and a disorderly persons offense of criminal mischief.

The defendant is being held at the Warren County jail, pending a hearing.

Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
People First Credit Union calls for entries as their Art Competition enters its 40th year.

The theme for the 2023 Credit Union Art Competition is and focuses on My Community & Me.

The Laois / Kildare credit union says the competition is one of the most prominent and longest-running competitions of its type across Ireland.

The competition has no age limits and is open for children aged seven years & under right through to 18 years and over (adult). There are two overall categories - General Category & Additional Needs Category - Age limit applying as at December 31st 2023.

Commenting on the 2023 competition, Sean Dunne CEO of People First Credit Union said: Its great to see the launch of the 2023 Credit Union Art Competition, we would like our artists to consider their local community and their place within. What makes their community different? Is it the people within it? Is it the beauty they see every day? We look forward to seeing how our budding artists interpret the theme My Community & Me'"

Entry forms are available from People First Credit Union branches or download from www.peoplefirstcu.ie/Art2023

The closing date to submit finished entries to People First Credit Union is Monday, October 16. For further information contact Sandra Bergin at 057 8622594 or Sandra.bergin@ peoplefirstcu.ie

All entries must be submitted in either A3 (420 x 297mm) or A2 (594 x 420mm) and in landscape orientation. Other sizes and portrait oriented entries will be disqualified from adjudication.

The competition is open to artists in the common bond of Portlaoise, Athy, Abbeyleix, Stradbally and surrounds.
The Minster whose Department signed a deal to put 750 Ukrainan war refugees in tents Laois says their use in Stradbally will end after six weeks.

However, Minister Roderic OGorman can't rule out the use of tents in future for people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth spoke to reporters in Dublin the day after a fraught public meeting was held in Stradbally over the setting up of a refugee camp without any public consultation.

The Stradbally site will be used for six weeks and then we will cease using that, he said.

I cant rule out further use of the tented accommodation, but I think its important to remember in the context of accommodating 70,000 people, well at maximum be accommodating 750 in tents.

The state is accommodating 70,000 Ukrainians, and right now about 200 are in tented accommodation. That will grow over the next six weeks to about 750 but thats 750 out of 70,000.

In the context of international protection accommodation, were accommodating about 23,000 persons and again, its about 300 in tented accommodation.

So it is a small proportion of our overall offering, but when the system is under pressure like that all options have to be used.

As I indicated over the summer, we were always going to face a pinch point coming into August and September, he said at the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin.

The primary reason for that was over the summer we were using student accommodation, that was hugely beneficial, hugely useful to us to meet immediate needs of the people arriving in the country.

However, over the summer weve also seen an increase in the number of Ukrainians arriving here.

Were seeing about maybe 500 a week arriving and needing accommodation.

So I suppose the confluence of that did put us under pressure in late August and early September. Across the last four weeks, my department has moved 2,800 people out of student accommodation and into more long-term accommodation.

So I suppose thats the context in which were using Stradbally. Were using the tented accommodation there, accommodation for about 750 people. Its going to help us when we get through the next number of weeks.

I do have to flag though, and weve been very clear with the Ukrainian embassy on this, there is real pressure on the system right now.

We, as you know, were accommodating 70,000 Ukrainians across the country, this is something thats never been done at scale, this has never been done in our history before.

But we are under pressure now and we are being as upfront with Ukrainians as possible in terms of the pressure and the difficulty in securing large amounts of additional accommodation.

By and large, our hotel contracts are renewing reasonably well, and we do lose some and sometimes we have to move away from certain contractors where they havent met all the conditions.

And in those circumstances  Ukrainians have to be moved but, by and large, our existing contracts are rolling over," he said.



He committed to cease use of the Laois site as contracred with Thomas Cosby who owns the site which also stages the Electric Picnic.

He said people who will be living in Stradbally over the next few weeks will be moved elsewhere.
Kildare County Council has confirmed that Kildare Readers Festival will return to venues across the county from Monday, 2nd October to Sunday, 8th October 2023.

Kildare Readers Festival in association with the Irish Writers Centre connects readers with authors and artists through exciting, innovative and accessible events and workshops.

We look forward to welcoming audiences for regular favourites such as Ten Books You Should Read and the Sunday Session.

Dermot Bolger will this year speak with poet Michael OLoughlin and soprano Judith Mok.

Oein DeBhairduin will give an exclusive preview of his book Twiggy Woman in Celbridge Library. Kathleen Murray will chat to Ed OLoughlin about her debut novel The Deadwood Encore described as the Coen Brothers of Carlow.

Fresh off the back of winning the Shirley Jackson Award for her novel Where I End, Sophie White will be in conversation with Rick OShea.

Katriona OSullivan will discuss her memoir Poor, which recounts her journey from poverty, teenage pregnancy, homelessness to graduating with a PhD from Trinity College Dublin and becoming an award-winning lecturer whose work challenges barriers to education.

Well be joined by Kildare authors Murt Malone, Lynn Buckle, John MacKenna, Enda Wyley, Tadhg Mac Dhonnagain, Annemarie Ni Churreain, Nithy Kasa, Catherine Gander, Katherine ODonnell, Declan Toohey and more.



The full programme of events and participating venues for Kildare Readers Festival 2023 is available on https://www. kildarereadersfestival.ie
The Mater Hospital Foundation is calling on companies, individuals and communities in Co. Leitrim to take part in its new Go Pink campaign to help raise vital funds for breast cancer care in the Mater Public Hospital.

Taking place on 18th October, Go Pink is a new fundraising campaign that will support patients with breast cancer by investing funds where they are needed most in the hospital.

To coincide with Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, the Foundation is calling on people across the country to get on board by hosting their own Pink Party. Getting involved couldn't be easier. You can hold your event on 18th October or whatever date works best for you.

Simply register on the website or by getting in contact with the Mater Hospital Foundation directly and you will receive your free pink specs to bring even more razzle dazzle to your go Pink event.

Your party can be as simple or elaborate as you like, and the funds you raise will be put to work to support women and men with breast cancer from all across Ireland. Your colleagues and friends will be tickled pink to take part, knowing that they will be having a positive impact on the lives of so many Mater Hospital patients.

Hosting your own Go Pink breakfast, brunch, event or activity is such an easy and fun way to bring people together, create a real sense of togetherness in your workplace or community and make a huge difference in the Mater Hospital.

Every day, patients with breast cancer receive world-class care in the Mater Hospital, and the Mater Hospital Foundation is committed to standing with each and every one of them and ensuring that the Mater's doctors and nurses have the tools they need to continue to provide the very best care.

Thanks to the generosity of its supporters, the Mater Hospital Foundation has helped to make so much possible in the Mater Hospital, from enhancing the Breast Health unit to funding life-saving equipment and supporting ground-breaking research.

Commenting on the new Go Pink fundraising campaign, Mater Hospital Foundation Chief Executive Mary Moorhead says, "We are so excited to be launching this colourful campaign for companies, communities and individuals right across Ireland. It is a great opportunity to have some fun, embrace your silly side and bring your colleagues or friends together, all while making a real and lasting difference for patients with breast cancer in the Mater Public Hospital.

She adds, Add a splash of colour to your October by taking part in this extraordinary event. When you sign up, we will send you your very own Go Pink event pack with everything you need to make your Pink Party a real success and we have a whole host of downloadable resources that will help make your event extra special.

To register today to host your own Go Pink Party, simply visit our website  www.materfoundation.ie/gopink or call the Mater Hospital Foundation on 01 830 3482 to find out more about how your workplace or community can get involved this October.
Veggie steak burgers at the headquarters of Swiss group Firmenich, one of the world's leading flavor manufacturers, in Satigny, near Geneva, Switzerland, on June 30, 2021. FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Using the word "steak," "sausage" or "ham" to describe a product made from plant proteins is out of the question. The French government has restarted a war over the use of meaty terms, and told Brussels on August 23 that it would be publishing a decree on the issue. The information was provided in a press release issued by the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday, September 4.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes French government makes second attempt to ban the 'plant-based steak' label

A mere coincidence? The following day, Tuesday, September 5, the meat industry, led by the Bigard Group and members of the meat union Culture Viande, held its annual conference in Paris. Unsurprisingly, the subject of the now-banned veggie steak came up for discussion. Not from Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau, as he had declined the invitation, but from Arnaud Rousseau.

The new president of the country's largest farming union, the National Federation of Agricultural Workers' Unions (FNSEA), is engaged in a bit of a balancing act. A cereals farmer from Seine-et-Marne, to the west of Paris, Rousseau has also been chairman of Groupe Avril since 2017. Groupe Avril is a powerful agro-industrial conglomerate specialized in oils with the brands Lesieur and Puget, pulses, agrofuels, animal nutrition and chemicals. As he acknowledged in his speech: "The decree was attacked by [consortium] Proteines France, of which Avril is a member and whose president is an employee of the group."

A sensitive issue for the meat industry

In June 2022, the government had already published a decree limiting the use of the terms steak or sausage to animal proteins. However, Proteines France, a lobby for plant-based proteins, referred the case to the Conseil d'Etat, the country's highest court, which ended up suspending the government decree. Fesneau, keen to put an end to misleading claims for consumers, has decided to return to the charge with a new bill. It lays out the framework of the ban, sets out penalties for manufacturers who fail to comply with the rules and fixes a deadline for implementation.

"On a personal level and on behalf of the FNSEA, I believe that we must not put animal proteins and plant proteins in opposition to one another," said Rousseau, before declaring, on behalf of Groupe Avril, "Proteines France will not file a new appeal against this decree." This was then immediately followed by a qualifying statement: "This does not mean that certain members of Proteines France will not file an appeal."

Interview Article reserve a nos abonnes 'There still is some resistance, but nobody says that you have to eat a lot of meat anymore'

He has also been quick to point out that the future of the ban will depend on Europe's position. The French court, which has not yet ruled on the case, referred the matter to the European Union Court of Justice in July on questions of interpretation of European labeling regulations.

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A fight brewing in New York City over the company being paid more than $400 million to shelter and care for the tens of thousands of migrants who have arrived in the city should not end up costing Erie County to house and provide services to migrants here, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said.

Poloncarz said that all indications are that New York City will continue to pay DocGo, the company that has increasingly come under fire for its handling of the migrant crisis.

Advocate: Erie County doing better than other parts of NY in processing asylum-seekers Meghan Maloney De Zaldivar, a director with the New York Immigration Coalition, said that compared with how asylum-seekers have been dropped off and processed in other parts of the state, Erie County's process has been far more successful.

New York City has a legal responsibility to pay for the care of migrants who arrived there, Poloncarz said Wednesday at a news conference.

Erie County is not the primary responsible party. Nor Cheektowaga. Nor is New York State. Its New York City, he said.

The New York City Comptroller rejected the citys $432 million contract with DocGo, raising questions about the New York-based medical services providers qualifications for handling the crisis.

As refugee resettlement surges, local agencies form partnership to serve new arrivals The Refugee Partnership brings together Catholic Charities of Buffalo, International Institute of Buffalo, Jericho Road Community Health Center, Jewish Family Services of WNY and Journeys End Refugee Services.

It is a medical services company, not a logistics company, social services provider or legal service provider, Comptroller Brad Landers said in a letter in rejecting the no-bid deal, according to the New York Times.

New York Mayor Eric Adams administration can override the comptroller and intends to, according to the media outlet City and State New York.

Poloncarz on Wednesday criticized DocGos handling of the migrants, especially regarding its vetting process, vaccinations and enrolling children in schools.

He said Jericho Road was brought in to handle a lot of the support for the migrants. Deputy County Executive Lisa Chimera worked directly with the superintendents of local school districts to make sure children would be able to attend schools. The National Guard is now providing security at the hotels across the state where the migrants are being housed.

DocGo has not been the actor we thought they were going to be, based on the information that was provided to us, he said.

Local leaders grapple with problems, politics and perceptions of asylum-seekers after second felony arrest The asylum-seeker accused of sex abuse and unlawful imprisonment of a human services employee is in the Erie County Holding Center without bail. But concerns linger about how, and to what extent, migrants are being vetted to ensure the safety of residents.

However, Poloncarz said he believes Erie County can handle the migrants who arrived in Western New York this summer. He talked about meeting last week with the ambassador from Poland, which took in 1.6 million refugees from Ukraine since the war there began.

If they can handle 1.6 million refugees in a very short period of time, I know our community is not in crisis situation if we just have 500 asylum-seekers housed in a hotel that is being paid for by New York City, Poloncarz said.

Meanwhile, Niagara County learned that New York City has dropped its lawsuit against the county for its emergency order that banned hotels in Niagara County from housing migrants sent there from New York City.

When we put the Emergency Order in place, we made it clear that we were not without compassion for migrants, but New York Citys plan to shift their burden to upstate communities like ours would drain limited resources, place a burden on property taxpayers and have an overall negative impact on our community, Niagara County Legislature Majority Leader Randy Bradt said in a statement.

He continued:  ... We do agree with Governor Hochul and New York City Mayor Adams that this is a federal problem and the Biden Administration is failing to address it. New York State taxpayers are already on the hook for $1 billion allocated in the state budget for this problem  funds that could be addressing the many needs of our own citizens. State taxpayers should not be expected to contribute any more while the federal government does nothing to stop the influx across the border.

Seven Western New York counties issued similar executive orders, with the exception of Erie County. New York City is still pursuing lawsuits against counties across the state over their emergency orders.

News Staff Reporter Grant Ashley contributed to this report.
Military intervention near the Maroni River, France, in 2021. JODY AMIET / AFP

The French government spends 70 million each year cracking down on illegal gold mining in French Guiana, a struggle that has cost the lives of five French servicemen since 2019. But these efforts are being sabotaged by a powerful logistical system, mostly made up of Chinese players supporting the garimpeiros (illegal gold miners), according to a research note published by the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS) on Thursday, September 7. "While Brazilian gold miners mainly conduct illicit activities in French Guiana, they are made possible by Chinese stakeholders playing an essential, albeit indirect, role," reads the note, signed by researchers Simon Menet and Antoine Bondaz.

Some 120 trading posts established on the Surinamese bank of the Maroni River, which borders the French overseas territory, "play a key role in the logistics of gold panning by supplying equipment and everyday goods to work sites and enabling their financing." Stores were first set up on the Guiana side. They were all dismantled by French soldiers involved in France's Operation Harpie against gold panning, which has been in place since 2008.

Relocated back to Suriname, the stores are organized around two hubs, Albina and Albina 2, opposite Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and Maripasoula and their gendarmeries posts. This out-of-control traffic is part of the natural exchanges between the river's populations  more than 1,000 pirogues rotate daily between Albina and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni.

Around these businesses, "transnational networks facilitate the handling and laundering of almost 10 tons of illegally mined gold every year," according to the FRS. In Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, the gold-buying stores  Century Mining, Suriname Natural Stone, Cactus, and Dennis Lee Jewellery  are run by the local Chinese diaspora.

Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Brazilian gold rush is poisoning the rivers of Jacareacanga

Recent price increases

The pyramid scheme is based on the principle that gold miners pay for their equipment in all possible currencies, including gold. These payment methods are combined with a system of debt borne by the Chinese traders, the FRS says. "The supply of equipment (petrol, mercury, motor pumps, quad bikes, etc.) is based on pre-financing in return for an exclusive sale." In this case, gold miners sell around 5% below global prices.

Researchers have identified the comings and goings of the Chinese entrepreneurs involved. Originating from the Fujian province, like many of these operators, one arrived in Suriname in late 2019. Two weeks later, from the Transamerica commercial complex, which comprises warehouses, gold-buying counters, supermarkets, hotels, and restaurants, he crossed the river to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. The man shared videos taken in 2020 and 2021 showing scenes of gold refining. Some show him operating near the towns of Apatou and Maripasoula. In July 2021, he returned to China for a month. He has since opened a restaurant in Paramaribo and purchased a vehicle enabling fuel transport.

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GARDAI in Limerick have offered advice to students on how to protect themselves from accommodation fraud.

Sergeant Ber Leetch, Crime Prevention Officer at Henry Street garda station said that a number of students have already been tricked out of money in their desperation to find accommodation.

Sergeant Leetch told students to look out for the following when trying to find somewhere to live:

- The rent seems too good to be true.

- The advertisement contains grammar or spelling mistakes and is on social media.

- All communication is only via WhatsApp or social media.

- The property owner says they are away and cannot meet you to show you the accommodation.

- Payment is requested in cash or by wire transfer, iTunes gift cards or cryptocurrency.

- The account to pay into is in a different country.

Sergeant Leetch also offered advice to students for when they are arranging accommodation.

"Only use recognised letting agencies but websites can be cloned too so check the URL to ensure it is a real website.

"Check the IBAN of the property owners account on https://www.iban.com/iban-checker to make sure it is not in a different country.

"Make sure the property exists by visiting the property, do not go alone. Make sure the person you meet has the right to rent the property, ask questions and disengage immediately if any responses are vague.

"Check if the property owner is registered with the Residential Tenancies Board. Only transfer payment through credit card".

Sergeant Leetch also encouraged people to report accommodation fraud.
SENIOR Limerick gardai have revealed a "robust" policing plan for Newcastle West to scare away criminals over Halloween.

The town hit the headlines last year after gangs of marauding youths overturned a car, smashed windscreens and set off screamers in The Square. Cllr Tom Ruddle said at the time that the scenes were reminiscent of the horror film The Purge.

Cllr Ruddle raised what occurred last year at a meeting of the Joint Policing Sub-Committee of the Municipal District of Newcastle West this Wednesday.

What actions are being taken? There were mitigating circumstances last year with the tragic crash out the road. A lot of work has been done since then. We dont want to go back, said Cllr Ruddle.

Recently-appointed superintendent for County Limerick, Ollie Kennedy said they have put in place a robust operation. He said shortly after he took up the role, Dermot Cummins, Sergeant for Newcastle West, was knocking on his door with regard to a plan for Halloween.

Halloween is on a Tuesday night this year. Our plan will start on the previous Friday night and end on Wednesday morning. It will be led overall by Inspector Barry Manton and Sgt Cummins will take the lead in Newcastle West, said Supt Kennedy, who handed over to Sgt Cummins for the finer details.

The garda sergeant said they will enact a local plan under the nationwide Operation Tombola which is focused on the prevention and detection of the sale of fireworks and associated public order and anti-social behaviour issues during the Halloween period. The local plan incorporates Newcastle West, Abbeyfeale, Rathkeale, Askeaton and Croom.

We have the resources - one inspector, two sergeants and 12 gardai. There will be six mobile patrol units and two gardai on high visibility beat patrols in Newcastle West - in The Square and in estates. We have identified hot spots. If any issues arise we will have the resources available, said Sgt Cummins.

If there is a tragic event like last year, Sgt Cummins said they can call in further support from Bruff and Limerick city if required.

Cllr Ruddle said he was delighted to hear that.

Detective Sergeant Michael Reidy told the meeting that a number of individuals have been charged with serious offences and are before the courts in relation to what occurred last Halloween in Newcastle West.

All the councillors welcomed the developments with Cllr Michael Collins saying the events last year were completely unacceptable and he was glad they are a high priority this Halloween.
A TOTAL of 7.35 million has been granted to Limerick City and County Council for 98 affordable purchase housing units in Patrickswell.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage funding will result in 98 homes made available to first-time buyers and those where the fresh start principle applies. They will be part of the An Tobar housing development.

The affordable home purchase scheme helps people on moderate incomes to buy new homes at reduced prices. Through this affordable housing scheme, Limerick City and County Council will take a percentage equity share (share of the ownership) in the home. Click here for full details

It is anticipated first-time buyers will see a reduction of up to 75,000 depending on their income.

Deputy Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Dan McSweeney said this is welcome news not only for Patrickswell but the whole city and county.

"These 98 units will provide young people of our city and county the opportunity to purchase their own home with the support of the department.

"It is a really exciting time for Patrickswell as this is the first major private housing development to occur in the village for over 35 years," said Cllr McSweeney.

He continued: "I look forward to purchasers getting their keys in the coming months and I do believe we need to see more development of affordable purchase units like these across our city and county."

This scheme is being delivered by Lioscarran Group.

It is hoped the first phase of these 98 private units will be brought to market before the end of the year.
AN "ENTREPRENEURIAL exchange" has been created between Limerick and one of the USA's top business publications.

The editor of Forbes Magazine Randall Lane has heaped praise upon Limerick' business community following its hosting of its landmark '30 under 30' event in the city earlier this year.

And he has revealed Irish business people involved in the event here on Shannonside will fly across the Pond this autumn.

"A promise made, an entrepreneurial exchange born," Mr Lane wrote in a piece published to the Forbes web site this Thursday.

He acknowledged the origins of the event, come as they did after a highly critical article on the publication's same page which used an old, widely-discredited term to describe Limerick City.

Mr Lane wrote that following this, the publication's staff were "bombarded with letters and tweets, mayoral protestations and newspaper editorials."

Rather than take the "easy off ramp" of an apology, he wrote they decided to go further.

"Rather than performative words from across the pond, we would instead come visit Limerick, bring friends and see for ourselves what was going on in a city that I knew as little more than a cheeky poem," he said.

"In June, our delegation arrived for the Forbes Under 30 Forum. Forbes staffers and Under 30 Listers from America and Europe alike mixed with top young Irish entrepreneurs, along with funders, academics and local leaders," he wrote.

"The Irish have a new story to share," he surmised, "And share they did, over boat rides, rugby museum tours and pints (so many pints). Enough that our Irish friends will now be attending Forbes events in America this fall. A promise made, an entrepreneurial exchange born."
A LIMERICK supermarket closed its doors without advance notice this Thursday.

It is understood the Iceland store in Moyross, on the city's northside, stopped trading at approximately 2.30pm.

While there has been no official comment, signage erected outside the locked doors state the premises has been closed on a temporary basis.

It's not clear if, or when the store will open again, with local TD Maurice Quinlivan describing the development as "a crushing blow for the workers, their families and their communities."

Limerick Live understands around 10 staff have been impacted by the closure which some locals in Moyross believe is for good.

Iceland opened its store at Watch House Cross in Moyross in 2017. It came two years after Eurospar closed the store which it was operating from the same premises.

Earlier this year, Metron Stores, the firm which runs the Iceland supermarket franchise in the Republic of Ireland, was placed into examinership.

This provides a company with a legal protection from groups or individuals it owes money to with the aim of restructuring the firm and securing new investment.

In a statement issued to Limerick Live, Mr Quinlivan has accused the treatment of workers by Iceland's operator in Moyross as "nothing short of a disgrace".

"The sudden and unannounced closure is a crushing blow for the workers, their families, and their communities. It is essential that these workers are supported by government, and that they receive all monies owed to them by Iceland, as well as their redundancy. The prolonged examinership process has only reinforced serious questions regarding the takeover of Iceland," he added.

A number of other Iceland stores across the country closed in a similar fashion over the summer.

The Carry Out off-licence located adjacent to the Iceland store continues to trade as normal.

Deputy Quinlivan has pledged his party's full support to those workers who are impacted by the closure of the Limerick store.

The examiner, who was appointed by the High Court over the summer, has been contacted for comment.
A former Cattaraugus County man who has said his defense attorney was Jesus the Messiah and who objected to wearing face masks in court during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic has gotten one of his wishes after all.

A judge has allowed Michael J. Cremen to serve as his own attorney in the criminal case slated for trial in April.

Attorney carousel halted as judge denies bid of man charged in Hertel Avenue hate crime to represent himself The Aug. 14 courtroom episode was the latest development in one of the high-profile cases to emerge locally from the racial justice protests in the summer of 2020.

Cremens court appearance Thursday morning was the first since State Supreme Court Justice M. William Boller granted his request.

Cremen, who faces a hate crime charge related to a confrontation three years ago with Black Lives Matter demonstrators on Hertel Avenue, along with a bail-jumping charge lodged last year, was initially denied the ability to serve as his own attorney.

Cremen, 50, formerly of Franklinville, has previously been represented by five defense attorneys.

Judge won't 'take another chance' on man charged in Hertel Avenue hate crime, rejects bail request Michael J. Cremen, 50, is accused of wielding a knife and repeatedly using a racial slur and profanity toward a crowd marching down Hertel on Aug. 28, 2020.

During Thursdays appearance, Cremen told the judge he plans to file a motion challenging the constitutionality of this.

Cremens is one of the high-profile cases that emerged locally during racial justice protests in the summer of 2020.

On Aug. 28, 2020, he stood in the middle of Hertel wielding a knife and using a racial slur and profanity toward a marching crowd, an incident that was captured on video and viewed widely on social media.

For that incident, he was charged with second-degree menacing as a hate crime and second-degree harassment.

After missing multiple court dates, Cremen was apprehended in Baxter, Ark., in November.

Long-delayed Hertel Avenue hate crime case moves ahead with defendant in custody Jail deputies from the Erie County Sheriff's Office brought Michael J. Cremen to a scheduled court appearance on Tuesday.

On Aug. 14, Boller denied a request from Cremen to represent himself. Bollers rejection came after he concluded Cremen was playing games.

But on Aug. 28, Boller again considered Cremens request. This time, after the judge determined Cremen provided satisfactory answers on the issue, he granted it.

A person has the legal right to represent himself or herself at trial, and a judges denial could be viewed as having the potential to have a conviction reversed on appeal.

Cremen didnt show up to his arraignment in City Court in October 2020 and alerted the court by email in advance that he wouldnt be showing up.

I will not be compelled by any means to violate my conscience, therefore I will not wear a mask to any court proceeding or attend any court proceeding in which any person involved is wearing a face mask, Cremen wrote, District Attorney John Flynn said at the time.

Cremen, who told The Buffalo News he wrote the email, continued: If you do issue warrant for my arrest, it is unlawful and please understand that anyone that approaches my person, wife or property, especially armed, wearing a badge and or face mask, I consider to be a very dangerous threat to my life, Flynn said, reading a portion of the message. And my lord will severely punish those in violation of his order of protection over my life.

Im concerned for public safety, Flynn said after sharing some of the message. Im concerned for any law enforcement officer that does go to his house.

In numerous previous communications, including with the court and a Buffalo News reporter, Cremen gave his attorneys name as Yeshua Hamaschiach, which in Hebrew is translated as Jesus the Messiah.
New Delhi: The electric vehicle (EV) market in India is on a speed run amid rising sustainability concerns and escalating fuel costs. With over 2.8 million EVs already on its roads, India's EV market is poised for a staggering 94.4% CAGR by 2030. As global and local automakers intensify their presence in this segment, the valuation of India's EV market, which stood at $3.21 billion in 2022, is expected to soar to $114 billion by 2029. Mint explains the current developments in the EV industry in the country:

The governments push to the market

Even though the Indian EV industry is in its early stages, the growth plan under the Make in India initiative aims to make the country a manufacturing hub for various sectors including the EV industry. The government aims to achieve 100% local production of EVs under this initiative. The Indian government has therefore announced several initiatives like Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India), the PLI scheme for the auto and the auto component, and the PLI scheme for manufacturing of advanced chemistry cell (ACC) to drive local production and achieve its goal for green mobility.

Phase II of FAME has earmarked 10k crore as incentives to customers, PLI has reserved around 26k crore for encouraging the automotive industry to start sourcing and producing vehicles locally in the country including EVs.

Existing brands and their expansion plans

Several automotive brands, including Tata Motors, Mahindra, Hyundai, Ola Electric, Ather Energy, Okinawa, TVS, MG, Hero Electric, and others have already come up with the electric vehicles in the country.

Mahindra & Mahindra plans to invest 10,000 crore in a new EV factory in Pune with an aim of launching five electric SUVs by 2026. While competitor, Tata Motors wants EVs to make up 50% of its total portfolio sales by 2030 as they bolster its EV-sale and after-sale service infrastructures. The two-wheeler EV manufacturer, TVS Motor Co. plans to ramp up monthly IQube production to 25,000 units from this month while doubling the number of EV-selling outlets during this fiscal. Ola Electric looks to continue building the world's largest electric hub in Dharmapuri, Tamil Nadu with a 7,600 crore investment and expand into ASEAN nations, Latin America, and European markets.

New Entrants Eyeing Market Share

Several non-automotive brands like Foxconn and JSW group are also in the process of announcing their entry into the EV segment through greenfield and brownfield projects.

JSW Group is in talks with MG Motor to enter the EV space. The company has formulated two plans, with the focus on securing a minority stake in MG for a deal valued at $1.2-1.5 billion. The company is looking to buy Ford Motor Co.'s Chennai plant. Both Mahindra and JSW are contenders for the plant.

Fords Chennai plant is spread across 350 acres and has an annual production capacity of around 200,000 vehicles and 340,000 engines. The plant has been shut since July 2022, and the state government is keen to find a new buyer to revive production. It can give a fillip to the EV plans of both companies.

Foxconn, iPhone manufacturer, is aiming to enter the electric vehicle manufacturing space in India and is reportedly in talks with some state governments in this regard. Accordingly, an Indian delegation is set to visit Taiwan soon to meet Foxconn executives and discuss its plans. However, it is still unclear whether Foxconn would do contract manufacturing for multiple brands or for one through a joint venture.

Roadblocks ahead

Firms continue to heavily rely on imported EV batteries which results in reduced margins. The government is determined to push domestic battery production to power EV vehicles, so India needs to establish a robust battery value chain, including raw material production, cell manufacturing, and module assembly. And the country needs to work towards building a self-sufficient EV industry in order to reduce its dependence on other countries for battery supply.

Besides, expanding the domestic battery manufacturing capacity will require significant investment in research and development (R&D) and infrastructure. Even though the government has launched PLI schemes, the pace of development has been slow. The lack of standardization in charging infrastructure in the country will add to these issues, making it difficult for EV owners to charge their vehicles in different locations. This goes hand in hand with the manufacturing challenges and needs immediate action. Another key obstacle is the initial expense of electric vehicles, which is higher than traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.
Days after critical parts of Go First's grounded aircraft went missing, lessor ACG has appealed for the replacement of robbed parts and round-the-clock security of grounded aircraft.

The Ireland-based lessor,ACG has filed a plea at the Delhi High Court in the matter, reported Reuters. The lessor had applied for a plea asking for the deployment of a security and for the replacement of the missing parts of planes. ACG Aircraft Leasing found critical parts, including fan blades and escape slides, missing from at least two of the four planes it has leased to Go First.

Since May, Go First has been locked in legal disputes with many of its foreign lessors since being granted bankruptcy protection in India in May. Due to bankruptcy protection its assets were frozed prohibiting lessors from the recovery of their planes. Due to this, more than 50 Airbus planes leased to Go First were grounded.

But plane parts went missing, ACG said, and lessors have so far unsuccessfully argued in Indian courts to get their planes back despite raising fears about cannibalisation of aircraft.

Currently, lessors can only occasionally inspect Go planes. The lessor asked Go on Aug. 24 for a "robbery list", but Go in response said there were no court directions to provide such documentation, court papers shows.

In its latest plea, court papers show ACG has asked the Delhi judge to allow it to "contract 24 hour security for all its aircraft" and "to replace all components that were robbed from the aircraft."

It is also seeking recovery of an engine it alleges Go First has installed in another lessor's plane.

Go First, whose lessors also include Standard Chartered's Pembroke Aircraft Leasing, SMBC Aviation and BOC Aviation, did not respond to a request for comment.

The court is yet to pass an order on ACG's plea, and the case will next be heard on Sept. 13.

Planes are "akin to perishable goods" and if they are not preserved properly, "they disintegrate at a rapid pace, causing huge irreparable loss," ACG's 140-page filing states.

Go has previously said it aims to resume operations and raise investor funds, but the operations remain grounded.

The world's second-largest aircraft lessor, SMBC, warned in May that India's decision to block leasing firms from reclaiming Go planes would jolt the market and spark a confidence crisis.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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Mumbai/New Delhi: Ola Electric Mobility Pvt. Ltd has signed an agreement to raise $140 million from existing investors including Temasek Holdings, two people with knowledge of the development said.

The agreement was signed on Monday and the funds will be deposited in the companys account within four-five days, one of the two people said, requesting anonymity.

Singapore state investor Temasek is pumping in around $90 million. Othersmostly family officeswill contribute the remaining sum. The company has been valued at $5.4-5.5 billion, or at a premium to Ola Electrics last round of around $5 billion. In January 2022, Ola Electric raised around $200 million from Tekne Private Ventures, Alpine Opportunity Fund and Edelweiss.

Temasek declined to comment, and Ola Electric did not respond to queries.

This round gives Ola Electric an additional buffer and a greater runway as it seeks to raise external capital before its proposed initial public offering (IPO), the second person said seeking anonymity.

Mint reported on 23 June that Temasek will lead a $350 million round in Ola Electric. It will raise another round before the IPO," this person added.

Ola Electric has appointed many investment banks and is preparing for an IPO in early 2024, Mint reported on 25 May.

Ola Electric posted a loss of 784 crore in FY22, up from 199 crore in FY21. Its revenue rose from 86 lakh to 373 crore in the period.

The company has not filed its FY23 financial statement yet, but a Reuters report on 28 July said Ola Electric has registered an operating loss of $136 million on a revenue of $335 million.

Ola Electric leads the domestic electric two-wheeler market with its S1 and S1 Pro scooters. In August, it had a 30% share of e-scooters sold in India, according to the governments VAHAN dashboard.

Ola Electric had showcased an electric car in August 2022, but the launch, originally slated for 2024, is likely to be delayed. It has also showcased designs for an e-motorcycle.

Ola Electrics latest two-wheeler is the Ola S1 Air with a 3.3kWh battery. The company had to raise the prices of its scooters following the governments move to reduce FAME-II subsidies on e-two-wheelers in June.

Besides, the company decided to pull the plug on the smaller 2kWh variant of the S1 Air that was to be launched for 84,999.

Temasek has amped up investments in India over the last five years, deploying around $1 billion annually, or nearly 5% of its total global investments. Its debut investment in Ola Electric was in 2021 as part of a $53 million funding round, which valued the company at $2.7 billion.

Electric vehicle manufacturers have seen increasing investor interest. On Wednesday, electric scooter maker Ather Energy said it had secured 900 crore from existing investors, including two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC.
New Delhi: In mid-August, a 21-year-old, about to join a merchant navy company in the US, reached a visa application centre run by VFS Global Services Pvt. Ltd, the worlds largest visa outsourcing company, in Delhis Shivaji Stadium.

He had applied for a visa under the C-1/D categorythose travelling to the US to work on commercial sea vessels and international airlines need a crewmember (D) visa as well as a transit (C-1) visa.

The visa was processed and the passport was ready for collection, he was intimated. But a surprise awaited. The young mariners passport had been dispatched to the Kolkata VFS office for collection. He had appeared for the visa interview in Delhi and never chose Kolkata as the delivery option.

The teller handling passports first said that my profile in the system showed Kolkata VAC as the pickup location. I never chose Kolkata as I live just four hours from Delhi. Then, the teller argued that my visa application was possibly filled by an agent who accidentally chose Kolkata on my behalf," the mariner said.

Next, a VFS executive at the centre suggested alternatives. Fly down to Kolkata if in a hurry or pay the company close to 1,000 for the passport to be brought back to Delhi. He could even authorize someone in Kolkata to collect it. But none of these options made sense since the mariner would lose time. His bags were packed and he had to leave by the third week of August. Eventually, he deferred the joining date, and his employer, who was paying for the travel to the US, incurred a financial loss.

He took solace from the fact that he was not the only one who faced this hassle. When he went to collect the passport in Delhi, he met a lady with a similar problem. She jostled with the passport collection staff at VFS because her passport had been dispatched to the Chennai centre without her consent.

VFS Global is a sub-contractor to CGI Federal Inc., the prime contractor for US government operations.

Complaints regularly surface on social media about the visas VFS processes for other governments as well. People have complained about misplaced passports, unethical employees selling visa slots, unauthorized biometric enrolments by employees, security guards at the centre gates asking for bribes, technology bottlenecks in the companys website and aggressive up-selling of other services. Travel agents have concerns around opaqueness in the way the company or its employees operate.

Many believe that such lapses are a fallout of the monopoly VFS enjoys. The company, founded by Zubin Karkaria, started in 2002 in Mumbai but is today headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, and in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. Besides handling the administrative work around visas, the company also provides passport and consular services. For travellers from India, VFS today provides processing services for over 50 countries. The competition pales when compared. BLS International, another company into visa services, only processes visas for The Gambia, Morocco, Vietnam, Spain, Thailand and South Korea from India.

VFS denies its a monopoly. We are not monopolistic. There are more than 50 companies in the fray around the globe that deal with visas. They can provide these services too. We respect competition," Prabuddha Sen, chief operating officer for South Asia, VFS Global, said.

When Mint pointed out other lapses, a VFS spokesperson listed the companys certifications and ratings. Our global offices and operations are certified with several international standards, including ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System and ISO 10002:2018) and (Customer Satisfaction - Guidelines for complaints handling in organizations). The organizations focus on customer centricity is also demonstrated through the overall customer (applicant) satisfaction rate of 92% in 2022, a significant increase from 2021, despite challenges restarting operations in the face of the pandemic and geopolitical disruptions. In addition, the business maintained its Trustpilot (a review platform) rating of 4.6/5 throughout this time," the company responded.

Not an ice cream biz

The larger question is what went wrong at VFS? Is the company being blamed for faults that are not its making? And should visa seekers moderate their expectations?

Some say that public memory is short. Things were worse off in the 1990s, or before the organized outsourcing players entered the market. Passports and visas once were the playground of umpteen touts and visa mafias".

However, this logic doesnt flyprocesses are expected to get easier, better, and faster every few years.

One reason for falling service levels is staff shortage, both at the diplomatic missions and at the processing centres. Employees are overworked.

Over 20 million Indians travelled abroad in 2022, with tourism being the third biggest reason for doing so, Mint had reported. However, this was 18% lower than the pre-pandemic average of over 25 million seen between 2017 and 2019. But the pace is growing: in the first four months of 2023, nearly 8.5 million have travelled abroad. The bounce back, post the pandemic, has surprised everyone, from travel agents and airlines to airports and governments.

In India, the US visa wait times have been as high as a couple of years. Germanys deputy mission head, who spoke at a media event in August, said that the wait time is still eight weeks to get a visa. For most parts of the developed world, Indians must take visas.

The unexpected volumes led to chaos at VFS as well. The company had let go of 5,000 workershalf of its workforceduring the pandemic. But following the deadly delta wave in 2021, the company struggled to secure enough trained manpower.

The demand-supply mismatch irked peoplemany urban Indians do think securing a visa is a given. It is not.

It is a countrys decision whether they would grant a visa or not. There are misplaced expectations (of customers). It is a document drenched in legality and not just a sticker on a passport," Sen said. We agree there was a disruption (due to the pandemic). We are now scaling back up. But we cannot make everyone happywe are not in the business of selling ice cream," he added.

Sen said that even when the companys service is good, VFS can face the brunt of a visa decision going against a person. Nobody thanks us on social media ever. But we accept that as part of our business model," he said.

The companys business has indeed rebounded. In 2021-22, the latest data available, VFS generated revenue of 446 crore on a standalone basis, up 31% from the year before, according to research firm Tofler. From a loss of 61 crore in 2020-21, it turned in a profit of 17 crore in 2021-22.

VFS makes a commission on every visa processed besides selling value-added services. It handled 5 million applications in 2022 in South Asiaabout 4.5 million were from India. In 2019, it had six million applications from the region.

Bot attack

Travel companies, especially those catering to out-bound travel, were the worst impacted during the pandemic. While their business has recovered with the borders opening up, visa processing delays have been a bugbear.

In a LinkedIn post earlier this month, Naveen Kundu, managing director of travel agency Ebixcash Travel Services, said, Indian travel companies are facing problems with visa issuance from European, South African, Eastern European, Turkish, Japanese and Canadian embassies. And since these embassies have poor communication and do not provide timely updates on visa applications, it causes financial and reputational losses for travel companies and inconvenience for corporate travellers. We dont even know till the last moment, often till the very last day of departure, if the visas will be issued on time or issued at all," Kundu wrote.

Lack of visa slots is another bottleneck.

Mint, in April this year, reported that travel agents were struggling to secure slots. This year, the travel load was expected to go up since its the first big year after covid-19 restrictions were completely lifted. However, at least 800 appointments by our clients are pending due to technical issues at the VFS office," a senior executive of a travel company, who did not want to be identified, had told Mint.

Back then, VFS had responded saying that fraudulent attempts had been made to block appointments by third-party entities, using human intervention as well as bots, leading to a slowdown of its systems.

Slots for sale

VFS has been bracing up to frauds involving its own employees as well. In July this year, at the companys Ahmedabad centre, two employees were caught trying to game the system. The two allegedly colluded with a former company employee to forge documents and fraudulently enrolled 28 visa seekers who wanted to get their biometrics done for Canada.

VFS Global has detected some unauthorized biometric enrolment cases in Ahmedabad," the company stated in a release.

When Mint further probed, the company said that in line with its organizations zero-tolerance policy against fraud and unethical practices, it has a stringent compliance framework. It reported the detection of unauthorized biometric enrolment with the local crime branch that involved a grey operator and some employees. The staffers were suspended pending investigation.

Then, in the UAE, residents were warned by the company to stay away from agents" posing to be employees of VFS and fraudsters that copy graphics from their website to target unsuspecting visa seekers.

Grey operators take advantage of the system; there are so many vulnerable people applying for visas. We are working towards putting an end to that," Sen said.

Things may have changed for the better since the 1990s, but these episodes tell us that the current process followed is not foolproof.

Buy more

The companys value-added services, like a mobile biometric facility, is meant to make life easier for visa applicants. However, some view it as an aggressive push to cross-sell. Mobile biometric is also known as collect-from-home or an on-demand service, depending on the country.

Such a service, VFS says, is personalized. In a YouTube video, which educates people on using this on-demand service for applying for a visa to the UK, the company states that the application centre can come at your doorstep". The companys staff can visit your home or office, check the documents, take photographs, fingerprint scans, and the digital signature. The visa application is then submitted. Once the visa application has been processed, the passport is returned to the doorstep.

Travel agents said that technical bottlenecks on its website can force many people who are desperate to secure a visa to opt for the mobile biometric facility, which is expensive.

Customers could be misled into believing that opting for additional services like premium lounge, courier assurance etc., will fast track their visa processing and also ensure document safety. This is not the case," said the visa head of a large ticket travel agency. He did not want to be identified.

For France, a lounge service (where a visa applicant can wait in a lounge) costs 3,590 while collect-from-home is priced at 3,380. For Germany, mobile biometric costs 12,400 for 1-10 applicants. A premium lounge comes at 2,500 per person.

Sen said that mobile biometric services saw a strong uptake during the pandemic. There is no investor pressure on us to up-sell these services," he said. However, he acknowledged that while there is no pressure on applicants to buy these services either, some may believe that opting for value-added services can indeed secure them the visa.

The head of a business travel house in India, who also did not want to be identified, said that someday, the business of visas, as we know it today, will change because of more electronic visas.

The millions of trees cut to make paper (the extensive physical documentation required) will be a thing of the past. Many value-added services like lounges can disappear. And applying for a visa will indeed become as easy as purchasing an ice creamdisrupting the business of processing companies in the process. But until then, we have to queue up.
Morgan Stanley will roll out a generative artificial intelligence bot this month, developed with the makers of ChatGPT , OpenAI , Reuters reported on Thursday.

The bank is testing it with 1,000 financial advisers for some months. The details of the program have not yet been reported.

The idea behind the tool is that with clients' permission, the bot will eventually create a meeting summary of the conversation, draft a follow-up email suggesting next steps, update the bank's sales database, schedule a follow-up appointment, and learn how to help advisers manage clients' finances on areas such as taxes, retirement savings and inheritances.

Bankers, meanwhile, can use the chatbot to quickly find research or forms instead of sifting through hundreds of thousands of documents, the report said.

"The impact (of AI) will be very significant," potentially comparable to the advent of the internet, Sal Cucchiara, Morgan Stanley's chief information officer of wealth and investment management, who is among the executives driving the bank's push into AI, the report said.

Cucchiara, tasked with constantly scanning Silicon Valley for potential tech vendors, met OpenAI executives in 2022, before fast-growing app ChatGPT got mainstream usage.

"It quickly became clear we needed to partner with them, they were far ahead of everybody else," Reuters quoted Cucchiara as saying.

Andy Saperstein, Morgan Stanley's co-president and head of wealth management, then flew to California to discuss a partnership with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Boris Power, a technical staff member at the company, the report added.

They signed a deal last summer in which Morgan Stanley has preferred access in product development for wealth management. Executives from the two companies celebrated over a dinner hosted by Saperstein, a candidate to become the bank's next CEO, the Reuters reported.

The report further said while the bot will give insights and administrative support to financial advisers, investment advice will remain the purview of humans.

"The adviser is still at the center," said Cucchiara. For now, employees view the technology as a helpful tool and aren't worried that they'll be replaced by bots, he said.

Wealth race

The AI initiative is part of Morgan Stanley's strategy to drive its wealth division, where net revenue surged 16% to a record in the second quarter and new client assets grew $90 billion.

CEO James Gorman, who has spearheaded a series of major deals that funneled more money into the wealth business, aims to reach $10 trillion in assets under management.

Morgan Stanley is not alone in its AI efforts. While banks already use AI to crunch numbers, detect fraud and analyze customer transactions, Wall Street giants are developing more sophisticated uses of generative AI that is capable of generating text, images and other data.

JPMorgan Chase named Teresa Heitsenrether its chief data and analytics officer in June to lead AI adoption across the largest US lender. Rival Bank of America's virtual assistant, Erica, has had more than a billion interactions with clients since it was introduced in 2018.

Elsewhere, Moody's Analytics is also working with OpenAI and Microsoft to develop a research assistant that can be used by clients, said Nick Reed, its chief product officer.

Large banks are the most advanced among financial firms in their adoption of AI, but asset managers, traders and insurers are also deploying it, Reuters reported quoting Michael Abbott, global banking lead at consulting firm Accenture, as saying.

"We're beginning to see customer services led by artificial intelligence spread among the largest banks," reported Reuters quoting Abbott, who is working on hundreds of case studies with lenders looking to use AI.

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Foxconn Technology Group chairman Young Liu has backed India as an important country for the future of manufacturing, saying that the opportunities for development of electronics manufacturing and industrial chains was very huge.

Speaking to media at a group event in Taipei, Liu said that India would be able to build the ecosystem faster than China, which took 30 years, on the back of experience and new technologies such as AI.

Some of Indias development over the past few years, everyone can see that. The time has about come for Indias turn to start to fully develop as a country. If theres no big change, India will be a very important country in terms of manufacturing in the future," the chairman said.

In the past, it took more than 30 years to build an ecosystem in China. Of course, it will also take an appropriate amount of time in India, but because it has appropriate experience, the time will be shorter, so it will have many similar situations to those when China was developing but it will be different from 30 years ago. The environment is not quite the same. At that time, there was no generative AI, or even AI, but now there is AI. Can its (Indias) development be entirely inferred from part history? I dont think its perfect to speculate from history but we feel that development of the entire ecosystem and industrial chain, and the opportunities for development in India are very huge opportunities," Liu said.

His comments come at a time when India is attempting to position itself as an alternative manufacturing destination to China, and supplier in the global value chains, amid geo-political tensions that were leading to global companies shifting some of the manufacturing capacities out of the country. The South Asian nation is wooing global IT, electronics as well as semiconductor players, with schemes such as production linked incentive scheme and broader enabling policies which would give them a combination of talent and skill base besides a local vibrant market for sales as well as a base for exports to global markets. The initiatives appear to be attracting companies like Foxconn, with the groups India arm having applied as one of the 40 companies  alongside HP, Dell and Lenovo  for availing the incentives under the PLI scheme for making laptops, PCs and servers.

In July this year, while addressing SemiconIndia 2023, the chairman said that he was optimistic about the direction of India's semiconductor roadmap and asserted that Taiwan would be India's most trusted and reliable partner. IT is India and Taiwan. Let's do this together," he had said. Foxconn has been operating in India since 2005, and has been making smartphones for Xiaomi over the past couple of years. Of late, the largest contract manufacturer of iPhones in the world is already the largest maker of iPhones in India as well. Foxconn is also applying for setting up a semiconductor manufacturing plant in India.

Chairman Liu was also reported to have said in the second quarter earnings call that the company's Indian arm has achieved a turnover of close to $10 billion on an annual basis, and that there is a lot of investment potential in India. He had said Foxconn operates nine campuses in India, across Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. It intends to expand its presence through manufacturing campuses in Karnataka and Telangana.

Indian government officials said that the Foxconn chief had backed PM Modis Make in India and that reforms and policies in India had created huge opportunities for the development of the entire electronics manufacturing ecosystem.

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When investing in smallcaps , you need to see if the smallcap firm under question has a history of regular payouts.

Dividends form an important part of your investing journey. They provide a steady stream of income and help you build wealth over time.

That is why dividend investing has proven to be a successful way to retire early.

The key here is to look for smallcap companies who have stood out in tough times, and rewarded investors by making regular payouts.

If these dividends come at a growth rate, that is an extra point to the company.

From the smallcap space, renowned companies which have consistently paid dividends and have shareholder friendly policies include Sanofi India, Bata India, Tata Investment Corp, Page Industries, Swaraj Engines, Oracle Financial Services, VST Industries, among other names.

But have you ever looked at relatively smaller peers apart from the above names?

In today's article, we look at five lesser-known smallcap stocks which have consistently paid dividends.

#1 Anuh Pharma

First on the list is Anuh Pharma.

The company is a bulk drugs manufacturer and one of the largest manufacturers of Macrolides and Anti-TB products.

The companys revenue split is divided almost equally between exports and domestic business.

Look at the table below to see the companys dividend history for the past few years.

Anuh Pharma Dividend History

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The companys dividend history goes back to 1998. In financial year 2009, it declared the highest dividend of 11.5 per share which resulted in a dividend yield of 7.8% back then!

In the latest June 2023 quarter, the company registered an impressive 40.6% growth in revenue and a 60% growth in net profit.

Going forward, new launches and approvals could drive its revenue and profit growth. The company is developing 11 new products around lifestyle disease.

It has also planned a capex of 50 million (m) for capacity enhancement in the ongoing financial year.

In the past one year, shares of the company have gained over 40%.

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#2 Cheviot

Cheviotis the flagship company of the Cheviot group, which has interests in the jute, tea, and leather businesses.

It manufactures and exports high-value, non-traditional, diversified jute yarn and fabric, such as precision fine jute yarn, sacking cloth, hessian cloth and bags, sacking bags, and superior hessian cloth.

It has two manufacturing units in West Bengal, and a captive power plant in stand-by agreement with CESC Ltd.

The company generates around 40% of its revenue from exports. It exports to several countries including Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, USA, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Japan, and Indonesia.

Cheviot has a long and rich dividend history, having declared dividends consistently for more than 25 years.

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In FY21, the company declared a dividend bounty and paid the highest dividend per share in its history.

Dividend payments have been a core focus for Cheviot. The special dividend of 175 it paid was funded by internal accruals and retained earnings.

The company undertook a capex to set up a new weaving unit last year.

In the first quarter, the companys revenue dropped almost 30% YoY to 1.2 bn while profit rose to 170 million from 100 million reported in the year-ago quarter.

In FY23, the company also reduced debt and brought the debt to equity down to 0.1x.

In the past one year, shares of the company have traded in a tight range.

Cheviot Share Price  1 Year Chart

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#3 Plastiblends India

Third on the list of lesser known smallcaps paying big dividends is Plastiblends India.

The company manufactures white, black and coloured masterbatches and compounds used primarily as colouring agents in plastics.

It is among the largest manufacturers of masterbatches in India, accounting for approximately 10-12% of the organised domestic masterbatch industry.

With more than two decades of consistency in paying dividends, Plastiblends has come a long way in maintaining a healthy dividend payout each and every passing year.

Plastiblends India Dividend History

During its early years when it was a penny stock trading between 10 and 95 in 1998-05, the companys dividend yield went as high as 12%!

Hit by higher input costs, the company posted weak earnings for Q1 ended June 2023.

Profits declined 24% to 76 m while revenues fell 4.2% to 2 bn.

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During the quarter under review, energy cost per KWH increased substantially in all of the companys manufacturing locations.

The companys MD said that Plastiblends remains focused on its strategy of increasing revenue from margin accretive products and is giving huge impetus on R&D, increasing customer base and geographical expansion.

It has strong presence in the Middle East and African markets.

The volatile nature of the company's products (commodities) has exposed it to raw material cost fluctuations over the years.

Still, it has maintained a better operating margin than its peers because of its strong market position and ability to develop value-added products.

In the past one year, shares of the company have gained 4% with most of the recovery seen in the current bull run.

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#4 Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals

Fourth on this list is Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals.

The company is involved in the agro-processing industry, manufacturing starch & its derivatives including liquid glucose, sorbitol, modified starches, and by-products.

These products find application in diverse industrial and commercial applications such as food & drink, paper & board, personal care & pharma, textile, FMCG, animal and pet foods, etc.

Coming to its dividend history, the company has maintained a rich payout track record for more than 20 years.

In FY22, it disbursed the highest dividend amount in its history ( 148 m) followed by 125 m in FY23.

Look at the table below.

Sukhjit Starch Dividend History

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The company has improved the payout ratio in the past two years, and we wont be surprised if it continues the trend in FY24.

In the investor presentation for FY23, the company mentioned that it is positioning itself in a new way as part of its next big leap.

This new positioning aims to migrate customers in Tier 2 and 3 cities from the unorganized sector to the organised sector.

After seeing steady demand from packaging, FMCG and pharma segments in FY23, the company started off the first quarter on a tepid note with operating margins declining to 9%.

Going forward, however, the management has guided for better quarters as the company will generate more revenue from new customers like Mankind Pharma, Leeford Healthcare, and Akums Drugs.

For FY24, it has planned a capex for upgrading and modernizing key equipment to ramp up the existing capacities.

In the past one year, shares of the company have declined about 17%.

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#5 Bhageria Industries

Last on the list is Bhageria Industries.

The company is engaged in manufacturing and trading of dyes & dyes intermediates and generation and distribution of solar power.

Under the chemical division, it manufactures Vinyl Sulphone, H-acid, and Gamma acid key dye intermediate.

Under solar, it has a solar power plant for captive consumption, which has a 25-year power purchase agreement with Solar Energy Corporation of India.

The company has maintained consistency in paying dividends for more than 20 years.

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Although in FY23, the dividend payout was the lowest in the past 10 years.

In the financial year 2023, the company went through a rough patch where profits declined to multi-year lows and revenue stabilised after a high base in FY22.

This was due to volatility in raw material prices and finished goods prices.

Going forward, however, things could change. In recent years, the companys contribution of revenue and profit from the solar division has picked up pace.

And with India focusing more on solar each passing day, this segment could see a sharp re-rating.

The company has its AGM coming up later this week on 9 September 2023.

In the past one year, shares of the company have fallen around 12%.

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Since youre interested in dividend stocks, use Equitymaster's stock screener to check high dividend yield stocks and the best dividend stocks to buy.

Happy Investing!

Disclaimer:This article is for information purposes only. It is not a stock recommendation and should not be treated as such.

This article is syndicated from Equitymaster.com
Death is the only certainty in life, so it makes sense to plan for it financially, said Suze Orman, an American financial advisor and author. A term insurance is one of the best gifts that individuals can leave behind for their loved onesIt can help mitigate their familys financial woes. Yet, it is not easy to lay your hands on such a policy if you are chronically ill. Gaurav Kapoor (34), who works with a financial services firm, is a victim. I applied for a term plan in 2022 but my proposal got postponed due to an inflammation of the liver. After six months when I re-applied in June this year, I was diagnosed with high blood sugar. The insurer postponed my proposal for another six months," he says.

Financial advisors advocate buying a term plan as early as possible in life, when you are young and healthy. But most people tend to ignore this advice. By the time they realize its importance, it could already be too late for some of them. Life-threatening conditions, especially chronic diseases, make it almost impossible for many to get a term plan. Chronic diseases are those that last a long time and require ongoing medical attention. They are a major cause of death and disability. Cancer, heart, or kidney and liver diseases aside, even diabetes, obesity and hypertension are chronic diseases that afflict the young.

View Full Image Graphic: Mint

Take the case of Bengaluru-based communications professional Ashish Kumar (34). He suffers from epilepsy and asthma but leads a healthy life. All his vitals were in the normal range when he applied for a term plan earlier this year. The insurer got some additional tests done and I cleared those as well. Despite this, the insurer denied my proposal without assigning a reason for the denial," he says.

Kumar is dejected but now plans to approach a different insurer. I have had only six epileptic seizures in the last 7 years. I am fitter than most of my peers who drink and smoke but they still got term insurance," he says.

Underwriting a term plan

There is no standardized process for underwriting a term insurance policy. Typically, such underwriting involves a thorough evaluation of the applicants medical history, treatment, current health status, lifestyle, and other contributing factors," says Mukund Kulkarni, head-underwriting of Aegon Life Insurance.

Insurers are wary of providing term cover to people with chronic diseases. For one, they are considered high-risk individuals. Two, it is hard to earn profits in the term insurance business since a substantial sum assured is committed in such plans. So, insurers scrutinize each proposal minutely. They also reach out to reinsurers such as GIC Re, Swiss Re and Allianz Life to spread the risk. Reinsurers follow a conservative approach in the underwriting process. Insurers dont onboard risky applicants unless they feel their reinsurer will be fine with it," says Nisha Sanghvi, a certified financial planner and co-founder of wealth-tech firm Promore Fintech .

In some cases, the insurer may resort to loadingdemanding a very high premium instead of rejecting the proposal. I had a client whose liver enzymes were elevated. The insurer agreed to offer him a 2 crore term plan for a premium of nearly 30,000 that includes 25% loading over the base premium," says Nishant Batra, chief goal planner of Holistic Prime Wealth.

The loading could be even higher depending on the severity of the illness. We put a loading of 50-75% on a base premium in diabetes, hypertension and asthma, 75-100% in high BMI/obesity and 25-50% in thyroid disorders," says Akshay Dhand, appointed actuary, Canara HSBC Life Insurance. Sunil Sharma, president, chief actuary and chief risk officer, Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance says, the loading may even go up to 200%, depending on the case.

Getting a term plan

Insurance experts say the industry needs to draw up a plan to cater to the growing number of people with chronic diseases. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has taken the first step in this directionit has launched a diabetes specific term plan, one that comes with a diabetes management programme and offers discount on renewal premium (up to 10% of base premium) if a policyholder maintains a healthy lifestyle. If we can showcase a workable model as per our underwriting norms and risk management framework, we can go back to the reinsurers and convince them about this models success," says Rajesh Krishnan, chief operations officer, Bajaj Allianz Life.

So far as critical illnesses such as cancer, heart attack or organ transplants are concerned, they fall in high-risk category. Cancers or heart attacks diagnosed early and managed as per official clinical guidelines with a favourable outcome post-specified remission periods do qualify for life insurance covers," says Kulkarni of Aegon.

Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance offers a similar policy to people after six months to two years of their recovery. We consider factors such as the period since recovery, discontinuance of medication or reliance on only prophylactic and supplementary treatment, early diagnosis, good prognosis and life expectancy, absence of co-morbidities and line of treatment prescribed for treating the ailment," says Sharma of Kotak Mahindra Life Insurance.

In other high-risk cases, one may look for group insurance plans. We had a case where a person was part of an association that offered coverage to its members as a master policyholder. We discussed this case at length and finally agreed to include him in the group plan. Similarly, we may include such cases in employer insurance," says Dhand of Canara HSBC Life Insurance.

Approach a trusted advisor

People with chronic diseases should approach credible and well-experienced agents who can negotiate their case with insurers to get the policy proposal approved. Indore-based gynaecologist Dr Poonam Raikwar did just that. Her husband died during the second wave of covid-19 and she had huge liabilities to take care of. The insurer denied her proposal, stating covid risk. Her agent then started negotiations with the insurer. The insurer made me undergo a couple more tests and finally approved my case at a normal premium. But they still denied me the critical illness rider," says Raikwar.

In another case, Mumbai-based Samata Gwalani (40) applied for a term plan. She was overweight and had diabetes and spondylitis and also suffered from complications during her pregnancy. My insurance agent managed to get me a term cover of 1.5 crore with a 30% loading against the base premium. I couldnt have convinced the underwriters on my own," says Gwalani.

While insurance options are now available for the chronically ill, it is better to buy a term plan when you are hale and hearty. The best time to buy a term plan is when you feel you do not need it. Riders such as critical illness and accident and disability are equally important," Sanghvi says.

And in case you are not eligible for a term policy, it is time to start creating reserves for your family by way of other investments.

Avoid hiding sensitive information about your health at the time of applying for a policy. If you disclose true information on your own will, Section 45 of the Insurance Act, 1938 will protect your family from claims rejection. This section stipulates that an insurer cannot reject a life insurance claim after three years of policy period unless it is a fraud case or a brazen non-disclosure of a material information. For example, that could be a cancer patient hiding the fact about hospitalization due to cancer. The onus to prove non-disclosure lies on the insurer.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States President Joe Biden are expected to discuss economic cooperation and multilateral investment opportunities, among others, in their bilateral meeting during the G20 Summit in Delhi, the White House said on Thursday. Ukraine war and its impact on the low- and middle-income countries is also on the agenda of bilateral between PM Modi and Joe Biden. The US president is expected to arrive in Delhi, India on Thursday evening.

When asked about the agenda of bilateral between PM Modi and US President Joe Biden, National Security Council (NSC) Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said, I think you can expect that they will discuss the agenda for the G20, particularly the economic cooperation and multilateral investment opportunities that stand before the G20, and the Presidents strong desire to see multilateral development bank reform and reshaping continue."

I have little doubt that they will also discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the effect, the deleterious effect that that war is having on low- and middle-income countries, which again comes right back to the economic cooperation issue. So, I think just issues in general about security, economic, and diplomatic challenges throughout the Indo-Pacific will certainly be something that they discuss," John Kirby said.

On the possibility of a joint declaration by PM Modi and Joe Biden, John Kirby said, We certainly hope so. But, I think you know its difficult to get 20 clocks to chime at the same time, were going to work on this. We know that the Indians also would like to see a joint communique...so well see where it goes."

Oftentimes the sticking point tends to be the war in Ukraine because countries like Russia and China are less likely to sign on to language that the rest of the international community is more uncomfortable signing on to, so well see where it goes," says John Kirby.

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Ahead of the G20 Summit , the member nations of the group have agreed to grant permanent membership to the African Union, a continental body of 55 member states, Bloomberg agency news reported. With this, the African Union has earned the same status as the European Union.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had written a letter to the G20 nations in which he proposed that the African Union be given full, permanent membership of the bloc at the upcoming summit in New Delhi. Countries like Germany, Brazil, and Canada have also expressed their support for African Union membership to the G20.

Read all the LIVE updates on G20 here

At present, the G20 group comprises 19 countries and the European Union.

Besides, the G20 this year has also invited nine non-member countries, including Bangladesh, Singapore, Spain, and Nigeria, and international organisations such as the United Nations, World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the IMF on the 9 and 10 September Summit.

The inclusion of African Unions into G20 is expected to be announced during the weekends. Mint could not independently confirm the news.

Also read: Elevating consumer protection on G20 agenda for a balanced future

WHAT IS THE G20?

The world's 20 major countries formed an economic grouping after the Asian financial crisis in 1999 with the understanding that such crises could no longer be contained within a nation's borders and required better international economic cooperation.

The bloc currently accounts for 80% of global gross domestic production (GDP) and 75% of international trade.

Also read: From Chatpati Chaat to millet: World leaders to be served with 'all-veg' menu at G20 Summit 2023 in Delhi

G20 MEMBERS

The G20 members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.

G20 THEME

India's G20 theme is derived from the Sanskrit phrase "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" which translates to The World is One Family".

G20 AGENDAS

Under India's year-long presidency, the bloc has centred discussions around more loans to developing nations from multilateral institutions, reforming international debt architecture, regulations on cryptocurrency and the impact of geopolitical uncertainties on food and energy security.

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The Indian Army Thursday said in view of the G-20 Summit in the national capital it has deployed its Quick Reaction Medical Teams including teams of doctors and paramedical staff at four hospitals in Delhi including AIIMS, Safdarjung, Ram Manohar Lohia and Army Research and Referral Hospital to handle medical emergencies during the G20 Summit.

The fully equipped teams are supported by the specialist Corps of Engineers teams to deal with any eventuality and the Army RR Hospital has also been put on standby, the Indian Army added.

According to the senior officials of AIIMS Trauma Centre, the medical team from the Army has been deployed for Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear (CBRN) disasters, ANI reported.

The training of doctors in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Centre, Safdarjung Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital was started on September 4, officials said.

"We have a team of 25 Army doctors at AIIMS Trauma Centre that includes senior as well as junior doctors," ANI reported quoting an official from AIIMS Trauma Centre.

As per officials, the hospitals AIIMS, RML, Safdarjung and Lady Hardinge are on high alert to tackle any medical emergency but this will not affect the medical services of hospitals for OPDs and other patient care services.

The SOPs have been issued in the hospital to tackle any kind of medical emergency during G20 like the management of chemical disasters.

"We have a deployment of Army doctors and Army personnel for first aid and decontamination, they will remain in the hospital till September 12," said Dr Ajay Shukla, Director and Medical Superintendent, of RML Hospital.

Earlier, the authorities informed that eighty teams of medical personnel, 130 ambulances, and advanced life support teams are deployed to escort VVIP carcades.

The G20 Summit is slated to be held from September 9 to 10 at the newly built international convention and exhibition centre -- Bharat Mandapam -- at Pragati Maidan.

It is likely to be attended by more than 30 heads of state, top officials from the European Union and invited guest countries, and 14 heads of international organisations.

"The advanced life support (ALS) system will accompany all carcades. It will have senior resident (doctors) to address any medical emergencies," Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said

The officials said the health department has formed 80 teams of doctors and nursing staff to attend to medical issues and emergencies at hotels. Of these, 75 teams will work in shifts, they said.

There will be 70 advanced and 60 well-equipped ambulances for the event, the officials added.

The five government hospitals that have been put on "high alert" are Lok Nayak Hospital, GB Pant Hospital, GTB Hospital, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital and Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital, while the private ones are Primus Hospital-Chanakyapuri, Max Hospital-Saket and Manipal Hospital-Dwarka, reported PTI.

The private hospitals have been selected by taking into account of their proximity to the hotels where guests would be staying, the officials said.

A state-of-the-art medical emergency facility with ICU services has also been set up within the premises of the Bharat Mandapam, the report said.

Adequate arrangements have also been made at the Ram Mahohar Lohia Hospital and the AIIMS in view of the summit, PTI reported citing sources.

The officials said other government and private hospitals have also been directed to make arrangements to deal with any emergency.

The Delhi Police has also made arrangements to provide assistance to medical emergency vehicles.

An Ambulance Assistance Control Room will be operational from the intervening night of September 7 and September 8 to September 11 on the number 6828400604 and 112, according to a senior official.

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French President Emmanuel Macron will arrive on Saturday in New Delhi for a two-day visit to attend the G20 Summit under the India's Presidency scheduled to be held from September 9-10, reported ANI.

The French President will have a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, likely in the form of a lunch on the 10th of September at the end of the G20 Summit.

Previously, the two leaders met in July during Indian prime ministers visit to France to attend Bastille Day Parade.

The Embassy of France in India said during his two-day visit to New Delhi, the French President will have bilateral meetings with other world leaders, particularly with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

According to the France Embassy, prior to his departure, Macron is likely to hold a press conference at the venue on Sunday afternoon, and then he will depart for Bangladesh on Sunday afternoon.

Macron through the G20 Summit will continue his ongoing dialogue with his counterparts from every continent. It will also be an opportunities to make progress in implementing joint responses to the major global challenges that can be tackled through multilateral action, reported ANI.

French President's office in a statement said, "The G20 Summit will enable Frances Head of State to continue his ongoing dialogue with his counterparts from every continent, so as to combat the risks of fragmentation of the world. It will also be an opportunity to make progress in implementing joint responses to the major global challenges that can only be tackled effectively through multilateral action: peace and stability, poverty alleviation, protection of climate and our planet, food security, and digital regulation."

It further said, "The Summit will also provide an opportunity to follow up on the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact held in Paris last June. This had led to the establishment of the Paris Agenda for People and the Planet, providing a framework for collective action to ensure that no country has to choose between fighting poverty and protecting the planet."

India is hosting the G20 Summit in New Delhi from September 9-10. India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country.

A G20 Leaders Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the Summit in New Delhi, stating Leaders commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings.

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NEW DELHI : The G20 Leaders Summit in New Delhi later this week will discuss the building blocks for cryptocurrency regulations, while a paper authored by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will offer nations a road map for regulating crypto assets, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

India is seeking a consensus among G20 nations on crypto assets, the person said, adding that the government has prepared a presidential note on cryptocurrency, including a summary of the IMF and FSB reports.

The synthesis paper on crypto will provide additional clarity on the comprehensive plan for nations to integrate virtual digital assets into their digital financial systems," the person said on condition of anonymity.

However, G20 member states have not been able to agree on a common statement on the Russia-Ukraine war due largely to objections from Russia and China on how the crisis can be referred to. The language hasnt been finalized, the person added.

In July, G20 member nations failed to agree on a joint statement at the end of a meeting of their finance ministers and central bank governors at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, as the grinding war in Ukraine continued to polarize the bloc.

China had then stated that the G20 FMCBG (Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors) meeting was not the right forum to discuss geopolitical issues, according to the third G20 FMCBG outcome document and chairs summary. Meanwhile, Russia dissociated itself from the status of the document. However, G20 nations are assessing the macroeconomic consequences of food and energy insecurity, the person said.

Further, the grouping has finalized the debt vulnerability framework for restructuring the debts of Zambia, Ghana and Ethiopia, the person said. A similar framework for Sri Lanka, which is outside the common framework since its not a low-income country, is also about to be finalized.

However, while most countries have agreed on a climate-resilient debt restructuring package, China has been opposing the move, the person added.

The bloc is also ready with a report identifying macroeconomic risks stemming from climate change, the person said, adding that the report identifies climate risks and includes pricing and non-pricing tools and approaches that countries can take to tackle climate change.

Meanwhile, India is considering adding Russias opposition on food and energy insecurity in the joint declaration text instead of using it in a footnote, the person added.

G20, under the Indian presidency, is also pushing to increase the capabilities of multilateral development banks (MDBs) and their capital adequacy framework. A consensus by the G20 leaders on the capital adequacy framework is expected, the person said. Enhanced capital adequacy framework will provide additional lending headroom of $200 billion over the next decade."

The first part of a report on MDBs by N.K. Singh and Lawrence Summers, titled Strengthening Multilateral Development Banks: The Triple Agenda, which was released in July at Gandhinagar, suggested the need to increase MDBs annual spending by $3 trillion by 2030, including $1.8 trillion for additional climate action and $1.2 trillion for achieving other sustainable development goals.

The second part of the report will be released in October for discussion by finance ministers ahead of the G20 annual meeting at Marrakech, Morocco. It will suggest the road map ahead, a new foreign currency hedging mechanism, system-wide collaboration, and the proposed global challenges funding mechanism.

The G20 Leaders meeting to be held between 9 and 10 September is a culmination of a year-long process and meetings held among ministers, senior officials and civil society on issues of global significance.
Gurugram authorities Wednesday issued traffic restrictions in the Millennium City to ensure smooth functioning of the upcoming G20 Summit which is scheduled to take place on September 9 and 10. Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) Gurugram (East) DCP (Traffic) Virender Vij said,There would be traffic restrictions in Gurugram to ensure smooth functioning of the G20 Summit. From September 7 midnight to September 10 midnight, traffic diversions will be imposed as heavy vehicles aren't allowed in Delhi. People going towards airport are advised not to take the NH-48 route."

Passengers should note that NH-48road journey towards IGI Airport Delhi will be affected from midnight 00 hours on the entry every evening night of 07 and 08.09.2023 to midnight 00 hours on 10.0-9.2023," the traffic advisory said.

In case passengers travelling to IGI Airport opt for road journey, they are advised to to make travel plans with sufficient time at hand to take the following route:

From Gurugram to T3

NH-48- from Rajiv chowk/Iffco Chowk to Old Delhi Gurugram road-UER II service road Nh48-T3 Terminal road

From Gurugram to T1

NH-48- from Rajiv chowk/Iffco Chowk to Old Delhi Gurugram road-UER II service road Nh48-T3 Terminal roadService road NH-48Sanjay T point  Ullan Batar Marg Terminal T1

No heavy vehicles will be allowed to enter from Rajokri border to Delhi except Ambulance/Fire Brigade.

All essential commodities vehicles/passenger buses can go Delhi from Gurugram via IFFCO Chowk MG Road-Sikanderpur Metro station-Mahroli Road towards Aaya Nagar Delhi

Earlier on Tuesday, the Delhi government issued a gazette notification detailing traffic restrictions in the national capital ahead of the upcoming G20 Summit which is scheduled to take place on September 9 and 10.

According to the notification, vehicles including goods vehicles, commercial vehicles, interstate buses, and local city buses, will not be allowed to operate on Mathura Road (beyond Ashram Chowk), Bhairon Road, Purana Quila Road, and inside Pragati Maidan Tunnel from midnight on September 7 until 11:59 PM on September 10.

Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), Medium Goods Vehicles (MGVs), and Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs) will not be allowed to enter Delhi from 21:00 hours on 07.09.2023 to 23:59 hours on 10.09.2023," the notification read.

However, goods vehicles transporting essential commodities such as milk, vegetables, fruits, medical supplies, and others with valid 'No Entry Permissions' will be permitted to enter Delhi.

In addition, the entire area of New Delhi District will be designated as "Controlled Zone-I" from 5 AM on September 8 until 11:59 PM on September 10. The area inside Ring Road (Mahatma Gandhi Marg) will be considered a "Regulated Zone" during the same period.

Only authorized residents, emergency vehicles, vehicles traveling to the Airport, Old Delhi, and New Delhi Railway Stations, as well as other authorized vehicles, will be allowed to use the road network in the New Delhi District during these hours. No TSR (three-wheeled shared taxi) and taxi services will be permitted to enter or operate within the New Delhi District from 5 AM on September 9 until 11:59 PM on September 10.

However, all types of commercial vehicles, including buses already present in Delhi, will be permitted to travel on Ring Road and the road network beyond Ring Road towards the borders of Delhi.

India is gearing up to host the G20 Summit in New Delhi from September 9 to 10, and world leaders are expected to attend. The summit will take place at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed a multi-modal connectivity and economic corridor linking Southeast Asia (SEA), India, West Asia and Europe during the Asean-India Summit in Indonesia, as part of a 12-point plan to enhance relations with Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) economies.

Modis proposal bears some resemblance to Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which involves the development of infrastructure and connectivity across countries to promote economic development and secure Chinas trade routes. BRI is, however, a much more ambitious project than the one proposed by Modi, involving more than 100 countries.

View Full Image Graphic: Mint

The proposal also suggests that India is keen to play a more active role in the region amid its growing economic and political influence and its desire to position itself at the centre of the global supply-chain hub.

The focus on developing new routes to markets in Europe, West Asia and SEA comes as Indias economic ties with these regions have strengthened considerably. The European Union (EU) is Indias third largest trading partner, while India-Asean bilateral trade stood at $131.5 billion in 2022-23.

India is, however, no stranger to grand connectivity projects that seek to wire the country to global markets. In 2000, India signed an agreement to develop the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) with Iran and Russia, to connect India to Central Asia and Europe. The plan was for a multi-modal route running from Mumbai in India to Bandar Abbas and Bandar-e-Anzali in Iran, then across the Caspian Sea to Astrakhan, Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia," writes Ritika Passi for the Observer Research Foundation, a New Delhi-based think tank. Goods from India could access Central Asian and European markets through the INSTC. While the project has seen several trial runs, it has not developed into a major artery for global trade due to numerous delays and sanctions on Iran for its nuclear weapons programme.

More than two decades after it was conceptualized, the INSTC project has received increased interest after Modi called for using Irans Chabahar Port, which India is helping develop, as part of the corridor.

India is also reportedly involved in other ambitious connectivity plans towards its west. In May, Indias National Security Advisor Ajit Doval met with his counterparts from the US, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Saudi Arabia. It was widely reported that the four countries were discussing rail lines to connect the region, which would then be linked to India through sea lanes. The project is still at the discussion stage.

Towards its east, India is part of a push to develop a highway connecting the country to Myanmar and Thailand. The 1,400-km highway, first proposed in 2002, is expected to link India to the two SEA nations by land. However, the project has been beset by delays. The highway was expected to be operational by 2019.

But it has been a very difficult project. It has been a very difficult project, mainly because of the situation in Myanmar. And one of our priorities today is to find ways of how to resume this project, how to unlock it, and how to make it because large parts of the project have been built," external affairs minister S. Jaishankar was cited as saying about the project during a 2023 visit to Thailand.

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A Delhi-based lawyer has filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking FIR against Udhayanidhi Stalin amid furore over his sanatan Dharma remarks. Advocate Vineet Jindal has urged the initiation of legal proceedings against the Tamil Nadu Minister. The senior DMK leader had trigged an uproar this week after calling for the eradication of 'Sanatan Dharma.'

Advocate Jindal, who identifies as a follower of Sanatan Dharma, has expressed his grievance over what he perceives as "hate speech" uttered by Chief Minister MK Stalin's son. It is worth noting that the aggrieved lawyer had previously filed a complaint with the Delhi Police Commissioner, urging them to take action against the DMK leader under penal provisions. However, as of now, no First Information Report has been registered in response to the complaint.

The application presented to the Supreme Court, submitted through Advocate RK Choudhary, serves a dual purpose. Not only does it seek legal action against Udhayanidhi Stalin, but it also calls for a contempt of court action against both Delhi and Chennai police forces. This request for contempt action stems from the alleged failure of the police to register a suo motu FIR for hate speech, as mandated by the Supreme Court's prior order on such matters.

Meanwhile the Congress has sought to distance itself from the brewing controversy surrounding Udhayanidhi Stalin's comments.

Congress leader Pawan Khera emphasized the party's long-standing belief in Sarva Dharma Sambhav on Thursday  a principle that advocates equal respect for all religions and faiths. Khera emphasized that no particular faith should be considered inferior to another and that both the Constitution of India and the Congress party uphold these principles.

Khera further noted that the Congress had consistently adhered to these principles throughout its history, from the Constituent Assembly debates to the present day. He reassured that there would be no reconsideration of these fundamental principles in the party's approach to the Constitution of India.

(With inputs from agencies)

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The US has shown quiet optimism about the possibility of having a joint declaration for the G20 Summit being held in India. However, Washington has also highlighted the problems that could lead to the G20 Summit ending without a joint communique.

Also Read: G20 Summit 2023 Delhi LIVE Updates

G20 Sherpas are trying to work together on ironing out a final declaration that will be adopted by PM Narendra Modi and other world leaders over the weekend, reported ANI. However, White House officials have highlighted that the issue of war in Ukraine could be a point of contention between the Western countries and Russia and China.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has also made it clear that his country will block any summit declaration that doesn't reflect Moscow's views on Ukraine and other crises. India, on the other hand, has insisted that a final agreement is within reach despite the geopolitical tensions.

On being asked about the possibility of having a joint G20 declaration this year, US National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said, "We hope so. We certainly hope so. But, I mean, I think you know its difficult to get 20 clocks to chime at the same time, so were going to have to  were going to work on this. We know that the Indians also would like to see a joint communique if you will, so well see where it goes,"

"Often times the sticking point tends to be the war in Ukraine because countries like Russia and China are less likely to sign on to language that the rest of the international community is more uncomfortable signing on to, so well see where it goes. But wed like to see that, absolutely," Kirby added

G20 countries represent around 85 per cent of the world's GDP, 75 per cent of the world's trade and around two-thirds of the global population. The grouping includes 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.

(With inputs from ANI)

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The leaders summit is a high point in Indias rotating presidency of the G20. The stage has been set for the summit by multiple rounds of meetings of officials, finance ministers and central bank governors. While there has been progress on a host of issues, geopolitical divisions have made joint statements elusive. Indias G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant had earlier said that the G20 is an economic body and that India would focus on developmental issues. This makes stitching together a joint declaration critical for India given the credibility it can give to the countrys role on the world stage.

What has been achieved by India?

Extensive deliberations have taken place under Indias presidency of the G20. Topics include finding ways of strengthening multilateral financing, finding resources for climate action, digital public infrastructure-led financial inclusion, ensuring transparency of beneficial ownership of legal persons, the evolving regulatory framework for virtual digital assets, addressing debt vulnerability of nations in the wake of tight global financial conditions and international taxation. At the summit, world leaders are expected to endorse around 10 substantial deliverables based on these discussions.

What is the biggest concern around the talks?

Divisions among member states on the Ukraine war remain a challenge in forging a joint declaration. The absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen as an indication of the divisions within the group. Forging a consensus is crucial given that geopolitics impacts economic policymaking.

What is the status of the global tax deal?

The proposals on a global tax deal involve two pillarsones on digital economy firms and the second a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15%. The finer details are yet to be agreed. Talks are in progress on certain tax amounts member nations are entitled to. Capacity building of nations to implement the reform is also a priority. The leaders summit is expected to see progress in concluding the final framework. Experts expect that the global tax deal, backed by nearly 140 nations, could be in force by end of 2025.

What about reforms of multilateral banks?

A report by an independent panel comprising Fifteenth Finance Commission chair N.K. Singh and former US treasury secretary Lawrence Summers calls for reforms of multilateral development banks. Their second report is expected in October. The summit is expected to offer an update on reforming these global financing agencies to be able to deal with the challenges of the 21st century. The panel had recommended that multilateral development banks be radically reformed and strengthened.
US President Joe Biden leaves for the G20 in India on Thursday, aiming to boost alliances at a summit where global tensions will be highlighted by the absence of the leaders of China and Russia.

Biden will try to show that on big transnational issues, Washington is a better partner than Beijing or Moscow -- and that the G20 remains a key forum.

But deep disagreements on Russia's war in Ukraine and on how to help emerging nations tackle climate change are expected to hamper agreements during the two-day meeting in New Delhi.

"As the president heads to the G20, he's committed to working with emerging market partners to deliver big things together," White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told a briefing ahead of the summit.

"That's what we believe the world will see in New Delhi this weekend."

Biden will then head to Vietnam on Sunday to deepen relations with the Communist nation, in a region where the United States and China are both flexing their muscles.

The 80-year-old president tested negative for Covid shortly before he was due to depart, the White House said, clearing him to travel after a scare when his wife came down with a mild case on Monday.

Jill Biden also tested negative on Thursday, her communications director said.

China's Xi Jinping will miss the G20 meeting at a time of heightened trade and geopolitical tensions with the United States and India, with which it shares a long and disputed border.

Spoiler

Biden said last week he was "disappointed" he would not meet Xi at the G20, but the Chinese leader's no-show gives the US president a golden opportunity to push Washington's influence over its rival.

White House officials said Biden would in particular stress a plan to increase World Bank and International Monetary Fund lending power for emerging nations by some $200 billion as a better alternative to China's "coercive" Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is meanwhile not even planning to make a video address at the G20, the Kremlin said Thursday, amid fraught relations between Moscow and the West over Ukraine.

But the absence of Xi and Putin underscores the divisions in the G20 and could undermine Biden's bid to keep the bloc as the leading forum of global economic cooperation.

The White House's Sullivan said the United States wants to show the G20 can deliver at a time when the BRICS club of emerging economies -- which includes India but has been championed largely by China and Russia -- is expanding.

Biden will be also cheerleading India and its leader Narendra Modi as a counterweight to China, even if their goals are sometimes at odds, particularly on Ukraine.

Sullivan said on Tuesday that China could opt to "play the role of spoiler" but that Modi and other leaders would "encourage them to come in a constructive way."

Biden goes straight from the G20 to Hanoi where he will meet ruling Vietnamese Communist party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, hoping to strengthen ties.

Despite the painful legacy of the Vietnam War the two countries have worked increasingly closely, with Biden joining the list of successive US presidents who have visited the country since Bill Clinton in 2000.

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Niagara Falls police fatally shot a man Aug. 3 on Niagara Avenue after he fired a gun at officers.

On Thursday, 35 days after the incident, city officials released the names of the man who was killed and the officers who fired the shots.

Niagara Falls police fatally shoot armed man who fired at officers According to a statement, officers were responding to a "shots fired call" in the 900 block of Niagara Avenue.

Benjamin Rivers, 53, was taken to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and pronounced dead.

Two officers fired the shots. Officer Ian Sitek, who has two years on the job, and Officer Kayla Richards, who has been on the force a year and a half, returned to work Wednesday, Police Supt. John Faso said.

It is not clear why the information had been withheld, but the move represented a significant delay when compared to how other local agencies, including Niagara Falls, itself, have handled similar situations.

 In March 2022, the Buffalo Police Department released the names of the person police shot on Hertel Avenue and the officers who pulled the trigger the next day.

 In November, when Town of Niagara police shot a man in a home on Chester Avenue, they identified him and the officers who fired two days later.

 In June 2022  after Niagara Falls officials waited 29 hours before notifying the public that police had shot a man behind a Niagara Falls Boulevard pharmacy  city and police officials released the names of those involved four days after the shooting.

In the case of the Aug. 3 shooting, Falls officials notified the public that police had killed the man about three hours after it happened. The basic information was provided by the citys public information officer in an email.

City officials and police held a news conference on Aug. 4 and released police-worn body-camera footage from the incident. At that time, they identified the man only as a 53-year-old.

In response to numerous requests for the information by a Buffalo News reporter in the week following the shooting, the citys public information officer, Aaron Ferguson, told a reporter he did not have the information.

Rivers was shot about 9:35 p.m. at 942 Niagara Ave., after police investigating a report of gunfire encountered Rivers, who they said was armed. A woman at the scene told officers the man had a gun and had fired a shot into her car, according to police.

Officers ordered the man to drop the weapon, and he fired a shot towards Richards, striking a police patrol vehicle. Both officers returned fire.

Rivers suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

Under Mayor Robert Restainos administration, reporters are directed to correspond with Ferguson for information about police matters.

The state Attorney Generals Office of Special Investigation, which reviews incidents in which a police officer may have caused the death of a person, is also investigating.
Amid the escalating tension between Russia and Ukraine , five drones were shot down overnight in three Russian regions, with one targeting the capital city, Moscow. Fortunately, there were no reported casualties from these incidents.

Meanwhile, Russia continued its fourth day of air attacks on Ukraine's port city, Izmail, situated on the Danube River. Infrastructure, including grain silos, was damaged, and one person sustained injuries, according to Oleh Kiper, the regional Governor of Odesa.

The new attack came a day after a Russian missile hit Kostiantynivka's busy market in Donetsk, killing 17 and injuring 32.

Speaking about the attacks in Russia, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said, One drone targeted Moscow, but was shot down southeast of the city without causing any damage or injuries"

Two more drones were shot down over the southern region of Rostov, which borders Ukraine, confirmed regional Governor Vasily Golubev.

The debris fell in the centre of Rostov-on-Don, the region's capital, damaging several cars and shattering windows in three buildings. One person sought medical assistance," Golubev added

Two other drones were shot down over the Bryansk region, which also borders Ukraine, Governor Alexander Bogomaz reported. Drone debris damaged a railway station and several cars, he said.

One of the drones aimed for Moscow but was successfully intercepted and shot down southeast of the city, according to Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. It caused no damage or injuries.

Russia's Defense Ministry attributed these drone attacks to Ukraine, though Ukraine typically does not claim responsibility for strikes inside Russia.

These drone attacks are part of a growing trend, with recent months seeing increased incidents in which drones targeted Crimea and Russian regions. Russian officials have consistently pointed fingers at Kyiv, alleging their involvement in such attacks. The situation remains tense, with both sides engaging in ongoing military actions as diplomatic efforts continue.

(With inputs from agencies)

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In a significant stride towards economic cooperation, Nigeria has obtained investment commitments totalling nearly $14 billion from various Indian companies and the Indian government. The Nigerian President Bola Tinubu aims to spur development in key sectors like steel, petrochemicals, power generation, and defence through these partnerships.

Indian heavyweights like Jindal Steel and Power have made significant investment commitments in Nigeria. The company plans to inject $3 billion into Nigeria's steel industry, diversifying the West African nation's reliance on oil production. Indorama Corp, another Indian firm, intends to pour an additional $8 billion into expanding its existing petrochemical facility in Nigeria.

Skipperseil Ltd and Bharti Enterprises have each pledged to invest $1.6 billion in Nigeria over the next four years. The funds will be primarily channelled into constructing power generation plants to strengthen Nigeria's energy infrastructure. Bharti Enterprises will also contribute $700 million towards undisclosed projects in Nigeria.

Also Read: Hinduja Group plans to make investments in Nigerian auto industry

In a mutually-beneficial agreement, the Nigerian government has given the nod to a $1 billion partnership with the Indian government. This deal is designed to bolster the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, with the goal of achieving 40% self-sufficiency in the manufacturing and production of defence equipment within a three-year time frame.

These commitments were formalised under the Nigeria-India presidential roundtable and conference, which aims to drive global capital into Nigerian infrastructure projects. President Tinubu, who is slated to attend the G20 summit in New Delhi later this week, hosted these talks. His attendance at the summit follows an invitation from India, the current holder of the rotating presidency of the G20 bloc.

Also Read: Brothers fighting fraud charges from India are flourishing in Nigeria

Tinubu expressed optimism for potential investors, stating that Nigeria offers unparalleled returns on investments. The West African country aims to focus on investment-led growth, moving away from borrowing to finance its infrastructure and job creation needs.

"We are ready to give you the best returns for investment possible, there's nowhere else like our country," Reuters quoted Tinubu as stating.

(With Reuters inputs)

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On September 6, Pakistan successfully defended against a large-scale militant assault launched from Afghanistan. Officials confirmed that the armed intruders, numbering in the hundreds and equipped with an arsenal of light and heavy weaponry, targeted two military outposts in the rugged Chitral District.

The escalation in violence follows the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in 2022, which has boosted the morale of Pakistan's homegrown Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group, AFP reported. Despite Afghanistan's denials, Islamabad has repeatedly accused its neighbour of giving safe haven to these militants.

The deputy commissioner of Chitral, Mohammad Ali, indicated that preparations had been underway after security forces monitored suspicious cross-border movements for several days.

"Informers have also sent us information about the militant group movement," AFP quoted Ali as saying. "They were in hundreds and were armed with light and heavy weapons. We were ready to face the attack, and the exchange of fire continued for some four hours."

Pakistan's military succeeded in repelling the attackers. According to Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation led to the loss of four soldiers while they claimed that 12 militants were killed.

The TTP later claimed responsibility for the attempted incursion and alleged that they had captured two Pakistani military posts in the Bomburit area of Chitral, a claim that remains unverified.

Chitral, a scenic region favoured by domestic tourists for its steep hills and valleys, has now tightened its security measures. The district is located about 200 kilometres northwest of Islamabad, the nation's capital.

Surge in militant activities in Pakistan

Since the Taliban resumed control in Afghanistan, Pakistan has seen a surge of 50% in militant activities along its western border, according to a report by the Pak Institute for Peace Studies.

(With AFP inputs)

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In his address at the Asean-India Summit and East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the necessity of establishing a rules-based global order in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic . His remarks come amidst growing concerns over China's assertive actions in territorial disputes, which were highlighted by Beijing's release of a controversial map claiming territories of other nations as part of China.

India, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan have protested against the Chinese map.

Modi proposed a 12-point plan during the Asean-India Summit to enhance cooperation with the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). He stressed the shared interest in promoting the voices of the Global South and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region. He asserted that India is determined to work with all Asean members to achieve these goals, as cited by a Hindustan Times report

The 21st century is the century of Asia. This is our century. This requires the creation of a rules-based post-Covid world order, and everyones effort for human welfare," he said at the Asean-India Summit, speaking in Hindi.

Modi's remarks at the East Asia Summit, attended by Chinese Premier Li Qiang, were notably direct. The EAS includes ASEAN member states and key dialogue partners like Australia, China, Japan, Russia, and the US.

It is imperative to adhere fully to international laws, and everyones commitment and joint efforts are also necessary to strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries," Modi told the EAS.

As I have said before  todays era is not of war. Dialogue and diplomacy is the only path to resolution," he added, speaking again in Hindi.

Modi also told the EAS that multilateralism and a rules-based global order are essential for countering challenges such as terrorism, extremism, and geopolitical conflicts in a global landscape surrounded by uncertainties.

The need of the hour is an Indo-Pacific where international law, including UNCLOS, applies equally to all countries; where there is freedom of navigation and overflight; and where there is unimpeded lawful commerce for the benefit of all," he said.

Modi further said that the Code of Conduct for South China Sea being negotiated by Asean states and China should be effective and in accordance with UNCLOS" or United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Additionally, it should take into consideration the interests of countries that are not directly involved in the discussions," he added.

He described the EAS as the only leaders-led mechanism for cooperation on strategic matters in the Indo-Pacific that also plays a pivotal role as the primary confidence-building mechanism in Asia".

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The UK has no intentions of altering its strategy for reducing net migration in pursuit of a free trade agreement with India, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed in a recent announcement. This comes only a day ahead Sunak is headed for India to attend the G20 summit.

"The prime minister believes that the current levels of migration are too high ... To be crystal clear, there are no plans to change our immigration policy to achieve this free trade agreement and that includes student visas," Sunak's spokesperson told journalists.

Last year, Interior Minister Suella Braverman stirred controversy by expressing concerns about the potential impact of Indian migrants on trade talks. She cited worries about an "open borders migration policy with India" and individuals overstaying visas.

However, as the talks between the two countries started, trade minister Kemi Badenoch, earlier this year, had asserted Britain would discuss temporary business visas as part of trade talks but not broader immigration commitments or access to Britain's labour market for Indian workers.

Visas were never part of our ask

However India's High Commissioner to Britain Vikram Doriaswamy said that the notion India wanted more visas had been in the British press but not in Indian media.

"We never said that the visas are part of our ask," he told Times radio, adding that India instead sought simpler ways for companies to move UK and Indian nationals between the countries.

"We are not asking for migrants to be able to come here."

Modern, forward-looking free trade agreement: UK PM Rishi Sunak

Both India and UK are optimistic about finalising a trade deal this year, although several challenging topics still need to be addressed.

About the deal, Sunak said, a modern, forward-looking free trade agreement can put us firmly on the path to our shared ambition of doubling UK-India trade by 2030,"

"It's very exciting to have this opportunity to expand our trade relationship, and to be the first European country that India has negotiated a free trade deal with," he said.

The prime ministers responses to PTIs questions were sent by email.

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You cant build a reputation on what you are going to do." Not my words, but Henry Fords. It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, youll do things differently." So proclaimed Warren Buffett. Might Indias government fall victim to what marketing mavens call myopia by throwing away the age-old reputation that India the brand has accumulated for a mere election, this being an issue which a Medici sample survey among 534 urban residents found to have no impact on voting intentions?

Why do politicians want to fix things that arent broken? Any rebranding is a tedious exercise, one that should be done with an abundance of caution and wide research; its not to be decided with the toss of a coin, or on the advice of an astrologer. A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for our acceptance. It just isnt what politicians tell us; its what we tell each other it is.

If India, in its own inimitable style, wants to imitate Turkeys renaming by Erdogan, it must remember that like with most startups which copy and paste, this could prove costly economically and probably culturally as well, no matter how many pundits insist both India and Bharat are allowed under the Constitution.

Imagine the bills of rebranding. Outlook magazine estimated it to be around 15,000 crore, funds which could help fight poverty. There would be operational expenses, too, in revising all currency notes, coins, passports, sign boards, maps, letterheads, consulates and much else. Contracts handed out will also make space for corruption.

Rebranding India involves reshaping the way it is perceived domestically and internationally. Renaming is so extreme that nations rarely consider doing it, and if at all, only in exceptional circumstances. Turkey has been known as Turkiye internally since its inception in 1923, and the change faced no resistance. Ankara had its reasons.

Constitutionally, India is alternatively known as Bharat. A politically motivated switch from India to Bharat for all references would not only be a waste of public resources, but also an abuse of majoritarian power. Such decisions should never be one-sided, and whats done for domestic public consumption will not help internationally. Without full support at home, the use of Bharat may adversely affect inward tourism. Politicians may have specific constituencies in mind, but bureaucrats must demur.

Globally, rebranding efforts are carried out for various reasons. For example, when a country undergoes a significant economic shift, say from an agrarian to an industrial or knowledge-based economy, rebranding can help. Think of South Koreas rise as an economic powerhouse.

A country can also be repositioned to attract tourists and showcase a unique aspect of its natural or cultural heritage. Incredible India" and 100% Pure New Zealand" are two highly successful such campaigns.

Shifts in political leadership, government policies or geopolitical ties could necessitate a rebranding exercise for an image makeover, as in Myanmars case.

Changing a countrys name poses serious risks and challenges. Changing India to Bharat could result in confusion, globally. It could disrupt business relationships, diplomatic agreements and international treaties that use the current name. Updating all the paperwork would be a monumental task. A formal name change would require global recognition and acceptance, for which cues may be taken from responses within India.

As for global brand equity, Bharat would have to be re-established in international markets on a thin base. This could impact not just tourism, but various commercial relationships. The success of the rebranding exercise, which could take years, would depend on how well Bharat is received and associated with positive attributes across the world.

The responsibilities for it would have to be multifaceted and require collaboration between government agencies, private sector stakeholders and marketing experts. Most importantly, such a monumental decision must not be taken on a political whim.

Indias bureaucracy and civil society must demand, at the very least, the following:

 Conduct thorough research to establish the case for name change. This must be done by a neutral global agency of impeccable credentials. The findings should also present the associated risks, projected costs and assignment of responsibilities.

 In our democracy, such a decision must be voted upon. This needs a referendum that could be done along with the 2024 general elections. There is no emergency for us to rename India in a jiffy. If the government refutes this without research data, it will reveal an ulterior motive, not in the best interest of the nation. If so, lets push back.

 Remember that renaming is a long-term endeavour. The results of it will take much longer than electoral outcomes in 2024.

 Dont forget Shakespeare. A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, goes the citation from Romeo and Juliet. Bharat and India are equally sweet. Nothing needs fixing in our countrys name. If India has more suitors, it suits our economy well.
As the Bharat Jodo Yatra of the Congress turned one, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate Rahul Gandhi, who was at the centre stage of the Yatra, and thousands of Indians who took part in it, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.

On X, Mallikarjun Kharge said, #BharatJodoYatra is a Peoples Movement, unequalled in history. As the Yatra completes one year today, on behalf of the Indian National Congress, I congratulate Shri @RahulGandhi, all Bharat Yatris and the lakhs of our citizens who walked and joined in this historic endeavour." Mallikarjun Kharge said the Bharat Jodo Yatra covered more than 4,000 kilometres, carrying a message of unity in diversity" as lakhs of people walked alongside. From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, Bharat Jodo Yatra covered more than 4000 Kms and carried a message of unity in diversity, with lakhs of people from all walks of life," Mallikarjun Kharge said.

The trend of manufacturing irrelevant headlines to divert attention from the real issues of people to hide the agenda of hate and division is a systemic attack on our collective conscience," the Congress chief added.

Speaking about the purpose of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Mallikarjun Kharge said, The Yatra seeks to bring real issues of economic inequalities, price rise, unemployment, social injustices, subversion of Constitution, centralisation of power, to the centre stage of peoples imagination," adding that it will continue to fight the menace of hate and hostility in our society through a conversation".

The Bharat Jodo Yatra is not just a physical endeavour, it is a sincere effort to rebuild our broken collective conscience. Our ingrained values of Justice, Liberty Equality, and Fraternity, for us, are supreme," he said.

Today, Bharat Jodo Yatra continues, the Congress chief said.

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Under concentrated attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over his anti-Sanatana Dharma remark, Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin attacked PM Narendra Modi for allegedly diverting attention from Manipur violence and matters related to corruption. Udhayanidhi Stalin also responded to the cases that have been filed against him over his remarks and said he will face them legally.

Udhayanidhi Stalin, drawing a parallel between Sanatana Dharma and diseases like dengue and malaria, said, Sanatana is like malaria and dengue and so it must be eradicated and not opposed."

In a statement, Udhayanidhi Stalin accused the saffron party leaders of "twisting" his statements and vowed: I will face the cases filed against me legally with the guidance of the party president and on the advice of our party high command."

Udhayanidhi Stalin launched a scathing attack on the prime minister, saying he was "globe-trotting" when Manipur was burning.

For the last 9 years, all your (BJP) promises are empty promises. What have you exactly done for our welfare is a question currently being raised in unison by the entire country against an unarmed, fascist BJP government. It is in this background that the BJP leaders have twisted my speech at the TNPWAA conference as 'inciting genocide'. They consider it a weapon to protect themselves," the junior Stalin said.

He also said that it should be him filing cases against all those BJP ministers and leaders who are demanding action against him based on fake news".

"Let us resolve to work for the victory of the ideologies of Periyar, Anna, Kalaignar and Perasiriyar. Let Social Justice flourish forever," tweeted Udayanidhi Stalin.

FATHER REACTS

After his statement, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin said, "He expressed his views on Sanatan principles that discriminate against Scheduled Castes, Tribals, and Women, with no intention to offend any religion or religious beliefs... Pro-BJP forces are unable to tolerate his stance against oppressive principles and have spread a false narrative, alleging that "Udhayanidhi called for the genocide of people with Sanatan thoughts."

Tamil Nadu CM also said "It is disheartening to hear from the national media that the PM mentioned that Udhayanidhi's remarks need a proper response during a meeting of his council of ministers. The Prime Minister has access to all the resources to verify any claim or report. So, is the Prime Minister speaking unaware of the lies spread about Udhayanidhi, or does he do so knowingly?"

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a Union Council of Ministers meeting on Wednesday in preparation for the upcoming G20 Summit scheduled for September 9 and 10 in the national capital and asked the council to avoid getting into a debate on India vs Bharat, which has triggered a political controversy in the political circles.

PM Narendra Modi has asked his Union Council of Ministers to refrain from getting into the debate on the possibilities of a name change for India. The controversy erupted after a G20 dinner invite sent out by President Droupadi Murmu referred to her as the President of Bharat instead of the President of India, setting off a debate that a renaming could be part of the agenda in the upcoming Special Session of Parliament.

While Union Minister Anurag Thakur has called it a rumour", while attacking the mindset" of the Opposition for opposing the name Bharat, there has been no other word.

The ministers were told that they need to assertively face falsehoods and attacks against issues of faith, to put things in the right context and to rely on the provisions of the Constitution that do not allow denigration of any religion," persons privy to the matter said.

He also instructed his ministers that "no minister other than the authorized person should speak on the G-20 meeting."

In the Council of Ministers meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave advice to his ministers, saying that no minister other than the authorised person should speak at the G-20 meeting. The ministers attending the dinner organized on September 9 should reach the Parliament House complex in their own vehicles and to reach the venue they should board the buses," sources said.

India is all set to host the G20 Summit in New Delhi from September 9-10. World leaders will arrive in New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit. The summit will be hosted at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

Notably, India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country.

(With agency inputs)

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Vivek Ramaswamy has pledged to pardon peaceful protesters arrested for their involvement in the January 6 Capitol riot. This commitment was announced after the 38-year-old Indian-American Republican presidential candidate gained public attention for criticising the US Justice Department at a Republican primary presidential debate in August.

Ramaswamy argues that the American justice system is biased. He claims that those involved in Antifa and BLM protests are treated leniently, while peaceful protesters from January 6 remain in jail without bail. This, he says, tarnishes the foundational principles of the American legal system.

Ramaswamy noted that, if elected in 2024, he would ensure the end of what he calls the "weaponisation" of police power in America. He stressed that every Republican candidate needs to be clear on such pressing issues.

On the likelihood of becoming the party's nominee for the 2024 US elections, Ramaswamy stated that he would support Donald Trump if the former president secured the nomination.

Ramaswamy has expressed his intention to pardon Trump, who is currently facing various legal hurdles. He believes this action would contribute to uniting the country. However, he stated this is not the most crucial aspect of his presidential agenda, PTI reported.

The January 6 event saw an unprecedented storming of the US Capitol by a mob of more than 2,000 people. The riot occurred while lawmakers were certifying President Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 election. The incident has led to the most extensive police investigation in US history, with hundreds being accused of criminal offences.

Ramaswamy's support rate

Ramaswamy's rival in the Republican primary includes Nikki Haley, another politician of Indian-American heritage and the former Governor of South Carolina. According to a Trump Campaign opinion poll, Ramaswamy, with a 15% support rate, is currently trailing behind Trump, who has garnered 68% support. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stands in the third position at 13%.

(With PTI 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
A Williamsville woman was sentenced Wednesday by Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi to serve two to six years in prison for stealing more than $110,000 from the fitness center where she worked in Clarence, according to the Erie County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors said that 35-year-old Sienna D. Foumakoye issued credit card refunds from the business to customers, but routed the payments to her own personal bank account instead between Sept. 30, 2020, and Oct. 7, 2022, while she was employed there.

She pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree grand larceny, the highest sustainable charge against her, on June 28. As part of the plea, Foumakoye signed a Confession of Judgment to pay $110,312 to her former employer but, to date, has not made restitution.

District Attorney John J. Flynn commended Erie County Sheriff's Office Detective Dan Brinkerhoff for his work in the investigation. The case was prosecuted by Chief Gary M. Ertel of the District Attorney's Special Investigations and Prosecutions Unit.

- Harold McNeil
Moderna has said that the clinical trial data showed its updated COVID-19 vaccine shot generated an 8.7-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies in humans against the highly-mutated BA.2.86 subvariant of the coronavirus that has raised fears of a resurgence of infections, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

We think this is news people will want to hear as they prepare to go out and get their fall boosters," Reuters quoted Jacqueline Miller head of infectious diseases in Moderna said in an interview, adding that the data should also help reassure regulators.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has previously indicated that BA.2.86 may be more capable of causing infection in people who previously had COVID or were vaccinated with previous shots.

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 and the target of the updated shots.

Moderna said it had shared the new finding on its vaccine with regulators and submitted it for peer review publication.

The retooled Moderna shot is expected to be available later this month or in early October, though it is yet to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Meanwhile, rival COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers Novavax and Pfizer with German partner BioNTech have created versions of their shots aimed at the XBB.1.5 subvariant.

In August, Moderna and Pfizer each said their new vaccines appeared to be effective against another new subvariant of concern dubbed EG.5 in initial testing.

Britain's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has approved Pfizer/BioNTech shot, but have not make any announcements on Modernas updated vaccine.

A WHO official said the BA.2.86 the subvariant of the coronavirus has been detected in Switzerland, South Africa as well as Israel, Denmark, the US and Britain.

According to experts it is important to monitor the variant, but it is unlikely to cause a wave of severe disease and death because of immune defenses built up worldwide from mass vaccination and prior infection.

PFIZER More Information

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Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) congratulated Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on September 7 for the successful launch of the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM).

ISRO conveyed its best wishes to JAXA for this lunar mission and expressed its support for the global space community's endeavours. The Bengaluru-headquartered national space agency posted on social media platform 'X' (formerly twitter), "Best wishes for another successful lunar endeavour by the global space community."

Japan launched its H-IIA rocket on September 7 carrying the JAXA Moon lander which is scheduled to land on the Moon early next year. The launch took place after a series of postponements due to unfavourable weather conditions last month, reported Reuters.

H-IIA rocket successfully lifted off from the launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima, southern Japan. The rocket carried an X-ray telescope called the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), which will study the origins of the universe. XRISM will measure the composition and speed of intergalactic space, AP reported.

This space mission aims to help scientists to understand celestial object formation and the universe's creation. This mission was conducted in collaboration with NASA, and it will involve studying light at various wavelengths, temperature assessments, and analysing the shapes and brightness of celestial objects, AP reported.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries was responsible for manufacturing and launching the rocket H-IIA. Onboard the rocket is JAXA's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) spacecraft also known as the "Moon Sniper" for its precision landing technology.

This launch follows India's recent achievement of becoming the fourth nation to successfully land a spacecraft on the Moon with its Chandrayaan-3 mission. The launch comes two weeks after India successfully landed Vikram lander on the lunar south pole.

Japan had previously experienced two unsuccessful attempts to land on the Moon. The first resulted in a loss of contact with a lander carried by a NASA rocket, and the second, an attempt by a Japanese start-up, ended in a crash during the lunar descent in April.

(With agency inputs)

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The Rolling Stones are returning with their first collection of original songs since 2005.

The British rock-music architects held a media event in Hackney, an area in east London, on Wednesday where they unpacked details of their coming album, Hackney Diamonds."

As part of the event, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood fielded questions from American comedian and late-night show host Jimmy Fallon. The launch, which was livestreamed on YouTube, followed a teaser campaign that included a snippet of a new song and a mysterious advertisement placed in the Hackney Gazette, a local newspaper.

Even among the surprising number of 1960s rock bands that have sustained lasting careers long after their pop-cultural prime, the Stones stand out.

Jagger turned 80 in July; Richards, 79, will join him in December. Longtime guitarist Ronnie Wood is 76. Jagger underwent a successful heart procedure in 2019, briefly postponing a U.S. tour. Charlie Watts, the bands beloved drummer, died in 2021 at the age of 80.

Despite such hurdles, the Stones, one of live musics very biggest acts, have toured every year for the past decade, except for pandemic-stricken 2020. The Stones also won a Grammy award in 2018 for their 2016 blues-covers album, Blue & Lonesome." In 2020, they released a timely-sounding track, Living in a Ghost Town," that went No. 1 in Germany.

Over recent decades, however, the bands output of new original music has slowed considerably: Theyve released only three studio albums since 1990, including 2005s A Bigger Bang." For years, Stones fans have followed reports of Jagger and Richards hitting the studio, but little has materialized until now.

Band members have previously told outlets that the new album includes some recordings by the late drummer Watts. Steve Jordan, a veteran drummer and friend of the Stones who coproduces, cowrites and performs on Richardss solo albums, has assumed the late Wattss drumming duties.

Write to Neil Shah at Neil.Shah@wsj.com

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EARLY IN THE war 20 Russian fuel tankers rolled into Sedniv, a small town in Chernihiv province, north of Kyiv. The locals called us," says Major-General Viktor Nikolyuk, commander of Ukrainian forces in the north, and said: what should we do?" His answer was simple: Drain them." Locals on horses and tractors, carrying bottles, barrels and teapots, siphoned off fuel with the cry of Slava Ukrainiglory to Ukraine. The general could hardly believe it when another round of tankers appeared shortly afterwards. Those, too, were relieved of their cargo.

Small wars are fought by a countrys armed forces. Total wars are waged by entire nations. Civilians have played a huge role in the defence of Ukraine. When Ukrposhta, Ukraines national postal agency, held a competition to design a stamp, the winning entry depicted a tractor towing away a captured Russian tankone of the wars most iconic images. When Kyiv was under threat, civilians mixed Molotov cocktails to hurl at invading armoured vehicles. Volunteers have raised money for vehicles and drones. The Serhiy Prytula Foundation, a civilian charity, even bought a satellite for the army. Kyiv has placed cross-society resistance at the heart of its national defence," writes Hanna Shelest of Ukrainian Prism, a think-tank.

Not uncommonly for total wars, the civilian-military distinction has broken down. A huge role was played by the local population," says General Nikolyuk. Locals hid mobile phones from Russian troops and revealed the location of their equipment by dropping virtual pins on Google Maps (a dedicated government app, eVorog, now offers a way for civilians to pass on intelligence). Colonel Oleh Shevchuk, commander of Ukraines 43rd artillery brigade, and Serhiy Ogerenko, his chief of staff, speaking to Ukrainska Pravda, a newspaper, say civilians helped correct artillery fire, even using their own commercial drones.

View Full Image ...

Colonel Shevchuk says that, if his men knew that Russians were near a particular village but were unsure precisely where, they would open Google Maps, find a local shop and cold-call it. Good evening, we are from Ukraine! Do you have any kaptsaps [Russians] about? Yes. Where? Where? Behind Grandma Hannas house. Which house is that? Well, everyone knows her! So you talk to people a little bit and work out where everything is." On one occasion, he says, a petrol-station owner offered the password to its surveillance camera, giving the army a live view of a Chechen column heading for Kyiv.

Digitally enabled popular resistance on this scale would have been largely impossible 15 years ago. Jack McDonald of Kings College London points out that, when America invaded Afghanistan in 2001, less than 1% of the local population had access to the internet. In Syria in 2011, when a civil war was already under way and mobile-phone footage of combat became widespread, the rate was still only 22%. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 it had reached 46%. When it did it again last year the figure had shot up to almost 80%. What youre seeing in Ukraine," he says, is whats going to be standard."

This connectivity and the proliferation of smartphones that rely on it has accelerated and transformed an older form of civilian-military collaboration, familiar from the resistance networks of occupied France in the second world war. For some time, says General Sir Jim Hockenhull, Britains chief of defence intelligence at the outset of the invasion, armies tried to make every soldier and platform a sensor. Whats happened is that so many people have become sensors." The result, he says, is a crowd-sourced civilian sensor network" that has proved really, really important".

Digitally enabled popular resistance on this scale would have been impossible 15 years ago

The civilian network is not just for sensing. On February 26th, two days into the war, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraines deputy minister, publicly appealed to volunteers to conduct cyber-attacks against Russian businesses and government departments. The result was the IT Army of Ukraine, a group of nearly 200,000 volunteer hackers. Mr Fedorov asked hackers to target Russian state agencies, state-owned firms and banks.

Civilian involvement extends beyond Ukraines borders. By providing connectivity through its Starlink satellites, SpaceX has become an integral part of the Ukrainian armys kill chain. Satellites operated by ICEYE, a Finnish firm, provide detailed radar images of Russian military positions. Ukraines Delta app, essentially a live map which fuses military intelligence from different sources, is hosted on cloud servers abroad, points out Keir Giles of Chatham House, a think-tank.

Who is fighting whom?

This growing civilianisation of the digital battlefield", as Kubo Macak, a legal adviser at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), calls it, has legal consequences. ICEYE satellites may be legitimate military objectives, legal experts say. Since Delta is facilitating combat operations, Russia would consider its cloud servers abroad to be valuable targets", suggests Mr Giles. The IT Armys activities have prompted serious misgivings among scholars of international law and cyberspace.

A core principle of international humanitarian law is that armed forces must discriminate between combatants and non-combatants. But if civilians are building drones, hauling military gear over the border from Poland, reporting on troop movements through apps and correcting artillery fire over video chat, do they become legitimate military targets? The Geneva Conventions lay down that civilians lose protection for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities". But what this means is hotly disputed.

The ICRC says direct participation must involve actions that deliberately affect military operations in favour of one side. That is a high bar. Experts agree that civilians who just answer questions do not meet the threshold. Colonel Shevchuks phone calls would not automatically implicate those who pick up. Moreover, most intelligence passed on by apps is too general or insignificant to meet the threshold of harm criterion," argues Mr Macak. A civilian would have to gather and transmit information as part of a co-ordinated operation for the purposes of a specific attack". But flying a drone to correct shellfire would surely qualify.

One lesson is that connectivity is increasingly a vital military resource. The Taliban long ago tore down mobile-phone towers to stop Afghan villagers sending tip-offs to security forces. Mexican drug cartels now use signal-jamming equipment. General Nikolyuk says that civilian assistance was less forthcoming in Kharkiv and Donetsk in the east because Russia had disrupted mobile-phone networks in those areas.

All this presupposes that armies are making good-faith efforts to discriminate between civilians and soldiersthat they care about the laws of war. If Ukrainian civilians have so often been willing to jeopardise their status as non-combatants, it may be because Russias army has shown scant regard for such niceties. General Nikolyuk recalls Russian troops establishing a headquarters in a school in Yahidne, a village south of Chernihiv. Hundreds of locals were imprisoned in the basement. On another occasion in nearby Lukashivka, he says Russian soldiers, spotting a Ukrainian drone, forced women and children to walk down the street as human shields. What do you do in such cases? You bite your fists with impotence and thats it."

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
China is planning to invest $40 billion in the semiconductor industry after Huawei Technologies, a major Chinese telecommunications company, made a breakthrough in the development of high-end chips. The investment comes after the US government placed Huawei on a blacklist, which prevents the company from buying US technology. This has made it difficult for Huawei to get the chips it needs to manufacture its products.

Huaweis Breakthrough

Huaweis breakthrough was in the development of a 7-nanometer chip, which is considered to be one of the most advanced chips in the world. The chip is used in Huaweis latest smartphone, the Mate 60 Pro. The development of the chip is a significant achievement for Huawei and shows that China is capable of developing cutting-edge chips.

Chinas Investment

China plans to utilize the $40 billion investment to bolster its semiconductor industry. This substantial funding will go towards constructing new chip factories, innovating chip designs, and equipping a fresh wave of chip engineers with skills. The ultimate aim is for China to diminish its dependence on foreign chips and establish itself as a significant force in the global semiconductor market.

Impact of the Investment

The impact of the investment is still uncertain. However, it is possible that the investment could lead to:

A reduction in the worlds reliance on US chips.

More competition in the chip market.

Lower prices for chips.

Increased innovation in the chip industry.

Increased tensions between China and the US.

Conclusion

Chinas investment in the semiconductor industry is a major development that could have a significant impact on the global chip market. The investment is a sign of Chinas ambition to become a major player in the chip industry, and it is worth watching closely to see how it plays out.

In addition to the above, here are some other things to consider about Chinas $40 billion chip bonanza:

The investment is likely to boost the Chinese economy and create jobs.

It could also lead to increased innovation in the chip industry.

However, it could also lead to increased tensions between China and the US.

Overall, Chinas $40 billion chip bonanza is a major development that is likely to have a significant impact on the global chip market. It is a sign of Chinas ambition to become a major player in the chip industry, and it is worth watching closely to see how it plays out.
University at Buffalo biomedical and neurosurgery professor Ciprian Chip Ionita is researching ways to use artificial intelligence to predict outcomes of surgery based on data gathered before, during and after a procedure to give doctors an informed prognosis for each patient they treat.

Christine Wang, a professor in UBs graduate school of education, is helping devise AI methods for spotting speech and language problems in young children and giving teachers better tools for addressing them early on.

These are just two of many ways that UB is seeking to Harness AI for the Public Good  the title of a series of panel discussions on AI that UB kicked off Wednesday.

SUNY Chancellor John King visited UB to experience and spotlight the groundbreaking AI research taking place at the SUNY flagship school and celebrate UBs progress toward becoming a top public research university.

King said he is excited to see how UB will use its wealth of AI resources for the good of society.

The world is likely to change as much in the next hundred years as it has changed in the last thousand years, King said. We have a chance to create new innovations that will better the life of the planet and its inhabitants.

To help answer that call, UB welcomed this year 150 new faculty members across many disciplines to increase its focus on research, and more than 200 UB faculty members are currently working on AI-related research, said Venu Govindaraju, professor of computer science and engineering and UBs chief research officer.

Govindaraju helped devise one of the most dramatic new uses of machine learning in the 1990s, when his UB team developed the first handwritten address interpretation system used by the U.S. postal service. The learning-based system saves USPS hundreds of millions of dollars by automatically processing and barcoding more than 25 billion letters a year.

In 2022, UB also won the crown jewel of NSF grants, $20 million from the National Science Foundation to create a national AI Institute for Exceptional Education at UB, one of only 25 institutions to receive such an honor in the past four years, Govindaraju said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul also approved $102 million in capital projects funding last year for a new engineering hub at UB, and $100 million this year for a new research facility with state-of-the-art labs and technology, he said.

King said this years SUNY budget represented the largest increase in state spending for SUNY in 20 years, and includes a $1.5 billion endowment to accelerate research at SUNY schools.

UB President Satish Tripathi said UB expended in total more than $200 million in research funding for the first time last year, and this year that funding is up another 16%, to $232 million.

UBs pursuit of additional prestigious federal research grants is part of its goal to reach $1 billion in research funding by 2030, a challenge issued by Hochul to both UB and New Yorks other SUNY flagship, Stony Brook University, in early 2022.

As part of its mission to stay at the forefront of AI, UB invited King to kick off the first of a two-year series of panel discussions where UBs top AI researcher will share perspectives and discuss ways to ensure AI tools be used to solve problems.

The first discussion held Wednesday featured Ionita; Wang; Ifeoma Nwogu, UB computer science and engineering professor; and David Castillo, professor of romance languages and literatures in UBs College of Arts and Sciences.

The panel touched on the use of AI in medicine to help doctors read results of tests like MRI or sonograms to diagnose health conditions. Ionita said the future will include wearable devices that can detect warning signs of serious problems like aneurysm or heart valve issues in time to save lives.

In education, AI can be used to give teachers and specialists personalized tools for assessing and teaching individual students, freeing up high-quality teacher time for interacting with kids, Wang said.

But in order to win the acceptance of doctors, teachers and the public, transparency must come with AI tools so it is clear that the data being used to reach conclusions can be trusted, the researchers said.

AI will never be able to substitute for the soft skills that generate the best problem-solving methods  a collaborative mindset, good listening and communications skills and patience to develop an understanding of others perspectives, Wang said.

UB and other education schools should also pave the way for AI literacy to be incorporated in K-12 classrooms as well as colleges and universities to prepare todays students for its growing prevalence in every field imaginable, Wang said.
A man holds an iPhone 14 as Apple Inc's new models go on sale at an Apple store in Beijing, China, September 16, 2022. China has banned the use of iPhones for central government officials, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
A significant project to set to commence this month to upgrade and improve the water supply in Aughnacliffe.

The project involves the replacement of approximately 2.2 km of aged water mains with new modern pipes along Smear Lane to Smear Water Treatment Plant and from Brady's Plant Hire to Smear Road in Cornadrung, Aughnacliffe.

When completed, the upgrade will provide a more reliable water supply and reduce the amount of treated drinking water lost to leakage.

The works are a critical step in conserving our precious resource and reducing high levels of leakage which have been a significant source of disruption and outages for customers.

Programme Manager, for Uisce Eireanns National Leakage Reduction Programme, Matt Thomson is looking forward to getting crews on site, Old and damaged water mains remain a huge source of leakage and continue to impact communities right across Ireland, causing low pressure and supply disruption. Replacing these old water mains in poor condition will eliminate existing leaks and significantly reduce the amount of clean drinking water lost into the ground.

Mr Thomson continued, The delivery of these essential works will help provide a safer, more secure water supply for Aughnacliffe, by minimising the frequency of bursts and improving the resilience of the network.

We would like to thank the community in Aughnacliffe in advance for their patience and cooperation during the works, we know based on previous experiences that the short-term inconvenience will be overshadowed by the lasting benefits.

To deliver the works safely and efficiently, traffic management in the form of a stop/go system will be in place from Smear Lane to Smear Water Treatment Plant and a road closure required from Brady's Plant Hire to Smear Road. Diversions will be in place and communicated locally, however, local and emergency access will always be maintained.

The works may involve some short-term water interruptions and the project team will ensure that customers are given a minimum of 48 hours notice prior to any planned water interruptions.

The project is being carried out by GMC Utilities Group on behalf of Uisce Eireann and is due to be completed by the end of October 2023.
Aldi is planning to construct a new store in Longford, creating several jobs.

ALDI today, September 7, announced that it is submitting its planning application to develop a new store in Granard.

The proposed Granard store is part of a 33.6 million investment in four Midlands counties over the next two years.

As part of the companys overall growth and development strategy in Ireland, ALDI has submitted planning applications to construct four new stores across the Midlands, at Tullamore (Offaly), Moate (Westmeath), Granard (Longford) and Kilcock (Kildare).

If approved, the proposed stores would all open by 2025, creating 120 permanent jobs across the region, with 200 jobs supported during the construction phase.

Meanwhile, a new report published today has found that grocery retail consumers across Ireland are losing out on savings of 78,333 every month due to delays in planning appeal decisions.

The report, compiled by Dublin City University's (DCUs) Professor Emeritus of Economics, Anthony Foley, and commissioned by discount retailer ALDI, looks at the consumer and wider economic impacts of delays by An Bord Pleanala deciding on third-party appeals of ALDI planning applications over the five-year period 2018 to 2022.

Longford man who put bomb on bus during Queen's Ireland visit charged with defacing council wall A Longford man who was jailed for eight and a half years after placing a bomb on a bus during late Queen Elizabeth's visit to Ireland over a decade ago is facing further criminal sanction after appearing in court yesterday.

The Financial Impact of Irelands Planning System Delays on Irish Consumers, details that of the 16 appeals of ALDI planning applications made to An Bord Pleanala over the five-year period, 13 experienced decision delays resulting in total savings forgone to consumers of almost 10 million.

An Bord Pleanala has a statutory deadline of 18-weeks to reach a decision, however over the period analysed in this report, ALDI has experienced delays of up to 91 weeks in excess of this deadline. Furthermore, 1.7 million per month is lost in spending with ALDI suppliers, 330 of whom are local Irish companies.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: September 07 2023

Contaminated oysters can cause illness if eaten raw, particularly in people with compromised immune systems.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning to New York consumers not to eat, and restaurants and food retailers not to sell, raw oysters harvested from the Groton Approved Area in New London County, Connecticut, due to the possible contamination of Salmonella and E. coli.

FDA officials announced on Tuesday, September 5 that the oysters in question were harvested between Monday, August 28 and Wednesday, August 30. The potentially contaminated oysters were sent to distributors, retailers and restaurants in numerous states in addition to New York, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The area that the oysters were originally harvested from will remain inactive until the source of the possible contamination is discovered and addressed, officials say.

Contaminated oysters can cause illness if eaten raw, particularly in people with compromised immune systems. Food contaminated with Salmonella and E. coli may look, smell, and taste normal. Consumers of these products who are experiencing symptoms of salmonellosis or E. coli should contact their healthcare provider, who should report their symptoms to their local Health Department.
Agreed. Reinstating Roswell Park Comprehensive Care Center nurse Wendy Cooper  fired in late 2021 for refusing to take the Covid-19 vaccine  seems the right decision, especially in view of the fact that Roswell has already invited back union employees who were suspended for this very reason.

The institution has also confirmed that previously terminated employees who also refused may apply for open positions.

It seems only right that restrictions imposed at the height of a deadly pandemic should now be revisited. On a state level, the Covid emergency has officially ended, and the New York State Department of Health has begun the process of repealing vaccine requirements for workers at regulated health care facilities  it awaits approval by the Public Health and Health Planning Council, which is expected this month.

At the time of Coopers firing, however, those vaccine mandates for health care workers were the law of the state. And its not difficult to understand why New York felt it necessary to take such steps: As of July 12, 2021, the number of reported Covid-19 deaths associated with adult care facilities had reached 17,425. With residents health already fragile, fears for their safety were real, especially given their need for day-to-day care by workers who were subject to the vaccine mandate.

A hard decision was made and, because they didnt have vaccinations, almost 36,800 New York health care workers lost their jobs, resigned, retired or were furloughed.

With those terrible times behind us, its time to let bygones be bygones, and move ahead.

But Coopers case has a few twists that call for comment, as do the statements of State Supreme Court Justice Emilio Colaiacovo, who ruled on the case  adding sweeping criticisms of the states actions along the way. In his ruling, Colaiacovo disagreed with an arbitrator who, this past January, upheld the Cooper firing, on the basis of her refusal. However, around the same time as that ruling  as Colaiacovo observed  a judge in Onondaga County ruled the vaccine mandate invalid. In light of this, Colaiacovo found that the arbitrators decision upholding the termination must be vacated.

The Onondaga case was one of many in progress across New York at that time  and before  with varying results, but, given all that has happened, Colaiacovos decision seems well-founded. What is less comprehensible is the judge choosing this opportunity to condemn actions that were solely intended to protect public health.

Colaiacovo wrote: Ms. Cooper is an unfortunate victim in the wake of excesses exhibited by governors, administrators, legislatures, and yes, even the judiciary. All too frequently did critical thinking and the exercise of personal liberties expire at the altar of false righteousness, fear and authority. With that, the judge needlessly belittles a time when a deadly virus was running rampant throughout the country  a virus that has resulted in well over 1 million American deaths. Citizens were looking to their government for help, guidance and relief. Mandates were justified, for many, many reasons.

Yes, there was fear. How could there not be? And, yes, authority in the form of official action was urgently needed. Its jarring that the judge would use the protection of hindsight to take these unnecessary shots, which go well beyond the facts of the case before him.

Covid-19 is still hospitalizing and killing people across the country, with a new surge already being reported. The only reason its not much worse is the protection offered by vaccine and boosters.

Lets keep that in mind before we condemn actions whose intent was to keep people alive.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: September 07 2023

Kyle Matthews, 21, is charged with Murder 2nd Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd Degree.

The Nassau County Police Department Homicide Squad reports that an arrest has been made in connection with a Homicide that occurred on Monday, August 21, 2023 at 8:23 p.m. in Valley Stream.

According to Detectives, Fifth Precinct Officers responded for a disturbance that occurred at a vacant store front, located at 85 Ocean Avenue. Upon arrival, Police observed a 12-year-old male with a gunshot wound to his shoulder, a 17-year-old female with a laceration to her hand, and DeAndre Carter of Brooklyn, 20, with a gunshot wound to his chest.

All three victims were transported to a local area hospital for treatment. DeAndre Carter was pronounced deceased at 9:05 p.m. by hospital staff. A short while later, two 17-year-old male victims, arrived at local hospitals seeking treatment for gunshot wounds to their legs.

Further investigation revealed that then-unknown subjects fired multiple rounds while on 131st Ave and then fled on foot in an unknown direction.

Homicide Squad Detectives report the arrest of Kyle Matthews, 21, of 922 Smith Street, Uniondale. He is charged with Murder 2nd Degree and Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd Degree. He will be arraigned on Thursday, September 7, 2023 at First District Court, 99 Main Street, Hempstead.

The investigation is ongoing.
News / National

by Staff reporter

ANALYSTS say the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) stands little chance of having its demands for fresh elections endorsed by the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and the African Union (AU) .President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared winner of last week's controversial polls which the CCC has described as flawed.The CCC and other election observers have poked holes on the whole election architecture.The CCC has hinted at challenging the results in court, while also pushing Sadc and AU to order a rerun.CCC deputy spokesperson Gift Siziba told journalists early this week that the Nelson Chamisa-led opposition party was lobbying for Sadc and AU's intervention.Professor of world politics at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, Stephen Chan, said there was little room for having elections supervised by a foreign body."It seems the strategy is to call upon Sadc and the AU to support this call. This may not be successful," Chan said."Observer reports are one thing, repudiating a government, even one in place by tainted means, is something else."Sadc will say try the courts first, but the courts, in like ruling against the CCC, will simply validate the government, further reinforcing the Sadc/AU reluctance actually to intervene."The CCC has in the past called for Sadc, AU and United Nations (UN)-supervised polls, without success.Local political analyst Rashweat Mukundu said the opposition demands might never see the light of day."I think it's a bold statement by CCC that Zimbabwe needs a fresh election managed by a neutral body, it could be Sadc or the AU. Of course, the question then is: will that be accepted moreso in light of what the Constitution says?," Mukundu said."The key question is: what happens to the Constitution of Zimbabwe in terms of the management of elections which essentially puts the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) in that position and role?"Even if the call for fresh elections does not happen, the CCC still needs to defend and protect its current gains and still push for political dialogue on reforming institutions that are responsible for elections."Another political analyst Effie Ncube, however, urged the opposition to explore all avenues."There is no silver bullet in this tragedy. Therefore, every avenue must be tried to resolve a potentially explosive situation," Ncube said."There are a range of tools and strategies out there that can be used to deliver a better outcome from the dispute around the election results."That the CCC has picked one of these does not mean that others should be discarded. Instead, the situation may actually require a combination of strategies and the wise use of local and international platforms."
Putting out a call for anyone with a valid passport and love of travel, Lepre is after an assistant - that comes with all travel expenses and a NZ$65k salary - and Desch is a bit too keen to sign up.
PARIS, FranceThe United Nations called on Thursday for strict rules on the use of AI tools such as viral chatbot ChatGPT in classrooms, including limiting their use to older children.

In new guidance for governments, the UNs education body UNESCO warned that public authorities were not ready to deal with the ethical issues of rolling out generative Artificial Intelligence programs in schools.

The Paris-based body said relying on such programs rather than human teachers could affect a childs emotional wellbeing and leave them vulnerable to manipulation.

Generative AI can be a tremendous opportunity for human development, but it can also cause harm and prejudice, said Audrey Azoulay of UNESCO.

It cannot be integrated into education without public engagement, and the necessary safeguards and regulations from governments.

Generative AI programs burst into the spotlight late last year, with ChatGPT demonstrating an ability to generate essays, poems and conversations from the briefest prompts.

It sparked fears of plagiarism and cheating in schools and universities.

But investors poured money into the field and boosters targeted education as a possible lucrative market.

The UNESCO guidance said AI tools have the potential to help children with special needs, act as an opponent in Socratic dialogues or as a research assistant.

But the tools would only be safe and effective if teachers, learners and researchers helped to design them and governments regulated their use.

The guidance stopped short of recommending a minimum age for schoolchildren but pointed out that ChatGPT had a lower age limit of 13.

Many commentators understand this threshold to be too young and have advocated for legislation to raise the age to 16, said the guidance.
Subic Bay Freeport  Nidec Subic Philippines Corp. will soon open about 5,000 jobs from its expansion in this Freeport, a top executive said Thursday.

Nidec Subic president Takeshi Yamamoto disclosed this during a simple awarding ceremony of the certificate of registration with incentives under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act for the companys P4.2-billion expansion project.

Nidec Subic has a workforce of 622 employees, but the expansion project is expected to generate close to 5,000 job opportunities until the final incentivized year. The expansion project, dubbed as Project Kinematix, involves production and assembly of gearboxes for industrial robotics gears.

Yamamoto said the company chose Subic Bay Freeport for its expansion because of its strategic location, making it possible for them to market their products to the European Union, the United States, Brazil, Korea and China.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chairman and administrator Jonathan Tan led the simple ceremony, together with senior deputy administrator for business and investment Renato Lee III and business and investment department for manufacturing and maritime manager Karen Magno in awarding the COR to Yamamoto and general manager Marissa Tamayo.

Tan said Kinematix is a new product that is a high-accuracy gearbox used as base, arm or shoulder for industrial robots for auto tool changer/ loader of machines. He said the aim of the expansion of Nidec Subic Philippines is to produce these gearboxes outside Japan.

This is certainly a milestone for Subic Freeport as this new product will be solely manufactured by Nidec Subic, he said, adding that these gearboxes would be Gawang Pinoy.

He said this is the first expansion of the company outside Japan which was made possible due to the CREATE law.

Lee said the CREATE law enabled the granting of the tax incentives including a six-year income tax holiday, ten-year special corporate income tax, 16-year Customs duty exemption on importation of capital equipment, raw materials, spare parts and accessories; 16-year value-added tax zero-rating on local purchase and a 16-year VAT exemption on importation.

Tamayo said the company decided to expand its operations in the Philippines because of its highly-skilled and resilient Filipino labor force and the English proficiency of its workforce.
Speaker: Cancellations of PH imports lead to 21% fall in world prices

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday declared that the huge reduction in the prices of rice in the global market can be attributed to the recent implementation of Executive Order (EO) 39, which imposed price ceilings on two varieties of rice in the Philippines.

According to US-based Markets Insider, the price of rice in the world market decreased by 21 percent, from $384 per metric ton last July to $332.4 per metric ton this month.

It is proven that the EO 39 of President (Ferdinand) Bongbong R. Marcos Jr. set commendable results not only in our country, (but in the world as well). We are hoping that the price decline in rice will continue, Romualdez said in a statement.

Romualdez said he believes that the drop in the price of rice in the world market was due to mass cancellations made on imported rice by Philippine rice traders and importers in reaction to the price ceilings set by the government.

Maybe because the importers and traders canceled their orders, there was suddenly an increase in the supply of rice abroad, Romualdez said.

It is obvious that the rise in rice prices in the markets is artificial because they have been hiding the rice in bodegas, as we have seen during our inspections, he said.

Romualdez insisted that the palace was correct in imposing a price cap as it was the only effective way to discourage hoarders and price manipulators from carrying on with their illegal schemes.

House ways and means committee chairman Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda echoed Romualdezs explanation, saying that the increase in the price of ricein the world market was artificial due to the high volume of demand from the Philippines.

We have seen this crisis before and we know how to deal with it, Salceda said.

But we should not over-import so that our neighboring countries wont anticipate that prices will go up, Salcedo said in a mix of English and Filipino.

The imposition of the price cap on rice by Malacanang shows that the artificial increase in the prices of rice in the world market is unacceptable, he added.

Earlier, President Marcos issued EO 39 ordering a ceiling in the prices of rice: P41 per kilo for regular milled rice and P45 for well-milled rice.

The action came after the government received information that some unscrupulous traders were planning to raise prices to as high as P70 per kilo.

This remarkable development marks a significant shift in our agricultural landscape and offers hope for our local consumers, Romualdez said.

Romualdez, along with several lawmakers, earlier joined a series of surprise inspections by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) of several warehouses in Bulacan storing rice.

The House leader recently asked the BoC and law enforcers to send rice smugglers and hoarders to jail.

Meanwhile, the Philippines and Vietnam are finalizing a deal on an inter-government rice trade to ensure enough rice supply in the country during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Indonesia.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh gave the suggestion of forming a five-year rice supply agreement between the Philippines and Vietnam.

I would suggest that the Ministries of Trade and Agriculture of the two countries will work together so that we can come up with a five-year agreement on the supply of rice and actually the rice will be determined by the market, Pham said

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. welcomed the idea of a rice importation agreement, citing its importance in stabilizing the surge in rice prices and shortage of rice supply.

However, the suggestion of a longer-term arrangement is an important one because just having that as an assurance will stabilize the situation, not only for the Philippines but for all of us in the region, President Marcos said.

Previously, the Philippines signed a memorandum of agreement on the supply of Vietnamese rice to the Philippines in 2008, with Vietnam selling 1.5 million metric tons of rice from 2008 to 2010.
The death toll from a cyclone that unleashed torrential rain and flooding on southern Brazil rose to at least 36 Wednesday, authorities said, as the region braced for more violent weather.

With the flood waters forcing some residents to climb onto their roofs, a major emergency operation was underway, with one official saying more than 1,000 people were awaiting rescue.

The storms, which started Monday, left whole neighborhoods submerged in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.

The water rose so fast, I didnt even have time to take anything with me. I lost everything, said Paulo Roberto Neto Vargas, 39, a resident of the hard-hit town of Roca Sales, where emergency workers recovered six bodies.

There were so many people screaming, calling for help. Were only alive thanks to God, he told AFP.

Flash floods and landslides obliterated huge swathes of the affected communities, leaving trails of wrecked houses and muddy brown water.

It is the latest in a series of deadly weather disasters to hit Brazil, which experts say are likely being made worse by climate change.

Governor Eduardo Leite, who went on a flyover of flood-hit areas, said thousands of people were waiting to be rescued.

There are still a lot of families stranded on the roofs of their houses, he said.

The governor, who declared a state of emergency, called it the deadliest weather disaster ever to hit Rio Grande do Sul, as hundreds of rescue workers, police and volunteers continued efforts to reach areas cut off by flooding.

More than 5,300 people have been forced from their homes, with at least 52,000 residents and 70 towns affected in all, authorities said.

Leite warned the situation could worsen, with more rain forecast for late Wednesday and into Thursday, Brazils independence day.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he had spoken with the governor and promised his administrations support.

I reiterated that the federal government is at the disposal of the people of Rio Grande do Sul to face this crisis, Lula wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

 Nothing left 

Communications Minister Paulo Pimenta, who joined the governor on his flyover of the disaster zone, said the federal government would request more aircraft to help in the rescue effort, in addition to four helicopters it sent Tuesday.

Its a devastating scene, he wrote on X after touring the area.

The floodwaters submerged most of the town of Mucum, population 5,000, where 14 bodies were found, a revision of an earlier toll of 15.

Local media said authorities there and in neighboring Roca Sales had to resort to using a commercial refrigerator truck to transport victims bodies.

Its frightening, Roca Sales Mayor Amilton Fontana told news site A Hora.

The storm destroyed everything. Theres nothing left in Roca Sales today.

The dead included a 50-year-old woman in the town of Lajeado who was being lifted to safety by rescue workers when the cable holding her broke, plunging her into a flood-swollen river.

A couple in the town of Ibiraiaras died when their car was swept away by the current as they tried to cross a bridge.

Brazil is not used to cyclones, but it is becoming more and more frequent for them to make landfall in the country, said Francis Lacerda, a researcher at the Pernambuco State Agronomy Institutes Climate Change Laboratory.

These are extreme events, because the amount of energy released is exacerbated by global warming, she told AFP.

Unchecked urbanization and irregular housing built on hillsides are also making weather disasters deadlier in Brazil, experts say.

In June, another cyclone left 13 dead in Rio Grande do Sul and forced thousands of people from their homes.

And in February, 65 people died in landslides caused by record flooding in the southeastern resort town of Sao Sebastiao, on the coast of Sao Paulo state.

An estimated 9.5 million of Brazils 203 million people live in areas at high risk of flooding or landslides.
Kyiv, UkraineUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $1 billion of aid during a surprise visit Wednesday to Ukraine, which suffered a Russian strike that killed at least 17 people at a market.

The attack, which President Volodymyr Zelensky described as deliberate and heinous, drew international condemnation from the West, including accusations of war crimes.

Projectiles tore through the center of Kostiantynivka a town of nearly 70,000 people in the eastern Donetsk regionin one of the deadliest strikes in weeks.

They smashed everything, all the shop windows, everything was strewn around, an eyewitness told AFP.

Thank God we are alive, of course. But the girls who were selling there, they are all dead, the witness said.

Images distributed by officials showed rescue workers picking through the debris and carrying away some of the 32 people reportedly wounded in the blast, which left vehicles charred and kiosks torn to pieces.

Anyone in the world who is still dealing with anything Russian simply ignores this reality, said Zelensky.

Heinous evil. Brazen wickedness. Utter inhumanity.

He later accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians and said there were no military units anywhere near the scene.

The European Union condemned the strike along with the escalation of Russian attacks on civilian objects that has seen hundreds killed or wounded in recent weeks.

Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes, the bloc said in a statement.

Germanys Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that this Russian war of aggression is an attack on international law, on humanity.

Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the incident underscored the importance of continuing to support the people of Ukraine as they defend their territory.

During a meeting with Zelensky, Blinken reiterated Washingtons support for Kyiv in its fight to liberate territory in the south and east.

We are determined in the United States to continue to walk side by side with you. And President Biden asked me to come to reaffirm strongly our support, he told Zelensky.

We see the important progress thats being made now in the counteroffensive and thats very, very encouraging, he added.

The new $1 billion aid package, which includes $665.5 million in military and civilian security assistance, would further build momentum for the counteroffensive, Blinken said at a later press conference.

In addition to the funds, the Pentagon announced it will provide Ukraine with depleted uranium tank ammunition  a powerful but controversial weapon due its toxicity.

Russias embassy in the United States said on Telegram that the move was a clear sign of inhumanity on Washingtons part.

The US is deliberately transferring weapons with indiscriminate effects, it said.

The Kremlin earlier dismissed Blinkens visit, arguing US aid would not influence the course of the special military operation  Moscows term for its offensive.

Kyivs army meanwhile said it was pressing on with offensive operations towards eastern Ukraines war-battered town of Bakhmut, which fell to Russian forces in May, and the Moscow-occupied southern city of Melitopol.

The boost in US aid to Kyiv follows criticisms in recent weeks that Ukraines counteroffensive has been too slow.

Russia said Wednesday it had improved its tactical position near the northwestern city of Kupiansk, where it has led a local offensive for weeks.

It earlier hit Ukraines southwestern Odesa region, near the border with Romania, with overnight drone attacks killing one person.

Early Thursday, Russias defense ministry said three Ukrainian drones had been destroyed during the night: one on the outskirts of Moscow and two over the southwestern Rostov region.

Several cars were damaged in the center of Rostov, along with building facades and windows, regional governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram.

One person sustained cuts but declined hospital treatment, he added.

The Russian capitals Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that debris from the drone attack attempt on Moscow caused no damage or casualties, according to initial reports.

Ukrainian lawmakers approved Wednesday the nomination of Crimean Tatar Rustem Umerov as Kyivs new wartime defense minister, in what was hailed as a historic move.

Crimean Tatars are an ethnic minority hailing from the Black Sea peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

I will do everything possible and impossible for the victory of Ukraine  when we liberate every centimetre of our country and every one of our people, he said on social media.

The 41-year-old businessman has been involved in prisoner exchange negotiations involving Saudi Arabia and grain export talks with Turkey and the United Nations.

Zelensky had nominated Umerov as new defense minister after the resignation of Oleksiy Reznikov, calling for new approaches in the wake of several corruption scandals within the ministry.

It is the highest state post ever held by a Tatar (from Crimea), Sergiy Leshchenko, an advisor to the presidential administration, told AFP. AFP
Miguel Tanfelix, Ysabel Ortega, Matt Lozano, Radson Flores, and Raphael Landicho are now bidding farewell to their characters Steve Armstrong, Jamie Robinson, Bigbert Armstrong, Mark Gordon, and Little John in the live-action adaptation of Voltes V.

As the series comes to a close, the cast members take a moment to contemplate how these characters deeply connected with audiences throughout the shows four-month run.

Miguel couldnt help but experience a mix of emotions. When they called its a wrap, four years of memories flooded back. From the initial lockdown and quarantine to the substantial investment in taping during the pandemic, its bittersweet to close this significant chapter in my life. Im sad, yet eager for everyone to appreciate the greater picture weve painstakingly crafted.

Ysabel, on the other hand, emphasized how this live-action adaptation has brought Filipino pride to the global stage.

Most of the time, when theres a project, I think about how its good and a big step for my career. But Voltes V: Legacy, I can say, is for the entire Philippines. Its a milestone for everyone. The whole GMA team was very hands-on with this project. Thats why I feel honored, grateful, and proud, the actress said.

Radson fondly remembered the little things they did for each other on set and off.

On set, my favorite moments were the little things we did for each other. For example, we all ate together. When there was something wrong with a costume, Miguel would come and fix it, or I would help Matt with his props. Outside the set, Ill miss our spontaneous outings. Well all miss each other, the 24-year-old rising star shared.

Meanwhile, when asked about the most challenging scenes in the series, Raphael shared, The scenes where we fought the beast fighters were tough. It was hard to imagine that we were getting hurt or electrocuted. It was also memorable when I built Octo-1. And of course, the scene where I rode a dolphin. It was my first time handling and feeding a dolphin. I was really scared at first, but I did it and enjoyed it.

Matt reiterated that Voltes V: Legacy had to overcome various struggles throughout the show.

I never imagined I would be part of an iconic anime that I watched when I was a kid. Im very proud to be part of this big project, and Im even prouder because we went through so many challenges on set, with each of our characters. Were proud because from day one to the last taping day, we fought, he recounted.

Also, now that the Voltes team is on its way to the ultimate battle, devoted fans and new-generation enthusiasts express how much they will miss this groundbreaking program.

The epic finale of Voltes V: Legacy airs tonight at 8:00 on GMA Telebabad and at 9:40 on GTV.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Russia said on Wednesday that Turkey had agreed in principle to handle one million metric tonnes of grain that Russia plans to send to Africa at a discounted price with financial support from Qatar.Moscow proposed the arrangement after quitting a year-old deal in July that had permitted Ukraine to ship grain safely from its Black Sea ports in the hope of stemming a surge in global food prices exacerbated by Russia's invasion.Russia has sought to court African countries, some of which have been suffering food shortages, by offering them free or discounted grain  albeit far less than Ukraine had been exporting."All agreements in principle have been reached. We expect that in the near future we will enter into working contacts with all parties to work out all the technical aspects of the scheme for such deliveries," Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told reporters, according to the Russian news agency Interfax.Turkey would handle onward export of the Russian grain but the details of its role were not clear.Moscow says it quit the prior deal because the West has failed to remove obstacles to its own grain and fertiliser exports created by sanctions, but also complained that too little of the grain freed by the Black Sea deal was getting to the poorest countries.Since pulling out of the deal, Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukrainian sea and river ports and grain stores, prompting Ukraine and the West to accuse it of using food as a weapon of war. Russia calls its campaign in Ukraine a "special military operation".Free grain for RussiaRussian president Vladimir Putin has promised to deliver, free of charge, 50 000 tonnes of grain to six African countries, including key South African export market Zimbabwe.In 2020 and 2021 combined, South Africa exported less than 50 000 tonnes of wheat to Zimbabwe. In 2022, Zimbabwe bought a little under 60 000 tonnes from SA, making it the destination of 30% of SA's total wheat exports that year.The Russian shipment to Zimbabwe would be worth between R320 million and R500 million at current market prices.Some 40% of South Africa's agricultural exports stay within the African continent, but experts have recommended it seek growth in countries with growing populations and foreign cash reserves.
Reducing the burden of breast and cervical cancers in emerging economies in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region like the Philippines is achievable with strategic, targeted, and sustainable intervention and action, according to a report released recently by the APAC Womens Cancer Coalition (APAC WCC).

APAC WCC is a diverse group of stakeholders committed to stemming the growing burden of cervical and breast cancer among women in the region.

According to its report Impact and Opportunity: the Case for Investing in Womens Cancers in the Asia Pacific, Filipino women, and those in the Asia Pacific (APAC), face a disproportionately high risk of being impacted by breast and cervical cancer compared to women globally.

Implementing a national, accessible, cancer-specific digital registry that can ensure timely and accurate information, monitoring, and tracking systems will be critical in ensuring that coverage for both cancers is met, improving follow-up treatment, and capturing data that would improve programs and services.

The APAC WCC report, supported by Roche and published by Economist Impact, examines the burden of breast and cervical cancer in six countries in the Asia Pacific region: India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, and identifies market-specific gaps and opportunities for improvement.

The report includes assessing five domains to understand the current gaps and opportunities: policy and planning; prevention and screening; diagnostics and resource capacity; treatment and access; and awareness and education.

The WHO has previously launched global initiatives, such as the Global Strategy for Cervical Cancer Elimination and Global Breast Cancer Initiative, to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer and sustained decrease in breast cancer mortality.

On the back of the report, APAC WCC is now calling on countries in the Asia Pacific to identify, create, and capitalize on opportunities for progress to meet the WHOs targets.

The report highlights discrepancies in the region with respect to national readiness to tackle womens cancers. It is clear that no single country studied has addressed these diseases completely, which invites an opportunity to trial various approaches towards prevention and control that can inform national and regional cancer control strategies, said Dr. Heather White, Executive Director, TogetHER for Health, a founding member of the APAC WCC.

The situation in the Philippines

According to WHOs cervical cancer country profile, only 1% of women aged 35-49 in the Philippines have had a cervical cancer screening in the last 5 years.

There is also no nationwide breast cancer screening program is available in the Philippines, according to the European Journal on breast health.

But under the Philippines Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, Philhealth should fully fund cervical cancer and breast cancer screening for women aged 22-55 years old.

Given the high socioeconomic burden of breast and cervical cancer on not only women but also their families and wider society, funding for breast cancer and cervical cancer presents a strong investment case for governments.

According to the World Bank, the Philippines currently spends 5.6% of GDP on health expenditure, compared to a global average of 9.8%. Therapies available in the public sector are limited to more basic treatment, with high out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for advanced treatments.

As the Philippines works to implement the new National Integrated Cancer Control Act (NICCA), organizations like APAC WCC see an opportunity to reduce the financial burden on cancer patients by expanding access under UHC, especially for innovative treatments.

The critical health risks confronting women in the APAC region are undeniable. APAC WCC has initiated a focused report, delineating clear paths to tackle breast and cervical cancer, said Ahmed Elhusseiny, Area Head, Roche Pharmaceuticals Asia Pacific.

The findings show that countries must prioritize womens health by strengthening the political will, establishing robust plans and measures, enhancing screening and prevention efforts, tailoring approaches to improve equitable access, capacity-building and funding, and raising awareness to achieve the WHOs targets for breast cancer and the elimination of cervical cancer.

The case for investment and action to tackle the alarming trends in womens cancers is apparent from this report, added Lance Little, Managing Director of Roche Diagnostics.

Through a collective approach from partners throughout the healthcare ecosystem, we can address the gaps and issues highlighted. This progress will create a positive impact for the hundreds of thousands of women in our region already living with cancer and hopefully help us to protect many more women from the threat of cancer in years to come.
A California man pleaded guilty on Thursday to his role in a conspiracy to smuggle drugs believed to enhance mood and cognitive functioning to Massachusetts customers, Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levys office announced.

Ryan Stabile, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and two counts of introduction of misbranded drugs with intent to defraud and mislead, Levys office said. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2019.

The drug smuggled from China was tianeptine, a misbranded drug resold to American customers online through a company owned by Stabile, Levys office continued. He claimed he was selling the drug for research purposes only, even though his sales of tianeptine was sold for personal use.

Stabile marketed tianeptine as a mood enhancer, claiming it improved cognitive function, Levys office said in a statement.

Tianeptine is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The drug is used as an anti-depressant and can be addictive, federal officials said.

Stabile initially appeared in federal court in California in 2019 before he was arraigned in federal court in Springfield. He had been selling tianeptine to Western Massachusetts-based customers.

The charge of conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of introduction of misbranded drugs provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled Stabiles sentencing for Jan. 10, 2024.
News / National

by Staff reporter

ZIMBABWE'S disputed elections will likely throw spanners in the country's efforts to re-join the Commonwealth with the United Kingdom House of Lords calling for its bid to be iced.Zimbabwe held elections in August which have become a subject of interest in the region.The elections were widely condemned by foreign election observers who said they failed to meet regional and international standards.The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Tariq Ahmad, raising concern over Zimbabwe's elections said any country wishing to join the Commonwealth should abide by its standards which include holding a credible plebiscite."Membership of the Commonwealth and its unique nature as an institution provide a real alternative to countries around the world. However, any country seeking to join must abide by standards, and, of course, that decision is ultimately for all members of the Commonwealth," said Tariq Mahmood Ahmad.Commonwealth is a bloc of former British colonies which Zimbabwe was part of until 2003 when the country pulled out under Robert Mugabe.Since assuming power in 2017 President Emmerson Mnangagwa has made it his ambition to re-join the bloc.The Commonwealth has set a plethora of conditions which among them hold credible general elections.One of Commonwealth election observers, Denise Patricia Byrne, asked Ahmad whether on current grounds should Zimbabwe be readmitted into the fold."A lot of factors, many of which were also raised in 2018, led us to doubt the credibility of this election. Will the Minister agree that the ideal would be for Zimbabwe to re-enter the Commonwealth, but it can do so only when it meets the standards of proper democracy, the rule of law and free elections?" quizzed Bryne.In response Ahmad said: "I agree with her. I commend her efforts, and those of all the observer missions, in observing the election. We hope that, ultimately, inclusive and pluralist democracies emerge, and that Zimbabwe can find its way back into the Commonwealth."
The fifth annual Arcadia Folk Festival on Sept. 17 will feature music on three stages to celebrate the work of Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, an innovative ecological site that has been protecting habitats since 1944.

The concert serves to engage more people with Arcadias mission, raise funds to help expand the reach of Mass Audubons agenda and celebrate the communitys tremendous support. The day is headlined by acts such as Valerie June, James McMurtry and the areas own Suitcase Junket, aka Matt Lorenz.

Lorenz is no stranger to local fans. The Vermont natives unique approach and makeshift one-man swamp Yankee band has delighted audiences for years. He said the development of his act was not something he envisioned out of whole cloth.

I cant say I had a vision of where the Suitcase Junket would go when I started, but I have been pleasantly surprised with the positive reception through the years, he said. Ive tried a lot of different instruments and configurations from the outset. It all began as a freewheeling experimental side project and has morphed over the years through a lot of varied iterations.

Lorenz said although its his first time at the festival, hes looking forward to the experience as a nature lover himself.

Im really looking forward to checking out the location, wandering the grounds, and being part of the Arcadia mission, he said. Signature Sounds always puts on great festivals and events, so any time I get to work with them, Im happy and its a great bill to be a part of.

Lorenzs latest release was 2020s The End is New, but he said that hes currently writing towards a new record that will hopefully come out in the spring.

Gates to the festival open at 10 a.m. Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary is at 127 Combs Road in Easthampton.
A 19-year-old woman was shot and killed following an incident in Lawrence on Wednesday, Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tuckers office announced Thursday.

Angie Aristy was found by Lawrence police after they received a call at around 9:20 p.m. on Wednesday of shots fired in the area of 300 Howard St., Tuckers office said in a statement.

Officers found Aristy with a gunshot wound. She was taken to Lawrence General Hospital, where she died soon after.

Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to Tuckers office, as well as Lawrence Police Department detectives, are investigating the incident.
The death of a Worcester teenager after taking part in whats called the One Chip Challenge could open the door to a legal fight, one Boston lawyer believes.

According to a GoFundMe page, 14-year-old Harris Wolobah took part in the One Chip Challenge, made by the tortilla chip company Paqui. He felt sick after eating a spicy chip Sept. 1, was sent home from the school nurses office, and died at home, Worcester Police confirmed to Boston25 News. His family believes the chip is to blame.

The challenge involves eating a chip seasoned with Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper peppers  some of the worlds spiciest  and seeing how long one can last without drinking water or milk.

A single chip is sold in a coffin-shaped package, featuring a melting red skull with a green, fanged snake emerging from an eye socket. Both peppers are considered among the hottest peppers in the world, with Carolina Reapers scaling at 2.2 million Scoville heat units, according to the Los Angeles Times. Naga Viper peppers scale at around 1.4 million Scoville heat units, according to the online pepper shop website PepperHead.

Attorney Matthew Dolman spoke with MassLive Thursday about what happens if an autopsy supports the familys suspicion that Wolobahs death was connected to eating the spicy chip. Dolman is with Dolman Law Group, specializing in accident injury with offices in Boston and elsewhere around the country.

The question is, is there any liability on behalf of the social media company or the chip company? he said. There might be a little bit.

In contrast to prior social media challenges to eat Tide Pods, for example, Dolman said Wolobah used the chip for its intended purpose, to be eaten. Paqui, owned by The Hershey Company, released and promoted chips to be eaten, Dolman said.

(Theres) nothing egregious when its the manufacturers intent to sell a spicy chip, he said.

What also remains to be seen is whether Wolobah was allergic to the peppers used to make the chip so spicy. A warning label exists on the backside of the chips packaging, warning consumers of the chip that it is intended for adults, should be kept away from children and should not be eaten if you are sensitive to spicy foods, allergic to peppers, nightshades or capsaicin, or are pregnant or have any medical conditions.

Paqui or Hershey could be taken to court and a settlement is the likeliest outcome, with two possible solutions, Dolman said.

One, they would have to take the product off the market, which I dont think they will ever do, he said. Or two, (they) take it off for a very limited period of time and reintroduce it to the market with a much more serious disclaimer and warning on the product, which has a greater possibility of happening.

The other legal battle could focus on TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, a legal fight Dolman said there is a lesser chance of winning against due to Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act of 1996.

The act protects online companies, including social media platforms, whenever a third party shares content on their platform, Dolman said. The main exception is notice of a potential danger when (the post) is failed to be taken down.

The act states that no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider, PBS reported in February.

Between the chips intended purpose and anecdotal incidents, including reviews on Amazon describing painful experiences eating the chip, the defense will be better prepared than if, per Dolmans example, someone with a peanut allergy deliberately ate peanuts. So far, it is not publicly known if Wolobah had any allergy that could have led to his death after he ate the spicy chip.

Adolescents are forming their worldview based on what they see on social media, he said. So I dont think theyre going to cave on pressure and I dont think this case would survive if it went to trial.

Between ByteDance and Hershey, Dolman said the latter is more likely to settle.

The nonlegal outcome is more people come forward to share their experiences eating the chip, turning into further negative publicity for Paqui. But until more people come forward, Amazon reviews and social media posts reporting pain and discomfort are simply anecdotal.

Do I think its going to happen? Dolman proposed. No. I dont think theres enough examples of this causing any danger.
An 18-year-old Methuen man who drowned while swimming with friends at a popular but dangerous quarry in Westford on Labor Day was about to begin a career in finance, according to an online fundraiser.

Chester Rodriguez was passionate about helping people and was starting a career in the financial industry as a Financial Educator, a GoFundMe campaign organized in his name reads.

The 18-year-old was supposed to take his state license exam in September. Rodriguez died while swimming with his friends at Merrills Quarry in Westford on Monday, according to Massachusetts State Police.

He honored so many as a treasured friend, the GoFundMe page continued. He was not only a great friend, but he was also an amazing brother and a loving son.

Rodriguez and several friends swam in the quarry shortly before 5 p.m. on Monday when Rodriguez began to struggle and went under the water, State Police said. He did not resurface.

Westford first responders and the Lowell Fire Department Dive Team went looking for him, State Police said.

A short time later, the dive team found Rodriguez about 40 feet below the surface at around 5:24 p.m., according to WBZ-TV. So far, there is no evidence to indicate the involvement of foul play, State Police added.

Merrills Quarry became popular after the swimming spot was featured in the 2013 movie Grown Ups 2. The quarry is private property and has No Trespassing signs posted throughout the area, which are plainly visibly to anybody, Westford police said in a press release from June 2021.

The quarry is littered with many hazards including broken glass, sharp edges from rocks, steep cliffs, unseen rock ledges just under the surface of the water and other hazards under water, the release said. Because of these numerous hazards, in past years many people have either been seriously injured or killed at the quarry.

Donations can be made to Rodriguezs family by clicking here.
Maines historic lighthouses will open their doors to the public Saturday in celebration of Open Lighthouse Day, with between 15,000 and 18,000 visitors expected to attend, according to the American Lighthouse Foundation.

The foundation will cosponsor the event with the Maine Office of Tourism and the United States Coast Guard. The 20 participating lighthouses will be open Sept. 9 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., according to the foundation.

The foundations executive director, Bob Trapani Jr., said on the foundations website that the event provides a chance for the public to retrace the steps of the lightkeepers that pepper Maines coast.

For two centuries and counting, these regal sentinels have stood strong against galloping gales, remained vigilant through the dark of night and bellowed audible warnings when fog obscured their guiding lights, he said. Throughout this span of time, the lighthouses of Maine  and their keepers and families, received the admiration and appreciation of countless thousands who benefited from such unfailing service.

Here are the 20 lighthouses participating in Open Lighthouse Day, along with a map detailing where each lighthouse can be found along Maines coast. The nearest to Boston is about two hours north and the furthest is about six hours.

For more information, visit the American Lighthouse Foundations website.
Traffic was backed up on Interstate 95 on Thursday morning after State Police got a call that a man was hitting a woman in the face inside a car, then got out and walked down the highway, the department said.

At 8:25 a.m. on Sept. 7, State Police received a call from a witness who said they saw a man striking a woman in the face inside a brown Honda CR-V, the department said.

The car had Rhode Island license plates and was on the northbound side of I-95 near exit 7 in North Attleborough, the department said.

Officers found the man had gotten out of the car and began walking down the highway, the department said. He was arrested.

The exit ramp had been closed on the highway at 9:07 a.m. due to police activity causing traffic in the area, accord to MassDOT. It has since been reopened.

Additional information, including the charges against the man, were not immediately available.
After customers in Massachusetts purchased stamps, a United State Postal Service worker would void the transaction and take the money for himself, according to court documents.

Zeon Johnson, 28, of Saugus, pleaded guilty to one count of conversion of government money Wednesday. He was indicted in May 2022.

Officials said Johnson had two schemes, which resulted in him stealing more than $18,000.

One of the schemes involved voiding the transaction for the stamps to keep the money for himself from July 2019 through June 2020, according to court documents. But he also converted USPS money orders to pay himself, officials said.

Johnson would issue USPS money orders to himself, use blank USPS money order and would issue himself USPS money order refunds, court documents state.

The charge of conversion of government money provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Johnson is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 1.
Paqui, the snack company that released the extra-spicy One Chip Challenge tortilla chip, which recently has been tied to the death of a Worcester teenager, announced Thursday it is removing the chips from store shelves.

We have seen an increase in teens and other individuals not heeding these warnings, the company said on its website, highlighting the warning on the coffin-shaped packaging. As a result, while the product continues to adhere to food safety standards, out of an abundance of caution, we are actively working with our retailers to remove the product from shelves.

The challenge simply involves eating one Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper-flavored chip. The single chip is sold in a coffin-shaped package, featuring a melting red skull with a green, fanged snake emerging from an eye socket. The challenger sees how long they can last without needing to drink water or milk to soothe the heat.

Both peppers are considered among the hottest peppers in the world, with Carolina Reapers scaling at 2.2 million Scoville heat units, according to the Los Angeles Times. Naga Viper peppers scale at around 1.4 million Scoville heat units, according to the online pepper shop website PepperHead.

Paqui provides two ways of buying the spicy chip, either by finding a nearby location that sells it, such as AM PM, 7-Eleven, Circle K, Capital Candy, United Dairy Farmers or Walgreens, among several others, or by ordering it on Amazon. Before adding shipping, the price of one chip on Amazon is $17.33.

The warning label on the backside of a One Chip Challenge carton from Paqui. Amazon screenshot.

The warning label on the back of the packages warns buyers to keep the chip away from children and it is intended for adult consumption.

Do not eat if you are sensitive to spicy foods, allergic to peppers, nightshades or capsaicin, or are pregnant or have any medical conditions, the label reads. After touching the chip, wash your hands with soap and do not touch your eyes or other sensitive areas.

Seek medical assistance if you experience difficulty breathing, fainting or extended nausea, reads the end of the label.

Worcester teenager Harris Wolobah was said to have taken part in the challenge before he died unexpectedly at 14, a GoFundMe page read.

He felt sick after eating the chip before heading to the school nurses office, officials told Boston 25 News. His parents picked him up from Doherty Memorial High School and drove him home. He died on Sept. 1.

Pending an autopsy, a connection between his illness and subsequent death after participating in the One Chip Challenge has yet to be made.

On Friday, Paqui said on its website that it is offering refunds for anyone who bought a One Chip Challenge chip. Call 1-866-528-6848. Read the statement here.
A police officer accused of maintaining an inappropriate relationship with a minor and keeping explicit photos of the teenager was among three cops suspended Thursday by the states new law enforcement oversight agency.

The officer, Michael Morin of the Fall River Police Department, was arrested in late June. On Thursday, the states Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, suspended Morins credentials to work in law enforcement, as the board is required to do for any cop charged with a felony.

The POST Commission also suspended Hull Police Sgt. Scott Saunders and Danny Khun, of the Saugus Police Department.

Khun is accused of striking an employee of a Boston karaoke bar with a glass bottle during a fight in June. He faces a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in Boston Municipal Court.

Pembroke Police arrested Saunders in July following an off-duty incident, Hull officials said in a statement at the time. Though the department did not describe the incident, records in Plymouth District Court indicate Saunders faces a charge of assault and battery on a person over age 60. The Patriot Ledger reported Saunders was accused of attacking his 72-year-old neighbor, with whom he had a history of disputes.

The POST Commission, which the state established in a 2020 policing reform law, has now suspended the certifications of 42 officers who face various felony charges.

One officer is accused of beating a man in police custody. Two face insider trading charges. Others are accused of rape, bribery and illegally collecting workers compensation.

Following Morins arrest in June, Fall River police said the officer faced a single charge of possessing lewd photographs of a person under 18.

Police officials placed Morin on leave in late May when they learned he had carried on a relationship with a 17-year-old and kept explicit photos of the teenager, a department spokesperson said. Fall River Police Chief Paul F. Gauvin said Morins employment would be reviewed pending the results of an internal investigation.

Saunders, who joined the Hull Police Department in 2004 and was promoted to sergeant in 2019, is also on leave pending the outcome of his court case, the department said.

In a statement, Saugus Police officials said Khun was placed on unpaid administrative leave on June 19.

In addition to its responsibility to suspend and investigate any cop charged with a felony, the POST Commission is mandated to standardize the training and certification of the more than 20,000 police officers employed across the commonwealth.

The board has established state-wide standards and training requirements that each officer must meet in order to keep their state certification to practice law enforcement.

State law also allows the commission to decertify any officer convicted of a felony or those found to have committed certain egregious misconduct.

John Donnelly, a former Woburn officer accused of participating in the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, is to date the only officer decertified by the commission.

A decertified officer is banned from any future work for a police department or sheriffs office in Massachusetts. The officers name is also submitted to a national registry of decertified police that could prevent them from finding a law enforcement job in other states.

The commission was also responsible for publishing records of police disciplinary incidents, a move intended to increase transparency of officer misconduct cases. Two weeks ago, the commission released a publicly accessible database of some 3,400 sustained complaints against police officers  instances in which a department found the allegations against an officer to be credible.

A vast array of infractions are listed in the database, from mundane workplace transgressions, such as late payroll forms, to serious instances of misconduct, such as unlawful arrests and intoxicated driving.

None of the officers suspended Thursday had prior complaints listed in the database, though the commission has said the dataset is not complete and may have errors that need to be corrected.

Advocates have called the database a positive first step toward increased transparency but noted its deficiencies, such as missing information and a lack of detail on many police misconduct cases.

Some police officials have also criticized the information included in the dataset, particularly minor incidents they say do not warrant inclusion.
Some schools in Massachusetts are dismissing early or closing Friday due to excessive heat.

As of Thursday afternoon, the heat advisory spanned from areas in Western Massachusetts, such as Greenfield and Springfield, to Norwood and Lawrence. It is expect to last until 8 p.m. on Friday. Some schools also dismissed students early or closed on Wednesday and Thursday.

The National Weather service recommended people drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.

Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening, the weather service said.

The following school districts have announced closures or delays for Friday, Sept. 8. This list is updated constantly. To refresh this list, click here.

A

Andover Public Schools  early dismissal on Friday, Sept. 8. Early release time for elementary is 12:15 p.m. Shawsheen Preschool, middle and high schools are at 11:30 a.m.

C

Chicopee Public Schools  early dismissal on Friday, Sept. 8. Middle and high schools, including Chicopee Academy, will dismiss at 11:00 a.m.; elementary schools will dismiss at 11:30 a.m. Students will be offered lunch upon dismissal. The start to the school day will remain the same. The start date for Pre-K and Kindergarten has been moved from Thursday to Monday, Sept. 11.

H

Haverhill Public Schools  early dismissal on Friday, Sept. 8. Haverhill High will be dismissed at 10:25 a.m. Middle schools will be dismissed at 11:05 a.m. And elementary and preschool dismissal is at 11:35 a.m. For more, click here.

L

Lowell Public Schools  will be closed on Friday, Sept. 8. The temperatures in many classrooms are expected to be too hot for teachers to teach effectively, the school wrote on Facebook.

Lynn Public Schools  early dismissal on Friday, Sept. 8. Dismissal times vary by school. See specific times by schools online here

S

Springfield Public Schools  early dismissal on Friday, Sept. 8. Dismissal times vary by school. See specific times by schools online here

W

Wilmington Public Schools  closed Friday, Sept. 8 due to heat related concerns.

Woburn Public Schools  early dismissal on Friday, Sept. 8. Dismissal times vary by school. See specific times by schools online here

Worcester Public Schools  early dismissal on Friday, Sept. 8. Schools will dismiss three hours early. However, breakfast and lunch will be served. The district suggests calling your childs school for the exact release time.

Dont see your school listed? Please email feedback@masslive.com.
News / National

by Desmond Nleya

A Plumtree man was on Wednesday arraigned before Plumtree magistrate's court Mr Joshua Nembaware facing two charges of killing a couple in Madabe area, under Chief Wasi.The court heard that on 14 April 2023, the accused, Tafireyi Ndlovu(37) teamed up with Kudzani Mzthukuthu who is still at large and gruesomely killed Xolani Mpofu and his wife Sibalingene Ncube.It is further stated that the two accused used open fits and even axed the now deceased before forcing Nomusa Moyo( wife to the accused) to drag the two bodies into a hut which they set ablaze.The reasons for killing the couple are not known.After committing the offence, Tafireyi Ndlovu eloped to Botswana using an undesignated exit point where he was arrested and extradited back to Zimbabwe for other offences.
A former doctor arrested on drug and gun charges stemming from a call for help on his yacht in Nantucket Harbor on Tuesday was arraigned and held on $200,000 cash bail, the Cape and Islands District Attorney Robert Galibois announced Thursday.

Scott Burke, 69, of Key Largo, faced charges on cocaine trafficking, possession to distribute a Class A drug, possession of ammunition and a firearm without a permit, and two charges of possessing a large capacity firearm.

Burke was held after his arraignment on $200,000 cash bail after the judge denied the district attorneys request to hold him as a danger to the community, the DAs office said. Galibois office did not know Thursday afternoon if Burke posted bail and the court clerks office was closed.

Burke is being held at Barnstable County Correctional Facility and is expected in Nantucket District Court on Oct. 2, for a probable cause hearing.

On Sept. 5, at 7:47 a.m., the Nantucket Police Department received a call that a woman needed medical help on a boat in the Nantucket Harbor, police said.

Island police, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Harbor Masters Office and the fire department responded to an 80-foot yacht, officials said, which is named the Jess Conn, the Nantucket Current reported.

The unidentified woman was found on the yacht and brought to Nantucket Cottage Hospital, police said. Harbormaster Sheila Lucey told the Current the initial call for the womans medical situation was for a wellness check, but declined to elaborate and the womans condition remains unclear.

Burke was initially arrested on the boat on two counts of possessing a firearm without a license, police said.

However, at 3:25 p.m. Tuesday, members of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U. S. Coast Guard and the Bourne and Nantucket Police Departments converged on the anchored yacht, the district attorney stated, in what the Current called a raid.

During the investigation, several guns, Class B substances and ammunition were found, the district attorney stated, and further investigation showed Burke does not own a valid firearm license.

The Nantucket Current reported Burke is a former Colorado doctor, founded Denver Spine and Rehab and is the current CEO of Injury Finance, LLC, which gives medical claim services for third-party liability claims.

The Jess Conn had arrived in the harbor from Rhode Island on Aug. 23, the Current said. It had recently run aground in Florida in May, but wasnt significantly damaged, the outlet stated.
A Massachusetts facility is allowed to continue to use controversial devices to electric shock its clients after a ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday.

The Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC), a special needs day and residential school in Canton, has become known for using electric shock devices on clients for self-injurious or aggressive behavior. It is the only facility in the country to use them and has been the center of many advocates concerns.

The ruling ensures that the lifesaving, court approved electrical stimulation device (ESD) treatment remains available to those for whom all other treatment options have been tried and failed, JRC and the JRC Parents Association wrote in a statement.

JRC states that its clients have had behaviors that result in profound physical injuries including blindness and mutilation prior to the devices.

Allowing the use of ESDs as part of these clients treatment plans is a matter of life or death, the statement read. JRC and the parents and guardians of JRCs clients will continue to ensure that this treatment remains available to those for whom all other treatment options have been tried and failed.

There are more than 300 people who attend or live at JRC and about 55 people are approved for the devices.

However, advocates are adamant there are other options.

Nancy Weiss, who wrote a book examining the events and places that contributed to the inability of the state of Massachusetts to stop the use of electric shock, said the painful behavioral interventions are not only inhumane, they are clearly unnecessary.

The procedures used at the Judge Rotenberg Center fly in the face of everything the professional community now knows about the science of effective behavior modification, Weiss said in a statement. It is now well established that a range of behavioral approaches are available which are not only humane but are more effective than using severe, painful punishment.

Dozens of articles, including on MassLive, have been written about the Canton facility.

In 2012, a video was released during a court case against JRC showing student Andre McCollins being tied by the arms and legs to a restraint board and shocked multiple times. CBS News confirmed he was shocked more than 30 times over a seven-hour period.

His mother, Cheryl McCollins, told CBS News her son was first shocked for not taking off his coat but was shocked again for tensing his muscles and screaming. His mother claims he has suffered permanent damage as a result.

JRC states it no longer uses the restraint board and shocks together.

In 2016, MassLive spoke to a former student, Terri Du Bois, who said she had one of the devices while she was there.

Du Bois said punishments depended on what rule she broke. She said she was shocked for yelling, swearing, getting out of her seat without permission and grabbing others.

The devices have also been reported to malfunction. She recalls one day after she got out of the shower when, she said, the device shocked her 10 times.

I just kept screaming, Get it off of me, get it off of me, she said.

Another former JRC student, Jennifer Msumba, said she became depressed while attending the school. Instead of correcting the behaviors the GEDs were designed to fix, she said she just found more secretive ways to do them.

Crying was also a behavior that I got in trouble for, so I had to cry in secret, Msumba said in video testimony used in an FDA hearing on GEDs.

Msumba said shell never be the same, and shell never understand why the people at JRC did those things to her.

I would ask God to make my heart stop because I didnt want to live when that was happening to me, she told CBS News. I just wanted to die and make it stop.

Msumba released a book, Shouting At Leaves in 2021 regarding her time at the center. She has also shared some of her story on TikTok.

In March 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned electrical stimulation devices (ESDs) used for self-injurious or aggressive behavior. But that decision was overturned.

The FDA warned in its petition that the FDA determined that those devices present unreasonable and substantial risks of both physical and psychological injury.

The shocks cause pain that has been described as extremely painful, excruciatingly painful, like a dentist drilling on an un-anesthetized tooth, like a bulging and a ruptured disc, like a thousand bees stinging you in the same place for a few seconds, and as the most painful thing Ive ever experienced, the petition states.

Seven senators asked the FDA and U.S. Department of Justice to continue to prioritize the protection of people with disabilities by ending this dangerous practice and thanked them for filing an appeal to the overturned decision. But none of those signatures are senators from Massachusetts, where the facility is located.

Read more: This controversial Massachusetts facility is the last in the country to use electric shock on students

Thursdays Supreme Judicial Court decision was 69 pages and was regarding a 1987 consent decree obtained by JRC that shields the organization from efforts stemming from a history of bad faith actions to ban the practice.

The ruling, Justice Scott B. Kafker said, was specifically about the consent decree. Although, Kafker acknowledged the impact the decision has.

This case thus involves a heart-wrenching issue: continue to protect a controversial practice that has widely been criticized, or pave the way for its prohibition at the risk of subjecting these vulnerable patients to a life of sedation and restraint, or extreme self-injury, Kafker wrote.

Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said she was profoundly disappointed by the ruling.

I stand ready to work with the Legislature and the Governor to take action to end this practice, she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Im also calling on the Food and Drug Administration to follow through on its announced plan to issue a new rule banning the GED skin shock device.
After using a fake drivers license to get a private jet from Florida to California and using COVID pandemic-related relief loans to live a life of luxury, a social media influencer has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Danielle Miller, 32, pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. She was arrested on a criminal complaint in May 2021 and indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2021.

Acting Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levys office said Miller used information from at least 10 people in Massachusetts and fake business names to apply to get Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds between July 2020 to May 2021.

She received more than $1 million in government benefits, officials said.

Part of how she did this, officials said, was by having counterfeit drivers licenses in the victims names but with Millers photograph, including the persons drivers licenses she used to get the private jet.

In August 2020, Miller used a counterfeit drivers license in the name of a Massachusetts victim to arrange a Gulfstream private jet charter flight from Florida to California, where she stayed at a luxury hotel under the same victims name, Levys office said. In a separate instance, Miller used the identity of another victim to rent a luxury apartment in Florida.

She also kept track of her extravagant use of the fraud proceeds and stolen identities through her social media accounts. On Instagram, Miller had more than 34,000 followers. One of her posts, officials said, showed her at luxury hotels in California where transactions were made using the bank account in one of the victims names.

She had also started a shop called I am not an influencer, which she links to on Instagram. It sold sweatshirts and phone cases.

Levy agrees, shes not an influencer.

Ms. Miller isnt an influencer, she is a convicted felon. She stole the identities of innocent people to steal over $1.2 million in pandemic-relief loans that should have gone to people in need. In a quest for fleeting social media stardom, Ms. Miller relied on fraud to fund a lavish lifestyle of private jets, luxury apartments other accoutrements of wealth, he said. Todays sentencing should make it crystal clear that curating a high-society social media presence on the backs of hardworking taxpayers is a path to prison, not fleeting fame.

Michael J. Krol, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, called Miller heartless.

While other Americans worried about how to keep food on the table, Miller spent her ill-gotten gains on hotels and luxury goods, heartlessly flaunting this fraudulent lifestyle on social media, he said.

But Millers scams started long before the pandemic.

Miller admitted to lying a lot as a child but in 2013 she was overspending her parents money in Los Angeles, according to New York Magazine  spending $20,000 in just one month. The magazine reported her parents cut her off, including returning her brand-new convertible SLK350 Mercedes.

In 2016, she was using stolen credit-card information to pay for spa trips on the Upper West Side in New York, the news outlet reported. She was later charged with identity theft and grand larceny for nearly $5,000 in services. She also reportedly stole about $200,000 from Mackinzie Dae, a model and Marine veteran working in influencer marketing, and another friend.

After missing a court date related to the stolen credit cards, she was sentenced to a year minus time served in Rikers, meeting con artist Anna Delvey and scammer Ciera Blas.

Once she got out, COVID-19 was just the next wave for scammers.

COVID was a huge wave, she told New York Magazine, adding she learned how to do it online. But, its also something shes especially good at, she said.

Im so sought after its insanity, the magazine reported. My Instagram account from me being locked up has thousands, thousands of DMs asking me what my Telegram name is to work with me. Thousands.

Miller also has to forfeit some of her luxury items.

On Aug. 11, the government listed various luxury items, including Rimowa suitcases, a Louis Vuitton bag, a Rolex Wristwatch, Dior shoes and a Dior blouse as being forfeited by Miller. It also listed nearly $500,000 from a TD Bank account, $104,535.79 from another bank account, $4,441 taken from a residence in Florida and more than $27,000 in money orders.

The items will be forfeited to the government unless a person, other than Miller, petitions to claim them.
A Saugus police officer suspended Thursday by the states police oversight board was arrested in June on an assault and battery charge, accused of striking a man over the head with a bottle during a bar fight in Boston.

Danny Khun faces a single count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in Boston Municipal Court in Brighton. According to a police report filed in court, Khun is accused of hitting an employee of the Allston karaoke bar Stage Karaoke X Studios with a glass bottle during a fight between the bar staff and a group of patrons.

On Thursday, the states police watchdog agency, the Peace Office Standards and Training (POST) Commission, suspended Khuns credentials to practice law enforcement. The commission is required to suspend any officer charged with a felony.

The commission also suspended two other cops  a Fall River officer accused of possessing explicit photos of a minor and a Hull officer accused of assault and battery on a senior citizen.

Both departments detailed the charges in statements following the officers arrests. The reason for Khuns suspension, however, was initially unclear.

But according to a Saugus Police Department complaint form shared with MassLive, a Boston Police sergeant called the Saugus Police shortly before 2 a.m. on June 18, informing a supervisor that Khun was in custody on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon  a glass bottle.

The internal complaint form prepared by the Saugus Police supervisor lists a Boston Police incident number matching the police report included in Khuns case file in Boston Municipal Court.

According to the police report, police were called to the karaoke bar just after 1 a.m. for a report of a confrontation between patrons and bar staff.

One employee said Khun struck him with a glass bottle after a fight broke out between staff and customers. Another employee also identified Khun as the suspect. Police said Boston EMS evaluated the accuser but did not bring him to a hospital.

According to responding officers, Khun said attempted to break up a fight between a group of his friends and bar staff. He denied hitting anyone with a bottle.

Khun was arrested and appeared in court on June 20, where he was ordered to stay away from the accuser. He posted bail and is next due in court on Sept. 29. He has not yet entered a plea, a court official said.

Phone messages to two defense attorneys listed in Khuns case file were not immediately returned.

In a statement, Saugus Police officials said Khun has been on unpaid administrative leave since June 19.

Khun will remain suspended by the POST Commission, the states police oversight board, pending the outcome of his court case.

If convicted, the commission is required to revoke Khuns law enforcement certification. He would be barred from working for any police or sheriffs department in Massachusetts, and his name would be listed on a national registry of decertified police, which could prevent him from working in law enforcement in other states.
John Donnelly, a former Woburn police officer, was accused last fall of participating in the 2017 Unite the Right march in Charlottesville, Virginia  a white supremacist rally. In May, he reached an agreement with Massachusetts police oversight agency that decertified his law enforcement credentials.

But details of the allegations against Donnelly were scant in a database the same agency, the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission, released two weeks ago listing thousands of officer disciplinary incidents from across the state.

The database built by POST, using records submitted by individual police departments, offered few details on many cases of police misconduct. Some cops infractions were characterized vaguely: conduct unbecoming or policy violation, for instance.

Many incidents  Donnellys included  were described only as other misconduct.

The details were no more expansive for a small group of law enforcement officers the commission has suspended: those who face felony charges.

Sophia Hall, of the nonprofit Lawyers for Civil Rights, called the database, which the commission was required to create, a really critical step forward. But she said it will need improvements to provide transparency for lawyers, journalists and members of the public curious about their local police department.

The database is a good first step, Hall said. But there are gaps here in information that we need to clear up to ensure we actually meaningfully meet our goals of transparency.

Little detail on suspended officers

The POST Commission  a developing state board charged with oversight of Massachusetts police departments and officers  has suspended the certifications of 39 cops since the beginning of this year.

Only about a dozen of them appear in the database.

The information listed alongside their complaints  which is submitted directly by police departments to POST  is similarly limited.

A Springfield police car on Spring Street, with downtown Springfield in the background.

The allegations against the suspended cops range greatly, from assault and battery to rape to federal financial crimes. But all face felony charges  and the commission is required by law to suspend any police officer arrested or charged with a felony.

Among the suspended cops is former Stoneham Police Officer Robert Kennedy, whom the FBI has described as a serial debt fraudster.

Kennedy is accused of stiffing multiple landlords on rent and lying on rental applications to obscure a history of delinquent payments and evictions. He resigned from the Stoneham police force in February in the face of an internal department investigation and is expected to plead guilty later this month to federal wire fraud charges.

In submitting its internal misconduct records to the POST Commission, the Stoneham Police Department provided a brief description of the allegations against Kennedy.

The description was publicly visible until it was removed in a Sept. 1 update to the database. Most information about Kennedy is now redacted from the dataset. The POST Commission said it removed certain details out of an abundance of caution in order to comply with state law governing the release of criminal offender record information, or CORI.

Iancy Gonzalez, of the Salem Police Department, was suspended by the POST Commission in February. She is accused of conducting a fraudulent money order scheme and faces charges including forgery of a bank note. She resigned from the department last year, the Salem News reported at the time.

A dozen sustained complaints against Gonzalez are listed in the database, including the instances from 2022 that resulted in criminal charges. The information describing the charges is redacted.

However, the database offers little information about Gonzalezs complaint history prior to her legal trouble.

Her remaining infractions not subject to redaction are described only as other misconduct, incompetence, insubordination and failure to identify. No other details are provided.

Database will be updated, POST says

Intended as a public transparency tool, the database listed more than 3,400 cases of sustained allegations of police misconduct  situations in which an investigation by an officers employer found a complaint to be credible.

More than 2,100 officers have infractions listed. Of the 39 officers suspended by the POST Commission, 28 are not mentioned in the database.

In a statement, a commission spokesperson said there are several reasons an officer may not appear in the data: a police department may have failed to submit an officers record or submitted it with errors; any misconduct cases that were unresolved as of Jan. 31 or ones that took place since then were not captured in the database; and some inactive or uncertified officers may also not appear.

Donnelly, the ex-Woburn cop accused of attending the Charlottesville white supremacist march, remains the only officer fully decertified by the POST Commission. His infraction is described in the database only as other misconduct and conduct unbecoming.

The same description is used for six of the seven other complaints the Woburn Police Department submitted to POST, offering little insight into the seriousness of Donnellys infraction.

The commission has acknowledged shortcomings in the database, including including some missing or inaccurate data. POST Executive Director Enrique Zuniga has said the database will be continuously updated and corrected as needed.

Enrique Zuniga listens during a meeting of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in Boston, Massachusetts on April 3, 2019. Formerly a gaming commissioner, Zuniga is now the executive director of the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission. (Photo by Christopher Evans/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)MediaNews Group via Getty Images

On Friday, the commission released its first major update of the database, which reorganized some of the data and added information to better clarify the complaints against officers and how they were handled by police departments. It also included some corrections.

The commission said it was reviewing further corrections, planned to release additional data and will append to the database on an ongoing basis.

With more than 3,000 complaints listed, the database captured a number of mundane workplace transgressions, such as officers reprimanded for tardy submission of payroll forms or misplacing a work cellphone.

Alongside them were far more serious instances of misconduct: unlawful arrests, intoxicated driving, and an officer fired for posing in a Nazi salute.

But other severe infractions are missing.

Hall pointed to a federal racial profiling lawsuit Lawyers for Civil Rights filed against two Arlington police officers who incorrectly detained a Black man in 2021. Though the database specifies racial bias infractions for other officers, the infractions of the Arlington cops are described only as failure to respond to an incident according to established procedure. No other detail on the incident is provided.

That blind spot for a community member is really significant, Hall said. Because if somebody from Arlington wants to be informed about the complaints against their town police force, this doesnt really give them the insight they need to do that.
Criminals are forgiven, while cops are villainous.

Americans, politicians and the media launched an attack on the police several years ago, which included defunding the police, replacing the police with whacked-out terms such as reimagining policing, along with holding cops accountable for the slightest infractions.

The word on the street now: Who would ever want to be a cop today? Cops are forced to wear cameras and document everything they do, knowing some day they could be facing termination, or incarceration, just for protecting themselves and their community.

Police have been asked to take on an entirely different role. Theyve been asked to become kinder and gentler. Police have dogs that lick and comfort instead of seek and protect. Police have engaged in lip sync contests across the country playing the role of class joker and best friend.

All these things are nice extras, but should never replace law enforcement, which is a serious dangerous business that somebody must do. Fleeing bad guys must be chased down and not allowed to escape. The message now to those bad guys is run  and if you get hurt, the cop will lose his job and house for his supposedly reckless behavior.

Courts across the country have adopted no-bail policies along with refusing to prosecute petty crimes. Criminal offenses such as drug possession have become legal in many states.

Jails have slowly emptied, as many states adopt the catch-and-release policy that holds only the more serious offenders.

Our borders have become wide open to the flow of migrants. Guns and drugs are flooding our streets. During this flood, certain politicians have turned a blind eye to this invasion and quite often blamed it on racism, the most overused word in todays society.

Conditions today in Seattle, which went from a beautiful city to hell on earth, should be a lesson to politicians who pushed the Seattle uprisings as a summer of love.

When you see street takeovers by roaming dirt bikes and quads, windows boarded up, people afraid to visit cities, maniac drivers on our roads, shootings, overdoses and disrespect on our streets, pause and realize what has happened.

Down is up and up is down. What could possibly go wrong?

Gary OBrien is a retired police officer who lives in Feeding Hills.
Dear Amy: My husband of 50 years died over two years ago.

I was happy and content with my single life and have had no interest in dating.

Last year I went on a group trip to Spain. There were several single older people on the tour.

I was totally shocked when a gentleman asked me to join him for lunch when we returned home.

Both our spouses had died at about the same time and we had a lot of similar interests.

Over the last year we have become great companions.

The trouble is that one of my daughters is adamant about not wanting to meet him.

I am not interested in marriage, only friendship.

He has no local family. I would like to have him meet her family and Id like to have him celebrate with us for holidays.

She says that she will let me know when she is ready.

I feel very bad that I have to exclude my friend when my daughter is around.

I am sure that she would not come to my home for Thanksgiving if he was invited.

How should I handle this situation?

 Sad Mom

Dear Sad: Your daughter has told you that she will meet your male friend when she is ready. So  take her at her word.

You might not be able to knit this group together the way youd like to in the time frame youd prefer.

You do not have to exclude your friend when your daughter is around, thus letting your daughter control your friendship.

Your daughter can make her choices based on her own preferences and priorities.

I hope you will talk with her about this. Reassure her that you have no desire to replace her father and have no thoughts of marrying again. This gentleman and you have both lost spouses, and this friendship has helped you to move through your loss. Ask your daughter to share her own feelings or fears about this relationship, and listen with compassion. (Would she respond this way if you enjoyed companionship with a female friend?)

And then  move forward. Before inviting him to spend the holidays with your family, you should start with an invitation for coffee, and ask your daughter to join you. If your daughter wont share this time with him, be patient and trust that she will come around when she is ready.

Dear Amy: Often when I meet someone new, theyll ask me if I have children. When I say no, they will then ask if I have pets.

Im always tempted to ask them why they think a dog or cat can replace a child, but since I know that would be rude, I keep my mouth shut.

Do you have any suggestions for something I can say to them that would indicate their question is inappropriate, without sounding rude?

 Childless, Petless, and Happy

Dear Childless: Like you, I do wonder about the great leap from raising children to raising animals, but unlike you  I dont necessarily think this is a rude query.

The overall category here is: Living Things: Sharing Space With.

It sounds as if these new people are trying to find some common ground as a way to try to get to know you.

Approximately two-thirds of Americans do have pets in their homes, and so there is a likelihood that this question would lead to a conversation, instead of you thinking their interest or curiosity is inappropriate.

One way to respond to a query you dont feel like addressing directly is to respond: Hmmm, thats an interesting question. Why do you ask? It sounds like maybe you have pets?

Or you can end this awkwardness and possibly segue into a more interesting conversation the way youve signed your own query, by saying: Im childless, petless, and happy! How about you?

Dear Amy: Bugged in a Small Town was repeatedly called by the wrong name, despite repeatedly correcting the woman who did it.

I once had a boss who had The EXACT same name as me. She chose to call me by a different name (one more ethnic).

She kept this up until I started calling her by this same name when addressing her.

She informed me that it was not her name. I told her it was not mine either, and because we had the SAME NAME it shouldnt be so hard for her to remember it.

That cured her.

 No Longer Bugged

Dear No Longer Bugged: Instant cure. Good for you.

(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)

2023 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Massachusetts is one step closer to potentially bringing back rent control after a ballot question that would give communities the option to adopt it was certified by Attorney General Andrea Campbell on Wednesday.

At a rally outside the State House Wednesday morning, state Rep. Mike Connolly, the original filer of the ballot question, said the certification was the next step in addressing the states housing crisis.

Were here because were facing an unprecedented housing emergency. Never in our history has homelessness been this pervasive. Never in our history has affordable housing been this out of reach, said Connolly, a Democrat representing the 26th Middlesex. This housing emergency is displacing people from our communities. Its pushing out vulnerable seniors, children ... We are confident that the voters of Massachusetts understand this issue, and if theyre given the opportunity to lift the statewide ban on rent control, we believe they will.

The proposed ballot question was one of 34 certified on Wednesday. As is the case with the other proposed laws, the proponents must now gather and file signatures from 74,574 registered voters by Dec. 6 before the proposal is sent to the State Legislature in January for consideration.

If the legislature does not enact the proposal on its own, the proponents must then gather another 12,429 signatures by July 3, 2024 for the question to be placed on the ballot.

The ballot question would give cities and towns in the state the option to enact local regulations protecting tenants. Those regulations could govern rent, fees and deposits, including brokers fees, evictions, the removal of units from the rental market and more.

State Sen. Jamie Eldridge, who co-sponsored a bill in the legislature that would similarly restore the local option for rent control, said he had experienced the effects of rising rents firsthand. He said the rent on his home doubled in the past year, forcing him to move to a different community within his district.

Its not just Cambridge, Somerville, Boston, but its also MetroWest and I would say communities further west, said Eldridge, a Democrat representing the Middlesex and Worcester district.

Rent control was banned in Massachusetts by a ballot initiative in 1994. Efforts to revive it, including most recently a Boston home rule petition passed in March to reinstate it in the city, have thus far failed. Bostons proposal, despite local support, has still not been taken up by the Committee on Housing.

Somerville is also working on a rent stabilization law. City Council President Ben Ewen-Campen said at the rally Wednesday he hears from constituents every week who are being forced out of their homes because their building has been sold or their landlord is raising the rent, and called it the single biggest issue in the city.

Im a homeowner in Somerville, so I know 30 years from now what Ill be paying in my monthly housing costs, he said. We feel like renters and tenants should have that same kind of housing stability.

Willie Burnley Jr., another Somerville city councilor, said he had personally been forced out of not just his apartment or the city but the state of Massachusetts in 2017 due to housing costs.

When we talk about the exodus from our state, we need to understand that it is coming from working people who cannot afford to live here anymore, he said.

The concept of bringing back rent control has been controversial, as landlord groups and others say it could lead to less development and more deferred maintenance on existing residential buildings.

The Fiscal Alliance Foundation, a government watchdog and advocacy group, opposed the filing of the ballot question and argued last month that it is unconstitutional because it combines multiple topics regulating rent and regulating evictions  and because they believe rent control entails taking property without just compensation.

The foundation said in a statement Wednesday that it intends to work with other opposition groups to take its challenge of the ballot question to the Supreme Judicial Court.

The government-imposed rent control ballot question proposed by state Rep. Mike Connolly is poorly written and would make even poorer policy. Economically, it has been proven time and time again that rent control does not work, and this ballot question would prove a disaster for both renters and property owners, said Paul Diego Craney, a spokesman for the Fiscal Alliance Foundation, in a press release.

Connolly said Wednesday that the language of the ballot question included exemptions for new construction and small-property owners, which he hoped would alleviate some concerns. He also said last month that the language specified that any regulations created under the proposed law could not deprive an owner of a fair net operating income.
MAYO County Council is to receive an additional 1.5 million in Government funding for the 2024 Budget following an increase in Local Property Tax (LPT) baseline funding.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh OBrien TD announced a 75.4m increase in LPT baseline funding to local authorities for 2024 following a review of how the money is allocated.

Mayo County Council is to receive an additional 1.5m in LPT funding to bring the baseline funding in Government funding to 21,312,344. Every local authority receives a minimum 'baseline amount of funding from the Local Property Tax, supplemented by funding from the exchequer where a local authoritys LPT income is lower than its baseline.

This baseline funding helps in the delivery of services day-to-day, but also in successfully leading the local response to emergency situations; such as the sector's establishment of Community Call during Covid-19, and more recently the community response to support the Ukrainian crisis.

Minister OBrien TD, said that local authorities play an integral role in the delivery of services to our citizens.

I am aware of the growing challenges faced by local authorities due to the increase in demand for services and the growing cost of providing these. This significant increase in funding should go a long way towards easing the pressure on the sector.

Since 2020 I have been committed to a review of the baseline funding of local authorities and I established a working group earlier this year to examine the issue. I am pleased to announce that todays funding has been guided by the review that has taken place and the recommendations of the working group, he said.

Kieran ODonnell, Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, welcomed the completion of the review of Local Property Tax baselines, noting the important work completed by the review group, which included elected local representatives, to inform the final model.

I would like to thank the Working Group for all their work on assisting our review of how we provide baseline funding. Todays increase in allocations reflects the importance of the work that local authorities do, which I see for myself as I visit and meet with Councillors across the country, he said.
As the rain beats against the window of St Brendan's Nursing Unit in Mulranny, the mood inside is as grey as the weather. Twenty-five years after it first opened to allow elderly people in the area the chance to live close to their own homes, St Brendan's like so many small nursing homes in Ireland faces a very uncertain future.

When St Brendan's opened its doors in 1998, it started off as a 36 bed facility but regulations on room occupancy meant that the bed capacity has been reduced to 24. This has seriously affected its income model to the point where they now have to develop two new rooms to bring the capacity up to 26 beds to make the centre financially viable.

St Brendan's still have to find the finances to complete this work but to make matters worse they are after completing compulsory fire safety works on the building which will cost over 250,000 and they are still paying off a hefty agency nursing bill imposed during Covid.

It has meant that for the first time in 25 years there is a real chance that without significant financial investment, St Brendan's Centre will not be able to remain open.

I am losing sleep and people are losing sleep over trying to keep this place open by the fact we are being treated so unfairly, said local GP and Chairperson of St Brendan's, who admitted to The Mayo News that things are looking fairly grim at the moment.

A campaign called 'Save St Brendan's' (see advert on page 8) has now been launched where a GoFundMe page has been set up and a number of fundraising campaigns are planned in the coming weeks.

St Brendan's, Dr Cowley explained, is a not for profit organisation but is classed as a private organisation and as a result receives 60 percent less Government funding than similar HSE-run nursing units, like the nearby St Fionnan's on Achill Island.

We are classed as private but we are not private, he explained. We are a charity ... we are not for profit but we are classed as private and we are treated differently and done everything by ourselves with minimum support from anybody.



Limited funding

With limited funding support, St Brendan's relies on the occupancy levels being high and at the moment 24 beds does not pay the bills and that is why they urgently need to increase the capacity to 26 beds.

The HSE run units do the exact same work as we do and have the same residents but get 60 percent more funding than we do from the same Fair Deal scheme. We are the same as them but for one thing and that is they get 60 percent more funding than we do. The studies are there to show the costs for food and energy have all gone up as have staff wages. Is it any wonder we are in trouble?

I think it is terrible and all we want is equality. We are under serious threat now. The legislation has said that we need to be operating from 24 rooms which we are operating at now and we need new rooms urgently. We have planning permission for two more and we are trying to get those built. Our income depends on the number of people in beds

Our long term viability is being greatly threatened because we are not being treated equally. We are not private, we are not for profit but because we are not HSE we are classed as private. Non-HSE equals private but that is not true.

We have been forgotten about and are the ones who have been left without a voice and are not being represented. We are the ones who want to keep going for another 25 years but will we be able to do that, that is the question, he said.

St Brendan's currently has a weekly wage bill of 23,000 a week with many of the nurses brought in from India on two to three year contracts. Dr Cowley explained it costs 2,500 to bring those nurses into the country and they then have to train them into the system.

With a limited income stream, St Brendan's cannot offer the same employment terms as the HSE and Dr Cowley explained that after their contract is up, they are 'poached' by the HSE. Who can blame them? Dr Cowley admitted. After the two years are up, we lose all our staff and the cycle starts all over again with 2,500 to get people over from India. It is the same as the Irish nurses who go off to the HSE because they get pensions and sick leave. The people who work here work hard and are lovely people but who wants to work with no pension or proper sick leave?

Dr Jerry Cowley with Nora Carroll, a native of Belmullet who recently moved from London to live in St Brendan's Village in Mulranny

No Covid deaths

St Brendan's takes pride in the fact that during Covid they were one of very few nursing units in the country where none of their patients died from the disease. Led by their Director of Nursing, Trish Maguire, they operated a strict temperature testing procedure at the start of the pandemic before such practices became routine.

We lost no patients during Covid but it nearly wiped us out, Dr Cowley explained when it came to the centre's finances. We built up debts during Covid. When our staff got Covid, we had to get agency staff in here. The money they got out of us is ridiculous and we are still trying to pay them.

We are paying them off so much per week so we can keep this place afloat. Also for nine months during Covid we were not allowed to take additional residents which really affected our finances as it is critical we remain full.

Dr Cowley stressed that St Brendan's will face up to their responsibilities of paying off what they owe but they need the help of the community to do this. St Brendan's he said along with the local hotel is the biggest employer in the village and has helped develop and inject investment into the village.

We have helped people over the last 25 years and this is the time we need help to continue that for the next 25 years. The main thing is to keep us going but most of all to get these two rooms finished so we can be viable in the future. They are critical to make us viable.

We faced up to the challenges but we need some equality and fairness and that is all we ask for. We are not getting it and we deserve fairness. We have given good service for the last 25 years and we want to continue to do that.

It is not acceptable that I am losing sleep and people are losing sleep over trying to keep this place open by the fact we are being treated so unfairly. We are doing good work and keeping people locally where they want to be. Nobody wants to be anywhere else except in their own area and the reason we did it was out of need and the reason we are still doing it is because of need. If the need was not there we'd give up and go home and I would get on with my day job but we cannot because the need is still there and is worthwhile.

We started this journey in 1994 and the reason was to support these older people who are the most vulnerable and had to leave this area. We did something about it, we are still doing something about it and we want to continue to do something about it for the next 25 years as well.

To make a donation to St Brendan's clink on the link https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-st-brendans
Opinion / Columnist

Well, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has defied SADC and AU who condemned the 23 August 2023 election process as a flawed and illegal process that could not produce a legitimate. He has gone ahead and staged his inauguration and present the world with a Zanu PF government fait accompli. What is the world going to do about it?The short answer to that is: Mnangagwa must not be allowed to get away with his arrogant disregard of the rule of law. Zanu PF has got away with rigged elections since the country's independence, 43 years ago, turning Zimbabwe into the textbook failed state; this madness must now be stamped out.SADC and AU election observers said Zimbabwe's 23 August 2023 elections were not free, fair and credible pointing out such glaring flaws as ZEC's failure to produce something as basic as a verified voters roll. The truth is the observers were pointing out well documented the flaws and illegalities it was impossible for Zanu PF and its supporters to deny the flaws and illegalities much less refute the conclusion that it was impossible for such flawed and illegal election process to produce a legitimate result. Impossible!Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies tried to get discredit the SADC Election Observer Mission (SEOM) report by mounting a ferocious attack on Dr Never Mumba, the SEOM head - a typical Zanu PF dirty tactic of attacking the messenger since they could not dispute the message. When that failed, the regime brought in SADC Panel of Elders in the hope they would water down the SEOM report. That too failed.In the end Mnangagwa decided to ignore SADC and AU condemnation of the election and declare himself and his regime legitimate. His 4 September inauguration present the world with a fait accompli Zanu PF government! The question is what is the world going to do about it?SADC and AU leaders have stand firm by their reports condemning the elections and refuse to grant Zanu PF political legitimacy. Most of the SADC and AU leaders did not attend Mnangagwa's inauguration, signalling their disapproval. They must follow this up by withdrawing their cooperation with the regime and imposing sanctions.Zimbabwe's opposition must not take up their seats in parliament to deny the regime any modicum of legitimacy and feel this can ever be business as usual. It is the very least these sell out opposition leaders can do.Lest some people should ever forget, Zimbabwe is still stuck in this political mess of rigged elections precisely because MDC/CCC leaders not only sold out by failing to implement even one democratic reform to stop Zanu PF rigging elections but have compounded the situation by insisting in participating in these flawed elections out of greed.Neither Zanu PF nor the sell out opposition should profit from the political paralysis in Zimbabwe today. Even more significantly neither should play a role in the way forward, They failed to implement even one token reform during the first GNU, it is naive, to say the least, to expect them to do any better.Both SADC and AU played a major role in denying Zanu PF political legitimacy following the 2008 elections resulting in the formation of the 2008 to 2013 GNU. The people of Zimbabwe we must accept we let ourselves down by failing to force Zanu PF and MDC leaders to implement all the democratic reforms. We failed to give SADC our full backing when the regional leaders tried to get the reforms implemented.This time, we must not be found wanting in giving both SADC and AU our full backing in demanding an end to Zimbabwe's curse of rigged elections and bad governance. We have a real chance of having a new GNU and a chance to finally get the democratic reforms finally implemented, we must not waste it!
The much-loved Westport Festival of Chamber Music is celebrating its the tenth anniversary in style. This charming boutique festival welcomes the finest of musicians from Ireland and around the world for a weekend of concerts, workshops, lectures and special events. This years festival  a four-day affair starting this evening  features artists from Ireland, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

Programmed by the festivals Artistic Director, Catherine Leonard, the repertoire will include some of the best-loved works in the history of chamber music, as well as lesser-known gems, performed by outstanding Irish and international artists, in a variety of locations across Westport, including the festivals founding home, Westport House.

Highlights include the opening concert on Friday, September 8 in the splendour of Westport House, featuring music by Chausson, Massenet, Schubert and Beethoven performed by a rich roster of artists.

Watch out too for Messiaens evocative Quartet for the End of Time, written in a prisoner of war camp during World War II, performed by Chen Halevi (clarinet), Julius Drake (piano), Sophia Jaffe (violin) and Adrian Brendel (cello). Poet Charlotte Leport will also read from her work.

Therell also be a vocal recital by Irish soprano, Anna Devin, whose voice is consistently described as sumptuous, flexible, silvery-toned, crystal and spine-tingling; a number of performances by leading Irish pianist Hugh Tinney, one of the festivals founders; and an emerging artist concert by 15-year-old violinist, Peter Ryan, who is currently a student at the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School, and his pianist brother, Liam.

This evening will see an event called Shared Traditions: The Common Ground between Traditional Irish and Classical Music in Matt Molloys, from 7pm to 9pm, featuring Niamh Ni Charra (fiddle, concertina, vocals) and Kevin Corbett (guitar).

Saturday evening includes a talk from performers on Messiaens seminal work, The End of Time, Chen Halevi, Julius Drake, Sophia Jaffe and Adrian Brendel. Afterwards, a treat for all returns in the form of the festivals Concert from the Balcony, and this year Dermot Dunne (accordion) will headline the popular outdoor concert from the balcony of The Town Hall Theatre.

In addition to its main events, the festival also hosts a number of free admission concerts, workshops, lectures, pre-concert talks and a year-round schools programme.

 For more, visit www.westportchambermusic.ie, or contact the Westport Town Hall Theatre on: 098 28459 for tickets.
A WEEKEND of celebrations will take place in Achill this weekend to mark the 20th anniversary of the twinning of Achill and the city of Cleveland.

The official twinning of Mayo County Council, Achill and Cleveland occurred in 2003 when the then Mayor of Cleveland, Jane Campbell travelled to Achill for the former twinning ceremony.

A weekend of activities are planned in Achill this weekend to mark the 20th anniversary of the prestigious occasion with over 30 people from Cleveland travelling to Achill for the celebrations.

The celebrations will begin tomorrow (Friday) afternoon when Mayo County Council will host a civic reception in Aras an Chontae, Castlebar starting at 4pm. The civic reception will be accorded to Gerry Quinn, the founder and President of the Mayo Society of Cleveland, as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations.

Mr Quinn is a native of Garracloon outside Ballina and one of the leading figures among the sizable Irish community in Cleveland. As well as being the founder of the Mayo Society of Cleveland, Mr Quinn was one of the founding members of Cleveland's Irish American Club in 1978.

His weekly show, Gerry Quinn Irish Radio is 31 years on the air and has received the Achievement in Radio Award (AIR) and was named Best Ethnic Program in Northeast Ohio.

This weekend, he will broadcast his radio show live from the gteic digital hub in Achill Sound at 3pm on Sunday, September 10.

Among the highlights of the weekend's celebrations will be the unveiling of a bench and plaque along the newly opened Greenway in Achill Sound and on Saturday evening, September 9, a 20th anniversary celebration dinner will take place in Ostan Oilean Acla.

The links between Achill and Cleveland extend back to the nineteenth century when Achill people emigrated in huge numbers to Cleveland to find work. They largely settled in an area known as 'The Angle' and the population flourished around St Malachi Parish in the later part of the nineteenth century.

The Angle raised countless numbers of distinguished sons, such as Tom Patton, a president of Republic Steel, as well as the renowned boxer, Johnny Kilbane who held the World Featherweight title from 1912 to 1923, the longest period in the division's history.

Cleveland remained a destination of choice for many Achill emigrants throughout the 20th century and many people of Achill descent rose to prominent positions in the political, judicial and trade union movement. It is estimated that 200,000 out of the total Cleveland population claim Achill ancestry and the links have always remained strong down through the years.

The twinning of Cleveland with Mayo and Achill was spearheaded by the late Steve Mulloy, a native of Keel on Achill Island, who persuaded the civic leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to establish formal links.

Earlier this year, the current Mayor of Cleveland, Justin Bibb, took time out of a trade mission to Ireland to travel to Achill with a delegation of 14 city officials in recognition of the contribution Achill people have made and continue to make in Cleveland.

Terence Dever, CEO of Comhlacht Forbartha Aitiuil Acla (CFAA), the local development company in Achill said that there was great pride in the community with what has been achieved through the twinning over the last 20 years and looked forward to welcoming the Cleveland delegation to the island.

Tickets for the celebration dinner in Ostan Oilean Acla are still available and anyone wishing to attend is asked to contact the CFAA office on 098 43292. Tickets are available for 40 per person.
The young girl who died in a freak drowning tragedy on a beach in Co Cork on Tuesday afternoon has been named as seven-year-old Emily Roman.

Emily was on Fountainstown Beach, near Crosshaven, Co Cork as families enjoyed the 25C weather, when tragedy struck.

It's understood a number of children were playing in or near shallow water on the popular beach when a larger wave swept the girl out into deeper water.

A three-hour search took place and the girl's body was found at 7.45pm.

The young girl's family are originally from Eastern Europe but have been living locally in Crosshaven where the community has been plunged into morning.

She has been remembered today as "kind, with a bubbly personality" and a "beautiful smile." Emily would have celebrated her eighth birthday this week on Thursday.

Templebreedy National School, Crosshaven, the Bishop of Cork, Dr Paul Colton, as Patron of the school, the school Principal, Doris Bryan, and the Chairperson of the Board of Management, Michael Hodder, issued a statement on Wednesday and led tributes.

"The entire school community in our small Church of Ireland school in Crosshaven, County Cork, together with the local parish and community, are in shock and are utterly devastated at the death of our 2nd class pupil Emily Roman. Most of all we are all heartbroken for Emilys family and loved ones," it read.

"Emily would have been eight years old tomorrow. Emily and her twin brother Jeremy have been in our school since they joined Junior Infants in 2020."

Doris Bryan, the school principal, who is also Emilys class-teacher in second class, describes her as kind, with a bubbly personality," adding that "she had a beautiful smile."

"She was greatly loved by everyone and was very popular with all her friends. She was also very artistic and a gifted young girl. On behalf of the school I extend our deepest sympathies to Emilys parents, Marta and Slawomir, her older sister Inga and her twin brother Jeremy," Principal Bryan continued.

She added: "We are doing our best at the moment to make our school a safe space for all our school community to be together and to support each other as we remember Emily and come to terms with what has happened. Again our primary focus, for Emilys sake, is with her family and loved ones."

The school has implemented its Critical Incident Plan. Psychologists from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) are on site and supporting the school community.

"We are also being supported by our local clergy and our bishop who are here too," Ms Bryan said.

Bishop Paul Colton, patron of the school, said: "Most of us cannot begin to imagine the suffering that this family must now be going through. We are all, however, in shock and devastated. On behalf of us all in the Church of Ireland, in general, and in connection with Templebreedy National School and Templebreedy Parish, in particular, I too extend our sincere sympathy to everyone in the Roman family, to Emilys mother, Marta, father Slawomir, twin brother Jeremy, and older sister Inga.

"A tragedy like this is having a traumatic effect also on this small parish school at the start of this new school year, and also the wider community. I am visiting the school this morning and throughout the day. Practical support and prayers are assured for everyone in the school community, for Emilys family, her fellow students, the school Principal, Doris Bryan, the teachers, staff, parents/guardians and members of the Board of Management.

"I extend sympathy to you all. I am also very conscious of the role played by the first responders, some of whom I know personally, and everyone in the rescue services and Im conscious of the impact a tragedy such as this has on each of them as individuals.

"My thoughts and prayers are with you all."

Funerals details for Emily have not yet been announced by her family.
From seed to finished shade, Hartmann&Forbes is committed to crafting bespoke, all-natural window- and wallcoverings for discerning designers who prioritize eco-conscious materials and exquisite artistry above all else. Based in Tualatin, Oregon, the to-the-trade company creates its textiles from an array of organic fibers that it harvests, then weaves on traditional handlooms, adhering to sustainable practices at every stage of the process. The resulting heirloom-quality pieces have earned the brand an impeccable reputation as a resource for innovative designs as well as recognition as one of Oregon Business magazines 100 Best Green Workplaces for the past 11 years.

Distinguished by its textural nuances, earthy palettes and nature-inspired patterns, Hartmann&Forbess designs reflect the authenticity of the past while meeting modern needs. From arrowroot to water lily, artisans harvest and weave renewable, plant-based fibers into intricate fabrications of warps and wefts that embrace tradition and challenge boundaries in ways only individual handiwork can. The boutique, anti-assembly-line approach allows for a level of customization thats too often a rarity in todays world. Informing every aspect of the practice is a dedication to environmental stewardship and a profound appreciation for the planet. On the occasion of Hartmann&Forbess 25th anniversary, founder and chief creative officer Michael Jones reflects on the companys holistic approach to business and belief that a sense of sanctuary and well-being is a necessary impact of home goods.

Meticulously hand-placed sano panels in organically tonal palettes create the textural, suede-soft surface feel of Hartmann&Forbess artisan-crafted Aleutian wallcovering Courtesy of Hartmann&Forbes

Congratulations on your 25th anniversary! Looking back, looking forward, whats on your mind on this momentous occasion?

Im quite hopeful, honestly. If youd asked me 15 years ago, I probably would have said, Technology is moving so rapidly, how are we going to adapt [as] a company that provides hand-made, hand-woven, high-touch products?

All of our fabrics start as a seed. Jute and linen. Arrowroot has a beautiful sheen. We use the husks of bambooafter they fall off during the growing process, we gather them, then strip and tie them for fibers. Were doing more and more with banana fiber lately. Cork, hemp, palm, ramie. A lot of different river reeds and seagrasses. Vetiver is interesting because its got a natural minty fragrance that carries over to the textile, making a room smell like a spa.

We cultivate our own harvests, sort the fibers by thickness, bundle and sun-bleach them, weave up to 15 feet wide by hand to quarter-inch tolerances, and then translate that into a window shade that can interact with a smart home system or an iPhone. We take this traditional product and apply it to modern, sophisticated purposes.

Maintaining craftsmanship while adapting to technology must be a balancing act.

If you love working with your hands, you can find a home [working] at Hartmann&Forbes forever. Were a sort of human development organization. People are the only reason we exist. The design and craftsmanship is amazing and wonderfulbut weve always been a people-first organization. We respect each individual, and help them discover their unique gifts and how they can contribute to the whole.

The company farms and harvests its all-natural fibers from seed Courtesy of Hartmann&Forbes

Youve found a way thats equitable across the board, both in compensating your artisans and selling your products?

We control the whole process, from farming to weaving to fabricating, which leads back to design. We offer almost unlimited customization. If a designer has an idea, we can help them bring it to life.

Since everything is custom-woven, theres also no waste. Were not a company that has a 100,000-square-foot factory full of fabric where 30 percent is going to end up obsolete and thrown in a landfill. We dont have stock material; we custom-make it. Thats incredibly unique as well. We have several exclusive locations overseas where we do all our farming and weaving. All our fabrication is done here in Oregon.

Youre a native of Oregon yourself. Is there something in the water that makes the state the perfect place to support your business philosophy?

For sure. I think the Pacific Northwest is one of the most beautiful places in the world. And whats interesting is, were starting to see the issues weve cared about for a very long time become more important [to society at large]. The environment, obviously. And theres a connection happening with wellness, an awareness that what we do ultimately impacts not just planetary health, but human health.

We want to play at the apex where human and planetary health come together. We want to deliver a sanctuary experience, because we believe that in todays hyperconnected world, people need to be restored. My office has so many plants that its a jungle; youd wonder how I get any work done. But its because I feel better in nature. Im out walking or hiking, forest bathing, five or six days a week. Its where I get restored.

At Hartmann&Forbes, we focus on not just the biophilic components of having nature in your home, but also making sure people can feel at peace with their decisions. We do all the vetting for you so that you can trust that whatever you buy from us is going to be well-made. Its going to be fair-trade. Its going to be nontoxic. Its going to be beautiful. We want to be the most trusted brand in our marketplace, and trust is built by being honest. Thats why its been so important to remain an independent company. Being independent allows us the freedom to stick to our standards.

Arrowroot, bamboo husks, banana fiber, cork, hemp, palm, river reeds and seagrasses are just some of the plants Hartmann&Forbes transforms into textilesvetiver retains its delicate minty scent Courtesy of Hartmann&Forbes

So its not just the positive effect of being surrounded by sustainable products, its their life before and after. Youre thinking of it holistically.

Absolutely. And its relational over transactional, asking from the very beginning: Can it be organically farmed? What are we using in our dyes? Whats the carbon footprint? Lots of brands preach it. Hartmann&Forbes just does it, each and every day. Its why weve been ranked as one of the top green companies in Oregon for over a decade.

At the same time, you are running a business. What are the sticking points youre still trying to reconcile as you anticipate the next 25 years

Or the next three weeks! Every challenge is an opportunity to grow. Anytime you create a constraint, it allows for creativity. At the start of the pandemic, we didnt know if or for how long we might have to be closed. We had just remodeled and doubled the size of our facilities. We moved in three days. It was hard work, but our team rallied, and that ended up putting us in a position where we could sustain the growth we experienced during the pandemic, which nobody could have forecasted.

We use nature as our North Star. We strive for that same resiliency. We probably dont gauge success according to classic business measurements. Internally, we say: We want to be great, not great big. We also emphasize transparency. When we have struggles, we talk to our clients about it, saying, Heres the issue were dealing with, heres how it might impact you, and heres what were doing to overcome it.

Precisely woven grassweave patterns offer irresistible tactility Courtesy of Hartmann&Forbes

What kind of issues come up?

From the design side, weve had situations where were trying to make a natural-colored fiber white because thats what the designer specd. Well, some of those fibers dont like to stay white; they want to return to their natural shade.

Our business has grown a lot, but we do not jeopardize our quality to produce things faster. Weve had to navigate expectations, telling clients: You will get the best product we can possibly make, but were not going to take shortcuts. We cant rush this process. Everything we make looks so impeccable once its done that people dont understand how much work it takes. We try to have empathy, but educate them.

Speaking of education, you have an MBA and a background in finance, and now you are chief creative officer of a luxury furnishings company. How did those two strands come together?

Its one of those mysteries. Working in the financial world was good training for what I didnt want. I was good at it, but I just wasnt happy. On Sundays Id start thinking, Oh man, Ive got to go into the office tomorrow. Finance was very performance-oriented and shame-based. You were never good enough. That was the root of why I wanted to build something myself, slowly and consistently and in the right way. Ill take grace over performance any day.

Even with my MBA, I learned a lot more from building and running a business. In graduate school, they never even taught us how to hire an employee. In design school, you study a lot of theory, but its only when you start working on projects that you really learn how to design. I call myself a design entrepreneur, because while I oversee all creative, we have a lot of very skilled, talented designers who work here, day in and day out. Theyre the real creatives. Im just the one making sure it all comes together and makes sense.

Shown in the Chakra colorway, Aura combines ramie and arrowroot in a complex, contemplative weave Courtesy of Hartmann&Forbes

Based on your slow business philosophy, I cant help but be curious: Did you grow up in any particular religious tradition? Did you have a spiritual epiphany after business school?

Its the way Im made, I suppose. Ive always wanted to create a culture that was nonjudgmental and open to everybody; to see the human first, because were all works in progress. The core values of most religions are very similar. It doesnt matter if somebody is following Hinduism or Buddhism or Jesus: Whatever their foundational beliefs might be, those change too. People evolve as they mature and experience suffering and challenges.

Theres not a lot thatll get you fired at Hartmann&Forbes except a failure of integrity. You lie, you cheatthat, we wont put up with. But you mess up on a project, you miss a date, no problem. We pick you up, we help you out. We jump on your team and roll up our sleeves.

Has your clienteles appreciation for what Hartmann&Forbes offers evolved over the years too?

People are recognizing that there is a downstream impact to their behavior. I hope that the Hartmann brand can be part of the solution based on the ethical way we make our products. There truly isnt a sustainable company. There are only responsible companies. We aim to be responsible. Yes, we have a footprint. Everybody does. Ours is cleaner than most.

For the next 25 years, I hope we can continue to be a leader in sustainable practices while making unique products for designers. Sales and profits and metrics and all that stuff is important, but it dehumanizes the entire process. Theres this movement now toward conscious capitalism, with targets that take not just growth but impacts into account. At Hartmann&Forbes, thats our mission.

For 25 years, Hartmann&Forbes has prioritized eco-conscious materials and exquisite artisanship. Its all-natural textiles are woven by hand on traditional looms Courtesy of Hartmann&Forbes

This story is a paid promotion and was created in partnership with Hartmann&Forbes.

Homepage image: We want to be great, not great big, says founder and chief creative office Michael Jones, encapsulating the philosophy that informs Oregon-based Hartmann&Forbess mission to create from seed, and by hand, sustainable, environmentally friendly window- and wallcoverings | Courtesy of Hartmann&Forbes
The latest report from Reports and Data reveals that in 2022, the global Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Procedures Market reached USD 7.2 billion. It is anticipated that this market will experience a 6.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue over the forecasted period.

Coronary artery disease (CAD), a prevalent form of cardiovascular ailment, arises from the accumulation of plaque within the arteries that carry blood to the heart. While CABG procedures are highly effective treatments for CAD, the incidence of CAD is expected to rise. Furthermore, since the risk of developing CAD and other cardiovascular conditions increases with age, the expanding elderly population is anticipated to contribute to market expansion.

In addition, there is a growing demand for less invasive surgical techniques, which is poised to stimulate global revenue growth. Minimally invasive CABG surgeries, as opposed to traditional open-heart surgery, involve fewer incisions, resulting in reduced discomfort, shorter hospital stays, and faster recovery times for patients. Consequently, both patients and healthcare professionals are increasingly favoring these procedures.

Access Free sample PDF Copy of the Report @

https://www.reportsanddata.com/download-free-sample/6349

Furthermore, advancements in surgical procedures and equipment are driving market revenue growth. For example, the emergence of robotic-assisted CABG procedures is expected to revolutionize the market by enhancing patient outcomes and providing greater precision and control during surgery.

Key players in the Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Procedures Market:

Abbott Laboratories

Boston Scientific Corporation

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation

HeartWare International, Inc.

MAQUET Holding B.V. & Co. KG

Medtronic plc

Sorin Group

St. Jude Medical, Inc.

Swissray Global Healthcare Holding, Ltd.

Teleflex Incorporated

Some Key Highlights in the Report:

In 2022, the predominant source of revenue was derived from the traditional CABG segment, which constituted the majority of the earnings. This segment involves a surgical procedure where a blood vessel from the patients leg, arm, or chest is employed to circumvent blockages in one or more coronary arteries. This procedure has gained widespread acceptance due to its effectiveness in treating coronary artery disease, particularly in patients with severe blockages. Moreover, typical CABG surgery is well-established in the medical field, having been practiced for an extended period.

The hospital segment captured the largest portion of revenue in 2022. This can be primarily attributed to the substantial volume of surgical procedures conducted within hospital settings. Hospitals are the preferred choice for patients in need of surgical treatments due to their extensive array of specialized surgical departments, access to advanced medical technologies, and highly skilled healthcare professionals. Furthermore, the increasing elderly population and the growing prevalence of chronic ailments such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and neurological disorders have generated significant demand for surgical interventions within hospital environments.

In 2022, the North American market led in terms of revenue share. The primary drivers of CABG operations in this region were the elevated rates of cardiovascular diseases and the aging population. Additionally, regional technological advancements and the increasing adoption of minimally invasive procedures are expected to propel revenue growth in the market.

Asia Pacific is anticipated to exhibit the highest revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) throughout the projection period due to rising disposable income and an increasing demand for improved healthcare facilities. The escalating incidence of cardiovascular diseases in emerging nations like China and India has fueled the demand for CABG procedures. Other factors contributing to revenue growth in this region include the availability of cost-effective CABG procedures and rapid developments in healthcare infrastructure.

Get in detailed Research Study @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/coronary-artery-bypass-graft-procedures-market

For the purpose of this report, Reports and Data has segmented the global Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) procedures market on the basis of Product Type Outlook, End-use Outlook, and Regional Outlook:

Product Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Traditional CAGB

Off-pump CAGB

Minimally Invasive CAGB

End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Hospitals

Ambulatory Surgical Centers

Download Summary @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/download-summary-form/6349

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022-2032)

North America U.S. Canada Mexico

Europe Germany U.K. France Italy Spain Sweden BENELUX Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific China India Japan South Korea Rest of APAC

Latin America Brazil Rest of LATAM

Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia UAE South Africa Israel Rest of MEA



Ask for Customize Research Report @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/request-customization-form/6349

Some points on how the report benefits stakeholders:

The reports include historical (20202021) and forecast (20222032) data points, revenues, and CAGR in table, figure, and chart formats, with detailed and qualitative, supporting written information for each.

Revenue break-up is provided for each segment in these formats for global, regional, and for each country in the respective region for each year between 2019 and 2030.

The report contains insights regarding growth drivers, restraints, opportunities, trends, company profiles, strategic developments, expansion details, product launches, and various other aspects related to the market.

The report contains data and information on customers, competitors, vendors/distributors, and other players and in the global marketplace.

Market research analysis is vital for all crucial business strategies and can aid in numerous ways and to provide a clearer understanding about strategies being deployed by competitors, product launches, competitive analysis, technological advancements and various other factors that enhance sales of a firm or perhaps provide insights to focus on merger and acquisition as a strategy or enter into strategic agreements or joint ventures etc.

The report contains company profiles of the top companies operating in the market along with their respective revenue and operating segments, geographical reach, market footprint, headquarters, growth rates, recent developments, product /services, expansion strategies, investments in expansion, and more.

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Medical Coding Market By Classification System (International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and Healthcare Common Procedure Code System (HCPCS)), By Component (In-house and Outsourced), and By End-user (Hospitals, Diagnostic Centers, and Other End Users) and by Region Forecast By 2032

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Reports and Data is a market research and consulting company that provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. Our solutions purely focus on your purpose to locate, target, and analyze consumer behavior shifts across demographics, across industries, and help clients to make smarter business decisions. We offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across multiple industries, including Healthcare, Touch Points, Chemicals, Products, and Energy. We consistently update our research offerings to ensure our clients are aware of the latest trends existent in the market. Reports and Data has a strong base of experienced analysts from varied areas of expertise. Our industry experience and ability to develop a concrete solution to any research problems provides our clients with the ability to secure an edge over their respective competitors.

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Read Latest Press Release @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/press-release/global-coronary-artery-bypass-graft-procedures-market
According to the latest report from Reports and Data, the 2022 global Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Market size reached USD 1.76 Billion, and it is anticipated to demonstrate a revenue Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.6% throughout the forecast period.

CABG, short for Coronary Artery Bypass Graft, is a surgical procedure employed to restore the functionality of obstructed or narrowed heart arteries. This procedure involves creating an alternative route around the blocked or constricted artery using a healthy blood vessel sourced from another part of the body, thereby enhancing blood flow to the heart muscle. Patients with severe Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) who do not respond to medication or lifestyle adjustments are frequently recommended to undergo this surgical intervention.

The primary driver behind the increasing revenue in this market is the rising prevalence of cardiovascular diseases. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases were accountable for 17.9 million deaths worldwide in 2019, ranking them as the leading cause of mortality across the globe. Additionally, the expanding elderly population is expected to contribute to revenue growth. The heightened susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases among the elderly population has led to a growing demand for CABG procedures.

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Furthermore, advancements in cardiac surgery techniques are poised to be a significant catalyst for revenue growth in this market. Continuous improvements in surgical methodologies and medical equipment are making CABG surgeries more efficient and less invasive. For instance, the adoption of robotic-assisted surgical equipment is on the rise due to their ability to facilitate more precise and minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Key players in the Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Market:

Abbott Laboratories

Medtronic

Boston Scientific Corporation

LivaNova PLC

Edwards Lifesciences Corporation

Maquet Holding B.V. & Co. KG (Getinge Group)

Terumo Corporation

Cardinal Health, Inc.

Cardiac Science Corporation

Sorin Group

Some Key Highlights in the Report:

During the forecasted period, it is anticipated that the on-pump segment will generate the highest income. The markets revenue growth is expected to be propelled by several factors, including the increasing adoption of on-pump CABG treatments in emerging economies, a rising incidence of CAD, and technological advancements in the healthcare sector. The segments revenue surge is primarily driven by its effectiveness in addressing complex coronary artery diseases. Technological progress, such as the utilization of robotic-assisted surgery for CABG treatments, which enhances precision and control during procedures, is also poised to contribute to revenue growth in the market.

In the projected period, it is expected that the hospital segment will lead in revenue generation. Advances in healthcare infrastructure, a greater number of hospital admissions for CABG treatments, and an increasing prevalence of CAD are all anticipated to bolster revenue growth in this segment. The segments revenue expansion is expected to be fueled by its capacity to offer comprehensive medical services and state-of-the-art surgical facilities. Furthermore, hospitals offer a wide array of diagnostic and treatment options for individuals with complex coronary artery issues, which is projected to drive revenue growth in this category.

In the year 2022, the North American market dominated in terms of revenue share. The growth in revenue in this market is attributed to several factors, including the rising incidence of CAD in the region, the rapid expansion of the healthcare system, and the availability of advanced medical facilities. Additionally, the region has a higher predisposition to CAD due to a substantial number of individuals who are obese or have high cholesterol levels, resulting in increased demand for CABG surgery. Furthermore, favorable reimbursement schemes in North America are incentivizing more individuals to undergo CABG surgery, thereby further contributing to revenue growth in the region.

The Asia Pacific market is anticipated to experience the swiftest revenue growth during the projected period. This can be attributed to the increasing prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) in the region and the growing popularity of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. Countries like China and India, with their large populations, exhibit a high CAD incidence, leading to a substantial demand for treatment. Additionally, the rising elderly population in the region, who are more susceptible to CAD, is expected to drive demand for CABG procedures.

Get in detailed Research Study @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/coronary-artery-bypass-graft-market

For the purpose of this report, Reports and Data has segmented the global Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) market on the basis of Procedure Type Outlook, End-use Outlook, and Regional Outlook:

Procedure Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Off-pump

On-pump

Minimally Invasive

End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Hospitals

Ambulatory Surgical Centers

Cardiac Centers

Download Summary @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/download-summary-form/6348

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022-2032)

North America U.S. Canada Mexico

Europe Germany U.K. France Italy Spain Sweden BENELUX Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific China India Japan South Korea Rest of APAC

Latin America Brazil Rest of LATAM

Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia UAE South Africa Israel Rest of MEA



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Some points on how the report benefits stakeholders:

The reports include historical (20202021) and forecast (20222032) data points, revenues, and CAGR in table, figure, and chart formats, with detailed and qualitative, supporting written information for each.

Revenue break-up is provided for each segment in these formats for global, regional, and for each country in the respective region for each year between 2019 and 2030.

The report contains insights regarding growth drivers, restraints, opportunities, trends, company profiles, strategic developments, expansion details, product launches, and various other aspects related to the market.

The report contains data and information on customers, competitors, vendors/distributors, and other players and in the global marketplace.

Market research analysis is vital for all crucial business strategies and can aid in numerous ways and to provide a clearer understanding about strategies being deployed by competitors, product launches, competitive analysis, technological advancements and various other factors that enhance sales of a firm or perhaps provide insights to focus on merger and acquisition as a strategy or enter into strategic agreements or joint ventures etc.

The report contains company profiles of the top companies operating in the market along with their respective revenue and operating segments, geographical reach, market footprint, headquarters, growth rates, recent developments, product /services, expansion strategies, investments in expansion, and more.

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About Reports and Data

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MANCHESTER, England, Sept. 7, 2023 /CNW/ -- ACE Money Transfer, a leading global money transfer company based out of Manchester, United Kingdom, partners with a growing Islamic banking network in Pakistan, Faysal Bank Limited (FBL), to offer seamless remittance service to Pakistani expats living abroad. The legendary cricket sensation, Shoaib Akhtar, has joined the mission as an ambassador to the cause as is at the forefront of promoting the use of regulated remittance channels.

ACE Money Transfer and Faysal Bank

Shoaib Akhtar, encouraging overseas Pakistanis to use regulated channels, says, "Every single penny sent by Pakistanis living abroad can make a huge difference in the current economic despair. It is now more than ever that Pakistan needs remittances sent via legal channels."

Pakistanis across the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland can now send money to Pakistan to more than 700 Faysal Bank's Islamic branches free of charge at competitive exchange rates. The partnership enables convenient, secure, and instant transactions that are processed in seconds, even on weekends and public holidays.

"We are excited to collaborate with one of the leading Islamic banks in Pakistan, Faysal Bank, in offering seamless remittance service to Pakistani expats living across the globe," said Rashid Ashraf, the CEO of ACE Money Transfer. "The current strategic partnership with Faysal Bank is a significant step in our commitment to making cross-border payments secure, fast, easier and more affordable for customers."

On this occasion, the Group Head CIBG Faysal Bank Limited Mr. Ali Waqar said, "We are delighted about this partnership with ACE Money Transfer. This partnership will facilitate Pakistani expatriates living across the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland to send remittances to their loved ones in Pakistan through more than 700 Islamic branches in over 250 cities across Pakistan. This collaboration will increase the inflow of remittances to Pakistan, making cross-border transactions more secure, fast, and convenient for our customers".

Story continues

For more information, please visit www.acemoneytransfer.com

About ACE Money Transfer

ACE Money Transfer, based out of Manchester, the UK, is a growing remittance provider. It offers impeccable online money transfer services to millions of expatriates with an extensive network of 375,000+ locations spread across 100+ countries worldwide.

About Faysal Bank

FBL was incorporated in Pakistan on October 3, 1994 as a public limited company and its shares are listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange. FBL offers a wide range of modern banking services compliant with Shariah to all customer segments, i.e., Retail, Small & Medium Sized Enterprises, Commercial, Agri-based, and Corporate.

Media Contact:

Sameer.suleman@acemoneytransfer.com

+44 161 3936 999

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204517/ACE_Money_Transfer.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1807198/4260930/ACE_Money_Transfer_Logo.jpg

(PRNewsfoto/ACE Money Transfer)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ace-money-transfer-and-faysal-bank-set-to-boost-legal-remittances-to-pakistan-301921002.html

SOURCE ACE Money Transfer

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2023/07/c3325.html
The latest report by Reports and Data indicates that the global Dental Cement Market had a size of USD 2.0 Billion in 2022 and is projected to achieve a revenue Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.8% during the forecast period.

The world is witnessing an escalating prevalence of dental issues such as untreated tooth decay, cavities, and gum disease, with nearly 3.5 billion people affected worldwide, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO). This surge in dental problems has led to an increased demand for dental treatments and procedures, consequently propelling the revenue growth in the dental cement market.

Moreover, the global market is experiencing a boost in revenue due to the aging global population. As people age, dental problems like tooth decay, gum disease, and tooth loss become more common, necessitating essential dental interventions for the elderly. The dental cement market is also benefiting from the growing disposable income and rising healthcare expenses among the aging population.

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The expected revenue growth in the market can be attributed to the surging demand for cosmetic dentistry procedures. Peoples desire for a perfect smile, combined with heightened awareness of oral health, has resulted in the increased popularity of cosmetic dentistry treatments, including tooth whitening, veneers, and dental implants. Dental cement plays a crucial role in these aesthetic dentistry procedures, further contributing to the markets revenue growth.

Key players in the Dental Cement Market:

Dentsply Sirona

Henry Schein, Inc.

3M Company

Kettenbach GmbH & Co. KG

Ivoclar Vivadent AG

Shofu Dental Corporation

Kerr Corporation

DMG Chemisch-Pharmazeutische Fabrik GmbH

VOCO GmbH

Septodont Holding

Some Key Highlights in the Report:

The temporary dental cement sector is expected to secure the largest portion of revenue in the projected period. Temporary dental cement, a specific type of cement used for quick dental procedures like attaching orthodontic brackets, temporary crowns, and temporary fillings, is the driving force behind this segments revenue growth. Factors contributing to this growth include the user-friendly nature of these cements, their rapid setting time, and ease of removal. Additionally, the cost-effectiveness of temporary cements in comparison to permanent alternatives is expected to generate significant demand in emerging countries, thereby boosting revenue within this segment.

The crowns sector is anticipated to generate the highest revenue during the forecasted period. Dental crowns, commonly used dental prostheses to cover damaged or weak teeth, are in high demand due to the increasing prevalence of dental caries, tooth decay, and periodontal disorders worldwide. Moreover, the rising demand for aesthetic dentistry procedures such as teeth whitening, dental implants, and veneers is expected to drive the demand for dental crowns, resulting in revenue growth for this segment.

Over the forecast period, the North American market is expected to dominate in terms of revenue share. This is primarily attributed to the regions robust healthcare infrastructure and higher healthcare spending. Additionally, the growing aging population and an increase in dental procedures are expected to fuel revenue growth in the dental cement market within the region. The presence of major industry players like 3M Company, Dentsply Sirona, and Danaher Corporation further contributes to the markets momentum, driving revenue growth in North America.

The Asia Pacific market is projected to experience the highest revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) during the forecasted period. This growth can be attributed to rising disposable incomes and increased awareness of oral hygiene in the region. Furthermore, the increasing number of dental clinics and growing demand for cosmetic dentistry in countries such as China and India are expected to drive market revenue growth. The presence of significant companies in the region, including GC Corporation and SHOFU Dental GmbH, is also expected to contribute to revenue growth in the Asia Pacific dental cement market.

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For the purpose of this report, Reports and Data has segmented the global dental cement market on the basis of Type Outlook, Application Outlook, and Regional Outlook:

Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Temporary

Permanent

Others

Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Crowns

Bridges

Inlays/Onlays

Others

Download Summary @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/download-summary-form/6355

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022-2032)

North America U.S. Canada Mexico

Europe Germany U.K. France Italy Spain Sweden BENELUX Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific China India Japan South Korea Rest of APAC

Latin America Brazil Rest of LATAM

Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia UAE South Africa Israel Rest of MEA



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Some points on how the report benefits stakeholders:

The reports include historical (20202021) and forecast (20222032) data points, revenues, and CAGR in table, figure, and chart formats, with detailed and qualitative, supporting written information for each.

Revenue break-up is provided for each segment in these formats for global, regional, and for each country in the respective region for each year between 2019 and 2030.

The report contains insights regarding growth drivers, restraints, opportunities, trends, company profiles, strategic developments, expansion details, product launches, and various other aspects related to the market.

The report contains data and information on customers, competitors, vendors/distributors, and other players and in the global marketplace.

Market research analysis is vital for all crucial business strategies and can aid in numerous ways and to provide a clearer understanding about strategies being deployed by competitors, product launches, competitive analysis, technological advancements and various other factors that enhance sales of a firm or perhaps provide insights to focus on merger and acquisition as a strategy or enter into strategic agreements or joint ventures etc.

The report contains company profiles of the top companies operating in the market along with their respective revenue and operating segments, geographical reach, market footprint, headquarters, growth rates, recent developments, product /services, expansion strategies, investments in expansion, and more.

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Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Procedures Market by Procedure Type (Traditional CABG, Off-pump CABG, Minimally Invasive CABG), By End-use (Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Centers), By Region Forecast to 2032

About Reports and Data

Reports and Data is a market research and consulting company that provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. Our solutions purely focus on your purpose to locate, target, and analyze consumer behavior shifts across demographics, across industries, and help clients to make smarter business decisions. We offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across multiple industries, including Healthcare, Touch Points, Chemicals, Products, and Energy. We consistently update our research offerings to ensure our clients are aware of the latest trends existent in the market. Reports and Data has a strong base of experienced analysts from varied areas of expertise. Our industry experience and ability to develop a concrete solution to any research problems provides our clients with the ability to secure an edge over their respective competitors.

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Reports and Data | Web: www.reportsanddata.com

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The global Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Parkinsons Disease Market size reached a value of USD 2.3 Billion in 2022 and is projected to achieve a revenue Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8.5% in the forecast period, as indicated in the latest report from Reports and Data.

Parkinsons disease, a chronic and degenerative movement disorder, affects millions of individuals worldwide, with a higher prevalence in industrialized nations. The rising incidence of Parkinsons disease, coupled with the limited effectiveness of current treatments, is expected to drive the growth of market revenue.

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), a neurosurgical procedure used to manage Parkinsons disease, entails the placement of electrodes in specific brain regions to regulate abnormal impulses and enhance motor function in Parkinsons patients. The markets expansion is primarily driven by the growing demand for minimally invasive surgical techniques and the introduction of innovative DBS technology. Notably, the precise positioning of electrodes in the brain, made possible by advanced imaging techniques such as CT and MRI, contributes to the markets growth.

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Additionally, there has been a significant increase in research and development (R&D) efforts aimed at developing new DBS systems and improving the procedures effectiveness and safety. The market is experiencing substantial growth due to ongoing clinical trials assessing the potential of DBS in treating various neurological conditions, including epilepsy, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Key players in the Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Parkinsons Disease Market:

Medtronic

Boston Scientific Corporation

Jude Medical

Abbott Laboratories

Aleva Neurotherapeutics

Sapiens Neuro

SceneRay Corporation

Beijing PINS Medical Co. Ltd.

Magstim

Fisher Wallace

Some Key Highlights in the Report:

In 2021, a significant portion of the revenue was attributed to single-channel deep brain stimulation (DBS) due to its effectiveness and cost-efficiency. DBS involves implanting electrodes into specific brain regions to manage Parkinsons disease symptoms. Single-channel DBS, a less invasive procedure using a single electrode, offers a more economical alternative compared to dual-channel DBS and other advanced treatments. Moreover, its simplicity makes it a preferred choice for patients seeking a less complex option.

In 2022, the hospitals segment emerged as the leading revenue contributor for several reasons. The availability of skilled medical professionals and state-of-the-art hospital facilities played a pivotal role. Hospitals are equipped with advanced technology and employ experienced neurosurgeons crucial for performing DBS surgeries. Furthermore, hospitals possess the essential resources and infrastructure to provide comprehensive patient care, including crucial post-operative support and rehabilitation services, essential for the procedures overall success. Consequently, this segment is experiencing revenue growth as hospitals remain the preferred choice for Parkinsons disease patients seeking DBS treatment.

In 2022, the North American market dominated revenue share, driven by two primary factors: a growing elderly population and an increasing prevalence of Parkinsons disease. Additionally, the rising awareness of the benefits of DBS therapy for treating Parkinsons disease is expected to boost revenue in this region. Furthermore, the number of research and development initiatives focused on DBS therapy is on the rise, contributing to the anticipated revenue growth in the market.

The Asia Pacific market is projected to achieve the highest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in revenue throughout the forecast period. This growth in the region can be attributed to two major factors: a rising elderly population and an increasing prevalence of Parkinsons disease, particularly in countries like China, India, and Japan. These factors are expected to propel revenue growth in the market.

Get in detailed Research Study @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/report-detail/deep-brain-stimulation-parkinsons-disease-market

For the purpose of this report, Reports and Data has segmented the global Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Parkinsons disease market on the basis of Product Type Outlook, End-use Outlook, and Regional Outlook:

Product Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Single-channel DBS

Duel-channel DBS

Others

End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Hospitals

Ambulatory Surgery Centers

Others

Download Summary @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/download-summary-form/6352

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022-2032)

North America U.S. Canada Mexico

Europe Germany U.K. France Italy Spain Sweden BENELUX Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific China India Japan South Korea Rest of APAC

Latin America Brazil Rest of LATAM

Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia UAE South Africa Israel Rest of MEA



Ask for Customize Research Report @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/request-customization-form/6352

Some points on how the report benefits stakeholders:

The reports include historical (20202021) and forecast (20222032) data points, revenues, and CAGR in table, figure, and chart formats, with detailed and qualitative, supporting written information for each.

Revenue break-up is provided for each segment in these formats for global, regional, and for each country in the respective region for each year between 2019 and 2030.

The report contains insights regarding growth drivers, restraints, opportunities, trends, company profiles, strategic developments, expansion details, product launches, and various other aspects related to the market.

The report contains data and information on customers, competitors, vendors/distributors, and other players and in the global marketplace.

Market research analysis is vital for all crucial business strategies and can aid in numerous ways and to provide a clearer understanding about strategies being deployed by competitors, product launches, competitive analysis, technological advancements and various other factors that enhance sales of a firm or perhaps provide insights to focus on merger and acquisition as a strategy or enter into strategic agreements or joint ventures etc.

The report contains company profiles of the top companies operating in the market along with their respective revenue and operating segments, geographical reach, market footprint, headquarters, growth rates, recent developments, product /services, expansion strategies, investments in expansion, and more.

Explore Latest Trending Research Reports By Reports and Datas

Implantable Neurostimulators Market, By Product Type (Spinal Cord Stimulators, Deep Brain Stimulators, Sacral Nerve Stimulators, Vagus Nerve Stimulators, and Others), By Application [Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, Parkinsons Disease (PD), Urinary and Fecal Incontinence, and Others], By End-Use [Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs), and Others], and By Region Forecast to 2032

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About Reports and Data

Reports and Data is a market research and consulting company that provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. Our solutions purely focus on your purpose to locate, target, and analyze consumer behavior shifts across demographics, across industries, and help clients to make smarter business decisions. We offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across multiple industries, including Healthcare, Touch Points, Chemicals, Products, and Energy. We consistently update our research offerings to ensure our clients are aware of the latest trends existent in the market. Reports and Data has a strong base of experienced analysts from varied areas of expertise. Our industry experience and ability to develop a concrete solution to any research problems provides our clients with the ability to secure an edge over their respective competitors.

Contact Us:

John W

(Head of Business Development)

Reports and Data | Web: www.reportsanddata.com

Direct Line: +1-212-710-1370

E-mail: sales@reportsanddata.com

Blogs | Press Release | Industry News | Our competencies

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The 2022 global Hospital Gowns Market size reached USD 4.85 Billion, and the latest Reports and Data report anticipates a 12.88% revenue CAGR during the forecast period.

Surgical gowns play a critical role as protective attire for medical professionals, ensuring patient safety by preventing infections, including those caused by bacteria and viruses.

The increasing number of surgeries and medical procedures is fueling the demand for hospital gowns. Healthcare facilities must procure a substantial quantity of gowns to ensure that every patient is appropriately attired for their procedure. Gowns are a necessity for both surgical and general medical procedures within healthcare institutions, serving to minimize direct contact between a patients bodily fluids and a physicians skin, thereby reducing the risk of transmitting infection-causing pathogens.

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Hospital gowns are essential in the battle against infection transmission, as healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) pose significant challenges in medical settings. In response, hospitals and healthcare institutions are making greater investments in high-quality gowns. For instance, the utilization of disposable gowns is on the rise in hospital environments to mitigate the risk of cross-contamination.

Key players in the Hospital Gowns Market:

3M Health Care

Cardinal Health, Inc.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation

Standard Textile Co., Inc.

Priontex

Angelica Corporation

Medline Industries, Inc.

Encompass Group, LLC

Molnlycke Health Care AB

Adaptive Textiles, Inc.

DeRoyal Industries, Inc.

Some Key Highlights in the Report:

In 2022, the global hospital gowns market saw its largest revenue share coming from reusable gowns, primarily due to the growing demand for environmentally friendly and sustainable products, increased healthcare spending, and the need for cost-effective, long-term solutions. These reusable gowns are crafted from high-quality materials like polyester, cotton, or a combination thereof, ensuring durability and the ability to withstand numerous washings and sterilization processes. Compared to disposable gowns, they tend to be thicker and more breathable, enhancing patient comfort and flexibility.

During the forecast period, the hospitals sector exhibited the highest revenue growth rate in the global hospital gowns market. This surge can be attributed to the rising demand for healthcare services, an increasing number of medical procedures and surgeries, and the imperative for infection prevention and control measures within healthcare facilities. Hospitals are the primary consumers of hospital gowns as they require a substantial quantity to safeguard patients and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Hospital gowns in this market must meet stringent infection control standards while also providing comfort and durability to endure repeated washing and sterilization procedures.

North America dominated the global hospital gowns market in terms of revenue during the forecast period. This dominance can be attributed to the growing prevalence of chronic diseases, a rising number of surgeries, and hospital admissions in the region. Strict regulations set by organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regarding patient safety and hygiene have further fueled the demand for hospital gowns in North America. Additionally, the regions well-established healthcare infrastructure and substantial healthcare expenditures in countries such as the U.S. and Canada are anticipated to propel revenue growth in the market.

The Asia Pacific market is anticipated to experience the swiftest revenue growth in the global hospital gowns market during the forecast period. This surge is driven by the increasing incidence of infectious diseases and the growing number of hospitals and healthcare facilities, particularly in countries like China and India. Furthermore, rising disposable incomes and healthcare costs in the region are expected to contribute to revenue growth in the market.

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For the purpose of this report, Reports and Data has segmented the global hospital gowns market on the basis of Product Type Outlook, Usability Outlook, Risk Type Outlook, Distribution Channel Outlook, End-use Outlook, and Regional Outlook:

Product Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Surgical Gowns

Non-Surgical Gowns

Patient Gowns

Usability Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Disposable

Reusable

Risk Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Minimal

Low

Moderate

High

Distribution Channel Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Direct Procurement

Group Purchasing Organizations

End-use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Hospitals

Clinics

Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs)

Diagnostic Centers

Download Summary @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/download-summary-form/6382

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022-2032)

North America U.S. Canada Mexico

Europe Germany U.K. France Italy Spain Sweden BENELUX Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific China India Japan South Korea Rest of APAC

Latin America Brazil Rest of LATAM

Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia UAE South Africa Israel Rest of MEA



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Some points on how the report benefits stakeholders:

The reports include historical (20202021) and forecast (20222032) data points, revenues, and CAGR in table, figure, and chart formats, with detailed and qualitative, supporting written information for each.

Revenue break-up is provided for each segment in these formats for global, regional, and for each country in the respective region for each year between 2019 and 2030.

The report contains insights regarding growth drivers, restraints, opportunities, trends, company profiles, strategic developments, expansion details, product launches, and various other aspects related to the market.

The report contains data and information on customers, competitors, vendors/distributors, and other players and in the global marketplace.

Market research analysis is vital for all crucial business strategies and can aid in numerous ways and to provide a clearer understanding about strategies being deployed by competitors, product launches, competitive analysis, technological advancements and various other factors that enhance sales of a firm or perhaps provide insights to focus on merger and acquisition as a strategy or enter into strategic agreements or joint ventures etc.

The report contains company profiles of the top companies operating in the market along with their respective revenue and operating segments, geographical reach, market footprint, headquarters, growth rates, recent developments, product /services, expansion strategies, investments in expansion, and more.

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The latest report by Reports and Data indicates that the global Healthcare Staffing Market had a size of USD 35.36 Billion in 2022, with an expected revenue Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4% during the forecast period.

Healthcare staffing plays a vital role in appointing skilled and well-trained healthcare professionals through a diverse network of experts, sourcing strategies, and clinical expertise. These services encompass the identification of qualified individuals, the utilization of technology to verify the credentials of candidates and workers, assessment of skills, validation of licenses and certificates, and the implementation of other screening processes. The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and the demand for specialized care in areas such as cancer, cardiology, and neurology are driving the need for healthcare professionals.

Furthermore, the rise of telemedicine and the demand for remote healthcare services are contributing to the growth in market revenue. Healthcare providers are shifting towards value-based and patient-centric care models to enhance patient outcomes and reduce costs, thereby increasing the demand for healthcare workforce.

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Healthcare staffing agencies are increasingly integrating technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to address the shortage of healthcare professionals. These advanced technologies enable these agencies to streamline the process of identifying and hiring qualified healthcare personnel, ultimately reducing the time and expenses associated with recruitment and training of new staff members.

Key players in the Healthcare Staffing Market:

Adecco Group

CHG Healthcare

Cross Country Healthcare

Envision Healthcare

AMN Healthcare

Maxim Healthcare Services

Almost Family Inc.

Aya Healthcare

Jackson Healthcare

Healthcare Staffing Services

Some Key Highlights in the Report:

In 2022, the travel nursing sector held the largest share of revenue in the global healthcare staffing market. This was primarily a result of the growing demand for healthcare professionals worldwide and the necessity for adaptable staffing solutions that can accommodate evolving healthcare requirements. Travel nurses offer temporary staffing solutions for hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities that urgently need to address staffing shortages. They are equipped to handle various healthcare services, including critical care, emergency care, and surgical treatment, and can be deployed to various regions across the globe.

Throughout the projected period, the hospital sector is expected to maintain the highest revenue share in the global healthcare staffing market. This can be attributed to the rising number of hospital admissions stemming from a variety of medical conditions and an aging population. To ensure the provision of top-notch patient care, the healthcare industry heavily relies on skilled professionals. Hospitals experience a significant demand for healthcare personnel, including nurses, doctors, and support staff, to meet the diverse needs of their patient population.

In 2022, the North American market accounted for the largest portion of revenue in the global healthcare staffing market. This can be attributed to factors such as the aging population and the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Intense competition among major players characterizes the market in this region. The demand for temporary and contract-based healthcare staffing services is on the rise in North America. Additionally, the integration of advanced technology and automation in the healthcare sector is expected to contribute to market growth in this region.

The European market is anticipated to exhibit the highest growth rate in terms of revenue in the global healthcare staffing market during the forecast period. This growth is driven by factors such as the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and the rising cost of healthcare services. Furthermore, the aging population in Europe is leading to a higher demand for healthcare services, which is expected to fuel revenue growth in the region.

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For the purpose of this report, Reports and Data has segmented the global healthcare staffing market on the basis of Service Type Outlook, End-Use Outlook, and Regional Outlook:

Service Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Travel Nurse

Locum tenens

Allied Healthcare

Permanent Placement

End-Use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Hospitals

Clinics

Long-Term Care Facilities

Others

Download Summary @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/download-summary-form/6370

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022-2032)

North America U.S. Canada Mexico

Europe Germany U.K. France Italy Spain Sweden BENELUX Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific China India Japan South Korea Rest of APAC

Latin America Brazil Rest of LATAM

Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia UAE South Africa Israel Rest of MEA



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The reports include historical (20202021) and forecast (20222032) data points, revenues, and CAGR in table, figure, and chart formats, with detailed and qualitative, supporting written information for each.

Revenue break-up is provided for each segment in these formats for global, regional, and for each country in the respective region for each year between 2019 and 2030.

The report contains insights regarding growth drivers, restraints, opportunities, trends, company profiles, strategic developments, expansion details, product launches, and various other aspects related to the market.

The report contains data and information on customers, competitors, vendors/distributors, and other players and in the global marketplace.

Market research analysis is vital for all crucial business strategies and can aid in numerous ways and to provide a clearer understanding about strategies being deployed by competitors, product launches, competitive analysis, technological advancements and various other factors that enhance sales of a firm or perhaps provide insights to focus on merger and acquisition as a strategy or enter into strategic agreements or joint ventures etc.

The report contains company profiles of the top companies operating in the market along with their respective revenue and operating segments, geographical reach, market footprint, headquarters, growth rates, recent developments, product /services, expansion strategies, investments in expansion, and more.

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In 2022, the global Hospital Linen Supply and Management Services Market reached a value of USD 10.23 Billion, and it is projected to exhibit a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% over the forecast period, as indicated in the latest report from Reports and Data.

Hospital linen supply and management services encompass professional assistance in the procurement and maintenance of linen resources for hospitals and healthcare institutions, with a primary focus on maintaining optimal hygiene standards. The increasing prevalence of Hospital-Acquired Infections (HAIs) has emphasized the critical importance of improved cleanliness and hygiene in healthcare facilities, thus leading to a heightened demand for such services.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 1 in 31 hospitalized patients in the United States encounters at least one Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI). This alarming statistic has driven a surge in the requirement for hospital linen supply and management services that can ensure the provision of clean, sanitary, and comfortable linens for patients, medical professionals, and other healthcare personnel.

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Furthermore, the growing focus on enhancing patient satisfaction levels within healthcare establishments has spurred an increased demand for top-quality and comfortable hospital linens. Patients now have elevated expectations when it comes to the cleanliness, comfort, and pleasant fragrance of the linens they encounter during their hospital stays, as these factors significantly impact their overall experience. Consequently, hospital linen supply and management services have evolved into essential components for healthcare facilities, allowing them to elevate their standards of patient satisfaction.

Key players in the Hospital Linen Supply and Management Services Market:

ImageFIRST Healthcare Laundry Specialists

Angelica Corporation

Aramark

Alsco Inc.

Synergy Health PLC

Healthcare Services Group, Inc.

Ecotex Healthcare Linen Service Corp.

Crothall Healthcare

Medline Industries, Inc.

Clarus Linen Systems

Some Key Highlights in the Report:

In 2022, the leading share of revenue in the worldwide market for hospital linen supply and management services was held by the bed linen segment. This dominance is a result of the substantial demand for various bed linen products, such as bed sheets, blankets, and pillowcases, within hospital environments. The continuous need for replacements and the imperative to maintain cleanliness contribute significantly to the robust demand for these items. Additionally, the growing requirement for specialized bed linens tailored to patients with varying medical conditions and specific needs is another key factor propelling the revenue growth of this particular segment.

Looking ahead, it is projected that the cotton segment will demonstrate the most rapid growth in revenue during the forecast period within the global market for hospital linen supply and management services. This growth can be attributed to the significant demand for cotton-based linen products in hospital settings. Cotton linens are favored due to their natural and breathable qualities, which enhance patient comfort and hygiene. Moreover, cotton linens exhibit remarkable durability and can endure frequent washing and disinfection cycles, rendering them a favored choice in healthcare facilities.

In 2022, the North American market claimed the largest share of revenue in the global market for hospital linen supply and management services. This can be attributed to the increasing number of hospitals and healthcare facilities, coupled with an aging population that requires more medical attention. Additionally, there is a rising emphasis on maintaining high levels of hygiene and cleanliness in healthcare establishments, along with a growing awareness of the significance of infection prevention and control. These factors are expected to further propel revenue growth in this region.

During the forecast period, the Asia Pacific market is anticipated to register the most rapid growth rate in terms of revenue within the global hospital linen supply and management services market. This can be attributed to the expanding healthcare infrastructure in emerging economies such as India and China. Furthermore, the surging trend of medical tourism in this region, where both patients and healthcare providers prioritize top-notch linen services in healthcare facilities, is expected to be a driving force behind revenue growth in this region.

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For the purpose of this report, Reports and Data has segmented the global hospital linen supply and management services market on the basis of Product Type Outlook, Material Type Outlook, and Regional Outlook:

Product Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Bed Linen

Bath Linen

Patient Repositioner

Others

Material Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022  2032)

Cotton

Polyester

Blended

Download Summary @ https://www.reportsanddata.com/download-summary-form/6384

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion; 2022-2032)

North America U.S. Canada Mexico

Europe Germany U.K. France Italy Spain Sweden BENELUX Rest of Europe

Asia-Pacific China India Japan South Korea Rest of APAC

Latin America Brazil Rest of LATAM

Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia UAE South Africa Israel Rest of MEA



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Some points on how the report benefits stakeholders:

The reports include historical (20202021) and forecast (20222032) data points, revenues, and CAGR in table, figure, and chart formats, with detailed and qualitative, supporting written information for each.

Revenue break-up is provided for each segment in these formats for global, regional, and for each country in the respective region for each year between 2019 and 2030.

The report contains insights regarding growth drivers, restraints, opportunities, trends, company profiles, strategic developments, expansion details, product launches, and various other aspects related to the market.

The report contains data and information on customers, competitors, vendors/distributors, and other players and in the global marketplace.

Market research analysis is vital for all crucial business strategies and can aid in numerous ways and to provide a clearer understanding about strategies being deployed by competitors, product launches, competitive analysis, technological advancements and various other factors that enhance sales of a firm or perhaps provide insights to focus on merger and acquisition as a strategy or enter into strategic agreements or joint ventures etc.

The report contains company profiles of the top companies operating in the market along with their respective revenue and operating segments, geographical reach, market footprint, headquarters, growth rates, recent developments, product /services, expansion strategies, investments in expansion, and more.

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About Reports and Data

Reports and Data is a market research and consulting company that provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. Our solutions purely focus on your purpose to locate, target, and analyze consumer behavior shifts across demographics, across industries, and help clients to make smarter business decisions. We offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across multiple industries, including Healthcare, Touch Points, Chemicals, Products, and Energy. We consistently update our research offerings to ensure our clients are aware of the latest trends existent in the market. Reports and Data has a strong base of experienced analysts from varied areas of expertise. Our industry experience and ability to develop a concrete solution to any research problems provides our clients with the ability to secure an edge over their respective competitors.

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Reports and Data | Web: www.reportsanddata.com

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by Teresa Buyikian , September 6, 2023

Stoners Pizza Joint, the Fort Lauderdale, FL, pizza franchise that unabashedly targets their marijuana-partaking clientele with a logo that only slightly differs from a pot leaf, today announced it has signed a multi-unit agreement that will bring three new stores to the Tampa, FL market over the next two years.

The stores are operated by Stoners Pizza franchisee and COO Scott Mobley, who already operates three additional stores in Florida. The first Tampa location is set to open by October.

When you have something good, you double down and look for new markets that suit Stoner's Pizza, said Mobley. We've had our eye on the Tampa market for several years  We are aggressively looking to open additional locations throughout the Tampa metro market (and) make sure ALL of Tampa gets baked!"

advertisement advertisement

Stoner's Pizza Joint concept is focused on delivery and takeout vs. in-store dining. Menu items include a variety of specialty pizzas, calzones, strombolis, sandwiches, hickory-smoked chicken wings, prepared salads and baked desserts. The chain has locations in Colorado, Kentucky, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. Founded in 2013, Stoners has set an expansion goal of 100 units by the end of 2025.

Stoners is by no means the only chain targeting the higher customer. California-based Chronic Tacos has been touting their #TacoLife across the U.S., Canada and Japan since 2022 and sells merchandise emblazoned with slogans like Wheres the Chronic? (chronic is the marijuana smokers term for high quality weed). Taco Bell recently teamed up with musician/actor/entrepreneur Snoop Dog, essentially the mayor of marijuana, for Snoops Munchie Meal, which was available for a limited time this past summer and supported by a significant TV ad campaign.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, September 6, 2023

Major ad organizations and other business groups are pressing to derail a bill that would enable residents to easily remove their information from every data broker registered with the state.

In a recent letter to state lawmakers, the organizations argue that the Delete Act (SB 362) would hinder a wide variety of programs and services, including anti-fraud initiatives, loyalty programs and public interest research.

If passed, SB 362 would negatively impact Californians, 19 groups including the Association of National Advertisers, American Association of Advertising Agencies, California Retailers Association, Interactive Advertising Bureau, Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and NetChoice. Without data, companies would not be able to deliver critically important products and services consumers benefit from today, sometimes without even being aware of how this data supports their safety and enjoyment of everyday life.

advertisement advertisement

The groups also argue that the measure would hinder small companies' ability to reach new customers.

The main way smaller entities advertise and reach and build new audiences for their products and services is by leveraging third-party data sets provided by data brokers, the groups write. Absent this data, smaller enterprises will lose a critical path to reach and attract new customers, and consumers overall will have less exposure to new products and services that may interest them.

The California Consumer Privacy Act already allows people to request removal of their information from data brokers, but on a company-by-company basis. The Delete Act, introduced earlier this year by Senator Josh Becker, would expand on that law by requiring all data brokers in the state to honor a delete request made through a single mechanism.

Privacy advocates including the Electronic Frontier Foundation support the bill, arguing that data brokers collect the kinds of sensitive information, including health data, that could lead to harassment, discrimination and legal consequences.

When it comes to the reckless trade of our personal information, data brokers are the problem, the group wrote in a recent blog post.

The bill was passed by the state Senate earlier this year and advanced late last week in the Assembly, which has until September 14 to vote on the measure.

The Consumer Data Industry Association, which represents credit bureaus and other data brokers, this week launched an ad campaign aimed at defeating the proposed law. That group is running mobile billboards around Sacramento, as well as digital ads expressing concerns about the bill.

The bill's being rushed through without having a serious debate, Dan Smith, president and CEO of the Consumer Data Industry Association tells MediaPost. It's important to slow down and have a serious conversation.

Smith raises numerous objections to the bill, including that it could hinder fraud prevention efforts that draw on information held by data brokers -- such as what high school consumers attended, or what car model they once owned.

If deleted, this information would no longer be available for companies to use to confirm peoples identities, making it easier for scammers to gain access to other peoples accounts, he wrote Monday in a blog post.

Current language in the bill appears to allow data brokers to maintain at least some information for security purposes -- even when consumers request to have their data deleted -- but the extent of that exemption appears unclear.

Business groups and the ad industry also object to a provision requiring data brokers to honor deletion requests submitted by consumers' agents.

Opponents say the bill doesn't set out any standards for authenticating such agent-submitted requests.

Our concern with these authorized agents is that they don't necessarily have to be vetted, Chris Oswald, executive vice president, government relations for the Association of National Advertisers.

He adds that the bill could create a cottage industry of for-profit companies that are going to make requests on behalf of consumers.

If passed and signed by the governor, the bill will take effect in 2026.
by Ray Schultz , September 6, 2023

The shutdown of Kindle Newsstand announced by Amazon earlier this year has now taken effect.

The tech giant stopped selling print and Kindle, magazine and newspaper subscriptions earlier this week.

The company will issue pro-rated refunds for any undelivered issues from Kindle subscriptions, it says.

Monthly and annual Kindle Newsstand subscriptions will no longer renew.

Print magazine subscribers are advised to contact publishers directly to cancel subscriptions.

Subscribers can still access issues that have already been delivered.

Last March, Amazon said to publishers, We dont take these decisions lightly. We are winding down this program in a phased manner and will work with you throughout the wind-down process to help ensure the best experience possible for our mutual customers.

However, one publisher has partly blamed Amazon for going out of business: Fantasy magazine, according to The Verge.

Unfortunately Fantasy never reached a point of paying for itself, and with the Kindle Periodicals mess its just not sustainable, the magazine said in an August editorial.
by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, September 7, 2023

Omnicoms public relations division, Omnicom PR Group (OPRG), has acquired Arlington, VA-based political consultant FP1 Strategies and its sibling public affairs firm Plus Communications. Terms were not disclosed.

FP1 Strategies was founded in 2011 by Danny Diaz, Jon Downs and Terry Nelson as a campaign advertising and consulting firm serving candidates for public office and public policy organizations.

advertisement advertisement Not long after, the firm created Plus Communications and in 2012 Dave DenHerder, the former US CEO of Burson-Marsteller, joined to run the sibling unit.

Omnicom said the transactions would accelerate growth, expand existing offerings, and further solidify OPRG s position in public affairs, corporate and political consulting.

With our current roster of public affairs and political consulting firms including DDC, GMMB, Mercury, Portland, and Vox, OPRG is already a powerful partner to our clients and a force in the industry, stated OPRG Global CEO Chris Foster. With the addition of Plus Communications and FP1 Strategies and their deep expertise in healthcare, technology and crisis communications, our ability to serve our clients on the global public affairs stage is now at a whole new level.

FP1 Strategies says it helped elect 12 U.S. senators, three governors, three attorneys general and 16 members of congress to office in 2020. It also expanded its down-ballot reach, helping to defend Republican legislative majorities in Texas, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Kentucky.

On its LinkedIn page the firm also credits itself with winning tough battles from expanding drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf for the first time in 23 years, to paving the way for InBevs takeover of Anheuser-Busch and stopping the Employee Free Choice Act legislation.

The Plus and FP1 management teams will remain in place, and the agencies will continue to operate under their current brands.

The M&A deal continues a relatively aggressive acquisition spree for Omnicom. Its the fourth deal for the holding company in recent months and follows Julys acquisition of two Brazilian commerce and retail media agencies by Omnicom Media Group. Earlier that month OMG acquired Ptarmigan Media, a UK-based specialist agency that provides media and marketing solutions to financial services brands.
My body is surely moving but I am not sure if I truly existed.

I dont know if I would make it to the next day alive; I cant picture itmy next day.

No matter how many times Ive been on the edge of giving up on life; regardless of what led me to this emotional breakdown, it has always been after these two all-consuming feelings that Ive found myself in a therapists chamber.

Mental health professional no. #1

 iStock

At the age of 23, I decided to visit a psychiatrist for the very first time. This was after seeking help from family and friends, who couldnt understand my condition for months, that I saw it to be my last resort.



I assumed that a professional with the right training in human psychology would take an interest in keeping me from self-harm. But after listening to me for five minutes he identified that my state was merely the result of a recent breakup and directed me to a psychologist.

Mental health professional no. #2

 iStock

In the first session, the psychologist asked me about the basicswhatever was bothering mewith an accent of It must have been tough.



It felt great to let it all out in front of someone who was capable of guiding me onto the right path. So I booked another session for the same week. For those wondering, it was Rs 1500 for an hour.

I arrived for the second one with a lot of hope. I desperately wanted to change my state of mind. She hands me over a form this time; orders me to stop crying and leaves the room while I fill out the form about the issues of my childhood.

 iStock

I struggled to fit a traumatic childhood in the two-line space. I myself wasnt aware of a lot of those traumas and triggers. She returned only once my one-hour session was over.



I dont have the energy to look for another therapist and tell the whole story over and over again. I dont think anyones coming to save me, I walked feeling discomforted, scolded and unworthy and also like a fool who wasted more of her money and time during a struggle period.

I never returned to this reputed hospital.

Mental health professional no. #3

 iStock

During the pandemic when I returned home, like the most, I found myself struggling to live with my parents. There were a thousand unresolved issues, a thousand wrongs that couldnt be corrected by me alone.



Again, a day arrived when I couldnt breathe and was in a state of impulsiveness. So I sought a professional again after four years. I visited her the very same day because I couldnt picture my tomorrow.

She was kind enough to agree to an immediate appointment.

I sat in her office for three hours (thats Rs 1500 per hour) talking about my life and all the pain in it I couldnt endure anymore. It felt good. I was at peace as I could see a tomorrow.

 iStock

I quickly wanted to reach a stage where I received treatment. I started visiting her twice a week. The sessions would be 90% talking and 10% mentally stimulating activities and exercises. There was homework too, you know.



After three months of investment, I realised I wasnt getting better, I was only getting lighter. I sensed that this professional was getting tired of listening to my situation which never seemed to change.

I didnt have a roadmap. I visited her so I could get a roadmap to navigate through. But I didnt.

Now she suddenly requested me to write a Google review of my experience with her. I was happy to do so. I gave her warm and long feedback. In exchange, she cancelled my next session.

 iStock

I gave it a pass thinking her reason could be genuine. But she continued the same for the next few sessions. So I did something that may come across as pettyI removed my review from Google.



Guess what happened then? I got a call from her about our next session which was definitely happening. Towards the end of this session, she inquired about the review that she couldnt see anymore.

The review was never the problem, ending sessions wasnt the issue either. My childhood traumas led me to develop abandonment issues. The way the entire process occurred, triggered the issue once again.

Did I expect this from a mental health professional who apparently understands the entire ABC of human psychology? Unfortunately, no.

Mental health professional no. #4

 iStock

After losing my mother, in an attempt to get my life, family and emotions together, I made an effort to find a therapist once again.



In my session, this shrink made some mind-blowing revelations. He told me that sessions are not supposed to be longer than fifty-sixty minutes. Its important for both the therapist and the client.

He laughed at the amount I paid to my previous psychologist and also acquainted me with the types of therapistscounselling and clinical.

 iStock

I learned that counselling psychologists mostly resort to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as their main tool. This is something my last therapist was doing.



He, on the other hand, was a clinical psychologist. This means he will diagnose me properly and treat me accordingly. After three sessions, he diagnosed me with clinical depression and Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and suddenly, I had all the answers I needed to understand my own behaviour.

 iStock

A few weeks into the therapy, I requested him to not give me tasks that involved writing. I tried to make him understand that being a writer, its a task I do all day. Adding another writing assignment feels like another job and not something Im doing for the benefit of my mental health.



He blatantly refused. He seemed like someone who relies a lot on theory.

A few weeks later, I observed how on the days I smiled, hed increase the gaps between sessions, thinking I was doing well. And on the days I cried, he reduced those gaps.

 iStock

Being a shrink, even he couldnt see past the emotional mask that people with depression usually put on. What may one expect from a layman sitting next to you at the workplace or a family member?



Seeing that the situation around me was not supportive and was working against my treatment, he redirected me to a psychiatrist.

Mental health professional no. #5

 iStock

I get my twenty minutes with the psychiatrist. He diagnosed me with the same disorder, anxiety and clinical depression. He writes a prescription for ten days of anti-depressants and doesnt say much after. Later, he extended the prescription to one month and then, three months.



The three months of prescription gets renewed every time I visit him. He did not inform me about the side effects such as weight gain, hair loss and more until I confronted him about them.

I dont know your opinion but in mine, both weight gain and hair loss raise concerns which may negatively impact physical and mental health. Its a factor beyond doctors control but being transparent about it is not.

 iStock

The medicines worked like a charm. Those tiny pills brought me comfort and made me wonder why I was torturing myself all these years by not taking them and believing all the myths associated with anti-depressants.



For those who are wondering, no, they were not addictive. The portions were strictly monitored by the professional.

Back to mental health professional no. #4

 iStock

My sessions improved. I wasnt aware how medicines were impacting my brain but I felt normal after feeling different for a long time.



After this clinical psychologist taught me all he could, he decided to bring our sessions to an end. The focus of a clinical psychologist is on training a client to be self-dependent, which might not be the case for a counselling therapist.

In an attempt to do so, the shrink advised me to distance myself from my father as a lot of my problems originated from him.

He said so without realising that its a near to impossible taskemotionally, mentally and physically.

During our last couple of sessions, he asked me to review him on Google and promised that he would check up on me regularly and conduct a session every two months.

 iStock

I did the review once again. I obviously gave him a good, long one. The next day he approached me to edit something I had written about his fee structure being affordable.



I assumed it was because he planned to increase his fees with time. But heres the catch, I never wrote the amount. It was only for people to know that to consult him, they dont need to burden their pockets.

Anyway, I made the edit. After this was over, the man never checked up on me. Never came back with that once-in-a-two-month session recommendation. Again, it triggered my abandonment issues.

All that work for nothing.

 iStock

This time, I had seen worse, I had endured worse. So lets say I was a stronger person. I also had medicines to my rescue for a little while longer.



My lessons from the darkest moments

The path to better mental health is long, nuanced and often best walked with professional help. But what if that saving moment itself turns sour?

You rely on yourself, time and your emotions.

Some of the things I learned during this risky and rewarding process:

1. Breakup or any act later in life only triggers the trauma, the real problem hides well in ones childhood.

2. Mental health professionals are human and not always ethical.

3. They may show you a path to ease your pain but you do the real work, even when you feel tired.

 iStock

4. No ones coming to save you; youre going to be the hero of your story.



5. There are different types of psychologists suitable for different types of needs, research first and then, visit.

6. You will have to try a few mental health professionals before you find the one.

7. Therapists are still finding their footing in India so they may pay more attention to your review than you.

8. You get tired of listening to It must have been tough because the words often feel hollow.

9. Eventually, youll give up on meds too.

10. Its okay not to be okay.

11. Some mental health professionals may fail to diagnose you. If you feel something is not right in your mind, life or behaviour, explore another therapist.

12. The good change starts with walking something as small as taking a few steps daily, taking a bath daily, getting sunlight or reading a book can start the process.

13. Its important to learn how to vibrate on higher, happier frequencies.

14. I might never take therapy again. Its a challenge to tell the same story over and over again. And its worse when you start telling it to someone who wouldnt help you as much as you think they will.

15. Let your emotions becry if you feel like it, let yourself feel sad if the situation is such and give yourself time to come out of these emotions.

16. Sleep solves half of your problems by rewiring your brain and reworking your memories.

 iStock

17. Waking up early, making your bed, working out/ doing yoga and meditating really help.



18. I would rather visit a psychiatrist and request medicines for a relevant period of time.

 iStock

19. You will win the day youre able to pull yourself out of the victim mode.



20. The traumas and triggers will always remain but you will re-evaluate, unlearn your ways to deal with them and learn the ones that help you survive. This is where mental health professionals help you the most efficiently.

Note: The experience shared above is personal and in no way a reflection of the entire mental health community. Please reach out to a professional if youre suffering from a mental health issue.
(AP)

A Florida man who tried to cross the Atlantic in a vessel that looks like a giant hamster wheel has been arrested.

Reza Baluchi, 51, had built a large metal drum or hydro-pod in an attempt to run from Florida to London.

US authorities intercepted him 70 miles off the coast of Georgia on August 26 just before the arrival of Hurricane Idalia.

Coast guard officials deemed the pod to be manifestly unsafe and kept afloat by buoys and wiring.

During a three-day standoff, Mr Baluchi allegedly threatened to blow up his pod and threatened to kill himself.

He eventually surrendered and was taken to a small vessel before being brought ashore on September 1.

Mr Baluchi now faces federal charges of obstruction of a boarding and violating a Captain of the Ports order.

(Flagler County Sheriffs Office)

He told FOX35: My goal is to not only raise money for homeless people, raise money for the coast guard, raise money for the police department, raise money for the fire department.

They are in public service, they do it for safety, and they help other people.

Ill never give up my dream. They stop me four or five times, but I never give up.

Mr Baluchi said he had spent $4,500 (3,600) to design and build his pod and has attempted similar trips in 2014, 2016 and 2021 - all of which were thwarted by authorities.
VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 7, 2023 /CNW/ - Getchell Gold Corp. (CSE: GTCH) (OTCQB: GGLDF) ("Getchell" or the "Company") announces that the Company has extended the expiry date of 1,398,750 common share purchase warrants (the "Warrants") that were issued pursuant to a non-brokered private placement of units of the Company that closed on September 28, 2020.

Getchell Gold Corp. Logo (CNW Group/Getchell Gold Corp.)

The Company has extended the expiry date of the Warrants from September 28, 2023 to September 28, 2024. All other terms and conditions of the Warrants remain unchanged. None of these Warrants have been exercised to date. Warrant holders are advised that replacement warrant certificates will not be issued and that the original warrant certificate must be presented to the Company in order to effect the exercise of the Warrants.

None of the warrant holders are related parties to the Company. In accordance with the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange, no compensation warrants issued in connection with the prior financing are being extended.

About Getchell Gold Corp.

The Company is a Nevada focused gold and copper exploration company trading on the CSE: GTCH and OTCQB: GGLDF. Getchell Gold is primarily directing its efforts on its most advanced stage asset, Fondaway Canyon, a past gold producer with a significant in-the-ground historic resource estimate. Complementing Getchell's asset portfolio is Dixie Comstock, a past gold producer with a historic resource and two earlier stage exploration projects, Star (Cu-Au-Ag) and Hot Springs Peak (Au). Getchell has the option to acquire 100% of the Fondaway Canyon and Dixie Comstock properties, Churchill County, Nevada.

Mr. William Wagener, Chairman & CEO

Getchell Gold Corp.

1-647-249-4798

info@getchellgold.com

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the extension of the Warrants. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although management of Getchell have 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. The Company will not update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Story continues

SOURCE Getchell Gold Corp.

Cision

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SYDNEY and VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 6, 2023 /CNW/ - Patriot Battery Metals Inc. (the "Company" or "Patriot") (TSXV: PMET) | (ASX: PMT) | (OTCQX: PMETF) | (FSE: R9GA) is pleased to announce that common shares of the Company (ASX: PMT) have been selected for inclusion in the Standard & Poors ("S&P")/ASX 300 Index by the S&P Dow Jones effective prior to ASX market opening on September 18, 2023.

Patriot Battery Metals Logo (CNW Group/Patriot Battery Metals Inc)

Blair Way, Company President and CEO, comments, "We are very pleased that Patriot has been selected for inclusion in the S&P/ASX 300 Index. Over a short timeframe, the team has advanced our Corvette Property into a world-class lithium deposit that is still growing. Inclusion in this index recognizes our increased market capitalization and trading liquidity prompted by our growth and the development of our flagship Corvette hard rock spodumene lithium deposit located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec. This inclusion to the S&P/ASX 300 Index places Patriot among the 300 largest securities traded on the ASX. It should also help increase our trading liquidity through incremental demand for our shares in Australia from institutional investors and fund managers who track the composition of the Index and benchmark their performance against it."

The S&P/ASX 300 is designed to provide investors with broader exposure to the Australian equity market. The index measures 300 of Australia's largest highly liquid securities listed on the ASX by float-adjusted market capitalization. The S&P/ASX 300 index covers the large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap components of the S&P/ASX Index Series. This index is designed to provide investors with broad exposure to the Australian equity market while allowing them to benchmark against a wide selection of opportunities based on specific size and liquidity parameters.

Currently, Patriot's shares are included in two North American indices, the MVIS Global Rare Earth/Strategic Metals Index and the S&P/TSX Battery Metals Index on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The inclusion in these indices led to increased ownership by institutional investors in North America, and the Company anticipates that its inclusion in the S&P/ASX 300 index may result in increased institutional ownership in Australia as well.

Story continues

About Patriot Battery Metals Inc.

Patriot Battery Metals Inc. is a hard-rock lithium exploration company focused on advancing its district-scale 100% owned Corvette Property located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec, Canada, and proximal to regional road and powerline infrastructure. The Corvette Property hosts the CV5 Spodumene Pegmatite with a maiden inferred mineral resource estimate of 109.2 Mt at 1.42% Li2O and 160 ppm Ta2O5 (at a cut-off of 0.40% Li2O) and ranks as the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas, and one of the top 10 largest lithium pegmatite resources in the world. Additionally, the Corvette Property hosts multiple other spodumene pegmatite clusters that remain to be drill tested, as well as more than 20 km of prospective trend that remain to be assessed.

This news release has been approved by the Board of Directors,

"BLAIR WAY"

Blair Way, President, CEO, & Director

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are included to provide information about management's current expectations and plans that allows investors and others to have a better understanding of the Company's business plans and financial performance and condition.

All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this news release, regarding the Company's strategy, future operations, financial position, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "plan", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. In particular and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to the drilling program.

Forward-looking information is based upon certain assumptions and other important factors that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such information or statements. There can be no assurance that such information or statements will prove to be accurate. Key assumptions upon which the Company's forward-looking information is based include the total funding required to complete the Company's Corvette Lithium Project, including the drilling program.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. Forward-looking statements are also subject to risks and uncertainties facing the Company's business, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. Some of the risks the Company faces and the uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the ability to execute on plans relating to the Company's Corvette Lithium Project, including the timing thereof. In addition, readers are directed to carefully review the detailed risk discussion in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form filed on SEDAR+, which discussion is incorporated by reference in this news release, for a fuller understanding of the risks and uncertainties that affect the Company's business and operations.

Although the Company believes its expectations are based upon reasonable assumptions and has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. As such, these risks are not exhaustive; however, they should be considered carefully. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements found herein. Due to the risks, uncertainties and assumptions inherent in forward-looking statements, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The mineral resource estimate in this release was reported by the Company in accordance with ASX Listing Rule 5.8 on July 31, 2023. The Company confirms it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the previous announcements and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the previous announcements continue to apply and have not materially changed.

Forward-looking statements contained herein are presented for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's business plans, financial performance and condition and may not be appropriate for other purposes.

The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable law. The Company qualifies all of its forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

Cision

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SOURCE Patriot Battery Metals Inc

Cision

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Food in the trenches of the First World War was scarce. Rations were measly, meals repetitive, and hunger often the companion of fear and fatigue. With energy-sapping battles to be fought, what exactly was the staple fare of Tommies in the trenches?

At the start of the war, British soldiers at the front were allowed 10oz of meat and 8oz of vegetables per day, a luxury compared to what would be provided in the years to come. Parcels from home loaded with chocolate, tins of sardines, and sweet biscuits would be a welcome but irregular source of extra nourishment. For day-to-day meals, soldiers options were limited.

The size of the British Army and the efficiency of the German submarine blockade grew in tandem, with doubly bad results for the state of British Army rations. By 1916, the meat ration was down to 6oz a day, and later, meat was only provided once every nine days. Things were getting worse, and Tommies were beginning to fend for themselves. There are reports of vegetable patches being established in reserve trenches, and of men going hunting and fishing while not in the front-line, both to pass the time and to supplement their meagre rations.

The winter of 1916 saw a major shortage of flour. It was replaced by dried, ground-up turnips which produced unappetising, diarrhoea-inducing bread. At this time, the staple food of the British soldier was pea-soup with horse-meat chunks. The hard-working kitchen teams were having to source local vegetables as best they could, and when that was not an option, weeds, nettles, and leaves would be used to whip up soups and stews.

Each battalion was assigned two industrial-sized vats for food preparation. The problem was that every type of meal was readied within these containers, and so, over time, everything started to taste the same. As a result, pea-and-horse flavoured tea was something the soldiers had to get used to.

Food transportation was also an issue. By the time it reached the front, bread and biscuits had turned stale and other produce had gone off. In order to combat this, soldiers crumbled the hard food that arrived and added potatoes, sultanas, and onions to soften the mixture up. This concoction would then be boiled in a sandbag and eaten as a sandy, stale soup.

Soldiers and kitchen staff were forced to carry soups and stews through the communication trenches in cooking pans, petrol cans, and jars. Upon arrival at the front-line, the food would be cold or spilled. In an effort to rectify this, field kitchens were relocated further forward, but they were never able to get close enough to provide hot food for the men. Some were lucky enough to obtain small camping stoves from town shops, but with fuel in such high demand, this was never much of an advantage, and the stoves also had to be carried.

One widely-used and equally widely-disliked ration was the canned soup, Maconochie. A thin, watery broth containing sliced turnips and carrots, Maconochie was tolerated by famished soldiers, and detested by all. One soldier summed up the armys attitude towards the stuff by saying, Warmed in the tin, Machonochie was edible; cold it was a man-killer.

Of course, to allow the Germans to get wind of this desperate food situation would never do. The British Army had to be portrayed as a content, well-fed, determined body whose morale was unwavering. An army announcement that British soldiers were being given two hot meals a day, however, caused widespread outrage among soldiers. The army subsequently received over 200,000 angry letters demanding that the dire truth be made known.



Making Maconochie

Normally prepared in a dug-out or reserve trench, in a modern kitchen Maconochie stew should not be difficult to make. Heres how:

Ingredients

340g beef (or one can of corned beef)

140g waxy potatoes

30g onions

30g carrots

30g beans, cooked (white beans such as navy or great northern)

60ml beef stock or water

15ml flour

15ml fat (lard or rendered beef fat)

Salt to taste

Procedure

1. If using fresh beef, cut into  inch to 1 inch pieces.

2. Thinly slice potatoes, onions, and carrots.

3. Steam or boil the beef, potatoes, carrots, and onions until tender.

4. Heat the fat in a pan.

5. Add cooked potatoes, carrots, onions, beans, and beef over medium heat.

6. Make a batter of the beef stock or water with flour.

7. Add batter to the stew.

8. Cook until thickened.

9. Salt to taste.
KOSTIANTYNIVKA, Ukraine  Victims of a deadly Russian missile attack that struck a busy market in eastern Ukraine were buried Thursday, as Moscow kept up its assault on Ukraines grain export infrastructure, hitting a Ukrainian port for the fourth time in five days.

At least 17 people were killed and 32 wounded in Wednesdays attack on the market in Kostiantynivka, in Ukraines Donestsk region  another grim reminder of the wars civilian toll.

Among the victims were Mykola and Natalia Shyrai, whose bodies were laid to rest in a village outside Kostiantynivka on Thursday. The married couple, in their 50s, had been selling flowers in the market when they were killed in the blast. Dozens of people from the small settlement arrived to say their final farewells as caskets covered white cloth were shut and lowered.

The attack the previous day had turned an outdoor market into a fiery, blackened ruin, and overshadowed a two-day visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken aimed at assessing Ukraines 3-month-old counteroffensive and signaling continued U.S. support for the fight.

While touring northern Ukraine on Thursday, Blinken said the death and destruction in Kostiantynivka was what Ukrainians are living with every day.

Hours earlier, Russia attacked the Ukrainian port city of Izmail for the fourth time in five days, Ukrainian officials said Thursday, in what has become a sustained campaign to target Ukraines ability to export grain.

The Danube River port area was attacked with Shahed drones aiming at civilian and port infrastructure, Odesa region Gov. Oleh Kiper said. A truck driver was wounded and grain silos were damaged, he said.

Ukrainian war crimes prosecutors inspected the wreckage at the scene close to port infrastructure on Thursday, according to a statement from the Ukrainian Prosecutors Office.

The Ukrainian military said it shot down 25 out of 33 drones launched by Russia overnight, most of them at the Odesa region, Ukraines agriculture export hub, as well as the northern Sumy region.

Russia has escalated attacks on Ukraines grain export infrastructure since mid-July, when it exited a U.N.-backed deal that had allowed for the safe shipping of Ukrainian grain during the war.

The attack in Izmail came one day after the attack in Kostiantynivka. The area, just 15-20 kilometers (about 10-to-12 miles) from the front line, has been shelled by Russia several times, and the sounds of the not-so-distant war boom throughout the day. The tail of a rocket from a cluster munition was lodged in the middle of the road that leads to the cemetery where the funerals were held.

Blinken visited a school in the village of Yahidne where hundreds of residents were imprisoned when Russian forces occupied the village at the start of the full-scale invasion. Blinken said Russian atrocities continue. Just yesterday, we saw the bombing of a market, 17 people or more killed, he said. For what?

Earlier, Blinken visited a Kyiv region facility of the State Border Guards of Ukraine and went to see a demining team working to clear unexploded ordnance from a 45,000-square-meter (10-acre) site that included a farm.

Blinken announced $90.5 million in demining assistance as part of a package of U.S. military and humanitarian aid totaling over $1 billion on Wednesday.

While Ukraines ports have come under attack, drone attacks on Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2013, and in Russia itself also have become increasingly common in recent months. In recent weeks, drones have repeatedly targeted Moscow, with some hitting buildings in the city center, while others have been shot down on the outskirts of the city.

Early Thursday, five drones were shot down from over three regions overnight, including one attempting to strike Moscow, officials said. There were no reports of casualties.

Russias Defense Ministry blamed the overnight attacks in Russia on Ukraine, which does not take credit for strikes inside Russia. One drone targeted Moscow, but was shot down southeast of the city without causing any damage or injuries, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Two more drones were shot down over the southern region of Rostov, which borders Ukraine, said regional Gov. Vasily Golubev. The debris fell in the center of Rostov-on-Don, the regions capital, damaging several cars and shattering windows in three buildings, Golubev said. One person sought medical assistance.

Two other drones were shot down over the Bryansk region, which also borders Ukraine, Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said. Drone debris damaged a railway station and several cars, he said.

___

Kullab reported from Kyiv.
This story was originally published by ProPublica.

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.

In July 2016, warships from more than two dozen nations gathered off the coasts of Hawaii and Southern California to join the United States in the worlds largest naval exercise. The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea and others sent hundreds of destroyers, aircraft carriers and warplanes. They streamed in long lines across the ocean, symbols of power and prestige.

The USS Freedom had its own special place within the armada. It was one of a new class of vessels known as littoral combat ships. The U.S. Navy had billed them as technical marvels  small, fast and light, able to combat enemies at sea, hunt mines and sink submarines.

In reality, the LCS was well on the way to becoming one of the worst boondoggles in the militarys long history of buying overpriced and underperforming weapons systems. Two of the $500 million ships had suffered embarrassing breakdowns in previous months. The Freedoms performance during the exercise, showing off its ability to destroy underwater mines, was meant to rejuvenate the ships record on the world stage. The ship was historically important too; it was the first LCS built, the first in the water, commissioned just eight years prior.

But like the LCS programs reputation, the Freedom was in bad shape. Dozens of pieces of equipment on board were undergoing repairs. Training crews for the new class of ships had proven more difficult than anticipated. The sailors aboard the Freedom had not passed an exam demonstrating their ability to operate some of the ships most important systems.

As the day to launch approached, the pressure mounted. Top officers visited the ship repeatedly. The Freedoms sailors understood that theirs was a no fail mission with no appetite to remain in port, according to Navy documents obtained by ProPublica.

The Freedoms Capt. Michael Wohnhaas consulted with his officers. Despite crippling problems that had left one of the ships engines inoperable, he and his superiors decided the vessel could rely on its three others for the exercise.

The Freedom completed its mission, but the accomplishment proved hollow. Five days after the ship returned to port, a maintenance check revealed that the faltering engine had suffered galloping corrosion from saltwater during the exercise. A sailor described the engine room as a horror show with rust eating away at the machinery. One of the Navys newest ships would spend the next two years undergoing repairs at a cost of millions.

Michael Wohnhaas was captain of the USS Freedom. Crew members understood that theirs was a no fail mission with no appetite to remain in port, according to Navy documents obtained by ProPublica. (Zachary Bell/U.S. Navy)

It took investigators months to unravel the mystery of the engines breakdown. But this much was clear at the outset: The Freedoms collapse was another unmistakable sign that the Navy had spent billions of dollars and more than a decade on warships with rampant and crippling flaws.

The ongoing problems with the LCS have been well documented for years, in news articles, government reports and congressional hearings. Each ship ultimately cost more than twice the original estimate. Worse, they were hobbled by an array of mechanical failures and were never able to carry out the missions envisaged by their champions.

ProPublica set out to trace how ships with such obvious shortcomings received support from Navy leadership for nearly two decades. We reviewed thousands of pages of public records and tracked down naval and shipbuilding insiders involved at every stage of construction.

Our examination revealed new details on why the LCS never delivered on its promises. Top Navy leaders repeatedly dismissed or ignored warnings about the ships flaws. One Navy secretary and his allies in Congress fought to build more of the ships even as they broke down at sea and their weapons systems failed. Staunch advocates in the Navy circumvented checks meant to ensure that ships that cost billions can do what they are supposed to do.

Contractors who stood to profit spent millions lobbying Congress, whose members, in turn, fought to build more ships in their home districts than the Navy wanted. Scores of frustrated sailors recall spending more time fixing the ships than sailing them.

Our findings echo the conclusions of a half-century of internal and external critiques of Americas process for building new weapons systems. The saga of the LCS is a vivid illustration of how Congress, the Pentagon and defense contractors can work in concert  and often against the good of the taxpayers and Americas security  to spawn what President Dwight D. Eisenhower described in his farewell address as the military industrial complex.

There is a lot of money flowing through this vast ecosystem, and somehow the only thing all these people can agree on is more, more, more, said Lyle Goldstein, a former professor at the U.S. Naval War College who is now investigating the costs of war at Brown University. Unfortunately, I just think it might be in the nature of our system.

This year, the Defense Department asked Congress to approve a staggering $842 billion  nearly half of the federal governments discretionary spending  to keep America safe in what the Pentagon says is an ever more perilous world. As House and Senate leaders negotiate the final number, it is unlikely they will spend much time discussing ways to prevent future debacles like the LCS.

Such a conversation would cover hundreds of billions of misspent taxpayer money on projects from nearly every branch of the military: The F-35 fighter jet, deployed by the Navy, Marines and Air Force, is more than a decade late and $183 billion over budget. The Navys newest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, cost $13 billion and has yet to prove it can reliably launch planes. And the Armys Future Combat System was largely abandoned in 2009 after the military had dedicated more than $200 billion on a battlefield intelligence network meant to link troops, tanks and robots.

The LCS program offers another clear lesson, one seen in almost every infamous procurement disaster. Once a massive project gains momentum and defense contractors begin hiring, it is politically easier to throw good money after bad.

Stopping a weapons program in its tracks means people losing work and admitting publicly that enormous sums of taxpayer money have been wasted. In the case of the LCS, it took an array of naval leaders and two consecutive defense secretaries to finally stop the program. Yet even after the Navy said it only needed 32 littoral combat ships, far fewer than the more than 50 originally planned, members of Congress forced the Pentagon to buy three more.

Former Lt. Renaldo Rodgers remembered laboring in San Diego from sunrise to sunset for months to ready the Freedom for a 2012 trial mission to San Francisco, only to have the ship break down during pretrial tests. Rodgers initially thought the futuristic ship looked like something out of Star Trek. But he soon learned it was no Starship Enterprise. It became the laughingstock of the waterfront, with other sailors deriding it as Dry Dock One, because it so rarely left port.

It sucks, he said. The LCS was a missed opportunity.

The Navy has tried to retire many of the littoral combat ships years before they reach their expected lifespan. Ships designed to last 25 years are being mothballed after seeing less than a decade of service.

In response to questions, the Navy acknowledged the LCS was not suitable for fighting peer competitors such as China. The LCS does not provide the lethality or survivability needed in a high-end fight.

The Navy needs a more ready, capable, and lethal fleet more than a bigger fleet thats less ready, less capable, and less lethal, the statement read, saying the money would be better spent on higher-priority alternatives.

The cost of the program has gnawed at John Pendleton, who for years was a top military analyst at the Government Accountability Office and has studied the rise and fall of the LCS as closely as anyone in Washington.

Now retired, but unable to shake what he views as one of the most wasteful projects hed encountered in his nearly 35-year career, Pendleton reviewed budgetary documents and GAO reports for ProPublica going back decades. His conclusion: The lifetime cost of the LCS class may reach $100 billion or more.

In the end, he said, the taxpayers get fewer than 30 limited-survivability, single-mission ships.

Pendleton is hardly alone in his assessment. Many regard the tortured path of the LCS as evidence of a damaging strain of hubris that runs rampant in the world of military innovation.

Its this zombie program phenomenon where everybody knows deep down we are going in the wrong direction, said Dan Grazier, a former Marine Corps captain, who now works on Pentagon reform for the nonprofit Project on Government Oversight. But because so much money is involved and so much political capital is invested, you cant stop the train until the problems are so overwhelming that no one can feign support for it.

The two narratives of the ship  unstoppable in Congress, imperiled at sea  intertwined alarmingly during one 10-month stretch beginning in December 2015. During that period, five of the vessels broke down across the globe, each illuminating a new set of problems and effectively proving the critics right.

The Freedom was the third ship to fail. Captured in a Navy investigation more than 600 pages long, the incident stands out as a particularly devastating and detailed example of the Navys plight.

An Admirals Vision

In 2002, Adm. Vernon Clark stared down from the deck of a Danish warship at a pier in Denmark and watched a demonstration that would shape the future of the U.S. Navy.

A large deck gun sat below. On the orders of a Danish navy official, a crane hoisted it off the pier and installed it on the ship. Within 40 minutes, sailors were rotating the weapon to prepare it for operation.

No American ship could swap weapons on and off deck like that. But the Danes made reconfiguring a vessel to carry out different missions look easy. Clark, the head of the U.S. Navy at the time, marveled at the technology.

This is it. Of course, this is it, Clark remembered telling himself. I didnt know that they could do that.

For Clark, the Danish demonstration crystalized his idea for a new ship that would be different from anything the Navy had done before. It would be small, relatively lightly armed and operated by about 40 sailors  far less than the average warship crew size. The weapons systems would not be permanently installed.

Instead, he envisioned a sort of Swiss army knife for the Navy. Armed with one set of weaponry, it could hunt and destroy submarines. But if the threat shifted, it could be quickly outfitted to detect and clear underwater mines or to fight other warships.

As Clark envisaged it, the new ships could be deployed in coastal, or littoral, waters, where the Navy needed to expand its presence around the world: in the Persian Gulf to participate in the war in Iraq, in the Caribbean to track down gunrunners and in Southeast Asia to help smaller allied navies. They would be one of the fastest warships in the world  able to fight near shore, outrun larger vessels or hunt down the small ones increasingly popular with foes like Iran. The ships would be built quickly, in large numbers and at low cost.

Adm. Vernon Clark gained confidence that the LCS could work after seeing a demonstration of a Danish warship swapping weapons. (Johnny Bivera/U.S. Navy).

The first red flags emerged here, at the conception of the LCS. As Clark began sharing his vision, concerns began to brew among Navy shipbuilding experts, who feared it was overly ambitious and technologically infeasible. Clark was unbowed.

He was an unlikely candidate to begin a revolution in shipbuilding. With an undergraduate degree from Evangel College, a small Christian school in Missouri, and an MBA from the University of Arkansas, he hardly fit the mold of a prototypical chief of naval operations who was groomed for leadership from his earliest days at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

A self-professed radical, at times irreverent and impassioned, he wanted to run the Navy like a business, streamlining training, rooting out misspent dollars, retaining sailors who shined and getting rid of those who did not.

He believed the Navy needed a more cost-effective and technologically advanced fleet. Many of the Navys ships had been built during the Cold War. Massive carriers, destroyers, battleships and cruisers were facing retirement, in part because updating them with modern technology was prohibitively expensive, Clark said.

In keeping with his business background, Clark wanted as few people on the new ships as possible. What I really want is an unmanned ship thats got R2-D2 in it, he said, recalling his thinking at the time.

Doubt dogged Clarks dream from the start. Congress agreed to begin developing the ship in 2003  despite a House Appropriations Committee report that warned that there was no road map of how the Navy will achieve the system required.

One former admiral who worked on plans for the ship said Clarks insistence on speed  up to 45 knots, or about 50 miles per hour  created immediate problems. A ship cannot go that fast for very long without running out of gas, which meant it could never stray far from its fuel supply. Its small size  many in the Navy joked that LCS stood for Little Crappy Ship  limited the weapons it could carry.

The former admiral said he raised concerns with his superiors but wished he had been more vocal. As a subordinate naval officer, when your boss tells you, Heres a shovel, go dig the hole, you go dig the hole.

The Navy pushed ahead. In May 2004, it awarded contracts to two teams of defense contractors to build up to two prototypes, each of their own design.

Both teams had lobbied heavily to win the contracts. Lockheed Martin, which partnered with the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin, plastered the Washington, D.C., Metro system with advertisements extolling the ability of its proposed ship.

The other team, a joint venture between General Dynamics and Australian shipbuilder Austal, planned to build its version at a shipyard in Alabama.

In response to the Navys goals, the contractors both based their original ship designs partly on high-speed ferries for cars or passengers, an unusual choice for a vessel meant for war not transportation.

With an emphasis on speed and dexterity, the ships were not designed to withstand much damage. Clark saw them fighting under the protection of larger, more lethal ships. To him, investing too much in protecting the ship with extensive armor would make it too heavy to operate near shore.

Show me a ship that can take a direct hit with todays modern weaponry and survive, he said. Why spend all this money pretending?

This argument disquieted lawmakers. Toward the end of Clarks tenure, members of Congress began to ask whether this meant the Navy had deemed LCS sailors expendable.

After Clark left the Navy in July 2005, the Navy responded to the concerns, redrawing the blueprints for the ships as they were being built to better protect sailors.

Costs began to rise dramatically. The ships were originally supposed to cost no more than $220 million dollars each, which had helped sell them to Congress in the first place. But the final price tag rose to about $500 million each.

Robert Work, a former deputy defense secretary who became a key proponent of the ship, said many in the Navy thought the initial estimate was unrealistic. The Navy never believed it, at least the people who had to build the ship, he said.

Despite the rising costs, the LCS soon gained a new champion so devoted to its construction that he led a years-long campaign to resist efforts by two secretaries of defense to scale back the program.

A 'Foreseeable' Disaster

On the morning of Nov. 23, 2015, the USS Milwaukee set out across the frigid waters of the Great Lakes for its maiden voyage. The cost overruns had made headlines, but with the fifth ship in the water, Navy officials were hoping the vessels performance would lessen the growing doubts about the project.

The Navy planned to sail the Milwaukee from the shipyard on the shores of Lake Michigan in Marinette, Wisconsin, to its new home port of San Diego. From there, it would eventually join its sister ship, the USS Fort Worth, in helping to counter the Chinese navys expanding presence in the Western Pacific.

In a press tour days before the launch, Cmdr. Kendall Bridgewater evinced confidence, proclaiming that the enemy would be hard pressed to find a vessel that could come up against us.

But the ship wouldnt need a fight to suffer its first defeat. Its worst enemy would be its own engine.

On Dec. 11, about three weeks into the two-month journey, a software failure severely damaged the Milwaukees combining gear  a complex mechanism that connects the ships diesel engines and its gas turbines to the propulsion shafts, producing the power necessary for it to reach top speeds.

A Navy salvage ship had to tow it some 40 miles for repairs at a base near Norfolk, Virginia. The ship hadnt made it halfway down the East Coast  let alone to the South China Sea  before breaking down. If the Milwaukee were a brand new car, this would be the equivalent of stalling on its way out of the dealership.

Some former officers look back on the breakdown and those that followed as a clear violation of a cardinal principle in Navy shipbuilding: to buy a few and test a lot. But with the LCS, the Navy was doing the opposite. Commanders were learning about the flaws of the ships as they were being deployed.

This is a totally foreseeable outcome, said Jay Bynum, a former rear admiral who served as an assistant to the vice chief of naval operations as the ships were entering the fleet. Just think about it, Toyota checks out all of this before the car hits the showroom floor. What if the engineering guys there said, Well, we think this is how the engine will work, but lets just start selling them.

'Do We Want This Ship to Survive?'

On a breezy Friday in March 2011, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus addressed a crowd of sharp-dressed politicians and begrimed workers gathered at a shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.

Mabus, tall and dapper, announced the names for two of the Navys newest littoral combat ships. One would be called the USS Jackson  a reference to the capital of his home state, Mississippi.

As he looked out at the waters of Mobile Bay, Mabus lauded the new class of ships that had emerged from Clarks vision a decade before.

Its a drug runners worst nightmare, its a submarines worst nightmare, he declared, speaking in his soft Southern drawl. Its anybody who wants to do harm to the United States of America or the United States Navy, its their worst nightmare.

In fact, the LCS was on its way to becoming one of the Navys worst nightmares  and Mabus was its biggest cheerleader.

Better known for his political acumen than his military experience, Mabus served three years in the Navy in the early 70s, including time at sea as a lieutenant junior grade on board the USS Little Rock.

Afterward, he rose through Democratic ranks to become governor of Mississippi, an ambassador to Saudi Arabia and eventually the longest-serving Navy secretary since World War I.

During his tenure as the Navys civilian leader, he put his stamp on the service by pursuing a range of progressive policies including gender integration and the use of renewable fuels. He also took advantage of a unique perk: tossing out the ceremonial first pitch at major league stadiums across the country.

His most transformative view on U.S. military strategy was his belief in the need for more ships.

The fleet had shrunk to less than half the 600 it wielded toward the end of the Cold War. China was rapidly expanding its navy and Russia was investing heavily in new submarines.

Mabus, who became secretary in 2009, pursued a plan that would make him one of the Navys most prodigious shipbuilders.

In an interview with ProPublica, he reiterated the sheer importance of numbers for the fleet. He backed the LCS, he said, because it would help meet an array of the Navys needs as fast as possible.

Even as a growing number of senior officers began to criticize the ships, Mabus expanded the program, drawing on his political connections and savvy dealmaking to defend the LCS against powerful opponents on the Hill and in the Pentagon.

Navy Secretary Ray Mabus continued to expand the LCS program even as a growing number of senior officers began to criticize the ships (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Mabus acknowledged that his support of the LCS project put him at odds with some of the Navys top officers and the nations civilian military leadership. He recalled resistance from what he dubbed the Alumni Association, powerful former Navy officers who he said reflexively and unfairly disliked the ship because it was so different from anything else the Navy had built. For Mabus, his key role as civilian leader of a tradition-bound military service was overcoming its hostility to change and innovation.

Chief among the old-school critics, he said, was Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona and decorated Navy veteran whose father and paternal grandfather had both been Navy admirals. He, along with Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, had emerged as skeptics of the LCS as leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Both were alarmed by the costs, which had soared to more than $750 million apiece for the initial ships.

In response to such concerns, the Navy lowered the price by pitting the two teams of contractors against each other in a bidding war. Austal and Lockheed Martin turned in two different ship designs with similar price tags. Navy leaders dithered over which to select.

In the fall of 2010, Work, the Navy undersecretary at the time, said Mabus gathered senior naval leaders together to ask a blunt question: Do we want this ship to survive?

When the group answered yes, Mabus proposed a politically adroit solution: The Navy would select both companies to build the new ships in two shipyards, one in Alabama and one in Wisconsin.

Mabus calculated that he would win the support of congressional delegations from both places by delivering thousands of jobs and millions in spending to each, Work recalled. Spreading the wealth would increase the ships chances of survival. But it would also make the program harder to kill when problems arose.

He was looking at the problem in a different way than we were looking at it because he was a professional politician, Work said.

Mabus plan concerned some Navy leaders. The Austal ship, which was the basis for the Independence class, would be an aluminum trimaran  a ship with three hulls. The Lockheed Martin ship, which formed the basis for the Freedom class, would be a more conventional monohull forged of steel. The radically different designs meant that the ships could not trade parts or sailors, making them more expensive to maintain and crew. In addition, the contracts called for the contractors to build a total of 20 vessels, a large commitment for a relatively unproven warship.

But Mabus and his team argued that those additional costs would be dwarfed by the savings the Navy would enjoy in the long run  one top official found that the Navy would save $2.9 billion by awarding long-term contracts to both companies.

To Mabus, it was a win-win for all involved: each ship had its own benefits, taxpayers would get a better price, the Navy would get more ships faster and the shipyards would get more jobs.

He told ProPublica that keeping the shipyards active was always a consideration, but it wasnt the main driver behind the decision. The real incentive, he said, was price, not politics.

But the political payoff soon became evident.

McCain held a hearing, where he excoriated the Navy. The story of this ship is one that makes me ashamed and embarrassed as a former Navy person and as a person whos responsible to the taxpayers of my state, he said. (McCain died in 2018.)

But in a last-minute budget bill to keep the government open in late December, Sen. Richard Shelby, the Alabama Republican, inserted language to buy ships from both shipyards.

He made sure it happened, a Shelby spokesman said at the time.

And Levin, the Michigan Democrat once critical of the ships, now supported them. The Marinette shipyard is just over the Michigan border in Wisconsin. Levin called the plan to build 10 ships there a major boost for the regions economy and applauded the Navy in its efforts to bring costs down. (Levin died in 2021).

As one former vice admiral put it, politics is king in the shipbuilding business.

'We Ask for Help, but There Isn't Enough'

Work aboard the USS Fort Worth. There was no break, no reprieve, just increasing daily tasking, one sailor said of their time on board. (Antonio Turretto Ramos/U.S. Navy)

Just a month after the USS Milwaukee stalled in Virginia, the ship it was supposed to join in the South China Sea suffered its own embarrassing breakdown.

The USS Fort Worth was nearing the end of an otherwise successful deployment. It had helped with a search-and-rescue operation following an Indonesian commercial plane crash and participated in joint exercises with several allied navies.

But the Navy had decided to frequently rotate the small LCS crews in order to reduce burnout and, in November 2015, a new, inexperienced crew took over.

Even the commanding officer, Michael Atwell, had few opportunities to gain valuable at sea experience before his deployment, according to a later Navy investigation.

On Jan. 5, hundreds of gallons of fuel spilled into the ships main machinery room. The sailors had to spray chemical foam on the fuel to prevent it from catching fire. Then, in grueling, filthy shifts, they took turns crawling into the tight compartment to clean it up with rags and pumps.

The day after the spill, the Fort Worth pulled into a port in Singapore for a week of scheduled maintenance.

There it became clear that the ship had been ridden hard, according to officers interviewed in the Navy investigation. Leaks had sprung out of various parts, the engines were in bad shape, the electric generators needed work and the crew was exhausted. There was no break, no reprieve, just increasing daily tasking, one sailor said of their time on board.

The ships executive officer, the second in command, complained of a lack of support from superiors.

We ask for help, but there isnt enough, he said, adding that he was told they dont have the bodies.

The ship was originally supposed to leave by Jan. 12 for a high visibility port visit in Hong Kong. Atwell and his executive officer described a tremendous amount of pressure to make it happen, according to the Navy investigation.

The crew took shortcuts as it scrambled to test the engine. One of the sailors in charge of starting it skipped a routine step, failing to properly lubricate the combining gears.

I messed up everything because I was going too fast, the sailor later explained.

The mistake damaged the ships combining gear, forcing it to sit for seven months while waiting on replacement parts.

Navy leaders deemed Atwell unfit for command and removed him from his position.

Reached by phone, Atwell declined to comment.

The breakdowns on the Milwaukee and Fort Worth formed the beginning of a pattern that came to punctuate the life of the LCS program:

Ships were rushed to sea with faltering equipment. Shorthanded crews and captains without sufficient training or support tried to make them work. Breakdowns ensued. Then, the pressure to perform and restore the reputation of the program intensified anew and the cycle repeated itself.

Soon it would be the USS Freedoms turn.

'We Were Essentially Telling a Lie'

The Pentagon (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

In early 2012, sitting beneath the fluorescent glow of a Pentagon briefing room, Rear Adm. Sam Perez received a stern warning.

Weeks earlier, Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert had asked Perez to produce a report that would help him figure out how best to use the dozens of littoral combat ships that would be delivered to the Navy in the coming years.

The results were grim.

Discussing the details around a conference table, one fellow officer raised a finger to his own temple and mimicked a gun going off: Perez, he signaled, was about to risk career suicide.

It was a pattern with the LCS. Officers who criticized the ships faced consequences. An assignment to an undesirable post. Even dismissal.

Perez had found that the crews were too small. Some were stretched so thin that commanding officers had to spend time sweeping the decks, when they could have been studying intelligence reports and focusing on navigating the ship.

Contrary to what Clark observed in Denmark, the various weapons systems would not be easy to swap out. The Navy hadnt factored in the weeks it could take for all the contractors, sailors and others who were needed to fly in from around the world to help outfit the vessels for different missions.

The two versions of the LCS complicated the problems. The designs were vastly different: They could exchange neither parts nor sailors. Perez and his staff worried that the ships would wind up sidelined because they lacked either equipment or trained crew members.

Comparing the LCS to the fleets of potential adversaries, Perez concluded that the vessels were only capable of fighting against lightly armed small, fast attack boats.

A fellow officer warned him that painting this kind of damning portrait for the highest ranking officer in the Navy, the chief naval officer, could hurt his career. At that point, the Navy had already committed to buying at least 20 more ships worth billions of dollars.

Perez had already shared some of his findings with Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mark Ferguson, the second highest ranking official in the Navy.

According to a former senior officer familiar with the events, Ferguson told Perez that he was looking at the vessels the wrong way. The small ships performance should be compared to a patrol boat.

Perez objected. Patrol boats arent supposed to clear mines, fight submarines or attack surface warships. They are far smaller, designed primarily for surveillance and interdiction.

The staffers worked on the comparison for about two weeks before they began tearing each other up because we were essentially telling a lie, according to the former officer who worked on the project. After a vote, they decided to stop comparing the LCS to a patrol boat.

Immediately after Perez delivered the report, he received a call from Bynum, a former rear admiral who at the time worked for Ferguson. Bynum told Perez to classify the report secret.

That was absolutely my recommendation, Bynum said in an interview with ProPublica. The report, he said, included a host of vulnerabilities that didnt need to be shared in the open press.

At a PowerPoint presentation of his findings, Ferguson was curt. The former officer said Ferguson only allowed Perez about two words per slide, instructing him to flip to the next image before he could finish the last one.

In an interview with ProPublica, Ferguson did not recall asking Perez to compare the LCS to a patrol boat, but he acknowledged he was disappointed by key aspects of the report. Known to have a brusque style, he said he may well have sped through his presentation.

I didnt dispute any of the critique, Ferguson said. LCS had serious issues. But I wanted more in the way of recommendations on how to go forward; how to integrate them into the fleet.

Soon after, Perez was assigned to the international relations department of the Navy. About a year after that, he became liaison to the State Department. Neither are regarded as ideal assignments for an admiral who had spent a career carrying out missions at sea.

Perez declined to comment.

For his part, Greenert said the idea that Perez was punished for speaking up was nonsense. On the contrary, he said it helped prompt him to increase the staffing and budget for LCS.

Around the same time, Greenert asked another senior officer, three-star Adm. Tom Copeman, to evaluate the LCS as part of a larger report on the surface fleet.

Copeman, then in charge of the fitness of the Navys vessels for combat, echoed concerns about the ships combat abilities. He thought the LCS was not lethal enough. The Navys contract called for 24 ships, with plans to build more than 50. Copeman recommended that the Navy halt building the ships after fulfilling the contract.

In March 2013, the memo was leaked to the trade press. Copeman immediately received calls from one of Mabus top staffers. He told Copeman that Mabus was extremely disappointed that Copeman had publicly disagreed with him. Copeman told him that the memo was never intended for public consumption and that he didnt know how it got out.

As ProPublica previously reported, Greenert asked Copeman to retire early in mid-2013 after he had publicly expressed concerns over the fitness of the Navys ships for combat.

Greenert said Copeman was not asked to retire early. He said Copeman helped to convince him to ask for more weapons on the LCS.

Copeman declined to comment.

The Navy needed a lot more ships, and the LCS program was going to help provide them.

Freedom's Troubles

Sailors board the USS Freedom in August 2013 in Singapore. Back in San Diego, the ship had been nicknamed Dry Dock One because it so rarely left port, according to one former lieutenant. (Jay C. Pugh/U.S. Navy)

About six months after two of its sister ships were docked for repairs, it was the Freedoms turn in the spotlight.

But on July 7, 2016, the day before the ship was supposed to begin its part in the global Navy exercise, a string of equipment failures forced its captain into a bad spot: Wohnhaas had to submit a fail to sail message to his superiors  an embarrassing signal that the ship was not ready to go.

Working through the night, engineers on the Freedom eventually realized a part called a cannon plug used in the ships complicated propulsion system needed to be replaced. Without it, the ship couldnt go anywhere.

They discovered one in Port Hueneme, about an hour north of Los Angeles. The engineer battled through five hours of Southern California traffic to pick it up and bring it back. The ship departed its port in San Diego a day late, then suffered another setback.

Three miles outside Mexican territorial waters, a loud metallic noise clanged out, startling the crew. Wohnhaas slowed the ship down but it began to drift. The crew dropped anchor to stop the ship and then steamed back to port.

He was sent back out to sea and senior officers later criticized him for holding up the mission.

Then on the evening of July 11, a leak erupted inside the main machinery room, the mechanical heart of the ship, spraying the electrical system with seawater. An inch or two pooled on the floor. If the leak wasnt stopped immediately, it could cause short-circuiting or even a fire.

One sailor searched for the source of the leak by hand, burning his arm on a hot pipe before finding a hole seeping water. The sailors plugged the hole, but the repair backfired. It forced water to burst through a rubber seal that kept seawater out of the ships lubrication oil system. The water mixed with the oil, pumping a kind of emulsified goo through one of the ships four engines.

Two days later, the crew, again, had to return the ship to dock in San Diego. The engineer responsible for the ship while in port determined that a full repair of the engine could take as long as two weeks. Wohnhaas superiors rejected the idea. Time was running out for the ship to participate in the Rim of the Pacific exercise, or RIMPAC.

A Navy diesel engine expert proposed a procedure to block further corrosion of the engine with a special rinse.

A Navy expert in Philadelphia, referred to as the guru in the Navy investigation, approved that approach, which would allow the ship to get back to sea more quickly and complete the mission by using the ships three remaining engines.

Throughout the exercise, a parade of high-ranking Navy officials  including two rear admirals, a Marine Corps general, and a commodore  visited the vessel to turn up the heat on the crew and its captain.

They made clear that the Freedoms participation in RIMPAC was crucially important to the entire LCS program and that there was no appetite for the Freedom to delay its departure. Freedoms performance, they believed, would perhaps modulate some of the programs critics, the investigation said.

The Freedom left San Diego to take part in the Rim of the Pacific naval exercise in 2016. (Stacy M. Atkins Ricks/U.S. Navy)

Given what happened on the Fort Worth and the Milwaukee months earlier, top Navy leaders felt pressure to deliver a win for the program, according to the investigation, which called the pressure on Wohnhaas severe.

One senior officer invoked the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Adm. Scott Swift, as wanting to use the region as a testing grounds for the Navy.

Reached by phone, Swift said he was a believer in the LCS and acknowledged that he had encouraged the Navy to test new weapons systems in the Pacific. But he emphasized that it was not an order to deploy ships at any cost.

We made it clear if you want to take them off line, take them off line, but I am not surprised that people further down the chain didnt feel they had that option, he said. The offer could have been perceived as an order, or taken advantage of by those that wanted to push harder to get a win out of LCS.

As a four-star, if you ask for something too often people think of it as a requirement, he said.

On the morning of July 17, 2016, the ship finally seemed ready to go.

The contractors completed the rinse and were packing up to leave. But when the chief engineer looked at samples taken from inside the engine, he was deeply worried.

Holy shit, he thought, according to an interview in a Navy investigation. Theres still water in the engine.

He sent a message to Wohnhaas that he later acknowledged was misleading because it suggested the ship was ready to go. He blamed the mistake on not proof-reading the text prior to sending it.

Sir, the flush is done, he wrote at 9:50 a.m. I [assess] that we are still on track for tomorrow.

Wohnhaas took this as good news and passed it on to his superiors:

Everything is tracking toward an on-time departure, he said in an email sent to his commodore, Warren Buller, at 11:36 a.m.

In fact, the procedure approved by the Philadelphia guru hadnt solved the problem. Investigators would later determine the procedure could not have worked  it was meant to remove grit, not seawater, from engine oil.

The following morning, as the Freedom was preparing to depart, a senior enlisted engineer ran into a contractor he knew as Joe.

Joe told him that the engine was still contaminated.

Alarmed, the engineer discussed the situation with his supervisor, the chief engineer, who was smoking a cigarette on the front deck of the ship.

If they went to sea, the engine would rust, the engineer said. The chief engineer told him he knew it and he was on his way to tell Wohnhaas.

In an interview with investigators, the chief engineer said he told Wohnhaas something to the effect of we cant get underway like this, we gotta do something.

Wohnhaas declined to comment for this story. In his interview with investigators, he said that when he learned of the contaminated samples from the chief engineer, he understood the engine was inoperable. But he was confident he could avoid further damage and complete the mission by relying on the ships other engines.

There was a strong sense that we couldnt have another LCS not meet mission, Wohnhaas said. He did not tell his superior officers the uncomfortable fact that the engine was still contaminated because of the pressure to get underway, the investigation said.

The Freedom sailed out and detected mines in the water. The mission was a success  at least so everyone thought.

But on Aug. 3, five days after Wohnhaas returned the ship, a routine inspection revealed major damage to the engine, corrosion so extensive that the ship was docked in repairs for two years. The engine needed to be replaced.

The Navy investigation found that one failure led to another on the Freedom: The inexperienced crew used the wrong procedure to stop the leak; the Navys technical community then recommended another incorrect procedure to flush the engine; contractors executed it, providing false hope that it would prevent the corrosion.

Wohnhaas key error, according to the investigation: He failed to tell his superiors that the engine was still contaminated by seawater.

Wohnhaas was removed from command over the incident. Others, whose names and titles are redacted from the Navy report, were also recommended for discipline.

'It Just Felt Like a Big Joke'

Sailors take part in a ribbon-cutting for a littoral combat ship facility in 2015. Some ships of this class are being retired after less than a decade of service, despite being designed to last 25 years. (Timothy Schumaker/U.S. Navy)

By early 2017, Lt. Jett Watson was beginning to wonder whether he had signed up to squander his naval career.

He was in the middle of training to serve as an LCS officer, spending hours inside virtual reality simulators set up in San Diego to make participants feel as if they were driving the ship.

The digital experience was impressive, but getting a real LCS out to sea was more complicated.

Im sure it was funny to watch us get underway just to have a big cloud of smoke go out because an engine went down and then have the tugboats pull us right back into the pier, which happened very often, he said in an interview with ProPublica. I mean, it was almost a game just to watch.

Becoming a full-fledged surface warfare officer in the Navy requires hundreds of hours at sea. In interviews with current and former officers, the LCS program was described as a place where careers go to die. The ships broke down so frequently that officers spent key years in which they were supposed to gain experience at sea sitting around waiting for repairs to be completed.

Watson felt deceived.

A couple of years earlier, he had come under the spell of the LCS as a student at the Naval Academy.

There, recruiters for the program spread the gospel of its small crew size and purportedly aggressive deployment schedule, convincing him that the ship suited only the most elite sailors and officers.

Watson was so taken by the promise of the ship that he became a kind of LCS evangelist, convincing his friends at the academy to join the program with him.

He remembered sweltering beneath the Maryland sun during his graduation ceremony, where Mabus delivered a kind of a final exhortation to the newly sworn in officers.

We are Americas away team, Mabus said. You didnt come to Annapolis to sit at home when you leave here, and you wont be sitting at home. Sailors and Marines, equally in times of peace and at war, are deployed around the world.

Hailing from Lubbock, Texas, Watson thought the LCS would be his ticket to a meaningful and exciting career in the Navy.

He went on to serve on three littoral combat ships, each belonging to the less problematic Independence class.

I would hesitate to say we ever did a mission, he said.

Instead, he and others had to stomach what one current senior noncommissioned officer described as a big shit sandwich when they first came on board.

General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin considered much of the data and equipment on the LCS proprietary  a problem that the GAO has identified throughout the military. As a result, only their employees were allowed to do certain repairs, former officers said. This sometimes meant that contractors would go overseas to help, adding millions in travel costs and often delaying missions. The Navy recently purchased some of the data. A Navy spokesperson would not disclose the price due to proprietary reasons.

Watson and others spent much of their time escorting contractors while on board because so many areas on the ship were considered classified, reducing their ability to do their own jobs, according to interviews with multiple officers who had served on the LCS.

Cumbersome negotiations meant it could sometimes take weeks to get contractors on board. The delays were especially frustrating when trying to fix the computer network that connected everything from the radars, to the weapons systems, to the ships canteen. That system, another former lieutenant said, frequently shut down because of software glitches.

You cant ask for help from your superior commands on shore, said the former lieutenant, who worked as a communications officer on Independence-class ships. And you cant even go buy yourself a soda.

The ships needed constant repairs. But technical manuals were sometimes written only in the native language of the contractor that built the equipment. One former officer said that a manual for a davit, a type of crane used to lower a search-and-rescue boat, was written in Norwegian. He said the Navy had to spend thousands of dollars to fly in a contractor from Norway to change two fuses.

The Navy has recently increased the amount of maintenance performed by sailors.

It just felt like a big joke, said Watson, who left the Navy in 2021. He said many of the highly qualified sailors he worked with sought mental health assistance because they felt that their time on an LCS was a waste, affording them little opportunity to apply their skills or learn new ones.

An average week would consist of 90 to 100 hours in port doing, honestly, nothing, Watson said. It felt ridiculous. Many times we were there just because we had to be there.

At one point, a senior Navy official addressed a group of more than 50 LCS sailors assembled in an auditorium and asked how many would volunteer to come back. Two former officers familiar with the presentation said only a handful said yes.

A Fight over the Future

The ships mounting problems drew attention from the highest reaches of the Pentagon, eventually prompting two successive defense secretaries to try to halt their construction.

The first, in 2014, was Chuck Hagel, a former Army infantry squad leader and U.S. senator. The military was fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but it also needed to save money. Hagels advisers told him he could do that by keeping the LCS fleet to 32 ships, abandoning plans to build 52 of them.

Hed be cutting what was already understood to be a deeply troubled vessel. Studies showed that the ship couldnt continue to fight after a missile strike and that the interchangeable warfighting packages  an idea originally at the heart of the LCS  were failing to perform.

Do we want one-fifth of the future Navy fleet to be a ship that cant take a hit and continue its mission? one adviser recalled thinking at the time.

In February 2014, Hagel pledged to make the cut to 32 and asked the Navy to come up with a design for a new frigate  a larger, tougher type of warship. But Mabus pushed back. A Navy task force suggested that the LCS could be transformed into a frigate. The Pentagons top weapons tester told Hagel that was infeasible. But Hagel agreed with the task force, because the Navy was going to have to live with it, and justify it. And count on it, he said in an interview with ProPublica.

In December 2014, in one of his final acts as secretary of defense, Hagel agreed to allow the Navy to build up to 52 smaller ships: a mix of the littoral combat ships and the new frigates, which would be based on the LCS design, but with more weapons.

In response to critics who said he had capitulated, Hagel characterized his decision as a compromise based on the advice of the governments top experts.

We brought in a lot of different people on both sides of it, he said. Thats the only responsible way you can evaluate these big projects as secretary of defense, because you cant know everything about this. Its just, no one person is that smart.

The Navy later awarded a contract to the shipbuilder Fincantieri Marine Group to build a new line of frigates based on a different design.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who followed Hagel, also took aim at the LCS.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter in 2016. In a 2015 memo, he said the Navy was guilty of prioritizing quantity over lethality. (Alex Brandon/AP)

In a sharply worded December 2015 memo to Mabus, Carter said the Navy was guilty of prioritizing quantity over lethality. He told the Navy to limit future purchases to 40 ships, including littoral combat ships and frigates.

Mabus told ProPublica that he was blindsided by the change of course and that it led to heated discussions with Carter in private.

In public, he opposed his boss too: first at a naval symposium, then before Congress, then at a Wisconsin shipyard where he assured LCS builders they were working on the best ship in the world. In March 2016, under questioning from Rep. Bradley Byrne, an Alabama Republican who called the LCS his favorite topic, Mabus told the House Armed Services Committee that the Navy had a validated need for the 52 ships.

Even as Mabus testified, the ships were breaking down at sea with increasing frequency.

Mabus downplayed the severity of the incidents.

We took it seriously, he said. But it did not seem, from what we were looking at, that it was a systemic problem.

The contractors who built the ships defended their performance.

Eric Dent, a spokesperson for the Italian-based shipbuilder Fincantieri, which also built the Freedom ships in Marinette, said it did so to a design from Lockheed Martin and the Navy, referring questions to both.

Lockheed Martin spokesperson Patrick McNally said the company is proud of its work with the Navy and is focused on delivering affordable improvements to the platform.

Australian-based shipbuilder Austal, which constructs the Independence class of ships, and General Dynamics, which built the infrastructure for the ships computers, both declined to comment for this story.

The weapons systems were failing as badly as the ships engines.

Without them, the LCS was only a box floating in the ocean, said former Lt. Cmdr. Mark West, who helped lead the Navys development of the warfighting packages for years in uniform and as a civilian.

To help the LCS find mines, an important mission in 21st-century warfare, the Navy built a remotely operated minisubmarine designed to detect underwater explosives. West and others said it turned out to be too difficult to operate. The Navy is now dependent on an aging fleet of minesweepers that often cannot deploy.

Imagine a 25-year-old sailor trying to remotely control a [minisubmarine] in the water that weighs 20,000 pounds as the ship is going 4 or 5 knots, one current senior enlisted sailor said. Then trying to bring it to the surface as a crane lowers a saddle on top of it to get it out of the water. It was damn near impossible.

After 15 years of development and more than $700 million invested in the remote minehunting system, the Navy canceled it in March 2016.

To hunt submarines, the defense contractors created a sonar device the ship dragged through the water on a long cable from the stern. When the device detected a submarine, it was supposed to send a signal to the ship, which then dispatched a helicopter to hover over the ocean and plunge another sonar device into the water. The helicopter then dropped a torpedo to destroy the sub.

None of these components effectively communicated with one another. And the wake of the LCS made it extremely difficult to launch and recover the sonar, according to one former commodore with direct knowledge of the program.

After pouring hundreds of millions into the module, the Navy shifted the function to its new frigate.

In an interview, West said the Navy never gave the modules the same priority as the ships. They always played second fiddle, West said. Those working on them had to fight and claw to get the time and money necessary to ensure their success.

Coronado and Montgomery

About a month after the Freedoms engine failed, a fourth LCS, the USS Coronado, broke down on its way to Singapore and had to limp back to Hawaii.

The USS Coronado returns to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii after breaking down on its way to Singapore. (Katarzyna Kobiljak/U.S. Navy)

The breakdowns had become routine by this point. First came the fanfare over a newly christened ship, with all the requisite flag waving, handshaking, speechmaking and celebratory Champagne bottle breaking. Later, a perilous journey: a few days or weeks at sea, followed by another busted part and another tow back to port.

This time, on the Coronado, a part called a coupling would be the culprit. The device, which helped connect the water jets to the engine, had failed, hindering the ships complicated propulsion system. The Navy discovered it was a problem on several other littoral combat ships, too.

The GAO, which has produced dozens of reports criticizing the ships, later learned that the Coronado failed to sail six times between 2016 and 2017 because it did not not have correct parts on board to fix simple problems.

Important items like circuit card assemblies, washers, bolts, gaskets, and diaphragms for air conditioning units were not on board, the report found. The LCS may not have adequate space onboard to stock these items.

In August 2016, the Navy ordered a 30-day stand down of all littoral combat ships to retrain the engineering crews and improve the fleets performance.

A month later, a fifth ship, the USS Montgomery, suffered a series of mishaps. Over a two-month stretch, its engine malfunctioned, it collided with a tugboat and it then cracked its hull after striking a lock in the Panama Canal.

'The Navy Doesnt Want Them'

On May 4, 2017, about three months into the administration of President Donald Trump, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget at the time, Mick Mulvaney, sat for an interview with conservative talk radio show host Hugh Hewitt.

They talked about Game of Thrones, the repeal of Obamacare and a new hire at the OMB before turning to Trumps promise to increase the Navys fleet to 350 ships. How, Hewitt wanted to know, was the president going to achieve that?

Mulvaney said that the day before he had missed a meeting on the Paris Agreement  the international treaty to avert the catastrophic consequences of climate change  in order to discuss whether to buy more littoral combat ships.

The Navy doesnt want them, Mulvaney said.

With the Navy on its way toward building the more powerful frigate, it appeared that the LCS program was on its last legs. The Navy requested funding for only one LCS that year.

But once again, politics intervened.

Tammy Baldwin, the Democratic senator from Wisconsin, fought for more. She wrote to Trump on May 12, casting the LCS as a rare opportunity for her and the president to work together. Both support American workers making American products, she said, but too few of the vessels in the budget would cause her states shipyard to lay off hundreds of workers.

On May 24, in a move that shocked the defense community, the Trump administration inserted one more ship into the budget after it had already been sent to Congress.

The Trump administration had suddenly placed a $500 million order for a new ship that the Navy didnt ask for.

In an email to ProPublica, Baldwin said she takes great pride in representing Wisconsins shipbuilding industry, adding that she supported the LCS because it provided new capabilities and capacity to the Navy.

Over the next year, Congress funded yet more ships, leaving the force with 35, three more than the Navy said it needed. The additions cost taxpayers more than $1.5 billion.

In the years since, both variants of the LCS have continued to grapple with major problems. The Independence version has shown cracks in the hulls of nearly half the class. The Navy determined that a flaw in the combining gear affected the entire Freedom class. The Navy came up with a fix at a reported cost of $8 million to $10 million per ship  an expense split with Lockheed Martin.

Naval experts worry that the failures of the LCS have put the Navy at a greater disadvantage against China, which boasts the largest Navy in the world with some 340 ships and submarines, according to the Pentagons most recent report to Congress on the state of the Chinese military. By comparison, the Navy has roughly 294 ships and submarines.

The Navy has begun to mothball littoral combat ships far before the end of their expected lifespans.

In March 2022, the Navy announced plans to retire nine Freedom-class vessels early because of their inability to hunt submarines.

In a predictable pattern, lawmakers representing states where the ships are based fought to keep more of the ships at sea. They allowed the Navy to decommission only four. The first of those, retired last month, is less than five years old. Three other LCS had already been mothballed.

The Navy is now trying to retire two more, including the USS Jackson, the ship named for the capital of Mabus home state. It wrapped up its first deployment last October. Meant to have a 25-year lifespan, the ship would last only nine.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. on Wednesday announced it was sending depleted uranium anti-tank rounds to Ukraine, following Britain's lead in sending the controversial munitions to help Kyiv push through Russian lines in its grueling counteroffensive.

The 120 mm rounds will be used to arm the 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks the U.S. plans to deliver to Ukraine in the fall.

Such armor-piercing rounds were developed by the U.S. during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, including the same T-72 tanks that Ukraine now faces in its counteroffensive.

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process needed to create nuclear weapons. The rounds retain some radioactive properties, but they cant generate a nuclear reaction like a nuclear weapon would, RAND nuclear expert and policy researcher Edward Geist said.

When Britain announced in March it was sending Ukraine the depleted uranium rounds, Russia falsely claimed they have nuclear components and warned that their use would open the door to further escalation. In the past, Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested the war could escalate to nuclear weapons use.

A look at depleted uranium ammunition:

What is depleted uranium?

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the process to create the rarer, enriched uranium used in nuclear fuel and weapons. Although far less powerful than enriched uranium and incapable of generating a nuclear reaction, depleted uranium is extremely dense  more dense than lead  a quality that makes it highly attractive as a projectile.

Its so dense and its got so much momentum that it just keeps going through the armor  and it heats it up so much that it catches on fire, Geist said.

When fired, a depleted uranium munition becomes essentially an exotic metal dart fired at an extraordinarily high speed, RAND senior defense analyst Scott Boston said.

In the 1970s, the U.S. Army began making armor-piercing rounds with depleted uranium and has since added it to composite tank armor to strengthen it. It also has added depleted uranium to the munitions fired by the Air Forces A-10 close air support attack plane, known as the tank killer. The U.S. military is still developing depleted uranium munitions, notably the M829A4 armor-piercing round for the M1A2 Abrams main battle tank, Boston said.

What has Russia said?

In March, Putin warned that Moscow would "respond accordingly, given that the collective West is starting to use weapons with a nuclear component." And Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the munitions were a step toward accelerating escalation.

Putin followed up several days later by saying Russia would respond to Britain's move by stationing tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. Putin and the Belarusian president said in July that Russia had already shipped some of the weapons.

There was no immediate reaction from the Kremlin to the U.S. announcement, which came late Wednesday during a visit to Kyiv by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The Pentagon has defended the use of the munitions. The U.S. military has procured, stored, and used depleted uranium rounds for several decades, since these are a longstanding element of some conventional munitions, Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Lt. Col. Garron Garn said in a statement in March in response to a query from The Associated Press.

The rounds have saved the lives of many service members in combat, Garn said, adding that other countries have long possessed depleted uranium rounds as well, including Russia.

Garn would not discuss whether the M1A1 tanks being readied for Ukraine would contain depleted uranium armor modifications, citing operational security.

Not a bomb, but still a risk

While depleted uranium munitions are not considered nuclear weapons, their emission of low levels of radiation has led the U.N. nuclear watchdog to urge caution when handling and warn of the possible dangers of exposure.

The handling of such ammunition should be kept to a minimum and protective apparel (gloves) should be worn, the International Atomic Energy Agency cautions, adding that a public information campaign may, therefore, be required to ensure that people avoid handling the projectiles.

"This should form part of any risk assessment and such precautions should depend on the scope and number of ammunitions used in an area.

The IAEA notes that depleted uranium is mainly a toxic chemical, as opposed to a radiation hazard. Particles in aerosols can be inhaled or ingested, and while most would be excreted again, some can enter the blood stream and cause kidney damage.

High concentrations in the kidney can cause damage and, in extreme cases, renal failure, the IAEA says.

The low-level radioactivity of a depleted uranium round is a bug, not a feature of the munition, Geist said, and if the U.S. military could find another material with the same density but without the radioactivity it would likely use that instead.

Depleted uranium munitions, as well as depleted uranium-enhanced armor, were used by U.S. tanks in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraqs T-72 tanks and again in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, as well as in Serbia and in Kosovo.

U.S. troops have questioned whether some of the ailments they now face were caused by inhaling or being exposed to fragments after a munition was fired or their tanks were struck, damaging uranium-enhanced armor.

In a social media post on Telegram, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed the U.S. decision to give Ukraine the munitions, writing, What is this: a lie or stupidity? She said an increase in cancer has been noted in places where ammunition with depleted uranium was used.

___

Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Aamer Madhani in Washington, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, contributed to this report.
The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.

Operation Desert Storm was the last major conflict that the United States clearly won. It is no coincidence that it was also the last war directed by general officers who were not products of the Goldwater-Nichols and Skelton Panel professional military reforms in military structure and education.

Those "reforms" have resulted in an Army that could not organize an orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan, a Navy that has failed to build enough attack submarines to credibly deter or defeat a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, and a Marine Corps that willingly castrated itself in an idiotic new strategy called Force Design 2030.

These misbegotten reforms laid the groundwork for bloated joint staffs that cannot get out of their own way, and general officers who cannot coherently plan or lead major wars and campaigns. This piece will examine the baleful legacy of Goldwater-Nichols.

The American failure in Vietnam. closely followed by the debacle of Desert One -- the failed Iran hostage rescue mission, caused lawmakers to question the overall competence of the American military, but particularly our ability to have the services fight as joint forces. This coincided with the publication of "A Genius for War" by Army Col. Trevor Dupuy, who argued that the German General Staff system provided a model for institutionalizing military excellence that our American services had lacked when dealing with the Vietnamese and Iranians. The reformers argued that the quality of selection and education of joint staff organizations had to be improved.

It was true that the services were not sending their best and brightest to joint staff duty and that senior service schools were largely not rigorous, being viewed as a year off for competitive officers from rigorous duty in the field or at sea. Unfortunately, the cure our politicians and armchair academic strategists developed turned out to be worse than the disease itself.

First, the Goldwater-Nichols legislation dictated that all future general and flag officer aspirants would have to serve at least one tour on a joint staff. That created some unintended consequences that are now haunting us.

Every joint staff grew exponentially to accommodate all the midgrade officers competing for flag rank, and there is no empirical evidence serving in a role like the graves registration officer at Central Command will make someone fit to rise to high command.

Erwin Rommel's Panzer army that overran most of North Africa was a tiny fraction of the size of the staffs that infest major U.S. military commands, like those in Tampa and Honolulu today. Rommel himself was not a product of the German General Staff system. Rather, he was one of those largely self-taught savants that frequently pop up in military history.

The second problem that Goldwater-Nichols created was a generation of officers who are a mile wide and an inch deep in the experience of their craft. If a lieutenant colonel or Navy commander wants to achieve flag rank, he or she must have punched several service- and Goldwater-Nichols-mandated tickets in about seven years. These are battalion/ship command, war college, a joint staff tour, and colonel/naval captain-level major command. The resulting officers are largely jacks of all trades and masters of none.

At no point have most of them been required to be the chief of staff or operations officer of a major service command; that is where the real mastery of grand tactics and operational art is learned and practiced. Is it any wonder that our generals could not effectively choose between Kabul International Airport and Bagram Air Base as the port of embarkation for our "cut and run" operation from Afghanistan, a decision that resulted in a nearly indefensible position as troops were overwhelmed by a humanitarian crisis?

Over the course of two decades, I spent time in Afghanistan as a civilian adviser watching a revolving door of military mediocrities acting as NATO commanders ignore the real problems of the war. While spending their time aimlessly wandering about the country handing out challenge coins to their adoring -- if somewhat puzzled -- troops, they failed to realize that the rural population was not buying what we were selling.

A few such senior generals, such as Jim Mattis and David Petraeus, tried to change the strategy but were frustrated by the stubborn incompetence and corruption of the Afghan government and its military. Petraeus at least managed to prevent Iraq from becoming a complete fiasco.

Those of us who spoke out against the Goldwater-Nichols legislation in the 1980s have proved to be right. I argued against the concept in The Washington Post, as did then-Secretary of the Navy John Lehman.

We need to modify Goldwater-Nichols now. There is nothing wrong with requiring officers to be familiar with the joint planning system; that is a mere process and can be easily taught at service and joint schools. If the services were required to send only the top 10% of field-grade officers to joint staffs annually, the size of these staffs could be slashed without sacrificing quality.

A military professional must be a master of his trade. Ulysses Grant, John Pershing, Dwight Eisenhower and Chester Nimitz never served as joint officers before leading great armies and fleets to victory. Each spent years in the trenches learning his craft. We do not need more ticket punchers; we have railroad conductors for that.

-- Gary Anderson is a retired Marine Corps officer who served as a special adviser to the deputy secretary of defense and did several tours as a civilian adviser in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Reading about an amazing act of heroism is one thing, but seeing it come to life is another thing entirely; just ask anyone who read "Black Hawk Down" before watching the movie.

The Association of the United States Army (AUSA) seems to agree, because it regularly publishes free comic books depicting Medal of Honor actions. Previous stories include World War I hero Samuel Woodfill, Vietnam War helicopter pilot Bruce Crandall and two heroes from the "Black Hawk Down" incident, Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart.

AUSA's latest graphic retelling is the story of Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, who repeatedly ran into a burning Bradley Armored Fighting Vehicle to rescue his fellow soldiers during the Iraq War.

Read: Comic Book Greats Band Together to Tell the Medal of Honor Story of Samuel Woodfill

On Oct. 17, 2005, Cashe was a platoon sergeant based at Forward Operating Base MacKenzie in northern Iraq. That night, he led soldiers from the 15th Infantry Regiment on a mission to clear a road of improvised explosive devices in Iraqs Salah Ad Din Province. Cashe was serving as the gunner of a Bradley as his platoon traversed the road.

Just before 7:30 p.m., Cashe's Bradley struck an IED, which ignited the vehicle's fuel cell and sent flaming diesel shooting all over the road, the vehicle and the men inside. Cashe, though wounded and covered in fuel, got out of the gunner's position and went to the driver's hatch. He found the driver wounded and on fire, helping the soldier out of the driver's hatch and to safety. He then went back to the burning vehicle, where six soldiers and their translator were trapped inside.

With fire coming out of every possible entry point, Cashe located a hatch they managed to open from the inside and stuck in his fuel-drenched arm to help get them out. When he reached through the flames, his uniform caught fire and spread across his entire uniform, but Cashe kept going.

U.S. Army Sgt.1st Class Alwyn Cashe rescues a fellow soldier from a burning vehicle in northern Iraq. (AUSA)

After he pulled one soldier out and carried him to safety, Cashe -- still on fire -- went back to the Bradley to retrieve another. One by one, he helped them out of the Bradley. As help arrived, the translator died and 10 soldiers were injured in the attack, including Cashe, but the six soldiers inside the vehicle survived.

The wounded were all evacuated from the scene via helicopter to Balad Air Base, where the wounded were treated. As they flew, Cashe, suffering burns over 72% of his body, asked repeatedly, "How are my guys? What's going on with them? Where are they at?"

He said the same thing after regaining consciousness at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. His first thought was the well-being of his soldiers. Cashe died weeks later, on Nov. 8, 2005, at just 35 years old.

Cashe was initially awarded the Silver Star for his heroism that night in Iraq, but only because his commander didn't know the extent of Cashe's injuries and the men who were evacuated couldn't give statements.

It would take another 14 years, the support of multiple members of Congress, and special legislation signed by President Donald Trump before the Department of Defense finally upgraded Alwyn Cashe's Silver Star to the Medal of Honor. President Joe Biden presented the award to Cashe's wife Tamara at a White House ceremony on Dec. 16, 2021.

Learn more about the life and career of Alwyn Cashe with AUSA's free Alwyn Cashe graphic novel.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, or on LinkedIn.

Keep Up With the Best in Military Entertainment

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Sydney Airport as Australia reacts to the new coronavirus Omicron variant in Sydney

By Praveen Menon, Roushni Nair and Archishma Iyer

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia's flagship Qantas Airways Ltd and its cross-Tasman rival Air New Zealand posted huge profits on Thursday, boosted by the return of robust travel demand in the post-pandemic era.

Air travel has boomed since the removal of pandemic restrictions and border closures in both countries last year. That, combined with a shortage of aircraft, parts and labour, has contributed to higher airfares, which peaked in the December quarter.

European airlines like Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa and Air France-KLM have also given upbeat forecasts for demand.

Qantas, known as the Flying Kangaroo, reported an annual underlying profit before tax of A$2.47 billion ($1.60 billion) for the fiscal year ended June 30, swinging from a loss of A$1.86 billion a year ago and its first full year statutory profit since 2019.

It also announced an order for 24 new wide-body aircraft - the final piece of the company's jet fleet renewal programme.

"This is a remarkable turnaround, three years in the making, and it has been hard," Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said at a news conference.

"From being 11 weeks shy of insolvency to a challenging return to flying across the industry, to finally getting back to the leading domestic operational performance," he said.

Qantas said its domestic capacity is expected to remain above pre-COVID levels throughout fiscal 2024.

The profit was helped by the completion of the group's A$1 billion recovery programme launched in 2020, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Air New Zealand on Thursday also signalled brisk customer demand for financial year 2024, after posting a large annual profit, helped by a rebound in travel.

"Having restored its international network, the airline carried out the biggest recruitment drive in its history and returned all aircraft to the skies," Air New Zealand said in a statement.

STRONG DEMAND

Story continues

Qantas' results beat the mid-point of its profit outlook of A$2.43 billion to A$2.48 billion, nearly A$850 million higher than its 2018 record levels of A$1.60 billion.

Analysts were expecting a profit of A$2.45 billion, according to Refinitiv Eikon.

Qantas also announced a share buyback programme of A$500 million. The company, however, did not announce a final dividend, continuing the trend of non-payment for the past three years.

Qantas CEO Joyce, speaking at a news conference, said travel demand is extremely robust at the moment.

Despite cost of living pressures, surveys have found that people are planning to spend more on travel over the next six months and less on homeware, renovations and even alcohol, he said.

"With strong performance across the business, a robust outlook, net leverage of just 0.6x and total sources of liquidity of around $10 billion, the credit metrics and factors supporting its credit profile have never looked stronger," said Ian Chitterer, vice president, Moodys Investors Service.

It's the final results announcement for Joyce who makes way for new CEO Vanessa Hudson in November, the first woman to lead the century-old airline.

Joyce, whose 15 years in the job has made him one of the longest-serving CEOs of a major Australian company, has been criticised for the reputational crisis faced by airline during the pandemic, as passengers were frustrated with delays, cancellations, lost baggage and staffing issues.

"It's bit of bittersweet moment," Joyce told reporters.

"The future of Qantas has never looked better and that is one thing I am very proud of," he said.

($1 = 1.5437 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Roushni Nair and Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Sam Holmes)
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI -- Manchester Community Schools newest administrator brings more than two decades of educational experience to her new role.

Widad Luqman is the new principal at Luther C. Klager Elementary and director of the Manchester Early Childhood Center. The Manchester School Board approved her hiring at an Aug. 16 meeting.

Widad comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and leadership experience, and we are incredibly pleased to add her to our leadership, instructional and Klager teams, Superintendent Brad Bezeau said in a statement.

Luqman said she was drawn to the district after being impressed by the administrative team and teachers she has met. She said she was also attracted by the welcoming nature of the village of Manchester itself, which she calls a small town with big impact.

Im super excited about joining Manchester. I think its one of the best-kept secrets here in Michigan, Luqman said. I love the sense of community. I love the people working here and the students.

Luqman replaces former principal Karen Villarreal, who stepped down from the position to teach second grade at Klager Elementary.

Luqmans 23-year career in education began in Dearborn Public Schools in 2008, where she served as a paraprofessional and later as an instructor for students speaking English as a second language.

She transitioned to Saline Area Schools in 2016 to work as a fifth grade teacher and later served as K-8 assistant principal at the Bradford Academy in Southfield. Luqman also worked as an administrator with the Hamtramck School District until accepting the Manchester job.

Luqman co-founded Coding Out of Poverty, a nonprofit organization focused on empowering people and creating equitable engagement opportunities in STEM/STEAM fields. She is also a MiSTEM computer science facilitator, a recipient of the Global Forum for Education and Learning Top 100 Leaders award and a fellow in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network.

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WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI  Create unarmed response teams to respond to 911 calls for mental health crises. Expand restorative justice options as an alternative to criminal charges. Eliminate school suspensions and expulsions as widely as possible.

Evidence suggests Washtenaw Countys criminal legal system is rife with disparities based on race, and those are among the 65 recommendations of a sprawling new report released on Aug. 31 that lays out ways to fix it.

The 187-page report is the product of months of research and work by the Washtenaw Equity Partnership, a diverse group that united more than 100 community members in the effort, from the countys top prosecutor, judges and police officials to residents who have firsthand experience serving prison time, activists and community leaders.

It surveys the criminal legal systems overlapping gears  including police, prosecutors, the courts, jails and probation systems  from a thousand feet, describing how they work together to produce harsher outcomes for Black people and what can be done to change that.

We tried to look at it as a continuum as opposed to silos, said Alma Wheeler Smith, a former state lawmaker who serves as chair of the Washtenaw Equity Partnership.

Because if we cant see once people enter (the system) how each element impacts and winnows who gets charged, who gets charged what, how they get defended and how the courts sentence, then youre not seeing at what points the racial disparity really gets compounded, she said.

The partnership emerged out of other initiatives, like a 2020 citizen report that examined criminal case data from more than 1,000 Washtenaw County felony cases, finding Black defendants were more likely to see additional charges and harsher sentences than white defendants.

With a grant from the Michigan Justice Fund and working with the Vera Institute of Justice, a national policy and research nonprofit, the Washtenaw partnership continued to crunch the numbers.

Black people are arrested at rates seven to 14 times higher than white residents for violent crimes and five to eight times higher for nonviolent ones, the report found by analyzing three years of data from police departments in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, as well as the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Office.

Data from the Ann Arbor Police Department, Ypsilanti Police Department and Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office show arrest totals and rates for Black and white people for violent offenses, as shown in the Aug. 31, 2023 Washtenaw Equity Partnership report on reducing racial disparities in the criminal legal system.Washtenaw Equity Partnership

The pattern continues in court, according to an analysis of nearly eight years of data included in the report.

Black people make up 12.3% of the countys population but 53.8% of those with charges in the county Trial Court as well as 70% of people charged with capital felonies, serious charges punishable by up to by up to life in prison, it states.

Judges find Black defendants guilty at much higher rates than white defendants, it found, while noting the analysis had its limitations and the disparities couldnt be solely or primarily attributed to racial bias.

Still, reducing those disparities will take a wide-ranging effort, involving areas beyond the legal system itself, the report found.

The overarching message in this reports findings and recommendations is that, to tackle racial disparities, Washtenaw County must reduce the scope and punitiveness of the formal criminal legal system and strengthen support services in local government and communities, it states.

Its 65 recommendations are spread over five strategy areas that begin before someone has any contact with police and continue all the way to after theyre released from jail or prison.

Officials should find ways to prevent residents from coming into contact with the legal system in the first place, the report recommends, and that means improving social and economic conditions to prevent criminal behavior, Wheeler Smith said.

The report suggest expanding affordable housing, advocating for the decriminalization of drugs for personal use, setting up safe injection sites, funding attorneys to help tenants facing eviction and expanding ban-the-box efforts to expand employment and housing options for those with criminal records, among other steps boosting the capacity of social service organizations.

Inside the court system, officials should strive to divert defendants from incarceration, limiting the use of money bail, expanding the kinds of cases that can participate in restorative justice initiatives and dealing with racial disparities specialty courts, like those focused on mental health or drug use, the report recommends.

Once people who do serve time in jail or prison are released, they should be better supported by re-entry programs, it suggests.

We know that we let a lot of people down with not having adequate housing. They dont come out of prison with a drivers license and any kind of housing lined up for them, so that puts them on a path to return, Wheeler Smith said.

The report also spills substantial ink discussing ways to keep young people out of the legal system, recommending officials divert as many juvenile cases as possible and focus on resources for community groups supporting youth.

Schools should fully eliminate the use of suspension as a mode of discipline for kindergarten through fifth graders and mostly eliminate it for middle and high schoolers, it recommends, with the goal of keeping children in classrooms.

The roadmap in the report emerged from a novel process that involved firsthand testimony from residents, data gathering and analysis and sets of working groups involving many community organizations and people working inside the legal system, Wheeler Smith said. She hopes it will be a model for communities across the country.

The founding partners of the partnership included the county Public Defenders Office, Trial Court, Prosecutors Office, Board of Commissioners and Citizens for Racial Equity in Washtenaw, the group that produced the 2020 sentencing report.

But many county entities, with the exception of the Prosecutors Office, formally withdrew from the process, though some of their members stayed involved, Wheeler Smith said.

The county Sheriffs Office was unable to grant staff time to participate, stretched thin during the COVID-19 pandemic, Wheeler Smith said, while giving Sheriff Jerry Clayton credit for advancing his offices own racial equity initiatives, including increased cooperation with mental health professionals. Sheriffs Office officials didnt respond to a request for comment.

County Prosecutor Eli Savit said it was important for members of his office to be involved, and several did so on a volunteer basis.

We have an obligation as public servants to always be examining our own work and trying to make sure were doing things right and improving where improvements need to be made, Savit said.

He added he looks forward to working with a Washtenaw Equity Partnership bridge team that will work toward implementing the recommendations. Some of them require no funding and could actually cut costs, according to the report.

Wheeler Smith said the county boards current chair, Justin Hodge, is on the bridge team, and she sees new buy-in from the county toward advancing the recommendations.

I know that the courts are serious about looking at they work with other components of the system and how they might change their internal approaches, she said.

That could include better tracking data in the criminal system.

Among the reports major recommendations is the suggestion that officials create a county data warehouse that involves contributions from across the legal system, boosting transparency and the ability to evaluate its effects on people. Too often data isnt being reviewed by offices inside the criminal legal system and those entities are rarely integrated or talking to each other, Wheeler Smith said.

The overarching theme of this report is the substantial lack of publicly available, usable data at nearly every point in the criminal justice system, the report states, describing difficulties obtaining useable data from some parts of the system for the report.

Thats a problem across the country, Savit said, and his office is working with the ACLU of Michigan and University of Michigan Law School on analyzing case information with an eye toward racial inequities.

Im a strong believer that if theres going to be consequences in the criminal system, it should be because of what you did not because of who you are, he said.

The full Washtenaw Equity Partnership report is available on the groups website.

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FLINT, MI  Upon his return to the Flint Bishop Airport after visiting the nations capital to honor his fellow veterans who lost their lives, Howard Pierce received one last mail call.

Pierce, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart Recipient who served from 1969 to 1971 in the Vietnam War, was delivered his final mail call package by his grandson.

That was worth waiting 54 years for, Pierce, from Laingsburg, said.

Pierce, 74, had a total surprise when he was one of more than 70 veterans to return from Flint Bishop Airports first-ever Honor Flight on Wednesday, Sept. 6.

Amid the assembled group that welcomed the veterans home were friends and family members of Pierce, who began recognizing faces about halfway through the crowd. He has three kids and 10 grandchildren.

The trip was an honor for Pierce, as many of his squad mates were not as fortunate to survive the Vietnam War, he said.

For Pierce, this was the first time hed experienced walking through an airport being honored for his service.

After he left Vietnam in 1971, he was told at Fort Lewis in Washington that he should not wear anything military when he got out due to the wars controversy.

Pierce was one of the veterans who traveled to visit Washington, D.C. to see memorials honoring fallen veterans in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam veterans.

55 1 / 55 More than 70 veterans return from honor flight to Washington D.C.

The group of veterans departed for Washington D.C. from the Flint airport on Tuesday, Sept. 5, and returned the following evening.

Robert Green, president of the Mid-Michigan Honor Flight organization, said he was pleased to partner with Bishop for the event.

Each veteran was accompanied by a guardian -- one family member or friend -- on the whirlwind trip.

For Pierce, it was his sister Joan Abel, who called the experience such a privilege.

Nino Sapone, CEO of Bishop Airport, called it a privilege to host the veterans and being a part of their journey.

We are grateful for their service, he said in a statement.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI  A Republican attorney from East Grand Rapids who lost his bid last year for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court announced Thursday that hes running to represent the Grand Rapids area in Congress.

Paul Hudson, who chairs the appeals group at the Miller Canfield law firm, is entering the race for Michigans 3rd Congressional District with an eye towards building unity and restoring faith in public officials, according to a campaign announcement.

The district, which includes the cities of Grand Rapids, Grand Haven and Muskegon, is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids. She was elected to her first-term last November, becoming the fist Democrat to represent Grand Rapids in Congress since 1977.

Scholtens term ends Jan. 3, 2025.

In his campaign announcement, Hudson said hes running for Congress because we need a completely new direction for the country.

We can all feel that something isnt right, and like most people Ive been deeply disappointed in the countrys leadership, he said. Were stuck in this rut because politicians are more interested in blaming the other side than getting the job done.

He added, We need to get back to common-sense, common-ground, practical policymaking again that charts a new course and allows us to move forward.

Hudson could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.

In addition to Hudson, other Republicans running seeking Scholtens seat include Jason Ickes, who says on his website he served as a Green Beret in the U.S. military, and Michael Markey, a financial advisor from Grand Haven, who was among five candidates for governor in 2022 that were kept off the ballot for submitting fraudulent signatures.

Related: Michigan blocks 5 from GOP governor ballot  candidates promise lawsuits

The Republican candidates will face one another in the 2024 GOP primary, the winner of which will face the Democratic nominee, presumably Scholten, in November general election.

Hudsons online bio on Miller Canfields website says hes a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center and received his bachelors degree from Cornell University.

Scholten, an immigration attorney from Grand Rapids who worked in the U.S. Department of Justice during the Obama administration, defeated Republican John Gibbs 53% to 44% in the November election, according to results from the Associated Press.

The 3rd Congressional district includes portions of Kent, Ottawa and Muskegon counties as well as the cities of Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Grand Haven. It was redrawn to include those areas following the once-a-decade redistricting process and is now considered a competitive district for Democrats and Republicans.

The districts former boundaries, which had favored Republicans, included Grand Rapids, a large portion of Kent County, part of Montcalm County, as well as Ionia, Barry and Calhoun counties.

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HOLLAND, MI  As Ottawa County Department of Public Health employees left work Wednesday evening, they were greeted by cheers, clapping and shouts of support from hundreds of residents.

Some workers teared up. A few were hugged by some in the crowd. Chants of We support you rang through the air.

The love and the care and the support is incredible, Marcia Mansaray, the departments deputy health officer, said as she teared up.

Im so grateful that they would take time out of their lives and busy days and come to show what it means to them to have a health department here and to preserve the services that most people dont notice when theyre working.

More than 300 people gathered Wednesday evening, Sept. 6, outside the departments Holland office at 12251 James St. for a rally to show support for the countys public health agency. The department is facing significant budget cuts in the upcoming fiscal year from the countys far-right leadership.

Related: Ottawa County leaders backtrack on massive cuts to health department budget

The crowd packed the offices front lawn and lined the roadway. Vehicles on busy James Street honked their horns as they passed by. People gathered signatures for an ongoing recall effort against one of the Ottawa Impact members on the county board.

Many held signs, with some saying We (heart) OCHD, Public health is a common good, Revenge politics makes me sick, No cuts / We (heart) public health, Fully fund health department / Slash budget for corporate counsel and more.

Our message today is that we support the excellent service our health department has provided, said Kim Nagy, interim executive director of Ottawa Integrity PAC.

We want no cuts. We want to show our support to the people in this building, and that is our entire message.

The rally was organized by Ottawa Integrity PAC, Zeeland Area Action Council and Progressive Lakeshore, which are groups opposed to Ottawa Impact, the far-right ruling majority on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners.

A number of speakers Wednesday talked about the variety of services offered by the health department and their importance, with some sharing stories about how the department personally helped them and their families.

Rob Davidson, an emergency room physician who ran an unsuccessful congressional bid as a Democrat in 2018 against U.S. Congressman Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, called on rally attendees to beat Ottawa Impact at the ballot.

If that person comes out and they are talking about good governance and the good use of county dollars and supporting public health and that person can take out someone like Joe Moss, can take out someone like Gretchen Cosby -- who said she was a nurse, but I just dont buy it, Davidson said.

If you find that person who can do that, and you can put aside the parts of that persons platform that you maybe dont agree with all the way, that is where we need to be in Ottawa County this year and next year.

Davidson was referring to Moss, the county board chair and leader of Ottawa Impact, and Cosby, an Ottawa Impact county commissioner. Cosby has worked as a nurse and in the healthcare industry.

The county health department, and its leadership, have been a target of Ottawa Impact county commissioners since they took power in January.

Late last month, Ottawa County Administrator John Gibbs ordered the health department to create a new proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year with general fund allocations reduced by about 61%, from $6.4 million initially proposed by the department to $2.5 million.

Moss, who suggested the reduction to $2.5 million, said it would return the department to pre-COVID levels of spending.

But the departments leader, Health Officer Adeline Hambley, claimed such a budget reduction would cause the department to close its doors within two months at best.

Related: Fear-mongering tactics: John Gibbs, Joe Moss blast criticism of health department budget cuts

On Tuesday, Gibbs walked back the severity of cuts he would impose on the department. He is proposing to reduce the departments general fund allocations to $4.35 million, which is about 33% less than what Hambley originally proposed.

We came to this budget process lean, like really lean already, without staff and now were asked to cut more, Mansaray said Wednesday.

We are already at the level, the minimal serviceable level, to still be able to do a decent job. And so if we cut more, thats definitely at risk and people are going to be at risk.

Hambley told commissioners Tuesday that Gibbs proposed budget would still result in reduced services and programs.

Holland resident Tim Staal, holding a sign that read Cut legal fees not healthcare, attended the rally and said he was concerned that reduced health department services would lessen the quality of life in the county, especially for vulnerable populations.

Public health is just so important, Staal said. We live in a country where our government is supposed to be by the people, for the people. For the people means public health, it means promote the general welfare.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Police in the Grand Rapids area want the publics help in cracking down on car meet-ups that often showcase dangerous behavior and, in a recent incident, led to a homicide.

Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Winstrom, Kent County Sheriff Michelle LaJoye-Young, Walker Police Chief Keith Mankel and Michigan State Police Lt. Matt Williams gathered Thursday, Sept. 7 to talk about the car meet-up trend.

Winstrom showed a map where police had chronicled 23 incidents of meet-ups -- typically involving large groups of cars or motorcycles leading to activities such as burn-outs and drag-racing -- between March and today.

The most recent meet-up was about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 3 at Freeman Avenue SW and Hall Street. Alana Vasquez, 19, was at the event and died after being shot.

Related: Went about life in a positive way, cousin says of woman fatally shot at car meet-up

Winstrom said meet-ups almost always brew from social media posts.

He noted one that happened near Huff Park in Northeast Grand Rapids. He said there were 50 to 100 cars there and observers had set up lawn chairs close to where vehicles were doing burn-outs.

It was so close that just a slight move from the driver could have resulted in deadly consequences, Winstrom said.

Another happened Friday, Sept. 1 near the location where Vasquez was shot. Winstrom said officers responded there and made two arrests.

A driver arrested had a fully loaded semi-automatic handgun on the back seat of a car.

I dont know why anyone is going to a car show with a fully loaded semi-automatic handgun on the backseat of a car. It was illegally possessed too, Winstrom said.

Winstrom asked for the publics help to provide cell phone video or other evidence from the meet-up involving Vasquezs death. He said tipsters can use Silent Observer and hes not interested in nabbing anyone for minor traffic offenses that night, but only in identifying the shooter.

LaJoye-Young asked the public to help notify police if they find out that a car meet-up is going to happen.

You need to engage us and allow us to step in and help protect our community, she said.

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KENTWOOD, MI  A man was threatened on social media by gang members before he was shot and killed while attending his 1-year-old sons birthday party, court records show.

One suspect that police said is associated with that gang, Ateivise Jaquez Smith, was ordered Thursday, Sept. 7 to stand trial on charges connected to the killing of 22-year-old Jaquarrie Garrett.
KENT COUNTY, MI  A 15-year-old is accused of making a social-media bomb threat at Lowell High School.

Kent County prosecutors on Thursday, Sept. 7, authorized a juvenile petition for false report or threat of a bomb/harmful device, a four-year felony, Kent County sheriffs deputies said.

The boy, a Lowell resident, is not a student at Lowell Public Schools.

The alleged threat was made around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3, in an Instagram post, police said.

One of the sheriffs school resource officers and school administrators learned of the threat at 10:46 a.m. Tuesday. The threat said something would happen at 11:41 a.m. Tuesday.

Related: Lowell High School went on lockdown after social media bomb threat

The high school went into a soft lockdown, with students and staff staying in classrooms and assigned areas, with brick walls making the rooms the safest place to be, a school official said.

Sheriffs detectives, school-resource officers and a bomb-sniffing dog searched the building and grounds, at 11700 Vergennes St., a but found no evidence of a valid threat. Police gave the high school an all clear at 1:12 p.m.

Police used search warrants and interviewed the suspect within six hours of the initial report. Sheriffs Sgt. Eric Brunner declined to divulge any statements made by the suspect.

He said in a statement that such social-media threats are made every year, with teens typically having no intention of following through.

However, these types of threats create a substantial disruption in peoples lives, cause needless stress and worry amongst students, staff and parents. This is also substantial drain on public safety resources and is a safety issue for our community.

He said the Sheriffs Department takes these threats very seriously.

Superintendent Nate Fowler said in a Facebook post this week that he was grateful someone came forward with information about the threat.

He urged parents to monitor childrens use of social media.

While social media can be a positive tool for communication, it is often at the root of difficult situations among todays students.

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SINGAPORE  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada's rocky relations with China have stabilized, while telling business leaders in Singapore that Ottawa has committed to a timeline for trade deals with the region.

"I don't think the idea of crossing our arms and turning our backs on any part of the world is something that is good for the Canadian economy," he said Thursday at an onstage event held by Bloomberg.

Trudeau is undertaking a weeklong visit to Indonesia, Singapore and India with a focus on shoring up trade in a region Ottawa sees as key to counteracting coercive economic moves by China.

He noted that his visit comes as western countries co-ordinate their approach to trade with Beijing. Trudeau said that's a change from competing against each other for export opportunities that China could leverage, such as by limiting trade during diplomatic spats or unwanted human rights discussions.

"They just would play us off each other just a little bit in strategic ways that have been very effective," Trudeau said.

"We cannot simply be trying to elbow each other out of the way for access to the Chinese market."

To that end, Trudeau noted that Canada and Indonesia have committed to signing a bilateral trade deal by the end of 2024, and he announced a plan this week to finalize a separate deal by 2025 with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Trudeau's visit to the city-state comes asSingapore businesses are looking to Canada for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while strengthening global supply chains.

Trudeau held four meetings on Thursday with business leaders in the region and is expected to meet with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Friday.

Vijay Iyengar, chairman and managing director of a company that invests in sustainable sourcing of agri-food products, met with Trudeau on Thursday.

During the meeting, he said Agrocorp International, which is already invested heavily in Saskatchewan and Alberta, is looking for ways it can reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and to "do what is right, knowing what is good for our future."

Story continues

"Canada is a hot spot for us," said Iyengar about future investment.

Trudeau sold Canada as a place of stability, growth and diversity that will provide Singapore reliability and job growth.

Wayne Farmer, president of the Canada-ASEAN Business Council, said promoting businesses and products from back home requires face-time with Indo-Pacific leaders.

"A large part of promoting Canada's interest out here is the touch that's required between senior government and senior private sector leaders," he said Thursday.

The visit to Singapore comes after a stop in Jakarta, Indonesia, where Canada launched a strategic partnership with the ASEAN economic bloc of 10 countries.

The partnership is considered a symbolic gesture that reflects Canada's expanded presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

This weekend Trudeau heads to India for the G20 leaders' summit in New Delhi. Canada is also in negotiations for a free-trade deal with India, though talks over the last few months were paused to work through unspecified issues.

Trudeau said his visit has involved regional leaders telling him they don't want to be wedged between the U.S. and China jockeying for influence.

"One of the things that I heard a lot from people here in ASEAN economies in Southeast Asia is a desire to make sure that we're not exacerbating differences between various economic giants," he said during the Bloomberg event.

When pressed, Trudeau refused to say whether he felt U.S. restrictions on China's use of certain semiconductor technologies went beyond national-security concerns to hinder Beijing's rise.

"You can make decisions to diversify without turning it into geopolitical conflict," he said.

Trudeau described Canada's relationship with China as "probably stable" and not deteriorating, but added that a rapprochement is impossible "at this particular moment," in part due to foreign-interference concerns.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2023.

 With files from Dylan Robertson in Ottawa.

Mickey Djuric, The Canadian Press
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Two days before 19-year-old Alana Vasquez was shot and killed in southwest Grand Rapids, she made an impromptu stop at her cousins house.

She heard my mom had made tacos and she just stopped by to get some food, Jasmine Pacheco said.

It was that kind of free-spirit behavior that Pacheco will remember about her cousin following an early Sept. 3 shooting in southwest Grand Rapids that took her life.

Vasquez was at whats called a car meet-up about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, in the area of Freeman Avenue SW and Hall Street, when she was shot.

Pacheco thinks she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Vasquezs family is looking for answers.

They want the shooter brought to justice.

It was a selfish act of violence that took her, Pacheco said.

Grand Rapids police today are expected to hold a press conference to talk about the dangers surrounding car meet-ups. Other police agencies -- Kent County Sheriff, Walker Police and Michigan State Police -- also will participate.

Reckless driving, fights, the presence of illegally possessed firearms, and other dangerous behaviors are a threat to participants, bystanders, and the community, Grand Rapids police said in a statement released Wednesday.

Pacheco described her cousin as a people person.

She was just a real feisty, beautiful young woman, she said. She loved her family and she was very loyal to her friends.

She went about life in such a positive way, Pacheco said.

Vasquez recently graduated high school and turned 19 in July. She was living with her mother in the Jenison are and also working at an assisted living facility in the same area.

She hoped to become a behavioral technician and work with children with autism someday, Pacheco said.

Vasquez had recently purchased a car on her own and was excited about the achievement. She drove her friends around.

She was really proud of it, Pacheco said.

Pacheco said she was aware of car meet-ups and described them as something where people show up with souped-up cars and hang out. She didnt know what happened the night of the shooting.

At a Sunday vigil for Vasquez, a large crowd showed up. She had many friends. Pacheco said she was in awe at the turnout.

A relative of Vasquez has created a GoFundMe page to help the family with funeral expenses.

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JACKSON, MI  A longtime clothing store inside Jacksons Westwood Mall is packing up and moving across town.

Buckle, a fashion retailer, has been inside Westwood Mall, 1850 W. Michigan Ave., since it opened more than 20 years ago. However, the chain has decided its time for to seek a new location and is moving to Jackson Crossing in October, Buckle District Manager Amy Deeter said.

Were obviously sad to be moving from our location, but were very excited, too, Deeter said.

The reason to move was made by a lot of people and a lot of factors, Deeter said, adding that finding the right location for success was a big one.

We want it to be the most successful that we can for our guests, our store and our manager, Deeter said. Our managers are paid a percentage of the net profit of the store they run, so a store that is able to make more money gives the manager more income. We weigh a lot of factors.

Buckle is among a number of businesses that have or are expected to move into Jackson Crossing. It joins Hobby Lobby, Planet Fitness and Eyemart Express in the 130,000-square-foot former Sears store. Other stores, like Burlington, are also slated to join the facility in the future.

Buckle known for selling casual wear, including jeans, shoes and accessories, will take up a 6,670-square-foot space right next to Hobby Lobby, 1355 Boardman Road.

Related: Five Guys, McAlisters Deli, Burlington and more slated for Jackson Crossing

Buckle is tentatively hoping to close its Westwood Mall location Sunday, Oct. 1. Merchandise and clothing items will be moved quickly, as the store expects to open in the new space by Tuesday, Oct. 3, Deeter said.

The store plans to take all its current staff to the new location, and the hope is to hire additional employees, Deter said. Interested people can apply on the Buckle website.

Customers can expect to see some changes inside the new store, including new wood flooring rather than carpet. More floor space, in comparison to the current store, also is available.

Store hours also can be extended, due to having an exterior door at Jackson Crossing, as opposed to just an interior door at Westwood Mall. Current hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. The store will likely open an hour earlier and stay open later at the new location, Deeter said.

Buckle employees are looking forward to moving into the new space, especially one that is more visible to drivers along I-94 and U.S. 127, Deeter said.

Hopefully, that will allow more people to discover us and shop us for jeans, she said.

Rhino Investments, the developer of the Jackson Crossing project, is also constructing three additional drive-thru style buildings in the parking lot. One is almost complete and will house a Tropical Smoothie Cafe and a Kay Jewelers, which also is moving from Westwood Mall.

The second building will begin construction in a month as well, Rhino Investments CEO Sanjiv Chopra previously said. The 7,220-square-foot building will be split between a McAlisters Deli, Five Guys and GNC, a health and nutrition store.

The third building will have one tenant. Construction will be planned once a store or restaurant has been signed up for the spot, he previously said.

The full project centered around the Sears building was originally slated to cost around $6.1 million but is now expected to cost roughly $12 million, with many stores open to residents by the end of 2023, he previously said.

Want more Jackson-area news? Bookmark the local Jackson news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Jackson daily newsletter.

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KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI -- Officials are warning Oshtemo Township residents of a sanitary sewer overflow that happened on Thursday, Sept. 7.

The overflow happened near the intersection of Stadium Drive and S. 7th Street after a contractor caused damage to a sanitary sewer force main. City of Kalamazoo Department of Public Services workers responded immediately after being notified at 1 p.m., a press release from the city said.

Repairs on the sewer main are in progress, according to the release.

Anybody who may have come in contact with raw sewage should clean and disinfect their shoes, clothes, and skin thoroughly, the release said.

Officials from the Kalamazoo Water Reclamation Plant notified the Michigan Department of Environmental, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) at the Kalamazoo District Office and the Kalamazoo County Environmental Health Unit of the spill, as is required by law, the release said.

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PORTAGE, MI -- Ask Asif Bukhari about Food Street, the restaurant he opened in Portage a decade ago, and he immediately starts to brag.

Not about his food, but about his customers.

Its unbelievable how theyve supported me, he said. I love this community. I love the people.

Bukharis story begins in his home country of Pakistan. The unrest in that country led him and his wife and their children to immigrate to Dubai in 1997 and then to Chicago in 2001. In Chicago, Bukhari got a job in the restaurant business and eventually opened his own fast-food eatery in Chicagos South Side.

But then Bukharis wife got a respiratory infection that landed her in the hospital. She almost died, Bukhari said. The doctor said the air pollution in Chicago was part of the problem and advised the family to move. They went to Texas, but that didnt work out.

In 2010, Bukhari moved his family to Michigan, where he purchased a gas station from an acquaintance. But it wasnt a business where he had experience, and it floundered, he said. So that business closed and Bukhari opened Food Street along Portages South Westnedge Avenue retail corridor in 2014, reviving the same menu as his restaurant in Chicago.

It was, he said, a life-changing move -- for the better. After a series of moves that required starting over again and again, Bukhari found a community where his business and his family have flourished.

God brought me here, he said. I always say, thank you God for this community.

Food Street offers a variety of fast foods -- burgers, hot dogs, wings, tacos and burritos, gyros, Philly steak and Italian beef sandwiches, plus fries, onion rings, samosa, fried okra and mushrooms. Prices range from $2.99 for a beef hot dog to $25.99 for 20 Buffalo chicken wings.

The biggest sellers are the Philly steak, Italian beef and gyro sandwiches (all $9.99) and the Jim Shoe -- a three-meat sandwich with roast beef, gyro meat and corned beef thats a Chicago staple ($10.99). All the sandwiches come with fries.

What sets his restaurant apart is the love that goes into the food, and the bond between the Bukharis and his customers, Bukhari said.

Im not a big fish. Im a small fish surrounded by big fish franchises along the South Westnedge corridor, Bukhari said. But after 10 years, Im still here. Why? Because I give my customers my respect. I give them attention. I give them service.

He knows many of his customers by name, he said, and knows about their lives -- and they know Bukhari, his wife and their three sons. Food Street is open six days a week, and Bukhari is typically there every day -- and customers get worried if they dont see him there, he said.

That bond between Bukhari and his customers was demonstrated during the pandemic, he said. He shut down his restaurant for a month in spring 2020. When he reopened, the restaurant was packed, he said. And many of his patrons provided big tips and other financial support.

In the mail, I would get $20, $10, with no name, nothing, he said. Everybody supported me. They were so encouraging.

Ive lived in a lot of places, but the people here, its just unbelievable, Bukhari said. Ive had experiences here that Ive never had before in my life -- just the way they support me and my wife and my kids. Our customers keep coming back and they showed their concern during COVID.

Just as his restaurant has thrived in Portage, so has his family, he said. His wifes health has largely stabilized. Their three sons all graduated from Portage Central High School, and went on to college. Now all three are college graduates, and the oldest, Nabeel, is back at the restaurant, working alongside his father.

You can go anywhere -- anywhere -- for food, Bukhari said. But the sense of community sets Food Street apart, and makes him happy to be come to work six days a week.

I love to talk to the people. I love to serve the people, he said. If theres a day where I dont come, I miss this place. I miss my people.

Food Street is located at 6384 S. Westnedge Ave., in the strip mall in front of the Hardings supermarket at Westnedge Avenue and Mall Drive.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. The restaurant is closed Sundays.

For takeout orders, call 269-459-8541. The menu can be viewed here online.

The Kalamazoo Gazette/MLive now offers free email news alerts. Click here to sign up for alerts or for the daily 3@3 Kalamazoo roundup of news. Bookmark the local Kalamazoo news page here.

MORE ON MLIVE
VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI -- Potholes and cracks have been an issue on an eastbound section of I-94.

The Michigan Department of Transportation is running a road condition study between mile markers 64 and 65 to find out why.

The study, to take place on Sept. 12 between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. if weather conditions allow, will reduce the roadway to one lane. It will determine what future road improvement projects need to be done, an MDOT press release said.

In 2021, there was repair work done on the lane, but since then there have been cracks holes and other surface failures in the pavement, a representative from MDOT said.

Michigan State Police will be on site to monitor traffic in the area while the study takes place.

Drivers are encouraged to seek alternate routes if possible, as delays are anticipated, per MDOT.

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KALAMAZOO, MI -- Several individuals reported hearing gunshots around 10:05 p.m. at Western Michigan Universitys Valley residence halls Wednesday day, a WMU Public Safety press release said, but it was a false alarm.

An investigation revealed the sound was from fireworks in nearby Kalamazoo Township. WMU Public Safety arrived on the scene quick enough to determine a WMU alert was not needed, the press release said.

There was no credible threat to the campus community, nor did they require the dorms to lock down, the release said.

The nearest officer arrived at the Valleys five seconds after the call was received, per WMU police. Regarding the possible gunshots, the caller told dispatch there were too many to count. Two officers also heard the same sounds and believed they were fireworks, the release said.

WMU Public Safety investigated the area on campus while Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety and Kalamazoo Township Police investigated the surrounding off-campus areas.

Officers remained on campus to speak to students and staff after the reports. Multiple parents have inquired about the incident, the report said.

We understand we live in uncertain times where this is a real fear, especially for our students and their parents, the release said.

If there is a threat to campus safety, WMU will issue an alert. WMU students and employees can register for WMU Alerts through goWMU. Visitors can opt in by texting WMUPublicSafety (not case-sensitive) to 226787 or 67283.

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MUSKEGON, MI  A man accused of inappropriately touching teenage girls in a pool at Michigans Adventure over the summer has accepted a plea deal.

Benjamin R. Koche pleaded no contest to single counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC) and fourth-degree CSC during a pretrial hearing Tuesday, Sept. 5, before Muskegon County Circuit Judge Annette Smedley.
In Gov. Gretchen Whitmers latest trip overseas, the mission again is economic development.

The governor began a seven-day trip in Japan on Wednesday, her office announced, where she will try to secure investments, supply chains and well-paying jobs in industries like automotives, mobility and advanced manufacturing.

Michigan has a powerful story to tell as we compete to bring jobs and investment home, Whitmer said in a statement. As a hub of high-tech innovation, we are embarking on an economic mission alongside business leaders to bring Michigans story to East Asia in the coming days.

Its Whitmers fourth overseas economic development mission of the year, following a visit to Norway and an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January, a trip to Latvia in May and a June trip to Germany and France.

On those trips, Whitmer said she secured 500 clean energy manufacturing jobs from a Norwegian hydrogen fuel cell company and 196 high-wage jobs from a French engineering services company that will establish its first North American research and development facility in Michigan.

The last time Michigans leader was in Japan was 2017, when Gov. Rick Snyder also sought foreign investment.

Related: In Northern Michigan military exercise, Whitmer sees economic opportunities

In Japan, Gov. Whitmer will discuss investment opportunities with company and government leaders, her office said, also making stops at the Japanese External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Midwest U.S.-Japan Association meeting in Tokyo.

The hope is that Michigan appears the premier place for Japanese companies to do business in America.

Whitmer is joined by officials from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (the public-private partnership that promotes business and tourism), plus representatives from local economic development organizations in Detroit, Battle Creek and Oakland County.

Michigan has a long and fruitful relationship with Japan, including being the home of a Consular Office in Detroit, MEDC CEO Quentin Messer said in a statement. ... [T]his trip is a critical step in growing opportunities with Japanese businesses and citizens who have invested in our state for generations.

Japanese companies have invested $1.8 billion in Michigan, Whitmers office notes, creating more than 5,300 jobs. There are currently 456 Japanese facilities in the state, according to the Japanese Consulate in Detroit, and a third are direct manufacturing jobs.

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ST JOSEPH, MI  Routine testing has turned up a trace of invasive silver carp genetic material in the St. Joseph River, authorities disclosed.

A sample collected in June near Marina Island contained a positive environmental DNA (eDNA) result for silver carp, an invasive fish that has overtaken watersheds in other states but has not become established within the Great Lakes basin.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is cautioning that the positive genetic material detection does not mean a live fish is present and could be the result of boating and fishing equipment that crossed state lines.

The positive hit was among 220 samples collected from the river between Lake Michigan and Berrien Springs.

It is possible for genetic material to be introduced from other sources, such as boats or fishing equipment used in another state where invasive carp are present, then transported and used in Michigan waters, said Seth Herbst, DNR Fisheries Research Program manager

The state and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) are conducting more eDNA sampling in the river this week. The FWS uses electrofishing boats to capture and remove invasive grass cap from the St. Joseph River each summer.

The FWS has collected eDNA samples to monitor for invasive silver, black and bighead carp in the Great Lakes and its tributaries since 2013.

To date, the DNR says no evidence has been found of any live bighead, silver or black carp in the Great Lakes or Michigan rivers such as the St. Joseph River. No bighead, silver or black carp have been caught in any of fish population assessments conducted in Michigan inland lakes.

Bighead and silver carp are known to be established in parts of Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia.

Genetic material testing is used by researchers and officials as an early warning tool. In Michigan, a positive eDNA sample from the Kalamazoo River sparked a 2014 search that did not find any fish or more positive samples. A similar, fruitless search was performed in parts of the Ohio River in Pennsylvania that year.

A positive eDNA sample for silver carp sparked a fruitless search in Lake Eries Presque Isle Bay last summer.

Should they become established in the Great Lakes, bighead and silver carp would have a major disruptive impact on sport fishing and recreational boating. Silver carp could injure people by leaping from the water when disturbed and both species would likely compete with native fish for food and habitat.

Most attention has been paid to the invasive carp in Illinois, where an $850 million effort is beginning to fortify the Brandon Road Lock & Dam, a chokepoint dam on the Des Plaines River near Joliet positioned as a last line of defense to keep the fish from Lake Michigan.

In June, the Michigan Legislature approved a $64 million appropriation to help fund the Brandon Road reconstruction effort. Combined with $50 million from Illinois, the two state appropriations cover the total non-federal share of current estimated project costs.

Michigan, which is surrounded by more than 3,200 miles of coastline that touches four of the five Great Lakes, has been supporting advance work and project design through smaller appropriations over the years.
A roundup of conversations we're having daily on the site. Subscribe to the Reckon Daily for stories centering marginalized communities and speaking to the under-covered issues of the moment.

Sixty-one activists opposed to Atlantas slated Cop City police training facility have been handed racketeering charges following a months-long battle between protestors and law enforcement officials that resulted in numerous demonstrations and the death of one environmental activist.

Some demonstrators were also charged with domestic terrorism, attempted arson and 15 counts of money laundering, a Fulton County Grand Jury found Tuesday.

The development follows an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Department of Public Safety and Atlanta Police Department. The case was taken to the Grand Jury on Aug. 29.

State Attorney General Chris Carrs office charged demonstrators under Georgias Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as the RICO Act. The law has made national headlines recently. Former President Donald J. Trump and his allies were changed under it for their alleged attempts to subvert the 2020 election results.

Defendants in the case are all members of Defend the Atlanta Forest, a group opposed to the project. The center, which is under construction, is set to cost taxpayers $90 million.

Carr referred to the group as an anarchist, anti-police and anti-business extremist organization that subscribes to a philosophy of anarchy, although anarchy isnt inherently illegal.

Some of the evidence presented in the indictment includes using the acronym acab, transferring $40 for radio communications and camp fuel and a $50 reimbursement for community meals.

Carr said authorities recorded 225 incidents in which demonstrators prevented the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, the designated name for Cop City. They included throwing molotov cocktails, fireworks and rocks at police.

The majority of those indicted Carr said were not from Georgia. One individual was from another country.

The indictment cites two incidents in which activists allegedly used molotov cocktails. In one, authorities claim explosives were thrown inside the Georgia Department of Public Safetys headquarters. In another, officials claim the explosives were thrown at law enforcement officers.

The Atlanta Solidarity Fund, a group that supports demonstrators that have been arrested took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to respond to the news Tuesday afternoon.

As if domestic terrorism charges werent enough  or the arrests of bail funds organizers, or activists putting up flyers  this move seeks to paint the broad spectrum of community members opposed to the Cop City project as conspirators in a vast criminal enterprise.

Its not the first time activists have been charged with connection with opposing the projects construction plans. In December, five people were handed domestic terrorism charges among other charges after police said activists threw rocks at police cars and attacked emergency medical technicians following a joint operation on the site.

In March, 23 people were arrested on domestic terrorism charges at the site after an attack, police said, that included allegedly vandalizing construction equipment and throwing things at police officers.

The controversy surrounding the training center came to a head in January after 26-year-old Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, known as Tortuguita, was shot 57 times and ultimately killed by an officer. Authorities claim Teran shot and wounded a Georgia state trooper seconds before his death.

Despite the indictment, activists expect to prevail in the litigation process.

We know these charges will not hold up in court, and we know that they are not intended to: the point is to shut down the social movement currently taking place in Atlanta and to send a message that anyone advocating for social change could be a target, the Solidarity Funds statement continued.
Mexico is a key beneficiary of the shift in US supply chains away from China. Ricardo Castelan/Eyepix Group/Future Publishing/Getty Images

The US is importing fewer goods from China, as supply chains shift away from the East Asian country.

Goods imported from China into the US made up 14.6% of all imports in the 12 months through July, per a Bloomberg analysis.

This is the lowest share of Chinese goods imported to the US since 2006.

The US has been importing a smaller proportion of goods from China  indicating a shift in global supply chains as companies diversify their manufacturing bases.

Goods imported from China into the US made up 14.6% of all shipments in the 12 months through July, according to Bloomberg's analysis of data from the US Census Department, published on Wednesday.

The country's share in the imports pie is down from a peak of 21.8% in the 12 months through March 2018, before then-US President Donald Trump intensified a trade war against China. It's also the lowest percentage of US imports from China since 2006, per Bloomberg's records.

The data followed years of supply chain disruptions  including heightened Washington-Beijing geopolitical tensions, draconian COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in China, and rising wages in China that make manufacturing costlier.

Now, Mexico and Vietnam appear to be taking away some of China's share.

Mexico's share of goods imported into the US hit a record high of 15% in the 12 months through July, while Vietnam's share was 3.7%, just off a record high reached in 2022, per Bloomberg.

In fact, Mexico edged out Canada as the US' top trading partner at the start of 2023.

At almost 16% share of the total trade, Mexico remained the US' top trading partner in July. The total trade between the two countries stood at nearly $462 billion, according to data from the Census Bureau. Canada and China were the US' second and third trading partners, respectively.

"Mexico's gains mirror its rise in manufacturing, a key component of goods moving between it and the US," Luis Torres, a senior business economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, wrote in a July 11 post.

Story continues

Mexico also has a geographical advantage as an alternative to China in the trend for manufacturers to "nearshore" their operations to the US, a large consumer market, Torres added.

"Nearshoring" refers to sourcing or producing goods from a nearby country.

Even Chinese manufacturers have been moving to Mexico to serve their US customers amid tensions between Washington and Beijing. They include TV set-maker Hisense and car parts makers like Minth Group and Binzhou Bohai Piston Co.

Meanwhile, other up-and-coming manufacturing hubs like Vietnam have also been enticing manufacturers looking to shift some output away from China.

Vietnam's key manufacturing strength is in apparel, footwear, electronics, and electrical appliances.

The Census Bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Popular Kumawood actress, Sandra Ababio has made a shocking revelation about her past, disclosing that she became pregnant for a 50-year-old man when she was 22 years old.

She shared these personal details during an exclusive interview on The Delay Show, which aired on Sunday, September 3, 2023.

Sandra Ababio revealed that she lost her virginity at the age of 20 to a man named Kay, who was a friend of her elder brother.

I met someone called Kay; I got to know him through my elder brother because they were friends. I was 20 at the time and he was the one who broke my virginity. After he broke my virginity, I changed and started living my life, having fun, she revealed.

However, it was during this phase that she met an older man who would later impregnate her.

She explained, "He showed interest in me, and I said yes to him. I was still with Kay, cheating on him with the man, and he [Kay] could call me on the phone expressing fury, but I wouldnt be bothered."

According to her, the man who impregnated her had spent sixteen years in London before returning to Ghana.

The man impregnated me. He was in Ghana after sixteen years of living in London. He was a mature man, almost 50 years old. He told me hes not married, she said.

Sandra described how the man persistently pursued her, using other elderly men in their community to convey his feelings to her.

Ultimately, she became pregnant for him. However, she later learned that the man had deceived her.

"It was when I got pregnant that he told me he couldnt marry me because he wasnt divorced.

He had come to do knocking after he impregnated me, and I stayed with him at his house at Regimanuel Estate. We stayed under the same roof for about six years," Sandra revealed.

She ended her story by mentioning that she has a daughter who is now 15 years old.

However, she is no longer in a relationship with the father of her child.
Celebrated Ghanaian rapper Sarkodie has joined a growing social media campaign to fix the deteriorating Accra-Tema Motorway.

The campaign, which uses the hashtag #FixTemaMotorway, calls on authorities to repair the highway that connects Tema to Accra.

Built during Kwame Nkrumah's era in the 1960s, the Tema Motorway is the oldest motorway in Ghana.

Over decades of use without proper maintenance, the road has fallen into disrepair with large potholes, broken medians, and crumbling shoulders.

This has raised concerns over drivers' safety and led to an increase in motor accidents along the motorway.

Frustrated by the lack of action to rehabilitate the busy highway, residents of Tema launched the #FixTemaMotorway campaign on Twitter and Facebook.

The campaign urges the government to prioritize repair works on the motorway to improve road safety and traffic flow.

On Wednesday, September 6, Sarkodie, who hails from Tema, tweeted "About time #FixTemaMotorway" to his 6 million followers, drawing further attention to the campaign.

Citizens involved in the campaign argue that the Tema Motorway is a vital economic link between Accra and Tema, where Ghana's largest seaport is located.

They say an improved highway will benefit trade, business travel, and connectivity between the two cities.
Niger's military leadership has announced the reopening of Niger's airspace for all commercial flights. This decision comes after the airspace had been closed since August 6, following their seizure of power in a coup.

According to the spokesperson, ''the airspace of the Republic of Niger is open to all national and international commercial flights and the unlimited resumption of ground services''.

The closure had compelled Air France and several other European airlines to suspend certain flights and divert routes, resulting in longer journeys across the African continent, Nigerien news agency ANP reported. Given Niger's vast landlocked expanse, which is more than twice the size of France, numerous typical flight routes across Africa traverse its airspace.

At the outset, the junta had closed Niger's airspace, citing concerns over a possible military intervention from the Economic Community of West African States. The West African regional bloc has imposed sanctions on Niger after the ousting of President Mohamed Bazoum and the bloc threatened military intervention as a last resort if talks fail to restore civilian rule.

Although the military junta has not provided a rationale for their decision to lift the ban, it's important to note that the reopening of Nigerien airspace excludes military and special flights.

On August 2, Niger reopened land and air borders with five neighbouring countries: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali and Chad.

-Pulse Nigeria
Sammi Awuku, Campaign Manager of Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia is calling for unity among party members after the New Patriotic Party (NPPs) Special Delegates Conference which resulted in the withdrawal of Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, one of the aspirants.

He has urged party members to come together as one, in spite of any differences or conflicts that might have arisen during the conference, especially supporters of Alan.

According to Awuku, the NPP must work hand in glove to ensure their victory in the 2024 General Elections.

He further stated that the challenges facing the party and the country may seem daunting, but the strengths of the NPP would ultimately prevail.

Furthermore, Awuku implored NPP supporters who backed candidates that did not make it to the top 5, to work together for a common goal.

He also praised and invited Catherine Abelema Afeku, Yaw Buaben Asamoa, Hopeson Adorye, Davis Ansah Opoku MP, Dr. Samiu Kwadwo Nuamah, Collins Randy Owusu Amankwah, and Richard Barima Sarpong, who were missed during the conference, to join hands with Dr. Bawumia and his team.

Awuku acknowledged that the journey ahead would not be easy, but he remained confident that with everyone playing their part, they could secure yet another emphatic New Patriotic Party victory in 2024.

He called on party members to hit the road, together as one, and work towards breaking the 8, cementing their position as the party of choice in the country.

In summary, Sammi Awuku rallied NPP members to come together and work as a united front in their bid to secure the 2024 General Election.

He called on all party members, including those who supported unsuccessful candidates, to put aside their differences and work towards a common goal of economic prosperity for the country.

Read his full statement below

To Team Bawumia, this is definitely not the time for us to make it us vrs others in our party or a time to pass uncomplimentary remarks to aggravate wounds as Dr. Bawumia has admonished us his campaigners.

Instead, this is a time to reach out to each and everyone to make the 2024 campaign and election victory a possibility.

To all the supporters of the candidates who couldn't make it to the top 5 and supporters of aspirants who made it to the top 5, please let's come together.Let's solve our problems together and once again position the NPP still as the party of choice ahead of the 2024 General Elections to deliver economic prosperity for our nation, Ghana.

The challenges we face today as a party and country may be fearsome, but so are our strengths.

Dr. Bawumia and his team will work hand in hand with each and everyone within the NPP and outside the party to once again deliver victory in 2024.

I miss my brothers and sisters in all the camps of our party. Please come and let's work together!

To my very own astute communicator and sister Hon. Catherine Abelema Afeku,Yaw Buaben Asamoa Esq. Hopeson Adorye,Davis Ansah Opoku MP, Hon. Dr. Samiu Kwadwo Nuamah, Collins Randy Owusu Amankwah, Richard Barima Sarpong you have done a good job and been greatly missed ,

Come join us, and let's all work for another emphatic New Patriotic Party (NPP: Development in Freedom) victory in 2024.

The journey won't be easy, but with you all playing a role, Dr. Bawumia can surely lead us all to Break the 8.

I kindly call on you all on behalf of DMB to hit the road together!

#ITISPOSSIBLETOGETHER

-DGN online
The balloting for the remaining aspirants of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer race scheduled for Wednesday, September 6, has been called off.

The elections committee of the NPP was expected to conduct the balloting for four of the remaining aspirants for the top position today with the help of the Electoral Commission.

This evening, spokesperson for the election committee of the NPP, Alexander Afenyo-Markin confirmed that it has been rescheduled.

Speaking to journalists at the partys headquarters in Accra, he said, We have agreed to proceed with the guidelines. And like I said, when we are done, we will again serve you notice of the guidelines and soon thereafter we will proceed with the balloting.

The postponement of the balloting for the November 4 presidential primaries of the NPP comes barely 24 hours after one of the top five aspirants, Alan Kyerematen announced his withdrawal from the race.

In a release, he described the process to elect the flagbearer of the NPP as unfair following his alleged intimidations and violence that marred the Super Delegates Congress held on August 26.

He noted that after making an analysis of the Super Delegates Congress, he had come to the conclusion that it was tactically skewed to favour one candidate.

After having carefully analysed the results of the said elections, it is absolutely clear to me from events leading to, during and after the elections, that the Special Delegates Conference was strategically and tactically skewed in favour of one particular Aspirant.

In light of the foregoing, I wish to confirm that I am honourably withdrawing from the process that will lead to the Presidential Primaries to be held on the 4th of November 2023, Alan Kyerematen said in a release.
It is believed that many political parties have been destroyed by their supporters than by their opponents, and that is the case of the NPP.

The party is being disintegrated and as Kyeiwaa, a popular Kumawood actress would put it, the Elephant has become funeral.

The signs are not too good for the Elephant Fraternity. What is happening to the party is much deeper than what is being perceived. I will do a cutting-edge analysis to make my point.

The flagbearership race of the NPP now looks like a replay of what led to the split in the Popular Front Party (PFP) between Victor Owusu and William Ofori Atta in 1979.

William Ofori Atta, popularly known as Paa Willie lost the PFP flagbearership race to Victor Owusu in a presidential primary election.

As if to say that there is no permanent loyalty in politics but only permanent interest, the truculent members of the Akyem caucus in the PFP broke away and formed a new party called the United National Convention (UNC) with Paa Willie as their flagbearer. Kikikikiki, I hear Opana was their General Secretary. Please dont ask me who Opana is. I dont want any trouble.

So, it happened that in the 1979 presidential election, Dr. Hilla Liman of the People's National Party (PNP) had 35.32%, and Victor Owusu of the PFP had 29.86%. I was then 19 years and that was the first time I voted in a General Election in this country. I cast my vote at a polling station at the Bishop Boys School located between Kaneshie and Bubiashie in Accra.

Interestingly, Paa Willie got 17.41%, meaning if he and his group did not breakaway, Victor Owusus chances would have been optimised. Since no one had more than 50%, the election went into a second round, and shockingly, the UNC painfully supported Dr. Hilla Liman who won by 62.0% with Victor Owusu trailing by 38.0%. Hehehehe, I will term this as cruelty on stilts! Kindly find below detailed results of the election:

(First Round)

Hilla Liman PNP 631,559 (35.32%)

Victor Owusu PFP 533,928 (29.86%)

William Ofori Atta UNC 311,265 (17.41%)

Frank Bernasko ACP 167,775 (9.38%)

Ibrahim Mahama SDF 66,445 (3.72%)

John Bilson TFP 49,104 (2.75%)

R.P. Baffour IND 8,812 (0.49%)

Kwame Nyanteh IND 8,480 (0.47%)

Mark Diamond Addy IND 5,959 (0.33%)

Alhaji Imoro Ayarna IND 4,874 (0.27%)

(Second Round)

Hilla Liman 1,118,305 (62.0%)

Victor Owusu 686,097 (38.0%)

Chai, do you get the filla? So, you see, this seems to be the underlying cause of all the troubles in the NPP, leading to the struggle between the Asante and the Akyem groups with the ultimate aim to control the party, resulting in the political gangsterism we are witnessing today.

Some Asantes in the past have vowed to pay the Akyem Mafia back for what they did to them in 1979, and the alleged lack of level playing field and intimidations in the recently held Super Delegate Conference of the NPP which caused the withdrawal of Boakye Agyarko and Allan Kyeremanten, both Asantes from the race, may even deepened this purported animosity. And this could be pursued with unflinching intent.

I predicted before the 2016 elections that the NPP will continue to have problems about who leads them from Asante and Akyem unless the party splits along those ethnic lines.

The question many people are asking is that will Agyarko and Allan's withdrawal from the NPP flagbearership race lead to a split in the party?

And whether what happened to the PFP in 1979 is going to happen to the NPP in 2024?

Anthony Obeng Afrane
A defeatist attitude is a negative mindset in which you believe you're going to fail before you even start. You talk yourself out of achieving things by telling yourself you're incapable of success, even if you don't have any evidence to support that. What I learned in life is that a defeatist attitude will help you fail, before you even start.

Why should people be surprised about Alan KWADWO Kyeremateng's withdrawal from the NPP contest. Anyone who has been observing the activities of Kyeremateng, can speculate on what are his intentions and interest.

First of all, politicians dont always get their way. They only get their way when Ghanaians enables them by voting for them. And votes come from grass roots movements that grow to create change.

But if everyone runs around with a defeatist attitude like yours, that explains why nothing changes. Because you accept some false notion that politicians hold power over the people when you dont seem to understand that it is the people that actually hold power over the politicians when we remove apathy.

John Alan Kwadwo shot himself in the foot long time ago in a similar situation. May I ask, if Mr Kyeremateng was the front runner as per the results, would he have tender his "withdrawal from the contes?" No!!

Just as people can shut down a successful business through boycotting them, they can also remove corrupt politicians by getting out the vote and contributing to political movements aimed at creating change.

It is how the issue of rights for women first became prominent movement which has made some key influences. It is how gender equality laws have been changed. It is how powerful lobbyists are formed.

Those who contested Dr Bawumia failed or are failing to do reality testing of the Vice President. Their campaign against Dr Bawumia failed miserably attest to the lack of evidence for and against their perception and thinking.

They failed to look for alternative explanations rather than the "Aduro meso" mantra or "the establishment candidate" than being positive and how they perceive situation confronting each of them.

Of Alan Kyeremateng, why is the NDC so worried and obsessed about his winning and withdrawal? Because he is carrying unexploited baggage the NDC seeks to exploit in the event the NPP select him.

Their pronouncements, coupled with untruth from their uncouth sympathizers, especially their supporters who out of narrowness spewed all sorts of appalling derogatory vibes about Nana Addo was the source to the NPP defeats in two previous elections and they are at it again.

Anyone who discount Bawumia's political potential within the NPP would be committing political suicide. Those who are jealous of the young man should be rewriting their scripts. Until the man decides otherwise he has changed the landscape and orientation within - as it tilts to his very advantage.

From my mind-eyes "Bawumiaphobia" or the Scare of Bawumia has morphed into jealousy within the Ghanaian politics. The mere mention of his name and achievements sends shivers down the spines of competitors. Dr Bawumia is an embodiment of a true patriot.

It reminds me of the Ghanaian Cinema Film of "No Tears For Anase".

It is defeatist attitude that is keeping Mr Kyeremateng down. People with a defeatist attitude tend to catastrophize, meaning they imagine the worst possible outcome.

"Philosopher Carlyle Thomas was right when he observed that the right man in the right place at the right time can completely change the course of history".

I believe this to be true, because we've seen it happened.

The scare that the name Bawumia brings within both the NPP and NDC has produced a new experience that I call "bawumiaphobia". Hate him or like him he is the new face of our politics. He is just phenomenal!
Chief Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan

06.09.2023 LISTEN

Delta Women on Wednesday congratulated Chief Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for her victory at the Tribunal.

They also praised the tribunal for remaining the protector of the oppressed.

A statement issued in Warri by the Delta Women Political Vanguard (DWPV) said Akpoti-Uduaghans victory at the tribunal was well deserved as it is the will of a democratic majority.

Your victory at the Tribunal shows that the wonderful people of Kogi Central clearly authorized your candidature.

The election petition tribunal sitting in Lokoja declared Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the February 25 Kogi Central Senatorial election.

The statement signed by the DWPV President General, Chief Alice Umukoro, described the tribunals judgement as brilliant and straightforward.

Your victory is a testimony of your recognition, immense ability and contributions to Kogi State, the statement added.

The women thanked the wonderful people of Kogi Central for the confidence reposed on Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Justice K.A. Orjiakoin, the tribunal Chairman in his ruling on Wednesday said Uduaghan scored 54,064 votes to defeat his closest rival Sadiku-Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 51,291 votes.

The tribunal urged Ohere to pay Akpoti-Uduaghan N500, 000 for the cost of the petition.
Gabon's new military leader has started to give amnesty to dissidents and has met central Africa's mediator for the country, following last week's coup that brought the curtain down on the 55-year reign of the Bongo dynasty.

On Tuesday, state televison announced that General Brice Oligui Nguema met the Central African Republic's president, Faustin Archange Touadera, in the aftermath of the 30 August putsch.

The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) appointed Touadera as "facilitator of the political process" in Gabon and tasked him with meeting "all Gabonese actors and partners of the country" with the goal of providing "a rapid return to constitutional order".

Gabon joins Mali, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Niger among African countries that have undergone coups in the last three years  a trend that has sounded alarm bells across the continent and beyond.

However, Tuesday's broadcast gave no details of the discussions, which came a day after ECCAS member Equatorial Guinea announced that Gabon had been suspended from the 11-nation group.

ECCAS also ordered the immediate transfer of its headquarters from the Gabonese capital Libreville to Equatorial Guinea's capital, Malabo, according to the country's vice president, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue on X (formerly Twitter).

Touadera is expected to meet with ousted president Ali Bongo Ondimba.

Elections and amnesties

Oligui, the head of the elite Republican Guard promised to hold "free, transparent and credible elections" to restore civilian rule when he was sworn in on Monday as interim president, but he did not give a timeline.

He also vowed to give amnesty to "prisoners of opinion," a move that was followed on Tuesday by the release of several people, according rights lawyer Anges Kevin Nzigou.

Among those freed was one of his clients, Jean Remy Yama, a 59-year-old teacher and trade unionist, who had been held since June 2022 on charges of embezzling public funds  an accusation the opposition denies.

Oligui also met with Albert Ondo Ossa, the main opposition candidate in the elections that precipitated the coup.

The meeting on Monday evening marks a further step by Oligui to forge contacts with key figures.
A senior political science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo, has noted the difficulties of Alan Kyerematen accepting a running offer from the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, if he wins the November 4 election.

There are rumors that Alan Kyerematen may be selected as the running mate to Dr Bawumia.

During an interview with Bernard Avle on The Point of View, on Citi TV, Professor Gyampo stated that Mr. Kyerematen may rely on the y3nim wo fri tete mantra and may reject the offer.

It depends on him, but I think that it may be quite difficult for Alan to accept to be Dr Bawumias running mate, having been there from 2007 till now. Im sure that he would want to subscribe to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) cliche of y3nim wo fri tete. And that may not, in my view, allow him to want to be a running mate to Dr Bawumia, Professor Gyampo pointed out.

Professor Gyampo further opined that Alan Kyerematen could either break away from the party or form alliances with other aspirants to produce a formidable candidate.

He can also decide to team up with other aspirants to present a certain formidable candidate, either led by himself or by other people. Or he can decide to go as an independent candidate, or he can decide to form his own political party and see if he can be a force to reckon with. If he also decides to form his own party, then he will still be a force to reckon with, he opined.

Mr Kyerematen, who secured the third position in the Special Delegates' Conference, was expected to be one of the five candidates participating in the upcoming November 4 presidential primaries.

However, he withdrew from the polls on Tuesday, September 5, citing alleged intimidation of his supporters and manipulation of the election in favour of one candidate.

However, the New Patriotic Party rejected claims made by Alan Kyerematen for his withdrawal from the flagbearership race.

citinewsroom
Carnival Cruise Line is returning to Mobile after a year-long absence  this time with a longer commitment.

According to WALA in Mobile, Mobiles City Council will vote next week on a 5-year contract for a new berthing agreement in which Carnival would pay the city $8 per passenger with a 3 percent increase every year. The contract also could be extended by two additional years by mutual agreement.

Carnival Cruise Line had already announced in May that it would be returning to the Mobile port with the Carnival Spirit, a much larger cruise ship, to replace Carnival Ecstasy, which was relocated from the Mobile port last October.

When Carnival Spirit arrives for her first season this year and then returns for the cruises were announcing for next year, she wont just be bringing a newer and larger ship experience to the port, shell deliver more opportunities to visit beautiful destinations compared to our past operations there, Fred Stein, Carnivals vice president of revenue planning and deployment, said in a press release in May.

Carnival Cruise Line has previously offered cruises out of the Mobile port since 2001, but a new 5-year contract would be one of its longest continual stretches of cruise offerings.

Carnival left Mobile in 2011 and did not return until 2016, despite high demand for cruises, citing fuel costs and the inability to raise prices. Carnival then paused its offerings in 2020 due to the pandemic and again last year as the Ecstasy left.

In the past, Carnival cruises out of Mobile followed four and five-day itineraries, mostly to three locales. The Spirit will be able to embark on longer journeys of up to 12 days and visit more destinations, but it will only operate from October through March.

The Mississippi Coast could see some benefit from these new Carnival Cruises as Mississippians will once again have the opportunity to take cruises out of both New Orleans and Mobile.

Cruises out of Mobile provide opportunity for our friends and neighbors to have a close-by vacation experience and for tourists to have a pre- or post-visit to the Coast, said Coastal Mississippi Chief Executive Officer Judy Young. Theres multiple positive impacts including an increase in jobs and higher quality of life.

Story continues

According to Young, 2023 has been a good year for cruises, as they are finally rebounding from the pandemic. She said the Port of New Orleans has seen 155,000 passengers and 39 vessel calls as of March.

Cruise offerings on the Carnival Spirit from Mobile are on sale now and will operate in the fall 2024 and spring 2025. Here are examples of some of the cruises available:
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the judgement delivered on Wednesday by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, dismissing its petition against the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu, in the February 25 presidential election.

The party described the verdict as being "against reason, against the facts and evidence presented in Court."

The party added that it would comprehensively review the judgement with its lawyers before deciding on the next steps within the ambit of the law.

The Judgement is generous in technicalities and very short in delivering substantial justice in the matter, the PDP said in a statement released by its National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba.

Debo Ologunagba said the judgement is "against the relevant Electoral Laws, Guidelines and Regulations as well as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999."

The PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar filed a petition at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal challenging the declaration of Tinubu as winner of the February 25 election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

But in its judgement on September 6, the tribunal dismissed the petition in its entirety.

Despite rejecting the verdict, Debo Ologunagba said the PDP remains a law-abiding party and called on Nigerians to remain calm as it explores all legal options.

The PDP calls on Nigerians to remain at alert, calm and united as our Party continues to lead the charge to defend Democracy and ensure that the Will of the people as expressed in the February 25, 2023 Presidential election is respected and restored, the statement said.

The party vowed to continue challenging the election results within the ambit of the law.

The next legal option for the PDP, per the release, is to appeal the tribunal's verdict at the Supreme Court.
The military leaders who staged a coup in Gabon last week have freed ousted president Ali Bongo Ondimba from house arrest, indicating that Mr. Bongo who suffered a stroke in 2018 can now move freely to seek medical intervention.

A video was released showing Bongo interacting with officials, suggesting he is a free man.

Gabons military spokesman Colonel Ulrich Manfoumbi said in a statement read on national television on Wednesday evening that "Given his state of health, the former President of the Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba is free to move about. He may, if he wishes, travel abroad for medical checkups."

While Bongo's family including his wife and son who were also detained at the presidential palace, still face charges of corruption and theft from the new government.

But for his family, its another issue. His wife was held on the fourth floor of the presidential palace with his son Noureddin; all of whom are accused of high treason, said a media report.

Ali Bongo was toppled on August 30, shortly after being declared the winner of much-criticised elections that would have seen him extend his 14-year rule as president.

Recall that the ousted President was seen in a video pleading with friends around the world to make noise for him to be release and reinstated.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako popularly known as Chairman Wontumi has said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is determined to break the 8 without any form of external support.

According to Chairman Wontumi, the NPP party will design good campaign messages to convince the electorate.

He said in an interview on an Accra-based Neat FM that, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr. George Akuffo Dampare has no influence in the outcome of elections.

Dampare cannot stop NPP from breaking the 8. He cannot, its not true. We will not let NDC come into power. Dampare has just one vote and the rest of us have same, Chairman Wontumi stated.

He continued by asserting that the details of the leaked audio plotting to oust the IGP Dampare is purely an internal problem within the Ghana Police Service.

IGP Dampare has been in the Police Service for many years. NPP made him IGP. I supported his bid ahead of Kofi Boakye. I can boldly say NPPs NEC, which Im a member has not held any meeting to remove him and I dont think the President will seek NPPs counsel to relieve him of his duties. Its an internal problem within the police so he should go and solve it.

Chairman Wontumi prayed for God to strengthen IGP and help him do his job effectively.

Meanwhile, the Director General Technical of the Ghana Police Service, Commissioner of Police (COP) Alex George Mensah, Superintendents George Lysander Asare and Emmanuel Gyebi have been interdicted over their alleged involvement in the leaked tape scandal.
A court in Burkina Faso has handed a three-year suspended sentence to a well-known healer after a trial in which she was convicted of complicity in beating up a follower.

Adja, whose formal name is Amsetou Nikiema, has drawn thousands of followers to gatherings where she reputedly heals those who fall sick or are believed to possessed or cursed by bad luck.

After a day-long trial, a court in the capital Ouagadougou late Wednesday convicted the 20-year-old of complicity in bodily harm.

She was handed a suspended sentence of three years and a fine of a million CFA francs ($1,600), which was also suspended.

Prosecutors had sought a two-year term, with one year suspended, and a fine of three million francs.

In July, a video spread on social media of a middle-aged man being tortured at a location near Ouagadougou by men who said they were associates of Adja.

She was arrested but managed to flee with the help of soldiers.

Armed troops surrounded the court where she and the other defendants were awaiting transfer to preventive detention and demanded she be handed over to them, prosecutor Laurent Poda said.

She later turned herself in to a military prison in Ouagadougou, where she was then detained, rather than surrender to a civilian jail on the grounds of what she called "safety reasons."

In court, Adja apologised for the ill-treatment, which she said had been inflicted without her knowledge.

"All I can do is ask the prosecutor and everyone for forgiveness -- my mission is to care, not to punish," she said.

Eight associates were sentenced to four years in jail and a fine of 500,000 francs on charges of illegal detention, bodily harm and complicity in a crime. Both sentences were also suspended.

They each said they had acted on their own initiative and had not received any orders from Adja.

"When she heard that we had beaten up one of her patients, she got angry with us and fired us," said one of the defendants, Adama Barry.

The alleged victim, Hamidou Kanazoe, declined to join the case as a civil plaintiff, saying a settlement had been reached out of court.

Popularity

Adja came to national prominence three years ago when word spread that the young woman had carried out miracle healings.

Burkina Faso. By Paul DEFOSSEUX (AFP)

Speaking to an AFP reporter at one of her gatherings in March, she said she was haunted by visions during her childhood in rural Burkina, and suffered cruelty as a result.

She said she administered healing through traditional medicine and what she described as a spiritual guide.

She did not charge for her services at the gathering, but donations and other offerings were discreetly encouraged, the reporter said.

Officially, just nine percent of Burkina Faso's population say they are animist.

But this figure is widely considered to be an underestimate. Traditional beliefs run deep, often co-existing among the country's Muslim majority and Christians, and the authorities are tolerant of claimed healers.
The political landscape of Ghana is like an environment where gun diplomacy just brought an end to a protracted war and therefore dotted with land mines. It is always dangerous to live in such space full of booby traps that inhibit the free movement of the people.

Our present circumstances are even more dangerous than a post-war situation, especially when those who commit to our democratic dispensation have done so because of personal gain and not because they want the involvement of all in the decision-making process.

Having lost two elections in 2016 and 2020, it appears they have lost hope in the electoral process ever helping them to stage a comeback, hence they see the current wave of coups in Africa as the only way to rescue the NDC from opposition.

Their statements and posturing in recent times have exposed them as unworthy students of politics whose only interest is how they can stay in power to, in the words of the Supreme Court, create, loot and share.

There is no doubt about the coup mentality of the NDC, as its Chairman, Asiedu Nketia and its flagbearer, Mr. John Mahama claim the country is ripe for a coup. So the question is, why is the NDC preparing to contest the 2024 general election if it no longer has faith in the ballot box?

And like Nana Akufo-Addo said in 2020, has Mahama's campaign again fallen into water and his own rescue to remain relevant lies in a military takeover of government? We can assure him and his likes in academia, media and civil society the regime change desire will remain a pipedream.

There may be difficulties in meeting the aspirations of the people under our present dispensation, but the alternative of a military coup is abominable. Let Ghanaians shine their eyes to spot these pseudo democrats from our political scene so that only those sincere ones would be left to steer the ship of state to safety.

Mr. Mahama, why this latest appetite for military intervention in our democratic governance? Whatever the pitfalls, we remind you of the popular saying of your protege, Kwame Nkrumah during the independence struggle, we prefer self-government with danger to servitude in tranquility and make it clear to the NDC that a bad civilian government is better than a military junta.

For after all, the people have the opportunity to vote for the party of their choice and in the case of Ghana the electorate have changed elected regimes in 2000, 2008 and 2016. That makes our democracy the showpiece on a continent bedeviled with democratic deficits. The NDC can only be showing traces of double standards and frankly be said to be hypocrites. The NDC is a wolf in a sheep's skin.

The NDC can fit into the frustrations exhibited by Jimmy Cliff in his song Hypocrites where he expressed fears about snakes in grass. Listen to his lyrics in part, We walked, we talked together, yes we did. We ate, we drank together, yes we did. But when I find you're a snake in the grass Now, as we engage in the democratic discourse, the people are not too sure whether we are not sitting at table with serpents or pretenders.

The song coming from the leaders of the NDC cannot be from the same democratic hymn book. There is discord in the landscape because John Mahama and Asiedu Nketia are singing a different do re mi fa so la te do from Burma Camp Concerto.

Source: Daily Guide
07.09.2023 LISTEN

Dr. Kwasi Amakye Boateng, a prominent lecturer at political science of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has advised former presidential aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Alan Kyerematen to abandon any thoughts of running as an independent candidate.

According to Mr. Boateng, other smaller parties have attempted to capture political power since independence but have failed woefully.

In an interview with Asempa FM's Ekosii Sen show, he said He [Alan] should discard it immediately. He is not going to cause any magic in this country. Small parties have not survived in Ghana from the time of the struggle for independence till date."

Small parties have not fared well. If he [Alan] stands as an independent candidate, even Ashanti region will not vote for him.

It will be a one-horse race in which Vice President, Dr Bawumia will win big again, Dr. Kwasi Amakye Boateng stated.

Dr Amakye Boateng said the outcome of the November 4 presidential primary has already been decided.
Reverend Victor Kusi Boateng, the Founder and General Overseer of Power Chapel Worldwide, has appealed the ruling that favoured Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in a defamation suit.

The suit was filed by Rev. Kusi Boateng to restrain Ablakwa from discussing him in relation to the National Cathedral issue.

On Thursday, July 13, 2023, the Human Rights Court dismissed an application filed by Rev. Kusi Boateng.

The preachers lawyers also filed contempt charges against Ablakwa after a video surfaced showing the MP refusing to be served with court documents and kicking them with his foot.

The defamation suit was brought forward by Rev. Kusi Boateng, alleging that Ablakwa made publications suggesting that he is engaged in a conflict of interest and operates under another name, Kwabena Adu Gyamfi.

This recent ruling by the Human Rights Court comes after the Accra High Court dismissed the charges against Ablakwa in May 2023.

The dismissal was based on the argument that Rev. Kusi Boateng lacked capacity and locus standi. As a result, the court awarded an amount of GH10,000.00 against Rev. Kusi Boateng.

Interestingly, this is the second time Ablakwa has been awarded damages in relation to legal disputes.

-citinewsroom
- Source:

07.09.2023 LISTEN

Gender has a significant impact on the socio-economic, political and religious experiences of Ghanaians. For Akans , the country's largest ethnic group, descent is traced through the maternal line . Property is transferred in this line too.

Mourning rituals are another area of life that's shaped by gender in Ghana  as in many other cultures of the world.

In a recent paper , we explored the way Akan mourning rituals reflect the culture's ideas about gender and reproduce social patterns.

Bereavement is gendered in Akan society: there are strict behavioural prescriptions for males and females. We argue that enacting and reproducing masculinity and femininity in these rituals may have negative health and psychological consequences for both men and women.

Our study is useful for therapists and counsellors to understand the impact of gender and culture when working with people who are dealing with grief and loss. Gender shapes how people make meaning of  and cope with  grief and loss in a specific social milieu.

Mourning, masculinity and femininity

The responsibilities of the principal cultural players of Akan death and mourning rituals are assigned according to gender. Males are the major players in organising and supervising the rites.

A key player is the lineage head (Abusuapanin), who is invariably male.

In Akan culture, the lineage head must be informed of all deaths occurring in the lineage. He must, in turn, inform the chief and other authorities of the polity (village or town) of all deaths in his lineage when they occur.

The second major player is the chief mourner, who is also usually a male. According to the customs and traditions of the Akan (and the law courts ), the body of a deceased person belongs to the extended family into which one is born. The extended family decides at a meeting who the chief mourner should be.

The choice of chief mourner is very important because he makes decisions such as who will succeed the deceased and how to mourn fittingly. He oversees the proper organisation and execution of all rites pertaining to the death, particularly ensuring that the deceased has a funeral that befits his or her status attained in life and is compatible with the social standing of the family in the community.

Women's roles in Akan mourning rites, though extensive, are secondary to those of men. Women have the responsibility to bathe and prepare the dead body to be laid in state for mourners to file past it. These women are usually members of the deceased's family and are well versed in handling dead bodies.

Women also fulfil the role of professional mourners or wailers. Some Akan lineages engage the services of these wailers to add solemnity to the mortuary rites. At ordinary Akan funerals where they are absent, it is the women who lament and wail during critical stages of the process. Men are culturally discouraged from loud wailing and weeping. The expression barima nsu, which means a man does/must not cry, calls on Akan men to refrain from such behaviour to avoid labels of effeminacy.

This norm in the mourning process is consistent with a cultural practice that generally demands that Akan men must not publicly display their emotions, even in the face of adversity, pain and suffering.

In contrast, a woman who does not weep or lament at the death of a close relative is suspected of being a malevolent witch responsible for the deceased's death. Thus, the Akan mourning rituals can be culturally and psychologically coercive and oppressive for women.

Cash donations have become an important part of Ghanaian funerals. Both men and women make donations. But the archetype is that men will donate large sums of money to the bereaved family while women announce the donations and heap appellations on the male donors. For example, the compliments that women lavish on men to acknowledge their cash or kind donations may include mo peafo (well done), mompene no na y barima amu (let all praise him for he is a real man indeed) and other special names such as denoho (the affluent or independent one).

The male donor, female announcer gender hierarchy at funerals is another instance of gender role (re)enactment and performance. When men demonstrate economic prowess at funerals and women remain on the fringes as announcers, they are both performing and reinforcing a culturally given gender hierarchy.

The burden of mourning for males and females

We concluded from our findings that Akan death and mourning rituals can be culturally and psychologically oppressive against men and women. In the case of women, this is due to the unfair power hierarchy and the patriarchal nature of Ghanaian society.

In the case of men, the cultural expectation that they be emotionally restrained in mourning may have health and psychological consequences. These could include depression, stress and suicide. The masculine requirement for men to resist crying during bereavement leaves men to suffer alone in silence when they experience emotional pain.

Anthony Mpiani, a teaching and research assistant at the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, co-authored this article.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

By Stephen Baffour Adjei, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development And

Mensah Adinkrah, Professor, Sociology and Criminal Justice, Central Michigan University
The Minister for Works and Housing, Mr Francis Asenso-Boakye, has commissioned the Legacy Court Housing Project, located in Adenta, Accra.

The project is a remarkable 40-unit development by the State Housing Company Limited (SHC), Ghana's foremost housing developer to support low-income affordable housing initiatives in the country.

The unveiling marks the seventh project commissioned by the SHC in recent years, underscoring its commitment to making affordable housing available to Ghanaians.

Mr Asenso-Boakye commended the exemplary efforts of the SHC's Board, management and dedicated staff for their significant contributions towards achieving this milestone.

The Legacy Court Housing Project stands as a testament to their unwavering dedication and vision, he stated.

He noted that the project is particularly notable because it was financed with the company's Internally Generated Funds (IGF), showcasing its financial sustainability and prudent management.

He said the Legacy Court Housing Project is not just another housing development; it symbolizes a brighter future for countless Ghanaians in search of quality and affordable homes.

With the unveiling of the Legacy Court Housing Project, the Sector Minister and the SHC affirm their dedication to creating a Ghana where everyone has the opportunity to own a comfortable and affordable home, fostering a stronger, more prosperous nation for all.
The government has begun the construction of considerable health infrastructure to enhance access to quality healthcare.

These include eight hospital projects consisting of two regional and six district hospitals.

The Minister for Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, said this during a press briefing in Accra on Wednesday.

He stated, They are 160 beds in the Upper West Regional Hospital, 100-beds Ga East Municipal Hospital, Twifo Praso 60-beds Hospital, 60-beds Tepa District Hospital, 60-beds Nsawkaw District Hospital, 60-beds Asante Akim (Konongo) Hospital, 250-beds Kumasi Regional Hospital and a 60-beds Salaga District Hospital.

He said the government had constructed and equipped the University of Ghana Medical Centre phase 11.

According to the Minister, the government had also constructed and equipped five district hospitals and a polyclinic in Tolon, Sawla, Buipe, Somanya, Weta and Bamboi.

There is also the completion of seven district hospitals and integrated IT systems in Dodowa, Fomena, Kumawu and Takoradi European flat, he added.

He added that the government had constructed five and upgraded one health facilities in the Western Region (Akontombra, Wassa Dunkwa, Elubo, Bogoso) and also constructed, retooled and equipped four health facilities in the Eastern Region (Tettheh Quashie, Atibie, Aburi and Kibi).

He also mentioned the construction of Community-based Health Planning Services (CHPS) at selected locations in the country, the construction and rehabilitation of treatment and holding centres and the major rehabilitation of the Tamale Teaching Hospital.

The CHPS are located in Oshiye, Tetegu, Antwirfo, Mantewareso, Meweremfiwuo, Kofiasua, Amakyekrom, Akaaso, Akaasu, Ntakam, Samproso, Akyem, Mampong, Tiawia, Ahankrasu and Koforidua (near Offinso), he emphasized.

On the Ministry's ongoing project, he stated that the construction and equipping of KATH maternity and childrens block, the rehabilitation of Bolgatanga Regional Hospital phase II, the reconstruction of La General Hospital, the rehabilitation of Effia Nkwanta Hospital and the construction of a Western Regional Hospital were at various stages.

The construction of the Urology and Nephrology Centre of Excellence, the construction of the District hospital at Obuasi, Anyinam Trauma centre, the rehabilitation of Enyiresi Government Hospital and the construction of 12 hospitals in Eastern, Ashanti, Ahafo and Greater Accra are also ongoing, he stressed.

Mr Agyemang-Manu noted that projects approved for construction include the new 400 Beds Maternity Block in Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, the construction and equipping of five district hospitals in Osiem, Assin Kuhyea, Dormaa Akwamu, Wamfie and Kutre.

The construction of Tema General Hospital, Central Medical Stores Nkoranza, and rehabilitation of Nkoranza and Dormaa Hospitals and the construction of Shama Hospital are all projects approved for implementation, he added.
Chelsea are monitoring winger Antonio Nusa, having had a 23million bid for the player rejected by Club Brugge on deadline day.

The Blues looked to steal a march on their transfer rivals by attempting to sign Norway's next potential superstar late in the summer window.

Nusa, 18, would only have joined Mauricio Pochettinos first-team squad had Ian Maatsen or Conor Gallagher been sold. The option to send the player immediately back on loan to Brugge was also discussed between the two clubs.

Chelsea will face increased competition for Nusa in future transfer windows after the teenager made a name for himself by becoming the second-youngest goalscorer in Champions League history after netting in the 4-0 away win over FC Porto in the group stage last September.

In Chelseas sights: The Blues failed with a 23m bid for Club Brugges Antonio Nusa before the summer transfer deadline (BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images)

The quick, skilful dribbler, who plays for Norways Under-21 side and is yet to be capped at senior international level, is currently being watched by at least 20 other clubs in one of Europes most heavily-scouted leagues for young talent.

Nusa has made 10 appearances for Brugge, managed for 12 games last season by Scott Parker, already this term, scoring in the 7-1 demolition of RWD Molenbeek in the Belgian top-flight and also helping Ronny Deilas side into the Europa Conference League group stage.

He has four goals and three assists in total in 46 outings for the club since joining from Norwegian side Stabaek in the summer of 2021.
07.09.2023 LISTEN

In the last three years of history, Africa has recorded a lot of coup detat in it continent than the rest of the world. It should be emphasized that Niger, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, and Chad were among the nations impacted, and the latest outbreak is in Gabon.

Most of the individuals who are seen in the streets of the affected countries celebrating and justifying the coup are frequently the same people who have bemoaned the continent's inexplicable underdevelopment and blamed it on a failure of leadership. While the general populace continues to hunger for change in the pursuit of decent governance, employment, healthcare, and other clear expectations from the civilian administration, sadly, little has changed despite election after election.

In all likelihood, the most recent military coup took place in Gabon in the early hours of Wednesday, just one month after a military coup that toppled President Mohammed Bazoum of Niger.

While the Niger situation increased tension in the region and made major headlines and the content of front-page reportage in local, continental, and international news porters about the revolution Africa, the military in Gabon announced that they had annulled the results of the election in which Mr. Bongo was declared the winner and arrested one of his sons for treason. They also announced that Mr. Bongo will be replaced by the head of the presidential guard, Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, who was earlier carried by his people in great excitement on the principal street of the capital, Libreville.

In some parts of Africa in the decades following independence, military coups were frequently experienced. Despite a time of stability for democracy, there are signs that it is growing. According to some experts, the factors that contribute to coups remain substantially the same, and they include corruption, a lack of accountability, unemployment, inequality, and other issues. Although the Americans, the French, and Russia have had their share of revolution in 1776, 1789, and 1917, the under-listed African countries have seen dramatic ones in the last three years.

In Niger

General Abdourahamane Tchiani, a former commander of the presidential guard, pulled out a military coup that removed President Mohammed Bazoum just one month ago in July 2023.

Sudan

Sudan had its share of military coups led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan in October 2021. Prior to that, the same military overthrew President Omar Al Bashir in April 2019, thus escalating the unrest in that area.

Burkina Faso

On January 23, 2022, the military deposed President Roch Kabore in Burkina Faso, further escalating the political unrest.

In Mali.

Prior to the second coup in May 2021, the army overthrew President Ibrahim Keita in neighboring Mali.

Guinea

President Alpha Conde of Guinea was also deposed by the military in September 2021, under the leadership of Col. Mamady Doumbouya.

How can we prevent it from happening frequently given the aforementioned cases and the many more we have seen in the past in Africa in the 1960s?

First, Africa requires a job strategy that differs from our typical growth strategy, given that the continent has a growing population and is also one of the youngest in the world, thus escalating the already intense competition for resources.

Second, we require well-established civil society organizations that will speak truth to power.

Third, we require media that will be more dedicated to journalism's guiding ideals than to political organizations.

Fourth, our regional bloc, especially ECOWAS, needs to be proactive in pointing out when leaders are making mistakes.

Finally, we need institutions that hold political leaders accountable to restore the trust that has been eroded. If we are consistent in this, Democracy would succeed and coup detat will end forever.

Abdallah Kassim Tijani

[email protected]
The cyberattack against the Somali Journalists Syndicate could not have come at a worse time. A distributed denial-of-service attack, known by its acronym DDoS, flooded the local press freedom groups website with traffic in early August and knocked it offline. Days later, authorities arrested SJS staff member and Kaab TV editor Mohamed Ibrahim Osman Bulbul in connection with his reporting on alleged corruption. The tandem crises placed major strain on the organization.

It was a very traumatic week. Sleepless. Very stressful. We could not publish our statement, the first statement of Mohameds detention, SJS secretary general Abdalle Ahmed Mumin told CPJ in an interview from the U.K., where he fled earlier this year after he was repeatedly arrested by Somali authorities. Imagine someone attacking your team, detaining one of your team, and youre not able to communicate to the international world because your website has been taken down.

SJS found some relief when it connected with Qurium, a Sweden-based nonprofit that began hosting SJSs website. But a week after the initial attack, another DDoS flood hit the website. This time, Qurium was able to protect SJS from going offline. Quriums analysis of these additional attacks also found that a U.S. company, RayoByte, had provided the tools used in the attack.

Sprious, which owns RayoByte, told Qurium in an email, which CPJ reviewed, that it had removed the abusive user from its network and added the SJS site to its blacklist to prevent it from being targeted further.

SJS isnt the only news outlet that has suffered a DDoS attack using RayoBytes services. News outlets from at least five other countries  Kosovo, Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, and Turkmenistan  have faced similar attacks over the last two years, according to Quriums analysis. These incidents provide a rare look at the mechanics of online censorship efforts and how private corporations can profit from them.

Sprious declined CPJs requests for an interview and did not directly answer a list of written questions. But in emailed statements to CPJ, Sprious said it was deeply concerned about reports that its services were allegedly used in DDoS attacks. We firmly stand against any form of online harassment or harm, including cyber-attacks, especially when it concerns entities that play a crucial role in promoting press freedom and the safety of journalists, it said.

Headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, RayoByte, formerly known as Blazing SEO, is one of many companies that sells clients access to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, unique numbers assigned to internet-connected devices, for scraping, a method for extracting large amounts of data from websites. RayoBytes website lists a range of prices for access to IP addresses based on variables including type and speed.

One way to conduct scraping is through repeated requests to visit a site with different IP addresses. Journalists and researchers use scraping as a research technique, but when IP requests are directed quickly and en masse toward a specific site in order to overwhelm it and knock it offline, this constitutes a DDoS attack.

CPJ has documented DDoS attacks against outlets conducting critical journalism around the world. These cyberattacks also often take place alongside other threats to journalists safety and press freedom.

Quriums analysis shows that it blocked nearly 20,000 IP addresses from hitting the SJS website with millions of requests on August 18 and 19. The largest portion of the traffic (nearly 50%) came via RayoByte and its hosting partners, the analysis said. The second half of the traffic came through several other online channels, including virtual private networks (VPNs).

We were very effective at mitigating the attack because within a few hours we realized we had seen this type of traffic before, Quriums Lundstrom told CPJ. We have met this [attacking] infrastructure in the pastthis infrastructure is no joke.

Similar DDoS attacks began almost immediately after Kosovo-based news site Nacionale began publishing in March 2022, covering local politics and social issues, co-founder Visar Arifaj told CPJ in a recent phone interview. Our website would be down quite often. Because we were still fresh in the news market, it really had an impact for us to reach our audiences, Arifaj said. For us to be down a couple of hours during the day was a huge blow.

Qurium began hosting and defending Nacionale in September 2022, and in March and April 2023 Qurium notified Sprious that attackers had been using its services against the outlet.

In emails from March, Qurium informed Sprious of attacks lasting several hours non-stop. One of the attacks sourced millions of web requests from IP addresses publicly advertised by Rayobyte/BlazingSEO, Qurium said. Sprious responded that it had blacklisted access to Nacionales website and it had barred the user responsible  which Sprious did not name  from accessing its services, but in April Qurium again tracked a DDoS attack against Nacionale involving RayoByte. In response to Quriums email about the April attack, Sprious said it had discovered an issue with its security controls, and had addressed it to prevent further traffic.

However, RayoByte-sourced internet traffic to Nacionales website did not stop and featured in DDoS attacks against the outlet in July and August, Lundstrom told CPJ. While Kosovo police arrested and prosecuted one man in connection with the cyberattacks and Qurium has successfully prevented the continued attacks from taking Nacionale offline, Lundstrom told CPJ that incoming traffic shows attackers continuing to harness IPs from a combination of proxy services, VPNs, and other sources.

Alongside the cyberattacks, Nacionales staff have been subjected to constant online harassment for their work and were recently physically attacked on the job, though those attackers have been arrested, Arifaj told CPJ. This constant pressure, even when it doesnt get to the journalists physically and in a direct manner, you can see that it does a lot for their burnout, he added. It does take a toll, mentally, on everyone.

Since 2022, Qurium has additionally tracked DDoS attacks with IPs sourced from RayoByte against four other outlets: Peoples Gazette from Nigeria, Kloop from Kyrgyzstan, Bulatlat from the Philippines, and Turkmen.news, which reports on Turkmenistan from exile. The attacks on three of the four outlets, excluding Kloop, also involved traffic via VPNs.

In its statements to CPJ, Sprious said it investigates reports of DDoS attacks using its services and takes appropriate actions with the end user that we believe is responsible and steps to mitigate the reported issues, including, but not limited to, blacklisting associated domains and working diligently to remove abusive users. The statements did not respond directly to CPJs requests for details of the customers responsible for these attacks and how the company responded in each case.

Lundstrom told CPJ that Sprious has yet to respond to Quriums emails concerning the attacks on Peoples Gazette, Kloop, Bulatlat, and Turkmen.news, as well as the additional attacks on Nacionale in July and August.

Proxies and VPNs have valid and important uses for ensuring internet users, including journalists, can maintain privacy online. Rights organizations, including CPJ, recommend the use of VPNs to defend against surveillance; individuals can use it to avoid state-backed online censorship, and companies use them to safeguard proprietary information. But Lundstrom described the use of proxy and VPN services to conduct DDoS attacks as a weaponization of these tools. Youre hiding in a tool [made] for another purpose, he said of the attackers. I think its a strategic decision.

DDoS attacks are illegal under a section of the [U.S.] Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Gabe Rottman, director of the Technology and Press Freedom Project at the U.S.-based Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which provides legal support to journalists, told CPJ. But he said that it is not necessarily illegal for proxy or VPN companies to provide services that are then used in DDoS attacks.

That doesnt mean service providers cant take actions. You can have technology providers doing appropriate things to protect their users and others at the same time as they build their service in a way that protects privacy, Rottman said. If  you become aware of bad actors doing bad things, notify the authorities, stop them from using your service, mitigate the damage.

Attacks on the SJS website have continued, Lundstrom told CPJ, though none of the IPs have come via RayoByte since Qurium and CPJ contacted Sprious for comment. Nevertheless, Lundstrom wants RayoBytes leadership to do more to address the fact that attackers have repeatedly come to the companys services to target media sites. [RayoBytes] making all the money, he said. And we have to do all this extra work and build new infrastructure to deal with all this shit.

As for SJS, Abdalle remains worried about his colleague, who is still behind bars. But he says hes confident that the press freedom groups website will remain accessible. He still doesnt know the identity of the person or people who launched the cyberattack, but he imagines what they might be thinking: Now they are witnessing, they are coming into a new reality that even after the attack SJS is still resilient. SJS is still active. SJS is still available and is able to work and operate effectively both online and physically inside Somalia.

Jonathan Rozen is CPJs senior Africa researcher. Previously, he worked in South Africa, Mozambique, and Canada with the Institute for Security Studies, assessing Mozambican peace-building processes. He also wrote analyses for the think tank adelphi on links between climate action and conflict prevention. Rozen was a U.N. correspondent for IPS News and has written for Al-Jazeera English and the International Peace Institute. He speaks English and French. Follow him on Twitter @Rozen_J.
07.09.2023 LISTEN

The Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG) has expressed the hope that the introduction of the automated premix fuel distribution system will solve irregularities associated with the commoditys distribution.

Nana Kweigyah, the President of CaFGOAG, commended the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) and the National Premix Fuel Secretariat (NPFS) for the initiative as well as the monitoring system.

On Tuesday, September 5, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia commissioned the automated system, designed to allow fishers to purchase premix fuel directly using their bio-contained identity cards linked to their canoes.

Nana Kweigyah told the Ghana News Agency in Tema that premix fuel distribution at the landing beaches was fraught with irregularities that had become almost the norm and manifested in the hoarding of the commodity.

Some of those people who hoard the premix fuel do not own canoes but get easy access to the commodity, which they later sell to fishermen at prices higher than government-stipulated price, he said.

With the introduction of the automated system, canoe and gear owners are confident that such irregularities will stop.

He said it was important for MoFAD and the NPFS to have a relook at the formation of the landing beach committees (LBCs) to bring sanity to the management and distribution of premix fuel.

The distribution at the landing beaches was done by the LBCs, comprising the chief fisherman as the chairman, representatives of canoe owners, fishmongers, and the district assembly, and a fisherman nominated by the Ministry in consultation with the district assembly, Nana Kweigyah said.

The committee was required to have a secretary and pump attendant, he said, however, due to the non-adherence to the Legislative Instrument 2233, the landing beach committees were formed without the appropriate representation as specified in the instrument.

In most cases, the identifiable groups mentioned in the L.I. 2233 do not know who represents them at the LBCs because they are not involved in the selection of the representatives.

That, he said, undermined accountability, transparency, and effective management of the distribution of premix fuel.

Nana Kweigyah, therefore, called on the National Premix Fuel Secretariat to adhere strictly to the provisions establishing the LBCs specified in L.I. 2233 to ensure effective representation.

He urged all canoe and net owners to join CaFGOAG to make the association stronger in all fishing communities to ensure effective management and distribution of premix fuel at the landing beaches.

GNA
07.09.2023 LISTEN

They really are a brutal lot. While the Queensland Labor Government croons on matters regarding rights, liberties and, it should be said, the plight of the First Nations Peoples, its policy, notably on youth detention, is a contradictory abomination. This situation finds itself repeated across the country, though the Sunshine State, as it is sometimes called, does it better than most.

In Australia, jurisdictions have persistently refused to raise the age of criminal responsibility. Down under, troubled children are treated as threatening ogres, monsters to cage rather than educate. Legislatures and lawmakers have taken fiendish pleasure in using more stick than carrot in the penal process, the result being that errant ten-year-olds find themselves in facilities of supervised squalor. These are fecund grounds for future, full-fledged criminals, and they rarely fail to disappoint as teachers in that regard.

For the pure sake of electoral benefit, political parties continue to demonise and denigrate wayward, lawbreaking delinquents. Governments continue to detain children with varying degrees of severity, with officials scratching their heads on novel ways of keeping them off the streets and in the cells. Queensland has had a particularly insatiable appetite for the practice, having used it for decades. Between 2021 and 2022, thousands of children were detained for durations exceeding six hours; hundreds for 48 hours or more. The rough cost for this exercise over two years: A$35 million.

In early August, Queenslands Department of Youth Justice had to come clean to the state Supreme Court that it had been running a gruesome, unlawful experiment in penology. Remanded children were being held in police watch houses otherwise designed for adults instead of youth detention centres. This also entailed placing children alongside adult offenders. The practice was brought to light in a challenge by the Caxton Legal Centre acting for the non-government support agency Youth Empowered Towards Independence Incorporated (YETI Cairns).

The applicant sought a writ of habeas corpus requiring the removal of eight children being held in various watch houses across the State controlled by the Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service. During proceedings, it became increasingly clear after initial investigations on the part of the government that something was brewing. Five of the original eight children had been transferred to youth detention centres, leaving the focus on the remaining three in police-controlled watch towers. It was duly found, as noted in the judgment, that the Queensland government could not discharge the onus on them to establish the lawfulness of the detention of these children, requiring, therefore, their delivery to the youth detention centres.

Chastened but not deterred, the Palaszczuk government, as a matter of haste, introduced legislation permitting such imprisonment in watch houses. The legislation also contained a reproachful sneer to the Queensland Supreme Court: the practice of detaining children in watch houses was rendered retrospectively legal. Inquisitors and Medieval Church prosecutors would have been proud. Donald Trump, were he to know of that fact, would have sighed with envy.

Then came further changes introduced by the police minister, Mark Ryan, part of a package to an otherwise unrelated bill. To ensure the effectiveness of the measure, the State was effectively suspending its Human Rights Act. The minister put this callous move down to a matter of immediate capacity issues in the states prison system, which is rather revealing in of itself. In the mangled language of administration, Ryan suggested that the measure was only temporary. It is not intended to make acceptable the long-term use of watchhouse or corrective services facilities for young people.

A terse, accurate description of the proceedings was offered by the Queensland Greens MP, Michael Berkman. At 3:30pm, they moved 57 pages of amendments to an unrelated bill w [sic] 30 mins for debate. They suspend the Human Rights Act to allow children to be kept in watch houses & adult prisons.

The suspension of the Human Rights Act was done with the calm, dismissive air of a desk clerk untroubled by the rule book. In a country where parliaments are regarded as awesomely, even tyrannically supreme, there are virtually no impediments on such monstrous conduct.

This is now the second time Queensland has suspended its Human Rights Act to criminalise and punish children in this state, Gunggari campaigner Maggie Munn told the National Indigenous Times. Incarcerating children whether in prisons or watch houses is harmful, the government knows this and yet continues to enforce these conditions.

Child advocacy and support organisation SHINE for Kids was fittingly aghast. Locking up children might make people feel safer, but it doesnt reduce crime or make them safer, stated the organisations CEO, Julie Hourigan. The government needs to address community safety with interventions that work, not just get headlines.

This attempt at retrospective self-exemption from liability will not go unchallenged. Peter OBrien, a lawyer representing former youth detainee Dylan Voller in a class action against the Northern Territorys Don Dale youth detention centre, suggests the opportunity for litigation is ripe. If the circumstances of the detention were particularly decrepit, or unpleasant, or cruel, or inhumane, then that would go to aggravated damages, he argues. And then in addition to that, there would be damages of a punitive nature, exemplary damages. In that case, the Queensland government could owe children unlawfully held in such watch houses up to A$5,000 for each day spent behind bars.

OBriens bristling confidence in the matter may be misplaced. The principle does not lie in the horrific treatment and conditions facing the children, but the scope of parliamentary power. Australian courts have held that State and Federal Parliaments may validly pass retrospective legislation, thereby soiling that purportedly sacred principle known as the Rule of Law. Parliamentary power here verges on true despotism. The only argument that could be made is that the case law blessing such a deplorable state of affairs tends to apply to ex post facto criminalisation rather than a governments efforts to exonerate its own unlawfulness or criminality. The wriggle room here, however, is barely worth mentioning.

With a hoary repetitiveness, the case for a commonwealth wide Bill of Human Rights is demonstrated by the appalling conduct of supposedly wise politicians who reject its value in the name of populist howls and administrative ineptitude. The conduct of the Queensland government is simply another one on the slagheap.

Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. Email: [email protected]
Five opposition parties in Ghana have filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court against the Electoral Commission (EC) over its decision to hold limited voter registration at only district offices ahead of the 2023 elections.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC), Convention People's Party (CPP), All People's Congress (APC), Liberal Party of Ghana (LPG), and Great Consolidated People's Party (GCPP) argue that the EC's action violates the constitution and will lead to voter suppression.

The writ filed on September 7th invokes the court's original jurisdiction under Articles 2(1) and 130(1) of the 1992 Constitution.

It seeks several declarations that the EC's approach is unconstitutional and an order directing the commission to designate electoral area centers for registration, not just district offices.

The plaintiff parties argue this approach violates Regulation 30(1) of C.I. 91, which requires the EC to designate registration centers within the electoral areas that are suitable and easily accessible.

The EC had announced that the limited voter registration exercise which is set to commence on September 12 and end on October 2, will only be done at its district offices.
07.09.2023 LISTEN

As Ghana join the rest of the world to mark International Literacy Day, it is important to draw attention to the need for digital literacy as part of the literacy conversation.

In today's digital age, literacy no longer refers solely to the ability to read and write with pen and paper. It has evolved into a multifaceted concept, encompassing various forms of literacy, with tech literacy emerging as a paramount aspect. In an era dominated by technology, the need for tech literacy awareness has never been more critical. This article explores the significance of tech literacy and why it should be at the forefront of our educational and societal priorities.

As an essential skill, tech literacy, often referred to as digital literacy or digital skills, encompasses the ability to use and navigate digital devices and technologies effectively. This includes proficiency in using computers, smartphones, software applications, and the internet. Tech literacy goes beyond basic competency; it empowers individuals to engage actively in a digitally connected world.

The significance of tech literacy manifests in diverse ways with a few of them highlighted below.

Access to Information: In an age where information is readily available at our fingertips, tech literacy is essential for accessing knowledge, staying informed, and making informed decisions. It bridges the digital divide, ensuring that individuals from all backgrounds can participate in the information age. Employability: The job market is evolving rapidly, with a growing demand for tech-savvy professionals. Tech literacy is no longer confined to the IT sector; it is a prerequisite for success in most industries. Job seekers with strong tech skills are more likely to secure employment and advance in their careers. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: Tech literacy fosters critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. It empowers individuals to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information, making them better equipped to solve complex challenges in both personal and professional settings. Communication and Collaboration: Digital tools facilitate communication and collaboration on a global scale. Tech-literate individuals can engage in meaningful online discussions, collaborate with peers, and leverage technology to bridge geographical gaps. Digital Citizenship: Being tech-literate is synonymous with being a responsible digital citizen. It involves understanding online etiquette, privacy concerns, and security measures, which are crucial in an era where online interactions are ubiquitous.

While the importance of tech literacy is undeniable, it's essential to acknowledge the existence of a digital divide. This divide represents the gap between those who have access to and can effectively use digital technologies and those who do not. Bridging this divide is not just a matter of providing access to technology but also ensuring that individuals have the skills and knowledge to use it effectively. This is where the country Ghana must put in place measures to include the marginalized such as persons with disabilities, women, and refugees, among others in the digital conversation to promote holistic tech literacy.

Below are some initiatives to be effective in promoting tech literacy awareness across the life cycle of individuals.

Educational Reforms: Educational institutions must adapt their curricula to include tech literacy as a core component of education from an early age. Integrating technology into teaching methods can also enhance the learning experience. This therefore suggests that learning institutions should change the old way approach of teaching and learning and embrace the current digital method tailored to the learning needs of students across the educational cycle. Community Programs: Community-based initiatives can offer digital literacy training to individuals of all ages, particularly those who may not have had access to technology in the past. These programs can be run by local organizations or libraries. Communities should not necessarily wait for the government to set up digital centers to improve the tech literacy level of their members. They should desire to be at par with their contemporary communities and catch up with the growing tech demands. Corporate Responsibility: Employers can play a role by providing tech literacy training to their employees. This not only benefits the workforce but also enhances a company's competitiveness in the digital economy. The post-COVID era has seen a lot of businesses and companies move digitally and others add a digital edge to existing activities. Research has proven that the above initiatives have led to a drastic reduction in the cost of doing business and have increased revenue generation, enhancing business competitiveness. Government Support: Governments should invest in infrastructure to expand access to technology, especially in underserved areas. Resources should be allocated to support tech literacy programs and initiatives. The World Bank funding for Ghanas digital accelerated project should help in expanding digital access and bridging the digital divide in the country.

It must be further emphasized that Tech literacy is no longer a luxury; it's a necessity for individuals and societies to thrive in the digital age. As technology continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, fostering tech literacy awareness becomes increasingly urgent. By prioritizing tech literacy through education, community engagement, corporate initiatives, and government support, we can empower individuals with the skills they need to navigate the digital world effectively and shape a brighter future for all. Tech literacy is not just about using devices; it's about equipping individuals with the knowledge and confidence to be active participants in an increasingly interconnected and digitized world.

This is one of the pivotal reasons why Azubi Africa, a digital skills training firm based in Ghana, seeks to upscale Africas untapped talents in some of the in-demand technologies in partnership with leading tech organizations such as Microsoft and Amazon to meet the growing tech demands. Having trained about 5,000 individuals in the past 4 years, they envisioned creating tech-related jobs for 10,000 trainees before the end of 2025. Their programs are well crafted to meet the needs of the marginalized including women, refugees, and persons with disabilities across Africa.

Indeed, digital literacy is the way to go and must be acknowledged in the literacy awareness conversation on a day like this.

Author, Collins Yao Losu:

Disability consultant and inclusion manager

Azubi Africa
Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), has reacted to the approval of a 3.9 million dollar tax waiver for a hotel building under governments one-district one factory initiative.

Mr. Braimah expressed shock over Parliament can approve such a waiver and later come out to admit errors.

In a tweet on Thursday, September 7, Sulemana Braimah said: "I am still really baffled that the Parliament of Ghana approved a tax waiver of $3.9million for a hotel project, based on a Finance Committee report, that the Chairman of the Committee, has now admitted, was full of errors. Is that how our Parliament is doing business?"

The controversial tax waiver was granted in December 2022 to 4-Mac Limited for the construction of a 160-room, four-star Le Meridien hotel under the government's One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative.

The $3.9 million waiver was meant to cover import duties and taxes for the company.

However, the Chairman of Parliament's Finance Committee, Kwaku Kwarteng, has since admitted mistakes were made in the committee's report that recommended the waiver.

In an interview on Joy FM, Kwarteng explained: "As a Chairman, I am embarrassed by this. In the report, we reference 1D1F. That is what is misleading some people, and it is coming from the fact that you know, the way our clerks prepare the report especially when the workload is big is not to start every reports preparation of a report from scratch.

They take a similar report and then they change the information that is related to the old report with information from the new referral. So, when the workload is big, sometimes you miss some of these references and then they remain in the report, he added.

The lawmakers admission of error comes after an investigation by The Fourth Estate revealed how the tax waiver was granted to the hotel project under the 1D1F program, sparking controversy.
Ghanaian broadcaster Afia Pokua, known widely as Vim Lady has reacted to the withdrawal of former Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen from the NPP flagbearer race.

Mr. Kyerematen withdrew from the NPP race this week, citing alleged intimidation and favoritism in the party's recent special delegates conference held on August 26.

He claimed the party makeup seemed to favor a particular candidate, based on the August 26th poll results.

In a recent radio broadcast on Accra-based Okay FM, Vim Lady suggested that Mr. Kyerematen join the opposition NDC party and become John Mahama's running mate for 2024 elections as revenge against NPP.

Vim Lady noted that Mr. Kyerematen has "nothing to lose" and could decide to "pay the party back in their own coin."

She stated, "He is a wounded lion. He could partner with John Mahama and become his running mate just to spite the party, just for diabolic reasons."

"Do you know when Alans mother-in-law recently died, a lot of NPP members didnt attend the funeral? Mahama was there. Throughout the funeral, John Mahama was there," Vim Lady said.

She claimed their personas "click" and that an Mahama-Alan partnership could help the NDC increase its Ashanti region base, where Kyerematen is popular.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has received support from other opposition political parties to drag the Electoral Commission (EC) to the Supreme Court.

The political parties which include CPP, APC, LPG & GCPP argue that it is unlawful and unreasonable for the EC to conduct a registration exercise that is limited only to its district offices.

The political parties led by the NDC are of the view that ECs decision to restrict the centers of voter registration to their district offices has the potential to deprive many eligible voters of their right to be registered as voters and to vote in public elections.

The parties have duly filed an Application for Interlocutory Injunction to restrain the EC from proceeding with the announced limited voter registration exercise pending the final determination of the substantive matter, the Communication Officer for NDC, Sammy Gyamfi said in a statement after the court action was taken on Thursday.

Parts of the statement also said, This is only the first of a series of actions that the parties intend to take to compel the EC to conduct the impending limited voter registration exercise at the electoral area level to give all eligible voters access to the process in line with the letter and spirit of Article 42 of the 1992 Constitution, Regulation 2(1)(2) of C.I 91 and the ECs own time-tested practices.

The court action follows the call by former President John Dramani Mahama for the EC to expand the limited voter registration exercise and decentralise it to all electoral areas.

Speaking in a Facebook Live session on Wednesday, the flagbearer of the NDC said, "Every Ghanaian deserves a chance to exercise his democratic right. I strongly urge the Electoral Commission to facilitate the registration exercise in all its electoral areas to allow for easy access and reduce the burden on the citizenry in their quest to register.
The new dates will kick off on Feb. 28

Slaven Vlasic/Getty; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Fall Out Boy fans are going to be thnking them fr th mmrs after this world tour.

On Thursday, the band announced they would be extending their So Much for (Tour) Dust tour with a 20+ date run across the United States next year  and Jimmy Eat World will join them at every show! They're calling this iteration So Much for (2our) Dust.

The new dates will kick off on Feb. 28 in Portland, Oregon, and will conclude on April 6 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

More special guests expected on select nights are The Maine, Hot Mulligan, Daisy Grenade, Games We Play and CARR.

Related: Billy Joel Reveals What He Thinks About Fall Out Boy's Cover of 'We Didn't Start the Fire'

Pre-sale will start on Sept. 13 at 9:30 a.m. local time. General tickets will be available beginning Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. local time.

All tour dates can be found here: https://falloutboy.com/tour.

The North American leg of So Much for (Tour) Dust  which included the use of a Magic 8 Ball to surprise fans with a performance of a Fall Out Boy song they had never played live before  wrapped on Aug. 6. Now, they're touring across Europe.



Kevin Winter/Getty

The tour is in support of the band's most recent studio album So Much (For) Stardust, which debuted as the No. 1 rock album after its March 24 release.



In May, Joe Trohman, the band's lead guitarist and co-founder announced he was re-joining co-members Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz and Andy Hurley ahead of the tour after stepping away for a few months to focus on his mental health.

Related: Joe Trohman Says He's 'Officially Back' in Fall Out Boy  and Will Tour!  After Mental Health Leave

"Hey everyone, I'm officially back! I want to thank everyone for the love and support while I took some time away to focus on my brain and get healthy for my family, my friends and myself," wrote Trohman on Instagram alongside a photo of himself playing guitar.

Story continues

During his time away from Fall Out Boy, guitar tech Ben Young played in his place for several performances. "I also want to thank Ben Young for stepping up and filling in on the shows I missed," added Trohman. "He is a true gentleman and a scholar."

He continued, "I'm stoked to be back in action and I can't wait to see everyone on tour this summer!"

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.
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.






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.
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.
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Adrija Chatterjee is an Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol. She has been tracking and reporting on finance and trade ministries for over eight years.
The market continued its higher highs formation as well as upward journey for the fifth consecutive session on the Nifty on September 7, as the bulls stayed strong at Dalal Street, which are likely to take the Nifty50 towards 19,800-19,900 levels in coming sessions, provided the index holds 19,650. The 19,700-19,500 is expected to be support zone, experts said.

The BSE Sensex jumped 385 points to 66,266, while the Nifty50 rose 116 points to 19,727 and formed long bullish candlestick pattern on the daily charts, with firmly maintaining above falling resistance trendline.

"The bulls were able to push Nifty higher following a rangebound trading period in the preceding few days. The sentiment remains positive as long as the index sustains above 19,550," said Rupak De, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities.

On the higher end, he feels gains may extend to the range of 19,900 to 20,000 in the near term, provided that bullishness in the market continues to increase.

The positive trend remained in broader markets for nine days in a row, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices rising 0.8 percent and half a percent, respectively.

We have collated 15 data points to help you spot profitable trades:

Note: The open interest (OI) and volume data of stocks are the aggregates of three-month data and not just the current month.

Key support and resistance levels on Nifty

The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty may be taking support at 19,600, followed by 19,556 and 19,484. On the flip side, 19,743 can act as the key resistance followed by 19,787 and 19,858.

Nifty Bank

On September 7, the Bank Nifty showed strong performance among key sectors, rising 469 points or 1 percent to 44,878 and formed long bullish candlestick pattern on the daily timeframe by taking strong support at falling resistance trendline.

"The index has broken out of a three-day consolidation on the upside which indicates that it has started the next leg of up-move. Daily and hourly momentum indicators are in sync with the price action which should provide speed to the present up-move," Jatin Gedia, technical research analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas said.

On the upside, he feels 45,000 is the psychological hurdle and above that 45,200 shall be the next possible hurdle. Overall, the trend is positive, and any intraday dips should be bought into, he said.

As per the pivot point calculator, the Bank Nifty is expected to take support at 44,492, followed by 44,357 and 44,137. On the upside, the initial resistance is at 44,931, then 45,067 and 45,286.

Call options data

As per the options data, the maximum weekly Call open interest (OI) stood at 19,800 strike, with 1.38 crore contracts, which can act as a key resistance for the Nifty. It was followed by 20,000 strike, which had 99.37 lakh contracts, while 19,700 strike had 90.95 lakh contracts.

The maximum Call writing was seen at 19,800 strike, which added 49.04 lakh contracts, followed by 19,900 and 20,000 strikes, which added 35.48 lakh and 17.02 lakh contracts.

The maximum Call unwinding was at 19,600 strike, which shed 62.23 lakh contracts, followed by 19,700 strike and 19,500 strike, which shed 34.66 lakh contracts, and 31.18 lakh contracts.

Put option data

On the Put side, the maximum open interest was at 19,700 strike, with 2.16 crore contracts. This can be an important support for Nifty in the coming sessions.

It was followed by 19,600 strike, comprising 1.6 crore contracts, and 19,400 strike with 1.36 crore contracts.

The maximum Put writing was at 19,700 strike, which added 2.06 crore contracts, followed by 19,600 strike and 19,100 strike, which added 76.18 lakh and 10.04 lakh contracts.

Meaningful Put unwinding was at 19,200 strike, which shed 22.48 lakh contracts followed by 18,800 and 19,500 strikes, which shed 17.79 lakh and 14.01 lakh contracts.

Stocks with high delivery percentage

A high delivery percentage suggests that investors are showing interest in the stock. Alkem Laboratories, Balkrishna Industries, SRF, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, and Colgate Palmolive were among the stocks with the highest delivery.

64 stocks see a long build-up

The long build-up was seen in 64 stocks including Larsen & Toubro, Granules India, NTPC, Bata India, and Syngene International. An increase in open interest (OI) and price indicates a build-up of long positions.

29 stocks see long unwinding

Based on the OI percentage, 29 stocks, including Zydus Life Sciences, Can Fin Homes, Delta Corp, Shriram Finance, and InterGlobe Aviation saw long unwinding. A decline in OI and price indicates long unwinding.

40 stocks see a short build-up

A short build-up was seen in 40 stocks, including Birlasoft, Ramco Cements, Britannia Industries, Container Corporation of India, and United Spirits. An increase in OI along with a fall in price points to a build-up of short positions.

53 stocks see short-covering

Based on the OI percentage, 53 stocks were on the short-covering list. These included ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company, Dixon Technologies, State Bank of India, Apollo Tyres, and Atul. A decrease in OI along with a price increase is an indication of short-covering.

Bulk deals

(For more bulk deals, click here)

Investors meeting on September 8

ITC: Company's senior officials will attend Jefferies 4th Annual Asia Forum.

Stocks in the news

Bajaj Finserv: Subsidiary Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company announced the gross direct premium underwritten for August at Rs 1,677.87 crore, and the premium in the current financial year up to August at Rs 9,228.81 crore. Subsidiary Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company's total premium for August stood at Rs 926.41 crore and premium in the current financial year (FY24) up to August at Rs 3,828.06 crore.

Sterlite Technologies: The optical and digital solutions company has partnered with TruVista, the broadband services and applications provider, to drive the growth and enhancement of South Carolina's rural connectivity infrastructure. TruVista, headquartered in South Carolina, is expanding fiber optic connectivity across rural South Carolina.

Campus Activewear: Piyush Singh has resigned as Chief Operating Officer of the footwear company with effect from December 2, 2023, due to personal reasons.

Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders: The state-owned shipbuilding company has signed Master Ship Repair Agreement (MSRA) with the US Government represented by NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center (FLC) Yokosuka. This is a non-financial agreement. There are only two shipyards in the country including Mazagon Dock which has signed MSRA. The agreement is expected to open-up voyage repairs of US Navy Ships at Mazagon Dock.

Landmark Cars: The premium automotive retailer has signed letter of intent (LoI) with Mahindra & Mahindra for opening dealership in Howrah, West Bengal. This dealership will be established in one of the wholly-owned subsidiary of Landmark Cars, namely Landmark Mobility. This business will include sales and after sales of Mahindras Personal, Pickup and Supro range of vehicles.

JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals: Lakshay Kataria has resigned as Chief Financial Officer of the company with effect from November 30, due to personal reasons.

Fund Flow (Rs Crore)

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 758.55 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) bought Rs 28.11 crore worth of stocks on September 7, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.

Stocks under F&O ban on NSE

The NSE has added Punjab National Bank to its F&O ban list for September 8, while retaining Balrampur Chini Mills, BHEL, Delta Corp, Hindustan Copper, Indiabulls Housing Finance, India Cements, Manappuram Finance, and SAIL on the list. Securities banned under the F&O segment include companies where derivative contracts have crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Kayezad E Adajania heads the personal finance bureau at Moneycontrol. He has been covering mutual funds and personal finance for the past two decades, having worked in Mint and Outlook Money magazine. Kayezad was the founding member of Mints personal finance team when it was set up in 2009.
Two Madison women are among 61 people facing racketeering charges following a long-running Georgia investigation into protests against an Atlanta-area proposed police and firefighter training facility that critics call Cop City.

Grace T. Martin, 23, and Kayley C. Meissner, 20, are accused of violating Georgias RICO law, for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations.

Also listed in the announcement of charges as being among the 61 are Tyler J. Norman, 39, of Blue Mounds, and Arieon T. Robinson, 22, of Milwaukee.

The Stop Cop City effort has gone on for more than two years and at times veered into vandalism and violence. Opponents fear the training center will lead to greater militarization of the police, and that its construction in an urban forest will exacerbate environmental damage in a poor, majority Black area.

In the sweeping indictment released Tuesday, Republican Attorney General Chris Carr alleged the defendants are militant anarchists who supported a violent movement that prosecutors trace to the widespread racial justice protests of 2020.

Most of those indicted have already been charged over their alleged involvement in the movement. RICO charges carry a heavy potential sentence that can be added on top of the penalty for the underlying acts.

Martin and Meissner allegedly participated in a March 5 attack on the future site of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center and were arrested in March on domestic terrorism charges.

The 61 defendants together have conspired to prevent the construction of the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center by conducting, coordinating and organizing acts of violence, intimidation and property destruction, Carr said during a news conference Tuesday.

In linking the defendants to the alleged conspiracy, prosecutors have made an extensive series of allegations. Those include everything from possessing fire accelerant and throwing Molotov cocktails at police officers, to being reimbursed for glue and food for activists who spent months camping in the woods near the construction site.

Activists leading an ongoing referendum effort against the project immediately condemned the charges, calling them anti-democratic.

Chris Carr may try to use his prosecutors and power to build his gubernatorial campaign and silence free speech, but his threats will not silence our commitment to standing up for our future, our community, and our city, the Cop City Vote coalition said in a statement.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, meanwhile, praised the indictment, saying in a statement, My top priority is and always will be keeping Georgians safe, especially against out-of-state radicals that threaten the safety of our citizens and law enforcement.

Fatal shooting

Protests against the training center escalated after the fatal shooting in January of 26-year-old protester Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, known as Tortuguita. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has said state troopers fired in self-defense after Paez Teran shot at them while they cleared protesters from a wooded area near the proposed facility site. But the troopers involved werent wearing body cameras, and activists have questioned the official narrative.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and others say the 85-acre, $90 million facility would replace inadequate training facilities, and would help address difficulties in hiring and retaining police officers.

Prosecutors trace the roots of the Stop Cop City movement to May 25, 2020, the date George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, even though the resulting protests occurred months before officials announced plans for the training center. Long after the racial justice protests died down, violent anti-police sentiment persisted among some Atlantans and it remains one of the demonstrators core driving motives, according to the indictment.

Unrest unfolds

Since 2021, numerous instances of violence and vandalism have been linked to the movement.

Days after the killing of Paez Teran, a police car was set afire at a January protest in downtown Atlanta. In March, more than 150 masked protesters chased off police at the construction site and torched construction equipment before fleeing and blending in with a crowd at a nearby music festival. Those two instances have led to dozens of people being charged with domestic terrorism, although prosecutors previously admitted theyve had difficulty proving that many of those arrested were in fact those who took part in the violence.

Among those charged with domestic terrorism in March near the music festival and indicted last week is Thomas Jurgens, a Southern Poverty Law Center staff attorney. Jurgens lawyer has said his client wore a bright green hat  a well-known identifier used by legal observers  and his arrest alarmed many human rights organizations.

The law center called it an example of heavy-handed law enforcement intervention against protesters. DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston, a Democrat, mentioned her concerns about Jurgens prosecution in announcing her June decision to withdraw from criminal cases connected to the movement, citing disagreements with Carr over how to handle the matters.

In addition to the 61 racketeering indictments, five of the defendants were also indicted on domestic terrorism and first-degree arson charges. Three previously charged leaders of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which has provided bail money and helped find attorneys for arrested protesters, were also each indicted on 15 counts of money laundering.

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's the police responding to a 911 call It's a bird. It's a plane. It's the police responding to a 911 call
Namita S Kalla is a senior journalist who writes about different aspects of modern life that include lifestyle, health, fashion, beauty, and entertainment.
Christin Mathew Philip is an Assistant editor at moneycontrol.com. Based in Bengaluru, he writes on mobility, infrastructure and start-ups. He is a Ramnath Goenka excellence in journalism awardee. You can find him on Twitter here: twitter.com/ChristinMP_
Ill always love Jesus, but I truly hate the church.

One of my dear friends said this on a particularly hard day during her divorce. Her statement was not without precedent. When my friend went to her church leaders to describe the physical, emotional, and mental abuse she experienced at the hands of her husbandwho was an elder at the churchshe left feeling shamed and shunned. Her husband was never confronted. Rather than tending to her pain, these church leaders compounded it. They left her feeling like the church was no longer a place she could trust.

My friend was finished.

The Mass Exodus

A 2017 Barna Group study concluded that shes not the only one. Ten percent of respondents self-identified as Christians whose faith mattered a great deal to them, and they also considered themselves dechurched, which means they used to attend church but had not done so for six months or more at the time of the study.

While this research revealed that loving Jesus but taking issue with the local church was a popular sentiment among white women, Barnas Trends in the Black Church notes that three in five unchurched Black Americans consider themselves to be Christian, even while churched Black Americans remain one of the largest, most engaged demographics.

Young people, specifically members of Generation Z, are also expressing uncertainty about the church. When asked who or what they view a trustworthy source for their questions, many teens who consider themselves Christian were more likely to answer myself rather than a pastor, priest or minister or a church leader.

As these numbers continue to rise, so does a question: can someone both love God and hate the church? And, perhaps more importantly: are we even allowed to ask these kinds of questions?

Allowed to Ask

Many fear that wavering indicates some kind of spiritual deficit, and they feel unsure how to publicly, or even privately, search for answers. They struggle to believe that the local church can be a place that will address their questions with gentleness. Will church leadership be eager to feed their faith, they wonder, rather than their pain?

This doubt is warranted. Though the church itself is not inherently an agent of harm, when Christian institutions are made up of systems lacking in accountability or responsibility, the church can and does become an unsafe place. Churches dont hurt peoplebut they can make it too easy for people to hurt people.

The approximately 16 million women who have left the church in the past decade express a variety of reasons for their departures, ranging from sexism and misogyny to lack of time and competing interests. Gen Z teens say that they want conversation partners who are open to talking about difficult topics related to faith. And many Black Americans speak to the importance of church as a place that offers spiritual comfort, fellowship, and sermons that address topics like racism or immigration.

While the reasons vary, most people who left share a sense that the church cannot meet them where they are.

But what if it could?

Finding a Way Forward

How do I heal wounds inflicted by the church?

How should my faith inform my politics?

How do I worship beside those who hurt me?

The Jude 3 Project is working to answer questions like these. Motivated by a mission to help Christians know what they believe and why, Jude 3 Project offers courses, podcasts, events, and resources that address current issues that Christiansspecifically those of African descentface in the world today. This week, their Courageous Conversations gathering brings together Black pastors, theologians, and experts to begin honest, inspiring dialogue around some of these questions.

Whether doubts come from wary Gen Zers or brokenhearted abuse survivors, the Jude 3 Project is helping people find the faith to give the church another chance. The answers may not be easy to understand, but they are rooted in the goodness of a God who loves to bring about joy and comfort. Learn more about engaging the questions, needs, and concerns of Christians and non-Christians alike with the library of resources from the Jude 3 Project.

Nicole Massie Martin, MDiv, DMin, is the chief impact officer for Christianity Today, an adjunct professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and the author of Made to Lead: Empowering Women for Ministry.
Parul Chandra is a Delhi-based journalist. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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Leo Lewis Back in the day, US food diplomacy was easy. Arnold Schwarzenegger (as it might be) would turn up in Tokyo, pose in a supermarket with grapes and bell peppers and order Japan to eat more American produce. Last week, as China banned Japanese seafood imports and dialled-up the anti-Japanese rhetoric on the release of treated radioactive water into the sea, the US ambassador, Rahm Emanuel, travelled 300km north to Fukushima. He prominently ate local fish, shopped for local peaches...

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The world of marketing gets more and more complex every day. In some ways, thats a good thing. It means that your ability to use marketing to promote and improve your business gets better, more customizable and more efficient. In other ways, it presents a challenge  because everybody elses marketing strategies are becoming more advanced, too.

Using data analytics is the best way to get a clear picture when it comes to advertising. This article will talk about how this works.

What are marketing analytics?

You are probably familiar with your businesss KPIs and other statistics by which you measure your success. You may also be familiar with data analytics that your company uses internally to gauge everything from employee performance to your development processes. Marketing analytics can provide similar value for your marketing campaigns.

Marketing analytics measure everything from how an individual social media post is performing to how many clicks on a link are converted into tangible business, says Brianna Bitton, Co-Founder of O Positiv. Businesses that arent digging deep into their marketing analytics are leaving money on the table.

Getting to know what data analytics tools are available to you in terms of marketing is all-important when it comes to improving your marketing strategy and promoting your brand. A data-driven strategy is always crucial for success.

Use marketing analytics to personalize your strategy

Using data analytics to drive your marketing strategy means you can customize consumer experiences. You can observe trends in your customers behavior using data and harness it to send messages that speak to your audience.

A marketing strategy that speaks to everyone may lead to purchases with some customers, explains Morgan Rogers, Director of Marketing at Luna Grill. Meanwhile, a strategy that speaks to each individual user personally will create brand loyalty and build an ongoing relationship with customers.

Thats what marketing is when it comes down to it  a conversation between you and your customers. If you arent including your customers in that conversation or arent listening to what theyre trying to tell you through data analytics, your customers may not feel seen and heard by your brand.

Analyze behavior trends to improve completion rates

In addition to being able to customize your marketing messages to individual users to create a more personal relationship, you can also use data analytics to observe behavior trends from potential customers.

Knowing how users behave in the digital age is the key to unlocking a truly successful branding strategy, advises Max Schwartzapfel, CMO and Schwartzapfel Lawyers Fighting For You lawyer. For instance, if a company knows what behavior precedes a customer logging off without finishing a transaction, they can find ways to circumvent it.

Data analytics allows you to find the places where customers fall off before committing to your brand and gives you the tools you need to build a stronger bridge between where your audience is and where you would like them to be.

Stay competitive with other businesses

Even if you dont embrace the idea that the future of marketing lies in data analytics, other companies will. To keep your company evolving and relevant, staying ahead of new technology is key.

The end has come for making marketing decisions based on gut instincts; everything marketers do in the digital world can now be tracked, from the first click all the way to the deal close. CMOs who do not embrace and accept this concept will likely not be CMOs for very long, says Kurt Anderson from SAVO.

If you dont make use of all of the data analytics available to improve your marketing strategy and evolve your brand, youre bound to fall behind the curve rather than staying smartly ahead of it.

Design an intelligent SEO strategy

Theres no question about it: SEO is king when it comes to designing a digital marketing strategy with impact. However, you must use data analytics to fully understand how to optimize your content for search engine rankings.

Data analytics can help reveal which websites drive traffic to your own site or which blog posts and links are getting attention when people search for keywords related to your business or product, shares Gina Iovenitti, Growth Operations at Carda Health.

Without data analytics to help inform your SEO strategy, you wont be able to get a clear picture of which strategies are working and which are better phased out as you evolve your plan.

Improve your companys resource allocation

When you think of resource allocation, depending on your business, you might immediately think of tangible, physical items. Your most valuable resources, however, are more abstract and rely heavily on data analytics to be used to their fullest.

Time and money are your scarcest resources. You want to make sure youre allocating them in the highest-impact areas. Data reveals impact, and with data, you can bring more science to your decisions, says Matt Trifiro at VAPOR IO.

By letting data analytics inform your marketing strategy, you can move forward with your branding plans, confident that your strategy is backed by sound logic and real-world application rather than by instinct or whim.

Monitor the performance of your strategy

One of the most obvious yet most important ways in which you can make use of data analytics to boost your marketing strategy is by monitoring the performance of your content. When you share something as part of your market strategy, be sure to see how many people viewed it, how many people engaged with it and how people are responding to it altogether.

No social media image, blog post or press piece should go unrecorded and unanalyzed, points out Andrew Mavis, CEO of 98Strong. Theres a wealth of data in terms of how users receive and engage with all types of content, and if you arent tapping into it, youre missing out on a more comprehensive understanding of your market.

Once you have a clear idea of what types of content get what types of engagement, you can start boosting your marketing strategy by creating content that translates into the exact action items you want to achieve.

Predict market changes before they happen

Predicting any kind of market can be a huge risk. The exception is when youre using comprehensive, objective data to analyze trends and patterns, which can help you forecast changes in your markets needs or preferences before they materialize.

Predictive analytics are the secret weapon when it comes to marketing strategies that feel fresh, says Jeremy Stanton, President and CEO of Haven House Addiction Treatment, one of the most notable detox centers in Los Angeles. A company should market themselves as being ahead of the trends, and data is the only way to accomplish that.

Using data analytics to help forecast changes you might need to make to your product range or menu of services can help you design marketing strategies that feel to customers like theyre foreseeing their needs. This can motivate greater brand loyalty.

Create superior content that stands out

By analyzing data analytics around not just your companys marketing but successful campaigns carried out by other businesses in your market, you can pinpoint the aspects of each piece of marketing that worked. Then, you can use these high points in your own strategy.

Theres no reason for every company to reinvent the wheel with each marketing campaign. The wheel already exists, shares Cody Candee, Founder and CEO of Bounce. We just need smart marketing that learns from whats come before.

Data analytics are like tapping into free insight gathered for you by other companies experiences. Use and analyze data to create superior content that breaks through the noise.

Use trends to improve your reach

When it comes to social media marketing, certain things make an impression and go viral. While the goal is to create your own viral content, occasionally using a trend to boost your reach can be helpful.

Data analytics can help reveal what TikTok trends or Instagram story formats are breaking through, explains Owen Martinetti, Co-Founder of Snoozy.

Find the trends that are breaking through and speaking to your specific audience, and youve found an effective opportunity to appeal to a wide base with little effort or investment.

Build stronger customer profiles

Data analytics can help improve your market strategy because they offer a simple way to build stronger, clearer customer profiles.

The better a company knows their customers, the better equipped they are to appeal to them, advises Christian Kjaer, CEO of ElleVet Sciences.

With data analytics, you can observe the common life cycle of your customers and target areas that you could convert to better customer retention and loyalty.

Find brand ambassadors with impact

Brand ambassadors can be a gamble. Its hard to predict what content will perform well without data analytics and what will come across as genuine.

Data can reveal loyal, lifelong customers of a company who should be contacted to help review and promote the brand sincerely, points out Kelsey Bishop, CEO and Founder of Candor. It can also guide a business to effective brand ambassadors on social media.

Data analytics take the guesswork out of marketing strategies that involve potentially unpredictable factors like outside ambassadors. It makes boosting your marketing strategy in unconventional ways more predictable, quantifiable and effective.

Data analytics are the future of marketing

In an incredibly competitive market, staying on top of your marketing strategy means that you need to have a better understanding of how your marketing strategy is performing  as well as of all the aspects you need to consider as you develop your strategy. Data analytics is the key to boosting your new marketing strategy to reach as many people as possible.

Lee Enterprises newsroom and editorial were not involved in the creation of this content.
Every year, around the beginning of fall, Knights of Columbus volunteers in yellow vests with what appear to be comically-oversized Tootsie Rolls take to Nebraska's community businesses for their annual Tootsie Roll drive.

The effort, Drive Chair Tom Bayer said, contributes directly to the causes the Knights of Columbus support in their effort to aid the intellectually disabled, such as the Arc of Colfax County.

"The Knights of Columbus want to help the intellectually disabled and that's a big deal," Bayer said.

Last year's drive went over extremely well, Bayer added, netting their highest total yet, around $6,500. During the drive, from Sept. 15-17, the knights of Columbus will have representatives in businesses around their community with the Tootsie Roll cans, exchanging the candies for donations. That's not the only way people can contribute, though.

"They can always contribute to the Colfax County Arc if they want to," Bayer said. "If any business would like to contribute, they can contribute to the fund too."

As evidenced by last year's record number of funds raised, the community has been a big support of the effort for the almost 30 years the knights have done it.

"Locally, since 1994, we've collected over $75,000 and half of that comes back to the Colfax County Arc. They help the intellectually disabled with some appliances they may need and scholarships for teachers," Bayer said.

Drive Co-Chair Tom Heavican said it extends beyond involvement among businesses. He joined the effort through his church, Divine Mercy Parish.

"It's fundraising and (I got involved) with donations through my church, being involved with the church," Heavican said.

On Aug. 31, Mayor Art Lindberg signed a proclamation marking Sept. 15-17 as the official days of the Tootsie Roll drive, as is tradition. The cause, Lindberg said, is important not just to the group but to all of Schuyler, particularly kids.

"I endorse it because it's a good cause for our children and a good cause for our community. When people see those yellow vests, they just know it's a Tootsie Roll drive," Lindberg said.

Contributing to the cause, Lindberg said, and knowing what the knights have done for others from the funds raised locally, is something to be proud of.

"It kind of sparks a little pride in yourself and in your community that they give to a good cause. That's why I love this time of year, when I start seeing that come around. You know you're donating to a good cause," Lindberg said.

The drive will last from Sept. 15-17 and knights will be stationed at: Didier's Grocery, Casey's and Parkview One-Stop. Cans will be placed at the three banks in town, Burrito House and JB Auto.
Dow partners with Qifan Cable to drive offshore wind power development

Supporting the global energy transition to less carbon-intensive systems

Shanghai, China  September 4, 2023  Dow (NYSE: DOW), a global materials science company, and Shanghai Qifan Cable Co., Ltd. (Qifan Cable) have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Wire China 2023. In the coming years, the two parties intend to jointly engage in developing innovative solutions for submarine cables, to support development of offshore wind power that will accelerate the global energy transition to renewable sources.

Under this cooperation, Dow would deliver ENDURANCE compounds used in the insulation of Qifan Cables HVAC and HVDC submarine cables. Produced under superior cleanliness standards, ENDURANCE HFDD-4201SC enables high performance and longevity of the HVAC submarine cable for greater reliability. Moreover, it provides good degassing time and scorch resistance that results in production efficiency and shorter manufacturing cycles. For HVDC systems, ENDURANCE HFDB-4401UDC enables long-run performance and increased operating temperatures of up to 90C.

According to the International Energy Agencys Electricity Market Report 2023, renewables share of the power generation mix worldwide is set to rise from 29% to 35% by 2025, and offshore wind power is expected to grow rapidly as a predominant source of power generation that will support the global transition to less carbon-intensive and more sustainable energy systems.

In response to the global energy transition, Dow has introduced a series of high-performance solutions that support emerging needs in sustainable energy sources such as offshore wind power, said Bambang Candra, Asia Pacific Commercial Vice President of Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics, This partnership with Qifan Cable represents the full recognition of Dow's submarine cable products, and at the same time, it also helps us advance our manufacturing operations. We continue to improve our product innovation to suit varying application needs while expanding cooperation with industry partners, to support the realization of global decarbonization goals.

Mr. Zhou Guihua, Chairman of Qifan Cable said, "In the field of submarine cable materials, Dow has industry-leading innovation capabilities and cutting-edge product technologies. Through our solid alliance with Dow, it will further strengthen our competitive advantage in the submarine cable market and promote closer cooperation in the value chain. We are delighted to drive the development of offshore wind power with Dow."

Through expertise in materials science, Dow works closely with partners like Qifan Cable to optimize efficiency in operations and accelerate renewable energy growth, enabling a lower-carbon economy that is essential in addressing climate change and achieving a sustainable future.

About Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics

Packaging and Specialty Plastics (P&SP), a business unit of Dow (NYSE: DOW), combines core strengths of R&D, worldwide reach, broad product lines and industry expertise to deliver high-performing technologies for end-use markets in food packaging, personal hygiene, infrastructure, consumer goods and transportation. P&SP is one of the worlds largest producers of polyethylene resins, functional polymers, and adhesives, and enabled by Pack Studios, is a leading innovator and collaborator across the value chain on sustainable application development and circular economy life-cycle design for plastics. www.dowpackaging.com

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth; asset integration and scale; focused innovation and materials science expertise; leading business positions; and environmental, social and governance leadership to achieve profitable growth and help deliver a sustainable future. The Company's ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world. Dow's portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated, science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Dow operates manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 37,800 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $57 billion in 2022. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.

About Shanghai Qifan Cable

Established in 1994, Shanghai Qifan Cable Co., Ltd. (Stock code 605222) now has 4 large-scale production bases in Shanghai Jinshan, Anhui Chizhou, Hubei Yichang and Shanghai Minhang. In 2022, it ranked among the top 10 competitiveness enterprises in the wire and cable industry of China, the top 100 Shanghai enterprises, the top 500 national manufacturing companies. Its products cover four categories: 500kV and below AC/DC land and submarine power cables, wire and cables for electrical equipment, communication cables and bare wires. The annual production capacity can be more than 30 billion yuan. For more information, please visit www.qifancable.com/en/.

For further information, please contact:

Linger Zhou

Email: linger.zhou@dow.com

Elizabeth Deng

Email: DowAP@golin.com


TIJUANA, Mexico  As the U.S. government built its latest stretch of border wall, Mexico made a statement of its own by laying remains of the Berlin Wall a few steps away.

The 3-ton pockmarked, gray concrete slab sits between a bullring, a lighthouse and the border wall, which extends into the Pacific Ocean.

May this be a lesson to build a society that knocks down walls and builds bridges, reads the inscription below the towering Cold War relic, attributed to Tijuana Mayor Montserrat Caballero and titled, A World Without Walls.

For Caballero, like many of Tijuana's 2 million residents, the U.S. wall is personal and political, a part of the city's fabric and a fact of life. She considers herself a migrant, having moved from the southern Mexico city of Oaxaca when she was 2 with her mother, who fled "the vicious cycle of poverty, physical abuse and illiteracy.

The installation opened Aug. 13 at a ceremony with Caballero and Marcelo Ebrard, Mexicos former foreign secretary who is now a leading presidential candidate.

Caballero, 41, is married to an Iranian man who became a U.S. citizen and lives in the United States. She and their 9-year-old son used to cross the border between Tijuana and San Diego.

Since June, Caballero has lived in a military barracks in Tijuana, saying she acted on credible threats against her brought to her attention by U.S. intelligence officials and a recommendation by Mexico's federal government. Weeks earlier, her bodyguard survived an assassination attempt.

Caballero said that she doesn't know who wants to kill her but suspects payback for having seized arms from violent criminals who plague her city. "Someone is probably upset with me, she said in her spacious City Hall office.

Shards of the Berlin Wall scattered worldwide after it crumbled in 1989, with collectors putting them in hotels, schools, transit stations and parks. Marcos Cline, who makes commercials and other digital productions in Los Angeles, needed a home for his artifact and found an ally in Tijuana's mayor.

Why in Tijuana?" Caballero said. How many families have shed blood, labor and their lives to get past the wall? The social and political conflict is different than the Berlin Wall, but it's a wall at the end of the day. And a wall is always a sphinx that divides and bloodies nations.

President Joe Biden issued an executive order his first day in office to halt wall construction, ending a signature effort by his predecessor, Donald Trump. But his administration has moved ahead with small, already-contracted projects, including replacing a two-layered wall in San Diego standing 18 feet high with one rising 30 feet and stretching 0.6 mile to the ocean.

The wall slices through Friendship Park, a cross-border site inaugurated by then-U.S. first lady Pat Nixon in 1971 to symbolize binational ties. For decades, families separated by immigration status met through barbed wire and, later, a chain-link fence. It is a cherished, festive destination for tourists and residents in Mexico.

At an arts festival in 2005, David The Human Cannonball Smith Jr. flashed his passport in Tijuana as he lowered himself into a barrel and was shot over the wall, landing on a net on the beach with U.S. border agents nearby. In 2019, artist Lizbeth De La Cruz Santana covered the Tijuana side of the wall with paintings of adults who moved to the U.S. illegally as young children and were deported. Visitors who held up their phones to bar codes were taken to a website that voiced their first-person narratives.

Cline said he was turned away at the White House when he tried delivering the Berlin Wall relic to Trump and then trucked it across the country to find a suitable home. He said the piece has found its second life at the Tijuana park alongside the colorful paintings on the border wall that express views on politics and immigration.

The U.S. government has gradually restricted park access from San Diego over the last 15 years in a state park that once allowed cross-border yoga classes, religious services and music festivals. After lengthy consideration, the Biden administration agreed to keep the wall at 18 feet for a small section where some access will be allowed.

Dan Watman of Friends of Friendship Park, which advocates for cross-border park access, said the 60-foot section that will remain at the lower height is only a token gesture. The park on the Mexican side has become sort of a one-sided party, he said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that it anticipates replacing the deteriorated two-layer barrier by November and that the higher one under construction will provide much needed improvements."

The Berlin Wall installation has gotten rave reviews from visitors.

Sandra Flores, 55, who vacationed from the Mexican port city of Mazatlan, drew parallels between the Berlin slab and the U.S.-built wall.

It's a little less severe here than it was in Germany but it's a wall that divides nations, lives, social and economic lives and everything related to the United States, she said.

Lydia Vanasse, who works in the financial sector in San Diego and lives in Tijuana, said the relic took her back to her 20s when the Soviet empire fell and Germans were suddenly allowed to move freely.

San Diego and Tijuana are sister cities," she said. The wall separates us, but we are united in many ways. It would be better if there wasn't a wall.

Photos: Migrants rush across US border in final hours before pandemic rule expires
Four decades have passed since Michigan Tech had this many Huskies heading to class. The numbers tell the story: Demand for a degree from the state's flagship technological university has never been stronger.

Michigan Technological University welcomed 7,320 students to campus this fall, including 1,463 incoming first-year students. The last time Tech enrolled this many students? 1983.

Overall enrollment is up 3.5% from last year, marking the third consecutive year of overall enrollment growth for the University.

Campus and community volunteers welcomed another strong class of incoming first-year Huskies to campus during Move-In Weekend.

"Our faculty and staff work hard to ensure that our graduates are prepared not only with a singular set of skills, but with the ability to reinvent themselves to remain relevant with the changing times," said University President Rick Koubek. "This year's enrollment numbers validate their efforts and reaffirm our commitment to student success."

For the first time in school history, women will make up over 30% of the student body. More than 2,200 women chose Michigan Tech this year, the highest total ever. The number not only reflects the continuation of a decade-long upward enrollment trend for women at the University, but also firmly establishes Michigan Tech as a national leader in educating women for careers in STEM fields.

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Other enrollment statistics are similarly encouraging. Including transfer students, this year's incoming first-time undergraduate student class of 1,636 students is the largest since 1991. Of MTU's incoming first-year students, 27% came from outside Michigan  the most in University history  with the largest growth coming from Illinois: an increase of 62%. The retention rate for first-year students rose 2.7 percentage points to 86.6%, a new University record. Domestic students from historically underserved communities now make up 11% of the total student body and 13% of the incoming class, tying the all-time high set in 2020. Additionally, Global Campus enrollment is up nearly 11% over last year, enrollment in the College of Business is up 21%, and graduate student enrollment as a whole is up 4.3%  making this the largest class of graduate students since 2016.

"It's no surprise that our excellent academic programs are driving unprecedented interest from our students at a rate outpacing national trends." Rick Koubek, president, Michigan Tech

Beth Fitzpatrick, Michigan Tech's director of admissions, said the energy on campus is electric, noting the average GPA of 3.83 for this year's incoming class is another University record. "Great students keep finding their way to Michigan Tech, and they consistently tell us they come here for the great education, unique student experience and the beautiful location," she said. "While many other colleges and universities are struggling to attract and retain students, we're getting increased interest from prospective Huskies across the nation, which is allowing us to enroll more academically distinguished and talented students at the measured pace of growth we've planned for."

Data Science, Nursing and a New Residence Hall

Among the new programs offered this year are a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, which Michigan Tech rehomed from Finlandia University after the school graduated its final class in the spring. Another new academic program that's getting attention is the new B.S. in Data Science in the College of Computing, where enrollment is up 14% from last year.

"The world needs professionals who are able to anticipate and respond to emerging challenges using tools and strategies like artificial intelligence, advanced modeling, algorithms, data analysis and data manipulation using statistical software," said Dennis Livesay, dean of the College of Computing. "That growing demand is why we added the new undergraduate degree, as a complement to our M.S. in Data Science. It is also a great example of the types of collaborative efforts that advance an education reflective of what today's industry needs, namely the integration of computing with business."

Michigan Tech plans to break ground on a new residence hall later this fall, which will serve as the eastern gateway to the University and the Copper Country.

As part of Tech's plan to update and expand campus facilities along with enrollment, the University began extensive renovations of existing classroom and laboratory spaces this summer. Later this fall, construction will also begin on a new residence hall that will house over 500 second-year and upper-division students. And building progress continues on the H-STEM Engineering and Health Technology Complex (H-STEM Complex), which is on schedule to open in fall 2024. Like the Great Lakes Research Center before it, and the Center for Convergence and Innovation to come, the H-STEM Complex will be a physical space for facilitating the kinds of transdisciplinary, hands-on and student-led research that are hallmarks of Michigan Tech.

"The H-STEM Complex will be a physical home and hub for health research on campus," said Caryn Heldt, director of the Health Research Institute, professor of chemical engineering, and James and Lorna Mack Endowed Chair of Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering. "It will be home to the Health Research Institute and two academic departments  biomedical engineering, kinesiology and integrative physiology  with the intent being to increase collaboration and spark new research ideas by putting people from various disciplines and departments in the same space."

How to Engineer a Great Career

Michigan is a mobility state, and today, with 21st century technologies transforming life everywhere from in our cars to outer space, Michigan Tech's expertise in unstructured environments has never been more relevant. From the permanently shaded regions of the moon to the freshwater test bed of the Keweenaw Waterway and Lake Superior, Tech students and faculty benefit from MTU's unique location, using it as a living laboratory for designing, building and testing everything from solar energy systems for snowy climates to underwater robots and autonomous jet skis for marine research.

Audra Morse, dean of the College of Engineering, said Michigan Tech is perfectly positioned to educate the next generation of problem-solvers needed to tackle the challenges of our time. Powerhouse programs like civil engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering continue to thrive, she said, as does Tech's reputation in engineering specialties like robotics and aerospace. "Employers know that we seek to deliver world-class technological education and leadership to the state of Michigan, the nation and across the globe," Morse said. "As we fulfill our mission, industry can, too. We are stronger together."

"Students and families value the hands-on, industry-relevant learning experiences we provide. When it's time to graduate, our students take the next step in their life journey with confidence, ready to make a positive impact on society and the world around them." Audra Morse, dean, Michigan Tech College of Engineering

Michigan Tech's strong reputation for graduating top-tier, highly skilled professionals able to make an impact in the workforce  and for getting graduates good jobs that pay them back  is only gaining strength. With a placement rate of 93% within six months of graduation, Tech alums find work in their field of study. Those in the Class of 2022 who earned graduate degrees reported an average starting salary of $77,000. Statistics like this are why Tech recently got ranked the 16th best public university in the nation by the Wall Street Journal  and first in Michigan for salary impact.

MTU Director of Career Services Jenna Lane said this year's fall Career Fair  happening the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 19, and sponsored by NUCOR  will host the largest number of employers in the history of fall Career Fairs at Tech. "Over 2,000 recruiters from all over the country will be coming to Houghton this month, and even more are on the waiting list hoping to get a spot," Lane said. "Dow, Stellantis, Caterpillar, General Mills, Harley-Davidson, Northern Hardwoods  these are just a handful of well over 400 companies coming to campus in September to recruit. Clearly there is great demand for Michigan Tech students."

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigans flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
Kendall Street Company is coming back to where it all began for Fridays album release party for Separation95. The bands Infamous Weekend Pre-Party, which also brings Underground Springhouse and Jack Stepanian to the Jefferson Theater, features international inspirations and some souvenirs just for local fans.

Hopefully, well play the album straight through, said Jake Vanaman, who plays saxophone and keyboards for the band. In the meantime, fans can listen to this summers singles from the new collection, including Eyes of the World and Tightrope.

Vanaman will be sharing the stage with bandmates Louis Smith on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Brian Roy on bass, Ryan Wood on drums and Ben Laderberg on lead guitar. The musicians and friends met while attending the University of Virginia.

Charlottesville is our hometown, so weve got to do something big and special, Vanaman said. After the pandemic and everything, its time for Kendall Street Company to return to the Jefferson.

Vanaman said performing at the Jefferson brings many advantages.

Its such a gorgeous place on its own, he said. It feels magical, and it feels intense.

Vanaman said the band loves to be able to move around freely on the Jeffersons stage, and the musicians are grateful for the venues crew members, who always seem to get lighting and everything else just right for optimal performance.

It feels good and looks good to be there, Vanaman said.

Vanaman said local fans will be able to pick up CDs, vinyls and merch at Fridays show.

Thatll be one of the only places you can get this stuff early, he said. For the album release, there will be things that no one has heard before.

Vanaman said that fans will recognize his presence throughout Separation95, which is set for a Sept. 22 release.

Theres a lot of Jake in this one, Vanaman said. I wrote about half the new record, and I mixed all of it. I feel like Im also hyper-aware of what the studio tracks should sound like, and the live versions.

Vanaman said that themes of human connections, including sex, shaped the album.

Its more like a celebration of humanity and the physicality that brings us together  and its a celebration of women, Vanaman said. Im proud of it.

Its about love. Its about sex. Its about rock n roll and what its like to be an individual. Its mostly very subtle on Separation95.

A 1973 French-language experimental film, La Planete Sauvage, or Fantastic Planet, directed by Rene Laloux, also provided plenty of inspiration. The animated science-fiction art film captured Vanamans imagination with both its music and visuals.

I dont know how I came across it, but I was transfixed by the soundtrack to it, he said. It had flutes in it. I watched it at least four times with Brian and Louis, and it started to ingrain itself into what became Separation95.

The color scheme of the film  off-white, speckled black, red and shades of light blue  found their way onto the Separation95 album cover in playful homage.

Its cool, because none of us set out to do that, but it became more obvious over time, Vanaman said. It shows the connectivity of different art mediums. There is definitely no lack of new direction. We like to keep it fresh. We want to keep it fun.

Kendall Street Company will have a listening party Thursday evening at Virago Spirits in Richmond, which is teaming up with the band to release a limited-edition Separation95 rum. The rum will be unveiled at Thursdays event.

The band previously partnered with Snowing in Space and threw a release party there for Space for Days. The tie-in libation with the Charlottesville-based coffee company was a cold brew.

We try to keep it as local as we can, and community focused, Vanaman said.

Fridays release show begins at 8 p.m., and doors will open at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $18 at the door, $15 in advance and $50 for a ticket four-pack thatll make it easier to bring friends along at the spur of the moment.

Learn more at jeffersontheater.com, or call (800) 594-8499 for tickets.
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.
Peter Navarro, adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump, stops to speak as he arrives for opening arguments in his trial on contempt of Congress charges for refusing to cooperate with the House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., September 6, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Guam Waterworks Authority Attorney Teresa Rojas reports on the status of several protests to the Consolidated Commission on Utilities during the regular monthly meeting Aug. 29 at the Gloria B. Nelson Public Service Building Conference Room in Mangilao.
Wafi-Golpu Project has the potential to make a significant economic and social contribution to Papua New Guinea over a long period.
A Wednesday morning raid in Charlottesvilles Frys Spring neighborhood was one of many that day in Central Virginia, the conclusion of a monthslong federal investigation into a local drug ring with ties to Mexican cartels.

Operation Rock Bottom resulted in the execution of nine search warrants and the arrest of 17 individuals who now face federal charges, according to Christopher Kavanaugh, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia.

Those search warrants resulted in the seizure of 20 firearms, which included sawed off shotguns and assault rifles, 1.7 kilograms of powered fentanyl, 1.5 kilograms of cocaine, a pound of meth, 5,000 press fentanyl pills and over $70,000 in cash, Kavanaugh said at a press conference at the federal courthouse in downtown Charlottesville Thursday. Thats a Wednesday.

The extensive drug ring, he said, operated almost exclusively in the city of Charlottesville and surrounding Albemarle County.

Twelve different agencies were involved in the investigation that began last March, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Virginia State Police, the Albemarle County Police Department and the Charlottesville Police Department.

There have been 17 individuals charged with federal crimes, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday morning. Those charges include the illegal possession of firearms and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl.

The search warrants executed Wednesday uncovered additional evidence against two additional co-conspirators, Kavanaugh said, including one who is believed to be a ringleader in the drug ring. Those two additional individuals bring the total number of conspirators to 19.

However, those two were still at large as of Thursday afternoon.

Kavanaugh said he expects them to be in custody very soon.

The operation is evidence that the DEA, in tandem with state and local law enforcement partners, is working hard to systematically dismantle street gangs and drug trafficking networks that cause violent crime and death, said Jared Forget, the DEA special agent in charge.

As part of the operation, over the course of several months, investigators purchased more than 30 pounds of narcotics from the drug ring, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and cocaine.

And thats just what we purchased, Kavanaugh said. That doesnt include other wholesale sales and distributions that we know about.

The 1.7 kilograms of powdered fentanyl translates to 850,000 lethal doses, enough to kill the entire population of Charlottesville and Albemarle County five times over, Kavanaugh said.

Fentanyl caused or contributed to 74% of all fatal overdoses in Virginia in 2021, according to the Virginia Department of Health.

The operation was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program, a joint mission between local and federal authorities to rid communities of illegal narcotics. Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis announced the city had joined the program earlier this summer.

I think that Operation Rock Bottom is precisely the type of case that we had envisioned when we formed this partnership, Kavanaugh said.

Virginia State Police Superintendent Gary Settle hinted that their work is not done.

We know that these 17 arrests and indictments cant fix all the problems. But we do know that Operation Rock Bottom has removed from the local streets multiple violent criminals, illegal firearms and substantial amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl and other illicit narcotics, Settle said. The success and impact of Operation Rock Bottom is just beginning.

The indictment unsealed Thursday provided an incomplete picture of who has been charged and who remains at large. There were 15 names provided in the indictment, with some ages and residences not included, with two names redacted. Those included were:

DuShaun Lamont Gregory, 36, Henrico County.

Tyquane Pertell Gregory, 27.

Fields Devon Landon, 29, Charlottesville.

Bobby Eugene Christmas, 36, Charlottesville.

Michael Edward Cornett, 29, Charlottesville.

Antone Laron Harris, 41, Charlottesville.

Brooks Lorenzo Woodfolk, 41, Charlottesville.

Ashlee Renee Morris, 37.

Shaheim Taishaun Michie, 18, Arlington.

John Ellis Turner III, 42.

Gary Wayne Woodson, 66, Crozet.

Caleb Andrew Herndon, 26.

Dashard Brown, 29.

Cedric Trent, 25.

Dustin Lee Welch.
Federal, state and local authorities descended on a residence in Charlottesville's Frys Spring neighborhood Wednesday morning.

Some neighbors suggested it was a drug bust, but the authorities themselves are being tight-lipped about the operation.

Residents reported a helicopter being overhead and one claimed on Nextdoor, a neighborhood app, that gunshots were fired.

There were two state police cars on the street when I got back from work, said one resident, who asked not to be named. She was not in her home at the time police arrived but said she followed neighborhood reports closely on Nextdoor.

Details will likely remain murky until at least Thursday when law enforcement officials suggested more information would be available.

Theres an ongoing joint federal, state and local investigation that were involved in, Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis told The Daily Progress, declining to provide any more information.

Both Kochis and a spokeswoman for Albemarle County Police Department referred The Daily Progress the Department of Justice for more details.

There isnt much I can share at the moment, Brian McGinn, a spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Attorney, told The Daily Progress. Most of the information is not public at this time.

But McGinn did offer the following:

I can say that law enforcement from several agencies were in the Charlottesville and Albemarle area conducting law-enforcement sensitive operations, including the execution of multiple arrest and search warrants  the results of which remains sealed at this time, he wrote in an email.

On Wednesday afternoon The Daily Progress visited Cleveland Avenue, the site of the incident, steps away from the Beacon on 5th apartment complex.

While police were no longer on the street, residents said they knew about the early morning raid, although few were willing to say much more.

One resident said hed heard the incident was drug related. Another said that a woman had reported hearing gunshots.

Those two residents alluded to a certain home having had previous run-ins with police.

Last March, the Charlottesville Police Department announced that members of the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement Task Force executed a search warrant on the 500 block of Cleveland Avenue.

It made one arrest and seized weapons, drugs and nearly $5,000 in cash.

An 18-year-old, Shahiem T. Michie of Arrington, was arrested and charged with with two counts of drug possession with intent to distribute and one count of possessing firearms with drugs.

Among the items confiscated in the March raid were nine firearms, including an AR-15 pistol with no serial number and an AK-47 assault rifle, roughly 3 pounds of marijuana, more than 1,000 counterfeit M30 fentanyl pills, some 200 grams of methamphetamine, 428 grams of cocaine and 256 grams of fentanyl.

Kochis said he expects federal authorities to release more information on Thursday, but McGinn was less specific.

We hope to provide more detailed information with the public soon, McGinn said.

Daily Progress reporter Faith Redd contributed to this story.
Alone in a brightly lit glass case, a copy of the Declaration of Independence sits on display at Monticellos David M. Rubenstein Visitor Center.

It is one of 201 copies made in 1823. Fewer than 50 are still known to exist today.

It is an absolute facsimile of the official copy from 1776, Emilie Johnson, Monticellos curator of arts and history, told The Daily Progress.

While that original copy sits in the National Archives in Washington, D.C., for a brief time this copy will sit at the former residence of the documents author as part of an exhibition exploring how the Declaration of Independence went from the tip of Thomas Jeffersons quill to become an icon of democracy throughout the world.

Jefferson is so closely associated with the Declaration of Independence, and its such a powerful document both in its time and in the ways that Americans, and people all over the world, continue to push the Declaration to reach its promises, Johnson said.

Printed on calfskin vellum, which doesnt degrade nearly as fast as paper, the 1823 copy was produced as a keepsake for former presidents, members of Congress, justices on the Supreme Court and State Department officials, among others. Jefferson himself, along with fellow Founding Father John Adams, was a recipient of one.

It is still a mystery where Jeffersons copy, or copies, are today.

Also part of the ongoing exhibit is a replica of Jeffersons revolving stand, which can hold as many as many as five books or letters for a reader at one time. Long thought to be a music stand, the original sits in the big house at Monticello today. The replica, down in the visitor center, holds answers to questions about the crafting of the Declaration of Independence.

Next to the replica is a 1788 John Trumbull portrait of Jefferson and a reproduction of Jeffersons lap desk, the original being located at the National Museum of American History, enclosed in a glass case. Jefferson used the lap desk when drafting the Declaration.

The copy of the Declaration was interesting, I havent seen the real thing, Philip Rosvall, a tourist from Sweden visiting with his family, told The Daily Progress.

The copy of the Declaration will be on display at Monticello through August of 2024. After which, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, which operates the former presidents estate, is looking to get another copy for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of its signing in 2026.

What we are finding is that people really want to hear about the Declaration, people really want to hear about the Revolution and we have a great opportunity in this space to be able to tell those stories, Johnson said.
In the midst of political tensions following the disputed August 23-24 elections in Zimbabwe, opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has voiced concerns over the safety of his supporters.

Chamisa alleges that suspected members of the ruling Zanu PF party and State security agents are harassing his followers, demanding information about his next steps after rejecting the election results.

While there was anticipation that Chamisa would file a Constitutional Court application challenging the election outcome, he did not proceed with this course of action. Instead, he has opted to dispatch senior party officials on a diplomatic offensive to seek the support of regional leaders for a fresh election.

Speaking to reporters, Chamisa expressed his dismay at the alleged harassment of his supporters and pledged to take the matter to the relevant authorities, both domestically and internationally. He visited two CCC members, Womberaiishe Nhende and Sonele Mukhulani, who were reportedly abducted and subjected to torture by suspected State security agents. The victims are currently receiving medical treatment at a private hospital in the capital.

The situation escalated further when lawyers representing the two CCC members, Douglas Coltart and Tapiwa Muchineripi, were arrested after objecting to their clients police interviews. The lawyers, who were granted bail, have been charged with obstructing the course of justice.

Chamisa condemned the reported acts of violence and emphasized that his party advocates for open, peaceful, and constitutional actions. He questioned the motives behind the torture, suggesting that it was a consequence of individuals lacking information about his plans. He also accused Zanu PF of engaging in a campaign of retribution against his supporters throughout the country.

In response to Chamisas claims, Zanu PFs acting information director, Farai Marapira, dismissed them as attention-seeking tactics. Marapira stated that if there was concrete evidence of victimization, the law would take its course, but without such evidence, Zanu PF viewed the allegations as internal power dynamics within the CCC.

The CCC is rallying regional support to challenge the legitimacy of the recent elections. Election observer missions, including the one from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), have issued critical reports suggesting that the polls were not credible.

Meanwhile, President Emmerson Mnangagwa was recently sworn in at a ceremony attended by only 3 regional leaders out of the 67 he had invited. The political landscape in Zimbabwe remains tense as various parties and stakeholders navigate the aftermath of the disputed elections.

Breaking News via Email
Police in Zimbabwe have arrested a 61-year-old man for allegedly beating his wife to death in a village in Hurungwe district.

Kasina Kawocha has been charged with murdering his 46-year-old wife, Spigina Ndinga, according to a ZRP statement issued on 1 September.

According to police, the assault occurred at the couples home in Chivero Village on 1 September. Kawocha allegedly struck Ndinga twice in the head with a large wooden log. She sustained serious head injuries and was rushed by relatives to Chinhoyi Provincial Hospital. Ndinga succumbed to her wounds while undergoing treatment.

Breaking News via Email
In a tragic turn of events, a man has been apprehended after brutally attacking his father-in-law, resulting in the older mans untimely death. The incident occurred on Tuesday when Soul Mubau, 29, traveled from Harare to Goromonzi, seeking reimbursement of US$30 he had previously paid to his estranged wife, Sibongile Takundwa.

The assailants fury escalated upon discovering that Sibongile had remarried. The altercation culminated in a vicious assault, leaving the victim, David Takundwa, 64, with severe injuries. Tragically, David passed away en route to Parirenyatwa Hospital.

Eyewitnesses at the scene recounted the harrowing events that unfolded that day. Talent, an employee of Davids, shared his account, stating that Soul arrived with apparent intent to harm. He swiftly dismissed everyone present at the residence, isolating David. Talent recalled, I want to believe that he came prepared to kill because when he arrived he was quick to dismiss everyone at the house. The assailant then proceeded to assault David with an iron bar, inflicting grievous harm before fleeing the scene.

Talent further explained, Soul has been coming here, and Sekuru [David] would cook food for him. I last heard him asking Sekuru about Sibongiles whereabouts, and uncle was not happy with it. It appears that David had warned Soul about inquiring after Sibongile, an admonishment that seemingly fueled Souls violent outburst.

Sibongile, who had sought refuge from Souls abusive behavior by leaving him, expressed her grief, lamenting the loss of her father. Souls evil heart has robbed me of my father, she said. I decided to leave him because he was too abusive and would attack people, and I started to fear for my life. Currently married to another man, Sibongile had returned from her new home to attend her fathers funeral.

Following the assault, Soul sought shelter at his brothers residence in Stoneridge, Harare. However, he was apprehended by the police yesterday.

Breaking News via Email
President Emmerson Mnangagwas recent victory in the election and subsequent inauguration has been widely praised for his commitment to servant leadership and driving inclusive development in Zimbabwe.

Since assuming office in 2017, President Mnangagwa has taken bold steps to revitalise the countrys governance systems and create a favourable business environment to attract both local and international investors. His transformative initiatives have garnered significant support and are seen as key to Zimbabwes progress.

President Mnangagwa won resoundingly in the August 23 Harmonised Elections and his party, Zanu-PF, got a majority in the Parliament and local councils. This electoral success is a testament to the accomplishments and milestones achieved during his first term in office.

Mnangagwas administration has set a precedent for a reformed public service by introducing performance-based contracts for ministers, permanent secretaries, heads of parastatals, and council CEOs. This strategic move aims to enhance accountability and efficiency within the public sector, fostering a culture of excellence and results-oriented governance.

Numerous government entities have extended their congratulations to Mnangagwa, pledging their unwavering support in realising his vision for a transformed Zimbabwe. The Public Service Commission (PSC) lauded the Presidents victory as a significant milestone for national development. They expressed their utmost confidence in Mnangagwas leadership and encouraged civil servants to discharge their duties diligently while embracing innovation aligned with the Presidents development vision.

The Parliament of Zimbabwe commended Mnangagwas overwhelming victory, acknowledging the positive impact his administration has had on the nation. They recognized the remarkable socio-economic transformation witnessed during the first term of the Second Republic, characterized by extensive infrastructure development and job creation.

As Zimbabwe forges ahead towards its goal of becoming an upper middle-income economy by 2030, state-owned enterprises have reaffirmed their commitment to fulfilling their mandates and providing essential services to the population.

Mnangagwas re-election signals a continuation of his transformative agenda, driven by servant leadership and a deep-rooted commitment to inclusive development. With the unwavering support of government institutions, private sector stakeholders, and the Zimbabwean people, the President endeavours to lead the nation to prosperity, ensuring that no individual or region is left behind in the pursuit of a better tomorrow.

Breaking News via Email
We hope you are as excited as we are that we finally have a new payment processor, Clover, in addition to PayPal. But the fraught process of getting to where we are now, and to our great disappointment and frustration, not being ready at fundraiser launch, despite starting a couple of months ago, is why you are getting a shaggy dog story rather than the hoped for triumphalism.

As you will see at the Tip Jar page, the Clover part of the interface is a rough, and will be made more user friendly hopefully pretty soon. Please give feedback in commments, and we  by we, I mean Dave  will make such improvements as we can.

If you have low tolerance for complexity, use PayPal (for instance, the Clover part does not give error messages at the end of the input process like most payment systems do; it balks at a incorrect entry, like a card expiration date before today, and wont let you move to the next one until youve fixed it). We want readers to be happy while donating! Oh, and while you are at it, please remember to be generous, not just on your behalf, but also for readers who have tight budgets and cant give as much as theyd like right now.

The search for a new payment processor has led us to understand why so many small merchants wind up with PayPal despite its high fees and propensity to deplatform publishers who engage in too much wrongthink.

Our banking industry/bank network expert Clive warned us some time ago that independent payments processors tended to crapify over time:

Its an awful market. The fundamentals are bad  whats essentially a low-margin commodity service thats now in a slow-growth trend thats beset by too many have-a-go new entrants trying to grab some of PayPals (plus maybe the Apple/Google Pay other big kids in town) glory but without having an unique proposition (better tech, more scale, cross-selling opportunities, some sort of lower cost base) that would help them unseat the incumbents. So what youre ending up with is a situation whereby everyone competing in this segment ends up like fresh fish. Even if they start off nice (fair fees, good user support, some passable attempt at ethical business practices) its going to go bad, eventually. Plus the usual information asymmetry a.k.a. A Market for Lemons  they might start off with a well-deserved good reputation and a not-too-gouging rate card, but when (and it is a when, not an if) the rot sets in youre kind-a stuck with your sunk cost of setting up to use them plus the slippery-slope into crapified service or gotcha fees isnt always immediately apparent. Best thing to do then is to act like youre trying to pick out the best crack dealer in the neighbourhood. Eventually, like night follows day, theyll start adulterating the merchandise and giving you the run-around. But if you can get to them in that sweet spot where theyre still making some sort of attempt at professionalism, you might get 5, hopefully a little longer, years of not-awfulness.

Clive had said back then that a traditional merchant processor would probably be the best of bad options, since the fees would be competitive and they would not be subject to crapification via acquisition. But at that time, their monthly minimums were too high to work for us.1 Apparently due to entry of small fry, theyve loosened up their structures and Clover had a good one.

But old-fashioned merchant processors are not big on providing easy spiffy customer interfaces. We found the WordPress plugin for Clover to have affirmatively bad features for a donation, as opposed to a product, site. So Dave has had to do a lot of unexpected extras, and heroically worked over Labor Day weekend to deliver this new option to you. So please no whinging about Clover not yet being pretty and easy. (We said feedback, not whinging!)

We are pleased to have finally taken this big step, and hope you are pleased too, even if the look and feel is not yet ideal. An additional payment option beyond PayPal and good old-fashioned checks has been on our plate for a long time, and we can now move forward with a new solution.

_____

1 We had a long discussion with Clive two year ago about a promising candidate that our tech guru Dave spend a lot of cycles examining, but that one proved to be extremely intrusive in the customer qualification process, way beyond normal US KYC standards. We looked at other options that are popular here, like Stripe, and they similarly had off-putting requirements, not for the user, but the merchant.

One example was insisting on 2FA, which is actually a poor approach to security, and allowing for only SMS verification. Without oversharing, our decision to nix anyone who allows only for SMS has been validated. That was not the only problem with Stripe but that alone was a deal killer.
This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 282 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct, particularly in the financial realm. Please join us and participate via our donation page, which shows how to give via check, credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Read about why were doing this fundraiser, what weve accomplished in the last year,, and our current goal, investing in the commentariat.

Yves here. This article by Norman Solomon on how the US ramped up its belligerence after 9/11 and never looked back is sadly consistent with what I saw in New York City right after the two towers fell. I cannot tell how strong war-mongering sentiments were among the public at large, but they were appalling on display from too many people in authority, particularly in Christian churches, when one of Christs major precepts was Turn the other cheek. Instead, in his speech at the National Cathedral, instead of mourning the deaths in the 9/11 attacks and the honoring the heroic efforts of the rescuers, President Bush committed the US to retaliation.when he could have easily done so beforehand if he felt the need to signal the intent to hit back hard.

Similarly, I was very proud of myself for not having a drink until Thursday after the Monday attacks. I took the out of character step of going to the Unitarian Universalist church around the corner to hear the sermon. The church was packed so I had to sit on the floor way in the front, which was unfortunate because I could not escape.

I was shocked to hear the pastor at some length contradict the Unitarian core value of pacifism1 and outdo Bush in calling for a martial response.

By Norman Solomon Originally published at TomDispatch

[Todays piece is adapted from the introduction to Norman Solomons book War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine (The New Press, 2023).]

The day after the U.S. government began routinely bombing faraway places, the lead editorial in the New York Times expressed some gratification. Nearly four weeks had passed since 9/11, the newspaper noted, and America had finally stepped up its counterattack against terrorism by launching airstrikes on al-Qaeda training camps and Taliban military targets in Afghanistan. It was a moment we have expected ever since September 11, the editorial said. The American people, despite their grief and anger, have been patient as they waited for action. Now that it has begun, they will support whatever efforts it takes to carry out this mission properly.

As the United States continued to drop bombs in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfelds daily briefings catapulted him into a stratosphere of national adulation. As the Washington Posts media reporter put it: Everyone is genuflecting before the Pentagon powerhouse Americas new rock star. That winter, the host of NBCs Meet the Press, Tim Russert, told Rumsfeld: Sixty-nine years old and youre Americas stud.

The televised briefings that brought such adoration included claims of deep-seated decency in what was by then already known as the Global War on Terror. The targeting capabilities, and the care that goes into targeting, to see that the precise targets are struck, and that other targets are not struck, is as impressive as anything anyone could see, Rumsfeld asserted. And he added, The weapons that are being used today have a degree of precision that no one ever dreamt of.

Whatever their degree of precision, American weapons were, in fact, killing a lot of Afghan civilians. The Project on Defense Alternatives concluded that American air strikes had killed more than 1,000 civilians during the last three months of 2001. By mid-spring 2002, the Guardian reported, as many as 20,000 Afghans may have lost their lives as an indirect consequence of the U.S. intervention.

Eight weeks after the intensive bombing had begun, however, Rumsfeld dismissed any concerns about casualties: We did not start this war. So understand, responsibility for every single casualty in this war, whether theyre innocent Afghans or innocent Americans, rests at the feet of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. In the aftermath of 9/11, the process was fueling a kind of perpetual emotion machine without an off switch.

Under the war on terror rubric, open-ended warfare was well underway  as if terror were a state and not a technique, as Joan Didion wrote in 2003 (two months before the U.S. invasion of Iraq). We had seen, most importantly, the insistent use of September 11 to justify the reconception of Americas correct role in the world as one of initiating and waging virtually perpetual war.

In a single sentence, Didion had captured the essence of a quickly calcified set of assumptions that few mainstream journalists were willing to question. Those assumptions were catnip for the lions of the military-industrial-intelligence complex. After all, the budgets at national security agencies (both long-standing and newly created) had begun to soar with similar vast outlays going to military contractors. Worse yet, there was no end in sight as mission creep accelerated into a dash for cash.

For the White House, the Pentagon, and Congress, the war on terror offered a political license to kill and displace people on a large scale in at least eight countries. The resulting carnage often included civilians. The dead and maimed had no names or faces that reached those who signed the orders and appropriated the funds. And as the years went by, the point seemed to be not winning that multicontinental war but continuing to wage it, a means with no plausible end. Stopping, in fact, became essentially unthinkable. No wonder Americans couldnt be heard wondering aloud when the war on terror would end. It wasnt supposed to.

I Mourn the Death of My Uncle

The first days after 9/11 foreshadowed what was to come. Media outlets kept amplifying rationales for an aggressive military response, while the traumatic events of September 11th were assumed to be just cause. When the voices of shock and anguish from those who had lost loved ones endorsed going to war, the message could be moving and motivating.

Meanwhile, President George W. Bush  with only a single congressional negative vote  fervently drove that war train, using religious symbolism to grease its wheels. On September 14th, declaring that we come before God to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who love them, Bush delivered a speech at the Washington National Cathedral, claiming that our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil. War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing.

President Bush cited a story exemplifying our national character: Inside the World Trade Center, one man who could have saved himself stayed until the end at the side of his quadriplegic friend.

That man was Abe Zelmanowitz. Later that month, his nephew, Matthew Lasar, responded to the presidents tribute in a prophetic way:

I mourn the death of my uncle, and I want his murderers brought to justice. But I am not making this statement to demand bloody vengeance Afghanistan has more than a million homeless refugees. A U.S. military intervention could result in the starvation of tens of thousands of people. What I see coming are actions and policies that will cost many more innocent lives, and breed more terrorism, not less. I do not feel that my uncles compassionate, heroic sacrifice will be honored by what the U.S. appears poised to do.

The presidents announced grandiose objectives were overwhelmingly backed by the media, elected officials, and the bulk of the public. Typical was this pledge Bush made to a joint session of Congress six days after his sermon at the National Cathedral: Our war on terror begins with al-Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated.

Yet by late September, as the Pentagons assault plans became public knowledge, a few bereaved Americans began speaking out in opposition. Phyllis and Orlando Rodriguez, whose son Greg had died in the World Trade Center, offered this public appeal:

We read enough of the news to sense that our government is heading in the direction of violent revenge, with the prospect of sons, daughters, parents, friends in distant lands dying, suffering, and nursing further grievances against us. It is not the way to go. It will not avenge our sons death. Not in our sons name. Our son died a victim of an inhuman ideology. Our actions should not serve the same purpose.

Judy Keane, who lost her husband Richard at the World Trade Center, similarly told an interviewer: Bombing Afghanistan is just going to create more widows, more homeless, fatherless children.

And Iraq Came Next

While indescribable pain, rage, and fear set the U.S. cauldron to boil, national leaders promised that their alchemy would bring unalloyed security via a global war effort. It would become unceasing, one in which the deaths and bereavement of equally innocent people, thanks to U.S. military actions, would be utterly devalued.

In tandem with Washingtons top political leaders, the fourth estate was integral to sustaining the grief-fueled adrenaline rush that made launching a global war against terrorism seem like the only decent option, with Afghanistan initially in the countrys gunsights and news outlets filled with calls for retribution. Bush administration officials, however, didnt encourage any focus whatsoever on U.S. petro-ally Saudi Arabia, the country from which 15 of the 19 September 11th hijackers came. (None were Afghans.)

By the time the United States began its invasion of Afghanistan, 26 days after 9/11, the assault could easily appear to be a fitting response to popular demand. Hours after the Pentagons missiles began to explode in that country, a Gallup poll found that 90 percent of Americans approve of the United States taking such military action, while just 5 percent are opposed, and another 5 percent are unsure.

Such lopsided approval was a testament to how thoroughly the messaging for a war on terror had taken hold. It would have then been little short of heretical to predict that such retribution would cause many more innocent people to die than in the 9/11 mass murder. During the years to come, the foreseeable deaths of Afghan civilians would be downplayed, discounted, or simply ignored as incidental collateral damage (a term that Time magazine defined as meaning dead or wounded civilians who should have picked a safer neighborhood).

What had occurred on September 11th remained front and center. What began happening to Afghans that October 7th would be relegated to, at most, peripheral vision. Amid the righteous grief that had swallowed up the United States, few words would have been less welcome or more relevant than these from a poem by W.H. Auden: Those to whom evil is done / Do evil in return.

Even then, Saddam Husseins Iraq was already in the Pentagons crosshairs. Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee in September 2002, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld didnt miss a beat when Senator Mark Dayton questioned the need to attack Iraq, asking, What is compelling us to now make a precipitous decision and take precipitous actions?

Rumsfeld replied: Whats different? Whats different is 3,000 people were killed.

In other words, the humanity of those who died on 9/11 would loom so large that the fate of Iraqis would be rendered invisible.

In reality, Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Official claims about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction would similarly prove to be fabrications, part of a post-9/11 pattern of falsehoods used to justify aggression that made those who actually lived in Iraq distinctly beside the point. As I shuttled between San Francisco and Baghdad three times in the four months that preceded the March 2003 invasion, I felt I was traveling between two far-flung planets, one increasingly abuzz with debates about a coming war and the other just hoping to survive.

When the Bush administration and the American military machine finally launched that war, it would cause the deaths of perhaps 200,000 Iraqi civilians, while several times as many more have been killed as a reverberating effect of that conflict, according to the meticulous estimates of the Costs of War Project at Brown University. Unlike those killed on 9/11, the Iraqi dead were routinely off the American media radar screen, as were the psychological traumas suffered by Iraqis and the decimation of their countrys infrastructure. For U.S. soldiers and civilians on contractor payrolls, that wars death toll would climb to 8,250, while back home, media attention to the ordeals of combat veterans and their families would turn out to be fleeting at best.

Still, for the industrial part of the military-industrial-congressional complex, the Iraq War would prove all too successful. That long conflagration gave huge boosts to profits for Pentagon contractors while, propelled by the normalization of endless war, Defense Department budgets kept spiking upward. And Iraqs vast oil reserves, nationalized and off-limits to Western companies before the invasion, would end up in mega-corporate hands like those of Shell, BP, Chevron, and ExxonMobil. Several years after the invasion, some prominent Americans acknowledged that the war in Iraq was largely for oil, including the former head of U.S. Central Command in Iraq, General John Abizaid, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, and then-senator and future Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

The Never-Ending War on Terror

The war on terror spread to far corners of the globe. In September 2021, when President Biden told the U.N. General Assembly, I stand here today, for the first time in 20 years, with the United States not at war, the Costs of War Project reported that U.S. counterterrorism operations were still underway in 85 countries  including air and drone strikes and on-the-ground combat, as well as so-called Section 127e programs in which U.S. special operations forces plan and control partner force missions, military exercises in preparation for or as part of counterterrorism missions, and operations to train and assist foreign forces.

Many of those expansive activities have been in Africa. As early as 2014, pathbreaking journalist Nick Turse reported for TomDispatch that the U.S. military was already averaging far more than a mission a day on the continent, conducting operations with almost every African military force, in almost every African country, while building or building up camps, compounds, and contingency security locations.

Since then, the U.S. government has expanded its often-secretive interventions on that continent. In late August 2023, Turse wrote that at least 15 U.S.-supported officers have been involved in 12 coups in West Africa and the greater Sahel during the war on terror. Despite claiming that it seeks to promote regional security, stability, and prosperity, the U.S. Africa Command is often focused on such destabilizing missions.

With far fewer troops on the ground in combat and more reliance on air power, the war on terror has evolved and diversified while rarely sparking discord in American media echo chambers or on Capitol Hill. What remains is the standard Manichean autopilot of American thought, operating in sync with the structural affinity for war thats built into the military-industrial complex.

A pattern of regret  distinct from remorse  for the venture militarism that failed to triumph in Afghanistan and Iraq does exist, but there is little evidence that the underlying repetition-compulsion disorder has been exorcised from the countrys foreign-policy leadership or mass media, let alone its political economy. On the contrary, 22 years after 9/11, the forces that have dragged the United States into war in so many countries still retain enormous sway over foreign and military affairs. The warfare state continues to rule.

_____

1 For instance:
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Yves here. In our regular discussions of rentierism, we tend to focus, perhaps overmuch, on the ones that are visible in our daily lives, such as literal rentierism, as in ever-rising residential lease costs and related high home purchase prices, or ones that result from monopoly/oligopoly power, from the lousy (by world standards) and high cost of connectivity in the US, to Amazon increasingly squeezing small merchants on its platform, We dont often enough discuss the costs imposed by overly-generous intellectual property regimes in combination with government agencies often funding basic and applied research, yet letting private interests license that work and greatly marking it up. This sort of thing is endemic in drug development.

Notice in the uproar about Huawei, which America has been unduly eager to harm, launching a smart phone with a 7 micron chip, something the US had tried to keep out of the hands of the Chinese via its recent chip sanctions, The US is convinced Huawei must have circumvented the sanctions, as if China has no engineers, scientists, and fabs. From CNN:

The United States government is seeking more information about the Huawei Mate 60 Pro, a Chinese smartphone powered by an advanced chip. The new flagship device, which reportedly includes a new 5G Kirin 9000s processor developed specifically for Chinese manufacturer Huawei, recently shocked industry experts who didnt understand how the company would have the technology to make such a chip following sweeping efforts by the United States to restrict Chinas access to foreign chip technology. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said during a White House press briefing Tuesday that the US needs more information about precisely its character and composition to determine if parties bypassed American restrictions on semiconductor exports to create the new chip

While the US suspicions may prove to be correct, recall the New York Times story on how Steve Jobs concluded very shortly before the initial iPhone launch in 2007 that a plastic screen was unworkable and he needed a scratch-resistant glass screen and in huge volumes yesterday. The top American glass producer Corning was not up to the task. This is the response Jobs got in China, per a Business Insider recap of the New York Times piece:

Before they even won Apples business, the Chinese company started building a new factory building in which to cut the glass. (The Chinese government was providing subsidies, and the company took advantage of themjust in case.) The company provided Apple with a team of cheap engineers, as well as spare glass for Apple to experiment with, the latter for free. The companys engineers were housed in dormitories, so they were available to Apple 24 hours a day. Apple hired the company to cut the hardened glass for the screens, and after a month of experimentation, the engineers figured out how to do it. They quickly sent the first shipment of screens to Foxconns assembly plant in Shenzhen, where they arrived in the middle of the night. Foxconns managers woke up thousands of workers and immediately began assembling iPhones.

This extract does not make clear, but the Times account did, that making this glass required other technical breakthroughs, which the Chinese engineers pulled off in an impressively short period of time.

To come back to the point of this article, intellectual property protection is not a bad thing per se. As a writer, I get upset when sites scrape all of our content and have set themselves up so we cant do much about this. But this article points to a much bigger and more pernicious issue, that the old model of discovery, a lot of which was deliberately in the public domain to encourage further invention and commercialization, has now been privatized because profit.

By Prabir Purkayastha, the founding editor of Newsclick.in, a digital media platform. He is an activist for science and the free software movement. His most recent book is (LeftWord, 2023). Reproduced with permission from LeftWord. This adaptation was produced for the web by Globetrotter

The twentieth century saw the emergence of public funded universities and technical institutions, while technology development was concentrated in the R&D laboratories of large corporations. The age of the lone inventorEdison, Siemens, Westinghouse, Graham Bellhad ended with the nineteenth century. The twentieth century was more about industry-based R&D laboratories, where corporations gathered together leading scientists and technologists to create the technologies of the future. In this phase, capital was still expanding production. Even though finance capital was already dominant over productive capital, the major capitalist countries still had a strong manufacturing base. In this phase of development, science was regarded as a public good and its development was largely concentrated in the university system or publicly funded research institutions. Technology development was largely regarded as a private enterprise. Science was supposed to produce new knowledge, which could then be mined by technology to produce artifacts. The role of innovation was to convert ideas into artifacts. The system of intellectual propertypatents and other rightsarose to provide protection to the useful ideas embodied in artifacts. From the beginning, patents also had a public purposethe state-granted monopoly for a certain period was meant to ensure the eventual public disclosure of the invention: the quid pro quo being full public disclosure in lieu of a limited-term monopoly.

The transformation of this system that had existed for several centuries came about as a result of two major changes in the production of knowledge. The first relates to the way in which, under the neoliberal order, the university system of knowledge production has been transformed into a profit-making commercial enterprise. Secondly, the distinction between science and technology has blurred considerably and the two are more closely integrated than before. For example, an advance in genetics can almost seamlessly lead to an artifacta drug, a diagnostic tool or a seedthat is both patentable and marketable. Similar is the case of innovations in the field of electronics and communications. Many disciplines of science and also research output in universities, are, in consequence, driven closer to the systems of production. The conversion of the university system into a system producing knowledge directly for commercial purposes has happened in tandem with the destruction of the R&D laboratories that were so much a part of the industrial landscape of the twentieth century. Finance capital controls university science, not just through investment in R&D, but also the purchase of knowledge. Its monopoly is exercised through buying the patents that university research produces. This monopoly in turn allows finance capital to dominate over industrial capital.

The end of the twentieth century revealed the rupture of finance capital and productive capital. Today, global capital operates far more as disembodied finance capital, controlling production at one end with its control over technology and markets at the other. In this phase, where capital increasingly lives off speculation and rent, there is also a marked separation of knowledge as capital from productive or physical capitalplant and machinery. Foxconn/Hon Hai Precision Industries manufactures Apple products but cannot claim a major share in the profits from their sale, since Apple holds the intellectual knowledge and property rights. Roughly, Apple gets 31 percent of the profits from an iPhone sale, Foxconn less than two percent.

The transformation of capital to rent seeking, by using its monopoly over knowledgepatents, copyrights, industrial designs, etc.characterizes the current phase of capital. With this, the advanced capitalist countries have increasingly become rentier and service economies. In essence, they dominate the world by virtue of controlling the global financial structure, new knowledge required for production, and distribution through retail and global brands.

Even as universities are captured by capital and turned into what is termed as University Inc, the new knowledge they produce is still publicly funded. This is true alike of advanced capitalist countries and those like India. The direction of scientific research is dictated by private capital, which takes over any successful outcome, and yet this transformation of science did not come about through being privately funded. The cost of fundamental research is high and only a few of its research outputs may have immediate benefits in terms of advancing technology. This is where the state, whether in electronics or in genetics, takes care of the costs while the patents are handed over to private capital. A hallmark of the neoliberal system is the socialization of risk and privatization of rewards.

The understanding that science needs to be restored as an open and collaborative exercise has given birth to the commons movement. By a curious sleight of hand, capitalism sees the finite commonsthe atmosphere and large water bodies such as lakes, rivers and oceansas infinite, and demands the right to dump waste in these commons. Yet it regards knowledge, capable of being copied infinite number of times without loss, as finite and demands monopoly rights over it!

Never before has society had the ability it does today to bring together different communities and resources in order to produce new knowledge. It is social, universal labor, and its private appropriation as intellectual property under capitalism stands in the way of liberating the enormous power of the collective to generate new knowledge and benefit people.
Several hours after Charlottesvilles animal shelter introduced a new consultant tasked with improving the toxic work environment at the facility, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals held a meeting with a handful of volunteers.

Its message? Dont come back.

We care deeply about the animals and to be dismissed like this and to be characterized as causing trauma when we know in our hearts that we werent, its just really upsetting, Beth Gould, one of the 10 dismissed volunteers, told The Daily Progress.

The private meeting was held at Northside Library and led by interim Executive Director Sue Friedman. According to Gould, Friedman repeatedly used the phrase trauma and drama to explain her decision to let the volunteers go.

Weve indicated to some individuals that their option of volunteering is discontinued for now, but its a very, very small number and its done with purpose, Friedman told The Daily Progress of the meeting. And its done consciously in support of staff.

According to Friedman, when she took the role last May, she met with staff, human resources and experts from an employee assistance program.

Staff kept mentioning individuals who created a toxic workplace for them, Friedman said.

So last June, 12 volunteers were told to take the summer off in order to give CASPCA the safe, nontoxic space to train staff, support staff and move forward, said Friedman.

There has been plenty of internal strife at CASPCA over the past several months as volunteers and staff have complained about the workplace and questioned the treatment of the animals there. The shelter has taken on a number of changes to address the concerns raised: closing on Mondays to clean facilities and train workers, closing an hour earlier on weekends to focus on the hours when customers are actually at the facility and bringing on more top brass to oversee foster, adoption, intake and rescue-transfer operations. Friedman, herself, was brought on after the previous SPCA chief Angie Gunter parted ways with the shelter amid allegations of mismanagement.

The group of current and former volunteers and staff that helped lead the charge that led to Gunters departure was CASPCA Concerns, which alleged that mismanagement led to animal neglect and toxic workplace relationships bordering on abuse. Since Gunter left, however, another group calling itself Help CASPCA has emerged, specifically questioning why certain dogs at the shelter were euthanized.

The community is outraged at your treatment of volunteers and lack of concern over the care of the animals, the latter group wrote in a recent email to Friedman. They will not support euthanizing dogs that have sat in kennels for months, even years, with no behavioral intervention.

In February, a state Department of Agriculture inspection found multiple documents at the shelter were missing information required by law. But the report mentioned no evidence of animal abuse, neglect or other mistreatment.

Still, Help CASPCA maintains that animals are not receiving adequate care.

While members of CASPCA Concerns did identify themselves, Help CASPCA has opted to remain anonymous. One member, who agreed to speak to The Daily Progress under the condition their name not be used, said the group is worried it could be sued by the shelter if members are identified.

Friedman said she wants to be transparent with the community and that shes more than willing to discuss any groups concerns via mail, email, text, Zoom or in person.

I will listen, she said. If youre doing it anonymously, Im done. Were done with anonymous.

Increasing transparency and communication is among the goals of new consultant Kristen Hassen of Outcomes for Pets Consulting. She has led large animal shelters in Arizona and Texas where she achieved a 90% or greater live release rate, according to the Charlottesville shelter.

Before being introduced at a press conference on Aug. 30, Hassen had already surveyed staff members and volunteers to gauge their experience working at the facility, she said.

The feedback was really good. Better than most shelters actually, Hassen said. Staff and volunteers did identify that strife and conflict and pressure from people in the community and misunderstanding and miscommunication, those things are really making things hard.

She added that criticism of animal shelters is not unique to Charlottesville but rather a national issue.

This is happening to every community that I work in and it causes fatigue. It is really harmful to the frontline staff, she said.

According to Friedman, certain volunteers were creating unpleasant conditions for staff.

There was some disrespect of staff training and credentials, expertise and capabilities, she said of volunteers. There was rudeness, there was criticizing and correcting people very forcefully.

Gould maintains that she was not guilty of any of the things Friedman listed in their meeting.

Its just upsetting to be accused of something without proof and you know in your heart its not true, Gould said. We dont want to hurt anybody. We were just there to help the dogs, and now they wont let us.

She said she worries that there will now be less people to walk dogs, some of whom were accustomed to seeing certain volunteers regularly.

Friedman pointed out that the shelter has more than 400 volunteers and just recently brought on several more. The local SPCA is also unveiling a new volunteer program that is aimed at enticing more people to come help out.

There are a lot of people out there from high school students to retirees that want to help us. So I think well be continuing to add to our volunteer base, Friedman said.

Hassen said she wants people to fall in line with the organizations mission. If not, they should contribute their time and skills to other organizations.

I think people just have to make a choice. And the choice should either be right now to get on board and help this team move forward, or just take a step back, she said at the press conference. Animals need you right now and if this isnt really the right moment for people at CASPCA, Im hoping that theyll make a choice to go help another organization.

One crucial way Hassen hopes to make a difference at CASPCA is to reduce the amount of time animals spend in the shelter. The current length of stay needs to be cut in half or more, she said. She thinks the less time animals are in the shelter, the more time theyll have in a loving home, and the happier the animals, staff and volunteers will be.

Every day they spend here is a day they spend in a cage away from a person, away from other animals. Theyre not meant to live here, she said. So my priority is to streamline processes so that animals can move through as efficiently as possible and get into homes where they belong.
Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana is visiting Israel this week to meet with Israeli leaders and high-level officials. On Thursday (7 September 2023), he met President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. The Deputy Secretary General highlighted NATO and Israels close, long standing partnership, and efforts to strengthen cooperation on climate change, innovation, and new technologies.

Mr Geoana also participated in a memorial ceremony at 'Yad Vashem', the World Holocaust Remembrance Centre, and visited the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation.

On Friday (8 September 2023), Mr Geoana will meet with Allied Ambassadors to Israel.
(As delivered)

Thank you so much, madam chair, David, Natalie, and dear friends in the European Parliament. It is really a great pleasure to see you again, to engage with you again here in the European Parliament because I really appreciate this expression of NATO-EU cooperation, to meet with you. And as you know, to strengthen the cooperation between NATO and the European Union has been a top priority for me, since I started my tenure as Secretary General of NATO in 2014. I believe in NATO-EU cooperation, because we share the same values. We share the same challenges. We are two different organizations, so but we have a lot in common.

As you know, 600 million Europeans live in a NATO country. And when Sweden joins NATO, 96% of the citizens of the European Union live in NATO country. So yes, we are different, different institutions, but we have a lot in common. And therefore it is good to see that over recent years, we have been able to strengthen NATO-EU cooperation, on cyber, on space, on critical infrastructure, on military mobility and we work hand in hand in the Western Balkans, in Kosovo, and also in addressing the illegal migration in the Aegean Sea, and in many other areas.

And this is also reflected through the fact that, as you refer to, that earlier this year, I signed the third Joint Declaration between the two EU presidents. President von der Leyen and President Michel. They participated in the EU summit in Vilnius, [inaudible] was there. As I participated in June, I met with all the all the EU leaders in the European Council. So we meet at different levels, we work closely together, reflecting the reality that we have so much together and need to work together.

So I would like to commend you as a European parliamentarians for supporting these efforts, enabling the strengthened cooperation between the European Union and NATO. And of course, we have a lot more to do, but we can be be quite proud of how far we have been able to move over the last years in in ensuring the partnership, the bond between our two organizations.

NATO-EU cooperation has always been important, but the war in Ukraine has made it even more important because this is the most brutal war we have seen, the biggest war we have seen in Europe since the Second World War. And that makes it even more important that we stand together.

And the reality is that President Putin made at least two big strategic mistakes when he invaded Ukraine last year. The first and most important was, of course, that he totally underestimated the Ukrainians. The strength, the commitment, the courage of the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian political leadership and the Ukrainian armed forces. The other big strategic mistake he made was to underestimate us. Our willingness, our commitment to support Ukraine, to stand by Ukraine, with economic sanctions, with political support, but not least, with the military support.

And that's unprecedented, what we have seen now, of military support from NATO Allies, from EU members, from EU, from NATO. And, this is a support which is much bigger than anyone expected when this war started. With, with advanced artillery, with the long range cruise missiles, with advanced air defence systems, with a lot of ammunition and not least training from EU, from NATO Allies.

And now I would also like to commend the Netherlands, Denmark, and also Norway for announcing that they are ready to deliver F-16s. And many Allies have also announced that they're ready to start a training of Ukrainian pilots and technicians to enable them to have F-16s.

So again, there's much more we need to do, we need to support and sustain this support. But if we just stop for a moment and think where we are today, compared to where we thought we were going to be just weeks ahead of the invasion. I think we need to recognize the strength, the commitment, not least enabled by the European Parliament, for EU members, for NATO Allies, for our institutions, to stand by Ukraine.

And that's extremely important to recognize because this is something that needs to continue. Our support has helped to enable the Ukrainians to launch the counter offensive. The Ukrainians are gradually gaining ground and it proves the importance of our support and also our ability and willingness to continue the support, because this is heavy fighting, difficult fighting, but they have been able to breach the defensive lines of the Russian forces and they are moving forward.

And that was also the clear commitment and clear message from the NATO summit in July. That we need to continue to support Ukraine. That has been the message from the European Union, again and again. And the offensive just highlights the importance of standing by them.

At the NATO Summit, the main message was of course to support Ukraine. We were also able to make progress on Ukraines path towards NATO membership.

We recognize what the European Union has done, in granting them candidate status. In NATO, at the Vilnius summit we made important decisions to help to move Ukraine closer to membership.

We reiterated that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, but then we added three elements which actually move them closer membership.

First, we agreed a substantial package and also funding for a substantial package to ensure full interoperability between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and NATO, and interoperability between our armed forces. And it's really a way to, in practical terms, to move Ukraine closer to NATO membership. The second thing we did was to strengthen their political institutionalized cooperation. We established something called the NATO-Ukraine Council, where we don't meet Ukraine as a partner, we meet as equals around the table. 31 Allies, soon 32, and then with Ukraine, around the table as an equal.

This council can make decisions. It can convene on a short notice, it can address crisis, as we did just after the summit, when the when the grain deal was suspended. And the plan is now to really develop the NATO-Ukraine [Council], to a practical, to an important tool, to strengthen the bonds between NATO and Ukraine.

And the third thing we did at the NATO summit was to remove the requirements for Membership Action Plan for Ukraine to become a member. Because previously the idea was to grant the country Membership Action Plan and that was a step towards invitation. At the Vilnius summit, we said that there is no need for Membership Action Plan. Because Ukraine has only moved closer to NATO. So we turn now the membership process from a two-step process to a one step process.

And these three things, the interoperability, the NATO-Ukraine Council and removal of the requirement for Membership Action Plan for Ukraine, demonstrates that Ukraine has never been closer to a membership in NATO than now.

And let me just end by saying that this reflects the political reality that nations are sovereign. Nations decide themselves, and Ukraine has of course the right to decide its own path. And it's up to Ukraine and NATO Allies to decide when Ukraine becomes a member. Russia cannot veto membership for any sovereign independent state in Europe. The other main issue at the NATO summit was to strengthen our deterrence and defence. Because fundamentally NATO has two tasks when it comes to the war in Ukraine. One is to support Ukraine as NATO Allies and NATO does. The second is to prevent the escalation.

Therefore, we have already increased our presence in eastern part of the Alliance, to send a very clear message to Moscow. To remove any room for misunderstanding, miscalculation. That NATO is there to defend every inch of NATO territory, one for all for one.

At the NATO summit, we agreed new plans for the defence of the whole Alliance. We also agreed to establish and identify more high readiness troops, 300,000 troops on different levels of high readiness, and also have more air and naval capabilities, ready to quickly reinforce if needed.

The purpose of this is to prevent war. The purpose of this is to ensure that NATO continues to be the most successful Alliance in history because we have prevented any military attack on any NATO Allies. And when there's a full-fledged war going on in Europe, then it becomes even more important that we have credible deterrence and by strengthening our deterrence and defence, we are preventing war, preserving peace for NATO Allies, because there's no room for miscalculation.

And the third thing was that NATO Allies have really now demonstrated that they are delivering on the commitment we made in 2014, because the war didn't start in February last year. It started in 2014. The full-fledged invasion happened last year, but the war, the illegal annexation of Crimea, Russia went into eastern Donbas in 2014.

Since then, NATO has implemented the biggest adaptation on this Alliance in modern history, in decades. And part of that is to invest more in defence. I think I've told you before that I know it's hard to allocate money for defence, because most politicians want to spend money on health, on education, on infrastructure instead of defence. But sometimes you have to invest in defence and when tensions are going up, risks are increasing [inaudible] we have to invest more.

And this year, we expect NATO Allies to increase defense spending by more than 8% in [inaudible] terms. This is the biggest increase in decades, and most of them are also EU members, are now taking this very seriously. More money for defence also enable us to invest more in production of ammunition, which is extremely critical. I welcome the efforts. I welcome the decisions by the European Union, which go hand in hand what we do in NATO. In NATO we have different arrangements for joint procurement of ammunition, we have done that for many years. We have something called a NATO support and procurement agency. I welcome efforts by EU members, NATO Allies, to ramp up production and we work closely with the defence industry throughout the Alliance, in EU but also in non EU Allied countries. To produce more and more spending, is a precondition for also increased production.

Then lastly on Sweden. First of all, it is historic that now Finland is member of the Alliance. And we have to remember the background. The background was that President Putin declared in the autumn of 2021, and actually sent a draft treaty that they wanted NATO to sign, to promise no more NATO enlargement. That was what he sent us. And was a pre-condition for not invade Ukraine. Of course we didn't sign that.

The opposite happened. He wanted us to sign that promise, never to enlarge NATO. He wanted us to remove our military infrastructure in all Allies that have joined NATO since 1997, meaning half of NATO, all the Central and Eastern Europe, we should remove NATO from that part of our Alliance, introducing some kind of B, or second class membership. We rejected that.

So he went to war to prevent NATO, more NATO, close to his borders. He has got the exact opposite. He has got more NATO presence in eastern part of the Alliance and he has also seen that Finland has already joined the Alliance and Sweden will soon be a full member. Because at Vilnius Summit, we agreed a statement where it was clearly expressed how Sweden will do more, follow up the agreement we had in Madrid on fighting terrorism, and also address issues related to export of military equipment, and then Turkiye made it clear that they will ratify as soon as possible.

This has been reiterated by President Erdogan several times. So I expect that when the Turkish parliament reconvenes later this autumn the ratification will happen as soon as possible, which has been stated again and again. And then we will be 32 Allies, and both Sweden and Finland will be members.

This is this is good for the Nordic countries. It's good for Finland and Sweden. And it's also good for NATO. And it demonstrates that when President Putin invaded a European country to prevent more NATO, he's getting the exact opposite.

I think have used my 10 minutes or even more so. So I think I stop there to allow as much time as possible for the comments and questions and I am looking forward to our discussions. Thank you so much.

Exchange of views

NATO Secretary General: Thank you so much. I will really try to address as many as possible of the issues you have raised. But there are so many precise and concrete questions that I'm not able to go all into all them. But, we'll try to group them. And first of all, I'd like to thank you for the questions, for the interest. And also I think that this session and all the questions you have asked demonstrates the value of NATO-EU cooperation. Because most of the issues you have raised are issues related to how NATO and the EU have to work together to address common challenges. And many will ask questions about Ukraine and how we can support Ukraine and what we can do more for Ukraine.

And first of all, there is coordination going on at the political level, but also in a very practical level. We have a coordination cell in Wiesbaden, where NATO Allies, EU members are together and very practically coordinating the aid and the support, both identifying the needs from Ukraine, and then approaching different countries, ensuring that we build packages of support. Because you need to understand that when you deliver military support, it's not only about delivering a cannon. It's about delivering that artillery piece, but also the ammunition, the spare parts, the training, and maintenance facilities so we can ensure that the whole system can work. And some of you asked me, what is the top priority? And I think that in one way, the top priority now is to ensure that all the systems, which are already in Ukraine, actually work. Because there is an enormous need to provide ammunition, maintenance, spare parts, to ensure that the systems, which already delivered, actually function. I'm not saying that we should not consider to deliver new systems. And we are now in the process of delivering F-16s. But in the public debate, it's perhaps a bit too much focus on new systems, instead of ensuring that all the existing systems have all the maintenance they need to actually function.

There is coordination. I've been there myself. It's very impressive of NATO, EU Allies, the United States, Canada, United Kingdom. But also of course, a lot of EU members are together, and in a very practical way coordinate and ensure we will continue to do so.

Second, on standardisation and procurement. Again, I welcome the things that the EU does. NATO has also different programs. We realised last fall or last summer that this was going to be a war of attrition. So then production becomes extremely important. In the beginning, we depleted our stocks to provide support to Ukraine. But our stocks are not big enough. So we need to ramp up production. The reality is that our production capacity is not as big as it should be. That's the reason why we now see some good progress in new investments and more production throughout the Alliance in EU and non-EU NATO Allied countries.

I welcome the efforts of the European Union. NATO, as I mentioned, we have done joint procurement for many, many years through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency. And also, groups of Allies, EU and non-EU Allies are going together and doing joint procurement, and so much as to just doing it individually as Allies. To be honest, the most important thing is not the framework where we decide to ramp up production and procure ammunition. The most important thing is that we actually do it, be it in the EU framework, NATO framework, a group of countries, or individual Allies. And the thing that really matters is to sign contracts. We need nations to sign contracts because that enables the industry to invest and ramp up production. And standardisation is of course key. That has been an issue for NATO for decades. We have now stepped up our efforts to ensure standardisation because we also seen some gaps there. And of course this has to be a NATO effort. Because as you know, 80% of NATO's defence spending comes from non-EU Allies. So we've admitted standardisation across the Alliance, and therefore we welcome the increased efforts by NATO to do more on standardisation.

Then, on the offensive and whether Ukrainians are gaining ground or not.

We have to remember that no one ever said that this was going to be easy, the offensive. It was clearly stated this is going to be a bloody, difficult, and hard offensive. Because what we have seen is, of course, that the Russians have prepared defensive lines  layers of defensive lines  with trenches, with obstacles to battle tanks, Dragons teeth, and mines, enormous amounts of mines. Hardly any time in history, we have seen more mines on the battlefield and mercy in Ukraine today. So it was obvious that this was going to be extremely difficult. But the Ukrainians decided to launch the offensive because they are going to liberate the land. And they are making progress. Not perhaps as much as we hoped for, but they are gaining ground gradually some 100 meters per day. Meaning that when the Ukrainians are gaining ground, the Russians are losing ground.

And you have to remember the starting point. The starting point is that the Russian army used to be the second strongest in the world. And now the Russian army is the second strongest in Ukraine.

And that's quite impressive by the Ukrainians. And that's the courage, the will, the commitment, the determination of Ukrainian soldiers that are making this possible. And we also need to remember the starting point. The starting point was that when the invasion happened, the full-scale invasion, happened in February, we were told by most experts that Kyiv would fall within days, and Ukraine would fall within weeks.

The Ukrainians proved them wrong by pushing back the Russian invaders, liberating the north, around Kyiv, the east around Kharkiv, and then bigger territories in the south and around Kherson. And now they are gaining more ground, liberating more Ukrainian territory. And then the same experts that told us that Ukraine will fall within weeks are complaining about the speed of the defensive.

The reality is that Ukrainians are actually exceeding expectation again and again. And we need to remember what's our responsibility, our responsibility to support them.

We can advise them, but it has to be the Ukrainian commanders, the soldiers on the ground, that make the difficult decisions. We cannot sit here in Brussels, in the NATO Headquarters or the EU Headquarters and tell them exactly how to fight. That's their task. They're risking their lives and we just support them. And we praise them for the courage.

And then I say this because wars are by nature unpredictable. No one knows exactly where we are in a week or two, or a month, or a year from now. And [in] hardly any war, we will see only, what I say, victories for the side we support. There will be bad days and good days. We need to be with Ukraine, not only good times but also bad times. So those who conveying the kind of message that while only if they win, we will continue to support them. No, we support them when they win and if they lose, we are there with Ukraine. Because to support Ukraine is not an option. Its a necessity to ensure that we preserve peace for our members, for our countries and to ensure that authoritarian regimes dont achieve what they want by violating international law and using military force. So I just tell you that of course, sometimes it's hard to imagine how brutal this war is. But, we need to never forget our responsibility to provide support to Ukraine.

Then I had a concrete question about the drone, the possible drone.

The Romanian authorities have confirmed and informer NATO about that debris from a potential, possible drone have been found near the border with Ukraine.

They informed NATO Allies in the regular meeting yesterday about all their findings. And the investigation is going on and demonstrates the risk of incidents and accidents. We don't have any information indicating any intentional attack by Russia. And we are awaiting the outcome of the ongoing investigation. Regardless of that outcome, what we have seen of course is a lot of fighting and also their attacks close to NATO borders. And we also had other incidents in Poland and elsewhere. And therefore, we have increased our vigilance. We are closely monitoring what's going on close to our borders. And we have also increased our presence in the eastern part of the Alliance.

There were questions about the Black Sea.

The Black Sea is of great importance for NATO. We condemn that Russia has withdrawn from the Black Sea grain deal. We welcome the efforts by Turkiye to try to reestablish the grain deal. And, of course, the best way to ensure safe and secure shipment of grain from Ukraine is to end the war. The reason why we have this problem is because of the war. And then the grain deal is a way to try to mitigate some of the consequences of the war. But I can also say that we have increased our presence in the region.

We've done that over a long period of time, but especially since the war with more maritime patrol aircraft, with battle groups in Bulgaria and Romania. And that we are closely monitoring the whole situation in the Black Sea region, including the literal states.

There was a question about the difference between the Vilnius and the Warsaw Summit.

I will not compare two very successful summits. But, there is a difference in that you're right; in Warsaw, we decided to deploy new battlegroups.

What we did actually before Vilnius, was that the morning of the invasion, we activated NATO defence plans. And by activating NATO defence plans, we give SACEUR the authority to deploy more forces where and when he deems that necessary. So he has increased the presence in the eastern part of the Alliance. We have doubled the number of battlegroups from four to eight. And we have more air and naval forces available. So we will do what is needed to defend every inch of Allied territory. This is [partly] about forward presence, but it's also very much about our ability to reinforce. And that's the reason why more high readiness forces is the key to address any potential threat caused by the war in Ukraine and Russia's aggressive actions. Then I need to move on [to the] South, many questions about that. The South is of course of great importance for NATO.

The instability in North Africa and Middle East creates threats and challenges for the whole Alliance, not only for the southern Allies. We have our presence in Iraq to help them train and equip their forces to fight terrorism, ISIS, and we work with countries like Mauritania, Tunisia, to help them fight terrorism. And Jordan, another close partner of NATO.

But I think we need to realise that this is also very much about economic and diplomatic efforts, where also other institutions than NATO have to play a key role. So again, an area where we work together at NATO and the European Union.

Then [on] China, we don't regard China as an adversary.

But we are concerned about the challenges that China poses to our values to our interests and to our security. China doesn't share our values. They don't believe in freedom of speech, democratic values, and they expressed that quite clearly.

They crack down on journalists, on opposition, on dissidents across the country. We have seen how they have cracked down on democratic rights in Hong Kong. We see how they are threatening Taiwan.

And, we see how China is investing heavily in modern nuclear weapons, more military capabilities, and also long range missiles. And [we see] how they also work more and more closely together with Russia. Just before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia and China signed an agreement where they promised each other partnership without any limits. And China has not condemned the invasion of Ukraine. So I think what we need to realise is that security is not regional; security is global. What happens in Ukraine matters for Asia and what happens in Asia matters for us. And therefore we welcome the stronger partnership we have with the Asia-Pacific countries. Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea participated in the NATO Summit and we are ready to do even more, to do as much as possible, to work together with these countries.

Then I had some questions about defence spending.

Well, of course, I would like to see all Allies meet the 2% guideline. That is not the case.

But I'm encouraged by what Allies are doing. They are ramping up spending and since 2014, all Allies have increased defence spending. Back in 2014 when they made the agreement, we had only three Allies meeting the 2% guideline. Now 11 Allies meet the 2% guideline and almost all Allies have plans in place to be there within a few years. And even those Allies who are not at 2% have significantly increased. Germany is one example, where actually spending is going significantly up. So yes, I see progress and I welcome that progress.

Then I think since my time is really running out. Okay, then I got to say one thing about the paradox about weapons.

Because the representative from Greece said that in a way, he never believed that he would support the liberal weapons to Ukraine. And I think for many people, that's a paradox. It is a paradox because we all want peace. We all want to invest in something else than weapons. But the problem is that sometimes you need to invest in weapons to ensure peace. That's the basic thing.

And that's the lesson weve learned again and again. I remember very well the end of the Cold War. We all were able to reduce defence spending. I don't know exactly the defence spending in Greece, but the defence spending in my country was 3% of GDP at the end of the Cold War. And then we reduced it to just about 1%. And I was responsible for that. I did not all of that. But part of it because I was a Norwegian politician. And across the lines, our government parliaments reduced defence spending because tensions went down. We saw less threats. We believed in new partnership, and we believed in the possibility to work with Russia. And I was a strong believer in that. Because we have seen again in any history that that old enemies can become friends. You see that in Europe, France, United Kingdom. Germany and France fought each other for centuries. Now theyre the closest friends and Allies in the European Union. And if you go to the Nordic countries, we have been fighting each other since the Viking Age for hundreds of years. And now Swedes, Danes, Finns, and Norwegians are best friends.

So it's possible. So I believe it was possible also to overcome, as we have done in Europe for most European countries within the framework of the European Union and NATO, to also overcome that relationship with Russia. Russia didn't choose that path. Russia decided to control neighbors, to try to reestablish their influence and say that there was a provocation if a country decided to join NATO. It is not a provocation. This is democratic, sovereign right to have a nation to choose its own path.

And therefore, we had Georgia in 2008. We had the Crimea in 2014. And then the full-fledged invasion in 2014. Russia has walked away, and I regret that. But then there is no other option for us than to ensure peace for NATO Allies, for EU members by investing in defence supporting Ukraine. Because if President Putin wins in Ukraine, its a tragedy for the Ukrainians, but it's also dangerous for us. It sends a message that when they use military force, they get what they want, authoritarian leaders. So it's in our security interest to support Ukraine, and therefore I'm extremely grateful for all the support that EU members the European Union and NATO Allies are providing to Ukraine. Thank you so much.


(As delivered)

Ms Osmani, dear Vjosa,

Welcome to NATO Headquarters.

Its great to see you again.

We just discussed the recent tensions in the north of Kosovo.

And the continuing importance of NATOs KFOR peacekeeping mission under the mandate of the UN Security Council resolution 1244.

Our KFOR troops were attacked earlier this year.

Leaving 93 of them injured, some seriously.

This is totally unacceptable.

The stability of the region and the safety of KFOR troops depends on all actors honouring their existing commitments.

NATO considers these to be of the highest importance, and expects them to be fully met.

In line with Pristinas commitment from 2013, any deployment of the Kosovo Security Force to the North of Kosovo requires the concurrence of KFOR.

And we expect timely and meaningful consultation on any action of the Kosovo Security Force or Kosovo Police that could impact the security environment.

In response to the recent unrest, NATO has deployed hundreds of additional troops to Kosovo.

KFOR continues to monitor the situation closely.

And we stand ready to act as necessary to fulfil our UN mandate:

To maintain a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all communities in Kosovo.

Neutrality and impartiality are central to the success of our mission.

And our commander in Kosovo is in close contact with both the security organisations in Kosovo and the Serbian Chief of Defence.

I welcome recent steps taken by Pristina to lower tensions.

Including reducing the number of special police in the north,

And plans to facilitate new municipal elections.

But it is essential to avoid further escalation.

So I urge all parties to avoid inflammatory rhetoric.

And to act with restraint and in line with their commitments.

NATO strongly supports the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

I welcome the announcement of another high-level dialogue meeting next week.

This is the only way to resolve outstanding issues.

And to reach a solution that respects the rights of all communities.

This requires patience, perseverance and compromise.

It is also an opportunity for Kosovo to demonstrate that it is a responsible actor, working constructively for the benefit of Euro-Atlantic security.

So once again, welcome.

Its great to see you here and thank you so much for a very fruitful and important meeting.

NATO Spokesperson Dylan White: We'll start with RTK. Over here, please.

Gjeraqina Tuhina (RTK): Yes, from Kosovo television. Secretary General, I plan to ask something else. But I was puzzled by your introductory remarks, referring to 2013 commitments, which evidently include only the consultation and prior approval of Kosovo security forces, approval by ComKFOR. You are now including special police forces. Is this a new requirement of NATO? Can you clarify please? Thank you very much.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg: It's not a new requirement, it is the conditions that the NATOs presence has been based on for a long time. Any deployment of the Special Forces requires concurrence from KFOR and then there is a need for coordination and close consultations between the authorities in Pristina and KFOR for any deployment that may affect our posture and the security in Kosovo.

NATO Spokesperson Dylan White: Next, we'll go to Associated Press, please.

Lorne Cook (AP): Lorne Cook from the Associated Press. You heard the Secretary General, Madam President, talk about the tensions and the concerns that that he has. And we know that any wrong statement or incident can create problems for personnel in Kosovo. There's a new round of further Serbia-Pristina dialogue coming up next week.

I wonder what your hopes for that process are? And what you think of that as a structure whether that's working or not, because it seems to be moving quite slowly. Secretary General, the President mentioned that perpetrators must be held to account for what happened. You yourself mentioned 93 people had been injured during the incidents earlier in Kosovo this year.

Do you agree to that, that the perpetrators should be held to account? Is justice being done is that is that being happened? Is that happening on behalf of Kosovo, KFOR staff.

Ms Vjosa Osmani of Kosovo: The next dialogue meeting between the representatives of the Republic of Kosovo and Serbia, will take place on the 14th of September. Kosovo has always been the constructive party, unfortunately, the only constructive party in that process. Unfortunately, the list of unimplemented agreements by Serbia is very long, so I will not dwell upon it. But I have to say that our hopes are right now that there will be a balanced approach. A balanced approach by the EU inter mediators is a precondition for the success of the process. There were times when we didn't see this balance.

So, I would like to call upon all of our partners and Allies to ensure this balance, to ensure a principle of full equality and equal footing of both parties in the process if we want to see sustainable results, and the results that truly contribute to peace and security and stability in the region. Now, of course, what remains at this point in time is discussing a sequencing plan for the agreements that were reached in Brussels and Ohrid.

Of course, that sequencing plan needs to take into account that the agreement in Brussels has 11 articles, not just one. So, we in the Republic of Kosovo have been insisting on full implementation of the entire agreement. There is not one article that is more important than the other and also have committed to fully implementing are part of the obligations but we should not ignore the fact that Serbia has undertaken concrete obligations in that agreement as well, among which is not objecting to Kosovo's membership in any international organization, of course, an obligation which it has already violated. And as discussed earlier, among others, although the agreement clearly calls on the parties to respect each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and the principle of equality, what happened post the agreement was that Serbia kidnapped three police officers within our territory.

And they continue with their destabilization efforts against the entire neighbor, all of the neighbors in the region, which is unfortunate, because in this way, they are not only destabilizing the Western Balkans, they are putting at risk the values based system that the European Union and NATO represent.

If I may add, when it comes to the issue of coordination with our NATO Allies: as President of the Republic, I've constantly worked to make sure that there is full coordination between Kosovo institutions, and the KFOR presence in Kosovo, because we because we believe that working together with allies produces better results, we all have the same goal, which is peace, stability, and security for all the people of Kosovo and the region. Nevertheless, the 2013 agreement, as Gjeraqina pointed out, only focuses on the Kosovo Security Force, the police of Kosovo has been acting in exercising its constitutional mandate.

Throughout all the territory of Kosovo for more than two decades  yesterday, we celebrated the anniversary of their creation  and by the way, it's the most professional police force and a multi ethnic force in the entire region. But as a as a principle of coordination, as President, I insist that coordinating with our allies, not just for the North, because Kosovo also has its south, its east and its west, we should coordinate and work together with Allies for every inch of our territory for the entire region, precisely because of our strategic orientation, which is Euro Atlantic integration.

Whenever we worked together with partners, the results were fruitful, there was more peace, more prosperity and more stability in the region. So we will continue to work together to address these joint security challenges. Because as the 29th of May has shown to all of us, those who are against Kosovo, are also against NATO. The attack against NATO soldiers showed that these destructive and malign forces want to attack the values based on which NATO as well as the foundation of our country, our base, so we will absolutely work with NATO and the presence of KFOR. But, of course, pointing out to the fact that the 2013 exchange of notes was a very narrow agreement and for all of our security institutions, we aim to make sure that they are in the near future part of the Euro Atlantic institutions.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg: the attack on NATO peacekeepers KFOR personnel that happened earlier this summer, in May, is totally unacceptable. And therefore it is important that those who are responsible are held accountable. There is an ongoing investigation by the Kosovo authorities. We also have the EU Lex, Mission in Kosovo. And then of course, the third responder is, is KFOR. Our mandate is based on the UN mandate. And our mandate is to ensure a safe and secure environment for all communities in Kosovo. But again, this is a law enforcement issue. It is an issue which is of great importance because it is unacceptable that peacekeepers that have a clear mandate and which are enforcing that mandate in a very difficult situation or attacked, a high number of wounded personnel and three of them with life altering wounds. So yes, those who are responsible must be held accountable and there is ongoing investigation.

NATO Spokesperson Dylan White: Time for just one more. I will go to Reuters, please.

Question 3: Secretary General, you mentioned the importance of neutrality and impartiality. But there's a widespread view in Kosovo and across the Balkans that NATO and the EU are going easy on Serbia, are turning a blind eye to Serbian actions in Kosovo, because Serbia is being helpful with weapons deliveries for Ukraine. Is that the case? And President Osmani, do you believe that to be the case?

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg: It's not the case. We have been very clear on our messages to Belgrade and I will say that also in my meeting with President Vucic.

Ms Vjosa Osmani of Kosovo: As I pointed out, those who attacked NATO on the 29th of May are clearly known to law enforcement agencies, there is video footage, which all of you have seen. Some of these people actually are police officers who came all the way from Serbia. So these are members of the institutions of Serbia. Not only that they have not been suspended from their jobs, but of course, they're not facing any consequences whatsoever. As we speak, Serbia continues to have 48 48 forward operation bases around the border with Kosovo: the so-called Russian humanitarian center very close to the border with Kosovo, which according to the American DOD, is a Russian spy center.

It continues to fly Russian MIG 29s around the border with Kosovo, it continues to increase its military, political, as well as economic cooperation with Russia, and of course coordinate fully coordinated foreign and security policy with Russia. Kosovo, on the other side is at the 100% alignment with every foreign and security policy decision of EU and NATO. I believe it is very clear who are the partners of the Euro Atlantic community in our region.

But at the same time, of course, we are fully aware that bringing Serbia closer to the Euro Atlantic community, bringing Serbia closer to the west is in the interest of all of us, of all of us. Serbia should be doing at least a little bit of its homework before it gets the support that it is receiving from the European Union. Because the EU money should go hand in hand with the EU values. That's not the case as we speak.

NATO Spokesperson Dylan White: It's all we have time for. Thank you all very much.
Air Canada kicks two passengers off flight for refusing to sit on vomit-covered seats

Air Canada has come under fire after kicking two passengers off a flight for refusing to sit on vomit-covered seats

On Aug. 29, passenger Susan Benson wrote about the incident in a post on Facebook. She explained that, before her five-hour flight from Las Vegas to Montreal on the morning of Aug. 26 took off, she and two of her fellow travelers "struggled to get seated" because of a rancid smell coming from their seats. (Related: Hawaii closes state's largest airport due to infestation of bed bugs, thanks to "robocleaners.")

"There was a bit of a foul smell but we didn't know at first what the problem was," wrote Benson. "Apparently, on the previous flight, someone had vomited in that area."

Benson added that the flight attendants attempted a quick cleanup before boarding by placing coffee grinds in the seat pouches and spraying perfume in a failed attempt to mask the smell.

"When the clearly upset passengers tried to explain to the flight attendant that the seat and seatbelt were wet and there was still visible vomit residue in their area, the flight attendant was very apologetic but explained that the flight was full and there was nothing they could do," wrote Benson. "The passengers said they couldn't possibly be expected to sit in vomit for five hours."

This argument reportedly went on for several minutes until the flight attendants brought out their supervisor, who reiterated that there was nothing the flight crew could do. The crew once again tried to alleviate the situation by giving the passengers blankets, wipes and more vomit bags.

But then the situation culminated when the pilot of the aircraft himself came down and ordered the passengers to leave the plane.

"Next thing we knew the pilot came down the aisle and very calmly knelt down and told the two ladies that they had two choices: They could leave the plane on their own accord and organize flights on their own dime, or they would be escorted off the plane by security and placed on a no-fly list," wrote Benson.

When the two passengers asked why they were being unceremoniously kicked off the flight, the pilot accused the women of being rude to the flight attendant.

"They were certainly not rude," wrote Benson. "They were upset and firm, but not rude."

Another passenger  an off-duty police officer  even tried to argue in defense of the two passengers, explaining to the pilot that they had literal vomit in their seats. But at this point, the pilot had already made up his mind and refused to argue any further.

"The pilot got up and walked to the front of the plane. Next thing we know security comes down the aisle and escorted the two ladies off the plane," wrote Benson. "For what? Refusing to sit in vomit for five hours. Air Canada literally expects [passengers] to sit in vomit or be escorted off the plane and placed on a no-fly list."

"I am ashamed to be a Canadian and ashamed of Air Canada," concluded Benson. "I hope they find a good lawyer and sue the pants off Air Canada Shame on you!"

Air Canada apologizes, refuses to confirm whether affected passengers were compensated for the trouble

When asked for comments from Canadian media outlets, Air Canada confirmed Benson's story and claimed that it was "reviewing this serious matter internally and [had] followed up with the customers directly."

"Our operating procedures were not followed correctly in this instance," wrote Air Canada, which added that it had already apologized directly to the passengers involved.

"They clearly did not receive the standard of care to which they were entitled," added the airline. "We remain in contact with them about this matter."

Air Canada has not confirmed whether or not it has provided any refunds or credit to the affected passengers.

In an interview with Canadian news outlet CTV, Benson said she feels like "it [deserves] more than an apology I mean, they were embarrassed and escorted off [the plane]."

In a short statement to CTV, Gabor Lukacs, president of the air travelers' advocacy group Air Passenger Rights, noted that the pilot's alleged behavior constitutes intimidation and making serious threats to the passengers, especially when he allegedly claimed the two passengers would be put on a no-fly list.

"That's a form of bullying. That's a serious threat," said Lukacs." The no-fly list is made for terrorists, not for someone the pilot doesn't like."

Watch this short clip of what happened when a pilot for Air Canada suddenly became "incapacitated" mid-flight, likely due to vaccinations.

This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

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Pilot shortage and union demand could make passenger flights unaffordable for ordinary Americans.

America is witnessing DELIBERATE DESTRUCTION of its aviation industry.

Get FAT enough, get FREE SEATS on airlines.

Woke United Airlines puts rainbow on San Fran-to-Sydney jetliner with all- LGBTQ crew, gets ripped on social media for no emphasis on safety or skills.

Sources include:

Fox5DC.com

Insider.com

Montreal.CTVNews.ca

Brighteon.com
We are being warned to brace ourselves for a super pandemic  will it arrive this winter?

We have already been through so much the past few years. COVID turned our society completely upside down, the monkeypox outbreak continues to cause excruciatingly painful skin sores all over the world , and the global bird flu pandemic has already killed more than 100 million chickens and turkeys in the United States and Europe. If bird flu mutates into a form that is easily spread among humans, the death toll could be catastrophic. As I have repeatedly warned my readers , we have entered a period of time when nightmarish pestilences will become increasingly common. Apparently, Googles AI chief agrees with me. In fact, he is warning that we need to brace ourselves for a super pandemic because the ability for normal people to cook up deadly new bugs any time they want has become one of the most serious threats that humanity is facing

(Article republished from EndOfTheAmericanDream.com)

One of the biggest threats facing the planet is a super-pandemic, warns Googles AI chief. Mustafa Suleyman is the billionaire founder of the computer giants artificial intelligence division but warns its not robots that pose the most danger to mankind. He claims the ability to cook up a deadly pandemic at home is likely to become commonplace before the end of this decade. Mustafa says that in the next five years or so, a kid in Russia could download the instruction set for a pandemic thats more lethal than anything we have encountered so far.

He makes a really good point.

But I am not worried about a kid in Russia.

What I am concerned about are the hundreds of secret labs that are already conducting these sorts of experiments all over the planet.

As we have seen, it is way too easy for an accident to happen.

Our scientists know that it is just a matter of time before the next pandemic arrives, and they are already busy developing new vaccines.

I dont know how they expect to create something effective if they dont know what the next pandemic will be, but they are plowing ahead with their work anyway

British scientists are already developing vaccines for a future Disease X pandemic, Sky News reported on Monday. After Covid-19, the researchers believe that deadly animal-borne pathogens  including bird flu, monkeypox, and hantavirus  may evolve to infect humans. The research is being carried out by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) at the high-security Porton Down laboratory complex in Wiltshire. Porton Downs Vaccine Development and Evaluation Center has been expanded since the coronavirus pandemic, and 200 scientists are now developing vaccines for animal viruses that havent yet infected humans. What were trying to do here is ensure that we prepare so that if we have a new Disease X, a new pathogen, we have done as much of that work in advance as possible, UKHSA chief Professor Dame Jenny Harries told Sky. Hopefully we can prevent [a pandemic]. But if we cant and we have to respond, then we have already started developing vaccines and therapeutics to crack it.

Unfortunately, the truth is that we dont know what will cause the next pandemic or where it will come from.

So we need to watch and be vigilant.

For example, right now a mysterious respiratory virus is spreading in India

Over the past few weeks, Hyderabad has been witnessing a spike in mysterious respiratory virus cases with symptoms similar to adenovirus, influenza, and Swine Flu. So far, it is being observed that the virus is only affecting either children or adults with comorbid conditions, according to a report published by Hindustan Times.

That is probably nothing.

But we will watch any strange bug that starts to spread.

The next major pandemic could erupt at literally any time.

As we wait for the next pandemic, COVID is making a comeback.

With each new variant, there is a new wave of fear.

This week, a variant that has been named Pirola is making a lot of headlines

A new, rapidly spreading coronavirus variant has sounded alarm bells for public health experts in the United States amid a rise in cases across the country. Doctors warned that the BA.2.86 variant  unofficially called Pirola  may be cause for concern as it is a newly-designated, highly-mutated variant of Omicron which triggered a surge in cases in a number of countries including the US. According to a Thursday bulletin in Yale Medicine, the new variant has more than 30 mutations to its spike protein  located on the outer surface of a coronavirus  which helps it enter and infect human cells.

And the CDC is warning that two other variants named Eris and Fornax are collectively causing a huge spike in cases here in the United States

This is all to say: Covid-19 appears to be making a comeback. And whats more, this summer and fall uptick coincides with (but may not be caused by) a new dominant variant of the virus taking hold in the US. Its called EG.5, unofficially nicknamed Eris, and the CDC estimates its causing 20.6 percent of current Covid-19 cases in the country. And its on the rise: Since the beginning of July, EG.5s prevalence has increased 12.7 percent. And its not the only variant making waves. The second most dominant variant is FL.1.5.1 (Fornax). At the beginning of August, this variant was the fifth most prevalent, accounting for only 7.1 percent of cases. It now accounts for 13.3 percent of cases.

As the weather turns colder, it is probably inevitable that more people will start getting sick.

In turn, many on the left will be calling for a return of restrictions and mandates.

In fact, authorities in New York City were already encouraging people to mask up for the Labor Day weekend

People in New York are being encouraged to mask up this Labor Day weekend as the number of COVID-19 cases rise, including two new variants. New York Citys health department spokesman said wearing a mask could be a good idea when in crowded places this holiday weekend, as many will be in large groups.

Seriously?

After all this time, they expect people to begin doing that again?

During an interview with CNN, Dr. Fauci expressed his concern that people will not abide by recommendations if the CDC asks people to start wearing masks in the months ahead

In a Saturday interview, former White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci spoke out in defense of masking up amid todays rising COVID cases. In the event that masks are again recommended, he is concerned that people will not abide by recommendations, he said in the interview. I would hope that if we get to the point that the volume of cases is such and organizations like the CDC recommends  CDC does not mandate anything  recommends that people wear masks, I would hope that people abide by that recommendation and take into account the risks to themselves and their families, Fauci told CNN.

At this point, I think that most of the population has grown tired of the recommendations of Fauci and other experts.

If you doubt this, just take a look at the numbers.

To me, they tell a very clear story

Just 17% of Americans as of May rolled up their sleeves for the latest round of shots offered. Thats a steep drop from the first shot, which saw 81% of the population roll up their sleeves. But there are reasons to be hopeful that uptake of the shots could be higher this time around. A survey from KFF found that more than half of adults said they are likely to get another COVID-19 booster shot if its offered annually like the flu shot.

Personally, I dont think that COVID will be a big story in 2024 and beyond.

I believe that pestilences that are far more severe are inevitably coming.

And when they arrive, they will create far more fear than anything that we have witnessed during the past few years.

Read more at: EndOfTheAmericanDream.com
A Barboursville man has been charged with first-degree murder in Tuesdays shooting death of a local woman in her Culpeper apartment.

Harrison L. Jackson, 47, was taken into custody early Wednesday following a more than eight-hour standoff with police in an apartment complex on the edge of town. He was also charged with five counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to a release from Virginia State Police spokesman Sgt. Brent Coffey.

Jackson is being held in the Culpeper County Jail without bond eligibility.

The shooting victim, Jolanda M. Frye, 47, of Culpeper, died at the scene, in her home, from her injuries, according to state police.

Her remains were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Manassas for an autopsy and examination, Coffey said.

Around 7:10 p.m. on Sept. 5, the Culpeper County Sheriff's Office, Culpeper Police Department, Fauquier Sheriff's Office, and Virginia State Police responded to Friendship Heights apartment complex in the 600 block of Friendship Way for an emergency call for a domestic incident with shots were fired inside an apartment.

Upon arrival, law enforcement encountered Jackson, armed with a gun, according to Coffey. The suspect retreated from a third-floor balcony and barricaded himself inside the apartment throughout the night, police said.

Law enforcement attempted to gain access to the residence to help Frye, the woman who called 911 for help, when the suspect began firing at them, according to Coffey. Law enforcement determined that the woman had passed away, in starting negotiations with Jackson in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, Coffey said.

At 3:51 a.m. on Sept. 6, the man was taken into custody without further incident. A shelter-in-place order by Culpeper County Public Safety Communications Center to residents of the apartment complex, newly named Spark Culpeper, was in place for the duration of the incident.

Jackson in 2019 pleaded guilty to felony eluding police in Culpeper Circuit Court and received a six-month jail sentence, according to court records. A booking photo was not immediately available.
Hungarian foreign minister: EU smears advocates of Kyiv-Moscow peace talks as spies, Kremlin propagandists

It is unfortunate that anyone advocating for an immediate ceasefire and peace talks to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict is often condemned and labeled as a "Russian spy" or a "Kremlin propagandist," says Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

He made this comment during an Aug. 29 visit to Slovenia, where he criticized the European Union's approach to the ongoing war. He pointed out that the EU's usual stance of advocating peace talks in armed conflicts was not applied to this particular situation.

"In remote armed conflicts, the EU's Foreign Affairs Council usually calls for peace talks between the opposing parties, but the opposite principle is applied toward the conflict between Russia and Ukraine," Szijjarto stated.

The Hungarian official expressed concern over Brussels' weakened position in recent years  particularly in the areas of security, economy and energy security. He attributed this decline to a series of decisions, or lack thereof, made by the EU. Regarding security, he highlighted the serious consequences of the Ukraine conflict on the EU's immediate neighborhood, emphasizing that Hungarians were also affected by the fighting.

Szijjarto stressed the need for sensible reforms within the EU and advocated for prioritizing the enlargement of the bloc. He specifically mentioned the importance of admitting Western Balkan states, with the belief that it would significantly strengthen the community.

Additionally, he addressed economic cooperation with China, noting the shift in global GDP shares between the EU and China. Szijjarto argued against cutting economic ties with China, referring to it as "de-risking," and instead suggested that strong economic cooperation with China could contribute to the EU's economic growth.

Putin: Moscow not rejecting peace talks to end the war

In August, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell pushed for a ministerial-level meeting in late September to discuss peace in Ukraine. Speaking at a press conference in the Spanish town of Santander, he said officials are "working on a high-level gathering" that will "probably take place" in September.

Borrell was referring to a plan to upgrade a meeting at the political directors' level on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York to a ministerial. The meeting would follow talks that took place with more than 40 countries  including China  in early August in the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

According to Borrell, the Jeddah meeting was "another step by Ukraine to get the international community to put pressure on Russia to stop the war." He added: "Only Russia can stop it. Russia started it and Russia has to end it."

In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he does not reject peace talks to end the conflict. Speaking following meetings with African leaders in Saint Petersburg, Putin suggested that African and Chinese initiatives could serve as a foundation for finding a peaceful resolution. (Related: Peace talks over Russia-Ukraine conflict could be held as soon as July, German media reports.)

However, he also emphasized that a ceasefire couldn't be considered while the Ukrainian army remained on the offensive. Regarding peace talks, both Ukraine and Russia have previously outlined their respective preconditions for negotiations. Kyiv insists it won't cede any territory, while Moscow asserts that Kyiv must accept the "new territorial reality" of Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territory.

The Russian leader also defended the arrest of voices critical of the "special military operation," claiming some people were harming the country from the inside. Criticism of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine is outlawed and most prominent opposition members are behind bars or in exile.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, leading to the occupation of territories in the country's south and east.

Visit WWIII.news for more stories about peace talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

Watch this Russia Today report pointing out how Russia wasn't invited during the "peace meeting" for Ukraine in Saudi Arabia.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

DOUBLE AGENT? China supplies drones to both Ukraine and Russia.

Polish diplomat suggests his country will declare war on Russia if Ukraine loses.

RFK Jr. on Ukraine: Russia is fighting an EXISTENTIAL war and can't afford to lose.

Sources include:

RMX.news

POLITICO.eu

BBC.com

Brighteon.com
Will the FDA finally be held accountable for attacking ivermectin on Twitter?

There is a really good chance that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will finally be held accountable for trying to stop Americans from taking ivermectin during the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) "pandemic."

The very same lawsuit that forced the FDA to admit that it has no legal authority to prohibit Americans from taking ivermectin is also expected to deliver a judgment of punishment against the corrupt federal agency once all the dust settles.

An appeals court judge just ruled that the three doctor plaintiffs behind the suit can proceed with their case against the FDA, which alleges that the agency greatly overstepped its bounds with anti-ivermectin messaging to the American public.

"The FDA is not a physician," Judge Don Willett from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, wrote in his ruling. "It has authority to inform, announce and appraise  but not to endorse, denounce, or advise."

"Left unmentioned in most of that messaging: ivermectin also comes in a human version."

(Related: At the height of COVID, we conducted a fact check showing that the FDA first approved ivermectin for human use back in 1996  it is not just for barnyard animals.)

Should the FDA be disbanded entirely?

Judge Willett's statements about the FDA conveniently failing to ever mention that ivermectin is a human drug as well as a livestock drug points to the infamous message that the FDA tweeted during COVID that tried to make it seem like ivermectin is only for animals.

"You are not a horse," the FDA mocked in the tweet. "You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it."

The FDA also tweeted a link to an entire article telling Americans not to take ivermectin, and once again failing to mention that the FDA itself approved ivermectin for human use nearly 30 years ago.

"The 'experts' failed you during COVID," commented conservative stalwart Charlie Kirk about the matter. "Never again."

NEWThe 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has ruled in favor of three doctors allowing them to move forward with their lawsuit, saying the FDA abused its authority with Anti-Ivermectin messaging to Americans. FDA is not a Physician. "It has authority to inform, pic.twitter.com/knmrrTRLox  Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 3, 2023

"The doctors have plausibly alleged that FDA's posts fell on the wrong side of the line between telling about and telling to," Judge Willett further wrote for a panel that also included Jennifer Walker Elrod and Edith Brown Clement.

The three doctors who filed the suit include Drs. Robert L. Apter, Mary Talley Bowden and Paul E. Marik. All three say they were harmed by the FDA's anti-ivermectin campaign, and Bowden specifically stated that she lost her privileges at a Texas hospital because of the FDA's illicit behavior and messaging.

Prior to reaching the appeals court, Judge Jeffrey Vincent Brown, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, tossed out the case, arguing that the FDA holds "sovereign immunity," a legal principle that more often than not shields U.S. government agencies against civil lawsuits related to their duties.

Judge Willett, however, disagrees. He says the FDA's clear overreach could make the agency vulnerable to legal action, which is what the three doctors aim to achieve, to the fullest extent of the law.

"It's high time that these ghoulish agencies are held accountable for the evil they unleashed," commented Revolver news about the case.

"If ivermectin has efficacy, which it does, then the Emergency Use Authorization for the vaccines was invalid," noted another about Operation Warp Speed.

"They, the drug companies, would have had to do full longitudinal studies."

The FDA could go down in history as one of the most corrupt government agencies to ever exist. Learn more at FDA.news.

Sources for this article include:

Revolver.news

NaturalNews.com
THE GREAT GREEN CON: Bill Gates wants to address global warming by chopping down and burying TREES

Business magnate Bill Gates wants to tackle what climate alarmists have been cautioning people about  global warming  by cutting trees down and burying them . These, according to him, will reduce carbon emissions and cool down the planet.

In a recent episode of EpochTV's "Crossroads," award-winning investigative reporter Joshua Philipp discussed how Gates is carrying out another globalist push to depopulate  only from an entirely different angle: taking down the forest, tucking the trees "six feet under" and regulating the "free oxygen" people breathe.

Gates and other investors are betting Kodama Systems, which describes itself as an innovator in forest restoration, can reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air by chopping down trees and burying them. The said forest management company has raised $6.6 million in a series of seed funding from Gates' climate fund Breakthrough Energy Ventures, as well as Congruent Ventures and other investors.

The scientists added that burying trees can save the environment as it can reduce global warming and wildfires. They believe that forests and trees are a fire hazard. "I don't know where they're finding these scientists, by the way," the podcast host stated. "Normally a lumberjack cuts trees to sell the lumber to build houses. They are arguing that they want to rather than sell the timber, take all the wood and just bury it because they are saying that is a better solution. And so, in other words, this is business. Because they are getting money to create carbon offsets and this is what Bill Gates is financing."

He also added that the U.S. Forest Services aims to thin out 70 million acres of Western forest, mostly in California in the next decade, extracting more than one billion tons of bone-dry biomass. Usually, after such forest thinning, logs of marketable size go to sawmills, with most of the rest piled up and later burned under controlled conditions. But Kodama wants to bury the leftovers in earthen vaults designed to maintain dry and anoxic (oxygen-free) conditions and protect the wood from rotting or burning.

Meanwhile, as per the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), trees absorb and store CO2 in their fibers, helping clean the air. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, a mature tree absorbs more than 48 pounds of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in one year and releases oxygen in exchange. "So, you'd actually want more trees. If you actually believe the climate change narrative, you'd actually think that the solution is to plant more trees," Philipp pointed out.

However, Gates still bankrolled Kodama's drive in a "stealth effort to bury wood for carbon removal." The way this racket works is that they are creating a product claiming to offset carbon emissions, and the "creator of the project" gets paid by certain states for the "saleable carbon offsets" and maybe someday tax credits, the host explained. (Related: Unmasking the Great Reset: Schwab, Gates, and the sinister WEF plot to depopulate the world using COVID vaccines & climate change lies.)

Follow the money: Biomass burial is a "promising" industry

Along with the seed money, Kodama has already received $1.1 million in grants from California's forest fire agency and others, as well as purchase commitments for the carbon credits tied to the first 400 tons of trees it buries. Those credits could fetch $200 a ton.

In addition, payments company Stripe also provided a $250,000 research grant to the company and its research partner, the Yale Carbon Containment Lab, as part of a broader carbon removal announcement. That grant will support a pilot effort to bury waste biomass harvested from California forests and study how well it prevents the release of greenhouse gases, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Review reported.

It also agreed to purchase about 415 tons of carbon dioxide eventually sequestered by the company for another $250,000, if that proof-of-concept project achieves specific benchmarks.

"Biomass burial has the potential to become a low-cost, high-scale approach for carbon removal, though there is a need for further investigation into its long-term durability," said Joanna Klitzke, procurement and ecosystem strategy lead for Stripe.

For the last several years, the financial firm has pre-purchased tons of carbon dioxide that startups aim to eventually draw out of the air and permanently sequester, in an effort to help build up a carbon removal industry. It has also helped establish a different model for counteracting corporate climate emissions that goes beyond simply purchasing carbon credits from popular offset projects, such as those that involve planting trees.

Visit Globalism.news for more news about the dubious plans and actions of globalists like Bill Gates.

Watch the video below that talks about how Gates spearheads the cutting and burying of trees.

This video is from the TNTVNEWS channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Bill Gates flies around Australia for climate change lectures in $70m private jet that guzzles fossil fuels.

Climate insanity: Bill Gates invests in Aussie firm looking to address COW BURPS.

Check has cleared: U.S. Chamber of Commerce formally surrenders to Bill Gates and globalism.

Video shows Bill Gates admitting "clean energy" solving climate change is a SCAM.

Sources include:

En-Volve.com

Twitter.com

100PercentFedUp.com

USDA.gov

TechnologyReview.com

Brighteon.com
60% of recipients of Swedens unemployment benefits are IMMIGRANTS, and slightly under half are of non-European origin

New data unveiled by the government of Sweden showed that around 60 percent of recipients of unemployment benefits in the country were not born in Sweden  and slightly under half of those are " non-European immigrants ."

At a press conference where senior Swedish government ministers announced a job tax cut that could see families save around 14,000 Swedish krona ($1,264) per year, these same officials also noted how an "overwhelming majority" of people who live on government benefits in the country are immigrants. (Related: Europeans don't realize "one day they will become a minority in their own countries," warns best-selling South African writer Ernst Roets in interview with Hungarian media.)

Government figures provided at the conference showed that around 300,000 people in Sweden are currently registered as unemployed with the Swedish Public Employment Service, the country's main government agency for helping job seekers match with employers.

Data shows that around 60 percent of all recipients of unemployment benefits in Sweden have foreign origins, with slightly under half having non-European ancestry. The country's immigrant population at the end of last year was estimated to be at around 2.15 million, or around 20 percent of the Swedish population. This means that migrants disproportionately make up a majority of unemployed people receiving welfare benefits.

Sweden's conservative government working overtime to overhaul immigration policies

Sweden's conservative government, which receives support from the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats party, has sought to reform the country's very open immigration laws since taking office in September 2022. Several new draft bills have already been announced, designed to add more requirements for migrants to come and work in the country.

One such proposal, which has already been turned into law and will begin next month, will require prospective migrants to show that they have secured employment with a salary of at least 26,560 Swedish krona ($2,392) per month, or more than double the current threshold of 13,000 krona ($1,171).

To continue the fight against illegal immigration, the conservative government is also considering introducing a mandatory requirement for public institutions to report whenever they come into contact with illegal immigrants, known within Swedish government circles as migrants with "irregular situations."

Minister for Migration Policy Maria Malmer Stenergard noted that increased cooperation between the national government and every agency within the public sector is necessary to counter the growing migrants staying in the country illegally.

"The proposal for mandatory reporting of illegal immigrants in the public sector can counteract the shadow society," she announced. Stenergard added that government data reports that around 100,000 people may be staying in Sweden illegally.

The conservative government is currently reviewing the legal framework for this proposal to work out exemptions and to figure out what new tools authorities can be given to grant them more power to check the immigration status of individuals within Sweden.

For example, Sweden Democrats Member of Parliament Ludvig Aspling noted that it is currently illegal for Swedish police to carry out random internal immigration checks.

"It could be an effective tool in this context," said Aspling. These checks can be carried out with fingerprinting, and the government is currently considering allowing greater use of biometrics, including facial recognition, as well as DNA analysis for these immigration checks.

The government also plans to increase the limitation period for deportation decisions, which is currently at four years.

Other proposals include one that will put a strict time limit on "Swedish for Immigrants" classes to make sure that the migrants attending these government-sponsored language classes will take learning the Swedish language seriously.

Minister for Employment and Integration Johan Pehrson noted that it is "crucial" for immigrants to learn the language to get them into the labor market and reduce the "very large" gap in unemployment between people born in Sweden and people born outside the country.

"It's crucial that people speak Swedish if they are going to work in these roles," said Pehrson, referring to several industries in dire need of staff. He added that putting extra pressure on Swedish for Immigrants classes, combined with getting migrants into the workforce, could be an effective way of properly integrating migrants into Swedish society.

Learn more about the global migrant crisis at Migrants.news.

Watch this short clip of a massive migrant caravan making its way through Libya in Northern Africa en route to Europe.

This video is from the HaloRock channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

REAL or STAGED? Sweden's drone surveillance EXPANDED due to violent gang wars.

Economic collapse incoming: Sweden hit with wave of bankruptcy filings.

Sweden finds Europe's largest deposit of rare earth elements  but it will take over a decade to start mining them.

Swedish PM admits failure of integrating migrants, laments society becoming "too weak."

Swedish researchers under attack for writing a paper analyzing rape cases committed by migrants in Sweden.

Sources include:

RMX.news

Samnytt.se

Euractiv.com

Vardfokus.se

TheLocal.se

Brighteon.com
Maui victims royally screwed by local, state and federal governments  some residents are even ARRESTED for trying to return to their own homes

It has been about a month since catastrophic "wildfires" swept through West Maui and consumed the formerly idyllic island village of Lahaina, leaving thousands without a house, food and other necessities. And according to locals governments are doingto help.

One journalist who is on the ground in Maui says that local residents are being "royally screwed" by the very people who are supposed to be helping them. What is worse, some victims are actually being arrested by police simply for trying to visit their own homes.

We are told that at least 115 people were killed in the August 8 inferno. Hundreds of others, including a disturbing number of children, are also missing, which is only fueling speculation that child traffickers may have capitalized on the tragedy to nab a few more kids for their clients.

Thankfully, more than 3,000 people who were previously unaccounted for have been reported safe. As of this writing, there are 385 names on a list of still-missing people, their whereabouts currently unknown.

"We're releasing this list ... because we know it will help the investigation," said Maui Police Chief John Pelletier in a video message he shared with the public. "We're also balancing that because we know when this list comes out, it can and will cause pain for some folks."

"This is not an easy thing to do, but we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to make this investigation as complete and thorough as possible."

Steven Merrill, an FBI special agent who was appointed to oversee Honolulu, also commented that he and his colleagues are "very thankful for the people who have reached out by phone or email."

"As we get someone off of a list, this has enabled us to devote more resources to those who are still on the list."

(Related: Check out our earlier coverage about things that should have burned in the Maui fires but that were left mysteriously unscathed.)

Why won't the government disclose the number of missing, dead CHILDREN?

Journalist Nick Sortor, however, is painting a much different and more profoundly dire picture of what is really happening in West Maui  or rather, what is not happening in terms of the government providing appropriate aid to survivors.

"Good morning again from Maui, where residents are being ROYALLY screwed by local, state and federal governments," Sortor tweeted. "There are COUNTLESS important issues to note, but here are just a handful."

Sortor then listed the following seven issues that Maui survivors face:

Police and military checkpoints are popping up "at literally every corner" in and around Lahaina, almost like it is being taken over by force through martial law.

Many local residents are becoming impoverished because everything remains shut down  closed for business.

Because of government actions, tens of thousands of people in Maui are now out of work, "and countless people are about to be forced into bankruptcy."

It is next to impossible to access any kind of federal aid, even though it is readily available.

For some unknown reason, the government still will not address the number of children, minors, who are either missing or dead.

will not address the number of children, minors, who are either missing or dead. The government keeps changing the "official" number of missing people in general, which suggests they are lying.

Law enforcement is aggressively deterring residents from attempting to visit their own homes by arresting offenders.

"MARK MY WORDS: We WILL get to the bottom of all this," Sortor promised. "I'm putting together a team of local residents & journalists to make it happen. WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT HIDING? WHY DO THEY KEEP LYING TO THE GREAT PEOPLE OF MAUI?"

"I came back to Maui, because the situation is getting WORSE. Corruption is potentially running rampant  including within the NGOs (potentially even within the government-funded Red Cross)."

The latest news about the horrific situation in Maui right now can be found at Disaster.news.

Sources for this article include:

WND.com

NaturalNews.com
Michigan police memos raised concern about possible nationwide voter registration fraud scheme

Michigan authorities suspected there was a possible voter registration fraud scheme occurring across multiple states during the 2020 election and were concerned enough to bring in the FBI, according to police memos reviewed by Just the News. But what happened since remains mostly a mystery.

(Article by Natalia Mittelstadt republished from JustTheNews.com)

According to the dozens of pages of police reports from the Muskegon Police Department and Michigan State Police, a firm called GBI Strategies was under scrutiny as an organization central to alleged voter registration fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which was first investigated by city and state authorities before the FBI took over.

Contacts between local law enforcement and the FBI continued into 2022 but there is no evidence of what happened after that in the memos obtained by Just the News through state Freedom of Information FOIA requests.

Police from Michigan interviewed GBI Strategies employees there and cited specific instances of registrations that appeared suspicious or fraudulent, the memos show. One State Police memo described the possible crime being investigated as "Election Fraud by Forgery."

The Michigan attorney general's office confirmed earlier this month that there was a state investigation into thousands of suspected fraudulent voter registrations, which was referred to the FBI, the Bridge Michigan reported.

Earlier this month, Danny Wimmer, press secretary for the State Attorney General, told Just the News that among 8,000 to 10,000 voter registration forms that were submitted to the Muskegon clerk before the 2020 general election, some were suspected to be fraudulent.

"An organization turned in some thousands of voter registrations throughout the fall of 2020, estimated on the high end to be cumulatively 8-10,000, and some within those batches were found to be suspicious or fraudulent," Wimmer said. There were legitimate registrations within the batches. The city clerk receiving the batches alerted authorities when she began noticing irregularities.

"None of the fraudulent material was incorporated into the states qualified voter file, and this had no effect on any ballot requests or associated processes. This attempted fraud was detected because the system worked," Wimmer added.

The Muskegon Police Department began investigating GBI Strategies after the Muskegon City Clerks Office reported suspected voter registration fraud, according to a police report first dated Oct. 16, 2020, which Just the News obtained from a FOIA request.

The city clerks office said that a woman who dropped off the fraudulent voter registrations on Oct. 8, 2020 said she worked for GBI Strategies, the police report reads.

The police interviewed the woman, called Suspect 1 in the police report, and she explained that she receives $1150.00 a week, hotels services and a rental vehicle for her work.

She also said she was tasked with finding unregistered voters and provide them with a form so they can get registered and obtain their ballot, according to the police report. Suspect 1 initially stated that her canvassers earn money for each person that completes the form. She later told us that they are paid $9.25 per hour with extra money for working weekends.

The suspect said in the report that she worked [in the] Muskegon, Detroit, Ypsilanti, Southfield, Flint and Lansing area.

While many voter registration forms that canvassers obtain are unusable because they are incomplete or illegible, according to the suspect the police report added that "She claimed that the forms she had with her were complete and checked for accuracy." When the police inspected some of the forms, they found instead that some of the addresses didnt exist or had incomplete information.

Muskegon police investigated the alleged fraud with Michigan State Police, who executed a search warrant for an office of GBI Strategies. A woman who was a canvasser and at the office during the search told police she made $15 an hour, contrary to what the suspect told police earlier.

The canvasser at the office added that canvassers who work two shifts a day, four hours each, for six days would receive a $60 bonus, while those who worked two shifts for seven days would get an $85 bonus, according to the report.

Just the News obtained the report, but the names of all GBI Strategies employees were redacted.

Muskegon police interviewed yet another woman who worked for GBI Strategies from Atlanta, Ga. She worked with another man from Atlanta and had a supervisor from New York. The woman also mentioned a Philadelphia office.

Wimmer told The Detroit News that GBI Strategies conducts voter registration drives and is headquartered in Tennessee.

There is a business listing for GBI Strategies in Cordova, Tenn, but Just the News has been unable to confirm that they are the same entity as the one under investigation.

Open Secrets, a non-partisan research group that tracks money in U.S. politics provides data showing that GBI has been paid millions of dollars in the 2020 election cycle by Democratic and far-left groups. These groups include the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ($2,117,605); DNC Services Corp. ($1,031,856); and the Biden for President Campaign, who paid GBI $450,000.

GBI Strategies didnt respond to multiple calls requesting comment.

According to Michigan State Police reports obtained by Just the News via a public records request, on Oct. 21, 2020, Detective First Lieutenant Michael Anderson was contacted by the Chief of Investigations for the state Attorney Generals Office and asked to assist "with a joint investigation of alleged voter fraud being conducted by the Muskegon Police Department and the AG. An investigative task force was formed, and an investigation was initiated."

During the investigation, Michigan State Police conducted a search of a GBI Strategies office in Southfield, Mich., and found four rifles, four pistols, and a whiteboard with several notes on it.

"One of the categories was Hot Topics," the report continues. "Under Hot Topics listed: weapons in the field, prepared for shifts, Covid questionnaire needs to be asked whether canvasser is new or not, mask enforcement, no eating in vans. Another heading was 'Tiff GA Project and the words underneath: 44 Paycards, 30 Phones, 20 tablets. Another heading was Charleston to Columbia with the words underneath: 10 tabs (Russ), 1 ten port, 2 pads (4). Another heading appeared to show Tablets to be shipped to PA, MIA & ALA."

Read more at: JustTheNews.com
LGBT CRIMES: Americas largest teachers union tells educators to DESTROY ALL EVIDENCE of student gender identity surveys

A surge of lawsuits filed against public school districts that corrupt children with LGBT indoctrination and perversion has prompted the Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA), a Colorado affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest teachers' union, to urge schools in its district to destroy any and all evidence of LGBT grooming in the classroom.

While the JeffCo Public Schools district says it remains "unclear" whether or not surveys about "preferred pronouns" were administered to students in violation of state law, both the district and the teachers' union are telling schools to destroy anything that might suggest a breach of the law.

Both federal and state law forbid mandatory surveys such as the ones the JCEA is telling public schools in Jefferson County, Colorado's fourth-most populous county covering part of Denver, to destroy. And all voluntary surveys must include a parent opt-out in order to be compliant with the law.

As we know, many rogue LGBT-obsessed "educators" have turned their classrooms into transgender factories. And many of them are flagrantly violating the law in their desperate attempts to sexualize the students under their care.

(Related: In the United Kingdom, teachers can be suspended for merely questioning the LGBT indoctrination of children in the classroom.)

JCEA tells teachers to use pencil and paper for LGBT surveys so they can be erased or destroyed easily

If teachers within the JeffCo Public Schools district wish to groom and probe their students with LGBT perversion, then the JCEA wants them to be sure they always use pencil and paper because "any digital records are more permanent and may be requested under federal law."

In other words, the JCEA is giving JeffCo Public Schools tips and tricks for concealing their unlawful behavior, making it complicit in criminal activity that deserves immediate attention from law enforcement.

In an email to the district about the matter, the JCEA further "encouraged" teachers at JeffCo Public Schools to "make [...] notations about students and not hold on to the documents"  because, again, if records or proof of illegal behavior go public, then it could lead to prosecution against the JCEA and JeffCo Public Schools for sexual crimes against children.

Since the JCEA issued this guidance, JeffCo parents claim that "dozens" of district teachers have administered gender identity surveys in violation of the law. Many parents are livid about this, stating that the teachers' union is basically telling teachers to "break the law and hide the evidence."

"The leadership actually provided an avenue to get around the law and basically saying it was okay," said school board member Susan Miller, adding that if teachers are caught engaging in this type of illegal behavior, they could lose their licensure.

"I don't feel I can trust the teachers," added Denice Crawford, a parent with students in the district.

Crawford reported the gender identity survey her son received to his school's principal, but never received any response. Mind you, Crawford has a transgender nephew and a lesbian daughter, so she is not anti-LGBT.

"This is not political," she commented. "It's just that they're breaking the law."

When asked what she believes should happen to the school district and the JCEA, Crawford responded with, "the same thing that would happen to anybody breaking the law: accountability and correction."

"I want parents to know the district takes this very seriously," added Miller.

Numerous commenters on a story about the fiasco suggested breaking up the teachers' unions and perhaps even shutting down public school districts entirely and allowing parents to send their property tax dollars to the private schools of their choice.

Only an evil grooming pedophile would probe underage children about made-up sexual perversions like "gender identity." Learn more at Evil.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheCollegeFix.com

NaturalNews.com
Parents and school officials of small Irish town unite to BAN SMARTPHONES for children as old as 13

Parents in the small seaside Irish town of Greystones in County Wicklow, have come together to implement a ban on smartphone usage for their children

All eight primary schools in Greystones, about 15 miles south of Dublin and with a population of 18,000, have joined parents' associations in adopting the "no-smartphone code."

This voluntary pact prohibits children from having smartphones  at home, school or anywhere else  until they reach secondary school at the age of 12 or 13. The parents and school administrators hope applying this code to all children in the city will curb instances of peer pressure and dampen any resentment from kids who see their friends also having smartphones.

The impact of the code has been immediate for some parents as it provided them with support and made it easier to say "no" when they know that a significant majority agree with the restriction.

"If everyone does it across the board you don't feel like you're the odd one out. It makes it so much easier to say 'no,'" said Laura Bourne, who has a child in primary school. "The longer we can preserve their innocence the better.

Schools in Greystones had previously banned or restricted smartphones on their grounds but were concerned because they still saw the negative effects of social media on children who had and used smartphones outside of their campuses.

The parents and schools aimed to tackle concerns about smartphones fueling anxiety in children and exposing them to inappropriate content, including adult material.

A town-wide policy reduces the chance of a child having a peer with a smartphone and parents can present the code as a school rule, said Racher Harper, the principal of St. Patrick's school, which led the initiative. "They love it  now they can blame the schools."

"Childhoods are getting shorter and shorter," added Harper. "Nine-year-olds had started requesting smartphones. It's creeping in younger and younger, we could see it happening." (Related: Poll: Parents most concerned about excessive use of SOCIAL MEDIA and mobile devices as kids return to school.)

Greystones' initiative draws interest all over Ireland

The initiative has drawn interest from parents' associations in Ireland and abroad. It has even prompted Irish Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, a father of three who also happens to reside near Greystones, to recommend the no smartphones code as a nationwide policy.

"Ireland can be, and must be, a world leader in ensuring that children and young people are not targeted and are not harmed by their interactions with the digital world," wrote Donnelly in an opinion piece published in The Irish Times. "We must make it easier for parents to limit the content their children are exposed to."

The Greystones pact stemmed from children showing anxiety levels only partly attributable to the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, said Harper. Schools circulated questionnaires among parents, leading to a meeting of community stakeholders and an initiative dubbed "It Takes a Village."

Not all parents will deny their primary schoolchildren a smartphone  the code is voluntary  but enough have signed up to create a sense of critical mass, said Harper. "Hopefully down the line, it'll become the new norm."

Like Bourne, Nikkie Barrie, who has an 11-year-old in primary school, said the impact was immediate. "This code makes such a difference to my life. If I know 90 percent of the class is in agreement, it makes my job easier in saying no."

Barrie wishes the pact could be extended to the early years of secondary school given a smartphone's effect on her 13-year-old. "Its been the bane of my life, I've 'lost' my daughter. When technology is involved they sit there like robots engulfed in this world of TikTok or whatever."

Visit FutureTech.news for more on the negative effects of smartphone use.

Watch the following video to learn about smartphones and how they connect to your brain to manipulate your thoughts.

This video is from the VoiceForTruth channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Screen time linked to developmental delays in young children.

Finland introduces world's first phone-free island to study effects of social media addiction.

Mental health in the digital age: 7 Ways to control your smartphone use.

Alabama school districts sue social media companies for causing youth mental health crisis.

Sources include:

The-Sun.com

TheGuardian.com

IrishTimes.com

Brighteon.com
Steve Bannon says Trump will declassify assassination documents on JFK, RFK, Malcolm X, and MLK Jr.

Should he be elected president again and actually make it into the White House, Donald Trump plans to declassify all assassination documents associated with John F. Kennedy (JFK), Robert F. Kennedy (RFK), Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK Jr.).

"On the afternoon of the 20th [of January 2025] ... he's going to declassify everything!" announced Steve Bannon at the recent Turning Point Action Conference about Trump's plans for a second term.

"We're going to release all the assassination files on John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Bobby Kennedy."

Bannon also said that Trump is going to "throw in two more for bonus" as an enticement to get more people to vote for him in 2024.

"The assassination attempt on George Wallace, so we covered everybody," Bannon said.

"And under Bill Barr, we're going to take the file on Jeffrey Epstein and see who murdered him under Bill Barr. And every foreign intelligence apparatus that worked with him, it's all coming out."

(Related: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is also running for president in 2024 as a Democrat.)

Trump will go straight to work in January 2025  no parade or even lunch

Bannon told the crowd that, if elected again, Trump will get straight to work the day he is inaugurated. Trump will skip the parades and even lunch with the "big swells," as Bannon called them.

"We know the enemy's the Chinese Communist Party, the KGB, the Mullahs, and the administrative state," Bannon went on to bellow, receiving loud cheers from the audience.

"They're trying to keep the information from you. You're the most powerful force in the history of mankind. The Revolution. The Civil War. World War II. There is nothing [that has] ever defeated the American people."

"And an informed American citizen, with the consent of the governed that does not comply, needs that information."

Since many of his former supporters are still outraged over his Operation Warp Speed push, which unleashed Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) "vaccines" so the Biden regime could mandate them, Trump will have to talk a really big game to garner the support he needs to win.

With RFK Jr. making the rounds promising to do many of these same things and a whole lot more, Trump will need to set himself apart from Kennedy in such a way that We the People know he means business and will actually keep his word.

According to Bannon, Trump wants to go after the CIA in the same way Kennedy is promising to do.

"We're going to start with declassification of the 25 heroes that were CIA agents embedded in Beijing and throughout China that were murdered. Why? Because a mole turned their names over," Bannon said.

"We need all the investigative files. Can the American people handle that? You think they can handle it? We're going to release it all. All of it's going to be declassified because the reason they classify it is to keep the information from you."

On Twitter, one person asked why Trump did not do all of these things during his first term.

"Why did it not occur during his first presidency?" this person asked. "And more relevant now is what happened with pardoning Julian Assange?"

Another pointed out that all the declassification in the world is meaningless unless the documents being declassified are unredacted.

"Trump said all this before and, no, it didn't happen," this person wrote. "Don't say things that aren't going to happen  voters are paying attention."

"Did he lock Hillary up yet?" another asked.

More related news coverage can be found at Trump.news.

Sources for this article include:

Twitter.com

NaturalNews.com
Is THIS the reason why blue cars, blue umbrellas and other blue things didnt burn in the Maui fires?

Inquisitive minds are not buying the official story that the fires in Maui were a natural and unexpected event  and certainly not one that is the product of some mythical concept like "climate change" or "global warming."

Like the recent fires in California and Australia, the Hawaii fires are "unlike anything we've ever seen before," to quote Greg Reese of Infowars, who put together the following informational video about what many believe really happened in West Maui.

"They are being called 'forest fires' and 'wildfires,' but they are clearly something very different," Reese explains  watch below:

"These fires are burning homes into a white powdery ash footprint while often leaving the surrounding green trees and shrubs practically untouched. In extreme cases, forest fires can reach temperatures of up to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit, and the melting point of aluminum is 1220 degrees Fahrenheit, so it is possible for an extreme forest fire to melt aluminum."

"But there are cars with puddles of melted aluminum that were clearly not in the wildfire area, and melted glass, which has a melting point of around 2500 degrees F. These are unexplained anomalies."

(Related: Check out our earlier coverage about the mysterious non-burning items that were left unscathed in the Lahaina disaster.)

The color blue, which was unharmed in the Maui fires, has a frequency of 6.66

As was also the case with the 2018 California fires, objects such as cars and homes burned to a crisp and basically collapsed into their own footprint, leaving behind nothing but white ash.

"We've seen these same anomalies in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001  cars completely burned out with no explanation," Reese points out.

Disturbingly, the Maui fires were highly selective in what they burned. Poor and middle-class folks had their entire homes and livelihoods reduced to ash while the lavish estates of rich people like Oprah and Jeff Bezos remained unscathed.

"In Maui, these unnatural fires spared the homes of the rich while burning the native homes of the working class," Reese explains. "With precision, these fires destroyed the most envied, high-valued areas of Maui."

It is fast becoming common knowledge that the government has at its disposal directed energy weapons, or DEW technology, that utilizes lasers and light to target certain objects and places for destruction while leaving the surrounding area alone.

"For decades, directed energy weapons have been classified, but they have been on the public record for several years now," Reese says. "Directed energy weapons, known as DEWs, have the ability to burn homes with this sort of precision  but in order to be this precise, the area would have to be mapped out."

It turns out that, back in January, many local residents of Hawaii observed strange green laser lights in the sky. Reese says these lasers are proof-positive evidence that the government was mapping the terrain in advance using a geospatial array.

After the fires destroyed Lahaina, many blue-colored objects were observed to have not burned even though everything else around them was burned.

"We have seen that among the ashy ruins, there are blue-colored objects that have somehow survived the devastation: blue cars, blue umbrellas, a blue boat, blue planters," Reese says.

"Videos online are going viral that show how lasers can easily burn through certain-colored objects, but objects that are colored blue remain unharmed."

DEWs include not only lasers but also millimeter waves and microwaves, both of which are used in the naked body scanners at American airports.

"They are all based on light frequencies, and different wavelengths of light affect colors differently," Reese says. "For example, in laser tattoo removal, different wavelengths are used for removing different colors. And this is because color is a quality of light. Each color has its own frequency."

"Interestingly enough, the frequency of the color blue is 6.66."

The latest news about the Lahaina disaster can be found at FalseFlag.news.

Sources for this article include:

Discern.tv

NaturalNews.com
A new study is offering data to back one of the core assumptions about the spread of COVID: The intensity of exposure to the virus matters, and vaccines and prior infections can only help so much  but they do indeed help.

The research, led by scientists at the Yale School of Public Health and published in Nature Communications, also reinforces the common-sense notion that masks and air filtration can augment the protection provided by a vaccine and lower the risk of getting the virus. Anyone watching COVID cases bubble back up in their community should take that to heart: Infections arent unavoidable, and the tools weve been using to protect ourselves are not just intuitive  and shouldnt be controversial. Theyre increasingly backed up by evidence.

While real-world data has given scientists a reasonable sense of COVID vaccines ability to protect against the worst outcomes of the virus, understanding their effectiveness at preventing transmission has been difficult.

A team of researchers struck on a smart way of trying to show the vaccines are leaky  that is, they can protect against transmission, but only up to a certain level of exposure to the virus. They looked at infections in Connecticut prisons.

A correctional facility provides a unique opportunity to consider the vaccines effectiveness. Rarely do researchers have such complete information on who a person is directly and intensely exposed to (a cellmate), is likely in regular close contact with (others in a cell block), or is potentially exposed to in more transient situations (in the broader community). Researchers meanwhile also knew how many times everyone had been previously infected or vaccinated. Even better, testing was conducted often and according to a set of rules, rather than personal inclinations.

By tracking infections during the delta and omicron waves, the researchers found that hybrid immunity  or having been both vaccinated and previously infected  did the best job at protecting people from getting COVID, even when in close quarters with someone with the virus. Immunity acquired from vaccination or previous infections alone was leakier  they conferred reasonable protection from infection when exposure to the virus was low, but much less when exposure was high.

The research, of course, has limitations. The study is observational, meaning it draws conclusions by looking back at the available data rather than actively testing a hypothesis. And the scientists could only assess the number of infections, not their severity. The prison population skews heavily male and young. Id like to see this study repeated in settings such as retirement homes.

Still, the paper suggests that avoiding a prolonged exposure to COVID, even after vaccination and prior infection, is a good way to avoid getting infected. The study suggests that masks and ventilation matter, not only as their own form of protection, but because lowering your exposure to the virus seems to improve the effectiveness of the immunity conferred by your vaccines and previous infections.

One clear takeaway for the public is that anyone still dragging their heels on getting boosted should reconsider when the updated shots arrive in a few weeks. A mere 20% of adults in the U.S. got the last booster, so theres a lot of room for improvement. The data have long been abundantly clear that the current crop of vaccines is critical for saving lives and keeping the most vulnerable out of the hospital, and now theres good reason to think keeping up to date on your boosters can help you also avoid some infections.

Thats a reasonable goal. After all, we still dont have a good handle on the potential long-term health consequences of repeated infections with COVID, so minimizing that risk seems like a no-brainer.

As cases climb, its also worth revisiting tried-and-true ways of lowering your exposure to the virus. That could mean pulling out a mask in situations where the risk might be high. And it should mean continuing to invest in improving the quality of indoor air we breathe, whether thats at home, school or work. At the very least, throw open a window while the weather is still warm.
CDC: If youve already been damaged by COVID vaccines, just keep getting jabbed with more boosters

Official documents obtained by the independent media show that the United States government repeatedly pushed people who had already gotten "vaccinated" for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) and became injured to keep getting more "booster" shots.

Even when it could not be ruled out that the initial jabs caused the adverse events, jab-injured folks continued to be told by a vast network of "experts" both in the U.S. and abroad that they should keep getting more jabs, and not to fear suffering an even worse outcome.

The network, known as the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) Project, is run by a doctor who we know was bribed by Big Pharma to push COVID jabs. Among the pharmaceutical companies this person received funding from are the top two COVID "vaccine" manufacturers.

Relying on official guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CISA doctors time and time again have told jab-injured victims to keep taking more jabs in opposition to their better judgment to simply hold off and heal for a while.

(Related: According to the CDC, BA.2.86, one of the latest COVID "variants," only seems to infect the fully jabbed  are the jabs the disease?)

Josef Mengele's concentration camp medical experiments pale in comparison to the global COVID jab genocide

In one instance, a 63-year-old woman who developed chronic kidney disease following her second dose of Pfizer's mRNA injection was told by CISA subject matter experts (SMEs) to go ahead and keep getting more jabs based on a "causality algorithm" developed by Dr. Kathryn Edwards, CISA's principal investigator.

Based on this algorithm, the 63-year-old woman's case was given an "indeterminate" designation, meaning Pfizer's COVID jab series could not be fully ruled out as the cause, nor could it be definitively pinned as the cause.

"Weighing the potential risks of COVID-19 vaccination and the benefits of preventing COVID-19, the SMEs provided their opinion that the patient should receive future COVID-19 vaccinations," reads a Feb. 24, 2023, letter to the patient's doctor.

At the time, it was being trumpeted that the jabs have very little effectiveness against symptomatic infection. Even so, CISA experts advised the patient to get more jabs while telling her doctor to check for hematuria, or blood in her urine.

"Although the CDCs subject matter experts claim to have no idea if inflammation of the kidneys in a 63-year-old woman was caused by the mRNA COVID-19 biological, they tell the attending physician to go ahead and give the woman another COVID shot," explained Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), about the case.

"That amounts to a challenge / re-challenge experiment on a sick woman without informed consent."

Fisher further stated that it is "immoral" for government officials who admitted they did not know if the woman was harmed by the COVID jabs she had already received to push her to take even more COVID jabs regardless.

"We expect and deserve government health officials to adhere to a higher professional and ethical standard of care," she added.

In addition to featuring "experts" from the CDC, CISA also boasts names from Vanderbilt University, Boston Medical Center, and Johns Hopkins University.

"CISA provides consultations for U.S. healthcare providers with complex vaccine safety questions about their patients and conducts vaccine safety clinical research," the CDC explains on its website.

Records show that from Dec. 1, 2020, when COVID jabs were first authorized by the Trump administration under Operation Warp Speed through June 1, 2023, CISA provided 48 recommendations like this, urging doctors dealing with COVID jabs to keep jabbing their already-damaged patients.

The latest news about the never-ending government push to get "vaccinated" for COVID can be found at Vaccines.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
Corporate media declares war on TREES as latest insane chapter of climate propaganda

Oftentimes when some crazy scheme comes out of the climate change cult, i.e., the push for artificial "sun-blocking," the mass media remains silent about it until many years later. In the case of Bill Gates' plan to destroy 70 million acres' worth of trees across the Western United States, it seems the corporate media is really excited about the prospect.

In fact, "The Cool Down" writer Erin Feiger, in a piece that was published at MSN, claims that Gates is right: trees are "hurting us" and must be chopped down and buried if Earth stands any chance at surviving.

(Related: Check out our earlier report about Bill Gates, the mastermind behind the mass destruction of all trees to stop "global warming.")

Feiger argues, as does Gates, that "new data" shows that while forests function as "carbon sinks" to help reduce air pollution and "cool" the planet, they also somehow release carbon "emissions" that are "warming" Earth and making it uninhabitable.

Citing claims from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Feiger claims that after the year 2025, forests will, for some reason, switch from being carbon sinks to carbon "polluters," and will become "a significant source of carbon emissions by 2070."

Trees are starting to "turn on us," climate cultists claim

Since the beginning of time, trees and other plants have been intaking, or breathing in, the carbon dioxide that humans and animals breathe out. They then create and release oxygen, which humans and animals breathe in for life.

It is a perfect life cycle that must never be disrupted, and yet the climate cultists suddenly feel as though trees are scary and "might start turning on us"  these are Feiger's words, quoting a report from Scientific American.

The claim is that forests are losing their ability to absorb carbon, a myth being pushed by Lynn Riley, a senior manager of climate science at the American Forest Foundation.

Riley blames natural disasters like wildfires, hurricanes, and tornadoes for this imaginary shift, also claiming that there are more natural disasters these days because of global warming  this is also false and completely unsubstantiated.

Who needs actual proof when you are pushing an agenda, though? The climate cultists never present proof or data, but instead rely on fearmongering and other manipulative tactics to try to emotionally sway the public into buying what they are selling.

"Ten percent of our domestic emissions," Riley declared about the amount of carbon "pollution" currently being absorbed by U.S. forests. "That is a really significant portion."

"As we work to decarbonize ... forests are one of the greatest tools at our disposal. If we were to lose that, it means the U.S. will contribute that much more."

One might assume, based on this statement, that Riley supports keeping trees and forests intact, but it is a verbal sleight of hand. You see, trees and forests are good for the planet  unless they suddenly stop being good, which is what Gates and other climate cultists now claim.

A far-left climate fanatics group called Climate Patrol claims that while forests do capture pollution and remove it, they stop doing this whenever they are cut or burned. And with "climate change" driving more wildfires, or so we are told, this poses a problem that only Gates and his ilk can fix.

The USDA insists that forests today are somehow emitting up to 100 million metric tons of carbon every year, which we are told is "contributing to the overheating of our planet rather than reducing it."

The latest news about what the climate cult is pushing to do (hint: almost all of it involves mass genocide and planetary destruction) can be found at GreenTyranny.news.

Sources for this article include:

MSN.com

NaturalNews.com
FDA warns 3 baby formula makers over violations of food safety standards

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued warning letters to three major baby formula manufacturers over violations of current food safety standards.

On Aug. 30, the FDA issued its warnings to ByHeart Inc., Mead Johnson Nutrition under the Reckitt Benckiser Group and Perrigo Wisconsin LLC. The letters reflected findings from inspections over the last several months, which found that the three failed to ensure their infant formulas were not contaminated throughout the manufacturing process.

The letters read that these manufacturers "did not establish a system of process controls covering all stages of processing that were designed to ensure that infant formula does not become adulterated due to the presence of microorganisms in the formula or in the processing environment."

The products are potentially contaminated with Cronobacter sakazakii.

The companies have 15 working days upon receipt of the letters to notify the FDA of "the specific steps the companies have taken to correct the stated violations, including an explanation of each step being taken to identify violations and make corrections to ensure that similar violations will not recur."

Despite the warning letters, the regulator has not issued any recall notices in connection with the correspondences. It also does not expect any impact on baby formula supply.

The country experienced a severe baby formula shortage in 2022 due to supply chain issues, mainly driven by an outbreak of C. sakazakii linked to contaminated formula made at the Abbott Nutrition facility in Sturgis, Michigan. The outbreak left two infants dead. (Related: Biden sends baby formula to illegals at border while grocery stores run dry.)

This prompted Abbott to close the Sturgis facility and retailers to limit the number of formula customers can buy at one time. The FDA's February 2022 investigation concluded that Abbott "did not ensure that all surfaces that contacted infant formula were maintained to protect infant formula from being contaminated by any source." Abbott later reopened the Sturgis facility in August 2022.

Manufacturers respond to FDA warning letters

The three manufacturers have responded to the regulator's warning.

A Perrigo spokesperson said in a statement that the Michigan-based company has been committed to meeting the needs of consumers, parents and caregivers. The quality and safety of their products is Perrigo's highest priority, the spokesperson added.

According to the spokesperson, the FDA letter "pertained only to its infant formula manufacturing facility located in Wisconsin, which the company acquired from Nestle on Nov. 1, 2022." The spokesperson continued: "We want to assure the public that all of Perrigo's infant formula products available to parents and caregivers are safe for infant feeding and FDA does not advise discarding or avoiding purchase of any particular infant formula.

Meanwhile, a representative for Reckitt  Mead Johnson's parent firm  said "the safety of babies is of the utmost importance to us and we can confirm that all of our infant formula products continue to meet the highest FDA standards for safety and quality."

"The FDA's communication is part of its enhanced regulatory oversight and does not relate to any new concerns or issues, as they reflect findings from previous inspections," the Reckitt representative wrote in a statement. "[There] are no safety or quality concerns with any Reckitt/Mead Johnson formula, [so] parents and caregivers can rest assured our products can be used with confidence. They don't need to do anything differently when shopping or feeding their infants."

In a statement shared with TODAY, ByHeart commended the FDA and expressed support for the agency's "enhanced oversight." It also stressed that "providing safe and high-quality infant formula" continues to be their top priority and also assured its customers that "no distributed ByHeart product has tested positive for contaminants."

"There is no disruption to ByHeart's manufacturing and we currently have three production plants across the U.S. that are operating to meet the demand for our formula," the company stated.

Visit FDA.news for more stories about the U.S. regulator for food and medicine.

Watch this short clip about the FDA warning against popular baby formulas following reports of infections.

This video is from the Daily Videos channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Baby formula is a SCAM - heres what you need to know.

FDA unveils plan to combat DEADLY bacterial outbreak in baby formula.

Abbott Nutritions infant formula was recalled after claims of bacterial contamination, infant dies.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

FDA.gov 1

FDA.gov 2

FDA.gov 3

TODAY.com 1

FDA.com 4

TODAY.com 2

Brighteon.com
25 Historical books that demonstrate vaccines have caused serious harm for 200 years

The 25 books in the History of Vaccination series shed light on the history of vaccines through the eyes of doctors, scientists, and historical data. They answer the pressing question: Are vaccines safe and effective?

(Article by Rhoda Wilson republished from Expose-News.com)

I can conclusively say that vaccination is the biggest fraud in medical history, Trung Nguyen wrote. Since 1796, the year the first smallpox vaccine was introduced, every generation has been burdened by disease due to vaccination, he said.

In 2021, Nguyen restored and updated 25 historical works on vaccination. There is a list of the 25 books at the end of this article. He republished each of the books separately with the same preface, introduction and prologue written by him. In the preface, Nguyen had the following to say:

For each disease pandemic from 1850 to 2021 (171 years), all you need to do is replace the date and location in the article to the current date and location. Youll come to the inescapable conclusion that the drug companies have been running the same racket repeatedly. Each generation has been burdened with vaccination since 1796. This crime of greed  the blood poisoning and killing of innocent children for money  will continue unless people are aware of it. Behind the news anchors, behind the paediatricians, behind the medical doctors, behind the TV personalities, behind the corrupt bureaucrats and politicians, are the drug companies (vaccine manufacturers) directly or indirectly paying their salaries. Disease mongering has been going on since 1796  the year the first smallpox vaccine was introduced. In nearly every case, the disease was manmade, caused by industrial chemicals such as pesticides, vaccine ingredients, antibiotics and medicines (petrochemicals). Or worse, concocted in clandestine laboratories and released onto the unsuspecting public. Vaccination: Proved Useless and Dangerous by Alfred R. Wallace, the third book in the History of Vaccination series by Trung Nguyen. Source: Google Books

In the introduction, Nguyen then goes on to highlight quotes about vaccines from writers, doctors and scientists across three centuries. In the slide show below are screenshots of Nguyens introduction. Click on the arrows on either side of an image or swipe to view the next or previous image.

It is well worth reading Nguyens full preface, introduction and prologue. These can be read online HERE by following the hyperlink for preview this book or the hyperlinks for sections 1  4 shown under contents, which we have listed below for ease of reference:

The 25 books in the History of Vaccination series

The Poisoned Needle: Suppressed Facts About Vaccination (1957), Eleanor McBean, PhD, ND A Century of Vaccination and What It Teaches (1898), William Scott Tebb, MA, MD, DPH Vaccination: Proved Useless and Dangerous From 45 Years of Registration Statistics (1885), Alfred R. Wallace, LLD DUBL., DCL OXON., FRS, etc. Vaccination: Its Fallacies and Evils (1882), Robert A. Gunn, MD Compulsory Vaccination: The Crime Against the School Child (1915), Chas. M. (Charles Michael) Higgins The Truth about Vaccination and Immunization (1951), Lily Loat, secretary of the National Anti-Vaccination League of London Leicester: Sanitation versus Vaccination Its Vital Statistics Compared with Those of Other Towns, the Army, Navy, Japan, and England and Wales (1912), By J.T. Biggs, J.P. The Vaccination Question (1895), Arthur Wollaston Hutton, MA Vaccination a Delusion: Its Penal Enforcement a Crime (1898), Alfred Russel Wallace, LLD DUBL., DCL OXON., FRS, etc. Vaccination a Curse and Menace to Personal Liberty With Statistics Showing Its Dangers and Criminality (Tenth Edition, 1913), James Martin Peebles, MD, MA, PhD Dr. C.G.G. Nittingers Evils of Vaccination (1856), C. Charles Schieferdecker, MD The Vaccination Question in the Light of Modern Experience An Appeal for Reconsideration (1914), C. Killick Millard, M.D., D.Sc. Jenner and Vaccination: A Strange Chapter of Medical History (1889), Charles Creighton, MD The Horrors of Vaccination: Exposed and Illustrated (1919), Charles M. Higgins Vaccination: The Story of a Great Delusion (1885), William White Vital Statistics in the United States, 1940-1960 (1968), Robert D. Grove, Alice M. Hetzel, US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare The Mandatory Vaccination Plan National Immunization Policy Council (1977) The Fraud of Vaccination (1923), Walter Hadwen, JP., MD, LRCP., MRCS, LSA, From Truth, January 3, 1923 Vaccination a Curse (1895), C.W. Amerige, MD Vaccination a Medical Fallacy (1879), Alexander Wilder, MD The Dream & Lie of Louis Pasteur (Originally Pasteur: Plagiarist, Imposter) (1942), R.B. Pearson The Vaccination Problem (1936), Joseph Swan The Fallacy of Vaccination (1911), John Pitcairn, President of the Anti-Vaccination League of America The Case Against Vaccination (1896), Walter Hadwen, JP, MD, LRCP, MRCS, LSA A Catalogue of Anti-Vaccination Literature (1882, 2018): The London Society for the Abolition of Compulsory Vaccination, 114 Victoria Street, Westminster

Read more at: Expose-News.com
MEDICAL MUTILATORS: Kaiser Permanente employee training video claims three-year-olds can decide to become TRANSGENDER

A "horrified" hospital worker employed by Kaiser Permanente, one of America's largest health care providers, is sounding the alarm about a new employee training video that claims children as young as three can decide to self-identify as transgender.

The employee, who chose to remain anonymous for safety, leaked the "diversity, equity, and inclusion" video that focuses on so-called "gender-affirming" care for minors.

"Many transgender people have always known their true gender," the video states, depicting a small child who claims to have "always known" it was another gender than its biological sex  watch below:

(Related: Back in June, a whistleblower came forward to reveal that Kaiser Permanente is actively training its staff to perform genital mutilation procedures on children at its Southern California hospitals.)

Kaiser Permanente is a perversion operation targeting children for genital mutilation

The above video was created by the National Center for Transgender Equality, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization focused on "advancing the equality of transgender people in the U.S."

One part of the video urges the hospital employees watching it to learn how to "explain the importance of gender-affirming care to employees, staff, and patients." In other words, you must recruit others into the LGBT fold and agree to indoctrinate others into transgender cultism in order to remain an employee in good standing.

On its website, Kaiser Permanente admits that it provides "pediatric gender care services" that include "surgical procedures" and hormone "therapies" for children.

"We are a team of dedicated health professionals who provide integrated mental health, medical and surgical care to transgender and gender expansive children and tees [sic] in a comfortable, supportive setting," the Kaiser Permanente website explains.

Be sure to check out the below clip from Fox Business in which the hosts talk about the medical establishment's Marxist "gender revolution," which has innocent children in its crosshairs:

? One of the nation's largest health care providers, Kaiser Permanente (@aboutKP), forced employees to watch a training video that pushed the idea that children *as young as 3 years old* can be transgender: pic.twitter.com/sPCGGQwqi0  Will Hild (@WillHild) September 5, 2023

Earlier this year, Chloe Cole, a former transgender who has since "de-transitioned," sued Kaiser Permanente for coaxing her into getting a gender reassignment surgery when she was still underage.

The consequences of what Kaiser Permanente did to Cole has left in its wake "deep physical and emotional wounds, severe regrets, and distrust of the medical system," she says.

In the comments on a story about this wicked health care organization, several people pointed out that it seems nothing short of foolish to continue utilizing the services of Kaiser Permanente considering everything they stand for.

"It's like upselling in the car or fast-food industry," one wrote. "They train all their employees to ask: 'Do you want your genitals chopped off with that today, ma'am?'"

"Confusing the confused is the problem!" wrote another. "If you have male or female genitalia at birth, that's it. Nature does not make mistakes, humans do."

"It should be illegal to do any surgeries or use any drugs or chemicals or anything that would interfere with natural development until that child is 18 years old and can then legally make their own decisions," wrote another.

"Any parent or doctor going against it would be jailed for at least 20 years."

Another asked if people even care about their own children anymore, considering so many parents these days seem to be lining their children up for "sex change" procedures and drugging with no concern whatsoever about their long-term health.

The cult of LGBT is filled with demon-possessed, child-grooming perverts who seem to get a cheap thrill out of mutilating children's bodies and destroying children's lives. Learn more at Evil.news.

Sources for this article include:

Infowars.com

NaturalNews.com
Maryland elementary school in D.C. suburb once again forcing children to wear a mask for COVID

Parents of students who attend Rosemary Hills Elementary School in Montgomery County, Md., a wealthy suburban area outside of Washington, D.C., received a letter this week informing them that their children are once again expected to mask up due to the latest "variants" of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

Conservative radio talk show host Clay Travis shared a copy of the letter on X (formerly Twitter). Written by school principal Rebecca Irwin Kennedy, the letter states that because "3 or more" students recently tested "positive" for the Fauci Flu, all third-grade students at the school must mask up for the next 10 days.

An echo back to the "two weeks to flatten the curve" rhetoric spewed during COVID 1.0, Kennedy's letter about masking for just 10 days could end up extending beyond that time, and possibly remain in place indefinitely  this is the bait-and-switch M.O. (modus operandi) of the COVID cultists, after all.

(Related: COVID cultists everywhere are once again demanding compliance with their face mask fetish.)

If enough parents JUST SAY NO to COVID mandates, they will eventually end FOR GOOD

Not only do all third-graders at Rosemary Hills Elementary School have to wear a mask for at least the next week and a half, but they must don a medical-grade N95 type, which the COVID cultists believe provides more protection than a cloth or bandana-style mask.

"Additional KN95 masks have been distributed and students and staff in identified classes or activities will be required to mask while in school for the next 10 days, except while eating or drinking," Kennedy wrote to parents.

"Masks will become optional again following the 10 day period."

Kennedy further informed parents that "at-home rapid test kits" will be mailed out to each student's home because the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends testing at least five days after an exposure, beginning on day six, or any time when symptoms develop.

"Please report any positive COVID results to the school attendance office," Kennedy further stressed, using all bold and an underline to push for compliance. "We will continue to reinforce good hand washing and follow cleaning and disinfection procedures."

The only way Kennedy's commands will have any effect is if parents and their students comply with them. Should they choose to just say no, then Kennedy will be forced to backtrack just like Lionsgate studios in Hollywood and Morris Brown College in Atlanta did after trying, but failing, to reimpose their own mask mandates.

It starts with one school here and one studio there, with promises that it is just "temporary." Then, once they have that inch, they grab the rest of the mile and enshrine their medical fascism permanently.

This will all stop once enough Americans decide to put a stop to it with non-compliance. Every person who cooperates with demands like the ones Kennedy is making is complicit in medical tyranny and deserving of ridicule and shame for it.

Keep in mind that numerous studies, including several out of Greece and Italy, prove that masking not only does nothing to stop the spread, but also inhibits proper speech, hearing, and other forms of communication.

Even the Chinese-run World Health Organization (WHO) advises against masking children, having warned during the first contrived "pandemic" that children should be allowed to breathe freely without a face covering.

"This is child abuse," one commenter wrote about Kennedy's new masking policy.

"Take your children out of the government indoctrination centers," wrote another.

Will you wear a mask if the government once again tries to force you into compliance with medical fascism? Learn more at Tyranny.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

NaturalNews.com
Michigan Republicans decry FBI inaction on alleged 2020 voter registration fraud in their state

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has yet to release its findings after it was called in to investigate a potential voter registration fraud scheme across multiple states, including Michigan, during the 2020 presidential elections.

With no criminal charges filed, Republican officials are raising concerns about a perceived double standard, particularly in light of recent state-level charges against individuals associated with former President Donald Trump and the Michigan GOP.

The Muskegon Police Department (MPD) and Michigan State Police (MSP) compiled dozens of pages of police reports, focusing on GBI Strategies, an organization central to alleged voter registration fraud during the 2020 presidential election. The two law enforcement agencies initially carried out the investigation before the FBI took over.

Police documents reveal that there were interviews with GBI Strategies employees and specific instances of voter registrations that appeared suspicious or fraudulent. An MSP memo even described the potential crime as "Election Fraud by Forgery."

Michigan GOP Chairwoman Kristina Karamo cited the MSP and MPD reports as proof that widespread "corruption in [the] election system" exists. She also asserted that the FBI concealed the findings of the state investigation on the matter. (Related: Politicians and mainstream media tried to bury massive 2020 VOTER FRAUD in Michigan.)

In a video posted on social media, Karamo expressed the view that those in office who have benefited from what they perceive as a corrupt system are unlikely to investigate it. The chairwoman of the Great Lakes State's GOP chapter also underscored the need for lawful political engagement to address systemic election concerns.

Lawsuits for GOP electors, coverups for GBI operatives

Karamo's remarks came on the heels of legal action by state authorities against GOP-leaning operatives. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed charges against 16 individuals referred to as "fake electors" who falsely claimed that Trump won the 2020 election. A special prosecutor also announced charges against two pro-Trump attorneys accused of breaking into voting machines in an attempt to demonstrate fraud.

However, Nessel's office earlier confirmed an ongoing state investigation into thousands of suspected fraudulent voter registrations, which had been subsequently referred to the FBI. The probe was sparked by a report from the Muskegon City Clerk's Office regarding suspected voter registration fraud. It also involved the execution of an MSP search warrant at a GBI Strategies office, in which weapons and notes related to their operations were discovered.

The investigation uncovered that a woman, referred to as "Suspect 1" in police reports, claimed to work for GBI. She detailed her role, explaining that she was tasked with finding unregistered voters and providing them with registration forms. Initially, she mentioned canvassers earning money for each completed form but later stated they were paid hourly.

While the canvassers claimed their forms were complete and accurate, subsequent police inspections found inaccuracies, including non-existent addresses and incomplete information.

Open Secrets, a non-partisan research group tracking political finances, revealed that GBI received substantial payments from Democratic and far-left groups during the 2020 election cycle. An interview with another GBI employee based in Atlanta indicated the organization's widespread reach, with offices in multiple states.

Despite ongoing investigations, GBI has not responded to multiple requests for comment. The FBI has maintained its standard practice of neither confirming nor denying the existence of an investigation, further adding to the mystery surrounding the case. The bureau's Detroit field office likewise did not respond to recent inquiries.

Regarding the state-level probe, it was determined that fraud had occurred at GBI's lower levels. According to a spokesperson for Nessel's office, internal indicators suggested that some employees were engaged in fraudulent activities, fabricating work without fulfilling their expected duties.

Visit VoteFraud.news for more stories about election fraud in Michigan and other states.

Watch this video about Michigan law enforcement  in the form of the MSP and the MPD  uncovering evidence of election fraud in the state.

This video is from the Rick Langley channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

The Prather Point: Corruption inside the FBI is being exposed now more than ever  Brighteon.TV.

BREAKING: 2020 voter FRAUD exposed  800,000 ballot applications sent to unqualified voters in Michigan.

Guns, burner phones and fake registrations  the buried Michigan voter fraud scandal: GBI Strategies Director Gary Bell had 70 organizations operating in 20 states in 2020  TIED TO JOE BIDEN CAMPAIGN.

Sources include:

JustTheNews.com

BridgeMI.com

Brighteon.com
SCIENCE FRAUD: Pfizers COVID jab placebo control group was given MODERNA vaccine instead, preprint confirms

New research published at Preprints.org reveals that the so-called "placebo" injections used in Pfizer's Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) "vaccine" trials were not real placebos

Entitled "Forensic Analysis of the 38 Subject Deaths in the 6-Month Interim Report of the Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine Clinical Trial," the paper, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, looked at 38 trial subjects who died between July 27, 2020, when Phase 2 / 3 of Pfizer's clinical trial began, and March 12, 2021, at the conclusion of Pfizer's six-month interim report on the results.

Researchers say their analysis of these cases is unique in that it represents the first study carried out by a group unaffiliated to ever look at the original data from Pfizer and BioNTech's BNT162b2 mRNA injection clinical trial (CA4591001).

The Pfizer-BioNTech trial included 44,060 subjects equally distributed into two groups: one that received Dose 1 of either the BNT162b2 mRNA jab from the companies, or a "placebo control" containing 0.9 percent saline.

At Week 20 of the trial, the BNT162b2 mRNA jab illegitimately received Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which disregarded the safety and effectiveness of ivermectin, as one example, and proceeded to rush its EUA for the Pfizer-BioNTech jab at warp speed.

Once that EUA was issued, trial subjects who were given the "placebo" were offered the BNT162b2 injection. Most of them accepted, save for a few objectors, and Pfizer-BioNTech proceeded to report that the number of deaths in vaccinated versus placebo group during the first 20 weeks showed "no significant difference."

(Related: It turns out that most vaccine studies use fake placebos that are other vaccines rather than true saline.)

Pfizer and BioNTech need to be prosecuted for FRAUD and CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

The way Pfizer-BioNTech fudged the numbers and the "placebos" made it appear as though its jabs are safe and effective. What the two companies failed to reveal, though, is the fact that most of its "placebo" group had, in fact gotten jabbed with real COVID shots.

The only group that saw deaths drop to zero was the truly unvaccinated group, which was very small, while everyone else either got sick or died at rates consistent with what we now know to be common among the fully jabbed.

What is particularly interesting is that the trial did show a 3.7-fold increase in deaths due to cardiovascular events among those who took the BNT162b2 series of injections  an increase that Pfizer-BioNTech conveniently failed to report or disclose.

What is worse, Pfizer-BioNTech also secretly gave at least some of its "unvaccinated" control group members the mRNA jab from Moderna instead in order to make it seem like the BNT162b2 injection is much safer and more effective than it actually is.

"On December 23, 2020, the subject received Dose 1 of the Moderna mRNA ... died on January 11, 2021," the preprint explains.

The subject in question was a 65-year-old Hispanic male with a medical history that included pulmonary fibrosis and hypertension. Thanks to immunosuppression from the Moderna jabs, the man died rather quickly  and Pfizer-BioNTech officially classified him as an "unvaccinated" COVID death.

"So they murdered 38 people to ensure the jab would murder millions," wrote one commenter about what Pfizer-BioNTech technically did with this fraudulent clinical trial.

"So they rigged the trial just like an election," wrote another.

"And there are still diehard Dems that are angry at people who didn't get vaccinated with any of them," wrote another. "How come the Dem voters are angry that people chose not to get vaxxed, but they themselves won't go and get Biden's fifth booster shot?"

The entire pharmaceutical industry is built on lies and deception. Learn more at BadMedicine.news.

Sources for this article include:

Preprints.org

100percentfedup.com

NaturalNews.com
PIRATES are attacking small boats along California coast

The San Francisco Bay Area has become known for smash-and-grab robberies at high-end luxury stores; poop and drug needles all over the sidewalks; and now pirates robbing people who live on houseboats in Oakland marinas.

According to reports, people who live in boats along the Oakland waterfront increasingly face random robberies and break-ins by pirates who are sneaking aboard their targets and ransacking whatever they can get their hands on.

"It's every week," complained Emmanuel Ievolella, one such marina resident who has been victimized by pirates. "Every week somebody's missing something from their boats or either their dinghies or their outboard motors or from their cars."

Instead of pulling up in a car, doing the deed, and fleeing, these pirates are instead traveling by boat, usually at night. They sneak up on a vessel and steal whatever they can get away with, including from larger more luxurious vessels that are tied up at the docks.

"A couple weeks ago, I saw, for the first time, a high-speed chase on the water with police boats pulling over another boat that was speeding away," said John Fordham, a local resident who lives in an apartment that overlooks the water off Jack London Square.

(Related: Earlier this year, a rabid anti-police activist in Oakland died after being violently robbed.)

Increasingly more boats appearing around homeless camps, including at Union Point Park

Many of the pirates conducting these boat raids appear to be local homeless people who live in public places like Union Point Park, which locals say is suspiciously becoming more occupied with small boats that are tied up nearby.

"And you wonder, where did they get these boats?" asked Jaime Camacho, another local resident who was salvaging teak wood from some older ship hulls when he noticed an increase in boats tied up around Oakland's homeless camps.

"Small boats are expensive. So, I wonder where they're getting them. I don't know. Maybe they're taking what little money they have to buy them, but it's, you know, I know a lot of friends who have had their small boats disappear and their outboard motors."

The real prize in all this, according to Damon Taylor, who maintains a sailboat near the Jack London Aquatic Center, are outboard motors, which sell for a pretty penny.

"Yeah, the motors are the thing," Taylor told the media. "You've got to figure a brand new, small 10-horsepower engine is $10,000 to $15,000. So, even in the black market they can probably get a couple thousand."

Some locals still try to call the police when they witness such crimes taking place, recognizing all the while that law enforcement resources and ability are limited in light of the sheer volume of crime now taking place throughout the Bay Area of California.

"They can't handle the land, financially and resource-wise," Taylor further stated about the matter. "They can't do anything. There's no Oakland Navy."

As such, Taylor and his fellow captains try to do what they can on their own to keep an eye on each other's boats and nab any pirates who may show up to try to look at their property.

"I'll go with it," Taylor said. "I think it sounds cool anyway just to say that we have pirates around here. Since the Raiders are gone, we've had nothing to get p****d off about. So, let's go with pirates, then."

As of this writing, the Oakland Police Department (OPD) currently has just one full-time maritime patrol officer in its ranks. This is not nearly enough to deal with the increasing number of pirate raids occurring throughout the area.

America is in the throes of a Titanic-scale financial and economic collapse, the endgame of which will not be pretty. Learn more at Collapse.news.

Sources for this article include:

CBSNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Top Russian scientist DIES from mushroom poisoning weeks after FAILED moon landing

Vitaly Melnikov, head of the Department of Rocket and Space Systems at Moscow's leading spacecraft manufacturer RSC Energia, reportedly died from "mushroom poisoning" just weeks after Russia's first moon mission in 47 years failed.

Moskovsky Komsomolets, a Moscow-based daily newspaper, reported that Melnikov was poisoned by inedible mushrooms. He was 77 years old. Doctors were unable to save him after he battled the "severe poisoning" for over two weeks. However, the circumstances surrounding his death have yet to be confirmed.

Russia's Luna-25 space craft spun out of control and crashed into the moon after a problem preparing for pre-landing orbit on Aug. 19.

Melnikov's death raised suspicion because there have been reports of suspicious deaths in Russia within the past two years. (Related: Medvedev calls for "physical elimination" of Zelensky following failed assassination attempt on Putin.)

Experts warn that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no qualms about ruling over a "mafia" state where murder is a tool often used to deal with enemies and keep his uneasy allies in line. Yevgeny Prigozhin, former leader of the Wagner Group, was the latest to join a staggering body count of at least 40 high-profile deaths linked to Putin.

Melnikov was a chief researcher at TsNIIMASH, a division of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. He wrote 291 scientific articles and was considered one of the most imminent space scientists. Melnikov had worked with foreign colleagues, including experts at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He was also a professor at Peoples' Friendship University of Russia.

Other suspicious deaths among respected experts in Russia

Melnikov's death was reported after astronomer Mikhail Marov, 90, suffered a "sharp deterioration" in his health following the moon crash. Marov is one of the most respected physicists and astronomers in Russia.

Maroy said it was his "last hope" to see the spacecraft landing before he was mysteriously rushed to the hospital. He was a key consultant on the mission.

An academic grandee, Maroy had worked on previous space missions for the Soviet Union. He considered the Luna-25 mission as the culmination of his life's work.

In the 1950s, Russia was considered the leading force in space exploration. The country was the first to put the first satellite and first man into orbit during the Cold War.

However, Russia was quickly overtaken by the U.S. in the space race. The latter eventually sent a man to the moon in 1969.

Putin had personally ordered the Luna-25 launch. He was intent on reestablishing Russia as a leading scientific power and he had plans to exploit space. Yet Russia's unmanned spacecraft crashed on the surface of the moon after spinning out of control.

Before Marov was rushed to the hospital, he demanded no cover-up of the reasons for the failure. Marov's death and several others have raised questions about "endemic corruption in the space industry in Russia."

Many expect that Luna-25's failure would set off a blame game, starting with Putin firing those he thinks are responsible for the humiliating failure of the moon landing.

Marov, who was an ardent proponent of the moon mission, said in some reports that as its scientific director, he "was devastated over the failed landing." He also revealed that this was the reason for his sudden hospitalization in Moscow's elite Central Clinical Hospital (TsKB).

After demanding that the reasons for the failed landing be revealed to the public, he also said there "was a mistake in the algorithms for launching into near-lunar orbit." While he was hospitalized, Marov told reporters that he wanted Russia to "return to space and land on the moon."

Roscosmos claimed that the apparatus "moved into an unpredictable orbit and ceased to exist as a result of a collision with the surface of the moon." The mission was the most ambitious space project of Putins almost 24 years as the de-facto leader of Russia.

Russia had not attempted a moon mission since Luna-24 in 1976.

Russian sources are questioning the future of Yuriy Borisov, a Putin-loyalist and ex-deputy premier now at the helm of Roscosmos. Borisov is accused of halting probes into corruption and misuse of budgets at the space agency.

Watch the video below to learn more about the Luna 25 space program.

This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Putin: Russia will deploy tactical NUCLEAR WEAPONS in Belarus by early July.

Russia Ukraine War getting out of hand following Kerch Bridge explosion, Putin retaliation.

Putin is not joking about nuclear Armageddon, Biden warns.

Sources include:

TheSun.co.uk 1

TheSun.co.uk 2

Brighteon.com
The Thistle Creek boat ramp on Green Peter Reservoir is closed to the public until next year.

The closure was prompted by a rapidly lowering water level as part of a fish passage program under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, according to a news release from Linn County.

We would hate to see someone launch their fishing boat in the morning and when they come back that afternoon, find they cant use the ramp, Linn County Parks Director Stacey Whaley said in the release.

Linn County staff have put out closure signs and by Friday, Sept. 8, the gate to the boat ramp access road will be closed to the general public, the release states.

Whaley said Friday the Corps will also close Billings Park on the south shore of the reservoir and accessed by the road over the top of the dam. Billings Park is Corps property.

In total, Green Peter Reservoirs winter water level will drop by more than 200 feet, which Corps of Engineers officials hope will assist in fish passage into the Santiam River, according to the news release.

Stay up to date on mid-Willamette Valley news, wherever you go Easily access the latest Albany and Linn County news in an app that lets you select the topics that matter most to you.
BIZARRE: Ukraine spy chief claims Putin has been DEAD for a year  with Russia using DOPPELGANGERS in his place

Ukraine spy chief Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov has claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have been dead for a year  with Russia using a series of so-called doppelgangers in place of the "real" Russian president.

Budanov, chief of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine, claimed in an interview that the "real" Putin has not been seen in public for over a year, believing that this is due to the Russian president being ill for a long time, possibly with cancer.

Two weeks later, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky also cast doubt on whether Putin was still alive. (Related: Ukraine may have tried to ASSASSINATE Vladimir Putin using a kamikaze drone.)

According to Budanov, "the Putin who everyone used to know" made his last public appearance around June 26, 2022. The military chief claimed that Putin is either no longer alive, being propped up by the state due to his ill health, or he simply doesn't want to appear.

Questions about whether Putin is using body doubles have circulated since last year

In October last year, Budanov questioned whether the real Putin still exists. He said the military intelligence service had detected Putin doubles in the past standing in for him on "special occasions"  but added that now it is "usual practice" for the Russian president.

"We know specifically about three people that keep appearing, but how many there are, we don't know. They all had plastic surgery to look alike," said Budanov. "The one thing that gives them away is their height. It's visible in videos and pictures. Also gesturing, body language and earlobes, since they are unique for every person. It's like a fingerprint  each person's ear picture is unique and it cannot be repeated."

A viral video earlier this year seized on speculation that Putin's only trip so far to the newly-conquered territory in Mariupol on March 19 was performed by a doppelganger.

It was unclear who made the footage but it appeared to be aimed at reaching Russians who rely on uber-loyalist state media for their news. The producers of the video said a specialist noticed differences in the Russian President's appearance, like the ledge on his earlobe, a mole or his wrinkles that "constantly change."

Rumors are rife that Putin's "understudies"  who have undergone plastic surgery to resemble him  were being deployed increasingly as his health worsened amid rumors of cancer and early-stage Parkinson's.

For the Russian president's Mariupol visit, the video claimed "they forgot to put in his jaw" as it looked different to the "real" Putin's and also speculated that the "double" could be wearing false teeth.

On March 20, Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko posted three images of Putin's chin and questioned whether they belonged to the same man.

Gerashchenko wrote: "What's up with your chin, Putin? It looked like lately his make-up artists had to work with quite a low-quality copy, not even a double but its copy. I wonder which one of them was real?"

One picture showed Putin a month earlier in an address to the Federal Assembly in Moscow. Another captured Putin's reported short visit to the naval port Sevastopol in Crimea on March 18 solely for the sake of a video photo shoot. A third was taken from footage released the following day, showing Putin in war-blitzed Mariupol.

The first image showed his chin tight and precise, but the image in Sevastopol depicted a sagging chin, while the Mariupol chin appears firmer, but less so than in the Moscow picture.

Visit UkraineWitness.news for more stories on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Watch the following video to learn more about Vladimir Putin's full "Empire of Lies" speech on March 16 last year.

This video is from the Countess Erzsebet Bathory channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

De-dollarization "gaining momentum  irreversible," Putin tells BRICS summit in remote address.

PROXY WAR: RFK Jr. says the West provoked Putin to invade Ukraine.

Putin is setting up private armies for protection against Wagner-style rebellion.

Sources include:

TheSun.co.uk

Express.co.uk

DailyMail.co.uk

Brighteon.com
Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov: Tucker Carlson is a DEAD MAN WALKING

Vladimir Solovyov, Russia's most prominent propagandist, has predicted that former Fox News host Tucker Carlson could share the same fate as the late Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin.

During an episode of "The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov" on the Russia-1 TV channel, he showcased clips where Carlson stated that the U.S. was gearing up for war with Russia. The former Fox News host predicted a loss for Washington.

"Who says that? A dead man walking," Solovyov remarked. "He sincerely believes that the next step after the accusations and the declaration of impeachment will be an assassination of Trump. But this man, who is currently the most popular English-speaking journalist, signed his own death warrant."

The propagandist cited Carlson's insistence on securing an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the main reason for his prediction. He then warned about the dire consequences of such an action.

"I can't rule out that in the near future as he is leaving Europe, there will either be an air crash or something will happen to the car in which he will be traveling. Or he might eat something that he shouldn't  maybe his heart will suddenly stop. If I were in his place, I would tell no one of my travel routes."

Solovyov's prediction akin to a "call for awareness"

Solovyov's warnings bear an eerie resemblance to the fate of Prigozhin and others who get on the wrong side of Putin. But looking at it another way, his predictions appear to be a "call for awareness" instead of just a "warning" for Carlson's safety.

In June, Prigozhin led a mutiny against Russia's top military officials, which drew criticism from Putin and threatened to push Russia into civil war. Wagner fighters loyal to their leader did not back down and shot down Russian attack helicopters, leading to an unconfirmed number of pilot casualties and infuriating the military.

Since then, Prigozhin became a vocal critic of Russia's actions in Ukraine and has attempted to overthrow Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian Armed Forces Chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov. While Prigozhin remained busy with the mutiny, the public was left wondering how he was able to openly criticize the Russian government without facing consequences.

But the Wagner Group founder met his end on the evening of Aug. 23, when he and his associates died in a plane crash north of the Russian capital Moscow. The crash left no survivors, fueling speculation that the group was killed by the Russian government. Unconfirmed reports suggest, however, that he and his associates had met with officials of the Russian Ministry of Defense a day before the tragic plane crash  adding another layer of intrigue to the story. (Related: Putin is setting up private armies for protection against Wagner-style rebellion.)

The Kremlin left no official statement on the incident, but the Telegram channel Grey Zone confirmed their deaths and hailed Prigozhin as a hero and patriot. The channel associated with the Wagner Group alleged that Prigozhin had been killed by unidentified individuals they referred to as "traitors to Russia," and that the plane crash was not an accident.

Learn the latest developments within Russia at RussiaReport.news.

Listen to this episode of "Brighteon Broadcast News" as the Health Ranger Mike Adams discusses in detail Prigozhin's presumed death in the plane crash.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

European security officials claim Putin appeared indecisive in first hours of Wagner Group rebellion.

Russian paramilitary Wagner Group said to have captured Ukrainian salt mines as experts predict war will escalate.

Individuals posing as buyers may have planted bomb on doomed plane carrying Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Crashed Russian jet was carrying Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is now DEAD along with 9 others.

MYSTERY: Reports of headless bodies recovered from Wagner plane crash fuel speculation that Prigozhin was already dead prior to flight.

Sources include:

TheDailyBeast.com

Rappler.com

Brighteon.com
The shipwreck of the schooner Trinidad, which went missing in the late 1880s, was finally found in Lake Michigan, according to a report released on Friday by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Schooner Trinidad: Built For the Great Lakes

According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, historians and shipwreck hunters Brendon Baillod and Bob Jaeck discovered the remains of the schooner Trinidad earlier this year in 270 feet of water off the coast of Algoma.

The schooner Trinidad, constructed in New York in 1867, was described as a "canaller" or canal schooner that was specifically designed to travel via the Welland Canal, which connected Lake Erie and Ontario. The ship was created to transport grains across the Great Lakes between Milwaukee, Chicago, Buffalo, and Oswego. The Trinidad transported coal or iron from New York and brought back grain from the Midwest.

According to the group, the ship's owners did not put much money into maintaining it, which resulted in a brief career.

On May 11, 1881, Trinidad set sail for the last time and headed for Milwaukee when the ship started to fill with water. The Trinidad kept moving forward until it rapidly and abruptly lurched and started to sink. The ship's captain and crew promptly made their way to the yawl, where they battled the waves until they arrived in Algoma, which was still known as Ahnapee.

The lone casualty on board was the ship's mascot, a giant Newfoundland dog, who was napping when the ship started to sink, according to the post.

Although the schooner Trinidad is inconspicuous in the number of shipwrecks remaining uncovered in Wisconsin waters, it is nevertheless a noteworthy shipwreck, according to the historical society, which applauded the "remarkable" discovery.

Final Voyage of the Trinidad

Around five in the morning on Wednesday, May 11, 1881, the schooner Trinidad, which was carrying coal from Port Huron to Chicago, capsized about ten miles off Ahnapee. The Trinidad was discovered to be leaking while out of the ship canal, and the pumps were started, although with little success. The crew abandoned the schooner in their little boat shortly before five when they saw she was sinking. Trinidad unshipped her foremast as the schooner began to sink.

Also Read: Survivor Sailor Rehomes Castaway Buddy Mexican Dog Bella Before Going Back to Sydney

Shipwrecks in Lake Michigan

According to Tamara Thomsen from the Wisconsin Historical Society's Maritime Preservation Program, 750 ships are known to have left Wisconsin and never arrived at their intended location. 600 people are thought to have perished in Lake Michigan.

Only 210 of the ships' whereabouts are known, she claimed. Each year, a few ships are uncovered.

The total number of ships in Lake Michigan is only an estimate. As researchers discover more, the number of ships fluctuates.

There are no shipwrecks discovered by the Wisconsin Historical Society but they get in touch with experts for this task. Third parties use their own resources, including boats and money, to look for shipwrecks.

Some people enjoy shipwreck searching as a pastime, according to Thomsen. They do their homework, map out the last known location, and then scour those potential hiding places.

They start by looking through sailors' notebooks, lighthouse keepers' logs, maps, newspaper articles, and other records to find shipwrecks.

Related Article: Megalodon Tooth Necklace Discovered in 111-Year-Old Shipwreck of Titanic, Revealed by 3D Scan
Wheat is one of the most important crops in the world, providing food for billions of people. However, wheat production is facing many challenges, such as climate change, pests, diseases, and limited resources.

To improve wheat yield and quality, it is essential to understand how wheat plants interact with each other and their environment.

The effect of light on wheat plant behavior

One of the key factors that affect wheat plant behavior is light availability.

In natural ecosystems, plants are exposed to a diverse and dynamic light environment, where they have to compete with other plants for light.

In contrast, in agricultural fields, wheat plants are grown in high-density stands, where they experience mutual shading and reduced light intensity.

Light is not only a source of energy for photosynthesis but also a signal that regulates many aspects of plant growth and development.

For example, light can influence plant height, leaf size and shape, tillering, flowering time, and grain filling.

Therefore, how wheat plants respond to light can have a significant impact on their individual fitness and their contribution to community performance.

Researchers from IPK Leibniz Institute have investigated how the behavior of an individual wheat plant under limiting light conditions influences the performance of the whole community.

They assessed morphological and biomass phenotypes of single plants grown in mixtures under sunlight and a simulated canopy shade, and the relevance of these phenotypes for the monoculture community in the field.

Also Read: Mini-Brains? Scientists Grow Rice Grain-Sized Brains to Aid Parkinson's Research

The trade-off between individual and community performance

The researchers found that there is a trade-off between individual and community performance in wheat plants.

Some traits that enhance the fitness of an individual plant under shaded conditions may be detrimental to the performance of the whole community.

For example, some wheat genotypes tend to increase their height and leaf area under shade to capture more light, but this may result in lower grain yield and quality due to reduced biomass allocation to the reproductive organs.

Moreover, taller plants may also increase the shading effect on their neighbors, reducing their photosynthesis and yield potential.

On the other hand, some wheat genotypes show cooperative behaviors under shade that benefit the community performance.

For example, some genotypes reduce their height and leaf area under shade to avoid excessive shading and save resources for grain filling.

In addition, some genotypes produce more fertile inflorescences under shade, which can increase the grain number and weight per unit area.

The researchers suggested that multiple phenotypes attained under simulated shade could better explain community performance of the wheat crop, advocating the use of simulated shade in breeding high-yielding cultivars.

They also proposed that embracing an agroecological genetics approach may optimize communal yield by better-matching crops to their environment, as either monoculture or a mixture.

The social behavior of wheat plants under limited light conditions is an important factor that influences grain production.

By understanding how different wheat genotypes respond to shade and how their responses affect community performance, breeders can select more cooperative and productive cultivars that are adapted to high-density stands.

Furthermore, by considering the agroecology of wheat crops, farmers can optimize their management practices to enhance yield and quality.

Related article: Experts Find How to Reduce Nitrogen Fertilizer Quantity for Growing Grain Crops
The latest weather forecast showed that hotter temperatures could likely be in portions of Texas, including the Mid-Atlantic. Heat advisories are also present in the affected areas in the South-Central US.

Homeowners should check the latest heat warnings and advisories.

The challenging heat can causen heat-related health concerns, especially for older adults and people with health risks.

Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories are in place for parts of the south-central U.S. on Thursday while a heat wave will continue in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Locally damaging wind gusts, marginal hail, and heavy rainfall will be possible across the Northeast into pic.twitter.com/AhtKqwhmFu  National Weather Service (@NWS) September 7, 2023

Weather forecasts are alsl monitoring the strengthening of Hurricane Lee, which could bring severe weather to portions of the East Coast and the British Virgin Islands.

Troublesome heat in parts of US

Persistent heatwaves over the Mid-Atlantic and parts of Texas, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

While there is a coming relief in the Northeast, the heat could still be the main concern, especially in the South-Central US.

Meanwhile, damaging winds and hail conditions are likely in the Lower Mississippi Valley and the Northeast. Residents should check the weather risks, as winds could turn down trees and power lines.

In addition, the latest weather forecast explained that cooler conditions would unfold in the following areas: Minneapolis, Green Bay, and Chicago.

Meanwhile, the hot and humid conditions are expected in:

Washington

New York

Portland

Buffalo

Columbus

Raleigh

Charleston

Nashville

Columbus

Pittsburgh

Houston

Oklahoma City

Kansas City

Residents in Texas can anticipate a possible relief from the high temperatures this weekend. Limiting outdoor activities is also recommended to avoid prolonged exposure.

Furthermore, residents can consume more electricity to ease the challenging heat. People are advised to conserve energy to prevent widespread power outages.

On Friday, about 165 million Americans are at risk of the scorching heat this week, especially in parts of North Carolina, Maine, Michigan, and Raleigh.

In the Northeast, residents can also expect a brief relief from the heat as rainy conditions with thunderstorms could likely unfold.

Also Read: Possible Storm May Bring Rains to US; September Likely Become Active in Hurricanes

Heat safety tips this week

Many Americans are excited to prepare for the coming Christmas as September begins. It is best to watch out for possible heat stress and heat exhaustion and do outdoor activities when the weather improves.

Homeowners should check their AC systems at home. Regular repairs are also essential to ensure it works. For people without air-conditioned systems, look for cooling places or areas to ease the heat.

Furthermore, avoiding strenuous activities is also recommended this week. Car owners should not leave their children unattended inside hot vehicles.

Meanwhile, wearing light clothes can ease the heat this week. Homeowners should monitor the body temperatures of family members vulnerable to heat.

Heat can become deadly, and early preparations can help prevent casualties.

Related Article: US Weather Forecast: Meteorological Fall Starts With Challenging Heat in Northeast, Midwest

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
At least 31 individuals died following the cyclone that inundated southern Brazil.

Aside from the fatalities, the massive floods, which hit that portion of the country, also left 2,300 individuals homeless.

Rio Grande de Sul

Rio Grande de Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said that more than 60 cities have been battered by the weather disturbance since Monday evening.

Leite stressed that this has been Rio Grande do Sul state's deadliest cyclone, with floods washing away the houses, forcing motorists to get trapped, and swamping the streets and roads in most of the cities.

"We deeply regret every life lost by the floods, and every life saved by the brave rescue teams brings a lot of emotion. I'm closely following each of the rescues here in Lajeado," Leite said in a post on social media.

Leite said he had been talking to the residents who had been forced to flee from their homes because of the floods. He stressed that the most important thing was to ensure the safety of everyone and avoid further losses.

The official vowed that the local government would provide full support for normality resumption in the next few days, and further said that total mobilization in the search and rescue operations of the affected individuals has already started.

The governor also mentioned that support from other groups and stakeholders have started to come in for the affected families.

According to Leite, he already talked to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva regarding the situation of his constituents.

"This support adds to our mobilization in conjunction with the federal government, which is also doing its part. I received a phone call from President Lula during the day reinforcing the federal aid brought by the delegation of ministers that was in RS today," Leite said.

Meanwhile, in other areas, authorities had found 15 bodies in just one residence in Mucum, a city housing around 50,000 residents.

After the storm had passed, the residents were welcomed by a trail of destruction along the river as most of the buildings have been swept away down to the ground level.

Officials said there was also a sheep that was found hanging from an electrical line and this shows how high the water had risen.

Read Also: Brazil Celebrates As Deforestation in Amazon Falls 66% In August

Other areas

Meanwhile, the City Hall of Mucum had advised residents to seek out supplies in order to ensure their needs in the next 72 hours.

On the other hand, other towns have called on their citizens with boats to help in the ongoing rescue efforts.

So far, authorities said that the search and rescue teams have focused their efforts on the Taquari Valley, which is located about 150 kilometers northwest of the state capital, Porto Alegre.

In this area, most of the victims and damage have been recorded.

However, the efforts have already expanded farther west on Wednesday morning, prompting helicopters to be sent to the Rio Pardo Valley.

Weather experts said that the storm is expected to bring impact in the region for the rest of the week, and that Brazil had received the average amount of rainfall that is expected for the entire month of September.

Related Article: Heavy Rainfall, Flooding, and Landslides Hit Brazil, Causing Two Deaths and Dozens Missing

Related Video:
The recent report revealed the role of forest thinning in restoring and improving the forests in Eastern Oregon.

With collaborative efforts, researchers helped improve the forest resiliency amidst the fire threat.

Forests are essential to humans and animals as it is a home to many species, and also help protect biodiversity and fight against the effects of climate change.

However, forests also suffer from intense heat, wildfires and human-caused activities such as illegal logging.

As a result, the conservation and protection of trees and forests are vital to ecosystems and cities, especially for urban communities.

In the latest report published in Forest Ecology and Management, researchers explained the importance of forest resilience in Eastern Oregon and collaboration to save trees from possible decline.

Eastern Oregon Forest Restoration

Forests are at risk of fires during high temperatures and dry conditions. The lack of rain makes growing trees and surviving scorching heat more challenging.

Ecological restoration has been crucial to all forests vulnerable to fires. As extreme weather events worsen, forests should be more resilient to counter the effects of climate change.

In Eastern Oregon, researchers explained that dry forests could likely suffer from decline without mitigation plans.

With the advantage of forest thinning, researchers from James Johnston of the OSU College of Forestry helped save the area's forests.

The thinning process successfully increased the vegetation of forests in the area. According to the Oregon Forest Resources Institute, forest thinning is effective in restoring trees.

In thinning, they cut or remove the part of trees that could affect their possible growth, assisting the trees to become healthier.

With the increasing concerns of wildfires, forest thinning can reduce the possibility of fire emergence.

The US Forest Service noted that mechanical thinning of forests is considered one of the main ways to protect tree species distribution. It ensures the trees are not vulnerable to possible disease or invasive species attacks.

In some cases, the low-intensity fires in forests can maintain the health of trees.

Also Read: 409 Human-Caused Fires Recorded in Oregon, Washington in 2022; People Urged to Follow Wildfire Restrictions in Forests

Human-caused fires

Furthermore, one of the main concerns is human-caused wildfires. The report highlighted that human-caused fires manage to increase over the Pacific Northwest.

Over the Washington and Oregon, the record showed that about 197 human-caused fires have occurred since June 1.

In 2022, at least 409 human-caused fires happened.

Lightning strikes can unleash sudden bushfires and wildfires. In addition, the main problem of human-caused fires could quickly spread.

As a result, people are advised to observe the rules while in the forests. Car owners should not park their vehicles in the dry grass.

People should properly dispose of their cigars after consuming them. Cigarettes may be small, but they can spark massive fires.

Related Article: Fire Frequency Can Cause Ecosystem Collapse, Research Shows

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
Lawyers for residents and business owners in Lahaina, Hawaii, are accusing cable TV and telephone companies of contributing to the Maui wildfires by allegedly overloading and destabilizing some power poles.

Following a visit to a warehouse where Hawaiian Electric Company is storing power poles and electrical equipment that may be important in the investigation of last month's devastating fires on Maui, lawyers for Lahaina residents and business owners told a court Tuesday that cable TV and telephone companies share responsibility for the disaster.

The lawyers claimed that the wires were linked in a way that put too much tension on the poles, leading them to lean and collapse in the winds on Aug. 8.

Lawsuit

LippSmith LLP has previously filed a proposed class action in Hawaii state court against Hawaii's electric provider and Maui County.

Attorney Graham LippSmith has now asked the court to add a number of telecommunications firms, as well as public and private landowners, to the initial complaint.

"In a disaster of this magnitude, it takes some time for all the potentially responsible parties to come into focus and be brought into court. Our investigation thus far shows a constellation of many serious failures that together led to this horrible tragedy," MaryBeth LippSmith, co-founder of the Hawaii- and California-based firm, said in an interview.

Hawaiian Electric, whose power poles have been accused of igniting the flames that started the Maui wildfires, took responsibility for starting the first fire but blamed the firefighters for declaring the fire contained and leaving the area, only for a second fire to break out nearby.

The case also targets private and state landowners who allegedly failed to preserve the extremely combustible vegetation, which could have accelerated the spread of the fire, according to the news service.

Read Also: Maui Survivors Bracing For High Rainfall Due To Tropical Cyclone Fernanda While Rehabilitation Efforts Ongoing

Re-entry to Lahaina

Maui Emergency Management Agency has launched a website, www.MauiRecovers.org, that will provide vital information and assistance to residents planning to return to Lahaina.

The website provides re-entry data on how to safely return to their homes.

Authorities said that it is their intent and goal to support residents and businesses returning as well as those who are visiting their properties to collect any remaining personal effects.

They will also help those who are bringing their insurance providers and carriers to settle insurance claims and do their own personal damage assessment.

In the latest data from Maui County, the Olinda fire has scorched 1,081 acres and is 90% contained, while the Kula fire has scorched 202 acres and is 95% contained.

The catastrophic fire in Lahaina is 100% contained.

Hundreds are still missing from the fire, according to officials.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green said that 99% of land-based searches in Maui had been completed, with some maritime searches still ongoing.

He also reported that 5,614 residents who had been displaced by the fires were staying in hotels, with 1,100 staying in Airbnbs while long-term housing arrangements were being worked out.

Related Article: Maui Wildfire Update: 'Still-burning Fires' Not Posing Active Threats; Firefighters Find It Hard To Contain Blaze in Urban Areas

Related Video:
Japanese beetles, which are likewise regarded as non-native pests, will be used by authorities to combat the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive insect that has been damaging trees in Maine.

The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

In an ongoing bug war to stop the spread of an invasive insect that has been destroying hemlock trees in Maine for the past 20 years, forestry officials have begun a promising move.

Since its introduction to southern Maine in 2003, the native to Asia hemlock woolly adelgid has been gradually moving along the coast as it moved inland. As recently as Acadia National Park, millions, if not billions, of the insect have been found, according to Colleen Teerling, a Maine Forest Service entomologist.

Non-Native Japanese Beetles: Sasajiscymnus Tsugae

"Biocontrol," or the use of a predatory insect, is one method for reducing the rate of spread of the woolly adelgid. Japanese beetles known as Sasajiscymnus tsugae, another Asian insect that consumes woolly adelgids but doesn't harm trees, have been cultivated in colonies by the state since 2004.

In the Woodward Point Preserve in Brunswick, Teerling, with the aid of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, attached ten colonies with around 100 beetles each to ten trees that were home to woolly adelgids on Monday.

Teerling reported that, regrettably, they were able to find many trees with adelgid on them.

She claimed that because beetles can easily move from tree to tree, they are the most effective weapon against woolly adelgids in woods. The only commercial manufacturer of Sasajiscymnus tsugae beetles, Tree Savers, sold the insects to the Maine Coast Heritage Trust for roughly $2 each.

Invasive Insect in Maine

In the 1950s, Japanese adelgids were introduced to Virginia, where they subsequently moved north to Maine and south to Georgia. They spread quickly in the US and lack any natural predators. On hemlock, woolly adelgids lay up to 500 eggs in each of their two annual egg batches, which are produced exclusively by females.

Beachgoers in Kennebunk and Wells reported having black spots on their feet during the summer of 2021, which researchers later determined to be the result of dead woolly adelgids.

According to Teerling, the invasive species is migrating inland and eastward along the shore.

Also Read: Feral Pigs in Germany Radioactive from 20th Century Nuclear Weapons Plus Chernobyl Explosion, Study Says

Preventing The Spread of an Infestation

Teerling advised homeowners with infested hemlock trees to use horticultural oil as a pesticide because beetles would otherwise merely relocate. She emphasized the importance of prevention, saying that cutting back hemlock trees so they don't contact other trees or nearby items will probably prevent an infestation since woolly adelgids, which lack wings, won't be able to crawl on them.

A few thousand more beetles will be planted this year than were planted in state woods last year, according to Teerling, who works for the Department of Forestry. In Freeport, Waldoboro, Edgecomb, Portland, and South Berwick, beetles will shortly be planted by officials.

She gave local land trust organizations credit for taking the problem seriously and investing in beetles to impede the spread of the woolly adelgid. As the woolly adelgid has established itself in Maine, she said the biocontrol, along with pruning and herbicides, will be a continuing necessity to safeguard hemlock trees.

Related Article: Invasive Apple Snails Lay Thousands of Egg Masses in Man-Made Louisiana Canal
A county in California has been placed under quarantine after locals smuggled potentially infested and considered dangerous fruit, which led to reports of sightings of the invasive pest known as the oriental fruit fly.

Invasive Pest Oriental Fruit Fly in California

According to the US Department of Agriculture, the Oriental fruit fly, also known as Bactrocera dorsalis, is a ravenous pest that may eat up to 400 different kinds of vegetables and fruits, including some of California's most valued commodities.

According to a news release from Santa Clara County on September 6, 112 square miles of the county, including all of Santa Clara and parts of Cupertino, Milpitas, San Jose, and Sunnyvale, are currently under quarantine because of the invasive brown-and-white fly. According to the press statement, the quarantine will probably continue until June 2024.

NEW: A potential oriental fruit fly infestation prompts a months-long quarantine on a 112-square-mile area of Santa Clara County that includes parts of five cities. https://t.co/NQwLYCI4zL pic.twitter.com/dBz8SCwHGH  NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) September 6, 2023

Although it's not known when or how the pests got there, the Department of Agriculture stated that uninspected produce is how they often enter California. Residents within the quarantine boundary are asked to keep any homegrown products on their property, according to the announcement.

However, these vegetables and fruits may still be eaten or processed but only within the farm where they were grown.

Residents are encouraged to double bag and seal their homegrown vegetables before dumping them in conventional trash containers rather than green ones.

Santa Clara County Quarantine

In August 2023, Santa Clara County reported the discovery of the tropical fly, which is native to southern Asia. To use an "attractant technique," the California Department of Food and Agriculture is currently spraying "splotches of bait" on trees and utility poles in parts of Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, and San Jose. This will attract and kill the tropical male flies. Every few weeks, CDFA staff will keep using pressured spray guns to fire this mixture 10 feet into the air.

It's not the first time the Bay Area's tech hub has engaged in combat with an Asian fruit fly.

According to a statement from the Agriculture Department, Santa Clara County has had many detections and eradications of this particular fly over the past ten years. In reality, authorities verified that it was only recently found in the area.

Also Read: Invasive Tree of Heaven Grove in NY to be Knocked Down Before Attracting Invasive Spotted Lanternflies

Smuggled Infested Dangerous Fruit

Two San Jose residents have been charged with smuggling langsat, a "dangerous fruit," into the country and shipping it to Tracy's Gift Shop, a small shop housed in a South Bay strip mall, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. To dodge inspection, 200 pounds of the yellow, grape-like clusters were discovered and labeled on the container as dried fish, coffee, or tea.

Fruit being distributed by one of the defendants was found to be "heavily infested" with fruit fly larvae after authorities seized and tested the fruit.

According to District Attorney Jeff Rosen, this is reckless and serious behavior because these flies can ruin crops if they spread. The farms in this county are at risk, as are the food prices for everyone.

The current infestations are the result of fruit being brought into California illegally. All Californians are urged by officials not to bring back any fresh produce from their travels.

Related Article: Japanese Beetles Released in Maine to Devour Invasive Tree-Killing Insects
When it comes to Shakespeare, the Colorado-to-Utah pipeline is real.

On Wednesday, Creede Repertory Theatre Producing Artistic Director John DiAntonio was named the new artistic director of the Utah Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. That makes three straight Utah Shakes artistic leaders with direct connections to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Specifically: They have all performed in seasonal stagings of the DCPA Theatre Companys A Christmas Carol.

In 2011, Utah Shakes named David Ivers and Brian Vaughn co-artistic directors. Ivers resigned in 2017 to run the Arizona Theatre Company, leaving Vaughn in charge solo. Vaughn abruptly left that position  and the title role in Sweeney Todd"  just a month before the 2022 summer season was to begin. Now, 15 months later, DiAntonio has been named his permanent successor.

John has a wonderful balance of vision for Utah Shakespeare Festival, accompanied by proven administrative skills and artistic leadership, said Bryan Watabe, co-chair of the search committee. I believe the festival will thrive with him as our artistic director.

DiAntonio and his wife, Caitlin Wise, graduated from the Denver Centers former National Theatre Conservatory masters degree program in the Class of 2011. Both performed in multiple DCPA Theatre Company productions, including Othello and A Christmas Carol.

Ivers, now the artistic director of South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, Calif., performed in 28 DCPA Theatre Company productions between 2000-2010, and he directed The Merry Wives of Windsor in 2008. Vaughn played Bob Cratchit in several seasons of the DCPA Theatre Companys A Christmas Carol and is actually in Denver right now performing in the national touring production of Beetlejuice through Sept. 17 at the Buell Theatre. (Hes playing Maxie Deal.)

Longtime Creede Rep actor Kate Berry, who was the companys associate artistic director from 2018-22, has been named interim artistic director, and she has confirmed her intention to apply for the position. In the meantime, she will be partnering on the transition with Managing Director Morgan Manfredi.

The Creede Repertory Theatre is a 57-year-old summer company nestled in the San Juan Mountains about 250 miles southwest of Denver. DiAntonio was named producing artistic director at the absolute worst moment in history  2019. He navigated the company through the cancellation of the 2020 season, producing a 2021 season entirely outdoors and this summers return to performing indoors in the companys two theaters along Creedes Main Street.

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DiAntonio told the Denver Gazette last month he considers the companys 2023 return to pre-pandemic attendance numbers to be one of his proudest accomplishments. The company, which will continue to perform through Sept. 16, is projected to come in at about 18,000 for six plays.

The theater has never been stronger, thanks to the loyalty of our community, DiAntonio said.

John has solidified Creede Repertory Theatre as a regional powerhouse with his visionary leadership and passion for the craft, said CRT Board President Bob Johns. He will leave a legacy and a lasting impact on the direction of Creede Repertory Theatre going forward.

DiAntonio  an actor, director and playwright  joined Creede Reps acting company in 2011 and was considered instrumental in the creation of the companys Headwaters new-play festival in 2012. He was named executive director in 2017. Creede Rep has produced his childrens plays, Harry the Great and Kind of Red.

DiAntonio and Wise are the parents of three children. As I wrote in a profile last month, DiAntonio is often mistaken around Creede for a young George Bailey (and the man who played him on film.)

There are no words to adequately express what Creede Repertory Theatre and the town of Creede mean to Caitlin and me, DiAntonio said. CRT welcomed us with open arms from the beginning, and this place will forever be a part of my heart and soul.

DiAntonio has not yet let his fancy new job get to his head. Tonight, he will be in nearby Alamosa performing in Dear Jack, Dear Louise. The company is touring the two-actor play there all week, and the outgoing artistic director doubles as the understudy to a cast member who is ill. Goes with the job. But at least he will be playing opposite his wife.
Toyota assembly plants across Japan shut down for about a day last week due to a malfunction following routine maintenance. Insufficient disk space in servers used to process parts orders caused the systems to become unavailable, according to the automaker.

Toyota this week provided the cause of the production system outage and reassured customers and partners that the company did not suffer from a cyberattack, but rather a lack of disk space across some of the servers in its production order system. The malfunction suspended operations at some 14 plants in Japan. (Read more about the biggest outages of the year)

Following an investigation into the cause of the incident, Toyota issued a statement to apologize and provide more details.

The system malfunction was caused by the unavailability of some multiple servers that process parts orders. As for the circumstances, regular maintenance work was performed on August 27, the day before the malfunction occurred. During the maintenance procedure, data that had accumulated in the database was deleted and organized, and an error occurred due to insufficient disk space, causing the system to stop, the company said in a statement.

Because the servers were running on the same system, a similar failure occurred in the backup function, making a switchover not possible at that time, the company explained. The malfunction directly led to the suspension of domestic plant operations. When the data was transferred to a server with a larger capacity on August 29, the plants were able to resume operations the following day, August 30.

To reassure their customers, partners, and suppliers that it did not fall victim to a cyberattack, Toyota said it had investigated, replicated, and verified the situation. We would like to report that we have identified the above as the true cause, the company said in a statement.
By Express News Service

Chethan Kumar, the director behind hits like Bahaddur, Bharjari with Dhruva Sarja, Bharaate with Sriimurali, and James with Puneeth Rajkumar, is teaming up with Rakksh Raam for a new project. Titled Burma, the name symbolises the dwelling place of Lord Brahma.

The title poster comes with a catchy tagline: Holding a weapon is not just a style; its a culture. Rakksh Raam, a popular face on television and with a couple of film credits to his name, is not only playing the lead role but also taking on the role of a producer. Burma will be released in multiple languages.

Composer V Harikrishna is collaborating with director Chetan in this project. Interestingly, the audio rights for the movie have already been acquired for a substantial amount by the renowned D-Beats audio label.

The shooting for Burma is scheduled to kick off in September, and more details about the cast and technical crew will be revealed soon.



Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

Chethan Kumar, the director behind hits like Bahaddur, Bharjari with Dhruva Sarja, Bharaate with Sriimurali, and James with Puneeth Rajkumar, is teaming up with Rakksh Raam for a new project. Titled Burma, the name symbolises the dwelling place of Lord Brahma. The title poster comes with a catchy tagline: Holding a weapon is not just a style; its a culture. Rakksh Raam, a popular face on television and with a couple of film credits to his name, is not only playing the lead role but also taking on the role of a producer. Burma will be released in multiple languages. Composer V Harikrishna is collaborating with director Chetan in this project. Interestingly, the audio rights for the movie have already been acquired for a substantial amount by the renowned D-Beats audio label. The shooting for Burma is scheduled to kick off in September, and more details about the cast and technical crew will be revealed soon. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Colorado's office of the Child Protection Ombudsman opened 1,119 cases and closed 1,083 in the most recent fiscal year, the agency announced.

The office oversees the effectiveness of Colorado's state and local child welfare networks, according to its website. It's independent from any state or local department of human services offices.

Case closures increased 17% and new cases, based on contacts to the agency seeking help or information, increased 14%, according to a report released Sept. 1 by the ombudsman's office.

Among closed cases during the last fiscal year, two-thirds had been initiated by caregivers. Professionals made up 13% of those initiating cases.

Of the cases closed by the office, 30% involved concerns about how child welfare services handled abuse and neglect reports, the agency said. Access to services was the second-highest subject of closed cases.

Our ability to dig into more than 1,000 cases a year gives us a lens into child protection systems that no other state agency has, said Child Protection Ombudsman Stephanie Villafuerte in a statement. We are able to identify issues impacting how services are delivered and take innovative, inclusive approaches to addressing such concerns.

Cases opened by the agency have grown each fiscal year since 2018-2019, from 575 to 1,119.

The office attributed the steady increase in cases brought to the office to the growing role of the child protection ombudsman, which transitioned to its current form as an independent state agency seven years ago, and to its outreach and public policy initiatives. The office has grown from three full-time employees to 11 and two contract positions, according to a news release.

The Office of the Child Protection Ombudsman launched two statewide task forces last year. One has been tasked with scrutinizing the effectiveness of the state's mandatory child abuse reporting law. The death of 7-year-old Olivia Gant in 2017 prompted the task force's creation and a report from the Office of the Child Protection Ombudsman. Gants mother claimed her daughter was terminally ill and was accused of seeking unnecessary and dangerous medical care for her from Childrens Hospital Colorado. But suspicions by hospital employees of medical child abuse weren't reported to outside authorities.

The other task force is meant to address issues of children running away from out-of-home placements. Timothy Montoya, 12, ran away from the Tennyson Center for Children in Denver and was hit and killed by a car.
By PTI

MUMBAI: A 15-year-old boy died after a javelin thrown by another student during a practice session pierced his head at a school in Maharashtra's Raigad district, the police said on Thursday.

According to the police, the deceased student, Hujefa Daware had bent down to tie his shoelace and didn't realise the pointed object was moving towards him.

The freak incident took place at INT English School at Purar, Goregaon, in the Mangaon taluka of the district on Wednesday afternoon when students were practising javelin throwing at the school's ground, he said.

Daware was also a part of the javelin team that was preparing for a taluka-level meet. As the practice session was underway, a fellow student hurled a javelin. However, Daware apparently failed to notice that the long stick with a pointed end was flying in his direction.

The teen was hit in the head when he bent down to tie his shoelace. Daware collapsed on the spot after the javelin pierced his head. The profusely bleeding student died before he could be taken to the hospital, a police official said.

The Goregaon police in the district have registered a case of accidental death for now and are examining if there was any negligence on the part of the student who threw the javelin, he said.

The police have also sought the footage of the CCTV cameras installed in the school and the ones covering the playground.

A probe into the matter is going on, he added.

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MUMBAI: A 15-year-old boy died after a javelin thrown by another student during a practice session pierced his head at a school in Maharashtra's Raigad district, the police said on Thursday. According to the police, the deceased student, Hujefa Daware had bent down to tie his shoelace and didn't realise the pointed object was moving towards him. The freak incident took place at INT English School at Purar, Goregaon, in the Mangaon taluka of the district on Wednesday afternoon when students were practising javelin throwing at the school's ground, he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Daware was also a part of the javelin team that was preparing for a taluka-level meet. As the practice session was underway, a fellow student hurled a javelin. However, Daware apparently failed to notice that the long stick with a pointed end was flying in his direction. The teen was hit in the head when he bent down to tie his shoelace. Daware collapsed on the spot after the javelin pierced his head. The profusely bleeding student died before he could be taken to the hospital, a police official said. The Goregaon police in the district have registered a case of accidental death for now and are examining if there was any negligence on the part of the student who threw the javelin, he said. The police have also sought the footage of the CCTV cameras installed in the school and the ones covering the playground. A probe into the matter is going on, he added. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Shalini Chandran By

Online Desk

A parliamentary standing committee has expressed concerns over the rising number of cases in Delhi related to atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the last five years.

The committee on the welfare of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes noted such cases have risen sharply to 130 in 2022 from just 36 in 2018.

It also expressed consternation at delays and apparent shoddiness in investigation of such cases by the Delhi Police, noting that some are not even chargesheeted, and asked the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for an explanation.

The committee also highlighted the very low conviction rate for cases under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Delhi.

The committee noted that the conviction rate in such cases has been dismal at 0 to 2 cases per year, while acquittals have risen from 10 in 2018 to 23 so far in 2023.

In the report on the implementation of reservation policy by the Delhi government, the committee pointed out that there has been increasing delays in the investigation of such cases.

For example, the number of cases where investigation could not be completed in the stipulated 60 days rose to a 78 in 2021 from 24 in 2018, the committee noted.

The cases where justice is being delayed will only prolong the agony being faced by the aggrieved SC/ST individuals, the committee said in its report, adding that there was also an increase in the number of cases pending trial.

The committee demanded to know about the sincere efforts made by the prosecution to investigate, argue and present cases under the Act, along with the reasons for pendency of cases.

Rising Awareness

Rajendra Pal Gautham, who stepped down as social welfare minister of Delhi last year, pointed to two factors as contributing to the rise in such cases.

One, since the inception of the BJP government at the centre, atrocities against Dalits have increased, he said.

The second factor, he said, was related to the Supreme Courts 2018 judgment that diluted the Prevention of Atrocities Act.

The judgment had seen a pan-India protest agitation by SC-ST organizations. Ironically, he pointed out, Supreme Courts decision may have served to make more people aware of the Act.

As a result of the Bharat bandh in 2018, where thousands of youngsters were arrested, people have become more aware of the situation at hand. That is why more cases are being registered, he said.

When asked whether the AAP government has done anything in particular to address the issue of discrimination and violence against Dalits, the former minister said the elected state government has its own limitations in dealing with this.

"This matter does not come under the purview of the state government. This is a law and order situation, he said, pointing to the fact that law and order in Delhi is under the purview and control of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

Another reason is that there is no scheduled caste commission in Delhi. There is only the National Scheduled Caste Commission, he pointed out.

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A parliamentary standing committee has expressed concerns over the rising number of cases in Delhi related to atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in the last five years. The committee on the welfare of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes noted such cases have risen sharply to 130 in 2022 from just 36 in 2018. It also expressed consternation at delays and apparent shoddiness in investigation of such cases by the Delhi Police, noting that some are not even chargesheeted, and asked the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for an explanation. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The committee also highlighted the very low conviction rate for cases under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Delhi. The committee noted that the conviction rate in such cases has been dismal at 0 to 2 cases per year, while acquittals have risen from 10 in 2018 to 23 so far in 2023. In the report on the implementation of reservation policy by the Delhi government, the committee pointed out that there has been increasing delays in the investigation of such cases. For example, the number of cases where investigation could not be completed in the stipulated 60 days rose to a 78 in 2021 from 24 in 2018, the committee noted. The cases where justice is being delayed will only prolong the agony being faced by the aggrieved SC/ST individuals, the committee said in its report, adding that there was also an increase in the number of cases pending trial. The committee demanded to know about the sincere efforts made by the prosecution to investigate, argue and present cases under the Act, along with the reasons for pendency of cases. Rising Awareness Rajendra Pal Gautham, who stepped down as social welfare minister of Delhi last year, pointed to two factors as contributing to the rise in such cases. One, since the inception of the BJP government at the centre, atrocities against Dalits have increased, he said. The second factor, he said, was related to the Supreme Courts 2018 judgment that diluted the Prevention of Atrocities Act. The judgment had seen a pan-India protest agitation by SC-ST organizations. Ironically, he pointed out, Supreme Courts decision may have served to make more people aware of the Act. As a result of the Bharat bandh in 2018, where thousands of youngsters were arrested, people have become more aware of the situation at hand. That is why more cases are being registered, he said. When asked whether the AAP government has done anything in particular to address the issue of discrimination and violence against Dalits, the former minister said the elected state government has its own limitations in dealing with this. "This matter does not come under the purview of the state government. This is a law and order situation, he said, pointing to the fact that law and order in Delhi is under the purview and control of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. Another reason is that there is no scheduled caste commission in Delhi. There is only the National Scheduled Caste Commission, he pointed out. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Pronab Mondal By

Express News Service

KOLKATA: A tug of war between the BJP and the ruling TMC to observe Pashimbanga Diwas or State Foundation Day continued as the Bengal Assembly passed a resolution to observe the day on Poila Baishak, the first day of the Bengali New Year calendar, on Thursday and the BJP strongly opposed it.

Earlier this year, the Centre announced that June 20 be observed as West Bengal Foundation Day and the Bengal government, instead, preferred the first day of Bengali New Year, which usually falls on April 14 or 15. Despite Bengal CMs objection, governor C. V. Ananda Bose observed the day announced by the Centre at Raj Bhavan by organising an event.

While placing the proposal before the House, chief minister Mamata Banerjee asserted that the day will be observed regardless of the approval of the governor.

The resolution was passed with 167 members voting in favour of it in a House of 294 members.

Hitting out at the BJP, Mamata said, People of Bengal dont support June 20, which is synonymous with violence and bloodshed which marked partition as the states foundation day.

The legislators of the saffron camp hit back at Mamata accusing her of changing history. She has a history of changing history. But we are not going to accept her history. June 20 is Bengal Diwas and we will stick to it, said BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul.

On June 20 at Raj Bhavan, a march was organised by the cadets of the National Cadets Corps (NCC) followed by a cultural programme and the governor also made a speech on the occasion. The Raj Bhawan also circulated President Droupadi Murmus greeting to the people of Bengal on the foundation day of West Bengal.

Before the event, Mamata had written to the governor and said that the decision to observe States Foundation Day was unilateral, without following any procedure of obtaining necessary consent of the state cabinet and the state legislature and the act would hurt the sentiments of people and insult and defame the millions of people in West Bengal.

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KOLKATA: A tug of war between the BJP and the ruling TMC to observe Pashimbanga Diwas or State Foundation Day continued as the Bengal Assembly passed a resolution to observe the day on Poila Baishak, the first day of the Bengali New Year calendar, on Thursday and the BJP strongly opposed it. Earlier this year, the Centre announced that June 20 be observed as West Bengal Foundation Day and the Bengal government, instead, preferred the first day of Bengali New Year, which usually falls on April 14 or 15. Despite Bengal CMs objection, governor C. V. Ananda Bose observed the day announced by the Centre at Raj Bhavan by organising an event. While placing the proposal before the House, chief minister Mamata Banerjee asserted that the day will be observed regardless of the approval of the governor.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The resolution was passed with 167 members voting in favour of it in a House of 294 members. Hitting out at the BJP, Mamata said, People of Bengal dont support June 20, which is synonymous with violence and bloodshed which marked partition as the states foundation day. The legislators of the saffron camp hit back at Mamata accusing her of changing history. She has a history of changing history. But we are not going to accept her history. June 20 is Bengal Diwas and we will stick to it, said BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul. On June 20 at Raj Bhavan, a march was organised by the cadets of the National Cadets Corps (NCC) followed by a cultural programme and the governor also made a speech on the occasion. The Raj Bhawan also circulated President Droupadi Murmus greeting to the people of Bengal on the foundation day of West Bengal. Before the event, Mamata had written to the governor and said that the decision to observe States Foundation Day was unilateral, without following any procedure of obtaining necessary consent of the state cabinet and the state legislature and the act would hurt the sentiments of people and insult and defame the millions of people in West Bengal. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: Launching a scathing attack on BJP and PM Modi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said BJPs attempt to create an India-Bharat divide is a sign of the saffron brigade being rattled by the INDIA alliance.

Speaking at a farmers meet in Rajasthans Bhilwara district, Kharge asserted India and Bharat are one according to the Constitution and that is why Congress has been talking about a major movement for Bharat Jodo, led by Rahul Gandhi, in his yatra across the country.

The Congress president rubbished attempts to rake up the Red Diary issue, which the BJP alleged contained corrupt deals of the Gehlot government. Fiercely attacking the BJP over the Bharat vs India controversy, Kharge said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now nervous about the INDIA alliance.

We brought together like-minded people and formed an organisation, which was named INDIA. But BJP people are afraid of the INDIA alliance. Now they are saying Bharat instead of India. It is written in the Constitution itself  India that is Bharat. We are already talking about uniting India.

Kharge further referred to the Red Diary controversy as an attempt to drag the country into unnecessary debates. Congress never deceives; it strives to empower the people, Kharge said, rubbishing issues raised by the BJP.

Addressing the public gathering, he said "The BJP government asks what the Congress did in 53 years? Alongside implementing land reforms, the Congress government in Rajasthan also opened doors to banking for the poor...However, the BJP government lacks the courage to do the same," he said.

Regarding the Red Diary issue, which has been a topic of extensive discussion in Rajasthan politics recently, Kharge claimed that there is no red, yellow or any other diary, its just a bogus attempt to try and scare the Congress.

He challenged the BJP that if there is any diary they should come out with it so that Congress could fight it out politically or legally rather than to defame the government. Kharge remarked, BJP members try to intimidate us by claiming I have a red diary, yellow diary, black diary. Keep your diaries to yourself.

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JAIPUR: Launching a scathing attack on BJP and PM Modi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said BJPs attempt to create an India-Bharat divide is a sign of the saffron brigade being rattled by the INDIA alliance. Speaking at a farmers meet in Rajasthans Bhilwara district, Kharge asserted India and Bharat are one according to the Constitution and that is why Congress has been talking about a major movement for Bharat Jodo, led by Rahul Gandhi, in his yatra across the country. The Congress president rubbished attempts to rake up the Red Diary issue, which the BJP alleged contained corrupt deals of the Gehlot government. Fiercely attacking the BJP over the Bharat vs India controversy, Kharge said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now nervous about the INDIA alliance.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); We brought together like-minded people and formed an organisation, which was named INDIA. But BJP people are afraid of the INDIA alliance. Now they are saying Bharat instead of India. It is written in the Constitution itself  India that is Bharat. We are already talking about uniting India. Kharge further referred to the Red Diary controversy as an attempt to drag the country into unnecessary debates. Congress never deceives; it strives to empower the people, Kharge said, rubbishing issues raised by the BJP. Addressing the public gathering, he said "The BJP government asks what the Congress did in 53 years? Alongside implementing land reforms, the Congress government in Rajasthan also opened doors to banking for the poor...However, the BJP government lacks the courage to do the same," he said. Regarding the Red Diary issue, which has been a topic of extensive discussion in Rajasthan politics recently, Kharge claimed that there is no red, yellow or any other diary, its just a bogus attempt to try and scare the Congress. He challenged the BJP that if there is any diary they should come out with it so that Congress could fight it out politically or legally rather than to defame the government. Kharge remarked, BJP members try to intimidate us by claiming I have a red diary, yellow diary, black diary. Keep your diaries to yourself. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Pronab Mondal By

Express News Service

KOLKATA: Reacting to Mamata Banerjees threat to stage a dharna in front of Raj Bhavan in protest against the governors alleged intervention in the affairs of the state universities, C.V. Ananda Bose, the constitutional head of the state, on Thursday said the West Bengal chief minister can stage demonstration within the premises of the Raj Bhavan and not outside and he would welcome her.

The chief minister is my honoured colleague. She is welcome to Raj Bhavan. She can come inside Raj Bhavan and stage all her demonstrations here. She can come as the honoured guest of Raj Bhavan to demonstrate here, said Bose shortly after returning to Kolkata from Delhi.

Two days ago, Mamata lambasted Bose for his decision to appoint interim vice-chancellors for 16 universities in West Bengal without the concurrence of the state government.

The Bengal governor, however, on Thursday made it clear that he would stick to his action. I will fight till the end to make sure the universities across the state are free from violence and corruption. A 17-year-old student lost his precious life at a university. It cannot continue, he said.

Bose alleged that the interim vice-chancellors appointed by him are facing tremendous pressure from a section of the state bureaucrats backed by the state government and as a result of which, some of them resigned.

Elaborating on his decision to appoint the interim VCs, the governor said, This was because the previous vice-chancellors had to resign as per the order of the Supreme Court because they were appointed without following the rules. I did not ask them to resign.

The governor further stated that he did not appoint any candidates nominated by the state as some of them were either involved in corruption or other cases like harassing female students.

Responding to the governor's statement, TMCs spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said "It is a scripted drama.

The governor is trying to confuse everyone. He is collapsing the education system in the state. This is the real agenda of the BJP. What he told today is a scripted drama, Ghosh said.

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KOLKATA: Reacting to Mamata Banerjees threat to stage a dharna in front of Raj Bhavan in protest against the governors alleged intervention in the affairs of the state universities, C.V. Ananda Bose, the constitutional head of the state, on Thursday said the West Bengal chief minister can stage demonstration within the premises of the Raj Bhavan and not outside and he would welcome her. The chief minister is my honoured colleague. She is welcome to Raj Bhavan. She can come inside Raj Bhavan and stage all her demonstrations here. She can come as the honoured guest of Raj Bhavan to demonstrate here, said Bose shortly after returning to Kolkata from Delhi. Two days ago, Mamata lambasted Bose for his decision to appoint interim vice-chancellors for 16 universities in West Bengal without the concurrence of the state government.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The Bengal governor, however, on Thursday made it clear that he would stick to his action. I will fight till the end to make sure the universities across the state are free from violence and corruption. A 17-year-old student lost his precious life at a university. It cannot continue, he said. Bose alleged that the interim vice-chancellors appointed by him are facing tremendous pressure from a section of the state bureaucrats backed by the state government and as a result of which, some of them resigned. Elaborating on his decision to appoint the interim VCs, the governor said, This was because the previous vice-chancellors had to resign as per the order of the Supreme Court because they were appointed without following the rules. I did not ask them to resign. The governor further stated that he did not appoint any candidates nominated by the state as some of them were either involved in corruption or other cases like harassing female students. Responding to the governor's statement, TMCs spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said "It is a scripted drama. The governor is trying to confuse everyone. He is collapsing the education system in the state. This is the real agenda of the BJP. What he told today is a scripted drama, Ghosh said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Describing the Bharat Jodo Yatra as a people's movement, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said the foot march was not just a physical endeavour but a sincere effort to 'rebuild our broken collective conscience'.

On the first anniversary of the party's Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said it continues to fight the menace of hate and hostility in society through a conversation.

"The Bharat Jodo Yatra is not just a physical endeavour, it is a sincere effort to rebuild our broken collective conscience. Our ingrained values of justice, liberty equality, and fraternity, for us, are supreme," Kharge said in a statement posted on X.

"The Congress party is continuously reaching out to people in an endeavour to reclaim our Constitution and protect our Democracy," he said.

#BharatJodoYatra is a Peoples Movement, unequalled in history.



As the Yatra completes one year today, on behalf of the Indian National Congress, I congratulate Shri @RahulGandhi, all Bharat Yatris and the lakhs of our citizens who walked and joined in this historic endeavour. pic.twitter.com/0jCAbvzU2A  Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 7, 2023

On this day in 2022, the Congress launched the yatra in Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, the southern tip of the country.

"The trend of manufacturing irrelevant headlines to divert attention from the real issues of people to hide the agenda of hate and division is a systemic attack on our collective conscience," Kharge said.

He asserted that the yatra "seeks to bring real issues of economic inequalities, price rise, unemployment, social injustices, subversion of Constitution, centralisation of power, to the centre stage of people's imagination". The Bharat Jodo Yatra is "a people's movement, unequalled in history", Kharge said.

"As the yatra completes one year today, on behalf of the Indian National Congress, I congratulate Rahul Gandhi, all Bharat Yatris and the lakhs of our citizens who walked and joined in this historic endeavour," he said.

From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, the Bharat Jodo Yatra covered more than 4,000 kilometres and carried a message of unity in diversity, with lakhs of people from all walks of life, the Congress chief said.

During the course of the yatra, that culminated in Srinagar on January 30 this year, Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, more than 100 street corner meetings and 13 press conferences.

He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions.

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NEW DELHI: Describing the Bharat Jodo Yatra as a people's movement, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said the foot march was not just a physical endeavour but a sincere effort to 'rebuild our broken collective conscience'. On the first anniversary of the party's Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said it continues to fight the menace of hate and hostility in society through a conversation. "The Bharat Jodo Yatra is not just a physical endeavour, it is a sincere effort to rebuild our broken collective conscience. Our ingrained values of justice, liberty equality, and fraternity, for us, are supreme," Kharge said in a statement posted on X.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "The Congress party is continuously reaching out to people in an endeavour to reclaim our Constitution and protect our Democracy," he said. #BharatJodoYatra is a Peoples Movement, unequalled in history. As the Yatra completes one year today, on behalf of the Indian National Congress, I congratulate Shri @RahulGandhi, all Bharat Yatris and the lakhs of our citizens who walked and joined in this historic endeavour. pic.twitter.com/0jCAbvzU2A  Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 7, 2023 On this day in 2022, the Congress launched the yatra in Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, the southern tip of the country. "The trend of manufacturing irrelevant headlines to divert attention from the real issues of people to hide the agenda of hate and division is a systemic attack on our collective conscience," Kharge said. He asserted that the yatra "seeks to bring real issues of economic inequalities, price rise, unemployment, social injustices, subversion of Constitution, centralisation of power, to the centre stage of people's imagination". The Bharat Jodo Yatra is "a people's movement, unequalled in history", Kharge said. "As the yatra completes one year today, on behalf of the Indian National Congress, I congratulate Rahul Gandhi, all Bharat Yatris and the lakhs of our citizens who walked and joined in this historic endeavour," he said. From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, the Bharat Jodo Yatra covered more than 4,000 kilometres and carried a message of unity in diversity, with lakhs of people from all walks of life, the Congress chief said. During the course of the yatra, that culminated in Srinagar on January 30 this year, Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, more than 100 street corner meetings and 13 press conferences. He had over 275 planned walking interactions and more than 100 sitting interactions. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The arrival of US President Joe Biden on Thursday will herald the commencement of a momentous countdown to the 18th G20 Summit, a prestigious gathering that India is hosting this year.

Resolute in his diplomatic commitments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to return to New Delhi on Thursday evening, after his participation in the pivotal ASEAN-India and East Asia Summit in Jakarta.

The grand stage is set for a resounding prelude to the G20 Summit on September 8, as Modi and Biden engage in a bilateral tete-a-tete.

A crescendo of anticipation builds as a constellation of world leaders, luminaries such as Rishi Sunak, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Fumio Kishida, among others, are poised to converge upon Delhi by the twilight hours of September 8.

The veritable epicentre of global deliberation, the 18th G20 Summit, is set to unfurl its proceedings at Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan on September 9. It shall serve as the crucible for cogent discussions encompassing the critical spheres of economy, Ukraine, food security, and the overarching spectre of climate change.

A watershed moment in the annals of G20 history will manifest on September 9, as the African Union, with solemn formality, accedes to the esteemed ranks of the G20, rechristening it as the G21.

Amidst the splendour of September 9 eve, the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, shall extend her hospitality to dignitaries and world leaders alike, orchestrating a prestigious dinner at Mandapam. This soiree has already cast its reverberations far and wide, resounding under the distinguished banner of President of Bharat.

Further, a bespoke itinerary has been thoughtfully curated for the spouses of these world leaders on the day of the summit, affording them an exclusive glimpse into the cultural tapestry of India.

This meticulously crafted schedule comprises visits to the Agricultural Institute, a contemplative sojourn to Rajghat, an exploration of the National Gallery of Modern Art, and a memorable shopping escapade.

In the morning light of September 10, the worlds leaders shall reconvene, their collective wisdom crystallising into a final draft of a joint declaration or leaders statement  a testament to the unified resolve of the G20.

Subsequently, the baton of the G20 Presidency will be reverentially bequeathed to Brazil, an occasion steeped in symbolic significance. The international dignitaries will embark on their return journeys as the G20 Summit concludes on September 10 and on September 11 morning.

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NEW DELHI: The arrival of US President Joe Biden on Thursday will herald the commencement of a momentous countdown to the 18th G20 Summit, a prestigious gathering that India is hosting this year. Resolute in his diplomatic commitments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to return to New Delhi on Thursday evening, after his participation in the pivotal ASEAN-India and East Asia Summit in Jakarta. The grand stage is set for a resounding prelude to the G20 Summit on September 8, as Modi and Biden engage in a bilateral tete-a-tete.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); A crescendo of anticipation builds as a constellation of world leaders, luminaries such as Rishi Sunak, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholz and Fumio Kishida, among others, are poised to converge upon Delhi by the twilight hours of September 8. The veritable epicentre of global deliberation, the 18th G20 Summit, is set to unfurl its proceedings at Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan on September 9. It shall serve as the crucible for cogent discussions encompassing the critical spheres of economy, Ukraine, food security, and the overarching spectre of climate change. A watershed moment in the annals of G20 history will manifest on September 9, as the African Union, with solemn formality, accedes to the esteemed ranks of the G20, rechristening it as the G21. Amidst the splendour of September 9 eve, the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, shall extend her hospitality to dignitaries and world leaders alike, orchestrating a prestigious dinner at Mandapam. This soiree has already cast its reverberations far and wide, resounding under the distinguished banner of President of Bharat. Further, a bespoke itinerary has been thoughtfully curated for the spouses of these world leaders on the day of the summit, affording them an exclusive glimpse into the cultural tapestry of India. This meticulously crafted schedule comprises visits to the Agricultural Institute, a contemplative sojourn to Rajghat, an exploration of the National Gallery of Modern Art, and a memorable shopping escapade. In the morning light of September 10, the worlds leaders shall reconvene, their collective wisdom crystallising into a final draft of a joint declaration or leaders statement  a testament to the unified resolve of the G20. Subsequently, the baton of the G20 Presidency will be reverentially bequeathed to Brazil, an occasion steeped in symbolic significance. The international dignitaries will embark on their return journeys as the G20 Summit concludes on September 10 and on September 11 morning. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Express News Service

BHOPAL: Even as the uncertainty within the BJP over choosing the chief ministers face in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh still looms large, Union Minister of Road Transports and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said the credit to taking the state out of BIMARU states (an acronym of backward states) goes to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

The praise from Gadkari came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah acknowledged Chouhan for his efforts in raising literacy in tribal areas. Earlier on Monday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had called Chouhan as Dhoni of politics.

The credit for transforming MP from a BIMARU state to the countrys power station of development goes to our popular CM. But the development which happened till now was just a trailer, as the real film is yet to start, Gadkari said while flagging off the BJPs last of the five Jan Ashirwad Yatras from Khandwa district in southwestern MP.

Gadkari also praised the CM for leading the state in agriculture for seven years in a row. Both Gadkari and Chouhan were dropped from the BJPs parliamentary board in August 2022.

Stone pelting

Meanwhile, in western MPs Neemuch district, the police have detained five persons in connection with the stone pelting on BJPs Jan Ashirwad Yatra in a village of Manasa assembly segment on Tuesday evening. Chouhan, senior state BJP leaders, including home minister Narottam Mishra and state BJP chief VD Sharma, blamed the Congress for the attack.

Khema Gurjar, the prime accused of the Tuesday evening attack, is associated with the Congress. State party chief Kamal Nath had recently apprehended Manipur-like stone pelting in MP, while Congress MP Digvijaya Singh had feared Nuh-like violence in the state, states home minister Narottam Mishra alleged.

Congress, however, denied the allegations, saying what happened in Neemuch was due to the ire of villagers. A senior police officer in Neemuch said while villagers were upset, the attack on Yatra cannot be attributed to it.

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BHOPAL: Even as the uncertainty within the BJP over choosing the chief ministers face in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh still looms large, Union Minister of Road Transports and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said the credit to taking the state out of BIMARU states (an acronym of backward states) goes to CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The praise from Gadkari came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah acknowledged Chouhan for his efforts in raising literacy in tribal areas. Earlier on Monday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had called Chouhan as Dhoni of politics. The credit for transforming MP from a BIMARU state to the countrys power station of development goes to our popular CM. But the development which happened till now was just a trailer, as the real film is yet to start, Gadkari said while flagging off the BJPs last of the five Jan Ashirwad Yatras from Khandwa district in southwestern MP.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Gadkari also praised the CM for leading the state in agriculture for seven years in a row. Both Gadkari and Chouhan were dropped from the BJPs parliamentary board in August 2022. Stone pelting Meanwhile, in western MPs Neemuch district, the police have detained five persons in connection with the stone pelting on BJPs Jan Ashirwad Yatra in a village of Manasa assembly segment on Tuesday evening. Chouhan, senior state BJP leaders, including home minister Narottam Mishra and state BJP chief VD Sharma, blamed the Congress for the attack. Khema Gurjar, the prime accused of the Tuesday evening attack, is associated with the Congress. State party chief Kamal Nath had recently apprehended Manipur-like stone pelting in MP, while Congress MP Digvijaya Singh had feared Nuh-like violence in the state, states home minister Narottam Mishra alleged. Congress, however, denied the allegations, saying what happened in Neemuch was due to the ire of villagers. A senior police officer in Neemuch said while villagers were upset, the attack on Yatra cannot be attributed to it. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Nigerian President has arrived in Delhi ahead of the G20 Summit as a guest of India. Nigeria, one of Indias largest trade partners in Africa, has welcomed Indias commitment to include the African Union in the G20.

Its a significant step forward for the African Union (AU) to join the G20. Having more diverse voices on the global stage will be beneficial. India is leading the effort to increase representation, and credit goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stated Tolu Ogunlesi, advisor to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.

India has extended an invitation to Nigeria as a guest country for the G20 Summit. President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria is in India ahead of the summit, where he is expected to hold bilateral meetings with PM Modi, as well as with the leaders of Germany, South Korea and Brazil on the sidelines of the summit, which commences on September 9.

This gesture of inviting Nigeria as a guest country for the G20 Summit demonstrates how much India values our relationship. Our two nations share similarities, having both been British colonies, and our societies and cultures are diverse, added Tolu.

Accompanying the Nigerian President are four ministers, including the foreign minister, finance minister, industry and trade minister, and communications and digital economy minister. In addition to the official delegation, a substantial business delegation has also joined the President.

The objective is to strengthen trade partnerships between the two nations. India is the largest importer of crude oil from Nigeria, and more than 130 Indian corporations, including Airtel, Mahindra and Tata, have a presence in Nigeria. Nigeria is eager to collaborate with India and expand our business ties, emphasized Nigerian High Commissioner to India, Ahmed Sule.

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NEW DELHI: The Nigerian President has arrived in Delhi ahead of the G20 Summit as a guest of India. Nigeria, one of Indias largest trade partners in Africa, has welcomed Indias commitment to include the African Union in the G20. Its a significant step forward for the African Union (AU) to join the G20. Having more diverse voices on the global stage will be beneficial. India is leading the effort to increase representation, and credit goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stated Tolu Ogunlesi, advisor to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment. India has extended an invitation to Nigeria as a guest country for the G20 Summit. President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria is in India ahead of the summit, where he is expected to hold bilateral meetings with PM Modi, as well as with the leaders of Germany, South Korea and Brazil on the sidelines of the summit, which commences on September 9.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); This gesture of inviting Nigeria as a guest country for the G20 Summit demonstrates how much India values our relationship. Our two nations share similarities, having both been British colonies, and our societies and cultures are diverse, added Tolu. Accompanying the Nigerian President are four ministers, including the foreign minister, finance minister, industry and trade minister, and communications and digital economy minister. In addition to the official delegation, a substantial business delegation has also joined the President. The objective is to strengthen trade partnerships between the two nations. India is the largest importer of crude oil from Nigeria, and more than 130 Indian corporations, including Airtel, Mahindra and Tata, have a presence in Nigeria. Nigeria is eager to collaborate with India and expand our business ties, emphasized Nigerian High Commissioner to India, Ahmed Sule. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

WASHINGTON: More than 10.5 lakh Indians are in the queue for an employment-based Green Card and 4 lakh of them may die before they receive the much-sought-after legal document of permanent residency in the US, according to a new study.

A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently.

The per-country caps are numerical limits on the issuance of green cards to individuals from certain countries.

The employment-based Green Card backlog reached a new record of 1.8 million cases this year, according to the study by David J Bier of the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank.

About 1.1 million of the 1.8 million cases in the backlog are from India (63 per cent).

Another nearly 250,000 are from China (14 per cent), it said.

The backlog consists of immigrants who are waiting to receive green cards, primarily the result of low Green Card caps for employer-sponsored immigrants and investors.

Because no country may receive more than 7 per cent of the green cards (the country caps) unless they would otherwise go unused, the 1.1 million cases from Indians in the backlog bear most of the burden of the broken system, the study said.

New applicants from India will face a lifetime wait, and more than 400,000 will die before they receive a green card, it said.

The process starts when an employer files a petition for a worker.

If no Green Card is available under the caps, the petition is wait-listed until a spot opens.

Finally, a worker may file to adjust their status to permanent residence (the green card application) when a green card cap spot is available to them.

There's a similar staged process for investors and employment-based "special immigrants" who include Afghan interpreters as well as, strangely, abandoned immigrant children.

In March 2023, 80,324 employment-based petitions were pending, representing about 171,635 people with spouses and minor children of the workers included.

Another 1.3 million were waitlisted, and 289,000 were pending adjustment of status applications, the study said.

There were also some employment-based immigrants waiting for immigrant visa adjudications at consulates abroad, but the State Department provides no information about the number of these cases.

There are also some petitions in the backlog filed on behalf of the same person, leading to some double counting.

There is also a backlog of 123,234 permanent labour certification applications, which is the start of the employment-based green card queue.

Over half of the backlog is in the EB-2 category for employees of US businesses with advanced degrees.

Another 19 per cent are in the EB-3 category for employees with at least bachelor's degrees.

The EB-4 category for "special immigrants" (Afghan and Iraqi interpreters, others with various U.S. government affiliations, and abandoned children) is about 13 per cent.

Another 6 per cent are for EB-5 major investors.

For new applicants from India, the backlog for the EB-2 and EB-3 categories (which are combined because applicants can move between them) is effectively a life sentence: 134 years.

About 424,000 employment-based applicants will die waiting, and over 90 per cent of them will be Indians.

Given that Indians are currently half of all new employer-sponsored applicants, roughly half of all newly sponsored immigrants will die before they receive a Green Card.

Chinese in those categories face an astounding 17-year wait.

The wait times for Salvadorans, Hondurans, and Guatemalans in the EB-4 category are similarly long waits.

The Biden administration recently changed how it implements the country limits for the EB-4 category such that the Northern Triangle countries and Mexico will likely see a significant increase in green cards at the expense of the number for "other" countries.

However, even if these countries receive all the green cards going forward, they would still face multi-decade waits.

The employment-based backlog comes on top of the 8.3 million case backlog for the family-sponsored system, the study said.

These astounding backlogs and massive waits underscore that legal immigration to the United States is nearly impossible, the study said.

Even to get to the point of entering the backlog takes an enormous amount of good fortune, and the lucky few that make it through the labyrinth face the daunting prospect of never actually receiving green cards in decades or even their lifetimes, it said.

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WASHINGTON: More than 10.5 lakh Indians are in the queue for an employment-based Green Card and 4 lakh of them may die before they receive the much-sought-after legal document of permanent residency in the US, according to a new study. A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent Resident Card, is a document issued to immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer has been granted the privilege of residing permanently. The per-country caps are numerical limits on the issuance of green cards to individuals from certain countries.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The employment-based Green Card backlog reached a new record of 1.8 million cases this year, according to the study by David J Bier of the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank. About 1.1 million of the 1.8 million cases in the backlog are from India (63 per cent). Another nearly 250,000 are from China (14 per cent), it said. The backlog consists of immigrants who are waiting to receive green cards, primarily the result of low Green Card caps for employer-sponsored immigrants and investors. Because no country may receive more than 7 per cent of the green cards (the country caps) unless they would otherwise go unused, the 1.1 million cases from Indians in the backlog bear most of the burden of the broken system, the study said. New applicants from India will face a lifetime wait, and more than 400,000 will die before they receive a green card, it said. The process starts when an employer files a petition for a worker. If no Green Card is available under the caps, the petition is wait-listed until a spot opens. Finally, a worker may file to adjust their status to permanent residence (the green card application) when a green card cap spot is available to them. There's a similar staged process for investors and employment-based "special immigrants" who include Afghan interpreters as well as, strangely, abandoned immigrant children. In March 2023, 80,324 employment-based petitions were pending, representing about 171,635 people with spouses and minor children of the workers included. Another 1.3 million were waitlisted, and 289,000 were pending adjustment of status applications, the study said. There were also some employment-based immigrants waiting for immigrant visa adjudications at consulates abroad, but the State Department provides no information about the number of these cases. There are also some petitions in the backlog filed on behalf of the same person, leading to some double counting. There is also a backlog of 123,234 permanent labour certification applications, which is the start of the employment-based green card queue. Over half of the backlog is in the EB-2 category for employees of US businesses with advanced degrees. Another 19 per cent are in the EB-3 category for employees with at least bachelor's degrees. The EB-4 category for "special immigrants" (Afghan and Iraqi interpreters, others with various U.S. government affiliations, and abandoned children) is about 13 per cent. Another 6 per cent are for EB-5 major investors. For new applicants from India, the backlog for the EB-2 and EB-3 categories (which are combined because applicants can move between them) is effectively a life sentence: 134 years. About 424,000 employment-based applicants will die waiting, and over 90 per cent of them will be Indians. Given that Indians are currently half of all new employer-sponsored applicants, roughly half of all newly sponsored immigrants will die before they receive a Green Card. Chinese in those categories face an astounding 17-year wait. The wait times for Salvadorans, Hondurans, and Guatemalans in the EB-4 category are similarly long waits. The Biden administration recently changed how it implements the country limits for the EB-4 category such that the Northern Triangle countries and Mexico will likely see a significant increase in green cards at the expense of the number for "other" countries. However, even if these countries receive all the green cards going forward, they would still face multi-decade waits. The employment-based backlog comes on top of the 8.3 million case backlog for the family-sponsored system, the study said. These astounding backlogs and massive waits underscore that legal immigration to the United States is nearly impossible, the study said. Even to get to the point of entering the backlog takes an enormous amount of good fortune, and the lucky few that make it through the labyrinth face the daunting prospect of never actually receiving green cards in decades or even their lifetimes, it said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Aerial view of houses in a flooded area after an extratropical cyclone hit southern cities, in Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, 6 September 2023. Photo: Diego Vara / REUTERS

By George Wright

6 September 2023

(BBC News)  Torrential rain and winds caused by a cyclone have left at least 27 people dead in southern Brazil, with more flooding expected.

The governor of Rio Grande do Sul said it was the states worst-ever weather disaster.

Thousands have been forced from their homes, officials said.

Rescuers help people amid a flood in Rio Grande Do Sul, 6 September 2023. Photo: REUTERS

In Mucum, a town of 5,000 people, hundreds had to be rescued from their rooftops as 85% of the town was flooded, local media report.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the federal government was ready to help.

Where there is a problem, the federal government will be there to save people from these problems, he said.

Eduardo Leite, governor of Rio Grande do Sul, told a news conference that 15 more bodies had been found in Mucum on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 21.

More than 300mm (11 inches) of rain hit the state in less than 24 hours, triggering floods and landslides, officials said.

There are still people missing, Mucum Mayor Mateus Trojan told Radio Gaucha.

The death toll might climb higher. The town of Mucum as we knew it no longer exists.

Residents Silvana Primel and Jose Gabriel pick up objects amid the ruins of their home after an extratropical cyclone struck, in Mucum, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, 6 September 2023. Photo: Diego Vara / REUTERS

Rescue workers have been using helicopters to reach areas cut off by flooding.

There are many people who lost much more, but here at home I have nothing left, she told Reuters news agency.

Luana Da Luz, from Passo Fundo, was rescued by firefighters.

We saw it [water] was going to fill everything since dawn, she said. We were already putting things on top of the table, on top of the wood stove, but it didnt help.

Many factors contribute to flooding, but a warming atmosphere caused by climate change makes extreme rainfall more likely.

The world has already warmed by about 1.2C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.

In February, at least 40 people were killed in flooding and landslides in Brazils Sao Paulo state. while last year at least 100 people died as torrential rain triggered landslides and torrents of mud near the city of Recife in the countrys north-east.

Brazilian state reels after its worst cyclone disaster

Aerial view of houses in a flooded area after an extratropical cyclone hit southern cities, in Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, 6 September 2023. Photo: Diego Vara / REUTERS

Cyclone batters southern Brazil, death toll from floods hits 36

By Eduardo Simoes and Gabriel Araujo

6 September 2023

SAO PAULO (Reuters)  The death toll from heavy rains in southern Brazil rose to 36, local authorities said on Wednesday, as a tropical cyclone battered and soaked the region, flooding homes and swelling rivers.

Video obtained by Reuters showed rising water flooding streets and rivers and submerging houses in the small town of Mucum, in Rio Grande do Sul state. Nearby cities such as Lajeado and Roca Sales were also hit severely.

Dominguez Fontana, a 74-year-old sawmill worker who escaped the Mucum flooding, said nothing could be salvaged.

When the water was coming, I escaped to the highway, he explained. You have to escape. If you stay there, you die.

Lucas Atkinson rescues a calf in a flooded area after a cyclone hit southern towns, in Venancio Aires, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, 5 September 2023. Photo: Diego Vara / REUTERS

Rain stopped on Tuesday but weather forecaster Climatempo forecast more on Wednesday and Thursday before showers dissipate by Sunday, with the state still on alert for floods.

The Rio Grande do Sul floods are just the latest recent natural disasters in Brazil. More than 50 people were killed in Sao Paulo state this year after massive downpours caused landslides and flooding.

The colonial-era city of Petropolis near Rio de Janeiro and Bahia state has suffered similar disasters, as well as Santa Catarina, a state neighboring Rio Grande do Sul where an additional victim was confirmed on Tuesday.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he had spoken to Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite to offer the federal governments full support.

Lula sent two ministers to oversee search and rescue efforts and said Vice President Geraldo Alckmin would also be on standby to travel to the hard-hit Rio Grande do Sul state, home to about 11 million people.

Cyclone batters southern Brazil, death toll from floods hits 36
Preetha Nair By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a week-long visit to Europe, will interact with European Union (EU) Parliamentarians and ministers besides having interaction with university students and Indian diasporas.

Rahul, who left on Tuesday night, will visit Belgium, France, Holland and Norway. Sources said that Gandhi will meet EU MPs in Brussels on Wednesday. Besides meeting with the diasporas, the Congress leader will hold a press conference in Brussels.

During his interaction with students, the leader may talk on the topic of Democracy, said the source.

While Rahuls visit coincides with the G-20 meeting, scheduled to take place on September 9-10, Congress leaders said that it has nothing to do with his trip. In the past, Rahuls foreign tours have sparked controversies as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleges that Gandhi tries to defame India on foreign shores in his speeches.

Its just a coincidence that his meeting coincided with the G-20 meeting. Gandhi will get busy with upcoming state elections this month. That is why the Europe trip is planned now, said the leader.

In Paris, Gandhi will meet French lawmakers and will meet NRIs on September 8. The leader said that Rahul will address a press conference in Paris too. In Holland, he will interact with students of Leiden University at The Hague. His next stop would be Norway where he is expected to meet ministers, the leader of the Opposition who was a former Prime Minister, MPs, industrialists, and Indian diasporas.

Rahul will return to Delhi on September 12th.

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NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a week-long visit to Europe, will interact with European Union (EU) Parliamentarians and ministers besides having interaction with university students and Indian diasporas. Rahul, who left on Tuesday night, will visit Belgium, France, Holland and Norway. Sources said that Gandhi will meet EU MPs in Brussels on Wednesday. Besides meeting with the diasporas, the Congress leader will hold a press conference in Brussels. During his interaction with students, the leader may talk on the topic of Democracy, said the source.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); While Rahuls visit coincides with the G-20 meeting, scheduled to take place on September 9-10, Congress leaders said that it has nothing to do with his trip. In the past, Rahuls foreign tours have sparked controversies as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleges that Gandhi tries to defame India on foreign shores in his speeches. Its just a coincidence that his meeting coincided with the G-20 meeting. Gandhi will get busy with upcoming state elections this month. That is why the Europe trip is planned now, said the leader. In Paris, Gandhi will meet French lawmakers and will meet NRIs on September 8. The leader said that Rahul will address a press conference in Paris too. In Holland, he will interact with students of Leiden University at The Hague. His next stop would be Norway where he is expected to meet ministers, the leader of the Opposition who was a former Prime Minister, MPs, industrialists, and Indian diasporas. Rahul will return to Delhi on September 12th. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Express News Service

PATNA: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president of Bihar, Jagdanand Singh on Wednesday said that Sanatana Dharma advocates discrimination on the basis of caste. The RJD leader added that as a result, a section of the people were subjugated while the country was enslaved by those who roamed about sporting 'tika and chandan' on their foreheads.

If the BJP leaders are willing to make Sanatana Dharma a subject of debate they will stand exposed and eventually, they would be forced to backtrack, Singh affirmed.

The subject has also to do with the necessity of reservations, he said.

When media persons questioned him again on Thursday about his statement, Singh said he stands by his remarks.

"We also believe in Sanatana Dharma. We also know a lot of things. But the BJP leaders are trying to mislead the people of the country and it is not appropriate," he said.

In retaliation, former union minister and BJP national spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told newspersons that his party would not tolerate insult to Hindu faith and philosophy.'

Prasad wondered whether a conspiracy was hatched during the meeting of the INDIA bloc in Mumbai recently to insult the Hindu faith. This is being done for the sake of vote bank politics, he claimed.

He demanded a reply from Congress senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over this issue.

A controversy broke out over the issue after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalins son and minister Udhayanidhi Stalin recently said that Sanatana Dharma is against equality and social justice. He compared Sanatana Dharma to COVID-19 and malaria and called for its eradication. On the other hand, JD(U), which is an ally of the opposition grand alliance, tried to play down the controversy by saying that one should respect all religions.



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PATNA: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president of Bihar, Jagdanand Singh on Wednesday said that Sanatana Dharma advocates discrimination on the basis of caste. The RJD leader added that as a result, a section of the people were subjugated while the country was enslaved by those who roamed about sporting 'tika and chandan' on their foreheads. If the BJP leaders are willing to make Sanatana Dharma a subject of debate they will stand exposed and eventually, they would be forced to backtrack, Singh affirmed. The subject has also to do with the necessity of reservations, he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); When media persons questioned him again on Thursday about his statement, Singh said he stands by his remarks. "We also believe in Sanatana Dharma. We also know a lot of things. But the BJP leaders are trying to mislead the people of the country and it is not appropriate," he said. In retaliation, former union minister and BJP national spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told newspersons that his party would not tolerate insult to Hindu faith and philosophy.' Prasad wondered whether a conspiracy was hatched during the meeting of the INDIA bloc in Mumbai recently to insult the Hindu faith. This is being done for the sake of vote bank politics, he claimed. He demanded a reply from Congress senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over this issue. A controversy broke out over the issue after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalins son and minister Udhayanidhi Stalin recently said that Sanatana Dharma is against equality and social justice. He compared Sanatana Dharma to COVID-19 and malaria and called for its eradication. On the other hand, JD(U), which is an ally of the opposition grand alliance, tried to play down the controversy by saying that one should respect all religions. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: Taking advantage of the flood situation in Punjab as water was released from Pong and Bhakra-Nangal dams, smugglers in Pakistan and India have adopted a new strategy, hiring professional swimmers to deliver drug consignments in India through the intricate zigzag path of the Satluj river. The Punjab Police arrested a big fish drug trafficker Malkiat Singh alias Kali, who sent three swimmers to fetch a consignment of 50 kg heroin from Pakistan.

Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said, "Police teams have also seized 9 kg heroin -- a portion of the 50 kg heroin consignment -- from his possession,, adding that 22.5 kg of the heroin had already been recovered by the Punjab Police, taking the total recovery to 31.5 kg. The development came less than a month after the Jalandhar Rural Police had arrested drug smuggler Joga Singh, who swam into the Pakistan jurisdiction to retrieve a heroin consignment, with 8 kg heroin being recovered from him.

Earlier, the SSOC Amritsar had arrested a drug smuggler identified as Shinder Singh after recovering 10 kg heroin and Rs 1.5 lakh from his possession. A woman drug smuggler identified as Amandeep Kaur alias Deep Bhai linked to this module was also arrested with 1 kg heroin, while another drug smuggler Shinderpal alias Pappu was arrested with 500 grams of heroin from Mehatpur.

Yadav, while terming the recovery of this big haul of heroin as the result of vigorous follow-up investigations by the Punjab Police, said that following forward and backwards linkages in this case, Jalandhar Rural Police have arrested the accused drug trafficker Malkiat Kali, who is a resident of Tendi Wala village in Ferozepur, from near Boparai Canal Bridge near Goraya and recovered the heroin kept in his shoulder bag.

Divulging details, SSP of Jalandhar Rural Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said that Kali revealed that he was in regular touch with a Pakistan-based drug smuggler identified as Haider Ali, who helped him smuggle the heroin consignments to India.

"Malkiat Kali also revealed that he had sent Joga Singh along with two more persons to Pakistan using a riverine route to fetch the 50 kg heroin consignment, which was equally distributed between his party and Joga Singhs party," he said, adding that further investigations are on, and police teams are hunting for the remaining drug smugglers involved in this module.

A fresh case has been registered under the NDPS Act at Goraya police station.

Sources said that the swimmers are paid Rs 1 to Rs 2.50 lakh per kg compared to between Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 per kg earlier. Drugs have also been dropped through drones by smugglers of the neighboring country. Drug cartels in India and Pakistan have exploited the flood situation in Ferozepur since July 20, making concerted efforts to smuggle contraband through the intricate zigzag path of the Satluj River, which it traverses seven times.

Sources said that some time back a flag meeting was held in which security agencies of India and Pakistan at length discussed the issue of manifold increase in the number of drug trafficking cases. The overflow of the Satluj River had resulted in flooding in over a dozen border villages and the submersion of more than fifteen border outposts (BoPs) of the BSF besides adverse damage to fencing in about 50km along the Indo-Pak border. Thus drug traffickers in Pakistan and India got the opportunity to smuggle significant quantities of drugs by offering enticing incentives to drug couriers based in both countries.

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CHANDIGARH: Taking advantage of the flood situation in Punjab as water was released from Pong and Bhakra-Nangal dams, smugglers in Pakistan and India have adopted a new strategy, hiring professional swimmers to deliver drug consignments in India through the intricate zigzag path of the Satluj river. The Punjab Police arrested a big fish drug trafficker Malkiat Singh alias Kali, who sent three swimmers to fetch a consignment of 50 kg heroin from Pakistan. Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav said, "Police teams have also seized 9 kg heroin -- a portion of the 50 kg heroin consignment -- from his possession,, adding that 22.5 kg of the heroin had already been recovered by the Punjab Police, taking the total recovery to 31.5 kg. The development came less than a month after the Jalandhar Rural Police had arrested drug smuggler Joga Singh, who swam into the Pakistan jurisdiction to retrieve a heroin consignment, with 8 kg heroin being recovered from him. Earlier, the SSOC Amritsar had arrested a drug smuggler identified as Shinder Singh after recovering 10 kg heroin and Rs 1.5 lakh from his possession. A woman drug smuggler identified as Amandeep Kaur alias Deep Bhai linked to this module was also arrested with 1 kg heroin, while another drug smuggler Shinderpal alias Pappu was arrested with 500 grams of heroin from Mehatpur.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Yadav, while terming the recovery of this big haul of heroin as the result of vigorous follow-up investigations by the Punjab Police, said that following forward and backwards linkages in this case, Jalandhar Rural Police have arrested the accused drug trafficker Malkiat Kali, who is a resident of Tendi Wala village in Ferozepur, from near Boparai Canal Bridge near Goraya and recovered the heroin kept in his shoulder bag. Divulging details, SSP of Jalandhar Rural Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said that Kali revealed that he was in regular touch with a Pakistan-based drug smuggler identified as Haider Ali, who helped him smuggle the heroin consignments to India. "Malkiat Kali also revealed that he had sent Joga Singh along with two more persons to Pakistan using a riverine route to fetch the 50 kg heroin consignment, which was equally distributed between his party and Joga Singhs party," he said, adding that further investigations are on, and police teams are hunting for the remaining drug smugglers involved in this module. A fresh case has been registered under the NDPS Act at Goraya police station. Sources said that the swimmers are paid Rs 1 to Rs 2.50 lakh per kg compared to between Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 per kg earlier. Drugs have also been dropped through drones by smugglers of the neighboring country. Drug cartels in India and Pakistan have exploited the flood situation in Ferozepur since July 20, making concerted efforts to smuggle contraband through the intricate zigzag path of the Satluj River, which it traverses seven times. Sources said that some time back a flag meeting was held in which security agencies of India and Pakistan at length discussed the issue of manifold increase in the number of drug trafficking cases. The overflow of the Satluj River had resulted in flooding in over a dozen border villages and the submersion of more than fifteen border outposts (BoPs) of the BSF besides adverse damage to fencing in about 50km along the Indo-Pak border. Thus drug traffickers in Pakistan and India got the opportunity to smuggle significant quantities of drugs by offering enticing incentives to drug couriers based in both countries. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

THANE: The police have filed the chargesheet in the murder of a woman whose body parts were boiled in a pressure cooker and roasted by her live-in partner in their rented apartment on the outskirts of Mumbai, sources have said.

The Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar police submitted the chargesheet in a magistrate's court in Thane on September 5, said advocate Atul Saroj, counsel for accused Manoj Sane (56).

Explaining the next process, he said the court will frame charges against the accused in due course after which the hearing in the case will commence.

The contents of the chargesheet were immediately not known.

The case came to light in the first week of June after neighbours alerted the police about a foul odour coming from a flat where Sane and his live-in partner Saraswati Vaidya (34) lived in Naya Nagar area of Mira Road township in Thane district.

After breaking the door open, the police were stunned to discover Vaidya's body parts, some cooked in a pressure cooker and even roasted, inside the flat.

As per the FIR, Sane killed the woman on June 4, chopped her body with a chainsaw and pressure-cooked and roasted a few pieces in his attempt to get rid of them.

The gory details of the crime evoked the memories of the Shraddha Walkar murder case.

In police custody, Sane claimed that Vaidya died of poisoning and he panicked and tried to dispose of the body.

Sane has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence).

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THANE: The police have filed the chargesheet in the murder of a woman whose body parts were boiled in a pressure cooker and roasted by her live-in partner in their rented apartment on the outskirts of Mumbai, sources have said. The Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar police submitted the chargesheet in a magistrate's court in Thane on September 5, said advocate Atul Saroj, counsel for accused Manoj Sane (56). Explaining the next process, he said the court will frame charges against the accused in due course after which the hearing in the case will commence.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The contents of the chargesheet were immediately not known. The case came to light in the first week of June after neighbours alerted the police about a foul odour coming from a flat where Sane and his live-in partner Saraswati Vaidya (34) lived in Naya Nagar area of Mira Road township in Thane district. After breaking the door open, the police were stunned to discover Vaidya's body parts, some cooked in a pressure cooker and even roasted, inside the flat. As per the FIR, Sane killed the woman on June 4, chopped her body with a chainsaw and pressure-cooked and roasted a few pieces in his attempt to get rid of them. The gory details of the crime evoked the memories of the Shraddha Walkar murder case. In police custody, Sane claimed that Vaidya died of poisoning and he panicked and tried to dispose of the body. Sane has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence). Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

PATNA: On Thursday, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad charged the Congress top leadership with maintaining "silence" over controversial remarks about the Hindu faith made by some of its own leaders, besides Tamil Nadu ally DMK.

Addressing a press conference here, Prasad, a former union minister asked whether "a decision was taken to denigrate Hindus" at the recently held meeting of INDIA.

"It is not for no reason that the coalition has been called ghamandia. Its members have the ghamand (arrogance) of understanding the sensibilities of India while showing scant regard for the same," he alleged.

Referring to Tamil Nadu minister Udayanaidhi Stalin's likening of 'Sanatana Dharma' to malaria and dengue, Prasad said, "Now another DMK leader A Raja has compared the Hindu faith to leprosy and HIV/AIDS".

ALSO READ | Sanatana Dharma row: TN CM Stalin slams PM, BJP's attack on Udhayanidhi, says check your facts

He alleged that those within the Congress, like the Home Minister of Karnataka (G Parameshwara) are questioning the origins of Hinduism.

"The son of the party's national president (Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge) makes derogatory statements about Sanatana Dharma day in and day out," he added.

Asserting that the BJP will "never accept such denigration of the Hindu faith", Prasad said, "the silence of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the movers and shakers of the Congress, baffles the people".

He also recited a Sanskrit aphorism to emphasize that "silence is tantamount to acceptance".

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PATNA: On Thursday, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad charged the Congress top leadership with maintaining "silence" over controversial remarks about the Hindu faith made by some of its own leaders, besides Tamil Nadu ally DMK. Addressing a press conference here, Prasad, a former union minister asked whether "a decision was taken to denigrate Hindus" at the recently held meeting of INDIA. "It is not for no reason that the coalition has been called ghamandia. Its members have the ghamand (arrogance) of understanding the sensibilities of India while showing scant regard for the same," he alleged.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Referring to Tamil Nadu minister Udayanaidhi Stalin's likening of 'Sanatana Dharma' to malaria and dengue, Prasad said, "Now another DMK leader A Raja has compared the Hindu faith to leprosy and HIV/AIDS". ALSO READ | Sanatana Dharma row: TN CM Stalin slams PM, BJP's attack on Udhayanidhi, says check your facts He alleged that those within the Congress, like the Home Minister of Karnataka (G Parameshwara) are questioning the origins of Hinduism. "The son of the party's national president (Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge) makes derogatory statements about Sanatana Dharma day in and day out," he added. Asserting that the BJP will "never accept such denigration of the Hindu faith", Prasad said, "the silence of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the movers and shakers of the Congress, baffles the people". He also recited a Sanskrit aphorism to emphasize that "silence is tantamount to acceptance". Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: US President Joe Biden will arrive in Delhi on Friday evening and directly head for a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi will also have two other bilateral meetings on Friday -- with Bangladeshs Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth.

"President Biden is very excited about the important initiatives that he would be championing at the G20," said White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication, John Kirby, ahead of the US President's departure for Delhi. The talks between Biden and Modi will be a follow-up to the discussions they had in June.

"One of the main goals of the US at the G20 would be to help reshape and scale up multilateral development banks like the IMF, like the World Bank, Kirby added.

Bidens focus is going to be on delivering economic opportunity for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people, from climate to technology, and showing US commitment to the G20 itself as a viable, if not vital, forum to tackle these issues.

ALSO READ | With G20 Summit, US fetes India's rise while accepting differences

"Of course, now, were grateful for PM Modis leadership during Indias presidency of the G20, and the President is certainly looking forward to his bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister shortly after his arrival in New Delhi. Hes also looking forward to warmly welcoming the African Union as a permanent member of the G20, the newest permanent member. And we believe that the African Unions voice will make the G20 even stronger than it already is, Kirby said.

Meanwhile, PM Modi's meeting with Sheikh Hasina will be of strategic importance as Bangladesh is an ally in Indias neighbourhood. The two leaders are likely to review issues like connectivity for trade and transport.

While many leaders including British PM Rishi Sunak and Australian PM Anthony Albanese are arriving on Friday, some will land on Saturday including French President Emmanuel Macron.

President Macron will have a bilateral meeting with PM Modi during the Summit and will subsequently leave for Dhaka. It is learnt that President Macron will have bilateral meetings with leaders of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Brazil too.

Amongst those who are already in Delhi are the Nigerian President and Mauritius PM.

All the eyes of the world will be on Delhi as a power-packed weekend awaits.

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NEW DELHI: US President Joe Biden will arrive in Delhi on Friday evening and directly head for a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi will also have two other bilateral meetings on Friday -- with Bangladeshs Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth. "President Biden is very excited about the important initiatives that he would be championing at the G20," said White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication, John Kirby, ahead of the US President's departure for Delhi. The talks between Biden and Modi will be a follow-up to the discussions they had in June. "One of the main goals of the US at the G20 would be to help reshape and scale up multilateral development banks like the IMF, like the World Bank, Kirby added.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Bidens focus is going to be on delivering economic opportunity for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people, from climate to technology, and showing US commitment to the G20 itself as a viable, if not vital, forum to tackle these issues. ALSO READ | With G20 Summit, US fetes India's rise while accepting differences "Of course, now, were grateful for PM Modis leadership during Indias presidency of the G20, and the President is certainly looking forward to his bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister shortly after his arrival in New Delhi. Hes also looking forward to warmly welcoming the African Union as a permanent member of the G20, the newest permanent member. And we believe that the African Unions voice will make the G20 even stronger than it already is, Kirby said. Meanwhile, PM Modi's meeting with Sheikh Hasina will be of strategic importance as Bangladesh is an ally in Indias neighbourhood. The two leaders are likely to review issues like connectivity for trade and transport. While many leaders including British PM Rishi Sunak and Australian PM Anthony Albanese are arriving on Friday, some will land on Saturday including French President Emmanuel Macron. President Macron will have a bilateral meeting with PM Modi during the Summit and will subsequently leave for Dhaka. It is learnt that President Macron will have bilateral meetings with leaders of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Brazil too. Amongst those who are already in Delhi are the Nigerian President and Mauritius PM. All the eyes of the world will be on Delhi as a power-packed weekend awaits. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Shashi Tharoor By

Our editorial pages have been consumed with arguments for and against the governments proposal to adopt One Nation, One Election. The decision to place former President Ram Nath Kovind at the head of a nine-member committee to study the proposal and the immediate resignation of the sole Opposition figure named to it, the Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, has added to the hubbub. So also has the governments surprise decision to summon a Special Session of Parliament for five days this month without any indication of its agenda. Speculation is rife that one of the main purposes of this session might be to push through a constitutional amendment legislating One Nation, One Election.

That seems unlikely since such a far-reaching change in our nations electoral arrangements would require extensive consensus of all stakeholders, which has not been built, and multiple constitutional amendments. There is simply no time for the latter to be adopted by both houses of Parliament and then ratified by the minimum number of states required to come into effect. The fact that the Opposition INDIA alliance has come out bluntly against the proposal also means that the states ruled by non-BJP parties are unlikely to extend the support required to make the proposed amendments into law.

So whats all the fuss about? Hearing the governments side of the story is easy enoughthe PM and several of his ministers have been discussing this idea for years. They argue that there are elections somewhere or the other in India every six months, that such frequent elections involve a colossal waste of time and expenditure, and that the code of conduct rules during elections paralyse governance for six to eight weeks each time. Putting all elections together once every five years would, therefore, be more efficient and more economical.

Thats the diagnosis, and it cannot be faulted within its own terms. (Except for one inconvenient fact: at first, simultaneous elections will be more expensive since you need to purchase and deploy far larger numbers of electronic voting machines.) But the bigger objection is that the prescription is arguably worse than the ailment itself. The assumptions behind the diagnosis are deeply flawed. They emerge from a unitary view of the Indian polity that privileges uniformity over unity and seems to assume that efficiency and economy are more important than democracy and diversity. They overlook that each of our states has its own distinct political culture, many have parties unique to their regions, and all are, therefore, likely to throw up results that reflect these local particularities. Our states move to their rhythms, very different from the Union drummers in Delhi.

Above all, ours is a parliamentary system in which governments survive only with a legislative majority. And when specific circumstances cause a government to lose its majority, it will fall - and if another majority cannot be found for someone else, the only democratic option available is to hold another election. To impose a long stint of Presidents rule instead, to conform to some arbitrary election calendar, would arguably be undemocratic and unconstitutional. And what happens if it is the Union government itself that falls for the same reason, as has happened several times already between 1979 and 1998?

The governments logic is incompatible with the vagaries of a parliamentary system in a large and diverse democracy. A single election calendar can only work in a presidential system where the survival of the executive is not dependent upon a legislative majority. Thats not the system we have.

ALSO READ | One Nation, One Election, One Opposition

When the Constituent Assembly debated the merits of the specific system of democracy the country should adopt, advocates of the presidential system like Dr Ambedkar yielded to the majority who preferred the British Westminster model - from which, after all, the imperial rulers had sought to exclude Indians. Ambedkar himself rationalised that the choice placed accountability over stability: accountability to the elected legislature over the stability of tenure that a directly elected chief executive would enjoy. Having made that choice, we find ourselves today with the worst of both worlds - a parliamentary system being run presidentially by a chief executive who, far from being accountable to the legislature, uses it as a rubber stamp. One Nation, One Election would simply set the seal on this travesty of parliamentarianism by making stability more important than accountability to the peoples representatives.

There is, however, an even larger problem. Elections have become the only real manifestation of democracy in our country. Democratic substance (as opposed to form or process) is largely absent in the work of the legislature. Most laws are drafted by the executive - in practice by the bureaucracy - and parliamentary input into their formulation and passage is minimal, with many bills passing after a few minutes of debate. The ruling party inevitably issues a whip to its members to ensure unimpeded passage of a bill. Since defiance of a whip attracts disqualification under the Anti-Defection Act, MPs loyally vote as their party directs. The accountability of the government to the people, through their elected representatives, suffers.

Worse, for those MPs who do not get into the government and realise the outcome of legislative votes is a foregone conclusion, Parliament or Assembly serves not as a solemn deliberative body but as a theatre for the demonstration of their power to disrupt. The well of the house becomes a stage for the Opposition members to crowd and jostle, waving placards and chanting slogans until the Speaker, after several futile attempts to restore order, adjourns in despair. In Indias Parliament, many Opposition members feel that the best way to show the strength of their feelings is to disrupt the lawmaking rather than debate the law.

Given this sad reality and the hollowing out of the RTI, public accountability between elections is minimal. The government sees elections only as a means of acquiring power to rule the country as it wishes. But elections are literally all that we, the Indian public, have available to assert ourselves against the overweening power of the government -- and thats what makes abridging their frequency through One Nation, One Election such an undemocratic proposal.

ALSO READ | Previous Shashi Tharoor Columns

Shashi Tharoor is a third-term Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram and the Sahitya-Akademi winning author of 24 books, most recently Ambedkar: A Life. He can be reached at office@tharoor.in.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

Our editorial pages have been consumed with arguments for and against the governments proposal to adopt One Nation, One Election. The decision to place former President Ram Nath Kovind at the head of a nine-member committee to study the proposal and the immediate resignation of the sole Opposition figure named to it, the Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, has added to the hubbub. So also has the governments surprise decision to summon a Special Session of Parliament for five days this month without any indication of its agenda. Speculation is rife that one of the main purposes of this session might be to push through a constitutional amendment legislating One Nation, One Election. That seems unlikely since such a far-reaching change in our nations electoral arrangements would require extensive consensus of all stakeholders, which has not been built, and multiple constitutional amendments. There is simply no time for the latter to be adopted by both houses of Parliament and then ratified by the minimum number of states required to come into effect. The fact that the Opposition INDIA alliance has come out bluntly against the proposal also means that the states ruled by non-BJP parties are unlikely to extend the support required to make the proposed amendments into law. So whats all the fuss about? Hearing the governments side of the story is easy enoughthe PM and several of his ministers have been discussing this idea for years. They argue that there are elections somewhere or the other in India every six months, that such frequent elections involve a colossal waste of time and expenditure, and that the code of conduct rules during elections paralyse governance for six to eight weeks each time. Putting all elections together once every five years would, therefore, be more efficient and more economical.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Thats the diagnosis, and it cannot be faulted within its own terms. (Except for one inconvenient fact: at first, simultaneous elections will be more expensive since you need to purchase and deploy far larger numbers of electronic voting machines.) But the bigger objection is that the prescription is arguably worse than the ailment itself. The assumptions behind the diagnosis are deeply flawed. They emerge from a unitary view of the Indian polity that privileges uniformity over unity and seems to assume that efficiency and economy are more important than democracy and diversity. They overlook that each of our states has its own distinct political culture, many have parties unique to their regions, and all are, therefore, likely to throw up results that reflect these local particularities. Our states move to their rhythms, very different from the Union drummers in Delhi. Above all, ours is a parliamentary system in which governments survive only with a legislative majority. And when specific circumstances cause a government to lose its majority, it will fall - and if another majority cannot be found for someone else, the only democratic option available is to hold another election. To impose a long stint of Presidents rule instead, to conform to some arbitrary election calendar, would arguably be undemocratic and unconstitutional. And what happens if it is the Union government itself that falls for the same reason, as has happened several times already between 1979 and 1998? The governments logic is incompatible with the vagaries of a parliamentary system in a large and diverse democracy. A single election calendar can only work in a presidential system where the survival of the executive is not dependent upon a legislative majority. Thats not the system we have. ALSO READ | One Nation, One Election, One Opposition When the Constituent Assembly debated the merits of the specific system of democracy the country should adopt, advocates of the presidential system like Dr Ambedkar yielded to the majority who preferred the British Westminster model - from which, after all, the imperial rulers had sought to exclude Indians. Ambedkar himself rationalised that the choice placed accountability over stability: accountability to the elected legislature over the stability of tenure that a directly elected chief executive would enjoy. Having made that choice, we find ourselves today with the worst of both worlds - a parliamentary system being run presidentially by a chief executive who, far from being accountable to the legislature, uses it as a rubber stamp. One Nation, One Election would simply set the seal on this travesty of parliamentarianism by making stability more important than accountability to the peoples representatives. There is, however, an even larger problem. Elections have become the only real manifestation of democracy in our country. Democratic substance (as opposed to form or process) is largely absent in the work of the legislature. Most laws are drafted by the executive - in practice by the bureaucracy - and parliamentary input into their formulation and passage is minimal, with many bills passing after a few minutes of debate. The ruling party inevitably issues a whip to its members to ensure unimpeded passage of a bill. Since defiance of a whip attracts disqualification under the Anti-Defection Act, MPs loyally vote as their party directs. The accountability of the government to the people, through their elected representatives, suffers. Worse, for those MPs who do not get into the government and realise the outcome of legislative votes is a foregone conclusion, Parliament or Assembly serves not as a solemn deliberative body but as a theatre for the demonstration of their power to disrupt. The well of the house becomes a stage for the Opposition members to crowd and jostle, waving placards and chanting slogans until the Speaker, after several futile attempts to restore order, adjourns in despair. In Indias Parliament, many Opposition members feel that the best way to show the strength of their feelings is to disrupt the lawmaking rather than debate the law. Given this sad reality and the hollowing out of the RTI, public accountability between elections is minimal. The government sees elections only as a means of acquiring power to rule the country as it wishes. But elections are literally all that we, the Indian public, have available to assert ourselves against the overweening power of the government -- and thats what makes abridging their frequency through One Nation, One Election such an undemocratic proposal. ALSO READ | Previous Shashi Tharoor Columns Shashi Tharoor is a third-term Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram and the Sahitya-Akademi winning author of 24 books, most recently Ambedkar: A Life. He can be reached at office@tharoor.in. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Firoz Rozindar By

Express News Service

VIJAYAPURA: Sachin Jangamshetty and Vishal Selar returned to India after a six-month ordeal in Kuwait, where they had gone in search of jobs about six months ago.

The two youngsters from Adavisangapur village in Babaleshwar taluk said they had gone to Kuwait through an agent as vegetable packers. We were told we would be working for a company and would be paid 100 Kuwaiti dinars per month. In Indian currency, we would get around Rs 32,000. We were excited to work for a decent salary, said Sachin Jangamshetty.

He told the media that all their excitement turned to disenchantment and further into a nightmare when they were forced to work as shepherds and caretakers of a camel herd in Kuwait. We never thought the agent in Mumbai would cheat us. He collected Rs 1 lakh to send us to Kuwait. Even Kafeel (the local sponsor) cheated us by forcing us to work as shepherds in the desert, Vishal said.

Vishal said local agents forced them to spend the entire day grazing camels and did not even provide meals. They took away our passports and we were not allowed to speak over the phone during the day. We used to talk only at night to our families, he said.

When they brought the matter to the notice of their relatives, the families spoke to local leaders. They came to us for help. We met MP Ramesh Jigajinagi and urged him to take up the matter with the Centre. The MP wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs and Prime Ministers Office, said former ZP President Umesh Kolkur, one of those who took up the case. Sachin said the letter helped them, as Indian Embassy officials called. We hired a taxi and reached the embassy. The officials took care of us and arranged our flights, they said.

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VIJAYAPURA: Sachin Jangamshetty and Vishal Selar returned to India after a six-month ordeal in Kuwait, where they had gone in search of jobs about six months ago. The two youngsters from Adavisangapur village in Babaleshwar taluk said they had gone to Kuwait through an agent as vegetable packers. We were told we would be working for a company and would be paid 100 Kuwaiti dinars per month. In Indian currency, we would get around Rs 32,000. We were excited to work for a decent salary, said Sachin Jangamshetty. He told the media that all their excitement turned to disenchantment and further into a nightmare when they were forced to work as shepherds and caretakers of a camel herd in Kuwait. We never thought the agent in Mumbai would cheat us. He collected Rs 1 lakh to send us to Kuwait. Even Kafeel (the local sponsor) cheated us by forcing us to work as shepherds in the desert, Vishal said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Vishal said local agents forced them to spend the entire day grazing camels and did not even provide meals. They took away our passports and we were not allowed to speak over the phone during the day. We used to talk only at night to our families, he said. When they brought the matter to the notice of their relatives, the families spoke to local leaders. They came to us for help. We met MP Ramesh Jigajinagi and urged him to take up the matter with the Centre. The MP wrote to the Ministry of External Affairs and Prime Ministers Office, said former ZP President Umesh Kolkur, one of those who took up the case. Sachin said the letter helped them, as Indian Embassy officials called. We hired a taxi and reached the embassy. The officials took care of us and arranged our flights, they said. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Rajesh Abraham By

Express News Service

KOCHI: With Kerala witnessing the driest August in over 120 years and a rain-deficient monsoon looming, a water war is on the cards not just within farming, but between key sectors such as agriculture, tourism and construction.

This will be more visible in districts like Wayanad and Idukki, where new resorts and homestays have mushroomed in recent years. Wayanad is a classic example of the conflict for water between tourism and farming. The district with a population of 8.5 lakh is reported to have received close to 25 lakh tourists last year.

As more and more tourists arrive, the crisis will become more acute. Even the smallest resorts have swimming pools. Their water requirements are far greater than households. We will have a crisis on our hands if the situation continues for some more weeks, said Dr Suma T R, member of the board of trustees of Kalpetta-based Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology. The obvious casualty is the farm sector.

According to her, during the drought of 2012, plantation owners drew water from the hills. This resulted in water scarcity for small farmers who cultivate paddy and other food crops downhill. We anticipate a major conflict between farm and other sectors for water, said Rajesh Krishnan, CEO of Thirunelli Agro Producer Co, which supports paddy farmers in Wayanad across 200 acres. This is not just an intra-sector crisis, a conflict between farmers for water, but between sectors, including tourism and construction, he said.

Dr Suma said government estimates put the number of tourism facilities in Wayanad, including resorts and homestays, at 700 in 2022. This would now be over 1,000, considering unregistered properties. And swimming pools have become mandatory, even in resorts with just 4-5 huts, she said, pointing out the huge waste of water. There is no immediate solution to the crisis. Perhaps, we can impose a higher tax on water consumption by resorts and homestays, going by the polluter pays principle, Dr Suma said. But that would not be a permanent solution, as resorts would merely pass on the increased cost to their customers.

Jose Dominic, a tourism sector veteran, however, does not think the industry is the villain of the piece. Tourisms consumption of water is immaterial as far as irrigation is concerned. Its completely irrelevant if you look at water use per capita, he said. Jose, a pioneer in responsible and sustainable tourism in Kerala, said Wayanad and the state have enough water, and theres no room for fear.

I would say urban consumption is a bigger threat. Ideally, all the water used for tourism can be reused for agriculture, he said, citing the example of Israel. In Israel, wastewater from cities is converted for use in the farm sector. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem treat wastewater after human consumption and transfer it to farmers for irrigation, he added.

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KOCHI: With Kerala witnessing the driest August in over 120 years and a rain-deficient monsoon looming, a water war is on the cards not just within farming, but between key sectors such as agriculture, tourism and construction. This will be more visible in districts like Wayanad and Idukki, where new resorts and homestays have mushroomed in recent years. Wayanad is a classic example of the conflict for water between tourism and farming. The district with a population of 8.5 lakh is reported to have received close to 25 lakh tourists last year. As more and more tourists arrive, the crisis will become more acute. Even the smallest resorts have swimming pools. Their water requirements are far greater than households. We will have a crisis on our hands if the situation continues for some more weeks, said Dr Suma T R, member of the board of trustees of Kalpetta-based Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology. The obvious casualty is the farm sector.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); According to her, during the drought of 2012, plantation owners drew water from the hills. This resulted in water scarcity for small farmers who cultivate paddy and other food crops downhill. We anticipate a major conflict between farm and other sectors for water, said Rajesh Krishnan, CEO of Thirunelli Agro Producer Co, which supports paddy farmers in Wayanad across 200 acres. This is not just an intra-sector crisis, a conflict between farmers for water, but between sectors, including tourism and construction, he said. Dr Suma said government estimates put the number of tourism facilities in Wayanad, including resorts and homestays, at 700 in 2022. This would now be over 1,000, considering unregistered properties. And swimming pools have become mandatory, even in resorts with just 4-5 huts, she said, pointing out the huge waste of water. There is no immediate solution to the crisis. Perhaps, we can impose a higher tax on water consumption by resorts and homestays, going by the polluter pays principle, Dr Suma said. But that would not be a permanent solution, as resorts would merely pass on the increased cost to their customers. Jose Dominic, a tourism sector veteran, however, does not think the industry is the villain of the piece. Tourisms consumption of water is immaterial as far as irrigation is concerned. Its completely irrelevant if you look at water use per capita, he said. Jose, a pioneer in responsible and sustainable tourism in Kerala, said Wayanad and the state have enough water, and theres no room for fear. I would say urban consumption is a bigger threat. Ideally, all the water used for tourism can be reused for agriculture, he said, citing the example of Israel. In Israel, wastewater from cities is converted for use in the farm sector. Tel Aviv and Jerusalem treat wastewater after human consumption and transfer it to farmers for irrigation, he added. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

CHENNAI: Under intense attack from the BJP over his alleged anti-Sanatana Dharma remarks, DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday accused the saffron party leaders of "twisting" his statements and vowed to face all cases in this connection legally.

He also launched a strident attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was "globe-trotting", afraid of facing questions over the Manipur violence.

"For the last 9 years, all your (BJP) promises are empty promises. What have you exactly done for our welfare is a question currently being raised in unison by the entire country against an unarmed, fascist BJP government. It is in this background that the BJP leaders have twisted my speech at the TNPWAA conference as 'inciting genocide'. They consider it a weapon to protect themselves," he said.

Let us resolve to work for the victory of the ideologies of Periyar, Anna, Kalaignar and Perasiriyar. Let Social Justice flourish forever. pic.twitter.com/Eyc9pBcdaL  Udhay (@Udhaystalin) September 7, 2023

What is surprising is that those like Union Minister Amit Shah and Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states were demanding action against him based on "fake news," Udhayanidhi said.

"In all fairness, I should be the one filing criminal cases and other court cases against them for spreading slander while holding respectable positions. But I am aware that this is their mode of survival. They don't know how else to survive, so I decided not to do that," he said.

He was one of the political heirs of Dravidian stalwart, the late CN Annadurai, the founder of the DMK.

"Everyone knows that we are not enemies of any religion."

"I would like to quote Anna's comment on religions which remains relevant even today. If religion leads people towards equality and teaches them fraternity, then I too am a spiritualist. If a religion divides people in the name of castes, if it teaches them untouchability and slavery, I would be the first person to oppose religion," he said quoting Annadurai.

He said DMK respects all religions that teach all lives are born equal.

"But without an iota of understanding about any of these, Thiru Modi and Co are solely dependent on such slanders to face the Parliamentary elections. On the one hand, I can only feel sorry for them. For the last 9 years, Modi has been doing nothing. Occasionally he demonetises money, builds walls to hide huts, builds new Parliamentary building, erects a Sengol (sceptre) there, plays around by changing the name of the country, standing at the border and making the white flag work," he lashed out.

Has there been any progressive scheme from the Union government in the last nine years like the DMK's "Pudhumai Penn" or the Chief Minister's breakfast scheme or the Kalaignar's women's rights scheme, he asked. "Have they built the AIIMS in Madurai? Did they take forward any knowledge movement like the Kalaignar Centenary Library?"

"Afraid of having to face questions about Manipur in India, he is globe-trotting along with his friend Adani. The fact is, the ignorance of the people is the capital of their theatrical politics," he claimed.

"Thiru Modi and co are using the Sanatana ploy to divert the attention from the facts including the killing of more than 250 people in the riots incited in Manipur and the Rs 7. 5 lakh crore corruption," he charged.

There was a lot of work for the party workers, including preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he said and asked them to focus on that. "I would like to inform that I will face the cases filed against me legally with the guidance of our party president (TN CM MK Stalin) and on the advice of our party high command," he added.

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CHENNAI: Under intense attack from the BJP over his alleged anti-Sanatana Dharma remarks, DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday accused the saffron party leaders of "twisting" his statements and vowed to face all cases in this connection legally. He also launched a strident attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was "globe-trotting", afraid of facing questions over the Manipur violence. "For the last 9 years, all your (BJP) promises are empty promises. What have you exactly done for our welfare is a question currently being raised in unison by the entire country against an unarmed, fascist BJP government. It is in this background that the BJP leaders have twisted my speech at the TNPWAA conference as 'inciting genocide'. They consider it a weapon to protect themselves," he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Let us resolve to work for the victory of the ideologies of Periyar, Anna, Kalaignar and Perasiriyar. Let Social Justice flourish forever. pic.twitter.com/Eyc9pBcdaL  Udhay (@Udhaystalin) September 7, 2023 What is surprising is that those like Union Minister Amit Shah and Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states were demanding action against him based on "fake news," Udhayanidhi said. "In all fairness, I should be the one filing criminal cases and other court cases against them for spreading slander while holding respectable positions. But I am aware that this is their mode of survival. They don't know how else to survive, so I decided not to do that," he said. He was one of the political heirs of Dravidian stalwart, the late CN Annadurai, the founder of the DMK. "Everyone knows that we are not enemies of any religion." "I would like to quote Anna's comment on religions which remains relevant even today. If religion leads people towards equality and teaches them fraternity, then I too am a spiritualist. If a religion divides people in the name of castes, if it teaches them untouchability and slavery, I would be the first person to oppose religion," he said quoting Annadurai. He said DMK respects all religions that teach all lives are born equal. "But without an iota of understanding about any of these, Thiru Modi and Co are solely dependent on such slanders to face the Parliamentary elections. On the one hand, I can only feel sorry for them. For the last 9 years, Modi has been doing nothing. Occasionally he demonetises money, builds walls to hide huts, builds new Parliamentary building, erects a Sengol (sceptre) there, plays around by changing the name of the country, standing at the border and making the white flag work," he lashed out. Has there been any progressive scheme from the Union government in the last nine years like the DMK's "Pudhumai Penn" or the Chief Minister's breakfast scheme or the Kalaignar's women's rights scheme, he asked. "Have they built the AIIMS in Madurai? Did they take forward any knowledge movement like the Kalaignar Centenary Library?" "Afraid of having to face questions about Manipur in India, he is globe-trotting along with his friend Adani. The fact is, the ignorance of the people is the capital of their theatrical politics," he claimed. "Thiru Modi and co are using the Sanatana ploy to divert the attention from the facts including the killing of more than 250 people in the riots incited in Manipur and the Rs 7. 5 lakh crore corruption," he charged. There was a lot of work for the party workers, including preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, he said and asked them to focus on that. "I would like to inform that I will face the cases filed against me legally with the guidance of our party president (TN CM MK Stalin) and on the advice of our party high command," he added. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Normally a free data campaign would only be of modest interest in these pages, but when web innovator Opera launches such a campaign in Ethiopia, partnering with new entrant Safaricom, whose Kenyan service it has already worked alongside, it says a lot about how the operator is looking at ways to attract subscribers in this newly competitive market.

Opera regularly partners with local operators to coordinate free data campaigns. It has already made it possible for nearly 40 million people across five countries to benefit from up to 3 GB of free browsing each month. In Kenya alone, Opera has invested over $12 million in free data campaigns over the past three years. Now its Ethiopias turn.

Indeed, as Jrgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile at Opera, says: Ethiopia is a large and growing country in which we see a great deal of potential. But at this point, the internet penetration rate is only around 16.7% nationwide. So were excited to join forces with long-time partner Safaricom to help expand Ethiopias digital economy.

The campaign will enable Opera users to enjoy up to 50 MB of free browsing every day when using the latest versions of Opera Mini or Opera for Android browsers on the Safaricom network. The deal excludes video streaming and file downloads.

Of course Opera already has a strong presence in Africa. Indeed it claims to have invested over US$100 million to date in the region to bring more people online and offer them the fastest and most reliable internet connection possible.

That sort of profile must be useful for Safaricom in a big, underserved market like Ethiopia. And of course Opera and Safaricom have rolled out similar successful campaigns in Kenya. In the meantime it will be interesting to see how Safaricom Ethiopia promotes the new service and how incumbent Ethio Telecom responds.
By PTI

JAKARTA: Calling for building a rules-based post-COVID world order, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the progress of a free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the voice of the Global South is in the common interest of all.

In his address at the annual ASEAN-India summit here in the Indonesian capital, Modi described the 10-nation grouping as the epicentre of growth as the region plays a crucial role in global development.

The prime minister said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) holds a prominent place in India's Indo-Pacific initiative and that New Delhi is committed to working "shoulder to shoulder" with it.

ASEAN is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners. India supports the ASEAN outlook on Indo-Pacific, Modi told the leaders of the grouping.

"The 21st century is Asia's century. It is our century. For this, it is necessary to build a rule-based post-COVID world order and efforts by all for human welfare," the prime minister, co-chairing the summit, said.

"The progress of free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the voice of the Global South is in the common interest of all," he said.

The prime minister also reaffirmed that ASEAN is the central pillar of India's Act East Policy and it fully supports ASEAN centrality and its outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

"Our history and geography connect India and ASEAN. Along with shared values, regional unity, peace, prosperity, and a shared belief in a multipolar world also binds us together," he said, adding the grouping holds a "prominent place" in India's Indo-Pacific initiative.

It was the first summit between the two sides since the elevation of their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership last year.

"Today, even in an environment of global uncertainties, there is continuous progress in every field in our mutual cooperation. This is a testament to the strength and resilience of our relationship."

In his opening remarks, Modi said: "ASEAN matters because here everyone's voice is heard, and ASEAN is the epicentre of growth because the ASEAN region plays a crucial role in global development."

"'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' -- 'one earth, one family, one future', this sentiment is also the theme of India's G-20 Presidency," Modi noted.

ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of a sectoral partnership in 1992.

This graduated to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and a summit-level partnership in 2002. The ties were elevated to a strategic partnership in 2012.

The 10 member countries of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

The ties between India and ASEAN have been on a significant upswing in the last few years with the focus being on boosting cooperation in the areas of trade and investment as well as security and defence.

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JAKARTA: Calling for building a rules-based post-COVID world order, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the progress of a free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the voice of the Global South is in the common interest of all. In his address at the annual ASEAN-India summit here in the Indonesian capital, Modi described the 10-nation grouping as the epicentre of growth as the region plays a crucial role in global development. The prime minister said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) holds a prominent place in India's Indo-Pacific initiative and that New Delhi is committed to working "shoulder to shoulder" with it.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); ASEAN is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners. India supports the ASEAN outlook on Indo-Pacific, Modi told the leaders of the grouping. "The 21st century is Asia's century. It is our century. For this, it is necessary to build a rule-based post-COVID world order and efforts by all for human welfare," the prime minister, co-chairing the summit, said. "The progress of free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the voice of the Global South is in the common interest of all," he said. The prime minister also reaffirmed that ASEAN is the central pillar of India's Act East Policy and it fully supports ASEAN centrality and its outlook on the Indo-Pacific. "Our history and geography connect India and ASEAN. Along with shared values, regional unity, peace, prosperity, and a shared belief in a multipolar world also binds us together," he said, adding the grouping holds a "prominent place" in India's Indo-Pacific initiative. It was the first summit between the two sides since the elevation of their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership last year. "Today, even in an environment of global uncertainties, there is continuous progress in every field in our mutual cooperation. This is a testament to the strength and resilience of our relationship." In his opening remarks, Modi said: "ASEAN matters because here everyone's voice is heard, and ASEAN is the epicentre of growth because the ASEAN region plays a crucial role in global development." "'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' -- 'one earth, one family, one future', this sentiment is also the theme of India's G-20 Presidency," Modi noted. ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of a sectoral partnership in 1992. This graduated to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and a summit-level partnership in 2002. The ties were elevated to a strategic partnership in 2012. The 10 member countries of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. The ties between India and ASEAN have been on a significant upswing in the last few years with the focus being on boosting cooperation in the areas of trade and investment as well as security and defence. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Associated Press

JAKARTA: In talks with Southeast Asian leaders Wednesday in the Indonesian capital, Chinese Premier Li Qiang underscored his country's importance as the world's second-biggest economy and as the top trading partner of the region.

Countering renewed alarm over Beijing's aggression in the disputed South China Sea, Li cited China's long history of friendship with Southeast Asia, including joint efforts to confront the coronavirus pandemic and how both sides have settled differences through dialogue.

"As long as we keep to the right path, no matter what storm may come, China-ASEAN cooperation will be as firm as ever and press ahead against all odds," Li told counterparts in the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"We have preserved peace and tranquillity in East Asia in a world fraught with turbulence and change."

In a separate meeting with ASEAN leaders, US Vice President Kamala Harris cited the strategic importance of America's security and relations with Southeast Asia to both sides. Her opening speech before their closed-door summit did not carry any of the usual strident US criticism of China's aggressive actions in the region.

Rival claimant states in the South China Sea from among the ASEAN nations have protested China's aggressive moves to fortify its vast territorial claims in the strategic sea passage. A new Chinese map set off a wave of protests from other countries' leaders, who say it shows Beijing's expansive claims encroaching into their coastal waters.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has expressed his alarm over recent combativeness in the disputed waters. In early August, a Chinese coast guard ship used a water cannon to try to block a Philippine navy-operated boat that was bringing supplies to Filipino forces in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.

"We do not seek conflict, but it is our duty as citizens and as leaders to always rise to meet any challenge to our sovereignty, to our sovereign rights, and our maritime jurisdictions in the South China Sea," Marcos told fellow leaders in an ASEAN-only meeting Tuesday.

A copy of Marcos' remarks during ASEAN's hourlong meeting with Qiang on Wednesday issued to journalists showed the Philippine president fired a veiled critique but did not raise any specific aggressions in the disputed sea.

The Philippines "continues to uphold the primacy of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as the framework within which all activities in the seas and oceans are conducted," Marcos said in the meeting.

"We once again reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law and peaceful settlement of disputes."

ALSO READ | At ASEAN-India Summit, PM Modi calls for rules-based post-Covid world order

In 2016, an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, set up under that United Nations convention, ruled that China's vast territorial claims in the South China Sea based on historical grounds have no legal basis.

China, a full dialogue partner of ASEAN, did not participate in the arbitration sought in 2013 by the Philippines, rejected the 2016 ruling, and continues to defy it.

China, Taiwan and some ASEAN member states  Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam  have been locked for decades in an increasingly tense territorial standoff in the South China Sea, where a bulk of global trade transits. It's also become a delicate frontline in the US-China rivalry.

Washington does not lay any claim to the offshore region but has deployed its warships and fighters to undertake what it says are freedom of navigation and overflight patrols. China has warned the U.S. not to meddle in what it says is a purely Asian dispute.

The South China Sea conflicts do not directly include the rest of the ASEAN  Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Myanmar. Questions have been raised about why the regional bloc, and its current leader Indonesia, failed to issue any expression of alarm over the Chinese Coast Guard's actions, which were strongly opposed by the U.S. and other Western and Asian nations.

Marty Natalegawa, a respected former foreign minister of Indonesia, called ASEAN's failure to condemn China's aggressive acts "a deafening silence."

Aside from the long-simmering territorial conflicts, the Jakarta summit talks focused on the protracted civil strife in Myanmar, which has tested ASEAN and caused divisions among member states on how to effectively resolve the crisis.

An assessment of a five-point ASEAN peace plan showed it has failed to make any significant progress since it was introduced two years ago. The plan calls for an immediate end to the deadly hostilities, and a dialogue between contending parties, including that of Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratically elected officials who were overthrown by the army in an internationally condemned seizure of power that sparked a civil strife.

Despite the plan's failure so far, the ASEAN leaders decided to stick with it and continue to ban Myanmar's generals and their appointed officials from the bloc's high-level summit meetings  including the ongoing talks in Jakarta, an ASEAN statement said.

Harris told the regional bloc's leaders that the US "will continue to press the regime to end the horrific violence, to release all those unjustly detained and to reestablish Myanmar's inclusive democracy."

She added that Washington will continue to support ASEAN's peace plan for Myanmar.

Myanmar security forces have killed about 4,000 civilians and arrested 24,410 others since the army takeover, according to rights monitoring organization the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

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JAKARTA: In talks with Southeast Asian leaders Wednesday in the Indonesian capital, Chinese Premier Li Qiang underscored his country's importance as the world's second-biggest economy and as the top trading partner of the region. Countering renewed alarm over Beijing's aggression in the disputed South China Sea, Li cited China's long history of friendship with Southeast Asia, including joint efforts to confront the coronavirus pandemic and how both sides have settled differences through dialogue. "As long as we keep to the right path, no matter what storm may come, China-ASEAN cooperation will be as firm as ever and press ahead against all odds," Li told counterparts in the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "We have preserved peace and tranquillity in East Asia in a world fraught with turbulence and change." In a separate meeting with ASEAN leaders, US Vice President Kamala Harris cited the strategic importance of America's security and relations with Southeast Asia to both sides. Her opening speech before their closed-door summit did not carry any of the usual strident US criticism of China's aggressive actions in the region. Rival claimant states in the South China Sea from among the ASEAN nations have protested China's aggressive moves to fortify its vast territorial claims in the strategic sea passage. A new Chinese map set off a wave of protests from other countries' leaders, who say it shows Beijing's expansive claims encroaching into their coastal waters. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has expressed his alarm over recent combativeness in the disputed waters. In early August, a Chinese coast guard ship used a water cannon to try to block a Philippine navy-operated boat that was bringing supplies to Filipino forces in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal. "We do not seek conflict, but it is our duty as citizens and as leaders to always rise to meet any challenge to our sovereignty, to our sovereign rights, and our maritime jurisdictions in the South China Sea," Marcos told fellow leaders in an ASEAN-only meeting Tuesday. A copy of Marcos' remarks during ASEAN's hourlong meeting with Qiang on Wednesday issued to journalists showed the Philippine president fired a veiled critique but did not raise any specific aggressions in the disputed sea. The Philippines "continues to uphold the primacy of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as the framework within which all activities in the seas and oceans are conducted," Marcos said in the meeting. "We once again reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law and peaceful settlement of disputes." ALSO READ | At ASEAN-India Summit, PM Modi calls for rules-based post-Covid world order In 2016, an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, set up under that United Nations convention, ruled that China's vast territorial claims in the South China Sea based on historical grounds have no legal basis. China, a full dialogue partner of ASEAN, did not participate in the arbitration sought in 2013 by the Philippines, rejected the 2016 ruling, and continues to defy it. China, Taiwan and some ASEAN member states  Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam  have been locked for decades in an increasingly tense territorial standoff in the South China Sea, where a bulk of global trade transits. It's also become a delicate frontline in the US-China rivalry. Washington does not lay any claim to the offshore region but has deployed its warships and fighters to undertake what it says are freedom of navigation and overflight patrols. China has warned the U.S. not to meddle in what it says is a purely Asian dispute. The South China Sea conflicts do not directly include the rest of the ASEAN  Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Myanmar. Questions have been raised about why the regional bloc, and its current leader Indonesia, failed to issue any expression of alarm over the Chinese Coast Guard's actions, which were strongly opposed by the U.S. and other Western and Asian nations. Marty Natalegawa, a respected former foreign minister of Indonesia, called ASEAN's failure to condemn China's aggressive acts "a deafening silence." Aside from the long-simmering territorial conflicts, the Jakarta summit talks focused on the protracted civil strife in Myanmar, which has tested ASEAN and caused divisions among member states on how to effectively resolve the crisis. An assessment of a five-point ASEAN peace plan showed it has failed to make any significant progress since it was introduced two years ago. The plan calls for an immediate end to the deadly hostilities, and a dialogue between contending parties, including that of Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratically elected officials who were overthrown by the army in an internationally condemned seizure of power that sparked a civil strife. Despite the plan's failure so far, the ASEAN leaders decided to stick with it and continue to ban Myanmar's generals and their appointed officials from the bloc's high-level summit meetings  including the ongoing talks in Jakarta, an ASEAN statement said. Harris told the regional bloc's leaders that the US "will continue to press the regime to end the horrific violence, to release all those unjustly detained and to reestablish Myanmar's inclusive democracy." She added that Washington will continue to support ASEAN's peace plan for Myanmar. Myanmar security forces have killed about 4,000 civilians and arrested 24,410 others since the army takeover, according to rights monitoring organization the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW DELHI: A core focus of the G20's agenda at the New Delhi leaders' summit will be on strengthening multilateral development banks, with success potentially adding trillions of dollars to fight poverty and save the climate.

Development banks are linchpins in those fights and important cogs in the global economy, stepping in to lend to countries in need, whether it is financial challenges or disaster.

This process of strengthening multilateral development banks was initiated through the G20's 2016 action plan, which directed banks to "work through their Boards to optimise balance sheets, in order to increase lending without substantially increasing risks or damaging credit ratings."

Five years later, then-G20 president Italy took the reform process forward by instituting an independent review of multilateral development banks' Capital Adequacy Frameworks, which assess banks' ability to meet their financial obligations.

In their first meeting under India's presidency this year, G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors recognised the need for multilateral development banks to "evolve given the scope and complexity of transboundary challenges and the resultant increase in demand on their lending resources, knowledge support, and for catalysing private investment."

They asked multilateral development banks to "undertake comprehensive efforts to evolve their vision, incentive structures, operational approaches and financial capacities so that they are better equipped to maximise their impact in addressing a wide range of global challenges while being consistent with their mandate and commitment to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)."

ALSO READ | G20 Summit: Global prelude, unveiling future of diplomacy

The Indian G20 presidency took the logical next step, developing an agenda, based on which the multilateral development banks can carry financing the recipients.

An International Expert Group was entrusted with this task, established to "address the shared global challenges of the 21st century."

The group had three broad objectives: to prepare a roadmap for an updated development banking ecosystem that is better equipped to finance a range of SDGs and transboundary challenges such as climate change and health, evaluate the scale of funding required by and from banks to address their increasing needs and that of member countries, and better coordinate among banks to "address and finance global development and other challenges more effectively."

The International Expert Group was tasked with spelling out the details of a plan that multilateral development banks could follow while discharging their functions.

The expert group spelt out a triple agenda aiming to harness what it saw as the potential of the multilateral development banks.

Under the first part of that plan, development banks had a mandate to eliminate extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity and contribute to global public goods.

The other planks of the agenda are for multilateral development banks to triple sustainable lending levels by 2030 and create a third funding mechanism that would permit flexible, innovative arrangements with investors willing to support elements of the agenda.

ALSO READ | Nigeria hails India's efforts to include African Union in G20

The International Expert Group argued that additional annual spending of around USD 3 trillion is required by 2030, of which USD 1.8 trillion should be investments for climate action (mostly in sustainable infrastructure) and USD 1.2 trillion for spending to realise other SDGs.

The figures imply a four-fold increase in climate adaptation, resilience and mitigation funding compared with 2019 and a 75 per cent increase in spending on health and education. It takes many contributors to mobilise financing on that scale.

The International Expert Group projects that the global development finance community needs to provide an additional USD 500 billion every year until 2030.

Of this additionality, one-third would be concessional funds and non-debt-creating financing, while two-thirds would be for non-concessional official lending.

More funding would also help mobilise private capital of up to USD 1 trillion.

Multilateral development banks must provide an incremental USD 60 billion of additional annual official financing, of which USD 200 billion in non-concessional lending, and help mobilise and catalyse most associated private finance.

In its first set of recommendations, the expert group argued sustainable lending levels from multilateral development banks should be tripled by 2030, targeting USD 300 billion per year in own-account non-concessional finance, normal commercial loans and USD 90 billion per year in concessional finance or loans or other funding that might be provided at below-market rates.

ALSO READ | Xi decision to skip G20 Summit puts question mark on India-China ties

According to the expert group, this could be achieved if G20 members restored their contributions to the International Development Association, the soft-lending arm of the World Bank, and sharply increased contributions, tripling its funding pool by 2030.

In its major recommendations, the International Expert Group asked development banks to build a financing instrument that provides rapid, automatic concessional assistance to countries in need, including middle-income countries hit by major natural disasters like Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

They also asked banks to change their approach to partnering with the private sector, by working systematically with them in sovereign and non-sovereign activities.

These recommendations do not bode well for the future of concessionary lending from multilateral development banks.

Donor country pledges for the latest three-year cycle of International Development Association funding were well below expectations.

It also raises questions over the ability of multilateral development banks to provide debt relief to countries most in need, potentially limiting the ability of debt-distressed countries to invest in development.

The International Development Association's funding challenges are unsurprising given the United States' reluctance to contribute more to multilateral development banks.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the third meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in July that the G20 must only explore capital increases after multilateral development bank reforms had progressed.

Multilateral development banks hold the key to realising the SDGs, for they can provide concessional finance to developing economies.

The New Delhi summit can underline the importance of these banks by garnering the necessary political support to improve their viability.

By Biswajit Dhar, Council for Social Development New Delhi

This article is republished from 360info.in under a Creative Commons license.

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NEW DELHI: A core focus of the G20's agenda at the New Delhi leaders' summit will be on strengthening multilateral development banks, with success potentially adding trillions of dollars to fight poverty and save the climate. Development banks are linchpins in those fights and important cogs in the global economy, stepping in to lend to countries in need, whether it is financial challenges or disaster. This process of strengthening multilateral development banks was initiated through the G20's 2016 action plan, which directed banks to "work through their Boards to optimise balance sheets, in order to increase lending without substantially increasing risks or damaging credit ratings."googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Five years later, then-G20 president Italy took the reform process forward by instituting an independent review of multilateral development banks' Capital Adequacy Frameworks, which assess banks' ability to meet their financial obligations. In their first meeting under India's presidency this year, G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors recognised the need for multilateral development banks to "evolve given the scope and complexity of transboundary challenges and the resultant increase in demand on their lending resources, knowledge support, and for catalysing private investment." They asked multilateral development banks to "undertake comprehensive efforts to evolve their vision, incentive structures, operational approaches and financial capacities so that they are better equipped to maximise their impact in addressing a wide range of global challenges while being consistent with their mandate and commitment to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)." ALSO READ | G20 Summit: Global prelude, unveiling future of diplomacy The Indian G20 presidency took the logical next step, developing an agenda, based on which the multilateral development banks can carry financing the recipients. An International Expert Group was entrusted with this task, established to "address the shared global challenges of the 21st century." The group had three broad objectives: to prepare a roadmap for an updated development banking ecosystem that is better equipped to finance a range of SDGs and transboundary challenges such as climate change and health, evaluate the scale of funding required by and from banks to address their increasing needs and that of member countries, and better coordinate among banks to "address and finance global development and other challenges more effectively." The International Expert Group was tasked with spelling out the details of a plan that multilateral development banks could follow while discharging their functions. The expert group spelt out a triple agenda aiming to harness what it saw as the potential of the multilateral development banks. Under the first part of that plan, development banks had a mandate to eliminate extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity and contribute to global public goods. The other planks of the agenda are for multilateral development banks to triple sustainable lending levels by 2030 and create a third funding mechanism that would permit flexible, innovative arrangements with investors willing to support elements of the agenda. ALSO READ | Nigeria hails India's efforts to include African Union in G20 The International Expert Group argued that additional annual spending of around USD 3 trillion is required by 2030, of which USD 1.8 trillion should be investments for climate action (mostly in sustainable infrastructure) and USD 1.2 trillion for spending to realise other SDGs. The figures imply a four-fold increase in climate adaptation, resilience and mitigation funding compared with 2019 and a 75 per cent increase in spending on health and education. It takes many contributors to mobilise financing on that scale. The International Expert Group projects that the global development finance community needs to provide an additional USD 500 billion every year until 2030. Of this additionality, one-third would be concessional funds and non-debt-creating financing, while two-thirds would be for non-concessional official lending. More funding would also help mobilise private capital of up to USD 1 trillion. Multilateral development banks must provide an incremental USD 60 billion of additional annual official financing, of which USD 200 billion in non-concessional lending, and help mobilise and catalyse most associated private finance. In its first set of recommendations, the expert group argued sustainable lending levels from multilateral development banks should be tripled by 2030, targeting USD 300 billion per year in own-account non-concessional finance, normal commercial loans and USD 90 billion per year in concessional finance or loans or other funding that might be provided at below-market rates. ALSO READ | Xi decision to skip G20 Summit puts question mark on India-China ties According to the expert group, this could be achieved if G20 members restored their contributions to the International Development Association, the soft-lending arm of the World Bank, and sharply increased contributions, tripling its funding pool by 2030. In its major recommendations, the International Expert Group asked development banks to build a financing instrument that provides rapid, automatic concessional assistance to countries in need, including middle-income countries hit by major natural disasters like Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They also asked banks to change their approach to partnering with the private sector, by working systematically with them in sovereign and non-sovereign activities. These recommendations do not bode well for the future of concessionary lending from multilateral development banks. Donor country pledges for the latest three-year cycle of International Development Association funding were well below expectations. It also raises questions over the ability of multilateral development banks to provide debt relief to countries most in need, potentially limiting the ability of debt-distressed countries to invest in development. The International Development Association's funding challenges are unsurprising given the United States' reluctance to contribute more to multilateral development banks. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the third meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in July that the G20 must only explore capital increases after multilateral development bank reforms had progressed. Multilateral development banks hold the key to realising the SDGs, for they can provide concessional finance to developing economies. The New Delhi summit can underline the importance of these banks by garnering the necessary political support to improve their viability. By Biswajit Dhar, Council for Social Development New Delhi This article is republished from 360info.in under a Creative Commons license. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Associated Press

KYIV: A Russian missile tore through an outdoor market in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing 17 people and wounding dozens, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the country with more than $1 billion in new American funding for Ukraine, including military and humanitarian aid.

Blinkens fourth visit to the country was overshadowed by the strike in the city of Kostiantynivka, near the front line in the Donetsk region, that turned the marketplace into an inferno. It was one of the deadliest bombardments of civilians in the 18-month-old war. In addition to the dead, at least 32 people were wounded.

Those who know this place are well aware that it is a civilian area, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a news conference with the Danish prime minister in Kyiv. There arent any military units nearby. The strike was deliberate.

Chilling footage captured the moment a Russian missile strike on a market in Donetsk, Ukraine killing at least 17 people. Dozens more were injured in the deadly attack. @BrittClennett reports. https://t.co/0HWFkE9XvI pic.twitter.com/HzOw3mCnmu  World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) September 7, 2023

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said such brutal Russian attacks underscore "the importance of continuing to support the people of Ukraine.

Blinkens visit was aimed at assessing Ukraines 3-month-old counteroffensive and signaling continued U.S. support as some Western allies express worries about Kyivs slow progress against invading Russian forces.

We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long-term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent, Blinken said. Were also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy.

About $175 million of the total is in the form of weaponry to be provided from Pentagon stockpiles and another $100 million is in the form of grants to allow the Ukrainians to purchase additional arms and equipment, according to the State Department.

ALSO READ | Upward of 20,000 Ukrainian amputees face trauma on a scale unseen since WWI

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy greets U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken before a meeting at Bankova in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)

Noting progress in the counteroffensive, Blinken said the new aid "will help sustain it and build further momentum. He said the new military assistance would be bolstered by the arrival of U.S. Abrams tanks in the fall and the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets to complement training in Europe.

In addition to the military assistance, Blinken announced nearly $805 million in non-arms-related aid for Ukraine, including $300 million for law enforcement, $206 million in humanitarian aid, $203 million to combat corruption and $90.5 million for removing mines, the State Department said.

The package also includes a previously announced $5.4 million transfer to Ukraine of frozen Russian oligarch assets.

The aid announced by Blinken comes from money previously approved by Congress. President Joe Biden has requested another $21 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine for the final months of 2023, but its not clear how much  if any  will be approved.

Many Republican lawmakers are wary of providing more aid, and the partys presidential front-runner, former President Donald Trump, has criticized U.S. financial support. Opinion polls also have shown a decline in support for the war by the American public.

Biden and the Pentagon have said repeatedly they will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. As of Aug. 29, there was approximately $5.75 billion left in the already approved funding for weapons and equipment taken from existing Pentagon stocks.

Blinken was to discuss other issues, including support for Ukraines economy, building on his June announcement of $1.3 billion to help Kyiv rebuild, with a focus on modernizing its energy network, which was bombarded by Russia last winter.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said U.S. assistance to Ukraine cant influence the course of the special military operation  Moscows euphemism for the war.

Rescue workers put out a fire after a Russian rocket attack on a food market in the city center of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP)

READ MORE | Cuba uncovers human trafficking for Russia's war in Ukraine

Blinken arrived in Kyiv for an overnight visit hours after Russia launched a missile attack on the city.

On the train to Kyiv, Blinken met with the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, who was also on an official visit, and thanked her for Denmarks leadership in training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s and for promising to donate the fighter jets to Ukraine, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Washington officials said there will be discussions of alternative export routes for Ukrainian grain following Russias exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its frequent attacks on port facilities in the Odesa region.

Those alternatives may include new overland routes or ships hugging coastlines to keep out of international waters where they could be targeted by Russias navy. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also mentioned the potential to develop the Danube River corridor for grain exports.

After arriving in Kyiv, Blinken laid a wreath at the citys Berkovetske cemetery to commemorate Ukrainian troops killed defending the country.

In a meeting, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine is grateful the U.S. money is coming in the form of grants, not loans that would drive it into debt.

In other developments, Russia fired cruise missiles overnight at Kyiv in its first aerial attack on the capital since Aug. 30, according to Serhii Popko, the head of Kyivs regional military administration. Debris from a downed missile caused a fire and damage but no casualties.

One person was killed in the Odesa region in a Russian missile and drone attack on the port of Izmail that damaged grain elevators, administrative buildings and agricultural enterprises, authorities said.

The trip was Blinkens fourth to Ukraine since the war began, including one brief excursion over the Polish-Ukrainian border in March 2022, just a month after the Russian invasion. But it will be the first time Americas top diplomat spends the night in Kyiv since January 2022, before the invasion, in what U.S. officials called another sign of American support.

Blinkens visit comes after some of Ukraines allies have privately expressed concern that Ukrainian troops may fail to reach their objectives.

While the U.S. has been concerned by some day-to-day battlefield setbacks, American officials said, they are still generally encouraged by Ukraines handling of the military situation, particularly its air defense capabilities in knocking down Russian drones aimed at Kyiv.

Western analysts and military officials caution that the counteroffensives success is far from certain and that it could take years to rid Ukraine of entrenched, powerfully armed and skilled Russian troops.

Both sides will have to assess their supply shortages, with more battles of attrition likely over the winter. A long war could stretch deep into next year and beyond, according to experts.

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KYIV: A Russian missile tore through an outdoor market in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing 17 people and wounding dozens, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the country with more than $1 billion in new American funding for Ukraine, including military and humanitarian aid. Blinkens fourth visit to the country was overshadowed by the strike in the city of Kostiantynivka, near the front line in the Donetsk region, that turned the marketplace into an inferno. It was one of the deadliest bombardments of civilians in the 18-month-old war. In addition to the dead, at least 32 people were wounded. Those who know this place are well aware that it is a civilian area, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a news conference with the Danish prime minister in Kyiv. There arent any military units nearby. The strike was deliberate.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Chilling footage captured the moment a Russian missile strike on a market in Donetsk, Ukraine killing at least 17 people. Dozens more were injured in the deadly attack. @BrittClennett reports. https://t.co/0HWFkE9XvI pic.twitter.com/HzOw3mCnmu  World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) September 7, 2023 White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said such brutal Russian attacks underscore "the importance of continuing to support the people of Ukraine. Blinkens visit was aimed at assessing Ukraines 3-month-old counteroffensive and signaling continued U.S. support as some Western allies express worries about Kyivs slow progress against invading Russian forces. We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long-term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent, Blinken said. Were also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy. About $175 million of the total is in the form of weaponry to be provided from Pentagon stockpiles and another $100 million is in the form of grants to allow the Ukrainians to purchase additional arms and equipment, according to the State Department. ALSO READ | Upward of 20,000 Ukrainian amputees face trauma on a scale unseen since WWI Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy greets U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken before a meeting at Bankova in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP) Noting progress in the counteroffensive, Blinken said the new aid "will help sustain it and build further momentum. He said the new military assistance would be bolstered by the arrival of U.S. Abrams tanks in the fall and the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets to complement training in Europe. In addition to the military assistance, Blinken announced nearly $805 million in non-arms-related aid for Ukraine, including $300 million for law enforcement, $206 million in humanitarian aid, $203 million to combat corruption and $90.5 million for removing mines, the State Department said. The package also includes a previously announced $5.4 million transfer to Ukraine of frozen Russian oligarch assets. The aid announced by Blinken comes from money previously approved by Congress. President Joe Biden has requested another $21 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine for the final months of 2023, but its not clear how much  if any  will be approved. Many Republican lawmakers are wary of providing more aid, and the partys presidential front-runner, former President Donald Trump, has criticized U.S. financial support. Opinion polls also have shown a decline in support for the war by the American public. Biden and the Pentagon have said repeatedly they will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. As of Aug. 29, there was approximately $5.75 billion left in the already approved funding for weapons and equipment taken from existing Pentagon stocks. Blinken was to discuss other issues, including support for Ukraines economy, building on his June announcement of $1.3 billion to help Kyiv rebuild, with a focus on modernizing its energy network, which was bombarded by Russia last winter. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said U.S. assistance to Ukraine cant influence the course of the special military operation  Moscows euphemism for the war. Rescue workers put out a fire after a Russian rocket attack on a food market in the city center of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (AP) READ MORE | Cuba uncovers human trafficking for Russia's war in Ukraine Blinken arrived in Kyiv for an overnight visit hours after Russia launched a missile attack on the city. On the train to Kyiv, Blinken met with the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, who was also on an official visit, and thanked her for Denmarks leadership in training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s and for promising to donate the fighter jets to Ukraine, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. Washington officials said there will be discussions of alternative export routes for Ukrainian grain following Russias exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its frequent attacks on port facilities in the Odesa region. Those alternatives may include new overland routes or ships hugging coastlines to keep out of international waters where they could be targeted by Russias navy. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also mentioned the potential to develop the Danube River corridor for grain exports. After arriving in Kyiv, Blinken laid a wreath at the citys Berkovetske cemetery to commemorate Ukrainian troops killed defending the country. In a meeting, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine is grateful the U.S. money is coming in the form of grants, not loans that would drive it into debt. In other developments, Russia fired cruise missiles overnight at Kyiv in its first aerial attack on the capital since Aug. 30, according to Serhii Popko, the head of Kyivs regional military administration. Debris from a downed missile caused a fire and damage but no casualties. One person was killed in the Odesa region in a Russian missile and drone attack on the port of Izmail that damaged grain elevators, administrative buildings and agricultural enterprises, authorities said. The trip was Blinkens fourth to Ukraine since the war began, including one brief excursion over the Polish-Ukrainian border in March 2022, just a month after the Russian invasion. But it will be the first time Americas top diplomat spends the night in Kyiv since January 2022, before the invasion, in what U.S. officials called another sign of American support. Blinkens visit comes after some of Ukraines allies have privately expressed concern that Ukrainian troops may fail to reach their objectives. While the U.S. has been concerned by some day-to-day battlefield setbacks, American officials said, they are still generally encouraged by Ukraines handling of the military situation, particularly its air defense capabilities in knocking down Russian drones aimed at Kyiv. Western analysts and military officials caution that the counteroffensives success is far from certain and that it could take years to rid Ukraine of entrenched, powerfully armed and skilled Russian troops. Both sides will have to assess their supply shortages, with more battles of attrition likely over the winter. A long war could stretch deep into next year and beyond, according to experts. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway successful example of regional cooperation towards modernization -- Chinese premier

Xinhua) 08:06, September 07, 2023

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang, accompanied by Indonesia's Coordinator for Cooperation with China and Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, inspects the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia, Sept. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

JAKARTA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway is a successful example of developing countries in the region working together towards modernization, visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Wednesday when inspecting the China-Indonesia cooperation project.

Upon his arrival at the Halim station, Li was warmly welcomed by Chinese and Indonesian employees. He listened to the report on the construction of the railway and expressed his appreciation for the hard work made by the builders of the two countries.

Noting that as the first high-speed railway in Southeast Asia, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway is a flagship project of China-Indonesia Belt and Road cooperation personally supported by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Li said that it also carries the aspirations of the Indonesian people for a better life.

The two sides should implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, make careful preparations, ensure the high-standard opening and high-quality operation of the high-speed rail, and inject strong and lasting impetus into the modernization of Indonesia and the region, Li said.

Li then took a test ride and inspected the construction of the platform at Karawang Station. Calling the high-speed railway a road to integration, openness and common prosperity, Li said that it will not only shorten the time and space distance between cities, but also promote the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure and empower economic development along the route.

China is ready to share its mature expertise with Indonesia, and work together to do a good job in developing industries and revitalizing cities through the high-speed rail, Li said.

He pointed out that the economies of China and Indonesia are highly complementary and that there is huge potential for practical cooperation.

The two sides should make continuous efforts to take the lead in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation in the region, push the building of the China-Indonesia community with a shared future to a new level, and contribute to the well-being of the their people and the development and prosperity of the region, Li said.

Connecting Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, and Bandung, the fourth largest city in Indonesia, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway is 142 km long and has a design maximum speed of 350 km per hour.

It is the first overseas high-speed railway project that fully uses Chinese railway systems, technology, and industrial components. PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia-China, a joint venture consortium set up by Indonesia and China, is responsible for investment, construction and operation.

Visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang, accompanied by Indonesia's Coordinator for Cooperation with China and Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and Indonesia's Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi, inspects the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia, Sept. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Mexicos CFE TEIT and multi-orbit satellite player SES have announced the delivery of voice and data services enabled by SESs mobile backhaul solution to 400 underserved, remote villages and communities across the country via the very high-throughput (HTS) SES-17 Ka-band satellite.

Regular readers will know that CFE TEIT (CFE Telecomunicaciones e Internet para Todos, or CFE Telecommunications and Internet for All) is the communications subsidiary of Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission and, as its name implies, part of its purpose is to support the efforts of the Mexican government to bring greater connectivity to remote, hard-to-reach locations.

With this in mind, CFE TEIT is leveraging SESs turnkey mobile backhaul service to deliver 2.2 Gbps to hundreds of thousands of residents living across the 400 sites. The mobile backhaul solution will enable rural communities to access 4G network services for the first time, paving the way, says SES, for mobile commerce and economic growth in the years to come.

SES says its mobile backhaul service via SES-17 and other HTS satellites is playing an integral role in delivering 4G and 5G services to users across the Americas. Over the next four years, SES points out, in both rural and urban areas across Latin America, an estimated 57 million people will access 4G or 5G for the very first time.

SES and CFE TEIT announced plans in March to deploy more than 1,100 broadband hotspots, as part of the governments Internet for Everyone initiative, which delivers free internet access in thousands of public areas via SES-17.

Axess Networks, Viasat, Hispasat and Gilat are among the many major international names involved in enabling the CFE TEIT initiative.
India's philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' is clarion call to build better world: WHO's Poonam Khetrapal Singh

New Delhi, September 6

R egional director of World Health Organisation's South East-Asia Region, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, on Wednesday said that India's theme for the G20 Summit this year, 'One Earth, One Family, One Future', is a clarion call for the world to take action in building a better future in the health sector.

"We live in an increasingly interconnected world. India's philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' of 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' is a clarion call to the world for the need to collectively work together to build a better future for our health, and the health of our planet," Khetrapal told ANI.

WHO regional director added that India has identified three health priorities that aim to strengthen global health infrastructure, deliver health, and provide universal health coverage under its G20 presidency.

She said, "India's G20 presidency focuses on consolidating the existing digital health initiatives and fostering equity in health care by amplifying efforts to incorporate tools such as telemedicine and artificial intelligence."

While congratulating India for hosting G20 this year in New Delhi, she thanked India for recognizing and prioritising health.

Just last month, the WHO and G20 India presidency launched a new Global Initiative on Digital Health which aims to support this transformation.

Under India's presidency, the G20 has also prioritized strengthening health emergency preparedness and response with a focus on anti-microbial resistance and One Health Framework which recognizes the interconnection between people, animals, and plants and their shared environment to withstand future shocks not just from infectious diseases but all types of health hazards.

Another key priority aims to strengthen cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on ensuring availability and access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable medical countermeasures like vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.

Towards this, G20 Health Ministers meeting in Gandhinagar, India, last month extended their support for a WHO-led inclusive consultative process for the development of an interim medical countermeasures coordination mechanism.

India is all set to host the G20 Summit in New Delhi from September 9-10. World leaders will arrive in New Delhi to attend the G20 Summit. The summit will be hosted at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

Notably, India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and since then about 200 meetings related to G20 have been organized in 60 cities across the country.

India's philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' is clarion call to build better world: WHO's Poonam Khetrapal Singh

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Didn't play well enough: Frances Tiafoe after defeat to unseeded Ben Shelton in US Open SF

New York, September 6

I n what was an all-American US Open quarterfinal, Frances Tiafoe suffered a heartbreaking defeat to fellow countryman Ben Shelton but, in a gesture acknowledged by a full house at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the 25-year-old lauded the opponent who took him down on the night.

Shelton became the youngest American US Open semifinalist in 30 years after coming through 6-2, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2 against his more fancied compatriot Tiafoe.

In a courtside interview by the host broadcaster, Tiafoe said the fact that Shelton went into the last-four clash as an underdog actually worked in his favour on the night.

Significantly, Tiafoe, currently ranked 10th by the ATP, was the underdog when he took down Argentine Diego Schwartzman, 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, and Russian Andrey Rublev at the US Open last year.

However, going into the semifinal clash as the 10th seed, the burly American was expected to prevail over his unseeded fellow countryman.

"It's a different seat to be in. Obviously Ben really wanted to win. Ben came out and played with a lot of energy. But it was different conditions today. It was super heavy. Not what I was accustomed to when I played at night earlier in the week," Tiafoe was quoted as saying in the official portal of the US Open.

"It's definitely different. Obviously, a lot of times I play late in tournaments, I've been the underdog, so I just go out and play. Kind of like how Ben did, play and swing and do whatever you want," he added.

"But even so, I still put myself in positions and I just didn't play well enough," the American said.

Once they entered the court, Tiafoe claimed he was able to put the occasion and his friendship with Shelton--who called him his "elder brother"--"to the side".

"Once you get out there, you're just going to play to win, obviously. Obviously, it's a big match. You're playing to get in the semifinals," he said.

"This game is a very selfish game. Once you get out there, you just want to win and try and bring your best stuff to win a match, and then your relationship stays after the match. I don't think it really mattered. We both really tried to come after each other and he just played better than I did today," the American added.

Didn't play well enough: Frances Tiafoe after defeat to unseeded Ben Shelton in US Open SF

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Hyderabad, September 6

T he Union government has decided to set up a Turmeric board and a Turmeric processing unit in North Telangana soon.

According to top sources, the Bharatiya Janata Party led Union government is planning to fulfill a long pending demand of the Telangana turmeric farmers with an eye on the upcoming state assembly polls.

As Nizamabad is one of the country's largest producers of turmeric, this fulfilment of the 2019 poll promise by the BJP will surely strengthen the party in North Telangana ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, the sources said.

Earlier this week, Nizamabad BJP MP Arvind Dharmapuri met Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the Home Minister's residence in Delhi.

In a post shared on social media platform X, the Nizamabad BJP MP stated that he discussed strategies for the campaign so that the party makes a clean sweep in all 7 Assembly constituencies in the Nizamabad Parliament segment.

As per the sources, the establishment of a Turmeric Board has been a long-pending demand of the turmeric farmers of Nizamabad. Then Nizamabad BJP MP Arvind Dharmapuri's poll promise during the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, came as a hope to the farmers.

The BJP MP even signed a Judicial Bond paper stating that he would resign from his position and join the farmers if we could not establish a Turmeric Board within five days of winning the 2019 elections. However, the promise was not fulfilled by the BJP government.

In fact, during the 2023 Parliament Budget session, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said there is no proposal to establish a turmeric board or any other spice-specific board in the country.

The statement erupted waves of controversies in Telangana with the Bharat Rashtra Samithi party criticising the BJP government and Nizambad MP Arvind Dharmapuri for the false poll promises.

BRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha who contested against Arvind from Nizamabad raised strong allegations against the BJP MP for his inability to convince the Union Government to set up the Turmeric Board. She alleged that he had made false claims just to win the elections.

The farmers of Nizamabad also staged protests on various instances by putting up hoardings to voice their displeasure on the issue.

Centre to establish Turmeric Board, Turmeric processing unit in North Telangana soon

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People of Mizoram ready to extend any help to distressed tribals in Manipur: Zoramthanga

Aizawl, Sep 6

M izoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Wednesday said that people of his state were ready to help their distressed fellow brothers and sisters of Manipur and suggested that the future course of action should be undertaken in consultation with various organisations, leaders concerned, and the public.

Zoramthanga, who is also the President of the ruling Mizo National Front, on Wednesday met ten Kuki MLAs of Manipur including two ministers and leaders of civil society organisations (CSOs) of the state here.

He said that he was deeply hurt with the sufferings of people due to the violence in Manipur.

Besides the MLAs, including seven belonging to BJP, leaders of various CSOs were present at the meeting, officials said.

Kuki legislators from the hill districts of Manipur, along with various tribal organisations have been demanding a separate administration (equivalent to separate state) for the tribals since May 12, nine days after the devastating ethnic violence broke out in the northeastern state on May 3.

Zoramthanga, his Cabinet colleagues and MNF MLAs had participated in the 'Solidarity March', organised by the NGOs Coordination Committee in Mizoram on July 25 to express solidarity for the Kuki-Zo tribals, affected in the violence in Manipur.

People of Mizoram ready to extend any help to distressed tribals in Manipur: Zoramthanga

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Washington, Sep 6

A federal US judge Lewis Kaplan has held former President Donald Trump liable in the defamation suit filed by columnist E. Jean Carroll, rendering a rude shock to Republicans prepping up an impeachment motion in Congress on September 12 on bribery charges against President Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden to deflect attention from the indictments handed down to Trump.

The judge ruled that the jury hearing Carroll's defamation lawsuit will only need to decide how much money Trump will have to pay her, after the judge found the former President was liable for making defamatory statements, media reports said.

The judge's ruling is a serious blow to Trump, who is facing numerous criminal indictments and civil lawsuits -- many of them coming to a head as he hits the campaign trail in most of the southern states that back him and he boasts of his immense popularity going up with each and every indictment that prosecutors and juries give him.

Trump has already paid $5 million in damages to Carroll but she sued him for $10 million after he went on TV and aired his defamatory views questioning her character and integrity.

Republican caucuses are meeting shortly to discuss the bribery charges against Biden and his son and take it to the Congress to a vote so that their Congressional committees can frame the articles that can again be brought to the Congress for a vote to impeach Biden.

The charges related to alleged bribery payments made to Biden by the Ukrainian energy company Burisma during his Vice-Presidency and Hunter procuring a weapon (gun) under the influence of cocaine which is "illegal".

Judge Kaplan said that a federal jury's verdict earlier this year against Trump will spill over to the defamation case set to go to trial in January involving statements Trump made in 2019 about Carroll's sexual assault allegations, CNN reported.

Carroll, a former magazine columnist, alleged Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and then defamed her while denying her claim.

In May after a two-week trial, a jury found Trump sexually abused Carroll and defamed her. In 2022 he claimed he didn't rape her, didn't know her, and that she wasn't his "type".

In that case, the jury awarded Carroll $5 million in damages.

"The truth or falsity of Trump's 2019 statements therefore depends -- like the truth or falsity of his 2022 statement -- on whether Carroll lied about Trump sexually assaulting her," the judge ruled on Wednesday.

"The jury's finding that she did not, therefore, is binding in this case and precludes Trump from contesting the falsity of his 2019 statements," CNN said.

Kaplan set the trial for January 15 and said it would be limited to damages. While her initial lawsuit was filed in 2019, the judge previously allowed Carroll to include comments Trump made at a CNN town hall meeting earlier this year.

Kaplan also rejected Trump's demand that any future damages be capped, indicating the previous award shouldn't be a factor for the jury. Carroll is seeking more than $10 million in damages.

US Judge holds Trump liable in columnist Jean Carrol's new defamation suit

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'No change in travel plans to India': White House after Biden tests Covid negative again

Washington, DC, September 7

U nited States President Joe Biden tested negative again for COVID-19 on Wednesday and thus there will be no change in the plans for this week's G20 Summit, the White House said adding, "expecting him to travel tomorrow."

At the briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, "The President tested negative for COVID-19 this morning, following a negative test on Monday night and also yesterday. He is not experiencing any symptoms which of course is a good thing. The first lady is doing well and she remains in Delaware, which is also a good thing."

US President Joe Biden will travel to India for the G20 Leaders' Summit which is scheduled to take place on September 9 and 10 at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

During his visit, Biden will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and then for the next two days will participate in the sessions organised in the G20 Summit. And later he will travel to Vietnam.

At the briefing, Pierre assured that there will be no change in Biden's plan to visit India and Vietnam.

"There is no change in his travel, he tested negative on Monday, tested negative on Tuesday and tested negative today which is very good, he certainly doesn't have any symptoms as I mentioned at the top and that's the good thing So president gonna continue his job and we are expecting him to travel tomorrow," she added.

Earlier, Jake Sullivan, National Security Advisor of the United States, on Tuesday also confirmed that Biden will visit India for the G20 summit.

"On Thursday, the President will travel to New Delhi for the G20 Summit in India. On Friday, Biden will participate in a bilateral meeting with PM Modi. On Saturday and Sunday, Biden will participate in the official sessions of the G20 Summit, 2023," Sullivan said.

This confirmation came after first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19, her communications director Elizabeth Alexander said in a statement.

"This evening, the First Lady tested positive for COVID-19. She is currently experiencing only mild symptoms. She will remain at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware," Elizabeth Alexander said.

Notably, India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country.

The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.

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.

'No change in travel plans to India': White House after Biden tests Covid negative again

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Washington, DC, September 7

U S President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are expected to hold a discussion on the agenda of G20, particularly the economic cooperation and multilateral investment opportunities, that stand before it and can be on the American leader's strong desire to see multilateral development bank reform and reshaping, a White House official said.

John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, also pointed out that there is very little possibility that PM Modi and President Biden will discuss on climate and the ongoing Ukraine war.

The remark by Kirby comes before President Joe Biden departs for New Delhi on Thursday and will meet PM Modi on the next day.

Responding to a query on the agenda that PM Modi and President Biden will discuss on Friday, Kirby said, "Well, without getting too far ahead of the meeting that hasn't happened, it's certainly going to be an appropriate follow-on to their very robust bilateral discussions here when we had - when we hosted Prime Minister Modi at the White House not long ago for a very complete and official visit."

"I think you can expect that they will discuss the agenda for the G20, particularly the economic cooperation and multilateral investment opportunities that stand before the G20, and the President's strong desire to see multilateral development bank reform and reshaping continue. I have little doubt that they will also talk about the shared challenge of climate change and how much we are hoping to have a robust discussion at the G20 about a transition to clean energy technology and to see more countries, more G20 countries, invest in more clean energy technology as well as efforts to curb greenhouse gases," he added.

The NSC Coordinator further stated that he has little doubt that they will also discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the effect, the deleterious effect that that war is having on low- and middle-income countries, which again comes right back to the economic cooperation issue.

In general, both leaders will discuss security, economic, and diplomatic challenges throughout the Indo-Pacific will certainly be something that they discuss, Kirby added.

The G20 Leaders' Summit is scheduled to take place on September 9 and 10 in India and US President Joe Biden is slated to attend the event. He will start his visit to India on September 7.

Talking to reporters during a press briefing at the Washington Foreign Press Center, Kirby said that the President is excited about the important initiatives that he will be championing at the G20.

The NSC coordinator said that Biden's focus is going to be on delivering economic opportunity for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people, from climate to technology, and showing our commitment to the G20 itself as a viable, if not vital, forum to tackle these sorts of issues.

PM Modi, Biden expected to discuss on G20 agenda, multilateral development bank reform: White House

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Kazakhstans largest communications service provider, Kcell, has selected Ericsson as a 5G radio access network (5G RAN) partner in a seven-year partnership aimed at accelerating Kazakhstans digital transformation and widespread adoption of 5G technology.

Following 25 years of successful cooperation between Kcell and Ericsson, the partnership envisions a roadmap spanning the period 2023 to 2030, during which both companies will work in tandem to foster innovation, drive economic growth, and strengthen the country's technology infrastructure.

The parties have reached an agreement to deploy Ericsson's state-of-the-art 5G technology over a significant area encompassing at least 50% of Kazakhstan's territory. The deployment will cover key regions including Almaty, Shymkent, and several others, contributing to the growth of both urban and rural connectivity.

An aspect of this collaboration described as innovative is the implementation of a single RAN approach for the 5G deployment. This approach involves the seamless integration of 5G into the existing 2G, 3G and 4G infrastructure, maximising the efficient use of network resources and simplifying the transition to the new technology.

Andrea Missori, Head of South East Mediterranean and Eurasia, Ericsson, sees the extension of this partnership with Kcell as marking a significant milestone towards positioning Kazakhstan at the forefront of Eurasia telecommunications innovation.

He adds: We are building a network of the future that will not only offer superior connectivity for Kcell customers but also deliver an innovation platform that can help to transform industries and pave the way to a more connected digital society, fostering economic growth and societal advancement.
'The Vaccine War' becomes first Indian movie to have song launch at Times Square in New York

New York, September 7

F ilmmaker Vivek Aghnihotri's 'The Vaccine War' created history on Tuesday by becoming the first Indian movie to have a song launch at Times Square.

The film's title song 'Shristhi se pehele', which comprised of Shlokas from Rigveda, describing the creation of the Universe was performed in the form of Kathak in New York.

At Times Square, a performance was performed by Actor Archana Joglekar and the students of her Dance academy and it was choreographed by legendary Kathak maestro. The performance was witnessed by thousands of New Yorkers from all walks of life.

Before the release of 'The Vaccine War' in India in September, special screenings of the film have been conducted in the US under the India for Humanity Tour.

A pre-release of 'The Vaccine War' was hosted in New York to a full house. Welcoming director Vivek Agnihotri and producer and actor Pallavi Joshi.

Speaking about the film's screening in the US, Agnihotri told ANI, "I wanted to showcase this great scientific achievement of India on the world stage. India and the US collaborated and there was this mutual understanding and cooperation between the two countries, and we have worked a lot towards helping lots of underdeveloped countries. So I thought it was very important since this was the hub when COVID was happening. The whole world was looking at the USA with optimism, and India played that role as a democracy. So I thought it's good to start from here and showcase it to people and get their reactions and then go and release it in India."

"One thing is for sure once the audience sees the film and walks out of the theatre they are going to walk out with their head held high. What our scientists have achieved during the period of lockdown when the pandemic had hit the world and especially the women who were not just working at home cleaning the house, cooking meals for the family but were also standing in the labs for 16, 17 & 18 hours at length and making that vaccine which saved the country of 135 crore people," said Pallavi Joshi.

Edward Ridley Finch Cox an American Finance lawyer and the current chairman of the New York Republican State Committee attended both the events.

Cox said that he has only now realized the power and diversity of India but also sees the importance of Indian Americans. He also urged all Americans to watch The Vaccine War.

The New York events for 'The Vaccine War' were crafted and organized by Mohan Wanchoo, a successful software entrepreneur and philanthropist who is of Indian heritage.

"Vaccine War" is about how India made the COVID-19 vaccine under unprecedented challenges, and later provided it free of cost to many countries throughout the world that were in dire need of this vaccine said Mohan Wanchoo.

"The movie celebrates the power of the fiercely driven and motivated women scientists of India who worked day and night to produce the COVID-19 vaccine. We are looking forward to a great success of Vaccine War," said Al Mason, a well-known New York global real estate Advisor and Entrepreneur, whom Mohan Wanchoo thanked for helping him to make both the New York events a mega success.

The Vaccine War' will narrate the tale of the triumph of scientists and 130 crore people who fought the battle in the COVID-19 era.

'The Vaccine War' becomes first Indian movie to have song launch at Times Square in New York

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Jakarta, Sep 7

P rime Minister Narendra Modi, who was a day-long visit to Indonesia, on Thursday announced the establishment of an Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste, saying that it was a reflection of the importance India attaches to the ASEAN and its relations with the Southeast Asian nation.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said "At the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta on 7 September 2023, the Prime Minister announced a decision to establish an Indian Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste."

"The decision is a reflection of the importance India attaches to ASEAN, and its relations with Timor-Leste," it said.

The Ministry said that the decision was warmly welcomed by Timor-Leste and ASEAN Members.

Timor-Leste joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2022 as an Observer, before becoming its full member.

On Thursday morning, Modi addressed the ASEAN-India summit in Jakarta, during which he said that the regional bloc is the centre point of India's Act East Policy.

Hewas welcomed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo on his arrival at the summit and prior to that, had also met members of the Indian diaspora.

The Prime Minister also attended the 18th East Asia Summit.

PM Modi announces to establish Indian Embassy in Timor-Leste

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Hope one day I become even half of you: Dulquer Salmaan wishes dad Mammootty on birthday

Mumbai, September 7

A s legendary actor Mammootty turned a year older today, wishes have been pouring in but he received a special wish from his son and actor Dulquer Salmaan. The 'Guns & Gulaabs' actor penned an emotional note for his father.

Taking to Instagram, Dulquer Salmaan shared adorable pictures to express his love for his father.

https//www.instagram.com/p/Cw4fJ3Ipkxf/?img_index=1

In one of the black-and-white pictures, the father-son duo is seen looking outside the window.

The other photo, shows the bond of Dulquer Salmaan with his dad.

Sharing the pictures, he penned a sweet note, "When I was a boy you were the man I wanted to become. When I first stood in front of the camera you were the actor I wanted to become. When I became a father you were everything I wanted to be. I hope one day I become even half of who you are Pa !Wishing you the happiest birthday. May you always continue to awe, entertain and inspire the world in ways only you can.#favouriteday #worldcelebratesmyhero #loveeverywhere #oneman #megastarbirthday #mydaddystrongest #fanboyfirst."

Not only Mammootty's family members but his industry friends further extended the warm birthday wishes.

Mohanlal took to his Twitter handle and posted, "Happy birthday, dear Ichakka!"

https//twitter.com/Mohanlal/status/1699664950669586790?

Prithviraj Sukumaran shared a portrait of Mammootty on his Instagram story and wrote, "Happy birthdayMammukka! Can't wait to see what you have in store for us this year!"

Rakul Preet Singh also wished the actor and her post read, "Happy birthday Sir. Wishing you a day filled with love, laughter and joy."

Dulquer was recently seen in the web series 'Guns & Gulaabs' alongside RajKummar Rao and Gulshan Devaiah.

Helmed by Raj & DK the series streamed on the OTT platform Netflix.Apart from that, his recent theatrical release was 'King of Kotha' which received decent responses from the audience.

He will be seen in the upcoming multi-lingual film 'Kaantha'.

Dulquer Salmaan will not only headline 'Kaantha' but will produce it in collaboration with 'Baahubali' star Rana Daggubati.

The film will be directed by Selvamani Selvaraj, whose debut feature 'Nila' won the audience award at the Cinequest San Jose Film Festival. Selvaraj's documentary series "The Hunt for Veerappan" is set to release on Netflix on August 4. The filmmaker also assisted Ang Lee in 'Life of Pi'.

'Kaantha' will be released in the Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil languages.

Hope one day I become even half of you: Dulquer Salmaan wishes dad Mammootty on birthday

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Jakarta, Sep 7

P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit here and unveiled the 12-point plan for strengthening cooperation between New Delhi and the regional bloc.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said he Prime Minister attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) on Thursday morning on his day-long visit to the Indonesian capital.

At the ASEAN-India Summit, Modi held extensive discussions with partners of the regional bloc on further strengthening of ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and charting its future course, the Ministry.

"The Prime Minister reaffirmed ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific and highlighted the synergies between India's Indo-Pacific Ocean's Initiative (IPOI) and ASEAN's Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). He also emphasized the need to complete the review of ASEAN-India FTA (AITIGA) in a time bound manner," it added.

Modi also presented the 12-point proposal for strengthening IndiaASEAN cooperation covering connectivity; digital transformation; trade and economic engagement; addressing contemporary challenges; people-to-people contacts; and deepening strategic engagement.

The Indian side announced that establishing multi-modal connectivity and economic corridor that links Southeast Asia-India-West Asia-Europe and also offered to share India's Digital Public Infrastructure Stack with ASEAN partners.

It also announced ASEAN-India fund for Digital Future focusing on cooperation in digital transformation and financial connectivity and announced renewal of support to Economic and Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) to act as knowledge partner for enhancing our engagement.

New Delhi also called for collectively raising issues being faced by Global South in multilateral fora and invited ASEAN countries to join Global Centre for Traditional Medicine being established by the WHO in India.

It also called for working together on Mission LiFE and also offered to share India's experience in providing affordable and quality medicines to people through Jan-Aushadhi Kendras.

The Indian side furthercalled for collective fight against "terrorism, terror financing and cyber-disinformation", invited ASEAN countries to join Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and called for cooperation in disaster management.

It also called for enhanced cooperation on maritime safety, security and domain awareness and two Joint Statements, one on Maritime Cooperation, and the other on Food Security were adopted.

While addressing the ASEAN Summit, the Prime Minister said "The 21st century is Asia's century. It is our century. For this, it is necessary to build a rule-based post-Covid world order and efforts by all for human welfare. The progress of free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the Voice of Global South is in the common interest of all.

"I believe that today's discussions will lead to new resolutions for strengthening the future of India and the ASEAN region."

He further said that today, even in an environment of "global uncertainties", there is continuous progress in every field in our mutual cooperation.

"This is a testament to the strength and resilience of our relationship. The theme of this year's ASEAN Summit is 'ASEAN Matters Epicentrum of Growth'. ASEAN matters because here everyone's voice is heard, and ASEAN is the epicenter of growth because the ASEAN region plays a crucial role in global development," he said.

"'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' - 'one earth, one family, one future', this sentiment is also the theme of India's G-20 Presidency."

At the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS), the Prime Minister reiterated the importance of EAS mechanism and reaffirmed our support to further strengthening it.

Prime Minister Modi underlined India's support for ASEAN centrality and called for ensuring a free, open and rules based Indo-Pacific and highlighted synergies of visions for Indo-Pacifi, and underscored that the bloc is the focal point of the Quad's vision.

Th Quad comprises India, the US, Japan and Australia.

Healso called for a cooperative approach to address global challenges including terrorism, climate change and resilient supply chains for essential items including food and medicines, and for energy security.

Modi further highlighted India's steps in the area of climate change and our initiatives such as ISA, CDRI, LiFE and OSOWOG.

The back-to-back ASEAN-India Summit and East Asia Summit are being organised by host Indonesia at India's request since New Delhi will host the G20 Summit over the weekend.

PM Modi unveils 12-point plan to strengthen ASEAN-India cooperation

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Jakarta, September 7

P rime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 18th East Asia Summit on further strengthening of ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening cooperation covering connectivity, digital transformation, trade and economic engagement.

PM Modi urged the summit to establish multi-modal connectivity and economic corridor that links South-East Asia-India-West Asia-Europe and Offered to share India's Digital Public Infrastructure Stack with ASEAN partners, according to the release from the Prime Minister's office.

PM Modi underscored the significance of digitalization and announced the ASEAN-India fund focusing on cooperation in digital transformation and financial connectivity.

In the 12-pointers, PM Modi called for working together on Mission LiFE and invited ASEAN countries to join the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine being established by WHO in India.

PM Modi recognised the need for actions in disaster management and called for enhanced cooperation on maritime safety, security and domain awareness.

He reiterated his call for a collective fight against terrorism, terror financing and cyber-disinformation.

At the 18th East Asia Summit, Prime reiterated the importance of EAS mechanism and reaffirmed our support to further strengthening it. Prime Minister underlined India's support for ASEAN centrality and called for ensuring a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific.

Prime Minister highlighted synergies of visions for Indo-Pacific between India and ASEAN and underscored that ASEAN is the focal point of Quad's vision.

The Prime Minister also called for a cooperative approach to address global challenges including terrorism, climate change and resilient supply chains for essential items including food and medicines, and for energy security. He highlighted India's steps in the area of climate change and our initiatives such as ISA, CDRI, LiFE and OSOWOG.

At the summit, the ASEAN leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues.

Indonesia is the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year.

East Asia Summit is the foremost of the ASEAN-centered mechanisms in the Indo-Pacific. Since its inception in 2005, it has played a significant role in providing a platform for dialogue and discussion on matters of strategic importance to the region.

The EAS is held annually by leaders of 18 countries of the Asia-Pacific region formed to further the objectives of regional peace, security and prosperity. The membership of EAS consists of 10 ASEAN Member States, Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation and the USA.

The first East Asia Summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on December 14, 2005.

On Thursday Prime Minister Modi attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit at the invitation of Indonesia's President Joko Widodo. The Prime Minister's visit to Indonesia comes ahead of the G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10 under India's Presidency this year.

Indonesia: PM Modi presents 12-point to strengthen ASEAN-India cooperation in connectivity, digital transformation

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India believes code of conduct for South China Sea should be effective, in accordance with UNCLOS: PM Modi

Jakarta, September 7

C alling for joint efforts to strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea should be effective and in accordance with UNCLOS.

In his remarks at the East Asia Summit on Thursday, the Prime Minister said that peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region is in the interest of all and the positive agenda of QUAD complements with the various mechanisms of ASEAN.

There has been international concern over China's increasing military assertiveness in the South China Sea.

"India believes that the Code of Conduct for South China Sea should be effective and in accordance with UNCLOS. Additionally, it should take into consideration the interests of countries that are not directly involved in the discussions," the Prime Minister said.

"Peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, is in the interest of us all. The need of the hour is such that an Indo-Pacific - where international law, including UNCLOS, is equally applicable to all countries; where there is freedom of navigation and overflight; and where there is unimpeded lawful commerce for the benefit of everyone," he added.

China had in 2016 rejected the award of the Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea in relation to its differences with the Philippines.

The Prime Minister said India fully supports 'ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific' and there is unison in the vision of India and ASEAN for the Indo-Pacific.

"This underscores the significance of the 'East Asia Summit' as a crucial platform for implementing the 'Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative'. ASEAN holds a central position in the vision of QUAD. The positive agenda of QUAD complements with the various mechanisms of ASEAN," he said.

PM Modi said the East Asia Summit is a very important platform and is the only leaders-led mechanism for dialogue and cooperation on strategic matters in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Additionally, it plays a pivotal role as the primary confidence-building mechanism in Asia. And the key to its success is ASEAN centrality," he said.

The Prime Minister said the present global landscape is surrounded by challenging circumstances and uncertainties.

Noting that terrorism, extremism, and geopolitical conflicts are big challenge, he said multilateralism and rules-based international order are essential in countering them.

The Prime Minister also reiterated his "today's era is not of war" remarks.

"It is imperative to adhere fully to international laws; And everyone's commitment and joint efforts are also necessary to strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. As I have said before - today's era is not of war. Dialogue and diplomacy is the only path to resolution," he said.

The Prime Minister said India's policy in Myanmar takes into account ASEAN's views.

"At the same time, as a neighbouring country, ensuring peace and security on the borders; And enhancing India-ASEAN connectivity is also our focus."

The Prime Minister said that challenges pertaining to climate change, cyber security, food security, health, and energy are particularly impacting the Global South.

"During our G20 presidency, we are focusing on these important issues related to the Global South," he said.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed India's commitment to the East Asia Summit process and assured support to Laos for its presidency.

During his "short but very productive visit to Jakarta, the Prime Minister participated in the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and 18th East Asia Summit.

India believes code of conduct for South China Sea should be effective, in accordance with UNCLOS: PM Modi

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Jakarta, September 7

I n their joint statement on Thursday, ASEAN-India leaders emphasised on promoting efforts for public food stockholding for food security programmes and exploring exports of foodgrains from public stocks on a government-to-government basis for humanitarian purposes in times of crises.

The member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and India came together on the occasion of the 20th ASEAN-India Summit on September 7, 2023, in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The leaders issued a joint statement on Thursday which emphasized on supporting ASEAN-India preparedness for long-term resilience and sustainability of the agrifood system. It further stressed on strengthening local and regional food value chains.

PM Modi reached the ASEAN-India Summit at the Jakarta Convention Centre on Thursday and was welcomed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the centre.

The statement said that to support ASEAN-India for the sustainability of the agrifood system, it would need cooperation to develop local food sources diversification and optimise the utilisation of available resources for food production, especially for small-scale farmers, fishers, and micro, small and medium enterprises .

"Promote efforts for public food stockholding, where relevant, for food security programmes and explore exports of food grains from public stocks on a government-to-government basis for humanitarian purposes in times of crises," the statement added.

The statement further highlighted the need to encourage financing climate-friendly technologies, in partnership with Multilateral Development Banks and development finance institutions on ASEAN-India mutually agreed terms.

The statement stressed on "adopting a climate-smart approach based on agricultural system models for sustainable agricultural production."

It also stressed on exploring exchanging best practices on social protection and strengthening infrastructure for small and marginal farmers, women and youth.

Moreover, the joint leaders' statement highlighted the need to make use of growing economic opportunities to promote inclusive agriculture value chains, and food systems to enhance the resilience and efficiency of the chains.

"Promote the use of digital technologies in supporting the transformation of agriculture, including exploring the interoperability of relevant digital public infrastructure," the statement said.

The statement further urged to promote the adoption of organic farming to protect the quality of soil, its productivity and ecological sustainability.

The relevant sectoral bodies of ASEAN-India were asked to follow up and implement the joint statement in order to ensure regional food security food availability and rapid response in times of crisis.

Earlier, before leaving for Indonesia on Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi said in a statement that he is looking forward to exchanging views with other leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address the global challenges.

He also termed the engagement with the ASEAN group as an important pillar of India's 'Act East Policy'.

A joint committee agreed to a regular, quarterly schedule of negotiations, which would conclude the review of the ASEAN-India FTA in 2025.

PM Modi will return to New Delhi on Thursday evening ahead of the G20 Summit, which will be held on September 9 and 10.

ASEAN-India joint statement stresses on promoting public food stockholding for food security programmes

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Mizoram emerges as an island of peace, provides shelter to hapless people: CM Zoramthanga

Aizawl, Sep 7

M izoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Thursday said that amidst turmoil in certain parts of the northeast region and around it, his state emerged as an island of peace.

Addressing the General Conference of the Mizo Students' Union (MSU) here on Thursday ,he said that Mizoram has provided relief and shelter to those who have fled their homes in trouble-torn Myanmar, Bangladesh, as well as the neighbouring state of Manipur.

"The distressed people from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Manipur took shelter in the state and are now living peacefully with happiness. Mizo society is offering their all out support to those who sought the refugee in the state," said Zoramthanga, who is also the President of the ruling Mizo National Front.

The underground leader turned politician said that it is difficult to describe the comfort he and other erstwhile MNF leaders and cadres felt when they fled to the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), where according to him, they could live peacefully during the time of the conflict.

"Mizoram is now one of the most peaceful states in the world," the Chief Minister said.

After the signing of the Peace Accord, the Memorandum of Settlement in 1986, which ended two decades of strife and insurgency, the mountainous Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on February 20, 1987. After coming to overground in 1986, the MNF was converted into a political party and is now a recognised state party.

He said that the insurgency ridden neighbouring states often gave examples of lasting peace in Mizoram and sought the assistance to establish peace in their states. Around 35,000 Myanmar nationals, including children and women, have taken shelter in Mizoram since February 2021 after the Myanmar military, following a coup, took over the governance there.

Over 1,000 tribals have also taken shelter in Mizoram after they fled from their native villages in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts after an armed conflict started in mid-November last year between the Bangladesh Army and the Kuki-Chin National Army (KNA), also known as Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF). The KNA is an underground militant outfit demanding sovereignty for the Chin-Kukis residing in Rangamati and Bandarban districts of CHT to protect the tribal people's tradition, culture and livelihood.

Around 13,000 internally-displaced people from ethnic violence-hit Manipur also took shelter in Mizoram.

Mizoram emerges as an island of peace, provides shelter to hapless people: CM Zoramthanga

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Sharon Isbin has won multiple Grammy Awards, has been inducted into the Guitar Foundation of America Hall of Fame and has received an Artistic Achievement Award. She also frequently performs at Ellnora: The Guitar Festival.
By improving hospital care pathways, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center successfully reduced inpatient opioid use by 50% after pancreatic cancer surgery and cut the median opioid prescription volumes at discharge to zero. This approach, described in a study published today in JAMA Surgery, could help reduce the risk of long-term opioid dependence in patients.

In this cohort study, which involved 832 patients undergoing pancreatic resection surgery, the researchers investigated how making incremental modifications to post-surgery procedures affected the amounts of opioids used by inpatients and at the point of discharge. In less than four years, the total inpatient oral morphine equivalents (OME) decreased from a median of 290 mg to 129 mg, while OME at discharge decreased from a median of 150 mg to 0 mg. Over 75% of patients were discharged with  50 mg OME, which is fewer than 10 pills.

Patients not regularly taking opioids are at risk of developing a new dependence after surgery, and excess pills also create a risk of misuse by family members or others in their community. Pancreatic cancer surgery can be a painful operation with a difficult recovery. This study shows that, even in this setting, easy-to-implement strategies can achieve effective pain control for our patients without putting them at risk for opioid dependence." Ching-Wei Tzeng, M.D., senior author, associate professor of surgical oncology

Opioids are potent pain-relieving medications often prescribed after major surgeries to manage post-operative pain. Pancreatic cancer surgery is considered one of the most complex abdominal operations a patient might undergo because it affects multiple organs simultaneously, which results in an expected level of pain during the early recovery period.

However, the use of opioids can be reduced by using nerve block procedures, non-opioid medications -; such as muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatories -; and early patient mobilization. These low-risk, low-cost maneuvers often are not used because opioids are easy to prescribe. However, opioid misuse and addiction have become serious public health issues, and medical professionals are increasingly mindful of their prescribing practices.

The study included three consecutive cohorts, each with iterative revisions to post-surgical clinical pathways, from 2018 to 2022. After establishing a baseline and reducing length of stay, the team updated patient-provider education handouts, limited intravenous opioids, suggested a three-drug non-opioid bundle, and implemented a "5x-multiplier" (equal to OME over the last 24 hours multiplied by 5) to calculate an appropriate amount of opioids to prescribe at discharge.

Median pain scores remained 3 out of 10 in all cohorts, with no differences in post-discharge refill requests. Most patients did not require opioid refills after discharge, and there were no differences between cohorts. A subgroup analysis separating open and minimally invasive cases showed similar results in both groups.

Trial participants underwent 541 pancreatoduodenectomies, 285 distal pancreatectomies and six other pancreatectomies. The median age was 65 years and 611 patients were white, 90 were Hispanic, 58 were Asian, 56 were Black and 17 were other.

"Our enhanced recovery program, which includes generalizable protocols to reduce reliance on opioid medications, is the first to demonstrate continuous decreases in opioid use and distribution after pancreatic surgery," Tzeng said. "By making purposeful, successive improvements to existing processes, we showed that we can reduce the amount of opioids patients need after a major surgery while ensuring they recover well without any extra costs."

Tzeng is supported in part by The University Cancer Foundation, Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment via a Cancer Survivorship Research Seed Money Grant at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and an Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Fellowship.
Viral severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) initiated the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. The pandemic caused in excess of 6 million deaths and even more hospitalizations.

While vaccines were rolled out within a year, the emergence of new variants led to the evasion of natural and vaccine-induced immunity in some cases.

The BA.2.86 variant was recently identified, a subvariant of the virus's Omicron variant of concern (VOC).

A new preprint posted to the bioRxiv server discusses whether this variant shows neutralization escape.

Study: Neutralization Escape by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Subvariant BA.2.86. Image Credit: joshimerbin/Shutterstock.com

*Important notice: bioRxiv 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.

Introduction

The Omicron BA.2.86 subvariant is highly mutated from the Omicron variant, with over 30 mutations from the ancestral or wild-type virus.

Compared to the earlier BA.2 and XBB.1.5 subvariants of Omicron, BA.2.86 shows more than 30 mutations in the spike protein responsible for target cell attachment and most of the primary antibody response to the virus.

BA.2.86 has now been documented in ten countries, though the low level of ongoing surveillance makes this almost certainly an underestimate.

A prime concern of public health experts was whether this subvariant escapes neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) elicited by other Omicron variants now in circulation.

Few studies have been carried out in this area. However, the current study examined individuals immunized with the COVID-19 bivalent booster in late 2022, comparing their NAb response with 22 non-boosted individuals.

Most participants had received a median of three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and had a history of one COVID-19 bout, at least.

What did the study show?

At baseline, NAb titers against the wildtype or Wuhan variant were 16,000, vs. 1,600 and 300 against the BA.2 and BA.2.86, respectively. As expected, neutralization was highest against the Wuhan variant.

In the boosted cohort, the findings showed increased NAb response at three weeks. NAb titers against the Wuhan variant rose to 23,200 at week three after the booster dose. For BA.2, the titer rose to 4,800 at this point, while for BA.2.86, it was only 355.

NAb titers dropped to baseline at six months in those who did not contract XBB infection during this time; for instance, NAbs against BA.2 increased slightly to a median of 2,600 after the booster from the baseline of 1,600.

For BA.2.86, the median baseline NAb response was 300, and at six months from the booster dose, it was 200.

It was observed that neutralizing antibody responses to BA.2.86 were lower by 5-13-fold compared to BA.2. However, the titers were equivalent to or somewhat greater than those elicited by other Omicron variants in circulation, including XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, EG.5, EG.5.1, and FL.1.5.1.

The mean baseline titers against these variants ranged from 65-160 and from 100-500 at six months.

The six-month-old NAb titers in the boosted cohort were comparable with those in the unboosted cohort.

In the boosted vs. unboosted cohort, the durability of the NAb response was tested at a mean of 480 days vs 180 days from the last vaccine dose. Thus, the bivalent booster does not produce durable protection.

Conversely, NAb titers rose if the boosted individual was infected during the XBB.1-predominant period. Half of the participants in either cohort were infected, with seven unboosted participants reporting two infections.

The six-month median NAb titer against BA.2 was 4,400 in the unboosted cohort and 1,000 against BA.2.86, against the baseline of 1,600 and 300, respectively.

The mean duration from the last infection to the sampling date for the durability of the antibody response was ~250 days, vs. 283 days in the boosted cohort.

What are the implications?

The authors suggest that BA.2.86 is a direct descendant of BA.2, which is relatively less resistant to neutralization than the XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, EG.5, EG.5.1, and FL.1.5.1 variants are recombinants.

This may have led to their relative dominance since they may have been positively selected because they escape neutralization by antibodies elicited by infection with XBB variants. In contrast, XB1.6 is a recombinant of BA.2 and Delta but has less resistance than XBB.1.5.

SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve, and newer variants may exhibit increased neutralization escape capabilities against natural and vaccine-induced antibodies.

As such, the authors say, it would be necessary to keep an eye on BA.2.86 as it spreads and evolves.

*Important notice: bioRxiv 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.
A recent npj Science of Learning study used regression models to estimate the relationship between parental mental disorders and child school performance, adjusting for genetic and social confounders.

Study: The association between parental internalizing disorders and child school performance. Image Credit: DraganaGordic/Shutterstock.com

Background

Parents arguably play the most important role in children's lives, especially during their formative years. Despite the high prevalence of anxiety and depression, little is known about how these parental disorders correlate with child school performance in Norway. Most existing studies suffer from a confounding issues problem.

Existing studies in this literature fall under two broad themes. One area focuses on severe mental disorders like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This area shows that parental mental disorders negatively affect children's school performance and are associated with a greater probability of dropping out of compulsory education.

A second area of research explores maternal depression and its effects on child outcomes.

Overall, papers in this area show that self-reported maternal depression predicted lower school performance. Although correlation has been well established, whether parental mental disorders have a causal effect on child school performance is yet to be ascertained.

About the study

To address the aforementioned gap in the literature, the current study investigated the association between child school performance and parental mental disorders. Population-wide diagnostic data with a genetically informed design was used for this study.

There were three main goals of this study. The first was to detect the fraction of children with a parent diagnosed with internalizing disorder (anxiety and depression). Second, to test the strength of the relationship pre and post-adjusting for known observed confounders.

Third, to additionally adjust for unobserved time-constant confounders, including genetic influences, using data from adoptees and siblings.

The population sample was based on the population register of Norway. Children born between 1992 and 2002, participating in compulsory education, and aged between 15 and 17 years were considered.

Further, the children needed at least one known parent to be included in this study. The standardized grade point average (GPA) at the end of compulsory education was considered to be a proxy for school performance. Associations were also considered in samples of differentially affected siblings and adoptees.

Key findings

18.8% of children had a parent with an internalizing disorder diagnosis in the last three years of primary education. The average annual prevalence for any parental mental disorder was 14.4%. This included mental health disorders in either the mother, the father, or both.

The results documented here are consistent with prior studies in that parental internalization is strongly associated with school performance. However, the association was significantly weaker when comparing siblings who were not exposed to mental disorders in parents equally.

The association disappeared on considering adopted children. The confounding adjustments were consistent with a causal effect of parental mental disorders on child school performance. It is unclear whether the effects are large enough with regard to the intergenerational transfer of social disadvantage.

Previous research has conjectured that the relationship between parental mental illness and child school performance is affected by genetic confounding. In this study, similar associations have been documented after adjusting for genetic confounders. However, in the adoptee analysis, no statistically significant association was found.

The sibling model reveals a weaker association when the child experiences parental mental disorders in lower secondary school (aged 1416).

This effect is absent in children aged 1113 years. It must be noted that parental internalizing disorders are pervasive, which means even a small initial effect can have lasting consequences.

Strengths and limitations

This study has several notable strengths, including controlling for a range of potential sources of confounding, such as parental income and education levels.

To remove the genetic pathway between parental disorders and offspring educational success, only foreign-born adoptee children were included.

The sibling model has some limitations. The mental illness would have usually started long before the diagnosis. Both depression and anxiety are persistent phenomena where cyclical patterns and relapse are normal.

Highly persistent and frequent parental mental disorders are less likely to affect different siblings differently. In light of this, the sibling model should be interpreted as a lower bound of an acute effect.

Further, it could not be assessed whether the internalizing disorder was remitted. It was assumed that a year without a diagnosis indicates no disease/remission, which could lead to the false classification of parents experiencing mental illness but not seeking medical help.

Lastly, reverse causality could not be ruled out, where child school performance led to parental internalizing disorder.
The Life Science division of Meridian Bioscience, Inc., a leading global provider of diagnostic testing solutions and life science raw materials, announced today the launch of two new immunoassay interference blockers, K-Block, and Mouse-Free IgG.

These innovative blockers are 100% animal-free and have equivalent or superior performance compared to traditional animal-derived blockers. This product launch aligns with Meridians strategy to pioneer sustainable and innovative raw materials for diagnostic assay manufacturers. By adopting these animal-free products, manufacturers can actively contribute to reducing their ecological impact by optimizing energy and resource consumption and staying compliant with evolving regulatory standards. Meridian continues to lead the way in promoting environmental responsibility within the industry.

Immunoassay interference can cause false positive and false negative test results, leading to misinterpretation and improper patient diagnosis. The most common causes of interference are due to Human Anti-Mouse Antibodies (HAMA), Rheumatoid Factor (RF), and Heterophilic Antibodies (HA). HAMA are the most prevalent and are identified in up to 25% of the patient population. Combined with HA, they represent the most significant factors leading to false positive immunoassay results. Avoiding immunoassay interference requires blockers to be included in every immunoassay. Historically, animal-based interference blockers have been used to improve assay accuracy; however, they are susceptible to cross-reactivity with assay reagents, lot-to-lot variability, and supply shortages  as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meridians new animal-free immunoassay interference blockers mitigate those concerns.

Meridians new K-Block and Mouse-Free IgG overcome the challenges encountered with traditional animal-based blockers. These next-generation blockers improve assay specificity, decrease lot-to-lot variability, align with sustainability considerations, and alleviate contamination risks from animal-derived components. Initial experimental testing in ELISA-based assays demonstrated strong performance of K-Block and Mouse-FREE IgG versus other commercial animal-derived blockers.

At Meridian, we are deeply committed to supporting our customers who are seeking non-animal-derived raw materials in diagnostic assays. Our novel 100% animal-free blockers deliver on this commitment while avoiding the need to consume millions of mice each year in the process. This innovative method not only allows us to scale up quickly but also delivers results that are equivalent or even superior in quality. With this new product line, we reaffirm our dedication to environmental sustainability and social responsibility, ensuring a more ethical and responsible approach in our operations as well as our customers Lourdes Weltzien, Ph.D., President  Life Science, Meridian Bioscience

For more information on K-Block or Mouse Free-IgG, please visit www.meridianbioscience.com/animal-free-blockers.

You can learn more about animal-free blockers at the Meridian Bioscience exhibit booth (4039) during this years AACC conference held in July in Anaheim, California. Request a one-on-one meeting with a Meridian representative www.meridianbioscience.com/2023-aacc-meeting.

About Meridian Bioscience, Inc.

Meridian is a fully integrated life science company that develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes a broad range of innovative diagnostic and life science products. We are dedicated to developing and delivering better solutions that give answers with speed, accuracy, and simplicity that are redefining the possibilities of life from discovery to diagnosis. Through discovery and development, we provide critical life science raw materials used in immunological and molecular tests for human, animal, plant, and environmental applications. Through diagnosis, we provide diagnostic solutions in areas including gastrointestinal and upper respiratory infections and blood lead level testing. We build relationships and provide solutions to hospitals, reference laboratories, research centers, veterinary testing centers, physician offices, diagnostics manufacturers, and biotech companies in more than 70 countries around the world. Meridian is a privately held company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Meridians website address is www.meridianbioscience.com.
Since the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline transitioned a year ago to the three-digit crisis phone number 988, there has been a 33% increase in the number of calls, chats, and texts to the hotline.

But even with that early sign of success, the program's financial future is shaky.

Over the past two years, the federal government has provided about $1 billion from the American Rescue Plan and Bipartisan Safer Communities acts to launch the number, designed as an alternative to 911 for those experiencing a mental health crisis. After that infusion runs out, it's up to states to foot the bill for their call centers.

"We don't know what Congress will allocate in the future," said Danielle Bennett, a spokesperson for the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which oversees 988. "But the hope is that there will be continued strong bipartisan support for funding 988 at the level it needs to be funded at and that states will also create funding mechanisms that make sense for their states."

Only eight states have enacted legislation to sustain 988 through phone fees, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, which is tracking state funding for the system. Others have budgeted short-term funding. But many predominantly rural states, where mental health services are in short supply and suicide rates are often higher than in more urban states, have not made long-term plans to provide support.

According to a KFF analysis of Lifeline data, since last summer 988 has received almost 5 million contacts, including calls, texts, and chat messages. And state programs managed to answer a high percentage of 988 calls instead of routing them to call centers elsewhere.

Mental health advocates and state 988 operators say that to keep those in-state staffers answering phones, promises of long-term funding are critical.

In the earlier version of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, "call centers, basically, were not paid," said Chuck Ingoglia, president and CEO of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, which advocates for sustained investment in 988. "There is a growing recognition that we're making it easier for people to contact and, therefore, we need to build more infrastructure."

In Ohio, where data from spring 2023 shows local operators responded to 88% of calls, lawmakers recently acknowledged the need for stable funding. In July, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine approved $46.5 million for 988 in the state's biennial budget. But that support will last only two years.

"It is still not the most secure form of funding that we would hope for, said Brian Stroh, CEO and medical director of Netcare Access, a call center that serves four rural counties on Ohio's eastern border. "What if we turned the tables a little bit and said we're only going to fund 911 a little bit at a time? That's a really hard proposition to work under."

SAMHSA, which distributes 988 grant funding, likens the number to 911 except that it is strictly for mental health crises. The law that mandated 988's creation, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, allows states to install phone surcharges to support 988 indefinitely, similar to the funding structure for 911.

Stroh said that, while he is "pretty pleased" with how the first year of 988 went for Netcare Access, with short-term funding it's hard to reassure prospective call operators of job security or compete with rising wages in other industries.

For Kristin McCloud, executive director of Pathways of Central Ohio, a call center that also responds to rural counties in the eastern part of the state, the $573,056 her center received in 988's first year was exactly what it needed. She had money for training staffers to answer crisis calls and supplying them with computers for remote work.

During that time, operators answered 2,316 calls  almost double the previous year's volume.

"I really feel like, for once, we were given adequate funding," said McCloud, who has worked in social services more than 35 years.

According to SAMHSA, before 988 grants, most call centers received minimal federal funding to answer Lifeline calls, typically between $2,500 and $5,000 annually.

Like Stroh, McCloud views Ohio's recent allocation as positive but hopes the state installs a permanent funding plan. A bill pending in the legislature would add a surcharge to phone bills to help fund 988, as a few other states have done.

All but one of the eastern counties that Pathways of Central Ohio and Netcare Access serve are designated by the state's Department of Health Primary Care Office as mental health professional shortage areas.

In North Dakota, where almost every county is rural and has such a designation, a single call center manages the state's 988 program.

That center, FirstLink, has seen a significant increase in mental health crisis calls since the transition to 988. Comparing the first six months of 2023 to the first of 2022 alone, calls have increased 55%, according to Jeremy Brown, outreach director.

The demand has "helped us with sparking conversations with our state legislature about funding and support," he said.

In May, Republican Gov. Doug Burgum approved a one-time $1.86 million appropriation to 988 in the state's biennial budget.

Brown said the funding will not only allow FirstLink to train staff members and keep phone lines updated, but it will also help human service centers support mobile crisis units that can be dispatched to callers if necessary.

Though mobile crisis unit dispatch is an option, FirstLink prefers to deescalate crises over the phone, said Dallas Tufty, one of FirstLink's operators.

"The only time that we'll really call for rescue or something is if that person is in immediate, imminent danger of their life," they said.

Tufty works 40 hours a week at FirstLink, at least six of those spent answering calls and messages to 988. Operators like Tufty also answer FirstLink's 211 line, another program that provides health and social service assistance information to callers. It's not an emergency line, but on occasion people in crisis call there instead of 988.

No matter which line a call comes through, Tufty said, the hard part is not knowing what happens once the call is over.

"Theres times where you dont really know if theyre going to call back because they need to again," they said. "Even if you make a plan, theres only so much we can do on the phone to hold people to those plans."

While North Dakota and Ohio fund 988 through their state budgets, not all states do. In Montana, Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte recently dedicated $300 million to the behavioral health and developmental disabilities systems that, among other uses, can fund " opportunities for Montanans to receive integrated physical and behavioral health care," according to the bill authorizing the money. But the state has yet to address 988 funding specifically.

In 2021, Montana lawmakers declined to advance a bill that would have established a phone fee and corresponding revenue account to fund 988 ahead of its launch.

At this point, "if it is able to be funded in the budget, without new legislation, thats just fine with us," said Matt Kuntz, executive director of Montana's chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. "We just want to make sure that its sustainably funded, because it is an important service."
The Enterprise Fire Department Tuesday was presented with the Main Street Hero award for the departments response to the Oct. 16 fire that impacted five businesses and one residential structure.

Main Street Enterprise presented the award to members of the Enterprise Fire Department during the City Council meeting. The award was previously announced at the 2023 Main Street Alabama LAB Conference in South Huntsville last month.

The Main Street Hero award recognizes a community leader, public figure, or an organization who has made an outstanding contribution to a local Main Street Program in the last year.

As part of the nomination submission, EFD was recognized for its efforts to put out the fire before it spread further along Main Street. The nomination read, in part, If you ask Enterprise Fire Department Chief Christopher Davis, he will tell you very matter of fact that his firefighters were just doing their job. But, to the downtown business owners and community, the Enterprise Fire Department saved downtown from what could have been a much worse situation.

At the request of Enterprise City Council, Davis spoke with business owners about fire safety, community risk reduction, and fire prevention. EFD continues to work with downtown business owners to create fire safety plans, to include insight and guidance on smoke alarms and notification systems.

EFD provides free, working smoke alarms to all city residents as part of the departments goal for every home within city limits to have a least one.
Organon (NYSE: OGN), a global healthcare company with a focus on womens health, today announced the appointment of Juan Camilo Arjona Ferreira, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Charlotte Owens, M.D., as Head of Medical Affairs and Outcomes Research, strengthening the companys global clinical and medical capabilities, advancing external relationships and fueling efforts to bring forward innovations to solve unmet health needs. Both positions report directly to Sandra Milligan, M.D., J.D., Head of Research and Development.

Dr. Arjona Ferreira brings over two decades of clinical research and development experience and a strong background in womens health. Most recently, he was CMO of Myovant Sciences Inc., and has previously held leadership roles in womens health and other therapeutic areas at Shionogi and Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada. Earlier in his career, Dr. Arjona Ferreira practiced as an OB-GYN in university hospitals and private practice.

As the companys CMO, Dr. Arjona Ferreira will be responsible for leading Organons Global Clinical Development, Clinical Trial Operations, Global Biostatistics, and Global Pharmacovigilance and Safety Science teams. He will lead strategy and execution across the companys clinical development programs, support strong clinical engagement with regulatory authorities, and build and extend the companys external stakeholder network around the globe.

Im thrilled to be joining the passionate Organon team at such a pivotal time as were building and advancing an industry-leading pipeline with both early and late-stage assets. I look forward to collaborating with our incredible network of partners and colleagues worldwide to maximize the potential of our innovations. Dr. Arjona Ferreira, CMO, Organon

Dr. Owens joins Organon with over a decade of experience in the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, in addition to over 20 years practicing as an OB-GYN. Most recently, Dr. Owens served as Vice President and Head of the Center for Health Equity & Patient Affairs at Takeda. Prior to joining Takeda, Dr. Owens served as a leader in clinical development and medical affairs at AbbVie, Kimberly Clark, and Johnson & Johnson. In those roles, she oversaw the direction, planning, execution, and interpretation of clinical trials to deliver high-quality clinical data, with a focus on womens health, as well as the therapeutic areas scientific communications and educational efforts.

In this role, Dr. Owens will lead medical strategy as well as support of marketed and pipeline products around the globe, including health economics and outcomes research. She will develop and foster relationships with external organizations and experts to help ensure that Organons products continue to meet market needs, yield desired outcomes, and enhance the organizations reputation with providers, payers and patients.

Throughout my career, I have focused on addressing health inequities and creating a more inclusive health ecosystem. Its an exciting and critical time to join this purpose-driven company that is leading the way in bridging gaps in womens health  an area where attention, innovation and investment is so badly needed, Dr. Owens shared.

Added Dr. Milligan, Im confident Dr. Arjona Ferreira and Dr. Owens will help us drive forward our mission of delivering impactful medicines and solutions for a healthier every day for every woman. With their deep expertise and strong relationships across the global healthcare community, Im thrilled to have them both on board as we pursue our goal of accelerating innovation, improving access and expanding choice to help address therapeutic gaps around the world.

About Organon

Organon is a global healthcare company formed to focus on improving the health of women throughout their lives. Organon offers more than 60 medicines and products in womens health in addition to a growing biosimilars business and a large franchise of established medicines across a range of therapeutic areas. Organons existing products produce strong cash flows that support investments in innovation and future growth opportunities in womens health and biosimilars. In addition, Organon is pursuing opportunities to collaborate with biopharmaceutical innovators looking to commercialize their products by leveraging its scale and presence in fast growing international markets.

Organon has a global footprint with significant scale and geographic reach, world-class commercial capabilities, and approximately 10,000 employees with headquarters located in Jersey City, New Jersey.

For more information, visit http://www.organon.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Some statements and disclosures in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts and can be identified by the use of words such as goals, "may," expects, intends, anticipates, plans, believes, seeks, estimates, will, or words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding the expected benefits of the employment of Dr. Arjona Ferreira and Dr. Owens, as well as Organons expectations regarding its clinical and medical capabilities, external stakeholder relationships, and business development efforts. Such statements are based on Organons current plans and expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause its plans and expectations, including actual results, to differ materially from the forward-looking statements.

Organon undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Organons filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including Organons Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and subsequent SEC filings, available at the SECs Internet site (www.sec.gov).
It came as a surprise to Professor David Lo and his graduate student Diana Del Castillo when they were recently consulted by researchers in Israel for their expertise on specialized cells called Microfold cells, or M cells, which are mostly known for their presence in the intestinal epithelium. The Israeli group had identified similar cells in the thymus, an organ located just above the heart that makes lymphocytes -; white blood cells that play an important role in the immune system and protect the body against infection.

Lo, a distinguished professor of biomedical sciences in the UC Riverside School of Medicine, and Del Castillo, who are co-authors on the research paper published in Nature, confirmed the newly discovered cells in the thymus are just like M cells. Acting like gatekeepers, M cells are specialized antigen-delivery cells for the immune system in organs like the intestine and lung. They play a key role during the development of the body's immune system.

The researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, led by Jakub Abramson, initiated the mouse study on the thymic epithelium before contacting Lo, whose research interests include understanding how M cells in the gut and airways work to build our immune system.

I have been working on these cells for several years, so when the Israeli team contacted me, I was intrigued. I learned this group had been doing studies on the cellular architecture of stromal cells -; cells that make up certain types of connective tissue -; in the thymus and, using a new advanced method, had discovered a population of cells much like the M cells we see in the gut and airways. In my own research, I had simply never thought to look for M cells in the thymus." Professor David Lo, University of California, Riverside

Fortuitously for the Israeli scientists, Del Castillo, under Lo's guidance, had been studying mucosal tissues -; tissues that line some of the body's canals and organs -; in mice in the lab and was able to answer several questions, such as where in the thymus the newly discovered cells are located and what they are doing there.

"These particular M cells are limited to a specific region in the thymus and have unique associations with different cell types and functions," Del Castillo said. "Questions these cells have already prompted include how similar are they to M cells elsewhere in the body and what is different about where they have been found."

Lo explained that for many years the thymus has been a tissue of interest to immunologists because most of the immune system's development is centered and dependent on the thymus.

"It's still an ongoing deep puzzle that continues to attract interest," he said. "The thymus offers clues to how the immune system got its start. This complicated organ, with so many different stromal cell types and interactions, is responsible for producing lymphocytes that protect us from infection."

According to Lo, the newly discovered M cells are extremely similar to the M cells seen in the gut and airways.

"But the thymic M cells have different developmental origins, which is an interesting puzzle in itself," he said. "After they develop, they look very much like the ones we have been studying in the gut. As we know, M cells capture viruses and bugs that enter the airways and hand them off to the immune system, which then responds to the infectious agents. Are the M cells doing the same thing in the thymus in terms of organization and function? That's what we would like to know."

Del Castillo, who is working toward her doctoral degree in biomedical sciences, used genetically engineered mice to tackle the questions from the Israeli researchers.

"We found the new cells were scattered in the medullary region of the thymus," she said. "This has interesting implications in terms of the role and compartmentalization of the thymus, such as how these cells may function to regulate lymphocyte training within this organ."

Lo and Del Castillo were surprised to find that many steps involved in shaping an immune response in various parts of the body seem to be echoed in the thymus.

"It is fascinating to see that many of these early cell interactions and development we have studied closely in the peripheral immune system take place in the thymus," Lo said. "We had not anticipated to see these interactions here. It's like watching a short video in the thymus about what is happening big-scale out in the periphery."

The thymus also ensures that lymphocytes do not accidentally attack our own tissues; the thymic medulla is where these decisions are made, the UCR scientists said.

"The newly discovered M cells are part of this decision-making process," Del Castillo said. "The production of antibodies in the peripheral immune system to fight off infectious organisms involves several steps and many cells interacting with each other. What is fascinating is that some of these interactions are recapitulated in the early stages of the development of the thymic M cells."

According to Lo, the thymic M cells could be seen as being trained to function later, when needed, in the periphery in such a way that they are ready to communicate and interact with other cells.

"The thymus is complicated because it creates a whole functional immune system and repertoire, and we know many component parts play a role in its performance," he said. "We didn't expect M cells to even show up in the thymus. This is, therefore, a satisfying discovery because it is so clearly connected to similar processes happening in the gut and airways, which is where 60-70% of our infectious agents enter our bodies."
Australia's biggest master-planned community could soon become one of our healthiest.

Springfield city, southwest of Brisbane, has provided a unique opportunity for The University of Queensland to study health and wellbeing at a community level.

In an Australian-first project, Springfield City Group has joined forces with UQ to drive local research, co-funding a Professor at the new Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing.

Centre Director and Chair of Community Health and Wellbeing, Professor Lauren Ball said Springfield was an ideal location to test the effectiveness of community-level preventative health and wellbeing initiatives over time.

"Springfield is a young community  much younger than the national average  and we'll work with them to design and test health and wellbeing initiatives to live and age well," Professor Ball said.

"By collaborating with residents and workers to deliver programs that genuinely support their health and wellbeing needs, we can support their long-term health outcomes and potentially reduce future demand on the healthcare system.

"With such a vibrant, multicultural community, we know there is huge potential for positive impact through research on mental health, healthy eating, physical activity, domestic violence, school transitions, childhood health, cancer survivorship, plus so much more."

Springfield city is made up of many young families, with a mean age of 32 years.

Springfield City Group Chairman Maha Sinnathamby AM said the collaboration with UQ would provide a unique offering to residents of Australia's fastest-growing region.

"When we devised this master-planned city, we created it with health, education and innovation at the forefront of all of our decisions," Mr Sinnathamby said.

"This Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing takes this commitment to a new level, combining with some of the brightest medical research minds at one of the world's best universities.

"This is a genuine partnership between cutting-edge research and our community, understanding each other and developing health outcomes that will improve lives."

Springfield city is home to 55,000 residents across 2,860 hectares including 30 per cent green space. The city celebrated its 30th birthday last year.

UQ Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry said community-led research could help local residents to live and age well, and shape healthcare services in other growing communities.

"This gives residents the opportunity to help direct research to address healthcare challenges that matter to them and tailor local services to their needs," Professor Terry said.

"Community-led research is the future of world-class health research in Australia."

The Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing is already on the ground in Springfield city, actively engaging residents in the following projects:

Working with cancer survivors as they transition back into their community following hospital treatment;

Understanding the benefits of a "third space" in health and wellbeing away from home and work;

Teaching cooking skills to residents, not only for healthy living but to create the possibility of microbusinesses based on those cooking skills.

Feedback from the community will inform the focus of research, so local healthcare services and programs can be tailored to local needs and preferences.

Findings from the research will be translated to communities across Queensland and other states.

The Centre for Community Health and Wellbeing was officially launched at Springfield City Group's 6th Annual Medical Practitioners' Networking Event, bringing together medical professionals working across the Springfield city region.

The Centre is part of UQ's School of Human Movement and Nutrition Science and the School of Public Health.
At a meeting with Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Financial Services, Munich, Germany, Veronika Bienert (left), Mr Yau (centre) gives her an update on Hong Kongs initiatives regarding attracting enterprises and investments.

While addressing attendees at the Munich conference, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau calls on German businesses to grasp the opportunities to establish their presence in Hong Kong.

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau promoted the vast business opportunities brought about by the Greater Bay Area development at a conference in Munich, Germany, on September 6.

More than 400 participants were drawn to the Greater Bay Area & Europe Economic & Trade Co-operation Conference that comprised a themed forum and a business matchmaking session.

The event was jointly organised by the Guangdong Department of Commerce, Invest Hong Kong of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Macao Trade & Investment Promotion Institute.

While addressing those gathered at the conference, Mr Yau pointed out that the bay area, which has a population of over 86 million and contributed around US$2 trillion to the national Gross Domestic Product in 2022, is one of the most open and economically vibrant regions of China and demonstrates enormous development potential.

Mr Yau said: Hong Kong has the distinctive and prominent advantages of enjoying strong support of the motherland and being closely connected to the world.

Being the most open international city in the bay area, Hong Kong will serve as one of the core engines to drive co-ordinated regional economic growth of the bay area.

He added that Hong Kong is committed to deepening co-operation with Guangdong and Macau under the principles of complementarity and mutual benefits, and contributing its strengths in different areas to the bay areas overall development.

The commerce chief called on German businesses to grasp the opportunities to establish their presence in Hong Kong and capitalise on the opportunities brought about by the bay area development.

After attending the conference, Mr Yau took the opportunity to meet State Secretary of the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development & Energy Roland Weigert, one of the key speakers at the conference.

He updated the German official on Hong Kongs latest developments and exchanged views with him on various economic issues.

Separately, Mr Yau promoted Hong Kongs business opportunities and potential to the German business community.

Apart from having a lunch meeting with members of the German Chamber of Commerce & Industry for Munich & Upper Bavaria, Mr Yau also met Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Financial Services, Munich, Germany, Veronika Bienert.

Additionally, upon his arrival in Munich on September 5, he met Chinaforum Bayern Managing Director & Board Member Stefan Geiger.

Mr Yau will return to Hong Kong tomorrow.
After successfully introducing the feature-loaded SUV C3 Aircross in India, the French car manufacturer gearing up to drop another vehicle in the market. But, this time, the company plans to launch a crossover sedan named Citroen C3X, which will be based on based CMP platform.

Ahead of the official release, the vehicle was spotted in Europe, fully covered in camouflage during the testing phase. The leaked images revealed most of its design elements and key features. However, the company has not shared any official details about the vehicle as yet.

Citroen C3X Design

Talking about the front fascia first, leaked images suggested that the upcoming C3X might carry some of the design elements from the newly unveiled Citroen C3 including LED headlight setup, LED taillight, and similar DRLs as C3 across. However, the vehicle is also expected to carry its own aura, which might force the customers to put it on their priority list.

Citroen C3X Side and Rear Profile

When it comes to the side and rear profile, again, it resembles from newly unveiled C3. But, the upcoming crossover sedan is expected to feature heavy cladding, bigger slopping roof rails, and body colour door handles with slight chrome work on them.

Citroen C3X Powerstrain

It has been reported that Citroen C3X, which is expected to launch very soon, will be powered by a 1.2-litre turbo petrol engine. The unit will generate a max power of 108 bhp and and 190 Nm of peak. The power source department will be mated with a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Again, it would be better if the customers do not expect the diesel engine option in the upcoming four-wheeler too. The official details about the same is yet to be shared by the Citroen.
Stocks To Watch On September 7: GIFT Nifty on the NSE IX traded 38 points, or 0.19 per cent, lower at 19,625, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for negative start on Thursday. Heres a slew of stocks that will be in focus today for various reasons.

Safari Industries: Global investment manager Investcorp sold its stake in luggage maker Safari Industries. It realised a total return of Rs 285 crore at 3.8x Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) from Safari Industries.

TVS Motor: TVS Motor Company has unveiled the latest addition and a new flagship to its iconic Apache line-up  TVS Apache RTR 310.

Tata Consumer Products: The Tata group company has refuted reports that said it is in talks to acquire a majority 51 per cent stake in the snack and sweet brand Haldiram.

Reliance: The companys retail arm, Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) has entered into a joint venture (JV) with actor Alia Bhatts sustainable fashion clothing brand for kids and maternity wear, Ed-a-Mamma, to acquire a 51 per cent stake. According to a source, Ed-a-Mamma was valued at approximately Rs 150 crore. RRVL aims to establish a close collaboration with the founder, Alia Bhatt, and leverage the management strength of its subsidiary, Reliance Brands, to lead the business.

Tata Consultancy Services: TCS on Wednesday signed a strategic partnership valued at 800 million (about $1 billion) with the digital unit of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to help the luxury carmaker accelerate the modernisation of its IT infrastructure, and build a new technology architecture that will support its Reimagine strategy. The deal is signed for a period of next five years.

REC: State-owned REC on Wednesday said it raised $1.15 billion in August in two tranches from a consortium of six banks. Proceeds of the loans shall be utilized to fund power, infrastructure and logistics sector projects as permitted under the ECB guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India. The funds have been raised under RECs Market Borrowing Programme of Rs 1.20 lakh crore for 2023-24.

In a separate statement, the company said it has signed a Foreign Currency Term Loan Agreement for $100 million with Export Import Bank of India (Exim Bank). This is the first term loan being extended by Exim Bank to REC. The loan has been tied up for a 5-year tenor and is benchmarked to SOFR.

Biocon: The companys subsidiary Biocon Biologics (BBL) said it has completed the integration of the acquired biosimilars business from Viatris in North America (United States and Canada) effective September 1, 2023.

Lemon Tree Hotels: The hotel company has announced its latest signing  Lemon Tree Hotel, Mashobra. The property is expected to be operational by Q1FY26 and shall be managed by Carnation Hotels Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary and the management arm of Lemon Tree Hotels.

Power Finance Corporation: The company has fixed Thursday, Sept 21st as the record date for its bonus issue in the ratio of 1:4 that is 1 equity share will be issued for every 4 existing equity shares of the company.

PNC Infratech: The companys arm, PNC Raebareli Highways, will settle the NHAI dispute with a one-time settlement of Rs 107.17 crore. The settlement amount represents 65 per cent of the total eligible disputes amount.
From getting a brand value to changing perception and attracting the best talent pool from across the country, a lot will change for this newly christened IIM-Mumbai, director Prof Manoj K Tiwari told News18 in an exclusive interview.

Formerly the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), the institution became the 21st IIM last month when the Union government amended the IIM Act 2017 and initiated the procedure to convert the institute into an IIM. It is the first such move for the premium B-schools in the country since all existing IIMs were newly set up institutes.

IIM-Mumbai, which, so far, offered courses only for engineering graduates, will now be open to students from all backgrounds. Admissions to IIMs are done on the basis of the Common Admission Test (CAT).

Professor Tiwari, himself a supply chain management expert, took the institutes charge as director in 2019. Speaking to News18, he touched upon how the IIM tag will change the perception people have of the institute, get the best talent both in terms of faculty and students from across the country and gain prestige granting MBA degrees instead of diplomas. The institute, which is celebrating its diamond jubilee year, he said, is looking forward to living its new identity.

Edited excerpts:

Why did the NITIE need an IIM tag?

Despite being a reputed institution, we were not on the list of Institutes of National Importance. Over the past six or seven years, I saw that many new IIMs have been granting MBA degrees, while we could only grant PG Diplomas. Many foreign institutions had even begun to question if the diploma certificates issued by us were equivalent to an MBA degree. We faced a lot of embarrassment on this front; if we dont have the status of granting degrees, then we cannot have the brand value that is required in the present-day scenario.

Our alumni have done credible work, which we are proud of, but not being able to offer degree programmes was always a concern. We couldnt issue additional certificate stating that our courses are equivalent to an MBA and wanted a solution to this problem. We have been doing well and even the structure of our academic programmes as well as administration are close to those of the IIMs, but we didnt have the same brand value as them. This is what made us seek an IIM tag.

Now that the IIM Act has been amended with more powers vested in the government, do you think IIMs will be able to carry on with their autonomous character? Do you think top institutions in the country should be fully autonomous?

In our case, we are happy that we finally have this academic autonomy to grant degrees. Since this institution was established in 1963, we have been abiding by all its principles just like other top-ranking institutions such as IITs. When public money is being spent, its imperative that we have autonomy alongside accountability. It cannot be just one-way. I have previously taught at IIT-Kharagpur, where like all other IITs, Visitor has his nominees and a say in the Board of Governors, which has never been an issue with the institute.

Now that the NITIE is an IIM, what will change for the institute?

This is the big change that we have been waiting for. It will add to our brand value, besides a lot of other things from perception to funding to getting the best talent from across India. So many students, even from IITs, would apply to us every year, but would either not join or migrate to other management institutes. This shall change now.

We are hopeful of attracting top scorers from all over and we will offer them a relaxation in fee if required in case of those coming from rural and less privileged backgrounds. Also, we aim to up the gender ratio for female students to at least 35% in the initial years and later to 50%. It will also help bridge the gap between engineering and management. So far, only those wanted to join NITIE would apply, but now, as an IIM, we will get applications from across states and our talent pool is definitely going to widen.

In terms of placements, while we have always had most of the top recruiters coming down to hire, with the IIM tag, we just hope that some of the big financial firms, which have not been so forthcoming or would hire less candidates, will come out more openly.

The NITIE was ranked 7th in management category in the NIRF rankings this year. Do you think the IIM tag will help it move up the ranks? If so, on what parameters?

The only parameter on which we were lagging behind in the NIRF rankings was perception, in which NITIE was ranked 19. Even the newly established IIMs have a perception ranking of 30-40. This is strange since we have been an established institution of repute for more than 60 years and we were at par with other top-ranking engineering and management institutions in all other parameters. Only perception was creating a problem. So, I believe becoming an IIM will certainly help us improve our perception quotient.

Initially, what are the challenges before you in fully turning into an IIM?

In the beginning, there are a lot of formalities and the change of nomenclature in all documents. Also, we will have to change our admission criteria since IIMs allow graduates from any stream to apply. But the major challenge is building infrastructure so that we can increase student intake on campus.

At present, we have one hostel, while another is under construction. By next year, we should have two hostels and a lecture complex. We will take loan from the Higher Education Finance Agency as well as make use of viability gap funding of the government. Most IIMs are financially self-reliant, and while we have a year by when we will be getting government funding, we will be generating our own revenue such that we can sustain in the long-term.

Do you plan to add any new seats and introduce new programmes?

Currently, we are running three programmes and the total student intake is about 550, which can go up to about 600 from next year, which is something our Board will be taking a decision on. We are planning to have our first Board meeting in the first week of October. We will be offering three full-time (two years) management programmes instead of diploma courses. These courses with new nomenclatures  MBA (general), MBA (sustainability) and MBA (operations and supply chain management) will start from the 2024-25 session.

Besides, we plan to launch a number of executive and online programmes for experienced professionals as well. We are ready to launch an executive fintech programme in collaboration with the National Stock Exchange (NSE). We are also planning to have many collaborative courses with other top institutions in the country, including IIT-Bombay, which is one of the best as well as our next-door neighbour.

Would an IIM tag help the institute attract good faculty as well as those from foreign countries?

Its a great advantage. We are already in the process of hiring new faculty. The IIM tag has definitely helped us reach out to the best talent pool with applications pouring in from PhD fellows enrolled in foreign institutions as well to teach here.

Earlier, we would get around five to six applications, but post becoming an IIM, we are getting 25-30 applications on a daily basis. Many industry experts have enquired about the process of application of late. The idea is to have a mix of both good industry experience professionals as well as pure academics. Currently, we have a faculty strength of 60, including the visiting faculty, which can go up to 120-130 now.

Will there be a change in the fee structure as well?

Currently, the annual fee is quite low  Rs 6.5 lakh to 7.5 lakh a year  especially when compared to an IIM where the yearly fee amounts to Rs 15-20 lakh and above. The fee structure will change obviously, but it wont be a steep hike. We will not increase it to Rs 15 lakh or anything like that because we want our institute to be affordable and within the reach of all students. However, there will be a fee revision from next session, for which the board will take the final decision.
University of Delhi has started the spot admission. Today the University will release the vacant seats in Round 2 of Spot Admission. These seats will then be open for admission by the students who could made to other rounds and counselling session. Interested candidates can find the list of vacant seats from admission.uod.ac.in. From September 7 to September 9, 2023 shortlisted candidates can book their seat in the University.

On September 11, 2023, University of Delhi will release the seat allotment list for spot round admissions. Candidates have to accept their designated seat and college between September 11 till September 13, 2023. For document and student verification, college authorities will have time till September 14, 2023. The last date of fee payment is September 15, 2023.

DU SPOT ROUND ADMISSION: STEPS TO APPLY

Step 1- Visit the official website, admission.uod.ac.in

Step 2- Under announcements section in the homepage, candidates can look for the link that mentions vacant seats for Delhi University spot round one admissions.

Step 3- Select the link once you find.

Step 4- The pdf will automatically get downloaded on your device.

Step 5- Candidates are advised to thoroughly check the Delhi University spot round file and look for all the colleges and courses with their vacant seats.

Apart from the UG round 2 spot admission round 2, the university will also announce the round 2 spot admission for BTech. The schedule for round 1 spot admission for B.Tech is similar to the UG spot admission schedule for round 2.

Candidates are advised that once the spot admission round begins, applicants who have already received admission will not be able to withdraw or cancel their admissions. Additionally, applicants who were given a slot in a previous round but did not finish the admissions procedure would not be permitted to take part in later rounds of spot admission.

For admission to the UG and BTech degrees, DU has made it mandatory for applicants to accept the seat that was assigned in the spot admission round. The Upgrade and Withdraw choices will not be available during the DU UG and BTech spot admission rounds. The college added that the seat assigned during the spot admission process will be the only available one.
As India is going to host G20 Summit in the National Capital, schools and colleges in Delhi will remain closed from tomorrow. Students will now have to go to school from Monday, September 11, 2023. The step is taken by the Delhi government to prevent unnecessary traffic inconvenience to the visiting foreign delegates. Along with schools and colleges, banks, financial institutions, offices and commercial organisation will remain close.

The Delhi governments Department of Education has already asked schools to declare September 8 a holiday for both students and staff. The personnel of the education department have also been instructed by the Delhi government to stay in the city for these four days in case more staff is required for the G20 meeting.

At least 20 world leaders are anticipated to attend the two-day summit, which begins on Saturday. On September 9 and 10, G20 Summit will be held at the recently built Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan, an international conference and exhibition center.

The Delhi government declared that all preparations for the G20 Summit are over and that the national capital is ready to receive global visitors. Leaders of the worlds top 20 economies are expected to visit India. US Vice President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and others are on the roster of world leaders and delegates.

Locations like Dilli Haat, Chandni Chowk, Khan Market, Connaught Place, and Malcha Marg Market are likely to have high security. 26 routes are mentioned in the MCD statement as needing special attention, including Mathura Road, Bhairon Marg, Sachivalaya Road, Purana Quila Road, Lodhi Road, Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar Marg, and Suraj Kund Road, and Mahatma Gandhi Road.

Meanwhile, today, students in Haryana are celebrating holiday owing to Janmashtami festival. The education department in a notification dated September 6 announced a gazette holiday for all educational establishment in the state.
The results for bypolls to seven assembly seats in six states will be declared on Friday. This is significant, as this is first electoral contest between the BJP-led NDA and the Oppositions INDIA bloc, ahead of Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

The counting of votes will 8 am at centres set up in the respective states.

The seven seats are  Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, Bageshwar in Uttarakhand,Puthuppally in Kerala, Dhupguri in West Bengal, Dumri in Jharkhand, and Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura.

All of them went to polls to fill vacant seats on Tuesday (September 5).

Here are state-wise details of counting in each state on Friday

GHOSI BYPOLL, UTTAR PRADESH

The by-election saw the INDIA alliance putting up a united front in the Ghosi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where the voting was moderate at around 50.77 per cent,

In Uttar Pradesh, the Ghosi seat fell vacant after the resignation of Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA and OBC leader Dara Singh Chauhan, who rejoined the BJP.

For the BJP, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath led the campaign.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, who had skipped campaigning for the other two prestigious bypolls in Rampur and Azamgarh last year, addressed an election meeting in Ghosi.

Dumri bypoll, Jharkhand

In Jharkhands Dumri, a total of 64.84 per cent of 2.98 lakh voters exercised their franchise.

The bypoll was necessitated following the death of JMM MLA Jagarnath Mahto, former education minister, in April.

The counting centre has been set up at Krishi Bazar Samiti, Pachambha, in Giridih district.

In all, 24 rounds of counting will be held and over 70 officials have been deployed for the exercise, Giridih Deputy Commissioner-cum-Election Officer Naman Priesh Lakra told PTI.

Central Armed Police Force and various wings of Jharkhand police have been deployed to ensure free and fair counting, he added

Dhupguri Bypoll, West Bengal

In West Bengals Dhupguri, central armed police forces and state police are guarding the strong room on the second campus of North Bengal University in Jalpaiguri, an official said.

Around 76 per cent of 2.6 lakh eligible voters exercised their franchise in Bengal.

The seat had witnessed a three-cornered contest among the TMC, BJP and the Congress-supported CPI(M). The last election in 2021 was won by the BJP, and before that in 2016 it had gone to TMC.

TRIPURA BYPOLLS

In Tripura, the ECI has taken necessary steps to conduct the counting in a transparent way.

Counting of votes to both the seats  Boxanagar and Dhanpur  will take place at Sonamura Girls HS School.

There is tight security at the counting centre, Sepahijala district magistrate Vishal Kumar told PTI.

In another development, the CPI(M) has announced to boycott the counting of Tripura bypolls alleging largescale rigging in the two constituencies during voting.

PUTHUPPALLY BYPOLL, KERALA

Puthuppally constituency, located in the Keralas southern Kottayam district, witnessed a war of words for the past few weeks between the ruling and opposition fronts in the state.

According to Election Commission sources, the counting of votes would begin by 8.00 am at the special counting station in the Baselius College. Postal and service ballots would be counted first, they said.

The total number of booths in Puthuppally was 182, and the counting of votes in the electronic voting machines would be conducted in 13 rounds.

The bypoll was necessitated on account of the death of former Kerala Chief Minister and Congress stalwart Oommen Chandy in July this year.

BAGESHWAR BYPOLL, UTTARAKHAND

For the Bageshwar assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand, the counting will be done at 14 tables with 130 polling personnel on the job, District Magistrate Anuradha Pal said on Thursday, news agency PTI said.

The bypoll was necessitated following the death of sitting BJP MLA and cabinet minister Chandan Ram Das in April this year.
Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System worked extensively in 2023 with the Veterans Health Administration Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention to enhance the CAVHCS Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program.

Following meticulous evidence-based improvements of procedures and with an unwavering commitment to the well-being of veterans, this revitalization of an important service marks a significant milestone in providing comprehensive care.

The revitalized program introduces a host of enhancements aimed at delivering superior care, improved security, and support to those who have selflessly served our country. For veterans grappling with mental health challenges and addictive disorders needing a structured and nurturing environment, the MHRRTP has stood as a beacon of hope for CAVHCS Veterans for many years and is now prepared to provide improved services to even more veterans.

Comprising a 43-bed Domiciliary Care Homeless Veterans Program and a 30-bed General Domiciliary, this 73-bed Residential Treatment Program is specifically designed to address the complex needs of Veterans dealing with severe psychosocial difficulties, including homelessness and unemployment.

The MHRRTP has undergone significant transformation to elevate the standard of care and support extended to veterans. Implementing new policies has fortified security measures, ensuring the safety of dedicated staff and deserving residents. The programs group and unit programming have been thoughtfully revamped using evidence-based practices that foster an environment conducive to healing and recovery, offering Veterans a more engaging path to well-being.

Acknowledging the importance of collaboration, MHRRTP has forged partnerships with other programs within the VA network. This collaborative approach seamlessly integrates collective expertise and resources, enhancing the overall treatment experience for our heroes.

This revitalization of the MHRRTP speaks volumes about our commitment to providing the best and most appropriate care possible to our Veterans, says Amir Farooqi, Director of CAVHCS. He further adds, Through innovation and collaboration, were setting new standards for their well-being.

MHRRTP stands firm in its commitment to evidence-based practices, ensuring the provision of effective therapeutic interventions. Both group and individual therapy sessions seamlessly incorporate these evidence-based practices to maximize treatment outcomes.

Recognizing the imperative of reintegration into society, MHRRTP offers residents life skills training and vocational components. These components empower residents to transition towards a successful post-rehabilitation phase seamlessly.

The program honors the pivotal role of family and support networks in the recovery journey. Residents are empowered to involve their families in treatment processes, with opportunities for participation in Treatment Team Conferences.

MHRRTP is actively exploring avenues to extend its support to families, envisioning weekend marriage retreats in collaboration with Chaplain Service. This initiative seeks to nurture stronger familial connections and holistic well-being.

Reflecting on the programs significance, Gabrielle Franklin, MHRRTP Manager, remarks, Our Veterans deserve the best, and thats precisely what this revitalized program aims to deliver. We are not just healing; we are transforming lives.

By synergizing innovation, collaboration, and a dedicated focus on safety and support, CAVHCS aspires to offer a program that not only addresses the needs of Veterans but surpasses their expectations.
Stone pelting has almost completely ended in Jammu and Kashmir, with data accessed by News18 revealing a 99 per cent dip in incidents since the first half of 2020.

The data also says that for the same period, the number of casualties among security forces came down by 60 per cent, though IEDs remain a concern.

This year also saw the G20 meeting being held in Srinagar. The Union Home Ministry keeps an eye on J&K and holds meetings at regular intervals to discuss the law and order situation. The positive results in the Union Territory can be credited to the leadership of Home Minister Amit Shah who regularly takes stock of development and security issues.

Jammu and Kashmir has been high on the Narendra Modi governments agenda. The prime minister, on several occasions, has termed the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 as the establishment of democracy in the UT, noting that it is time for the youth to push forward development and shun violence and militancy. From holding panchayat elections, inaugurating several projects like AIIMS, universities and roads to reaching out to Kashmiri Pandits, PM Modi has been on a mission to give J&K the much-needed makeover.

According to the data, a total of 324 incidents of stone pelting were registered by local authorities in the first six months of 2020. Next year, such incidents saw a dip and fell to 179. Similarly, in 2022 and 2023, for the same period, the total number of incidents reported were 50 and 3.

In another positive development, the number of security personnel martyred in J&K has seen a massive dip since 2020, with the figure coming down from 32 to 11.

There has also been a dip in the recovery of explosives and grenades from Jammu and Kashmir. In 2021, close to 68 kilograms of explosives were recovered by security forces. The number is nil this year in the first half. Grenade recoveries have fallen from 266 in 2020 to 83 in 2023. A total of 728 grenades and 102.75 kilograms of explosives have been recovered from J&K since 2020 to the first half of 2023, data revealed.

The security operations by forces in J&K and local police have resulted in a slump in the number of terrorists in the Union Territory. This has also pulled down arms recovery from 246 to 73, hinting at less supply of arms in the Valley. According to the data available, 770 arms have been recovered between 2020 and the first six months of 2023.

However, despite the positive trends, IEDs remain a major challenge as the recoveries have shown a rise. While 2020 had no recoveries of IEDs, in 2021, five IEDs were recovered. In 2022, this number rose to 17 and in 2023, it stood at 15.

In the last Parliament session, the home ministry had said that the government has a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and the security situation has improved significantly in Jammu and Kashmir.

A robust security and intelligence grid is in place to thwart any attempt of terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. Further, steps taken by the government to prevent terrorist incidents and to safeguard the lives of civilians in the Valley include group security in form of static guards, round-the-clock checking at Nakas at strategic points, night patrolling and area domination, identification of vulnerable spots, security arrangement through appropriate deployment of police, army, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and intensified Cordon and Search Operations, MHA had said in a reply.

Less Infiltration

The ministry had also said in Parliament that the government has adopted a well-coordinated and multi-pronged strategy to tackle cross-border infiltration. This includes tactical deployment of forces at International Border (IB)/Line of Control (LoC), use of technology like surveillance cameras, night vision cameras, heat sensing gadgets, etc., multi-tiered deployment along IB/LoC, border fencing, deployment of intelligence personnel to collect advance and target-oriented inputs on infiltration, ambushes and foot-patrolling by Army/Border Security Force (BSF), establishment of Border Police Posts for generating local intelligence and taking pro-active action against infiltrators.
Delhi is all set open its doors to the world as months of excitement, preparations and diplomacy boil down to the G20 Summit from September 8-10. As India waits for world leaders to grace the event, the Nigerian delegation arrived in the Capital on Thursday while the Mexican and European Union delegations are also expected to reach the same day. The maximum arrivals, however, will happen on Friday as US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau land in New Delhi.

In the run-up to the grand event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took to his blog to explain the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, human-centric globalisation and leaving none behind. The prime minister, who reached Indonesia for the ASEAN-India and the East Asia summits, called for the need to bridge divides and sow seeds for collaboration.

Heres what the prime minister wrote:

Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam  these two words capture a deep philosophy. It means the world is one family. This is an all-embracing outlook that encourages us to progress as one universal family, transcending borders, languages, and ideologies. During Indias G20 Presidency, this has translated into a call for human-centric progress. As One Earth, we are coming together to nurture our planet. As One Family, we support each other in the pursuit of growth. And we move together towards a shared future  One Future  which is an undeniable truth in these interconnected times.

The post-pandemic world order is very different from the world before it. There are three important changes, among others.

First, there is a growing realisation that a shift away from a GDP-centric view of the world to a human-centric view is needed.

Second, the world is recognizing the importance of resilience and reliability in global supply chains.

Third, there is a collective call for boosting multilateralism through the reform of global institutions.

Our G20 Presidency has played the role of a catalyst in these shifts.

In December 2022, when we took over the Presidency from Indonesia, I had written that a mindset shift must be catalysed by the G20. This was especially needed in the context of mainstreaming the marginalized aspirations of developing countries, the Global South and Africa.

The Voice of Global South Summit, which witnessed participation from 125 countries, was one of the foremost initiatives under our Presidency. It was an important exercise to gather inputs and ideas from the Global South. Further, our Presidency has not only seen the largest-ever participation from African countries but has also pushed for the inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20.

An interconnected world means our challenges across domains are interlinked. This is the midway year of the 2030 Agenda and many are noting with great concern that the progress on SDGs is off-track. The G20 2023 Action Plan on Accelerating Progress on SDGs will spearhead the future direction of the G20 towards implementing SDGs.

In India, living in harmony with nature has been a norm since ancient times and we have been contributing our share towards climate action even in modern times.

Many countries of the Global South are at various stages of development and climate action must be a complementary pursuit. Ambitions for climate action must be matched with actions on climate finance and transfer of technology.

We believe there is a need to move away from a purely restrictive attitude of what should not be done, to a more constructive attitude focusing on what can be done to fight climate change.

The Chennai HLPs for a Sustainable and Resilient Blue Economy focus on keeping our oceans healthy.

A global ecosystem for clean and green hydrogen will emerge from our presidency, along with a Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre.

In 2015, we launched the International Solar Alliance. Now, through the Global Biofuels Alliance, we will support the world to enable energy transitions in tune with the benefits of a circular economy.

Democratising climate action is the best way to impart momentum to the movement. Just as individuals make daily decisions based on their long-term health, they can make lifestyle decisions based on the impact on the planets long-term health. Just like Yoga became a global mass movement for wellness, we have also nudged the world with Lifestyles for Sustainable Environment (LiFE).

Due to the impact of climate change, ensuring food and nutritional security will be crucial. Millets, or Shree Anna, can help with this while also boosting climate-smart agriculture. In the International Year of Millets, we have taken millets to global palates. The Deccan High Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition is also helpful in this direction.

Technology is transformative but it also needs to be made inclusive. In the past, the benefits of technological advancements have not benefited all sections of society equally. India, over the last few years, has shown how technology can be leveraged to narrow inequalities, rather than widen them.

For instance, the billions across the world that remain unbanked, or lack digital identities, can be financially included through digital public infrastructure (DPI). The solutions we have built using our DPI have now been recognised globally. Now, through the G20, we will help developing countries adapt, build, and scale DPI to unlock the power of inclusive growth.

That India is the fastest-growing large economy is no accident. Our simple, scalable and sustainable solutions have empowered the vulnerable and the marginalised to lead our development story. From space to sports, economy to entrepreneurship, Indian women have taken the lead in various sectors. They have shifted the narrative from the development of women to women-led development. Our G20 Presidency is working on bridging the gender digital divide, reducing labour force participation gaps and enabling a larger role for women in leadership and decision-making.

For India, the G20 Presidency is not merely a high-level diplomatic endeavour. As the Mother of Democracy and a model of diversity, we opened the doors of this experience to the world.

Today, accomplishing things at scale is a quality that is associated with India. The G20 Presidency is no exception. It has become a people-driven movement. Over 200 meetings will have been organised in 60 Indian cities across the length and breadth of our nation, hosting nearly 100,000 delegates from 125 countries by the end of our term. No Presidency has ever encompassed such a vast and diverse geographical expanse.

It is one thing to hear about Indias demography, democracy, diversity and development from someone else. It is totally different to experience them first-hand. I am sure our G20 delegates would vouch for this.

Our G20 Presidency strives to bridge divides, dismantle barriers, and sow seeds of collaboration that nourish a world where unity prevails over discord, where shared destiny eclipses isolation. As the G20 President, we had pledged to make the global table larger, ensuring that every voice is heard and every country contributes. I am positive that we have matched our pledge with actions and outcomes.
The name Bharat may start appearing on official documents pertaining to schemes and government programmes, national and international invitations, and related papers, but without any retrospective effect, a senior central government official told News18.

Bharat has been in use on official documents already as part of schemes and programmes like Karmayogi Bharat.

However, it became prominent when Home Minister Amit Shah proposed the names for our new penal codes. The Indian Penal Code becomes Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and the same goes for the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) which becomes Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, while the Indian Evidence Act becomes Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, added the official.

The word Bharat will now dominate central government programmes like the Bharat Drone Shakti in contrast to schemes named along the lines of Make in India and Start Up India.

The official added that there is no legal implication of using Bharat on official documents as both India and Bharat are constitutionally and legally valid names of the country. Passports have Republic of India on them and Bharat Sarkar is also mentioned there. There is no question of violating any legal or constitutional sanctity. And there is no discussion over changing things in a retrospective way, he said.

The mention of Bharat on invitation cards for separate events sent out by the Presidents and the Prime Ministers Office have triggered a controversy, with the Opposition accusing the Narendra Modi government of resorting to renaming the country to score political points over its anti-BJP INDIA bloc ahead of Lok Sabha elections.

However, senior bureaucrats in the government said this particular issue has no connection with the name of the Opposition alliance. The transformation from India to Bharat, which the government considers as a more Indic name, started long back, officials said.

Speaking to News18, Sanjeev Sanyal, member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India and a historian, said both names of the country are valid and there is no doubt about it. However, Bharat originated from this land and is more Indic, he claimed.

Bharat is an indigenous name, while India is a result of an ancient mispronunciation by foreigners, said Sanyal.

Undoing Foreign Influence?

Bringing historical perspective to the usage of Bharat, Sanyal said: Bharat is an ancient name derived from a Rig Vedic tribe. There is another tradition coming from the Puranas and Jain tradition, which say that there was a Raja Bharat. Either way, these traditions are thousands of years old. The older Vedic tradition relates to a tribe called the Bharatas who created the first empire in India. The later tradition, both in Jain and Puranic traditions, speaks about a Raja Bharat who was the son or grandson of Raja Rishabh. So, the Vedic tradition is around 5,000-year-old while the Puranic traditions are over 2,500-year-old. Both of these traditions used the name Bharat but the later tradition uses it for the full sub-continent.

He further added that all the Puranas state something along the lines: The land that is south of the Himalayas but north of the Ocean is the land where the Bharatas live.

In addition to this, the land is also called Sapta Sindhu, the Land of Seven Rivers, after the original homeland of Vedic Bharatas. The ancient Persians had a phonetic shift from S to H, so Sapta Sindhu became Hapta Hindu. So they started calling the people who live here as Hindus. This is also a 2,500-year-old tradition. The Greeks and others then made Hindu into India. So the name India is derived from Sapta Sindhu, and it is also an ancient name, he said.

Administrative Implications

The government has been doing this in a steady and systematic way, so there will not be any administrative chaos, said another senior officer serving in the Ministry of Home Affairs. There is a lot of speculation going on about the name change or change in documents, but there is no decision or discussion of seeing a retrospective effect to this. No document of any citizen would be recalled and there would not be any change in existing official document, said the officer.

Talking to News18, KM Chandrasekhar, former cabinet secretary, said that there should not be any administrative issue unless the government wants to speed up things right away. There is no legal or constitutional implication to it. Moreover, the use of Bharat in certain documents is not new. It has now become prominent with the mention of this on the invitation card sent out by the Presidents office and also by the proposed names for the IPC and CrPc, he said.

For larger changes, like change in the name of civil service from Indian Administrative Service to Bharatiya Administrative Service, the government needs to tweak the All India Service rule. For change in the name of any institution, they need bring an ordinance depending on the structure of the organisation or the institution. But this is all speculation for now, he added.
Police on Thursday cautioned against rumours being spread on social media by wrongly projecting Chehlum procession as a communal protest ahead of the G20 Summit.

The Shia Muslim community on Thursday observed Chehlum in Delhi.

Delhi Police posted on X, Some social media handles are wrongly projecting videos of Chehlum procession, as communal protest before G20 Summit. The Chehlum procession is a traditional one and is carried out with due permission from law enforcement agencies. Please do not spread rumours. On Wednesday, Delhi Police announced traffic restrictions for the Chehlum procession asking people to take the metro in view of the religious event, officials said.

Chehlum is observed on the 40th day after Muharram which commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Hazrat Mohammad. The main Chehlum procession including Tazia, Alam etc, was started from Pahari Bhojla on Wednesday at 8.30 am because of the G20 Summit.

It proceeds to Dargah Shah-e-Mardan and later to Karbala via Chitli Qabar, Matia Mahal, Jama Masjid, Hauz Qazi, Ajmeri Gate, Paharganj Bridge, Chelmsford Road, and New Delhi Railway Station in north Delhi.

The G20 Leaders Summit is slated to be held on September 9-10 at the newly built international convention centre at Pragati Maidan.
Dengue is on the prowl in Kolkata. At least a couple of deaths have been recorded with more than 1,000 affected this season. Dengue cases are 1.5 times more this year in the city, say experts. According to doctors, the number of infected people is 40 to 50 per cent higher than last year. The key concern for doctors and hospitals is that they are receiving more severe cases this time. In some cases, due to dengue-associated HLH (Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis), there is an uncontrolled activation of the immune system (cytokine storm), leading to death.

There are three representations of dengue generally, say doctors. The first is dengue fever, the second is dengue haemorrhagic fever (where platelet count goes down), and the third is dengue shock syndrome (pressure drops, which may lead to multi-organ failure).

According to Dr Kundan Chaurasia, This year, almost 1.5 times more patients have come. The number of cases is more. We are getting dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome also. Occupancy in hospitals too is increasing. If this pattern goes on like this, there might be pressure on hospitals and demand for platelets could go up.

45-year-old Anirban Roy from south Kolkata had a high fever on August 30. When his temperature crossed 102 degrees in the morning, his wife Anamika Roy immediately took him for a dengue test. The reports that came in the evening were positive and his platelet count was 1.23 lakh. He was advised by doctors to drink more water and take another platelet test the next day. This showed the count had fallen to 98,000, and it was down to 39,000 the following day when he was advised hospitalisation. The count further dropped to 19,000 and he had to receive six units of platelets before he recovered.

The swift testing and constant monitoring helped Anirban recover, said doctors. They added that many patients take such fever lightly, which can prove fatal.

Infectious diseases expert Dr Sayan Chakraborty told News18, This time more severe dengue cases are coming, which is concerning. This is because people are getting affected for a second time and also many are not taking the fever seriously. People are getting themselves tested late and are reaching the hospital late.

If you have a fever, get tested

Senior infectious diseases expert Yogiraj Roy said, If you have a fever, dont wait and go for a test within 24 hours. Try to wear full-sleeved clothes early in the morning and around dusk. Also, do everything possible to protect yourself from mosquito bites. If you are infected with dengue, constant monitoring of platelets and PCV (packed cell volume) is required. You should be under constant supervision and if platelets drop below 50,000, do not delay hospitalisation.

The local administration has also increased monitoring. A Kolkata Municipal Corporation officer told News18, The KMC has also augmented surveillance. We have been trying to spread awareness. Also, drones have been deployed to detect larvae in abandoned factories and other places.

Liver too attacked

Dr Tanmay Banerjee, director of the Medica Institute of Critical Care and coordinator of the Department of Internal Medicine, said, Compared to July and August of last year, we have witnessed a significant rise in the number of dengue patients in our hospital during the same period this year. The increase in dengue cases this year compared to last year stands at 40-50%. At Medica, presently we are treating 28 dengue patients, of whom 12 have been admitted to the general ward, 10 to the high-dependency unit (HDU), and six to the intensive care unit (ICU). This year, we are observing a higher incidence of liver-related issues among dengue patients, a phenomenon that was relatively rare earlier.

A senior administrative officer of another private hospital told News18, There is a surge of dengue in Kolkata.

Dengue-positive occupancy has seen a considerable spike. Cases are mostly mild to moderate, but some are severe and a few critical. Recently, cases of cytokine storm and acute immune response have also been noted. A few deaths have been reported sporadically. Recoveries are more in 7 to 10 days.

Experts say the dengue season will continue for one and a half months more, till the temperatures start going down, so everyone should follow the dos and donts religiously.

What to do

Go for testing in 24 hours if you have a fever.

Constantly monitor your platelet count. If it reaches below 50,000, consult a doctor and get yourself hospitalised.

Try to wear full-sleeved shirts/t-shirts and full-length trousers if you go out.

What not to do

Dont drink papaya juice if you have dengue.

Dont wait to get tested for fever, thinking that it may be just the flu.

Dont self-medicate.

Experts also say that a proactive, strategic, and long-term vision of public health policies with a focus on alleviating the ailments of the population is needed. It has to be part of the governance process, they say, instead of a seasonal, knee-jerk, stopgap arrangement.
Preparations to ensure a smooth and event-free G20 Summit scheduled to be held in the national capital on September 9-10 are underway on a war footing.

To ensure proper security during the mega geopolitical event, the Delhi Police has issued a series of restrictions on traffic movement that will be in place from September 7 to 10.

According to the Delhi Police, the traffic restrictions will go into effect at the Sirhaul border after midnight on September 7 and will last until midnight on September 10.

will go into effect at the Sirhaul border after midnight on September 7 and will last until midnight on September 10. Heavy, medium and light goods vehicles will not be allowed to enter Delhi from 9 pm today till midnight on Sunday.

According to a notification issued by the Delhi government, the entire district will be considered a  Controlled Zone  from 5:00 am on September 8 till 11:59 pm on September 10. Only bona fide residents, authorised vehicles including vehicles involved in services like housekeeping, catering, waste management for hotels, and hospitals will be allowed to travel to India Gate, C-Hexagon and other such areas.

 from 5:00 am on September 8 till 11:59 pm on September 10. Only bona fide residents, authorised vehicles including vehicles involved in services like housekeeping, catering, waste management for hotels, and hospitals will be allowed to travel to India Gate, C-Hexagon and other such areas. The movement of vehicles will be regulated in the Controlled Zone from 5:00 am on Friday till 11:59 pm on Sunday.

All food delivery, and commercial delivery services except medicines will be shut from Friday till Sunday. Deliveries from services like Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon and Flipkart will not be allowed in the controlled zone, but those of medicines and essential items will.

Essential services such as postal and medical services, and sample collections by path labs will be allowed throughout Delhi. In the New Delhi area, commercial activities will not be allowed. Online delivery services will not be allowed but medicine delivery will be allowed, Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) SS Yadav said.

Delhi Traffic Police advised the people of Delhi-NCR to follow Mappls Mapmyindia App for any crucial information regarding the traffic, public transport routes towards the airport, railway stations, bus and metro stations ahead of the G20 Summit.

-20  (  9  10  )  ,      Traffic advisory in view of #G20Summit on Sept 9 & 10, 2023, to facilitate hassle free movement of vehicles.  /Traffic Advisory: https://t.co/fFgh2gcsAK pic.twitter.com/nEO09PFpf9  Delhi Traffic Police (@dtptraffic) August 31, 2023

No TSRs (Three-Wheelers), auto rickshaws or taxis will be allowed to operate or enter the New Delhi District from 5:00 pm on September 9 to 23:50 pm on September 10.

Delhi Govt issues Gazette notification of the Restrictions to be imposed during G20 meeting All types of goods vehicles, commercial vehicles, interstate buses and local city buses shall not operate on Mathura Road (beyond Ashram Chowk), Bhairon Road, Purana Quila Road and pic.twitter.com/Urn8Ix9hMD  ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2023

Vehicles linked with the Armed Forces, Police, Disaster Management teams, Ambulances, or involved in emergency services like road, and electric supply maintenance will have unrestricted movement throughout the district.

IndiGo on Wednesday notified the passengers about flight cancellations at the Delhi airport during the G20 Summit.

G20 Summit 2023 taking place in New Delhi, IndiGo is offering one-time waivers for passengers travelling to and from Delhi between September 8 to 11, 2023, a statement by the airline said. Due to the2023 taking place in New Delhi, IndiGo is offering one-time waivers for passengers travelling to and from Delhi between September 8 to 11, 2023, a statement by the airline said.

For real-time traffic updates and further information, people can visit the G20 traffic virtual help desk https://traffic.delhipolice.gov.in/dtpg20info/ , Delhi traffic website, Delhi traffic social media pages, WhatsApp number 8750871493, Helpline Numbers 1095/011-25844444 and Delhi police official website.

Gurugram Issues WFH Advisory to Private Institutions for Friday

In view of the traffic restriction imposed in the New Delhi district due to to G20 summit scheduled in the national capital on September 9 and 10, the Gurugram district administration on Thursday issued a work-from-home advisory to corporate and private institutions for September 8.

All corporate and private institutions were advised to instruct their employees to work from home on September 8 (Friday), said District Magistrate and Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav.
The Narendra Modi-led central government has made a list of ministers, who will be responsible for receiving foreign dignitaries arriving for the G20 Leaders Summit in Delhi on September 9 and 10. President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen arrived in the national capital on Wednesday and was received by union minister Anupriya Patel.

The international event is being attended by more than 30 heads of state and top officials from the European Union and invited guest countries as well as 14 heads of international organisations. General VK Singh (Retd) has been assigned to welcome US President Joe Biden, who is arriving in the national capital at 6.55 pm IST. The union minister, who has been the minister of state for external affairs in the past, will also be receiving Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang.

On Wednesday, during an informal meeting of the council of ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised his colleagues to be well-dressed in Indian attire representing the countrys cultural diversity, when they receive dignitaries. He also advised them to be humble and simple in their approach.

Among the first to arrive will be British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at 1.40 pm IST. He will be received by union minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who will also receive Japanese PM Fumio Kishida at 2.15 pm IST.

Italian PM Giorgia Meloni will be received by minister of state for agriculture Shobha Karandlaje, while MoS for railways and textiles Darshana Jardosh will receive Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina. South Korea president Yoon Suk Yeol will be received by MoS for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

French president Emmanuel Macron, who will arrive on Saturday (September 9) will be received by MoS for commerce Anupriya Patel. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who is also arriving the same day, will be received by union minister BL Verma.

United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be received by MoS for home affairs Nityanand Rai. Union minister L Murugan will be receiving dignitaries from Singapore.
As India makes a renewed push on the G20 forum to act against fugitive offenders, data reveals an almost fivefold jump in the number of such escapees brought back to India in the last 9 years. The Central Bureau of Investigation, during its commemoration of the International Day of Police Cooperation and Investiture ceremony, revealed that 19 fugitives have been brought back this year till September. In 2022 this number stood at 27 while in 2021 it was 18. Comparatively, CBI data suggests, on average four offenders could be brought back in the decade from 2004 to 2014. Minister of state for personnel Dr Jitendra Singh said this was a result of the Narendra Modi governments concentrated push to bring back offenders.

This is the direct result of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modis strict policy of zero tolerance against corruption, both on the domestic and international front, ever since he took charge in May 2014. There has been a quantum jump in extradition of criminals and fugitives in recent years, especially after India hosted the 90th Interpol General Assembly in October 2022, he said.

Officials told CNN-News18 that those who have been brought back to face the Indian law are mostly economic offenders but many are accused of heinous crimes like rape and murder too.

The Government of India feels that the increase in the return of criminals and fugitives to the country is the result of enhanced cooperation in policing between various countries that was streamlined after the 90th Interpol General Assembly hosted by India last year.

India, as per government data, has so far brought back $1.8 billion worth of assets that were allegedly syphoned off by economic fugitives, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Assets worth $12 billion have been attached since 2014, Dr Singh said.

Government functionaries said that India wants to push ahead with the issue of economic offenders and safe havens at the G20 summit too. The Prime Minister presented a 9-point agenda at the 2018 meeting, which was further discussed at this years Anti-Corruption Working Group in Gurugram, Kolkata, and Rishikesh.

1. Strong and active cooperation across G20 countries to deal comprehensively and efficiently with the menace of fugitive economic offenders.

2. Cooperation in the legal processes such as effective freezing of the proceeds of crime; early return of the offenders and efficient repatriation of the proceeds of crime should be enhanced and streamlined.

3. Joint effort by G20 countries to form a mechanism that denies entry and safe havens to all fugitive economic offenders.

4. Principles of United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNOTC), especially related to International Cooperation should be fully and effectively implemented.

5. FATF should be called upon to assign priority and focus to establishing international cooperation that leads to timely and comprehensive exchange of information between the competent authorities and FIUs.

6. FATF should be tasked to formulate a standard definition of fugitive economic offenders.

7. FATF should also develop a set of commonly agreed and standardised procedures related to identification, extradition and judicial proceedings for dealing with fugitive economic offenders to provide guidance and assistance to G20 countries, subject to their domestic law.

8. Common platform should be set up for sharing experiences and best practices including successful cases of extradition, gaps in existing systems of extradition and legal assistance, etc.

9. The G20 forum should consider initiating work on locating properties of economic offenders who have a tax debt in the country of their residence for its recovery.

Indian government officials said they were happy with the push that the issue has received ahead of the 2023 G20 summit too.

There is forward movement in areas like action-oriented high-level principles on three priority areas, namely, law enforcement cooperation through information sharing, strengthening asset recovery mechanisms, and enhancing

the integrity and effectiveness of anti-corruption authorities, the minister said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday expressed commitment to provide reservation to Marathas as the state government renewed its appeal to quota activist Manoj Jarange to end his 10-day-old fast launched over the issue in Jalna district.

Sumant Bhange, secretary (services), General Administration Department (GAD), sent a copy of a Government Resolution, dated September 7, on reservation to Jarange, who is on an indefinite fast since August 29 in a village in Jalna seeking quota benefits in education and jobs for Marathas. On behalf of the government, the senior bureaucrat, in a letter, appealed to him to call off his fast.

The GR is on the state cabinets decision to issue Kunbi caste certificates to Marathas from the Marathwada region who possess revenue or education documents from the Nizam era that recognise them as Kunbis, a move that will allow them to avail quota benefits under the OBC category.

Speaking to reporters in adjoining Thane, Chief Minister Shinde said his government will make efforts to prove the Maratha community is backward and its members need reservation in public jobs and education for their socio-economic upliftment.

The government is firm on giving reservation to the Maratha community and while doing that it will not do injustice to any other community, Shinde asserted.

In reply to a question, the CM said whatever good work was done on the Maratha quota front during the Devendra Fadnavis dispensation (2014-19) was undone by the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government (November 2019-June 2022), but things will be set right now.

But now we will examine the lapses and set things right and ensure reservation to Marathas without affecting reservation to other classes, he said.

The state cabinet on Wednesday decided that Kunbi caste certificates will be issued to Marathas hailing from Marathwada who possess revenue or education documents from the Nizam era that recognise them as Kunbis.

Kunbis, a community associated with agriculture, are grouped under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in Maharashtra and enjoy reservation benefits in education and government jobs. After the cabinet decision, Maratha community members from Marathwada recognised as Kunbis can avail of OBC quota.

The GR said a five-member panel headed by Judge Sandeep Shinde (retired) will determine the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), including legal and administrative framework, for giving caste certificates to Maratha community members referred to as Kunbis in Nizam-era documents.

The panel will submit its report in a month.

Additional Chief Secretary (revenue), Principal Secretary (law and justice), and collectors of districts concerned (in Marathwada) will be members of the committee. The divisional commissioner, Aurangabad, will be the member secretary of the panel.

Meanwhile, quota activist Jarange said earlier in the day his agitation will continue till the state government relaxes the condition of genealogy while giving Kunbi caste certificates to Maratha community members from Marathwada.

Marathwada was part of the erstwhile Nizam-ruled Hyderabad kingdom before it became part of Maharashtra.

Addressing a press conference at Antarwali Sarathi, where he is sitting on fast, Jarange welcomed the state governments decision and said it has initiated some steps that had not happened earlier.

Though we have not received the GR about the governments decision yet, we learnt that it will give Kunbi caste certificates to those Marathas who have genealogy. If we have genealogy, we do not need a GR at all to get a (Kunbi caste) certificate, he said.

Jarange, whose 10-day-old hunger strike has reignited the Maratha quota issue in the state, said they want the condition of genealogy relaxed.

Kunbi caste certificates should be given to the Maratha community members from Marathwada without any discrimination. Someone from the government should come with a GR specifying it and then we will end the agitation, he said.

The state governments announcement came after protests by members of the Maratha community across the state in view of police action on pro-quota protesters in Jalna district on September 1.

The police had baton-charged and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse a violent mob at Antarwali Sarathi after protesters allegedly refused to let authorities shift Jarange to the hospital.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued a yellow alert for Mumbai and other neighbouring districts like Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Dhule, Jalgaon, and Nashik for Friday. After nearly a month-long hiatus, rains lashed Mumbai on Thursday, providing relief from the scorching heat.

The showers also affected vehicular movement. The traffic slowed down on several roads and the arterial roads witnessed heavy congestion in some places. As it rained after a long gap, vehicle users said the roads became slippery and there were incidents of two-wheelers and four-wheelers skidding after applying the brakes.

The island city, eastern suburbs, and western suburbs had recorded 8.11 mm, 15.87 mm, and 12.45 mm of rainfall, respectively, in the 24 hours that ended at 8 am on Thursday, but the intensity of the showers increased thereafter. The megapolis was not getting many showers except drizzling since July-end. In the past few days, the city had witnessed sunny and sultry days.

Govandi area in eastern Mumbai recorded 150 mm rainfall between 8 am and 6 pm on Thursday, while some areas in western suburbs received more than 100 mm rainfall during the same period, informed a bulletin issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in the evening.

Malvani, Marol, Andheri and Chincholi in the western suburbs received 100 to 115 mm rainfall, while the island city areas from Prabhadevi to Sion recorded 70 to 90 mm rainfall. As many as 11 incidents of tree collapse or branch falling and eight incidents of short-circuit were reported but there were no casualties, the BMC said.

The buses of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) and suburban trains on the Central Railway and Western Railway lines were running normally, the bulletin said. The BMC also did not report waterlogging anywhere in the city.

(with inputs from PTI)
FORT NOVOSEL The installation-wide tornado response and recovery exercise Aug. 30 here tested many agencies on post, and one small part of the preparations had a big impact on the quality of the training.

Sgt. Courtney Forbeck, a combat medic with Lyster Army Health Clinic, was in charge of applying moulage, special effects makeup, to the role players in the exercise.

Im trying to simulate what would happen in a real-world scenario if the post got hit with a tornado, she said, When I am moulaging up these casualties, I am telling a story that the first responders must read to realistically treat these injuries in the way they would see it in the real world.

Forbeck took two moulage classes back when she first joined the military, one in Texas and one in Germany.

It helps us with our medic training to be able to create real-world casualties without it being an actual real casualty. The classes I took taught us how to create bruising, lacerations, and abrasions to get you ready for mass casualty situations. It helps you to be able to make these patients look as realistic as possible for local EMS, fire and police officers so they can take away as much as possible from this training.

Forbeck said there is method in every aspect of applying the moulage to the role players participating in the exercise.

In my mind I want to make it look as real as possible with blood, guts and gore. If they are lying down, what way would the blood drain or flow? I think about how I will stage them. We have casualty cards laid out with what each role player is getting. If they are lying down, I am not going to have the blood going down to their toes, it would go across their kneecap.

There are signs in the details that first responders are trained to notice that guide how they respond to the injuries that people have in an emergency Forbeck explained.

I try to add in those hints for the first responders, like if one of them has an abdominal wound or I add in little bits of wood if a role player will be found in the woods. Some of the patients in the exercise are unconscious, so the wounds that the first responders see have to tell the story of what happened to the patient because they cant tell you their story. I may have to create the bruising around the eyes and the blood coming out of the ears to hint at intercranial pressure because the patient is unresponsive.

These situations she is creating for the first responders dont only help them to take something away from the training, Forbeck said helping them helps her as well.

This exercise works hand-in-hand with my real job. I am a medic, and I work at Lyster. So, creating these scenarios for the first responders helps me to see what is happening before the patents make it to us. Creating the moulage is amazing, I love it. It is not only practice for us, the whole community is benefitting from this.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening India-ASEAN cooperation in areas like digital transformation, trade, and economic engagement while addressing contemporary challenges like terrorism and deepening the strategic partnership.

Modi attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit here in the Indonesian capital. Secretary-General of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Dr Kao Kim Hourn also attended the summit.

Two joint statements  one on Maritime Cooperation, and the other on Food Security were also adopted at the summit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

At the summit, Prime Minister Modi held extensive discussions with ASEAN partners on further strengthening of ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and charting its future course, it said.

The prime minister reaffirmed ASEANs centrality in the Indo-Pacific region and highlighted the synergies between Indias Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative (IPOI) and ASEANs Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).

He also emphasised the need to complete the review of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (AITIGA) in a time-bound manner.

The prime minister presented a 12-point proposal for strengthening India-ASEAN cooperation covering connectivity, digital transformation, trade and economic engagement, addressing contemporary challenges, people-to-people contacts and deepening strategic engagement.

Under the proposal, India called for establishing a multi-modal connectivity and economic corridor that links South-East Asia-India-West Asia-Europe and offered to share Indias Digital Public Infrastructure Stack with ASEAN partners, the statement said.

Prime Minister Modi also announced the ASEAN-India fund for the digital future focusing on cooperation in digital transformation and financial connectivity.

Under the 12-point proposal, the prime minister called for a collective fight against terrorism, terror financing and cyber-disinformation.

As part of the proposal, he announced the renewal of support to the Economic and Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) to act as a knowledge partner for enhancing our engagement.

He called for collectively raising issues being faced by Global South in multilateral fora, the statement said.

He invited ASEAN countries to join the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine being established by WHO in India and called for working together on Mission LiFE, an India-led global mass movement to nudge individual and community action to protect and preserve the environment.

The prime minister also offered to share Indias experience in providing affordable and quality medicines to people through Jan-Aushadhi Kendras.

He invited ASEAN countries to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and called for cooperation in disaster management.

He also called for enhanced cooperation on maritime safety, security and domain awareness, according to the statement.

In addition to India and ASEAN Leaders, Timor-Leste participated in the Summit as an observer.

In view of strengthening the ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the meeting reviewed the progress made under ASEAN-India dialogue relations and welcomed the adoption of the Annex to the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-India Partnership for Peace, Progress and Shared Prosperity (2021-2025), ASEAN statement said.

Reiterating both sides shared vision for a peaceful, stable, prosperous, rules-based, open and inclusive region, the Leaders of ASEAN and India also adopted the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Maritime Cooperation, it said.

ASEAN is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners.

Prime Minister Modis proposal came days after a number of ASEAN member countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines reacted sharply to Chinas territorial claim over the South China Sea in its latest edition of the Standard Map of China. India had also rejected Chinas new map which showed Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as Chinese territories.

Prime Minister Modi also attended the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) here.

In his address, Modi reiterated the importance of the EAS mechanism and reaffirmed Indias support to further strengthen it. The prime minister underlined Indias support for ASEAN centrality and called for ensuring a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific, the MEA statement said.

The prime minister highlighted synergies of visions for the Indo-Pacific between India and ASEAN and underscored that ASEAN is the focal point of Quads vision, it said.

The Quad, comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia, has been focusing on practical cooperation to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of Chinas increasing military muscle-flexing in the region.

The prime minister also called for a cooperative approach to address global challenges including terrorism, climate change and resilient supply chains for essential items including food and medicines, and for energy security.

He highlighted Indias steps in the area of climate change and initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, LiFE and One Sun One World One Grid.

The leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues.
The stage is set for the G20 Leaders Summit tomorrow. Representatives of the worlds biggest economies will gather in New Delhi on the weekend for a crucial meeting. It will also be the last big chance of the 20 nations, responsible for 80% of emissions, to send a strong message of climate action before they meet at COP28 in Dubai.

India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already submitted its revised climate action plan with a Net-Zero target of 2070 and commitment to achieve 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030. It is now trying to get countries to agree to phase down all fossil fuels, not just coal.

Despite the Indian presidencys efforts to achieve ambitious outcomes, the G20 climate ministerial talks in July ended without any consensus on enhancing emission reduction targets. But as India enters the last leg of its Presidency, it will look to achieve some agreement among the worlds powerful economies on enhanced climate action before they head out for COP28.

VOICE OF THE GLOBAL SOUTH

Officials say climate change will feature in a packed agenda, but how much of it will make it to the Leaders Declaration remains to be seen. Climate finance and just energy transition for developing countries are key priorities. Any agreement on discussions to phase down all fossil fuels would consolidate Indias leadership pitch.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strongly batted for Indias leadership in the Global South, highlighting how climate change is a shared reality and that the Global South would be affected disproportionately. In an interview to Moneycontrol, he said the member nations should come together and focus on positive actions to combat climate change, instead of dwelling on restrictions, criticism, and blame.

CALL FOR CLIMATE FINANCE

Finance remains a key priority. Annual investments in climate action need to go up by more than $2.4 trillion annually by 2030 say experts. The G20 has an opportunity to flex its financial muscle to move trillions in investment required to support developing countries in their energy transition.

The issue of debt restructuring for vulnerable economies was discussed early this week  a topic India expects to be an important part of discussions at COP28.

It will be worrisome if there is no real and meaningful progress made on finance at the G20. The markets need strong signals to move in the right direction. When countries sign on to a deal, it is the strongest signal for markets to move in that direction, said Vaibhav Chaturvedi, Fellow, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

TARGET TO TRIPLE RENEWABLES BY 2030

The upcoming COP28 agenda is focussed on pushing major economies to target deals on tripling renewables by 2030 and raising new levels of climate finance. But the renewables goal can only become a success if it comes with a financial package to ensure it can be achievable for developing countries. The G20 can offer that support if it commits to an ambitious deal.

Indias installed capacity of solar energy went up 20-fold, and it is among the top four nations in the world in terms of wind energy, but it needs more public and private finance to scale it up. India could also push for a global green development agreement including climate finance, besides Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE), circular economy, accelerating progress on sustainable development goals, energy transitions and energy security, a report by think-tank Strategic Perspectives.

FOSSIL FUEL PHASE DOWN

India is leading a push to get countries to agree to a phase down of unabated fossil fuels, not just coal. However, there are push backs by countries such as Saudi Arabia. Member nations have continued to dispute the definition of abatement. China is said to be negotiating to delete reference to the 2009 G20 commitment to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.

Experts say absence of any such commitment in the final Leaders Statement may lead to backsliding on coal phase down that was agreed at the Bali summit last year. In fact, coal has been largely absent from the talks so far despite G20 being home to 93% of the worlds operating coal capacity. Experts have urged G20 leaders to set a clear timeline to end public support for fossil fuels.

India has already demonstrated leadership with bold and ambitious targets. It now has a unique opportunity to influence other G20 nations to advance a sustainable, just, affordable, inclusive and clean energy transition. The Indian presidency must aim to get the world back on track to limit global warming below 1.5C as promised by countries under the Paris Agreement, said Sanjay Vashist, Director, Climate Action Network South Asia (CANSA).
The Supreme Court has set aside a judgement by the Karnataka High Court, which held a man guilty of murder reversing his acquittal by a trial court. Effectively, the top court upheld the lower courts order stating that it will be unsafe to sustain the conviction of the man on such circumstantial evidence, where the chain is clearly incomplete.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah allowed an appeal filed by R Sreenivasa against an HC judgement dated October 20, 2010. The order convicted him of killing a man identified as Krishnappa in January 2002. The SC discarded reliance upon circumstantial evidence, including the last seen theory.

A trial court in Bengaluru had acquitted the man and another accused in the murder case, holding that the prosecution had failed to prove the evidence of last seen. According to the prosecution, the motive behind killing Krishnappa was that he had developed an intimacy with the sister of the accused. It was also alleged that both the accused had poured petrol over the victims body to destroy evidence.

Sreenivasa pointed out that, as per the chargesheet, it was the other accused who had gone to Krishnappas house and taken him away two days before the incident. He contended the evidence of last seen could not be relied upon based on an extrajudicial confession by a witness, who had turned hostile during the trial.

He also said the victims wife deposed that there were cordial relations between him and her family, so the theory of animosity is negated. He also submitted that the woman had not lodged a complaint when her husband went missing for two to three days.

Going by the records, the SC bench stated that there is major discrepancy in the charges framed by the court and the statement of witnesses. It noted that the specific allegation that the other accused was the one who had taken Krishnappa away from his house, whereas during deposition the victims wife and brother stated that it was Sreenivasa, is enough to raise doubts on the veracity and authenticity of such statements.

The SC also pointed to the fact that the victim had, late at night, agreed to go to Sreenivasas house and, in view of the allegation that there was strong animosity between the two, that appears highly improbable.

These circumstances creating a doubt as to the appellants involvement in the crime attain more credence when gauged apropos the factum of the deceased being missing for more than two days, yet neither his wife nor his brother reported the deceased as missing. It does not appear that the deceaseds family took any steps to find out as to where the deceased had gone. The deceaseds wife has testified that relations between the parties were cordial, and has not hinted at animosity, the bench stated.

The court concluded that there is no definitive evidence of last seen as also the fact that there is a long gap between that time and the recovery of the body. In the absence of other corroborative pieces of evidence, it cannot be said that the chain of circumstances is so complete that the only inference that could be drawn is the guilt of the appellant.
A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justice Sunil B Shukre and Justice Firdosh Pooniwala in its order on Wednesday asked civic authorities to revisit and consider its policy regarding permissions being granted for the celebration of festivals on public roads.

The division bench, with respect to Dahi Handi celebrations, raised concerns about the manner in which the policy regulating celebration of such festivals has been framed.

The bench said the policy does not take into account the inconvenience and traffic congestion that may result on account of granting permissions to various groups which celebrate Dahi Handi on public streets and in public squares of Mumbai.

The bench in its order said traditions and cultural practices must also evolve with changing time and changing demographics of the city.

If it is contended by anybody that such celebrations are part of traditions, culture and social mores of the glorious city of Mumbai, the traditions and cultural practices must also evolve with changing time and changing demographics of the city. Today, we are witness to great influx of migrants to this city and also inherent increase in population of Mumbai, the bench said.

The bench added that its a situation where there is increase in the density of population in most of the areas of Mumbai and at the same time, we have also seen that the capacity of the public roads and public amenities has not been increased in proportion to increase in the population and its density.

The high court emphasised that policy makers should consider whether permission should be granted to celebrate festivals in public streets.

Therefore, now the time has come for the authorities and for the policy makers to revisit the policy already framed to regulate such festivals. The policymakers would have to ask a question to themselves as to whether or not permission should be given to celebrate the festivals at public squares and in public streets, where huge crowds/groups are expected to visit to take part in the celebrations. The policymakers would have to also think as to whether or not such celebrations should be perforce shifted to open spaces and public grounds, the bench said.

Further, the order stated that the policymakers would also have to consider the issue pertaining to imposing of additional conditions for limiting the number of participants in such events. Additionally, they would also have to think of identifying the time slots within which such festivals be celebrated by different groups at the same venue.

The division bench also recorded that if policy is reframed, then there would be a balance between public expression of religious sentiments and larger public interest of reducing the inconvenience to road users.

If the policy is re-framed or modified by taking into consideration all these aspects, we are of the view that there would be a proper balance struck between the need for public expression of religious sentiments on one hand and need for protecting larger public interest by reducing the inconvenience to the road users and the residents of nearby localities and also reducing traffic congestion at such venues on the other hand, the bench said.
The police in Maharashtras Thane district have registered a case of attempt to murder against the husband and four relatives of a 21-year-old woman, an official said on Thursday. Inspector Pramod Kumbhar of Narpoli police station at Bhiwandi said that a Zero FIR was first registered in Buldhana district on the womans complaint before it was transferred to them as the alleged crime was committed under their jurisdiction. A Zero FIR can be registered by any police station, irrespective of jurisdiction. After receiving it, the relevant police station registers a fresh FIR (first information report) and starts the investigation. As per the complainant, the womans husband and four in-laws forcefully got her foetus aborted in 2021 and made her drink poison in their bid to kill her when she was in Bhiwandi.

The police have registered a case against the accused under Indian Penal Code sections, including 307 (attempt to murder) and 313 (causing miscarriage without a womans consent). The five have been identified as Asha, alias Yogita Yogesh Patil, Gopal Prakash Patil, Mangala Prakash Patil, Prakash Tulsiram Patil, and Sagar Patil, who is the complainants husband. The police did not elaborate upon the relation between the woman and the other accused. No arrests have been made yet, the official said.
Ex-Bigg Boss contestant and son of late politician Pramod Mahajan, Rahul Mahajan is currently making headlines due to his third divorce. Amid all this, in a recent media interaction, Rahul has opened up about his recent divorce with his third wife, Natalya Ilina. He disclosed that he is presently under the guidance of a therapist to deal with the psychological strain of his divorce.

In the meantime, rumours suggested that the couples split was motivated by his desire for a child. Rahul clarified that this is not at all true. He also pointed out that he had not paid alimony to Natalya or his previous wives since all divorces were amicable.

In an interview with The Times of India, Rahul said, I have therapists who are helping me deal with my feelings. In India, therapy-related support is extremely stigmatized, yet I dont think its wrong to do it.

I feel like my life has experienced a significant earthquake. There are still vibrations sometimes. Even though there has been much trauma, life carries on. You are forced to exercise strength. I still have my love and respect for her. Love is immortal. Natalya and I are not in contact, and I have no idea where she is. However, love doesnt simply disappear.

Rahul also shared his apprehension about getting into a new relationship, citing his current emotional state as the reason. He described himself as unfit and in need of improvement.

Responding to speculation that he wanted a baby with Natalya, Rahul explained, I never wanted a baby in this relationship, we never tried. Only Dimpy and I tried for a baby and we had a miscarriage. Natalya and I didnt plan to have a baby. Im 48. I dont want a baby right now.

For the unversed, Rahul and Natalya tied the knot in 2018 when Rahul was 43 and Natalya was 25. Natalya is from Kazakhstan. Before this marriage, Rahul was married to Dimpy Ganguly from 2010 to 2015 and Shweta Singh in 2008. He was accused of domestic violence in both marriages.
Choreographer-Director Farah Khan often shares her vacation experiences on social media. Her posts often feature funny videos that offer a peek into her sense of humour. During her recent trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, as she strolled through the city streets, she unexpectedly encountered former Shark Tank India judge Ashneer Grover. The two of them collaborated on a comical video reel, leading Farah to appreciate how effortlessly natural Ashneer appeared in it.

In the video, Farah is showing Baku to her fans on social media when she unexpectedly runs into Ashneer. She excitedly says, Oh my god, Ashneer Grover! What are you doing here? Ashneer also seems pleasantly surprised and replies, Out of all the places, I never imagined Id run into you here.

Ashneer then suggests to Farah, We should take a photo. Farah happily agrees and takes a moment to adjust her hair before striking a pose. However, Ashneer hands his phone to her and joins his wife Madhuri for a full-length photo. The husband and wife ask Farah to capture their entire frame. Farah, feeling a bit annoyed, runs off with Ashneers phone.

Ashneers wife Madhuri also posted a few pictures with Farah and her husband. In the caption, she wrote, What serendipity! Lovely meeting the bindaas and ever charismatic @farahkhankunder in Baku (Azerbaijan). What a memorable dinner and fun time making the reel. Tops off a great trip to this amazing city. Farah, too, commented on her post, writing, Lovely meeting ul both.. n swapping stories.. .

Ashneer won over fans in the first season of Shark Tank India, but he wasnt part of the second season.
Eric Kripkes 2019 satirical superhero television series The Boys whipped up a massive response from viewers upon its inception. The Amazon Prime Video series revolves around a group of vigilantes who embark on a mission to take down corrupted superheroes, who are misusing their powers, creating trouble. Acknowledging the popularity of the show, the makers are once again bringing a spin-off series of The Boys, titled Gen V. Scheduled to release on September 29 on Amazon Prime Video, the trailer of the much-anticipated Gen V was unveiled recently, taking binge-watchers into a frenzied excitement. The upcoming web series also introduces fresh faces as the cast.

The trailer opens with the young superhero characters getting acquainted with the premises of a fictitious institution named Godolkin University, which is a prestigious superhero-only college where students train to be the next generation of heroespreferably with lucrative endorsements." In what appears to be a normal college at first, soon turns out to be a students worst nightmare. Initially, the pupils are seen engaging in a display of interesting superpowers and deciding on a superhero name for themselves. But, there is more than what meets the eye which becomes evident as the trailer progresses.

Things at Godolkin University seem to be going wrong" as claimed by some of the students. There is also a mention of some mystical wood that they prefer to keep their distance from. There are also secrets waiting to be unveiled and also a hint of some evil people" at the university, trying to harm others and hiding in plain sight. When things apparently seem to get out of hand, a group of young and morally correct students decide to take matters into their own hands and fight the malicious presence who is deemed to be bigger" than them. The trailer promises plenty of action, scary visuals, and a hint of romance in between, making up for a nail-biting tale of adventure and drama.

Gen V stars a cast ensemble of Jaz Sinclair, Lizze Broadway, Chance Perdomo, Shelley Conn, Jensen Ackles, Marco Pigossi, and Maddie Phillips among others, each playing significant roles. Some of The Boys cast including Clancy Brown, Jason Ritter, Jessie T Usher, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and PJ Byrne make cameo cameos in Gen V, reprising their characters, reports The Hollywood Reporter. Gen V is produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television in collaboration with Point Grey Pictures, Original Film, and Kripke Enterprises.
Ever since Veteran actress Saira Banu joined Instagram, she has often taken to the social media platform to share unknown anecdotes from her professional as well as her personal life. To mark the Hindu festival of Janmashtami, Saira on Thursday, took to Instagram once again to share a video of the song Kanha from the movie Shagird. She also shared that they had coincidentally filmed the song on the same day as the festival that year. The filming of the song was also incidental in her love story with legendary actor Dilip Kumar.

In the caption of her video Saira Bano wrote, We were shooting at Filmistan Studios with Nazir Hussain Sahab, an outstandingly famous character actor and a father figure to me who was also shooting at the same time in Madras (Chennai) with Dilip Sahab in RAM AUR SHYAM. We had date problems and Nazir Sahab would shoot with me late in the night and fly in the morning to shoot with Dilip Sahab in RAM AUR SHYAM, the veteran actress added.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Saira Banu Khan (@sairabanu)

Saira then continued, Nazir Sahab treated me like his own kid and vibed very easily on the sets with me. As I sang the Bhajan on Janmashtami night in front of a beautiful statue of Lord Krishna with Latajis melodious enthralling voice in the playback, I turned to Nazir Sahab and with a mischievous smile on my face asked him for a favour! You are working with Dilip Sahab, Oh! you are so lucky enough to be working with Dilip Sahab, please request him that Saira is dying to work with him and if he doesnt do this then ask him to marry me!.

She then wrote that Nazir conveyed her message to Dilip saying, Dilip Sahab there is a Gudiya who is crazy about you! The actress then stated that just a few days after they had finished filming the song, Dilip met her and asked her grandmother for her hand in marriage.

Saira Banu and Dilip Kumar tied the knot in 1966. The couple also worked together in five films including Jwaar Bhata, Sagina and Bairaag. They spent 56 years together in wedded bliss before Dilip Kumar passed away in July 2021.
Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker recently made headlines when he had to abruptly leave the bands tour in Europe to attend an urgent family emergency. Photos of him and Kourtney Kardashian, at a hospital quickly circulated on the internet, sparking speculation about the situation. While the couple initially refrained from talking about the details of the emergency, now, Travis and Kourtney confirmed that the reality star had undergone critical surgery to protect their unborn childs life. Kourtney shared the news and revealed she had a fetal surgery on her Instagram.

She wrote, I will be forever grateful to my incredible doctors for saving our babys life. I am eternally grateful to my husband who rushed to my side from tour to be with me in the hospital and take care of me afterwards. And to my mom, thank you for holding my hand through this. As someone who has had three really easy pregnancies in the past, I wasnt prepared for the fear of rushing into urgent fetal surgery.

I dont think anyone who hasnt been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear. I have a whole new understanding and respect for the mamas who have had to fight for their babies while pregnant. Walking out of the hospital with my baby boy in my tummy, Kourtney Kardashian added.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Kourtney Kardashian Barker (@kourtneykardash)

Travis Barker took to Twitter to express his relief and gratitude for the successful emergency surgery that saved his babys life. He shared that he had flown home for this life-threatening situation and was thankful that it went well. In his post, he also thanked everyone for all the support he had received during this challenging time and confirmed that the tour would resume on Friday.

God is great. I flew home for a life-threatening emergency surgery for our baby that Im so grateful went well. I want to say thank you for all the support. Tour resumes Friday. Travis Barker (@travisbarker) September 6, 2023

Earlier, Travis Barkers band, Blink 182 officially announced the postponement of their tour through an Instagram story. They cited an urgent family matter as the reason for Traviss return to the United States, due to which their shows in Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin, were postponed. The band promised to announce the rescheduled tour dates as soon as possible. On the other hand, a source close to Kourtney Kardashian confirmed that she was back home with her children and feeling better.

Barker is a father to three children, including a son named Landon and a daughter named Alabama, as well as a stepdaughter named Atiana from his previous marriage with Shanna Moakler. Meanwhile, Kourtney is also a mother to three children, sons Reign Aston and Mason Dash, and daughter Penelope Scotland, whom she shares with her ex-partner Scott Disick.
Eufaula High School students have earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs. Trinity Gant has been granted the National African American Recognition Award, and Maddie Register has been granted the National Rural/Small Town Award.

These National Recognition Programs grant underrepresented students academic awards that can be included on college and scholarship applications. They connect students with universities across the country, helping them connect to colleges and stand out during admissions.

Colleges and scholarship programs identify students awarded National African American, Hispanic, Indigenous and/or Rural/Small Town Recognition through College Boards Student Search Service.

Students who may be eligible have a GPA of 3.5 or higher and have excelled on the PSAT/NMSQT or PSAT 10 or earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP Exams; and are African American or Black, Hispanic American or Latinx, Indigenous and/or attend school in a rural area or small town.

Eligible students are invited to apply during their sophomore or junior year and are awarded at the beginning of the next school year. Students receive their awards in time to include them on their college and scholarship applications.
Vicky Kaushal is all set for his next release The Great Indian Family co-starring Manushi Chillar. The family drama is releasing on September 22. Well, ahead of the release, the actor will be celebrating Dahi Handi this year during the Janmashtami celebrations. He will be participating in one of Mumbais biggest Dahi Handi event and will make thousands of people dance to his latest song Kanhaiya Twitter Pe Aaja which is currently climbing the music charts.

Talking about Dahi Handi celebrations, Vicky said, Growing up in Mumbai, Dahi Handi was more than just a celebration. It was all about the spirit, unity, and unbreakable bonds of the people. I always felt that the human pyramid formed to break the Handi is a powerful metaphor for resilience and unity. This festival reflects Indias spirit. I am extremely delighted that this year, I get to be a part of that infectious vibe and celebrate it with such enthusiastic kids. This will definitely take me down my childhood memory lane when I used to go with my family for the local Dahi Handi celebration.

The Great Indian Family, a family entertainer directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya. The makers recently unveiled the films first teaser, offering a sneak peek into the comical family drama. Set in rural India, the storyline revolves around the chaos that unfolds within Vickys characters family due to unexpected events beyond their control.

In the teaser, the actor passionately discusses the importance of family bonds until he becomes emotional about his eccentric family members. He even refers to his family as a snake that can turn his aspirations to ashes. Then, multiple voices call him out for speaking negatively about his loved ones. He swiftly changes his tone, explaining that he wants to warn the audience about The Great Indian Family.

Vicky Kaushal is set to star in Meghna Gulzars biopic on Sam Maneckshaw, with aims at a December release. Former Miss World Manushi Chillar made her debut last year in Akshay Kumars Prithviraj.
This week marks a significant diplomatic milestone for India as it prepares to welcome a number of world leaders and heads of several international organisations for the upcoming G20 summit in New Delhi. Amid this high-profile diplomatic gathering, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attending the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Jakarta in person.

PM Modis presence at the EAS underscores Indias unwavering commitment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its centrality  the foundation of which was laid with the initiation of the Look East Policy in 1992 and was carried forward by the Modi administration in 2014 with the upgradation to the Act East Policy. In contrast, Chinese President Xi Jinping will be notably absent from both the EAS in Jakarta and the G20 summit in New Delhi. Instead, Chinese Premier Li Qiang will represent China at the two fora. While China has predominantly been represented by its Premier at the EAS, it is unusual for the Chinese President to be absent from the G20 summit.

Once again, no specific reason has been provided for this decision, but it suggests that engagement with the ASEAN and the G20 is of lower priority on Xis diplomatic agenda right now. Xis absence could be interpreted as a lack of enthusiasm for regional platforms, which raises doubts about Beijings dedication to the ethos of multilateralism, ASEAN-led mechanisms and their overall significance. With both India and Southeast Asia, it appears that Chinas emphasis is more on escalating tensions rather than actively seeking solutions to the underlying problems.

Just last week, China unveiled a highly-contested map, asserting territorial claims over parts of India, sections of the South China Sea, and Taiwan, designating them as Chinese territory. This action sparked widespread protests from India, Taiwan, and at least six Southeast Asian nations. Prior to this, Chinas use of water cannons against the Philippine Coast Guard ships had drawn international condemnation and backlash against China.

Chinas cartographic aggression and its reluctance to address the differences may have the unintended consequence of diminishing its influence within the ASEAN region. Chinas unwillingness to proactively address the South China Sea dispute within the ASEAN framework underlines the ongoing necessity for the bloc to unite and present a cohesive stance towards China, an objective that has seen limited progress thus far.

Chinas actions in the South China Sea have been eroding the rule of law, presenting a clear and immediate challenge to the core principles of ASEANs centrality and unity. In contrast, India is progressively regarded as a dependable partner and holds a favourable position within ASEAN. This positive perception is rooted in Indias longstanding and multifaceted partnership with both the bloc and individual member countries. India is also gaining importance as a significant partner for Southeast Asian countries, with the growing rivalry between the United States and China contributing to the challenges faced by ASEAN-led mechanisms relevance and centrality in the region. India has notably positioned ASEAN centrality at the core of its Indo-Pacific policy, distinguishing itself as the first country to do so.

There is a stark contrast in how China and India approach their engagement with the ASEAN. China has failed to display its commitment to cooperation with the ASEAN and resolve the dispute amicably, whereas India has demonstrated its trustworthiness to its ASEAN partners. While China presents challenges, India represents a unique opportunity for growth and development within ASEAN. China is progressively viewed as a disruptive force, whereas India is perceived as a provider of solutions. India treats Southeast Asian countries as equals, whereas China has been known to perceive Southeast Asian countries as smaller, as evident in the 2010 statement by former Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi: China is a big country, and other countries are small countries, and thats a fact.

These factors highlight Indias status as a vital economic, security, and developmental partner for countries in the region. A prime example of this partnership is the inaugural ASEAN-India maritime exercise (AIME-2023) in May this year, which highlights the depth of cooperation and engagement. Moreover, the India-Philippines BrahMos deal, valued at $375 million, serves as evidence of Indias staunch commitment as a reliable defence partner for regional countries. Additionally, during the visit of his Filipino counterpart to New Delhi, Indias Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar, expressed support for the Philippines regarding the 2016 arbitral award concerning the South China Sea dispute.

While China has not traditionally been the primary driver behind Indias proactive engagement with ASEAN, it is gradually becoming a significant factor in shaping a shared agenda. Indias approach and interests often align with those of ASEAN rather than diverge. The rise of India is not seen as a detriment to the bloc; on the contrary, it complements it.

Chinas credibility within the ASEAN region is waning due to its increasingly assertive foreign policy stance. Seemingly, ASEAN is recognising the potential risks associated with a Taiwan invasion and heightened aggression in the South China Sea, which threaten the stability of the Indo-Pacific region and undermine the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. From India to Taiwan to Southeast Asia, countries are confronted with a common challenge: How to effectively address the challenges posed by China. In this context, the India-ASEAN partnership holds significant potential and promise.

Sana Hashmi is Fellow at Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation and George H. W. Bush Foundation for U.S.-China Relations. She tweets at @sanahashmi1. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
Once upon a time, a wise philosopher named Socrates went to watch a movie. Yes, Socrates  in the theatre, munching on popcorn! The movie, ironically, was Inception. As the layered dreams played out on screen, Socrates nudged his fellow philosopher buddy, Plato, and said, This reminds me of opposition. If the government proposes a dream, the opposition is convinced theres another dream inside it trying to topple democracy!

Fast forward to modern times. The Union government has decided to set up a high-level committee on simultaneous elections. Headed by former President, Ram Nath Kovind, the other members of the committee are Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Ghulam Nabi Azad, N K Singh, Subhash Kashyap, Harish Salve & Sanjay Kothari.

But, like every movie, theres always that one critic. An Opposition leader exclaimed, This gimmick of forming a committee on One Nation, One Election is a subterfuge for dismantling the federal structure of India. He was clearly convinced that hidden inside this decision was another decision, and inside that, another decision aimed at sabotaging the Constitution. Its kind of like when you think theres a movie inside a movie, but theres really just a movie. It seems some take the concept of oppose by default a little too seriously.

Similarly, another Opposition leader who was part of this committee has decided not to be a part anymore. First, hes in, sparking hope for bipartisan discussion on the issue, and then hes out, leaving us all in suspense. Its like a political thriller with plot twists at every turn. But in all seriousness, it does raise questions about whether the Opposition is truly committed to discussions or merely engaging in a different kind of runningaway from the table, that is.

Turning our attention to the concept of simultaneous elections, I refer to the concurrent elections for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. The idea is that the voters in a single parliamentary constituency should be voting to choose their MPs and MLAs on the same day. It doesnt mean that elections should happen in all the constituencies on the same day. Further, it wont be logistically possible to have simultaneous elections for the third tier of the government.

With that said, the notion of simultaneous isnt new. In fact, this was the standard practice up until the 1960s. However, the practice diverged when the Central government began dismissing state governments. Its worth noting that the Opposition leader discussed above wont view Indira Gandhis decision to dismiss elected state governments on 50 occasions as a subterfuge for dismantling the federal structure of India.

There are several benefits of simultaneous elections. One significant benefit is the cost-saving aspect, as it can drastically reduce the expenses involved in frequent elections. Additionally, with the Indian polity frequently being in election mode, simultaneous elections can mitigate policy paralysis that often arises from the constant electoral cycles and implementation of the Model Code of Conduct. This streamlined approach would allow governments to focus more on governance and development rather than always being in campaign mode. Furthermore, it may also lead to a reduction in the use of administrative and security resources which are currently stretched due to continuous electoral cycles. Lastly, the concept seeks to ensure stability in governance, by reducing the disruptive effects of frequent elections, thereby fostering a more conducive environment for development and long-term planning.

But why is the idea being opposed?

There are three main arguments against simultaneous elections:

Critics question the logistical viability of conducting elections for both state and national bodies at the same time. They argue that implementing this process smoothly seems unrealistic and unachievable. There is concern that the practice could lead to voters focusing predominantly on national issues, even when casting their votes for state representatives. This might result in a homogenization of voter choices, where people end up supporting the same political party for both state and national elections. Another significant critique revolves around the constitutional alterations that would be needed to put simultaneous elections into practice. Sceptics believe that changing the terms of legislative bodies could risk disrupting the foundational federal structure of the country and limit the political independence of individual states.

Examining each of these criticisms in a new order reveals a more nuanced picture. On the issue of whether simultaneous elections would be operationally feasible, it is very much possible to do so. A very comprehensive NITI Aayog Paper, titled Analysis of Simultaneous Elections: The What, Why and How by Dr Bibek Debroy and Kishore Desai shows how to conduct these elections. Similarly, the Law Commission of Indias draft report on Simultaneous Elections is also a good starting point for anyone who wants to understand (a) the logistical issues with the current model of non-simultaneous elections and (b) how efficient simultaneous elections can be.

Regarding concerns about eroding federalism and state autonomy, its worth noting that the structural changes needed for simultaneous elections wont necessarily disrupt the federal architecture of the country. Voters could still choose different parties for state and national levels, thus preserving the importance of regional issues. Although there would be a one-time adjustment to the term lengths of state assemblies, future dissolutions of either state assemblies or the Lok Sabha would be handled in a way that maintains parity.

The implementation of the Presidents rule in a state would also be carefully managed and limited to specific conditions, which means the political autonomy of states wouldnt be necessarily compromised. Again, the NITI Aayog paper explains how this can be done.

When it comes to the argument that simultaneous elections could skew voting behaviour toward national issues, this assumes a simplification of the complex factors that influence voting in India. Voters are influenced by a myriad of elements, such as the track record of the current government, the organisational strength of political parties in various constituencies, policy positions, and political alliances. No definitive empirical evidence proves that simultaneous elections would necessarily change voting patterns to favour parties with stronger national profiles.

There are documented instances, such as in Delhi and Odisha, where regional parties or different parties have prevailed in state elections despite national trends leaning towards specific national parties. In Odisha, where elections are held simultaneously, the BJP experienced a considerable disparity in vote share between the 2019 parliamentary (38.4 per cent) and assembly elections (32.5 per cent). This reflects the sophisticated discernment of Indian voters and their capacity to make well-informed decisions that align with diverse interests.

Its essential to acknowledge the discerning nature of the Indian voter, who has consistently shown the ability to distinguish between state and national issues when casting their ballots. The belief that they would be swayed solely by national narratives in simultaneous elections undermines their intelligence and deep engagement with diverse local concerns. Faith in the wisdom and discernment of our voters is foundational to our democracy, and they have repeatedly demonstrated their capacity for nuanced judgment over the years. Lets trust them to continue doing so.

The author is OSD, Research, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. He tweets @adityasinha004. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday said the Modi government has called a special Parliament session without revealing its agenda which is a dangerous thing.

Gehlot also said BJPs central leadership, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has become nervous after the formation of the opposition INDIA alliance.

Parliament session was called. No problem. Sonia Gandhi is asking about the agenda of the session but they are not revealing. It is a dangerous thing. I mean to say that what they have on their mind is not known, he told reporters in Bhilwara.

The chief minister said there are rumours that they (the Centre) will discuss one nation, one election concept during the special session.

The language of Prime Minister Modi ji in his speeches has changed. The speaking style of several Union ministers, including home minister (Amit Shah), and their body language have changed. Why did it change? With mere formation of the INDIA alliance, if their body language gets changed then you can understand that how nervous they are, Gehlot said. He said that the BJP is now creating new issues over the name of the country, referring to invitations for a G20 dinner sent out by President Droupadi Murmu, describing her position as President of Bharat instead of the customary President of India.

The Congress leader said that the BJP is playing a dangerous game in the country and reiterated that democracy is in danger. President of India was described as President of Bharat (in invitations for a G20 dinner). They could have written President of Hindustan. They can do anything. Why do we say again and again that democracy is in danger, Constitution is being shattered. We say it after much deliberation, Gehlot said. Replying to a question that BJP has been targeting the Congress over its dictatorship during its dispensation at the Centre, Gehlot said, It was never ever there. Emergency was declared. After much deliberation, Indira Gandhi had taken the decision. Whether it was right or wrong, people think differently. They can think differently as it is their right. But, at least they had the right. But, today BJP people are doing politics in a secret manner. It is dangerous. Gehlot said that a year after the NDA government was formed at the Centre, senior BJP leader L K Advani had said that there was an environment of undeclared emergency in the country, but he was silenced under the pressure of RSS. His (Advanis) statement was an indication and this is what you are seeing for the last nine years, he said. The Rajasthan CM exuded confidence that the Congress government will repeat in the state due to its policies which are being talked about in the entire country. He said that the people of the state have decided to support the Congress in the upcoming assembly polls.
HD Deve Gowdas party, the JD(S), lost deposits in two-thirds of the seats it contested in the Karnataka Assembly elections earlier this year, paving the way for a Congress win in the state, data from an analytical report by the Election Commission (EC) shows.

For long, the political wisdom from Karnataka elections was that the collapse of the JD(S) in its stronghold Old Mysore region led to gains, and eventually victory, for the Congress. The Vokkaliga voters of the JD(S) seemed to have trusted Congress Vokkaliga leader from the region, DK Shivakumar, who is now the Deputy CM.

The ECs analytical data now confirms that JD(S) lost deposits in 139 out of the 209 seats it contested in the state  meaning it lost badly in nearly 66% of the seats it contested. Gowdas party lost nearly 15 lakh votes in Karnataka compared to the 2018 elections, and could secure wins in only 19 seats this time. This was nearly half of 38 seats that the JD(S) had won in 2018.

The data shows that the JD(S) loss directly translated to Congress gain in the state. The latter gained about 28 lakh votes in the 2023 election compared to 2018, while the BJP gained about 9 lakh votes, the EC report says. The biggest loser, hence, was the JD(S), whose voters seem to have shifted en masse to the Congress party in the elections earlier this year. So, is this the end of the JD(S)?

Rock Bottom

JD(S) leader and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, on being discharged from hospital after suffering a mild stroke, called it his third birth. Just like its leader, the JD(S) is also hoping for an electoral rebirth in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but analysts say that things are not looking up yet for the regional party.

Party leaders have been directed to spare no effort in orchestrating a targeted and sustained campaign to rejuvenate the outfit, both within the state and on a national scale. The party faced disappointing results in the recent Karnataka Assembly elections, where it secured 19 out of the 210 seats it fought, down by 18 seats from the previous elections.

JD(S) supremo and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda has laid out a roadmap with the goal of securing at least six of the 28 seats from Karnataka in the Lok Sabha elections next year.

However, there are concerns that the Congress is actively attempting to lure JD(S) MLAs, potentially leading to a split within the party, just ahead of the General Elections. JD(S) sources claim that the Congress is actively pursuing 13 of the 19 JD(S) MLAs to resign, a move aimed at avoiding disqualification under the anti-defection law.

To counter this, the JD(S) has formed a 21-member central committee, led by Chamundeshwari MLA GT Deve Gowda, to boost the confidence of party MLAs and keep the flock together.

In 2017, seven JD(S) legislators had jumped ship to join the Congress ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections. This move was engineered by Siddaramaiah, the current Karnataka CM.

Deve Gowda ji and the party seniors are well-informed of these poaching attempts and have given strict instructions to ensure that the JD(S) leaders stick together and the party remains intact, said a senior party functionary, who claims that Kumaraswamys criticism of the Siddaramaiah government has forced the Congress hand to try and poach JD(S) leaders.

Party patriarch HD Deve Gowda had been hoping to hand over the political mantle to his grandsons, Prajwal Revanna and Nikhil Kumaraswamy, but their political roadmap seems to be dotted with roadblocks.

The future of the party appears to hinge on the younger generation. A comprehensive overhaul, including restructuring the party, is in the works to reflect its traditional values and commitment to the farming community, while presenting a refreshed image, said a JD(S) leader when asked about the partys future.

We will be presenting ourselves in a brand new avatar. Its just a matter of time, the leader said.

The latest setback faced by the JD(S) was the Karnataka High Court ruling that Gowdas grandson and Hassan MP Prajwal Revannas election to the Lok Sabha seat stood disqualified over irregularities in his affidavit for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. JD(S) leaders, however, told News18 that it is not a matter of concern as it could be fought legally in the courts.

Prajwal, the grandson of Deve Gowdas elder son and former Karnataka minister HD Revanna, has been accused of not disclosing all his assets and furnishing wrong disclosure on his assets. He is the partys lone MP.

Gowdas second grandson Nikhil Kumaraswamy lost both elections he contested from his family turf Ramanagara  2019 Lok Sabha polls and 2023 Assembly polls. His father HD Kumaraswamy announced that Nikhil will concentrate on his movie career for the next five years and will not contest any more elections. Kumaraswamy made it clear that his sons defeat was not the reason behind the latter stepping back from politics.

Facing electoral defeat is part of the process. I know my responsibility. Defeats in elections are temporary Time will answer everything. Nikhil wrote on social media.

The JD(S) is often called the kingmaker by the media. We are revamping in such a way that soon we will be able to gain the support and love of the people of Karnataka to form the government on our own, added the JDS leader.

The JD(S) had also consulted with political strategist Prashant Kishor to look into increasing its footprint across Karnataka and gain more acceptance beyond its traditional stronghold of the Old Mysore region and primary vote bank, the Vokkaligas. The JD(S) had also been advised to ensure it projects itself as the party that works 247 in the interests of farmers and should be the go-to platform that will represent their needs when in deep distress.

The JD(S) needs to break free of the family-centric party image for a better future. The 21-member core committee led by GT Deve Gowda has been tasked with doing that along with gauging the possibility of independently contesting the Lok Sabha elections.

The decision on providing support to the Opposition (BJP) in the Assembly on bills and issues will rest with the leader of the JD(S) Legislature Party, Kumaraswamy, depending on the specific subjects, said CM Ibrahim, the state JD(S) president.

2024 is make or break for the JD(S), and, by extension, the Gowda clan.
September 17 is a red-letter day for Telangana, and this election year, it has gained more significance with political parties scheduling important events. The credit for the biggest show will go to the Congress, which will be conducting its two-day Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting from September 16.

The excitement is palpable at Gandhi Bhawan in Nampally as national-level leaders are arriving to oversee the arrangements of the meeting, which is being held in Hyderabad after more than 15 years. On the lines of Karnataka, the Telangana Congress will release five guarantees for the state. It will also release a charge sheet against the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi.

On September 17, the Congress has scheduled a mega rally, which will be attended by party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former party president Rahul Gandhi, and other senior leaders. On September 18, the CWC members will interact with local leaders in different constituencies.

The then Hyderabad state was annexed to the Indian Union on September 17, 1948. While the BJP marks it as Liberation Day, the BRS and Congress observe it as National Integration Day. That is why, holding the mega rally on the same day gains significance. The Congress has also been highlighting the fact that its president Kharges parents had been killed by Razakars, the paramilitary force of the Nizams.

A tussle has already ensued between the Congress and BJP over the venue of their programmes. Telangana Congress chief Revanth Reddy has alleged that the BJP got permission to hold its Liberation Day celebrations on the Parade Grounds in Secunderabad despite his party applying for the venue first to hold its rally.

On Wednesday, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary KC Venugopal arrived in Hyderabad to review the CWC arrangements. He scouted various venues along with senior leaders and convened a meeting late at night to decide on one.

The BJP has announced week-long celebrations from September 17 to mark Liberation Day and also Prime Minister Narendra Modis birthday. Union home minister Amit Shah will be the chief guest at the programme. The partys Telangana unit chief Kishan Reddy had said that freedom fighters would be felicitated to mark the celebrations.

Though the BRS, which marks September 17 as Integration Day, has not announced any plans yet, sources say that MLC K Kavitha is planning a rally. She also wants to make her demand for a womens reservation bill heard when there are national leaders in the city.

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has announced a bike rally on September 17 to mark Integration Day.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Thursday said that assets worth more than USD 1.8 billion have been recovered from economic offenders and fugitives in the last about four years.

Addressing an event at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters here, he said there has been a quantum jump in extradition of criminals and fugitives in recent years, especially after India hosted the 90th Interpol General Assembly in October 2022.

Singh, the Minister of State for Personnel, said 19 criminals/fugitives have returned to India this year so far, whereas previously, on an average around 10 of them have returned to India every year.

The figure stood at 27 in 2022 and 18 in 2021.

Over 1.8 billion US dollar worth of assets have been recovered from economic offenders and fugitives in the last about four years, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought in the Economic Offenders Act, while the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has helped in attaching the assets of offenders worth more than 12 billion US dollars since 2014, Singh was quoted as having said in a statement issued by the Personnel Ministry.

In his inaugural address at the first-ever International Day of Police Cooperation after conferring Indian Police Medals on distinguished CBI officers at an investiture ceremony at the agencys head office, he said the Modi government is aggressively pursuing economic offenders and informed about the recovery and attachment of huge assets from economic offenders, fugitives and money launderers.

Singh said that 2023 is the diamond jubilee year of CBI and in its 60 years of existence, it has emerged as Indias premier investigation and anti-corruption agency and internally evolved as a capable organisation to handle investigations ranging from bribery and corruption, sensational and complicated cases handed over by states and constitutional courts, economic offences, and banking frauds.

On account of its sheer professionalism and integrity, this bureau has gained the confidence of the executive, judiciary, legislature, and the common people, the minister said.

Singh said the litmus test for any organisation is to win the trust of the people and added that CBI has not only gained the trust of public, but keeping pace with the fast changing socio-economic and technical milieu, it has also established niche specialised investigative units to handle investigations pertaining to online child sexual abuse and exploitation, trafficking in human beings, drugs, wild life, cultural properties, and crimes in digital space.

Needless to say that the basic principles in fighting crime will never change and stronger international police cooperation in the proposed framework will ensure that police all around the world are connected, he said.

Singh also gave away police medals to CBI officers and congratulated the awardees and their family members.

He said that the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 2022 adopted a historic resolution to designate September 7 as the International Day of Police Cooperation, to be observed starting in 2023.

The resolution emphasises the need to strengthen international cooperation at the global, regional and sub-regional levels in various areas related to preventing and combating transnational crime, in particular transnational organised crime, and preventing and countering terrorism.

The selected date for annual observance on September 7 coincides with the date when Interpols predecessor the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC) was created in 1923, he said.

Earlier speaking on the occasion, CBI Director Praveen Sood said the agency as the national central bureau for Interpol has played an important role in facilitating resolution of complex investigation cases, availability of evidence from abroad, extradition/deportation of criminals/fugitives. He said the CBI has kept pace with the rapidly evolving challenges of crime, changes in technologies and the global policing practices.

Sood said that as a result of growing international police cooperation, there has been significant increase in return of criminals and fugitives from abroad.

He said two important sessions on Leveraging Interpols Operation Capabilities and Utilization of MHA Portal for International Mutual Legal Assistance are being held as part of the 9th Interpol Liaison Officers Conference on the occasion of International Day of Police Cooperation.
Udhayanidhi Stalin has no right to hurt the sentiments of Sanatan Dharma followers and must apologise for his remarks on one of the oldest religions of the world, Muslim clerics in Uttar Pradesh have said. Many of them, across Sunni and Shia outfits, also demanded that the anti-BJP INDIA bloc clarify on the DMK leader and Tamil Nadu ministers comments, alleging it to be an attempt to divide India on religious lines.

Its a derogatory remark and Udhayanidhi Stalin should apologise for making such remarks against one of the oldest religions of the world. Nobody has the right to hurt peoples sentiments. Also, the anti-BJP front INDIA must clarify its stand on the Sanatan Dharma, said Maulana Habib Haider, a senior Shia cleric and general secretary of the Shia Sunni Ulema Front.

Shahbuddin Rizvi, who belongs to the Barelvi school of thought and is president of All India Muslim Jamaat Maulana, said Udhayanidhi had no right to target any religion. Such statements divide people on the basis of religion. Religions are meant to unite people and not divide them on the basis of caste, he said.

Echoing similar sentiments, Abu Zafar Nomani, Sunni cleric representing the Deobandi school of thought, said such anti-religion remarks could lead to anarchy. One should not make any remarks that are a threat to law and order. I think (Udhayanidhi) Stalin should apologise for his remark, said Nomani.

Udhayanidhi Stalin had made the offending remarks on Saturday during an event in Tamil Nadu, comparing the Sanatan Dharma with diseases like dengue and malaria. His comments sparked a backlash from political parties, with the BJP insisting that the Congress condemn its allys remarks.

In his address at a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association (TNPWAA) in Chennai last week, the DMK leader likened Sanatan Dharma to coronavirus, malaria and dengue and said such things should not be opposed but destroyed.

As the backlash mounted swiftly, he claimed that he had not called for violence against the followers of Sanatan Dharma.

Sanatan Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatan Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality, he had alleged while reiterating his remarks against Sanatan Dharma, a term used by many Hindus to describe the religion.

On Thursday, the DMK minister accused the BJP of twisting his statements and vowed to face all cases in this connection legally.

 the BJP leaders have twisted my speech at the TNPWAA conference as inciting genocide In all fairness, I should be the one filing criminal cases and other court cases against them for spreading slander while holding respectable positions. But I am aware that this is their mode of survival. They dont know how else to survive, so I decided not to do that, he said.

On Wednesday, an FIR was registered in Uttar Pradeshs Rampur against Udhayanidhi Stalin and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharges son Priyank Kharge for allegedly hurting religious feelings. Udhayanidhi was booked for his alleged comments Sanatan Dharma and Kharge for backing his remark.

The two were booked under sections 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings) and 153 A (promoting enmity between different religious groups) of the IPC at Civil Lines Police Station.

Over 260 eminent citizens, including former judges and bureaucrats, have also written to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud urging him to take cognisance of the DMK leaders comments, calling it hate speech.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a multitude of challenges for individuals worldwide, from the loss of loved ones to dealing with the lingering effects of the virus. However, an exceptionally unusual and rare complication has surfaced in Thailand, leaving medical experts perplexed. It involves a six-month-old baby whose eyes turned blue following treatment for the virus.

According to reports, the infant initially had a cough and fever and later tested positive for COVID-19. As part of the treatment plan, the baby was prescribed Favipiravir. While mild diarrhoea and other general symptoms are known side effects of this medication, what truly caught everyones attention was the transformation of the babys eye colour. Just 18 hours after beginning the treatment, the babys eyes turned a striking shade of blue when exposed to sunlight, which left experts scratching their heads.

According to reports in Frontiers, the unusual discolouration observed in the babys eyes was not witnessed in other parts of the body, such as the skin, nails or nose. Fortunately, after three days, the babys symptoms began to improve and the doctors made the decision to discontinue the therapy. By the fifth day, the babys cornea returned to its normal colour.

An eye examination was performed by an ophthalmologist using a handheld slit lamp 2 weeks after infection. The patient was able to fix and follow the light in all directions. The cornea was clear and lacked a bluish corneal hue, as per the website.

Medical experts are currently not sure about the exact reason why favipiravir caused the discolouration. They suspect that this unusual phenomenon may be because of various factors, including the drug itself, its metabolites, or additional components found in the tablets, such as titanium dioxide and yellow ferric oxide.

Therefore, monitoring the long-term safety of favipiravir used in pediatric patients is of utmost importance. The reported adverse event, although rare, should be taken seriously and closely monitored in future cases, the doctors added.

Favipiravir is a medication used to treat various viruses by preventing their ability to replicate genetic material. It was first approved for treating COVID-19 patients in China, during the early stage of the pandemic. Later, several other countries, including India, Japan and Thailand, authorized the use of this drug to manage COVID-19 cases. In Thailand, Favipiravir is a primary drug used for children diagnosed with the disease.

In December 2021, a similar case was reported in India, where the corneas of a 20-year-old man with brown eyes turned blue, just like the infants. This individual was diagnosed with COVID-19 and was prescribed Favipiravir after two days of experiencing no improvement in his condition. However, on the second day of the treatment, he noticed a surprising change, as his normally dark brown eyes had turned a blue in colour. In response to this unexpected side effect, doctors recommended him to discontinue the medication and soon, his eye colour reverted to its original brown just a day after stopping the drug.
Recently, a well-known Indian travel influencer, Tanya Khanijow, took to X to share her disappointment with Lufthansa airline. She expressed frustration over the airlines mishandling of her luggage, which caused her to extend her stay in Venice and put a strain on her budget. In the post that has now gained attention, Khanijow detailed her ordeal, revealing that her luggage delay forced her to spend extra nights in expensive accommodations in Venice, significantly impacting her finances.

In her now-viral tweet, Khanijow shared her accommodation expenses, stating, I stayed for two nights in a decent budget place which cost 182 (or 15,000) PER night. Last night I decided to save a bit, and stayed in another budget place with a shared toilet. This cost me 117 (or close to 10,000).

Also Read: Super Impressed: India Pilot Thanks Dubai Airport For Returning Her Lost Watch

She further revealed that Lufthansa had initially informed her that her bag was in Helsinki but had failed to load it onto her initial flight. Despite assurances, her luggage never arrived, leaving her in a precarious situation.

Dude, Ive been extending my stay in Venice while Im awaiting my baggage that was delayed by @lufthansa . It is extremely expensive to stay in Venice mind you.I stayed for two nights in a decent budget place which cost 182 (or 15,000) PER night. Last night I decided pic.twitter.com/cyzrPPgzYQ  Tanya Khanijow (@TanyaKhanijow) September 6, 2023

In response to Khanijows ordeal, many of her followers advised her to contact the airline for compensation, expressing outrage over the apparent mishandling of her situation. Some even suggested reaching out to the Indian embassy for assistance.

Also Read: Woman Uses AirTag To Recover Lost Luggage, Flies 1,000 Km To Collect It

Nevertheless, in a prior tweet, Khanijow shared how the missing luggage had a profound impact on her dream trip to Italy, expressing, The only things I care about in the suitcase are, of course, the cameras, the hiking gear, and the jackets. Well, because they are expensive at the end of the day. She added, But also, I think Ive come to attach my life to a suitcase lately. Its the only material companion that feels like home? All the stuff in my suitcase were the only things I got with me to Helsinki from India. And the idea that it may be lost is saddening.

A dream trip to  Italy with a little bit of a blip!Well, my luggage on the way as I flew into Italy was delayed. And it has been 5 days already. I know its not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of events. But it just feels too painful to me  Why? I think Im not pic.twitter.com/S0kG911wsO  Tanya Khanijow (@TanyaKhanijow) September 5, 2023

Meanwhile, Lufthansa has not yet responded to any of Khanijows posts or requests on social media, leaving the situation unresolved.
OZARK  The content of some books in the Ozark-Dale County Public Library and age-appropriate placement of those books has been a topic of social media discussion since Ozark Mayor Mark Blankenship took to social media last weekend to urge people to call on elected officials to defund the library over LGBTQ materials.

We have been trying to remove this trash from the kids section of our library for several months, Blankenship posted. We have been told several times it would be removed. It never happened.

You can contact your city council or county commission to request they cut their funding to the library. If we cut the funding, they will be closed and our children will not be exposed to this mess. Its time the majority of the people stand up and address this liberal mess in Alabama, Blankenship posted, attaching a notice of a special called library board meeting Aug. 30.

Social media posts on both sides of the issue ensued and most Ozark council members posted comments expressing support of the library and its mission.

I will not be seeking to nor will I ever vote to defund our Ozark-Dale County Public Library, wrote Ozark City Council President Brenda Simechak. The government has no business censoring content in a public library. A librarys purpose for existence is to provide access to information to all of its patrons.

Simechak reiterated her stance at Tuesdays city council work session, during which several citizens addressed the council about the library. She also explained that the citys budget for the next fiscal year had been approved by the council last month and that any amendments to that budget would take place at a public meeting.

While it sounds good to talk about free speech and all that, the real issue is simpler to me, said Ozark resident Keith Reynolds. The truth of the matter is simply this: Weve got 12-year-old kids going in that library, reading things that they can access without parents approval because the (library) board has decided thats OK and folks, it is not.

Ozark resident Bryant Fontenot read from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and called the mayors social media comments at the least, a gross illiteracy of our First Amendment history and at worst, a gross disregard for it.

He asked the council to make a motion for the censure of the mayor.

Its about people trying to take control of the lives of other by taking away their rights and opportunities to obtain knowledge, Ozark resident Gene Lynn said, thanking the council for stepping up and addressing the issue. Books should be available to all of us.

Ozark resident Jubal Mathis echoed Lynns thanks to the council. Its good to know that our library is safe, he said, asking about the feasibility of an open-forum town hall meeting with the library board and council. Were all one community. We all support Ozark and we can all come together.

One role of municipal officials is to appoint members to various oversight entities such as the library board and then to allow those board members to set the policies and procedures of their respective boards.

That was the general consensus expressed by council members at the Tuesday work session.

The library board ought to be able to set the policies of the library, Councilman Les Perault said.

Councilman Winston Jackson said he supported a public forum, outlining the 1975 state code assigning the responsibility of municipal board appointments. Once those board members are appointed, it is their job to set policies and procedures to be carried out by the director and the directors staff, Jackson said. Some may want us to micro-manage the board, but if it comes to that point, then we dont we need the board. Its not the councils job to run the day-to-day operations of the library. I would hope this is resolved by the library board.

At the four-hour Aug. 30 library board meeting, everyone who wanted to express an opinion was allowed three minutes to do so.

This all started with two unofficial requests to remove books from the library in March, said library board Vice Chairman Mike Cairns, who served as moderator for the meeting. We cannot remove books from the library without proper process. There is a right way to do this and there is a wrong way. This meeting is about policy and procedures.

Cairns said that an official complaint about two young adult section books received the day before the Aug. 30 meeting were the first received in the librarys history. He said there are more 21,000 books in the library, with 1,600 in the young adult section. So this is not an overrun as you have heard, he said.
Every year, thousands of people relocate to Mumbai, also known as the City of Dreams, with the hope of making their name. The coastal city also hosts many students, who came here to pursue higher studies. People who have lived in Mumbai are well aware of the cost of living in this metropolitan city. It can be really hard to find a well-ventilated apartment here to live a comfortable life. And even if you find one, the cost will be just too much. Highlighting this problem, an Instagram content creator has come up with a parody video, where he stepped into the shoes of a property broker in Mumbai.

In the video, the content creator, recognised as Sumit Palve, introduces a tiny apartment in a humorous way to demonstrate the housing crisis in Mumbai. According to Palve, the 1 BHK property will offer every amenity that a bachelor requires to survive. However, the buyer will need to compromise with the floor area at this price since the apartment is situated in South Mumbai, which is a posh neighbourhood. South Bombay hai boss compromise to Karna Padega Boss (This is South Bombay. So you have to compromise, boss), Palve captioned the post.

The video opens to show Palve, dressed in formal attire just like a professional broker, welcoming his viewers to the apartment. After sharing details of the property, he enters the bedroom, where a single bed can be somehow adjusted. The room may look quite congested but it is equipped with a wall AC that will help the residents cope with the humidity of Mumbai during summer.

Then Palve takes the viewers to the kitchen space that will find it hard to accommodate more than one person at a time. The washroom also doesnt have enough space. But a geyser is there to compensate for it. What serves as a rare luxury for the property is an open terrace that can be accessible through a narrow staircase. The area is more like a living room, which has a large glass window, enabling a view of the cityscape.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by SUMIT PALVE (@me_palve)

The text in the video suggests that the price of the apartment is Rs 2. 5 crores. Reacting to the video, one viewer was quick to admit, I was suffocating till he reached the terrace. A user found the washroom and the kitchen setup the worst. One viewer thinks the terrace is much much better than the bedroom.

Since being dropped on Instagram, the video has received more than 2.5 million viewers.
A video of a woman travelling with her goat on a train has captured the hearts of viewers for a heartening reason. In the video, a ticket collector approaches a middle-aged woman who is travelling by train, accompanied by her animal companion and another person. When the man inquires about their tickets, the woman confidently assures him that she has a valid ticket for herself.

However, what truly warms hearts in this video is her response when asked about a ticket for her goat. With a beaming smile on her face, she proudly presents a ticket for her four-legged friend. The ticket checker was taken aback by this and he couldnt help but smile at the unique situation. Sharing the video, the user wrote, This lady is taking her goat in the train and she bought a ticket for the goat. Look at her pride in her own honesty when she replies to the ticket collecting officer.

Got this video in WAThis lady is taking her goat in the train..and she bought a ticket for the goat. Look at her pride in her own honesty when she replies to the ticket collecting officer pic.twitter.com/2Du1Gq8a6o D Prasanth Nair (@DPrasanthNair) September 5, 2023

Since the video was shared on Twitter, it has quickly gone viral and received over 1 million views. The heartwarming clip has brought smiles to the faces of countless viewers for her kind nature.

A user highlighted that the goat is not just an animal but a beloved family member for her. They praised her mindset and felt that there was so much to learn from her.

Goat is not just an animal for her. Its a part of her family and thats how anyone would treat a family member; consider and treat them equally! There is lot to learn from her! What a mindset and big heart! Her smile says it all!  Atul Veer (@atulveer) September 5, 2023

Another user claimed, Such people are the pride of this nation while highlighting her simplicity and honesty.

Such people are the pride of this nation. Simple, honest Indians! Dibakar Dutta ( ) (@dibakardutta_) September 5, 2023

A third person admired the humility, peace and kindness found in rural parts of India.

that's the beauty of india . I so love visiting rural part of our country. people their are so humble, peace loving and kind that you won't feel like coming back. CA Subham Agrawal (@ca_whotravels) September 5, 2023

Sometimes I feel that our system isnt doing justice to such least empowered honest citizens corruption and inefficient system snatches their right to uplift themselves from current situationSuch an honesty of the lady, a comment read.

Sometimes I feel that our system isnt doing justice to such least empowered honest citizens corruption and inefficient system snatches their right to uplift themselves from current situationSuch an honesty of the lady  Prasad Devadkar (@DevadkarPrasad) September 5, 2023

I would gladly nominate her to lead the nation. She will do a better job than many in power now, wrote another person.

I would gladly nominate her to lead the nation . She will do a better job than many in power now . S Ravichandran (@iid_sp) September 5, 2023

For those not aware, Indian Railways has specific regulations regarding pet travel. Pets are permitted to travel in AC first class and first class compartments, but there are conditions to be met. The entire coupe must be booked exclusively by the passenger or a group of passengers and before booking, vaccination and fitness certificates for the pets are required to be checked.
21st century belongs to Asia and belongs to us all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday in the presence of ASEAN leaders where he emphasised the importance of a rule-based world order.

Delivering his opening remarks at the 20th ASEAN-India Summit in the capital city of Indonesia, PM Modi said, Our partnership has reached the fourth decade. It is an honour for me to co-chair this Summit. I want to congratulate Indonesian President Joko Widodo for organising this Summit.

Our history and geography unite India and ASEAN. Along with it, our shared values, regional integration, and our shared belief in peace, prosperity and a multipolar world also unite us. ASEAN is the central pillar of Indias Act East Policy. India supports ASEANs outlook on ASEAN-India centrality and Indo-Pacific, he added.

#WATCH | At the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, Our history and geography unite India and ASEAN. Along with it, our shared values, regional integration, and our shared belief in peace, prosperity and a multipolar world also unite us. pic.twitter.com/u7oUNXKqS2 ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2023

PM Modi landed in Jakarta earlier today to attend the ASEAN-India and the East Asia summits during which he will engage with the leaders of the strategically important region.

This year, Indonesia is the chair of ASEAN. The theme of their chairship is ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. Within this framework, Indonesia organised a flagship event, ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum, to implement the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific..

Speaking on the theme of the summit, PM Modi said, ASEAN matters because here everyones voice is heard and ASEAN is epicentrum of growth because ASEAN plays an important role in global growth.

Earlier today, PM Modi received a warm ceremonial welcome at the Jakarta International Airport as began his short but important trip to the Southeast Asian country. Given that the G20 summit follows shortly after the ASEAN Summits, it will be a short visit. Immediately after the meetings in Jakarta, PM Modi will return to Delhi, where India is hosting the G20 on September 9 and 10.

Ahead of his departure from New Delhi, Modi said that the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and the ASEAN has injected new dynamism into the groups ties with New Delhi.

Shortly after he landed, Modi arrived at the hotel in Jakarta where members of the Indian diaspora greeted and shook hands with the PM. In the capital city of Indonesia, Modi will attend the ASEAN-India Summit and will take part in the East Asia Summit. In his departure statement, Modi said engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East policy.

After the ASEAN-India Summit, the Prime Minister will attend the 18th East Asia Summit. The Prime Minister earlier said he looks forward to exchanging views with other EAS Leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address these global challenges.

The India-ASEAN summit holds greater significance this year since it is the first one after the elevation of the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which happened last year.
A Russian missile tore through an outdoor market in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing 17 people and wounding dozens, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the country with more than $1 billion in new American funding for Ukraine, including military and humanitarian aid.

Blinkens fourth visit to the country was overshadowed by the strike in the city of Kostiantynivka, near the front line in the Donetsk region, that turned the marketplace into an inferno. It was one of the deadliest bombardments of civilians in the 18-month-old war. In addition to the dead, at least 32 people were wounded.

Those who know this place are well aware that it is a civilian area, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a news conference with the Danish prime minister in Kyiv. There arent any military units nearby. The strike was deliberate.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said such brutal Russian attacks underscore the importance of continuing to support the people of Ukraine. Blinkens visit was aimed at assessing Ukraines 3-month-old counteroffensive and signaling continued U.S. support as some Western allies express worries about Kyivs slow progress against invading Russian forces.

We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long-term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent, Blinken said. Were also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy.

About $175 million of the total is in the form of weaponry to be provided from Pentagon stockpiles and another $100 million is in the form of grants to allow the Ukrainians to purchase additional arms and equipment, according to the State Department.

Noting progress in the counteroffensive, Blinken said the new aid will help sustain it and build further momentum. He said the new military assistance would be bolstered by the arrival of U.S. Abrams tanks in the fall and the training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets to complement training in Europe.

In addition to the military assistance, Blinken announced nearly $805 million in non-arms-related aid for Ukraine, including $300 million for law enforcement, $206 million in humanitarian aid, $203 million to combat corruption and $90.5 million for removing mines, the State Department said.

The package also includes a previously announced $5.4 million transfer to Ukraine of frozen Russian oligarch assets. The aid announced by Blinken comes from money previously approved by Congress. President Joe Biden has requested another $21 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine for the final months of 2023, but its not clear how much  if any  will be approved.

Many Republican lawmakers are wary of providing more aid, and the partys presidential front-runner, former President Donald Trump, has criticized U.S. financial support. Opinion polls also have shown a decline in support for the war by the American public. Biden and the Pentagon have said repeatedly they will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. As of Aug. 29, there was approximately $5.75 billion left in the already approved funding for weapons and equipment taken from existing Pentagon stocks.

Blinken was to discuss other issues, including support for Ukraines economy, building on his June announcement of $1.3 billion to help Kyiv rebuild, with a focus on modernizing its energy network, which was bombarded by Russia last winter. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said U.S. assistance to Ukraine cant influence the course of the special military operation  Moscows euphemism for the war.

Blinken arrived in Kyiv for an overnight visit hours after Russia launched a missile attack on the city. On the train to Kyiv, Blinken met with the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, who was also on an official visit, and thanked her for Denmarks leadership in training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s and for promising to donate the fighter jets to Ukraine, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Washington officials said there will be discussions of alternative export routes for Ukrainian grain following Russias exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and its frequent attacks on port facilities in the Odesa region. Those alternatives may include new overland routes or ships hugging coastlines to keep out of international waters where they could be targeted by Russias navy. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also mentioned the potential to develop the Danube River corridor for grain exports.

After arriving in Kyiv, Blinken laid a wreath at the citys Berkovetske cemetery to commemorate Ukrainian troops killed defending the country. In a meeting, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine is grateful the U.S. money is coming in the form of grants, not loans that would drive it into debt.

In other developments, Russia fired cruise missiles overnight at Kyiv in its first aerial attack on the capital since Aug. 30, according to Serhii Popko, the head of Kyivs regional military administration. Debris from a downed missile caused a fire and damage but no casualties. One person was killed in the Odesa region in a Russian missile and drone attack on the port of Izmail that damaged grain elevators, administrative buildings and agricultural enterprises, authorities said.

The trip was Blinkens fourth to Ukraine since the war began, including one brief excursion over the Polish-Ukrainian border in March 2022, just a month after the Russian invasion. But it will be the first time Americas top diplomat spends the night in Kyiv since January 2022, before the invasion, in what U.S. officials called another sign of American support.

Blinkens visit comes after some of Ukraines allies have privately expressed concern that Ukrainian troops may fail to reach their objectives. While the U.S. has been concerned by some day-to-day battlefield setbacks, American officials said, they are still generally encouraged by Ukraines handling of the military situation, particularly its air defense capabilities in knocking down Russian drones aimed at Kyiv.

Western analysts and military officials caution that the counteroffensives success is far from certain and that it could take years to rid Ukraine of entrenched, powerfully armed and skilled Russian troops. Both sides will have to assess their supply shortages, with more battles of attrition likely over the winter. A long war could stretch deep into next year and beyond, according to experts.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised what he called Ukraines extraordinary resilience against Russian aggression during a visit to Chernigiv region Thursday, before the top diplomat concluded his surprise two-day trip.

During the visit Blinken went to see a school basement in Yagidne, where Russian troops kept dozens of villagers including elderly people and children captive.

This is just one building (but) this is a story weve seen again and again, Blinken said.

But we are also seeing something else thats incredibly powerful the extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian people.

Russian forces seized parts of Chernigiv region, including Yagidne, soon after the war started.

They withdrew after about a month, and Yagidne was recaptured by Ukrainian forces on March 30, 2022, but the Russian army left towns destroyed and land heavily mined.

Blinken said up to a third of Ukraines territory was now dealing with mines or unexploded ordnance.

But Ukrainians are coming together to get rid of the ordnance, to get rid of the mines, and to literally recover the land, Blinken said.

Blinken later visited a hydroelectric dam alongside Prime Minister Denys Shmygal, before leaving Kyiv in the early evening.
Canada on Thursday named an appeals court judge to lead a public inquiry into allegations of foreign meddling  including by China  in its elections.

Quebec Court of Appeal Justice Marie-Josee Hogues appointment follows the sudden resignation in June of another official tapped to investigate the claims in a less formal way.

Foreign interference in Canadian democratic institutions is unacceptable, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc told a news conference.

Justice Hogue will be tasked with examining and assessing interference by China, Russia and other foreign states and non-state actors, he said.

She will have broad investigative powers and, according to Leblanc, will be expected to follow the evidence as she probes any potential impacts on the 2019 and 2021 general elections.

Canada-China relations hit a new low this year amid accusations of Chinese meddling in Canadas last two elections and the attempted intimidation of MPs that led to the expulsion of a Chinese diplomat in May.

Beijing has called the accusations groundless, and responded by sending home a Canadian diplomat from Canadas consulate in Shanghai.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus minority liberal government initially balked at holding a public inquiry, as it faced pressure to explain how it first responded to the claims that Beijing sought to subvert Canadas democratic process.

The reported accusations included secret campaign donations and Chinese operatives working for Canadian candidates or lawmakers in an attempt to influence policy.

More recently, it emerged that Beijing sought to intimidate an opposition Canadian lawmaker and his relatives in Hong Kong over his criticisms of China.

The Tory MP, Michael Chong, is scheduled to testify about his experience at a US congressional hearing next week.

Former governor general David Johnston was originally tasked with looking into the claims, but quit after 12 weeks, citing a highly partisan atmosphere around my appointment and work.

Opposition parties accused him of being too close to Trudeau and demanded an independent public inquiry instead.

Some also pressed to have its scope broadened to include Russia, Iran and others hostile to Canada.

Before resigning, Johnston released a draft report in which he concluded Beijing sought to interfere in Canadas 2019 and 2021 ballots, but failed to change the outcome of the votes.

Hogues nomination comes after months of negotiations between the government and opposition parties on the public inquirys terms of reference and who should lead it.

LeBlanc said she has the support of all parties.

She is to release an initial report in February 2024 and a final version ahead of a ballot expected the following year.
Frances top administrative court on Thursday upheld a government ban on traditional over-garments worn by some Muslim women in schools and rejected complaints it was discriminatory and could incite hatred.

President Emmanuel Macrons government announced last month it was banning the abaya in schools as it broke the rules on secularism in education.

Muslim headscarves have already banned on the ground that they constitute a display of religious affiliation.

An association representing Muslims filed a motion with the State Council, Frances highest court for complaints against state authorities, for an injunction against the ban on the abaya and the qamis, its equivalent dress for men.

The association said the ban was discriminatory and could incite hatred against Muslims, as well as racial profiling.

But after examining the motion  filed by the Action for the Rights of Muslims (ADM)  for two days, the State Council rejected the arguments.

It said wearing the abaya follows the logic of religious affirmation, adding that the decision was based on French law which did not allow anyone wearing visible signs of any religious affiliation in schools.

 No serious harm 

The ban by the government did not, it said, cause serious or obviously illegal harm to the respect for personal lives, freedom of religion, the right to eduation, the well-being of children or the principle of non-discrimination.

Ahead of the ruling, Frances Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), established to represent Muslims before the government, had warned that banning the abaya could create an elevated risk of discrimination and said it was considering putting its own complaint before the State Council.

The absence of a clear definition of this garment creates vagueness and legal uncertainty, it said.

ADMs lawyer, Vincent Brengarth, argued during the court hearing that the abaya should be considered a traditional garment, not a religious one.

He also accused the government of seeking political advantage with the ban.

ADM president Sihem Zine said the rule was sexist because it singles out girls and targets Arabs.

But the education ministry said the abaya made its wearers immediately recognisable as belonging to the Muslim religion, and therefore ran counter to Frances secular culture.

French schools sent dozens of girls home for refusing to remove their abayas  a shoulder-to-toe over-garment  on the first day of the school year on Monday.

Nearly 300 schoolgirls defied the ban, Education Minister Gabriel Attal said.

Most agreed to change garments but 67 refused and were sent home, he said.

In 2016 the State Council overturned a ban in a French Riviera resort against the burkini, saying it failed to see any threat to public order from the long bathing suit worn by some Muslim women.

Around 10 percent of Frances 67 million inhabitants are Muslim, according to official estimates.

Most have origins in northern African countries Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, which were French colonies until the second half of the 20th century.
India is all set to be part of an Eastern Mediterranean power bloc of Greece, Israel and Cyprus in a 3+1 format. The leaders of Greece, Israel and Cyprus in a joint presser, after the 9th Trilateral Summit in Nicosia, announced that they shall invite India in a 3+1 format. These Eastern Mediterranean countries wish to invite India so that they can enhance energy and economic cooperation as well as work together on strategic interests and counterterrorism.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed a keen interest in forming a natural gas export partnership with India. He said India will be invited to the bloc in the trilateral summit, which will take place next year. Gas exploration and transportation was also a major part of the agenda at Prime Minister Narendra Modis meeting with the Greek PM during his first-ever visit to Greece last month.

Strategically crucial, rich in natural gas and riddled with maritime territorial disputes, the Eastern Mediterranean is turning into a hotbed of geopolitical activity and India is making inroads into it. News of India becoming all set to be part of a strategic bloc in the Eastern Mediterranean, directly challenging Turkey in its backyard, is sure to ruffle some feathers in Ankara.

The Eastern Mediterranean Sea has yielded major gas discoveries in the last 15 years, especially off the coast of Israel and Egypt. The Tamar Field off the Israeli coast was the first of a series of large-scale natural gas discoveries in the region. More gas exploration is underway in the exclusive economic zone of Cyprus. But here is where things get tricky.

Turkeys Territorial Claims

The Eastern Mediterranean is riddled with maritime territorial disputes with Turkey asserting its claim beyond the waters assigned to it under the international law of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. UNCLOS is a treaty signed by more than 167 countries and defines the rights and responsibilities of nations beyond their coasts. Turkey is not a signatory.

Turkey rejects UNCLOS and seeks control over several Greek islands and the territorial waters around them in the Aegean Sea. Turkeys claims extend further into the Eastern Mediterranean in a dispute with Cyprus.

Turkeys EEZ claims clash with Cyprus. Further, the Turkey-backed TRNCs claims clash with Nicosias as well. The TRNC is recognised only by Turkey and seen by most of the world as part of Cyprus. Greece, Israel and India  all have warm ties with Cyprus, and back it against Turkeys aggressive tactics.

Like-Minded Nations Unite

As the stakes get higher, opposition from Turkey has grown louder, which is why these like-minded East-Mediterranean nations seek to share their exploits with a like-minded major power like India to strengthen their position in the region.

Since the Russia-Ukraine war, Europe has presented an urgent demand for alternative sources of natural gas other than Russia. This has opened a major opportunity for East-med players to export gas to Europe, with Greece playing the role of the Gateway.

Natural gas can flow both ways to Europe and India through pipelines and shipments. Moreover, with Israels warm ties with the UAE since the Abrahamic Accord, and another Abrahamic Accord with Saudi Arabia on the cards, a road from Greece to India opens up through Israel and the Arabian peninsula providing a safe and stable trade route.

This is the beginning of a grand geopolitical idea taking shape. It will not only open up game-changing economic opportunities but also cement a strategic partnership akin to the Quad and the I2U2.

It also strengthens the Greece-Cyprus-Israel trilateral against Turkey in the region. Turkeys hostility towards India has already pushed New Delhi closer to Greece, Cyprus, Israel and Armenia. So, not only is there economic potential in such a grouping, but also strategic like-mindedness, which can go a long way to combat terrorism, and extremism and cement peace in the region. Another takeaway from this is that nations do not want to miss out on Indias growth story, knowing the sheer market size and growth projections of Indias economy.

Turkey Gets Back-to-Back Setbacks From India

Ahead of the G20 summit in New Delhi which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be attending, Turkey has received back-to-back setbacks from India in what appears to be a concerted effort to send Ankara a message. PM Modi visited Greece for the first time becoming the first Indian PM to land in Athens in four decades. A week prior to the visit, Gen. Anil Chauhan, the Chief of Defence Staff of the Indian Armed Forces, connected with the Defence chief of Cyprus in a phone call. In the same month of August, Indias NSA Ajit Doval met the NSA of Armenia in another message to Turkey. Armenia is locked in a deadly conflict with Azerbaijan, an ally of Turkey, and India has even shipped the Pinaka rocket launcher to the erstwhile Soviet nation to bolster its firepower.

Now, India is making inroads into Turkeys backyard and this is in response to Ankaras hostile stance against New Delhi.

Over the last few years, Turkey has formed a strategic and collaborative relationship with Pakistan, adopting the rogue nations model of using terrorism as a strategic tool. Turkey vehemently supports Pakistans claim on Indias Jammu and Kashmir and has attempted to tarnish Indias image at global forums including the United Nations. Turkey is also reported to working with Pakistan on a radicalisation project targeting Indian Muslims, especially those in Kerala and Kashmir. Turkish weapons have been found on Pakistani terrorists in Kashmir reeking of a deep partnership between Islamabad and Ankara.

Turkish non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are allegedly providing financial support, ostensibly through Zakat charity donations during Ramadan, to entities involved in activities opposing India in the region of Jammu and Kashmir. Turkey has been put on the FATF grey list due to reports on terror financing at the hands of the Erdogan government. It is not just accused of using ISIS terrorists to do its regional bidding, but it emerged in 2022 that a social organisation, Turkey Youth Foundation (TUGVA), which is run by the family of President Erdogan, was recruiting and training youths for covert missions in India, Russia and China.

Indias timely and proactive actions may be aimed at culling Turkeys aggressive diplomatic stance at the G20 Summit.
It has been confirmed that former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif will return to the country in the second week of October. Sources said the PML(N) supremo will likely reach Pakistan between October 10 and 15. He will be facing the courts and legal proceedings on his return from a self-imposed exile in the UK since 2019.

According to top sources close to the leader, all charges against the three-time PM are fabricated and illegal. Nawaz is sure that he will get full justice, they said, adding that the Pakistan Muslim League (N) wants to contest elections under his leadership.

The dates for the elections in Pakistan have not yet been decided but they are likely to be held in the beginning of 2024. Earlier, too, Nawaz Sharifs brother and former PM Shehbaz Sharif had said the leader will return in October.

We held consultations with the senior leadership of the party, and we have decided that our quaid [leader] Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan in October, Shehbaz had said last month.

Nawaz has been living in self-imposed exile in the UK since November 2019. He was convicted in the Al-Azizia Mills and Avenfield corruption cases in 2018.

The 73-year-old politician was serving a seven-year sentence at Lahores Kot Lakhpat jail in the Al-Azizia Mills case before he was allowed to proceed to London in 2019 on medical grounds.

According to media reports, the decision for Nawaz to return around mid-October was taken after Shehbaz held two meetings with him when he visited London. Nawaz stepped down as the PM in 2016 after the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified him for life for concealing assets. His appeals against the conviction are pending in relevant courts.

(With PTI inputs)
The Tehrik-e Taliban has captured the Chitral district in northern Pakistan, sources told CNN-News18 on Thursday. The TTP claims that about 75 Pakistani soldiers are in their custody and 10 have been killed in the battle.

According to sources, the Pakistani media has been ordered not to broadcast this information.

Confirming the reports, the TTP says it is carrying out organised attacks on the forces in Chitral.

The Pakistan army is using a fake narrative that the TTP is using Afghanistan territory, which is not correct, the group said.

This is after we got a call from local Chitral people who wanted our support and told us that they stand by us, the TTP said.

Militant attacks have become more frequent since the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan ended its truce with the government in November last year.

On August 22, six soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire in South Waziristan district, the militarys media wing said last week.

Last month, as many as 12 soldiers of the Pakistan Army were killed in separate military operations in the Zhob and Sui areas of Balochistan.

CNN-News18 tried to contact the Pakistan prime ministers office (PMO) and information ministry about Thursdays development but received no response.
In August 2023, the employment landscape presented a mixed picture.

National job ads saw a modest month-on-month decline of 1.8%, according to the latest report by employment marketplace SEEK. While compared to August 2022, they were down by a significant 20.5%. However, there was a glimmer of positivity as applications per job ad increased by 6.5%, indicating a rise in job seekers activity.

Breaking down the job ad changes by state, Western Australia (WA) experienced a minor decrease of 1.3%, while the Northern Territory (NT) saw a slight increase of 0.7%. On the other hand, Queensland (QLD) and New South Wales (NSW) faced declines of 1.2% and 3.6%, respectively. Victoria (VIC), South Australia (SA), and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) had more substantial drops of 4.4%, 0.2%, and 0.4%, respectively. Tasmania (TAS) stood out with a substantial decrease of 10.0%.

Comparing August 2023 to the same month the previous year, job ad volumes showed significant declines in several states: New South Wales (NSW) (-23.8%), Queensland (QLD) (-14.7%), Victoria (VIC) (-27.2%), South Australia (SA) (-12.3%), Western Australia (WA) (-12.0%), Tasmania (TAS) (-9.7%), and the Northern Territory (NT) (-19.9%). The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was the only region to experience a positive year-on-year change, with a 2.5% increase.

Examining the top 10 industries by job ad volume, Trades & Services saw a month-on-month decline of 2.6% and a year-on-year decrease of 15.0%. Healthcare & Medical experienced a month-on-month drop of 1.4% and a year-on-year decline of 8.9%. Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics saw a more substantial month-on-month decline of 3.0% and a significant year-on-year decrease of 26.7%. Hospitality & Tourism faced a month-on-month decrease of 3.1% and a sharp year-on-year decline of 40.9%. Education & Training was a bright spot with a 1.7% month-on-month increase, although it still showed a year-on-year decline of 3.3%. Administration & Office Support experienced a minimal month-on-month change (-0.1%) but saw a notable year-on-year decline of 23.4%. Information & Communication Technology (ICT) had a month-on-month decrease of 4.2% and a substantial year-on-year decline of 35.2%. Community Services & Development remained relatively stable with a slight month-on-month change (-0.1%) and a year-on-year decline of 15.2%. Retail & Consumer Products showed a positive month-on-month change of 3.2% but a significant year-on-year decline of 27.1%. Lastly, Accounting had a modest month-on-month increase of 0.4% but still saw a year-on-year decline of 13.0%.

SEEK Managing Director, ANZ Kendra Banks said: After a slight rise in July, job ads declined 1.8% in August driven by a drop in volumes in New South Wales.

Victoria and the Northern Territory were the only states to buck the trend, with regional job ad volumes in Victoria driving overall job ads up for the state, particularly those in Retail & Consumer Products. In fact, ads for Retail & Consumer Products roles rose nationally for the second month, as businesses begin preparing for the Christmas season.

Applications per job ad continue to rise, and after six months of growth, levels are now higher than they were in July 2019, demonstrating that competition for jobs is greater than it was pre-COVID. This increasing activity should be welcome news to hirers, with a greater pool of candidates and heightened competition creating a more balanced jobs market.

Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Indonesia on Thursday to attend the ASEAN-India and the East Asia summits during which he will engage with the leaders of the strategically important region on issues of regional and global importance.

PM @narendramodi arrives in Jakarta to participate in @ASEAN related Summits. An opportunity to engage with the leaders of ASEAN and EAS on important regional and global issues, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi posted on X.

PM Modi received a warm ceremonial welcome at the Jakarta International Airport as began his short but important trip to the Southeast Asian country. Given that the G20 summit follows shortly after the ASEAN Summits, it will be a short visit. Immediately after the meetings in Jakarta, PM Modi will return to Delhi, where India is hosting the G20 on September 9 and 10.

PM @narendramodi arrives in Jakarta to participate in @ASEAN related Summits.An opportunity to engage with the leaders of ASEAN and EAS on important regional and global issues. pic.twitter.com/hjDRKyJ1iR  Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) September 6, 2023

On his X account, PM Modi said he is looking forward to the ASEAN-related meetings and to working with various leaders to make a better planet. Before his departure from New Delhi, Modi said that the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and the ASEAN has injected new dynamism into the groups ties with New Delhi.

Shortly after he landed, Modi arrived at the hotel in Jakarta where members of the Indian diaspora greeted and shook hands with the PM. In the capital city of Indonesia, Modi will attend the ASEAN-India Summit and will take part in the East Asia Summit. In his departure statement, Modi said engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East policy.

#WATCH | Indonesia: Members of Indian Diaspora greet and shake hands with PM Modi as he arrives at hotel in Jakarta pic.twitter.com/v8BPmXUlgW ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2023

I look forward to discussing with ASEAN leaders the future contours of our partnership, which has now entered its fourth decade. Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East policy. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership entered into last year has injected new dynamism in our ties, he said.

After the ASEAN-India Summit, the Prime Minister will attend the 18th East Asia Summit. This forum provides a useful opportunity to deliberate on issues of importance to the region including food and energy security, environment, health, and digital transformation.

The Prime Minister earlier said he looks forward to exchanging views with other EAS Leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address these global challenges. The India-ASEAN summit holds greater significance this year since it is the first one after the elevation of the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which happened last year.

Addressing a special press briefing Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, said Indias relations with ASEAN are a central pillar of the countrys Act East policy, as well as of its vision of the wider Indo-Pacific. India and ASEAN share similar vision for the Indo-Pacific and are committed to building on the synergy between ASEANs Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and Indias Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, he added.

This year, Indonesia is the chair of ASEAN. The theme of their chairship is ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. Within this framework, Indonesia organised a flagship event, ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum, to implement the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.
Apoorva Ramaswamy, the wife of US Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has addressed her husbands declining popularity among women in the United States following the first GOP debate. Apoorva, a doctor by profession, dismissed the poll showing Viveks reduced favorability among Republican voters, especially women, as merely one data point that doesnt fully capture his character.

As the 38-year-old Indian American has gained prominence among Republican contenders, he is also getting targeted by fellow candidates. During last months inaugural primary debate in Milwaukee, Vivek faced attacks from all sides over his lack of public service and foreign policy experience.

When people saw Vivek on the debate stage, they saw the fighter in him, and he can certainly do that. But what were truly in this for is his vision for our country, for the future generations and our children, Apoorva Ramaswamy said in response to new polling numbers. When he articulates his vision, its truly inspiring, and I believe that once people come to hear him, they will have a genuine understanding of the hope he represents.

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamys wife has been by his side on the campaign trail. Dr. Apoorva Ramaswamy tells @EVargasTV she hopes people will take the time to learn more about who he is.More: https://t.co/NvDZWiBseX #VargasReports pic.twitter.com/L7OkDTWDqT  NewsNation (@NewsNation) September 6, 2023

A recent Morning Consult poll revealed an increase in Ramaswamys unfavorability rating based on surveys of nearly 800 potential GOP primary voters conducted both before and after the debate in August.

Before the debate, the rising GOP stars unfavorability rating stood at 12%. However, the post-debate survey indicated a spike to 19%, a noteworthy increase beyond the four-percentage-point margin of error, US-based publication News Nation reported.

Its just one data point. What I know about Vivek is that hes an incredibly kind and generous parent and partner. Weve built a life together, and hes made many sacrifices for my career. Hes been an exceptional person to create a life with, Ramaswamy said. That kind of generosity doesnt come across on a debate stage, and its just one data point. But I hope that people will get to know more about him.

Vivek, the GOP candidate with the least political experience, has been campaigning vigorously, regularly appearing on cable TV news. He presents himself as the candidate who takes former President Donald Trumps America First agenda even further than Trump did.

The tech entrepreneur was initially considered a long shot when he launched his campaign in February this year but has since surged to second place in some polls. He now trails only Donald Trump, who leads all the candidates by a big margin.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday hailed a bespoke new post-Brexit partnership with the European Union (EU) in the field of scientific research that had been one of the casualties of the UKs exit from the 27-member economic bloc four years ago.

As part of the new Horizon Europe arrangement, UK-based scientists and institutions will again be able to apply for money from the 81-billion pounds Horizon Europe scheme.

While the UKs associated membership had been agreed upon as part of the Brexit trade deal in 2020, it remained in limbo until both sides were able to agree on the Northern Ireland Protocol affecting the UK territorys unique requirements as a neighbour of EU member-nation Ireland.

With a wealth of expertise and experience to bring to the global stage, we have delivered a deal that enables UK scientists to confidently take part in the worlds largest research collaboration programme  Horizon Europe, said Sunak.

We have worked with our EU partners to make sure that this is the right deal for the UK, unlocking unparalleled research opportunities, and also the right deal for British taxpayers, he said.

It follows a call between Sunak and EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on Wednesday, with both leaders agreeing that the UK and EU will work together to boost participation.

Downing Street said UK researchers can apply for grants and bid to take part in projects under the Horizon programme, with certainty that the UK will be participating as a fully associated member for the remaining life of the programme to 2027.

It added that Horizon will give UK companies and research institutions unrivalled opportunities to lead global work to develop new technologies and research projects, in areas from health to AI.

This is a great day for researchers in the UK and across Europe. The Horizon programme is a beacon of international collaboration and UK-based academic and industrial researchers will now be back at the heart of that, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society said in a joint statement.

Research is vital to tackling the key problems we face, from global challenges such as climate change to driving productivity growth and creating new jobs locally. Our involvement in Horizon Europe will make the UK stronger and is a big win for global research and innovation, they said.

The move is expected to not only open up cooperation with the EU, but also Norway, New Zealand and Israel which are part of the programme  and countries like Korea and Canada which are looking to join too.

Under the agreed terms, UK taxpayers will not pay for the time where its researchers have been excluded since 2021, with costs starting from January 2024.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been a staunch supporter of Indias inclusion in the permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), his spokesperson said on Thursday.

In terms of Security Council, the secretary general has been a strong advocate for Security Council reform to make it more reflective of the world that we live in today, as opposed to the world in 1945, Stephane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said.

Dujarric was speaking on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India Summit and East Asia Summit in Indonesias capital, Jakarta, which was attended by PM Modi as well.

India has told the UNSC that there is a need for a council that reflects the geographical and developmental diversity of the global organisation today.

Speaking at the UNSC Open Debate on Working Methods, Indias Permanent representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, on Tuesday, said, What we therefore need is a Security Council that better reflects the geographical and developmental diversity of the United Nations today. A Security Council where voices of developing countries and unrepresented regions, including Africa, Latin America and the vast majority of Asia and Pacific, find their due place at this horseshoe table.

Kamboj also noted that the Council will never be good enough by merely fixing the working methods.

In August 2023, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar highlighted that keeping India out of the permanent membership of the UNSC would only call the credibility of the international organisation into question.
US President Joe Biden is all set to visit India and is very excited about the important initiatives he will be championing at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, according to senior White House officials. Biden will follow the COVID-19 guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during his visit to India for the G20 Summit.

First Lady Jill Biden, 72, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. President Biden, 80, was tested for the virus on Monday and Tuesday following his wifes positive test, but his results were negative. The White House said the president has tested negative twice and there is no change in his travel plans for India.

After arriving in New Delhi on Friday evening, President Biden is likely to immediately get back to business by having his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same night. His meetings and interactions with Modi and other world leaders during and on the sidelines of the G20 Summit would be driven by the COVID-19 protocols established by the CDC.

The First Lady is quarantined at her Delaware house after testing positive and is not travelling with the president to India and Vietnam. The president tested negative for COVID-19 this morning following the negative test on Monday night and also yesterday. He is not experiencing any symptoms, which of course is a good thing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday.

Responding to a volley of questions from reporters, Jean-Pierre reiterated that there is no change in the presidents travel plans. The president and the travelling members of the US delegation would be tested frequently for COVID-19. Biden is expected to be tested at least one more time before his departure from the White House for India on Thursday evening.

He (Biden) leaves tomorrow, and hes very excited about the important initiatives that he will be championing at the G20, White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby told reporters at a separate news conference organised by Washington Foreign Press Center.

He said Bidens focus is going to be on delivering economic opportunity for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people, from climate to technology, and showing US commitment to the G20 itself as a viable, if not vital, forum to tackle these issues. Of course, now, were grateful for Prime Minister Modis leadership during Indias presidency of the G20, and the President is certainly looking forward to his bilateral meeting with the prime minister shortly after his arrival in New Delhi.

Hes also looking forward to warmly welcoming the African Union as a permanent member of the G20, the newest permanent member. And we believe that the African Unions voice will make the G20 even stronger than it already is, Kirby said.

He hoped that the G20 countries would be able to issue a joint statement. We know that the Indians also would like to see a joint communique, if you will, so well see where it goes.

Oftentimes the sticking point tends to be the war in Ukraine because countries like Russia and China are less likely to sign on to language that the rest of the international community is more uncomfortable signing on to, so well see where it goes. But wed like to see that, absolutely, Kirby said.

Apart from President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are among the G20 leaders who have already confirmed their participation in the summit.

Prime Minister Modi will hand over the baton of the G20 Presidency to Brazilian President Lula on September 10. Brazil will formally assume the G20 Presidency on December 1. The G20 member countries represent around 85 percent of the global GDP, over 75 percent 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 (EU).
Australian startups and SMBs have a unique opportunity to accelerate their growth, thanks to the new Communications Accelerator Programme initiated by Cherish PR, a UK-based PR firm.

In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Cherish PR is extending its support to Australian scale-ups, with applications open until October 31, 2023. This program offers over 150 hours of pro bono communications services, aiming to assist SMEs in expanding their presence in the UK market. Shortlisted businesses will undergo interviews in November, with the final selections announced in December 2023, paving the way for the programs commencement in January 2024.

To be eligible for this opportunity, businesses must be operational with a product or service in the market or beyond the MVP stage. Additionally, they should have secured at least seed or series A funding and possess a well-defined business or go-to-market plan. In return, Cherish PRs team will provide a range of services tailored to each businesss needs, including communications, PR and brand workshops, strategic guidance, digital content planning, or a launch strategy. Their goal is to assist in nurturing brands that are actively driving positive change.

Notably, this initiative stems from the same team that has successfully launched renowned brands such as Wix, eHarmony, SmileDirectClub, Indiegogo, Kobo, Vimeo, HotelTonight, and match.com, among others. Cherish PR is dedicated to showcasing the pivotal role of PR in facilitating the adoption of innovation and setting the stage for the next wave of entrepreneurial ventures.

The Cherish PR team is on a mission to showcase the transformative power of PR and its influence in educating new audiences about ground-breaking technology. Whether its a visionary challenger brand reshaping its industry, a socially conscious startup prioritizing people and the planet, or an innovative product/service addressing real-world problems  their expertise will highlight the profound impact of PR.

Founder Rebecca Oatley comments, Entrepreneurs are a powerful force in creating positive change, and with a challenging global economic climate, we want to support those ambitious entrepreneurs growing their businesses now. We have spent the last 20 years creating the right environment for these market leaders to emerge through effective PR, brand and communications strategies.

Despite the challenging environment, new businesses in the UK are on the rise, with a 6.5% increase in new companies y-o-y in the first 12 weeks of 2023.

We are seeing innovation and new businesses in CarTech, HealthTech, FemTech, PetTech, GreenTech and marketplaces, driven by our most pressing global challenges  cost saving, community and social mobility, climate and the planet.

Now is the right time for our agency to use its experience in growth strategies, brand building, market entry and startups to open this programme and help businesses to make the biggest impact through innovation, Ms Oatley concludes.

Application process

August to October 2023

Applicants will be asked to fill out a list of questions on Cherishs website, which includes showcasing how they are making a positive impact, the companys mission, stage of growth and investment.

November 2023

The Wilful Groups management team which includes the Co-CEOs, Managing Director and Director, will shortlist five businesses to interview to explore their businesses further.

December 2023

Finalists shared.

January to December 2024

Communications Accelerator commences.

T&Cs

Startups must be at or beyond their seed funding stage

Companies can apply from any global market looking to scale in the UK

Businesses must be operational with a product or service that is either in market or past minimum viable product stage and should have a clearly defined business and / or go-to-market plan

The accelerator will start in January 2024 and run for a period of 12 months to December 2024

Format, timing and level of support will be agreed between company and agency.

The objective of the programme is mentorship and consultancy advice. The accelerator cannot be exchanged for money. The brand will not be charged within the accelerator hours allocated and a share of the business will not be acquired unless agreed post the hours being utilised.

The programme may run for a shorter period if the hours are used up for a campaign moment.

The programme does not include third party costs such as paid media spend, print, production, video or photography.

Cherish PR will allocate the most suitable consultant to work with the successful company and this is subject to change based on time, availability and skill set.

Cherish PR has the right to use results of the work with the successful startup for PR and marketing purposes until December 2026.

Cherish will work with the company on a bespoke, case-by-case basis. Cherish cannot guarantee which service will be offered, it will be based on what will be most impactful for the company during the period and within the hours allocated.

Founders and executives can now apply via the website www.cherishpr/20years where they can also share information about their business.

Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
A 911 call about a woman in distress on a yacht anchored in Nantucket Harbor has led to drug trafficking and weapons charges against the vessel's owner, a retired physician. Nantucket police say they received a call shortly before 8am Tuesday with a "report of a female party, on board a yacht, who did not want to be there, was under the influence of narcotics, and possibly has overdosed," per the Nantucket Current . When authorities arrived, yacht owner Scott Anthony Burke, 69, led them to the woman, who was in his bedroom, according to a police report. There, authorities allegedly observed a handgun and a bag of cocaine in plain view, per the Boston Globe . There were also multiple rounds of ammunition on the floor, police say, per the New York Post .

The woman, who "appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance" and "stated that she did not feel safe," was removed from the vessel and taken to a hospital, according to the report. Hours later, around 3:30pm, authorities raided the 70-foot motor yacht Jess Conn, allegedly finding guns, drugs, and prostitutes, per the Current. Burke, who has a wife and two children, now faces charges that include trafficking, possession to distribute, possession of a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without a license, and four counts of possession of a large-capacity feeding device, per WCVB.

Authorities say they initially found a .380 Smith & Wesson Shield and a loaded 9mm Smith & Wesson, along with ammunition, per the Maritime Executive and the Current. Burke's license to carry in Florida had expired a year ago, according to the report. As the search continued, authorities also allegedly confiscated 43.4 grams of cocaine and 14.1 grams of ketamine. Burke has addresses in Key Largo, Florida, and in Denver, where he once ran a rehabilitation clinic. He currently serves as CEO of Injury Finance, a Colorado-based medical insurance company he founded two decades ago, per the Post. His yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands. It has been in Nantucket for two weeks following an Aug. 23 journey from Newport, Rhode Island. (Read more Massachusetts stories.)
UPDATE

Sep 8, 2023 12:37 AM CDT

Texas' floating barrier isn't going anywhere, at least for now. A federal appeals court on Thursday put on hold the Wednesday ruling from a lower court that ordered the state to remove it by next week. The stay allows the barrier to stay put while the legal challenge continues, the AP reports. In seeking a swift order to allow the buoys to remain, Texas told the appeals court the buoys reroute migrants to ports of entry and that "no injury from them has been reported." Last month, a body was found near the buoys, but Texas officials said preliminary information indicated the person drowned before coming near the barriers.

Sep 6, 2023 7:25 PM CDT

The floating barrier Texas has placed in the middle of the Rio Grande to deter migrants violates provisions of a treaty between the US and Mexico, and there's no sign it's even effective, a federal judge said Wednesday. US District Judge David Alan Ezra ordered the state to remove the buoys by Sept. 15, the Hill reports. "The State of Texas did not present any credible evidence that the buoy barrier as installed has significantly curtailed illegal immigration across the Rio Grande River," Ezra said, per the AP. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by the federal government after Texas installed the barriers in July.
A Russian missile tore through an outdoor market in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing 17 people, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the country with more than $1 billion in new American funding for Ukraine, including military and humanitarian aid. Blinken's fourth visit was overshadowed by the strike in the city of Kostiantynivka, near the front line in the Donetsk region, that turned the marketplace into an inferno. It was one of the deadliest bombardments of civilians in the 18-month-old war, the AP reports. In addition to the dead, at least 32 people were wounded.

"Those who know this place are well aware that it is a civilian area," President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a news conference with the Danish prime minister in Kyiv. The strike turned the market into a fiery, blackened ruin where weeping civilians looked for loved ones among the mangled, burned bodies scattered across the ground. "There was no military target here. This is a peaceful neighborhood in the city center," Stefan Slovak, who lives in Kostiantynivka, told the AP in a trembling voice. Behind him were the remnants of the market, where charred bodies could be seen in the street, their clothes still burning, near cars engulfed in flames.

Blinken's visit was aimed at assessing Ukraine's 3-month-old counteroffensive and signaling continued US support as some Western allies express worries about Kyiv's slow progress against invading Russian forces. "We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent," Blinken said. About $175 million of the total is in the form of weaponry to be provided from Pentagon stockpiles, and another $100 million is in the form of grants to allow the Ukrainians to purchase additional arms and equipment, according to the State Department.

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Zelensky sa id the strike reflects the situation on the battlefield.

"Whenever there are any positive advances by Ukrainian defense forces in that direction, Russians always target civilian people and civilian objects," he said.

(Read more Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
UPDATE

Sep 27, 2023 6:25 PM CDT

Bruce Springsteen has extended his postponements of scheduled concerts through the rest of the year. He'd already scrapped his September dates. A notice posted Wednesday on social media said unplayed 2023 shows will be rescheduled for 2024, People reports. Springsteen "has continued to recover steadily from peptic ulcer disease over the past few weeks and will continue treatment through the rest of the year on doctor's advice," the statement said. Springsteen added thanks to fans for well wishes and assured them he's "on the mend and can't wait to see you all next year." New dates for the postponed shows will be announced next week, the statement added. Details for ticketholders can be found here.

Sep 7, 2023 4:27 AM CDT

The Boss is taking an unexpected breather and postponing his September shows, citing doctors' orders. Bruce Springsteen announced on his website Wednesday that he was postponing shows for the remainder of the month while he is treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease, the AP reports. The postponed shows including scheduled stops in Baltimore; Philadelphia; Albany and Syracuse in New York; Pittsburgh; Washington, DC; Uncasville, Connecticut; and Columbus, Ohio.
Days after Blink-182 had to pause its tour due to Travis Barker's "urgent family matter," Barker and his wife, Kourtney Kardashian, are explaining what that matter was. As Kardashian explained on Instagram on Wednesday, she was rushed into surgery to save the life of the baby she and Barker are expecting . "As someone who has had three really easy pregnancies in the past, I wasn't prepared for the fear of rushing into urgent fetal surgery," she wrote alongside a picture of Barker holding her hand in a hospital bed. "I don't think anyone who hasn't been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear. I have a whole new understanding and respect for the mamas who have had to fight for their babies while pregnant."

She thanked Barker for rushing to her side, her doctors for saving their unborn child, and her mom for "holding my hand through this." "Walking out of the hospital with my baby boy in my tummy and safe was the truest blessing," she wrote. Barker shared a shorter update on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, writing, "God is great. I flew home for a life-threatening emergency surgery for our baby that I'm so grateful went well. I want to say thank you for all the support. Tour resumes Friday." As TMZ and the Hollywood Reporter explain, Blink-182 announced early Friday that three of its European shows would be canceled and rescheduled, and Barker and Kardashian were then spotted leaving a Los Angeles-area hospital the following day. The couple shares six children between them from previous relationships. (Read more Kourtney Kardashian stories.)
As then-President Trump's days in the White House came to a close, an Alaskan state development agency was granted a slew of oil and gas leases that ended decades of a drilling moratorium in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This week, President Biden's Department of the Interior nixed the seven leases that remain with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, reports the Washington Post . "As the climate crisis warms the Arctic more than twice as fast as the rest of the world, we have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages," President Biden said in a Wednesday statement, calling the Last Frontier a state of "breathtaking natural wonders" that needed protection.

In addition to the decision on those 19.6 million acres, home to polar bears and caribou, the Interior Department also noted that leasing would be banned on more than 10 million acres at Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve"the largest undisturbed public land" in the US, per Reuters. Biden had vowed to undo the Trump-era leases as part of his climate agenda, and after an Interior Department review revealed that the analysis that drove the 2021 lease contracts was "seriously flawed," Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland had what she needed to justify canceling them.

The moves are a now-fulfilled promise that has pleased some environmentalists and local Indigenous groups (but not others), and irked politicians on both sides of the aisle. Chris Wood, head of the conservation group Trout Unlimited, called the decision around the "long game" of conservation "heartening." "It's rare to have these big-stroke opportunities," he tells the Post. However, other environmental groups still angry at Biden's green light earlier this year to allow the Willow drilling project at the petroleum reserve call Wednesday's announcement a "half measure."

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Alaskan lawmakers are also peeved. Democratic US Rep. Mary Peltola said she was "deeply frustrated" by the lease reversals, noting that drilling at the refuge would've brought jobs to Indigenous communities, per the AP. GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan, meanwhile, deemed the decisions a "war on Alaska," while fellow Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski called them "reckless" moves that "defy common sense." The AIDEA says it will mount a legal challenge to the lease cancellations, calling the Biden moves "arbitrary disregard for federal law, based on campaign trail rhetoric." (Read more Alaska stories.)
When Bob Chapek assumed the leadership mantle at Disney in early 2020, it was no secret there was some friction between himself and former CEO Bob Igerand in late 2022, the Disney board fired Chapek amid criticisms of his management, and Iger came out of retirement and reassumed his CEO seat. Now, CNBC is out with a lengthy report on what it deems Disney's "epic succession mess," describing "a cautionary tale about ego and hubris at the highest levels of corporate America." "We really didn't know just how badand how pettysome of the things Iger did to express his unhappiness with Chapek's decisions were until now," the Verge notes of the CNBC expose, which was based on chats the outlet had with dozens of people who worked with "Big Bob" (Iger) and "Little Bob" (Chapek) during Chapek's brief tenure. Just how bad was it? Chapek himself told a friend that working during that time was "three years of hell," and that he had an "unrelenting fear" that Iger wanted his old job back. He wasn't wrong. More on what went on behind the scenes:

CEO perks: Fox Business pinpoints one snippet in particular from the report that's drawing a lot of buzzthe fact that Iger refused to give up his office, complete with shower and shaving vanity, to Chapek when the latter took over. Sources say Iger told Chapek he looked forward to "two-shower days," and the men apparently agreed Iger could stay in that office, while Chapek moved into a smaller one on the same floor of Disney's headquarters in Burbank, California.

Fox Business pinpoints one snippet in particular from the report that's drawing a lot of buzzthe fact that Iger refused to give up his office, complete with shower and shaving vanity, to Chapek when the latter took over. Sources say Iger told Chapek he looked forward to "two-shower days," and the men apparently agreed Iger could stay in that office, while Chapek moved into a smaller one on the same floor of Disney's headquarters in Burbank, California. Lots of tension: The Verge bullet-points a series of other "pettiest moments," including Iger's retirement party, where a "visibly miserable" Chapek didn't get any kind of mention from his predecessor. Iger was also reportedly ticked off at Chapek for not more intimately involving him in company decisions as executive chair (the role he assumed before he officially retired), and he started thinking he'd made a mistake entrusting CEO duties to Chapek just two weeks after Chapek's appointment.
A grizzly bear that killed a hiker near the town of West Yellowstone, Montana, in July and was also found to have injured a person in Idaho in 2020 has been euthanized after busting into a home. The 10-year-old female and her cub, still roaming near the Yellowstone National Park gateway, "broke through a kitchen window of an occupied home and removed a container of dog food" on Saturday, according to a statement from the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Authorities said it was the same grizzly that killed 48-year-old Amie Adamson of Kansas on July 22 and injured another person near Henrys Lake State Park in Idaho in 2020, reports the Washington Post . Officials said the bear's actions in both cases were "deemed to be defensive responses."

Still, authorities tracked down and euthanized the bear on Saturday due to what FWP officials said was an "immediate public safety threat from the bear's food-conditioned behavior" as well as her "history of conflict with people," per the New York Times. Identifying characteristics and genetic analysis confirmed the bear was the same one involved in the 2020 and 2023 incidents. Officials had sought to trap and remove the bear after the July mauling due to the proximity to homes, campgrounds, and high-use trails. But the adult grizzly had perhaps grown wise following a capture and release in 2017 because those efforts failed. The bear's cub, a 46-pound male, was captured Saturday and is expected to be moved to a zoo in the coming weeks. (Read more grizzly bear stories.)
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The Public Safety Report is compiled from criminal complaints filed in state and federal courts, as well as some police blotter information, trooper dispatches, fire department reports and interviews with public safety officials. Individuals named as arrested and/or charged with crimes in this report are presumed innocent until proved guilty in a court of law.
Women in Mining started in Denver 50 years ago, and with new chapters like Women in Mining Montana coming on board, the organization has been seeing a lot of growth in the past few years.

In 2019 Lacey Morrison was working as a mining geologist in Australia and she saw how much involvement women there had in Women in Mining Western Australia.

And I thought, you know, I really want to bring something like this back to Montana, Morrison said.

When she got back to Montana, through work colleagues she connected with Ashley Chancellor, who is involved with Women in Mining USA, and the two of them started brainstorming ideas for a Women in Mining Montana chapter.

It was a labor of love for Ashley and me, Morrison said. We wrote the articles of incorporation and all the bylaws, which was quite a bit of work. But we were lucky enough to have some great help getting this stuff put together.

Morrison and Chancellor attended the WIM USA national conference in October 2021, and the WIM Montana chapter was officially voted into the organization.

Morrison, who is now the mine manager for Barretts Minerals talc mines near Dillon, Montana, is the president of the WIM Montana chapter. Chancellor, an environmental affairs manager for Sibanye-Stillwater in Montana, is the president of WIM USA and a national representative for WIM Montana.

One key to the success of the WIM Montana chapter and to the growth of WIM USA in recent years has been the development of a corporate membership program.

Sibanye-Stillwater reached out to me when we were talking about forming a chapter here in Montana and said, Is there a way that we can sign up a bunch of our people for Women in Mining, because we really want to be more involved in the organization, Chancellor said.

At that time WIM USA did not have a corporate membership program. Chancellor, who was the treasurer of WIM USA at the time, worked with WIM USA president Anita Bertisen to draft a plan for corporate membership.

We pulled Sibanye-Stillwater in and used them as a test case for the program, and they signed up 100 of their employees, Chancellor said.

As a result, WIM Montana quickly gained around 100 members who wanted to get involved in the organization.

Sandfire Resources Black Butte Copper then signed on as the second corporate member of WIM USA.

The WIM USA corporate membership program was developed and launched in Montana in 2021, and today there are around 50 corporate members and sustaining sponsors around the country for WIM USA. That has helped boost the membership of Women in Mining. In 2020 there were about 300 members of Women in Mining in the U.S., and now there are over 1,200 members nationwide who are involved in the organization.

Its just been amazing to see the growth, Chancellor said.

As of June 2023, WIM Montana had 119 members, most of them from Sibanye-Stillwater.

WIM Montanas events and resources

Since starting a couple of years ago, WIM Montana has been busy. They have hosted a variety of events, career development programs and community outreach and youth activities. Last summer WIM Montana and SME, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, co-hosted an event with Montanas U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke as the guest speaker.

It was really good to have him there engaging about the broader picture and scope of critical minerals, and how key Montana especially is to the critical mineral supply within the U.S. from a national security and independence standpoint, Chancellor said. I think that was one of our big highlights.

For this summers annual event, WIM Montana worked with the board of the Montana Mining Association. After the inception of WIM Montana, the Montana Mining Association reached out and offered the organization a position on the board of directors, so Morrison is now on the associations board.

Montana is large, although most of the mining takes place along the I-90 corridor that runs across the southern portion of the state, and most of the events hosted by WIM Montana take place in that area. It can be a long drive to get to an event, so WIM Montana usually offers a virtual option.

Morrison and Chancellor have also attended legislative receptions to visit with state legislators. And members of WIM Montana have also set up booths at several conferences in the state.

Weve gained a lot of membership and sponsorship through those conferences, Morrison said.

Last September Chancellor and WIM Montana Vice President Erin Bennett went to Montana Tech in Butte to hold a resume workshop. They reviewed draft resumes and did mock interviews with students. Around 20 to 30 students took advantage of the opportunity to work on their resumes.

Im hoping that this year it can be even bigger and better, Chancellor said. We want to get that key engagement with students and give them the support they need in order to get that next generation of miners into the industry.

Morrison said they are working on increasing their collaboration with the WIM student chapter at Montana Tech to help them with their growth and activities.

Engaging the next generation

WIM Montana has hosted several childrens activities to give young people the opportunity to learn about mining. In December WIM Montana had a booth at the Laurel Christmas Stroll where children could paint pet rocks.

And we had some fact sheets about rocks and Women in Mining, Chancellor said. It was an outreach event that was fun and gave kids a little craft activity to do. That was a huge hit.

Sibanye-Stillwater and Wheaton Precious Metals have helped to sponsor a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program for the Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming, and the Montana and Wyoming Girl Scouts now have a new STEM van which is equipped to engage girls, across 245,000 square miles of our council, in a girl-led and girl-focused immersive environment that will include 3D printing, drones, robotics, virtual reality, coding, microbiology, space science, and much more.

People with Sibanye-Stillwater and WIM Montana have gone to a STEM van event to help with a cookie mining activity for children.

It teaches kids about the economics of mining, Chancellor said.

Each child gets to take a cookie which will be their mine. They can choose either a more expensive cookie with more chips in it, or a less expensive cookie. Then they map their mine by drawing the shape of their cookie on a piece of grid paper, and they count the number of squares that their mine impacts. They purchase tools, either toothpicks or paper clips, and then they have a limited amount of time, usually five minutes, to dig all the good stuffthe chocolate chipsout of their cookie mine.

When they are done, they count their chocolate chips, and then they try to fit all the pieces of the cookie without the chips back into the circle on their grid paper.

So, they look at not just at how much it costs to buy the mineor the cookieand the tools, but also the importance of needing to make sure that youre leaving your cookie as close to the way you found it as possible, Chancellor said. Thats an education on reclamation and why thats important.

It lasts all of five minutes, and then they get to tally up all their expenses and all their profit, and then they see how much they made. Its a lot of fun and kids seem to really enjoy it, added Chancellor.

For older young people who may be getting ready to head toward a career in mining, this year WIM Montana is working on establishing a scholarship fund.

Thats always been a goal for us as we get our feet under us, Morrison said. Well look to probably offer a scholarship next spring.

The importance of mentorship

WIM USA has just launched a new mentorship program for members. Chancellor said she was sending and receiving a lot of emails as they finalized the details. Caterpillar is supporting the funding of the program.

All of our professional and student members can sign up either as a mentor or a mentee or both, Chancellor said. It gives you the ability to connect with your mentor or mentee in the program and talk about a variety of topics like work-life balance, career development moves, or transitioning from one type of career in the industry to another.

Recruiting and retaining women in mining

A lot of the missions and objectives of Women in Mining, Morrison said, revolve around the fact that women continue to be hugely underrepresented in the mining industry. It is estimated that the global mining workforce is about 8 to 17 percent women.

One big mission of Women in Mining is getting more women interested in mining and changing peoples legacy perceptions of mining.

Thats maybe the biggest thing to overcome is getting the idea of what people perceive as mining out of their head, so they can actually see what modern mining looks like, Morrison said.

Another major focus is helping women to continue in mining once they have gotten into the industry.

A 2021 study by McKinsey & Company focused on Why women are leaving the mining industry and what mining companies can do about it. The report said the mining sector is attracting a fairly large number of women, with about 40 percent of the entry-level roles being filled by women. However, a relatively large number of women decide to leave mining, often within about five to seven years of entering the industry.

The drop-off from entry level to executive for females in mining is among the most dramatic across all industries we studied, the McKinsey report said.

The top reasons for leaving the industry are feeling that work is no longer intellectually challenging and having the perception that there are fewer advancement opportunities than there are for their male colleagues, the McKinsey report said. There is a sense that opportunities for operational experience and frontline mentorship are created proactively for men, while women are expected to have acquired frontline experience elsewhere in order to qualify for advanced technical and leadership roles. Women who return to school to further their expertise feel that their academic skills are underutilized and undervalued, negating their investment in advanced education. There is also a perception that operational experience is rated more highly than advanced qualifications when it comes to attaining advanced technical and leadership roles, but women struggle to access the same steppingstone operational roles as men do in the same organizations.

The networking facilitated through Women in Mining, and programs like the new WIM USA mentorship program, can help women consider different kinds of opportunities for their career path in mining, which may help them to decide to stay in the mining industry.

I think that one thing that mentorship can help with is opening people up to ideas of different paths, different opportunities, different resources to help them stay in the industry, Chancellor said. That can help them leverage their individual skills and competencies to really become successful, instead of getting stuck in this rigid kind of traditional advancement structure.

Chancellor is on the International Women in Mining Alliance Steering Committee, and one of the new projects they are working on with WIM USA focuses on inclusive workplace design.

Were looking at how do we make workplaces more inclusive, in everything from policies and procedures, signs, language, abilities, everything across the board, Chancellor said.

Some of the changes which could take place at worksites might include adjusting the ergonomics of machinery, and making sure there are supplies and equipment available which are designed for women.

Chancellor said Women in Mining USA has entered into an alliance agreement with the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and an initiative they have kicked off within the last few months as part of this agreement involves sourcing women-sized personal protective equipment and making the PPE available at mine sites.

To help support workplace inclusivity efforts, WIM USA is developing symbols of exclusion audit program. The program is still in the beta testing phase.

Chancellor worked for Newmont for 11 years, and some of the language for the symbols of exclusion audit program was borrowed from the program which is in place at the Cripple Creek & Victor Mine in Colorado.

Its just a good basic set of things to look at, Chancellor said. She said the new program being developed by WIM USA and International WIM will help to bring these good inclusivity ideas to mining operations around the world.

Morrison said that currently, Montana is probably on the very bottom end of the 8 to 17 percent range when it comes to the number of women in mining in the state. Morrison said that at some of the smaller mining operations around the state, the number of women in the workforce is well under 10 percent.

With all the work being done by the members of WIM Montana to help girls and women learn about the mining industry, and increase inclusivity in the workplace, and help women miners consider a variety of options for their career paths, the number of women in mining in Montana, as well as across the country and around the world, may be increasing in the years ahead. 
Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, says he suspended the Nigeria Air project and airports concession due to complaints from agencies of government.

On August 31, Keyamo announced the suspension of Nigeria Air and airports concessions  two major projects under the aviation roadmap of the preceding administration.

Speaking during a tour of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, Keyamo said the two projects would remain suspended until the government makes a final decision on them.

He said the government would take measurable steps, including looking into the projects reports, responding to the concerns of Nigerians, and spotting red flags; before a decision is made.

It would be irresponsible of me as a minister to come in and agencies of government are raising red flags here and there and I would keep quiet, the minister said.

I am not talking about people, Nigerians complaining now, agencies of government are raising red flags about both projects and I, as a government functionary, would then waive all those red flags away.

Aside from the suspension, Keyamo said no decision has been made about the Nigeria Air project and airports concessioning.

The minister had also directed all airlines to vacate the old terminal at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, from October 1, 2023.
Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of the state, has returned to Nigeria after a three-month medical leave in Germany.

Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, the wife of the governor, confirmed the development on her X page on Thursday.

Homebound, she posted with a picture of the governor at about 3:34 p.m., wearing a black jacket, sitting in a plane.

Akeredolu was welcomed by his close aides at his residence in Ibadan, Oyo state.

He is expected to spend a number of days there before moving to the Government House in Akure, Ondo state.

Yes, Akeredolu is back in the country. His health has significantly improved and this prompted his return to the country and he is in high spirits and eager to resume his duties as soon as possible, a state official disclosed.

Akeredolu left Nigeria in June for medical attention in Germany following a letter sent to the Ondo state house of assembly of his intention to embark on a 21-day leave.

He asked Lucky Aiyedatiwa, his deputy governor, to act in his stead.

On July 11, Aiyedatiwa said Akeredolu would resume duty after being certified fit by doctors.

However, the continuous stay of the Ondo governor in Germany generated concerns among the political class and residents of the state.

To allay fears, on July 21, Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, his wife, shared a photograph of her husband in a medical facility. Betty posted the picture across her social media handles.

The picture showed the ailing governor sitting on a motorable chair while his wife posed beside him.

On August 31, a report claimed that Akeredolu had arrived in Ibadan, Oyo state capital, from Germany.

Reacting to the claim in a statement, Olatunde said the return of Akeredolu was imminent noting that the report was created by jittery politicians.

We would like to assure the good people of Ondo state and Nigerians in general that the Governors return will be widely publicized, the statement reads.

While we acknowledge that his return is imminent, we urge our citizens to disregard any false information and preemptive mischief orchestrated by jittery politicians.
Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has rejected the judgement of the election petitions tribunal.

On Wednesday, the tribunal struck out the various charges filed by Obi and the LP challenging President Bola Tinubus victory in the February 25 poll.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday in Anambra, Obi said he would not relent in the quest for justice and would appeal the judgement of the tribunal.

As petitioners in this case, we respect the views and rulings of the court, but we disagree with the courts reasoning and conclusions in the judgment it delivered, Obi said.

It is my intention as a presidential candidate and the intention of the Labour Party to challenge this judgment by way of appeal immediately, as allowed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Our legal team has already received our firm instruction to file an appeal against the decision. I shall not relent in the quest for justice, not necessarily for myself but indeed for our teeming supporters all over the country and beyond whose mandate to us at the polls was regrettably truncated by INEC.

The former Anambra governor implored Nigerians to remain focused, steadfast, and peaceful.

He urged his supporters to abide by the rule of law and understand that this matter has not reached its logical conclusion.

Obi further said electoral litigations will be non-existent in the country if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) discharges its statutory functions creditably, transparently and with discernible fairness.

He thanked his supporters, his legal team and all those who showed up during the court trials and urged them not to despair because a new Nigeria is possible.
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, on Wednesday, upheld the election of President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.

The five-man panel of the Tribunal was led by Justice Haruna Tsammani.

This development followed petitions filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; the Labour Party and its candidate, Peter Obi, challenging the victory of Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission on March 1.

Tinubu scored a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku and Obi, who polled 6,984,520 and 6,101,533 votes, respectively.

Details later..
Ali Bongo has been released from house arrest by the military junta in Gabon, eight days after he was deposed as president.

The new military leaders in the Central African nation said Bongo is free to leave the country for medical treatment.

Bongo was toppled on the morning the electoral umpire announced that he had been re-elected to a third term in office.

On Monday, Brice Nguema, an army general who led the coup, was sworn in as interim president.

Nguema who is Bongos cousin, served as a bodyguard to Bongos late father and also headed the countrys republican guard, an elite military unit.

The statement announcing Bongos release from house arrest was signed by Nguema.

Given his state of health, the former President of the Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba is free to move about, Ulrich Manfoumbi, the military spokesperson, said in the statement read on national television on Wednesday evening.

He may, if he wishes, travel abroad for medical checkups.

Bongo became president when Omar, his father, died after ruling from 1967 to 2009.

The military is yet to announce a transition to civilian rule programme.




The National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, has commended Wednesdays judgment of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal that validated the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the 2023 election.





In a statement issued in Abuja, Ganduje described the verdict as thorough, stressing that it addressed all the issues raised by the petitioners.





According to the former Kano governor, the judgment was a true reflection of the mandate Nigerians delivered at the last presidential election.





Consequently, the APC national chairman urged the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, to cooperate with the present administration in its effort to address the myriad of challenges facing the country.





He noted that the resolve by both politicians to challenge Tinubus victory at the tribunal spoke volumes of their faith in the nations judicial system.





I had no doubt whatsoever in my mind that the President would come out victorious, considering the massive support Nigerians gave him and our party the APC before and during the Presidential Election.





May I also congratulate the Nigerian Judiciary for adjudicating on the issues arising from the presidential election without fear and favour by doing the right thing. With this judgment, a precedent has been set for electoral matters in the country. The judgment attests to the fact that the rule of law would always reign supreme and our hard-earned democracy would further continue to blossom beyond limits.





For the opposition, I urge you to accept the verdict of the tribunal. There would always be another round of elections whereby, you can test your popularity and acceptability from the electorates. Once more, I congratulate President Tinubu, our teeming supporters who stood by the party through thick and thin, he said.
There's been a quantity-to-quality shift in inflow of investments, analysts say

China's wide appeal for multinational corporations will continue due to its robust domestic market and its unwavering dedication to opening up its economy, despite a globally subdued investment sentiment, said analysts and heads of foreign chambers of commerce in China.

Participating in various events during the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services, which concluded on Wednesday in Beijing, they noted that there has been a quantity-to-quality shift in the inflow of foreign investment into the country. This transformation, they said, is aligned with China's pursuit of high-quality development that aims to generate more growth opportunities in sectors such as trade in services and high-end manufacturing.

Jens Hildebrandt, executive director of the German Chamber of Commerce in China (North China), said that despite the impact of geopolitical tensions on global business confidence, foreign investors will continue to have confidence in China's economic growth in the long run.

The previous cooperation model is changing, he said, referring to the fact that German companies provided technology to China in the past and tremendously benefited from the Chinese market. But now, China has strong brands and high-end technologies, which are successfully penetrating both the German and European markets, especially in the decarbonization and healthcare sectors.

Highlighting that German investment in China is currently concentrated in the industrial sector, Hildebrandt said that with China gradually opening up its services industry, German companies will have more access to the Chinese market in the coming years.

As the global economy is dealing with a sluggish recovery and cross-border investment remains lackluster, China has intensified efforts to boost its foreign investment inflow, unveiling 24 targeted policy measures in mid-August.

The authorities pledged to ensure that foreign businesses receive the same treatment as their Chinese counterparts and enjoy the nation's stronger fiscal support and tax incentives.

The policy rollout will boost the confidence of multinational corporations in conducting long-term operations in China and, therefore, play a pivotal role in revitalizing global cross-border investment, said Loh Wee Keng, chairman of the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China.

As China's traditional advantage of low labor and rental costs diminishes, some foreign manufacturers, especially those from low value-added industries, have chosen to exit the market. Concurrently, many high-tech companies are eagerly entering the Chinese market to capitalize on opportunities associated with industrial upgrading, said Nie Pingxiang, a research fellow with the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.

Even though foreign direct investment in the Chinese mainland in terms of actual use dropped 4 percent year-on-year to 766.71 billion yuan ($105 billion) in the first seven months of this year, China saw the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises in its market reach 28,406 during the period, up 34 percent year-on-year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.

Meanwhile, FDI in the high-tech industry grew 3.8 percent year-on-year, while in high-end manufacturing, it soared 25.3 percent.

Roberta Lipson, vice-chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said she believes the recent high-level interactions between senior government officials from China and the United States will instill greater confidence among US companies in China.

For a majority of AmCham China members, China remains the most critical investment destination, and they will continue conducting business here, as they are enthusiastic about China's growth, Lipson said.

She added that China's recent 24-point policy to support the growth of foreign companies, the reforms in its pilot free trade zones and other opening-up measures are practical moves to shore up the nation's economy.

Geraldine McCafferty, deputy head of mission at the British embassy in Beijing, said the United Kingdom does not believe in the "decoupling" narrative. "We think that international trade is a good thing. The more we reform and open up our economies, the better it is for global prosperity."

McCafferty said that with closer business ties, the Chinese and British economies will further benefit from the services sector.

Zhao Ping, dean of the Academy of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said a well-developed business environment can effectively upgrade China's innovation climate and offer concrete opportunities for multinationals to take part in the country's opening-up and innovation drive.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony for a new research building in Shanghai on Wednesday, Ilham Kadri, CEO of Belgian chemical manufacturer Solvay SA, said the Chinese market is strategically important in the group's global strategy, and Solvay is willing to increase investment to address demand in the country.

"This research and development facility will be an innovation hub, which will usher in breakthroughs in critical sectors in China, especially hydrogen, electronics and semiconductors," Kadri said, adding that the company has invested more than 4 billion yuan in innovation activities across China since 2005.




Minister of Defence Mohammed Badaru has urged Nigerians to continue to pray for an end to the security challenges in the country.





Badaru made the call on Thursday in Abuja while receiving a delegation from Jigawa State led by Governor Umar Namadi.





He said that with the complexities of the security challenges and other aspects of national development, one could only ask for prayers to succeed.





The defence minister, however, said that though the task is enormous, they are determined to surmount the challenges.





Badaru, therefore, canvassed for the support of all Nigerians, including their prayers, in order to entrench peace and stability in the country.





Earlier, the Jigawa governor, who led traditional rulers, religious leaders, the business community, and public office holders from the state, said that the purpose of the visit was to congratulate the minister and assure him of their support at all times.





It is not only to say congratulations but also to pray for you. We know how you succeeded as governor of our state. We also pray for you to achieve the same or even more in this new task as the Minister of Defence, Namadi said.





The Jigawa governor reminded the minister that Nigerians have high expectations that he would prioritise and deal with insecurity in the country, adding, Once you can do this, it covers every aspect of the nation.





We are lucky that we are peaceful in Jigawa, but that does not mean that we dont need your assistance; we also need your assistance as you help other states, Namadi stated.




A faction of the Labour Party led by Lamidi Apapa has accepted the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court on the case filed by the partys presidential candidate in the last election, Peter Obi.





Recall that the tribunal on Wednesday ruled that the petition filed by Obi and his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar and their parties had no merit and unanimously upheld the election of President Bola Tinubu.





The judgment was delivered by the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, assisted by other members of the panel-Justices Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Stephen Adah, Moses Ugo and Abba Mohammed.





Reacting, Apapa in a statement issued by the factional National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, said it was shameful that Obi and his legal team were unable to prove the allegations of irregularities in the February 25 election.





Apapa also accused Obi of allegedly siphoning money donated for his presidential campaign in 2022.





The statement said: It is a shame that the legal team of Mr Peter Obi failed to advise him properly before going to the tribunal.





Peter Obi has just gone on a wild goose chase. Imagine the candidate that failed to fund the party in order to engage the number of required polling agents, also the filing of the witnesses outside the stipulated time has shown that the legal team is a failure.





Some of us have been saying that Peter Obi decided to go to the tribunal to justify all the money he collected during the campaign, all that money was corruptly siphoned.





Apapa was at the tribunal at least twice to witness the court proceedings as the party chairman.




The House of Representatives spokesperson, Rep. Akin Rotimi, has condemned the brutal murder of a student of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Modupe Atanda.





This is contained in a statement issued by Rotimi on Thursday in Abuja, where he demanded a thorough investigation into the murder with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice.





NAN reports that Atanda, a 200-level student of the institution had gone to study in the evening of Sept. 4, but was later declared missing.





Authorities of the institution report that the missing student was subsequently found dead in a shallow grave on the campus on Sept. 6.





The lawmaker, who represents Ekiti North 1, Ikole/Oye Federal Constituency, called on the government of Ekiti, relevant security agencies, and stakeholders in the community to collaborate to fish out the culprits and bring them to book.





We owe it to the memory of late Atanda to ensure our students, and indeed all residents in our communities, are safe and secure as they go about their legitimate activities, Rotimi said.





He encouraged anyone with useful information related to the case to contact the Nigeria Police Force to assist in their investigations.





It is through the collective efforts of the community that justice can be swiftly served and a sense of security restored., the lawmaker said.
Popular comedian, Lawrence Oluwaseyitan Aletile, aka Seyi Law, has mocked supporters of the opposition political parties following Wednesdays Presidential Election Petition Tribunal judgement.

The long awaited judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal was made on Wednesday but it did not favour the supporters of Peter Obi and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Victory smiled at President Bola Tinubu, who was declared winner of the presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on March 1.

It means that supporters of the President and the All Progressives Congress, APC, would naturally be in a joyful mood while those of the opposition would be sad.

Seyi Law, for whatever reason, has remained one of the diehard supporters of President Tinubu and would have to gloat.

Have they started crying already, or are they still hoping for a rerun? What a waste, the comedian wrote on X shortly after the Tribunal ruling on Obi and Atikus petitions.

Meanwhile, both politicians, through their representatives, have vowed to continue their search for justice at the Supreme Court.
The Lamidi Apapa faction of the Labour Party, LP, has accused the partys presidential candidate, Peter Obi of siphoning $15 million and N12 billion meant for his campaign.

The faction alleged that Obi used the money to help an embattled Chairman of the party Julius Abure and the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

This was disclosed in a statement by the spokesman of Apapas faction, Abayomi Arabambi.

The statement reads partly: Our previous position has now been confirmed that Peter Obi was just all out to defraud our party of donations made towards 2023 general election which was in a scary sum of $15 million and N12 billion that Peter Obi deliberately used for the cure of Abures poverty lineage and help other Julius Abure IPOB irresponsible ethnic irredeemable irredentist supporters to have a lifeline.

Peter Obi fraudulently converted all monies due to our agents across the country and they all refused to represent the party at all pooling units.




The Ekiti State Police Command, on Thursday, said it had arrested 10 suspects in connection to the death of a student of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Modupe Deborah.





The commands Public Relations Officer, DSP Abutu Sunday, made the announcement via the commands handle on X (formerly Twitter).





Sunday added that the late 200-level nursing student of the institution was declared missing within the school premises on 5/09/2023.





The PRO stated that Deborahs body was found in a shallow grave at a distance of about 30 meters behind the nursing Lecture Hall.





Sunday said, This is to inform the general public that the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, CP Ogundare Dare, has ordered a thorough investigation into the cause of the death of one Atanda Modupe Deborah, a 200-level nursing student of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), who was declared missing within the school premises on 5/09/2023 but found dead in a shallow grave at a distance of about 30 meters behind the nursing Lecture Hall.





He promised that the police would ensure the perpetrators of the crime face the full wrath of the law.





While appealing to everyone to be calm, the commissioner vows that the command will do everything possible to unearth the identity of the perpetrator(s) and ensure they are made to face the full wrath of the law.





The command enjoins anyone with useful information concerning the ugly incident to visit Oye Divisional Police Headquarters, Oye-Ekiti or State CIID or call 09064050086/08053499199.





Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has been deposited in the morgue for autopsy while 10 suspects are currently in custody undergoing investigation.





Earlier, the school management announced the death of the student in a statement signed by the Registrar, Mufutau Ibrahim.





Ibrahim said, It will be recalled that earlier today, the Management had made public the disturbing development of the missing of the deceased and assured that investigation was ongoing as to unravel the whereabouts of the poor students.





But current information reaching the security outfit of the University has disclosed that the said student is dead.





While the University Management condoles with the deceased family and the generality of the University community, particularly our dear students, the Management reiterated that investigation is still ongoing and this is being done in collaboration with national security agencies to get to the root of the sad development and bring to book the culprits.
A former Vice President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to approach the Supreme Court to set aside the election of President Bola Tinubu.

Atiku, said he was dissatisfied with the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, that affirmed President Tinubu as the valid winner of the presidential election held on February 25.

Speaking through his team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, the PDP candidate, said he only got a judgement from the court and not justice.

Judgement has just been delivered but we have not received justice. Luckily, the Constitution has given us the right to go on appeal.

This is the court of first instance. We still have the right to go on appeal to the Supreme Court and you see, this is a struggle that is not just for our client, but for the Constitution of this country, for the rule of law and democracy.

We were expecting an outcome that will improve, encourage the use of technology to enhance election management, to enhance transparency, to enhance accountability, so that Nigerians will believe in democracy.

So that Nigerians can come out in their masses like they did, to vote. We dont want Nigerians to be discouraged.

There are certain things and principle of law that he know that we need to explore and we strongly believe that when we get to the Supreme Court, it will have the opportunity to review a number of things that have been said here today.

We have the instruction of our client to go to the Supreme Court. So, we have asked for the records. We have asked for the judgement. We are going to apply for the transmission of the records because we have a very limited time to push this.

So, the struggle continues and as it is said, it is not over until it is over, Atikus lawyer added.




Reno Omokri, a former media aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, has asserted that Nigeria would have been thrown into a second civil war if the Presidential Election Petition Courts judgement had favoured the Labour Partys presidential candidate, Peter Obi.





Recall the the Presidential Election Petition Court yesterday declared that President Bola Tinubu was not convicted in the United States and also declared that he did not need to win 25 per cent of the votes in the FCT to be declared president, as argued by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in their petitions.





Reacting via his X page, Omokri lauded the judgement, stressing that Nigeria would have been dragged into a civil war if Obis petitions had succeeded.





He said, If Peter Obi had won the #NigerianElections2023 , or at the Presidential Election Petition Court, there would have been a civil war in Nigeria. Not may. Would. Why? Because he and his Obidients were just too arrogant and were already recreating, and would have further recreated the events that led up to the Nigerian Civil War.





He claimed Obis supporters were more fascistic than Mussolini, while alleging that after Peter Obi lost, prominent Obidients with direct ties to Peter Obi were openly calling for a military coup to restore Obis mandate.
DEAR AMY: My husband of 50 years died over two years ago.

I was happy and content with my single life and have had no interest in dating.

Last year I went on a group trip to Spain. There were several single older people on the tour.

I was totally shocked when a gentleman asked me to join him for lunch when we returned home.

Both our spouses had died at about the same time and we had a lot of similar interests.

Over the last year we have become great companions.

The trouble is that one of my daughters is adamant about not wanting to meet him.

I am not interested in marriage, only friendship.

He has no local family. I would like to have him meet her family and Id like to have him celebrate with us for holidays.

She says that she will let me know when she is ready.

I feel very bad that I have to exclude my friend when my daughter is around.

I am sure that she would not come to my home for Thanksgiving if he was invited.

How should I handle this situation?

 Sad Mom

DEAR SAD: Your daughter has told you that she will meet your male friend when she is ready. So  take her at her word.

You might not be able to knit this group together the way youd like to in the time frame youd prefer.

You do not have to exclude your friend when your daughter is around, thus letting your daughter control your friendship.

Your daughter can make her choices based on her own preferences and priorities.

I hope you will talk with her about this. Reassure her that you have no desire to replace her father and have no thoughts of marrying again. This gentleman and you have both lost spouses, and this friendship has helped you to move through your loss. Ask your daughter to share her own feelings or fears about this relationship, and listen with compassion. (Would she respond this way if you enjoyed companionship with a female friend?)

And then  move forward. Before inviting him to spend the holidays with your family, you should start with an invitation for coffee, and ask your daughter to join you. If your daughter wont share this time with him, be patient and trust that she will come around when she is ready.

***

DEAR AMY: Bugged in a Small Town was repeatedly called by the wrong name, despite repeatedly correcting the woman who did it.

I once had a boss who had The EXACT same name as me. She chose to call me by a different name (one more ethnic).

She kept this up until I started calling her by this same name when addressing her.

She informed me that it was not her name. I told her it was not mine either, and because we had the SAME NAME it shouldnt be so hard for her to remember it.

That cured her.

-- No Longer Bugged

DEAR NO LONGER BUGGED: Instant cure. Good for you.

***

MORE FROM ASK AMY:

Ask Amy: Wife gains a husband, husband gains weight

Ask Amy: I want to give family photos to my exs relatives but I dont want to reestablish a connection

Ask Amy: Couple plans to gently conclude relationship with the wife of an alcoholic friend

Ask Amy: Please dont say the coffee is decaf when its not

Ask Amy: Family favoritism extends to estate

***

(You can email Amy Dickinson at askamy@amydickinson.com or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068. You can also follow her on Twitter @askingamy or Facebook.)

2023 Amy Dickinson. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Authorities have identified the 43-year-old New Jersey man who drowned Monday in the ocean off Strathmere Beach in Upper Township.

Mark Costin, of Vineland, was pulled from the water at about 12:15 p.m., State Police said Thursday.

Costin died at an area hospital. The drowning remains under investigation, according to Detective Jeffrey Lebron, a State Police spokesman.

Costin was tying to save his fiance's 12-year-old daughter after the girl got caught in a rip current, according to according to 6abc.com. A surfer rescued the girl, but Costin began to struggle in the water.

He is survived by his 13-year-old daughter, his fiance and her three children. All were at the beach with him on Labor Day, 6abc.com, said.

Costin served as a medic in the National Guard his family told the station.

A GoFundMe.com has been established by the family to raise money for funeral expenses.

Costin was the fourth man to drown along the Jersey Shore over the weekend.

A 31-year-old Howell man drowned in Seaside Park while a 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic drowned in Beach Haven on Sunday. Belmar police have yet to identify a 42-year-old man who died after being caught in a rip current the same day.

Lifeguards rescued numerous other people in various towns.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
President Xi Jinping said on Monday that China is willing to work with other countries across the world to deepen international exchanges and cooperation in the digital field and promote the innovative development of smart industries.

Xi made the remarks in a congratulatory letter sent to the Smart China Expo 2023, which opened on Monday in Chongqing.

By accelerating the construction of a community with a shared future in cyberspace, China and the rest of the world can jointly create a happier and better future together, he said.

Xi said in the letter that as new technologies such as the internet, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and blockchain are undergoing fundamental changes, the transformation toward industrial digitization as well as smart and green development is accelerating, and the intelligent industries and digital economy are flourishing.

All these will dramatically change the way global factors and resources are allocated, the models of industrial development and people's way of life, he said.

Noting that China attaches great importance to the development of the digital economy, Xi said the country continuously promotes the deep integration of digital technology and the real economy, coordinates advances in both the digital industry and the digital transformation of traditional industries, and accelerates the building of the country's cyberspace strength and a digital China.

Themed "Pooling together wisdom and strength", the expo, which will run through Wednesday, has attracted more than 500 enterprises. The annual expo was first held in Chongqing in 2018.
A Cumberland County resident is now charged with manslaughter after the man he was accused of assaulting last month died of his injuries.

Police responded to Myrtle Street in Bridgeton around 11:30 p.m. Aug. 12 for an assault victim and found an unconscious man being treated by EMTs.

The 35-year-old Bridgeton man, later identified as Clemente Vazquez-Pacheco, showed no outward signs of injury and was taken to a hospital for treatment, police said. He was diagnosed with a brain bleed and taken to Cooper University Hospital in critical condition.

Surveillance video recovered from Myrtle Street showed a fight taking place in an alley and Vazquez-Pacheco walking toward the skirmish, according to court documents. The fighters then assaulted Vazquez-Pacheco by throwing rocks at him, police said.

Julio Morales-Amilcar, 25, of Bridgeton, threw a large rock, striking Vazquez-Pacheco in the head and causing him to fall to the ground, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in the case. Morales-Amilcar then punched and kicked Vazquez-Pacheco while he was on the ground, police said.

Morales-Amilcar was interviewed by police and admitted to the assault, police said. He was initially charged with second-degree aggravated assault, and third- and fourth-degree weapons possession offenses in the incident.

Vazquez-Pacheco was taken off life support on Aug. 30 and died of his injuries, police said.

Charges against Morales-Amilcar were then upgraded to second-degree manslaughter and he remains jailed.

Police are still looking for the other man involved in the fight. Anyone with information is asked to contact Bridgeton Police Detective Tom Garofolo at 856-451-0033, ext. 113 or submit an anonymous tip online at ccpo.tips.

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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
Its no secret that college is really, really expensive these days. But, the fees might start earlier than parents realize, with most colleges charging money to just consider a students application.

For the 26 four-year, non-profit colleges in New Jersey, the average application fee is about $50, just slightly over the national average, according to an NJ Advance Media analysis of application requirements. (See a full list of schools below.)

Most college advice websites, including U.S. News and World Report and the College Board, recommend students apply to around six or seven colleges. At $50 a pop, that adds up to $300 or $350 before a student even gets an acceptance letter to any school.

But that number might even be low, said Scott White, a college admissions consultant who spent two decades as an admissions counselor at Montclair State University.

His clients frequently apply to more than ten colleges, but the application costs arent usually a deterrent. The wealthier applicants can easily afford the fees, while lower-income applicants can apply for fee waivers and pay nothing, he said.

Middle-income clients are the ones who bear the brunt of the costs, White said. But those families want to maximize the chances their child gets to consider multiple financial aid packages from colleges, which justifies the application fees, he said.

The nationwide average for application costs is about $45, according to a U.S. News & World Report analysis of 889 colleges. The most expensive application is Arkansas Baptist College, which will run you $100 to apply.

The most expensive applications in New Jersey cost $75  at Kean University, New Jersey Institute of Technology and The College of New Jersey. Princeton, Rutgers and Stevens Institute of Technology all charge $70 to submit an application.

Its standard for schools to offer free applications to low-income students, but three of New Jerseys private universities  Georgian Court, Saint Peters and Saint Elizabeth  said they never charge application fees. All three Catholic universities have high numbers of lower-income and first generation college students.

Like most costs associated with colleges, the cost of applications has been rising in recent years, White said. Some of the cost increase is intended to discourage unnecessary applications submitted by students with little chance of being admitted, he said.

Its pretty frequent with kids, I see that they say, you know, I dont think Ill get into this school, but Ill just throw in an application. And in the past that used to be really simple. Now its more expensive, White said.

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Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieKausch.
You can learn a lot about someone by perusing their playlists.

Politico recently asked the crop 2024 presidential candidates to reveal their 20 favorite songs (without artist repeats). Among the candidates who returned a track list was former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
In the blistering heat outside Newarks Wilson Avenue School, 7th grader Joseph Albuquerque said it had been too hot inside his classroom to concentrate.

It was like, scorching hot, maybe because today was 90 degrees, said Joseph, 12, who was with his brother Daniel, a 5th grader, and their mother, Vera Albuquerque, on Tuesday, the first day of school.

Youd have to wipe your face every five minutes, he said. You couldnt really pay attention.

While districts up and down the state opted for early dismissal this week due to the dangerously hot weather, Newark Public Schools has not. Instead, the states largest school district had full days on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday despite sustained high temperatures and humidity, a warning from the mayor, and a call by the Newark Teachers Union to compress the days class and lunch schedule to close early and avoid the hottest part of the afternoon.

Weve reached out to the board members. Weve reached out to the superintendent. Weve reached out to the mayor, all to no avail, said Union President John Abeigon. We posted to our members that, if their health conditions are such, to use their sick days.

Its unclear how many of Newarks 66 traditional public schools housing close to 6,000 staffers and 36,000 students lack central air conditioning.

Neither Superintendent Roger Leon nor a district spokesperson responded to requests for comment.

But Abeigon, who said he did not know how many schools lacked central air, noted that the problem is particularly serious in the districts older buildings, like Wilson Avenue School, built in 1881, even though some have a few window-mounted air conditioners.

Abeigon said teachers from several older schools, including Wilson Avenue and Lafayette School, have complained of sweltering classroom temperatures. On Tuesday, he provided a photograph of what he said was a wall thermometer in a classroom at Ann Street School with a reading of 90.5 degrees. On Wednesday, he said a digital thermometer in a classroom at Barringer High School read 96.6 degrees.

Abeigon said Thursday that temperatures continued to broil teachers in buildings without air conditioning, who were getting fatigued working a third straight day in excessive heat. He did not blame the districts current administration for the problem, noting that its predecessors  which included the New Jersey Department of Education during a 22-year state takeover  had also let Wilson, Ann Street, and other aging Newark schools go without AC.

Those buildings didnt just become old, Abeigon said, theyve been old.

The National Weather Service said it reached a high of 95 in Newark on Tuesday at 3 p.m., just before Mayor Ras J. Baraka issued a heat warning in effect through Thursday. Wednesdays temperature hit 95 again, with the same high forecast for Thursday.

A spokesperson for the mayor did not respond to a request for comment.

Wilson Avenue School 7th grader Joseph Albuquerque points to an air conditioner in the window of the school's multipurpose room, one of a few window-mounted units in a building that does not have central air conditioning.Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media For NJ.com

The mayors warning urged residents to stay indoors with fans or air conditioning on, drink plenty of fluids, and take a cool bath or shower, among other forms of relief. He asked that people check on senior citizens, disabled people, and others particularly vulnerable to extreme heat.

The districts that have decided to dismiss students early this week have included Bridgewater-Raritan in Somerset County, Metuchen in Middlesex County, North Bergen in Hudson County, and Camden City and Gloucester Township in Camden County.

Another Hudson district, Jersey City, the states second-largest, decided on Wednesday that it would dismiss early on Thursday and Friday, according to Superintendent Norma Fernandezs office.

On Aug. 28, a late-night fire broke out in Wilson Avenue Schools multi-purpose room, where the underside of a large air conditioner mounted in a second-floor window was visibly charred Tuesday.

Catherine Adams, a spokesperson for the Newark Department of Public Safety, which includes the fire division, said the cause of the fire remained under investigation on Thursday.

Josephs mother, Vera Albuquerque, said she and her son have no problem with Wilson Avenue Schools teachers, administrators, programs, or anything else related to instruction or activities.

I love it, Albuquerque said. But referring to the air conditioning and other signs of age, she added, They could renovate the school.

An air conditioner mounted in the second-floor window of a multi-purpose room at Wilson Avenue School appeared to be charred or stained with soot this week, after an Aug. 28 fire in the room. Officials have not announced the cause of the fire.Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media For NJ.com

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Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued a national health alert warning health care providers about a flesh-eating bacteria.

The bacteria, known as Vibrio vulnificus, has been the cause of fatal infections that have started out as foodborne illnesses or wounds.

The agency issued the alert after receiving reports of an uptick in Vibrio infections, including eight deaths, with five of those deaths in the state of Florida.

Now, the agency is urging healthcare professionals to consider V. vulnificus as a possible cause of infected wounds that were exposed to coastal waters, particularly near the Gulf of Mexico or East Coast, and during periods with warmer coastal sea surface temperatures.

In a typical year, 80,000 people are infected with Vibrio and 100 die from a form of the bacterial infection, according to the CDC.

Vibrio infections, also known as vibriosis, are caused by bacteria that naturally inhabit warm salt or brackish waters. You can be infected if you consume raw or undercooked contaminated seafood, such as oysters.

You can also be infected in rare cases if you go into warm, salty or brackish waters with an open wound from a recent surgery, a piercing, a tattoo, or an open cut, scrape or sore.

Here are the symptoms of vibriosis, according to the CDC:

When ingested:

watery diarrhea, often accompanied by abdominal cramping

nausea

vomiting

fever

chills

It can also cause a skin infection when a wound is exposed to warm salt water or brackish water.

According to the CDC, heres how you can prevent vibriosis:

Dont eat raw or undercooked shellfish. Cook the shellfish before consuming.

Wash your hands with soap and water after touching raw shellfish.

Avoid mixing cooked shellfish with raw shellfish.

Stay out of salt water or brackish water if you have a wound, or cover your wound with a waterproof bandage.

Wash wounds and cuts thoroughly with soap and water if exposed to seawater, raw seafood or its juices.

Contact a health care provider if your skin has become infected after coming into contact with salt water or brackish water, raw seafood, or raw seafood juices.

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Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips.
This Monday marks the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks that took place in the U.S. on the Tuesday morning of Sept. 11, 2001, and claimed the lives of over 3,000 people.

Communities across Hudson County are commemorating the tragic day with annual memorial services that have been a tradition for the past two decades.
EDITORS NOTE: NJ Cannabis Insider, NJ.coms B2B cannabis industry trade journal and events vertical, is hosting the states foremost business conference on Oct. 12. Tickets are limited.

A state lawmaker wants to make it a crime for parents whose children gain access to their cannabis.

The states regulatory entity, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission, already has regulations in place governing packaging, but Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-Morris) wants to add criminal penalties in the form of a disorderly persons offense.

An increasing number of children are gaining access to cannabis products following the legalization of adult-use recreational marijuana in New Jersey. Children are overdosing on edibles, not only because they are legal, but because they resemble benign candies and treats, Dunn said in a press release. It is time the Legislature put the proper safeguards in place to protect children by codifying the packaging regulations created by the cannabis commission.

Dunn said the number of poison control calls for children ingesting cannabis roughly doubled over a four-year span from 73 calls in 2019 to 162 calls in 2022. She also cited data from the National Poison Data Center that 486 residents experienced dangerous cannabis exposure in 2021, with the majority of access occurring for those who were five years or younger.

Data from the center indicated that cannabis makes up a small percentage of adverse reporting, resulting in roughly 1% of all poison exposures. While cannabis can cause detrimental side effects for those who use too much or are younger, there have been no documented cases of fatal overdoses.

Among the top five poison exposures from the data center were analgesics, cleaning substances, cosmetic and personal care products, sedatives and antidepressants. Those substances have involved fatal outcomes, but do not traditionally fall under criminal penalties nor has it garnered the same call from legislators to be regulated in such a manner.

Adults should be locking up their marijuana along with their liquor. The same precautions need to be taken, because there are similar consequences, Dunn said. Responsible adults are caring and careful; however, New Jersey has an obligation to protect children as the marijuana market continues to expand.

Despite that statement, when pressed on whether or not the law would require cannabis to be locked up and whether it was patterned after gun control laws that encourages firearms to be locked up, a Republican spokesperson said the law designates no such thing and was patterned more after alcohol.

Additionally, Dunns law does not specifically designate what easy access or safe storage would be.

The goal is to treat cannabis in the same way that alcohol is legally treated, not for the government to dictate how parents should go about storage, said Todd Riffle, a deputy executive director for the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Office. There is plenty of precedent enforcing alcohol laws to avoid that confusion. I dont really want to vet every possible scenario, but I suppose if a household had toddlers, and the cannabis was stored on a top shelf of a kitchen cabinet, you could reasonably conclude the child would not have access.

Diane Calello, executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison and Information System at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and an associate professor of emergency medicine, authored an op-ed in 2019 calling for many of the regulations the state cannabis commission would eventually adopt for safe packaging and the sale of cannabis.

Our society is in the midst of a cannabis revolution, and we must commit to answering the many questions that remain. This means research funding and cooperation of experts on all sides as the process evolves, she said. For legalization to succeed, safety must be our highest priority.

Jelani Gibson is content lead for NJ Cannabis Insider. He may be reached at jgibson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jelanigibson1 and on LinkedIn.
A 20-year-old fugitive being sought for on charges he seriously injured a 4 month old in New Jersey last month was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Ohio, authorities said.

Byron Jovel-Barquero was arrested at a home on Overland Overland Parkway in Toledo by members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement.

He is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office said.

Jovel-Barquero fled New Jersey after he assaulted a woman holding a baby on the 100 block of Belmont Avenue in Long Branch on Aug. 20, authorities said. The child remains at a New Jersey hospital being treated for severe and potentially life-threatening brain injuries, the U.S. Marshals Service said.

The woman was also injured.

The U.S. Marshals Service takes crimes against children very seriously, and it is our priority to find those responsible and bring them to justice, U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said in a statement.

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.
Buggy software and human error, not fraud or funny business, were behind voting irregularities that led elections officials in Monmouth County to declare the wrong winner in a local race last November, a state inquiry found.

The general election snafu sowed confusion in four towns with contested races and caused a rare post-Election Day reversal in Ocean Township that found the wrong candidate had been seated on the school board.

It also prompted the state attorney general to launch an independent review, releasing its findings on Wednesday. Led by former Attorney General Peter Harvey, the investigation found certain safeguards designed to prevent double counting of votes cast were not in place, leading to the miscount.

Overall, the cascade of technical and human errors did not shift any balances of power. But it came at a time when false claims of a stolen presidential election put any instances of voting irregularity under the microscope across the United States.

Here in New Jersey, problems in the general election renewed debates over whether the state should return to using paper ballots. In addition to the Monmouth County issues, voting machines were down across all of Mercer County on Election Day due to unrelated technical errors.

These reports are a public service, and we are reviewing them carefully as we work to ensure free and fair elections in New Jersey, state Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement announcing the findings.

Katina Granger, a spokeswoman for Election Systems & Software, said in an email the report affirms that human procedural errors affected the outcome of a race in Monmouth County during the November 2022 general election.

Were thankful for the thorough review by the State and pledge to continue our work with election officials to ensure all votes are counted as cast, she said.

Monmouth County Superintendent of Elections Christopher Siciliano said in a statement the report confirms that the primary reason for the error was ES&Ss failure to implement a software patch designed to prevent the tabulation of ballots more than once and it failed to do so.

Harveys report outlines recommended reforms as well as a detailed account of what what wrong.

The trouble started in July 2022, when Monmouth County officials asked the company to help troubleshoot issues with their voting machines that later turned out to be simple network connectivity problems, according to Harveys report.

The employee they sent was improperly trained, however, and re-installed software in a way that disabled the machines ability to tell if votes were counted twice, the probe found. That caused problems during the usually hectic counting process on election night.

To manually count write-in votes, county workers use flash drives to transfer images of ballots and, in this case, accidentally uploaded the data from six of those flash drives twice. Normally, the voting software would automatically detect duplicate images, but because it had been improperly installed, no red flag was raised, according to the report.

The inquiry found no issues beyond what was previously disclosed, namely recounts in Belmar, Fair Haven, Ocean Township and Tinton Falls.

In the Ocean Township school board race, former board member Steve Clayton was up over incumbent Jeffrey Weinstein by just 20 votes  3,523 to 3,503. A recount finalized after Clayton took office found he actually lost by four, 3,408 to 3,404.

The attorney generals investigation concluded the problems were honest mistakes. The report also contains a range of recommended reforms, most of them concerning tabulation procedures and contracts with voting machine vendors.

Elections in New Jersey are secure, the report concludes. In fact, the voting equipment used in Monmouth County is protected from outside intrusions, including by any vendor personnel.

In our investigation, we discovered no evidence suggesting that the miscount was the result of any fraudulent or willfully wrongful conduct by any Monmouth County election official or personnel, ES&S employee, or any other person.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com.
An arrest has been made in the death of Baby Mary nearly 40 years after the infant was found in a Morris County Park on Christmas Eve.

Officials announced that the babys mother was arrested in South Carolina on April 24, more than 38 years after she left her daughter to die in a secluded park in Mendham Township, officials with the Morris County Prosecutors Office said.

The woman, who was 17 at the time, has been charged with manslaughter, which would be a second degree crime if committed by an adult, Prosecutor Robert Carroll said at a press conference Thursday morning. Her identity is not being released because she is being charged as a minor, Carroll said.

She is not currently in custody, but is being monitored, Carroll said. She faces up to three years in jail if found guilty.

The death and abandonment of this baby girl is a tragic loss, and even after 40 years remains just as heartbreaking, Carroll said.

The babys father was also identified, Carroll said. The man, who was 19 at the time, was unaware the baby was born and was not involved in her death. He died in 2009.

A possible motive or reason for abandoning the baby was not provided.

Baby Mary was found by two young boys next to a stream near Mount Pleasant Road on Christmas Eve in 1984, Carroll said. Her umbilical cord was still attached, and she was wrapped inside a towel inside of a plastic bag, Carroll said.

She was still alive when she was abandoned, Carroll said.

Information about the mother was limited, with officials citing the mothers age at the time. But both parents lived in Morris County, and the mother was attending school in 1984, Carroll said.

A breakthrough in the case came several years ago when a DNA match between Baby Mary and the father was made, Carroll said. He declined to say if any genealogy websites, like Ancestry.com, were used in solving the case.

Investigators hunted down hundreds, if not thousands of leads to identify the mother, Carroll said. Law enforcement agencies at the local and state level in New Jersey, the FBI, and several agencies from Florida and South Carolina were involved in the investigation in recent years.

But despite advancements in DNA testing, officials were quick to stress the reliance on old-fashioned police work that lead to the arrest.

Dubbed Baby Mary by the Rev. Michael Drury, Mendham Townships police chaplain, the investigation stalled after five years, and the case was closed without being solved. She was buried in the cemetery at St. Josephs Church in Mendham.

But Father Mike, as he is known, never gave up his efforts to keep Baby Mary at the front of peoples minds. Every Christmas Eve, he held a graveside service to honor Baby Mary and pray for her.

Mendham Township Police Chief Ross Johnson thanked Drury for his involvement in the case, and for bringing the community together in supporting Baby Mary.

The efforts of all involved paid off, eventually bringing justice for this infant who never had a chance to fight for herself, Johnson said.

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Katie Kausch may be reached at kkausch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieKausch.
Many people across the globe had their eyes on the 15th BRICS Summit, which was held from Aug 22 to 24 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The summit, during which Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were invited to join BRICS as full members effective Jan 1, demonstrated an opportunity for African countries to strengthen their ties with the world's major emerging economies.

In an era of global interconnectivity, the expansion of BRICS  whose current members are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa  has assumed a significant role in molding international dynamics.

President Xi Jinping described the group's expansion as a "historic" move that "shows the determination of BRICS countries for unity and cooperation with other developing nations".

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the summit that "India has always believed that the addition of new members will further strengthen BRICS as an organization and give our shared effort a new impetus".

This strategic alignment is not merely a one-sided endeavor. Rather, it marks a mutual exchange of expertise, resources and development strategies. As the BRICS countries pool their strengths and resources, they empower African nations to harness their own capabilities, fostering a sense of self-reliance and sustainable progress.

For almost eight decades, the conventional road for influencing change and development in the international system has been through the multilateral institutions themselves. This is changing. With BRICS, we are seeing a style of diplomatic engagement that gives prominence to all types of coalitions of like-minded states. This trend is likely to be amplified by the expansion of BRICS.

BRICS has gained significant traction since its inception in 2009 as BRIC(South Africa joined in 2010). Initially formed as a grouping of major emerging economies, BRICS has evolved into a formidable economic organization with the potential to reshape global dynamics.

One area in which BRICS expansion has garnered attention is its expected impact on the African continent.

By offering an alternative approach to engagement and development, BRICS nations have already contributed to Africa's economic growth, political influence and social development. While challenges remain, the potential benefits of this engagement are vast.

Economic cooperation forms the cornerstone of this burgeoning partnership. The BRICS-launched New Development Bank, which was established to fund infrastructure and development projects, has channeled billions of dollars into African economies, bolstering critical sectors such as energy, transportation and telecommunications. Such investments lay the groundwork for modernization and connectivity, enabling African nations to bridge gaps in their development trajectories.

Equally significant is the emphasis on knowledge transfer and innovation. Collaborative efforts in technology, agriculture and healthcare have allowed African nations to tap into the expertise of BRICS countries. Exchange programs, scholarships and joint research initiatives are empowering young Africans to become drivers of change in their respective societies. By nurturing a culture of innovation, the BRICS expansion is sowing seeds for sustainable development that transcends traditional boundaries.

The diplomatic ramifications of this partnership are equally noteworthy. The BRICS-Africa Dialogue Forum, serving as a platform for discourse, highlights shared concerns and aspirations. This forum amplifies the voices of African nations on the global stage, addressing issues such as climate change, peacekeeping and international trade. The collaboration underlines the commitment to a multipolar world order, in which diverse voices converge to shape policies that resonate with the aspirations of the developing Global South.

Looking ahead, BRICS engagement in Africa will likely continue to evolve. Strengthening economic ties, expanding people-to-people exchanges and fostering innovation and technology transfer will be key areas of focus. Collaboration in fields such as renewable energy, agriculture and healthcare can drive sustainable development on the continent.

As the BRICS nations invest in Africa's progress, the continent is evolving into a dynamic force shaping its destiny on the global stage. It is a journey that warrants careful consideration, for the transformation is not just a story of nations, but a tale of shared aspirations and interconnected destinies.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  Police in New Mexicos capital city on Friday were investigating the partial destruction of a public monument to a 19th century frontiersman and U.S. soldier who had a leading role in the death of hundreds of Native Americans during Anglo-American settlement of the American West.

The monument to Christopher Kit Carson has been encircled by a plywood barrier for its own protection since 2020, when Santa Fe was swept by the movement to remove depictions of historical figures who mistreated Native Americans amid a national reckoning over racial injustice.

The monuments upper spire was toppled Thursday evening. Photos showed an abandoned pickup truck and cable that may have been used to inflict the damage. Last year, the monument was splattered with red paint by activists on Indigenous Peoples Day.

Carson carried out military orders to force the surrender of the Navajo people by destroying crops, livestock and homes. Many Navajos died during a forced relocation known as the Long Walk, starting in 1863, and during a yearslong detention in eastern New Mexico.

The signing of the Navajo Treaty of 1868 signaled an end to the chapter, allowing the Navajos to return home to an area that has since become the United States largest Native American reservation by territory and population.

Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber issued a statement that described the latest damage to the monument as a cowardly act.

I want those who did this to be caught and held accountable, the Democratic mayor said. There is no place for this kind of criminal conduct in our community. We should all condemn it.

The U.S. attorneys office confirmed federal jurisdiction over the monument, located outside a U.S. courthouse in downtown Santa Fe. The U.S. Marshals Service, which protects federal courts, could not immediately be reached Friday.

Webber has attempted to diffuse conflicts over several historical markers linked to Spanish colonialism and Anglo-American settlers, with mixed results.

Activists in 2020 toppled a monument on Santa Fes central square to U.S. soldiers who fought not only for the Union in the Civil War but also in armed campaigns against Native Americans who were described as savage in engraved letters that were chiseled from the landmark decades ago.

The city council in March abandoned a proposal to rebuild the plaza monument with new plaques amid a whirlwind of concerns.

Last year, New Mexicos governor voided pre-statehood orders that had targeted Native Americans, saying that rescinding the territorial-era proclamations would help heal old wounds.

Carsons life as a fur trapper, scout and courier was chronicled in dime novels and newspapers accounts that made him a legend in his own time. He was buried in Taos after his death in 1868.

 By MORGAN LEE Associated Press
Although the start of fall is just a little more than two weeks away, the end of Daylight Savings Time for 2023 wont arrive for more than eight weeks.

Daylight Saving Time concludes at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023, when the clock will fall back one hour and in theory we get one extra hour of sleep.

Through the rest of the summer and fall, days will continue to get shorter. The sun will begin setting before 7 p.m. on Sept. 20 in New Jersey for the first time since March 11, the day before Daylight Saving Time began.

The sun will set in Newark at 5:52 p.m. on Nov. 4. The following day  after Daylight Saving time concludes  sunset is more than an hour earlier at 4:50 p.m. The amount of daylight will continue to shorten each day until Dec. 21 when the winter solstice arrives. Then the length of days will begin to increase until the summer solstice on June 20, 2024.

The flip side is that the sun will rise approximately one hour earlier each morning. On Nov. 5, sunrise is 7:32 a.m. The next day the sun comes up at 6:33 a.m. While millions of people will travel home from work mostly or entirely in the dark in November, their morning commute will include more daylight.

Clocks officially fall back at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November to 1 a.m.

Daylight Saving Time started on Sunday, March 12, 2023 and will end on Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023  a run of 238 days. It has lasted from the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November since 2007.

We next turn the clocks ahead on March 10, 2024  126 days after turning them back. Daylight Saving Time in 2024 will end on Nov. 3, 2024.

The concept dates back more than a century when English architect William Willett proposed the idea to change the clocks in 1907 in The Waste of Daylight. The suggestion of using daylight more efficiently can be traced to Benjamin Franklin.

While visiting in Paris in 1784, he wrote a letter to the editors of the Journal of Paris calling for a tax on every Parisian whose windows were shuttered after sunrise to encourage the economy of using sunshine instead of candles, according to Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time.

Daylight Saving Time has taken place every year since 1966, when the Uniform Time Act was passed. It was also temporarily used in the U.S. during World War I and World War II.

Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time. The time change is also not observed in U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Seventeen states have enacted legislation to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. Voters in California have voted to authorize year-round Daylight Saving Time. Those changes, however, require federal approval.

In March 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would end changing the clocks twice a year. The U.S. House of Representatives didnt take a vote on it, though.

A handful of provinces in Canada  most of Saskatchewan and Yukon have adopted permanent daylight saving as has parts of British Columbia and two communities in northwest Ontario.

About 70 countries observe Daylight Saving Time. Most of North America, Europe and parts of South America and New Zealand adhere to it, while China, Japan, India and most other countries do not.

It starts on different dates elsewhere. In Europe for example, Daylight Saving Time starts the last Sunday in March and ends the final Sunday in October,

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A former Philadelphia church pastor from New Jersey who stole $662,454 by applying for and receiving fraudulent COVID business loans has been sentenced to two years in federal prison.

Rooldy Alexandre, 54, of Willingboro will also be subject to three years of supervised release and have to pay back all the money he illegally obtained, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said earlier this week.

Alexandre applied for a loan during the pandemic by supplying truthful information but was not satisfied with the amount of the loan offered and contacted an associate in Florida who worked to game the government by preparing false Paycheck Protection Program applications, authorities said.

The consultant prepared a new loan application for Alexandre, allowing the church to receive a check for more than $260,000, federal prosecutors said. Alexandre, the churchs only paid employee, kept most of the money for personal use.

The application claimed the church had 12 employees, annual revenue of $1,256,040, and an average annual payroll of $104,670, according to charging documents.

The Burlington County man then submitted a false second-draw PPP loan application on behalf of the church and worked with his sister, Christella Dorval, to steal more than $250,000 from the church.

Later, Alexandre offered to help church members to fraudulently apply for and receive COVID loans. He lied to at least two members  telling them a fake Florida consultant prepared the applications and was due a 25% cut, officials said. Instead, Alexandre and Dorval pocketed the so-called fee.

Alexendre previously pleased guilty to two counts of wire fraud.

Charges against Dorval, a Florida resident, are pending.

Alexendre was the pastor of Beersheba Adventist Church, according to NYTimes.com. In 2021, Alexendre told the website he helped nine Haitian immigrants find housing when they emigrated to the United States.

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A man died after he was pulled from the ocean on a beach in Cape May County on Monday, the fourth reported drowning off the New Jersey coast over Labor Day weekend amid dangerous rip currents.

Emergency responders were called to the Taylor Avenue beach in the Upper Township shortly after noon for a report of two swimmers in distress, according to a statement from the town.

Taylor Avenue is near the border of Upper Township and Sea Isle City and is approximately 1 mile away from any guarded beach, town officials said.

When they arrived, witnesses told them that one of the two swimmers had resurfaced and had been brought to shore by a good Samaritan while the other was still unaccounted for, authorities said.

Upper Township Beach Patrol lifeguards and firefighters from the the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Department formed a chain and searched the area along with help from other agencies and eventually, the man was located in the water and brought to the beach around 12:30 p.m., officials said. CPR was started and the man was transported by ambulance to a local hospital for treatment.

The New Jersey State Police confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the 43-year-old Vineland man died in the hospital and that the drowning remained under investigation. Authorities did not identify him.

Upper Township Beach Patrol Chief Bill Handley told 6ABC the first person who was pulled from the water was a teen girl who was rescued by a surfer. Her father was the man who died, he told the outlet.

Handley did not respond to a request for comment from NJ Advance Media.

Over Labor Day weekend, at least three other people drowned off the Jersey Shore. A 31-year-old man from Howell was found off the G Street beach in Seaside Park early Wednesday after going missing over the weekend.

On Sunday, a 22-year-old man from the Dominican Republic drowned off Beach Haven. And a 42-year-old man who has not been identified drowned off Belmar on Sunday evening.

They were both caught in rip currents in the ocean in separate incidents off Long Beach Island and Belmar, officials said.

Earlier in the summer in June, a 39-year-old father died and his daughter was rescued after being pulled from the ocean off Avon-by-the-Sea.

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A Middlesex Borough park partially reopened Thursday after authorities said there have been no confirmed sightings of an alligator since a police officer fired a single shot at the reptile 12 days ago.

Swimming, fishing and use of lakeside docks remain prohibited at Victor Crowell Park, the borough police department said.

Police last spotted the alligator, estimated to be up to four feet long, on Aug. 26, Middlesex Police Lt. Thomas Falk told NJ Advance Media on Thursday.

The alligator immediately submerged after an officer fired at it from an elevated position, officials said.

Falk said its possible the alligator is dead, but there is no way of knowing without recovering it.

In an update posted to Facebook on Thursday, police stopped short of declaring the alligator dead.

With help from our partners, we have continued attempts to locate, capture, and relocate the alligator, which was observed in the waters of the Ambrose Brook and Lake Creighton over the past two weeks, borough police said.

Officials used drones, as well as animal control officers in the water by means of kayak and waders, video surveillance, and patrol officer monitoring to look for the alligator, police said.

Although this likely indicates that the alligator is no longer in the area, anyone who observes the alligator should not approach or otherwise interact with it and immediately contact the Middlesex Borough Police Department by dialing 732-356-1900 or 9-1-1, police said.

Victor Crowell Park in Middlesex Borough partially reopened Thursday, but lakeside docks remain closed and fishing and swimming remain prohibited.Photo courtesy of the Middlesex Borough Police Department

The state Division of Fish and Wildlife was consulted in making the decision to reopen the park, which will be hosting a 9/11 ceremony on Monday, police said.

Middlesex Borough officials have opened Victor Crowell Park with restrictions in place to mitigate any potential safety liability to our community. There continues to be No Fishing and No Swimming, the lakeside docks will remain closed, and the playground area near Greene Avenue will remain closed as a previously planned replacement and revitalization plan commence, police said.

Alligators are not native to New Jersey. The search for the rogue alligator has drawn widespread interest. The alligator had been described by police as capable of inflicting serious or fatal injuries.

It is unclear if the alligator was once someones pet or how it ended up in the area.

Possession of alligators or crocodiles is against the law in New Jersey, according to state Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Larry Hajna. Sometimes the reptiles are purchased out of state, brought illegally to New Jersey and released into local water bodies by their owners if they are no longer able to care for them.

Officials said the officer who shot at the gator was close enough to be sure it was real and reported seeing its glowing red eyes.

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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.
Independence Township police have arrested a Hackettstown man for allegedly burglarizing and vandalizing the home of someone he knew.

Rory Molnar, 37, is charged with criminal trespassing, making terroristic threats, cyber harassment, criminal mischief and burglary, according to a news release by the Warren County Prosecutors Office.

Molnar is being held at Warren County Jail pending a detention hearing, the prosecutor said. Police said he knew the alleged victim.

At 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 9, while the victim was asleep, police said Molnar broke into the persons home in Oak Hill and demanded money. He then left the home, police said.

Shortly after, Molnar allegedly threatened the victim and demanded money via direct messages over the social media app Instagram, police said.

Then around 11:30 p.m. Molnar allegedly returned to the victims home. He attempted to regain access inside the home but was unsuccessful, police said. Thats when he proceeded to spray paint vulgar statements about the victim on the front door, police said.

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UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm watch issued for 7 counties as strong storms target state

Severe thunderstorms storms could lash New Jersey on Thursday afternoon and evening on what will be yet another hot, humid day with temperatures that could make it feel like 100 degrees or more.

Winds gusts could hit 60 mph in the storms. Northwestern New Jersey has the higher risk of severe weather today.

The forecast is similar for Friday with downpours and gusty winds possible in the afternoon and evening.

The soaring temperatures have caused some New Jersey school districts to call for early dismissals and shortened school days.

Forecasters say thunderstorms are possible in New Jersey for the next two days during the afternoon and evening.National Weather Service

Temperatures on Thursday will top out out in the low to mid 90s with a heat index of near or above 100, the National Weather Service says.

Thursday will be the fifth straight day that at least a portion of the state has reached 90 degrees or more and Friday could be the sixth.

The heat index in New Jersey on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 will once again climb above 100 in part of the state.National Weather Service

The weather services heat advisory for Bergen, Essex, Hudson, western Passaic and Union lasts until 6 p.m. Friday. Forecasters say the heat index in the five northeastern counties could climb to 100 to 104 today and 95 to 100 on Friday.

A heat advisory for Somerset. Middlesex, western Monmouth, Mercer, Salem, Gloucester, Camden and northwestern Burlington counties runs until 8 p.m. Thursday with a maximum heat index of 102 in the forecast.

It stays warm and muggy overnight into Friday with temps dropping only into the 70s.

High temperatures records for Sept. 7 in Trenton (94 in 1983), Newark (95 in 2015) and at Atlantic City International Airport (94 in 1983) are expected to be challenged.

Newark and Atlantic City reached 97 on Wednesday but fell short of high temp records. Trenton hit 93, well shy of the 99 degree mark the capital city recorded in 1983.

Rain is also in the forecast for Saturday as the long stretch of 90-degree days is finally expected to end. Itll still be warmer than usual for early September with highs in the mid 80s and the humidity making it feel a bit hotter.

Hurricane Lee is expected to continue strengthening into a major hurricane. The latest forecast track has it brushing past the northeast Caribbean.

Hurricane Lee continues to inch its way west across the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Lee is moving west-northwest at 14 mph packing maximum winds of 80 mph. The category 1 hurricane was 965 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands as of 5 a.m. Lee is expected to intensify into a major hurricane by Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Its potential impacts on the United States next week are uncertain, though AccuWeather.com notes Lee will weaken somewhat when it makes an expected turn north into water that isnt quite as warm.

The behavior of the jet stream as Lee approaches could determine the extent of the direct impacts in the United States, AccuWeather.com said. Based on the projected track, direct impacts from Lee are not expected across Florida, Georgia and South Carolina... However, it could be a different story farther to the north.

Models show Lee staying hundreds of miles off the Jersey Shore, though at minimum rough surf can be expected.

Current weather radar

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He notes Red Cross role in promoting peace, progress

President Xi Jinping stressed on Tuesday the importance of humanitarianism in uniting different civilizations, saying that China is willing to work closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross to make significant contributions to promoting peace and progress for humanity.

Xi made the remarks while meeting with ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The ICRC, established in 1863, operates worldwide with a mission to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and violence, as well as to provide them with assistance.

During the meeting, Xi spoke highly of the productive work carried out by the ICRC in providing humanitarian assistance globally over the past 160 years. He also said he appreciated the organization's important contributions to world peace and progress.

He noted that at a time when the world is undergoing unprecedented changes and challenges, China does not choose to pursue its own interests in isolation, but instead strengthens cooperation with all countries around the world to jointly find solutions and build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Xi said that he put forward such proposals as the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative with the hope of working together with the rest of the world to achieve economic development, improve people's livelihoods and promote win-win results.

China is willing to propose its own ideas and solutions for enhancing global governance and addressing humanitarian issues, he said.

Noting that humanitarianism is the greatest consensus that can unite different civilizations, Xi said that traditional Chinese culture, with sayings such as "the benevolent person loves others" and "don't do unto others what you don't want others to do unto you", resonates and connects with the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

According to Xi, by putting the people above all else, China has won the largest battle against poverty in human history. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, China not only protected the life and health of its own people, but also conducted the largest global humanitarian assistance campaign, he said.

It has been proved that China is an active advocate, participant and contributor to the international humanitarian cause, Xi said.

Spoljaric congratulated China for being the country with the most recipients this year of the Florence Nightingale Medal, which recognizes nurses and nursing aides for exceptional courage, devotion and exemplary service. This showed that the ICRC and the international community highly recognize China's progress in the development of the humanitarian cause, she said.

Spoljaric said the Belt and Road Initiative has promoted world development and advanced the global humanitarian cause.

The ICRC looks forward to further deepening cooperation with China and jointly making contributions to promoting world peace, development and the humanitarian cause, she said.

The Florence Nightingale Medal, presented every two years, is the highest international award that can be given to a nurse. This year's 37 recipients were announced by the ICRC in May. On Tuesday, a ceremony and a seminar were held in Beijing to commemorate the seven Chinese honorees. Since China began nominating candidates in 1983, a total of 90 nurses from the country have been given the award so far.
Back in March, when the New Orleans City Council passed new rules governing short-term rentals in the citys residential areas, Council President JP Morrell bluntly warned industry officials that if they didnt accept the councils regulatory compromise, hed take steps to ban neighborhood STRs altogether.

This is the last best offer for STRs to exist at all in New Orleans, Morrell said. I know I speak for probably a solid majority of my colleagues in that we're not going to nibble at STRs for the next three years. If this deal is undone, or if it is substantially compromised, the only thing left for the council to do, and I will certainly lead that effort, is to just ban residential STRs completely.

Predictably, the industry didnt like the compromise, even though it allowed out-of-state investors to continue siphoning money from our community and jack up rents and home prices. Apparently willing to see just how serious Morrell was, the industry challenged the new rules in federal court. Now, theyre about to find out.

U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle has suspended enforcement of the new regs, and the council responded by taking the first steps toward banning residential STRs outright  but only if Lemelle strikes down the citys newest rules.

If adopted, Morrells proposed ban wont totally run the industry out of New Orleans. Rentals for less than 30 days would still be allowed in areas zoned commercial and in residential areas that allow hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfasts. Even in the latter case, STRs would be barred, however. Anyone wishing to rent rooms for less than 30 days would have to apply to be a hotel, motel or bed-and-breakfast, which are taxed higher and regulated more tightly than STRs. And, Morrell says, gaining approval for those uses is a long and difficult process.

New Orleans City Council prepares for residential short-term rental ban The New Orleans City Council Thursday will take the first step toward banning residential short-term rentals in case a federal judge strikes d

Many neighborhoods arent zoned exclusively residential. "Mixed use areas historically allowed small businesses like corner stores and neighborhood bars to flourish, but more recently they also allowed STRs to obtain commercial permits. To address that problem, the council passed an interim citywide ban on new commercial STRs while the City Planning Commission studies new rules for commercial STRs.

We sympathize with residents who rent part of their homes to help make ends meet, but the STR industry was given more than a fair chance to operate here. Unfortunately, the biggest players got greedy at every turn. They fooled around, and now its time for them to find out.

If Judge Lemelle upholds the compromise regulations, STRs can continue to operate under the tighter rules that the industry has challenged. If he tosses the new rules, the council should adopt Morrells proposed ban and work to tighten the rules on STRs in commercial areas as well. The new rules also should provide mechanisms to shut down the worst offenders quickly and permanently.

Its past time to return New Orleans neighborhoods to the people of New Orleans.
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

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The New Orleans City Council Thursday will take the first step toward banning residential short-term rentals in case a federal judge strikes down existing rules intended as a compromise.

U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle is expected to rule on the matter in the coming weeks and last week ordered the city to stop enforcing the rules the council passed in March. That triggered the decision by Council President JP Morrell and Vice President Helena Moreno to start preparing for a ban.

Morrell said he was baffled by Lemelle's order, which he said, completely dishevels the solution enshrined by the City Council.

Cities across the country are struggling to grapple with predatory companies such as AirBnB and Vrbo that want their cake and eat it too, all at the expense of vulnerable residents who struggle to find housing, Morrell said in a statement. If the federal judge decides that the current regulations are insufficient, then we as a legislative body will resolve this matter once and for all.

The council will have to wait until Lemelle rules on the matter to take any further action, which could happen as soon as the end of next week. Should he strike down some or all of the STR rules, it could take at least two weeks for the council to pass the ban and for it to go into effect, if not longer.

Because of the judges orders, the city has canceled the residential STR application period originally set by Sept. 1-7, and the corresponding permit lottery set for Oct. 2.

Morrell and other council members have been considering a ban on residential STRs publicly since the spring. After multiple instances of the council writing STR rules, the STR industry challenging them and the courts striking them down, Morrell called the rules the most recent set of rules  which limit the number of STRs per block and require onsite operators  the last best offer for STRs to exist at all.

In her weekly press conference Sept. 6, Mayor LaToya Cantrell, who has been a longtime supporter of STRs and even appointed an industry executive to oversee the permitting process, criticized the council for its handling of the tourist rentals.

Cantrell said shed been hearing from operators who she claimed were "good stewards following city rules and had been part of the short-term rental fabric for over five years. She said New Orleans would lose revenue with the halt of new applications, though she did not mention the number of illegal STRs which have far outweighed the legal ones.

Now they feel really slighted  They're feeling the brunt of it. But I have to say, the city is too, Cantrell said, adding, No one is winning here.

At the press conference, Cantrell also ignored longstanding complaints about the explosion of illegal STRs  and the general impact the industry has had on rents in the city  under rules she and former Council Member Stacy Head authored in 2016. We got it right, she said.

Morrell said those rules caused an STR gold rush.

We're still cleaning up the mess she created seven years ago, Morrell said.
Concrete work at the Driftwood LNG facility in Calcasieu Parish in this photo taken in May. A federal appeals court has blocked an attempt by a pair of environmental organizations to nullify an Army Corps of Engineers permit for the $25 billion liquefied natural gas export plant.
The Advocate, The Times-Picayune, The Acadiana Advocate and The Shreveport Bossier Advocate hosted the first televised debate of Louisiana's gubernatorial race on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Advocate and its sister brands will host the debate with partners WWL-TV of New Orleans, WBRZ-TV of Baton Rouge, KTBS-TV of Shreveport and KATC-TV of Lafayette. The Urban League of Louisiana and the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana are also partners.
Passenger record set for air travel over July, August; domestic scenic spots popular

With summer drawing to a close, the tourism market has shown a surprisingly good performance with both domestic and outbound travel growing.

The China Tourism Academy released a report last week, saying domestic destinations received nearly 1.84 billion visits from June to August, generating 1.21 trillion yuan ($167 billion) in revenue.

According to China State Railway Group, trains in summer were up by 18.9 percent over the same period in 2019  before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The Civil Aviation Administration said a record 62.4 million passengers flew in July, a rise of 5.3 percent compared with July, 2019.

Travel portal Trip.com Group said that as of Aug 23, sales of railway tickets on its platform rose 51 percent from the previous two months.

It said that family trips were the most popular among its users, with flights for family trips growing by nearly 56 percent as of Aug 23 from the same period of 2019.

Online tourism services provider Tuniu said that around 51 percent of its users chose long-distance trips during the summer, with Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, Guangdong province the top choices.

Tuniu said that Yunnan in Southwest China and Gansu and Qinghai provinces in the northwest saw a remarkable increase in summer travel.

"The Palace Museum was the most crowded I've ever experienced," said 37-year-old Qi Yin from Jiangsu province, who brought her 6-year-old daughter to Beijing in July. "I've been to the city five or six times, but all for business trips. My daughter loves history and Beijing is a good choice for her to learn about it."

Homestay operator and booking platform Tujia said that homestay bookings at popular destinations like Beijing and Chongqing doubled on its platform during the summer compared with 2019, with the average price for homestay rooms reaching 423 yuan per night.

"The price of hotel rooms was around 450 to 500 yuan per night when I was on my business trips to Beijing in recent years, but the price rose to over 800 yuan per night when I booked the room for the summer trip," said Qi.

A report by the tourism academy said that the average price of hotel rooms it surveyed rose by nearly 47 percent year-on-year during the summer holiday, and prices for flights to domestic destinations rose more than 14 percent, while prices of domestic attractions climbed 4.6 percent.

Outbound travel has seen stable growth this summer because of resumed flights. Trip.com Group said that as of Aug 23, cross-border flights departing and arriving on the mainland during summer recovered to 50 percent of that in 2019. Outbound flight ticket prices dropped by 66 percent year-on-year while still 15 percent higher than in 2019.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Bangkok in Thailand and Tokyo in Japan were the top three choices for outbound trips by its users during the summer, according to Trip.com Group.
WASHINGTON  Better state regulation and more federal involvement is necessary to slow the surprising increase in the cost of homeowners insurance, consumer advocates argued Thursday to a Senate committee looking at the impact of climate change on property insurance premiums.

No, countered supporters of the insurers, the goal should be to ratchet back unnecessary regulation and make it harder for homeowners from suing companies when dissatisfied with how their claims were handled.

Jerry Theodorou, who spent the past 15 years working as an analyst for the property and casualty insurance industry and now serves as policy director for insurance at the R Street Institute, added that what the public really needs is an education on how insurance works.
Torridge District Council has thrown its weight behind a campaign to save Devons mobile libraries as 7,000 people sign petitions to keep them open.

The council supported a motion from Cllr Chris Wheatley (Lib Dem, Shebbear and Langtree) who said that in a deprived area like Torridge access to books should be increased not removed.

The campaign to reverse Devon County Councils decision to cut the service after it said it was not cost effective to replace the four ageing vans in its mobile library fleet, has been supported by a whole host of celebrities, authors, actors and presenters.

Torridge and West Devons Conservative MP Geoffrey Cox has also backed campaigners and called for 'alternative financial models' to sustain the service.

At Torridge District Councils full council meeting, 22 councillors voted for the motion and one against with all five Conservative councillors in the room abstaining from the recorded vote.

Councillor Wheatleys motion was as follows: This council recognises the huge importance of the mobile library service across the whole of the Torridge District. We request that Devon County Council rethink their decision to close the service across Devon and seek a way to replace the mobile library vans. We ask DCC to explore future opportunities of the mobile service which will enhance lives for our rural communities.

There is a ground swell of public support to save our treasured mobile library service including celebrities and authors Stephen Fry, Michael Rosen, Michael Morpurgo, Dermot OLeary, Nick Butterworth, Sarah McIntyre, Jacqueline Wilson, Belinda Bauer, Liz Shakespeare, Veronica Henry, Patrick Gale, Tanya Landman, Claire Barker and Harriet Knock.

As well as being classified as Rural-80 with more than 80% of our population living in rural settlements, Torridge is one of the most deprived districts in the country with the second lowest social mobility rate in England, and the third lowest workplace earnings in the UK.

Books are the foundations of education. To help lift our communities out of poverty, deprivation, isolation, and loneliness we should be increasing access to books not removing them.

An online petition started by Torridge councillor Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin now has 6,246 signatures bringing the total to around 7,000 with paper petitions.

Cllr Hunkin, who said that figures showing a decline in usage are misleading as the service had been reduced and the number of library vans cut from eight to four, said she hoped that other district councils would follow the lead of Torridge and put pressure on Devon County Council to continue with a mobile library service.

The county councils scrutiny committee will discuss the matter on September 28.

To sign the petition go to www.change.org/SaveOurMobileLibrary
Press Release

September 7, 2023 Bong Go pushes for enhanced OFW protection against health risks Senator Christopher "Bong" Go is pushing for stronger government interventions to safeguard the welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), particularly Senate Bill No. 2297, which aims to institutionalize the OFW Hospital in San Fernando City, Pampanga and SBN 2414, also known as the OFW Ward bill. "These modern-day heroes not only provide for their families but also contribute significantly to the nation's economy," said Go, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography and a member of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers, as he acknowledged the hardships of OFWs, leaving their homes and families behind to seek better opportunities abroad. SBN 2297 seeks to enhance healthcare services for OFWs and their families by institutionalizing the existing OFW Hospital and Diagnostic Center. A key feature of the proposed bill is the assurance of necessary funding to support the continued maintenance and operation of the OFW Hospital, as well as providing necessary personnel and equipment. The hospital, which was a donation from the provincial government of Pampanga, commenced its operations in May 2022. Located on a 1.5-hectare land, the six-storey facility can accommodate 100 beds, primarily intended for the use of OFWs and their eligible dependents. Go accompanied former president Rodrigo Duterte in inspecting the hospital during the same month. "Ang pagkakaroon ng iisang departamento para sa mga Pilipinong itinuturing nating mga bagong bayani nasaan man sila sa mundo, at ang pagpapatayo ng OFW hospital para sa kanila at kanilang mga pamilya na mayroong Malasakit Center ay iilan lamang sa mga patunay na kapag magtulungan tayo, ang mga pangarap noon ay kayang maisakatuparan na ngayon," Go said. Republic Act No. 11641 was signed into law by Duterte in December 2022, creating the DMW. The Senate version of the law was authored and co-sponsored by Go. It is a consolidated version of an earlier bill he introduced to establish the Department of Overseas Filipino Workers. "Ngunit hindi dito natatapos ang ating hangaring mapabuti ang serbisyo para sa kanila. Kaya naman ako ay nagsumite ng Senate Bill No. 2297 na naglalayong i-institutionalize ang OFW Hospital na ito upang magkaroon ng sapat na personnel, kagamitan at pondo para masiguro ang patuloy at pangmatagalang operasyon nito," he explained. Apart from delivering medical services, the hospital strives to take the lead in research initiatives focused on the prevention, management, and treatment of occupational diseases frequently experienced by OFWs. On the other hand, SBN 2414, or the OFW Ward bill, mandates the establishment of OFW wards in every Department of Health (DOH)-retained hospital across the country. These wards will be equipped with the necessary facilities and staff to cater specifically to the healthcare needs of OFWs and their dependents. "Bigyan po natin ng importansya ang ating mga OFWs. Sila po ang ating modern-day heroes. Malaki po ang kontribusyon nila sa ating bayan," said Go previously. "Malaking tulong sa kanila kung magkakaroon ng OFW ward sa mga ospital na dedicated po sa ating mga OFW na nagsasakripisyo para sa kanilang pamilya at para sa ating bayan" he added. This approach, according to Go, recognizes that OFWs often have unique healthcare requirements due to the nature of their work and the health risks they may encounter overseas. The proposed legislation covers all OFWs and their dependents, including land-based OFWs, seafarers, and other sea-based workers. Dependents are defined as parents, legal spouse, legitimate, illegitimate, legitimated, and legally adopted children who are unmarried, not gainfully employed, and not over 18 years old, or those over 18 but incapacitated due to mental or physical defects. In a moving tribute to the late Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan "Toots" Ople, Go expressed his support for the proposed cancer fund aimed at benefiting OFWs. This initiative, championed by Ople before her untimely passing, underscores the critical need to provide assistance and care to our modern-day heroes battling cancer while working far from home. Go's manifestation of support aligns with his commitment to the Cancer Assistance Fund (CAF) and underscores the significance of augmenting its allocation, particularly within the context of the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA). During the budget deliberations for the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA), Go was instrumental in securing a P500 million allocation for CAF under the Department of Health. Looking ahead to 2024, Go aims to double the current allocation to further strengthen the fund and extend help to more cancer patients. This is in line with the National Integrated Cancer Control Act (NICCA), under Republic Act No. 11215, which includes CAF as an essential component.
Domestic player CATL continues to be king of the hill, followed by BYD

Chinese companies continued to dominate the global power battery market in the first seven months, responsible for over three-fifths of battery installations worldwide, said a report by South Korean market consultancy SNE Research on Wednesday.

According to the latest report, six Chinese battery companies were among the Top 10 such firms globally in terms of battery installations, with a total market share of 62.9 percent, from January to July. South Korea followed with three firms and Japan with one.

Specifically, Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd maintained its leading position with total installed capacity of 132.9 gigawatt hours, up 54.3 percent year-on-year. Its global market share stood at an impressive 36.6 percent.

Chinese EV maker BYD ranked second worldwide at 58.1 GWh, up a whopping 94.1 percent year-on-year. South Korea's LG Energy Solution followed with 51.4 GWh. China's CALB, EVE, Gotion High-Tech and Sunwoda were also among the Top 10.

SNE Research said BYD has shown a noteworthy performance in the first seven months and has achieved broad popularity based on its price competitiveness in aspects such as in-house battery supply chains and vehicle manufacturing.

Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said: "The notable performance of Chinese battery companies can be attributed to rising demand from major overseas consumer countries for renewable energy and new energy vehicles. Also, local companies have made great technological advancements in lithium battery manufacturing."

Similar views were shared by Pan Helin, co-director of the Digital Economy and Financial Innovation Research Center at Zhejiang University's International Business School. Chinese battery firms have exhibited increasing strength in overseas markets, he said.

Currently, more than 10 Chinese power battery companies have announced plans for overseas investments.

"For local battery firms and related companies in the industry chain, the global battery market still has the potential to grow manifold in terms of scale," Pan said.

Over the past few years, CATL, for instance, has tried to penetrate overseas markets, and has been enjoying rapid growth in Europe and North America.

At the IAA Munich Car Show on Monday, CATL's principal engineer Gao Pengfei said the company plans to manufacture its ultra high-speed charging Shenxing battery not only in China, but also at its facilities in Germany and Hungary.

Shenxing, made with lithium iron phosphate (LFP), is able to deliver a driving range of 400 kilometers with a 10-minute charging time. It was unveiled in August with the company saying it is the world's first super-fast charging LFP battery.

LFP chemistry offers cost advantages compared to nickel-cobalt-manganese batteries used in cylindrical cells by automakers such as BMW and Tesla, Gao said.
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang (L) meets with

Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong (Photo: VNA)

The two sides stressed the importance of the bilateral relations for the cause of socialism building and prosperous development of each country as well as peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Quang, who is Chairman of the National Committee for AIDS, Drug and Prostitution Prevention and Control, affirmed Vietnam's consistent policy in attaching importance to the development of the friendly neighbourhood and the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China. He proposed the two sides coordinate closely and concretise senior common perceptions, actively prepare for high-level and all-level delegation exchange activities, and strengthen substantive cooperation in all fields.

The Vietnamese Government appreciates China's support and cooperation in sharing information and experiences, and its close coordination in investigation, arrest and return of criminals as well as in crackdowns of cross-border drug production and transportation rings, thus contributing to the success in drug prevention and control in Vietnam.

An overview of the meeting (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam supports a zero-tolerance stance towards illegal drugs, continues to pursue the long-term goal of achieving a drug-free region, and attaches importance to international cooperation in drug prevention and control on the principles of three related international conventions, he said, adding that it also commits to fully implementing agreements between Vietnam and China in cooperation activities in crime prevention in general and drug prevention and control in particular, and supports and appreciates China's initiative at this meeting.

Wang affirmed that China is willing to work with Vietnam to effectively implement common perceptions of leaders of the two parties and countries, and continue to strengthen cooperation in various fields to serve the nation building and development cause of each country.

He showed his hope that the two countries will intensify collaboration in the prevention and control of crimes in general and drug-related ones in particular, contributing to consolidating and strengthening the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership./.
VALPARAISO  A 31-year-old Valparaiso man sentenced in April to 60 years behind bars for murdering his roommate pleaded guilty this week to spitting in the face of a police officer helping to take him into custody at the time of the 2021 killing.

Matthew Castro pleaded guilty Wednesday before Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary DeBoer to a felony count of battery by bodily fluid to a public safety official resulting in bodily injury, records show.

Prosecutors, in return, agreed to dismiss the remaining seven charges alleging he battered and threatened police during the March 21, 2021 arrest in Valparaiso.

The proposed plea calls for Castro to serve three years on the charge, which will be carried out concurrent with his 60-year murder sentence.

Restitution is to be determined within 30 days of sentencing, which is scheduled for Oct. 3.

Castro admitted to battering police as they were taking him into custody on the day he murdered 42-year-old Michael Overton.

Valparaiso police said that when they arrived at the small apartment in the 250 block of Michigan Avenue on the night in question, they found Castro outside with blood on him.

Region library officials remember 14-year-old drowning victim as outgoing, positive "K'mari was a frequent library patron that attended our after school Youth Services program," according to East Chicago library officials.

Porter County Deputy Prosecutor Harry Peterson told jurors during the murder trial that Castro, who had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol, told police: "Michael got the best of me."

Police said they found a bruised and bloody Overton inside. He was unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.

An autopsy revealed "multiple significant blows to Overton's head" and "a dislocation of the joint at the C1 vertebrae," according to a charging document.

Defense attorney John Cantrell claimed at trial that Castro went to bed after a night of drinking and awoke to find Overton dead.

Cantrell said Castro did not intentionally kill Overton and the case has been appealed, records show.

DeBoer sentenced Castro to 60 years behind bars and ordered him to register for life as a violent offender.

The judge said Castro has been arrested on 10 occasions, resulting in one felony and five misdemeanor convictions.

He also has two other criminal cases pending, alleging theft and leaving the scene of an accident, and has had 11 probation violations as an adult, the court said.

At the time of his arrest, Castro owed $2,000 in child support and he has used illegal drugs, including heroin, regularly for many years, DeBoer wrote.

"Defendant overdosed on heroin in 2020," she said.
Northwest Indiana Democrats interested in being a delegate at next year's Democratic National Convention in Chicago can learn about the selection process during an event later this month in Hammond.

The Indiana Democratic Party is hosting a free training session for potential national convention delegates at 10 a.m. Sept. 30 at USW Local 1010, 7047 Grand Ave.

The training will cover the basics of the delegate selection process, along with key dates and timelines potential delegates will want to know.

Altogether, Indiana will send 76 delegates, and 6 alternates, to the Aug. 19-Aug. 22, 2024, convention at the United Center in Chicago that officially will nominate the Democratic Party candidates for president and vice president of the United States.

Party officials said they want Indiana's convention delegation to reflect and represent all of the people and regions of the Hoosier State.

Region Democrats unable to attend the Hammond event may instead participate in a statewide virtual training session for potential national convention delegates set for 6 p.m. Region time Oct. 11.

More information about the Democratic delegate selection process is available online at: indems.org/dsp-2.

Gallery: Indiana historical markers in the Region First Physician Great Sauk (Sac) Trail St. John's Lutheran Church Tolleston Dutch in the Calumet Region St. John Township School, District #2 The Lincoln Highway/The Ideal Section The Lincoln Highway/The Ideal Section Froebel School - side 1 Froebel School Stewart Settlement House Stewart Settlement House Origin of Dr. MLK Day Law Origin of Dr. MLK Day Law Bailly Homestead Iron Brigade Willow Creek Confrontation Ogden ski jump.jpg Teale 1.jpg Teale 2.jpg Steel 1.jpg Steel 2.jpg Civil War camps.jpg Old lighthouse.jpg Railroad.jpg Camp Anderson.jpg Boundary line 1.jpg Boundary line 2.jpg LaPorte courthouse 1.jpg LaPorte courthouse 2.jpg Carnegie 1.jpg Carnegie 2.jpg Rumely Co 1.jpg Rumely Co 2.jpg Lincoln train 1.jpg Lincoln train 2.jpg LaPorte university 1.jpg Laporte university 2.jpg Gary Roosevelt 1 Gary Roosevelt 2
U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., traveled to South Korea last week trying to strengthen ties between the United States and its East Asian ally that's home to some 52 million inhabitants.

The two-term lawmaker, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations and Finance Committees, and leads the bipartisan Senate Korea Caucus, met with South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol to discuss U.S.-Korea relations, strategies for countering mutual security and economic threats, and actions the United States and Korea can take with Japan to further the momentum of the Camp David Summit.

"It is critical that the U.S.-Korea alliance is both active and strong," Young said. "This productive trip reaffirmed the importance of the partnership between our nations."

During his Korea travels, Young also engaged with Trade Minister Dukgeun Ahn and other senior Korean government and business officials on Korean investment in Indiana and across the United States, along with other shared economic interests.

In addition, Young received an update from senior leaders of United States Forces Korea, which works to deter North Korean aggression and helps ensure security and stability in the region.

"I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress on ways to deepen U.S.-Korea economic and security cooperation to help preserve a stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region," Young said.

PHOTOS: Sen. Todd Young visits the Digital Crossroads Data Center in Hammond
United States Cold Storage is making the biggest warehouse investment in its 125-year history in south Lake County.

The Camden, New Jersey-based refrigerated food distribution specialist is investing more than $124 million in a new cold storage warehouse just off Interstate 65 between Lowell and Hebron. The highly automated warehouse will employ up to 60 people by 2028 and could add more jobs in future phases.

United States Cold Storage, headquartered just across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, has been planning the project for years on a 110-acre site at Highway 2 and Colorado Street northeast of the Interstate 65 interchange leading to Lowell and Hebron. The unincorporated area in south Lake County has a Hebron mailing address and is located by the Indiana State Police's Lowell Post.

This Northwest Indiana location is strategically located in a key market for USCS and will offer additional capacity in the Chicagoland area providing the necessary space for the growth of our current customers as well as best-in-cold service to new customers, said Adam Ashley, general manager at USCS. In partnership with our Lebanon, Indiana location and our Chicago-area warehouses, we can offer customers coordinated, less-than-truckload distribution savings and help them reach 48 states within the U.S., Indiana and Lake County have been great partners to work with through the entire process, and we look forward to this continued partnership.

The project has been in the works for years, growing from an initial $30 million project to more than $120 million project as the company pivoted its strategy to focus more on automation, which it considers to be the future of the logistics sector.

Local economic development guru Matt Reardon said the project took a significant amount of teamwork and hard work, including to get the site rezoned and bring stormwater infrastructure.

"Projects like this dont come together without a lot of hard work and belief that its going to come to fruition," said Don Babcock, the interim president of the Lake County Economic Alliance.

The warehouse will help distribute frozen foods to supermarkets, food service distributors and other customers from coast to coast. It will work in tandem with United States Cold Storage's two Illinois warehouses and downstate Indiana warehouse in Lebanon to serve the Midwestern market.

"This will bring highly skilled jobs to Lake Countys economy and accelerate continued investment throughout the Region," said Matt Saltanovitz, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation's vice president of domestic business expansions.

About 30% of frozen food distributed through the warehouse will go to the Chicagoland market, and it will serve customers nationally, President and Chief Executive Officer Larry Alderfer said.

This is an exciting day for Lake County and for Indiana as we celebrate the impact of the READI program and our commitment to economic and community development, said Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg. USCSs decision to establish a second facility in Indiana reflects the companys confidence in our skilled Hoosier workforce and in the northwest Indiana community.

The company is building a 13.58 million-cubic-foot refrigerated warehouse that will house more than 43,400 pallet positions, including 35,600 pallet positions serviced by an automated storage and retrieval system. Pallets can be stacked higher with an automated system as the equipment doesn't reach as high in a conventional warehouse.

The company is installing solar panels to supply 100% renewable energy to the warehouse. Alderfer said it was essential to have a reliable source of power to ensure the food stayed frozen and wouldn't get spoiled in the event of a power outage.

NIPSCO, the state of Indiana and Lake County all offered incentives for the project, including improvements to Colorado Street so it can handle more truck traffic to induce further development.

The state of Indiana and Lake County have been great to work with in support of our project, said Dave Butterfield, senior vice president of the central region at USCS. Not only do they support our new project but state officials also express continued interest in our USCS Lebanon, Indiana, location. Through grants and other funding measures, Indiana continues to invest in infrastructure and improvements. This all helps to make it attractive for talented people to become part of the USCS Family. We appreciate the states business-friendly climate and approach. It truly enables USCS to attract and provide a people-first culture.

The construction is expected to take about two years. United States Cold Storage will start hiring closer to when it goes online but already has filled key positions, like plant manager.

Alderfer said that it would employ fewer workers than a traditional warehouse because of the automation but that the jobs would be more technical, highly skilled and better-paying.

United States Cold Storage owns an additional 40 acres of land that a frozen foods manufacturer could build on in the future, so it could distribute their products around the country. The company expects to operate the warehouse for the long term, at least decades to come.

"It's great to have this project kicking off. Lake County has a great highway system and access to Chicagoland and the entire country," Alderfer said. "10 years ago, we built our facility down in Lebanon. It was a fantastic project. We're doubling down on our investment in Indiana."

A subsidiary of John Swire & Sons in the United Kingdom, the company manages more than 411 million cubic feet of temperature-controlled warehouse space in 42 facilities in 13 states, making it the third largest public refrigerated warehousing company in the United States.

With upgraded infrastructure, the project could be the start of more development along Route 2 and Interstate 65.

"We will continue to work with landowners and developers to identify projects that fit our county and create new family-sustaining jobs. This is a great first start," said Lake County Councilman Randy Neimeyer. "This was a six-year overnight success story. We believe the south part of Lake County has yet to reach our potential. This can serve as a catalyst. We want Lake County to regain its place as the economic engine of the state of Indiana."
The Pew Research Center found in 2022 that nearly 25% of top-ranked podcasts were true crime-related. In the next set of episodes, host Nat Cardona speaks with Dianne Berg, college professor and author of What's behind our enduring fascination with wives and mothers who kill, to explore why this niche of true crime fascinates so many.

In this first episode, we discuss the history of the public's nearly-fanatical interest in mothers and wives who commit murder and why societies are particularly fascinated by these stories.

To learn more about Dianne Berg, click here.

Episode transcript

Note: The following transcript was created by Slack and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically:

Hey there, as a listener of this podcast, you must be at least somewhat into the whole true crime genre.

But did you know that True Crime is the most common topic among top ranked podcasts?

To be specific?

The Pew Research Center reports that in 2022 almost a quarter of top podcasts are primarily about true crime.

Welcome to Lee Enterprise's Late Edition Crime Beat Chronicles.

I'm your host Nat Cardona.

In the next two episodes, we're going to explore a very niche area of true crime stories.

The obsession that fans seem to have with killer wives and mothers.

But how does one even begin to tackle such a complex topic?

Enter Dianne Berg.

She's a professor at Clark University and the author of the article, what's behind our enduring fascination with wives and mothers who kill her?

Research traces this phenomenon back to literature from the 15 hundreds and 16 hundreds with clearly printed details of the early fascination that people had with murderesses.

And here's my interview with Dianne just to kick things off.

Why don't you just tell me a little bit about yourself and your background and what you do?

Nowadays.

Ok.

I, that's kind of hard to answer.

I mean, where he, ok.

Well, once upon a time before I decided to become an academic, I, was, the education program manager at a Museum of Medieval and Renaissance Arms and Armor, in Worcester, Massachusetts, called the Higgins Armory Museum, which is now sadly defunct.

I left years before, it, it went out, sort of went out of business. But while I was there, I learned a great deal about, armor and, and weapons and warfare and medieval politics and things.

I was always very interested in medieval renaissance, history and literature. But not so much that side of it. But it kind of opened up, a different window in, into these things for me doing that work.

And when I left there, I realized that what I had enjoyed most about that job was researching and developing education programs.

So, essentially, you know, going down research rabbit holes and writing things up.

So I went and I got a master's degree and I did the master's degree basically to see if I wanted to get a phd.

And after I had finished that, then I decided that I did indeed want to get a phd.

So, my dissertation, my doctoral dissertation focused on kind of, literary representations of true crime between about 1550, 1650.

And it was very interesting because the thing that jumped out at me when the project first started, the sort of germ of the project came about by accident when I was researching something completely different.

And I came across this pamphlet about a woman named Margaret Vincent.

And in 1616, she strangled two of her Children.

She had 31 was away at the wet nurse and so was spared and she did so because she believed that she was saving them, she was saving them.

She was taking them out of a sinful world.

And her reason for this was that she wanted to convert to Roman Catholicism.

And she thought if they didn't do that, then they were going to be damned.

And her husband was not on board with that because basically being a Catholic was illegal was essentially illegal in early 17th century England.

So she did this bad thing for what she believed were good reasons and this just rang a bell in my head because back in 2001, this woman named Andrea Yates in Texas who was an evangelical Christian.

She strangled all five, she strangled and drowned all five of her Children.

And like Margaret Vincent laid them out neatly on a bed and said afterwards that she had done so in order to save them.

And so the, you know, this really kind of struck me and I wondered how many other cases where they're out there like this because we always hear about mothers who kill their Children as being, you know, evil monsters or, they want to get rid of the kids because they want to start a new relationship or, there's all these kinds of lurid stories that have been in the news just in the past 30 years or so.

I think someone like Casey, Anthony.

Right.

But what about good mothers?

Right.

What about good mothers who do this terrible thing for what they believe at the time are good reasons.

And then of course, we've just had this Lindsay Lacy case here in Massachusetts, which is unbelievably tragic and it is kind of still evolving in, in Andrea Yates case.

Postpartum psychosis was at play in Lindsay Clancy's case.

It certainly sounds as if postpartum psychosis was at play.

We can't know what was going on with Margaret Vincent in 16 16, but she did have a new baby at the time.

So, you know, I can't prove it.

But I have, but I have my theories.

So anyway, that particular story, stumbling upon that particular story was the kind of impetus for my doctoral work.

And for most of the things that I've published since, and I'm actually about to teach a class focused on these, these kinds of stories and that leads us here today, which is why I'm talking with you.

We had found that piece, the what's behind our enduring fascination with wives and mothers who kill because of all the things you said.

It's just the, the women as the monsters and it's such a, there's so few and far between that.

Yeah, it, people latch on to it and are fascinated by it.

So we'll just kind of jump into, the piece that you've written today.

Thank you for that all that back story leading us up to Margaret Vinson, Andrea Yates.

And we'll get more into the modern day examples and parallels that you drew even with that Utah mother, which is how you started your article.

But I kind of just want to jump into and maybe this is just me fan girling.

But the the tolstoy quote that you popped in there, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way was a really good way to kick off.

Why this could be a source of interest for a lot of people looking at, you know, other people and being like, oh, that's another family's problem and that, that can't happen here and we'll get into all of that.

The first thing I wanna jump into is you mentioned how true crime is.

Nothing new.

It's always been a tale as old as time that people are fascinated with it and devour it in different ways.

Nowadays, we've got the podcasts and the documentaries and novels and this and that.

But from your background and the you know, 15, 50 16 50 that, that time range, it was not, obviously those things you mentioned, ballads, domestic tragedies and these penny pamphlets.

Can you, like, explain what those are like?

Like, what the hell are those?

Yeah, it's really interesting.

So, you know, there's no, news reporting in this period, right?

Like what we would think of as, you know, news reporting. But news does get disseminated obviously.

So, you know, if there's a big scandal, there is going to be ways for people to find out about it.

So we're, it's very interesting because we're also kind of in the early days of print, right?

The printing press arise in England in 14 75 William Caxton is the first guy to use the printing press in London in 14 75.

And he starts printing, aside from obviously religious things, you know, we're gonna are gonna get kind of priority.

He printed the Canterbury Tales and he, he printed Thomas Mallory's more Arthur.

It sort of like gives us some sense of what people were interested in reading, right?

So think about like, what were the first websites, right?

Because you can really make the printing press analogous to the internet.

Like, so what were the first things that started appearing on the internet?

It tells us something about what people were interested back in those like embryonic.

It, you know, information superhighway days.

So by the middle of the 15 hundreds.

You're getting more kind of political tracks being printed And starting to see chronicles.

So basically, these are what pass for.

They're not really news, they're kind of somewhere between like the encyclopedia Bria or something.

There's several chronicles that are very famous and their names aren't, aren't really important for our conversation.

But Rafael Hole and, and John Stow several others and they print these sort of big chronicles that are gonna give you the history of England, everything important that ever happened.

And, and mostly they just talk about kings and queens and battles and the usual things you would expect.

But this murder that happened in 15 51 which I write about in the article Thomas Arden, he was murdered on Valentine's Day 15 51 by his wife Alice and she conspired with her lover, a guy named Mosby, and some of some of their servants and a couple of hired killers.

The whole thing is actually kind of slapstick when I teach this.

When I teach the, the text that's based on the play Arden and my students are always like, I've had these murders compared to the wet Bandits in home alone, they're kind of incompetent.

That was good.

But but I can't get it out of my head.

But anyway, so this is, these are just middle class bourgeois people living in a London suburb.

And there's nothing important or famous or particularly interesting about them except the woman conspires to murder her husband.

And this winds up in one of these chronicles, it winds up in Holland.

It's chronicle amidst like, you know, Julius Caesar invading Britain and things like that.

And the reason he included this seemingly ordinary and unimportant episode he says is because of the horribleness thereof because the idea of a wife killing her husband is so horrible, right?

It goes against nature.

It goes against the sort of political theology of the time it threatens order in the household.

And in this period, there's this kind of analog framing of the household as like a miniature state, a little commonwealth.

There's a long tract about it by Robert John Dodd and Robert Clever that comes out in the 15 hundreds.

And essentially, it's kind of just saying that the household is just like a miniature kingdom and of course, who's at the top of the kingdom, right?

The husband and the father, right?

Everybody is subordinate just like the king is the head of the nation and God is the head of the universe.

And this is the analogy.

So if a wife kills her husband, it's it's a political crime, it's treason, it's like killing the king, right?

So, whereas if a husband kills his wife, he's guilty of murder.

And depending on his social class, he'll, he'll be hanged or maybe beheaded.

If a wife kills her husband, she's gonna be burned because that's the penalty for treason.

So this case gets way more attention than you would think it should merit and winds up in this chronicle and inspires a play called Arden of Fabric, which comes circa 15 90.

We don't know the writer is unknown.

And it also inspired at least one battle ballad that we know of that came out way later like 16 30 or something.

Which Ventri likewise is Alan Alice Arden, just before she dies before she gets burned at the stake.

And basically, she goes on for, I think 90 19 verses about how terrible she is and how sorry she is and how, what she did was really, really wrong and you should never tell.

So there's all this kind of like rhetorical work that these kinds of cases serve beyond just saying, OK, this is a crime, this is what happened.

These are the details.

It's like, so what right.

Going back to what you were saying about Tolstoy, right?

It's like, how can this be used weaponized to kind of reinforce the status quo?

And what's the word I want?

Sissuade discourage people, other people from doing this kind of thing, right?

Show them what the consequences are.

Mhm Yeah.

It's the, the true life scary story to keep people in line.

Yes.

Yeah.

Yes, for sure.

Ca a cautionary tale the cautionary tale.

Yes.

Yeah, we need to take a quick break. So don't go too far.

Ok.

So we're gonna toggle a little bit between current day and going back and it's going off of the things that you just mentioned.

So this is probably pretty straightforward and most people especially like true crime junkies should know this.

But statistically crimes committed, you know, whether it be a murder, a rape, a burglary kidnapping.

it's typically by somebody, you know, and it's typically a man who does it and I mean, I devour these True Crime podcasts and you always hear whatever the case, it's like the husband always does it or the boyfriend and, and it's true and, and, and that's sad.

But then it's like, ok, move on because it's time a dozen.

So when you've done your right, it's just a Tuesday.

Right.

You know?

Right.

Right.

Right.

It's a 20, that's sad.

And then it's like, so like when you've done your research in, in, on all your historical, you know, literature and all, whatever have you, my guess would be that you haven't seen men as portrayed in these cautionary tales as much as, you know, Margaret Vincent or Alice Arden that you mentioned.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I mean, I think, and it, I didn't really answer your question about the pamphlets and this ties into that.

So, these pamphlets are basically cheap.

I make them kind of analogous to, tabloid newspapers, you know, the things that you see at the supermarket checkout or, or online now, you know, with the kind of like the, the, the red thing in the UK, they call them red tops because they always have like a red headline.

And, you know, it's like, oh, you know, demon mother murders, helpless angel Children, you know, that, that kind of stuff.

And they, they're grabby and they're cheap and they're really disposable, right?

You read that and then you line the cat box with it or something.

And that's, these pamphlets were cheap like that.

They were mass produced.

you could buy it.

They lured, they always featured these, like, really kind of, lurid woodcuts, showing, you know, somebody hacking someone's head off or strangling a baby or whatever.

And the funny thing is that they're really kind of like early modern clip art.

They reuse the images over and over again and just changed the headline, which I think is really funny.

They're sort of like memes.

Yeah.

I'm no kidding.

Yeah, they are.

They're like memes.

So anybody would look at this image even though it's been used like six different times for 66 different context.

It's like, oh, well, that's like, oh, that's like, you know, somebody strangling their wife or something, you know, and it's just like, you know what this is gonna be about.

So, yeah, I think, I wrote a lot about this.

The way men, male perpetrators and female perpetrators are portrayed in these kinds of texts.

So, yeah, the pamphlets for sure, because they've got this kind of, again, the rhetoric is so similar to what you see in these tabloids that it's funny, it's really kind of like overwrought really over the top, kind of hysterical.

Do you remember Nancy Grace?

She used to be on TV.

She used to always follow, she'd be like, if somebody murders their kid, she's the one on TV.

Like that kind of tone that like screaming outraged, but kind of like titillated.

It's like, yeah.

Oh, I'm, I'm like pointing the finger.

These people are monsters, but I love it, you know, the tone is very, very, very similar.

So when a man does this kind of stuff, he's definitely what he's done is wrong.

So a man like kills his family or something, the portrayal of him is definitely, you know, the disapproving.

But what he has done the, the sort of social crime he has committed is, is called petty tyranny because a man is supposed to be in charge, right?

He's supposed to have all the power.

But if he, it's, and it's ok for him to chastise his subordinates, right?

Like it's his job to chastise his subordinates, you know, he should beat his Children.

If they misbehave, he should chastise his wife if she's, if she's insubordinate, right?

But he shouldn't kill them, right.

He shouldn't beat them to the point of, you know, maiming them or seriously harming them and he certainly shouldn't kill them.

So, when a man does these kinds of things, he has abused his power and that is very much disapproved of.

But there's also kind of a whiff of, there's often kind of a whiff of, well, what made him do it, what drove him to it?

Right.

Does this sound at all familiar?

You know, and I, I, ok, so it's, it's just funny that you brought this up because one of my notes that I I had mentioned is like going beyond like a guy who kills his wife.

You know, Scott Peterson comes to mind with Lacey Peterson and then Chris Watts, the family annihilator, right?

With his pregnant wife, right?

And you see every time these, these stories hit the news, like, you know, I often, I often just sort of have news on when I'm cooking in my kitchen and these things come on and I'm just like, I've got like a wooden spoon in my hand and I'm like, he did it like I know he did it like, you know, he totally, he definitely did it.

And I'm always right.

Yeah.

And it's just, it is.

So, so those two names and everything that you just had mentioned, I had this inner dialogue yesterday when I was thinking about it because it goes back to the top, like, why are, why are you and I talking today the why do we care so much when it's a wife and, or mother as opposed to the, you know, we can be like, oh, you know, Chris Watson Scott Peterson, like those guys are terrible, nail rotten hell.

But again, it goes back to when it's a woman, it's that monster.

It's a evil.

And then I kind of had this own thought dialogue.

I'm a mother myself and I'm, I'm actually pregnant.

So I'm gonna have a baby in four weeks.

Thank you.

So I'm kind of like, you know, going through all of these things and, you know, very much in the, you know, what makes me different from these other women who have done this historically or in more recent history.

But the thing that comes to mind is there is just something so grabbing about when women do this because you carry the child for so long and you birth the child and it's so much more intimate than the father who's removed and can kind of clean his hands in the sense of when there is a murder, you can go, you know, and that's because he's not involved.

So in the, in the natural process of pregnancy and birth.

So, yeah, when there are these women historically or modern day that do this, it's like how, you know, you just sit there and go, how you know, how could this happen?

And that's where we'll wrap up this week.

Come back next week where Dianne and I discuss how society has evolved or remain the same as far as discussing women's wellness, postpartum ghost and how all of that contributes to violence committed by women.
The newest entrant in the race for Indiana's 2024 Republican gubernatorial nomination has quickly caught up to his long-running competitors in terms of campaign cash and staff.

Records show former Indiana Commerce Secretary Brad Chambers, founder and CEO of Indianapolis-based real estate investment firm Buckingham Companies, on Friday personally loaned his campaign $5 million.

He's also collected at least $535,000 in donations from supporters since launching his gubernatorial bid Aug. 17.

That puts Chambers financially even, or even possibly ahead, of U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and Fort Wayne businessman Eric Doden  each of whom began their campaigns to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb last year.

Former Attorney General Curtis Hill Jr., who joined the GOP gubernatorial contest in July, only has raised about $100,000, records show.

Chambers also announced Wednesday that he's acquired much of the former leadership of the Indiana Republican Party to run his campaign.

Former Indiana GOP Chairman Kyle Hupfer was named Chambers' campaign chairman; Matt Huckleby, the state party's former executive director, is Chambers' campaign manager; and former Indiana GOP spokesman Luke Thomas will hold the same role for Chambers.

Chambers also has designated Marty Obst, a longtime staffer for former Gov. Mike Pence, as senior strategist; and selected Jennifer Hallowell, a onetime strategist for former Gov. Mitch Daniels, as his senior communications adviser.

"This team brings with it unmatched experience and a record of success that speaks for itself," Chambers said. "Together, they'll help us develop and execute a strategy to share our vision to ensure Indiana holds even more promise and opportunity for Hoosiers for years to come."

Hupfer said only an extraordinary candidate could convince him to prematurely give up his post as Indiana GOP chairman to lead a campaign  and Chambers is that candidate.

"There's no one better suited than him to boldly build on the foundation of Republican leadership that has delivered for Hoosiers over the past two decades," Hupfer said.

Hoosier Republicans will select their party's gubernatorial nominee at the May 7, 2024, primary election.

Gallery: Get to know these new Indiana laws that took effect July 1 AirTags Alcohol permits Animal facilities Annexation Book bans Bullying Charter schools Child molesting Childrens hospitals Domestic violence Drinking water Electric/hybrid vehicles Encroachment FAFSA Financial literacy Firefighting equipment Food and beverage tax Gender-affirming care Gary schools Gasoline tax Human trafficking Illiana Expressway Inmate gender Insurance fund Juror pay Juveniles Lake County convention center Lake County recorder Landlords Little Calumet River Lost farmland Machine guns Mail-in ballots Mental health Military bases Military pay Pension investments Public health School board elections Service animals Sex education SNAP assistance Speed cameras State comptroller Storage units Tax sales Taxpayer receipt Teachers unions Throwing stars Transit Development District 21st Century Scholars Valparaiso lawsuit Xylazine
Can heat damage at-home tests?

Extreme heat can mess with tests. According to the F.D.A., at-home tests work best when you use them in an environment thats between roughly 59 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit. If a test is delivered to you on a sweltering day, for example, the agency recommends bringing the package inside and waiting at least two hours before opening it. And always make sure the control line  which typically appears next to the C  shows up when you use a rapid test; otherwise, the test may be damaged or faulty.

I was exposed. When do I test?

If you have Covid symptoms and someone you had been spending time with is now positive, test immediately. Symptoms can include a runny or stuffy nose, fatigue, headaches, brain fog, sneezing or coughing, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.

If you were exposed to Covid and dont have symptoms, the F.D.A. says to wait at least five days before testing because swabbing too early can give you a false negative. You should isolate as much as you can while waiting, and wear a mask when you are around other people.

If you have to spend time with someone who is immunocompromised or otherwise more vulnerable to the virus, like an older relative, consider testing before coming into contact with them, Dr. Sala said. While symptoms are a good indicator that you have Covid, there are still large swaths of people who get infected and never show any signs, he added.

The more immunity youve built up, the more subtle the symptoms often are, Dr. Chin-Hong said.

Symptoms also might come on sooner for people who have been vaccinated and previously infected, said Dr. Michael Mina, a former Harvard epidemiologist who is now the chief science officer for eMed, a telehealth company. Especially people who have been recently boosted, he said, if they get infected, they might become symptomatic 24 hours post-exposure, 48 hours post-exposure  really fast.
During a visit to Kyiv, Secretary of State Antony Blinken today announced more than $1 billion in new American aid to Ukraine. He was the highest-profile American official to visit the country since the beginning of Ukraines counteroffensive.

The aid includes mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles, or MRAPs, which will assist Ukrainian troops in their push into Russian-occupied territory. Ukraine has retaken more than half the territory that Russia seized after its full-scale invasion.

But the aid also goes beyond security assistance, with funding to help rebuild a free, resilient, thriving country after the war, Blinken said. The U.S. and Ukraine are in talks over a long-term security partnership that Ukraines president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has said he would like to resemble Washingtons alliance with Israel.

Hours into Blinkens visit, at least 17 people were killed in a Russian strike on Kostyantynivka, a city in eastern Ukraine that is close to the front lines, Zelensky said. The attack, one of the deadliest strikes in Ukraine in months, hit an outdoor market in the afternoon, when it is usually bustling with activity.
At a time when many of Chinas exports are faltering and its consumers are spending less at home, the country is flooding the world with cars.

Overseas demand for inexpensive vehicles made in China, mostly gasoline-powered models that Chinese consumers now shun in favor of electric cars, is so great that the biggest obstacle to selling more abroad is a lack of specialized ships to carry them.

Chinese automakers have leaped to dominance in Russia since war began in Ukraine, transporting cars by train. The companies have also captured large shares of markets in Southeast Asia, Australia, South America and Mexico. With lingering Trump-era tariffs holding back sales to the United States, Chinas automakers are preparing a big push into Europe  once they have enough ships.

Shipyards along the Yangtze River are building a fleet of car-carrying ships that act as giant floating parking lots, capable of carrying 5,000 or more cars at a time.
This photo taken in July 2023 shows part of the Quying cemetery in Yingkou City, northeast China's Liaoning Province.(Liaoning provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology/Handout via Xinhua)

SHENYANG, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Archaeologists have unearthed 10 tombs and the foundations of eight houses dating back to a period spanning from the Wei Kingdom (220-265) to the Jin Dynasty (265-420) in northeast China's Liaoning Province.

The Liaoning provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology made these discoveries at the Quying cemetery in Yingkou City.

The excavation, initiated in July, also unveiled four ash pits, a kiln site, a well, and over 100 artifacts.

According to Su Junqiang, an associate research fellow at the institute, the relics suggest that this site was once a residential area.

Notably, the artifacts, including pottery fragments adorned with grid-like polished dark patterns and engraved water ripple motifs, exhibit distinctive characteristics of the culture of Yan states during the Sixteen Kingdoms period (304-439), a culture in Liaoning but seldom identified in the region.

This discovery carries academic significance in shedding light on the distribution of ethnic groups and their cultural interactions in the Liaodong Peninsula during the period.

In 1972, an archaeological team conducted excavations at the Quying cemetery before it was designated as a city-level cultural heritage protection unit by the Yingkou municipal government in 1984. 

This photo taken in July 2023 shows an archaeologist working at the excavation site in Yingkou City, northeast China's Liaoning Province.(Liaoning provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology/Handout via Xinhua)

Editor: JYZ
I live across the street from an apparently unregistered dog-breeding operation run by our neighbors. Our house looks out onto the yard where our neighbors let the dogs out sporadically throughout the day. The dogs dont appear to be mistreated or malnourished, but there seem to be more than 26 total  exceeding the limit in our state for both owning and selling without a license. And they continuously breed the dogs. All of this occurs in a two-story city row home that also houses a family of six. So quarters must be tight; I would guess that the dogs spend a majority of the day in the basement, because that is the only conceivable space for them.

These neighbors are a family who dont speak much English, and I dont know what the job prospects would be for the two parents outside of dog breeding. I would hate for them to lose their main source of income  thats my primary reason for not reporting them  but it does seem to come at the cost of the dogs welfare. We have heard that other neighbors reported this family in the past, so Im also not sure if stopping this dog-breeding operation is a lost cause or if Im telling myself this to justify my own inaction. What is the ethical thing to do?  Name Withheld, Pennsylvania

From the Ethicist:

You shouldnt just assume that your neighbors cant make a legal living, however limited their English. The fact is that an operation of the sort youre describing probably should be registered with the U.S.D.A. and (given the statutes where you live) licensed with your State Department of Agriculture, which has an inspection program.

If your neighbors have been reported before to the appropriate authorities, theres little point in addressing them yourselves; theyve presumably shown theyre willing to ignore the law. All you can do is make your own report and hope for the best. Rules aimed at protecting animals deserve your support: Animals can do all sorts of things, but what they cant do is advocate for themselves.
Donald Trump is increasing his already overwhelming lead for the Republican nomination, and is tied with President Biden in a hypothetical general election face-off, according to recent polling.

This is astonishing given Trumps quagmire of legal trouble, but it is the logical result of a candidate running without forceful, widespread opposition and condemnation. His opponents, for varying reasons, have taken the strategic position of ignoring his predicament, fingers and toes crossed that he will succumb to self-injury.

Theyre wishing on an avalanche of ifs. But theres no wishing in this kind of battle, no victory without confrontation.

This reluctance to take on Trump has allowed him and his surrogates to develop a narrative of victimhood and justified vengeance while allowing the image of timidity and weakness to harden around his opponents like plaster.
Loneliness crushes the soul, but researchers are finding it does far more damage than that. It is linked to strokes, heart disease, dementia, inflammation and suicide; it breaks the heart literally as well as figuratively.

Loneliness is as deadly as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and more lethal than consuming six alcoholic drinks a day, according to the surgeon general of the United States, Dr. Vivek Murthy. Loneliness is more dangerous for health than obesity, he says  and, alas, we have been growing more lonely. A majority of Americans now report experiencing loneliness, based on a widely used scale that asks questions such as whether people lack companionship or feel left out.

Yet there are solutions as well, approaches that build connections and bind us together. Britain is the pioneer of these efforts, having established the post of minister for loneliness in 2018. Britain oversees public-private partnerships that collectively knit millions of people together with programs like nature walks, songwriting workshops and community litter pickups.

A minister for loneliness is a less obvious need than a defense minister or a foreign minister. But other countries are paying attention: Japan has also appointed a minister for loneliness, Sweden has a minister for social affairs who has tackled the issue aggressively, and there have been calls in Australia and other countries for such a post.
The two spoke about their shared appreciation for fashion, said Ms. Douge, who moved to New York to get her masters degree at Parsons. During the pandemic, she started a knitwear brand, Maddi and Dani. The two bonded especially over the luxury fashion house Margiela, and its line of shoes called Tabis.

The shoes, with their signature cloven toe, are polarizing  youre either obsessed with them or think theyre hideous. Ms. Douge and Josh were among the obsessives.

Pretty soon the two were waking up in Ms. Douges apartment, having spent the night together. As he was getting ready to leave, Ms. Douge said, Josh told her he wanted to show her a Spotify playlist. She handed her phone to him, but after a bit of searching, he handed the phone back and said he couldnt find it.

A few hours later, when Ms. Douge was doing work on her computer, she glanced at her shoe rack and noticed something was missing. Im like, where are my Tabis? Ms. Douge said in a TikTok video she later posted. I look under my bed, in my suitcase, in my closet.

She cant find them anywhere. In the video she said she didnt want to be accusatory, but she wants to ask Josh if he had seen them, since the two were just talking about them. I go to Tinder to message him  unmatched. Hes gone, she continued in the TikTok.
A grizzly bear that killed a woman on a Montana trail in July and injured a person near an Idaho state park in 2020 was euthanized after it broke through the kitchen window of a house this month, Montana wildlife officials said on Wednesday.

Given the 10-year-old female bears history of conflict with people, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks department said, officials decided to kill the animal on Saturday, moments after it had broken into a home near West Yellowstone, a town of about 1,200 residents that is roughly a mile from Yellowstone National Park.

The grizzly bear was with a cub when she broke into the home on Saturday morning and removed a container of dog food from inside, officials said. Later that evening, wildlife officials and law enforcement officers captured the cub and shot the adult grizzly.

The Fish, Wildlife and Parks department said its decision to kill the bear had been rooted in an immediate public safety threat from the bears food-conditioned behavior.
According to the Coast Guard, Mr. Baluchi was first spotted on Aug. 26, around 70 nautical miles off the coast of Tybee Island, Ga. Officers asked him to show his registration documents, but he could not find them, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami.

When officers approached Mr. Baluchis vessel in a smaller boat and asked him to disembark, he said he had a 12-inch knife and would kill himself, so they returned to their ship, which remained nearby, according to the complaint. The next day, officers tried again, but this time Mr. Baluchi showed them two knives, again threatening to kill himself. He then grabbed some wires and said he would blow himself up, according to the documents. Later, he told the officers that the so-called bomb was fake.

It was two days before officers  who had tried to deliver food, water and news of the approaching hurricane to Mr. Baluchi  were finally able to coax him from his floating wheel. On Friday, they brought him ashore in Miami Beach.

Neither Mr. Baluchi, who said he was born in Iran and was granted asylum in the United States, nor his lawyer could immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday evening. The Justice Department refused to comment further on the case.

According to court documents, the voyage was Mr. Baluchis fourth attempt in a decade at traveling on the ocean in a homemade contraption. Each time, the Coast Guard ultimately intervened, according to court records.
The United States government has seized nearly one million barrels of Iranian crude oil that it says was being smuggled to China in violation of U.S. sanctions against Iran, after it raised the threat of prosecution to get the tanker brought to American waters, newly unsealed court papers show.

The seizure of the oil from the vessel, the M/T Suez Rajan, is part of a larger and shadowy conflict with Iran. After the tanker began to steam toward the United States last spring, Irans Revolutionary Guards Corps seized two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the U.S. military to increase patrols and deploy additional assets to protect shipping lanes.

In July, Iranian state news media said the Guards navy commander had warned that Tehran would hold Washington responsible if the tankers oil was unloaded, without giving further details. On Wednesday, a high-ranking Israeli defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the seizure raised new fears that Iran could hijack more tankers in an effort to deter the United States from repeating the move.

The court filings offer a rare glimpse into what prosecutors describe as an oil smuggling operation that kept a tankers location from being accurately tracked, falsified cargo records and deployed other techniques in an attempt to evade U.S. sanctions.
Two of Donald J. Trumps co-defendants in the Georgia election-interference case will go to trial together on Oct. 23, a judge ruled on Wednesday. The defendants, Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, had asked to be tried separately from one another.

The ruling from Judge Scott McAfee of Fulton County Superior Court, however, is contingent on the case remaining in state court  a situation that could change if other defendants succeed at moving the case into a federal courtroom.

Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, is still holding out hope that all 19 defendants in the racketeering case can be tried together. One of her prosecutors said during a hearing on Wednesday that the state would take approximately four months to present its case, calling roughly 150 witnesses. That estimate does not include the time it would take to pick the jury.

But during the hearing, Judge McAfee said he remained very skeptical that a single trial for all 19 defendants could work. For one thing, some of the accused, including Ms. Powell and Mr. Chesebro, have invoked their right to a speedy trial while others have not.
Mexicos governing party chose Claudia Sheinbaum, a former mayor of Mexico City, as its candidate in next years presidential election on Wednesday, creating a watershed moment in the worlds largest Spanish-speaking country, with voters expected to choose for the first time between two leading candidates who are women.

Today democracy won. Today the people of Mexico decided, Ms. Sheinbaum said during the announcement, adding that her party, Morena, would win the 2024 election. Tomorrow begins the electoral process, she said. And there is no minute to lose.

Ms. Sheinbaum, 61, a physicist with a doctorate in environmental engineering and a protege of Mexicos current president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, will face off against the oppositions top contender, Xochitl Galvez, 60, an outspoken engineer with Indigenous roots who rose from poverty to become a tech entrepreneur.

We can already say today: Mexico, by the end of next year, will be governed by a woman, said Jesus Silva-Herzog Marquez, a political scientist at Mexicos Monterrey Institute of Technology, adding that it was an extraordinary change for the country.
When Vadym Zgonnik was walking through the outdoor market in Kostyantynivka, Ukraine, with his wife and 6-year-old daughter on Wednesday afternoon, it was at first a bustling scene much like any other afternoon.

Then a huge fireball struck the market after a missile attack, destroying several buildings, sending dozens fleeing for cover and killing more than a dozen others.

I was pulling one woman, said Mr. Zgonnik, 28. I wanted to pull her into the building. Then I saw another woman burning. She was on fire; her leg was burning.

He quickly fled with his wife and daughter.

By Wednesday evening, the death toll had reached 17, including one child. More than 30 other people were injured, two seriously, officials said. It was one of the deadliest strikes to hit Ukraine in months.
BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS) has released the world's first atlas of urban nighttime light remote-sensing data, providing support for the research on urban sustainable development.

The atlas contains 10-meter resolution nighttime light data on 147 cities in 105 countries around the world.

The data was captured by the satellite SDGSAT-1, which was launched into space on Nov. 5, 2021 and is the world's first space science satellite dedicated to serving the U.N. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The satellite is designed to provide space observation data for the monitoring, evaluation and study of interactions between humans, nature and sustainable development, according to its developer, the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Guo Huadong, head of the CBAS, said the atlas is an important achievement in the field of Earth surface environmental elements detection under low-light conditions.

The data can fully reflect the pattern of urban human settlement and economic development, and provide data support for related research and decision-making on urban sustainable development, Guo added.

Editor: WJH
Danny Masterson, the actor best known for his role in the sitcom That 70s Show, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison on Thursday for the rapes of two women when he was at the height of his career more than 20 years ago.

Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo of Los Angeles Superior Court handed the sentence down after hearing statements from the women, who described the lasting impact of Mastersons actions on their lives.

The body is a relentless witness, one of the accusers, identified as N. Trout, said in a statement that was read aloud in the courtroom on Thursday. When you raped me you stole from me, she said. That is what rape is, a theft of the spirit.

George Gascon, the Los Angeles district attorney, said he hoped the womens bravery would be an example to others. Justice was finally served today, he said, noting that one of his top priorities was to ensure Los Angeles will no longer be a hunting ground for Hollywood elite who feel entitled to prey on women.
Infamy

When to watch: Now, on Netflix.

The Polish series Infamy (in Polish, Romani and English, with subtitles or dubbed) is a traditional enough coming-of-age drama plot-wise, but thanks to its distinctive setting and vibrant performances, it feels fresh and intense, beautiful and special. The show centers on Gita (Zofia Jastrzebska), a 17-year-old Romani girl whose immediate family returns to Poland after living in exile in Wales for many years. Its a tough adjustment: Her community is subject to violence and discrimination, and she also bristles at being told to wear a skirt instead of pants and worries about being forced into an arranged marriage. She nurtures a secret dream of being a rapper and insists she be able to go to school, even as she struggles to fit in.

If you miss Unorthodox, or if you want a show about teenagers that is far more substantive than the typical wan fare, watch this.
John Palfrey, the president of the MacArthur Foundation, said Press Forward aimed to help news outlets that did not have enough revenue to sustain their business. The goal, he added, is to eventually raise and invest $1 billion for the effort.

Theres extraordinary opportunity, Mr. Palfrey said in an interview. Many people are focused on finding ways to improve local news coverage, he said, but they just simply dont have enough philanthropic capital to get it going, and were going to provide at least a down payment on that.

The investment by Press Forward reflects the concern over the rapid shrinking and disappearance of local news organizations across the United States  and what that information void means for democracy. More than 20 percent of Americans now live in what are called news deserts, which are areas that have little or no independent news sources on local issues, or communities that are on the verge of becoming one, according to a 2022 report by Northwestern Universitys Medill School.

Some 2,500 newspapers have shut down since 2005  and more continue to close. Declining revenue from print advertising and subscriptions has made it nearly impossible for struggling papers to survive, and those that are still around have a small fraction of the staff they once had. Digital news outlets and nonprofit newsrooms have sprung up across the United States, but not in numbers large enough to fill the gap.

According to the Northwestern report, most of the new outlets serve urban centers, leaving some economically struggling and rural communities at a loss. Without an independent local news source, the report said, residents dont have the information they need to make informed decisions about civic issues and governance, and that provides an opening for the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
When television and movie writers went on strike in May, studios quickly suspended certain first-look deals  mostly those for lesser-established writers. Star show creators like Mindy Kaling and J.J. Abrams were kept on the payroll. Worried about keeping them happy, even during a walkout, studios left their multimillion-dollar deals alone, shielding them from the pain of the strike.

No more.

In an escalation of the standoff between studios and the Writers Guild of America  it has entered its fifth month, with no end in sight  Warner Bros. moved late Wednesday to suspend deals with the 1 percent of television writers. That includes Ms. Kaling, a creator of the Max series The Sex Lives of College Girls, and Mr. Abrams, whose recent television efforts include Duster, a coming thriller set in the 1970s, according to two people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private suspension notices.

Warner Bros. also suspended deals with Greg Berlanti (Superman & Lois) and Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso), among others, the people said.

A spokeswoman for Warner Bros. declined to comment. Representatives for the writers either declined to comment or did not return calls. A spokesman for the Writers Guild of America had no immediate response.
Chains, a foundational element of jewelry design, have been integral to crafting ornaments for as long as humans have been making interlocking rings to adorn our bodies.

As Otto Jakob, a German master jeweler, said: Chains are an archetype in jewelry, and they tell a symbolic and universal story with their own alphabet.

Evolving from Babylonian loop-in-loop techniques to the opulent pieces worn by medieval kings, from Coco Chanels gracefully draped chains to the chunky links embraced by rappers, chains have enjoyed an enduring appeal as a cornerstone of jewelry craftsmanship.

This year, chains have been bold elements in both high jewelry and fine jewelry lines, reimagined as stand-alone pieces or pulling double duty to carry a pendant. Showcasing the artistry and imagination of their designers, these well-crafted pieces have gone from supporting to starring roles, becoming focal points in collections.
A rough piece of kunzite radiates a hot magenta from its natural ridges. The pulsating chartreuse of a chrysoberyl could double as Supermans glowing kryptonite. An angular Mozambican tourmaline has the yellow-orange hue of a sun-ripened peach. These eye-catching gemstones, cut and polished by artisans around the world, share a single common denominator: Dave Bindra.

If you ask me what my favorite colors are, I always say, Favorite colors to look at; favorite colors to wear; favorite colors to be around. Each of those are different, he said.

A procurer of rare and precious gemstones and self-described gem curator, Mr. Bindra, 38, is the vice president and head of acquisitions at B&B Fine Gems, based in downtown Los Angeles. The initials stand for his parents, Lavi and Ruben Bindra, who founded the wholesale company in 1984. They still own the business, which has six full-time and three part-time employees, including Dave Bindra and his sister, Sabrina, as the manager of operations.

While the company will not disclose its revenue, Mr. Bindra said its dealings with about 100 major companies around the world puts B&B among the global industrys top 10 wholesalers, by volume.
Thailands history is rich with gemstones, beginning in the 1400s when its mines first produced the sapphires and rubies that adorned the crowns, swords and even the footwear of the countrys royalty. And as recently as May, jewelry fans took note of the glittering sapphire and diamond necklace and earring set that Queen Suthida of Thailand wore at King Charles IIIs coronation in London.

But since the 1970s, Thailand has mostly been known as a global hub for cutting, polishing, heating and trading stones, doing business with its gem-rich neighbors Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, along with countries far beyond.

And after years of pandemic disruption, the organizers of the 68th Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair, which was scheduled to open Wednesday and end Sunday, are considering it a chance to reintroduce the world to Thailands expertise in processing and perfecting natural gems. Or, as the industry calls these stones, the rough.

The event offers a lot of opportunities for local businesses to be exposed to overseas buyers, said Sumed Prasongpongchai, chief executive of the Gem & Jewelry Institute of Thailand (G.I.T.), the division of the Ministry of Commerce that sponsors the show. We promote the fair heavily in the Middle East, Europe and America.
Jill Biden, the first lady, tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday. Governor Kathy Hochul of New York has announced that the state will send high-quality masks and rapid tests to school districts that request them. Already, schools in Kentucky and Texas have closed, citing widespread respiratory illness among students and staff.

The coronavirus is in the air again. Literally.

A steady uptick in cases since July and reports of worrisome new variants have fueled concern that the virus is poised to make a comeback this fall and winter. But in interviews, experts offered reassurances that the country will not see a return to the nightmarish scenarios of previous years.

There is no evidence that any of the variants in circulation cause more severe disease or evade immunity adroitly enough to render vaccines ineffective. And although hospitalizations and deaths are increasing week by week, the numbers remain low, noted Gigi Gronvall, a biosecurity expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

These increases are more alarming by statistics than in reality, Dr. Gronvall said.

Hospital admissions for Covid increased by about 16 percent in the week ending Aug. 26, compared with the previous week. But the 17,400 new admissions were less than half the number in the same period last year, and about one-fifth the number in 2021.
Here, Ms. Mandavilli shares more about her experience visiting schools and how access to funding plays a role in their efforts to help prevent another pandemic. This interview has been edited.

How did you select the schools you visited?

I wanted to look more closely at schools in the middle of the country, rather than those in California and New York, which are written about a lot. What was interesting to me about Colorado, in particular, was the contrast between schools in Denver and Boulder. Denver is a very gritty city; there are schools in neighborhoods that struggle with air quality because of nearby highways and factories. Then you have Boulder High School, which has air purifiers and sensors in nearly every classroom. The differences between Denver and Boulder show what is possible when a school has money and resources.

Was it difficult getting permission to visit?

Definitely. There were schools I reached out to that did not want anything to do with me. I approached a school in Iowa after I came across some of its newsletters; during the pandemic, the schools administrators were sending out news about school sports, academics and graduation, but they would not discuss Covid-19 or air quality. They were even talking about building new facilities, but it seemed to me that no money was being used to improve air quality. It was missing from the conversation.

I thought that experience was probably representative of a lot of schools in the middle of the country. But a school that isnt doing something to improve air quality does not want attention. I got lucky with the Colorado schools, in part because I was working with Mark Hernandez, an air quality expert who had been working with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. He was able to get me into some schools.

One of the schools that stood out to me was East High in Denver. Can you share more about your time there?
In the late 1940s, the Soviet Union invited Armenians living abroad to resettle in Soviet Armenia. In Amerikatsi, the actor-director Michael Goorjian imagines one such journey and finds an unusual way to express the aching urge to reconnect with ones roots.

Goorjian plays Charlie, a naive, bumbling American who returns to Armenia years after being spirited away as a boy during the genocide. Despite befriending a Soviet officials wife (Nelli Uvarova), he gets thrown in jail as a suspicious interloper. Charlie languishes behind prison walls, and is mocked and beaten by guards. As awful as that sounds, the films tone stays on the light side, even hokey, warmed by Charlies hopes.
LANZHOU, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Asfa Batool, a Pakistani postdoctoral fellow at Lanzhou University in northwest China's Gansu Province, is conducting dryland agricultural research in China. Her aim is to leverage her knowledge and different technologies to increase the grain production in Pakistan.

Asfa has been a part of Lanzhou University since 2012, when she first arrived to pursue her master's degree. Over the course of 11 years, she successfully obtained her doctoral degree in ecology in 2018, before starting her postdoctoral research at the university.

While talking about her experiences studying in China, she expressed immense gratitude towards her advisor, Xiong Youcai, a professor at the college of ecology at Lanzhou University. Xiong had previously given a lecture during her undergraduate studies at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan and introduced Chinese dryland agriculture and water saving technology.

Asfa was inspired by Chinese agricultural technologies and hoped to learn from him to improve the current state of agriculture in Pakistan.

Sponsored by the Chinese government scholarship, she applied to be a graduate student at Lanzhou University and began her study under professor Xiong in 2012. She has been actively involved in research work focusing on agriculture and biotechnologies to improve plant growth and productivity.

"Chinese dryland agricultural technology provides a potential innovative approach to upgrade the productivity of crops in arid and semi-arid regions. It is a key solution to boost the agricultural production system, and Lanzhou University is a well-known institute in China for agriculture studies. That's why I chose to study here," said Asfa, adding that she hopes that Chinese technologies can be utilized in Pakistan, because dry areas in Pakistan need more attention, as the crops there rely solely on rainfall.

According to Xiong Youcai, Chinese dryland agricultural technology can not only avoid resource waste and effectively save water but also improve soil fertility and reduce evaporation at the soil surface. The most important aspect of this technology is the easiness of use and low costs.

With Xiong's support, such as helping her set up research objectives, providing lab facilities and the funding projects provided by Lanzhou University, Asfa has conducted a lot of research on wheat and maize. This includes conducting split root experiments to study the role of phytohormones in drought stress. She also applied China's water-saving technology to maize and wheat planting experiments in Pakistan.

"I learned that how flat planting and ridge furrow planting can help Pakistan to increase the yield and the crop productivity there, compared Chinese technology with the local planting technology, and also especially focused on how the poor people like local farmers can increase their yield and get benefits from Chinese technology," said Asfa.

Based on experiments and research, she said she believes that China's ridge and furrow mulching technology, a part of dryland agriculture, can produce more yield than flat planting. While conducting experiments in dry areas in Pakistan, she felt confident that her implementation of the technology would lead to excellent results.

She has also visited many places in Gansu Province where local farmers applied the water saving technology to get a harvest and feed their families.

For her, China has really made unremitting efforts to help the poor people to have a good life. "That's what Pakistan needs," Asfa said, adding that she really wants to take Chinese agricultural technology back to Pakistan to benefit more local farmers and improve their life quality.

She has also actively communicated with scientists in China, Africa, Australia and Pakistan. Serving as a volunteer, she has helped participants with their accommodation and participation at many international forums and meetings hosted by Lanzhou University.

"These were all impressive experiences because they provide a platform for me to share and communicate different ideas among the people who come from different parts of the world," said Asfa.

Asfa said she is eager to implement Chinese agricultural technologies in the farmland in Pakistan after graduation, and hopes for deepened cooperation between China and Pakistan in more fields.

Editor: WJH
In his new movie, the Chilean filmmaker Sebastian Silva plays a version of himself locked in a self-loathing spiral. Mired in a creative pit, Sebastian is snorting drugs in his Mexico City apartment, reading E.M. Ciorans The Trouble With Being Born and doing web searches for suicide by Pentobarbital. In need of a change, he travels to a bacchanalian gay beach, where he meets the writer and Instagram influencer Jordan Firstman (also playing a refracted version of himself). Its not long before the ebulliently opportunistic Jordan pitches a show: Curb Your Enthusiasm, but positive. Eventually, Sebastian invites him to his place in the city for some writing sessions.

The movies title works in both a literal and a metaphorical way. The first involves a spoiler, so lets just say that a major twist redirects the story just before the halfway mark.
In a sharp escalation over the migrant crisis, Mayor Eric Adams claimed in stark terms that New York City was being destroyed by an influx of 110,000 asylum seekers from the southern border and said that he did not see a way to fix the issue.

Let me tell you something New Yorkers, never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to  I dont see an ending to this, the mayor said on Wednesday night in his opening remarks at a town hall-style gathering in Manhattan. This issue will destroy New York City.

Mr. Adams, a Democrat in his second year in office, has clashed with leading members of his party as New York City has struggled to provide housing and services to the migrants. For months, Mr. Adams has criticized President Biden and Gov. Kathy Hochul for failing to help the city handle the asylum seekers and pleaded for additional funding and expedited work permits.

But the mayors comments on Wednesday were his most ominous yet. He pointed to new projections that the citys budget gap could grow to nearly $12 billion  the same amount that city officials estimate that the migrants could cost the city over three years.
The care given to military veterans at two state-run nursing homes in New Jersey ravaged by the coronavirus was so poor that it violated residents constitutional rights, according to a U.S. Department of Justice report released Thursday.

The veterans homes in Edison and Paramus experienced some of the countrys highest coronavirus death rates. In the first five months of the pandemic, at least 146 patients died at the long-term care facilities after contracting Covid-19.

The report grew out of a three-year investigation and offered a scathing assessment of a broad range of problems within the two homes, including no-show supervisors, indifference to residents discomfort, a culture of fear and a lack of regard for employee safety.

It also found that the inadequate care continued even after the pandemic abated, which is likely to embolden critics of New Jerseys Democratic governor, Philip D. Murphy, as he seeks to expand his national profile.
Watching as the items were inventoried and hauled away tore my heart out, Kandell said. But she said there would be an audience for them in Minneapolis: The museum noted that city is home to the second largest Tibetan population in the United States, after New York City.

Kandell  a child psychologist, author and photographer with a long interest in Himalayan culture  assembled Tibetan statues in bronze, silver and gold, along with paintings and ritual objects, over more than 35 years. She arranged the room they were in like a shrine, similar to one in the home of a wealthy family or a small temple in Tibet.

Each piece had real significance, she said, and I love that, but together, they form something thats very different. When you walk in here, theres supposed to be a feeling, maybe a second of a spiritual feeling. A moment.

Robert A.F. Thurman, the president of Tibet House U.S., wrote in 2009 that he had been thunderstruck the first time he walked into the room. He also wrote that his wife, Nena, the managing director of Tibet House, experienced a visual flash of energy that was so powerful, she nearly fainted.

Many of the objects they saw then went to the Smithsonian Institution. Kandell acquired more  the items that have now gone to Minneapolis. The museum plans to display them in a room like Kandells that will open next August.
Lets talk about leadership again. Last week, I wrote about Vivek Ramaswamy and the power of unprincipled leaders to exploit civic ignorance. This week, I want to address the power of leadership to shape character and the problem of corruption in the era of Trump. And for this discussion, well turn to Texas.

A very good thing is belatedly happening in the Lone Star State. Republicans are on the verge not merely of expelling one of their own from office, but of expelling someone with the most impeccable of MAGA credentials. The suspended Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, is facing an impeachment trial in the Texas Senate, and if the early votes are any indication, its not going well for him. Hes already lost a number of motions to dismiss the case by margins approximating the two-thirds majority that will be necessary to convict him  and this is an upper chamber that Republicans control 19 to 12.

Paxton faces impeachment in large part because seven of his top deputies blew the whistle on him in 2020, claiming that he had engaged in bribery and abuse of office. The charges against Paxton, to which he pleads not guilty, center primarily on his relationship with an investor named Nate Paul. Paxton is accused of providing favors to Paul, including using the power of his office in an attempt to stop foreclosure sales of Pauls properties, ordering employees not to assist law enforcement investigating Paul and even providing Paul with highly sensitive information about an F.B.I. raid on his home.

And what did Paxton get in return? Paul reportedly helped Paxton remodel his home and employed Paxtons mistress. (Paxtons wife, Angela Paxton, is a Republican state senator who is attending the hearings but is barred from voting on the charges against her husband.)
Conservative intellectuals should take this sort of Republican plea seriously, but they havent. In recent years, many of them have been seduced by national conservatism, a movement that claims to be working to preserve Americas best traditions. Organizers of an annual National Conservatism conference, for example, call for the revival of the unique national traditions that alone have the power to bind a people together and bring about their flourishing. But the national conservatives forget that one of our nations proudest and longest political traditions is its history of decentralized parties and governance. Those institutions and practices bound Americans together in a world below our more divisive national politics. They allowed everyday Americans to define their values and interests at the community level, where genuine populist power and democracy were often strongest.

Already, you can see how a fully nationalized politics might backfire on Republicans. It creates a false sense of what the state governments can actually achieve. Even if there is a border crisis, for example, the State of Wyoming cant do much about it. As Landon Brown, an establishment Republican in the State Legislature, told us, We have spent more time debating a nonissue than fixing our state budget issue. And as Cathy Connolly, a former House minority leader, noted, There is no solution to a nonproblem. Whipping up peoples passions may be galvanizing for now, but at some point, people will realize that their government hasnt done anything to improve their day-to-day lives.

Republican establishments in other states have been quietly resisting the nationalization of their party. In some  including Texas, Ohio and Alaska  old guard conservatives have even joined their fellow Democrats on certain issues, much as they have in Wyoming. And in Florida, there is still a divide between the MAGA crowd and the Tallahassee people, despite Ron DeSantiss popularity there.

But the Wyoming case is itself important for a simple reason: Its the most pro-Trump state in the union. Despite that obstacle, the old guard is having some success defending its own way of doing politics. It has defeated many bills that reflect national obsessions and fought to preserve some semblance of the old decorum. In fact, just last year it stripped its Trumpiest state senator of his committee assignments for a pattern of intimidating, intemperate speech. Of course, on their own, such rear-guard tactics wont be enough to save the Wyoming way. Champions of the old way must also do the hard work of aggressively recruiting local candidates and precinct committee chairs.

Fortunately, such efforts are already paying off in Wyoming. In 2023, thanks to strong candidate recruitment, the establishment reclaimed county party organizations in four of the states solid-red counties. And while the establishment fared less well in legislative races, it prevailed against some of the most ultra-MAGA candidates and won enough critical races to maintain control of the State Legislature.
Peter Do held up a pair of Helmut Lang jeans by their pockets, pulling them against his waist. The denim was off-white, splattered with white paint and softened with age. Id already reached out to feel the fabric, pinching it between my fingers, when Mr. Do said that hed never washed them.

Maybe thats kind of gross to some people, he said. Im just scared of destroying them.

Ten years ago, hed bought them at a vintage store for about $300, he said, and now he was showing them off in the Helmut Lang headquarters, in the meatpacking district of Manhattan. Mr. Do had arrived at the company in May, fresh-faced at 32 and ready to revive the brand as its creative director.

Mr. Do felt attached to the jeans in the way people often do to denim that simply fits very well. He wore them while interviewing for the job and, after he got it, decided to recreate the long slim cut in his new collection.

This is essentially Mr. Dos objective: He wants to reintroduce Helmut Lang, once considered among the coolest, cleverest, most modern labels in fashion, and not just for the sake of doing it, he said. Even when Im not at the brand anymore, I hope I built a strong enough foundation that it goes on.
In Linde Freya Tangelders opinion, great design starts with demolition. To pull something down or destroy a little bit of the past gives you freedom, says the 35-year-old Dutch-born designer. Breaking apart her own work and starting over, deconstructing her models and rebuilding them, is, she says, an integral part of her creative process.

So central is the philosophy to Tangelders practice that it inspired the name of her nine-year-old studio: Destroyers/Builders, based in Antwerp and Brussels. Here, she creates pieces, many of them limited edition, that feel more like conceptual art or experimental architecture than furnishings  a daybed made of chipboard, an inexpensive building material often used for insulation, is hand-carved with a pitted finish, giving it the appearance of ancient bronze metalwork; a hard-angled chair supported by industrial-looking tubes wouldnt be out of place in Donald Judds studio.

Now, however, shes also expanding into more commercial furniture. This past spring at Milan Design Week, she presented her first lighting collection for Cassina: Wax, Stone, Light. The three floor lamps and two table lamps are constructed from stacked hollow blocks of Murano glass that Tangelder forms using iron molds to give them a wavy, waxy texture. Its a follow-up to Soft Corners, a small grouping of ottomans and a side table she made for the company last year that were informed by her study of ancient building techniques.

Linde has this pure aspect of being poetic and cerebral, but then she takes the hammer and starts banging on stuff. Its something to see, says the chief executive officer of Cassina, Luca Fuso, who chose Tangelder as the first recipient of a new initiative called Patronage, which provides funding and technical know-how to fledgling designers. The program has given her the resources to experiment with different materials and approaches (her current projects involve Japanese lacquering, pink limestone and novel varieties of brick).
Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, and Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, plan to announce a sweeping framework to regulate artificial intelligence, in the latest effort by Congress to catch up with the technology.

The leaders of the Senate judiciarys subcommittee for privacy, technology and law said in interviews on Thursday that their framework will include requirements for the licensing and auditing of A.I., the creation of an independent federal office to oversee the technology, liability for companies for privacy and civil rights violations, and requirements for data transparency and safety standards.

The lawmakers plan to highlight their proposals in an A.I. hearing on Tuesday, which will feature Brad Smith, Microsofts president, and William Dally, the chief scientist for the A.I. chip maker Nvidia. Mr. Blumenthal and Mr. Hawley plan to introduce bills from the framework.

On Wednesday, top tech executives including Elon Musk, Microsofts Satya Nadella and OpenAIs Sam Altman will meet with the Senate leader, Chuck Schumer, and other lawmakers in a separate closed-door meeting on A.I. regulations.
The playwright Rebecca Gilman moved away from small-town Alabama long ago, but a soft Southern lilt still shapes her words. In all the years she lived and worked here in her adopted city of Chicago, she remained immune to its Bill Murray accent. The broad tones of nearby Wisconsin have likewise left no mark.

Rural Wisconsin itself, though, has burrowed deep in her soul. After more than a decade of traveling back and forth from Chicago, Gilman relocated full-time to Green County, Wis., about four years ago. If you want to send her into a soliloquy, just ask what she loves about the prairie. She will talk about its colors and how they change throughout the year  from white to pink to purple to a wind-stirred sea of yellow  and then she will venture into its metaphors.

When you go to a prairie, its just teeming with life  butterflies, bugs, birds, everything, she said on a stiflingly hot August afternoon in an upstairs lounge at the Goodman Theater, where her new play, Swing State, was in rehearsals for its New York run. Its an ecosystem. Everything depends on everything else. Some of the plants have to be pollinated by particular butterflies. Particular butterflies have to have lupine to lay their eggs. Monarchs have to have milkweed. And it is not a monoculture. It cannot thrive unless its as diverse as diverse can be.

Gilman, 58, worries about the prairies destruction, but she acts on that fear, volunteering with an endearingly named group, the Prairie Enthusiasts, to protect the land. She worries, too, about threats to wildlife  like white-nose syndrome, which has killed millions of bats  so she recently trained as a bat ambassador, to raise awareness of their plight.
American Google, part of Alphabet Inc, has unlocked the ability for Ukrainian entrepreneurs to use Google business and add new business objects to Google maps, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov has said.

"Ukrainian entrepreneurs can again register their business on Google Maps. The Digital Transformation Ministry team worked together with Google, which made it possible to add new objects again and leave comments. Ukrainian business has an effective tool for promoting and finding new customers," the Deputy Prime Minister wrote on the Telegram channel.

He thanked Google for a balanced and fair decision, noting that it would help Ukrainian entrepreneurs who continue to develop despite the full-scale war, create new jobs and support the country's economy.

In April 2022, Google blocked the ability for Ukraine to use Google business and add new objects to maps for security reasons. Ukrainian entrepreneurs could not post reviews, ask questions, or add information about their business.
Place one hand on the wall in front of you, and then put the opposite foot on the wall behind you. Repeat with your other limbs until you have wedged yourself between the two walls. Easy does it. Now, start walking up.

This is how a convicted killer escaped from a prison near Philadelphia nearly a week ago, according to surveillance video released by the authorities on Wednesday. He is still on the run after taking a route that another prisoner used in an attempt to break out from the same prison in May.

The footage shows the convict, Danelo Cavalcante, 34, performing the maneuver at 8:51 a.m. last Thursday. As the 5-foot-tall Mr. Cavalcante ascends, he disappears from the cameras view in a matter of moments. After that, officials said, he pushed through razor wires  installed after the previous inmate scaled the same wall  before reaching the prisons roof. He ran across the roof, scaled a fence, pushed his way through more razor wire, and has eluded the police ever since.

We know the gravity of the situation and how its impacted our community negatively, Howard Holland, the acting warden of the Chester County Prison, said at a news conference on Wednesday. He added that officials should have further bolstered the prisons defenses following the previous escape attempt.
The district attorney leading a criminal case against Donald J. Trump and his allies in Georgia accused Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio of trying to obstruct her prosecution of the case in a sharply worded letter she sent on Thursday.

Soon after the district attorney, Fani T. Willis, a Democrat, announced last month that she was bringing a racketeering case against Mr. Trump and 18 other defendants for their efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, Mr. Jordan, a Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said that he was going to investigate Ms. Willis over whether her prosecution of Mr. Trump was politically motivated.

In her letter, Ms. Willis accused Mr. Jordan of trying to obstruct a Georgia criminal proceeding and to advance outrageous partisan misrepresentations, and of not understanding how the states racketeering law works.

Your attempt to invoke congressional authority to intrude upon and interfere with an active criminal case in Georgia is flagrantly at odds with the Constitution, she added. The defendants in this case have been charged under state law with committing state crimes. There is absolutely no support for Congress purporting to second guess or somehow supervise an ongoing Georgia criminal investigation and prosecution.
When Hurricane Idalia struck last week, Michael Burnetts bayside home in Crystal River, Fla., was inundated with a noxious cocktail of storm water and sewage from burst pipes that rose to his chest.

We lost everything we owned, Mr. Burnett, the manager of a gun shop, said. All my kids clothes, all my guitars, all my guns, everything I have collected is gone.

He added, The only saving grace was those guys who came to my house.

The guys are four undocumented men he hired to help sort through the muck, members of an immigrant work force that in recent years has helped communities in Florida and other states clean up and rebuild after climate disasters, with thousands of such workers rushing in.
When a bus packed with migrants pulled into downtown Los Angeles in mid-June, it caused a local stir: In a city with one of the countrys largest immigrant populations, this was the first busload to arrive courtesy of the Texas governor, Greg Abbott.

This week, the 12th such bus arrived in Los Angeles, part of the Texas governors determination to share the responsibility of caring for newly arrived migrants with Democratic politicians who have supported a more welcoming national immigration policy.

Both the Texas governor and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida have offered migrants free rides from border towns to New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and several other cities since last year. The arrivals have overwhelmed some cities, straining shelters and aid resources.

It is abhorrent that an American elected official is using human beings as pawns in his cheap political games, Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles said of the busing program in June.
The tortilla chip company that challenged consumers to eat a single chip made with two of the hottest peppers in the world is pulling the product from retail shelves, the company said on Thursday. The move followed the death of a teenager whose family said he had died after consuming the chip.

The Paqui One Chip Challenge is intended for adults only, with clear and prominent labeling highlighting the chip is not for children or other sensitive groups, the company, a subsidiary of the Hershey Company, said in a statement on its website. We have seen an increase in teens and other individuals not heeding these warnings.

As a result, the company said, it was working with retailers to remove the product from shelves out of an abundance of caution.
Another candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, declared on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday in response to the sentences, This is wrong & its sad that Im the only candidate with the spine to say it. In a statement on Wednesday, he vowed to pardon all peaceful, nonviolent Jan. 6 participants and said, America now has a two-tiered justice system: Antifa and B.L.M. rioters roam free while peaceful Jan. 6 protesters are imprisoned without bail.

The vast majority of Jan. 6 defendants have been released on bail while awaiting trial, however, and their pretrial detention rate is significantly lower than the rate for the total population of federal defendants.

The suggestions by Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Ramaswamy that Jan. 6 rioters and conspirators were being punished more harshly than people who participated in Black Lives Matter protests align with Republicans broader grievances that the federal justice system has been weaponized against conservatives.

But most of the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, when the movement reached a peak, were peaceful. An Associated Press investigation in 2021 found that, in the cases where they did turn violent, more than 120 defendants had either pleaded guilty or been convicted on federal charges such as rioting, arson and conspiracy.

Those who had been sentenced at the time of the A.P. investigation had received prison terms of a little over two years on average. But of the more than 1,100 cases related to Jan. 6, according to an NPR database, the median sentence for those who received prison time has been 120 days.
He is the devil they know and a very pragmatic leader, said Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota, about Mr. McConnell and Senate Democrats. And there is no one more shrewd.

Mr. McConnell is a stalwart backer of maintaining financial assistance to Ukraine despite growing reservations in his own party, and he has the influence and record to keep a majority of his fellow Senate Republicans on board. He has also made it very clear that he wants to avoid a government shutdown and shares the view of Senate Democrats that federal spending has to be higher than what House Republicans are pursuing. And he has suggested that initiating an impeachment of Mr. Biden is not a great idea.

Democrats who often rip Mr. McConnell are refraining from doing so right now.

There are extremes, mainly in the House, that I worry about, but I think he speaks for the mainstream Republican Party on most issues, said Senator Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat, who had a lengthy conversation on the floor with Mr. McConnell about his health when the Senate convened Tuesday after a long summer recess. He can play an important role in his own ranks in helping us come up with a bipartisan solution to our challenges.

Mr. Biden, who has a track record of negotiating with Mr. McConnell, was among the first to reach out to the Republican leader last week after the episode in Kentucky and later offered public assurances about his condition. Officials in the Biden White House see Mr. McConnell as a figure they can depend on to avert a crisis, even though he might hold on to his cards until the last possible second.

It is a sensitive situation for both sides. Mr. McConnell is not particularly keen to be caught working hand in hand with Democrats, further infuriating his far-right critics, who already see him as a charter member of the swamp and what some of them call the uniparty mind-set in Washington. And Democrats do not want to be seen as cozying up to Mr. McConnell after their experiences dealing with him in a long string of toxic confrontations, such as when he blocked President Barack Obama from filling a Supreme Court seat for a year, keeping it open until it could be filled by Donald J. Trump.
Peter Navarro, a former trade adviser to President Donald J. Trump, was convicted on Thursday of two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

The verdict, coming after nearly four hours of deliberation in Federal District Court in Washington, made Mr. Navarro the second top adviser of Mr. Trumps to be found guilty in connection to the committees inquiry. Stephen K. Bannon, a former strategist for Mr. Trump who was convicted of the same offense last summer, faces four months in prison and remains free on appeal.

Mr. Navarro, 74, stood to the side of his lawyers table, stroking his chin as the verdict was read aloud. Each count carries a maximum of one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. A hearing to determine his sentence was scheduled for January.

Speaking outside the courthouse afterward, Mr. Navarro repeatedly vowed to appeal his conviction.

I am willing to go to prison to settle this issue, Im willing to do that, he said. But I also know that the likelihood of me going to prison is relatively small because we are right on this issue.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended Senator Dianne Feinstein for remaining in office after a series of health issues, dismissing concerns about Ms. Feinsteins continued ability to serve as a sexist double standard.

Speaking to Politico for an article published Thursday, Ms. Pelosi stressed that the California senator, a longtime colleague and neighbor, was doing OK and minimized Ms. Feinsteins recent fall, for which she was briefly hospitalized, as a very little fall, it was like nothing.

She suggested that the criticisms of Ms. Feinstein, 90, and questions related to her eventual retirement were gendered.

Its OK, you know, they can vote, and its all they need to do, Ms. Pelosi, 83, said of the rationalizations offered for male elected officials who have faced age-related health concerns. And then Dianne comes along and then theyre making such a fuss? Uh-uh. Its a guy thing, but thats the way the world is.
A coalition representing nearly every former president from Herbert Hoover to Barack Obama issued a collective call on Thursday to protect the foundations of American democracy and maintain civility in the nations politics.

The alliance of presidential centers and foundations for U.S. leaders dating back nearly a century, both Democrats and Republicans, is a historic first. Never before has such a broad coalition of legacy institutions from former administrations joined together on a single issue.

The statement is largely anodyne in its prose and is careful not to include specific examples that could seem to refer to a current or a former elected leader. But some of its wording, and its timing, appear to serve as a subtle rebuke of former President Donald J. Trump, who tried to overturn the last presidential election, continues to deny he lost and is now the Republican front-runner for 2024, even as he faces four criminal indictments.

Each of us has a role to play and responsibilities to uphold, the statement says. Our elected officials must lead by example and govern effectively in ways that deliver for the American people. This, in turn, will help to restore trust in public service. The rest of us must engage in civil dialogue; respect democratic institutions and rights; uphold safe, secure and accessible elections; and contribute to local, state or national improvement.
On Thursday night, the air defense forces destroyed 25 attack drones out of 33 launched, which attacked Odesa and Sumy regions, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Thursday morning.

"Based on the results of combat work by the forces and means of the Air Force, in cooperation with the air defense of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, 25 Shahed-136/131s were destroyed," the AFU Air Force said on Telegram.

It is specified that the enemy attacked the Sumy and Odesa regions with several groups of attack UAVs of the Shahed-136/131 type from the northern, southeastern and southern directions (Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk  Russia, Cape Chauda  temporary occupied territories, Crimea).
Two men have pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in connection with attacks on several electrical substations that left thousands of customers around Tacoma, Wash., without power on Christmas Day last year, a criminal pact that the authorities said was part of a burglary scheme to rob A.T.M.s and local businesses.

Jeremy Crahan, 40, and Matthew Greenwood, 32, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to damage energy facilities and could each face up to 20 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $250,000, according to the plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma. However, prosecutors are recommending that the defendants be sentenced to no more than 21 months, according to the plea deal.

Mr. Greenwood, who has been in intensive drug treatment since his arrest, entered a plea agreement in April, and Mr. Crahan pleaded guilty on Tuesday.

As part of the agreement, the Justice Department dropped a charge of possession of an unregistered firearm against Mr. Greenwood. Mr. Greenwood was in the possession of a short-barreled rifle, equipped with what appeared to be a homemade silencer, and a short-barreled shotgun when he was arrested late last year, prosecutors said.
The notorious Tenderloin. Its a symbol of so many problems afflicting San Francisco. Homelessness, drug overdoses, retail theft, general filth.

But I have to admit, its one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city.

The Tenderloin reminds me of New York in the 1980s, unkempt, unsanitized, the intersection of Bleecker and the Bowery. There are stretches of sidewalk in the Tenderloin where you have to hold your breath  and close your eyes.

At the same time, there is arguably no other place in the city where its easier to strike up a conversation. Life happens on the street in the Tenderloin, not cloistered behind closed doors. The neighborhood has been home to waves of immigrant families from countries spanning Vietnam to Yemen. There are hole-in-the-wall art galleries. Dive bars. And I challenge anyone to find better Thai food in California than in the restaurants of the Tenderloin. (My favorites: Lapats Thai Noodles Bar, Zen Yai, Lers Ros Thai.)

Two weeks ago, I took a walk through the Tenderloin with Jonathan Carver Moore, who owns an art gallery on Market Street on the edge of the district. Moore shares my fascination with the Tenderloin, and he once gave tours of the place.
Ali Bongo Ondimba, who was deposed as president of Gabon last week in a coup that ended his familys decades-long grip on power in the central African nation, is no longer subject to house arrest and is free to leave the country, the ruling military junta has said.

Mr. Bongos health has long been a concern after he suffered a stroke five years ago and was often seen walking with a cane. The military said in a statement read on national television on Wednesday night that he would be allowed to travel overseas for medical care.

The announcement from the military came two days after the leader of the coup, Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema, a cousin of the ousted leader and the head of the elite Republican Guard that was tasked with guarding him, was sworn in as Gabons new leader.

After taking the oath on Monday, General Nguema promised to hold free and fair elections but did not indicate when or how they would take place.
Nyamut Gai lost everything four years ago when armed militias stormed through her village in South Sudan, a landlocked African country tormented by civil war, famine and flooding.

Desperate, she and her family fled almost 600 miles north across the border to Sudan, where she worked as a cleaner in the capital, Khartoum, and began to settle in. But then, a fierce war broke out in Sudan in mid-April between rival factions of the military, sending her packing yet again.

As she and her family made the weekslong journey by foot and bus from Khartoum, her 1-month-old son began coughing and withering away from hunger, and soon died. When she finally crossed the border into South Sudan, any sense of relief she felt was shattered when her 3-year-old son succumbed to measles.

We are not safe anywhere, Ms. Gai, 28, said on a recent morning at a muddy and congested aid center in Renk, a town in South Sudan.
Five people died last week when a hillside elevator plunged into a ravine at a resort on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. The victims were not international tourists, but young men and women who cleaned the propertys Instagrammable, hundreds-of-dollars-a-night pool villas.

As of Thursday, the Bali police were still investigating how the glass elevators cable snapped at the Ayuterra Resort on Sept. 1, killing the five workers, aged 19 to 24.

But this much is clear: The accident highlights the vulnerabilities of the labor force serving the foreign guests who see the island as a tropical paradise, and whose spending drives Indonesias tourism economy.

Many of the workers who power Balis hotels, resorts, restaurants, spas, yoga retreats and other tourism-dependent businesses grew up in villages around the island and attend vocational high schools that specialize in hospitality training. Some start their careers at 18 and typically earn less than $10 a day.
If youre ever in New Delhi and think you hear a monkey, dont assume its a monkey. It could be a professional monkey noise impersonator.

Thats because humans have been trained to imitate the guttural grunts and shrieks of gray langurs, a type of large monkey that can scare away the smaller kinds that tend to invade city officials residences or disrupt state visits.

This weekend, the impersonators will take on a fresh challenge: keeping monkeys, which often evade guards by swinging through tree canopies, from barging into venues for the Group of 20 summit of world leaders, the first to take place in India.

The event is an important one for India on the global stage, and the government does not want monkeys to steal the spotlight.
A top court in France on Thursday upheld a new government decree barring children in public schools from wearing the abaya, a loosefitting, full-length robe worn by some Muslim women, in a blow to critics who had called the ban discriminatory and had filed an emergency petition to strike it down.

The Council of State, Frances top administrative court, which has jurisdiction over disputes concerning civil liberties, ruled that the ban was not a serious and obviously illegal infringement of a fundamental freedom.

Wearing an abaya is part of a logic of religious affirmation, the court said in a statement, adding that the ban was therefore in line with a French law that prohibits the wearing by pupils of signs or clothing ostensibly expressing religious affiliation, either in and of themselves, or because of the pupils behavior.

Since 2004, students have not been able to wear ostentatious symbols that have a clear religious meaning, like Catholic crosses, Jewish skullcaps or Muslim head scarves, in middle and high schools.
A night of heavy rainfall compounded major flooding in central Greece, leaving some villages almost completely under water on Thursday and prompting the government to deploy armed forces to help rescue residents from the worst-hit areas.

At least six people have died in Greece as a result of the extreme weather conditions this week, according to the countrys fire service. And the toll could rise amid reports of missing residents.

Fire service vehicles were unable to reach many of the worst-hit spots because the water was so deep, reaching six feet in some parts, according to the government spokesman, Pavlos Marinakis. He said divers from the fire service were using dinghies to try to reach trapped residents but it was difficult for aircraft to access some of the areas because of lightning. The coast guard was sending divers to help in the rescue efforts.

In neighboring Turkey, at least nine people have been killed in floods that have hit multiple areas in the country since Sunday, including Istanbul, the most populous city.
Russian occupation officials are holding municipal and regional elections this week in four regions of Ukraine that Moscow has annexed, even as Ukrainian forces claw back territory in some of those areas in a grueling counteroffensive.

The voting is seen by Kyiv and its international allies as a fraudulent attempt by Moscow to tighten its grip on the territories it has illegally claimed in the south and east of Ukraine.

Voting began last week and runs until Sunday in the four partially occupied regions: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Together with Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, they make up about one-fifth of Ukrainian territory.

Early voting in some areas will end on Thursday, while in other places voting will be held over the weekend, according to the Russian news agency Tass. Ukraine and its allies say the results are a foregone conclusion, and will lead to many Kremlin-connected candidates winning office.
Rescue missions from such deepness are very rare, extremely difficult and need many very experienced cave rescuers, it said.

Image A photo released by the National Cave Rescue Commission shows Mark Dickey in Mentone, Ala., in May. Credit... National Cave Rescue Commission, via Reuters

The Speleological Federation of Turkey, which is helping with the rescue, said Thursday that Mr. Dickeys condition had improved and that he might be able to leave the cave with help.

Mark is getting better, the federation wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Doctors will decide whether it is possible for him to come out without a stretcher.

Yaman Ozakin, a spokesman for a rescue team affiliated with the Speleological Federation of Turkey, said a plan was underway to send a special harness to the cave that included a seat to lift Mr. Dickey, out of the cave. But extracting him that way could take a long time, he said.

It would take 15 hours for a perfectly healthy, experienced caver to come out from that depth, Mr. Ozakin said, adding that the cave was full of narrow, meandering passageways.
Number of casualties of missile attack on Kostiantynivka rises to 51  Defense Ministry

As a result of a Russian S-300 missile attack on the town of Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk district, Donetsk region, the number of victims has increased to 34 wounded and 17 dead, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has said on Wednesday.

"The rescue efforts in Kostyantynivka, Donetsk region, have been concluded after a russian S-300 ballistic missile hit an outdoor market... 17 civilians were killed (including a child) and 34 were injured," the ministry said on Twitter.
The images of Russian troops retreating from a village in Ukraine under fire leave little doubt of the impact of cluster munitions. Soldiers running from a constellation of at least a dozen explosions around them. An armored vehicle speeding down a road before being hit in a cascade of simultaneous eruptions salting the surrounding ground.

The August drone footage of the Russian withdrawal from the southeastern village of Urozhaine, verified by The New York Times, highlights the power of the weapons. But their usage also points to a grim trade-off in the 18-month conflict. By embracing cluster munitions to keep this summers counteroffensive moving forward, Ukraine and the United States have opened themselves to human rights concerns about their long-term threat to civilians who inadvertently trigger unexploded bombs.

Now, two months after the United States shipped an initial tranche of the munitions to Ukraine to ensure its troops did not run out of ammunition, three American officials said the Biden administration is planning to send more, and soon.

One official said the weapons were key to helping Ukraine maintain the momentum its troops just recently gained on the southern front against Russian forces. All three of the officials spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.
But it doesnt change the historical judgment of Pius, which remains harsh, she said.

The churchs history of involvement in the persecution of Jews long predates Pius and the massacres of the last century. For well over a millennium, Jews were subjected to forced conversion, expulsion, censorship, mass murder by roving Christian mobs and life in ghettos. And that was all before the Inquisition got going.

In 1964, Pope Paul VI became the first pope to visit Israel, and in 1965, the church issued the Latin document Nostra Aetate, or In Our Times, which deplored antisemitism and said Jews could not collectively be blamed for the death of Jesus. In 2000, Pope John Paul II offered a sweeping apology for the mistreatment of Jews by Catholics, though he did not specifically apologize for the role of the church leadership in the gravest crimes, including the Holocaust.

In 2019, Pope Francis ordered the archives of Pius opened, saying, The church is not afraid of history. Initial evidence from those archives painted a picture of Pius as a pope whose fear of Communism, belief that the Axis powers would win the war and desire to protect the churchs interests and avoid alienating millions of German, and Nazi-sympathizing, Catholics, all motivated him to avoid confronting or offending Hitler.

David Kertzer, a Brown University professor who dug up some of that evidence and who has written several books on the popes of the early 20th century, said in a telephone interview that it was quite clear to historians that Pius XII never called on the Catholic institutions in Rome to shelter Jews during the German occupation and, while he was aware that it was happening, he was quite nervous about it, not wanting to antagonize the German authorities.

Pius certainly did not want Jews concealed in Vatican City, and very few were, he added.

Defenders of Pius XII, whose case for sainthood is still being evaluated, have long argued that he worked behind the scenes to help Jews. They have chalked up criticism of him to anti-Catholic animus. Other scholars say it will take years to plumb papers referring to Pius and paint a full picture of his papacy.
Lee made landfall in Nova Scotia on Saturday afternoon as a post-tropical cyclone after transitioning from a hurricane and slightly weakening earlier in the day. The storm produced winds near hurricane-force as it reached shore, forecasters from the National Hurricane Center said, and it caused tropical storm conditions along the province and coastal Massachusetts.

All tropical storm warnings related to Lee were discontinued as of late Sunday morning.

The storm meant New England was expected to experience weather similar to what occurs during a noreaster, said Andrew Loconto, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boston. During noreasters, which typically occur in late fall and through the winter months, large waves crash ashore and often flood some coastal roads.

The diminished storm produced strong tropical-storm-force winds that extended far from its epicenter and reached the coastline.
Unlike many recent New York City transplants, Dina Elachi and Victor Wong started looking for a house in the Hudson Valley in 2019, before the Covid pandemic supercharged the market.

We had been coming up here a lot for biking, hiking, rock climbing and ice climbing, said Dr. Elachi, 36, a neonatologist and assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

The couple had known for a while that they wanted to move out of their East Harlem apartment, but it wasnt until Dr. Elachi was about to finish a three-year fellowship and start a higher-paying staff position that they got serious about their search. Another catalyst was Wonton, the Jindo mix from Korea they adopted mid-pandemic.

The area we were in wasnt good for Wonton, Dr. Elachi said. There were a lot of rats in New York City that he liked to hunt, and there were dogs in our building that would jump on him and scare him.

The timing thrust Wontons humans into a fiercely competitive Hudson Valley housing market, as many New Yorkers were scrambling to find homes outside the city.

[Did you recently buy a home? We want to hear from you. Email: thehunt@nytimes.com]

Dr. Elachi and Mr. Wong, 34, an environmental engineer for a New Zealand consulting firm, hoped to find a sizable property in Ulster County near the Mohonk Preserve and Minnewaska State Park Preserve. At one place they visited, they started chatting with the listing agent, Laurel Sweeney, an associate broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Nutshell Realty.

It was really tough for buyers then, Ms. Sweeney said. And they were going to have a mortgage, and we were up against cash. They knew in this market that they would have to make some compromises.

The couples budget was about $700,000, and they planned to finance the purchase through a special loan for physicians with medical school debt, which would allow them to offer a small down payment and forgo private mortgage insurance.

Of course, as Ms. Sweeney reminded them, For most sellers, a lower down payment would not be a good thing. It was up to me to sell the story of allowing someone with debt to do what Americans want to do, which is own a home.

The search was very exhausting, Dr. Elachi said. I came up after being on call and sometimes after long shifts to see houses, because it was very time sensitive.

Among their options:
A 60-year-old Spanish man who claims to be desperately lonely and suffering from serious health problems has been trying to be let into a state prison, because he doesnt want to commit any crimes.

Justo Marquez, a 60-year-old from Granada, Spain, has been standing outside the Alhaurin de la Torre Prison in Malaga for days, hoping to be allowed inside. He has been photographed holding a sign that reads I want to go to prison and he told journalists that he has already met with the prison warden who has so far denied his voluntary incarceration. Marquez, who reportedly suffers from cancer, depression, anxiety, and heart problems, said that he is desperate to stop being lonely 24 hours a day, and that prison is his best option to do that.

Photo: Milad Fakurian/Unsplash

I cant find help anywhere and going to prison is the best idea I had, but I dont want to commit any crime, Marquez told Spanish news agency EFE.

The Granada-born father of five children, whom he has not seen or spoken to in months, spent a couple of years in prison for drug possession, but claims he has been clean for three decades. Still, prison was the only familiar option to combat his loneliness, so he continues to beg to be let in.

Justo Marquez has been referred to mental health services several times in the past, but they have been of no help, so he finally decided to take desperate measures. Despite being denied entry by the Alhaurin de la Torre Prison warden, the 60-year-old plans to protest outside the gates until he is allowed inside. He is hopeful that his situation will eventually be resolved.

They have to find a solution. They cant leave me out here like this, he said.



Justo is not the only person to ever want to get sent to prison. What sets him apart from the other cases weve featured in the past is that he doesnt want to commit any crimes to get entry.
Joe Biden

Which Democratic Party leaders are going to finally tell president Joe Biden that he is too old to seek re-election? Time is running out.

Loyalty to the president is an admirable trait, but 80-year-old Biden has obviously lost more than a step or two.

He cannot use the same bunker campaign that he employed during the 2020 run during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He will be expected to launch an aggressive public campaign and press-the-flesh with voters throughout the land.

Thats especially true if Bidens opponent is not 77-year-old Donald Trump.

The younger and more energetic Republican opponent will jump on every Biden senior moment and trash him as a doddering old fool hungry to hang on to power. The contrast between the two rivals will be sharp.

Mitch McConnells recent mental freezing episodes came at a very bad time for Biden. The Senate Minority Leader is 81.

McConnells health scare is providing good fodder for Republican presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley. We cant worry about Mitch McConnell being frozen at a podium, she said. We cant have Joe Biden forget where he is.

Haley, 51, makes a strong case for the need to overthrow Americas political gerontocracy. Our enemies are watching all of this. And every time they have an instance like that America is less safe because our enemies think were out of control.

The former UN ambassador doesnt expect Biden to serve a full-term in office, campaigning that a vote for him is actually a vote for vice president Kamala Harris, who is not exactly ready for prime-time.

Biden is the most consequential American president of the 21st Century.

With little or no Republican support, he guided the country through the COVID-19 pandemic, crafted a huge infrastructure program, spurred the rebirth of the manufacturing sector, passed a comprehensive program to tackle global warming and rallied NATO allies to back Ukraine following Russias invasion.

By running for a second term, Biden risks tarnishing his legacy of excellence? And what does he expect to accomplish? Hes got to say more than just finishing the job.

A feeble presidential campaign would result in the Democrats losing control of the White House, Senate and the opportunity to re-take the House.

Biden needs a political intervention. Democrats should follow the playbook used by Republicans to get Richard Nixon to resign in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.

On August 7, 1974, Republican Senators Barry Goldwater (AZ) and Minority Leader Hugh Scott (PA), along with House Minority Leader John Rhodes met with Nixon to inform him that he was likely to be impeached and removed from office.

Tricky Dick announced his resignation the next day, effective at noon on August 9.

Biden has a deep love and respect for the institution of the Senate. Thats why Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY), Chris Coons (DE) and Chris Murphy (CT) should meet with him to tell the president that its time for him to announce that he is not seeking re-election.

The Democrats have plenty of presidential candidates on the bench, such as governors Gavin Newsom (CA), Gretchen Whitmer (MI) and Josh Shapiro (PA), who could mount a primary challenge to Harris. But they need time to set up a campaign apparatus and time is running short.

During the 2020 campaign, Biden ran as the candidate who was the bridge to the future.

Its time for him to make good on his promise.

What a hypocrite! Shooting his mouth off is long-shot GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamys way of drawing media attention to himself.

He has just achieved that. The 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur and founder of Roivant Sciences got some media notice for calling the Food and Drug Administration corrupt and in desperate need to be gutted.

FDA drug approvals are how Ramaswamy, who owns seven percent of Roivant, built his $1B fortune.

Mat Gline, Roivant CEO, distanced the company from Ramaswamys hit on the FDA.

Viveks views on the FDA are different than my personal views on the FDA and different than Roivants views on FDA, Gline told the Financial Times. We have an enormous amount of respect for FDA as our regulator, he said.

Ramaswamy resigned as Roivant chairman in February to run for president. He cant vanish from the national spotlight soon enough.

Trumps SPAC deal goes off life support. Shareholders at Digital World Acquisition Corp. voted on Sept. 6 to extend the deadline to Sept. 8, 2024 to complete the merger with Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of the Truth Social platform.

Eric Swider, DWAC CEO, said many headwinds are now behind the company as it works to complete the merger as quickly as possible.

He is overlooking the potential monster hurricane that could knock DWAC off course.

What if Donald Trump, the star of Truth Social, is denied access to a cellphone when he enters prison? Who is going to pick up the slack? Don, Jr.? Kimberly? Eric? Ivanka?


United Help Ukraine Seeks Pro Bono PR Tue., Oct. 24, 2023 United Help Ukraine, which was formed in DC in 2014, is seeking pro bono support to build a national PR plan to increase awareness and donations to support the people of Ukraine since the invasion by Russia.
To honour the forthcoming Bibliography of John Feehans works the Tribune is delighted to carry news of a prepublication offer and a thirty-question quiz with prizes of collections of new books from John and the biblio editor George Cunningham.

1. Which President of Ireland launched Laois, an Environmental History?

2. The Bogs of Ireland has a revised 2 nd edition in what format?

3. What national TV Award did JF win?

4. He co-wrote a Burren book about a famous Park/Demesne. Can you

name it?

5. In what African country did he teach in the early 1980s; what was his

subject?

6. The Dippers Acclaim has been translated into what oriental language?

7. Where have most of his books been designed and produced?

8. Odd man out: The Camcor; Grasslands of Ireland; Clare Island; Birds of

Brosnaland.

9. True or false: he was an Offaly Person of the Year.

10. Name his four large scale oblong folio volumes.

11. True or false: he gave a sermon at a recent Knock Novena.

12. What meadow features in a recent publication.

13. Name his doctoral student who went on to form Burrenbeo.

14. He edited an edition of one of these: Midland Tribune; The Birr Review;

Roscrea People; Bourney Reaching Out.

15. True or false: he is a member of the Royal Irish Academy.

16. What island off the west coast is the subject of a recent JF publication.

17. What mountains feature in his first major publication?

18. Odd bog out: Killaun, Boora, Derrinlough, Fadden More.

19. What visual series is carried on YouTube by John and his team.

20. What have these in common with JF: Pallaskenry, Ballinakill, TCD, UCD

and South Africa.

21. Name three of his classmates in primary school (three marks!).

(answer wont come against non-Birr people!!)

22. What year was he born?

23. Name three of his teachers in St.Brendans primary school (three

marks!  again answer wont come against non-Birr People).

24. Where was he the year before he returned to Ireland to continue his

geology studies at Trinity College.

25. Odd one out: The Grasses of Ireland; the Wildflowers of Offaly; The

Orchids of Ireland?

26. What is his favourite bird?

27. Which of his books is heaviest by weight?

28. John Feehan has written a new book about a river that will be published

later this year. What river is it?

29. What association has JF with An Tairseach and Dalgan Park.

30. What award did he receive in December 2021?

Answers to Parkmore Press, parkmorepress@gmail.com; or to George Cunningham Parkmore Roscrea; 0877926991 before 30 th September 2023.

Answers with email or phone/mobile please. The first three correct answers drawn from the correct answers submitted will win prizes of new books (by John Feehan and George Cunningham - including a signed copy of the bibliography and an invite to the launch) to the value of 150 each.

Correct answers will be printed later in the Tribune.
A Longford man who was jailed for eight and a half years after placing a bomb on a bus during late Queen Elizabeth's visit to Ireland over a decade ago is facing further criminal sanction after appearing this week

Seventy-three-year-old Donal Billings, of 2 Fee Court, Longford, came before a sitting of Longford District Court yesterday charged with defacing a wall belonging to Longford County Council with graffiti.

The incident, the court heard, took place at Fee Court on August 9, barely seven months after Mr Billings was released from prison after he was jailed in December 2016 for eight and a half years by the Special Criminal Court.

Sgt Enda Daly, in outlining the charge of criminal damage to the court, said gardai while on routine patrol came across the accused walking away from a wall with a paintbrush and a tub of paint in hand.

Presiding Judge Bernadette Owens was informed gardai later arrested Mr Billings and brought him to Longford garda station for questioning and where he was later charged.

When asked as to what Mr Billings had allegedly daubed on the wall, Sgt Daly said: 'No drugs, no drink, no damage."

Upon Mr Billings tendering a guilty plea after Judge Owens accepted jurisdiction, the court was told the accused had nine previous convictions to his name, the most recent of which was recorded at the non-jury Special Criminal Court on December 15, 2016.

They included convictions for offences under the Criminal Law Act of 1976 of knowingly making false reports tending to show that an offence had been committed and possession of explosives in suspicious circumstances.

That came after Mr Billings was found guilty in November 2016 of the unlawful possession of an explosive substance at Longford railway station car park on May 16th, 2011.

He was also found guilty of making a false report within the State on May 16th, 2011, that bombs had been placed at Busaras in Dublin and at Sinn Feins headquarters.

In defence, solicitor Brid Mimnagh said while Mr Billings' actions were motivated by a desire to "protest" at the rise in anti-social behaviour that had been taking place just yards from his front door.

"It's common knowledge that on a continuing basis there is alcoholic drinking going on down there and drug abuse and recently a lot of rubbish was left there.

"Mr Billings wanted to protest at this and was at his wits' end at this unruly behaviour and he took it upon himself to write this on the wall," she said.

Ms Mimnagh was equally at pains to stress Mr Billings never shied away from admitting his involvement and "stood his ground" when gardai came across him.

The court was told Mr Billings was not aggressive and co-operated with gardai throughout his arrest and subsequent detention.

In delivering her verdict, Judge Owens said while the court had to be mindful of Mr Billings' "very significant" previous convictions, it equally had to decide on the "proportionality" of any penalty it chose to hand down.

In giving Mr Billings credit for his early guilty plea, Judge Owens said the most appropriate sanction in those circumstances was to adjourn the case for a period of time to allow the accused tender a cash donation to Longford Tidy Towns.

She ordered Mr Billings to return with 250 to the court on January 2, 2024 for the purposes of disposing of the case.
The United States announces new assistance to Ukraine totalling more than $1 billion, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

"We will continue to stand by Ukraine's side, and today we're announcing new assistance totaling more than $1 billion in this common effort. That includes $665.5 million in new military and civilian security assistance. In total we committed over $43 billion in security assistance since the beginning of the Russian aggression," he said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Blinken said since he was last in Ukraine almost exactly a year ago, Ukrainian forces have reclaimed more than 50% of the territory captured by Russian forces since February 2022.

"In the ongoing counteroffensive, progress has accelerated in the past few weeks. This new assistance will help sustain it and build further momentum," he said.

The Secretary of State also said the aid includes $175 million "that will provide significant support for Ukraine's air defenses  a critical need."

Another $100 million to support Ukraine's long-term military needs and $300 million to support law enforcement efforts to restore and maintain law and order in the liberated territories.

"We're sending our first delivery of mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles to Ukraine's border guards and police, some of whom I'll have an opportunity to visit with tomorrow. And we're providing critical assistance for demining to help clear Russian land mines, unexploded ordnance, and other daily remnants of war killing and maiming civilians," he said.

Blinken also focused on the fact that Ukraine is now the worlds most heavily mined country  30% of its territory is potentially covered with mines.

"The new security funding that were announcing today will also be bolstered by the arrival of U.S. Abrams tanks this fall and by training for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in the United States, complementing training that is already underway in Europe," he said.
When it comes to crafting cocktails, it always helps to hear the story and inspiration behind the drink  especially if youre rustling one up at home and want to add a little bit of theatre to your favourite tipple.

Its not often you get to pull back the curtain and understand why your favourite cocktails are made in a certain way, Ally Martin writes in his new book, The Curious Cocktail Cabinet.

Many of the bartenders I collaborated with have also shared their secret sauces and homemade ingredients that add extra depth and character to the cocktails, he reveals.

The book promises an eclectic mix of 100 recipes to highlight the versatility of gin  and Hendricks Gin in particular. The recipes range from easy peasy to curiously complex creations, perfect for cocktail hounds on the scent for something challenging.

Here are three faff-free favourites to get the party started

1. Brewberry Yum

Created by Philip Stefanescu, of Tropic City, Bangkok, Thailand: This bar packs a tropical punch. Its one of the best places to party and enjoy top-notch drinks.

Difficulty level  exceedingly easy

Phillip Stefanescu hails from Sweden and wanted to create a drink that reminded him of those Swedish midsummers.

The blueberry jam here works wonderfully when combined with Hendricks Gin, mixed with mint and topped with the hoppy bitterness of the local beer. Do this and youve got one cool summer serve on your hands.

Ingredients: 45ml gin, 25ml lemon juice, 25ml blueberry jam, 10ml simple syrup, 5 mint leaves, 30ml lager. Blueberries and mint sprig to garnish.

Method: Half-fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all the ingredients (except the lager) and shake. Strain into a highball filled with cubed ice, top up with lager and garnish with a few blueberries and sprig of mint.

2. Mint 500

Created by Jason Scott, Bramble Bar & Lounge, Edinburgh, Scotland: An underground Edinburgh institution that operates with military precision to deliver tasty, creative offerings against a backdrop of good tunes.

Difficulty level  absurdly effortless

Created back in 2006, this drink has always been one thats flown off the shelf and into the glasses of visitors to this hip-hop-filled cocktail haven.

There are a lot of great flavours in here, which create an incredibly fresh cocktail.

Ingredients: 50ml gin, 12.5ml pressed apple juice, 15ml freshly squeezed lime juice, 2.5ml vanilla syrup, 2.5ml elderflower cordial, 6 mint leaves, 2 basil leaves, 1 dash peach bitters, 1 dash egg white.

Method: Pour all ingredients into a shaker and dry shake (without ice). Then half-fill the shaker with ice and shake rapidly, fine-strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a basil leaf.

3. Nothing Com-Pears To You

Created by Tim Lefevre, Door 74, Amsterdam, Netherlands: A charming prohibition-era-themed bar serving up a mix of creative and classic cocktails.

Difficulty level  absurdly effortless

This drink is a twist on an old-school classic called the Tuxedo No.2. In this case, the maraschino is switched up for some delicious pear liqueur, which works perfectly with Hendricks Gin.

The absinthe bumps up all the bright notes found in the gin and the aromatic sweetness of the white vermouth builds on the gorgeous floral character of Hendricks. There are no crazy techniques required  what makes this drink is quality ingredients, good ice and nice glassware.

Ingredients (serves 6 to 8): 270ml gin, 270ml Dolin Blanc, 60ml pear liqueur, 12 dashes of orange bitters, 6 dashes absinthe, 140ml filtered water, lemon zest to garnish.

Method: Grab yourself a clean, empty 750ml glass bottle and use a funnel to add all the ingredients. Leave in your fridge to chill for at least three hours. To serve, shake well and pour into a chilled Nick & Nora glass or other stemmed glass, garnish with lemon zest.

Extracted from The Curious Cocktail Cabinet by Ally Martin, published by Ebury Press, priced 20. Photography by Haarala Hamilton. Available now.
One Irish weather expert has said that the weather in Greenland could end up bringing cooler weather to Ireland this winter.

It is quite a while away but Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather has been analysing long range forecasts to try and predict what type of winter we will get in Ireland over the coming months.

While he admitted the long range forecasts beyond ten days are "very poor," he did signal a weather trend in Greenland that could affect Ireland in the long run.

Alan said: "Long range forecasts are still sadly generally very poor and forecasting beyond 10 days is uncertain.

"However, overall long range trend forecasts are interesting to look at and the latest ECMWF seasonal forecast for winter shows an increased risk of a cooler winter with high pressure forecast over Greenland."

Alan did stress the unpredictability of weather models this far out but that it "will be interesting to look back on this in a few months."

Meanwhile, Met Eireann's extended range forecast only runs to the end of September and predicts a largely dry month ahead.

Temperatures will remain in the mid-20s this week with the risk of some showers in the coming weeks, as well as wetter and more changeable weather from around September 18.
Ukraine has submitted to Turkiye a proposal to reopen the grain corridor without Russia, but no response has been received yet, Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkiye Vasyl Bodnar said at a press conference on Thursday.

"The proposal to work [the grain corridor] without Russia was transferred to the Turkish side. There is no final confirmation yet. But since the ships [with grain] are already sailing through the territorial waters of Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkiye and are passing straits without restrictions, this is actually a rational way," the diplomat said.

He recalled that within the framework of the Grain Initiative there were quite frequent cases when the aggressor country restricted the passage of ships to Ukraine or tried to regulate access to a particular Ukrainian port. In addition, the list of products that could be exported from the territory of Ukraine was limited.

According to Bodnar, since there are no export restrictions on Ukrainian products for ships that pass through this humanitarian corridor, such an alternative may be one of the main options for resolving the situation.

At present, communication efforts between Turkiye and the UN continues after negotiations with both Ukraine and Russia to develop agreed positions. The participants in the negotiation process expect "communication between Ukraine and Turkiye at the highest level." According to the ambassador, they may take place in the coming days or within the framework of the UN General Assembly.

"Of course, we take a constructive position in relation to our partners Turkiye and the UN and mediators and will develop mechanisms that will be beneficial to our side, but will not damage the principled position on lifting sanctions against Russia  this is an absolutely false path," Bodnar said.
Smriti Irani To Forfeit Deposit, Rahul Gandhi To Be PM: UP Congress President Ajay Rai

Ajay Rai, Uttar Pradesh Congress president predicts that Union minister Smriti Irani will lose her seat in Amethi while asserting that his party leader, Rahul Gandhi is set to become the nations prime minister. He also criticized BJP over recent incidents at a union minister's house.

India

-Krishna Kripa

Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai recently made a bold assertion, stating that sitting MP Smriti Irani will lose her deposit from the Amethi seat in the upcoming election and Rahul Gandhi will ascend to the position of Prime Minister. This claim comes as part of a broader discussion on the political dynamics at play in Uttar Pradesh and across India.

Rai's Political Predictions

Rai's comments were made during his participation in Janmashtami festivities in Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh. The Congress leader confidently predicted an upset for Union Minister Smriti Irani, who had previously defeated senior Congress leader and former Amethi representative, Rahul Gandhi, in the 2019 general elections. "Union minister Smriti Irani is going to forfeit her deposit in Amethi," Rai said.

Yogi Govt Cancels Sunday Holiday In Uttar Pradesh Schools For This Reason

Furthermore, he expressed optimism about Congress' performance in next year's Lok Sabha election. He stated that not only would they register a rousing performance across the country but also see Rahul Gandhi become prime minister. "In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, you will see that Rahul Gandhi will become the prime minister," he added.

Criticisms towards BJP

In addition to his predictions about electoral outcomes, Rai also took aim at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), suggesting it should focus more on its internal issues rather than its electoral ambitions. This criticism was prompted by recent events involving Union Minister Kaushal Kishore's son Vikas Kishore - specifically referring to a murder case of a 30-year-old man at Vikas Kishores home last week.

"The BJP needs to first take a look at what was happening at the house of its own minister", Rai argued. He further suggested that BJP should abandon hopes of winning all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh or even retaining their hold over Amethi and Raebareli constituencies - areas which have traditionally been strongholds for members of Gandhi family.

Kerala Governor's Convoy Attacked in Uttar Pradesh, 2 Arrested

Gandhi Family Support

Rai emphasized on how both Amethi and Raebareli have always stood with Gandhi family historically and are likely to continue this trend moving forward despite previous electoral setbacks."They [Amethi & Raebareli] have always stood with Gandhi family and will always stand with them", he added.

In conclusion, these remarks by UP Congress president Ajay Rai highlight not only his confidence regarding future successes for their party but also reflect underlying tensions between two major political parties i.e., BJP & Indian National Congress ahead of crucial state assembly elections scheduled next year followed by general elections due later in 2024.
Border Roads Organisation Constructs Strategic Nyoma Airfield In Ladakh: A Major Boost For IAF

Estimated at Rs 218 crore, the construction of an airfield at the strategic belt of eastern Ladakh, Nyoma is set to begin under the supervision of the Border Roads Organisation. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will lay down the foundation stone on September 12 via videoconferencing. The move aims to enhance India's defence capabilities along its northern borders.

India

-Krishna Kripa

India is set to bolster its strategic air assets and infrastructure in the northern border region of Ladakh with a new airfield. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) will construct the airfield at an estimated cost of Rs 218 crore in the Nyoma belt of eastern Ladakh, one of India's most critical defence regions. This move comes as part of India's ongoing efforts to strengthen its military capabilities amid rising tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

Nyoma Airfield: A Strategic Asset

The proposed Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground has been instrumental for transportation purposes during the stand-off with China since 2020. It has witnessed operations involving Chinook heavy-lift choppers and C-130J special operations aircraft, showcasing its potential as a strategic asset for Indian defence forces. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for this significant project on September 12 through video conferencing.

Boosting Air Infrastructure in Ladakh

The construction of this airfield will considerably enhance the existing air infrastructure in Ladakh and significantly augment the IAF's Indian Air Force capability along our northern borders," stated a Defence PRO. Located at an altitude of 13,400 feet, Nyoma is about 46 kilometres from the LAC with China, making it strategically crucial for India's defense setup.

'China Has Encroached On Our Land In Ladakh': Rahul Gandhi Reacts To Map Row

Additional Infrastructure Projects

Apart from constructing this vital airfield, Singh also plans to inaugurate and dedicate to the nation several other infrastructure projects built by BRO worth Rs 2,941 crore. These include reconstructed and revamped Bagdogra and Barrackpore airfields that are expected to improve connectivity and boost overall operational efficiency.

Funding & Construction Details

The development of this advanced landing ground will be undertaken by BRO at an estimated cost of Rs 218 crore. This investment underscores Indias commitment towards strengthening its military capabilities amidst heightened security concerns along its borders.

In conclusion, these developments highlight Indias proactive approach towards enhancing its defensive capabilities amidst increasing geopolitical tensions. The construction of Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground not only signifies a major step forward in boosting aerial operational capacity but also underlines Indias resolve in safeguarding national security interests against any potential threats or incursions along our borders. With improved infrastructural facilities across key defence areas such as Ladakh, we can expect enhanced vigilance and readiness among our armed forces while reinforcing India's position on global defense platforms.
Congress Leader Slams IIT-Mandi Director Over 'Unscientific' Remarks

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has criticized Laxmidhar Behera, the director of IIT Mandi, over his controversial remarks. Behera reportedly claimed that eating meat was causing landslides and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh. In response, Ramesh stated that such unscientific theories damage the spirit of scientific temper.

India

-Krishna Kripa

In a recent development, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has expressed his disapproval of IIT-Mandi Director Laxmidhar Behera's capacity to hold his position. This comes after Behera allegedly stated that the occurrence of cloudbursts and landslides in Himachal Pradesh are due to meat consumption by people. The statement was shared as part of a news report which sparked controversy and raised questions about the scientific basis of such claims.

Questioning Scientific Temper

Ramesh took to social media platform X on Thursday, September 7th, expressing his concern over this matter. He emphasized that the longer Behera remains in office, more damage he could potentially inflict on the spirit of scientific temper. In his post, Ramesh also referred to other instances where influential figures have made questionable statements regarding science.

The Congress leader highlighted how Prime Minister had spoken about plastic surgery being known to our ancestors and also told children that it is not climate change but we who have changed. He further pointed out how a senior Minister confused Newton with Einstein while another justified Darwin's exclusion from textbooks.

A Flabbergasting Statement

"Now, this simply flabbergasting statement from the Director of a prestigious institution!!!", Ramesh wrote on X. "He actually has shown he is not fit to hold the position. The longer he stays, more damage he will do to the spirit of scientific temper."

Ramesh underscored how blending science with spirituality is one thing but mixing it up with crackpot theories put forth by those in power positions is quite another ball game altogether.

Controversy Over Meat Consumption

Laxmidhar Behera stirred up controversy when he asked students at IIT Mandi to pledge not to eat meat, attributing landslides and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh to meat consumption. This statement sparked a heated debate on the scientific validity of such claims, raising concerns about the impact of such ideas on young minds.

In conclusion, this incident brings to light the importance of maintaining a scientific temper among those holding influential positions in academia. It underscores the need for responsible communication from these individuals considering their ability to shape public opinion and influence young minds. The controversy also highlights how unverified statements can create confusion and misinformation among people, thereby stressing upon the necessity for leaders in educational institutions like IITs to uphold scientific rigor and integrity above all else.
Top Delhi Police Official Checks Border Security Ahead of G20 Summit

Special Commissioner Dependra Pathak inspects the Singhu border as part of security preparedness ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit. He emphasizes seamless law and order during the event.

India

-Krishna Kripa

In anticipation of the upcoming G20 Leaders Summit, Delhi Police are taking proactive measures to ensure robust security in the national capital's bordering areas. The summit, scheduled for September 9-10, is expected to attract more than 30 heads of state and top officials from both the European Union and invited guest countries. Additionally, 14 heads of international organisations will be present at this high-profile event.

Security Preparedness Inspection

A top official from the Delhi Police force conducted a thorough inspection on Thursday to evaluate security preparedness ahead of the summit. Special Commissioner of Police Law and Order Dependra Pathak visited Singhu border where he issued directives to personnel regarding their roles during this critical period. He instructed officers to report any mishaps or incidents promptly to senior officials.

Ensuring Seamless Law and Order

A video posted on Delhi Polices official handle showed Pathak addressing officers stationed at Singhu border. Emphasising on the gravity of their duty, he warned that any incident occurring at this location could potentially escalate into an international issue given the global significance attached with G20 Summit.

Pathak later told reporters that efforts are underway by police forces across Delhi to ensure seamless law and order during the summit. A dedicated segment within Delhi Police has been assigned specifically for overseeing preparations around G20 Summit area.

Strategic Deployment Across Delhi

The Special Commissioner further highlighted that there is a strong, adequate, and strategic deployment of forces throughout Delhi with an aim to maintain peace and harmony amid these crucial days leading up to and during the summit. He reiterated his commitment towards ensuring a seamless law-and-order situation while expressing confidence in his team's readiness for handling potential challenges.

Last Words

An anonymous official from Delhi Police confirmed Pathak's visit to Singhu border and his directives for immediate reporting of any mishaps. He further assured that the police force is fully prepared for the summit, with comprehensive security arrangements in place.

In conclusion, Delhi Police are making concerted efforts to ensure a secure environment during the G20 Leaders Summit. With strategic deployment of forces, vigilant monitoring of bordering areas, and seamless law-and-order situation as their top priorities, they aim to facilitate a successful meeting of international leaders while maintaining peace and harmony in the national capital.
Dengue Cases In Bengaluru: Monitoring App To Be Launched On Sept 8

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

In response to the rising number of dengue cases in Bengaluru, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao convened a meeting on Thursday with officials from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) health department to assess the situation. During the meeting, the minister announced that the government would release dengue monitoring applications on September 8. According to reports, more than 3,000 dengue cases have been reported.

Over the past two months, the city has experienced a surge in dengue cases. This year, the Bengaluru East division reported the highest number of cases, with 1,218, followed by the south division with 1,003 cases. The Mahadevapura zone recorded 875 cases, while the east zone had 635 dengue patients.

Following the meeting, the Health Minister emphasized that additional precautions would be implemented to prevent dengue cases in the city.

"We have observed an uptick in dengue cases. We have discussed strategies to prevent the disease. The stagnant rainwater is leading to an increase in Aedes mosquitoes. In July, there were 1,649 cases, in August, there were 1,589, and in September, 416 cases have been reported. There are six labs in the BBMP, and I have instructed them to scale up testing," the minister stated.

Acknowledging the shortage of medical staff within the BBMP, the minister outlined steps to address the issue.

'Sanatana Dharma Is Like Malaria, Dengue': Tamil Nadu CM's Son Udhayanidhi Stalin

"We are aware of the shortage of ANM (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) staff. We have decided to increase their salaries by Rs 6,000. Previously, they received Rs 12,000, and now they will receive Rs 18,000. There is a shortage of 179 ANM workers," Rao disclosed.

Additionally, the minister highlighted the development of a dengue monitoring application designed to track the activities of health workers.

"This app will provide insight into whether the workers are effectively carrying out spray operations in specific areas and whether surveys have been conducted adequately. It has been custom-built for Bengaluru to enhance transparency and will be officially launched on September 8," the minister said.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 7, 2023, 18:00 [IST]
Salome Zourabichvili, the President of Georgia, held a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. Zourabichvili personally shared a video of the meeting on her social media platform.In the video, President Zurabishvili mentioned that she had a productive discussion with the French President concerning Georgia's EU candidacy status.The French President stated that he had hosted the President of Georgia for discussions on Georgia's EU candidacy and the future of the region."Also, I want to express my support for the brave fight for democracy, the rule of law, and what I believe to be the future of the Georgian people - a truly European path.I wish you all the best of luck. I will continue to support Ms President on this journey in the coming days, months, and years, which is very important for both you and us," said Macron.Parliament has increased the number of votes required for CEC Election Administration of Georgia's Chairperson again.According to the upcoming changes to the election code, electing the chairman will now necessitate 90 votes (3/5 majority). In cases where 90 votes cannot be obtained, the election will proceed with 76 votes (simple majority). The parliament is set to expedite the consideration of this bill.As per the proposed legislation, candidates can receive support with 76 votes on two occasions, and those elected with 76 votes will commence their 5-year term in office. If even 76 votes cannot be gathered, the matter will be referred to the president for a decision.The amendments to the electoral legislation and parliamentary regulations will maintain the provision that the Speaker of the Parliament will initiate the candidate selection process instead of the President. Additionally, the Speaker of the Parliament will be responsible for submitting nominations for the CEC Chairperson and CEC members to the Parliament.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukrainian border guards on Thursday, first American MRAP armored vehicles were handed over to the Ukrainian Border Guard Service and police.

"Visited border guards to see how they continue to protect Ukraine's territory and people. We are providing $300 million in new funding to Ukraine's law enforcement sector to continue this important work. The United States remains united with Ukraine," he said on X social network (formerly Twitter).

In turn, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink posted a joint photo with U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and said that today, the first U.S.-provided Mine Resistant Ambush Protection (MRAP) vehicles were handed over to Ukraine's border guards and police.

"The United States will give 190 MRAPs to enable Ukraine's brave law enforcement officers to protect civilians  especially those near the frontlines," she said on X social network.
'Didnt Enter Temple When Asked..'.: Siddaramaiah's Remarks Amid Sanatana Row Draw Flak

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding the "anti-Hindu" label faced by the opposition, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has sparked a fresh debate with his comments about certain Hindu temples requiring men to remove their shirts and wear an 'angavastra'. He recounted an incident from the past when he refused to enter a temple in Kerala after being asked to remove his shirt, denouncing it as an inhumane practice and an affront to God.

"I once visited a temple in Kerala where they insisted I remove my shirt before entering. I firmly declined and chose to pray from outside. It's worth noting that they didn't ask everyone to do this, just a select few. Such a practice is inhumane...all individuals are equal in the eyes of God," Siddaramaiah remarked during the celebration of social reformer Narayana Guru's 169th birth anniversary.

This controversy arises within the backdrop of the opposition coalition, INDIA, coming under scrutiny following comments by DMK leader Udayanidhi Stalin about Sanatana Dharma, which were subsequently followed by remarks from Karnataka's Home Minister G Parameshwara regarding the origins of Hinduism.

Several temples in South India adhere to the tradition of requiring men to remove their shirts before approaching the inner sanctum, allowing them to wear an 'angavastra,' which is a shoulder cloth or stole-like garment. Prominent temples like the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kuke Subramanya, Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy Temples in Karnataka, and the Mantralayam Temple in Andhra Pradesh uphold this practice.

Siddaramaiah Questions BJP's Leadership As Congress Marks 100 Days In Karnataka

The BJP has criticized Siddaramaiah's stance and labeled it as a continuation of his "anti-Hindu" position. PC Mohan, Bengaluru Central MP from the saffron camp, asserted, "The Congress has consistently taken an anti-Hindu stance; they make such statements merely to appease a particular community. The tradition of not wearing shirts when visiting temples in Kerala has been in place for a thousand years, and we follow it. Some temples are even restricting jeans and shorts now. In the past, we used to wear dhotis. Thus, a certain dress code should be observed."

It's worth noting that during Siddaramiah's initial term as chief minister, the BJP had accused him of consuming meat before visiting the Dharmasthala temple in 2017.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 7, 2023, 16:54 [IST]
G20 Edges Toward African Union Membership, Name Change Appears Unlikely

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The G20 nations are edging closer to an agreement to admit the African Union (AU) as a member of the group, with an official announcement expected during the upcoming summit hosted by India over the weekend, according to HT reports.

The inclusion of the AU, consisting of 55 African nations established in 2002, has been incorporated into the draft leaders' declaration currently under negotiation by G20 member states. While the proposal faces no immediate veto from any G20 member, it remains uncertain whether the AU's membership will be finalized at the New Delhi summit on September 9-10 or during the Brazilian presidency of the G20 in 2024.

In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged G20 counterparts to grant the AU full membership following a request from the AU itself. Russian Sherpa Svetlana Lukash confirmed that the draft leaders' declaration includes text regarding the AU's admission and mentioned that President Vladimir Putin, despite skipping the G20 Summit, supported the AU's candidacy during the Russia-Africa Summit in July.

The G20 consists of 19 countries and the European Union (EU), which also supports the AU's inclusion. Should the AU be admitted, it is expected to enjoy the same status as the 27-member EU, the sole regional bloc with full G20 membership. Importantly, the inclusion of the AU is not anticipated to prompt a change in the G20's name.

Leaders of EU member states within the G20-France, Italy, Germany, and the UK-are scheduled to hold a meeting with leaders of AU member states attending the G20 Summit, including Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Mauritius, and Comoros, in New Delhi on September 9. The meeting is part of the EU's outreach to the Global South, with discussions likely to encompass global institution reforms, multilateral development banks, infrastructure projects, investment, and resolution of regional conflicts in Africa.

G20 Summit: Traffic Curbs In Delhi From Tonight, Schools Shut Tomorrow | Details Here

The current G20 member states represent approximately 85% of global GDP, over 75% of global trade, and roughly two-thirds of the world's population. The AU's inclusion is expected to give African nations a more substantial voice in addressing global challenges, including climate transition, debt restructuring, and sustainable development.

Meanwhile, G20 state negotiators are continuing discussions to resolve differences on issues delaying the consensus outcome document, primarily the Ukraine crisis. Russia and China remain opposed to any text referring to the conflict. An official from a G7 state suggested that China's approach appeared aimed at obstructing all proposals from India. One proposal to break the deadlock involved issuing two separate outcome documents: one focusing on economic and developmental matters and another addressing geopolitical issues like the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, this proposal did not find favor with the G7 states.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 7, 2023, 23:30 [IST]
G20 Summit 2023: Are Liquor Shops In Delhi Open Or Closed? Deets Inside

India

oi-Prakash KL

A lot of traffic restrictions will come into effect in New Delhi in view of the G20 Summit which will be held on September 9 and 10.

All online delivery services, except medicines, will be barred in the New Delhi district during the G20 Summit.

There were speculations doing rounds that the sale of liquor in the national capital is barred during the two-day event. As a result, people rushed to the liquor shops to pile up the stock.

However, there is no truth in the rumours. All the liquor shops will remain open over the weekend in the National Capital Region.

How G20 Summit Hopes To Unlock Trillions For Development, Climate Fight

An employee working at a liquor store told Hindustan Times, "There has been a 20% increase in walk-in customers since August 22."

"People are thinking 'Khatam na ho jaye'. Ya phir unhe lag raha hai ki sab jagah theke band ho jayenge is time period mein'. This is not true yet customers have been flocking the store, and there has been a non-stop rush for an assortment of hard liquor bottles," the employee is quoted as saying in the report.

According to an official announcement, liquor stores within the New Delhi Police District, primarily covering Lutyen's Delhi, will undergo a temporary closure for a duration of three days commencing on September 8. This development, however, triggered widespread speculation about a potential lockdown in Delhi, causing a surge of individuals rushing to their local liquor outlets.

Later, the Delhi Police stated that the reports are "factually not correct" as only commercial establishments in the "controlled zone" will be shot for the 3 days. However, there are no restrictions in the NCR region.

G20 Summit: In Which Hotel Are Biden, Sunak, Trudeau Going To Stay In Delhi?

"Regarding the G20 summit, rumours are spreading that Delhi will be under lockdown at that time. It is factually not correct. As a number of heads of States are coming and international organisations are joining, that's why we have made a 'Controlled zone' in the New Delhi district. All the commercial establishments have been closed in this area for three days (8-10 Sept). We have been advising people to travel by Delhi Metro. Bonafide residents of the restricted zone will be allowed to move by displaying a valid ID. No restriction on the movement of essential commodities coming through Delhi borders," Delhi Police PRO Suman Nalwa told news agency ANI.

The entire area of New Delhi district will be considered as "Controlled Zone-I" from the morning of September 8 till 11: 59 pm on September 10.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 7, 2023, 16:28 [IST]
Biden On Hamas Attack: They Knew I Was About To Sit Down With The Saudis

G20 Summit: Biden, Sunak And Other Leaders To Land In Delhi Tomorrow; Check Arrival Schedule Of World Leaders

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Foreign dignitaries have started arriving in India ahead of the G20 Summit, which will be held in New Delhi on September 9-10. The summit will be hosted at the newly constructed Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre in Pragati Maidan. Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has already landed in Delhi, and other leaders are expected to arrive in the coming days.

US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are all scheduled to arrive in India on Friday. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will also be landing in India on the same day.

British PM Rishi Sunak:

Rishi Sunak, the Indian-origin British Prime Minister, is expected to touch down in Delhi at 1:40 pm on Friday, September 8. He will receive a warm welcome from Union Minister for State, Ashwini Kumar Choubey. In anticipation of his arrival in India, Sunak commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, stating, "I pay tribute to Prime Minister Modi's leadership over the last year, and it's wonderful to see India showing such global leadership." Reports suggest that Sunak's relatives in India have planned an elaborate reception in New Delhi.

Japanese PM Fumio Kishida:

Following Sunak, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is another prominent leader set to land at Palam Air Force Station at 2:15 pm. He will also be received by MoS Ashwini Kumar Choubey. This marks Kishida's second visit to India, having previously undertaken a two-day visit in March of this year. Prime Minister Modi mentioned that both leaders discussed the entirety of India-Japan relations and emphasized the focus areas for India's G-20 Presidency and Japan's G-7 Presidency, aimed at enhancing our planet.

US President Joe Biden:

US President Joe Biden is scheduled to arrive at 6:55 pm on Friday, with MoS Gen (retd) VK Singh present at the airport to extend a welcome. This visit marks Biden's first to India as President. There was some uncertainty about whether Biden would be able to attend the summit after his wife, Jill Biden, tested positive for Covid-19. However, he was given the green light to travel on September 6 after his test results came back negative.

Canada PM Justin Trudeau:

Immediately following Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to arrive in New Delhi at 7 pm. MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar will be there to receive him. Bilateral relations between India and Canada have faced challenges in recent years due to increased activities of Khalistani separatist groups in Canada, a concern that New Delhi has urged Ottawa to address.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang:

Chinese President Xi Jinping will not be attending the summit, but China will be represented by Premier Li Qiang, who is scheduled to land at 7:45 pm. Xi's absence from the G20 Summit raised speculation that China is signaling its unwillingness to accept the Western-dominated global order. However, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar played down Xi's absence, stating that it was "not unusual" and would not impact negotiations aimed at reaching a consensus communique during the meeting.

Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to arrive at 12:30 pm and will be welcomed by MOS Darshan Jardosh.

Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will land at 2:15 pm and will be greeted by MoS Choubey.

Italy

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to arrive at 6:20 am and will be received by MOS Shobha Karadlaje, according to sources close to ANI.

UAE President HH Shaikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan

UAE President HH Shaikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is set to arrive in the national capital at 8 pm, and he will be received by Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will land at 6:15 pm and will be received by Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

The heads of state of Germany and France are expected to arrive on September 9. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will land at 8 am and will be welcomed by MOS Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma.

France Emmanuel Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron will arrive at 12:35 pm and will be received by MOS Anupriya Patel.
G20 Summit: Bulletproof 'Beast' And Three-Layer Security Measures In Place For US Prez Biden

India

oi-Prakash KL

US President Joe Biden will be in India this week to participate in the G20 Summit and will have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 8 on the sidelines of the historic meeting.

"We commend Prime Minister Modi for his leadership of the G20 this year and we are committed to helping ensure that India has a successful G20 host as they host (the summit) this year," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday.

"So, that's going to continue to be our commitment. During Prime Minister Modi's visit here in June, the President (Biden) and the prime minister shared their determination to deliver on shared priorities at the summit," she said in response to a question. "The President is very much looking forward to continuing that work with the Prime Minister and other leaders later this week as we head out tomorrow," Jean-Pierre said.

President Joe Biden Set for Vital Indian Tour Amidst Wife's COVID Diagnosis

Biden's Security

For the first time, India will be hosting a powerful group of leaders from across the globe and India has made elaborate security arrangements for the G20 summit.

Security arrangements will involve a substantial contingent of personnel, including skilled snipers. The Indian Air Force will maintain fighter planes on standby, and rigorous surveillance of the airspace over the national capital will be in effect to detect any suspicious activities, including unmanned aerial vehicles and drones.

As far as US President Joe Biden's security is concerned, he will get a three-layer of security, according to a report in India Today.

The first layer comprises paramilitary force personnel, the second layer would have commandos from India's Special Protection Group and the last layer has secret service agents, the report said.

Air Force and Indian Army helicopters will maintain continuous surveillance over Delhi. These helicopters will carry Army and National Security Guard (NSG) commandos. Anti-drone systems will be strategically placed in various locations, and NSG and Army snipers will be positioned on tall buildings throughout Delhi.

The Delhi Police has been actively coordinating with the advance teams from different countries, addressing their security needs and concerns, the report said.

'Disappointed, But...': Biden On Reports Of Xi's No-Show At G20 Summit

The US President will be staying at the ITC Maurya Sheraton Hotel. All staff members will undergo thorough background checks, and individuals granted access to the 14th floor, where Joe Biden will be staying, will receive special access cards

The report further claims that a special lift has been installed to reach the 14th floor and about 400 rooms have been booked in the hotel.

He will be travelling on the United States presidential state car, nicknamed the Beas, Cadillac One. This will be flown from the US in a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, a large military transport aircraft.

The G20 Summit will be held on September 9 and 10.
Significant Shift in G20 Stance: No Mention of Russian Invasion at New Delhi Summit

G20 Summit: Traffic Curbs In Delhi From Tonight, Schools Shut Tomorrow | Details Here

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Preparations for a seamless and secure G20 Summit, scheduled for September 9-10 in the national capital, are in full swing. To ensure the safety of this major geopolitical event, the Delhi Police has issued a set of traffic restrictions that will be in effect from September 7 to 10.

Starting after midnight on September 7, traffic restrictions will be enforced at the Sirhaul border, remaining in place until midnight on September 10. During this period, heavy, medium, and light goods vehicles will not be permitted to enter Delhi from 9 pm today until midnight on Sunday.

As per a notification from the Delhi government, the entire district will be designated as a "Controlled Zone" from Friday morning until Sunday. Only legitimate residents and authorized vehicles, including those engaged in essential services like housekeeping, catering, waste management for hotels and hospitals, will be allowed to access areas such as India Gate and C-Hexagon.

-20  (  9  10  )  ,      



Traffic advisory in view of #G20Summit on Sept 9 & 10, 2023, to facilitate hassle free movement of vehicles.



 /Traffic Advisory: https://t.co/fFgh2gcsAK pic.twitter.com/nEO09PFpf9  Delhi Traffic Police (@dtptraffic) August 31, 2023

Beginning Friday through Sunday, all food and commercial delivery services, excluding medicines, will be suspended. Deliveries from platforms like Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon, and Flipkart will not be permitted within the controlled zone, except for medicines and essential items.

PM Modi To Hold High-Level Meetings To Review G20 Summit Arrangements

Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) SS Yadav clarified, "Essential services such as postal and medical services, as well as sample collections by pathology labs, will be permitted across Delhi. In the New Delhi area, commercial activities will not be allowed. Online delivery services will be suspended, but medicine deliveries will continue."

Delhi Traffic Police has advised Delhi-NCR residents to consult the 'Mappls Mapmyindia App' for vital traffic and public transport information regarding routes to the airport, railway stations, bus, and metro stations in anticipation of the G20 Summit.

Delhi Govt issues Gazette notification of the Restrictions to be imposed during G20 meeting



- All types of goods vehicles, commercial vehicles, interstate buses and local city buses shall not operate on Mathura Road (beyond Ashram Chowk), Bhairon Road, Purana Quila Road and pic.twitter.com/Urn8Ix9hMD  ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2023

From 5:00 pm on September 9 until 23:50 pm on September 10, no TSRs (Three-Wheelers), auto-rickshaws, or taxis will be permitted to operate or enter the New Delhi District. Vehicles affiliated with the Armed Forces, Police, Disaster Management teams, Ambulances, or those involved in emergency services like road and electric supply maintenance will have unrestricted movement throughout the district.

IndiGo has informed passengers about flight cancellations at Delhi airport during the G20 Summit. The airline stated, "Due to the G20 Summit 2023 taking place in New Delhi, IndiGo is offering one-time waivers for passengers traveling to and from Delhi between September 8 to 11, 2023."

For real-time traffic updates and additional information, the public can visit the G20 traffic virtual help desk [https://traffic.delhipolice.gov.in/dtpg20info/], the Delhi traffic website, Delhi traffic social media pages, WhatsApp at 8750871493, and Helpline Numbers 1095/011-25844444, along with the Delhi police official website.

GURUGRAM Advises Work-From-Home for Private Institutions on Friday

In light of traffic restrictions imposed in the New Delhi district due to the G20 Summit scheduled for September 9 and 10, the Gurugram district administration has issued a work-from-home advisory to corporate and private institutions for September 8.

District Magistrate and Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav stated, "All corporate and private institutions were advised to instruct their employees to work from home on September 8 (Friday)."

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, September 7, 2023, 21:09 [IST]
We know how that ended in UP: Malviya on on BJPs Karnataka battle

Now, Case Against BJP's Malviya For 'Genocide' Tweet On TN Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin

India

oi-Prakash KL

In what could be considered a tit-for-tat move, a case has been filed against BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya over a tweet against Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, India Today reported.

On X (formerly Twitter), Malviya had accused Stalin of calling for the genocide of 80 per cent population of Bharat while attacking the Tamil Nadu minister's remarks on Sanatana Dharma.

Now, a DMK functionary named KAV Dhinakaran has lodged an FIR in Trichy against Malviya and the case has been booked under the IPC sections of 153, 153 (A), 504 and 505 (1) (b), the report said. "Despite Udhayanidhi Stalin issuing clarification over his remarks on Sanathana Dharma, with a political motive, Amit Malviya deliberately distorted the speech made by the minister to incite violence and hatred between two groups and to undermine communal harmony," the complaint said.

Sanatana Dharma Row: PM Modi Asks Ministers To Give 'Befitting Reply

It all started after Udhayanidhi, son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, compared 'Sanatana Dharma' with Dengue and Malaria.

Addressing a gathering on Saturday, the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, said, "There are some things which we have to eradicate and we can't merely oppose. Mosquitoes, dengue fever, malaria, corona, all these are things which we cannot oppose, we have to eradicate them. Sanatanam is also like this."

The minister was speaking at an event organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association on the theme of 'eradication of Sanatana'.

"I thank the organisers of this conference for giving me the opportunity to deliver a special address. You have kept the name of the conference as 'Sanatana Abolition Conference' rather than 'Anti-Sanatana Conference', I appreciate that," news agency ANI quoted Udhayanidhi as saying. "A few things cannot be opposed, that should be abolished only. We can't oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or corona. We have to eradicate this, that's how we have to eradicate Sanatana. Rather opposing Sanatana it should be eradicated," Udhayanidhi was quoted as saying.

Responding to Stalin's remarks, Malviya said, "Udhayanidhi Stalin, son of Tamilnadu CM MK Stalin, and a minister in the DMK Govt, has linked Sanatana Dharma to malaria and dengue... He is of the opinion that it must be eradicated and not merely opposed. In short, he is calling for genocide of 80% population of Bharat, who follow Sanatan Dharma. DMK is a prominent member of the Opposition block and a long standing ally of the Congress. Is this what was agreed in the Mumbai meet?"

Responding to Malviya's tweet, Junior Stalin said that he never called for genocide of people who are following 'Sanatana Dharma'. "Sanatan Dharma is a principle that divides people in the name of caste and religion. Uprooting Sanatan Dharma is upholding humanity and human equality. I stand firmly by every word I have spoken. I spoke on behalf of the oppressed & marginalized, who suffer due to the Sanatan Dharma," he wrote on X.

'Sanatana Dharma' Row: K'taka Min Priyank Kharge Takes A Stand For Udhayanidhi Stalin

On the other hand, an FIR was registered here against DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge for allegedly outraging religious feelings, police said on Wednesday.

Stalin was booked for his call to eradicate Sanatan Dharma and Kharge for backing his remark, they said. The two were booked under sections 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings) and 153 A (promoting enmity between different religious groups) of the IPC at Civil Lines Police Station here on Tuesday.
Now, DMK Leader A Raja Compares 'Sanatana Dharma' To HIV, Video Goes Viral

India

oi-Prakash KL

Amid the row around Tamil Nadu Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin's remark comparing 'Sanatana Dharma' to Dengue, Malaria and Corona, another senior leader from the party has added fuel to the controversy.

DMK leader A Raja has reportedly drawn a comparison between the 'Sanatana Dharma' with HIV and Leprosy while claiming that Udhayanidhi's comment was "soft" on the issue, according to a report in India Today.

"Sanatana and Vishwakarma Yojana are not different, they are the same. Udhayanidhi Stalin was soft in comparing and claiming that it should be eradicated like malaria and dengue," the website quoted him as saying at an event.

"But these diseases don't have a social stigma. To be honest, leprosy was seen as disgusting and so was HIV."

The attack on Sanatana Dharma by Dravidian Bigots continues unabated.



This time it is I.N.D.I. Alliance partner and DMK leader A Raja who compares Sanatana Dharma with Leprosy and AIDS.



It has become a habit of SLAVES to attack Sanatana Dharma just to stay relevant in the pic.twitter.com/O0OXmFoRSJ  C T Ravi     (@CTRavi_BJP) September 7, 2023

Modi And Co Using Sanatana Dharma Ploy To Divert Attention, Will Face Cases Legally: Udhayanidhi Stalin

"So, we need to see this as a disease ridden with social plights like HIV and leprosy," the DMK MP stated.

He added, "Bring anybody, I'm ready to debate on Sanatana dharma, "A Raja said, adding, "I don't mind even if it is 10 lakh or 1 crore. Let them carry any sort of weapons, I'll come and debate with Periyar and Ambedkar books in Delhi.

Recommended Video

Sanatan Dharma row: DMK minister A Raja reignites row after Stalins remarks | Oneindia News

His controversial comments have been condemned by the BJP. The saffron party's IT department head Amit Malviya tweeted, "After Udhaynidhi Stalin, it is now DMK's A Raja, who denigrates Sanatan Dharma... This is nothing but unadulterated hate speech, targeting 80% of Bharat's population, who follow Sanatan Dharma.

This is the true character of Congress led I.N.D.I Alliance, who think demeaning Hindus is the only way to win elections. Was this decided in the Mumbai meet?"

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan attacked the INDIA alliance which the DMK is part of. He said, "Changing name does not conceal one's intent and character. Outrageous and vitriolic comments about #SanatanDharma, this time by DMK Minister A. Raja, reflects the mental bankruptcy and deep-rooted Hinduphobia that engulfs the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.

The country is watching how Congress and their friends are consciously maligning the soul, spirit and roots of Bharat. Let these hate-mongers be reminded that '  ,   '!"

What Did Udhayanidhi Say?

Days ago, Udhayanidhi, son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, compared 'Sanatana Dharma' with Dengue and Malaria.

Addressing a gathering on Saturday, the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, said, "There are some things which we have to eradicate and we can't merely oppose. Mosquitoes, dengue fever, malaria, corona, all these are things which we cannot oppose, we have to eradicate them. Sanatanam is also like this."

The minister was speaking at an event organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association on the theme of 'eradication of Sanatana'.

"I thank the organisers of this conference for giving me the opportunity to deliver a special address. You have kept the name of the conference as 'Sanatana Abolition Conference' rather than 'Anti-Sanatana Conference', I appreciate that," news agency ANI quoted Udhayanidhi as saying. "A few things cannot be opposed, that should be abolished only. We can't oppose dengue, mosquitoes, malaria, or corona. We have to eradicate this, that's how we have to eradicate Sanatana. Rather opposing Sanatana it should be eradicated," Udhayanidhi was quoted as saying.
Amit Shah appeals for votes in MP, says BJP ensured development in all sectors

PM Modi To Hold High-Level Meetings To Review G20 Summit Arrangements

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will review the preparations for the upcoming G20 Summit in Delhi after returning from the ASEAN-India Summit in Indonesia. He will arrive in Delhi on Thursday evening and will hold a meeting with Cabinet ministers at the Sushma Swaraj Bhawan the next day. At the meeting, he will receive a comprehensive briefing on the G20 Summit arrangements.

The G20 Summit is slated to take place in New Delhi on September 9 and 10.

Leaders from the G20 member nations, including US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, are expected to commence their arrivals in Delhi starting September 8.

Udhayanidhi Spoke About Inhuman Principles in 'Sanatana Dharma', Unfair For PM To Target Him: TN CM

The summit will be hosted at Bharat Mandapam, a newly constructed international convention and exhibition center located at Pragati Maidan.

This two-day summit marks a historic moment for India, as it is the first time the country has been chosen as the host. Extensive preparations, encompassing security measures and enhancements to civic infrastructure, have been undertaken to facilitate this grand event, which is anticipated to see the participation of over 30 heads of state, high-ranking officials from the European Union and invited guest nations, as well as 14 leaders from international organisations.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 7, 2023, 20:16 [IST]
CM Ashok Gehlot Advocates Peace and Unity at Shri Amra Bhagatjis 181st Birth Anniversary

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot addressed the 181st birth anniversary of Shri Amra Bhagatji, emphasizing peace, harmony and unity. He spoke about Mahatma Gandhi's ideals of non-violence that he follows. He highlighted Rajasthan government's welfare schemes for animal farmers which have led to Rajasthan being first in milk production nationwide.

India

-Krishna Kripa

Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, on Thursday highlighted the significant role of seers in propagating peace, harmony, and unity. Speaking at the 181st birth anniversary and Chaturmas programme of Shri Amra Bhagatji organized by Sarva Samaj Sanatan Chaturmas Vikas Samiti and Amra Bhagat Seva Sansthan at Narbadiya in Chittorgarh, he drew parallels between these ideals and those followed by Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi's Ideals Echoed

The Chief Minister further stated that his government was working in alignment with Gandhian principles. He emphasized how Mahatma Gandhi adopted non-violence as a way of life and governance. He also pointed out that similar values were being upheld by his administration to ensure peace and harmony within the state.

Support for Animal Farmers

He highlighted several initiatives undertaken by his government to support animal farmers and cow shelters. The Rajasthan government has granted Rs 3,000 crore for the maintenance of cow shelters while cattle rearers are offered financial assistance of Rs 40,000 per cow that succumbs to lumpy disease.

Chief Minister Kamdhenu Animal Insurance Scheme

In addition to this aid, under the Chief Minister Kamdhenu Animal Insurance Scheme, free insurance worth Rs 40,000 is provided for two milch animals per family. This initiative aims at safeguarding animal farmers from unexpected financial burdens due to loss or illness of their livestock.

Milk Production Boosted through Subsidies

The state government is also providing a subsidy of Rs 5 per litre on milk which has greatly encouraged dairy farming in Rajasthan. As a result of such public welfare schemes aimed at boosting rural economy, Rajasthan has emerged as the leading state in milk production across India.

In conclusion, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's address underlined the importance of peace, unity and harmony. Drawing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhis principles of non-violence and humanitarianism, he reiterated his governments commitment to improving the lives of animal farmers through various public welfare schemes. These initiatives have not only provided financial relief to dairy farmers but also boosted Rajasthan's position as a leader in milk production nationwide.
Law enforcers have notified the former ultimate beneficiary of PJSC CB PrivatBank (Kyiv) and five of his former top managers of misappropriation of the bank's funds for more than UAH 9.2 billion, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).

"On September 7, 2023, NABU detectives, with the consent of the head of the SAPO, informed the former ultimate beneficial owner of PrivatBank and five members of the group organized by him about suspicion of embezzlement of the bank's funds in the amount of more than UAH 9.2 billion," NABU reported on the official website on Thursday.

It was reportedly established that in January-March 2015, the ultimate beneficiary of the bank, at that time the head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, developed a plan to seize the funds of PrivatBank in order to further finance the controlled offshore company and increase his own share in the charter capital of the bank. To do this, the bank was artificially ordered to pay the specified controlled company more than UAH 9.2 billion under the pretext of allegedly repurchasing its own bonds at an inflated cost.

In the future, the report notes, part of the amount of more than UAH 446 million was transferred for the purpose of legalization to the accounts of three related legal entities under the guise of operations for the purchase and sale of securities, and then to the accounts of two more. In the end, the funds were transferred to the personal account of the ultimate beneficiary of PrivatBank. He disposed of them at his own discretion - contributed to the charter capital of PrivatBank in compliance with the requirements of the National Bank of Ukraine.

According to NABU, now among the suspects are the former ultimate beneficial owner of PrivatBank, the organizer of the group; former chairman of the board of PrivatBank; deputy head of the direction - director of the department of interbank dealing of the bank, who at the same time was a trusted representative of a non-resident company associated with the bank; deputy chairman of the board of PrivatBank - director of the treasury; head of the department for support of interbank operations of the bank's treasury; deputy head of the department for servicing LORO accounts of correspondent banks, non-residents of the main office of the bank.

The actions of the persons are qualified under Articles 191, 209, 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The deputy head of the direction - the director of the department of interbank dealing of the bank, who at the same time was a trusted representative of a non-resident company associated with PrivatBank, was detained in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The pre-trial investigation continues.
Belgium Admits Major Rail Gateway Issues Amid Preparation for EU Presidency

International

-Sathish Raman

On Thursday, the Belgian government recognized that Brussels Midi Station, its primary rail hub, has evolved into a hotbed of drug abuse, poverty and violence. This acknowledgment comes as Belgium prepares to assume the presidency of the European Union (EU), casting a shadow over this prestigious role. Critics argue that efforts to address these issues are overdue and warn that any clean-up initiatives may merely displace these urban challenges to other neighborhoods.

The Neglected Gateway

Despite being one of the world's wealthiest nations with a significant tourism industry, Belgium has allowed the once-grand Midi Station to fall into disrepair over several decades. The station now stands as an emblem of governmental dysfunctionality; many among its daily 160,000 commuters and tourists no longer feel entirely safe within its confines.

A Worsening Situation

The situation at Midi Station has been further exacerbated over the past year by an escalating crack cocaine problem. Open dealing and use of drugs in the vicinity have intensified pre-existing issues to such an extent that petty thefts, fights and harassment of tourists have become routine news headlines in this nation of 11.5 million people.

The Looming EU Presidency

Belgium is due to take on the presidency of the 27-nation EU for six months starting from January. Typically governments who hold this position utilize it as an opportunity for global recognition and promotion on international platforms. However, given current circumstances surrounding Brussels Midi Station - one could argue - there is potential for negative attention too.

Criticism And Concerns Over Remedial Measures

While some critics believe action should have been taken sooner to rectify these problems at Brussels Midi Station; others express concerns about how remedial measures might simply shift these urban issues elsewhere rather than genuinely resolving them.

In conclusion, as Belgium prepares to take on the EU presidency, it faces a significant challenge in addressing the issues plaguing Brussels Midi Station. The situation is a stark reminder of the need for continuous investment and attention in urban spaces to ensure their safety and functionality. It also highlights how neglect can lead to severe societal problems that detract from a nation's image internationally. As Belgium steps into its new role within the EU, how it handles this domestic issue could set an important precedent for other nations grappling with similar challenges.
Father Pleads For Fugitive Son's Cooperation In Daughter Sara Sharif's Death Investigation

A Pakistani man appeals for his fugitive son, sought by Pakistani and UK police over the death of his 10-year-old daughter Sara Sharif, to cooperate with the investigation. The father insists that hiding isn't beneficial and they should present themselves before the law.

International

-Sathish Raman

On September 6th in Islamabad, a Pakistani man named Muhammad Sharif publicly urged his son to cooperate with investigators. His son, Urfan Sharif, is currently sought by police forces in both the UK and Pakistan in connection with the tragic death of his ten-year-old daughter last month. The plea from the elder Sharif comes as authorities in Pakistan intensify their efforts to locate and apprehend Urfan.

The Incident

The young girl, Sara Sharif, was found dead at her home located on the southwestern outskirts of London in Woking on August 10th. Following this incident, Urfan fled to Pakistan where he is believed to be hiding. His wife Beinash Batool has also been identified by London police who are keenly seeking them for questioning regarding their daughter's death.

Pakistan Man Who Illegally Resided In India Since 2022 Arrested In Hyderabad

Search Intensifies

In addition to Urfan and Beinash Batool being wanted for questioning by UK police, they have also expressed interest in speaking with Faisal Malik - Urfans brother. This development forms part of an ongoing investigation into Sara's unfortunate demise that has led law enforcement agencies across two nations into a cross-border hunt.

Muhammad Sharif Pleads For Cooperation

Muhammad Sharif made it clear during an interview with The Associated Press that he was unaware of his sons whereabouts following these events. He implored his son and daughter-in-law to cooperate fully with UK law enforcement agencies stating: "We say they should present themselves before the law; they should clarify their position about the incident" relating specifically to Sara's death.

A Father's Hope For Justice

Sharif further emphasized that going into hiding would not benefit anyone involved - least of all his fugitive son. By issuing this public appeal for cooperation from his family members under suspicion, he hopes not only for justice but also for clarity surrounding the circumstances leading up to his granddaughter's untimely passing.

OPINION: Pakistan Elections May Turn Out To Be A Farce

In conclusion, as investigations continue both domestically within Pakistan and internationally through collaboration between Pakistani and UK police forces  it remains uncertain when or if any resolution will be reached soon concerning this deeply troubling case involving a childs untimely demise under suspicious circumstances. It is hoped that Mr.Sharifs public appeal will encourage those involved or privy to information regarding these incidents come forward so justice can prevail without further delay.
Massive Manhunt Unfolds In Maine, U.S.; Who Is Robert Card And What Else Is Going On

Breaking News: Federal Prosecutors Set to Indict Hunter Biden - What You Need to Know

Federal prosecutors are planning to ask a grand jury for an indictment against President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, according to recent court documents. The exact charges are unclear but seem related to a gun possession charge and his business dealings. The indictment is expected before Sept. 29.

International

-Sathish Raman

As per recent court documents, Federal prosecutors in the United States are planning to request a grand jury to indict Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, by the end of September. The exact charges that he may face remain unclear at this point but seem related to a gun possession charge and his business dealings.

The Alleged Charges Against Hunter Biden

Hunter Biden has been accused of possessing a firearm while being a drug user. This accusation is coupled with an ongoing investigation into his business transactions by federal prosecutors. U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss, who was recently appointed as special counsel in this case, mentioned seeking an indictment before September 29th in a status report demanded by Judge Maryellen Noreika.

Defense Arguments and Plea Deal

The defense attorneys have argued that an agreement sparing Hunter from prosecution on felony gun charges remains intact. This agreement was part of a plea deal on misdemeanor tax offenses which fell apart during a court appearance in July.

G20 Summit: Bulletproof 'Beast' And Three-Layer Security Measures in Place For US Prez Biden

Biden's Tax Offenses

In June, Hunter Biden was charged with two misdemeanor crimes for failing to pay more than USD 100,000 in taxes from over USD 1.5 million income earned across 2017 and 2018 respectively. Following these charges, it had been anticipated that he would plead guilty after reaching an agreement with prosecutors who were planning to recommend two years.

Conclusion: Awaiting Further Developments

This development brings forth yet another controversy involving the president's son within less than nine months since his father took office as President of the United States. As we await further developments regarding the nature of charges against Hunter Biden and possible indictment proceedings from federal prosecutors later this month; one thing is clear - these allegations continue to cast long shadows over President Joe Biden's administration.
How G20 Summit Hopes To Unlock Trillions For Development, Climate Fight

International

oi-PTI

A core focus of the G20's agenda at the New Delhi leaders' summit will be on strengthening multilateral development banks, with success potentially adding trillions of dollars to fight poverty and save the climate. Development banks are linchpins in those fights and important cogs in the global economy, stepping in to lend to countries in need, whether it is financial challenges or disaster.

This process of strengthening multilateral development banks was initiated through the G20's 2016 action plan, which directed banks to "work through their Boards to optimise balance sheets, in order to increase lending without substantially increasing risks or damaging credit ratings". Five years later, then-G20 president Italy took the reform process forward by instituting an independent review of multilateral development banks' Capital Adequacy Frameworks, which assess banks' ability to meet their financial obligations.

In their first meeting under India's presidency this year, G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors recognised the need for multilateral development banks to "evolve given the scope and complexity of transboundary challenges and the resultant increase in demand on their lending resources, knowledge support, and for catalysing private investment". They asked multilateral development banks to "undertake comprehensive efforts to evolve their vision, incentive structures, operational approaches and financial capacities so that they are better equipped to maximise their impact in addressing a wide range of global challenges, while being consistent with their mandate and commitment to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)".

Absent Putin And Ukraine War Cast Long Shadow over G20 Summit

The Indian G20 presidency took the logical next step, developing an agenda, based on which the multilateral development banks can carry financing the recipients. An International Expert Group was entrusted with this task, established to "address the shared global challenges of the 21st century". The group had three broad objectives: to prepare a roadmap for an updated development banking ecosystem that is better equipped to finance a range of SDGs and transboundary challenges such as climate change and health, evaluate the scale of funding required by and from banks to address their increasing needs and that of member countries, and better coordinate among banks to "address and finance global development and other challenges more effectively".

The International Expert Group was tasked with spelling out the details of a plan that multilateral development banks could follow while discharging their functions. The expert group spelled out a triple agenda aiming to harness what it saw as the potential of the multilateral development banks. Under the first part of that plan, development banks had a mandate to eliminate extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity and contribute to global public goods.

The other planks of the agenda are for multilateral development banks to triple sustainable lending levels by 2030 and create a third funding mechanism that would permit flexible, innovative arrangements with investors willing to support elements of the agenda. The International Expert Group argued that additional annual spending of around USD 3 trillion is required by 2030, of which USD 1.8 trillion should be investments for climate action (mostly in sustainable infrastructure) and USD 1.2 trillion for spending to realise other SDGs.

G20 Summit: In Which Hotel Are Biden, Sunak, Trudeau Going To Stay In Delhi?

The figures imply a four-fold increase in climate adaptation, resilience and mitigation funding compared with 2019, and a 75 per cent increase in spending on health and education. It takes many contributors to mobilise financing on that scale. The International Expert Group projects that the global development finance community needs to provide an additional USD 500 billion every year until 2030. Of this additionality, one-third would be concessional funds and non-debt-creating financing, while two-thirds would be for non-concessional official lending. More funding would also help mobilise private capital of up to USD 1 trillion.

Multilateral development banks must provide an incremental USD 60 billion of additional annual official financing, of which USD 200 billion in non-concessional lending, and help mobilise and catalyse most associated private finance. In its first set of recommendations, the expert group argued sustainable lending levels from multilateral development banks should be tripled by 2030, targeting USD 300 billion per year in own-account non-concessional finance - normal commercial loans - and USD 90 billion per year in concessional finance - loans or other funding that might be provided at below-market rates.

According to the expert group, this could be achieved if G20 members restored their contributions to the International Development Association - the soft-lending arm of the World Bank - and sharply increased contributions, tripling its funding pool by 2030. In its major recommendations, the International Expert Group asked development banks to build a financing instrument that provides rapid, automatic concessional assistance to countries in need, including middle-income countries hit by major natural disasters like Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They also asked banks to change their approach to partnering with the private sector, by working systematically with them in sovereign and non-sovereign activities.

These recommendations do not bode well for the future of concessionary lending from multilateral development banks. Donor country pledges for the latest three-year cycle of International Development Association funding were well below expectations. It also raises questions over the ability of multilateral development banks to provide debt relief to countries most in need, potentially limiting the ability of debt-distressed countries to invest in development.

G20 Summit: Bulletproof 'Beast' And Three-Layer Security Measures in Place For US Prez Biden

The International Development Association's funding challenges are unsurprising given the United States' reluctance to contribute more to multilateral development banks. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the third meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in July that the G20 must only explore capital increases after multilateral development bank reforms had progressed. Multilateral development banks hold the key to realising the SDGs, for they can provide concessional finance to developing economies. The New Delhi summit can underline the importance of these banks by garnering the necessary political support to improve their viability.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Thursday, September 7, 2023, 13:19 [IST]
Watch: PM Modi Unveils Bust of Mahatma Gandhi in Hiroshima, Site of World's First Nuclear Attack

Japanese Man Spends Rs 16 Lakh To Transform Into Dog, Goes for Walk in Public

Japan launches 'moon sniper' lunar mission

International

dwnews-DW News

Japan on Thursday launched a lunar mission after overcoming multiple delays due to unfavorable weather conditions.

The H2-A rocket blasted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan, Japan's space agency (JAXA) announced.

The rocket is carrying the country's "moon sniper" lander, which is expected to touch down on moon's surface in four to six months.

Japan's attempt at precision landing

Japan's lander, officially called the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), is designed to land within 100 meters (328 feet) of a specific target on the moon. This is far less than the usual range of several kilometers.

Fukushima Water Release: Japan Govt Makes Last-Ditch Effort To Win Over Fishermen

"By creating the SLIM lander humans will make a qualitative shift towards being able to land where we want and not just where it is easy to land," JAXA said before the launch.

Globally, "there are no previous instances of pinpoint landing on celestial bodies with significant gravity such as the moon," the space agency said.

JAXA added that such precision landing will open up a future where landing can happen on planets with fewer resources than the moon.

The rocket is also carrying a research satellite developed by JAXA, NASA and the European Space Agency.

The research satellite is expected to observe the hot gas plasma wind that blows through the universe. This will help understand the flow of mass and energy as well as the composition and evolution of celestial objects.

Japan hopes for success after multiple failed attempts

Several lunar landing attempts by Japan have failed, including last year when it sent a probe called Omotenashi as part of the US Artemis program.

Omotenashi would have been the world's smallest moon lander, but it lost contact.

Why The Global Spotlight Is On The Trilateral Summit Of US, Japan, And South Korea

In April, a Japanese start-up called ispace failed in an ambitious attempt to become the first private company to land on the moon.

Japan's launch on Thursday comes two weeks after India, in a historic triumph, landed a spacecraft called Chandrayaan-3 near the moon's south pole.

India is the first country to land a probe on the south pole. Besides India, the US, Russia and China are the only countries to have safely land a spacecraft on the moon.

Source: DW
Maui's Struggle: The Battle for Recovery Amidst Tourism Crisis After Wildfires

Following devastating wildfires, Hawaii's island of Maui faces a tourism crisis. With the number of visitors dropping by 70%, businesses such as restaurants, tour companies and resorts are offering discounts to attract tourists. Richie Olsten, a veteran in the helicopter tour business, expresses concern over the economic catastrophe looming over the island.

International

-Sathish Raman

For half a century, Richie Olsten has been an integral part of Maui's helicopter tour business in Hawaii. His extensive experience in the industry has led him to develop an unusual yet effective barometer for the tourism-dependent economy: rental cars parked at the island's airport. However, following recent devastating wildfires that claimed 115 lives in Lahaina, a historic town on the island, Olsten is now deeply concerned about an impending economic catastrophe.

Impact of Wildfires on Tourism

The aftermath of these wildfires has seen a significant increase in rental cars parked at the airport - a clear indication of reduced tourist activity. This decline is causing serious ripples through Maui's economy as restaurants and tour companies start laying off workers and unemployment begins to surge alarmingly. The number of visitors arriving on Maui plummeted by about 70% after the August 8 fire, with daily arrivals dwindling down to just 2000.

The Struggle to Revive Tourism

In response to this crisis, state tourism officials have made a dramatic U-turn from their initial stance. After initially urging travelers to stay away due to safety concerns during and immediately after the fires, they are now appealing for tourists to return. They're encouraging visitors not only for leisure but also as part of efforts aimed at helping Maui recover economically by spending their money on local businesses and services.

Airlines have joined this recovery effort by offering steep discounts while some resorts have slashed room rates by up to 20%. Some are even offering enticing deals such as giving guests a fifth night free if they book four nights' accommodation.

The Dire Need for Economic Recovery

"I know what a terrible disaster that was," says Olsten. "But now we're in crisis mode." He echoes the fears shared by many locals regarding employment stability. If businesses can't keep their employees, how are these individuals expected to support family members and friends who lost everything in the fires? Olsten's own business, Air Maui Helicopters, has taken a significant hit. It now operates one or two flights a day, compared to 25 to 30 before the wildfires.

In conclusion, while the physical damage caused by the wildfires is devastatingly apparent, it is clear that the economic implications could have an equally destructive impact on Mauis tourism-dependent economy. The concerted efforts of state tourism officials, airlines and local businesses to revive tourism are commendable but highlight just how critical this industry is for the islands livelihood. However, only time will tell whether these measures will be enough to prevent an economic catastrophe as feared by veterans like Richie Olsten.
Judge to Lead Public Inquiry into Alleged Foreign Interference in Canadian Federal Elections

International

-Sathish Raman

In a significant move, Canada has declared the initiation of a public inquiry to probe into alleged foreign interference in its federal elections held in 2019 and 2021. The announcement was made on Wednesday, September 7th by Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc. The investigation will focus on whether countries like China, Russia, and others played any role in influencing the electoral outcomes that led to the re-election of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals.

Opposition Demands for Inquiry

The call for this public inquiry primarily stems from demands made by Opposition Conservative lawmakers who have been insisting on a full-scale investigation into alleged Chinese interference. Their assertions gained momentum after reports emerged earlier this year citing intelligence sources. These sources claimed that China had actively worked towards supporting the Liberals while attempting to defeat Conservative politicians perceived as unfriendly towards Beijing.

The opposition New Democrat party later advocated for broadening the scope of any such inquiry to include other nations like Russia, Iran, and India.

Judge Appointed To Lead Inquiry

In response to these demands, LeBlanc announced that Justice Marie-Josee Hogue from Quebec Court of Appeal would preside over this comprehensive inquiry. It is noteworthy that her appointment has received backing from opposition parties as well.

"Foreign interference in Canadian democratic institutions is unacceptable," stated LeBlanc during his announcement. He further added "China is not the only foreign actor that seeks to undermine democratic institutions in Canada or other Western democracies. This challenge is not unique to Canada."

Previous Rejection Of Public Inquiry

A Trudeau appointee had previously dismissed holding such an inquiry into leaked intelligence pertaining to alleged Chinese interference earlier this year; an act which drew severe criticism and allegations of cover-up from Conservative opposition members. David Johnston, former Governor General and the said appointee, resigned from his role in June.

In conclusion, this public inquiry holds significant implications for Canada's democratic process and its relations with countries named in alleged interference. It is expected to shed light on the extent of foreign involvement in shaping Canadian politics and electoral outcomes. The findings of this investigation could potentially impact future election protocols and security measures to ensure a fair and unbiased democratic process. This move by Canada underlines the growing global concern about foreign interference in domestic political affairs and reinforces the need for transparency and accountability within democratic institutions.
Biden On Hamas Attack: They Knew I Was About To Sit Down With The Saudis

President Joe Biden Set For Vital Indian Tour Amidst Wife's COVID Diagnosis

Despite First Lady Jill Biden testing positive for COVID-19, US President Joe Biden has tested negative and will proceed with his planned trip to India. He is expected to have a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi upon arrival in New Delhi.

International

-Sathish Raman

US President Joe Biden is preparing for a significant visit to India, where he will participate in the G20 Summit in New Delhi. The president's trip and his involvement in the summit reflect the importance of international cooperation on issues such as global health and economic stability.

Biden's Anticipated Visit

According to senior White House officials, President Biden is enthusiastic about his upcoming trip and eager to lead important initiatives at the summit. Despite recent concerns related to COVID-19 within his family, there are no changes planned for his travel itinerary. His wife, First Lady Jill Biden, recently tested positive for COVID-19 but has been quarantined at their Delaware home and will not accompany her husband on this journey.

'Disappointed, But...': Biden On Reports Of Xi's No-Show At G20 Summit

Adherence to CDC Guidelines

The president's commitment to following safety protocols during this pandemic era is evident. He plans to strictly adhere to guidelines laid out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) throughout his visit. After two negative tests following exposure from his wife's positive case, he has been cleared for travel.

Bilateral Meeting with Prime Minister Modi

Upon arriving in New Delhi on Friday evening, President Biden intends immediately return to work by holding a bilateral meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that same night. These meetings provide an opportunity for leaders of both nations to discuss common interests and shared challenges, further strengthening ties between India and the United States.

G20 Summit: A Platform For Global Cooperation

The G20 Summit offers a platform where world leaders can address global issues collaboratively. With COVID-19 still posing a significant threat worldwide, it is expected that discussions surrounding pandemic management strategies will be central during these meetings. In addition, other topics such as economic recovery post-pandemic are likely going be discussed extensively.

Biden Hopes Xi Jinping Attends G20 Summit In India

In conclusion, President Bidens forthcoming visit underscores the significance of international collaboration in addressing global challenges like COVID-19 while also highlighting strong ties between India and America. As world leaders gather together under one roof at G20 Summit amidst challenging times like these; it serves as an affirmation of collective responsibility towards creating a safer healthier world through dialogue diplomacy mutual understanding.
Honoring Excellence: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Presents Pratham Atal Samman to Pt. Deependra Arjaria

Partner Content

oi-Oneindia English Desk

In a grand and momentous ceremony attended by dignitaries and well-wishers from far and wide, Pt. Deependra Arjaria was bestowed with the prestigious Pratham Atal Samman by the esteemed Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath. The event, marked by its auspiciousness, saw the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Shri Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, BJP Uttar Pradesh President Bhupendra Chaudhary, along with other distinguished ministers, Members of Parliament, and Members of the Legislative Assembly.

Pt. Deependra Arjaria's name resonates not only within the boundaries of Uttar Pradesh but transcends national borders, garnering recognition on various continents. His unparalleled expertise in the field of astrology has earned him a plethora of state, national, and international accolades. However, what truly sets him apart is not just his mastery of his craft but also his unwavering commitment to the welfare of the public.

Despite his global acclaim, Pt. Deependra Arjaria remains deeply rooted in his connection to the grassroots. He dedicates significant time from his busy schedule to provide assistance to the public, touching lives in ways that go beyond the conventional scope of his profession. It is this devotion to the well-being of people that has earned him supporters not just in India but in every corner of the nation. This widespread support is a testament to his role as a pillar of strength for the public, making him a beloved figure.

Pt. Arjaria's popularity among the masses is well-deserved. His benevolent actions resonate with people from all walks of life, ensuring fairness and justice prevail. Reverently addressed as "Maharaj" by his admirers and disciples, he holds a revered status, often referred to as "guru ji" by those who seek his guidance. His influence extends far beyond his immediate region. In Bundelkhand and across various parts of the globe, he is regarded as a venerable figure - a godly presence whose wisdom and insights illuminate lives.

As an integral part of the community, Pt. Deependra Arjaria's influence spans beyond his expertise in astrology. He has forged strong connections with government officials, politicians, and celebrities, cementing his reputation as a bridge between diverse spheres of society. This unique network he has cultivated reflects his dedication to effecting positive change on both individual and societal levels.

In honoring Pt. Deependra Arjaria with the Pratham Atal Samman, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath not only acknowledges his extraordinary contributions to the field of astrology but also celebrates his tireless efforts in uplifting the lives of countless individuals. This accolade stands as a testament to the impact of selfless dedication and unwavering commitment to public welfare. Pt. Arjaria's story is one of inspiration and a reminder that true success lies in the betterment of society at large.

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Story first published: Thursday, September 7, 2023, 16:04 [IST]
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Around 25,000 Ukrainian citizens can be considered missing in special circumstances, that is civilian hostages in Russian captivity, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets has said.

"As for civilian captives, according to my information, around 25,000 Ukrainian citizens can be considered missing in special circumstances. Our situation does not change, it is extremely terrible: Russians in fact detain civilians in the temporarily occupied territories every day, thus adding them to the list," he told the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency at a press conference on Thursday.

The ombudsman said the situation remains unchanged also with Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Khyliuk who who has been in captivity for more than one year and a half after he was abducted by Russian military in the village of Kozarovychi, Vyshgorod district, Kyiv region approximately on March 4, 2022.

"It is impossible to officially receive information about his whereabouts, his condition and what is going on with him. The Russian side does not provide such information to either me or other international organizations or intermediaries involved by us," Lubinets said.
A teenage boy will face court over the alleged abduction and armed robbery of a schoolboy from Glen Eira College on Monday, as the..

Brisbane Times 07 Sep 2023
Some of Germany's top Green Party politicians want to ease restrictions on shooting wolves that attack livestock. The environmentalist party is under pressure to balance nature protection with farmers' livelihoods.
Federal prosecutors are looking to indict President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, before the end of the month. The indictment could serve a blow to Biden's presidential campaign.
It will be the first time the US is sending the controversial armour-piercing munitions to Ukraine.
Brazil's Lula da Silva brings in key lawmakers who were supporters of his political nemesis  former President Jair Bolsonaro  to ease the passage of laws.
First-term House GOP lawmaker John James of Michigan is proposing to make 75 the cut-off age for anyone serving as president, vice president or in Congress.
The prosecutor, Fani T. Willis, accused Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio of trying to obstruct her prosecution of the racketeering case against Donald J. Trump and his allies.
The two G.O.P. presidential candidates also floated the idea of pardoning some of the Jan. 6 defendants if they are elected.
Shmyhal, Blinken become familiar with preparations for heating season during their visit to one of energy facilities

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited one of the energy facilities, where they got acquainted with the preparations for the heating season and works to protect infrastructure, the press service of the head of the Ukrainian government reports.

"... it is important to build an energy system using renewable energy sources. We talked with Mr. Secretary of State about the possibility of cooperation with American companies. They presented specific projects for investment and joint implementation. We are working on the restoration and development of stations affected by Russian shelling," the prime minister's press service quoted him as saying.

At the same time, Shmyhal noted that the United States is in the lead in coordinating energy assistance to Ukraine in the G7+ format. The head of the Ukrainian government expressed gratitude to the partners for their support, and also thanked the power engineers for their steadfastness and professionalism.
The injuries a Cape Town man said he sustained while trying save his girlfriend's life when he saw her on fire, were noted as "minor" when he sought treatment at hospital, the Western Cape High Court has heard.
Business and political leaders paid tribute to South African retail pioneer Raymond Ackerman on Thursday, hailing him for his excellent business acumen, humanitarian heart and strong moral compass.
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

On September 11th, 22 years later, what are we to make of it all? Who even remembers that, as the Pentagon burned, then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld picked up a scrap of hijacked American Airlines Flight 77 from the smoking ruins of that building. Soon after, he would tell his aides (as one of them scribbled down): "Near term target needs go massive sweep it all up, things related and not." That "and not" meant, among other matters, Saddam Hussein, the autocratic ruler of Iraq who had been a Rumsfeld target before 9/11 ever happened.

Of course, the invasion of Afghanistan came first, but that "or not" arrived in the spring of 2003 and the rest is the worst and saddest sort of history imaginable. In a sense, so much should have been so obvious so fast. After all, within days of those suicide attacks, Vice President Dick Cheney was already swearing that al-Qaeda's Osama bin Laden would face the "full wrath" of American military might and Rumsfeld was making it clear that such wrath could involve "a large multi-headed effort that probably spans 60 countries."

Today, that never-ending disaster known as "the war on terror" has resulted in the deaths of nearly a million people and the "indirect deaths" of perhaps 3.6 million more. That certainly gives Rumsfeld's "and not" a deeper meaning, as does today's author Norman Solomon's new book, War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine (which Noam Chomsky called "gripping and painful"). In it, he describes how the U.S. turned much of the planet into a global free-fire zone. With that in mind, consider with Solomon just what that war has meant for the rest of us. Tom

How 9/11 Bred a "War on Terror" from Hell

America's Response to 9/11 in the Lens of History

By Norman Solomon

[Today's piece is adapted from the introduction to Norman Solomon's book War Made Invisible: How America Hides the Human Toll of Its Military Machine (The New Press, 2023).]

The day after the U.S. government began routinely bombing faraway places, the lead editorial in the New York Times expressed some gratification. Nearly four weeks had passed since 9/11, the newspaper noted, and America had finally stepped up its "counterattack against terrorism" by launching airstrikes on al-Qaeda training camps and Taliban military targets in Afghanistan. "It was a moment we have expected ever since September 11," the editorial said. "The American people, despite their grief and anger, have been patient as they waited for action. Now that it has begun, they will support whatever efforts it takes to carry out this mission properly."

As the United States continued to drop bombs in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's daily briefings catapulted him into a stratosphere of national adulation. As the Washington Post's media reporter put it: "Everyone is genuflecting before the Pentagon powerhouse" America's new rock star." That winter, the host of NBC's Meet the Press, Tim Russert, told Rumsfeld: "Sixty-nine years old and you're America's stud."

The televised briefings that brought such adoration included claims of deep-seated decency in what was by then already known as the Global War on Terror. "The targeting capabilities, and the care that goes into targeting, to see that the precise targets are struck, and that other targets are not struck, is as impressive as anything anyone could see," Rumsfeld asserted. And he added, "The weapons that are being used today have a degree of precision that no one ever dreamt of."

Whatever their degree of precision, American weapons were, in fact, killing a lot of Afghan civilians. The Project on Defense Alternatives concluded that American air strikes had killed more than 1,000 civilians during the last three months of 2001. By mid-spring 2002, the Guardian reported, "as many as 20,000 Afghans may have lost their lives as an indirect consequence of the U.S. intervention."

Eight weeks after the intensive bombing had begun, however, Rumsfeld dismissed any concerns about casualties: "We did not start this war. So understand, responsibility for every single casualty in this war, whether they're innocent Afghans or innocent Americans, rests at the feet of al-Qaeda and the Taliban." In the aftermath of 9/11, the process was fueling a kind of perpetual emotion machine without an off switch.

Under the "war on terror" rubric, open-ended warfare was well underway "as if terror were a state and not a technique," as Joan Didion wrote in 2003 (two months before the U.S. invasion of Iraq). "We had seen, most importantly, the insistent use of September 11 to justify the reconception of America's correct role in the world as one of initiating and waging virtually perpetual war."

In a single sentence, Didion had captured the essence of a quickly calcified set of assumptions that few mainstream journalists were willing to question. Those assumptions were catnip for the lions of the military-industrial-intelligence complex. After all, the budgets at "national security" agencies (both long-standing and newly created) had begun to soar with similar vast outlays going to military contractors. Worse yet, there was no end in sight as mission creep accelerated into a dash for cash.

For the White House, the Pentagon, and Congress, the war on terror offered a political license to kill and displace people on a large scale in at least eight countries. The resulting carnage often included civilians. The dead and maimed had no names or faces that reached those who signed the orders and appropriated the funds. And as the years went by, the point seemed to be not winning that multicontinental war but continuing to wage it, a means with no plausible end. Stopping, in fact, became essentially unthinkable. No wonder Americans couldn't be heard wondering aloud when the "war on terror" would end. It wasn't supposed to.

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Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator

Turkey and France are not far apart on a map of the Mediterranean Sea; however, they are miles apart on political views and culture, even though both are NATO members, and Turkey's army represents the largest, and strongest, of all NATO members.

Turkey has been at odds with France over policies in Syria, Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean and Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as over the publication of cartoons of Islam's Prophet Muhammad in France. Paris has led a push for EU sanctions on Turkey.

France has backed the Radical Islamic terrorists supported by the US, EU, NATO, Turkey and Qatar from the beginning of the Syrian armed conflict that began in March 2011. While France has been a victim of a number of serious terrorist attacks by people or groups following Radical Islam, which is a political ideology, they continue to support and defend the terrorists holding 3 million people hostage in Idlib, led by a former Al Qaeda turned ISIS member. It would appear that France has a two-faced policy: terrorism in Syria is promoted, while terrorism in France is prohibited.

Turkey was the staging ground for the US-NATO project for regime change, which has failed. France and Turkey would have seemed partners, except in 2019 French President Emanuel Macron criticized Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan for his invasion into north Syria in response to the Kurdish separatists who have been supported by the US and France.

In late 2019, Macron characterized NATO as possibly 'brain-dead' for allowing the invasion of Syria by Turkey, and Erdogan replied publicly that Macron must be 'brain dead' after his statement. Turkey's invasion into Syria was to counter the threat of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who are supported by the US, NATO and France, but are considered by Turkey as terrorists linked to the PKK, an internationally banned Kurdish terrorist group responsible for 30,000 deaths in Turkey over three decades.

In April 2020, with Macron facing a re-election vote, Erdogan said, "Macron is trouble for France. With Macron, France is passing through a very, very dangerous period. I hope that France will get rid of Macron trouble as soon as possible."

In June 2020, France accused Turkey of harassment of a French warship that tried to inspect a Turkish vessel, which was suspected of smuggling arms to Libya, in contravention of the UN arms embargo in Libya.

In October 2020, a French school teacher showed the children in his classroom cartoons that depicted the Prophet Muhammed naked, and bending over with his male genitals displayed in an overt sexual context. Later, the teacher was beheaded. After Macron insisted that the right to show pornographic cartoons humiliating Muslims to school children in France must be defended and preserved, Erdogan countered that Macron must be in need of mental treatment.

"What else can be said to a head of state who does not understand freedom of belief and who behaves in this way to millions of people living in his country who are members of a different faith?" said Erdogan.

Macron described Islam as a religion "in crisis", and announced plans for tougher laws to tackle what he called "Islamist separatism" in France, which has an estimated six million Muslims, who according to Macron are in danger of forming a "counter-society". French Muslims have accused Macron of trying to repress their religion and say his campaign risks legitimizing Islamophobia.

In July 2021, Macron pushed for sanctions following Turkey's dispute with members Greece and Cyprus over rights to offshore resources in the Eastern Mediterranean.

In April 2023, member of the French Senate, Laurence Cohen, said that since there is sleeper cells of Islamic State (ISIS) and Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka Syrian National Army (SNA), France will increase its support for SDF. A delegation from the French Parliament and Senate visited northeast Syria and discussed economic and development projects and enhancing cooperation with the General Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), which is an unrecognized separatist occupied area under the Communist administration of the Kurds based in Qamishli. The French officials entered Syria illegally from Iraq and had no VISA or other legal means of entering Syria.

French Parliament member, Marie Bouchon, said that France will always support the Kurds, but it has to provide more support through recognizing the AANES. She added, "Europe must stand against Turkey, stop hypocrisy, liberate occupied areas and return those who were displaced from their own areas." Her comments demonstrate her ignorance of the situation, where the Kurds have forcibly driven out the actual owners of the land in the northeast through a program of ethnic-cleansing. Recently, the Arab tribes of the area have been fighting the SDF to regain their own homes, farms and businesses.

Pierre Laurent, a member of the French Senate representing the Communist Party, said, "France must clearly condemn Turkey for its crimes, pressure to stop its hostile policies, return and protect the displaced from the occupied territories after Turkey's withdrawal, and this must be urgent." The displaced are the Syrian Arabs and Christians who formed the majority of the northeast prior to the US-NATO support of the Kurds who used their American weapons, cash and training to drive off the non-Kurdish landowners.

Nagorno-Karabakh

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Law enforcement agencies will hold a procession in Oregon City honoring a recently deceased Clackamas County Sheriffs Office detective Thursday morning, the sheriffs office said.

The procession, in honor of Detective Jeff Burlew, who the sheriffs office said died last month after a sudden illness, is scheduled to start at 9:45 a.m. near Abernathy Road, move to Highway 213 and then go south on Interstate 205 to Stafford Road. Drivers should expect delays, the sheriffs office wrote on social media.

 Fedor Zarkhin

Office: 503-294-7674; Cell: 971-373-2905; fzarkhin@oregonian.com
Prosecutors abruptly dropped the murder case against an Oregon man who won an appeal in 2021 after a new witness surfaced who said police investigators used racist slurs and discounted another possible suspect.

Jesse Lee Johnson, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence in the 1998 killing, walked out a free man Tuesday afternoon from the Marion County Jail.
A 49-year-old man is accused of luring three women to his Northeast Portland apartment with the promise of blues, shorthand for fentanyl pills, then barricading them in his unit and attacking them.

Konstantin Y. Svidenko was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Multnomah County Circuit Court on 17 charges, including rape, kidnapping, sexual abuse and strangulation.

Police arrested Svidenko shortly after midnight Tuesday, but its not clear why police hadnt taken him into custody sooner. He had been the subject of three reports to police since the start of the year, according to court records.

One woman identified Svidenko in January and said he had sexually assaulted her at his apartment after choking her, according to a probable cause affidavit. Two more women reported to police that he had tried to strangle and sexually assault them at his apartment in March and April, according to the affidavit.

The women were each able to lead police to the apartment where they said the attacks occurred, the affidavit said.

A detective assigned to follow-up on the three cases interviewed Svidenko in June and he denied having any contact with any of the women. But the detective tracked down TriMet surveillance video that showed him walking with one of the three, according to the court records.

A fourth women reported to police Monday that he was making threats to her on Northeast 122nd Avenue and he was arrested in the area by early Tuesday morning, according to police.

The 17 allegations include one count of first-degree rape, two counts of attempted first-degree rape, one count of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of attempted first-degree sexual abuse, eight counts of first-degree kidnapping, two counts of strangulation and one count of fourth-degree assault.

Through a Russian interpreter, Svidenko entered not guilty pleas to the charges.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Eric Dahlen deferred setting bail, finding probable cause that Svidenko committed violent felonies. Hes due back in court Sept. 14 to face an indictment. His recently-appointed defense attorney Sara Foroshani later declined comment.

Portland police said they suspect Svidenko may have attacked other women and are continuing to investigate.

Police couldnt explain why Svidenko wasnt arrested earlier. Police Bureau spokesman Sgt. Kevin Allen said he couldnt discuss details of the ongoing investigation.

But he noted that sex assault cases are complex and require a great deal of meticulous work by initially responding patrol officers, sex assault detectives, sex assault nurse examiners, victims advocates and prosecutors with the district attorneys office in order to gather evidence and bring the strongest case possible to the Grand Jury.

Advocating for the victims and holding offenders accountable is our top priority, he said by email.

He also said investigators were working to build strong cases against Svidenko with corroborating evidence that could hold up in court.

Svidenko often rode around on a mountain bike in the area of 122nd and Burnside Street and promised women drugs, leading them back to his apartment, where they smoked or ingested fentanyl or methamphetamine together, Deputy District Attorney Brandon Riffel wrote in the probable cause affidavit.

He used his bike or other objects to block the door of his apartment, strangling and trying to sexually assault the women, Riffel alleged. Sometimes he took the womens cellphones to draw them back inside his apartment, the affidavit says.

Svidenko was biking Jan. 20 when he encountered a woman looking for clear, the street name for methamphetamine, and told her she could come to his apartment to instead do some blues, according to the affidavit. They took a bus to his apartment in the 1200 block of Northeast 122nd Avenue and used fentanyl together, the affidavit says.

She said she had a hard time getting out, but Svidenko eventually let her leave, then she returned about 1 p.m. that same day to use more fentanyl. About 30 minutes later, he put pornography on the TV and began touching her, she told police.

She said she wanted to leave and walked toward his door, but he had blocked it with his bike. She noticed she was missing her cellphone and went back to look for it and he put his hands around her throat and choked her to the point she could not breathe, the affidavit says.

He told her he was going to kill her, according to the affidavit. She said she was unable to fight back and he raped her, the affidavit alleges.

Two days later, she contacted police and gave them the address of the apartment. An officer advised her to get examined at a hospital, though she had already showered and washed her clothes, the affidavit says. The officer found Svidenkos name associated with the address, but nothing in the affidavit suggests the officer did any investigative follow-up in response to her report.

Then on March 17, another officer was sent to the Blackburn Center on East Burnside Street on a report of an attempted rape and assault. A woman identified as L.L. appeared distraught and bruised, with blood on her hands, face and inside her mouth, according to the affidavit.

She said she was searching for someone with a power cord to charge her phone in the area of Southeast 122nd Avenue and Market Street when Svidenko offered to let her charge her phone at his apartment, the court records say. He loaded his bicycle on a bus and they rode together to his apartment, she told police.

She plugged in her phone in his apartment and sat down, and said Svidenko offered her meth and fentanyl, according to the affidavit. She told police she used a bit of meth but declined the fentanyl. Svidenko asked the woman to show him her breasts as he lifted his own shirt, the affidavit says.

She said grabbed her phone and tried to leave but his bike was blocking the front door. When she tried to move the bike, Svidenko came behind her and wrapped his right arm around her neck and squeezed multiple times, dragging her back to the living room, according to the affidavit.

She said she broke away from him and ran to the back door but found it barricaded, the affidavit says. She said Svidenko punched her in the face and stomach. She grabbed a knife and scissors from the kitchen and managed to flee and ran to the Blackburn Center for help, urging staff to call 911. The woman led the officer back to the unit. The officer noticed that Svidenko was listed as a suspect in the January sex assault call, the court records show.

The affidavit is silent on whether police did further investigation at that time.

On April 29, police were sent to his apartment on a welfare check about 4:25 p.m. after emergency dispatchers reported getting a 911 call from a woman overheard telling a man she needed some pills. The line remained open and she was heard saying a man had kidnapped her in the apartment and nailed the door shut, the affidavit says.

While driving to respond, police learned the woman caller had left the apartment and was running down the street after reporting that the tenant had tried to sexually assault her, according to the affidavit.

Police found the woman in the 1000 block of Northeast 122nd Avenue. She told officers she met Svidenko at the Gateway MAX station, he asked if she smoked blues and offered to take her back to his apartment to smoke fentanyl with him.

Once they were at the apartment, his behavior became weird and she tried to retrieve her cellphone when she realized he had taken it, the affidavit says. But Svidenko placed a hand on her throat, said he had a gun and pulled her back into the apartment, according to the court document.

Svidenko used a nail or a screw to keep the door closed, told her he wanted sex and threatened to kill her, the affidavit says. She said she got undressed and told him he would need to take off his pants. When he did, her phone fell out of his pocket and she grabbed it and raced back to the bathroom and called 911, according to the affidavit. She also called her mother.

She escaped after telling Svidenko that she had called 911 and he needed to remove the nail from the door, the affidavit says. He did and she grabbed her clothes but ran out naked. She led the officer to the apartment complex and pointed out the apartment unit, according to the affidavit.

A police detective interviewed Svidenko in mid-June and he denied that any of the women had been to his apartment with him, according to the affidavit.

Last week, Riffel, the prosecutor, presented the case to a grand jury for review. The grand jury returned an indictment against Svidenko on Friday, he said, but it hasnt been entered into court records.

Just before 10 p.m. Monday, police were called to the 4200 block of Northeast 122nd Avenue on a report of a man making threats to a woman. Officers learned the suspect was Svidenko and spent more than an hour trying to find him.

An officer with a police dog located Svidenko in the 1100 block of Northeast 122nd Avenue and arrested him about 12:20 a.m. Tuesday, according to jail records.

Svidenko also faces charges of menacing and assault pending from an October case. At that time, a motorist said Svidenko rode past him, filming him with his cellphone. When the motorist asked him what he was doing, he said Svidenko rode away and then circled back and shot him once in the chest with a BB gun, according to court records.

The motorist followed Svidenko, who then came at him with a hatchet and bolt cutters and threw them at the car but missed, court records allege. Svidenko was released from custody on Oct. 13, pending trial.

Svidenko, who is about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 175 pounds, has lived the past several years in the Highland Apartments at Northeast 122nd Avenue near Multnomah Street. He has reported to court authorities in the past that hes self-employed doing janitorial work.

Police ask that anyone who may have information about him or his involvement in other alleged crimes to contact Portland Detective Nathan Wollstein at Nathan.Wollstein@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-545-3482.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
The mystery of whether it is the childish signature of cherished childrens author Beverly Cleary on a 100-year-old time capsule unearthed at Roseway Heights Middle School in Portland may never be fully solved.

But her son, Malcolm Cleary, said this week he believes that the signature belonged to his late mother, who died at the age of 104 in 2021, after an internationally acclaimed career writing childrens chapter books, many of which were set in Portland and drew from her childhood growing up in the city in the 1920s and 30s.

I always found my mothers handwriting a little unusual, in particular her Es, Malcolm Cleary wrote in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive. I would have to say that the signature circled in red is how she formed her Es, probably even at a young age.

Cursive handwriting instruction has dwindled in Oregon public schools these days, especially as students spend more time typing on computers.

But in Beverly Clearys day, cursive was taught beginning in first grade. In A Girl From Yamhill, one of her memoirs, she writes about learning the Wesco system of handwriting, with its peculiar es, rs and xs that were to become a nuisance all my life.

Wesco was named for John Wesco, who was elected to the now-defunct position of supervisor of penmanship for Portland Public Schools in 1914. He was a recognized expert in penmanship, and students in the district learned handwriting according to his standards.

The roster of student signatures from Gregory Heights K-8 in 1923. Beverly Cleary's potential signature is circled in red.Courtesy of Nathan Buehler

That very particular style of es crops up again and again in the Gregory Heights roster from 1923, including in Clearys possible signature.

Those lessons apparently stuck with Beverly Cleary. Malcolm Cleary said that his mother often drafted her books, which feature indelible characters including Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins and Ellen Tebbits, by hand.

As a child I can remember the pencil sharpener, yellow Ticonderoga pencils and the lined tablets where she began each book with hand to paper before typing, he wrote to the news organization.

Parents at Roseway Heights said they were thrilled to have more support for the Cleary connection. While the PTA was working on the schools centennial celebrations, an alum tipped them off about the existence of the 1923 time capsule signed by all the Gregory Heights students, which a district handyman then dug up.

The author famously attended the then-Fernwood grade school in the Grant Park neighborhood, which is now named in her honor, but according to her first memoir, she spent third grade at Gregory Heights, which is now Roseway Heights, in 1923. A teacher at Roseway Heights knew that, and alerted parents that the Beverly on the roster might be Cleary, but school district records dont go back that far, so the connection couldnt be verified.

Still, I nearly lost my mind when I found the name, parent Kim Stave said via email. The irony is that every other page of class lists in the time capsule has both first and last names of every student...except that page.

Thats also why the school cant be 100% certain that the signature belonged to Cleary. One clue as to why the teacher may not have thought to require last names comes from Beverly Cleary herself, who wrote about her third-grade teacher in A Girl From Yamhill, in a chapter entitled Gregory Heights.

She writes: The third-grade teacher at Gregory Heights Grammar school soon became ill and was replaced by a substitute who stayed the rest of the semester. Schoolwork was easy, but the substitute, I felt, could not be very bright.

One day she asked a boy to make a sentence using the word hot. He answered, My pillow is hot.

Dont be silly, she said. Stoves are hot. Fires are hot. Pillows cant be hot.

Yes they can, I thought. I felt sorry for the little boy, who looked ashamed. Pillows could be very hot. Dumb teacher.

 Julia Silverman, @jrlsilverman, jsilverman@oregonian.com
Sixteen years ago, Duane Graham left Portland and moved to a remote part of Oregons high desert to start building his dream: a cabin and RV resort called Summer Lake Hot Springs.

I felt like, if you build it, they will come, Graham said. And it worked.

Summer Lake Hot Springs is about 130 miles south of Bend and six miles north of Paisley, in a part of the state known as the Oregon Outback.

Graham was a Portland-area contractor when he bought the 145-acre property that included the hot springs in 1997. It was a former chicken farm along the southeast corner of Summer Lake. The property had a campground and a 1928-built bathhouse that needed a lot of work.

Graham had a vision of how to transform the rundown ranch into a healing resort. Since 2007, hes constructed 10 cabins and rental houses on the property, along with three outdoor, rock-lined soaking pools next to the bathhouse.

Overnight accommodations are cute but rustic. Graham has sourced most of the fixtures from resale shops, giving each cabin a distinctive handcrafted feel with a desert-chic aesthetic. Think warm colors and exposed plaster walls. Theres no air conditioning, but the rentals do have geothermal heat that radiates up from concrete floors.

Cabins must be booked for a minimum of two nights, and day use is no longer allowed. Thats helped change the dynamic at the hot springs from when Graham first purchased the property.

It was a lot more rowdy place back then, he said. Its a lot more peaceful now. People come out here for quietness. People come out to heal.

The bathhouse at Summer Lake Hot Springs outside of Paisley, Oregon is located inside an old 1920s-era barn.Samantha Swindler

The water that fills the outdoor tubs and bathhouse comes untreated from the ground at a temperature of 114-118 degrees.

Thats really the main attraction, the hot water and the mineral properties of it, Graham said. Its got a lot of silica in it, so it feels really smooth.

The bathhouse and tubs are open 24 hours. If youre lucky, youll be able to soak under the stars and have the place all to yourself.

The hot springs are within the Basin and Range Dark Sky Cooperative, an area with minimal lighting to interfere with views of the night sky.

To me, soaking out under the stars is the golden time, Graham said. There are so many people who come out here that have never in their life seen the Milky Way like you see it out here.

- Night sky over Summer Lake Hot Springs, outside of Paisley, Oregon, a few days before the height of the Perseid meteor shower. Samantha SwindlerSamantha Swindler

Guests must bring their own towels and bedding, and theyd be wise to bring their own snacks and ice as well. (Paisley has one sit-down bar and restaurant; the town general store has coffee and sandwiches in the morning, but the food selection is limited.) Cabins have pour-over coffee makers but (as this writer sadly discovered) its up to you to bring your own coffee.

And its beautifully dark, which means, if you want to walk from the cabins to the bathhouse at night, bring a flashlight.

Summer months can be hot, and the bugs are relentless  they arent joking about Paisleys famous mosquitos. Graham says the best times to soak are in the fall or winter months.

Once you get out here, its sunny 90% of the time, and you can get out of the gloominess in the Willamette Valley, he said. As soon as you get across the pass,  the sky just opens up. Its a whole different climate out here.

This part of Oregon, about 100 miles from the Nevada border, is within the northwest corner of the Great Basin, an area that stretches down to the Mojave Desert where none of the river systems drain to the ocean. Summer Lake itself is sprawling and shallow, and really more of a marsh and migratory bird habitat.

Just a few miles away from the hot springs are the Paisley Caves, believed to hold evidence of the oldest known site of human occupation in North America. Visitors can also stop by Picture Rock Pass, the site of several petroglyphs, about 29 miles north of the hot springs.

Summer Lake Hot Springs doesnt have wifi, and there are no TVs in the cabins. For travelers looking to unplug, Summer Lake Hot Springs offers a calming desert escape.

A lot of people come from the city, and the city can be kind of hectic now, just with traffic and work and family and all the trappings of society, Graham said. People, they want to get away. And to provide healing for people is a good thing.

If you go: Summer Lake Hot Springs is open year-round at 41777 Highway 31, about six miles north of Paisley. Accommodations include cabins, RV parking spots and space for dry camping. For reservations, visit summerlakehotsprings.com.

Sign up for our free Here is Oregon newsletter. Email:



-- Samantha Swindler, sswindler@oregonian.com, @editorswindler
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. 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 September 7. At this stage, another 25 families (102 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 95 families - 349 people.
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. (AP)  Golden prairies and winding rivers of a Minnesota state park also hold the secret burial sites of Dakota people who died as the United States failed to fulfill treaties with Native Americans more than a century ago. Now their descendants are getting the land back.

The state is taking the rare step of transferring the park with a fraught history back to a Dakota tribe, trying to make amends for events that led to a war and the largest mass hanging in U.S. history.

Its a place of holocaust. Our people starved to death there, said Kevin Jensvold, chairman of the Upper Sioux Community, a small tribe with about 550 members just outside the park.

The Upper Sioux Agency State Park in southwestern Minnesota spans a little more than 2 square miles (about 5 square kilometers) and includes the ruins of a federal complex where officers withheld supplies from Dakota people, leading to starvation and deaths.

Decades of tension exploded into the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 between settler-colonists and a faction of Dakota people, according to the Minnesota Historical Society. After the U.S. won the war, the government hanged more people than in any other execution in the nation. A memorial honors the 38 Dakota men killed in Mankato, 110 miles (177 kilometers) from the park.

Jensvold said he has spent 18 years asking the state to return the park to his tribe. He began when a tribal elder told him it was unjust Dakota people at the time needed to pay a state fee for each visit to the graves of their ancestors there.

Lawmakers finally authorized the transfer this year when Democrats took control of the House, Senate and governors office for the first time in nearly a decade, said state Sen. Mary Kunesh, a Democrat and descendant of the Standing Rock Nation.

Tribes speaking out about injustices have helped more people understand how lands were taken and treaties were often not upheld, Kunesh said, adding that people seem more interested now in doing the right thing and getting lands back to tribes.

But the transfer also would mean fewer tourists and less money for the nearby town of Granite Falls, said Mayor Dave Smiglewski. He and other opponents say recreational land and historic sites should be publicly owned, not given to a few people, though lawmakers set aside funding for the state to buy land to replace losses in the transfer.

The park is dotted with hiking trails, campsites, picnic tables, fishing access, snowmobiling and horseback riding routes and tall grasses with wildflowers that dance in hot summer winds.

People that want to make things right with historys injustices are compelled often to support action like this without thinking about other ramifications, Smiglewski said. A number, if not a majority, of state parks have similar sacred meaning to Indigenous tribes. So where would it stop?

In recent years, some tribes in the U.S., Canada and Australia have gotten their rights to ancestral lands restored with the growth of the Land Back movement, which seeks to return lands to Indigenous people.

A national park has never been transferred from the U.S. government to a tribal nation, but a handful are co-managed with tribes, including Grand Portage National Monument in northern Minnesota, Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona and Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska, Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles of the National Park Service said.

This will be the first time Minnesota transfers a state park to a Native American community, said Ann Pierce, director of Minnesota State Parks and Trails at the Department of Natural Resources.

Minnesotas transfer, expected to take years to finish, is tucked into several large bills covering several issues. The bills allocate more than $6 million to facilitate the transfer by 2033. The money can be used to buy land with recreational opportunities and pay for appraisals, road and bridge demolition and other engineering.

Rep. Chris Swedzinski and Sen. Gary Dahms, the Republican lawmakers representing the portion of the state encompassing the park, declined through their aides to comment about their stances on the transfer.

They voted against a key bill allocating $5 million to the transfer. The vote was largely on party lines and passed with broad support from Democrats.

Tribal wins are rare in these conflicts, but the land transfer is a victory, Jensvold said.

Were just a small community, he said. Weve accomplished something that teetered on the edge of impossible.

By TRISHA AHMED 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 under-covered issues.
The recent Oregon Secretary of State audit of Pharmacy Benefit Managers primarily addressed the extent to which they increase the cost of medications covered by the Oregon Health Authority for Medicaid patients, (Auditors say pharmacy intermediaries cost patients, and state should do more, Aug. 22).

This isnt just an issue for the Medicaid system. Every individual who relies on medications to treat any sort of health condition should pay attention here. The primary role of pharmacy benefit managers is to control which drugs are insured and where their prescriptions can be filled. Regardless of whether the cost of a drug is paid by an insurance company, a patient, or Medicaid, these entities exist to maximize the bottom line for drug companies and pharmacies, not to provide a service for individuals.

Why cant we have a health care system in this country that puts people first?

Kathryn McLaughlin, Portland

To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion.
I agree with letter writer Peter Millers formula for redistributing Oregons $5.6 billion kicker refund, (Redistribute kicker refunds, Sept. 3) Distribute 40% to those making less than the median income, 40% to fund Oregons pressing needs and 20% to Oregons Rainy Day Fund. The way the kicker is constructed now, those earners who make the most money (and need it the least) receive the most money back. Meanwhile, Oregons cities, counties, and the state do not have enough money to alleviate homelessness, drug addiction, police, mental health facilities, etc. This is ridiculous; we are complaining about so many social problems not being addressed, while refusing to use a source that is staring us in the face.

Janice Milani, Portland
Steve Duins article about Gov. Tina Koteks housing policies versus conservationist views only touches the tip of the iceberg, (Koteks misguided fight with Oregon environmentalists: Steve Duin column, Aug. 19). It is obvious that Kotek is pushing for more housing, as she was the instigator for middle density housing requirements in 2019. However, creating more attached housing does not necessarily equate with creating more affordable housing, nor does it necessarily meet housing needs under the Statewide Housing Production Goal.

In the meantime, Portlands attempt to meet housing needs has resulted in overpriced yet simply designed apartment buildings, along with the rezoning of traditional single family neighborhoods for net loss in single family potential. Current new housing largely includes little to no landscaping, parking or yard area. Its no wonder we are losing canopy cover, increasing heat islands and jeopardizing livability.
Those of us who live in the Pacific Northwest have probably fielded the same question from friends and family who fly into town to visit: Ill be exploring the area for a week  where should I go?

With so many natural wonders, incredible restaurants, beautiful attractions and charming towns across the region, that can feel like an impossible question to answer. How do you pick between the Columbia River Gorge and the Oregon coast? How can you play favorites among our volcanic peaks? And what about the many treasures of the high desert?

On this weeks episode of Peak Northwest we break down the many options for Northwest travelers, discussing the pros and cons of each place. Whether youre a tourist yourself or helping others plan, this episode is for you.

Here are some highlights from this weeks show:

The Columbia Gorge-Mount Hood loop is a perfect road trip for visitors.

Why Cannon Beach is the go-to north coast destination.

Olympic National Park is big, beautiful and absolutely worth a trip.

Some places are beautiful but just too far to recommend for a quick trip.

Heres the full episode:

Subscribe to Peak Northwest on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

-- Jamie Hale and Vickie Connor
Portland leaders banned the use of hard drugs such as fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine on public property, though the measure will require a change in state law to enact and enforce.

The emergency ordinance, approved 5-0 by the City Council on Wednesday, adds controlled substances to Portlands preexisting prohibition on public alcohol use that carries a penalty of up to six months in jail or a $500 fine.
Youre reading Matter of Faith, a newsletter all about the intersection of faith, sex and politics (everyones favorite Sunday lunch menage a trois).

This week, we gotta talk about Joshua Harris, the former purity culture pastor who wrote THE book that became a key text in the purity culture movement.

Guess what? His wife wrote a book, too. Before we get into her side of the story, lets freshen up on her ex-husbands infamous work.

Shannon Harris is shattering the idea of the good Christian wife

purity culture and marriage (Abbey Crain/acrain@reckonmedia.com).

Youve heard about Joshua Harris, the pastor who in 1997 wrote an anti-dating book called I Kissed Dating Goodbye that became a mainstay of the purity culture movement. Hes been in the headlines a lot in the last few years since he announced hes no longer a Christian and got divorced.

Now, his ex-wife Shannon Harris has written her side of the story in her book, The Woman They Wanted: Shattering the Illusion of the Good Christian Wife, published by Broadleaf Books last week.

Heres a primer on the Harris and their anti-dating work to get you up to speed.

5 trans and nonbinary people get real about the tangled web of transitioning, euphoria and grief

MADRID, SPAIN - 2023/06/28: A protester with the scars of mastectomy seen along Bravo Murillo street during the demonstration. Different groups have demonstrated in the Tetuan neighborhood in Madrid to claim the Stonewall riots and protest against capitalism that has taken over the (official) state demonstration. The demonstration that is held every year in parallel to the official ones is called "critical pride". (Photo by David Canales/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

By Denny

Diane Daniel grieved when her husband transitioned to become Selina Lok, her now wife. In 2011, Lok told ABC News, I had the strange realization that I was at a birthday party, and [my wife] was at a funeral. Like Daniel and Lok, discussion around grief and transition rarely centers the person transitioning.

From personal essays to podcast episodes and articles, the grief around transitioning trends to center spouses, friends and family members.

Read more about what trans folks have to say about transitioning, gender euphoria and grief.

From my browsing history:

It seems like theres so many stories and so little time in the land of faith, sex and politics. Heres the headlines that caught my eye this week, even if I didnt have time to report on why it matters.

Benediction:

Thanks for joining me for another week of Matter of Faith. You can find me online on Instagram, Threads and X.

Send your questions and curiosities to abeahm@reckonmedia.com.

Keep wandering.

Anna
Hikers can once again tackle the steep, beautiful trails of Saddle Mountain, more than two years after the recreation area closed for repairs.

The state park site, found in Oregons northern Coast Range east of Seaside, reopened Wednesday, allowing public access for the first time since August 2021.

Anyone hoping to stay the night, however, is out of luck: The rustic 10-site campground there has been removed due to lack of water, theft, vandalism and the general challenge of managing it, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department said.

State park officials said they initially closed the area to make a couple of important repairs, including a broken footbridge and a failed restroom. While they were at it, crews repaired and rerouted the 2.7-mile trail to the summit, enhanced the picnic area, cleared hazard trees and installed two vault toilets, the department said.

Contractors, staff and volunteers have worked jointly on the projects, some of which will continue as the park reopens.

I am very proud of the work weve accomplished and grateful for the collective efforts of everyone involved, park manager Ben Cox said in a news release.

Scenes from a sunny spring day on Saddle Mountain, a 3,290-foot peak in the Coast Range that has become one of the region's most popular hikesJamie Hale/The Oregonian

A pink fawn lily blooms in the early part of wildflower season at Saddle Mountain.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Hikers gather at the viewpoint at the Saddle Mountain summit. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

Saddle Mountain is one of the best hikes in Oregons Coast Range, offering sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Cascade Mountains to the east. The hike to the top is straightforward, though the 1,900 feet of elevation gain can be a challenge.

Before it closed, the park had a reputation for drawing crowds, especially on clear, warm days in the spring and summer. In 2019, its last full year open before the pandemic, it saw 215,944 day-use visitors and 1,294 campers.

While popular, Saddle Mountain is considered a more hardy excursion, with no drinking water, sheer cliffs and lots of exposure to the elements. Park officials said part of the trail repairs included better access for rescue crews.

Cox urged people to show up with the necessary precautions  water, proper footwear and emergency supplies  and hike with a sense of stewardship in mind.

Saddle Mountain is home to a number of rare species including the Saddle Mountain bittercress and early blue violet, the latter of which is the primary food source for the threatened silverspot butterfly. Hikers are asked to remain on the trail to help preserve the delicate ecosystem.

 Jamie Hale

503-294-4077; jhale@oregonian.com; @HaleJamesB

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. 400 hectares of land have been assigned to pertinent customer institutions in the Kalbajar district for the construction of 40 facilities, according to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan's Decree on Matters Related to Management in the Field of Urban Development in the Territories Liberated from Occupation, Trend reports.

Namig Gummatov, the first vice chairman of the Azerbaijani State Committee for Urban Development and Architecture, discussed it at the meeting of the working group on urban development issues that was conducted in Kalbajar.

"Design work on a piece of an 18-kilometer urban road network with a total length of 27 kilometers is still ongoing in Kalbajar as part of the development of road networks in the recovered settlements. They will soon be submitted for professional opinion," the first deputy chairman noted.

Note that the above Presidential Decree provides for the transfer, use, or lease of land plots for construction purposes.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov has held a meeting with First Vice-President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Jurgen Rigterink, Trend reports.

"We made fruitful discussions on the development of Azerbaijan and EBRD cooperation on energy. We assessed the prospects of renewable energy, Caspian Sea EU Green Energy Corridor and Southern Gas Corridor projects with the Bank," Shahbazov wrote on his page on X (Twitter).

Over the course of its engagement, the Bank has contributed a cumulative sum of more than 3.4 billion euros, spread across a spectrum of 188 projects within Azerbaijan. Having established its presence in Azerbaijan since 1992, the EBRD stands as the largest investor in the nation. Looking ahead, there is an anticipated investment project portfolio of $750 million slated for the next three years. The Bank is poised to invest $300 million throughout 2023 across diverse industries. These include but are not limited to energy, transportation, the private sector, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as the banking industry.
Washington, DC, US (PANA) - The US has imposed sanctions against two senior commanders of the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for atrocities and human rights abuses in the East African country
Smurfit Kappa in $20 Billion Merger Talks with WestRock

Sept. 7, 2023 (THE FINANCIAL TIMES) - Two of the world's largest packaging companies  WestRock of the US and Ireland's Smurfit Kappa  are in advanced merger talks to create a global giant valued at nearly $20bn.

The combined company, to be named Smurfit WestRock, would have its global headquarters in Dublin and Americas operations based in Atlanta, Georgia, the Irish company said in a statement.

It would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and cancel its premium London listing and its listing on the Euronext Dublin exchange, making Smurfit, Europe's biggest packaging company, the latest major company to retreat from London in favour of the US.

The combined group would retain a secondary listing in London and is expected to be led by Tony Smurfit, chief executive of the Irish company since 2015. A spokesperson for Smurfit declined to comment further on the proposed merger.

The proposed tie-up between the packaging companies, which have a combined market capitalisation of about $18.7bn, according to Financial Times calculations based on Bloomberg data, would create the world's "go-to packaging partner", the statement said. The joint group would have combined revenue of about $34bn, based on sales from the last year at the two companies, it added.

SOURCE: THE FINANCIAL TIMES

A statement about the potential merger is available on Smurfit Kappa's website: Smurfit Kappa and WestRock in discussions regarding key terms of Potential Combination - Sept. 7, 2023.
Photo: (Photo : Sava Bobov on Unsplash)

A young Wisconsin boy, aged 11, whose name has been withheld due to his minor status, has been ordered to stand trial for the alleged first-degree intentional homicide of his mother. The event occurred last November when he was just 10 years old. The District Attorney's office is advocating for the case to be elevated, aiming to try the boy as an adult - a decision that's drawing significant public attention.

Back in July, the court had already assessed the boy as competent to undergo trial, court records have revealed. Despite efforts by the defense to have the case dismissed, the court found "probable cause and bound the defendant over for trial," effectively denying the motion to dismiss.

The Detective's Testimony

Detective Timothy Keller of the Milwaukee Police Department, who took the stand on Tuesday, shed light on his conversations with the accused boy. According to Keller, the boy initially reported that he was unsure about what had transpired. He claimed to have found his mother unresponsive in their basement. But when questioned the next day, the boy altered his story, admitting he had shot his mother but referring to it as an unintentional act.

In a disturbing twist, Detective Keller testified that the boy had subsequently purchased virtual reality goggles using his mother's Amazon account. This occurred the morning following the alleged homicide. Family members indicated that an argument about acquiring these virtual reality goggles had erupted between the boy and his mother prior to the tragic event.

The accused young boy has entered a plea of not guilty and currently remains in custody, according to the latest court records. His defense team is expected to challenge the initial competency ruling and the decision to try him as an adult, arguing both ethical and legal dimensions of the case.

This intricate case has led to a number of perplexing legal and ethical questions. The notion of an 11-year-old facing trial as an adult raises serious issues regarding juvenile justice. Moreover, the dispute over a virtual reality headset adds an unsettling layer to the case, highlighting the growing influence of technology on family dynamics and juvenile behavior.

Legal experts are watching closely as the prosecution continues to amass evidence against the accused, and the defense team strategizes to prove that the act was accidental, aiming to challenge the competency and adult trial decisions.

Read Also: Mother of 17-Year-Old Killed by French Police Blames Officer as Fresh Violence Erupts, Hundreds Arrested

Expert Opinions and Public Sentiment

As the country closely observes the proceedings, broader questions are also emerging about how technology can impact familial relations and the emotional development of children. Whether this specific dispute over a virtual reality headset was a trigger or merely a symptom of deeper issues remains a matter of public speculation.

Psychologists and child development specialists are also expressing concerns over the potential effects of high-end technology like virtual reality on young minds, especially when they might be unable to fully grasp the consequences of their actions.

With the trial set to become one of the most scrutinized juvenile legal cases in modern history, the country finds itself engaging in multifaceted discussions involving the adequacy and ethics of the juvenile justice system, the boundaries of criminal responsibility for minors, and the sometimes disruptive role that technology can play in the complex web of modern family relationships.

Related Article: Massachusetts Man in Custody for Killing His Mom, Chokes Himself to Death
Photo: (Photo : Scott Umstattd on Unsplash)

The United Nations (UN) has expressed grave concerns over the record-breaking numbers of children migrating through Latin America and the Caribbean. A confluence of factors including gang violence, poverty, political instability, and climate change are driving this alarming trend.

According to the latest report from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), an astonishing 60,000 children crossed the perilous Darien Gap during just the first seven months of 2023, outpacing any other year on record.

Alarming Increase in Young Children Among Migrants

What adds to the concern is the increasingly younger age of these migrants. Children under the age of 11 now make up an overwhelming 91% of all the children traversing through key transit points in this region.

"The demographic profile of child migrants is rapidly changing. More and more children are embarking on this perilous journey at an alarmingly young age.  Many are traveling alone and originate from diverse countries, even from continents as far away as Africa and Asia", noted Garry Conille, the Regional Director of UNICEF for Latin America and the Caribbean.

These migrant children's Health and Well-being are in grave danger. Children who migrate encounter a variety of dangers, including illnesses, physical harm, being taken away from their family, and other sorts of abuse.

Even if they succeed in getting where they're going, Conille added, their prospects for the future are frequently bleak." Globally, children make up around 13% of migrants, but in Latin America and the Caribbean this percentage soars to an astonishing 25%, making it the highest in the whole globe.

Reacting to the severe magnitude of the crisis, Conille emphasized the need for a stronger humanitarian response. He urged the international community and national governments to expand safe and regular migration pathways specifically for children and families. "The scale of the crisis necessitates more than piecemeal solutions; it demands a comprehensive strategy to protect the rights and the future of these children, regardless of their geographical or social origins," he added.

Read Also: UNICEF COVID-19 Fuels Vaccine Hesitancy, Disrupting Childhood Immunization- Biggest Setback in 30 Years

The Notoriously Risky Darien Gap Crossing

Navigating the Darien Gap is fraught with perils. This 66-mile, mountainous, roadless rainforest stretch that connects Colombia to Panama is one of the most hazardous migration routes on the planet. The journey is a crucial but dangerous passage for people hoping to ultimately reach the United States or Canada. The number of people making this harrowing trek skyrocketed to nearly 250,000 in 2022, which is nearly double the number from the year before, and twenty times the annual average recorded from 2010 to 2020.

This comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Biden administration, as the U.S. prepares for an upcoming presidential election. Despite a series of policy measures designed to curb migration, the Administration still faces an uphill battle.

The number of daily encounters at the U.S. southern border has seen a sharp rise recently. Specifically, in July, the number of families - one of the most vulnerable groups - being apprehended at the border nearly doubled in comparison to June, adding another layer of complexity and concern for the U.S. government.

The escalating crisis poses multi-faceted challenges that transcend national borders and political agendas. With children being the most vulnerable demographic, the urgent need for a concerted, comprehensive, and humanitarian response has never been clearer.

Related Article: UNICEF Reports: 14 Million Children in Sudan Urgently Require Humanitarian Assistance
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Brazil continues to be among the largest trading partners of Azerbaijan in Latin America, the Brazilian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Manuel Adalberto Carlos Montenegro Lopes da Cruz, said, Trend reports.

"Currently, the issue of convening an intergovernmental working group on trade and investment to explore broad opportunities for bilateral economic cooperation is being discussed," the ambassador said at an event dedicated to the Independence Day of Brazil.

The ambassador said that the presentation of the bilateral agreement between Azerbaijan and Brazil on cooperation in the field of space science and technology is expected in October.

According to him, at the end of October, Azerbaijan and Brazil are planning to hold the Baku Festival of Brazilian Cinema and the Brazilian Classical Music Festival for the second time.
No matter how much experience you have with Microsofts Windows, it can still be improved by turning to software and tools that can make the operating system that much better.

Take Windows 11, for example: When Microsoft introduced it with extremely strict system requirements in autumn 2021, it was only a matter of time before those barriers could be circumvented.

In order to install the new operating system on older PCs, the registry first had to be changed manually. Later, this could be simplified with a batch file, and now even that is superfluous thanks to Rufus, a small tool for creating bootable USB sticks. Now, with just a few additional mouse clicks, you can run Windows 11 on almost any computer.

Lets start this look at helpful, dead simple Windows software with that very program, before diving deeper into several different categories.

If youd prefer to wade into a deep, powerful program, check out our guide to Microsoft Sysinternals, the best Windows troubleshooting tool.

Download the installation file for Windows 11 from Microsoft via the option Download a Windows 11 disk image (ISO).

Now insert a flash drive with at least 8GB of storage space into the computer. Start Rufus, click on Select on the interface, select the Windows 11 ISO file, and then click Start. The Customize installation dialogue then appears, giving you an option to avoid Windows 11s obligation to set up an online account. Follow the setup process until Windows 11 is installed.

This Rufus-loaded flash drive will not only reinstall Windows 11 on any PC, but also upgrade any Windows 10 installation via the setup.exe file!

EaseUS ToDo Backup 2022 Best Prices Today:

If you want to move an older Windows 10 system 1:1 to a new PC, we recommend Easeus Todo Backup. With it, you create an image of your old computers storage, from which you restore your system with all settings, programs, and data on your new PC. In addition, Windows 10 can then be upgraded to Windows 11 without any problems.

To install an older Windows version  for example Windows 8.1, 10, or 11 version 21H2  save it to your storage with Windows ISO Downloader and create a setup flash drive from it with Rufus.

Depending on the Windows version, the hardware and the history of the PC, you may need a product key to activate the operating system for the new installation. You can read this key on your existing system with Showkeyplus.

Reset Windows Update Tool solves various update problems: Almost 20 features are available after starting the program with administrator rights.

If you have installed several versions of Windows, Linux, or other operating systems on your computer, you can use Easy BCD to adjust the boot entries and their prioritization.

Creating a flash drive as a multiboot system for booting different live systems was a complex matter for a long time. Ventoy fundamentally changes that. With this tool, all you have to do is make the flash drive bootable by clicking on Install and then simply save the ISO files on the stick within Windows. After booting from the flash drive, you select the desired live system via the Ventoy interface. The key benefit here is you dont need to create a new bootable flash drive when a new system version appears, but simply replace the older one with the new ISO file. Another plus: You can continue to use free space on the USB stick to save and transport your data.

2. PC start-up, optimisation, error analysis, hardware & drivers

Glary Utilities makes both problem analysis and their elimination possible with a mouse click, everything else is done automatically by the software in the background. IDG

The promise of 1-click maintenance is hit or miss on the PC. The causes of possible errors are too varied and the solutions too complex. That said, Ccleaner and Glary Utilities are always worth a try. You can start the system analysis and the subsequent problem elimination with just one mouse click.

Bootracer requires a few more clicks. The program analyzes the start-up process and breaks it down into individual segments. This shows at a glance which process or autostart program has a problem. You can choose to start the boot analysis as a normal complete Windows start, or limited to the system without autostarting software. The wizards make it easy to use Bootracer, including the necessary restarts. You can see in the details where and why your start-up may take an unusually long time. These limitations help to get to the bottom of the cause or, if it makes sense, to exclude the software in question from autostarting when Windows loads.

The analysis tools Hwinfo and Speccy show whether something is wrong with your hardware. Both programs provide a wealth of information and sensor measurement data. Even more information on your processor is provided by CPU-Z and Core Temp, while GPU-Z digs deep into graphics card details. Unknown Device Identifier is helpful in identifying unknown components; the tool shows many more components than the native Windows device manager.

Memtest86 tests the main memory for errors, while Crystaldiskinfo analyzes SSDs and magnetic hard drives by reading out the SMART parameters. A look at the overall status shows whether everything is OK. The tool sounds an alarm in the event of abnormal values, which is very important for drives full of personal data.

Snappy Driver Installer recognises outdated hardware drivers and automatically updates them with the latest versions if desired. IDG

Snappy Driver Installer checks whether your installed hardware drivers are up-to-date. The tool starts without installation. Click on the option Download indices only and wait until the system analysis is complete. Now, if desired, activate the Restore point field. To replace all obsolete drivers, continue by clicking on Select all  Install at the top left. Alternatively, check the obsolete entries individually. Due to the file sizes of some drivers, downloading and installing may take some time.

Windows Explorer and the desktop are always used on a computer  even if mostly unconsciously. While Microsoft has equipped the file manager with tabs in Windows 11, you have to retrofit the file explorer tabs into Windows 10.

To do this, install Qttabbar, restart the PC, open Explorer, and click on the down arrow in the View tab under the Options symbol on the right. There, you activate the list entry Qttabbar to show the new tab bar.

The free version of Tidy Tabs allows up to three tabs in a window, across programs  for example, an Excel sheet, a Word document, and Outlook. It makes it easier to view pictures with a large preview that you start and close by pressing the space bar.

Treesize Free shows you at a glance which files are eating up space on your hard drive. The already mentioned Ccleaner also offers a quick search function for duplicate files (Extras - Duplicate Finder). Other tools like Anti-Twin offer more options, but are more complicated to use.

Small intervention, big effect. Capslock Goodbye prevents you once and for all from accidentally pressing the Caps Lock key again. IDG

Clipboard Master can do more and is more convenient than the Windows clipboard. If youre annoyed by accidental clicks of the caps lock key, Capslock Goodbye is the tool for you. The software deactivates the key or assigns an alternative function to it. Desktop OK restores the icon placement on the desktop if it has been mixed up.

Three other programs provide more order (and more space on the hard disk): Should I Remove it shows which pre-installed software you can safely delete on new computers. O&O Appbuster makes it easier to remove Windows apps that hardly anyone needs. Unchecky prevents the secret installation of unwanted programs and toolbars. Its a godsend.

TeamViewer Best Prices Today:

Remote help, i.e. taking over a remote computer via the Internet, is not only efficient, but also very simple with just one click in TeamViewer Quicksupport. The person who needs help starts the tool and gives his or her displayed ID and password to the helper. The helper takes care of the rest with the fully comprehensive Teamviewer software, which is also free for private use.

4. Data media, formatting, and access to cloud storage

Changes to hard drives and partitions have a profound effect on your system and are often not easy to reset. Smaller tools can cause much less damage: Superdiskformatter, for example, allows you to change the file system (FAT32, NTFS, etc.)  except for the Windows partition. Fat32formatter formats almost arbitrarily large data media as a FAT32 system, and Drive Letter Changer is used to assign fixed drive letters to USB drives.

Raidrive assigns a drive letter to cloud storage devices such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive for quick 1-click access in Explorer. To do this, select a storage service and a letter via Add, log in with your login data and allow Raidrive to access the cloud. Done!

Cloudevo combines several cloud storages under Windows into one drive. This is convenient and allows you to store even oversized files on the internet. IDG

Cloudevo also simplifies the handling of online storage by combining diverse cloud storage pools into a single drive with theoretically unlimited capacity. This is also possible with several free accounts from the same provider. While you as a user only see your Cloudevo drive, the service behind it automatically distributes the stored data to the various cloud storage providers.

Drive pooling with local drives, for example with several USB drives, can be done with Liquesce. Data that is too large to be sent by email can be forwarded with O&O FileDirect. The software creates an access link to your PC, which the recipient can use to transfer the shared data. Your computer must be switched on and online during the transfer.

If Windows blocks access to certain files, thus preventing deletion, renaming, or copying, Lock Hunter releases them again. You can change other permissions of folders and files with Attribute Changer.

5. Security, data protection, and privacy

Get windows 11 pro for cheap in pcworld's software store Windows 11 Pro Best Prices Today:

Have I been pwned? and HPI Identity Leak Checker are not programs to install, but a simple mouse click is enough here too. Just type in your email address and youll know whether your account has been affected by one of the countless account and password hacks. If so, please be sure to change the corresponding password!

Defender UI provides a new, easier-to-use interface for all Microsoft security features than the integrated Windows Defender offers. The software contains four predefined security profiles and clearly groups together many security features and settings otherwise scattered throughout the operating system.

Virustotal Uploader simplifies the process of uploading potentially dangerous files to the Virustotal scanning platform. Instead of manually calling up the website, selecting the file. and uploading it, this free app works much faster via the Windows context menu. The browser plug-in I dont care about cookies eliminates the hassle of deselecting cookies on many websites by blocking or hiding the usual pop-up dialogues. It is best to combine the add-on with the automatic deletion of all cookies when you close your browser.

Wipe is suitable as a supplement for removing online traces. The software not only deletes browser data, but also temporary files and more.

You can securely delete data from your hard drive with Eraser: The name says it all.

Ungoogled Chromium is a special fork of the free Chromium browser, on which Google Chrome is also based. Unlike Chrome, Ungoogled Chromium does without any Google services for more privacy.

Simple Code Generator creates QR codes for private information that you wouldnt want to entrust to an online QR generator, such as mail addresses, Wi-Fi access information, Outlook or personal contacts, and the like.

Last but not least is USB-Logon. It lets you create a USB stick for fast and secure Windows logon without a password. USB-Logon is a good alternative for PCs without a Windows Hello-enabled webcam or fingerprint sensor.

Microsoft Powertoys offers many one-click functions The Microsoft Powertoys tool collection has grown to over 20 amazingly helpful features, many of them with (almost) one-click operation. For example, Always on top keeps any program window visible in the monitor at all times; Awake switches off the power settings for a certain time; FancyZones allows multiple windows to be easily arranged even under Windows 10; the File Explorer Add-Ons show the contents for various file formats as a large preview; and Image Resizing changes the size of photos simply via the context menu. Also via the context menu, PowerRename functions allow automatic renaming of files. Because we had to wait so long for it, the new PowerToys feature Paste as plain text is downright ingeniously simple. The keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Windows-Alt-V inserts the content stored in the clipboard unformatted into any program  ideal, for example, for quickly transferring web content into word processing.

This article has been translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.
At a glance Expert's Rating Pros Excellent color gamut and accuracy

Sharp, vivid picture

Strong HDR performance

Good connectivity Cons Design looks nice, but feels inexpensive

Thin user manual

Confusing on-screen menu Our Verdict The Innocn 27M2V beats expectations with top-tier scores in color gamut, contrast, and brightness, yet undercuts competitors on price.

Innocn has risen to relevance with aggressively priced displays that frequently undercut competitors on Amazon. Of course, low pricing raises the question: Whats the catch? The Innocn 27M2V, a 27-inch 4K, 160Hz Mini-LED monitor that routinely sells for just $679.99, provides a surprising answer: There isnt one.

Further reading: See our roundup of the best 4K monitors to learn about competing products.

Innocn 27M2V specs

The Innocn 27M2Vs specifications are typical for a high-end 4K monitor. It provides 38402160 resolution, a maximum refresh rate of 160Hz, USB-C connectivity, and a dynamic Mini-LED backlight.

Display size: 27-inch widescreen

Native resolution: 38402160

Panel type: Mini-LED

Refresh rate: 160Hz

Adaptive Sync: AMD FreeSync Premium Pro

HDR: Yes, HDR10

Ports: 1x USB-C with DisplayPort and 90 watts Power Delivery, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.0, 1x 3.5mm audio jack

VESA mount: 100x100mm

Speakers: Yes, two 5-watt speakers

Price: $799.99 MSRP, $679.99 on sale

These are premium features, but the Inncon 27M2V is reasonably priced. It carries an MSRP of $799.99 on Amazon but, according to Amazon price-watching website CamelCamelCamel, frequently dips to $679.99.

Innocn 27M2V design

The Innocn 27M2V stands out from most computer monitors sold at a similar price thanks to its unique silver faux-metallic exterior. Its a departure from the more common matte black or occasionally white exteriors found on most competing monitors. This choice offers a refreshing change of pace. The design has a professional and pseudo-ruggedized look, especially on the rear panel, where plastic ridges create an impression of added reinforcement.

However, the build quality doesnt match up to the design. The monitor is primarily made of plastic, and the type of plastics used lack texture. They possess a slight sheen that reminds me of inexpensive plastic toys. Its not a functional issue, but the build quality of the Innocn 27M2V is not on par with top-tier competitors. The Dell U2723QE, for example, feels more premium when handled, and the AOC Agon Pro AG274QZM has a bold design more suited for a typical PC gaming setup.

The Innocn 27MV2 is mostly made from plastic with a few LED lights on the rear panel. Matt Smith

Several RGB-LED lights line the rear panel and add a touch of flair to the monitors otherwise sensible design. The LED lights are bright enough to add some drama to a desktop, even in a room with modest lighting, and a variety of colors and lighting modes are available through the monitors on-screen options menu.

An ergonomic stand comes with the monitor and offers adjustments for height, tilt, and swivel. The stands adjustments operate smoothly, and its weight ensures the monitor remains stable on your desktop. The stand base is compact, too, ensuring it doesnt occupy too much desk space. Its height adjustment is somewhat limited, though, and taller users might find the monitor sits too low even at the stands maximum height. The monitor does offer a standard 100x100mm VESA mount for use with third-party monitor stands or arms.

Innocn 27M2V features and menus

Innocn provides plenty of video connectivity. The 27M2V is equipped with a USB-C port that supports DisplayPort Alternate Mode and up to 90 watts of USB power delivery. Its complemented by two HDMI 2.0 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4, totaling four video inputs.

The USB-C port can drive two downstream USB-A ports on the rear of the monitor. That makes the monitor a USB-C hub, but the location of the USB-A ports makes them difficult to access. The USB-A ports can be driven by a USB-B input if your PC lacks USB-C.

The Innocn 27MV2s on-screen menu. Matt Smith

The on-screen menu is navigated through a set of buttons located discreetly along the lower right side. Theyre a bit less intuitive than the joystick-style controls found on many modern monitors, but the buttons are easy to find and respond quickly to user inputs.

Innocn offers an array of image quality options that includes multiple color presets, precise gamma settings, color temperature adjustments, and color calibration. For gamers, the monitor also boasts features like a shadow boost, which enhances details in dark areas to make foes visible. The 27M2Vs wide range of options is impressive given its price point and generally defeats competing monitors.

The monitor has a Smart Brightness feature that uses a light sensor on the top of the monitors bezel to detect ambient light and adjust brightness accordingly. Its enabled by default in SDR mode, but doesnt function in HDR. I found it was too aggressive in dimming the monitor, so I turned it off.

However, there are some drawbacks. The placement of certain features, like the local dimming setting (which is found under game settings), is confusing, and some options have unclear labels or use abbreviations that wont be familiar to most users. This becomes a problem, as Innocns manual leaves much to be desired, and the online documentation is similarly lacking. Fully understanding the monitors capabilities requires a bit of experimentation.

The monitor is equipped with a pair of 5-watt speakers that deliver acceptable sound quality. Their volume is suitable for a quiet office environment and their audio quality meets basic needs, such as listening to podcasts or video conferencing. The monitor also provides a 3.5mm audio jack for relaying sound to external speakers.

How is the Innocn 27M2Vs SDR image quality?

The Innocn 27M2Vs 4K resolution and Mini-LED resolution promise excellent image quality, and the monitor wholly delivers on that promise. It performs exceptionally well by every metric.

Matt Smith

First up is brightness, where the Innocn 27M2V delivers a maximum SDR brightness of 645 nits. Thats the second-best among this pack of Mini-LED displays. In truth, the brightness of these displays is a bit irrelevant in typical use, because theyre all bright enough to remain usable even in a sunny room. Still, the high level of brightness is great if you work in a fully lit room and also hints at the monitors strong HDR performance, which Ill discuss later in this review.

Matt Smith

The Innocn 27M2V delivered a maximum contrast ratio of 8150:1 in our standard SDR contrast test. Thats an excellent result that beats most Mini-LED monitors in the Innocns price bracket, as well as some that are more expensive.

However, the full story remains nuanced. Our standard SDR test pattern is a checkerboard. Ive observed that Mini-LED monitors do not display their maximum contrast ratio in this test because the LED backlight elements bleed into dark areas of the image, causing a reduction in contrast. The Innocn 27M2V is capable of an infinite contrast ratio, but this only occurs when measuring bright and dark elements on opposite ends of the display.

If thats a bit confusing, dont worryits a nitpick. The monitors contrast is generally excellent, beaten only by a few other Mini-LED monitors, such as the RedMagic 4K Gaming Monitor, and OLED displays.

Matt Smith

Color gamut, on the other hand, requires no caveats. The Innocn 27M2V delivers a jaw-dropping color gamut that spans 100 percent of sRGB, 99 percent of DCI-P3, and 99 percent of AdobeRGB.

This stands out even among Mini-LED monitors, which generally earn top marks in this test. Only the RedMagic 4K Gaming Monitor slightly outperforms the Innocn 27M2V. The Innocns exceptional color gamut provides a vivid, saturated look that many viewers will adore.

Matt Smith

Color accuracy is excellent, too. This surprised me: Strong out-of-the-box color accuracy suggests good quality control, which isnt what I expect from a budget brand. Its wonderful to see out-of-the-box color accuracy that outperforms even better-known brands like Acer and Cooler Master.

Excellent color accuracy provides a more lifelike image and is useful for professionals who need to know the colors they see on their monitor will look similar on other displays. Also, as mentioned earlier, the Innocn 27M2V has many image quality options. These will further aid professionals who need to tweak the image to meet their specific needs.

Sharpness provides more good news. The 27-inch 4K panel packs in 163 pixels per inch, which is close to the highest pixel density found on consumer monitors (5K and 6K monitors are more pixel-dense, but extremely expensive). 4K movies and games look tack-sharp, and small fonts are easy to read.

The Innocn 27M2Vs overall image quality is tough to beat at any price. It delivers on all fronts: brightness, contrast, color gamut, color accuracy, and sharpness. RedMagics 4K Gaming Monitor performs a tad better, but the gap is narrow.

How is the Innocn 27M2Vs HDR image quality?

The Innocn 27M2V is VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certified, the second-best level of HDR certification currently available from VESA. HDR performance is good overall, though there are a few caveats.

Mentioned in this Article Acer Predator X32 FP

First, the good news: the Innocn 27M2V is bright, vivid, detailed, and colorful in HDR content. I measured an impressive maximum brightness of 877 nits in HDR content, which is a solid result. Ive tried a few HDR monitors that do betterI measured the RedMagic 4K Gaming Monitor at 1206 nits, and the Acer Predator X32FP at 947 nitsbut the Innocn outperforms most HDR monitors available today.

Its an important result. High brightness is necessary to provide better detail in bright, vivid scenes. Viewing a clip from Top Gun: Maverick showed good detail in the cockpit of Mavericks fighter while sunlight gleamed off its surface, while a clip from Interstellar showed strong details in the rings of bright, hot gasses surrounding a black hole.

The Innocn HDR 27M2V isnt the absolute best Mini-LED monitor for HDR, but it delivers excellent HDR bang-for-the-buck.

The Innocn 27M2V isnt perfect, however. While it can reach a brightness of 877 nits, I noticed a quick reduction in brightness when viewing a scene in which the entire display is bright, such as a snow-capped mountain. In this case, the maximum brightness leveled out at 530 nits. Thats still good for a monitor, but it may cause a loss in detail when viewing HDR movies and games with scenes that demand a high level of brightness across the entire display.

Fortunately, this problem is mitigated by the 27M2Vs contrast. As mentioned earlier, the monitor can hit the ideal minimum luminance of zero nits, which means it has an effectively infinite contrast ratio. That ensures excellent detail in both bright and dark HDR content.

The 27M2V can show blooming, an issue which displays a soft glow around bright objects on an otherwise dark background, but the problem is much less prevalent than with similarly priced Mini-LED monitors. How much this matters depends on how you use the monitor, as blooming is easier to see in a darkened home theater than a home office thats partially or fully lit.

If this feels like a lot, heres the takeaway: the Innocn HDR 27M2V isnt the absolute best Mini-LED monitor for HDR, but it delivers excellent HDR bang-for-the-buck.

How is the Innocn 27M2Vs motion performance?

The Innocn 27MV2 delivers good motion clarity with a 160Hz refresh rate. Matt Smith

The Innocn 27M2V has a maximum refresh rate of 160Hz and provides support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro.

The 160Hz refresh rate delivers good motion clarity. Fast-moving objects look detailed and fast camera pans through 3D scenes keep most of the environment intact. Its nowhere near the clarity available from cutting-edge PC gaming monitors like the Alienware AW2524H, which can hit a refresh rate of 500Hz, but gamers upgrading from a 60Hz monitor will be impressed.

A note about customer support

At this point, you might be wonderingokay, really. Whats the catch? The Innocn 27M2Vs image quality doesnt provide one, but there is a possible issue to note: customer support.

Innocn is a less well-known company with only a basic presence in North America, and it shows. The monitors packaging isnt as robust as most, the user manual is thin, and Innocn doesnt provide a customer support number on its website. Users who need help can only get in touch over email.

Customer service is difficult to account for in a review. I experienced no problems, so I have no reason to doubt the monitors quality. Still, this is worth considering if documentation and customer service are important to you.

Should you buy the Innocn 27M2V?

Innocns 27M2V is an excellent option for shoppers looking to buy a Mini-LED monitor on a budget. It delivers the benefits of Mini-LED, including a high contrast ratio and good HDR performance, at a price thats more similar to competing monitors that lack a Mini-LED backlight. The monitors on-screen menu is a bit confusing and Innocns documentation is lacking, but these relatively minor issues are forgivable given the monitors price. Innocn also manages to defeat budget Mini-LED alternatives like the Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q and AOC Agon Pro AG274QZM, and neither of those competitors is a pushover.
Excited Ghanaian fisherfolks have poured commendations on the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, following the digitization of the distribution of premix fuel to fisherfolks in Ghana.



Dr. Bawumia, on Tuesday, September 5th, 2023, commissioned the Automated Premix Fuel Dispensing and Monitoring System, a landmark digital initiative which will enable fisherfolks to directly access the quantity of premix fuel they require at the pumps, using their digital canoe identification cards containing their bio-data and other important data linked to their vessels.



The initiative rids the fishing industry of corruption in the distribution of premix fuel and the farmers no longer have to rely on middlemen for supplies.



Responding to this transformative initiative, the fishers were elated that the government's digitization drive has reached their industry and commended Dr. Bawumia for his efforts and commitment to the realization of this groundbreaking initiative.



"In Ghana today, digital is a common thing you hear everywhere you go. For us fish farmers, we never understood and appreciated it until today when we were asked to come and test this initative," they said.



They added; "Now all of us, the fish farmers, have realized that indeed Mr. Digital Man is working. Once your card is swiped, everything comes out and you get your premix fuel easily without any stress and you get exact the quantity you need."



"This is a very good initiative for us and we are very grateful to the Government and the Vice President", the fish farmers continued.



Another fisherman revealed how the Vice President expressed concerns over the difficulties fisherfolks go through for premix fuel and promised to find a solution to it.



"The Vice President was concerned about fisherfolks and the difficulties we face over premix", he said, adding "he's got a vision that one day, the issues over pre mix fuel will come to en end. And truly, this has come to an end".



"If we are here today, and today the issue of protocol over the disbursement of premix fuel is no more, we thank God, and we also thank the Vice President."



"If the Vice President has done this for us, all of us fishermen from here through Accra to Volta, we are very grateful to him. This will help us a lot because the wicked ones who have been taking what is due us cannot beat this innovation. Today marks a milestone in the work of fishermen and we are grateful to the Vice President", they expressed their profound gratitude.

Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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B5 Plus Limited, a steel manufacturing company in Ghana has received several awards and recognitions for its humanitarian works.



Some of the awards include a plaque from the Ministry of Health for its constant donation of oxygen to various health facilities in Ghana during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Other awards include Best Organization in Corporate Social Responsibility (The Business Executive Excellence Awards 2023)



The group chairman, Mr. Mukesh Thakwani together with his board of directors have stayed true to their promise of ensuring the lives of Ghanaians benefit from their works.



Furthermore, Mr. Mike Mukesh shared some exciting insights about the ongoing efforts within the industry. He emphasized the importance of boosting local manufacturing capabilities and reducing the reliance on imports.



Some of these products are currently sourced from abroad, but our initiatives aim to foster domestic production right here in Ghana, he highlighted. This strategic approach contributes not only to self-sufficiency but also plays a crucial role in conserving foreign exchange for the nation.



In addition, Mr. Mike Mukesh sent an appeal to the government to put an immediate ban on the importation of certain goods that are produced in abundance in Ghana.



He explained that some of the imported products are inferior quality and cheaper in the market thus ruining the reputation of the steel industry.  Today, for the PEB Engineering we have put up a world-class facility here in Ghana. We are able to produce not only for the Ghanaian market but also exporting to the whole West African market.



He also pointed out that some imported fabricated products and some other products like nails are under invoiced which brings financial implications to the state. As a result of this, the industry has taken a massive hit and the local manufacturers of the nail and fabrication industry are suffering.



However, the group chairman, Mr. Mukesh Thakwani together with his board of directors remain committed to their promise of ensuring the lives of Ghanaians benefit from their works.





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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President Zelensky has condemned a "deliberate" attack on Ukraine's "peaceful city" of Kostyantynivka.



At least 17 people, including a child, were killed in the blast, which took place on a busy market street in the middle of the day - a rarity.



Kostyantynivka, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, is near the front line.



Videos on social media show a bright orange explosion at the far end of a street where people were out shopping. Russia is yet to comment on the attack.



Volodymyr Zelensky, who has blamed Moscow, said those killed were "people who did nothing wrong" - and warned the death toll could increase.



Dealing with Russia, he said, meant turning a blind eye to the audacity of evil.



At least 32 people are thought to be injured. A market, pharmacy and shops are all reported to have been hit, resulting in a now-contained fire.



Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said just after 18:00 local time (16:00 BST) that the search and rescue operation had been completed.



Footage and images circulating online appeared to show the moment of the explosion and its graphic aftermath.



It was one of the worst attacks on Ukrainian civilians since the spring, and took place in a busy street as people were flocking to market stalls and cafe terraces.



Mr Zelensky described it as "utter inhumanity", while his wife Olena Zelenska said it showed "horrific cruelty".



An investigation into the attack has been launched by Ukraine's prosecutor-general, whose office said it was in pursuit of "criminal proceedings for violation of the laws and customs of war".



Read Full Story .... HERE >>> :









Source: BBC









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Gabon's military leaders say they have freed deposed President Ali Bongo from house arrest, where he has been since they seized power last week.



This includes permission to travel abroad for medical check-ups.



He suffered a stroke in 2018 and his health was a major source of concern for many in the build-up to the 2023 presidential election.



The army seized power shortly after he had been declared the winner of that election, disputed by the opposition.



The announcement to free Mr Bongo follows pressure from regional bloc Eccas and neighbouring countries.



In a communique read on state TV on Wednesday evening, military spokesperson Col Ulrich Manfoumbi said the decision to free Mr Bongo was due to "his state of health".



"He may, if he wishes, travel abroad for medical check-ups," he added.



Mr Bongo had been in power in the oil-rich country since 2009, when he succeeded his father who had ruled the country for 41 years.



The coup has been widely condemned in Africa and the West, including by France, the former colonial power which had close ties to the Bongo family. Gabon has been suspended from the African Union.



However, the removal of the Bongo family after almost 56 years in power was welcomed by many Gabonese.



Since the junta's announcement that it was freeing Mr Bongo, there have been calls for him to face justice over allegations of corruption.



A seven-year corruption investigation by French police into the Bongo family, which revealed assets including 39 properties in France and nine luxury cars, was dropped in 2017. The family strongly denied all the allegations.



"Ali Bongo must face justice," Bouloungui Mouanda Ulrich told the BBC in the capital, Libreville.



Another resident, Koumbi Anold, said he didn't have a problem that the ousted president was being freed but agreed he should face justice.



"We are waiting, we are now a free people, we want work," he said.



Shortly after the coup, several allies of the ousted president were arrested, including Mr Bongo's 31-year-old son Noureddin Bongo Valentin, who has been accused of high treason and corruption. National TV has shown images of him and other close Bongo allies in front of suitcases of cash it said had been seized from their homes. They have not commented on the allegations.



It's unclear where Mr Bongo will go but a likely destination would be Morocco where he had previously received treatment for his stroke.



He enjoys close ties with Morocco's King Mohammed VI and also reportedly owns a villa in the palm grove of Marrakesh.



Coup leader Gen Brice Oligui Nguema was sworn in as transitional president on Monday. He vowed to return the country to civilian rule after free and fair elections but did not give a timetable for the transfer of power.



The junta released other political prisoners, including pro-democracy activist and leader of the most powerful trade union confederation, Jean Remi Yama, earlier this week.

Source: BBC









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Nana Akomea has slammed former President John Dramani Mahama over his recent statements about the Judiciary.



Former President Mahama, speaking at a meeting with NDC lawyers last Sunday, accused President Nana Akufo-Addo of packing the courts with Judges who are members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).



Our lawyers, some of you must be prepared to go unto the bench, I know that some of you have very lucrative legal practices you will not want to leave and go onto the bench. But you can see what the current President has done, he appointed the largest number of judges onto the bench. More than 80 towards hundred and counting.



Hes packed the court and we know that theyve packed the court because they want to avoid accountability after they have left office. So all manner of people who have been known to be partisan, to have been executives of their party who are in the legal profession have been leapfrogged onto the Superior courts and other places, Mr. Mahama said.



But Nana Akomea has refuted these claims and asked Ghanaians to vehemently condemn the former President's outburst at the Judiciary and the President.



"What President Mahama said should be condemned by every right-thinking Ghanaian," he said and stressed Mr. Mahama's statement is "dangerous".



"Every person who believes in our democracy should condemn it. For the first time in our history, you have someone who wants to be President say he will appoint his party members to the court. It is unprecedented", he added.



He wondered how Mr. Mahama intends to become President of Ghana again if what he seeks to do is to pack NDC members to the bench.



"Someone who has been a former President of the country and wants to become President again, you tell Ghanaians that, when elected, you will come and pack the court with NDC people...This is the reality that the Ghanaians are faced with, that you have somebody seeking power so he can pack the courts. It's a declared intention," he blasted the former President and asked; "Do you deserve to be President?"



The STC Chief Executive Officer also found Mr. Mahama's behavior towards State institutions unacceptable as he made reference to some unsavory comments that the former President has made about institutions that don't do things to favor him.



Making reference to Mr. Mahama's ridicule of the Supreme Court Justices after their verdict in the NDC 2020 election petition went in favor of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Akomea stressed it's become "a consistent behavior of President Mahama to damn State institutions".





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Kwesi Pratt has commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over the leaked tape involving senior Police officers, COP Alex Mensah and Superintendent George Asare on their plot to remove the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare.



In the said tape, the IGP is accused by the officers of misconducts that may result in the New Patriotic Party losing the 2024 elections.



The officers and Bugri Naabu are under an ongoing investigation by a Parliamentary Committee and the President is revealed to have rejected lobbying for a different Inspector General of Police.



Commenting on this during Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show, Kwesi Pratt hailed the President for not budging on his decision to maintain Dr. Dampare despite he being accused of sharing political ties with the opposition National Democratic Congress.



"If the President really did that, then he deserves commendation . . .If what Bugri Naabu and co. are saying is true that indeed the President didn't accept the lobbying and so forth, we applaud the President. We doff our hat for the President for not allowing himself for partisan considerations to lead him."







Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, the eldest daughter of the late former President Jerry John Rawlings, has expressed her thoughts on being considered a potential running mate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate in the upcoming 2024 general elections.



Even before the NDC officially selected former President John Mahama as their flagbearer for the 2024 elections, there have been discussions and speculations about who his potential running mate might be.



Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, the forty-five-year-old Member of Parliament for Klotte Korle constituency in the Greater Accra Region, has often been mentioned in these discussions as a potential candidate. However, she has remained relatively reserved on the matter.



In a recent interview on Asempa FM's Ekosiisen, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings responded to the speculations about her potential candidacy as a running mate.



She said, "I am sure people are looking at a lot of different factors and perhaps coming to that conclusion. Flattered? I don't know if I will quite say that. I think it's an interesting responsibility because what it does is perhaps to remind me to maintain a certain level of integrity in what I do because these things matter. I guess I am honoured by the fact that the name keeps coming up if that's the case."



However, she emphasized that the decision ultimately lies with the party leadership, stating, "But ultimately, I won't be the one to appoint myself. So, I think beyond that I don't know how to respond to this question."



When asked whether she would consider the call to be a running mate, she replied, "Let's not be preemptive and premature on this matter. Look, at the end of the day, when we are called to duty, we take it up. And it's not the case of shying away from any chance to serve the party and ultimately Ghana. And for now, where I find myself is a Member of Parliament and a parliamentary candidate for the constituency [Klottey Korle], so the job before me is what I am focusing on."

Source: Ghanaweb.com









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The Member of Parliament(MP) for Yunyo Constituency, Hon Oscar Liwaal has said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) led administration recorded greater achievements in the Yunyo Constituency also known as Yunyo/Nasuan District than the eight years government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).



According to the MP, for seven years, the Akufo-Addo government can claim too many completed and ongoing infrastructure and other social intervention development and policies in the Constituency.



Hon Liwal was reacting to vile propaganda by elements within the Yunyo NDC that, the NPP has not achieved anything within his administration as District Chief Executive from 2017 to 2020 and now MP since January 7, 2021.



The Young Constituency branch of the NDC has accused Hon Liwaal of neglecting the constituents, especially when rainstorms had destroyed houses and displaced many families.



However, the NPP listed a number of developmental projects and policies sector by sector that Hon Liwal undertook and has achieved some from the time he was the DCE and now MP for two and half years.



Power Supply to communities



Hon Liwaal told EXPRESSNEWSGHANA, via telephone interview that, he was given the mandate as DCE and another four years and within these periods, a significant number of communities have been hooked onto the national grid.



A total of over 30 communities where project work have been completed in some, while others are still ongoing to be hooked onto the grid across the constituency.



The communities include; Nanlong, Jananderi, Gbingbalanchet, Jinting, Bakuy, Tambona, Tuna No 1, Tuna No 2 Dobiyantoa, Gbeduri, Kuanpiong, Sambik, Nanai, Majefuuk, Gbankurugu, Nabaal, Gbingbani, Walgbani, Tambing, Bianbik Powered, Namong, Wawa, Bunbuna, Tambokurugu, Mangor,Danduut, Namongo,Mantana Ongoing, Sanvosi Ongoing and Lawuk Ongoing.



The MP also justified his claim with the progress made by the Akufo-Addos administration on Sanitation and Water supply, mostly boreholes to over 80 communities across the constituency of which work has been completed and residents enjoying a constant supply of water.



Some of the beneficiary communities include; Dubon, Biambik, Tambing, Pulot Walgbani, Gbingbani, Nabal, Piabuni, Nasitambing, Manting, Bisting, Gbingbelachet, Janandel, Tambona, Kinkango, Majiafuk-Tuna, Salimba, Tinsong, Bunlegbal, Gbingbankokil, Sambik-Tuna, Jimbale K.Land, Wawa, Magor, Bunbuna, Laabonkunkuk, Nalong, Danduut, Siitik, Yunyoo, Naagu, Mozio, Jinwol, Nambonso.Kuffok, Namongo, Kajawein, Temaa, Kuffori, Nasuan, Soavosi, Tambokurugu, Kpakong, Kpanlori, Bumbong No2, Nangbam,Tuna No1, Tuna No2, Komia and Banjan.



The rest of the communities, that Hon Liwaal provided good drinking water are; Nakpayili, Majia, Dobinyantoa, Nasuan-Kwalik, Gbeduri, Damanko, Fodel, Naboot, Bilanan, Koalik, Kpanal, Jagbantambituk, Kompiong, Bunbuna-Nasuan, Moajating, Kuffori No3, Nanangbanl, Mantana, Majiafuk, Nanani, Kpangong, Labalin, Sagban, Bomtiuk, Tobont, Gbankurugu, Nambonso, Sambik, Moak and Jimbale B Land



He said through his hard work as the then DCE and now MP, the constituencys human resources potential has been improved as he invested a lot in human employment opportunities and ensured that most of them gained meaningful employment in the various security services, among others.



The Yunyo lawmaker said, within the period he managed to boost the human resources in the Ghana Education Service, Ghana Prison Service, Ghana Audit Service, Youth Employment Agency, Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Police Service, the Information Service, the Ghana Health Service, Ghana National Fire service, Ghana National Ambulance Service, Ghana Immigration Service, the Social Investment fund(SIF), National Identification Authority(NIA), National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO)and the Local Government services.



Hon Liwal and the NPP therefore challenged the NDC to provide any development projects and policies that they initiated and completed in the Yunyo during their 16 years in office.



Everything that you can see in Yunyo today is what this administration has achieved, yet some politicians are so blind that they sit in their offices and on radio stations and accuse me and the NPP administration of not doing anything for the Constituency.



I challenge the National Democratic Congress to submit their data showing the performance in terms of water and sanitation during Hon Sampoa Timothy Laari as the then District Chief Executive and Hon Bipoba Joseph Naabu as the then member of parliament for our lovely district, he said.



He said the NDC together with their MP and appointees could only provide the whole district with nineteen (19) bore-holes for their solid eight good years in governance.



Based on these facts I can confidently say that the National Democratic Congress does not have the good people of Yunyoo/Nasuan district at heart and therefore should not be given the opportunity to rule, Hon Liwaal added.



Before he was elected MP in the 2020 general elections, Hon. Liwaal was the District Chief Executive from 2017 and has performed greatly in terms of development to the admiration of his constituents.



Nevertheless, he promised to work extra hard to retain the seat in December 2024 to continue the good work for his constituents.



The Yunyoo Nasuan District is one of the 261 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the country and forms part of the six MMDAs in the North East Region



The Yunyoo Nasuan District was carved out of the Bunkpurugu Yunyoo District Assembly as one of the 38 newly created and upgraded District Assemblies in 2018. It shares boundaries with Bunkpurugu Nakpanduri District to the north, the Republic of Togo to the east, East Mamprusi Municipal to the west, and Gushegu Municipal and Cherepon District to the south.



The population of the District according to the 2021 population and housing census stands at 56,879 with 28,027 males with 28,852 females.

Source: expressnewsghana.com









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BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. The agenda is to increase the volume of fertilizer exports from Azerbaijan to Brazil on a sustainable basis, said Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elnur Mammadov at an event dedicated to Brazil's Independence Day, Trend reports.

The trade turnover between our countries is increasing, and the agenda is to increase the volume of fertilizer exports from our country on a sustainable basis, which is important for Brazil to ensure stable growth of its agricultural production, Mammadov said.

Also, according to the deputy minister, a number of draft documents in various fields are currently being considered.

A total of 15 draft agreements are under consideration, two of which are agreements on education and agriculture. They are expected to be signed in the near future, he added.

The deputy minister also said that events dedicated to the culture of both countries are regularly organized in both Azerbaijan and Brazil. This year it is planned to hold a number of events in connection with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and Brazil.
A senior lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Kwasi Amakye Boateng says Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, one of the flag bearer aspirants on the ticket of the NPP was not a presidential material.



According to him, Mr. Agyapong lacked the intellectual capacity to lead Ghana and was also not fit intellectually, socially and morally to be the President of Ghana.



He questioned Mr Agyapong's knowledge in economics for instance to prepare him to lead the country.



For him, Ken's pronouncements in the past and in recent times do not reflect the status of someone who is willing to be the President of Ghana.



Dr. Boateng who was speaking in a radio interview monitored by Graphic Online on Accra-based Asempa FM on Wednesday afternoon [Sept 6, 2023], said it was his prayer that Mr. Agyapong will not fare well in the NPP's November 4 elections where the flagbearer for the 2024 general elections will be elected.



"I don't expect him to do well," he prayed, adding that the November 4 delegates conference will be a one-horse race for Vice President Bawumia.



He called on NPP delegates not to vote for Mr. Agyapong.



Mr Ken Agyapong secured 132 votes to place second in the Special Electoral College selection process on August 26, 2023 shortlisted five candidates out of the 10 aspirants.



He beat Alan Kyerematen who secured 95 votes as against Dr Mahamudu Bawumia's 629 votes for the first position.

Source: Graphiconline.com









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New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bono Regional chairman, Kwame Baffoe alias Abronye DC has described former President John Dramani Mahama as evil-minded for seeking a return to Ghanas presidency.



According to Abronye it is only Jesus Christ whose second coming the world is looking forward to and that any other person speaking of a second coming is evil.



There is only one person we look forward to his Second Coming, so, how does a man say he is coming again? It means you have evil mindset.



"Any person who says he will come back again just like dead John Mahama saying he is coming back is also dead and evil-minded, he stated in an interview on Wontumi Radio.



Second Coming according to Christian Theology is the prophesied return of Christ to Earth at the Last Judgement.



Having lost power in the 2016 election, former President John Dramani Mahama failed in his attempt to return to power in 2020.



The former president has been elected as flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress and will represent the party in the 2024 presidential election.



Source: ghanaweb.com









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Former Member of Parliament for the Kumbungu constituency, Ras Mubarak, has posited that Alan Kyerematen, former Minister of Trade and Industry and New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful, lacks the moral right to complain about intimidation and violence in the political arena.



His comment comes after Kyerematen withdrew from the race for the NPP's flagbearer position, citing incidents of intimidation among other reasons.



Speaking in an interview on Okay FM on September 6, 2023, he contended that Kyerematen, as a senior member of the government, remained silent when violence marred an election in the country that resulted in casualties and injuries, particularly during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election in January 2019.



He further argued that Kyerematen benefited from the government's actions as a senior member during that time, making his current complaints about violence appear inconsistent.



"Yesterday, Alan said that, he won't contest again, and the reason he cited was that there was a form of violence and brutalities, and so for that reason, he is withdrawing. But, Kwame (host), I am surprised because Alan Kyerematen was a member of the government when, in January 2019, Ayawaso West Wuogon people were beaten, and some were even paralyzed.



Alan Kyerematen was a senior member of the government when the verdict of the people of Ghana was stolen in the 2020 general elections. What happened in the 2020 general elections, we are all aware. So, now that it has happened to him, he is crying over it, and as far as I'm concerned, having been a beneficiary of a violent election, he lost every moral right to complain."



Mubarak pointed out that Kyerematen was a beneficiary of an election marked by violence that resulted in harm to others, and thus questioned why he had not spoken out or complained during those incidents.



He further extended this criticism to other aspirants in the race, including Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia and Kennedy Agyapong, asserting that they are not fit to lead the party due to their involvement in events that have caused pain to the country.



"Alan Kyerematen was a beneficiary of the violent election that caused the lives of others and most people also got injuries and are now bearing the pain of the 2020 elections. All those times he never said anything; he never complained. He and other aspirants who are part of the race and are now crying that their party people are using violence to win an election are so surprising.



Where were they when all of these things were happening in the country? My position is that Alan, Bawumia, and Kennedy Agyapong are not fit because they have caused us pain and are beneficiaries of violent elections."



Alan Kyerematen announced his withdrawal from the race on September 5, 2023.



Kyerematen cited various reasons for his decision, including the alleged intimidation of delegates during the recently held Super Delegates Conference on August 26, 2023.







Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Pollster Ben Ephson has stated that the decision by New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful, Alan Kyerematen to withdraw from the partys flagbearer race is one that is informed by some sense of entitlement.



According to Ben Ephson, Mr Kyerematen who peaked in Ghanaian politics some 15 years ago has failed to appreciate the depreciation in his popularity and has rather resorted to other reasons to back his decision.



He is my good friend but in politics if you are analysing you put friendship aside. I think that sense of entitlement has not left Alan.



"Yes, you raised issues about his people being maltreated, everybody would have been watching on November 4, to see if these things repeat themselves.



"The solution is not not contesting and leaving to contest as an independent presidential candidate, he told host Bridget Otoo on the Tuesday, September 5, 2023 edition of News Night on Metro TV.



Alan Kyerematen in the evening of Tuesday, September 5, 2023, announced via a press release his decision to withdraw from the NPP flagbearer race.



He cited instances of threats, intimidation and assault on his agents in the partys recently held special delegates congress and accused the partys leadership of skewing the process in favour of another candidate while emphasising their inaction on the issues of concern.



After having carefully analysed the results of the said elections, it is absolutely clear to me from events leading to, during and after the elections, that the Special Delegates Conference was strategically and tactically skewed in favour of one particular Aspirant. The pronouncements made by some leading Members of our Party both before and after the elections, also lend weight to my observations.



The level of intimidation of varying intensity, directly and indirectly unleashed on a significant number of Delegates at various Voting Centers across the sixteen regions, is unprecedented in the history of our Party. In addition, the fact that my Polling Agent in the North East region has suffered severe damage to his eye sight, arising from his bold and courageous effort to ensure compliance with the very rules and regulations for the conduct of the elections as approved by the Presidential Elections Committee, will forever remain a dark spot in the history of internal elections within the Party. This incident and various acts of violence and collusion, reported in other Voting Centers, are appalling, unconscionable, and despicable, he lamented.



Noting his commitment to the safety of his agents and supporters, Mr Kyerematen who said he believes the event of August 26 will likely repeat itself come November 4, when the party holds a final delegates congress to elect a flagbearer said he has decided to withdraw from the race.



Regrettably, I am not convinced that the circumstances I have referred to earlier, will not persist or even be escalated in the next round of elections, for which balloting is scheduled for Wednesday, 6 of September 2023.



In light of the foregoing, I wish to confirm that I am honourably withdrawing from the process that will lead to the Presidential Primaries to be held on the 4th of November 2023, In the next upcoming weeks, I will provide an indication of the role that I will play in politics in Ghana, after consultations with my family and other well. wishers, various stakeholders and interest groups, he stated.



But according to Ben Ephson, Alan Kyerematen has rather taken the easy way out as his decision to withdraw from the contest does not resolve his concerns.



Does your resignation or does saying that you will not contest, does that solve it? I mean definitely even Kennedy Agyapongs outburst yes, everybody agrees, I remember my good friend Richard Nyamah (Alan campaign team member) saying that in the aftermath of the super delegates congress the Alan campaign team will go into November 4 better prepared.



"So, he has made issues, publicity has been given and I am sure everybody realises that there were unfair practices, he noted.















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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Coca Cola North America will lay off 58 people at a Pennsylvania plant.

Coca Cola filed a WARN notice with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry informing the state of the layoffs at 7551 Schantz Road in Upper Macungie Township, Lehigh County near Allentown.
A Pennsylvania man has been arrested on murder charges following an investigation into the disappearance of a well-known Huntington, Md., man, news sources have reported.

Family and friends of 51-year-old Joseph Anthony Shymanski expressed concern after the D.C.-based photographer and father of two went missing. His disappearance was reported by his family on Sept. 4, and he was last seen at his home in Calvert County, Md.

Upon further investigation, detectives suspected that foul play had occurred. On Wednesday, detectives traveled to Reedsville, Mifflin County, Pa., to execute several search warrants at a home located in Brown Township.

The suspect, 47-year-old Brandon Holbrook, of Reedsville, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and first-degree assault, WJAC and WUSA reported.

Holbrook is currently being held in the Mifflin County Jail, where he awaits extradition in Maryland.

According to investigators, this appears to be an isolated incident and no other suspects are involved, both sources reported.

On Thursday, Mifflin County Regional Police Chief Andre C. French said human remains were found within several hundred yards of Holbrooks Mifflin County home.

While DNA confirmation will take some time, we believe these human remains are the remains of the missing person from Calvert County, Maryland, French said in a statement to Fox43.

A team of forensic anthropologists from Mercyhurst University are on the scene in the Reedsville area, along with detectives from Calvert County. Authorities are now searching for specific video surveillance footage that will help their investigation and are interviewing potential witnesses in the Reedsville area, French said in the statement.

Also, there may be secondary locations based on findings at the scene near Holbrooks home, French said.

Read More:
An employee of Pittsburgh Public Schools was arrested after being accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, news sources have reported.

Bryan Deering, 45, of Baldwin, is now facing felony charges, including statutory sexual assault, sexual assault, indecent assault, corruption of minors, and selling or furnishing alcohol to minors.

The teen said the incident happened in August, when Deering provided her alcohol and marijuana at his home and then sexually assaulted her, WPXI and KDKA reported.

Deering was arrested and placed in the Allegheny County Jail. He has a preliminary hearing set for Sept. 12, WPXI reported.

Pittsburgh Public Schools was made aware of the arrest and provided the following statement:

The District has been notified of the arrest of a staff member related to inappropriate contact with a minor, stemming from an incident that occurred inside a private home located outside of the city. Upon notification of the alleged incident, the employee was immediately placed on administrative leave August 31, 2023. The employees last day inside of the building was August 25, 2023. Families of students who attend the school where the employee was assigned have been notified of the arrest this evening via the Districts parent notification system. As this is a personnel matter and criminal investigation, no further information is available.

After the incident was reported, authorities searched Deerings home and came across eight empty bottles of alcohol, a bottle of vodka, and an empty bag of marijuana, in addition to rolling papers and other marijuana paraphernalia, KDKA reported.

Read More:
One of two teenagers charged in the shooting that severely wounded Nazareth, Pa., native Sammy Sasso during a carjacking near the Ohio State University campus last month, had been in custody over a criminal matter five days before the incident, a prosecutor involved in the case said.

Anthony Pierson, deputy chief counsel in the Franklin County Juvenile Division, told lehighvalleylive.com the 16-year-old boy on Aug. 13 was released from the Ohio Department of Youth Services in an unrelated criminal matter. He was out on parole at the time of the Sasso shooting, Pierson said Wednesday.

Pierson could not provide any further information on what the 16-year-old had served time for. However, The Columbus Dispatch is reporting the teen had been in several youth facilities this year, including a juvenile intervention center and a community correction facility.

The teen on April 6 was transferred to an Ohio Department of Youth Services detention facility on an unrelated burglary charge for which he was to serve six months, but was released early for time already served, the report states.

Pierson said two days later, the teen was posting images depicting guns on Instagram, which violated his parole. The gun involved in the Sasso case, however, is yet to be recovered, Pierson confirmed to lehighvalleylive.com.

The teen  who has not been bound over to adult court  on Tuesday appeared in Franklin County Juvenile Court to determine if he was eligible for release. The appearance was pending his trial in connection with the Sasso shooting.

Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Monica Hawkins in that case denied any possible release, Pierson said.

Thomas Waldeck, the attorney representing the 16-year-old defendant, could not immediately be reached by lehighvalleylive.com for more information Wednesday morning.

The two teens  a 16-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl  are facing aggravated robbery and felonious assault charges in the Sasso incident.

The shooting happened at 8:30 p.m. Aug. 18  a few blocks from the campus, according to Columbus, Ohio police. Sasso, a four-time All-American wrestler for Ohio State, had gotten out of his car and was talking to a couple of children in an alley when two suspects approached. A confrontation ensued, Sasso was shot and the suspects drove off in Sassos car, police said.

The hearing for the 15-year-old female suspect is yet to happen, Pierson said.

Sasso has repeatedly thanked supporters on his X account, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. When he is released from the hospital, the lehighvalleylive.com 2018 Wrestler of the Year faces comprehensive physical therapy to regain mobility, according to his familys GoFundMe page.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
Penn State has yet to receive any state funding to support the universitys operating budget this year, yet its trustees are poised to ask for millions of dollars more for next year.

A university trustees committee on Thursday voted to recommend the full board consider requesting $368.1 million from the state to support university operations. The board is scheduled to meet on Friday.

That amount would represent a nearly 42%, or $108.8 million, increase over the proposed $259.3 million that Penn State is slated to receive this fiscal year. The bill to provide that money, though, failed to garner enough votes needed to pass the House in July.

Sara Thorndike, senior vice president for finance and business, told trustees the proposed increase for the universitys operating budget would go toward financial aid and student success, a 3% merit increase for faculty and staff, facilities upkeep, and strategic investments in health, education and STEM fields that are in-demand areas in the commonwealth.

She further justified the request by pointing out Penn State receives $5,757 per in-state student compared to Pitts $9,436 per in-state student, Temples $9,233, and the aggregated amount for the 10 schools in the Pennsylvanias State System of Higher Education of $8,754.

In exchange for state support, Penn State offers a tuition discount to Pennsylvania students. They pay more than $15,000 less than non-resident students.

When next years requested appropriations for agricultural research and extension, Penn State Health and College of Medicine, Pennsylvania College of Technology, and special initiatives are added in with the desired state support for the universitys operating budget, it brings the total 2024-25 appropriation request to nearly $483.4 million. That would represent a 33% increase over this years $363.3 million appropriation that the university expects to receive.

The funding delay was only briefly mentioned at the outset of the presentation to the committee and drew no discussion by the trustees.

The holdup for Penn State as well as Temple, PItt and Lincoln universities stems from the insistence by dozens of House Republicans that the schools to freeze tuition and provide more transparency about how state dollars are spent, among other reforms.

A House vote in July to fund the four schools fell six votes shy of the required two-thirds majority needed for approval before sending the measure to the Senate.

University trustees later in July approved a two-year freeze on in-state tuition for students attending Penn States branch campuses while approving a 2% increase for in-state students at its University Park campus this year and again next year.

That brings the two-semester tuition charge for a Pennsylvania freshman at the main campus in State College to $19,672. Tuition costs for many juniors and seniors at that campus range from $21,222 to $25,234, depending on their majors.

Funding for these universities is one of a number of unfinished pieces of the states 2023-24 budget.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @JanMurphy.

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Story by Stephen Caruso of Spotlight PA and Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PA

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HARRISBURG  On Nov. 7, Pennsylvanians will select a new judge for Commonwealth Court and two for Superior Court  and all of these new judges will immediately wield the power to referee legal disputes over state law and decide major criminal cases.

The commonwealths two intermediate appellate courts can affirm or reverse decisions made in lower courts. Their rulings can be appealed to the state Supreme Court, Pennsylvanias court of last resort.

The person who wins the open seat on Commonwealth Court could help shape Pennsylvanias laws on everything from elections to firearms, while the two candidates who win seats on Superior Court could decide the outcomes of high-profile criminal cases and set precedents that impact everyone within the criminal justice system. The Superior Court race features two Democrats and two Republicans, and the two candidates who get the highest vote counts will win seats.

Judges on both courts also are often top candidates to fill openings on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

All appellate judges serve 10-year terms with no term limits; however they must retire at age 75. If they reach that age mid-term, they step down and an election to replace them is held in the next odd year. The governor may appoint a judge to serve in the interim, but the replacement must be approved by two-thirds of the state Senate.

This election cycle also includes retention votes for two Superior Court judges, alongside the contests to fill the two open seats.

Courts and Candidates

Commonwealth Court

Republican candidate: Megan Martin

A Cumberland County resident and Widener University law school graduate, Martin is the former parliamentarian of the state Senate. She entered the Commonwealth Court primary as the state GOPs endorsed candidate, and won the nod by defeating gun rights attorney Joshua Prince 63% to 37%.

As the secretary-parliamentarian, Martin advised the Pennsylvania Senates presiding officer on how to run floor proceedings in accordance with the state constitution, law, precedent, and chamber rules.

Before joining the chamber, she served as a staffer and then an attorney for former GOP Govs. Tom Ridge and Tom Corbett, as an attorney for the U.S. Navy, and as a law clerk for a Lancaster County judge.

Judicial philosophy and public statements: In questionnaires with conservative interest groups, Martin has said that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and state Supreme Court Justice Kevin Brobson come closest to representing her judicial philosophy.

I am a strict constructionist, she wrote in response to a survey by the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, a nonprofit that primarily advocates for friendlier laws for the health care industry and other business interests in civil cases. I am a textualist and an originalist; I do not believe the constitution is a living document.

In a survey by the socially conservative Pennsylvania Family Institute, she said she agreed with the U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade, which calls Roe an egregiously wrong decision and compares it to Plessy v. Ferguson, which affirmed the constitutionality of slavery.

Martins campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the survey.

Endorsements and recommendations: The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) rated her as Recommended, saying that Martins substantial administrative law experience will serve her well.

Read Martins answers to the PBA questionnaire here.

Democratic Commonwealth Court candidate Matt Wolf.

Democratic candidate: Matt Wolf

Wolf sits on the Philadelphia Municipal Court, where he has served as a judge since 2017 and hears both civil and criminal cases. He won his primary against Allegheny County attorney Bryan Neft, securing nearly 60% of the vote.

In a PBA questionnaire, Wolf said during the primary election that he presides over landlord-tenant cases more than any other judge on the municipal court and has also heard misdemeanor and summary criminal trials.

Prior to his election, Wolf worked as a trial attorney for 25 years at various firms, primarily in New Jersey, including his fathers practice and his own. He said in his PBA questionnaire that many of his cases centered on civil rights law during his time as a trial attorney, with a focus on employment claims and government misconduct.

Wolf joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 2003, where he served as an officer, and was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. On deployment, Wolf was a legal advisor to the army. He joined the Pennsylvania National Guard in 2020 and still trains new members of the Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap.

Judicial philosophy and public statements: During a candidate forum hosted by nonprofit advocacy group Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts before this years primary election, Wolf said his judicial philosophy includes restraining judicial activism, which he called not-productive. He also said he thinks the states judicial ethics standards in Pennsylvania should be kept as they are, calling them sufficient.

I dont believe that it is productive to be activist at all and change things for the sake of a political reason, Wolf said.

At the same forum, he said he was the only primary candidate with any experience as a judge, and additionally noted he has argued in front of appellate courts in the past, including the New Jersey Supreme Court. This background, he said, has prepared him to serve on Commonwealth Court.

Endorsements and recommendations: Wolf is endorsed by the state Democratic Party.

The PBA rated him as Recommended, saying that his writing is clear and concise, and noting that he has a history of public service.

Read Wolfs answers to the PBA questionnaire here.

Superior Court

Republican Superior Court candidate Maria Battista.

Republican candidate: Maria Battista

A Clarion County resident who holds a law degree from Ohio Northern University, Battista previously served as assistant general counsel for the health and state departments under former Govs. Corbett, a Republican, and Tom Wolf, a Democrat. She also worked as a prosecutor in Franklin and Venango Counties, and was a contract specialist for the Department of Defense.

She has since left the Department of Defense to run for office, according to the Courier-Express, and now works as vice president of state and federal contracting for the Judge Group, a Wayne-based consulting firm.

Judicial philosophy and public statements: In a survey by the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, a nonprofit that primarily advocates for friendlier laws for the health care industry and other business interests in civil cases, Battista wrote that former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is her judicial role model.

She said that it is not the role of a judge to legislate from the bench, and this is even more important when dealing with constitutional matters.

Endorsements and recommendations: Battista was endorsed by the state Republican Party in the primary, and didnt face any competition.

As of August, the PBA did not recommend her, after she declined to participate in their judicial evaluation process.

Republican Superior Court candidate Harry Smail.

Republican candidate: Harry Smail

Smail has been a Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas judge since Corbett appointed him in 2014.

Before that, he was a private practice attorney who ran unsuccessfully for numerous county offices, and he served as a solicitor for two county row offices. He received his law degree from Duquesne University.

Judicial philosophy and public statements: In 2020, Smail ruled against the Westmoreland County Board of Elections in a case brought by a Republican candidate for state Senate in an extremely close race.

He ordered the board to throw out 204 provisional ballots, which are cast when a persons registration or mail voting status cannot immediately be verified, and are assessed after regular ballots are counted. Those 204 provisional ballots were cast by people who were wrongly told by election workers that they also needed to sign their precincts pollbook. By signing the book, the voters erroneously indicated they had also cast a ballot using a voting machine.

Smail ruled that the Westmoreland election board did not conduct due diligence when it accepted those 204 votes without further substantiating evidence that voters hadnt voted twice.

While the Court is loath to impose the consequences of a failure of the Board onto an innocent electorate  the court must apply the provisions of the Elections Code consistently and as written by our legislature, Smail wrote in the 12-page decision.

In other decisions, Smail ruled in favor of a local newspaper that sued the borough of Monessen for violating the Sunshine Act, and against a challenge by local activists who tried to block a zoning plan that allowed fracking in a residential area. Commonwealth Court upheld the latter decision.

In questionnaires, hes said his judicial philosophy resembles those of Scalia and sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Gorsuch, Smail wrote to the Pennsylvania Coalition for Civil Justice Reform, has a very reasoned review of facts. He is not afraid to make a decision that will make for a more efficient  adjudication of the law with a correct outcome.

Endorsements and recommendations: Smail was endorsed by the Republican Party and ran unopposed in the primary. On its website, the state GOP points to rulings Smail made in 2020 that upheld essential anti-fraud requirements for casting a mail-in ballot.

The PBA rated Smail Recommended based on his extensive background, legal ability and temperament.

Read Smails answers to the PBA questionnaire here.

Democratic Superior Court candidate Jill Beck.

Democratic candidate: Jill Beck

Beck is a Pittsburgh-based attorney who works in commercial litigation.

She clerked for Judge Christine Donohue on the state Supreme and Superior Courts between 2010 and 2019. Beck has said that during her time clerking, she drafted over 500 opinions and worked on topics ranging from election matters to workers compensation to congressional redistricting.

Beck also ran for Superior Court in 2021 but lost in the primary to Timika Lane of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

Following her time as a clerk, she worked at Blank Rome LLP  one of the largest law firms in the United States  in commercial litigation.

Judicial philosophy and public statements: Speaking at a candidate forum hosted by Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts during the primary, Beck said the U.S. Supreme Court Justice she would most like to emulate is Justice Anthony Kennedy, who she described as a jurist who transcended partisan politics. She said she believes in a judiciary that is engaged but restrained.

He was someone who you would not know which way he was going to come out on a case, Beck said. He was a consensus-builder, a tiebreaker. And that is something that I would love to be viewed as when Im on the court myself.

Beck has also worked at KidsVoice, a nonprofit that advocates for children in the child welfare system in Allegheny County.

Endorsements and recommendations: Beck was one of two  out of three  candidates who the Pennsylvania Democratic Party endorsed during the primary.

The PBA rated her Highly Recommended, writing that Beck possesses the highest combination of legal ability, experience and integrity.

Read Becks answers to the PBA questionnaire here.

Democratic Superior Court candidate Timika Lane.

Democratic candidate: Timika Lane

Lane has served for a decade as a judge on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, where she works in the Complex Litigation Center.

She previously ran for Superior Court in 2021; she won the primary election but lost in the general contest to Republican Megan Sullivan.

Lane began her career as a public school teacher in Maryland, where she worked for four years. She obtained a law degree from Rutgers Law School in 2002, and has since spent her career in Philadelphia.

She clerked for Judge Renee Cardwell Hughes on the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, worked as a trial attorney in the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and served as legal counsel for state Sen. Anthony Williams (D., Philadelphia) until she was elected to her current position.

Judicial philosophy and public statements: Ina candidate forum hosted by Pennyslvanians for Modern Courts during the primary, Lane described her courtroom as a safe space for people to tell their truth.

She said her judicial philosophy includes ensuring that everyone in her courtroom will receive a fair trial, and named U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as a role model that she hopes to emulate if elected to Superior Court.

In an interview, Lane said that it is essential to create a court environment in which every person that appears before the court is treated with respect.

Endorsements and recommendations: Lane was one of two  out of three  candidates who the Pennsylvania Democratic Party endorsed during the primary election.

The PBA rated Lane as Highly Recommended, saying that it is confident the candidate is capable of outstanding performance as a Superior Court of Pennsylvania judge.

Read Lanes answers to the PBA questionnaire here.

Retention

Voters will also be asked to reapprove 10-year terms for two sitting Superior Court judges in nonpartisan retention elections.

Judge Vic Stabile, elected as a Republican in 2013, is seeking a second term. President Judge Jack Panella, elected as a Democrat in 2003, is seeking a third.

Rather than face a head-to-head election, state appellate judges earn a new term in a yes-or-no vote, in which a majority yes vote means they serve another 10-year term unless they turn 75 before then. These races normally attract little attention, and subsequent terms are almost always approved.

The only exception since Pennsylvania adopted its current constitution is state Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro, who was denied a second term in 2005 after lawmakers voted to increase legislative and judicial salaries in a late-night vote. Nigro had nothing to do with the pay hike, but was nonetheless defeated amid widespread public anger.

BEFORE YOU GO If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 07. Azerbaijan has refuted the information spread by the Armenian Ministry of Defense about the alleged shelling from the Azerbaijani side, Trend reports.

"We categorically refute the information disseminated by the Ministry of Defense of Armenia that, on September 7, at 01:35 (GMT+4), units of the Azerbaijani Army allegedly shelled the positions of the Armenian armed forces located in the direction of the Azizli settlement," the message reads.
This takes the cake.

Cheetos are celebrating their 75th birthday. Thats 75 years of orange fingers.

Frito-Lay North America held a birthday party on Sept. 6 to celebrate 75 years of the brand leaving its orange mark on pop culture.

The party included a fashion show of a runway collection featuring Chester Cheetahs orange, black and fiery influence over seven decades.

He was joined by Christina Tosi, of the award-winning bakery Milk Bar, to reveal his birthday cake.

The unique Cheetos x Milk Bar birthday cake features layers of Cheetle-infused birthday frosting, rainbow-flecked cake, and crunchy Cheetos throughout.

Cheetos fans can buy the cake from Milk Bar online or at their stores in New York and Los Angeles while supplies last. Frito-Lay said a portion of the proceeds will benefit The Birthday Party Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing birthday celebrations to children experiencing homelessness.

A 6-inch cake that serves 6 to 12 people is $62.

As for the fashions, fans can buy an exclusive Cheetos handbag online. The bag is $175 and ships in December. A Flamin Hot Cheetos x Alamar Cosmetics limited-edition, five-piece makeup collection, will be available in early October on alamarcosmetics.com.

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By Matt Hymowitz, Centre Daily Times (State College, Pa.) (TNS)

Philadelphias legendary Pats Steaks is planning a location in the State College area.

Owner Frank Olivieri will expand the family business with a Pats Steaks at Penn State, Philadelphia magazine reported. The address and opening date were not specified.

The magazine said Olivieri will partner on the location with Rob Wasserman, who is already involved in the State College restaurant scene with Snap Custom Pizza and Big Deans Hot Chicken. Wasserman told the CDT in an email that they are working out the details.

If it works out well, we plan on opening throughout the country, Olivieri told Philly Mag. But not franchises. By opening these the way we are, it allows me to keep an eye on the shops more than I could if they were franchises. Franchises come with all sorts of rules and regulations. And you lose some control.

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Getting into college can be a stressful endeavor, especially depending on which school youre trying to get into.

And if youre looking to attend college in Pennsylvania, theres one school thats been ranked among the top 10 toughest to get accepted into in the nation.

Niche  which is an online platform which seeks to make it easy to discover and connect users to the best schools for them from kindergarten to grad school  formulated these rankings based upon acceptance rates from the U.S. Department of Education.

The University of Pennsylvania  a.k.a. Penn  ended up getting placed in the 10th overall spot on the list at an acceptance rate of six percent.

While six percent is certainly a small margin, its still way bigger than the top three hardest schools to get into according to Niche: Stanford University, whose acceptance rate was found to be roughly four percent, placing it in third; the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., with, again, around a four percent acceptance rate (second); and Minerva University in San Francisco, Calif., with an acceptance rate of just one person (first).

Minerva University prepares students to become the leaders of tomorrow, reads a statement from the school.

Adds the statement: With the future of work constantly changing, Minerva braces students for success in an era of global uncertainty as it develops intellect, builds character, and teaches practical capabilities.

Another school in Pennsylvania landed among the top 20 hardest to get into in the 18th overall spot: Swarthmore College with an acceptance rate of eight percent.
This coming Monday will mark the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that killed 2,996 people in the United States.

It was in 2001 that members of the al-Qaida terrorist group hijacked four planes and crashed them into the World Trade Center in New York City, as well as the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. On Flight 93, however, passengers gained control of the plane and it crashed in a field in Somerset County.

Sept. 11 is recognized nationally as Patriot Day, a day of service and remembrance. As a result, several groups and organizations in Pennsylvania are holding ceremonies to honor those who were lost on this date.

Unless otherwise noted, all of the events listed below will take place on Sept. 11.

Hampden Twp. Veterans Park will host a ceremony at 2 p.m. Sept. 10. at the Captain Leon Lock Veterans Memorial, 4345 Marketplace Way, Enola.

Dickinson College will hold an observance ceremony at 8 a.m. at the flagpole at Old West on the John Dickinson Campus, West High Street, between West and College streets in Carlisle. The event will include the playing of Taps as the flag is lowered to half-staff by the ROTC color guard. Provost and Dean Renee Cramer will lay a wreath at the flagpole and student Rowen Krantz will sing Amazing Grace. Rabbi Marley Weiner will close the ceremony with a remembrance prayer.

The Hummelstown Chemical Fire Company, 249 E. Main St., will hold a 9-11 Remembrance Ceremony at 6 p.m.

A Patriot Day Ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. at Naval Support Activity Mechanicsburg, 5450 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg. Guest speakers will be state Sen. Greg Rothman and Rear Admiral Kenneth Epps, chief Navy Supply Corps.

Lancaster County Commissioners and first responders will hold a remembrance event at 9 a.m. at the Lancaster County Public Safety Training Center, 101 Champ Boulevard, Manheim. Duane Hagelgans, an associate professor at Millersville University overseeing emergency management classes, will be the guest speaker. During the ceremony, the commissioners will also recognize 52 Lancaster County first responders who lost their lives in the line of duty with a wreath-laying ceremony.

The Flight 93 National Memorial at the Memorial Plaza will hold its annual Service of Remembrance, rain or shine, at 9:45 a.m. at the site, located in Stonycreek Twp., Somerset County. The names of each passenger and crew member on Flight 93 will be read and the Bells of Remembrance will be rung in their memory. The program will conclude with a wreath-laying at the Wall of Names. The park entrance opens at 7 a.m. and shuttle buses will be available.

The 9-11 Memorial Ride will take place at 5 p.m., starting and ending at Clinton Township Fire Department, Route 54, Montgomery. Gates open at 10 a.m. A service will be held prior to the start of the ride. Major General John Gronski United States Army Retired will be the guest speaker. Food vendors will be on hand.

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation 2022 Central Pa. 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb will be held Sept. 16 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, University Park, 701 Porter Road. During the event participants will climb stairs in recognition of the 110 flights of stairs, 2,200 steps, taken by firefighters on 9/11. On-site registration is at 8 a.m. There will be an opening ceremony at 9 a.m. and the climb will start at 9:45 a.m. The registration fee is $30. Proceeds benefit the families of local firefighters who died in the line of duty.

Read more:

Courtyard of Honor project in Dauphin County park builds momentum as 9/11 anniversary nears
SYRACUSE, NY  Two teenagers were shot to death Wednesday morning by an Onondaga County, New York, sheriffs deputy after the stolen car they were riding in nearly ran over the deputy, according to Sheriff Toby Shelley.

The two killed were 15 and 17 years old, according to two sources.

The teens were shot and killed by a deputy who fired into the moving vehicle near the Midler Meadows mobile home park in DeWitt, Shelley said at an afternoon news conference. That vehicle was suspected of being involved in two overnight burglaries, he said.

The two teens were killed by three shots fired into the vehicle by the deputy, Shelley said. The sheriff referred to a witnesss video that he said showed that the deputy didnt have time to get out of the way.

The video has not been made public. The deputy, who has not yet been publicly identified, was wearing a body camera but didnt have it turned on at the time of the shooting. Shelley said the deputy didnt have time to turn on the camera.

The deputy had nowhere to flee to. This whole thing happens in seconds. He had no options, Shelley said.

The deputy was not injured, the sheriff said.

The chain of events started around 9 p.m. Tuesday, when two vehicles were stolen from the area around James Street and Hixon Avenue in Syracuse, Shelley said. One was a Kia and one was a Hyundai.

Those stolen vehicles were connected to a 4 a.m. burglary of a smoke shop in Oneida, the sheriff said.

Wednesday morning, the same vehicles were seen in a burglary at a smoke shop on East Molloy Road in DeWitt, Shelley said. The burglary call was at the Prince Smoke Shop on 176 E. Molloy Rd, according to the source, who had been involved in a briefing on the matter.

The deputy who eventually opened fire was investigating the East Molloy Road burglary when someone called 911 to report suspicious activity at the Midler Meadows mobile home park, Shelley said.

Onondaga County, New York, sheriffs at the scene of a shooting, Sept 6, 2023. (Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com.)

The 6:18 a.m. caller reported three or four males wearing dark clothing moving items between a sedan and a dark-colored minivan at the mobile home park. The deputy responded to the mobile home park, knowing that the vehicles the caller mentioned matched the description of those seen on video from the smoke shop burglary, Shelley said.

Moments after arriving, Shelley said, one of the vehicles tried to run over the deputy. The deputy pulled out his gun and fired three times, the sheriff said.

Both vehicles left the scene. One hasnt been found. The other crashed shortly before 7 a.m. on Mooney Avenue in Eastwood, Shelley said.

There, one occupant was found dead and another was near death, the sheriff said. The second occupant died shortly after a deputy attempted life-saving efforts, Shelley said. A third person in the vehicle has not been found.

Nevertheless, Shelley said deputies had been in touch with family members of the teens.

The sheriff said that his office had also been in contact with the county district attorney and the state Attorney Generals Office, which is tasked with looking into deaths caused by police officers across New York.

More:

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UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. (AP)  Three 15-year-olds died when the car one of them was driving slammed into a vacant brick home near St. Louis.

Police said the 2016 Hyundai Accent involved in the crash Wednesday morning was owned by the drivers mother, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The Missouri State Highway Patrol report said the car was traveling too fast for conditions when it failed to make a curve and crashed into the home in University City, Missouri, at around 6:30 a.m.

All three teens  classmates at the same high school  were pronounced dead at the scene. The legal driving age in Missouri is 16. Fifteen-year-olds can obtain a permit allowing them to drive, but only with a licensed adult in the vehicle.

University City police asked the highway patrol to handle the investigation. Patrol Cpl. Dallas Thompson said police had tried hours earlier to pull over a car similar to the one that struck the house, but lost sight of it. They were searching for the car prior to the accident.

St. Louis Alderman Sharon Tyus, who came to the house after the crash, said she and her husband bought it a few years ago and were renovating it with plans to rent it out.

The teens attended Ladue Horton Watkins High School. Counselors were at the school Wednesday, and students were planning a vigil.

More:

Driver was drunk, speeding and going the wrong way before fatal crash: police

Drivers, students hospitalized after Pa. crash involving school bus, tow truck: report
Tree lovers might not have to worry as much about spotted lanternflies harming certain hardwoods as was first feared, according to a four-year study by Penn State researchers.

Kelli Hoover, a Penn State professor of entomology who was part of the study undertaken on another researchers Berks County farm, said the goal was to determine if spotted lanternflies would hamper tree growth.
Update: Pa. collector of body parts facing jail time after guilty plea

WILLIAMSPORT  A former Cumberland County resident has admitted his role in a scheme to sell body parts stolen from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary.

Jeremy Pauley, 41, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. Middle District Court to a charge of interstate transportation of stolen property and conspiracy to commit the same crime.

The Bloomsburg resident who used to live in East Pennsboro Twp. is one of seven people charged in the scheme. The others are awaiting trial.

Pauley admitted buying stolen remains from Candace Chapman Scott of Little Rock, Arkansas, and selling them to buyers in various states including Matthew Lampi of East Bethel, Minnesota.

He also admitted selling and shipping remains he bought from Katrina Maclean, of Salem, Massachusetts, and Joshua Taylor of West Lawn, Berks County.

Scott, accused of selling nearly $11,000 human remains she stole from a mortuary where she was employed, is being prosecuted in Arkansas.

Lampi, Maclean and Taylor are among those named in the indictment. Also charged are Cedric Lodge and his wife Denise of Goffstown, New Hampshire.

Harvard Medical School and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock in their instruction utilize human cadavers that are donated through anatomical gifts programs.

When use of the cadavers is completed, they typically are cremated and either returned to the donor or buried in a cemetery maintained for that purpose.

Cedric Lodge was the manager of the on-site morgue at the Harvard Medical School.

From 2018 until this past March 7, he is accused of removing dissected portions from donated cadavers, transporting them to his home and with his wife selling the body parts to MacLean, Taylor and others.

MacLean is alleged to have sold the remains to buyers in multiple states including Pauley and storing them in her Kats Creepy Creations, a studio and store in Peabody, Massachusetts.

Taylor also is accused of selling body parts to individuals including Pauley.

Pauley also is charged in Cumberland County in the same scheme with his court arraignment scheduled for Oct. 9.

Charges against him there are abuse of a corpse, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and two counts of receiving stolen property.

Pauley initially claimed he legally bought the three skeletons and other body parts he owned as a collector, but weeks later police said they found three to five buckets of human remains in his basement.

He told investigators he planned to sell them for a profit, court documents state.

Pauley was released on his own recognizance.
Editors note: The story has been updated to reflect the U.S. attorneys office says Pauley most recently lived in Thompson.

WILLIAMSPORT  A former Cumberland County resident is likely to spend at least two years in federal prison as the result of his guilty plea in a stolen body parts case.

The defense and prosecution agree without the benefit of a presentence report that the advisory guideline range for Jeremy L. Pauley, 41, of Thompson, Susquehanna County, is 24 to 30 months.

His maximum exposure after pleading guilty Thursday in U.S. Middle District Court to charges of interstate transportation of stolen property and conspiracy to commit the same crime is 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.

Pauley, who formerly lived in East Pennsboro Twp., admitted to assistant U.S. Attorney Sean A. Camonis recitation of the governments evidence that included in 2021 and 2022 he used Facebook to facilitate the buying and selling of body parts.

The sources of the human remains were the Harvard Medical School and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock that utilize for instruction human cadavers donated through anatomical gifts programs.

When use of the cadavers is completed, they typically are cremated and either returned to the donor or buried in a cemetery maintained for that purpose.

Cedric Lodge, former manager of the morgue for the anatomical gifts program at Harvard Medical School, and Candace Chapman Scott, who was employed at a Little Rock mortuary, are accused of stealing the remains.

Pauley, according to Camoni, had buying and selling relationships with Katrina Maclean, of Salem, Massachusetts, Joshua Taylor of West Lawn, Berks County, and Matthew Lampi of East Bethel, Minnesota, who are among those charged by an indictment.

He also bought human body parts from Scott, who is being prosecuted in Arkansas, the prosecutor said.

Lodge is accused of stealing organs and other parts of cadavers from 2018 through 2022 before their scheduled cremations.

He took some of them to his residence in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he and his wife Denise are alleged to have sold them.

Camoni detailed activity in which Pauley was engaged saying the value of the human remains with which he dealt exceeded $5,000. Restitution is part of the plea agreement.

In June when the Lodges, Maclean, Taylor and Lampi were indicted, the government said more than $100,000 was exchanged through online payments over an extended period in the buying and selling scheme.

Human remains bought, sold and shipped through the mail included bones, skulls, skin, dissected faces and heads, brains, lungs and whole stillborn corpses, the charges state.

Pauley remains free on personal recognizance pending sentencing.

He also is charged in Cumberland County in the same scheme, with his court arraignment scheduled for Oct. 9.

Charges against him there are abuse of a corpse, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities and two counts of receiving stolen property.

Pauley initially claimed he legally bought the three skeletons and other body parts he owned as a collector, but weeks later police said they found three to five buckets of human remains in his basement.

The Allentown native told investigators he planned to sell them for a profit, court documents state.

More:

PETA asks central Pa. DA to investigate neglect of guinea pigs at breeding facility

State closes Pa. childcare center, cites gross incompetence, negligence, misconduct
SUNBURY  The Northumberland County district attorney has been asked by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to investigate a guinea pig breeding facility near Watsontown.

The request is based on a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) veterinarian repeatedly documenting neglect at the facility operated by John and Verna King along Seagrave Drive, PETA says.

Examples of neglect cited by PETA from reports of the veterinarian include on:

July 14: A guinea pig was observed lying flat with all legs extended seemingly unable to move.

April 17: A guinea pigs right eye was red and bulging and the left eye was emitting a white discharge.

Nov. 4, 2022: Two pens each with 1,152 square inches of floor space contained 32 and 37 weanling pigs. No more than 19 weanling pigs should be housed in pens of that size.

May 6, 2022: A guinea pig was found unable to support its weight on its hind legs and was left to pull itself around on its forelegs.

Jan. 19, 2021: A guinea pig had sunken eyes, was breathing heavily and dragging its hindquarters.

In all cases, the Kings had not sought veterinary care, the reports state.

In its letter to District Attorney Tony Matulewicz, PETA says his office is the proper law enforcement agency to investigate possible violations of the states animal neglect law.

It asks that he do so with a veterinarian with expertise in guinea pig health and welfare so any animals in need of care can be identified and the condition of the nearly 600 guinea pigs determined.

PETA says it is pursuing charges under state law because these violations carry no federal criminal or civil penalties, said Daniel Paden, vice president of evidence analysis in the cruelty investigations department.

Suffering guinea pigs were ignored at this hellish breeding facility, even after warnings from the feds, he charges.

This repeated neglect is why PETA urges everyone to adopt from animal shelters and never buy animals from breeders or pet stores.

Calls to the Kings were not returned and attempts to reach Matulewicz were unsuccessful.

More:

Pa. body parts collector admits to buying, selling remains stolen from mortuary

State closes Pa. childcare center, cites gross incompetence, negligence, misconduct
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. A coalition of international NGOs and civil society representatives from 27 countries worldwide has launched a "World for Peace in the Caucasus" global initiative, Trend reports.

This campaign has garnered significant attention and support, with over 500 civil society representatives from various nations already involved.

The campaign's statement, posted on Jotform, highlights concerns regarding the disinformation about the alleged closure of the Lachin-Khankendi road, and other biased campaigns that undermine the peace-building efforts in the region.

The statement advises Armenian residents in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan not to yield to provocations by Armenia and remnants of a so-called regime, their political maneuvers, and to open the Aghdam-Khankendi road to promote peace.

Those endorsing the statement believe that Armenian residents in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan should accurately assess the positive initiatives of the Azerbaijani Government and civil society for the sake of peace. It is regrettable that Red Crescent Society aid trucks face artificial obstacles in reaching Khankendi. The campaign also condemns false accusations against Azerbaijan, claiming that Armenian residents in Karabakh are experiencing a "humanitarian crisis", and calls for a realistic assessment of the situation.

Foreign NGOs interested in supporting this appeal, which uncovers Armenia's misleading propaganda regarding the Lachin-Khankendi road and advocates for reintegration, can express their support by signing the statement online through the provided link:

https://form.jotform.com/232422927546459

Follow the campaigns social media accounts for the latest updates:

X: https://x.com/wforcaucasus

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/worldforpeaceincaucasus/

Telegram: https://t.me/worldforpeaceincaucasus
Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas are bringing their Five Albums, One Night tour to stops in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, as well as Baltimore, MD and Washington, D.C. this month.

The 35-date North American trek will support not just their upcoming record, The Album, but four of their other LPs released over the course of their nearly 20-year career.

According to a promotional statement, The momentum comes off the incredible response and fan demand from their highly successful sold-out Broadway engagement and their two-date Yankee Stadium sell-out, kicking off the tour in August.

Where can I buy Jonas Brothers tickets?

Tickets went on sale to the general public on Ticketmaster May 12. Another way to secure tickets is through resale ticket sites like Vivid Seats, StubHub and SeatGeek. These sites will have floor seats, lower level and upper level seats where available, leading up to the concert. Ticket prices are starting at around $64.

Here are some of the scheduled shows within driving distance of our area, as well as links to some of those ticket resale websites:

Sept. 21: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA - shop for tickets at VividSeats StubHub and SeatGeek

Sept. 22: CFG Bank Arena, Baltimore, MD - shop for tickets at VividSeats StubHub and SeatGeek

Sept. 23: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C. - shop for tickets at VividSeats StubHub and SeatGeek

Sept. 25: PPG Paints Arean, Pittsburgh, PA - shop for tickets at VividSeats StubHub and SeatGeek

And heres the remaining concert destinations announced so far for the Five Albums, One Night 2023 U.S. tour:

Tue Sep 26  Lexington, KY  Rupp Arena

Thu Sep 28  Raleigh, NC  PNC Arena

Sat Sep 30  Charlotte, NC  Spectrum Center

Sun Oct 01  Atlanta, GA  State Farm Arena

Tue Oct 03  Tulsa, OK  BOK Center

Thu Oct 05  San Antonio, TX  AT&T Center

Sat Oct 07  Houston, TX  Toyota Center

Mon Oct 09  Nashville, TN  Bridgestone Arena

Tue Oct 10  Columbia, SC  Colonial Life Arena

Thu Oct 12  Tampa, FL  Amalie Arena

Fri Oct 13  Orlando, FL  Amway Center

Sat Oct 14  Miami, FL  Kaseya Center

Ashley Dill covers the online shopping industry, writing about commerce. She can be reached at adill@pennlive.com.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. In accordance with the bilateral military cooperation program for 2023 signed between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Kazakhstan, a group of military personnel of the Department for Ideological Work and Moral-Psychological Support of the Main Department for Personnel of Azerbaijan Defense Ministry paid a visit to Kazakhstan, Trend reports via the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense.

As part of the visit, the Azerbaijani delegation held meetings with the leadership of the Department of Education and Ideological Work of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the delegations of relevant departments.

During the meetings, mutual opinions were exchanged on the organization of ideological work, training of military psychologists, improvement of moral and psychological state in the army, and briefings on various topics were presented.

The importance of conducting such meetings and mutual visits in terms of exchange of experience was emphasized.

Azerbaijani delegation got acquainted with the educational process of educator officers and psychologists at the National Defense University in Astana, visited the National Military Patriotism Center and the Museum of Military History.
VP of PokerStars North America Steve Preiss Shares Details on Novembers NAPT

September 06, 2023 Chad Holloway Executive Editor U.S.

VP of PokerStars North America Steve Preiss, who was previously featured in PokerNews Industry Insiders series and was a one-time member of the poker media at WickedChops Poker, teased that he had big plans when it came to PokerStars in the United States.

One of those things is the return of the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) after a 12-year hiatus. From November 4-12, the poker tour will head to Nevada for the NAPT Las Vegas at Resorts World.

Although primarily aimed at the North American market, the NAPT is open to all, and PokerNews expects players to travel from far and wide to get involved in this historic rebirth. A $1,650 buy-in NAPT Las Vegas Main Event runs from November 6-11, and a $550 PokerStars Cup is scheduled for November 9-12, with a $5,300 High Roller attracting the biggest names between November 10-12. The full 2023 NAPT Las Vegas schedule will be released in due course.

Preiss, who is understandably excited for the first NAPT in 12 years and has agreed to come on the PokerNews Podcast in the coming weeks, recently spoke with PokerNews about the upcoming NAPT.

The Brief But Entertaining History of the North American Poker Tour (NAPT)

PokerNews: When did the idea to bring back the NAPT come about?

Preiss: Re-introducing the NAPT came about relatively recently. One thing I noted in my PokerNews interview when I took on this role was how live poker tournaments are thriving not just in North America but globally as well. Our EPT events are the gold standard in the industry when it comes to player experience and content production. As market share leader in North America, the timing is right to relaunch NAPT now. We want to bring those same sensibilities that has made the EPT so successful to our North American players.

How has it been bringing the NAPT back to life? Any challenges?

Launching or relaunching any brand always comes with a unique set of challenges. With NAPT, one of the biggest things we examined was how to differentiate ourselves in a market where both the WSOP and WPT are thriving.

The schedule itself will have something for everyone, giving the EPT feel. Again, its creating a world-class player experience.

Building a value proposition with a heavy focus on creating unique player experiences I believe will set us apart. Again, the EPT provides a great model to follow here. From the registration process to payouts to overall engagement, the EPT has carefully curated a world-class player experience. We will bring those same sensibilities to North America and amplify them with more on-the-ground activities and experiences for our players.

What can poker fans expect in terms of operations? Will it have an EPT feel?

The relaunch of NAPT this November is to primarily reintroduce the brand to the US market and set the stage for a full and proper tour in 2024. The schedule itself will have something for everyone, giving the EPT feel. Again, its creating a world-class player experience, and nobody does that better than us with the EPT.

What can poker fans expect at NAPT stops in terms of extracurricular activities?

Las Vegas is also home to this seasons penultimate race where PokerStars partner Oracle Red Bull Racing will shoot for gold. The timing of NAPT was no coincidence and we look to further capitalize on our partnerships by providing players with epic experiences both on and off the felt.

.

Learn more about Steve Preiss in our Industry Insiders here!

Given it is the North American Poker Tour, is it possible well see stops in either Canada or Mexico in the future?

To your point, North America isnt just the United States and were looking at the possibilities of expanding the tour to various locations across the continent.

What else can poker fans expect in the future regarding the NAPT in terms of new stops, ambassadors, etc.?

The locations and timing of the 2024 North American Poker Tour are all actively being worked on today.

The 2023 NAPT Las Vegas takes place just one week before the most anticipated Formula 1 Grand Prix in history, which takes place through the streets of Las Vegas. PokerStars will be there, Oracle Red Bull Racing will be there, will you?

Learn more about the PokerStars Power Path Discover what makes the PokerStars Power Path so awesome. Read more

Sharelines VP of PokerStars North America Steve Preiss spoke to PokerNews about the upcoming NAPT stop.
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Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is showing how far gone the impeachment train is by comparing President Biden to OJ Simpson.

Gaetz said on Newsmax:

Its ridiculous that for the sake of democracy what some of these glorified librarians masquerading as election officials are telling us is that we have to have fewer choices in deciding who our own leaders are. And so its pretty easy to diagnose the two tier justice system that we have now 91 charges against President Trump . Meanwhile youve got a pile of evidence against Joe Biden strong enough to convict OJ Simpson in South Central Los Angeles.

And yet were sort of tepidly talking about maybe Beginning an inquiry. We have bank records. We have flight logs. We have changes in administration policy if we arent willing to impeach Joe Biden with the evidence we have Why are we even looking? So the question is whether or not Republicans will have sufficient spine to do what is necessary. I also think that weve got this real converging crisis on government funding right now, Greg and you know the way to go after the deep state. The way to stop this stuff is to cut the money off. Im very disappointed. We dont have the 12 individual appropriations bills that we demanded in January, and were probably gonna have to do something about that.

Video of Gaetz:

Rep. Matt Gaetz compares President Biden to OJ Simpson, "You've got a pile of evidence against Joe Biden strong enough to convict OJ Simpson in South Central Los Angeles." pic.twitter.com/ZDMr9s4xeT  Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) September 7, 2023

Republicans are trying to sell America on the idea that Joe Biden is an OJ Simpson level criminal. Put aside the fact that Gaetzs comment was racist, because Gaetz assumes that OJ was in South Central, when he was a wealthy man living Brentwood, and focus on the idea that Republicans are trying pass off 80 year old going to church every weekend Joe Biden as some sort of a criminal mastermind.

Trying to turn Biden into OJ in the public eye is not an easy task, which is why Gaetzs over the top comments are likely to be met with eyerills by the vast majority of the nation.
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A new CNN poll claims that sixty-one percent of respondents think President Biden was involved in his sons business dealings while Vice President.

The following claims about President Biden from the CNN poll is a lie. There is no evidence at all that Joe Biden has ever been involved in his sons business, and even Republicans own witness have told them this on the record. Yet for *some reason* a majority of Americans in a dubious believe this complete lie.

The poll:

Most Americans say they think President Joe Biden was involved in his sons business dealings with Ukraine and China while he served as vice president under Barack Obama, according to a CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

A majority, 61%, say they think that Biden had at least some involvement in Hunter Bidens business dealings, with 42% saying they think he acted illegally, and 18% saying that his actions were unethical but not illegal. Another 38% say they dont believe Joe Biden had any involvement in his sons business dealings during his vice presidency. Just 1% believe Biden was involved, but did not do anything wrong.

Gosh, why does the public believe a complete fabrication about President Biden, made up by a man who is facing 4 indictments including 91 felony counts?

And in spite of the fact that Biden has not interfered in the investigation into his son even though his son is being treated more harshly than others facing the same charges, 55%, a majority, think Biden has acted inappropriately regarding the investigation into Hunter Biden over potential crimes, while 44% say that he has acted appropriately.

CNNs analysis of the poll results tells us Americans views on Joe Bidens conduct related to Hunter Biden largely divide along partisan lines. Thats another way of saying that Republicans believe complete lies planted into the broader media via repetition and actually, reporting of polls in this way.

Even House Freedom Caucus members like Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) know that there is nothing there. Buck has said, I dont think that evidence has been presented, Im not convinced that that evidence exists, and Im not supporting an impeachment inquiry.

The media hasnt yet learned the lesson from 2016. The correct way to report lies is to report the facts first, the lie, followed by a repetition of the truth. The reason the truth sandwich method is needed is because studies show that simply repeating a lie even to debunk it or just report a poll embeds it into the publics mind as something that might have happened, something legitimate.

Given the fact that Trump faces so many serious criminal charges and his own grown kids worked in his White House and raised a lot of questions about their potential abuse of their position given the self-enrichment they managed while in the White House and immediately after it, theres a sense in the publics mind that everyone does it.

But everyone does not do it. Joe Biden has been in the public eye as a public servant for decades. There has been zero evidence of his involvement in Hunter Bidens business dealings. The only legitimate issue that would be a topic worthy of investigation is the ability of family members to use the power of the presidency for their own benefit. But thats not the discussion the public is having, and there is oddly no investigation into Jared Kushners $2 billion haul from the Saudis upon leaving the White House.

Donald Trump has a talent for pushing propaganda and outright lies. Republicans repeat Trumps claims which at best are unfounded and at worst are outright lies or projections.
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District Attorney Fani Willis slammed Rep. Jim Jordan and said he was unconstitutionally trying to obstruct her RICO case against Donald Trump.

Willis wrote to Jordan in part:

The demands in your letterand your efforts at intruding upon the State of Georgias criminal authorityviolate constitutional principles of federalism. Criminal prosecutions under state law are primarily the responsibility of state governments.



Chairman Jordan, I tell people often deal with reality or reality will deal with you. It is time that you deal with some basic realities. A Special Purpose Grand Jury made up of everyday citizens investigated for 10 months and made recommendations to me. A further reality is that a grand jury of completely different Fulton County citizens found probable cause against the defendants named in the indictment for RICO violations and various other felonies. Face this reality, Chairman Jordan: the select group of defendants who you fret over in my jurisdiction are like every other defendant, entitled to no worse or better treatment than any other American citizen.



Your letter makes clear that you lack a basic understanding of the law, its practice, and the ethical obligations of attorneys generally and prosecutors specifically.

Williss letter tells Jordan that his actions are unconstitutional and that he is attempting to obstruct her investigation.

In order words, Fani Willis told Jim Jordan to go pound sand.

He has no jurisdiction or authority to demand anything from her, and he will be getting absolutely nothing.

House Judiciary Chair Jordan is trying to obstruct the investigation. He is also attempting to get information that he can turn over to Donald Trump to help with his defense.

Jim Jordan has been warned that a member of Congress who uses their position to meddle in a criminal investigation is committing a crime.

Rep. Jordan is trying to obstruct Trumps RICO case, and DA Fani Willis is having none of it.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Flora Khalilova was awarded the "Shohrat" Order for long-year productive work in the public life of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed the relevant decree.

Khalilova is an Azerbaijani journalist, member of Azerbaijan Writers' Union and Azerbaijan Journalists' Union.

On March 4, 2013, she was awarded the honorary title of "Honored Journalist" by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan for productive work in the field of journalism.
Aiken Standard reporter

Matthew Christian is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. He covers the Savannah River Site, city of Aiken and politics.

Matthew previously covered government and politics for the Morning News in Florence. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law and the University of Charleston in West Virginia.

To support local journalism, sign up for a subscription. See our current offers 
In a world of passive screen-surfing and terse Tweets, what is state of the art of conversation?

Thankfully, Charleston conversationalists have plenty to parse on every imaginable topic, all packed into 10 provocative, animated days.

From Nov. 3-12, the annual Charleston Literary Festival will again gather todays most enthralling thinkers to weigh in on the subjects and stories that matter most in todays ever-reeling world. The festival has now announced its lineup, that in and of itself is worth talking about.

The organizing principle of the festival involves gathering writers with recent releases, mainly within the past year and frequently hot off the presses. The longest in duration for literary festivals in the U.S., the festivals hallmark is encouraging its writers then go off book, as it were.

This format borrows from Englands Charleston Festival, the literary extravaganza presented by Charleston Trust, which found its inspiration in the confabs of the Bloomsbury Group of writers and artists known to gather in charged discourse on the estate.

Their entire platform was free thinking, intellectual freedom  daring, radical, artistic expression, said Charleston Literary Festival Executive Director Sarah Moriarty. So that's ln the DNA of the festival.

Moriarty is amping up for her first festival at its helm, though she has seen it in action in her previous roles there. A native of Dublin, Ireland, who has worked in the literary field, she arrived in town in 2021 from Berlin with her husband, Mena Mark Hanna, general director of Spoleto Festival USA.

The culturally savvy couple adds to an influx of new cultural leaders, among them Lissa Frenkel, President and CEO of Charleston Gaillard Center and Tonya Matthews, President and CEO of the new International African American Museum.

For her first festival Moriarty has curatorially shadowed Diana Reich, who has served as artistic director, programming the event. For much of that time, Reich was also artistic director for Charleston Trust, retiring in 2019.
COLUMBIA  Crews have temporarily stopped work clearing trees and excavating at the site of Scout Motors electric vehicle assembly plant, located just outside Columbia, as the fledgling automaker awaits a federal environmental permit. Construction timelines remain on schedule despite the stoppage.

Construction work at the Scout Motors site is not ending; this is a pause in activity while permitting moves forward," Richland County Economic Development Director Jeff Ruble and South Carolina Secretary of Commerce Harry Lightsey said in a joint statement.

The assembly plant has been celebrated as an economic boon to the Midlands, which has lacked major manufacturing investments seen in other parts of the state. But it also marks a major change to the woodsy landscape of the historically rural suburb of Blythewood.

The state and county, on behalf of the Volkswagen subsidiary, filed for the permit on June 1 with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, required because of the proposed destruction of wetlands on the site. To compensate, Scout has said it will pay to protect more than 5,000 acres elsewhere in Richland County.

While the group has waited for the Corps to gather public comment and make its decision, crews have done work on high ground at the site for more than a month.

While the county and state Commerce Department have said no wetlands have been filled, Corps spokeswoman Glenn Jeffries said the federal agency raised concerns with county, state and Scout officials about construction work at the site while the permit application is under review. She said the group told the Corps it had ceased all excavation and earth fill work last week.

Meanwhile, state and federal agencies, as well as environmental groups, have voiced questions and concerns as part of the permitting process.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Partly cloudy skies in the morning will give way to cloudy skies during the afternoon. High near 70F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Showers in the evening, then cloudy overnight. Low 42F. Winds NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
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
The MUSC Hollings Cancer Center LOWVELO annual fundraising event will take place on Nov. 4, starting at 5 a.m. on the Isle of Palms. The 10 and 20-mile island ride will have a start time of 9 a.m. This event will have an impact on some roads on the island. The following is a list of road c Read moreRoad closures forthcoming for LOWVELO event
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, at a government meeting on September 7, accused Azerbaijan of aggravating the military-political situation in the region and said that Azerbaijan was allegedly concentrating military forces in the region, which is another false political manipulation by the Armenian side, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, Trend reports.

The real threat to security in the region is the continuation of military and political provocations by Armenia, the ongoing claims of the Armenian side, as well as political provocations by Pashinyan, against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. Moreover, the Armenian armed forces, which, in violation of their obligations, have not yet been completely withdrawn from the territories of Azerbaijan.

"In order to establish peace and security in the region, the Armenian side must abandon territorial claims against Azerbaijan, end military and political provocations, and stop hindering the successful completion of the negotiation process on a peace treaty," said the statement.
With deliberations underway, Hill also allegedly told jurors they would be forced to stay at a hotel if they couldnt reach a decision quickly and that they couldnt take a smoke break until they had a verdict.

An attorney for two of the jurors said they came forward reluctantly but felt motivated by a sense of right and wrong.

Hill has not addressed the allegations but told The Post and Courier her response would be forthcoming. She has since hired state Rep. Justin Bamberg, an attorney representing victims of Murdaughs alleged financial crimes, and Columbia attorney Will Lewis to represent her, Bamberg confirmed.

In August, Hill and writer Neil Gordon published a 222-page book, Behind the Doors of Justice, describing the trial and how she grew convinced of Murdaughs guilt. She wrote, for instance, that she was nervous before she announced the verdict to the world because she was "mostly concerned about Alex being found innocent when I knew in my heart he was guilty."

Miller Shealy, a former state and federal prosecutor who now teaches at the Charleston School of Law, said the allegations of jury tampering in the case are deeply troubling and go to the heart of the integrity of trial.

I dont know her. I dont know if its true, he said. But if it is, that is going to be bad for the prosecution. This sort of thing is gravely inappropriate.  You just dont do this.

The defense is trying to impeach the jurys verdict, and higher courts set a significant threshold for such challenges. A lot will now be riding on the governments response to the motion and what, if anything, Hill has to say about what transpired, Shealy said.

If the allegations smack of the truth at all, the matter could end up before a trial court for a hearing in which jurors are asked to testify, Shealy said. If the comments attributed to Hill are found to be true, that could well prompt a do-over for the double-murder case, he said.
ADAMS RUN  A man was sentenced to three decades in state prison Sept. 7 for shooting his girlfriend to death and abandoning her body in rural Charleston County.

Walterboro resident Elizabeth Delores Germany, 41, had been romantically involved with Ashante Lamar Green for two months when she was reported missing the morning of March 5, 2019, according to court papers. Family members who lived with her, and saw Germany get into her boyfriend's truck that morning, characterized the pair's relationship as tumultuous.

The following day, a man searching for his dog discovered Germany's body off Parkers Ferry Road in Adams Run along an access road that leads to hunting land, The Post and Courier previously reported. Germany was wearing only underwear and had blue flakes on her body. Tire tread markings were printed on the ground near her body.

An autopsy revealed the woman was shot to death.

Green was charged in Germany's murder the following month after the Charleston County Sheriff's Office conducted a preliminary investigation.

One week before he was scheduled to go to trial on the murder charge, the 34-year-old man pleaded guilty Sept. 7 in a downtown Charleston courtroom to voluntary manslaughter and a weapons offense, according to 9th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Jennifer Shealy, who prosecuted the case.

Greens attorney, Melisa Gay, said her client entered an Alford plea, which means he maintains his innocence but acknowledged that evidence presented at trial may lead jurors to find him guilty.
JAMES ISLAND  CBD, Delta-8 and Delta-9 can be found in products across the nation, including South Carolina.

High Rise Cannabis Dry Bar on Maybank Highway, the first of its kind in the state, is not only showcasing the accessibility of these products to the public, but is bringing up unanswered questions regarding state and federal law.

Erica Stark of the National Hemp Association summed it up: "It's complicated."

The new cannabis dry bar doesn't serve alcohol. Instead, the menu utilizes hemp-derived seltzers produced by High Rise Beverage Co., which cans its seltzers in North Carolina though its owners are based in the Charleston area and also run the Charleston Hemp Collective.

Lowcountry duo Matt and Libiss Skinner hope their innovation sparks a hemp movement in the Palmetto State and beyond.

It all started with Libiss Skinner's ulcerative colitis diagnosis. She was prescribed 11 pills a day at one point and was on a steroid that came with a cluster of side effects.

"I knew I couldn't sustain that, and I was really scared," she said.

After doing her own research, Libiss turned to CBD as part of a daily anti-inflammatory and pain-control regimen, as well as a way to decrease anxiety and stress surrounding her health condition. She hasn't had a flareup in almost two years.

Because of this, the Skinners have made it their mission to spread awareness of the healing qualities of hemp and hemp-derived products, considering themselves a wellness company more than a recreational beverage company.

The bar's "mocktails" range from a turmeric, carrot, mango and lime CBD blend to a chamomile, grapefruit and jasmine concoction with a splash of blackberry Delta-8. Seltzers from High Rise also are available at around 200 restaurants, bars and bottle shops in the Charleston area, including Halls Chophouse and Husk. There are plans to franchise the cannabis dry bar concept.
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
FLORENCE  Florence County School District 1 students have another reason to excel in class  the school district's new food truck.

The district unveiled its green and gold food truck Sept. 6 at Sneed Middle School. The food truck, which also is outfitted with district logos, served cheeseburgers and pizza to the students.

The district will use the truck as an reward for students with perfect attendance, outstanding test scores and other student achievements, district Chief Financial Officer Laura Showe said.

Chartwells School Dining Services, the districts food service partner, also will use the truck as an opportunity to test new menu options that could wind up in the cafeteria.

It's just really exciting because it gives kids something to look forward to, said Lily ONeal, an eighth-grade student at Sneed.

The district is one of several in South Carolina that have opted to roll out lunches on wheels.

The Lexington-Richland Five school district has had a food truck since 2016.

It has used the truck to serve hot meals at two apartment complexes during the summer, as well as at family, adult education, field day and teacher lunch events.

The district still has the truck and plans to use it during the 2022-23 year, Lexington-Richland Five spokeswoman Amanda Taylor said in an email.

Greenville County School District has had a food truck for more than five years and added a second to the fleet in 2020.

Greenville County School District's Director of Food and Nutrition Services Joe Urban said he saw food trucks as an opportunity to bring something different and exciting to students.

It's used for a variety of reasons, Urban said. One, to sample new items but two, primarily as a reward vehicle for student achievement.

Florence 1 School sees the truck as an opportunity to reward students.

Eventually, the truck will run on a schedule in Florence schools.

Initially rolling it out to the schools, it'll all be incentive driven just so that they kind of have a feel for it Showe said.
KALBAJAR, Azerbaijan, September 7. On the pertinent orders of Samir Nuriyev, the Chief of the Coordination Headquarters, the working group on urban development for Azerbaijan is holding its regularly scheduled meeting in Kalbajar city, Trend reports.

The working group on urban development for the city of Kalbajar and the Eastern Zangazur economic zone is meeting for the first time today.

This is the first meeting of the working group on urban development in the Eastern Zangazur economic region and in the city of Kalbajar.

Masim Mammadov, the special envoy of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Lachin district, Bunyad Gasimov, the general director of Baku Abadlig LLC, staff members of the Restoration, Construction, and Management Service No. 2 in the Eastern Zangazur economic region, as well as other representatives, are in attendance at the meeting.

Kalbajar city was liberated from Armenian occupation as a result of the 2020 second Karabakh war.

The previous meeting of the working group was held on April 12 this year in Fuzuli.

The Coordination Headquarters was established to address issues in the country's liberated territories in a centralized manner. Following the Presidential Decree of November 24, 2020, Head of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan Samir Nuriyev was appointed the Chief of the Headquarters.
That formula goes back, I think, to the 1980s, and while neoconservative has taken on a different meaning, it still holds true. The latest case in point is Shivanthi Sathanandan, a vice chairwoman of Minnesotas Democrat-Farmer-Labor party. Like most Democrats, Sathanandan was anti-police and pro-criminal. In June 2020, she wanted to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department:

But that all changed on Tuesday. Ms. Sathanandan was carjacked and viciously beaten:

The second vice chairwoman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is calling for tougher consequences for criminals after she was beaten and carjacked in front of her young children at her home in Minneapolis on Tuesday.

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Sathananda was left with a broken leg, deep lacerations on her head, and bruising. Shes now calling for politicians to be tougher on crime.

She is now singing quite a different tune when it comes to crime and law enforcement:





Hold juveniles accountable for their crimes? That would be a massive change of policy in Minnesota. We do have this good news for Ms. Sathanandan: until now, carjacking has been punished as a simple robbery, which means hardly punished at all. But, as a result of my organizations Take Carjacking Seriously campaign, carjacking is now punished with sentences comparable to third degree homicide or aggravated assault.

In any event, it is nice to see that Sathanandan is now thankful to the incredible Minneapolis 4th Precinct Officers.
I sought to draw attention to the Biden Department of Justices advocacy of leniency in the case of Montez Lee, the Minnesota citizen sentenced to 10 years in prison for setting a fire that killed a man during the George Floyd riots that devastated Minneapolis. I set forth the underlying facts of the case in Felony murder in a good cause (January 18,2022) and several subsequent posts.

Byron York now turns to the case in his column A riot is the language of the unheard' (Martin Luther King as quoted in the United States Attorneys sentencing memorandum). Byron concludes with a question posed by Senator Tom Cotton to Attorney General Merrick Garland in the aftermath of the Lee Sentencing: Does the attorney general believe participation in a riot is a basis for leniency in sentencing individuals for violent crimes?

Here is the text of Senator Cottons February 7, 2022 letter to Garland:

Dear Attorney General Garland: On May 28, 2020, Montez Lee set fire to a pawn shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and murdered a 30-year-old father of five. In August 2020, the United States Attorneys Office in Minnesota indicted Lee on one count of Arson and he pleaded guilty on July 22, 2021. The sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of around 20 years. But the U.S. Attorneys office filed a Sentencing Memorandum asking for half this time. Most shockingly, the U.S. Attorney defended Montez Lee and expressed sympathy for his murderous arson because Lees crime was committed during the BLM riots. Showing leniency towards a career criminal who committed murder is bad enough. But justifying the murder because the career criminal shares the Biden Administrations politics is beyond the pale. The American people deserve to know whether leniency for left-wing murderers is the official policy of the Biden Department of Justice, or whether this travesty was a one-off. Please provide answers to the following questions by February 21, 2022. 1. Does the Attorney General believe participation in a riot is a basis for leniency in sentencing individuals for violent crimes? 2. In the Sentencing Memorandum, the government concludes that Montez Lee does not appear to pose a danger to the public. The Sentencing Memorandum stated that Lee, who was 25 when he committed this crime, had been convicted for burglary, domestic violence, and theft. The government also acknowledged that, in his domestic violence case, Montez Lee violently ruptured his girlfriends eardrum. Given these convictions, all committed in a truncated period before Lee was even 25 and which put him at Criminal History Level IV (out of VI), please describe how the government concluded that Lee posed no danger to the community. 3. Please provide all communications between the United States Attorneys Office for Minnesota and any political appointees at the Department of Justice regarding the sentencing recommendation for Montez Lee. Sincerely, /s/Tom Cotton

Byron concludes: It has been a year and a half since Cotton asked that question. Garland has not responded.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas earned his Ph.D. in history from the Soviet Unions Patrice Lumumba University with a dissertation on The Other Side: The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism. So you know where he was coming from in his recent historical discourse, documented by the invaluable MEMRI: Hitler Fought The European Jews Because Of Their Usury, Money Dealings; It Was Not About Antisemitism; Jews From Arab Countries Did Not Want To Emigrate, But Were Forced To Do So By Israel.

Enough said. Indeed, too much said.

President Biden condemns Israel Prime Minister Netanyahus democratically elected coalition government for including extremist cabinet members. Hes not too crazy about Netanyahu either. But of course he doesnt have a damn thing to say about the murderous hatred confronting Israel on every side and beyond. With our subsidy of the PA and Bidens appeasement of Iran, he contributes substantially to it.

Abbas was elected president of the PA for a four-year term in January 2005. He has dispensed with elections since the expiration of his term and now serves as president for life. At age 87, he can show Biden how its done.

While Hamas remains in control of Gaza, Abbas governs half his kingdom. The possibility of a decent government with which Israel might treat is somewhere over the rainbow.

Via the Wall Street Journal editorial Even Hitler, says the Palestinian president.
Arise and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time. Winston Churchill

Proclaim Liberty throughout All the land unto All the Inhabitants Thereof. Inscription on the Liberty Bell
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Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2023BUILDING COMMERCIAL MOMENTUM DELIVERS REVENUE GROWTHCash runway extended into Q1 2025GUILDFORD, SURREY / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / ANGLE plc (AIM:AGL)(OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company with innovative circulating tumor cell (CTC) diagnostic solutions for the research and diagnostic oncology market, today announces its unaudited interim financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2023.Financial HighlightsRevenues for the half-year trebled to 1.2 million (H1 2022: 0.4 million)product-related revenue 0.8 million (H1 2022: 0.3 million)services-related revenue 0.4 million (H1 2022: 0.1 million)services-related sales of up to 2.5 million have already been made for revenues in future periodsLoss for the half-year 9.8 million, or 3.77 pence per share (H1 2022: loss 9.2 million, or 3.92 pence per share)Focus on near term opportunities and deferral of some longer-term growth objectives generates c. 5 million of cash savings by end of 2024 extending cash runway into Q1 2025Cash and cash equivalents at 30 June 2023 of 22.2 million (30 June 2022: 20.5 million). R&D Tax Credits due at 30 June 2023 of 3.7 million (30 June 2022: 5.9 million)Operational HighlightsPharma servicesContracts signed with new and repeat customers includingnew contract with Crescendo Biologics to use ANGLE's Portrait Flex assay in a Phase 1 clinical study in prostate cancerfollow-on contract with Artios Pharma for use of DNA Damage Repair (DDR) assay in a Phase 1 clinical study in multiple advanced cancersProductsGlobal distribution network established across Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific with work progressed on distributor training and maintenance and support infrastructureInstalled base of Parsortix systems increased to over 290 with cumulative samples processed of 192,000 as at 30 June 2023Content (applications)Prostate cancer clinical study patient enrolment complete and breast cancer HER2 assay development progressing wellPortrait Flex proprietary EMT assay established in ANGLE clinical laboratories and Portrait+ imaging assay kit under development for sale as a productEncouraging results from major development effort in progress using third-party molecular platforms with Parsortix harvestsEight peer-reviewed publications published during the half-year, bringing the total Parsortix publications to 84 from 35 independent cancer centresCorporate HighlightsBoard strengthened for the next phase of the Company's development with the appointment of a new Non-executive Chairman and two new Non-executive DirectorsSenior management team strengthened with the appointment of highly experienced, commercially focused industry professionals in the positions of Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Scientific OfficerOutlookPipeline for products and services businesses building well and H2 2023 expected to continue the strong momentum seen in the first half, delivering revenue in-line with market expectations for the full yearHeadline results from the Company's major clinical studies expected by the year end demonstrating key clinical applications of the Parsortix system for patient care Careful control of costs and deferring some discretionary expenditure expected to deliver cash ahead of forecast at the year end and extend cash runway into Q1 2025 without impacting revenues over the next 24 monthsANGLE Founder and Chief Executive, Andrew Newland, commented:"Encouraging progress was made on multiple levels during the half-year. This was reflected in the beginnings of the post-FDA anticipated revenue ramp delivering revenues trebled year-on-year. Major efforts have been focused on both the products and services commercialisation channels and on the development of "content" in terms of applications for which customers can use the Parsortix system.The management team has been broadened to drive commercialisation with the appointment of highly experienced Chief Commercial and Chief Scientific Officers and, following a detailed review, resources have been focused to maximise commercialisation and extend the cash runway into Q1 2025.In the second half, momentum is expected to accelerate further as major streams of work to demonstrate analysis of Parsortix CTC harvests utilising major third-party molecular systems are completed generating new large scale revenue opportunities." Details of analyst meeting and webcastA meeting for analysts will be held at 11:00 am today at the offices of FTI Consulting, 200 Aldersgate, Aldersgate Street, London EC1A 4HD.A live webcast of the analyst meeting can be accessed via ANGLE's Investor Centre page, https://angleplc.com/investor-relations/corporate-presentations/ , with Q&A participation for analysts. Please register in advance and log on to the webcast approximately 5 minutes before 11:00 am on the day of the results. A recording of the webcast will be made available on ANGLE's website following the meeting.For further information:ANGLE plc+44 (0) 1483 343434Andrew Newland, Chief ExecutiveIan Griffiths, Finance DirectorAndrew Holder, Head of Investor Relations Berenberg (NOMAD and Joint Broker)Toby Flaux, Ciaran Walsh, Milo Bonser+44 (0) 20 3207 7800Jefferies (Joint Broker)Thomas Bective, Shaam Vora+44 (0) 20 7029 8000FTI ConsultingSimon Conway, Ciara MartinMatthew Ventimiglia (US)+44 (0) 203 727 1000+1 (212) 850 5624The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the EU Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014). Upon the publication of this announcement via a regulatory information service, this information is considered to be in the public domain.For Frequently Used Terms, please see the Company's website on https://angleplc.com/investor-relations/glossary/ These Interim Results may contain forward-looking statements. These statements reflect the Board's current view, are subject to a number of material risks and uncertainties and could change in the future. Factors that could cause or contribute to such changes include, but are not limited to the general economic climate and market conditions, as well as specific factors including the success of the Group's research and development activities, commercialisation strategies, the uncertainties related to clinical study outcomes and regulatory clearance, obtaining reimbursement and payor coverage, acceptance into national guidelines and the acceptance of the Group's products by customers.Click on, or paste the following link into your web browser, to view full announcement:
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TAMPA, FL / ACCESSWIRE / September, 2, 2023 / The University of Malawi (UNIMA) and Astria Learning made history by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to initiate the first-ever 100% online educational program in Malawi. This move is in line with the Malawian Government's robust commitment to expanding affordable access to education and is led by UNIMA, the country's oldest, highest, and largest higher education institution.Signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to initiate the first-ever 100% online educational program in MalawiDuring the opening ceremony, Professor Sajidu expressed his gratitude to the CEO of Astria Learning, Dr. Jeff Bordes, for considering UNIMAi as a beneficiary of the e-learning platform. He further stated that the platform would enhance easy access to education, break physical barriers, and bring opportunities for the students to interact with international colleagues, learning about each other's cultures.The Vice Chancellor also mentioned that the signing of this MoU perfectly aligns with the Malawi 2023 agenda and UNIMA's 2022-2026 strategic plan. The university aims to increase access to education, and this MoU is a significant step towards achieving that vision.Adapting to the digital renaissance, UNIMA, in partnership with Astria Learning, champions the cause of universal academic access. Astria Learning demonstrated its support by donating its 5th generation tablets for e-learning purposesAstria Learning CEO, Dr. Jeff Bordes, shared his vision for the partnership: "For too long, talented individuals with dreams of attaining a degree or upskilling to advance their careers have faced obstacles that seemed insurmountable. Together, we shatter those barriers and create opportunities for personal growth and socioeconomic development. By embracing digital education, we embrace progress, embracing a future where knowledge knows no boundaries." The move to eCampus will offer diverse undergraduate, masters, and doctorate programs, such as Law, Business Management, Accounting, and Cybersecurity, ensuring that students receive the highest quality of education and support, with the flexibility that online learning provides.For additional details, kindly refer to UNIMA's website at unima.ecampus.ac.mw or reach out to the Registrar's Office directly at registrar@ unima.ac.mw About UNIMASince 1965, UNIMA has set the benchmark for higher education in Malawi. Committed to offering "relevant, world-class education," it consistently seeks innovative avenues to expand its educational reach.About Astria LearningFounded in 2009, Florida's Astria Learning is an EdTech pioneer. Passionate about democratizing education through technology, they craft software, produce hardware, & guide institutions in navigating the digital age.For more information, please contact:Priti Roychoudhury, Astria Learningmedia@ astrialearning.comwww.astrialearning.com SOURCE: Astria Learning
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HAMILTON, BERMUDA / ACCESSWIRE / September 6, 2023 / In response to the growing demand for trained bartenders, family-owned Bacardi today announced that it is launching Shake Your Future in Germany. Shake Your Future is a special initiative giving young adults the life-changing opportunity to train as a professional mixologist.With an industry-wide shortage of skilled bartenders, Bacardi is launching the program in Germany for the first time. The initial group of 10 will take part in the four-week diploma course at a bartender training school in Berlin where they will gain the skills and experience they need to start a new career as a mixologist.The Shake Your Future students will be trained in the art of bartending and mixology before facing the ultimate test of their new-found skills when, for one night only, the entire group takes over the running of a top Berlin bar for a whole evening's cocktail service. From the moment someone walks through the door of the bar, the students will be responsible for delivering the ultimate cocktail experience - from the way they are welcomed, to the taking of the order, to the theater of mixing the drink, to the perfect serve of a cocktail that tastes as good as it looks - whether it's a classic recipe or a creation of their own.If at the end of the evening they are judged by a jury of bar professionals (and, of course, consumers) to have passed the test, the new Shake Your Future graduates will receive an internationally recognized diploma and be able to access permanent employment opportunities within the sector, empowering them to transform their lives and build a brighter future.Bacardi launched Shake Your Future as a pilot in 2018 to help address the youth unemployment crisis on the doorstep of its French office, which at the time was in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Ouen. Since then it has expanded to Spain, Italy and many other countries outside of Europe as part of a plan to bring the same opportunity to 10,000 people around the world by 2030.Nicolas Rampf, Managing Director, Bacardi Germany, said: "Shake Your Future is a win-win. We are giving these students the start they need to make it as a professional mixologist and at the same time we are answering the need of our partners in the hospitality industry who are experiencing an unprecedented shortage of trained bartenders. And this is only the beginning. Shake Your Future changes lives and I'm excited to see the difference it will make to the participants and many more as we roll out the program across Germany over the months and years ahead." Bacardi is running Shake Your Future in Berlin in collaboration with Dominik Galander, bar entrepreneur and owner of a bartender training school.Dominik added: "Now, more than ever before, we need trained bartenders to help us deliver on the growing demand for the very best cocktails. It's true for me and it's true for the entire hospitality industry across Germany. Shake Your Future is a fantastic initiative from Bacardi. It's a proactive step towards making a difference to our industry and I am proud to be collaborating with them on the launch here in Berlin." Shake Your Future runs annually in each of the cities where it is launched, with an ever-growing number of bar and restaurant partners pledging their support and giving the trainees the all-important experience they need to change their lives.To find out more about Bacardi and its ESG - Environmental, Social & Governance - commitments, including its alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, visit www.bacardilimited.com/esg ENDSAlways drinks responsibly.Media contact Andrew Carney, Communications Director Europe, Bacardi acarney@ bacardi.com About Bacardi Bacardi Limited, the largest privately held international spirits company in the world, produces, markets, and distributes internationally recognized spirits and wines. The Bacardi Limited portfolio comprises more than 200 brands and labels, including BACARDI rum, PATRON tequila, GREY GOOSE vodka, DEWAR'S Blended Scotch whisky, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin, MARTINI vermouth and sparkling wines, and other leading and emerging brands including WILLIAM LAWSON'S Scotch whisky, ST-GERMAIN elderflower liqueur, and ERISTOFF vodka. Founded more than 161 years ago in Santiago de Cuba, family-owned Bacardi Limited currently employs approximately 9,000, operates production facilities in 11 countries and territories, and sells its brands in more than 160 markets. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited. Visit www.bacardilimited.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Bacardi Limited on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info:Spokesperson: Bacardi LimitedWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/bacardi-limitedEmail: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: Bacardi Limited
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Bernstein Liebhard LLP:Do you, or did you, own shares of Baxter International, Inc. (NYSE:BAX)?Did you purchase your shares between May 25, 2022 and February 8, 2023, inclusive?Did you lose money in your investment in Baxter International, Inc.?Do you want to discuss your rights?Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of Baxter International, Inc. ("Baxter" or the "Company") (NYSE: BAX) between May 25, 2022 and February 8, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois 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 Baxter securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Baxter International, Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than September 11, 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.According to the Complaint, Baxter is a multi-national healthcare company, primarily focusing on products designed to treat kidney disease and other chronic and acute medical conditions. During the Class Period, Defendants allegedly misrepresented and concealed the true nature and severity of supply chain problems the Company was encountering and the impact they were having on Baxter's current and expected earnings.On February 9, 2023, before market hours, Baxter issued a press release to report on its Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2002 earnings results. The press release revealed that despite Baxter's assurances during the Class Period, the problems with the Company's supply chain and its effect on its operations were not under control, it did not meet its earnings guidance for the year, and Baxter would lower its earnings guidance for the first quarter of 2023.On this news, Baxter's stock price fell $5.54 per share, or over 12%, to close at $40.14 per share on February 9, 2023.If you purchased or acquired Baxter securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Baxter International, 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 https://www.bernlieb.com(212) 951-2030pallocco@ bernlieb.com SOURCE: Bernstein Liebhard LLP
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the establishment of the "Azersilah" Defense-Industrial Holding Closed Joint Stock Company (CJSC) and amendments to the "Regulations on the Ministry of Defense Industry of the Republic of Azerbaijan", approved by Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated September 27, 2006 No. 462, Trend reports.

Will be updated
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 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 & Grossman, LLC
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Cardano adopts DiligenceVault for manager research, operational due diligence and ESG assessment because it is flexible, integrates with their existing systems and has the largest ecosystem of asset managers & GPs.LONDON, ENGLAND / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / DiligenceVault and Cardano announce that the investment manager has adopted the DiligenceVault platform in the UK to automate data collection for due diligence and monitoring and to support their bespoke research needs for the sustainable investing, manager research and operational due diligence teams.Cardano Digitises Asset Manager Due Diligence With DiligenceVault Cardano is an Anglo-Dutch investment manager and advisory business that advises pension funds and other long-term savings organisations. Sustainability is at the heart of Cardano's offering and that requires building a data framework to deepen the focus. The firm's continued growth meant they sought a technology solution that scales their data strategy and also integrates with their research management solution, FactSet RMS and their CRM Microsoft Dynamics.DiligenceVault will enable Cardano to receive and review a much broader range of asset managers while strengthening their proprietary research framework. In turn, the increased productivity and efficiency will benefit their clients.Ben Cooper, head of manager research, Cardano, said: "We selected DiligenceVault because it ticked many of our boxes as we focus on the big picture: it helps us cover a greater manager universe without putting the manual burden on our analysts; respond faster to shifts in markets, strengthens our analytical capabilities, enable us to benchmark and rate the managers using our own methodology; allows native integration with our RMS and CRM systems; and it also makes it easier for our managers to submit their data back to us." Keith Guthrie, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Cardano, added: "We incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities into all our investment analysis, decisions and advice. Alongside helping our managers be in keeping with industry best-practice, we also aim to align our reporting frameworks with the likes of PLSA, TCFD, and PRI. DiligenceVault's integration with these industry standards and frameworks, and how we can now collect all this data in a centralised and standardised way, allows us to deliver more value to our clients".Guillaume Rouault, EMEA Director for DiligenceVault, said: "We are excited to be working with Cardano, and supporting their investment process and differentiated approach. This relationship also highlights the potential of integrating best-in-class technology solutions to ensure our clients can make the most of their data from DiligenceVault. Our two firms are working well together already and we are grateful to Cardano for entrusting us to be part of their digital strategy." About CardanoFounded in 2000, Cardano is a privately-owned investment management and advisory business with a focus on risk and sustainability. Widely recognised as a market leader, our c. 550 professionals support pension schemes and other long-term savings organisations in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to secure better, resilient, and more sustainable financial outcomes for savers, employers and wider society.Advisory: A pensions covenant, investment, sustainability, corporate finance and risk advisory business serving over 400 scheme and corporate clients. Our scheme clients have aggregated assets of over 400 bn.Investment Management: A purpose-built investment management and fiduciary management provider, with a leading-edge sustainability offering, serving long-term savings clients and pension schemes, with risk management requirements. Cardano has over 40bn of assets under management and 32bn of assets under advice as of 31 December 2022.DC: We manage over 15bn in DC assets across the UK and the Netherlands. In the UK, we operate NOW: Pensions, an award-winning UK workplace pension provider, serving 2m members and tens of thousands of employers from a wide range of industry sectors.About DiligenceVaultDiligenceVault is the investment industry leader in offering a comprehensive due diligence technology platform for asset owners, allocators, consultants, and fund managers. Today, over 50,000 users leverage DiligenceVault in digitizing and streamlining their due diligence framework, moving away from previously manually intensive, Word- and Excel-based, and error-prone diligence processes. Founded in 2014, the firm delivers a global support commitment with teams in New York, Australia, Singapore, India, and London. www.diligencevault.com Contact InformationSrijani Chaudhuri Senior Marketing Associate marketing@ diligencevault.com (646) 546-5087SOURCE: DiligenceVault
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Bernstein Liebhard LLP:Do you, or did you, own shares of Danaher Corporation (NYSE:DHR)?Did you purchase your shares between April 21, 2022 and April 24, 2023, inclusive?Did you lose money in your investment in Danaher Corporation?Do you want to discuss your rights?Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of Danaher Corporation ("Danaher" or the "Company") (NYSE: DHR) between April 21, 2022 and April 24, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia 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 Danaher securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Danaher Corporation Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than September 15, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.The Complaint alleges that Defendants made materially false and misleading statements throughout the Class Period. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (i) as the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, revenue growth associated with Danaher's COVID-19-related businesses was declining; (ii) contrary to the Company's prior representations to investors, revenues associated with Danaher's non-COVID-19-related businesses were insufficient to compensate for the foregoing negative trend; (iii) Danaher overstated its ability to sustain the growth it had experienced in 2020 and 2021; and (iv) as a result, it was unlikely that Danaher would be able to meet its 2023 revenue forecasts.On April 25, 2023, Danaher issued a press release announcing its financial results for the first quarter of 2023. Among other items, Danaher reported that "[r]evenues decreased 7.0% year-over-year to $7.2 billion, with a 4.0% non-GAAP core revenue decrease, due to the impact of lower COVID-19 revenue, and 6.0% non-GAAP base business core revenue growth." The Company also projected that "[f]or the second quarter and full year 2023, . . . non-GAAP base business core revenue growth will be up mid-single digits year-over-year", down from an earlier projection of high-single-digit growth. Notably, this announcement appeared to be at odds with Danaher's prior reassurances that revenues associated with the Company's non-COVID-19-related businesses would compensate for the foregoing negative results.On this news, Danaher's stock price fell $22.36 per share, or 8.79%, to close at $231.99 per share on April 25, 2023.If you purchased or acquired Danaher securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Danaher Corporation 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 https://www.bernlieb.com(212) 951-2030pallocco@ bernlieb.com SOURCE: Bernstein Liebhard LLP
PR-Inside.com: 2023-09-07 14:40:37

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NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICATORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / E2Gold Inc. (TSXV:ETU)(OTCQB:ETUGF) extensively expanded the McKinnon gold system. Work this summer demonstrated at-surface mineralization along an additional 3.5 km strike-length to the east and 150 m north of the McKinnon Zone Resource,1 increasing the gold system to a 7 km strike and 180 m width at surface. An eventual significant increase from the current Resource may be established if future drilling also demonstrates continuity in this system.Importantly, mineralization, including visible gold, has been found at surface in the greenstones, a rock unit previously not known to host appreciable amounts of gold in this location. These veins are well north of the greenstone-granite contact that currently hosts the McKinnon Zone Resource.Re-evaluation of existing data combined with new structural interpretations led E2Gold geologists to locate historic workings north and east of McKinnon, including a roughly 15 foot shaft. The Company now believes the greenstone itself could be a significant host for gold and is building its anticipated next 10,000 m drill program in this new light.Dr. Eric Owens, CEO, stated, "Probably dating to the 1930s, these workings likely represent where prospectors were chasing and recovering visible gold. This, in veins up to 150 m north of the current McKinnon Zone, substantially increases the potential for gold discovery beyond the contact zone into greenstone hosted veins." In addition to the McKinnon East Extension, E2Gold's geologists have been exploring other areas in this very large 80 km-long Hawkins project, and have uncovered shear zones with gold-bearing sulfide-rich gossan, up to 40 km east and 15 km west of the McKinnon Zone. Samples from this seasonal program are still being collected with full results anticipated mid-fall.In other news, the Company is pleased to announce that it closed its previously announced private placement (the "Offering") pursuant to which it has issued an aggregate of 5,783,333 units ("Units") at a price of $0.03 per Unit, to raise aggregate gross proceeds of $173,499.99.Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"); with each whole Warrant exercisable to acquire one additional Common Share at a price of $0.06 for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance thereof.All securities issued and issuable pursuant to the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period expiring January 7, 2024. The Offering remains subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company intends to apply the gross proceeds from the Offering towards the exploration program.Qualified Person: Eric Owens, Ph.D., P.Geo. acts as a Qualified Person for E2Gold, and has reviewed the content of this press release.ABOUT E2GOLD INC.E2Gold Inc. is a Canadian gold exploration company with a large flagship property, the 80 km long Hawkins Gold Project in north-central Ontario, about 140 km east of the Hemlo Gold Mine, and 75 km north of the Magino and Island Gold Mines. The property is anchored by the McKinnon Zone Inferred Resource of 6.2 Mt grading 1.65 Au g/t, for 328,800 ounces of gold. E2Gold is working to increasing shareholder value through discoveries at Hawkins.Note 1: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate on Hawkins Gold Project, Ontario, by P&E Mining Consultants, effective date September 10, 2020.For further information please contact:Jeff PritchardInvestor Relationsinfo@ e2gold.ca+1 647 699 3340Neither 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.Forward Looking Statements - Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of E2Gold, including with respect to the receipt of all regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.SOURCE: E2Gold Inc.
PR-Inside.com: 2023-09-07 13:38:43

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The global food packaging cans market report is a comprehensive report that provides a detailed analysis of the current status and future trends of the food packaging cans market worldwide. This report provides valuable information to industry stakeholders by offering an in-depth perspective on market dynamics, competitive landscape, growth opportunities, and key challenges faced by industry participants.From the perspective of market dynamics, this report explores the factors driving the growth of the food packaging cans market. This includes the increasing demand for food packaging cans products due to changes in consumer preferences, technological advancements, and the demand for more efficient and sustainable solutions. Additionally, government regulations and initiatives to promote the adoption of food packaging cans products also contribute to market growth. On the other hand, this report identifies and analyzes factors that may hinder market growth, such as economic uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, and intense competition in the market.Request for Sample Report:The competitive landscape section of the report provides a comprehensive analysis of the leading companies operating in the food packaging cans market. It introduces the major companies, their business strategy, product portfolio, recent trends, and financial performance. This analysis provides valuable insights for market stakeholders to understand the intensity of competition in the market and gain an insightful view of the strategies adopted by major market players to maintain their position.Some of the major companies in the Food Packaging Cans market are as follows: Ardagh Group, Ball Corporation, CAN-PACK S.A., CPMC Holdings Limited, Crown Holdings, Huber Packaging, Kian Joo Group, Kingcan Holdings Limited, Novelis, Silgan Holdings, Wells Can CompanyBy segmenting the market, the report provides a detailed understanding of each segment by analyzing market size, growth potential, and key trends within each segment. Through this detailed analysis, industry participants can identify profitable opportunities, develop strategies tailored to specific customer segments, and allocate resources effectively.Market Segmentation:Type: Aluminum Can, Steel Can, Plastic Can, Tin Can, OthersApplication: Fruit and Vegetables, Convenience Food, Pet Food, Meat and Seafood, OthersIdentifying growth opportunities is crucial for companies operating in the food packaging cans market. This report focuses on highlighting these opportunities by analyzing emerging technologies, market trends, and changing customer needs that have the potential to shape the future of the market. By identifying untapped market segments, geographies with high growth potential, and innovative product development strategies, this report supports stakeholders in harnessing these opportunities and leading business growth.In addition, this report addresses the key challenges faced by industry participants. It provides insightful information on challenges such as intense market competition, price pressure, regulatory compliance, and technological confusion. By understanding these challenges, companies can develop effective mitigation strategies and adapt to a constantly changing market environment. This enables them to ensure sustainable growth.The regional analysis section of the global food packaging cans market report thoroughly evaluates the market in various regions, including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. This section provides valuable information on market size, growth potential, and key market trends specific to each region.Market by Regions:North AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeGermanyU.K.FranceItalySpainRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaJapanRest of Asia PacificMiddle East & AfricaGCCSouth AfricaRest of Middle East & AfricaLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of Latin AmericaThis report provides a comprehensive assessment of the food packaging cans market in these specific regions, enabling stakeholders to understand regional differences, market potential, and growth prospects. This provides valuable insights that help make informed decisions related to market entry, expansion strategies, and resource allocation. Additionally, understanding the regulatory landscape and market dynamics in each region is useful for companies to comply with regulatory requirements and adjust their business strategies to fit specific markets.Overall, the global food packaging cans market report strives to provide comprehensive and practical information to industry stakeholders. By offering a deep understanding of market trends, competitive dynamics, growth opportunities, and potential risks, this report plays a valuable role as a tool for manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and investors. Through this information, they are able to make informed business decisions and execute successful strategies in the dynamic and evolving food packaging cans market.
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Company Will Provide GXC's Onyx Private Cellular Solution to Enterprises in Key Vertical MarketsAUSTIN, TX / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / GXC ( www.gxc.io) , a leading provider of private cellular network solutions, has signed a reseller agreement with Circle Computer Resources (CCR) ( http://www.ccr.net/) , a Technology Infrastructure and Managed Service Provider (MSP) that serves enterprise customers in the United States and across the globe. Through this relationship, CCR will offer GXC's Onyx private cellular solution to clients in the industrial, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors.Headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, CCR was founded in 1986, and is a second-generation family-owned company. What started as a computer rental company quickly evolved into an appliance and electronics support services organization, before expanding into the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) spaces. CCR's growth as an ISP allowed it to serve media colocation infrastructure clients in the broadcast industry, and it continued to broaden its offerings to include its current portfolio of Connectivity Services and Managed IT Services. As the core services of CCR have evolved, its dedication to excellent service, as well as its highly skilled team, have positioned CCR as a solid partner for GXC."CCR consistently ranks among the leading MSPs in North America and has earned an outstanding reputation for developing a comprehensive mix of solutions that enable businesses to increase productivity, maximize efficiency, and lower operating costs," said Mike Henderson, chief revenue officer at GXC. "We are delighted that CCR will add GXC's private cellular solutions to its portfolio, and help clients substantially improve business operations and performance through our end-to-end private cellular network offering." GXC is a recognized leader in the development of private cellular networks for enterprise applications. The company's patented solutions enable businesses to expand coverage, improve resiliency and security, and lower network operating costs. The company recently announced the release of its GXC Onyx platform, which utilizes proprietary interference cancellation technology that enables access to devices provided in the publicly available CBRS spectrum."We are excited to join forces with GXC, which has earned a stellar reputation for providing a private cellular network solution that is uniquely comprehensive, flexible, outcome-oriented, and cost-efficient," said Shea Kelly, chief executive officer of CCR. "As customers continue to evaluate new solutions that maximize performance and efficiency, I am convinced that GXC's value propositions will resonate with our clients who are looking for tangible, readily accessible solutions to tackle their most pressing business challenges." To learn more about GXC and its groundbreaking 5G cellular mesh architecture for enterprises, please visit www.gxc.io About GXCFounded in 2016, GXC is an Austin, Texas-based company that provides groundbreaking private cellular network solutions for enterprises. Through its turnkey proprietary platform, GXC Onyx, the company delivers comprehensive connectivity both indoors and out, enabling highly secure, resilient, and scalable coverage that supports critical business operations in manufacturing, logistics, transportation, agriculture, and other commercial venues. GXC is the only provider to offer private cellular mesh technology, building this capability based on years of advanced research. The company partners with leading technology providers and systems integrators to ensure that each system is professionally deployed and meets the expectations of sophisticated enterprises. Follow us on LinkedIn and X and contact us here for inquiries.GXC Contact:PR ContactGlenn GoldbergParallel Communications Group516-705-6116X: @Parallel_PRggoldberg@ parallelpr.com CCR Contact:Media ContactLynette Hemann319-362-2384 ext. 269 Lynette.hemann@ccr.net SOURCE: GXC
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Hagens Berman urges Xponential Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:XPOF) investors who suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now.Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/xpof Contact An Attorney Now: XPOF@ hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895Xponential Fitness, Inc. (XPOF) Investigation:The investigation focuses on Xponential Fitness' past claims that "[t]he foundation of our business is built on strong partnerships with franchisees" and "[w]e are highly focused on providing franchisees with extensive support to help maximize their performance and enhance their return on investment." But, on June 26, 2023, analyst Fuzzy Panda Research published a scathing report based in part on interviews with former business partners, franchisees, and employees of Xponential Fitness' CEO (Anthony Geisler), concluding "the XPOF house of cards is beginning to fall." With respect to Geisler, Fuzzy Panda's research reveals: (1) Geisler was "previously CEO of a reverse merger, pink sheets, pump & dump called Interactive Solutions (INSC) that used Bangkok boiler rooms" and (2) "former franchisees, and colleagues of Geisler's described him as a crook' and detailed his many scams' and illegal business practices[.]'"Fuzzy Panda also found that over 50% of the company's average studios are losing money, 80% of its brands have unprofitable business models, franchisees are giving their studios back to XPOF for $1, more of the worst loss-making transition studios are on XPOF's balance sheet and they have become harder for XPOF to re-sell, and XPOF has closed lots of studios despite management's claim to never closed a single studio.In response, the price of Xponential shares crashed as much as 42% lower on June 27, 2023."We're focused on investors' losses and whether Xponential lied about its business model and financial metrics," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.If you invested in Xponential Fitness and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Xponential Fitness should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email XPOF@ hbsslaw.com # # #About Hagens BermanHagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com . Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.Attorney advertising.Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices.Contact: Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895SOURCE: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
PR-Inside.com: 2023-09-07 13:02:52

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Do you, or did you, own shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HE)?Did you purchase your shares between February 28, 2019 and August 16, 2023, inclusive?Did you lose money in your investment in Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc.?Do you want to discuss your rights?NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 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 Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. ("Hawaiian Electric" or the "Company") (NYSE:HE) between February 28, 2019 and August 16, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California 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 Hawaiian Electric securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Hawaiian Electric Industries, 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 23, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.The Complaint alleges that Defendants made materially false and misleading statements throughout the Class Period. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose that: (i) Hawaiian Electric's wildfire prevention and safety protocols and procedures were inadequate to meet the challenges for which they were ostensibly designed; and (ii) the Company's inadequate safety protocols and procedures placed Maui at a heightened risk of devastating wildfires.In early August 2023, a series of severe wildfires broke out in Hawaii, predominantly on the island of Maui. The most destructive fire began in West Maui near the town of Lahaina on the morning of August 8, 2023. By that afternoon, intense winds had knocked down approximately 30 utility poles throughout Maui, resulting in at least 15 separate outages impacting more than 12,400 customers. Moreover, videos captured by local residents showed that downed power lines belonging to Hawaiian Electric appeared to have ignited at least several of the fires. Ultimately, the wind-driven fires prompted evacuations, caused widespread damage, and have killed at least 114 people, with some 850 others still missing in Lahaina.On August 17, 2023, the Wall Street Journal ("WSJ") reported that Hawaiian Electric had been aware for years of the threat posed by wildfires but did not act. The WSJ stated that between 2019 and 2022 the Company spent less than $245,000 on wildfire-specific projects on Maui and did not seek state approval to raise utility rates to pay for broad wildfire safety improvements until 2022.On this news, Hawaiian Electric's stock price fell $2.54 per share, or 17.43%, to close at $12.03 per share on August 17, 2023.If you purchased or acquired Hawaiian Electric securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Hawaiian Electric Industries, 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 https://www.bernlieb.com(212) 951-2030pallocco@ bernlieb.com SOURCE: Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Bernstein Liebhard LLP:Do you, or did you, own shares of Hayward Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HAYW)?Did you purchase your shares between March 2, 2022 and July 27, 2022, inclusive?Did you lose money in your investment in Hayward Holdings, Inc.?Do you want to discuss your rights?Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the common stock of Hayward Holdings, Inc. ("Hayward" or the "Company") (NYSE: HAYW) between March 2, 2022 and July 27, 2022, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against the Company and certain of its officers (the "Complaint").If you purchased or acquired Hayward common stock, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Hayward Holdings, 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 2, 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 that: (i) Hayward and its management had engaged in a channel-stuffing scheme designed to artificially boost Hayward's short-term sales and earnings; (ii) Hayward had flooded its channel partners with inventory that they did not want or need at a level that far outpaced then-existing consumer demand; (iii) Hayward's channel partners were suffering from an inventory glut as a result of the channel-stuffing scheme that would require a massive de-stocking in the second half of 2022; (iv) Hayward's channel-stuffing scheme had cannibalized future sales, materially impairing Hayward Holdings' ability to sell to its customers; and (v) the demand for pool equipment had slowed down, which, combined with flooding channel partners with more inventory, led to an inventory glut and the need for these channel partners to reduce inventory levels.On July 28, 2022, Hayward reported poor second quarter 2022 results - the same quarter during which the SPO was conducted. Most notably, Hayward disclosed the need for a massive inventory de-stocking as its distribution partners had far more product than they could sell to consumers. Hayward slashed expected 2022 net sales growth from a range of 9% to 12% to a decline of 2% to 6%. In addition, Hayward cut expected 2022 adjusted earnings from a range of $460 million to $475 million to a range of just $385 million to $400 million, a 16% decline at the mid-point. Because Hayward had already achieved $254 million in adjusted earnings during the first six months of the year, at the low end of this range Hayward's adjusted earnings would fall by half over the next six months.On this news, Hayward's common stock declined $3.23 per share, or approximately 23.5%, to close at $10.48 per share on July 29, 2022.If you purchased or acquired Hayward common stock, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Hayward Holdings, 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 https://www.bernlieb.com(212) 951-2030pallocco@ bernlieb.com SOURCE: Bernstein Liebhard LLP
PR-Inside.com: 2023-09-07 16:05:29

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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC, a nationally recognized law firm, notifies investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. ("Hawaiian Electric" or the "Company") (NYSE:HE) 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 Hawaiian Electric securities between February 28, 2019 and August 16, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Such investors are encouraged to join this case.Case Details:The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically,Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that:(1) Hawaiian Electric's wildfire prevention and safety protocols and procedures were inadequate to meet the challenges for which they were ostensibly designed; (2) accordingly, despite knowing the degree of risk that wildfires posed to Maui, the Company's inadequate safety protocols and procedures placed Maui at a heightened risk of devastating wildfires; and (3) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.What's Next?A class action lawsuit has already been filed. You may review a copy of the Complaint. You may also 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 Hawaiian Electric you have until October 23, 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
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Rabbis from European countries have sent a letter to the Prime Minister and President of Armenia expressing dissatisfaction with the government's comparison of the situation with the Armenians living in Karabakh and the Holocaust experienced by Jews, Trend reports.

The letter was signed by 50 rabbis from European countries, including France, the UK and Germany.

They demanded an immediate end to the use of the Holocaust topic by Armenian propaganda to achieve their political goals.

"During World War II, the Jewish people were persecuted, tortured, murdered, etc. The Holocaust was not limited to one country; it took place on almost the entire European continent. The words 'ghettos,' 'genocide,' 'Holocaust' and other such words are certainly inappropriate to make into part of the rhetoric used in political debates," they said.

"The Jewish people continue to feel the pain of the greatest tragedy in history, which cannot be expressed in words," they noted.

It was noted that the letter should be taken into consideration by all relevant state structures representing the people of Armenia.

The religious figures also expressed disappointment with Armenia's cooperation with Iran.

"We would like to express our deep disappointment with the cooperation of the Armenian government with the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who constantly openly call for the destruction of Israel," the statement said.

In recent days rabbis from Europe and the United States, as well as Jewish religious media operating in different countries of the world, have spoken out against the use of the Holocaust topic against Azerbaijan by Armenian propaganda.
PR-Inside.com: 2023-09-07 15:47:13

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MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / September 5, 2023 / HSAC, the world's first attention economy token on the BRC-20 network, will debut in September at Les Couleurs Art Gallery at 223 E. Flagler St. in Miami, Florida. The event will be hosted by Les Couleurs, a local charity, and will be attended by crypto enthusiasts of all ages from around the state.HSAC BRC-20: Attention is now the most valuable commodity in the world.HSAC BRC-20 is the result of a bold question: in the blockchain era, what if attention is far more valuable than money, gold, or time? With consumers clicking through hundreds of online videos, posts, articles, and images each day, content creators face an uphill battle to capture - and keep - their interest. Digitization, of course, is firmly established in global society, so businesses cannot put the genie back in the bottle. Instead, they are turning to a new solution: HSAC BRC-20, a token that commodifies attention.The origin of HSAC is Bitcoin, which introduced decentralized cryptocurrency in 2009. By injecting security and transparency in financial transactions and traditional banking systems, Bitcoin revolutionized the very idea of money around the globe. The BRC-20 network, or the Odinals network, was created on Bitcoin's blockchain. Its unique combination of security, reliability, and open-source technology has inspired innovators to leverage the power of decentralization to improve problems across the planet. HSAC was born out of this technology and is catalyzing a change in how people of all backgrounds perceive and award attention.Since its worldwide debut, HSAC has quickly captured the imagination of digital currency enthusiasts. At its launch party on July 27, 2023, at the REVEL Nightclub in Manila, Philippines, the tech community turned out to celebrate the first attention economy token. Many of those in attendance were content creators, who appreciated the full potential of HSAC, including a new ability to be fairly compensated for their work, a personalized digital experience, and a game-changing vision for how online consumers interact with content, advertising, and social media platforms.HSAC's launch party in the Philippines on July 27, 2023On September 14, 2023, at Les Couleurs Art Gallery at 223 E Flagler St. in Miami, that energy will continue with a new event that will highlight the fun and excitement of HSAC BRC-20. For more information on the event, including how to register and learn about how HSAC BRC-20 is monetizing attention for content creators, please reach out via HSAC's official channels: Telegramhttps://t.me/hsacashor @hsacash on Twitter.HSAC BRC-20 is the world's first attention commodity token and is reinventing how content creators are compensated for their expertise. For more information and to learn more about future launch parties, please visit www.hsac.cash or follow @hsacash on Twitter.Contact:Peter F. Andrasniftieslab@ proton.me305-340-2940 SOURCE: HSAC
PR-Inside.com: 2023-09-07 14:10:22

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SURRY, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Condor Gold plc ("Condor Gold", "Condor", the "Group" or the "Company"), (AIM:CNR)(TSX:COG) announces that it has today published its unaudited interim financial results for the six-month period to 30 June 2023.It has been posted on the Company's websites www.condorgold.com and ca.condorgold.com . It is also available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com Highlights for six months to 30 June 2023There continues to be significant interest in the sale of the Company's assetsThe Company hosted 2 site visits in connection with the sale of the assets in Nicaragua during the first half of the year. There are currently 5 non-binding offers.Land acquisition continued at the La India open pit and associated mine site infrastructure. To date, 99.6% of the core areas have been purchased.Site clearance of 14 hectares has been completed for the processing plant location, including areas for offices, warehouses, a stockpile, and a buffer zone.0.66 g/t gold from an isolated high-level chalcedonic rock chip sample 400 m west of Cacao deposit indicates continuity of the hidden, deep-seated high-grade mineralised Cacao deposit to the west.Up to 6.29 g/t gold from a 0.5 m thick quartz breccia in artisanal mine workings at the Twin Hills (Dos Gemelos) prospect confirm mineralisation along the Cacao trend some 2 km east of the Cacao deposit.26.1 g/t gold and 200 g/t silver from new artisanal mine working at the southern end of the main El Paraiso vein trend on the Rio Luna Concession extends the strike length of medium to high-grade mineralisation on the El Paraiso structure from 3.5 to over 4 km.Post Period Highlights4 July 2023 the Company announced it had raised 1 million by way of the exercise of warrants by Galloway Limited, a company wholly owned by Burnbrae Group Limited, which is, in turn, wholly owned by Jim Mellon, Condor's Chairman, increasing Galloway's shareholding to 23% of Condor Gold.21 July 2023 the Company provide an update on the sales process.Chairman's Statement for the Six Months to 30 June 2023Dear Shareholder,I continue to be impressed by the executive team' dedication to getting our project shovel ready, which is eliciting good interest in the current sales process.We are very aware of the value of our assets and will not allow them to go at anything other than a fair price.Jim MellonChairmanCEO'S Report for the Six Months to 30 June 2023Dear Shareholder,I am pleased to present Condor Gold Plc's ("Condor", the "Company" or the "Group") interim report for the 6-month financial period to 30 June 2023 www.condorgold.com or, if you are viewing from Canada, ca.condorgold.com The focus during the 6 month period to 30 June 2023 has been on the sale of the Company's assets in Nicaragua. On 22 November 2022, the Company announced a strategy update and informed the market that it had appointed an advisor to sell its assets. The Board carefully reviewed the Company's options as the Project is "construction ready" with an18 month construction timeline. The options included going through a financing and construction phase as a single asset, single jurisdiction company with no existing gold production experience. The Board concluded that it is in the best interests of the Company and all stakeholders to sell the assets of the Company to a gold producer with mine building expertise, thus ensuring a new mine at La India, a significant investment made in the local area, which will regenerate the local communities. As a result of this strategy, the Board has reclassified the Nicaraguan assets as held for sale within the Group and Company Statements of Financial Position. The focus for 2023 is to execute on a successful sale of the assets while maintaining a social license to operate at the fully permitted La India Project.The last update on the sales process was on 21 July 2023, my quote in the RNS: "There remains substantial interest from gold producers to acquire the Company's assets. Wholly owned, fully permitted, construction ready gold mines with potential production of 150,000 oz gold per annum, in major Gold Districts, with the land and a new SAG Mill package purchased and a construction period of only 18 months are rare. There are currently eight companies under NDAs, five non-binding offers received and three site visits completed. Companies under NDAs have access to a virtual data room, which includes all drill data, technical studies to Feasibility Study level, details of permits to construct and operate a mine and financial models. While the sales process is taking longer than anticipated, new enquires continue to be received and the Board is confident that a binding agreement will be reached. Investors will be updated in due course." The Company's strategy has been to develop the fully permitted La India Project in two stages using the new SAG Mill that has already been purchased. The delivery of a Feasibility Study Technical Report ("2022 FS") on 26 October 2022 on La India open pit, with an average of 81,524 oz gold per annum for the initial six years for a relatively low total upfront capital cost of US$106 million is a landmark and significantly de-risks the Project. At US$1,600 oz gold, the La India open pit Mineral Reserve produces total revenues of US$888 million, the total operating costs of mining, processing and G&A are US$480 million, leading to an operating profit of US$408 million or a 46% operating margin. After government and other royalties, but before sustaining capital, the operating profit is US$355 million, which in Condor's opinion is ample to repay any project debt on the relatively low upfront capex. At US$2,000 oz gold after paying royalties, but before sustaining capital the operating profit is US$563 million. In reality, two permitted high grade feeder pits will be added during the early years of production thus increasing production ounces of gold. Early production is targeted at 100,000 oz gold p.a.The plan would be to materially expand production by converting existing Mineral Resources into Mineral Reserves and an associated integrated mine plan. On 25 October 2021, the Company announced the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment and filed on SEDAR a technical report entitled "Condor Gold Technical Report on the La Indian Gold Project, Nicaragua, 2021" detailing average annual production of 150,000 oz of gold over the initial nine years of production from open pit and underground Mineral Resources and providing an indication of production targets.The 2022 MRE update was prepared by SRK Consulting (UK) Limited ("SRK") and uses the terminology, definitions and guidelines given in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Me
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MISSISSAUGA, ON / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Science&Humans (S&H), a consumer-first digital platform for hormone health treatments, will be hosting a major campaign and charity event in support of menopause awareness. This October - Menopause Awareness Month - S&H will be deploying skydivers at various drop zones around North America under the banner "Jump for Menopause" to raise awareness, combat stigma, and provide treatment options.S&H has developed the "Jump for Menopause" campaign because of its staggering effect on women both personally and professionally. It is currently estimated that one quarter of Canada's 19-million-person work force are women over the age of 40. 10% of these women will be forced out of the workplace because their menopause symptoms are debilitating, leaving senior positions empty and taking their valuable knowledge and experience with them. Of the women who stay and are contemplating leaving, 74% feel their employer is not supportive or don't know if their employer will provide enough support to help them manage this unavoidable stage of life.As a member of S&H's Medical Advisory Board, Endocrinologist and Geneticist Dr. Fady Hannah-Shmouni MD FRCPC, shares the economic impact of menopause in the United States alone, "With over 1 million women in the U.S. undergoing menopause each year, and a projected 1.1 billion postmenopausal women worldwide by 2025, the potential in the menopause market is immense, particularly for innovative companies offering frictionless and consumer centric-digital products and services." How women are coping with menopause at home is even more devastating. In today's world it seems as though no subject is off-limits for discussion but, shockingly, half of women feel that menopause is a "taboo" topic and feel unprepared for a phase that could last nearly 10 years.S&H Co-Founder and COO, Hira Siddiqui, expresses, "Women spend roughly one-third of their lives navigating the unique challenges of menopause-a journey often shrouded in taboo and silence. As a millennial, I'm keenly aware that my generation is on the brink of this milestone, facing a glaring lack of preparedness and a cloud of misinformation. Our mission is clear: to offer unwavering support and empower women, ensuring they not only endure but thrive during this decade-long journey, guided by evidence-based solutions." Women simply feel alone and helpless while trying to manage their symptoms as 41% of women in Canada attempted to seek out medical advice, but 72% of those found it to be either not helpful or only somewhat helpful. In the United States, 45% of women share that menopause symptoms have affected their lives, but 20% say they experienced symptoms for longer than a year before receiving a formal diagnosis and 34% experiencing symptoms have not sought out a formal diagnosis or received one. These women feel as if there is no reliable support system and that needs to change. Throughout the stages of menopause, women can experience the well-known symptoms of hot flashes and night sweats but a vast majority are unaware that urinary tract infections, heart palpitations, headaches and migraines, anxiety, depression, and memory issues can all be a result as well.Dr. Wendy Wolfman MD, FRCS , FACOG, NCMP, President of the Canadian Menopause Society and a member of the Medical Advisory Board of the Menopause Foundation of Canada shares the observation, "Menopause is seen as something women must endure, like a woman's burden. This is unacceptable." Dr. Wolfman continues, "Women deserve to feel healthy and they should not suffer in silence. There is preventative care, lifestyle choices, and safe and effective treatment options to help women thrive during their menopausal years." Because of these harsh realities, awareness campaigns are often created in the wake of tragedy, such as the 2022 "Shattered" campaign that ran in the UK and was inspired by a Yorkshire local who had lost his wife to suicide at the age of 56. This is exactly why S&H is determined to bring awareness to the cause in a more positive light that focuses on proactive treatment and preventative action.So far, S&H has released the locations Clewiston and Sebastian, Florida, and Niagara Falls and Toronto, Ontario, as drop zones with more to come. Skydive Spaceland Clewiston will be leading "Jump for Menopause" as the very first drop zone with co-owners Lisa and Rick Hornsby excited to lend hands-on assistance to lift the campaign off the ground. The team of skydivers at each drop' throughout October will be led by Chris Serrano, who is an award-winning creative director and skydiving athlete based in Florida. Additionally, S&H has selected Women's Health Collective Canada (WHCC) as the recipient of all donations that will be given on behalf of this campaign.Entities interested in becoming a sponsor of "Jump for Menopause" will have tiered sponsorship options to choose from and as part of all packages will become a Women's Health Accredited Employer. As an accredited employer, entities will receive a free HR toolkit and education sessions that will aid in empowering all employees in an inclusive and informed workplace with the right information to support their hormone health and wellbeing.For all persons and companies looking to support "Jump for Menopause" on social media, the official campaign hashtags are: #jumpformenopause, #menopauseawarenessmonth, #science&humans, #menopause, #menopausesupport, #menopausehealth, #womenshealth, and #hormonehealth.About Science & Humans (S&H)Science & Humans is a first-of-its-kind platform transforming how individuals fulfill their hormone health and wellness needs. The company's consumer-first digital platform offers treatments for hormone health, longevity, aging, and sexual wellness. Science & Humans is dedicated to providing accessible options and results for individuals living with hormone imbalances in North America.As S&H grows, the future will have a particular focus on treatments for women as the company has recently expanded from being exclusive to men's health to a gender-inclusive platform.S&H is excited to release more details of its upcoming "Jump for Menopause" campaign ahead of the October activation and is thrilled to be reaching many more women and supporters with its commitment to championing women and catalyzing menopause awareness in North America.Patient transformation stories and detailed product information is available on the S&H website at www.scienceandhumans.com , while entities looking to sponsor "Jump for Menopause" are asked to contact S&H directly.Contact Information:Aftab Pashaw (Fou
PR-Inside.com: 2023-09-07 17:55:58

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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / September 6, 2023 / McDonald's CorporationRMHC is a global network of more than 260 Chapters that help families access medical care for their children and family support services in more than 60 countries and regions throughout the world. Ronald McDonald House Charities and RMHC are trademarks of McDonald's Corporation and its affiliates. RMHC programs provide families with somewhere to stay in or near leading hospitals and healthcare services, helping to ensure they are fully supported along their child's healthcare journey. RMHC is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization.In total, McDonald's, our Franchisees and customers donated over $182 million to RMHC in 2022, helping the charity provide more than 2.2 million overnight stays for RMHC families around the world.All donation and monetary figures have been converted to U.S. dollars and are approximate.2022 HighlightsMcDonald's Corporation donated $20 million as part of our five-year, $100 million commitment to support families when they need it most.More than 28,000 individuals in the McDonald's System - including Owner/Operators, Developmental Licensees, employees and crew - actively volunteered with RMHC Chapters."Round-Up for RMHC" - providing customers with the opportunity to round up their purchase to the nearest whole number - continued in select markets, raising over $32 million across participating restaurants.More than $24 million was donated worldwide through RMHC Donation Boxes at restaurant counters and Drive-Thru windows.What Ronald McDonald House Charities DoesThrough three core global programs and hundreds of local programs, RMHC provides stability and vital resources to families around the world.Ronald McDonald House programs - More than just a place to sleep, each House is near the hospital and provides meals and a range of supportive services to families with a hospitalized child.384 Ronald McDonald House programs48 countries9,649 bedrooms for families around the world every nightRonald McDonald Family Room programs - Located within the hospital, this program offers families a place to recharge, rest and have a snack, all within a few steps of their child's bedside.269 Ronald McDonald Family Room programs29 countriesAccommodating more than 3,400 visits by families every dayRonald McDonald Care Mobile programs - In partnership with a clinical services provider, these mobile units provide medical, dental and healthcare resources to children and families in underserved communities around the world.39 Ronald McDonald Care Mobile programs9 countriesServes more than 76,000 children a yearOur Strategy: McDonald's & RMHC Working in PartnershipWhen our communities need us, we show up. Collective support from McDonald's, our Franchisees, suppliers and customers helps RMHC continue offering the important programs that keep families in or near leading hospitals and healthcare services, ensuring they have access to the medical care their child needs. McDonald's ongoing support of RMHC is a central pillar of our commitment to have a positive impact on the communities where we operate, and we are proud to be more than a founding partner of RMHC - we are its forever partner. See our Community Impact & Philanthropy page for more information. McDonald's, along with individual donors and corporate partners, plays a key role in supporting RMHC in its efforts to keep families together during their child's medical journey.In some countries or regions, McDonald's donates a percentage of the sale of specific products or runs other special promotions in restaurants. We make it easy for our customers to support RMHC too, through a range of on-site and modernized giving opportunities.1In 2022, McDonald's Corporation donated $20 million as part of our five-year, $100 million commitment to support families when they need it most. The gift is helping RMHC deliver its mission through:Direct financial support to Chapters, including capital expansion grants.Chapter capacity building and consultation services in areas such as operations, infrastructure, financial management, fundraising, branding and people development.Resource development for the RMHC system and advancement of key global initiatives in financial management, leadership training and systems/ technology improvement.McDonald's Actions in 2022The McDonald's community has provided their time, funds, and in-kind services, all of which have helped RMHC to positively impact millions of children and their families since 1974. The actions we take - alongside our customers, Franchisees and suppliers around the world - have enabled us to continue to support families, despite unforeseen global challenges. Here are just a few examples from 2022:More than 28,000 individuals in the McDonald's System - including Owner/Operators, Developmental Licensees, employees and crew - actively volunteered with RMHC Chapters. Some even volunteer as RMHC Board members, helping shape the ways in which local Chapters meet the critical needs of children and their families in their local community. Volunteers are vital to RMHC, helping offset costs and allowing the charity to direct more donations to services supporting children and their families.When McDonald's Portugal redesigned the uniforms of all 9,500 crew members, the team developed an innovative circular economy initiative to recycle the more than 18,000 used uniforms. These uniforms were transformed into recycled textile yarns and converted into new textile bags, and 5,500 bags were then donated to RMHC Portugal to be used as "Family Welcome Kits" with items to improve families' well-being.Tyson Foods provided six branded food programs across Ronald McDonald House programs in the U.S. The programs enabled guest families to access quick meals around the clock and also offered refrigerators/freezers and products to the Houses in core Tyson markets.UL Solutions became the first RMHC partner solely dedicated to supporting its global sustainability efforts. In alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, UL Solutions offers building assessments to evaluate the indoor air quality of several RMHC programs. The partnership galvanizes UL Solutions' network of employees to give back and volunteer at their local RMHC Chapters, and provides educational resources to reinforce sustainability priorities for more than 260 RMHC Chapters across the globe.Relief Response Around the GlobeAs our communities navigated through adversity, McDonald's - along with our global community of customers, suppliers and Franchisees - continued supporting RMHC Chapters around the world. Our efforts to help families with sick children during very difficult tim
PR-Inside.com: 2023-09-07 20:30:50

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Ten leading forestry companies, managing almost 9 million hectares (22 million acres) of forests in 27 countries worth tens of billions of dollars, unite to help solve some of the world's largest environmental challenges.LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Prompted by the urgent call to action on climate change, biodiversity loss, reducing emissions by halting and reversing deforestation, some of the world's largest forestry companies are today launching a new initiative.The group, known as the International Sustainable Forestry Coalition (ISFC), includes founding members Dasos Capital, F&W Forestry, Gresham House, Marubeni, Mitsui & Co., Ltd (Mitsui), New Forests, Oji Holdings Corporation, Rayonier, Stora Enso and UPM.Collectively these companies manage almost 9 million hectares of forests in 27 countries being Australia, New Zealand, USA, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Ireland, UK, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, France, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique.Executive Director of the ISFC Ross Hampton said, "ISFC's mission is to advocate for increasing the global provision of renewable materials in the context of a circular bioeconomy; supporting growth that is compatible with climate and nature recovery imperatives; embedding science-based principles in policy and incentives; and increasing benefits to rural and Indigenous Peoples." "The ISFC is committed to help solve the challenges laid out in the Glasgow Leaders Declaration on Forests and Land Use, being progressed by the Forests and Climate Leaders Partnership (FCLP). The private forestry sector is a vital partner to mobilize capital at the scale required to deliver on these ambitions and the applicable United Nations Sustainable Development Goals." Convening Chair of the ISFC, and Chair of nature-based real assets manager, New Forests, Dr. David Brand said, "For the forestry sector to play a greater role in the overarching sustainability transition it needs to engage more directly with the Climate Change and Biodiversity COPs, with initiatives such as the Forests and Climate Leaders Partnership and with other policy processes related to the conservation and sustainable management of forests."There is an expectation that the forestry sector needs to grow and contribute to a transition to greater use of sustainable, renewable, naturally decomposable materials in society; to a sustainable built environment; and to thriving rural communities. This will require expanded investment, but also an approach that creates and perpetuates landscapes which effectively balance conservation and production functions." The ISFC will undertake activities during New York Climate Week and at COP28 in Dubai.Mark McHugh, President, Rayonier said, "Sustainably managed working forests will play a vital role in supporting the transition to a circular bioeconomy. At Rayonier, we are committed to realizing the full potential of our forests in meeting the needs of society, and we are pleased to join the International Sustainable Forestry Coalition with a view towards achieving this vision." ###Notes to Editors: The ISFC Position Paper can be downloaded here.For more information about ISFC please visit www.isfc.world Dr. David Brand and several other senior members of the ISFC companies will be present in New York during Climate Week (17-24 September) and available for media interviews.Contact: Ross Hampton, ISFC Executive Director rhampton@ isfc.world +44 7930629814View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Rayonier on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info:Spokesperson: RayonierWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/rayonierEmail: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: Rayonier
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*FRENCH VERSION TO FOLLOW / VERSION FRANCAISE A SUIVREWith gratitude, we acknowledge that we live, work, and play on the traditional territories of many Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island and we affirm our ongoing commitment to principles and processes of reconciliation and to the TRC 94 Calls to Action.TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / September 6, 2023 / Social Value Canada (SVC), the Digital Governance Standards Institute (DGSI), and the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) announced the release of the first Technical Specification (TS) for Impact Statements' issued by for-profit entities seeking to report credibly on impact and sustainability performance.Moving Canada Forward on Sustainability Reporting PracticesWith the increasing demand for credible non-financial reporting within ESG and sustainability reporting, this Technical Specification (TS) for Impact Statements for Profit- Oriented Entities offers essential guidance for all companies seeking to report credibly on the social, environmental, and financial impact linked to their operations, goods and services, and relationships.Developed by a technical committee of leading Canadian experts in sustainable finance, impact measurement, and reporting, the technical specification is aligned with international standards and norms in the field of non-financial reporting. This includes UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN DRIP), Impact Management Project Norms hosted by Impact Frontier, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the SDG Impact Standards, the Social Value International Principles and Standards, the European Union Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), the Corporate Sustainability Responsibility Directive (CSRD) regulations, and the Draft Canadian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy."The Digital Governance Standards Institute is happy to lend our expertise to the development of the Technical Standard", said Darryl Kingston, Executive Director of the Digital Governance Standards Institute. "Canadian companies face an increasing demand to produce credible sustainability reports and we hope the reporting process outlined will be of great benefit to those tasked with creating those reports." "A major challenge to companies is to develop a process to consistently report on impact", said Chantal Guay, CEO of the Standards Council. "This Technical Specification offers guidance in an area that is an increasing corporate priority." Aligning with Global LeadershipWith federal net zero and the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals clearly in mind, Canada joins other nations, including Britain, France, New Zealand, Taiwan, and Japan, in raising expectations for corporate non-financial disclosure. "The development of this TS was an opportunity for technical experts in impact reporting to come together and share expertise to the benefit of sustainability reporting", said Stephanie Robertson, Acting Executive Director, Social Value Canada and International Co-Chair of Social Value International. "The TS benefited greatly from the combined efforts of the Technical Committee which included experts from Rally Assets, Raven Capital Partners, The Common Approach, and impak Analytics, and from the highly valuable feedback received through public consultation." By providing a clear structure for transparent and high-quality impact statements that avoids greenwashing and ensures relevant data is included, the TS will serve as a cornerstone for Canada's non-financial reporting for listed and private companies."This giant step towards corporations' sustainable accountability is also the very first step towards a transition plan and the generation of more positive impacts. This pioneering initiative will not only help the Canadian financial sector's sustainable transformation, but its entire economy," explains Paul Allard, CEO of impak Analytics.For more information or any questions about the standards development activities, please contact Darryl Kingston.More about the Lead OrganizationsThe Digital Governance Standards Institute develops digital technology governance standards fit for global use. The Institute works with experts, as well as national and global partners and the public to develop standards that reduce risk to communities, business and governments adopting and using innovative digital technologies in today's digital economy. The Institute is an independent division of the Digital Governance Council. Learn more at dgc-cgn.org Social Value Canada is Canada's professional network for social value and maximizing impact. As part of a global movement transforming how the world captures and assigns value in decision-making, the network extends across all sectors of the Canadian economy and throughout Canadian society. New tools and methods are developing, and assurance standards and practices are emerging, all toward the goal of maximizing the well-being of people and the planet. Learn more at socialvalue-canada.org About The Standards Council of CanadaThe Standards Council of Canada (SCC) was created by the Government of Canada as a Crown corporation in 1970. SCC leads and facilitates the development and use of national and international standards and accreditation services in order to enhance Canada's competitiveness and well-being.scc.ca/en For media inquiries:Adam Pillsbury Social Value Canada adam@ socialvalue-canada.org Darryl Kingston Executive Director Digital Governance Standards Institute darryl.kingston@dgc-cgn.org *en francaisNouvelles directives publiees visant les entreprises canadiennes pour la comptabilite de leur impact durableTORONTO, ON / 6 septembre, 2023Avec gratitude, nous reconnaissons que nous vivons, travaillons et jouons sur les territoires traditionnels de nombreux peuples autochtones de l'ile de la Tortue et nous affirmons que notre engagement continu en faveur des principes et processus de reconciliation et des 94 appels a l'action de la Commission de verite et reconciliation.TORONTO, Canada, le 6 septembre 2023 - Social Value Canada (SVC), l'Institut des normes de gouvernance numerique (INGN) et le Conseil canadien des normes (CCN) ont annonce la publication de la premiere  Specification technique pour Bilans d'impact  pour les entites a but lucrative cherchant a comptabiliser de maniere credible leur impact et leur performance en matiere de durabilite.Elever le Canada dans les pratiques en matiere de rapports de durabiliteFace a la demande croissante de rapports non-financiers dans le cadre ESG et de durabilite, cette
PR-Inside.com: 2023-09-07 17:31:27

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Pinnacle Promotions proudly announces the promotion of Steve Jennings from Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to President, marking a significant milestone in the company's journey. Under his leadership, the company aims to continue its trajectory of growth, innovation and client-centric excellence, solidifying its position as an industry trailblazer.ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Pinnacle Promotions, an innovative force in the promotional products marketing industry, proudly announces the promotion of Steve Jennings from Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to the role of President. This strategic elevation marks a pivotal moment in Pinnacle Promotions' journey, as the company propels forward under Jennings' dynamic leadership.Steve Jennings, President of Pinnacle Promotions Steve Jennings has been promoted to President of Pinnacle Promotions. Steve Jennings, who has been instrumental in shaping the company's financial landscape and growth trajectory since 2008, assumes the role of President with a wealth of experience and a proven track record. His deep understanding of the promotional industry, unwavering commitment to innovation and strategic expertise make him an outstanding leader to steer Pinnacle Promotions into an exciting new chapter."Steve has been an integral part of Pinnacle's success over the last 15 years," said Dave Weintraub, Chief Executive Officer at Pinnacle Promotions. "He is incredibly smart, a master of execution, a true leader and just an all-around great guy. We are excited for him to take on this role and to see him continue to transform Pinnacle as we move into a new phase of growth and expansion." Jennings' tenure as CFO has been marked by transformative initiatives, such as MyPromo Solutions and Pinnacle Print Shop, along with strategic insights that have propelled Pinnacle Promotions to new heights. As President, he will assume responsibility for day-to-day operations and leverage his keen market insights to continue driving the company's growth, further solidifying its position as a trailblazer in the industry."Stepping into the role of President at Pinnacle Promotions, I'm reminded of Winston Churchill's wisdom: 'Success is not final; failure is not fatal; it's the courage to continue that counts,'" said Steve Jennings. "I'm honored by this opportunity. I plan to lead with courage and determination for this next phase of the Pinnacle journey. Collaborating with our exceptional team, we'll not only build upon our accomplishments but also venture into uncharted territories to cultivate new avenues of growth." Jennings' appointment to President reinforces Pinnacle Promotions' commitment to fostering a culture of innovation, client-centricity and operational excellence. His transition from CFO to President underscores his dedicated leadership and exemplifies Pinnacle Promotions' dedication to recognizing and nurturing internal talent.About Pinnacle Promotions:Pinnacle Promotions is an Atlanta-based, industry-leading promotional products marketing agency whose hero mission is to help companies "Make the Right Impression" through innovative promotional products and solutions. With expertise in brand management, product sourcing, and production - along with an award-winning e-commerce website - Pinnacle Promotions helps companies create connections with their customers, prospects, and employees with promotional merchandise and apparel.Contact InformationChrissy Petrone Content Marketing Specialist chrissy.petrone@pinnaclepromotions.com SOURCE: Pinnacle Promotions
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BERWYN, PA / ACCESSWIRE / September 6, 2023 / Positive Physicians Insurance Company is elated to announce the strategic appointment of Shelly Ursini as the Senior Vice President of Insurance Services, effective immediately. Shelly joins the team with a rich portfolio of experience in insurance services, marketing, underwriting, and business development.Shelly Ursini Shelly Ursini, Senior Vice President of Insurance Services at Positive Physicians Insurance Company Shelly Ursini is a seasoned professional with over 18 years of experience in the Medical Professional Liability (MPL) arena. She has served in various capacities on both the broker and carrier sides of the industry. Most recently, she held the position of Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Integris Group, where she led for 7 years and 4 months. Her leadership extended to both business development and underwriting teams, showcasing her versatility and comprehensive understanding of the industry.Shelly will spearhead Positive's expansion initiatives in the New England region as part of the company's strategic plan to extend its national footprint. Beyond geographical expansion, Shelly will be instrumental in diversifying the portfolio of products and services offered to our insureds, thereby enhancing customer value."Shelly is an extraordinary addition to our Senior Leadership Team," said Michael G. Roque, President & CEO of Positive Physicians Insurance Company. "Her extensive leadership and national experience in the MPL industry will be pivotal in executing Positive's strategic vision. We're excited to have Shelly's expertise as we make our forthcoming expansion into the New England territory and the introduction of new, region-specific products and services." About Positive Physicians Insurance CompanyPositive Physicians Insurance Company is a Pennsylvania-domiciled insurance company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Positive Physicians Holdings, Inc. (OTCQX: PPHI). The Company specializes in underwriting medical professional liability coverage for physicians, medical groups, clinics, and allied healthcare providers. Our comprehensive suite of offerings includes claims-made coverage, claims-made plus, occurrence-based policies, and tail coverage. We currently operate in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, South Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Texas, and Georgia, with plans for further expansion.Contact InformationSusanna Anderson Brand, Design & Marketing Specialist sanderson@ positivephysicians.com 888-335-5335SOURCE: Positive Physicians Insurance Company
PR-Inside.com: 2023-09-07 14:06:42

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North America's largest advanced battery event brings original equipment manufacturers, business leaders, and top-industry companies together to discover ground-breaking products like high-voltage cables and safety-critical solutions for commercial electric vehicles.SAINT-LAURENT, QC / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / ProEV, a division of Electrical Components International, is proud to be exhibiting at The Battery Show, the premier event for the North American battery and EV ecosystem. The event, from September 12-14 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan, brings together more than 15,000 engineers and business leaders from more than 775 battery and EV manufacturers to spotlight the latest developments in commercial EV high-voltage technology.ProEV, the center of excellence for electric vehicles at ECI, will display and demonstrate its newest emerging electrification and high-voltage cable technology and safety-critical solutions at Booth 1957. The company said it expects the demonstrations to generate noteworthy discussions on high-voltage cables, which are essential in the development of commercial EVs."The Battery Show offers an unparalleled opportunity to exhibit our technology and meet with the top industry companies," said Jarred Knecht, President of ProEV. "It is a significant platform for conversations around evolving technology. Attendees can anticipate an enlightening experience from ProEV's participation." Knecht said one strength of The Battery Show is how it creates opportunities for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to visit and learn from exhibitors about the supply chain for the electric vehicle market and how to partner with other manufacturers."We are always keeping up-to-date on the latest technologies to make sure we understand what is coming up in the future, and The Battery Show allows us to garner ideas with potential partners on how we can advance technology," Knecht said. "We can show new technical solutions, like how we are working with new interconnect solutions, more advanced connectors, more advanced high-voltage systems. We are inspecting and tracing all of our products using our proprietary AI, KonnectAI, a gap creator that is in line with our autonomous, zero-defect future." Knecht said the show also will allow ProEV and other suppliers to demonstrate the strength of their supply chains and their ability to deliver what OEMs need. "We have long-term agreements with our customers, so their supply is solid," he said. "We have allocated capacity and support all raw materials, so they are protected. The theme today, and that we will see at the show, is about how to protect the supply chain in the future and learn and evolve from the past. We want to make sure it is solid because now, as volumes are already climbing." The Battery Show also provides opportunities for component manufacturers who are not yet involved in vehicle electrification."If they want to figure out how they could use their products in electric vehicles, or manufacture different products for EV, they should definitely attend the show to educate themselves on where there might be opportunities and establish supply partners," Knecht said. "Any OEM that is building anything electric should attend this show because it gives them a perspective on the underlying componentry and technologies of what's available and what's coming." To meet the ProEV team at The Battery Show, schedule an onsite meeting by contacting Catherine Dela Cruz at catherine.delacruz@ecintl.com . Individual sessions can provide exclusive opportunities for an in-depth examination of ProEV's latest electrification and high-voltage solutions and discussion about safety-critical components.About ProEVProEV, a division of Electrical Components International (ECI), www.ecintl.com , is a center of excellence for electric vehicles within ECI. The company serves global electric vehicle players in the development and manufacture of their vehicle platforms. Founded in 1953, Electrical Components International is one of the world's leading wire harness manufacturers, as well as other critical engineered components for diverse markets. With 25,000 employees and 40 manufacturing locations worldwide, ECI creates smart, connected, and electrified solutions that enable the most advanced technologies to solve the most complex challenges. To learn more about ProEV, visit https://proelectricvehicle.com Contact InformationMaria Penaloza Press Contact maria.penaloza@newswire.com SOURCE: ProEV
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GLOUCESTER, MA / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Pure Strategies, a sustainability consulting firm empowering brands and retailers to realize meaningful environmental and social improvement, is partnering with Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to offer three free events aimed at helping advance corporate sustainability programs. These in-person sessions will be held during Climate Week in New York City on September 19 and 20, 2023, with registration now available for these limited capacity events.Pure Strategies and EDF are offering these events to dive deeply into key topics for businesses to help spur more significant action by addressing common challenges, clarifying areas of confusion, and providing inspiring examples to continue to drive progress on climate and nature by businesses. These learning opportunities include:Lessons from FLAG: discuss experiences with accounting, defining targets, and developing reduction plans for forest, land, and agriculture (FLAG) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (small group discussion)Tuesday, September 19, 2023 3:30-4:30 PMEDF New York Office, 257 Park Ave S, New York, NY 10010 (entrance, floor, and office details provided with registration confirmation)This event will enable participants to engage in a small group discussion about lessons learned from applying Science Based Targets initiative's (SBTi) recommendations for forest, land, and agriculture greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets and management.EDF and Pure Strategies are collaborating to provide a unique opportunity for a small group of companies interested in discussing with peers about their experiences with accounting, defining targets, and developing reduction plans for FLAG GHG emissions. We expect to cover common challenges with data availability, managing changing standards, and needs for new roadmaps/interventions and tracking demands. This will be a facilitated discussion where the participants will be involved in the discussion. Climate Week attendees can learn more and register here. (Due to the small group nature, registration is limited to participants working in-house at brands and companies; Registration is a two-step process. You will need both your Eventbrite confirmation and a confirmation from Pure Strategies to participate.)Brands Scaling Scope 3 GHG Solutions (panel session)Wednesday, September 20, 2023 9:00-10:30 AMJay Suites 109 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018, Sydney RoomThe dominant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for most businesses lies in the value chain, in Scope 3 GHGs. These impacts of doing business have been hard to manage and ultimately reduce. This panel discussion will explore how brands have been looking at overcoming common hurdles and scaling Scope 3 GHG reduction solutions.Businesses reducing value chain-level GHG emissions will discuss why and how they are working on the harder-to-manage areas of their GHG impacts. Topics will include farm-level changes, SBTi FLAG target setting, unique supplier engagement, product and packaging innovation, and other approaches. Pure Strategies will facilitate a highly engaging exploration of solutions from leading businesses, including Stonyfield and others. Climate Week attendees can register here.Connecting Corporate Climate and Nature Strategies: explore the next steps with corporate nature strategies (workshop)Wednesday, September 20, 2023 10:45 AM-12:00 PMJay Suites 109 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018, Sydney RoomAre you asking yourself, how does a nature strategy fit in my business? Why do I need a nature strategy if I already have a climate strategy? This free workshop is set up for you and corporate sustainability professionals looking to explore what an effective nature strategy may look like within an ESG/sustainability program.During this workshop, experts from EDF and Pure Strategies will help workshop participants identify how nature connects to their business and existing efforts, such as climate strategies. We will explore what next steps are typical and options for their nature journey, such as value chain assessments, measuring biodiversity, and setting targets. This will be a hands-on experience where participants should be prepared to be given tools to explore and draft the next steps for their business. Climate Week attendees can register here.About Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)One of the world's leading international nonprofit organizations, Environmental Defense Fund ( edf.org) creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships. With more than 3 million members and offices in the United States, China, Mexico, Indonesia, and the European Union, EDF's scientists, economists, attorneys, and policy experts are working in 28 countries to turn our solutions into action.About Pure Strategies Pure Strategies has been transforming business through sustainability performance since 1998. Our team helps companies initiate and enhance existing sustainability programs by setting meaningful sustainability goals, devising effective management strategies, and making changes to products and supply chains that deliver value to the business and society. Our clients include Walmart, Ahold Delhaize USA, Seventh Generation, TAZO, Timberland, Everlane, MegaFood, Ben & Jerry's, and over 100 others. Pure Strategies is proud to be a Co-Founder of The Chemical Footprint Project, a licensed GreenScreen Consultant, The Sustainability Consortium registered service provider staff member, a pioneer member of the Science Based Targets Network Corporate Engagement Program, and a certified B Corp.For more information, contact: Melanie Fleming Marketing Manager Pure Strategies, Inc. mfleming@ purestrategies.com 978-525-0487View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Pure Strategies on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info:Spokesperson: Pure StrategiesWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/pure-strategiesEmail: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: Pure Strategies
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. The statements of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, made on September 7, 2023, prove once again that Yerevan does not intend to sign a peace treaty and stop territorial claims against Azerbaijan, the Western Azerbaijan Community said, Trend reports.

"Armenia's position is as follows: Armenia recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan if the rights and security of the Armenian residents living in Karabakh are ensured within the framework of the international mechanism through the Baku-Khankendi negotiations," said the Western Azerbaijan Community.

According to the community, Armenian PM actually sets conditions for Azerbaijan by using such utopian ideas as "international mechanism". Pashinyan should not forget the outcome of him setting conditions for Azerbaijan after the Tovuz battles of 2020.

Unfortunately, the Prime Minister of Armenia not only does not sign a peace treaty, but also aggravates the situation in the region. Pashinyan, with his appeal on the occasion of the "anniversary of the independence of the separatist regime", has once again damaged the negotiation process, said the community.

Armenia should completely withdraw the remnants of its army from the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan, abandon gross interference in its internal affairs and start contacts with the Western Azerbaijan Community regarding the return of Western Azerbaijanis to their ancestral homeland. Azerbaijan, in turn, addressed the offer of dialogue to the Armenians living in Karabakh," said the community.
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Bernstein Liebhard LLP:Do you, or did you, own shares of RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX)?Did you purchase your shares between February 8, 2021 and July 25, 2023, inclusive?Did you lose money in your investment in RTX Corporation?Do you want to discuss your rights?Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of RTX Corporation f/k/a Raytheon Technologies Corporation ("RTX" or the "Company") (NYSE: RTX) between February 8, 2021 and July 25, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut 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 RTX securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit RTX Corporation 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 2, 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 RTX's geared turbofan ("GTF") engines had been affected from at least 2015 by a quality control issue, which would require RTX to recall and reinspect many of its GTF airplanes, affecting customers and harming its business.On July 25, 2023, Reuters released an article entitled "RTX shares tumble on Pratt & Whitney airliner engine problem," which reported that "more than 1,000 [GTF] engines must [be] removed from Airbus planes and checked for microscopic cracks." Reuters further reported that "RTX said it was reducing its 2023 cash-flow forecast by $500 million to $4.3 billion due to the inspections." On this news, RTX's share price fell $9.91 per share, or 10.2%, to close at $87.10 on July 25, 2023.If you purchased or acquired RTX securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit RTX Corporation 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 https://www.bernlieb.com(212) 951-2030pallocco@ bernlieb.com SOURCE: Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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ANNADALE, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / September 5, 2023 / RV Overnights, a startup travel company which connects small businesses with travelers seeking overnight parking for RVs, has announced the pending launch of its membership on September 13th, 2023.This will coincide with the first day of the Hershey RV Show in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The RVOvernights team will be attending with a tradeshow booth, to offer education and information about what the company offers, which is a membership program designed to assist RVers during their travels across the United States.Through the RVOvernights platform, RVers can choose from a wide variety of locations for overnight parking at various small businesses across the country, known on the platform as the hosts. The host locations are typically situated in desirable regions with excellent views of scenic landscapes.Once a traveler purchases the membership with RVOvernights, they can book overnight parking spots with hosts for no fee. The platform only asks that guests consider supporting their hosts by making a purchase at the small businesses. Host locations through RVOvernights include museums, wineries and breweries, farms, various attractions, non-profits, restaurants, and more.For the yearly membership fee, guests receive unlimited stay requests at any of their hosting locations. Additionally, one gets access to the RVOvernights app, which includes dump stations and propane fill locations. Members can stay at any property with an approved stay request from their hosts. The company also offers a Happier Camper Guarantee. If a member is not satisfied with the program, they can claim a refund within the first 90 days of their membership.Co-founder Rob Case explains that the program is built from a small business owner's viewpoint, seeking to benefit both member and host experiences. RV Overnights allows each small business to promote their offerings, encouraging members to support hosts by purchasing goods and services. The platform has also incorporated features inspired by popular rideshare companies, such as multiple ratings for each member and a "Stay Score" to measure the reliability of a member, ensuring social responsibility and respectful use of the program.In preparation for launching its membership, RVOvernights has implemented several other novel features in its updated platform, such as a simple QR code check-in process, a messenger portal for increased communication between hosts and members, and the ability for hosts to block dates annually and list individual parking spaces.Recognizing the growing popularity of RV travel and the quick filling up of campgrounds, RV Overnights offers a solution by connecting small businesses to travelers. Co-founders Rob Case and Kurt Nehlig, both lifetime small business owners and avid RVers, believe that understanding both sides of the equation enables them to build a program that benefits everyone, and they are excited to launch membership at the Hershey RV Show.About RVOvernights.com RVOvernights.com is a hospitality startup that offers a platform to connect RV travelers with small businesses (hosts). Hosts provide overnight parking spots for RVs, and can list properties on the platform for free. Travelers can search and book available spots; hosts set their own availability, rules, and restrictions.Website: https://rvovernights.com/ Contact Kurt Nehlig: info@ rvovernights.com or 908-219-9119SOURCE: RVOvernights.com
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Bernstein Liebhard LLP:Do you, or did you, own shares of Sea Limited (NYSE:SE)?Did you purchase your shares between April 23, 2022 and May 15, 2023, inclusive?Did you lose money in your investment in Sea Limited?Do you want to discuss your rights?Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of Sea Limited ("Sea" or the "Company") (NYSE: SE) between April 23, 2022 and May 15, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona 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 Sea securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Sea Limited Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than September 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. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (i) Sea overstated its ability to manage the growth of its user base and loan book while enhancing its profitability; (ii) Sea's expansion to a broader user base and growing loan book rendered the Company significantly more vulnerable to higher credit losses; (iii) as a result, the Company was likely to book a significant increase in loan loss reserves; and (iv) the foregoing was likely to have a significant negative impact on Sea's earnings.On May 16, 2023, Sea issued a press release announcing its financial results for the first quarter of 2023. Among other items, Sea reported first-quarter earnings that fell significantly short of expectations due to a sharp increase in loan loss reserves. The Company advised that "[o]ur provision for credit losses increased by 120.5% to US$177.4 million in the first quarter of 2023 from US$80.5 million in the first quarter of 2022, primarily driven by expansion to a broader user base and the growth of our loan book"On this news, Sea's American Depositary Share ("ADS") price fell almost 18%.If you purchased or acquired Sea securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Sea Limited 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 https://www.bernlieb.com(212) 951-2030pallocco@ bernlieb.com SOURCE: Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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RADNOR, PA / ACCESSWIRE / September 6, 2023 / The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP( www.ktmc.com) informs investors that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed against Bausch Health Companies Inc. ("Bausch") (NYSE:BHC). The action charges Bausch with violations of the federal securities laws, including omissions and fraudulent misrepresentations relating to the company's business, operations, and prospects. As a result of Bausch's materially misleading statements and omissions to the public, Bausch's investors have suffered significant losses.CLICK HERE TO SUBMIT YOUR BAUSCH LOSSES. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE IN YOUR BROWSER: https://www.ktmc.com/new-cases/bausch-health-companies-inc?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=bhc&mktm=r CANNOT VIEW THIS VIDEO? PLEASE CLICK HERELEAD PLAINTIFF DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 25, 2023CLASS PERIOD: AUGUST 6, 2020 THROUGH MAY 3, 2023CONTACT AN ATTORNEY TO DISCUSS YOUR RIGHTS:Jonathan Naji, Esq. at (484) 270-1453 or via email at info@ ktmc.com Kessler Topaz is one of the world's foremost advocates in protecting the public against corporate fraud and other wrongdoing. Our securities fraud litigators are regularly recognized as leaders in the field individually and our firm is both feared and respected among the defense bar and the insurance bar. We are proud to have recovered billions of dollars for our clients and the classes of shareholders we represent.BAUSCH'S ALLEGED MISCONDUCTBausch is a pharmaceutical company known for its majority ownership of Bausch + Lomb Corporation (B+L). In 2016, Bausch was forced to replace its senior management and attempt to rebuild its reputation after it was revealed that it had engaged in one of the most egregious cases of securities fraud in U.S. history. Among other things, Bausch was forced to restate its financial statements, enter into a settlement with the SEC, and settle a class action with investors for a payment of more than $1.1 billion. The class action lawsuit, however, did not resolve all of Bausch's investors' claims as a number of "Opt-Out Plaintiffs", consisting of numerous institutional and professional investors, proceeded with their claims after the settlement. According to the complaint, the potential damages at issue from the Opt-Out Plaintiffs equals approximately $4.2 billion.The Class Period begins on August 6, 2020, when Bausch announced a plan to spinoff B+L as a separate company in order to reduce Bausch's debt. When the spinoff was announced, Bausch knew they faced substantial risk from the Opt-Out Plaintiffs. Bausch also knew that spinning-off B+L would leave Bausch with significant debt and the loss of the cashflow B+L had historically generated.On May 5, 2022, B+L effected the spinoff and began trading as an independent company under the ticker "BLCO" on the NYSE. Throughout the Class Period, Defendants repeatedly described the B+L spinoff as an attempt to reduce Bausch's debt and said the spinoff was in the best interest of Bausch shareholders. The spinoff was actually an attempt to shield valuable assets from the Opt-Out Plaintiffs that ultimately operated to the detriment of ordinary Bausch shareholders.On May 4, 2023, Bausch released its first quarter 2023 financial results, revealing negative earnings, indicating further delay of its B+L spinoff share distribution, which had been originally scheduled for May 2022. Analysts claimed that the probability of a distribution was now less than 50% and unlikely to occur in the near term. Following this news, Bausch's stock price fell $1.51, or 25.3%, to close at $5.89 per share on May 4, 2023.WHAT CAN I DO?Bausch investors may, no later than September 25, 2023, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff for the class, through Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLPor other counsel, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP encourages Bausch investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm directly to acquire more information. The class action complaint against Bausch, Kelk v. Bausch Health Companies, et al., Case No. 23-cv-03996, is filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey before the Honorable Zahid Nisar Quraishi.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE CASEWHO CAN BE A LEAD PLAINTIFF?A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision of whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff.ABOUT KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLPKessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP prosecutes class actions in state and federal courts throughout the country and around the world. The firm has developed a global reputation for excellence and has recovered billions of dollars for victims of fraud and other corporate misconduct. All of our work is driven by a common goal: to protect investors, consumers, employees and others from fraud, abuse, misconduct and negligence by businesses and fiduciaries. The complaint in this action was not filed by Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP. For more information about Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP please visit www.ktmc.com CONTACT:Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLPJonathan Naji, Esq.280 King of Prussia RoadRadnor, PA 19087(484) 270-1453info@ ktmc.com SOURCE: Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / The Watchlist by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews with Ridgeline Minerals, Fokus Mining, Biosenta and ARway.ai discussing their latest news.The Watchlist by The Market Herald provides investors with a quick snapshot of what they need to know about the company's latest press release through exclusive insights and interviews with company executives.Ridgeline Minerals Expands Big Blue Property Position by 33%Ridgeline Minerals Corp. (TSXV:RDG) (OTCQB:RDGMF) (FSE:0GC0) has announced the staking of an additional one hundred and forty-one Bureau of Land Management ( lode claims at the Big Blue project in Elko County, Nevada.For the full interview with President, CEO and Director Chad Peters and to learn more about Ridgeline Minerals' news, click here.Fokus Mining Reports Gold Results On All Its Recent Drill Holes On The Rb Zone Of The Galloway ProjectFokus Mining Corporation (TSXV:FKM) (OTCQB:FKMCF) (FSE:F7E1) has announced assay results from its 4th exploration drilling campaign, held during the summer of 2023, aimed at furthering its knowledge of the RB Zone where it had previously drilled twelve holes Fokus has drilled seven holes for 1,735 metres, intersecting gold in all of them.For the full interview with President and CEO Jean Rainville and to learn more about Fokus Mining's news, click here.Biosenta builds on partnership with AMPAK to test and commercialize Tri-Filler(TM)Biosenta Inc. (CSE:ZRO) has announced the next level of partnership with AMPAK Inc. and the University of Calgary. The new Agreement will see Tri-Filler being tested in plastics at AMPAK Inc. facilities with an eye to commercialization.For the full interview with CEO Am Gill and to learn more about Biosenta's news, click here. ARway.ai Announces Major Win As it Lands a Contract With Second Largest Academic Institution In Turkey ARway.ai (CSE:ARWY) (OTCQB:ARWYF) (FSE:E65), an AI powered Augmented Reality Experience platform with a disruptive no-code, no beacon spatial computing solution enabled by visual marker tracking with centimeter precision announced a newly signed contract with Suleyman Demirel Universitesi situated in Isparta, Turkey.For the full interview with CEO Evan Gappelberg and to learn more about ARway.ai's news, click here.Interviews for The Watchlist by The Market Herald are released daily. To learn more about the companies featured in The Watchlist or to explore our other interviews visit The Watchlist by The Market Herald.About The Market HeraldThe Market Herald Canada is the leading source of authoritative breaking stock market news for self-directed investors. Our team of Canadian markets reporters, editors and technologists covers the entire listed company universe in Canada. We cover over 3,985 businesses, their people, their investors, and their customers. We write the stories that move the Canadian capital markets.DISCLAIMER: Report Card Canada Media Ltd. ("Report Card") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market Herald Limited, an Australian company ("Market Herald"). Report Card is not an advisory service, and does not offer, buy, sell, or provide any other rating, analysis or opinion on the securities we discuss. We are retained and compensated by the companies that we provide information on to assist them with making information available to the public. All information available on themarketherald.ca and/or this press release should be considered as commercial advertisement and not an endorsement, offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities. Report Card is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority in any province or territory of Canada, will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies and do not provide nor claim to provide investment advice or recommendations to any visitor of this site or readers of any content on or originating from themarketherald.ca . Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees may from time to time acquire, hold or sell securities and/or commodities and/or commodity futures contracts in certain underlying companies mentioned in this site and which may also be clients of Market Herald's affiliates. In such instances, Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees will use all reasonable efforts to avoid engaging in activities that would lead to conflicts of interest and Market Herald and/or its affiliates will use all reasonable efforts to comply with conflicts of interest disclosures and regulations to minimize any conflict. All the information on this document and/or the website - themarketherald.ca - is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. Report Card does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this document and/or website ( themarketherald.ca) is strictly at your own risk. Report Card will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website. From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone 'bad'. Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their "Terms of Service" before engaging in any business or uploading any information.CONTACT:The Market Heraldmarketing@ themarketherald.ca SOURCE: The Market Herald
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Stay Plugged In announces inaugural 'Stay Plugged In Coca-Cola All-Stars'CHARLOTTE, NC / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Stay Plugged In (SPIN), the premier recruiting platform for esports scholarships, and Coca-Cola Consolidated, the nation's largest Coca-Cola bottler, announced the launch of their inaugural "Stay Plugged In Coca-Cola All-Stars" campaign on Tuesday.Stay Plugged In and Coca-Cola Consolidated have teamed up to name the 40 best high school esports competitors in Rocket League and VALORANT to make up the inaugural 2023 Stay Plugged In All-Stars team."With the backing of a great partner like Coca-Cola Consolidated, the Stay Plugged In Coca-Cola All-Stars campaign will raise awareness of opportunities for high school students in esports," said Scott Hollingsworth, Chief Operating Officer, Stay Plugged In. "Be sure to nominate a student you know at allstars.staypluggedin.gg." All-Stars will be chosen by a Selection Committee consisting of leading industry figures and representatives of Coca-Cola Consolidated. The Committee is looking for the next college player - selection will focus on in-game technical skills, performance in competitions, evaluation of submitted gameplay clips, as well as intangible traits like teamwork and sportsmanship."Coca-Cola Consolidated is proud to join Stay Plugged In in recognizing gaming's growing role in collegiate sports. We want to see gamers succeed in competition and life and look forward to having the spotlight shine on them," said Dan Holmes, SVP of Commercialization and Brand Marketing with Charlotte-based Coca-Cola Consolidated.All-Star Weekend takes place December 14 -16 - where All-Stars will meet college recruiters and show off their skills in combine-like challenges, and cap the weekend off with the official All-Star tournament. The tournament features $20,000 in prizes available with a format that sees that every player receive a minimum of $250."The All-Stars campaign serves as a testament to the growing opportunities in college esports," said Sergio Brack, Director of Esports at the University of Maryland. "By bridging the gap between high school and collegiate esports, this campaign introduces an unprecedented opportunity for students to showcase their talents and potential.Students can nominate themselves or receive nominations from their peers until November 1, 2023.ABOUT STAY PLUGGED INCharlotte-based Stay Plugged In (SPIN) is the premier recruiting platform for college esports, serving more than 400 US colleges and Universities. Since 2020, Stay Plugged In has played a key role in helping thousands of students with their college search, with those students receiving more than $30 million in scholarship benefits. For more information, go to staypluggedin.gg or reach out to info@ staypluggedin.gg ABOUT COCA COLA CONSOLIDATEDCoca-Cola Consolidated is the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States. For 120 years, we have been making, selling, and distributing beverages of The Coca-Cola Company and other partner companies in more than 300 brands and flavors across 14 states and the District of Columbia to approximately 60 million consumers.Contact InformationScott Hollingsworth Chief Operating Officer scott.hollingsworth@carolinaesports.gg 614-638-7600Braydon Olinger Digital Marketing Manager braydon.olinger@carolinaesports.gg 620-344-0662SOURCE: Stay Plugged In
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Travefy successfully hosted its first live Agent Accelerator as a part of the Las Vegas Travel Agent Forum and empowered Travel Agents to elevate their business practices.LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / The successful first edition of Agent Accelerator at Las Vegas Travel Agent Forum 2023 with collaboration of Travel Show Marketing Group, showcased Travefy's commitment to empowering travel advisors for success in the travel industry. With an exclusive focus on modern marketing strategies and effective sales techniques, Travefy's first-ever live event provided travel advisors with insights through engaging afternoon workshops.Agent Accelerator 2023 Agent Accelerator 2023The sessions were carefully curated to offer actionable takeaways that travel professionals could immediately implement to drive growth and innovation within their business. Each attendee received a comprehensive workbook, serving as a valuable reference to the information shared throughout the event. In the end, the workshops ended with a lively and engaging networking happy hour, allowing travel professionals to connect.Reflecting on the event's success, David Chait, CEO of Travefy, expressed enthusiasm and gratitude: "We are so excited to have come together with the Travel Agent Forum team. Agent Accelerator was an enormous success, and we're so grateful to the hundreds of amazing Travel Advisors who traveled to Las Vegas from far and wide." "Agent Accelerator is 100% worth your time and not to miss it. I've been in the industry for 10 years and I have tons of notes of what I learned today!" shared Erica Barker, Owner of Magnolia and Palm Travel Co.Travefy appreciates all participants and supporters who contributed to making the Agent Accelerator successful. The event's overwhelmingly positive response reaffirms Travefy's mission to empower travel professionals with the tools and knowledge they need to thrive in the competitive world of travel.To secure a spot on Agent Accelerator at Travel Agent Forum 2024 visit: www.agentaccelerator.travefy.com ABOUT TRAVEFYTravefy's mission is to power the success of travel professionals. Our award-winning suite of itinerary, proposal, client management, and marketing tools help Travel Advisors and professionals save time, impress clients, and sell more.Travefy powers thousands of travel businesses across the globe, ranging from small, independent travel advisors to the largest travel agencies, consortia, and organizations. Travefy has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes among other publications and has won numerous industry honors, including the ASTA Entrepreneur of the Year Award.For more information, please see: https://travefy.com ABOUT TRAVEL AGENT FORUMNow entering its 13th year, the Las Vegas Travel Agent Forum is the industry's most trusted event. The event features a diverse conference program offering unique tracks, small-group roundtable product pitches, networking experiences throughout Las Vegas and a tradeshow floor designed to forge key supplier partnerships on a worldwide level.Contact Information:Stephanie Gries Education Manager & Marketing Coordinator stephanie@ travefy.com 844-487-2833Related FilesAgent Accelerator 2023.pngTravefy Logo.pngSOURCE: Travefy
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HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / September 6, 2023 / Verda Healthcare, Inc. proudly announces its participation in the prestigious 23rd annual New York Venture Summit, where the company secured an exclusive presentation slot among just 200 of the world's most promising enterprises. This remarkable achievement represents a significant milestone for the California-based healthcare innovator, offering a unique opportunity to connect with industry-leading venture capitalists, corporate investors, private financiers, investment experts, and strategic partners.The New York Venture Summit, presented by youngStartup Ventures, stands as the premier gathering for showcasing Top Innovators within the business landscape. With thousands of attendees converging annually, alongside over 150 featured investors managing a collective wealth of over $250 billion, this event is renowned for catalyzing game-changing deals within the industry. For Verda Healthcare, Inc., it is an exceptional chance to not only present their visionary mission but also secure the critical funding required to drive their impactful work forward."We are immensely thrilled to be part of this distinguished event," remarked Frank S. Vo, President & CEO at Verda Healthcare, Inc. "This summit grants us a unique platform to engage with potential investors, share our groundbreaking solutions, and advance our mission of revolutionizing healthcare." The rigorous selection process of The New York Venture Summit ensures that only companies meeting stringent criteria for industry relevance, stage of development, business model, target audience size, and milestones achieved are granted presentation slots. Designed for emerging growth enterprises eager to garner attention from active investors and secure essential capital, the event offers two distinct presentation programs. Companies aiming to secure Series A to C funding within the range of $2 million to $30 million are eligible for the prestigious Top Innovators Program. Concurrently, seed-stage companies can participate in the Seed Pitchfest Program, providing a tailored platform for their unique needs.About Verda Healthcare, Inc.Dedicated to transforming the landscape of healthcare through innovative solutions, Verda Healthcare, Inc. is a pioneering healthcare company headquartered in Huntington Beach, CA, and also serving the Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery counties of greater Houston, TX via satellite offices. By focusing on cutting-edge technologies and patient-centric approaches, Verda Healthcare, Inc. aims to improve access, efficiency, and outcomes in healthcare, ultimately enhancing the well-being of individuals and communities. For more information, please visit www.verdahealthcare.com Media DetailsWebsite URL: www.verdahealthcare.com Company Name: Verda Healthcare, Inc. / Verda Health Plan Of Texas, Inc.Name: Frank S. Vo, President & CEOEmail address: FrankV@ verdahealthcare.comPhone: 714-464-8009SOURCE: Verda Healthcare, Inc. / Verda Health Plan Of Texas, Inc.
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Verisante Technology, Inc. (TSXV: VER.H) (the "Company") is pleased to announce it has agreed to convert certain payables owed to Creditors into common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Settlement Shares"). The Company is proposing to issue the Settlement Shares in order to preserve cash to fund future operations.The Company has agreed to issue of 1,600,000 Settlement Shares at a deemed issuance price of $0.015 per Settlement Share valued at $24,000 in full and final satisfaction of $24,000 in payables owing to the current CFO for accrued management fees up to September 1, 2023. Upon issuance of the Settlement Shares, the total accrued salary debt will be definitively extinguished.The Company has also agreed to issue a further 4,000,000 Settlement Shares at a deemed issuance price of $0.015 per Settlement Share valued at $60,000 in full and final satisfaction of $60,000 in payables owing to the current CEO for accrued management fees up to September 1, 2023. Upon issuance of the Settlement Shares, the total accrued salary debt will be definitively extinguished.In total, the Company has agreed to settle $84,000 of payables in exchange for 5,600,000 Settlement Shares.The proposed Settlement Shares are being issued to officers of the Company. Pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), the settlement of the Debt will constitute a "related party transaction" as such officers are considered a related party to the Company. The Company is entitled to rely on section 5.7 exemptions from the meeting requirement in section 5.6. because the non-cash consideration transactions which are for accrued management fees settlement are exempt under section 5.7(1)(a) as they amount to less than 25% of the outstanding capital of the Company. The price per Settlement Share is the current Market Price as defined in TSX Venture Exchange Policy 1.1.The Settlement Shares will be issued in reliance upon certain prospectus exemptions available under Canadian securities legislation and will be subject to a four month and one day hold period from the date of issuance.Conversion of the Debt and issuance of the Settlement Shares is subject to approval of a majority of disinterested directors and to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. There is no guarantee that such conditions precedent will be satisfied or that any of the transactions will be completed as described herein or at all.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 news release.Company Contact:Thomas Braun, President & CEOVerisante Technology, Inc.Telephone: (604) 716-5133Email: info@ verisante.com Forward Looking Statements:This news release may contain forward-looking statements all of which are subject to market risks, and the possibility that the Company will not be able to achieve all of its stated goals. These statements are made based upon current expectations and actual results may differ from those projected due to a number of risks and uncertainties.SOURCE: Verisante Technology, Inc.
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2023 / Hagens Berman urges Verizon Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VZ) investors who suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now.Expanded Class Period: Oct. 30, 2018 - July 26, 2023Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Oct. 2, 2023Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/VZ Contact An Attorney Now: VZ@ hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895Verizon Communications, Inc. (VZ) Securities Fraud Class Action:The complaint alleges Verizon made false or misleading statements and failed to disclose that Verizon: (1) owns cables around the U.S. that are highly toxic due to their being wrapped in lead, and which harm company employees and non-employees alike; (2) faces potentially significant litigation risk, regulatory risk, and reputational harm as a result of its ownership of these lead-covered cables and the health risks stemming from their presence around the U.S; and (3) was warned about the damage and risks presented by these cables but did not disclose them as a potential threat to employee safety or to everyday people and communities.Investors began to learn the truth after the Wall Street Journal published a series of articles spanning July 9 - July 26, 2023.These articles revealed that Verizon and others left behind toxic lead cables that they laid years ago. The WSJ also reported that independently tested samples from underwater cable sites revealed lead on the banks of the Mississippi, Willamette, and Passaic Rivers as well as in parts of Louisiana, New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere.The WSJ further reported that Verizon officials have known for decades that lead in its networks was a possible health risk to its workers, some workers have illnesses that can be linked to lead, and lead could leach into the environment.Finally, on July 26, 2023, the WSJ reported that the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency are investigating whether telecom companies knew of the potential risks posed by the abandoned lead cables."We're focused on investors' losses, Verizon's knowledge of potential liability stemming from its sprawling network of toxic lead-sheathed cables across the U.S., and whether the company historically understated its expenses," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.If you invested in Verizon and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding VZ should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email VZ@ hbsslaw.com # # #About Hagens BermanHagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com . Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.Attorney advertising.Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices.Contact:Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895SOURCE: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. The beginning of the meeting of the ministers of emergency situations of the Organization of Turkic States in Baku is a very important event. I am sure that the meeting will be very good and the results will be very successful, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at the meeting with the participants of the 2nd meeting of the Ministers on Disaster and Emergency Management of member and observer states of the Organization of Turkic States and the international exercise "Baku-2023", Trend reports.

"The summit of the heads of Turkic States will be held in two months. Major preparations for the Summit are underway, including management of emergency situations. As far as I know, the meeting is also expected to prepare an agreement on mutual assistance. There is a great need for this. We all know very well that the number of emergency situations in our region and the world as a whole has increased dramatically of late. There are many reasons for that but the fact is that unprecedented floods, earthquakes and fires have become commonplace," President Ilham Aliyev said.
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CAPE MAY, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / September 6, 2023 / Celebrating its 70th year in the seafood business next year, Lund's Fisheries has spent years investing in the sustainability of its products. The latest result of this effort is this August's certification of the company's activity in the California market squid fishery, which was certified as sustainable and in compliance with Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards. Market squid is now the fifth fishery product offered by Lund's to have achieved MSC certification."Completing the sustainability certification of our third squid fishery reaffirms our long-standing commitment to responsible fishing practices and environmental stewardship," said Wayne Reichle, President of Lund's Fisheries, who represents the third generation of his family leading the company. "Every year, sustainably sourced seafood grows as an important part of our domestic and export seafood markets; our certified squid, scup, and scallop products are at the forefront of our strategy to meet that demand." The market squid certification, reviewed by independent third-party auditor SCS Global Services, was accomplished in partnership with two other California producers, Del Mar Seafoods and Silver Bay Seafoods. Like the other four MSC certifications earned by Lund's Fisheries, the review evaluated the fishery against a rigorous set of sustainable fishing guidelines, confirming the health of the market squid stock, ensuring the effectiveness of its fisheries management program, and certifying the fishery's minimal environmental impact.Lund's Fisheries vessels at sea Market squid is the third Lund's Fisheries squid product to be MSC certified, following its two east coast squid fisheries, Doryteuthis (Loligo pealeii) in 2018 and Illex illecebrosus in 2019. Lund's Fisheries is now the only domestic seafood producer to offer all three U.S. species of MSC-certified squid. Several of Lund's other major fisheries have also been certified, in addition to its squid operations: the company's scup fishery was certified in 2022, and its Atlantic scallop fishery has been certified since 2013.Lund's Fisheries' market squid fleet fishes out of the Port of Hueneme, California, with additional processing facilities located in Ventura and Santa Cruz counties. Fishing operations are concentrated in southern California, near the Channel Islands, and in the north near Monterrey Bay.About Lund's Fisheries Inc.Lund's Fisheries, Inc. is a third-generation, family-owned company and a primary producer of fresh and frozen seafood located in Cape May, N.J. Lund's purchases, produces and distributes nearly 75 million pounds of fresh and frozen fish annually. Its fresh and frozen domestic sales stretch nationwide while its frozen exports extend to markets around the world. Lund's Fisheries is committed to developing and managing systems and practices to fish within sustainable limits and track its products back to the harvest location to ensure they are sourced from fisheries that are well-managed, certified as sustainable or actively working towards implementing more responsible and sustainable harvesting practices.PRESS CONTACT:Bob VanasseStove Boat Communications(202) 333-2628bob@ stoveboat.com SOURCE: Lund's Fisheries Inc.
The Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has rejected the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC), affirming the election of President Bola Tinubu. Atiku said the judgement is bereft of substantial justice.

He said he has asked his lawyers to appeal the judgement.

Atiku stated this at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.

Gentlemen of the press, I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of that expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgment of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgment that I refuse to accept. I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice. However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary.

Consequently, I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which, in the instance, is the Supreme Court. It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate.

I believe that such is the only way through which our democracy can have a manifest expression of its true meaning. Whether I prevail in this quest or not, the record of my effort in ensuring an order of credible elections in Nigeria shall remain for the future generations to evaluate, the former vice president said.

Atiku and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, as well as the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) had filed petitions challenging the victory of Mr Tinubu of the APC in the 25 February presidential election.

The court dismissed the petitions on Wednesday.

Atiku explained that he is challenging the outcome of the last presidential election because he wanted the electoral process of Nigeria to be devoid of corruption.

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It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate. I believe that such is the only way through which our democracy can have a manifest expression of its true meaning.

Whether I prevail in this quest or not, the record of my effort in ensuring an order of credible elections in Nigeria shall remain for the future generations to evaluate, he said.

Atiku urged his supporters to remain steadfast and have hope in God that he will reclaim his mandate at the supreme court.

On this note, I urge all my supporters to remain steadfast. I urge them to take solace in an immortal lesson I learned from my leader and mentor, the late Shehu YarAdua, that losing a battle is less important than losing the war. We might have lost a battle yesterday, but the war is well ahead of us. And I believe that with our hopes in God, we shall win the war of restoring confidence in our electoral system.

Read the full text of the conference

Good afternoon, Gentlemen of the Press.

I am here today to give my official reaction to the judgment delivered yesterday by the Presidential Election Petition Court on the 2023 presidential election.

As you already know, I approached the court following the declaration by INEC that the APC and its candidate are the winners of the February 25, Presidential Election.

My decision to go to court is anchored in my belief that the court is the sanctuary of justice. The journey of my political career, as you know, holds so much to the courage and fearless decisions of our judiciary.

Indeed, I am no stranger to legal battles, and I can say that I have a fair idea of how the court system works. All through my career as a politician, I have been a fighter, and I must say that I have found the judiciary as a worthy pillar to rest on in the pursuit of justice.

The last presidential election in our country and the way it was managed by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, leaves behind unenviable precedents, which I believe the courts have a duty to redress. Our gains in ensuring transparent elections through the deployment of technology was heavily compromised by INEC in the way it managed the last presidential election, and I am afraid that the judgement of the court as rendered by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal yesterday, failed to restore confidence in our dreams of free and fair elections devoid of human manipulations.

Like I did say at the beginning of this legal battle when I instructed my lawyers to file my petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election, my ultimate goal in this pursuit is to ensure that democracy is further strengthened through the principles and processes of fair hearing.

Gentlemen of the press, I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of that expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgment of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgment that I refuse to accept. I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice. However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary.

Consequently, I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which, in the instance, is the Supreme Court. It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate. I believe that such is the only way through which our democracy can have a manifest expression of its true meaning. Whether I prevail in this quest or not, the record of my effort in ensuring an order of credible elections in Nigeria shall remain for the future generations to evaluate.

On this note, I urge all my supporters to remain steadfast. I urge them to take solace in an immortal lesson I learned from my leader and mentor, the late Shehu YarAdua, that losing a battle is less important than losing the war. We might have lost a battle yesterday, but the war is well ahead of us. And I believe that with our hopes in God, we shall win the war of restoring confidence in our electoral system.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the Press, I thank you for your attention.

Atiku Abubakar, GCON

Waziri Adamawa

Vice President of Nigeria (1999  2007)

2023 PDP Presidential Candidate

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Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has rejected Wednesdays judgement of the

Presidential Elections Petition Court (PEPC) validating the victory of President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 25 February election.

Mr Obi spoke at a news conference at his Onitsha, Anambra State residence on Thursday.

The five-member panel of the PEPC, led by Haruna Tsammani, in a unanimous ruling , dismissed the petition filed by the LP candidate challenging the victory of Mr Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in the presidential election.

The court also dismissed the petitions of the candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).

Mr Obi acknowledged that though the PEPC adhered to the statutory time frames, he totally disagreed with the judgements rationale and final conclusion.

I express respect for the courts views and rulings but openly disagree with the judgments rationale and final conclusions, he said.

Mr Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, announced his intention, in his capacity as a presidential candidate and on behalf of the Labour Party, to immediately challenge the judgement through the appellate process.

According to him, the PEPC is not the ultimate authority in this matter, emphasising that the responsibility now rests with the Supreme Court, which he expressed confidence in.

Mr Obi urged Nigerians to maintain their focus, steadfastness, and commitment to peaceful processes while emphasizing the importance of adhering to the rule of law.

He made it clear that the matter has not yet reached its logical conclusion.

The LP candidate hinted that his legal team has already received firm instructions to file an appeal against the PEPCs decision.

He expressed unwavering determination in his pursuit of justice, not only for himself but also for the multitude of supporters across the nation whose electoral mandate he said was unjustly thwarted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mr Obi underscored the pivotal role of solid national institutions and the publics confidence in them for a thriving democracy.

He pointed out that electoral litigations could be significantly reduced if INEC discharged its statutory functions transparently and fairly.

Mr Obi extended his gratitude to every Nigerian who had supported their cause and the campaign for a new Nigeria built on principles of fairness, equity, justice, the rule of law, peace, prosperity, inclusiveness, sustainable growth, and development.

He thanked his legal team, the Labour Party, the Obidient Family, and all those who steadfastly attended the court proceedings.

(NAN)

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The Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ) and the Cell Norbert Zongo Centre for Investigative Journalism in West Africa (CENOZO) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on strengthening investigative journalism and enhancing media capacity in West Africa.

A joint statement by the two organisations said the partnership intends to facilitate joint investigative projects, skill-building initiatives, and the exchange of resources among journalists and editors across the sub-region.

Signed on 25 August, the statement said the collaboration underscores a commitment to mutual cooperation with an emphasis on transnational investigations, shared knowledge, training programmes, co-publications, and the advancement of journalism activities among their respective members.

By joining forces, CCIJ and CENOZO said, they aim to elevate the standard of investigative journalism by undertaking comprehensive cross-border investigations on topics of common concern.

The two organisations pledge to maintain an active and consistent collaboration seeking to foster excellence in the field and contribute to the establishment of more transparent and equitable societies.

The partnership also aims to foster solidarity between members by promoting shared surveys for publication, thereby maximising the reach and impact of crucial issues, the statement read.

Additionally, the collaboration seeks to identify opportunities for combined funding for cross-border investigative projects and the development of specialised resources catering to investigative journalism.

The organisations are also set to engage with other entities invested in strengthening investigative journalism across West Africa. This broader cooperation aims to cultivate an environment conducive to press freedom and the promotion of integrity in public affairs, the statement added.

CCIJ Executive Director Jeff Lowenstein expressed enthusiasm about the partnership. Im excited about what will come from our joint efforts, Mr Lowenstein said.

On his part, CENOZO Board President David Dembele emphasised the organisations joint commitment to combat corruption and poor governance through a united front.

We know that financial delinquents and other apostles of bad governance have connections and structures with ramifications far beyond our states, Mr Dembele said, adding, That is why it is important for us to work together to fight every shade and/or appearance of these unhealthy governance practices within our countries, our sub-region, and globally.

CENOZO is, therefore, more than excited to join forces with CCIJ to expose and denounce these evil practices with everything we have.

Established in Burkina Faso in 2015, CENOZO is dedicated to fostering the capacities of investigative journalists through training, mentoring, grants, and networking. Their association welcomes investigative journalists from across West Africa who have demonstrated a dedication to the field.

Meanwhile, CCIJ is a not-for-profit news organisation with a global focus on investigative reporting that leads to accountability and solutions. CCIJ is dedicated to orchestrating and spearheading worldwide investigations with a foundation in strategic mentorship.

READ ALSO: Nigerian journalist arrested in Benin Republic

Its mission revolves around nurturing a form of collaborative journalism that places captivating visual narratives, thorough investigative journalism, and cutting-edge data science on equal footing from the beginning of projects. Through this disciplinary synergy, the organisation believes they can craft a distinctive narrative approach that shines a spotlight on underrepresented communities.

The partnership between CCIJ and CENOZO not only promises to elevate the standards of investigative journalism in the West African region but also exemplifies a collaborative approach to addressing issues of corruption, impunity, and governance challenges that transcend national borders, the statement concluded.

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The National and State Assemblies Elections Petition Tribunal in Abeokuta on Thursday affirmed Solomon Adeola as the duly elected senator for Ogun West District in the 25 February National Assembly election.

Delivering its judgement in a petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate, Dada Adeleke, the Justice Kabir Gabo-led three-man panel dismissed Mr Adelekes petition for lacking in merit.

The panel also held that two witnesses called by the petitioner failed to give valid evidence to substantiate the allegations of the election not meeting the Electoral Act and constitutional requirements as well as manual voting procedure.

READ ALSO:

According to the panel, the prayer of the petitioner that the victory of Mr Adeola be declared null, void and of no consequence, could not stand or be granted due to it not being meritorious.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Adeola polled 112,887 votes to defeat Mr Adeleke, who scored 60,189 in the election.

Reacting, Mr Adeolas counsel, Deji Eniseyin, described the verdict as victory for democracy and a confirmation of the position of the law on the matter.

But, Festus Ogun, one of the counsels representing the petitioner, said they would review the judgement and advise their client, accordingly.

We will review the judgement and advise our client on the next course of action, he said.

(NAN)

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The Ad hoc Committee of the House of Representatives investigating communal clashes in the Abia State, says there is an ongoing engagement with the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, towards ending the sit-at-home order in the South-east.

Chairman of the committee, Obinna Aguocha, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

The committee is investigating banditry around Isiukwuato and Umunnochi Local Government Area of Abia State.

Mr Aguocha said it engaged Mr Kanu as part of activities to restore peace in the region.

As a part of the search for a lastijng solution, we have also engaged with Mazi Nnandi Kanu. I am happy to announce significant progress in this regard. particularly on the need to put a stop to the Monday sit-at-home that has crippled the economy of the South-east, he said.

The lawmaker did not, however, disclose how the committee engaged with Mr Kanu, who is currently in the custody of the State Security Services (SSS) while his trial is ongoing.

Some weeks ago, the same committee called for the release of the IPOB leader to address the problem of insecurity in the South-east.

Mr Aguocha noted that the effort of the government is yielding some results in tackling the insecurity in the region.

Kanus detention and sit-at-home order

The IPOB leader has been in and out of detention in Nigeria since 2015, the fallout of his run-in with the Nigerian government over his separatist campaigns.

The Nigerian government has already designated IPOB as a terrorist organisation in Nigeria though it is seeking an independent state of Biafra, comprising the defunct Eastern region and some other areas.

Mr Kanu was arrested in September 2015 and subsequently charged with treasonable felony for allegedly attempting to take up arms against the Nigerian state.

The Federal High Court in Abuja granted him bail in 2017.

While he was on bail, the military invaded his country home in Afara-Ukwu, near the Abia State capital, Umuahia, in September 2017. He fled Nigeria in the wake of the invasion.

Mr Kanu has been in detention in Nigeria following his arrest and repatriation from Kenya.

IPOB, in August 2021, introduced a stay-at-home fi0order every Monday across the South-east to pressure the Nigerian government to release its detained leader, Mr Kanu, who is facing a terrorism trial at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

In July, Mr Kanu wrote a letter to Simeon Ekpa, one of his lieutenants in Finland, to end the sit-at-home. However, the letter was reportedly disregarded by Mr Ekpa, who labelled it as fake news.

Many people have reportedly lost their lives due to the enforcement of the order, while the economy of the region continues to suffer due to the general insecurity caused by the separatist group and other criminal elements.

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President Bola Tinubu, who is currently in India for the G-20 Summit, shared his conviction with Nigerians during an interaction with them on Thursday evening.

The president called on Nigerians to harness the countrys rich diversity as a uniquely powerful tool for advancing prosperity and national development for the benefit of all citizens, emphasizing that our diversity must be leveraged to drive economic growth, innovation, and social progress.

We are here to present a new future to you. A future of a country that is so rich, endowed, and highly populated. Very dynamic, unique in its culture, tradition, and ethnicity. That is what will make our prosperity possible if only we can make use of our diversity for prosperity, he implored.

President Tinubu also told the meeting that he ran for the highest office in the country because of the fact that, despite the great human and natural resource wealth of the nation, the leadership and public sector management deficit in the country held Nigeria back from manifest destiny.

We are not poor in knowledge. We are not poor in human resources. We are only poor in management and leadership, and that is why I ran for president, to help all of us mould the soul of our country in the right direction, the president said.

Reflecting on the trajectory of his life, which prepared him for leadership, the president told the meeting that was attended by several Nigerian students studying in India, that with dedication, honesty, determination, and a change of mindset, they can reach for the top in their respective careers.

Good education brought me here and I am happy to stand before you here as the President of Nigeria. I started small. I was a security guard. I was tutor in school. I was a brilliant student. I joined Deloitte and was trained by one of the biggest accounting firms in the world, because of my education, the president recollected.

When I joined them, I asked them, do you have branches in Nigeria and they said, We have a lot of clients that will take you if you want to go home. Thats how I got to Exxon Mobil and was a very successful accountant, auditor-general, and treasurer until I joined politics with a can-do attitude.

You can also do it; do not be despondent in any way. Nigeria is ready to accommodate all. It does not matter which part of Nigeria you are from, the president exclaimed.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, while addressing the students, explained that President Tinubus foreign policy thrust included four Ds, with one of them being Diaspora, which focuses on improving the quality of services that Nigerians in the Diaspora receive at Nigerian Missions abroad.

The issue of passport delays will be a thing of the past. You wont have to wait indefinitely for your passports to be ready. Secondly, you are the first point of contact between Nigerians and other countries. We cant grow beyond what our people project. That is why it is very important for you to project a consistently positive image of Nigeria online and offline, Nigerias chief diplomat said.

Earlier, Business magnate Tony Elumelu told journalists that Nigeria was the best place to invest and that a bet on Nigerians is one of the best bets anyone can ever make, citing Nigerian success in all countries of the world.

We believe in Africa, but especially in Nigeria. An investment in Nigeria promises a return that is scarcely found anywhere in the world and I do business across several continents, the Africapitalist concluded.

Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

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The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, rejected Wednesdays court judgement declaring Bola Tinubu as duly elected Nigerias president.

The Labour Party similarly criticised the judgement on Wednesday, stating that the verdict did not reflect the desires of the people.

They have vowed to appeal against the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court at the Supreme Court, the final court on presidential election disputes.

The five-member panel of the court, led by Haruna Tsammani, in a unanimous ruling on Wednesday, dismissed the petitions of the opposition candidates.

The court cited the inability of Atiku and Mr Obi to prove the substance of their respective cases.

The court equally dismissed the third petition filed by a political party, the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), for being unmeritorious.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja after the pronouncement of the tribunal, the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, said the judgement did not reflect the law and the desire of the people.

Mr Ifoh said the party would not relent until the people will prevail because justice was not served in the judgement delivered.

The Labour Party watched with dismay and trepidation the dismissal of petitions by the five-person panel of the Presidential Election Petition Court led by Justice Haruna Tsammani today, and we reject the outcome of the judgment in its entirety because justice was not served, and it did not reflect the law and the desire of the people.

Nigerians were witnesses to the electoral robbery that took place on February 25, 2023, which was globally condemned, but the Tribunal, in its wisdom, refused to accept the obvious. What is at stake is democracy, and we will not relent until the people will prevail.

He said the party would present a more detailed position when it gets the certified true copy of the judgment.

We will appeal at the Supreme CourtObi, Atiku

Meanwhile, Atiku and Mr Obi also announced that they will challenge the judgement of the tribunal at the Supreme Court

Addressing journalists shortly after the verdict, which lasted 13 hours, Atikus lead lawyer, Chris Uche, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said he had already got his clients instruction to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

We have our clients strong instruction to appeal the judgement, Mr Uche said.

In the same vein, Mr Obis lead counsel, Livy Uzoukwu, a SAN, expressed the Labour Partys presidential candidates displeasure over the court decision.

Our clients are dissatisfied with the judgement just delivered. I have the firm instruction of our client to challenge the judgement on appeal, the senior lawyer said.

Speaking on the difficulties of electoral litigants to prove their suits, Mr Uzoukwu warned that electoral jurisprudence would disappear.

We have to be very careful in this country, otherwise, electoral jurisprudence will disappear.

When those who contest elections find it difficult to establish their case, they may resort to other means which might not be quite good, he said.

The panel had announced that the certified true copy of the judgement would be made available to all the parties.

Earlier in the courtroom, Mr Uche requested a copy of the judgement from the panel to enable him to immediately begin the filing process and beat strict deadlines for such filing.

But responding to the request, Mr Tsammani, the head of the five-member panel of the presidential election petition court, said copies of the judgement would be made available to parties in the suit Thursday.

Shettima hails decision

Vice President Kashim Shettima described the courts decision as the triumph of democracy.

Mr Shettima, who was in court throughout, lauded the judiciary for upholding constitutional democracy.

Conveying Mr Tinubus joy over the outcome of the petitions, the Vice President noted that fulfilling their electoral promises had just begun.

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) says its yet to confirm the authenticity of the Oando agreement with ENI for the acquisition of its shares of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC).

This was contained in a letter reference E&P/MD/0523 dated 4 September, addressed to the Managing Director, Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited and signed by the Managing Director, NNPC Exploration and Production Limited (NEPL), Ali Zarah.

On Monday, Oando announced it had agreed to buy the Nigerian exploration and production unit of Italian oil major Eni.

The consummation of the deal is subject to ministerial consent and other regulatory authorisations, a statement by Nigerias leading indigenous energy solutions provider said.

The agreement is expected to clear the way for Oando to acquire 100 per cent of the shares of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC), which has interests in four onshore blocks and two onshore exploration leases in the country.

It will ramp up Oandos current participating interests in OMLs 60, 61, 62 and 63 from 20 to 40 per cent.

It increases Oandos ownership stake in all NEPL/NAOC/OOL Joint Venture assets and infrastructure, which include forty discovered oil and gas fields, of which twenty-four are currently producing, approximately forty identified prospects and leads, twelve production stations, approximately 1,490 km of pipelines, three gas processing plants, the Brass River Oil Terminal, the KwaleOkpai phases 1 & 2 power plants (with a total nameplate capacity of 960 MW), and associated infrastructure, the statement said.

The transaction also expands Oandos exploration asset portfolio via the purchase of a 90 per cent stake in OPL 282 and a 48 per cent stake in OPL 135.

NAOCs participating interest in Shell Production Development Company Joint Venture (operator Shell 30 per cent, TotalEnergies 10 per cent, NAOC 5 per cent, NNPC 55 per cent) is not part of the deal and so will be retained in Enis portfolio, Oando said.

NEPL Reacts

The NEPL letter reads: Our attention has been drawn to various reports circulating on different media platforms in relation to an alleged divestment of NAOCs participating interest in OMLs 60, 61, 62 and 63 to Oando Oil Limited (OOL).

A duly signed press statement allegedly emanating from OOL dated 4 September 2023 affirms the fact that NAOC has assigned its entire twenty (20) per cent participating interest in the said OMLs to OOL.

Whilst we are yet to confirm the authenticity of the said divestment, we would like to note that the purported assignment, if true, would have the following far-reaching contractual/legal implications in relation to the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) dated July 1991 governing the operations of the NAOC/NEPL/OOL Joint Venture, it reads.

The letter explained that clause 19.1.1 of the J0A provides that No party may assign or transfer its interest or any part thereof without the prior written consent of the other Parties, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld.

By virtue of this provision, it said, a Party seeking to transfer part or the whole of its participating interest in the Joint Venture is obligated to seek the prior written consent of the other parties.

In this instance, it said, NAOC did not inform NEPL of any proposed assignment of its participating interest to OOL or any other party neither did NAOC seek and obtain the mandatory pre-divestment written consent and approval from NEPL in accordance with Clause 19.1.1. of the JOA.

It is imperative for you to note that failure to obtain NEPLS prior written consent and approval with regard to the alleged transfer of your interests in the joint assets constitutes a grave breach of the terms of the JOA and NEPL reserves its rights in relation to the said breach-including NEPLs entitlement to invalidate the purported assignment to OOL, it said.

It noted that under the terms of the JOA, assignment of interest has implications on the transfer of operatorship.

Clause 24.1(i)(c) of the JOA provides that the operator shall cease to be operator and shall be removed by the Non-operators if the operator assigns or otherwise disposes of, other than to an affiliate, all its participating interest.

Furthermore, it said, Clause 2.6.1 provides that in the event of cessation of operatorship arising from the above circumstance, the parties shall appoint one of the Non-operators as successor operator.

We have highlighted the above provisions of the JOA to underscore the point that the purported assignment, even if valid should by no means translate to transfer of operatorship to OOL If NAOCs divestment turns out to be valid, it will become incumbent on NEPL and OOL to decide on a successor operator.

Please note that as holders of sixty (60) per cent participating interest in the NEPL/NAOC/OOL JV, we are indeed concerned that the entire purported assignment was executed without due compliance with the terms of the JOA.

We expect that all parties to the JOA will observe and comply with the terms of the JOA.

In view of the foregoing, we request NAOCs confirmation to NEPL the authenticity or otherwise of the reported divestment to enable us to determine our next steps with regard to the management/operations of the assets, the letter reads.

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A media aide of Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said the spokespersons of President Bola Tinubu are not doing enough to publicise his achievements .

Jubril Gawat on Wednesday in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) said Mr Tinubu deserves a lot more than once in a while tweets.

He was responding to the post of Otega Ogra, a senior special adviser to the president on digital and new media.

Mr Ogra had posted about the business trip of the president to India where he is canvassing foreign investors to bring investment into Nigeria.

@NGRPresident @officialABAT: I dont dont have free lunch to serve you dont keep quiet, dont be frightened to bring investments. Bring it on, I have a team I am the captain of that team I assure you, we solve problems

Sunil Mittal (an Indian billionaire businessman): Mr. President, I have heard many presidential speeches you dispensed with your written speech, and this read excellent you spoke from your heart.

Response

Responding to Mr Gawat, the spokesperson said that his feedback had been noted.

Mr Ogra explained that he and his team are presently working behind the scenes to enhance institutionalise presidential communication and until then the president will speak through his personal and official handles.

You have spoken and I hear you clearly but here is what we are doing: we are working to enhance and institutionalize presidential communication and in due course, you will come to appreciate the value of what we are building, he posted.

For now, my principal and our President @NGRPresident @officialABAT currently speaks through his personal and official handles (reproduced above for your information).

Mr President deserves a properly sustainable presidential/government communications structure that puts the spotlight on the President, and less on us, the messengers. Just as President Tinubu is institutionalizing change in governance, so it will be across board.

Of course, I will continue to take feedback seriously, but I assure you that you will soon see the value and full result of the work my team and I are doing.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. The Turkic world is a big family, and I am glad that all member and observer countries have provided great support for the organization in recent years, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at the meeting with the participants of the 2nd meeting of the Ministers on Disaster and Emergency Management of member and observer states of the Organization of Turkic States and the international exercise "Baku-2023", Trend reports.

"Of course, this support should be provided in the following years as well. Today, the Organization of Turkic States has managed to take its rightful place on a global scale. However, we must continue to work hard so that our possibilities of influence are even broader. Here, of course, mutual assistance, the strengthening of economic relations, the constant coordination and consultations at the political level, mutual assistance in the field of security, i.e. all these are important factors and will further strengthen our union. I am sure that the position and role of our organization in the world will further increase in the near future," President Ilham Aliyev said.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) affirming Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 25 February presidential election.

The party rejected the judgement in a statement on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba.

The five-member panel of the PEPC, led by Haruna Tsammani, in a unanimous ruling on Wednesday, dismissed the petitions challenging the victory of Mr Tinubu in the last presidential election.

The presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi as well as the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) filed petitions at the tribunal challenging the victory of Mr Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The court said they were not able to prove the substance of their respective petitions and therefore, dismissed them.

Mr Ologunagba said the judgement was against the electoral laws and constitution of the country.

As a party, we have had an initial review of the judgment as delivered by the PEPC and we unequivocally reject the said judgement in its entirety.

The judgement is against reason, against the facts and evidence presented in court; against the relevant Electoral Laws, Guidelines and Regulations as well as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). Indeed, the judgment is generous in technicalities and very short in delivering substantial justice in the matter, he said.

Mr Ologunagba stressed that the party and its counsels will review the judgement and decide whether to proceed to the Supreme Court or not.

The PDP, as a law-abiding political party, will with our lawyers, have a comprehensive review of the judgment and decide on the next line of action within the ambit of the law, he stated.

He called on members and supporters of the party to remain calm, assuring that the party would soon decide the next line of action.

The PDP calls on Nigerians to remain alert, calm and united as our Party continues to lead the charge to defend Democracy and ensure that the Will of the people as expressed in the February 25, 2023 Presidential election is respected and restored, Mr Ologunagba said.

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The police in Lagos State have arrested a lecturer at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Kadiri Babalola, for allegedly raping a 20-year-old undergraduate of the institution.

The victim accused Mr Babalola, an associate professor of Botany of perpetrating the act on 16 August, when she visited his office to resolve some issues concerning her results.

The lecturer was arrested following a complaint lodged at the gender unit of the Ikeja police command by a non-governmental organisation- Inclusive Social Welfare and Empowerment Foundation (InclusiveSWEF), where the victim had reported the case.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, told PREMIUM TIMES Thursday that the lecturer has been arrested for sexual harassment and will appear in court when a date is fixed for his arraignment.

A member of staff of the university, who pleaded anonymity, has expressed shock over the allegation.

We never expected it because Mr Babalola is a hardworking and highly respected man. But we will wait for the court outcome. the source said.

Call for justice

Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES, the founder and principal consultant of InclusiveSWEF, Pat Isiorho-Eleto, noted that while the victims identity will be protected, her organisation is keenly following the case to get justice for her.

We are trying to be careful because she is in the university, we have to protect her from stigmatisation, and there are concerns for her safety as well, Mrs Isiorho-Eleto said.

We are more concerned about getting justice for her.

Harassment on campuses

One of the major challenges rocking Nigerian tertiary institutions is the high incidence of allegations of sexual harassment.

Recently, PREMIUM TIMES reported how female students of the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, Cross River State, staged a protest on the campus against the dean of the faculty, Cyril Ndifon, whom they accused of sexual harassment.

The students carried placards that read, Law students are not Bonanza, Prof. Ndifon should stop grabbing us, The Faculty of Law is not a brothel, Ndifon must go for our sanity, among other inscriptions.

The university authority subsequently suspended Mr Ndifon on 17 August. He had previously been suspended by the school authority in 2015 after he was accused of raping a 20-year-old law student in his office, an allegation the professor challenged in court.

University confirms arrest

Reacting to the development, Adejoke Alaga-Ibrahim, the institutions spokesperson, in a statement to PREMIUM TIMES noted that the university was aware of an investigation involving an employee of the university.

Mrs Alaga-Ibrahim said on 28 August, the university management received a letter from the Nigeria Police Force, inviting an employee of the university for questioning.

The employee was immediately informed of the development and advised to comply, she said.

While we are not yet privy to the full details of the incident that led to the arrest of the employee, we are fully aware that the investigation is ongoing and we are cooperating with security agencies to ensure that the matter is resolved in the interest of justice.

Mrs Alaga-Ibrahim reiterated the universitys commitment to ensuring that justice is served.

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Former President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed satisfaction with the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) affirming Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 25 February presidential election.

The former president also saluted the five-member panel of the PEPC for standing against intimidation to deliver justice.

Garba Shehu, the senior special adviser, media and publicity to the former president made this known in a statement on Thursday.

The five-member panel of the PEPC, led by Haruna Tsammani, in a unanimous judgement on Wednesday, dismissed the petitions challenging the victory of Mr Tinubu in the presidential election.

The presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi as well as the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) had filed petitions challenging the victory of Mr Tinubu of the APC in the election.

Mr Shehu, in his statement said, the former president is happy with the judgement of the PEPC.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his happiness with the ruling of the Presidential Elections Petition Court confirming the victory of the All Progressives Congress and its candidate, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate, Vice President Kashim Shettima in the February 25 election.

The former President said the PEPC has written history by spurning intimidation and all manner of prejudice to deliver justice according to law to a majority of citizens whose wish is that the choices they made are respected.

READ ALSO:

If anybody has won today it is the democracy and the people, adding  with the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court, the election period is over and it is time to put the heat and dust behind us, the statement reads.

Mr Buhari also urged Nigerians to give total support to the Tinubu administration in order to deliver on his promises.

From here, the new APC administration led by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu should get the support of everyone in order to deliver the promises it made to the people.

The former President also voiced his appreciation to all citizens for maintaining peace throughout this period and prayed for continued progress and development under the APC government.

He sends warm congratulations to the President, the Vice President and the All Progressives Congress on the victory in court, expressing his best wishes to them in fulfilling the peoples aspirations, the statement added.

The February presidential poll was conducted under Mr Buhari as president.

He had advised those aggrieved with the election to seek redress in court rather than taking to the streets.

The former president, who is also a member of the APC as Mr Tinubu, handed over to the latter on 29 May at the expiration of his second four year tenure.

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The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) says troops of the armed forces of Nigeria have in the last three months, neutralised 817 terrorists, apprehended 1,326 criminals and rescued 721 hostages in different operations across the country.

The Director of Defence Media Operations, Edward Buba, made this known while briefing journalists on military operations across the country on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Buba, a major general, said those apprehended include 42 kidnappers, 231 terrorists collaborators, 33 armed robbers, 80 cattle rustlers, 325 militias, 27 rails vandals, 73 gunrunners and 191 suspected oil thieves.

He added that a total of 4,560 terrorists and their families surrendered to troops in the North-east during the period.

He said that troops also recovered 501 weapons, 3,577 livestock, 3,269 assorted kinds of ammunition and 674 other equipment within the period under review.

In the North-east, Mr Buba said the troops of Operation HADIN KAI neutralised 240 terrorists, arrested 276 terrorists and collaborators, and rescued 147 kidnapped hostages as well as surrender of 4,560 combatant fighters with their families to troops.

He said the troops also recovered 169 assorted weapons, 1,195 assorted ammunitions and 199 other equipment, comprising 57 AK47 rifles, one GPMG, 2 HK21 rifles, one FN rifle, one G3 rifle, one pistol, 22 dane guns, one double barrel, 73 AK47 magazines and three hand grenades.

It also includes two LMG magazines, one RPG tube, two tear gas launchers, 674 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 500 rounds of 7.62mm x 54mm, 20 PKM rounds, one cartridge, two vehicles, 29 motorcycles, 47 bicycles, 18 mobile phones, 13 steering rod and pumps, five gearboxes and four baofeng radios and 158 livestock, he said.

READ ALSO:

In the North-central, Mr Buba said the troops of Operation Safe Haven neutralised 94 terrorists, arrested 477 suspects and rescued 76 kidnaped hostages as well as recovered 82 assorted weapons and 760 assorted ammunition.

The breakdown, according to him, includes 20 AK47 rifles, five revolvers, 27 fabricated rifles, six fabricated pistols, 13 dane guns, five pistols, two pump actions, six Ak47 magazines, 523 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 190 rounds of 5.5mm ammo, 31 rounds 9mm ammo, 18 cartridges and 1,722 livestock.

He said the troops of Operation Whirl Stroke also neutralised 83 terrorists, arrested 104 suspects and rescued 18 kidnapped hostages and also recovered 37 weapons, 68 assorted ammunition and 127 items.

Breakdown as follows: two AK47 rifles, one FN rifle, five locally fabricated pistols, two dane guns, one pistols, 15 AK47 magazines, two G3 magazines, two FN magazines, one GPMG barrel, one Ak47 barrels, three rifle butts and one locally fabricated bullet.

In addition, troops recovered four woodland camouflage, 15 motorcycles, nine mobile phones, six vehicles, five cutlasses, two pairs of black boots, one fragmental jacket, one generator set, three knives, two machetes and one saw and metal, he said.

In the North-west, Mr Buba said the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji neutralised 248 terrorists, arrested 116 suspected terrorists and rescued 359 kidnapped hostages as well as recovered a total of 67 assorted weapons, 926 assorted ammunition and 160 other incriminating items.

In the South-south, he said the troops of Operation Delta Safe neutralised 69 combatants, arrested 191 oil theft collaborators and rescued 12 kidnapped hostages.

Mr Baba said the troops also intercepted 6.6 million litres of stolen crude oil, 3.5 million litres of illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), 188,650 kerosene and 65,600 litres of petrol.

He said the troops also discovered and destroyed 249 boats, 28 pumping machines, and three vessels as well as recovered a total of 51 assorted weapons,

In the South-east, the defence spokesperson said the troops of Operation UDO KA neutralised 80 combatants, arrested 162 IPOB/ESN criminals and rescued 109 kidnapped hostages.

He said the troops also recovered 63 assorted weapons, 320 assorted ammunition and 166 other incriminating items within the period under review.

According to him, it is clear from the operations that the terrorists and their cohorts have sustained a significant number of casualties and will continue to sustain even more casualties, as we move forward.

The illusion by these groups to embark on terrorism or insurgency is laughable.

Increasingly, they have become more of a criminal organisation which is the reason they fight. They fight so that, they can keep profiting from criminal activities such as illegal mining, kidnapping, cattle rustling, illegal levies on fishing and farming communities and all other unholy forms of criminal inclinations.

Indeed, if these groups dont come to the table in peace, we will ceaselessly punish them with overwhelming military force and for those supporting them, they have picked the wrong side and will face similar fate as these criminals and murders.

(NAN)

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A former governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, has called for an end to the winner takes it governance structure in Nigeria, saying the existing structure is too adversarial.

Mr Fayemi proposed that power should be shared among all political parties based on performance during elections. He said a party cannot score 21 per cent of votes and wants to rule 100 per cent.

He spoke in Abuja on Tuesday while delivering a keynote address at a national dialogue organised to celebrate the 60th birthday of Udenta Udenta, the founding national secretary of Alliance for Democracy (AD).

The former governor said the current system cannot work unless there is a proportional sharing of political offices based on performance at the polls.

Today, I read former President Olusegun Obasanjos interview in The Cable saying our liberal democracy is not working and we need to revisit it, and I agree with him. We must move from the political alternatives. I think we are almost on a deadend of that.

What we need is alternative politics and my own notion of alternative politics is that you cant have 35 per cent of the vote and take 100 per cent. It wont work! We must look at proportional representation so that the party that is said to have won 21 per cent of the votes will have 21 per cent of the government. Adversary politics bring division and enmity, he said.

He stated further: That is why we must ensure that everybody is a crucial stakeholder by stopping all these. Let the manifesto of PDP, APC and Labour Party be put on the table and select all those who will pilot the programme from all parties.

Not taking his own advice

There is no evidence that Mr Fayemi, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), who served as the governor for eight years, from 2010 to 2014 and from 2018 to 2022, implemented such a proposal even at an informal level.

When the Court of Appeal declared him the governor of Ekiti State in 2010, one of his first actions was the dissolution of the chairmen of the 16 local governments in the state. The council chairmen opposed the declaration and approached the court.

READ ALSO:

Mr Fayemi also served as a cabinet member in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari and equally had a stint as the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) from 2019 to 2022.

However, neither his party, the APC nor his state adopted the sharing of political offices based on voting strength.

Furthermore, his party won the presidential election in February with the narrowest margin ever recorded in a presidential election since the return of democracy.

It is not clear if Mr Fayemi suggested the governance structure to President Bola Tinubu or his party.

We politicised anti-subsidy removal protest

Mr Fayemi, who was serving his first term as governor when former President Goodluck Jonathan removed the petroleum subsidy in 2012, also said at the forum that his then party, the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), played politics by supporting the protests that trailed the removal.

Mr Jonathan had in January 2012 announced the removal of subsidy on petroleum, however, the policy was met with strong opposition from organised Labour groups and opposition parties, notably ACN.

The Occupy Nigeria group, made up of prominent Nigerians, played a leading role in the protest that forced the government to reverse the decision.

Speaking on opposition to the policy, he said his party knew the truth about the fuel subsidy but decided to play politics with it.

All political parties in the country agreed and they even put in their manifesto that the subsidy must be removed. We all said the subsidy must be removed. But we in ACN at the time, in 2012, we know the truth Sir, but it is all politics, he said.

The current Bola Tinubu administration on 29 May announced the removal of the fuel subsidy regime, and Nigerians are still grappling with the effects.

Mr Tinubu was a leader of the ACN at the time Mr Jonathan removed the fuel subsidy in 2012.

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From Thursday night, there are prospects of heavy rainfall over parts of Niger and Kwara State, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) said in a weather advisory.

During the forecast period, 24 hours of accumulated rainfall is very likely, NiMet said, adding that the extreme heavy rainfall can cause flash flooding, riverine flooding, soil erosion, thunder and lightning, and strong winds.

The forecast shows that this extreme rainfall can result in large-scale displacement of people due to floods, outbreaks of waterborne diseases, damages to infrastructures (roads, bridges, ), loss of lives, injuries, reduction of visibility, interruption of vehicular traffic.

To avoid these hazards, NiMet called for civil protection services and disaster risk management authorities to activate contingency plans for disaster preparedness and emergency response (awareness, assistance to victims, search and rescue operations), and to be in close touch with National Hydrological Meteorological Services (NHMS) for further accuracy at the national level.

The agency said added moderate to heavy rainfall is anticipated over parts of Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna, Plateau, Oyo, Kogi, Nasarawa, Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, Cross River, Imo, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers State.

READ ALSO:

Low to noderate rainfall is expected in larger parts of FCT, Kebbi, Ogun, Ekiti, Oyo, and Kano state.

Elsewhere, there is little or no risk of hydrometeorological hazard, NiMet said.

Meanwhile, the agency said moderate to heavy rainfall is expected on Saturday over parts of Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Yobe, Benue, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto State.

There are also prospects of low to moderate rainfall over places in Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna, Bauchi, Borno, and Taraba on Saturday.

On Sunday, NiMet said, there are slim prospects of moderate to heavy rainfall over parts of Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Delta, Bayelsa and River State.

Low to moderate rainfall is expected over parts of Borno, Gombe, Yobe, Bauchi, Plateau, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Niger, Oyo, Nasarawa, Benue, Kogi, Cross River, Edo, Rivers and Imo State on Sunday.

Between Friday and Sunday, NiMet said, there are good chances of very strong winds to affect parts of Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau and Kaduna State.

High risk of hazards due to strong winds is very likely in these locations over the next three days.

The strong winds can cause large scale damages to weak structures, felling of trees, disruption of vehicular movement due to blockage of roads, and displacement of people due to damages to buildings, NiMet said.

NiMet advised that contingency plans should be updated. It also wants improved disaster management during strong winds while authorities are advised to be ready to take adequate actions and to be continuously in touch with the National Hydrological Meteorological Services to be informed of the detailed expected meteorological conditions.

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The Lagos State House of Assembly has confirmed 15 of the fresh nominees of Governor Babajide Sanwo-olu for appointment as commissioners.

The nominees, including Akin Abayomi and Gbenga Omotosho, were in the second batch submitted by the governor to the lawmakers on Monday.

However, the House rejected two of the nominees and also resolved to step down the confirmation of Tolani Akibu for another legislative day.

The decisions were sequel to the laying of a report before the House by the Chairman of the Screening Committee, Mojeed Fatai, at plenary on Thursday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that on 23 August, the assembly had rejected 17 nominees, including former commissioner for health, Mr Abayomi and former commissioner for information, Mr Omotosho.

No reason or explanation was given for the rejection.

The lawmakers had, however, confirmed 22 other nominees of the governor through a voice vote, after they had been screened at the assemblys committee of the Whole at plenary.

Mr Sanwo-Olu, on Monday, had said some of the names earlier rejected by the assembly had been represented, with some new names added.

The speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, at plenary, commended the committee for doing a thorough job in screening the nominees.

The speaker listed the confirmed nominees as Afolabi Tajudeen, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, Mr Abayomi, Oluwarotimi Fashola, Folashade Ambrose-Medem, Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, and Bolaji Dada.

Others are Barakat Bakare, Mr Omotosho, Mosopefoluwa George, Yekini Agbaje, Olumide Oluyinka, Abayomi Oluyomi, Iyabode Ayoola and Sola Giwa.

Mr Obasa said the two rejected nominees are Olalere Odusote and the immediate past Commissioner for Budget, Samuel Egube. He did not state why they were rejected.

(NAN)

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Three months after he left Nigeria on medical leave, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has returned to the country, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

A source in the state government confirmed his return on Thursday afternoon.

Context

Mr Akeredolu began a 21-day leave on 7 June and immediately embarked on a medical trip to Germany.

The governor, according to a letter to the state House of Assembly, was expected to return on 6 July but had remained abroad.

His prolonged stay triggered numerous controversies in the state as his officials and family members jostled for control of government.

On 15th July, the governor requested through a letter to the states lawmakers that his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, should take over in an acting capacity.

Arrival

According to our source, the governor arrived in Ibadan early on Thursday and will take some more rest at his private residence before heading to Ondo State.

READ ALSO: Ondo government denies return of Governor Akeredolu from German hospital

The source pleaded anonymity because government and the family of Mr Akeredolu are yet to make an announcement.

He added that some members of the cabinet were already on their way to welcome him back

However, Mr Akeredolus wife, Betty Anyanwu- Akeredolu, has posted a photograph of him in a chopper on her Instagram account, under the caption homebound.

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The Commander, Army Headquarters Garrison (AHQ Gar), Koko Isoni, on Thursday inaugurated a General Court Martial to try 14 officers and nine soldiers alleged to have breached different provisions of the Armed Forces Act.

The court martial was convened at the Scorpion Officer Mess, Asokoro Abuja, pursuant to the powers conferred on him by Section 131 (2) (d) of the Armed Forces Act CAP A20 LFN, 2004 for the trial of Nigerian Army personnel alleged to have committed different offences.

The Garrison Commander in his inaugural speech assured the accused persons that justice would be done to all parties concerned by members of the court.

Mr Isoni, a major general, said that members of the court are men of integrity and high standing character who would bring to bear, their years of experience and service knowledge.

He named the Court President as MO Eteng, a brigadier general, while the Judge Advocate is AD Roberts, a major, adding that the duration of the sitting is 60 days.

He urged them to eschew technicalities and do substantial justice to all.

He also advised all those appearing before the court to shun unnecessary delays that could prolong their trials, saying that justice delayed is not only justice denied, but not justice at all.

The commander said that the court is independent of him and challenged it to carry out its responsibilities without fear or favour to anyone.

(NAN)

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A couple in Anambra State, South-east Nigeria allegedly tried to starve their five-year-old daughter to death after labelling her a witch.

The couple, Michael Wosu, 47, and Blessing, his 23-year-old wife, allegedly carried out the act in Adazi-Ani, a community in Anaocha Local Government Area of the state, where they reside.

Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, a media aide to the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in the state, Ify Obinabo, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Ms Ikeanyionwu said the couple had been arrested by the commissioner.

The media aide said the arrest followed a report to the commissioner from the Chairperson of the council area, Ikechukwu Ozoh, and Chinwe Uba, the State Coordinator of a group, Ladies of Good Governance.

Mrs Obinabo, while speaking to the couple in her office, said her primary assignment was to protect the rights of every child in Anambra State, Ms Ikeanyionwu said.

The commissioner appreciated a resident, Ikenna Anoliefo, for rescuing the child and drawing the attention of authorities from the council area.

She vowed to prosecute the couple and others who commit such acts in the state.

Deserves to die

The couple, according to the statement, told the commissioner that they were starving their daughter in obedience to their unnamed pastors prophecy that the girl was a witch.

They said they felt that there was no need to give the daughter food because, as a witch, she does not deserve to live.

The mother Blessing, who hails from Akwa Ibom State, South-south Nigeria, claimed that the daughter, through her witchcraft, was responsible for the collapse of her fathers business.

She added that she equally forced the daughter to be sleeping on a plank because she frequently urinated and defecated on their bed.

The father, Mr Wosu, who comes from Rivers State, another state in the South-south, claimed he was not aware that his wife was maltreating the daughter.

The child, the statement said, has been taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Relations with Turkic states are a first-class task in Azerbaijans foreign policy, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at the meeting with the participants of the 2nd meeting of the Ministers on Disaster and Emergency Management of member and observer states of the Organization of Turkic States and the international exercise "Baku-2023", Trend reports.

Addressing the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- I sincerely welcome you. Welcome to Azerbaijan!

The meeting of the ministers of emergency situations of the Organization of Turkic States begins in Baku today. This is a very important event. I am sure that the meeting will be very good and the results will be very successful.

As you may know, the summit of the heads of Turkic states will be held in two months. Major preparations for the Summit are underway, including management of emergency situations. As far as I know, the meeting is also expected to prepare an agreement on mutual assistance. There is a great need for this. We all know very well that the number of emergency situations in our region and the world as a whole has increased dramatically of late. There are many reasons for that but the fact is that unprecedented floods, earthquakes and fires have become commonplace. I would like to take this opportunity to pay my respects to the memory of those who died in the terrible earthquake and express my condolences to brotherly Turkiye. As you know, Azerbaijan made its efforts in the aftermath of this horrific earthquake, from the first hours and minutes. Currently, the final parameters of a settlement to be built by the Azerbaijani state in the city of Kahramanmaras are being determined, and we will start construction in the near future.

Azerbaijan has fairly extensive experience in this field. In recent years, work has been carried out to strengthen our material and technical infrastructure, the professionalism of rescue workers has increased. As a whole, our rescue missions in various regions, including the countries connecting the Turkic world, clearly show our capabilities and intention. We should always be by each other's side. All member countries are making their valuable contributions to the development of the Organization of Turkic States, including Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has supported the strengthening of this organization at all times, and relations with member countries of the organization rank first among our foreign policy priorities. I have stated this many times as President, and we have shown it in practice.

The Turkic world is a big family, and I am glad that all member and observer countries have provided great support for the organization in recent years. Of course, this support should be provided in the following years as well. Today, the Organization of Turkic States has managed to take its rightful place on a global scale. However, we must continue to work hard so that our possibilities of influence are even broader. Here, of course, mutual assistance, the strengthening of economic relations, the constant coordination and consultations at the political level, mutual assistance in the field of security, i.e. all these are important factors and will further strengthen our union. I am sure that the position and role of our organization in the world will further increase in the near future.

I want to say again that relations with Turkic states are a first-class task in Azerbaijans foreign policy. It is no coincidence that over the past few years, I have paid numerous visits to countries that are members of the Organization. The heads of state and government of the member countries of the organization have paid multiple visits to Azerbaijan, and these visits are planned for this year as well. So this once again shows that we are on the right track.

Today, for the first time, a representative of Northern Cyprus is also present here with us. I would like to specifically welcome our Northern Cypriot Turkic brothers. The minister is present here as an observer, but at the same time, with his national flag. Of course, the flag of Northern Cyprus should and will be flown at our event. Azerbaijan has always been by the side of our brothers united in the whole Turkic world, and it is very gratifying that Northern Cyprus it was chosen as an observer to at the last summit of the Organization of Turkic States. On this occasion, I heartily congratulate all our Turkic brothers. This once again shows our unity and once again shows our resolve. It shows that we are and will always be with each other on the path of truth.

I welcome you again. I wish you good luck and the best results. Please convey my sincere greetings to the heads of state and government of the countries you represent.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr Umar Garba Danbatta, has commended the Swedish Government and Ericsson for their commitment and consistency in a strategic partnership with NCC on capacity building which has strengthened the Commissions regulatory activities.

Speaking at a workshop jointly organised by NCC and its Swedish partners within the framework of the Swedish Programme for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Developing and Emerging Regions (SPIDER), Danbatta, a professor of engineering stressed the significant strides made by NCC in the field of ICT.

This workshop signposts the vital role the Nigerian Communications Commission, as a regulator, has been playing in the West African sub-region. It also highlights the unending objective of keeping up with the times and ever-evolving dynamics of the telecommunications sector, Danbatta stated.

The NCC Chief Executive reiterated the enduring commitment of the Swedish Government and SPIDER to the cause of ICT development in emerging regions and acknowledged their roles in improving access to healthcare, education, income generation, and employment opportunities in West Africa, thereby contributing to poverty reduction.

This periodic strategic engagement under the auspices of SPIDER over the years has made the Commission a more effective regulator and enhanced it contribution to the development of the telecommunications sector. This contribution will further support the creation of an ecosystem that is beneficial to the economies and people of the region, the EVC said.

In her speech, the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroun, and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Mrs Annika Hahn, highlighted the significance of ICT regulation and capacity building as key drivers for economic development and social progress.

The ambassador also commended the NCC for hosting the event and fostering collaboration between the two nations. She acknowledged the pivotal role ICT has played in Swedens economic growth being the birthplace of Ericsson, one of the worlds oldest and largest ICT companies, with a rich history in the sector.

Speaking further, the ambassador stressed the importance of the global technological revolution and its potential to catalyse industrial and economic development. She further stressed the need for modern and adaptable regulation to navigate this rapidly-evolving landscape.

Hahn also stated that, to cope with this new and swiftly-developing environment, we need to regulate in a modern and adaptable way. Therefore, human capacity building in ICT regulation is crucial for all of us.

The diplomat said the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of ICT across the globe, leading to an increase in Internet users as the shift impacted various sectors, including education, commerce, and financial services. She also said that e-learning practices on various platforms played a significant role in the transformation.

Speaking further, the Ambassador said Ericsson has reported that there were more than 900 million registered mobile subscriptions in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022, with a considerable portion of those in Nigeria.

The Swedish ambassador said that, in driving growth and contributing to the ambitious goal of over a billion mobile subscriptions by the end of 2023 within Sub-Saharan Africa, education must be an essential part of our regulatory development strategies and policies, hence the need for collaboration in knowledge-sharing and up-skilling of human resources by all stakeholders.

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Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has urged Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi not to appeal the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) affirming President Bola Tinubus victory, saying they would only end up wasting their resources.

Mr Bello stated this in an interview with State House correspondents on Thursday in Abuja.

The PEPC had on Wednesday, in a unanimous decision, dismissed the petitions of Atiku, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that of Mr Obi of the Labour Party (LP).

Atiku already rejected the outcome of the tribunal and instructed his lawyers to proceed with the appeal at the Supreme Court.

Equally, the Labour Party and the lawyers of Mr Obis lawyer also kicked against the judgement, hinting that they will appeal it.

Mr Bello, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said such an appeal will amount to a waste of resources because there is no ground for it.

READ ALSO:

As far as Im concerned, I dont think there is any ground for appeal. I will rather appeal to them that they should drop any appeal going to the higher court and then save the resources, save the trouble, advise their supporters, and admonish them that they should accept yesterdays judgement. No flaw. I thank God for all that happened yesterday, he said.

The governor urged the aggrieved parties to support Mr Tinubu to reposition the country, adding that the hardship Nigerians are grappling with is due to actions taken in the past.

I advise all those that feel aggrieved, we have only one country, Nigeria. They should all come together and support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and ensure that we fix this country. Whatever hardship we are facing today is the effects of the past, he said.

Mr Bello and his party, the APC, have continued to blame the past for the state of the economy despite being in the saddle since 2015.

Bello contradicts self on Natashas victory

Mr Bello, however, contradicted himself when he asked the two Kogi senators sacked by the tribunal to challenge the judgements nullifying their elections.

The APC suffered defeat in two senatorial districts in Kogi State at the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal this week

The tribunal sitting in Lokoja, on Tuesday, sacked the senator representing Kogi East senatorial district, Jibrin Isah, and ordered a rerun election in 94 polling units.

On Wednesday, the tribunal also nullified the election of Abubakar Ohere as the senator for Kogi Central Senatorial District and ordered INEC to issue the certificate of return to Natasha Apoti-Uduaghan of the PDP.

Mr Bello said the two senators should seek redress at the Court of Appeal, a position that contradicts his advice to Messrs Atiku and Obi.

This is democracy. and they (Messrs Isah and Ohere) have the right of appeal. I think they will take the appropriate steps to ensure that no violence is orchestrated anywhere.

We will follow the due process of the law and whatever will be the outcome at the end of the day, we abide by it. But I want to assure you that even judging from the pronouncements yesterday at the appeal court, we are going to have our 3/3 Senate in Kogi State, I can assure you, he said.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. The majority of the Armenian population of Karabakh does not support the idea of abandoning the Aghdam-Khankendi road, said representative of the President of Azerbaijan for special assignments Elchin Amirbayov in an interview with Deutsche Welle, Trend reports.

"We know that this opinion about rejecting the Aghdam-Khankendi road, which is the second road to be used for transporation of humanitarian cargo, is not shared by all the population. But this people are intimidated, they do not have any rights to express themselves, and those who do are being persecuted. But we still want to find the solution," he said.

Amirbayov pointed out that Azerbaijan has shown utmost flexibility in contacts with the major stakeholders, such as Russia, the US, and the EU, in order to find the solution.

"I think that the more this situation continues, the more we are distant from the prospect of resumption of the real peace process, where we would have to resume discussions on draft peace agreement, restoration of communication links and delimitation of the borders," he added.

The food convoy sent from Baku for the Armenian residents of Karabakh has been on the Aghdam-Askeran-Khankendi road for 10 days in a row.

Two trucks with 40 tons of flour have been in front of the Russian peacekeepers' post on the Aghdam-Askeran-Khankendi road since August 29. Employees and volunteers of the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society spend the night in tents set up on the territory.

The delivery from the Azerbaijani side was supposed to be picked up by another truck, from the other side of the post, however the criminal separatist regime created by Armenia in Khankendi, doesn't allow it to take on the cargo.

On August 29, the Azerbaijani Red Crescent Society organized the delivery of food to meet the needs of people of Armenian origin living in Azerbaijan's Karabakh economic region. At the initial stage, it was planned to deliver 40 tons of flour along the Aghdam-Khankendi road.
Aviation commentators are warning of a worsening skills shortage which could threaten the industry's bounceback from the pandemic. This is particularly acute for pilots, but covers all workers from cabin crew to ground staff. Artemis Aerospace explores how training is being affected.

WISTON, England, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Last year, along with many other industry commentators, we sounded a warning about the need to address the skills shortage in the aviation sector, and discussed how to build momentum to overcome it and highlight the appeal of careers in the industry. If we fast forward a year, has this changed?

Boeing's Pilot and Technician Outlook 2023-2042 states that "over the next twenty years, 649,000 new pilots, 690,000 new maintenance technicians and 938,000 new cabin crew members will be needed to maintain the global commercial fleet."

Artemis Aerospace discusses skills shortages in the aviation industry (credit: https://www.istockphoto.com/search/photographer?photographer=yacobchuk&assettype=image&family=creative)

A global skills survey from IATA in 2022 found that the percentage of pilots in place to meet immediate needs was 72%, maintenance and technical staff was 70%, and cabin crew only 63%. In the US, there are 10% fewer fully trained air traffic controllers than there were ten years ago, 12,000 fewer mechanics, and nearly 15,000 pilots are due to retire within five years. In the UK, the number of pilots who retired during the pandemic is reputed to be at least twice the usual levels.

There are a multitude of different reasons for this alarming shortfall in personnel, one of the most important ones being issues surrounding training. It's critical for the industry that more training places are provided, and more applicants encouraged to take them up.

Inevitably, for jobs on which people's lives depend, training is thorough and demanding. On graduating from a UK pilot training school, prospective pilots will have gained a Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) and an Instrument Rating (IR) which combine to make a "frozen ATPL." This opens doors to jobs as a first officer or co-pilot. In order to "unfreeze" the APTL, 1,500 flying hours are required before a trainee can advance to the rank of captain, as well as a practical skills test, and exams in subjects such as radio navigation. Whichever training route is taken, courses are completely self-funded and extremely expensive - between 70K and 120K - which doesn't encourage a large or diverse entry into the system.

Prior to 2001, flight training sponsorship by an airline was one way in which trainees could subsidise their courses. However, a combination of the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the financial crisis of 2008 meant numerous smaller airlines went into liquidation and this was largely discontinued. Sponsorship was being utilised again by some airlines prior to the pandemic, but then COVID arrived, the skies shut down, a number of flight training schools closed permanently, and many pilots were made redundant and never returned to the workforce, which also meant a diminishing pool of people to train new pilots.

However, some airlines are seeking solutions through new training opportunities. In July, British Airways announced that it is investing millions in a new pilot cadet programme, the Speedbird Pilot Academy, which will fund the training of 60 future pilots. It's hoped that the Academy will enable people, for whom the training cost would have otherwise been prohibitive, to apply. Aer Lingus has just announced it is seeking 90 aspiring pilots for its relaunched pilot training programme over the next five years, in collaboration with a Spanish flight training school.

Airbus, the multinational aerospace corporation, has begun to tackle the problem of the lack of aircraft technicians through its programme to provide training academies with access to state-of-the-art support. It has rolled out its Airbus Competence Training (ACT) suites at the locations of airline customers worldwide, using virtual and interactive tools to ensure that technicians have full training on Airbus aircraft.

Another major headache for airlines is cancelled flights due to a global shortage of qualified cabin crew. Training for this type of work is also exacting and some airlines are resorting to generous sign-on bonuses. However, a backlog in security clearances for applicants has caused further issues.

To complete training, pilots spend many hours in a flight simulator, and need regular re-tests to keep their licences. The multi-faceted job of cabin crew also involves time in a simulator to cover situations such as emergency evacuation, fire and smoke training and secure cockpit procedures. The gridlock as trainees struggle to book time on a simulator has the potential to set back any initiatives to reduce the skills shortfall and, if simulators (which run almost constantly) break down, then queues get even longer.

Having a reliable simulator support service that's available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week is crucial for preventing disruption to training schedules and is essential to the mission of ramping up trainee numbers to meet the requirements of post-pandemic air travel.

Artemis Aerospace offers an innovative approach to component solutions for the aviation sector. Established in 1999, the company has earned a reputation for outstanding customer service by solving problems and providing a range of realistic options that offer customers the flexibility and freedom to choose a solution that suits their timescale and budget. Its services include component supplies, component repairs, lessor support, flight simulation hardware support, consignment stock management and global aircraft logistics.

With decades of expertise in global aviation logistics, the expert team works with trusted MROs, OEMs, and aftermarket suppliers around the world to offer 24/7 support to its global customer base.

www.artemisaerospace.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2203050/Artemis_Aerospace.jpg

SOURCE Artemis Aerospace
BERLIN, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Midea, a leading brand in smart home appliances, has announced the IFA debut of its new R290 product lineup in Berlin. During its five-day exhibit at IFA 2023, Midea has also participated in the IFA Sustainable Village, underscoring its commitment to advocating for a sustainable and green lifestyle.

image_1 image_2 David Miao, Vice President, and Roosevelt, Director, both from the Overseas R&D Center of Midea Residential Air Conditioner, accepting the Euromonitor International award.

As part of this IFA Sustainable Village program, on September 3, Midea hosted a dedicated slot attended by guests from UNIDO, the German Environment Agency and GIZ. The discussions focused on refrigerants' impact on the environment and their role in shaping the future of the HVAC industry.

Dr. Chang Wei, CTO of Midea Group delivered a speech at the event, blending Midea's overall green development strategy with the discussion on the go-to-market strategy of R290 products in the international market and the importance of consumer education. The participants also delved into topics such as heat pumps, fluorinated gases, and the potential of R290 as a solution. These discussions highlighted Midea's dedication to fostering collaboration, leading improvements, and sustainable business in the industry.

During the five-day event, Midea's latest R290 products, showcased under the theme of "Green Vision Blue Future," have received significant attention. These high-efficiency and eco-friendly products include the newly released top-of-the-line A+++ EffiClima split AC the Xtreme split AC that has received the Blue Angel Certificate, and the A+ high-efficiency heat pump water heater. These products not only provide exceptional performance but also strongly support Midea's commitment to reducing carbon emissions and building a sustainable future.

With the increasing environmental awareness, relevant regulations have been put forth at the legal level to address the requirements regarding refrigerants. Consequently, refrigerants are also undergoing continual improvement. Both R32 and R290 have a zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP). However, compared to R32's Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 771, R290 has a significantly lower GWP of only 0.02, making it a much more ideal choice. More and more countries and regions are focusing on the GWP of refrigerants due to the worsening climate change. According to the current EU F-gas Regulation, from 1 January 2025, single split air-conditioning systems using less than 3kg of HFCs with a GWP of 750 or more will then be prohibited.

As a world's leading HVAC company, Midea has prioritized environmental friendliness by embracing R290, a green refrigerant. For 12 years, Midea has been at the forefront of R290 technology. It has achieved remarkable innovations like the world's first R290 rotary compressor and the inaugural R290 demonstration line, acknowledged by the United Nations.

By opting for Midea's R290 products, consumers can enjoy advanced and eco-friendly solutions. For example, Midea's R290 EffiClima offers a SEER of 12.2 and a SCOP of 6.3, surpassing the performance of R32. This ultra-energy-efficient R290 air conditioning product is specifically designed to meet the needs of European consumers, providing effective heating while conserving energy.

During the IFA event, Euromonitor International awarded Midea the title of being the world's No.1 R290 air conditioner company in terms of sales volume in 2022. So far, Midea has produced more than 6.2 million R290 products. Based on these sales figures, it is estimated that Midea's R290 products have successfully curbed CO2 emissions by a remarkable 3.715 million tons. This is equivalent to the amount of CO2 that 4.4 million hectares of the Amazon rainforest could absorb in just one year.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2203216/image_1.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2203217/image_2.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2203218/Image3.jpg

SOURCE Midea Residential Air Conditioner Division
CAIRO, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pangiam, a trade and travel technology company, executed two agreements with the Cairo Airport Company to design and build Cairo International Airport's (CAI) new Terminal 4 and develop CAI into a world-class smart airport through the use of cutting-edge technology and operations best practices.

L-R: Simon Wilcox, SVP Pangiam; Crawford Burden, MD AECOM; Erin Cole, Deputy Senior Commercial Services Officer, U.S. Embassy Cairo, Tom Plofchan, Chief Investment Officer Pangiam; H.E. Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Abbas Helmy; Mohamed Saeed Mahrous, Chairman Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation; Magdy Ishak, Chairman and CEO Cairo Airport Company; Permanent Undersecretary of Civil Aviation Amany Metwaly; Yehia Zakaria, Chairman and CEO EgyptAir; Amr el-Sharkawy, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority; Captain Elias Sadek, Minister Advisor.

The two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) instruct Pangiam and its partners to develop a proposal to build a new Terminal 4 at CAI and complete a feasibility study providing recommendations to use emerging technologies to convert CAI's existing infrastructure into a world-class smart airport and seamless travel experience. Over the next six months, Pangiam and its partners will work in partnership the Cairo Airport Company to complete this work in line with the priorities of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Development Plan announced this past spring.

Tom Plofchan, Pangiam Chief Investment Officer said, "these agreements represent the beginning of an exciting opportunity to deliver a world-class passenger experience that will help support and grow Egypt's impressive tourism industry and attract additional foreign direct investment."

Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Abbas Helmy stated, "the signing of the two MoUs is in line with the Ministry's desire to develop the infrastructure and enhance the efficiency of Cairo International Airport systems, supported in this endeavour by distinguished experts with access to cutting-edge technologies. The aim is to enhance the level of services provided to passengers in order to create a better travel experience, particularly given the expected increase in air and tourist traffic in Egypt in the years ahead."

Pangiam is grateful for the support of the United States Embassy in Cairo in reaching this important milestone.

About Pangiam:

Led by a team of seasoned aviation experts, Pangiam brings a unique set of integrated technologies, private capital, and a consortium of design, architecture, and operations partners to Cairo, offering the potential to significantly enhance passenger experience and connectivity to U.S. and European markets.

Contact:

media@pangiam.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2203312/Pangiam_signing.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1584848/Pangiam_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Pangiam
CHENGDU, China, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Between September 7 and 8, the 2023 World Conference on Display Industry (WCDI) is slated to take place in Chengdu. Industry-leading enterprises from around a dozen nations and regions such as the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K. and Belgium will descend on the event, where they will unveil the latest in display industry technologies, applications, research accomplishments and other study reports.

The WCDI, which has been hosted successfully for four sessions, is one of the globally influential platforms crucial to facilitating exchanges and cooperation in the display industry. This year, the number of participating organizations and enterprises continue to expand, and hundreds of persons in charge of Fortune Global 500 corporations and industry-leading companies will attend, alongside heads of international industry bodies like German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade (BWA), the Society for Information Display (SID), Korea Display Industry Association (KDIA), Korean Information Display Society (KIDS) and World XR Association of Switzerland.

This year's Conference will consist of more than 30 activities, including themed forums surrounding industry trends like Mini/Micro LED, smart city, commercial display, culture and tourism applications, intelligent hardware, smart cabin and ultra HD display, along with numerous industry chain and supply chain matchmaking events, according to the organizing committee.

In the era of digital information, the novel display industry interacts with various types of digital technology, and application scenarios are being expanded and deeply integrated into education, medical care, smart home furnishing and other industrial ecologies at a quickened pace. In 2022, the novel display industry of China was valued at over 490 billion Chinese yuan, accounting for 36% of global total and continuing to maintain its firm grip as the biggest in the world, while display panel production exceeded 360 billion yuan, comprising 48% of global total.

In China, the smart terminal industry of the Chengdu-Chongqing region, for which Chengdu serves as the core, is well-known for its scale and advantages, responsible for the production 2/3 of the world's iPad tablets, 50% of the world's laptops and 10% of the world's smart phones. In 2022, the Chengdu-Chongqing region novel display industry accounted for more than 30% of national total, and has risen as the planet's largest OLED production base and China's biggest concentration of the flexible display industry.

This year marks the second time for Chengdu to host the World Conference on Display Industry. In the past year, Chengdu took advantage of its first hosting of the WCDI and achieved new breakthroughs in display industry development, including the execution of a number of innovation-centric platforms. At present, the display industry of Chengdu makes up 15% of Chinese total, with personal computer production volume ranking second in the country, while occupying 20% of projector market share, the biggest in the nation.

This year, Chengdu is once again the host of the WCDI, and no doubt the event will further elevate the industrial competitiveness of the region, speed up the agglomeration of high-end key factors of the industry, and enhance the overall industrial ecology.

SOURCE The Organization Committee of the 2023 World Conference on Display Industry (WCDI)
IRVING, Texas, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, CP ALL Laos, a Master Franchisee of 7-Eleven International LLC ("7IN")  a joint-venture of 7-Eleven, Inc. (SEI) and Seven-Eleven Japan (SEJ)  opened its first 7-Eleven store in Laos. The store is located on Souphanouvong Avenue in Vientiane.

The store features 7-Eleven's signature retail environment and serves a variety of internationally-popular products and beverages  including bean-to-cup coffee, Slurpee drinks and Big Gulp drinks. Customers can enjoy hamburgers, toasted sandwiches, and freshly baked bread. CP ALL Laos is looking into opportunities to offer Laotian meals.

CP ALL Laos is excited to serve the community of Vientiane, the capital and largest city of Laos, as it experiences significant economic growth and surge in tourism following the opening of the Laos-China Railway high-speed train.

"With its thriving economy and growing population, Laos offers an excellent environment for 7Eleven's first retail venture in the region," said 7-Eleven International Co-CEO's Shin Abe and Ken Wakabayashi. "Our entrance into the country brings Laotian customers a one-stop-shop solution with quality fresh food and convenience needs, via a store format not currently prevalent in the market. The store opening in Laos marks the 20th country and region for 7-Eleven. We are excited to continue to provide citizens and tourists alike with world-class convenience."

CP ALL Laos Co., Lt. is a subsidiary of CP All Public Company Limited, which operates more than 14,000 7-Eleven stores in Thailand and Cambodia and is one of the largest 7-Eleven licensees. CP ALL Laos plans to expand stores throughout the country, starting with the Vientiane metropolitan area.

About 7-Eleven, Inc.

7-Eleven, Inc. is the premier name in the convenience-retailing industry. Based in Irving, Texas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to 7Eleven stores, 7-Eleven, Inc. operates and franchises Speedway, Stripes, Laredo Taco Company and Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits locations. Known for its iconic brands such as Slurpee, Big Bite and Big Gulp, 7-Eleven has expanded into high-quality sandwiches, salads, side dishes, cut fruit and protein boxes, as well as pizza, chicken wings and mini beef tacos. 7-Eleven offer customers industry-leading private brand products under the 7-Select brand including healthy options, decadent treats, and everyday favorites at an outstanding value. Customers can earn and redeem points on various items in stores nationwide through its 7Rewards loyalty program with more than 50 million members, place an order in the 7NOW delivery app in over 2,000 cities, or rely on 7-Eleven for bill payment service, self-service lockers, and other convenient services. Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com.

About Seven-Eleven Japan

In 1973, SEVEN-ELEVEN JAPAN, Co., LTD. (then York Seven Co., Ltd.) was established and opened the first 7-Eleven store in Japan in May of the following year. Currently, the company operates more than 21,000 stores throughout Japan, mainly through franchises.

With "modernization and revitalization of existing small and medium-sized retail stores" and "coexistence and co-prosperity" as its founding principles, Seven-Eleven Japan has continually embraced the challenge of change through its unique franchise system based on trusting relationship with franchisees, excellent product development capabilities in areas such as ready-made side dishes and fast food, and information network. As the company celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, Seven-Eleven Japan will continue to change further in order to "open the door to the next level of convenience."

About 7-Eleven International

With offices in Dallas, Texas, and Tokyo, Japan, 7Eleven International LLC master franchises and/or licenses more than 46,000 stores in 16 countries and regions. Globally, the 7-Eleven trademark is represented in over 84,000 stores, and the iconic brand will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2027. http://www.7-11int.com

SOURCE 7-Eleven, Inc.
ABILENE, Texas, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Gayle and Max Dillard Science and Engineering Research Center (SERC)  home of Abilene Christian University's Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing Laboratory (NEXT Lab) and the future home of one of the first advanced reactors in the United States  opened on Sept. 1, with more than 300 people on hand to celebrate the occasion and tour the facility, including donors, government officials, and scientists from ACU and other research institutions.

The research bay and an illustrated rendering of the molten salt research reactor in ACU's Dillard Science and Engineering Research Center

"The Dillard Science and Engineering Research Center is a building unlike any other at ACU or on the campus of most universities across the nation," said Dr. Phil Schubert, ACU president, at the opening of the facility. "This 28,000-square-foot facility will allow students, especially undergraduates, to contribute to world-class research and groundbreaking technology in ways not available at most other universities. It also will bring scientists from other organizations and universities to Abilene to collaborate with our scientists and students in this unique space."

The $23 million, 28,000-square-foot facility features a 6,000-square-foot research bay with a 25-foot-deep by 80-foot-long shielded trench and a 40-ton crane, as well as a training control room, conference room, office spaces, machine shop, and a series of specialized labs for radiochemistry, molten salt systems and instrumentation. A public foyer highlights the research within the facility.

The SERC houses ACU's Nuclear Energy eXperimental Testing (NEXT) Lab, which has joined with Abilene-based Natura Resources to design, license and commission a molten salt-fueled research reactor. To support these efforts, Natura established the Natura Resources Research Alliance, which consists of ACU, Georgia Institute of Technology, Texas A&M University and The University of Texas at Austin, supported by $30.5 million in sponsored research agreements. A construction permit application is under review with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Currently, NEXT Lab employs more than 75 people, including 45 undergraduate students.

"ACU has shown vision and is demonstrating leadership by pushing what has been a paper reactor class for more than 50 years back into reality. The success of your reactor will spark the imagination and provide inspiration to the world," Dr. David Holcomb, molten salt reactor technology leader at Idaho National Laboratory, said in his remarks at the event. "ACU has picked up the gauntlet in the creation of this science and engineering research center. Members of the Natura Resources Research Alliance have the responsibility and privilege of training the next generation of leaders, who I am confident will bring the great potential of this reactor class to fruition."

The new facility is made possible by the generosity of Gayle and Max Dillard. Gayle attended ACU in the 1950s and then married Max, a first-generation college student and second-generation oil man from Lueders, Texas, who was wrapping up his degree in petroleum engineering. They went on to found D.I. Industries, which grew to become one of the largest publicly traded drilling companies in the United States, pioneering many engineering breakthroughs in drilling methods and advancement since 1978. Max currently serves as managing director of The Dillard Group of Texas LTD.

This career allowed the Dillards opportunities to support others in research and scientific advancement, as well as supporting Gayle's alma mater, where lifetime friendships were made. They provide engineering scholarships at ACU and also are the namesakes of Dillard Hall, the three-story venue a block west of campus housing about 170 students and providing living space for sophomore women at the university.

Founded in 1906, Abilene Christian University enrolls more than 5,700 students in robust online and residential undergraduate and graduate programs. Students choose from 87 baccalaureate majors that include more than 171 areas of study, 71 areas of study in master's degree and specialist programs, and four doctoral programs. ACU's mission is to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world. Abilene Christian is one of only 19 universities to be ranked in the top 50 nationally for both Undergraduate Teaching and Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects in the 2022-23 U.S. News & World Report rankings. Learn more at acu.edu .

SOURCE Abilene Christian University
The Equipment will be Used at the Facility's Ozone Generation Site to Remove Viruses, Bacteria and Pharmaceutical Products from Wastewater

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products has been chosen by the city of Montreal to supply oxygen equipment to support an ozone generation site that will remove impurities from wastewater at the Jean-R-Marcotte Wastewater Treatment Plant, one of the largest wastewater treatment plants in North America.

Jean-R.-Marcotte treats almost half of Quebec's wastewater before releasing it into the St. Lawrence River. On average, the wastewater treatment plant releases 2.3 million cubic meters of water into the river per day.

As part of its agreement with the city of Montreal, Air Products will provide oxygen equipment, including four vacuum swing adsorption (VSA) oxygen plants, to support the city's new state-of-the-art ozone generation system. The ozone generation system will disinfect the water, removing viruses, bacteria and pharmaceutical products.

"Air Products is proud to collaborate with the city of Montreal on this important project. Air Products' oxygen generating plants will support the city's efforts to expand a sustainable water purification process to benefit the citizens of Quebec and the wildlife that depend on the St. Lawrence River," said Air Products' Chief Operating Officer, Dr. Samir J. Serhan. "As Air Products celebrates the 50th anniversary of Air Products Canada, this project reflects our continued commitment to Canada."

Air Products began operations in Canada in 1973. Since then, Air Products has developed well established operations in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. As Canada's leading supplier of hydrogen and a leader in the energy transition, Air Products is constructing a $1.6 billion (CAD) net-zero hydrogen energy complex in Edmonton, Alberta. This transformative complex will use an advanced process technology and innovative design to deliver net-zero emissions. The complex also will include a hydrogen-fueled power generation plant and a liquid hydrogen facility that will produce enough liquid hydrogen capacity to fuel every major transit agency in Alberta. Earlier this year, Air Products also announced plans to build Alberta's first multi-modal hydrogen refueling station near its net-zero hydrogen energy complex in Edmonton.

Air Products pioneered the concept of on-site oxygen production over 75 years ago and today continues to integrate oxygen generation plants into the operations of industrial and municipal users such as glass, nonferrous metals and steel, cement, pulp and paper, water treatment and other industries.

For more information on how Air Products' industrial gases can aid in wastewater treatment, visit Air Products' Water and Wastewater website.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE:APD) is a world-leading industrial gases company in operation for over 80 years focused on serving energy, environmental, and emerging markets. The Company has two growth pillars driven by sustainability. Air Products' base business provides essential industrial gases, related equipment and applications expertise to customers in dozens of industries, including refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, and food. The Company also develops, engineers, builds, owns and operates some of the world's largest industrial gas and carbon-capture projects, supplying world-scale clean hydrogen for global transportation, industrial markets, and the broader energy transition. Additionally, Air Products is the world leader in the supply of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment, and globally provides turbomachinery, membrane systems and cryogenic containers.

The Company had fiscal 2022 sales of $12.7 billion from operations in over 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of about $65 billion. More than 21,000 passionate, talented and committed employees from diverse backgrounds are driven by Air Products' higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the environment, enhance sustainability and reimagine what's possible to address the challenges facing customers, communities, and the world. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com or follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook or Instagram.

SOURCE Air Products
NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The alarm monitoring market by technology (Wired telecommunication network, Cellular wireless network, Wireless radio network, and IP network) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America) - Forecast and Analysis 2022-2022 report has been added to technavio offering. With ISO 9001:2015 certification, Technavio has proudly partnered with more than 100 Fortune 500 companies for over 16 years. The potential growth difference for the alarm monitoring market between 2021 and 2026 is USD 10.66 billion. The increasing prevalence of crimes globally is notably driving the market growth. According to new statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in 2020, the US experienced its most important recorded annual increase in murders, with the national murder rate rising by 30%, the biggest jump in six decades. Consequently, the surge in criminal activities is motivating individuals to seek products that provide enhanced security for themselves and their families, especially children. These circumstances encourage individuals to invest in alarm monitoring systems, thereby driving the expansion of the market during the forecast period. Get deeper insights into the market size, current market scenario, future growth opportunities, major growth driving factors, the latest trends, and much more. Buy full report here

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Alarm Monitoring Market 2022-2026

Market Challenge - Explain. Learn about additional key drivers, trends, and challenges available with Technavio. Read Sample PDF Report Now

The alarm monitoring market is segmented by technology (Wired telecommunication network, Cellular wireless network, Wireless radio network, and IP network) and geography (North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America).

The alarm monitoring market share growth by the wired telecommunication network segment will be significant during the forecast period. Wired alarm systems are generally perceived as marginally more dependable than their wireless counterparts. This is primarily due to the physical connectivity of every component within the system, virtually eliminating the possibility of interference. While wireless networks are garnering increased attention on a global scale, wired telecommunication networks are anticipated to maintain a substantial presence in developing nations. This aspect is poised to propel market growth throughout the forecast period.

segment will be significant during the forecast period. Wired alarm systems are generally perceived as marginally more dependable than their wireless counterparts. This is primarily due to the physical connectivity of every component within the system, virtually eliminating the possibility of interference. While wireless networks are garnering increased attention on a global scale, wired telecommunication networks are anticipated to maintain a substantial presence in developing nations. This aspect is poised to propel market growth throughout the forecast period. North America is estimated to account for 38% of the growth of the global during the forecast period. The US is the key market for the alarm monitoring market in North America . Market growth in this region will be slower than the growth of the market in Europe and APAC. The early adoption of advanced technologies will facilitate the alarm monitoring market growth in North America during the forecast period.

View Sample Report for insights into the contribution of all the segments and regional opportunities in the report.

Key Companies in the Alarm Monitoring Market:

Ademco Security Group Pte Ltd, ADT INC., Allegion Public Ltd. Co., Allied Universal, API Group Corp., Global Security Solutions WLL, Guardian Protection Services Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Johnson Controls International Plc, Monitronics International Inc., Prosegur Compania de Seguridad SA, Robert Bosch GmbH, Secom Co. Ltd., Securitas AB, Slomins Inc., Stanley Black and Decker Inc., Swann Communications Ltd, Vector Security Inc, and Vivint Smart Home Inc

Market Dynamics

Challenge

The rise in fraudulent and counterfeit alarm monitoring systems is one of the factors restricting the alarm monitoring market growth. The market's growth potential is dampened by the increasing prevalence of fraudulent activities and the availability of non-branded safety products at lower prices, coupled with enticing discounts. Unfortunately, consumers who opt for such products often face dire consequences as these fake safety items fail to perform when needed. Furthermore, the battery life of these unauthentic alarm monitoring systems is uncertain, posing a risk of breakdown during critical moments and leading to unfavourable results. As a result, the growing sales of counterfeit alarm monitoring systems impede the wider adoption of real alternatives, thus restricting the market's growth during the forecast period.

Related Reports:

The clinical alarm management market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 15.56% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 2,393.76 million.

The residential and commercial swimming pool alarms market share is expected to increase by USD 98.28 million from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will decelerate at a CAGR of 7.8%.

Alarm Monitoring Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2021 Forecast period 2022-2026 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.29% Market Growth 2022-2026 USD 10.66 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 3.52 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South America Performing market contribution North America at 38% Key countries US, China, Japan, Germany, and UK Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Ademco Security Group Pte Ltd, ADT INC., Allegion Public Ltd. Co., Allied Universal, API Group Corp., Global Security Solutions WLL, Guardian Protection Services Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Johnson Controls International Plc, Monitronics International Inc., Prosegur Compania de Seguridad SA, Robert Bosch GmbH, Secom Co. Ltd., Securitas AB, Slomins Inc., Stanley Black and Decker Inc., Swann Communications Ltd, Vector Security Inc, and Vivint Smart Home Inc Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, Market condition analysis for 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.

ToC:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Historic Market Sizes

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by Technology

Market Segmentation by Geography

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, & Trends

Company Landscape

Company Analysis

Appendix

About Technavio

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.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

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Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com

SOURCE Technavio
-Votes determine which fuzzy-faced finalist wins $20,000 for himself and $5,000 for his charity-

(View the Interactive News Release)

STERLING, Ill. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Shawn Standley from Talkeetna, AK, is a professional artist who supports his charity, Denali Arts Council, as treasurer. The organization helps the entire community, but especially kids, in the rural Alaskan village explore opportunities for artistic expression, something they often lack in school due to low funding for art programs. Men's grooming leader Wahl is rewarding Standley's ability to combine good grooming with goodwill, and has chosen him as a finalist in the Wahl 'Benevolent Beards' Contest. Public votes will now decide if Standley wins the Grand Prize of $20,000 for himself, and $5,000 for his charity. He'll also be crowned the new 'Wahl Man of the Year,' a moniker that boasts a bearded brotherhood spanning 16 years.

Shawn Standley from Talkeetna, AK, is a professional artist who supports his charity, Denali Arts Council, as treasurer. The organization helps the entire community, but especially kids, in the rural Alaskan village explore opportunities for artistic expression, something they often lack in school due to low funding for art programs. He's now vying for the Most Benevolent Beard in America.

To vote for Shawn Standley as the Most 'Benevolent Beard' in America, visit https://bit.ly/WahlBenevolentBeards.

The other finalists include (in no order):

Yuri Williams from Los Angeles, started his charity A Future Superhero after his mother passed away from cancer. His work with disabled and seriously ill children is a tribute to the positive impact his mother had on his life. His efforts include traveling to all 50 states and organizing events like toy drives, backpack giveaways, and personalized visits  all dressed as different superheroes.



Ben Davis from Dallas , founded Operation Gentleman, a charity that supports three primary causes: collecting suits and business attire for donation to the Fort Cavazos Soldier Recovery Unit, providing monthly pop-up barbershop services to the homeless population in Dallas , and feeding veterans in need.



James Gottry from Colorado Springs, CO, has been supporting UMOM New Day Centers in Phoenix, AZ , for decades. His connection to the charity stems from his late father who served as the organization's chief operating officer for more than 20 years. The purpose of UMOM is to target the cycle of homelessness by providing shelter and housing, as well as job and skills training.



Christopher McNeil from Kansas City, MO , is a former elementary school principal who started his program 'Books and Barbers' to provide haircuts, books, and mentorship to elementary school students within the Kansas City Public School District. His charity, the Kansas City Public School Foundation, supports educational initiatives and impact programs like 'Books and Barbers' that encourage innovation and support student enrichment.

About the Wahl 'Benevolent Beards' Contest

A wealth of whiskered men from across America submitted videos of themselves either explaining or demonstrating how they support a charity. What kind of charity? As long as it was a 501(c)(3) organization with a goal to impact the world positively, all charities were considered. Five finalists were chosen, and now public votes will help decide who receives the Grand Prize of $20,000 for himself, and a visit from Wahl's Mobile Barbershop for a charity fundraising event. Master barbers will offer the public FREE beard trims, and for every trim Wahl will donate $100 to the winner's charity  up to $5,000. Voting is open until Oct. 1, 2023.

For more information about the Wahl 'Benevolent Beards' Contest, or for facial hair tips and tools visit WahlUSA.com or follow @WahlGrooming on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

About Wahl Grooming

Celebrating its 104th anniversary, Wahl continues to help men look and feel their best with innovative products manufactured to define and elevate the men's grooming category. The company set the standard with the first-ever practical electric hair clipper in 1919, and later strengthened its leadership with the world's first battery-powered facial hair trimmer. It's this continued commitment to excellence that has solidified Wahl's place as the world's go-to brand for men's grooming solutions. For more information, visit WahlUSA.com.

SOURCE Wahl
LINCOLN, R.I., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Amica Insurance , a leader in auto, home and life insurance, announced that it will begin offering beneficiaries of life insurance customers complimentary access to Empathy , the comprehensive support system for loss. Combining technology and human care, Empathy helps families through all the emotional and practical challenges of losing a loved one, with personalized, comprehensive, on-demand support.

Amica offers Empathy platform to help after the loss of a loved one Post this Amica provides support after the loss of a loved one with Empathy platform

"We know the days, weeks and months after a loss can prove to be the hardest to navigate," said Shiela Companie, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Amica Life. "Empathy walks beneficiaries through the process, providing real-time support and guidance on everything from obituary writing to navigating probate and much more. It's the perfect extension of the empathetic service Amica offers our customers and their beneficiaries."

Among other features, Empathy simplifies and streamlines paperwork, helps with funeral planning and estate settlement, and offers Care Managers, who provide families with one-on-one care throughout the bureaucratic burdens of loss, and the emotional challenges it brings.

On average, families spend 13 months settling a loved one's affairs; that can extend to 20 months if the estate undergoes the entire probate process. Amica recognized that while life insurance plays a vital role in alleviating financial strain, families often require more support to deal with their new financial, legal and administrative responsibilities.

"I'm delighted that Amica has selected Empathy to offer vital, additional support to beneficiaries," said Ron Gura, Co-Founder and CEO of Empathy. "Life insurance is about much more than a transaction. Together, we'll transform how insurance carriers support beneficiaries at a moment in their lives when they are most in need of assistance."

About Empathy

Empathy is the comprehensive support system for loss, offering bereaved families holistic guidance and care for all of the administrative, emotional, legal, and financial challenges they face after their loved one passes away. Empathy's award-winning app and care team are trusted by leading employers and insurance carriers to support their employees and beneficiaries through life's greatest challenges, saving them time, money, and stress. Headquartered in New York and recognized as a Top Digital Health Company by CB Insights, as well as a Most Innovative Company by FastCompany, Empathy has raised $43 million in funding from leading investors including General Catalyst, Aleph VC, and Entree Capital. To learn more about Empathy, visit us at empathy.com .

About Amica

Amica is the longest-standing mutual insurer of automobiles in the U.S. A direct writer, Amica also offers home, life, marine and umbrella insurance, as well as annuities. Founded on the principles of outstanding service, Amica creates peace of mind and builds enduring relationships with its customers. That mission is shared and supported by thousands of employees across the country. For more information, visit Amica.com.

SOURCE Amica Mutual Insurance Company
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. The European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) increased its patrolling activity in Armenian-Azerbaijani border areas in Gegharkunik and Syunik Provinces of Armenia, the mission wrote on X (Twitter), Trend reports.

"Through our presence on the ground, we aim to contribute to calming tensions and impartial reporting on the situation," EUMA explained.

The EU launched its civilian mission in Armenia (EUMA) under the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) on February 21, 2023.

EEAS (European External Action Service) Managing Director of the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC), Stefano Tomat, will serve as the Civilian Operation Commander, while Markus Ritter will serve as the Head of Mission.
SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AmpAura, an emerging clean energy company with a bright future, is gearing up for its participation in RE+ 2023 (Solar Power International), North America's premier clean energy event, scheduled from September 11 to 14 in Las Vegas, NV.

AmpAura Products

AmpAura will be exhibiting a range of innovative clean energy products at the event, including their Portable Power Station, Hybrid Solar Energy Storage Inverter, Home & Portable Battery Backup, ePanel, and Portable Solar Panel. These products epitomize AmpAura's commitment to sustainable and cutting-edge energy solutions.

One of the highlights of the exhibition will be the AmpAura Purea 3 (Portable Power Station). This remarkable product boasts several key features:

The Purea 3 offers an impressive 3.84-11.52 kWh of energy storage capacity, ensuring ample power for various applications. With EV-grade fast charging capabilities, it quickly recharges, providing reliable power even in demanding situations. Featuring a versatile design with 17 ports, it accommodates multiple devices and appliances simultaneously, all encased in a rugged exterior built to endure various environments for long-lasting durability.

AmpAura's clean energy products are designed for individuals, households, and versatile applications, including home power backup, outdoor activities, and off-grid lifestyle, among others. These products not only provide reliable backup power but also harness energy efficiently, creating economic value.

AmpAura's commitment to innovation is underscored by its brand-owned R&D lab and manufacturing facilities. With extensive industry experience, the company leverages advanced battery technology inspired by luxury electric vehicles. AmpAura maintains stringent quality control with a comprehensive range of inspection and testing procedures.

For more information about AmpAura and their innovative clean energy products, please visit http://www.ampaura.tech . AmpAura can also be contacted directly at +1 702 844 8343 (PST 10:00-19:00) or via email at [email protected] .

Follow AmpAura on social media for updates:

Instagram: @ampaura_global

YouTube: @AmpAuraGlobal

Event Details:

Time: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. PDT

Date: September 11 - 14, 2023

Location: Booth 21121, Level 1, Sands Expo, Las Vegas, NV

About AmpAura:

AmpAura is a technology-driven clean energy company dedicated to advancing the way power is generated and utilized. With a focus on sustainability, innovation, and user-centric design, AmpAura's products empower individuals and households to embrace a cleaner and more efficient energy future.

SOURCE AmpAura
NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Ampla , a leading provider of financial solutions for consumer brands, announced the raise of a $258m credit warehouse with Goldman Sachs and Atalaya Capital Management. The new debt facility provides incremental financing to power Ampla's Growth Capital products and allows the company to continue building the all-in-one platform for Consumer Brands.

"The landscape for consumer brands has changed dramatically over the last several years, and Ampla has evolved in tandem to continue to meet these customers' unique needs," said Anthony Santomo, CEO and co-founder of Ampla. "Despite macro challenges, modern consumer brands have proved their resilience by leveraging technology to adjust quickly and Ampla has been alongside them every step of the way,"

"Our platform today marries flexible capital terms with best-in-class digital banking and corporate card products that make us the preeminent solution for consumer brands looking to free up cash flow, make their money work harder for them, and fuel growth."

The deal comes at a time when Ampla is evolving its product offering to encompass a full suite of financial tools, including Growth Capital, Digital Banking, Insights, and its new Visa Corporate Card. Ampla recently reached major milestones, surpassing over $1.5B in originations, and processing a run-rate of $6.0B in transactions through its platform.

"Atalaya is excited to help Ampla in their mission to bring a full-suite, customer-focused experience to Consumer Brands seeking capital, banking, and card solutions for their day-to-day needs. This new capital will allow Ampla to further enhance its position as a market leader across the Consumer Brand ecosystem and we are proud to add our unique structuring expertise," said Brian Moore, a Principal at Atalaya.

The company plans to continue launching complimentary products that will streamline operations for consumer brands. By introducing new products at strategic stages of a business's life cycle, Ampla is improving the likelihood of success for consumer brands. Hundreds of rapidly growing brands including Carbone Fine Foods, CUTS, and Serenity Kids use Ampla's platform to power their business.

About Ampla:

Ampla powers commerce across the consumer brand ecosystem. Ampla's all-in-one financial platform built for omnichannel consumer brands offers embedded banking, bill pay, analytics, growth capital, and corporate card solutions. Founded in 2019, Ampla is based in NYC and backed by leading investors such as VMG, Forerunner, M13, Infinity Ventures, and Core Innovation Capital. Ampla raised a $60 million series A round in December 2021.

About Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs is a leading global financial institution that delivers a broad range of financial services to a large and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.

About Atalaya Capital Management

Atalaya Capital Management is a privately held, SEC-registered, alternative asset manager. Atalaya primarily focuses on making private credit and special situation investments in three principal asset classesspecialty finance, real estate, and corporate. Founded in 2006, Atalaya is headquartered in New York City and has more than $10 billion in assets under management, and has deployed over $17 billion across 600+ investments.

SOURCE Ampla
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Aria Care Partners announced the appointment of two executives to its leadership team to support the company's operations and expansion of services. Matt Oswald has been named chief financial officer and Stacy Gober, RN, BSN joins as vice president of clinical operations.

Oswald brings extensive senior-level healthcare and financial services experience managing a broad range of disciplines including financial planning and analysis, accounting, pricing, underwriting, real estate, treasury, tax, corporate development and strategy. He most recently served as CFO of Avesis, a provider of dental, vision and hearing benefits to government and commercial customers. Previous experience includes roles as VP of finance at Guardian Life, senior VP of finance at The Hartford, and director of corporate development at Aetna. Oswald holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political economy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Aria Care Partners adds two executives to its leadership team to support the company's operations and services expansion Post this

Gober has been a registered nurse for 24 years with expertise in ambulatory surgery center (ASC) settings. She comes to Aria Care Partners from NVision Eye Centers, which operates 11 surgery centers in multiple states, serving as VP of ASC Operations. Prior positions include administrator at many multi-specialty and single-specialty ASCs in California. Her experience spans staff management and recruitment, quality, compliance, OR-efficiency and productivity, service expansion, corporate development, supply chain and other leadership functions. Her position represents the continued buildout of Aria Care Partners' senior clinical leadership, which includes chief medical officers heading the dental, vision, and hearing service lines. Gober earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix.

"The addition of Matt and Stacy is further evidence of the commitment to financial discipline, growth, and quality of care that our clients and skilled nursing facilities overall have come to expect of us," said John Griscavage, CEO of Aria Care Partners. "Both leaders contribute a depth of operational and strategic healthcare experience that will help us grow and respond to the changes in the industry."

About Aria Care Partners

Aria Care Partners is the leading provider of onsite ancillary medical services for skilled nursing facilities. With more than 20 years of partnership with nearly 3,000 skilled nursing facilities, Aria Care Partners remains on the leading edge of innovative care delivery, understanding the connection between dental, vision, and hearing services to resident health and well-being. With a unique combination of turnkey insurance solutions and innovative service delivery, Aria Care Partners is passionate about enriching every resident's quality of life and ensuring that every family knows their loved ones are well cared for and safe. For more information, please visit www.ariacarepartners.com.

Media Contact:

Allison Murphy

Director of Marketing Operations

(913) 594-3088

[email protected]

SOURCE Aria Care Partners
NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Astara Capital Partners, LP ("Astara") is pleased to announce the closing of its inaugural fund, Astara Capital Partners Fund I, LP (the "Fund"), at $312 million. The Fund exceeded its $250 million target and reached its hard cap, closing with total commitments of $312 million, underscoring strong investor confidence and demand for its investment strategy. Astara now manages over $400 million of capital commitments.

Founded in 2020, Astara is an operationally-focused private equity firm dedicated to partnering with middle market industrial, manufacturing, and services businesses in North America. Astara partners with companies that have a strong business model and who seek a value-added partner that brings operational and strategic resources to build sustainable value and position them for long-term success.

"We are incredibly grateful for the tremendous support we have received from the limited partner community," said Michael Ranson, Founder and Managing Partner of Astara. "Our investor base is global and includes a diverse range of endowments, foundations, pension funds, family offices, fund of funds, and insurance companies. We look forward to delivering on the trust and confidence our investors have placed in us and our disciplined strategy."

M2O Private Fund Advisors acted as the exclusive placement agent and Robinson Bradshaw as fund formation counsel.

About Astara Capital Partners

Astara Capital Partners is an integrated team of investors and operators investing in the middle market. The firm brings capital, strategic, and operational resources to its investments to build sustainable value and position them for long-term success. Astara focuses on a variety of sectors where it has deep experience, including packaging and converting, food, building products, forest products, and industrial manufacturing, distribution, and services. More information about Astara can be found at www.astaracapital.com.

SOURCE Astara Capital Partners
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Autel Energy, a global leader in electric vehicle (EV) technology, announced the opening of the Autel Energy Innovation Center, its new research and development campus where original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and strategic commercial partners can test the integration of third-party products with Autel Energy hardware and software to ensure the highest standards of performance and quality before entering the market. The two-story (9,424 sq. ft.) facility in Anaheim, California is the product of years of planning and development at Autel Energy and aims to revolutionize the way new products are brought to market in terms of speed, efficiency and quality control.

Autel Energy aims to revolutionize the way new products are brought to market in terms of speed, efficiency, and quality Post this Autel Energy, announces the opening of their Innovation Center in Anaheim, California.

"The Autel Energy Innovation Center represents our commitment to our partners' success, as well as to the success of the EV industry in the US and abroad," said Frank Li, Chairman of Autel Intelligent Technology Corp., Ltd., the global leader in automotive intelligent business and the parent company of Autel Energy. "We are extremely proud of the effort our team has made to realize our grand vision, and we look forward to the Innovation Center serving as a prized part of our operations on the West Coast."

The Innovation Center will launch under the direction of Shane Long, Chief Technology Officer at Autel Energy. Long will shape the vision of the center to meet the burgeoning demands of the renewable energy industry in the US. The center will provide a space for activities including product and vehicle integrations testing, as well as shed light on the performance, viability and scalability of products under development. Plans for the site also include an executive briefing center for showcasing Autel products and technology platforms and a training center for introducing technical support engineers to the latest product features.

"I'm excited to invite our partners to visit us here in Anaheim," said Long. "In addition to the latest product features, they will be able to learn about Autel Energy hardware and software installations, servicing, security, and preventative maintenance. Our goal is to create a smooth transition from initial onboarding through the lifecycle of our products."

Trainees will be able to earn certifications in the use and servicing of Autel Energy products upon completion of their courses at the center, Long added.

The Autel Energy Innovation Center is located 12 miles from John Wayne Airport and in close proximity to Anaheim Stadium at 1355 S. State College Blvd., Anaheim, Calif.

About Autel Energy

Autel Energy's vision is to create a seamless customer experience that enables the deployment of technology and smart infrastructure, accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles and energy management solutions worldwide. Autel Energy makes the most advanced products accessible and convenient for residential and commercial users offering hardware, software, apps, and cloud-based solutions to cover almost every use case and application. This includes world-class charging hardware for AC (Level 2) home and commercial, DC Bi-directional V2X power management, and DC (Level 3) fast charging from 40kW to 720kW with innovative configurability and modularity.

Media Contact: Allison Whitney, [email protected]

SOURCE Autel Energy
LOS ANGELES and CLEVELAND and SYDNEY, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rare Bird Books proudly presents The Snail & The Butterfly, a groundbreaking children's book penned by celebrated author Doug Cooper, known in this release as Dougie Coop, and illustrated by the talented Australian artist CJ the Kid. Scheduled for release on September 12, 2023, this enchanting tale is destined to captivate children and parents alike.

With a thirty-year journey from ideation to publication, The Snail & The Butterfly marks Cooper's delightful expansion from literary fiction & thrillers to children's literature. Designed for ages 2-10, the book emphasizes the importance of pursuing dreams, overcoming obstacles, and forming relationships.

A Journey of Imagination and Collaboration

In creating this heartfelt book, Dougie Coop partnered with CJ the Kid, resulting in whimsical illustrations that perfectly complement the story. Despite geographical distance and opposite time zones, their collaboration blossomed into a magical work that reflects pure imagination, freedom, and playfulness.

About Doug Cooper & Rare Bird Books

The Snail & The Butterfly is an exciting addition to the storied history of collaboration between Doug Cooper and Rare Bird Books. Cooper's transformation from a writer of gripping psychological literary fiction and thrillers to an author of children's literature is a testament to his versatile storytelling prowess.

About Artist CJ the Kid

Sydney-based artist CJ the Kid's artistic journey started in childhood, and his collaboration with Cooper on this project has brought to life emotionally charged illustrations that resonate with all ages. The snail, butterfly, and mushroom characters featured in the picture book have been recurring figures in CJ's work, now immortalized in this touching children's book.

Book Details and Availability

Title: The Snail & The Butterfly

The Snail & The Butterfly ISBN: 9781644283653

9781644283653 Price: US $18.00

US Format: 10 x 10 in., 42 pp., Hardcover Juvenile Fiction/Animals

10 x 10 in., 42 pp., Hardcover Juvenile Fiction/Animals Publisher: Rare Bird Books

Rare Bird Books Distribution: Worldwide by Publishers Group West

The Snail & The Butterfly is distributed worldwide by PGW and is available for order at local bookstores, online retailers, and wholesalers. Visit the Snail & Butterfly Shop for stickers, T-Shirts, hats, and other fun merchandise.

Press Contacts:

Alexandra Watts

Publicity, Marketing, and Bulk Sales

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 561.603.9548

Address: 6044 North Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90042

Rare Bird Books and the entire team behind The Snail & The Butterfly invite readers to embark on an adventure filled with wisdom, joy, and discovery. Don't miss the chance to add this extraordinary creation to your collection, nurturing a love for books in young readers.

Media Contact:

Alexandra Watts

[email protected]

+1561-603-9548

Photos:

https://www.prlog.org/12983063

Press release distributed by PRLog.

SOURCE Rare Bird Books
BROOMFIELD, Colo., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace successfully concluded testing on the Weather System Follow-on  Microwave (WSF-M) satellite this week, representing the completion of the first of two satellites Ball is delivering for the U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command next-generation operational environmental satellite system.

Ball Aerospace has completed the first of two Weather System Microwave-Follow-on (WSF-M) satellites for the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command.

Once on orbit, WSF-M will provide the Department of Defense with critical data meant to fill gaps in existing space-based environmental monitoring, such as the speed and direction of ocean winds, tropical cyclone intensity, ice thickness, snow depth and soil moisture. The satellite is scheduled to launch early next year from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

"The completion of the WSF-M satellite is an important milestone in Ball Aerospace's ongoing mission to protect what matters most," said Hope Damphousse, vice president, Strategic Operations, Ball Aerospace. "The data this satellite gathers will be invaluable in ensuring our nation's warfighters across all domains have the environmental intelligence they need to properly plan and execute their vital missions."

As the prime contractor on the project, Ball Aerospace designed, built and integrated the spacecraft bus, ground data processing software and the Microwave Imager (MWI), the primary instrument on the satellite that uses passive radiometric measurements at multiple microwave frequencies to collect environmental data. The satellite will also host a government-built Energetic Charged Particle (ECP) sensor that will provide space weather measurements in low-Earth orbit.

Last year, Ball Aerospace was awarded a follow-on contract to build and deliver a second WSF-M satellite, which is expected to be completed in early 2026. The WSF-M program further expands Ball Aerospace's robust heritage work in space-based environmental monitoring systems, which includes the development of the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) instrument operating on the Joint Polar Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2), in addition to the Ball-built Suomi National Polar Orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) and NOAA-20 satellites. Ball also built the Ion Velocity Meter (IVM) space weather sensors flying on five satellites in the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate-2 (COSMIC-2) environmental satellite program.

Powered by endlessly curious people with an unwavering mission focus, Ball Aerospace pioneers discoveries that enable our customers to perform beyond expectation and protect what matters most. We create innovative space solutions, enable more accurate weather forecasts, drive insightful observations of our planet, deliver actionable data and intelligence, and ensure those who defend our freedom go forward bravely and return home safely. Go Beyond with Ball. For more information, visit www.ball.com/aerospace or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter .

About Ball Corporation

Ball Corporation (NYSE: BALL) supplies innovative, sustainable aluminum packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 21,000 people worldwide and reported 2022 net sales of $15.35 billion. For more information, visit www.ball.com , or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter .

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," and similar expressions typically identify forward-looking statements, which are generally any statements other than statements of historical fact. Such statements are based on current expectations or views of the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied. You should therefore not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, and they should be read in conjunction with, and qualified in their entirety by, the cautionary statements referenced below. Ball undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be different are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99 in Ball's Form 10-K, which are available on Ball's website and at www.sec.gov. Additional factors that might affect: a) Ball's packaging segments include product capacity, supply, and demand constraints and fluctuations and changes in consumption patterns; availability/cost of raw materials, equipment, and logistics; competitive packaging, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather and related events such as drought, wildfires, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and floods; footprint adjustments and other manufacturing changes, including the startup of new facilities and lines; failure to achieve synergies, productivity improvements or cost reductions; unfavorable mandatory deposit or packaging laws; customer and supplier consolidation; power and supply chain interruptions; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; inability to pass through increased costs; war, political instability and sanctions, including relating to the situation in Russia and Ukraine and its impact on Ball's supply chain and its ability to operate in Europe, the Middle East and Africa regions generally; changes in foreign exchange or tax rates; and tariffs, trade actions, or other governmental actions, including business restrictions and orders affecting goods produced by Ball or in its supply chain, including imported raw materials; b) Ball's aerospace segment include funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts; failure to obtain, or delays in obtaining, required regulatory approvals or clearances for the proposed transaction; any failure by the parties to satisfy any of the other conditions to the proposed transaction; the possibility that the proposed transaction is ultimately not consummated; potential adverse effects of the announcement or results of the proposed transaction on the ability to develop and maintain relationships with personnel and customers, suppliers and others with whom it does business or otherwise on the business, financial condition, results of operations and financial performance; risks related to diversion of management's attention from ongoing business operations due to the proposed transaction; the impact of the proposed transaction on the ability to retain and hire key personnel; and c) Ball as a whole include those listed above plus: the extent to which sustainability-related opportunities arise and can be capitalized upon; changes in senior management, succession, and the ability to attract and retain skilled labor; regulatory actions or issues including those related to tax, environmental, social and governance reporting, competition, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. Federal Drug Administration and other actions or public concerns affecting products filled in Ball's containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; technological developments and innovations; the ability to manage cyber threats; litigation; strikes; disease; pandemic; labor cost changes; inflation; rates of return on assets of Ball's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding geopolitical events and governmental policies, including policies, orders, and actions related to COVID-19; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting Ball's debt; successful or unsuccessful joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures, and their effects on Ball's operating results and business generally; and potential adverse effects of the announcement or results of the proposed transaction on the market price of Ball Corporation's common stock.

SOURCE Ball Aerospace
BEIJING, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Was die Nationen als Nationen getan haben, haben sie fur die menschliche Gesellschaft getan. That's German for "What nations have done as nations, they have done for human society."

On May 27, 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the 39th group study session of the Political Bureau of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Wise Words, New Interpretations: Was die Nationen als Nationen getan haben, haben sie fur die menschliche Gesellschaft getan (What nations have done as nations, they have done for human society)

In his speech, Xi quoted the line, which derives from a manuscript written by German philosopher Karl Marx (1818-83) in March 1845 entitled Uber F. Lists Buch: Das nationale System der politischen Okonomie, which translates as About F. List's Book: The National System of Political Economy.

F. List stands for Friedrich List (1789-1846), one of the most prominent economic philosophers of the 19th century. In his 1841 book The National System of Political Economy, List described, among other things, how the development of sophisticated industry requires carefully designed and sequentially planned state interventions. Marx, the main founder of Marxism, criticizes the concept of a political economy both for failing to relate its insights to a broader set of social concerns and for failing to recognize its nature as a historically grounded system of thought and practice.

The quote Xi used conveys the idea that national character and civilization will not fade away, but integrate into the overall process of global history.

An example. After being introduced to China some 2,000 years ago, Buddhism, originating in ancient India, underwent a long evolution and merged with aspects of Confucian and Taoist cultures, until eventually, a Buddhist culture with Chinese characteristics emerged.

From religious beliefs to philosophical ideas, literature and art, as well as etiquette and customs, this has greatly impacted Chinese society.

Countless examples show that diversity spurs interaction among civilizations, which in turn promotes mutual learning and further development.

At the CPC in Dialogue With World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in March, Xi proposed the Global Civilizations Initiative, outlining the way to transcend estrangement, clashes and superiority by calling for a respect for the diversity of civilizations, advocating the common values of humanity, valuing the inheritance of civilizations, and promoting people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

China has provided the world with this initiative as another major public good following the Global Development Initiative, which advocates both staying committed to development as a priority as well as a people-centered approach, and the Global Security Initiative, which calls for common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, both put forward by Xi in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

The diversity of civilizations is in itself a prominent global feature and a source of vitality in the progress of human society.

Over 2,500 ethnic groups from over 200 countries and regions in the world form a colorful tapestry of civilizations. And all have their unique values and roots that run deep. Culture is colorful because of communication and mutual learning enriches civilizations.

In that light, China International Communications Group in 2022 created the Orchid Award. The awards target cultural sectors in their broadest sense and commend and reward non-Chinese nationals or organizations that have contributed greatly to international cultural exchanges. They are designed to promote the common values of humanity, which are peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, consolidate the cultural foundation for building a community with a shared future for humanity, and facilitate cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world as well as mutual learning among global civilizations.

Every exploration and action from every nation is based on its own conditions, all providing more, promising options for the present and future of human civilization.

In keeping with the Global Civilizations Initiative, China champions equality, mutual learning, openness and inclusiveness.

Humanity will thrive as one community only when different civilizations live in harmony.

Comments to [email protected]

YouTube: https://youtu.be/vEqpxW0iKMw

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2603370879803703

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeijingReview/status/1685858719425511424?s=20

Website: http://www.bjreview.com/Multimedia/Video/Ancient_Wisdom_Upgraded_Interpretation/202307/t20230731_800338195.html

SOURCE Beijing Review
NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The bleach market is expected to grow by USD 376.56 million from 2022 to 2027. In addition, the growth momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 4.36% during the forecast period, according to Technavio. We provide a detailed analysis of 20 companies operating in the bleach market including Aditya Birla Management Corp. Pvt. Ltd., , Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd., Hawkins Inc., Hill Brothers Chemical Co., Kemira Oyj, Lords Chloro Alkali Ltd., Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co. Inc., Nouryon Chemicals Holding BV, Solvay SA, Sree Rayalaseema Hi Strength Hypo Ltd., Stearns Packaging Corp., Swastik Chemicals, and The Clorox Co. Arkema Group, Ashland Inc., BASF SE, Clariant International Ltd., Ecolab Inc., EnviroChem International Pty Ltd., Evonik Industries AG. Increasing demand for bleach for water treatment is notably driving the bleach market. However, factors such as biodegradation and biohazard risks may impede market growth. The market is segmented by end-user (Water treatment, Industrial bleach, Dentistry, and Household cleaning), grade type (food grade and industrial grade), and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and South America). The report offers an up-to-date analysis of the market, and to know the exact growth variance and the Y-O-Y growth rate, Request a FREE Sample Report.

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Bleach Market 2023-2027

Bleach Market 2023-2027: Company Analysis

Aditya Birla Management Corp. Pvt. Ltd. - The company offers bleaching products such as RENSA and RENSA HS bleach, under its subsidiary Aditya Birla Chemicals India Limited. This report provides a full list of key companies, their strategies, and the latest developments. Buy Now for detailed company information

Bleach Market 2023-2027: Segmentation

End-user

The water treatment segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period. In the water segment bleach is mainly used for industrial wastewater treatment, control of parasites in aquaculture and to remove unwanted substances such as hydrogen cyanides, sulfites, hydrochloride, phenols, and organic oxygen-demanding compounds. The water treatment segment is anticipated to grow swiftly because of the increasing population worldwide and the demand for safe drinking water. Demand for water treatment bleach has increased because of the presence of emerging markets such as China , India , Brazil , and Indonesia . The demand for bleach in the water treatment application segment is being driven by factors like rapid industrial development in Brazil , China , and India . In addition, the use of bleach at water treatment facilities is being driven by government rules and awareness about pollutants' adverse effects as well as a scarcity of water resources. Hence, these factors are expected to drive segment growth during the forecast period.

Geography

APAC is estimated to contribute 37% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. Learn about the contribution of each segment summarized in concise infographics and thorough descriptions. View FREE PDF Sample Report

Bleach Market 2023-2027: Key Highlights

Historic Market Size 2017-2021

CAGR of the market during 2023-2027

Detailed information on factors that will assist bleach market growth during the next five years

Estimation of the composite rebar market size and its contribution to the parent market

Forecasts on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

The growth of the bleach market

Analysis of the competitive landscape and detailed information on companies

Comprehensive details of factors that will impede the growth of bleach market companies

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The acrylic resin market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 5,480.31 million.

The Isobutyl Benzene Market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.25% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 18.7 million.

Bleach Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.36% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 376.56 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 4.28 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and South America Performing market contribution APAC at 37% Key countries US, China, India, the UK, and France Competitive landscape Leading Companies, Market Positioning of Companies, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Aditya Birla Management Corp. Pvt. Ltd., Arkema Group, Ashland Inc., BASF SE, Clariant International Ltd., Ecolab Inc., EnviroChem International Pty Ltd., Evonik Industries AG, Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd., Hawkins Inc., Hill Brothers Chemical Co., Kemira Oyj, Lords Chloro Alkali Ltd., Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co. Inc., Nouryon Chemicals Holding BV, Solvay SA, Sree Rayalaseema Hi Strength Hypo Ltd., Stearns Packaging Corp., Swastik Chemicals, and The Clorox Co. 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.

ToC:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Historic Market Sizes

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by End User

Market Segmentation by Grade Type

Market Segmentation by Geography

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, & Trends

Company Landscape

Company Analysis

Appendix

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com

SOURCE Technavio
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. The "Baku 2023" international exercises were held with the participation of the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) and the organizational support of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

On the territory of the Baku International Commercial Sea Port, located in the village of Alat, Garadagh district of Baku, with the organization of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Azerbaijan, international exercises "Baku 2023" were held with the participation of rescue forces and means belonging to structures responsible for emergency management in the OTS member countries.

The exercises were observed by the Minister of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Kemaladdin Heydarov, Secretary General of OTS Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Minister of Internal Affairs of Turkiye Ali Yerlikaya, Minister of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan, Major General Syrym Sharipkhanov, Minister of Emergency Situations of Uzbekistan, Major General Abdulla Kuldashev, Minister of Emergency Situations of Kyrgyzstan Boobek Azhikeev, Director General Baku International Commercial Sea Port Taleh Ziyadov, Executive Director of the Association for the Management of Medical Territorial Units Vugar Gurbanov, as well as senior officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, the State Agency for the Protection of Strategic Facilities, the State Border Service, Azerbaijan Railways CJSC.

The exercises were conducted in order to coordinate the joint activities of rescue forces and facilities of the bodies responsible for emergency management of the Organization of Turkic States member countries during large-scale emergencies, to determine their real capabilities, to improve the management system, and to increase the operational readiness of headquarters in this regard, including emergency rescue and other urgent work, organization of interaction, and comprehensive support.

First of all, an inspection of the equipment and machinery of rescue organizations participating in the exercises was carried out. Afterwards, a video link was established at the headquarters of the exercises with the crisis management centers of the structures responsible for emergency management in the OTS member countries, and reports were made on the work done. The practical part of the exercises began next. During the successfully implemented exercises, the set goals were achieved.

At the end, a parade of the aviation detachment of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and helicopters of the Republic of Turkey participating in the exercises, flying over the training area with the National Flag of Azerbaijan and the Flag of OTS, took place.

In total, eight helicopters and one amphibious aircraft, 245 units of special-purpose equipment, six specially trained dogs, and 1,180 representatives of the relevant structures of the OTS countries took part in the exercises. The Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, the forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the State Agency for the Protection of Strategic Objects of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Association for the Management of Medical Territorial Units, the Coast Guard of the State Border Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan Railways, and the Baku International Commercial Sea Port took part in the exercises.
NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

MARK OWEN, Individually and On Behalf

of All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiff, - v.  ELASTOS FOUNDATION, RONG CHEN,

and FENG HAN Defendants. No. 1:19-cv-5462-GHW EXHIBIT A-3

SUMMARY NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION

IF YOU PURCHASED OR ACQUIRED ELA TOKENS IN DOMESTIC TRANSACTIONS IN THE ELASTOS ICO, THE LOCK-IN PROGRAM, OR THE SECONDARY MARKET BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 2018 AND JULY 27, 2023, AND WERE DAMAGED THEREBY, YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED BY A PROPOSED SETTLEMENT IN A LAWSUIT PENDING IN FEDERAL COURT (THE "LITIGATION"). PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that a hearing will be held on December 22, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. ET, before the Honorable Gregory Woods, United States District Judge, at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, 500 Pearl Street New York, New York 10007 for the purpose of determining: (1) whether the proposed settlement, as set forth in the Stipulation, consisting of Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000.00) in cash, should be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate to the Class Members; (2) whether the proposed plan to distribute the Net Settlement Fund (the "Plan of Allocation") is fair, reasonable, and adequate; (3) whether the applications for attorneys' fees and expenses should be approved; and (4) whether the proposed Judgment should be entered.

The Litigation has been certified as a class action for settlement purposes on behalf of all Persons who purchased or acquired ELA Tokens in domestic transactions in the Elastos ICO, the Lock-In Program, or the secondary market between January 1, 2018 and July 27, 2023, and were damaged thereby (the "Class Member"). The Litigation asserts claims against Elastos and certain individual defendants under the Securities Act of 1933. A detailed description of the Litigation, including the parties, the claims and defenses, and other important information about your rights and options are in the detailed Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Class Action (the "Notice").

At the Settlement Hearing, Settlement Class Counsel will request that the Court award aggregate attorneys' fees and expenses, the combined value of which will be no more than 30% of the Settlement Amount, or $600,000. The Claims Administrator currently estimates that it will seek no more than $175,000 for Notice and Administration Expenses. Class Members are not personally liable for any such fees or expenses. The net recovery for Class Members (also referred to as the Net Settlement Fund) is estimated to be at least $1,225,000 ($2,000,000 minus all of the foregoing fees and expenses).

Settlement Class Counsel states that it has litigated this case on behalf of Lead Plaintiffs and the Class for over four years against the Defendants, who have been represented in this Litigation by two separate law firms. On behalf of the Class, Settlement Class Counsel conducted an extensive investigation and drafted a complaint that advanced complex theories of liability concerning application of Securities Act to the evolving digital asset space; defeated Defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint; resolved numerous discovery disputes; litigated before the Court a discovery dispute involving the withholding of discovery pursuant to the Personal Information Protection Law of the People's Republic of China and disputes involving the withholding of discovery on various privilege and relevance grounds. Settlement Class Counsel also deposed four current or former Elastos personnel and consultants, including Defendant Feng Han, and, at the time this settlement was reached, was preparing for two additional fact witness depositions, including of Defendant Rong Chen, and two 30(b)(6) depositions. Settlement Class Counsel served written interrogatories on the Defendants and propounded dozens of document requests and subpoenas and obtained and analyzed nearly 2 million pages of documents from the Defendants as well as third parties, including Elastos' attorneys, cryptocurrency exchanges, certain consultants, and other third parties. Additionally, Settlement Class Counsel opposed Defendants' motion to deny certification.

To date, Settlement Class Counsel has not received any payment for their services representing Class Members, nor has it been paid any of its expense.

To obtain the Notice or a copy of the Proof of Claim and Release form ("Proof of Claim and Release"), visit the settlement website at www.ElastosSecuritiesLitigation.com or write to Elastos Securities Litigation, c/o Epiq Class Action and Claims Solutions, Inc., P.O. Box 2169, Portland, OR 97208-2169.

To get a payment from the Net Settlement Fund you must submit a Proof of Claim and Release by mail postmarked no later than December 6, 2023, or electronically no later than December 6, 2023, establishing that you are entitled to recovery. Failure to submit your Proof of Claim and Release by December 6, 2023, will subject your claim to possible rejection and may preclude you from receiving any payment from the settlement. If you are a Class Member and do not exclude yourself by the deadline, you will be bound by the settlement and any judgment entered in the Litigation, whether or not you submit a Proof of Claim and Release.

To be excluded from the settlement, you must submit a written request for exclusion in accordance with the instructions in the Notice that is postmarked or received no later than December 1, 2023. All Class Members who do not timely exclude themselves will be bound by the settlement (assuming it is approved by the Court) even if they do not submit a timely Proof of Claim and Release.

To object to any aspect of the settlement, including the Plan of Allocation, or the application for attorneys' fees and expenses, you must submit a written objection in accordance with all the instructions set forth in the Notice that is received or filed, not simply postmarked, on or before December 1, 2023. If you object, but also want to be eligible for a payment from the settlement, you must still submit a timely Proof of Claim and Release.

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE CLERK'S OFFICE REGARDING THIS NOTICE.

If you have any questions about the settlement you may contact Class Counsel at the following address:

Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP

Javier Bleichmar

75 Virginia Road

White Plains, NY 10603

Telephone: 888-879-9418

DATED: September 7, 2023

BY ORDER OF THE COURT

Gregory H. Woods

United States District Judge

Southern District of New York

URL// www.ElastosSecuritiesLitigation.com

SOURCE Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP
NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blitzer, Clancy & Company, a global leader in investment banking, growth consulting, and investment advisory services, announced today that it was named a finalist of the 22nd Annual M&A Advisor Awards for the "Investment Banking Firm of the Year" category.

The recognition follows a banner year for the firm having advised on and driven billions in enterprise value creation for their clients. Blitzer, Clancy & Company has a reputation for being a quiet yet substantial influencer in the industry, with over four decades of experience across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

The firm serves a diverse range of clients, ranging from the Middle Market to Fortune 500 multinationals, with specialized expertise in the Commercial Real Estate Services, Life Sciences, and Industrial Software & Technology sectors.

"This is an exciting milestone for our firm and represents the incredible results we've accomplished for our clients this year," said Michael Blitzer, Partner at Blitzer, Clancy & Company. "In addition to realizing shareholder value through creative dealmaking, clients value our ability to shape the implementation of comprehensive, long-term strategies. This recognition is indicative of the care we take to each and every client engagement."

"We have meaningful, long-term relationships with our clients  before, during, and after a transaction. Our unique, non-transactional approach is a cornerstone of how we do business," said Jim Clancy, Partner at Blitzer, Clancy & Company. "Our approach to client service, alongside the domain expertise we've built across the sectors we serve, enables us to provide useful strategic guidance and drive exceptional end results for our clients"

"For nearly 25 years, The M&A Advisor has been honoring the leading M&A transactions, companies and dealmakers. Blitzer, Clancy & Company was chosen from hundreds of participating companies to become an awards finalist. It gives us great pleasure to recognize Blitzer, Clancy & Company as finalists for mergers and acquisitions firms and professionals," said Roger Aguinaldo, Founder and CEO of The M&A Advisor. "Blitzer, Clancy & Company represents the best of the M&A industry in 2022-23 and earned these finalist honors by standing out in a group of very impressive candidates."

The awards will be presented, and winners revealed at a Black-Tie Awards Gala during the 2023 Future of Dealmaking Summit on November 14-15, 2023, in New York City. The summit will feature over 350 of the industry's leading professionals participating in exclusive interactive forums, sessions, roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings and a solutions provider showcase led by a faculty of M&A industry stalwarts and business media experts.

About Blitzer, Clancy & Company

Blitzer, Clancy & Company is a worldwide leader in investment banking, growth consulting, and investment advisory services. When we see promise, we dig in. That means strategically partnering with our clients' management teams and building long-lasting relationships in the process. Blitzer, Clancy & Company clients benefit from a team of independent, committed advisors. Empowered by a global web of resources, we draw on our sophisticated expertise across multiple sectors to transcend milestones and surpass expectations. For more information, please visit https://bcxintl.com/.

About The M&A Advisor

Now in its 25th year, The M&A Advisor was founded to offer insights and intelligence on mergers and acquisitions, establishing the industry's leading media outlet in 1998. Today, the firm is recognized as the world's premier leadership organization for mergers & acquisition, restructuring and corporate finance professionals, delivering a range of integrated services, including the most active online community of M&A professionals called M&A Connects. www.maadvisor.com .

SOURCE Blitzer, Clancy & Company
The conference will foster collaboration and development of the future supply chain

PLEASANTON, Calif., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blume Global, the leading supply chain orchestration platform uniting order orchestration, multimodal transportation management, end-to-end visibility and supplier relationship management, today announced it will host the inaugural Envision conference Nov. 5-7 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Envision will gather shippers, railroads, ocean carriers and logistics experts to foster a symphony of collaboration for innovation and advancements working towards the year 2030, 2050 and beyond.

Envision 2023 serves as a collective for the finest minds in supply chain and technology to meet with their peers. Attendees are industry leaders, whose assembly of insights, ideas, and shared commitment facilitates the charting of new pathways leading to the supply chain of tomorrow. Envision will encourage attendees to escape their current day-to-day routines, climb into a time capsule and gain a unique perspective of what the world will look like in the years to come.

"Envision 2023 is staking its claim as the premier thought leadership event that will set the vision of what the supply chain will look like in the years to come," said Pervinder Johar, CEO of Blume Global. "Envision is the ultimate convergence point for the entire supply chain ecosystem, technology and sustainability."

The supply chain has experienced more change in the last five years than it has over decades. The supply chain landscape can change at the drop of a hat, so every company must have a ten-year plan in place. While 2030 forecasts achievable supply chain advancements, companies need to focus more on longer leading goals and benchmark for the industry come 2050 and beyond.

"Projections of world population and the global business landscape for the next several decades are data points we need to take into consideration when planning for the future," said Johar. "The world economy could more than double by 2050 from technology-driven productivity improvements, even outpacing population growth, according to PwC. A shift in the leading economies by GDP would also emphasize the need for companies across the world to improve their infrastructure for long-term success."

As a Silicon-Valley-based company, Blume Global chose to host Envision 2023 at The Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco as it stands as a pillar of resiliency in our community. Following the catastrophic 1906 earthquake, the hotel had to adapt to the unexpected disruption and the residual effects thereafter with the goal of rebuilding. We look to The Fairmont as an example of achieving a resilient supply chain, which must be prepared to adapt to various disruptions, such as natural disasters, market fluctuations, and supply chain interruptions.

Envision 2023 will kick off with a welcome reception the evening of Nov. 5 for all guests. Speaking sessions will commence Nov. 6 and the conference will conclude on Nov. 7.

For more information about Envision 2023, please visit https://www.blumeglobal.com/envision-2023/

About Blume Global

The supply chain technology provider Blume Global is removing $1 trillion of waste from the global supply chain, making logistics processes more agile, dependable, and sustainable with innovative execution and visibility solutions. Blume has the most extensive network among logistics technology providers. The company's direct connectivity to the ocean, air, rail, parcel, LTL, and truckload carriers combines with Blume's solutions and almost three decades of industry data to maximize transportation spend, improve customer service and reduce carbon emissions for users. These solutions are supported by a sizeable R&D organization that is continually adding new high-value features. By developing technology that streamlines the logistics world, Blume Global is leading the industry in creating supply chain sustainability solutions, fighting climate change by eliminating significant carbon emissions in a world where most freight is transported using fossil fuels. In 2023, Blume Global was acquired by WiseTech Global, developer and provider of the world's leading logistics execution software CargoWise.

Contact:

George Protopapadakis

[email protected]

SOURCE Blume Global
BOSTON, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Burns & Levinson partners Ellen Zucker and Beth R. Myers have been selected for inclusion in the 2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiffs Employment & Civil Rights Lawyers Guide for their innovative work protecting the rights of workers.

Burns & Levinson partner Beth R. Myers have been selected for inclusion in the 2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiffs Employment & Civil Rights Lawyers Guide for their innovative work protecting the rights of workers. Burns & Levinson partner Ellen Zucker has been selected for inclusion in the 2023 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiffs Employment & Civil Rights Lawyers Guide for their innovative work protecting the rights of workers.

Ellen Zucker is one of the most powerful and respected civil rights litigators in the country. She gives voice to those wronged in the workplace and has been a legal champion of civil rights throughout her career. Most recently, she secured a $5.7 million judgment in favor of Det. Kathleen Donohue against the Town of Watertown. The jury found that the Town had discriminated against Det. Donohue based on her gender and retaliated against her when she dared to complain. The jury awarded her significant compensatory damages and determined that the Town's conduct warranted the imposition of a $1 million punitive damages award.

Zucker secured a trailblazing $13 million settlement for an orthopaedic surgeon, Dennis W. Burke, M.D., who blew the whistle on a practice at the Massachusetts General Hospital of allowing surgeons to book and conduct multiple surgeries at the same time and who  because of his standing up for patient safety  had his longtime Medical Staff appointment terminated. The case has had a national impact, including the American College of Surgeons changing its policies and major medical centers revising their practices. In Massachusetts, the Board of Registration in Medicine promulgated regulations that limit the practice of concurrent surgery and set standards for informed consent. She has also secured other important victories at the trial and appellate court levels.

Zucker's work and contributions to the legal community has earned her recognition by the local branch of the NAACP, NOW and other professional organizations. She received her J.D. from Boston College Law School, her M.S. in political theory from the London School of Economics and Political Science and her B.A. from Wesleyan University. She began her legal career as law clerk to the Honorable Nancy Gertner in the Federal District Court/District of Massachusetts.

Beth R. Myers is a formidable plaintiff employment litigator who is highly regarded for her advocacy representing employees in cases involving claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, retaliation, wage and hour disputes, and non-compliance with the Family Medical Leave Act. In May 2023, Myers settled a gender and sexual orientation case against the Boston Police Department for $900,000. Other recent cases include: working as part of the legal team that obtained a $3.25 million settlement from the City of Boston on behalf of a female firefighter who was sexually assaulted by a male firefighter at work and securing a $2.3 million jury verdict for a female police officer against the Town of Winthrop over unlawful sex discrimination and retaliation, a case that ultimately settled for over $3 million.

Myers is currently an appointed member of the Supreme Judicial Court's Standing Committee on Lawyer Well-Being. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, Inc. (past president), on the Board of Directors of GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders), and as a member of the City of Medford School District Race and Equity Task Force. She is involved in the Massachusetts LGBTQ Bar Association as a mentor in its Mentorship Program. She has held numerous leadership roles with the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Employment Lawyers Association since 2011, most recently serving as the organization's president from 2018-2020. Myers received her J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law and her B.A. from New York University.

About Burns & Levinson LLP

At Burns & Levinson, we provide high-level, client-centric and results-oriented legal services to our regional, national and international clients. We are a full-service law firm with 125 lawyers in Boston, Providence and London. Our areas of expertise include: business/finance, business litigation, divorce/family law, venture capital/emerging companies, employment, estate planning, government investigations, intellectual property, M&A/private equity, probate/trust litigation, and real estate. We partner with our clients to solve their business and personal legal issues in a collaborative, creative and cost-effective way. For more information, visit Burns & Levinson at www.burnslev.com .

Contact:

Amy Blumenthal Kristen Weller Blumenthal & Associates Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer 617.879.1511 617.345.3555 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE Burns & Levinson
NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The caravan and motorhome market is expected to grow by USD 23.59 billion from 2022 to 2027, according to Technavio. In addition, the growth momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 7.66% during the forecast period. Increasing adoption of RVs by different generations of consumers is notably driving the caravan and motorhome market. However, factors such as problems associated with RV ownership may impede market growth. The market is segmented by end-user (direct buyer and fleet owner), type (motorhome and caravan), and geography (Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa). Technavio provides a comprehensive report summary describing the market size and forecast along with research methodology. The FREE sample report is available in PDF format

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Caravan and Motorhome Market 2023-2027

Key Segment Analysis

The direct buyer segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period. Direct customers, usually including individuals and families, prefer to purchase their caravans or motorhomes exclusively from the manufacturer or dealer rather than through traditional rental or leasing services. This trend is driven by an increasing desire for individuality, convenience, and longevity of ownership. For direct buyers, ownership of the vehicles is entirely in their hands, and they would rather take advantage of flexible modes of ownership or customization. Individuals may decide to purchase motorhomes that are specially configured for their journeys, for example, by introducing additional features such as photovoltaic panels, updated interiors, or cutting-edge technology systems, so long as they meet their travel requirements. As a result of the evolution of consumer demand, which has transformed the market in focus, producers seek to satisfy direct buyers' requirements. Hence, these factors are expected to drive segment growth during the forecast period. To know additional highlights and key points on various market segments and their impact in coming years, View the FREE PDF Sample Report.

Geographical Market Analysis

Europe is estimated to contribute 39% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period.

Company Insights

The caravan and motorhome market is fragmented, and the companies are deploying organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market. The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market companies, including Bailey Caravans Ltd., Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Caravan Conversion, Dethleffs GmbH and Co. KG, Eura Mobil GmbH, Globecar Motorhomes UK and Ireland, Hobby Caravan, Hymer GmbH and Co. KG, JCBLGroup, KABE Group AB, Knaus Tabbert AG, LMC Caravan GmbH and Co. KG, Possl Freizeit und Sport GmbH, RAPIDO Motorhomes, REV Group Inc., The Swift Group, Thor Industries Inc., Trigano SA, Triple E Canada Ltd., and Winnebago Industries Inc. View the FREE PDF Sample Report to find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by companies and their product offerings.

Related Reports:

The automotive drivetrain market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.89% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 68.89 billion.

The automotive winches system (AWS) market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.31% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 145.44 million.

Caravan And Motorhome Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 7.66% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 23.59 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 7.49 Regional analysis Europe, North America, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution Europe at 39% Key countries US, Canada, China, Germany, and France Competitive landscape Leading Companies, Market Positioning of Companies, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Bailey Caravans Ltd., Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Caravan Conversion, Dethleffs GmbH and Co. KG, Eura Mobil GmbH, Globecar Motorhomes UK and Ireland, Hobby Caravan, Hymer GmbH and Co. KG, JCBLGroup, KABE Group AB, Knaus Tabbert AG, LMC Caravan GmbH and Co. KG, Possl Freizeit und Sport GmbH, RAPIDO Motorhomes, REV Group Inc., The Swift Group, Thor Industries Inc., Trigano SA, Triple E Canada Ltd., and Winnebago Industries Inc. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and Market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

ToC:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Historic Market Sizes

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by End User

Market Segmentation by Type

Market Segmentation by Geography

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, & Trends

Company Landscape

Company Analysis

Appendix

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com

SOURCE Technavio
AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mach 1 Group (Mach 1), a Texas-based public relations and crisis management agency, celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year, winning several national communications awards and delivering impressive results during the 88th Texas Legislative Session.

Since its founding in September 2013, Mach 1 has quickly become one of Texas' top public relations and strategic communications agencies. The firm, which boasts an experienced team of former government staffers, campaign aides, news producers and journalists, specializes in policy communications, crisis response and reputation management  giving organizations and public figures the tools and strategies they need to advance meaningful policy initiatives and navigate some of the most controversial public opinion challenges today.

"The Mach 1 team and I are deeply grateful for the decade of amazing growth we've enjoyed and the important causes we have successfully served," said Founder and CEO Katherine McLane. "On day one, our goal was to provide the best in crisis and public affairs communications and that goal remains our North Star. On our 10th Anniversary, we share a sincere thank you to all the clients who have allowed us to become part of their campaigns and missions and our deep appreciation to our colleagues and friends at the Texas and U.S. Capitols for their support."

A pillar of Mach 1's success is the unrivaled advocacy campaigns they design and execute during Texas Legislative Sessions. Leading up to and during the 2023 biennial Regular Session, Mach 1 facilitated over 310 in-state and 370 out-of-state and/or national media hits directly related to client causes. The firm successfully placed nearly 20 high-impact, in-depth editorial pieces in some of the best-performing daily newspapers in the nation, including the Austin American-Statesman, San Antonio Express-News and the Dallas Morning News. These earned media hits equate to over $60 million in publicity value.

Mach 1's ability to help organizations develop impactful coalition branding and communicate and amplify their causes through positive public relations, targeted social media activity, expert testimony and compelling legislative materials resulted in the firm effectively reaching their clients' goals on over a dozen bills this Session  spanning the healthcare, economy, school safety and higher education realms.

This type of success has earned Mach 1 and its remarkable team members dozens of regional and national awards over the last decade and this year, has placed the firm on the national stage for their outstanding skill a record nine times so far:

Mach 1 earned the title of "Team of the Year" at the Communicators of the Year Awards presented by Ragan Communications and PR Daily.

Mach 1's work with Dial Tone Services won a Silver Award for "Best Public Affairs Campaign" at the 2023 Bulldog PR Awards.

Mach 1 Founder and CEO Katherine McLane and Senior Vice President Talan Tyminski were both recognized by PR News as Top Women in PR for 2023. McLane won accolades in the Business Entrepreneurs category, while Tyminski was recognized in the Rising Stars category.

and Senior Vice President were both recognized by PR News as Top Women in PR for 2023. McLane won accolades in the Business Entrepreneurs category, while Tyminski was recognized in the Rising Stars category. McLane won "Agency Leader of the Year," and Tyminski earned " Rising Star " at the Communicators of the Year Awards presented by Ragan Communications and PR Daily.

" at the Communicators of the Year Awards presented by Ragan Communications and PR Daily. McLane was awarded the Bronze prize for "PR Professional Who Makes a Difference," while Tyminski was honored with the Bronze prize for "PR Up and Comer" at the 2023 Bulldog Awards.

Partner and COO Mary Bell Love won "Agency Planner of the Year" at the Austin Alliance for Women in Media's 2023 Awards of Excellence.

As we enter into the next decade of service, Mach 1 remains committed to aiding both new and existing clients in achieving their advocacy and long-term communications goals.

For more information about The Mach 1 Group, please visit www.themach1group.com.

Media Contacts:

Alice Claiborne  [email protected]

Mollie Young  [email protected]

SOURCE The Mach 1 Group LLC
Luis Moreno Ocampo , ex-prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, tells Congressional Human Rights Commission that Azerbaijan's blockade of disputed enclave is a genocide and the US is at risk of complicity

US should compel Azerbaijan to end blockade immediately, Ocampo says

MONTROSE, Calif., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Truth and Justice welcomed Luis Moreno Ocampo's call on the United States to demand an end to Azerbaijan's blockade of the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. Ocampo, the first prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, said that the blockade is a genocide and cautioned that the United States risks complicity through inaction.

Center for Truth & Justice Logo

In a testimony Wednesday before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Ocampo said that "there is a reasonable basis to believe that Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin Corridor constitutes genocide under Article II c) of the Convention"  and that the US, as a convention signatory, must do what it can to end it.

"The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is desperate, with Azerbaijan trying to starve the population to force it to flee," said Maggie Arutyunyan, a member of the leadership of the California-based Center for Truth and Justice (CFTJ). "We hope Ocampo's testimony finally compels the United States and other states to move decisively to end this atrocity."

The disputed Armenian-populated enclave, known to Armenians as Artsakh, ended up in Azerbaijan when the Soviet Union collapsed, but has since then operated as a self-governing entity. Azerbaijan seized much of the territory in a 2020 war that killed thousands of Armenians, and what remains of it is connected to the outside world by an access road known as the Lachin Corridor.

On December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan started blocking that road, and since June 15 all passage has been impeded, cutting off food and other supplies. At least one resident has died of starvation, and witnesses say basic supplies including baby formula are running out.

In his testimony, Ocampo said that the US, as a party to the Genocide Convention, "undertook the duty 'to prevent and to punish'" genocide, and "accepted that under Article III e) complicity in genocide is punishable." Alluding to ongoing Western-sponsored peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, he said that "US involvement in a negotiation that includes a party, Azerbaijan, which is committing genocide could be characterized as complicity in genocide."

"The duty to prevent does not require the US to intervene militarily in Azerbaijan but rather to use all available means as circumstances permit to have a deterrent effect on Azerbaijan," he said. "The US should openly inform the Azerbaijan government that without the immediate and unconditional removal of the Lachin Corridor blockade, the US would consider Azerbaijan to be committing genocide.

Last month Ocampo issued a report finding that the blockade constitutes a case of genocide. Two weeks ago the first UN Advisor on Genocide, Juan Mendez, also affirmed in a report that Azerbaijan's lack of compliance with a February order by the International Court of Justice to stop its blockade of food and humanitarian assistance to the 120,000 Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh is an "early warning" of genocide. The issue has also been recently discussed at the UN Security Council.

The CFTJ is a group of attorneys dedicated to collecting testimonial evidence of war crimes, is renewing its call on world powers to intervene to end the genocide facing Nagorno-Karabakh.

ABOUT THE CFTJ:

CFTJ is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, established in November 2020 in response to the Nagorno-Karabakh war. We are a group of lawyers overseeing the collection of firsthand testimonial evidence from war survivors via in-depth, recorded interviews. We run two law clinics, one in Armenia and one in Nagorno-Karabakh, which are the first of their kind.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Maggie Arutyunyan at 1(818)749-8185

[email protected]

SOURCE Center for Truth & Justice
OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chicago Automobile Trade Association (CATA), the area's new-car dealer association and producer of the Chicago Auto Show, announced the return of Chicago Drives Electric, to be held Sept. 29-Oct. 1. In alignment with National Drive Electric week, Chicago Drives Electric aims to raise awareness on a local level of the many benefits of all-electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles and help consumers understand how EVs can fit individual needs and lifestyles.

Registrants will have the opportunity to test drive and experience a variety of brands, ranging from luxury to mainstream, including Alfa Romeo, Audi, Cadillac, Chrysler, Ford, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo. Models include the Audi RS e-tron GT, Cadillac LYRIQ, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai IONIQ 6, Nissan ARIYA, Toyota Prius Prime, and Volvo C40 Recharge, among a variety of others. Kia will also have its all-new EV9 three-row SUV on static display, allowing Chicago Drives Electric attendees one of the first chances to see this vehicle in person. Automakers will once again enlist knowledgeable product specialists to be on hand throughout the event to field consumer questions and help demonstrate the features and benefits of each vehicle.

Event organizers are also bringing in a variety of experts to help break down the various aspects of EV ownership. Post this

In addition to putting interested parties behind the wheel of an array of the latest EVs, event organizers are bringing in a variety of experts to help break down the various aspects of EV ownership and tackle complex topics such as range anxiety; at-home charging solutions; on-the-go charging and infrastructure; tax credits and incentives; and where people can begin their search. On-hand experts will include representatives from Cars.com, CHARGE Enterprises, ComEd, Drive Chicago and Powering Chicago.

The inaugural Chicago Drives Electric event, held in fall of 2022, produced nearly 3,000 in-vehicle experiences for interested consumers, and this year is shaping up to attract even more attendees to experience a wider portfolio of brands and models.

"Chicago Drives Electric is a unique experiential event that allows the public to get behind the wheel of the latest electrified vehicles back-to-back," said JC Phelan, Chicago Auto Show chairman. "Space is limited to ensure a quality experience for all involved. When spaces for the fall event fill up, we'll encourage people to visit the 2024 Chicago Auto Show's Chicago Drives Electric EV test track inside McCormick Place, which will provide ample opportunities for interested parties to learn about and experience the latest EVs."

"The expanded Chicago Drives Electric hub at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show hosted five brands with a wide range of EVs to test drive, producing more than 155,000 in-vehicle experiences," Phelan added. "This is a testament to the continued momentum behind Chicago Drives Electric as auto manufacturers debut the latest models and new technology."

"The EV market continues to be in a rapid growth pattern," added Kelly Webb Roberts, CATA chairwoman. "As the public navigates this next generation of driving, we want our communities to know that the Chicagoland new-car dealers are here to be partners in that journey. After more than a century of driving internal combustion engine vehicles, consumers are destined to have questions on the expeditious push to EVs, and Chicagoland's new-car dealers are crucial in providing those resources and much-needed education."

Registrations have limited capacity and are available at ChicagoAutoShow.com on a first-come, first-served basis. Once all time slots have filled, a waitlist will open for those wishing to attend.

For more information, visit: https://www.chicagoautoshow.com/about-the-show/chicago-drives-electric-2023 and follow Chicago Drives Electric on Facebook and Instagram. Test drives are reserved exclusively for the public who pre-registered for the event.

Interview and b-roll opportunities are available on Thursday, Sept. 28, at the CATA headquarters, 18W200 Butterfield Rd., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. 60181. Additional media opportunities can be arranged with Hayley Feichter ([email protected]) or Mark Bilek ([email protected]).

About the Chicago Auto Show

First staged in 1901, the Chicago Auto Show is the nation's longest running auto exposition in North America. The show is produced by the Chicagoland's new-car dealer association, the Chicago Automobile Trade Association, which has staged the show since 1935. The 2024 public show is Feb. 10-19 at McCormick Place. For more information and the latest updates, visit ChicagoAutoShow.com or Facebook.com/ChicagoAutoShow.com.

About the Chicago Automobile Trade Association

Founded in 1904 and located in Oakbrook Terrace, the Chicago Automobile Trade Association is comprised of more than 400 franchised new-car dealers and an additional 150 allied members. The group's dealer members employ about 19,000 people in the metropolitan area. The association has produced the world famous Chicago Auto Show since 1935. For more information, please visit www.CATA.info.

SOURCE Chicago Automobile Trade Association
A new survey unveils how people living with lung conditions experience the adverse effects of poor air quality.

The report, the result of a scoping literature review and survey, recognises that climate-related factors have a significant impact on lung health and calls for holistic health policy solutions.

Findings reveal poor air quality can act as a barrier to activities that improve patients' quality of life: more than half of patients living in areas with poor air quality avoid outdoor exercise and social engagement.

Work and job security concerns arise due to respiratory diseases, unaffected by income disparities.

MILAN, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, a new report from Economist Impact titled "Cleaner air, clearer lungs, better lives: exploring the intersection of air quality, health inequalities and lung health[i]" which was funded and developed in consultation with Chiesi unveils fresh insights into the interplay between air quality, lung health, and socioeconomic disparities.

Chiesi is gathering a panel of healthcare professionals, environmental scientists, and patients' associations to discuss the findings of the report at an event in Milan today, titled "Patient Perspectives on the Impact of Climate Change on Respiratory Wellbeing". By focusing on those suffering from the health impacts of the climate crisis, Chiesi wants to help prevent this major health threat and promote understanding and collaboration between sustainability and health experts.

Delving into the experiences of people with lung diseases in five key countries (UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, and France), the report suggests that climate-related factors have a significant impact on their quality of life, stretching beyond physical health. It also explores how this impact may interact with other social determinants such as education, income, and overall socio-economic status, and calls for holistic health policy solutions.

"The climate crisis is also a health crisis. The report reinforces the need to include patients' perspectives and real-life experiences when assessing the interconnected elements of patients' welfare and when developing solutions," said Carmen Dell' Anna, Head of Global Medical Affairs at Chiesi Group. "Policymakers must consider that both climate-related and socio-economic factors interplay and can have an impact on patients' health and quality of life. We, at Chiesi, are committed to fostering enhanced comprehension and clear actions on environmental determinants of respiratory diseases, beyond the treatment of their symptoms."

Based on these findings, Chiesi puts forward the following policy recommendations:

Recognise the impact of climate-related factors such as heatwaves and increased pollen load on the overall quality of life of respiratory patients, beyond lung health;

Anticipate that climate change may further exacerbate these issues and therefore create holistic climate-related health policies;

Address the unique needs of respiratory patients within broader climate adaptation and health equity strategies by: educating the public about the impact of climate change on respiratory health; improving equitable access to health care; and providing tailored support to people with respiratory diseases during extreme weather events;

Encourage key players along the healthcare value chain to adopt sustainable practices that reduce their environmental impact and promote respiratory health;

Facilitate collaboration and promote further dialogue to ensure that policies are informed by diverse perspectives, culturally sensitive, and effective in mitigating the effect of climate change on respiratory health;

Prioritise research that examines the intersection of respiratory health and climate change, including specific risks, vulnerabilities, and adaptation strategies for individuals with respiratory conditions.

[i] Economist Impact. Cleaner air, clearer lungs, better lives: exploring the intersection of air quality, health inequalities and lung health. London: Economist Impact, 2023. Available from: https://impact.economist.com/perspectives/health/cleaner-air-clearer-lungs-better-lives

SOURCE Chiesi Group
The global chrysanthemum tea market is experiencing growth due to several factors, including the rise in demand for floral-infused beverages, health benefits associated with tea, and the demand for chrysanthemum tea to boost production effectiveness and product quality is increasing as the food processing sector expands, especially in emerging nations.

PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Chrysanthemum Tea Market by Type (Chrysanthemum Indicum and Chrysanthemum Morifolium), Packaging (Loose Tea, Tea Bags, and Bottled/Canned), Application (Residential and Commercial), and Distribution Channel (Online and Offline): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20222031." According to the report, the global chrysanthemum tea industry was valued at $153.1 million in 2022 and is projected to reach $249.8 million by 2032, registering a CAGR of 5.1% from 2023 to 2032.



Request Sample Report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/111241

Chrysanthemum tea is an herbal beverage that is traditionally consumed in many cultures around the world. It is composed of the flowers of the chrysanthemum plant and is renowned for its aromatic properties and various health benefits. The global market for this tea is characterized by its production, distribution and sales of these products to consumers through various channels such as supermarkets, online platforms, specialty tea shops, and more.

Prime Determinants of Growth:

The global chrysanthemum tea market is experiencing growth due to several factors, including the rise in demand for floral-infused beverages, health benefits associated with tea, and the demand for chrysanthemum tea to boost production effectiveness and product quality is increasing as the food processing sector expands, especially in emerging nations. On the other hand, Limited awareness and familiarity of chrysanthemum tea, and competition from established beverages may hinder the market growth. Moreover, the expansion and rising popularity of the health benefits of the herbal tea market, and the increase in online retail are expected to create lucrative growth opportunities for the market.

Report Coverage & Details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20232032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $153.1 Million Market Size in 2032 $249.8 Million CAGR 5.1 % No. of Pages in Report 250 Segments covered Type, Packaging, Application, Distribution Channel, and Region Drivers  Rise in demand for floral-infused beverages

 Health benefits associated with tea

 Product innovation and diversification Opportunities  Expansion of specialty tea market

 Increase in online retail Restraints  Limited awareness and familiarity

 Competition from established beverages



The chrysanthemum morifolium segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period-

Based on type, the chrysanthemum indicum segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for more than half of the global chrysanthemum tea market revenue. This tea is renowned for its believed antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which improve liver health, aid digestion, and provide relief for respiratory issues. It has been consumed for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine for its potential health benefits, such as relief from respiratory issues, reduction of inflammation, and promotes relaxation. On the other hand, the chrysanthemum morifolium segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. The same segment would also showcase the fastest CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period.

Buy This Report (250 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://bit.ly/3P2AEA6

The loose tea segment to maintain its leading position throughout the forecast period-

Based on packaging, the loose tea segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for more than two-fifths of the global chrysanthemum tea market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leading position throughout the forecast period. The customization and control provided by loose tea leaves allow individuals to tailor their brew to personal preferences and equally serve those who prefer a premium tea-drinking experience. The extensive variety of tea types and specialty blends available in the loose-leaf form further drives consumer demand, which caters to the desire for exploration and unique flavor experiences among consumers. Moreover, the tea bags segment would display the fastest CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast timeframe.

The commercial segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period-

Based on application, the commercial segment held the highest market share in 2022, contributing to more than half of the global chrysanthemum tea market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. The same segment would also cite the fastest CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast timeframe. In the food & beverage sector, it serves as a highly adaptable ingredient, which enhances the flavor profiles of diverse products such as ice creams, desserts, and alcoholic beverages. Moreover, its association with traditional Chinese medicine positions chrysanthemum tea as a valuable component in herbal remedies and health supplements that aligns with the growth in demand for natural and holistic solutions.

The online segment to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period-

Based on distribution channel, the offline segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for more than half of the global chrysanthemum tea market revenue. Many customers prefer to select products in person, particularly when it comes to tea, where they can smell and examine the quality of tea leaves. The presence of specialty tea shops and traditional herbal medicine shops caters to specific customer needs. However, the online segment to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period. The same segment would also portray the fastest CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period.

Asia-Pacific garnered the major share in 2023-

Based on region, Asia-Pacific held the highest market share in 2022, garnering around two-fifths of the global chrysanthemum tea market revenue, and is likely to dominate the market during the forecast period. The same region would also exhibit the fastest CAGR of 6.4% from 2023 to 2032. Chrysanthemum tea is a popular and refreshing beverage in China, Korea, Singapore, and Japan, especially during hot summers. It holds traditional health benefits and has been part of Chinese medicine for centuries. The therapeutic properties of chrysanthemum have been utilized in herbal remedies for various health concerns. Its widespread cultivation in China, Japan, and India allows key players to meet consumer demands easily. With its long-standing cultural significance and medicinal qualities, chrysanthemum tea remains a cherished and cost-effective choice for many in the region.

Enquire Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/111241

Leading Market Players: -

Yunnan Sourcing Tea Shop

Bravo Tea

Asha Tea House

Teasenz

The Chinese Tea Company

Ten Ren Tea

Grand Tea & Imports

Onyx Coffee Lab

Chymey Teas

The report analyzes these key players in the global chrysanthemum tea market. These players have adopted various strategies such as expansion, new product launches, partnerships, and others to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry. The report is helpful in determining the business performance, operating segments, developments, and product portfolios of every market player.

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Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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SOURCE Allied Market Research
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov received Igor Khovaev, Special Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, for the normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan told Trend.

The meeting discussed the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as the current situation in the region.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said that the statements, rhetoric, and provocations of the Armenian side, undermining the peace agenda and directed against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, undermine efforts and initiatives to establish lasting peace in the region. The inadmissibility of Armenia's interference in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan was also discussed.

The refusal of the Armenian side to intensify the use of the Lachin road and the opening of the Aghdam-Khankendi road against the background of unfounded claims in connection with the allegedly "tense humanitarian situation" and "blockade" in the region indicates that the situation is not humanitarian but political.

The sides recognize the importance of the international community's condemnation of such steps by Armenia, which is intensifying its political and military provocations against Azerbaijan.

During the meeting, the sides also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.
COLUMBIA, S.C. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cognito Forms has been named one of South Carolina's Best Places to Work for the fourth consecutive year. Their standout workspace is a beacon in a bustling business scene.

Cognito Forms was honored after a rigorous two-phase survey process conducted by SC BIZ with 111 companies. Cognito Forms earned approval from 96% of their employees, placing them in the top three for small businesses. For more details, you can dive deeper at SC BIZ.

A key part of their appeal is a strong focus on creativity, teamwork, and employee health. They offer flexible work schedules, allowing for a mix of in-office and remote work.

One team member said, "The organization makes you feel valued from the work that we do to the interactions with each other. Leadership is really focused on establishing the right community for the employees and our families. "

Cognito Forms values innovative thinking, being tenacious, acting with integrity, simplifying complex problems, and appreciating each other. Exemplifying the company's core beliefs, President Jennifer Dellacroce states, "What makes Cognito Forms one of the best places to work is our employees. It is such a pleasure to be surrounded by so many dedicated and talented people on a daily basis."

Personal and professional development is fundamental at Cognito Forms. They provide training, outstanding benefits, and career growth opportunities. Beyond that, Cognito Forms is also deeply committed to the community. The company supports local non-profits through donations and offers its employees volunteer opportunities during work hours, highlighting its dedication to giving back.

Cognito Forms is committed to enhancing its workplace, innovating in the industry, and building stronger community connections. This strategy aims to attract and retain the best talent in the field.

If you share our values and vision for innovation, we invite you to explore career opportunities with us at Careers - Cognito Forms.

About Cognito Forms

Cognito Forms, the world's most influential and comprehensive online form builder, empowers small business owners and partners to take control of their data and use it to craft custom solutions. In 2013, co-founders Jamie Thomas and Jennifer Dellacroce launched Cognito Forms to eliminate the need to hire a developer by providing a simple online form builder that anyone can use. As one of the fastest-growing, industry-leading SaaS companies, Cognito Forms has built up 2 million organizations and users to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and demanding world.

Customers tap into their tech prowess to streamline tasks, optimize output, and go paperless. With Cognito Form tools, you can customize your forms or jump-start with one of their 100+ templates.

For more insights, visit www.cognitoforms.com.

SOURCE Cognito Forms
Amid New York Fashion Week, Colombia shows the power of its industry and sets trends on the runways.

NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Colombia has been making waves in the fashion sector over a century. With its sustainable plus innovative designs, and its viable processes and products made with eco-friendly materials, the country has managed to arouse interest globally and stand out at renowned events such as the NY Fashion Week.

Photo credit PROCOLOMBIA.

This year is no different. In the following days, Colombian designers will shine in the highest peak of the fashion scene of New York. Such is the case of CUBEL, the brand of a designer called Humberto Cubides, whose stories and designs are inspired by indigenous cultures of Latin America; he will participate for the second time in the NY Fashion Week on September 10th. On this same date, Colombian designer Paris Rodriguez will break the mold at the Rockefeller Center, with women entrepreneurs waking the runway instead of top models.

Declared by Latin Vogue magazine as the new 'King of NY Fashion Week', Raul Penaranda, a Colombian designer from the city of Cali, will showcase his latest collection on September 16th. Penaranda is the third Latino who, after Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera, has presented 28 non-stop collections at NYFW.

Andres Otalora, a renowned Colombian fashion label with over 30 years of history who works with international retailers like Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale's, will host the NYC Spring/Summer 2024 showroom from September 11th-14th. And last, Pinkfilosofy, Colombian fashion brand co-founded by Adriana Arboleda and Johanna Ortiz, will show its Spring Summer 24 collection from September 13th to 18th.

Colombia is not only making history at Fashion Week, but also at other events such as MAGIC and Coterie. Around the same dates and at both trade fairs, Colombia will have a delegation of twelve companies that are looking to expand their business opportunities and match their offer with the American buyers interests.

"The future of Colombian fashion industry is bright. Between January and June 2023, this sector has exported to the United States US$ 161.4 million. We are eager to become a global fashion power due to our high quality textiles and designs, and ethical and sustainable production practices", concluded Carmen Caballero, president of ProColombia, the country's promotion agency part of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism.

SOURCE PROCOLOMBIA
ANAHEIM, Calif., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 65th Annual Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC), the premier gathering of the largest companies in homebuilding, is excited to announce that exhibit sales for its highly anticipated 2024 event are now officially open. PCBC will take place on June 19 and 20, 2024, at the Anaheim Convention Center. The event promises to bring together the best in residential building and design, with a packed schedule of keynotes, seminars, exhibits, and networking events.

Learn more about the Pacific Coast Builders Conference and how to become an exhibitor. Experience quality connections at PCBC, the official show for Californias building industry.

PCBC has long been recognized as the building industry's foremost platform for cutting-edge products, high-level and high value networking, and emerging business and public policy trends, innovations, and best practices. Known as an event "where business gets done," PCBC actively facilitates targeted meetings between major builders and manufacturers, delivering unparalleled value to attendees and exhibitors alike.

PCBC 2023 was well attended, and I enjoyed catching up with many in the industry. Compared to IBS, the PCBC format enabled meaningful meetings with manufacturers. I have signed two national agreements as a result. To me, PCBC is the best trade show in our industry.  VP National Purchasing

Exhibit sales for PCBC 2024 are expected to draw a diverse range of companies showcasing products and services shaping the future of homebuilding. From home technology and sustainable materials to design and construction solutions, exhibitors will have the opportunity to engage with thousands of influential professionals actively seeking the latest advancements in the field.

"We are thrilled to announce the opening of exhibit sales for PCBC 2024," said Ann Bivens, Exhibits Director of PCBC. "We love reuniting professionals, fostering new connections, and providing a platform for innovation that will drive the future of homebuilding."

Participants interested in securing their exhibit space or for sponsorship opportunities are urged to visit the official PCBC website at www.pcbc.com as reservations have already started for returning 2023 exhibitors. Early registration is recommended for new exhibitors, as exhibit space and sponsorship opportunities tend to fill up quickly due to the high caliber of the attendee audience of PCBC.

PCBC is presented by the California Building Industry Association (CBIA), a statewide trade association advocating for housing and homeownership. CBIA members build nearly 9 out of 10 new housing units annually in California, ranging from charity homes to legally defined affordable housing, to middle-class market-rate housing, to luxury homes.

For more information on PCBC 2024, visit the event website at www.pcbc.com

About PCBC:

PCBC is the premier homebuilding trade show and conference, serving the needs of the housing ecosystem, including builders, developers, contractors, architects, and manufacturers. With a history dating back to 1959, PCBC has established itself as the ultimate resource for education, networking, and showcasing innovative products in the home building industry.

Pacific Coast Builders Conference

By: California Builders Industry Association

Sacramento, CA

www.pcbc.com

SOURCE Pacific Coast Builders Conference
Company leads its sector in annual list assessing customer, investor and employee trust

TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Newsweek magazine and market research firm Statista have ranked Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) (Crown) (www.crowncork.com) as the top packaging company on the second annual listing of the Most Trustworthy Companies in America. Drawing from an initial pool of 3,100 companies, the ranking honors 700 U.S. companies in 23 industries according to evaluations of customer, investor and employee trust. Crown stands as the number-one packaging company within the larger Transport, Logistics & Packaging category, lending further validation to the Company's values, goals and relationships with critical stakeholders and reflecting industry-leading positive perception within its peer group.

"Crown has always aimed to execute a methodical, ethical business strategy that prioritizes the needs and concerns of our stakeholder groups, including customers, investors and employees," said Timothy Donahue, President, CEO & Chairman of the Board at Crown Holdings. "We are proud to be ranked as the most trusted packaging company in America by Newsweek and Statista, and we maintain our commitments to serve as a reliable partner and employer that upholds both long-term business viability and corporate responsibility standards."

To create the U.S. ranking, Statista first conducted a worldwide independent survey within 2023 that collected 269,000 individual evaluations of various corporations from residents across 21 countries. All companies were scored based on survey evaluations (with participants who were customers, investors and/or employees considered with higher weight) and were then subjected to a comprehensive social listening assessment that determined sentiment analysis within media segments and social media platforms.

Landing on the Most Trustworthy Companies in America 2023 list is the latest recognition for Crown, which continues to earn attention globally for its customer support capabilities, financial performance, healthy market position, employee development opportunities and Twentyby30 sustainability program. Recently, the Company was included in Newsweek's America's Most Responsible Companies 2023 list, as well as lists such as USA TODAY's America's Climate Leaders, Forbes' World's Top Female-Friendly Companies and 3BL Media's 100 Best Corporate Citizens.

To learn more about Crown's global initiatives and ongoing efforts to support stakeholders, visit crowncork.com/news .

About Crown Holdings, Inc.

Crown Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, is a leading global supplier of rigid packaging products to consumer marketing companies, as well as transit and protective packaging products, equipment and services to a broad range of end markets. World headquarters are located in Tampa, Florida. For more information, visit www.crowncork.com .

For editorial inquiries: Emily Hogan, Senior Account Executive, FINN Partners; Tel: (630) 248-5232; Email: [email protected].

SOURCE Crown Holdings, Inc.
MOBILE, Ala., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Alabama Supreme Court recently affirmed a $10-million judgment on a Mobile County jury's verdict for the family of Mr. Jay West, who died due to unsafe use of Dilaudid that he was given after minor thumb surgery at Springhill Medical Center. The judgment is the largest that the Alabama Supreme Court has ever affirmed for a single wrongful death.

The record-setting affirmance originates from an incident in June 2014. Mr. West accidentally cut his left thumb with a table saw and went to Springhill Medical Center. A minor 20-minute surgery was completed to repair the wound. No complications were reported.

After the surgery, Mr. West's surgeon ordered Percocet and intravenous (IV) Dilaudid for his pain recovery. If the medical personnel had reviewed Mr. West records and the Sentinel Event Alerts from the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO), they would have discovered that he was at "high risk for opioid-induced respiratory depression." No safety measures were taken before Mr. West was given the IV opioids. At trial testimony proved that the hospital had not trained its nursing staff on how to prevent or respond to a patient experiencing opioid-induced respiratory depression.

Mr. West was placed in a recovery room in the hospital and the first round of opiates  four milligrams of IV Dilaudid  was administered to alleviate the residual pain from the thumb surgery. About two hours later, a second four-milligram IV dose of the Dilaudid was administered without any hospital monitoring. Less than eight hours later, Mr. West was found unresponsive and not breathing. Medical intervention was unsuccessful.

During the trial for Mr. West's wrongful death, Dr. Kenneth Rothfield was called as an expert witness to testify about the use of Dilaudid, which carries an FDA-mandated "Black Box Warning." Dr. Rothfield testified about the amount of IV Dilaudid Mr. West received, "Well, if you were planning on killing somebody, that would be a dose that would be expected to do the job."

The Alabama Supreme Court unanimously agreed that Springhill Medical Center breached the standard of care.

Attorney Brian Duncan of Cunningham Bounds, who represented the West family and was joined by Attorney Robert Mitchell and Attorney David Wirtes stated, "Mrs. West deeply values the dedication and bravery demonstrated by every juror involved in the case. She expresses her heartfelt gratitude for the Alabama Supreme Court's affirmance of the Mobile County Circuit Court's rulings. After a nine-year journey, justice has at last been served for her husband's tragic and entirely avoidable death."

Cunningham Bounds remains focused on and committed to fighting for plaintiffs in cases involving serious personal injury, wrongful death, medical malpractice, products liability, and complex civil litigation. For more information on Cunningham Bounds, visit: www.cunninghambounds.com

The law firm of Cunningham Bounds has offices in Mobile, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia and has been representing plaintiffs for over 60 years. Today the firm continues its tradition of representing victims in cases involving catastrophic personal injury, industrial accidents, defective products, truck and automobile accidents, and medical malpractice. The firm also has expertise in business litigation, complex litigation, and national and state class action litigation involving defective products and consumer fraud.

For more information, contact:

Lauren Hart

[email protected]

251.471.6191

SOURCE Cunningham Bounds
SAN PEDRO GARZA GARCIA, Mexico, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cydsa, S.A.B. de C.V. ("Cydsa") (BMV: CYDSASA) announced today that it has commenced a tender offer to purchase for cash (the "Tender Offer") up to an aggregate principal amount of its 6.250% Senior Notes due 2027 (the "Notes") that will not result in the Aggregate Purchase Price (as defined below) for the Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdraw) and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offer to exceed U.S.$100 million (such amount, as may be modified by Cydsa in its sole discretion, the "Maximum Amount"). The Tender Offer is being made pursuant to the terms of an Offer to Purchase, dated September 7, 2023 (as may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the "Offer to Purchase"), and is subject to certain conditions.

The Tender Offer will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on October 5, 2023, unless extended or earlier terminated by Cydsa in its sole discretion (such time and date, as the same may be extended, the "Expiration Time"). In order for holders of Notes to be eligible to receive the Total Consideration (as defined below) for their Notes, such holders must validly tender (and not validly withdraw) such Notes at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on September 20, 2023, unless extended by Cydsa in its sole discretion (such time and date, as the same may be extended, the "Early Tender Time"). Holders that tender Notes after the Early Tender Time but at or prior to the Expiration Time will only be eligible to receive the Tender Offer Consideration (as defined below), which does not include the Early Tender Payment (as defined below).

The consideration for each U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) at or prior to the Early Tender Time and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offer (the "Total Consideration") is U.S.$955.00, which includes a payment equal to U.S.$50.00 per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Tender Offer (the "Early Tender Payment"). Holders who tender (and do not validly withdraw) their Notes after the Early Tender Time but at or prior to the Expiration Time will be eligible to receive consideration (the "Tender Offer Consideration"), equal to (i) the Total Consideration minus (ii) the Early Tender Payment, on the Final Settlement Date (as defined below). The Total Consideration and the Tender Offer Consideration will be payable in cash in U.S. dollars. Holders will also receive accrued and unpaid interest from the last interest payment date up to, but not including, the applicable Settlement Date (as defined below) for the Notes accepted for purchase (the "Accrued Interest"). The aggregate amount of Tender Offer Consideration and Total Consideration that holders of Notes are entitled to receive, excluding Accrued Interest, for Notes that are validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted for purchase by Cydsa is referred to as the "Aggregate Purchase Price." The following table describes certain terms of the Tender Offer:

Title of Securities Outstanding

Principal Amount Tender Offer

Consideration(1) Early Tender

Payment(1)(2) Total

Consideration(1)(3) 6.250% Senior Notes due 2027

(CUSIP/ISIN: 232553AA5 /

US232553AA57 (Rule 144A);

P3R26HAA8 / USP3R26HAA81

(Reg S)) U.S.$

US$331,675,000.00 U.S.$905.00 U.S.$50.00 U.S.$955.00

______ (1) Consideration in the form of cash per U.S.$1,000 principal amount of Notes that are validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn). Excludes Accrued Interest, if any, which will be paid in addition to the Tender Offer Consideration or Total Consideration, as applicable. (2) The Early Tender Payment will be payable to Holders who validly tender (and not validly withdraw) Notes on or prior to the Early Tender Time. (3) Includes the Early Tender Payment for Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdraw) on or prior to the Early Tender Time

On any business day following the Early Tender Time and before the Expiration Time, Cydsa will have the right, but not the obligation, to accept for purchase any Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) at or prior to the Early Tender Time (the settlement date of such purchase being referred to as the "Early Settlement Date"), subject to the Maximum Amount and proration. The Early Settlement Date with respect to the Tender Offer will be determined at Cydsa's option, subject to all conditions to the Tender Offer having been either satisfied or waived by Cydsa. Regardless of whether Cydsa exercises its option to have an Early Settlement Date with respect to the Tender Offer, Cydsa will purchase any remaining Notes that have been validly tendered at or prior to the Expiration Time and that Cydsa chooses to accept for purchase, subject to all conditions to the Tender Offer having been either satisfied or waived by Cydsa, within three business days following the Expiration Time or as promptly as practicable thereafter (the settlement date of such purchase being referred to as the "Final Settlement Date"; the Final Settlement Date and the Early Settlement Date, each being referred to as a "Settlement Date"), subject to the Maximum Amount and proration.

If the purchase of all Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) at or prior to the Early Tender Time would cause Cydsa to accept for purchase an aggregate principal amount of Notes that results in an Aggregate Purchase Price in excess of the Maximum Amount, then the Tender Offer will be oversubscribed at the Early Tender Time and, assuming satisfaction or waiver of the conditions to the Tender Offer and if Cydsa elects to have an Early Settlement Date, Cydsa will purchase on the Early Settlement Date, Notes validly tendered (and not validly withdrawn) at or prior to the Early Tender Time and accepted for purchase on a prorated basis according to the principal amount of such Notes, such that Cydsa purchases an aggregate principal amount of Notes that results in an Aggregate Purchase Price that does not exceed the Maximum Amount. Accordingly, if the Maximum Amount is reached in respect of tenders made at or prior to the Early Tender Time and Cydsa elects to have an Early Settlement Date, no Notes tendered after the Early Tender Time will be accepted for purchase.

Tendered Notes may be withdrawn in accordance with the terms of the Tender Offer prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on September 20, 2023, unless extended by Cydsa in its sole discretion (such time and date, as the same may be extended, the "Withdrawal Deadline"), but not thereafter. The Early Tender Time and/or Expiration Time Offer can be extended independently of the Withdrawal Deadline (as defined below) for such Offer and the Early Tender Time, Expiration Time or Withdrawal Deadline with respect to any other Offer.

Cydsa's obligation to accept for purchase, and to pay for, any Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn pursuant to the Tender Offer is conditioned upon the satisfaction or, when applicable, waiver of certain customary conditions, which are more fully described in the Offer to Purchase.

In addition, subject to applicable law, Cydsa reserves the right, in its sole discretion, at any time (i) to waive any condition to the Tender Offer, (ii) to amend any of the terms of the Tender Offer, (iii) to terminate the Tender Offer; (iv) to increase or modify the Maximum Amount, (v) to extend the Withdrawal Deadline, (vi) to extend or amend the Early Tender Time or the Expiration Time, or (vii) to modify the Tender Offer Consideration or the Early Tender Payment, in each case (other than clause (v)) without extending the Withdrawal Deadline or otherwise reinstating withdrawal rights of holders.

Santander US Capital Markets LLC is acting as the sole dealer manager for the Tender Offer and can be contacted with questions regarding the Tender Offer at the following telephone numbers: +1 (212) 940-1442 (collect) or +1 (855) 404-3636 (toll free) or at the following email: [email protected].

Copies of the Offer to Purchase are available to holders of Notes from D.F. King & Co., Inc., the information agent and the tender agent for the Tender Offer. Requests for copies of the Offer to Purchase should be directed to D.F. King at +1 (800) 628-8510 (toll free), +1 (212) 232-3233 (collect) or [email protected].

Neither the Offer to Purchase nor any related documents have been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, nor have any such documents been filed with or reviewed by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority of any country. No authority has passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of the Offer to Purchase or any related documents, and it is unlawful and may be a criminal offense to make any representation to the contrary.

The Tender Offer is being made solely on the terms and conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase. Under no circumstances shall this press release constitute an offer to buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell the Notes or any other securities of Cydsa or any of its affiliates. The Tender Offer is not being made to, nor will Cydsa accept tenders of Notes from, holders in any jurisdiction in which the Tender Offer would not be in compliance with the securities laws of such jurisdiction. No recommendation is made as to whether holders should tender their Notes with respect to the Notes. Holders should carefully read the Offer to Purchase because it contains important information, including the various terms and conditions of the Tender Offer.

About Cydsa

Cydsa is a Mexico-based holding company, headquartered in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo Leon, operating through subsidiaries located in eight cities throughout Mexico, engaged in the industrial sector. Since the incorporation of the company in 1945, Cydsa has grown into a diversified company and Cydsa's current products and services range from edible salt to specialty chemicals for diverse industries to clean energy alternatives and hydrocarbon storage. Cydsa sells over 100 different products in more than 15 countries, including Mexico, the United States, Canada, Central America, South America and Europe. As part of Cydsa's strategy, it offers the first system in Mexico and Latin America dedicated to processing and underground storage of hydrocarbons in salt caverns, offering clean, efficient and safe storage of hydrocarbons, while helping reduce the hydrocarbon storage deficit in Mexico. Cydsa currently operates through its chemical manufacturing and specialties business group and its energy processing and logistics business group.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Cydsa's perspectives and expectations, are forward-looking statements. All statements that express belief, expectation, estimates or intentions, as well as those that are not statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Such statements use forward-looking words such as "proposed," "anticipate," "project," "potential," "could," "should," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "may," "believe," "will," "plan," "seek," "outlook" and other similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. Cydsa cautions you not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Although the expectations in the forward-looking statements are based on Cydsa's current beliefs and expectations, caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements because such statements speak only as of the date hereof. Except as required by federal and state securities laws, Cydsa undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason.

Contact: Oscar Abundio Casas Kirchner

Corporate Finance Director

[email protected]

+52 (81) 8152-4500

SOURCE Cydsa, S.A.B. de C.V.
Partnership will provide up to 18 electric school buses and 20 charging ports for exclusive use by the Dearborn Public Schools

BEVERLY, Mass., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Michigan's third-largest school district, Dearborn Public Schools, is partnering with Highland Electric Fleets , the leading provider of school bus fleet Electrification-as-a-Service in North America to deploy up to nine standard capacity Type D electric buses and up to nine lift-equipped special needs Type D buses. The buses will be provided by local Michigan Blue Bird bus dealer, Holland Bus Company. Over the course of a multi-year contract, 10 dual-port 60 kW chargers will be installed as part of this initiative to support fleet electrification, bringing cleaner transportation to students.

"The District is excited to take these first steps as part of our efforts to explore how electric buses can best meet the transportation needs of our students," said David Mustonen, Director of Communications at Dearborn Public Schools.

Backed by $7.1 million from EPA's Clean School Bus Rebate Program, Dearborn Schools is the third largest award recipient in the state, serving 37 schools with more than 20,000 students.

"Dearborn is dedicated to providing an outstanding educational experience for its students. Highland is thrilled to partner with the district and Holland Bus Company to help the transportation program reflect this commitment to excellence," said Michael Callender, Director of Fleet Solutions at Highland. "We're on a mission to make school bus electrification accessible and affordable for schools across the country, and bringing in electric school buses to improve air quality for the community continues the long history of automotive innovation and leadership in the hometown of Henry Ford."

Highland's comprehensive Electrification-as-a-Service offering delivers all the elements for fleet electrification including design, configuration, construction, utility engagement, fleet management, and maintenance over the course of a 15-year contract.

About Highland Electric Fleets

Highland Electric Fleets is the leading provider of electrification-as-a-service for school districts, governments, and fleet operators in North America. Founded in 2019, Highland offers a unique suite of products that make it simple and affordable to upgrade to electric fleets today. Active in 30 states and Canada, Highland is responsible for the first use of electric school buses in a commercial vehicle-to-grid (V2G) program and the largest electric school bus project in the United States to date. To learn more, visit www.highlandfleets.com .

About Dearborn Schools District

Dearborn Public Schools is the third largest school district in Michigan with more than 20,000 students. The district operates 37 schools across 36 buildings. We provide services ranging from the free preschool for qualified families to free early college programs that allow any able high school student to earn an associate degree or trade certificate before they graduate high school.

We take to heart our mission, which is  Students First: Inspire, Educate, Celebrate.

Media Contacts

Mission Control Communications | Highland

[email protected]

David Mustonen | Dearborn Schools District

[email protected]

SOURCE Highland Electric Fleets
Key highlights:

R eports record FY2023 revenue of US$64.9 billion , a 14.9% increase in local currency

Workforce expanded to approximately 457,000 globally

NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Deloitte today reported aggregate global revenue of US$64.9 billion for the fiscal year ending 31 May 2023 (FY2023), a 14.9% increase in local currency (and 9.3% increase in USD) from FY2022.

"In an environment of increasing complexity and an accelerated pace of technology-driven change around the globe, Deloitte's unrivaled breadth of expertise within our multidisciplinary model continues to differentiate us in the marketplace," says Joe Ucuzoglu, Deloitte Global CEO. "This is an environment that places increasing value on diversity of thought and interdisciplinary solutions, playing directly to our strengths. Amidst transformative advances in technology and a dynamic economic and geopolitical landscape, our people take great pride in upholding the public's trust and helping clients and communities successfully navigate many of the most complex challenges of our time."

Delivering impact, embedding purpose in all that we do

Deloitte's business success is underpinned by our commitment to embedding our purposeto make an impact that mattersin everything we do. We also draw strength from our multidisciplinary model, which brings together the breadth and depth of experience and capabilities across our global organization to address both the near- and long-term forces reshaping business and society. This integrated approach enables us to bring our purpose to life and deliver significant impact for our stakeholders.

Navigating digital disruption and embracing generative AI: As the pace of digital transformation continues to accelerate, companies across industries and markets should carefully navigate the powerful pull of technological change. In guiding clients through these times of disruption, we draw on our strong ecosystem of alliances with many of the world's leading technology providers. During the past year, Deloitte also established emerging alliances with a number of innovative tech newcomers. From cloud migration to digital transformation, and from AI-driven change to workforce reinvention, the combined power of our alliance relationships helps enable us to deliver solutions that add value at each stage of a company's journey.



Deloitte is actively incorporating generative AI into our own platforms to optimize the way we deliver services, and helping our clients take full advantage of this transformative technology. As one example of our leadership in this area, we recently announced an expansion of our strategic alliance with NVIDIA to use AI technology and expertise to build high-performing generative AI solutions for enterprise software platforms to help unlock significant business value. As we work in this complicated, quickly changing landscape, we are guided by our Ethical Technology Principles, which reflect our commitment to ensuring Deloitte's creation and use of technology are trustworthy.





As the pace of digital transformation continues to accelerate, companies across industries and markets should carefully navigate the powerful pull of technological change. In guiding clients through these times of disruption, we draw on our strong ecosystem of alliances with many of the world's leading technology providers. During the past year, Deloitte also established emerging alliances with a number of innovative tech newcomers. From cloud migration to digital transformation, and from AI-driven change to workforce reinvention, the combined power of our alliance relationships helps enable us to deliver solutions that add value at each stage of a company's journey. Deloitte is actively incorporating generative AI into our own platforms to optimize the way we deliver services, and helping our clients take full advantage of this transformative technology. As one example of our leadership in this area, we recently announced an expansion of our strategic alliance with NVIDIA to use AI technology and expertise to build high-performing generative AI solutions for enterprise software platforms to help unlock significant business value. As we work in this complicated, quickly changing landscape, we are guided by our Ethical Technology Principles, which reflect our commitment to ensuring Deloitte's creation and use of technology are trustworthy. Embedding continuous advantage: Widespread digitization and ever-changing disruptive technologiesalong with evolving regulatory and risk requirements, talent shortages, and the need for increasingly specialized skill setsalso create challenges when it comes to how companies run their operations. Over the past year, we continued to expand our Operate services as an integral piece of our strategy to integrate it with our Advise and Implement services, helping organizations transform and advance critical business functions to increase operational efficiency, add value, and embed continuous advantage into their operations to drive better business outcomes. Our Operate delivery network includes leading professionals, leveraging Deloitte's proprietary digital platforms, working from nearly 60 centers around the world and supporting delivery in approximately 15 languages.



With the right mix of globally available and scalable, hard-to-source domain and industry talent, technology, and transformation experience, Deloitte has helped companies tackle some of their toughest challenges in mission-critical areas of business, such as cybersecurity, tax, and risk. For instance, Operate teams have helped clients respond to ransomware attacks and provide 24/7 cybersecurity monitoring, deliver ongoing efficiencies to streamline regulatory filings using AI-enabled platforms, and continually monitor multi-tier global supplier networks for potential disruptions while driving strategies to proactively mitigate them.





Widespread digitization and ever-changing disruptive technologiesalong with evolving regulatory and risk requirements, talent shortages, and the need for increasingly specialized skill setsalso create challenges when it comes to how companies run their operations. Over the past year, we continued to expand our Operate services as an integral piece of our strategy to integrate it with our Advise and Implement services, helping organizations transform and advance critical business functions to increase operational efficiency, add value, and embed continuous advantage into their operations to drive better business outcomes. Our Operate delivery network includes leading professionals, leveraging Deloitte's proprietary digital platforms, working from nearly 60 centers around the world and supporting delivery in approximately 15 languages. With the right mix of globally available and scalable, hard-to-source domain and industry talent, technology, and transformation experience, Deloitte has helped companies tackle some of their toughest challenges in mission-critical areas of business, such as cybersecurity, tax, and risk. For instance, Operate teams have helped clients respond to ransomware attacks and provide 24/7 cybersecurity monitoring, deliver ongoing efficiencies to streamline regulatory filings using AI-enabled platforms, and continually monitor multi-tier global supplier networks for potential disruptions while driving strategies to proactively mitigate them. Powering meaningful, measurable climate action: Tackling climate change requires sophisticated solutions. Over the past year, Deloitte's Global Sustainability & Climate practice has worked with clients spanning industries and geographies to turn their climate commitments into climate action. Teams from across our businesses helped drive meaningful advances in clients' climate transformationsfrom embedding sustainability into their strategies and operations to measuring and reporting on their progress.



For example, we have guided clients in developing actionable paths to net-zero through Deloitte's GreenLight Solution decarbonization tool and helped them accelerate decarbonization and value creation by bringing together climate technology ecosystems in a systematic, purposeful way through GreenSpace Tech, both launched in 2023. As global business leaders reevaluate their approach to value creation to consider sustainability and a broader set of stakeholders, we also introduced Deloitte's Sustainable Value Map, designed to help expand collective thinking about how an organization's value can be defined and improved in a sustainable world.



Stakeholders are increasingly calling on companies to report transparently on a broad set of financial and non-financial key value drivers. Deloitte is a visible leader in this area, reporting our performance against the World Economic Forum (WEF) stakeholder capitalism metrics (SCM) and aligning with the Global Reporting Initiative. We earned an A- rating from CDP for our FY22 response to its climate change questionnaire. In addition, Deloitte is continuing to make disclosures in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. Together with the coalition of companies supporting the WEF SCM initiative, we have continued to advocate for a comprehensive global baseline for sustainability reporting based on the International Sustainability Standards Board's (ISSB's) standards. We also collaborate with the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) on its mission to build a coordinated global effort within the private sector to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future.

Powering business growth

Among Deloitte's businesses, Consulting revenue grew fastest at 19.1% in local currency, followed by Risk Advisory, which grew 17.5%. Among the regions, the Americas grew the fastest at 17.5%, followed by EMEA at 12.6%.

Consistent with the critical importance to society of the work we do across our practices, we strive to execute with the highest ethics and integrity and set the standard for quality in everything we do.

Audit & Assurance continued its commitment to delivering high-quality audits with integrity and professionalism and upholding Deloitte's vital role in the effective functioning of the capital markets. Our practitioners have supported organizations in navigating the changing landscape of stakeholder needs for more holistic reporting on their business model resilience and broader societal objectives. We delivered a broad range of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) services, including materiality and gap readiness assessment, disclosure preparation, and assurance. We have been recognized for our leading-edge technology and innovative culture, with Deloitte Omnia's ESG capabilities receiving recognition as a data-fueled solution that helps us transform ESG information into insights for clients and deliver with greater quality, effectiveness, efficiency, and perspective. Audit & Assurance revenue grew 13.8% in local currency.





continued its commitment to delivering high-quality audits with integrity and professionalism and upholding Deloitte's vital role in the effective functioning of the capital markets. Our practitioners have supported organizations in navigating the changing landscape of stakeholder needs for more holistic reporting on their business model resilience and broader societal objectives. We delivered a broad range of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) services, including materiality and gap readiness assessment, disclosure preparation, and assurance. We have been recognized for our leading-edge technology and innovative culture, with ESG capabilities receiving recognition as a data-fueled solution that helps us transform ESG information into insights for clients and deliver with greater quality, effectiveness, efficiency, and perspective. Audit & Assurance revenue grew 13.8% in local currency. Consulting made bold investments in digital capabilities over the past year, enabling our practitioners to help clients address the challenges and opportunities raised by disruptive technologies such as generative AI, 5G, quantum computing, and the metaverse. We launched Unlimited Reality to guide clients into the era of spatial computing, creating their own metaverse solutions to simulate the future of business, as well as a Generative AI practice to help them to exponentially enhance productivity and accelerate the pace of business innovation. Additionally, Deloitte has been ranked the number one consulting service provider worldwide by revenue, for the sixth consecutive year, in the Gartner Market Share report. Consulting revenue grew 19.1% in local currency.





made bold investments in digital capabilities over the past year, enabling our practitioners to help clients address the challenges and opportunities raised by disruptive technologies such as generative AI, 5G, quantum computing, and the metaverse. We launched Unlimited Reality to guide clients into the era of spatial computing, creating their own metaverse solutions to simulate the future of business, as well as a Generative AI practice to help them to exponentially enhance productivity and accelerate the pace of business innovation. Additionally, Deloitte has been ranked the number one consulting service provider worldwide by revenue, for the sixth consecutive year, in the Gartner Market Share report. Consulting revenue grew 19.1% in local currency. Financial Advisory practitioners served as trusted advisors to clients, creating and preserving value in a complex and constantly changing environment. Our Mergers and Acquisitions practice continued to grow despite market volatility, and our Turnaround and Restructuring specialists helped companies navigate banking industry turbulence. Our Forensic practice pioneered digital and AI solutions with public and private sector organizations, addressing financial crime and navigating fraud , waste, and abuse. We have advised clients on strategies to drive sustainability and climate solutions, model net-zero transformations, and strengthen stakeholder trust. Financial Advisory revenue grew 4.7% in local currency.





practitioners served as trusted advisors to clients, creating and preserving value in a complex and constantly changing environment. Our Mergers and Acquisitions practice continued to grow despite market volatility, and our Turnaround and Restructuring specialists helped companies navigate banking industry turbulence. Our Forensic practice pioneered digital and AI solutions with public and private sector organizations, addressing financial crime and navigating , waste, and abuse. We have advised clients on strategies to drive sustainability and climate solutions, model net-zero transformations, and strengthen stakeholder trust. Financial Advisory revenue grew 4.7% in local currency. Risk Advisory continued to drive transformative change for clients, focused on solutions to address the ever-evolving global risk and regulatory landscape. Our Cyber business employs leading-edge technology to help clients protect against, and respond to, an array of cyber risks, while also building business strategies that embed cyber and enable businesses to stay ahead of those risks. With our latest Cyber offeringsManaged Extended Detection and Response and Digital Identitywe bring together experienced practitioners, processes, and market-leading technology to embed 24/7 vigilance globally for clients. Our Sustainability & Climate offering gives practitioners access to leading-edge technology and smart business solutions while helping enable organizations to succeed in a low-carbon, climate-resilient world. Risk Advisory revenue grew 17.5% in local currency.





continued to drive transformative change for clients, focused on solutions to address the ever-evolving global risk and regulatory landscape. Our Cyber business employs leading-edge technology to help clients protect against, and respond to, an array of cyber risks, while also building business strategies that embed cyber and enable businesses to stay ahead of those risks. With our latest Cyber offeringsManaged Extended Detection and Response and Digital Identitywe bring together experienced practitioners, processes, and market-leading technology to embed 24/7 vigilance globally for clients. Our Sustainability & Climate offering gives practitioners access to leading-edge technology and smart business solutions while helping enable organizations to succeed in a low-carbon, climate-resilient world. Risk Advisory revenue grew 17.5% in local currency. Tax continued to support clients with their increasingly complex tax compliance obligations, while helping them to understand and navigate the impact of the rapidly shifting regulatory, geopolitical, and economic landscape. Among these complex shifts, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) proposed Pillar Two rules to address the digital economy and the digitalization of tax authorities are driving demand for a range of advisory, compliance, and technology consulting services from multinationals. Our practitioners also supported clients with the transformation of tax operating models, including the need for data quality and access, and helped them anticipate the jurisdictional tax implications of M&A activity, supply chain reconfigurations, and other important business change events.



Legal helped clients navigate the pace of regulatory change, which has resulted in more complex legal issues, along with the pronounced impact of digitization on legal solutions across their organizations. Deloitte's Legal practice also continued to work with clients on workforce policies to accommodate the now permanent reality of remote and hybrid working and to navigate employment laws that could affect employees' rights and well-being.



Tax & Legal revenue grew 9.1% in local currency.

Grounded in our values, supporting our people

From equity in education and health, to inclusion at work, to meeting urgent needs related to humanitarian crises, we actively engage in addressing and creating solutions to the most pressing challenges facing society. These challenges are deeply human, impact billions of people, and require long-term, transformative system solutions. They cannot be solved by any single individual or organization. Deloitte's approach is to help lead the way and inspire powerful collaborations that enable our people to work with clients and communities on shared solutions.

Strengthening society

Over the past year, we have invested our know-how and resources, including our people's time through pro bono work and volunteering, to tackle systemic problems in communities around the world. To further scale and accelerate these efforts, Deloitte also made a worldwide commitment to invest more than $3 billion over the next 10 years in societal impact.

World Climate : Our environmental sustainability ambition, World Climate , consists of a two-pronged approach: actions we take and actions we inspire. Recognizing that collective action is required to effectively tackle the climate crisis, and building on our sustainability and climate practice to serve clients, Deloitte has committed to science-based 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets and to setting long-term targets as part of our journey to net-zero. We are also extending our impact beyond ourselves by empowering our people, influencing our suppliers, and engaging across the broader ecosystem. We are embedding sustainability into policies and practices throughout our organization and measuring performance against our goals. For instance, we are actively working with our supply chain on setting science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets.





Our environmental sustainability ambition, World , consists of a two-pronged approach: actions we take and actions we inspire. Recognizing that collective action is required to effectively tackle the climate crisis, and building on our sustainability and climate practice to serve clients, Deloitte has committed to science-based 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets and to setting long-term targets as part of our journey to net-zero. We are also extending our impact beyond ourselves by empowering our people, influencing our suppliers, and engaging across the broader ecosystem. We are embedding sustainability into policies and practices throughout our organization and measuring performance against our goals. For instance, we are actively working with our supply chain on setting science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets. World Class : Our Worl dClas s ambition is to impact 100 million futures by 2030 through programs and collaborations with leading education and skills building organizations, working with clients, governments, innovators, schools, universities, and nonprofit organizations around the world. We invest our people's time, provide volunteers, and donate funds to support millions of students, teachers, and education leaders worldwide. We are scaling solutions that have helped to propel more than 57 million individuals forward since 2017. For examples of Deloitte's impact, our original documentary series features four young adults from different continents sharing their stories and aspirations for the future.





Our Worl s ambition is to impact 100 million futures by 2030 through programs and collaborations with leading education and skills building organizations, working with clients, governments, innovators, schools, universities, and nonprofit organizations around the world. We invest our people's time, provide volunteers, and donate funds to support millions of students, teachers, and education leaders worldwide. We are scaling solutions that have helped to propel more than 57 million individuals forward since 2017. For examples of Deloitte's impact, our original documentary series features four young adults from different continents sharing their stories and aspirations for the future. Helping those impacted by conflict and humanitarian crises: During the past year, we were reminded of the collective impact we can make when our people around the world come together in common cause, providing help to our colleagues and those impacted by humanitarian crises. As the war in Ukraine continues, Deloitte and our people have demonstrated unwavering solidarity and support for Ukrainians, including providing financial donations, pro bono services, and volunteer work. In response to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria , funding from Deloitte, along with other donors, has helped address critical immediate needs for first aid, shelter, food, and financial assistance.





During the past year, we were reminded of the collective impact we can make when our people around the world come together in common cause, providing help to our colleagues and those impacted by humanitarian crises. As the war in continues, Deloitte and our people have demonstrated unwavering solidarity and support for Ukrainians, including providing financial donations, pro bono services, and volunteer work. In response to the earthquake in and , funding from Deloitte, along with other donors, has helped address critical immediate needs for first aid, shelter, food, and financial assistance. Deloitte Health Equity Institutes (DHEIs): During the past year, we launched DHEIs in Europe and Spanish Latin America to complement our established DHEIs in Africa , India , and the US. Each of the DHEIs advances an array of cross-sector collaborations, philanthropic investments, and research activities. In addition, Deloitte is honored to be a signatory of the Zero Health Gaps Pledge, the first global, multi-sector, CEO-level pledge to help advance health equity, which was launched by the Global Health Equity Network at the 2023 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos .

Supporting our people

Deloitte is also focused on supporting and developing our 457,000 people around the world, including continuing to provide career opportunities, resources, and an inclusive culture to help our people thrive.

Learning & Development (L&D): With market realities and client needs changing rapidly, driven largely by advances in AI and other technologies, L&D is key. We continue to evolve our approach, with a focus on promoting agility, strengthening capabilities around critical challenges facing clients and our global society, and delivering tech-focused upskilling and reskilling that rides the wave of innovation sweeping across so many aspects of life. This includes skills training around AI, cloud, cyber, and ESG, as well as "hiring to train" programs in which future Deloitte professionals earn the credentials and on-the-job experiences they need to succeed in future roles. We have continued to expand our investment in the global footprint of our Deloitte University Leadership Centers around the world. Since opening the Westlake, Texas location in 2011, we've launched five additional facilities around the world: Brussels , Hyderabad , Mexico City , Singapore , and Toronto and have new sites under construction in Beijing and Paris . In 2023 we also broke ground on a significant expansion of the original facility in Texas .





With market realities and client needs changing rapidly, driven largely by advances in AI and other technologies, L&D is key. We continue to evolve our approach, with a focus on promoting agility, strengthening capabilities around critical challenges facing clients and our global society, and delivering tech-focused upskilling and reskilling that rides the wave of innovation sweeping across so many aspects of life. This includes skills training around AI, cloud, cyber, and ESG, as well as "hiring to train" programs in which future Deloitte professionals earn the credentials and on-the-job experiences they need to succeed in future roles. We have continued to expand our investment in the global footprint of our Deloitte University Leadership Centers around the world. Since opening the location in 2011, we've launched five additional facilities around the world: , , , , and and have new sites under construction in and . In 2023 we also broke ground on a significant expansion of the original facility in . Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI): Through our global DEI strategy, we seek to provide a workplace culture founded on respect and characterized by inclusive behaviors and an appreciation for all forms of diversity. Our global strategy is built around core pillars, which were recently expanded to include disability inclusion and neurodiversity. Aligned to these pillars, this year we became a proud signatory of the International Labour Organization's Global Business and Disability Network Charter.





Through our global DEI strategy, we seek to provide a workplace culture founded on respect and characterized by inclusive behaviors and an appreciation for all forms of diversity. Our global strategy is built around core pillars, which were recently expanded to include disability inclusion and neurodiversity. Aligned to these pillars, this year we became a proud signatory of the International Labour Organization's Global Business and Disability Network Charter. Mental health and well-being: We believe that supporting mental health and well-being is critical to attracting and retaining the best people and helping them be their authentic and productive selves today and into the future. In January 2021 we introduced a mental health baseline that sets clear expectations around mental health at Deloitte in every country in which we operate. As of March 2023 , all Deloitte member firms had successfully met the baseline. We are proud to be a Founding Partner of the Global Business Collaboration for Better Workplace Mental Health, a global business-led initiative designed to advocate for and accelerate positive change for mental health in the workplace.

Note: Deloitte's 2023 Global Impact Report will be released later this year.

About Deloitte

"Deloitte," "us," "we" and "our" refer to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ("DTTL"), its global network of member firms, and their related entities (collectively, the "Deloitte organization"). DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") and each of its member firms and related entities are legally separate and independent entities, which cannot obligate or bind each other in respect of third parties. DTTL and each DTTL member firm and related entity is liable only for its own acts and omissions, and not those of each other. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more.

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit and assurance, tax and legal, consulting, financial advisory, and risk advisory services to nearly 90% of the Fortune Global 500 and thousands of private companies. Our professionals deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in capital markets, enable clients to transform and thrive, and lead the way toward a stronger economy, a more equitable society, and a sustainable world. Building on its 175-plus year history, Deloitte spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte's approximately 457,000 people worldwide make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com.

About Deloitte Legal

Deloitte Legal means the legal practices of DTTL member firms, their affiliates or their related entities that provide legal services. The exact nature of these relationships and provision of legal services differs by jurisdiction, to allow compliance with local laws and professional regulations. For legal, regulatory, and other reasons, not all member firms, their affiliates or their related entities provide legal services or are associated with Deloitte Legal practices.

SOURCE Deloitte
Expansion into Rome highlights Digital Realty's integrated strategy across the Mediterranean, enhancing its ability to meet growing customer demand in the region

ROME, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), the largest global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, today announced its expansion into the Italian market following the acquisition and pre-development planning of land in Rome.

Digital Realty's expansion into Rome will further strengthen its position as the leading provider of digital infrastructure capacity in the Mediterranean region, building on its existing presence in Athens, Marseille, and Zagreb, as well as hubs currently under development in Barcelona, Crete, and Tel Aviv. Situated in the middle of three continents, the Mediterranean has become the gateway between Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and is attracting major intercontinental and regional subsea cable systems, creating one of the most important interconnection and digital traffic exchange areas in the world.

Rome is the European Union's third largest city in terms of population and Italy's second largest by gross domestic product. Its strategic geographical location makes the city well-placed to grow its role as a global connectivity hub, complementing Milan, as well as increasing the resilience of Italy's national and international network infrastructure. More importantly, it also helps the city play a key role as a major connectivity hub in the center of the Mediterranean.

Digital Realty's vision for the Italian capital as a key Mediterranean connectivity hub is aligned with that of NAMEX, Rome's Internet Exchange. "Digital Realty and NAMEX have a common goal of transforming Rome into a leading global interconnection hub," commented Maurizio Goretti, CEO, NAMEX. Goretti continued: "Digital Realty's pedigree in developing highly connected data communities in carrier-neutral connectivity hubs is a critical ingredient in the achievement of this goal."

The first data center (ROM1) is designed as a tier four facility, as classified by the Uptime Institute. Construction is expected to commence in Q4 2023. The site, which covers 22 hectares of land (approximately 220,000 square meters) is located within 15 kilometers of the coast, making it an ideal interconnection point for future subsea cables that will land in Rome.

Jan-Pieter Anten, Group Managing Director EMEA, Digital Realty said: "Developing our first data center in Rome is an important part of our integrated strategy across the Mediterranean and strengthens our leadership position in the region. It represents a significant expansion of PlatformDIGITAL , Digital Realty's global data center platform, further supporting our customers as they rapidly deploy their critical infrastructure at the heart of a growing connected data community."

Alessandro Talotta, Managing Director, Digital Realty in Italy, added: "The delivery of a carrier-neutral facility in Rome will help enable the digital transformation strategies of local enterprises and global customers in the region. Our customers will greatly benefit from the facility being highly connected to both terrestrial and subsea cable networks."

About Digital Realty

Digital Realty brings companies and data together by delivering the full spectrum of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL, the company's global data center platform, provides customers with a secure data meeting place and a proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx) solution methodology for powering innovation and efficiently managing Data Gravity challenges. Digital Realty gives its customers access to the connected data communities that matter to them with a global data center footprint of 300+ facilities in 50+ metros across 27 countries on six continents. To learn more about Digital Realty, please visit digitalrealty.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

For Additional Information

Media Contacts

Will Reynolds

Digital Realty

[email protected]

Investor Relations

Jordan Sadler / Jim Huseby

Digital Realty

+1 737 281 0101

[email protected]

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially, including statements related to the company's development plans in Italy, its strategy in the Mediterranean, and customer demand in Italy. For a list and description of risks and uncertainties, see the reports and other filings by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 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.

SOURCE Digital Realty
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Statements, rhetoric, and provocations of Armenia undermine sustainable peace in the region, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said at the meeting with the special representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations Igor Khovaev, Trend reports.

According to the minister, statements, rhetoric and provocations of the Armenian side that undermine the peace agenda and directed against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan also undermine efforts and initiatives to establish lasting peace in the region.

The minister also emphasized the inadmissibility of Armenias interference in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan.
Marketers can now measure omni-channel advertising performance more accurately and effectively by combining Comcast's aggregate viewership data and Dynata's real-time survey data

DALLAS, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dynata, the world's largest first-party data company for insights, activation and measurement, today announced a partnership to license and incorporate Comcast data into Dynata's advertising solutions product suite.

As a result, marketers for the first time can combine the accuracy and depth of Comcast's aggregate viewership data with Dynata's real-time survey data to assess the performance of their marketing efforts across broadcast, cable, streaming and addressable television. The joint solution provides a single-source, consented, panel-based TV measurement approach that improves marketers' decision-making around advertising performance, when comparing the relative strength of video assets' performance across all screens and devices.

"We're very excited to support Dynata in their efforts to enable marketers to better measure the impact of their media investment and understand consumer perceptions, favorability and intent," said Larry Allen, VP & GM, Addressable Enablement, Comcast Advertising. "Our ecosystem is stronger when marketers and media owners have a clear understanding of how cross-media campaigns perform and how their brand messages impact consumers."

This partnership underscores both companies' desire to further improve and accelerate innovation in audience-based measurement across media channels, while empowering marketers to derive a much more confident picture of their cross-screen media investment.

"Partnering with Comcast to enhance our advertising solutions product suite is a strategic investment in our commitment to deliver innovative products that help our customers make practical marketing decisions through the highest quality and scalable passive television viewership data sets," said Eric Sandberg, managing director of Dynata's global advertising solutions business. "This partnership reflects Dynata's commitment to delivering customer-centric solutions that enable more accurate insights, smarter strategies and more effective campaigns."

Marketers and creative professionals build a narrative designed to be compelling, capture their audience's attention and leave a lasting impact. Dynata's increased coverage across Comcast's representative footprint enhances the stability and reliability of the inputs used to report efficacy quantified through changes in consumers' attitudes toward the advertiser. The broader reach also helps portray a comprehensive story around which channels are most appropriate and how to better personalize the messaging deployment for the highest engagement and long-term impact.

About Dynata

Dynata is the world's largest first-party data company for insights, activation and measurement. With a reach that encompasses nearly 70 million consumers and business professionals globally, and an extensive library of individual profile attributes collected through surveys, Dynata is the cornerstone for precise, trustworthy quality data. The company has built innovative data services and solutions around its robust first-party data offering to bring the voice of the customer to the entire marketing life cycle  from uncovering insights to activating campaigns and measuring cross-channel marketing ROI. Dynata serves more than 6,000 market research, media and advertising agencies, publishers, consulting and investment firms and corporate customers in North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Learn more at www.dynata.com.

About Comcast Advertising

Comcast Advertising is the advertising division of Comcast Cable. As a global leader in media, technology and advertising, Comcast Advertising fosters powerful connections between brands and their audiences as well as among publishers, distributors, MVPDs, agencies and other industry players. Effectv, its advertising sales division, helps local, regional and national advertisers connect with their audiences on every screen by using advanced data to drive targeting and measurement of their campaigns. FreeWheel, its media and technology arm, provides the technology, data enablement and convergent marketplaces required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all screens, across all data types and all sales channels, in order to ensure the ultimate goal  results for marketers. Comcast Cable, along with NBCUniversal and Sky, is part of the Comcast Corporation. Visit http://comcastadvertising.com/ to learn more.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/808175/Dynata_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Dynata
A 15 year study by Leipzig University and four other universities reveals longitudinal insights and identifies key areas of action for leaders to drive future success

BRUSSELS, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2023 edition of the European Communication Monitor (ECM) has been presented by a research group from leading universities in Germany, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Norway, and Spain today. The study is known as the world's longest running empirical study on current and future developments in strategic communication and public relations. It is based on surveys of almost 40,000 communication professionals from 50 countries.

ECM 2023 Report  available for free at www.communicationmonitor.eu Source: European Communication Monitor 2023 What keeps communicators awake at night: The five most important strategic issues for communication management since 2007 Source: European Communication Monitor 2023 EUPRERA Logo

The current edition provides unique insights by combining a look back at the most important strategic issues for communication management over 15 consecutive years with a look ahead that identifies five key areas of action for communication leaders. The outlook is based on longitudinal empirical insights from the ECM and current research literature. The authors present theses for communication leaders that stimulate reflection and debate.

The full ECM 2023 Report (PDF, 64 pp.) is available for free at www.communicationmonitor.eu.

Unique insights into a rapidly changing profession that drives our societies

Leaders in business, politics, and education are invited to download and read the European Communication Monitor 2023 report to learn about a profession that shape today's societies in a profound way.

Today's media reality with 24/7 debates on multiple channels forces businesses, non-profits, and governments alike to invest huge resources into internal and external communications with multiple stakeholders. This is the domain of communication departments and their external supporters like agencies or consultancies. The profession counts hundreds of thousands of practitioners in Europe  there are no reliable statistics, as different terms such as communication management, corporate communications, corporate affairs, organisational communication, public relations, or simply communications are used to denominate this converging field which has long outnumbered journalism in terms of employment.

Original empirical knowledge about the field is rare. Many concepts discussed have been developed in other regions, especially in the United States, without taking into account the cultural, economic, and political diversity on the Old Continent. Also, new trends are often propagated by industry studies that are hardly suitable as a basis for strategic decisions as they do not meet minimum standards of applied research.

The European Communication Monitor (ECM) has closed this gap. It started as a small academic initiative in 2007 and has grown into the largest collaborative research project in the field, now involving 28 leading universities and several partners from practice. It is the largest and longest running transnational study on strategic communication and communication management world-wide with parallel surveys in North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific, coordinated by Professor Ansgar Zerfass under the Global Communication Monitor umbrella.

The ECM is an academic study fulfilling high quality standards of social science research. It has been designed and executed by a changing team of renowned university professors representing different countries, currently: Ansgar Zerfass (Leipzig University, Germany), Dejan Vercic (University of Ljubljana, Slovenia), Angeles Moreno (University Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain), Ralph Tench (Leeds Beckett University, UK), and Alexander Buhmann (BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway). The non-profit project is formally organised by the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA) and the European Association of Communication Directors (EACD), supported by premium partner Cision as well as partners CECOMS, #NORA, and Fink & Fuchs.

What keeps communicators awake at night

The ECM has tracked the rise and decline of key issues rated as important by communicators since 2007. These unique longitudinal insights reveal how communicators across Europe started to pay attention to new developments, how they deprioritised issues after some time (probably due to a better understanding and the development of practices to deal with them), and how some issues took off again or kept their status as a key strategic issue.

The study shows that two issues have been constantly on top of the mind of communicators and they will continue to stay there at least until 2025: building and maintaining trust and linking business strategy and communication. The trust placed in organisations by their stakeholders is a valuable immaterial resource, which is often based on communication activities. It is not surprising that communicators rate building and maintaining trust as important  but the fact that they continuously prioritise it over multiple other values created by communications confirms that trust is essential for excellent organisations.

Aligning communication management with overarching organisational goals is another perennial issue. Research on future-proofing business models for communication departments; using measurement and evaluation for continuous improvement, and for benchmarking communication practices provide many solutions today, but they have probably not yet arrived in practice.

Stakeholder expectations regarding sustainability and social responsibility have also been a main concern for communicators in Europe. However, they have become less important between 2008 and 2022 and are now again among the top three strategic issues. A similar volatility, but on a higher level, applies to the assessment of challenges and opportunities related to the intensified speed and volume of information flow in a digitalised and globalised world. Last but not least, it is interesting to note that algorithmic communication has already been identified as a key strategic issue by every fourth ECM respondent in 2016  six years before ChatGPT took off in the last year.

Key insights and drivers of success for the next decade

The ECM 2023 report identifies five areas that will shape the future of strategic communication and need specific attention, based on the empirical data and current research which has been additionally evaluated. These topics are explained in the full report with references to additional sources. The authors provide three theses for each area that help readers to reflect and discuss potential initiatives in their daily practice.

1) Leverage the potential of advanced tech and data use

Digitalisation is without any doubt the most important trigger and backbone for the rapid transformation of communication departments and consultancies. This transformation goes well beyond new channels and forms of stakeholder communication. It has a fundamental impact on the structures and workflows of communication management and the communication profession as a whole.

Ansgar Zerfass, Professor and Chair of Strategic Communication at Leipzig University, Germany, states: "Never before have communication leaders faced such great opportunities and risks at the same time. CommTech, big data, and services based on artificial intelligence can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of organisational communication, but they also threaten current business models of communication departments and agencies. Concise transformation strategies adapted to the situation and courageous leadership are necessary to move forward." He outlines several theses in the ECM 2023 Report:

Digital technologies, artificial intelligence and big data change everything. Key to communicators' success is using technology beyond automated messaging for internal advising and improved workflows.

Vigorously implemented digitalisation strategies increase the digital maturity of communication units. They should focus on redesigning tasks and processes as well as breaking down structural barriers.

Cyber security is essential: protecting organisational communication infrastructure, implementing analogue back-up routines and preparing for crises triggered by cyberattacks are indispensable.

2) Develop rare competencies and new roles for professionals

Managing and executing strategic communication in a global and mediatised world is a complex task. Few other professions change so quickly. The move towards engagement across multiple media platforms, use and management of large data sets and the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) require new competencies. They need to be addressed to enable practitioners to keep up with the sector's evolution.

"These are difficult times", says Ralph Tench, Professor and Director of Research for Leeds Business School, Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom. "Holding responsibility for managing and delivering strategic communication in our global and mediatised world is challenging. Communication professionals need to ensure they develop the skills to deal with changes to their work and evolving operational environments. The ECM outlines roadmaps for developing the next generation of communicators to be high performing and equipped to meet future business, environmental and social demands." He argues that leaders should take care of those aspects:

Communication practitioners lack many of the competencies required to face the challenges and unleash the full potential of digital opportunities. More effective training for use needs to be developed.

New opportunities for communicators emerge from serving as advisors or consultants in their organisations  two roles that are expected to grow in importance in the coming years.

Increased investment in training, even for seasoned communications professionals, and new virtual formats are needed to keep communications departments and agencies at the cutting edge.

3) Reach and impact audiences in a hyperconnected world

Globalised media, analogue and digital, have produced a hyperconnected world in which communication is not only connecting people and organisations, but is becoming the very environment in which we live. Reaching and impacting audiences is becoming easier and harder for organisations at the same time. The mediatisation of our lives calls for new ways to understand and manage media and relations with stakeholders.

This has major consequences on several levels, as Dejan Vercic, Professor of Public Relations at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, states: "The digitalisation of communications is driving its datafication and strategisation. Social media and social networks, often used via smartphones, shape today's omnichannel communication. We are witnessing an amalgamation of communication disciplines in organisations, and a hybridisation of formats in the media. Trends towards greater visualisation of content are leading us into a post-literal society enhanced by augmented and virtual realities that will soon multiply into parallel worlds." His theses derived from current research are:

There is a clear convergence of importance of all communication channels. Today, effective and efficient stakeholder communication must be conducted omnichannel via all suitable platforms and media.

The hybridisation of media content exemplified by brand journalism, content marketing and native advertising requires a deeper integration of communication disciplines in organisations.

The visual turn in strategic communication through advancements in digital media, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and parallel worlds (e.g., the Metaverse) calls for new approaches and solutions.

4) Lead and motivate extraordinary communication teams

Excellent communication depends on advanced technology, media, and skilled practitioners  but also on diverse teams that foster collaboration and innovation. The ECM and related studies in other continents have researched these aspects in detail to identify drivers of success.

Angeles Moreno, Professor of Public Relations and Communication Management at University Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain, states: "Leadership makes a difference in communication. Educating, mentoring and promoting leadership skills should be a priority to retain the talent into collaborative, committed and DEI inclusive teams to advocate these changes for organisations and clients". She highlights the following theses:

Communication leaders should reinforce inclusive leadership based on shared power and collaborative decision-making to nurture a supportive team culture.

Job satisfaction resulting from interesting tasks, career opportunities, and appreciation by superiors is a key driver for commitment among communicators  leveraging this must be a priority.

Combining the experiences and skills of diverse colleagues will enable communication departments and agencies to support organisations' diversity, equality, and inclusion initiatives with solid expertise.

5) Build relationships in times of misinformation and distrust

Trust in the media and other institutions has been declining across Europe during the last decade. While the rise of social media has opened up dynamic spaces for meaningful and interactive stakeholder engagement, it has also spawned new challenges for strategic communication. As content on social networking sites is shared in real-time and with little ability for editorial filtering or fact-checking, misinformation is now a common occurrence in digital online environments.

"Mis- and disinformation pose seminal challenges within our increasingly digitalised information societies", says Alexander Buhmann, Associate Professor of Corporate Communication at BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, Norway. "Tackling the various forms of information disorder is now a priority issue for many, including strategic communicators who are looking to build and maintain trust. As new platforms and AI-driven tools are set to further exacerbate these challenges, the search for ways to achieve purpose-driven and authentic stakeholder engagement will occupy practitioners and researchers alike." His theses are:

Social media platforms have created an environment in which misinformation thrives  communicators should use contemporary digital tools to monitor and challenge information disorder.

Authenticity, emotional engagement, and storytelling are key to effective communication in a post-truth society, especially when stakeholders are highly involved, such as in crises.

More investment in concrete and applicable ethics guidelines is needed as the shift to autonomous forms of communication assisted by AI brings new challenges for building and maintaining trust.

Study will be relaunched in 2024 with a new research design

The ECM 2023 Report concludes the successful phase of this transnational study based on a broad quantitative research design. The research project will recommence in 2024 with a new, more focused and advanced research design to be announced later this year.

Press contact for interviews and more information

Professor Ralph Tench

Leeds Beckett University, UK

eMail: [email protected]

Phone: +44 7584 581639

Ansgar Zerfass

Leipzig University, Germany

eMail: [email protected]

Phone: +49 341 97 35041

About the survey organiser

European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA)

The mission of EUPRERA, an autonomous organisation with nearly 500 members from 40 countries, is to enhance and promote innovation in the knowledge, research, education and practice of strategic communication. Through its membership of universities and other research associations and bodies, EUPRERA is a global leader on high profile transnational research projects and networks. More than 200,000 scholars and practitioners can potentially be reached through its extended communication channels and partnership arrangements.

www.euprera.org

Graphics to be used for publication

Free for publication if one of the following references is used:

"Source: www.communicationmonitor.eu" or "Source: European Communication Monitor 2023"

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SOURCE European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA); European Association of Communication Directors (EACD)
JACKSON, Miss., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP) (the "Company" or "EastGroup") announced today its recent business activity.

Commenting on the Company's activity, Marshall Loeb, CEO, stated, "We continue to be pleased by both the strength and resiliency of the Sunbelt, shallow bay industrial market. Operationally it's been a positive, steady year in an unsteady capital markets environment. Given the volatility in the capital markets, we continue to opportunistically improve the strength and flexibility of our balance sheet. This strength allows us to make strategic investments such as the ones detailed below."

In September, EastGroup acquired Blue Diamond Business Park, which contains two recently developed buildings totaling 255,000 square feet, for approximately $53,000,000. The buildings are located in the Southwest submarket of Las Vegas and are 100% leased. This acquisition increased the Company's ownership in Las Vegas to approximately 1,165,000 square feet, which is currently 100% leased.

Also during September, the Company closed on the acquisition of Crossroad Logistics Land for approximately $15,000,000. The parcel is comprised of 44 acres of development land at the intersection of I-4 and I-75 in East Tampa. This site will accommodate the future development of three buildings containing approximately 500,000 square feet.

During the third quarter of 2023 to date, EastGroup began construction of two development projects located in Atlanta and Charlotte which will contain approximately 430,000 square feet and have projected total costs of $51,500,000.

As of August 31, 2023, EastGroup's portfolio was 98.1% leased and 97.7% occupied. Rental rates on new and renewal leases signed during third quarter to date increased an average of 56.1% on a straight-line basis and 40.1% on a cash basis.

During the third quarter of 2023 to date, EastGroup sold 759,650 shares of common stock under its continuous common equity offering program at a weighted average price of $177.71 per share, providing aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $134,996,000. Year to date, the Company has sold 2,553,253 shares at a weighted average price of $170.10 per share, providing aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $434,306,000.

Management is scheduled to participate in two upcoming conferences:

The 15 th Annual Evercore ISI Real Estate Conference on Friday, September 8, 2023

Annual Evercore ISI Real Estate Conference on Bank of America Securities 2023 Global Real Estate Conference scheduled for Tuesday, September 12, 2023 through Wednesday, September 13, 2023

During the conferences, EastGroup executives may discuss the Company's transaction activity, leasing environment, market trends and conditions, financial matters and other business that may be affecting the Company. EastGroup's presentation materials that may be referenced during the conferences are available on the "Investor Relations" page of the Company's website.

About EastGroup Properties, Inc.

EastGroup, a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. The Company's goal is to maximize shareholder value by being a leading provider in its markets of functional, flexible and quality business distribution space for location sensitive customers (primarily in the 20,000 to 100,000 square foot range). The Company's strategy for growth is based on ownership of premier distribution facilities generally clustered near major transportation features in supply-constrained submarkets. EastGroup's portfolio, including development projects and value-add acquisitions in lease-up and under construction, currently includes approximately 58.2 million square feet.

EastGroup Properties, Inc. press releases are available at www.eastgroup.net.

Forward-Looking Information

The statements and certain other information contained herein, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "seek," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "targets," "intends," "should," "estimates," "could," "continue," "assume," "projects," "goals" or "plans" and variations of such words or similar expressions or the negative of such words, 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, and are subject to the safe harbors created thereby. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views about its plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to the Company and on assumptions it has made. Although the Company believes that its plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by those forward-looking statements are reasonable, the Company can give no assurance that such plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects will be attained or achieved. Furthermore, these forward-looking statements should be considered as subject to the many risks and uncertainties that exist in the Company's operations and business environment. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These uncertainties include, but are not limited to: international, national, regional and local economic conditions; disruption in supply and delivery chains; construction costs could increase as a result of inflation impacting the costs to develop properties; the competitive environment in which the Company operates; fluctuations of occupancy or rental rates; potential defaults (including bankruptcies or insolvency) on or non-renewal of leases by tenants, or our ability to lease space at current or anticipated rents, particularly in light of the impacts of inflation; potential changes in the law or governmental regulations and interpretations of those laws and regulations, including changes in real estate laws or real estate investment trust ("REIT") or corporate income tax laws, potential changes in zoning laws, or increases in real property tax rates, and any related increased cost of compliance; our ability to maintain our qualification as a REIT; acquisition and development risks, including failure of such acquisitions and development projects to perform in accordance with projections; natural disasters such as fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes; pandemics, epidemics or other public health emergencies, such as the coronavirus pandemic; availability of financing and capital, increase in interest rates, and ability to raise equity capital on attractive terms; financing risks, including the risks that our cash flows from operations may be insufficient to meet required payments of principal and interest, and we may be unable to refinance our existing debt upon maturity or obtain new financing on attractive terms or at all; our ability to retain our credit agency ratings; our ability to comply with applicable financial covenants; credit risk in the event of non-performance by the counterparties to our interest rate swaps; lack of or insufficient amounts of insurance; litigation, including costs associated with prosecuting or defending claims and any adverse outcomes; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks related to the failure, inadequacy or interruption of our data security systems and processes; potentially catastrophic events such as acts of war, civil unrest and terrorism; and environmental liabilities, including costs, fines or penalties that may be incurred due to necessary remediation of contamination of properties presently owned or previously owned by us. All forward-looking statements should be read in light of the risks identified in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors within the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as such factors may be updated from time to time in the Company's periodic filings and current reports filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE EastGroup Properties
Report supported by Chiesi Group explores the intersection of air quality, health inequalities and lung health, and highlights the need for new policy to address challenges

LONDON, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Economist Impact, an arm of The Economist Group that works with organisations globally to further their missions, released research supported by Chiesi Group, a pharmaceutical company, exploring the links between air quality, health inequalities and lung health. A survey of 500 people found that, despite reductions in the concentration of key air pollutants, poor air quality negatively affects symptoms, overall health and quality of life for people living with lung conditions.

The aim of the research titled Cleaner air, clearer lungs, better lives: exploring the intersection of air quality, health inequalities and lung health was to explore a hypothesised relationship between lung health, air quality and health inequalities, focusing on the perspectives of people with lung conditions. It incorporates individual experiences in its examination of air quality policy and environment across five key markets: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

The study shows that an increasing number of heatwaves and increased pollen loadboth generally associated with climate changeare already having a notable negative impact on people living with lung conditions. These issues were reported by survey respondents in all five study countries, but the problems are especially acute in urban areas.

Based on the research the researchers concluded that policymakers should consider this ongoing health impact and how to further incentivise action as they review national and international legal pollutant concentration limits and air quality guidelines. Continuing climate change requires that policymakers integrate heatwaves and pollen in air quality policies, and they should include different perspectives in the making of such policiesfor example, lung experts and environment experts working alongside each other, with people with lived experiences. In addition, policy needs to continue to focus on the impact of air quality specifically on urban populations.

The research did not uncover any significant variation in the extent of these issues among people of different socioeconomic status or education levels, possibly due to the broad protective effect of universal health coverage in the study countries. However, policymakers, when defining universal health packages and comprehensive respiratory health plans, should consider how heatwaves and increased pollen will likely affect those living with lung conditions.

Elly Vaughan, Senior, manager for health at Economist Impact, and co-author of the report, said:

"Worldwide, when lung health policies are being made the perspectives of people living with lung conditions are often ignored. We need to elevate the issues of lung health, air quality and health inequalities to be seen through the eyes of patients living with lung conditions and help shape more effective lung health policies."

"But this is just a starting point; data collection must be improved in this area and more research is needed to further explore the intersection of air quality, health inequalities and lung health, and to understand specific risks, vulnerabilities and adaptive strategies for people with lung conditions."

Michael Guterbock, Senior consultant for policy and insights at Economist Impact, said:

"Research on lung health often views the health of those affected by lung conditions through two narrow lenses: attributes of the illness and medical interventions available to treat or improve lung conditions. They often ignore the physical, policy and socioeconomic context, a critical first step in understanding lung health. This study set out to better understand the realities and concerns of those living with lung conditions by capturing their personal experiences, complemented by a policy-focused literature review."

Visit https://impact.economist.com/perspectives/health/cleaner-air-clearer-lungs-better-lives for the full research and report.

About Economist Impact

Economist Impact combines the rigour of a think-tank with the creativity of a media brand to engage a globally influential audience. We believe that evidence-based insights can open debate, broaden perspectives and catalyse progress. The services offered by Economist Impact previously existed within The Economist Group as separate entities, including EIU Thought Leadership, EIU Public Policy, Economist Events, El Studios and SignalNoise.

Our track record spans 75 years across 205 countries. Along with creative storytelling, events expertise, design-thinking solutions and market-leading media products, we produce framework design, benchmarking, economic and social impact analysis, forecasting and scenario modelling, making Economist Impact's offering unique in the marketplace. Visit www.economistimpact.com for more information.

SOURCE Economist Impact
BOGOTA, Colombia, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL; NYSE: EC) informs that next Monday, September 11, 2023, it will hold an Investor Day to commemorate the company's 15th anniversary of its listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

We invite you to be part of this important event for the future of the company and connect to the Strategy 2040 conference, "Energy that Transforms", which will take place at the NYSE, with virtual transmission.

Please find below the timing and links to access the conference:

Conferencia 09:30 a.m. Col Time 10:30 a.m. NY Time

To access the webcast, the following link will be available:

https://vimeo.com/webinars/events/e2f0c25a-09cc-406f-ae8c-619b435e6f54

Following the event, the presentation and the recording of the conference will be available on Ecopetrol's website: www.ecopetrol.com.co.

Please verify the functioning of the webcast platform in your browser in advance of the call. We recommend the use of the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

-----------------------------------------

Ecopetrol is the largest company in Colombia and one of the main integrated energy companies in the American continent, with more than 18,000 employees. In Colombia, it is responsible for more than 60% of the hydrocarbon production of most transportation, logistics, and hydrocarbon refining systems, and it holds leading positions in the petrochemicals and gas distribution segments. With the acquisition of 51.4% of ISA's shares, the company participates in energy transmission, the management of real-time systems (XM), and the Barranquilla - Cartagena coastal highway concession. At the international level, Ecopetrol has a stake in strategic basins in the American continent, with Drilling and Exploration operations in the United States (Permian basin and the Gulf of Mexico), Brazil, and Mexico, and, through ISA and its subsidiaries, Ecopetrol holds leading positions in the power transmission business in Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Bolivia, road concessions in Chile, and the telecommunications sector. This press release contains business prospect statements, operating and financial result estimates, and statements related to Ecopetrol's growth prospects. These are all projections and, as such, they are based solely on the expectations of the managers regarding the future of the company and their continued access to capital to finance the company's business plan. The realization of said estimates in the future depends on the behavior of market conditions, regulations, competition, and the performance of the Colombian economy and the industry, among other factors, and are consequently subject to change without prior notice.

This release contains statements that may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases, or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration, and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For more information, please contact:

Head of Capital Markets

Carolina Tovar Aragon

Email: [email protected]

Head of Corporate Communications

Marcela Ulloa

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.
The Tools Competition announced 32 winning tools today that do everything from turning YouTube videos into interactive lessons to using virtual reality to reskill adult learners.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The next ChatGPT is out there. So are solutions to improve math skills for K-12 students following the sharpest declines in decades, address equity in education, bolster students' problem-solving and emotional skills, and unlock career training opportunities via virtual reality. Supporting these real-time advances is the Tools Competition , which announced its 2022-23 winners today.

In all, 32 recipients from 12 countries were awarded more than $4 million to develop and expand their tools, which will impact 35 million learners by 2026.

The Tools Competition is one of the largest ed tech competitions in the world. Today, 32 new winners were announced. Post this

Winners include:

AI-Learners  A math tool created by a Cornell University student to help her younger sister with a neurological disability. PreK-elementary students with diverse cognitive, physical, and behavioral abilities learn math using adaptive online games and analytics.

 A math tool created by a student to help her younger sister with a neurological disability. PreK-elementary students with diverse cognitive, physical, and behavioral abilities learn math using adaptive online games and analytics. Reading So Lit  Developed by a former New York teacher who was named a CNN Hero for bringing books to barbershops during the pandemic, Reading So Lit is a web-based reading identity exploration and assessment platform for grades PreK-5.

 Developed by a former teacher who was named a for bringing books to barbershops during the pandemic, Reading So Lit is a web-based reading identity exploration and assessment platform for grades PreK-5. Unreal Virtual Factories  A platform developed by an Arizona team that uses technology and embedded physics to provide virtual reality-type manufacturing training. Workers gain real-time experience on otherwise expensive machinery, boosting competency levels, access, and skills assessment.

 A platform developed by an team that uses technology and embedded physics to provide virtual reality-type manufacturing training. Workers gain real-time experience on otherwise expensive machinery, boosting competency levels, access, and skills assessment. Plio  A tool created by a team in India that lets teachers turn YouTube videos into interactive video lessons by interspersing them with quiz questions.

 A tool created by a team in that lets teachers turn YouTube videos into interactive video lessons by interspersing them with quiz questions. Tilli  A play-based, social-emotional learning (SEL) tool supporting mental health and critical thinking skills. Currently piloted in 6,000 schools worldwide, San Francisco -based Tilli uses games, behavioral science, and data to build interventions.

All winners can be found here .

This is the third cycle of the Tools Competition, which has awarded nearly $10 million to 80 ed tech innovators to date.

This year's competition generated more than 1,000 proposals from 73 countries, with the 32 winners hailing from institutions and organizations across North America, Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East, and Africa.

The next competition cycle launches on Sept. 21, 2023. To learn more, sign up here for the virtual launch event.

Background

The Tools Competition is one of the largest edtech competitions in the world. It aims to grow the learning engineering field via ed tech innovation that leverages big data to support learning science research.

The Tools Competition ran two funding opportunities this year: The Learning Engineering Tools Competition focused on Pre-K-12 learners and was supported by Schmidt Futures; Kenneth C. Griffin, Citadel, and Citadel Securities; the Walton Family Foundation; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and AlleyCorp. The DARPA AI Tools for Adult Learning opportunity was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The competition is administered by Georgia State University and The Learning Agency .

SOURCE Tools Competition
Milestone marks the completion of the system development phase and the commencement of the toll operations phase.

ETC now manages ORB's customer service centers and back-office system.

ORB's toll system supports economic development, propelled by safer and more efficient travel throughout the area.

New, locally based call center.

TORONTO, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Quarterhill Inc. ("Quarterhill" or the "Company") (TSX: QTRH) (OTCQX: QTRHF), a leading provider of tolling and enforcement solutions in the Intelligent Transportation System ("ITS") industry, announces that the transfer of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges  RiverLink Project' ("RiverLink") back-office toll operations to the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Electronic Transaction Consultants ("ETC"), is now complete. ETC assumed management of RiverLink's customer service centers and back-office system on September 1, 2023.

The RiverLink toll system, operated by the Kentucky-Indiana Joint Board, consists of three bridges that span the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky, and Southern Indiana. In July 2021, ETC was awarded a 10-year contract with RiverLink that includes three years for system design and implementation and seven years for toll service operations. The contract also includes two optional three-year renewal periods.

ETC is providing RiverLink with riteHorizon, its full-suite of tolling enterprise back-office solutions. riteHorizon capabilities include account management, customer relationship management, an online customer service center, reporting and analytics. Monitoring and maintenance tools are also a key part of riteHorizon to ensure high availability and customer billing accuracy.

ETC has partnered with WSP USA Services Inc. ("WSP USA") on this project, with ETC providing the back-office system, and WSP USA managing contact center interactions for RiverLink customers. This partnership pairs ETC's best-in-class back-office technology with WSP USA's leading services for highway customer service centers. As part of the contract with RiverLink, a new locally based contact center has been built, which will provide for new jobs in the region.

"This highly anticipated milestone marks the completion of ETC's system development and the commencement of the toll operations phase with RiverLink," said Kevin Holbert, Chief Executive Officer at ETC. "We are proud to support RiverLink's efforts to provide world-class infrastructure to its constituents, to improve mobility and safety in this important river-crossing area and to generate resources that support future infrastructure and economic development. We are confident that our tolling solutions will provide RiverLink and the citizens of Indiana and Kentucky with dependable operations and the highest quality of customer service."

ETC's riteHorizon solution maximizes self-service and customer service representative productivity, reduces turnaround times, and places direct configuration and process control into RiverLink personnel's hands. The new system streamlines billing, improves ease of website and mobile self-service, and facilitates speedy question and issue resolution for RiverLInk's 275,000 registered customers and visitors.

For the first time, riteHorizon is being delivered on Oracle's Cloud Infrastructure. Migrating toll systems to the cloud offers multiple benefits, including reduced time to implement systems vs. on-premises infrastructure, reduced maintenance burden by switching to a model that uses infrastructure-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service, reduced capital expenditures for deployment of IT infrastructure, reduced downtime due to the greater reliability of engineered cloud solutions, and improved reliability enabled by a cloud-based disaster recovery environment that satisfies the agency's business continuity requirements.

About Quarterhill

Quarterhill is a leading provider of tolling and enforcement solutions in the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) industry. Our goal is global leadership in ITS, via organic growth of the Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC (ETC) and International Road Dynamics Inc. (IRD) platforms, and by continuing an acquisition-oriented investment strategy that capitalizes on attractive growth opportunities within ITS and its adjacent markets. Quarterhill is listed on the TSX under the symbol QTRH and on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol QTRHF. For more information, visit www.quarterhill.com.

About Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC

ETC is a leading U.S. intelligent transportation systems provider, developing and delivering best in class solutions for tolling, congestion management, urban mobility, and multimodal transportation needs. ETC's passionate and innovative team has been driving the future of mobility since 1999, with several industry firsts, including all electronic tolling (AET), dynamic pricing, agency interoperability, hosted mobility solutions and machine learning.

For over two decades, ETC has delivered sophisticated solutions to many of the U.S.'s largest toll authorities, including state-wide programs, county networks and tolling-specific authorities. ETC's solutions process over two billion transactions annually totaling over $3 billion in revenues for our customers, incorporating the latest in evergreen open-source and SaaS technologies and Big Data architecture through our innovative riteSuite products.

About the Ohio River Bridges Toll System

The Ohio River Bridges RiverLink toll system in both Kentucky and Indiana spans the Abraham Lincoln Bridge (I-65 North), the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge (I-65 South) and the Lewis and Clark Bridge (SR 265/KY 841) connecting Prospect, KY and Utica, IN.

The Louisville Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges project is a bi-state collaboration to increase cross-river mobility, improve safety, alleviate traffic congestion, and connect highways. The project includes the construction of the new Abraham Lincoln Bridge to carry northbound I-65 traffic, the rehabilitation of the Kennedy Bridge to carry southbound I-65 traffic, the reconfiguration of Spaghetti Junction in downtown Louisville, and the construction of the Lewis and Clark Bridge eight miles upstream from downtown Louisville to connect the Snyder Freeway and the Lee Hamilton Highway between Prospect Kentucky and Utica Indiana. The I-65 bridges and the Lewis and Clark Bridge were completed in December 2016.

Forward-looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding Quarterhill, its operating subsidiaries and their respective businesses. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by Quarterhill in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and the expected effects of new business strategies, as well as other factors that Quarterhill believes are appropriate in the circumstances. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed herein may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Quarterhill, which include, without limitation, the risks described in Quarterhill's March 22, 2023 annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the "AIF"). In addition, readers are also urged to review the additional risk factors disclosed in our Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 filed on www.sedarplus.ca. Quarterhill recommends that readers review and consider all of these risk factors and notes that readers should not place undue reliance on any of Quarterhill's forward-looking statements. Quarterhill has no intention, and undertakes no 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.

SOURCE Quarterhill Inc.
- Evie responds in real time and provides recommended content to both risk managers and all of their business relationships uploading required compliance documentation

- Evie analyzes thousands of insurance requirements to help configure your Coverage Criteria Group workflows and provide immediate analysis and results

- Evie identifies common non-compliance issues throughout your Coverage Criteria Group requirements helping increase your compliance rate

ATLANTA, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Evident, the global leader in business credentialing, is thrilled to welcome the world's only generative AI solution for Risk Managers, designed to streamline and simplify the insurance verification process. Evie's intuitive guidance promises to enhance the user experience, making the journey toward the collection and verification of insurance seamless and more efficient than ever before.

Evident ID

Evie is poised to revolutionize the way risk managers and their business partners access vital information, enabling streamlined processes and enhancing the efficiency of insurance compliance.

Evie goes beyond the capabilities of any insurance compliance solution in the market. By harnessing the power of generative AI, Evie engages users in natural, human-like conversations, turning the complexities of insurance into easy-to-understand answers.

Designed with the user in mind, Evie caters to the needs of both risk managers and their business partners. For risk managers, Evie offers an array of benefits, including expedited access to critical data and immediate guidance on leveraging Evident's solutions to their full potential. Risk managers can make well-informed decisions with ease, backed by Evie's insights from the richest language model in the insurance industry.

In addition to its benefits for risk managers, Evie also serves as a dependable assistant for their business partners. Throughout the submission process, business partners can actively interact with Evie, receiving personalized guidance every step of the way and eliminating the need for risk managers to personally address each interaction themselves. Evie's capabilities extend to aiding vendors, brokers, and other external parties in uploading and verifying necessary documents and even configuring workflows to further streamline the entire process instantly.

Evie promises a range of transformative outcomes for our clients:

- Reduced Response Times: Evie's lightning-fast responses ensure that users promptly receive the information they need, eliminating unnecessary delays.

- Increased Efficiency: Evie's seamless integration into workflows optimizes processes, freeing up valuable time and resources for risk managers and their business partners alike.

- Faster Support: With Evie's constant availability, users can count on consistent and reliable support from the richest language model in risk management

"At Evident, we are committed to leveraging AI technology to radically increase compliance rates efficiently for our clients. Evie, our AI Virtual Assistant, is a prime example of this commitment," said Devon Wijesinghe, President at Evident. "We are confident that Evie's capabilities will redefine the way risk managers and their business partners interact with one another, paving the way for greater efficiency and effectiveness for the entire industry."

Evie marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of risk management support. To experience the power of Evie firsthand, visit: evidentid.com/products/meet-evie/

About Evident

Evident is the global leader in business credentialing with a network of millions of businesses across more than one hundred countries. By connecting insurers, enterprises, and the many businesses they rely on, our platform enables verification of precise requirements ensuring they meet compliance standards. Powered by cutting-edge AI, Evident's platform balances rigorous credentialing with accelerated business results. Learn more at evidentid.com .

Media Inquiries:

Allison Schoner

Evident ID

862-347-8253

[email protected]

SOURCE Evident ID
SEATTLE, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Factal is announcing the launch of Incident Chat , a groundbreaking new feature that enables organizations to share emergency information in a secure chat when they're faced with the same critical incident.

Factal already notifies organizations when they have facilities and employees in proximity to wildfires, hurricanes, active shootings and other high-risk events. With the addition of Incident Chat, security and resilience teams are now able to share potentially life-saving information and resources with other companies in the immediate area.

Factal's Incident Chat lets teams share life-saving information across companies affected by the same critical incident. Post this

"Cybersecurity teams have collaborated through established channels for years, but physical security teams have never had a secure, trusted platform to share information," said Cory Bergman, Factal's Cofounder. "Our focus on proximity connects the right companies together moments after an incident occurs. With the increasing speed and scale of severe weather events, it's more important than ever for organizations to work together to keep people safe."

Factal's members include many of the largest Fortune 500 companies as well as more than 250 disaster response and humanitarian aid NGOs. Together with Factal's verified risk intelligence, organizations are able to assess what's happening, benchmark emergency plans, unify responses and even pool resources to protect employees and customers.

"During a crisis, those intelligence teams which collaborate and share with one another tend to outperform those that don't," explained Lewis Sage-Passant, PhD, Global Head of Intelligence, Novo Nordisk. "This cooperative approach has (at times) allowed private sector teams to radically outperform even their much better-resourced government counterparts, and is the single most important attribute of our field."

Incident Chat is now live when larger-scale incidents are underway. To try Factal and Incident Chat, visit factal.com/promo/samedaytrial .

About Factal



Factal is the only company that combines instant social media discovery with trusted verification in a single platform. From outbreaks and active shootings to wildfires and severe weather, Factal blends AI technology with a 24/7 newsroom of experienced journalists to enable global organizations to see precisely where and how they're at risk in real time. For more information about Factal, please visit www.factal.com .

SOURCE Factal
New GPS Antennas Set Standard in Precision and Reliability for Automotive Navigation

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fairview Microwave, an Infinite Electronics brand and a leading provider of on-demand RF, microwave and millimeter-wave components, has announced its new line of vehicle GPS antennas. Engineered for the ever-evolving automotive sector, these antennas redefine the benchmarks for accurate and dependable positioning, even in the most challenging terrains and conditions.

Fairview's new vehicle GPS antennas are made for the most challenging terrains and conditions.

Equipped with an impressive high gain of either 28 dB or 30 dB, these antennas are designed to capture the faintest of signals. Users can anticipate a smooth navigation experience, free from signal drops or inconsistencies.

The antennas accommodate both SMA and FAKRA connector preferences, making them adaptable to diverse requirements. Meticulously tuned for the GPS L1 frequency, they ensure location precision. Whether it is the sturdiness of a vehicle mount or the flexibility of a magnet mount, these antennas are crafted to cater to all mounting preferences. Moreover, they are available in both active and passive versions, ensuring optimal compatibility with various applications.

The resilience of these antennas sets them apart. They boast an IP rating of IPX6 or IP66, making them both waterproof and dustproof. This rugged design ensures they are the perfect companions for those adventurous trips or when driving through demanding conditions. The additional advantage of right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) minimizes signal interference and multipath effects, ensuring the signal quality remains pristine.

"The reliance on telematics, fleet management and autonomous driving is growing exponentially, and the demand for unfaltering positioning has never been higher," said Product Line Manager Kevin Hietpas. "Our antennas promise just that  unparalleled signal clarity and consistency."

Fairview Microwave's new vehicle GPS antennas are in stock and available for same-day shipping. For inquiries, please call +1 (949) 261-1920.

About Fairview Microwave:

A leading supplier of on-demand RF and microwave products since 1992, Fairview offers immediate delivery of RF components including attenuators, adapters, coaxial cable assemblies, connectors, terminations and much more. All products are shipped same-day from the company's ISO 9001:2015-certified production facilities in Lewisville, Texas. Fairview Microwave is an Infinite Electronics brand.

About Infinite Electronics:

Based in Irvine, Calif., Infinite Electronics offers a broad range of components, assemblies and wired/wireless connectivity solutions to the aerospace/defense, industrial, government, consumer electronics, instrumentation, medical and telecommunications markets. Its brands include Pasternack, Fairview Microwave, L-com, MilesTek, ShowMeCables, NavePoint, INC Installs, Integra Optics, PolyPhaser, Transtector, KP Performance Antennas, RadioWaves and Aiconics. Infinite serves its customers with deep technical expertise and support. Its broad inventory is available for immediate shipment, fulfilling unplanned demand for engineers and technical buyers. Infinite is a Warburg Pincus portfolio company.

Press Contact:

Peter McNeil

Fairview Microwave

17792 Fitch

Irvine, Calif. 92614

+1 (978) 682-6936

SOURCE Fairview Microwave Inc.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Yuri Kim have held a phone talk, Trend reports.

During the conversation, the bilateral and multilateral agenda of cooperation between the two countries, the current situation in the region, as well as the process of normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia were discussed.

Minister Bayramov has provided detailed information about the current situation in the region, the growing number of military-political provocations by Armenia against Azerbaijan, manipulations by Armenia and its propaganda aimed at disorienting the international community.

The inadmissibility of Armenia's interference in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan under the pretext of the allegedly difficult humanitarian situation in the region and the the so-called blockade, including in efforts to reintegrate Karabakh Armenians into Azerbaijani society, was brought to attention. All these actions of the Armenian side indicate that the situation is not humanitarian, but political in nature.

The minister emphasized that there is a need for the international community to sharply condemn Armenias provocative steps. Despite the statements and steps of the Armenian side that threaten the peace process, Azerbaijan is determined to advance the normalization agenda. At the same time, Azerbaijan reserves the right to prevent any threat directed against its territorial integrity and sovereignty.

During the phone talk, the sides exchanged opinions on other issues of mutual interest.
CHICAGO, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Farm Equipment Market is projected to grow from USD 107.7 billion in 2023 to USD 136.3 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2023 to 2028, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Growing demand for mechanization in agriculture with supporting subsidies & incentives from governments is projected to drive the demand for farm tractors. The market is set to grow, driven by the increasing popularity of electric and autonomous tractors, as well as the growing need for rental services of such equipment. This trend is creating avenues for expansion. Factors like the rise in farm mechanization, government backing through farm loan waivers and credit financing, contract farming, and a lack of skilled labor are the main forces behind the growth of the farm equipment industry.

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=164005174

Browse in-depth TOC on "Farm Equipment Market".

345  Tables

57  Figures

396 - Pages

Farm Equipment Market Scope:

Report Coverage Details Market Size USD 136.3 billion by 2028 Growth Rate 4.8% of CAGR Largest Market Asia Oceania Market Dynamics Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities & Challenges Forecast Period 2023-2028 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Farm Tractor Market, By Power Output, Farm Tractor Market, By Drive Type, Farm Implements Market, By Function, Farm Equipment Market, By Equipment Type, Farm Equipment Rental Market, By Equipment Type, Farm Tractor Rental Market, By Power Output, Electric Tractor Market, By Type, Electric Tractor Market, By Propulsion, By Region Geographies Covered Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Rest of the World. Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Precision agriculture Key Market Drivers Government support with farm loan waivers/ credit finance

Battery Electric Tractors would lead the future of the tractor industry.

To adhere to strict emission regulations for Non-Road Mobile Machinery (NRMM), manufacturers are creating hybrid and electric farm tractors. Hybrid versions combine a diesel engine with an energy storage system to enhance fuel efficiency and power for heavy tasks. Alternatively, fully electric tractors rely solely on batteries. Hybrid tractors can save around 35-40% on annual fuel costs. Challenges like expensive batteries, limited technology, and restricted applications may slow electric tractor adoption in the next few years. Yet, the advantageslike energy efficiency, strong torque, clean emissions, and low upkeepwill drive demand over the long term.

Many Indian states are offering incentives to promote the adoption of electric tractors. States like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh offer a waiver of road tax for electric tractors, and the discount on road tax ranges from 50% to 100%. States like Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan provide direct cash incentives along with the road tax waiver. These incentives are structured similarly to the FAME II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) scheme. Solectrac, Inc., a Northern California-based company specializing in battery-powered electric tractors for agricultural and utility use, has unveiled that its e25 compact electric tractor is now qualified for participation in the Clean Off-Road Equipment (CORE) Voucher Incentive Program, supported by a substantial USD 125 million fund. With all the support from governments, developments in battery technology like increased battery capacities, reduced charge time, etc., and increased cost of skilled labor, especially in vineyards, would generate a demand for electric tractors.

>250 HP segment to grow fastest over the forecast period.

>250 HP tractors have a powerful hydraulic system, which can be used to power implements such as Plows and harvesters and are designed to be comfortable for the operator, even during long hours of use. The agricultural industry constantly evolves, and farmers increasingly look for ways to increase productivity. High-power tractors can help farmers do this by allowing them to work more land in a shorter time. High-power tractors are popular in large-scale farming operations in the North American region in the United States and Canada, where extensive fields and mechanized farming techniques require powerful equipment to increase efficiency and productivity. According to USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), in the US, the average farm size for 2021 was 445 acres, up from 444 acres the previous year. These tractors are not popular in Asia Oceania owing to their high cost and higher requirements and the popularity of lower HP tractors. Companies like John Deere, Fendt, and Valtra provide tractors of >250 HP. Valtra's Q Series meets these needs effectively with its powerful engine, efficient transmission, strong hydraulics, and optimal wheelbase. Fendt 1050 Vario and John Deere 8R are some tractor models launched in 2022 with a power output of more than 600 HP.

Asia Oceania is estimated to be the dominant regional market.

The Asia-Oceania region boasts diverse crops, including staples like rice and wheat, palm and cotton, and products like sugarcane, tea, and fruits. These crops heavily influence the demand for tractors, as mechanization is pivotal in increasing agricultural efficiency. In Asia Oceania countries, there's a notable transition from labor-intensive farming methods to advanced agricultural technology. This shift has led to higher requests for renting tractors, along with equipment like harvesters, sprayers, and threshers, which are crucial for modern farming. Agriculture employs over 50% of the workforce in this region, with 450 million smallholder farmers producing 80% of the consumed food. With most smallholding farms, the demand for low HP tractors will lead the market as these tractors are tailored to their needs. According to Markets and Markets analysis, 31-70 HP tractors are projected to dominate the farm equipment industry. According to a study published in 2022, the Southeast Asia agricultural tractors market was primarily dominated by tractors with less than 50 HP horsepower. With a focus on operational versatility, this horsepower range aptly addresses the diverse needs of small to medium-sized farms prevalent in the region. Its affordability resonates well with cost-conscious farmers, particularly those within the substantial smallholder segment. Government efforts to enhance agricultural production further align with these tractors, suited for crop farming and fragmented landholdings in the region.

India will be leading the market in Asia Oceania, followed by China. India, a leading global tractor manufacturer, is addressing the rise in agricultural mechanization, which drives tractor use and necessitates a shift towards electric models. With the cost of electric tractors imposing a major challenge, government support, including subsidies, could bridge the cost gap between electric and diesel tractors. Central and state-level incentives, tax rationalization, and insurance fee reductions can boost the adoption of electric tractors, aligning with India's push for cleaner and more sustainable agriculture practices. The presence of dominant market players such as Mahindra & Mahindra (India), Kubota (Japan), Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd. (Japan), etc., are actively contributing to the evolution of both traditional and electric tractor markets in the Asia-Oceania region, reflecting the growing emphasis on sustainable and efficient agricultural practices.



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Key Market Players:

The farm equipment companies are John Deere (US), AGCO Corporation (US), CNH Industrial (Netherlands), Kubota Corporation (Japan), and CLAAS KGAA (Germany). These companies have adopted several strategies to gain traction in the market. They have expanded in various geographical locations through mergers & acquisitions and expansions and entered joint ventures/collaborations with other industry players to sustain their position in the market.

Recent Developments:

In July 2023 , John Deere launched a new See & Spray premium performance upgrade kit for John Deere self-propelled sprayers, the next addition to the See & Spray line. This kit uses an AI-powered vision system that can help farmers profit and combat herbicide resistance with precise application by spraying only weeds, not the entire field. This technology helps stabilize the spray arm when mounted cameras are needed to capture clear field images. Within milliseconds, a machine learning model uses multiple camera images to distinguish weeds from plants.

, John Deere launched a new See & Spray premium performance upgrade kit for John Deere self-propelled sprayers, the next addition to the See & Spray line. This kit uses an AI-powered vision system that can help farmers profit and combat herbicide resistance with precise application by spraying only weeds, not the entire field. This technology helps stabilize the spray arm when mounted cameras are needed to capture clear field images. Within milliseconds, a machine learning model uses multiple camera images to distinguish weeds from plants. In January 2023 , Mahindra launched the SP PLUS series of tractors that offer more power and mileage. These powerful tractors are designed to improve your agricultural and transportation productivity. The SP PLUS tractor series has the advanced ELS-DI (Extra Long Stroke) engine. It has beneficial features such as a dual-clutch with reverse PTO, high lift hydraulics, easy shift transmission, and wet brakes.

, Mahindra launched the SP PLUS series of tractors that offer more power and mileage. These powerful tractors are designed to improve your agricultural and transportation productivity. The SP PLUS tractor series has the advanced ELS-DI (Extra Long Stroke) engine. It has beneficial features such as a dual-clutch with reverse PTO, high lift hydraulics, easy shift transmission, and wet brakes. In December 2022 , CNH Industrial launched the New Holland T4 electric power  the industry's first all-electric light utility tractor prototype with autonomous features. Production is expected to begin at the end of 2023 with a broader product offering.

, CNH Industrial launched the T4 electric power  the industry's first all-electric light utility tractor prototype with autonomous features. Production is expected to begin at the end of 2023 with a broader product offering. In March 2023 , AGCO Corporation introduced the innovative Fendt 200 Vario series solutions at the 2023 Commodity Classic in Orlando . As Fendt's smallest tractor, the 200 Vario Series combines a compact design with high performance in three models ranging from 94 to 114 hp.

, AGCO Corporation introduced the innovative Fendt 200 Vario series solutions at the 2023 Commodity Classic in . As Fendt's smallest tractor, the 200 Vario Series combines a compact design with high performance in three models ranging from 94 to 114 hp. In January 2022 , John Deere introduced an autonomous 8R tractor. This new tractor comes equipped with several advanced features like a TruSet-enabled chisel plow, a GPS guidance system, and cutting-edge technology. It has six pairs of stereo cameras that help it detect obstacles all around it and quickly calculate their distance. Additionally, it uses a deep neural network to analyze every pixel in images within 100 milliseconds. This tractor represents a significant leap in modern farming technology.

, John Deere introduced an autonomous 8R tractor. This new tractor comes equipped with several advanced features like a TruSet-enabled chisel plow, a GPS guidance system, and cutting-edge technology. It has six pairs of stereo cameras that help it detect obstacles all around it and quickly calculate their distance. Additionally, it uses a deep neural network to analyze every pixel in images within 100 milliseconds. This tractor represents a significant leap in modern farming technology. In July 2023 , CLAAS KGAA expanded its product range in the compact tractor segment with three new series. The tractors have many different technical features in terms of performance, power transmission, comfort, and load capacity to suit additional customer requirements and fields of application. From a fully mechanical 4-speed manual transmission with a maximum output of 75 to 103 horsepower to a 5-speed powershift transmission with REVERSHIFT and TWINSHIFT.

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LONDON, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fastmarkets, a leading international price reporting agency (PRA) providing pricing data, analysis and events to the global cross-commodity markets, will today, Thursday September 7, launch a green steel differential price aimed at serving the East Asia market, primarily South Korea and Japan. This follows the launch of Fastmarkets' European green steel prices in June this year.

Green steel, also known as low-carbon emission or sustainable steel, refers to the production of steel using environmentally friendly and energy-efficient processes that minimize carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Traditional steel production methods, such as the blast furnace route, are highly carbon-intensive and contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions.

Fastmarkets' green steel benchmarks will assess the price differential against traditional flat steel prices, creating transparency for the industry and supporting the investment decisions needed to reduce emissions.

Steelmaking accounts for 7-9% of global CO2 emissions, the majority of which come from coal-based blast furnaces. Most steel produced from traditional blast furnaces emit around 2 tonnes or more of CO2 for each tonne of steel produced.

Fastmarkets' Asia green steel price is the region's first green steel benchmark and one of the outcomes of the dramatic changes expected in the Japanese steel industry. In the run-up to 2030, Japan is expected to greatly increase its use of metallics such as hot-briquetted iron and ferrous scrap, shifting the trade flows of these products even as it tries to increase the usage of converters and electric-arc furnaces.

Fastmarkets' Asia green steel import, differential to flat-rolled steel, CFR Vietnam will be assessed weekly against the established Fastmarkets CFR Vietnam import hot-rolled coil (HRC) index.

A weekly inferred green steel price will also be calculated by adding the new differential to Fastmarkets' Asia HRC JKT origin price to provide real-time transparency.

The maximum carbon limit will be set to 1.3 tonnes and will initially include mass balancing. Mass balancing is a way of taking the accumulated CO2 savings from industrial processes and allocating those savings to steel products, which buyers pay for. The green steel prices will capture the differential between traditional flat-rolled steel prices and prices for steel produced with emissions (including Scopes 1, 2 & 3) of a maximum of 1.3 tonne CO2 per tonne of steel.

All production methods and raw materials will be considered, including scrap-based production and steel made from hydrogen-reduced iron.

In parallel, Fastmarkets has continued to develop its price series for high-grade iron ore, metallics and ferrous scrap.

The introduction of green steel prices for Asia follows Fastmarkets' launch in June this year of the world's first green steel prices  a domestic flat-rolled differential ex-works Northern Europe price and an inferred daily green steel base price for Northern Europe.

Andrew Wells, global steel and ferro-alloys editor at Fastmarkets, said: "Following extensive discussions with the industry, we have developed a first-of-its-kind price for Asia which will bring clarity and transparency to a market that is fast becoming a priority area for all steel industry players committed to the energy transition."

Raju Daswani, CEO of Fastmarkets, added: "We are excited to partner with the steel industry on its decarbonization journey. The Asia green steel prices complement our market leading steel prices in the region, and add to our growing suite of steel, scrap and steelmaking raw materials tools which are helping the industry with the vital task of reducing its carbon emissions and addressing climate change."

ABOUT FASTMARKETS

Fastmarkets is an industry-leading price reporting agency (PRA) and information provider for global commodities, providing price data, news, analytics and events for the agriculture, forest products, metals and mining, and new generation energy markets. Fastmarkets' data is critical for customers seeking to understand and predict dynamic, sometimes opaque markets, enabling trading and risk management. Fastmarkets is a global business with a history dating back to 1865 and is built on trust and deep market knowledge. It has more than 500 employees spread across global locations in the UK, US, China, Singapore, Brazil, Belgium and Finland. Fastmarkets is an Astorg portfolio company.

SOURCE Fastmarkets
Project is part of larger 64-mile line rebuild to enhance reliability

AKRON, Ohio, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- American Transmission Systems, Inc. (ATSI), a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), has begun upgrading 20 miles of a high-voltage power line in Belmont and Harrison counties in Ohio to strengthen the regional transmission system. The third phase of a larger 64-mile project, the rebuilt 138-kilovolt line will enhance service reliability, improve system resiliency and accommodate increasing customer demand for electricity in the future.

The 20 miles of line span the city of St. Clairsville, Richland Township, Mead Township, Pultney Township and Wheeling Township in Belmont County and Athens Township in Harrison County. The work will include replacing wood pole structures with new steel monopoles and installing larger wires that can carry more electrical load and accommodate greater customer demand. The work is expected to be completed in late 2024.

"This new, modern infrastructure is expected to help improve system performance and reduce the number of service interruptions customers experience," said Carl Bridenbaugh, FirstEnergy's vice president of Transmission. "The work will also help us to meet the growing demand for safe, reliable power from homes and businesses in eastern Ohio in the future."

The 20-mile segment is the southernmost portion of a larger 64-mile line upgrade between a substation in Columbiana County and a substation in Belmont County, Ohio. The upgrade of the first 13-mile segment, located in the West Township area of Columbiana County and the August Township and Washington Township areas of Carroll County, was completed in January. Another 9-mile segment in the Perry Township area of Carroll County and the Rumley Township and Archer Township areas of Harrison County was completed in May.

The project is part of Energizing the Future, an ongoing initiative designed to upgrade FirstEnergy's transmission system with advanced equipment and technologies that will reinforce the power grid and help reduce the frequency and duration of customer outages. Since 2014, FirstEnergy has upgraded or replaced existing power lines, incorporated smart technology into the grid and upgraded dozens of substations with new equipment and enhanced security features. Through 2022, FirstEnergy had invested more than $10 billion in the Energizing the Future initiative.

ATSI provides transmission services in Ohio and in the western portion of Pennsylvania and owns or maintains more than 8,100 miles of transmission lines, substations and other facilities.

FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.

SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

FMC Corporation (NYSE: FMC ) announced that the report published today by short-seller Blue Orca Capital made misleading and factually inaccurate statements regarding FMC's patents for its diamide insecticide technology and inaccurately speculated on the strength of FMC's business. As acknowledged by Blue Orca, it is a biased opinion piece.

FMC has always been clear and transparent about its diamide growth strategy. The company has consistently disclosed material developments in diamide litigation in SEC filings. The Blue Orca report contains quotes and information that have been taken out of context, are factually incorrect or do not reflect the multiple dimensions of the FMC diamide growth strategy.

FMC is disappointed a short seller firm would publish a misleading report that contains such speculation and factually incorrect statements. FMC will assess the biased, inaccurate report and take appropriate steps.

About FMC

FMC Corporation is a global agricultural sciences company dedicated to helping growers produce food, feed, fiber and fuel for an expanding world population while adapting to a changing environment. FMC's innovative crop protection solutions  including biologicals, crop nutrition, digital and precision agriculture  enable growers, crop advisers and turf and pest management professionals to address their toughest challenges economically while protecting the environment. With approximately 6,600 employees at more than 100 sites worldwide, FMC is committed to discovering new herbicide, insecticide and fungicide active ingredients, product formulations and pioneering technologies that are consistently better for the planet. Visit fmc.com to learn more and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Statement under the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: FMC and its representatives may from time to time make written or oral statements that are "forward-looking" and provide other than historical information, including statements contained in this press release, in FMC's other filings with the SEC, and in reports or letters to FMC stockholders.

In some cases, FMC has identified these forward-looking statements by such words or phrases as "will likely result," "is confident that," "expect," "expects," "should," "could," "may," "will continue to," "believe," "believes," "anticipates," "predicts," "forecasts," "estimates," "projects," "potential," "intends" or similar expressions identifying "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the negative of those words or phrases. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current views and assumptions regarding future events, future business conditions and the outlook for the company based on currently available information. The forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. These statements are qualified by reference to the risk factors included in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the "2022 Form 10-K"), the section captioned "Forward-Looking Information" in Part II of the 2022 Form 10-K and to similar risk factors and cautionary statements in all other reports and forms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Moreover, investors are cautioned to interpret many of these factors as being impacted as a result of the residual adverse impacts of COVID and governmental, business, and societal responses to COVID. We wish to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the above cautionary statement.

We specifically decline to undertake any obligation, and specifically disclaims any duty, to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements that have been made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events, except as may be required by law.

This press release contains certain "non-GAAP financial terms" which are defined on our website www.fmc.com/investors. Such terms include adjusted EBITDA, adjusted earnings, free cash flow and organic revenue growth. In addition, we have also provided on our website reconciliations of non-GAAP terms to the most directly comparable GAAP term.

Although we provide forecasts for adjusted earnings per share, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow (non-GAAP financial measures), we are not able to forecast the most directly comparable measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Certain elements of the composition of the GAAP amounts are not predictable, making it impractical for us to forecast. Such elements include, but are not limited to, restructuring, acquisition charges, and discontinued operations. As a result, no GAAP outlook is provided.

SOURCE FMC Corporation
RICHARDSON, Texas, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FOSSIL is excited to announce the launch of their latest campaign, Made For This . Alongside the campaign unveil, the brand reveals a complete overhaul of their creative expression across all touchpoints, inclusive of a modernized brand image and premium product assortment.

Fossil 'Made For This' Fossil 'Made For This'

"Made For This is the culmination of extensive efforts across all areas of our business, in all regions, with both internal and external partners. We dug deep into Fossil's nearly 40-year heritage and explored not only the role Fossil has played in so many lives for so long, but how the next generation of consumers is connecting most deeply with brands. The result of this work is our multi-year strategy that will bring our beloved heritage brand into its next era and to a new audience," says Lisa Pillette, Chief Marketing Officer at Fossil Group. "A core element to this journey is a shared value between Fossil and our consumers: the ownership of one's time. They're incredibly thoughtful that time is spent with purpose, intentionality and community. Each way in which Fossil is a part of someone's lifecrafting leather goods that get better with age, the intention behind a watch's intricate details, the methods in which we connect with our audienceis similarly defined by the time and care taken to create lasting products to be alongside them."

The holistic brand work also extends into product, including the identification of refreshed signature design elements, premiumization of materials and a refined design vision with the establishment of iconic platforms across categorieselevating the line to coincide with the revitalized brand ethos.

"As people experience moments, big and small, we want Fossil to be present and an important companion on their journey," says Melissa Lowenkron, Chief Brand Officer. "Fossil has a rich history built on innovation and craftsmanship. Our brand strategy focuses on product elevation across watches, leather goods and jewelry. This includes a deliberate attention to design, incorporation of premium materials and establishing identifiable signature design elements across categories."

The lead spot for the campaigndeveloped by Mekanism , directed by Bradley & Pablo of Prettybird Productions and lensed by Tim Barbercaptures the most candid expression of a moment, illustrated with a modern-nostalgic influence. Inclusive of video and image content alongside new copy and graphics direction, Made For This captures the journey of life and joy in the candid moments, while expressing the brand's sense of wit and optimism.

Roll out across global markets includes:

Global campaign launch events during New York and Paris fashion weeks

and fashion weeks Content series featuring partners that reflect the multi-faceted interests of the Fossil Collectivefashion, music, travel and much moreacross social channels

Robust influencer partnership expansion reaching 1,000+ influencers and millions of customers across social platforms

Refreshed owned brand channels, including website, email, social media and rollout to top retail stores

Robust digital, print and streaming partnerships across 30+ platforms

OOH and DOOH amplification in over 10 cities

Preview Made For This at Fossil.com and follow @Fossil for future updates.

ABOUT FOSSIL

FOSSIL is a leading global lifestyle accessories brand inspired by creativity and ingenuity. We create timeless, well-crafted leather goods, jewelry and watches made to ride alongside you wherever you take life next. In everything we do, we strive to Make Time For Good, working to create positive change for our people and communities.

ABOUT MEKANISM

Mekanism is a fiercely-entrepreneurial agency that blends creativity and performance to build great brands. With employees in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, Mekanism serves as collaborative business partners to some of the world's best brands including Quaker, Jose Cuervo, Alaska Airlines, Whoop, Charles Schwab and OkCupid, among others. Mekanism has been named to Ad Age's A-List and twice to their Best Places to Work. For more information, visit https://mekanism.com.

ABOUT BRADLEY & PABLO

Bradley & Pablo (Bradley Bell and Pablo Jones-Soler) are a director duo based in LA who blend youth and pop culture with high-concept storytelling. B&P's strong visual style can be seen throughout their work for top brands including Heineken, Bose, ZenBusiness, and the historic Parisian luxury fashion house Balmain on the campaign "Fracture"  a first-of-its-kind short-form drama series. In the music video space, they have worked with top artists including Lil Nas X, Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, Kanye West, and, most recently, collaborated with BTS's Jung Kook on "Seven" which became the most-watched music video in the world, acquiring over 100 million views in 10 days.

ABOUT TIM BARBER

Tim Barber grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, lived for a few years in the mountains of Northern Vermont, studied photography in Vancouver B.C. and now lives between New York City and Upstate NY. He is a photographer and curator and the founder of the web projects tinyvices.com, Time & Space and Dream Sequence Editions. Tim is represented globally by Supervision.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Fossil
Leading natural gas marketer bolsters multi-year investment in mission-oriented organizations supporting children and families

ATLANTA, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gas South, the Southeast's leading natural gas provider, announces the donation of more than $2.2 million to 10 nonprofits in Georgia and Florida that are a part of their Fuel For Good Allies program. The company's give-back initiative to Be A Fuel For Good shares 5% of profits with organizations that support children in need.

"The strongest communities believe in lending a hand to help the next generation maximize their potential, so we are honored to partner with these 10 organizations and share in this important work," said Kevin Greiner, president and CEO of Gas South. "This funding will assist in accomplishing a variety of exciting new efforts for each organization and we look forward to seeing their impact grow."

Each organization selected aligns with Gas South's goal to help families establish strong foundations, meet basic needs and provide positive pathways for students.

The organizations receiving donations in varying amounts include:

100 Black Men

Bert's Big Adventure

City of Refuge

Covenant House

Gwinnett County Schools and Sol System

Schools and Sol System Junior Achievement of Georgia and Florida

and Ser Familia

Shepherd Center

St. Vincent de Paul

YMCA of Atlanta and North Florida

The nonprofits will use the funding to amplify and expand efforts to support critical needs in their communities. For example, 100 Black Men's donation will go toward BEST Academy, an interactive college and career readiness program for high school seniors and college students. Bert's Big Adventure's dollars will go to their quarterly Family Reunion Adventures, which impacts nearly 270 kids battling terminal and life-threatening illnesses.

Throughout the next year, Gas South will further its impact with each nonprofit by participating in various volunteer and board opportunities. This year, Gas South will invest a total of $4.5 million in 2023 to support local non-profits.

To learn more about Gas South's mission to Be A Fuel For Good visit www.gassouth.com/giving-back .

About Gas South:

Gas South is one of the largest retail natural gas providers to over 450,000 residential, business and government customers across 14 states spanning across the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Gas South is an Atlanta-based subsidiary of Cobb EMC, providing simple natural gas plans and excellent customer service. Gas South upholds its mission to Be A Fuel For Good by giving back 5% of their annual profits to help children in need, prioritizing basic needs, education and health. To date, the company has donated more than $12 million to charities since 2006, including $3.2 million in 2022, its largest year ever for corporate giving. To learn more about Gas South and its mission to Be A Fuel For Good, visit www.GasSouth.com.

Media Contact

Aliya Seymour

[email protected]

678-477-3630

SOURCE Gas South
DUBLIN, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Viral Vector Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Vector Type (Adeno-associated Virus (AAV), Adenovirus, Lentivirus, Retrovirus, Others), By Application, By End-user, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global viral vector market size is expected to reach USD 7.35 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 11.5% from 2023 to 2030

The viral vector technology industry is experiencing significant growth driven by several key factors. The soaring demand for gene therapy, coupled with advancements in viral vector technology, is propelling the market forward. Furthermore, substantial investments are pouring into gene therapy and vaccine research and development, fueling innovation in the field.

Capacity Expansion Initiatives Cater to Growing Demand

Industry leaders are taking proactive measures to bolster production capacity for viral vectors, aligning with the surging demand. In August 2022, Thermo Fisher Scientific unveiled a state-of-the-art 300,000-square-foot viral vector manufacturing facility in Massachusetts. This addition now extends the company's footprint to encompass six viral clinical and commercial sites across the U.S. and Europe, reinforcing its commitment to meeting escalating demands.

Contract Research and Manufacturing Organizations Drive Innovation

Contract research and manufacturing organizations play a pivotal role in driving viral vector industry growth. These entities continuously innovate and expand their capacities to support preclinical and overall manufacturing activities. A notable example is Genezen, a contract development and manufacturing firm specializing in lentiviral and retroviral vector manufacturing. In 2022, the company completed the construction of its early-phase clinical manufacturing facility in Indiana, part of its broader master plan for a 75,000-square-foot lentiviral and retroviral process development and cGMP production unit.

Investment-Friendly Environment Spurs Expansion

The favorable investment climate for expansion initiatives related to viral vectors remains a key growth catalyst. Vector BioMed, a Maryland-based biomanufacturing firm launched in January 2023, exemplifies this trend. The company successfully raised $15 million in its first funding round, primarily led by Viking Global Investors and Casdin Capital. Vector BioMed is set to revolutionize the industry with algorithm-optimized lentiviral vectors, facilitating a swift transition from clinical trials to commercialization for clients and partners.

Pandemic Impact: Challenges and Opportunities

The COVID-19 pandemic presented a mixed impact on the viral vector technology market. Biotechnology firms and pharmaceutical giants adept in viral vector technology quickly responded to the societal need for a COVID-19 vaccine, significantly reducing mortality risks. Janssen's EUA-received COVID-19 Vector viral-based vaccine by Johnson and Johnson in February 2021 stands as a testament to rapid response.

However, the pandemic also brought operational and fiscal challenges to pharmaceutical companies. Disruptions in the supply chain and the complexities of viral vector manufacturing posed initial hurdles. Despite these challenges, the viral vector technology industry remains resilient and poised for continued growth, fueled by innovation and increased awareness of its potential.

Viral Vector Market Report Highlights

By vector type, the adeno-associated virus (AAV) segment held the highest share of 48% in 2022. It is due to a high degree of safety and efficacy remitted by the AAV while maintaining specificity to target cells in the body

Cell and gene therapy segment accounted for the dominant share of 65% in the application segment for the year 2022. The dominant share is attributed to the growing gene disorder and other forms of malignancies. Moreover, high regulatory support provides a strong impetus to the segment

By end-user, pharmaceutical and biotechnology segment held a massive share of 53% in 2022 due to the easy and larger access to public and private funds while containing high operational efficiency for complex trials and manufacturing allowing the segment to hold a dominant share

North America took a dominant share of 48.31% share in the year 2022. It was owing to strong support from investors, while the region also garners superior healthcare coverage platforms which further necessitates a higher disease-prone patient pool

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 180 Forecast Period 2022 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $3.1 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $7.35 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 11.5 % Regions Covered Global



Company Profiles

Oxford Biomedica

Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.

Lonza.

Batavia Biosciences B.V.

Biogen

Asklepios BioPharmaceutical, Inc. (AskBio)

Sanofi

Spark Therapeutics, Inc.

Regenxbio Inc.

uniQURE N.V.

Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1. Methodology and Scope



Chapter 2. Executive Summary



Chapter 3. Market Variables, Trends, & Scope

3.1. Market Segmentation and Scope

3.2. Market Lineage Outlook

3.2.1. Parent Market Outlook

3.2.2. Related/Ancillary Market Outlook

3.3. Market Trends and Outlook

3.4. Market Dynamics

3.4.1. Increasing demand for gene therapies

3.4.3. Rising investments in research and development with immense funding support

3.5. Market Restraint Analysis

3.5.1. Complex manufacturing process.

3.5.2. Regulatory challenges and intellectual property issues.

3.6. Business Environment Analysis

3.6.1. SWOT Analysis; By Factor (Political & Legal, Economic And Technological)

3.6.2. Porter's Five Forces Analysis

3.7. COVID-19 Impact Analysis



Chapter 4. Vector Type Business Analysis

4.1. Viral vector market: Vector Type Movement Analysis

4.2. Adeno-associated virus (AAV)

4.2.1. Adeno-associated virus (AAV) Market, 2018 - 2030 (USD Million)

4.3. Adenovirus

4.4. Lentivirus

4.5. Retrovirus



Chapter 5. Application Business Analysis

5.1. Viral vector market: Application Movement Analysis

5.2. Cell and Gene Therapy

5.3. Vaccine

5.4. Biopharmaceutical & Pharmaceuticals Discovery



Chapter 6. End-User Business Analysis

6.1. Viral vector market: End-User Movement Analysis

6.2. Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies

6.3. Academic and Research Institutes

6.4. CROs & CMOs



Chapter 7. Regional Business Analysis

7.1. Viral vector market Share By Region, 2022 & 2030



Chapter 8. Competitive Landscape

8.1. Company Categorization

8.2. Strategy Mapping

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6l1dd3

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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SOURCE Research and Markets
MADRID, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In the past five years, Africa experienced a remarkable surge in financial transaction digitization, notably with Mobile Money transactions growing over 600%. According to a new whitepaper by Global Voice Group (GVG), implementing effective monitoring solutions in the mobile money sector across Africa's emerging economies will significantly impact Africa's economic future.



The whitepaper, titled "Data-Driven Transparency and Compliance in the Digital Financial Ecosystem in Africa," extensively examines the adoption of new technologies and the incorporation of global, regional, and national policies with a particular emphasis on mobile money, financial inclusion, data governance, and their impact on African economies. Serving as a regulatory technology (RegTech) solutions guide, it offers a roadmap for seamlessly integrating technologies into current compliance frameworks, providing valuable insights into the future of regulatory compliance in the digital age.



Edouard Docteur, the Chief Delivery Officer at GVG explains, "With the massive increase in digitization, African governments must ensure the implementation of effective monitoring solutions in the mobile money sector. The whitepaper highlights how governments in Africa must invest in regulatory frameworks and leverage technology to ensure compliance, streamline taxation processes, protect end-users' data, improve Know-Your-Customer (KYC) procedures, and mitigate risks associated with money laundering, financial terrorism, and scams".



The whitepaper notes that there are only 82 data centres in Africa compared to thousands in Europe and United States. This represents only 1 percent of the global data centre market, while the continent houses 17 percent of the global population, with only 36 out of 54 African countries having put in place some data protection laws or regulations. The current data protection and sovereignty requirements would require increasing the current numbers of data centres to at least 700 across the continent.



The whitepaper highlights Mobile Money's impact on local economies and provides insights into data acquisition to boost financial inclusion and governance. Emerging countries like Congo, Ghana, and Rwanda adopt data-driven approaches to tackle fraud, money laundering, and revenue leakages.



"By exploring this emerging trend, decision-makers, regulators, and industry experts will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with harnessing data to drive positive change and foster economic growth." noted Edouard Docteur, during the release of the whitepaper.



GVG drives innovation and shapes the future of tech-driven regulatory compliance, as a RegTech pioneer. Their whitepaper emphasizes knowledge sharing and collaboration across industries, governments, regulators, and tech providers.



The complete whitepaper can be accessed here .



About Global Voice Group (GVG)

Global Voice Group is a global provider of RegTech and Govtech solutions to governments and regulatory bodies. Since 2005, we have brought these institutions the benefits of Big Data analytics through advanced technological platforms that enable them to secure reliable and accurate data from crucial economic sectors. Our solutions effectively support them in their decision- and policy-making processes in various critical areas, such as financial inclusion, domestic revenue mobilization, sustainable development, and regulatory compliance.



Discover GVG's website: www.globalvoicegroup.com



Note to Editors: For more information about GVG or to schedule an interview, please contact Susana Garcia Hiernaux at [email protected] or Cristina Jaramillo at [email protected] .

SOURCE Global Voice Group
Belinda Kyles-Gest to Open New Gym in Cleveland, OH Market Early Next Year

DALLAS, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Little Gym International , the world's premier enrichment and physical development center for children ages four months through 12 and part of the youth enrichment growth-focused platform Unleashed Brands , has signed a new franchise agreement with Belinda Kyles-Gest, a former Major Crimes Prosecutor who was inspired by her own kids and granddaughter to open a gym in Highland Heights, Ohio early next year.

Gest grew up in East Cleveland, Ohio where her father, who served in Vietnam, worked as a police officer and her mom taught preschool. All three of her adult children work in some capacity with kids. Her daughter Kenya is an elementary school teacher and dance teacher. Another daughter Nikiiyah, works in animation and is a children's book illustrator. The youngest daughter Simone, majored in child psychology and is now a graduate student at Towson University. All three took classes at The Little Gym when they were young and now her granddaughter is enrolled in classes at The Little Gym. Gest loves watching her laugh and learn in the gym and this laughter is one of the primary reasons she decided to become part of Unleashed Brands. Another motivator to open a gym came after she lost her husband in 2022, after a yearlong battle with cancer. Before his illness, they dreamed about enjoying a less stressful work life, while having fun and impacting their community.

Gest is also certified to teach high school and wants to integrate her love of fun, learning and children into everything she does. "In the next chapter of my life, I want to do something really fun and that allows me to connect with families while playing, learning and doing life together. I want every kid to have access to the fun that The Little Gym offers, so delivering high quality recreational activities to families is a priority. I am blown away by Unleashed Brands and the variety of youth enrichment and recreational brands they offer," said Gest, adding that the partnership feels like a natural fit. "I'm thrilled to align my values with Unleashed Brands and The Little Gym and invest in the lives of families as a mom, grandmother and business owner."

September 10, 2023 marks National Grandparents Day and according to SCORE's 2023 Megaphone of Main Street Report , these entrepreneurs age 55+ make up a little over half of all small business owners in the U.S. Seniors aged 55+ make up only 21 percent of the U.S. population, but own 50.9 percent of all small businesses .

With nearly 400 locations across 31 countries, The Little Gym teaches kids social and physical skills appropriate to each stage of childhood by creating opportunities to experience achievement and build self-confidence. At the core of the international franchise's mission is becoming the foundation of a child's development that will set them up for success. Through three-dimensional learning including physical activities, cognitive skills and social and emotional learning, the core teaching methods create opportunities for children to experience achievement and build self-confidence.

The Little Gym's network of franchisees is a diverse group made up of parents, accounting, finance, sales leaders, operations executives, existing business owners and beyond. To learn more about how you can become a The Little Gym owner visit www.TheLittleGymFranchise.com/ .

About The Little Gym International

The Little Gym International is an internationally recognized program that helps children build the developmental skills and confidence needed at each stage of childhood. The very first location was established in 1976 by Robin Wes, an innovative educator with a genuine love for children. The Little Gym International, Inc., headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., was formed in 1992 to franchise The Little Gym concept. Today, The Little Gym International has nearly 400 locations in over 31 countries including the U.S., Canada, China, the United Kingdom, Thailand and more. For more information, visit The Little Gym at www.TheLittleGym.com .

About Unleashed Brands

Unleashed Brands, currently includes portfolio brands Urban Air, Snapology , The Little Gym, XP League, Class 101 and Premier Martial Arts and was founded to curate and grow a portfolio of the most innovative and profitable brands that help kids learn, play and grow. Over the last 10 years, the team at Unleashed Brands has built a proven platform and know-how for scaling businesses focused on serving families. Its mission is to impact the lives of every kid by providing fun, engaging and inspiring experiences that help them become who they are destined to be. For more information, please visit www.unleashedbrands.com .

Media Contact: Sara Faiwell, Fishman Public Relations, [email protected] or (847) 945-1300

SOURCE The Little Gym International, Inc.
GREENWICH, Conn., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Greenwich Economic Forum (GEF) today announced the preliminary speaker lineup for its sixth Annual Conference, taking place at the Delamar Greenwich Harbor Hotel this October 3 and 4.

Since its inception in 2018, GEF has gathered an elite group of alternative investment managers, allocators, entrepreneurs and policy experts for an intimate two days of discussion, thought leadership and networking. This year's event will convene leaders from the world's largest hedge funds, private equity and private credit firms and other industry luminaries to discuss the global economy, trends in institutional investing, opportunities in APAC, digital assets, venture capital and more. LP attendees will include pension funds, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, family offices and other asset owners.

The agenda and complete speaker list will be available soon, and will include perspectives from the most influential leaders across finance, economics and government, including:

Ray Dalio, Founder, CIO Mentor and Member of the Board, Bridgewater Associates

Brad Jacobs , Executive Chairman, XPO

, Executive Chairman, XPO David Rubenstein, Co-Founder & Co-Chairman, The Carlyle Group

Bennett Goodman , Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Hunter Point Capital

, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Hunter Point Capital Ned Lamont , Governor, Connecticut

, Governor, Richard Blumenthal, U.S. Senator (CT)

Jose Minaya, CEO, Nuveen

Ken Kencel, President & CEO, Churchill Asset Management

Kipp deVeer, Director, Partner & Head of Credit Group, Ares Management

Afsaneh Beschloss , Founder & CEO, RockCreek

, Founder & CEO, RockCreek Michael Spence, Economist & Nobel Laureate, Stanford University

Dr. Mohamad El-Erian, President of Queens College at Cambridge University , Chair of Gramercy, & Adviser to Allianz

at , Chair of Gramercy, & Adviser to Allianz Dambisa Moyo, Global Economist & Board Member of Chevron, Conde Nast , and the Oxford University Endowment

"With a significant number of the world's largest hedge funds and private equity firms establishing themselves here, Greenwich is now a global center for the finance community," said Bruce McGuire, Co-Founder of GEF and Co-Chairman of the Greenwich Business Institute. "We are curating an essential dialogue among the thought leaders, visionaries and experts who are shaping the future of the alternative investment landscape."

Jim Aiello, Co-Founder of GEF and Co-Chairman of the Greenwich Business Institute, added: "The Greenwich Economic Forum continues to build on the momentum of this year's transformative events in Miami and Hong Kong. Our unmatched lineup of speakers sets the tone for delegates as they look to create meaningful business and networking opportunities now and in the years ahead."

More information on the conference, including agenda topics and membership details can be found here. For media attendance and partnership inquiries, please contact [email protected].

About Greenwich Economic Forum

Greenwich Economic Forum (GEF) was founded in 2017 in Greenwich, Connecticut. Today, GEF is one of the world's premiere conferences for leaders of the global alternative investment industry, known for the quality of its speakers, the seniority of its delegates and for its intimate peer-to-peer environment. As a conference with a global perspective, GEF has expanded to include events in global cities such as Miami and Hong Kong, as well as the Middle East. For more information, visit: https://greenwicheconomicforum.com/.

Media Contact

Prosek Partners

[email protected]

SOURCE Greenwich Economic Forum
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. The Economist has published the response of Azerbaijani Ambassador to the UK Elin Suleymanov to a pro-Armenian article in this newspaper, Trend reports.

The article called The Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan is on the verge of famine (September 4) rightly notes that humanitarian issues are being politicized by Armenian separatists in Azerbaijani Karabakh. A clear confirmation of this is their refusal, for purely ethnic reasons, of supplies carried out by Azerbaijan and awaiting access, as well as blocking of the Aghdam road. At the same time, they complain about the "blockade" and "humanitarian catastrophe". You are absolutely right that in the Armenian political discourse, the opponents of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan use humanitarian problems in order to exclude the possibility of reaching an agreement," the ambassador writes.

He notes that the article does not mention that the territory on which the separatists stage their political performances is under the temporary responsibility of Russian peacekeepers. Moreover, even after the end of the 2020 war and despite statements by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia continued to use the Lachin road to transport soldiers and mines into Azerbaijani territories that had previously been occupied and ethnically cleansed for three decades.

Suleymanov writes that Azerbaijan's proposal to integrate local Armenians in Karabakh into its diverse society, giving them equal rights and protection, like for other citizens, and sign a peace treaty in the near future, remains the only option for lasting peace and prosperity in the region.

The alternative in the form of instability, the constant presence of peacekeepers and the absence of any development benefits only supporters of war and separatist warlords to the detriment of their own people, the Azerbaijani ambassador to the UK says in a response article.
Eight Los Angeles-based grantees to assist residents in retaining their Medi-Cal membership and to educate others about the benefits of healthcare coverage.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Net, one of California's most experienced Medi-Cal managed care health plans and a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, has awarded $500,000 in grants to eight Los Angeles organizations to increase outreach and education efforts on the rolling Medi-Cal eligibility redetermination process. To assist residents in keeping their health coverage, it is critical that Medi-Cal enrollees are aware of upcoming deadlines and the available resources to guide them through their renewal.

"We know that access to quality healthcare is directly correlated with better health outcomes for vulnerable populations," said Medicare and Medi-Cal President at Health Net, Martha Santana-Chin. "Health Net is working to ensure that all eligible Angelenos maintain their comprehensive health care benefits. These grants will help our longstanding community-based partners engage with residents to provide necessary resources."

Health Net awarded grants to the following organizations:

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Los Angeles

Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights

Garfield Health Center

JWCH Institute, Inc.

Los Angeles LGBT Center

Maternal and Child Health Access

St. John's Well Child and Family Center

White Memorial Community Health Center

Two of the eight grants were awarded in partnership with the California Community Foundation (CCF). CCF provided an additional $50,000 to support Asian Americans Advancing Justice Los Angeles and Garfield Health Center, who are specifically focusing on Language Access and Services for outreach and enrollment.

"The California Community Foundation is proud to partner with Health Net to ensure language barriers do not impact millions of families across Los Angeles County as they renew their eligibility for Medi-Cal," said President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Community Foundation, Antonia Hernandez. "Through our partnership, we are keeping people covered, helping local organizations spread important information and encouraging Angelenos to take action for their health."

"Garfield Health Center extends our gratitude to Health Net and the California Community Foundation for their support in empowering us to assist consumers in the San Gabriel Valley with Medi-Cal enrollment, understanding their benefits and navigating the complexities of the health care system," said Chief Financial Officer at Garfield Health Center, Jamie Thai. "We believe this funding will be instrumental in making a positive impact on countless lives. Together, we are fostering a healthier and more informed community."

Free, Downloadable Materials for Healthcare Providers and Community Organizations

Earlier this year, Health Net launched the Review to Renew campaign to provide Californian residents, healthcare providers and community organizations with resources to help Medi-Cal members navigate the redetermination process and keep their health coverage.

"Ensuring low-income residents maintain access to essential health benefits is critical. I am grateful to all our partners who have helped many residents across the County retain their health coverage, including Health Net," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District. "They have been a vital partner during this renewal period, providing information, funding and resources to vulnerable residents. I am committed to the important work of expanding healthcare access and look forward to the continued partnership with Health Net to better meet the needs of County residents."

Healthcare providers and community-based organizations can download free social media posts , flyers, posters and more on Health Net's Review to Renew resource page.

As part of the campaign, Health Net is also educating residents about Medi-Cal redetermination at dozens of cultural and community events across the state. The company has supplemented those grassroots efforts by sending educational mailers, text messages, interactive voice response calls and more to Medi-Cal members.

About Health Net:

At Health Net, we believe every person deserves a safety net for their health, regardless of age, income, employment status or current state of health. Founded in California more than 40 years ago, we're dedicated to transforming the health of our community, one person at a time. Today, 90,000 network providers serve 3 million members. That's nearly 1 in 12 Californians. We provide health plans for individuals, families, businesses of every size and people who qualify for Medi-Cal or Medicare  Coverage for Every Stage of Life. Health Net also offers access to substance abuse programs, behavioral health services, employee assistance programs and managed health care products related to prescription drugs. We offer these health plans and services through Health Net, LLC and its subsidiaries: Health Net of California, Inc., Health Net Life Insurance Company and Health Net Community Solutions, Inc. These entities are wholly owned subsidiaries of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), a Fortune 25 company that offers affordable and high-quality products to nearly 1 in 15 individuals across the nation. For more information, visit www.HealthNet.com.

SOURCE Health Net
HONG KONG and LONDON, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), one of the world's leading exchange groups, was this week pleased to celebrate the opening of its new office in London, further extending its international reach.

HKEX Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Aguzin and other senior company executives hosted a reception on Wednesday evening in The City of London to welcome guests from across the UK financial and business community. In celebration of this milestone event, Mr Aguzin struck the HKEX gong, signifying HKEX's commitment to its global clients and to the importance of connectivity.

The new London office will consolidate HKEX's presence in the UK, and connect European clients with Asia's most international, diverse and liquid capital markets. It will provide on-the-ground support to customers in the region, helping them to access Hong Kong's broad and diverse product ecosystem, and capture the opportunities arising from some of the major megatrends that define Asia's growth story.

HKEX Chief Executive Officer, Nicolas Aguzin, said: "The opening of our London office marks another significant development in our continued commitment to our customers around the world. Together with the recent successful launch of our New York office, our new HKEX London office will bring greater access, opportunity and insight to our global clients. Now, with a presence in the three major world time zones, we are very well placed to connect capital with opportunities and enhance international connectivity, further strengthening Hong Kong's role as a global superconnector."

Mr Aguzin added: "HKEX already has strong ties with the financial community in London, through its subsidiary, the London Metal Exchange, and this new office will broaden and deepen our support for our growing customer base in Europe. We look forward to working with investors, companies and risk managers in the region, supporting them as together we drive our shared sustainable success."

The new London office will focus on promoting the attractiveness of HKEX's international equities franchise, its exclusive connectivity with Mainland China's capital markets and its rapidly expanding derivatives product suite. It will also provide the Group's European clients with on-the-ground expertise and insight on Hong Kong's capital market opportunities and innovations.

HKEX Co-Head of Sales and Marketing, Kevin Rideout, said: "London is one of the world's top financial centres and is home to Europe's largest capital pool. Well known for its extensive network of international professionals, and its commitment to innovation, London is also one of the premier hubs for hedge funds, private equity and fintech companies. By establishing a presence in The City, we can better connect with our European clients and partners, gain insights into their needs, and support them as they seek to capture Asia's growth opportunities."

The London and New York offices complement HKEX's existing international reach from its offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore.

Photos of the reception and further information about HKEX and its market can be found here.

SOURCE Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cloud Theory, the real-time automotive data insights provider, has announced that according to August results from its proprietary Inventory Efficiency Index, Honda has begun to solidify its lead over Kia and Toyota, while luxury brands Cadillac and BMW are now in the top five of performers nationwide.

Inventory Efficiency Index Scores

Cloud Theory's patent-pending Inventory Efficiency Index (IEI) provides a previously unavailable real-time view of market-relevant supply and demand of all makes and models and across all geographies. Key decision-makers can use the IEI to confidently allocate valuable marketing and incentive dollars to models or geographies requiring a boost in demand, or to redistribute vehicles to locations that are moving inventory more efficiently. Cloud Theory's Inventory Efficiency Index assigns scores to vehicle makes and models based on current active inventory and sales data relative to competitors.

A score of 100 means that an OEM's demand is balanced with its relative supply in the marketplace.

A score above 100 indicates that a make or model is selling its inventory more efficiently than average.

A score below 100 means that there are opportunities to bring demand into better alignment with supply (or vice versa).

Honda has widened its lead over Kia in August, solidifying its top spot over the #2 brand by 11.7 points. Toyota is still in third place in overall U.S rankings but has fallen -9.1 points from July according to the most recent IEI results.

Luxury Brands See Significant Shifts

While Honda, Kia, and Toyota have consistently been in the top three positions since February of this year, there have been significant shifts in the luxury space over the course of 2023:

Cadillac, which started 2023 ranked 13th in Inventory Efficiency, has steadily improved its position over the course of the year and is now in the fifth spot in August.

BMW's rise in IEI rank is not as dramatic (the brand began the year ranked 6 th ), but is now just ahead of Cadillac in 4 th position.

), but is now just ahead of Cadillac in 4 position. Lexus started the year ranked #3 but has now dropped to 7th place in the current rankings. Lexus' IEI rank decline is driven by a 12% MoM increase in Average Inventory, but a 4% decline in the brand's Vehicle Movement.

"It is not surprising to see Honda, Kia, and Toyota continuing to battle for the Inventory Efficiency lead," said Rick Wainschel, Vice President of Data Science & Analytics at Cloud Theory. "But Cadillac's sharp upturn in score and rank has been nothing short of impressive. With three other luxury makes (BMW, Lexus, and Land Rover) in the top 10, it demonstrates that OEMs can efficiently move metal at the higher end of the price spectrum as well."

Honda, Kia Lead Regionally

The regional view across the country has similarities to the national picture. Honda, the leader across the U.S., leads in five regions, with Kia claiming the top spot in the other four. On the luxury front, BMW is among the leading makes in five of the nine regions, with Lexus (four), Cadillac (three), and Land Rover (two) also appearing on multiple lists.

"Although the regional view includes many of the same brands that lead on a national basis, their relative positions still point to opportunity areas across the country," said Ron Boe, Chief Revenue Officer at Cloud Theory. "A leading make like Toyota, for example, can look to improve its position nationally by increasing demand in the West North Central, Middle Atlantic, and New England regions where it ranks outside of the top three."

About Cloud Theory

Cloud Theory is more than a concept. It is the eye of the storm, where cutting-edge data, software, and artificial intelligence meet deep industry knowledge and experience. Built for automotive manufacturers, agencies, and affiliates, Cloud Theory enables our customers to understand  in real time  the complex competitive world in which they do business and to make bold decisions that drive them forward. The combination of billions of data points, interactive tools, and expert consulting gives our clients the ability to weather any storm and find their way to clear blue skies. Learn more at cloudtheory.ai. To learn more about our entire portfolio of automotive brands, visit www.advancelocalautomotive.com.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Mike DeVilling

[email protected]

Rachel Slotnick

[email protected]

SOURCE Cloud Theory
Hyundai Hope On Wheels Awards 88 Research and Programmatic Grants Totaling $25 Million during National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and its 25 th Anniversary

This Year's $25 Million Brings the Organization's Lifetime Donation Total to $225 Million

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Hope On Wheels, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported by Hyundai Motor America and its 830 U.S. dealers, announced the 2023 winners of its annual research and programmatic grants, part of Hyundai Hope on Wheels' $25 million commitment in 2023 to fund pediatric cancer research grants and survivorship efforts. During its 25th year anniversary, Hyundai Hope On Wheels will present a total of 88 grants to institutions across the United States that are focused on improving outcomes and treatments for children diagnosed with cancer, including 18 Hyundai Scholar Hope Grants at $400,000 each, 18 Hyundai Young Investigator Grants at $250,000 each, 52 Hyundai Impact Grants at $100,000 each, as well as additional Bridge-to-K research grants and Regional Grants.

National Youth Ambassador Oliver Foster and John Guastaferro, executive director of Hyundai Hope On Wheels, at the Handprint Ceremony at St. Louis Childrens Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri on Monday, August 7, 2023. (Photo/Hyundai) (PRNewsfoto/Hyundai Hope On Wheels) Hyundai Hope On Wheels Handprint Ceremony at C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan on Tuesday, August 8, 2023. (Photo/Hyundai ) (PRNewsfoto/Hyundai Hope On Wheels) Hyundai Hope On Wheels National Youth Ambassador Raynie at the Handprint Ceremony at Primary Childrens Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah on Wednesday, August 9, 2023. (Photo/Hyundai) (PRNewsfoto/Hyundai Hope On Wheels)

"Over the past 25 years, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has been creating hope for families facing childhood cancer by investing in life-saving research, treatment, and support," said John Guastaferro, executive director, Hyundai Hope On Wheels. "To date, we have contributed $225 million in our mission to end childhood cancer. We are grateful to the dedicated researchers, doctors, and medical institutions receiving grants as we work together to move closer to a cure."

Hyundai Hope On Wheels was inspired by a group of New England Hyundai dealers in 1998, with the goal to end childhood cancer. Twenty-five years later, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has become one of the nation's leading funders of pediatric cancer research, establishing Hyundai as a corporate social responsibility leader in the automotive industry. To date, Hyundai Hope On Wheels has supported nearly 1,300 cancer research studies at over 175 medical institutions.

Three grant categories have been awarded to researchers at eligible Children's Oncology Group (COG) member institutions. The Hyundai Scholar Hope Grant is a 2-year award competitively selected for translational research, and the Hyundai Young Investigator Grant is a 2-year award competitively selected for innovative research. Applications were reviewed by a Medical Advisory Committee comprised of leading pediatric oncologists from institutions across the country. Additionally, the Hyundai Impact Grant provides funding for programmatic initiatives such as clinical care at children's hospitals.

This year also introduces two new grant categories to advance its impact in childhood cancer. The Bridge-to-K grant is designed to provide support to National Institute of Health grant applicants to advance their research; and the new Regional Grants focus on local support, advocacy, and awareness.

"We have made significant strides in the areas of pediatric cancer research during the past 25 years," said Kevin Reilly, vice chair of Hyundai Hope On Wheels and chairman of the Hyundai Motor America National Dealer Advisory Council. "By funding critical research, new medical advancements, and less-invasive treatments, we have seen the long-term survival rate rise to over 85%. We won't stop until every child is free from cancer."

During the month of September, grants will be presented during official Hyundai Hope On Wheels Handprint Ceremonies. The Handprint Ceremony is the nonprofit's signature event in which children affected by cancer, doctors and researchers, and Hyundai partners dip their hands in paint and place their handprints on a Hyundai vehicle, symbolizing the collective fight against pediatric cancer and hope for a cure.

To learn more about Hyundai Hope On Wheels, please visit HyundaiHopeOnWheels.org.

Hyundai Scholar Hope Grant Winners ($400,000)

Institution City State University of Arizona Steele Childrens Research Center Tucson AZ Children's Hospital Colorado Aurora CO Children's Hospital Los Angeles Los Angeles CA UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation Pittsburgh PA Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Boston MA Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Atlanta GA Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center Seattle WA Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Washington DC Johns Hopkins Children's Center Baltimore MD UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital Cleveland OH Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford Stanford CA Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia PA UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital Los Angeles CA UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals San Francisco CA Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus OH UChicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital Chicago IL UF Health Shands Children's Hospital Gainesville FL The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio San Antonio TX

Hyundai Young Investigator Grant Winners ($250,000)

Institution City State Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Chicago IL Texas Children's Hospital at the Baylor College of Medicine Houston TX Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope Duarte CA Children's Hospital Colorado Aurora CO Children's National Hospital Washington DC Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Boston MA Children's Healthcare Atlanta, Inc. Atlanta GA Johns Hopkins Children's Center Baltimore MD Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) New York NY Prisma Health Children's Hospital-Midlands Columbia SC UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital Cleveland OH Seattle Children's Healthcare System Seattle WA St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Inc. Memphis TN Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford Stanford CA Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Philadelphia PA UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals San Francisco CA Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus OH C.S. Mott Children's Hospital Ann Arbor MI

Hyundai Impact Grant Winners ($100,000)

Institution City State Albany Medical Center Albany NY Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Chicago IL Arkansas Children's Hospital Little Rock AR Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Orlando FL Banner Childrens at Diamond Childrens Medical Center Phoenix AZ Baystate Children's Hospital Springfield MA Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope Duarte CA UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation Pittsburgh PA Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Atlanta GA Children's Hospital Colorado Springs Aurora CO Children's Hospital New Orleans New Orleans LA Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters Norfolk VA Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) Orange CA Children's Hospital of Richmond Richmond VA Children's Mercy Kansas City Kansas City MO Children's Minnesota - Minneapolis Minneapolis MN Children's National Hospital Washington DC Children's of Alabama Birmingham AL Children's Wisconsin  Milwaukee Campus Milwaukee WI Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Cincinnati OH UChicago Medicine Comer Children's Hospital Chicago IL Duke Children's Hospital and Health Center Durham NC El Paso Children's Hospital El Paso TX Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center Washington DC Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital at Hackensack University Medical

Center Hackensack NJ Joe DiMaggio Childrens Hollywood FL Johns Hopkins All Children's Foundation Saint Petersburg FL Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children Honolulu HI Kentucky Children's Hospital Lexington KY Levin's Children's Hospital Charlotte NC Maine Medical Center of Maine Health Portland ME Massachusetts General Hospital Boston MA Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York NY Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach CA The Children's Hospital at Montefiore Bronx NY Nicklaus Children's Hospital Miami FL Oklahoma Children's Health Foundation Oklahoma City OK Peyton Manning Children's Hosp At Ascension St Vincent Indianapolis IN Phoenix Children's Hospital Phoenix AZ Primary Children's Hospital Salt Lake City UT Rady Children's Hospital San Diego CA Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Buffalo NY St Joseph's Children's Tampa FL St. Louis Children's St. Louis MO Tampa General Children's Hospital Tampa FL Texas Children's Hospital at the Baylor College of Medicine Houston TX UC Davis Children's Hospital Davis CA UNC Children's Hospital Chapel Hill NC Greehey Children's Cancer Research Institute San Antonio TX Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt Nashville TN Vannie E. Cook Children's Hospital McAllen TX Yale New Haven Children's Hospital New Haven CT

Hyundai Hope On Wheels

Hyundai Hope On Wheels is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is committed to finding a cure for childhood cancer. Launched in 1998, Hyundai Hope On Wheels provides grants to eligible institutions nationwide that are pursuing critical research aimed at improving treatments and saving lives. Hyundai Hope On Wheels is one of the largest nonprofit funders of pediatric cancer research in the country. Primary funding for Hyundai Hope On Wheels comes from Hyundai Motor America and its more than 830 U.S. dealers. In 2023, Hyundai Hope On Wheels will surpass a lifetime total donation of $225 million in support of nearly 1,300 childhood cancer research grants.

SOURCE Hyundai Hope On Wheels
This release provides the results from five new drill holes including some of the widest and highest-grade results received so far in the underground program. Hole iRH23-14 intersected four zones of gold mineralization including the widest zone of high-grade mineralization intersected so far in the 2023 program assaying 10.6 g/t Au over 38.3 metres. Several of the new holes returned intercepts in excess of 20 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) including associated silver.

Highlight new results from 2023 drilling program at Cove include:

iCHU23-12A:

27.0 g/t Au & 9.2 g/t Ag over 8.0 m

iCHU23-13 :

49.3 g/t Au & 21.0 g/t Ag over 2.2 m



37.1 g/t Au & 19.1 g/t Ag over 3.6 m

iCHU23-14:

13.3 g/t Au & 29.2 g/t Ag over 4.0 m



10.6 g/t Au & 5.2 g/t Ag over 38.8 m



12.8 g/t Au & 7.2 g/t Ag over 2.6 m



11.1 g/t Au & 3.4 g/t Ag over 20.6 m

iCHU23-15:

8.3 g/t Au & 100.2 g/t Ag over 2.6 m



25.4 g/t Au & 7.1 g/t Ag over 3.0 m

iCHU23-16:

6.9 g/t Au & 3.9 g/t Ag over 8.8 m



11.1 g/t Au & 3.4 g/t Ag over 3.3 m



12.5 g/t Au & 6.5 g/t Ag over 11.5 m

iCHU23-18:

8.5 g/t Au & 5.7 g/t Ag over 3.6 m



14.0 g/t Au & 6.5 g/t Ag over 2.7 m

The Phase 1 development program, consisting of the decline and exploration platform (Figures 1 & 2), is now complete. A large-scale drill program, expected to comprise a total of more than 40,000 metres, is being completed on 30 metre spacing in advance of an updated resource estimate and economic study related to the construction of mining operation at McCoy-Cove. This program is focused on the CSD Gap and Helen Zone portions (Figure 3) of the deposit while mineralization below the pit in the Cove South Deep and 2201 deposits is not being drilled as part of this program (Figure 3).

"The drilling program in the CSD/Gap continues to confirm that Cove is one of North America's highest-grade gold deposits with grades and widths that are consistently exceeding expectations, frequently above the current resource grade.", stated Ewan Downie, CEO of i-80 Gold. "With true widths often in excess of 20 metres, Cove is expected to be a core asset in our longer-term development plans that will include three underground mines feeding our central Lone Tree processing facility."

Cove is one of three projects currently being advanced to realize the Company's goal of becoming the second largest gold producer in Nevada. In addition to the underground drill program, the Company is also advancing development plans and the approvals required for a mining operation at Cove. Drilling for the purpose of installing piezometer wells has also been completed and preparations for the 40-day pump test are underway for the completion of a final hydrological model for the Property.

To-date, 22 holes have been completed in the northwestern portion of the CSD Gap. Drilling is now underway at the Helen Zone where 7 holes have been completed with assays pending. The Helen Zone comprises the northwestern portion of the Cove deposit (see Figure 2). This drill program is expected to continue through 2023 and into 2024. New results are provided in Table 1.

Table 1  Highlight Assay Results from Cove Underground Drilling

New 2023 results from McCoy-Cove, estimated true thickness 80-95%

Drillhole ID Zone Type From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) iCHU23-12A CSD Gap Core 264.6 273.7 8.0 27.0 9.2 iCHU23-13 CSD Gap Core 314.6 316.8 2.2 49.3 21.0 and CSD Gap Core 319.6 323.2 3.6 37.1 19.1 and CSD Gap Core 353.1 357.8 4.8 13.1 6.1 iCHU23-14 CSD Gap Core 243.8 247.8 4.0 13.3 29.2 and CSD Gap Core 261.2 300.0 38.8 10.6 5.2 and CSD Gap Core 315.3 317.9 2.6 12.8 7.2 and CSD Gap Core 330.1 350.7 20.6 11.1 3.4 iCHU23-15 CSD Gap Core 234.2 245.8 2.6 8.3 100.2 and CSD Gap Core 328.6 331.6 3.0 25.4 7.1 iCHU23-16 CSD Gap Core 235.5 244.3 8.8 6.9 3.9 and CSD Gap Core 324.2 327.4 3.3 11.1 3.4 and CSD Gap Core 342.1 353.6 11.5 12.5 6.5 iCHU23-17 CSD Gap Core NSI

iCHU23-18 CSD Gap Core 252.7 256.3 3.6 8.5 5.7 and CSD Gap Core 340.6 343.4 2.7 14.0 6.5

UTM Drillhole ID East m North m Elevation m Azimuth Dip NAD83 Zone 11 iCHU23-12A 482201 4465760 1416 213 -87 iCHU23-13 482202 4465759 1416 210 -83 iCHU23-14 482176 4465774 1417 239 -83 iCHU23-15 482175 4465775 1417 267 -87 iCHU23-16 482175 4465776 1417 292 -83 iCHU23-17 482176 4465776 1417 320 -80 iCHU23-18 482176 4465776 1417 335 -85

The ongoing infill and step-out drill program will aid in the advancement of the Company's plan to develop an underground mine at Cove utilizing the current decline with material anticipated to be trucked to the Company's Lone Tree facility, once operational, for processing in addition to Nevada Gold Mines pursuant to the processing agreement between the two companies. Following the underground drill program, i-80 plans to complete an updated mineral resource estimate and a Feasibility Study.

Cove is one of the Company's primary assets and is host to a resource of:

Mineral Resources1

Tonnage Au Grade Ag Grade Gold Silver

(kt) (g/t) (g/t) (koz) (koz) Indicated 1,007 10.9 29.1 351 943 Inferred 3,867 10.9 20.6 1,353 2,565

1. Mineral Resources were calculated at a gold price of US$1500/oz, cut-off grade 0.141 opt Au, and is based on the Preliminary Economic Assessment issued by i-80 on April 13, 2021, and an effective date of January 1, 2021.



Please click here for further information on abbreviations and conversions referenced in this press release.

QAQC Procedures

All samples were submitted to ALS Minerals (ALS) of Sparks, NV, which is an ISO 9001 and 17025 certified and accredited laboratory, independent of the Company. Samples submitted through ALS are run through standard prep methods and analysed using Au-AA23 (ALS) (Au; 30g fire assay) and ME-MS61 (35 element suite; 0.4g 4 acid/ICP-AES). ALS also undertakes their own internal coarse and pulp duplicate analysis to ensure proper sample preparation and equipment calibration. i-80 Gold Corp's QA/QC program includes regular insertion of CRM standards, duplicates, and blanks into the sample stream with a stringent review of all results.

Qualified Person

Tyler Hill, CPG-12146, Chief Geologist at i-80 is the Qualified Person for the information contained in this press release and is a Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101.

About i-80 Gold Corp.

i-80 Gold Corp. is a Nevada-focused, mining company with a goal of achieving mid-tier gold producer status through the development of multiple deposits within the Company's advanced-stage property portfolio with processing at i-80's centralized milling facilities. i-80 Gold's common shares are listed on the TSX and the NYSE American under the trading symbol IAU:TSX and IAUX:NYSE. Further information about i-80 Gold's portfolio of assets and long-term growth strategy is available at www.i80gold.com or by email at [email protected].

Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including but not limited to, the expansion or mineral resources at McCoy-Cove and the potential of the Cove project. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect", "believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled", "forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this release.

Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to: material adverse changes, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued exploration, studies, development or operations.

SOURCE i-80 Gold Corp

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Successful Michigan-Based Firm with Six Financial Advisors Boasts Over $600 Million In Total Client Assets

PHOENIX, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Osaic, Inc. (Osaic), one of the nation's largest providers of wealth management solutions, announced that Investment Consulting Group is the latest team of highly successful financial advisors to join its newly rebranded and consolidated firm. With more than $600 million in total client assets and headquartered in Birmingham, Michigan, the former Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network group includes Managing Partners and Co-Founders Christopher DeWolfe and Jason Franklin, Vice Presidents Judd Allen, Mark Ivanovic and Spencer Schmale, and Financial Advisor Clay Franklin. Investment Consulting Group is bringing more than $600 million in total client assets to Osaic.

Investment Consulting Group offers a comprehensive suite of wealth planning solutions to safeguard and enhance the financial well-being of its clients. From strategic investment management and estate planning to tax optimization and retirement strategies, the firm's experienced team is dedicated to tailoring strategies that align with the unique goals of each of its corporate executive, small business owner and financially successful individual clients.

Mr. Franklin said, "We chose to go independent with Osaic due to its open architecture and growth-oriented culture. We are excited about the tools they provide our team to offer clients an elevated service experience. At the same time, their dedicated marketing support, practice management solutions and business-building resources will ease our transition and help us achieve our long-term growth goals. We had several options when we decided to leave the wirehouse, but it quickly became clear that Osaic was the right one."

Osaic's Ongoing Success

"Investment Consulting Group is a tremendous addition to our firm," said Kristen Kimmell, Executive Vice President Business Development. "Osaic's value proposition and forward-looking focus are attracting talented advisors and impressive firms with sophisticated practices. We are committed to ensuring their advisors and clients have everything they need to thrive in this evolving industry. We welcome them to the firm and look forward to partnering with them to help them meet their ambitious growth goals."

Greg Cornick, President Advice and Wealth Management at Osaic added, "Our scale is a major strength, and that is being recognized and appreciated by advisors across the industry, including those looking to leave the captive model and go independent. We have the talent, resources and proven ability to help advisors take their practices to the next level, both through organic growth and M&A. We are honored that the team at Investment Consulting Group has placed its trust in Osaic."

About OSAIC

Osaic, Inc. ("Osaic"), a portfolio company of Reverence Capital Partners, is one of the nation's largest providers of wealth management solutions, supporting over 11,000 financial professionals. Our mission is to support the strategic role that financial professionals can play in the lives of their clients. Cultivating a spirit of entrepreneurship and independence, Osaic champions the enduring value of financial professionals. For more information visit www.osaic.com

Securities and investment advisory services are offered through the firms: FSC Securities Corporation, Osaic Wealth, Inc., Triad Advisors, LLC, Infinex Investments, Inc., and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., broker-dealers, registered investment advisers, and members of FINRA and SIPC. Securities are offered through Securities America, Inc., American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc., and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., broker-dealers and member of FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services are offered through Arbor Point Advisors, LLC, American Portfolios Advisors, Inc., Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, Inc., Securities America Advisors, Inc., and Triad Hybrid Solutions, LLC, registered investment advisers. Advisory programs offered by FSC Securities Corporation, Osaic Wealth, Inc., Securities America Advisors, Inc., Triad Advisors, LLC., and Woodbury Financial Services, Inc., are sponsored by VISION2020 Wealth Management Corp., an affiliated registered investment adviser.

Media Inquiries

Joseph Kuo / Donald Cutler

Haven Tower Group

[email protected] or [email protected]

424 317 4851 or 424 317 4864

SOURCE Osaic, Inc.
HSINCHU, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ITRI, in collaboration with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the Hualien County Government, and the Tzu Chi Charity Foundation, recently orchestrated an educational drone camp for disadvantaged, Indigenous, and new immigrant children in Hualien. This initiative provided local children with hands-on training sessions that encompass drone programming, aerial video shooting, aerial typography art, and search and rescue applications.

Children learn to operate the drones they assemble in an engaging hands-on course.

ITRI's Deputy Operating Officer and Public Welfare Committee Chairman, Ta-An Ho, expressed her enthusiasm towards this year's event, as this is the first time to fully incorporate AIT's STEAM resourcescomprising curriculum centered around science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematicsinto ITRI's annual technology camp program. "ITRI's longstanding commitment to ensuring equitable access to quality education for all, which aligns with the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 4, focuses on presenting innovative technologies in inclusive and engaging forms, fostering the creativity and innovation of our youth," she said.

AIT Cultural Affairs Officer John Dow shared his delight in collaborating with ITRI to advance STEAM education in eastern Taiwan. "We share a firm belief in education's power to transform lives and promote students' well-being. We sincerely believe that technology, when harnessed effectively, can yield positive outcomes to drive beneficial changes."

Shu-Min Weng, Deputy Director of the Department of Education under the Hualien County Government, highlighted the government's active support in integrating technology into local education, stating, "Despite Hualien's remote location, the educational quality for children here is never compromised." She also expressed gratitude for organizing the drone-themed camp: "We appreciate ITRI for nurturing the growth of these school children, equipping them with skills that align with the technological demands of the future."

Deputy CEO of the Tzu Chi Charity Foundation Liu Jiyu stated, "Considering the geographical environment of Hualien, it is highly beneficial for these children to gain access to technology-related knowledge and resources, which can enhance their grasp of and adaptability to a technology-driven world. Our heartfelt gratitude to all participants for supporting Hualien's school children and contributing to a better educational experience."

About ITRI

Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) is one of the world's leading technology R&D institutions aiming to innovate a better future for society. Founded in 1973, ITRI has played a vital role in transforming Taiwan's industries from labor-intensive into innovation-driven. To address market needs and global trends, it has launched its 2035 Technology Strategy and Roadmap that focuses on innovation development in Smart Living, Quality Health, Sustainable Environment, and Resilient Society.

Over the years, ITRI has been dedicated to incubating startups and spinoffs, including well-known names such as UMC and TSMC. In addition to its headquarters in Taiwan, ITRI has branch offices in the U.S., Europe, and Japan in an effort to extend its R&D scope and promote international cooperation across the globe. For more information, please visit https://www.itri.org/eng.

SOURCE Industrial Technology Research Institute
CHICAGO, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The future of the Management Decision Market will be characterised by a greater integration of cutting-edge technology, individualised decision support, ethical considerations, and adaptation to changing business and technological landscapes. In a world that is always evolving, these trends will enable organisations to take more informed, effective, and ethical decisions.

The Management Decision Market size is projected to grow from USD 6.2 billion in 2023 to USD 11.4 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 13.0% during the forecast period, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Increasing the integration of AI to automate the decision-making process will enhance the demand of the Management Decision Market. AI is transforming businesses, boosting innovation and productivity while facilitating organizational agility. It's widely implemented across industries, enhancing supply chains, transportation, education, marketing, and disaster management. AI's benefits include automation, anomaly detection, and accurate predictions, reducing manual work and improving decision-making.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Management Decision Market"

225 - Tables

55 - Figures

290 - Pages

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Scope of the Report

Report Metrics Details Market size available for years 2018-2028 Base year considered 2022 Forecast period 20232028 Forecast units Value (USD) Million/Billion Segments Covered Offering (Software and Service), Application (Credit Risk Management, Collection Management, Customer Experience Management, Fraud Detection Management, Pricing Optimization, and Other Applications), Vertical, and Region Region covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Latin America Companies covered IBM (US), FICO (US), SAS (US), Oracle (US), Pegasystems (US), TIBCO Software (US), Sapiens International Corporation (Israel), Experian (Ireland), Equifax (US), Actico (Germany), Parmenides (Germany), Decision Management Solutions (US), OpenRules (US), Sparkling Logic (US), Scorto (Netherland), RapidGen (UK), Progress (US), InRule (US), CRIF (Italy), Decisions (US), Enova Decisions (US), FlexRule (Australia), Rulex (US), Seon (UK), and Decisimo (UK)

By Application, the collection management segment holds the largest market size during the forecast period.

Collection management is the process of managing and tracking customer debt. It is a critical part of the Management Decision Market, as it helps businesses to collect the money they are owed. Collection management software can help businesses automate tasks, improve efficiency, and make better decisions about how to manage their customer debt. The key trends in the collection management market include the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), the growing popularity of cloud-based solutions, and the increasing focus on data analytics. These trends are expected to continue to shape the collection management market in the years to come.

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By offering, the service segment is expected to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on services, the Management Decision Market is segmented into three categories: deployment and integration, support and maintenance, and consulting services. Services in the Management Decision Market aid organizations in making well-informed choices. Consulting firms provide industry-specific insights, while data analytics and business intelligence services offer data-driven guidance. Decision support services combine technology and expertise for modeling and analysis. With the help of these services, organizations can track, evaluate, and analyze the requirements of their business to make better-informed decisions.

North America is expected to hold the largest market size during the forecast period.

North America stands out as a highly advanced global region. Encompassing the United States and Canada, it commands the largest slice of the worldwide Management Decision Market, owing to the US market's prompt embrace of cloud and digital innovations. The North American nations boast robust, sustainable economies that facilitate robust investments in research and development, fostering the creation of novel technologies. Given their early adoption of cutting-edge trends like the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML), manufacturers are eagerly integrating industrial IoT advancements into their production processes. This integration streamlines managerial choices and empowers predictive analytics capabilities.

Top Key Companies in Management Decision Market:

The Management Decision Market comprises major providers, such as IBM (US), FICO (US), SAS (US), Oracle (US), Pegasystems (US), TIBCO Software (US), Sapiens International Corporation (Israel), Experian (Ireland), Equifax (US), Actico (Germany), Parmenides (Germany), Decision Management Solutions (US), OpenRules (US), Sparkling Logic (US), Scorto (Netherland), RapidGen (UK), Progress (US), InRule (US), CRIF (Italy), Decisions (US), Enova Decisions (US), FlexRule (Australia), Rulex (US), Seon (UK), and Decisimo (UK). To increase their market share in the Management Decision industry, these competitors have used a variety of growth methods, including partnerships, agreements, collaborations, new product releases, product enhancements, and acquisitions.

Recent Developments

In June 2023 , IBM added new features to Operational Decision Manager (ODM). The supported versions of key software components have been updated, enhancing ODM's compatibility and performance. Operational Decision Manager containers now have the RuntimeDefault seccomp profile enabled by default. This profile specifies a predefined list of system calls that can be executed within the container.

, IBM added new features to Operational Decision Manager (ODM). The supported versions of key software components have been updated, enhancing ODM's compatibility and performance. Operational Decision Manager containers now have the RuntimeDefault seccomp profile enabled by default. This profile specifies a predefined list of system calls that can be executed within the container. In June 2023 , FICO, a global analytic software company and recognized leader in AI decisioning platforms, and Belvo, the leading open finance data and payments platform in Latin America , announced a strategic partnership to expand credit access in Latin America . The two firms are developing an interpretable and explainable machine learning model that will provide a customer score based on consumer-permission transaction-level data aimed at increasing consumer credit access, improving banks' risk management, and empowering lenders to create personalized financial experiences for their customers.

, FICO, a global analytic software company and recognized leader in AI decisioning platforms, and Belvo, the leading open finance data and payments platform in , announced a strategic partnership to expand credit access in . The two firms are developing an interpretable and explainable machine learning model that will provide a customer score based on consumer-permission transaction-level data aimed at increasing consumer credit access, improving banks' risk management, and empowering lenders to create personalized financial experiences for their customers. In June 2023 , the latest edition of the Pega Infinity software suite introduces new features to enhance low-code development, optimize existing processes, and deliver seamless experiences for employees and customers. These capabilities are designed to support organizations' journey toward becoming autonomous enterprises. The software suite enables businesses to innovate rapidly, boost productivity, personalize customer interactions, and streamline operations, leading to cost reduction and decreased manual efforts. By leveraging these advancements, organizations can achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in their operations while delivering enhanced customer experiences.

, the latest edition of the Pega Infinity software suite introduces new features to enhance low-code development, optimize existing processes, and deliver seamless experiences for employees and customers. These capabilities are designed to support organizations' journey toward becoming autonomous enterprises. The software suite enables businesses to innovate rapidly, boost productivity, personalize customer interactions, and streamline operations, leading to cost reduction and decreased manual efforts. By leveraging these advancements, organizations can achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in their operations while delivering enhanced customer experiences. In May 2023 , FICO launched 19 major enhancements to the FICO Platform, the leading applied intelligence platform in the market, that helps clients drive critical and strategic business outcomes across their customer lifecycle.

, FICO launched 19 major enhancements to the FICO Platform, the leading applied intelligence platform in the market, that helps clients drive critical and strategic business outcomes across their customer lifecycle. In February 2023 , SAS Decision Manager 5.2, integrated with SAS Viya 3.4, introduced several new features and enhancements to enhance decision-making capabilities. Users can now utilize data grid variables within rules, providing greater flexibility in decision logic. Custom DS2 code files can be added and edited directly in decisions, enabling users to leverage custom code. The integration of analytic store models allows users to include them in decisions and publish them to various platforms like SAS Cloud Analytic Services, Apache Hadoop, SAS Micro Analytic Service, and Teradata.

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Management Decision Market Advantages:

Organisations may make strategic and informed decisions based on up-to-date information thanks to management decision solutions that use data analytics to give data-driven insights.

These solutions lessen the need for subjective and manual decision-making, improving accuracy and lowering the possibility of mistakes in crucial choices.

Workflows are streamlined through automation and decision process optimisation, saving time and resources and increasing overall operational effectiveness.

Solutions for management decisions guarantee organizational-wide consistency in decision-making by adhering to accepted standards, rules, and best practises.

These solutions can scale to handle increasing data volumes and complexity, ensuring that decision-making capabilities remain useful as organisations grow.

Predictive analytics is frequently a component of management decision tools, enabling organisations to foresee future trends and take preemptive actions to seize opportunities or reduce risks.

Management decision solutions assist businesses in finding cost-saving possibilities and cutting wasteful spending by optimising processes and resources.

Decision-making tools can help organisations analyse risks and mitigate them more effectively, hence reducing the likelihood of problems and crises.

Insights into market trends, consumer preferences, and competitive environments are provided by these solutions to enable strategic planning and long-term decision-making.

Report Objectives

To determine, segment, and forecast the global Management Decision Market by offering, application, vertical, and region in terms of value.

To forecast the size of the market segments to five main regions: North America , Europe , Asia Pacific , Middle East & Africa , and Latin America

, , , & , and To provide detailed information about the major factors (drivers, opportunities, threats, and challenges) influencing the growth of the Management Decision Market

To study the complete value chain and related industry segments and perform a value chain analysis of the Management Decision Market landscape.

To strategically analyze the macro and micro markets to individual growth trends, prospects, and contributions to the total Management Decision Market

To analyze the industry trends, pricing data, patents, and innovations related to the Management Decision Market.

To analyze the opportunities for stakeholders by identifying the high-growth segments of the Management Decision Market

To profile the key players in the market and comprehensively analyze their market share/ranking and core competencies.

To track and analyze competitive developments, such as mergers & acquisitions, product launches & developments, partnerships, agreements, collaborations, business expansions, and Research & Development (R&D) activities.

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Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry.

To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

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Agreement made on the sidelines of Africa Climate Summit

UAE's flagship renewable energy company to work with Africa50 to identify, fast-track and scale clean energy projects

Ahead of COP28 , Masdar commits to unlock 10 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy projects for millions of people across Africa by 2030

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC  Masdar has announced a partnership with Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform to identify, fast-track and scale clean energy projects across the continent. The UAE's clean energy champion has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Africa50 which will work to bridge the infrastructure funding gap and mobilize public and private finance.

Masdar and Africa50 MoU - CEOs shake hands

Masdar brings its technical expertise and extensive experience in emerging markets, while Africa50 brings its experience developing projects in Africa, which combined can help unlock Africa's tremendous clean energy potential.

Signed by Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar and Alain Ebobisse, Chief Executive Officer of Africa50 on the sidelines of Africa Climate Summit, the first of four global climate summits ahead of COP28, the agreement will see both parties work collaboratively to catalyze sustainable development of the clean energy sector in Africa.

Masdar, one of the world's largest clean energy companies and the largest in Africa, committed US$2 billion of equity as part of the UAE finance initiative, which was announced during Africa Climate Summit by HE Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President-Designate. The initiative brings together public, private, and development capital from UAE institutions, notably from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), Masdar, and AMEA Power. Africa50 is expected to also join this initiative as a strategic partner.

HE Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry & Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President-Designate, said: "We welcome this important partnership with Africa50 which brings a key stakeholder to the table for an inclusive, equitable and just energy transition. We look forward to working with Africa for Africa. The world must continue to close the gap on climate finance for clean energy investment in the global south which is disproportionately affected by climate change. We need the public and private sectors to work together to deliver clean energy access across Africa  a key mission and objective of Africa50. This can be accelerated in countries with robust regulatory frameworks, clear transition strategies and a real commitment to developing grid structure."

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar said: "As the largest renewable energy company in Africa, through our joint venture with Infinity Power, it is fitting that Masdar, with Africa50, should take this bold step forward which will unlock much needed climate finance for the energy transition. It is a key strategic market for Masdar and we are proud of our long-term partnerships and projects in Africa. Our portfolio today includes Senegal's first utility-scale wind farm, under Masdar's Infinity Power Holding platform (IPH), Mauritania's first and largest solar photovoltaic project, and the development of Africa's largest wind farm in Egypt with IPH and other partners. With Africa50, Masdar looks forward to unlocking the enormous clean energy potential across the continent,"

Masdar has committed a total of US$10 billion in clean energy finance, of which US$2 billion will be generated from equity, with an additional US$8 billion mobilized from project finance. This landmark investment will target the delivery of 10GW of clean energy capacity in Africa by 2030.

Alain Ebobisse, Chief Executive Officer of Africa50, commented: "Partnerships are key to our goal of scaling up and accelerating the delivery of bankable and sustainable infrastructure across Africa. We are pleased to join forces with Masdar through this signing. We believe that this step will become one of many, on a journey to drive transformative projects that support Africa's path to net-zero and help builder cleaner economies for future generations." Africa50 and Masdar will also explore opportunities to collaborate on the implementation of the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA) which was launched at COP27 by the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank and Africa50.

The UAE investment initiative sits under the umbrella of Etihad 7, a development platform launched by the UAE at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in 2022 and spear-headed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). Announced in 2022, Etihad 7 aims to provide 100 million people across the African continent with clean electricity by 2035.

Established in 2006, Masdar is the UAE's clean energy powerhouse. It is active in over 40 countries and has invested in a portfolio of renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of around 20 gigawatts (GW). Masdar aims to grow this to at least 100 GW by 2030. The company is also targeting green hydrogen production of 1 million tonnes per annum by the same year.

For more information please visit: http://www.masdar.ae and connect: facebook.com/masdar.ae and twitter.com/masdar

About Masdar

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) is the UAE's clean energy champion and one of the largest companies of its kind in the world, advancing the development and deployment of renewable energy and green hydrogen technologies to address global sustainability challenges. Established in 2006, Masdar is today active in over 40 countries, helping them to achieve their clean energy objectives and advance sustainable development. Masdar is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), and under this ownership the company is targeting a renewable energy portfolio capacity of at least 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and an annual green hydrogen production capacity of up to 1 million tonnes by the same year.

About Africa50

Africa50 is an infrastructure investment platform that contributes to Africa's growth by developing and investing in bankable projects, catalyzing public sector capital, and mobilizing private sector funding, with differentiated financial returns and impact. Africa50 currently has 34 shareholders, comprised of 31 African countries, the African Development Bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), and Bank Al-Maghrib. For more information, visit: www.africa50.com.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2203476/Masdar_Africa50.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1973446/4258455/Masdar_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Masdar
Retired US Army, Navy and Homeland Security Leaders Vice Admiral Rich Brown, Brigadier General Peter L. Jones and Tom Bush Join Advisory Board

BURLINGTON, Mass., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Further strengthening its industry advisory board, MatrixSpace announces the addition of three highly accomplished military and security leaders: Vice Admiral (VADM) Rich Brown (R); Brigadier General Peter L. Jones (R); and Tom Bush, retired Department of Homeland Security executive.

Vice Admiral (VADM) Rich Brown (R) is a senior defense operations leader with over 35 years of experience leading transformation throughout the Navy, retiring in 2020.

Brigadier General Peter L. Jones Vice admiral Rich Brown (R)

He was appointed Commander, Naval Surface Forces/Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet in 2017 and revamped the career and training continuum of over 6,500 Surface Warfare Officers and introduced a Culture of Excellence to over 55,000 sailors. Leading a staff of 475, he influenced a $40 billion annual enterprise-wide budget, directly executing a $3 billion annual Naval Surface Force, U. S. Pacific Fleet budget.

Brigadier General Peter L. Jones (R) is a recognized leader, team builder and innovative thinker, operationally adept at balancing risk and priorities to solve complex problems. He retired in 2017 as the Commandant and Chief of Infantry at the United States Army Infantry School in Fort Benning, GA, following 32 years of service in the U.S. Army.

Peter is a decorated combat leader with over 48 months of combat deployments with broad overseas experience and cultural understanding in Europe and the Middle East, including Afghanistan.

Tom Bush, retired Department of Homeland Security senior leader, is a seasoned public security expert with leadership roles across the Department of Homeland Security, the TSA and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), working closely with Homeland Security Secretaries to implement new policies.

As acting Executive Assistant Administrator at the TSA he oversaw technology research, policy development and innovative travel solutions for the transportation public sector, and led the Offices of Policy, Intelligence, Research and Capability Analysis, and trusted traveler programs to ensure TSA's operational capabilities were aligned with the needs of Federal Air Marshals and Transportation Security Officers.

Quote from Vice Admiral (VADM) Rich Brown (R)

"MatrixSpace's small, low weight radar is a game changer in solving numerous maritime battlespace awareness problems. The use cases of this radar, in conjunction with AI edge processing and its built-in mesh networking, are only limited by our imagination. I am incredibly proud to join the outstanding MatrixSpace team and look forward to working with them to enhance the capabilities and warfighting readiness of our Navy and Marine Corps team."

Quote from Brigadier General Peter L. Jones (R)

"It's great to be part of the MatrixSpace team, who are focused on providing small, affordable, cutting-edge AI-enhanced radar technological solutions that solve today and tomorrow's battlefield challenges."

Quote from Tom Bush, retired Department of Homeland Security senior leader

"Excited to be part of the MatrixSpace team, focused on providing lightweight cutting-edge AI enhanced radar solutions that solve today and tomorrow's border security challenges."

MatrixSpace's mission is to offer real-time AI edge-based sensing with the ability to detect and track multiple types of objects in any situation. Combining industry leading sensing, AI edge processing and RF communication in real-time is a major technology breakthrough that will reinvent business models across multiple vertical market applications, in particular the defense and public safety industry. The recently announced MatrixSpace Radar is the foundational product of this open architecture sensing platform.

Quote from Greg Waters, co-founder and CEO, MatrixSpace

"These are three extraordinary leaders with deep insights and experience of the challenges faced by industry, defense and national security forces around the world. We look forward to their support and involvement across our organization as well as driving awareness and ensuring relevancy to end users globally."

About MatrixSpace

MatrixSpace is re-imagining radar. We are addressing the next generation of AI-enabled sensing so that objects can be identified, and data collected in real-time - no cloud access required. We're building the smallest radar system to provide new levels of integrated outdoor surveillance in 4D (the size, location, and movement of objects in time) that makes it accessible to a broad range of public and private enterprises. www.matrixspace.com.

Disclaimer: We are working through authorization as required by Federal Communications Commission rules. This device will be available for sale when FCC authorization is obtained.

Contact:

[email protected]

P: +1 650 996 0778

Follow us:

LinkedIn @MatrixSpaceAI

Twitter @MatrixSpaceAI

SOURCE MatrixSpace
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ersin Tatar has expressed gratitude to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports.

"I am glad that President Ilham Aliyev said at a meeting of the Organization of Turkic States held in Baku that the flag of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will be flown at events in Azerbaijan. I would like to thank President Ilham Aliyev for his statements and hope that our brotherhood and cooperation will last forever. I wish that our relations with Azerbaijan continue to develop," he said.

Meanwhile, speaking today at the meeting of participants in the second meeting of ministers for emergency management and emergency situations of member states and observer states of the Organization of Turkic States and the international exercises "Baku-2023", President Ilham Aliyev said that the flag of Northern Cyprus should and will be flown at events in Azerbaijan.

"Today, for the first time, a representative of Northern Cyprus is also present here with us. I would like to specifically welcome our Northern Cypriot Turkic brothers. The minister is present here as an observer, but at the same time, with his national flag. Azerbaijan has always been by the side of our brothers united in the whole Turkic world, and it is very gratifying that Northern Cyprus it was chosen as an observer to at the last summit of the Organization of Turkic States. On this occasion, I heartily congratulate all our Turkic brothers. This once again shows our unity and once again shows our resolve. It shows that we are and will always be with each other on the path of truth," President Ilham Aliyev said.
Finnish food tech startup partners with Centric Software to bolster innovation, streamline processes & enhance collaboration

CAMPBELL, Calif., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Centric Software , the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) market leader, proudly announces its partnership with MeEat, a Finnish plant-based food tech startup. Centric Software provides the most innovative enterprise solutions to plan, design, develop, source and sell products such as apparel, footwear, sporting goods, furniture, home decor, consumer electronics, cosmetics, food & beverage and luxury to achieve strategic and operational digital transformation goals.

MeEat - Centric Software

Founded in 2020, MeEat Food Tech is a plant-based food startup with an aspirational mission  to make the best plant-based products and help the meat industry switch to plant-based food production. MeEat is a spin-off from a Finnish meat processing company, Pouttu, and their brand MUU is the market leader in Finland.

MeEat introduces new products in supermarkets that can easily be used to substitute meat in everyday dishes and recipes, without sacrificing the flavor and feel of meat. To date, they have launched 50 products to market in various sub-categories including sausages, cold cuts and ready-made meals. In their constant pursuit of innovation, the new hero ingredient in MeEat's plant-based meals is fermented fava beans, which are highly sustainable, protein-rich, and a minimally processed alternative to traditional food sources.

With the goal of strengthening their market position and expanding internationally, the small but agile team at MeEat knew they needed to streamline innovation processes and get control of their data.

"We wanted a solution that collects everything in one place to make innovation processes fast and smooth," says Janna Oksanen, PLM Project Manager at MeEat. "All current portfolio and new product development data is stored in disparate locations and formats, and the amount of manual work teams are doing is time consuming and increases the risk of mistakes."

Determined to speed innovation, improve collaboration and alleviate the frustration team members were experiencing, MeEat began the search for their first Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system.

"We chose Centric Software as a partner because of their expertise in platform development and deep understanding of FMCG business needs," shares Oksanen. "The configurability and features of Centric PLM are superior to other solutions, and being able to access Centric team members during regular office hours will facilitate collaboration."

Read the entire press release.



Learn more about Centric PLM

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204321/MeEat_Centric_Software.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2088403/4060048/Centric_Software_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Centric Software
COLUMBIA, Md., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Merkle, a leading data-driven customer experience management company, today announced the launch of its new global accelerator for Salesforce Commerce Cloud , which enables brands to achieve a modern composable, API-first architecture faster. Developed to work with Contentful and Magnolia, the accelerator extends Salesforce Commerce Cloud and streamlines integration of one of the world's leading commerce platforms with other enterprise content management platforms.

With this new accelerator, Merkle continues to scale its global leadership in implementing eCommerce technology. By joining forces with Contentful and Magnolia, Merkle enables businesses to implement enterprise-ready headless content management capabilities with Salesforce Commerce Cloud. The new accelerator drives improved time to market, a future-ready technology architecture, and greater innovation in front-end consumer experience. It allows brands to manage front-end site experience and web content through the content management platform, in addition to user experience functionality. This reduces the initial front-end development work for brands to implement a headless architecture.

"Launching our global composable accelerator for Salesforce with Contentful and Magnolia is a significant milestone for Merkle," said Holden Bale, global head of Experience & Commerce at Merkle. "We've done a great deal of work in the content and commerce space, especially around modern API-led eCommerce and experience architectures. But the challenge of technology modernization for many brands has been the complexity of implementation and the realization of true value for their business and consumers. Our new accelerator provides a comprehensive solution to reduce risk and cost centered around two of the best modular enterprise content management systems in the world. This accelerator reaffirms Merkle's commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences and driving business growth."

The accelerator brings together Merkle's Salesforce Commerce Cloud expertise and modern content management platforms Contentful and Magnolia, and is supported by Merkle's global design system to expedite design and provide best-in-class brand experience components. This gives businesses the tools to create and deliver exceptional digital commerce experiences while reducing cost and time to implement composable architectures. Merkle's accelerator is also tailored to help brands deliver compelling, real-time commerce experiences on a global level.

"At Salesforce, we take great pride in powering flexible, digital commerce experiences for some of the world's most successful brands," said Michael Affronti, GM of Salesforce Commerce Cloud. "As headless architectures continue to evolve in service of exceptional customer experience, we're evolving with it, and we are thrilled to see Merkle's investment in this space too -- reducing complexity and accelerating time to value for brands."

"As an early pioneer of composability, we've seen the market moving steadily towards the understanding that an enterprise needs more than an off-the-shelf digital platform," said Tim Brown, CEO of Magnolia. "We're excited to support the new global commerce accelerator for Salesforce Commerce Cloud, helping our users get past trade-offs in functionality, flexibility, and cost to focus on fully integrated customer experiences and faster digital delivery."

"Today, content is the customer experience, and composable content is what enables brands to elevate digital experiences and provide them at scale," said Steve Sloan, CEO, Contentful. "This partnership with Merkle is a reflection of our dedication to helping enterprises transition to modern, composable solutions to compete in this digital-first world and help brands go to market faster."

For more information about Merkle's partnership with Salesforce, click here. To request a demo at Dreamforce of the global commerce accelerator, email [email protected].

Salesforce, Dreamforce, Commerce Cloud and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc.

About Merkle

Merkle, a dentsu company, is a leading data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company that specializes in the delivery of unique, personalized customer experiences across platforms and devices. For more than 30 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. The company's heritage in data, technology, and analytics forms the foundation for its unmatched skills in understanding consumer insights that drive hyper-personalized marketing strategies. Its combined strengths in consulting, creative, media, analytics, data, identity, CX/commerce, technology, and loyalty & promotions drive improved marketing results and competitive advantage. Merkle has more than 16,000 employees in 30+ countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. For more information, contact Merkle at 1-877-9- Merkle or visit www.merkle.com .

About Contentful

The Contentful Composable Content Platform brings the building blocks of content together to create once and reuse for any digital experience. The API-first platform integrates easily with data sources and new functionality as digital experiences and technology evolve. With built-in orchestration , a robust app ecosystem, and app framework to easily extend the platform, Contentful frees teams across the business to work together to connect, create, and extend content more efficiently. Contentful helps companies unlock the power of digital content so they can build faster and deliver at scale, making their content a strategic business asset. Nearly 30% of the Fortune 500 and thousands of companies around the world rely on Contentful to help them bring their best ideas to life. For more information, visit www.contentful.com .

About Magnolia

Founded in Switzerland in 1997, Magnolia lets you build a composable digital experience platform made for your real-world needs. By unifying your unique tech stack  from legacy systems to the latest martech  Magnolia helps you create fully integrated customer experiences and speeds up your digital delivery. Create a truly composable business by consolidating all your content in one content hub and connecting any data source, application, or channel through easy integrations. Then, streamline how teams work with a unified authoring interface and one seamless workflow, empowering every business user to create personalized, optimized experiences with ease.



With a track record of 100% project success, over 450 enterprise customers, thousands of Community Edition deployments, and more than 200 certified Magnolia Partners around the world, Magnolia is the composable DXP of choice for leading enterprises, including American Express, JetBlue, The New York Times, CNN, Sanofi, Sainsbury's, Generali, and Ping An.

SOURCE Merkle
KIELCE, Poland, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- At the International Defense Industry Exhibition (MSPO), Viettel High Tech, the R&D division of Viettel Group announced a strategic signing with WB Group  the Poland's largest technology group. This partnership aims to help the two leading groups of Vietnam and Poland leverage mutual strengths and explore business opportunities in the global markets.

Viettel and WB Group signed SPA at MSPO 2023

Under the cooperation, Viettel High Tech will play a pivotal role in promoting WB Group's cutting-edge products across Vietnam, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. These regions have become strongholds for Viettel, and the company has firmly established its brand in the field. In return, WB Electronics, a subsidiary of WB Group, will serve as Viettel High Tech's gateway for business expansion in Poland, Europe, and the global high-tech equipment supply chain.

The collaboration between Viettel High Tech and WB Group is geared towards fostering a synergistic ecosystem of products, enabling the promotion of each other's offerings in diverse potential markets and distribution channels.

Viettel, with its extensive expertise in research, design, production, and distribution of leading technology solutions, will further strengthen its operations in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Having already achieved remarkable success in 11 countries, Viettel is well-positioned to leverage its credibility and expand its presence even further. Meanwhile, WB Group holds a leading position in the Polish high-tech market, providing the most technologically advanced military systems in the global market.

Mr. Nguyen Vu Ha, General Director of Viettel High Tech, emphasized that the company's global expansion strategy revolves around partnerships, with WB Group emerging as an ideal collaborator due to its extensive global reach, established executive relationships, and robust ecosystem. He said, "WB Group's network will also introduce Viettel High Tech to a diverse global ecosystem, facilitating collaborations with a variety of partners".

About WB Group

WB Group holds a prominent position in the defense industry in Poland. It supplies advanced solutions to international armed forces, specializing in observation and reconnaissance systems, communication tools, battlefield guidance, and management systems. The group's global reach extends to Poland, Europe, and the American markets. As the flagship company of WB Group, WB Electronics boasts a leading position in the high-tech sector.

About Viettel

Viettel Group, the largest brand in Vietnam, serves over 130 million customers worldwide across Asia, Africa, and America. The defense industry has become one of Viettel's core focus areas, with Viettel High Tech leading the charge. The division has successfully conducted cutting-edge research, development, and production of modern military equipment, weapons, and technical apparatus urgently required in the industry, including next-generation weapons. Viettel's products have already made significant inroads into Southeast Asian countries. They are now promoting the export of "Made in Vietnam" products to the global market.

Media Contact:

Mrs. Le Thuy Mai (Alicia)  Head of Marcom

Viettel High Technology Industries Corporation, Viettel Group

[email protected]

SOURCE Viettel High Technology Industries Corporation
Auction Opens on September 15th at 12 pm PST with donations from 130+ Generous Napa Valley Donors  Closes October 1st at 9pm

Extraordinary Wines, Napa Experiences and Outdoor Adventures Available for Bid

Auction Link: auctria.events/NVSPA

ST. HELENA, Calif., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Napa Valley State Parks Association (NVSPA), a charitable 501(c)(3) organization based in Saint Helena, CA, opens its highly anticipated 2023 Online Auction on September 15th at 12:00 PM (PST), and closing on October 1st at 9 PM (PST). It will include auction items from 130+ generous Napa Valley donors. NVSPA will hold its 2023 Bale Grist Mill Harvest Dinner on September 30th, which also will include a live auction. Tickets for the Harvest Dinner are limited and can be purchased now at auctria.events/NVSPA. Napa Valley based multi vintage wine brand The Mill Keeper is returning as Presenting Sponsor for the dinner.

"Much of the early inspiration for The Mill Keeper came from the legacy of Maria Ignacia Soberanes Bale, who operated the Bale Grist Mill in the mid-1800s," said Tom Gamble, founder of The Mill Keeper. "The Napa Valley's first mill keepers, like Maria, laid the foundation for the wine industry as we know it today and we are proud to partner with Napa Valley State Parks to support this historic site."

Cathie Bennett Warner, President of NVSPA said, "On behalf of the Board and members of NVSPA, we want the entire Napa Valley community to know that we are grateful for the hundreds of generous donations we have received for our Online Auction. All money received from this fundraiser will directly benefit Napa Valley State Parks  Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park, Napa-Bothe State Park and Robert Louis Stevenson State Park. We know that wine collectors everywhere will want a chance to bid on the rare lots of wine that we have collected from very prestigious and exclusive Napa Valley brands. We also are offering fabulous magnum lots, exclusive Napa experiences, along with outdoor adventures with Napa insiders to thrill outdoor enthusiasts. "

While the COVID pandemic and the 2020 fires devastated all three of Napa Valley State Parks, some things have remained constant: the Napa State Parks, have continued to serve as an escape and oasis for Napa County residents and tourists seeking fresh air, exercise, hiking, biking, climbing and a place to smile in the sun. The dedicated Parks staff, supported by the Napa Open Space District, have continued caring for these beautiful and historic State Parks, even in the face of wildfire, drought and pandemic challenges over the last few years. The three State Parks, owned by the State of California but reliant solely on local and private funding since 2012, have been an indispensable asset for Napa Valley, the Bay Area and tourists from around the globe.

Please visit our auction link auctria.events/NVSPA and website for more information: www.napavalleystateparks.org

ABOUT NVSPA

The Napa Valley State Parks Association's mission is to raise funding and recruit volunteers to support the three California State parks located in beautiful Napa Valley. Funding raised by the Association is used for historic building upkeep, trail maintenance, educational resources, park resources, care of the campsites, yurts, cabins and a spring-fed pool, along with picnic areas, a 176-year-old working Grist Mill and access for all. We rely on the generosity of our donors and those that enjoy the use of our parks. NVSPA is a charitable 501(c)(3) organization. Federal Tax ID 94-2459815. Donations are fully tax-deductible.

Media Contacts:

Cathie Bennett Warner [email protected], 415-420-1573

Jessica Ardizzone [email protected]

SOURCE Napa Valley State Parks Association
The accessories designer launches her first exclusive collection and makes her debut customer appearance in the U.S. with the integrated luxury retailer

DALLAS, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Neiman Marcus launches exclusive collection, 'Midnight in Paris', from Amina Muaddi featuring 13 styles across ladies' shoes and handbags. This is the first exclusive collection the accessories designer has created for a retail partner and is in celebration of the Neiman Marcus Award for Innovation in the Field of Fashion she received earlier this year.

Caroline Crystal Satin Mule Sandals, Leila Metallic Stars Slide Sandals, Rosie Crystal Bow Halter Pumps Amina Muaddi Visits Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills to Launch Exclusive 'Midnight in Paris' Collection Ryan Destiny and Amina Muaddi Celebrate Exclusive Neiman Marcus 'Midnight in Paris' Collection Launch

"The reimagined Neiman Marcus Awards platform embodies our differentiated business model, connecting brand partners to the American luxury customer in new ways," says Ryan Ross, President, Neiman Marcus and Head of NMG Customer Insights. "Through the program, we celebrate brand partners who share in our innovative approach to retail to make our customers' lives extraordinary."

Muaddi translates her innovative exuberance into impeccable creations, providing luxury customers with an unparalleled sense of self and confidence when they wear her pieces. She represents the power of creativity, and quickly captured the devotion of the Neiman Marcus customer. The collection features her instantly recognizable inventive designs, combining unique shapes with unexpected materials. The assortment includes classic silhouettes such as the Rosie and Camelia, along with new styles in crystal embellishments, ranging from rich shades of blue to striking metallics. Muaddi's classic design codes are prominent throughout, including the signature CL heel. Her bold colors in handbags are both fashion-forward and show-stopping.

To celebrate the launch of the 'Midnight in Paris' collection, Muaddi made her first U.S. in-store appearance at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills, mingling with customers and friends of the brand. Guests were treated to a memorable evening with the Italian-raised designer, where she personally presented the collection, speaking to the inspiration behind her eponymous designs. The night continued with an intimate celebration dinner at Chateau Marmont. Notable attendees included Ryan Destiny, Tina Chen Craig, Elsa Majimbo and Nausheen Shah.

"As the inaugural recipient of the Innovation Award, Amina exemplifies the strength of ingenuity through her innovative footwear and accessories designs," says Lana Todorovich, Chief Merchandising Officer, Neiman Marcus. "Leaning into our history as brand builders, we identified her talent early in her career. Naming her a Neiman Marcus Award recipient was a nod to Stanley Marcus, who believed in celebrating tastemakers at the forefront of their careers."

Neiman Marcus has a powerful history of cultivating relationships with designers and helping to develop brands into successful global businesses. Celebrating their 5th anniversary this year, the Amina Muaddi brand originally launched in 2018. Neiman Marcus quickly identified her talent and launched her line in Fall 2019 to great acclaim. Since Muaddi's debut with Neiman Marcus, the depth of investment has expanded from four to 17 doors, including online. In addition to her iconic pumps, the assortment seasonally includes ballerinas, mid heels, a broader range of boots and booties, and her recently launched handbag collection. Since her receipt of the Neiman Marcus Award in March 2023, the brand has seen significant increased interest from customers.

"I was thrilled to create this capsule for Neiman Marcus following up the humbling recognition as their first recipient of the Neiman Marcus Award for Innovation in the Field of Fashion," said Amina Muaddi, Founder and Creative Director. "I wanted to design a glamorous collection that would reflect this special moment in my career but would relate to every woman with an occasion to celebrate. And experiencing the joy of treating ourselves to a dazzling pair of shoes or a beautiful purse is simply a reminder to celebrate ourselves at any given moment. This collection is like a beautiful, moody, bright night and I hope our customers at Neiman Marcus will feel radiant while wearing it."

Through the reimagined awards platform, Neiman Marcus is able to strengthen ongoing relationships with brand partners through unique activations and immersive experiences, further engaging the American luxury customer. As additional recipients of this year's awards, Brunello Cucinelli will unveil a second exclusive collection in Fall 2023 inspired by Hollywood Glamour, followed by Jonathan Anderson for LOEWE who will develop an exclusive activation in 2024. The luxury retailer is already ideating around year two of the reimagined awards platform.

Neiman Marcus invites customers to shop the collection across all three facets of its integrated retail model. The collection is available in select stores, including Dallas NorthPark, Houston, Bal Harbour, Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Fashion Island, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago Michigan Avenue, Boston, Tysons, Short Hills, King of Prussia, Troy, and Miami Coral Gables.

Assets from the collection can be downloaded here. For more information and detailed history about the Neiman Marcus Awards, view the Press Kit.

#neimanmarcus | #neimanmarcusawards | @neimanmarcus | @aminamuaddiofficial

ABOUT NEIMAN MARCUS:

Neiman Marcus is a Dallas-based luxury retailer, providing customers access to exclusive and emerging brands, anticipatory service, and unique experiences since 1907. Each day, Neiman Marcus connects with customers worldwide while delighting them with exceptional experiences across a 36-store presence in the U.S., one of the largest U.S. e-commerce luxury platforms, and industry-leading remote selling and personalization technology. From delectable dining and indulgent beauty services to bespoke experiences and exclusive products, there is something for everyone. To keep up with the latest news and events at Neiman Marcus, visit neimanmarcus.com or follow the brand on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube,

Neiman Marcus Group is a relationship business that leads with love in everything we do for our customers, associates, brand partners, and communities. Our legacy of innovating and our culture of Belonging guide our roadmap for Revolutionizing Luxury Experiences. As one of the largest multi-brand luxury retailers in the U.S., with the world's most desirable brand partners, we are delivering exceptional products and intelligent services, enabled by our investments in digital, data and technology. Through the expertise of our 10,000+ associates, we deliver and scale a personalized luxury experience across our three facets of our integrated retail model- in-store, eCommerce, and remote selling. Our NMG Way culture, powered by our people, combines individual talents into a collective strength to make life extraordinary. NMG WOW (Way of Working) is the company's unique, integrated working philosophy to do their best work, full stop. Our flagship brands include Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. For more information, visit neimanmarcusgroup.com.

ABOUT NM AWARDS:

NM Awards is a new platform to recognize and amplify breakthrough luminaries in fashion globally. The platform includes the return of the prestigious Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Service in the Field of Fashion, a legacy established by Carrie Marcus Neiman and Stanley Marcus 85 years ago, as well as two expanded categories: the Neiman Marcus Award for Creative Impact in the Field of Fashion and the Neiman Marcus Award for Innovation in the Field of Fashion.

The Distinguished Service Award has been given to over 150 luxury fashion luminaries in the industry, including Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Giorgio Armani, Grace Kelly, Karl Lagerfeld, Miuccia Prada, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo, Carolina Herrera, Estee Lauder, and Baccarat, among others.

The reimagined awards are an extension of the company's growth strategy to Revolutionize Luxury Experiences. It celebrates brand partners who share an interest in NMG's innovative approach to retail and purpose-driven commitment to creating impact. As a relationship business, the awards platform embodies the company's differentiated business model, connecting brand partners to luxury customers in entirely new ways.

ABOUT AMINA MUADDI:

Amina Muaddi is a self-titled international luxury accessories brand founded in 2018 by the eponymous Jordanian and Romanian designer. Conceptualized in Paris and made in Italy, Muaddi's collections combine centuries of shoe-making expertise with a modern global fashion perspective, timeless quality meeting cutting- edge designs. Amina Muaddi has expanded the contemporary woman's footwear closet, offering original and recognizable silhouettes in her heels. From the brand's loyal consumer following to its influence on pop culture with collaborations from Wolford, to AWGE, to film and tv fashion with standout moments in HBO's Euphoria and Insecure, the brand also expanded into handbags in 2020 and custom jewelry in 2021. Amina Muaddi shoes and accessories can be seen on many of the world's most elusive celebrities and figures such as Rihanna, Serena Williams, Dua Lipa, Julianne Moore or Beyonce amongst others.

SOURCE Neiman Marcus
Netigate has rebuilt its brand from the ground up, to highlight its mission and core purpose and to carry the company through the full revolution from survey tool to experience management solution.

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The announcement of the new brand identity signals another major milestone in the company's journey. With a clear focus on understanding people, Netigate's rebranding effort goes beyond a mere visual transformation; it brings the company's core purpose and mission to the forefront.

"We want to let people know what we stand for. It really boils down to our ability to genuinely understand people and to help companies do so. We want our customers to confidently act on the things that truly matter to their employees and customers. Those are the things that will make a difference and really drive their businesses forward," says Martyna Studniarska, Director of Brand, Netigate

The new brand

Netigate's new brand identity revolves around its core purpose: "Give every voice value." This essence underscores the company's mission to provide a platform for individuals to genuinely express their opinions and ensure their voices are heard, respected, and utilised to incentivise growth. The new brand vision, "Enriched experiences, empowered people," serves as a guiding light, driving the company's commitment to creating environments that foster growth, collaboration, and fulfilment. Grounded in the desire to gain insight into human thoughts and feelings, Netigate's mission, "Inspire action through authentic understanding of people," emphasizes the significance of empathy and genuine connections within organisations.

To highlight the company's full focus on understanding people, the new colour palette is inspired by Pantone skin tones.

"It's a way for us to pay tribute to what is at the core of what we do, which is people. And to tie in the topic of diversity and the importance of making everyone's voices heard. If you are going to listen to and analyse every voice, you will need a powerful tool and the right expertise to do so. That's where Netigate comes in."  Martyna Studniarska, Director of Brand, Netigate

Watch the rebrand teaser video here .

New employee experience product

Accompanying the brand relaunch is Netigate's new, revolutionary Employee Engagement Platform, Netigate EX. This innovative platform equips HR professionals and leaders with the tools they need to cultivate a thriving workplace culture through the power of feedback. Official product launch and press release are expected within a couple of weeks.

"With the launch of our new brand identity, we strengthen our commitment to understanding people and enabling organisations to create enriched experiences for their employees. Our expanded product suite represents our dedication to empowering companies to place employee and customer voices at the centre of their operations for growth." - Mikkel Drucker, CEO of Netigate.

Netigate's dedication to understanding people through data-driven insights has solidified its position as a leading European SaaS company. As organisations embrace the new innovative employee experience solution, they will find themselves better equipped to harness the true potential of their employees, leading to increased productivity, happier teams, and sustainable growth.

Press contact:

Martyna Studniarska

Director of Brand

[email protected]

+46 737 24 30 00

The following files are available for download:

https://news.cision.com/netigate-ab/i/netigate-rebrand-2023-skintech,c3213615 Netigate Rebrand 2023 Skintech

SOURCE Netigate AB
16 patients have been enrolled in a multicenter international, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded Phase II clinical trial

Goal: to determine the effect size of Neuro-Cells, a stem-cell treatment for Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (TSCI)

Confirmed excellent safety and tolerability of Neuro-Cells

Preclinical evidence showcases Neuro-Cells potential in other indications, including traumatic brain injury

Primary outcomes expected in February 2024 , full study completion projected in August 2024

GELEEN, The Netherlands, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuroplast, a Dutch clinical-stage biotech, focusing on cell-based treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, has successfully completed patient inclusion of its Phase II randomized placebo-controlled double-blinded clinical trial to evaluate the effect size of Neuro-Cells for Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (TSCI). Preliminary data indicate an excellent safety profile due to the complete absence of product related adverse events. Furthermore, patient feedback confirms excellent tolerability. The trial is conducted in collaboration with Hospital Nacional de Paraplejicos in Toledo, Spain, and Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Neuro-Cells technology platform uses the patient's own bone marrow to create a stem cell treatment that modulates inflammation and improves regeneration potential in the central nervous system. Neuro-Cells are administered intrathecally to patients in the sub-acute stage. This autologous treatment aims to preserve and restore function, mobility, and therefore independence.

Double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled multi-center study

The trial was conducted by Principal Investigators Antonio Oliviero, MD, PhD and Prof. Jorg Mey from Hospital Paraplejicos in Toledo, Spain, as well as Professor Fin Biering-Srensen and MD, PhD Claus Andersen from Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The study is a randomized, double-blinded and placebo-controlled trial, with an early and late intervention cross-over design. The intervention group received Neuro-Cells in the sub-acute phase after sustaining trauma, with six months follow-up to their primary endpoints. The placebo group received a placebo at first but have been or will be treated with Neuro-Cells after the initial six-month follow-up period. The multi-faceted follow-up for both groups includes standardized and validated outcome measures on motor and sensory function and multiple blood and cerebrospinal fluid measurements. Next to the absence of product related adverse events, the patients describe the intervention as easy and feasible as it does not require significant changes in daily living or medication intake.

Antonio Oliviero, MD, PhD, Principal Investigator at Hospital Nacional de Paraplejicos de Toledo, Spain, states:

"In our collaboration with Neuroplast to establish the role of cell transplantation in the recovery of individuals with spinal cord injury, it is great to hear that patients are pleased with the treatment that they experience as easy, feasible and safe."

Fin Biering-Srensen, MD, PhD, Principal investigator at Rigshospitalet, Denmark, adds :

"For decades we have been seeking a cure for spinal cord injury. This project may be one step on that road, which is very exciting, due to the fact that so far, we have only been able to treat the symptoms and complications caused by the spinal cord injury."

In total, the trial involves 16 patients that were included six to ten weeks after sustaining trauma to the spinal cord.

The trial is conducted under official approval from the Spanish and Danish medical ethical committees and competent authorities.

Neuroplast CEO Johannes de Munter concludes:

"This milestone takes us one step closer to offering an effective treatment for patients suffering from traumatic spinal cord injury. We are especially glad to see further confirmation of the excellent tolerability and safety of our Neuro-Cells product."

Potential relevance to other neurological conditions

Preclinical evidence suggests that the Neuro-Cells treatment may have broader applications in addressing various neurodegenerative diseases. Neuroplast has obtained orphan disease designations for traumatic spinal cord injury and frontotemporal dementia. Ongoing research efforts are actively exploring additional potential applications.

Neuroplast is open to discussing investment opportunities aimed at advancing the clinical pathways for addressing a broader range of conditions affecting the central nervous system, including traumatic brain injury.

About Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury (TSCI)

Acute TSCI causes incurable impairment to the spinal cord, affecting approximately 12,000 people across Europe and 17,000 across the USA annually. The damage or trauma interrupts communication of the brain with the body regions below the site of injury. Spinal cord injuries are mainly caused by accidents and - in most of the cases - result in life-long loss of control of motor functions and sensations. After the primary injury to the spinal cord, a cascade of events leads to progressive loss of tissue which may further deteriorate the patient's prognosis. Current treatment approaches for TSCI are only symptomatic, leaving the underlying pathophysiology unchanged.

TSCI has a serious impact on the quality of life of patients, with severe implications on mobility and loss of independence. In addition, TSCI creates a lifetime financial burden for patients, payors, healthcare systems and societies at large.

About Neuro-Cells

Neuro-Cells is a transformative platform treatment under GMP. It contains a non-substantially manipulated bone marrow-derived integrated mixture of stem cells including hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells, manufactured from a patient's own bone marrow (donor and receiver are the same person). Inflammatory inducing components and pathogens are removed during this process.

About Neuroplast

Neuroplast is a Dutch stem cell technology company focusing on fast-track development programs using autologous cell products for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, with the aim of giving back perspective to people who suffer from those conditions.

The company was founded in August 2014 by physician Johannes de Munter and neurologist Erik Wolters. Current funders are Lumana Invest, Brightlands Venture Partners, LIOF and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency. Neuroplast is located in The Netherlands.

For more information, please visit www.neuroplast.com

About Hospital de Paraplejicos, Toledo, Spain

Hospital Nacional de Paraplejicos is the reference public hospital in Spain for the treatment of spinal cord injury, recognized by the Ministry of Health of the Government of Spain.

About Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Spain

Rigshospitalet is one of the two Danish national centers offering highly specialized treatment, rehabilitation and care of individuals with spinal cord lesions.

About Lumana Invest

Investment company Lumana was established by entrepreneurs and unique due to not having a predetermined investment horizon. The Lumana founders showcase strong commitment to their portfolio companies by actively supporting management in strategic decision making.

About Brightlands Venture Partners

Brightlands Venture Partners (BVP) is the fund manager of Chemelot Ventures and is a so-called ecosystem investor. BVP invests in companies benefiting from and contributing to the Brightlands campuses in the south of The Netherlands. Other funds under management are BVP Fund IV, Brightlands Agrifood Fund and Limburg Ventures. The funds of BVP focus on sustainability and health; together the funds have made 50 investments.

About LIOF

LIOF is the regional development agency for Limburg and supports innovative entrepreneurs with advice, network and financing. Together with entrepreneurs and partners, LIOF is working towards a smarter, more sustainable and healthier Limburg by focusing on the transitions of energy, circularity, health and digitalization.

About The Netherlands Enterprise Agency

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency operates under the auspices of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. It facilitates entrepreneurship, improves collaborations, strengthens positions and helps realize national and international ambitions with funding, networking, know-how and compliance with laws and regulations.

Forward looking statements

All statements other than statements of historical facts, including the statements about the clinical and therapeutic potential and future clinical milestones of Neuro-CellsO, the indications we intend to pursue and our possible clinical or other business strategies, and the timing of these events, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as "believes", "expects", "plans", "potential", "would" or similar expressions and the negative of those terms. These forward-looking statements are based on our management's current beliefs and assumptions about future events and on information currently available to management. Neuroplast B.V. does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the improper use of this article, accuracy, completeness or updated status of above-mentioned statements. Therefore, in no case whatsoever will Neuroplast B.V. be legally liable or liable to anyone for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements in this press release or for any related damages.

In case of any further questions, please contact:

Neuroplast

Johannes de Munter, CEO

T: +31 (0)85 076 1000

E: [email protected]

LifeSpring LifeSciences Communication, Amsterdam

Leon Melens

T: +31 6 538 16 427

E: [email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/neuroplast-successfully-completes-patient-inclusion-of-phase-ii-clinical-trial-for-traumatic-spinal-cord-injury-301920449.html

SOURCE Neuroplast
OTTAWA, ON, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - The Royal Canadian Mint is adding to its luxurious and exclusive Opulence Collection with new pure platinum coins featuring some of the world's rarest precious stones: pink diamonds from the famed Argyle mine. Offered at very low mintages, they are the latest Mint creations to incorporate these treasured gems. Discerning collectors have a unique opportunity to acquire one of two masterpieces combining numismatic art and fine jewellery in one of two unforgettable collectibles: the 10 oz. Pure Platinum Pink Diamond Coin  Beauteous and the 2 oz. Pure Platinum Pink Diamond Coin  Harmonious. These works of art were unveiled yesterday at the Heffel Fine Art Auction House in Vancouver, British Columbia.

"The tradition of excellence in all aspects of coin manufacturing, design and engineering have made us a true leader of the global minting industry and we are delighted to elevate our reputation with new pure platinum and pink diamond coins from our exclusive Opulence Collection," said Marie Lemay, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. "These dazzling works of numismatic art boldly demonstrate our people's ability and passion for crafting unforgettable collectibles, which are qualities that transcend every coin produced by the Royal Canadian Mint."

"Heffel is incredibly honoured to play a part in unveiling this exceptional collection from the Royal Canadian Mint, featuring exclusive pink diamonds from the Argyle Mine," said David Heffel, President, Heffel Fine Art Auction House. "The diamonds featured in these masterpieces are among the rarest and most sought-after in existence, and we are thrilled to witness their journey into collections around the world."

The 2023 10 oz. Pure Platinum Pink Diamond Coin  Beauteous, designed by artist Simon Ng and selectively plated with rose gold, features a sunburst arrangement of engraved cherry blossoms on its reverse. They are framed by a larger five-petalled flower formed by an array of pink diamonds from the Argyle mine, with a total carat weight of approximately 2.00. The cherry blossom theme continues on the obverse, which features a floral pattern, selectively rose gold plating and the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt. This obverse also bears a special device of four pearls symbolizing the four effigies that have graced Canadian coins, as well as the double date of her reign. Only 10 of these precious coins exist.

Limited to 25 examples world-wide, the 2023 2 oz. Pure Platinum Pink Diamond Coin  Harmonious features the work of artist Aries Cheung. Selectively plated with rose gold, the coin's reverse consists of an engraving of a flowering cherry blossom tree, emblazoned by pink diamonds from the Argyle mine, with a total carat weight of approximately 1.00. Its obverse features a stylized cherry blossom pattern, selective rose gold plating and the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.

The diamonds adorning these coins were supplied by Vancouver's Crossworks Manufacturing Ltd. and its special settings were manufactured by Beverly Hills Jewellers of Richmond Hill, Ontario. Candiac, Quebec specialty wood packaging supplier Manubois produced the exquisite piano-finish boxes in which these coins are presented.

The exclusive numismatic works of art from the Opulence Collection, can be purchased from Heffel Fine Art Auction House or be ordered directly from the Mint at 1-800-2671871 in Canada, 1-800-2686468 in the US, or at www.mint.ca/opulence.

Images and video of these spectacular coins are available here.

About the Royal Canadian Mint

The Royal Canadian Mint is the Crown corporation responsible for the minting and distribution of Canada's circulation coins. The Mint is one of the largest and most versatile mints in the world, producing award-winning collector coins, market-leading bullion products, as well as Canada's prestigious military and civilian honours. As an established London and COMEX Good Delivery refiner, the Mint also offers a full spectrum of best-in-class gold and silver refining services. As an organization that strives to take better care of the environment, to cultivate safe and inclusive workplaces and to make a positive impact on the communities where it operates, the Mint integrates environmental, social and governance practices in every aspect of its operations.

For more information on the Mint, its products and services, visit www.mint.ca. Follow the Mint on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

About Heffel Fine Art Auction House

Since 1978, Heffel has connected passionate collectors across the world with outstanding works of art, with sales totaling three quarters of a billion dollars. With offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa and Calgary, Heffel has the most experienced team of fine art specialists in Canada and provides superior client service to both sellers and buyers internationally.

SOURCE Royal Canadian Mint
DUBLIN, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In light of the recent European Medicines Agency's safety committee recommendation against the use of topiramate-containing medicines in pregnant women, the importance of rigorous pharmacovigilance practices has never been more evident. The committee's findings underscore the critical role of safety inspections in ensuring drug safety, as well as the need for companies to be fully prepared for these inspections.

To help pharmaceutical firms navigate this complex regulatory landscape, ResearchandMarkets.com is pleased to announce the launch of an online training course titled "The Pharmacovigilance Audit: How to Prepare for an Inspection." This timely course is designed to prepare companies for the stringent demands of pharmacovigilance inspections conducted by regulatory authorities such as the FDA in the United States and EMA in Europe.

About the Course

The course will offer hands-on training on how to prevent common issues identified during inspections for drug safety and pharmacovigilance. With specific examples based on the top ten findings by US and EU pharmacovigilance inspectors, participants will gain actionable insights into how to improve their current safety practices and avoid regulatory complications.

Key topics covered in the course include:

The top ten findings from US and EU pharmacovigilance inspections

Importance of pharmacovigilance audits in ensuring Good Pharmacovigilance Practice

Impact of global regulations on international safety reporting

Practical steps to initiate and implement audits

Do's and don'ts during inspections

And much more

Who Should Attend?

This course is ideal for pharmaceutical professionals planning internal audits, anticipating audits from business partners, or those preparing for an FDA or EMA inspection. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or new to the field, this course will provide the tools needed to ensure compliance with drug safety and pharmacovigilance regulations.

Qualification and Accreditation

Upon completion, participants will earn 3.0 RAC credits. This course has been pre-approved by the Regulatory Affairs Professional Society (RAPS) as eligible for these credits towards a participant's RAC recertification.

Why This Course is Important Now

The recent recommendations by the European Medicines Agency's safety committee about the use of topiramate-containing medicines highlight the critical need for robust pharmacovigilance systems. Companies not only need to comply with existing regulations but must also be prepared to adapt to new safety findings to protect patient health.

Don't leave your pharmacovigilance practices to chance. Ensure your company is prepared to meet the high standards set by regulatory bodies. Enroll in "The Pharmacovigilance Audit: How to Prepare for an Inspection" course today and equip yourself with the knowledge and skills to face the challenges of regulatory scrutiny confidently.

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
WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A team of scientists recently conducted a comprehensive analysis using atmospheric remote sensing measurements and a data product developed by Dr. Tomohiro Oda of Universities Space Research Association. This study, led by researchers at California Institute of Technology and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and co-authored by Dr. Oda, has unveiled critical insights into methane (CH 4 ) emissions. The findings indicate that the previously reported reduction rate of CH 4 in the Los Angeles area was overestimated. The study outlines the urgency for accelerated reduction efforts to meet the pledge goal for 2030. The results were published in Nature Communications.

The research indicated that Methane (CH 4 ) emissions from the Los Angeles (LA) were decreasing on average during 2011-2020, but not as much as originally thought. Atmospheric methane is potent Earth warming greenhouse gas often emitted from natural gas leaks as well as natural sources. It is a powerful greenhouse gas with about 80 times higher global warming potential than carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) over a 20-year period. Because of its relatively short lifetime (~12 years), reducing emissions of CH 4 can have an immediate contribution to slowing global warming. With the strong warming potential and the shorter lifetime, CH 4 is a key target for greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies.

"The "bottom-up" inventory approach is an established common way to track emission changes, but the "top-down" atmospheric measurement-based approach can further confirm the emission estimates and also detect biases in them, if they exist, as shown in this study," said Dr. Oda. The bottom-up inventory emission estimates are often based on survey activity data and the conversion factor called "emission factor (EF)." Because of the limited availability of the activity data and EF, estimates could be biased. In contrast, the "top down" approach of measuring methane levels in the atmosphere directly translates the measured atmospheric methane levels and the change into emission estimates. "The two approaches are complementary, and by combining them, we can get more reliable and tailored emission information," said Dr. Oda.

"This is a great demonstration of how Earth Observation can support climate mitigation for subnational climate actions and achieving the climate reduction target," said Dr. Paul Palmer, Professor at the University of Edinburgh, UK, and a co-author of the study. Since 2021, USRA, as an admitted observer NGO, has sent its delegate to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and has facilitated important Earth-observation-based mitigation conversations at the past two COP meetings in Glasgow, UK, in 2021 (COP26) and Sharm El Shaikh, Egypt, in 2022 (COP27). Dr. Oda will lead USRA's COP delegation in 2023 to COP28 to be held in Dubai, UAE, later this year.

About USRA

Founded in 1969, under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences at the request of the U.S. Government, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA), is a nonprofit corporation chartered to advance space-related science, technology and engineering. USRA operates scientific institutes and facilities, and conducts other major research and educational programs. It engages the university community and employs in-house scientific leadership, innovative research and development, and project management expertise. More information about USRA is available at www.usra.edu.

Additional Resource: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-40964-w

PR Contact:

Suraiya Farukhi

[email protected]

443-812-6945

SOURCE Universities Space Research Association
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. The second meeting of Emergency Situations Ministers of Turkic States Organization's member and observer countries is being held in Baku under the organization of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

Colonel General Kemaleddin Heydarov, Minister of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan Republic Kubanychbek Omuraliyev, Chairman of the Organization of Turkic States Ali Yerlikaya, Minister of Internal Affairs of Turkiye, Major General Syrym Sharipkhanov, Minister of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan Abdulla Kuldashev, Minister of Emergency Situations of Uzbekistan Boobek Azhikeyev, and Minister of Internal Affairs of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Dursun Oguz are participating in the event.

The purpose of the Second Meeting of Ministers of Emergency Situations of the Turkic States Organization member and observer countries is to develop existing links between the structures responsible for emergency management of the member countries of the organization, to discuss the issues of achieving joint and coordinated activities in emergency situations and to discuss the draft agreement on the establishment of the Civil Protection Mechanism within the organization.
TIBERIAS, Israel, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohh-Med Medical, a medtech startup located in the Tiberias Industrial Zone, has recently launched Ohh-Med UK, a wholly owned subsidiary located in England, to sell, market, and support sales of the Vertica medical device throughout the United Kingdom. Located in London, Ohh-Med UK will operate a dedicated Call centre for Customer Sales and Support to provide customers in the UK with the highest level of support.

Meet Vertica: A safe, pain-free medical device to improve long-term erection quality.

Ohh-Med develops, manufactures and markets Vertica, a breakthrough medical device designed to improve the lives of thousands of men who experience erectile dysfunction (ED) or want to improve their erectile function. Thousands of satisfied customers are already enjoying the results of Vertica, and their testimonials attest to its success.

The company began sales of Vertica in the beginning of 2022 and received the CE-MDR approval to market throughout the EU in December of the same year. The company markets its product in Israel direct to consumers through its online shop and dedicated Call centre, and in Europe through a growing network of distributors.

Daniel Lischinsky, Ohh-Med Founder and CEO, explained the significance of the establishment of Ohh-Med UK, "We are expanding our successful sales model to the UK, complete with Call centre and Customer Support. Our experience in Israel selling thousands of medical devices through our sophisticated Call centre and online shop has convinced me that we can copy this success in the United Kingdom, which is a huge market for Vertica."

He continued, "The timing is perfect as the results of our first clinical study, showing more than 85% success rate, have recently been published in a leading scientific journal, the IJIR  International Journal of Impotence Research, a member of the Nature group of publications. Now we have the scientific proof to support what our customers have been saying all along - Vertica is changing their lives, restoring confidence and intimacy in their relationships."

About Ohh-Med

Ohh-Med Ltd, an Israeli medtech startup, develops, manufactures, and markets a growing suite of advanced, patented medical devices designed to treat male erectile dysfunction (ED). Established in Israel, the company was founded in 2017 by Daniel Lischinsky, a serial medtech entrepreneur, who also serves as the company's CEO.

Ohh-Med's advanced medical devices are targeted to both the consumer and professional healthcare markets. Vertica, the company's flagship device, is a non-invasive, easy-to-use device for use at home to treat erectile dysfunction. Implementing radiofrequency technology, the patented device is designed to restore the natural erectile mechanism by improving collagen quality in the penile erectile tissues.

The company began sales of Vertica during 2022 and received the European CE MDR to market in Europe in December of the same year. The company markets its products in Israel through its online shop and advanced Call centre, and through a growing network of international distributors.

For more information, please contact:

Sandra Ziv

+972-54-8051001

[email protected], [email protected]

Ohhmed.com, vertica-labs.com, vertica-labs.com/uk

SOURCE Ohh-Med Medical Ltd.
NEW YORK, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global orthodontic market is expected to grow by USD 8.39 billion from 2022 to 2027. In addition, the momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 17.13% during the forecast period, according to Technavio Research. North America is estimated to contribute 44% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. The factors contributing to the significant growth of the North American market for orthodontic treatment are an increased number of patients visiting a dentist on a yearly basis and increasing patient referrals to orthopaedists to correct their problems. These are some of the main reasons behind these trends. In addition, an adequate supply of orthodontists has been made available to meet the increasing demand for orthodontics. California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Illinois are some of the key regions in the US where a high percentage of clinically active orthodontists live. Hence, these factors are expected to drive market growth in the region during the forecast period. The market has been segmented by product type (supplies and instruments), end-user (dental clinics, hospitals, and others), and geography (North America, Europe, Asia, and the Rest of the World (ROW)). This report offers an up-to-date analysis of the current market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. Read FREE PDF Sample Report

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Orthodontic Market 2023-2027

Company Profile:

3M Co., Aditek Orthodontics, Align Technology Inc., American Orthodontics, Carestream Dental LLC, DENTAURUM GmbH and Co. KG, Dentsply Sirona Inc., Envista Holdings Corp., G, and H Orthodontics, Genova Technologies SL, Great Lakes Dental Technologies Ltd., Henry Schein Inc., JJ Orthodontics Pvt. Ltd., Matt Orthodontics LLC, Rocky Mountain Orthodontics, Shanghai Smartee Dental Technology Co. Ltd., Sino Ortho Ltd., SmileDirectClub Inc., TP Orthodontics Inc., and Ultradent Products Inc.

Company Offering

3M Co - The company offers orthodontic products such as clear aligners, brackets, and orthodontic wires. To gain access to more company profiles available with Technavio, buy the report!

Orthodontic Market: Segmentation Analysis

The supplies segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period. Correction for misalignment of the teeth and jaw joint problems is usually carried out in this segment. Various tools materials, and equipment used by Orthodontic Technicians for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of Orthodontists' disorders are included in this segment. Learn about the contribution of each segment summarized in concise infographics and thorough descriptions. View a FREE PDF Sample Report

"Besides analyzing the current market scenario, our report examines historic data from 2017 to 2021"- Technavio

Orthodontic Market: Market Dynamics

Key Driver

High prevalence of oral disorders

Rising awareness of orthodontic treatment

The growing number of dental schools and dentists

Major Trend- Technological advances in orthodontic treatment are a major trend in the market. Identify key trends, drivers, and challenges in the market. Download to gain access to this information.

Related Reports:

The clear aligners market is estimated to grow by USD 8,969.77 million at a CAGR of 29.77% between 2022 and 2027.

The dental implant market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.7% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 1,803.87 million.

What are the key data covered in this orthodontic market report?

CAGR of the market during the forecast period

Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the orthodontic market between 2022 and 2027.

Precise estimation of the orthodontic market size and its contribution to the market in focus on the parent market

Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior

Growth of the mental health industry across North America, Europe, Asia, and ROW

A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about companies

Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of the orthodontic market companies.

ToC:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Historic Market Sizes

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by Product Type

Market Segmentation by End User

Market Segmentation by Geography

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, & Trends

Company Landscape

Company Analysis

Appendix

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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SOURCE Technavio
Investment will support a new health and wellness center, as well as a workforce innovation hub

ATLANTA, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Peach State Health Plan , a care management organization that helps Georgians live healthier lives through innovative healthcare solutions, and the Centene Foundation , the philanthropic arm of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) focused on investing in economically challenged communities, announced today a $1.5 million commitment to City of Refuge , an Atlanta-based nonprofit that seeks to bring light, hope, and transformation to local individuals and families. The investment will support the development of a community health and wellness center as well as an innovation hub that supports unemployed members seeking employment.

Peach State Health Plan employees volunteer quarterly with City of Refuge. Recently, nearly 50 Peach State Health Plan team members set up the rooms and accommodations in City of Refuges new affordable housing community that will support unhoused military veterans, citizens returning from incarceration and young men up to age 24. The Centene Foundation and Peach State Health Plan are proud to support City of Refuge's development of a Health and Wellness Center and Workforce Innovation Hub to the Transformation Center in one of Atlantas most underserved communities.

"Peach State Health Plan and the Centene Foundation are proud to partner with City of Refuge to help break down barriers of inequality and provide supportive services to drive critical change and positive impact in one of Atlanta's most at-risk neighborhoods," said Peach State Health Plan President and CEO, Wade Rakes. "City of Refuge has served Atlanta's westside for more than 25 years and, together, we will continue with this vital work of creating the next phase of social transformation where it is needed most."

The commitment from Peach State Health Plan and the Centene Foundation will support two components:

Health and Wellness Center  This partnership seeks to build out a quality health and wellness center at City of Refuge's forthcoming 36,000-square-foot Transformation Center. The Health and Wellness Center, which includes a 24/7 medical and mental health clinic, will serve survivors of trafficking and domestic violence.

 This partnership seeks to build out a quality health and wellness center at City of Refuge's forthcoming 36,000-square-foot Transformation Center. The Health and Wellness Center, which includes a 24/7 medical and mental health clinic, will serve survivors of trafficking and domestic violence. Workforce Innovation Hub  The Workforce Innovation Hub prepares unemployed and underemployed individuals to find meaningful employment. The commitment from Peach State Health Plan and the Centene Foundation will increase capacity at the Workforce Innovation Hub to provide more job training and readiness opportunities, including resume writing and interview assistance.

"Together with Peach State Health Plan and the Centene Foundation, City of Refuge is laying the groundwork for expanded health and wellness services to support the wellbeing of all who seek us out for help  from local veterans to those returning from incarceration to women escaping crisis," said City of Refuge founder and CEO, Bruce Deel. "The new clinic at the Transformation Center will be the physical manifestation of our goal to provide 24/7, high-quality care in our 30314 neighborhood for those coming out of domestic violence and trafficking. We look forward to breaking ground on the next phase of our campus with the Transformation Center."

Peach State Health Plan employees also volunteer quarterly with City of Refuge. In March, nearly 50 Peach State Health Plan team members set up the rooms and accommodations in City of Refuge's new affordable housing community that will support unhoused military veterans, citizens returning from incarceration and young men up to age 24. Peach State Health Plan will be on site again in September and December to support on going efforts.

For more information about Peach State Health Plan and the Centene Foundation's commitment to City of Refuge, visit https://www.centene.com/who-we-are/centene-foundation.html.

About Centene Foundation

The Centene Foundation , a private nonprofit focused on investing in economically challenged communities, is the philanthropic arm of Centene Corporation ("Centene"). The Foundation supports projects and initiatives strategically aligned with Centene's purpose-driven culture and enhances the work Centene is doing to remove the barriers to wellness underserved and low-income populations face. The Foundation is committed to addressing social determinants of health and improving health equity in three distinct areas of focus: Healthcare Access, Social Services and Education.

About Peach State Health Plan

Peach State Health Plan is a Care Management Organization that serves the needs of Georgians through a range of health insurance solutions. Peach State Health Plan serves the Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids population in partnership with Georgia Families. The organization also focuses on under-insured and uninsured individuals through its federal insurance marketplace plan, Ambetter, and its Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDP) through Wellcare. Peach State Health Plan is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, a leading healthcare enterprise committed to helping people live healthier lives. For more information visit www.pshp.com .

About City of Refuge

City of Refuge was founded in 1997 with the mission to transform the lives of individuals and communities in Atlanta and beyond. Today the organization resides in a warehouse that was graciously donated in the 30314 neighborhood, one of the poorest and most crime-ridden areas in the nation. Since inhabiting the "Where Good Works" center, City of Refuge has helped over 20,000 people across the country and internationally. The organization has created several programs designed to provide an impact in areas such as: housing, youth development, health & wellness, and vocation. City of Refuge is a leader in the business of social transformation and continuously works to empower and equip individuals with the tools to succeed. To learn more about City of Refuge, visit cityofrefugeatl.org or follow the organization on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

SOURCE Peach State Health Plan
BANGALORE, India, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) Market is Segmented by Type (Pharmaceutical Grade, Industrial Grade), by Application (Paints & Coatings Industry, Paper Industry, Plastic Industry, Adhesives & Sealants): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2029.

The precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) market is projected to reach USD 4621.6 million in 2029, increasing from USD 3849.8 million in 2022, with a CAGR of 2.6% during the period of 2023 to 2029.

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Major Factors Driving the Growth of Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Market:

The Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Market will develop as a result of rising demand from the paper sector for precipitated calcium carbonate. In the paper industry, calcium carbonate that has precipitated is frequently used as a filler. To ensure high-quality paper due to its consistent particle shape and narrow particle size distribution, it is filled with a paper-strengthening agent, retention agent, and neutral sizing agent.

Additionally, the intrinsic whiteness and brightness of the precipitated calcium carbonate contribute to an improvement in sheet brightness. As a result, the market expansion will be boosted by rising demand for precipitated calcium carbonate in the paper industry.

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TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF PRECIPITATED CALCIUM CARBONATE MARKET

PCC is extensively used in the construction industry, where it is produced as a filler for cement and concrete. The strength, workability, and durability of these materials are all enhanced by PCC, which results in better construction and longer-lasting constructions. The demand for PCC in the construction sector is anticipated to increase as urbanization and infrastructure development takes place on a global scale. PCC is frequently used as a filler and coating pigment in the paper industry. It improves the paper products' brightness, opacity, and printability, making them more aesthetically pleasing. The PCC market is directly gaining from the rising demand for high-quality paper products, including printing and packaging materials. his factor is expected to drive the growth of the Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Market.

In order to enhance the mechanical qualities of plastics, such as impact resistance and flexural strength, PCC is utilized as a practical additive. The use of PCC in the plastic industry is being driven by its position as a sustainable and effective additive as companies search for ways to improve the performance of plastic goods while lowering their environmental impact. PCC is a substance that is added to medicine formulations in the pharmaceutical industry as an excipient. It aids in regulating medication release rates and enhancing formulation stability. The need for PCC in this industry is anticipated to rise as a result of the rising demand for pharmaceuticals and improvements in drug delivery technology. This factor is expected to drive the growth of the Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Market.

PCC is used as an agricultural lime and soil conditioner, which helps to reduce soil acidity and improve soil fertility. The necessity for soil enhancement and effective nitrogen management is driving the demand for PCC in the agricultural sector as it works to fulfill the demands of a growing global population. Because it comes from a natural source and has a minimal carbon footprint compared to other materials, PCC is seen as an environmentally friendly solution. The demand for PCC in many applications is rising as the industry looks for eco-friendly alternatives in response to tougher environmental laws.

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PRECIPITATED CALCIUM CARBONATE MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS

Minerals Technologies, Omya, Imerys, Shiraishi, and others are major global Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) players. Over 25% of the market is held by the top four producers globally.

The biggest market is North America, which has a share of over 30%, followed by Europe and China, which each have a share of over 50%.

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Key Companies:

Omya

Imerys

Minerals Technologies

Okutama Kogyo

Maruo Calcium

Mississippi Lime

Solvay

Fimatec

Schaefer Kalk

Cales de Llierca

Chu Shin Chemical Corporation

Changzhou Calcium Carbonate

Hebei Lixin Chemistry

Quzhou Jinniu Calcium Carbonate

CHANGSHAN RUIJIN GAIYE

Hubei Jingmen Baochang Calcium Hydroxide

Zhejiang Jianeng Calcium Industry

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SIMILAR REPORTS

- Calcium Carbonate market size is estimated to be worth USD 20910 million in 2022 and is forecast to a readjusted size of USD 23960 million by 2029 with a CAGR of 2.1% during the forecast period 2023-2029.

- Calcium Carbonate from Oyster Shell market was valued at USD 4 million in 2022 and is anticipated to reach USD 5 million by 2029, witnessing a CAGR of 3.3% during the forecast period 2023-2029.

- Synthetic Calcium Carbonate market was valued at USD 14570 million in 2022 and is anticipated to reach USD 17960 million by 2029, witnessing a CAGR of 3.0% during the forecast period 2023-2029.

- Pharmaceutical Grade Calcium Carbonate Market

- Food Grade Light Calcium Carbonate Market

- Calcium Carbonate API Market

- Calcium Carbonate Tablets Market

- Ultrafine Light Calcium Carbonate Market

- Ultrafine Calcium Carbonate Market

- Calcium Carbonate Plastic Filler Market

- Synthetic Calcium Carbonate market was valued at USD 14570 million in 2022 and is anticipated to reach USD 17960 million by 2029, witnessing a CAGR of 3.0% during the forecast period 2023-2029.

- Ground Calcium Carbonate Market

- Calcium Carbonate Masterbatch Market

- Feed Grade Calcium Carbonate Market

- Ground Calcium Carbonate Market

- Ultrafine Ground Calcium Carbonate Market

Click here to see related reports on Precipitated calcium carbonate market

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A national coalition of donors catalyzes local news and information for stronger communities

CHICAGO, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A coalition of 22 donors today announced Press Forward, a national initiative to strengthen communities and democracy by supporting local news and information with an infusion of more than a half-billion dollars over the next five years. Press Forward will enhance local journalism at an unprecedented level to re-center local news as a force for community cohesion; support new models and solutions that are ready to scale; and close longstanding inequities in journalism coverage and practice.

Since 2005, approximately 2,200 local newspapers have closed, resulting in 20 percent of Americans living in "news deserts" with little to no reliable coverage of important local events. Press Forward seeks to reverse the dramatic decline in local news that has coincided with an increasingly divided America and weakening trust in institutions.

National, regional, local, and issue-specific funders co-designed Press Forward with the aim of deploying significant new resources to the field through greater coordination and peer learning. Informed by insights and feedback from leaders and practitioners in the field, this multi-funder collaborative aligned on a set of shared values to guide their grantmaking: prioritizing transformation, centering community needs, growing with equity, ensuring accessibility, and preserving the editorial independence of news gathering organizations.

Learn more about our approach

Initial Press Forward partners are The Archewell Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln, Democracy Fund, Ford Foundation, Mary W. Graham, Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group, Heising-Simons Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Joyce Foundation, KFF, Knight Foundation, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Lumina Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Outrider Foundation, Rita Allen Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Skyline Foundation, and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

"We have a moment to support the reimagination, revitalization, and rapid development of local news. We are prepared to support the strongest ideas and seed new ones; build powerful networks; and invest in people, organizations, and networks with substantial resources," said John Palfrey, president of the MacArthur Foundation. "The philanthropic sector recognizes the need to strengthen American democracy and is beginning to see that progress on every other issue, from education and healthcare to criminal justice reform and climate change, is dependent on the public's understanding of the facts."

While philanthropic support for journalism has grown over the past decade, overall giving to local news falls short of what is needed. Press Forward partners are ready to move from individual grantmaking strategies to a shared vision and coordinated action that ensures individuals are informed and engaged on issues that affect their everyday lives.

Press Forward partners have identified the following priorities and have committed to making grants in one or more of these four areas of focus:

Strengthen local newsrooms that have the trust of local communities: There is a growing movement of community-focused journalism across the nation that is shifting how the critical stories of our time are being told. We need to make bold investments in local news organizations and the networks that support and grow them.



Accelerate the enabling environment for news production and dissemination: We need to scale the infrastructure required to support a thriving independent local news sector, expanding shared services and toolsfrom legal support to membership programs.



Close longstanding inequalities in journalism coverage and practice: We must move resources to newsrooms and organizations that are improving diversity of experience and thought along with the availability of accurate and responsive news and information in historically underserved communities and economically challenged news deserts.



Advance public policies that expand access to local news and civic information: We need new frameworks and robust coalitions to advance policy ideas that expand access to news and information while strengthening the First Amendment and protecting the editorial independence of local journalists. Investments in nonpartisan public policy development, analysis, and advocacy are needed at the local, state, and national levels.

Press Forward is independent of ideology and plans to work with More Perfect, a bipartisan initiative that is advancing five interrelated democracy goals, one of which is Access to Trusted News and Information.

"Press Forward is an audacious effort to fortify a key pillar of American democracy, a healthy and independent free press," said John Bridgeland, CEO of More Perfect. "Local news provides critical information, knits communities together, and keeps public officials accountable, all of which are essential to a thriving democracy."

The Miami Foundation will serve as the fiscal sponsor for Press Forward and will manage a pooled fund and coordinate aligned grantmaking on behalf of participating funders. It will hire a small staff who will focus on growing and supporting funder engagement and learning and help advance the goals of the initiative.

Some funders are expected to make exemplary aligned grants before the end of the year; most will begin grantmaking in 2024. Donors will make grants from the pooled fund in 2024.

Organizations interested in Press Forward can sign up for updates to learn more about applying for future grants. Press Forward welcomes and continues to invite additional funders to enhance nonprofit, public, and for-profit news and information.

Media Contact: Kristen Mack [email protected]

SOURCE Press Forward
PuroClean President, COO, and Motivational Force to Celebrate a Decade with the Brand

TAMARAC, Fla., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PuroClean, one of the country's leading property restoration and remediation franchises, is excited to announce that their very own President and Chief Operating Officer, Steve White, will be celebrating his tenth anniversary with the company this September.

As a US Army Veteran and self-proclaimed 'franchise guy,' White brings to PuroClean a process driven mind-set and people first focus. Throughout his tenure, White has cemented himself as a leader within the restoration and home remediation industry, propelling the PuroClean name to new heights and achieving unprecedented growth for the franchise. In this time, he has doubled the number of franchise locations, tripled the average franchise unit sales, and quadrupled profitability and system-wide sales. Most importantly, though, his franchise owners are jubilant. For the fifth year in a row, the brand is in the top 50 franchises for franchisee satisfaction with the annual Franchise Satisfaction Survey facilitated and ranked by Franchise Business Review. With 450 locations operating across 45 states in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Canada, PuroClean is bringing reliable and high-quality service to communities across North America, helping people restore their homes and lives.

"Steve White has been an incredible asset, mentor, and friend to everyone within the PuroClean family," said Mark W. Davis, CEO and Chairman of PuroClean. "The work that he has accomplished in his tenure has been nothing short of extraordinary. Steve has taken this brand to new heights, and I am incredibly proud to be working alongside him to service as many customers as we can. We are all grateful for the work that he has accomplished, and we are excited to see where he will continue to take the company."

White's journey at PuroClean has been intentional, methodical, and steadfast. From the instant he took the reins of the COO position, he knew that he had tremendous work ahead by gaining the trust of the company and its franchisees back from its previous leaders. From the beginning, White has set overarching goals that the team has exceeded, further solidifying the trust he has instilled within the brand. He has become the focal point of leadership within PuroClean, a guiding light where both the support team and franchisees are excited to move the brand forward and positioning themselves as the leader in property water damage remediation, fire and smoke damage mitigation, mold removal, and biohazard clean-up services. White credits his transformational leadership qualities to mentors he has had along the way both in the Army and past franchise brands, instilling a family atmosphere that is radiant throughout the PuroClean culture.

"I am tremendously humble and proud of the work that I have done here at PuroClean," said Steve White. "I was admittedly apprehensive to accept the position of COO when I was first approached, but I would not change my experience for the world. The amazing people that I have met these past ten years are nothing short of incredible, and I am excited to be a part of an exceptional growing brand like PuroClean."

White guides his teams to always ask how they can help franchisees more, so it is rewarding for him to see that year in and year out, the brand is turning a profit and keeping people fulfilled. White is tremendously proud of the work he and the PuroClean family have accomplished and is looking forward to what the future has in store.

"Steve White has been an incredible addition to the PuroClean family," said Frank Torre, Vice Chairman of PuroClean. "From the minute he took over the COO position, there was a change for the better. Both our franchise owners and Home Office team saw the outstanding leadership qualities that he possesses and were able to rally around his ideals and propel the brand to what it is today. We are all so grateful for Steve and the work that he has done for the PuroClean family."

For more than 20 years, PuroClean has helped home and business owners with their restoration and remediation needs, serving communities across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico with a network of over 450 offices. The brand is seeking the right individual who may be in construction and looking to add a restoration component to their business.

For more information about PuroClean, call 800-775-7876 or visit www.PuroClean.com. For more information about franchising opportunities, visit www.PuroCleanFranchise.com.

About PuroClean

PuroClean is a leading, world-class service brand for property water damage remediation, fire and smoke damage mitigation, mold removal, and biohazard clean-up services, working with both residential and commercial customers across the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Founded in 2001, PuroClean is a diverse, fast-growing network of over 450 North American franchise locations, each independently owned and operated. With a commitment to respond within two hours, the professionals at PuroClean are thoroughly screened, insured, and trained in utilizing the latest cutting-edge mitigation technology to complete the remediation task at hand.

SOURCE PuroClean
NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Revman today announced that it has entered into a license agreement with Calvin Klein, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PVH Corp. [NYSE:PVH], for the design, manufacturing and distribution of home accessories in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The new Calvin Klein home collections will launch at the New York Home Textiles Market week this month. The agreement's initial term is through 2028.

"We are extremely pleased to be the new licensee for Calvin Klein home fashion products," stated Rich Roman, President and CEO of Revman. "Calvin Klein is one of the world's most recognizable fashion lifestyle brands, with a dedicated consumer following around the globe. We are very excited to collaborate with Calvin Klein's established design team to create quality home products that showcase the brand's modern, minimalist aesthetic. I am confident that the creative collaboration between our two companies will be a winning combination."

"We look forward to partnering with Revman to bring our premium Calvin Klein home essentials to an even broader consumer market," said Karina Spar, Executive Vice President of Licensing for PVH. "Their robust supplier network and proven omnichannel strategy will allow us to strengthen the presence of the Calvin Klein brand in the home category through an expanded offering both online and in store."

Crafted from the highest quality materials, the Calvin Klein home collections will offer essentials for the modern home, including fashion bedding, bath products and window coverings. Across both casual and refined lifestyles, the collections focus on both style and comfort, exploring subtle, sophisticated textures, luxurious fabrics, including some blended with environmentally-preferred materials such as Lyocell, Tencel and REFIBRA fibers, natural dyes and ultra-soft wash techniques. The collections' color palettes are curated and balanced for cohesion across categories, with signature Calvin Klein patterns that capture sensual florals, abstracted patterns with blurred effect and new interpretations of melange.

"For our Spring 2024 collections, we closely partnered with the talented Calvin Klein team to develop elevated home accessories focused on comfort that incorporate more environmentally-preferred materials," said Laurie Sages, VP Creative Services and Product Development. "In order to pay homage to the brand's signature style, it was important that the product have a clean, minimal look and overall soft, serene feel."

The first Calvin Klein home collection will launch in Spring 2024. Calvin Klein home will be distributed through all major levels of retail distribution in the United States as well as retailers in Canada and Mexico.

About Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein is one of the world's leading global fashion lifestyle brands with a history of bold, non-conformist ideals that inform everything we do. Founded in New York in 1968, the brand's minimalist and sensual aesthetic drives our approach to product design and communication, creating a canvas that offers the possibility of limitless self-expression. The Calvin Klein brands  CK Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans, Calvin Klein Underwear, and Calvin Klein Performance  are connected by the intention and purpose of elevating everyday essentials to globally iconic status. Each of the brands has a distinct identity and position in the retail landscape, providing us the opportunity to market a range of universally appealing products to domestic and international consumers with a variety of needs. Our products are underpinned by responsible design, high-quality construction, and the elimination of all unnecessary details. We strive for unique and dimensional pieces that continuously wear well and remain relevant season after season. Global retail sales of Calvin Klein products were approximately $9.3 billion in 2022.

Calvin Klein continues to solidify its position as an innovator of emerging digital platforms and modern marketing campaigns. PVH acquired Calvin Klein in 2003 and continues to oversee a focused approach to growing the brand's worldwide relevance, presence, and long term growth.

About Revman

Revman headquartered in New York, is a leading provider of high-quality lifestyle bed and bath products. Revman maintains unique licensing arrangements with an impressive portfolio of internationally recognized designer brands including Nautica, Vera Wang, Tommy Bahama, Wrangler, Marimekko and Laura Ashley, among many others. Their products are available through all major levels of retail distribution in the United States as well as retailers in Canada, Mexico, and South America. For more information, please visit www.revman.com.

SOURCE Revman
NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- L'Occitane en Provence is proud to announce its collaboration with Aria Mia Loberti, the multi-faceted actress, writer, scholar, and human rights activist. As Managing Director Adrien Geiger expresses: "I am very proud to have Aria as L'Occitane en Provence Ambassador. This choice was obvious to both Aria and the company as we share the same values."

Rising Star Aria Mia Loberti named Global Brand Ambassador by L'Occitane en Provence Post this Aria Mia Loberti in Provence, France (2) Aria Mia Loberti in Provence, France

Named one of the 2023 TIFF Rising Stars by the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Aria stars in Shawn Levy's upcoming four-part film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr.

The emerging actress offers a unique perspective on the world, embracing the sum of her five senses to connect deeply with her surroundings. This wonderfully mirrors L'Occitane's own philosophy and approach, which encourages consumers to explore beauty and wellness through sensorial experiences.

In line with their shared values and commitments to drive positive change for people and the planet, L'Occitane is dedicated to cultivating opportunities for all individuals to be able to see and experience the exceptional beauty that nature has to offer. For more than two decades, the brand has been active in supporting projects and initiatives to combat avoidable blindness through the L'Occitane Foundation. Championing inclusivity since 1997, L'Occitane has also committed to helping those who are blind or have low vision by adding Braille to much of its product packaging. This commitment resonates deeply with Loberti, not only because of her own human rights advocacy, but also since she herself has low vision.

Aria's words reflect her affinity for L'Occitane's mission, stating, "During my first visit to Provence, I was profoundly moved by L'Occitane's commitment to nurturing authentic beauty within our world and ourselves."

L'Occitane's founder Olivier Baussan reflects on their first encounter, "The moment I met Aria Mia Loberti, it was clear that there was a serendipitous meeting of the minds. The synergy of philosophy and beauty is what brought us together."

This partnership marks the beginning of a harmonious collaboration. As one of L'Occitane's new brand ambassadors, Aria will represent L'Occitane's iconic shea butter hand cream. This selection stands as a tribute to the tactile nature of shea butter, and how it nourishes hands . . . hands that for some act as eyes and awaken other senses. Moreover, this choice embodies a pledge to the women of Burkina Faso, affirming the brand's global commitment to empowering women.

About L'Occitane - Cultivators of Change

Since 1976, L'OCCITANE has shared beauty with a respect for people and nature. Its vision is to turn consumption into regeneration with the belief that every action  big or small  can make a difference. L'OCCITANE offers a luxury range of skincare, fragrances, and wellbeing products enriched with authentic, traceable ingredients. Continuing to honor the Mediterranean art de vivrethe art of living beautifully L'OCCITANE draws from local traditions and craftsmanship to share these sensorial experiences with the world.

SOURCE L'OCCITANE en Provence
ANNAPOLIS, Md., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SCLogic, a leading provider of Facility Management and Workflow Automation solutions, is thrilled to announce the highly-anticipated release of Intra Version 8, the latest version of their flagship product. This milestone version not only enhances user experience but also brings a suite of innovative features, designed to streamline operations and increase efficiency for businesses across all industries.

"Version 8 is a game-changer for facility management and intra-enterprise logistics," said Michael Saldi, President & CEO, SCLogic. "It builds upon our decades of expertise to deliver a modern solution that is faster, more robust, and more configurable than ever before. We're extremely proud to offer this revolutionary product to our customers."

Key Features of Version 8:

Enhanced Workflow Automation : Advanced logic to automate even the most complex workflows, from package pick-up requests to asset moves.

: Advanced logic to automate even the most complex workflows, from package pick-up requests to asset moves. Intuitive User Interface : A completely mobile-first, redesigned UI that ensures ease of use without sacrificing sophistication or functionality.

: A completely mobile-first, redesigned UI that ensures ease of use without sacrificing sophistication or functionality. Unified Ecosystem : Effortlessly link all of your current enterprise solutions and external logistics providers through a single, centralized platform.

: Effortlessly link all of your current enterprise solutions and external logistics providers through a single, centralized platform. Robust Security Measures: Equipped with end-to-end data encryption, SSO authentication, and GDPR compliance to ensure maximum data security.

Early Adoption and Industry Feedback

Several Fortune 500 companies, universities, and government agencies have already adopted SCLogic's Version 8. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

"In a landscape where real-time data and workflow automation are becoming critical for facility and internal logistics management, SCLogic's emphasis on enhanced workflow automation and integrations into other enterprise systems in their new Version 8 is very timely. Such features reflect the growing demand for intelligent, adaptive solutions in enterprise settings. Verdantix research shows customers are collecting a greater volume of real-time data and are seeking to automate key processes, so the Version 8 update of SCLogic's product which emphasizes enhanced workflow automation and integrations into other enterprise systems is likely to be well received by the market," said Joy Trinquet, Verdantix Senior Analyst.

About SCLogic

SCLogic's in-building logistics solution ensures that organizations have real-time, precise visibility into any tangible item  from packages and people to printed materials, supplies, equipment, and secure documents  within a building and across a campus. More than 600 organizations worldwide  from government agencies to universities and private-sector companies, including 25% of the Fortune 500  depend on the company's flagship Intra platform for efficient logistics and auditable compliance throughout an asset's entire lifecycle. Intra is designed for the most challenging work environments, fully supporting cloud and mobile environments, while also providing an off-line mode when a connection is not feasible. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, SCLogic is privately owned. For more information or to schedule a demo, visit SCLogic.com.

Media Contact

Ashley Cleveland

Vice President, Marketing

Phone: 888.700.7027

SOURCE SCLogic
BALTIMORE, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Urological Association (AUA) and the Urology Care Foundation (UCF), the world's leading nonprofit urological health foundation and official foundation of the AUA, are spreading awareness this September for Sexual Health Month.

Sexual health can mean a variety of things and there are several urologic conditions that can affect a person's sexual health, such as erectile dysfunction, urinary tract infections, incontinence and more.

American Urological Association (PRNewsFoto/American Urological Association)

"Sexual health may be hard to talk about at times, but it's important to discuss any concerns you may have about your sexual function with your doctor. Your physician has expertise that can help you address problems that may be causing you distress," said Dr. Harris M. Nagler, President of the Urology Care Foundation. "There is a wealth of knowledge on the UCF website, and we suggest taking a moment to read these resources to show you may not be alone in sexual health deficiencies."

Below are some of the sexual health resources available on the UCF website:

One issue with sexual health is that it is often not talked about because it can be considered 'embarrassing'. But having these conversations are vital for your overall health and wellness. Below is a list of common misconceptions that AUA urologists have encountered across in their practices.

Testosterone deficiency is NOT the most common cause of erectile dysfunction; it's usually cardiovascular disease.

Pain during sex is NEVER normal and is treatable.

Erectile dysfunction is treatable, no matter the severity or duration.

Sexual incontinence is common after prostate cancer treatment and is treatable.

Having a vasectomy does not diminish testosterone or ability to have erections.

What else can you do to support your sexual health? Some of the most valuable things you can do is to bring your partner with you to appointments, don't shy away from hard conversations, start with a doctor you feel close to and stay away from online chat groups or sources that are not credible.

For more information and credible patient resources, visit UrologyHealth.org or ask your Urologist for more information.

About the American Urological Association: Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has more than 22,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy. www.AUAnet.org

About the Urology Care Foundation: The Urology Care Foundation is the world's leading nonprofit urological health foundation, and the official foundation of the American Urological Association. Partnering with physicians, researchers, healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers, families and the public, the Foundation supports and improves urologic clinical care by funding research, developing patient education and pursuing philanthropic support. To learn more about the Urology Care Foundation and its programs visit: www.urologyhealth.org.

Contact:

Corey Del Bianco, Corporate Communications & Media Relations Manager

410-689-4033

[email protected]

SOURCE American Urological Association and Urology Care Foundation
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by First Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Jurgen Rigterink.

During the conversation, President Ilham Aliyev recalled his meeting with the First Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Davos this January.

During the meeting, the sides discussed the activity directions of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Azerbaijan and the issues of cooperation in the priority areas for the country, particularly in the fields of renewable energy, transport, logistics, small and medium business development, as well as regarding the Middle Corridor.

They emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Azerbaijan even further. They also stressed the significance of the loans allocated by the Bank to the energy and transport projects of Azerbaijan, especially the Southern Gas Corridor.

During the conversation, the sides also exchanged views on issues of mutual interest.








An exhibition of Azerbaijani carpets was organized at the Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Berlin with the joint Organization of the embassy of Azerbaijan in Germany and Azerkhalcha OJSC. Representatives of German government agencies, ambassadors of foreign countries, media representatives, scientists and cultural figures, as well as members of Azerbaijani, Turkish and other communities living in Germany took part in the event organized on September 6, 2023 in connection with the opening of the exhibition.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Azerbaijani ambassador to Germany Nasimi Aghayev noted that carpet weaving art in Azerbaijan has an ancient history, master carpet-makers successfully pass on the subtleties of this art to the younger generation, and the country's leadership attaches great importance to the development of this art.

Chairman of the Board of "Azerkhalcha" OJSC, honored art worker Emin Mammadov also spoke about the history of the organization he represents. The Chairman said that the main goal of Azerkhalcha" OJSC is to preserve the tradition of carpet weaving and further develop this art. He stressed that Azerbaijani folk-applied art and its branch, carpet weaving, occupy a special place in the history of the national culture of our people. E.Mammadov spoke about the carpets displayed at the exhibition, which belong to Karabakh, Gazakh, Nakhchivan and Shirvan carpet-making schools.

Ambassador of Germany in Azerbaijan Dr. Ralph Horleman also spoke at the event. The German ambassador shared the impressions he got about the art of carpet weaving in Azerbaijan during his activity with the participants of the event.

During the exhibition, the process of weaving a real Karabakh carpet was also demonstrated for the guests. Participants of the exhibition have the opportunity to make their own loops on the carpet. Everyone who participated in the process of weaving the Karabakh carpet was also presented a special certificate of Azerkhalcha OJSC, approved by ambassador Nasimi Aghayev and Emin Mammadov. Within the framework of the event, the participants were also handed out books and brooches about the art of carpet weaving in Azerbaijan, compiled by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in exquisite design and in German, and a film about the art of carpet weaving in Azerbaijan, as well as the well-known carpet weavers of our country was shown.

The doors of the exhibition, organized at the Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Berlin, will be open to European carpet lovers until the end of September, and visitors of the exhibition will also be informed about the Azerbaijani carpet art and carpet making schools.
SHANGHAI, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Shanghai Electric (SEHK:2727, SSE:601727) leveraged market opportunities across key sectors to grow significantly in H1 2023 while optimizing its corporate strategy to address global economic challenges.

Shanghai Electric advanced low-carbon transformation and clean and renewable energy pledges to support China's "Dual-Carbon" goal during the reporting period. In H1, new orders for nuclear and high-efficiency clean thermal power equipment increased 182.33% and 386.67%, respectively, driving revenue and profit to record highs.

Operating revenue was RMB 53.078 billion in H1 2023, up 5.54% from the previous year. After losing money in 2022, net profit attributable to shareholders rose to RMB 590 million. Energy equipment, industrial equipment, and integrated services orders totaled RMB 82.01 billion, up 38.4% year-over-year, bringing the order backlog to RMB 284.18 billion as of June, up 5.8%.

Energy Equipment Business Leads Growth

A global leader in energy equipment, the company has been upgrading its industrial structure to help clients go green. Energy equipment business H1 operating revenue was RMB 25.677 billion, up 5.8%, and gross profit margin was 19.4%. Profit rose 63.4% to RMB 518 million.

Shanghai Electric received RMB 7.815 billion in nuclear orders in H1, up 182.33%. Achievements include fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor orders, commercial operation of the first Hualong One reactor in western China, and nuclear fusion experimental facility bids.

Last year's record for orders for coal-fired power generation equipment was quadrupled, reaching RMB 22.679 billion in H1.

Driving New Energy Transition

With its Dual-Carbon Action Plan, Shanghai Electric made significant progress towards its low-carbon goals of carbon peak before 2035 and carbon neutrality across the value chain by 2055. This opens the door to expanding into solar and hydrogen energy, demonstrating China's commitment to decarbonize its economy with new energy system solutions.

Shanghai Electric demonstrated its expertise with a 500kW/3000kWh vanadium redox flow battery energy storage system, showcasing its technical prowess in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB).

The company is also leading the way in next-generation N-type photovoltaic technologies by increasing capacity and R&D for high-efficiency heterojunction solar cells and modules this year. H1 2023 saw several overseas photovoltaic projects connect to the grid. Shanghai Electric is also constructing the world's largest CSP-PV complex in Dubai.

Cutting-Edge Industrial Solutions

In H1 2023, Shanghai Electric's industrial equipment business had an operating income of RMB 19.609 billion, up 17% year-on-year. The gross profit margin was 16.8% and an operating profit reached RMB 779 million, up 38.4%.

Shanghai Electric is delivering advanced manufacturing solutions for aviation, with subsidiary Broetje recently delivering heavy-duty robots to Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation. Another subsidiary, Thales Transport & Security, recently launched an autonomous train control signaling system equipped with 5G and obstacle detection.

Integrated Services Ushers Smarter Future

Shanghai Electric's integrated services business achieved an operating income of RMB 10.265 billion and an operating profit of RMB 581 million in H1. The company is also working on intelligent manufacturing through integrating artificial intelligence, 5G, and the industrial internet.

SOURCE Shanghai Electric
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Shoreline Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing effective and differentiated cellular immunotherapies based on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived natural killer cells (iNKs) and macrophages (iMACs), today announced a major milestone in its patent litigation with Fate Therapeutics, Inc. and the Whitehead Institute in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

The district court granted Shoreline's motion for summary judgement of non-infringement on all of Fate and Whitehead's patent infringement claims, ruling that the Fate/Whitehead patents did not reach Shoreline's use of iPSCs in its drug development programs as Fate and Whitehead had claimed.

Kleanthis G. Xanthopoulos, Ph.D., Shoreline's Chairman and CEO, commented: "The district court's ruling represents a complete victory against this meritless lawsuit, which wasted significant capital and resources. Fate and Whitehead tried to stretch patents about Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) to cover iPSCs that Dr. Yamanaka invented and for which he won the Nobel Prize. The district court wisely rejected that claim. We are thrilled to have successfully defended against this lawsuit, and we remain committed to continuing to develop effective and differentiated cellular immunotherapies that have the potential to treat cancer and other serious diseases to help patients and save lives."

The district court's order can be accessed here.

Shoreline was represented by Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) in the patent infringement litigation. See also

https://www.mofo.com/resources/news/230831-mofo-wins-summary-judgment

About Shoreline Biosciences

Shoreline Biosciences is a biopharmaceutical company developing effective and differentiated cellular immunotherapies based on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived natural killer cells (iNKs) and macrophages (iMACs). The company's cellular design and gene editing technologies are built on a unique understanding of iPSC differentiation, immune cell biology and premier gene editing tools such as SLEEK knock-in technology and access to AsCas12a, a high fidelity and high efficiency engineered CRISPR/CAS endonuclease. Shoreline's allogeneic effector cells are designed for durability, scalability, safety, and efficacy. Shoreline is advancing a pipeline of programs towards the clinic, on its own and with its strategic partners, Kite, a Gilead Company, and BeiGene, a global pharmaceutical company.

For more information, please visit https://shorelinebio.com/ and engage with us on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Shoreline Biosciences, Inc.
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Agency Revolution, a leading provider of websites, marketing automation, and client engagement solutions for independent insurance agencies, is pleased to announce its new partnership with SIAA - The Agent Alliance, as part of its Preferred Vendor Program. SIAA is a prominent alliance of independent insurance agencies, powered by 49 regional Master Agencies across the United States, providing its agency members with immediate access to a wide range of services, markets, profit-sharing, and incentives.

As part of this collaboration, Agency Revolution will help empower growth and retention for SIAA member agencies through its Forge websites and Fuse client engagement platform. These best-in-class solutions include marketing and communications automation, business texting, NPS surveys and analysis, sales pipeline management, website-to-mobile texting chat, and agency management systems integrations. By providing mature, widely adopted, and integrative solutions, Agency Revolution aims to enhance the capabilities of SIAA agency members and enable them to thrive in an increasingly competitive market.

Jason Walker, President of Agency Revolution, expressed his excitement about the partnership, stating, "We believe that enabling independent insurance agencies with robust and accurate technology solutions is crucial for their long-term success. Our products help streamline agency operations, improve client engagement, and drive growth and retention. We are thrilled to partner with SIAA and contribute to the success of their agency members."

Brendan Mulcahy, Vice President of Technology and Innovation Partnerships at SIAA, highlighted the importance of selecting top-tier solutions partners for their agency members. "SIAA is dedicated to identifying, vetting, and selecting the best technology solutions partners for our agency members. We are excited to partner with Agency Revolution and leverage their expertise in providing cutting-edge websites, marketing automation, and client engagement solutions."

This strategic partnership will empower SIAA agency members to stay ahead of the curve and deliver exceptional service to their customers.

About Agency Revolution

Agency Revolution provides websites and marketing automation software for insurance agencies and brokerages in the U.S. and Canada. Its software is designed to help agencies increase revenue and grow retention by automating processes that are typically done manually. This reduces the workload for producers and CSRs while providing the agency with performance and activity analytics in real-time. Agency Revolution is a division of FMG, which powers an all-in-one marketing platform that helps more than 40,000 financial advisors and insurance agents stay connected with clients and grow their businesses. Creating over 200 new pieces of timely and authentic content for its library each month, FMG empowers its customers to execute effective marketing campaigns in an efficient and compliant manner. Based in San Diego, CA, with satellite offices nationwide, FMG combines marketing best practices with cutting-edge technology to give its customers a competitive advantage. For more information on Agency Revolution, please visit www.agencyrevolution.com.

About SIAA

SIAA is The Agent Alliance  the nation's leading network for starting, growing, and existing independent insurance agencies. Our members leverage the capabilities and support of an organization collectively writing $12.5 Billion of premium. Together with our 49 Master Agencies, SIAA provides national scale and local delivery of services designed to inspire and equip independent agents to adapt to various market environments. We're all about the journey of the independent agent and the partnerships it takes to make it a successful one. For more information, see SIAA.com.For media inquiries, please contact:

Stefanie Altman

VP of Marketing

Agency Revolution

Stefanie.Altman@AgencyRevolution.com

SOURCE Agency Revolution
DUBLIN, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Australia Social Commerce Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - 50+ KPIs on Social Commerce Trends by End-Use Sectors, Operational KPIs, Retail Product Dynamics, and Consumer Demographics - Q2 2023 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The social commerce industry in Australia is set to experience substantial growth, with an anticipated annual increase of 12.2% in 2023, reaching a market value of US$1.71 billion.

The social commerce sector is projected to maintain a steady growth trajectory throughout the forecast period, recording a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.2% from 2023 to 2028. By 2028, the Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of social commerce in Australia is expected to reach US$3.31 billion.

The growth of social commerce in Australia is attributed to the continued investment and improvement in social commerce capabilities by popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. This trend of social buying and shopping is expected to see significant expansion.

Retailers are increasingly partnering with influencers to drive social commerce revenue. Moreover, brands are also increasing their spending in the social commerce space for activities like brand awareness, engagement, and driving online store traffic.

Key Highlights:

Retailers Leveraging Social Commerce Capabilities: Retailers in Australia are actively investing in social commerce capabilities to enhance customer engagement and reach a broader audience. For instance, LSKD, an Australian sportswear brand, is planning to offer customers a social media-like experience on its website, with a focus on video content capabilities. This investment is expected to further strengthen the brand's position in the social commerce sector. In the short to medium term, more retailers are expected to increase their investment in social commerce, contributing to the overall market growth. Entry of New Players: The demand for innovative and interactive shopping experiences has led to the entry of new players into the social commerce segment in Australia . For example, Tolstoy, a shoppable video platform launched in Australia , has partnered with over 5,000 brands, including hundreds of businesses in Australia . This platform aims to revolutionize the way consumers make purchases while driving incremental revenue for brands and retailers. With over 40 million consumers watching videos every month, the entry of such platforms is expected to accelerate the growth of social commerce in the domestic market. Global Social Media Platforms: Leading global social media platforms like YouTube, owned by Google, are also expanding their presence in the social commerce space in Australia . YouTube plans to launch new social commerce capabilities on its platform in 2023 to capture a larger share of the global social commerce industry. Investment and innovation by these global players in the Australian market are expected to support the growth of the social commerce industry in the short to medium term.

This report provides a comprehensive data-centric analysis of the social commerce industry in Australia, offering insights into market opportunities and associated risks. With more than 50 key performance indicators (KPIs) specific to Australia, this report provides a deep understanding of social commerce market dynamics, size, forecasts, and market share statistics.

The research methodology used adheres to industry best practices and ensures unbiased analysis, utilizing a proprietary analytics platform to provide a detailed view of emerging business and investment opportunities in the market.

Scope:

This report covers various key market segments related to social commerce in Australia, including:

Australia Ecommerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028.

Australia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators, 2019-2028.

Australia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Retail Product Categories, 2019-2028 (including Clothing & Footwear, Beauty and Personal Care, Food & Grocery, Appliances and Electronics, Home Improvement, Travel, Hospitality).

Australia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End-Use Segment, 2019-2028 (including B2B, B2C, C2C).

Australia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by End-Use Device, 2019-2028 (including Mobile, Desktop).

Australia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028 (including Domestic, Cross Border).

Australia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Location, 2019-2028 (including Tier-1 Cities, Tier-2 Cities, Tier-3 Cities).

Australia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Payment Method, 2019-2028 (including Credit Card, Debit Card, Bank Transfer, Prepaid Card, Digital & Mobile Wallet, Other Digital Payment, Cash).

Australia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Platforms (including Video Commerce, Social Network-Led Commerce, Social Reselling, Group Buying, Product Review Platforms).

Australia Social Commerce Industry Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Demographics & Behavior, 2022 (including By Age, By Income Level, By Gender).

Reasons to Buy:

This report provides valuable insights into the social commerce market in Australia, enabling stakeholders to:

Gain an in-depth understanding of social commerce market dynamics, including key trends and forecasts (2019-2028). Assess emerging opportunities across various end-use sectors within the market. Develop market-specific strategies by identifying growth segments and specific opportunities in the social commerce space. Evaluate market-specific key trends, drivers, and risks that can impact decision-making within the industry.

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 70 Forecast Period 2023 - 2028 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $1.7 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2028 $3.3 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 12.2 % Regions Covered Australia

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tg176a

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

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SOURCE Research and Markets
TAPPAHANNOCK, Va., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Margaret's School is pleased to announce the school has received transformative gifts totaling $2 Million from longtime supporters Roger Sanders and E. Carlton "Buddy" Wilton, Jr. The gifts are the largest in the school's 102-year history and will fund its focus on river-centric 21st-century learning, aptly called "S.T.R.E.A.M.," along with St. Margaret's recommitment to faith-based education. The money will serve as seed funding for a $10 Million fundraising goal.

St. Margaret's School (Tappahannock, Va.) Receives Two $1 Million Transformative Gifts from Longtime Supporters Post this St. Margaret's School 2023 Graduation, Photo Credit: Parker Michels Boyce

Sanders, a former federal judge and Texas lawyer is the grandfather of a 2023 St. Margaret's graduate. St. Margaret's promise five years ago -- of reassuring safety and strong academics -- lifted it above other American/Canadian schools the family had visited. "Since then, I've witnessed how this boarding school 'Sisterhood' transformed a shy, uncertain girl full of doubt into a confident, compassionate young woman," shared Sanders. "Their insight guided her throughout this beautiful riverside campus environment. How can I not support that for other daughters and granddaughters through St. Margaret's."

In the 1970s, the United States had over 100 independent-styled girls' boarding/day schools, but the number has dwindled to 24, according to Boarding School Review.

Buddy Wilton is a longtime friend and supporter of St. Margaret's and the Diocese of Virginia. He serves as president and chief executive officer of Wilton Capital Management Services. "I believe in the leadership of St. Margaret's and their commitment to the ideals and programs that founded this school  Christian education and learning on the river," explains Wilton. "I hope others will join Roger and me in giving to the school and catapulting St. Margaret's into its next century of success."

"We cannot thank Roger and Buddy enough for their extraordinary support of St. Margaret's," said Elizabeth "Sissy" Hinton Crowther '75, Chair of the Board of Governors. "They believe in the impact of this school and its direction. Their generosity is inspirational to St. Margaret's alumnae worldwide."

"It is a critical time for girls' education in the United States," said Head of School Colley Bell. "Adolescent girls face issues that are profound in our contemporary times. Boarding schools can be extraordinary enterprises facing such challenges, provided their mission is effectively delivered. At St. Margaret's, we believe in the "gospel of doing," Roger and Buddy's unprecedented gifts allow us to extend that philosophy to further generations."

Situated on the beautiful Rappahannock River in Tappahannock, VA, St. Margaret's School is an Episcopal all-girls boarding and day school for grades 8-12 and postgraduate. Learn more about the St. Margaret's Sisterhood at www.sms.org.

SOURCE St. Margaret's School
BEACHWOOD, Ohio, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stratos Wealth Enterprises, a Stratos Wealth Holdings ("Stratos") company announced today that its President Lou Camacho was recognized by Crain's Cleveland Business as a Notable Latino Leader.

The business publication recognizes the success and accomplishments of top Latino leaders in Northeast Ohio. Camacho was among the 45 leaders on the 2023 list. Stratos Wealth Enterprises is the strategic growth division of Stratos Wealth Holdings.

"I am honored to receive this recognition," Camacho said. "It is a testament to the incredible team at Stratos and the collective dedication we share in creating an quality wealth management experience."

Camacho joined Stratos in July 2018 and was Chief Operating Officer from 2020 to 2023. He has helped the firm's footprint through acquisitions and organic growth.

In the past year, he oversaw the purchase of a controlling interest in a large private wealth advisory firm in Mexico and the launch of a new division  Stratos Private Wealth  to meet the needs of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

Jeff Concepcion, Stratos Founder and CEO, said, "Lou has been an indispensable part of Stratos' success story, and we are grateful to have him as part of our team. He is a true leader in supporting the growth and expansion of the firm."

Camacho has also served as a mentor to young professionals from diverse backgrounds through Stratos' annual internship program, helping to guide them through career options in financial services.

"I'm proud to join this exemplary group of business leaders in serving as role models for the Latino community across our region," concluded Camacho.

About Stratos Wealth Holdings

Stratos Wealth Holdings is a family of companies focused on supporting the growth and success of financial advisors across business models and affiliation structures. Stratos companies include Stratos Wealth Partners, Stratos Wealth Advisors, and Fundamentum. Stratos includes a national network of over 350 experienced financial advisors and financial planning practitioners working across 24 states throughout the country.

The Crains 45 Notable Latino Leaders is drawn from individuals for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after a review by editors..This list is not comprehensive. The honorees do not pay to be included. To qualify for the list, nominees must be based in Northeast Ohio and must self-identify as Hispanic or Latino. They must be employed full-time in a senior-level role and should have demonstrated that they made an impact in advancing DEI at their companies and in the workplace. They must be active in the community and/or philanthropic activities, mentoring programs and/or diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Media Inquiries

Donald Cutler or Lorene Yue

Haven Tower Group

424.317.4856 or 424.317.4854

[email protected] or [email protected]

SOURCE Stratos Wealth
CHANGSHA, China, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- S'Young International ("S'YOUNG") announced the successful conclusion of its first-ever Luxury Hair Care Brand Ceremony, which brought together a group of business leaders and top-notch beauty brands under the same roof to shed light on the insights and highlight products that lead the current and future trends of "luxury haircare".

The First SYOUNG Luxury Hair Care Grand Ceremony

This ceremony is held in Changsha, which has been continuously rated as one of the happiest cities in China for fifteen consecutive years. It is also known as the "Capital of Media Arts" in the world. Changsha embraces diverse cultures, providing an excellent environment for world-renowned brands to gather. Additionally, as one of the most representative new Tier 1 cities, Changsha embraces China's youngest, most contemporary, and most diverse consumer groups. Here, global brands can better engage and understand their target audience.

The entire event was woven together as a fusion of industry summit and brand ceremony, kicking off with a play of light and shadow. This was accomplished through cinematic-level computer graphics and holographic screens, presenting the distinct elements of various hair care brands along with the cultural nuances and definitions of beauty from the countries where each brand originates. The first S'Young Luxury Hair Care Brand Ceremony aimed to bring together global brands beyond geographical, cultural, and product limitations. It united research experts, industry leaders, and key opinion leaders to collaborate, all dedicated to bringing global luxury haircare solutions to Chinese consumers and igniting a trend of luxury haircare in China.

The theme of the event cast a spotlight on the three keywords that define the very essence of the modern beauty industry  fashion, innovation, and nature  which are showcased by three pioneers in the hair care industry through the introduction of their brand stories, values, as well as the unique products that deliver luxury hair care experiences to global customers.

Wei Liu, the Chief Physician of Dermatology Physicians Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, was among the featured guests invited to share the latest research on scalp health. In addition, industry experts also presented their reports on the outlook of the hairdressing industry.

Elegant Fashion with Bjorn Axen

Representing the epitome of "Fashionable Hair Care," Bjorn Axen, hailing from Sweden, took the attendees on a journey into the world of hair aesthetics with a presentation that delves into the brand's craftsmanship and high-end hair care solutions. The brand takes pride in the honor of bringing its hair-dressing solutions to Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, as well as its strong brand heritage which makes it one of the most iconic names in the fashion industry.

Johan Hellstrom, founder of Bjorn Axen, introduced the brand's history, remarkable milestones, market strategy in China, as well as the signature hair repair line-up that is set to debut in the country.

Innovative Vision with DS Laboratories

When the air was filled with electronic beats exuding the energy that matches the futuristic tech aesthetics of DS Laboratories, Dr. Fernando, CEO of the brand, presented a video that transported the audience to the company's lab based in Miami, United States, which spearheads cutting-edge innovation with the aim of offering the best hair care solutions in the world.

At the event, Dr. Fernando Tamez, along with the host, invited the audience to share their concerns about hair loss and other problems related to hair health, followed by a story about genetic hair loss within families, showcasing the brand's sentiment and commitment  evolving from addressing familial genetic hair loss to embracing the mission of tackling hair loss for millions of individuals. On the stage, he demonstrated the product development process at DS Laboratories, explaining innovative ingredients and formulas with which the brand harnesses to address hair loss problems for millions of customers worldwide.

Natural Beauty with oolaboo

As the electrifying excitement subsided, the audience was greeted with the tranquil and awe-inspiring scenery of the Netherlands, where the hair care brand oolaboo was born. Against the backdrop of the pristine beauty of a country known for its picturesque landscapes, the brand showcased its R&D process and production line that embodies its mission to develop organic, nourishing, and effective hair products that "link inner and outer beauty".

Richard Wilmink and Jeroen Wilmink, founders of oolaboo, shared their personal experiences and passion for enhancing the effectiveness of natural hair products, explaining the intrinsic brand philosophy that aligns with its commitment to creating luxury products that redefine natural beauty.

The combined market value of body and hair care products in China has hit RMB 80 billion, making them two of the largest categories in the country's beauty market, according to the latest report of iResearch Consulting Group. Meanwhile, the shift in the attention of Chinese customers from meeting their basic needs to focusing on advanced features and benefits of personal care products has injected new dynamics into the beauty landscape, opening up a new arena for legacy brands to expand their offerings and reach new customers.

As the first global event hosted by S'YOUNG to highlight innovative solutions in the hair care category, the company aims to leverage the platform to tear down the cultural and psychical silos by presenting international offerings tailored to evolving lifestyles of Chinese customers while uniting industry insiders to share their creative ideas and visions that fuel the next growth chapter of the beauty industry.

SOURCE S'Young International
The location owners will provide the Allentown and Lancaster area with rentable, reusable containment walls that will limit waste during construction and renovation projects

ALLENTOWN, Pa., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Temporary Wall Systems (TWS), the first and leading full-service, temporary containment wall provider in the United States, has expanded its services into Pennsylvania with a new Allentown/Lancaster location. The business is owned by Randy and Winona Smith, a husband and wife team dedicated to providing the area with a sustainable containment option.

Temporary Wall Systems Allentown-Lancaster owners Winona and Randy Smith will provide the area with rentable, reusable containment walls that limit waste during construction and renovation projects.

"Temporary Wall Systems is a great opportunity for us to offer a new solution in the construction and renovation space that is more sustainable, economical and environmentally friendly," Randy Smith said. "Currently, when a business owner has to separate an area he is renovating from the occupied space, the construction crew has to use drywall and other permanent materials to build a wall. With the TWS system, we provide a reusable and sustainable option that won't be going to waste after it's no longer needed."

Smith said the couple is excited to be a part of the TWS franchise because they believe in the philosophy behind the modular wall company and its commitment to being an environmentally responsible containment alternative.

"Winona and I love this area and have lived here most of our lives," he said. "This area has a great combination of medium and small towns near one another. It has a mixture of very rural areas and quaint towns scattered across rolling hills and farms but with the added bonus of being near the big city of Philadelphia. We want to preserve the aesthetic of this area. TWS will afford us with the opportunity to do just that."

This business is a second act for the Smiths. Randy Smith has a mechanical engineering degree from Widener University and an MBA from the Keller Graduate School and spent nearly 35 years in machine engineering and manufacturing, serving as the president of NETZSCH Premier Technologies before opening his TWS location. Winona Smith received her nursing degree from Widener University and works as a pediatric nurse for Reading Hospital.

The couple have been married for 35 years and have two adult children and a granddaughter.

"We know our strong technical skills, experience managing a team and commitment to customer service will help us make our TWS location a success," Randy Smith said. "We're proud to offer a cost-effective system that provides a needed service in a safe manner. There is a lot of growth in the area and we're here to meet the needs of the community as it builds more homes, schools, hospitals and infrastructure."

Temporary Wall Systems provides modular wall systems that are designed with versatility in mind. The company's full-service business model simplifies construction and renovation by taking care of the entire containment process, from job site delivery to expert installation and removal when the project is complete. The Allentown/Lancaster location serves Allentown, Bethlehem, Collegeville, Dowingtown, Easton, Elizabethtown, Exton, Harrisburg, Hershey, Kennett Square, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mechanicsburg, Phoenixville, Pottstown, Quakertown, Reading, West Chester and York.

TWS is part of HomeFront Brands, a family of emerging, franchised residential and commercial property service brands that offers integrated technology, data support, lead generation, business intelligence systems and training to its partners.

For more information about Temporary Wall Systems Allentown/Lancaster, please visit https://tempwallsystems.com/locations/allentown-lancaster/.

About Temporary Wall Systems

Founded in 2017 and franchised since 2022, Temporary Wall Systems (TWS) is the first and leading full-service, rentable containment wall provider in the United States. TWS offers commercial contractors and facilities managers a turnkey alternative to labor-intensive interim containment methods like drywall. Our customers benefit from clean and quiet business continuity during construction, renovation, or maintenance projects in healthcare, public transportation, education, retail, and commercial office facilities. TWS is a brand partner of HomeFront Brands, a platform company of emerging property service franchises. Explore the versatility of Temporary Wall Systems at https://tempwallsystems.com/.

About HomeFront Brands

HomeFront Brands empowers entrepreneurs to create thriving franchised residential and commercial property service brands. Driven by an experienced team of franchise executives and rooted in family values, HomeFront Brands helps emerging or established concepts accelerate their growth by delivering enterprise-level solutions to local business owners who aspire to build a dynasty and create generational wealth. By leveraging integrated technology, data-driven intelligence and advanced learning management systems, HomeFront Brands is building a foundation for its brands -- Window Hero, The Designery, Temporary Wall Systems, BiltRite Home Inspections, Top Rail Fence and Mozzie Dome  to transform lives through franchise ownership.

For more information about HomeFront Brands' current solutions, new business development, and franchising opportunities, please visit https://homefrontbrands.com/.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

865-977-1973

[email protected]

SOURCE HomeFront Brands
The Honourable I. Chester Cooper, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation will lead BMOTIA executives to Atlanta to showcase the destination's diverse offerings

NASSAU, Bahamas, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation (BMOTIA) is headed to Atlanta, 13  15 September, to showcase the destination's vibrant culture, tourism offerings and developments, and meet with key film and tourism industry leaders, partners and media.

The Global Mission will be led by the Honourable I. Chester Cooper, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation. He will be accompanied by Latia Duncombe, BMOTIA's Director General and other senior executives.

"Bringing The Bahamas to You" Global Tour, Atlanta, GA, September 13-15th! Post this

The events of the "Bringing The Bahamas to You" Global Tour aim to heighten awareness of The Islands of The Bahamas brand, drive tourism business to the destination and honour The Bahamas' longstanding on-screen legacy, which has deep rooted connections in the market.

"Atlanta is a destination that is diverse and rich in culture, much like The Bahamas, making it the ideal place to conclude our successful U.S. tour," said Deputy Prime Minister Cooper. "The city is an extremely important market to us and one that is seeing rising demand. We have been working to continue to increase travel accessibility to meet those needs. Stopover visitor numbers from Atlanta for the first half of 2023 saw a 34 percent increase over the same period in 2022, and we hope to continue to see strong growth through end of year in this market."

Georgians can feel a world away in The Bahamas without the hassle of long-haul travel. Today, visitors can book twice weekly flights to Nassau and Saturday service to Exuma via Delta Air Lines, reaching the pristine shores in just two hours. Beginning 5 November, the carrier will increase service to Nassau, Exuma, Abaco and Eleuthera, ahead of the holiday season.

"Whether it's uninterrupted relaxation, action-packed adventure, or historical pursuits that visitors seek, our 16-island archipelago has unique experiences that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world," said Director General Latia Duncombe. "Atlanta is a special launch point for travellers as it has direct access to Nassau, our capital city, and our most popular Out Island destinations."

The "Bringing The Bahamas to You" Global Tour will make its next stop in the United Kingdom. Travellers who book their 2023 Bahamas vacation can expect year-long celebrations, events and festivities as the destination commemorates a golden jubilee milestone of 50 years of independence. For more information, visit www.thebahamas.com.

About The Bahamas

Explore all the islands have to offer at www.bahamas.com or on Facebook, YouTube or Instagram to see why It's Better in The Bahamas.

PRESS INQUIRIES

Anita Johnson-Patty

Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation

[email protected]

SOURCE The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments & Aviation
MILAN, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the third annual Top Tales: "A piece of Europe on your table" project, of which the Barolo & Barbaresco World Opening event is a part, there will be a presentation of Barolo wines en primeur in Chicago and New York on September 12 and 13, respectively.

Specifically, the addresses to mark will be Formento's, on Randolph Street, Chicago in the state of Illinois and Columbus Citizens Foundation, located at 8 East 69th St., New York.

Consortium for the protection of Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani

The evenings will consist of two masterclasses conducted by Matteo Ascheri, president of the Consortium for the protection of Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani to the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini di Alba of the respective U.S. delegations.

The activity has already been organized in Hong Kong in February 2022 and will include an introductory lecture to the participants with respect to the peculiarities and characteristics of en primeur wines, i.e., those Barolo wines still in aging.

The territories involved in the activity are in order of tasting: Verduno, La Morra and Grinzane, Roddi and Castiglione, Barolo, Novello and Monforte, and Serralunga. These are wines from the 2022 vintage and therefore still in the aging process, so as to offer the participants an opportunity to appreciate the differences and overall evolution of the vintage. In order to have a complete picture, the workshop will end with the tasting of a 2019 Barolo wine, which has therefore completed aging as per the regulations.

This activity, together with Barolo en primeur 2022 is a social responsibility initiative promoted by the CRC Foundation, in collaboration with the Consortium for the protection of Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani: a charity competition to support socially useful projects, both in Italy and abroad. The aim of this activity and another project, which is the Barolo en primeur auction, in collaboration with the CRC Foundation Cuneo and Christie's, is to highlight the potential of en primeur tastings to raise awareness, appreciation and promotion of both Barolo and Barbaresco.

Cavalieri del tartufo L'Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini di Alba was officially born on February 22, 1967, in a small trattoria in Grinzane Cavour. The founders of this food and wine confraternity were twenty-one: all selfless and independent, they set a statute in which, even today, we read that "the purpose of the Order is to defend and spread everywhere the genuine gastronomy, wines and other wonderful and unmistakable products of the land of Alba and the Langhe."

Barolo & Barbaresco World Opening is part of the European campaign "Top Tales: A piece of Europe on your table," a project funded by the European Union and promoted by DOCG Barolo e Barbaresco , Fontina DOP Valle d'Aosta and Riso di Baraggia Biellese e Vercellese DOP-

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Website: https://www.toptales.eu/

Press office: [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204245/Barolo_Alba_Dogliani.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204246/Consorzio_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Consorzio di tutela Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe e Dogliani
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. According to the training plan and program for 2023, practical classes were held with the cadets of the Military Institute named after Heydar Aliyev, Trend reports via the the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense.

First, the cadets practiced the rules of precise aiming on the training simulator.

After an explanation of safety rules and firing conditions, the cadets attended the firing camp.

The cadets of the Military Institute successfully completed the tasks of putting weapons on combat readiness, detection and destruction of conditional enemy targets.

The main focus of the training sessions was on improving the cadets' practical and combat skills.
The Internet Computer blockchain infrastructure also brings new features to the MyLugano app

ZURICH and LUGANO, Switzerland, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The DFINITY Foundation, a not-for-profit research and development organization and major contributor to the Internet Computer blockchain, today announced a partnership with the Municipality of Lugano, Switzerland.

The Foundation also today launched a $1 million grant fund to support Lugano-based startups in their endeavors to enhance, promote and build on the Internet Computer. The grants will be issued to developers in Lugano who leverage the unique capabilities of the Internet Computer and develop open internet services that can serve the global community and in particular integrate ckBTC into their projects.

This collaboration is part of the city of Lugano's overall blockchain development plans, which include the MyLugano crypto-payment app, extensive local adoption of cryptocurrency, and a multitude of blockchain companies setting up in the city.

The city of Lugano supports payments in LVGA, Bitcoin and Tether - which have been declared 'de facto' legal tender by the city. The de facto legal tender results in citizens being able to pay in LVGA, Bitcoin and Tether for their purchases at over 400 local businesses and access cash back rewards, as well as, progressively, pay fees and also taxes to the city administration.

As part of the collaboration, the MyLugano app developed by NOKU has undergone a major update. With the update, which introduces a multi-chain, multi-wallet solution, more experienced users will be able to manage the assets of other blockchains within the app. It will be possible to manage Internet Computer's blockchain infrastructure and ckBTC. ckBTC on the Internet Computer is a multi-chain Bitcoin 'twin' that is cryptographically secured 1:1 with real Bitcoin. It is created by a pair of open-source, verifiable smart contracts, which allows for cross-chain transactions to stay completely decentralized. ckBTC benefits from the Internet Computer's speed, security and scalability. ckBTC can be transferred with near-instant finality (1-2s) and for a fraction of the cost of a Bitcoin transfer on the Bitcoin network. The Internet Computer acts similarly to a Layer 2 for Bitcoin so that smart contracts on the Internet Computer can hold, send and receive Bitcoin natively.

Dominic Williams, Founder and Chief Scientist of the DFINITY Foundation, commented on the news, "The DFINITY Foundation is grateful for the opportunity to work with the Municipality of Lugano and bring ckBTC to the MyLugano app. This partnership is an excellent example of our new technology combined with Lugano's forward thinking in regard to blockchain technology to accelerate the mass adoption of Web3. As one of the world's fastest growing blockchain hubs, there are many exciting things happening in Lugano and we're proud to be a part of the innovation of the city."

"I am delighted to announce that the DFINITY Foundation has partnered with the Municipality of Lugano to award grants to Lugano-based blockchain companies. We are proud to support our local developer community and this partnership is a major step forward in Lugano's journey as a leading blockchain hub," said Michele Foletti, Mayor of Lugano.

Earlier this year the Casino of Lugano launched an NFT collection on the Internet Computer blockchain, the first step in the Internet Computer infrastructure integrating with the City of Lugano. The partnership with the Municipality and the availability of ckBTC on the MyLugano app advances this cooperation.

About the DFINITY Foundation

The DFINITY Foundation is a not-for-profit organization comprised of leading cryptographers, computer scientists and experts in distributed computing. With a mission to shift cloud computing into a fully decentralized state, the Foundation leveraged its experience to create the Internet Computer and currently operates as a major contributor to the network.

About City of Lugano

Lugano is the economic capital of Southern Switzerland, strategically located between the metropolitan areas of Milan and Zurich. Set in an exceptional natural context and landscape, Lugano is the ideal place for living and working.

The city hosts an important financial center and vibrant pharmaceutical, commodity trading and fashion hubs and remains a sought-after tourist destination.

Boasting three universities, Lugano is also home to world class research institutes and infrastructure, including the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IDSIA) and the Swiss National Supercomputing Center (CSCS).

Among the safest cities in the country, Lugano offers business friendly legislation, great infrastructure and political stability typical of Switzerland, combined with a Mediterranean flair.

Contact:

dfinitypr@mgroupsc.com

SOURCE DFINITY Foundation
BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Michael H. Schwartzberg is acknowledged as a Top Pinnacle Platinum Member for his contributions in the fields of Personal Injury Law and Music.

Mr. Schwartzberg pursued higher education at Louisiana State University where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Music Education at Louisiana State University and a Master's Degree in Music at Boston University. He then attended Louisiana State University and graduated with a Juris Doctorate from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University.

MichaelH. Schwartzberg

With more than 30 years of experience in the legal field, Mr. Schwartzberg began the practice of law with the firm of McHale, Bufkin, and Dees in 1989 in Lake Charles. Mr. Schwartzberg advanced quickly throughout his career and formed Vamvoras and Schwartzberg with a partner in 1998 and continued with significant growth until the retirement of Mr. Vamvoras in 2018 and Mr. Schwartzberg was welcomed into The Roach Law Firm in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Specializing in personal injury law, Mr. Schwartzberg was a clerk for the Louisiana Court of Appeals, Third Circuit for two years (1986-1988) and followed this experience working for one year (1988-1989) with the Honorable James T. Trimble while he was Magistrate-Judge, who later became District Court Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

A member of the Louisiana Association for Justice and the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association, Mr. Schwartzberg is an expert in various types of personal injury and accident claims; civil rights litigation; succession matters; business disputes and litigation matters; insurance claims; and professional malpractice claims. He vigorously represents clients, and gives personalized attention to all clients of the law firm.

Aside from his professional pursuits, Mr. Schwartzberg is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana and has resided in Lake Charles since 1986. He is a past and current member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Congregation of Temple Sinai of Lake Charles and is a current member of the congregation. He has also served as a Religious School teacher and principal. Mr. Schwartzberg is married and has two sons who have gone on to obtain advanced degrees and have entered into professional careers.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE The Inner Circle
LIAOCHENG, China, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This is a report from the Shandong Office of Hong Kong Business Daily. On September 1st, the "Journey to Liaocheng at the Intersection of the Yellow River and the Beijing Hangzhou Canal" Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition was exhibited on the Chinese Food Street in Hungary. The lifelike dough sculptures, vivid tiger head shoes, and other exquisite intangible cultural heritage handicrafts attracted many local people to stop and watch.

Cut shoe patterns, stick shoe uppers, embroider tiger faces, and make tiger shoes stitch by stitch. At the event, the cute tiger shoes were particularly popular. Tiger head shoes are a traditional folk handicraft in Dongchangfu District, Liaocheng City. The craftsmanship is complex, and various needle techniques such as embroidery, jacquard, and playing seed are needed on the tiger head alone. The finished tiger head shoes have a strong folk flavor, which is both domineering and cute. When the people on site learned that the tiger head shoes also carry the good wishes of the elders to the younger generation, they could hardly tear themselves away from it.

Liaocheng is currently the only city where the Yellow River meets the Grand Canal. The millennium intersection and collision of the "two rivers" not only created the glory of Liaocheng in the past and the prosperity of the present, but also left abundant intangible cultural heritage and traditional handicraft resources for Liaocheng. As of September 2022, our city currently has 479 intangible cultural heritage handicraft projects, 6 traditional craft revitalization projects, 15 Shandong time-honored brand projects, and 32 tourism products. These precious cultural resources embody the emotions and wisdom of our ancestors, showcase their unique vitality and creativity, and play an important role in strengthening cultural confidence and promoting the integration of culture and tourism.

Since the beginning of this year, Liaocheng has carried out multiple intangible cultural heritage promotion activities, continuously exploring and improving the innovation ability of intangible cultural heritage inheritance, and promoting the protection and inheritance of Liaocheng's intangible cultural heritage with new intangible cultural heritage forms and expressions. The successful "going out" of Liaocheng's intangible cultural heritage not only showcases the profound cultural heritage of Liaocheng as a "pearl of the two rivers", but also opens a window to attract people from around the world to have a deeper understanding of Liaocheng.

SOURCE Shandong Office of Hong Kong Business Daily
OTTAWA, ON, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and Invert Inc. today announced the official signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a landmark partnership aimed at combating climate change and advancing carbon project strategies and development in the Eastern Caribbean. The MoU establishes a framework for the collaborative ownership, development, financing, and implementation of groundbreaking carbon reduction and removal projects throughout the region.

Under the terms of the MoU, Invert, a leading global carbon removal and reduction company, will combine its technical and financial expertise in developing climate change mitigation and adaptation projects and complementary carbon crediting mechanisms, with the extensive knowledge and regional reach of the OECS. Together, and in collaboration with the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator (CCSA), these entities will pool their resources to accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon and climate-resilient future for the Eastern Caribbean.

"This partnership exemplifies the power and importance of collaboration in tackling climate change; one of the most pressing issues of our time," says Andre Fernandez, Co-CEO of Invert. "Having been born in Dominica and raised in Antigua, this initiative is particularly close to my heart and my home. I am confident that by combining Invert's technical carbon expertise and financial resources with the regional strengths and understanding of the OECS and CCSA, this joint initiative will serve as a global model for private public partnerships to capture carbon while creating valuable social infrastructure."

Director General of the OECS Dr. Didacus Jules spoke to the importance of the partnership in contributing to the Organisation's Strategic Agenda. He said, "This collaboration is demonstrative of the non-traditional alliances that need to be forged between the public and private sectors and civil society to create innovative, sustainable opportunities for the people of the region. Significantly, the objectives being pursued are consonant with at least four of the OECS' five Strategic Priorities, namely: Reinvent the Economy; Value the Environment; Build Resilience, and Advance Equity and Inclusion."

CEO of the Caribbean Climate Smart Accelerator Racquel Moses added, "One of the primary challenges we face in the region is funding adaptation which unlike mitigation is without obvious cash flows. Mechanisms like blue carbon and agreements like this help us tap into innovative financing opportunities that can close the fundamental gap in financing adaptation"

The joint exploration of the technical and commercial feasibility of multiple carbon projects across the Eastern Caribbean will commence by focusing on mangrove restoration (blue carbon) projects in the region.

About Invert

Invert is a leading carbon-reduction and removal company committed to empowering businesses, communities, and individuals to take bold climate action. With a mission to drive global goals for decarbonization, Invert is dedicated to making a measurable impact on our planet's future. We empower action through carbon project origination and financing, sourcing high-integrity carbon credits for businesses, and providing a software platform for organizations to bring employees along the climate-action journey.

Please visit our website for more information: www.invert.world .

About the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is an International Organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance among independent and non-independent countries in the Eastern Caribbean. The OECS came into being on June 18th 1981, when seven Eastern Caribbean countries signed a treaty agreeing to cooperate with each other while promoting unity and solidarity among its Members. The Treaty became known as the Treaty of Basseterre, so named in honor of the capital city of St. Kitts and Nevis where it was signed. The OECS today, currently has eleven members, spread across the Eastern Caribbean comprising Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Please visit our website for more information: www.oecs.org .

About the Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator (CCSA)

The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator (CCSA) accelerates priority initiatives towards the realization of a Climate-Smart Zone, fostering resilience, social, and economic advancement across the Caribbean. The CCSA's commitment becomes apparent through its multifaceted approach: removing barriers impeding Climate-Smart progress, coordinating curated project pipelines for efficient implementation, advocating for change by amplifying awareness and support for Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), while monitoring to ensure positive impact.

Please visit our website for more information: www.caribbeanaccelerator.org

SOURCE INVERT INC.
The award-winning 12-year old manufacturer and widely-recognized leading cancer center agreed to install United Imaging's recently unveiled innovation.

HOUSTON, Texas, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- United Imaging, a global leader in advanced medical imaging and radiotherapy equipment, announced that The Center for Quantitative Cancer Imaging (CQCI) at Huntsman Cancer Institute, part of the University of Utah health care system in Salt Lake City, has installed another United Imaging PET/CT scanner. This brings state-of-the-art molecular imaging technology to the CQCI clinical research lab. Huntsman Cancer Institute is designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

The new uMI Panorama features a 2.9 mm NEMA resolution, 35 cm axial FOV and 194 ps timing resolution and was unveiled at SNMMI's annual meeting in Chicago.

According to Jeffrey Yap, Ph.D, Director of the Center for Quantitative Cancer Imaging (CQCI) at Huntsman Cancer Institute and Research Professor in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at the University of Utah, "We are always striving for ways to bring the best technology and highest level of cancer care to our patients. We believe this new scanner will provide better image quality and improve patient comfort. Delivering world-class cancer treatment to our patients is our highest priority."

The uMI Panorama was cleared by the FDA in March 2023; Huntsman Cancer Institute is the first to install this groundbreaking technology in the entire United States. In 2022, Huntsman Cancer Institute announced installation of the first United Imaging uMI 780 PET/CT system in North America.

"The first of anything is always exciting, especially when it is so unique and will be put to good use by the experts at Huntsman Cancer Institute," commented Jeffrey M. Bundy, Ph.D, CEO of United Imaging Healthcare Solutions.

ABOUT UNITED IMAGING

At United Imaging, we develop and manufacture advanced medical products, digital healthcare solutions, and intelligent solutions that cover the entire process of imaging diagnosis and treatment. Founded in 2011, our company has subsidiaries and R&D centers across the world. Our North American headquarters in Houston includes our corporate offices, factory, product showroom, service training center, and service parts distribution center. With a cutting-edge digital portfolio and a mission of Equal Healthcare for All, we help drive industry progress and bold change.

To learn more, visit united-imaging.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @UnitedImagingHC.

SOURCE United Imaging Healthcare Co., Ltd.
In previous iOS major releases, destructive quality-of-life issues occurred despite advanced testing of beta versions

BURLINGAME, Calif., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- unitQ , the leading AI platform empowering organizations to take a user-centric, real-time data-driven approach to craft high quality products, services and experiences, announced today iOS mobile applications are likely to see a spike in user complaints and performance issues when Apple unveils iOS 17 later this month.

According to unitQ AI-based studies of App Store reviews on 5,000 top mobile applications, when Apple unveils major iOS releases, complaints from mobile app users that the new software version broke core and other features increased dramatically despite public and developer beta versions being tested well in advance of the official release.

The rollout of iOS 17 will cause headaches for end users and, by default, developers. Post this

According to unitQ data, when Apple released iOS 16 a year ago, social networking apps were hardest hit, with a 42% increase in App Store user feedback that identified a defect or bug that caused user friction and lowered customer satisfaction. Dating apps came in second place with more than a one-third increase in consumer complaints in the App Store. Health and fitness apps settled in third place, with 21% more issues identified by users in the App Store.

Defects and bugs also littered mobile apps upon the release of iOS 15 in September, 2021, according to unitQ data.

Missing notifications in dating apps spiked 114% after iOS 15 was released. Upload issues in the photo-video industry jumped 132%. The mobile gaming sector saw a 300% increase in user complaints that their hero "died for no reason." Concerns from users of finance apps that their "data disappeared" jumped 150%. The list goes on.

*For more on the issues associated with the iOS 16 update, read the unitQ study here.

*For more on the issues associated with the iOS 15 update, read the unitQ study here.

Despite betas, iOS 17 may cause headaches

"Think your mobile app is ready for iOS 17? Think again," says Christian Wiklund, unitQ CEO.

The destructive quality-of-life or customer-churning issues identified in the unitQ studies occurred despite the advanced release and testing of beta versions  and new betas are now being tested by developers and the public before the imminent release of iOS 17.

All of which means the rollout of iOS 17 may cause headaches for end users and, by default, developers  despite their best intentions. But how long developers and their organizations allow product quality issues to linger in their apps is another story  a story whose ending depends on how and if organizations listen to what their end users are telling them and take swift action on that feedback.

Implement user feedback in your tech stack

Companies are investing heavily in technology stacks, incorporating systems for everything from auditing to security monitoring, and application performance to overall infrastructure management. Corporate leaders like CIOs are deploying a range of tools to ensure the ongoing success of their organizations. However, another data source rich in valuable insights is often overlooked.

This underutilized data is the "Voice of the Customer." User feedback data serves as the definitive measure of product quality. It offers concrete information regarding the performance, features, and capabilities of your product and services in real time.

User reviews on platforms like the App Store and Google Play, customer service inquiries in Zendesk, incident reports in Jira, as well as social media conversations on platforms like Discord, LinkedIn, Reddit, and X, can collectively provide an accurate portrait of customer preferences, difficulties and priorities.

Acting on issues highlighted by customer feedback can improve key performance indicators for developers, elevate customer satisfaction scores, draw in new users and create additional revenue opportunities. Best of all, user feedback provides an immediate roadmap to all the user-facing hiccups associated with a new software update, such as the looming iOS 17 release.

Harnessing user feedback with AI

Embracing customer feedback is just the beginning. The bigger challenge lies in managing and analyzing this wealth of data to extract actionable insights.

Artificial intelligence can automate the analysis of large volumes of customer feedback  highlighting key themes and sentiment trends, predicting product defects, feature requests, and identifying potential opportunities for improvement. unitQ's AI can comprehend the context and nuances of customer reviews and feedback, allowing for a more in-depth understanding of customer perceptions. By leveraging unitQ, businesses can not only meet quality expectations but consistently exceed them, thus staying ahead of the competition while minimizing the damage brought by new updates.

About unitQ

With unitQ customer feedback software, organizations can discover quality issues at the same time as their users. Know what product launches, releases or evergreen features are causing the most bugs or support tickets. Drill into the root causes of these issues by source, platform, device, customer segment and more.

unitQ AI centralizes feedback from all feedback sources and automatically groups it into thousands of granular categories to help organizations discover what matters most to users  all in real time. Customer-centric companies like Spotify, Bumble, Pinterest and HelloFresh rely on unitQ for actionable insights to drive growth, reduce churn and build brand loyalty.

Want to see how your organization compares to others? Get your free unitQ Score or book a unitQ demo today!

The company is headquartered in Burlingame, Calif.

Please visit www.unitq.com for more information. Follow unitQ on Linkedin and X.

To learn more, contact David Kravets from unitQ at [email protected].

SOURCE unitQ
Second issue launches, offering key insights and guidance on law school

HOUSTON, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Houston Law Center has released its second issue of Aspiring Lawyer, an online magazine that offers insights, resources and advice for individuals interested in a legal career. The publication caters to undergraduates and those interested in pursuing the legal profession, featuring articles on topics from law school admissions, legal news and career development to profiles of donors, alumni, faculty and students.

Aspiring Lawyer magazine offers insights, resources and advice for individuals interested in a legal career. Post this The University of Houston Law Center releases its second issue of Aspiring Lawyer magazine.

"Aspiring Lawyer magazine is designed to complement UH Law Center's award-winning Pre-Law Pipeline Programs, which is a race-neutral program designed to increase the representation of law students from low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented backgrounds," said Leonard M. Baynes, Dean of the University of Houston Law Center.

The magazine contains essential information pertinent to pursuing and excelling in the legal field. It offers tips such as the importance of networking, strategies in preparation for the LSAT and mentorship opportunities.

"Through this innovative magazine, I am thrilled that the University of Houston Law Center has stepped up again to provide foundational law school preparatory information to those who need it most," said Mariesha Keys, Director of the Pre-Law Pipeline Programs.

Since the launch of the first pipeline program in 2015, 140 scholars have been accepted to law school and have been awarded over $11.1 million in scholarships. Students who participate in the LSAT prep curriculum have seen a median LSAT score increase of 6-14 points with the highest individual LSAT score increase of 27 points.

The award-winning Pre-Law Pipeline Programs has been recognized by the American Bar Association with the 2019 Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Award for Excellence in Pipeline Diversity, honored by the University of Houston Board of Regents with an Academic Excellence Award, cited in the Law Center's INSIGHT Into Diversity's Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award and received a Congressional Recognition from the 18th Congressional District of Texas. The program had received past support from several partner institutions and sponsors, including AccessLex and LSAC.

Aspiring Lawyer expands the Pre-Law Pipeline Programs outreach by ensuring that students from first-generation, low-income or underrepresented backgrounds are provided the information, resources and direction essential for career growth, regardless of their enrollment in the Pipeline Programs.

University of Houston Law Center media contacts: Carrie Anna Criado, UH Law Center Assistant Dean of Communications and Marketing, 713-743-2184, [email protected]; Bonnie Buffaloe, Communications Manager, 713-743-9137, [email protected].

About the University of Houston Law Center

The University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) is a dynamic, top-tier law school located in the nation's 4th largest city. UHLC's Health Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Part-time programs rank in the U.S. News Top 10. It awards Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees, through its academic branch, the College of Law. The Law Center is more than just a law school. It is a powerful hub of intellectual activity with more than 15 centers and institutes which fuel its educational mission and national reputation. UHLC is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter for excellence in undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city and one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions in the country, UH is a federally designated Hispanic- and Asian-American-Serving institution with enrollment of more than 47,000 students.

SOURCE University of Houston Law Center
Now Accepting Applications from Entrepreneurs and Startups

NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Uptake Alliance , a new venture development program to commercialize and scale innovative climate solutions in New York State, is now accepting applications from entrepreneurs and startups. The program creates the market conditions for frontier climate tech companies to thrive with the latest industry connections and partnerships while helping them secure non-dilutive funding and the private capital necessary to deploy clean energy and clean transportation technologies, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and increase energy efficiency. Accepted startups will engage with corporate partners to help meet their customer needs and provide market-ready climate solutions.

The new program, administered by ADL Ventures and supported by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority ( NYSERDA ), offers a new website at uptakealliance.com that provides a single point-of-entry for climate tech entrepreneurs and startups looking to do business in New York State. Features include matchmaking, digital content, events, thought leadership, and industry resources. Startups located anywhere in the world are eligible to apply. ADL Ventures was recently awarded $8.5 million from New York State to administer this new ClimateTech Growth Platform .

"Uptake Alliance exists to ensure the adoption of market-ready climate technologies," said Chris Richardson, Executive Director of Uptake Alliance and Partner at ADL Ventures. "We create the conditions for corporate and entrepreneurial innovation to converge. Uptake is a single concept that powerfully captures our dual focus on delivering financial performance and climate impact."

Uptake Alliance will also offer up to $2 million in grant funding to pilot or deploy first-of-a-kind solutions that curb the impact of climate emissions to meet New York State's climate and clean energy goals under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO, NYSERDA said, "Leveraging local and global technologies that lower emissions while at the same time stimulating market growth is a win-win for the environment and our clean energy economy. NYSERDA is proud to support this new program that will help emerging climate tech companies form new partnerships seeking to develop solutions driving greater energy efficiency throughout New York State."

Industry stakeholders, including utilities, corporate partners, investors, and mentors interested in joining Uptake Alliance to support new technologies, be matched with startups, and cultivate solutions that remove technical barriers to scaling climate technology solutions should visit uptakealliance.com .

About Uptake Alliance

Uptake Alliance is an intersectional community of startups, corporations, utilities, investors, and policymakers. Together, we are helping to create the market conditions for frontier climatetech ventures to thrive. Our global venture development program connects organizations with technical challenges to startups with novel solutions - making a regenerative impact on business performance, startup revenue, and everyone's climate future. For more information, please visit www.uptakealliance.com.

About ADL Ventures

ADL Ventures develops and launches clean infrastructure innovations. By bridging the gap between incumbents and the entrepreneurial ecosystem, we deliver the full innovation life cycle from strategy to development to launch.

Media Contact:

[email protected]

347-906-2514

SOURCE Uptake Alliance
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vietravel Airlines was honored as Asia's Leading Leisure Airline 2023 for Travel Experience at the World Travel Awards 2023 (WTA 2023) Gala Ceremony held in Vietnam.

Vietravel Airlines honored at World Travel Awards

As the first touring airline in Vietnam, Vietravel Airlines was born with the mission of "Connecting": connecting people with people, connecting people with destinations, connecting cultures, and connecting Vietnam with the world. For more than 2.5 years of flying into Vietnam's horizon and the world, Vietravel Airlines has conquered multiple national tourist cities with passengers: Da Nang, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, Da Lat, Phu Quoc from 02 central cities of the country: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. For the international route network, Vietravel Airlines has successfully operated regular flights from Hanoi / Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok (Thailand), Nha Trang - Macau, a series of charter flights from Nha Trang to Daegu (Korea), Hanoi - Sanya (China).

In addition to providing passengers with enjoyable experiences on flights, such as having an inflight storyteller who shares information about the next destination, offering water and snacks with local tastes, and entertaining with a travel magazine published by Vietravel Holiday, Vietravel Airlines also collaborates with the Department of Tourism in various regions of the country. The aim is to extend our mission of connecting and enhancing the attractions of each region and to create a comprehensive image of the country's tourism.

Mr. Vu Duc Bien, the General Director of Vietravel Airlines, said: "We are proud to receive the award for Asia's Leading Leisure Airline for Travel Experience 2023 at the World Travel Awards Gala Night for the second year in a row. This award recognizes the hard work and dedication of Vietravel Airlines - The first touring airline in Vietnam that strives to connect people, places, and cultures. We hope this shall become a great motivation for us to continue improving our flight products and services with experiential features. We are grateful for your trust and love for choosing to fly with us."

The 17th Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair (ITE) will be held at Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) from September 7 to September 9, 2023. The event is organized by the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism with the aim of providing innovative solutions to boost Vietnam tourism, foster sustainable development, and showcase the beauty of the country and people of Vietnam to the world. Vietravel Airlines joins ITE this year with the theme "Experience Identity - Complete Taste on Clouds", offering domestic and foreign partners similar experiences as on flights of The first travel airline in Vietnam with five touch points: Sense The Mood, Witness The Uniqueness, Sip The Local Essence, Savour East  West, Hear The Cultural Talks.

SOURCE Vietravel Airlines
BEIJING, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Waterdrop Inc. ("Waterdrop", the "Company" or "we") (NYSE: WDH), a leading technology platform dedicated to insurance and healthcare service with a positive social impact, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023.

Financial and Operational Highlights for the Second Quarter of 2023

Resilient business performance: For the second quarter of 2023, the first-year premiums ("FYP") generated through our Waterdrop Insurance Marketplace amounted to RMB2,197.0 million ( US$303.0 million ), representing an increase of 29.8% quarter over quarter. Our net operating revenue was RMB678.7 million ( US$93.6 million ), representing an increase of 12.0% quarter over quarter.

( ), representing an increase of 29.8% quarter over quarter. Our net operating revenue was ( ), representing an increase of 12.0% quarter over quarter. Positive operating cash flow: As of June 30, 2023 , our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments balance amounted to RMB3,399.2 million ( US$468.8 million ). We continued to generate positive operating cash flow, and have cash outflow of investing and financing activities.

, our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments balance amounted to ( ). We continued to generate positive operating cash flow, and have cash outflow of investing and financing activities. Further expanded product offerings: As of June 30, 2023 , we offered 1,050 insurance products on our platform, as compared with 876 as of March 31, 2023 . In the second quarter of 2023, the FYP generated from critical illness insurance products accounted for 21.8% of overall FYP generated through our Waterdrop Insurance Marketplace.

, we offered 1,050 insurance products on our platform, as compared with 876 as of . In the second quarter of 2023, the FYP generated from critical illness insurance products accounted for 21.8% of overall FYP generated through our Waterdrop Insurance Marketplace. As of June 30, 2023 , around 439 million people cumulatively had donated an aggregate of approximately RMB60.1 billion to over 2.95 million patients through Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding.

Mr. Peng Shen, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Waterdrop, commented, "In the second quarter, we continued on a high-quality user-centric development trajectory, achieving a net operating revenue of RMB678.7 million and a net profit of RMB21.7 million.

In the second quarter, our insurance business witnessed a sequential growth in the number of new users and maintained a consistently high policy renewal rate. Meanwhile, we continued to innovate on product offerings and unveiled the Blue Ocean Lifetime Health Insurance, a groundbreaking medical insurance policy that facilitates connections to pioneering overseas medical interventions and pharmaceuticals.

As for the medical crowdfunding business, our Operational Transparency Committee continuously monitored the authenticity of fundraising activities, safeguarding the rights of patients and donors. We also further refined our consultant services, as part of the efforts to promote industry best practices and the orderly development of the entire sector.

E-Find Platform maintained a high growth momentum. In the second quarter, we collaborated with 132 pharmaceutical companies and CROs and successfully enrolled more than 900 patients. We also onboarded 80 new clinical trial programs, a testament to our solid performance in digital patient recruiting. It is worth noting that during this quarter our CRO business achieved significant progress by initiating the first full-cycle clinical trial operation project.

Looking forward, we will continue to integrate resources and maximize our advantages in the domestic insurance and healthcare industry."

Financial Results for the Second Quarter of 2023

Operating revenue, net

Net operating revenue for the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 3.2% year over year to RMB678.7 million (US$93.6 million) from RMB701.4 million for the same period of 2022. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, net operating revenue increased by 12.0%.

Insurance-related income includes insurance brokerage income and technical service income. Insurance brokerage income represents brokerage commissions earned from insurance companies. Technical service income is derived from providing technical services including customer relationship maintenance, customer complaint management, claim review, and user referral services, among other things, to insurance companies, insurance brokers, and agency companies. Our insurance-related income amounted to RMB597.4 million ( US$82.4 million ) in the second quarter of 2023, representing a decrease of 4.6% year over year from RMB625.9 million for the second quarter of 2022, which was mainly due to the decrease in technical service income.

( ) in the second quarter of 2023, representing a decrease of 4.6% year over year from for the second quarter of 2022, which was mainly due to the decrease in technical service income. Crowdfunding service fees represent the service income earned when patients successfully withdraw the proceeds from their crowdfunding campaigns. Our role is to operate the Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding platform to provide crowdfunding related services through the internet, enabling patients with significant medical bills to seek help from caring hearts through technology (the "medical crowdfunding services"). Our medical crowdfunding services generally consist of providing technical and internet support, managing, reviewing and supervising the crowdfunding campaigns, providing comprehensive risk management and anti- fraud measures, and facilitating the collection and transfer of the funds. Since April 7, 2022 , our crowdfunding platform has ceased to fully subsidize the related cost and started to charge a service fee of 3% of the funds raised, up to a maximum amount of RMB5,000 for a single campaign. Considering the specific situation of each case, we may selectively subsidize the service fee for certain patients with special needs. For the second quarter of 2023, we generated RMB44.7 million ( US$6.2 million ) in service fees, representing a decrease of 20.3% year over year from RMB56.1 million for the second quarter of 2022.

measures, and facilitating the collection and transfer of the funds. Since , our crowdfunding platform has ceased to fully subsidize the related cost and started to charge a service fee of 3% of the funds raised, up to a maximum amount of for a single campaign. Considering the specific situation of each case, we may selectively subsidize the service fee for certain patients with special needs. For the second quarter of 2023, we generated ( ) in service fees, representing a decrease of 20.3% year over year from for the second quarter of 2022. Digital clinical trial solution income represents the service income earned from our customers mainly including biopharmaceutical companies and leading biotechnology companies. We match qualified and suitable patients for enrollment in clinical trials for our customers and generate digital clinical trial solution revenue for successful matches and we typically charge our customers a fixed unit price per successful match. For the second quarter of 2023, our clinical trial solution income amounted to RMB29.4 million ( US$4.0 million ), as compared to RMB11.0 million in the same period of 2022.

Operating costs and expenses

Operating costs and expenses increased by 32.1% year over year to RMB720.3 million (US$99.3 million) for the second quarter of 2023. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, operating costs and expenses increased by 20.9%.

Operating costs increased by 36.2% year over year to RMB333.1 million ( US$45.9 million ) for the second quarter of 2023, as compared with RMB244.6 million for the second quarter of 2022, which was primarily driven by (i) a RMB74.2 million increase in costs of referral and service fees, and (ii) a RMB8.9 million increase in the costs for patient recruitment consultants team. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, operating costs increased by 34.3% in the second quarter of 2023, primarily due to the RMB60.9 million increase in costs of referral and service fees.

( ) for the second quarter of 2023, as compared with for the second quarter of 2022, which was primarily driven by (i) a increase in costs of referral and service fees, and (ii) a increase in the costs for patient recruitment consultants team. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, operating costs increased by 34.3% in the second quarter of 2023, primarily due to the increase in costs of referral and service fees. Sales and marketing expenses increased by 41.6% year over year to RMB204.5 million ( US$28.2 million ) for the second quarter of 2023, as compared with RMB144.4 million for the same quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily due to an increase of RMB50.7 million in marketing expenses to third-party traffic channels. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, sales and marketing expenses increased by 18.0% in the second quarter of 2023, primarily due to the RMB29.0 million increase in marketing expenses to third-party traffic channels partially offset by RMB8.6 million decrease in share-based compensation expenses.

( ) for the second quarter of 2023, as compared with for the same quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily due to an increase of in marketing expenses to third-party traffic channels. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, sales and marketing expenses increased by 18.0% in the second quarter of 2023, primarily due to the increase in marketing expenses to third-party traffic channels partially offset by decrease in share-based compensation expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by 11.6% year over year to RMB96.0 million ( US$13.2 million ) for the second quarter of 2023, compared with RMB86.1 million for the same quarter of 2022. The year-over-year variance was due to an increase of RMB9.9 million in professional service fees. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, general and administrative expenses remained stable, due to the increase of RMB10.1 million professional service fees, offset by the decrease of RMB8.3 million in share-based compensation expenses.

( ) for the second quarter of 2023, compared with for the same quarter of 2022. The year-over-year variance was due to an increase of in professional service fees. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, general and administrative expenses remained stable, due to the increase of professional service fees, offset by the decrease of in share-based compensation expenses. Research and development expenses increased by 23.1% year over year to RMB86.7 million ( US$12.0 million ) for the second quarter of 2023, compared with RMB70.4 million for the same period of 2022. The increase was primarily due to RMB15.0 million increases in research and development personnel costs and share-based compensation expenses. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, research and development expenses increased by 10.2% from RMB78.7 million , which was mainly due to RMB6.5 million increases in research and development personnel costs and share-based compensation expenses.

Operating loss for the second quarter of 2023 was RMB41.6 million (US$5.7 million), as compared with an operating profit of RMB155.9 million for the second quarter of 2022 and an operating profit of RMB10.3 million for the first quarter of 2023.

Interest income for the second quarter of 2023 was RMB37.6 million (US$5.2 million), as compared with RMB15.2 million for the same period of 2022. The increase was primarily due to the increase in our short-term investments.

Income tax benefit for the second quarter of 2023 was RMB10.5 million (US$1.4 million), as compared with RMB19.8 million for the same period of 2022.

Net profit attributable to Waterdrop for the second quarter of 2023 was RMB21.7 million (US$3.0 million), as compared with RMB206.9 million for the same period of 2022, and RMB49.7 million for the first quarter of 2023.

Adjusted net profit attributable to Waterdrop for the second quarter of 2023 was RMB50.3 million (US$6.9 million), as compared with RMB232.5 million for the same period of 2022, and RMB96.4 million for the first quarter of 2023.

Cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments

As of June 30, 2023, the Company had combined cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of RMB3,399.2 million (US$468.8 million), as compared with RMB3,704.5 million as of December 31, 2022.

Share Repurchase Plans

Pursuant to the share repurchase program launched in September 2021 and amended in September 2022, as of August 31, 2023, we cumulatively repurchased approximately 37.5 million ADSs from the open market with cash for a total consideration of approximately US$86.1 million.

On September 6, 2023, the board of the Company (the "Board") has approved a new share repurchase program. Under the new program, the Company is authorized to repurchase its own ordinary shares in the form of American depository shares with an aggregate value of up to US$50 million in the twelve-month period through September 6, 2024. The program will be funded by existing cash on the Company's balance sheet. The decision is made based on the management's confidence in both the external environment and the sound development of the Company. The proposed repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, in block trades and/or through other legally permissible means, depending on market conditions and in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. The timing and dollar amount of repurchase transactions will be subject to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") Rule 10b-18 and/or Rule 10b5-1 requirements. The Board will review the share repurchase program periodically, and may authorize adjustment of its terms and size or suspend or discontinue the program.

Supplemental Information

Prior to this quarter, we operated and managed our business as a single segment. Starting from the second quarter of 2023, our chief operating decision makers start to manage the business by three operating segments and assess the performance and allocate resources under the new operating segment structure.

Therefore, we organize and report our business in three operating segments:

Insurance, which mainly includes Waterdrop Insurance Marketplace and technical support service;

Crowdfunding, which mainly includes Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding; and

Others, which mainly include Digital Clinical Trial Solution and other new initiatives.

As a result, we have updated our segments reporting information to reflect the new operating and reporting structure.

Comparative figures were retrospectively adjusted to conform to this presentation.









































For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended









June 30, 2022

March 31, 2023

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023









RMB

RMB

RMB

USD

RMB

RMB

USD









(All amounts in thousands)





Operating revenue, net

































Insurance

625,927

536,343

597,437

82,390

1,254,162

1,133,780

156,355





Crowdfunding

56,061

42,022

44,677

6,161

56,061

86,699

11,956





Others

19,430

27,800

36,586

5,046

39,883

64,386

8,880





Total consolidated operating revenue, net

701,418

606,165

678,700

93,597

1,350,106

1,284,865

177,191





Operating profit/(loss)

































Insurance

270,843

154,955

99,759

13,757

551,687

254,714

35,127





Crowdfunding

(45,783)

(61,134)

(64,131)

(8,844)

(150,336)

(125,265)

(17,275)





Others

(43,392)

(36,567)

(47,877)

(6,603)

(80,031)

(84,444)

(11,647)





Total segment operating profit/(loss)

181,668

57,254

(12,249)

(1,690)

321,320

45,005

6,205





Unallocated item*

(25,745)

(46,926)

(29,393)

(4,053)

(48,752)

(76,319)

(10,525)





Total consolidated operating profit/(loss)

155,923

10,328

(41,642)

(5,743)

272,568

(31,314)

(4,320)





Total other income

31,264

36,771

52,835

7,287

70,898

89,606

12,357





Profit before income tax

187,187

47,099

11,193

1,544

343,466

58,292

8,037





Income tax benefit/(expense)

19,756

2,626

10,504

1,449

(31,565)

13,130

1,811





Net profit

206,943

49,725

21,697

2,993

311,901

71,422

9,848









































* The share-based compensation represents an unallocated item in the segment information because our management does not consider this as part of the segment operating performance measure.

Recent Development

Status Update of Acquisition of Cunzhen Qiushi

Since the previously announced acquisition plan of Shenzhen Cunzhen Qiushi Technology Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries (collectively, "Cunzhen Qiushi", also known as "Shenlanbao") on June 9, 2023, the Company, as planned, firstly acquired 56% of the equity interest of Cunzhen Qiushi on July 4, 2023. The Company will acquire 4% of the equity interest of Cunzhen Qiushi at the second closing, which is expected to take place within six months after the first closing. The remaining 40% equity interest of Cunzhen Qiushi will be acquired in three batches in the following three years, subject to certain closing conditions.

Exchange Rate

This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars ("USD" or "US$") at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from RMB to USD were made at the rate of RMB7.2513 to US$1.00, the noon buying rate in effect on June 30, 2023 in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. The Company makes no representation that the RMB or USD amounts referred could be converted into USD or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all. For analytical presentation, all percentages are calculated using the numbers presented in the financial statements contained in this earnings release.

Non-GAAP Financial Measure

The Company uses non-GAAP financial measure, adjusted net profit, in evaluating the Company's operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. Adjusted net profit represents net profit excluding share-based compensation expense and foreign currency exchange gain or losses. Such adjustments have no impact on income tax.

The non-GAAP financial measure is not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP methods of accounting and reporting used by other companies. The non-GAAP financial measure has limitations as analytical tools and when assessing the Company's operating performance, investors should not consider it in isolation, or as a substitute for net loss or other consolidated statements of comprehensive loss data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The Company encourages investors and others to review its financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure. Investors are encouraged to review the Company's historical non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Adjusted net profit presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measure presented by other companies. Other companies may calculate similarly titled measure differently, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure to our data.

The Company mitigates these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the most comparable U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating the Company's performance.

For more information on the non-GAAP financial measure, please see the table captioned "Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" set forth at the end of this press release.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "aims," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "likely to" and similar statements. Among other things, quotations in this announcement, contain forward-looking statements. Waterdrop may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the SEC, in its annual report 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 Waterdrop'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 statement, including but not limited to the following: Waterdrop's mission, goals and strategies; Waterdrop's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; the expected growth of the insurance, medical crowdfunding and healthcare industry in China; Waterdrop's expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our products and services; Waterdrop's expectations regarding its relationships with consumers, insurance carriers and other partners; competition in the industry and relevant government policies and regulations relating to insurance, medical crowdfunding and healthcare industry. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Waterdrop's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Waterdrop does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Conference Call Information

Waterdrop's management team will hold a conference call on September 7, 2023 at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time (8:00 PM Beijing/Hong Kong Time on the same day) to discuss the financial results. Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:

International: 1-412-317-6061 United States Toll Free: 1-888-317-6003 Hong Kong Toll Free: 800-963976 Hong Kong: 852-58081995 Mainland China: 4001-206115 Chinese Line (Mandarin) Entry Number: 6407234 English Interpretation Line (Listen-only Mode) Entry Number: 6030724

Participants can choose between the Chinese and the English interpretation lines. Please note that the English interpretation option will be in listen-only mode. Please dial in 15 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin and provide the Elite Entry Number to join the call.

Telephone replays will be accessible two hours after the conclusion of the conference call through September 14, 2023 by dialing the following numbers:

United States Toll Free: 1-877-344-7529 International: 1-412-317-0088 Chinese Line Access Code: 4181965 English Interpretation Line Access Code: 3440853

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available at the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.waterdrop-inc.com/.

About Waterdrop Inc.

Waterdrop Inc. (NYSE: WDH) is a leading technology platform dedicated to insurance and healthcare service with a positive social impact. Founded in 2016, with the comprehensive coverage of Waterdrop Insurance Marketplace and Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding, Waterdrop aims to bring insurance and healthcare service to billions through technology. For more information, please visit www.waterdrop-inc.com.

For investor inquiries, please contact

Waterdrop Inc.

[email protected]

WATERDROP INC. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (All amounts in thousands, unless otherwise noted)



As of

December 31,2022

June 30,2023

RMB

RMB

USD Assets









Current assets









Cash and cash equivalents 1,574,171

644,340

88,859 Restricted cash 517,364

536,890

74,041 Short-term investments 2,130,377

2,754,859

379,912 Accounts receivable, net 675,796

836,777

115,397 Current contract assets 450,085

471,233

64,986 Amount due from related parties 358

240

33 Prepaid expense and other assets 342,468

255,534

35,241 Total current assets 5,690,619

5,499,873

758,469 Non-current assets









Non-current contract assets 103,591

110,460

15,233 Property, equipment and software, net 31,397

33,898

4,675 Intangible assets, net 56,614

56,571

7,801 Long-term investments 11,969

98,586

13,596 Right of use assets, net 18,447

68,186

9,403 Deferred tax assets 6,166

9,796

1,351 Goodwill 3,420

3,420

472 Total non-current assets 231,604

380,917

52,531 Total assets 5,922,223

5,880,790

811,000











Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity









Current liabilities









Amount due to related parties 11,553

11,734

1,618 Insurance premium payables 516,661

555,903

76,663 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 584,123

627,347

86,515 Current lease liabilities 9,354

30,229

4,169 Total current liabilities 1,121,691

1,225,213

168,965 Non-current liabilities









Non-current lease liabilities 4,701

37,899

5,227 Deferred tax liabilities 29,703

15,700

2,165 Total non-current liabilities 34,404

53,599

7,392 Total liabilities 1,156,095

1,278,812

176,357











Shareholders' equity









Class A ordinary shares 108

111

15 Class B ordinary shares 27

27

4 Treasury stock (3)

(9)

(1) Additional paid-in capital 7,384,670

7,085,097

977,080 Accumulated other comprehensive income 108,245

174,514

24,067 Accumulated deficit (2,726,919)

(2,657,762)

(366,522) Total shareholders' equity 4,766,128

4,601,978

634,643 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity 5,922,223

5,880,790

811,000

WATERDROP INC. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, or otherwise noted)

















For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended



June 30, 2022

March 31, 2023

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023



RMB

RMB

RMB

USD

RMB

RMB

USD





























Operating revenue, net

701,418

606,165

678,700

93,597

1,350,106

1,284,865

177,191 Operating costs and expenses(i)



























Operating costs

(244,616)

(247,983)

(333,140)

(45,942)

(399,496)

(581,123)

(80,141) Sales and marketing expenses

(144,423)

(173,401)

(204,548)

(28,208)

(348,766)

(377,949)

(52,122) General and administrative expenses

(86,054)

(95,798)

(95,997)

(13,239)

(188,049)

(191,795)

(26,450) Research and development expenses

(70,402)

(78,655)

(86,657)

(11,951)

(141,227)

(165,312)

(22,798) Total operating costs and expenses

(545,495)

(595,837)

(720,342)

(99,340)

(1,077,538)

(1,316,179)

(181,511) Operating profit/(loss)

155,923

10,328

(41,642)

(5,743)

272,568

(31,314)

(4,320) Other income



























Interest income

15,213

30,876

37,618

5,188

29,705

68,494

9,446 Foreign currency exchange gain

163

282

838

116

816

1,120

154 Others, net

15,888

5,613

14,379

1,983

40,377

19,992

2,757 Profit before income tax

187,187

47,099

11,193

1,544

343,466

58,292

8,037 Income tax benefit/(expense)

19,756

2,626

10,504

1,449

(31,565)

13,130

1,811 Net profit attributable to Waterdrop Inc.

206,943

49,725

21,697

2,993

311,901

71,422

9,848 Net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders

206,943

49,725

21,697

2,993

311,901

71,422

9,848 Net profit

206,943

49,725

21,697

2,993

311,901

71,422

9,848 Other comprehensive income:



























Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of tax

83,901

3,386

64,434

8,886

76,118

67,820

9,353 Unrealized gains/(loss) on available for sale investments, net of tax

3,100

1,957

(3,508)

(484)

4,172

(1,551)

(214) Total Comprehensive income

293,944

55,068

82,623

11,395

392,191

137,691

18,987 Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing

net profit per share



























Basic

3,926,602,657

3,866,785,745

3,795,521,186

3,795,521,186

3,932,647,108

3,831,316,817

3,831,316,817 Diluted

4,006,060,346

4,027,428,601

3,949,592,050

3,949,592,050

4,009,442,628

3,988,673,677

3,988,673,677 Net profit per share attributable to ordinary shareholders



























Basic

0.05

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.08

0.02

0.00 Diluted

0.05

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.08

0.02

0.00



























































(i) Share-based compensation expenses are included in the operating costs and expenses as follows.

























































For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended



June 30, 2022

March 31, 2023

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023



RMB

RMB

RMB

USD

RMB

RMB

USD





























Sales and marketing expenses

(1,771)

(16,529)

(7,888)

(1,088)

(4,573)

(24,417)

(3,367) General and administrative expenses

(19,976)

(26,460)

(18,122)

(2,499)

(36,897)

(44,582)

(6,148) Research and development expenses

(3,998)

(3,937)

(3,383)

(466)

(7,282)

(7,320)

(1,010) Total

(25,745)

(46,926)

(29,393)

(4,053)

(48,752)

(76,319)

(10,525)

WATERDROP INC. RECONCILIATIONS OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP RESULTS (All amounts in thousands, unless otherwise noted)

































For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended



June 30, 2022

March 31, 2023

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023



RMB

RMB

RMB

USD

RMB

RMB

USD





























Net profit

206,943

49,725

21,697

2,993

311,901

71,422

9,848 Add:



























Share-based compensation expense

25,745

46,926

29,393

4,053

48,752

76,319

10,525 Foreign currency exchange gain

(163)

(282)

(838)

(116)

(816)

(1,120)

(154) Adjusted net profit

232,525

96,369

50,252

6,930

359,837

146,621

20,219

SOURCE Waterdrop Inc.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. For the first time in Azerbaijan, the Heydar Aliyev Center is hosting an international conference in the field of social services entitled "DOST 2023: unified platform for flexible, innovative and sustainable service delivery", Trend reports.

The event is being held upon the initiative of DOST Agency under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population of Azerbaijan Republic on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of national leader Heydar Aliyev, as well as the 5th anniversary of the establishment of DOST Agency.

The conference is attended by 50 foreign and 110 local guests, as well as 40 international organizations.

The DOST concept, initiated by First Vice President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva, allows providing 154 social services in a single window, rapidly, transparently, and on a modern, innovative basis.

Over the past period of this year, about 165,000 services were provided in DOST centers, and overall, services were provided to more than 1.4 million citizens, while the level of satisfaction of citizens with these services was 98.5 percent.
New Pumpkin Spice Frosty and Pumpkin Spice Frosty Cream Cold Brew will have North Carolinians fallin' in love beginning September 12

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- From one queen to another, it's time to grab your favorite sweater and head to your local Wendy's, because Wendy's Pumpkin Spice Frosty and Pumpkin Spice Frosty Cream Cold Brew are coming to the Queen City beginning September 12 for a limited time. That's right Charlotte, consider Wendy's your one stop shop for your all-day Pumpkin Spice cravings.

Fall in love with Wendys new Pumpkin Spice Frosty and Pumpkin Spice Frosty Cream Cold Brew

A Spoonful of Fall in Every Frosty Bite

Joining the Chocolate Frosty on menus, the new Pumpkin Spice Frosty* merges the same creamy, delectable texture Frosty fans know and love with hints of pumpkin and a blend of warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg for a taste of familiar fall flavors in every bite.

"Wendy's is helping turn our fans' cravings into reality this fall by introducing our new Pumpkin Spice Frosty," said Lindsay Radkoski, U.S. Chief Marketing Officer for The Wendy's Company. "From our summertime Strawberry Frosty to last year's holiday Peppermint Frosty, and now our fall Pumpkin Spice Frosty, we are all about meeting our Frosty fans where they are by bringing familiar, and iconic, seasonal flavors to the menu. We can't wait for our fans to get their hands on this new go-to sweet treat this fall."

Make Way for Your New Favorite Pumpkin Spice Coffee Fix

Wendy's didn't stop at just bringing fans a seasonal fall Frosty, it's bringing the same fall spirit to the new Frosty Cream Cold Brew lineup. The Pumpkin Spice Frosty Cream Cold Brew will be available to order alongside Wendy's core vanilla, caramel and chocolate flavors. Using the same delicious syrup from the Pumpkin Spice Frosty, the new Frosty Cream Cold Brew flavor merges smooth, cold-brewed coffee with classic Frosty creamer swirled to perfection over ice. Talk about a pumpkin pick-me-up!

"We're always looking for ways to provide fans the familiar flavors they love with a Wendy's twist, and that's exactly how the new Pumpkin Spice Frosty Cream Cold Brew came to be," said John Li, Global Vice President of Culinary Innovation at The Wendy's Company. "We took the iconic pumpkin spice flavor that fans look forward to every year and blended it with our tried-and-true Frosty creamer, for a fall experience fans can't find anywhere else."

The Uber One Pumpkin Spice Frosty Experience

Now, if you want to be the first to get yours delivered while getting a deal, make sure you're an Uber One member. For a limited time beginning September 13, only Uber One members can buy a medium Pumpkin Spice Frosty, get one for free, AND get a free medium fry. Sounds like the easiest set-up for the ultimate sweet and salty taste test. Of course, terms** apply, but get your dip on!

More In-Restaurant Ways to Treat Yourself

If you find yourself at your local Wendy's between now and October 31, be sure to pick up a Wendy's Frosty Boo! Books coupon book*** for just $1. The coupon book comes with coupons for five FREE Jr. Frosty treats (yes, even good for the Pumpkin Frosty) that can only be redeemed at participating U.S. Wendy's until the end of the year. Best of all, proceeds from Frosty Boo! Books directly benefit the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and its mission to dramatically increase the number of adoptions of children waiting in North America's foster care systems.

ABOUT WENDY'S:

Wendy's was founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas in Columbus, Ohio. Dave built his business on the premise, "Quality Is Our Recipe", which remains the guidepost of the Wendy's system. Wendy's is best known for its made-to-order square hamburgers, using fresh, never frozen beef****, freshly-prepared salads, and other signature items like chili, baked potatoes and the Frosty dessert. The Wendy's Company is committed to doing the right thing and making a positive difference in the lives of others. This is most visible through the Company's support of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and its signature Wendy's Wonderful Kids program, which seeks to find a loving, forever home for every child in the North American foster care system. Today, Wendy's and its franchisees employ hundreds of thousands of people across approximately 7,000 restaurants worldwide with a vision of becoming the world's most thriving and beloved restaurant brand. For details on franchising, connect with us at www.wendys.com/franchising. Visit www.wendys.com and www.squaredealblog.com for more information and connect with us on X and Instagram using @wendys, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wendys.

*Vanilla Frosty will be temporarily unavailable.

**For Uber One members only. Offers good during business hours from 9/13/23 - 9/19/23 only at participating U.S. Wendy's. While supplies last. See Uber Eats app for availability. Buy one eligible medium Frosty and get a second eligible medium Frosty of equal or lesser value for free; Add both eligible Frosty treats to your order prior to checkout to receive discount. Limit one offer per transaction. Get a free medium fry with order of $15.00+ (before taxes and fees); Add medium fry to your order prior to checkout to receive discount on purchase of $15+. Limit one free fry per order.

***At participating U.S. Wendy's restaurants while supplies last. 90 of every $1 coupon book sold from 9.4.2023  10.31.2023 will benefit the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Coupons valid from 9.4.2023  12.31.2023.

****Fresh beef available in the contiguous U.S., Alaska and Canada.

SOURCE The Wendy's Company
REYKJAVIK, Iceland, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- From the desk of MyntNews. With its historical involvement in commercial whaling, Iceland is witnessing a significant transformation in its approach, driven by concerns about the welfare of whale populations and the country's global reputation. Today, the spotlight is shifting towards sustainable and responsible whale watching, championed by companies like Sea Trips Reykjavik.

Iceland, famously known as the land of fire and ice, is renowned for its awe-inspiring landscapes and unique wildlife, notably its majestic whales. These gentle giants have fascinated nature enthusiasts for generations, but the ethical considerations surrounding whaling have long stirred controversy.

Sea Trips Reykjavik: Setting the Standard for Ethical Whale Watching

Sea Trips Reykjavik distinguishes itself in the realm of whale watching by its unwavering commitment to safety and environmental conservation. Here's how they are leading the way:

Expert Guides: Sea Trips Reykjavik boasts a team of knowledgeable and passionate guides with extensive expertise in marine life. They provide guests with invaluable insights into whales and their natural habitat, ensuring an enlightening and educational experience. Small Group Tours: To minimize disruption to the whales and maximize the quality of the encounter for guests, Sea Trips Reykjavik offers small group tours. This intimate setting allows you to get up close and personal with these magnificent creatures while preserving their tranquility. Eco-Friendly Boats: Operating with a strong commitment to environmental responsibility, Sea Trips Reykjavik utilizes eco-friendly boats designed to have minimal impact on the environment. These vessels are equipped with low-emission engines and strictly adhere to emission regulations. Safety as a Priority: Sea Trips Reykjavik places paramount importance on guest safety. They adhere to stringent safety protocols to ensure that every guest enjoys a worry-free and secure experience.

Why Choose Sea Trips Reykjavik for Your Whale Watching Adventure

By selecting Sea Trips Reykjavik for your whale watching adventure in Iceland, you're not only witnessing the awe-inspiring beauty of these marine giants but actively contributing to their conservation. Rest assured that your tour with Sea Trips Reykjavik is ethical, sustainable, and leaves a positive impact on the environment.

Whether you're a passionate nature enthusiast, a family seeking an unforgettable experience, or a conscientious traveler, Sea Trips Reykjavik offers the perfect opportunity to witness the wonders of Icelandic wildlife while making a meaningful difference.

Join Sea Trips Reykjavik on an Adventure of a Lifetime

Embark on an adventure that seamlessly combines excitement, education, and environmental responsibility with Sea Trips Reykjavik. Book your whale watching tour today and become an advocate for the conservation of these magnificent marine giants against the breathtaking backdrop of Iceland's pristine waters.

Get in Touch with Us

Reach out to us today, and let's start planning your ethical whale watching adventure. Join Sea Trips Reykjavik on an adventure that combines excitement, education, and environmental responsibility. Your story with these magnificent marine giants in Iceland's pristine waters begins here!

Web: seatrips.is

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +354 779 8988

Instagram: Sea Trips Reykjavik

Facebook: Sea Trips Reykjavik

SOURCE Sea Trips
DETROIT, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Introducing WILKO Plastics, Inc. a leading Automotive Supplier of custom plastic injection molded components and assemblies formerly known as ALCO Plastics, has rebranded itself in preparing for product and service expansion to a growing customer base, it was announced today.

The company is gearing up for strategic growth in the automotive plastic injection business and has chosen to change its name and corporate branding to reflect the ownership change and position itself for expansion and new business lines, said William E. Kozyra II, President of WILKO Plastics.

"It has been an exciting year of growth, process improvements and success as we strive to be a leader and innovator in this complex part of the automotive industry," said Kozyra. The name change and branding also reflects the new family ownership of the business with Kozyra's father, noted global automotive executive William L. Kozyra, former CEO of TI Fluid Systems and previously Continental AG, North America.

The Kozyras father-son team acquired Alco Plastics, a family-owned business, based in Romeo, Michigan in July of 2022 with Kozyra senior serving as Chairman of the company and Bill Kozyra II serving as President and operating officer of daily operations. WILKO has an extensive product line of injection plastic molding products and customizes multi-material products of plastic and metal for interior automotive components such as sealants and plastic sleeves for seat belts and many other components used by Tier One and OEM automotive customers.

"It has been a great year and now is the time to ready this company's nearly half-century of automotive success for the future of automotive production," said Kozyra. "We have added new equipment, provided training and process improvements to a loyal employee base and enhanced on-time custom production for our customers."

Kozyra said the company has some 130 employees and operates three shifts at three production facilities in Romeo, Michigan. The company produces some 75 million molded parts per year and ships products to customers in the USA and 15 countries.

"While we have purchased new equipment, invested in additional training and technologies we remain a family business grounded in core values. We will meet our customer's expectations through a commitment to continuous improvement and customer satisfaction," adding that the company has a 100-percent on-time delivery track record.

Chairman William L. Kozyra said he is very proud of the company's success over the past year and his son's leadership in positioning WILKO for growth for the next half-century of automotive production.

"We are embracing new technologies and processes to meet the growing demand for innovation in injection molding to provide custom parts for automotive companies as they seek stronger, lighter high-quality components made to their exacting standards," Kozyra said. "At the same time, we respect and pay homage to our heritage and our loyal employees. A portrait of ALCO founder Adrian Lee Conway prominently hangs in the company's lobby amid flat screen information displays and a remodeled entry since the firm's founding in 1976. It's important to remain grounded and in touch with our employees as we embrace the future."

Like his father, William E. Kozyra II, at age 38 has established an enterprising career in the automotive Industry, having worked for the past 20 years in various manufacturing, purchasing and logistics positions for Tier 1-2 automotive suppliers.

SOURCE WILKO Plastics, Inc.
NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The wine and spirits market size is expected to grow by USD 195.96 billion from 2022 to 2027, according to Technavio. In addition, the growth momentum of the market will progress at a CAGR of 3.32% during the forecast period. Increased demand for craft drinks is notably driving the wine and spirits market. However, factors such as campaigns against alcohol consumption may impede market growth. Technavio provides a comprehensive report summary describing the market size and forecast along with research methodology. The sample report is available in PDF format

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Wine and Spirits Market 2023-2027

Key Segment Analysis

The market is segmented by distribution channel (Off-trade and On-trade), type (Spirits and Wine), and geography (Europe, APAC, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa).

The market share growth by the off-trade segment will be significant during the forecast period. The off-trade channel encompasses diverse retail formats like supermarkets, hypermarkets, specialty stores, and online sales platforms. Alcoholic beverages find dedicated sections within supermarkets and hypermarkets for their display. The expanding presence of vodka producers in these retail spaces is set to drive growth in the market through off-trade channels. The surge in internet usage and the growing community of online consumers seeking alcoholic beverages through virtual portals contribute to this trend. As internet connectivity increases globally, the United States is projected to witness an upswing in online sales for various categories of alcoholic beverages throughout the forecast period.

To know additional highlights and key points on various market segments and their impact in coming years, View PDF Sample Report.

Geographical Market Analysis

Europe is estimated to contribute 30% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period. In 2022, Europe held the predominant share of the worldwide wine and spirits market, a dominance predicted to persist throughout the projected period. Within the region, the brewing sector stands as a substantial player, offering substantial employment prospects. The older demographic displays a pronounced affinity for wine consumption, with a marked preference for premium variants. Meanwhile, among spirits, Europe demonstrates a preference for whiskey, vodka, liqueurs, and brandy, constituting frequently consumed alcoholic options. A noteworthy trend is the escalating demand for whiskey and brandy, which is outpacing the growth rate of other spirits.

Company Insights

The wine and spirits market is fragmented, and the companies are deploying organic and inorganic growth strategies to compete in the market. The report analyzes the market's competitive landscape and offers information on several market companies, including Anheuser Busch InBev SA NV, Bacardi Ltd., Bayadera Group, Brown Forman Corp., Campari Group, Constellation Brands Inc., Diageo Plc, E. and J. Gallo Winery, Globus Spirits Ltd., Hite Jinro Co. Ltd., LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, Meininger Verlag GmbH, Miguel Torres SA, Pernod Ricard SA, Som Distilleries and Breweries Ltd., Sula Vineyards Ltd., Suntory Holdings Ltd., Thai Beverage Public Co. Ltd., The Wine Group LLC, and Treasury Wine Estates Ltd.

Market Dynamics

Driver

The increased demand for craft drinks is driving the wine and spirits market. A major factor propelling growth in the global wine and spirits market within this projected timeframe is the escalating demand for craft beers and spirits. Craft beer has garnered consumer preference due to its expansive variety compared to traditional beer offerings. Craft and locally produced brews stand apart due to their distinctive flavours, stemming from the utilization of diverse ingredients and flavourings. The craft spirits segment encompasses meticulously crafted ultra-premium liquors that are meticulously produced using traditional techniques. This artisanal approach extends across various types of alcoholic beverages. Notably, Diageo emerges as a significant player within the craft spirits category. The increasing demand for craft spirits finds impetus in the rising demand for premium beverages among millennial and Gen-X consumers. This increasing trend is poised to drive market growth throughout the forecast period.

Challenge

The campaign against alcohol consumption is a significant challenge faced by the wine and spirits market. The expansion of the targeted market is set to face significant obstacles due to a rising number of anti-alcohol campaigns. These initiatives, driven by concerns about alcohol abuse and its associated accidents, especially among the youth, are impacting the consumption of alcoholic beverages adversely. Regulatory and social organizations, along with governmental bodies and health institutions, are actively engaged in promoting awareness about the detrimental effects of alcohol consumption. An illustrative example is the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) launching the "Live Better, Drink Less" campaign in November 2021. This campaign aims to spotlight the adverse consequences of alcohol consumption, including liver diseases, cancer, cardiovascular issues, and tuberculosis. As a result, the projected growth within the specified period is anticipated to be hampered by these factors during the forecast period.

View the PDF Sample Report to find additional highlights on the growth strategies adopted by companies and their product offerings.

Related Reports:

The fortified wine market size is projected to increase by USD 5,199.91 million and the market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.31% between 2022 and 2027.

The organic wine market size is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.57% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecast to increase by USD 5,019.97 million.

Wine And Spirits Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 3.32% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 195.96 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 2.5 Regional analysis Europe, APAC, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution Europe at 30% Key countries US, China, Japan, Germany, and France Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Anheuser Busch InBev SA NV, Bacardi Ltd., Bayadera Group, Brown Forman Corp., Campari Group, Constellation Brands Inc., Diageo Plc, E. and J. Gallo Winery, Globus Spirits Ltd., Hite Jinro Co. Ltd., LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, Meininger Verlag GmbH, Miguel Torres SA, Pernod Ricard SA, Som Distilleries and Breweries Ltd., Sula Vineyards Ltd., Suntory Holdings Ltd., Thai Beverage Public Co. Ltd., The Wine Group LLC, and Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. 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 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.

ToC:

Executive Summary

Market Landscape

Market Sizing

Historic Market Sizes

Five Forces Analysis

Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel

Market Segmentation by Type

Customer Landscape

Geographic Landscape

Drivers, Challenges, & Trends

Company Landscape

Company Analysis

Appendix

About Technavio

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.

Contacts

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com

SOURCE Technavio
JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- World leaders, including Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, James Marape gathered in Jakarta today to attend the first Indonesia Sustainability Forum (ISF), along with global sustainability experts, to discuss ways of striking a balance between growth and planet protection.

The Indonesian Government, through the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment (Kemenko Marves) hosted the ISF 2023, attracting more than 800 participants, making it one of the prominent sustainability gatherings in the Asia-Pacific region. The Ministry organized the Forum in partnership with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin Indonesia).

Heads of multilateral organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva also attended the event. The World Bank President Ajay Banga participated in a fireside chat with the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut. B. Pandjaitan during the gala dinner.

Speaking at the event, Luhut said that Indonesia stands ready to become an influential force to push forward the sustainability agenda across the region.

"Every country is different, with different starting points, capacity and capability with limitations to decarbonize. But, the climate crisis is our common challenge, and therefore it is everyone's problem. A failure of a single nation is a failure of the whole world. Therefore, collaboration is needed for everyone to succeed. With the spirit of global collaboration in mind, we initiated the Indonesia Sustainability Forum," said Luhut in his speech.

Chairman of Kadin Indonesia, Arsjad Rasjid, echoed Luhut's statement saying that active and mutual participation from all stakeholders including the global private sector can lead to win-win solutions for growth and the planet.

"Tackling global sustainability issues requires a comprehensive, collaborative and inclusive approach. By engaging with diverse stakeholders, including businesses, civil society and local communities, we can forge meaningful solutions that not only promote sustainable growth but also secure livelihoods," said Arsjad.

More than 100 speakers from the business sector, civil society and government are participating in 10 Plenary and 14 Thematic sessions. The plenary tackles issues ranging from green energy transition and technology, biodiversity protection, and downstreaming critical mineral industry for decarbonization. The 14 thematic sessions showcase issues such as circular economy, international cooperation and green financing, among others.

SOURCE Kemenko Marves
IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The world's premier surfing competition, the World Surf League (WSL) US Open, joined forces with wellness brand Youtheory for a week of waves, activities, and holistic well-being for the second year in a row.

World Surf League and Youtheory Collaborate Again for an Unforgettable Week of Surfing and Wellness at the US Open

"We're thrilled to have partnered for the second time at this year's World Surf League US Open," said Darren Rude, Founder of Youtheory. "The collaboration allowed us to bring together the worlds of surfing and wellness in a unique way. We believe that maintaining a healthy body and mind is crucial, and this event was a testament to that belief."

Youtheory has been the official vitamin and supplement sponsor of the WSL US open for two years in a row, showcasing its commitment to promoting a healthy lifestyle for surfers and their dedicated fans. The event took place from July 30 to August 6 at Huntington Beach and proved to be an engaging experience for both the surfing community and the health and wellness sphere.

Throughout the week, attendees were treated to a variety of games and interactive activities, which proved to be a hit with the energetic crowd. A major highlight of the event was an exclusive signing session with surfer Griffin Colapinto where fans had the opportunity to take photos, receive an autograph, and get to know the athlete face-to-face.

The WSL store offered Youtheory's best-sellers and endless product samples for participants to have the opportunity to discover the benefits of incorporating wellness supplements into their daily routines. The event was also supported by Body Glove, and featured a giveaway where winners received pieces from Tati West's eco-friendly swim collection with Body Glove, and Griffin's signed surfboards.

"We are excited to welcome Youtheory for another year at the US Open," said Cherie Cohen, WSL Chief Revenue Officer. "We know how important maintaining overall health is, and we are proud to have a strong relationship with Youtheory that promotes these benefits to our athletes and fans."

WSL fans were introduced to the Youtheory brand through displays and signage at the Huntington Beach Challenger Series event.

About Youtheory

Youtheory is a Southern California-based lifestyle brand on a mission to inspire wellness in all. It is Youtheory's goal to develop pure, safe, and innovative supplements that improve one's health, beauty, and overall well-being. Youtheory believes that its products are only as good as the ingredients, so youtheory travels the world to source the highest quality raw materials from the places where they are cultivated best. From farm to retail shelf, youtheory is committed to best-in-class manufacturing processes, which guarantee purity, potency, and traceability of every product that is made and put on the shelf. Youtheory is part of the Jamieson Wellness portfolio of natural health brands. Learn more at https://youtheory.com/. Follow on Facebook and Instagram.

About the WSL

The World Surf League (WSL) is the global home of competitive surfing, crowning the undisputed World Champions since 1976 and showcasing the world's best surfers on the world's best waves. WSL is comprised of the Tours and Competition division, which oversees and operates more than 180 global competitions each year; WSL WaveCo, home of the world's largest high-performance, human-made wave; and WSL Studios, an independent producer of unscripted and scripted projects. For more information, please visit WorldSurfLeague.com.

SOURCE Youtheory
NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Worthington Industries (NYSE: WOR) is a multi-billion dollar steel processing company with a history of living by the Golden Rule, and its recent asset disposition partnership with Radiowell  America's largest wholesaler of used two-way radios  will support under-funded volunteer fire departments.

Radiowell plants thousands of trees via its partnership with companies and government agencies that repurpose used and surplus two-way radios. Organizations wishing to dispose of their surplus radios should visit Radiowell.com/sell or https://www.Radiowell.com (PRNewsfoto/Radiowell)

Radiowell's Sustainability Initiative Attracted Worthington: Worthington Industries had a surplus of two-way radio equipment that was no longer needed, so the company sought the assistance of Radiowell for sustainable asset disposition. Radiowell is the only land mobile company with sustainability tied to its business results. With its strategic partnerships, Radiowell plants one tree in America's forests for each radio it receives.

And through its GRANT program, Radiowell distributes functional secondhand equipment to public safety organizations in need of support. The equipment is given to the recipients free of charge.

Worthington's equipment will support the life-saving work of volunteer fire fighters. Worthington's transformation manager Jeffery Smith says, "Radiowell's commitment to sustainability echoes our own desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while working toward net-zero emissions by 2050. Knowing that some of our old equipment will be put to use in the field and will support the vital work done by volunteer fire fighters made the decision to partner with Radiowell a simple yet satisfying one."

Discarded, yet mechanically-sound electronics often end up in landfills simply because no one has made a commitment to finding an appropriate partner with the right resources. According to Radiowell spokesperson Andrew Park, "Partnerships with corporate leaders like Worthington ensure that used radio equipment is decommissioned properly, so that each and every component is disposed of appropriately and sustainably."

About Radiowell: Radiowell partners with leading organizations to extend the life of existing communications equipment and to plant new trees for each radio it receives. Certain equipment is donated and other equipment is either sold for parts or recycled.

Radiowell encourages eligible public safety rescue agencies, including EMS, fire, and police organizations to submit an application for consideration of a future equipment donation. Visit the GRANT Program page here for more details. Grants are not guaranteed and are contingent upon current inventory and other limitations.

Leading companies or government agencies that seek a better purpose for their used two-way equipment should visit the Sell My Used Two-Way Radios form on Radiowell's site.

SOURCE Radiowell
Redwanz Brings over 21 Years of Human Resource and Employee Engagement Experience

LIVONIA, Mich., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zeal Credit Union proudly welcomes Dan Redwanz to the Zeal team as Vice President of Human Resources. Redwanz brings over 21 years of exceptional talent in human resources, engagement, and leadership experience; further inspiring Zeal's legacy of living with character, feeling with empathy, and acting with passion in everything they do.

Zeal's growth-centric, development-focused employment culture is directly in alignment with Redwanz' vision of engaging a talented workforce toward common goals - while continuing to develop relevant transferable skills that take both Zeal employees, and their organization, to the next level in the future state of credit unions.

"Dan brings a great deal of knowledge, strategy, and experience to our team. His unique ability to engage and connect with employees and inspire others is just the beginning of what we have seen Dan bring to the organization," said Julie Kreinbring, President/CEO of Zeal Credit Union. "I look forward to what the future holds and how Dan will continue to shape the talent and culture at Zeal."

"I'm honored to be a part of our team at Zeal Credit Union and look forward to contributing to our engaging workplace culture," said Redwanz. "Zeal is committed to building a positive, inspiring, and growth-focused culture that attracts, develops, and retains exceptional talent; I'm excited to be a part of that movement and look forward to all we'll accomplish together."

Please click here for Dan's photo.

Zeal Credit Union is a full-service, not-for-profit financial institution with more than 66,000 members, $825 million in assets, and 11 full-service branches in the Metro-Detroit area. The Credit Union's members have access to over 5,000 shared branches and more than 30,000 ATMs nationwide. Member deposits are insured to $250,000 by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), a U.S. government agency. For more information, visit ZealCU.org. To learn more about careers at Zeal Credit Union, visit ZealCU.org/Careers/.

Website: ZealCU.org

CONTACT: Lori Anderson, Zeal Communications Manager, [email protected], 734-626-0319

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zeal-credit-union-announces-vice-president-of-human-resources-dan-redwanz-301921253.html

SOURCE Zeal Credit Union
CHANGSHA, China, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 5, a memorandum of understanding for standardization collaboration between Zoomlion and the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry was signed in Vientiane, Laos, both parties will advance technological and agricultural collaboration, earnestly promoting exchanges and mutual learning in areas such as agricultural machinery standards, agricultural techniques and practices, agricultural services, and financial support.

Scene of the signing ceremony

It's understood that Laos lacks standardized benchmarks for the agricultural machinery industry presently. The varied quality of agricultural machinery products entering the Laotian market, coupled with inconsistent support services, hinders the sustainable growth of Laos's agricultural machinery sector.

As a global frontrunner in high-end equipment manufacturing, Zoomlion boasts profound R&D expertise and manufacturing prowess in areas like agricultural machinery. Their product range in agricultural machinery encompasses dryland, paddy fields, cash crops, and post-harvest treatment machinery. Zoomlion is the first Chinese institution honored with the qualification of a long-term supplier of agricultural machinery by the United Nations, delivering high-end equipment and systematic solutions required for tilling, planting, managing, harvesting, and drying in over 60 countries globally.

In the realm of standard setting, Zoomlion boasts rich experience. In China alone, the company has revised and set as many as 455 national and industry standards. In 2012, they took on the mantle of the Secretariat for the International Organization for Standardization's Crane Technical Committee, and to date, have spearheaded and participated in the revision and establishment of 23 international standards.

Beyond matching needs and strengths, both entities have previously engaged extensively in agricultural collaboration, laying a robust foundation for this deepened partnership. It's known that Zoomlion's agricultural machinery entered the Laotian market in 2021. In 2022, they donated specific machines like seedling growers, transplanters, and tractors to Laos. This past February, Zoomlion inaugurated its agricultural machinery flagship store in Vientiane, progressively establishing a comprehensive service system encompassing sales, user training, parts supply, after-sales services, and financial leasing.

Zhan Chunxin, Chairman and CEO of Zoomlion, expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the profound trust placed in them by the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. He emphasized Zoomlion will work alongside Lao experts, they aim to collaboratively craft a standardized, scientific Laotian agricultural machinery system, jointly promoting mutual technical integration, standard recognition, and industrial benefits, to creat more value for the sustained growth of both countries' agricultural machinery industries.

SOURCE Zoomlion
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. The event, held within the framework of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), will give a new impetus to useful cooperation between the relevant state institutions for emergency management of the member countries and observer countries of the organization, the Minister of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, Colonel-General Kamaladdin Heydarov said, Trend reports.

During his speech at the second meeting of Emergency Situations Ministers of Turkic States Organization's member and observer countries, the minister said that thanks to the wise foresight and political will of the leaders of the Turkic states, comprehensive relations between the countries of the Turkic world are rapidly expanding from year to year.

"The processes of close integration between Azerbaijan and Turkiye have significantly expanded relations and increased the unity, strength and power of the Turkic world," the minister said.

Kamaladdin Heydarov, speaking about the devastating earthquake that occurred in Turkiye in February and which shocked the entire Turkic world, said that the support of the Turkic states in the fight against a terrible natural disaster is a clear example of solidarity.

"There are good opportunities for further development of relations between the relevant state institutions of Azerbaijan and Turkiye in the field of emergency management," Heydarov said.

He also said that in the modern world, where natural and man-made disasters are becoming more widespread, the coordinated activities of the OTS's member countries to combat them is very important.

Heydarov expressed confidence that the discussion of the agreement on the establishment of a Civil Protection Mechanism within the framework of the OTS will make an important contribution to the further expansion of relations between the departments.

The second meeting of Emergency Situations Ministers of Turkic States Organization's member and observer countries is being held in Baku with the organizational support of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. The process of returning former internally displaced persons to the restored city of Fuzuli in Azerbaijan, continues, Trend reports.

In general, 25 families (102 people) who left Baku arrived in Fuzuli this morning.

The families who arrived in the city of Fuzuli were solemnly welcomed by the staff of the State Committee for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, the Special Representative Office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the territories liberated from occupation that are part of the Karabakh Economic Region (with the exception of Shusha district).

The families who returned to their native lands expressed gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev, First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva for comprehensive state care, as well as gratitude to the heroic Azerbaijani army that liberated the country's lands from occupation. The families were given the keys to their new homes.

In general, 95 families (349 people) are provided with permanent residence in the city of Fuzuli. In the coming days, the relocation of families to the city of Fuzuli will continue.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Juba, Sep 7 : The UN agencies have said that funding shortfalls have forced them to scale down humanitarian response toward millions of vulnerable people in need of food and other life-saving assistance in South Sudan.

The UN agencies said on Wednesday in a joint statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, that dwindling resources amid growing needs have forced humanitarian agencies to prioritise the delivery of vital life-saving support which risks leaving millions behind, Xinhua news agency reported.

"These are not easy decisions to make, and WFP's priority is to save as many lives as possible," Makena Walker, acting country director for the World Food Program (WFP) in South Sudan, was quoted as saying in the statement, adding that the emergency food assistance, known as the Lean Season Response for 2023, was completed at the end of August in most locations.

The statement said that emergency food assistance will be prioritised for 3.2 million people who face the highest levels of food insecurity out of 7.76 million people in critical, emergency and catastrophic levels of need.

"We have worked closely with the government of South Sudan to ensure we are reaching communities most in need of assistance. The simple fact is that there are not enough resources available to the humanitarian community to meet the needs in South Sudan," Walker said.

So far, only 46 per cent of the 2023 humanitarian response plan totaling $1.7 billion has been funded, the statement said, noting that it is not enough to assist the 6.8 million people it targets to reach with life-saving assistance and protection services.

More than $300 million is also urgently needed to provide the most vital support to people fleeing the Sudan crisis into South Sudan.

According to the statement, extreme levels of food insecurity and malnutrition affect two-thirds of South Sudan's population, making the country one of the worst food insecurity emergencies in the world.

Peter Van der Auweraert, acting humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, said vulnerable people in South Sudan suffered multiple interconnected shocks for years, adding that the outlook for these people is grim with new crises unfolding while humanitarian agencies struggle to meet basic needs.

"With international humanitarian funding expected to continue to decline, it is even more important for the government of South Sudan to accelerate and increase its investments in basic services and support for sustainable solutions to address people's basic needs across the country," Auweraert added.
Bucharest, Sep 7 : Romanian Defence Minister Angel Tilvar has confirmed that parts of what could be a drone were found in the country's southeastern Tulcea County neighbouring Ukraine.

"Parts of equipment that could potentially be a drone" have been found in an area difficult to access because of abundant vegetation, he said on Wednesday after visiting the area.

"Our teams went there, took samples ... and now these samples are being investigated, analysed ... to find out the origin, capacity, type and so on," he added as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

"There is a reasonable possibility that it didn't explode when it hit the ground, but simply fell or pieces of this equipment ended up on Romanian territory ...," Tilvar was quoted by the official Agerpres news agency as saying.

Earlier, Defence Ministry spokesperson Constantin Spinu said the possible drone parts were discovered on Tuesday night.
Stockholm, Sep 7 : Swedish and Norwegian police will build a police station on the two countries' border to strengthen cooperation and prevent Swedish criminal gangs from expanding their activities into Norway, the two countries' police chiefs said.

"Serious organised crime operates across the border and it is, therefore, important to strengthen our long-term cooperation," Sweden's National Police Commissioner Anders Thornberg said in a press statement on Wednesday.

A new police station that straddles the border will, therefore, be built some 80 km east of Norway's capital Oslo, the Swedish news agency TT reported.

"It's about strengthening safety and security, which can only be done by working together," Thornberg added.

Norway's National Police Commissioner Benedicte Bjornland said in the press statement that many of the criminal networks that operate in Norway have links to Sweden, Xinhua news agency reported.

"This could concern the smuggling of drugs, access to weapons or Swedish gang members carrying out violent missions in Norway," she added.

"Sharing knowledge is important to facilitate a joint preventive effort."

In a study released in 2021, the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention found that among 23 European countries studied, Sweden had moved from the lowest number of shootings to the highest during the years 2000 to 2019.

According to the latest statistics released by Swedish Police, 247 shootings resulted in the loss of 30 lives and 73 injuries across the country between January 1 and August 31.

In the same period, 120 bombings took place in Sweden, according to the Swedish Police.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. For the reconstruction of Azerbaijans Kalbajar, 80 million manat ($47.1 million) were allocated to the public legal entity "Reconstruction, Construction and Management Service No. 2 in the East Zangezur Economic District" by decree of President Ilham Aliyev, the representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Lachin district, Masim Mammadov said, Trend reports.

"Joint project work with the State Committee for Urban Development and Architecture is at the final stage. The projects will be implemented in the near future. At the initial stage, it is planned to build 444 apartments and relocate families to Kalbajar by next year, said Mammadov.

According to Mammadov, the territory on which the work will be carried out covers an area of about 3.5 km. The staff of the "Restoration, Construction and Management Service No. 2 in East Zangezur Economic District'' legal entity of public law is able to professionally perform any work. Special attention will also be paid to logistics and infrastructure work in order to continue the process in a stable form with the change of seasons.

He also highlighted the issue of employment of families who will move to Kalbajar.

"The project includes the creation of an industrial zone around the city of Kalbajar. We hope that there will be several such zones soon. There is a very rich nature here and there are good prospects for agriculture, tourism and other industries," he said.

According to the relevant instructions of the head of the Coordination Headquarters, the next meeting of the working group on urban planning is held in the city of Kalbajar. This is the first meeting of the working group on urban development in the East Zangezur Economic District and also the first in the city of Kalbajar.
Jerusalem, Sep 7 : A Palestinian teenager carried out a stabbing attack in East Jerusalem's Old City, injuring two people, the Israeli police said.

Video footage circulating on social media shows the youth attacking a man from behind before a third person rushed to help the victim, and the youth then fled the scene.

The 17-year-old suspect was caught after a manhunt and taken into custody, the police said on Wednesday in a statement, releasing a photo of a butcher knife suspected to have been used by the attacker, Xinhua news agency reported.

Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said in a statement that one of the victims sustained severe wounds and the other was lightly injured.
Islamabad, Sep 7 : Four Pakistani soldiers and 12 terrorists were killed in a clash between government security forces and the terrorists in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a military statement said.

The clash occurred in Chitral district where a group of terrorists equipped with the latest weapons attacked two Pakistani military posts located closer to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Wednesday in the statement as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

The security forces have inflicted heavy casualties on the terrorists, and the area is being combed to eliminate any other terrorists surviving the operation, the statement added.
Houston, Sep 7 : Special Counsel David Weiss plans to ask a grand jury to indict Hunter Biden, the son of US President Joe Biden, over gun charges by the end of this month, the US Justice Department said.

"The Speedy Trial Act requires that the government obtain the return of an indictment by a grand jury by Friday, September 29, 2023, at the earliest," the office of Weiss said on Wednesday in a court filing.

"The government intends to seek the return of an indictment in this case before that date," the office added.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland last month appointed Weiss, the US attorney in Delaware, as special counsel for the probe into Hunter Biden after plea deal talks fell apart in late July, Xinhua news agency reported.

Special counsels in the US are typically appointed to investigate cases where the Justice Department perceives itself as having a conflict or where it's deemed to be in the public interest.

Hunter Biden has been under investigation by a federal grand jury since 2018.
Mexico City, Sep 7 : The Supreme Court of Mexico has decriminalised abortion across the country, two years after it ruled in favour of a challenge to an existing law in Coahuila state saying that criminal penalties for terminating pregnancies were unconstitutional, the media reported on Thursday.

The new ruling which came on Wednesday, will legalise abortion across all 32 states, reports the BBC.

In its verdict, the court said that the denial of the possibility of a termination violated the human rights of women.

"In cases of rape, no girl can be forced to become a mother - neither by the state nor by her parents nor her guardians," the BBC quoted Arturo Zaldivar, head of the Supreme Court, as saying.

"Here, the violation of her rights is more serious, not only because of her status as a victim, but also because of her age, which makes it necessary to analyse the issue from the perspective of the best interests of minors."

In 2007, the country's capital, Mexico City, became the first to decriminalise abortion.

In Latin America, elective abortion is legal in Colombia, Cuba, Uruguay and Argentina.

While countries allow abortions in circumstances such as rape or health risks, outright bans apply in El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Mysuru: Congress leaders are during a public meeting for the inauguration of the state government's Gruha Laxmi scheme. Image Source: IANS News

Brussels, Sep 7 : Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a six-day trip to Europe arrived at Belgium's Brussels on Thursday morning and will hold interactions with Indian diaspora and European Union MPs.

His EU tour comes at a time when New Delhi is scheduled to hold a much-anticipated G20 Summit in the national capital between September 9 and 10 where the leaders from the US, UK, Australia, China and others will mark their presence.

His tour also coincides with the first anniversary of Bharat Jodo Yatra.

According to party sources, the Congress leader will meet MPs of Europe in Brussels on September 7 around 2:30 p.m. and then hold a meeting with civil society at 7:30 p.m., where he will have dinner with non-Indian residents (NRIs) at around 11.30 p.m.

The sources also said he will also address a presser at 8:30 p.m.

On September 8, Rahul Gandhi will have breakfast with the businessmen in Brussels and then hold a meeting with top industrialists at around 9:30 a.m.

After concluding his visit to Brussels, Rahul Gandhi will arrive in France's Paris on September 8 itself and will hold an interaction programme at Sciences PO University in Paris, and will attend a meeting later. He also has a dinner programme.

He will have a press conference in Paris on September 8 around 9 p.m. and then hold a meeting with France's MPs and Indian diaspora.

On September 9, Rahul Gandhi will have interactions and meetings with MPs and interaction at Inalco University in Paris.

He will reach the Netherlands on September 10 and visit the famous 400-year-old Leiden University.

On September 11, he will be in Norway and meet the MPs and at the University of Oslo will present his address. He also has an interactive programme with the NRIs there.

This is Rahul Gandhi's first trip outside India after his membership was reinstated by the Lok Sabha following the Supreme Court's stay on his conviction in a 2019 Modi surname remarks defamation case on August 4.

Earlier this year, he visited the US for an over six day trip, where he addressed the Indian diaspora, attended a lecture programme at Stanford University and also visited San Francisco, Washington and New York.

In March this year, he visited the UK and attended several programmes there.

His statements in the US and UK drew sharp responses from the ruling BJP.
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 7 : All arrangements are now in place at the Maldivian Consulate General's office here in the heart of the state capital city to enable around 400 Maldivian nationals to cast their votes to elect their new President on September 9.

Incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and seven other candidates have registered to run in the Maldivesa presidential elections.

Incidentally, Thiruvananthapuram is home to a good number of Maldivian nationals who arrive here for medical needs and hence the country decided to set up their Consulate Generalas office here, a few years ago.

With the elections taking place on Saturday, Maldivian nationals in India settled in Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai have started to arrive in the state capital city to ensure they cast their votes to elect their new president.
New Delhi, Sep 7 : Customs officials at the Hyderabad airport have arrested a passenger and an airport staff member for allegedly smuggling 933 grams of gold worth Rs 56.63 lakhs, authorities said on Thursday.

A senior Customs official said the accused were apprehended based on profiling.

"The accused passenger arrived at the Hyderabad airport from Dubai on Monday. Gold was discovered in his luggage. During inquiry, it was revealed that the gold was intended to be smuggled out with the assistance of airport staff," the official said.

The seized gold was confiscated under the provisions of section 110 of the Customs Act and the passenger was detained under section 104 of the Customs Act.

Later, Customs officials also arrested the airport staff member.

Further investigation into the matter is ongoing.

--IANS

atk/ksk
It has become foundation of better tomorrow: Rahul on 1st anniversary of Bharat Jodo Yatra. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Sep 7 : Marking the first anniversary of 4,000 km Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said that crores of steps towards unity and love have become the foundation of a better tomorrow for the country and it will continue till hatred vanishes and India unites.

Sharing a post X, Rahul Gandhi, who is on a week-long Europe trip said, "Crores of steps towards unity and love of Bharat Jodo Yatra have become the foundation of a better tomorrow for the country. The journey continues - till hatred vanishes, till India unites. This is my promise."

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also hailed the 4,000 km yatra and said that it was a people's movement and unequaled in history.

"Bharat Jodo Yatra is a Peopleas Movement, unequalled in history. As the Yatra completes one year today, on behalf of the Indian National Congress, I congratulate Rahul Gandhi, all Bharat Yatris and the lakhs of our citizens who walked and joined in this historic endeavour. From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, Bharat Jodo Yatra covered more than 4000 Kms and carried a message of unity in diversity, with lakhs of people from all walks of life," he said.

Kharge said that the trend of manufacturing irrelevant headlines to divert attention from the real issues of people to hide the agenda of hate and division is a systemic attack on our collective conscience.

"The Yatra seeks to bring real issues of economic inequalities, price rise, unemployment, social injustices, subversion of Constitution, centralisation of power, to the centre stage of peopleas imagination.The Yatra continues to fight the menace of hate and hostility in our society through a conversation. The Bharat Jodo Yatra is not just a physical endeavour, it is a sincere effort to rebuild our broken collective conscience.

"Our ingrained values of Justice, Liberty Equality, and Fraternity, for us, are supreme. The Congress party is continuously reaching out to people in an endeavour to reclaim our Constitution and protect our Democracy. Today,

Bharat Jodo Yatra continues...," he added.

Even Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal said, "Nafrat ke Bazaar mein Mohabbat ki Dukaan (In the market of hatred, shops of love). A 4081 km-long tapasya (penance), which transformed the course of Indian politics."

"Wherever the Bharat Jodo Yatra went, it won hearts and began the countdown for the BJP-RSS to be thrown out of power. Lakhs of Congressmen and Congresswomen embarked upon a historic pilgrimage - to save the idea of

India. We are proud of our sacrifices for Bharat Mata, our commitment to India," he said.

"The Bharat Jodo Yatra will touch every Indian, until hate is defeated and the voiceless find a voice. The Yatra continues," Venugopal said.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra began on September 7 last year from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari and passed through 12 states and two Union Territories and passed 75 districts and 76 Lok Sabha constituencies.

To mark the first anniversary of Bharat Jodo Yatra, the party is holding a Yatra in 722 districts on Thursday between 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. which will be led by MPs, MLAs, ex Ministers, CWC members after that a meeting will be followed.
London, Sep 7 : A manhunt is currently underway for a British soldier awaiting trial on terror charges after he escaped from a London prison while dressed as a chef and by clinging onto a delivery van, according to officials.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, went missing from Wandsworth prison, in the southwest of the British capital, shortly before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, reports CNN.

He had been awaiting trial for terror offenses and alleged breaches of the Official Secrets Act.

Khalife, a serving member of the British army, is accused of planting fake bombs at a military base, according to British media reports.The audacious and rare escape prompted a sprawling manhunt that delayed flights and led to heightened checks at British ports.

Khalife was dressed in a "chef's uniform, so red and white trousers, white t-shirt and brown shoes", CNN quoted Met Counter Terrorism Commander Dominic Murphy as saying to reporters outside Scotland Yard in London on Wednesday evening.

He reportedly escaped by clinging onto a delivery van, according to PA News agency.

When asked about the reports, Murphy said it was a question the prison service had to answer.The Prison Service is working with the Metropolitan Police to "urgently investigate" how Khalife escaped.

Police are appealing the British public to help the search. He is of slim build, has short brown hair and is around 6 feet and 2 inches tall, officers said.

Murphy further said London is the focus of the investigation currently, but that "we also have notifications out to very force in the country", reports CNN.

"We are working really closely with border colleagues to try and understand any risk that might be posed by him leaving the country so at the moment you could describe this as a nationwide manhunt involving every force in the country that has information that might be of use to us," he added.

Airports and ports have been asked to carry out additional security measures, resulting in delays being reported across the UK, including at Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport, and the Port of Dover.

UK prison escapes are a rare occurrence.

Data from the British government shows that there was just one escape across England and Wales in 2021-22, none in the proceeding period, and only a handful in the years prior to that.

Wandsworth is a Category B prison, the second-highest security level of four. It is one of Britain's largest prisons, holding more than 1,600 inmates.
London, Sep 7 : A manhunt is currently underway for a British soldier awaiting trial on terror charges after he escaped from a London prison while dressed as a chef and by clinging onto a delivery van, according to officials.

Daniel Abed Khalife, 21, went missing from Wandsworth prison, in the southwest of the British capital, shortly before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, reports CNN.

He had been awaiting trial for terror offenses and alleged breaches of the Official Secrets Act.

Khalife, a serving member of the British army, is accused of planting fake bombs at a military base, according to British media reports.

The audacious and rare escape prompted a sprawling manhunt that delayed flights and led to heightened checks at British ports.

Khalife was dressed in a "chef's uniform, so red and white trousers, white t-shirt and brown shoes", CNN quoted Met Counter Terrorism Commander Dominic Murphy as saying to reporters outside Scotland Yard in London on Wednesday evening.

He reportedly escaped by clinging onto a delivery van, according to PA News agency.

When asked about the reports, Murphy said it was a question the prison service had to answer.

The Prison Service is working with the Metropolitan Police to "urgently investigate" how Khalife escaped.

Police are appealing the British public to help the search. He is of slim build, has short brown hair and is around 6 feet and 2 inches tall, officers said.

Murphy further said London is the focus of the investigation currently, but that "we also have notifications out to very force in the country", reports CNN.

"We are working really closely with border colleagues to try and understand any risk that might be posed by him leaving the country so at the moment you could describe this as a nationwide manhunt involving every force in the country that has information that might be of use to us," he added.

Airports and ports have been asked to carry out additional security measures, resulting in delays being reported across the UK, including at Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport, and the Port of Dover.

UK prison escapes are a rare occurrence.

Data from the British government shows that there was just one escape across England and Wales in 2021-22, none in the proceeding period, and only a handful in the years prior to that.

Wandsworth is a Category B prison, the second-highest security level of four. It is one of Britain's largest prisons, holding more than 1,600 inmates.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Today's the second meeting of Emergency Situations Ministers of Turkic States Organization's (OTS) member and observer countries was about the immediate participation of rescuers from these countries during natural disasters on the territory of the member countries, Minister of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan, Colonel-General Kamaladdin Heydarov said, Trend reports.

According to him, the next meeting of the organization will be held in Kazakhstan.

Heydarov said a summit will be held in Kazakhstan, documents will be signed. Also, special centers dealing with consequences of natural disasters will be established on the territories of the member states.

The second meeting of Emergency Situations Ministers of Turkic States Organization's member and observer countries is being held in Baku with the organizational support of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Azerbaijan.
Washington, Sep 7 : A city in the US state of Kentucky has officially declared September 3 as 'Sanatana Dharma Day' even as a row has erupted in India with a minister from Tamil Nadu calling for its eradication.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg recently attended a re-consecration ceremony at the Hindu Temple of Kentucky, where the official proclamation on September 3 was read by his deputy, Barbara Sexton Smith.

"I was honored to attend the Mahakumbhabhishekam ceremony at the Hindu Temple. The rituals performed to renew and restore the temple hold great cultural importance. Our office has officially declared September 3rd as aSanatana Dharma Daya," Mayor Greenberg wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.

The event was attended by several spiritual leaders and dignitaries including Chidanand Saraswati, president of Parmarth Niketan, Rishikesh, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Bhagawati Saraswati along with Lieutenant governor Jacqueline Coleman, deputy chief of staff Keisha Dorsey, among others.

"The re-consecration -- or Mahakumbh Abhishekam -- of the Hindu Temple of Kentucky was made more powerful and significant by Louisville Mayor's proclamation of 3 September 2023 as SanatanaDharma Day! A wonderful new chapter in the glorious saga of Indian culture!" Swami Chidanand Saraswati wrote on X.

Congratulating Louisville and responding to the Sanatana Dharma rown in India, US-based Hindu American Foundation wrote on X: "Excellent timing offering an apt response! Congratulations #Louisville!"

Previously, July 20 was declared as aEncyclopedia of Hinduisma day in Kentucky by former Louisville mayor Greg Fisher.

Addressing an event in Tamil Nadu last week, DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin had said that "Sanatan Dharma has to be eradicated just like mosquitoes, malaria, dengue and corona", sparking a backlash from political parties.

In his first reaction to the 'inflammatory' remark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it "needs proper response".

Udhayanidhi Stalin, who is the son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, has refused to apologise and repeatedly said that he is ready to face any legal action for it.

--IANS

mi/ksk
Seoul, Sep 7 : A Chinese delegation will visit Pyongyang to attend events to celebrate the 75th founding anniversary of the North Korean regime, state media said on Thursday.

A party and government Chinese delegation, headed by Liu Guozhong, vice premier of the State Council of China, will visit North Korea to participate in celebrations for the 75th founding anniversary, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea earlier said it will hold a militia parade to mark the anniversary, which falls on Saturday, reports Yonhap News Agency.

In late July, China sent a delegation, led by Li Hongzhong, a politburo member of the Chinese Communist Party, to North Korea to attend events to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice, called Victory Day in the North.

Flanked by Russia's visiting Defence Minister and Li, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched a military parade on July 27, displaying Pyongyang's solidarity with Beijing and Moscow.

There is growing speculation that Kim may visit Vladivostok for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week amid suspected arms transactions between Pyongyang and Moscow.
New Delhi, Sep 7 : On the first anniversary of Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress on Thursday said the yatra was a hugely transformative event in Indian politics that focused on the themes concerning people, and it was not a 'Mann Ki Baat' lecturing exercise for party leader Rahul Gandhi but an opportunity to listen to 'Janta Ki Chinta' (issue of people).

The Congress also said that even after the conclusion of the yatra in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar on January 30, the yatra continues in different forms as evidenced by Rahul Gandhi's meetings with students, truck drivers, farmers and farm workers among others.

In a tweet, Congress General Secretary said, "Today marks the first anniversary of the launch of the historic Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi. After paying tributes to his father at Sriperumbudur, he visited the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Thiruvalluvar statue, the Kamaraj Memorial and Gandhi Mandapam in Kanyakumari. He then walked from the Gandhi Mandapam to address a large public rally in Kanyakumari by the Indian ocean, and the yatra commenced in the early hours of the next morning."

He said: "The Bharat Jodo Yatra was a hugely transformative event in Indian politics and focussed on the themes of rising economic inequalities, increasing social polarisation and deepening political authoritarianism. It was not a Mann ki Baat lecturing exercise for Rahul Gandhi but an opportunity to listen to Janta ki Chinta."

"The Yatra continues in different forms as evidenced by Rahul Gandhi's meetings with students, truck drivers, farmers and farm workers, mechanics, vegetable traders, MSMEs across the country, and his presence in Manipur along with his extended week-long visit to Ladakh," the Congress leader said.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra began on September 7 last year from Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari and passed through 12 states and two Union Territories and passed 75 districts and 76 Lok Sabha constituencies.

To mark the first anniversary of Bharat Jodo Yatra, the party is holding a Yatra in 722 districts on Thursday between 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. which will be led by MPs, MLAs, ex-Ministers, CWC members and after that a meeting will be followed.
Scissor in stomach case: Kerala Police arrest doctor & two nurses, let off on bail. Image Source: IANS News

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 7 : A few days after K.K. Harshina, a victim of an alleged case of medical negligence at the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) in Kerala's Kozhikode, called off her sit-in protest after a charge sheet was submitted at the Kunnamangalam court, the police on Thursday recorded the arrest of a doctor and two nurses and then let them off on bail.

The second accused in the charge sheet, a female doctor, had informed the police that she was unable to present herself before the probe officials as she was keeping unwell.

The case pertains to Harshina, who had undergone a C-section surgery at the Kozhikode Medical College hospital in 2017.

Following the delivery, she was frequently down with severe stomach pain till last year when a pair of artery forceps was found in her stomach in an MRI scan. The surgical instrument was removed through a surgery in 2022.

After that she has been on the warpath demanding justice, and an Action Committee also was formed seeking compensation and action against the erring hospital staff.

While a team of medical experts failed to find those responsible for the medical negligence, a police probe after their investigation charged two gynecologists and two nurses in the case.

The accused include C.K. Rameshan, assistant professor of Gynecology at Government Medical College; M. Shahina, gynecologist at a private hospital in Kottayam; K.G. Manju and M. Rehana, both staff nurses at Kozhikode Medical College hospital .

On Thursday barring Shahina, the other three presented themselves before the Kozhikode police who recorded their arrest and later let them go on bail.

Harshina early this week demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh, and if it was not going to be sanctioned before Monday, she will begin a fresh protest from Wednesday.
Jakarta, Sep 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was a day-long visit to Indonesia, on Thursday announced the establishment of an Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste, saying that it was a reflection of the importance India attaches to the ASEAN and its relations with the Southeast Asian nation.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said: "At the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta on 7 September 2023, the Prime Minister announced a decision to establish an Indian Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste."

"The decision is a reflection of the importance India attaches to ASEAN, and its relations with Timor-Leste," it said.

The Ministry said that the decision was warmly welcomed by Timor-Leste and ASEAN Members.

Timor-Leste joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2022 as an Observer, before becoming its full member.

On Thursday morning, Modi addressed the ASEAN-India summit in Jakarta, during which he said that the regional bloc is the centre point of India's Act East Policy.

Hewas welcomed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo on his arrival at the summit and prior to that, had also met members of the Indian diaspora.

The Prime Minister also attended the 18th East Asia Summit.
Jakarta, Sep 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit here and unveiled the 12-point plan for strengthening cooperation between New Delhi and the regional bloc.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said he Prime Minister attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) on Thursday morning on his day-long visit to the Indonesian capital.

At the ASEAN-India Summit, Modi held extensive discussions with partners of the regional bloc on further strengthening of ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and charting its future course, the Ministry.

"The Prime Minister reaffirmed ASEAN centrality in the Indo-Pacific and highlighted the synergies between India's Indo-Pacific Ocean's Initiative (IPOI) and ASEAN's Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). He also emphasized the need to complete the review of ASEAN-India FTA (AITIGA) in a time bound manner," it added.

Modi also presented the 12-point proposal for strengthening IndiaASEAN cooperation covering connectivity; digital transformation; trade and economic engagement; addressing contemporary challenges; people-to-people contacts; and deepening strategic engagement.

The Indian side announced that establishing multi-modal connectivity and economic corridor that links Southeast Asia-India-West Asia-Europe and also offered to share India's Digital Public Infrastructure Stack with ASEAN partners.

It also announced ASEAN-India fund for Digital Future focusing on cooperation in digital transformation and financial connectivity and announced renewal of support to Economic and Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) to act as knowledge partner for enhancing our engagement.

New Delhi also called for collectively raising issues being faced by Global South in multilateral fora and invited ASEAN countries to join Global Centre for Traditional Medicine being established by the WHO in India.

It also called for working together on Mission LiFE and also offered to share India's experience in providing affordable and quality medicines to people through Jan-Aushadhi Kendras.

The Indian side furthercalled for collective fight against "terrorism, terror financing and cyber-disinformation", invited ASEAN countries to join Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and called for cooperation in disaster management.

It also called for enhanced cooperation on maritime safety, security and domain awareness and two Joint Statements, one on Maritime Cooperation, and the other on Food Security were adopted.

While addressing the ASEAN Summit, the Prime Minister said: "The 21st century is Asia's century. It is our century. For this, it is necessary to build a rule-based post-Covid world order and efforts by all for human welfare. The progress of free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the Voice of Global South is in the common interest of all.

"I believe that today's discussions will lead to new resolutions for strengthening the future of India and the ASEAN region."

He further said that today, even in an environment of "global uncertainties", there is continuous progress in every field in our mutual cooperation.

"This is a testament to the strength and resilience of our relationship. The theme of this year's ASEAN Summit is 'ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth'. ASEAN matters because here everyone's voice is heard, and ASEAN is the epicenter of growth because the ASEAN region plays a crucial role in global development," he said.

"'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' - 'one earth, one family, one future', this sentiment is also the theme of India's G-20 Presidency."

At the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS), the Prime Minister reiterated the importance of EAS mechanism and reaffirmed our support to further strengthening it.

Prime Minister Modi underlined India's support for ASEAN centrality and called for ensuring a free, open and rules based Indo-Pacific and highlighted synergies of visions for Indo-Pacifi, and underscored that the bloc is the focal point of the Quad's vision.

Th Quad comprises India, the US, Japan and Australia.

Healso called for a cooperative approach to address global challenges including terrorism, climate change and resilient supply chains for essential items including food and medicines, and for energy security.

Modi further highlighted India's steps in the area of climate change and our initiatives such as ISA, CDRI, LiFE and OSOWOG.

The back-to-back ASEAN-India Summit and East Asia Summit are being organised by host Indonesia at India's request since New Delhi will host the G20 Summit over the weekend.

--IANS

aks/ksk
Agartala, Sep 7 : Claiming large-scale intimidation, rigging and irregularities by the supporters and goons of the ruling BJP on the day of by-elections to the two Assembly seats of Dhanpur and Boxanagar on Tuesday and Election Commission's inactiveness to deal with the "terror and

misdeeds", the CPI(M)-led Left Front would boycott the counting of votes on Friday.

CPI(M) Tripura state Secretary Jitendra Choudhury on Thursday said that the party would boycott the counting of votes in the two Assembly segments on Friday and would not depute any agents in the counting centres.

"Due to the large-scale intimidation and attack of the ruling BJP cadres, the party's polling agents could not attend in more than 50 per cent of the

110 polling stations in the two seats during the day of polling on Tuesday.

There was silent rigging in both the constituencies by the BJP workers. The police and election officials overlooked this new style of intimidating the

opposition voters and election agents," Choudhury told the media.

Several ministers and BJP leaders violating the Election Commission's norms conducted and supervised the irregularities even though they cannot enter into the areas of the two assembly constituencies as they are not voters or residents of these areas, the Left leader said.

He said that the party in view of the large-scale intimidation, rigging and irregularities had on Tuesday demanded to cancel the election and conduct

fresh elections, but the Election Commission remained silent.

The voting for the by-polls to the Dhanpur and Boxanagar assembly seats in Sepahijala district was held on Tuesday and 86.56 per cent of the 93,495 voters cast their votes.

BJP leaders, however, denied the accusations and claimed that voting took place in both the seats in a festive mood, sans any hassles.

The Congress and the Tipra Motha Party (TMP), the other two main opposition parties in the state, had earlier announced not to field candidates in the two seats to prevent division of vote share.

The leaders of TMP headed by Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman had declared not to support the BJP or the CPI(M) in the by-elections, leaving the choice to the voters and party workers.

On the other hand, Congress leaders, including state unit President Asish Kumar Saha and MLA Sudip Roy Barman, have campaigned for the CPI(M) candidates.

The CPI(M) has nominated Mizan Hossain in Boxanagar and Kaushik Chanda in Dhanpur, while the ruling BJP has fielded Taffajal Hossain in Boxanagar and Bindu Debnath in Dhanpur.

In February, the Left parties and the Congress had contested the elections together with seat-sharing arrangements, while the TMP had gone solo.

The by-election in Dhanpur seat was necessitated after Union Minister Pratima Bhoumik resigned from the Assembly, days after her election from

the seat as a BJP nominee.

The Muslim-dominated Boxanagar Assembly seat fell vacant after the death of sitting CPI-M MLA Samsul Haque, who died on July 19 following a cardiac attack.
Houston, Sep 7 : A federal judge has ruled that the state of Texas must remove floating barriers it set up to deter migrants from crossing the US-Mexico border in heavily trafficked areas of the Rio Grande river.

"Unfortunately for Texas, permission is exactly what federal law requires before installing obstructions in the nation's navigable waters," Federal District Judge David A. Ezra wrote in his order on Wednesday, issuing a preliminary injunction to remove these barriers and stop building further obstructions in the river.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott's office immediately appealed Ezra's ruling to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, claiming that the state "is prepared to take this fight all the way to the US Supreme Court".

"Today's court decision merely prolongs President Biden's willful refusal to acknowledge that Texas is rightfully stepping up to do the job that he should have been doing all along," the Governor's office said in a statement.

In the wake of the end of Title 42 in May, Abbott ordered the deployment of the 1,000-foot string of buoys in the middle of the border river next to Eagle Pass, western Texas, which shares the border with the Mexican city of Piedras Negras.

President Joe Biden's administration filed a lawsuit against Texas in July, alleging that thr Republican-led state and its Governor violated the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act by building a structure in American waters without permission from the US Army Corps of Engineers.

The state argued that the barrier isn't a structure that requires authorisation, and that it notified the International Boundary Water Commission, the binational body that regulates the Rio Grande, before the installlation.

The Mexican government has repreatedly condemned the establishment of water barriers in the Rio Grande, calling the Texas move a "violation of our sovereignty".

"We express our concern about the impact on the human rights and personal safety of migrants that these state policies will have, which go in the opposite direction to the close collaboration between our country and the federal government of the US," the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Prayagraj : , Sep 7 (IANS) The State Education Institute (SIE), Prayagraj, has designed a first-of-its kind dialects dictionary in four volumes, containing 76,000 words in region-specific languages, including Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Braj and Bundelkhandi.

The move is aimed at conserving regional dialects of the Hindi heartland and using them to better educate school kids.

The dictionary, which is already in the printing stage, is in line with the new National Education Policy (NEP)-2020, the officials added.

The dictionary comprises a set of four books of around 150 pages each. It will soon be released by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), UP.

The officials said that teachers from different regions posted in primary and upper primary schools spread across the state will be able to explain the topics and the subjects better to the enrolled students in their own local dialects using this four-set dictionary.

Naval Kishore, principal of State Institute of Education, said, "This will not only encourage the conservation of these dialects but also help in removing linguistic barriers. This will help teachers and students of government-run primary and upper primary schools of the UP Basic Education Council."

"The students would be able to better grasp the topics when teachers explain them in a language the children speak and understand better than Hindi and English," he added.

Deepti Mishra, the assistant deputy director (education) and coordinator, Samagra Shiksha, SIE, Prayagraj, said maximum 22,000 words of Braj language have been preserved in one of the volumes while in the other, 18,000 words of Bhojpuri have been compiled.

Likewise, 17,000 words of Awadhi and 19,000 words of Bundeli languages have been compiled in the third and the fourth set of the dictionary -- each having their meaning given in Hindi.

"In our society, dictionaries are often seen only as reference books but like a good grammar book, a good dictionary is also very helpful in teaching the language or a subject to anyone. With the help of this four-set dictionary, teachers of other language areas will also be able to explain the subject well to the students in their own dialect," Deepti Mishra said.
Bengaluru, Sep 7 : Karnataka Police have begun the probe into a case of 'love jihad' and sexual exploitation reported on social media by a woman, officials said on Thursday.

The post was made from the account of 'Gupta Bharat@artiniart1' on X (formerly Twitter). "Sir, I am victim of love jihad, rape, un-natural sex and forceful religious conversion. Kindly provide me police help in Bengaluru immediately as my life is in danger," the post read.

The post was tagged to Bengaluru Police, Karnataka DGP and the Prime Minister's Office.

Responding to the post, Bengaluru Police had asked the victim to share the residential address details to forward her petition to concerned police officers for necessary action.

The victim on Thursday in the latest post thanked the DCP Whitefield in Bengaluru. "Thank you, I am connected with the police inspector and he is taking my FIR on priority, I am assured of the security of my family and me," the post read.

"I don't want any media involvement, the police are taking care well," the victim further stated.

The victim had earlier tagged multiple posts to the BJP minority leader, state committee member Nazia Elahi Khan. "I am a love jihad victim, can you plz listen to my case and see if you can fight my case," the victim posted.

The victim further appealed to Nazia Elahi Khan to see her mail. "Kashmiri man became a Facebook friend, took money, and now when I asked to return the money he is threatening to harm me. Took my confidence to marry me later and then kept asking for money. Help me, no help I am getting from Kashmir police," the post by the victim says.

The victim also stated in a post on November 17, 2022 to then Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao, present BJP leader that, "will you help? If I say that a Hindu girl had been promised for marriage then left behind by a Kashmiri Muslim guy."

The jurisdictional Bellandur police have begun the investigation of the case.

More details are awaited The police have not issued an official statement in connection with the case.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Azerbaijani Interior Minister Colonel-General Vilayat Eyvazov met with a delegation headed by Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on September 7, the Ministry of Internal Affairs told Trend.

The minister, after welcoming the guests, said that Azerbaijan's relations with Turkiye are developing in an ascending line.

Emphasizing the factor of stability existing in Azerbaijan, Eyvazov said that reliable protection of order and security has created favorable conditions for the citizens of Azerbaijan as well as for foreign investors, including Turkish businessmen.

He expressed confidence that Ali Yerlikai's first official visit to Azerbaijan will have a positive impact on the development and deepening of relations between the countries.

In addition to expressing gratitude for the warm welcome, the Turkish Interior Minister said that the two friendly and fraternal countries always stand with a unified voice against global problems that are a serious obstacle to the establishment of peace and stability in the region, including all manifestations of organized crime.

He also highly appreciated the useful cooperation between the relevant authorities of the two countries and stressed that they will continue to make efforts to develop relations and that cooperation and the exchange of experience serve the interests of our peoples and countries.
The Bombay Stock Exchange trading terminal as the BSE sensex is down by 254 points in Mumbai on August 19, 2013. (Photo::: Sandeep Mahankal/IANS). Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Sep 7 : The rally in Indian equities that has swelled the market's total valuation by $775 billion in a little more than five months has been accompanied by a notable shift in investor preference to smaller stocks, a media report said.

That poses risks as gauges of small and mid-cap shares show signs of overheating, and as the domestic economic outlook becomes more clouded ahead of national elections next year, Bloomberg reported.

Smaller companies are seen benefiting more from the ongoing recovery in Indiaas capital expenditure.

The trend is the opposite to what has been seen in the US stock market, which has been driven by a handful of technology megacaps surging on the boom in artificial intelligence, leaving small caps in the dust, Bloomberg reported.

The Nifty Midcap 100 Index has risen 37 per cent from a March low, compared with a 16 per cent gain in the blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 Index, driving the ratio of the former to the latter to an all-time high.

The previous such peak in early 2018 was followed by a drop of about 25 per cent in the midcap gauge over the next nine months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Investors are still looking to bet on one of the worldas fastest growing economies, driving the equity benchmarks to a series of record highs over the past two decades.

And the shift in leadership away from the biggest names has been fueled by a flood of funds from retail investors, indicating broader participation in the market.

The pace of gains in smaller stocks relative to large caps has raised caution about the near-term outlook for the latest uptrend in Indian stocks.

Technical indicators also suggest the rally is poised for some consolidation. Momentum for the Nifty Smallcap 100 Index, which has jumped 46 per cent from its March trough, has surged to its highest level in nine years.

The gaugeas 14-week relative strength index has risen to around 86, above the level of 70 typically seen as representing overbought levels, Bloomberg reported.
Chennai, Sep 7 : Credit rating agency ICRA predicts the domestic air passenger traffic to grow at 8-13 per cent in FY24 to touch 150-155 million.

The agency maintained a Stable outlook on the Indian aviation industry amidst the continued recovery in domestic and international air passenger

traffic in FY2024, and improved pricing power of the carriers.

According to ICRA, it estimates growth in domestic air passenger traffic in FY2024 at 8-13 per cent, thus reaching 150-155 million, surpassing the

pre-COVID levels of 141.2 million in FY2020.

During the five month period in FY24, domestic air passenger traffic stood at 63.2 million, witnessing a YoY growth of 20% from 52.6 million in five

month FY23, seven per cent higher than the pre-COVID levels of 58.9 million (5M FY2020), said ICRA.

Further, the international passenger traffic for Indian carriers surpassed the pre-COVID levels in FY23, although it trailed the peak levels of 25.9

million in FY19. It is expected to cross this level in the current fiscal, with an estimated 25-27 million passengers, ICRA said.

According to the rating agency, the industry witnessed better pricing power, as reflected in improved yields and thus the revenue per available

seat kilometre  cost per available seat kilometre (RASK-CASK) spread of the airlines.

The pricing power is expected to continue with a YoY decline in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices since April 2023 (notwithstanding the recent

uptick) and relatively stable foreign exchange rates, ICRA said.

Given the fast-paced recovery of air passenger traffic in FY23 and continuation of the same in the current fiscal, coupled with improved pricing power, the RASK-CASK spread of some of the Indian airlines turned positive since Q3 FY23. The industry is estimated to report a significantly lower net loss of about Rs. 30-50 billion in FY2024 compared to an estimated about Rs. 170-175 billion in FY2023, said Suprio Banerjee, Vice President & Sector Head-Corporate Ratings.

According to Banerjee, the capacity addition for the industry in FY23 was limited to around six per cent of the FY22 fleet of the airlines at about

700 aircraft.

There are large aircraft purchase orders announced by various players in the industry. As per the indicative numbers, the total aircraft deliveries

pending is close to about 1,500, which is more than double the current fleet in operation.

However, a large part of these is towards replacement of old aircraft with new fuel-efficient ones and the capacity addition will be gradual.

"Aircraft manufacturers are facing supply-chain challenges, resulting in the grounding of aircraft by some airlines. This, in turn, impacts the

overall capacities for airlines, and thus their cash flow generation, given the high fixed-cost nature of the business," Banerjee added.

While some airlines have adequate liquidity and/or financial support from a strong parent, supporting their credit profile, the credit metrics and

liquidity profile of the others will remain stressed over the near term, notwithstanding some improvement relative to the last few years.
Libreville, Sep 7 : Gabon's former President Ali Bongo, who was ousted in the August 30 military coup, can go abroad for medical checkups, the Central African country's transitional government has announced.

"Given his state of health, the former President of the Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba is free to move. He can, if he wishes, go abroad to carry out his medical checks," Ulrich Manfoumbi Manfoumbi, spokesperson for the transitional government, said in a statement "signed" by Brice Oligui Nguema, who was sworn in on Monday as transitional President.

On August 30, a group of military officers appointed Nguema, commander-in-chief of the Gabonese Republican Guard, to head the transition after launching a coup earlier in the day following the announcement of the re-election of President Bongo by the national electoral body.

In his remarks on Monday, the transitional leader, 48, noted that the military took "their responsibilities" in the face of an "outrageously biased electoral process", referring to the coup.

"The defence and security forces of our country took their responsibilities by refusing the electoral coup," he explained.

Nguema has promised a new constitution by referendum, a new electoral code and a reliable penal code.

He also promised to "return power to civilians" and hold "free" and "transparent" elections after the transition without specifying the election date and duration of the transition.

According to Nguema, a new government "made up of experienced people and people with seasoned skills" will be implemented in the coming days.

Bongo, 64, once served as Defence Minister and other posts in the government.

He was elected president of Gabon in 2009 and was re-elected in 2016.

After the coup, he was placed under house arrest, while some of his advisers and senior officials, including his son Noureddin Bongo Valentin, were said to have been arrested for treason, embezzlement and corruption, among other allegations.

Gabon's leading opposition group, Alternance 2023, which claims to be the winner of the elections on August 26, has called on the international community to encourage the junta to hand power back to civilians.
Nandyal : , Sep 7 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches in Andhra Pradesh's Nandyal district.

The searches, which began late Wednesday night in Allagadda town, continued on Thursday.

The officials of the central agency were conducting searches at the houses of relatives of a man arrested earlier for alleged links with the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).

Mohammed Yunus (33), a native of Nandyal, was arrested by the NIA in June in the Nizamabad terror conspiracy case. The alleged amaster weapons trainera was arrested in Karnataka where he was hiding.

According to the NIA, the accused arrested in the Nizamabad case had allegedly hatched a conspiracy to radicalise youth and provide them with arms training to carry out terrorist activities.

The NIA had conducted searches at a few houses in Kurnool town of Andhra Pradesh on August 10. It had also arrested two suspects.

The agency had also conducted searches the same day in Telanganaas Karimnagar town. The house of a man suspected to be linked to PFI was searched.
Perth, Sep 7 : Police in Western Australia (WA) on Thursday issued an alert after a man was shot dead at a grain silo in a small town east of state capital Perth.

According to the latest update by the WA Police Force, the gunman has been located in a rural location outside of Kellerberrin, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We are attempting to negotiate a peaceful resolution. However, the situation is still unfolding," said the police, urging residents in the area to remain alert.

At about 8.40 a.m. on Thursday morning, emergency services received reports of a firearm incident at Kellerberrin, a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia and about 205 km east of Perth.

The offender was believed to have attended a grain silo and discharged a firearm before fleeing the area in a vehicle.

Police found a man suffering injuries at the scene, who was transported to a hospital but died later in the day.

At about 10.45 a.m., police sent out an "active shooter alert", notifying the public that the man was traveling on foot around Mission Road, in the Kellerberrin and Bencubbin areas.

"He is believed to be armed and dressed in camouflage clothing. Residents in the area are urged to stay inside and avoid traveling by any means," WA Police Force warned.

Local media reported that the 25-year-old gunman is a volunteer ambulance officer in Kellerberrin.

He offered medical services to the community as of March 2022 and won a community service award on Australia Day 2021, with members of the tight-knit community congratulating him for his service.
Kolkata, Sep 7 : The West Bengal Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution by a majority vote declaring 'Poila Boishakh (Bengali New Year Day)' as the Statehood Day.

It was also decided that the famous song 'Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol (Bengal's soil, Bengal's water)' penned by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore will be the State Song, on the line of National Song.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that even if Governor C.V. Ananda Bose refused to clear the proposal, the day will be celebrated as per the resolution.

"Poila Boishakh, the first day of the Bengali calendar, is considered an extremely auspicious day. The state government consulted several acclaimed persons on this matter and the majority of them voiced in favour of celebrating 'Poila Boishakh' as the Statehood Day for West Bengal. I do not care even if the Governor does not clear the resolution. We will celebrate it as the Statehood Day," the Chief Minister said while participating in a debate on the resolution.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said ideally June 20 should be declared as the Statehood Day for West Bengal, since on June 20, 1947 was officially declared as an integral part of the state.

"There is no scientific justification for declaring 'Poila Boishakh' as the Statehood Day. So the fate of the resolution will be the same as similar resolutions moved by the state government on issues like change of state's name or formation of legislative council or the one relating to the replacement of the Governor with the chief minister as the chancellors of state universities," he said. The BJP opposed the resolution.

The lone All India Secular Front (AISF) representative in the Assembly, Naushad Siddique questioned whether declaration of 'Poila Boishakh' as the Statehood is to cover up the innumerable incidents of corruption that have marred the image of the state nationally.

The Governor this year celebrated West Bengal Foundation Day within the Governor's House premises, which resulted into a tussle between the Raj Bhavan and the State Secretariat. The Governor faced scathing criticism from the chief minister for his decision.
New Delhi : Security personnel patrol near Rajghat ahead of the G20 Summit. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Sep 7 : The Delhi Police on Thursday warned the rumour mongers against spreading misinformation by "incorrectly" depicting videos of the Chehlum procession as a communal protest ahead of the G20 Summit.

"Some social media handles are wrongly projecting videos of the Chehlum procession as a communal protest before G-20 Summit. The Chehlum procession is traditional and carried out with due permission from the law-enforcing agencies. Please do not spread rumours," said the Delhi Police on 'X' (formerly known as Twitter).

The Shia Muslim community in Delhi is observing Chehlum on Thursday, which marks the 40th day after Muharram and commemorates the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Hazrat Mohammad.

This traditional event features the main Chehlum procession, including Tazia and Alam which commenced from Pahari Bhojla at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, partly due to the upcoming G-20 Summit. The organisers plan to hold the procession at Karbala Jor Bagh for burial, with an expected attendance of around 20,000 to 25,000 people, including

women and children.

Some VIPs, including diplomats and ambassadors from Gulf countries, are anticipated to attend the Majlis (religious meeting).

"Before the burial at Karbala, 'Anjuman-e-Haideri' will organise a Majlis for local Shia Muslims around 4 p.m. at Dargah Shah-e-Mardan, Jor Bagh.

At approximately 7 p.m., a public meeting will be held to observe Chehlum as an 'anti-terrorism day' at Dargah Shah-e-Mardan.

Following this public meeting, another Majlis will take place, featuring religious discourses delivered by Maulana Kalbe Jawad, a Shia cleric," said the traffic advisory.
Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 7 : As part of the targetted expedition of climbing seven tallest peaks in all the continents, 36-year-old Kerala State government employee Shaikh Hassan Khan has conquered Mount Elbrus(18510 feet), the highest peak in Europe in Russia.

Khan, presently rejuvenating after a hectic tour in Russia, told IANS that this expedition is part of the Seven Summits expedition(expedition to

summit the highest peak of all the seven continents).

"I have completed Mount Everest (Asia), Mount Denali ( North America), Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa) and now Mount Elbrus. Three more are left now, including Mount Vinson in Antarctica, Mount Aconcagua in Argentina and Mount Kosciuszko in Australia, and I am planning for that," said Khan.

"I reached the top of Mount Elbis on September 4 morning at 8 a.m. It is also part of the India-Russia Friendship expedition and 'Azadi ka Amrut

Mahotsav'. The weather was harsh. Winds were around 50km per hour, and temperatures dropped to -25 degrees, but I was lucky and fortunate to have accomplished the feat," said Khan, who added the motto of this expedition series is to spread climate change awareness and world peace.

Khan is returning to Kerala on Monday and is working out the modalities of accomplishing his Seven Summit expedition.

A state government employee, Khan has taken an extended leave to achieve his target and is currently working to see if he can get sponsors.
New Delhi, Sep 7 : The Delhi High Court has observed the seriousness of issuing fake invoices and e-way bills for GST evasion, categorising it as an economic offence that causes a loss to the public exchequer.

Justice Amit Bansal denied anticipatory bail to a chartered accountant accused of forgery and GST evasion through the creation of false invoices issued by non-existent entities.

The case stems from a complaint filed by Umang Garg, who alleged that the chartered accountant induced him to purchase goods or materials through various firms, later discovered to be fictitious.

Garg further claimed that the CA had him deposit payments for these goods into different accounts under various names, ultimately defrauding him of Rs 2,81,99,475, which included unpaid GST.

In dismissing the anticipatory bail plea, the court stressed on the gravity of the situation. It noted that the CA had attempted to secure interim protection by offering to settle the matter through mediation proceedings, implying that his intent was to maintain that protection during the mediation.

However, once the mediation proceedings concluded as "not-settled," the court found it necessary to evaluate the application on its merits.

The court also said that the evidence collected during the investigation suggested that the CA was running the companies in question and had received a substantial sum of Rs. 3.5 crores from Garg.

In light of these findings and the serious nature of the allegations, including forgery and GST evasion through the creation of false invoices, the court found no grounds for granting anticipatory bail to the CA.

Justice Bansal also vacated the interim protection previously granted to the chartered accountant.

--IANSspr/dpb
Kolkata, Sep 7 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday announced a big hike in the salaries of cabinet ministers, ministers of state and legislators with the monthly salary being raised by Rs 40,000 a month for each of these three categories.

Following this hike, the legislators will now be entitled to a monthly salary of Rs 50,000 a month, as against the existing amount of Rs 10,000. The monthly salaries of the ministers of the state have been increased from Rs 10,900 to Rs 50,900. In case of cabinet ministers, the amount has been increased from Rs 11,000 to Rs 51,000.

The other additional perks and allowances that cabinet ministers, ministers of state and legislators are entitled to in addition to monthly salaries will remain the same.

This will ideally mean that with the actual monthly payment received by the legislators including the salaries, allowances and perks will now increase to Rs 1.21 lakh from the current rate of Rs 81,000 a month, explained an officer of the state government.

Similarly, the actual monthly payment received by ministers from now onwards will be increased from Rs 1.10 lakh a month to around RS 1.50 lakh per month.

Announcing the enhanced pay at the state Assembly on Thursday after, the chief minister said that the decision to hike the salaries had been taken in view of the fact that the salaries of the legislators in West Bengal had been much lower compared to their counterparts in other Indian states.

However, political observers feel that these enhanced salaries for the minister and MLAs are bound to agitate further the state government employees, who have been long demanding enhanced dearness allowances to be made at par with Central government employees and the arrears accrued on it.
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South India gives rousing welcome to SRK's 'Jawan'; fans say 'Atlee is an ace film maker in all languages'. Image Source: IANS News

Chennai , Sept 7 : Bollywood super star Shah Rukh Khan's much anticipated movie 'Jawan', directed by ace Tamil director Atlee was received by South Indian fans to a rousing welcome.

In Thiruvananthapuram ,Chennai and other cities of south India, the movie opened to full house. Shah Rukh Khan playing the dual role of a police officer and a thief In a 2 hour 49 minute movie has thrilled the masses.

The fans of Thalapathy Vijay, the Tamil superstar has also given a rousing reception to the SRK movie as the director, Atlee has made three back to back hits with Vijay in 'Theri' , ' Mercel' and ' Bigel'.

In several theaters across Tamil Nadu fans welcomed the opening of the movie by pouring milk over the cut-out of Shah Rukh Khan.

Nikhil .R.S, an Engineer who opted to watch the Hindi version of the movie from Thiruvananthapuram's Aries theatre while speaking to IANS said that the movie would be a super duper hit in South. He, however, added that the "script could have been more tightened especially the scenes involving Vijay Sethupathi" who plays the principal villain in the movie.

Another south Indian actor Nayanthara is playing a crucial role of lady lead in the live and was impressive. Deepika Padukone playing an extended cameo role has a huge screen presence in the movie.

Priyamani, Yogi Babu and other actors have also played extremely well in the movie.

Muruganandan. M. R, a business man from Alwarpet in Chennai while speaking to IANS said: "The movie is a big hit and I watched it in the first show itself. The movie is extremely good and Atlee proved himself that he is an ace film maker in all languages."
Patna, Sep 7 : The BJP on Thursday slammed Jagdanand Singh, the RJD's Bihar chief, for his statement that the country became slave due to people who put 'tika/tilak' (religious symbol) on their foreheads and such people are trying to do the same again.

Singh said on Wednesday while addressing a gathering of party workers in his office in Patna said, "Religion is a thing of faith and if it is implemented as a principle, crores of people living in India will go the opposite way. Ask them (BJP-RSS) who made India a slave. Those who put Tika on the forehead made India a slave. They are making efforts again to make India a slave country,"

He further said that "demolishing mosques or constructing temples would not affect anyone. The country would not run if we divide between Hindu and Muslims".

The BJP attacked the RJD and said its leaders were actually dividing the country on caste and communal lines.

"Lalu Yadav was cooking mutton and eating it in the month of Sawan. It is a matter of investigation as to what kind of meat he had cooked. He is trying to make his son the chief minister and himself the prime minister. ..People of the country need to be alert with such leaders," said Arvind Kumar Singh, BJP leader and spokesperson.

"Jagadanand Singh is a leader who does not believe in Lord Krishna or Lord Rama. Hence, we do not expect much from him. He is objecting to the Ram temple in Ayodhya and supports the statement of Udhayanidhi Stalin. He is making statements against Hindus and Sanatan Dharma. Anyone can understand his mindset. These statements he is making is only to please his bosses in the party," said Nikhil Anand, the national general secretary of BJP OBC Morcha.
New Delhi, Sep 7 : Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G), V. K. Saxena, on Thursday, took the final stock of the security, cleaning, beautification preparedness and other related works in the National Capital and said that Delhi is all decked up and set to welcome the dignitaries and delegates for the G20 Summit.

As a part of his inspection, Saxena also visited the state-of-the-art developed Control Room of the Delhi Police set up at its headquarters to keep a hawk's eyes on each nook and cranny of the city.

Delhi Police Commissioner briefed Saxena about the security preparedness and details of the Control Room, where live visuals captured by over 5000 CCTVs installed in different parts of the city will be received.

"Two teams comprising 25 security personnel will be monitoring in different shifts, the digital information being beamed into the Control Room, round

the clock. The Control Room is getting district-wise visuals and a special Command Room has been set up for 30 senior police officials to monitor the minutest of city developments and its roads," said the L-G office.

Besides the Police Control Room, the L-G also undertook the inspection of the Control Room of the NDMC's Disaster Management Cell, which is manned by senior officers and around 30 personnel who are working round-the-clock to immediately address complaints like water leakage, damage to pavements, replacement of damaged branches and flower pots, etc.

In his final round of visits, following 59 inspection visits spread over different days during the last 65 days, Saxena minutely inspected the areas

around Raj Ghat, Dilli Gate, ITPO a" the venue of the Summit, Bhairon Marg, Shershah Road a" Delhi High Court, India Gate, Akbar Road, Lok Kalyan Marg, roundabout near Samrat and Ashoka Hotel, Kautaliya Marg, Sardar Patel Marg, Dhaula Kuan Bust Stop and Metro Station, Vighanharta Sculpture, T3 crossing of Dwarka, Northern Access Road towards Aero City, Aero City hotels, T3 VIP lounge, Ulan Battar Marg and the inside of Air Force Station, Technical Area Palam.

The L-G also inspected the statues and fountains near Yakshini Chowk, the newly developed MIG Park at the Palam Technical Airport and the VIP lounge at the Air Force Station, where the top HoGs/HoSs will be landing.

It was noted that upon landing, almost all would see the Fountains set beside the landing area.

Saxena's observations about the last-minute works were pointed out by the departments like PWD, NDMC, MCD, DDA, Environment and Forest, Delhi.

The Cantonment Board, DIAL and officials of the Indian Air Force will be complied with at the earliest.

The L-G emphasised the areas around the IGI Airport with the instructions that those areas should be made dust-free and, if needed, the roads and pavements be cleaned with jet water and more green pots be placed.

The L-G asked the officials to keep extra vigil on the greenery of the VIP areas by asking them to replace the dried plants and flowers with fresh ones.
Chennai, Sep 7 : The 19 youths from Tamil Nadu, who had been held captive in Kuwait by a travel agency since last year, were rescued by the Indian embassy and finally reached the Chennai airport on Thursday.

The youths were received at the airport by Tamil Nadu Minister K.S. Masthan and other officials.

The youths had paid Rs one lakh each to a travel agency which took them to Kuwait in May 2022 on the promise of a monthly salary of Rs 60,000 each with free stay and food.

On reaching the adreamlanda the youths were informed that they will get monthly emoluments of only Rs 18,000 and had to pay for their accommodation and food. Moreover the youths were asked to work for more hours.

The youngsters asked the agency to break the bond and to release them but the agency insisted that they had to pay Rs 60,000 each to break it. The youths were told in June this year that their visa had expired and that they will have to pay Rs 1,25,000 each for visa renewal.

However, the youths pleaded helplessness and said that they donat have the money to pay for renewal. This infuriated the agency people who immediately cut the power and water connection to their rooms. Meanwhile, the youths contacted the Indian embassy and narrated the ordeal.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin also intervened in the matter and contacted the Indian embassy in Kuwait for the release of the 19 youths.

--IANSaal/dpb
Mumbai, Sep 6 : In a significant step forward, the Maharashtra government on Thursday issued orders for those with Kunbi Caste (OBC) documentary proof from the 'Nizam era' to be given Kunbi caste certificates.

This would imply that Marathas with Kunbi Caste proofs shall be eligible for OBC reservations, fulfilling one of the demands of Manoj Jarange-Patil who is on a hunger strike for the past 10 days in Jalna.

Simultaneously, the state government issued a written appeal to Jarange-Patil that since the administration has published the orders, he should immediately call off his hunger strike.

The response of Jarange-Patil to the GR is still not known and it is likely to be clear later in the day.

A representative of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will call on Jarange-Patil shortly with the orders and the appeal, hoping to end the 10-day long agitation, which started in Jalna on August 29 and spread across the state after the police clampdown there on September 1.

On Wednesday, Shinde had announced that those possessing Nizam-era documents (of 1960s) when the Marathas were counted as aKunbisa, would be given the Kunbi caste certificates to enable them avail the OBC quotas.
Singapore, Sep 7 : An Indian-origin forklift operator was sentenced to 18 weeks in jail in Singapore for his negligence, which led to a workplace fatality, the city-state's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said, releasing a report on prosecution cases of August on Thursday.

Alagappan Ganesan, a certified forklift operator employed by Asiabuild Construction, was sentenced on August 15 and prosecuted under the Workplace Safety and HealthAct.

Ganesan was operating a forklift in a multi-storey carpark, where Kunjappa Makesh and a co-worker were laying cables on July 7, 2022.

To prevent the cable from being run over by the forklift, Kunjappa and the co-worker attempted to throw the cable over the forklift, which, instead, landed on its rear, according to a Channel News Asia report.

Kunjappa then climbed onto the rear of the forklift. But Ganesan started to reverse the machine, which resulted in Kunjappa getting caught between the forkliftas overhead guard and a beam.

He was taken to the hospital but died from his injuries.

According to MOMas investigations,Ganesan was negligent in performing his duties as a forklift operator.

"He did not pay attention to the environment or perform any checks before operating the machine," MOM said, adding that operators of machinery such as forklifts or quay cranes must be vigilant and mindful of any workers in the vicinity.
Amaravati, Sep 7 : The ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh have blamed each other for the violence during TDP leader Nara Lokesh's padayatra in Bhimavaram town earier this week.

Lokesh, who is the General Secretary of TDP, has termed the attack on his Yuva Galam padayatra on Tuesday night as pre-planned. He also slammed the police for booking TDP leaders and arresting them instead of taking action against those who attacked the padayatra.

Lokesh, the son of TDP President and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, also accused the ruling party leaders of using anti-social elements to disrupt his padayatra.

However, Minister for Civil Supplies, Karumuri Venkata Nageswara Rao, alleged that it was TDP which hatched a conspiracy to create unrest in Bhimavaram at the behest of Lokesh.

He said Lokesh's gang of anti-social elements attacked people with sticks and stones.

Some supporters of both the parties were injured during the clashes on Tuesday night. There were heated arguments between the two sides, leading to violence.

The police had to intervene to disperse the clashing groups. Hours after the violence, the police raided the camp of the Yuva Galam padayatra.

The TDP alleged that policemen attacked those asleep and whisked away 43 workers. The men were taken around in police vehicles to various places till Wednesday night before being produced before a magistrate, who remanded them to judicial custody.

The TDP workers have been booked on charges of attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy and for carrying lethal weapons. The cases were booked based on complaints filed by a man from the Scheduled Caste community, a police constable, and a YSRCP leader.

A total of 52 accused have been named, including TDP West Godavari district president Sitarama Lakhsmi and former MLA Chintamaneni Prabhakar. As many 38 of those booked are Yuva Galam volunteers.

The West Godavari police also issued a notice to Lokesh for making provocative speeches and violating the permission given for his padayatra.

Lokesh, though, refused to accept the notice, and questioned the police as to why no notice has been issued to YSRCP men who indulged in violence.

"We have photographs of those who attacked us. What was Peddireddy Midhun Reddy (YSRCP MP from Rajampet) doing in Bhimavaram? Why did his men come here," asked Lokesh.

Asserting that he never violated the law in any part of the state, Lokesh said he had already informed the police that disturbances might be created during his padayatra in Bhimavaram on September 4.

Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu accused YSRCP leaders of sending 'rowdies' to attack TDP workers for raising people's issues. Those questioning the government are not being allowed to come out, he alleged.

Naidu also claimed that he could be arrested sometime soon.

Interacting with people in Anantapur district, the former Chief Minister said he could even be attacked.

"Today or tomorrow, they could arrest me. They may even attack me," Naidu said.

The violence in Bhimavaram came amid the heightened political tension between the ruling and the main opposition parties. Violence had erupted during Naidu's tour in Rayalaseema region last month. The TDP President was even booked for attempt to murder.

With elections in the state due in a few months' time, both Naidu and his son are running intensive campaigns highlighting the 'failures' of the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government.

Lokesh's padayatra crossed the 2,800 km milestone at Vempa village in the Bhimavaram Assembly segment on Wednesday.

Titled Yuva Galam (voice of youth), the 4,000 km padayatra began on January 27.
New Delhi, Sep 7 : Online food and grocery delivery platforms on Thursday said that are prepared for minimal to no disruption in their services amid the expected heavy demand as a majority of their product categories remain exempted during the G20 Summit weekend which is being organised under a heavy security blanket in Delhi-NCR.

Online grocery company Zepto, which became Indiaas first unicorn of this year, told IANS that with most people working remotely and movement restrictions in place, "we anticipate a significant surge in demand, with a 30-40 per cent rise in New Delhi and over 10 per cent in other NCR cities compared to normal days".

"To address this surge, we've significantly increased our inventory in New Delhi and other NCR cities and secured necessary approvals for daily replenishable items like dairy and vegetables," a company spokesperson said.

To ensure continuity, rider safety, and seamless delivery, some online food and other essentials delivery platforms have blocked the restricted routes in their navigation systems and relocated some of their riders from high-impact zones to other stores.

"Additionally, control towers have been set up to support riders with on-ground concerns, if any. At Zepto, we are well-prepared to meet the increased demand while maintaining the highest level of service excellence," said the company.

Delhi Lt Governor V. K. Saxena, on Thursday, took the final stock of the security, cleaning, beautification preparedness and other related works in the National Capital and said that Delhi is all decked up and set to welcome the dignitaries and delegates for the G20 Summit.

As part of his inspection, Saxena also visited the state-of-the-art developed Control Room of the Delhi Police set up at its headquarters to keep a hawk's eyes on each nook and cranny of the city. The Delhi Police Commissioner briefed Saxena about the security preparedness and details of the Control Room, where live visuals captured by over 5000 CCTVs installed in different parts of the city will be received.

Zomato said it will be fully operational for its customers in Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad, throughout the G20 Summit.

"We will also be operational in all of Delhi, except only for the small part of NDMC area where the G20 Summit is being hosted," said the Deepinder Goyal-run company.
New Delhi, Sep 7 : The BJP on Thursday launched a scathing attack against the Opposition over DMK leader A. Raja's alleged derogatory remarks against Sanatan Dharma, saying it shows the 'true character' of the Congress-led INDIA block.

Last Saturday, Tamil Nadu minister and DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin had triggered a controversy by saying: "Sanatan Dharma has to be eradicated just like malaria, dengue and Corona."

Going one step further, Raja said on Thursday that Sanatan Dharma should be compared to diseases carrying social stigma such as HIV and leprosy. He even said that his party colleague Udhayanidhi Stalin's comments on Sanatan Dharma were "soft".

"Changing name does not conceal one's intent and character. Outrageous and vitriolic comments about Sanatan Dharma, this time by DMK leader A. Raja, reflect the mental bankruptcy and deep-rooted Hinduphobia that engulfs the INDIA bloc," Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

He added, "The country is watching how the Congress and its friends are consciously maligning the soul, spirit and roots of 'Bharat'. Let these hate-mongers be reminded that Sanatan is eternal.''

Echoing similar sentiments, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said, "UPA/INDIA are bringing out their 'top' talent in their strategy of abuse/hate speech directed against Hindu faith."

"First it was dynast Udhayanidhi Stalin, followed by assorted Rahul (Gandhi) flunkies and now epic icon of UPA corruption and out on bail 2G scam architect, as latest UPA/INDIA leader in this deliberate campaign which is violative of Article 25 and hate speech judgements of SC (Supreme Court). And not a peep from other so-called Constitution defenders UPA/INDIAmembers to condemn/apologise for this," Chandrasekhar wrote on X.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva also hit out at the Opposition over Raja's remarks, saying, "On the occasion of Shri Krishna Janmashtmi, when our Sanatan Dharma is being celebrated worldwide, Arvind Kejriwal's alliance partner A Raja chose to equate Sanatan Dharma with HIV and leprosy. This shows the intense hatred for Hinduism among INDIA bloc partners. Arvind Kejriwal, will you not bother to speak up?"

Earlier, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya wrote on X, "After Udhayanidhi Stalin, it is now DMK's A. Raja, who denigrates Sanatan Dharma This is nothing but unadulterated hate speech, targeting 80 per cent of Bharat's population, who follow Sanatan Dharma."

"This is the true character of Congress-led INDIA bloc, who think demeaning Hindus is the only way to win elections. Was this decided in the Mumbai meet (of INDIA bloc)," Malviya asked.
Ranchi, Sep 7 : A 28-year-old professor from Jharkhand working at Karunya Institute of Technology and Science in Tamil Nadu was found hanging in his room, located in the institute premises.

The deceased has been identified as Sameer Kumar, a resident of Datu village of Bokaro district, Jharkhand.

The body of the deceased was found hanging from a belt on Tuesday.

Samir's family alleges foul play and suspects it to be a case of murder.

The family members of the deceased staged a protest outside the Raj Bhavan in Jharkhand on Thursday, demanding a CBI investigation into the entire matter.

Samir's family claims that he has been murdered as he could not have committed suicide.

As per the family members, Samir on August 14 joined as assistant professor at the Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore.

According to the relatives, Samir had on Monday accepted the responsibility of being a warden at the institute. He was not willing to take up this responsibility and had discussed it with the Head of the Department. HoD had assured him of a departmental transfer after a month. On Monday night, around 10 p.m., he had a video call with his family. Before that, he had shown them his room and informed them that he had shifted. He said he would go to sleep after taking attendance of the hostel students.

As per the family, the incident came to light when he did not show up for the assembly on Tuesday at 8 a.m. Institute staff went to his room and found it locked. Upon breaking the door, Samir's body was discovered hanging from the belt.

The body was brought to Ranchi by flight. The family members protested in front of Raj Bhavan and demanded a high-level investigation into the case.

The family has expressed doubts on the role of the HoD in this matter.

The family claimed that Samir was appointed as an assistant professor and was forcibly given the responsibility of a warden. It is possible that he might have been mistreated in this regard.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan discussed the implementation of the roadmap in the field of agriculture, Trend reports.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture of Azerbaijan, Minister Majnun Mammadov met with the Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, Aziz Voitov, during his visit to Uzbekistan.

At the meeting, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan agreed to take specific steps in silk production, walnut farming, winemaking, agricultural engineering, and other fields of agriculture as soon as possible.

At the same time, issues related to the second meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture of the Organization of Turkic States and the Agro Business Forum, which will be held in Baku on September 26, were also discussed at the meeting.

In addition, other issues of mutual interest were discussed at the meeting.

In actual prices, the volume of agricultural production in Azerbaijan amounted to 7.3 billion manat ($4.3 billion) from January through July 2023, which is 13.63 percent higher than in 2022.

The production of livestock products in value terms increased by 17.18 percent (3.4 billion manat, or $2 billion) during the specified period, and in the field of plant growing, by 10.69 percent (3.9 billion manat, or 2.3 billion).
Colombo, Sep 7 : Former Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa responding to newest UK's Channel 4 TV documentary which allegedly connected him to IS-affiliated local Islamic extremists' 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, has said that the allegations were "absurd".

A day after the release of the controversial TV documentary titled "Sri Lanka's Easter Bombings" by Channel 4 which alleged coordinated explosions of six suicide bomb attacks killing over 270 and injuring over 500 both locals and foreigners at three churches and three star-class hotels intended to create insecurity and instability in the country to bring Rajapaksa to power at the 2019 elections.

Based on a series of interviews by whistleblowers and former security officials, Channel 4 claimed that the current head of Sri Lanka's Military Intelligence Maj Gen Suresh Sallay allegedly hatched a plot with the IS-affiliated group of Sri Lankan Islamic extremists to prove that the country's security was in tatters.

Interviewed by Channel 4, Azad Maulana, identified as a whistleblower and who was also the former spokesman of Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, a leader of a breakaway group of the LTTE Tamil rebel and later joined Sri Lankan government forces, said he arranged the meeting with intelligence head and the suicide bombers without knowing their final plan.

On April 21, 2019 , the morning of the Easter Sunday attacks, Sallay contacted him and asked to meet a person at the leading Indian hotel in Colombo, Taj Samudra, whom he later realised as the suicide bomber whose bomb did not detonate.

Defending the military head, Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated on Thursday that Sallay was serving as a diplomat in Malaysia from 2016 to 2018, during the period the whistleblower claimed Sallay plotted the bombings.

Rajapaksa also said from January to November 2019, intelligence head was in India following a course at India's National Defence College.

The former president claimed that 2015-2019 government ignored the Muslim extremism that was building up in the country.

In his statement, Gotabaya also said that he sought the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assistance for the investigation after he became the President and he was communicated by Christopher A. Landberg of the Bureau of Counterterrorism, US Department of State, that the FBI had worked closely with Sri Lankan law enforcement, and in the week after the attacks, the US deployed around 33 personnel to Colombo to assist Sri Lanka's investigation.

Ahead of planned major elections next year, Channel 4 revelations had created stir in Sri Lanka's political circle and opposition parties and the Catholic Church were demanding an international probe and punish those responsible for the attacks.

Following the suicide attacks, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected with a thumping majority but two years later in 2022 he was forced to flee the country amid public agitation.

With the support of pro-Rajapaksa majority Parliament, Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected President by a Parliamentary vote.
Chennai, Sep 7 : Actor Nikhil Siddhartha will be undergoing on a month-long training session for his upcoming pan-India film 'Swayambhu'.

For films based on wars, an actor needs to be a thorough professional and learn every type of combat skill. So, to play a warrior in 'Swayambhu' with panache, Nikhil flew off to Vietnam for a month-long gruelling training.

The actor will receive training in weapons, martial arts, and horse riding. Some of the biggest stunt masters and teams in Saigon will be part of the team and train him for the action sequences for 'Swayambhu'.

Nikhil will also undergo a physical makeover. The actor indeed looked flawless as a legendary warrior in the first look poster.

The film will be directed by Bharat Krishnamachari, which marks the milestone 20th movie for Nikhil and also the most expensive one for the actor.

Bhuvan and Sreekar will produce the movie under Pixel Studios with Tagore Madhu presenting it.

'Swayambhu' will be mounted with top technical standards. Manoj Paramahamsa helms the cinematography, while Ravi Basrur scores the music. M Prabhaharan is the production designer and the dialogues for the movie are provided by Vasudev.
New Delhi, Sep 7 : Actress Raveena Tandon sets the stage of 'India's Best Dancer 3' on fire with her performance on the song 'Tip Tip Barsa Paani'.

In the upcoming weekend episodes of the dance reality show, Raveena will be seen as the special guest. The episodes, titled aDance Diva Speciala will see the contestants leave no stone unturned to impress the stunning actress as they groove to some of her most iconic chartbusters.

In what captivated both the audience and judges, contestant Shivanshu Soni, along with choreographer Vivek Chachere, delivered a mesmerising performance to the classic song 'Tip Tip Barsa Paani'.

The duoas magnificent performance left Raveena nostalgic and led to judge Terence Lewis professing his admiration for her.

Terence shared: "When 'Mohra' was released in 1994 and the song 'Tip Tip Barsa Pani' was launched, the entire nation fell head over heels in love with you, Raveena. The way it was portrayed, and the way you performed, we couldn't tear our eyes away. It felt like you were beyond our reach, so exquisitely beautiful even to this day."

'Mohra' stars Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Raveena Tandon.

"I never dreamt that I would be sitting next to you. I was an ardent fan, and I adored you, Raveena. You were always so stunning. After this remarkable performance, I should never dare to ask, but I have this desire to relive that magical moment with you, dancing to 'Tip Tip Barsa Pani'," he added.

In a heartwarming turn of events, Raveena graciously fulfilled Terence's wish, setting the stage on fire with their scorching chemistry as they danced to the beats of the song.

'Indiaas Best Dancer 3' airs on Sony.
New Delhi, Sep 7 : The Delhi High Court has issued a show cause notice for criminal contempt to a litigant who made whimsical and objectionable allegations against a judge of the court, government officials, and the Supreme Court.

The litigant, Naresh Sharma, had sought the death penalty for the single judge for dismissing his pleas.

Sharma's appeals, challenging the single judge's order passed on July 20, were heard by a division bench consisting of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula.

In his submissions before the single judge, Sharma alleged that numerous government organisations, including prestigious institutions like IIT, AIIMS, and IIMs, were "criminal" and accused them of sedition.

He contended that there should be a legal option for such organisations to disobey the government and unite against it.

Sharma further argued that his fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, which includes the right to have public organisations that are not criminally established, was being violated.

In his appeal, Sharma demanded that the single judge be "criminally charged" for issuing a "meaningless, defamatory, criminal, seditious judgment", and he even asked for the death penalty in his prayer.

The division bench deemed these allegations as "prima facie aimed at scandalising and lowering the authority of the Court" and that they were made with a "malafide intention to interfere with the administration of justice".

The bench then issued a show-cause notice to Sharma, asking him to explain why proceedings for criminal contempt should not be initiated against him under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.

Sharma has been directed to file a reply to the show-cause notice by September 18, also the next date of the hearing.

--IANS

spr/vd
Kolkata, Sep 7 : The Calcutta High Court has imposed penalty on officers in-charge (OCs) of two police stations in Kolkata on charges of harassing a rape victim.

The division bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Gaurang Kanth directed the OCs of Lake police station and Narendrapur police station to pay a token amount of Rs 5,000 each to the victim as compensation for inappropriate behaviour and harassment.

Both the officers have also been directed by the court to individually tender a written apologie to the victim woman.

Although the direction was passed by the division bench on September 5, the copy of the order was uploaded on the website of the Calcutta High Court on Thursday. The order was passed on a petition filed by the victim woman, accusing the cops of inappropriate behaviour and harassment.

In the petition, the victim alleged that after she identified the person accused of raping her and the court directed the police to question the man, the police did not take any action against him and instead served her a notice.

She filed the complaint simultaneously at Lake police station and Narendrapur police station.

She also accused the police of visiting her residence around midnight to question her after making a WhatsApp call.

The woman, with the help of rights body Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR), had approached the division bench of the Calcutta High Court.

While passing the order, the bench noted that the victim appears to have been unnecessarily harassed in the guise of investigation.

"As the actions of the police officers caused breach of fundamental right to privacy and dignity of the victim, this court would otherwise be inclined to impose appropriate and just compensation payable by the police officers personally to the victim as a remedy for enforcement of her fundamental rights," the order read.
Bengaluru, Sep 7 : Biocon Ltd and Biocon Biologics Ltd Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has been appointed as Regent of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSed), a Biocon release said on Thursday.

On her appointment as the latest member to the Collegeas Court of Regents, Mazumdar-Shaw said: "I am humbled and deeply honoured to be appointed Regent of the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh. As the oldest surgical college in the world with just under 30,000 members in 100 countries, the RCSed has been championing the highest standards of surgical and dental practice by providing high quality medical education. I look forward to contributing to the College's mission and advancing the frontiers of surgical excellence."

The Court of Regents comprises a group of distinguished and accomplished individuals in their field who provide the college with advice and expertise.

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh is a prestigious Scottish medical association which was founded in 1505 by Royal Charter granted from King James IV. It is the oldest surgical colleges in the world with nearly 30,000 members in 100 countries, and about half of them are from overseas, touching every stage of the career path from medical students to consultants.
Sikh rapper wants to stay in New Zealand; says fears for life in India: Report. Image Source: IANS News

Wellington, Sep 7 : A Sikh rapper, who came to New Zealand nearly 10 years ago to study, has failed in his attempts to stay in the country after a tribunal on immigration declined his request in a recently released decision.

The rapper with 40,000 followers on TikTok claimed he fears of revenge upon his return to India after he posted songs about farmers' protests and other social and religious issues in the country, The New Zealand Herald newspaper reported.

He had applied to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal for protected refugee status earlier this year, where he also claimed that he has been receiving threatening messages after he insulted another Indian artist in one of his songs.

The tribunal struck down his appeal recently and upheld an earlier ruling from a refugee and protection officer who refused his application for protected status, The Herald reported last week.

The rapper, whose name was suppressed by the tribunal, wrote rap music in his spare time and uploaded them on Tik Tok in New Zealand where he came nearly 10 years ago to study.

But his account was banned after there were complaints about the lyrics, which focused on Punjab gun culture, poverty, caste and racism, the report said.

While his visa expired in 2018, it was in 2021 that he lodged a claim for protected status, and wrote in the form that he feared harm from politicians and other elements.

Just months after this, he uploaded a new song to another platform that made derogatory references to another artist who was not named by the tribunal, the newspaper reported.

He said after uploading this song he received threats and insults on his personal mobile number from fans of the other artist, with one received in January saying, "we'll see you when you're back in India".

According to The Herald report, the rapper's parents gave evidence before the tribunal from India where they received threatening phone calls, asking them to tell their son to take down the videos.

In its decision, the tribunal acknowledged that the rapper could not be expected to self-censor his views in his music.

It went on to say that unlike a famous rapper (Sidhu Moosewala), who was shot dead in May last year, the applicant doesn't have any gang links and would not be exposed to the same level of danger.

Without naming Moosewala, the tribunal noted that the slain artist had millions of views on songs on YouTube, while the applicant's songs had roughly 30,000 views each.

The tribunal declined the rapper's appeal for protected refugee status.
Punjab Police arrest drug trafficker who sent swimmers to collect consignment from Pak. Image Source: IANS News

Chandigarh, Sep 7 : Punjab Police has arrested a drug trafficker identified as Malkiat Singh, who sent three swimmers to collect a consignment of 50 kg heroin from Pakistan, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said here on Thursday.

"Police teams have seized 9 kg heroin, a portion of the 50 kg heroin consignment, from his possession," he said, adding 22.5 kg of the narcotics had already been recovered.

The development came in less than a month after the Jalandhar Rural Police had arrested drug smuggler Joga Singh, who swam into the Pakistan jurisdiction to retrieve the heroin consignment and 8 kg heroin.

Earlier, Amritsar Police had arrested drug smuggler Shinder Singh after recovering 10 kg heroin and Rs 1.5 lakh drug money from his possession.

A woman drug smuggler, Amandeep Kaur, a.k.a. 'Deep Bhai', linked to this module was also arrested with 1 kg heroin, while another drug smuggler Shinderpal was arrested with 500 grams heroin from Mehatpur.

DGP Yadav said following forward and backwards linkages in this case Jalandhar Rural Police have arrested Malkiat Singh, who is resident of Tendi Wala village in Ferozepur, and recovered the heroin kept in his shoulder bag.

Divulging details, SSP Jalandhar (Rural) Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar said Malkiat revealed that he was in regular touch with a Pakistan-based drug smuggler Haider Ali, who helped him in smuggle the heroin consignments to India in lieu of hawala operator.

"Malkiat Singh also revealed that he had sent Joga Singh along with two more persons to Pakistan using a riverine route to fetch the 50 kg heroin consignment, which was equally distributed between his party and Joga Singh's party," he said.
Kolkata school where student fell to death from fifth floor closed for indefinite period. Image Source: IANS News

Kolkata, Sep 7 : The Silver Point School in Kolkata, which recently made headlines after a Class 10 student died on Monday (September 4) after falling from the fifth floor of the school building, has announced its closure for an indefinite period starting Thursday.

A notice signed by the principal was pasted on the closed gate of the school on Thursday morning, which said that the school authorities, just like the parents of the deceased student, are equally shocked by the tragic incident.

"We want to assure the parents that Silver Point School gives topmost priority to the safety and security of their children admitted here. However, till further notice, the school remains closed," the notice read.

Meanwhile, members of the West Bengal Child Rights Commission, who visited the school just a day after the tragic incident, has submitted a report that says there had also been faults on the part of the victim's parents.

According to the report, the deceased student was kept under a lot of pressure at home and the extreme discipline might have put mental pressure on him.

However, the father of the victim has claimed that his son was victimised and harassed by the school authorities for the last couple of years because he was among those guardians who had protested against the school authority's decision to hike the fee substantially during the Covid-19 period.

He had also filed a complaint against the principal, vice-principal and two other teachers of the school at the local Kasba police station.

The school authorities have, however, denied the allegations.

The police have registered a case of unnatural death in the matter.
New Delhi, Sep 7 : The ASEAN-India leaders on Thursday expressed their commitment towards maintaining and supporting ASEAN as the epicentrum of global growth and to increase concerted efforts between ASEAN and India in sustaining supply in the food trade supply chain despite disruptions.

The ASEAN leaders, aiming to strengthen food security and nutrition in response to crises, decided to exchange information on national policy frameworks particularly for rice and other priority crop commodities as well as agricultural diversity to enhance food security and nutrition, a joint statement said.

The joint statement was issued after the ASEAN-India summit, which took place in Jakarta withPrime Minister Narendra Modi attending it.

The grouping also acknowledged nutritional richness, climate resilience, health benefits and ecological sustainability of millets, considering that millets are good for the consumer, cultivator and climate; and supported efforts to mainstream the cultivation and harvesting of millets for ensuring global food security, promoting biodiversity and transforming agri-food system.

It also decided to support ASEAN-India preparedness for long-term resilience and sustainability of agri-food system, including by strengthening local and regional food value chains.

The leaders also committed to encourage financing climate-friendly technologies, in partnership with Multilateral Development Banks and development finance institutions on ASEAN-India mutually agreed terms, and adopting a climate-smart approach based on agricultural system models for sustainable agricultural production.

It has also decided to collaborate on rapid actions to strengthen food security and nutrition in response to crises, including by ensuring unimpeded trade and flow of foodstuffs and other essential agricultural inputs, including the supply of fertilisers, pesticides, and their raw materials as well as enhancing market connectivity and distribution networks for agriculture and food products.

Most significantly, the grouping has also decided to promote efforts for public food stockholding, wherever relevant, for food security programmes and explore exports of food grains from public stocks on a government-to-government basis for humanitarian purposes in times of crises.

--IANS

ans/vd
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the occasion of the national holiday.

The letter read:

Dear Mr. President,

On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my most sincere congratulations to you and through you all your people on the occasion of the national holiday of the Federative Republic of Brazil  the Independence Day.

This year Azerbaijan and Brazil will celebrate a significant anniversary - the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. I believe that through our joint efforts, our interstate relations will continue to develop in the spirit of friendship and cooperation, both bilaterally and within the framework of international institutions, in line with the interests of our peoples.

On this festive day, I wish you good health, happiness, success in your endeavors, and your people lasting peace and prosperity.

Sincerely,

Ilham Aliyev

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

Baku, 4 September 2023
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov met with First Vice President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Jurgen Rigterink, the ministry told Trend.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the current state of the country's relations with the bank, ongoing joint projects, and opportunities for expanding cooperation.

At the meeting, Azerbaijan's successful ties with the EBRD in various areas were emphasized, and information was provided on the socio-economic priorities of Azerbaijan. Wide opportunities for cooperation in the implementation of the set goals of development were discussed. The steps to be taken to implement priority projects in the fields of the green economy, energy, especially renewable and alternative energy, private sector development, infrastructure, and other areas were discussed with the bank.

In addition, EBRD First Vice President Jurgen Rigterink highlighted the bank's effective cooperation with Azerbaijan, as well as the fact that Azerbaijan's economic potential creates a favorable basis for expanding ties, and expressed the bank's intention to continue supporting the development of the country's economy.
Aizawl, Sep 7 : Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga on Thursday said that amidst turmoil in certain parts of the northeast region and around it, his state emerged as an island of peace.

Addressing the General Conference of the Mizo Students' Union (MSU) here on Thursday ,he said that Mizoram has provided relief and shelter to those who have fled their homes in trouble-torn Myanmar, Bangladesh, as well as the neighbouring state of Manipur.

"The distressed people from Myanmar, Bangladesh and Manipur took shelter in the state and are now living peacefully with happiness. Mizo society is offering their all out support to those who sought the refugee in the state," said Zoramthanga, who is also the President of the ruling Mizo National Front.

The underground leader turned politician said that it is difficult to describe the comfort he and other erstwhile MNF leaders and cadres felt when they fled to the then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), where according to him, they could live peacefully during the time of the conflict.

"Mizoram is now one of the most peaceful states in the world," the Chief Minister said.

After the signing of the Peace Accord, the Memorandum of Settlement in 1986, which ended two decades of strife and insurgency, the mountainous Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on February 20, 1987. After coming to overground in 1986, the MNF was converted into a political party and is now a recognised state party.

He said that the insurgency ridden neighbouring states often gave examples of lasting peace in Mizoram and sought the assistance to establish peace in their states. Around 35,000 Myanmar nationals, including children and women, have taken shelter in Mizoram since February 2021 after the Myanmar military, following a coup, took over the governance there.

Over 1,000 tribals have also taken shelter in Mizoram after they fled from their native villages in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts after an armed conflict started in mid-November last year between the Bangladesh Army and the Kuki-Chin National Army (KNA), also known as Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF). The KNA is an underground militant outfit demanding sovereignty for the Chin-Kukis residing in Rangamati and Bandarban districts of CHT to protect the tribal people's tradition, culture and livelihood.

Around 13,000 internally-displaced people from ethnic violence-hit Manipur also took shelter in Mizoram.

--IANS

sc/vd
Panaji, Sep 7 : To create the infrastructure of charging stations for electrical vehicles (EV) across the state, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday asked the oil companies to provide such facilities at the fuel stations.

Sawant on Thursday held a meeting with the officials of oil companies and discussed ways to create the infrastructure for EV charging.

"I held a meeting with the officials of oil companies to discuss green energy. Wherever they have fuel stations, they can install charging points for which state government will support them," Sawant said.

"We have resolved the issue of charging rates for customers and have decided to create infrastructure with the help of the private sector so that more people can go for EVs," he said.

Sawant had recently said that his government has proposed to make it mandatory that all new tourist vehicles are EVs from January next year.

He had also said that it will be mandatory for all government departments to purchase EVs from January 2024.

"The Government of India has taken multiple steps to decarbonize transport, including promoting the use of electric vehicles. The National Mission on Electric Mobility aims to improve charging infrastructure and develop a domestic manufacturing ecosystem," Sawant had said.

He had also said that it will be mandatory for permit holders having multiple tourist taxis, and rent-a-bike and rent-a-cab operators to retrofit 30 per cent of their fleet to EVs by June 2024.

The state government has formulated the Goa Electric Mobility Promotion Policy 2021, and EV Concessional Charging Infrastructure Policy 2021 to promote the EV ecosystem in Goa.
Rajkot : , Sep 7 (IANS) A collision between two motorcycles near Gujarat's Rajkot city claimed the lives of at least five individuals, police said on Thursday.

The accident occurred at Sardhar-Bhupgadh road on Wednesday night and according to preliminary findings by SI A.J. Parmar of the Ajidam police station, was caused by the reckless driving of one of the motor-cyclist.

The victims have been identified as follows: Dilip Bhuriya, 25, Arjun Meda, 18, Dinesh Rathod, 30, Devgan Makwana, 22, and Rajesh Rathod, 22 - all residents of Sajadiali village in Rajkot district.

The accident unfolded as Bhuriya, Meda, and Dinesh were on their way to Sardhar village on a motorcycle for grocery shopping, while Makwana and Rajesh were en route to Bhupgadh from Sardhar on their own two-wheeler.

The preliminary investigation suggests that Makwana's reckless driving led to the collision, and the situation was further exacerbated as Bhuriya's bike collided with an autorickshaw, and Makwana's motorcycle struck another vehicle.

The five victims were rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to their injuries, which included severe trauma to their heads and bodies.

The police have registered a case against Makwana for causing death by negligence.
Kolkata, Sep 7 : The legislative team of the BJP in West Bengal Assembly on Thursday vehemently opposed the announcement by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to hike in the salaries of all ministers and MLAs by a whopping Rs 40,000 a month.

After the hike, the monthly payment received by the legislators, including salary, allowances and perks, will now increase to Rs 1.21 lakh from the current Rs 81,000. Similarly, the monthly payment received by ministers, including salary, allowances and perks, will go up from the current Rs 1.10 lakh to Rs 1.50 lakh.

"We are against receiving this enhanced salary. Our legislative team has met Governor C.V. Ananda Bose and requested him not to give assent to the proposal for salary hike for ministers and MLAs that was passed on the floor of the House on Thursday," leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari said after coming out of the Raj Bhavan.

"We have been demanding 'equal pay for equal work' for the contractual state government employees. But that demand has constantly been ignored by the state government. We have also been demanding enhanced dearness allowance for the state government employees at par with their counterparts in the Central government. But the state government has repeatedly approached different courts to avoid that.

"So we are against this enhanced pay for ministers and MLAs. Rather, we want that money to be utilised for the welfare of the people of the state," Adhikari said.

This is not the first time that the Trinamool Congress-led regime has increased the financial perks for the ministers and MLAs.

As per the records of the state finance department, during 2010-11, the last year of the 34-year Left Front rule in West Bengal, the total expenditure of the state exchequer on account of salaries and other allowances to minister and legislators was little over Rs 4 crore. This amount had increased to Rs 52 crore by the end of the last financial year of 2022-23.

P.K. Mukhopadhyay, a professor of economics, said:"During the previous regime, the salaries etc. were abysmally low and even now they are quite low when compared to the other major states of the country. Probably such questions would not have been raised had there been at least some parity between the dearness allowances received by the state government employees and their counterparts in the Union government.

"It is not that the salaries and entitlements of ministers and legislators were hiked in the recent past. Significant time has passed since the last hike was implemented. But these questions were never raised before. There are surely reasons why these questions are being raised now."
Bengaluru, Sep 7 : It seems that the Karnataka BJP unit is bringing former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to the forefront yet again after getting him 'forcefully' resigned in 2021.

Speaking to reporters, Yediyurappa declared that a state-wide protest would be staged against the Congress government on Friday.

"The leader of the opposition would be elected earlier. We have not stopped work because of the absence of the leader of the opposition. There is no question of this Yediyurappa sitting at home. I will take up a state-wide tour soon," Yediyurappa explained.

The protest would be staged condemning the failures of the Congress government. The government is mired in corruption and neglected the development completely. The Congress leaders are hesitating to declare a drought situation, he charged.

The commission is sought for the works that are done during the tenure of the previous government. No funds are given to legislators. The false cases are lodged on BJP party workers and they are harassed, Yediyurappa stated.

"We are getting 15,000-20,000 people for the protest and the state government is directly responsible if there is a failure of the law and order system. I am giving a warning to the state government," he claimed.

Yediyurappa further maintained that, "we have to come together to build the party unitedly. No leaders who have joined BJP from Congress are quitting the party. I have spoken to all the legislators."

He also announced that he will ensure victory in 22 to 23 MP seats out of 28 in the state in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
New Delhi, Sep 7 : A doctor at the emergency ward of Safdarjung (SJ) Hospital in South Delhi was attacked by a patient, said a Delhi Police official, adding that an attempt to murder case has been registered and investigation has been initiated.

The incident occurred on Monday (September 4).

According to the FIR, the complainant is Dr Rahul Kalena (26), a third-year PG student in the Orthopaedic department at SJ Hospital.

"On September 4, my duty was scheduled from 9:00 a.m. at ER-3 Emergency SJ Hospital. At around 1:15 p.m., a patient who had come for treatment approached me and asked me to remove the cannula from his hand," said Dr Kalena in his complaint.

"I advised him to seek assistance from the nursing staff. In response, he verbally abused and assaulted me physically. He pulled out a screw driver from his pocket and struck me intentionally on my neck and abdomen leading to injuries. I also sustained injuries on two of my right-hand fingers during this incident," read the FIR.

However, during the altercation, one of Dr Kalena's colleagues, Dr Siddharth intervened and managed to rescue him.

"Meanwhile, the hospital security personnel apprehended the assailant and handed him over to the police. I have also got a Medical Legal Certificate (MLC) for my injuries. The individual, while obstructing me during my government duty, intentionally inflicted injuries on me with the intent to cause harm or even kill me," the FIR added.

A senior police official said that an FIR under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered at Safdarjung Enclave police station and further investigation is going on.
Imphal, Sep 7 : The Manipur Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has taken up a suo-moto case against the recent "forced shifting" of Kuki families from Imphal, reportedly by the state authorities, and issued a notice to the state government on this count.

Sources in the Commission said on Thursday that MHRC Chairperson Justice Utpalendu Bikas Saha and member K.K. Singh have directed to register a suo-moto case on the basis of a recent media report.

The MHRC has served notice to the Chief Secretary, Commissioner (Home), Director General of Police and Superintendent of Police of Imphal East district, directing them to submit a status report regarding the account detailed in the media report.

"The respondents shall submit the status report on or before October 3. The Commissioner (Home), government of Manipur, shall direct the DGP to protect the homes of the Kuki families, who have been reportedly forcibly shifted from the Imphal valley, till they resettle in Imphal either by their own or by the government of Manipur," the MHRC order said.

The media report said that in a swift post-midnight operation, "the Manipur government recently evacuated the last remaining Kuki families living in the heart of Imphal, who had displayed unwavering courage in the face of relentless threats and looming communal violence to defiantly cling on to their homes in the New Lambulane locality for the past four months".

Incidentally, earlier this week, Manipur BJP legislator Rajkumar Imo Singh had criticised Congress leader P. Chidambaram, saying the latter has failed to understand the core issues of the state.

Chidambaram, quoting the media report, had written on X (formerly Twitter): "... the last 5 Kuki families in Imphal were forcibly removed from their homes by the authorities. This means that ethnic cleansing is complete in the Imphal Valley that is dominated by the Meitei people.

"A state government presides over 'ethnic cleansing' and the Central government claims that the government of the state is being carried on in accordance with the Constitution. There can be nothing more shameful than this development. It marks a new low in India's descent into lawlessness."

Reacting to Chidambaram's comments, Imo Singh said that "one-sided representation can never solve any issue, and one should be brave enough to tell the real and full story and such statements from a seasoned politician from the Congress are certainly not appropriate to say the least".

The BJP MLA, who is the son-in-law of Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, had replied on X: "For your kind information, there are Kuki brothers still living in Imphal area, and many wanting to come back to their original places before the conflict broke out.

"There is no ethnic cleansing from the valley, if at all there is any ethnic cleansing it has been done in Moreh and Churachandpur. But government will ensure in due course of time that people can go back to their original places across the State."
Jaipur, Sep 7 : The Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) announced on Thursday that it will contest 30 seats across 18 districts in the Assembly elections in Rajasthan scheduled later this year.

The announcement was made by Dushyant Chautala, the Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana and founder of JJP, during his visit to Jaipur on Thursday.

Addressing a Kisan-Naujawan Sabha organised by JJP's Jaipur unit at Dastur Mahal, Chautala said that the party workers have become active in Rajasthan where membership drives are being carried out continuously.

aIf people of Rajasthan support us, 75 per cent reservation in jobs will be given to youth of the state in the private sector, just like in Haryana.Women will get 50 per cent share in Panchayati Raj institutions. Also, an easy system will be implemented for better crop purchase and payment process, good mandi system, proper compensation for crop damage to the farmers etc.," Chautala said.

The JJP leader also said that the situation has turned from bad to worse in Rajasthan under the rule of the Congress government.

"Corruption has smashed all records in every department. Rajasthan has also become number one in the country in terms of atrocities and violence against women. Even the ministers and MLAs of the Congress are leveling allegations of corruption against their own government.

"In such a situation, by becoming the voice of the distressed people of Rajasthan, JJP will not only contest 30 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections, it will also hold the key for any party to enter the state Assembly," Chautala said.

He also said that JJP will organise a big rally in Sikar on September 25 to mark the birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister of India late Chaudhary Devi Lal, in which a large number of party workers from each will participate.

In the 1989 Parliamentary elections, Devil Lal was simultaneously elected from Sikar and Rohtak in Haryana.
New Delhi : Security personnel inspect the area ahead of the G20 Summit. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Sep 7 : Special Commissioner of Police (law and order) Deependra Pathak on Thursday visited Singhu border and other areas to review the preparedness ahead of G20 Summit in the national capital.

Heavy police deployment and barricading have been done on Delhi borders including Singhu, Tikri, Ghaziabad and Noida.

The officials are also diligently monitoring city developments through a state-of-the-art control room, which utilises a network of 5,000 CCTV cameras strategically placed throughout the city.

According to the police, the control room receives district-wise visual feeds, and two security teams work in shifts to provide continuous, round-the-clock surveillance.

From Thursday midnight, non-essential vehicles will be directed to use the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways and other alternate routes from city borders.

"This restriction applies to Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), Medium Goods Vehicles (MGVs), and Light Goods Vehicles (LGVs), which will not be allowed to enter Delhi. However, goods vehicles transporting Essential Commodities like milk, vegetables, fruits, and medical supplies, with valid 'No Entry Permissions,' will have entry permission," as per traffic advisory.

Interstate buses, on the other hand, will be granted entry into Delhi.

"These buses will have designated termination points along the Ring Road. Buses already present in Delhi will operate on the Ring Road and the road network beyond the Ring Road, heading towards Delhi's borders. These buses will be allowed to exit Delhi," said the official.

Normal traffic, encompassing all types of commercial vehicles and buses already within Delhi, will be permitted on the Ring Road and roads beyond the Ring Road, leading to Delhi's borders.

"General traffic, excluding goods vehicles and buses, will be permitted to enter Delhi from the Rajokari Border. This traffic will be rerouted from NH-48 to Rao Tula Ram Marg  Olof Palme Marg. No vehicular movement will be allowed on NH-48 towards Dhaula Kuan," the police officer said.

"All categories of goods vehicles, commercial vehicles, interstate buses, as well as local city buses like Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses and Delhi Integrated Multi Modal Transit System (DIMTS) buses, will not be allowed to ply on Mathura Road (beyond Ashram Chowk), Bhairon Road, Purana Quila Road, and inside the Pragati Maidan Tunnel starting from midnight on

the night of September 7 until 11.59 p.m. on September 10," the official added.
Kochi, Sep 7 : A youth, designated a habitual criminal, was taken into custody from near Aluva here on Thursday evening after he was accused of raping the 8-year-old daughter of a migrant couple, Kerala Police said.

The gruesome crime occurred early on Thursday, when the young girl was taken from her home at Aluva by Crystal, a youth hailing from the state capital.

The rape incident came to light when the locals started search for the missing young girl. After a long, while in the middle of the night, the young girl was found at a nearby place .

The locals then took her to her house where she broke down and soon the police was alerted and began a hunt for the criminal. The police then got crucial CCTV visuals of the youth and after a massive combing operations, with the locals also joining in the search, located a youth hiding among the bushes under a bridge and took him into custody.

It later came to light that Crystal, who hails from the state capital district, was a habitual criminal and only last month, he was released on bail in another case. His mother said her son, at times, works as a mason and was leading a wayward life.

Meanwhile the young girl was hospitalised and a surgery was conducted on her. The Kerala government also swung into action and an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 was given besides an assistance of Rs 1 lakh was also announced.

State Health Minister Veena George said a medical team will be overseeing her treatment.
Paris : PM Modi being welcomed by President of the France Emmanuel Macron. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Sep 7 : French President Emmanuel Macron will arrive in New Delhi on September 9 for a two-day visit to attend the G20 summit, according to official sources.

The G20 summit under India's presidency is scheduled to take place between September 9-10.

Sources further said that Macron and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a bilateral meeting likely over lunch at the end of the G20 summit on September 10.

The two had met in July, during Modi's visit to France to attend the Bastille Day parade.

During his visit, Macron will have bilateral meetings with other world leaders, particularly with his Brazilian and Indonesian counterparts Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Joko Widodo, and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, according to the French Embassy in India.

Macron is likely to hold a press conference at the embassy prior to his departure from India. He will depart for Bangladesh on Sunday afternoon.

The French President, through the G20 summit, will continue his ongoing dialogue with his counterparts from every continent, official sources said.

--IANS

ans/vd
New Delhi, Sep 7 : A day after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat's remarks on reservation, the Congress on Thursday said that it was a direct attack on the soul of the Constitution, in which reservation has a very clear place.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, Congress leader Pawan Khera said: "This is an attack on the soul of the Constitution written by Baba Saheb Ambedkar, in which reservation has a very clear place. When this was challenged and told to him, he was forced to give this clarification today, but a conspiracy is going on in his mind and this conspiracy is not going on from today onwards. This conspiracy has been going on since the time the Constitution was being written."

Bhagwat in Maharashtra's Nagpur on Wednesday said that reservations should continue till discrimination exists in society.

Khera said: "All these things they started this week. This attack is on the architecture of the Constitution, this attack is on reservation, directly," he said, adding that they understood that the whole country is understanding what they are doing.

"You and I will not have to tell why this controversy of 'Bharat' and 'India' was created, why articles are being written. That the Constitution should be rewritten, why are questions being raised even on the basic structure of the Constitution by the intellectuals of the government," he said.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) member also said that "first of all who are they, why do they have to say something of their own everywhere?"

"First tell them to register their organisation. What is is this 'buy one, get one free'? Vote for BJP, you get Sangh for free. Why is this?" the Congress leader said.

Targeting the RSS, Khera further said that MS Golwalkar was the ideological ancestor of those who wanted to unite India.

"What was his role in the partition of India.? On this, we invite Bhagwat to come and have a debate, let's challenge him. Or discuss the role of his ideological ancestor BS Moonje in the partition of India. Or what was the role of their ideological and political ancestors, the Hindu Mahasabha?" he asked.

He said that after 1942, when they became part of the governments during the Quit India Movement, what was their role.

"Today 15-16 per cent Muslims in India cannot tolerate them, in united India they will be 45 per cent. Ask them, what will they do? So this is their old habit of speaking without thinking. Ram Madhav says something else on Akhand Bharat these days. So on the issue of Akhand Bharat, the RSS is divided. There is no united RSS in this, there are different views in the RSS also.

"The RSS is not known for ideas, it is known for propaganda," he added.

Khera was responding to a question regarding Bhagwat's statement on reservation.
New Delhi, Sep 7 : A total of 19 criminals/fugitives have been brought back to India so far this year, while figures stood at 27 and 18 in 2022 and 2021, respectively, informed Union minister Jitendra Singh after inaugurating the first International Day of Police Cooperation and the Investiture Ceremony at the CBI headquarters here on Thursday.

In the last approximately four years, over $1.8 billion worth of assets have been recovered from economic offenders and fugitives since the introduction of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018.

Additionally, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has aided in attaching assets worth more than $12 billion belonging to offenders since 2014, Singh informed.

On the occasion, the minister also presented police medals to 35 CBI officers for distinguished and meritorious service.

Singh said there has been a quantum jump in the extradition of criminals and fugitives in recent years, especially after India hosted the 90th Interpol General Assembly in Delhi in October last year, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

There is forward movement in areas like action-oriented high-level principles on three priority areas, namely, law enforcement cooperation through information sharing, strengthening asset recovery mechanisms, and enhancing the integrity and effectiveness of anti-corruption authorities, he said.

CBI Director Praveen Sood, while congratulating the medal winners, said that the event holds significant importance as it is being organised on the first-ever International Day for Police Cooperation.

Sood also pointed out that CBI has kept pace with the rapidly-evolving challenges of crime, changes in technologies, and global policing practices.

Singh presented the Presidentas Police Medal for Distinguished Service to G. Satyanarayana, ASI, ACB, Hyderabad (now retired), and Police Medal for Meritorious Service to 34 officers/officials.
Three including orphanage owner held in Kolkata for raping two minor inmates. Image Source: IANS News

Kolkata, Sep 7 : The Kolkata Police have arrested three persons, including the owner of a private orphanage in Haridebpur on the outskirts of the city, on charges of raping two minor inmates of the home for a prolonged period of time.

The orphanage has been sealed by the police after shifting its inmates to a nearby state-run home for orphans.

Police sources said that one of the two victims had contacted a non-governmental organisation (NGO), which had some links with the said private orphanage, and narrated how they were sexually exploited by the owner of the home and two of his associates.

The NGO's office-bearers then contacted the West Bengal Child Rights Commission, which in turn informed the police headquarters about the entire incident.

The police then conducted a surprise raid at the orphanage and arrested three persons, including its owner and two of his associates.

The matter has created ripples in the locality.

The local people said that the owner of the orphanage often boasted of his influential connections and was not on good terms with others staying in the locality.
Washington, Sep 7 : The two-day G20 Summit set to begin in New Delhi on September 9 is a great opportunity for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bolster his country's position as a global leader "burnishing his own diplomatic credentials" as he seeks a third term for his party in the general elections scheduled in 2024.

"New Delhi views the G20 Presidency as an opportunity to show that it has the capacity to serve as a bridge to the Global South; that it can show India's ability to manage relations with rival powers," Michael Kugelman, the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, told the TIME magazine in an interview.

TIME has run a special feature on the upcoming G20 Summit in Delhi when world leaders from the US, the UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, China, Russia, the Netherlands, Middle East and African countries will descend on the Indian capital for a brainstorm on how best to fight the scourge of terrorism, find ways for economies to get out of the recession and boost the world economic order to the benefit of the countries in the grouping.

The task is not an easy one amid rising tensions around the world, from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific.

Modi will be tested on his global leadership role as also his diplomatic skills -- he is one of the best PMs in his overseas foreign policy outreach -- to ensure the summit concludes with a unanimous decision to produce a joint communique or a leaders' declaration on a new world economic order based on a rules based trading and a fair share for all.

Representatives of the world's largest nations such as US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Bin Salman, and Japan's Fumio Kishida will be descending on New Delhi for this weekend's G20 Leaders' Summit.

The inter-governmental forum founded in 1999 to band financial ministers from 19 nations and add the European Union to address issues related to the global economy on an annual basis has brought world leaders closer since 2008, making the summit as one of the most high-profile summits and one of the most significant assemblies on geo-politics, which is mostly troubled by the aggressive posture of China on the South China Seas and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of its breakaway states from the erstwhile Soviet Union.

The big issues that will come up for a discussion among the world leaders and seek a speedy resolution could be among the following, reports said.

Chinese President Xi Jingping's unexpected absence and China-India tensions could be one of the biggest issues that could come up. While Xi he met Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit at Johannesburg that added six more countries to its list, he decided to skip the Delhi meet and instead has deputed his PM to attend it.

Even Russia is sending its Prime Minister. President Vladimir Putin, who obviously wants to avoid embarrassment on calls to end the Ukraine conflict, is giving the meeting a go by. He had skipped the Bali meeting last year as well.

While world leaders, as many as over 20, are going to be in attendance, Delhi's G20 Summit will be characterised by the defined absence of Xi Jinping. He is skipping the meeting for the first time since 2012 when he came to power. Beijing had disclosed on Monday that the Chinese delegation would instead be led by the country's premier, Li Qiang.

Foreign media speculation on the reasons for Xi Jinping's decision to absent himself and instead send a lower hierarchical PM, is coming at the apex of a domestic turmoil for leadership within the politburo in China.

Unemployment is at its peak in China while the elderly population is in demand to retain social security, the real estate sector has crashed, and the general economy of the country is in a serious crisis facing a dramatic slowdown, said Nikkei Asia.

Chinese leaders have been replaced amid scandals or for mysterious reasons. Nikkei Asia reported on Tuesday that Chinese Communist Party elders chided Xi over the country's declining state of affairs during a party retreat earlier this summer. It could also simply be a matter of diplomatic strategy or messaging.

Some political analysts have interpreted Xi's decision not to attend the summit as evidencing his preference for a fora where Beijing has a more dominant role (such as the emerging economies grouping BRICS or the Shanghai Cooperation Organization); others have pointed to the deteriorating relations between China and the summit's host, India.

Even as the two most populous countries in the world have nurtured economic and cultural ties in the past, the India-China relationship is now under strain by India's increasing engagement with the US as an important ally and being a member of the Quad, foreign political observers feel.

Sino-Indian relations and long standing border disputes have come to a head with China releasing last week a new map depicting India's Arunachal Pradesh state and the disputed Aksai Chin region within China's jurisdiction. New Delhi's vociferous protest was met with a muted response by China's foreign office spokesman saying "stay calm".

Xi's absence at the G20 summit will also be a missed opportunity for the Chinese leader and US President Joe Biden to speak face-to-face, US media reports claimed.

The US and China are already divided over trade disputes, Taiwan, and the spy balloon incident earlier this year, among other issues. Biden had said earlier this week that he was "disappointed" by Xi's decision, but he vowed he would "get to see" his Chinese counterpart eventually.

Putin's expected absence amid the war in Ukraine is another issue for G20. While the Kremlin cited Putin's "busy schedule" as the reason for this year's absence, the Russian President has opted out of virtually every multilateral gathering since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, US media reports said.

Though Putin is not attending, PM Sergei Lavron will oppose any declaration that will not reflect Russia's position on the Ukraine war.

India itself has so far refused to directly condemn the Russian invasion, which analysts believe hinges upon diplomatic ties that date back to the Cold War. Russia since then PM Indira Gandhi's days has been a trusted ally of India and the country relies on Russian weapons and Russian oil. But this position is changing with the Modi government, political analysts said.

"The Indian government realises that India's future doesn't lie with Russia. And that the West and the US -- technology, weapon systems, economy -- are the need of the hour," said Sinderpal Singh, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, who has studied India's foreign policy.

"But India cannot abandon ships for a range of reasons at this point in time."

G20 member-states represent more than 80 per cent of the world's total economic output, 60 per cent of the Earth's population, and 75 per cent of global trade. But the group has long been criticised for failing to address problems that disproportionately plague developing countries, like debt, food security, and climate change.

"Our effort will be that there should not be any First World or Third World in the world, but only one world," Modi had said last November at the unveiling of the 2023 G20 Summit logo and theme - 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', or 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'.

India pledged to use its presidency of the G20 to prioritise addressing the climate crisis, particularly climate finance, the development of green technologies, and a just energy transition. Also on its agenda are gender empowerment, inclusive economic growth, and the digital public infrastructure development.
New Delhi, Sep 7: India is hosting the G20 summit for the first time. From a global perspective, it can mark a historic turning point for the G20, and India can lead an inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented and decisive G20.

Apart from this, the G20 meeting being held in India is also important for the world because this meeting is going to be held at a time when international politics is witnessing landmark shifts. Russia and the US are locking horns over Ukraine and China and the US are similarly at odds over Taiwan. Along with the African Union, the whole world is keenly transfixed over this world gathering.

In the midst of all this, a fierce targeted propaganda is being spread on social media by users linked to Pakistan and Khalistani elements to discredit Indiaas presidency. They are peddling fake news, utter lies and disinformation about G-20, Kashmir and Punjab-Khalistan. In this lie, from retired senior officers of the Pakistan Army to media institutions are involved. This report has been based on the findings of Delhi-based portal www.dfrac.org lays bare the nexus of Khalistan supporters and social media users of Pakistan and exposes how and what toxicity they are introducing in the social media.

Khalistani's Twitter storm against G-20

Recently, slogans in support of Khalistan were written at many metro stations in New Delhi. The slogans written by extremist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) claimed that Delhi will soon become Khalistan. A video of SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu with this slogan is going viral on social media. In this video, Gurpatwant Singh Pannu is seen threatening India and also warns G-20 countries.

This video of Gurpatwant Singh Pannu has been captioned a" "#G20India2023 #Khalistan RPG attack on Delhi Metro stations a" "The fight for #G20 continues till 9/11 a" SFJ". Along with this, a message has also been written on the letterhead of SFJ.

Several bot accounts have been created to share the post of Sikhs for Justice. Thousands of copy-paste tweets were shared in a short span of time sharing SFJas post and hashtag.

Copy paste pattern of pro-Khalistan poster

The users who shared this poster of SFJ and the video of Gurpatwant Singh were copy-pasting the same caption. Not only were posts being posted by these users, but they were also being retweeted. About 400 to 500 tweets have been done by each user. There are some users who have tweeted more than 1,000.

It seemed that these users wanted to trend the hashtag through maximum tweets and retweets.

It has been observed that whenever any propaganda of Khalistani supporters is run on social media, massive bot accounts are created to share pro-Khalistan hashtags and posts.

Earlier this year, over 300 accounts were created to circulate videos of SFJ chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannu ahead of PM Narendra Modi's visit to Australia in February-April 2023.

On the other hand more than 100 new accounts were created to share hashtags like #G20IgnoringHRViolationsInIIOJK, #G20_Boycott_Meeting_in_IIOJK.

SFJ terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu's threat to India on G-20

Accounts created to increase Khalistani propaganda have shared Gurpatwant Singh Pannu's video as well as his audio message.

In the audio clip, he is threatening India.

In the audio, Pannu is provoking Kashmiri Muslims and asking them to leave the Kashmir valley and reach Delhi to block the capital in the midst of the G-20 summit.

Not only this, Pannu is also threatening to march to Pragati Maidan after Friday prayers.

These tweets openly threaten that the SFJ will hoist the Khalistani flag at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

At the same time, an appeal has also been made in these posts to release Pritpal Kaka, otherwise be ready for "action" on G-20.

Pakistani officials and users in support of Khalistan:

Shafaat Shah (@INFANTRY28)

There is a user named Shafaat Shah (@INFANTRY28) on Twitter. He has 32.2K followers on Twitter. He has made 37.8K tweets. He has stated his location as Lahore-Pakistan. According to his bio, he is a retired Lieutenant General of Pakistan. He has been Military Secretary (MS) to the President of Pakistan and Pakistanas Ambassador to Jordan.

Shafaat Shah's tweet on G-20

Shafaat Shah has tweeted a lot on G-20 being held in India. In a tweet, he wrote- "It seems to be a deliberate move by China to bind India in two equally bad choices a" to end its pride or end the G20 summit. At least the G-20 summit will be held in splits."

Shafaat Shah's tweet in support of Khalistan

Shafaat Shah keeps tweeting in support of Khalistan. On many occasions, he has supported the demand of Khalistan and addressed Khalistanis as freedom fighters. He wrote in a tweet: "The Sikhs fighting for a separate motherland, Khalistan, are not terrorists but freedom fighters and they are the majority among the 24 million Sikhs living in India and all the 3 million Sikhs living abroad. The results of the referendum largely reflect this. For how long will BJP/RSS deceive the world by calling the freedom struggle in Jammu-Kashmir, Khalistan, Nagaland, Northern States as terrorism?"

In a tweet, Shafaat Shah writes that "Pakistan can open an embassy for Khalistan".

In a tweet, Shafaat wrote "Khalistan is a reality and a matter of time. Even if Amritpal Singh is arrested, many such leaders will come forward. The fascist regime of BJP/RSS will not be able to suppress this freedom movement like in Jammu and Kashmir, because Sikhs all over the world support separation from India and keep the struggle burning.

"Even today, referendums are going on in the QUAD of India and Australia."

Shafaat Shahas fake news in support of Khalistan

Fake News-1

Shafaat Shah has also spread fake news many times to support Khalistan. He claimed in a tweet that during the farmers' protest in 2021, the Khalistan flag was hoisted on the Red Fort of India.

Fact Check

According to media reports, the flag that was hoisted on the Red Fort was not the flag of Khalistan, but the flag of the holy Nishan Sahib of Sikhism. Nishan Sahib is considered the sacred flag of the Khalsa Panth, which is found in all the Gurdwaras of the country, besides it is also the sacred flag of the Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army.

Fake News-2

Shafaat Shah claimed that posters in support of Khalistan were put up at Times Square in New York. Posting a photo, he wrote "Khalistan movement's banner at the most visited site of New Yorkas Times Square".

Fact Check:

The investigation of the photo revealed that this photo of New York's Time Square has been edited and a Khalistan poster has been placed on it. In the original photo there is a poster of HSBC Bank.

Usman Mughal (@Usman_Moghal)

A user named Usman Mughal has 1 lakh 61 thousand followers on Twitter. Usman has claimed in a tweet written in Urdu that "After China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Russia has also refused to participate in the G-20 conference to be held in India. Pakistan's foreign policy is working."

Fact Check:

Usman Mughal's claim is fake. No G-20 member country has refused to participate in the G-20 summit to be held in India. From the Chinese side, Prime Minister Li Qiang, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and heads of states of various countries will participate.

Singh-M (@reach2msingh)

There is a user named Singh-M on Twitter. This user has put the Indian tricolour in his profile photo and has written 'India' in the location. This user has spread fake and misleading information about the member countries joining G-20.

This user claimed in a post that China, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia will not attend the G-20 meeting to be held in India.

This user has since made similar claims about Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey in separate tweets.

Fact Check:

According to media reports, Prime Minister Li Qiang will attend the G-20 organised in India from the Chinese side. Apart from this, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will come to India. On the other hand, it is being claimed about Egypt that it too will not join the G-20, but the fact is that Egypt is not a part of the G-20 countries at all.

Foreign organisations involved in protest against G-20 held in India

IAMC's anti-G20 campaign

The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) has been actively promoting the agenda ahead of the G20 summit in India. IAMC tweeted about US President Joe Biden's visit to India for the summit on August 24, saying- "Minority oppression is skyrocketing in the country".

Indian American Muslim Council also organised a zoom meeting where they talk about organizing a session on the following points:

1-Dangers of India hosting G-20 summit

2-The abuses that took place after Modias visit to America

2-The ongoing political implications of US support for the Indian government

4-How to Get Involved and Take Action in America

It was found that after @IAMCuncil's tweet on the webinar session, many US handles have tweeted to invite and register more and more people for the session organized by @IAMCouncil. Those who shared @IAMCuncil's tweet included Suchitra Vijayan (author and founder of Police Project and Watch the State), Arun Sethi (American civil and political rights author, human rights lawyer), Hindu American Foundation, Muslims for Just Futures, Deepa Iyer (South Asian American writer, lawyer, and activist).

It was seen that the Indian American Muslim Council started doing anti-India propaganda as soon as India got the hosting of G-20. Even when the news of G-20 tourist group meeting in Kashmir broke, @IAMCouncil started its agenda and started tweeting against the meeting in Kashmir.

@IAMCuncil's posts on the G20 attracted massive attention as the account has over 1,78,000 followers on Twitter.

The New Democratic Party's anti-G-20 campaign:

The Canadian political party "The New Democratic Party" (NDP) has called for a boycott of the G-20 on Kashmir and India. A search of the official website of the NDP reveals a registration page urging Justin Trudeau to stand up against minorities in India and boycott the G-20.

In the form, the NDP wrote, "Jagmeet Singh and the NDP are calling on Justin Trudeau and the Liberal government to: Boycott any G-20 event held in Chandigarh and Kashmir banning entry of BJP officials from India who have made threats against minorities and elected officials in Canada, and ensuring the safety of Canadians abroad."

One text read a" "Stand with Jagmeet Singh and tell Justin Trudeau and the Liberals: Canada must take a strong stand on human rights violations in India."

It was found that after NDP's appeal to boycott G20, several Pakistani news media outlets published articles on it. They include some big names like The Siasat Daily, The Nation, Pakistan Observer, and Associated Press of Pakistan.

On the other hand, the NDPas appeal was promoted on Twitter by the Indian American Muslim Council (@IAMCuncil) and Pakistanas Dunya News. After which the Pakistani Twitter army took the lead and shared this news fiercely.

On March 21, 2023, Khalistani organisation, World Sikh Organisation (WSO) wrote a letter to support the NDP's call to boycott G-20 events in India.

WSO President Tajinder Singh Sidhu mentioned in the letter that the Indian government lacks the credibility and moral authority to chair the G-20 and host the G-20 countries.
Chennai, Sep 7 : The Tamil Nadu Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) and state Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi on Thursday requested Madras High Court judge Anand Venkatesh to rescue himself from hearing a suo moto revision petition taken up by him against the acquittal of the minister and his family members in a disproportionate assets case.

The petition was filed before Justice Venkatesh on Thursday by senior Supreme Court counsel Siddharth Luthra representing DVAC and advocate N.R. Elango representing the minister.

The advocates told Justice Venkatesh that it would be appropriate for some other judge to hear the suo moto revision petition as the judge has already made strong observations in the order passed by him on August 10.

Luthra in his submission said that the court had taken up the suo moto revision petition even before the expiry of the period within which the DVAC could file an appeal challenging the acquittal.

Justice Venkatesh interjected and asked whether the DVAC was moving an appeal to which Luthra replied that the DVAC was processing and examining it.

The counsel for the Ponmudi said that his client was not party to the high court administration transferring the case from Villupram to Vellore. He also said that unless he was served with the copies of the materials which culminated in the transfer of the case from one district to another, he would not be in a position to speak about it.

Advocate Elango also placed a request for listing the suo motu revision petition before some other judge of the Madras High Court.

Justice Venkatesh had taken up the suo motu case on August 10 after finding that the high court had transferred the trial from one district to another by way of administrative orders even though such orders could be made only through judicial orders.

a"IANS

aal/arm
Itanagar, Sep 7 : Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said on Thursday that China is proposing to construct a 60,000 MW dam over Siang River in Tibet just before it enters India (Arunachal), asserting that both the Centre and the state government are privy to the development and the possible threat arising out of it.

China's proposed dam construction and its possible threat were also discussed in the Arunachal Assembly on Wednesday.

Addressing the opening day function of the three-day Banggo Solung celebrations at Mebo in East Siang district, the Chief Minister said that while the Central government is responding to the development at its level, the concern of the state government is to save Siang River at all cost and also to keep its flow under control.

It is to mentioned here that the Tsangpo River flows through Tibet before entering Arunachal Pradesh where it is called the Siang River. It becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam and the Jamuna in Bangladesh before it empties into the Bay of Bengal.

"History is witness that we cannot trust our 'neighbour'. You never know what they can do. They can either divert the entire river flow, drying up our Siang, or release water at once causing unprecedented flood havoc downstream," he said.

The Chief Minister said that the only solution to these threats is to construct a barrage on the Siang River by India.

"While this barrage will save water from the tributaries within Arunachal Pradesh to maintain the natural flow of the Siang River, it will also protect our land from flash floods. Hydropower generation is our secondary objective," he said.

Khandu, however, passed the onus on the local Adi society whether to build the barrage.

He said that 30-40 years down the line, people shouldn't blame the leadership for not doing anything while China was building the mega dam.

Meanwhile, hailing the Adis for taking pride in their rich culture, Khandu reiterated his stand for passing on the heritage to the next generation without dilution.

He urged the elders to encourage the young ones to participate in traditional practices and learn to speak their native languages.

"Without our identity, we will be lost in the vast majority of people who have long lost their indigeneity," Khandu added.

Acknowledging the recurring land erosion by Siang River every monsoon in the Mebo area of East Siang district as a major cause of concern, the Chief Minister said that construction of a barrage on the river is the only viable option to tame its course and flow.

Khandu counted the massive losses caused by flooding waters of Siang River along the left bank in the plains of Mebo area.

"A couple of years ago, the all-important Mebo-Dhola road was breached. We constructed an alternate road, which too was eroded the next year. We then spent about Rs 35 crore through the Department of Water Resources to construct flood protection structures.

"But these too got eroded. The famous Daying Ering Wildlife Sanctuary on the right bank is also shrinking due to soil erosion. We need to find a long-term solution to the problem," he said.

Khandu admitted that safeguarding a 23-km long bank is not an easy task, but the governments, both at the state and Centre, are committed to make life easy for the 10-plus villages that bear the brunt of Siang River every monsoon.

He also informed that the Central government has asked the state government to submit a comprehensive plan for the protection of both left and right banks as a single project.
Bengaluru, Sep 8 : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday questioned officials as to why no charge sheet has been registered against the accused in caste atrocity cases even after 120 days, warning that action would be taken against the SPs and DCPs.

Chairing the state-level Vigilance and in-charge Committee meeting at the Conference Hall of the Vidhana Soudha, he presented the figures, and questioned the officials.

Out of the 10,893 cases registered in the last five years, 1,100 cases have not been charged within 120 days, he said, noting that this shows the indifference of the officers towards Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and will not give justice to the victims.

Siddaramaiah warned that this would not be tolerated.

"If a charge sheet is not filed within 90 days under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC) and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act within 60 days, the accused can get bail easily," he said, asking if those who get bail easily will have fear of law.

"There is an opinion that Karnataka Police is number one in the country. But under the Prevention of Atrocities Act, the rate of punishment is 3.44 per cent only. Does this mean that the Police department has been negligent regarding the SC/ST atrocities cases in the last five years? Our government will not tolerate this," the Chief Minister said.

He warned that SP and DCPs will be made directly responsible and action will be taken for the delay and he also directed the DGP to take action against the investigators of the cases.

A review meeting should be held every month regarding the progress of investigation of these cases, he added.

The CM said that a circular will be issued to all MLAs, and district in-charge ministers to review the progress of atrocity cases in KDP meetings. Another circular will be issued that the District Commissioners must conduct a meeting and review the progress.
Washington, Sep 8 : Chinese President Xi Jinping is "snubbing US and India" and western powers supporting them by skipping the G20 Summit in New Delhi being attended by more than 20 global leaders, including UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, by sending his Prime Minister Li Qiang instead.

A section of the US media said even as New Delhi was on a 24/7 domestic coverage of the upcoming summit in New Delhi, the attention Xi was grabbing both in India and overseas around the world was quite large as he was skipping it for the first time in his presidency. His absence offers a new perspective on the relationship between the two biggest countries on earth, the report said.

Xi is minded not to attend, according to several anonymous sources cited by several Western media houses. An unnamed Brussels diplomat was reported to have revealed that he was not attending and would send Prime Minister Qiang in his place, which is now confirmed as is Russian President Vladamir Putin giving the go by due to domestic pressing engagements and sending his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Xi met Modi in Johannesburg on August 23 on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. Xi is minded not to attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi, according to several anonymous sources cited by several Western media houses, the noted US weekly Newsweek said in a special report on G20.

As G20 gets underway on September 9, New Delhi is taking the vent very seriously. Offices and colleges are being closed and security measures are being heightened as more than 23 leading hotels will host over 25 global leaders during the event. Most people anywhere near the venue, Bharat Mandapam, will face challenges moving around as global leaders arrive, a section of the US media said.

While leaks about preparations, some more revealing than others, circulate, it can mean only one thing: that Indian security officials had asked various nations to reduce their motorcades, meaning we can be fairly sure of who is attending, reports said.

"I hope he (Xi Jinping) attends," US President Joe Biden said on Thursday in Washington, D.C.

US government officials are playing down the chances of a Xi-Biden meeting in New Delhi, suggesting it would be more likely at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in San Francisco in November, the Newsweek said, quoting agency reports.

The G20 consists of 19 nations and the European Union, which meets annually, and the presidency rotates each year, with 2023 being India's moment. The first -- and last -- time China hosted the event was in 2016, in the city of Hangzhou, in eastern Zhejiang province.

The first G20 was held in Washington in 2008. The G20 is a body of developed and developing nations that addresses major global economic issues, and brings developing countries into the debate on political and economic issues leading up to an organised global geopolitical and economic order.

Sino-Indian relations worsened as China published a new map of its territory, in which it lay claim to lots of its neighbours' land, including Arunachal Pradesh, over which China and India have feuded over, and Aksai Chin, that China controls, but India still claims.

New Delhi did not see that augur well coming as it did in the run-up to the summit as it seemed a deliberate attempt to cause tensions. While India protested vehemently, China had nothing to say, except to state "remain calm".

Even as India issued China with a "strong protest" over the land grab map, Western powers see the summit as an opportunity to lobby India and China over issues such as Ukraine, climate change and food security. India sees its presidency of the summit as its cherished goal of its lead country status in the Global South, reports said.

The Indian media, US papers and magazines said, have been asking why Xi would opt out of this G20 meeting, when he had previously attended every G20 meet in-person since becoming China's leader in 2012. Of course in Rome in 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic prevented any in-person meeting.

"A decision not to travel to Delhi would be significant, especially given that he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met just a week ago on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in South Africa," the Indian media observed, Newsweek said.

The Global South leadership is something the West needs to pay more attention to, given these "will-he-won't-he" moments. Both India and China are fiercely competitive, and Beijing considers the optics of a trip to Delhi to meet world leaders in Modi's backyard a step too far, given Modi's knack for theatrics and "56-inch chest" hugs, the report noted.

Xi is clear in his mind in sending the West a message. The BRICS -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- and ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) -- groups and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation are the forums where he wants to focus China's attention, going forward.

Xi travelled to South Africa for the BRICS summit on August 22 where he met Modi on the sidelines in what was described as a convivial and useful exchange.

Sana Hashmi of the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation told Newsweek: "Xi's probable decision to cancel his G20 summit visit appears to be driven by concerns of potential snubbing within what he perceives as an anti-China coalition (The Quad -- the US, Australia, India and Japan) supported by Western nations. This decision is also influenced by India and several Southeast Asian countries rejecting the map.

"This cancellation highlights a discrepancy between China's rhetoric and actions. While China has emphasised the significance of multilateral summits, especially with Global South countries, Xi's absence suggests otherwise. It suggests that he may not view the G20 as an impartial and multilateral forum, where he's willing to work for collective good, instead prioritising bilateral differences," Hashmi was quoted as saying.

As Chinese PM Qiang replaces Xi at the summit, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "At the invitation of President Joko Widodo of Indonesia, the current ASEAN chair, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will attend the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, from September 5 to 8, and pay an official visit to Indonesia."

Of course, he can still make it to New Delhi by September 9, reports said.
This collection investigates the world of nineteenth-century Quaker women, bringing to light the issues and challenges Quaker women experienced and the dynamic ways in which they were active agents of social change, cultural contestation, and gender transgression in the nineteenth century.

New research illuminates the complexities of Quaker testimonies of equality, slavery, and peace and how they were informed by questions of gender, race, ethnicity, and culture. The essays in this volume challenge the view that Quaker women were always treated equally with men and that people of color were welcomed into white Quaker activities. The contributors explore how diverse groups of Quaker women navigated the intersection of their theological positions and social conventions, asking how they challenged and supported traditional ideals of gender, race, and class. In doing so, this volume highlights the complexity of nineteenth-century Quakerism and the ways Quaker women put their faith to both expansive and limiting ends.

Reaching beyond existing national studies focused solely on white American or British Quaker women, this interdisciplinary volume presents the most current research, providing a necessary and foundational resource for scholars, libraries, and universities.

In addition to the editors, the contributors to this volume include Joan Allen, Richard C. Allen, Stephen W. Angell, Jennifer M. Buck, Nancy Jiwon Cho, Isabelle Cosgrave, Thomas D. Hamm, Julie L. Holcomb, Anna Vaughan Kett, Emma Lapsansky-Werner, Linda Palfreeman, Hannah Rumball, and Janet Scott.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 7. European financial institutions are interested in participating in the Green Energy Corridor project supported by the European Commission, which is aimed at transporting renewable energy from Azerbaijan to Europe, Trend reports.

The issue was discussed at the meeting between Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov and a delegation headed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) First Vice President Jurgen Rigterink.

The sides discussed the implementation of the 240 MW Khizi-Absheron Wind Power Plant (WPP) and the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.

The multilateral cooperation with the bank in the energy sector was highly appreciated at the meeting, and the possibilities of expanding Azerbaijan-EBRD cooperation as well as projects implemented with the financial support of the bank were discussed.

The parties also discussed the progress of the processes related to the auctions for renewable energy in the framework of EBRD projects and the preparation of the draft law "On the regulator in the fields of energy, housing, and communal services".

In addition, the approval of the regulation "Selection of an electricity producer in the territory of renewable energy sources" was discussed. The studies conducted to strengthen the electric power network in connection with the implementation of renewable energy capacities in Azerbaijan were also discussed.

The prospects of cooperation with the EBRD in the Southern Gas Corridor expansion project, as well as other issues arising from the Memorandum of Understanding on Technical Support for the Development of the Electric Power Sector of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed in December last year, were discussed.

The loan portfolio of EBRD projects in Azerbaijan as of July 31, 2023, amounted to 787 million euros. The EBRD is the largest investor in Azerbaijan, where it has been operating since 1992. It is expected that over the next three years, the portfolio of investment projects will amount to $750 million. The bank plans to spend $300 million in a number of industries in 2023, including energy, transport, the private sector, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the banking industry.
Pioneering author and illustrator Aliki Brandenberg (known simply as Aliki) is turning 94 this week. She has written more than 100 books for children in a career that spans six decades. Geisel Honoree Stephen Savage is the author and illustrator of 15 books for children, including last years Moonlight. Savage credits Alikis 1969 picture book My Visit to the Dinosaurs with helping foster a lifelong love of art and books. Recently, the two authors sat down in Alikis Manhattan apartment for a conversation about books, illustration, and the life of a creative.

Stephen Savage: Did you always want to be an artist?

Aliki: I was born with a pencil in my hand!

Savage: What accounts for your artistic versatility?

Aliki: I started doing books about people and things that interested me. Im from Philadelphia, so I chose to do a book about William Penn. Ive always been interested in science, so after finding a fossil in Greece, I began studying dinosaurs. And one thing led to the other.

Savage: You created your first book, The Story of William Tell, in 1960. Why that story?

Aliki: When my husband, Franz, and I were first married, we were living in Berne, Switzerland, and the story was all around me. Then a friend, who worked for the London publisher Faber and Faber, came to visit us. He brought us the most wonderful book, How Saint Francis Tamed the Wolf. It was so simple and beautiful and inspiring. At the time, most nonfiction books had to be boring or they werent good. [laughs]

Later that year, we returned to the U.S. where there was a boom in childrens books and my career took off.

Savage: What book came next?

Aliki: It was The Wish Workers in 1962. Then my brother-in-law, who was a brain surgeon, suggested I do a book on George Washington Carver. I just fell in love with the story and where he came from, and what he did with his life. It was so inspiring. Its one of my favorite books because the message is universal. You dont have to be black or white or pink!

Savage: Around that time, you created The Story of Johnny Appleseed, a book I adore. I love the forest spread where the animals gather around Johnny.

Aliki: People love that period of mine. But I couldnt hold on to it. Years later, those books were called mid-century.

Ive always let the subject dictate the style. Certainly, with nonfiction. When I did My Visit to the Aquarium, I went to 11 aquariums. I had a stack of books to make sure the right fish was in the right tank. If I wanted to illustrate a fish, it had to be a particular fish. It had to be right.

Savage: Your books Feelings and Manners were pioneering. How did these books come about?

Aliki: They were inspired by my daughter, Alexa, who had big emotions growing up. Its funnypeople are so afraid to talk about their feelings.

Susan Hirschman [at Greenwillow Books] was the editor. She was a quick decider. She was born for that job. She would look at something and know that she wanted it or didnt want it. She liked it or she didnt. I said, Susan, I dont know how to illustrate this book, because what was I going to do? Just put happy faces and sad faces on the characters? And she responded, Well, the pictures dont have to be so big. So I thought, Yes! Each one is a story! And then came Manners and Communication. I call it my trilogy!

Savage: I love the tiny drawings in those books.

Aliki: Well, I grew up with comic books like Prince Valiant. And Jason, my son, who was little at the time, loved the books of Richard Scarry. He loved looking at all the little things. It just worked.

Savage: What have you enjoyed most about your career, aside from the actual bookmaking?

Aliki: Visiting kids and teachers. When I began a career in books, I didnt know about school visits and how wonderful they could be. I just started illustrating. I wasnt thinking of glory or anything.

You know, I really dont feel the way you do about my own books. I love that you see what you see.

Savage: Oh yes! Im an Aliki fan a super fan. But like you, I dont get all that much enjoyment from my own work either. Aliki, we havent spent all that much time together, but I feel we are kindred spirits!

Aliki: I just love our relationship. I cant believe you knew my work when you were a little boy.

Savage: You mean before my hair turned gray? Yes, you know Im an Aliki fan because Ive been carrying My Visit to the Dinosaurs around for 50 years. From one apartment to another. I cant even find the pair of socks I had on yesterday.

Aliki: Why is it so important to you?

Savage: Ill tell you why

Aliki: You like dinosaurs, right?

Savage: Its more than that. I chose your book because the hand of the creator was right there on the page. It wasnt a personality-less science book. The viewpoint was personal and warm. And the artwork itself wasnt perfect. Child-like is not the right word. It was accessible to me. So much so that I copied your illustrations. I thought, I can draw like this, too.

You also had only one name. Superstars always have only one name.

You managed to stay incredibly productive and also raise children and stay married for over 60 years. How did you balance career and family?

Aliki: I had an awesome husband.

Savage: So sorry to hear that he passed away recently.

Aliki: Yes, Franz did a lot of the things around the house. You know, they talk about Mr. Pelosi. Yeah, Franz was more. He did the shopping. He took the kids to the playground. He planned the trips. He chopped the vegetables. He was my sous chef. And I was so grateful. But on the other hand, I couldnt leave my desk. Its not something that you can, you know, just add a couple of colors and then peel the onions. You have to stay with it, and he respected it. And he found his own pleasure. Then he started writing his own books.

I have a niece who recently said, Franz was always standing in back of you. And I thought, That says it exactly.

We had a wonderful life together. And now I cant hear the music that I love so much. But you just have to say thank goodness I had it. Im so grateful for what we had.

Savage: What part of the writing process do you enjoy?

Aliki: I love editing. But its very hard to take away all the words that are unnecessary. I hope youre planning to edit me here!

Savage: Ha! And I agree: less is more when it comes to the words.

Aliki: And your books read beautifully. They glide! We need more of them!

Savage: So nice of you to say that. I guess Im always just trying to pare down, pare down. Simplify, simplify.

Aliki: Its amazing to discover how many words we dont need to write a sentence. I find that exciting and challenging.

Savage: Important, too, to figure out whether the words or the pictures should do the heavy lifting on a spread. Never together at the same time.

Aliki: Yes. The last thing we want to illustrate is something thats written down, right?

Savage: Are you working on something now?

Aliki: Im not sure its a childrens book, but its about inspiration, because everything rests on inspiration. And determination.

Savage: Its amazing and inspiring to hear that you go into your studio every day.

Aliki: YesIm busy at my desk, after a little break. I found my happy place. Finally, again.
Vancouver, B.C.based independent publisher Greystone Books and news media organization Postmedia are responding to ongoing Canada wildfires with a November book, The Summer Canada Burned: A Wildfire Season That Shocked the World ($34.95 CAD/$27.95 USD). Monica Zurowski, deputy editor at Postmedia Calgary, is in the process of compiling and editing journalism from Postmedia newsrooms across the country to create a chronological account of the crisis, illustrated with 100 photos from coverage.

Manitoba-based, employee-owned Friesens Corporation is on deck to print The Summer Canada Burned. Greystone is distributed in the U.S. by Publishers Group West and in Canada by University of Toronto Press Distribution.

The speed at which Greystone and Postmedia planned the book speaks to the urgency of the situation. I reached out to Greystone in August, and it really has been a matter of pulling all this together in five or six weeks as of right now, Zurowski said. The term instant book might leave people with the impression its turned around quickly, but were using months worth of research from our Canadian news outlets.

Greystone publisher Jen Gauthier said that the house is "moving very quickly" to get the information into print. The Summer Canada Burned will touch on the communities, the human impact, and the climate change issues related to the fires, she added. The eyes of the world are on Canada and whats happening, and were looking at the lessons we can learn from this summer.

Fires erupted in British Columbia and Alberta in late April, and by May, an immense fire season was under way. Orange smoke blanketed the U.S. eastern seaboard in early June, and all of North America reckoned with air quality health advisories, event cancellations, habitat loss, and other calamities. The longer the summer went on, the more I realized this is an important story to tell, Zurowski said. It cant just be about Alberta or B.C. or Quebec, because these wildfires have impacted the rest of the world. Its a case study for what can happen with climate change.

Zurowski emphasizes that this story is still going on. As of the third week in August, Zurowski said, Canada had lost 15.3 million hectaresor 37.8 million acresof forested land, and we still have September and all of October to go. Winter may not extinguish the blazes, because so-called zombie fires can smolder in undergrowth for months before re-emerging.

This year is the worst year on record for Canadian wildfires, Gauthier agreed. A lot of the time you hear about the fires, but the winds are blowing the other way and youre not forced to confront it. But when the smoke comes down and you realize the impact of fires in Kelowna or Shuswap [B.C.] more recently, theres a big influence on everybodys psyche and mental well-being. Its getting scarier and scarier.

This new publication comes 10 years after Greystone and Postmedia collaborated on another quick-turnaround project about climate, The Flood of 2013: A Summer of Angry Rivers in Southern Alberta, which sold 60,000 copies and benefited the Calgary Foundations Flood Rebuilding Fund. Some proceeds from The Summer Canada Burned will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross Wildfire Fund, which aids people displaced by the fires.

Zurowski is eager to collect daily reporting on wildfire events in the more permanent form of a book. This information needs to be out there right now, she said, because todays wildfires will inform government policies, crisis management, infrastructure design, tourism, and insurance premiums in the near future. She also wants to recognize the tens of thousands of people across the country suffering real loss, including the financial loss of not working for one, two, three weeks. We want to capture those stories.
Lauren Munoz is a writer, lawyer, and former teacher living in Southern California. Here, Munoz discusses her love of classic detective fiction and bringing an authentic Latinx voice to the mystery genre in her debut YA novel, Suddenly a Murder.

I read my first Agatha Christie book when I was in high school. It was a battered paperback of Murder on the Orient Express, plucked from my dads bookshelves, and I devoured it in a single sitting. Thus began my love affair with the Golden Age of British detective fictionmysteries written during the 1920s and 1930s, between World War I and World War II. Though many authors from the era arent read much anymore, others have defied the passage of time, especially the Queens of Crime: Margery Allingham, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, and of course, the Queen of Queens, Agatha Christie.

Christie is best known for the mysteries she wrote featuring Hercule Poirot, a retired Belgian police officer who takes refuge in England during World War I. Although Christie ended up disliking her most famous creation, Ive always loved Poirots egotistical brilliance and his dainty personal habits. But its his outsider status as an immigrant that inspired the detective in my young adult debut, Suddenly a Murder, where seven teenagers throw a 1920s graduation party at a glamorous manor until one of them turns up dead. The lead investigator is Pilar de Leon, a Mexican PI who dresses like a steampunk witch and has the sparkling weirdness of a Golden Age detective. The teens dont know what to make of her, and its only the other outsider in the groupIzzy Morales, a scholarship kid in a sea of wealthy friendswho immediately recognizes the risk that Pilar de Leon poses to the killer.

Christie cast Poirot as a Belgian refugee in part so that few of her suspects would take him seriously. To them, he was a strange little foreigner they often mistook for a Frenchman, a stereotype he leaned into so he could further disarm their suspicions. Other Golden Age authors used a similar narrative device to characterize their investigators; if a detective seemed like a bumbler or a silly ass (Im looking at you, Lord Wimsey), it explained why suspects were so willing to participate in interrogations and so naive as to allow the detective to poke around their homes. In my debut, Pilar de Leon adopts a breezy sanguinity and peppers her speech with Spanish and sympathy in order to hide her hawk-like focus on solving the murder. These contradictions take an otherwise supremely capable person and turn her into an underdog, giving readers someone to root for in the race to catch the killer.

One unsurprising feature of Golden Age detective fiction (given it was written a hundred years ago) is its lack of diverse detectives. Despite many of the popular authors of the era being womenand several, including Sayers, writing feminist mysteriesmost of their detectives are white men. And I love them! But it was important to me that my detective be a clever Latina as bold as Poirot so that both Izzy and readers could recognize themselves in her.

I also want my young readers to recognize themselves in me. According to a recent study, about 6% of people in traditional publishing are Latinx. In a country with a Latinx population of over 60 million, that number paints a disheartening picture of our outsider status in the profession. This, of course, is not a problem unique to publishing (the percentage of Latinx lawyers in America is also around 6%), but its vital to continue improving representation in the industry thats responsible for producing childrens literature. Before I went to law school, I taught public school in Texas, and while its true that my bilingual students liked to see themselves in characters, they cared even more about relating to the real people around them who were doing things they dreamed about for their own lives. When I told them I wanted to be an author, they said they did too, and many began showing enthusiasm for their creative writing assignments. Writers beget writers, so the more often publishers support the careers of Latinx authors, the more investment theyll be making in younger generations.

As for me, Im excited to continue writing about bright and driven Latina girls, who I hope will see themselves in my storiesand then write the next ones.

Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Munoz. Putnam, $18.99 Sept. ISBN 978-0-5936-1753-3
On Monday, the Frankfurt Book Fair hosted the first of a series of weekly webinars for rights professionals, leading up to and culminating with an in-person event at the fair, which runs October 18-22. The first session focused on artificial intelligence with an appearance by Madeline McIntosh, former CEO of Penguin Random House US. Other speakers were author and tech philosopher Tom Chatfield; Duncan Calow, a partner at the law firm DLA Piper; Thomas Cox, managing director of IT services at the consulting company Arq Works; and Peter Schoppert, director the National University of Singapore Press.

While much of the session looked at legal issues and copyright concerns, McIntosh opted to discuss the use of AI from the perspective of a publishing house, noting that when it comes to rights issues, AI could potentially impact several key areas, including assisting with fighting piracy (though it is just as likely to exacerbate the issue); tracking contracts, including policing contract terms and flagging expirations; and helping with book scouting.

McIntosh advocated for thinking of AI as a tool to help writers and publishers, and not replace them. There will also, McIntosh added, be opportunities to use AI to assist with the creation of marketing materials, finding new readers in untapped markets, translation, and the creation of audiobooks.

Everyone in publishing is severely overworked. I think we all can acknowledge that," McIntosh said. "So, Im using efficiencies here not to suggest that there should be reductions in peoples jobs, but more the use of technology which would actually allow humans to automate the parts of their daily tasks that are not as much worth their human time in order to focus more productively where we are best used."

This article has been updated.
Unit sales of print books fell 7.9% last week from the comparable week in 2022 at outlets that report to Circana BookScan. Sales were down in all categories.

The young adult fiction segment had the best performance, with units off just1%. The category had the number one book of the week, The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, which sold nearly 40,000 copies in its first week on sale. The category also had a second title that did well in its first week, with American Royals IV: Reign by Katharine McGee selling over 6,000 copies, putting it in 10th place on the category list.

Adult nonfiction sales fell 6.4%. Two new books were in the category top 10, though they sold in modest numbers. The Old Farmers Almanac Trade Edition sold over 10,000 copies, good enough for sixth place, and Vax-Unvax by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was in ninth place, selling just under 8,000 copies.

Adult fiction continued to struggle, with sales declining 9.5%. The category had a new sales leader, with Hannah Nicole Maehrers Assistant to the Villain dethroning another Entangled Publishing title, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, selling over 35,000 copies in its first week compared to just under 35,000 copies for Fourth Wing. Last year at this time, adult fiction was enjoying the BookTok boom, with Colleen Hoovers first place It Ends with Us selling about 70,000 copies, while Taylor Jenkins Reids Carrie Soto is Back was the bestselling new release, selling about 34,000 copies.

Juvenile nonfiction sales dropped 10.7% in the week. Pop-up Peekaboo! Pumpkin moved into the number one spot, selling just under 9,000 copies.
Suzanne Herz, the executive v-p and publisher of Vintage/Anchor Books and executive director of publishing at Doubleday, will take a buyout at Penguin Random House, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group president and publisher Maya Mavjee wrote in a letter to staff on September 7. KDPG will, Mavjee added in a second memo, make a number of organizational changes in the division. Those changes include ending the Anchor hardcover publishing program in January, with other KDPG imprints taking over future publication of current Anchor Books hardcover titles, and the gradual move of Anchor paperback titles over to Vintage Books for further reprints.

The changes will effectively result in the phasing out of Anchor, which was founded in 1953 as an imprint of Doubleday, and is the oldest trade paperback publisher in America. The imprint has more than 16,000 backlist paperback titles that will be moved to Vintage, which Alfred A. Knopf launched in 1954 as a rival trade paperback publisher. (Vintage was acquired by Random House in 1960 as part of the acquisition of Knopf; Anchor was acquired as part of Random House's merger with Bantam Doubleday Dell, and folded in with Vintage.)

"This moment offers us an opportunity to further strengthen our focus on our rich and varied frontlist, which serves as the foundation for our incredible backlist," Mavjee wrote in her letter. "Our commitment to our authors, their books, and our employees remains the utmost priority."

Although no jobs will be lost as a result of the reorganization, it will result in a number of personnel moves in the division. As detailed in Mavjee's memo, those include:

Beth Lamb , senior v-p and deputy publisher at Vintage, will report to Mavjee, and continue supporting Reagan Arthur, Bill Thomas, and Lisa Lucas on their frontlist paperback and backlist programs

, senior v-p and deputy publisher at Vintage, will report to Mavjee, and continue supporting Reagan Arthur, Bill Thomas, and Lisa Lucas on their frontlist paperback and backlist programs Gabrielle Brooks , v-p and associate publisher at Vintage and of the KDPG backlist, will report to Lamb in this newly created role

, v-p and associate publisher at Vintage and of the KDPG backlist, will report to Lamb in this newly created role James Meader , v-p and associate publisher of Vintage Backlist, will continue to work with the estates of KDPG authors and oversee Vintage Classics and Everymans Library, and will report to Lamb Diana Secker Tesdell , senior editor at Vintage Backlist, will continue reporting to Meader

, v-p and associate publisher of Vintage Backlist, will continue to work with the estates of KDPG authors and oversee Vintage Classics and Everymans Library, and will report to Lamb Jennifer Barth , senior v-p and executive editor at Knopf, will take on oversight of Vintage Originals, with all editors across KDPG contributing going forward Editors Anna Kaufman and Caitlin Landuyt and assistant editor Ellie Pritchett will report to Barth

, senior v-p and executive editor at Knopf, will take on oversight of Vintage Originals, with all editors across KDPG contributing going forward J. Edward Kastenmeier will join Doubleday as v-p and executive editor, reporting to Bill Thomas Chris Howard-Woods , assistant editor, will report to Kastenmeier and Thomas

will join Doubleday as v-p and executive editor, reporting to Bill Thomas Brian Etling will move to Knopf as editorial assistant, reporting to Barth and Erroll McDonald

will move to Knopf as editorial assistant, reporting to Barth and Erroll McDonald Lauren Weber has been named director of brand development in the group, reporting to Kristin Fassler

has been named director of brand development in the group, reporting to Kristin Fassler Jess Deitcher will join Doubleday as marketing director, reporting to Milena Brown

will join Doubleday as marketing director, reporting to Milena Brown Sophie Normil , marketing associate, will join Pantheon, reporting to Julianne Clancy

, marketing associate, will join Pantheon, reporting to Julianne Clancy Abby Endler , marketing manager, will join Knopf, reporting to Laura Keefe

, marketing manager, will join Knopf, reporting to Laura Keefe Morgan Fenton , marketing associate, will report to Judy Jacoby in KDPG's creative services department

, marketing associate, will report to Judy Jacoby in KDPG's creative services department Sierra Figueroa , associate backlist manager, will report to Christine Hung

, associate backlist manager, will report to Christine Hung Jordan Rodman will move to Knopf as senior director of publicity, still reporting to Todd Doughty and overseeing Vintage backlist publicity)

will move to Knopf as senior director of publicity, still reporting to Todd Doughty and overseeing Vintage backlist publicity) Tricia Cave , senior publicity manager, and Anna Noone , publicity assistant, will move to Knopf, reporting to Erinn Hartman

, senior publicity manager, and , publicity assistant, will move to Knopf, reporting to Erinn Hartman Julie Ertl , assistant director of publicity, will join Doubleday, reporting to Michael Goldsmith

, assistant director of publicity, will join Doubleday, reporting to Michael Goldsmith Demetri Papadimitropoulos, associate publicist, will join Pantheon, reporting to Michiko Clark

Herz will wrap up her 30-year career at PRHwhich began at Putnam, as a publiciston December 15, although Mavjee noted that she will continue to work with PRH in "an external, consulting role as John Grishams longtime publisher, overseeing his frontlist and backlist in concert with Johns Doubleday team." She was named publisher of Vintage/Anchor in 2019. Over the course of her 27 years at Doubleday in particular, Herz worked with authors including Mitch Albom, Margaret Atwood, Carl Bernstein, Dan Brown, Bill Bryson, Katie Couric, Mikhail Gorbachev, David Grann, Jane Green, Anita Hill, Jon Krakauer, Kevin Kwan, Ian McEwan, Erin Morgenstern, Lauren Weisberger, Colson Whitehead, and Hanya Yanagihara.

"She has touched every aspect of bookmaking and along the way her distinctive reading tastes (especially those as a thriller junkie), penchant for embracing debut writers, and innovative and inventive thinkingon scales both large and smallhave centered on a book-and-author-first approach from the very beginning," Mavjee wrote of Herz.

"For the past 25 years Suzanne has published my novels, with some measure of success," Grisham wrote in a tribute to Herz included in Mavjee's letter. "On a professional level, our relationship rests on talent, experience, and creativity. On a personal level, it is grounded on trust, loyalty, and friendship. I cannot believe she is leaving Doubleday.

Dan Brown added: The first project Suzanne and I worked on together was a little book called The Da Vinci Code. I will never forget Suzanne summoning a unique fusion of creativity, instinct, and strategy to help spread that gospel across the country. In the two decades that followed, Suzanne continuously found clever ways to publish thrillers whose offbeat topics included the Freemasons, Dante Alighieri, and artificial intelligence. Somehow, she found the audience every time, and I feel fortunate to have worked not only with an exceptional talent, but with a friend.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, September 7. Kazakhstan's Air Astana launched flights on the route Almaty - Tel Aviv on September 7, Trend reports.

Flights will be operated twice a week (Thursday and Sunday) via Airbus 321 aircraft.

The opening of air communication between Kazakhstan and Israel will accelerate the development of trade, economic, investment, tourism and cultural cooperation between the countries.

The Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan is working to expand the geography of flights and increase the number of international flights on an ongoing basis.

Air Astana President Peter Foster said at a meeting with Kazakh Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev on September 6 that the airline will launch flights to Tokyo, Singapore and New York.

Thus, flights to Tokyo and Singapore are planned to be launched in 2024, and to New York - in 2025.

Meanwhile, Air Astana received a net profit of 10.5 billion tenge (about $22.7 million) from January through June 2023.

The airlines profit for the same period in 2022 amounted to 4.95 billion tenge (about $10.67). Thus, the company's net profit in the reporting period increased by 2.1 times.
The need for stronger civics instruction has never been clearer. As recently released test scores revealed, American students simply do not possess the civics knowledge they need to become thoughtful and engaged citizens. Knowledge of basic facts is important; knowledge of our nations story and founding idealswhich gives meaning to these factsis more so.

Unfortunately, many K-12 civics teachers do not have the necessary training to succeed in the classroom. Schools of education do not typically afford aspiring teachers an opportunity for in-depth study of key texts in the American tradition. High levels of polarization and a lack of trust in public schools mean many teachers are unsure how to teach about key figures and moments in our history or how to discuss controversial political issues in a nonpartisan way.

Thats where my organization, the Jack Miller Center (JMC), comes in. We are a non-partisan, nationwide network of scholars and teachers dedicated to teaching the American political tradition. Our scholars have the expertise teachers need to navigate our current divisions and build trust. They can help teachers understand the contours of our most fundamental debates and squarely address the failures in our nations history while fully appreciating our achievements.

To that end, JMC introduced a Founding Civics Initiative in 2016. Founding Civics has clearly resonated with teachers. In just eight years nearly 2,000 teachers have participated in this initiative. In fact, this year weve reached an all-time high for summer programs: JMC has completed 24 teacher education programs across nine states this summer alone, training nearly 500 teachers for the upcoming school year and beyond.

These programs offer in-depth explorations of some of the most challenging topics in civics today by avoiding simple left-right narratives and focusing on primary sources.

This year, multi-day programs were held in partnership with nine campuses. Programs like the Civic Literacy and Citizenship Symposium with the University of Wisconsin-Madison offered teachers the opportunity to discuss the importance of virtue for liberty, the evolution of the First Amendment, and the development of judicial review. The Summer Civics Institute on American Principles and Debates at American University saw teachers digging into the roots of contemporary ideologies and examining them in relation to the American founding.

Programs at Baylor University and the University of North Texas allowed teachers to confront race and American politics head-on through sessions on slavery and the American founding, Lincoln and the Civil War, and African American political thought. Investigating Foundational Questions in American Civics, in partnership with North Greenville University, encouraged teachers to think more carefully about concepts such as American exceptionalism and whether the Declaration was really for all Americans.

Florida is a state on the frontlines of education reform, so JMC made our work there a strategic priority. We offered six programs across the state and continue to play a leading role in statewide civics reform with nearly 800 Florida teachers having participated in JMC programs since 2020.

At the University of West Florida program, special attention was paid to dissent in American politicsfrom the Anti-Federalists in the ratification debates, to the dissents in the Dred Scott case, to anti-slavery advocates such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass. At Florida Atlantic University teachers considered the American founding in 21st century contexts by examining Hamilton the musical in light of Alexander Hamiltons actual writings and considering issues of free speech and civil discourse on social media.

In St. Petersburg, we also commenced our second year of the competitive-admission year-long American Political Tradition Institute, which consisted of a five-day residential program and will continue with virtual curriculum-development sessions during the academic year. Teachers loved the summer sessions, with one tweeting that she walked away exhilarated while another described it as truly empowering.

Summer institutes and workshops such as these are tremendously important, but credit-bearing graduate courses in American political thought and history are also essential. Graduate courses can help public school teachers rise in district pay scales while offering the rigor of a formal class structure and graded assignments.

We sponsored four graduate courses for teachers this summer, including Teaching Civics in an Age of Controversy and Political Thought of the American Revolution through the University of Chicago, Alexis de Tocquevilles Democracy in America at Tufts University, and The American Constitutional Experience at Lake Forest College. All courses offered deep dives into crucial primary sources while also considering prominent secondary sources that shape the way we understand the American story.

The mission of the Jack Miller Center is to help teachers and students connect with and safeguard our nation's ideals. Improving K-12 teachers knowledge of Americas history and its founding will help preserve that vital knowledge for future generations. This is an urgent mission all educators should share. As JMCs founder and chairman, Jack Miller, says, The battle for the soul of our nation will be won or lost in our classrooms.
The Biden administration is seeking authority to support $21 billion in loans through a new International Monetary Fund trust to support climate change, health care, and other development activities outside of its remit. This mission creep is unwise, unnecessary, and not so coincidentally would create a path to circumvent statutory restrictions on the use of U.S. taxpayer dollars to support abortion oversees.

The IMF has a challenging, but straightforward, purpose: to promote international monetary cooperation, global trade, exchange stability, and support an international system of payments. To support these goals, the IMF was established to provide financial resources on a temporary basis to member states. Recently, the IMF leadership expanded the mission to include provision of long-term development finance to address climate change, pandemic preparedness, and other development purposes, through a mechanism called the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST). This should not be funded by Congress.

Although the IMFs record is mixed, earning criticism from the left and the right, serious international financial crises over the past few decades have been used to justify its mission. Tapping international markets can be difficult or prohibitively expensive for developing countries in financial crisis, and the IMF can fill that gap, providing short-term financing to address an immediate challenge.

In return for this assistance, countries agree to adopt reforms and sound fiscal policies to mitigate the chances of a crisis down the road. However, these programs of reform and policy change are rarely completed, raising questions about the effectiveness of IMF interventions and whether, instead, they can foment dependency.

These failings are a reason to improve the IMF in fulfilling its mission. Instead, the IMF seems more interested in pursuing a new line of work to support a progressive globalist agenda.

In April 2022, the IMF Executive Board approved the establishment of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust. Unlike the short-term finance the IMF usually provides to bridge financial crisis, the RST would focus on longer-term structural challenges  including climate change and pandemic preparedness  that entail significant macroeconomic risks and where policy solutions have a strong global public good nature. About three-fourths of IMF members  over 140 countries  would be eligible to tap up to 150 percent of their overall IMF quota or $1 billion, whichever is lower, from the RST as 20-year loans at highly concessional rates, including a 10.5 year grace period.

In other words, the IMF is creating a mechanism to bribe three-quarters of the worlds governments into adopting left-of-center policies on climate and health. Even if a government disagrees with the purpose, the temptation of hundreds of millions in new highly subsidized IMF loans will be hard to resist.

In addition, this new trust turns IMF lending on its head. Traditionally, IMF loans are made to address already evident financial difficulties. The RST would be prospective  aimed at providing loans before a crisis exists intended to make countries more resilient. In other words, development loans.

IMF effectiveness will not be aided by expanding its mission to activities outside its expertise and experience. To the contrary, it will distract the attention of the IMF into non-core activities, undermining its already questionable impact and diverting resources away from its core purpose.

Moreover, they infringe on the mission and purposes of existing institutions like the World Bank. As explained by the World Bank, the two institutions were established to have distinct, but complimentary missions:

The World Bank Group works with developing countries to reduce poverty and increase shared prosperity, while the International Monetary Fund serves to stabilize the international monetary system and acts as a monitor of the worlds currencies.

It is unsurprising, therefore, that the proposal for the RST emphasizes close coordination with the World Bank for its experience and expertise in climate change, health systems, and other policy areas where the IMF has no experience. Why not just have the World Bank perform these functions? Because then the IMF would not become involved in this type of ideological development work.

The Biden administration strongly supports the RST and has sought authority for U.S. taxpayer funding sufficient to support $21 billion in RST loans. The Senate Committee on Appropriations included this authorization in the FY 2024 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs appropriations bill. The administration has also requested that it be included in a prospective short-term continuing resolution or emergency supplemental.

Why the urgency? The IMF currently has over $1 trillion in resources provided by member states. The $21 billion sought for the RST is relatively minor by comparison.

But it has a key feature of particular interest to the Biden administration: the funding would not be subject to the limitations and restrictions in the Foreign Assistance Act or State Department authorizing statutes, such as the Helms and Siljander Amendments, that prohibit use of U.S. assistance for abortion or lobbying on abortion. Thus, the RST is not only a new IMF venture into development, but also one where the Biden administration could support policies that U.S. development and health assistance currently cannot.

The initial stated purpose of the RST is to support national responses to climate change and pandemic response, but it is an easy step from pandemic response to providing health care more generally, including maternal health and family planning.

It is also worth asking whether China would be an outsized beneficiary of the RST as it has at other international financial institutions, like the Inter-American Development Bank where Beijings malign influence led Congress to introduce bipartisan legislation to address it. The IMF should not be exempt from similar scrutiny.

Congress should not abet IMF mission creep into areas it has no expertise, especially without checks on Chinese influence and without statutory assurances that U.S. taxpayer funds will not support abortion and other activities Congress has elsewhere prohibited. The House should reject authorization sought by the Biden administration and included in the Senate legislation to use U.S. taxpayer dollars to support $21 billion in RST loans.

Brett D. Schaefer is The Heritage Foundations Jay Kingham Senior Research Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs. Max Primorac is the director of Heritages Allison Center for Foreign Policy. Anthony Kim is the manager of global engagement in Heritages Thatcher Center for Freedom and editor of the think tanks annual Index of Economic Freedom.
CBS announced the cast of the new season of Survivor on Wednesday. The 45th Season premieres Sept. 27 at 8 p.m. EDT.

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Eighteen contestants become "castaways" on an island competing in challenges that eliminate one each week, sometimes forming alliances to avoid elimination. Season 45 takes place in Fiji and the contestants are as follows:

Single mom divorcee Julie Alley, 49, is an estate attorney from Brentwood, Tenn. In a video introduction, Alley said Survivor: Second Chance Cambodia inspired her to compete. "This is my second chance at life," Alley said.Nicholas Alsup, 30, owns a gym and plays music in O'Fallon, Ill. His middle name is "Sifu" as in a martial arts instructor. Alsup practices Tai Chi and a martial art called Push Hands.Drew Basile, 23, said he expects competitors to compare him to Napoleon Dynamite and The Nutty Professor because of his glasses and curly hair. He is a grad student at University of Pennsylvania who began watching Survivor in middle school.Sabiyah Broderick, 28, is a Marine veteran, heptathlon competitor and truck driver in Jacksonville, N.C. "I've had to sleep outside for weeks at a time," Broderick said.Austin Li Coon, 26, played volleyball in the Junior Olympics. He comes to Fiji from Chicago, Ill., and hopes to find love on Survivor like Amber Brkich married Rob Mariano on the show. "If I could find my Amber out there that would be amazing," Coon said.Brandon Donlon, 26, from Sicklerville, N.J., previously sent application videos to Survivor as an 11-year-old. Donlon said his girlfriend assured him his best strategy is to be himself and "make people laugh."Mormon Sean Edwards, 35, is an elementary school principal in Provo-Orem, Utah. Edwards said coming out in a conservative community "taught me grit, mental tenacity. Those are the attributes that you need to have on Survivor."Emily Flippen, 28, is an investment analyst in Laurel, Md. Flippen admits she will have to overcome her fear of bugs, hatred of sand and tendency to sweat and sunburn.Kaleb Gabrewold, 29, learned several businesses on the job including his current software sales position in Vancouver, so he feels ready to learn Survivor. "I'm like a Black Huckleberry Finn," Gabrewold said.Janani Krishnan-Jha, 24, gave up a slot at Harvard to sing in Los Angeles, under the name J. Maya. She said Survivor need not be cutthroat. "I would love to make some friends," Krishann-Jha said. "Why not?"Brandon Meyer, 23, said he already digs for bugs as a software developer in Seattle, Wash. Meyer also wants to sample the Survivor pizza prize for winning challenges.Kendra McQuarrie, 31, said being a bartender was good training for pretending to like people from whom she needs something. Currently from Steamboat Springs, Colo., McQuarrie follows backpacking and van living adventures on Fiji.New York critical care nurse Kellie Nalbandian, 30, hopes competitors underestimate her nursing skills as limited to "just wiping butts" so she can prove them wrong. She also hopes to be the first lesbian Survivor winner.Jake O'Kane, 26, multitasks as a lawyer, children's theater teacher and bartender in Boston, Ma. O'Kane has also lost weight and considers himself "at the best point in my life to play this game."Insurance agent Bruce Perreault, 47, returns from Warwick, R.I., after suffering a concussion on Day 1 of Season 44. Perreault hopes to avoid becoming a father figure as he felt in his limited time that season. "I need to not be dad," Perreault said.Baltimore City, Md., therapist Hannah Rose, 33, finds the psychology of Survivor fascinating. However, Rose has learned from recovering from alcoholism and from previous therapists who competed. "I'm not counseling out here," Rose said.Brooklyn civil rights attorney Katurah Topps, 35, said being a Black queer woman heightened her survival skills. "I am constantly in survival mode because of that," Topps said.Entrepreneur Dee Valladares, 26, said immigrating from Cuba to Miami taught her to hustle since she began working at age 14. "Being an immigrant, I have grit," Valladares said.
Gabby Windey / Instagram

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 09/06/2023



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

alum Gabby Windey has spilled details about her sex life with her girlfriend of five months, comedian Robby Hoffman.Gabby, 32, came out as gay in early August, revealing that she felt "so safe" and "so loved" in her new relationship with Robby, 33."I feel safer with a woman. I feel less judged and I feel like there's nothing off limits," Gabby said during the Wednesday, August 30 episode of the "Just B with Bethenny Frankel " podcast."If I have a question, I'm going to ask -- before, after, during. We will debrief on our sex life. It feels very safe."Since this is Gabby's first romantic relationship with a woman, Bethenny Frankel asked Gabby how she got used to the "new hardware.""Well, not really new because I have one, so I would say it's familiar hardware," Gabby quipped.Gabby admitted that she actually had "unrealistic expectations" when sleeping with men in the past."I felt like there were unsaid expectations, because we weren't as open about it. We weren't speaking the same language [and] I didn't feel as connected," Gabby explained."So I feel like that part [with Robby] has been really freeing for me... With us, yeah, it's a little awkward, but it's worth it because we want to talk about everything and we want to make sure the other person is pleased and happy."Gabby gushed about how "sex is fun" as well as "freeing and liberating, especially when you do it with someone that you feel safe with."Gabby shared how she needs "an emotional connection" to have sex."And with Robby, I feel very emotionally connected," confirmed the Dancing with the Stars 31 runner-up.Gabby got engaged to her winner, Erich Schwer , on 's Season 19 finale in September 2022, but they called off their engagement , in an alleged amicable manner , less than two months later.News of Gabby and Erich's split surfaced on November 4, and then Gabby confirmed she and Erich were over days later during an episode of Dancing with the Stars' 31st season. Gabby said she and her former fiance weren't "in sync" or "the best match" for each other."I haven't heard a peep. I haven't heard a word," Gabby said of Erich's reaction to her new relationship. "From a lot of my previous ex-boyfriends, I haven't heard anything. I think they're all taking it personally... and their egos hurt."Gabby said she began questioning her sexuality at age 30 and then her desire to date women became stronger while on tour for Dancing with the Stars earlier this year.Gabby recalled watching Hatch on Netflix while on tour and having the queer relationships on the show -- which seemed "genuine" and broke stereotypes in her mind about what a lesbian typically looks like -- really resonate with her.Gabby's close friend Bridget, who identifies as queer, had also brought Gabby to several LGBTQIA+ events in Los Angeles.And then finally, Gabby met Robby outside of a bar and their girlfriends helped to set them up."It was happenstance we were at the same bar. At this point, I was trying to date girls. I wanted to explore my sexuality. I had been on a date with a woman and I had been on Raya," Gabby said, adding how she had already come out to her family and close friends.Gabby said Robby charmed her with her personality and sense of humor, which is typically attracted to in a person."She was like, 'I'm not going to lie, Gabby, I want your number'... and then we went on our first date and the rest was history," Gabby said.The Bachelor alum is now the happiest she's ever been in a relationship."We both have our sh-t together. We're both very driven and career minded," Gabby explained, adding how she and Robby work on their communication every day and strive to protect their relationship and make it their priority in life.Gabby also revealed how she's more tender, loving and "softer" with Robby than she had ever been with a man."She asked me to be her girlfriend with a Ring Pop -- so cute. [It happened] two weeks in [and] she wrote me a little card," Gabby shared."We are always giving each other cards. She got me these earrings [I'm wearing now] for our three-month anniversary. We celebrate every month. If a dude were to do that to me, disgusting."Prior to co-starring on alongside Rachel Recchia , Gabby and Rachel both got dumped simultaneously by Clayton Echard on The Bachelor's 26th season after they both slept with him in the Fantasy Suites and met his family.Clayton ultimately chose Susie Evans -- a "once-in-a-lifetime woman," as he called her -- as his winner, but Susie was hurt by his actions on the show and didn't begin dating him until after the show taped in the real world.After Susie and Clayton announced they were dating on The Bachelor: After the Final Rose in March 2022, Gabby and Rachel got to hand out the roses.Both women left the show engaged, but neither of their romances worked out long-term.When asked if she'd be star again, Gabby revealed on the April 25 episode of the "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe " podcast, "I would honestly be the Bachelorette again -- for the right price ."After Gabby and Erich broke up, Gabby set her sights on her Dancing with the Stars 31 competitor, Vinny Guadagnino Gabby admitted she had a "crush" on Vinny and would "of course" go on a date with him if he asked.The pair flirted on social media for months beginning in November 2022 and spent a lot of time together on the Dancing with the Stars tour earlier this year, but Vinny confirmed in January that he and Gabby weren't dating."It takes a lot more for me than just, like, a couple Instagram comments to be dating someone," Vinny explained to Us Weekly, adding, "I would actually go to dinner with Gabby. It's just that we just met, you know what I mean? It's not like anything serious."Vinny, however, gushed about how he has "great chemistry" with the brunette beauty."We're both, like, comedians. So, that's why we get along and that's also why we flirt so much on Instagram because we have that same banter with each other," Vinny shared at the time.Gabby told Kaitlyn on "Off the Vine" that she and Vinny still talked all the time and he liked her, however, she said dating would be difficult since she lives in Los Angeles and he lives in New York.Erich, meanwhile, recently shared how his mental health struggled during and after .Erich announced in mid-February he was in a new relationship with model and social media influencer Elizabeth Turner.Elizabeth's Instagram account showed they were hanging out all the time and had a strong relationship, but she has since deleted their photos, resulting in speculation they've split.Interested in more The Bachelor news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
Rachel Recchia / Instagram

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 09/06/2023



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

The Bachelorette alum Rachel Recchia has teased her stint on 's ninth season and how it was a "very real" experience for her.After failing to find lasting love on The Bachelor's 26th season and on her own The Bachelorette season, Rachel decided to travel to Mexico and appear on , which will premiere with a two-hour episode on Thursday, September 28 at 9PM ET/PT, immediately following the debut of The Golden Bachelor on ABC."I'm in Paradise and it's so funny because it started off as something we would all kind of talk about or joke about. And then, it turned into something very real. I can say my time in Paradise was very real," Rachel said during a recent appearance on the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, which is co-hosted by spouses Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt Given Rachel's first two attempts on The Bachelor franchise ended in heartbreak , she admitted that she had low expectations going into Paradise But once the former flight instructor arrived on the beach, she said she didn't hold back."When I was there, I was serious about knowing what Paradise can be for couples like you, [Joe and Serena], and [ Mari Pepin-Solis and Kenny Braasch ]... and I'm like, 'Let's see if this could work!'" Rachel shared.Rachel also pointed out how Becca Kufrin found her forever with Thomas Jacobs on Paradise.In addition, Hannah Godwin and Dylan Barbour just got married in Paris, and Abigail Heringer recently accepted a marriage proposal from her Paradise partner, Noah Erb "Going into this, [I was] like, 'If anything can work, it's going to be Paradise.' Let's try it!" Rachel said.The blonde beauty apparently thought to herself, "Let's just see if this can work for me... It's worked for so many people... I was very much there to find someone, genuinely, so we'll see if I do. Who knows?!"Serena noted during Rachel's interview how she was wearing one of Brayden Bowers ' earrings. Rachel, however, didn't provide a comment.During The Bachelorette's live Season 20 finale on August 21, host Jesse Palmer hinted how something may have happened between Rachel and The Bachelorette 20 villain, Brayden, in Paradise.In fact, Rachel and Brayden were sitting next to each other in the live studio audience for The Bachelorette finale.And ABC released a trailer for that showed Rachel kissing Jordan Vandergriff , a suitor whom she had sent packing during Week 2 of her joint The Bachelorette season with Gabby Windey "This is crazy -- getting a second chance," Rachel tells the cameras. "I think things happen for a reason."The trailer certainly had its wild, crazy and emotional moments, but Rachel actually thought it was pretty tame.Rachel explained on the podcast, "I thought [the trailer] was very underwhelming compared to what actually happened, which is a good thing! I watched it, and I was like, 'Wait, where is the drama? Where is the crying?'""There is so, so much more to see [this season]," she elaborated. "I am very excited for everyone to see it. I think what aired [in the trailer] is completely just very mild compared to what actually happened."Rachel said she had her sights set on an engagement in Paradise and that Gabby was nothing but "supportive" and "happy" for her in her continued search to find The One.Gabby, meanwhile, is in a happy romantic relationship with a woman , comedian Robby Hoffman.Rachel's The Bachelorette 19 winner and ex-fiance, Tino Franco offered his opinion about Rachel appearing on Paradise during the August 23 episode of The Bachelor alum Courtney Robertson 's "After Reality" podcast."I'll probably watch because I heard rumors that [ Aven Jones ] and [ Tyler Norris ] and a couple of the guys I liked from my season went down," Tino shared."So I'll be rooting them on, and if [Rachel] thinks she can find love [on Paradise] after everything she's been through, I mean, good for her."Tino, who had cheated on Rachel during their short-lived engagement, proceeded to give Rachel props for putting her heart on the line again."One thing, I think -- whether you like her or dislike her -- you've got to give her credit for is there's no quit in her. I'll be watching, but, you know, I'll be focusing on and rooting for the boys," Tino shared.Rachel has had a change of heart about since last year.When Rachel spoke to Becca Kufrin about her love life during a November episode of the "Bachelor Happy Hour" podcast, she initially said she'd only be interested in showing up to Paradise if her bestie Michelle Young -- who starred on The Bachelorette's eighteenth season and is single after her split from Nayte Olukoya -- would join her on the beach in Mexico.But Rachel said at the time she'd "absolutely" star on The Bachelorette again if the show could provide her with her perfect match.One month earlier, Rachel complained on the "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe " podcast how she just wants a commitment from a man and to be done with dating."The fact that I find myself now in the same position [as I was in before The Bachelor], I'm like, 'I don't want to do this.' I wanted to find my person," Rachel vented."I want to get married, I want to start a family. That's where I'm at in my life. I don't want to go back to the streets, and now I'm forced to! Literally!"Interested in more The Bachelor news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group
Porterville, CA (93257)

Today

Except for a few afternoon clouds, mainly sunny. High 78F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A few clouds. Low 42F. Winds light and variable.
When Grace Pridemore, a senior majoring in psychology, tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of July, she was shocked. Pridemore is vaccinated and comes from a health-conscious family. When she woke up with symptoms that morning, she didnt think to test until her mother, who is a nurse, suggested she take one.
If you are new to Athens or just want to take a look around, there are a variety of tours available, each concentrating on different aspects of the town. With something for everyone, these Athens tours encapsulate what the city is all about.
The International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) plans to operationalise the framework for direct listing of companies at International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) exchanges by the end of the year, said Chairperson K Rajaraman.

Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

He added that the amendments would be notified within three months.

Further, the GIFT City regulator is also considering the launch of separate payments system regulations  similar to that of the real time gross settlement (RTGS) for banking within a few months.

The IFSC chief said that it will facilitate instant settlements.

On the timeline for the listing of companies on IFSC exchanges, Rajaraman said that the relevant notifications from the finance ministry are under process.

Last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the government was planning to allow both listed and unlisted companies as well as startups to directly list on the international exchanges of IFSC.

However, she did not provide any timeline for this.

We already have a working group, which is coordinating with other regulators like Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

"We believe that the necessary procedures and amendments should be completed within the next three months.

"We should be able to make the decision to go live by the end of this year, he added.

In a recommendation paper floated on August 25, an expert committee chaired by G Padmanabhan, former executive director of the RBI, proposed key exemptions to the current listing framework and measures for setting up holding companies (holdcos) and special purpose acquisition vehicles (SPACs).

This will encourage domestic startups to list at GIFT City, the countrys only IFSC.

Speaking at the Global Fintech Fest on Wednesday, the IFSCA chairperson also said that the regulator is planning to launch its own payments system regulations.

It would be on the lines of the RTGS available for banking.

We are coming up with payment system regulations shortly, maybe in the next few months.

"This will enable regulated entities to provide these services to ensure instant payments settlement, said Rajaraman.

Currently, a payment gets cleared through the correspondent banking system, which takes time.

"We are also working on RTGS, which will be possible in six months. If these two are done, then most of the payment-related problems will be resolved, he added.

The GIFT City regulator is also working on expanding the precious metal trading segment.

IFSCA currently has three vaults operational for bullion trading and is planning to bring another one in Chennai for easier settlements.

The regulator also plans to offer trading of silver and other precious metals along with derivatives trading in these segments.

On the aircraft leasing segment, Rajaraman shared that two aircraft and 54 jet engines have been leased out of GIFT City.

US-based Willis Lease Finance and a British lessor have established their offices at the IFSC in Gandhinagar.
From the customer point of view too, LFP batteries are safer and offer a longer life.

IMAGE: An (LFP) battery pack for the Ford Mustang-Mack E is displayed during the Ford Motor Company announcement that it will partner with Chinese-based Amperex Technology, to build an all-electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall, Michigan. Photograph: Rebecca Cook/Reuters

The announcement by Reliance Industries that it was setting up a battery gigafactory by 2026 for making battery chemicals, cells and packs with lithium ferrous phosphate (LFP) technology, among others, will give a big push to the electric vehicle (EV) industry to move from the current dominant battery technology of lithium nickel manganese cobalt (LI-NMC) to the emerging LFP battery technology, say experts.

Global EVs powered by LFP batteries could account for 40 per cent of the global market by 2030, as opposed to the estimated 17 per cent currently, according to UBS estimates.

Companies such as Tesla, Rivian and Ford are betting big on the technology.

In India, top electric two wheeler companies such as Ola Electric and Ather Energy, which form the bulk of EV sales, have been working on LFP technology for many years.

Delhi-based Okaya Electric has already become the first company in the scooter space to use LFP batteries as a key marketing differentiator against other electric scooters.

In passenger cars, Tata Motors has been using LFP batteries in all its electric cars: Nexon, Tigor and Tiago.

The largest electric car makers have the battery assembled in India by Tata Autocomp which has a JV with Chinese company Guoxuan Hi-tech.

One example is MG Motors with its recently launched affordable Comet.

Battery companies are lining up to make both kinds of batteries. They include Exide with technology from China's SVOLT, Amara Raja, and Panasonic, to name only a few.

LFP batteries enjoy certain advantages: They are cheaper to make, do not require nickel (the price of which has gone up after the Russian invasion of Ukraine -- a key supplier), nor cobalt (available mainly in the Congo where human rights violations are an issue).

In fact, the LFP cathode requires only iron and phosphate which are found abundantly across the globe and in India. Their prices are also stable.

"LFP is cheaper and safer and we have been working on it for a long while," said Ather Energy Founder and CEO Tarun Mehta.

From the customer point of view too, LFP batteries are safer and offer a longer life.

As Anshul Gupta, CEO of Okaya Electric, which was the first to use the battery in electric scooters, said, "The big difference is safety. The battery will emit smoke, but does not set the scooter on fire or explode.

"The lifecycle of the battery is at least double (7 to 10 years) that of an NMC battery."

Finally, LFP batteries are more environmentally friendly than NMC ones as there is no worry about cobalt entering the environment at any point in their disposal.

On the flip side, LFP batteries need more space for storage (although the design is being tweaked to solve this) and they have less energy density, which means their range with one charge is far lower.

This might not be an issue for electric scooters, but certainly would be for passenger cars.

Work on resolving the range issue is on.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
Quick commerce startups hope to race towards better days. Can they crack the execution code?

Photograph: Kind courtesy Zepto/Linkedin

This is what one big funding round can do. Quick commerce rode the buzz of 10- and 15-minute deliveries. But its business model just as quickly came under question.

The detractors sniggered that startup innovation, instead of solving the world's intractable problems, was now focused on getting your grocery a few minutes quicker.

It did not help that some quick commerce firms found themselves on shaky ground, hobbled by slim margins and high cash burn.

But now that Zepto, which first came into the limelight by promising 10-minute deliveries, has become this year's first unicorn while raising $200 million last week, the tunes are a tad sweeter.

Everyone thought this business model was nonsense, but it is working. It has turned out to be the fastest-growing category in India today and will be the fastest-ever to hit profitability, says Zepto Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aadit Palicha, while discussing the latest funding.

Besides Zepto, the quick commerce sector is led by three companies: Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy-owned Instamart, and Reliance-backed Dunzo.

All three began in 2021, when the Covid-induced lockdown propelled demand for grocery delivery.

Photograph: Kind courtesy Zepto

Blinkit, the brainchild of Albinder Dhindsa and Saurabh Kumar, started out as grocery delivery platform Grofers in 2013.

It only started offering what it called express delivery (within 15 minutes) in July 2021.

Later that year, it rebranded to Blinkit and was eventually acquired by food delivery major Zomato in August 2022.

Its crowning moment, however, came when, during the FY24 first quarter results, Zomato Co-founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said Blinkit would deliver more shareholder value over the next 10 years than the company's core food delivery offering.

Blinkit recorded its highest ever gross order value (GOV) and transacting customers in June and July, turning contribution-positive for the first time in the quarter ended June 2023 (contribution margin is a measure of the revenue left after subtracting the variable costs linked with production).

Senior management at Blinkit expects the firm to be adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda)-positive over the next four quarters.

The pivot towards profitability has, however, not come at the cost of growth.

The company operates 383 dark stores and plans to add almost 100 stores in FY24.

The Blinkit story resonates well with Zepto, which is on track to turn cashflow-positive in the next 12-15 months.

The Mumbai-based startup is, like Blinkit, looking to achieve profitability while increasing its scale. I don't think it is enough to flatline on growth and then achieve break-even. Our focus has been and continues to be on achieving profitability while increasing scale, Palicha says.

Zepto says the dark stores, which contribute over 50 per cent to its business, are now profitable, while the firm has seen 300 per cent growth in sales this year.

Likewise, Instamart, which began its operations in August 2020, has doubled down on reducing its burn (see: Quick Buck).

According to Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety, the company's investments in Instamart are bearing fruit.

The peak of our investments is behind us... we've also made strong progress on the profitability of the business and we're on track to hit contribution neutrality for this 3-year-old business in the next few weeks, he wrote in a blog post in May.

IMAGE: Kaivalya Vohra, co-founder and Aadit Palicha, CEO, Zepto. Photograph: Kind courtesy Zepto/Linkedin

How did they get here?

Companies like Zepto, Instamart, Blinkit and Dunzo have, in a bid to improve margins, introduced various charges such as handling fees, platform fees and small cart fees.

The handling fee is in the range of Rs 3-7, irrespective of the platform used, while the small cart fees -- applicable on orders if a minimum cart value is not met -- can be Rs 15 to Rs 35.

Such measures have come at a price not just for customers but for delivery workers as well.

The commissions we used to get for each delivery have gone down from Rs 30 a few months ago to Rs 20 now. The number of orders we used to get in a day has also decreased. It has become much harder to get by, says a delivery executive for Instamart.

In April, around 2,500 of Blinkit's Delhi-National Capital Region delivery workers went on strike after it lowered their fixed payouts per delivery from Rs 25 to Rs 15.

Hits and misses

While many Indian firms have been able to get up to speed, others have stumbled. Google-backed Dunzo recently found itself in hot water owing to a severe cash crunch.

In a bid to reduce expenses, Dunzo deferred employee salary payments from June and July until September 4 and reportedly laid off 200 employees in July. It had sacked about 300 workers in April.

Dunzo now operates seven dark stores in Bengaluru, its home base -- down from around 150 across India until mid-2022, as the firm clamours to raise funds. Most of its operations are now carried out via partner stores.

In 2022, Fraazo, which delivers fresh farm produce, shut down operations barring in Mumbai over funding challenges; and ride-hailing platform Ola shut down its 10-minute grocery delivery service Ola Dash.

The economics just doesn't work at 10-15 minutes. The consumers did not want it either, it was thrust upon them and they said why not, said Hari Menon, co-founder and CEO of BigBasket, earlier this year.

Photograph: Kind courtesy Dunzo/Twitter

BigBasket hopped on the quick commerce bandwagon with BB Now in late 2021 after many of its competitors had already doubled down on their express delivery services.

Yet, 70-80 per cent of BigBasket's sales are now driven by its core e-grocery business, which offers slower same-day or next-day deliveries.

Zepto's Palicha, however, has a different take. It's all about execution, he says, adding, Ten-minute deliveries matter to customers. Our retention data is meaningfully better for customers who receive orders within 10 minutes compared to those getting deliveries within 20-25 minutes. And we have seen that at scale.

Another roadblock, Menon says, is scaling in Tier-II and -III cities, where demand is low.

Zepto's smaller scale -- it operates in seven cities compared to Blinkit's 23 and Instamart's 29 -- has proven to be a boon, allowing the startup to streamline operations in major metropolitan cities where demand is relatively high.

Most of our growth is coming from deepening our operations in existing geographies. Even without expansion, we are seeing massive growth because of how big the market opportunity is, Palicha says.

While Zepto's larger competitors have shut down some of their dark stores in certain unviable locations, how they fare in their expansion to smaller markets remains to be seen.

Quick commerce, experts say, is a long-haul game where winners will be few and far between.

The sector is still nascent, with further consolidation on the cards.

Those who crack the code of swift deliveries will be in a position to reap its long-term benefits.

QUICK BUCK: Key financials of competitors

Zepto - Raised $200 mn in a series E round last week to become India's first unicorn in 2023 - On track to turn cash flow-positive in the next 12-15 months; 300% YoY growth in sales this year

Blinkit - Expects to be adjusted Ebitda-positive over the next four quarters - Revenue went up to ~384 cr in Q1 FY24, from ~363 cr in Q4 FY23 - Average order value stood at ~582 in Q1FY24, up 11% from ~522 in the previous quarter

Instamart - Swiggy, of which Instamart is a subsidiary, has reportedly reduced its monthly cash burn to $20 mn, from about $45-50 mn that it was losing each month during its peak in 2021

Global Benchmarks

In June this year, Getir, a prominent Turkey-based fast delivery player, announced its exit from France and filed for bankruptcy.

Europe's largest player in grocery quick commerce, Getir was also in plans to pull out of Spain and other markets, according to reports.

Firms like Getir, which is valued at $11.8 billion, have either shut shop or taken the consolidation route.

For instance, US-based Buyk, Fridge No More and Zero Grocery have ceased their operations, as reported by TechCrunch.

Those who remain have reduced workforce and shifted focus to profitability in a bid to raise funds.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
'In India those who want change cannot bring about change, and those who can bring about change do not want change.'

No other economist in India is perhaps more qualified to talk about the direct relation between the Indian economy and caste oppression than Dr M Kunhaman.

His autobiography Ethiru describes how it was to grow up as a Dalit in poverty, how it was to be insulted, humiliated and rejected by society in school, college and later on at work.

The book was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award last year, but he refused to accept the award.

When he passed out of Calicut University with first rank in economics, he became the second Dalit student to do so after K R Narayanan, who later became India's first Dalit President.

After working as a professor of economics at Kerala University for 27 years, Dr Kunhaman taught economics for a few years at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

He is described as a strong voice of the subalterns, a well-known academician, a unique thinker and an economist.

"There are a few persons in India who can bring about any change in India because they are powerful and unquestioned. They are Narendra Modi, Mamata Bannerjee, Stalin, and Pinarayi Vijayan. But they won't bring about such a change because their order of priority is different," Dr Kunhaman tells Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier in the concluding segment of a two-part interview:

Is the divide based on economic lines now? It is said that with economic growth, the feudal divide in societies will disappear, but you see new groups dominating...

Yes, the divide is economic.

Do you know 10% of the households in India own 77% of the wealth?

According to the official statistics, 1% of the population control 22% of national income.

10% of the population get 57% of national income.

Now, you will get an idea of the distribution of wealth and income, and who control wealth and income.

In 1820, the German philosopher (Georg Wilhelm Friedrich) Hegel said in his book, Philosophy of Right, property is freedom. It also means poverty is 'un-freedom'.

India is the fifth largest economy in the world. And the prime minister's intention is to make India the third largest economy.

The economic growth achieved by India in the last 10, 15 years is tremendous.

Has it improved the lives of the poor in India?

That's precisely the question.

The fact is, the phenomenal economic growth is not benefitting the deprived sections of society to the extent they should.

Though there are a few rich and powerful people even in the deprived communities, a large majority of them remain poor, deprived, oppressed, marginalised and excluded.

The peculiarity of Indian society is that it permits individual inclusion and group exclusion.

Wealth re-distribution is what is needed for group inclusion.

Let me then ask you, Kerala is one state that had land reforms by the E M S Namboodiripad government in the early 1960s. Kerala is also one state that has many caste- based political parties.

How do you describe this phenomenon?

It is surprising and in a sense, paradoxical.

But you must understand that Kerala had land reforms, and not land re-distribution to the landless. The landless continued to be landless and oppressed.

Only one person talked about land re-distribution in India, and that was B R Ambedkar.

He wanted the entire agricultural land to be under the control of the state and distribute it among the farmers who work in the field.

He wanted land to be distributed equally among the landless as justice was very important to him. He said, equality is justice and inequality is injustice.

IMAGE: Dr M Kunhaman IMAGE: Dr M Kunhaman

With economic growth, do you foresee caste disappearing from Indian society?

Caste will not disappear with just economic growth. You have to start with distribution of land.

I have been an economics professor for many years. But I would say, you have to discard conventional wisdom and start with distribution.

Right to Property should be part of Article 21.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at the Digital Science Park in Thiruvananthapuram, April 25, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Do you see any political party or a political leader of today who has that kind of a vision?

No, they don't have. They don't want change.

The paradoxical situation in India is, those who want change, cannot bring about change, and those who can bring about change, do not want change.

There are a few persons in India who can bring about any change in India because they are powerful and unquestioned.

They are Narendra Modi, Mamata Bannerjee, (M K) Stalin, and Pinarayi Vijayan. But they won't bring about such a change because their order of priority is different.

They are encouraging big capitalists, the rich and powerful as they want an investment friendly society.

With this kind of a policy approach, caste will not disappear from India.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Photograph: Rahul Singh/ANI Photo

All eyes are on September 9 and 10, when the heads of State and government summit are due in New Delhi.

Indian diplomats worry that judging by recent global events, the outcome of the summit could be suboptimal.

The summit will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil society.

A G20 Leaders' Declaration will be adopted at the end of the summit, committing the leaders to the priorities discussed and agreed upon during ministerial and working group meetings that have been held through 2023, with some engagements taken up at India's initiative.

"If we can avoid too much difference over text, that is a modest success," said a former foreign secretary.

"The best outcome is a full physical meeting and a successful outcome in the form of a communique, but our (India's) situation is very difficult," he said.

Some diplomats feel India's role is not just minding the logistics, but also keeping the G20 agenda on track and "keeping everyone involved and informed".

"We can only hope for the best: That the global situation does not deteriorate further," said another.

Whatever the end result, the summit, when an array of world leaders arrive in New Delhi, is expected to be the Next Big celebration for the government and will likely segue into a campaign point in the 2024 general elections.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
As many as 25 government bills, including the one dating back to 1992 pertaining to adopting a two-child norm for panchayat polls, are pending in the Rajya Sabha.

IMAGE: Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asks the Opposition MPs to maintain decorum in the House during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, August 10, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Among the pending bills are the Delhi Rent (Amendment) Bill, 1997 that seeks to regulate rent, repairs of rented premises and eviction of tenants in the national capital, and one on amending the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act to relax certain conditions for appointment of regulators, according to a bulletin by Rajya Sabha.

Normally, bills introduced in the Lok Sabha lapse with the dissolution of the House.

However, Rajya Sabha being a continuing chamber is not subject to dissolution, and bills introduced and pending in this House remain on the live register, unless withdrawn by the government.

The Constitution (79th Amendment) Bill 1992 dealing with the adoption of two-child norm for panchayat polls is the oldest draft legislation pending in the Upper House of Parliament.



"The Constitution (79th Amendment Bill, 1992) has been pending in the Parliament due to lack of consensus among political parties in favour of the Bill," the government told the Lok Sabha in 2005 in reply to a written question by Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.

Among other bills pending are provisions of the Municipalities (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Bill, 2001; The Seeds Bill, 2004; The Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy Pharmacy Bill, 2005; The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2008; The Mines (Amendment) Bill, 2011; and The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2011.

The pending bills also include the Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Repeal) Bill, 2012; The Building and Other Construction Workers Related Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2013; The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Amendment Bill, 2013; The Rajasthan Legislative Council Bill, 2013; The Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2013; and The Delhi Rent (Repeal) Bill, 2013.

Also among the pending draft legislations are The Assam Legislative Council Bill, 2013, The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (Third) Bill, 2013, The Waqf Properties (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Bill, 2014, The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2019 related to Assam; and The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Amendment) Bill, 2019.

Among the pending bills are The Registration of Marriage of Non Resident Indian Bill, 2019; The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019; and The Pesticide Management Bill, 2020.

The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023, The Post Office Bill, 2023 and the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 were introduced by the government in the recently concluded monsoon session of Parliament.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, September 7. The Chinese Loong Airlines has launched flights on the Hangzhou - Almaty route, Trend reports.

Flights will be operated 3 times a week (on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) on A321 type aircraft.

As Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan said, the entry of a new air carrier into the air transportation market of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the opening of a new air route, will contribute to the further development of trade, economic, tourism and cultural cooperation between the countries.

The Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan is working to expand the geography of flights and increase the number of international flights on an ongoing basis.

Air Astana President Peter Foster said at a meeting with Kazakh Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev on September 6 that the airline will launch flights to Tokyo, Singapore (both in 2024) and New York (2025).

Air Astana received a net profit of 10.5 billion tenge (about $22.7 million) from January through June 2023.

The airlines profit for the same period in 2022 amounted to 4.95 billion tenge (about $10.67). Thus, the company's net profit in the reporting period increased by 2.1 times.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday presented a 12-point proposal to expand cooperation between India and 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations in a range of areas such as connectivity, trade and digital transformation even as he called for building a rules-based post-COVID world order.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the 20th Association of Southeast Asian Nations-India summit, in Jakarta on September 7, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

The establishment of a multi-modal connectivity and economic corridor linking South East Asia, India, West Asia and Europe and offering to share New Delhi's digital public infrastructure stack with ASEAN partners are among the proposals announced by Modi at the annual ASEAN-India summit in this Indonesian capital.

The 12-point proposals also included the prime minister's call for a collective fight against terrorism, terror financing and cyber-disinformation as well as to raise issues being faced by Global South in multilateral fora.

Two joint statements -- one on maritime cooperation, and the other on food security were also adopted at the summit.

In his address at the summit, Modi said that progress towards a free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the voice of the Global South is in the common interest of all.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners.

In his opening remarks, Modi described the grouping as the epicentre of growth and that New Delhi is committed to working "shoulder to shoulder" with it.

"The 21st century is Asia's century. It is our century. For this, it is necessary to build a rule-based post-COVID world order and efforts by all for human welfare," the prime minister, co-chairing the summit, said.

"The progress of free and open Indo-Pacific and elevating the Voice of Global South is in the common interest of all," he said.

The prime minister also reaffirmed that ASEAN is the central pillar of India's Act East Policy and it fully supports ASEAN centrality and its outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

"Our history and geography connect India and ASEAN. Along with shared values, regional unity, peace, prosperity, and a shared belief in a multipolar world also binds us together," he said, adding the grouping holds a "prominent place" in India's Indo-Pacific initiative.

It was the first summit between the two sides since the elevation of their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership last year.

"Today, even in an environment of global uncertainties, there is continuous progress in every field in our mutual cooperation.

This is a testament to the strength and resilience of our relationship," he said.

The prime minister's 12-point roadmap included an ASEAN-India fund for the digital future focusing on cooperation in digital transformation and financial connectivity and an announcement on the renewal of support to the Economic and Research Institute of ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).

The proposals listed by the ministry of external affairs included Modi's call for collectively raising issues being faced by Global South in multilateral fora and an invitation to the ASEAN countries to join the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine being established by the World Health Organisation in India.

The prime minister also offered to share India's experience in providing affordable and quality medicines to people through Jan-Aushadhi Kendras and invited ASEAN countries to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.

In his opening remarks, Modi said "ASEAN matters because here everyone's voice is heard, and ASEAN is the epicentre of growth because the ASEAN region plays a crucial role in global development."

"Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam -- 'one earth, one family, one future', this sentiment is also the theme of India's G-20 Presidency," Modi noted.

ASEAN-India dialogue relations started with the establishment of a sectoral partnership in 1992. This graduated to a full dialogue partnership in December 1995 and a summit-level partnership in 2002.

The ties were elevated to a strategic partnership in 2012.

The 10 member countries of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

The ties between India and ASEAN have been on a significant upswing in the last few years with the focus being on boosting cooperation in the areas of trade and investment as well as security and defence.
United States President Joe Biden is all set to visit India and is 'very excited' about the important initiatives he will be championing at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, according to senior White House officials.

IMAGE: A painting of US President Joe Biden, welcoming him in India for the G20 Summit, in Amritsar on September 5, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Biden will follow the COVID-19 guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during his visit to India for the G20 Summit.

First Lady Jill Biden, 72, tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. President Biden, 80, was tested for the virus on Monday and Tuesday following his wife's positive test, but his results were negative.

The White House said the president has tested negative twice and there is no change in his travel plans for India.

After arriving in New Delhi on Friday evening, President Biden is likely to immediately get back to business by having his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same night.

His meetings and interactions with Modi and other world leaders during and on the sidelines of the G20 Summit would be driven by the COVID-19 protocols established by the CDC.

The First Lady is quarantined at her Delaware house after testing positive and is not travelling with the president to India and Vietnam.

"The president tested negative for COVID-19 this morning following the negative test on Monday night and also yesterday. He is not experiencing any symptoms, which of course is a good thing," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference on Wednesday.

Responding to a volley of questions from reporters, Jean-Pierre reiterated that there is no change in the president's travel plans.

The president and the travelling members of the US delegation would be tested frequently for COVID-19. Biden is expected to be tested at least one more time before his departure from the White House for India on Thursday evening.

"He (Biden) leaves tomorrow, and he's very excited about the important initiatives that he will be championing at the G20," White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby told reporters at a separate news conference organised by Washington Foreign Press Center.

He said Biden's focus is going to be on delivering economic opportunity for developing countries, making progress on key priorities for the American people, from climate to technology, and showing US' commitment to the G20 itself as a viable, if not vital, forum to tackle these issues.

"Of course, now, we're grateful for Prime Minister Modi's leadership during India's presidency of the G20, and the President is certainly looking forward to his bilateral meeting with the prime minister shortly after his arrival in New Delhi.

"He's also looking forward to warmly welcoming the African Union as a permanent member of the G20, the newest permanent member. And we believe that the African Union's voice will make the G20 even stronger than it already is," Kirby said.

He hoped that the G20 countries would be able to issue a joint statement.

"We know that the Indians also would like to see a joint communique, if you will, so we'll see where it goes.

"Oftentimes the sticking point tends to be the war in Ukraine because countries like Russia and China are less likely to sign on to language that the rest of the international community is more uncomfortable signing on to, so we'll see where it goes. But we'd like to see that, absolutely," Kirby said.

Apart from President Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva are among the G20 leaders who have already confirmed their participation in the summit.

Prime Minister Modi will hand over the baton of the G20 Presidency to Brazilian President Lula on September 10.

Brazil will formally assume the G20 Presidency on December 1.

The G20 member countries 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 (EU).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden are set to hold bilateral talks on Friday evening with a focus on further solidifying the India-US comprehensive global and strategic partnership.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets United States President Joe Biden Biden at the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali on November 16, 2022. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Pool/Reuters

The two leaders are expected to review ongoing bilateral cooperation in areas of clean energy, trade, high-technology, defence and how the two countries can contribute in dealing with some of the pressing challenges facing the world.

Modi is also likely to hold separate bilateral meetings on Friday with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth.

The US president is visiting New Delhi to attend the G20 summit that is being held on September 9 and 10. It will be his first visit to India as US president.

The last US president to visit India was Donald Trump in February 2020.

Biden is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on Friday evening and he will leave for Vietnam on Sunday afternoon at the end of the G20 summit.

The focus of the talks between PM Modi and President Biden is likely to be on reviewing the ongoing bilateral cooperation in various key areas including clean energy, defence and high-technology, said a source.

The two sides may also deliberate on having a more liberal visa regime.

Prime Minister Modi and President Biden had touched upon possible cooperation in developing next generation small modular reactor technologies in a collaborative mode in their talks in Washington in June and it is expected that the issue may figure at the meeting on Friday.

Ahead of Biden's visit, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US commends Modi's leadership of the G20.

"We commend Prime Minister Modi for his leadership of the G20 this year and we are committed to helping ensure that India has a successful G20 host as they host (the summit) this year," she said.

"So, that's going to continue to be our commitment. During Prime Minister Modi's visit here in June, the President (Biden) and the prime minister shared their determination to deliver on shared priorities at the summit," she said in response to a question.

Jean-Pierre said the president is "very much looking forward to continuing that work with the prime minister and other leaders later this week as we head out tomorrow."

The G20 member countries represent around 85 percent 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 (EU).
Stoutly defending Sanatan Dharma, Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai on Thursday dubbed the ruling DMK a casteist party that must be decimated, and questioned its track record on Dalit empowerment.

IMAGE: Priests protest against DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks on Sanatan Dharma, Haridwar, September 5, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

He also dubbed DMK as Dengue Malaria Kosu (mosquito) that needs to be eradicated.

Annamalai, referring to the statements of Chief Minister M K Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi, said both of them have toned down their rhetoric against Sanatan Dharma and that it was good.

Posting a video on X, he said: "Both of you know that you are fighting a losing battle over the last 3-4 days," he said and accused them of uttering lies.

"If something needs eradication from Tamil Nadu, it is the DMK. D - dengue, M - malaria K - kosu (mosquito). Going forward, we are sure that people will associate these deadly diseases with DMK," he said.

Annamalai said Stalin claimed that Sanatan Dharma essentially practises discrimination and that was why the Dravidian movement was founded.

Tracing the life and times of iconic Tamil Dalit leader M C Raja, the BJP leader said he quit the Justice Party in 1923 after asserting that the "Brahminical domination" was replaced by upper caste Hindus, leaving no space for Scheduled Caste leaders within the outfit. Justice Party's founding principle was not in tune with what was practised.

In 1974, the first woman Dalit minister of Tamil Nadu, Sathyavani Muthu, who was part of the late M Karunanidhi-led DMK cabinet, levelled serious allegations against the chief minister inside the assembly.

She alleged that Karunanidhi was against the interests of the Dalit community, funds were not being sanctioned and that she had certain misgivings.

"Inside the assembly, in Indian history, we have never seen a minister complaining against the chief minister. What was the price she paid? She was dismissed from the cabinet and later expelled from the party."

These were among the instances that showed how Dalit leaders were treated inside the DMK, Annamalai claimed.

"When you say that you are here to abolish certain ills of Sanatan Dharma and to promote equality, it is like Satan quoting scriptures."

Annamalai said Stalin claimed the DMK as a party was very progressive.

Citing the composition of TN cabinet, he said: "Out of the 35 ministers, three are from SC community, two are women, you call this progressive ? Less than ten percent." Minor, insignificant portfolios were assigned to ministers from the SC community, he said.

"Look at Narendra Modiji's current cabinet, out of the 79 ministers, 20 ministers are from SC/ST community, 11 are women and five are from minority community. I am sure sir, you clearly understand that you really do not practise what you preach."

Even in Uttar Pradesh, out of 52 ministers, nine are from SC/ST community. "You do not give them (Dalits) political rights, political power and what are you talking about improving the standards of the oppressed community."

Recalling the 1999 Manjolai (Tirunelveli) tea estate workers protest vis-a-vis police action that led to the deaths of 17 persons and a comment of then chief minister Karunanidhi, the BJP leader alleged that the DMK, as a party, is run on caste lines and which is meant to promote caste in Tamil Nadu.

"That is why, more than any other part of India, Tamil Nadu sees the highest number of caste violence; the highest number of caste conflicts and the highest number of caste fault lines."

The prevalence of two-tumbler system is one of the highest in Tamil Nadu. Last year, on Independence Day, many panchayat leaders from the SC community were not allowed to hoist the national flag.

Sanatan Dharma is timeless and predates any religion and regards all living beings and treats everyone as equals. It is accommodative in nature and honours all religions.

When some discriminatory practices were thrust by some individuals within Sanatan Dharma. it is opposed by saints and reformers who abolish it.

Annamalai listed reformists and their work to cleanse the Sanatan Dharma of its ills and wondered how could Udhayanidhi Stalin declare that Sanatan Dharma itself should be eradicated for some of its ills.

"It clearly shows what little understanding you have about Sanatan Dharma. Tamil Nadu is a land of spiritualism, the BJP leader said and underscored that a huge chunk of Tamil saints, the Alwars (Vaishnavite) and Nayanmars (Saivite), were from oppressed communities. "We worship them."

Annamalai said "your (Chief Minister Stalins) son (Udhayanidhi) -- he called himself a practising Christian in December 2022; now he says he doesn't have any faith."

In the Sanatan Dharma abolition conference on September 2, the BJP leader said Dravidar Kazhagam chief K Veeramani stated that Sanatan Dharma is Hinduism and Udhayanidhi, on the same occasion, wanted its eradication.

Also, Hindu Religious Endowments Minister P K Sekar Babu was on the dais violating his oath of office. "Mr chief minister, your lies will not keep working."

Blaming the DMK for "corruption" and over several other issues, he said nobody was afraid of the opposition alliance INDIA.
The results for bypolls to seven assembly seats in six states will be declared on Friday in what is being seen as a major test for the opposition INDIA parties against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance ahead of the polls in five states later this year and Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: ANI Photo

The counting of votes is scheduled to begin at 8 am at centres set up in the respective states.

The seven seats -- Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, Puthuppally in Kerala, Dhupguri in West Bengal, Dumri in Jharkhand, and Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura -- went to poll on September 5.

The by-election saw the INDIA bloc putting up a united front in the Ghosi constituency in Uttar Pradesh, where the voting was moderate at around 50.77 per cent, and in Jharkhand's Dumri where a total of 64.84 per cent of 2.98 lakh voters exercised their franchise.

Out of the seven seats, three (Dhanpur, Bageshwar and Dhupguri) were held by the BJP and one each by the Samajwadi Party (Ghosi), Communist Party of India-Marxist (Boxanagar), Jjharkhand Mukti Morcha (Dumri) and the Congress (Puthuppally).

In Uttar Pradesh, the Ghosi seat fell vacant after the resignation of Samajwadi Party MLA and OBC leader Dara Singh Chauhan, who rejoined the BJP.

For the Bageshwar assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand, the counting will be done at 14 tables with 130 polling personnel on the job, District Magistrate Anuradha Pal said on Thursday.

The Bageshwar seat fell vacant after the death of its MLA and cabinet minister Chandan Ram Das in April this year. He had won the seat four times since 2007.

In Jharkhand, INDIA bloc and NDA candidates are keeping their fingers crossed ahead of the counting to Dumri assembly bypolls. The counting centre has been set up at Krishi Bazar Samiti, Pachambha, in Giridih district, an election official said.

"In all, 24 rounds of counting will be held and over 70 officials have been deployed for the exercise," Giridih Deputy Commissioner-cum-Election Officer Naman Priesh Lakra told PTI.

"Central Armed Police Force and various wings of Jharkhand police have been deployed to ensure free and fair counting," he said.

Around 65 per cent of 2.98 lakh voters had exercised their franchise.

In Tripura, the ECI has taken necessary steps to conduct the counting in a transparent way, a senior poll official said on Thursday.

Counting of votes to both the seats - Boxanagar and Dhanpur  will take place at Sonamura Girls' HS School. "There is tight security at the counting centre, Sepahijala district magistrate Vishal Kumar told PTI.

BJP's Tafajjal Hussain, who unsuccessfully contested the last assembly election from Boxanagar, is contesting against CPI-M nominee Mizan Hussain from there.

On Wednesday, the CPI-M announced to boycott the counting alleging largescale rigging in the two constituencies during voting.

In West Bengal's Dhupguri, personnel of the central armed police forces and state police are guarding the strong room on the second campus of North Bengal University in Jalpaiguri, an official said.

Around 76 per cent of 2.6 lakh eligible voters exercised their franchise in the by-election.

CPI-M's Ishwar Chandra Roy is contesting as the candidate of the Congress-Left alliance, while the ruling Trinamool Congress has fielded Nirmal Chandra Roy, a teacher by profession.

The BJP has nominated Tapasi Roy, the widow of a CRPF jawan who died fighting terrorists in Kashmir a few years back.

The bypoll to the seat was necessitated due to the death of sitting BJP MLA Bishu Pada Ray earlier this year.

Dhupguri, a scheduled caste-reserved seat, has nearly 50 per cent Rajbanshi people and 15 per cent minority population.

Kerala is also anxiously waiting for the result of the Puthuppally bypoll which saw an intense battle between the UDF and LDF to fill the seat left vacant by the demise of Congress stalwart Oommen Chandy.

The constituency, located in the southern Kottayam district, witnessed a war of words for the past few weeks as the September 5 by-election was a prestigious battle for both the ruling and opposition fronts in the state.

According to Election Commission sources, the counting of votes would begin by 8.00 am at the special counting station in the Baselius College. Postal and service ballots would be counted first, they said.

The total number of booths in Puthuppally was 182, and the counting of votes in the electronic voting machines would be conducted in 13 rounds.
A migrant worker who was arrested recently for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor girl in this coastal district is an illegal immigrant from neighbouring Bangladesh, police probing the case said here on Thursday.

Image used for representational purpose only. Photograph: R Senthil Kumar/PTI Photo

The migrant worker, namely Ariful Islam, 26, was arrested by Arthunkal police on August 23 for allegedly sexually assaulting the girl after trespassing into her house on the same day.

Islam committed the crime while he was working as a rag picker in the area.

The police custody of Islam was secured on September 6, and a detailed investigation revealed that the accused entered the country in June this year without a valid passport or visa, the police said.

Launching a detailed probe into the case, the police, which had seized his mobile phone, found that Islam hails from Pirojpur district of Bangladesh.

He has also been booked under the Foreigners Act, they said.
As a hugely divisive debate raged over Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin's "eradicate Sanatan Dharma" remark, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking its direction for registration of an FIR against him.

IMAGE: Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin speaks to the media on the Sanatan Dharma controversy, Chennai, September 7, 2023. Photograph: ANI

The petitioner has also sought an FIR against DMK leader and former Union minister A Raja for his comments on Sanatan Dharma.

Throwing his weight behind Udhayanidhi Stalin, the son of DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Raja likened Sanatan Dharma to leprosy and HIV.

The application, filed in the top court by advocate Vineet Jindal, has also sought issuance of a contempt notice against Delhi and Chennai police, accusing them of not implementing the directions of the apex court on hate speech.

The top court had on April 28 this year directed all states and Union territories to register cases against those making hate speeches even if no complaint was made.

The petitioner has sought direction to police to lodge FIR against Udhayanidhi Stalin, the film actor son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, and Raja for their comments, claiming they promoted enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race etc. These offences are punishable under the Indian Penal Code.

Jindal has also sought his impleadment in a pending petition that sought the apex court's directions to curb hate speech.

"It is respectfully submitted that the applicant, being a Hindu and Sanatan Dharma follower, his religious sentiments are hurt by statements made by the non-applicant Udhayanidhi Stalin calling for eradicating Sanatan Dharma and further comparing Sanatan with mosquitoes, dengue, corona, and malaria," Jindal has said in his application.

Raja, a former Union minister, defended Udhayanidhi, saying his remarks were "mild and soft" and went on to equate Sanatan Dharma, a term loosely used to describe Hinduism, with even more dreaded diseases.

"If Sanatan Dharma should be commented in disgusting terms; once upon a time the leprosy and recently the HIV had stigma and as far as we are concerned, it (Sanatan) should be regarded like HIV and leprosy that had social stigma," the DMK's deputy general secretary said at a public event in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

The DMK is avowedly wedded to atheism.

Earlier, over 260 eminent citizens, including former judges and bureaucrats, had written to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud urging him to take cognisance of Udhayanidhi Stalin's eradicate Sanatan Dharma remark.

In a letter to the CJI, the signatories, including former Delhi HC judge S N Dhingra, had said not only did Stalin make a hate speech but he refused to apologise for his remarks.
Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed that he will pardon all peaceful January 6 protesters if he gets elected as the next United States president in 2024.

IMAGE: Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during the annual Labor Day Picnic hosted by the Salem Republican Town Committee in Salem, New Hampshire, September 4, 2023. Photograph: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

The 38-year-old Indian American entrepreneur has gained traction after he denounced the US Justice Department for its 'political persecution' of non-violent protesters at the Republican primary presidential debate last month.

'America now has a two-tiered justice system: Antifa and BLM rioters roam free while peaceful January 6 protesters are imprisoned without bail. Biden's 'Department of Injustice' has executed over 1,000 arrests for nonviolent offenses related to January 6, casting a dark shadow over Lady Justice and the foundational principles of our legal system,' he said in a statement.

'To unify this country, I commit as president to pardon all Americans who were targets of politicised federal prosecutions and those denied due process. This includes all peaceful, nonviolent January 6 protesters who were denied their constitutional due process rights,' he said on Wednesday.

The January 6 riot saw more than 2,000 people enter the US Capitol as lawmakers certified the results of the 2020 election, in which President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump.

The mob stormed the Capitol following a speech from Trump, who was speaking at a rally not far from the Capitol grounds.

In his speech, Trump claimed election fraud and called on then-Vice-President Mike Pence to overturn the results.

The riot led to the biggest police investigation in US history with hundreds of people accused of criminal offences.

Ramaswamy said he will end the weaponisation of police power in America and noted that every Republican candidate must be clear on hard issues.

He said on Sunday that while he expects to become the party's nominee for the November 2024 US elections, he will vote for Trump if the former president secures the nomination.

He also expressed his intention to pardon Trump, who currently faces an array of legal challenges, should he be elected as President of the United States.

"If Donald Trump's the nominee -- yes, I will support him, and if I'm the president, yes, I will pardon him because that will help reunite the country. But it's not the most important thing I'm going to do as the next president. It is the table stakes for moving this country forward," Ramaswamy told ABC News.

Following his impressive performance in the inaugural Republican primary presidential debate last month, Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur-turned-politician, has experienced a surge in popularity, competing alongside fellow Indian American rival Nikki Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina.

Meanwhile, several media outlets reported that Ramaswamy escaped unhurt when a sign reading 'Truth' fell on him during a campaign event in New Hampshire over the weekend.

An opinion poll shared by the Trump Campaign showed that Ramaswamy (with 15 per cent) is now a distant second after former president Trump (68 per cent). Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is now at 13 per cent and at the third position.
The first summit in South Asia, it will host the largest delegation of 43 heads of State and government as well as the heads of international organisations.

IMAGE: Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan ahead of the G20 Summit. Photograph: ANI Photo

The 18th Leaders Summit of the G20 will be held in New Delhi on September 9-10.

The first summit in South Asia, it will host the largest delegation of 43 heads of State and government as well as the heads of international organisations.

A major milestone for India's growing economic clout and global footprint, it will also be a key validation of the country's evolving foreign policy, which has created a new space for India's rising geopolitical ambitions.

IMAGE: Delhi is all spruced up and ready for the G20 Summit on Saturday and Sunday, September 9 and 10. Photograph: Mohd Zakir/ANI Photo

Founded in 1999 in response to several world economic crises, the G20 is the world's primary venue for international economic and financial cooperation.

Bringing together the 20 most powerful economies in the world, the grouping includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The European Union too is a member.

The grouping represents about 85 per cent of global GDP, over 75 per cent of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.

It may grow to represent a much larger chunk of humanity if India's proposal to expand membership to the African Union is accepted by all leaders later this year.

Since 2008, the G20 nations have convened at least once a year, bringing together leaders for an annual gathering that has wide geopolitical implications.

The annual summits have become the core of global policymaking on pressing financial, strategic, and economic matters over the past decade.

IMAGE: External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar meets with US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, March 2, 2023. Photograph: Olivier Douliery/Pool/Reuters

Eyes on India

In its G20 presidency, India hosted 230 meetings across 32 different sectors, in more than 60 different cities in India.

In the past, G20 meetings have been held in 9-10 cities by a host nation, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said.

In-person participation during India's G20 presidency is among the largest ever.

Looking beyond the dignitaries, India is also welcoming a much higher number of overall foreign visitors as part of the G20.

Earlier this year, the tourism ministry had projected an estimated 150,000 guests will arrive in India in 2023 to participate in events, including those being held by engagement groups outside the government umbrella.

Holding the G20 presidency, India has the prerogative to invite other allied nations to the summit.

The ministry of external affairs has confirmed that Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE will be guest nations.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Sunshine and some clouds. High 49F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

A few clouds from time to time. Low near 30F. Winds light and variable.
Jasper Lorien is the chair of the Vermont State Youth Council. They can be reached at jasper.lorien@vtstateyouthcouncil.org. If you would like to work with or speak to the council, you can make a request at https://www.cognitoforms.com/vermontafterschool/stateyouthcouncilrequestform. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of Vermont News & Media.
WEST ARLINGTON  Today is the last day of the year that the "OPEN" message painted by hand on the side of an A-frame sign will be turned to fa
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received the participants of the 2nd meeting of the Ministers on Disaster and Emergency Management of member and observer states of the Organization of Turkic States and the international exercise "Baku-2023"  Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Kubanychbek Omuraliev, Minister of Interior of Turkiye Ali Yerlikaya, Minister of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan Syrym Sharipkhanov, Minister of Emergency Situations of Kyrgyzstan Boobek Azhikeev, Minister of Emergency Situations of Uzbekistan Abdulla Kuldashev and Minister of Interior of Northern Cyprus Dursun Oguz.

Addressing the meeting, President Ilham Aliyev said:

- I sincerely welcome you. Welcome to Azerbaijan!

The meeting of the ministers of emergency situations of the Organization of Turkic States begins in Baku today. This is a very important event. I am sure that the meeting will be very good and the results will be very successful.

As you may know, the summit of the heads of Turkic states will be held in two months. Major preparations for the Summit are underway, including management of emergency situations. As far as I know, the meeting is also expected to prepare an agreement on mutual assistance. There is a great need for this. We all know very well that the number of emergency situations in our region and the world as a whole has increased dramatically of late. There are many reasons for that but the fact is that unprecedented floods, earthquakes and fires have become commonplace. I would like to take this opportunity to pay my respects to the memory of those who died in the terrible earthquake and express my condolences to brotherly Turkiye. As you know, Azerbaijan made its efforts in the aftermath of this horrific earthquake, from the first hours and minutes. Currently, the final parameters of a settlement to be built by the Azerbaijani state in the city of Kahramanmaras are being determined, and we will start construction in the near future.

Azerbaijan has fairly extensive experience in this field. In recent years, work has been carried out to strengthen our material and technical infrastructure, the professionalism of rescue workers has increased. As a whole, our rescue missions in various regions, including the countries connecting the Turkic world, clearly show our capabilities and intention. We should always be by each other's side. All member countries are making their valuable contributions to the development of the Organization of Turkic States, including Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has supported the strengthening of this organization at all times, and relations with member countries of the organization rank first among our foreign policy priorities. I have stated this many times as President, and we have shown it in practice.

The Turkic world is a big family, and I am glad that all member and observer countries have provided great support for the organization in recent years. Of course, this support should be provided in the following years as well. Today, the Organization of Turkic States has managed to take its rightful place on a global scale. However, we must continue to work hard so that our possibilities of influence are even broader. Here, of course, mutual assistance, the strengthening of economic relations, the constant coordination and consultations at the political level, mutual assistance in the field of security, i.e. all these are important factors and will further strengthen our union. I am sure that the position and role of our organization in the world will further increase in the near future.

I want to say again that relations with Turkic states are a first-class task in Azerbaijans foreign policy. It is no coincidence that over the past few years, I have paid numerous visits to countries that are members of the Organization. The heads of state and government of the member countries of the organization have paid multiple visits to Azerbaijan, and these visits are planned for this year as well. So this once again shows that we are on the right track.

Today, for the first time, a representative of Northern Cyprus is also present here with us. I would like to specifically welcome our Northern Cypriot Turkic brothers. The minister is present here as an observer, but at the same time, with his national flag. Of course, the flag of Northern Cyprus should and will be flown at our event. Azerbaijan has always been by the side of our brothers united in the whole Turkic world, and it is very gratifying that Northern Cyprus it was chosen as an observer to at the last summit of the Organization of Turkic States. On this occasion, I heartily congratulate all our Turkic brothers. This once again shows our unity and once again shows our resolve. It shows that we are and will always be with each other on the path of truth.

I welcome you again. I wish you good luck and the best results. Please convey my sincere greetings to the heads of state and government of the countries you represent.

x x x

Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States Kubanychbek Omuraliev said at the meeting:

- Honorable Mr. President, good morning.

Dear Ilham Heydar oglu, I would like to thank you very much on behalf of the delegation and on my own behalf for taking the time to receive us. As you mentioned in your opening speech, this is an indicator of the attention you and the heads of state have been paying to our organization and its activities.

Kubanychbek Omuraliev touched upon the importance of the second meeting of the Ministers on Disaster and Emergency Management of member and observer states of the Organization of Turkic States and the international exercise Baku-2023. He specifically noted the support of the President of Azerbaijan for the activities of the Organization of Turkic States and stated:

- I would like to take this opportunity to thank you once again for your continuous support to the activities of the Organization of Turkic States. Your Excellency, the rapid changes taking place all over the world, the important events, the challenges at the global and regional levels make integration and cooperation among Turkic states ever more important and bring our peoples ever closer together. The relations between the fraternal Turkic peoples have great strategic importance and potential. On February 6, 2023, during the devastating earthquakes that occurred in the territory of brotherly Turkiye, we witnessed that not only states, but also our people stood up in a show of unprecedented solidarity and assistance to brotherly Turkiye.

Kubanychbek Omuraliev also touched upon the importance of uniting the efforts of the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States in the fight against natural disasters and emergency situations. He recalled the Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States in Ankara in March of this year held on the initiative of the President of Azerbaijan and emphasized the important decisions made at the summit.

x x x

Turkish Minister of Interior Ali Yerlikaya said in his remarks at the meeting:

- Dear Mr. President, first of all, I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to receive us.

I have brought to you the most sincere greetings from Mr. President.

I am very pleased to be here today, in the brotherly land of Azerbaijan. Our cooperation, which has developed and strengthened under the patronage of our esteemed President and Your Excellency, is unmatched in the world. We, as the Ministry of Interior, have built our cooperation with the institutions of Azerbaijan on the basis of sincerity and selflessness. We see the meetings held during this period as an expression of our fraternal solidarity rather than diplomatic contact.

Dear Mr. President, with your permission, I would like to once again gratefully remember the helping hand extended by our dear Azerbaijan during the Kahramanmaras earthquakes. As you know, we are trying to leave this huge pain behind. Over this period, under the leadership of Your Excellency, the brotherly assistance of Azerbaijan will never be forgotten by our noble nation. Azerbaijan was the first to come to our aid, and Azerbaijani search and rescue teams were also the last to leave. We can never thank our Azerbaijani brothers enough for their financial and moral support.

The Minister of Interior of Turkiye also reported on the activities carried out in the field of natural disaster and emergency management and spoke about cooperation with relevant institutions of Azerbaijan, noting that they it would further strengthen on a foundation of sincere relations between the heads of the two states. The Turkish minister noted the importance of the Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States held in Ankara on the initiative of President Ilham Aliyev after the devastating earthquake in Turkiye, and said:

- Dear Mr. President, I once again express my pleasure to meet with you, and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule. I also congratulate our brotherly Azerbaijan on the occasion of the approaching anniversary of our Karabakh Victory. We remember with gratitude all our Azerbaijani brothers who rose to the height of martyrdom. I express my respect to you, Mr. President.

x x x

President Ilham Aliyev: Thank you very much.

The head of state thanked for the Turkish President`s greetings, and asked the minister to pass on his greetings to Recep Tayyip Erdogan.


















ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, September 7. German companies discussed the possibilities of promoting its businesses in Turkmenistan, Trend reports.

These issues were discussed during a meeting between the Speaker of the Mejlis (Parliament) of Turkmenistan Dunyagozel Gulmanova and members of the delegation from Germany in Ashgabat - General Manager of Higgins CM company Daniel Walter and Managing Director of PSE Engineering GmbH Markus Berendt.

During the meeting, the sides discussed ways to expand cooperation and implement joint projects, including in the construction and oil and gas sectors, as well as in other areas of socio-economic development of Turkmenistan, which has embarked on a comprehensive modernization of infrastructure, the introduction of advanced technologies and innovative solutions.

Furthermore, the representatives also stated the readiness of their companies to provide the Turkmen partners with the accumulated experience and potential in terms of water and compressor equipment, underground storage technologies, etc., assuring them of the most responsible approach to solving the tasks entrusted to them.

Turkmenistan's cooperation with German companies is an important aspect in the development of business and trade relations between these two countries.

Turkmenistan has huge reserves of natural gas, and German energy companies are actively interested in the possibility of investing in gas infrastructure and projects for the extraction and transportation of gas from Turkmenistan to Europe.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, September 7. Uzbekistan and Israel reviewed new opportunities for the mutually profitable development in the field of air transport, Trend reports.

The news followed a meeting between Ambassador of Uzbekistan Feruza Makhmudova and Minister of Transport and Road Safety of Israel Miri Regev, where the parties signed a Protocol between the aviation authorities of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the State of Israel on amendments to the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of the State of Israel on air traffic signed on July 4, 1994, in Uzbekistans Tashkent.

The protocol suggests lifting of restrictions on the number of air carriers and destinations for air traffic between the two countries, as well as provides new opportunities for the two countries to open promising air routes and attract new airlines, and increase mutual tourist flow.

Meanwhile, more than 12,000 Israeli citizens visited Uzbekistan in 2022. A visa-free regime has been operating for entry into Uzbekistan for citizens of Israel for a period of 30 days since 2018.
Note all articles are independently researched and written by myself. However, if you buy via one of the links it may be an affiliate and I may earn a small commission.

I love the understated style of this newly-launched, 1960s-style Timex X Pan Am Waterbury watch.

And, of course, I love the fact that it features Pan Am. Because nothing screams hip jet-setter like the old-school Pan Am logo. Theres something so emotive about it. Sticking on a classic Timex? Even better.

Its a lovely watch that could pass for an original. You really could imagine this at the airport store in 1966. The period authenticity is the big selling point here.

The classic Waterbury with its 42mm stainless-steel case construction has been subtly reworked in conjunction with Pan Am, with detailing including bold Arabic indices on its uncomplicated navy-blue dial, a date function, a brown leather strap, and, as you might have noticed, the Pan Am logo on the front, along with less obvious Pan Am branding to the rear and on the strap.

Oh yes, theres the packaging too, which is a Pan Am collectors dream. Not forgetting, there is a chronograph version, too, which adds those extra dials to the face.

The chronograph comes in a little more expensive at 220, with the standard version also available from Timex for 180.

Find out more at the Timex website
Hoping to regain its ability to run in future elections, the main opposition Candlelight Party asked Cambodias newly appointed interior minister for a meeting to clear a bureaucratic hurdle  reissuing the partys original certificate of registration  that kept it out of Julys parliamentary vote.

The ministry cant create administrative obstacles, Party Vice President Rong Chhun told Radio Free Asia, adding that he hoped party officials could meet personally with Sar Sokha, who was named minister last month after his father stepped down from the position he held for more than 30 years.

The ministry has received the request and will respond with its decision, deputy spokesman Touch Sokhak said, adding that the ministry doesnt discriminate against any political party.

The Candlelight Party was blocked from running in the July election  won in a landslide by the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party  on a technicality that many saw as politically motivated.

In May, the National Election Committee said it wouldnt accept a statement from the Interior Ministry confirming the partys 1998 registration, insisting it required the original certificate issued by the ministry.

But that certificate was lost during a 2017 raid by government agents on the offices of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, which at the time was the leading opposition party.

Supporters of the Candlelight Party rally on the last day of campaigning for the commune elections in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, June 3, 2022. Credit: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP





Bureaucratic obstacles

The Candlelight Party dates back to the 1990s, when it was founded as the Khmer Nation Party. It was later renamed as the Sam Rainsy Party and merged in 2012 with other opposition parties to become the CNRP.

After the Supreme Court banned the CNRP in 2017, the Candlelight Party was revived and began organizing in every province and municipality, attracting many of the same supporters.

The party competed in the 2022 commune elections  something its supporters pointed to in May when the National Election Committee issued its decision.

If the ministry complies with the law, the ministry must reissue the certificate of registration, legal expert Vorn Chan Lout said. But thats only if the ministry doesnt receive political pressure from elsewhere in the government or the CPP, he said.

It is not an issue of whether the Ministry of Interior works independently, he said. It will have the means to resolve the issue. But if the ministry thinks about political benefit, it will be difficult for the Candlelight Party.

Frequent arbitrary interference

Candlelights request for a meeting comes as a Cambodian NGO released an overview report on fundamental freedoms  including freedom of association  in the country.

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights tracked how freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of association were exercised and controlled in 2022. It found restrictions to those freedoms in every province, with most instances occurring in Phnom Penh.

The trends noted in 2022 were especially concerning as Cambodia was advancing into the 2022 Commune Elections and 2023 National Elections, a critical time where the exercise of fundamental freedoms is essential for free and fair elections, the report said.

The report found multiple attempts by the government and third parties to hamper political opposition, as well as frequent arbitrary interference with public assemblies.

The government appears to use laws to curtail civic space and restrict the exercise of fundamental freedoms, rather than to protect these rights, it said.

The organizations Fundamental Freedoms Monitoring Project based its report on 329 media monitoring incidents, 237 incident reports, a poll of 1,424 members of the public across 25 provinces, and a survey of 150 civil society organizations and trade union leaders.

Translated by Yun Samean. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
Meanwhile, citizens are told to install anti-fraud app on their phones, sparking monitoring concerns.

A customer talks to sales assistants in an Apple store in Beijing, Sept. 16, 2022. Apple shares fell Thursday after reports on curbs on iPhone use by Chinese government staff.

Chinese authorities have reportedly banned the use of foreign-made electronics including Apple's iPhone for government business, while insisting that ordinary citizens install a government anti-fraud app on their phones amid complaints that it tracks users' activities.

Apple shares tumbled nearly 4% on Thursday, prompting a selloff in U.S. equities after The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported on widened curbs on iPhone use by Chinese government staff.

The move comes amid ongoing tension with the United States and party leader Xi Jinping's moves towards "decoupling" from the global economy.

According to Reuters, ruling Communist Party officials told employees at some central government agencies in recent weeks to stop using their Apple cell phones at work.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the ban had been extended from officials working in central government ministries to government agencies and state-owned enterprises, while some organizations have started warning employees not to bring iPhones to work.

Form of retaliation?

Netherlands-based dissident Lin Shengliang said this isn't the first time that the Chinese government has tried to restrict the use of foreign electronic devices.

"Leaders in Shenzhen had already issued an internal regulation last year, although it wasn't made public," Lin told Radio Free Asia. "I know people who say foreign mobile phones and Tesla cars have also been banned from their workplaces, while some have to use Huawei computers and a closed intranet at the office."

People visit a Huawei store with advertisements for the Mate 60 series smartphones, at a shopping mall in Beijing, Sept. 7, 2023. Wang Juntao, U.S.-based chairman of the banned China Democracy Party, said the iPhone ban could be retaliation for U.S. sanctions on TikTok and Huawei. Credit: Florence Lo/Reuters





Wang Juntao, U.S.-based chairman of the banned China Democracy Party, said the ban could be a form of retaliation against American sanctions targeting TikTok and Huawei.

"[If so], the government is still only setting restrictions on the use [of foreign electronics]," Wang said. "It hasn't yet imposed an import ban on iPhones."

"This is likely coming from a national security perspective."

U.S. officials have imposed various sanctions on Huawei since 2019, when it said the company had been involved in activities "contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States."

Forced to install

Meanwhile, Beijing is rolling out an "anti-fraud" app nationwide, imposing it on citizens amid complaints the app scoops up private information from users' phones about their activities.

Students in schools are required to install the National Anti-Fraud Center app, which users said is impossible to uninstall.

Video footage of police at Daqing railway station in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang showed officers checking the cell phones of passengers one by one, taking their ID card details, and forcing them to install the "anti-fraud" app, which ostensibly filters out scam phone calls.

Another social media video showed traffic police stopping a man entering a mountainous area on a motorbike, and checking his phone for the app, saying he couldn't leave until he'd installed it.

China is rolling out its National Anti-Fraud Center app amid complaints it scoops up private information from users' phones about their activities. It was developed by the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security. Credit: App store screenshot





A resident of the eastern province of Jiangxi who gave only the surname Meng for fear of reprisals said he has refused to install the app so far.

"It actually monitors people, so we daren't install it," Meng said. "They send SMS reminders to install it to our phones every day."

"This thing carries out long-term monitoring and GPS tracking," he said. "They are deceiving people by saying it's an anti-fraud app."

Developed by Criminal Investigation Bureau

According to the app's listing on the Tencent app store, it was developed by the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security.

"It is provided to all users," the description reads, adding that there is also a version available for desktop computers.

The app was analyzed in September 2022 by the U.S.-government fund Open Technology Fund, a U.S. nonprofit that supports global internet freedom technologies and, like Radio Free Asia, is part of the United States Agency for Global Media, an independent agency of the U.S. government that broadcasts news and information in 63 languages.

According to the report, it requests access to the user's camera, location services, microphone and photo library, and contains voice recognition software.

It said the app sends user data to private backend servers that may also be used for malicious purposes without the user being notified.

A resident of the northeastern port city of Dalian who gave only the surname Chen for fear of reprisals said she had held out for a while, but had been forced to install it in the end.

"I downloaded it  they told me that the police anti-fraud app will block calls from fraudsters," she said. "They were promoting in my [residential] community, telling us they wanted to download [it]."

"It was a double-edged sword," Chen said, adding that she had deleted the app.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
The city's chief executive John Lee says the meetings are enough, with no need for in-person petitions.

The venue for Hong Kong leader John Lee's 'public consultations' appears to be packed with around 100 members of the 'public,' however no one seems to have a problem with government policy or his performance.

Hong Kong leader John Lee has been holding "public consultation" meetings ahead of his annual policy address in October, with one catch  nobody who attends appears to take issue with government policy or criticize his performance.

Lee told reporters during a briefing this week that he has scheduled more than 30 "public consultation meetings" ahead of his forthcoming policy address.

The petitions and demonstration areas outside Hong Kongs government headquarters and Office of the Chief Executive once offered an opportunity for members of the public, civil society groups and pro-democracy figures to express their demands to officials in person.

But it appears that ordinary citizens standing up and speaking, sometimes shouting, truth to power  once a common feature of Hong Kong's political life and of live TV and radio shows  is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

In video streams of two "regional consultations" on Aug. 20 and 27, the venues for Lee's consultations appeared to be packed with around 100 members of the "public."

But no media were allowed into the hall, and attendance was strictly invitation only.

Some 30 people did stand up and ask questions, but at least one-third were members of pro-government political parties or delegates representing Hong Kong at the Chinese Communist Party's Political Consultative Conference, according to Legislative Councilor Tik Chi-yuen.

Several others had a background in the uniformed services or local government, where only pro-government candidates can now run for election, Tik told the Ming Pao newspaper.

Hong Kong leader John Lee [center, shown in Malaysia last month] said Tuesday he has no plans to bring back arrangements for members of the public to approach him with petitions ahead of his weekly meeting with the city's Executive Council. Credit: Arif Kartono/AFP file photo

In two hours of questions and answers, not a single person at either event complained about the government in any way, according to the video livestreams of the event.

Instead, they maintained a harmonious and collegial atmosphere, skating over the surface of regional issues without mentioning anything too political.

'Closed circle' pool of participants

The government launched the consultation exercise for the Oct. 25 policy address in late July, announcing that Lee "earnestly invites members of the public to give their views."

My team and I will continue to listen carefully to your views and do our utmost for the people's livelihood and the economy, an official press release quoted Lee as saying.

People were invited to give their views through the Policy Address website, the dedicated Facebook page, by email and phone or fax, according to the press release.

But Tik told the Ming Pao that the consultation meetings drew participants from too small a pool, a "closed circle," with no democrats or young people allowed to take part.

Meanwhile, Lee said on Tuesday that he has no plans to bring back arrangements for members of the public to approach him with petitions ahead of his weekly meeting with the city's Executive Council, after they were suspended during the COVID-19 restrictions.

"I don't think we need a special area outside the ExCo meeting to do this, because there are so many channels available," Lee said. "I often visit different districts, particularly during the consultation period for my policy address."

"And everyone can see that government officials are very proactive in meeting members of the public," Lee said. "If any member of the public has an opinion, they can tell us directly."

Lee made no mention of the fact that the members of the public he meets at district level are hand-picked supporters of the government, and usually hail from pro-Beijing or pro-establishment backgrounds.

Since Lee was "elected" last year in a one-horse race, his administration has told anyone with opinions or complaints to address them to the government in writing, or by phone.

The government's general contact page offers an e-form and an email address for people to contact officials.

"If appropriate, your enquiry or complaint will be referred to the relevant officer for follow-up," it says, while providing a directory of government phone numbers.

Approvals for political rallies

Meanwhile, anyone wanting to demonstrate or hold a political rally must first get approval from the police, who have approached organizers in recent months and forced them to call off planned marches.

Police watch protesters walking within a cordon line wearing number tags during a rally in Hong Kong, March 26, 2023. Dozens of people on Sunday joined Hong Kong's first authorized demonstration against the government since the lifting of major COVID-19 restrictions. The protest rules included wearing a numbered badge around their necks. The banners read 'Oppose the building of cement plant and rubbish processing facility.' Credit: Louise Delmotte/AP

Other marches have gone ahead with participants registering with their real names for numbered name-badges, and forced to walk within a moving police cordon.

Even during Carrie Lam's highly unpopular tenure as chief executive, members of the public could still get close enough to berate her, particularly over her plans to allow the extradition of alleged criminal suspects to mainland China that sparked the mass protest movement of 2019.

"It's because of you! It's you!" one speaker told Lam at a town-hall meeting she called to try to defuse the protests through dialogue in 2019.

"You have total disregard for public opinion. It's due to your inability to govern. Most of the responsibility lies with you and you should step down," the person said, who got their ticket to the event after a computer drew random lots from a pool of applicants.

Many others took a similarly argumentative tone with Lam at the time. But by the time it came to hold public consultations for her last policy address in 2021, Lam had reduced the number of randomly selected applicants to 10%, with many more pro-government speakers invited instead.



Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong attends a news conference following the closing session of the National People's Congress, at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, China March 13, 2023.

Updated Sept. 09, 2023, 00:47 a.m. ET.

China will send a delegation led by a non-Politburo Standing Committee-member to North Korea to take part in the celebration of the countrys founding day later this week, a move that may expose its intricate position amid Pyongyang and Moscows efforts to strengthen military ties with Beijing.

A party and government delegation from the Peoples Republic of China will visit our country to participate in the 75th anniversary celebrations of the foundation of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday, adding that Chinas vice premier Liu Guozhong will be leading the delegation.

KCNA did not elaborate on further details.

A non-Politburo-Standing Committee-member, Lius presence indicates a decline in the delegations stature given that North Korea places heightened importance on its national day celebrations every five years. In 2018, the Chinese delegation for 70th anniversary celebrations was led by Li Zhanshu, the third-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo Standing Committee then, who made his visit as a special representative of the Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

By sending Liu, China may be aiming at just merely maintaining its relations with Pyongyang, whilst keeping its distance with its hostile neighbor.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un welcomes China's Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo released September 11, 2018. Credit: KCNA via Reuters





While China values North Korea as its strategic asset against the United States and its allies, particularly as a buffer zone against the expanding influence of democracies in the region, becoming too closely aligned with North Korea  especially given its desire for stronger security and military cooperation  could jeopardize its relations with the U.S. and its regional allies.

This becomes clear when Russia has formally proposed to China and North Korea for a joint naval drill in July, according to South Koreas National Intelligence Service Monday  a move that could further infuriate the U.S. in the region.

The international community has witnessed Chinas economic decline and weakening real estate market in recent months. Therefore, China needs to maintain access to international markets and foreign investment in order to prevent a further deterioration of its economy. As China may seek to repair its ties with the United States and its allies, strengthening its political ties with North Korea and Russia may prove difficult.

Additionally, with Moscow poised to send its own delegation to North Korea and seeking both military and economic support from China, Beijing might be hesitant to send a representative with the authority to make policy decisions.

While diplomatic rhetoric still emphasizes the importance of bilateral ties, it is possible that the military engagement with North Korea could be seen as a burden for China, said Cha Du-hyeogn, South Koreas former presidential secretary for crisis information who is now a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

And theres also the risk that any military engagements with North Korea and Russia could further push South Korea and Japan even closer to the U.S. This would no doubt solidify the trilateral partnerships.

North Koreas possibility of providing ammunition to Russia is also working as a burden to China, Cha added. An escalation in military interactions between Russia and North Korea might compel China to relinquish its mediatory role. The stakes are high and the ramifications complex.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin this month, according to U.S. and South Korea authorities  a development that would complicate the U.S.s plan to curb both Russian aggression in Ukraine and North Koreas nuclear ambitions.

The potential meeting comes as North Korea is publicly backing Russia in its aggression against Ukraine. Through its state media, it has reiterated its support of Russias aggression, raising suspicion that Pyongyang is also providing ammunition to Moscow.

Edited by Taejun Kang and Mike Firn.

Editor's note: "An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Liu Guozhong is a non-Politburo member."
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, September 7. The 25th session of the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) General Assembly will be held in Uzbekistans Samarkand from October16 to 20, 2023, Trend reports.

The Investment Forum organized within the framework of UNWTO is expected to attract attention to many important business agreements on the presentation of territories and projects with high investment potential in all regions of Uzbekistan.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan has also been elected as a member of the UNWTO Affiliate Members Committee for the period from 2023 through 2027. This committee, comprising over 500 private organizations and tourism associations worldwide, presents broad opportunities for the development of this sector in Uzbekistan.
China and South Koreas leaders have met Thursday amid a slightly tense climate, with differing priorities - Seoul emphasizing the need for Beijings cooperation in the security domain, while Beijing prioritizing economic collaboration.

If we manage our bilateral relations by adhering to the multilaterally agreed rules in the international community, we can reduce many problems and build trust between the two countries, South Koreas President Yoon Suk Yeol told Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Jakarta, according to the Souths presidential office Thursday.

Yoon, who is currently in Indonesia to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting, stressed that Seouls military cooperation with the United States and Japan will only be strengthened if North Korea intensifies its nuclear programs, the presidential office said. Yoon's remarks can be seen as Seoul pressing Beijing to play a constructive role in the Korean peninsula.

Chinese Premier Li suggested that the two countries explore new ties and deepen their long-standing trust as they promote common interests.

A South Korean diplomatic source told Radio Free Asia that the meeting was requested by the Chinese side.

The surprise meeting came as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin this month, according to U.S. and South Korea authorities. While the specific agenda for the summit remains unclear, ammunition trading is expected to be on the negotiation table, given Russias urgent need for military equipment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Koreas leader Kim Jong Un pose for a photo during their meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, April 25, 2019. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Reuters)





As North Korea and Russia aim to strengthen their diplomatic and military ties amidst tensions with the U.S. and its regional allies, they are seeking to involve China into the equation as this would transform their bilateral relationship into a formidable bloc against the U.S.-South Korea-Japan cooperation. Russia has formally proposed to China and North Korea for a joint naval drill in July, according to South Koreas National Intelligence Service Monday.

Any move to strengthen political and military ties with North Korea and Russia, however, is most likely pressure that China can do without. It still needs to maintain its relations with the U.S. and its allies, especially on the economic front, where access to international markets and foreign investment is crucial to arrest a further deterioration of its economy.

China extended its olive branch to the U.S.s regional allies at the ASEAN plus three meeting Wednesday, with Li placing extra emphasis on the need to strengthen the trilateral economic cooperation among China, South Korea, and Japan. The premier added that the three nations should seek to promote regional economic integration.

The key is for all of us to face up to problems, eliminate misunderstandings and manage our differences, Li said. Its very important at present to oppose taking sides, bloc confrontations and a new cold war.

While China values Russia and North Korea as its strategic asset against the U.S., becoming too closely aligned with the authoritarian neighbors may risk jeopardizing any delicate move that Beijing may take to find a balance with the U.S. and its regional allies.

As much as China wants to draw South Korea and Japan closer to its side economically, it is also unlikely to compromise on security matters, said Cheon Seong-whun, a former security strategy secretary for South Koreas presidential office.

China would be particularly wary of the extent of the trilateral security cooperation among the U.S., ROK, and Japan, he said, referring to South Korea by its formal name. He even noted that Beijing would be watchful of the cooperation possibly extending to the Taiwan matter. China, thus, is most likely to maintain its ties with Pyongyang and Moscow to counterbalance security cooperation among democracies, even as it extends its economic olive branches.

Edited by Elaine Chan and Taejun Kang.
Peoples Defense Force troops in Myanmar are seen in this undated photo.

Two years after Myanmars National Unity Government called for armed rebellion against the leaders of a coup, anti-junta forces are well-organized and making gains against the countrys military, the head of the shadow administration said Thursday.

The claims by NUG President Duwa Lashi La suggest a substantial improvement in effectiveness by Peoples Defense Force, or PDF, paramilitaries, who began their fight against the junta on Sept. 7, 2021, as a scattered group of poorly equipped local units.

"We started with handmade guns to defend our villages, but now, we are able to form strategic and well-organized regiments and battalions armed with automatic rifles that can fight back against the military junta, said the NUG leader.

We can now use attack drones to effectively fight the military junta troops, he said.

He said the rebel fighters could even threaten the capital, Naypyidaw.

In a statement to mark the second anniversary of the resistance to the militarys Feb. 1, 2021, takeover, the NUG Ministry of Defense said that anti-junta forces are in the midst of a pre-offensive against the regime.

After uniting nearly 300 PDF battalions in more than 250 townships across the country in the first year of the rebellion, the NUG ministry said it was able to open additional fronts against the military in its second year, gaining control of new territory in Sagaing and Magway regions, as well as Chin, Kayah and Kayin states.

Maung Maung Swe, a spokesman for the NUG Ministry of Defense, said that PDF groups had killed 26,194 junta troops and wounded 10,804 others in 9,900 battles over the past two years. He acknowledged that there had been PDF casualties, but did not disclose the exact number.

Baseless claims

But Thein Tun Oo, the executive director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, made up of former military officers, dismissed the NUG's claims as baseless.

"In terms of security, they may be active in some areas that the military cannot completely control, but what is certain is that they have not been successful enough to control certain regions, as they say, said the think tank director.

Additionally, their claim to have killed nearly 30,000 military personnel is just propaganda, he said. I think they just want to announce that they are winning, regardless of what is actually happening on the ground."

Duwa Lashi La, the Myanmar National Unity Governments acting president, meets with local People's Defense Forces forces, May 30, 2022. Credit: Acting President Duwa Lashi La

Attempts by RFA Burmese to contact junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment on the NUGs claims went unanswered Thursday.

At a July 31 meeting of the National Defense and Security Council, junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing confirmed that his soldiers have been killed in PDF attacks, although he did not provide details. He noted that fighting was underway in Sagaing, Magway, Bago and Tanintharyi regions, as well as Kayin, Kayah, Chin and Mon states.

Reliance on air power

The Burmese military has faced challenges in situations where it does not enjoy an asymmetric advantage, said Mimi Winn Byrd, a Burmese-American retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and current military analyst at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii.

"The junta has suffered more casualties in [nearly] every battle in Myanmar, compared with the revolutionary forces, she said. That's why the junta has to use more air power and airplanes, because they no longer win ground battles. If you keep track of these situations, you can say that the revolution is making a lot of progress.

Military analyst Hla Kyaw Zaw suggested that the resistance is still too fractured to achieve victory, but acknowledged the progress it had made over the past two years.

If the entire revolution can be solidified under one leadership to operate in proper balance, rather than fragmented without a strong leadership, the [resistance] will win sooner or later," he said.

According to the NUG, fighting is taking place in every one of Myanmars 14 states and regions except Yangon and Irrawaddy regions, where the resistance regularly carries out targeted bombings.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that more than 1.6 million people have fled fighting in Myanmar since the military coup. In addition to the more than 300,000 who fled conflict before the takeover, there are currently nearly two million internally displaced people across the country.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
In the same region, 7,000 residents fled their homes as a military column marched through.

Seven members of a local defense force were killed during a raid by junta troops on a Sagaing region base, a Peoples Defense Force information officer told Radio Free Asia.

The victims were members of another local defense force based near Mon Yway Kyay Mon village in Chaung-U township, where Wednesdays raid took place, the officer said.

The junta troops ambushed a small information station based in Mon Yway Kyay Mon on the border between Monywa and Chaing-U, he said. It was not an exchange of fire between the two sides.

Two people escaped from the raid on the base, which had been used by the Chaung-U PDF to issue press releases and make phone calls, the officer said.

Junta troops confiscated weapons from the dead fighters, he said.

RFAs call to the junta spokesperson for the Sagaing region, Tin Than Win, regarding the attack went unanswered.

7,000 residents flee

Also in Sagaing, more than 7,000 people from nine villages fled their homes on Wednesday when a 100-member junta column marched through the southern part of Sagaings Salingyi township, residents told Radio Free Asia.

There was no fighting reported, and as of midday on Wednesday, no houses had been burned and no villagers had been arrested or killed.

It was the latest case of displacement from the civil war wracking Myanmar. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, nearly 800,000 people have fled their homes in Sagaing region since the Feb. 1, 2021, military coup.

A local resident, who did not want to be named for security reasons, told RFA that all nine villages were in the vicinity of the junta troops.

Those villages are close to the column. Such villages located near the column have to monitor the movement of the column and take shelter in other villages, the resident said.

He added that the troops were stationed in one of the nine villages  Son Tar village  until Wednesday afternoon.

RFA made another attempt to reach Tin Than Win about the fleeing of the local residents, but that call also went unanswered.

The junta has responded in the past that there is no reason for civilians to worry when columns of junta troops move through their villages.

Translated by Htin Aung Kyaw. Edited by Matt Reed.
But human rights groups said the visit would play into China's propaganda on the western region.

A delegation from the U.N.s International Labor Organization made an unannounced visit to Chinas Xinjiang region last week, saying it discussed the issue of Uyghur forced labor but drawing criticism from rights groups that said it should have consulted with them beforehand.

The organization engaged in technical discussions about the implementation of Chinas laws and practice of ratified international labor conventions concerning discrimination in employment and occupation, as well as forced labor, the ILO told RFA in a statement on Tuesday.

The ILO did not indicate if delegates could freely inspect factories or talk freely with Uyghur or other Muslim workers in these factories. The agency also did not disclose the dates of the visit or the agenda.

Chinese media reports said Ma Xingrui, Xinjiangs Communist Party secretary, and Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, met with the ILO delegation members, and that Ma denied the existence of human rights violations and forced labor in the region.

Two conventions that China ratified on employment discrimination in 2006 and on forced labor in 2022 went into force on Aug. 12, the ILO said. As part of its mandate, the ILO provides technical advisory services to its member states on the full implementation of ratified labor conventions.

Corinne Vargha, director of the ILOs International Labor Standards Department, led the recent delegation to the region a year after the U.N. human rights office issued a damning report on Xinjiang.

The August 2022 report concluded that serious human rights violations had been committed in the context of the Chinese counter-terrorism and counter-extremism strategies, and that Chinas detention of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang may constitute crimes against humanity.

Delegates should conduct Xinjiang visits only if they can speak freely with Uyghurs without Chinese government influence, says Jewher Ilham, forced labor project coordinator at the Worker Rights Consortium. Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP file photo

Help conceal?

The ILOs trip didnt sit well with Uyghur advocacy and human rights groups, who have lambasted the United Nations for inaction on Chinas repression of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang, despite credible evidence of severe abuses, including mass detentions and forced labor.

The groups criticized the ILO because they said the visit would help China conceal its crimes in Xinjiang.

Jewher Ilham, forced labor project coordinator at the Worker Rights Consortium, a labor rights monitoring organization based in Washington, D.C., told RFA on Tuesday that such visits are acceptable only when delegates make it clear that they can speak to Uyghurs freely and without any government influence to observe any discrimination, forced labor or abuse in the workplace.

Gheyur Qurban, director of the Berlin office of the World Uyghur Congress, said Chinese officials did not likely allow the ILO delegates to meet freely with Uyghurs and that it would use the visit to bolster its own propaganda.

When former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet visited Xinjiang in May 2022, Chinese officials did not permit her to visit labor camps or have open discussions with Uyghurs facing discrimination and threats, Qurban said.

Therefore, I believe that the ILO delegation wouldnt have had the opportunity to investigate forced labor because the Chinese government doesnt want to reveal the reality, he said. They intimidate and threaten Uyghurs, forcing them to lie out of fear. Consequently, the delegation would likely have seen a staged scenario and, of course, be influenced by what they observed.

Ma Xingrui, Xinjiangs Communist Party secretary, denied the existence of human rights violations and forced labor in the region when he met with the ILO delegation, according to Chinese media. Credit: Kin Cheung/AP file photo

Very hard to verify

The ILO delegations visit was the first time that representatives of a U.N. organization visited Xinjiang since Bachelets trip.

Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International's deputy regional director for China, told RFA on Tuesday that Chinas refusal to allow international observers let alone human rights monitors into the Xinjiang region has really restricted the ability to independently verify allegations of forced labor.

She also said Beijing should fully implement other recommendations made in the report by the U.N.'s human rights office now that the ILO has completed its mission to Xinjiang.

We would see this as one box checked, and thats promising, Brooks said. But this being said, there are dozen other recommendations in the OHCHR [Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights] report that are equally if not more deserving of attention and action by the Chinese authorities.

These recommendations include a review of legal frameworks on national security on counter-terrorism that Amnesty has documented are regularly used to target Uyghur and other major majority Muslim communities, she said.

They also include the release of arbitrarily detained Uyghurs and the provision of information to and channels of communication for Uyghurs around the world to reunite with their loved ones in Xinjiang, Brooks said.

In a February report, the ILO criticized Chinas state-sponsored relief from poverty and progressive employment programs implemented in Xinjiang, emphasizing widespread employment discrimination and forced labor.

Translated by RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.
Land disputes and a growing wealth gap are partly to blame, official says.

Vietnams Vice Minister of Public Security Tran Quoc To cited the widening gap between rich and poor and inadequate land management as causes for attacks on government facilities in Dak Lak province in June.

State mismanagement was among the causes of deadly attacks on government facilities in Vietnams Dak Lak province, a top security minister said, in the first official acknowledgement that reasons other than incitement by hostile forces were to blame for the incident.

The admission of government accountability by a senior official for the June 11 incident  in which two groups of about 40 people armed with guns and knives attacked the headquarters of the southern communes of Ea Tieu and Ea Ktur  is rare in Vietnam, where criticism of the one-party state is not tolerated.

Nine people were killed in the attacks, including four policemen, two commune officials and three villagers. Authorities have since detained nearly 100 ethnic minority Montagnards for allegedly participating in what have been labeled an act of terrorism.

On Wednesday, Vice Minister of Public Security Tran Quoc To called the incident unfortunate," according to a report by the official Tien Phong (Pioneer) newspaper, and acknowledged that frustration over Vietnams growing wealth gap and poor land management by local officials were partly to blame.

However, the vice minister, who is also the brother of late President Tran Dai Quang, stressed that negligence was not the only issue at play and told the National Assembly Committee reviewing an investigation of the attacks that they were an inevitable consequence of relentless opposition and sabotage of the government.

The Vietnamese government and state media often refer to peaceful critics of state policies and those who call for greater protections of human rights as hostile forces  particularly overseas Vietnamese activists.

A persecuted people

The attacks occurred in an area that is home to about 30 indigenous tribes known collectively as Montagnards, who have historically felt persecuted or oppressed.

Authorities search the area near a commune office in central Vietnam's Dak Lak province following an attack by an armed group, June 11, 2023. Credit: Facebook/Thong tin Chinh pu

The term "Montagnard" was first used by the French during colonial times to refer to indigenous people living in Vietnams mountainous areas but it is not used inside Vietnam these days.

In late June, RFA interviewed several overseas Montagnard organizations whose members denied involvement in the incident and condemned the violent attacks.

Last month, almost one year after the Vietnamese government received a United Nations communication regarding rights violations toward the Montagnards, Hanoi issued a letter of reply saying the ethnic group does not exist.

Vietnamese security personnel arrest suspects in the armed attacks in Dak Lak province in this undated photo. Credit: Vietnam Mobile Police High Command

New York-based Human Rights Watch says the Montagnards are subjected to violations of freedom of religion and belief, and has accused the Vietnamese government of being in total denial mode, rejecting allegations of rights violations and restricting access to the Central Highlands to deny independent observers the opportunity to investigate.

Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
TBILISI -- When the European Union cracked open its door to Georgia last year, it made its invitation to formal candidate status conditional on the country reducing the polarization that has long vexed its domestic politics.

But before Brussels makes its critical decision on Georgia's candidacy in October, the country is embroiled in yet another bitter internal power struggle.



President Salome Zurabishvili is on a tour of Europe that so far has taken her to Berlin, Brussels, and Paris to promote Georgia's EU candidacy. But the Georgian Constitution requires the president -- whose position is largely symbolic -- to get permission from the government before conducting any foreign policy activities. According to the government, Zurabishvili asked for permission for the trip but was refused.



On the same day that she was warmly greeted in Brussels by European Council President Charles Michel, who praised her "personal commitment to advancing the European perspective of Georgia," back at home she was in trouble. The ruling Georgian Dream party announced on September 1 that it intended to launch impeachment proceedings against Zurabishvili.

Party officials have accused her of not promoting the country's EU candidacy but herself. Party Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze said that the nominally independent Zurabishvili was acting in concert with Georgia's political opposition to undermine the government: "They are doing everything so that Georgia is not given candidate status; this is their main interest. [While] at the same time, if the country is given candidate status, Salome Zurabishvili will try her best to attribute this decision to herself."



Georgian Dream officials have acknowledged that they don't have the votes in parliament to carry out the impeachment. But the demonstrative effort is a sign of the political jockeying that is intensifying as the EU decision looms: As Georgians gain confidence from recent signals that their bid may be successful, attention in Tbilisi is turning to who does and does not deserve credit for the potentially landmark decision.



Georgia applied for EU candidate status shortly after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, along with Ukraine and Moldova. While those two latter countries were awarded candidate status in June 2022, Georgia was instead given an EU "perspective" and a list of reforms it should implement. In addition to tackling political polarization and other issues, the European Commission has recommended Georgia address judicial reform, increase the fight against corruption and organized crime, and commit to "de-oligarchization." In October, the EU will decide -- based on its perception of the progress Georgia has made on those reforms -- whether to award it candidate status.

Many in Georgia's political opposition and anti-government civil society groups argue that the government's efforts leave much to be desired. They point to the government's spotty implementation of the EU-demanded reforms, as well as a series of foreign policy moves that have called into question the country's once ironclad devotion to a Euro-Atlantic orientation.



The critics argue that a positive decision from the EU would thus allow Georgian Dream to claim credit it doesn't deserve and could boost the party ahead of parliamentary elections in 2024. They say the EU should advance Tbilisi's membership prospects but in a way that frames the gesture as an acknowledgment of Georgians' national will to become part of Europe rather than anything their government did.



"We are asking the European structures to give us the status, but make it very clear that the status was given to the Georgian people and Georgian society, and it was not deserved by the government," said Keti Khutsishvili, the executive director of the Open Society Foundation of Georgia, part of the network of civil society groups founded by financier and philanthropist George Soros.



The country's largest opposition party, the United National Movement, is going to launch a campaign in Europe for a decision from Brussels "to keep Georgia on the path to EU membership, but, at the same time, to allow the Georgian people to elect a pro-European, rule-of-law government," said the party's secretary for international relations, Zurab Chiaberashvili.

Georgian Dream, meanwhile, accuses the opposition and Zurabishvili of trying to sabotage the EU bid for their own gain and argues that a positive decision from Brussels should be credited only to them. In comments criticizing the president's tour, Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili said the party deserves "exclusive" credit for advancing Georgia's European aspirations.



Zurabishvili has become a particular target for Georgian Dream's ire, given her increasingly outspoken role. While she has few formal powers, her popularity has risen as she has voiced strongly pro-Western and pro-Ukrainian views even as the ruling party has adopted an increasingly transactional stance with its Western partners and even dabbled in anti-Western conspiracy theories. Most controversially, the government mooted a "foreign agent" law -- which Zurabishvili said would bring Georgia "closer to the flawed Russian model and not to the European model" -- before huge street protests forced the party to back down.



Despite the EU demands that the country reduce it, Georgian Dream sees polarization as one of its most useful political tools, said Vano Abramishvili, an analyst and head of the Peace Program at the Tbilisi-based NGO Caucasian House. And Zurabishvili's rising stature has made her a threat to the party, especially with elections coming up next year. "Zurabishvili is very popular and she might do something on her own, like form a political party or something, and they want to destroy her," Abramishvili told RFE/RL.

Zurabishvili's disobedience of the government orders to stay home -- epitomized by a viral Instagram post of her grinning widely on a speeding German train -- cemented her popularity among pro-Western Georgians. It represents a remarkable turnaround from when she was elected in 2018, when that same bloc dismissed her as a Georgian Dream puppet. But not long after she was elected, Georgian Dream began to tack in an antidemocratic direction, and she gradually began to push back against the party. And when the government responded timidly to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, she spoke forcefully at pro-Ukraine rallies.



During her tenure, her popularity ratings have risen significantly: Early in her time in office, in 2019, 57 percent of respondents in a poll from the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute saw her unfavorably, versus 36 percent who saw her favorably. The same poll, in March of this year, found those numbers had changed to 47 and 48, respectively, making her one of only three Georgian political figures with a net positive favorability rating.

The friendly reception she is receiving in European capitals demonstrates that her star is rising there, as well. And the impeachment proceedings against her will not help Georgia's case, said Sonja Schiffers, the director of the Tbilisi office of the German-based Heinrich Boell Foundation.

"If you would want to trust that the government acts in good faith and genuinely wants to get candidacy, then it's quite unbelievable to start this process now," Schiffers told RFE/RL. "So, I think this is another really big dubious incident after the foreign agent law and it puts the status into question."

The European Commission, the EU's executive body, is slated to report on Georgia's progress in its annual enlargement report, which will also assess Moldova's and Ukraine's bids to join the bloc. Then in December, the EU's 27 member states will vote on whether to advance Georgia's application.

It remains far from a given how the commission will decide, but pro-European Georgians have been cheered by recent signals coming from Brussels, impeachment drama notwithstanding. European Council President Michel has recently advocated speeding up the enlargement process and has pointedly included Georgia in his remarks.

The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, is visiting Tbilisi on September 7-8 in what appears to be a hastily organized bid to shore up Tbilisi's chances for advancement. He will meet with Zurabishvili, Gharibashvili, and other officials.

"Borrell's visit is a clear sign that the European Union is trying, it's grasping at straws with Georgia, trying to take every opportunity to give Georgia status," political analyst Khatuna Lagazidze told RFE/RL's Georgian Service. "Borrell would not come to say no," she said, but added that the case for a positive decision still needed to be strengthened.

Ahead of the visit, Borrell was asked by Georgian news website Civil.ge about Zurabishvili's impeachment, and he gave her a clear endorsement: "We appreciate the president's commitment to European values and her European vision for Georgia. Unity is more important than ever," he said.



The implications for Georgia's politics will likely be on the mind of policymakers in Brussels as they make their decision. "It's a tough call, because if you give Georgia candidacy, it's almost rewarding this government, which is backsliding on democracy. And [the government] can say, 'See, we got us the invitation.' But if you don't give it to them, then they're going to say, 'The West doesn't want us, so there is only Russia,'" said Brian Whitmore, a fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank, in an interview with RFE/RL's Georgian Service. "There is no good option here."



While the European Commission should not weigh the Georgian domestic political implications of its decision too heavily, it may seek to use language that minimizes the benefit that the government can extract from a positive decision, Schiffers said. For example, it could say that it is advancing Georgia's application "despite the lack of implementation" of the reforms.

"I expect that they will be explicit about this," she said.
The United States has condemned a violent anti-Semitic event at an airport in Russia's predominantly Muslim region of Daghestan in which a mob overran the airport and threatened an aircraft arriving from Tel Aviv.

U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington condemned the incident, adding at a briefing with reporters on October 30 that the storming of the airport "looked like a pogrom to me" in videos of the incident that he had viewed.

"We call on Russian authorities to publicly condemn these violent protests, to hold anyone involved accountable, and to ensure the safety of Israelis and Jews in Russia," Miller said.

The violence occurred on October 29 when dozens of protesters, angry over the situation surrounding the current war between Israel and Hamas militants, broke through doors and barriers at Makhachkala airport, with many of them chanting "Allahu akbar" (God is great) as they stormed the runway after the aircraft arrived.

Riot police and reinforcements, including National Guard units, were subsequently sent to "ensure the safety of arriving passengers, according to the Baza Telegram channel.

Officials said more than 20 people were injured -- two critically -- in the unrest, with 10 of those injured needing hospitalization, while Baza said six police officers were among the casualties.

It was not clear whether any Israeli citizens were on the plane that arrived from Tel Aviv or whether any passengers were among the injured.

The RIA Novosti news agency reported on October 30 that more than 60 people were detained at the airport.

In a statement on October 30, the head of Russia's Federation of Jewish Communities, Rabbi Aleksandr Boroda, said the incident "undermined the basic foundations of our multicultural and multinational state."

"The events of October 29 at the Makhachkala airport, as well as previous incidents...clearly show that the conflict in the Middle East has already affected the lives of people in Russia, and that anti-Israel sentiment has now turned into open aggression toward even Russian Jews," Boroda said.

The incidents Boroda referred to include a suspected arson attack on a Jewish center under construction in the city of Nalchik and reports that crowds gathered in front of two hotels in the Dagestani city of Khasavyurt demanding "refugees from Israel" leave the premises.

Russia's aviation authority closed the airport and said it would remain out of operation until November 6, but later changed its stance and as of late on October 30, air traffic had resumed.

Flights from Israel, however, were being temporarily rerouted to other cities in Russia.

The Investigative Committee, meanwhile, said it had conducted searches of the residences of some of those involved in the unrest.

"Participants in the mass unrest are being interrogated under the relevant criminal case...records from video surveillance cameras have been retrieved," the committee said.

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 to apprehend anyone threatening them.

"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.

The Kremlin blamed the unrest on "outside interference," and without showing any evidence accused Ukraine of involvement.

Ukraine rejected the accusation, saying that the Russian Foreign Ministry was attempting to "shift responsibility from a sick person to a healthy one." Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko added on Facebook that the events in Makhachkala "reflect deep-rooted anti-Semitism of Russian elites and society."

The United States also rejected the Russian accusation about Ukrainian involvement. "I've seen their comments about blaming Ukraine. They are absurd," Miller said.

Late on October 29, videos and photos from the scene published by RFE/RLs Caucasus.Realities indicated that protesters had stormed onto the Makhachkala runway, attempting to gain entry to the incoming plane.

Some media said the mob gathered at the airport after a Telegram channel said "uninvited guests" would be on the plane and that they should be met in "adult fashion" and forced to go elsewhere.

A local news Telegram channel reported that protesters were attempting to check the identities of arriving passengers, seeking to prevent Jews from leaving the airport, including searching police vehicles.

A protester was seen in one unconfirmed video carried 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 news website.

The Interior 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, leading to the deaths of some 8,000 people and the destruction of much of Gaza City.

On October 28, a rally was held in Cherkessk, the capital of the Karachayevo-Cherkessia region, demanding that residents of Israel not be allowed in.

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, Reuters, and RIA Novosti
BISHKEK -- Kyrgyzstan recently repatriated 95 wives and children of Kyrgyz Islamic State (IS) militants from Syria, in the second such operation this year.

But the task is just beginning for the government in Bishkek, as it must find ways to reintegrate the new citizens who haven't lived a normal life for many years.

Among those who arrived at the Bishkek airport aboard a special flight on August 30 were 64 children, many of them born in Syria. Forty-one children and 18 women were repatriated in the first stage of the repatriation operation, called Aikol (Generous), in February.

Some 450 Kyrgyz women and children have been stranded in Syria and Iraq since the collapse of the IS extremist group in 2018. There are still dozens more family members of IS fighters in Iraqi prisons and hardscrabble Syrian refugee camps.

The Kyrgyz government has been under pressure from their relatives to bring the others home.

Hamida Yakubova and Ramaz Sariev from the Kara-Balta district of the northern Chuy region have been among the most vocal in urging Bishkek to follow the examples of neighboring Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan in repatriating hundreds of their citizens from the refugee camps.

Yakubova told RFE/RL that her daughter and grandchild were among the group repatriated last week. "My daughter left home in 2014, saying she was going to study in Istanbul. But it turned out that she wasn't planning to study, she was brainwashed and lured into going to Syria," she said.

Yakubova is the head of the Lend a Helping Hand group that brings together Kyrgyz parents whose daughters went to Syria.

Kyrgyz authorities say there were at least 140 women among the estimated 850 Kyrgyz citizens who left Kyrgyzstan to join IS between 2014 and 2018.

There were many other women who were taken to Syria and Iraq from Kyrgyzstan by their husbands or other male relatives. At least 150 Kyrgyz were killed in air strikes and fighting. Others managed to escape IS and return home on their own long before the extremist group's so-called caliphate fell five years ago.

Died Before They Returned

Ramaz Sariev never shied away from speaking to the media about how his family was torn apart by IS recruiters who Sariev said brainwashed his two young daughters -- Nuriza and Kalira -- who left for Syria within three months in early 2014 without telling their parents.

The girls were 18 and 16 at the time. They both married Kyrgyz militants in Syria and gave birth to two children each. Their husbands were killed in fighting.

Sariev's wife -- who was pregnant at the time -- went to Syria to bring her daughters back but got stuck there. She gave birth to her son in Syria.

Meanwhile, Sariev sought help from the government to help return his family and spoke to the media to raise awareness of their plight.

But he didn't live to see his wife, son, eldest daughter, and two of his grandchildren repatriated in February as he died in 2020.

The youngest son -- who Sariev never met -- is now attending school in Kara-Balta.

His other daughter, Kalira, remains with her two kids in the Al-Roj camp in northeastern Syria waiting to be repatriated.

'None Of Us Went To University'

Also waiting for repatriation are some 40 Kyrgyz women -- aged between 20 and 65 -- jailed in Iraq for their links to IS. Their jail sentences range from 10 years to life in prison.

One of the women -- who introduced herself as 27-year-old Nilufar from the southern Osh region -- told RFE/RL in April that they wanted Kyrgyz officials to secure their freedom and bring them home.

"Most of us came to Syria and Iraq with our husbands in 2014-15," Nilufar said in a WhatsAPP interview. "Not a single person among us has been to university. It is very easy to deceive people like us. Obviously, we were deceived [by our husbands]."

Nilufar also showed several photos that she said depicted women in the Iraqi prison where she is being kept.

Bishkek repatriated 79 children -- aged between 2 and 18 -- from Iraq in March 2021. Authorities said the children's mothers were in jail and their fathers were killed in the conflict.

Rehabilitation

Kyrgyz politicians, experts, and others warn that the government, the families, and society have a difficult job in rehabilitating the returnees.

Specialists working with repatriated children in neighboring countries have said some of the elder children had been indoctrinated with IS ideology and even undergone IS military training.

The children have spent all or most of their lives in conflict zones, prisons, or refugee camps, deprived of school, health care, and normal society. Many have witnessed fighting, air strikes, death, and destruction while also experiencing hunger and poverty.

Many returnees -- children and adults alike -- suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental and physical trauma.

Zhenishbek Ashirbaev, a Kyrgyz expert on extremism and terrorism issues, says a delicate approach is needed in dealing with the returnees, most of whom have spent about a decade in a "highly radicalized" environment.

"To integrate them back into our society we need a very carefully planned rehabilitation process, with the help of trained psychologists and with other comprehensive measures," Ashirbaev told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service.

Experts warn that adequate rehabilitation and reintegration are paramount both for the well-being of the returnees and prevention of any security risks or negative influence on society.

Written by Farangis Najibullah in Prague with reporting by Zamira Kozhobaeva, Mirlan Kadyrov, and Sanzhar Eraliev of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service in Bishkek
An integral part of the Geneva Watch Days concept, the traditional GMT evening that has been so popular in the watchmaking industry for the past 20 years brought together more than 600 guests

Good spirits, DJs, a full moon, pub quizzes and networking were the fervent accompaniment. While discovering the new WorldTempus website and the first Tatler GMT magazines to be launched in Asia, many of them expressed their gratitude for this magnificent and convivial evening. Thank you to Geneva Watch Days, our main sponsor Lambert Fils & Filles, Berthaudin, the Brasserie du Mat and the LiveTeams agency.

The photo report will appear in the October issue of GMT (special feature on GPHG, Only Watch and Geneva Watch Days), but we've already included a video that reflects the spirit of conviviality on the shores of Lake Geneva.
In Kenyan author Ngugi Wa-Thiong'o's classic satirical novel The Wizard Of The Crow, the dictator of a fictional African country looks to two loyal enforcers to preserve his corrupt, authoritarian rule.

One minister presents himself as the rulers eyes -- even going as far as having his eyeballs surgically enhanced to make them the size of lightbulbs.



The other calls himself the ruler's ears, and duly has his ears stretched larger than a rabbitsprimed to detect danger at any time and from any direction.



In Tajikistan, national-security chief Saimumin Yatimov and Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda have been the eyes and the ears of authoritarian President Emomali Rahmon since 2010 and 2012, respectively, overseeing the most repressive stretches of a three-decade-long reign.

To that end, they have somewhat overshadowed Prosecutor-General Yusuf Rahmon, who has been in his post since 2015 and is a namesake -- rather than a blood relative -- of the head of state.



But now, Rahimzoda and Yatimov are reportedly in a tight spot over their ties to a well-known entrepreneur, who was recently jailed after publishing a memoir that included moderate criticism of the government.



The businessman, Abdukhalil Kholiqzoda, cited the two officials as his friends and brothers in the book, and even acknowledged that they had contributed anecdotes.

According to sources quoted by RFE/RL's Tajik Service, the prosecutor-general has decided to use this situation against them in the battle for the 70-year-old presidents affections.



In the past, the duo might have fired back.



But that has become much harder now, after Prosecutor-General Rahmons son married President Rahmons youngest daughter at the end of last year.

Much Ado About A Book

If this sounds like a messy new chapter in the struggle for power in Tajikistan, then it is only fitting that it began with a book.



Businessman Kholiqzoda is best known as the founder of the upscale private health clinic Ibn-Sina in Tajikistans capital, Dushanbe.



How much longer he will have any interest in that lucrative business at all remains to be seen.



Kholiqzoda was arrested on August 7 and jailed on charges of inciting social, racial, national, regional, religious enmity or discordas part of a group of persons by prior agreement, according to a document sent recently to RFE/RLs Tajik Service by the Tajik Supreme Court.

While the Supreme Courts response to RFE/RLs information request did not mention Kholiqzodas book, there is little doubt that the 300-page tome is what landed the entrepreneur in trouble.



After Events Of My Life was published in March, copies of the book became available in several Dushanbe book stores. This summer, though, those copies disappeared from the shelves, and not because the memoir was a bestseller.



According to sources in the government who spoke to RFE/RLs Tajik Service, Kholiqzodas book was on the agenda of a mid-July meeting inside the presidential administration, where President Rahmon, his prosecutor-general, and police and national-security chiefs were all present.



Prosecutor-General Rahmon directly asked Yatimov and Rahimzoda how can you be friends with and stand up for a person who opposes the policies of [the president]? said the source, who was informed of the discussion by another official who attended the meeting.



But what made the book such a political hot potato?



Events Of My Life is partly a commentary on Tajikistans journey through independence and partly a commentary on Kholiqzodas journey as a businessman.



It overwhelmingly praises Rahmon for leading the country out of a civil war that broke out at the very beginning of post-Soviet independence -- a period during which Kholiqzodas own brother was briefly abducted and held for ransom by Islamic opposition field commanders.



But it also reflects on a number of shortfalls, including in the business climate, where officials regularly demand kickbacks and government seizures of successful businesses are common.



Kholiqzoda was critical, too, of the health systems response to the coronavirus pandemic, while trumpeting the role his own clinic played during that crisis.



Yet the passages of the book that caught the attention of social media users were the authors descriptions of the various provincial populations of Tajikistan, such as his description of people from Khatlon, the presidents home province.



Kholiqzoda, an ethnic Tajik, noted that people from this southern province have benefited from their long-term coexistence and mixing with their neighboring Turkic peoples.



Rather than exhibiting the soft behavior [and] hypocrisy of Tajiks, which in the writings of our ancestors are one of the unique characteristics of the [Tajik] nation, the Khatlonis are known for their agility and stability, Kholiqzoda mused.



After its publication, dozens of Facebook users complained that Kholikzodas book was an insult to the Tajik nation.



Three users told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity that they had subsequently been contacted by officers from Yatimovs State Committee for National Security with requests to delete their comments about the book from Facebook.



This activity on the part of the secret services may have been what piqued the interest of the prosecutor-general, who has become very bold due to his sons politically fortuitous marriage, according to Zafar Sufi, a Tajik journalist, poet, and political commentator who lives in de facto exile outside Tajikistan.



Apparently, Yusuf Rahmon, having become the president's in-law, has decided to push other people close to the head of state into the background, Sufi told RFE/RLs Tajik Service of the much-discussed scandal.

'Directly Insults The Prosecutor-General'

For the moment, it seems like a loss of face rather than a fall from grace for President Rahmons top two.



Both Yatimov and Rahimzoda appeared at the latest meeting of the cabinet on August 30.



But this scandal comes at a sensitive time, with President Rahmon expected by many to hand over his office to his son, Dushanbe Mayor Rustam Emomali, in the near future.



And that future appears to be picking up pace.

On the same day as the cabinet meeting, a column on the affair appeared in the government newspaper Jumhuriyat.



Penned by Tajik Ambassador to Uzbekistan Abdujabbor Rahmonzoda, the column criticized both Kholiqzoda and the friends that helped him write the book -- seemingly an oblique reference to Yatimova and Rahimzoda.



Notably, Rahmonzoda complained of a passage in the book in which Kholiqzoda alleges that a resident of Penjikent gave a large bribe to the Prosecutor-Generals Office in order to close a criminal case.



Here the author directly insults the prosecutor-general and discredits him in the eyes of the public, fumed Rahmonzoda in the column, which was originally published as a post on Facebook.

Then, on August 31, came the arrest of the books editor, the well-known writer Abduqodir Rustam.



Sources close to Rustam told RFE/RL that Rustam had been questioned on multiple occasions prior to his arrest close to the Ibn-Sina clinic, where he holds a senior post.



The questioning and the arrest were both carried out by men from the Prosecutor-Generals Office.



Yusuf Rahmon arrived in his post in a year that perhaps more than any other since the civil wars end in the mid-1990s represented a before and after in Tajikistans political atmosphere.



His prosecutors led the charge against the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT), an opposition party that was banned and labeled a terrorist group after being accused of attempting a coup.



By the end of 2015, most of the IRPTs top leaders were put in jail, where several have since died, effectively marking the end of formal competition to Rahmons regime.



But competition inside the regime seems to be heating up, a situation that may even suit Tajikistans constitutionally enshrined Leader of the Nation, Emomali Rahmon, as he considers his next steps.



Indeed, the government sources that confirmed to RFE/RLs Tajik Service the details of the tense mid-July meeting in the presidential administration additionally suggested that it is not just the prosecutor-general that Rahimzoda and Yatimov have a problem with.



One source stressed that the presidents eldest daughter and chief of staff, Ozoda Rahmon, has regularly expressed her irritation that the duo take matters directly to the president without briefing her.



Nevertheless, the source noted, Rahmon is seemingly happy to continue meeting with them without them first consulting his daughter.

Written by Chris Rickleton based on reporting by RFE/RLs Tajik Service
As French explorer Paul Pelliot gathered supplies for a yearslong expedition through Russia and into Central Asia in 1906, he made sure he lacked for nothing. Along with guns, canned meat, and tents, the Parisian packed 25 bottles of Coste-Folcher champagne and 30 kilograms of cognac.

The French quest came on the heels of similar Western expeditions into "Russian and Chinese Turkestan" to research -- and, in many cases, remove and ship back to Europe -- priceless artifacts of the ancient kingdoms and cultures that had once thrived in the region. Pelliot's mission was unique for the superb images captured throughout the journey by photographer Charles Nouette. The photographs, numbering more than 1,500, were recently compiled by the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts in Paris and published online. Below are some of the most striking photos from the quest that offer a glimpse of Central Asia and imperial Russia on the brink of epochal change.

With the blessing of the imperial government in St. Petersburg, the French expedition departed Moscow for Samarkand, in today's Uzbekistan, in July 1906.

The Russian Empire at the time was being roiled by political upheaval following the 1905 revolution and war with Japan.

The French group explored Uzbekistan as they waited nearly a month for their tons of equipment and supplies to clear customs before they could travel east toward today's Kyrgyzstan.

Pelliot described Central Asia as a region "no less deeply mysterious than Central Africa" that was rendered newly accessible for Western explorers after "Russian weapons finally cleared the approaches."

Pelliot was chosen to lead the expedition partly for his linguistic talents. He spoke English, Russian, Turkish, and Chinese.

Extensive high-level negotiations between Paris and St. Petersburg had preceded the Pelliot expedition.

In return for providing support and allowing access to Russian-controlled territory, St. Petersburg required that Pelliot (seated on right, above) took along Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (with back to camera), then a young colonel in the Russian Army, as a spy to gather intelligence from Chinese-controlled regions.

Pelliot warmed to the armed guard provided by the tsar. "These Cossacks come with a good heart," he wrote. One adventure-hungry officer, he said, "wanted to join the expedition even at his own expense."

The early months of the expedition were not successful in their stated goals of new archaeological discoveries. Pelliot wrote to a colleague, "I might as well tell you right away that we haven't made any sensational discoveries here. Too many people have passed before us, the Japanese, the Germans, the Russians, who had taken control of everything that was easy to find and easy to grab."

After months spent in the regions of today's Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the expedition crossed into China in late 1906.

The expedition began to make fresh finds inside China as they uncovered remnants of ancient Buddhist culture, and, finally, thousands of Chinese manuscripts in a cave monastery -- the headlining discovery from the expedition.
THE AUTHOR behind a series of popular novels will mark the launch of his latest work with a talk and Q&A in Rotherham.

THE AUTHOR behind a series of popular novels will mark the launch of his latest work with a talk and Q&A in Rotherham.

Jack Sheffield is the writer of the Teacher, Teacher series, described as a mix of Call The Midwife and Heartbeat and based on a warm nostalgic vision of village school life in the 1980s.

Get the day's headlines and highlights emailed direct to you every day. Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Rotherham Advertiser within your account. Edit Preferences Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting...

The writer will be discussing his new book, University Tales, at Harley Mission Rooms on September 8 from 7.30pm.
CCTV Footage

Investigation is Underway to Determine the Exact Cause of the Collision

SALEM, TAMIL NADU: A Devastating Road Accident in Salem, Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday, September 6, has resulted in the loss of six lives from the same family. Disturbing footage of the incident, captured by a roadside CCTV camera, has been circulating on social media. According to reports from a news agency, the accident occurred on the Salem-Coimbatore national highway when a van, traveling towards Perundurai at approximately 4 am, collided with a parked truck.

The Van, carrying eight occupants, was reportedly on its way from Agur in the Erode district. Tragically, the impact of the collision was so severe that it led to the destruction of the van's fenders. Among the victims, five have been identified as Selvaraj, Manjula, Arumugam, Palanisamy, and Papathy. In addition to these individuals, a one-year-old child also lost his life in the tragic accident.

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This heart-wrenching incident has left a community in mourning and serves as a stark reminder of the need for road safety and vigilance while traveling. Authorities are conducting investigations to determine the exact cause of the collision.
Hardeep Nijjar

Investigating Agencies Found No Concrete Evidence Linking the Indian Diplomatic

CHANDIGARH: The Canadian Investigative Agencies have formally ruled out any involvement of the Indian High Commission or its diplomats in the murder case of Indian diplomat Hardeep Nijhar. After an extensive inquiry, no concrete evidence linking the Indian diplomatic mission to the incident has been found. Instead, investigators suggest that the murder appears to be a result of mutual enmity.

The development comes amid concerns over the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada following threats from unidentified terrorists. In response to the security threat, the security detail assigned to the Indian diplomat in Canada has been bolstered, reinforcing measures to ensure his safety.

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Sanjay Kumar Verma, the Indian High Commissioner in Canada, has expressed satisfaction with the heightened security arrangements, indicating a commitment to safeguarding the well-being of Indian diplomats overseas.
Famous British comedy actor and director Stephen Fry has urged the West not to stop supporting Ukrainians and wished the Ukrainian Armed Forces success on the battlefield. He would also like Russian President Vladimir Putin to have a stroke and the dictator himself to end his life somewhere in a basement.

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According to the actor, the Russian occupiers should retreat and leave the Ukrainian territories. The celebrity told about this and other things in an exclusive interview with the editor-in-chief of the information service of the TV channel ICTV Olena Froliak.

"But here's what I would like right now specifically - for the West not to stop supporting the Ukrainians. I am, after all, a bit worried about the American elections next year. I certainly wish the Ukrainian Armed Forces success on the battlefield. And I will tell the Russians that the only solution for them is to back down, to stop talking with ultimatums like, "If you give them Donbass, then maybe we'll think about it." No, you can not give them what does not belong to them," - said the actor.

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In addition, Fry noted that not everything is measured by force: you still need to be able to balance the differences of opinion of society.

"I wish Ukrainians stability and grace, no matter what. Being strong is not everything. One should have refinement, give the right to the existence of different opinions in society and skillfully balance between them," the actor addressed the Ukrainian people.

Earlier OBOZREVATEL wrote that Stephen Fry shared his impressions from the first day spent in Ukraine. He praised our people for humor and indestructibility.
Jalandhar Rural Police

Further investigations are underway to apprehend individuals

JALANDHAR: In a significant blow to drug trafficking in the region, the Jalandhar rural police have apprehended a notorious smuggler, Malkait Singh aka 'Kali,' and seized a substantial haul of 9 kilograms of heroin. This successful operation underscores the relentless efforts of law enforcement agencies to combat the drug menace in Punjab.

In a major breakthrough, Jalandhar Rural Police has arrested Big Fish Drug Trafficker Malkait Singh @ Kali and seized 9 Kg Heroin



He used to execute cross border drug smuggling along with his associates. FIR under NDPS Act is registered at PS Goraya (1/2) pic.twitter.com/aheZ22Fikh Advertisement September 7, 2023

The Director General of Police (DGP) of Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, announced the major breakthrough. Malkait Singh and his associates were actively engaged in smuggling narcotics across the border, posing a grave threat to the state's security.

DGP Gaurav Yadav shared the development on a social media platform, stating, "The Jalandhar rural police achieved great success by arresting the drug smuggler Malkait Singh alias Kali and recovering 9 kg of heroin. The case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Thana Goraya, and further investigations are underway to apprehend individuals involved in the logistics of the drug consignment.

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PM Modi's visit to Indonesia

PM Modi Stressed that all Countries in the Region Share an Interest in Peace, Security, & Prosperity in the Indo-Pacific Region.

JAKARTA - Prime Minister Narendra Modi has returned to India after a brief but highly productive visit to Indonesia, where he attended the ASEAN-India and East Asia Summit (EAS). During his visit, Prime Minister Modi reaffirmed India's strong and strategic connections with nations in this vital region.

Prime Minister Modi's arrival in Jakarta marked the commencement of his participation in these pivotal summits. The Ministry of External Affairs shared on the social media platform 'X,' stating, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has concluded his visit to Indonesia. During this time, he deepened India's engagement with ASEAN and EAS."

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Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar remarked, "The Prime Minister's visit to Jakarta, although brief, was immensely valuable as he participated in the ASEAN-India Summit and the East Asia Summit." He emphasized that the Prime Minister's engagement in these summits will provide a strategic direction to India-ASEAN relations.

During the visit, Prime Minister Modi engaged in comprehensive discussions on a wide range of areas including connectivity, maritime cooperation, digital transformation, trade and economy, environment, health, and traditional medicine. Kumar noted that in each of these areas, the Prime Minister presented specific proposals, which have since been outlined as a 12-point agenda.

Furthermore, two joint statements were issued between India and ASEAN, pertaining to maritime cooperation and food security. Maritime cooperation encompassed matters such as security, maritime domain awareness, and disaster management. Kumar underscored that during the food security discussions, the PM highlighted the significance of millets, not only as a source of food security but also as a contributor to environmental sustainability.

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Among the key announcements made during the visit, PM Modi unveiled the establishment of the ASEAN-India Fund for Digital Future, aimed at enhancing financial connectivity between ASEAN and India. Additionally, he introduced the ASEAN Think-Tank for the region, which will serve as a knowledge partner in advancing ASEAN-India relations.

Kumar further revealed that Prime Minister Modi announced the opening of the Embassy of India in Timor-Leste. Timor-Leste joined ASEAN as an observer in 2022, and this move underscores India's commitment to strengthening ties with Southeast Asia.

Addressing the East Asia Summit, Prime Minister Modi emphasized the importance of collective commitment and efforts to uphold the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. This statement comes against the backdrop of China's escalating military activities in the South China Sea. PM Modi advocated for an effective code of conduct for the South China Sea that aligns with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

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These remarks came following strong reactions from several ASEAN member states, including Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, concerning Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea as reflected in the latest edition of the 'Standard Map of China,' released on August 28. India, along with these nations, has rejected the 'map' and lodged a formal protest with China.

Prime Minister Modi stressed that all countries in the region share an interest in peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. He underscored the vital role played by ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in India's Indo-Pacific initiatives and reiterated India's commitment to working closely with ASEAN in this regard.




The United States has announced new assistance totaling more than $1 billion to Ukraine, including $665.5 million in new military and civilian security assistance.

The U.S. Government has also committed an additional $206 million for humanitarian assistance, emergency shelter for those whose homes were destroyed in Russian attacks, and medical support and care for survivors of relentless Russian missile attacks and shelling.

It is estimated that more than 6 million Ukrainians were displaced by the more than a year-old Russian onslaught.

In total, Washington committed more than $43 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian aggression.

One of the biggest U.S. assistance so far was announced by Secretary Of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Ukraine Wednesday.

It was his sixth trip as Secretary of State to Ukraine and the fourth since the Russian full-scale invasion began on February 24, 2022.

At a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev, Blinken said U.S. Abrams tanks will arrive in Ukraine this fall and training will be provided to Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets in the United States, complementing the training that is already underway in Europe.

US Abrams tanks with shells are strong enough to pierce conventional tank armor.

A U.S. Department of Defense press release says the anti-tank weapons are made of depleted uranium, a by-product of uranium enrichment stripped of most radioactive material.

Russia criticized the move.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister said he discussed with Blinken about providing ATACMS long-range rockets.

"We never asked to send the U.S. troops to Ukraine, and we are not going to ask this. But we truly need support in this fight", he told reporters.

The latest U.S. security assistance package includes more ammunition for artillery and HIMARS systems, Javelin, and anti-armor systems; tank ammunitions for Abram tanks; and air defense system to help Ukraine protect its people from air strikes.

Wednesday, while Blinken was in Kiev, Russia launched a new wave of air strikes on a market in the eastern Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens more.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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Summit Materials, Inc. (SUM) has entered into a definitive agreement with Cementos Argos S.A., under which Summit will combine with Argos North America Corp., the U.S. operations of Cementos Argos, in a cash and stock deal valued at $3.2 billion.

Cementos Argos will receive approximately $1.2 billion in cash, and approximately 54.7 million shares of Summit stock, valuing Argos USA at approximately $3.2 billion. Cementos Argos will own approximately 31% of the combined company upon the closing of the transaction. Summit Materials expects the transaction to be 15-25% accretive to free cash flow per share as well as accretive to revenue and EBITDA growth rates.

At closing, the combined company will continue to operate as Summit Materials and continue to trade on the NYSE under the ticker, SUM. The combined company will be led by Anne Noonan, Summit's CEO.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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The Federal Aviation Agency has authorized two more companies to operate drones to fly longer distance flights beyond visual line of sight, or BVLOS.

The companies being given approval are UPS Flight Forward and uAvionix.

UPS Flight Forward, a UPS subsidiary focused on drone delivery, with its Matternet M2, can conduct small package delivery using a ground-based surveillance system from Raytheon.

UPS plans to conduct flights in a number of states including North Carolina, Florida and Ohio from its Remote Operations Center in Kentucky, according to the FAA.

uAvionix, a leading provider of avionics, with its Rapace can use the Vantis Network to test its detect and avoid in North Dakota.

"This isn't just another waiver; it's a game-changer for the UAS industry," the Bigfork, MT, based company tweeted on X.

Last month, FAA had authorized Phoenix Air Unmanned to operate SwissDrones SVO 50 V2 drones beyond visual line of sight for aerial work, aerial photography, survey and powerline and pipeline patrol and inspection.

The FAA issued the approvals after asking for public input on four BVLOS requests. The agency said it is reviewing one more request to operate drones beyond BVLOS.

The move by the U.S. civil aviation regulator opens the door for more drone delivery companies to deliver packages across a wider area and service more customers in the country.

The FAA said it is focused on developing standard rules to make BVLOS operations "routine, scalable and economically viable."

The agency chartered the Beyond Visual Line of Sight Aviation Rulemaking Committee in 2021 to provide safety recommendations to the FAA. The committee's final report is currently under review.

The FAA's long-term goal is to safely integrate drones into the National Airspace System rather than set aside separate airspace exclusively for drones.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Old Rhodian Union President, Professor Rod Walker, with one of the bursary recipients, Winnie Lubisi. Photo cred: Vusumzi Tshekema.

By Carmen Visser

Founded in 1911 by Sir George Cory and Professor Cullen Bowles, the Old Rhodian Union (ORU) administers bursaries for children of Old Rhodians and current University staff members. This year, the Union granted 31 bursaries to the value of R325 000.

A Cocktail, which was attended by the students and their guardians, was held on 28 August 2023 to celebrate the 2023 beneficiaries and the President of the ORU, Professor Rod Walker welcomed the attendees. He explained how the Union aims to sustainably provide bursaries to Rhodes University students to ensure that present and future students are financially assisted in their studies.

In 2000, the ORU bursaries to the value of R80 000 were granted. In 2023, 31 bursaries valued at R325 000 were granted. Professor Walker emphasised that the awards are based on academic performance as well as financial need.

He described how the MySchool bursaries are awarded specifically to the students who are studying Education, in line with the objectives of the MySchool programme. Furthermore, he encouraged everyone to get a MySchool card to help raise funds for the ORU. Rhodes Universitys Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sizwe Mabizela, echoed his sentiments: It does not cost you anything more to use a MySchool card. You were already making that Woolworths purchase, but you can help the Old Rhodian Union if you swipe your MySchool card.

Professor Mabizela also said, We are all beneficiaries from those who have contributed to the Union. The responsibility to help is one for all of us to carry.

He continued to explain how there will be a competition between graduates from all years during Rhodes Universitys 120th birthday in 2024. The alumni will compete to see which year can raise the most funds for the ORU. Moreover, the Vice-Chancellor stressed the local and global responsibility that Rhodes University, its staff, and students carry.

He pointed out the importance of generating quality research that contributes to international markets as well as helping our surrounding areas. Professor Mabizela thanked the 2023 Student Representative Council and called them the best team of leaders Rhodes University has had for a long time. Finally, the Vice-Chancellor closed with a reference from Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, South Africa is a scintillating success waiting to happen. Lets all do our part to make society and our world better.

The ORU bursaries have and continue to assist a number of students financially throughout their studies both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. One of the 2023 recipients, Kyra Chikuwha, explained how her guardian was retrenched during the COVID-19 lockdown and, as a result, her outstanding fees to Rhodes University began piling up. She admitted that her parental figures emotional motivation letter must have convinced the committee to grant her the bursary.

Now a third-year student at Rhodes University, she said her guardian has always been a fantastic role model and laid a foundation where reading and learning were always encouraged. Unsurprisingly, the student from Johannesburg wishes to one day become a lecturer and start her own publishing company. She is grateful to the Old Rhodian Union for helping her throughout her studies.
The 1.2L petrol engine on Citroen C3X crossover sedan might only get a turbocharged variation mated to a 6-speed gearbox

As part of its C-Cubed program, Citroen is developing its third vehicle (not counting the electrified versions) named C3X for developing markets. Recent spy shots clearly show it will be a coupe-like crossover design something in line with Citroens C4X and C5X crossover sedans in Europe.

Citroen C3X Crossover Sedan

We expect Citroen to launch it around mid-2024 or beyond. Upcoming Citroen C3X coupe crossover will be the first sedan from the French brand in India. After eC3 and eC3 Aircross, an electrified version of C3X called e-C3X (like e-C4X in Europe) is highly likely as well.

Rivals are the current crop of sedans like Hyundai Verna, Honda City 5th gen, Skoda Slavia and VW Virtus. In Europe, Citroen C4X is 4,600mm and C5X is 4,805mm in length. India-spec C3X will probably be around 4,400mm to 4,500mm in length. Owing to its crossover DNA, it will feature a high ground clearance too.

Initial speculations around it are the same platform and wheelbase as (India-spec) C3 Aircross SUV, taking a sedan body style. Component sharing is likely and thats how Citroen will establish an aggressive price point. In the RHD test mules from Europe, we can see the same face as outgoing Citroen models in India.

Alloy wheels are different, though. Citroen has gone great lengths to hide its sedan shape, but is evident. Tail lights look similar to C3 hatchback in India. On the inside, same dashboard, 10.2 infotainment screen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and a 7 digital drivers display are highly probable.

Second mainstream coupe sedan in India?

We hope Citroen C3X crossover sedan retains C3 Aircross roof-mounted AC vents like on (discontinued) Toyota Yaris. Roof-mounted AC vents are more effective for vehicles, owing to convection and heat transfer. Other features like steering-mounted controls, electrically adjustable ORVMs, 16 or 17 wheels, body cladding and quirky styling are possible too.

Citroen will establish a unique proposition of a coupe sedan with crossover DNA. We just hope Citroen offers side claddings in body colour. C3X will mostly get Puretech 110 powertrain option only. Puretech 110 is a turbocharged unit and is capable of developing 110 PS of power and 190 Nm of torque, mated to a 6-speed MT.

Both Puretech 82 and Puretech 110 powertrains are likely

The turbo petrol powertrain is slightly less powerful and more torquey than VW and Skodas 1.0L TSI motor on base variants of Virtus and Slavia. Come to think of it, C3X will be the first French sedan in India after a long gap since Renault Fluence (Renault Scala was rebranded Sunny).

And it will be the second crossover sedan in India after Volvo S60 Cross Country (Taycan Cross Turismo is technically a station wagon). Citroen will launch C3 Aircross first, followed by its electrified version (already in testing). Followed by C3X sedan, and its electric version later. So, launch might happen in mid-2024 or beyond.

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Another fire broke out in Moscow on the afternoon of September 7. The Salyut plant caught fire in the capital of the terrorist state of Russia.

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The Russian Federation said that a laboratory where flammable sodium was stored caught fire at the plant. This is written by Russian propaganda media.

Evacuation of personnel was initiated. There are also reports that thick black smoke is visible from the third floor. The fire has a very high level.

It is noteworthy that the fire occurred in the ventilation chamber of the microelectronics warehouse. There are no reports on the victims. According to the information of propagandists, the causes of the fire are being established.

Press service of the main department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in Moscow said that the emergency services received a message about the fire in the building of the Salyut scientific and production enterprise at 13:51. The fire was localized in the area of 6 square meters at 14:15. It was completely extinguished at 14:18.

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Moscow Salyut plant specializes in the production of ship radars. It is also known that the enterprise has been under US sanctions since 2022

An explosion was heard in the Russian suburbs near Zhukovsky International Airport. The authorities reported the shooting down of a drone in Ramenskoye. The blast wave blew out the windows of houses located near the place where the UAV fell.

An explosion occurred in Russia's Rostov-on-Don on the morning of September 7. Propagandists reported that it was heard around 3:30 and a fire started at the site. The governor of the region said two UAVs were allegedly shot down. The footage shows that the explosion was very strong, with fire starting and clouds of smoke billowing. The UAV allegedly fell on a car.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, a large-scale fire broke out on the territory of the aggressor state of Russia on the evening of September 4 once again. Warehouses in the area of the Moscow Leningradsky railway station caught fire.

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Only verified information from us on Telegram Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Poland, Hungary and Slovakia insist on extending the ban on grain in Ukraine. At the same time, a number of countries like France, Germany and Austria do not support this decision.

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According to Bloomberg sources, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia continue to push for the continuation of the ban on grain imports from Ukraine until the end of the year, warning of disruptions in domestic markets. Even though Bulgaria expressed concern, it remained flexible at the meeting of EU ambassadors on September 6.

Another official said Romania would not seek a unilateral ban. Bulgaria will push for an extension of the ban on sunflower, unrefined oil and milk powder, but not on wheat, Agriculture Minister Kirill Vatev said.

Thirteen member states, including France, Germany and Austria, do not support an extension, the sources said. Poland and Hungary also propose to transfer financial support directly to Ukrainian exporters, which France disagrees with, they added.

Ukraine has warned that it will challenge any extension of the grain import ban to an arbitration panel. It has relied on export channels to its EU neighbors after Russia pulled out of a grain deal that allowed exports through its Black Sea ports. Poland banned imports in April after demonstrations by farmers who complained the influx of grain had depressed their prices, followed by the other four border countries.

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Earlier, First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that Ukrainian grain is being exported through Croatian ports. According to her, this trade route, although niche, is already popular.

"Ukrainian grain has already gone for export through Croatian ports. Thank you for this opportunity. This trade route, although niche, is already popular. We are ready to develop it by expanding the possibilities of the transportation corridor. We believe that this logistics route will play an important role in bilateral trade between our countries after the war as well," she said.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Ukraine launched an alternative route of maritime exports from the Black Sea ports. Ships enter the territorial waters of Romania and Bulgaria right away and then move to their destination. Theoretically, such a route could replace the "grain deal".

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Only verified information from us on Telegram Obozrevatel and Viber . Do not fall for fakes!
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Things to Do

11 Things To Do in San Diego This Weekend: Oct. 2629

Zombie crawl through the Gaslamp, trick-or-treat in Little Italy, and honor your loved ones at one of several Dia de Muertos celebrations

Read article
Scratch House Vegan Cheese Cutting Board Chef Tony Howe San Diego Courtesy of Chef Tony Howe

Chef Tony Howe is a presence. Hes covered head-to-toe in an impressive array of tattoos. His warm, welcoming smile reveals a set of silver grills. And hes doing something he never envisioned during his days training at Le Cordon Bleu: Hes perfecting the use of traditional cheese-making techniques to create cheese with plants, not dairy. The results will convince even the most discerning fromage aficionado that, yes, vegan cheese is actually good. Howe is on a mission to reinvent the way people think about queso, one plant-based parmesan shred at a time.Early in his career, Howe bucked the corporate route many culinary students take and moved to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia to hone his skills at a highly regarded farm-to-table fine-dining restaurant. This is where he developed a true passion for the science of food and what and how we eat as a cultureand a keen awareness of the fragility of our food system. He started experimenting with zero-waste concepts in the kitchen, taking discarded food scraps and utilizing them in creative ways.

Scratch House Vegan Cheese Chef Tony Howe San Diego Courtesy of Chef Tony Howe

After going vegan, Howe tasted his way through various plant-based dairy substitutes and found himself thoroughly disappointed. Cheese was something I didnt want to give up, Howe says.Returning to his childhood roots in San Diego, Howe joined Bankers Hillbased vegan eatery Donna Jeans, making all their cheese and sauces from scratch. Then, in 2020, he decided it was time to pack up his knives and launched a new venture, Scratch House, to create functional non-dairy cheeses and other vegan provisions.

Scratch House Vegan Cheese Dinner Table Chef Tony Howe San Diego Courtesy of Scratch House Vegan

He now spends his days in his kitchen in Rolando, often relentlessly repeating recipes using novel ingredients to get his products to react the way a dairy cheese would. He has developed his own unique vegan cheesemaking techniques , including using white beans as a base instead of the more common cashews.Howe explains that he intentionally uses familiar names for his products, calling one a goat cheese and another a parmesan, for example, as a way to describe its defining qualities.But vegan cheese doesnt have to be something its not, he continues. Im not saying it is going to taste exactly like the thing you might be familiar withbut we have to use certain terminology to convey what we are doing and how to use it. We just want it to do the things it does, like thicken a sauce or add umami, and make sure that all the flavor points are present in the cheese to enhance the flavor of the dish or give it a certain form or texture.

For the general public, Scratch House products are available at select retailers including The Mighty Bin, Windmill Farms, Cream of Crop, and the San Diego Vegan Market. Howe also hosts various pop-up events throughout the county and shares his cheese-making knowledge in a class he holds periodically. (The next class is on October 17 at Donna Jeans.)But landing on the shelves of big-box retail stores, as many craft cheese purveyors strive for, is not Howes ambition. For now, he is attempting to scale by focusing on food service and selling into restaurants. Im trying to make something that chefs can use one-to-one for a dairy cheese or sauce, Howe says. But they need the right tools. Its amazing what chefs can do when they have the right tools and ingredients.
Six San Diego County projects that focus on combating racial and economic injustice have been selected to receive grants of at least $100,000 to continue their work, according to a local philanthropy association.

San Diego Grantmakers announced Monday that more than $821,000 in funding would be distributed to groups working on a range of issues including criminal justice, education and food insecurity.

The recipients, representing 30 organizations and resident groups, were selected from among 66 applications to the Social Equity Collaborative Fund, which was created to increase opportunities for grass-roots organizations working to address societal problems.

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The fund is made up of contributions by the Satterberg Foundation, Blue Shield of California Foundation and The California Endowment.

Nancy Jamison, president and CEO of San Diego Grantmakers, which hosts the fund, said the relatively large number of applications highlights a need for active outreach to smaller groups that might be overlooked by other funding sources. The organizations arent in the nonprofit infrastructure because theyre just doing the work, she said.

The projects picked to receive grants are:

 Advancing Healthy Neighborhoods: $135,000 to help refugee and immigrant families participate in civic, environmental and economic life in El Cajon and City Heights.

 Asian Solidarity Collective: $152,000 to aid its work on issues related to social justice and building solidarity with other communities of color.

 Semillas de Libertad (Seeds of Freedom): $170,000 to help support formerly incarcerated people, particularly in North County.

 Southeastern San Diego Food Equity Project: $130,000 to educate residents about how to grow, cook and advocate for greater access to healthy food.

 The CommUnity Spot Collaborative: $104,000 for mentoring, educational and entrepreneurial support to residents and leaders working in southeastern San Diego.

 United for Justice: $130,000 to further its work with low-income immigrant taxi drivers.

dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @danalittlefield
Abbas Ganbay

The separatists are preparing the people for yet another, straight from the propaganda factory, a sealed package of lies and disinformation. Although in Armenia the political power and its structures are held on a glued chair leg, the desire to aggravate the conflict in Garabagh does not end. Knowing that children's minds quickly absorb information surrounding us, the patrons of Armenians introduce into children's literature, both in school and before school time, hatred towards neighbors and superiority over others, which as a consequence of psychological traumas, along with others, is used in further bloody plans of the patrons of Armenians, and rituals of sacrifice. We have already seen this somewhere, which eventually led to the destruction of the Roman Empire.

What outcome awaits Armenia, when the people dissatisfied with the policy of the Prime Minister, as well as many other political cliques, create riots, rallies, nominate new ruling parties, and do not want to see Azerbaijan's peace proposals for Armenia, as well as for the inhabitants of Garabagh, the Armenian minorities. Although the people of Yerevan think that there is a way out of the situation, after the psychological traumas of their childhood, they choose the road with bread crumbs, which are planted by cunning patrons.

Varuzhan Geghamyan, who calls himself a "Turkologist", resorted to another propaganda of future war with Armenia, in the face of both Turkiye and Azerbaijan, on his Meta page. He came to this conclusion after a meeting of the Turkish government, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his speech noted the provocations of the Armenian side in Garabagh and the aggravation of the situation with the signing of a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Why don't they discuss the food cargo of 40 tons of flour products sent by Azerbaijan on the Aghdam-Khankendi road for the residents of Khankendi, where, due to psychological trauma in childhood, they refuse to help, shouting about the harassment of the cargo, or perhaps Armenians are holding Armenians at gunpoint? This is where the propaganda of Armenians related to the alleged road blockade and famine in Khankendi finally collapses.

I would like to remind you that for the 9th day in a row, the humanitarian cargo is standing on the Aghdam-Khankendi road, where on August 29 the Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society organized the delivery of foodstuffs to meet the needs of the Armenian minority living in the Garabagh economic region of Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, some provocateurs affiliated with the separatist clique blocked the road on the Aghdam-Khankendi section and prevented the convoy from delivering food to Khankendi.

The Armenian side came up with clever solutions for the people, having started allegedly issuing bread coupons, which did not last long, as from September 6 the bread coupon distribution points in schools will cease to function! Now they have switched to pressurizing children in schools in order to propagandize anti-Azerbaijan sentiment.

While the patrons of the Armenians are preparing for another provocation, Pashinyan gives an interview to an Italian newspaper where a journalist spoils his reputation in his accusations against Russia, about its alleged imminent withdrawal from Garabagh and failure to fulfill the agreement, as well as inappropriate mention of the Holocaust in comparison with the alleged genocide against Armenians, to which the rabbis of the world harshly responded with criticism in the world media to Pashinyan's statements.

Pashinyan did not get on nerves of the World Jewish community, but also watered down all hopes of Russia with his perfidy. With a statement, Pashinyan, at a moment rejected the long-time partnership with Moscow, its only protector during the war in Azerbaijan's Garabagh. In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Pashinyan said that in his opinion, Armenia's dependence on Russia for security was a strategic mistake, thus adding that Armenia is not an ally of Russia in its war against Ukraine. Probably, when talking about its ex-patron Pashinyan forgot to mention E-001M landmines buried in the Ukrainina soils in honor of Russia or the chips his country delivers despite West's sanctions.

This is the simplest of these Armenian lies yet. And more complexes are related to the military potential of Armenia that has long been drained in the Second Garabagh War.

Nevertheless, the Armenian Ministry of Defense announced that Armenian-American military exercises would be held in 11-20 September, and this is all following the antics and propaganda information machine of Armenia, which refused to participate in the Agile Spirit 2017 and 2023 military exercises in southern Georgia, as well as refused to participate in the CSTO exercises that were to be held on the territory of Armenia under the name "Unbreakable Brotherhood-2023". And what happened again, Pashinyan?

We clearly know that the Armenian lobbysts and those in the US Congress are the only ones that embolden Pashinyan. Only due to their support Pashinyan is as though faces up Russia like a monkey versus tiger in a cage.
Social networks and media are in an uproar - the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has allegedly added a 13th sign to the zodiac circle. That is, claim the network, now all astrology officially and finally changes its face. Most people on the planet live under the wrong sign.

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OBOZREVATEL looked into this story. We tell about the mysterious Ophiuchus and what will now be with astrology.

Where did the Ophiuchus come from?

In fact, it didn't come out of nowhere - it's always been there. At least from the point of view of the period of mankind's existence. It is a constellation lying within the same imaginary circle in which all the zodiacal signs are located. Moreover, even the ancient Babylonians, who invented astrology, knew about it.

As NASA explained in its Tumblr blog back in 2016, representatives of the ancient civilization guessed to draw an imaginary line pointing from the Earth to the Sun like an arrow. They carefully traced what that arrow pointed to over the course of a solar year, and it happened over 3,000 years ago.

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The conclusions of ancient astronomers were quite accurate and pointed (surprise) to 13 constellations located on a conventional circle, which later became known as the zodiacal. And then the manipulations began. Since the Babylonians used a calendar divided into 12 months, they chose only 12 constellations and correlated them with the months of the year. And at the same time, they assigned certain traits to everyone born under each of the signs.

So, as we can see, amateur astrologers use a system invented several millennia ago and since then has never been revised. But at least two astronomical facts point to its fallacy. The first - for 3000 years the position of heavenly bodies to each other has shifted and the modern zodiac, as an imaginary line on the firmament, looks different from the time of ancient Babylon. And we will talk a little more about the second one further on.

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What are constellations and what does the zodiac have to do with it?

An ordinary person imagines a constellation as a certain cluster of stars in a limited space. This is because from the ground they look like a group of dots in the sky, which can be connected to each other. Just like in a child's puzzle, where you need to draw lines between the dots and see the picture. For example, in Orion, the ancient Greeks recognized a hunter with a sword attached to his belt.

In reality, the stars that make up the constellations are located at great distances from each other and may not be connected in any way. But even when viewed from Earth, they still have a certain shape and size, which are far from equal. This means that the Sun cannot move through them for equal periods of time. So astronomers point out that in fact the solar "arrow" points into the sign of Virgo for 45 days. And the period of Scorpio lasts only 7 days. Nevertheless, the ancient Babylonians ignored this fact and divided the year into relatively equal parts, fixing each its own sign. This is how the astrological calendar came into being.

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So what did NASA do in the end and why is there such a stir on the internet?

All NASA did was, in the same 2016, publish an article on a children's website explaining what constellations are. And as an example in this explanation they took the zodiacal circle, in which they also pointed out the Serpentine, which is an integral part of this circle.

In a separate paragraph in the article, the agency's experts explained the difference between astronomy and astrology. They called the former a science with a clear evidence base, and the latter - a cultural phenomenon, laden with myths and fictions. And clearly noted that astrology is not engaged in astrology, zodiac served as an understandable example, and the ancient names of constellations are used because it was convenient enough even for scientific observations.

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However, amateur astrologers ignored this clarification. And hastened to declare that NASA has revised the zodiacal calendar. Even made a list with new dates, distributed now between the 13 constellations. It looks like this:

Capricorn - from January 20 to February 16;

Aquarius - from February 16 to March 11;

Pisces from March 11 to April 18;

Aries - from April 18 to May 13;

Taurus - May 13 through June 21;

Gemini - from June 21 to July 20;

Cancer - July 20 to August 10;

Leo - August 10 through September 16;

Virgo - from September 16 to October 30;

Libra - from Oct. 30 to Nov. 23;

Scorpio - from Nov. 23 to Nov. 29;

Ophiuchus - from Nov. 29 to Dec. 17;

Sagittarius - December 17 through January 20.

Now every few years this information pops up on the internet and people start recalculating their zodiac sign. This can be quite a fun pastime, but astronomers once again emphasize that it has nothing to do with real science.

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Earlier OBOZREVATEL told that scientists have found a likely place of accumulation of dark matter in the universe and this discovery alarmed them.

Subscribe to OBOZREVATEL channels in Telegram and Viber to be aware of the latest events.
Thai residents are concerned about the influx of Russian emigrants into the country. Thais complain that Russians are taking their jobs, opening illegal businesses and committing crimes.

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Those citizens of the Russian Federation, who are fleeing mobilization amid the war in Ukraine unleashed by Russia, receive long-term visas without hindrance. This was reported by Al Jazeera, whose journalists assessed the mood in society.

The residents of the resort island of Phuket and the capital Bangkok suffer the most. Here Russian business creates serious competition for local entrepreneurs. For example, Russians offer cheaper services or cab rides.

"Real estate prices have skyrocketed, which is good news for Thai owners and realtors but difficult for tenants. Russian-speaking businesses have popped up, often operating through Russian-language apps and staffed by people working illegally. There have also been reports of Russian sex workers," the article said.

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Residents of the island complain that Russians have started to run the tourist business and are harassing competitors who have been in the market for a long time. Moreover, emigrants do not even use the local currency, introducing prices in rubles.

"They drive personal cars that are not registered with Thailand's transport department as service vehicles and pick up tourists who book them through a Russian app, offering a price almost 20 percent cheaper than us," Phuket Minibus Drivers Club president Prayut Thongmusik told Alt.

Thais complain online that the authorities should intervene and act in the interests of the country's residents rather than "guests" trying to make money in Thailand while businesses in the Russian Federation are suffering from sanctions.

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To settle the mood in society, law enforcers have begun detaining and fining Russians who open illegal businesses or violate the country's laws in other ways.

Earlier OBOZREVATEL wrote that tourists complain about the vacation on the resort in the Russian city of Sochi. To know what they are not satisfied with, read our material.

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The USA will hand over the assets confiscated from sanctioned Russian oligarchs to Ukraine. This will be the first such case.

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This was announced by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. He noted that these funds will be used to support Ukrainian veterans.

"We are transferring the assets confiscated from the Russian oligarchs under sanctions to Ukraine for the first time. These funds will now be used to support Ukrainian military veterans. Those who contributed to Russia's war of aggression must pay the price," Blinken said.

How much Ukraine will receive

Blinken announced that the US will provide Ukraine with more than $1 billion in aid. That includes 5.4 million dollars of confiscated assets of Russian oligarchs.

Also, among other things, it provides 175 million dollars for air defense system components, missiles for HIMARS, ammunition and communication systems. In addition:

$90.5 million for humanitarian demining assistance;

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$100 million for long-term military requirements;

206 million dollars for food, water and shelter for internally displaced persons in Ukraine, as well as refugees abroad.

EU court allowed to lift sanctions against Russian businessman

The EU court has granted a lawsuit from Russian businessman Alexander Shulgin to remove his name from the EU's updated sanctions lists, which will be made public in September. The court thus authorized the lifting of sanctions against Shulgin. This is the first time such a decision has been made.

"As explained in the press service of the court, Shulgin did not challenge the sanctions in his lawsuit. He only demanded that he be removed from future lists. The EU Council had previously agreed that they would not include Shulgin's name in the updated lists given the weakness of the arguments against him," Radio Svoboda reported." It also recalled that:

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Shulgin was included in the sanctions lists as the head of Ozon Group (Russia's leading e-commerce platform, which provides significant revenues to the Russian government);

He stepped down as CEO of the company in April 2022 after falling under sanctions by the European Union and Australia.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, Putin's eldest daughter Maria Vorontsova is also under sanctions by the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom. However, this does not prevent her from being published in American and Swiss publishing houses as the author of acticles on endocrinology and medicine.

Only verified information from us on Telegram Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The occupants complain about the disorder in the accounting of mobilized in the Russian army. It is conducted formally, without any control, because of which a military man who has gone on vacation may fall under the article on desertion.

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This became known from a telephone conversation between the two occupants, intercepted by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (to listen, reach the end of the page).

A Russian serviceman fighting in one of the units in the Kupyansk area complained to his comrade about difficulties in restoring his personal documents.

Due to the fact that the records of the mobilized in the "second army of the world" are kept poorly, and in many cases are not kept at all, Russian soldiers, when they go on leave, are counted as part of their unit, which at that time is involved in the performance of tasks on the front lines.

The occupier complained that when he went to the military registration office in his town to check in while on leave, he was accused of desertion.

"They say - you were not on vacation. They don't mark anything. That is, I came, I gave a report for ** on vacation for 10 days, they did not even give me any paper. I come to the military enlistment office to my town, they fucking say: and how you *fucking, you are a deserter pale, comes out from the unit just", - said the invader.

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Careful, the intercept contains foul language, 18+!

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, another occupier in an intercepted conversation complained about the Russian army's lack of ammunition. According to him, there are no shells at all, and we have to fight with spears and sticks.

Another admitted that there is practically no one to mobilize in Russia. He complained that it would be "not mobilization, but evacuation."

Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
The Armed Forces of Ukraine actively continue their offensive operation in Melitopol direction. Only for one day there were 26 military clashes.

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This is reported by the General Staff of the AFU in Facebook. Ukrainian fighters successfully repelled the attacks of the Russians in four directions.

Over the past day, the enemy launched 10 missile and 54 air strikes on the territory of Ukraine. It fired 31 times from multiple launch rocket systems at Ukrainian troops' positions and populated areas.

"The operational situation in eastern and southern Ukraine remains difficult. There were 26 combat engagements," the statement said.

The operational situation in the Volyn and Polissya sectors remains unchanged.

At the Siversky and Slobozhansky directions, the enemy launched an air strike near Hraniv, Kharkiv region. More than 25 localities came under artillery and mortar fire, including Hremyach in Chernihiv region, Velyka Pysarivka, Pokrovka, Ponomarenky, Chernatske in Sumy region, and Vetarine, Hatyshche, Varvarovka in Kharkiv region.

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In the Kupyansk sector, the enemy launched an air strike in the area of Synkivka, Kotlyarivka, Krokhmalne in Kharkiv region. Kolodyazne, Kyslivka, Berestove in the Kharkiv region came under artillery and mortar fire.

In the Liman sector, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks near Novoyehorivka, Luhansk region. The enemy launched air strikes near Bilohorivka in Luhansk region and Vesele in Donetsk region. More than 10 localities came under artillery and mortar fire, including Nevske and Bilohorivka in Luhansk region and Verkhnekamianske, Spirne and Rozdolivka in Donetsk region.

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In the Bakhmut sector, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks near Orikhovo-Vasylivka in Donetsk region. The enemy launched air strikes in the areas of Khromove and Northern Donetsk region.

Over 15 localities in Donetsk region came under artillery and mortar fire. In particular:

Orikhovo-Vasylivka,

Bila Gora,

Bohdanivka,

Klishchiyivka.

In turn, as a result of the assault operations, the Defense Forces have a partial success south of Bakhmut, pushing the enemy out of their positions and consolidating their positions.

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In the Avdiivka sector, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks near Avdiivka. The enemy launched an air strike near Avdiivka. More than 15 localities came under artillery and mortar fire, including Oleksandropil, Keramik, Nevelske, Avdiivka and Pervomayske in Donetsk region.

In the Mariinka sector, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to hold back the Russian offensive in the vicinity of Mariinka, Donetsk region. The enemy launched an air strike near Krasnohorivka. Krasnohorivka, Paraskoviivka, and Yelizavetivka in the Donetsk region came under artillery and mortar fire.

In the Shakhtarsk sector, the enemy launched an air strike near Urozhayne. More than 10 localities came under artillery and mortar fire, including Vuhledar, Prechystivka, Shakhtarske, Zolota Niva, Blahodatne, and Urozhayne in the Donetsk region.

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In the Zaporizhzhia sector, the enemy conducted air strikes in the areas of Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia region. More than 10 localities came under artillery and mortar fire, including Olgivske, Levadne, Huliaipole, and Chervone in Zaporizhzhia region.

In the Kherson sector, the enemy launched an air strike near Olhivka. Kherson and Antonivka in Kherson region came under artillery and mortar fire.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces are conducting an offensive in the Melitopol sector, destroying the enemy and liberating the occupied territories step by step.

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"During the day, the aviation of the Defense Forces carried out 12 strikes on the areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment and on the positions of enemy anti-aircraft missile systems," the General Staff writes.

Missile and artillery units destroyed 1 ammunition depot, 3 artillery pieces, 2 control points, 1 anti-aircraft missile system and 2 areas of concentration of enemy personnel, weapons and military equipment.

Earlier, analysts at the U.S. Institute for the Study of War reported that the Defense Forces advanced to the village of Verbove, which was previously under the control of the Russian occupiers.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, military expert reserve colonel Petro Chernik expressed the opinion that with the onset of cold weather and rainy weather, the Ukrainian army will continue to launch missile strikes on important logistical facilities of the Russian occupation army, but offensive operations may "slow down." In such conditions, the movement of heavy equipment, particularly tanks, will become impossible.

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Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
When the first missiles started to fly on February 24, 2022, there was panic not only among civilians but also in military circles. However, thanks to clear orders and coordination of actions, the enemy's attack on Kyiv was repelled. Thus, when convoys with civilians were leaving Kyiv en masse in the direction of Hostomel, the DIU groups, which had arrived there the day before, took up their positions.

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The first hours of the Russian offensive on Kyiv were described by an active officer of the DIU in an exclusive interview with OBOZREVATEL. He noted that the airport in Hostomel was supposed to be the springboard for the landing and march on Kyiv for the occupants, but the Ukrainian defenders thwarted the enemy's plans.

Thus, a group of 10 Ka-52 helicopters was deployed on both sides of the airfield at noon on February 24, they accompanied about two dozen Mi-17 helicopters. The National Guard and Special Forces armed with small arms, several anti-aircraft systems and an armored personnel carrier with a machine gun were preparing to take the fight.

According to the DIU officer, after the successful landing of the first group, the second group was to take off after them, which consisted of 12 IL-76s carrying professional military personnel, as well as medium and heavy equipment and artillery. However, the landing on the runway was prevented by the special forces of the DIU and the National Guard, who blocked the road with vehicles.

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The Ukrainian General Staff reported that all IL-76s had successfully landed in Gomel (Belarus) on February 25 at 10 a.m., intending to begin a foot march into Ukrainian territory. At the same time, paratroopers from the first group failed to land in Hostomel. Some of them landed in the "greenery". They did not know the terrain so the Ukrainian military fought them right away.

Some of the attack helicopters were shot down while still on the approach, even though the Ukrainian military had minimal armament. The DIU officer also said that the famous Stinger, Enlave and Javalin systems were delivered to the site on the evening of February 24. Therefore, the defenders, preparing to repel the Russian attack, studied the work of ATGMs and MANPADS literally "on their knees".

The defenders took the fight to the ground, disrupting the enemy's plans and gaining precious time that allowed them to organize coordination between units and deliver additional weapons. A clear understanding and proper information processing helped the head of the DIU Kyrylo Budanov to coordinate the military and avoid danger in the first hours of Russian aggression, which saved Kyiv from capture.

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One of the important episodes at the very beginning of the great war was the fighting for the Antonov International Airport, located near Hostomel and only 25 kilometers from Kyiv. The invaders tried to land their paratroopers there, who were to storm the Ukrainian capital, but our military foiled the enemy's plans. 24 hours of fighting for Hostomel airport were recreated by journalists who spoke to Ukrainian defenders, dispatchers, airport workers and residents.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, the Russian occupation army is trying to stop the counter-offensive of Ukrainian troops in the Bakhmut direction. The enemy throws the latest pieces of equipment into the battle but does not achieve the desired result, suffering losses.

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Technology

spotlight

Futurist says tech moguls Bay Area city plan bold but worrisome

Christopher Michel Paul Saffo, the Silicon Valley futurist, said there are many unanswered questions about tech moguls plans to build a new city in the Bay Area.

Trying to make sense of a group of tech billionaires plan to build a new Bay Area city in Solano County is tough  even for renowned Silicon Valley futurist and forecaster Paul Saffo.

Watching the promo on their website, it struck me as Ecotopia meets SimCity, he told The Examiner.

The project, called California Forever, is led by a company called Flannery Associates and backed by Silicon Valley billionaires including Laurene Powell Jobs (the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs), LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen.

Saffo is famous for making bold predictions about Silicon Valley and beyond. He saw the expanded role of sensors and robotics. He predicted a world dominated by online platforms such as Facebook with the power to control the filtering, searching and sense-making tools we will rely on to navigate through the banal expanses of cyberspace.

Saffo is also known for an intriguing view: that theres a strong chance that the U.S. will be transformed into a network of city-states. He has even argued that the Bay Area should start thinking like a city-state.

In an interview with The Examiner, Saffo said the tech billionaires Solano County plan is an example of stepping up to city-state thinking. But there are many unanswered questions about what has also become a controversial project, he said.

California history is full of super-rich people having plans to leave an imprint on the landscape, he said. The good news is, I dont see any obvious libertarian maniacs in this. Id be really worried if this was Elon Musk or Peter Thiel.

This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.

What was your initial reaction to the tech billionaires planned city in Solano County? My top line is that we dont know enough to have an opinion of this yet. To me, its to reserve an opinion, get a historic context on this, and consider the pluses and the minuses. Im watching with great interest.

Theres some people who have their hearts in the right place who are involved here: Reid Hoffman and Laurene Powell, in particular.

California has a long history of this sort of thing. There are the ones that were successful. There are the ones that are failures, there are ones that were honest, and there are ones that were a con.

The most famous deception was William Mulhollands cunning scheme to secure the water rights in Owens Valley for L.A. He cheated the land owners, manipulated L.A. public opinion and cut out the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The 1974 noir film Chinatown, was inspired by it.

The other one for context is Mission Bay. Mission Bay is small, but it was a success. What I would do is look at all these things and say, What can we learn from them?

Well, the lesson for Mission Bay is these things take a lot of time. Mission Bay took at least 25 years, from when people started talking about it to when they broke ground. I would guess that it would be 2050 before anybody was pushing any dirt up there. Nobody is going to be building anything anytime soon.

In a LinkedIn post, you said: Rule one in Silicon Valley: Never confuse the demo with reality. What did you mean by that? Its a long way from the vision to actuality. There are a lot of ways it can go wrong. And in Silicon Valley, of course, the demo is always different than what the product turns out to be.

Your problem is everybodys chasing this story. So you need an angle that nobody else 

Well, my angle is you as a futurist, someone whos studied history as a way of looking at the future. I have a book on my shelf here titled Californias Utopian Colonies. Separately from the land grabs or anything else, its a long history of people trying to build a new utopian community in California. The classic one is Ernst Callenbachs book Ecotopia. So the question is: Are they proposing Ecotopia?

The question I have is: Is this really long money? To invest three quarters of a billion dollars in something that probably wont break ground for 25 years, youve got to ask: Whats the [internal rate of return]? Is this long money in the sense that these people dont care about their return? Or is it just land banking?

Is it possible to build an entirely new city in a planned manner? In general, the cities people love the most are the ones that were not planned, wandering around the alleyways of London or Paris. Is building a planned city successfully possible? And history says mostly no, with some minor exceptions.

Was there anything about the Solano County proposal that surprised you? Like everyone else, I was mystified when the story broke. The scale of it is pretty bold. At least in theory, the money behind it is long money. One would hope that the likes of Laurene Jobs and Reid Hoffman would say, We really want to do good here. Its got to make commercial sense, but we got to do good.

The story about them suing farmers who are talking to each other surprised me. That sounds like something out of the movie Chinatown. That is not out of Ecotopia. The fact that they were using strong-arm tactics on local ranchers strikes me as troublesome. It doesnt engender trust.

What do you think of the role that big tech investors and leaders are playing in this? Well, thats what makes it interesting when you have people who are richer than God. For you and I, $100 million might be a lot of money. But for Reid Hoffman, its just part of a portfolio.

You have people involved here who are not your typical real estate investors. The good news is there is an opportunity for them to think about this in a creative way that would not be possible for a real estate developer, working on the basis of some ordinary internal rate of return.

In theory, they can be patient and they can be creative. The downside is if they dont pay enough attention, if they just do the investing, and they leave it to somebody else to make the decisions. Thats bad. If they are actually engaged in the planning, that could be good.

But again  how old is Reid Hoffman?

[He is] 56 years old. So hell probably be 80 years old before they break ground. Which is not bad if people look at this as kind of a legacy gift.

Some of the most wonderful things that weve built in the country are things that people did for legacy, like Andrew Carnegie and his libraries. Like the Stanfords building Stanford University as a legacy for their lost child.

The good news is I dont see any obvious libertarian maniacs in this. Id be really worried if this was Elon Musk or Peter Thiel. You know, if it was Peter Thiel, hed probably be proposing to create an independent nation. But these are sensible people.

It brings to mind what Peter Thiel tried to do with The Seasteading Institute. Theres a long and deeply interesting history about trying to create new nations. The seasteading folks, theyre that tradition. It is pie in the sky, absolutely cloud-cuckoo land impractical.

This does not feel like that. That was my first reaction when I heard about it. This doesnt sound like some wildly impractical, utopian political thing. It sounds more like someone saying, You know, how could we plan growth in a spot thats probably one of the last spots that you can do this?

These are people who have real financial and political muscle. And that makes it really interesting. They might actually be able to get some things accomplished that a more conventional developer could not accomplish. Now, is accomplishing that a good thing or a bad thing? Thats a separate question.

[The San Francisco Chronicle story] was really interesting. Some farmers didnt sell their land because they actually sold an agricultural easement to the state. They like farming and ranching. It points out that for farming to succeed you need the whole network of farmers around you. The moment you start taking that apart, then the farming function begins to fail.

The land that [Flannery] acquired is still agricultural. Its gonna take them at least 25 years before they figure out what to do. In the meantime, they gotta keep running the land productively as agricultural land. And if theyre not cooperating with the local farmers, thats a very bad sign.

I would say thats the biggest negative Ive heard in this whole thing: the fact that this company was suing local farmers for collusion because theyre trying to talk to each other and figure out what was going on. Thats not neighborly. Those are very bad signs. One would hope that Laurene Jobs and Reid Hoffman would be saying, Hey, look folks, were investors. Youre going to be a good neighbor.

Where does this fit into the history of Silicon Valley as a place where people spearheaded a lot of innovation, made a lot of money and played a very important role in California? Youre asking really good questions. Way back to the 90s and the Clinton administration  that was the first dawning of Silicon Valley that they should be involved in politics. I can remember the conversation in the early days before dot-com takeoff, where people were going, We just do our thing, and we want to stay out of politics.

Suddenly it started dawning on people. Eric Schmidt was one of the key people who said weve got to get into policy and politics, both to protect our interests, and to push an agenda in terms of making the world a better place. To put a positive spin on it, with vast wealth comes vast responsibility. So Im actually encouraged by the people who were doing things.

When we talk about Silicon Valley, theres also a certain element of progressivism, right? Do you see anything positive in terms of a new form of governance? I think its a really good question to pose. I think its really wonderful to think big. You know a lot of the planning problems in the Bay Area happened because people didnt think big enough. But theres also the danger of thinking too big. This is a big piece of property. If it starts getting tangled up in utopian visions of a new form of governance, my guess is that will turn out very badly.

Its important to specify I dont see any strains of libertarianism in this group. I mean if theres any danger, its that they would be too pragmatic and get involved in land deals. Thats why Im grateful its not Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, because they would be imposing all sorts of loony ideas about how people should live and how people should be governed. So far, at least, to my relief, I dont see any evidence that theyre talking about a new political system here.

When I look at something like this, I say, yeah, its got the potential for constructive collaboration and conversation over time with the community in the region and folks who have patient money. That could lead to a really good result.

On the other hand, what gives me pause is suing ranchers. If they muscle in and order people around and throw their money and influence around, itll turn out very badly.

Where does this fit into your view of the potential rise of city-states, like one that could cover the Bay Area? I think this is an example of stepping up to city-state thinking. This could be a key part of the nine Bay Area counties. Depending on how you measure it, were like the worlds 17th- or 18th-largest economy. Were bigger than a lot of nations. Our economy is bigger than Switzerlands. So if Switzerland could do nation planning, certainly the Bay Area can do city-state planning.

This project is also clearly a reaction to the negative portrayals of San Francisco. Well, my first reaction was, this was more a reaction to the tech bro culture. People have had negative reactions to, justifiably so, to Elon Musk and Peter Thiel and Sam Bankman-Fried. So this is a moment in time where people are disinclined to trust anything that Silicon Valley zillionaires do.

But this is being led by Silicon Valley zillionaires. Yeah, but, you know, I think we need to treat them as individuals. Its happening in a climate of people distrusting government in general, at a national level, and just trusting Silicon Valley zillionaires at a regional level.

As a forecaster, one of the most important things Ive learned is to know when not to make a forecast. There are so many moving parts here. And we know so little. Sit back and take in the information and listen and work and, and try to influence it. Because if something takes 25 years to develop, there is going to be plenty of time for interventions.

California history is full of super-rich people having plans to leave an imprint on the landscape.

And in your view, if Elon Musk or Peter Thiel for some reason get involved, thats troublesome? I would say run.

A large part of the problem in Silicon Valley is we have a range of individuals, there are people who do enormous good quietly. You never hear about them in the press, and they use their money for great causes. And theres the other extreme of really obnoxious people who shouldnt be trusted with a checkbook. And that would be Elon. And that would be Peter Thiel. There are folks that you just wish would grow up, and, and not impose their, their impractical ideas on the rest of us.

Eric Schmidt, Laurene Jobs, Reid Hoffman  theres a huge number of people in the middle that deserve to be treated as individuals. Their hearts are in the right place. And, of course, the classics were Dave Packard and the earlier generation of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. If you want to look at people using their wealth for good, think about Dave Packard and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We do have a long but quiet history in Silicon Valley of people using their money for good.
A video that allegedly caught the moment when a Shahed kamikaze drone of Russian occupants crashed in Romania appeared online. Judging by this footage, the Air Defense of Ukraine's neighboring country did not attempt to shoot down the UAV.

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The video appeared on the STERNENKO Telegram on September 7. A massive Russian attack, during which some of the enemy's drones could have landed on the territory of a NATO member state, took place on the night of September 4 (to watch the video, scroll to the end of the page).

The video shows the distinct sound of an Iranian-made drone. Then a bright flash is seen in the sky and the sound of an explosion is heard. The author of the video recorded that the drone detonated on the opposite shore.

"Romania. F*ck!" the girl who was filming emotionally reacted.

Activist Serhiy Sternenko believes that the drone slowed down its engine speed before impact. This is characteristic of Shahed-136 at the moment when it hits the target.

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"There was no Air Defense work during the strike, which means that the drone hit the territory of Romania and that it was programmed that way by the Russians," the blogger suggested.

As OBOZREVATEL wrote:

- On September 7, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that they have no information indicating deliberate actions on the part of the aggressor country Russia during the incident in Romania.

- The country's President Klaus Iohannis demanded an urgent and professional investigation of the origin of the wreckage and the circumstances under which it ended up in Romania.

- Iohannis then denied the downing of the Russian Shahed dron on the territory of his state.

Only verified information from us on Telegram Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Graphene nanoplatelet technology specialist Directa Plus announced on Thursday that its environmental services arm Setcar has been awarded a three-year contract with Liberty Galati - Romania's largest integrated steel producer.

The AIM-traded firm said the contract, worth 5.5m and potentially expandable to 8m based on rolling mills production volume, was focussed on providing a solution for the treatment of oily mills scale generated during steel production.

It explained that the formation of mill scale, or iron oxides, is a byproduct of the steel manufacturing process.

The waste material is created when billets, heated to nearly 1000 degrees Celsius, pass through rolling mills, interacting with oxygen, oil, and coolant water.

Roughly 2.5% of the metal weight from the workpiece becomes such waste during the rolling process.

Setcar's approach to addressing the challenge harnesses Directa's proprietary Grafysorber technology - a method for removing and recovering oil compounds from mill sludge.

By using Grafysorber, it said Setcar would allow Liberty Galati to recycle a considerable amount of oily sludge waste, transforming it into a raw material suitable for reuse in steel production.

We are very proud of this achievement, said founder and chief executive officer Giulio Cesareo.

This is the largest single contract signed by the group to date, equivalent to the 2020 yearly company turnover.

Securing a multi-year contract with Liberty Galati is a very exciting win and demonstrates the building momentum for the group's products and solutions.

Cesareo said the company was targeting a new significant application for Grafysorber, with a very large global potential market.

We look forward to working with Liberty Galati and showcasing the compelling advantages of Grafysorber and Setcar's solution for oily mill scale produced in steel making.

At 1433 BST, shares in Directa Plus were up 8.05% at 47p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Byotrol updated the market on its trading on Thursday, after announcing full-year results in line with expectations in July, reporting that there had been no shift in its approach to its operating strategy going forward.

The AIM-traded firm said the primary elements of the strategy included concentrating on four primary technology platforms, including the promising Cruise platform.

It said it was optimistic about the regulatory approval of the platform across Europe by early 2025.

The company said it had clear plans to generate revenue from the platform through product sales directed towards both animal and human health sectors; and intellectual property sales, especially in areas where market entry costs are steep, such as the US.

It was also seeking a substantial enhancement in its operations and systems, aiming to augment efficiency and further uplift profit margins.

Byotrol said it was making strides in the 2024 financial year, as evidenced by 31% growth in the year-to-date for the Anigene formulation in animal health, which was introduced in November last year.

It also highlighted the August debut of its Chemgene MedLab formulation for human health, marking the UK's second product release based on the Cruise technology platform.

Operational progress was reported through the reinforcement of service standards, adept key account management, and an expanded e-commerce footprint.

That advancement had led to a 1% increase in the gross margin in the current financial year.

Byotrol said it was also concentrating on prudent cost and budget management, ensuring costs remained steady at 2.8m, even amidst rising wage and input costs.

However, Byotrol said it was facing some revenue shortfalls in two crucial domains, with European markets showing subdued product sales growth due to protracted registration timelines and a slow key account uptake.

Although Anigene secured its registration and inaugural sales in France, Byotrol now foresaw the registration of Anigene in Germany and Chemgene in the latter half of 2024.

It was also facing the termination of certain legacy products, including medical devices, which had adversely affected its revenues more than anticipated, although that remained a critical facet of its overarching strategy.

On the intellectual property front, Byotrol said it was seeing an encouraging scenario, as its major licensees and alliance partners were steadily gaining momentum.

Despite the inherent unpredictability of the effect of intellectual property on the year's profits, the company said it remained sanguine about generating roughly 1m in cash from it.

The combination of slower growth in Europe and prioritising cash from intellectual property means we now expect to be around breakeven this current financial year, with significant profitability in the 2025 financial year, the board said of the companys outlook.

Based on current projections, the directors remain confident that the company has sufficient cash resources to execute on its current strategy.

At 1247 BST, shares in Byotrol were down 8.57% at 1.6p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Electrical retailer Currys saw its sales decline ease slightly in the first quarter but noted a continuing "challenging" trading environment, especially within its Nordics division.

The company, which operates 823 stores across eight countries, reported a 4% drop in like-for-like (LFL) sales for the first 17 weeks of the financial year, ended 26 August. That compared with the 7% decline registered during the last financial year as a whole.

In the UK & Ireland, which accounts for 53% of group revenue, LFL sales fell 2% (-7% last year), with revenues trends picking up in July and August. ThHe company said robust sales in domestic appliances and mobile phones was offset by weakness in other categories like computing.

In the Nordics, where it trades as Elkjp and generates 40% of group revenue, LFL sales were down 8% (-10% last year), and the company said it is taking actions to hit cost-savings targets, which include job cuts, offshoring and contractor removal.

In its smaller Greek division, branded Kotsovolos, LFL sales growth slowed to 3% during the period, as it saw some short-term impact from wildfires on footfall last month. LFL sales in Greece had jumped 12% the previous financial year.

"Our priorities this year are simple: to keep the UK&I's encouraging momentum going, and to get the Nordics back on track," said chief executive Alex Baldock.

"We're making good progress on both, in what continues to be a challenging economic environment. We remain confident that we're building a stronger business that's resilient today and fit to prosper in the longer term."
Shares of Pets at Home and CVS Group tumbled on Thursday after the Competition and Markets Authority said it was launching a probe into the 2bn veterinary services market for household pets.

The competition watchdog said it will explore how well the market is working for pet owners and whether they are receiving the information they need at the right time to get appropriate treatment for their pets.

The CMA said it was keen to hear more about pet owners and vet practitioners experiences of pricing of services, including whether pet owners were aware of how much a treatment would cost, and how they pay for it.

It also wants to hear about how prescriptions and medication for pets are arranged and sold and how pet owners choose a vet surgery - whether they are aware that their vet may be part of a larger chain which might also own other surgeries in the area.

The use of out-of-hours and emergency vet services where options might be limited will also be looked into.

CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: "Caring for an ill pet can create real financial pressure, particularly alongside other cost of living concerns. Its really important that people get clear information and pricing to help them make the right choices.

"There has been a lot of consolidation in the vet industry in recent years, so now is the right time to take a look at how the market is working.

"When a pet is unwell, they often need urgent treatment, which means that pet owners may not shop around for the best deal, like they do with other services. This means they may not have the relevant information to make informed decisions at what can be a distressing time. We want to hear from pet owners and people who work in the sector about their experiences."

Pets at Home owns veterinary groups Companion Care Vets and Vets4Pets and has a network of more than 450 vet practices across the UK. CVS Group, meanwhile, is one of the largest integrated veterinary services providers in the UK.

At 1220 BST, Pets shares were down 8% at 350p, off earlier lows. Shares of AIM-listed vet services provider CVS Group were down 30% at 1,461p.

Responding to the news, CVS said in a statement: "Our purpose at CVS is to give the best possible care to animals and we continually invest in our colleagues, practices and clinical equipment to enhance the care to our clients and their patients. The Group has always sought to ensure its prices are appropriate and reflect fair value to our clients. Our pricing structures are set by clinicians to ensure these align with our purpose.

"As the CMA have recognised, there continues to be a significant shortage of vets in the UK and employment costs represent the most significant proportion of our cost base. Our pricing reflects this and other inflationary pressures experienced in recent years."

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Being in the pets and vet space has felt like a healthy place to be in recent years. Thats been reflected in strong share prices for the likes of vet group CVS and Pets at Home which has its own veterinary arm within a broader retail and grooming offering.

"Britons love their animal companions and are willing to pay up to keep them healthy and happy.

"News that the competition authorities are looking into the rising costs and potentially anti-competitive practices in the industry has set the cat among the pigeons when it comes to the share prices of CVS and Pets at Home.

"The sell-off seen today could be an overreaction, although the CMA review looks to be wide-ranging. The problem for both businesses is the process is likely to be time-consuming and, with a further update not due until early 2024, it could weigh on both stocks for some time to come."

Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The size of the markets reaction shows how much of a hurdle this investigation could be for companies focused on pets. For the likes of CVS Group, whose main business model centres around buying up smaller clinics and vet groups, the announcement could have direct and profound implications for its operations.

"Pets at Home, although a retail giant, also has a substantial vet business, and it wont be immune to scrutiny. A lot of the concerns from the CMA centre around making sure pet owners have clear and easily accessible information when it comes to treatment pricing and options. Pet ownership has spiralled upwards since the pandemic, at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is squashing household incomes. Initial worries suggest people could be pushed towards inappropriate or unnecessary spending for their pets health, and the review also wants competition to be fairer. At the moment, in the case of bigger companies that have acquired up to hundreds of smaller clinics, its not always clear if your local vets is actually part of a supergroup.

"Until theres further detail on the scope and consequences of the CMAs findings, its tough to map exactly what this will mean for listed vet companies. A slower rate of acquisitions could dent CVS Groups growth, and a crackdown on treatments and pricing could hurt margins across the sector. For now, its wait-and-see mode."
Paper and packaging company Smurfit Kappa confirmed on Thursday that it is in merger talks with US peer WestRock .

No financial details were given but a report by the Wall street Journal suggested the combined group could be worth around $20bn.

Smurfit said the potential combination would involve the creation of a new holding company, Smurfit WestRock. This would be incorporated and domiciled in Ireland with global headquarters in Dublin, and North and South American operations headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

"Discussions between the parties remain ongoing regarding the potential combination," Smurfit said.

"Smurfit Kappa and WestRock are engaged in a mutual due diligence process. The definitive terms and conditions of any transaction will be set out in a further announcement."

The companies are targeting annual pre-tax run-rate cost synergies in excess of $400m at the end of the first full year following completion.

Smurfit said a potential deal is expected to deliver "compelling benefits" to shareholders of the combined entity, "with transaction structure providing the opportunity for both sets of shareholders to participate meaningfully in Smurfit WestRocks significant upside value potential".
Ukrainian security services have carried out successful operations to eliminate numerous collaborators and Russian citizens who played a significant role in the invasion in more than a year and a half of the ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine. However, according to information provided by sources in the Ukrainian Security Service, the creation of a Ukrainian version of the Mossad is hampered by one vulnerable component: manpower.

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This was reported by The Economist. The publication noted that every person who betrayed Ukraine is being followed.

In particular, the information voiced is related to the operation during which the collaborator Yevhen Yunakov, who held the position of gauleiter in Velykyi Burluk, was liquidated. As part of this operation, the commander of the Kavkaz special unit and local officers conducted a thorough surveillance of the target for several days, studying every slightest detail from his visits to the store to the level of his protection.

"After detonating the bomb, they hid in secret hideouts in occupied territory. The group returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory just weeks after the city was liberated. Yunakov's body was never found. Over the 18 months of the war, dozens of people like Yunakov became targets during surgically precise operations in the occupied territories and in Russia itself. They were shot, blown up, hanged and even sometimes poisoned with adulterated cognac," the publication writes.

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Ukraine has not openly declared its involvement in the liquidation of them, but many people already recognize "the clear professional handwriting of the Ukrainian special services." The structures themselves only hint.

"Everyone who betrays Ukraine, shoots at Ukrainians or launches missiles at Ukrainians, should understand that he is being followed and will be held accountable," DIU officer Andriy Cherniak emphasized.

At the same time, commenting on the possibility of creating a Ukrainian version of the Israeli Mossad, the head of the Defense Ministry's DIU Kyrylo Budanov said, "We do not need it. It already exists."

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, Ukrainian drones attacked a military airfield in Kursk on August 27. Five Russian airplanes, S-300 radar and two Pantsir systems were hit. The drones were launched by counterintelligence officers of the Security Service of Ukraine.

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The opportunity to host the G20 is a great one for India, and the frameworks created while it held the presidency will "bear fruitful results for the entire globe," according to Union Minister Pralhad Joshi. India held the G20 Presidency for the first time last year, guiding member nations' debates and activities on problems relating to general macroeconomic difficulties, trade, sustainable development, health, agriculture, energy, environment, and anti-corruption. For India, hosting the G20 is a significant, historic, and defining occasion.

"The agenda is for the global good, for the good of the earth, for the sustainable future of the earth and that's why our slogan for G20 is 'One Earth, One Family, One Future'. Mission LiFE is a very important part of it. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has focussed on sustainable development of economies and has said that this is not the time for any war. His thoughts have been accepted and appreciated globally," Joshi, who also holds the portfolio of the parliamentary affairs ministry, said. The outcome of the three-day summit will no doubt bear fruitful results for the entire world, he said.

On the positioning of India, Joshi said, "The country has emerged as a leader over the last few years under the leadership of the PM, and what India says today, the world listens to it and endorses it." India fulfilled an important responsibility at the global level during Covid by supplying domestically manufactured vaccines and other necessary medicines to various countries to combat the crisis, Joshi said. The Group of Twenty (G20) member countries include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkiye, United Kingdom and United States) and the European Union. The G20 members represent around 85 percent of the global GDP, over 75 percent of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
SKAN Research Trust (SKAN), promoted by Indian entrepreneur Ashok Soota and the UK-based Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (CSCI), is all set to bring to India cutting-edge expertise in stem cell research through a series of partnership agreements that were concluded today (6 September 2023) in Cambridge. In a century driven by biological advances, stem cells have offered researchers a unique opportunity to transform health through regenerative medicine. CSCI and SKAN will jointly undertake specific research projects in stem cells and use their findings to improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases.

The agreements include the following:

A comprehensive Partnership Agreement

Consultancy and secondment frameworks for knowledge transfer and training from CSCI to SKAN

A joint research Project Agreement to study The genomic landscape of neurodegenerative diseases of ageing in an Indian cohort

I am hugely excited by SKAN's vision and confident that this new partnership with the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute will help catalyse exciting progress in biomedical research both in India and Cambridge, said Professor Bertie Gottgens, Director, Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. We are delighted to be collaborating with University of Cambridge in the field of stem cells which are powering the most exciting medical interventions. The collaboration will support SKAN in creating a world-class stem cell centre in Bangalore and the application of bioinformatics to leverage the power of this technology said Mr. Ashok Soota, the Chairman & Managing Trustee of SKAN.

The joint research, led by CSCI Principal Investigator Dr Jyoti Nangalia will study both normal brain tissue and neurological diseases to identify age-related genomic changes in the Indian population. Dr Jyoti Nangalia, Group Leader at the Wellcome-MRC Stem Cell Institute and Wellcome Sanger Institute, said, I am looking forward to working with Ashok Soota and the SKAN team to support their vision to create a centre of research excellence in India. Together, we embark on a journey to unlock genomic insights into age-related brain diseases, addressing their growing burden in society with advanced DNA sequencing capabilities.

Through multiple consultancy agreements, CSCI and SKAN have agreed to a three-year period of knowledge transfer. SKAN will upgrade its stem cell and bioinformatics capabilities including top-of-the-line sequencing technologies with concomitant cell culture methodologies. CSCI researchers will benefit by amplifying the scope of their research through Indian cohorts and studies.
The G20 Digital Economy Ministers, under Indias presidency, have reached a consensus on the definition of digital public infrastructure (DPI), marking a global first. This has been for the first time ever a global consensus and what ought to be the definition, the framework and the principles of Digital Public Infrastructure, Chandrasekhar said.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an intense digitalisation process in 2015 with the Digital India programme. India has seen several DPIs that have been created. I can safely say that DPI conversations that are being held across the world and have been amplified in a sense by G20 conversations have gained momentum in the context of this Indian Presidency in the G20. India is now a case study a nation that has employed and deployed technology for progress and growth, Chandrasekhar said. The governments DPI includes platforms like Aadhaar, UPI, Digilocker, CoWin and other platforms that are meant to provide services to citizens in electronic mode.

India has entered into eight memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Armenia, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Antigua, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Papua New Guinea, and Mauritius, offering them the India stack and DPI at no cost and with open-source access. The minister said the digital economy in India is expected to touch 20 % by 2025-26. He said that the digital economy in the country has grown to 11 % from 4.5 % in 2014. Chandrasekhar said there was consensus on cybersecurity and digital skills as well.

Countries that are engaged during the G20, and I suspect even beyond that, are engaged in the entire concept of DPI (Digital Public Infrastructure). While UPI is certainly a powerful part of the India stack there are many other applications on the India stack that are equally exciting and interesting, especially in health, storage like digilocker etc., he said. Indias focus on creating digital talent has resonated well across the board, and G20 countries and many other nations have shown interest in partnering for the same, he noted.

Chandrasekhar said there has been consensus on financing digital infrastructure, but details of financing will evolve gradually. While this is the Indian Presidency, and we have certainly initiated these conversations, and there is widespread excitement, interest and consensus, this will continue beyond this Presidency. These things will evolve, he said. The digital economy in India is expected to reach 20% by 2025-26, having grown from 4.5% in 2014 to 11% in recent years.
Grene Robotics, a Hyderabad-based robotics company, has introduced an advanced autonomous anti-drone system, called Indrajaal, powered by artificial intelligence (AI). We will never forget the June 27, 2021 drone attack on the Jammu airport and the June 15 Galwan attack. At that time, we wondered what solution we had against drones and swarms. Today, Indrajaal has given us the answer and shown that it is possible.

Indrajaal is touted as the worlds only wide-area Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) and can protect large areas, including entire cities, from various types of drones. It provides comprehensive security against moving threats, which static defense systems cannot handle effectively. From low radar cross section (RCS) threats to medium and high-altitude long endurance (MALE and HALE) UAVs, loitering munitions, smart bombs, rocket showers, nano and micro drones, swarm drones, and more, we have it all covered, said Wing Commander Sai Mallela, co-founder of Grene Robotics. He had earlier helped develop the Integrated Air Command and Control System for the Indian Air Force, to adopt network-based operations, and also helped orchestrate a multi-million dollar import substitution for the forces.

The system can detect, identify, classify, track, and neutralize drone threats in real-time, offering 360-degree protection. It is designed to defend against all classes and levels of autonomous drones over an area of 4,000 square kilometers. Indrajaal is considered a crucial solution for addressing the increasing threat of hostile UAV activity in India, and it is expected to have applications in defense, public infrastructure protection, and private sectors.

Mr Raju says that in the near future, we will see a lot of drone activity, and 95% of them will be friendly drones rather than threats. Indrajaal can identify friendly drones from foes. On the cost, Mr Raju says, If I am building the Telangana secretariat for 200-300 crore, this system would cost about 5 crore. This is a typical capital infrastructure cost to protect what you are building. For example, level 4 data centres have fire protection, and they also need drone protection as part of their capital infrastructure.

Wing Commander Sai Mallela explains that current deployments have limitations, as stand-alone systems are not scalable or practical. Only radar-based detections are inaccurate at low radar cross section (RCS) and close to the ground. They are even incapable of identifying the operating radio frequency. The systems cost is comparable to other capital infrastructure costs for protecting critical assets. The founders of Grene Robotics believe that as drone activity continues to rise, Indrajaal will play a vital role in safeguarding national security. The system can distinguish between friendly and hostile drones, making it a valuable tool for managing the increasing number of drones in the airspace.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Ten people involved in a lawsuit against the city and the Department of Education over COVID-19 vaccine firings are entitled to a religious exemption from the vaccine mandate, a Staten Island judge ruled Wednesday.

Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzios decision, made in the Staten Island Supreme Courthouse in St. George, orders that the petitioners terminations from the DOE be annulled and they are to be reinstated to full employment status.

The 10 plaintiffs, Stephanie Dicapua, Michael Kane, Margaret Chu, Heather Clark, Sasha Delgado, Robert Gladding, Nwakaego Nwaifejokwu, Ingrid Romero, Trindad Smith and Daniel Strk, are also entitled to back pay in salaries, benefits, pensions and seniority from the dates on which they were each placed on leave without pay, according to Porzios 22-page decision.

Seven petitioners, including Teachers for Choice, a group opposed to forced vaccination, who were also seeking an exemption and to be reinstated with back pay and benefits, had their motion denied.

Although the petitioners overall position is that the citywide panel did not provide relief to the vast majority of initial DOE applicants, and specifically that these petitioners did seek that review, the record before this court is insufficient to make any determination as to those claims, Porzio wrote in his ruling.

According to court filings, the citywide panel stated across the denials that the DOE sufficiently demonstrated that granting reasonable accommodation to classroom teachers could not be done without preventing a risk to the vulnerable and still primarily unvaccinated student population.

They had argued that an undue hardship would be presented in granting the petitioners request.

The petitioners motion to certify this action as a class action lawsuit was denied by Porzio. In addition, a portion of the petition seeking relief under the Constitution of the State of New York was also denied.

As part of the decision, the court will be awarding the petitioners attorneys fees.

Similarly, in October, Porzio ruled that New York City Sanitation workers who were fired for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19 should be reinstated and given back pay.

As part of that decision he ruled that Mayor Eric Adams lifting of the vaccine mandate for some private employees earlier this year  notably, athletes and entertainers  was evidence that the public worker mandate was arbitrary and unreasonable.

Attorney for the plaintiffs, Sujata Gibson, in a televised interview last month outside the courthouse, touched on her own court filings that state the city engaged in widespread religious discrimination, which she said is proven by the federal appeals court determining those policies were facially discriminatory.
The Chinese leadership changed its stance on the war in Ukraine before the G20 summit in India. Beijing chose a softer approach to Ukraine compared to last year.

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At the same time, the countries urged to find a compromise with the aggressor country Russia in the final communique of the G20 summit. This is reported by Bloomberg.

An unnamed French official said that China softened its position on the war in Ukraine ahead of the G20 summit. Last year, Beijing maintained a neutral stance, refraining from openly supporting Russia. This position benefited Moscow.

Now Chinese officials involved in the negotiations on the final communique of the G20 summit have chosen a softer approach to Ukraine compared to last year. All G20 countries agreed on a common language regarding the war in Ukraine but called for a compromise with Russia nonetheless.

According to a French official, last year most G20 leaders condemned the war in Ukraine in a joint communique. The absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping at the summit in India has cast a shadow on the prospect of achieving peace in Ukraine.

ADVERTISIMENT

India decided not to invite Ukraine to the G20 summit scheduled for September 9-10, 2023 in New Delhi. At the same time, the list of participants includes Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. This fact caused outrage online.

China's ambiguous position on Russia's invasion of Ukraine pushed most European countries away from the idea of cooperation with Beijing. In particular, European leaders refused to attend the Belt and Road Initiative.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, Chinese leader Xi Jinping allegedly personally warned Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons against Ukraine. This shows Beijing's concern about Russia's war in Ukraine, even despite Moscow's "tacit support."

Only verified information we have on Telegram Obozrevatel and Viber. Don't fall for fakes!
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A South Beach man was arrested in an attack that prosecutors say left a Staten Island woman hospitalized with a punctured lung.

Keyszon Lovelace, 20, of Norway Avenue, was arraigned Thursday in state Supreme Court, St. George, on charges that include assault, menacing and endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the Aug. 14 incident involving a victim who was known to him.

The defendant, who stands 510 and 180 pounds, is accused of striking the 20-year old victim and strangling her, then threatening further harm with a broomstick if she called 911 for medical care. Prosecutors, in arguing for higher bail this week, told the court the woman suffered a broken rib and a punctured lung.

The defendant, according to local law enforcement, then tried to intimidate the woman inside an ambulance against speaking to authorities, and called her from a precinct stationhouse following his arrest with the same intent. The defendant also was arrested in June on similar charges involving the same complainant, court records show.

Lovelaces attorney, Maria Guastella, told a different story to the judge.

Guastella contended that her client was attacked and noted shes in the process of hiring her own investigator to dig further into the circumstances surrounding the encounter.

Family of the defendant  who has no prior convictions and maintains a full time job  was able to raise 10% of the $30,000 bond set at the defendants arraignment in Criminal Court. Prosecutors requested Thursday that bail be raised based on information gleaned after the defendants first appearance.

Justice Maria Mundy, after hearing from both sides in the case, continued bail and adjourned to Sept. 28.



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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Police are searching for multiple individuals sought for questioning after a car that was reported stolen was abandoned in Clifton early on Thursday morning.

Preliminary information indicated that officers attempted to pull over an allegedly stolen vehicle in the vicinity of Park Hill Avenue and Sobel Court around 2:30 a.m., according to a spokesman for the NYPD.

Four people jumped out of the vehicle and ran away in different directions, based on preliminary information.

One person was taken in for questioning while three individuals remain at large, police said.

Aviation was called to assist in the search and a helicopter whirled overhead.

Partial descriptions provided by police for the individuals sought for questioning include a male with a medium complexion who wore all-black clothing and had a pony tail and a male with a dark complexion who was dressed in all-black clothing.

More information will be published when it becomes available.

OTHER STATEN ISLAND NEWS:

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>> NYPD: 3 arrested in protests at planned migrant shelter at Staten Island school; roads blocked
UPDATE: The traffic advisory is no longer in effect.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Congestion was reported on the Staten Island Expressway, Brooklyn bound, back to the Goethals Bridge early in the morning rush hour on the first day back to public school for students on Thursday.

The Goethals Bridge to Staten Island had delays due to congestion on the expressway, according to an alert around 6:30 a.m. from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Heavy traffic was reported from the span to at least Richmond Avenue with a snarl near the exchange for the West Shore Expressway, according to 511 NY.

Traffic is heavy on the Staten Island Expressway at the West Shore Expressway interchange on the first day back to public schools on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (Courtesy of 511 NY)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Its the first day of classes for tens of thousands of students across New York City on Thursday, as both public and Catholic schools welcome students back to campus for the 2023-2024 school year.

Parents can prepare for both tears and cheers as students say farewell and greet their classmates and teachers for another year of school.

Im a little nervous, but I will see my friends, and thats good, said Oliver Won, who is entering fifth grade at PS 3 in Pleasant Plains.

The last day of classes for public school is June 26, 2024. For Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York, schools can end as early as June 14, 2024.

Heres a closer look at some important information for the 2023-2024 school year.

NEW LEADERSHIP

Several public school buildings will open with new principals, including PS 6, Tottenville; PS 58, New Springville; PS 55, Eltingville; PS 26, Travis. Additionally, the Father Vincent Capodanno Catholic Academy, South Beach, and St. Joseph Hill Academy High School, Arrochar, will welcome new principals for the new school year. Most of the principals selected to take on the position replace those who retired.

SCHOOL BUS STRIKE

Families wont need to worry about a school bus strike  for now. Union officials told Chalkbeat on Friday that school bus service wont face disruptions from a strike during the first week of school. But the union is still at the bargaining table to fight for a fair contract.

The potential strike could affect approximately 4,400 routes across all five boroughs  potentially impacting 80,000 students, of which 25,000 are special education students, the city has previously warned. The city has outlined several contingency plans as a precaution in the event of a school bus strike. There will be some alternative transportation options for families, according to the city Department of Education (DOE).

All impacted students and families will be eligible to receive emergency MetroCards  valid on MTA buses and subways (excluding express bus service)  that will provide a total of four trips and transfers daily from Monday through Friday between 5:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. Some impacted families will be eligible for additional services like rideshare and reimbursement for alternative transportation.

NEW SCHOOL SEATS

More school seats are also on the way this year.

Hellenic Classical Charter School in Bulls Head has a newly constructed building on the property slated to open this school year. When opened, it will include specialized classrooms, an auditorium and a technology-driven library. The Richmond Preparatory Charter School is slated to move to its permanent location in January 2024 at the former Barnes & Noble building on Richmond Avenue in New Springville.

VIRTUAL LEARNING

A new virtual learning program will be offered to all New York City public high school students and some middle school students.

The different virtual learning options for students at New York City Public Schools include: Virtual Innovators Academy, a fully remote high school; A School Without Walls, a hybrid high school program recruiting ninth-graders for fall 2023 and fall 2024; and Virtual Learning Classrooms, a program that allows middle school and high school students to enroll in centrally provided courses, often advanced or accelerated, that they otherwise wouldnt be able to access.

These schools determine student eligibility based on academic policy, student interests and goals. Families can apply via their MySchools accounts, at myschools.nyc.

SEND US PHOTOS

To help mark the new school year, we are asking readers to send us your back-to-school photos by using the hashtag #SILive with your pictures on Instagram. You can also tag us in your Instagram post, with our username @siadvance.

Parents: Snap some shots of your children boarding the bus, walking into school or holding a sign with their grade and age.

Teachers: We want to see how you decorated your classroom for the school year ahead.

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Disgraced star Danny Masterson from That 70s Show faces as much as 30 years to life in prison for the rapes of two women 20 years ago at his sentencing Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo of the Los Angeles Superior Court is set to sentence the 47-year-old actor after ruling on a motion from the defense for a new trial and hearing victim impact statements, the AP reported.

Masterson was found guilty of two counts in May by a jury of seven women and five men after seven days of deliberations, according to the Associated Press.

Both attacks took place in 2003 at Mastersons Hollywood-area home, during the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom That 70s Show, the outlet reports.



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A dangerous patient escaped George Washington Hospital Thursday afternoon, prompting students at a nearby college to shelter in place, according to Fox 5 Washington D.C.

The District of Columbia Police Department tweeted an alert to the community Wednesday afternoon that read, 31-year-old Christopher Haynes escaped custody at GW Hospital in 900 block of 23rd St NW at 3:38 p.m.

The departments tweet further advised citizens to not engage and call 911 if he is spotted.

ALERT: 31-year-old Christopher Haynes escaped custody at GW Hospital in 900 block of 23rd St NW at 3:38 p.m.



He is described as a black male with shoulder-length dreadlocks, wearing a white suit with one red shoe. He is not handcuffed.



Do not engage, call 911 if spotted. pic.twitter.com/gFgPwJfXp4  DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept) September 6, 2023

Hayes is described as black male with shoulder-length dreadlocks, wearing a white suit with one red shoe, according to the Police Department.

He is not handcuffed, the department noted.

The GW Hatchet, George Washington Universitys independent student newspaper, said there was a large police presence on the campus, according to Fox 5.



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>> Source: Suspect fleeing car stop leads to NYPD car careening into hydrant on S.I.
An Instagram-famous glass elevator in Bali snapped, killing five resort workers, according to Fox News. The workers free fell approximately 300 feet into a ravine, the publication said.

The staff members at the Ayuterra Resort in Kedewatan, Ubud, were identified as two men and three women in their early 20s and late teens, according to the outlet.

The Ubud police commissioner, Made Uder, told local Bali media outlets that the cable was too weak to sustain the weight of the elevator and its occupants, Fox reports.

The steel swing rope was not strong enough to pull the weight upwards, which was quite heavy, and the safety wedge or brake did not function, so the elevator slid downwards at high speed, so this accident could not be avoided, he said. As a result, the five elevator passengers died.



RELATED COVERAGE: Recent Staten Island news

>> He was a bigger-than-life person: Staten Island road racing legend Bill Welsh dies at 94

>> Earth experiences hottest summer on record, says European researchers

>> A Nazi memorial in a Pennsylvania cemetery sat unnoticed for decades. Now, its sparking outrage

>> Source: Suspect fleeing car stop leads to NYPD car careening into hydrant on S.I.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A group of clergy and immigrant advocates hoped to bring a positive message to Arrochar Thursday about migrants, but a group of protestors who didnt want to hear it mostly drowned them out.

Few of the 10 speakers at the press conference outside the former St. John Villa Academy, where the city has set up a migrant shelter could be heard over a group of about 10 shouting protestors across Chicago Avenue, including one who made sporadic use of a megaphone.

The Rev. Karen Jackson, of the Prince Bay Reform Church in Princes Bay, said after the press conference that theyd hoped to spread a message of welcoming, but didnt address the reaction of the protestors.

The local faith leaders here today are here to offer a voice of love and compassion and welcoming to everyone, because thats the call of our faith to love your neighbor, whether that neighbor is a recent immigrant, an asylum seeker, a veteran, a longtime New Yorker or homeless individual, she said. We dont have to serve one person at the neglect of another. Were here to love all our neighbors.

Jackson was among a group of clergy who recently published an opinion letter in the Advance/SILive.com calling on the community to welcome the new arrivals to the Island.

While they have the backing of each level of government, that message has mostly fallen on deaf ears among the most vocal members of the Arrochar community.

A protestor, who declined to share his name, shouts at clergy and immgirant activists Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023 outside the city migrant shelter set up at the former St. John Villa Academy. (Staten Island Advance/Paul Liotta)

The people across the street, many of whom have been present at protests outside the former school turned migrant shelter, declined to give their names, but one local resident reiterated his concerns about safety in the community.

I got no problem with these people [migrants], none whatsoever, however, they broke the law, he said. If they were being persecuted in their home country, they should have got to the border and stood right [there].

Throughout the clergy and advocates press conference, a group of NYPD community affairs officers stood between them and the protestors, some of whom got closer than others.

One woman was walking her dogs along Chicago Avenue shouted at the members of the press conference about the portion of Landis Avenue outside the St. John Villa entrance that has been effectively locked-down since city officials announced the migrant shelter three weeks ago.

She pointed out that members of the Arrochar community have been banned from using the public street as the city continues to block it off in an apparent safety effort.

Other members of the protest group shouted about how the press conference group was doing the devils work, and that they believe the new arrivals had come here illegally.

Government officials at the city, state, and federal levels have identified the new arrivals as asylum seekers, a status that comes through a complex legal process.

Since the spring of last year, nearly 110,000 migrants, who Mayor Eric Adams administration identifies as asylum seekers, have made their way to the five boroughs prompting the city to set up more than 200 emergency shelters across the city.

About 60,000 of those migrants remain in the citys care, and the city has consistently put Staten Islands share of the housing capacity at 2% throughout the crisis.

Multiple sites have been used around Staten Island, but none have drawn community pushback like what has been seen regarding the former St. John Villa site that sits directly across the street from the rear of St. Joseph Hill Academys campus.

Families of the school community who spoke with the Advance/SILive.com outside first-day drop-offs Thursday raised similar concerns heard at the weeks-worth of protests about their childrens safety.

Outside the St. John Villa site on Thursday, the Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer, executive director of the Interfaith Center of New York and an Episcopal priest in Manhattan, recalled another more-than decade-old Staten Island controversy.

She said her interfaith group was involved with a failed attempt to bring a mosque to a former convent at Midland Beachs St. Margaret Mary Roman Catholic Church that drew the ire of the local community.

Midland Beach residents protest to discourage the sale of an empty convent at St. Margaret Marys parish to a Muslim group. July 11, 2010 (Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores)Staten Island Advance

I would say were not altogether strangers to both the incredible diversity of this part of New York, and the challenges, so its kind of like a microcosm of the whole city, she said. I think its so important right now, as the pastor said, that were here as well as other places where the transition and the support for migrants is going a little smoother. Although, its challenging everywhere.

The Muslim group that wanted to buy the convent ultimately settled on another site in Dongan Hills, and the Midland Beach location eventually turned into a senior center.

Regarding the current migrant crisis, Breyer pointed to comments from the mayor at a town hall event held on the Upper West Side of Manhattan Wednesday night during which he said the ongoing issue would have a disastrous effect on the city.

Im gonna tell you something, New Yorkers, never in my life have I had a problem that I didnt see an ending to. I dont see an ending to this, he said. This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City.

MORE LOCAL NEWS

NYC says Travis migrant shelters will continue despite local opposition

Former Staten Island Catholic school to house up to 300 adult migrants in coming days

Surveillance cameras installed outside St. John Villa migrant shelter

Borough president calls for migrants to be housed in Washington, D.C.

NYPD keeps watch as tempers flare outside planned St. John Villa migrant shelter
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With nearly 110,000 migrants, who the Adams administration identifies as asylum seekers, having made their way to the five boroughs since April 2022, the mayor said this crisis will destroy New York City.

At a Town Hall meeting on the Upper West Side, the mayor said he doesnt see how this problem will be resolved because the city is not getting enough support from the federal government.

Let me tell you something, New Yorkers. Never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to. I dont see an ending to this. I dont see an ending to this. This issue will destroy New York City. Destroy New York City, Adams said. Were getting 10,000 migrants a month ... Now were getting people from all over the globe have made their minds up that theyre going to come through the southern part of the border and come into New York City.

About 60,000 migrants remain in the citys care. However, the city has consistently put Staten Islands share of the housing capacity at 2% throughout the crisis.

Despite that, Staten Islanders, including the boroughs Republican elected officials, have led several rallies at the former St. John Villa Academy, which is the latest Staten Island-based shelter to open.

Two buses filled with about 50 migrants initially arrived at the shelter last month. About half of the migrants who arrived at the shelter requested to leave, citing safety concerns related to the ongoing protests, sources said.

The site has the capacity to house 350 people, according to City Hall officials.

While most of the protesters recently have focused on safety and quality-of-life concerns, some members of the crowds have lobbed insults at the arriving migrants and staff working at the St. John Villa site.

Tensions among the groups have prompted the NYPD to beef up the police presence around the St. John Villa Academy building and block off the location with metal barriers. In addition, cameras were installed nearby the former school last month in an effort to step up security at the location.

LAWSUIT AGAINST ST. JOHN VILLA MIGRANT SHELTER

On Aug. 25, a judge temporarily blocked the housing of migrants at St. John Villa, but it was overturned a few hours later after an appeal by the city. The Appellate Court removed a vacate order, which allowed migrants already moved into the shelter to stay.

After a recent tour of the site with the city Office of Emergency Management representatives, several Staten Island elected officials requested in a letter the agency, which oversees the site, institute a curfew like those at city homeless shelters operated by Department of Social Services and Department of Homeless Services, said Councilman David Carr (R-Mid-Island). The letter was also signed by other elected officials who represent the area: State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), Assemblyman Mike Tannousis (R-East Shore), Borough President Vito Fossella and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn).

City Hall sources say the Adams administration is considering the curfew, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.

The city has owned the St. John Villa site since 2018, when it finalized a $20 million purchase from the Sisters of St. John the Baptist. It had promised to convert the former Catholic school into a public school.

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School. Sports. Social. Staten Island. Todays story is part of the launch of our Plugged in Parent content, in which well tell the stories that Staten Island families need to know -- all in one place. Well be covering news that is valuable to students in public, Catholic and private schools -- both in and out of the classroom. From highlights in sports, to photos from prom, to critical education news -- Plugged In Parent, you wont want to miss it.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Thursday marks the first day of the 2023-2024 academic year for students in New York City public and Catholic schools, and as Staten Island youth left summer vacation behind, the Advance/SILive.com spent time at various schools on the North Shore to capture the excitement and jitters that come with returning to campus.

Please scroll through the engaging photos in the gallery, and to help mark the new school year, we are asking readers to send us your back-to-school photos by using the hashtag #SILive with your pictures on Instagram. You can also tag us in your Instagram post, with our username @siadvance.

While public and Catholic school across the city opened the same day this week, their calendars differ throughout the year. Public schools have about two dozen days off between the first day and the last day of classes, which is Wednesday, June 26. Catholic schools wrap up on Friday, June 14.

As part of the Adance/SILive.com coverage of the first day of school, we spoke to students and captured special moments in Pleasant Plains Thursday morning. Im a little nervous, but I will see my friends, and thats good, said Oliver Won, who is entering fifth grade at PS 3.

34 1 / 34 First day of school 2023: Photos from the North Shore

SUBSCRIBER BENEFIT: SILive.com is offering a new perk exclusively for subscribers: Log in, click on the photo gallery and choose GET PHOTO to download print-quality images free of charge. Plus, get 50% off the purchase of keepsakes. If youre not already a subscriber, sign up here. Note to SILive.com mobile app users: To download high-resolution photos, please access this report and gallery from a standard mobile or desktop/laptop web browser.

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Moldova expelled 45 Russian diplomats and embassy staff between July and August this year. This decision was based on concerns over attempts by the aggressor country Russia to destabilize the situation in the country.

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However, Russian employees with ties to the FSB remain in Moldova despite the expulsion. This is reported by Radio Svoboda.

It should be noted that recently there was an investigation that revealed that there were antennas on the roof of the Russian embassy in Chisinau, allowing to listen to telephone conversations. The Moldovan authorities were also concerned that employees of the Foreign Intelligence Service and Russian military intelligence often appeared at the embassy.

After the mass expulsion of diplomats, employees who have ties to Russian intelligence services, particularly the FSB, remain at the embassy. Journalists found out that at least two diplomats have ties with the FSB and two more with Russian military intelligence.

Only 10 accredited diplomats remain in the Russian embassy in Chisinau, including two first secretaries Boris Suchilin and Konstantin Zyablikov. According to publicized databases, they have provisional addresses linked to the Russian Federal Security Service in Moscow.

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The Moldovan Foreign Ministry said that the government has taken several decisive steps necessary to counter Russia's destabilizing actions. However, the aggressor country continues to embed personnel linked to the security services in its European embassies.

The Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that 45 Russian diplomats with their families left the territory of Chisinau on August 14, returning to Moscow. All departing employees of the Russian embassy were taken to the airport by two buses and several cars.

Moscow threatened Chisinau with the deterioration of relations between the countries. The Moldovan authorities were criticized for the fact that citizens of the Russian Federation located on the territory of Moldova allegedly will not be able to receive quality services from the embassy.

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As reported by OBOZREVATEL, Moldova will terminate the agreement signed within the CIS on the creation of the Joint Consultative Commission on Disarmament. The country's Cabinet of Ministers approved the denunciation of this document in August.

Only verified information from us on Telegram Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
School. Sports. Social. Staten Island. Todays story is part of the launch of our Plugged in Parent content, in which well tell the stories that Staten Island families need to know -- all in one place. Well be covering news that is valuable to students in public, Catholic and private schools -- both in and out of the classroom. From highlights in sports, to photos from prom, to critical education news -- Plugged In Parent, you wont want to miss it.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Thursday marks the first day of the 2023-2024 academic year for students in New York City public and Catholic schools, and as Staten Island youth left summer vacation behind, the Advance/SILive.com spent time at various schools in New Springville to capture the excitement and jitters that come with returning to campus.

Sophie, a second-grader at PS 58, said she is excited to return to school, adding that the only differences between first grade and second grade are new classmates and a new teacher.

Please scroll through the engaging photos in the gallery, and to help mark the new school year, we are asking readers to send us your back-to-school photos by using the hashtag #SILive with your pictures on Instagram. You can also tag us in your Instagram post, with our username @siadvance.

39 1 / 39 First day of school 2023: Photos from New Springville & Travis

While both public and Catholic school across the city opened the same day this week, their calendars differ throughout the year. Public schools have about two dozen days off between the first day and the last day of classes, which is Wednesday, June 26. Catholic schools wrap up on Friday, June 14.

In addition to Mid-Island, the Advance/SILive.com captured photos across the borough, including West Brighton and Pleasant Plains.

RELATED
School. Sports. Social. Staten Island. Todays story is part of the launch of our Plugged in Parent content, in which well tell the stories that Staten Island families need to know -- all in one place. Well be covering news that is valuable to students in public, Catholic and private schools -- both in and out of the classroom. From highlights in sports, to photos from prom, to critical education news -- Plugged In Parent, you wont want to miss it.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Thursday marks the first day of the 2023-2024 academic year for students in New York City public and Catholic schools, and as Staten Island youth left summer vacation behind, the Advance/SILive.com spent time at various schools on the South Shore to capture the excitement and jitters that come with returning to campus.

Im a little nervous but I will see my friends and thats good, said Oliver Won, who is entering fifth grade at PS 3 in Pleasant Plains.

Please scroll through the engaging photos in the gallery, and to help mark the new school year, we are asking readers to send us your back-to-school photos by using the hashtag #SILive with your pictures on Instagram. You can also tag us in your Instagram post with our username @siadvance.

While both public and Catholic schools across the city opened the same day this week, their calendars differ throughout the year. Public schools have about two dozen days off between the first day and the last day of classes, which is Wednesday, June 26. Catholic schools wrap up on Friday, June 14.

78 1 / 78 First day of school 2023: Photos from the South Shore

SUBSCRIBER BENEFIT: SILive.com is offering a new perk exclusively for subscribers: Log in, click on the photo gallery and choose GET PHOTO to download print-quality images free of charge. Plus, get 50% off the purchase of keepsakes. If youre not already a subscriber, sign up here. Note to SILive.com mobile app users: To download high-resolution photos, please access this report and gallery from a standard mobile or desktop/laptop web browser.

RELATED
School. Sports. Social. Staten Island. Todays story is part of the launch of our Plugged in Parent content, in which well tell the stories that Staten Island families need to know -- all in one place. Well be covering news that is valuable to students in public, Catholic and private schools -- both in and out of the classroom. From highlights in sports, to photos from prom, to critical education news -- Plugged In Parent, you wont want to miss it.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Thursday marks the first day of the 2023-2024 academic year for students in New York City public and Catholic schools, and as Staten Island youth left summer vacation behind, the Advance/SILive.com spent time at various schools on the East Shore to capture the excitement and jitters that come with returning to campus.

Please scroll through the engaging photos in the gallery, and to help mark the new school year, we are asking readers to send us your back-to-school photos by using the hashtag #SILive with your pictures on Instagram. You can also tag us in your Instagram post, with our username @siadvance.

While both public and Catholic school across the city opened the same day this week, their calendars differ throughout the year. Public schools have about two dozen days off between the first day and the last day of classes, which is Wednesday, June 26. Catholic schools wrap up on Friday, June 14.

60 1 / 60 First day of school 2023: Photos from the East Shore

SUBSCRIBER BENEFIT: SILive.com is offering a new perk exclusively for subscribers: Log in, click on the photo gallery and choose GET PHOTO to download print-quality images free of charge. Plus, get 50% off the purchase of keepsakes. If youre not already a subscriber, sign up here. Note to SILive.com mobile app users: To download high-resolution photos, please access this report and gallery from a standard mobile or desktop/laptop web browser.

The Advance/SILive.com captured photos across the borough on Thursday, including Mid-Island, West Brighton and Pleasant Plains.

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Commentary: China's vibrant drive for greater trade liberalization invigorates global services trade

08:10, September 07, 2023 By Ma Qian ( Xinhua

Visitors walk past a wall with an image of Fuyan during the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 3, 2023. (Xinhua/Sun Weitong)

China has long been wedded to bolstering services trade across the world, viewing it as a key component in the country's growth strategy and international cooperation.

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- China has long been wedded to bolstering services trade across the world, viewing it as a key component in the country's growth strategy and international cooperation.

Through the lens of the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), the world's largest specialized fair of its kind, more international participants have witnessed China's stellar growth in services trade, and the development payoff from its accelerated higher-level opening-up.

Particularly, the opening-up of the service sector serves the development pattern of the country's domestic and international "dual circulation," as China perceives trade liberalization and its institutional opening-up in a broader setting of economic globalization, regarding such endeavors as its striking demonstrations to uphold multilateralism.

Most notably, China's domestic opening-up reforms are aligned with its deepened commitments to the international community, through offering growth-oriented policy agendas and facilitating robust commercial interactions, reducing uncertainty and injecting confidence into global businesses.

On the first day of CIFTIS on Sept. 2, Tesla unveiled its new version of Chinese-made Model 3 sedan, marking the first time the global car-making giant has launched a new model in China ahead of the United States.

Visitors learn about a new vehicle of Tesla during the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) at China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 3, 2023. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)

President of Tesla China Wang Hao opined that a platform like CIFTIS is an excellent window for multinational enterprises to understand the Chinese market, as they can be well-informed of consumers' thoughts in a short period of time and feel the market vibes up close.

In recent years, China has leveraged CIFTIS and other platforms such as the China International Import Expo to promote policy exchange and information sharing, as well as foster diverse partnerships with foreign governments, international organizations, business associations and enterprises.

That also forms an indissociable part of China's pledge to help more countries share its far-reaching development dividends through trade liberalization and facilitation.

China had expanded its share of global commercial services exports from 3 percent in 2005 to 5.4 percent in 2022, according to a report jointly released by the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization in July.

In the first seven months of this year, China's services trade value grew 8.1 percent year on year to reach 3.67 trillion yuan (501.8 billion U.S. dollars), data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.

In cross-border economic and trade practices, Mohammed Al Ajlan, chairman of the Saudi-Chinese Business Council, pointed out that China "continues to take the initiative to encourage the expansion of exports of knowledge-intensive services, and strengthen the cross-border flow of advanced technological services."

That has "played a role in improving the industrial structure and promoting the process of modernization around the world," he stressed.

Visitors walk past the booth of Ajlan &Bros. Holding during the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) at China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)

As the world is saddled with weakening demand for goods and geo-economic fragmentation, there is an urgent need for the world's policy-makers to cement collaboration to overcome obstacles that hinder global trade and investment across the board.

In this regard, the Chinese leadership has vowed to safeguard the hard-won free trade and multilateral trading system during the 2023 CITFIS, on the back of its vibrant drive to enhance openness of the services sector and ensure a more supportive business environment.

In practice, the authorities have deepened reforms in the country's free trade zones (FTZs) to expand its globally-oriented network of high-standard FTZs.

On June 29, China's State Council issued a circular, which contains measures of six aspects to allow FTZs in Shanghai, Guangdong, Tianjin, Fujian and Beijing as well as the Hainan free trade port (FTP) as pilot forerunners to align their rules with high-standard international economic and trade rules to deepen institutional opening up.

The 33 detailed pilot measures proposed in the circular, mainly focusing on trade in goods and services, business environment and risk control, are expected to help the pilot areas explore more paths to deepen reform and broaden opening up.

With five measures directly related to facilitating customs clearance, the circular stressed the need to further improve the transparency of customs clearance time and reduce customs clearance costs.

People visit the booth of the Global Alliance for Trade in Services during the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) at China National Convention Center in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)

Deeming a sound business climate a key determinant of greater gains from growing trade, China has offered easier entry conditions to foreign businesses. Noticeably, the authorities have streamlined administrative procedures and increased transparency in policy agendas with a set of significant reform measures, sending uplifting signals to the global business community.

The Ministry of Commerce canceled registration requirements for businesses engaged in foreign trade activities on Dec. 30, 2022, following a revision of the country's Foreign Trade Law.

In concrete terms, market entities are no longer required to provide foreign-trade operator registration materials in applying for import and export licenses, registration certificates of technology import and export contracts, quotas, state-owned trade qualifications, and other relevant documents.

A recent survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China showed that China is still the most favored destination for corporate investment, as over 90 percent of the surveyed companies consider China as one of their most important investment destinations, while 75 percent of the participants said they plan to reinvest in China in 2023.

The dynamism of China's services trade has brought various countries vast opportunities for export-led growth, inflows of foreign investment and further integration into global value chains.

China's vigorous drive to boost services trade liberalization and facilitation will continuously inject impetus into cross-border trade, thereby contributing to more sustainable globalization and a more open world economy.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Rena Murshud

On a visit to Azerbaijan, the delegation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has been carrying on fact-finding in Azerbaijani territories formerly occupied by Armenians and exposed to Armenian vandalism. Ture to its mission, the delegation investigates facts about Armenia's destruction of religious and cultural monuments, and cemeteries belonging to Azerbaijanis, and collects materials about Azerbaijanis affected by occupation and rocket bombing, and lastly prepares a report on the results of the mission in order to present it to the international community.

During the visit, the OIC delegation got acquainted with the atrocities committed by the Armenians not only in the First Garabagh War. They also closely familiarized themselves with the Armenian terrorist acts committed in Ganja during the Second Garabagh War.

However, it should be noted that Armenian terrorist acts, as well as provocations against citizens of Turkish origin, are committed not only on our territory, but also in other countries. For example, France, even Iran and Lebanon, which are members of the OIC. The worst thing is that the world community turns a blind eye to all the atrocities committed by the Armenians, and at the same time some organizations even support them.

It should be noted that, despite the friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Egypt, the Armenians want to arrange an event related to holding days of Armenian culture in Egypt.

A question arises whether the information collected during the visit of the OIC will be powerful enough to prevent all Armenian atrocities?

Investigating this issue, the AZERNEWS editorial receives comments from two diffrenet experts, members of the OIC from Muslim countries.

According to the Director of the Republican Center for Strategic Studies in Baghdad, Professor Moataz Mohi Abdel Hamid, the OIC is like any other international organization. Its decisions are not bound by its members, such as the League of Arab States and the UN. Therefore, the position of Syria and Lebanon is based on their interests and benefits with the countries of the region and the countries of the European Union and the influence of the Armenian lobby in these countries on political decision-makers. That is why they look at their interests with Armenia, historically, with the existence of common goals for hundreds of years.

It seems to me that Azerbaijan should conduct a serious investigation on this issue and, if necessary, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan should hold detailed discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the other side, the Professor said.

He noted that the Armenians in Lebanon and Syria constantly sent Armenian volunteers to Armenia before and after the 44-day war, in which Azerbaijan defeated the Armenian troops and liberated its territories. As such, arms and supplies remain an important weapon for the Lebanese. parties that seek to resume the war again.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation provided political and technical support to Azerbaijan during the years of the Armenian occupation of the Karabakh region.

While sharing his views, the Egyptian Researcher in the affairs of Asia and the Turkic world, Professor Dr. Ahmed Abdoh Tarabeik said. However, unfortunately, these political positions remain non-committal for member states to pursue specific policies, such as economic or political sanctions against Armenia. Therefore, during the visit, the Organization adopted resolutions condemning the occupation of the Garabagh region by Armenia and declared the destruction of Azerbaijani cultural and historical heritage in Garabagh.

"I believe that Azerbaijan's openness to Islamic countries and strengthening relations with them on a bilateral basis through political and economic cooperation is the best way to win positions and coordinate policies with these countries," the Professor added.

According to the expert, Syria, Lebanon, and other Arab, Islamic peoples are not hostile to Azerbaijan. The reason is that, many of these people know little about Azerbaijan, its history, culture, and civilization. And for this, the presence of Azerbaijan in various political, economic, and cultural spheres is necessary, these countries got acquainted with Azerbaijan and the ongoing problems about Azerbaijans Garabagh. Armenia is an aggressor country, which attacked the lands of Azerbaijan, and at the same time, spread lies in many countries of the world to show communities the opposite of what they have done, he emphasized.

Professor Tarabeik noted that the demography of Lebanon is based on religious division, as Muslims live there, as well as Maronite Christians. But since the First World War, a large number of Armenians have been living in Lebanon. These Lebanese of Armenian origin make up a large community in Lebanon, and according to the sectarian division of political positions in the country. The Armenian community has a permanent representation in the Lebanese Parliament, as well as in the Council of Ministers. In view of the difficult economic situation in Lebanon, the Armenian communities abroad, especially in France and the US, forming a strong lobby, take advantage of such circumstances in order to incite some Lebanese of Armenian origin to carry out provocative activities against the Turks and Azerbaijanis in Lebanon. Pointing the recent attack on Azerbaijani Embassy in Beirut as another example, the expert condemned the act of Armenians.

"Provocative actions against innocent citizens and diplomatic institutions are unjustified and unacceptable, whatever the motives and reasons are. These are reprehensible actions that are not sanctioned by any international laws or norms. I see that these actions express the desperation of the Armenians and their disappointment as a result of their humiliated defeat in Garabagh in 2020. These provocative actions should increase the strength and determination of Azerbaijan to continue the process of pressure to liberate the rest of the lands of Garabagh," the professor added.

Ahmed Tarabik said that in Syria, as well as in Lebanon, there is a large community of Armenian origin. And especially the Armenians living in Europe and the US have taken advantage of the deteriorating political and security situation during the civil war in Syria.

"Since 2012, the Armenians have recruited many Syrians of Armenian origin to fight on the side of the separatists. The Armenians took advantage of these poor conditions and the flight of many Syrians from the civil war outside their country, so they received a number of Syrian families of Armenian origin and settled in Garabagh," an Egyptian Professor added.

In conclusion, the Egyptian professor noted that Azerbaijan has achieved great and important successes in the liberation of its occupied lands during its great victory in 2020. And the Armenian separatists were trapped in a small area around Khankendi and Khojaly. A further siege placed on them will increase their frustration and despair. And in the end, more pressure on the Armenian separatists will force them to surrender and flee in search of peace. As Nikol Pashinyan did during the Second Garabagh War; after the collapse of the armed forces of Armenia, he asked to stop the war.
Three Turkish-made Bayraktar drones were spotted at the military base of Wagner PMC in African Mali. The images were taken from a helicopter a week after the plane of the head of the group Yevgeny Prigozhin was shot down.

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This is reported by The Insider. Published photos also contain metadata saying that they were taken on August 30.

They show a military base at Sevare airport near the town of Mopti, formerly controlled by the Wagner soldiers. It was attacked by Islamist militants in April this year.

Sources inside the former Wagner group told The Insider that control of the military base in Sevare was handed over to representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry.

The fact that Mali has Bayraktar TB2 was reported by local media last year, but the country then bought two drones. The photo shows that Mali has more of them.

It is noteworthy that the photos were taken from a helicopter a week after the plane of Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was shot down in the sky near Tver.

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Reuters noted that Putin had brought the Wagner soldiers and other mercenaries under tighter state control after Prigozhin's death .

The publication notes that the Russian president signed a decree requiring all private military companies, including "volunteer formations," to sign an oath of allegiance to Russia. This decree was issued days after the airplane crash that led to the death of the Wagner leader.
Anti-Chinese Communist Party activist and inveterate rabble-rouser Drew Pavlou has a habit of leaving behind a trail of mischief wherever he goes.

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In 2022, Pavlou was detained (and released without charge) in London over an alleged bomb hoax involving the Chinese embassy. Later that year, he was booted from Parliament House by the AFP for being a known activist.

And this week, Pavlou was expelled as a member of Amnesty International, whose Australian branch seems to spend more time on internal squabbling than advancing the cause of human rights.

According to an expulsion letter seen by CBD, Pavlou committed a serious breach of the organisations terms of membership, following a series of complaints against him. But the activist wasnt made aware of those complaints until after the board had voted to expel him  a move he told CBD robbed him of procedural fairness.
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 Melbourne is in the final throes of winter when I meet Angourie Rice on a rain-soaked footpath outside the MTCs headquarters in Southbank. Weve both arrived 10 minutes early, and I have already read enough about this hardworking and ambitious young veteran of film and TV to know that her punctuality is not entirely surprising. At 22, Rice has been acting for 14 years, podcasting for four and is about to add published author to her CV. There is, it seems, no time to waste. When I ask her later why shes so driven, she laughs and suggests that her star sign is to blame: Google the list of Capricorn traits and youll see where shes coming from. Were here to talk about her upcoming appearance in the MTC premiere of My Sister Jill, the latest project from playwright Patricia Cornelius and director Susie Dee. Theres also a novel co-written with her mother, Kate, and The Community Library podcast to discuss, but any mention of her film and TV projects  either previous or upcoming  is off-limits in the midst of the SAG strike. Suffice to say that theres a long roll-call of reasons why Rice made Varietys list of actors to watch in 2021. Theres no Hollywood-style hubris, though, as we await instructions on where our interview will take place; Rice shows me a photo of her whippet/kelpie cross and chats about how much shes loving being back in Melbourne, after years (barring lockdowns) of travelling between LA and home. It was just one of the reasons she signed on for the part of Christine in My Sister Jill. Angourie Rice plays Christine in the MTC premiere of My Sister Jill. Credit: Justin McManus I wanted to do more theatre work, and so I began receiving more theatre scripts to read, she says. This one really stood out because its exceptionally well written. I loved the family dynamics in it, I loved that it was a true ensemble piece; each person gets their own story line, their own arc. Practically, for me, it felt safer and easier to start doing theatre again with something that felt very much like a group. The play, based on Cornelius semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, takes place over several years, in a family caught between the shadow of World War II and the looming threat of the Vietnam draft. Father Jack, an ex-POW suffering PTSD, is haunted by his experiences and ill-equipped for family life. Christine, the youngest of his five children, clings doggedly to her belief that Jack is a war hero, not the alcoholic bully that her siblings fear and loathe.

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At the start of the play, in her role as narrator, she tells the audience: Look at him, would you? Would you look? Hes huge, hes mighty, hes magnificent. Hes about eight-foot tall, he can crush stone with his bare hands, he can lift a car off the ground, he can pull a tree out by the roots. He can. I know, its hard to believe but thats the truth. And hes brave. Incredibly brave. Hes a survivor, mum says, a survivor. He lasted. He did. He came out the other side. Hes a remarkable man. Look at him. What a man my dad is. What a man. Cornelius father, Leo, spent three and a half years as a prisoner of war and was on a Japanese ship transporting POWs to Japan when it was torpedoed by a US submarine. He spent six days drifting on a liferaft, watching his comrades die, and came home from the war a damaged man. Susie Dee, left, and Patricia Cornelius: their long-running collaboration has delivered some of the most compelling moments in Australian theatre. Credit: Joe Armao The impact on my family was enormous, as I think it was on any family, Cornelius says. Someone has gone to war a young, fresh man and returned a totally different man, a very damaged one  thats definitely my father. One of the central themes of the play is the yearning for parental love, expressed most poignantly in the thwarted endeavours of oldest boy Johnnie, who is rebuffed by Jack at every turn. We all yearned, and yearn still, some of us, for the love of our parents, Cornelius says. As corny as that sounds on some level, there is something that hits you in the guts about that and its so simple and so universally recognised: this yearning to just be loved.

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For Rices Christine, the yearning manifests as a desire to be just like Jack. Her imaginary play evokes the derring-do of the battlefield: she has lives to save, messages to pass on, dangerous journeys to make. She wants to be like him when she grows up, she wants to be a hero, she wants to fight in battles, says Rice. She doesnt want to realise the real battle thats happening around her. On this domestic battlefront, Jacks main combatant is his oldest child, the smart and steely Jill, who steers her siblings  Johnnie, Christine and twins Mouse and Door  away from his line of fire. Angourie Rice in My Sister Jill. Credit: Sarah Walker A month out from opening, the family dynamics are playing out inside a large rehearsal room scattered with props: beds are lined up at the rear, makeshift walls conjure a working-class home, and costume drawings decorate a corner of the room. Dee, whose long-running creative partnership with Cornelius has delivered some of Australian theatres most powerful moments, joins her seven actors  the children are all played by adults  in a circle, as they limber up with physical and vocal exercises, tossing an imaginary ball to one another and reciting, with increasing speed, a passage that is filled with tongue-tripping words: Trinidad, Mississippi, Lake Titicaca. Director Susie Dee and Angourie Rice during rehearsals for My Sister Jill. Credit: Charlie Kinross In a run-through of the opening scene, Ian Bliss, as Jack, is playful but menacing, holding a bucket of water, and calling, Come out, come out, wherever you are! as the children scatter. His wife, Martha, played by Maude Davey, is described in the script notes as mid to late 40s. Worn out. Full of sighs. Dealing with a traumatised, abusive husband and the impact on her children has hollowed her out. When her boisterous youngest child climbs into her lap, begging to be held, she snaps: Christine, youre too old for this ... give me a break.

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When we chat later, Dee agrees that even at this early stage, theres a sense that something special is unfolding inside the rehearsal room. I think all the actors in the room feel that this is a special new work, she says. Its close to a writers heart and head  Shes so lean, Patricia, because she knows the world so well. It could have been a much longer play, but she cuts to the quick, takes no prisoners  Theres a vitality in the work, which is so great for actors and for a director. I feel really blessed. Angourie Rice, centre, with her onstage siblings in My Sister Jill. Credit: Sarah Walker For Rice, her mainstage debut has brought its surprises, from the courage of her fellow cast members  everyone just jumped into it with no fear or inhibitions  to the sheer physicality required. I knew that I would have to work on my breathing and my voice, she says. I didnt fully think that I would be sore after the first day of rehearsals. Christine is a really physical character, shes constantly moving, running, jumping, rolling around  shes really active and I want to embody that fully. I feel very connected to the character and the story when you feel it in every part of your body. She doesnt want to realise the real battle thats happening around her. Angourie Rice The stage, for Rice, represents something of a homecoming; both her parents are involved in the theatre, Jeremy as a director and Kate as a writer.

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I was constantly in theatres as a kid, she recalls. My dad worked at a theatre company right next to my primary school, so I would go there after school and I would sit in on rehearsals ... my sister and I would just sit in the corner and colour in or draw. And because my dad mainly works in theatre for young people, we were often the test audiences, so we would sit there and give suggestions, or say no, we didnt like that, it wasnt funny, or yes, that was funny, keep that in. This connection to family is a recurring theme in Rices screen work, particularly the relationship between mothers and daughters. While her characters often chafe against the maternal bond, her own relationship with her mother is such that, even during the process of writing a novel together, not a single door was slammed. Kate and Angourie Rice have written an updated version of Pride and Prejudice: What was really fun is that we had something to talk about that was shared, says Angourie. Credit: Walker Books The result, Stuck Up & Stupid, updates one of Rices favourite books, Pride and Prejudice. After re-reading the Jane Austen classic during COVID lockdowns, she asked her mother to write a modern retelling of the story. Kate, whod had the same idea years earlier, suggested they write it together. Loading She dug up her old idea from, I think, 2008, and came up with a whole table and chart of the chapters in the original book and how we were going to write it, character comparisons, and all that kind of stuff, Rice recalls. In the summer of 2020-21, we wrote the first draft by hand over a month or six weeks ... what was really fun is that we had something to talk about that was shared  something that we did together. There was never any fighting  We disagreed on some things but were both willing to a) listen to what the other person says and b) back up our ideas. If we disagreed it was never a hard fight.

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Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size This story is part of the September 9 edition of Good Weekend. See all 14 stories . Heat rises from the inky asphalt as half a dozen people fall into line, each wearing a pristine yellow uniform. The task seemed easy enough when the instructor walked us through it  with a flick of her wrist, 30 metres of white fire hose unrolled before her, dead straight. And so I wind up my arm, imagine Im bowling and assured of a strike. Instead, my sad attempt twists the hose like the coiled cord of an old landline. As with everything taught during this training course for new volunteers to the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), hose bowling proves harder than it looks. Over the two-day intensive course held at the RFSs northern beaches HQ in Sydney, experienced members will teach us nearly two dozen skills, from creating fire breaks to using radio communications, identifying and fighting different types of fire, and even what to do in the nightmarish scenario of an

overrun, when the only option is to shelter in your truck until the blaze passes. Essentially, everything new volunteers need to know to be useful and safe once theyre out on the fireground. Bushfire season is just months away, and three years after the Black Summer, Australias east is impossibly green. A rare triple-dip La Nina brought record-busting rain, which has spurred prolific growth and scuppered hazard reduction. Fuel loads are high and the risk of a bad summer is real. Its not even noon and Ive already sweated through my new RFS shirt. Lead trainer Zach Fogerty, whos been with the RFS for a decade, surveys the windless scene as we bowl out the hoses. Its an unseasonably warm day, he tells us, unreadable behind dark glasses. You dont have your jackets on. Theres no active fire. We need to be prepared for heat: at a scene things are going to get real hot, real quick. Loading During the Black Summer of 2019-20, when fires burned through more than 24 million hectares and claimed 33 lives, the RFS and its Victorian counterpart, the Country Fire Authority, loomed large in the public imagination. Every day, firefighters were on the front lines, battling towering blazes that looked more like molten tsunamis. The bravery shown, the selflessness, was inspiring and mind-boggling in equal measure. Each time a firefighter appeared  on TV, or in a viral clip on social media, their uniform streaked with ash  I found it hard not to wonder, who volunteers to run towards this inferno? Whose instinct, in the face of all this horror, is to fight instead of flee?

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As it happens, a lot of people. Black Summer brought nearly 8500 new volunteers to the RFS, including 2600 women; the highest intake on record. But in March 2020, just after the final fires were contained, COVID-19 hit and everything froze. In a way, this was a useful sorting mechanism, a long-time firey tells me, because anyone who still wants to become a firefighter after three years of pandemic and record floods is truly committed. There are 12 people in our training group, including teenage cadets and retirees, who will undertake their Bushfire Fighter assessment in two weeks. Everyone has joined a brigade on Sydneys northern beaches, a district that sprawls from beachside suburbs to Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. I feel like something of an interloper, the journalist trying to wrap my head around what makes people  tens of thousands of them across Australia  volunteer to fight bushfires, particularly after Black Summer. When people are in emergency situations, a lot of them are helpless. I dont want to be one of those people. Craig Sloane, volunteer recruit Most of the newcomers tell me that the devastating fire season was the catalyst to sign up. Watching that on the news, it does have a profound effect on you, says Craig Sloane, a recruit in his 50s who lives in the

isolated community of Coasters Retreat, tucked inside the national park. Seeing people be displaced  seeing the amazing work that volunteers do: youre sitting there going, Wow, Id better get my hands dirty.  Coasters has to be completely self-reliant in terms of firefighting, Sloane explains, because its accessible only by boat or on foot via a rough bush track. And with very few full-time residents, every RFS volunteer makes a difference. The tight-knit community is a world away from corporate adland, where hes spent most of his career. I think you come of an age when you just go, What am I doing? What am I giving back?  Sloane reflects. And this is not a lot, but its an immediate community activity that I can get involved with. Its on my doorstep. Its with my neighbours. As with everything else on the training course, hose bowling proves harder than it looks. Credit: Nick Moir Sandra Odwazny, whos in her 20s, tells me firefighting skills are necessary for her dream job as a park ranger. You could be on a search for somebody [in a national park]  and if theres a fire, you might be the only person for hundreds of kilometres, she says. But what first pushed her to sign up was when she heard a story on the radio in 2019  the 10th anniversary of the Black Saturday fires  about a family who were among the 173 who lost their lives on that devastating day.

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There needs to be more people to help. There might have been a chance, she says. How can you not want to help when you hear things like that? Its just heartbreaking. Firefighting 101, as our instructor David Joyce explains it, sounds simple enough: You put the wet on the red. To do that though, we need to learn how to use scores of different pieces of specialised equipment. Joyce tours our group around the fire truck, pop-quizzing on various tools, hoses and nozzles. Whats this? he asks, holding up a metal tube with a spout. A new volunteer, who clearly did their homework, jumps in with the correct answer  its a standpipe, the device that taps into the water-main. Loading Well learn to ship a standpipe  to ready it for use  and connect it to the intricate pumping system on the back of the truck, which, replete with pressure gauges, knobs and switches, resembles the cockpit of an aeroplane. If the main runs dry or were in a remote area, we may need to commandeer water from a dam or pool  so we practise that, too, using a small portable pump. The motor screams with effort as it draws water from a huge inflatable pool used for training. The sheer volume of information is overwhelming. Theres so much to know and these are just the basics. The RFS has more than a dozen training courses, covering everything from fighting village fires to understanding how bushfires behave.

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The more I train, the more I realise how little I knew, says Nick Moir, chief photographer at The Sydney Morning Herald, who by coincidence is in our training group. Firefighting skills that looked simple from a photographers perspective are actually quite refined and need to be practised constantly to be used effectively in the field. After photographing countless disasters over the decades, Moir decided to sign up for the RFS in the wake of Black Summer. He wants to become formally trained in wildfire behaviour  to be able to fight them, of course, but also to help other photographers on the fireground. For many, Moirs photos defined Black Summer; his striking tableaux capturing the David-and-Goliath nature of firefighting. The one shot I always come back to is from the Green Wattle Creek fire, which burnt through the Blue Mountains for three months and claimed the lives of RFS volunteers Geoffrey Keaton and Andrew ODwyer. In Moirs image, two firefighters run together through a strange red landscape, flipping up their collars to protect their necks from the heat. All around them, glowing embers fall like glitter. Teamwork, says Joyce, whos been with the RFS for seven years, is as important as the technical skills were learning. You need to be able to communicate with anyone, he says, because youll have to jump on the truck with people youve never met. As we work through the different skills and stations, the first-day-of-school feeling starts to fade. By the time lunch is served by the volunteer catering brigade, the experienced volunteers and new recruits are huddled around long wooden tables, swapping stories. There are lawyers, civil servants, students and business types. Many, it turns out, have served in the

defence force. It soon becomes clear that no one was unscathed by Black Summer. Even here on the northern beaches, which wasnt directly impacted, RFS members were deployed to help at major fires. Long-time volunteers speak of blazes that just wouldnt go out that summer, no matter what was thrown at them; of fronts that seemed to defy the laws of physics to jump containment lines. Of exhaustion and grief, and flares of anger at every leaf-filled gutter, every barbecue lit on Total Fire Ban days. Many fear the public has grown complacent about fire risk because the past few years have been so wet.

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When you go out there and help other people  Its kind of allowing yourself to be bigger than just yourself. Zach Fogerty, lead trainer But they also talk about the sense of community in the RFS, what its like to meet people who you come to trust with your life. Those situations when you get to go out there and help other people and see what youre able to do, trainer Zach Fogerty later tells me. Its kind of allowing yourself to be bigger than just yourself. For Nick Fraser, a new volunteer in his 30s who worked previously on oil rigs, the warm welcome feels novel. In most industries, as the new guy, for lack of a better term, I find that you get a lot of hazing. You get the poor tasks, you kind of get looked down upon a little bit, he says. Whereas this  this is like nothing Ive seen before in this sort of hands-on industry. Trainee Sandra Odwazny ships a standpipe to tap into mains water. Credit: Nick Fraser Frasers goal is to work his way up to the Remote Area Firefighting Team (RAFT), a highly trained unit thats dropped into remote areas by helicopter to firefight with only the supplies they can carry. It sounds to me like something even contestants on Alone would think a bit extreme. But RAFTs play an important role in containing fires before they can spread and become too big to fight. The northern beaches launched its own RAFT last year, one of many changes that have come in this district and across the RFS since Black Summer. Much of the $110 million donated by the public during that deadly season  including via comedian Celeste Barbers contentious fundraiser  has been spent upgrading trucks, facilities and vital safety gear, including helmets and respirators. The RFS has also been trialling aerial firefighting at night to be able to suppress more fires, and recently acquired a $9 million Chinook helicopter, which will be capable of carrying 11,000 litres of water. As fire seasons around the world become longer, big investments like this are needed  Australia can no longer rely on being able to borrow equipment from the northern hemisphere during its winter.

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GAYLE HUNNICUTT: 1943 - 2023

Gayle Hunnicutt, who has died aged 80, was a strikingly glamorous American actress better known for her appearances in gossip columns than for most of her films.

American film and television actress Gayle Hunnicutt, who has died aged 80. Credit: Getty

Cast as elegant sexpots in thrillers like Marlowe (1969) with James Garner, Fragment of Fear (1970), her first British film, in which she co-starred with then-husband David Hemmings, and Michael Winners spy caper Scorpio (1973), Hunnicutt dazzled with her inordinate good looks.

The Telegraphs critic Richard Last was agog as he ascribed to her the most luminously beautiful face on television, while an equally appreciative Clive James, gazing on her ravishing Titian hair and porcelain complexion, was smitten by her sweet violence to the eye.
The child of a man wanted for questioning over the suspected murder of Meaghan Louise Rose has begged for the 70-year-old to turn himself in.

Rose, a 25-year-old from Victoria, was found dead at the bottom of Point Cartwright Cliffs at Mooloolaba, on Queenslands Sunshine Coast, in 1997, with police initially ruling her death a suicide.

Meaghan Louise Roses body was found at the bottom of the cliffs in 1997.

But earlier this year, police revealed they were treating her death as suspicious, and detectives were searching for her de facto at the time, Keith Lees, 70, who knew Rose at the time of her death.

Police found Lees car abandoned at Portland, with Victorian police commencing a search and rescue operation.
In 2020, the Court of Appeal deemed Roberts trial a miscarriage of justice, quashed his convictions and ordered a retrial. Roberts is suing over 5627 of the 8001 days he spent in prison. Sergeant Gary Silk (left) and Senior Constable Rodney Miller. The claim deducts his 6-year sentence over a series of armed robberies he committed with Debs in 1998, to which he pleaded guilty. Although no figure has been stated in damages sought, Roberts is likely to demand a multimillion-dollar settlement.

In a similar case in Western Australia, Andrew Mallard, who was wrongfully convicted of a 1994 murder of a Perth woman, was awarded $3.25 million for the 12 years he spent in jail. Robinson Gill principal lawyer Jeremy King, who is representing Roberts, said the 24-year saga warranted forensic analysis. Bandali Debs (right), pictured in 2002, is serving life in jail. Credit: Simon Schluter I think its important to recognise that this case is far from over, King said. This case is going to mean that everything police did will be carefully and critically scrutinised.

We are going to put them under a spotlight and make sure that they are held accountable for what happened to Jason. Loading Roberts acquittal shocked Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton, a friend of Silk, who described the outcome of the 2022 retrial as disappointing. The court documents list 24 potential witnesses, all current or former police officers, including Paul Sheridan, the head of the taskforce established to investigate the murders, and his second in command, Graeme Collins; detective George Buchhorn and Glenn Pullin, one of the first officers on the scene. The statement of claim alleges a new police statement was made concerning Millers dying words, months after the original and made in the hours after the Cochranes Road ambush on August 16, 1998.

It alleges multiple police statements were replaced before the 2002 trial and the originals were never found. The Age does not suggest the allegations made in the writ are true, only that they have been made. Roberts claims he is entitled to aggravated and exemplary damages because of the wrongful conduct of police. The ongoing wrongful conduct of members of Victoria Police worsened and prolonged the plaintiffs suffering, the court documents claim. The misconduct of multiple Victoria Police members is demonstrative of a systemic and contumelious disregard for the plaintiff and his rights to a fair trial and are deserving of the courts disapprobation and condign punishment.

The scene on Cochranes Road, Moorabbin, after the shootings on August 16, 1998. Credit: Wayne Hawkins Police conduct surrounding the transcribing of bugged recordings of Debs and Roberts from about October 1999 to mid-2000, when the pair were arrested, is also cited in the writ. These recordings were initially transcribed by civilians employed by Victoria Police and then checked and amended by taskforce investigators. Roberts writ alleges police gave evidence in the initial court hearings that they destroyed all original transcripts. But it emerged before the 2022 retrial that not all the original transcripts, including handwritten amendments, were shredded. Also under scrutiny is a controversial tactic the Lorimer taskforce used to provoke public conversation while police tapped Debs and Roberts phones.

Jason Roberts during his 2002 trial. Credit: Joe Armao Lorimer released a digital image to the media, known as a facefit, and Sheridan described the image as the younger of the two killers. The public were asked to help identify the man and were told the image was the best clue we have in the case. The image was, in fact, manipulated from Roberts drivers licence, which the writ alleges was designed to publicly implicate him in the murders. Roberts interaction with police on July 25, 2000 will form a contentious part of any legal battle. He has long claimed he was tortured in the back of a van by members of the Special Operations Group after they bundled him into an unmarked van from a worksite in Melbournes north-east.

Roberts claims that inside the van, he was hog-tied, had his pants pulled down and was struck to the head with the butt of a rifle. The writ claims he was also sexually assaulted with a gun by officers in black balaclavas and they pulled and hit his genitals. Roberts was questioned and released by taskforce investigators only to be arrested again on August 15, 2000 and charged with murdering Silk and Miller. The writ also cites police for allegedly failing to disclose before his retrial the Clayton Report, an internal Victoria Police probe by Inspector David Clayton into the conduct of officers linked to the Lorimer taskforce investigation. That investigation followed a years-long probe by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) into the practices used by the Lorimer taskforce in taking statements. The IBAC investigation included public hearings in 2019. Victoria Police is yet to reveal any sanctions emanating from the Clayton report, which was submitted in early 2022.
Loading King is clearly exposed over a decision her colleagues did not know about. No wonder she chose to announce her latest policy, a green paper on domestic aviation, far from Parliament House on Thursday. Rather than hold the usual press conference in the building, she arranged a doorstop at Canberra Airport to make it more time-consuming to get there. And she scheduled it for 7am. It was an embarrassing ploy and only advertised the ministers anxiety about taking questions. Qatar Airways needs no barrackers, given it is owned by an oil state that helps it undercut its rivals, but the deeper issue is the communitys growing frustration with Qantas. Albanese and his ministers are exposed to being too cosy with the airline and its former chief, Alan Joyce. The government does not deny that the prime ministers son has a complimentary pass to the airlines chairmans lounge. And it was only a few weeks ago that the prime minister and the airline boss joined up at an event to promote the Yes case at the referendum.

That has given Opposition Leader Peter Dutton an easy shot. The prime minister has been happy to walk the red carpet with Alan Joyce at every top-end-of-town event, he said this week. It is worth noting that Dutton is a member of the chairmans lounge (as well as the equivalent club at Virgin Australia). So when and why did King make her decision on Qatar? Who lobbied her before she made her call? The headlines played up the sense of chaos in question time over these details, but what happened in the past few days was logical. The opposition asked questions of King about her decision. She obfuscated. The opposition asked the speaker, Milton Dick, to tell her to return to the question. Dick gave her the benefit of the doubt. The opposition moved dissent against his ruling. It knew it would lose the vote, but it wanted to highlight her evasion. And it was within its rights to do so. The Coalitions mistake was to get carried away with the shouting and yelling about something that was mostly about tactics few voters would ever notice. The member for North Sydney, Kylea Tink, rebuked them for this hostile and aggressive behaviour, and Dick agreed with her message.

Dick is a good speaker, ruling over the unruly with fair and calm decisions, but ministers put him in a difficult position with their waffle. King was hedging on Wednesday in response to direct questions about whether she had spoken to Joyce. She seemed to assume the Speaker would shield her from having to give a direct answer. King was better prepared and more direct in question time on Thursday, a sign she had learnt from the previous day. Yet she could not say when she told Albanese of her decision on Qatar  only that she made the decision on July 10 and the prime minister knew by the time it was announced on July 18. Did Qantas get any favours? How much support does this airline deserve? These are fair questions for the Senate inquiry set up this week  established, by the way, when the Coalition gained support from almost all the crossbench. The Greens voted with Labor against the inquiry, days after they claimed they wanted more accountability. Albanese and his ministry have been effective on most fronts since the election. They have avoided the travel rorts that cost John Howard so many ministers in his first term as prime minister, as well as any shocks like Tony Abbotts call to give a knighthood to Prince Philip. The government is the most stable in more than a decade.
Pet cats are part of a massive problem confronting Australias wildlife, says Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, and she has declared new measures such as giving councils the power to restrict pet numbers, ban cats outdoors and impose night-time curfews to prevent native species extinctions.

There are an estimated 5.3 million pet cats in Australia and they kill more than 500 million native animals each year, according to the federal governments proposed plan to tackle the feline threat, which was released for public consultation on Thursday.

Tanya Plibersek views a demonstration of a feral cat trap during a Threatened Species Day event. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

This consultation paper will ask really important questions, like, should we have a cat curfew? Should local governments have more opportunity to restrict the ownership of cats in their area? Plibersek said.

We need to manage it better and I would say that people who love their cats who are responsible cat owners for the most part are already doing many of these things like keeping their cats inside, particularly overnight.
For critics, another delicious morsel: evidence, surely, the premier had checked out. Palaszczuk had opted instead for an abrupt getaway to the south of Italy with her obesity surgeon boyfriend, Reza Adib, without thinking to inform key colleagues, including Treasurer Cameron Dick. The trip was promptly cast as on-brand for Queenslands red carpet premier  an insult deployed by the LNP to tar Palaszczuk as a sellout to her cultivated, and fading, auntie-next-door persona. The Italian jaunt was Scott Morrison-esque folly, opponents said  a leader absent amid the metaphorical bushfires of youth crime, housing and health. Presumably, this was the editorial justification for News Corp to hunt her and Adib to their Naples hotel.

Were on holiday: Talk to the hand screamed the Courier-Mail headline, set to the money shot of Palaszczuk, in an exotic location, trying to cover her face with her hand, the smiling Adib in tow. Ive had some health issues. Im here on private holidays, she was quoted as saying. Tell the photographers to go away, Im upset youre here. The pair later posed for a photo anyway, Palaszczuk in the manner of a hostage. Annastacia Palaszczuks Scott Morrison-esque holiday abroad at a time of turmoil was presumably News Corps justification to hunt her and boyfriend Reza Adib down in Italy. Credit: News Corp Back at home, Queenslanders commenting on the premiers Facebook page overwhelmingly vouched for her right to take a break.

The defence from her ministers had the right words but was hardly full-throated. A nod to the unseemly optics of an ill-advised getaway? Or perhaps just an expediently timid reproach for a media business controlling almost all of Queenslands newspapers. Palaszczuk, who in May next year will surpass Peter Beattie as Queenslands longest-serving postwar Labor premier, returns on Monday to a Labor caucus rattling with the first genuine prospect of collective defeat at next years October election. Successive opinion polls put the LNP ahead, and its leader, Newman-era minister David Crisafulli, as the preferred premier, even though he lists few policies. Worryingly for the government, the polls reveal a long trend of increasing dissatisfaction, as opposed to intermittent blips of the political cycle. It is a long way from the pandemic, when Palaszczuks hard border closures and daily rhetoric of keeping Queenslanders safe propelled Labor to a third consecutive election victory in 2020.

Faced with business-as-usual governing in a dispersed, conservative-leaning state, Labor has been risk-averse, secretive and reactive, swaying with headlines and grievances du jour. Loading It has passed big, progressive reforms  voluntary assisted dying, for example  but rarely without another state Labor government having already bulldozed the path. In 2022, an independent review into the culture of the Queensland public service under the Palaszczuk government found it had been weakened by the rising influence of ministerial advisers and external consultants. Peter Coaldrakes Let the Sunshine In also revealed the trivialising of parliamentary committees and artistic obscuring of lobbying efforts.

But none of the more recent debates have been more damaging than youth crime, a perennial favourite of the opposition, and low-hanging fruit for the evening news. While youth crime rates have been decreasing for years, a small hardcore cohort has been offending more  and driving Queensland wild. In response, the government has twice suspended human rights laws and ignored expert advice in a quest to lock up more children more often, reversing its earlier ideological and practical resolutions. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been very, very clear that she intends to lead Labor to the next election, says her deputy, Steven Miles. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Evidence shows that by placing young offenders in detention, they are more likely to reoffend, minister Di Farmer declared in 2018. We cant continue to keep doing the same things over and over and expect a different result.

This same minister now boasts about Queensland having more children in detention than ever before. The governments unpredictable manoeuvres on youth crime peaked last month when it rushed through a trove of surprise amendments to an unrelated bill. Among them was the consecration of police watch houses as places to indefinitely store children. Loading The amendments were unannounced and had not been referred to a parliamentary committee for scrutiny. The opposition accused the government of trashing democracy. The Greens called it a dog act. Days later, Palaszczuk flew to Italy, igniting the present round of turmoil.
The assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was the biggest attack on Americas democracy since the Civil War. The Capitol dome is the most recognised symbol of democratic government in the world. The halls of Congress and the House and Senate chambers were desecrated that day.

The building was breached by a mob determined to obstruct and halt the peaceful transfer of power to the president-elect, Joe Biden. Many wanted to hang the then vice president, Mike Pence. The attack was finally repulsed; five people were killed in the violence. When the Capitol was re-taken the constitutional processes were completed in the early hours of January 7.

Enrique Tarrio, jailed this week for 22 years for the assault on the US Capitol. What if such a violent attack was launched on Australias Parliament House? Credit: Composite image by Jamie Brown/AP

These were high crimes. President Donald Trump would be impeached by the House for his role in these events, although the Senate failed to convict him. The Department of Justice would launch the biggest investigation in its history. More than 1000 people have been indicted, and more than 700 convicted for their atrocities committed that day.

This week, those trials culminated in the conviction and sentencing of Enrique Tarrio, then head of the Proud Boys, who received the stiffest criminal penalty of 22 years imprisonment. He and others in his gang were convicted not only of the violence associated with the attack, but also of seditious conspiracy: the attempt to violently overthrow the government. It is one of the gravest crimes that can be committed against the republic in American jurisprudence.
PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):---The Collective Prevention Service (CPS), a department within the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (Ministry VSA), would like to inform the public that the planned health panel discussion on Saturday, September 9 at the Belair Community Center has been postponed due to the approach of inclement weather over the weekend.



Tropical Stom Lee which is forecast to become a major powerful hurricane over the weekend and pass to the northeast of Sint Maarten, is the reason for the postponement.



The community will be informed when a new date has been set for the event.



CPS expresses its gratitude to members of the community who were planning to attend the panel discussion.
Collective Metals Announces the Appointment of Amanuel Bein as Director

Highlights

Bein worked for Hudbay Minerals for more than ten years; a company that recently acquired Copper Mountain for $439 million, which is neighbouring to the Companya?s flagship project, the Princeton Project.

Bein led exploration for Rock Tech Lithium, which completed extensive drilling and field exploration programs in Ontario, where Collective Metals has two projects: the Landings Lake Lithium Project and the Whitemud Lithium Project.

COLLECTIVE METALS INC. (CSE: COMT | OTC: CLLMF | FSE: TO1) (the aCompanya or aCollectivea)  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/collective-metals-inc/  is proud to announce the appointment of Mr. Amanuel Bein, P.Geo as a director of the Company (the aAppointmenta). Mr. Bein will help lead the Companya?s exploration programs for its flagship Property, the Princeton Project, as well its Landings Lake Lithium Project and Whitemud Lithium Project.

aI am excited to join a strong team at Collective Metals and to help the Company achieve its goals through different exploration programs,a said Amanuel Bain. aI believe the Princeton Project has significant potential and I will leverage my experience in the area to ensure the Company is remaining efficient and effective in its work.a

Mr. Bein has 17 years of experience in the exploration and mining industry where he has gained world-class knowledge and expertise in several mineral deposit types that include LCT pegmatite, VMS, SEDEX, porphyry-skarn, and orogenic-gold. He began his career as a field geologist while working for several junior mineral exploration companies in the Arabian Nubian Shield between 2005 and 2008. Mr. Bein worked in the Bathurst Mining Camp between 2008 and 2010 while completing his graduate studies at University of New Brunswick.

Mr. Bein worked for Hudbay Minerals for more than ten years and was able to experience the full mining cycle, including the discovery of the 1901 deposit and closure of the Reed mine. At Hudbay Minerals, Mr. Bein led several regional and near-mine exploration programs in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Arizona. Mr. Bein also recently led an exploration team for Rock Tech Lithium that executed extensive exploration drilling and field exploration programs that enabled growth of mineral resources and discovery of several spodumene pegmatite prospects at Rock Tech\-s Georgia Lake project.

aThe addition of Amanuel is a significant development for the Company and further strengthens our management team,a said CEO of Collective Metals, Chris Huggins. aThrough his prior experience, Amanuel will bring immeasurable value to our exploration work with the Princeton Project, Landings Lake Project and Whitemud Project. His previous work with Hudbay Minerals, which recently acquired Copper Mountain, a neighbour to our flagship property, the Princeton Project, will provide us with key insights and details as we prepare the next phases of our exploration programs.a

About Collective Metals:

Collective Metals Inc. (CSE: COMT | OTC: CLLMF | FSE: TO1) is a resource exploration company specializing in precious metals exploration in North America. The Companya?s flagship property is the Princeton Project, located in south-central British Columbia, Canada, approximately 10 km west of the currently producing Copper Mountain Mine. The Princeton Project consists of 29 mineral tenures totaling approximately 28,560 ha (70,570 acres) in a well-documented and prolific copper-gold porphyry belt and is easily accessible by road, located immediately west of Highway 3.A

The Companya?s Landings Lake Lithium Project is located in northwestern Ontario where numerous lithium deposits have been delineated to host significant reserves of Li2O. The Landings Lake Lithium Project is located 53 km east of Ear Falls, Ontario and covers 3,146 hectares. The Whitemud Project, with several identified pegmatite outcrops, neighbours the Landings Lake Project and consists of 381 single cell mining claims totaling 7,775 hectares.

Social Media

@COMT_metals

Collective Metals Inc

Collective Metals Inc

ON BEHALF OF COLLECTIVE METALS INC.

Christopher Huggins

Chief Executive Officer

T: 604-968-4844

E: chris@collectivemetalsinc.com

Forward Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, including with respect to future plans, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as \may\, \expect\, \estimate\, \anticipate\, \intend\, \believe\ and \continue\ or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions, the ability to manage operating expenses, and dependence on key personnel. Forward looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements respecting: expected benefits of the Appointment. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, the continued availability of capital and financing, litigation, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
This is why it is crucial that major regeneration projects  including new offices - are encouraged by government and is why at British Land we believe there is much more that could be done to rethink our planning system to help grow the not only the London economy but national productivity.
The Nordics had been a major source of trouble for Currys, as discounting from rivals caused profits to plummet and the firm to pull its dividend. But after cutting jobs and marketing spend, the retailer said margins had improved.
Some of this is cyclical, but given the Citys huge role in the London and national economy it is a cause for concern. Today the City of London Corporation unveils its roadmap for prosperity blueprint for getting the City firing on all cylinders again.
Jewface is not like blackface. Murphy does look like Oppenheimer. And one cant say just by looking at Mirren whether she is Jewish or not. Once cultural appropriation is legitimised as a way to talk about casting in film, every ethnic group can claim a grievance. Is it punching up or down for a black American to play an iconic Xhosa politician? Acting turns into a minefield of hostile politicking. It should instead be a transcendent means of artistic expression.
This paper is already leading the way in redistributing surplus food from retailers to food banks, charities and schools through our partnership with The Felix Project. And as our proprietor, Evgeny Lebedev, makes clear in his commentary, there is a straightforward way to ensure that this surplus food does not go to landfill or biomass but to food banks which need it. That is for the Government to spend 25 million to distribute the food from the producers who cannot sell it, away from the biomass factories, to people who cant afford it.
This triggered one Andrew Tate, the King of Toxic Masculinity. Youre a wife and mother and youre far past a teenager. There is no need for this post, snarled the man who has been locked up for alleged sex-trafficking to the Queen Of Heart Breakfast. Ms Holden said she was tempted to reply kiss my 52-year-old arse which was on brand. I am seriously thinking my girls need separate representation to me, she doubled down (I hope each girl gets an agent each  they deserve nothing less!).
A gazillion movies chart the bitter-sweet agony caused by perfect connections that cant be sustained (my own favourites: Brief Encounter, Annie Hall, Brooklyn). Past Lives shares the lo-fi intensity of those classics. Whats different about Songs screenplay is Noras feelings towards Hae Sung. Shes fond of him. Sometimes she fancies him. But, as far as we can tell, he doesnt make her heart pirouette (nor is she exactly hot and heavy for Arthur). Some viewers will find Nora cold. Or narcissistic. But Song complicates such concepts, allowing us to appreciate an earthy and flawed woman, who simply doesnt fit the romantic mould.
Nowadays St. John lives in Brooklyn with his wife, fellow artist Colleen Barry, and their two daughters, aged four and seven. I wonder, should his children wish to follow in his painterly footsteps, would he advise them against art school? We would go the institutional route and try to get them those connections. My wife would say, There is absolutely no way we are encouraging them to go through what we went through. Years of obscurity, years of poverty, years of living in bad neighbourhoods in New York, not having two pennies to scrape together. Why would I encourage anyone  especially someone I love  to follow in the same footsteps? He pauses, before changing his mind. But at the same time, its the difficulty that creates something good. Its good to struggle, even if that means youre 10 years behind your peers.
The second half of the month will be no less starry in terms of fashion or philanthropic kudos, with 100% of funds going directly to Smart Works, the womens charity which helps (literally) outfit women getting back into work. Over ten years, it has dressed 32,000 women via its 11 centres around the country. Impressively, it can claim that 69% of women get a job within a month of their appointment, putting paid testimony to the confidence clothing can imbue. Kate Stephens, CEO, offers that A slim leg trouser and blazer or a structured dress are always popular. But the key is that the piece makes her look in the mirror, drop her shoulders and think maybe, maybe I can do this. For that reason, the Smart Works wardrobe is a treasure chest of different styles, sizes and colours. Weve given away over 200,000 of pieces over the last ten years, and every single one has been donated from an individual or brand, then steamed, sorted and hung so that it looks great for our clients. It is a labour of love.
Throughout my time in Leam (thats what we called it, and probably what she calls it, because shes cool and chill and fun), me and my mates routinely heard stories of Turners nights out in the local club, Smack, and the surrounding areas. You dont have to look that hard on the internet to find pictures of her posing with the famous Smack height wall, contructed to look like a prisons height measure, or selfies she took with rogue students who recognised her from Game of Thrones. She was a good time gal, you could tell.
PC Hayley Jones who is the dedicated LGBT+ Community Liaison Officer (CLO) for Lambeth and Southwark added: We understand some people from the LGBT+ community may not have the confidence to speak to police; my role was introduced to provide a dedicated LGBT+ point of contact to support the community and advise on investigations where homophobia and transphobia is a motive.
Det Insp James Rush, from the local policing team in east London, said: We believe the man was approached by a woman in a car after becoming injured and I urge her to get in touch with us.
Commander James Harman, who leads the Mets Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command, said: As soon as we were made aware of these allegations we acted to launch an investigation. I am pleased that following the determined work of officers we have been able to secure these charges.
In the meantime, we will continue with our maternity improvement programme, which is driving changes in our maternity services. These changes include staffing levels, training, compliance with guidelines, record keeping and the provision and use of equipment. Recently, the Care Quality Commission inspected our maternity services and informally reported improvements. The detailed formal CQC report will be published on 13 September, so the public will be able to judge the impact of our improvement work.
He said he had no problem with Mr Hipperson, said Mr Hipperson had a small kitchen knife in his hand and had wanted money, and said Mr Hipperson, who died three days after being stabbed, had been injured in a struggle.
The man, 24, carved a name of a city into the handrail on Monday, City of London Police said, and that section of the railing may need to be replaced.
Egypt has nominated former minister of tourism and antiquities Khaled El-Enany for the post of director-general of the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The election will take place during the last quarter of 2025.





The announcement was made by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly a few minutes ago at a press conference at the cabinet premises in the New Administrative Capital.

In his speech, El-Enany expressed his gratitude for the Egyptian government for his nomination as director-general of UNESCO, saying it reflects the government's confidence in his ability to assume this prestigious position.

This nomination is a magnitude responsibility, especially in light of the UNESCOs role and mission at this delicate stage in human history, in which it suffers from unprecedented challenges, El-Enany said. He pointed out that there are still tens of millions of children around the world who do not receive any education. Tangible and intangible cultural heritage as well as the world's natural heritage are facing great challenges. In addition, the least developed countries failed to benefit from the huge leap in technology and modern innovations.

He asserted that the world today is in dire need, perhaps more than ever, for dialogue and understanding, spreading a culture of tolerance, accepting difference, accepting and respecting the other, rejecting violence, hatred, intolerance and discrimination. It is also imperative to be working towards promoting cultural diversity, bridging the huge scientific and technological gap, and redoubling efforts to achieve the goals of sustainable development, especially those related to providing knowledge and quality education, equality, innovation, peace, and justice.

El-Enany added that he is honoured to put his academic and executive experiences in the service of the organisation and its noble goals. The UNESCO goals, he added, are closely linked to the Egyptian conscience which has been -- since ancient times -- upholding the value of peace, based on moderation, and blending Arab and African identity, as well as Islamic, Coptic and Jewish heritage.

Concluding his speech, El-Enany thanked the prime minister for Egypt's efforts to prepare for this nomination, which reflects the importance Egypt binds to this position.

I am confident in the full support that all government institutions will provide to enable Egypt to win this position that will allow the country to continue to perform its educational and enlightening role, to establish the values of peace and justice, and to build bridges between peoples, El-Enany asserted.

Khaled El-Enany assumed his position as minister of antiquities from March 2016 to December 2019. He then became minister of tourism and antiquities from December 2019 to August 2022. He is the first minister to hold the tourism and antiquities portfolios together since the two ministries were separated in 1966.

El-Enany is a professor in the Tourism Guidance Department, Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management (FTH), Helwan University (HU), since 2011.

He has various academic, scientific, administrative and executive experiences, in Egypt and abroad. During his career, he has developed a strong international network with many governments, institutions and organisations, visiting more than 25 countries for academic purposes, official meetings, conferences and events.

During his six-and-a-half-year tenure in the government, he supervised the implementation of important projects and pivotal strategies, and took the necessary measures to boost tourism and archaeology in Egypt. He worked on the promulgation and amendment of several laws and decrees.

During his time as minister, more than 20 museums and 45 restoration and development projects of archeological sites were inaugurated, and more than 20 restoration projects of historical mosques, monasteries and churches (including five locations on the Holy Family Trail) and Eliahu Hanavi Synagogue in Alexandria were opened. He inaugurated five lowering ground water projects in important archaeological sites. The number of archaeological missions, particularly Egyptian ones, has increased significantly, which contributed to important discoveries, and more than 23,000 smuggled artefacts were repatriated from more than 20 countries.

El-Enany ensured the formulation and implementation of important tourism strategies, such as the ministry's Sustainable Development Strategy 2030, and the National Sustainable Tourism Strategy (prepared by an Italian consultancy house). El-Enany supervised the formulation of the Brand Strategy (by a British-Canadian consortium), to introduce Egypt's new persona as a young alive country that deserves the global attention and repeat visits. Under the direction of the Egyptian state, he supervised the organisation of the two globally promotional events, the Pharaohs Golden Parade and Luxor: The Sphinx Avenue Parade.

El-Enany made the necessary arrangements to implement Egypt's decisions to mitigate the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia war on the tourism sector and employees, which enabled Egypt to boost a rapid and safe tourism recovery.

In 2009, Egypt nominated former minister of culture Farouk Hosny for the post of UNESCO director-general. He lost his bid to Bulgarian former foreign minister Irina Bokova.

Egyptian politician and diplomat Moushira Khattab was also Egypts candidate for the post of UNESCO director-general at the elections held in 2017. Khattab who served as minister of state for family and population between 2009 and 2011 lost her bid to the current UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azouly.

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It is crucial for the public to help us with this search and to call us immediately if they have any information on the whereabouts of Khalife.
He is accused of eliciting or trying to elicit information that could be useful for a terrorist on August 2, 2021, and breaching the Official Secrets Act by gathering information that could be useful to an enemy between May 1, 2019, and January 6, 2022.
Further research is needed to better understand inequalities across England so that women and people described as female at birth are able to make the choices they need for their own reproductive health and wellbeing.
But now the 28 days starts from the day refugee status is granted, not the date that a person receives the news, which can often be delayed when documentation is given to a housing manager or lawyer. This means that the actual notice period for the refugee can now be as short as seven days.
Victor Troboloni, 45, told the newspaper he tackled the man after he tried to force open the emergency door and went to punch a male flight attendant, placing him in a headlock before crew members also helped to hold him down.
The Londoner met them in nearby pub the Old Ship Inn afterwards. Lisa asked where wed got some Stones cupcakes and told us off for taking three. In the Angry video, Sydney is driven around LA in a skimpy leather outfit, while billboards featuring the Stones when they were younger sing the new song, having been animated using new technology. With the help of AI, could the band go on making music forever?
This post, and this function of the OfS, is completely impartial, it's absolutely not political. Freedom of speech doesn't work, it can't work, unless it is and is seen to be not politically partisan. And that's especially true of universities

Professor Arif Ahmed
The failings exposed in the review can only be examined through a public inquiry, Mr Matheson said, adding the Scottish Government had not previously been aware NHS Tayside did not respond to Prof Eljamels request for voluntary erasure from the medical register, that there was not oversight from the board of historical information or concerns, and there were multiple reviews where no follow up action was recorded.
The truck left HMP Wandsworth at 07:32 on Wednesday and took a right turn out of the gates onto Heathfield Road. It then turned left onto Magdalen Road, left onto Trinity Road (A214) up to the Wandsworth Roundabout and took the first exit onto Swandon Way (A217). The van then turned left onto Old York Road, left onto Fairfield Street, right onto Wandsworth High Street (A3) and went straight ahead onto West Hill and then to the Upper Richmond Road (A205). Police officers stopped the truck at 08:37 on the Upper Richmond Road near the junction with Carlton Drive.
But Labour criticised the delay, with shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson saying: I seriously hope that comes to pass but I do have to say what on earth have they been doing and why has it taken so long?
"Although I have been told by officials that there is a triage and that visual inspection is not the only indicator of RAAC, we heard yesterday morning from members that they do not believe that this is sufficient in relation to concealed RAAC, which requires an invasive survey.
Asked about his partys prospects in the by-elections, Mr Sunak told reporters in Warwick: Mid-term by-elections are always difficult for incumbent governments and these will be no different, but were going to keep working hard to deliver for the British people.
The Commons Standards Committee said he should face an eight week suspension in July following an investigation into the claims he caused "significant damage to the reputation of the House" by allegedly groping two men at the exclusive Carlton Club.
The force said Khalife was declared missing at 7.50am on Wednesday and they were notified at 8.15am, when they took immediate action to track down the delivery lorry that had left the prison.
Then, suddenly, they were sent to live in England and they didnt have a choice in that, they may not have known their parents or remembered them, they may have had new siblings.
Ms Rahman added: Every week I have parents who sidle over to me and ask Is there anything left? Please can you keep a bag aside for me next week? Some are in low-income jobs, others in debt  they are embarrassed to ask. Many are in tears. They feel desperate. Its heart-breaking because the need is great but we get so little food. Food from the Felix Project has never been more needed.
Gardai are requesting that anyone who was present at the swimming section of this event and who may have video footage, in any format, to contact Gardai at Midleton on 021 4621550, it said.
Speaking about the industrial action when it was announced, UCU general secretary Jo Grady had said: We are left with no option but to strike during the start of term because our members refuse to stand by while pay is eroded and staff are shunted onto gig-economy contracts.
But that is deeply offensive to the minority, the black community in America and if were going to unite this country and unite the people of this country, a bit like (Co Down comedian and The Late Late Show host) Patrick Kielty says, we just need to have a think about how our words and how the songs we sing might be heard by other people.
In a press briefing on Thursday, Mr Murphy said: This was a really busy area of London and weve had no confirmed sightings in any of that information, which is a little unusual, and perhaps testament to Daniel Khalifes ingenuity in his escape and some of his movements after his escape.
He is accused of eliciting or trying to elicit information that could be useful for a terrorist on August 2 2021, and breaching the Official Secrets Act by gathering information that could be useful to an enemy between May 1 2019 and January 6 2022.
Professor Stephen Griffin told The Mirror that Covid is far from over. The perception we're done with it and the narrative of having to live with it is another way of saying we're willing to deal with the damage it does, he said.
"As you also probably know, she would have been the first person to insist that I still come to be with you all instead of going to her, and that's precisely why I know exactly one year on that she is looking down on all of us tonight, happy we're together, continuing to spotlight such an incredible community."
As you also probably know, she would have been the first person to insist that I still come to be with you all instead of going to her, and thats precisely why I know exactly one year on that she is looking down on all of us tonight, happy were together, continuing to spotlight such an incredible community.
It will also provide an opportunity to recognise the selfless dedication of those around them, from siblings and parent carers to the professionals who have gone above and beyond to give them the very best chance to thrive.
There are seven hospitals in England that were either partly or completely constructed using Raac, two of which already have been replaced, with plans for the other five soon to be underway in the Governments new hospitals programme.
There are a number of ways you can do this  you can report information via our portal, which is in both English and Urdu, you can call 101 if you would prefer to speak on the phone, or if you would like to remain anonymous, call the independent charity Crimestoppers.
Mr Green added: A number of serious issues have been discussed during the tribunal hearing many of which date back a number of years. As we are awaiting the outcome of the tribunal it is not appropriate at this time to comment on the specific claims made by Rebecca Kalam.
At the time, the UK remained in talks with the EU in an attempt to keep its spot in the programme. However, discussions stalled over a disagreement in relation to the Northern Ireland protocol. The UK was excluded from the Horizon project in 2021 and has missed out on two years of scientific funding and collaboration during this time.
The attack on the town of Kostiantynivka, near the front line in the Donetsk region, turned the marketplace into an inferno and was one of the deadliest bombardments of civilians in the 18-month-old war.
"We're not going to stop," Barrientos said. "Let's remember what happened in the United States. After 40 years, the Supreme Court reversed its abortion decision, and we're not going to stop until Mexico guarantees the right to life from the moment of conception."
This comes as the US has announced it will send depleted uranium anti-tank shells to be used to arm Abrams tanks which will be delivered to the state in autumn.
The organisation, which works to see wages rise in London where the cost of living is higher than the rest of the country, said more than 6,500 employees in the capitals hospitality sector have benefited from being paid the London Living Wage. It said in an announcement that 11.95 an hour or more ensures staff always have enough to live on.
Other winners on the evening included the well-liked Quo Vadis chef proprietor Jeremy Lee, who got the nod for his 2022 book Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many, and Mark Hix, for his recipes printed in the Telegraph Magazine. Journalist Bee Wilson won the award for food writing, for her work in the London Review of Books and the Guardian.
Ankle boots were first introduced in the 18th century and have been in demand ever since. They became a practical fashion item for women on the move, primarily while riding and driving. The original style adopted a lace-up design featuring delicate heels, a silk texture and a pointed toe - something you may find on the set of Bridgerton.
Because of the discipline that it required  getting on my bike at 5 oclock night after night, in the dead of winter, to do a play that dark and at a time when the country was still in the throes of Covid, meaning we were all carrying a heaviness already.
Campaingers such as the Open Rights Group fear that this will lead to over-zealous censorship by the big social media firms, which will be keen to show they are obeying the new laws. They will be judged not on fairness or upholding rule of law, but on how much illegal content they have taken down, said Dr Monica Horten, the Open Rights Groups policy manager, in a blog. It is therefore within the realm of possibility that photographs and videos of people holding up a placard, if identified as an offence under Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, could be removed before it has even been uploaded.
The survey revealed a lack of confidence on the part of women and girls that the authorities will deal effectively with online violence  with almost a third (32%) of women in Scotland who have experienced this saying they would seek support from friends, while 4% would turn to the police.
Rotten Tomatoes has become a leading arbiter for our viewing habits. The site, which distils hundreds of reviews to give movies and shows fresh or rotten ratings, is often the first port of call for tentative film-goers and binge-watchers. At the same time, the sway it has over the populace has turned it into the scourge of Hollywood film studios, which have previously laid the blame for their flops at its doorstep.
Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov met with visiting Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic Antonio Tajani, Azernews reports, citing Kazinform.

Italy ranks among the top 3 trading partners of Kazakhstan in the world and takes the lead among the EU countries. The sales between the two nations grew last year by 55% to hit 15 billion US dollars. Italy also ranks among the top 5 EU investors in Kazakhstan. The total flow of investments for the past 17 years rose to 7.3 billion US dollars. Last year it grew almost by 2.5 times to stand at some 300 million US dollars.

At the same time, we see significant potential to boost trade. We are ready to increase export of Kazakhstani goods to Italy (110 different items up to more than 900 million US dollars), the Prime Minister said.

In his turn, Antonio Tajani confirmed Italys readiness to strengthen cooperation with Kazakhstan in various areas prioritizing trade, energy and industry. He said the country is ready to open joint ventures, launch new Kazakh companies in Italy and set up a business council to promote cooperation. Besides, he highlighted the significance of opening the new Italian Culture Institute in Almaty to boost students exchange between the two countries.
The potential of the region is huge, president Klaus Iohannis declared, on Thursday, at the Business Forum of the Three Seas Initiative, adding that there is a need for major infrastructure development projects to continue with the involvement of other EU states, as well as from the Western Balkans and the Eastern Neighbourhood.

"Truly, by strengthening the strategic resilience of the countries in the neighbourhood of the European Union, we can really contribute to our own resilience as a whole. In order to attract and promote investment, we must take responsibility for recalibrating, strengthening and diversifying the Initiative's instruments. Initiatives supported yesterday (Wednesday, ed. n.) at summit, such as the establishment of an Innovation Fund and the creation of a successor to the current Investment Fund, can offer flexibility and perspective to the financing of innovative projects and an adequate response to the investment appetite of the region," president Iohannis said, at the opening of the 3SI Business Forum, agerpres reports.

He stated that attracting investment is a very important topic for the Forum's discussion, whether it is about the transport, the energy or the digital field.

"I encourage you to capitalize on the business-to-business and business-to-government Forum meetings so that business and investment opportunities become projects implemented quickly and efficiently," Iohannis said.The Romanian president emphasized that the major regional political objective, in the current context, is the consolidation of civil and military connectivity between the north and the south of the region, because the economic interdependence could be used dangerously against us.Iohannis mentioned that, in the context of the war against Ukraine, due to the strategic position of the Port of Constanta and the ports on the Danube, Romania turned into the largest European grain hub.The president specified that the civilian nuclear energy sector could also represent a direction of strategic interest for the Initiative, showing that through projects such as the construction of reactors 3 and 4 of the Cernavoda Power Plant and the development of the first small modular reactor plant in Europe and the second in world Romania can become an important provider of energy security regionally and for the entire European Union.He also said that, at Romania's initiative, in the last year, special attention was paid within I3M and cyber security.
Around 100 Romanians stranded on ferry in Greece, disembarked, waiting to be evacuated

Around 100 Romanians stranded on a ferry in Greece due to floods have disembarked and are to be evacuated, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) said Thursday.

According to the source, the Romanian Embassy in Athens has also maintained contact with representatives of a group of Romanian citizens stuck on a ferry on the Skiathos - Volos route, following the decision of the local Greek authorities to postpone the disembarkation of the people on the ferry until the weather conditions in the disembarkation area improve.

After their disembarkation, the port captain of Agios Konstantinos informed them, at the request of the embassy, about the evacuation options.

Ministry representatives say that on Thursday there were telephone requests for consular assistance registered with the Romanian Embassy in Athens and the Consulate General in Thessaloniki. Romanians in the areas affected by the extreme weather events said they could not continue their journey.

MAE mentions that the representatives of the two missions have recommended to the Romanian citizens concerned to respect the instructions of the local authorities, not to leave their safe locations and to immediately report (to the single number 112 and to the two Romanian missions) the development of the situation locally, as well as additional requests for support. At the same time, the Romanian citizens were informed that the authorities will act according to specific plans for such emergencies, depending on the development of weather conditions.

According to the Romanian Ministry, the Romanian Embassy in Athens and the Consulate General of Romania in Thessaloniki are permanently monitoring the situation, are in direct contact with the relevant Greek authorities (Civil Protection, Police) and with the Romanian citizens in the affected areas and are providing the necessary assistance, within the limits of their remit.

In respect with the situation in the Republic of Bulgaria, MAE informs that the Romanian Embassy in Sofia has received a request for assistance from a Romanian family of citizens staying in a tourist complex in the Tsarevo area, whose vehicle was damaged by floods. The persons in question have sufficient means of subsistence and will travel to Romania after the damage has been repaired or after an alternative means of transporting the vehicle home has been found.

MAE brings to mind that Romanian citizens can request consular assistance at the telephone numbers of the Romanian Embassy in Athens: +30 210 6728875; +30 210 6728879 and the Romanian Embassy in Sofia: +359 2 9733510, calls being redirected to the Contact and Support Centre for Romanian Citizens Abroad (CCSCRS) and answered by Call Centre operators on a permanent basis. Also, Romanian citizens facing a difficult, special, emergency situation have at their disposal the emergency telephone numbers of the diplomatic missions: Embassy of Romania in Athens : +30 6978996222 and Embassy of Romania in Sofia : +359 879 440 758.
Bucharest deputy mayor Bujduveanu proposes referendum on electric scooters, simultaneously with European Parliament elections

The deputy mayor of Bucharest Stelian Bujduveanu proposes holding a referendum, together with the European Parliament elections, in which the citizens of Bucharest can specify whether or not they want self-service electric scooters on the streets of the city, told Agerpres.

"The citizens of Bucharest must decide: With or without electric scooters on the streets of the capital! As deputy mayor general and councilor of the National Liberal Party, I drafted the Regulation for the use of scooters a year ago. The document followed all the legal steps, including the debate public, having been proposed and removed three times from the agenda of the General Council. I have thus decided that Bucharest cannot wait any longer. We are returning to the best form of democracy and I am asking the citizens of Bucharest directly, through a referendum, if they want or not self-service electric scooters on the city streets", the deputy mayor wrote on Facebook.

He proposes that the referendum take place at the same time as the European Parliament elections, on Sunday, June 9, 2024, in order to have the lowest possible costs.

Bujduveanu invites the general councilors, regardless of political affiliation, "to sign and support" this initiative.
The Romanian state institutions are deprofessionalised, the case of the fragments that could have come from a drone found in far eastern Tulcea county being "a big blunder of the Iohannis regime", the leader of Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) George Simion said Thursday in southeastern city of Ploiesti.

"It's a big blunder of the Iohannis regime, but that is what happened in the nine years of Klaus Iohannis' rule and that's probably why Mr. President is so happy and at peace with himself, for having an obedient government. (...) Neither the Orban nor the Citu governments were as obedient to Klaus Iohannis as this government is," Simion said, agerpres reports.

"I think that the Romanian state institutions are deprofessionalized and I think that the way politics has been practiced and the way political parties have operated in the last 30 years has been reflected in the quality of public institutions (...) The situation has become really bad. It's the same in the Army and in the multitude of intelligence and security services we have. (...) If we talk about corruption in different areas (...) only how many pieces of information came to our parliamentary cabinets about non-existent acquisitions for the Army... (...) It's not that they didn't know and didn't want to alarm the population, they really believed that such a case did not exist," he added.



Defence minister Angel Tilvar told AGERPRES on Wednesday that elements of an equipment "resembling drone debris" were found in Tulcea county, and the evidence will be analysed to establish the origin and characteristics of the equipment. The elements in question were found near the village of Plauru, at a distance of 70-80 meters from the Danube, in an area that is very difficult to access, with abundant vegetation, explained the minister, adding that the difference must be made between an act of aggression and an incident.
Energy is a "key area" and "we cannot allow anyone to blackmail us", Foreign Affairs minister Luminita Odobescu said on Thursday during a debate at the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) Business Forum.

Discussions at the forum focus on the three areas of cooperation in the region, namely Energy, Transport and the digital field, agerpres reports.

Odobescu said that in the context of the war in Ukraine, "dependence on an unreliable supplier" had to be stopped. Thus, "Romania's strategy was not just about Romania, but about our region".

"Our objective has been a strong coordination with our partners to guarantee energy security in our region. This has been a priority objective for Romania's energy policy. For example, my country has monitored and continues to monitor regional energy security in order to identify platforms for diversifying cooperation with reliable actors in the field. Cooperation with members of the Three Seas Initiative is relevant in the energy field. In fact, it is one of the pillars of the Initiative", said the head of the Romanian diplomacy.She said that "our region has a great potential for investments", and we "must have policies that meet investors, encourage financial growth, we must use all financial opportunities in a coherent way".
Energy minister: You double taxes for nothing if tax base drops by half

The measures that will be taken must be very well thought out, because you are doubling the taxes for nothing if the tax base drops by half, opines Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja.

"I don't envy Mr. Bolos [Marcel Bolos, Minister of Finance] and I don't dislike the fact that the rumors related to my coming to the Ministry of Finance did not come true. He has a difficult mission. Joke aside, I will certainly not comment on measures that are being speculated in the public space. I am waiting to see the final version. I have also argued that the public apparatus must be made more efficient and, as a liberal, I look first of all at the area of making expenses more efficient and only then, possibly, to discuss taxes, because you may find that certain taxes increase, but less money comes to the budget, because your tax base decreases. (...) I will see the final form of the package of measures and, certainly, apart from being an economist, I am also a party man and I will fully respect a political decision of the National Liberal Party. I think that the measures must be very well thought out, because you are doubling taxes for nothing if the tax base is halved", explained the minister when asked what was his opinion was related to the measures considered by the Government, circulated in the public space.

Sebastian Burduja gave as an example a law that he promoted as a deputy and which reduced the tax on stock market income from 10% to 1%, respectively 3%, depending on the ownership period.

"Shares held for more than a year benefit from 1% instead of 10% and withholding at source, that is, at the broker. Now, the number of investors in 2020 on the stock exchange was 50,000, today it is 160,000. If we go back, say at 10%, we can expect the number of investors to drop and then we'll apply 10% but on a lower tax base. Here's a perfect example of how you can raise taxes and find yourself with less money to the budget," said Burduja.

In the same context, when asked about a possible reduction of the subsidy for gigacalories, the minister of energy emphasized that an analysis must be done and that his main concern is the provision of hot water and heat for the people of Bucharest and mentioned that Termoenergetica has a debt of 1 billion lei to Elcen.

"Again, I will not comment on measures that have not been completed. I believe that the Government will think carefully before increasing these costs, even if I do not know if it is in order like the subsidy in Bucharest, where the standard of living is much higher than in Oradea, to be much higher than in Oradea. These are two examples that have been given in the public space. So, it's an analysis that needs to be done. With new certainty, at the Ministry of Energy, we care about keeping prices as low as possible. But, if we are talking about heating, my main concern is to ensure heat and hot water for the people of Bucharest through ELCEN, the one that produces the heating agent. And I am still waiting for Mr. Nicusor Dan to respond to an official address that I sent by a month and a half, because Termoenergetica, i.e. the City Hall's company, has a debt of 1 billion to Elcen. Elcen must buy gas before October 1. That's the law, they buy it in advance. Mr. Mayor General, please answer me," Sebastian Burduja told a meeting with the press after participating in the Business Forum of the Three Seas Initiative.
Gov't borrows RON 550.5 million on Thursday off banks

The Ministry of Finance (MF) on Thursday borrowed RON 550.5 million off banks in an issue of benchmark bonds of a residual maturity of 38 months and an average yield of 6.44% per annum, according to data published by the National Bank of Romania (BNR), told Agerpres.

The nominal value of Thursday's issue was RON 500 million, and the banks offered RON 750.5 million.

An additional auction is scheduled for Friday to borrow another RON 75 million at the yield set on Thursday for the bonds.

MP has planned for September 2023 to borrow RON 6 billion off commercial banks, to which RON 855 million can be added in additional sessions of non-competitive offers related to bond auctions.

The total amount of RON 6.855 is RON 1.61 billion higher than the one scheduled for August, of RON 5.245 billion, and it is intended for public debt refunding and government deficit financing.
In phone call, ForMin Odobescu, US SOS Blinken discuss implications of Russian attacks on Ukrainian river ports

Romania's Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu and the US Secretary of State (SOS) Antony Blinken on Thursday had a phone conversation at Blinken's request talking about the implications to Romania of the Russian attacks on the Ukrainian river ports, told Agerpres.

According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry (MAE), the head of the Romanian diplomacy welcomed the support and solidarity of the US and the other Allies with Romania and emphasised the importance of keeping NATO's attention on the developments in the Black Sea and the region.

Odobescu and Blinken mentioned the importance of continuing bilateral discussions and coordination on security issues and NATO's current agenda.

The two dignitaries highlighted the excellent level of bilateral co-operation and a common interest in new dimensions in the bilateral relationship, with emphasis on energy collaboration.

Blinken underlined solidarity with Romania and thanked for Romania's support to Ukraine, as well as for the additional measures to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian grain via Romania.

He also appreciated Romania's interest and involvement in identifying effective solutions jointly with the US, the European Commission and Ukraine.

At the same time, Blinken congratulated Romania on hosting the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) Summit, a format that is strengthened by the taking in new participants and associates while aiming to increase connectivity with the inclusion of Moldova and Ukraine.
PM Ciolacu: Romania's accession to OECD represents top priority of Gov't

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu declared on Thursday that Romania's accession to the OECD represents a top priority of the Government, told Agerpres.

The Prime Minister received, on Thursday, at the Victoria Palace, the Deputy Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Ulrik Knudsen.

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES by the Government, Marcel Ciolacu emphasized on this occasion that Romania's accession to the OECD represents a top priority of the Government, and the Deputy Secretary General of the OECD, Ulrik Knudsen, in turn, sent a message of support for Romania's efforts to join the organization.

During the discussion, the Prime Minister reconfirmed the firm commitment of the Romanian authorities for the successful completion of the accession process, respectively for the adoption of the organization's legal instruments and the alignment of national legislation, policies and practices with OECD standards, the Executive informs.

"Obtaining the status of a member of the OECD remains a strategic objective, the most important after the accession to NATO and the EU, shared and assumed by the entire political class, regardless of the changes in the leadership of the Government", the Prime Minister also declared.

The Government emphasizes that the accession process has both an internal dimension, which involves reforms, modernization and development, and an external dimension, focused on cooperation with the organization and dialogue with the member states.

"Romania is fully committed to making progress on both levels, through a sustained inter-institutional effort, similar to the one made during the process of joining the European Union", emphasized Ciolacu.

The most recent signal regarding the concrete political commitment for joining the OECD is the ratification of the Anti-Bribe Convention, one of the most important legal instruments of the OECD, the release states.

The PM also highlighted the other measures adopted internally in the sense of coordinating the sectoral approaches related to the current stage of the accession process, as well as the activity of the National Committee for Romania's accession to the OECD, which he coordinates as Prime Minister, and the role of the Foreign Ministry, which coordinates the process of Romania's accession to the OECD at the working level.

"The Deputy Secretary General of the OECD, Ulrik Knudsen, gave assurances that the Secretariat of the Organization will continue to provide our country with all the necessary support and encouraged Romania to maintain the current sustained pace of answering the evaluation questionnaires and participating in the sectoral evaluation missions within present in Bucharest on the occasion of the Summit and the Business Forum of the Three Seas Initiative, the OECD official congratulated Romania for organizing these events and highlighted Romania's contribution to the development of transport, energy and digital infrastructure in the area of the member states of the cooperation format of the Three Seas Initiative. Highlighting the correspondence of this approach with the OECD agenda, Ulrik Knudsen appreciated that Romania already demonstrates a high degree of convergence with the values, principles and objectives of the organization and makes a valuable contribution to the regional activity of the OECD", the release reads.
Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu meets Marina Wes, regional director of World Bank for EU

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu had a meeting on Thursday, at the Victoria Palace, with a World Bank (WB) delegation led by Marina Wes, regional director for the European Union, in the context of preparations for the next Country Partnership Framework (CPF) with the international financial institution, told Agerpres.

According to a press release sent by the Government, Marcel Ciolacu congratulated Marina Wes for taking over the current mandate within the WB and wished her much success. He also thanked her for the message of support and solidarity sent after the tragedy in Crevedia, on this occasion expressing his appreciation for the assistance that the World Bank provides to Romania in the field of emergency situations and regarding the construction of treatment centers for burnt people.

"We express our interest in continuing and strengthening cooperation, including in terms of supporting actions aimed at fulfilling the measures undertaken through sectoral reforms, such as the pension reform", declared Ciolacu, emphasizing that the World Bank Group represents a strategic partner for Romania.

The Prime Minister also welcomed the involvement of the World Bank Group in the region and, in particular, in Romania, by providing expertise and financial resources intended to ensure, under advantageous conditions, the financing of the liquidity needs of the budget, simultaneously with supporting the implementation of structural reforms, including those envisaged by the PNRR.

"Regarding the maintenance of macroeconomic balances in the context of the current geopolitical dynamics with economic implications, requiring sustained and coordinated efforts at the level of the authorities, including with the other states in the region, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu showed that the Government of Romania is in dialogue with the European Commission, in order to establish by mutual agreement the optimal approach. On this occasion, the head of the Government appreciated the concern of the World Bank Group in terms of aligning its actions with those undertaken at the level of the European Commission and ensuring complementarity with them. At the same time, Prime Minister Ciolacu showed that the definition of policy options in the next Country Partnership Framework must take into account the results of a dialogue and a public consultation as wide as possible, correlated with the objectives defined in the government program and those pursued by Romania as a member state of the European Union", the press release also states.

The World Bank officials highlighted the close collaboration with the partner ministries in Romania, appreciated the successes of our country and reiterated the intention of deepening the collaboration for an inclusive, ecological, prosperous and resilient Romania, the Government says.

Along with Marcel Ciolacu, Marcel Bolos, Minister of Finance, Adrian Caciu, Minister of Investments and European Projects, and Simona Bucura-Oprescu, Minister of Labor and Social Solidarity were present at the meeting.

The delegation led by Marina Wes also included Anna Akhalkatsi, country director for Romania and Hungary, Reena Badiani-Magnusson, head of the program for equitable growth, finance and institutions, and Rafael de Hoyos, head of the program for human development.
The General Inspectorate of the Border Police informs that on Wednesday, 116,796 people entered Romania through the border points, of which 13,164 were Ukrainian citizens.

According to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday, approximately 250,400 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, and more than 65,600 means of transport passed through the border points throughout the country (both inbound and outbound), agerpres reports.

Starting from February 10, 2022 (pre-conflict period), 5,940,218 Ukrainian citizens entered Romania.

In the areas of competence - the crossing points and the "green border" - the border police detected 54 illegal acts (38 crimes and 16 misdemeanors) committed by both Romanian and foreign citizens, and the value of the contravention fines applied amounts to approximately 7,600 RON.Goods were seized for confiscation in the amount of approximately 6,353,800 RON.Also on Wednesday, 31 foreign citizens who did not meet the conditions provided for by law were not allowed to enter the country and 16 Romanian citizens were not allowed to leave for various legal reasons.
Victoria Governmental Palace to be illuminated in red on World Duchenne Awareness Day

The Romanian Government joins the global campaign to support children and adults diagnosed with Duchenne and Becker muscular dystrophy and to raise awareness of the problems they face, told Agerpres.

On the occasion of World Duchenne Awareness Day, the Victoria Governmental Palace will be illuminated in red, the Executive informed on Thursday through a press release.

"I hope that this gesture of support that we are marking at the Government level will find an echo in the consciousness of as many Romanians as possible and, in particular, at the level of institutions and authorities that can support these patients with special needs. The diagnosis of muscular dystrophy should not be a hindrance in the lives of those who are faced with this condition. People diagnosed with this rare disease, which marks them from their early years of life, need the support of society and state institutions for a normal life and equal opportunities," said Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu.

He mentioned people diagnosed with this rare disease can be helped to enjoy inclusion.

"With empathy and ownership on the part of society and representatives of state authorities we can help them overcome the mobility barriers they face due to the disease and enjoy inclusion in all aspects, whether it is access to specific health and social care, access to education, access to public spaces or equal opportunities," said the PM.
E DWARDSVILLE  Man charged in death of girlfriend: Prosecutors charged a 52-year-old man on Wednesday with killing his girlfriend at a home in Troy, Illinois.

Michael S. Perham is facing two counts of first-degree murder in the death of Maha Tiimob, who was found shot multiple times at Perham's home in the 2100 block of Tramore in Troy on Tuesday, according to a news release from the Madison County prosecutor's office.

Perham is being held in the Madison County jail on a $1 million bond.

DE SOTO  Man accused of abandoning corpse: A 62-year-old Jefferson County man is accused of abandoning the body of a woman he found dead in his home in a wooded area.

Stephon L. Seidl was charged Aug. 31 with abandonment of a corpse and evidence tampering. He is accused of dumping the body of a Danielle Thomas, 35, of Park Hills, in a wooded area in unincorporated Jefferson County south of De Soto.

Thomas' cause of death is under investigation, but a sheriff's office statement said there were no signs of trauma to the body or evidence of a homicide.

Seidl told investigators that Thomas had been staying in a spare bedroom of his home in the 5200 block of Old Engledow Road, but when he arrived home on Aug. 29 he found her unresponsive and cold to the touch, charging documents say.

Two witnesses found Thomas' body the next day abandoned in a wooded area about 2.5 miles from Seidl's home in the 14300 block of Old Engledow, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office said in a statement that evidence shows Seidl also cleaned up the room where he found Seidl's body.

Seidl is being held on a $20,000 bond in the case.

LINCOLN COUNTY  Woman killed in crash: A 22-year-old Lake Saint Louis woman died late Tuesday when she ran her car off the road in Lincoln County.

Saraya Sanders was driving south on North Lindsey Road near State Highway 47 around 11:30 p.m. when she crossed the center lane and overcorrected her car, police said.

She ran off the right side of the road, struck a guardrail, went into the air, into a creek, struck a rock and overturned. Police said she was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

ST. LOUIS  Officer injured in crash: A police officer early Wednesday suffered minor injuries when he lost control of his car and struck a median on Interstate 70 near Salisbury Street.

The officer struck "large debris" on the highway around 3:45 a.m., police said. He then lost control of the car and struck a median.

His injuries were described as minor and he was taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.

JENNINGS  Woman killed in crash: A Hazelwood woman died late Tuesday in a crash on Interstate 70 near Jennings Station Road.

Kineka Clark, 42, was driving westbound on the highway around 10:30 p.m. when she lost control of her Ford Crown Victoria, police said.

She struck the left side of a westbound Lexus GS, sending both cars off the right side of the road. The Ford then rolled and struck a light police, according to a police report.

Clark was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Her passenger, a 21-year-old man, was injured and taken to a hospital.

The driver of the Lexus, a 35-year-old woman, was also injured.
Katara is a 10-month-old pit bull terrier mix who came to the Humane Society of Missouri as an owner surrender in late May. She is a happy pup who loves to interact with people. Trainers recommend an active household for Katara.

To adopt  Call the Macklind Avenue Headquarters at 314-951-1562, or visit hsmo.org/adopt.

Jon Hammlet was born at Longmeadow Rescue Ranch after his mom had been rescued from a hoarding case in Iron County in August 2020. He can be a little shy when meeting new people but comes out of his shell in time.

To adopt  Call Longmeadow Rescue Ranch in Union at 636-583-8759 to schedule an interview.

Olive is an 11-year-old yellow Labrador retriever mix who came to the Humane Society of Missouri from its Animal Cruelty Task Force with a litter of puppies. Shes a sweet gal and is so ready to live out her golden years in a forever home.

To adopt  Call the Best Buddy Pet Center in Maryland Heights at 314-951-1588, or visit hsmo.org/adopt.

Last weeks pets  Dogs named Leo and Charlie Swan and a goat named Shania are still available for adoption.

More info  You can support these pets and others by making a donation at hsmo.org/donate.
CREVE COEUR  Kat Dunkus was doing better. She had moved in with her niece after completing an alcoholic treatment program two years ago. The program helped her learn better ways to cope with her schizophrenia and trauma.

She was trying to find her way back to more stability. She was trying to find happiness for herself, said her niece Rachael Benns, 31, of Creve Coeur. She kept saying, Im finally in a safe place.

That was until April 21, when a schizophrenic episode landed Dunkus, 48, in the emergency room at Mercy St. Louis in Creve Coeur. Once inside, she was taken to the emergency departments behavioral health unit for patients in a mental health crisis.

The unit is locked and separated from the rest of the emergency department. Little to no medical care is provided there, as patients wait, often for several hours, for an open bed in a psychiatric facility.

At 7 a.m. the next day, Dunkus was found dead. An autopsy released June 12 revealed she died of complications related to long-term alcohol abuse. Her heart had failed.

Hospital workers directly involved with the care of patients in Mercys emergency behavioral health units say how Dunkus was treated exemplifies the poor conditions inside these units.

It was not a matter of if this would happen. It was a matter of when, said one worker.

The worker was one of four, including a nurse, who spoke on background to the Post-Dispatch, citing concerns about losing their jobs if they were named.

Dunkus family members say they have been given few answers from the hospital. Her medical records, copies of which her family provided to the Post-Dispatch, indicate numerous medical concerns, leaving them with more questions.

The records show Dunkus had dangerously low potassium  an electrolyte that can affect the hearts electrical signals. An electrocardiogram (EKG) showed she had a concerning heart rhythm. Her blood pressure was high.

Benns said she also told doctors about her aunts history of alcohol abuse and how she had been complaining of chest pains.

Yet Dunkus was kept in the behavioral health unit with no heart monitoring, her records show. The only treatment she received was intravenous fluid containing potassium and magnesium. No medications or devices were used that could help regulate her heart.

That wasnt the appropriate place for her to be, said her sister Cheryl Ketter, 56, of Ferguson. You cant just shove them into a corner somewhere and think that they are OK.

The autopsy report notes that Dunkus was last seen alive at 11 p.m.  eight hours before her dead body was discovered. From a central nurses station, she was supposedly observed every 15 minutes via a video camera.

All they did was just leave her in a room, said her niece Rose Taylor, 25, of Mehlville.

Mercy officials say federal privacy laws prevent them from speaking about Dunkus death. In response to allegations about the quality of care provided by its emergency departments, hospital officials only released a general statement.

Officials insisted that all patients coming into a Mercy emergency department are appropriately screened to rule out emergency medical conditions and to determine if any tests or procedures are needed.

Patients are safe, they say, despite higher numbers they are having to care with behavioral health issues.

Patients are monitored by nursing and other personnel throughout the ED visit to ensure their safety, the statement read. Increasingly, due to lack of access to mental health resources across the U.S., high-volume emergency departments such as Mercy have become a regular source of care for patients who are often in crisis situations.

A difficult life

It was important to Dunkus to be at the births of every one of her 11 nieces and nephews. She babysat any time she could and hosted sleepovers.

She was always that aunt that was there for a lot of us, Benns said.

Dunkus was one of five siblings who grew up in the St. Louis area. As children, they ended up in foster care after their mother left and their father couldnt take care of them on his own, though he remained close with them.

Dunkus medical record shows her father also had schizophrenia, a serious mental illness that typically manifests in early adulthood and can cause hallucinations, delusions and extremely disordered thinking.

The five children were split up in foster care. Dunkus stayed with Benns and Taylors mother as well as their uncle. Life was difficult, Taylor said, but they had each other.

Their mom learned about her sisters schizophrenia and helped keep the symptoms at bay. Benns and Taylor said they rarely saw their aunt experience delusions.

Dunkus earned a degree in human resource management, Benns said. She worked various customer service jobs, where she enjoyed helping people. She loved photography. She was proud of her Native American heritage on her mothers side and was a registered member of the Oglala Lakota tribe.

But Dunkus also struggled with alcoholism, which often goes hand-in-hand with schizophrenia as a way to cope with the symptoms. It contributed to ending her 15-year marriage around 2016 and strained family relationships.

In 2010, Dunkus sister  Benns and Taylors mother  died. That was followed by the death of her brother in 2018 and father in 2020.

The deaths really took a toll on her, Benns said. She was trying to find her way back to more stability.

Two years ago, Benns agreed to let Dunkus move in with her after she completed an alcohol treatment program. Dunkus came out healthy and hopeful, Benns said.

Benns and Taylor said they had watched their mother gradually get sicker as she was in and out of the hospital. It was different with their aunt.

Looking back on my mom, you could see it coming, Taylor said. But with Kat, she was doing so much better.

Eight hours?

Two days before ending up in the emergency room, Dunkus began feeling paranoid, Benns said. The next day, she was hearing voices. Dunkus thought people were recording her. She was scared someone was coming to take her to prison. She accused Benns and her boyfriend of drugging her.

Benns said Dunkus admitted she had gone to a bar and was drinking again. Benns scheduled a doctor appointment for the following day.

The morning of the appointment, however, Dunkus left the apartment and ended up nearby at the Jewish Community Center, where an employee called police at 10:46 a.m., according to the police call log. Officers arrived a minute later to find Dunkus sitting in an office.

Police called Benns. The officer had called for an ambulance, which Benns followed to the hospital.

No police report was written, but Benns said part of the reason why police called for an ambulance was because her aunt said she had chest pain. Dunkus medical records show she arrived at Mercy St. Louis at 11:44 a.m. for psychological evaluation.

Benns said Dunkus was taken straight to the locked behavioral health unit within the emergency department.

Benns found her aunt getting her blood drawn and in what her nurse called a catatonic state  she was making tense, unusual movements, such as holding up her leg or her mouth open.

Benns said she talked to a doctor about her aunts chest pains. The doctor told her he would order an EKG of her heart and a CT scan of her organs.

Dunkus bloodwork revealed she had no alcohol or drugs in her system, according to the medical records, but her potassium level was dangerously low  2.7  placing her at higher risk of cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heart rhythm). Normal is 3.5 to 5.2. Anything lower than 3 is considered severe.

Dunkus refused to take pills or eat, so she was given an intravenous bag of fluids to raise the level, which requires continuous monitoring, guidelines show, to ensure safety.

Benns and Taylor stayed with her for several hours. The EKG machine was brought into the room, they said. To go to her CT scan, Dunkus had to be lifted into a wheelchair. She was quiet.

She was slightly responsive, or she wouldnt talk, Taylor said.

Benns and Taylor said the only concern staff shared with them was her potassium level was low, and the goal was to raise the level so she could be admitted to an in-patient psychiatric facility.

Dunkus eventually wanted her nieces to leave, thinking they were trying to hurt her, they said. They didnt want to scare her, so around 7 p.m., the two left the hospital.

I love you, and I hope you know we just want you to be safe and happy, Taylor said she told her.

Benns, the main contact, was expecting to get updates throughout the night. Instead, Taylor got a got a call from a chaplain at 7 a.m. the next morning saying her aunt had died.

At the hospital, Taylor said a doctor and a nurse told her that her aunt was last checked on at 11 p.m.

In my head, Im like, Eight hours? Is that normal? she recalled. That is the only thing that stuck in my head, them telling me eight hours. They couldnt even tell me when she died.

Complications

The hospital reported the death to the St. Louis County Medical Examiners office, which is required by law in cases where the cause of death cannot be established. The office decided an autopsy was needed.

The examination concluded that the cause of death was complications from chronic alcohol abuse. The years of drinking had caused the ventricles of her heart to become thin and stretched.

When that happens, explained St. Louis County Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Joshua Akers, the electrical impulses that travel through the heart kind of get lost or travel slower.

That can create a cardiac arrhythmia, and a serious arrhythmia can be fatal, Akers said. The body is starved of blood and oxygen.

Death can occur in less than five minutes, he said.

One of the first signs of a severe arrhythmia would be losing consciousness, Akers said. If a person was sleeping, there might not be any signs.

After Dunkus lifeless body was discovered, CPR was administered along with two doses of epinephrine, records show. No heart activity was ever detected. She was pronounced dead at 7:07 a.m.

A doctor called to the bedside wrote no recent vital signs available. The doctor also described the body as gray, cold to touch, had swelling on her back, medical records show.

Akers said such descriptions can be subjective and theres no way of knowing the time of death.

The workers say Dunkus should not have been kept in the behavioral health unit.

After her arrival, Dunkus blood pressure was 140/100 and heart rate was 110 beats per minute  both high. Lab results came quickly, revealing the dangerously low potassium.

An EKG was completed within about two hours. The test showed a QTc interval  the time it takes for the heart to contract and recover  of 492. The interval is considered prolonged if greater than 460 in women, research shows, and 500 predicts an increased risk of life-threatening cardiac events.

Dunkus long-term and recent alcohol use were noted in the medical records, and the CT scan results showed liver disease consistent with chronic alcohol use.

No observations were noted after 2:18 p.m., when Dunkus was marked as stable. Her last vital signs were taken at 1:04 p.m. Her blood pressure was still 142/92.

Dunkus blood was analyzed again, but the sample was damaged, possibly skewing the results that were released from the lab around 10:30 p.m., the records show.

Benns said after calling the hospital to try and learn more about how her aunt died, she was eventually told that Dunkus was watched via a video monitor and because she appeared to be sleeping, no one physically checked her because they didnt want to wake her.

A travel emergency room nurse who has worked in hospital systems in the St. Louis area says when she sees patients with a history of alcohol abuse in the behavioral unit, she is adamant they be moved to a medical bed because of how quickly they can deteriorate.

If you have a patient who is an alcoholic, I absolutely will not take them on the behavioral health side. I will stomp my feet, throw a fit. No way, she said. They turn too quickly, they do.

Just touch them

The Mercy workers who spoke to the Post-Dispatch about Dunkus death described the behavioral health units at both Mercy St. Louis and its sister hospital Mercy South.

At Mercy St. Louis, workers say, the unit includes nine patient rooms. Some basic medical equipment is kept behind locked doors in rooms, as well as a toilet. Patients can receive intravenous fluids. The central nurses station sits behind a high counter.

Mercy South includes 10 rooms, four of which are in an overflow wing. The patients share a bathroom in the hallway. The nurses station sits in a closed room with windows. No medical equipment is kept in the rooms, and family members are not allowed.

Patients in the units wear scrubs. Beds are bolted to the floor. Nothing can be in the rooms that can be used to hurt themselves or others. Doors to patient rooms must remain unlocked.

The units are staffed with a nurse, one patient care technician (two if patients are in the overflow wing) and a security guard.

Patients coming into the emergency room are supposed to be medically screened first and have blood drawn to check for abnormalities and drugs in their system before being sent to the units, the workers say.

Ive had them come straight from EMS, straight back here, and Im like Look, nuh uh, this patient needs to go over there, medically should be over there, and they wont take them back , said the nurse. But we have open rooms  thats how its looked at. The behavioral has open rooms, use them. And Im like, But I cant monitor them.

Patients in the behavioral units should be able to walk, speak, use the bathroom and have no medical needs, she said, meaning that for the most part, other than their mental health, they are healthy.

But patients are sometimes sent there who are incontinent or in wheelchairs, the workers say. Some are not in mental crisis but emotional from grieving a death or an injury. Staff use the units as a way to reduce wait times, they say.

There are times when a patient is highly agitated and being on a locked unit is the safest path for sure, and they need to get them over there quickly. We all understand that. But that is not how the unit is used, one worker said.

That makes it harder for the one nurse staffing the unit to keep a watchful eye on all the patients, the nurse said. I cant chart, I cant look at orders, I cant get the meds, do all that, plus look at the monitors, make sure everybody is OK, make sure I order meals and get the meals up here to them. You are only one person, you can only do so much.

Patients in mental crisis who also have medical needs, the workers say, are supposed to be cared for in a medical room with a sitter continually watching them and noting their condition every 15 minutes  such as sleeping, calm or agitated.

Routine in-person checks should also happen in the behavioral health units, but instead patients are observed via a screen from the nurses station or not at all, as workers say they have caught patient care technicians doing homework or searching the internet.

How hard is it to get up every 15 minutes to do a safety check? It is their actual job, and they cant get up to check? said one worker.

The nurse says patients should have their vital signs taken at least every two hours. Patients can refuse to have them taken, but staff should continue to try. And if a patient hasnt moved after an hour, she said, they need to be checked physically.

I have to count a lot on the (patient care) techs, she said, and if they are like, Oh, they are fine, they are sleeping, Ill say, When was the last time you went in there? I need you to be in there and just try to wake them up, just touch them, see if they move, whatever.

But, she said, she understands that dealing with patients in mental crisis can be extremely challenging, exhausting and dangerous. She and others have been attacked by patients.

Mercy officials, in their statement, encouraged workers to report concerns to Mercys internal safety event reporting system, used to address concerns related to patient care and workplace conditions:

We rely on our co-workers, patients and visitors to be the eyes and ears to report events and give us the opportunity to address any issues and create a safer environment for all.

Benns and Taylor said while at the hospital, staff never told them the results of their aunts EKG or CT scan. The severity of the low potassium was never explained. We should have been given this information so that we could advocate for her care, Taylor said.

They also dont understand why Dunkus chest pains were not noted in her medical record.

Their best solution for how to care for a catatonic patient with concerning health issues was to leave her in a room for eight hours, Taylor said. It really hurts us to know this is how someone we loved was treated.

_____
Joe Holleman Metro reporter Follow Joe Holleman 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

Abbas Alawieh, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Cori Bush since she took office in 2021, told staffers he is ankling that post immediately.

In an email sent Thursday afternoon, Alawieh said his time has come to an end as Bushs staff boss. He said he was stepping down to prioritize an urgent family matter.

Taking over for Alawieh will be Lynese Wallace, who has been the deputy chief of staff chief since Bush went to Congress.

Alawieh said he is confident that Wallace will continue to lead the offices mission to do the most for every person in Missouris First (District), starting with those who have the greatest need.

Alawieh joined Bushs staff after serving a year as legislative director for U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan.

Wallace, who also has worked as Bushs legislative director, joined the Bush staff after having served as a policy adviser to U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts.

Bush, Tlaib and Presley all are considered to be members of The Squad, a group of activist legislators who often espouse the same progressive political positions.
Joe Holleman Metro reporter Follow Joe Holleman 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

So hes saying hes got a chance ...

The political camp of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lucas Kunce has let fly some polling results  admittedly commissioned by Kunces campaign  which show that if any Republican can lose statewide in Missouri, it may be incumbent U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley.

The poll was taken in mid-August by GQR, a D.C.-based Democratic polling and opinion research firm. It used responses from 863 Missourians likely to vote in statewide races in 2024.

The pollsters concluded that a Kunce-Hawley showdown next year could be a competitive contest.

The bottom line: Hawley leads Kunce, 44% to 43%. Given the polls margin of error, about 3%, the worst-case scenario for the challenger is about 47% to 40%.

To be sure, Kunce is not the only Democrat making a run at Hawley. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, state Sen. Karla May of St. Louis and Columbia activist December Harmon also have filed for the primary.

Given the undecided amount in the poll, about 12%, the firm says Kunces candidacy has room to grow. And to foster that growth, numbers show Kunce could use some love from labor, of the union kind.

The poll points out that when Hawley was elected in November 2018, he garnered 51.5% of the statewide vote in a race against Democrat U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.

But in the August primary just months before, an anti-union, right-to-work proposal  which Hawley supported  was defeated by 67.5% of the voters.

Then, a minimum-wage hike proposal on the November ballot  which Hawley opposed  was approved by 62% of the voters.

Kunce backers contend that those results show a willingness among Missouri voters to split their ticket when it comes to issues involving unions.

And little doubt exists that organized labor in Missouri is marching behind Kunce.

The Missouri AFL-CIO was quick out of the chute earlier this year to endorse Kunce, and then staunchly reaffirmed that endorsement when Bell entered the race.

Kunce also got the nod from the construction trade councils from St. Louis and Kansas City; the Missouri State Council of Fire Fighters, which in the past has endorsed Republicans; and a number of guilds representing electricians, iron workers, bricklayers, roofers, tilers and insulators.

He also has the backing of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 655, the states largest private-sector union.

Local president David Cook said Hawleys positions on right-to-work and minimum wage show that he has lost touch with his constituents, especially working-class voters.

Cook said his unions support was not merely a case of sharing political dogma. Were behind Lucas Kunce because, as this poll shows, he can make this race competitive, and he can win.

Hawleys campaign could not be reached Wednesday for comment. But thats not saying Hawley doesnt grasp the importance of unions in Missouri, at least in an online sense.

Heres to the men and women who built America - the farmers, the roughnecks, the welders, the millworkers, the pipe fitters, the ironworkers: the men and women who poured blood and sweat into their craft to drive our country forward. Happy #LaborDay  Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 4, 2023

On Labor Day, Hawley posted: Heres to the men and women who built America  the farmers, the roughnecks, the welders, the millworkers, the pipe fitters, the ironworkers: the men and women who poured blood and sweat into their craft to drive our country forward.
DE SOTO  A 62-year-old Jefferson County man is accused of abandoning in a wooden area the body of a woman he found dead in his home.

Stephon L. Seidl was charged Aug. 31 with abandonment of a corpse and evidence tampering. He is accused of dumping the body of a Danielle Thomas, 35, of Park Hills, in a wooded area in unincorporated Jefferson County south of De Soto.

Thomas' cause of death is under investigation, but a sheriff's office statement said there were no signs of trauma to the body or evidence of a homicide.

Seidl told investigators that Thomas had been staying in a spare bedroom of his home in the 5200 block of Old Engledow Road, but when he arrived home on Aug. 29 he found her unresponsive and cold to the touch, charging documents say.

Two witnesses found Thomas' body the next day abandoned in a wooded area about 2 miles from Seidl's home in the 14300 block of Old Engledow Road, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff's office said in a statement that Seidl also cleaned up the room where he found Seidl's body.

Seidl is being held on a $20,000 bond in the case.
ST. LOUIS  Blues forward Kasperi Kapanen has been accused of aggravated drunken driving in Finland, according to Finnish national media.

Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported Thursday the case was brought to court in late August but provided few details. Further information is expected to be released after a court hearing set for February.

Kapanen, 27, said in a statement he made an "unacceptable error in judgement" and said he would "take full responsibility."

"I offer my apologies to my family, the Blues organization, my teammates and the fans," he said. "I understand the severity of my mistake and am committed to doing everything I can to earn back their trust."

Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong said in a statement that he had spoken with Kapanen and was "disappointed in his lapse of judgment" but said the team was "entrusting him to make the necessary changes to avoid putting himself in a similar situation in the future."

In Finland, drunk driving cases are considered aggravated if the driver's blood-alcohol content is above a certain limit.

Kapanen was claimed off waivers by the Blues in the middle of last season after playing more than seven years with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins. He appeared in 23 games for the Blues, scoring eight goals and recording six assists.

Kapanen was born in Kuopio, Finland and played for the country's national team.

Matthew DeFranks of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

Editor's note: Updated at 7:15 p.m. Thursday with a statement from Kapanen and the Blues.
ST. LOUIS  With data covering hundreds of thousands of government employees, the Post-Dispatch has published the 2023 edition of its annual Public Pay database.

You can find the database at stltoday.com/pay.

The Post-Dispatch submitted requests for payroll records covering more than 120 government agencies, ranging from small towns to school districts to the states of Missouri and Illinois.

The searchable database shows each employees gross pay for the 2022 calendar year  the total amount earned, plus overtime and any other additional pay. It also gives other helpful information, such as the median pay at each agency or department.

Search the Post-Dispatch's Public Pay database Search our Public Pay database to learn how much thousands of St. Louis-area teachers, mayors, police, engineers and other government employee

This is the first year the database includes pay information from Explore St. Louis, the regional convention and visitors commission; as well as Great Rivers Greenway, the metropolitan park and recreation district.

And, responding to reader requests, the Post-Dispatch has resumed using statewide teacher pay data from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, covering educators in every public school and charter school in the state. This reverses a change made in the 2021 edition of the database.

In Missouri and Illinois, payroll information is considered an open record, and state laws require that public agencies release it upon request.

Most agencies provided the Post-Dispatch with the data it asked for, but not all.

Some had good reason, including five small municipalities in St. Louis County that dont pay any full-time employees or elected officials  Bellerive Acres, Champ, Country Life Acres, Huntleigh and Westwood.

One city, Country Club Hills, did not provide records until after the Post-Dispatch published the database.

Editors note: This story was updated on Sept. 8 after Country Club Hills provided data in response to the Post-Dispatchs request.

Originally published 6:45 a.m., Sept. 7, 2023.
JEFFERSON CITY  U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley on Thursday called for a fresh evaluation of a St. Louis transgender clinics practices following a recent investigation into the center.

Hawley, a Missouri Republican, called on Washington University and BJC HealthCare to scrutinize the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Childrens Hospital once again after The New York Times on Aug. 23 published an investigation into claims by Jamie Reed, a whistleblower who had worked at the clinic as a case manager between 2018 and 2022.

The New York Times investigation in some cases contradicted previous representations Washington University and BJC HealthCare made to the senators office, Hawley said in a Thursday letter.

Reed in February had claimed that staff at the center too freely prescribed medications and did not properly explain the side effects.

Washington University in April said that it had identified no adverse physical reactions caused by medicine prescribed there, and that mental health care had been prioritized. The school said it was operating according to the currently accepted standard of care.

Then, in August, the Times reported a St. Louis patient named Alex who posted a warning on Reddit about the St. Louis transgender clinic. The patient, who has detransitioned, shared her medical records with the Times.

The patient reported coming to the clinic in 2017 as a 15-year-old, and that she received a prescription for testosterone after one visit with Dr. Christopher Lewis, a pediatric endocrinologist who helped lead the center when it opened that year, the Times reported.

There was no actual speaking to a psychiatrist or another therapist or even a case worker, Alex wrote on Reddit.

Alex said she didnt regret taking testosterone but that overall, there was a major lack of care and consideration for me, the Times reported.

The Times also reported the center struggled to deal with a surge of patients last year and brought in outside help for mental evaluations to determine whether patients should receive hormonal medications.

The Times report invites further scrutiny into previous statements contained in the Universitys internal review of the Center, Hawley said Thursday.

For example, the review states that University physicians and Center staff treat patients according to the currently accepted standard of care, the senator said.

But, according to text messages the Times obtained, the Centers lead physician said he had no idea how to meet what would be the most intensive interpretations of the latest standard of care  raising questions about the procedures and processes actually employed at the Center, Hawley said.

Hawley said that Times reporting on mental health evaluations being outsourced to therapists, some of whom had little experience on gender issues, undermined the universitys claim that mental health care and counseling is a priority at the center.

A spokeswoman for Washington University did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
JEFFERSON CITY  A new psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents is being planned for the St. Louis region as part of a funding agreement approved by Gov. Mike Parson in July.

The state is spending $7.5 million to jump-start a fundraising effort by KVC Missouri, a not-for-profit mental health provider that took over the Webster Groves-based operation of Great Circle in April.

The aim is to add 48 acute hospital beds and 16 specialized residential treatment beds in a region that has less than 50% of the private psychiatric beds needed to support children, causing delays in admissions, waiting lists and long travel times for families, KVC said in a statement.

DMH welcomes additional capacity to support kids in Missouri, said Debra Walker, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Mental Health.

Initial details of the project were released about six months after Great Circle agreed to pay a $1.8 million fine to the federal government for overbilling.

Kansas-based KVC Health Systems has 2,400 mental health professionals nationwide across 60 locations in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

According to KVC, the new facility is expected to serve more than 2,500 children ages six to 18 per year.

Services at the hospital will include mental health assessments, intensive psychiatric care, medication management and individual, family and group therapy sessions.

The hospital also will teach young people about their brains and how to regulate their emotions, the organization said in a statement.

The estimated project cost is $15 million. KVC is seeking matching funds from public and private philanthropic organizations to finance the remaining half of the cost.

Michelle Lawrence, vice president for development at KVC, said a specific site for the 30,000-square-foot facility has not been determined.

Were assessing a variety of options, Lawrence said. It could be that we renovate the space we have. Thats certainly an option.

Walker said neither Parson nor the Department of Mental Health requested the funding, which was inserted into the states $51 billion spending plan by lawmakers in May.

The department also received $300 million to build a new psychiatric hospital in Kansas City and $171 million to boost pay for direct care providers in residential programs for people with developmental disabilities.

Walker also said the agency was not involved in the investigations that led to the fine being levied against Great Circle.

The penalty was assessed as part of a probe that included a raid on the facility by the FBI and the arrest of three employees on suspicion of child abuse or failing to report it.

As part of the agreement, Great Circle admitted falsely claiming to have provided enhanced services for six residents between 2019 and 2020.

The feds and state officials, however, agreed to not prosecute Great Circle because of the nonprofits cooperation and the civil settlement agreement.

Plus, officials said, a criminal conviction could jeopardize services provided to youths.

Great Circle, one of the largest behavioral health organizations for troubled youths in the state at the time, started in 1832 as a home for orphans from the cholera epidemic.

Along with agreeing to cooperate in future health care fraud probes, Great Circle under KVC Missouri also agreed to bolster its in-house ethics program.
JEFFERSON CITY  Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and lawyers for those suing to overturn the states restrictions on transgender medical care are clashing over whether a new judge should be assigned to oversee the case.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer last month ruled a law barring gender-affirming care for minors, and banning Medicaid payments for such treatment for adults, could take effect as both sides continued to argue their cases in court.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case  including doctors, LGBTQ+ organizations, and three families of transgender minors  on Tuesday asked Ohmer to assign a new judge in the case, following his order last month against temporarily blocking the law.

The plaintiffs, in their Tuesday filing, said they are exercising their right to one change of judge pursuant to a Missouri Supreme Court rule. But in response, the Missouri attorney generals office said Wednesday the other side had already exhausted its right to a change of judge.

A hearing in the case is scheduled for Sept. 22.

In a post Wednesday on the social media site X, Bailey accused the plaintiffs of shopping for a more favorable venue after a major loss in court last month.

He said the ACLU of Missouri and Lambda Legal, which are representing plaintiffs in the case, are forum shopping to evade our decisive legal victory in court.

Its an embarrassing attempt to skirt the law after theyve already used their one permitted change of judge, Bailey said. They wont get away with it. Not on my watch.

In their Tuesday motion, the plaintiffs said the case was originally assigned to Cole County Circuit Judge Cotton Walker, and that the attorney generals office requested a change of judge.

The case then was assigned to Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green, who recused himself, and then to Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem, the filing said.

Beetem, the plaintiffs said, couldnt meet that sides request for a three-day evidentiary hearing on the motion for preliminary injunction prior to the law taking effect on Aug. 28.

So the Missouri Supreme Court assigned Ohmer to the case.

Plaintiffs have not yet exercised their right to apply for a change of judge, attorneys with the ACLU, Lambda Legal and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner said Tuesday.

Not so, the Missouri attorney generals office said Wednesday.

The state said in a court filing that plaintiffs exercised and exhausted their right to one change of judge in early August.

Green recused himself from the case after the plaintiffs said Aug. 3 they will ask for another judge if he is assigned.

Plaintiffs expressly informed the Court that they will take the change of judge if it is assigned to Judge Green, the state said. The case was then assigned to Judge Green, who clearly took Plaintiff at their word and entered a quick recusal.

Bailey said the other side also requested a second change of judge, noting the plaintiffs request for a ruling on the preliminary injunction prior to Aug. 28.

Because Beetem couldnt accommodate that schedule, he asked the Supreme Court to reassign the case, Baileys office said.

Having already obtained not just one but two changes of judge (one as of right  and one discretionary), Plaintiffs seek yet another bite at the apple, the state said.

The plaintiffs, in their lawsuit, argued the law, approved this year by Missouris Republican-controlled Legislature, was discriminatory.

But Ohmer ruled Aug. 25 that the plaintiffs arguments were unpersuasive and not likely to succeed.

The science and medical evidence is conflicting and unclear. Accordingly, the evidence raises more questions than answers, Ohmer wrote in his ruling. As a result, it has not clearly been shown with sufficient possibility of success on the merits to justify the grant of a preliminary injunction.

The law allows minors currently receiving puberty blockers or hormone therapy to continue with treatment. The law expires in August 2027.

One plaintiff, a 10-year-old transgender boy, had not yet started puberty and consequently had not yet started taking puberty blockers.

His family was worried he will begin puberty after the law took effect, meaning he would not be grandfathered in and will not have access to puberty blockers for the next four years until the law sunsets.

Proponents of the law argued gender-affirming medical treatments are unsafe and untested.

Baileys office wrote in a court brief that blocking the law would open the gate to interventions that a growing international consensus has said may be extraordinarily damaging.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
ST. LOUIS  After months of delays, a long-awaited tiny home village for homeless veterans is on the verge of welcoming its first residents.

Rebecca Tallman, executive director at the Veterans Community Projects St. Louis site, said Wednesday she hopes to welcome the first five veterans into transitional housing within the next 30 days.

Theyll likely be moving into one of a half-dozen homes completed so far on a patch of land off North Grand Boulevard in the citys Jeff-Vander-Lou neighborhood.

Tallman said the plan is have 14 more done by the end of the year. Half of the initial 20 homes will be 240-square-foot models for single occupants; the other half will be 320 square feet and designed for families of up to five.

The Veterans Community Project, based in Kansas City, had initially hoped to start welcoming veterans last fall. But a long wait for a electrical junction box at the sites outreach center threw a wrench in that plan, Tallman said.

The outreach center, where veterans will be welcome to stop by for food and other resources regardless of whether they live in one of the tiny homes, is done now. Staff moved in six weeks ago, and started preparing in earnest for the first arrivals.

The goal of the village is to offer homeless veterans temporary housing where they can be connected with services and community to help them get back on their feet.

Staffers aim to get the veterans into their own places within two years, Tallman said.

The average stay at Veterans Community Project sites across the country is just over 13 months, and the organization boasts an 85% success rate in getting clients into permanent housing.
At only 7 years old, Aspen Brown made one of the biggest discoveries of the year at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.

Aspen, of Paragould, Arkansas, unearthed a 2.95-carat brown diamond Sept. 1 at the popular park, where visitors are allowed to hunt for real diamonds.

She got hot and wanted to sit down for a minute, so she walked over to some big rocks by the fence line, Aspens dad, Luther Brown, said, TXK Today reported. Next thing I know, she was running to me, saying Dad! Dad! I found one!

The brown diamond was the second-largest rock found at the park this year, according to Arkansas State Parks. A 3.29-carat diamond discovered in March by David Anderson is the biggest found this year and the largest since 2021.

Aspens rock, which KAIT reported is about the size of a green pea, also features a sparkling luster, said Waymon Cox, assistant park superintendent.

It is a complete crystal, with no broken facets and a small crevice on one side, created when the diamond was formed, Cox said, KAIT reported. Its certainly one of the most beautiful diamonds Ive seen in recent years.

The massive brown diamond has received an appropriate name by its discoverer  Aspen Diamond. Aspens mom said in a Facebook post her daughter wrote her name down in the books of being one of the youngest to ever find a diamond at the park.

More than 35,000 diamonds have been found at Crater of Diamonds by visitors since it became a state park in 1972. The park allows visitors to keep whatever they found.

Crater of Diamonds is in Murfreesboro, about 90 miles southwest of Little Rock.

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DUBLIN  Irelands Smurfit Kappa and U.S. rival WestRock agreed to merge on Tuesday to create the worlds largest listed paper and packaging company worth nearly $20 billion.

Smurfit Kappa shares were down 10% while in pre-market trade WestRock was up 7.2% as analysts said the premium being paid by Europes biggest paper and packaging firm was higher than most of its investors had hoped for.

WestRock stockholders will get one share in the new company, called Smurfit WestRock, and $5 in cash for each share they hold, which works out to $43.51 per share, the companies said in a statement.

Analysts at JP Morgan and Jefferies questioned the 36% premium to WestRocks $31.88 Sept. 6 closing price  the day before the talks were disclosed. JP Morgan said most investors it had spoken to had assumed a 15%-20% premium.

Smurfit Kappa CEO Tony Smurfit, who will assume the same role in the new company alongside his CFO Ken Bowles and chair Irial Finan, called the deal a defining moment within the global packaging industry.

Smurfit Kappa shareholders will receive one new Smurfit WestRock share for each share they hold. They are expected to own around 50.4% of the new company following completion of the deal, expected in the second quarter of 2024.

Packaging firms benefited from a boom in demand for goods and e-commerce during COVID-19 lockdowns but have struggled to match those volumes since consumers resumed spending on services and producers started cutting back packaged stocks.

Smurfit, which operates in 22 European countries and 13 in South, Central and North America, reported a fall in first-half core profit last month as it struggled to offset the decline in volumes.

However, it said that the first increase in shipments of its boxes in Europe in a year suggested inventory reductions by customers were coming to an end and that there will be scope to increase box prices again as demand recovers.

While WestRock beat Wall Street expectations for third-quarter profit, it said it remained focused on streamlining its portfolio and further reducing costs.

JP Morgan estimated the combined entity would have market shares of around 20% in the corrugated packaging market in Europe and North America, where WestRock is the second-largest player.

The companies had a combined adjusted core profit of $5.5 billion and revenue of about $34 billion for the year ended June 30, which would make Smurfit WestRock the largest listed global packaging group by revenue, the companies statement said.

The combined entity will target pre-tax cost savings of more than $400 million at the end of the first full year following completion at a one-off cash cost of around $235 million.

That could make the deal more than 20% accretive to Smurfit Kappas earnings per share, the statement added.

Smurfit WestRock will be domiciled in low tax Ireland with its global headquarters in Dublin. It will be listed in New York and also have a standard listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Smurfit Kappa will de-list from Euronext Dublin, the latest blow for the Irish bourse as building materials giant CRH prepares to leave later this month.

_____

Our earlier story published on Sept. 7.

DUBLIN  Smurfit Kappa is in discussions to merge with U.S. rival WestRock, the Irish firm said on Thursday, in a tie-up of two of the worlds largest paper and packaging producers.

The combined entity would be named Smurfit WestRock and domiciled in Ireland with its global headquarters in Dublin, Smurfit said in a statement. It would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

It did not disclose the possible financial terms of a deal and said definitive terms would be set out in a further announcement. Any deal would be subject to shareholder approval, due diligence and regulatory approval, it said.

WestRock shareholders would receive shares in the combined group, Smurfit Kappa said.

Smurfit, which operates in 22 European countries and 13 in South, Central and North America, is Europes largest paper and packaging producer. WestRock is the second largest packaging company in the U.S. with multiple locations in the St. Louis area, including a container plant on North Broadway.

At current market prices, the combined market capital of the two firms would be around $19 billion. They had combined revenue of $34 billion in the 12 months to the end of June.

Research analysts at Credit Suisse said the proposed combination had significant strategic and operational merits and strengthens the companys Americas presence, especially in faster-growing Central America.

The merger would be a good cultural fit with a strong focus on an innovation-driven expansion of the groups sustainable packaging business, they said in a research note.

The combined entity, which would have around 100,000 employees, could log pre-tax cost savings of more than $400 million on an annual run-rate basis at the end of the first year following the completion of the deal, said Smurfit.

The tie-up would require one-off cash costs of approximately $235 million, it added.

The deal would offer complementary portfolios with unique product diversity and innovative sustainability capabilities, with breadth and depth across renewable, recyclable and biodegradable packaging solutions, the Smurfit statement said.

COVID hangover

The Irish firm has benefited from a boom in demand for packaging goods and e-commerce during COVID-19 lockdowns, but suffered a setback when economies reopened and producers started cutting back packaging stocks.

Last month it reported a fall in first-half core profit as it struggled to offset a year-on-year decline in volumes.

WestRock beat Wall Street expectations for third-quarter profit and said it remained focused on streamlining its portfolio and further reducing costs.

The merger, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, would be effected though an Irish scheme of arrangement involving Smurfit Kappa and a merger of a subsidiary with WestRock, Smurfit said.

Smurfit would de-list from Euronext Dublin and cancel its premium listing on the London Stock Exchange under the deal, the statement said. Its North and South American operations would be headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

($1 = 0.9326 euros)

Updated at 4:52 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12.
Japan has launched a rocket with an X-ray telescope that will explore the origins of the universe as the world turns again to the challenge of going to the moon.
Theres no question that Ian McCarthy shot and killed Clinton, Missouri, police officer Gary Lee Michael Jr. And in the minds of many Americans, that means theres no question that McCarthy deserves a state execution.

But thats not what the jury that convicted McCarthy of murder determined; it couldnt agree on a sentence. So now its up to one judge  one  to decide whether he lives or dies.

Missouri is one of just two states in the nation (Indiana is the other) that allows a judge to unilaterally impose a death sentence when a jury hasnt. Its a construct that critics argue violates both the Sixth Amendments right to a trial by jury and the Eighth Amendments prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.

Whatever Missourians think about capital punishment generally, the specter of a single individual imposing the ultimate penalty when a jury has declined to should be deeply troubling. The judge in this case should heed the jurys hesitation and impose a sentence of life in prison without possibility of parole. And the Missouri Legislature should, finally, change the law so that a jury of ones peers, and not one judge, makes the final decision in future cases.

This page has long argued that the death penalty is a brutal anachronism from a dark era; that uneven application of it by race and class is inevitable; that the many DNA exonerations of death-row inmates indicates beyond any rational doubt that innocent people have been executed; that theres no reliable data indicating it has any deterrent effect on murders; and that it lowers America in the eyes of the advanced world, which has almost entirely ended the practice.

None of these arguments rely on sympathy for murderers, and McCarthy deserves none.

On Aug. 6, 2017, McCarthy killed Michael with a high-powered rifle after Michael pulled him over in Clinton, southeast of Kansas City. A Jackson County jury in June of this year found McCarthy guilty of murder. After deliberating on the sentence, the jury told Judge Marco Roldan it couldnt reach a unanimous verdict on whether to impose a death sentence.

In most of America, that would have automatically meant a sentence of life in prison. But Missouris unusual system allows the judge to decide whether to do what the jury declined to, and sentence the defendant to death.

Roldan will hold a sentencing hearing Friday.

The U.S. Supreme Court, striking down part of a Florida law in 2016, ruled that the Sixth Amendment requires a jury, not a judge, to find each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death.

But the Missouri Supreme Court has ruled in previous cases that as long as a jury finds (as McCarthys jury did) that the facts make the defendant eligible for the death penalty, then the judge can impose that sentence even if the jury doesnt.

Should that level of legal hair-splitting really determine whether the state kills someone?

McCarthys lawyers have filed a motion claiming Missouris statute allowing a judge-imposed death sentence is unconstitutional based on the Eighth Amendments cruel and unusual punishment standard. A ruling by the judge confirming that argument could start the process of finally reforming this problematic law via the courts, if the Legislature wont do it.

As for the question of whether McCarthy should be put to death: A jury of his peers has spoken  or, rather, failed to. That should be the end of it.
Regarding the op-ed "Is Missouri really ready to vote on abortion?" (Aug. 31): The two Catholic priests who issued this plea to delay action by Missouri citizens regarding abortion rights claim "expressive individualism" has led to collective disorientation and shock.

In fact, abortion-rights citizens have been preparing for many years. They correctly anticipated the removal of a 50-year-long right when then-Senate Leader Mitch McConnell obstructed President Obamas effort to nominate a new Supreme Court justice. They were skeptical of judges who (at confirmation hearings) pledged to uphold Roe v. Wade precedent. They realized that a reversal could take effect immediately and were busily planning decisive counterstrategies.

Far from impulsive, the determined and focused advocates of limited abortion rights had carefully planned to immediately resolve the abortion reversal at the state level.

Missouri lawmakers had correctly anticipated such moves and sought to block such strategies. Procedural hurdles have been launched to delay a statewide referendum. Politicians have even considered raising the bar to require 60% of the vote for passage. Thus, it is clear that both sides of the issue were intensely deliberative and were seeking expressive action for their large-based constituencies.

The op-ed reviewing the current abortion-rights debate lacks one compelling insight. The priestly plea warns of individualism on the part of abortion-rights advocates. However, isnt the Catholic Churchs definition of lifes beginning (unity of sperm-egg) the same definition created by the Missouri Legislature? Isnt such a theology-only definition another form of "expressive individualism"? And arent the two authors omitting the foundational principle of American democracy: the separation of church and state?

So who still needs to spend more time to deliberate?

Mike Oslance  St. Louis
In Germany Ukrainian crews are being trained to use the hundred or more Leopard 1A5 tanks they are receiving from Germany. Ukraine also received some of the more recent Leopard 2 tanks but Germany and some NATO allies had many more of the older Leopard 1A5s available. While an older model, the Leopard 1A5 is equal or superior to anything the Russians currently have. Most of the instructors are Dutch and Danish, because their countries had used the Leopard 1A5 more recently. These men were no longer in the military but volunteered their time to show the Ukrainians what they knew about operating the 1A5. Ukrainians with experience using older, Russian designed tanks, found the older Leopards to be an upgrade. Before the recent arrival of Western tanks, Ukraine used the same tanks, most of them T-72s, the Russians use. The Western tanks, even the older Leopard 1A5, are more effective, reliable and easier to maintain. The 1A5 is easier to maintain than the current Leopard 2.

Until the 1980s, the Leopard I was considered one of the best tanks available. Entering service in the late 1960s, it was the first post-World War II German tank design. Although a contemporary of the American M-60A3, the German tank was considered superior because it was a completely new design, while the M-60 was evolutionary, the last descendant of the 1945 Pershing tank. For this reason, Germany was able to export Leopards to many nations, including Australia. Most of the 4,744 produced, plus 1,741 Leopard chassis adapted to other uses, like recovery and anti-aircraft guns, have been retired and put in storage or scrapped. Many owners may have to melt down their remaining Leopard Is, for there's not much of a market left for 44 ton tanks, even those equipped with a lot of nifty upgrades. The original buyers of Leopard I have already flooded the market.

The export market is further clouded by legal restrictions, as Germany still retains the right to reject any buyer for the tanks. Prospective buyers must pass muster with German public opinion. No nations suffering from bad PR need apply.

The second hand Leopard I market is made worse by the availability of the Leopard II. This is basically a contemporary of the U.S. M-1, and often considered superior to the M-1. But the M-1 has an impressive combat record, and few Leopard IIs have seen any action at all. Still, on paper, and in training exercises, the Leopard II has been impressive. Some 3,000 Leopard IIs are out there, and Germany is still marketing them. Many surplus M-1s are available, and a few Leopard IIs. Add to this the thousands of late model Russian tanks available, and it's no wonder why second hand tanks like the Leopard I go for such low prices.

The Leopard 1 has a 105mm gun rather than the 120mm standard with current Western tanks. The Leopard 1A5 is, however, equipped with a modern fire control system with a thermal (heat) sensor to provide visibility at night and during daylight when there is a thick fog or mist. The 105mm gun has a shorter range than the 120mm but with modern fire control the 105mm can be just as accurate and can fire accurately while the tank is moving. There is plenty of 105mm tank gun ammo available because many current tanks still use the 105mm gun.
TAMPA, FL / ACCESSWIRE / September, 2, 2023 / The University of Malawi (UNIMA) and Astria Learning made history by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to initiate the first-ever 100% online educational program in Malawi. This move is in line with the Malawian Government's robust commitment to expanding affordable access to education and is led by UNIMA, the country's oldest, highest, and largest higher education institution.

Signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to initiate the first-ever 100% online educational program in Malawi

During the opening ceremony, Professor Sajidu expressed his gratitude to the CEO of Astria Learning, Dr. Jeff Bordes, for considering UNIMAi as a beneficiary of the e-learning platform. He further stated that the platform would enhance easy access to education, break physical barriers, and bring opportunities for the students to interact with international colleagues, learning about each other's cultures.

The Vice Chancellor also mentioned that the signing of this MoU perfectly aligns with the Malawi 2023 agenda and UNIMA's 2022-2026 strategic plan. The university aims to increase access to education, and this MoU is a significant step towards achieving that vision.

Adapting to the digital renaissance, UNIMA, in partnership with Astria Learning, champions the cause of universal academic access. Astria Learning demonstrated its support by donating its 5th generation tablets for e-learning purposes

Astria Learning CEO, Dr. Jeff Bordes, shared his vision for the partnership: "For too long, talented individuals with dreams of attaining a degree or upskilling to advance their careers have faced obstacles that seemed insurmountable. Together, we shatter those barriers and create opportunities for personal growth and socioeconomic development. By embracing digital education, we embrace progress, embracing a future where knowledge knows no boundaries."

The move to eCampus will offer diverse undergraduate, masters, and doctorate programs, such as Law, Business Management, Accounting, and Cybersecurity, ensuring that students receive the highest quality of education and support, with the flexibility that online learning provides.

For additional details, kindly refer to UNIMA's website at unima.ecampus.ac.mw or reach out to the Registrar's Office directly at [email protected].

About UNIMA

Since 1965, UNIMA has set the benchmark for higher education in Malawi. Committed to offering "relevant, world-class education," it consistently seeks innovative avenues to expand its educational reach.

About Astria Learning

Founded in 2009, Florida's Astria Learning is an EdTech pioneer. Passionate about democratizing education through technology, they craft software, produce hardware, & guide institutions in navigating the digital age.

For more information, please contact:

Priti Roychoudhury, Astria Learning

[email protected]

www.astrialearning.com

SOURCE: Astria Learning





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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Bryant Park Capital ("BPC"), a leading middle market investment bank with a focus on the specialty finance industry, announced today that Modeso LLC d/b/a RapidFunds ("RapidFunds" or the "Company"), a leading funder of U.S. plaintiff law firms, closed on a $35 million senior secured credit facility with a leading alternative credit fund.

BPC served as the exclusive financial advisor to RapidFunds in connection with this transaction.

"This is our second transaction with BPC, and we are greatly appreciative of their efforts on our behalf," said Peter Speziale, President and CEO of RapidFunds. "BPC managed a highly efficient capital raising process, resulting in a successful transaction that met all of our goals."

About RapidFunds

RapidFunds is a leading post-settlement litigation finance company that is engaged in accelerating the working capital conversion cycle for U.S. plaintiff law firms awaiting disbursement of proceeds from a legal settlement. Founded in 2004 by a group of former career attorneys, RapidFunds is based in Marblehead, MA, and provides funding to clients throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.rapidfunds.com.

About Bryant Park Capital

Bryant Park Capital is an investment bank providing M&A and corporate finance advisory services to emerging growth and middle market public and private companies. BPC has deep expertise and a diversified, well-founded breadth of experience in a number of sectors, including specialty finance & financial services. BPC has raised various forms of credit and growth equity, and assisted in mergers and acquisitions for its clients. Our professionals have completed 325+ assignments representing an aggregate transaction value of over $37 billion. For more information, please visit www.bryantparkcapital.com.

Contact: Joel Magerman, CEO & Managing Partner

Bryant Park Capital

212-798-8212

[email protected]

Matt Pennino, Managing Director

Bryant Park Capital

212-798-8216

[email protected]

Peter Speziale, President & CEO

RapidFunds

914-552-4261

[email protected]

Contact Information

Ayesha Contractor

Marketing & Administrative Supervisor

[email protected]

4845868204

Angela Drakas

Marketing & Operations Manager

[email protected]

2158371725

SOURCE: Bryant Park Capital

View source version on accesswire.com:
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / September 6, 2023 / Cisco Systems Inc.

As we celebrate World Entrepreneurs' Day on August 21, it is interesting to reflect on how an established company like Cisco-a Fortune 500 company with more than 80,000 employees-relates to entrepreneurship.

Innovation is at the heart of everything we do at Cisco. In fact, the qualities that define an entrepreneur such as risk taking, creativity, perseverance, and passion are foundational to the way we operate and pursue opportunities to serve our customers and communities. In fact, the very reason Cisco started in 1984 was born from personal desire to solve an urgent issue and need for personal connection.

Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner were not able to email each other from their respective offices at Stanford University because they were on different networks with different local area protocols. They developed the multiprotocol router, and that's how Cisco was born!

Their entrepreneurial spirit lives on in a company that strives to solve business challenges for our customers today. Not only that, but Cisco also helps businesses large and small to seize the opportunities of tomorrow.

Training future entrepreneurs

For more than 25 years, Cisco Networking Academy has trained people to build and maintain networks utilizing the latest technology. But it has done so much more than that. As part of the process, learners are encouraged to work collaboratively, and the program fosters a mindset of identifying and solving problems.

These are core entrepreneurial skills. Numerous Networking Academy learners have gone on to use those skills, not only in networking, but in business too.

Antonius, from Indonesia, had never encountered a computer until a tsunami brought rescue workers to his hometown, where he saw the value-and opportunity-in tech. He went on to study at Networking Academy and earn CyberOps Associate certification. In one of his first jobs after studying, Antonius used his problem-solving skills to conclude that the network of the large organization where he worked had been hacked, and that rebuilding the system from scratch was the best solution.

Niels, in Belgium, took a different path. After working in kitchens from a very young age, Neils decided to embark on Networking Academy study. "I have been in love with tweaking computers all my life," he says. While he found the study challenging at times, with support from the Networking Academy community, he went on to attain CCNA certification. Niels credits the program with giving him the self-belief necessary to start his own penetration testing company.

Doing more

Obviously, the tech revolution has seen a vast increase in the demand for the sort of hard skills that are the basis of Cisco Networking Academy, and those skills continue to be indispensable.

The World Economic Forum found over 85% of organizations surveyed for the 2023 Future of Jobs Report identified increased adoption of new technologies and broadening digital access as the trends most likely to drive transformation in their organization.

The same report, however, finds that technological literacy is only the third in the list of skills businesses see as growing in importance over the next five years. Creative thinking and analytical thinking rank as numbers one and two, respectively.

Recognizing that technical skills alone are not enough for success in today's business environment, Networking Academy has recently launched several new courses on our Skills For All platform:

Engaging Stakeholders for Success provides essential skills for any professional, regardless of the industry. Learning to effectively engage with stakeholders is a core skill in any workplace. In this course, learners gain the insights and tools to identify, prioritize, and engage with stakeholders for success.

Discovering Entrepreneurship offers a solid foundation for anyone interested in developing entrepreneurial skills. The course covers entrepreneurship fundamentals, including the entrepreneurial perspective, identifying opportunities, and crafting an entrepreneurial story.

The big idea

Obviously, no course can teach the entrepreneurs of tomorrow how to have the big idea that drives a new business or industry. But by helping learners recognize that idea and teaching them the analytical and personal skills to make that idea grow, we can help them along that journey.

A problem as simple as being unable to send your partner an email saw the founding of the company that would grow into the Cisco we know today. What's your big idea?

View original content here

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cisco Systems Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Cisco Systems Inc.

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cisco-systems-inc

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Cisco Systems Inc.

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SAN RAMON, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / CMG Financial, the well-capitalized privately held mortgage banking firm headquartered in San Ramon, CA, has been recognized in Vanguard Law Magazine's Summer 2023 Edition III alongside General Counsel, Shannon Leight. Vanguard is a digital publication that showcases the diversity of modern in-house counsel by highlighting the philosophies, strategies and initiatives of attorneys at some of the world's most recognizable companies including Samsung, Heineken, Pfizer, MetLife, Dell, MasterCard, and now CMG Financial.

Leight joined CMG in 2021. Two years later, she found herself in the middle of one of the industry's largest retail acquisitions of the past decade. Earlier in 2023, CMG acquired a retail division at Homebridge Financial Services, which originated $12 billion last year. Leight, CMG's only in-house lawyer at the time, played a huge role in the acquisition every step of the way - from drafting the letter of intent, discussing buyer must-haves, covering financial specifics, going through due diligence, and finalizing documents. Her extensive efforts resulted in a very successful and seamless cohesion between the two companies.

"If there's a consistency to this industry, it's the ever-evolving changes that largely fall on a legal department to navigate," wrote Neil Cote, author of Leight's Vanguard feature. "It's always a challenge, Leight says, to stay at least in line with market conditions."

Much of CMG's success in recent market conditions can be attributed to the internal adjustments and efforts from people like Leight. She works extensively with sales, marketing, compliance, and leadership to ensure that CMG remains within the boundaries of the industry's regulations while still pushing the limits of innovation and tech.

"I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with inspiring leadership and to grow professionally alongside CMG," said Leight. "I know that I'm in the right place to continue growing and stepping into new challenges. The more CMG rolls out, the more opportunity I get to dive into something new, which is what I love to do."

"Shannon has been instrumental to our growth and success over the past few years," said Kim Callas, Executive VP, Chief Operating Officer. "The housing market has changed drastically since 2019 - even since 2021. Many companies have downsized and faced cuts, yet CMG has increased by roughly 48% over the past year. This is largely a result from Shannon's hard work that led to the successful acquisition of Homebridge's retail division. We're thankful to have her on our side as we continue to navigate the constant changes within the market."

Read the full feature on Leight and CMG here.

#

About Vanguard

Vanguard is a digital publication that showcases the incredible diversity of the modern in-house counsel, highlighting the philosophies, strategies and initiatives of attorneys from around the world. From contracts to compliance, data privacy to intellectual property, M&A to HR, the responsibilities of today's GCs and CLOs have never been greater-and we capture that challenge. The stakes have never been higher, either, and Vanguard takes a deep dive into these complex and ever-evolving roles, giving you, the reader, an inside look at how some of the world's biggest companies navigate shifting legal terrain.

About CMG

CMG Mortgage, Inc. (NMLS #1820) is a well-capitalized mortgage bank founded in 1993. Founder and CEO, Christopher M. George, was Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association in 2019. CMG makes its products and services available to the market through three distinct origination channels including retail lending, wholesale lending, and correspondent lending. CMG currently operates in all states, including District of Columbia, and holds approvals with FNMA, FHLMC, and GNMA. CMG is widely known through the mortgage banking and housing markets for responsible lending practices, industry and consumer advocacy, product innovation, and operational efficiency.

Media Contact:

Annaugh Madsen

Phone: (667) 260-6360

Email: [email protected]

Contact Information

Annaugh Madsen

Senior Copywriter

[email protected]

(667) 260-6360

SOURCE: CMG Financial

View source version on accesswire.com:
SUNNYVALE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Numem Inc., a leading provider of NuRAM MRAM Memory and SmartMem SOC IP cores and Chiplets which are revolutionizing power consumption in AI systems from edge nodes to servers, celebrates a significant milestone. The firm has secured a robust Series A funding round, with investments from Cambium Capital and Doorga Capital.





Company Logo

Company Logo





This influx of capital will accelerate the evolution and rollout of its pioneering MRAM memory products and its patented SmartMem SOC subsystem, addressing the burgeoning AI/Generative AI and IoT landscapes, and initiate the introduction of an innovative line of SmartMem SOC Chiplets/Chips.

With the AI/Smart Systems realm expanding exponentially, the availability of memory solutions that merge power, performance, and size has never been more critical. Numem is positioned at this juncture, set to redefine industry standards with its groundbreaking AI-centric solutions.

The Numem Edge

Low Power NuRAM delivers 20x-290x lower leakage power and 10-30x lower standby power, a game-changer for AI processing from intelligent edge IoT to Data Centers .

NuRAM delivers 20x-290x lower leakage power and 10-30x lower standby power, a game-changer for AI processing from intelligent edge IoT to Data Centers . Small Area NuRAM is 2-3x smaller than traditional SRAM enabling to reduce memory size or pack more memory density in the same area, thereby reducing power hungry external DRAM memory access (~60x higher power).

NuRAM is 2-3x smaller than traditional SRAM enabling to reduce memory size or pack more memory density in the same area, thereby reducing power hungry external DRAM memory access (~60x higher power). Performance Setting it apart from the competition, NuRAM operates 2-5x faster with significantly lower dynamic power than most MRAM/RRAM on the Reads and up to 500x faster on the Writes. NuRAM also boasts a staggering 100x better Endurance.

Setting it apart from the competition, NuRAM operates 2-5x faster with significantly lower dynamic power than most MRAM/RRAM on the Reads and up to 500x faster on the Writes. NuRAM also boasts a staggering 100x better Endurance. Ease of use: NuRAM integrates a complete Memory Management & Control which makes use of the memory as simple as an SRAM by taking care of all the necessary steps to operate the memory. It also integrates a comprehensive that enables to simplify device bringup and testing.

NuRAM integrates a complete Memory Management & Control which makes use of the memory as simple as an SRAM by taking care of all the necessary steps to operate the memory. It also integrates a comprehensive that enables to simplify device bringup and testing. SmartMem SOC Subsystem extends some the above advantages to other persistent memories including other MRAM, RRAM/ReRAM, PCRAM and even embedded/external Flash. It also enables to provide ease-of-use and optimization for memory operation and testing. SmartMem SOC functions can be integrated in NuRAM as SOC Compute in Memory along with some DSP/AI Processing Accelerator" compute functions.

including other MRAM, RRAM/ReRAM, PCRAM and even embedded/external Flash. It also enables to provide ease-of-use and optimization for memory operation and testing.

"The rise of AI/Generative AI, Autonomous Driving and Smart IoT/embedded applications demand a significant increase in compute and memory capabilities," stated Bill Leszinske, Operating Partner at Cambium Capital and Numem Board Member. "Numem's IP building blocks and chiplets are enabling advanced memories like MRAM/RRAM to enable new levels of performance and ultra-low power for these new workloads."

Jack Guedj, Numem CEO, said, "We are delighted to partner with Cambium Capital, an entity deeply rooted in cutting-edge, Deep Tech with a rich understanding of the AI and memory sectors."

About Numem

Numem, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is the leading provider of advanced SOC Compute in Memory IP Cores based on its patented NuRAM (MRAM), and SOC IP Cores and Chiplets based on its patented, SmartMem technologies. Numem NuRAM provides an excellent SRAM and Flash alternative for SoC Designers/ Architects with 2.5x smaller area and >20x lower leakage power than SRAM.

Numem SmartMem provides an end-to-end solution that is disrupting the semiconductor industry by enabling ultra-low power, high-performance integration of persistent memory for a variety of memory types including: Numem NuRAM, other MRAM, RRAM/ReRAM, PCRAM, and embedded and standalone Flash.

Numem's IP Cores and Chiplets enable Customers to substantially reduce system power and speed up time to market for a wide range of applications including IoT/Wearables, AI/Generative AI, Digital Security/Cameras, Autonomous Vehicle and Data Center applications. Visit our website at https://www.numem.com or contact us at [email protected].

Contact

Jack Guedj

Chief Executive Officer

Numem, Incorporated

Contact Information

Koji Motomori

Sr. Director of Business Development

[email protected]

SOURCE: Numem

View source version on accesswire.com:
Principal Michael Calhoun takes his profitable approach of salvaging real estate lots on the verge of tax foreclosure to the Sacramento, California, Metro Area, giving relief to distressed property owners.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Land developer Michael Calhoun of Opes Sapientiae, LLC has begun revitalizing distressed lots in the Greater Sacramento, California, area.

Michael Calhoun

Opes Sapientiae, LLC Principal, Michael Calhoun of San Francisco.

Opes focuses on land parcels that are showing signs of owner distress, such as delinquent tax accounts, and newly inherited parcels in probate where owners seek the timely disposition of property they have little expertise to manage, administer, or market.

Opes provides readily available liquidity in order for distressed parcel owners to avoid credit complications and tax foreclosures - a draconian procedure used in most states, where counties resort to the forced sale of land parcels as a remedy to collect past due property taxes.

With tightening of credit by the Fed, the growing tech industry layoffs, and the prospect of a looming recession, a growing number of areas have parcel owners that find themselves facing a property tax burden without the means to resolve it, with an impending county auction clock ticking that threatens their future creditworthiness.

"We look for areas that have maintained strength in the raw land market," says Michael Calhoun, principal of Opes Sapientiae, LLC. He continues, "When we locate a parcel that permits our skill set to add value, we have the readily available liquidity an owner needs to get out of dead-weight real estate (to them). Property potential that permits the subdivision into multiple lots has been particularly profitable for us, but landlocked parcels are of special interest as well."

Opes is focusing on the Greater Sacramento Metro Area at this time. They have turned over parcels in the Washington, D.C. area in the recent past - subdividing one recent parcel of which they resold several lots within one quarter, with an investor ROI of over 300%.

Opes partners with real estate investors with some projects capitalized with as little as $25,000 (such as the parcel in Prince George County, Maryland). Opes also is currently developing a large, long-time horizon land use development project in Yolo County, California. However, Mr. Calhoun reflects, "We are very excited about this niche we engage in when our research shows a certain volume of distressed parcel owners in a strong land market. Not much capital is required to exercise the opportunity. And it's a win-win with owners and our own land development skill set."

Michael Calhoun graduated from the USF School of law, practiced law as a deputy district attorney in Contra Costa, California, and had a private practice in real estate transactions and land use before striking out on his own in land development with the opening of Opes Sapientiae, LLC in 2018. Investor inquiries may be made at OpesDev.com.

Contact Information

Michael Calhoun

Principal

[email protected]

(415) 812-0529

SOURCE: Opes Sapientiae, LLC

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VILNIUS, LITHUANIA / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / Oxylabs, a web intelligence solution and premium proxy provider, has entered a new market, moving towards the Data-as-a-Service industry. Their newest offering will allow businesses to get pre-made datasets from various websites such as Amazon, Owler, Github, and many others.

Pre-made datasets are only part of the new Oxylabs product line. Complete dataset customization from many publicly available sources can be requested on demand. The company will then analyze the request and, depending on the requirements, provide a completely customized dataset that matches business needs.

The company is launching their initiative with five primary types, all of which can be acquired from various publicly available sources:

Company data

Job postings data

Product review data

E-commerce product data

Community and code data

"Datasets will help us cut through the entire web intelligence acquisition setup process and provide customers with what many truly need - data. This entry into our product portfolio will help us cover the entire value chain for our customers. We will be able to provide businesses with exactly what they need, whether it may be proxies, web scraping software, or ingestion-ready datasets." Julius Cerniauskas, Chief Executive Officer at Oxylabs

As part of their mission to serve partner needs best, the Chief Executive Officer said, the company will be capable of directly sending the datasets to cloud storage in various formats. These capabilities will make it easier to integrate data provided by Oxylabs into regular operations of any business.

"Customizability of datasets and our wide selection of intelligence sources will give businesses the competitive advantage they were looking for, all at low costs and little-to-no maintenance required. All maintenance, preparation, and pipeline management will be handled by Oxylabs teams, allowing our customers to focus on creating value out of data." Julius continued.

Data-as-a-Service has been a rapidly growing industry with the market expected to reach $43.8 billion by 2028. Few companies in the industry, however, offer an entire range of services, mostly focusing on directly selling datasets.

"We expect that our expertise in web scraping and proxy management will allow us to deliver datasets from more challenging sources while maintaining the high quality of services Oxylabs has been known for," Julius concluded.

About Oxylabs

Established in 2015, Oxylabs is a web intelligence acquisition solution and premium proxy provider, enabling companies of all sizes to utilize the power of big data. Constant innovation, an extensive patent portfolio, and a focus on ethics have allowed Oxylabs to become a global leader in the web intelligence collection industry and forge close ties with dozens of Fortune Global 500 companies. In 2022 and 2023, Oxylabs was named Europe's fastest-growing web intelligence acquisition company in the Financial Times' FT 1000 list. For more information, please visit: https://oxylabs.io/

Contact Information

Vytautas Kirjazovas

Head of Communications

[email protected]

+44 7999 885206

SOURCE: Oxylabs

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GP Transco's OpenRoad TMS is poised to be a game-changer for carriers across the nation, allowing them to leverage the experience and expertise of a successful trucking company that understands the unique challenges and opportunities within the industry.

JOLIET, IL / ACCESSWIRE / September 7, 2023 / GP Transco, an innovative leader in the trucking industry, proudly introduces the nationwide launch of its groundbreaking Transportation Management System (TMS), OpenRoad TMS. Developed in-house by GP Transco, this cutting-edge system is set to transform how carriers throughout the United States oversee their operations, safety, maintenance, accounting, and more.





GP Transco Presents OpenRoad TMS

GP Transco's OpenRoad TMS is poised to be a game-changer for carriers across the nation, allowing them to leverage the experience and expertise of a successful trucking company that understands the unique challenges and opportunities in the industry.





OpenRoad TMS, renowned for its efficiency, scalability, and user-friendly interface, has been a cornerstone of GP Transco's operations, providing the company with a competitive edge in the dynamic and ever-evolving logistics industry. By offering OpenRoad TMS to the public, GP Transco aims to empower businesses in the industry to streamline their transportation operations, enhance visibility, and maximize efficiency.

Dominic Zastarskis, CEO of GP Transco and OpenRoad TMS, shared his enthusiasm about this milestone, stating, "Fleet owners often ask us what allows us to continuously grow and innovate efficiently, and the answer is OpenRoad TMS - it is at the very core of our operation. It's one of the very few transportation management systems developed by an actual trucking company [GP Transco], and now, other carriers can finally harness this technology."

Zastarskis highlighted the unique value of OpenRoad TMS, saying, "With nearly 20 years of experience in running a trucking company, OpenRoad TMS embodies everything we've learned about managing operations, safety, maintenance, accounting, and more. It's truly an outstanding all-in-one solution for carriers, and we're excited to witness how it propels other trucking companies toward growth."

OpenRoad TMS offers a comprehensive suite of features and capabilities that empower carriers to streamline their operations, reduce costs, enhance safety, and improve overall efficiency. This innovative system includes modules for dispatch, load planning, driver management, real-time tracking, fuel optimization, accounting, reporting, among others.

Some of the key features of OpenRoad TMS include:

Real-time Visibility: Real-time tracking of assets and shipments gives carriers transparency and informed decision-making.

Load Planning and Dispatch: Optimize load assignments and routes to minimize fuel consumption and delivery times.

Safety and Compliance: Ensure industry regulation compliance, monitor driver behavior, and enhance safety protocols.

Maintenance Management: Schedule and track vehicle maintenance to extend asset lifespan and reduce downtime.

Accounting and Financial Management: Streamline financial processes with 1-click invoicing and automated settlement calculation for improved financial control.

GP Transco's OpenRoad TMS is poised to be a game-changer for carriers across the nation, allowing them to leverage the experience and expertise of a successful trucking company that understands the unique challenges and opportunities within the industry.

For more information about OpenRoad TMS and to request a demo, please visit openroadtms.com.

About GP Transco:

GP Transco provides safe and reliable dry van freight transportation and logistics services to a diverse group of clients across the United States. As a Chicago Tribune Top Workplace and a seven-time Inc. 5000 award recipient with over 550 trucks and over 800 trailers, the company utilizes advanced technologies and modern workflows to provide clients with industry-leading freight transportation solutions.

Media Contact:

Sergey Bort

Vice President of Marketing and Strategy

[email protected]

(708) 286-5411

Contact Information

Sergey Bort

Vice President of Marketing and Strategy

[email protected]

(708) 286-5411

SOURCE: GP Transco

View source version on accesswire.com:
FILE PHOTO: The logo for Morgan Stanley is seen on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 3, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

By Tatiana Bautzer and Lananh Nguyen

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Wealthy clients going to a Morgan Stanley financial adviser to discuss their investments may have a different sort of experience in the future: having a chatbot listen to their conversation.

After testing it with 1,000 financial advisers for some months, the bank will roll out a generative artificial intelligence bot this month, developed with the makers of ChatGPT, OpenAI.

Bankers can use the virtual assistant to quickly find research or forms instead of sifting through hundreds of thousands of documents.

The bank is also developing technology which eventually, with clients' permission, could create a meeting summary of the conversation, draft a follow-up email suggesting next steps, update the bank's sales database, schedule a follow-up appointment, and learn how to help advisers manage clients' finances on areas such as taxes, retirement savings and inheritances. The details of the program have not yet been reported.

"The impact (of AI) will be very significant," potentially comparable to the advent of the internet, said Sal Cucchiara, Morgan Stanley's chief information officer of wealth and investment management, who is among the executives driving the bank's push into AI.

Cucchiara, tasked with constantly scanning Silicon Valley for potential tech vendors, met OpenAI executives in 2022, before fast-growing app ChatGPT got mainstream usage.

"It quickly became clear we needed to partner with them, they were far ahead of everybody else," he said.

Andy Saperstein, Morgan Stanley's co-president and head of wealth management, then flew to California to discuss a partnership with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Boris Power, a technical staff member at the company.

They signed a deal last summer in which Morgan Stanley has preferred access in product development for wealth management. Executives from the two companies celebrated over a dinner hosted by Saperstein, a candidate to become the bank's next CEO.

OpenAI declined to comment.

While the bot will give insights and administrative support to financial advisers, investment advice will remain the purview of humans.

"The adviser is still at the center," said Cucchiara. For now, employees view the technology as a helpful tool and aren't worried that they'll be replaced by bots, he said.

WEALTH RACE

The AI initiative is part of Morgan Stanley's strategy to drive its wealth division, where net revenue surged 16% to a record in the second quarter and new client assets grew $90 billion.

CEO James Gorman, who has spearheaded a series of major deals that funneled more money into the wealth business, aims to reach $10 trillion in assets under management.

Morgan Stanley is not alone in its AI efforts. While banks already use AI to crunch numbers, detect fraud and analyze customer transactions, Wall Street giants are developing more sophisticated uses of generative AI that is capable of generating text, images and other data.

JPMorgan Chase named Teresa Heitsenrether its chief data and analytics officer in June to lead AI adoption across the largest U.S. lender. Rival Bank of America's virtual assistant, Erica, has had more than a billion interactions with clients since it was introduced in 2018.

Elsewhere, Moody's Analytics is also working with OpenAI and Microsoft to develop a research assistant that can be used by clients, said Nick Reed, its chief product officer.

Large banks are the most advanced among financial firms in their adoption of AI, but asset managers, traders and insurers are also deploying it, said Michael Abbott, global banking lead at consulting firm Accenture.

"We're beginning to see customer services led by artificial intelligence spread among the largest banks," said Abbott, who is working on hundreds of case studies with lenders looking to use AI.

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer and Lananh Nguyen in New York; editing by Megan Davies and Nick Zieminski)
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AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of a (Excellent) of Solunion Seguros, Compania Internacional de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A. (Solunion) (Spain). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

Solunion is the operating holding company of the Solunion group of companies, a 50-50 joint venture between the MAPFRE group and Allianz Trade. Allianz SE is the ultimate parent of Allianz Trade.

The ratings reflect Solunions balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also consider the strategic and operational support Solunion receives from its joint shareholders, including significant reinsurance support in the form of quota share arrangements and excess of loss protection.

Solunions balance sheet strength assessment is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, which remained at the strongest level as at year-end 2022, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). The balance sheet strength assessment is supported by Solunions prudent reserving approach and conservative investment strategy. Solunion is highly dependent on reinsurance, but the associated risk is considered limited, as reinsurance arrangements are solely with the companys shareholders.

Solunion has achieved positive net results consistently over recent years, reporting a five-year weighted average combined ratio of 83.4% and return on equity of 7.6% (2018-2022), as calculated by AM Best. In 2022, Solunion reported profit before tax of EUR 16.8 million driven by robust technical profits underpinned by low claims frequency and by service fees tied to the companys trade credit line of business. Solunion has continued to report good results as at the end of June 2023. An offsetting factor is the uncertainty around the sustainability of the trade credit results in light of competitive and challenging market and economic conditions. However, AM Best notes the companys ability to take prompt risk-mitigating actions on non-performing business when required.

Solunion has a growing position as a trade credit and surety specialist in its selected operating markets, with gross written premium of EUR 267 million in 2022. Although the portfolio is concentrated in Spain, increasing geographical diversification is provided by Solunions expansion in Latin America. Positive business profile factors include the companys ability to leverage the trade credit expertise and capabilities of Allianz Trade, whilst accessing MAPFREs widespread and well-established distribution channels in its target markets.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Performance Assessments, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2023 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907537950/en/

Konstantin Langowski

Senior Financial Analyst

+31 20 308 5431

[email protected]

Christopher Sharkey

Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 882 2310

[email protected]

Mathilde Jakobsen

Senior Director, Analytics

+31 20 308 5427

[email protected]

Al Slavin

Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 882 2318

[email protected]

Source: AM Best
US Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese premier Li Qiang and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov attended an East Asia summit in Indonesia on Thursday, offering an opportunity for direct, high-level diplomacy between the rivals.

The meeting brought Washington and Beijing into contact a day after Premier Li Qiang warned major powers must manage their differences to avoid a "new Cold War", and ahead of the G20 summit in New Delhi this week where Chinese President Xi Jinping will be absent.

Interactions between the officials from the world's top two economies are being closely watched as they seek to control tensions that risk flaring anew over issues ranging from Taiwan to ties with Moscow and the competition for influence in the Pacific.

"I ask... the leaders of the East Asia Summit, to make this a forum for us to strengthen cooperation and not sharpen rivalries," Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in opening remarks.

Harris and Li held separate talks with Southeast Asian leaders on Wednesday, where the US vice president discussed "upholding international law in the South China Sea", a statement from her office said, the disputed waterway where Chinese claims have angered several Southeast Asian nations.

Thursday's 18-nation summit is the first time top US and Russian officials have sat around the same table in almost two months, after US and European officials condemned Lavrov at a July ministerial meeting over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $1 billion in new assistance to Ukraine in a surprise visit to Kyiv on Wednesday.

'Unacceptable'

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Canada's Justin Trudeau and Australian PM Anthony Albanese all attended the summit, as well as leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Yoon told officials that any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the South China Sea were "unacceptable" and called for a "rules-based maritime order" to manage the key transportation route, according to his office.

A leaders' statement seen by AFP omitted any mention of the South China Sea or the Ukraine war.

Albanese met with Li on the sidelines of the summit, confirming he would visit China "later this year" as Canberra seeks to stabilise ties with Beijing.

G20 host Modi addressed ASEAN leaders on Thursday morning, telling them it is essential to "build a post-Covid rules-based world order" and make collective efforts to ensure a "free and open Indo-Pacific", using another term for the Asia-Pacific region.

'Broken'

While the gathering can bring major players together, its ability to help resolve a range of regional and global disputes is limited, experts say.

"It's a sign of the ASEAN convening power but lately we can say that the East Asia summit is broken. It has been turned into a forum for talking points," said Aaron Connelly, senior fellow at Singapore-based think tank IISS.

While Thursday's meeting was more geopolitical in scope, big powers used earlier talks in Jakarta to shore up alliances and lobby the Southeast Asian bloc.

Li travelled on a Chinese-funded high-speed train project between the capital Jakarta and the Javan city of Bandung with a senior Indonesian minister on Wednesday.

Harris held separate meetings with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr -- both ASEAN members -- on the sidelines of the summit.

"The Vice President reaffirmed the United States' ironclad alliance commitment to the Philippines, and highlighted the role the US-Philippines alliance plays in ensuring a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific," her office said in a statement.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a wide-ranging speech on the sidelines of the summit called on Myanmar's junta rulers to "open the door" to democracy.

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aqara, a leading provider of smart home products, announces the debut of its Amazon brand store in Poland. Since the launch of the Companys first European brand store on Amazon UK in July 2021, the smart home manufacturer has expanded its Amazon presence to France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and now, Poland, making the comprehensive portfolio of Aqara products easily accessible for smart home users across Europe.

Aqara has been selling in Poland via local retailers for years, and become increasingly popular among the local users for the build quality, the accessible prices and the wide compatibility with major ecosystems including Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home and more.

Moreover, Aqara is one of the early advocates of the new IoT connectivity standard Matter, and has been collaborating with industry partners to optimize smart home user experiences with enhanced interoperability and simplicity. As of today, Aqaras Hub M2, Hub M1S/M1S Gen 2, Hub E1 and Camera Hub G3 have been updated to support Matter, and these hubs can bridge over 50 Zigbee devices from the Company to become compatible with Matter. Aqara also has launched its first Thread device with native Matter support.

The product lineup of the Aqara brand stores on Amazon.PL includes:

Video Doorbell G4  This video doorbell helps users to keep an eye on visitors and packages remotely, and can be powered by batteries or the exiting doorbell wires. It features wide compatibility with major platforms including Apple Home, Alexa and Google Home, and is equipped with on-device AI to enable local facial recognition alerts and automation.

Camera Hub G3  Aqaras high end, pan-and-tilt home security camera with AI-enabled facial and gesture recognition, built-in Zigbee hub function, and third-party ecosystem support such as Apple Home, Alexa, and Google Home.

Camera Hub G2H Pro  An indoor HomeKit Secure Video camera with the Zigbee hub function to enhance home security and smart home automations.

Hub M2  The versatile and future-proof smart home hub that connects and controls Aqara devices, allowing seamless integration across Aqara products and third-party home automation devices.

Hub M1S Gen 2  The wireless control center of Aqara accessories enabling home automation, local alarm, and remote control of smart devices. It can also be used as a night light, siren, or doorbell.

Hub E1  Aqaras smallest smart home hub with a UBS-A port and adjustable shaft, allowing it to be flexibly placed and charged by USB devices such as PCs, power strips and outlets.

Door and Window Sensor P2  Aqaras first Matter-over-Thread device with seamless interoperability across a wide range of smart home platforms including Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home and SmartThings. It detects when a window or a door is open in real time, and can be used to enhance security and to enable home automation.

Door and Window Sensor  This iconic Zigbee sensor detects when a window or a door is open in real time and enables push notifications and/or local siren when the door/window opens unexpectedly. A value pack with three sensors is also available.

Presence Sensor FP2  Based on millimeter wave (mmWave), this revolutionary sensor not only offers precise human presence detection, but also features zone positioning (up to 30 zones), multi-person detection, and multi-ecosystem support.

Motion Sensor P1  An enhanced version of Aqaras iconic Motion Sensor, with a prolonged battery life of up to five years, and configurable detection/sensitivity levels.

Temperature and Humidity Sensor  It monitors temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure in real time, and can connect with other Aqara devices for indoor climate monitoring and control. A value pack with three sensors is also available.

TVOC Air Quality Monitor  This sensor is equipped with an E-ink display, and detects the level of total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) in the air as well as temperature and humidity, allowing indoor climate monitoring and control.

Water Leak Sensor  It detects potential flooding, and enables push notifications and/or local alarm activation to protect the property.

Vibration Sensor  It detects vibration, tilt and drop, alerts users when unexpected movement is detected, and can be used for home automation and scenes.

Radiator Thermostat E1  This thermostat automates hydronic radiators including wall-mounted radiators, towel warmers and warm floors, helping users to enhance the energy efficiency of heating systems.

Roller Shade Driver E1  A retrofit roller shade solution that operates with the beaded-cord roller blinds, and it allows users to set the shades by mobile control, voice command, preset schedule or via home automation.

Curtain Driver E1 (Rod Version & Track Version)  A retrofit curtain solution that operates with many curtain types including rods, U-rails and I-rails. With this solution, users can control their via mobile apps, voice commands, preset schedules or home automation.

LED Strip T1  This smart LED light strip features 16 million color options and tunable white accent lighting. Its RGB effects are independently addressable, which means that the lightstrip can display different colors with dimming and other effects. An Extension Kit for the LED Strip T1 is also be available.

Smart Wall Switch H1 EU (No Neutral)  This wall switch is designed for Europe and supports both round European and 86 mm square wall boxes. Available in single- and double-rocker versions, it helps users to control lights via mobile apps, voice commands, preset schedules or home automation.

Smart Plug (EU)  It allows remote control, timer switch and automation of lamps, fans, and other home appliances.

Wireless Mini Switch  A versatile and compact switch with three configurable actions to control smart home devices or home scenes.

Wireless Remote Switch H1  A remote switch with seven configurable actions to control smart home devices or home scenes.

Cube T1 Pro  A fun and easy wireless device to control Aqara devices and scenes with actions like push, shake, rotate, flip and tap. It also features a new Scene Mode which can be used in not only Aqara Home but also third-party platforms like Apple Home and Alexa.

Pet Feeder C1  It supports scheduled and remote feeding for cats and dogs, a well as advanced features like voice command activation and local automation.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907276739/en/

For Media Inquiries:

[email protected]

Source: Aqara
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Carters, Inc. (NYSE: CRI), the largest branded marketer in North America of apparel exclusively for babies and young children, announced today that the Company will participate in a fireside chat at the Goldman Sachs 30th Annual Global Retailing Conference in New York City on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at 11:40 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

A live webcast of the fireside chat will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Companys website at ir.carters.com.

About Carters, Inc.

Carters, Inc. is the largest branded marketer in North America of apparel exclusively for babies and young children. The Company owns the Carters and OshKosh Bgosh brands, two of the most recognized brands in the marketplace. These brands are sold through 1,000 Company-operated stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico and online at www.carters.com, www.oshkosh.com, www.cartersoshkosh.ca, and www.carters.com.mx. They are also sold in leading department stores, national chains, and specialty retailers domestically and internationally. The Companys Child of Mine brand is available at Walmart, its Just One You brand is available at Target, and its Simple Joys brand is available on Amazon. The Company also owns Little Planet, a brand focused on organic fabrics and sustainable materials, and Skip Hop, a global lifestyle brand for families with young children. Carters is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Additional information may be found at www.carters.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907733906/en/

Sean McHugh

Vice President & Treasurer

(678) 791-7615

Source: Carters, Inc.
Virtual Behavioral Health Program to Be Scaled Across CHS-Affiliated Physician Practices

FRANKLIN, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Community Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CYH) and population health management company, Mindoula, announced plans today to implement an innovative program that integrates virtual behavioral health services into the primary care setting. The program, designed to help patients who are experiencing mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression, includes initial behavioral health assessments, care planning, systematic follow-up via digital and human interactions, and weekly review of the treatment plan. Community Health Systems will deploy Mindoulas Collaborative Care program on a large scale across its national footprint to approximately 700 primary care providers, enhancing access to behavioral health care for thousands of patients.

Mental health disorders affect one of five Americans and the majority of those affected will never seek help. Older adults are at increased risk of depression as the condition is more common in people who also have other illnesses such as heart disease or cancer or whose function becomes limited. While depression is serious, it often gets better with counseling, medicine or other forms of treatment.

By integrating behavioral care with primary care, we can help our providers address the whole health of their patients, said Lynn Simon, M.D., President, Healthcare Innovation and Chief Medical Officer of Community Health Systems. Left untreated, anxiety and depression can have a negative impact on patients physical health and overall quality of life. Our partnership with Mindoula will help ensure mental health care is readily available for our patients. It will also help address the behavioral health provider shortage by enhancing virtual access to these critical services.

The Mindoula program leverages clinically-validated patient assessments to identify behavioral health needs and track changes in those needs over time, providing physicians with actionable intelligence to better manage patients with behavioral health needs. Patients engage with caregivers via the HIPAA-compliant Mindoula Messenger engagement app, text messaging for medication reminders and other treatments, secure two-way video, phone and encrypted email.

A sustainable future for our healthcare systems relies on our ability to deploy innovative solutions that leverage both technology and human interactions to help patients access the clinical resources they need and that also support our clinicians in their practice of medicine, said Tim Hingtgen, Chief Executive Officer of Community Health Systems. At Community Health Systems, we are driven by a shared purpose to help people get well and live healthy. Providing access to mental health services for those who need them is an essential part of meeting this objective.

The collaborative care services model has been shown to double the effectiveness of depression care, improve physical wellbeing, and significantly reduce health care costs.

Collaborative Care Management (CoCM) is an evidence-based integrated care approach that leads to significantly better clinical outcomes, improved functioning, and greater patient and provider satisfaction compared to usual care. In addition, according to a Milliman study, $38 to $68 billion could be saved across the nation each year through effective integration of mental health care with other types of medical care, said Dr. Glenda Wrenn, Chief Clinical Strategy Officer of Mindoula Health. We are thrilled to bring our nationwide scale and expertise in Collaborative Care to our partnership with Community Health Systems by supporting their affiliated providers with resources to help effectively treat patients.

About Community Health Systems, Inc.

Community Health Systems, Inc. is one of the nations largest healthcare companies. The Company's affiliates are leading providers of healthcare services, developing and operating healthcare delivery systems in 43 distinct markets across 15 states. CHS subsidiaries own or lease 76 affiliated hospitals with approximately 13,000 beds and operate more than 1,000 sites of care, including physician practices, urgent care centers, freestanding emergency departments, occupational medicine clinics, imaging centers, cancer centers and ambulatory surgery centers. Shares in Community Health Systems, Inc. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CYH. The Companys headquarters are located in Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb south of Nashville. More information about the Company can be found on its website at www.chs.net.

About Mindoula

Mindoula is a next generation population health management company that scales the human connection through technology in addressing mind, body, and life challenges. It identifies, engages, and serves populations who might otherwise be left behind, and delivers tech-enabled, team-based, 24/7 support and care across the continuum of care. Mindoulas adaptive data science approach, multi-platform technology stack, and virtual + in-person care extension teams enable its enterprise partners to achieve improved outcomes and significantly reduced costs by integrating behavioral, medical, and social determinants of health. Headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland, Mindoula is currently operating in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, Nevada, Louisiana, West Virginia, California, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Washington, Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, New Jersey, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Delaware, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Minnesota, and Florida, with continued national expansion plans to meet the growing need for integrated whole person care. More information about Mindoula can be found at https://mindoula.com/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907833225/en/

Media Contacts:

Community Health Systems

Tomi Galin, 615-628-6607

Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications, Marketing and Public Affairs

Investor Contacts:

Community Health Systems

Kevin Hammons, 615-465-7000

President and Chief Financial Officer

Anton Hie, 615-465-7012

Vice President  Investor Relations

Source: Community Health Systems, Inc.
Corsight AI's Real-time Facial Recognition Safeguards Maximum Security Level at Large and Complex Financial Facilities by Identifying Authorized Personnel and Detecting Unauthorized Access Instantly, Redefining Security in the Digital Age

SAO PAULO, Brazil--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Corsight AI, a trailblazer in facial recognition technology, has been selected by TBForte Seguranca e Transporte de Valores Ltda, a subsidiary of TecBan  Tecnologia Bancaria S.A., to revolutionize security protocols and streamline operational efficiency within Brazil's CIT industry. TBForte, a vital player specializing in cash management, is partnering with Corsight AI to reshape access control and surveillance measures in its fortified centers.

Corsight AI's groundbreaking facial recognition solution offers real-time identification of individuals attempting to access TBForte secure sites. This innovative system cross-references individuals against a list of authorized personnel, granting access to those approved while promptly alerting security if an unauthorized person is detected. This seamless integration of Corsight AI's technology with TBForte's operational framework addresses the complex challenge of managing a continuous flow of individuals, including armed guards, truck drivers and other personnel accessing and departing from these sites around the clock.

TBForte's decision to integrate Corsight AI's facial recognition technology stems from the unique capabilities it brings to the table. Corsight AI excels in accurately and swiftly detecting faces even in challenging real-world conditions, such as distant or awkward camera angles, low-quality images, partially obscured faces, and low-light environments. With Corsight AI's advanced solution, TBForte aims to enhance security measures without compromising efficiency, forging a new era of secure and seamless control access experiences.

"This collaboration exemplifies TBForte's dedication to innovation and security," said Joiandro Carvalho, Head of Innovation and Infrastructure of TBForte. "With Corsight AI's robust technology, we are setting new benchmarks in operational security, ensuring that our fortified cash centers remain impervious to unauthorized access while facilitating smooth entrance for authorized personnel", added Paulo Sudahia, Head of IT TBForte.

Geraldo Sanga, Corsight AI Brazil Regional Sales Director, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership: "We are thrilled to collaborate with TBForte as a whole in fortifying their security measures while ensuring optimal operational efficiency. Corsight AI's cutting-edge facial recognition technology, known for its ethics, accuracy and adaptability, aligns perfectly with TBForte's commitment to exceptional security standards."

Corsight AI's facial recognition technology, in conjunction with TBForte's vision, signals a transformative stride towards a safer, more efficient financial ecosystem, reinforcing the industry's commitment to security and operational excellence.

About Corsight AI

Corsight AI is a pioneer in facial recognition technology, offering advanced solutions tailored to meet the security needs of corporations, law enforcement agencies, and government entities. Renowned for its ethics, precision and speed, Corsight AI's technology excels in demanding real-world scenarios, ensuring reliable face detection in diverse conditions.

About TBForte

Created in 2008 and belonging to the TecBan group, TBForte is a security and CIT specialized company that offers complete solutions in logistics, cash processing, smart safe deposit box and customized solutions for financial institutions and retail, contributing to the optimization of the cash cycle in Brazil. The company's main mission is to provide the market with safe, credible and efficient cash management services, providing value to customers and society.

With more than 4,900 employees, TBForte has more than 670 armored and light cars in its fleet and 30 operational bases distributed in 16 states. With this structure, the company performs the service of about 5,000 commercial establishments and bank branches, in addition to 22,000 points served. In 2022, it launched its first 100% electric car.

About TecBan

A world leader in ATM-independent network, TecBan has continuously invested and created, for more than 40 years, in technological and innovative solutions that integrate the physical and digital and boost Brazil's economic ecosystem, making it increasingly efficient.

Visionary, the company is in constant movement, and in the last decade, has invested more than R$ 4 billion in advanced products and solutions that help ensure the financial inclusion of all social classes and public profiles, in all regions of Brazil.

Banco24Horas, which was born with TecBan, ended 2022 present in the lives of 153 million people, equivalent to 71.8% of the population, with more than 24,100 automated teller machines (ATM) distributed across more than 1,100 cities. Our capillarity and the volume of financial solutions provide autonomy and security to the Brazilian people and connect more than 150 institutions that make available more than 90 transactions.

All this has transformed Banco24Horas into the worlds leading company by volume of withdrawals.

TecBan, however, goes way beyond Banco24Horas. Over time, we have expanded our operations through an ecosystem of services and solutions that positively impact the chain as a whole. We have created companies in strategic sectors, such as TBForte (currency management and transportation of valuables), TBNet (telecommunications) and Servicos Integrados TecBan, that encompass a series of solutions in the fields of operations and logistics. A complete ecosystem that delivers value, security and efficiency to different sectors of the Brazilian economy

Always aware of new technologies and opportunities, TecBan was the first Brazilian company to put its Open Finance platform into production, still in 2021, initiating integration with Open Insurance in 2022.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907949899/en/

Dror Simsolo

Marketing Director

[email protected]

Source: Corsight AI
Dalrada and French company to begin five-year partnership featuring Dalradas heat pumps as the centerpiece.

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Dalrada Financial Corporation (OTCQB: DFCO, Dalrada), a problem-solving innovator that addresses complex, multi-disciplinary global challenges in climate technology, clean energy innovation, and precision manufacturing, announced today that its climate technology subsidiary, Dalrada Technology Spain, has entered into an agreement with JBS Consulting, a Paris-based distributor, to build and install as many as 2,300 commercial-grade, energy-efficient heat pumps over the course of five years.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907298413/en/

Dalrada to build and install 2,300 heat pumps for JBS Consulting, based in Paris, France. (Graphic: Business Wire)

At least 150 of the commercial heat pumps are expected to be installed and operational within the first 12 months of the agreement, with increased numbers of the high-functioning machines installed each yearup to 800 in year fiveuntil the contract is fully satisfied.

Dalradas heat pumps provide decarbonized heating and cooling without combustion or the burning of fossil fuels. Additionally, the sustainable energy technology in each heat pump can reduce a users energy consumption by up to 75%, making them a preferred replacement for existing water heaters, steam boilers, chillers, and cooling towers.

With the new agreement, JBS Consulting becomes the exclusive distributor of Dalrada heat pumps for France and select neighboring countries. It also increases the potential of the company to create a building and manufacturing center for Dalrada heat pumps in France.

Were very pleased to be working with JBS Consulting, said Brian Bonar, Dalradas CEO and Founder. He added, They have an impressive list of clients including ongoing and upcoming projects that we know can benefit from our clean energy technology. Our agreement with JBS Consulting will also help us continue to grow our European presenceespecially in markets that are ripe for energy sustainability solutions like our heat pumps.

According to Jacques Benhamou, Director General of JBS Consulting, Collaborating with our partner, Dalrada Technology Spain, will allow us to bring our clients the very best that advanced climate technology has to offer. Dalradas heat pumps represent an industry-leading energy solution and were excited to bring these machines to industries that need them, not only here in France, but abroad as well.

Dalradas climate technology team is expected to meet with Benhamou in late September to outline a detailed strategy and create an official schedule for building, shipping, and installing the new heat pumps for clients of JBS Consulting.

The agreement with JBS Consulting comes on the heels of Dalrada announcing it had not only established a presence in Morocco, but it had also reached an agreement with a Moroccan-based global distributor to build and install up to 4,500 heat pumps.

The progress made in France and Morocco further highlights Dalradas recent expansion efforts in Europe, Africa, and around the globe as well as its ongoing mission of delivering clean energy technology and improved sustainability on the path to Net Zero.

Dalrada Technology Spain continues to accelerate its efforts in offering leading-edge products and services that optimize the energy resources of its clients while minimizing environmental impact and reducing energy costs.

About Dalrada Technology Spain

Dalrada Technology Spain S.L. is a wholly-owned technology subsidiary of Dalrada Corporation that brings clean energy technology to Europe and the surrounding regions with upgraded tools, machinery, and services, including heat pumps, HVAC systems, modern air conditioning, and more.

The company is committed to providing expert customer service throughout the design and implementation of projects, believing in transparency and creating true solutions, analyzing and studying client needs, and understanding and collaborating with clients to reach shared goals.

Dalrada Technology Spain understands todays environmental challenges and works to develop modern technology solutions that focus on fighting climate change and reducing CO2 emissions. The company offers a dedicated suite of energy efficient products and services and constantly creates new solutions for renewable energies, guaranteeing energy performance and cost savings through continuous optimization. For more information, please visit www.dalradatechnologyspain.com.

About Dalrada Corporation

Dalrada Financial Corporation (Dalrada) is a progressive organization that drives innovation to impact people, businesses, and the planet positively. The company owns and operates a global group of climate technology, clean energy, and precision manufacturing companies, each with a clearly-defined mandate to identify, address, and deliver solutions to unique economic, environmental, and efficiency problems facing public, government, and private sector organizations. Dalrada meets challenges by developing advanced technologies, products, and services with a clear and quantifiable value, generating a significant return on investment for its clients.

Dalrada companies are on the leading edge of developing and applying innovative eco-sensitive next-generation science, engineering, and technology, serving a broad range of industries. The companys products and services significantly reduce energy costs and remove barriers for its clients, creating a more sustainable and prosperous future for us all.

Dalradas subsidiaries and strategic partners operate in the United States, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Spain, India, and Morocco, and are centrally managed from the companys San Diego, California headquarters.

For more information, please visit www.dalrada.com, and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Disclaimer

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts, the statements are forward-looking, including statements regarding future revenues and sales projections, plans for future financing, the ability to meet operational milestones, marketing arrangements and plans, and shipments to and regulatory approvals in international markets. Such statements reflect management's current views, are based on certain assumptions, and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results, events, or performance may differ materially from the above forward-looking statements due to a number of important factors and will be dependent upon a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, our ability to obtain additional financing that will allow us to continue our current and future operations and whether demand for our products and services in domestic and international markets will continue to expand. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date hereof or to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard to these forward-looking statements or the occurrence of unanticipated events. Factors that may impact the Company's success are more fully disclosed in the Company's most recent public filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including its annual report on Form 10-K.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907298413/en/

Media Contacts:

Michael Eslinger

[email protected]

MARKET AWARENESS

Stockwatchindex, LLC

442-287-8059

[email protected]

Source: Dalrada Financial Corporation
The launch brings DealHubs collaborative workspace to HubSpot CRM users

AUSTIN, Texas & BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DealHub.io, the leading Quote-to-Revenue Hub, today officially announced the launch of its Digital DealRoom for HubSpot CRM at the annual HubSpot INBOUND 2023 conference. DealRoom is a collaborative workspace where buyers and sellers seamlessly engage, streamline communications, and accelerate the deal process and buyer journey, all within the HubSpot ecosystem.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907748313/en/

(Photo: DealHub)

DealRoom enables sellers to orchestrate a comprehensive and strategic narrative that delivers buyers the most relevant, contextual content, at each stage of the buying journey. DealRoom enriches sales engagements, guides buyers to the next-best action, and enables the optimal self-serve check-out experience.

DealRoom has redefined and modernized the B2B buyer experience with a single source of truth, containing all the information needed to reach multi-stakeholder consensus, stated Eyal Elbahary, CEO of DealHub. Together with its ability to uncover previously unattainable Deal Insights and Buyer Intent, DealRoom has proven to take buyer-seller engagements and win-rates to an entirely new level.

Fresh off the announcement of inclusion in Hubspots 20 Essential Apps for Sales, the launch of DealRoom for HubSpot is another indication of DealHubs commitment to empowering HubSpot users with a frictionless quote-to-revenue process.

Here's how DealHub unifies the sales experience:

Enhanced Engagement: Dynamic and interactive multimedia content, with the ability for buyers and sellers to chat, ensuring a real-time interactive experience.

Collaborative Alignment: Mutual Action Plans facilitate the alignment of goals and real-time communication, ensuring a transparent and dynamic sales process.

Centralized Content Repository: Integrated DealBox provides a single source of truth for all deal-related content and materials, streamlining operations and increasing clarity.

Predictive Buyer Intent: DealStream delivers real-time buyer insights on deal progress and buyer sentiment, keeping all stakeholders informed and aligned.

Unified Self-Checkout: Selectable quote options, Payment Gateways, online forms, and integrated eSignature, optimizing the complete deal closing process.

Next Best Buyer Actions: Proactive Buyer recommendations on optimal next steps facilitate faster decision-making and more insightful buying decisions.

DealHub will be demonstrating the advanced capabilities of DealRoom in its booth at the INBOUND 2023 conference in Boston, Sept 6 to 8, 2023.

About DealHub

DealHub offers the most complete and connected Quote-to-Revenue solutions for sales organizations. Our low-code platform empowers visionary leaders to connect their teams and processes, execute deals faster, and create accurate and predictable pipelines. With a unified CPQ, CLM, Billing, and Subscription Management stack powered by a guided selling playbook, teams can generate spot-on quotes, accelerate contract negotiations, and sign off bigger deals. Using DealRoom, they can centralize buyer/seller communications to deliver the most innovative buyer experience and drive deals to success.

For more information, visit dealhub.io or follow DealHub on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907748313/en/

Gideon Thomas, CMO

[email protected]

+972584433192

Source: DealHub.io
13th Consecutive Year to Receive This Honor

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Del Grande Dealer Group (DGDG), Northern Californias largest family-owned automotive group has been recognized as one of 2023s Top Ten Workplaces in the Bay Area, according to a recent survey completed by the San Francisco Chronicle and research firm Energage. More than 180 companies participated in the survey. For the complete list of winners, click here.

DGDG placed seventh in the large company category, an honor that rarely goes to a car dealership. Winners were chosen based on results of an annual feedback survey completed solely by employees. The survey measures several aspects of workplace culture including appreciation, company values, leadership, execution, innovation, and communication.

DGDG attributes this accolade to the dealer groups continued commitment to the personal and professional growth of their team members. This commitment is exemplified by the introduction of new training platforms such as the DGDG Leadership Academy, designed to educate and cultivate future leaders within the organization. Furthermore, DGDGs expanding footprint, highlighted by the addition of Audi Modesto last year, provides increased opportunities for promotions and career development.

DGDG is incredibly proud to win Top Workplace honors for the 13th consecutive year, said DGDG CEO Jeremy Beaver. As a direct result of our teams hard work and dedication, we have achieved remarkable milestones this year. We have confirmed 100 internal promotions, achieved our highest-ever team member satisfaction rate of 81 percent, and reduced our attrition rate to its lowest rate ever 34 percent.

The recent launch of Sell to DGDG, a retailing platform that allows consumers to sell personal vehicles easily, quickly, and hassle-free, not only allows for a better guest experience but also streamlines efforts for team members.

The companies and competition get tougher each year, making receiving this award even more meaningful, added Beaver.

Giving back to their local communities is also important to the successful culture at DGDG. Through financial contributions, collaborations with nonprofit organizations, and employee volunteerism, DGDG Does Good  Del Grande Does Good, the charitable arm of the DGDG dealership group, brings positive lasting change to its communities. To date, $1 million has been donated to worthy causes and recipients.

About Del Grande Dealer Group

The Del Grande Dealer Group (DGDG) is Northern Californias largest family-owned automotive group. The dealer group comprises 17 brands and 19 dealerships in Northern California, including: Audi Modesto, Salinas Honda, Capitol Buick GMC, Capitol Chevrolet, Capitol Ford, Capitol Hyundai, Capitol Kia, Capitol Mazda, Capitol Subaru, Capitol Volkswagen, Concord Mazda, Fremont Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Fremont Hyundai, Genesis of Stevens Creek, Salinas Honda, Stevens Creek Hyundai, Stevens Creek Mazda, Team Cadillac, Team Chevrolet, and Team Mazda. DGDG.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907467540/en/

DeeDee Taft

Spin Communications

[email protected]

415.515.1229

Source: Del Grande Dealer Group
ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Derek A. Webb has been selected to receive the prestigious 2023 American Inns of Court Sandra Day OConnor Award for Professional Service, which honors an American Inn of Court member in practice 10 years or fewer for their excellence in public interest or pro bono activities. Webb, a research scholar at Yale Law School, will receive the award in October at the 2023 American Inns of Court Celebration of Excellence at the Supreme Court of the United States.

During his five years with us at Sidley, Derek demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to pro bono service that makes him a worthy recipient of the award, writes Jeffrey Green, Esquire, of Sidley Austin LLP, a former colleague who nominated Webb for the award. Derek amply demonstrated a willingness to go the extra mile for his clients.

Before heading to Yale, Webb was the deans visiting scholar at Georgetown University Law Center. At Sidley Austin, where he was senior managing associate from 2017 to 2022, Webb received the firms Vincent F. Prada and Mark Herzog Pro Bono Award annually and received high honors from the Capital Pro Bono Honor Role of the District of Columbia Courts. Prior to entering private practice, Webb was a law clerk to Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He was also a Supreme Court Fellow in the Office of the Counselor to the Chief Justice, a nonresident senior fellow in constitutional studies at the National Constitution Center, and a fellow at the Stanford Constitutional Law Center.

Webb is an associate member of the Edward Coke Appellate American Inn of Court. In 2012, he won the American Inns of Court Warren E. Burger Prize for Writing for an essay on the original meaning of civility. He serves on the board of the Abraham Lincoln Institute, a nonprofit that promotes scholarly research on Lincoln.

Webb earned a cum laude undergraduate degree in philosophy from Yale University in 1998. He studied theology at Oxford University, then earned a doctorate in political science from the University of Notre Dame in 2008. He earned a cum laude law degree from Georgetown University Law School in 2012. He is an Eagle Scout, the highest achievement within the Boy Scouts of America.

The American Inns of Court, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, inspires the legal community to advance the rule of law by achieving the highest level of professionalism through example, education, and mentoring. The organizations membership includes nearly 30,000 federal, state, and local judges; lawyers; law professors; and law students in more than 360 chapters nationwide. More information is available at www.innsofcourt.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907022380/en/

American Inns of Court

Cindy Dennis

Awards & Scholarships Coordinator

(571) 319-4703

[email protected]

Source: American Inns of Court
The commemoration will include a variety of cross-company activations, including a theatrical re-release in the U.S. and Canada

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Disney (NYSE: DIS) announced a scare-ific cross-company celebration honoring the 30th anniversary of the release of Tim Burtons The Nightmare Before Christmas.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907601697/en/

Created by Shepard Faireys Studio Number One (Graphic: Walt Disney Company)

Since its 1993 debut, the film has charmed audiences, becoming a holiday classic and a tradition for many who eagerly await the annual Haunted Mansion Holiday takeover at Disneyland. This milestone highlights the endless appeal of the animated film, and this year, companywide festivities will extend to include a re-release of the film in movie theaters, more celebrations at Disney parks and resorts, new product offerings and much more, including a surprise announcement to come.

To keep the celebration going, The Walt Disney Company has brewed up a few ways to help fans take part in the hallowed fun:

Tim Burtons holiday classic will hit theaters across the U.S. and in Canada on October 20. To commemorate the re-release, new artwork inspired by the film was created by Shepard Faireys Studio Number One. Additionally, the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood will show the film in 4D and host anniversary screenings featuring specialty concessions, souvenirs and more.

Celebrate the film's anniversary with a collectible zoetrope vinyl. This two-vinyl set includes the soundtrack from the film featuring all time classics like "What's this," "This is Halloween" and more. Plus, check out the mesmerizing zoetrope effect on the vinyl once it plays on a record player. The collectible zoetrope vinyl is available for pre-order now at Disney Music Emporium.

At Disneyland park, the Haunted Mansion attraction has undergone its annual seasonal transformation to become Haunted Mansion Holiday, as Jack Skellington wrecks the halls of the mansion with frightfully festive decor inspired by "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas."

Oogie Boogie Bash will take over Disney California Adventure, bringing rare characters, villains and spellbinding experiences on 25 select evenings between September 5 and October 31. During Mickeys Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom park, guests can witness Disneys Not-So-Spooky Spectacular  a wickedly wild fireworks display featuring some fan-favorite Disney Characters and hosted by Jack Skellington.

At Hong Kong Disneyland, fans will have the chance to meet Jack Skellington and Sally as they welcome guests to themed experiences across the parks. While at Disneyland Paris, guests will be able to meet Jack Skellington during the Disney Halloween Festival and Disney Enchanted Christmas.

Disney Consumer Products, Games and Publishing has debuted product lines in celebration of the anniversary from licensees and retailers such as Hot Topic and The Home Depot that include apparel, dolls, role-play products, home decor, a 13 giant-sized animatronic Jack Skellington and more. In addition, fans can dive into adult crafting and activities with all-new curated books inspired by the film, such as The Official Baking Cookbook  (Insight Editions) or read the collectible novelization of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas by Megan Shepherd, plus check out the Little Golden Book and various kids' storybooks for more family fun.

(Insight Editions) or read the collectible novelization of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas by Megan Shepherd, plus check out the Little Golden Book and various kids' storybooks for more family fun. Throughout the fall, Disney Cruise Line guests will be treated to themed experiences on Halloween on the High Seas sailings.

ABC will air the holiday classic on October 22 at 8 p.m. Eastern time and viewers can tune into Freeforms 31 Nights of Halloween with several opportunities to watch the film starting October 1. Disney Channel will also bring the Pumpkin King to fans on October 28 and December 11.

Disney+ subscribers are invited to stream the movie and the movies sing-along version on the service.

Fans can also experience the restored and remastered film in stunning 4K Ultra HD on Blu-ray disc and Digital. A special Disney 100 anniversary Steelbook is available exclusively from Best Buy.

About Tim Burtons The Nightmare Before Christmas

Enter an extraordinary world filled with magic and wonder, where every holiday has its own special land. This is the heartfelt tale of Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town and all things that go bump in the night. Bored with the same old trick and treats, he yearns for something more, and soon stumbles upon the glorious magic of Christmas Town. When Jack decides to bring this joyful holiday back to Halloween Town, his dreams to fill Santas shows unravels, and its up to Sally, the rag doll who loves him, to stitch things together again.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907601697/en/

The Walt Disney Company

Erin Barrier

[email protected]

Source: The Walt Disney Company
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Since the pandemic, employers and workers compensation carriers have been refining their claims strategies to address the historic increase in anxiety, depression and substance abuse.

We have looked at the claims data since the pandemic and we are seeing a 10-fold increase in costs with claims involving anxiety and two-fold increase in costs with claims involving depression, said Empatha CEO Darrell Bruga, a nationally recognized expert in biopsychosocial factors in workers compensation claims.

Bruga will join Starbucks Senior Manager Claims, Risk Management Noreen Olson, and Mark Weinberger, CEO of the IMA Group, to present the Injured Worker Resiliency and Complicating Psychosocial Factors Impacting Claims session at the National Comp Conference on September 20 at 2:30 p.m.

Panelists will discuss trends in the psychosocial factors affecting delayed recovery and return to work. They will also share ways to proactively identify at-risk individuals and determine the timing of screenings and interventions. The session also features strategies for increasing participation in these programs.

We need to view work disability as a distinct target of intervention, Bruga said. Its not just about symptoms and coping behaviors.

National Comp will be held September 20-22 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada. For information, please see https://wcconference.com.

About Empatha

Empatha provides biopsychosocial care management programs for individuals experiencing needless delays in recovery. The company delivers evidence-based programs to improve recovery rates and return-to-work outcomes in cases involving chronic pain, post-COVID syndrome, and concussion, along with depression and anxiety. Programs involve holistic, patient-centric care that can include work-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, Progressive Goal Attainment Program (PGAP), physical therapy, and pain reprocessing therapy. Based in the Austin, Texas area, Empatha serves employers and insurers nationally and can be reached via [email protected] or 800.805.1821.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907938407/en/

Helen King Patterson, APR, King Knight Communications, 813.690.4787, [email protected]

Source: Empatha
Former Tyson Foods Executive Brings Significant Operating and Finance Expertise and Proven Record of Building High Performance Teams and Iconic Brands

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Fashion apparel retailer Express, Inc. (NYSE: EXPR) today announced that Stewart Glendinning has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Express Board of Directors, effective September 15, 2023. Glendinning succeeds Tim Baxter, who has resigned as Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board. Baxter will be available as needed to support a smooth transition.

Glendinning brings to Express more than 20 years of experience in the consumer products industry and a proven record of operating excellence, financial discipline and building high-performing teams to grow iconic brands. He most recently served as Group President, Prepared Foods of Tyson Foods, Inc. In this role, he managed all aspects of the Prepared Foods portfolio, including renowned brands Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm and Ball Park, and guided the business to strong volume performance and market share gains across the retail brand portfolio. Previously, Glendinning was Chief Financial Officer of Tyson Foods and responsible for worldwide financial planning, finance and accounting functions.

The Express Board is confident that Stewart is the right person to reinvigorate performance and build the strongest possible foundation on which Express can succeed, said Mylle Mangum, Chairman of the Express Board. He is a highly accomplished executive who will bring fresh thinking to the Company and our strategies for profitable growth. Stewart shares the Boards belief that further operating improvements and greater financial discipline are needed to ensure that Express is best positioned to deliver significant, sustainable shareholder value.

Glendinning said, Express has an outstanding portfolio of brands, a high-potential partnership with WHP and a premier omnichannel platform. Through a keen focus on execution and cost discipline, I am confident that we can better capitalize on these differentiators, increase the Companys financial strength and create shareholder value. I look forward to leveraging my experience and to working closely with the Board and Express team to drive value creation for all our stakeholders.

Mangum added, On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Tim for his contributions to Express. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.

Mr. Baxters resignation is unrelated to the Companys accounting or financial reporting, and the Company reaffirms its guidance previously announced on September 6.

About Stewart Glendinning

Glendinning joins Express from Tyson Foods, where he most recently served as Group President, Prepared Foods. He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Tyson Foods. As Chief Financial Officer of Tyson Foods, he was responsible for the worldwide finance and accounting functions of the Company and represented Tyson Foods on matters involving investors, banks, ratings agencies, auditors and other financial matters.

Earlier in his career, Glendinning served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Molson Coors International. He began his career at Molson Coors in 2005 as Chief Financial Officer for Molson Coors UK and subsequently held the positions of Chief Financial Officer for Molson Coors Brewing, President and Chief Executive Officer of the UK Business, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Molson Coors Canada.

Before joining Molson Coors in 2005, Glendinning worked with KPMG and then The Hackett Group, professional services companies where he held various senior audit and consulting roles.

He serves on the Board of Directors of The North West Company and has served with various organizations within the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Glendinning earned his bachelors degree in accounting from the College of William and Mary and a law degree from the University of Miami.

About EXPR

EXPR is a multi-brand fashion retailer whose portfolio includes Express, Bonobos and UpWest. The Company operates an omnichannel platform as well as physical and online stores. Grounded in a belief that style, quality and value should all be found in one place, Express is a brand with a purpose - We Create Confidence. We Inspire Self-Expression. - powered by a styling community. Bonobos is a menswear brand known for exceptional fit and an innovative retail model. UpWest is an apparel, accessories and home goods brand with a purpose to Provide Comfort for People & Planet.

The Company has 530 Express retail and Express Factory Outlet stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, the Express.com online store and the Express mobile app; 60 Bonobos Guideshop locations and the Bonobos.com online store; and 11 UpWest retail stores and the UpWest.com online store. EXPR is traded on the NYSE under the symbol EXPR. For more information about our Company, please visit www.express.com/investor and for more information about our brands, please visit www.express.com, www.bonobos.com or www.upwest.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact and include, but are not limited to (1) guidance and expectations, including statements regarding expected operating margins, comparable sales, effective tax rates, interest income, net income, diluted earnings per share, cash tax refunds, liquidity, EBITDA, free cash flow, eCommerce demand, and capital expenditures, (2) statements regarding expected store openings, store closures, store conversions, and gross square footage, (3) statements regarding the Company's strategy, plans, and initiatives, including, but not limited to, results expected from such strategy, plans, and initiatives, (4) statements regarding the Companys workforce reduction and other cost reduction actions, including, but not limited to, charges associated with the workforce reduction and the financial benefits (and the timing of the realization of such benefits) expected from such actions, and (5) the anticipated benefits or effects of the Bonobos acquisition, including statements regarding operating results, financial efficiencies, operational synergies, and our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions related to the acquired assets. You can identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words in the future tense and statements accompanied by words such as outlook, indicator, believes, expects, potential, continues, may, will, should, seeks, approximately, predicts, intends, plans, scheduled, estimates, anticipates, opportunity, leads or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions, which may not prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict, and significant contingencies, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from these forward-looking statements. Among these factors are (1) changes in consumer spending and general economic conditions; (2) the duration and severity of ongoing negative macroeconomic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and their future impact on our business operations, financial condition, liquidity and cash flow; (3) geopolitical risks, including impacts from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and increased tensions between China and Taiwan; (4) our ability to operate our business efficiently, manage capital expenditures and costs, and obtain financing when required; (5) our ability to identify and respond to new and changing fashion trends, customer preferences, and other related factors including selling through inventory at an appropriate price; (6) fluctuations in our sales, results of operations, and cash levels on a seasonal basis and due to a variety of other factors, including our product offerings relative to customer demand, the mix of merchandise we sell, promotions, inventory levels, and sales mix between stores and eCommerce; (7) customer traffic at malls, shopping centers, and at our stores; (8) competition from other retailers; (9) our dependence on a strong brand image; (10) our ability to adapt to changing consumer behavior and develop and maintain a relevant and reliable omni-channel experience for our customers, including our efforts to optimize our omni-channel platform through our partnership with WHP Global; (11) the failure or breach of information systems upon which we rely; (12) our ability to protect customer data from fraud and theft; (13) our dependence upon third parties to manufacture all of our merchandise; (14) changes in the cost of raw materials, labor, and freight; (15) labor shortages and supply chain disruption; (16) our dependence upon key executive management; (17) our ability to execute our growth strategy, EXPRESSway Forward, including, but not limited to, engaging our customers and acquiring new ones, executing with precision to accelerate sales and profitability, creating great product and reinvigorating our brand; (18) our substantial lease obligations; (19) our reliance on third parties to provide us with certain key services for our business; (20) impairment charges on long-lived assets; (21) claims made against us resulting in litigation or changes in laws and regulations applicable to our business; (22) our inability to protect our trademarks or other intellectual property rights which may preclude the use of our trademarks or other intellectual property around the world; (23) restrictions imposed on us under the terms of our current credit facility, including asset based requirements related to inventory levels, ability to make additional borrowings, and restrictions on the ability to effect share repurchases; (24) our inability to maintain compliance with covenants in our current credit facility; (25) changes in tax requirements, results of tax audits, and other factors including timing of tax refund receipts, that may cause fluctuations in our effective tax rate; (26) changes in tariff rates; (27) natural disasters, extreme weather, public health issues, including pandemics, fire, acts of terrorism or war and other events that cause business interruption, (28) risks related to our strategic partnership with WHP Global; (29) our ability to realize the expected strategic and financial benefits of the Bonobos acquisition; (30) our failure to regain compliance with the continued listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange, or any future failure to meet those requirements; and (31) the financial and other effects of our workforce reduction and other cost reduction actions, including our inability to realize the benefits from such actions within the anticipated timeframe. These factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the additional information concerning these and other factors in Express, Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907981810/en/

Investors

Greg Johnson

[email protected]

614-474-4890

Media

Sarah Gordon

SHADOW

212-972-0277 x4077

[email protected] / [email protected]

Source: Express, Inc.
Introduction of CBDC to be in a Phased Manner: Maha Prasad Adhikari, Governor, Nepal Rastra Bank

MUMBAI, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Introduction of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in Nepal shall be envisioned in a phased manner, said Mr. Maha Prasad Adhikari, Governor, Nepal Rastra Bank, during a special address on Empowering Financial Inclusion through Fintech Innovation: Nepal's Journey towards a More Inclusive Financial Landscape at the Global Fintech Fest 2023. The session was hosted by Mohan Tanksale, Strategic Consultant, SWIFT India Domestic Services.

The introduction of CBDC is one of the complex and multifaceted processes that require collaboration among various stakeholders including central banks, government entities, financial institutions, banks, technology providers and the general public, Mr. Adhikari added.

Mr. Adhikari said that the government of Nepal considered digitalisation as its top priority and accordingly formulated its Digital Nepal Framework in 2019. In alignment with this the issuance of the Nepal Pay Card, like Indias RuPay card, is in progress.

Elaborating on the memorandum of understanding signed between Nepal Clearing House Limited and NPCI, Shri Adhikari remarked that it was expected to have a paradigm shift and enhance connectivity for digital financial services between the two countries. NCHL and NPCI International are working on the issues regarding network operating rules of joint interface, operating guideline, selection of settlement banks and developing the testing environment, he remarked.

GFF 2023, the largest thought leadership platform in the world, is supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MietY), the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and is organized by the Payments Council of India (PCI), Fintech Convergence Council (FCC), and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

Highlights of Global Fintech Fest 2023:

3 days | 13 tracks | 800+ Speakers | 15+ Thought Leadership Reports |81 Academic Papers| 50+ Workshops | 125+ Countries | 250+ Sessions | 250+ Investors |500+ exhibitors |150K Sq. Ft Exhibition Area|3 Hackathons| 50000+ Delegates

For more information on:

Global Fintech Fest 2023: Global Fintech Fest 2023: The Premier Fintech Event of the Year

Payments Council of India: PCI - Payments Council of India

Fintech Convergence Council: Welcome to Fintech Convergence Council (fintechcouncil.in)

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907762254/en/

Media contact

Nilanjan Hajra

+91-9163788318

[email protected]

Source: Global Fintech Fest 2023
Thuja Capital and founding investor Sofinnova Partners also joined the round

The funds will enable the company to advance the clinical development of its unique, minimally invasive ultrasound-based catheter for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, with initial focus on the Group 2 population, or heart failure accompanied by high pulmonary vascular resistance

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Gradient Denervation Technologies (Gradient), a medical device company developing an innovative catheter-based solution for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, announces today the successful closing of a 14m Series A financing that will support ongoing clinical development and evaluation of the ultrasound-based catheter device. Asabys Partners led the round through its new fund Sabadell Asabys II and was joined by Thuja Capital and founding investor Sofinnova Partners. Gradient was established in 2020 through a 3.5m seed financing from Sofinnova MD Start, the venture capital firms dedicated medtech accelerator.

Headquartered in Paris, the company is founded on cutting-edge innovation developed by the clinicians Dr. Swaminadhan Gnanashanmugam and Dr. Jeffrey Feinstein at the prestigious Stanford Biodesign Program. The company initiated a first-in-human clinical study earlier this year.

Gradients novel technology aims to treat patients with pulmonary hypertension by reducing sympathetic input into the pulmonary vasculature. The companys initial focus is the Group 2 pulmonary hypertension patient population, which consists of patients with heart failure and associated high pulmonary vascular resistance. Up to 50% of heart failure patients have this debilitating condition, resulting in a large patient population with no approved therapies. Gradients minimally invasive device, designed for use in the pulmonary arteries, harnesses therapeutic ultrasound energy to perform the denervation procedure.

Martin Grasse, Chief Executive Officer of Gradient, said, Im very happy to welcome Asabys Partners and Thuja Capital to the Gradient team. In addition to capital, these investors bring deep expertise and thought partnership to Gradient as we seek to bring our technology to patients.

Sylvain Sachot, Partner at Asabys Partners, said, Gradients technology has the potential to become a first-in-class treatment for patients suffering from heart failure and elevated pulmonary pressures. The company is ready to prove the concept of its technology in the clinic, and we look forward to joining the management in this exciting journey."

Evan Castiglia, Partner at Thuja Capital, added, Gradient has the potential to significantly improve the care of patients with pulmonary hypertension due to left heart disease, a patient group with a substantial need for better treatment solutions. We are excited to support the team as they pursue this mission.

Mano Iyer, Venture Partner at Sofinnova Partners, commented, Our continued support for Gradient underscores Sofinnovas mission of backing world-class innovation. The transformative potential we saw in Gradients unique technology at the outset is increasingly apparent, reinforcing our early conviction. We are excited to work with an expanded investor base to make this technology available for all patients with heart failure and pulmonary hypertension.

About Gradient Denervation Technologies

Gradient Denervation Technologies has developed a minimally invasive device for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension. Gradient leverages intellectual property developed at Stanford University and has been incubated since 2020 by Sofinnova MD Start, a Paris-based medtech accelerator that actively works with clinicians and entrepreneurs to develop disruptive medical devices. The Gradient device is for investigational use only and is not approved for commercial use. www.gradientdenervation.com

About Asabys Partners

Asabys Partners is a venture capital firm specialized in the healthcare sector, founded in 2018 by Josep Ll. Sanfeliu and Clara Campas, participated by Alantra and with the support of Banc Sabadell as anchor investor. With close to 217 million in AUM and 15 portfolio companies (+1 exit), Asabys invests in highly innovative and disruptive companies covering unmet medical needs in the biopharma and healthtech verticals. The firms investment in the company comes from its vehicles Sabadell Asabys Health Innovation Investments II, FCR and Sabadell Asabys Health Innovation Investments 2B, SCR SA. This operation benefits from the support of the European Union under the InvestEU Fund. www.asabys.com

About Thuja Capital

Thuja Capital Management (Thuja Capital) manages several venture capital funds aimed at building and scaling companies in the fields of (bio)pharmaceuticals, medtech and digital health. In addition to generating a financial return for its investors, Thujas investments aim to positively impact the health and well-being of patients. Thuja serves physicians and patients worldwide by providing capital and support to daring entrepreneurs with ground-breaking product concepts. For more information, please visit www.thujacapital.com

About Sofinnova Partners

Sofinnova Partners is a leading European venture capital firm in life sciences, specializing in healthcare and sustainability. Based in Paris, London and Milan, the firm brings together a team of professionals from all over the world with strong scientific, medical, and business expertise. Sofinnova Partners is a hands-on company builder across the entire value chain of life sciences investments, from seed to later-stage. The firm actively partners with ambitious entrepreneurs as a lead or cornerstone investor to develop transformative innovations that have the potential to positively impact our collective future.

Founded in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is a deeply established venture capital firm in Europe, with 50 years of experience backing over 500 companies and creating market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners has over 2.5 billion under management. For more information, please visit: www.sofinnovapartners.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907643150/en/

CEO of Gradient

Martin Grasse

[email protected]

www.gradientdenervation.com

+33 01 76 23 41 00

Source: Gradient Denervation Technologies
Claims Google shut out competition in mobile search, raising prices for advertisers, with consumers ultimately paying the cost

Estimated damages worth approximately 7 billion - piling pressure on Google as its longstanding search advertising model faces unprecedented technological and regulatory challenges

Google accused of anti-competitive practices by effectively forcing handset manufacturers to pre-install Google search and browser apps on Android devices

Company also accused of unlawfully paying billions to Apple to ensure that Google was the default search engine on Apple phones

These unlawful practices have already incurred complaints, censure and adverse rulings from regulators in the European Union, United States and UK, and Europes largest ever fine for breach of competition law

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The extent of Googles alleged abuse of its market dominance in mobile search advertising has become clear today in a new claim filed at the UK court demanding compensation for effectively every consumer in the country.

The claim seeks approximately 7bn in redress on behalf of UK consumers from Google for breaches of competition law in shutting out competition in mobile search. Google uses its market dominance to raise the prices paid by advertisers for prominence on the Google search page, according to the claim. Those increased prices are systematically passed on to consumers, who are charged higher prices for the goods and services they buy.

Googles role in driving prices higher has happened by stealth, but is finally laid bare in the legal claim. It is believed that practically every consumer in the country has been hit in the pocket by the tech giants dominance, because of Googles importance as an advertising platform for goods and services.

Google is accused of crowding its search pages with paid advertising - pressuring companies to pay more for clicks, rather than depend on consumers finding their sites organically. Googles auction system also gives undue prominence to the highest-paying advertisers, rather than prioritising quality  to the further detriment of consumers. Google Ads generated over $224 billion in revenue in 2022, accounting for almost 80% of parent company Alphabets revenue ($283 billion in 2022).

These alleged acts of price manipulation by Google are possible because Google is set as the default search engine account for at least 94% of the mobile device sector, by usage1. The legal claim argues that in a more competitive market for search, a search engine would tend to focus on maximizing quality, leading to a higher proportion of free organic results. A more competitive search engine would also select ads based more on relevance to the user than price paid by the advertiser.

The case will today be filed at the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal by Nikki Stopford, a UK-based consumer champion with 25 years experience advocating and raising industry standards for consumers. Ms Stopford is seeking to be the court-authorised class representative to lead the litigation on behalf of all affected consumers. She is represented by Hausfeld.

The case against Google

The first alleged infringement, regarding Android devices, follows on from the 2018 Android Decision of the European Commission (and subsequent confirmation in the General Court in 2022) which found that Google had abused its dominant position in tying Search with other apps and services. In particular, smart phone manufacturers have been required to install Google Search and Chrome browser apps in order to be able to obtain a licence from Google to use its Google Play store and streaming service.

The second alleged infringement relates to commercial agreements between Google and Apple to ensure Google was the default search engine for the Safari browser preinstalled with iOS (the operating system used on Apples iPhones). According to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), In 2019, Google paid Apple approximately 1.2bn to ensure default status on Safari in the UK alone,

A complaint by the Department of Justice and several Attorneys General in the US in January 2021, as well as recent findings by the CMA in the UK, support the claim that Googles commercial agreement with Apple foreclosed the market for search on iOS devices.

The claim alleges that these conducts have enabled Google to maintain and strengthen its dominant position on search on mobile and act as what the CMA describes as a barrier to expansion for other search engines.

Taken together, the consumer damages are estimated to be worth approximately 7 billion.

Who is eligible to be part of the claim?

The claim is on behalf of all UK consumers aged 16 years or over who have paid increased prices for goods and services from advertisers as a result of the actions of Google.

All that is necessary is that you purchased goods and/or services from a business selling in the UK which used search advertising services provided by Google. It is not necessary for you to have seen the goods or services advertised on Google, or used Google to purchase the goods or services. This is because the claim says that these higher prices affected all of a business products if it advertised on Google.

Those who are interested in finding out more about the claim and signing up for regular updates should visit www.searchclaim.co.uk.

About the class representative

Nikki Stopford brings 25 years of experience in advocating and raising industry standards for consumers. She co-founded Consumer Voice and is the Chair of the British Standards Institute (BSI) Consumer Forum, also representing consumers interests on the BSIs Standards Policy and Strategy Committee. She has held executive leadership roles running successful digital and content-led consumer-facing businesses that have engaged and advocated for millions of consumers. For more than 10 years, Ms Stopford was Group Director of Research and Publishing at Which?  the UK's largest consumer organization. She was also COO Officer at Resolver, a well-known technology, data and digital business operating in consumer complaints and dispute resolution markets.

Nikki Stopford, the class representative in the action, said:

Almost everybody uses Google as their go-to search engine, often trusting the company to help them find the best products and services at reasonable prices. Unfortunately, Googles dominance of the search market has actually raised those prices for consumers. Despite judgments at the highest levels in Europe and complaints in the US, Google continues to rig the search market so that it can charge advertisers more.

Its a clear breach of competition law, for which consumers are paying the price. Google has been warned about its behaviour by competition regulators repeatedly but has taken no meaningful action to stop the abuse. This action aims to make the company accountable for its repeated lawbreaking and get consumers back the money theyre owed.

Luke Streatfeild, Partner at legal firm Hausfeld & Co LLP, who is leading the litigation, said:

Google provides a great service, but it isnt free. Instead, this claim says that Google has choked off competition in search engines for years, to the detriment of the businesses that use its services  and, ultimately, consumers. The lack of competition leads to higher prices and poorer quality, and the effects of this are felt throughout the UK economy. We represent Nikki Stopford in bringing this action, to promote healthier competition in digital markets, and compensation for UK consumers for the losses they have suffered because of Googles breaches of competition law.

Further Information

Affected claimants, on whose behalf the class action is brought, will not pay costs or fees to participate in this legal action, which is being funded by Hereford Litigation, a global commercial litigation funder. The action is insured, which means that class members have no adverse cost risk in relation to the claim.

Hausfeld has instructed Daniel Jowell KC and Colin West KC of Brick Court Chambers, and Mehdi Baiou and Andrew Lomas of One Essex Court.

Notes for Editors

About Hausfeld & Co LLP:

Hausfeld is a leading disputes-only law firm specialising in competition law, with significant expertise in all aspects of collective redress and group claims, including abuse of dominance litigation against Big Tech and other large corporates. The firm pioneered the Trucks Cartel litigation in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands and has acted on some of the most complex damages claims of the last decade: on the Interchange Fee litigation against Visa and Mastercard; against six financial institutions over their participation in unlawful price-fixing of the foreign exchange currency markets; and against Google, Apple, Amazon and Qualcomm in relation to alleged anti-competitive behaviour in a wide range of abuse of dominance actions. Click here for more info on Hausfelds collective redress practice.

1. CMA Digital Advertising Final Report, Appendix H, para 12.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907027704/en/

Media enquiries

Palatine Communications - Conal Walsh / Victoria Fell / Joshua Wolff

[email protected]

Source: Hausfeld & Co LLP
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Housing Is A Human Right (HHR) applauds the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for an important ruling that outlaws sweeps of unhoused residents in San Francisco while there continues to be a lack of safe shelter and affordable housing. We believe permanent housing is the best solution to help the unhoused population.

We are unclear how this will affect the city of Los Angeles. But as cited in a recent New York Times article, California has struggled for years with severe income inequality, expensive living costs, and a lack of affordable housing, and the state now has more than 171,000 people who are homeless. Los Angeles has been conducting sweeps at a very high cost to the citys residents since 2019. If this was an actual solution wouldnt the numbers have gone down instead of up? Anger has been misdirected toward the people living in encampments instead of directed toward the actual policies and elected officials who have contributed to the worsening homelessness situation.

Criminalizing homelessness will never solve anything, and the numbers of unhoused people will only continue to rise. We urge state elected officials to see the big picture and realize that sweeps have failed. Instead, we need more affordable housing for all.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230906966389/en/

Ged Kenslea, AHF Communications Dir.

(323) 791-5526 cell

[email protected]

Source: Housing is a Human Right
Worldwide Ethernet Switch Market Grew Revenues 38.4% Year Over Year in Q2 2023; Router Market Increased 9.4%

NEEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The worldwide Ethernet switch market grew revenues 38.4% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2023 (2Q23) to $11.8 billion. The total worldwide enterprise and service provider (SP) router market recorded $4.6 billion in revenue in 2Q23, a 9.4% year-over-year increase. These results were published today in the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Ethernet Switch Tracker and Worldwide Quarterly Router Tracker.

Ethernet Switch Market Highlights

The Ethernet switch market's growth of 38.4% in 2Q23 builds on annualized growth of 31.6% in 1Q23. Through the first half of 2023, the Ethernet switch market is up 35.2% compared to the first half of 2022. A major driver of growth in the market continues to be the easing of supply chain issues that began during the global pandemic. With improved component availability, vendors are increasingly able to recognize revenues from fulfilling backlogged product orders. This trend is particularly relevant in the non-datacenter segment of the Ethernet switching market, where revenues grew 52.5% year over year in 2Q23, while port shipments rose 16.6%. Revenues in the datacenter portion of the market rose 21.7% year over year in 2Q23, while port shipments declined 2.4%.

Meanwhile, the higher-speed segments of the Ethernet switch market continue to see strong growth in the datacenter segment, driven by hyperscalers and cloud providers building datacenter network capacity. Market revenues for 200/400 GbE switches rose 61.9% year over year and 100GbE revenues increased 18.5% in 2Q23. Revenues for the 25/50 GbE segment increased 54.2% year over year. ODM (original device manufacturer) Direct sales continue to be an important part of the datacenter segment, rising 12.2% compared to 2Q22 to make up 12.6% of the datacenter segment's revenues.

Lower-speed switches, which are typically deployed in enterprise campus and branch locations, showed strength too, driven in part by the continued easing of supply chain constraints. Revenues for 1GbE switches rose 53.1% year over year in 2Q23. 10GbE switches rose 18.1% year over year in the quarter. And 2.5/5GbE switch revenue  also known as multi-gigabit Ethernet switches  rose 157.5% year over year in 2Q23.

From a geographic perspective, the Ethernet switch market saw growth in most regions of the world. In the Americas, quarterly market revenues rose 54.3% on an annualized basis with growth of 51.8% in the United States and 88.3% in Latin America. In Europe, the market rose 49.1% year over year with growth of 60.8% in Central and Eastern Europe and 44.0% in Western Europe. In the Middle East and Africa region, revenues grew 62.4% year over year. In the Asia/Pacific region, markets grew 7.7%, with the People's Republic of China market falling 7.8% year over year and Japan's market growing 18.9%.

"The Ethernet switch market's continued growth momentum is indicative of enterprises, hyperscalers, and services providers worldwide continuing to efficiently invest in higher-speed and feature-rich platforms to support new applications such as Generative AI workloads," said Vijay Bhagavath, research vice president, Cloud and Datacenter Networks at IDC. "Meanwhile, the component shortage issues continue to ease, allowing vendors across the Ethernet switching market to recognize revenues from backlogged orders and book new orders. The Ethernet switching market will continue to be dynamic in the quarters and years to come as supply chains normalize and high-performance network capacity continues to be built out."

Router Market Highlights

The service provider segment, which includes both communications SPs and cloud SPs, accounted for 77.5% of the market's total revenues in 2Q23. Revenues in the service provider segment increased 14.8% year over year while revenues in the enterprise segment declined 6.1% in the quarter. From a regional perspective, the combined service provider and enterprise router market in the Americas rose 10.3%, while in the Asia/Pacific region the market rose 3.0% year over year. In the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region, the market was up 18.3% year over year in 2Q23.

Vendor Highlights

Cisco's Ethernet switch revenues increased 55.3% year over year in 2Q23, giving the company a market share of 47.2%. Cisco's combined service provider and enterprise router revenue grew 18.1% in the quarter, giving the company a market share of 35.9% in 2Q23.

Arista Networks saw Ethernet switch revenues increase 42.6% year over year in 2Q23, giving the company 10.4% market share.

Huawei's Ethernet switch revenue increased 17.7% in 2Q23, giving the company a market share of 9.0%. The company's combined SP and enterprise router revenue rose 10.8%, giving the company a market share of 33.3% in the quarter.

HPE's Ethernet switch revenue increased 78.8% in 2Q23, resulting in a market share of 7.1%.

H3C's Ethernet switch revenue declined 10.9% year over year 2Q23, giving the company a market share of 4.1%. In the combined service provider and enterprise routing market, H3C's revenues decreased 10.0% in 2Q23, resulting in a market share of 2.0%.

Juniper's Ethernet switch revenue grew 35.2% year over year in 2Q23, resulting in a market share of 2.9%. Juniper's routing revenue increased 2.5% year over year in 2Q23, giving the company a market share of 10.3% this quarter.

A graphic illustrating the worldwide market share of the top 5 Ethernet switch companies over the previous five quarters is available by viewing this press release on IDC.com.

About IDC Trackers

IDC Tracker products provide accurate and timely market size, vendor share, and forecasts for hundreds of technology markets from more than 100 countries around the globe. Using proprietary tools and research processes, IDC's Trackers are updated on a semiannual, quarterly, and monthly basis. Tracker results are delivered to clients in user-friendly Excel deliverables and online query tools.

Click here to learn about IDC's full suite of data products and how you can leverage them to grow your business.

About IDC

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907894292/en/

Brandon Butler

508-935-4325

[email protected]

Petr Jirovsky

413-313-6112

[email protected]

Michael Shirer

508-935-4200

[email protected]

Source: IDC
CALABASAS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI), published a new national report, Pullback in Multifamily Construction Starts.

As access to development capital across the country diminishes and rent growth slows, multifamily starts are cooling, stated Greg Willett, first vice president and national director, research services, IPA. Among the 15 markets that account for over half of the nations ongoing apartment construction, building starts in the second quarter of 2023 totaled just under half the average volume recorded during the previous two years.

Pullback in Multifamily Construction Starts research report provides investors with the latest apartment construction research and analysis, including key findings such as:

The largest declines are in Texas, with second quarter 2023 project initiations in Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth at less than one-third the earlier volume. Slowdowns are also pronounced in Philadelphia, Denver, and Washington, D.C.

Pullbacks in new construction that mirror the average for the 15 markets under study are in Los Angeles at 52%, Seattle at 51% and Atlanta at 50%.

Markets where the pullback in construction is somewhat slower to materialize are in Florida and the Carolinas. Raleigh-Durham is the single location in the analysis where apartment construction starts in Q2 2023 remained in line with the volume recorded in early 2021 through early 2023.

Given that the typical apartment property takes 18 to 24 months to complete, delivery volumes should begin to wane in early 2025 and then drop notably during the last half of the year.

Rent growth is likely to regain momentum as early as spring 2024, when the normal seasonal upturn in leasing velocity should coincide with obvious signs that todays new supply excess is temporary, added John Sebree, senior vice president and national director of the firms Multi Housing Division. Price increases should prove robust during 2025.

Access IPAs complete Pullback in Multifamily Construction Starts report here.

About Institutional Property Advisors (IPA)

Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) is a division of Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI), a leading commercial real estate services firm in North America. IPAs combination of real estate investment and capital markets expertise, industry-leading technology, and acclaimed research offer customized solutions for the acquisition, disposition and financing of institutional properties and portfolios. For more information, please visit www.institutionalpropertyadvisors.com

About Marcus & Millichap, Inc. (NYSE: MMI)

Marcus & Millichap, Inc. is a leading brokerage firm specializing in commercial real estate investment sales, financing, research and advisory services with offices throughout the United States and Canada. As of December 31, 2022, the company had 1,904 investment sales and financing professionals in 81 offices who provide investment brokerage and financing services to sellers and buyers of commercial real estate. The company also offers market research, consulting and advisory services to clients. Marcus & Millichap closed 12,272 transactions in 2022, with a sales volume of approximately $86.3 billion. For additional information, please visit www.MarcusMillichap.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907802282/en/

Gina Relva, VP of Public Relations

[email protected]

Source: Marcus & Millichap, Inc.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Susan H. Black has been selected to receive the prestigious 2023 American Inns of Court Lewis F. Powell Jr. Award for Professionalism and Ethics, which recognizes attorneys, judges, government officials, journalists, or others who have rendered exemplary service in the areas of professionalism, ethics, civility, and excellence. Black, a circuit judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, will receive the award in October at the 2023 American Inns of Court Celebration of Excellence at the Supreme Court of the United States.

Judge Black is an important reminder to all of us of what is possible when we are open to one anothers opinions, accepting of our differences without judgment, committed to civil and respectful dialogue, steadfast in our ethics, and sincerely caring about one another as advocates and as human beings, writes Allegra J. Lawrence-Hardy, Esquire, of Lawrence & Bundy LLC, who nominated her mentor for the award. Judge Black exemplifies everything our noble profession is intended to be.

Black has achieved many firsts in her career. She became Floridas first woman county court judge in Duval County in 1973, then Floridas first woman circuit court judge in 1975, when she joined the states Fourth Judicial Circuit. In 1979, she joined the Middle District of Florida as the states first woman federal court judge and served as chief judge between 1990 and 1992. She was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in 1992.

Black was instrumental in obtaining the charter for the first Inn in Florida, the Chester Bedell American Inn of Court. She served two terms as president of the Bedell Inn and has served on the Inns executive committee. Black also played a key role in the formation of other Inns of Court in Florida. In 2022, she received the American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Eleventh Circuit. In addition to mentoring more than 80 law clerks, Black has also taught an appellate practice course at Duke University School of Law. She was a member of the Federal Judicial Center Board.

Black earned an undergraduate degree from Florida State University in 1965. In 1967, she earned her law degree from the University of Florida College of Law and now serves on the University of Floridas Presidents Council. She earned a master of laws degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1984.

The American Inns of Court, headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, inspires the legal community to advance the rule of law by achieving the highest level of professionalism through example, education, and mentoring. The organizations membership includes nearly 30,000 federal, state, and local judges; lawyers; law professors; and law students in more than 360 chapters nationwide. More information is available at www.innsofcourt.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907963689/en/

American Inns of Court

Cindy Dennis

Awards & Scholarships Coordinator

(571) 319-4703

[email protected]

Source: American Inns of Court
MaaT033 (capsule), which is being developed as an adjunctive and maintenance therapy to improve overall survival in allo-HSCT, has received orphan drug designation ( ODD) status from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

orphan drug designation ( ODD is reserved for medicines treating rare, life-threatening, or chronically debilitating diseases. The status offers key benefits including market exclusivity, clinical protocol assistance, waivers or reductions in regulatory fees.

LYON, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

MaaT Pharma (EURONEXT: MAAT  the Company), a clinical-stage biotechnology company and a leader in the development of Microbiome Ecosystem TherapiesTM (MET) dedicated to improving survival outcomes for patients with cancer, announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted MaaT033 orphan drug designation aiming to improve overall survival in patients undergoing HSCT and has recognized the significant benefit that MaaT033 could therefore bring to this patients population. This is the first ODD granted for MaaT033 and the third to date for the Company, which has already obtained ODD status for MaaT013 in the US and Europe.

The EMAs decision to grant orphan drug designation to MaaT033, our second clinical-stage asset and first-in-class therapeutics, recognizes the need for new treatment options for patients with liquid tumors and highlights the potential of microbiome-based drugs further strengthening the value of our clinical assets, stated Philippe Moyen, COO of MaaT Pharma. We look forward to continuing to collaborate closely with the regulatory agencies to accelerate the development of safe and innovative microbiome therapies.

About MaaT033

MaaT033, a donor-derived, high-richness, high-diversity oral Microbiome Ecosystem TherapyTM containing anti-inflammatory ButycoreTM species, is currently being developed as an adjunctive therapy to improve overall survival in patients receiving HSCT and other cellular therapies. It aims to ensure optimal microbiota function and to address a larger patient population in a chronic setting. MaaT033 has been granted Orphan Drug Designation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

About Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT)

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for liquid tumors can replace cancerous cells, but the harsh conditioning treatments damage the gut microbiome, which has been linked to decreased survival, increased risk of graft-vs-host disease, and infections due to impaired immune function. Nearly 20,000 allo-HSCT transplantations per year in Europe were reported in 2021 by the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) and continue to increase.

About MaaT Pharma

MaaT Pharma, a clinical-stage biotechnology company, has established a complete approach to restoring patient-microbiome symbiosis in oncology. Committed to treating cancer and graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a serious complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation, MaaT Pharma has launched, in March 2022, an open-label, single-arm Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with acute GvHD, following the achievement of its proof of concept in a Phase 2 trial. Its powerful discovery and analysis platform, gutPrint, enables the identification of novel disease targets, evaluation of drug candidates, and identification of biomarkers for microbiome-related conditions. The companys Microbiome Ecosystem Therapies are produced through a standardized cGMP manufacturing and quality control process to safely deliver the full diversity of the microbiome in liquid and oral formulations. MaaT Pharma benefits from the commitment of world-leading scientists and established relationships with regulators to support the integration of the use of microbiome therapies in clinical practice. MaaT Pharma is listed on Euronext Paris (ticker: MAAT).

Forward-looking Statements

All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release about future events are subject to (i) change without notice and (ii) factors beyond the Companys control. These statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded by, followed by or including words such as target, believe, expect, aim, intend, may, anticipate, estimate, plan, project, will, can have, likely, should, would, could and other words and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties beyond the Companys control that could cause the Companys actual results or performance to be materially different from the expected results or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230906018499/en/

MaaT Pharma  Investor Relations

Guilhaume Debroas, Ph.D.

Head of Investor Relations

+33 6 16 48 92 50

[email protected]

MaaT Pharma  Media Relations

Pauline RICHAUD

Senior PR & Corporate Communications Manager

+33 6 14 06 45 92

[email protected]

Trophic Communications  Corporate Communications

Charlotte SPITZ or

Stephanie MAY

+49 171 351 2733

[email protected]

Source: MaaT Pharma
LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: MOH) today announced details for the release of its results for the third quarter ending September 30, 2023.

Molina Healthcare will issue its earnings release for the third quarter ending September 30, 2023, after the market closes on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, and will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the earnings release on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To access this interactive teleconference, dial (877) 883-0383 and enter the confirmation number, 2183620. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through Thursday, November 2, 2023, by dialing (877) 344-7529 and entering the confirmation number, 3586044.

A live broadcast of Molina Healthcares conference call will be available on the Companys website, molinahealthcare.com. A 30-day online replay will be available approximately one hour following the conclusion of the live broadcast.

About Molina Healthcare

Molina Healthcare, Inc., a FORTUNE 500 company (currently ranked 126), provides managed healthcare services under the Medicaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. Through its locally operated health plans, Molina Healthcare served approximately 5.2 million members as of June 30, 2023. For more information about Molina Healthcare, please visit molinahealthcare.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907179672/en/

Investor Contact: Joseph Krocheski, [email protected], 562-549-4100

Source: Molina Healthcare, Inc.
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc. (the Company or MVMD) (CSE: MVMD) (OTCQB: MVMDF) (FRA: 20MP) is pleased to announce the appointment of Lucie Letellier to the role of Chief Financial Officer effective September 11, 2023. Ms. Letellier succeeds Aaron Triplett, who previously served as Chief Financial Officer and will remain as a non-executive consultant of the Company through November 30, 2023 in order to ensure a seamless transition.

I am very pleased to welcome Lucie Letellier to this important role and look forward to capitalizing on her leadership and expertise to support MVMDs commercialization growth phase and the scaling of our operations, said Dennis Hancock, President & CEO of the Company. Ms. Letelliers proven track record of results-driven leadership, strategic thinking and financial acumen comes at an important time for MVMD as we navigate complex international sales, royalty, and tax strategies.

With a distinguished financial career spanning more-than 25 years, Ms. Letellier brings a wealth of expertise in public markets and international business. Ms. Letellier originally served as the CFO of Mountain Valley MD Inc. (MVMDs wholly owned subsidiary), where she skillfully navigated a complex Reverse Takeover (RTO) transaction in February 2020 and led multiple financing rounds in the establishment of the business. Ms. Letellier transitioned into an advisory role with the Company in May of 2020 as she took a leave of absence from full-time responsibilities to prioritize family commitments. Her extensive financial expertise has been showcased in numerous roles over her career, including CFO of Paramount Gold and Silver Corp. (NYSE/TSX: PZG). At Paramount Gold, she supported the company's growth, overseeing $30 million in equity financing, which ultimately led to its acquisition by Coeur Mining (NYS: CDE) for $200 million. Lucie's extensive experience includes key financial leadership positions in various multinational corporations across numerous stock exchanges, including CFO roles at Crestwell Resources (CSE: CER), Everton Resources Inc. (EVR: TSX-V), and Albert Mining Inc. (MJX: TSX-V).

Ms. Letellier brings a deep understanding of financial reporting for both US and Canadian public companies, tax compliance, corporate governance, and continuous disclosure requirements, continued Mr. Hancock. Ms. Letelliers ability to navigate diverse regulatory environments, manage currency fluctuations, and adapt to cultural nuances across international markets will be invaluable on our leadership team.

The Company has granted stock options (the Options) to Ms. Letellier, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Companys Stock Option Plan, to purchase 500,000 common shares in the capital stock of the Company. The Options are exercisable for a period of five years from the date of grant at a price of $0.05 per share. The Options will vest 20% on the date of grant, 30% on the 6-month anniversary following the date of grant and the remaining 50% on the 12-month anniversary following the date of grant.

The Company extends its appreciation to outgoing CFO Aaron Triplett for his extensive contributions to the Companys development and providing financial leadership in a challenging start-up environment and wishes him well in his new endeavours.

ABOUT MOUNTAIN VALLEY MD HOLDINGS INC.

Mountain Valley MD is building a world-class organization centered around the implementation, licensing and reselling of key technologies and formulations:

patented Quicksome oral formulation and delivery technologies,

patented Quicksol solubility formulation technology

licensed product reseller of Agrarius, a novel agricultural plant signalling technology

Consistent with its vision towards More Life, MVMD applies its owned and licensed technologies to its work for advanced delivery of molecules for human and husbandry animal applications, including the development of products for pain management, weight loss, energy, focus, sleep, anxiety, and more. Additionally, MVMDs work with Agrarius is focused on generating a positive impact on crop yields and reducing fertilizer usage.

MVMDs patented Quicksome technology utilizes proprietary formulations and stabilizing molecules to encapsulate and formulate active ingredients into highly efficient product formats. The result is a new generation of product formulations that could be capable of delivering nutraceutical and drug molecules into the body faster, with greater impact, efficiency and accuracy.

MVMDs patented Quicksol technology covers all highly solubilized macrocyclic lactones that could be effectively applied in multiple viral applications that could positively impact human and animal health globally.

MVMDs licensed Agrairus agricultural plant signalling technology that could be capable of application to agricultural crops to naturally increase yields, reduce fertilizer usage, and increase general resilience to pests and climate change.

For more Company information and contact details, visit www.MVMD.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "should", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.

The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of regulatory decisions, competitive factors in the industries in which the Company operates, prevailing economic conditions, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The Company is making forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: The Company is making forward-looking statements including but not limited to: the effective date of the appointment of Ms. Letellier; the continued delivery of services by Mr. Triplett and the timing thereof; the terms of the options granted to Ms. Letellier, including the vesting terms thereof. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Any forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and is subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities legislation.

Neither the CSE nor OTC has reviewed or approved the contents of this press release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907704974/en/

For further information:



Dennis Hancock

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc.

Investor Relations @ 647-725-9755

Email: [email protected]

www.MVMD.com

Source: Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc.
Results find measuring NPi is prognostic of 6-month outcome in acute brain injury

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A new prospective, multicenter study, recently published in The Lancet Neurology has revealed the significant prognostic value of the Neurological Pupil index (NPi), measured using the NeurOptics NPi Pupillometer, in evaluating disease progression and predicting outcomes for patients with acute brain injury.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907188507/en/

The NeurOptics NPi Pupillometer has been included in more than 120 clinical studies, adopted in over 650 hospitals in the U.S., and is represented in more than 35 countries worldwide. (Photo: Business Wire)

This international study, coordinated by the Milano Bicocca University, enrolled 514 patients diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI), aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), admitted to the intensive care units of 13 hospitals across Belgium, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, and the USA. The primary aim of the study was to investigate the association between NPi and 6-month neurological outcomes and mortality. Patients' NPi scores were measured using NeurOptics' NPi Pupillometer every four hours during the initial seven days of admission.

Results demonstrated the clinical and statistical significance of NPi, providing insights into neurological outcomes and 6-month mortality rates. These findings mark a significant step forward in standardizing the use of the NPi Pupillometer.

Our findings support the use of NPi as a standardized, quantitative measurement of pupil reactivity and global midbrain function, said Guiseppe Citerio, MD, Principal Investigator and Professor of Anesthesia and Intensive Care at Milano Bicocca University, emphasizing the integral role of NPi evaluation in the clinical assessment of brain-injured patients. "Tracking a patient's NPi score dynamically predicts their neurological outcome and mortality over a 6-month period. Reduced NPi scores are a serious alarm and are associated with unfavorable outcomes. Conversely, when the NPi reduction returns to the normal range, the risk of poor outcomes diminishes. NPi plays a crucial role in dynamically monitoring the progression of acute brain injuries."

The NeurOptics NPi Pupillometer has emerged as a crucial technology, providing a quantitative measurement of pupil size and reactivity, denoted by the Neurological Pupil Index (NPi). NPi values range from 0 to 4.9, with scores below 3 indicating abnormalities. The NeurOptics NPi Pupillometer minimizes the subjectivity inherent in manual pupillary evaluations, offering a more precise, reliable, and objective measurement of pupil size and reactivity, essential components of neurological examinations. The presence of an abnormal NPi value holds significant implications for clinicians managing critically ill patients with brain injuries or those at risk of secondary neurological damage.

NeurOptics quantitative automated NPi Pupillometer provides a reliable measurement of pupil size and reactivity and tracks changes over time, allowing for earlier intervention for patients with brain injury and those at risk of secondary neurological injury. The NPi Pupillometer supports neurological examination in adult and pediatric patients across a broad spectrum of diagnoses, including traumatic brain injury, stroke, seizure, or other neurological events after cardiac arrest and other medical conditions.

The study, titled "The Neurological Pupil Index for Outcome Prognostication in People with Acute Brain Injury (ORANGE): A Prospective, Observational, Multicenter Cohort Study," is accessible here.

About NeurOptics

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., NeurOptics is the worldwide leader in pupillometry. Driven by a passion to help clinicians improve patient outcomes, NeurOptics develops and markets innovative technology for critical care medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, emergency medicine, and research. The NeurOptics NPi Pupillometer has been included in more than 120 clinical studies, adopted in over 650 hospitals in the U.S., and is represented in more than 35 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.NeurOptics.com. Follow NeurOptics on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter).

NeurOptics, the NeurOptics logo, Neurological Pupil index, NPi, SmartGuard, and NPi-Connect are trademarks or registered trademarks of NeurOptics, Inc. in the U.S.

2023 NeurOptics. All rights reserved.

References:

Kim TJ, Ko SB. Implication of Neurological Pupil Index for monitoring of brain edema. Acute Crit Care. Feb 2018;33(1):57-60. doi:10.4266/acc.2017.00213. Oddo M, Sandroni C, Citerio G, et al. Quantitative versus standard pupillary light reflex for early prognostication in comatose cardiac arrest patients: An international prospective multicenter double-blinded study. Intensive Care Med. Dec 2018;44(12):2102-2111. doi:10.1007/s00134-018-5448-6. Olson DM, Stutzman S, Saju C, Wilson M, Zhao W, Aiyagari V. Interrater reliability of pupillary assessments. Neurocrit Care. Apr 2016;24(2):251-7. doi:10.1007/s12028-015-0182-1. Privitera CM, Neerukonda SV, Aiyagari V, et al. A differential of the left eye and right eye neurological pupil index is associated with discharge modified Rankin scores in neurologically injured patients. BMC Neurol. Jul 2022;22(1):273. doi:10.1186/s12883-022-02801-3.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907188507/en/

Kathleen Pierson, Vice President, Global Sales, and Marketing, NeurOptics

949/250-9792, [email protected]

Source: NeurOptics
GATLINBURG, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ole Smoky Distillery, the most visited distillery in the world and #1 moonshine brand in the U.S., is welcoming the fall season by launching their first-ever Amp Up Your Grillin And Chillin partnership with Big Green Egg, the worlds leading manufacturer of the premier outdoor cooking system. Now through November 30, fans can enter for a chance to win the ultimate fall BBQ package, including a Big Green Egg and exclusive Ole Smoky merchandise.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907909110/en/

Ole Smoky Distillery and Big Green Egg partner to welcome fall (Photo: Business Wire)

To kick off the start of fall and the beloved tailgate season, Ole Smoky is collaborating with Big Green Egg to celebrate both brands deep appreciation for tradition, craftsmanship, and the joy of gathering with friends and family while enjoying cocktails and BBQ. Ole Smokys delicious and diverse array of flavors, combined with Big Green Eggs ability to roast, smoke, and grill with precision, creates endless opportunities for flavorful backyard experiences. Through the Amp Up Your Grillin And Chillin sweepstakes, consumers are encouraged to incorporate Ole Smoky products in their grillin recipes, & enjoy a cocktail while doing so.

This partnership between Ole Smoky and Big Green Egg perfectly captures the essence of fall by combining the authenticity of our moonshine and whiskey with their premier outdoor cooking system, said Robert Hall, CEO, Ole Smoky Distillery. Our shared values, complementary products, and strong brands make this collaboration the ideal choice for creating memorable moments during the fall season.

At Big Green Egg, we know that great food cooked over charcoal is a perfect match for a well-crafted cocktail, said Dan Gertsacov, President, Big Green Egg. This partnership with Ole Smoky Distillery brings together two brands that put quality first and believe that good food and drink with friends and family make for a life well-lived.

Fans can visit biggreenegg.olesmoky.com to enter for a chance to win a Big Green Egg and the ultimate fall BBQ package. The grand prize winner will receive a Large Big Green Egg in an integrated Nest + Handler with Mates, a Big Green Egg cookbook, and an Ole Smoky BBQ tool set, apron, and retro webbed chair. First prize winners will also take home a Big Green Egg cookbook and an Ole Smoky BBQ tool set, apron, and retro webbed chair. The sweepstakes will run through November 30, 2023.

In addition to entering the sweepstakes, fans can visit the website for an Ole Smoky recipe list inspired by the theme of a fall cookout and incorporating Ole Smoky products, like the Apple Pie Moonshine in Apple Pie Pulled Pork and Peach Whiskey in Peach Infused Baby-Back Ribs. The website also features BBQ-themed cocktail recipes such as the Apple Pie Ginger, Hunch Punch Cooler, and Front Porch Peach Tea.

Founded in 2010 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Ole Smoky was and is a leading distiller of premium moonshines and whiskeys, while being known for its high quality, innovative and award-winning flavors. The company now retails across all 50 states and in over 20 countries around the world. For more information on Ole Smoky and its products, visit olesmoky.com.

About Ole Smoky Distillery LLC

Ole Smoky is the leading distiller of premium moonshine in the world, the leading craft distiller in the U.S. and the first federally licensed distillery in the history of East Tennessee. Founded in 2010, Ole Smoky's roots are traced to the Smoky Mountains' earliest settlers, families who produced moonshine with enduring pride and Appalachian spirit. Ole Smoky has been recognized on the Inc. 5000 List of the fastest growing private companies in America for three consecutive years  2020, 2021, and 2022, as well as receiving the 2022 Shanken Communications Impact Hot Brand Award and 2023 Growth Brand Awards from Beverage Information Group. Today, Ole Smokys 25 creative moonshine flavors and 17 inventive whiskey flavors can be found in all 50 states, 20 countries and at the company's four famed distilleries in Tennessee: The Holler and The Barrelhouse in Gatlinburg, The Barn in Pigeon Forge, and 6th & Peabody in Nashville. For more information, please visit olesmoky.com and follow Ole Smoky on social media @olesmoky.

About Big Green Egg

Big Green Egg is the worlds leading manufacturer of the premier outdoor cooking system, unmatched for its versatility and culinary results. With seven distinct sizes sold in more than 50 countries, the Big Green Egg is ideally suited for the casual backyard griller and culinary aficionado alike, and has become the top choice of leading grillers and chefs around the world.

There is only one, original Big Green Egg  The Ultimate Cooking Experience! 

www.BigGreenEgg.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907909110/en/

Sydney Holsclaw / Mary Reynolds

[email protected]

Full Press Kit - HERE

Source: Ole Smoky Distillery LLC
Hart now leads local sales, operations, and engagement efforts across Optimums West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and North Carolina footprint

CHARLESTON, W.V.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Optimum, the local provider of internet, mobile, TV, and phone services, today announces the appointment of Elton Hart as Vice President, General Manager of the companys Mid Atlantic Area serving West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and North Carolina.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230906483249/en/

(Photo: Optimum)

As Vice President, General Manager, Hart is responsible for overseeing local sales, operations, and engagement efforts across the area, ensuring best-in-class service and support to the more than 240 communities Optimum serves across the Mid Atlantic Area.

Im thrilled to be joining Optimum to lead local efforts across the companys footprint in the Mid Atlantic Area, further serving customers across these regions through the companys renewed hyperlocal approach, said Elton Hart, Vice President, General Manager of Optimum Mid Atlantic. Its an exciting time to be at Optimum, and I am looking forward to executing upon the companys mission to be the connectivity provider of choice across every community we serve, working alongside our local teams and in our communities to make that happen every day through the delivery of superior service and support.

Hart joins Optimum after over 20 years in the telecommunications industry, most recently serving in several sales leadership roles at Comcast Business. Over the course of his career, Hart has successfully led SMB sales organizations, implemented effective new business tools and processes, and driven growth across various sales channels and regional teams.

As Optimum refocuses its efforts to drive improved customer experiences by becoming more hyperlocal and community minded, I am excited to bring Elton on board to lead these efforts alongside our local teams, said William Sweeney, Senior Vice President, Optimum. Elton is a dynamic, experienced, and capable leader, and with his winning track record, Im looking forward to seeing the expertise that he will be bringing to Optimum Mid Atlantic and all of the markets we serve throughout the area.

Hart is based out of the companys Charleston, West Virginia offices.

About Optimum

Optimum is a brand of Altice USA, one of the largest broadband communications and video services providers in the United States, delivering broadband, video, and mobile services to approximately 4.8 million residential and business customers across 21 states. The company operates a4, an advanced advertising and data business, which provides audience-based, multiscreen advertising solutions to local, regional and national businesses and advertising clients. Altice USA also offers hyper-local, national, international and business news through its News 12, Cheddar News and i24NEWS networks.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230906483249/en/

Raffaella Mazzella: +1 561-817-5813

[email protected]



Erin Smyth: +1 917-565-2480

[email protected]

Source: Altice USA
SB 786 stops Pharmacy Benefit Managers from discriminating against 340B safety net providers; Legislation will protect thousands of organizations across state

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The California State Senate voted unanimously Wednesday in favor of SB 786, which would make it illegal for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to discriminate against 340B Drug Pricing Program participants.

The bill, now on its way to Governor Gavin Newsom for signature, received zero no votes in both chambers and has broad support from the California Hospital Association, the California Pharmacists Association, and the California Primary Care Association, among others. AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and Senator Anthony J. Portantino (D  Burbank) authored the legislation, which when signed, will make California the 30th state to outlaw discriminatory reimbursement by PBMs.

Thousands of healthcare providers and their patients across California will benefit from this legislation which stops pharmacy benefit managers from pickpocketing safety net providers, said Laura Boudreau, AHF Chief of Operations. This is a non-partisan issue which continues to pick up steam nationwide. PBMs should not be allowed to steal the savings intended for safety net providers for themselves.

California needs to protect patients and health care providers to ensure that they are able to offer and receive affordable prescription drugs, stated Senator Portantino. SB 786 will set additional oversight on pharmacy benefit managers to protect services for Californias rural and most vulnerable communities. It creates health care equity and endeavors to ensure that all patients who need treatment are able to receive it.

Under federal law, thousands of safety net providers across the state are allowed to purchase discounted drugs from drug manufacturers and use the savings to provide more services to more people, especially low-income uninsured and underinsured Californians. PBMs have been siphoning off these drug savings to boost their profits thus diminishing these vital resources that are used for critical safety net services.

Senator Portantino introduced SB 786 in February. The Assembly reviewed the bill over the summer and passed it unanimously last month.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the worlds largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 1.8 million individuals across 45 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, and subscribe to our AHFter Hours podcast.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907550323/en/

Ged Kenslea, AHF Sr. Comms Dir.

(323) 791-5526

[email protected]

Source: AIDS Healthcare Foundation
Muskegon Public Schools to receive facility dog on Sept. 11

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- More than half of parents in Michigan say they are concerned about the mental state of their children. To help reduce anxiety and encourage learning for students, Priority Health has developed a program with Canines for Change, called Priority Pups. Priority Health will invest in five highly trained working facility dogs over the next several months to place in select Michigan school districts with the potential to scale the program.

Education quality is a social determinant of health, and we believe that every child deserves the right to a healthy learning experience and their mental health plays a crucial role in this, said Praveen Thadani, president of Priority Health. We know education gives children the tools they need to lead fulfilling lives, thrive personally and contribute to their communities. Through this program, in partnership with schools, we can make a tangible impact on the mental health of Michigan students and enhance the learning experience for students and teachers.

Research shows there are social-emotional benefits for children who interact with support animals during the school day. Benefits include a growth in confidence levels, improvement in reading and problem-solving skills, and a reduction in stress levels.

Muskegon Public Schools is the first school district to receive a Priority Pup. Scout, a goldendoodle facility dog, will now call Muskegon home.

Muskegon Public Schools (MPS) is elated by our new partnership with the Priority Pups program. Being the first school district to receive a Priority Pup is an example of the importance that MPS places on the social and emotional wellness of our students and staff, said Matthew Cortez, superintendent of Muskegon Public Schools. Scout, our newest staff member, will contribute to a more relaxed and positive learning environment for our students. MPS will continue to build these positive community-based relationships that develop our 21st century learning environments for our students and staff.

Priority Pups like Scout are trained to follow commands like service dogs, but their training is tailored to the specific needs of the school they are placed in. For example, in elementary schools, these dogs provide comfort to young students who may be homesick and can also help struggling readers feel more at ease during class.

The animal-human bond has been proven to benefit a persons mental and physical health in many ways, said Dr. Nikki Brown, Ph.D. executive director of Canines for Change. Were excited to partner with Priority Health to place a dog in Muskegon Public Schools to work with students with a variety of academic, social and emotional needs. We look forward to placing additional facility dogs in other districts in the coming months.

The Priority Pup facility dogs will be placed with in-district handlers and will be trained by Canines for Change based on the needs of each school.

Priority Heath also supports River Rouge animal intervention program

In addition to Priority Pups, Priority Health has invested in a similar program in Southeast Michigan.

On August 18, Priority Health presented a $12,000 check to the River Rouge School District in Wayne County to support its Animal Assisted Interventions Program.

The River Rouge School District has been steadfast in our mission to eliminate the most significant challenges for children who are educated in schools serving high poverty communities, said Dr. Derrick Coleman, superintendent of River Rouge School District. What we have come to understand is our success is predicated on our ability to successfully address the wide range of traumas experienced by the students, and the adults entrusted to their care. We will not use poverty as an excuse and its through the philanthropic efforts of organizations like Priority Health that make this work possible.

Priority Pups is a new signature program of Priority Health for Good, Priority Healths corporate responsibility initiative. For more information about Priority Pups, visit priorityhealth.com/prioritypups.

About Priority Health:

With over 30 years in business, Priority Health is the second largest health plan in Michigan, offering an extensive portfolio of health benefits options for employer groups and individuals, including Medicare and Medicaid plans. Serving more than one million members each year and offering a broad network of primary care physicians in Michigan, Priority Health continues to be recognized as a leader for quality, customer service, transparency and product innovation. Learn more about affordable, quality health coverage options from Priority Health. For the latest news from Priority Health, visit our online newsroom.

About Canines for Change:

Canines for Change is a non-profit organization that provides highly trained service and facility dogs to enhance the lives of children and adults with disabilities by empowering them to achieve active and independent lifestyles, while also educating the community on the benefits of facility and service dogs through community education and outreach.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907180010/en/

Kelsey Pardue | (616) 298-5081 | [email protected]

Source: Priority Health
$10 billion initial reinsurance transaction and $1 billion equity capital investment establishes new reinsurance platform positioned for scale and long-term growth on behalf of customers

NEWARK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) (Prudential) and Warburg Pincus today announced the launch of Prismic Life Reinsurance, Ltd. (Prismic), a licensed Class E Bermuda-based life and annuity reinsurance company. Prudential and Warburg Pincus, together with a group of investors, have agreed to make equity investments in Prismic and will oversee its long-term strategy through participation on its board of directors.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230905794738/en/

"This unique reinsurance platform will play an important role in our vision to be a global leader in expanding access to investing, insurance and retirement security for people around the world." -- Charles Lowrey Chairman & CEO, Prudential (Photo: Business Wire)

Prudential expects to reinsure to Prismic a block of structured settlement annuity contracts with reserves of approximately $10 billion, subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals. Prudentials obligations to the holders of these annuities will remain unchanged following the reinsurance arrangement and Prudential will continue to administer the contracts. From there, Prudential aims for Prismic to be a strategic reinsurance partner with the ambition to grow their reinsurance relationship materially in years to come. PGIM and Warburg Pincus will provide asset management services to Prismic.

Through expanded reinsurance capacity, Prudential expects Prismic will allow the company to provide more people with access to its industry-leading life and annuity products.

Charles Lowrey, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, Inc., comments: This unique reinsurance platform will play an important role in our vision to be a global leader in expanding access to investing, insurance, and retirement security for people around the world. Prismic will enhance our ability to address the evolving needs of our insurance customers and clients while continuing to meet our obligations to policyholders. It represents a formidable combination of industry-leading expertise, global capabilities, and the backing of two of the worlds leading insurance and asset management firms.

A group of global investors has agreed to make equity investments in Prismic, alongside Prudential and Warburg Pincus, giving Prismic a combined initial equity investment of $1 billion. Prudential and Warburg Pincus will initially own 20% and 15% of the equity in Prismic, respectively. Prismics board will include two independent directors and one director nominated by each of Prudential, Warburg Pincus, and the group of investors.

Prismic will leverage PGIMs and Warburg Pincus global investment management capabilities across public and private markets, including public fixed income, private credit, private real estate, and private equity. Prismic will become a client of PGIM Portfolio Advisory, a newly established affiliate within PGIM that combines asset-liability management expertise with portfolio strategy and asset allocation to deliver integrated solutions across public and private asset classes.

Chip Kaye, CEO, Warburg Pincus, said: Warburg Pincus is thrilled to enter into this strategic partnership with Prudential in the creation of Prismic. The combination of Prudentials significant in-force and new business origination capabilities, PGIMs expertise in public fixed income, private credit, and real estate with our private markets investment capabilities presents Prismic with a unique opportunity for future, sustainable growth. Prismics strategy of enhancing long-term investment returns through an end-to-end ecosystem of liability origination, asset-liability management, and asset management clearly aligns with our focus on long-term fundamental value creation. We look forward to the partnership with Prudential and the success of Prismic.

Prismic will be led by Amy Kessler, a 30-year financial services industry veteran, who will serve as CEO. Kessler was the founding leader of Prudentials international reinsurance business.

Nandini Mongia, president of Prudentials Open Architecture Solutions, will represent Prudential on Prismics board. Mongia most recently served as Prudentials treasurer where she played a leading role in the creation of this reinsurance platform. Mike Thompson, managing director, will represent Warburg Pincus on Prismics board.

ABOUT PRUDENTIAL

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a global financial services leader and premier active global investment manager with approximately $1.4 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2023, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudentials diverse and talented employees help make lives better by creating financial opportunity for more people by expanding access to investing, insurance, and retirement security. Prudentials iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise, and innovation for nearly 150 years. For more information, please visit news.prudential.com.

ABOUT WARBURG PINCUS

Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global growth investor. The firm has more than $83 billion in assets under management. The firms active portfolio of more than 250 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 21 private equity and 2 real estate funds, which have invested more than $112 billion in over 1,000 companies in more than 40 countries. Warburg Pincus has been a leading investor in the insurance industry for 30 years, investing more than $5 billion in equity capital across more than 20 investments, globally. These investments include Aeolus Re, Arch Capital, Fortegra, Foundation Risk Partners, ICICI Lombard Insurance, K2 Insurance Services, McGill & Partners, RenaissanceRe, and Somers Re, amongst others. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information please visit www.warburgpincus.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

Prudential Forward-Looking Statements

Certain of the statements included in this release, such as those regarding the launch of Prismic, reinsurance transactions involving Prismic, the provision of asset management services to Prismic, the anticipated increase in Prudentials underwriting capabilities, equity investments in Prismic by global investors and other institutions, the leadership and operation of Prismic following its launch, and the impact of Prismic on Prudentials business and strategy, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as expects, believes, anticipates, includes, plans, assumes, estimates, projects, intends, should, will, shall or variations of such words are generally part of forward-looking statements. Prudentials forward-looking statements are made based on managements current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects upon Prudential Financial, Inc. and its subsidiaries. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Prudential Financial, Inc. and its subsidiaries will be those anticipated by management. These forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and there are certain important factors that could cause actual results to differ, possibly materially, from expectations or estimates reflected in such forward-looking statements. Certain important factors that could cause actual results to differ, possibly materially, from expectations or estimates reflected in such forward-looking statements can be found in the Risk Factors and Forward-Looking Statements sections included in Prudentials Annual Report on Form 10-K. Prudential does not undertake to update any particular forward-looking statement included in this document.

Prudential Financial, Inc. of the United States is not affiliated in any manner with Prudential plc, an international group incorporated in the United Kingdom or the Prudential Assurance Company, a subsidiary of M&G plc, a company incorporated in the United Kingdom.

CONNECT WITH US:

Visit prudential.com

Follow @PrudentialNews

Follow on LinkedIn

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230905794738/en/

MEDIA CONTACTS

Laura Edling

Prudential

+1 973-529-2392

[email protected]



Kerrie Cohen

Warburg Pincus

+1 212-878-9207

[email protected]

Source: Prudential Financial, Inc.
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- PNC Bank, National Association, as the trustee (the Trustee) of the San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (the Trust) (NYSE: SJT), announced that an agreement between the Trustee and Hilcorp San Juan L.P. (Hilcorp), the owner of the Trusts subject interests, will result in the payment of $1,037,093.45 to the Trust by Hilcorp to resolve the 2017-2020 Disputed Expenses exceptions and enter into an amendment to the Conveyance Agreement with respect to the expenses associated with the operators saltwater disposal facilities.

The Trustee routinely engages with Hilcorp regarding its ongoing accounting and reporting to the Trust with respect to revenue and expenses for operated wells, inclusive of sales revenues, production costs, capital expenditures, adjustments, actualizations, and recoupments, as well as a detailed analysis of Hilcorps pricing and rates charged. These revenues and costs (along with all costs) are the subject of the Trusts ongoing comprehensive audit process by our professional consultants and outside counsel to ensure full compliance with all the underlying operative Trust agreements and evaluating all available potential remedies in the event there is evidence of non-compliance.

In the course of the most recent audit process by the Trustee, certain exceptions to the several different categories of expenses (specifically offsite labor, overhead, operator-owned compressors and saltwater disposal facilities) for the years 2017 through 2020 (the 2017-2020 Disputed Expenses) were identified that the Trustee believed resulted in an underpayment of royalties owed to the Trust for those years. The Trustee engaged in extensive discussions with Hilcorp regarding these exceptions that culminated in Hilcorps agreement to pay the sum of $1,037,093.45, which includes the accumulated interest incurred as a result of the underpayment. Therefore, on August 30, 2023, the Trust and Hilcorp entered into a Compromise and Settlement Agreement whereby Hilcorp would (i) pay the sum of $1,037,093.45 to resolve the 2017-2020 Disputed Expenses that resulted in the underpayment of royalties and (ii) enter into an amendment to the Conveyance Agreement with respect to the expenses associated with the operators saltwater disposal facilities. The settlement amount includes the interest incurred over the time period of the underpayment. The payment is scheduled to be made in a future distribution.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230906409589/en/

San Juan Basin Royalty Trust

PNC Bank, National Association

PNC Asset Management Group

2200 Post Oak Blvd., Floor 18

Houston, TX 77056

website: www.sjbrt.com

e-mail: [email protected]

Ross Durr, RPL, Senior Vice President & Mineral Interest Director

Kaye Wilke, Investor Relations, toll-free: (866) 809-4553

Source: San Juan Basin Royalty Trust
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sierra Metals Inc. (TSX: SMT; OTC: SMTSF) (Sierra Metals or the Company) is pleased to announce that it will be attending the 2023 Precious Metals Summit in Beaver Creek, Colorado from September 12 to 15, 2023 and Gold Forum Americas 2023 in Colorado Springs, Colorado from September 17 to 20, 2023.

About Sierra Metals

Sierra Metals is a Canadian mining company focused on copper production with additional base and precious metals by-product credits at its Yauricocha Mine in Peru and Bolivar Mine in Mexico. The Company is intent on safely increasing production volume and growing mineral resources. Sierra Metals has recently had several new key discoveries and still has many more exciting brownfield exploration opportunities in Peru and Mexico that are within close proximity to the existing mines. Additionally, the Company has large land packages at each of its mines with several prospective regional targets providing longer-term exploration upside and mineral resource growth potential.

For further information regarding Sierra Metals, please visit www.sierrametals.com.

Continue to Follow, Like and Watch our progress:

Web: www.sierrametals.com | Twitter: sierrametals | Facebook: SierraMetalsInc | LinkedIn: Sierra Metals Inc | Instagram: sierrametals

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907404267/en/

Investor Relations

Sierra Metals Inc.

Tel: +1 (416) 366-7777

Email: [email protected]

Source: Sierra Metals Inc.
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Smurfit Kappa Group (Smurfit Kappa) (LSE:SKG; ISE: SKG), a FTSE 100 company, confirms that the boards of directors (the Boards) of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock Company (WestRock) (NYSE: WRK), a S&P 500 company, are discussing the key terms of a potential combination to create Smurfit WestRock, a global leader in sustainable packaging (the Potential Combination).

The Potential Combination would be expected to involve the creation of a new holding company, Smurfit WestRock (the Combined Group). Smurfit WestRock would be incorporated and domiciled in Ireland with global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and North and South American operations headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The Potential Combination would be effected through an Irish scheme of arrangement involving Smurfit Kappa and a merger of a subsidiary with WestRock.

Any such combination would result in WestRock shareholders receiving consideration consisting primarily of shares of the Combined Group.

Strategic and Operational Rationale

The Boards of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock believe the Potential Combination will create the global Go-To packaging partner of choice:

Combining two highly complementary portfolios to create a global leader in sustainable packaging

Unparalleled geographic reach across 42 countries with a significant presence across both Europe and the Americas

Complementary portfolios with unique product diversity and innovative sustainability capabilities, with breadth and depth across renewable, recyclable and biodegradable packaging solutions

Culturally aligned with strong customer focus

Broader opportunities for approximately 100,000 employees

Improved operating efficiency and increased returns across over 500 converting operations and 67 mills

Shared sustainability ambitions for a sustainable future

Experienced management teams with strong track records of execution and delivery to support global operations

Immediate and long-term value creation opportunity for both sets of shareholders

Financial Rationale

The Boards of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock believe the Potential Combination represents a unique opportunity to create value:

Combined last twelve months revenue and adjusted EBITDA as of 30 June 2023 of approximately $34 billion and $5.5 billion1, respectively

Strong cash flows for future growth and capital returns

Targeting annual pre-tax run-rate cost synergies in excess of $400 million at the end of the first full year following completion; delivery of synergies expected to require estimated one-off cash costs of approximately $235 million to be incurred

Expected to deliver compelling benefits to Smurfit WestRock shareholders, with transaction structure providing the opportunity for both sets of shareholders to participate meaningfully in Smurfit WestRocks significant upside value potential

Disciplined capital allocation expected to deliver improved operating efficiency and increased returns

Committed to strong investment grade credit rating

Further Details on the Potential Combination

Following completion of the Potential Combination: Smurfit WestRocks ordinary shares would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Combined Group would seek U.S. equity index inclusion as soon as possible thereafter. Smurfit Kappas premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is expected to be cancelled and the Combined Group is expected to list on the standard listing segment. Smurfit Kappa would de-list from Euronext Dublin. The Combined Group would be incorporated and domiciled in Ireland with global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and North and South American operations headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.



Discussions between the parties remain ongoing regarding the Potential Combination. Smurfit Kappa and WestRock are engaged in a mutual due diligence process. The definitive terms and conditions of any transaction will be set out in a further announcement.

Any Potential Combination would be conditional, inter alia, upon the approval by shareholders of Smurfit Kappa and WestRock and receipt of required regulatory clearances as well as other customary conditions.

There can be no certainty that the Potential Combination or any other transaction between the parties will be agreed or will occur.

This announcement has been made with the consent of WestRock.

Further announcements may be made as and when appropriate.

This announcement contains Inside Information for the purposes of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 on Market Abuse (as onshored into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and the Market Abuse Exit Regulations 2019). The person responsible for arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of Smurfit Kappa is Gillian Carson-Callan, Company Secretary. The date and time of this announcement is the same as the date and time that it has been communicated to the media, at c. 2.20 am on 7 September 2023.

___________________________

1 Please refer to notes and sources of information and bases of calculation for further information.

About Smurfit Kappa

Smurfit Kappa, a FTSE 100 company, is one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions in the world, with more than 47,000 employees in over 350 production sites across 36 countries and with revenue of 12.8 billion in 2022. We are located in 22 countries in Europe, 13 in the Americas and one in Africa. We are the only largescale pan-regional player in Latin America. Our products, which are 100% renewable and produced sustainably, improve the environmental footprint of our customers.

With our proactive team, we relentlessly use our extensive experience and expertise, supported by our scale, to open up opportunities for our customers. We collaborate with forward-thinking customers by sharing superior product knowledge, market understanding and insights in packaging trends to ensure business success in their markets. We have an unrivalled portfolio of paper-based packaging solutions, which is constantly updated with our market-leading innovations.

This is enhanced through the benefits of our integration, with optimal paper design, logistics, timeliness of service, and our packaging plants sourcing most of their raw materials from our own paper mills.

We have a proud tradition of supporting social, environmental and community initiatives in the countries where we operate. Through these projects we support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on where we believe we have the greatest impact.

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube. smurfitkappa.com

About WestRock

WestRock partners with customers to provide differentiated, sustainable paper and packaging solutions that help them win in the marketplace. WestRocks team members support customers around the world from locations spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Learn more at www.westrock.com.

Important Additional Information

Neither this announcement nor any copy of it may be taken or transmitted directly or indirectly into or from any jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws or regulations of such jurisdiction. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of such laws or regulations. Persons into whose possession this announcement or other information referred to herein should inform themselves about, and observe, any restrictions in such laws or regulations.

This announcement has been prepared for the purpose of complying with the applicable law and regulation of the United Kingdom, the United States and Ireland and information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws and regulations of jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom, the United States or Ireland.

Additional Information about the Potential Combination and Where to Find It

In connection with the Potential Combination between Smurfit Kappa and WestRock, Smurfit Westrock, the combined company (SW) would file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) a registration statement, which would include a proxy statement of WestRock that would also constitute a prospectus of SW (the proxy statement/prospectus). Each of Smurfit Kappa, WestRock and SW would also file other relevant documents in connection with the Potential Combination. The definitive proxy statement/prospectus would be sent to the shareholders of WestRock. Smurfit Kappa would also publish a shareholder circular approved by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA), which would be sent to Smurfit Kappas shareholders or otherwise made available in accordance with Smurfit Kappas articles of association and the UK Listing Rules. SW would publish a prospectus approved by the FCA, which would be made available in accordance with Rule 3.2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation Rules (the UK listing prospectus). This communication is not a substitute for any registration statement, proxy statement/prospectus, UK listing prospectus or other document Smurfit Kappa, WestRock and/or SW may file with the SEC or applicable securities regulators in the United Kingdom and Ireland in connection with the Potential Combination. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISIONS, INVESTORS, STOCKHOLDERS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF SMURFIT KAPPA AND WESTROCK ARE URGED TO READ CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, THE SHAREHOLDER CIRCULAR AND THE UK LISTING PROSPECTUS, AS APPLICABLE, AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT WOULD BE FILED WITH THE SEC OR APPLICABLE SECURITIES REGULATORS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, IN CONNECTION WITH THE POTENTIAL COMBINATION WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, AS THEY WOULD CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT SMURFIT KAPPA, WESTROCK, SW, THE POTENTIAL COMBINATION AND RELATED MATTERS. The registration statement and proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed by Smurfit Kappa, WestRock and SW with the SEC, when filed, would be available free of charge at the SECs website at www.sec.gov. In addition, investors and shareholders would be able to obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and other documents filed with the SEC by WestRock online at ir.westrock.com/ir-home/, upon written request delivered to 1000 Abernathy Road, Atlanta, Georgia or by calling (770) 448-2193, and would be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement, proxy statement/prospectus, shareholder circular, UK listing prospectus and other documents which would be filed with the SEC and applicable securities regulators in the United Kingdom and Ireland by SW or Smurfit Kappa online at www.smurfitkappa.com/investors, upon written request delivered to Beech Hill, Clonskeagh, Dublin 4, Ireland or by calling +353 1 202 7127. The information included on, or accessible through, Smurfit Kappas or WestRocks website is not incorporated by reference into this communication.

This communication is for informational purposes only and is not intended to, and shall not, constitute an offer to sell or buy or the solicitation of an offer to sell or buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to appropriate registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

Participants in the Solicitation of Proxies

This communication is not a solicitation of proxies in connection with the Potential Combination. However, under SEC rules, Smurfit Kappa, WestRock, SW, and certain of their respective directors, executive officers and other members of the management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the Potential Combination. Information about WestRocks directors and executive officers may be found in its 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on November 18, 2022, available at ir.westrock.com/ir-home/ and www.sec.gov. Information about Smurfit Kappas directors and executive officers may be found in its 2022 Annual Report filed with applicable securities regulators in the United Kingdom on March 28, 2023, available on its website at www.smurfitkappa.com/investors. These documents can be obtained free of charge from the sources indicated above. Additional information regarding the interests of such potential participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the Potential Combination will be included in the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials filed with the SEC when they become available.

Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements as that term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can sometimes be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as believes, expects, may, will, shall, should, would, could, potential, seeks, aims, projects, predicts, is optimistic, intends, plans, estimates, targets, anticipates, continues or other comparable terms or negatives of these terms or other variations or comparable terminology or by discussions of strategy, plans, objectives, goals, future events or intentions, but not all forward-looking statements include such identifying words.

Forward-looking statements are based upon current plans, estimates and expectations that are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. We can give no assurance that such plans, estimates or expectations will be achieved and therefore, actual results may differ materially from any plans, estimates or expectations in such forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such plans, estimates or expectations include: the parties may not enter into an agreement providing for the Potential Combination; a condition to the closing of the Potential Combination may not be satisfied; the occurrence of any event that can give rise to termination of the Potential Combination; a regulatory approval that may be required for the Potential Combination is delayed, is not obtained in a timely manner or at all or is obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated; Smurfit Kappa is unable to achieve the synergies and value creation contemplated by the Potential Combination; Smurfit Kappa is unable to promptly and effectively integrate WestRocks businesses; managements time and attention is diverted on issues related to the Potential Combination; disruption from the Potential Combination makes it more difficult to maintain business, contractual and operational relationships; credit ratings decline following the Potential Combination; legal proceedings are instituted against Smurfit Kappa or WestRock; Smurfit Kappa or WestRock are unable to retain or hire key personnel; the announcement or the consummation of the Potential Combination has a negative effect on the market price of the capital stock of Smurfit Kappa or WestRock or on Smurfit Kappa or WestRocks operating results; evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes; changes in economic, financial, political and regulatory conditions, in Ireland, the United Kingdom, the United States and elsewhere, and other factors that contribute to uncertainty and volatility, natural and man-made disasters, civil unrest, pandemics (e.g., the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic (the COVID-19 pandemic)), geopolitical uncertainty, and conditions that may result from legislative, regulatory, trade and policy changes associated with the current or subsequent Irish, U.S. or U.K. administrations; the ability of Smurfit Kappa or WestRock to successfully recover from a disaster or other business continuity problem due to a hurricane, flood, earthquake, terrorist attack, war, pandemic, security breach, cyber-attack, power loss, telecommunications failure or other natural or man-made event, including the ability to function remotely during long-term disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic; the impact of public health crises, such as pandemics (including the COVID-19 pandemic) and epidemics and any related company or governmental policies and actions to protect the health and safety of individuals or governmental policies or actions to maintain the functioning of national or global economies and markets; actions by third parties, including government agencies; the risk that disruptions from the Potential Combination will harm Smurfit Kappas or WestRocks business, including current plans and operations; certain restrictions during the pendency of the Potential Combination that may impact Smurfit Kappas or WestRocks ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; Smurfit Kappas or WestRocks ability to meet expectations regarding the accounting and tax treatments of the Potential Combination; the risks and uncertainties discussed in the Risks and Uncertainties section in Smurfit Kappas reports available on the National Storage Mechanism at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism and on its website at https://www.smurfitkappa.com/investors; and the risks and uncertainties discussed in the Risk Factors and Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements sections in WestRocks reports filed with the SEC. These risks, as well as other risks associated with the Potential Combination, will be more fully discussed in the proxy statement/prospectus, the shareholder circular, the UK listing prospectus and the other relevant materials filed with the SEC and applicable securities regulators in the United Kingdom. The list of factors presented here should not be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Unlisted factors may present significant additional obstacles to the realization of forward-looking statements. We caution you not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements as they are not guarantees of future performance or outcomes and that actual performance and outcomes, including, without limitation, our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of new markets or market segments in which we operate, may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this communication. Except as required by law, none of Smurfit Kappa, WestRock or SW assume any obligation to update or revise the information contained herein, which speaks only as of the date hereof.

Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit estimate or profit forecast. No statement in this announcement, including statements regarding the potential effect of the Potential Combination on cash flows and capital returns should be interpreted to mean that cash flows or capital returns of Smurfit Kappa, WestRock or SW for the current or future financial years would necessarily match or exceed the historical cash flows or capital returns of Smurfit Kappa or WestRock.

Completion of the Potential Combination would be subject to the satisfaction of several conditions as referenced elsewhere in this announcement. Consequently, there can be no certainty that the completion of the Potential Combination would be forthcoming.

This announcement is not a prospectus for the purposes of the UK Prospectus Regulation Rules or the EU Prospectus Regulation. It has been prepared solely for the Potential Combination referred to in this announcement.

Certain figures contained in this announcement, including financial information, have been subject to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, in certain instances, the sum or percentage change of the numbers contained in this announcement may not conform precisely with the total figure given. Except as explicitly stated in this announcement, none of the contents of Smurfit Kappa's or WestRock's websites, nor any website accessible by hyperlinks on Smurfit Kappa's or WestRock's websites, is incorporated in or forms part of, this announcement.

Notes

Unless otherwise stated: financial information relating to Smurfit Kappa has been extracted or derived from the audited results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2022 and unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2023 and financial information relating to WestRock has been extracted or derived from the audited results for the twelve months ended 30 September 2022, and the unaudited results up until the third quarter ended 30 June 2023.

Smurfit Kappa financials are prepared under IFRS and certain adjustments have been made to prepare the estimated adjusted EBITDA for Smurfit WestRock. This, and certain other statements, are based on non-IFRS and non-US GAAP financial information on Smurfit Kappa and WestRock. These statements may be subject to amendment in the Circular and Prospectus.

Sources of information and bases of calculation

Any references to Smurfit WestRock adjusted EBITDA are based on the following estimates and adjustments: Smurfit Kappas EBITDA of 2,230 million for the last twelve months, as of 30 June 2023, less operating lease expenses of 108 million, and converted to U.S. Dollars using an exchange rate of 1.05x, being the average exchange rate over the last twelve months ended 30 June 2023, implying a Smurfit Kappa EBITDA of $2,289 million; and

WestRocks pro forma EBITDA of $3,228 million for the last twelve months, as of 30 June 2023, which is based on the following pro forma adjustments: WestRock EBITDA of $3,162 million; Subtracting the estimated EBITDA contribution from Joint Ventures and Associates of $30 million; Subtracting the estimated EBITDA contribution from RTS Packaging of $37 million; Adding back estimated EBITDA contribution from Gondi of $59 million; and Adding back share-based compensation of $75 million.



View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230906617295/en/

Enquiries:

Smurfit Kappa

Ciaran Potts

Head of Investor Relations

T: +353 1 202 7127

E: [email protected]

Source: Smurfit Kappa Group
COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, the national STEMx network announced funding for four states to launch science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education advocacy programs. These efforts will shine a spotlight on the importance of high-quality STEM education and engage students in the legislative process.

The 2023 STEMx Challenge Grants funds projects in Arkansas, Maryland, Minnesota, and New Mexico. All four awards help STEMx member states highlight the need for state-level investments and support for STEM education programs as a workforce and equity imperative. The STEMx network, a coalition of leading STEM education organizations, selected the winners through a competitive process.

Each of the four winning proposals will achieve two goals. First, these awards will help organizations develop long-term STEM advocacy plans to mobilize support for STEM. Second, each state will plan, design, and execute a public advocacy event that elevates the role of STEM as a crucial component of economic development and provides students the opportunity to engage in education advocacy.

Advocacy begins at the local level, said Heather Sherman, Director of the STEMx network. These programs build on a multi-year effort within the network, beginning with our 2022 STEMx on the Hill event, to elevate the voices of states in advocating for high-quality STEM education for all students.

Each grantee will share their state advocacy plan and document the process of creating and executing their legislative advocacy day with other members in the national STEM ecosystem, furthering the national dialogue on expanding access to STEM through state investments.

Battelle manages the STEMx network and funded these grants as a part of the institutions commitment to inspiring the next generation of innovators.

The opportunities funded today will help mobilize support for STEM as a priority in each of these states while offering students a window into the legislative process, said Wes Hall, Vice-President of Education and Philanthropy at Battelle.

2023 STEMx Challenge Grant Awards:

Arkansas: The Arkansas STEM Coalition will host AR STEM @ the Capitol, and mini-grants for 100 students to create demonstration projects that feature the value of STEM for students.

Maryland: Maryland Business Roundtable will provide youth advocacy training for high-school students from rural and urban schools to prepare students to participate in Youth Congress Day as advocates for STEM education.

Minnesota: SciMathMN will lead the states first ever STEM Day at the Capitol, providing an opportunity for 150 students from rural and tribal schools to meet with state legislators to discuss the importance of STEM.

New Mexico: The Northern New Mexico STEAM Coalition will use grant funds to convene organizations to create a cohesive plan for innovation in STEAM education. These regional convenings will feature youth presentations from students who have participated in career technical education and work based learning programs. The funds will also support student participation in STEAM Day at the Legislature.

About STEMx

Launched in 2012, the STEMx network is a leading nationwide coalition of state STEM networks. Through the STEMx network, organizations can share opportunities and solutions for addressing some of educations greatest obstacles. To learn more, visit www.stemx.us.

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries. For more information, visit www.battelle.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907989786/en/

Katy Delaney

(614) 424-7208

[email protected]



T.R. Massey

(614) 424-5544

[email protected]

Source: Battelle
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Retail of all kinds is faced with ever-changing consumer behaviorsand telecom retail has a host of added complexities, making this industry even tougher for players to get ahead. Hit with a global pandemic, the threat of recession, labor shortages, evolving customer demands, increasing competition from all angles, and mind-boggling new technologies, wireless retail operators continue to demonstrate innovation and fortitude.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907092583/en/

Extensive survey by iQmetrix, North Americas only provider of Interconnected Commerce solutions for telecom, reveals wireless retail operators resilience and adaptability in the face of market competition and evolving consumer behaviors. Image: iQmetrix

iQmetrix, North Americas only provider of Interconnected Commerce solutions for telecom, carried out the second of its bi-annual survey of industry professionals across the US and Canada to glean insights and predictions on these and other wireless retail trends. Respondents came from top-tier telecom carriers, well-known wireless brands, authorized retailers of all sizes, wireless kiosk operators, cable/internet operators moving into wireless, handset manufacturers, and more.

The resulting whitepaperThe Future is Interconnected Commerce: 2023 Trends in Telecom Retailswhich launches today, reveals that wireless retail operators remain optimistic about business outlooks, albeit with a little more caution than two years earlier. The respondents answers demonstrated their adaptability to meet customers where they are and rise to their new expectations, which is essential if retailers are going to win today's race for customer loyalty. And the results proved that only by interconnecting the many disparate systems and players involved in telecom retail will businesses be able to thrive.

The survey report breaks the results down into six sections, including business outlook, challenges ahead, device activations, the role of the physical store, unified commerce strategies, and the sectors future state.

Key findings on business outlook include:

Nearly 59% of respondents predicted growth in device sales over the next three years

of respondents predicted growth in device sales over the next three years Almost 79% said smart home device sales will increase over the next three years

said smart home device sales will increase over the next three years Over 68% said competition today is higher than three years ago

said competition today is higher than three years ago Over 59% cited continued economic uncertainty as their biggest challenge

cited continued economic uncertainty as their biggest challenge Nearly 86% see the business opportunity in eSIM, although a third of those also see a threat

see the business opportunity in eSIM, although a third of those also see a threat Nearly 46% have noticed a decline in smartphone demand over the past three years

When it comes to new technologies:

Close to 66% of respondents have implemented contactless payments, with most of those having kept them post-pandemic

of respondents have implemented contactless payments, with most of those having kept them post-pandemic More than 63% think it's likely AI analytics of customer behavior will increasingly shape retail strategies

think it's likely AI analytics of customer behavior will increasingly shape retail strategies Over 76% predict a greater focus on customer loyalty and rewards programs

Stacy Hamer, Chief Operating Officer at iQmetrix, said, No matter what problem gets thrown into this industry, they will transform and find new ways to engage with their customers to win that loyalty race. And we will be there, giving them the support and technology they need to do that. It makes me so proud to be a part of this evolution.

Trish Sale, Vice President of Product at iQmetrix, added, Ultimately, it is about the ability to pull together all those carrier and retailer systems seamlessly so that you can have a frictionless experience, you can transact within wireless, you can get that activation to happen without having to swivel between systemswithout having that disjointed and disconnected experience. And you can only do that with Interconnected Commerce.

View the survey results and download the report here.

About iQmetrix

iQmetrix is the only provider of Interconnected Commerce software solutions for telecom retail. Interconnected Commerce is a complete set of software and technologies that are modular, flexible, and have telecom-specific capabilities, enabling telecom retailers to provide an uplifting experience for their customers. We empower telecom retailers to transact, activate, and fulfill products, as well as operate their business, and unify the online and in-store experiences. We interconnect the entire industry, bridging carriers, retailers, manufacturers, and a huge ecosystem of vendors and external system integrations.

Since 1999, weve been passionate about helping the leading brands in telecom to grow by providing best-in-class software, services, and expertise that enables them to adapt and thrive. Our solutions powered $17BN in sales last year, handling nearly 60 million invoices and 22 million activations, and are used by approximately 320,000 telecom retail professionals across 1,000 clients. iQmetrix is a privately held software-as-a-service (SaaS) company with employees in Canada, the U.S., India, and Europe. For more information, please visit www.iqmetrix.com.

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Media

Joannah Connolly

[email protected]

Source: iQmetrix
AI-powered platform supports The Save Mart Companies customer-focused data-driven strategy to better serve shoppers and CPG partners

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

SymphonyAI Retail CPG, a SymphonyAI vertical, today announced it has been selected by The Save Mart Companies as its AI solution partner for customer-centric, data-driven category management decision-making.

The Save Mart Companies will use SymphonyAIs suite of AI-powered tools, including CINDE Insights, Personalization and Promotions, Shelf Planning and Optimization, and Assortment Intelligence and Optimization. In addition, SymphonyAI will help The Save Mart Companies drive deeper CPG collaboration through data syndication, enabling the retailer and key supplier partners to align more strategically using current, comprehensive data to best meet the needs and expectations of shoppers.

Through CINDE Insights, SymphonyAI Retail CPGs prescriptive connected AI technology, The Save Mart Companies can make more informed customer-centric decisions and strategically personalize and target promotions to the right customers, engaging new shoppers to drive larger baskets. The Save Mart Companies can also tailor assortments to localized customer demographics and buying habits.

With SymphonyAI Retail CPG solutions embedded into The Save Mart Companies operations, the supermarket chain gains deep customer insights across its stores and deploys fast-acting, predictive AI technology to respond to trends and customer behaviors. Fundamentally, the data and AI capabilities will help The Save Mart Companies drive growth and better meet the needs of shoppers.

The Save Mart Companies is thrilled to partner with SymphonyAI as its retail solutions strategically fit our growth plan around a customer-first experience driven by deep data insights, said Shane Sampson, executive chairman, The Save Mart Companies. From past professional experience with SymphonyAI, I know that the ability to gather and offer exacting customer insights to our manufacturer partners as a single source of the truth is a game changer. It will help us be a better partner while giving our shoppers the personalized, intimate shopping experience they deserve.

By working with SymphonyAI Retail CPGs AI capabilities, we have access to leading retail technologies that span multiple functions to create a customer-first connected view, said Mark Van Buskirk, SVP, merchandising and marketing, The Save Mart Companies. Going beyond descriptive data to prescriptive, actionable results means we can focus efforts where they matter most and make better business decisions to support our customers.

We are honored to be selected by such a shopper-centric, forward-thinking retailer as The Save Mart Companies, said Manish Choudhary, president and CEO, SymphonyAI Retail CPG. The future of retail is the intelligent AI-powered retailer that deepens customer engagement while creating more collaborative, strategic CPG relationships., and The Save Mart Companies is leading the way to that future.

SymphonyAI Retail CPGs predictive and generative AI solutions span the retail value chain to highlight problems and suggest actions to fix issues such as out-of-stock products or develop smarter shelf plans to bring the intelligent, connected store to reality. Trusted by more than 1,200 leading retailers and manufacturers, SymphonyAI Retail CPG serves 15 of the top 25 global grocery retailers, the top 25 global CPGs and hundreds of national and regional retail chains. For more information on SymphonyAI Retail CPGs capabilities, go to symphonyretailai.com.

About The Save Mart Companies

The Save Mart Companies, a Kingswood Capital Management, LP portfolio company and a California-based grocer, operates approximately 200 Save Mart, Lucky, and FoodMaxx stores in California and Western Nevada. In addition to its retail operation, the Company also operates SMART Refrigerated Transport and is a partner in Super Store Industries (SSI), which owns and operates a distribution center in Lathrop, and the Sunnyside Farms dairy processing plant in Turlock. Proud to be Californias largest regional, full-service grocery chain throughout the region, the Company and its 14,000 team members take extra care to help provide customers with the freshest foods for their families at affordable prices. For more information on the company, please visit: TheSaveMartCompanies.com.

About SymphonyAI

SymphonyAI is building the leading enterprise AI SaaS company with market-leading predictive and generative AI applications for digital transformation across the most critical and resilient growth verticals, including retail, consumer packaged goods, finance, manufacturing, media, and IT/enterprise service management. SymphonyAI has many leading enterprises as clients. Since its founding in 2017, SymphonyAI has grown rapidly to 3,000 talented leaders, data scientists, and other professionals. SymphonyAI is an SAIGroup company, backed by a $1 billion commitment from Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907537713/en/

Katherine Bingham

Ketner Group Communications (for SymphonyAI Retail CPG)

[email protected]

Source: SymphonyAI
Annual event celebrates its fifth year and attracts C-suite leaders in higher education, healthcare and corporate

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- University of Phoenix is proud to partner with the Glenn Llopis Group (GLLG) as host sponsor of the fifth annual Leadership in the Age of Personalization (LAOP) Executive Summit, Chasing Resilience, on October 17, 2023, at the University campus in Phoenix, Arizona. City of Hope is the premier sponsor. The Summit experience provides leaders with an intensive single day exploration tackling uncertainty, understanding strategies to navigate forward, and create resiliency throughout an organization, from workforce, to team, to individual.

Change is a constant, and building the resilience and skills to adapt, for individuals and organizations, can empower us to move forward fearlessly, states Chris Lynne, president of University of Phoenix. The Summit establishes a welcoming space for important conversations and inspiration about how industry leaders can nurture resilience at an individual level and support the sustainability and contributions of organizations. We are honored to host the Summit and support this enriching conversation.

Glenn Llopis, CEO at GLLG, founded the Summit in 2019 as a movement, bringing together a diverse group of leaders from various industries, including corporate, healthcare, and higher education, with an inclusive approach aiming to shift the traditional mindset of standardization towards personalization, and emphasizing the importance of honoring individuality in leadership practices.

The LAOP Summit was established to address the need for a departure from the traditional command and control leadership model that defined the measures of success for people, then rewarded only those who met those measures, says Llopis. Fostering resilience and reinvention readiness during times of volatility requires leaders to start discovering the innate capacities of their people, knowing what matters to them as individuals and creating the environment that allows people to unleash it. This 5-year milestone reveals that the only way organizations can truly be agile, adaptable and sustain their growth is by unleashing every individuals unique strength and talent so they can thrive.

University of Phoenix is focused on providing career-relevant, skills-based education and professional development for working adult students, as well as custom designed learning solutions for employer alliances.

We are helping individuals and organizations reinvent themselves through education and workforce solutions, shares John Woods, Ph.D., provost and chief academic officer at the University. We understand how critical it is for individuals and organizations to foster resilience and take actionable steps toward reinvention.

University of Phoenix established its Career Institute in 2021 to address broad, persistent, and systemic barriers to career advancement through research-based solutions and impactful partnerships that break down barriers Americans face in their careers, beginning with the Institutes annual Career Optimism Index study. The discoveries with this work expanded the Index in 2022 to include perspectives from employers and be able to identify actual and perceived gaps of resources and understanding between workers and employers about career trajectory, skills, training, and support.

The Universitys innovative skills-mapped curriculum, focused on the working adult learner, recently culminated in 100 percent of associate, bachelors and masters degree programs open for new enrollment now being fully skills-mapped. University of Phoenix has long used flexible, adaptable online learning to support an equitable environment, and its skills-mapped approach to curriculum supports equitable access to progress. When learners obtain skills in weeks, they gain more immediate value from their education and do not have to wait years for a degree before making career decisions that can be built on skills they are already acquiring.

Our work in building the Career Institute, addressing career barriers, and in mapping our curriculum to skills supports our mission to provide career-relevant education for working adult learners and contribute to their communities, states Woods. So much of our institutional focus is on a deeply personalized and relevant experience for our learners, and so the pursuit and strategy of the Summit is an especially inspiring and natural fit for our engagement.

This years Summit is a natural evolution from prior years which focused on themes such as navigating uncertainty, unleashing individuality, the collapse of standardization, and the inaugural year theme on embracing human dignity in a new age of personalization.

While in-person attendance is invitation only, the LAOP summit this year will open to a virtual audience with opportunities to engage. Learn more and register at LAOP Summit Registration.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelors and masters degree programs and a Career Services for Life commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Sharla Hooper

University of Phoenix

[email protected]

Source: University of Phoenix
$2.6 million pledged to six initiatives across Australia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.

Commitments made to support veterinary scholarships and debt relief, mental well-being, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and livestock farmers and veterinary livelihoods around the world

PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, the Zoetis Foundation announced that it will distribute $2.6 million during its second round of 2023 grants, supporting six initiatives to help enable thriving professions and livelihoods for livestock farmers and veterinary professionals.

The Zoetis Foundation has selected grantees that will help provide greater access to education and mental wellness resources, provide veterinary education debt relief funding, support diversity and inclusion efforts, and help enable thriving livelihoods by funding programs that support veterinary practices and farmers adopting sustainable and resilient business practices. This year, the Foundation is proud to expand its support of veterinary mental health and wellness to Australia and the United Kingdom.

From increasing educational access for the next generation of veterinary professionals and supporting well-being of current veterinarians to championing sustainable livestock farming, its critical that we support those who care for the animals we depend on, said Jeannette Ferran Astorga, President of the Zoetis Foundation and Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Communications and Sustainability at Zoetis. In the second round of 2023 funding, we are pleased to continue building upon the success of the Foundations grantmaking thus far and expanding our funding to include new organizations, underscoring our commitment to advance opportunities for veterinarians and livestock farmers.

The full list of second round 2023 grant recipients and expansion of programmatic work includes:

Education

American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation (AASVF): the AASVF/Zoetis Foundation Educational Debt Relief Grant program seeks to help offset veterinary student debt to expand access to veterinary education and to help ensure a diverse pool of veterinarians interested in swine veterinary medicine can pursue their career goals. The program will award 10 recipients with $7,500 each.

American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) Dr. Catherine A. Knupp Scholarship: in its second year of grant funding, this scholarship aims to encourage more students to pursue research in veterinary science and is named in honor of Dr. Catherine A. Knupp, who retired as Zoetis President of Research & Development in 2021. Commemorating her many contributions to scientific innovation as a veterinary scientist and leader in human and animal health research and development, the scholarship will award 2 recipients with $25,000 each.

American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) Veterinary Student Scholarship Program: in its third year of grant funding, the scholarship program will provide financial support to veterinary students, addressing the issue of student debt and the need to foster diversity in the veterinary profession. From 2021-2023, the Foundation has approved $4.4 million in funding for this program supporting more than 840 scholarships.

Well-being

Australian Veterinary Association: this grant will help AVA launch the Cultivating Safe Teams program, delivering free psycho-social safety and mental health awareness training sessions to 50 veterinary workplaces in Australia. The program aims to empower veterinary teams, increase staff productivity, reduce absenteeism, and improve retention as well as individual well-being and satisfaction.

Vetlife: this grant will provide increased mental health counseling and cognitive behavioral therapy support for the veterinary community, expand volunteer helpline training, and improve online resources for those seeking guidance for mental health and related issues.

Livelihoods

The Nature Conservancy: this grant supports farmers adoption of regenerative agriculture practices in the Cerrado region of Brazil through technical assistance models. These technical skills will maximize farmer livelihoods and production, while also minimizing environmental impact, advancing the sustainability of their farms.

Additionally, the Zoetis Foundation provided a second year of funding to Zoetis Colleague Resource Group (CRG) Philanthropy Grants Program, in alignment with the Foundations goal to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion across its focus areas. The CRG Philanthropy Grants Program invites Zoetis CRGs to propose grantee suggestions to the Zoetis Foundation for possible funding. This years program will benefit the Pets for the Elderly Foundation, the Asian Mental Health Collective, Management Leadership for Tomorrow, the Special Olympics, El Futuro, Inc., True Colors United, the Malala Fund and the National 4-H Council.

The Zoetis Foundation was announced in 2021 to support communities and the people who care for animals. From 2021-2022, the Foundation distributed $6.6 million to advance opportunities for veterinary professionals and farmers, support the matching gifts program, and provide relief to those impacted by the war in the Ukraine. So far in 2023, the Zoetis Foundation has approved approximately $8.1 million to advance farmer and veterinarian education, well-being and livelihoods, to support the matching gifts program, and to provide critical support to the communities impacted by the earthquake in Turkiye. The Zoetis Foundation is committed to its goal of $35 million in grants distributed by the end of 2025 to support the Foundations grantmaking priorities, with over one third of grant funding awarded thus far.

The Zoetis Foundation is not soliciting grant proposals at this time. The Zoetis Foundation is a private charitable organization and is solely funded by Zoetis Inc., with distinct legal requirements and restrictions.

About the Zoetis Foundation

The Zoetis Foundation supports communities and the people who care for animals, with a specific focus on advancing opportunities for veterinarians and farmers around the world. The Foundations grantmaking and strategic efforts provide access to education and mental wellness resources, expand veterinary debt relief, support diversity and inclusion efforts, and enable thriving livelihoods by funding programs that help veterinary practices and farmers adopt sustainable business practices. To learn more about the Foundation, please visit: www.zoetisfoundation.org.

ZTS-COR

ZTS-IR

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Media:

Christina Lood

973-822-7249

[email protected]

Source: Zoetis Inc.
Asia Broadband Inc. (OTC: AABB) (AABB or the Company) is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire a high potential property in the prolific mining region of Hostotipaquillo, Jalisco, Mexico. The 4,081 hectare high-grade acquisition target concession #239735 named Picachos IV is located in a rapidly developing area and is adjacent to GoGold Resources Inc.s (TSX: GGD) (OTCQX: GLGDF) Los Ricos South property. The Picachos gold project is another prospective high yield asset addition in the Companys strategic expansion initiative to acquire gold production and increase the AABBs physical gold holdings.

In the coming weeks, the Company will be conducting further due diligence and continuing its negotiations to acquire the new mining concession. AABB is expecting to confirm high-grade assay results in the coming weeks from the Companys initial due diligence activities on the property, as the mapping and rock sampling program continues. Company management is exhilarated with the Picachos project for its potential for rapid development, high production and low operating costs.

The Picachos property is a key strategic acquisition for the Companys mining property portfolio that will facilitate the growth of our operations and profitability going forward, expressed Chris Torres, the Company President and CEO.

AABB continues to implement its mining property acquisition strategy to optimize development capital utilization by focusing operations in regions of Mexico where AABB has a comparative advantage of development resources and expertise readily available for rapid expansion and duplication of the Companys previous gold production success.

About Asia Broadband

Asia Broadband Inc. (OTC: AABB) is a resource company focused on the production of precious metals and the accumulation of physical gold holdings. The Company utilizes its specific geographic expertise, experience and extensive industry contacts to facilitate the expansion of precious metals property holdings and production in Mexico. The Company's industry and business integration in Mexico and its asset diversification are unique strengths of AABB that differentiate it from other companies and creates distinctive value for shareholders. Additionally, the Company has a digital assets business segment with its AABBG mine-to-token gold-backed cryptocurrency within its AABB Wallet, the unique Golden Baboons Mining Club non-fungible token collection, a proprietary digital exchange AABBExchange and a cryptocurrency payment gateway solution PayAABB.com. AABB expects its token to become a world-wide standard of exchange that is stable, secured and trusted with gold backing, while having the added benefit of demand based price appreciation. These are unique and outstanding qualities relative to other cryptocurrencies and digital asset developers.

Contact the Company at:

General Email: [email protected] Exchange Support: https://aabbexchange.com/faq/ Token Support: https://aabbgoldtoken.com/faq/aabb-wallet/ www.AABBGoldToken/com/support/ Company Websites: www.asiabroadbandinc.com www.AABBExchange.com www.AABBGoldToken.com www.PayAABB.com www.goldenbaboons.com Phone: 702-866-9054

Forward-Looking Statements are contained in this press release within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the Asia Broadband Inc.s (the Company) expected current beliefs about the Companys business, which are subject to uncertainty and change. The operations and results of the Company could materially differ from what is expressed or implied by the statements made above when industry, regulatory, market and competitive circumstances change. Further information about these risks can be found in the annual and quarterly disclosures the Company has published on the OTC Markets website. The Company is under no obligation to update or alter its forward-looking statements as future circumstances, events and information may change.

Source: Asia Broadband Inc.
Green Brick Partners, Inc. (NYSE: GRBK) (Green Brick, or the Company), a leading national homebuilder and land development company, today announced the pricing of a secondary offering of 850,000 shares of its common stock held by an investment fund, at a public offering price of $45.75 per share (the Offering). An affiliate of Greenlight Capital, Inc. serves as an investment adviser to the investment fund and may be deemed to beneficially own the shares being sold. Green Brick did not offer any shares of its common stock and will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of the shares in the Offering. The Offering is expected to close on September 8, 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as the book-running manager for the Offering.

The Offering is being made pursuant to an automatically effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities Exchange Commission (the SEC) on September 6, 2023 and only by means of a prospectus and prospectus supplement. A copy of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to this Offering, when available, may be obtained by visiting the SEC website at www.sec.gov or by contacting: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, by telephone at 1-866-471-2526 or by emailing [email protected].

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
KKR (NYSE: KKR) today announced it is investing approximately $750m to scale Zenobe, a market leader in transport electrification and battery storage solutions, to accelerate the global decarbonisation of diesel fleets and provide grid services that are critical for the decarbonisation of the energy sector.

Infracapital, the infrastructure equity investment arm of M&G Plc and current majority shareholder, will invest further alongside KKR and the management team, with KKR and Infracapital becoming joint majority shareholders. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

KKRs investment in Zenobe is the first to be made through the firms global climate strategy, which is part of KKRs $54 billion global Infrastructure business and dedicated to investing in solutions at scale to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Founded in 2017 and headquartered in London, Zenobe is a global player in electrification solutions for fleets and battery storage solutions for grid network infrastructure, with leading positions in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and a growing presence in continental Europe. Today, Zenobe is one of the leading fleet electrification platforms in the world, helping bus and increasingly HGV operating companies to decarbonise their fleets and meet emission-reduction objectives.

Zenobes EV fleet business provides end-to-end solutions to transition conventional internal combustion engine vehicles to electric, including financing of chassis, batteries on the vehicles, and charging infrastructure in depots, complemented with an integrated software solution. Through its network infrastructure business, Zenobe develops and builds large scale batteries that connect to transmission grids, providing essential grid services to complement the growth of intermittent low carbon energy generation and allowing economies to achieve their net zero ambitions, without compromising the grid stability.

Decarbonising transportation, reducing pollution in big cities and towns and meeting national net-zero targets will require substantial investment and a rapid shift to electric vehicles. The transport sector is the largest source of carbon emissions globally, resulting in tightening regulations related to emissions by public transport.

KKR plans to work with Zenobe to meet the growing demand for EV adoption from bus operators and other commercial fleet businesses globally. KKR also expects to help Zenobe expand its grid-scale battery storage capacity through the construction and expansion of new and existing sites. The investment will help Zenobe to build on its leadership positions in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, while continuing to grow across continental Europe, and also expand into North America.

Alberto Signori, Partner in KKRs European Infrastructure team, said: This is a rare opportunity to support a clear leader in transport decarbonisation and battery storage, two sectors which are critical in driving the transition to a net-zero world. As a significant contributor to the decarbonisation of our economies, Zenobe is an exemplary first investment in KKRs global climate strategy which seeks to scale up businesses at the forefront of delivering real-world solutions to reduce carbon emissions. Zenobes management team and Infracapital have built a unique and hard to replicate global platform, and we look forward to working alongside them to further scale the business internationally.

Shreya Malik, Director in KKRs European Infrastructure team, added: We believe Zenobe will continue to benefit from strong secular tail winds including stricter emission regulation in urban and regional areas, and the greater use of low carbon generation in the energy mix driving a need for grid balancing solutions. We see significant growth opportunities within Zenobes existing customer base, as well as huge potential in new markets globally. We are excited to bring our operational expertise within KKRs global platform to actively support the company in continuing to further build a market leading and climate critical business.

Nicholas Beatty, Co-founder and Director of Zenobe, said: This investment acknowledges the significant role that transport decarbonisation and battery storage have to play in our net-zero future. Its also a significant vote of confidence in our business, its achievements to date and future aims. Batteries are the under-recognised crucial component of our future energy and transport systems, and theyre available now. KKR provides Zenobe with a leading international strategic partner to support our expansion plans, taking our experience in accelerating the electrification of fleets and maximising the uptake of renewables into North America, Europe, Australasia and other markets. It also provides support for our ability to raise further debt funding for these expansion plans.

Andy Matthews, Head of Greenfield at Infracapital, said: Since our initial investment in 2020, Infracapital has supported Zenobes significant innovation and expansion as it has gone from strength to strength in both the battery storage and transportation sectors. We are delighted to announce our further investment into the business, and to embark on this exciting journey alongside KKR as joint shareholders in Zenobe. This strategic partnership marks a significant milestone for the business and fulfils our confidence in its ability to continue to play a leading role in sustainable solutions. We look forward to continuing to contribute our expertise and resources to support Zenobe's further success on a global scale, whilst creating long-term value for our investors.

With over 15 years of experience in infrastructure investing, and a long history in the industrials space, KKR has deep expertise in renewable energy and climate-related investments. Since 2010, KKR has committed more than $40 billion to sustainability-focused investments, including over $30 billion to climate and environmental sustainability investments, accelerating net-zero solutions such as X-Elio and Sol Systems, building out net-zero platforms in transportation with Q-Park and Ritchies, and driving transitions with investments including Albioma and ContourGlobal.

KKR has been investing in the UK for over two decades, having deployed almost $24 billion in equity across all investment platforms, including almost $5 billion in sustainability-related investments over the past 3 years in investments such as Citation, ERM, John Laing and Viridor.

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKRs insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKRs investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKRs website at www.kkr.com and on X (formerly Twitter) @KKR_Co.

About Zenobe Energy Ltd. (Zenobe)

Zenobe is an EV fleet and grid-scale battery storage specialist, headquartered in the UK. The company began operations in 2017 with three founders and has over the past 6 years increased its staff to >230 FTEs with a wide range of leading skills including electrical engineering, software development, computer sciences and financing. It now operates in Europe and Australasia and is expanding into North America. Zenobe has 430MW of battery storage in operation or under construction with another 1.2GW of projects in advanced development in the UK which equates to circa 20% market share forecast by 2026. It has around 25% market share of the UK EV bus sector and c.1000 electric vehicles supported globally. The company is the largest owner and operator of EV buses in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Zenobes services are supported by market leading financing capability. This has included completing and drawing down against the Fleet private placement in February 2022 which raised over 240 million long term debt for the financing of Fleet customers, principally bus operators in the UK, over up to 16 years. This also included the financing of grid-scale batteries completed in February 2023 which raised 635m of debt including an accordion for the development of Zenobes grid-scale battery storage assets in Scotland.

For more information, please visit www.zenobe.com/ or follow on LinkedIn.

About Infracapital

Infracapital invests in, builds and manages a diverse range of essential infrastructure to meet the changing needs of society and support long-term economic growth. We take an active role in all of our investments, whether nascent or large, to fulfil their potential and ensure they are adaptable and resilient. Our approach creates value for our investors, as we target investments with the scope for stable and sustainable growth. Our portfolio companies work closely with the communities where they are based, to the benefit of all stakeholders. Infracapital is well positioned to deliver the significant investment required to help build the future. The founder-led team of experienced specialists has worked with more than 60 companies around Europe and has raised and managed over 7.8 billion of client capital across six funds. Infracapital is part of M&G Plc, an international savings and investments business, managing money for around 5 million retail customers and more than 800 institutional clients in 28 markets. Total assets under management are 342 billion (as at 31 December 2022). https://www.infracapital.co.uk/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230906437481/en/

KKR



Alastair Elwen



FGS Global



T: +44 20 7251 3801



E: [email protected]

Zenobe



Beth Townsend



Hill + Knowlton Strategies



T: +44 7510 768007



E: Zenobe@hkstrategies.com

Infracapital



Colette Cahill



T: + 44 7500 547034



E: [email protected]

Source: KKR & Co. Inc.
The Board of Directors of Northeast Indiana Bancorp, Inc., (OTCQB: NIDB), the parent company of First Federal Savings Bank, is proud to announce Travis Penrod has joined the Bank on August 28 th, 2023, as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Penrod has over 18 years of financial service industry experience and has over 10 years of experience as CFO at another institution. Michael Zahn , President, and CEO comments, "We are extremely excited to welcome Travis to our leadership team. His experience and knowledge of the banking industry will add immediate value." Penrod is a Certified Public Accountant and has his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from Manchester College.

Northeast Indiana Bancorp, Inc. is headquartered at 648 N. Jefferson Street , Huntington, Indiana . The company offers a full array of banking and financial brokerage services to its customers through its main office in Huntington and six full-service Indiana offices in Huntington (2), Warsaw (2) and Fort Wayne (2). The Company is traded on the OTC Markets Group, Inc. (www.otcmarkets.com) utilizing the OTCQB platform under the symbol "NIDB". Our web site address is www.firstfedindiana.bank.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/northeast-indiana-bancorp-inc-names-travis-a-penrod-senior-vice-presidentchief-financial-officer-301921141.html

SOURCE Northeast Indiana Bancorp, Inc.
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG) announced today that the company and certain of its US subsidiaries, including Philips Respironics, have reached an agreement to resolve all economic loss claims in the US Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) related to Philips Respironics voluntary recall of certain sleep and respiratory care devices. This settlement, which is expected to be submitted to the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania later today, does not include or constitute any admission of liability, wrongdoing, or fault by any of the Philips parties.

The agreement, which is subject to approval by the court, will provide predefined cash awards to all eligible participants in the US depending on the type of device, extended warranties on all replacement devices, and an additional cash award if they return the recalled device to Philips Respironics. The settlement will further compensate certain individuals who acquired replacement devices post-recall.

The final cost of the settlement may vary based on, among other things, how many patients participate in the settlement and what the Court awards for the professional fees relating to the resolutions. Philips Respironics has recorded a provision for an amount of EUR 575 million in the first quarter of 2023 to cover for the estimated costs of the final settlement.

Subject to final Court approval, payments to class members under the settlement are not expected to begin until the first quarter of 2024 at the earliest.

The agreement does not settle any personal injury or medical monitoring claims in the MDL, which the Philips parties have moved to dismiss.

 Patients, hospitals, and sleep labs in the US eligible for benefits under the agreement do not need to take any action at this time in order to participate in the settlement.

 The settlement must be approved by the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and additional information will be provided in the future.

 All related inquiries by patients, hospitals and sleep labs in the US should be directed to the third-party Settlement Administrator, Angeion Group. More information will be available at www.RespironicsCPAP-ELSettlement.com.

For media and investor relations questions, please contact:

Philips Global Press Office (Europe time zone)Ben ZwirsTel.: +31 6 15213446E-mail: [email protected]

Philips Global Press Office (US time zone)Mario FanteTel.: +1 603 560 9226E-mail: [email protected]

Philips Investor RelationsDerya GuzelTel: +31 20 59 77055E-mail: [email protected]
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Aibek Moldogaziev met with the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kyrgyz Republic Sunario Kartadinata, Azernews reports, citing Kabar.

During the meeting, the sides discussed topical issues on the agenda of the Kyrgyz-Indonesian cooperation. In particular, they discussed prospects for further cooperation in the field of the halal industry and patent law, as well as strengthening trade and economic cooperation.

In order to expand the legal framework between the countries, the sides noted the need to accelerate the process of agreeing on draft model agreements in the field of healthcare, culture, agriculture, environmental protection and sports. The sides also noted the importance of fruitful cooperation on mutual support within the framework of international organizations.

Sunario Kartadinata informed that as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kyrgyzstan and Indonesia, on September 11 this year, a Kyrgyz-Indonesian business forum will be held in Bishkek with the participation of representatives of state bodies and businesses of Indonesia and Kyrgyzstan.

In conclusion, the sides expressed their readiness to continue to make efforts to strengthen bilateral relations and achieve tangible results in areas of mutual interest.
Qudian Inc. (NYSE: QD), a consumer-oriented technology company, today announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 .

Second Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights:

Total revenues were RMB11.1 million ( US$1.5 million ), compared to RMB105.4 million for the same period of last year

( ), compared to for the same period of last year Net loss attributable to Qudian's shareholders was RMB76.9 million ( US$10.6 million ), compared to net loss of RMB61.3 million for the same period of last year; net loss per diluted ADS was RMB0.34 ( US$0.05 ) for the second quarter of 2023

shareholders was ( ), compared to net loss of for the same period of last year; net loss per diluted ADS was ( ) for the second quarter of 2023 Non-GAAP net loss attributable to Qudian's shareholders was RMB75.5 million ( US$10.4 million ), compared to net loss of RMB52.8 million for the same period of last year. We exclude share-based compensation expenses from our non-GAAP measures. Non-GAAP net loss per diluted ADS was RMB0.34 ( US$0.05 ) for the second quarter of 2023

"We are delighted to report our initial advancements in the global expansion of our smart last-mile logistics business, marking the inaugural phase of our comprehensive group-wide strategic transformation," said Mr. Min Luo , Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Qudian. "We continued to execute our business transition and establish our new last-mile delivery business while maintaining a healthy balance sheet by pursuing efficient cash management."

Mr. Luo continued, "Our new last-mile delivery business has made steady progress since we launched it on a trial basis in December 2022 and started to achieve initial shape and scale in the second quarter of 2023 in Australia under the name of "Fast Horse." We believe such a new strategic business initiative will bring value to our shareholders and we expect to expand its footprint across Australia , North America , and New Zealand and will provide more details on the development of this business as we continue to build it."

Second Quarter Financial Results

Total revenues were RMB11.1 million ( US$1.5 million ), representing a decrease of 89.5% from RMB105.4 million for the second quarter of 2022.

Financing income, loan facilitation income and other related income and transaction services fee and other related income decreased to nil as a result of the winding down of the loan book business.

Sales income and others increased to RMB11.1 million ( US$1.5 million ), which was mostly attributable to incomes generated from the QD Food business attributable to its sales made prior to its winding-down and incomes generated from last-mile delivery business, compared with RMB8.8 million for the second quarter of 2022, which was mainly attributable to sales income generated by QD Food. We have wound down the QD Food business in second quarter of 2023.

Total operating costs and expenses decreased to RMB106.7 million ( US$14.7 million ) from RMB135.9 million for the second quarter of 2022.

Cost of revenues decreased by 69.1% to RMB12.7 million ( US$1.7 million ) from RMB41.1 million for the second quarter of 2022, primarily due to the winding down of the QD Food business and loan book business, partially offset by cost from last-mile delivery business.

Sales and marketing expenses decreased to nil as a result of the winding down of the loan book business and QD Food business.

General and administrative expenses increased by 87.9% to RMB65.4 million ( US$9.0 million ) from RMB34.8 million for the second quarter of 2022, primarily due to the increase in professional services fees from last-mile delivery business.

Research and development expenses decreased by 47.3% to RMB9.9 million ( US$1.4 million ) from RMB18.8 million for the second quarter of 2022, as a result of the decrease in staff head count, which led to a corresponding decrease in staff salaries and a decrease in third-party service fees.

Expected credit loss for receivables and other assets was RMB17.3 million ( US$2.4 million ) as compared to a gain of RMB28.7 million for the second quarter of 2022, primarily due to credit loss for other assets related to the businesses the Company historically operated.

Loss from operations was RMB94.1 million ( US$13.0 million ), compared to RMB29.4 million for the second quarter of 2022.

Interest and investment income, net increased by 47.8% to RMB6.8 million ( US$0.9 million ) from RMB4.6 million for the second quarter of 2022, mainly due to loss from investments of Secoo recorded in the second quarter of 2022 which did not appear in the second quarter of 2023.

Gain on derivative instrument was RMB10.4 million ( US$1.4 million ), compared to a loss of RMB34.7 million for the second quarter of 2022, primarily due to the increase in quoted price of the underlying equity securities relating to the derivative instruments we held.

Net loss attributable to Qudian's shareholders was RMB76.9 million ( US$10.6 million ). Net loss per diluted ADS was RMB0.34 ( US$0.05 ).

Non-GAAP net loss attributable to Qudian's shareholders was RMB75.5 million ( US$10.4 million ). Non-GAAP net loss per diluted ADS was RMB0.34 ( US$0.05 ).

Cash Flow

As of June 30, 2023 , the Company had cash and cash equivalents of RMB5,013.1 million ( US$691.3 million ) and restricted cash of RMB63.4 million ( US$8.7 million ).

For the second quarter of 2023, net cash provided by operating activities was RMB34.8 million ( US$4.8 million ), mainly due to the interest income from the Company's short-term investments.Net cash provided by investing activities was RMB115.2 million ( US$15.9 million ), mainly due to the net proceeds from the redemption of short-term investments. Net cash used in financing activities was RMB186.2 million ( US$25.7 million ), mainly due to the repayment of short-term borrowings and repurchase of ordinary shares.

Last-mile Delivery Business

In response to the surging demand for cross-border e-commerce transactions, the Company has proactively sought innovative logistic services and solutions to meet global consumers' expectations for swift and top-tier delivery services. In December 2022 , the Company introduced a pioneering strategic venture into last-mile delivery services. The business was launched on a trial basis and has successfully taking shape and achieving initial scale in Australia during the second quarter of 2023. The Company operates such business under the brand name of "Fast Horse." Alongside the Company's commitment to strengthening its presence in current markets, it has strategic plans to extend the last-mile delivery services to countries experiencing strong e-commerce demand.

Update on Share Repurchase

As previously disclosed, the Company established a share repurchase program in June 2022 , under which the Company may purchase up to US$200 million worth of its Class A ordinary shares and/or ADSs over a 24-month period. From the launch of the share repurchase program on June 13, 2022 to September 4, 2023 , the Company has in aggregate purchased 36.0 million ADSs in the open market for a total amount of approximately US$50.8 million (an average price of $1.4 per ADS) pursuant to the share repurchase program.

About Qudian Inc.

Qudian Inc. ("Qudian") is a consumer-oriented technology company. The Company historically focused on providing credit solutions to consumers. Qudian is exploring innovative logistics services to satisfy consumers' demand for e-commerce transactions by leveraging its technology capabilities.

For more information, please visit http://ir.qudian.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We use Non-GAAP net income/loss attributable to Qudian's shareholders, a Non-GAAP financial measure, in evaluating our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. We believe that Non-GAAP net income/loss attributable to Qudian's shareholders helps identify underlying trends in our business by excluding the impact of share-based compensation expenses, which are non-cash charges. We believe that Non-GAAP net income/loss attributable to Qudian's shareholders provides useful information about our operating results, enhances the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects and allows for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by our management in its financial and operational decision-making.

Non-GAAP net income/loss attributable to Qudian's shareholders is not defined under U.S. GAAP and is not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. This Non-GAAP financial measure has limitations as an analytical tool, and when assessing our operating performance, cash flows or our liquidity, investors should not consider them in isolation, or as a substitute for net loss /income, cash flows provided by operating activities or other consolidated statements of operation and cash flow data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

We mitigate these limitations by reconciling the Non-GAAP financial measure to the most comparable U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating our performance.

For more information on this Non-GAAP financial measure, please see the table captioned "Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" set forth at the end of this press release.

Exchange Rate Information

This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars ("US$") at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from RMB to US$ were made at the rate of RMB7.2513 to US$1.00 , the noon buying rate in effect on June 30, 2023 , in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. The Company makes no representation that the RMB or US$ amounts referred could be converted into US$ or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all.

Statement Regarding Preliminary Unaudited Financial Information

The unaudited financial information set out in this earnings release is preliminary and subject to potential adjustments. Adjustments to the consolidated financial statements may be identified when audit work has been performed for the Company's year-end audit, which could result in significant differences from this preliminary unaudited financial information.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the expectation of its collection efficiency and delinquency, contain forward-looking statements. Qudian may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the SEC, in its annual report 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 Qudian's beliefs 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 statement, including but not limited to the following: Qudian's goal and strategies; Qudian's expansion plans; Qudian's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Qudian's expectations regarding demand for, and market acceptance of, its products; Qudian's expectations regarding keeping and strengthening its relationships with customers, business partners and other parties it collaborates with; general economic and business conditions; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Qudian's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and Qudian does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

In China :

Qudian Inc.

Tel: +86-592-596-8208

E-mail: [email protected]

QUDIAN INC. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations Three months ended June 30 , (In thousands except for number 2022 2023 of shares and per-share data) (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Unaudited) RMB RMB US$ Revenues: Financing income 66,231 - - Sales commission fee 95 - - Sales income and others 8,753 11,088 1,529 Penalty fee 17,297 - - Loan facilitation income and other related income 6,589 - - Transaction services fee and other related income 6,481 - - Total revenues 105,446 11,088 1,529 Operating cost and expenses: Cost of revenues (41,083) (12,667) (1,747) Sales and marketing (53,211) - - General and administrative (34,828) (65,419) (9,022) Research and development (18,774) (9,918) (1,368) Changes in guarantee liabilities and risk assurance liabilities(1) 28,839 - - Expected credit gain/(loss) for receivables and other assets 28,657 (17,313) (2,388) Impairment loss from other assets (45,536) (1,343) (185) Total operating cost and expenses (135,936) (106,660) (14,710) Other operating income 1,129 1,470 203 Loss from operations (29,361) (94,102) (12,978) Interest and investment income, net 4,646 6,798 937 (Loss)/Gain from equity method investments (241) 2,661 367 (Loss)/Gain on derivative instruments (34,671) 10,434 1,439 Foreign exchange gain/(loss), net 798 (42) (6) Other income 9,569 16,622 2,292 Other expenses (4,974) (308) (42) Net loss before income taxes (54,234) (57,937) (7,991) Income tax expenses (7,081) (18,928) (2,610) Net loss (61,315) (76,865) (10,601) Less: net loss attributable to non-controlling

interest shareholders - - - Net loss attributable to Qudian Inc.'s

shareholders (61,315) (76,865) (10,601) Loss per share for Class A and Class B ordinary shares: Basic (0.25) (0.34) (0.05) Diluted (0.25) (0.34) (0.05) Loss per ADS (1 Class A ordinary share equals 1 ADSs): Basic (0.25) (0.34) (0.05) Diluted (0.25) (0.34) (0.05) Weighted average number of Class A and Class

B ordinary shares outstanding: Basic 248,458,980 223,467,498 223,467,498 Diluted 253,530,688 226,379,819 226,379,819 Other comprehensive gain: Foreign currency translation adjustment 6,489 65,401 9,019 Total comprehensive loss (54,826) (11,464) (1,582) Less: total comprehensive loss attributable

to non-controlling interest shareholders - - - Total comprehensive loss attributable to

Qudian Inc.'s shareholders (54,826) (11,464) (1,582) Note

(1):The amount includes the change in fair value of the guarantee liabilities accounted in accordance with ASC 815,"Derivative",

and the change in risk assurance liabilities accounted in accordance with ASC 450, "Contingencies" and ASC 460, "Guarantees".

QUDIAN INC. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets As of March 31 , As of June 30 , (In thousands except for number 2023 2023 of shares and per-share data) (Audited) (Unaudited) (Unaudited) RMB RMB US$ ASSETS: Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents 5,001,285 5,013,109 691,339 Restricted cash 56,503 63,407 8,744 Short-term investments 4,812,491 3,777,220 520,902 Short-term finance lease receivables 960 - - Other current assets 1,422,320 2,078,060 286,578 Total current assets 11,293,559 10,931,796 1,507,563 Non-current assets: Right-of-use assets 105,749 104,156 14,364 Investment in equity method investee 134,293 137,965 19,026 Long-term investments 211,212 206,857 28,527 Property and equipment, net 833,722 1,069,145 147,442 Intangible assets 4,353 3,452 476 Other non-current assets 451,134 450,923 62,185 Total non-current assets 1,740,463 1,972,498 272,020 TOTAL ASSETS 13,034,022 12,904,294 1,779,583 QUDIAN INC. Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Continued) As of March 31 , As of June 30 , (In thousands except for number 2023 2023 of shares and per-share data) (Audited) (Unaudited) (Unaudited) RMB RMB US$ LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Short-term borrowings and interest payables 145,312 - - Short-term lease liabilities 8,083 6,766 933 Derivative instruments-liability 108,729 179,444 24,746 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 213,928 204,898 28,257 Income tax payable 158,498 164,173 22,640 Total current liabilities 634,550 555,281 76,576 Non-current liabilities: Deferred tax liabilities, net 19 23 3 Long-term lease liabilities 2,038 2,603 359 Total non-current liabilities 2,057 2,626 362 Total liabilities 636,607 557,907 76,938 Shareholders' equity: Class A Ordinary shares 132 132 19 Class B Ordinary shares 44 44 6 Treasury shares (542,715) (580,653) (80,076) Additional paid-in capital 4,036,452 4,034,824 556,428 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (50,050) 15,351 2,117 Retained earnings 8,953,552 8,876,689 1,224,151 Total shareholders' equity 12,397,415 12,346,387 1,702,645 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS'

EQUITY 13,034,022 12,904,294 1,779,583

QUDIAN INC. Unaudited Reconciliation of GAAP And Non-GAAP Results Three months ended June 30 , 2022 2023 (In thousands except for number (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Unaudited) of shares and per-share data) RMB RMB US$ Total net loss attributable to Qudian Inc.'s shareholders (61,315) (76,865) (10,601) Add: Share-based compensation expenses 8,672 1,335 184 Less: Convertible bonds buyback income 196 - - Non-GAAP net loss attributable to Qudian Inc.'s shareholders (52,839) (75,530) (10,417) Non-GAAP net loss per sharebasic (0.21) (0.34) (0.05) Non-GAAP net loss per sharediluted (0.21) (0.34) (0.05) Weighted average shares outstandingbasic 248,458,980 223,467,498 223,467,498 Weighted average shares outstandingdiluted 253,530,688 226,379,819 226,379,819

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SOURCE Qudian Inc.
Splash Beverage Group, Inc. (NYSE American: SBEV) today announced it has entered a (non-binding) Term Sheet to fund acquisitions. The Credit Facility will act as a credit reservation agreement (up to an undisclosed amount) for multiple acquisitions and will provide acquisition financing at the current Euribor rate plus 1.5% and will mature in 7 to 10 years depending on each individual acquisition.

This Credit Facility is designed to provide the financial backing for us to execute on a key feature of our business strategy, growth through acquisition, said Robert Nistico, Chief Executive Officer of Splash Beverage Group. We have built our organization with the intention of embarking on a series of significant acquisitions, with key officers, our President, CFO, Controller, National VP of Sales, etc., all with experience working with larger companies. This partnership will provide the financial capabilities to proceed with our vision. We intend to target brands accretive to Splash with revenues between $20 million and $75 million, as we believe that is the sweet spot for adding value by folding these brands into our proven management team and our distribution channels.

Each acquisition will be treated as a separate transaction and does not limit us to just one brand and/or company. We will be opportunistic with our strategy, and believe we are poised to take a substantial leap forward in our growth trajectory at an opportunistic time in the beverage market; timing is everything and now is the time. Nistico added, We believe this provides us the strength and flexibility to act quickly in a challenging capital market environment, without the need for highly dilutive fund-raising activities.
Summit Materials (NYSE: SUM) has announced it will merge with Argos USA, the U.S. operations of Cementos Argos, in a cash and stock deal valued at $3.2 billion. Here are key facts about the deal:

Cementos Argos will receive $1.2 billion in cash and about 54.7 million shares of Summit stock, making the total valuation of Argos USA $3.2 billion.

Upon the completion of the merger, Cementos Argos will own approximately 31% of the combined company on a fully diluted basis.

Cementos Argos will enter into a shareholder agreement with Summit, subject to certain standstill provisions and a 24-month lock-up period on sales of Summit shares.

Anne Noonan will lead the combined company as President and CEO, with Cementos Argos retaining a significant ownership stake and representation on Summit's Board of Directors.

Financing for the deal is provided by Morgan Stanley, with permanent financing arrangements to follow.

The merger is expected to generate more than $100 million in annual operational synergies, driven by improvements in plant productivity, sourcing optimization, and other operational excellence initiatives.

Pro forma combined EBITDA, inclusive of synergies, is expected to reach approximately $1 billion before additional growth and expansion opportunities.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024, pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Wells Fargo today announced that William M. Daley, the companys vice chairman of Public Affairs, will retire at the end of this year.

Daley joined Wells Fargo in 2019 from BNY Mellon to lead Public Affairs, a newly created corporate function spanning Government Relations, Corporate Communications, Corporate Branding, Community Relations, the Wells Fargo Foundation, and other areas.

Bill has been an invaluable asset to the company, said Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargos CEO and president. During his time at Wells Fargo, weve strengthened our relationships with the communities we serve; established new programs in housing, small business, and other areas that have had an impact on hundreds of thousands of people; and worked to rebuild our reputation both nationally and locally. A lot of that is thanks to Bills leadership, and his long experience in both the public and private sectors.

Im proud of my work at Wells Fargo and the things weve been able to accomplish, Daley said. Weve made real progress in improving Wells Fargos standing in the public eye. I see it in the data, and I hear it in the conversations I have both internally and externally, across different parts of the country, and across party lines. Charlies leadership and the management team he has assembled have dramatically changed the company, and I have the utmost confidence that Wells Fargos transformation will continue on a successful path.

Daleys distinguished career includes two cabinet-level appointments  chief of staff to President Barack Obama and secretary of commerce in the Clinton administration. In addition, he served as vice chairman of BNY Mellon and a member of the banks Executive Committee, as vice chairman and a member of the Executive Committee at JPMorgan Chase, and as president of SBC Communications (now AT&T).

The company said it would announce leadership plans for its Public Affairs group at a future date.
West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (NYSE: WFG) announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Spray Lake Sawmills located in Cochrane, Alberta subject to certain post-closing adjustments. The transaction is anticipated to close later this year following completion of Canadian regulatory reviews and satisfaction of customary conditions.

Spray Lake Sawmills produces treated wood products, dimensional lumber and a variety of innovative wood residuals and biproducts. It has an annual lumber capacity of 155 million board feet and holds two Forest Management Agreements granted by the Government of Alberta with a total Annual Allowable Cut of approximately 500,000 m3.

"We are excited to welcome Spray Lake Sawmills to the West Fraser family," said Ray Ferris , President & CEO West Fraser. "Spray Lake Sawmills has an experienced, dedicated group of employees who we will look to further the legacy of this proud mill. With its solid safety performance, and focus on sustainability and community, the mill is an ideal fit for West Fraser."
Commissioner Caroline Pham propose that the CFTC launch the first-ever U.S. pilot program for digital asset markets.

From Pham:

Good afternoon. I would like to begin by extending my thanks to the Cato Institute for inviting me to speak before such an esteemed groupboth those presenting at, and attending, todays conference. It is an honor to be speaking alongside and before some of the most prominent thought leaders in the world at Cato.

Ill take a moment to say that my remarks are my own views as a Commissioner and do not necessarily represent the views of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or Commission), my fellow Commissioners, or the staff.

Staying ahead of the curve is what my prior career was about, and something I have continued to champion since being sworn in as a CFTC Commissioner in April 2022.

The World Waits for No One: Its Time for a U.S. Regulatory Sandbox

During my international tour last year to kick off the relaunch of the CFTCs Global Markets Advisory Committee, which I sponsor, I met with central banks, finance ministries, regulators, and other policymakers.[1] We discussed approaches to technology and responsible innovation to support economic growth. And what I have learned is that in many other jurisdictions across the UK, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, policymakers and regulators are unified in their approach to diversifying and growing their economy as a matter of industrial policy. I am impressed by the way that other countries encourage growth and progresstwo guiding principles of my commissionership.

The United States is home to the worlds first trillion-dollar public company, borne out of Silicon Valley in 2018.[2] And now, all five public companies with a market cap of over a trillion dollars are still U.S. tech companies.[3] But I am concerned that we have taken our past progress for granted. A wait and see approach in the U.S. towards the potential opportunities of blockchain technology and digital assets falls short of the proactive measures needed in this rapidly evolving industry.

That is why I have consistently called for the CFTC to use our existing authority to provide regulatory clarity for digital assets to ensure that robust guardrails are in place. Right after I was sworn in, I published an op-ed together with SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce calling for public roundtables to examine the crypto crash and propose reforms.[4] I was the first U.S. regulator to propose a comprehensive regulatory framework with my ten fundamentals for responsible digital asset markets.[5] I proposed the CFTCs first-ever Office of the Retail Advocate to give a voice to the retail public and focus on retail protection.[6] I sponsored the creation of a Digital Asset Markets subcommittee of the CFTCs GMAC to develop recommendations for industry standards and best practices, including taxonomy; pre-trade, execution, and post-trade requirements; and governance, risk and control frameworks.[7]

Today, I will propose that the CFTC launch the first-ever U.S. pilot program for digital asset markets. Our principles-based framework is built for innovation in technology, new products, and market structure. In waiting and seeing, were missing opportunities to capitalize on all the benefits of the technology before us, while others take a more strategic and long-term view. The U.S. may soon find ourselves constantly playing catch-up, unable to effectively leverage this technology for economic growth.

Jurisdictions all around the world have embraced the drive to stay ahead of the curve and launched innovation facilitators, or regulatory sandboxes.[8] In the U.S., the federal regulatory framework raises challenging legal issuesincluding the fact that the CFTC is an enforcement agencyfor agencies like ours and the SEC to structure and design regulatory sandboxes. While U.S. federal agencies have created offices dedicated to FinTech, true regulatory sandboxes have been limited to the states.[9]

However, as I will discuss today, the CFTC and SEC have in the past had success launching pilot programs. At their core, pilot programs provide a way to strategically introduce and refine new initiatives. When thoughtfully designed, they can help minimize risks and maximize the chances of a new idea succeeding. Like regulatory sandboxes, pilot programs can be an effective tool to meaningfully facilitate innovation.[10]

Its time to take action. A pilot program can create a safe framework for emerging technologies and market structures under our existing laws and regulations. To get there, I will begin by reflecting on the characteristics of past pilot programs, which have all played a role in shaping our markets. I will then recommend the CFTC help the U.S. stay ahead of the curve by commencing a pilot initiative for digital asset markets. It is my hope that a pilot to test, gather data, and develop a pragmatic approach to digital assets and tokenization can ensure we continue to uphold our mandate of fostering open, transparent, competitive, and financially sound markets.

Past Pilot Programs Safely Explored New Products and Evolving Market Structure

Ill start by briefly touching on the key features of three past pilot programs before recommending an approach for the CFTC to take today.

First, in September, 1995, the CFTC launched a three-year pilot program to permit a new class of transactions to trade.[11] The CFTC launched the pilot program with the goal of permitting these products greater flexibility in competing with non-U.S. exchange-traded products while maintaining customer protection, financial integrity, and other protections associated with trading in an exchange environment.[12] At the time, exchanges sought to permit greater flexibility for exchanges to offer products to sophisticated traders.[13]

After soliciting comment on the exchange petitions and proposed rules, the CFTC adopted final rules that would expire after three years, with the Commission committing to review the program and whether to make it permanent well before the end of the pilot period to provide market certainty.[14]

The pilot program had four main components:

Trading rules. The rules provided a framework of safeguards intended to set forth conditions for executing the transactions, including the process for submitting product terms and conditions for listing and Commission review.[15]

Reporting requirements. Exchanges had to provide the CFTC with open interest, pricing, and trader reports.[16]

Registration requirements. Introducing brokers and associated persons could be granted temporary licenses or registrations for the products subject to certain fitness requirements and providing identifying information.[17]

Risk disclosure requirements. Futures commission merchants had to disclose material information about the transactions to customers.[18]

Second, in April 1998, the CFTC launched a three-year pilot program to permit the purchase and sale of agricultural trade options on certain commodities.[19] At the time, the agricultural community wanted to use these products as a risk management tool, but they had been banned for over 60 years.[20]

After a number of public meetings and receiving over 400 comments on proposed rules, the CFTC adopted interim final rules to permit the trading of these products.[21] After the three-year trial, the CFTC would consider whether the rules should be made permanent.[22]

This pilot program also had four main components, although slightly different:

Registration. Agricultural trade option merchants and their associated persons were required to register. The interim final rules set forth application requirements, along with fitness standards as part of registration.[23]

Financial requirements. Applicants for registration needed to operate in commercial agricultural markets and have a minimum net worth. Financial statements were required to be provided, and grounds like having been convicted of theft, fraud, embezzlement, or similar wrongdoing disqualified applicants from registration.[24]

Conditions on the contracts. Among other conditions, all agricultural trade option contracts had to be in writing, and the merchant had to give the customer a signed copy of the written contract. The contract also had to state the amount in grade of the commodity where delivery should be made if the option is exercised.[25]

Disclosures and reporting. Before entering into an agricultural trade option, the merchant had to disclose to the customer information about the general risks of agricultural trade options, as well as information about the specific option contract, including its terms and cost.[26]

Third, and finally, in June 2010, in response to the Flash Crash of May 6, 2010 a few weeks earlier, the SEC adopted rules on a pilot basis through December 2010 establishing circuit breakers to pause trading in certain individual stocks for exchanges and FINRA.[27] After the Flash Crash, U.S. exchanges filed proposed rule changes providing for trading pauses in individual stocks when the price moved 10% or more in the preceding five minute period.[28] The SEC was able to adopt the rules on an expedited basis on the grounds that they represented a useful first step that would improve the existing procedures for protecting investors and maintaining fair and orderly markets.[29]

The SEC approached the circuit breaker program in three phases, initially intending that the markets would use the pilot period to make adjustments to the circuit breakers when needed based on their experience, and to expand the scope of securities subject to the circuit breakers when practicable.[30] After the first phase, the exchanges added additional securities as expected.[31] Eventually, the pilot program led to the SEC adopting its limit up-limit down mechanism, initially on a pilot basis again.[32]

Overall, these pilot programs were designed to help regulators develop robust frameworks that address emerging trends and challenges effectively. The programs also fostered a collaborative environment for regulators and market participants to work collectively towards common goals.

A New CFTC Pilot Program to Ensure Responsible Innovation

Staying ahead of the curve requires being ready to look to the future and preparing to embrace change. Previous Commissions and staff that designed past pilot programs were also grappling with the same issues we face today. I am sure they recognized their responsibility to serve the public by embracing technological advancements, fostering responsible innovation, collaborating with stakeholders, continuously learning and adapting to changing market conditions, and making data-driven decisions.

As a regulator overseeing the largest financial markets in the world, we have a responsibility to proactively take on new challenges instead of passive observation. Thats why Im recommending a time-limited CFTC pilot program to support the development of compliant digital asset markets and tokenization. In line with our previous pilot initiatives, I am optimistic that this approach will ensure the integrity of our markets and impartial access, foster liquidity and competition, address potential conflicts and risks, and prevent fraud, abusive practices, and manipulation.

As a first step, the CFTC should call for a roundtable to engage all stakeholders. We can leverage the work of the CFTC GMAC Digital Asset Markets Subcommittee to provide key insights on the design of a successful pilot program, as well as the work of other CFTC Advisory Committees. After that, the CFTC should propose and adopt rules establishing a pilot program for a specific period of time that incorporates many of the components drawn from past pilot programs, including: registration and eligibility requirements, financial resources and other conditions, risk management, products and contract terms, and other requirements including disclosures and reporting.[33] I am confident that the public will suggest others as well. At the conclusion of the pilot program, the Commission should examine the data gathered from the pilot and consider whether there should be a permanent change to our rules.

This proposal shows us how the CFTC can safely explore innovation while maintaining appropriate protections for our markets. My proposal shares the undeniable goal of helping keep the U.S. ahead of the curvea goal I am sure we all share. As I have said before, my approach to any challenge is to get all the information, learn as much as possible, and then find pragmatic solutions, with an eye toward making policy that is informed and practical.[34] I believe a time-limited pilot program is the perfect next step consistent with that approach.

Thank you again to Cato for having me, and I look forward to hearing from the public on my proposal.
CEDAR KNOLLS, N.J., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With roughly a month left before NJMEPs 'MADE in NJ Manufacturing Day event, the 'MADE in NJ Manufacturing Day Award Finalists have been selected! These awards are intended to showcase manufacturers that demonstrate leadership or innovation within their industry, stand out in their success through growth in revenues or profits, and those that are committed to the growth and development of their employees and community.

MADE IN NEW JERSEY MANUFACTURING DAY AWARD FINALISTS

MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR  SMALL

METROFUSER LLC

JERSEY GIRLS BREWING

L-E-M PLASTICS & SUPPLY INC.

MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR  MEDIUM

UNIVERSAL NUTRITION INC

BESTWORK INDUSTRIES FOR THE BLIND INC

ACCESS BIO INC.

MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR  LARGE

DAMASCUS BAKERY NJ LLC

NIPRO PHARMAPACKAGING AMERICAS CORPORATION

BUMBLE BEE SEAFOODS

LEADERS IN LIFE SCIENCE

WEISS-AUG

FORZA INTERNATIONAL LLC

ZIMMER BIOMET

INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR

SICAM CORPORATION

INTERNATIONAL WELDING TECHNOLOGIES INC.

CASE MEDICAL

RISING STARS AWARD

KIM BENSON-WORTH | MANUFACTURING & TEST MANAGER |CARTRIDGE ACTUATED DEVICES INC.

DAWN FITCH | CEO & FOUNDER | POOKA PURE & SIMPLE

CAROLINE EGBELU | PRESIDENT & FOUNDER | HEALTH ENHANCED FOODS INC.

MICAELA ALVAREZ | ENGINEER & OPERATIONAL DIRECTOR | UNIVERSAL NUTRITION INC

ELIZABETH GAUTHIER | ENGINEER & MANUFACTURING DIRECTOR | ZIMMER BIOMET

Winners of the MADE in NJ Manufacturing Awards are announced and presented to the winning manufacturers in front of nearly 1,000 attendees at the 11th annual MADE in NJ Manufacturing Day, happening on October 6th in Freehold! Attendees will also have access to educational breakout sessions, networking opportunities, the chance to experience a Robotics showcase, connect with dozens of exhibitors, and experience the full force of the MADE in NJ Manufacturing industry!

Register here to attend the East Coasts largest annual manufacturing networking event and celebrate the MADE in NJ Manufacturing Award winners!

Thank you to these Platinum Sponsors for helping support this critical event:

About NJMEP: NJMEP helps to improve the profitability and competitiveness of small to medium-sized manufacturers in New Jersey. Backed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), NJMEP enables organizations to enhance their productivity and efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve employee performance. For more than 20 years, NJMEP has used its extensive network of connections and proven track record of success to help manufacturers adapt to the latest innovative technologies and best practices to realize more than $8 billion in value. Our services are categorized into the following three areas: Operational Excellence, Innovation and Growth, and Workforce Development.

Contact:

Michael Womack | Sr. Marketing & Communications Manager

[email protected]

Tel. 973-998-9801 x220

njmep.org

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3b1c7b1a-6874-4189-8bba-7d85b8a6e04c

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4104b38b-4053-427c-b52e-a45597ad591d

A video accompanying this announcement is available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d282ae1e-4d01-408c-b9bb-4e83168234c5

2023 'MADE in NJ' Manufacturing Day Finalists 'MADE in NJ' Manufacturing Day Manufacturer of the Year Award finalists 2023 'MADE in NJ' Manufacturing Day Agenda 2023 Agenda for 'MADE in NJ' Manufacturing Day

Source: NJMEP




LONDON, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ATFX Connect is a trading name of AT Global Markets (UK) Limited, based in London, and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). ATFX Connects bespoke liquidity and distribution solutions are available to institutional clients, including banks, hedge funds, brokers, asset managers, ECNs, corporates and others.

ATFX Connect announced today that it has become a participant on EBS Direct. EBS is one of the largest electronic trading platforms and one of the go-to sources for institutional liquidity and price discovery in e- FX, for nearly 30 years. EBS Direct delivers round-trip processing times of less than 50 microseconds, with built-in Quant Analytics that help optimize execution.

ATFX Connect supports institutional clients by providing Direct Market access to tailored liquidity and connectivity solutions in Spot FX and Precious Metals. With this important step, ATFX Connect continues its expansion within the institutional electronic FX offering.

In addition, a leading infrastructure solution enables ATFX to manage aggregation, pricing and allows integration with several third-party platforms.

We are continuously evaluating opportunities to provide our clients with a richer suite of liquidity, by connecting to ATFX, EBS Direct will further extend our clients access to liquidity across currencies, time zones, and FX products, enabling dynamic trading opportunities and ensuring competitive execution, added executive director and Head of EBS Direct, Hugh Whelan.

We are pleased to announce that ATFX Connect has become a participant in EBS Direct as part of the ongoing expansion of our institutional offering. With this partnership, we are able to offer clients even more flexibility in the provision of tailored liquidity solutions with various trading opportunities and best possible execution speed. We will continue focusing on delivering the award-winning liquidity and customer service to our Institutional Clients, said Managing Director of ATFX Connect, Wei Qiang Zhang.

ATFX Connect

Back in 2019, ATFX stepped into the Institutional arena with the launch of its Multi-Access platform ATFX Connect. The managements vision was to expand the brokers global presence and continue to provide award-winning liquidity and customer service to clients within the Institutional community. With the focus on the professional Investor, the ATFX Connect platform is designed to provide an efficient automated trading venue that delivers tailored liquidity solutions to Hedge Funds, Asset Managers, Brokers, Private Banks, and other financial institutions.

Media Contact



Ergin Erdemir  Head of Marketing UK

[email protected]

Tel: (44) 020 3917 8705

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d2bedfdb-e477-49c3-8e60-dbf4fa98a285
RAPID CITY, S.D., Sept. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) today announced the pricing of a registered public debt offering of $450 million aggregate principal amount of 6.15% senior unsecured notes due May 15, 2034. The company expects the offering to close on Sept. 15, 2023, subject to customary closing conditions.

The company plans to use the net proceeds from the offering, in combination with available cash, to repay all of its $525 million principal amount outstanding notes on or before their maturity on Nov. 30, 2023, and for general corporate purposes.

The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus supplement relating to the offering and accompanying base prospectus previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which may be obtained for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov or, upon request, from MUFG Securities Americas Inc., by calling toll-free at 1-877-649-6848 or Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. by calling toll-free at 1-800-372-3930.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor will there be any sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

Black Hills Corp.Black Hills Corp. (NYSE: BKH) is a customer focused, growth-oriented utility company with a tradition of improving life with energy and a vision to be the energy partner of choice. Based in Rapid City, South Dakota, the company serves 1.3 million natural gas and electric utility customers in eight states: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. More information is available at www.blackhillscorp.com.

Investor RelationsJerome E. Nichols605-721-1171[email protected]

24-Hour Media Relations Line888-242-3969

Caution Regarding Forward Looking StatementsThis news release includes forward-looking statements as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. We make these forward-looking statements in reliance on the safe harbor protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that we expect, believe or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward looking statements, including our expectations about the completion and timing of the transaction described in this news release. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which we believe are reasonable based on current expectations and projections about future events and industry conditions and trends affecting our business. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to our expectations and predictions is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that, among other things, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including without limitations, the risk factors described in Item 1A of Part I of our 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC, and other reports that we file with the SEC from time to time.

New factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward looking statements emerge from time-to-time, and it is not possible for us to predict all such factors, or the extent to which any such factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statement. We assume no obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Source: Black Hills Service Company, LLC
NEW YORK, Sept. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm, is investigating potential claims against DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DOCN), and Altice USA, Inc. (NYSE: ATUS). Our investigations concern whether these companies have violated the federal securities laws and/or engaged in other unlawful business practices. Additional information about each case can be found at the link provided.



DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DOCN)

The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. DigitalOcean announced on August 3, 2023, that it had made errors on previous financial statements. According to the Company, "In connection with the preparation of our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the period ended June 30, 2023, we identified certain errors within the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2023 as included in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2023 filed on May 9, 2023. Specifically, there were errors in our accounting for income tax expense primarily relating to the calculation of certain capitalized research or experimental expenditures under Section 174 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which impacted our income tax provision ("Section 174 Error"). Primarily as a result of the Section 174 Error, accrued taxes as of March 31, 2023 were overstated and the income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2023 was overstated by approximately $18 million."

For more information on the DigitalOcean investigation go to: https://bespc.com/cases/DOCN

Altice USA, Inc. (NYSE: ATUS)

On July 25, 2023, media outlets reported that Altice co-founder and former Chief Operating Officer Armando Pereira had been placed under house arrest in Portugal in connection with an investigation into alleged corruption, tax fraud and money laundering at Altice Portugal.

On this news, Altice's stock price fell $0.25 per share, or 7.25%, to close at $3.20 per share on July 25, 2023.

For more information on the Altice investigation go to: https://bespc.com/cases/ATUS

About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com . Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contact Information:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.

Brandon Walker, Esq.

Marion Passmore, Esq.

(212) 355-4648

[email protected]

www.bespc.com
In its 30th edition this year, the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre (1-8 September) is forging a path between numerous challenges while presenting 19 plays in its official competition.

Organized by the Ministry of Culture, the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre (CIFET) is among the most important artistic events in Egypts cultural scene.

Founded in 1988 by former Minister of Culture Farouk Hosny, the first 22 editions of CIFET grew in size and number of troupes invited. By 2010  the last edition before it was suspended due to political instability  the festivals programming featured some 40 shows. Back then, the festival spanned over 10 days. The number of days has been limited to eight for this years and last years editions.

The festival returned in 2016, chaired by director Sameh Mahran. The festival went through a makeover, and came back with a few rather successful  though smaller in the number of troupes  editions. The competitive character of the festival was also abandoned.

The competition was restored in 2021, but the festival gradually started losing its charm. The last two editions, directed by members of a specialized committee formed by the Ministry of Culture, were unable to keep up with the label of 'experimental' or even contemporary theatre. The number of shows decreased, as did the number of participants.

The current edition, which began on 1 September, once again marks the return of Sameh Mahran as the festivals president, replacing Gamal Yakout who headed CIFET in two previous editions.

The new management had only six months to prepare international and varied programme. An almost impossible mission!

A restricted budget, unchanged since 2016, added insult to injury, given the Egyptian pounds depreciation.

In addition to keeping the festivals shortened duration (eight days), the festival reduced the number of shows, training workshops, and conferences.

This year, the official competition is only showcasing 18 shows. On top of this, their selection was made by a local committee, and not international as before, explained Mahran.

We tried to retain quality works, but unfortunately, we had to face several constraints. Some troupes around the world agreed to present their pieces, but asked to be paid. However, entry to the festival is free, with no sale of tickets. Additionally, most troops make their schedules at the beginning of the year. We addressed them in March which for many was too late, he explained.

The costs of accommodation and flights was yet another burden given the devaluation, he added.

Usually, the festival selects a quality foreign show for its opening, one that also participated in the official competition. However, this time, the organizers chose to present an Egyptian musical show, Charlie. The show is directed by Ahmed El-Bohey, who is also a member of the selection committee!

Arab guests



In this years edition, the festival introduced a segment called Made in Egypt offering two to three-day long workshops for young talents.

Director and cultural entrepreneur Ahmed Al-Attar held sessions on fundraising, Nadim Meisner and Nora Amir discussed extended rehearsals, while Dalia Sabour tackled the playback theater. Luke Lehner focused on the art of drawing characters, Ramzi Lehner on theatrical improvisation and Yasmine Farrag presented the movement of the body on stage.

The relatively short duration of these workshops does not allow for a deep introduction to the topics but rather gives just a few basic ideas to its participants.

The conferences are limited to regional issues: experimentation in the Gulf and Maghreb countries, in Iraq and the Levant, Arab artists in exile, and the challenges of experimentation in Egypt.

The members of the jury, as well as the honourees, are mainly Arab artists, with the exception of Gabriela Luca (Romania), Asiimwee Daborah (Uganda), and Giles Foreman (England).

Glimmer of hope?



Despite the unfavorable circumstances, certain choices still provide a glimmer of hope. Some shows, through their originality and the relevance of the subjects covered, introduce an air of optimism.

The Palestinian troupe Ishtar, which is already very successful, is returning with the play Ventolin. This monodrama, written and directed by Iman Aoune, evokes the history of the Palestinian people through the monologue of a young girl in which she questions her identity and her personal history.

Using clever lighting and sober decor, the troupe transformed the stage space into a fairly narrow elevator cabin. Imprisoned in this cabin, blocked between the floors of a hotel, the young girl speaks to people who haunt her memory, but also to the public.

Puppet shows carve out a nice place for themselves in this edition, bringing together three plays for adults, evoking major humanitarian themes.

The Tunisian show Ma Yrawash (Blackout) is an adaptation of Maurice Maeterlinck's work The Blind. Written and directed by Mounir Al-Argui, the play was performed by the troupe of the National Centre for the Art of Puppetry. On the stage, we find the actors in black who play with the puppets, all expressing old blind people.

The Yerevan Puppet Theatre troupe from Armenia is one of the festival's regulars. In an intimate atmosphere, it presents the story of the American writer of German origin Charles Bukowski, based on an adaptation by Marieta Dovlatbekyan. The puppet in question is just the alcoholic writer himself, reciting his poems and remembering his old loves.

The Nodar Dumbadze youth theatre troupe from Georgia, performed a new version of Othello by William Shakespeare. The troupe's puppets presented their identities, their cultures, and their stories. Through the clothes and few accessories on a small stage, the play is well situated in its historical context.

Indeed, the 30th edition of the festival comes with some interesting content, despite the challenges and drawbacks. We are still waiting for the better editions to take place in the upcoming years.

*This article was originally published in Al-Ahram Hebdo (French), edition of 6 September 2023.

Translation to English: Ati Metwaly. Additional editing: Ahram Online.

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BERLIN and DENVER, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading digital video technology providers castLabs and Wowza have proudly extended their partnership through a revamped DRMtoday plug-in for the Wowza Stream Engine software, introducing single and multi-key rotation for live HLS and DASH streams. This strategic release reaffirms castLabs and Wowza's shared dedication to pushing the limits of streaming security and empowering customers to elevate their content security standards.

Key rotation allows for automatically replacing encryption keys at regular intervals during content playback, minimizing the risk of key compromise and unauthorized content access. The new plug-in release unlocks single and multi-key rotation for live use cases, offering content providers the ability to employ different encryption keys for various content representations and periodically rotate them. This includes distinct keys for separate video qualities like SD, HD, and UHD/4K, as well as for distinct audio tracks.

Our collaboration with castLabs sets a new standard for content security, further empowering live HLS and DASH streams, said Barry Owen, Chief Solutions Architect at Wowza. Through Wowzas unparalleled extensibility and transcoding prowess coupled with castLabs cutting-edge rotation and multi-key content protection, we strengthen the shield around your streaming assets, ensuring your audience experiences uncompromised content in a world of evolving threats.

The updated DRMtoday plug-in will soon be seamlessly integrated into the Wowza Streaming Engine software, offering users a streamlined deployment experience. Additionally, new documentation will be readily accessible on Wowza's website. This marks a significant milestone in the plug-in's ongoing development, with upcoming features including single and multi-key rotation for video-on-demand (VOD).

"We are thrilled to unveil this milestone with our partners at Wowza," stated Christophe Kind, Head of Global Partnerships and Market Development at castLabs. "The results of our joint efforts reflect our unwavering commitment to meet the evolving security demands of the industry. We look forward to empowering Wowzas customers with enhanced flexibility and simplicity in safeguarding their content, as we continue to drive innovation in the streaming ecosystem."

If you're interested in learning more and experiencing a live demonstration, castLabs and Wowza will be available at IBC 2023 in Amsterdam at booths #5.G55 and #4.A14, respectively. The live demonstration will showcase the new DRMtoday plugin integration, featuring single and multi-key rotation for live use cases.

About castLabscastLabs is a leading pioneer of software and cloud services for digital video markets worldwide to easily enable premium content streaming. Their range of applications and services are designed to help businesses deliver high-quality video experiences through protected content playback over a large selection of devices and platforms. castLabs solutions include DRMtoday multi-DRM and CAS licensing, feature-rich PRESTOplay cross-platform players, Video Toolkit cloud encoding and single-frame watermarking, Widevine device and app certification, secure WebRTC end-to-end delivery, as well as expert technical consulting. Learn more at castlabs.com.

About WowzaWowza is the experienced and trusted partner for reliable, scalable video solutions. For more than 15 years, Wowza has powered 35,000+ video implementations globally across a range of end markets, including media, enterprise, government, aerospace, healthcare, and more. Wowzas video on demand and live streaming solutions solve the most challenging aspects of video for its customers, ensuring reliable, secure experiences that businesses can trust from a SOC 2 compliant provider. Learn more at wowza.com.

Sydney Roy Marketing Communications Specialist [email protected]

Source: Wowza Media Systems
Highlights

Mr. Bein worked for Hudbay Minerals for more than ten years; a company that recently acquired Copper Mountain for $439 million , which is neighbouring to the Companys flagship project, the Princeton Project.

Mr. Bein led exploration for Rock Tech Lithium, which completed extensive drilling and field exploration programs in Ontario, where Collective Metals has two projects: the Landings Lake Lithium Project and the Whitemud Lithium Project.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- COLLECTIVE METALS INC. (CSE: COMT | OTC: CLLMF | FSE: TO1) (the Company or Collective) is proud to announce the appointment of Mr. Amanuel Bein, P.Geo as a director of the Company (the Appointment). Mr. Bein will help lead the Companys exploration programs for its flagship Property, the Princeton Project, as well its Landings Lake Lithium Project and Whitemud Lithium Project.

I am excited to join a strong team at Collective Metals and to help the Company achieve its goals through different exploration programs, said Amanuel Bain. I believe the Princeton Project has significant potential and I will leverage my experience in the area to ensure the Company is remaining efficient and effective in its work.

Mr. Bein has 17 years of experience in the exploration and mining industry where he has gained world-class knowledge and expertise in several mineral deposit types that include LCT pegmatite, VMS, SEDEX, porphyry-skarn, and orogenic-gold. He began his career as a field geologist while working for several junior mineral exploration companies in the Arabian Nubian Shield between 2005 and 2008. Mr. Bein worked in the Bathurst Mining Camp between 2008 and 2010 while completing his graduate studies at University of New Brunswick.

Mr. Bein worked for Hudbay Minerals for more than ten years and was able to experience the full mining cycle, including the discovery of the 1901 deposit and closure of the Reed mine. At Hudbay Minerals, Mr. Bein led several regional and near-mine exploration programs in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Arizona. Mr. Bein also recently led an exploration team for Rock Tech Lithium that executed extensive exploration drilling and field exploration programs that enabled growth of mineral resources and discovery of several spodumene pegmatite prospects at Rock Tech's Georgia Lake project.

The addition of Amanuel is a significant development for the Company and further strengthens our management team, said CEO of Collective Metals, Chris Huggins. Through his prior experience, Amanuel will bring immeasurable value to our exploration work with the Princeton Project, Landings Lake Project and Whitemud Project. His previous work with Hudbay Minerals, which recently acquired Copper Mountain, a neighbour to our flagship property, the Princeton Project, will provide us with key insights and details as we prepare the next phases of our exploration programs.

About Collective Metals:

Collective Metals Inc. (CSE: COMT | OTC: CLLMF | FSE: TO1) is a resource exploration company specializing in precious metals exploration in North America. The Companys flagship property is the Princeton Project, located in south-central British Columbia, Canada, approximately 10 km west of the currently producing Copper Mountain Mine. The Princeton Project consists of 29 mineral tenures totaling approximately 28,560 ha (70,570 acres) in a well-documented and prolific copper-gold porphyry belt and is easily accessible by road, located immediately west of Highway 3.

The Companys Landings Lake Lithium Project is located in northwestern Ontario where numerous lithium deposits have been delineated to host significant reserves of Li2O. The Landings Lake Lithium Project is located 53 km east of Ear Falls, Ontario and covers 3,146 hectares. The Whitemud Project, with several identified pegmatite outcrops, neighbours the Landings Lake Project and consists of 381 single cell mining claims totaling 7,775 hectares.

Social Media

ON BEHALF OF COLLECTIVE METALS INC.

Christopher HugginsChief Executive OfficerT: 604-968-4844E: [email protected]

Forward Looking Information

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, including with respect to future plans, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions, the ability to manage operating expenses, and dependence on key personnel. Forward looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements respecting: expected benefits of the Appointment. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, the continued availability of capital and financing, litigation, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed this press release and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Source: Collective Metals Inc
CALGARY, Alberta, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DIRTT, a global leader in industrialized construction, is pleased to welcome two new DIRTT Construction Partners to its network: CMS Interiors and Al-Kaws. CMS Interiors will join Parron Hall in San Diego, California, who continue to deliver best-in-class DIRTT design and construction experiences. Teaming up with Al-Kaws reopens the Middle Eastern market where DIRTT has shipped over $50M USD in healthcare projects to date. In addition to adding these new Construction Partners to its network, DIRTT has formed a partnership with iMOD Systems, an education-focused construction company delivering volumetric solutions across North America.

CMS Interiors, Inc. is a specialty contractor that serves the San Diego, California area and specializes in acoustic ceilings, door hardware, doors, and frames. The team at CMS brings 50 years of combined construction experience and has a strong reputation in the San Diego market for providing exceptional, high-quality installations.

Al-Kaws is a Saudi-based contracting company with a vision and reputation for providing complete-solution healthcare services with high-quality and state-of-the-art technologies. Al-Kaws is a turnkey contractor for hospital renovations, specializing in operating rooms, radiology equipment and rooms, medical furniture, flooring solutions, and low-current systems.

Located in Vallejo, California, iMOD Systems was formed with the belief that todays classrooms need to be rearchitected from the ground up to better serve students, teachers, and communities for life in the 21st Century. The company has married the ability to accommodate changing technologies with an innovative frame-building design to create the industrys only classrooms that are relocatable, reconfigurable, sustainable, and long-lasting. This unique partnership aligns with DIRTTs ethos to deliver sustainable, repeatable, and scalable solutions through a unique distribution channel, further capturing this niche market of fully manufactured construction projects, from core and shell to interior systems and finishes.

Benjamin Urban, CEO of DIRTT, commented, Were excited to welcome all three partners to our network. Each of them brings years of expertise and unique skill to the workplace, education, and healthcare verticals. Their addition to our partner network ensures smart, sustainable construction is more accessible than ever, not just in North America, but globally.

DIRTT connects with its clients through an international network of DIRTT Construction Partners. DIRTT partners work with clients and their construction team, ensuring effective management and execution of the DIRTT scope on every project from pre-construction through order, installation, and beyond. Long term, they support with reconfigurations, adaptations, and adjustments, continuously protecting their investment in DIRTT while helping to keep their space relevant for years to come. Together, DIRTT and its Construction Partners are bringing our dynamic construction system to more projects and people globally.

About DIRTTDIRTT is a leader in industrialized construction. DIRTTs system of physical products and digital tools empowers organizations, together with construction and design leaders, to build high-performing, adaptable, interior environments. Operating in the workplace, healthcare, education, and public sector markets, DIRTTs system provides total design freedom, and greater certainty in cost, schedule, and outcomes. DIRTTs interior construction solutions are designed to be highly flexible and adaptable, enabling organizations to easily reconfigure their workspaces as their needs evolve. This adaptability is especially important in todays rapidly changing business environment, where organizations need to be able to evolve quickly to new challenges and opportunities. Headquartered in Calgary, AB Canada, DIRTT trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol DRT.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

DIRTT Investor Relations at [email protected]

Source: DIRTT Environmental Solutions
SINGAPORE, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OKX Ventures, the investment arm of leading Web3 technology company OKX, has issued updates for the day of September 7, 2023.

OKX Ventures and Gitcoin to Co-Host Web3-Focused 'Shelling Point.edu' Conference on September 11 in Singapore

OKX Ventures and Gitcoin, a blockchain-based platform for projects, independent builders and funders to connect and work together on open-source software, will co-host a Web3-focused 'Shelling Point .edu' conference alongside BlockBooster and CollegeDAO. The event will take place in the heart of Singapore's civic district at Singapore Management University Connexion Building on September 11, from 10:00 to 20:00 (UTC+8).

'Shelling Point .edu' will feature talks, booths, a co-working space and happy hour, celebrating all things public goods in Web3 and with a particular focus on the convergence of open-source technology, impact and sustainability. The conference features a number of key sponsors, including Alchemy Pay, Allinfra, Aki Network, Ethereum Climate Platform, EthSign, OctantApp, Smart Token Labs and VitaDAO, and is also supported by Bankless.

OKX Ventures Partner Jeff Ren said: "We're very much looking forward to working with Gitcoin and our other partners to contribute towards the development of the Ethereum community. Through discussions around, and the sponsorship of, high-quality public goods projects, "green" blockchains and encrypted assets, we will continue to amplify the voice of industry builders in Asia."

Those interested in attending or learning more about the conference can click here.

For further information, please contact: [email protected]

About OKX Ventures

OKX Ventures is the investment arm of the second-largest crypto exchange by trading volume and Web3 technology company OKX, with an initial capital commitment of USD 100 million. It focuses on exploring the best blockchain projects on a global scale, supporting cutting-edge blockchain technology innovation, promoting the healthy development of the global blockchain industry, and investing in long-term structural value.

Through its commitment to supporting entrepreneurs who contribute to the development of the blockchain industry, OKX Ventures helps build innovative companies and brings global resources and historical experience to blockchain projects.

Find out more about OKX Ventures here.

About OKX

A leading global technology company driving the future of Web3, OKX provides a comprehensive suite of products to meet the needs of beginners and experts alike, including:

OKX Wallet: The world's most powerful, secure and versatile crypto wallet which gives users access to over 70 blockchains while allowing them to take custody of their own funds. The wallet includes MPC technology which allows users to easily recover access to their wallet independently, removing the need for traditional, 'written down' seed phrases. In addition, OKX Wallets account abstraction-powered Smart Account enables users to pay for transactions on multiple blockchains using USDC or USDT, and interact with multiple contracts via a single transaction.

DEX: A multi-chain, cross-chain decentralized exchange aggregator of 300+ other DEXs and approximately 15 bridges, with 200,000+ coins and more than 20 blockchains supported.

NFT Marketplace: A multi-chain, zero-fee NFT marketplace that gives users access to NFT listings across seven top-tier marketplaces including OpenSea, MagicEden, LooksRare and Blur.

Web3 DeFi: A powerful DeFi platform that supports earning and staking on about 70 protocols across more than 10 chains.

OKX partners with a number of the world's top brands and athletes, including English Premier League champions Manchester City F.C., McLaren Formula 1, The Tribeca Festival, Olympian Scotty James, and F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo.

As a leader building innovative technology products, OKX believes in challenging the status quo. The company recently launched a global brand campaign entitled, The System Needs a Rewrite, which advocates for a new paradigm led by Web3 self-managed technology.

To learn more about OKX, download our app or visit: okx.com

Disclaimer

The information displayed is strictly for informational purposes only. It does not constitute and shall not be considered as an offer, solicitation or recommendation, to deal with any products (including any NFT or otherwise), or as financial or investment advice. Both OKX Web3 Wallet and OKX NFT Marketplace are subject to separate terms of service at www.okx.com.

Source: OKX
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. and LONDON, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harbert Management Corporation (HMC) announces that Bryony Tomlinson has joined the firm as Managing Director, Head of European Capital Markets. Based in London, Bryony will lead HMCs outreach in the European marketplace to provide solutions for existing investors as well as develop new limited partner relationships.



Bryony has 16 years of experience in investment management, most recently serving as Managing Director with Lazard in Private Capital Advisory. During her tenure with Lazard, she was involved in fundraises aggregating in excess of $25 billion of equity for over 40 real estate funds, developing strong relationships and raising capital from institutional investors in the UK, Nordics, France and the Netherlands. She began her career with Cushman & Wakefield, and also worked with MGPA.

Lee Purcell, HMCs Global Head of Capital Markets commented, We are thrilled to add someone of Bryonys caliber to our firm. Given her product knowledge, emotional intelligence and energy, Bryony is the perfect fit to lead our European sales and marketing efforts. Her ability to build long-term relationships will benefit all the HMC investment strategies including our four real estate strategies and infrastructure strategy given her track record of success.

Bryony shares in Lees enthusiasm, stating, I am delighted to be joining HMC for multiple reasons, but I was most impressed with HMCs long-tenured leadership and experienced teams of investment professionals with strong and consistent performance across different asset classes and geographies. I hope to build upon the firms success by growing the investor base for the long-term.

HMC President and COO, Travis Pritchett added, In our 30th year as an investment manager, our business continues to evolve and become more complex, we are committed to investing in resources to support our growing global investor base. Bryony is joining HMC at an exciting time and I believe our partners will benefit greatly from her expertise and experience.

About Harbert Management Corporation

Harbert Management Corporation is an alternative asset manager with approximately $8.0 billion in Regulatory Assets Under Management as of July 31, 2023. Formed in 1993, the firm is privately owned and serves foundations and endowments, fund of funds, pension funds, financial institutions, insurance companies, family offices, and high net worth individuals across multiple asset classes. Investment strategies include European and U.S. real estate, seniors housing, U.S. growth capital, credit solutions, infrastructure, and absolute return funds. For additional information about HMC visit, www.harbert.net.



Contact: HMC Corporate Communications

Telephone: 205.987.5500

E-mail: [email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/030e9cf5-e151-47d0-b0e1-63e8417e6c84
Washington, D.C., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The New Civil Liberties Alliance has released a forensic psychologists report detailing the clinical evaluation of the Hon. Pauline Newman, whose fellow judges are unlawfully attempting to oust her from a constitutionally appointed lifetime position as a Federal Circuit Court of Appeals judge. The results of the evaluation clearly demonstrate Judge Newmans fitness to remain in active judicial service. A new video released by NCLA exposes the unjust treatment of Judge Newman and showcases her vibrant mind, vigor, and dignity for all to see.

Dr. Regina M. Carney, a full-time forensic psychologist at Miami Veterans Administration Medical Center, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miamis Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, performed a three-hour medical evaluation of Judge Newman on August 25. Prior to her examination, Dr. Carney reviewed Judge Newmans medical records and various allegations leveled against her. In her subsequent report, Dr. Carney describes Judge Newman as a fluent, engaging, strong-willed, highly accomplished and unusually cognitively intact 96-year-old woman Dr. Carney opined that Judge Newman demonstrated no substantial emotional, medical, or psychiatric disability that would interfere with continuation of her longstanding duties as a Judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals.

This is the second medical evaluation Judge Newman has undergone since early March, when the Judicial Council of the Federal Circuit, led by Chief Judge Kimberly Moore, indefinitely removed her from hearing new cases before any formal investigation even began. The Chief Judge launched an investigation alleging that Judge Newman was mentally incompetent to fulfill her judicial duties, and a Special Committee chaired by the Chief Judge ordered Judge Newman to submit to neurological testing despite lacking a factual basis for such an order.

Judge Newman voluntarily submitted to independent mental health exams by two experts: George Washington University neurologist Dr. Ted Rothstein and the aforementioned Dr. Carney. She was tested. She passed. Twice.

In his June 21 report after cognitively evaluating Judge Newman, Dr. Rothstein observed, Her speech is normal and her ability to provide her vocational and medical history is precise and eloquent. He concludedthat Judge Newman has cognitive function sufficient to continue participation in her courts proceedings.

The Special Committees July 31 Report, relying on little more than its own Google search, dismissed the validity of Dr. Rothsteins report. Dr. Carneys evaluation only reinforces the need for the Judicial Councils investigation to be brought to a close and for Judge Newman to resume her service on the Federal Circuit at once.

NCLA released the following statements:

Two independent medical providers have now evaluated Judge Newman and found her to competent to serve as a federal judge. People who have read Judge Newmans opinions have reached the same conclusion. These exams were not necessary in the first place, but they clearly show that the investigation against Judge Newman is baseless and that it is time to bring it to a close. Enough is enough.

 Greg Dolin, M.D., Senior Litigation Counsel, NCLA

The video NCLA is releasing today will show the whole country that Judge Newman is in fine fettle. She never should have been removed from the federal bench by this unlawful process to begin with. None of the Special Committees shifting rationales for keeping her off the bench have merit, and it certainly had no statutory or other authority to remove her before completing any investigation. It is high time for Judge Newman to get back to doing what she does besthearing and deciding cases on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Mark Chenoweth, President and General Counsel, NCLA

For more information visit the case page here or watch the case video here.

ABOUT NCLA

NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLAs public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans fundamental rights.

###

Joe Martyak New Civil Liberties Alliance 202-869-5208 [email protected]

Source: New Civil Liberties Alliance
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF), in partnership with the National Medical Association (NMA), the W. Montague Cobb Institute, and the Student National Medical Association (SNMA), sent a delegation of eleven IMF Medical Student Scholars for Health Equity in Myeloma along with their mentors to the 2023 NMA Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly, which took place in New Orleans, LA from July 29-August 2, 2023.



The NMA Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly is recognized as one of the best national forums of African American health and medicine.

The eleven student-mentor pairs shared their research during a poster walk on Monday, July 31, at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, with the following posters presented:

African American Patients with High-Risk Myeloma Have Worse Outcomes Relative to non-African American Counterparts Theodora C. Abah, BS, MS (Morehouse School of MedicineAtlanta, GA) & Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP (Winship Cancer Institute, Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA)

Association of Race with Rurality on Multiple Myeloma Outcomes: SEER Analysis, 1975-2019  Semaj Testamark, BS (Emory University School of MedicineAtlanta, GA) & Manisha Bhutani, MD (Atrium Health Levine Cancer CenterCharlotte, NC)

Attitude of Myeloma Patients Towards Clinical TrialsOluwadamilola Omojola, BS (Northwestern University Feinberg School of MedicineChicago, IL) & Benjamin Derman, MD (University of ChicagoChicago, IL)

Characteristics of Multiple Myeloma in Young Patients Under the Age of 45: A Retrospective Cohort StudyChandler Gillard (Howard University College of MedicineWashington, D.C.) & Sandrine Niyongere, MD (University of MarylandCollege Park, MD)

Discrepancies in Care: CAR T-Cell Therapy for Multiple MyelomaJan Powell, MS (Rush Medical CollegeChicago, IL) & Jeffrey Zonder, MD (Karmanos Cancer CenterDetroit, MI); Justin Thomas, MS (Rush Medical CollegeChicago, IL) & Craig Emmitt Cole, MD (Michigan State UniversityLansing MI)

Patient Awareness of CAR-T and Bispecific Antibody Treatments for Multiple Myeloma: Real-world Learnings and DisparitiesYaw Adu (Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of MedicineLubbock, TX) & Sikander Ailawadhi, MD (Mayo ClinicJacksonville, FL)

Racial Differences in Outcomes of Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma Treated with Talquetamab in the Phase 1 MonumenTAL-1 Study (In Progress)Justin C. Thomas, MS (Rush Medical CollegeChicago IL) & Craig Emmitt Cole, MD (Michigan State UniversityLansing, MI)

Racial Disparities in the Incidence and Mortality Associated with Advanced Bone Disease and Renal Failure in MyelomaA Community Practice Experience Julia Kirkland (Kansas City University Joplin CampusJoplin, MO) & Racquel Innis-Shelton, MD (Alabama OncologyBirmingham, AL)

Referral Patterns for Chimeric Antigen Receptor Therapy for Multiple MyelomaTafadzwa Amani, MS (Kansas City UniversityKansas City, MO) & Brandon J. Blue, MD (Moffitt Cancer CenterTampa, FL)

Research Gaps in Multiple Myeloma Racial Disparities and Disease Cytogenetics Irene Cooper, BS (Philadelphia College of Osteopathic MedicinePhiladelphia, PA) & Saad Usmani, MD, MBA, FACP (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterNew York, NY)

Uncovering Disparities in Autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation: Patient Perspectives and Decision-MakingNader Shayegh (Howard University College of MedicineWashington, D.C.) & Tondre Buck, MD (Spartanburg Regional Healthcare SystemSpartanburg, SC)



To know more, you may view the full posters here.

A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on the image or link below:

It was extraordinary to see the IMF Med Student Scholars mentoring program highlighted in this prestigious symposium on Health Disparities. It was a privilege to explain the unique disparities in the African American community related to myeloma and then to put solutions into practice by introducing the crowd to the medical students and their mentors. Furthermore, Dr. Monica Bertagnoli, the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) was not only present, but she also joined us on the poster walk and met with every student. Everyone was impressed at the strength of the projects, the zeal of the students and the long-term commitment of the program to health equity, said IMF Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Mikhael.

"We are incredibly proud of the medical students and their mentors for successfully completing the IMF Medical Student Scholars for Health Equity in Myeloma program. This initiative exemplifies our commitment to fostering the next generation of healthcare leaders who are dedicated to advancing health equity (hopefully, in myeloma care). I look forward to witnessing the impact they will undoubtedly make," said IMF President & CEO Yelak Biru, who is also a 28-year myeloma survivor.

The IMF is grateful to our program sponsors: Cobb/NMA Health Institute President & CEO Randall C. Morgan, Jr., MD, MBA; and Clinical Professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology, Director of the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson, and 116th President of the National Medical Association Edith Peterson Mitchell, MD, MACP, FCPP, FRCP (London).

The National Medical Association (NMA) is the collective voice of African American physicians and the leading force for parity and justice in medicine and the elimination of disparities in health.

The national professional and scientific organization represents the interests of more than 50,000 African American physicians and the patients they serve and is committed to improving the quality of health among minorities and disadvantaged people through its membership, professional development, community health education, advocacy, research, and partnerships with federal and private agencies. Visit the NMAs website to find out more.

Launched in December 2022, the Medical Student Scholars for Health Equity in Myeloma mentoring program was created by the IMF, in partnership with the W. Montague Cobb/NMA Health Institutes Cobb Scholars Program, as a novel mentorship initiative for African American medical students.

By participating in the mentoring program, IMF Med Student Scholars contribute to its goals of:

Increasing the pool of African American physicians dedicated to myeloma health equity

Raising myeloma awareness among medical students, with a focus on its impact on African Americans

Supporting innovative health disparities projects in myeloma

Providing mentorship with myeloma experts

Creating a supportive community of mentors and mentees



The IMF Medical Student Scholars for Health Equity in Myeloma mentoring program is made possible through financial support by Johnson & Johnson QuickFire Challenge and Pfizer.

To learn more about the program, visit mpower.myeloma.org.

ABOUT THE M-POWER PROJECT

Partnering with cities across the U.S., the International Myeloma Foundations (IMF) M-Power Project aims to turn the core vision of the IMF Diversity Initiative into a reality: improving the short- and long-term outcomes of African American patients with multiple myeloma. By raising myeloma awareness and empowering healthcare professionals, community leaders, neighborhoods, and families, the M-Power Project aims to break down barriers for the African American myeloma community.

ABOUT MULTIPLE MYELOMA

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the bone marrow plasma cells  white blood cells that make antibodies. A cancerous or malignant plasma cell is called a myeloma cell. Myeloma is called multiple because there are frequently multiple patches or areas in bone where it grows. It often involves damage to bone and kidneys. Multiple myeloma is still incurable, but great progress has been made in terms of survival over the last two decades. The disease is twice as common and is diagnosed at a younger age in African Americans than white Americans. The most common presenting symptoms include fatigue and bone pain.

ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL MYELOMA FOUNDATION

Founded in 1990, the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) is the first and largest global foundation focusing specifically on multiple myeloma. The Foundation's reach extends to more than 525,000 members in 140 countries worldwide. The IMF is dedicated to improving the quality of life of myeloma patients while working toward prevention and a cure by focusing on four key areas: research, education, support, and advocacy. The IMF has conducted more than 250 educational seminars worldwide, maintains a world-renowned InfoLine, and in 2001, established the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG), a collaborative research initiative focused on improving myeloma treatment options for patients. In 2012, the IMF launched the Black Swan Research Initiative, a groundbreaking research project aimed at curing myeloma. The IMF can be reached at (800) 452-CURE (2873). The global website is www.myeloma.org.

Follow the IMF on:

Twitter: @IMFmyeloma

Instagram: @imfmyeloma

Facebook: @myeloma

LinkedIn: International Myeloma Foundation

Media Contacts:

Peter Anton

[email protected]

Jason London

[email protected]
Regulated Information - Denominator

Atlas Special Opportunities, LLC has converted 6 convertible bonds in Oxurion resulting in a EUR 150,000 capital increase. This is part of Atlas Special Opportunities, LLCs EUR 20 million Capital Commitment1 that will allow Oxurion to focus on progressing its novel and differentiated back of the eye drug candidate targeting potential market opportunities of over USD 5 billion.

Leuven, BELGIUM, Boston, MA, US  September 7, 2023  07.00 PM CET  In accordance with article 15 of the Belgian Act of May 2, 2007 on the disclosure of major participations in issuers of which shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market and regarding miscellaneous provisions, Oxurion NV (Euronext Brussels: OXUR) (the Company or Oxurion), announces the below information, following the issuance of 106,332,703 new ordinary shares on September 6, 2023, for a total amount of EUR 150,000, as the result of the conversion of 6 convertible bonds, pursuant to the Capital Commitment entered into with Atlas Special Opportunities, LLC.

Following completion of the capital increase through the conversion of the convertible bonds, the total number of shares issued by Oxurion amounts to 2,551,311,977 outstanding ordinary shares carrying voting rights (compared to 2,444,979,274 outstanding ordinary shares previously). This number will be used as the denominator for the calculation of the percentages of shareholdings.

Therefore, Oxurion publishes the following updated information:

Share capital (EUR) 82,606,161.32



Total number of securities with voting rights (all ordinary shares) 2,551,311,977 Total number of ordinary shares (= denominator) 2,551,311,977 Number of outstanding, granted rights to subscribe to securities carrying voting rights not yet issued: 590,500 subscription rights (SRs) issued on November 20, 2017, entitling their holders to subscribe to a total number of 590,500 securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares);

60,000 SRs issued on December 23, 2020, entitling their holders to subscribe to a total number of 60,000 securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares);

972,250 SRs issued on April 14, 2021, entitling their holders to subscribe to a total number of 972,250 securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares);

532,500 SRs issued on September 22, 2021, entitling their holders to subscribe to a total number of 532,500 securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares);

604,405 SRs issued on December 30, 2021, entitling their holders to subscribe to a total number of 604,405 securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares);

156 convertible bonds issued on March 14, 2023, April 20, 2023, May 22, 2023, June 15, 2023, and August 10, 2023, entitling its holder, Atlas Special Opportunities, LLC, to subscribe to a total number of securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares) in accordance with the terms and conditions of these convertible bonds pursuant to the Subscription Agreement entered into between the Company and Atlas Special Opportunities, LLC on March 1, 2023; and

100 convertible bonds issued on December 20, 2021, entitling their holders (Kreos Capital VI (UK) Limited, Pontifax Medison Finance (Israel) L.P. and Pontifax Medison Finance (Cayman) L.P.) to subscribe to a total number of securities carrying voting rights (all ordinary shares) in accordance with the terms and conditions of these convertible bonds as attached to the Agreement for the provision of a Loan Facility entered into between the Company, Kreos Capital VI (UK) Limited, Pontifax Medison Finance (Israel) L.P. and Pontifax Medison Finance (Cayman) L.P., on November 21, 2021 (as amended from time to time).

END

About Oxurion

Oxurion (Euronext Brussels: OXUR) is a biopharmaceutical company developing next generation standard of care ophthalmic therapies, which are designed to improve and better preserve vision in patients with retinal disorders including diabetic macular edema (DME), the leading cause of vision loss in working-age people, as well as other conditions. Oxurion intends to play an important role in the treatment of retinal disorders, including the successful development of THR-149, its novel therapeutic for the treatment of DME. THR-149 is a potent plasma kallikrein inhibitor being developed as a potential new standard of care for the up to 50% of DME patients showing suboptimal response to anti-VEGF therapy. Oxurion is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium, with corporate operations in Boston, MA. More information is available at www.oxurion.com.



Important information about forward-looking statements

Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, and, accordingly, entail and are influenced by various risks and uncertainties. The Company therefore cannot provide any assurance that such forward-looking statements will materialize and does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or any other reason. Additional information concerning risks and uncertainties affecting the business and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement is contained in the Companys Annual Report. This press release does not constitute an offer or invitation for the sale or purchase of securities or assets of Oxurion in any jurisdiction. No securities of Oxurion may be offered or sold within the United States without registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or in compliance with an exemption therefrom, and in accordance with any applicable U.S. state securities laws.

For further information please contact:

Oxurion NV

Tom Graney

Chief Executive Officer

Tel: +32 16 75 13 10

[email protected]







Michael Dillen

Chief Business Officer

Tel: +32 16 75 13 10

[email protected] US

Conway Communications

Mary T. Conway

[email protected]













1 Press release Oxurion, 02/03/2023

Attachments
MINNETONKA, Minn., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Table Trac, Inc. (OTCQX: TBTC) announces it has signed an agreement to replace a competitors system with the CasinoTrac casino management system, for the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior at Legendary Waters Resort and Casino, in Bayfield, Wisconsin.



Legendary Waters Resort & Casino is located on the northern-most shores of the State of Wisconsin within the boundaries of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Located just three miles north of Bayfield, twenty-three miles north of Ashland, and eighty miles east of The Twin Ports (Duluth/Superior) on Highway 13, Legendary Waters is a beautiful resort and casino on Lake Superior that provides guests with amazing views throughout the entire facility.

When it came to the need for better streamlining our gaming management system and to best evolve our player development and direct marketing efforts, we found the answer with CasinoTrac. Their mission statement permeates in all aspects and our team members and guests will benefit greatly from their progressive technology and ease of use. stated Randy Soulier, Interim General Manager, Legendary Waters Resort & Casino.

Chad Hoehne, President of Table Trac, Inc., stated, We are honored that the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior have selected the CasinoTrac management system for the Legendary Waters Resort and Casino. Hoehne continued, We are confident CasinoTrac will help grow Legendary Waters business through an enhanced loyalty program, less system downtime, the value of our maintenance and support program, and greater efficiency by streamlined processes.

About Table Trac, Inc.

Founded in 1995, Table Trac, Inc. designs, develops and sells casino management systems. CasinoTrac is operational in casinos across 13 countries including the United States, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Australia. More information is available at https://www.CasinoTrac.com/.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve numerous risks and uncertainties. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CEO Steve Hill describes in detail how the Company plans to use heat rather than electricity to split water to produce the world's cheapest green hydrogen



SANTA CLARITA, Calif., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NewHydrogen, Inc. (OTC:NEWH), the developer of a breakthrough technology that uses clean energy and water to produce the worlds cheapest green hydrogen, today released a podcast video by Steve Hill, the Companys CEO, which describes in detail how the Company plans to use heat rather than electricity to split water to produce hydrogen.

Unfortunately, 99% of hydrogen produced today is made from fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal, and oil, said NewHydrogen CEO Steve Hill. While these methods are cheaper than producing green hydrogen today, they come at a significant environmental cost to the planet. To truly spark change, the price of green hydrogen needs to be competitive with these established methods.

Mr. Hill continued, Currently, the most common method of making green hydrogen is to split water into oxygen and hydrogen with an electrolyzer using green electricity produced from solar or wind. However, green electricity is, and always will be very expensive. It accounts for 73% of the cost of green hydrogen and will continue to represent most of the cost in the future.

Conventional solar panels can only convert about 20% of sunlight into useful electricity, whereas sunlight can be converted to heat with 90% efficiency. said Mr. Hill. By using heat directly, we can skip the expensive process of making electricity and fundamentally lower the cost of green hydrogen. Inexpensive sources of renewable heat can be obtained from concentrated solar, geothermal, nuclear reactors and industrial waste heat. Concentrated solar holds the most promise because it can be generated anywhere in the world using inexpensive mirrors.

A team of world-class chemical and materials engineers at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) is helping the Company find a better way to efficiently split water using heat to produce cheap green hydrogen. The UCSB team plans to exploit the oxidation reduction features of multi-component materials including high temperature liquids to directly split water continuously in a series of chemical looping reactions, producing hydrogen and oxygen in separate reaction chambers. The concept has been at work in other applications for some time at UCSB and the Company decided to sponsor research to apply the methodology to water splitting.

This is a very difficult process to achieve at reasonable temperatures, however, we believe weve found a way using molten liquids, Mr. Hill disclosed. We call this technology, NewHydrogen ThermoLoop. If successful it will be a novel, first of its kind, high efficiency thermochemical water-splitter that uses low-cost common materials and common industrial temperatures of less than 1,000C to potentially produce the worlds cheapest green hydrogen.

M. Hill concluded, I want to underscore the significance of our approachthe application of direct heat to split water to produce green hydrogen. Using heat directly is the key to our innovationa novel approach that transcends existing limitations and paves the way for a more sustainable and cost-effective energy future. Our goal is to produce the worlds cheapest green hydrogen. So cheap that our technology has the potential to be used to make green fertilizers cheaper than gray fertilizers made from natural gas, a benchmark that signals the start of a new clean energy future.

This podcast can be viewed at https://newhydrogen.com/thermoloop-video.php.

For more information about NewHydrogen, please visit https://newhydrogen.com/.

About NewHydrogen, Inc.

NewHydrogen is developing a breakthrough technology that uses clean energy and water to produce the worlds lowest cost green hydrogen. Hydrogen is the cleanest and most abundant element in the universe, and we cant live without it. Hydrogen is the key ingredient in making fertilizers needed to grow food for the world. It is also used for transportation, refining oil and making steel, glass, pharmaceuticals and more. Nearly all the hydrogen today is made from hydrocarbons like coal, oil, and natural gas, which are dirty and limited resources. Water, on the other hand, is an infinite and renewable worldwide resource. However, extracting hydrogen from water is an expensive process. Working with research teams at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara, NewHydrogen is helping to advance the green hydrogen revolution. We are developing NewHydrogen ThermoLoop, a breakthrough water splitting technology that uses clean energy and water to produce unlimited quantities of the worlds cheapest green hydrogen. Our goal is to help usher in the green hydrogen economy that Goldman Sachs estimated to have a future market value of $12 trillion.

Safe Harbor Statement

Matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "may," "intend," "expect" and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of the Company and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: the impact of economic, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, the impact on the national and local economies resulting from terrorist actions, the impact of public health epidemics on the global economy and other factors detailed in reports filed by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:

NewHydrogen, Inc.

[email protected]
Northwest Also Provides Update on AGM Date and Discloses Equity Compensation for NorthWests Chair

Advises that Activist Group Unsuccessfully Attempted to Recruit NorthWests Chair and NorthWests Interim CEO

For voting assistance or information, shareholders can contact Kingsdale Advisors, at 1-888-518-1565 (toll-free in North America), 1-647-251-9704 (collect call outside North America), email [email protected] , or visit www.ProtectNWST.com

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NorthWest Copper Corp. ("NorthWest" or the "Company") (TSXV: NWST) ) (OTCQX: NWCCF) today announced that it has received unequivocal support for NorthWests slate of seven director nominees on the BLUE proxy from the proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS). The Company thanks its shareholders for the strong voting support that the incumbent directors have received so far.

NorthWest also provided an update on the timing for the Annual General Meeting of the Companys shareholders (the "Meeting") and disclosed an equity compensation grant for its recently-appointed Chair, Terry Lyons. Further, NorthWest advised that the activist group (the Activist Group) unsuccessfully attempted to recruit NorthWests Chair and NorthWests Interim President and CEO. Both will resign if the Activist Groups slate of nominees is elected.

ISS Recommends that Shareholders vote FOR the Incumbent Board and all Management Proposals

ISS, which is recognized as a leading independent proxy voting and corporate governance advisory firm in both Canada and the United States, recommends that shareholders vote FOR the incumbent Board and all Management Proposals. In a detailed, 21-page report, ISS concludes that the Activist Group has not made a compelling case that board change is necessary at this time. Among other things, ISS noted that:

The members of the incumbent board and management have an established track record of completing equity financings and have held executive and board roles at minerals companies much larger than NWST.

The Activist Groups nominees, whether considered collectively or individually, do not appear to provide skills or experience that would augment the incumbent board or fill a skills deficiency

Measured & Indicated and Inferred resources have both grown significantly since the merger between Sun Metals Corp. and Serengeti Resources Inc. on March 5, 2021. The company's post-merger total shareholder return results do not seem to suggest a clear and present need for change when considering the level of underperformance versus the company's operational results, taken together with the volatility and liquidity issues inherent to junior minerals issuers

NorthWest urges shareholders to vote the BLUE proxy as recommended by ISS. ISS analysis and recommendations are relied upon by hundreds of major institutional investment firms, mutual funds and fiduciaries throughout North America. ISS independent recommendations, based on a careful review of the facts and arguments made by both sides, are intended to assist shareholders in making choices regarding proxy voting decisions.

Meeting Rescheduled Due to BCSC Hearing

Further to the Companys news release of August 31, 2023, Northwests Meeting has been rescheduled by a week to 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) on September 26, 2023, to follow governance best practices by allowing for some separation from the hearing by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) on NorthWests allegations that the Activist Group failed to make disclosures required by securities laws. The full text of NorthWests application and allegations, posted to the BCSC website, is available here.

NorthWest disclosed last week that the BCSC scheduled a two day hearing starting on September 12, 2023 in connection with the Companys application, and that the timing of the hearing might require a short postponement of the Meeting. NorthWest expects that the BCSC will issue its decision on or around September 14, 2023, approximately one day after the conclusion of the hearing.

With the new Meeting date of September 26, 2023, the corresponding cut-off for voting by proxy will be 10:00 a.m. (Vancouver time) on September 22, 2023. The original voting cut-off date would not have provided shareholders with sufficient time to fully consider the results of the hearing.

Shareholders who have already submitted their vote will not need to vote again, as previously voted shares will still be counted.

Equity Compensation for Terry Lyons

On September 6, 2023, the Board granted 400,000 Stock Options and 300,000 Deferred Share Units (DSUs) to Terry Lyons in connection with his appointment in August as Chair of the Board. He has agreed to waive any cash compensation for serving in this role.

The Stock Options have an exercise price of $0.20, which is a premium of approximately 18% to the closing price of NorthWests shares on September 6, 2023. The stock options vest upon grant and expire on September 6, 2028. The DSUs also vest upon grant and are payable in common shares of the Company upon the holder ceasing to be a director of the Company.

Activist Group Attempted to Recruit Terry Lyons and David Moore

NorthWest advises shareholders that the Activist Group attempted to recruit Mr. Lyons, NorthWests Chair, and David Moore, NorthWests Interim President, CEO and Director. Even though the two NorthWest directors are clearly acceptable to the Activist Group, it has refused to negotiate with the Company and appears focused on destroying shareholder value by launching and continuing the proxy fight.

Mr. Lyons, who joined the refreshed Board in August, and Mr. Moore, who rejoined the refreshed Board in May, will both resign as directors if the Activist Groups nominees are elected. Neither will Mr. Moore continue to lead NorthWests management team. NorthWest reminds shareholders that the Activist Group has not named anyone to manage the Company if the Activist Groups nominees are elected.

Vote BLUE! Every Vote Counts

NorthWest urges shareholders to vote only the BLUE proxy FOR NorthWests seven Director nominees, all of whom are shareholders. Vote FOR NorthWests refreshed Board, its strengthened executive team, and its strategic action plan designed to advance NorthWests mineral assets without delay.

Instructions To Vote BLUE

Every vote is important. Even if you have never voted before and no matter how many shares you own, becoming a voter is fast and easy. Heres how:

To Vote FOR, vote the BLUE proxy. Follow the instructions on the BLUE proxy or VIF. Vote online: Registered shareholders: https://login.odysseytrust.com/pxlogin Non-registered shareholders: www.proxyvote.com

NorthWest shareholders can contact Kingsdale Advisors by calling 1-888-518-1565 (toll-free in North America), calling or texting 1-647-251-9704 (collect call outside North America) or by email at [email protected] or visit www.ProtectNWST.com for more information. Vote BLUE To Protect Your Investment in NorthWest.

For further information, please contact:

Investor contact:Peter Lekich, Director Investor RelationsTel: 604-697-4962Email: [email protected]

Media contact:Longview Communications and Public AffairsAlan Bayless (604) 417-9645; [email protected]Joel Shaffer: (416) 649-8006; [email protected]

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.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements with respect to: the timing of the Meeting; the plans and intentions of the Activist Group; the intentions of Terry Lyons and David Moore; the voting intentions and concerns of shareholders of the Company; and the plans and intentions of the Company. Wherever possible, words such as may, will, should, could, expect, plan, intend, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict or potential or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect managements current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management as at the date hereof.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in NorthWests periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Forward-looking information are subject to business and economic risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results of operations to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from NorthWests expectations include risks associated with the business of NorthWest; risks related to a change in the current Board or management of the Company; risks related to reliance on technical information provided by NorthWest; risks related to exploration and potential development of the Companys mineral properties; business and economic conditions in the mining industry generally; fluctuations in commodity prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of mineral deposits; the need for cooperation of government agencies and First Nation groups in the exploration and development of properties and the issuance of required permits; the need to obtain additional financing to develop properties and uncertainty as to the availability and terms of future financing; the possibility of delay in exploration or development programs and uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones; uncertainty as to timely availability of permits and other governmental approvals; and other risk factors as detailed from time to time and additional risks identified in NorthWests filings with Canadian securities regulators on SEDAR+ in Canada (available at www.sedarplus.ca). Forward-looking information is based on estimates and opinions of management at the date the information are made. NorthWest does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking information except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Source: NorthWest Copper Corp.
BOSTON, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novotech, the leading Asia Pacific centred biotech CRO with global execution capabilities, today published the latest specialist clinical trial report  Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma: Global Clinical Trial Landscape.

According to the report, since 2018, the biopharma industry has initiated over 200 global clinical trials for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), with 60% of these located in Asia-Pacific and more than 30% in the US and Europe.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE

NCP is the most common cancer originating from the nasopharyngeal epithelium and is mainly found in Asia and Africa. Non-keratinizing nasopharyngeal carcinoma accounts for about 50% of all nasopharyngeal cancer cases. NCP has 5-year survival rates ranging from 40-70% worldwide, according to the report.

Environmental risk factors such as smoking, alcohol, nitrosamines, genetic predisposition, and EBV infection play a large role in the prevalence of NCP.

In 2020 there were more than 130,000 NPC cases globally. It is the 23rd most common cancer worldwide and is more frequent in men than women.

In 2020, Asia accounted for over 80% of global NPC cases, with China contributing the majority.

In 2020, the US and Canada accounted for approximately 2% of the global NPC incidence, with over 2,000 cases.

In 2020, Europe reported 5,204 cases of NPC, contributing nearly 4% of the global incidence.

Novotech has more than 3,000 employees operating across 25 geographies, with 34 office locations, including Greater China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Europe.

The CRO offers biotechs a unique and unparalleled suite of early to late-phase services across the US and Europe, with a foundation in Asia Pacific where the company has built a reputation for delivering high-quality expedited clinical trials.

Recognized for its industry-leading contributions, Novotech has received numerous prestigious awards, including the CRO Leadership Award 2023 and the Asia Pacific Cell & Gene Therapy Clinical Trials Excellence 2022 award. Additionally, the company was honored with the Asia-Pacific Contract Research Organization Company of the Year Award. Its commitment to collaboration is evident in the 50 Leading Site Partnership agreements it has signed over the past three years.

About Novotech Novotech-CRO.com

Founded in 1997, Novotech is internationally recognized as the leading Asia Pacific centred Contract Research Organization (CRO) with global execution capabilities. The Company has established itself as a clinical CRO with labs, phase I facilities, drug development consulting services and regulatory expertise. It has experience in over 5,000 clinical projects, including Phase I to Phase IV clinical trials and bioequivalence studies. Novotech employs over 3,000 staff globally across 34 office locations. Novotech is positioned to serve as a partner and ally to small and medium-sized biotech, biopharma and pharma sponsors seeking to conduct clinical trials in Asia Pacific, the US and Europe.

For more information visit Novotech CRO

Media Contact David James [email protected] AU: +61 2 8218 2144 USA: +1 415 951 3228 Asia: +65 3159 3427

Source: Novotech
BOSTON, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novotech, the leading Asia Pacific centred biotech CRO with global execution capabilities, today published the latest specialist clinical trial report Gallbladder Cancer: Global Clinical Trials Landscape Report.

According to the report, biopharma companies have initiated approximately 250 ongoing clinical trials in gallbladder cancer (GBC) since 2016, with the Asia-Pacific region playing a pivotal role in over 50% of these trials, while more than 40% were conducted in the United States and Europe.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE

GBC represents the most prevalent type of biliary tract cancer globally, accounting for 80%-95% of cases, with more than 1 million new cases and more than 80,000 deaths recorded in 2020.

The global age-standardized incidence and mortality for GBC is 1.20 and 0.84 per 100,000 people respectively. Asia leads the world in both incidence and mortality cases, with 82,000 and 62,300 cases, respectively, representing 70% of global occurrences.

Due to its large population and moderate volume of studies, the Asia-Pacific region has a low competing trial risk with a trial density about 17 times less than that of the US and about 4 times lower than Europe, states the Report.

According to the Report GBC is the sixth most common kind of gastrointestinal cancer and is more prevalent in women than in men. The leading causes are high estrogen levels, which are more common in women, and an abnormal pancreatic obstruction which is more common in people from Asia.

Additionally, the report delves into disease cases and mortality trends by region, including:

By 2030, GBC cases and mortality in Asia is predicted to reach 142,193 and 109,122 respectively.

Europe had incidence and mortality cases of about, 12,570 and 8,717 cases, respectively in 2020.

The US reported over 4,600 incident cases and about 2,300 deaths in GBC in 2020. According to the American Cancer Society estimates, there will be around 12,220 new cases and approximately 4,510 deaths due to GBC in 2023 in the country.

Canada reported an incidence of over 500 cases with an ASIR of about 0.66 per 100,000 population in 2020.

Novotech has more than 3,000 employees operating across 25 geographies, with 34 office locations, including Greater China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Europe.

The CRO offers biotechs a unique and unparalleled suite of early to late-phase services across the US and Europe, with a foundation in Asia Pacific where the company has built a reputation for delivering high-quality expedited clinical trials.

Recognized for its industry-leading contributions, Novotech has received numerous prestigious awards, including the CRO Leadership Award 2023 and the Asia Pacific Cell & Gene Therapy Clinical Trials Excellence 2022 award. Additionally, the company was honored with the Asia-Pacific Contract Research Organization Company of the Year Award. Its commitment to collaboration is evident in the 50 Leading Site Partnership agreements it has signed over the past three years.

About Novotech Novotech-CRO.com

Founded in 1997, Novotech is internationally recognized as the leading Asia Pacific centred Contract Research Organization (CRO) with global execution capabilities. The Company has established itself as a clinical CRO with labs, phase I facilities, drug development consulting services and regulatory expertise. It has experience in over 5,000 clinical projects, including Phase I to Phase IV clinical trials and bioequivalence studies. Novotech employs over 3,000 staff globally across 34 office locations. Novotech is positioned to serve as a partner and ally to small and medium-sized biotech, biopharma and pharma sponsors seeking to conduct clinical trials in Asia Pacific, the US and Europe.

For more information visit Novotech CRO

Media Contact David James [email protected] AU: +61 2 8218 2144 USA: +1 415 951 3228 Asia: +65 3159 3427

Source: Novotech
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Optimi Health Corp. (CSE: OPTI) (OTCQX: OPTHF) (FRA: 8BN), a Canadian psychedelics drug research and formulation company, proudly announced today that Health Canada has approved an amendment to the Companys Dealer's Licence. The amendment empowers Optimi to embark on the formal supply journey for Canadas Special Access Program (SAP), operating within the provisions of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act and its Regulations.



Under rigorous licensing regulations, Canadian entities engaged in the cultivation and formulation of psychedelic substances and who wish to supply Canadas Special Access Program must secure approval from Health Canada's Office of Controlled Substances Division. Optimi has successfully navigated this regulatory landscape, surmounting the initial hurdle required to supply MDMA and Psilocybin Drug Candidates produced under the Companys Licence.

Bill Ciprick, CEO of Optimi, is optimistic about the company's path towards SAP supply. "Our consistent dedication over recent months has strengthened our capabilities in GMP psychedelics production," says Ciprick. "The hard work during this time ensures that our in-house formulated drug candidates will be available to healthcare professionals, addressing the therapeutic needs of their patients."

Karina Lahnakoski, Director of Quality and Commercial Strategies at Optimi, emphasizes the paramount importance of accountability in GMP supply. "Safety, scale, and quality hold the key to our ability to cater to practitioners within Canada and Australia," Lahnakoski underscores, reinforcing the company's commitment to impeccable standards.

www.optimihealth.ca

For further information or to request an interview, please contact:

Michael Kydd

Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +1 (902) 880 6121

ABOUT OPTIMI (CSE: OPTI) (OTCQX: OPTHF) (FRA: 8BN)

Optimi Health Corp. is an end-to-end Canadian-based drug researcher and formulator licensed by Health Canada to produce and supply psychedelic substances such as 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and natural, GMP-grade psilocybin, as well as functional mushrooms that focus on the health and wellness markets. Built with the purpose of producing scalable psychedelic formulations for transformational human experiences, the Companys goal is to be the number one trusted, compassionate supplier of safe drug products throughout the world. Optimis products are grown at its two facilities comprising a total of 20,000 square feet in Princeton, British Columbia, making it the largest psilocybin and MDMA producer in North America.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forwardlooking statements and forwardlooking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation (collectively, forwardlooking statements) that relate to Optimis current expectations and views of future events. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, through the use of words or phrases such as will likely result, are expected to, expects, will continue, is anticipated, anticipates, believes, estimated, intends, plans, forecast, projection, strategy, objective, and outlook) are not historical facts and may be forwardlooking statements and may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in such forwardlooking statements. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forwardlooking statements included in this news release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release.

Forwardlooking statements are based on a number of assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Optimis control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forwardlooking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact and progression of the COVID19 pandemic and other factors set forth under ForwardLooking Statements and Risk Factors in the Companys Annual information Form dated January 9, 2023, and other continuous disclosure filings available under Optimis profile at www.sedarplus.ca . Optimi undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Optimi to predict all of them or assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forwardlooking statement.

Any forwardlooking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
ONTARIO, Calif., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Associa Professional Community Management (PCM), a leading provider of community management services throughout the greater Orange County, Los Angeles, and Riverside areas, recently partnered with Edenglen Community Association to host a community-wide safety event in conjunction with the 2023 National Night Out (NNO). The branch and association board members organized the event to promote neighborhood solidarity, resident safety, and police-community partnerships. Residents and neighbors attended the event, which featured food and drinks, giveaways, games, and a visit from first responders with the Ontario police and fire departments.

As the community management industrys sole national sponsor of NNO, Associa works closely with its respective community partners through Associa Supports Kids (ASK), a community outreach program, to educate parents and children on the importance of neighborhood safety. Tens of thousands of ASK giveaway items are provided annually to NNO event attendees who attend both Associa-managed and non-Associa-managed community safety events.

NNO traditionally takes place on the first Tuesday in August throughout all 50 U.S. states, territories, and on military bases worldwide. Texas and other selected regions celebrate the first Tuesday in October for heat-related reasons. Associa sponsored a total of 104 events in August and looks forward to working with many more communities on Tuesday, October 3 as part of Texas NNO. The goal of all the programs is to promote neighborhood camaraderie and inclusiveness to help make communities safer, more caring places to live.

Any community hosting a National Night Out event this October can register and request free promotional materials and handouts by visiting the following link: Associa Supports Kids / National Night Out. The deadline to register is September 18.

About Associa

With more than 275 branch offices across North America, Associa is building the future of community for more than 6.5 million residents worldwide. Our 14,000+ team members lead the industry with unrivaled education, expertise, and trailblazing innovation. For more than 44 years, Associa has brought positive impact and meaningful value to communities. To learn more, visit www.associaonline.com.

Stay Connected

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/associa

Subscribe to the Blog: https://hub.associaonline.com/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/associa

Join us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/associa

Attachment

Tom Womack Associa 214.272.4107 [email protected]

Source: Associa
HOUSTON, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. (NYSE: SMHI) (the Company or SEACOR Marine), a leading provider of marine and support transportation services to offshore energy facilities worldwide, today announced that it has published its 2022-2023 Sustainability Report. The report documents SEACOR Marines continued commitment to the environment, its employees and its responsibility as a global citizen.

SEACOR Marines Chief Executive Officer John Gellert commented: Our second Sustainability Report highlights our dedication to a greener, more inclusive and socially responsible future. We are excited to share our progress in reducing carbon emissions, conserving resources and minimizing our ecological footprint. I am proud of the efforts of the Sustainability Council and all of our employees and partners for their contributions. We will continue to build upon these achievements as we strive to create positive and lasting change in our business and the maritime industry.

Highlights from SEACOR Marines 2022-2023 Sustainability Report include:

Our Environment: SEACOR Marine is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, conserving resources and minimizing its ecological footprint. Notable achievements include the implementation of a new metric (the carbon intensity indicator) to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, reporting Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, along with a focus on minimizing waste, such as the reduction of single-use plastic water bottles on board its vessels. SEACOR Marine continues to focus on environmental sustainability through investments in green technology and operational changes to minimize its impact.

SEACOR Marine is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, conserving resources and minimizing its ecological footprint. Notable achievements include the implementation of a new metric (the carbon intensity indicator) to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, reporting Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, along with a focus on minimizing waste, such as the reduction of single-use plastic water bottles on board its vessels. SEACOR Marine continues to focus on environmental sustainability through investments in green technology and operational changes to minimize its impact. Our People: SEACOR Marine believes in ensuring an inclusive culture where employees from every background can contribute to their fullest potential with equal and diversified employment opportunities for all. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee has been empowered to pursue initiatives supporting the employee experience and fostering a culture valuing diversity of life experiences and perspectives. SEACOR Marine recently published its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement outlining its commitment to fostering a workplace where everyone is valued and respected.

SEACOR Marine believes in ensuring an inclusive culture where employees from every background can contribute to their fullest potential with equal and diversified employment opportunities for all. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee has been empowered to pursue initiatives supporting the employee experience and fostering a culture valuing diversity of life experiences and perspectives. SEACOR Marine recently published its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement outlining its commitment to fostering a workplace where everyone is valued and respected. Our Community: SEACOR Marine remains committed to fostering meaningful relationships within the communities it operates. The report highlights partnerships with local organizations, as well as the variety of volunteer activities and contributions to social welfare programs through the Company and Employee Giving Program.

SEACOR Marine remains committed to fostering meaningful relationships within the communities it operates. The report highlights partnerships with local organizations, as well as the variety of volunteer activities and contributions to social welfare programs through the Company and Employee Giving Program. Our Suppliers: SEACOR Marine places great emphasis on upholding ethical and safety standards throughout its business and continues to work with its suppliers to ensure that these standards are maintained throughout the supply chain. SEACOR Marine recently published its Supplier Code of Conduct and developed a Responsible Procurement Policy setting out its principles, standards, commitments and approach toward the responsible procurement of goods and services.

The report is aligned with the industry-specific standard for the oil and gas services sector as set by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and also identifies the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) that most closely align with the Companys values and responsible business practices.

To learn more about SEACOR Marines environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts and sustainability practices, please visit SEACOR Marines website at https://seacormarine.com/esg.

SEACOR Marine provides global marine and support transportation services to offshore energy facilities worldwide. SEACOR Marine operates and manages a diverse fleet of offshore support vessels that deliver cargo and personnel to offshore installations, including offshore wind farms; assist offshore operations for production and storage facilities; provide construction, well work-over, offshore wind farm installation and decommissioning support; carry and launch equipment used underwater in drilling and well installation, maintenance, inspection and repair; and handle anchors and mooring equipment for offshore rigs and platforms. Additionally, SEACOR Marines vessels provide emergency response services and accommodations for technicians and specialists.

Certain statements discussed in this release as well as in other reports, materials and oral statements that the Company releases from time to time to the public constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, words such as anticipate, estimate, expect, project, intend, believe, plan, target, forecast and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements concern managements expectations, strategic objectives, business prospects, anticipated economic performance and financial condition and other similar matters. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or expected by the management of the Company. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual events or results may differ significantly from these statements. Actual events or results are subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors, many of which are beyond the Companys control and are described in the Companys filings with the SEC. It should be understood that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors. Given these risk factors, investors and analysts should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are made. The Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to provide any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in the Companys expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which the forward-looking statement is based, except as required by law. It is advisable, however, to consult any further disclosures the Company makes on related subjects in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K (if any). These statements constitute the Companys cautionary statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Please visit SEACOR Marines website at http://www.seacormarine.com for additional information.For all other requests, contact [email protected]

Source: SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc.
PLANO, Texas, Sept. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via IBN -- Sharing Services Global Corporation (OTCQB: SHRG) (Sharing Services or the Company) announces today its plan to acquire the brand of MojiLife products from MojiLife LLC. with the execution of a non-binding letter of intent.

MojiLife products consists of patented air fragrance devices for the home and vehicle, with dozens of scents from around the world that are made with safe ingredients and are non-toxic, gluten-free, soy-free, vegan, and hypoallergenic and safe for children and pets, along with essential oils and other unique home products.

We are excited about this opportunity to acquire this brand of MojiLife products and work with such a talented and experienced team at MojiLife LLC. Their products are a natural fit to our Companys product offerings, and we believe this acquisition will expand our reach into the health and wellness market section, said Sharing Services CEO John JT Thatch.

Sharing Services has been a great business partner to MojiLife LLC and we believe this acquisition will strongly enhance markets awareness and distribution of MojiLife products. The entire corporate team at Sharing Services has been incredible to work with, and we are excited about the opportunity to continue to provide best-in-class products to our customers and generate more sales opportunities to our distributors, stated Darin Davis, owner of MojiLife LLC.

Sharing Services' primary growth strategy is built on focused innovation and creativity, positioned to capture a profitable market share of diverse business models. The full range of solutions offered by Sharing Services can be found on the Companys website. For more information, visit https://www.shrginc.com/.

About MojiLife LLCVisit www,mojilife.com

About Sharing Services Global CorporationSharing Services Global Corporation (OTCQB: SHRG) is a publicly traded diversified company dedicated to maximizing shareholder value through the acquisition and development of innovative companies, products and technologies. The Sharing Services combined platform leverages the capabilities and expertise of various companies that market and sell products direct to the consumer.Additional information is contained in the Companys 10-Q and 10-K filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Visit: www.SHRGInc.com

Forward-Looking StatementsThe statements contained in this press release, those which are not purely historical or which depend upon future events, may constitute 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. Statements regarding the Company's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including the Company's operating margin and rolling average annual growth in tangible book value per share, constitute forward-looking statements. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements because of various factors. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. Prospective investors should also consult the risks factors described from time to time in the Company's Reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K and Annual Reports to Shareholders.

Company Contact:Sharing Services Global CorporationInvestor Relations(469) 304-9400 Ext. 201[email protected]

Source: Sharing Services Global Corporation
In observance of the 22nd anniversary of the September 11th attacks Tunnel to Towers Foundation delivers 22 mortgage-free homes across America

New York, NY, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In recognition of the 22nd anniversary of the September 11th attacks, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation has delivered mortgage-free homes to 22 of America's Heroes and the families they left behind.

Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the mortgages for:

Eleven first responders who lost their lives to 9/11-related illnesses

Five first responders who lost their lives to COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty

Four first responders killed in the line of duty

One catastrophically injured first responder

One catastrophically injured Veteran

Today we remember the 2,977 lives lost when America was attacked. Tunnel to Towers has vowed to Never Forget the first responders, like my brother, who ran toward burning buildings 22 years ago and gave up their lives to save others. Tunnel to Towers honors the sacrifices made that day and by first responders every day since 9/11. These heroes are willing to face down every danger to keep us safe, from breathing toxic dust at Ground Zero, responding during a global pandemic, and confronting the unknowns that await them every time they answer a call for help, said Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundations Fallen First Responder Home Program pays off the mortgages for the families of law enforcement officers and firefighters who are killed in the line of duty, pass away from 9/11-related illnesses, and leave behind young children.

New York City Police Department Mounted Unit Officer Francis Gaynor came from a law enforcement family. He attended the police academy in 1995, where he met his future wife and fellow officer, Lori. Officer Gaynor was diagnosed with Cholangiocarcinoma attributed to his service at Ground Zero in the months following the attack on the World Trade Center. He developed a tumor in his bile duct and later received a liver transplant in 2021. In March of 2022, his cancer returned and he spent the following 10 months fighting valiantly every day until he finally succumbed to his illness on January 18th, 2023.

Having my mortgage paid off allows my family to concentrate on mourning our loss and attempt to get used to our new normal. It also helps to know that my children are able to stay in their family home for as long as they likeEven though Frank was called home, I feel that he is still able to take care of his family, said his wife Lori Gaynor.

On June 21, 2022, Spartanburg County Sheriffs Office Deputy 1st Class Austin Aldridge was shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call.

Just two days before he lost his life, Austin and his wife Jessica found out they were expecting. In a private ceremony, Tunnel to Towers welcomed Jessica and her infant daughter into a mortgage-free forever home in South Carolina.

"I am surprised and thankful that a foundation like Tunnel to Towers exists! The generous gift of a home means security and hope for a future with our daughter. We will make new memories while remembering those that willingly fight for our freedom and safety, as Austin did, said Jessica Aldridge.

To learn more about the 22 families who received mortgage-free homes and the families they left behind, visit T2T.org. Please consider joining us on our mission to provide homes for these heroes and their families by donating $11 per month.

About the Tunnel to Towers Foundation

Born from the tragedy of 9/11, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation carries out its mission to do good, by providing mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and by building specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. Tunnel to Towers is also committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and helping America Never Forget September 11, 2001.

Visit T2T.org to learn more and follow Tunnel to Towers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Attachments
WASHINGTON, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WASHINGTON  Today, Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice for Americas 33 million small businesses in President Bidens Cabinet, announced the call for nominations for the 2024 National Small Business Week (NSBW) Awards. The NSBW Awards recognize the outstanding achievements, triumphs, contributions, and resilience of SBA-assisted small businesses that help to drive the American economy.

Small businesses power our nations economy and are the realization of the American Dream for millions of entrepreneurs, said Administrator Guzman. From mom-and-pop shops to innovative startups, small businesses create good jobs, provide vital services, and help define the identities of the neighborhoods and communities they serve. National Small Business Week is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate their achievements and the essential contributions they make across the country.

To nominate a small business owner in your area or download related forms, criteria, and guidelines, visit sba.gov/nsbw. All nominations must be submitted electronically by 4 p.m. ET on December 7, 2023. The awards will be presented during the NSBW Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., from April 28-29, 2024.

For nearly 60 years, the SBA has celebrated National Small Business Week, highlighting the vital contributions of Americas entrepreneurs and small business owners.

The SBAs signature award during NSBW is the Small Business Person of the Year. A business owner from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam will be selected for individual State Winner awards. The state award winners will compete for the title of National Small Business Person of the Year.

In addition, nominations for the following award categories will be accepted:

Small Business Exporter of the Year

Phoenix Awards for Disaster Recovery: Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery - Mitigation Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery, Public Official Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery, Volunteer

Federal Procurement Awards: Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year Small Business Subcontractor of the Year Dwight D. Eisenhower Awards for Excellence (for large prime contractors who use small businesses as suppliers and contractors) 8(a) Graduate of the Year

Awards to SBA Resource Partners: Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Excellence and Innovation Center Award Womens Business Center of Excellence Award Veterans Business Outreach Center of the Year

Small Business Investment Company of the Year

For local area contact and other related information, visit online at https://www.sba.gov/national-small-business-week/district-office-awards.

###

About National Small Business WeekFor nearly 60 years, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, recognizing the critical contributions of Americas entrepreneurs and small business owners. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, creating about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. As part of National Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Every day, theyre working to grow small businesses, create 21st-century jobs, drive innovation, and increase Americas global competitiveness. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov/nsbw.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, or expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

Christine Saah Nazer U.S. Small Business Administration 202-756-0304 [email protected]

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Advance United Holdings Inc. (CSE: AUHI) (OTCQB: AUHIF) (FSE: 9I0) (the "Company" or "Advance United") is pleased to announce that Mr. Radovan Danilovsky has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective September 1, 2023.

Mr. Danilovsky is an experienced small-cap executive in Junior Mining sector. He is currently the President, Corporate Secretary and interim CFO of McLaren Resources Inc., a junior gold explorer with projects in the area of the Company's Melba Project.

Mr. Danilovsky is also an experienced investment manager, including Flow-Through funds. Currently, he is a registered Portfolio Manager with Wealthera Inc. Mr. Danilovsky also served as a Managing Director, Portfolio Manager and Chief Compliance Officer of Orthogonal Capital Management Corp. Prior to that he was an investment analyst at Accilent Capital Management Inc., known for its successful Pavilion Flow-Through LP series of funds.

Mr. Danilovsky has completed his studies in sciences at University of Toronto and master's at UPMC Sorbonne University. Additionally, he holds a master's degree in management from ESSEC Business School, Paris, France, and a Chartered Investment Manager designation from Canadian Securities Institute.

Jim Atkinson, CEO of Advance Holdings comments" We are very pleased to have Mr. Danilovsky accept the position of Chief Financial Officer of the Company. His varied and extensive experience will be invaluable to the Company going forward and his experience will assist us in our future efforts. He has experience in the Junior mining sector and has even worked in the bush! We welcome him to the team."

About Advance United Holdings

Advance United brings an entirely different approach to the mining industry. We don't mine. Rather, we've acquired a portfolio of undervalued gold properties and are increasing their value through the application of modern technology. We have a growing pipeline of similar properties that we are looking to acquire. And now we've launched the Au Marketplace. A first of its kind digital platform that connects owners of mineral commodities and deposits with developers and producers.

We are involved exclusively in the acquisition and advancement of past projects - with no intent to bring them back into production or to mine them ourselves. Our expertise is in identifying and acquiring undervalued properties with significant historical work, which were uneconomic at the time, but we believe have economic value at today's prices.

We fund the development of re-working historic data and applying modern technology to underwrite new qualified reports, document quantifiable resources and reserves to current standards, thereby recognizing the current value.

Our purpose is to bring immediate and long-term value to our partners and shareholders while seeking to eliminate exploration risk, so that we can all advance united in the shortest possible time frame.

For additional information about us, our projects, or to find out how you can list your project in the Au Marketplace, visit www.advanceunited.ca.

Contact Information

James Atkinson, P. Geo., CEO

Email: [email protected]

Tel: (647) 278-7502

Forward-Looking Information and Cautionary Statements

This news release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the trading of the Company's securities and the focus of the Company's business. Any such forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "contemplates", "believes", "projects", "plans" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the Company's ability to increase the value of its current and future mineral exploration properties and, in connection therewith, any long-term shareholder value, the Company's ability to mitigate or eliminate exploration risk, and the Company's intention to develop a portfolio of historic gold properties. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. 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 the Company will continue its business as described above. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis and other periodic filings made by the Company with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. 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

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179853
The missile North Korea fired into South Korean waters on Nov. 2 was an obsolete SA-5 surface-to-air missile Pyongyang bought from the old Soviet Union in the 1980s.

The Defense Ministry here came to the conclusion on Wednesday after examining debris salvaged from the sea floor south of the Northern Limit Line, the de-factor maritime border.

"The debris of the missile the North fired into the East Sea on Nov. 2 turned out to be that of an SA-5 missile," the ministry said. A search turned up a 3 m-long and 2 m-wide piece of fuselage on the ocean floor off Sokcho, Gangwon Province on Nov. 6. Cyrillic characters were written on the fuselage that still had four missile wings, a liquid fuel canister and part of the engine and its nozzle.
Concurrent financing of ~US$267 million to aid in facilitating the next phase of growth for Allied Gold - from a fast-growing, mid-tier, Africa-focused gold producer to a next generation senior gold producer

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Allied Gold Corporation (formerly, Mondavi Ventures Ltd.) ("Allied Gold") is pleased to announce the closing of its previously announced business combination and reverse take-over transaction (the "Transaction") involving, inter alios, Allied Gold Corp Limited ("Allied") and Allied Merger Corporation ("AMC"), pursuant to which, among other things, the former securityholders of Allied and AMC were issued securities in the capital of Allied Gold.

Expected to commence on September 11, 2023, the common shares of Allied Gold (the "Common Shares") will trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") in Canadian dollars under the symbol "AAUC" and the convertible debentures of Allied Gold (the "Debentures") will trade on the TSX in U.S. dollars under the symbol "AAUC.DB.U".

As of the date hereof, Allied Gold has an aggregate of 250,724,253 Common Shares and $107,279,000 principal amount of Debentures issued and outstanding.

In connection with the completion of the Transaction, the Subscription Receipts issued by AMC pursuant to its previously announced private placement financing (the "Financing") of: (a) 81,219,000 common share subscription receipts (the "CS Subscriptions Receipts") at a price of US$1.97 per CS Subscription Receipt; and (b) 107,279 convertible debenture subscription receipts (the "CD Subscriptions Receipts", and together with the CS Subscription Receipts, the "Subscription Receipts") at a price of US$1,000 per CD Subscription Receipt, were converted and immediately exchanged for Common Shares and Debentures, respectively, following a consolidation by AMC of its common shares on a 1:2.2585 basis. Net proceeds from the Financing will be used by Allied Gold to carry out its planned growth strategy, including its ongoing optimization and development work, as well as for general corporate purposes.

The management of Allied Gold will be led by Peter Marrone (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer), Daniel Racine (President), Jason LeBlanc (Chief Financial Officer), Gerardo Fernandez (Chief Development Officer), Basie Maree (Chief Operating Officer), Sofia Tsakos (Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary), Greg Winch (Chief Geology and Strategic Officer), Richard Campbell (Chief Human Resources Officer) and Gwennael Guillen (Chief Sustainability Officer).

The board of directors of Allied Gold consists of Peter Marrone (as Chairman), Justin Dibb (as Vice Chairman), John Beardsworth, John Begeman, Daniel Racine, Pierre Chenard, Jane Sadowsky, Dino Titaro and Richard Graff.

With the expected commencement of trading, Allied Gold is now poised to deliver a series of key catalysts in the coming months, expected to create significant value for both shareholders and broader stakeholders. These catalysts, which will be actively communicated to the market via a robust marketing schedule with analysts and sales desks immediately following the commencement of trading, include:

Consolidation of Operational Enhancements: Focused on optimization initiatives aimed at reducing all-in sustaining costs.

Kurmuk Ownership Consolidation: An accretive and strategic consolidation of ownership at the high-quality Kurmuk property.

Kurmuk Construction Decision: Approval for project development and initial construction phase set for Q3 2023.

Q3 2023 Financial Results: Anticipated to be released in November 2023.

Exploration Updates: Expected in Q4 2023 for Kurmuk and Bonikro (Dougbafla).

Sadiola Phase 1 Construction Decision: Scheduled for Q4 2023.

Updated Mineral Reserves: Expected in H1 2024.

These catalysts underscore Allied Gold's unwavering commitment to delivering value and our aspiration to evolve into a leading gold producer.

An annual information form of Allied Gold for the financial year ended December 31, 2022 (the "AIF"), which, together with a material change report, includes detailed disclosure with respect to the Transaction and Allied Gold, as well as audited consolidated financial statements of Allied for the financial years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 and unaudited interim condensed financial statements of Allied for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2023 and June 30, 2022, have been filed under Allied Gold's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

Advisors

Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP acted as legal counsel to AMC. Allen & Overy LLP and McCarthy Ttrault LLP acted as legal counsel to Allied. Prest Law Corporation acted as legal counsel to Mondavi Ventures Ltd.

Early Warning Disclosure

Justin Dibb

Pursuant to the Transaction, Justin Dibb, the co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Allied, and certain entities over which Mr. Dibb has control or direction, being Sterling Trust & Fiduciary Limited, as Trustee of Middle East Africa Investment Trust, and Oak Valley Ltd., acquired ownership of an aggregate of 27,238,331 Common Shares and 12,500 Debentures (which, based on the conversion price of US$5.79, are convertible into approximately 2,158,894 Common Shares), representing approximately 10.9% of the total issued and outstanding Common Shares on a non-diluted basis and approximately 11.6% of the total issued and outstanding Common Shares on a partially-diluted basis (assuming the conversion of the Debentures beneficially owned by him). Of the total securities of Allied Gold beneficially owned by Mr. Dibb, 27,013,574 Common Shares were issued in exchange for shares of Allied and Allied Gold Corp pursuant to the Transaction and 224,757 Common Shares and 12,500 Debentures were issued to Mr. Dibb in connection with the Financing. These securities are subject to the terms of a lock-up agreement entered into in favour of the agents under the Financing, pursuant to which, without the prior written consent of the lead agents under the Financing, Mr. Dibb agreed not to trade such securities during the period from the closing of the Financing to the date that is 180 days after the closing of the Transaction, subject to certain limited exceptions. Mr. Dibb has entered into a Standstill and Voting Support Agreement with Allied Gold pursuant to which he has agreed for a period of two years following the closing of the Transaction to, among other things, a standstill with respect to proposing or seeking to effect any change of control transaction and to vote in favour of the election of the slate of directors, as proposed by the board of Allied Gold, to ensure continuity and transition of the business.

While Mr. Dibb currently has no plans or intentions with respect to the securities of Allied Gold, subject to the restrictions on dispositions noted above, and depending on market conditions, general economic and industry conditions, the trading prices of Allied Gold's securities, Allied Gold's business, financial condition and prospects and other relevant factors, Mr. Dibb may develop such plans to intentions in the future and may, from time to time, acquire additional securities, dispose some or all of the existing or additional securities or may continue to hold the Common Shares or Debentures.

Mr. Dibb will file an early warning report under National Instrument 62-103 in connection with the closing of the Transaction. A copy of the early warning report will be made available under Allied Gold's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca or by contacting Gerardo Fernandez at +1 (647) 526-4258 or [email protected].

Knightsbridge Capital Corp.

Pursuant to the Transaction, Knightsbridge Capital Corp. ("Knightsbridge") acquired ownership of 30,529,776 Common Shares, representing approximately 12.2% of the total issued and outstanding Common Shares on a non-diluted basis. Of the total securities of Allied Gold beneficially owned by Knightsbridge, all such securities were issued in exchange for shares of Allied pursuant to the Transaction. The Common Shares held by Knightsbridge are subject to the terms of a lock-up agreement entered into in favour of the agents under the Financing, pursuant to which, without the prior written consent of the lead agents under the Financing, Knightsbridge agreed not to trade such securities during the period from the closing of the Financing to the date that is 180 days after the closing of the Transaction, subject to certain limited exceptions.

Knightsbridge holds the Common Shares for investment purposes. Knightsbridge may, from time to time, take such actions in respect of its holdings of Common Shares as it may deem appropriate in light of the circumstances then existing, including the purchase of additional Common Shares or other securities of Allied Gold or the disposition of all or a portion of its shareholding in Allied Gold.

Knightsbridge will file an early warning report under National Instrument 62-103 in connection with the closing of the Transaction. A copy of the early warning report will be available under Allied Gold's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca or by contacting Gerardo Fernandez at +1 (647) 526-4258 or [email protected].

About Allied Gold Corporation

Allied Gold is a Canadian-based gold producer with a significant growth profile and mineral endowment which operates a portfolio of three producing assets and development projects located in Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Ethiopia and Egypt. Led by a team of mining executives with operational and development experience and proven success in creating value, Allied Gold aspires to become a mid-tier next generation gold producer in Africa and ultimately a leading senior global gold producer.

About Allied Merger Corporation

AMC was formed and capitalized by the former principals of Yamana Gold Inc., Peter Marrone, Daniel Racine, Jason LeBlanc, Gerardo Fernandez and Sofia Tsakos, for the purposes of financing and assisting the development of high-quality mining opportunities and along with SummitNorth Inc., an investor in AMC, agreed to the terms of the Transaction with Allied.

For further information, please contact:

Allied Gold Corporation

Bay Adelaide Centre - North Tower

40 Temperance St., Suite 3200

Toronto, Ontario M5H 0B4 Canada

Gerardo Fernandez

Tel: +1 (647) 526-4258

Email: [email protected]

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in Canada, the United States or any other jurisdiction. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. The securities referred to in this news release have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking information is not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represents only Allied Gold's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Allied Gold's control. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", or the negative or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information contained herein includes, but is not limited to, information concerning the commencement of trading of the Common Shares and Debentures on the TSX and the key catalysts expected to be achieved by the Company and expectations with regards to the development of the business of Allied Gold.

By identifying such information and statements in this manner, Allied Gold is alerting the reader that such information and 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 Allied Gold to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements. In addition, in connection with the forward-looking information contained in this news release, Allied Gold has made certain assumptions. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information are the following: the inability of the Common Shares and Debentures to commence trading on the TSX on September 11, 2023, as anticipated, the inability of Allied Gold to achieve any one or more of its key catalysts on the timeline expected, or at all and any changes in the development of the business of Allied Gold, as well as those risk factors more generally set out in Allied Gold's annual information form available under Allied Gold's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.

Although Allied Gold believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is provided as of the date of this news release, and Allied Gold does not undertake to update any forward-looking information that is contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION OR DISSEMINATION DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179796
Carrizales Norte field definition continues

Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Arrow Exploration Corp. (AIM: AXL) (TSXV: AXL) ("Arrow" or the "Company"), the high-growth operator with a portfolio of assets across key Colombian hydrocarbon basins, is pleased to provide an update on operational activity at the Carrizales Norte ("CN") field on the Tapir Block in the Llanos Basin of Colombia where Arrow holds a 50% beneficial interest.

CN-3 Well

The CN-3 well was spud on July 20, 2023, and reached target depth on July 30, 2023. The well was drilled to a total measured depth of 9,260 feet (8,633 feet true vertical depth) and encountered multiple hydrocarbon-bearing intervals within the C7, Gacheta and Ubaque formations.

The CN-3 well encountered two oil pay zones within the Ubaque formation totaling 67 feet true vertical depth). The very thick pay zones and excellent reservoir characteristics are similar to those encountered in the CN-1 and CN-2 wells and further confirms the high potential of the Ubaque formation within the Carrizales Norte field. An additional 23 feet of pay (true vertical depth) was encountered in the C7 and 59 feet of pay (true vertical depth) in the Lower Gacheta formations.

Initially the Lower Ubaque zone was tested which has approximately 50 feet of net oil pay (true vertical depth) with an average porosity of 26%, and an estimated permeability of four Darcies. Initially the well tested at 593 BOPD gross IP with a 30% water cut. During the 11th day of testing the water cut increased and the lower Ubaque test was completed.

On September 1, 2023, the Upper Ubaque zone was put on test using an electric submersible pump (ESP). The well initially tested at a 98% water cut and cleaned up to 154 BOPD gross with a 92% water cut, during the four-day test. Testing of the Upper Ubaque was then completed.

Based on Casing Bond Logs both high quality zones were adversely impacted by compromised cement bond. Premature water production confirmed this analysis. The Lower Ubaque had 65 feet of pay above a water contact. CN-1 and CN-2 were higher structurally with no visible water contact indicating an oil column of 115 feet from the top of the Ubaque to the oil/water contact.

The wells drilled at Carrizales Norte have shown that the Ubaque reservoir is ideally suited for horizontal well exploitation. Similar fields in Colombia have been developed using horizontal technology and displayed excellent results for both production, oil recovery and reduced costs. Arrow has extensive experience with horizontal wells and heavy oil reservoirs. In similar fields, management has experienced three times the production from horizontal wells at an additional cost of 50% of a vertical well.

Currently the Company is preparing to test the C7 formation in the CN-3 well. We expect results in the middle of September.

Initial production results are not necessarily indicative of long-term performance or ultimate recovery.

The Gacheta formation has not been tested. The potential of this upper zone will be unlocked with future wells and recompletions.

Forward Work Program

Once CN-3 is on production the rig will move to the Rio Cravo Este (RCE) field where Arrow plans to further exploit the multi-zone RCE structure with two dedicated Gacheta wells and a follow up to the RCE-6 C7 producer. The drilling rig will then return to the CN field to drill additional Ubaque-targeted wells.

Marshall Abbott, CEO of Arrow, commented:

"The CN-3 well is the 8th well in a row where the Company has proven commercial production. The thick pay zone and production from the CN-3 well provides additional evidence of the potential in the Ubaque formation. The Company expects material reserve additions and production from further development of this zone at Carrizales Norte. Additional pay zones currently behind pipe provide further opportunities for production and reserve increases in the future.

"The CN-3 well results have helped determine the size of the Ubaque pool at Carrizales Norte and there are firm indications that the reserves additions will transform Arrow into a much more significant company. Multiple development locations are anticipated based on current results. The CN-3 well has also shown the potential for horizontal drill technology in the Ubaque reservoir. Horizontal wells typically produce at higher rates making the field more economic.

"Arrow has undertaken a third-party reserve evaluation of the CN field and hope to release the reserve data shortly.

"With both the RCE and CN fields, management plans to control pump speed and choke wells back to efficiently manage the reservoir efficiently and discourage premature water production. Arrow believes this is in the best long-term interest of the reservoir and will result in maximum recovery from both fields.

"Arrow's fully funded, low risk drilling program continues to build momentum across our extensive portfolio, with the spudding of two wells at the RCE structure targeting the Gacheta formation to follow CN-3 being brough into production. Alongside this we are encouraged by the initial interpretation of the Tapir 3D seismic and look forward to providing further updates in due course."

For further Information, contact:

Arrow Exploration

Marshall Abbott, CEO

+1 403 651 5995

Joe McFarlane, CFO

+1 403 818 1033

Brookline Public Relations, Inc.

Shauna MacDonald

+1 403 538 5645

Canaccord Genuity (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker)

Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor

James Asensio

Gordon Hamilton

+44 (0)20 7523 8000

Auctus Advisors (Joint Broker)



Jonathan Wright

Rupert Holdsworth Hunt

+44 (0)7711 627449

Camarco (Financial PR)



Georgia Edmonds

Rebecca Waterworth

Kirsty Duff

+44 (0)20 3781 8331

About Arrow Exploration Corp.

Arrow Exploration Corp. (operating in Colombia via a branch of its 100% owned subsidiary Carrao Energy S.A.) is a publicly traded company with a portfolio of premier Colombian oil assets that are underexploited, under-explored and offer high potential growth. The Company's business plan is to expand oil production from some of Colombia's most active basins, including the Llanos, Middle Magdalena Valley (MMV) and Putumayo Basin. The asset base is predominantly operated with high working interests, and the Brent-linked light oil pricing exposure combines with low royalties to yield attractive potential operating margins. By way of a private commercial contract with the recognized interest holder before Ecopetrol S.A., Arrow is entitled to receive 50% of the production from the Tapir block. The formal assignment to the Company is subject to Ecopetrol's consent. Arrow's seasoned team is led by a hands-on executive team supported by an experienced board. Arrow is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and on TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "AXL".

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains certain statements or disclosures relating to Arrow that are based on the expectations of its management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Arrow which may constitute forward-looking statements or information ("forward-looking statements") under applicable securities laws. All such statements and disclosures, other than those of historical fact, which address activities, events, outcomes, results or developments that Arrow anticipates or expects may, could or will occur in the future (in whole or in part) should be considered forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of the words "continue", "expect", "opportunity", "plan", "potential" and "will" and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release reflect several material factors and expectations and assumptions of Arrow, including without limitation, Arrow's evaluation of the impacts of COVID-19, the potential of Arrow's Colombian and/or Canadian assets (or any of them individually), the prices of oil and/or natural gas, and Arrow's business plan to expand oil and gas production and achieve attractive potential operating margins. Arrow believes the expectations and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable at this time, but no assurance can be given that these factors, expectations, and assumptions will prove to be correct.

The forward-looking statements included in this news release are not guarantees of future performance and should not be unduly relied upon. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligations to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so 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.

Glossary

API: A specific gravity scale developed by the American Petroleum Institute (API) for measuring the relative density of various petroleum liquids, expressed in degrees.

BOPD: barrels of oil per day

boe/d: barrels of oil equivalent per day

IP: initial production

Qualified Person's Statement

The technical information contained in this announcement has been reviewed and approved by Grant Carnie, senior non-executive director of Arrow Exploration Corp. Mr. Carnie is a member of the Canadian Society of Petroleum Engineers, holds a B.Sc. in Geology from the University of Alberta and has over 35 years' experience in the oil and gas industry.

This Announcement contains inside information for the purposes of the UK version of the market abuse regulation (EU No. 596/2014) as it forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR").

NOT FOR RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION, PUBLICATION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN OR INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN, THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO MIGHT CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179739
Highlights

Drill rig secured for drill testing lithium pegmatite outcrops at its Ruby Hill West Lithium project in James Bay, Quebec

Program consists of approximately 4,000m targeting RHW-1 and RHW-2 and newly discovered M-1 and M-2 lithium pegmatite intrusions with a series of approximately 150m deep holes to verify lateral and depth extent of each system

Previous drilling by Benz at RHW-2 intersected 26.4m at 1.01% Li 2 O from 7.4m including 3.7m at 2.7% Li 2 O in 2022

Rock chips at M-1 are up to 5% Li 2 O at surface

Drill rig to arrive at site around 11 September with drilling to commence shortly thereafter

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Benz Mining Corp. (TSXV: BZ) (ASX: BNZ) (the Company or Benz) is pleased to announce that it has secured a single diamond helicopter supported drill rig to test spodumene bearing pegmatites at its Ruby Hill West Project in James Bay, Quebec.

Benz intends to undertake approximately 4,000m of drilling prior to the onset of winter, expected in late October or early November, which makes helicopter flying difficult due to weather conditions and less daylight time.

A series of 150m deep holes have been planned to target the outcropping spodumene bearing pegmatites recently identified during the limited summer field season. Drilling will predominantly target 3 areas - Ruby Hill West (RHW-2) and the Mikisiw (M-1 and M-2) outcrops.





Figure 1.Aerial view at Ruby Hill West looking to the west of the RHW-1 (to the right) and RHW-2 (to the left) pegmatites and 2023 trenching. The RHW-2 trench is 30m long with the collar from RHW22-06 located near the southern end of the trench.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/179843_50949a6d5431b85a_001full.jpg

Benz Executive Chairman, Evan Cranston, said:

"We are very excited with what our geologists have been able to identify in a very limited summer season. We will continue to conduct exploration to identify more Li- pegmatites along the interpreted 25km lithium trend at our Ruby Hill West Project in James Bay Quebec."

"Peeling back the moss and trenching has identified several large Li-pegmatites, up to 30m thick at surface, that contain spodumene and we are looking forward to seeing what this system does along strike and at depth by drilling."

"We are very fortunate to have been able to secure a drill rig and team this year with all the competition in this highly sought after region and we look forward to drilling as many metres as we can this year prior to the onset of the winter."

Ruby Hill West (RHW-1 and RHW-2)

Ruby Hill West (RHW-1 outcrop) was first identified by Eastmain Resources in 2017, then drill tested by Benz in April 2022[1]. The first 5 holes drilled under the RHW-1 outcrop only intersected thinner Li-pegmatites dykes (RHW22-01: 0.31% Li 2 O over 4.48 m and RHW22-02: 0.62% Li 2 O over 3 m). However, drilling to the south of the RHW-1 outcrop identified the RHW-2 intrusion with RHW22-06 intersecting 26.4m at 1.01% Li 2 O. This intrusion was exposed by trenching in August 2023 and channel sampled; analytical results are pending.

Trenching in 2022 and 2023 exposed the 2 pegmatite intrusions but drilling in this upcoming program will test mostly the lateral and depth extent of RHW-2.





Figure 2.A substantial pegmatite outcrop at Ruby Hill West following removal of the layer of moss and vegetation (this photo looks to the south east). Drilling in the vicinity of this outcrop intersected 26.4m at 1.01% Li 2 O from 7.4m. This outcrop was discovered after the maiden drill program due to being under shallow cover.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/179843_50949a6d5431b85a_002full.jpg

Mikisiw Outcrops (M-1 and M-2)

The Mikisiw targets were recently discovered by a brief field mapping season conducted by Benz in May and June of this year. The Mikisiw pegmatite (M-1) outcrops for about 50m but with multiple blocks and possible subcrops extending the surface expression of this intrusion. Rock chips at M-1 are up to 5% Li 2 O at surface[2]. This outcrop was stripped and channel sampled in 2023, with analytical result still pending.





Figure 3.Mikisiw Li-pegmatite outcrop looking to the southeast.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/179843_50949a6d5431b85a_003full.jpg





Figure 4.Spodumene crystals from the Mikisiw M-1 outcrop.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/179843_50949a6d5431b85a_004full.jpg

The M-2 outcrop is located approximately 2km west of M-1 and 420m east of a historical diamond drill hole (DDH 90-EM-003) drilled by Kingswood Explorations 1985 Limited in 1990 that intersected 30m of muscovite- bearing pegmatite from 140.5m - 171.7m depth and was not assayed for lithium. This intersection will be drill tested in this program.

Drilling on the M Trend will consist of a number of 150m deep holes testing the M-1 and M-2 outcrops as well as targeting the pegmatite that was intersected in hole DDH 90-EM-03.

Benz will be undertaking geological reconnaissance along the trend in September to further identify other potential spodumene bearing pegmatite outcrops. To help with the identification, we are concurrently flying a high resolution magnetic and radiometric survey, and a LiDAR with orthophotos survey. Benz has also acquired Maxar satellite imagery for the whole area.





Figure 5.Location of the new M-2 outcrop spodumene pegmatite discovery along the 25km+ lithium trend.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/179843_50949a6d5431b85a_005full.jpg

This release was prepared under supervision and approved by Dr. Danielle Giovenazzo, P. Geo, acting as Benz's qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 for the reporting of exploration and drilling results.

This announcement has been authorised for release by the Board of Benz Mining Corp.

For more information please contact:

Evan Cranston

Executive Chairman,

Benz Mining Corp.

Telephone: +61 8 6143 6702

email: [email protected]

Dannika Warburton

Principal

Investability Partners

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: +61 401 094 261

About Benz Mining Corp.

Benz Mining Corp. (TSXV: BZ) (ASX: BNZ) brings together an experienced team of geoscientists and finance professionals with a focused strategy to unlock the immense mineral potential of the Upper Eastmain Greenstone Belt in Northern Quebec, which is prospective for gold, lithium, nickel, copper, and other high-value minerals. Benz is earning a 100% interest in the former producing high grade Eastmain gold mine, Ruby Hill West and Ruby Hill East projects in Quebec and owns 100% of the Windy Mountain project.

At the Eastmain Gold Project, Benz has identified a combination of over 380 modelled in-hole and off-hole DHEM conductors over a strike length of 6km which is open in all directions (final interpretation of some of the conductors still pending).

In 2021, Benz confirmed the presence of visible spodumene in a pegmatite at the Ruby Hill West Project, indicating lithium mineralisation which Benz intends to further explore in 2022.





Benz tenure over Upper Eastmain Greenstone Belt on simplified geology.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1818/179843_50949a6d5431b85a_006full.jpg

About Eastmain Gold Project

The Eastmain Gold Project, situated on the Upper Eastmain Greenstone Belt in Quebec, Canada, currently hosts a NI 43-101 and JORC (2012) compliant resource of 1Moz at 6.1g/t gold (Indicated: 384koz at 9.0g/t gold, Inferred: 621koz at 5.1g/t gold). The existing gold mineralisation is associated with 15-20% semi-massive to massive pyrrhotite, pyrite and chalcopyrite in highly deformed and altered rocks making it amenable to detection using electromagnetic techniques. Multiple gold occurrences have been identified by previous explorers over a 12km long zone along strike from the Eastmain Mine with very limited but highly encouraging testing outside the existing resource area.

About Ruby Hill West Lithium Project

The Ruby Hill West Lithium project is a surface occurrence of spodumene bearing pegmatite within the Ruby Hill West project, located 50km due west of the Eastmain exploration camp. The occurrence was first sampled in 2016 by Eastmain Resources and then by Quebec government geologists in 2018. Only limited sampling was conducted by both groups.

In March 2022 Benz conducted a drilling program at the Ruby Hill West lithium pegmatite prospect and reported a 31.2m at 0.9% Li 2 O interval of visible spodumene rich pegmatite in the drilling (ASX & TSX-V releases dated 29 April 2022 "Multiple spodumene pegmatites intersected at Ruby Hill West").

Competent Person's Statement: The information in this announcement that relates to historical exploration results was first reported to the ASX in accordance with ASX Listing Rule 5.7. 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.

The mineral resource estimate in this announcement was reported by the Company in accordance with ASX Listing Rule 5.8 on 24 May 2023. The Company confirms it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in the previous announcement and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the previous announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed.

Forward-Looking Information: Certain statements contained in this news release may constitute "forward-looking information" as such term is used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on plans, expectations, and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and is subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, that the Company's financial condition and development plans do not change because of unforeseen events and that the Company obtains regulatory approval. Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking information in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the risk that any of the assumptions referred to prove not to be valid or reliable, that occurrences such as those referred to above are realized and result in delays, or cessation in planned work, that the Company's financial condition and development plans change, and delays in regulatory approval, as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company as set forth in the Company's continuous disclosure filings filed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, other than as required by applicable law.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.

[1] Announcement: 1 August 2022 Ruby Hill West Discovery returns 26.4m at 1.01% Li 2 O from 7.4m including 3.7m at 2.7% Li 2 O

[2]Announcement: 3 August 2023: New high grade LCT pegmatite discovered at Ruby Hill West

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179843
Lead, South Dakota--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Dakota Gold Corp. (NYSE American: DC) ("Dakota Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to report assays from nine drill holes including RH23C-016 at the Richmond Hill Gold Project ("Richmond Hill") in South Dakota. RH23C-016 was designed to validate historical drilling and to test for a higher-grade feeder zone associated with Precambrian structures below the known near-surface MW3 Main Zone gold mineralization. The intercepts in RH23C-016 demonstrate that additional Tertiary aged, Precambrian hosted gold mineralization is present in the basement rocks underlying the Paleozoic cover rocks; which were the primary focus of historical drilling in the northern half of the Richmond Hill property.

Highlights (See Table 1):

RH23C-016 intersected 0.102 oz/ton Au over 77.6 feet (3.50 grams/tonne over 23.7 meters) below the historical drilling at Richmond Hill. The intercept is possibly a feeder to the overlying MW3 Main Zone mineralization and adds a new exploration target at Richmond Hill. When length weighted, RH23C-016 had an average grade of 0.028 oz/ton Au (0.95 grams/tonne) over the 1,007 feet (306.9 meters) drill hole.

RH23C-015 intersected 0.055 oz/ton Au over 61.5 feet (1.89 grams/tonne over 18.7 meters) and 0.036 oz/ton Au over 196.1 feet (1.23 grams/tonne over 59.8 meters) of Tertiary gold mineralization validating historical drill intercepts.

The Company has completed the validation/metallurgical drill program at Richmond Hill and is awaiting assay results for the final drill holes before selecting metallurgical samples. The Company plans to return to exploration and step-out drilling now that the validation/metallurgical program has been completed.

James Berry, Vice President Exploration of Dakota Gold, said, "We are pleased with the continuing success of our Richmond Hill exploration program. Historical drilling at Richmond Hill indicates several opportunities for gold mineralization in Precambrian hosted breccia pipes, along structures within the Precambrian, and the overlying Cambrian Deadwood Formation. The mineralized basement zones, like those intercepted in RH23C-016, also return higher gold grades and are a great opportunity to improve the gold endowment at Richmond Hill. Identifying and then tracing the structures controlling the high-grade gold mineralization will be a priority for future drilling."

Exploration Update:

RH23C-016

RH23C-016 was designed to validate historical drilling in the MW3 Main Zone area. The drill hole intersected 0.102 oz/ton Au over 77.6 feet (3.50 grams/tonne over 23.7 meters) within Tertiary fractures in the Precambrian basement rocks, beneath Tertiary replacement mineralization in the Deadwood Formation. When length weighted, RH23C-016 had an average grade of 0.028 oz/ton Au (0.95 grams/tonne) over the 1,007 feet (306.9 meters) drill hole. Step-out drilling is planned along this zone to determine the extent of the basement hosted mineralization.

RH23C-015

RH23C-015 was designed to validate historical drilling in the MW3 Main Zone area. RH23C-015 was angled across a trend of higher-grade assays and extended into the Precambrian basement. The drill hole encountered Tertiary replacement mineralization at 41 feet (12.5 meters), Tertiary breccia mineralization at 155.1 feet (47.3 meters) and Tertiary fractured controlled mineralization in the Precambrian basement at 377.3 feet (115.0 meters).

RH23C-047

RH23C-047 was designed to test the Turnaround Breccia area and intersected 0.053 oz/ton Au over 59.3 feet (1.82 grams/tonne over 18.1 meters) and 0.066 oz/ton Au over 37.6 feet (2.26 grams/tonne over 11.5 meters).

RH23C-049

RH23C-049 was designed as a validation drill hole on the west side of the MW3 Main Zone area and intersected 0.042 oz/ton Au over 10.2 feet (1.44 grams/tonne over 3.1 meters) in Tertiary fractured Precambrian basement.

RH23C-050

RH23C-050 was designed as a validation drill hole beneath the historical Richmond Hill open pit mine. RH23C-050 intersected 0.096 oz/ton Au over 21.2 feet (3.29 grams/tonne over 6.5 meters) in Tertiary fractures and breccias in the Precambrian basement.

RH23C-052

RH23C-052 was designed to test the northern end of the MW3 East Zone area. The upper intervals were Tertiary mineralization hosted in the Cambrian Deadwood Formation. The lower intercept was in Precambrian hosted Tertiary gold mineralization.

RH23C-053

RH23C-053 was designed to test the MW3 East Zone area and encountered Deadwood Formation hosted gold mineralization. The lower intercept of 0.106 oz/ton Au over 27.7 feet (3.63 grams/tonne over 8.4 meters) was within the lower Deadwood Formation and extends higher grade mineralization intersected in the historical drilling to the north.

Table 1. RH23C-015, RH23C-016, RH23C-047, RH23C-048, RH23C-049, RH23C-050, RH23C-051, RH23C-052, and RH23C-053 Drill Results (Imperial / Metric Units)

Hole # From To Depth Interval* Gold From To Depth Interval* Gold Mineral Type ft ft ft ft oz/ton m m m m g/t RH23C-015 41 102.5 34.4 61.5 0.055 12.5 31.2 10.5 18.7 1.89 Td

155.1 351.2 123.0 196.1 0.036 47.3 107.0 37.5 59.8 1.23 Bx

377.3 400.1 296.5 22.8 0.041 115.0 122.0 90.4 6.9 1.41 Tp RH23C-016 0.0 77.7 0.0 77.7 0.026 0.0 23.7 0.0 23.7 0.89 Td

87.3 101.0 87.3 13.7 0.056 26.6 30.8 26.6 4.2 1.92 Tp

111.3 166.0 111.3 54.7 0.034 33.9 50.6 33.9 16.7 1.17 Tp

180.4 258.0 180.4 77.6 0.102 55.0 78.6 55.0 23.7 3.50 Tp

403.6 420.4 403.6 16.8 0.064 123.0 128.1 123.0 5.1 2.19 Tp

436.6 452.9 436.6 16.3 0.034 133.1 138.0 133.1 5.0 1.17 Tp

560.9 618.0 560.9 57.1 0.028 171.0 188.4 171.0 17.4 0.96 Tp

703.3 715.0 703.3 11.7 0.030 214.4 217.9 214.4 3.6 1.03 Tp

743.4 765.3 743.4 21.9 0.040 226.6 233.3 226.6 6.7 1.37 Tp

812.1 875.0 812.1 62.9 0.053 247.5 266.7 247.5 19.2 1.82 Tp

885.6 948.0 885.6 62.4 0.038 269.9 289.0 269.9 19.0 1.30 Tp

996.9 1007.0 996.9 10.1 0.027 303.9 306.9 303.9 3.1 0.93 Tp RH23C-047 0.0 45.5 0.0 45.5 0.016 0.0 13.9 0.0 13.9 0.55 Tert

113 172.3 108.6 59.3 0.053 34.4 52.5 33.1 18.1 1.82 Tp

192.7 230.3 188.6 37.6 0.066 58.7 70.2 57.5 11.5 2.26 Tp

276.2 286.6 256.8 10.4 0.017 84.2 87.4 78.3 3.2 0.58 Bx

515.8 545.9 454.7 30.1 0.022 157.2 166.4 138.6 9.2 0.75 Tp

1219.4 1254.4 1037.5 35.0 0.053 371.7 382.3 316.2 10.7 1.82 Bx RH23C-048 89.7 99.8 80.5 10.1 0.017 27.3 30.4 24.5 3.1 0.58 Bx

140.5 187.4 115.5 46.9 0.018 42.8 57.1 35.2 14.3 0.62 Bx

213.3 238.6 180.6 25.3 0.022 65.0 72.7 55.0 7.7 0.75 Bx

249.0 275.0 210.8 26.0 0.021 75.9 83.8 64.3 7.9 0.72 Bx

335.5 379.7 284.3 44.2 0.021 102.3 115.7 86.7 13.5 0.72 Bx

538.5 548.4 454.5 9.9 0.058 164.1 167.2 138.5 3.0 1.99 Tp RH23C-049 124.7 139.8 104.5 15.1 0.032 38.0 42.6 31.9 4.6 1.10 Tp

320.3 374.8 281.2 54.3 0.030 97.6 114.2 85.7 16.6 1.03 Tp

399.9 420.1 347.8 20.2 0.021 121.9 128.0 106.0 6.2 0.72 Tp

445.0 455.2 394.4 10.2 0.042 135.6 138.7 120.2 3.1 1.44 Tp RH23C-050 121.3 151.8 62.7 30.5 0.035 37.0 46.3 19.1 9.3 1.20 Tert

160.3 171.2 80.1 10.9 0.026 48.9 52.2 24.4 3.3 0.89 Td

271.4 282.9 132.2 11.5 0.033 82.7 86.2 40.3 3.5 1.13 Tp

344.0 365.2 175.3 21.2 0.096 104.9 111.3 53.4 6.5 3.29 Tp

930.3 942.9 521.8 12.6 0.023 283.6 287.4 159.0 3.8 0.79 Td RH23C-051 551.6 562.5 489.6 10.9 0.032 168.1 171.5 149.2 3.3 1.10 Td

846.0 857.8 697.0 11.8 0.017 257.9 261.5 212.4 3.6 0.58 Tert

876.0 889.9 715.7 13.9 0.039 267.0 271.2 218.1 4.2 1.34 Tp RH23C-052 109.8 135.0 91.5 25.2 0.031 33.5 41.1 27.9 7.7 1.06 Td

183.1 287.0 155.6 103.9 0.031 55.8 87.5 47.4 31.7 1.06 Td

445.7 475.8 394.4 30.1 0.038 135.8 145.0 120.2 9.2 1.30 Tp RH23C-053 143.5 199.8 105.0 56.3 0.037 43.7 60.9 32.0 17.2 1.27 Td

239.9 261.9 171.3 22.0 0.015 73.1 79.8 52.2 6.7 0.51 Td

277.0 314.0 197.4 37.0 0.022 84.4 95.7 60.2 11.3 0.75 Td

324.7 352.4 232.5 27.7 0.106 99.0 107.4 70.9 8.4 3.63 Td

Abbreviations in the table include ounces per ton ("oz/ton"); grams per tonne ("g/t"); feet ("ft"); meter ("m"); Tertiary breccia hosted mineralization ("Bx"); Cambrian Deadwood Fm hosted Tertiary mineralization("Td"); Tertiary intrusive hosted mineralization ("Tert"); and Precambrian hosted Tertiary mineralization ("Tp").





Figure 1. Plan View of Dakota Gold Corp. Richmond Hill Drill Holes with Highlighted Gold Intercepts.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8218/179776_d1ca8c52f44adbb4_002full.jpg





Figure 2. Cross Section View of Richmond Hill Drill Holes RH23C-015 and RH23C-016.

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The Company currently has four drills operating on its properties in the Homestake District of South Dakota, at the Maitland Gold Project (Maitland) and Richmond Hill Gold Project. The Maitland drills are targeting Homestake-hosted and Tertiary gold mineralization and the Richmond Hill drills are targeting Tertiary breccias and replacement mineralization. Richmond Hill is located 2.3 miles west of Maitland and 1.5 miles north of Coeur Mining, Inc.'s Wharf Mine.

About Dakota Gold Corp.

Dakota Gold (NYSE American: DC) is a South Dakota-based responsible gold exploration and development company with a specific focus on revitalizing the Homestake District in Lead, South Dakota. Dakota Gold has high-caliber gold mineral properties covering over 46 thousand acres surrounding the historic Homestake Mine.

The Dakota Gold team is focused on new gold discoveries and opportunities that build on the legacy of the Homestake District and its 145 years of gold mining history.

Subscribe to Dakota Gold's e-mail list at www.dakotagoldcorp.com to receive the latest news and other Company updates.

Shareholder and Investor Inquiries

For more information, please contact:

Jonathan Awde, President and Chief Executive Officer

Tel: +1 604-761-5251

Email: [email protected]

Qualified Person and S-K 1300 Disclosure

James M. Berry, a Registered Member of SME and Vice President of Exploration of Dakota Gold Corp., is the Company's designated qualified person for this news release as defined in Subpart 1300 - Disclosure by Registrants Engaged in Mining Operations of Regulation S-K and has reviewed and approved its scientific and technical content.

The ranges of potential tonnage and grade (or quality) disclosed above in respect of the Richmond Hill Gold Project are conceptual in nature and could change as the proposed exploration activities are completed. There has been insufficient exploration of the Richmond Hill Gold Project to allow for an estimate of a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a mineral resource. The disclosure above in respect of the Richmond Hill Gold Project therefore does not represent, and should not be construed to be, an estimate of a mineral resource or mineral reserve.

Quality Assurance/Quality Control consists of regular insertion of certified reference materials, duplicate samples, and blanks into the sample stream. Check samples will be submitted to an umpire laboratory as the drill program progresses. Assay results are reviewed, and discrepancies are investigated prior to incorporation into the Company database. Samples are submitted to the ALS Geochemistry sample preparation facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Gold and multi-element analyses are performed at the ALS Geochemistry laboratory in Vancouver, British Columbia. ALS Minerals is an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited lab.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication 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. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and expectations that may not be realized and are inherently subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the execution and timing of our planned exploration activities, our use and evaluation of historic data, our ability to achieve our strategic goals, the state of the economy and financial markets generally and the effect on our industry, and the market for our common stock. The foregoing list is not exhaustive. For additional information regarding factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in our forward-looking statements, we refer you to the risk factors included in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KT for the nine-month transition period ended December 31, 2022, as amended, as updated by annual, quarterly and other reports and documents that we file with the SEC. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this communication. These statements speak only as of the date of this communication, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. We do not give any assurance that we will achieve our expectations.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179776
Clean energy thought leader Natalie King to join State of Michigan Office of Future Mobility & Electrification panel, September 13, 2023

Detroit, Michigan--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Dunamis Charge, Inc., an emerging manufacturer of intelligent electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, today announced its participation in the prestigious North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) Media and Technology Days at the Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit. Scheduled to occur on September 13th and 14th, this year's auto show will serve as a platform for Dunamis Charge to not only showcase its cutting-edge range of residential and commercial EV chargers but also feature its Founder and CEO, Natalie King, in a key panel discussion.





Natalie King, Founder and CEO of Dunamis Charge, Inc.



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In collaboration with the State of Michigan Office of Future Mobility & Electrification, Dunamis Charge is honored to be part of the electrification panel at the Detroit Auto Show. The panel, moderated by the State of Michigan's Chief Mobility Officer, Justine Johnson, will feature notable representatives from various sectors within Michigan's electrification ecosystem. These representatives will encompass leaders in battery technology, charging solutions, utility providers, and state agencies, forming a diverse and knowledgeable lineup. The panel discussion will delve into the past, present, and future of electrification efforts, shedding light on the progress made and the direction in which electrification is headed.

King, the CEO of Dunamis Charge, will contribute her expertise and insights to the anticipated panel, further underlining the company's dedication to shaping the future of electrification and ensuring that EV is for Everyone". While showcasing their advanced residential and commercial EV chargers at NAIAS 2023, Dunamis Charge is equally committed to playing an active role in discussions that are crucial for the advancement of the electric mobility landscape.

To arrange NAIAS-related interviews, or request fact sheets, images, or other assets, please contact Sr. PR Strategist Trea Davenport at Trea Day LLC, reachable at 310-728-5000 or [email protected]. For the latest updates about Dunamis Charge, kindly visit www.dunamischarge.com, and for real-time updates, follow @dunamischarge on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

About Dunamis Charge

Dunamis Charge, Inc. is a woman-owned, MBE-certified OE manufacturer of Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE). The company specializes in providing intelligent, reliable, and user-friendly Electric Vehicle Chargers and Energy Management Services that exceed the needs of individual, commercial, and utility customers to manage and optimize charging at home, workplace, or public space. Dunamis Charge is the first African-American woman-owned EV charger manufacturer in the world.

-end-

MEDIA CONTACT: Treavion Davenport

Sr. Lead Strategist

Trea Day LLC

310-728-5000 or [email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179919
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Forum Energy Metals (TSXV: FMC) (OTCQB: FDCFF) will be presenting at the Energy Transition Session of the Beaver Creek Precious Metal Summit, September 12-15, 2023. Participation is by invite only and delegates must register at https://www.precioussummit.com/event/2023-precious-metals-summit-beaver-creek/.

The Energy Transition Session opens on Tuesday September 12 at 8am for a Panel discussion with David Talbot, Mining Analyst, Red Cloud Securities, John Feneck, Feneck Consulting and Michael Konnert, Inventa Capital Corp. The session will have presentations from twelve companies with energy metal projects - uranium, copper, nickel and tin.

"We are honoured to be part of the inaugural Energy Transition Session and look forward to sharing the preliminary indications from the summer drill program on our Thelon Basin uranium project in Nunavut as well as updating developments on our Athabasca Basin uranium projects in Saskatchewan," stated Rick Mazur, Forum's CEO.

CEO Richard Mazur and Dr. Rebecca Hunter, VP, Exploration will be presenting on Tuesday, September 12 at 11:30am, Room 2, Gerald Ford/Heritage Hall. Dr. Hunter will review the Company's recent uranium drill program in the Thelon Basin and the advancement of its Athabasca Basin uranium projects.

About Forum Energy Metals

Forum Energy Metals Corp. (TSXV: FMC) (OTCQB: FDCFF) is a diversified energy metal company with uranium, copper, nickel, and cobalt projects in Saskatchewan, Canada's Number One Rated mining province for exploration and development, a strategic uranium land position in Nunavut and a strategic cobalt land position in the Idaho Cobalt Belt. For further information: https://forumenergymetals.com/.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Richard J. Mazur, P.Geo.

President & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information contact:

Rick Mazur, P.Geo., President & CEO

[email protected]

Tel: 604-630-1585

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179788
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Free Battery Metal Limited (CSE: FREE) (formerly, Titus Energy Corp.) (the "Company"), is pleased to announce encouraging results from the summer field exploration program of prospecting, sampling, and analysis on the Company's Mound Lake Property in northwestern Ontario.

From June 16 to July 3, 2023, a comprehensive prospecting and grab sampling program was completed across the property by a 4-person crew from Planet X Exploration Services. The two geologists and two prospectors traversed the property via a network of roads and abandoned logging roads accessible using all-terrain vehicles. Prospective outcrops were examined and in total, 213 grab samples were collected for analysis. On collecting, each sample was described, photographed, and analyzed with a handheld XRF instrument. Duplicates of each sample were kept for further research and analysis. The remainder of each sample was sent to ALS Laboratories Canada Ltd. in Thunder Bay where 48 element four acid ICP-MS analyses were completed.

A preliminary review of the analysis results indicates abundant pathfinder elements with elevated Tantalum, Beryllium and Rubidium and consistent values of Lithium. A detailed evaluation of the results will be completed to establish targets for further exploration and research.

Using the results, geospatial maps showing sample sites and element concentrations have been created to help identify areas for further sampling and mapping. The geospatial maps indicate several areas of interest including an apparent trend of coincident Lithium, Tantalum, Rubidium and Beryllium values over a distance of ~3km on the east side of Mound Lake.





Figure 1

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Figure 2

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Figure 3

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Figure 4

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The area of increased pathfinder elements is located in the northern portion of the Mound Lake Property where a boundary is shared with Pegmatite One Lithium and Gold's ("Pegmatite") Frazer Lake Mound Property which hosts a new pegmatite discovery with grades of up to 7.25% Li2O as reported under Pegmatite's press release dated August 10, 2023.

The Company did not independently confirm or verify their accuracy or reliability of Pegmatite's statements. The Company also reminds investors that the results, resources or mineralization on the adjacent property are not necessarily indicative of the potential for similar to exist on the Company's Mound Lake Property.

Qualified Person

Technical information in this news release has been approved by Ryan Versloot, P.Geo., a 'Qualified Person' as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control ("QA/QC")

Grab samples were managed by Planet X Exploration Services Ltd. All samples were bagged, sealed, and stored inside a storage locker until delivery to an independent laboratory, ALS Laboratories in Thunder Bay, Ontario (ISO/IEC 17025:2017). The initial batch of samples were analyzed by four acid digestion with ICP-MS finish (ME-MS61). Standards and blanks were submitted with the shipment to supplement the lab's internal controls.

About Free Battery Metal Limited

Free Battery Metal Limited is a publicly traded company exploring for Lithium. The Company is committed to responsible mining practices and is actively exploring the Mound Lake Property in northwestern Ontario. The property comprises 243, single-cell unpatented mining claims totaling approximately 4,860 hectares. Historically, there has been little or no mineral exploration on or near the Property. The Company sees Lithium and other rare metals as critical commodities in supporting the global move towards green technologies including the transition to electric vehicles.

For more information, please contact:

Pam Sangster, Chief Executive Officer

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 519-495-5823

Forward-Looking Information and Cautionary Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements.

Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward- looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the Company's potential mineralization and exploration of the Mound Lake Property in northwestern Ontario, and the potential for the discovery of Lithium and other rare metals.

Forward-looking information in this news release are based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely: the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the continued commercial viability and growth in popularity of the Target's material properties; the Company's ability to develop the Mound Lake Property; continued approval of the Company's activities by the relevant governmental and/or regulatory authorities; and the Company's ability to realize upon the potential discovery of Lithium and other rare metals on its properties.

These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the potential inability of the Company to continue as a going concern; the risks associated with the mining industry in general; the potential future unviability of the Company's material property; risks associated with potential governmental and/or regulatory action with respect to the Company's activities; risks associated with the Company's ability to generate a profit; and the Company's inability to realize upon the potential discovery of Lithium and other rare metals on its properties.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179891
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSXV: GZD) (FSE: G6H) (OTCQB: GZDIF) ("Grizzly" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that after the Okanogan fire danger has subsided that geological crews are back at the Rock Creek camp and have re-commenced work at Midway, Copper Mountain and the Imperial target areas within the Greenwood Precious and Battery Metals Project. The Company is also pleased to announce that a large block of lands held in perpetuity for more than 30+ years by a competitor in the core of the Greenwood Project area surrounding and adjacent to the Phoenix Mine lapsed on July 31, 2023. Grizzly was able to acquire by staking close to 90 percent of the land that came open for a total of 6,478 acres highlighted in blue east of Greenwood in Figure 1.

Figure 1: New Mineral Claims Acquired August 1, 2023.





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Geological and prospecting crews have re-commenced prospecting, geological mapping, rock and soil sampling within the Greenwood Project area and will do an initial pass at the new mineral claim area, but will be focused on the Midway, Imperial, Copper Mountain and Sappho areas as we await drilling permits from the BC Ministry of Energy Mines and Petroleum Resources. The intent is to prepare these target areas for drilling this fall. The Company is awaiting land use permits for conducting drilling and trenching at the Midway Mine area as well as drilling at Copper Mountain, Imperial and potentially the Sappho target areas (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Exploration Targets 2023.





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A number of existing showings and parts or extensions to known showings have been acquired with the staking of new mineral claims including but not limited to Marshall Lake, Sylvester K, the Great Laxey, Eholt and lands adjacent to and surrounding the historical Phoenix Mine.

The geological and prospecting crew has made several discoveries of sulphide, quartz vein zones and skarn on the new claims (Figure 3). Sulphide showings associated with skarn at Marshall Lake (Figure 1) are hosted in Triassic Brooklyn Formation sedimentary rocks including limestone that has been intruded by diorite. The showings have been trenched and bulk sampled in the past (1960's to 1970's) yielding significant copper, silver and gold. Little to no modern exploration has been performed at the Marshall Lake target as well as a number of other showings in the Brooklyn sequence such as the Great Laxey.

To date, more than 1,500 soil samples and 300 rock samples have been collected from the Midway, Copper Mountain, Imperial and Sappho target areas and have been submitted to ALS Global Laboratories (ALS) as well as an initial set of samples from the new mineral claims. Ground geophysical surveys will be performed where needed in September in order to be ready for the 2023 drilling campaign.

The goal is to have a pipeline of high priority precious metal and battery metal targets that are all permitted and ready for a long 2023 and 2024 drilling campaign in order to prioritize these assets into those that can deliver future mineral resources with additional drilling, eventually leading to some form of economic studies and scenarios that might be able to take advantage of local toll treating opportunities that exist in the Greenwood - Republic region.

Brian Testo, President and CEO of Grizzly Discoveries, stated, "The staking of this large land block marks a very important milestone for Grizzly. We have coveted these lands for many years and this block of claims checks all of the boxes for us. Grizzly has been very selective when it comes to staking new ground and are excited to add this to our already outstanding land package in the prolific Greenwood mining district. These claims fit perfectly with Grizzly's existing land package and offer a significant number of top-tier undeveloped drill targets."

Figure 3. Oxidized dump material at Marshall Lake (Left) and sulphide mineralization associated with skarn at the Great Laxey showing (Right).





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2023 Exploration Update for Greenwood

Additional drilling is warranted in 2023 at both the Dayton and Motherlode North target areas in order to follow-up the anomalous results of the 2022 drilling program. In addition, there other targets at Motherlode North in the vicinity of the Motherlode Pit, the Greyhound Pit and the Great Hopes crown grant that have yet be drill tested.

Drilling and trenching permit applications have been submitted for the 2023 season for the Midway, Sappho, Copper Mountain and Imperial target areas.

Additional permit applications for drilling at the Crown Point and the Overlander-Mt Attwood areas are in preparation and will be submitted in the near future.

The Midway area is being targeted for copper-gold skarn and epithermal gold-silver.

At Midway, selective rock grab and composite rock grab samples from outcrop collected from the Midway Mine-Picturestone area, with 4 of 7 rock grab samples from outcropping mineralization in the Midway Mine historical pit yielded a range of 12.05 g/t (or 0.351 ounces per ton [oz/t]) Au up to 70.8 g/t (2.065 oz/t) Au (See Company news release dated October17, 2022).

Three (3) of the 7 selective rock grab samples from the Midway Mine pits yielded from 1,360 g/t Ag (39.7 oz/t Ag) up to 2,140 g/T Ag (62.4 oz/t Ag) (see the Company news release dated October 17, 2022).

All highly anomalous samples are from outcrop and characterized by the presence of abundant pyrite, arsenopyrite with visible galena and sphalerite in a siliceous chalcedonic host. The mineralization is hosted in polymetallic veins that display the presence of Pb, Zn, Cu, arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) and are likely epithermal in nature.

A selective rock grab sample from outcrop 200 m west of the main Midway Mine yielded 15.85 g/t Au (0.462 oz/t Au) and 1,530 g/T Ag (44.6 oz/t Ag), illustrating that there is potential for additional high-grade mineralization in the area.

The Sappho area is being targeted for copper-gold-PGEs skarn and porphyry type targets associated with an alkalic intrusion and several diorite intrusions south of Greenwood near the US border.

At least five new showings of copper oxide/sulphide mineralization were found during the 2022 program at the Sappho Target.

Previous surface sampling and drilling by Grizzly at the Sappho area has yielded significant anomalous copper, gold, silver along with platinum and palladium.

Numerous rock grab samples have yielded greater than 1% copper, 1 g/t gold, 1 g/t platinum and 1 g/t palladium. The sampling work in 2022 yielded 17 rock grab samples with >1% Cu up to 9.06% Cu. (see Company news release dated November 3, 2022).

Historical drilling (by the Company) has yielded up to 0.31% Cu, 0.75 g/t Au, 0.34 g/t Pt, 0.39 g/t Pd and 6.57 g/t Ag over 6.5 m core length in skarn at Sappho in 2010.

Quality Assurance and Control

Rock and soil samples were analyzed at ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division) in Vancouver, Canada (an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited facility). Gold was assayed using a fire assay with atomic emission spectrometry and gravimetric finish when required (+10 g/t Au). Rock grab and rock chip samples from outcrop/bedrock are selective by nature and may not be representative of the mineralization hosted on the project.

The sampling program was undertaken by Company personnel under the direction of Michael B. Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo. A secure chain of custody is maintained in transporting and storing of all samples.

The technical content of this news release and the Company's technical disclosure has been reviewed and approved by Michael B. Dufresne, M. Sc., P. Geol., P.Geo., who is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

ABOUT GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC.

Grizzly is a diversified Canadian mineral exploration company with its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange focused on developing its approximately 66,000 ha (approximately 165,000 acres) of precious and base metals properties in southeastern British Columbia. Grizzly is run by a highly experienced junior resource sector management team, who have a track record of advancing exploration projects from early exploration stage through to feasibility stage.

On behalf of the Board,

GRIZZLY DISCOVERIES INC.

Brian Testo, CEO, President



Suite 363-9768 170 Street NW

Edmonton, Alberta T5T 5L4

For further information, please visit our website at www.grizzlydiscoveries.com or contact:

Nancy Massicotte

Corporate Development

Tel: 604-507-3377

Email: [email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Caution concerning forward-looking information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. This information and statements address future activities, events, plans, developments and projections. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information and statements are frequently identified by words such as "may," "will," "should," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and similar terminology, and reflect assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management of Grizzly in light of its experience, current conditions, expectations of future developments and other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking information and statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Grizzly's actual results, performance and achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information and statements and accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed thereon.

Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary include but are not limited to the availability of financing; fluctuations in commodity prices; changes to and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including environmental laws and obtaining requisite permits; political, economic and other risks; as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in our annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis and in other filings made by us with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. Grizzly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements except as may be required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179894
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Iconic Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: ICM) (OTC: BVTEF) (FSE: YQG) ("Company" or "Iconic") is pleased to announce its acquisition of the Grass Valley Lithium Property ("Grass Valley" or "Property") located in Lander County, Nevada.

Grass Valley Project

The Property is located within Grass Valley, Nevada, and is approximately 64 kilometers ("km") (40 miles) long and 29 km (18 miles) wide. The Grass Valley basin has characteristics in common with lithium brines within structural basins worldwide: 1) arid climate, 2) closed basin, 3) associated volcanic or geothermal activity, 4) adequate felsic source rocks, 5) suitable local structural faulting due to regional tectonics, 6) adequate hydrologic system including subsurface aquifers, and 7) sufficient duration of time under arid conditions to concentrate lithium. Geochemical sampling of sediments in Grass Valley returned highly anomalous lithium values up to 510 ppm, which affirms the presence of prospective lithium within the Grass Valley basin. The combined magnetic, gravity, and resistivity data show a well-defined, extensive basin with accumulated alluvium 600 to +1,070 meters (2,000 to +3,500 feet). thick. The current 997 placer claim block covers an area of 80 km2 (31 mi2) with potential for brine systems as well as sediment resources.

To acquire the property, the Company paid the current year's claims fees of US$177,231 to government authorities in Nevada and assumed an NSR of 3%. The property was acquired from a company related to Iconic by a common director.

An NI 43-101 Technical report was completed in January 2022 on the Property and approximately USD $1,086,663 has been spent to date on exploration and development of the Property, which included drilling and Magnetotellurics (MT) Surveys.

Richard Kern, CEO of Iconic, comments: "The Grass Valley Basin has a large area underlain by what our geophysicist calls brine not dissimilar to our Smith Creek Lithium Project. We are very excited to move forward with both of these lithium brine projects on a 100 percent owned and controlled basis. Additional work to further define and rank drill targets is planned before drill testing at Grass Valley and Smith Creek. This work should define high angle faults and permeable horizons capable of hosting lithium-rich fluids or sediments."

Smith Creek Project

The Company has terminated the option agreement (the "Option") with Lithium of Nevada Pty Ltd. ("LON") a private Australian company, whereby Iconic's wholly-owned Nevada subsidiary had granted LON the Option to earn up to a 50% interest in Iconic's Smith Creek lithium project ("Smith Creek"). The Company terminated the Option with LON in order to build better value for its shareholders through the retention of owning 100 percent of Smith Creek. It is the Company's desire to continue the exploration and development of both Smith Creek and Grass Valley on a 100 percent owned and controlled basis.

About the Grass Valley Project

The Grass Valley Property is a lithium exploration project consisting of 997 placer claims covering an area of 80 km2 (31 mi2). Located approximately 60 km (36 miles) northeast of Austin, Nevada, the property expresses indicators of a potential lithium brine system. The large, enclosed basin is surrounded by mountains with ample felsic volcanics and intrusives, has active hot spring systems on 3 sides of the valley, and surface salt lithium assays as high as 510 ppm Li.

The Grass Valley Property has near ideal indicators of lithium brine potential. The claims staked on this very long playa are surrounded by the zones of active hot spring activity and the high surface salt lithium values. The basin drains an area of 595 square miles, slightly larger than Clayton Valley.

Exploration to date of this very large basin has been comprised of surface sampling, an MT survey and one drill hole. The MT survey, run by Fritz Geophysics, shows an interpreted major brine zone extending from approximately 500 meters (1,600 feet) to over 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) below the surface. A core hole was drilled in 2022, but was lost before reaching the brine zone. Sediments in the drill hole show evidence of bleaching indicating lithium may have been leached and mobilized in groundwaters.

About the Smith Creek Project

The Smith Creek Project is located within Smith Creek Valley in Nevada, which is approximately 60 km (37 miles) long and 16 km (10 miles) wide. Quartz-rich volcanic tuffs containing anomalous amounts of lithium occur within and adjacent to the valley.

Surface sampling around hot springs on patented ground just off the claim block assayed a maximum of 470 ppm Li. The gravity low within the valley is 16 km (10 miles) long, and the current estimates of depth to basement rocks range from 1,300 to 1,500 meters (4,200 to 5,000 feet). The current claim block covers an area of 67 km2 (26 mi2) with potential for brine systems as well as sediment resources.

Qualified Person

Richard Kern, Certified Professional Geologist, a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Kern is not independent of the Company as he is the Chief Executive Officer of Iconic.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

SIGNED: "Richard Barnett"

Richard Barnett, CFO

Contact: Keturah Nathe, VP Corporate Development (604) 336-8614

For further information on Iconic, please visit our website at www.iconicminerals.com. The Company's public documents may be accessed at www.sedar.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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 Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements with respect to the Option, the Joint Venture, the amount of the Offering, the expected use of proceeds from the Offering and the future business plans and exploration activities of the Company, 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. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "will", "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that investor interest will be sufficient to close the Offering, that market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals required for the Option Agreement and the future development of the Company's projects in a timely manner.

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 information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development activities, actual results of exploration activities, including on the Smith Creek Property, requirements for additional capital, future prices of lithium and gold, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in future financings, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on the business, financial condition and exploration and development activities of the Company, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents, approvals or authorizations, including of the TSX Venture Exchange in respect of the Option Agreement and the Offering, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, and risks related to joint venture operations, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest interim Management's Discussion and Analysis and filed with the Canadian Securities Authorities. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

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 news release 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/179798
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Interra Copper Corp. (CSE: IMCX) (OTCQB: IMIMF) (FSE: 3MX) ("Interra" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Mr. Rick Gittleman has been appointed Interim CEO of the company effective immediately, in addition to his role as board chair.

Mr. Gittleman is a legal, government relations and public affairs executive with over 35 years' experience advising multinational companies on M&A, project finance, mining, oil and gas, agriculture and power projects across the globe. Most recently, he served as Senior Executive overseeing legal issues and stakeholder engagement at Glencore SA where he developed corporate strategies to improve relations with government, community, and civil society stakeholders at mine sites in Chile, Peru, and Argentina. Preceding that, Mr. Gittleman held the position of Senior Vice President for Legal Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement at Freeport-McMoRan Africa, where over his 7-year tenure, oversaw the Tenke Fungurume mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo from development through to full commercial production. He also has 20 years' experience at partner level where he worked on merger, acquisitions and project finance in the energy and mining sectors. He served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Zaire/DRC and graduated with a bachelor's concentration in Political Science and American Civilization at Brown University and received his Juris Doctor (cum laude) from American University, Washington College of Law.

Interra Director and COO Jason Nickel, commented, "The board is excited that Rick has stepped up in a greater capacity to help build the company and offer a seamless transition to our leadership group as we continue to advance our portfolio of highly-prospective projects in Canada and Chile."

Mr. Chris Buncic has resigned effective September 4, 2023 for personal reasons, Interra wishes him well in his future endeavors.

About Interra Copper Corp.

Interra Copper Corp. is focused on building shareholder value through the exploration and development of its portfolio of highly prospective/early-stage exploration copper assets located in Chile S.A. and British Columbia, Canada.

The Company's portfolio includes three copper projects located the Central Volcanic Zone, within a prolific Chilean Copper belt: Tres Maras and Zenaida in the Antofagasta Region, and Pitbull in the Tarapaca Region. The Company now holds a significant land package covering an area of 20,050 ha with the projects situated amongst several of the world's largest mines owned by the largest global mining companies including Glencore, Anglo American, Teck Resources and BHP among others. The Company also owns two exploration projects in Northern British Columbia: Thane and Chuck Creek. The Thane Project is located in the Quesnel Terrane of Northern BC and spans over 20,658 ha with 6 high-priority targets identified demonstrating significant copper and precious metal mineralization.

Interra Copper's leadership team is comprised of senior mining industry executives who have a wealth of technical and capital markets experience and a strong track record of discovering, financing, developing, and operating mining projects on a global scale. Interra Copper is committed to sustainable and responsible business activities in line with industry best practices, supportive of all stakeholders, including the local communities in which we operate. The Company's common shares are principally listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange under the symbol "IMCX". For more information on Interra Copper, please visit our website at www.interracoppercorp.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Interra Copper Corp.

For further information

Katherine Pryde

Investor Relations Contact

[email protected]

Twitter

LinkedIn

Forward Looking Information

Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, relating to exploration on the Company's Tres Marias Copper Project, and the potential results of exploration work on the project. 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 statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made, and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange, 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 future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks associated with mineral exploration operations, the risk that the Company will encounter unanticipated geological factors, the possibility that the Company may not be able to secure permitting and other governmental clearances necessary to carry out the Company's exploration plans, the risk that the Company will not be able to raise sufficient funds to carry out its business plans, and the risk of regulatory or legal changes that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and the Company's website. We seek safe harbor.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179823
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Kyiv on an unannounced two-day visit, his fourth to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. It is the first time he and his entourage are spending the night in the country.

Blinken met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hear their assessment of their needs for the ongoing counteroffensive against Russia and the coming winter.

He had good news for them, announcing $1 billion more in U.S. aid for Ukraine. The security assistance part of the package totals up to $175 million and includes additional air defense equipment, artillery munitions, anti-tank weapons including depleted uranium rounds for previously committed Abrams tanks, and other equipment.

Asked if he is concerned about sustaining that level of U.S. aid among American citizens and lawmakers, Blinken was optimistic.

"I was last here almost exactly a year ago," he said. "And in that time, in the year since I was last here, Ukraine has taken back more than 50 percent of the territory that Russia has seized from it since February 2022. In the current counteroffensive, we are seeing real progress over the last few weeks."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba said what is being decided in this war is not just about Ukraine, but about what the world is going to look like after the war is over. If Russia wins, other autocrats will be empowered to invade their neighbors, he said, asking, "If the West cannot win this war, what war can they win?"
Washington D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Linus Financial, Inc. for failing to register the offers and sales of its retail crypto lending product, the Linus Interest Accounts. The SEC determined not to impose civil penalties against Linus Financial because of the Nashville-based companys cooperation and prompt remedial actions.

According to the SECs order, in or around March 2020, Linus Financial began to offer and sell Linus Interest Accounts in the United States. These accounts allowed U.S. investors to tender U.S. dollars to Linus Financial in exchange for Linus Financials promise to pay interest. Linus Financial converted investors cash into crypto assets, pooled the crypto assets, and controlled how the pooled assets were used to generate income for Linus Financial itself and for investors interest payments. The order finds that the Linus Interest Accounts were offered and sold as securities, and that the offers and sales did not qualify for an exemption from SEC registration. Therefore, Linus Financial was required to register its offers and sales of the Linus Interest Accounts.

According to the SECs order, on March 25, 2022, shortly after the SEC announced charges against a similar crypto asset investment product, Linus Financial voluntarily ceased offering the Linus Interest Accounts to new investors and asked existing investors to withdraw their funds by late April 2022. All investor funds have since been withdrawn.

"The SEC will continue to hold companies accountable for failing to comply with federal securities laws," said Stacy Bogert, Associate Director of the SECs Division of Enforcement. "But we also want to encourage companies to cooperate and take prompt corrective action when problems arise. Todays settlement provides a valuable message to other market participants about the importance of cooperation and remediation."

Without admitting or denying the SECs findings, Linus Financial agreed to a cease-and-desist order prohibiting it from violating the registration provisions of the Securities Act of 1933.

The SECs investigation was conducted by Randall D. Friedland and Brittany K. Frassetto, under the supervision of Pei Y. Chung and Ms. Bogert.

The SECs Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and Enforcements Retail Strategy Task Force has previously issued an Investor Bulletin on Crypto Asset Interest-bearing Accounts.Investors can find additional information about crypto assets at Investor.gov.
Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Metals Creek Resources Corp. (TSXV: MEK) (FSE: M1C1) (the "Company" or Metals Creek) is pleased to announce that mechanical surface trenching has begun on the Shabaqua Corners Gold Property.

The property is located within the Shebandowan Greenstone Belt, approximately 54 km west of Thunder Bay, Ontario near Shabaqua Corners and on trend to Delta Resources Delta 1 project. The property has seen very little exploration work.

Trenching will focus primarily on recently discovered gold mineralization at Echo Zone (See MEK news release dated August 16, 2023), East Zone as well as highly prospective peripheral areas with encouraging gold assays and alteration outside of the primary targets. Additional trenching will also take place along strike from Main Zone to further delineate the on-strike extent of the pervasive alteration halo (Fe-carbonate, silicification) associated with gold mineralization. Gold mineralization is typically hosted within or at the contact with an iron carbonate altered conglomerate with associated quartz-carbonate veining and 1-5% cubic pyrite, local arsenopyrite and galena. The pervasive carbonate alteration at Echo and East Zones strikes roughly the same orientation to that of Main Zone.

Prospecting, geological mapping, and soil sampling is ongoing with the aim of further delineating known gold mineralization along strike of the recently discovered gold zones as well as continuing to evaluate other prospective areas of the property.

The eastern boundary of the property is located 1.57 kilometers(km) west of Delta Resources (DLTA) drill hole DL-22-18 which returned an intercept of 5.92 g/t Au over 31m (Source: Delta New Release October 31, 2022). Trenching conducted on Delta's ground 390m east of the property boundary, returned an interval of 2.22 g/t Au over 8m (Source: Delta Resources Website).

Michael MacIsaac, P.Geo and VP Exploration for the Corporation and a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for this release, and supervised the preparation of the information forming the basis for this release.

About Metals Creek Resources Corp.

Metals Creek Resources Corp. is a junior exploration company incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario, is a reporting issuer in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, and has its common shares listed for trading on the Exchange under the symbol "MEK". Metals Creek has earned a 50% interest in the Ogden Gold Property from Newmont Corporation, including the former Naybob Gold mine, located 6 km south of Timmins, Ontario and has an 8 km strike length of the prolific Porcupine-Destor Fault (P-DF). In addition, Metals Creek owns and/or has option agreements in place to acquire a 100% interest in claims in the Shabaqua Corners area of North western Ontario.

Metals Creek also has multiple quality projects available for option which can be viewed on the Company's website. Parties interested in seeking more information about properties available for option can contact the Company at the number below.

Additional information concerning the Company is contained in documents filed by the Company with securities regulators, available under its profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Alexander (Sandy) Stares, President and CEO

Metals Creek Resources Corp

telephone: (709)-256-6060

fax: (709)-256-6061

MetalsCreek.com

Twitter.com/MetalsCreekRes

Facebook.com/MetalsCreek

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179767
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - OBSIDIAN ENERGY LTD. (TSX: OBE) (NYSE American: OBE) ("Obsidian Energy", the "Company", "we", "us" or "our") further to our press release earlier today, please be advised our presentation at 4:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. MT) on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at the Peters & Co. Limited 27th Annual Energy Conference will not be live webcast but a recording will be available post the event on our website.

ADDITIONAL READER ADVISORIES

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains forward-looking statements or information (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the safe harbour provisions of applicable securities legislation. The use of any of the words "expect", "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "objective", "ongoing", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements or information. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information concerning: the webcast in connection with the conference.

The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by Obsidian Energy. Although Obsidian Energy believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information because Obsidian Energy can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. By its nature, such forward-looking statements and information are subject to various risks and uncertainties, which could cause the actual results and expectations to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in commodity prices, changes in industry regulations and political landscape both domestically and abroad, and financial market volatility. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such forward-looking statements and information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements and information. Obsidian Energy gives no assurance that any of the events anticipated will transpire or occur, or, if any of them do, what benefits Obsidian Energy will derive from them. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information contained herein. Readers should also carefully consider the matters discussed that could affect Obsidian Energy, or its operations or financial results in Obsidian Energy's Annual Information Form (see "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" therein) for the year ended December 31, 2022, which is available on the SEDAR+ website (www.sedarplus.ca), EDGAR website (www.sec.gov ) or Obsidian Energy's website.

Obsidian Energy shares are listed on both the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and the NYSE American exchange in the United States under the symbol "OBE".

CONTACT

OBSIDIAN ENERGY

Suite 200, 207 - 9th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 1K3

Phone: 403-777-2500

Toll Free: 1-866-693-2707

Website: www.obsidianenergy.com

Investor Relations:

Toll Free: 1-888-770-2633

E-mail: [email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179899
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - In a resounding acknowledgment of corporate excellence and innovation,Pelly-Can Asphaltand its Founders, Daniel Mikus and James & Jessica Rolph, have received the prestigious2023 Global Recognition Award.







Pellycan Ashphalt's Impressive Achievements

Within the span of merely twelve months, Pelly-Can Asphalt transformed from an unfamiliar entity into a leader in the business landscape, achieving a remarkable eight-figure revenue. The company's substantial financial progress underscores its forward-thinking strategy, entrepreneurial ethos, and business acumen.

Revolutionizing Conventional Business Approaches

Rather than adhering to conventional business paths, Pelly-Can Asphalt embraces an exceptionally distinctive approach. The company's customer-centric principle serves as the cornerstone of its successful business strategy. This innovative framework ensures that solutions align precisely with client objectives, resulting in mutually beneficial outcomes. Mikus confidently stated, "Through reverse-engineering our solutions, we consistently deliver precisely what our clients need."

Pelly-Can Asphalt's Highly Successful Premier Service

Pelly-Can Ashphalt's flagship service, asphalt services, swiftly positioned itself among prominent players in the industry, attracting hundreds of clients in its inaugural year. Their ability to secure contracts typically reserved for high-ranking ASX-listed companies showcases Pelly-Can Ashphalt's market insight and competitive advantage. Mikus emphasized, "We embrace disruption and our unconventional methods yield results that our clients truly appreciate."

Daniel and James have now taken this remarkable proof of concept and established a rebranded joint entity launching September 1st, 2023 - (Mikus-Rolph Roads - MR-Roads "). This will be established on the wildly successful Pelly-Can Asphalt concept. MR-Roads has been forecasted to hit $20 million (AUD) this financial year alone.







The Global Recognition Awards, a celebration of excellence in business and innovation, found Pelly-Can Asphalt and its founders Daniel Mikus James & Jessica Rolph entirely deserving of this year's recognition due to their blueprint for success. Alex Sinclair from Global Recognition Awards noted, "Pelly-Can Ashphalt's unprecedented growth, market disruption, and reputation for securing major contracts exemplify why they have earned this accolade."

About Global Recognition AwardsTM:

Global Recognition AwardsTM is an international organization that recognizes exceptional companies and individuals who have significantly contributed to their industry. Their awards are highly regarded and sought after by businesses across the globe.

Contact Details:

Alexandra Sterling

Global Recognition Awards

Email: [email protected]/

Website: https://globalrecognitionawards.org/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179851
Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Petrox Resources Corp. (TSXV: PTC) ("Petrox") announces that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (the "MOU") to cooperate with M&L Renewable Energy Group Ltd. ("M&L") in the development of a biochar facility in Edmonton, Alberta, with the intention to develop successive similar plants in multiple locations in Canada (the "Project"). The initial phase of the Project is expected to have an annual production capacity of 3,500 tonnes of biochar, at a capital cost of approximately $3.7 million.

M&L Renewable Energy Group Ltd. is a private company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The company, along with its associates, focuses on developing and deploying clean, renewable biomass energy technologies to convert waste biomass from agriculture, forestry and municipal sectors into biochar.

Pursuant to the MOU, Petrox will offer assistance to M&L in the development of the Project and will endeavor to assist M&L in raising capital for the initial biochar plant. Petrox will also consider contributing capital to the Project in exchange for an equity interest in the Project.

M&L will be responsible for obtaining the land and feedstock for the Project, supplying equipment and materials for the biochar plant, obtaining all necessary permits and approvals for the Project, and providing the required capital for the Project.

About the Project

Alberta produces more than 20 million tonnes of waste biomass from agriculture, forestry and municipal sectors each year that could be used for bioenergy production. Properly utilized, this biomass resource could form the foundation for a vibrant industry that contributes positively to the economic and environmental wellbeing of Alberta. Waste biomass to power or fuel conversion technologies represent significant opportunities for Alberta to meet its renewable energy goal, create jobs and revitalize rural communities in a low carbon, circular economy.

The Project aims to establish a facility to convert wood waste into biochar, with any steam/heat produced as byproducts being utilized by net-zero waste and energy input greenhouses, power generation and other uses.

About Biochar

Biochar, a charcoal-like substance with more than 75% carbon, is produced from biomass through pyrolysis process. Used as soil amendment, it can enhance soil productivity by improving soil quality, promoting a healthy microbial community and improving aeration and water/nutrient retention. At the same time, biochar also plays a role in carbon storage, contributing to climate change mitigation. Beyond agriculture, biochar has found applications in water treatment, environmental restoration, and as an additive in the production of construction and engineering materials, such as cement, asphalt, and silicon materials.

About Petrox

Petrox is a publicly traded Canadian junior oil and gas company engaged in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas resources in the Western Canadian Basin. Petrox currently has a production property in Fletwode, Saskatchewan that produces approximately 17 bbls/d.

The Common Shares of Petrox are listed and posted for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol, "PTC". Petrox's proposed participation in the Project does not currently constitute a Change of Business under the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Petrox Resources Corp.

Edwin Tam, President and CEO or Alan Chan, CFO

Telephone: (403) 270 - 2290

Facsimile: (403) 228 - 3013

Website: www.petroxresourcescorp.com

Reader Advisory

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to the Project, the potential uses and utilization of biochar, and the possible building and development of one or more facilities for the Project. These forward-looking statements may relate to, among other things, forecasts or expectations regarding business outlook for Petrox, the requirements of the Exchange, and may also include other statements that are predictive in nature, or that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and can generally be identified by words such as " may", " will", " expects", " anticipates", " intends", " plans", " believes", " estimates", "guidance", or similar expressions. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements.

Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Petrox. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Although such information is considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, it 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, and Petrox do not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179892
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - PORTOFINO RESOURCES INC. (TSXV: POR) (OTCQB: PFFOF) (FSE: POTA) ("Portofino" or the "Company") is pleased to provide further information regarding the Company's agreement to buy-out the Yergo Lithium Project (the "Project") option agreement (see News Release August 14, 2023) (the "Option Buy-Out").

Since announcing the Option Buy-Out, the Company has received renewed interest from groups that had previously engaged with Portofino pursuant to possible project-level investment, joint venture, and outright acquisition of the Project. At present, the Company is engaged in active discussions with multiple parties, including post-NDA due diligence. While no transaction is guaranteed, the Company is encouraged by the renewed interest in the Project and external recognition of its potential value especially given its close proximity to the world-class Tres Quebradas Salar (the "3Q Project") (see Figure 1) owned by Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. ("Zijin").

Recent buy-side demand for lithium-brine properties in Argentina has provided the Company with insight into values of well-located pre-exploration lithium-brine concessions, where values ranging from US$1,800 to more than $2,300 per hectare are being offered. This information, combined with current active discussions, has provided the Company's management with increased confidence that the drill-ready, Yergo Project's valuation may exceed the value range upon completion of the Option Buy-Out.

David Tafel, CEO of Portofino, commented: "The external validation that immediate value can be unlocked is proof-positive that our team's perseverance and determination on behalf of shareholders will have been worth the effort. Additionally, the inbound interest from other companies continues to show, that despite challenging capital markets, the demand for upstream lithium assets remains exceptionally strong and competitive."

Portofino's private placement financing (NR August 15-23) is progressing well and expected to close shortly. Proceeds from the financing are intended to be used towards finalizing the Option Buyout in September as well as drill permit finalization and associated initial drilling activities.

Yergo Lithium Project, Catamarca Argentina:

The Project is 2,932 hectares, controlling the entire Aparejos Salar. It is located approximately 9 kilometers from the 3Q Project, previously explored by Neo Lithium Corp., and acquired by Zijin for C$960 million in 2022 (see: Zijin - 3Q Project).

Portofino has completed and reported the results of a geophysical survey. The survey identified 2 large, aquifers within the Project measuring approximately 2.3km x 1km and 1.8km x 2.5km (POR News Release 06-APR-2021). In addition, the Company's surface sampling programs confirmed economically significant brine grades, returning values up to 373 mg/l Lithium and advancing the Project to a drill-ready stage.

Portofino's technical team has identified 4 priority drill targets and a drilling contract has been finalized.





Figure 1:Yergo Lithium Project, controlling 100% of the Aparejos Salar

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/3751/179897_80ad9196544afb66_001full.jpg

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mike Kilbourne, P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person ("QP") as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The QP has not completed sufficient work to verify the historic information on the properties in Argentina and neighbouring companies.

About Portofino Resources Inc.

Portofino is a Vancouver-based Canadian company focused on exploring and developing mineral resource projects in the Americas. Portofino has an opportunity to earn a majority interest in several lithium projects in Salta, Argentina and up to 100% of the (2,932 hectare) Yergo Lithium property in Catamarca. The properties are situated in the heart of the world-renowned Argentine Lithium Triangle and in close proximity to multiple world-class lithium projects. The Company also has the right to earn 100% interest in three northwestern Ontario, Canada lithium projects: Allison Lake North, Greenheart Lake and McNamara Lake.

Portofino's South of Otter and Bruce Lake projects are in the historic gold mining district of Red Lake, Ontario, Canada proximal to the Dixie gold project discovered by Great Bear Resources and now owned by Kinross Gold Corp. In addition, Portofino holds three other northwestern Ontario gold projects; the Gold Creek property located immediately south of the historic Shebandowan mine, as well as the Sapawe West and Melema West properties located in the rapidly developing Atikokan gold mining camp.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"David G. Tafel"

Chief Executive Officer

For Further Information Contact:

David Tafel CEO,

Director 604-683-1991

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's future business plans. Forward-looking information in this news release is based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely the growth and development of the Company's business as currently anticipated. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179897
Lachute, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Qubec Innovative Materials Corp. (CSE: QIMC) ("Qi Materials", "QIMC", or the "Company") is excited to announce the acquisition of the River Valley Silica Property (the "Property") located in the Sudbury mining division, near River Valley, Ontario, Canada.

As shown on Figure 1, the River Valley Silica Property is located approximately 65 kilometres north east (as the crow flies) from the world-class mining camp of Sudbury, Ontario. It is easily accessed by existing road infrastructure. The Property covers an area of approximately 47 hectares (Figure 2).

Figure 1: Location of River Valley Silica Property

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7968/179831_9555db91f4fc1ad2_002full.jpg

The Property is host to a highly pure quartz vein, historical publicly available information on the quartz vein indicate that it is over 300m long and over 40m wide, and is comprised of highly pure quartz ranging from 98 to 99.9% pure SiO 2 (Table 1). A site visit by professional geologist Raymond Wladichuk, CEO of Qi Materials, confirms that these historical reports appear to be accurate; however, detailed geological and engineering work is required to confirm these dimensions and purity grades.

Table 1: Historical assay results

The results shown in Table 1 are historical results. QI Materials will be performing detailed geological work to confirm these results.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7968/179831_9555db91f4fc1ad2_003full.jpg

Figure 2

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7968/179831_9555db91f4fc1ad2_004full.jpg

"We believe that the River Valley Silica Property represents a significant volume of high purity quartz, it is in an excellent jurisdiction, and the geometry of the quartz vein is such that extraction should be relatively simple," stated Raymond Wladichuk, P.Geo., CEO of Qi Materials Corp.



Details of Acquisition



The Property was acquired from an arms-length Vendor pursuant to the Acquisition Agreement, which was executed on September 1st, 2023. The Company shall issue 2,000,000 common shares at $0.05 per share to the Vendor on the Closing Date as consideration for the purchase of the Property. Additionally, the Vendor will be granted a royalty of $2.50 per tonne on gross revenues from the sale of raw quartz or silica from the Property. The Consideration Shares will be subject to a hold period of four months and one-day following issuance.



No finders fees or commissions are payable in connection with the acquisition of the Property. Completion of the acquisition remains subject to receipt of any required regulatory approvals.



New Chairman

Qi Materials Corp. is pleased to welcome John Karagiannidis as the new Chairman of the Board. Mr. Karagiannidis was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, and has been involved in over 300 transactions involving emerging private and public companies with a total value in excess of $2 billion. Mr. Karagiannidis is currently a dealing representative at EMD Financial. Prior to EMD Mr. Karagiannidis worked at Marquest Capital Markets, Industrial Alliance Securities, and Desjardins Securities. Mr. Karagiannidis is an MBA graduate of the Ivey Business School (University of Western Ontario), LL.B from the University of Montreal and is a member of the Quebec Bar Association.

Granting of Options

QI Materials Corp. has granted an aggregate of 5,500,000 incentive stock options in accordance with the Company's Stock Option Plan to eligible officers, directors, employees and consultants of QI Materials Corp. The stock options have an exercise price of $0.05 per share for a period of two years. All Options were granted pursuant to the Company's 10% rolling stock option plan (the "Plan") and are subject to the terms of the Plan, the applicable grant agreement and the requirements of the CSE.

Raymond Wladichuk, P.Geo., (OGQ permit number: 02287, PGO license number: 3526), is the CEO of Quebec Innovative Materials Corp., and a Qualified Person for National Instrument 43-101 - Standards for Disclosure of Mineral Projects, has the scientific and technical information contained in the news release.

About High Purity Quartz

Highly pure quartz (SiO 2 ) plays a pivotal role in two critical technologies shaping the future: solar panels and lithium silicon anode batteries. In the realm of renewable energy, quartz is the raw feed source of silicon metal (Si), a fundamental component in producing high-efficiency solar panels. Beyond solar panels, silicon metal is also a promising ingredient in lithium silicon anode batteries, offering the potential for increased energy storage capacity and improved battery performance, underscoring the indispensable role of quartz in advancing sustainable energy and cutting-edge technology. Furthermore, quartz-derived silicon has gained significant strategic importance, recently earning a place on USA's strategic mineral list.

About Quebec Innovative Materials Corp.

Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. (CSE: QIMC) (previously Quebec Silica Resources Corp.) is a mineral exploration, and development company with a portfolio of natural resource assets including high grade silica, hydrogen, and helium properties. QIMC is working toward becoming a sustainable supplier of resources which are essential in advanced batteries and the electrification of the green economy. The Company has a 100% interest in the Charlevoix Silica Project, near Clermont, Quebec, Canada, as well as other mineral properties in Quebec. The Company also performs pilot processing on industrial minerals, refining processes to create custom products.

Additional information on Quebec Innovative Materials Corp.is available at www.qimaterials.com.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

QUEBEC INNOVATIVE MATERIALS CORP.

"Raymond Wladichuk, P.Geo."

Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations

Tel: +1 (514) 358-8840

Email: [email protected]

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the CSE policies) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

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 Quebec Innovative Materials' 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.

Although Quebec Innovative Materials believes the forward-looking information contained in this news release is reasonable based on information available on the date hereof, by their nature, forward-looking statements involve assumptions, 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.

Examples of such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, assumptions, risks and uncertainties associated with general economic conditions; the Covid-19 pandemic; adverse industry events; future legislative and regulatory developments in the mining sector; the Company's ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favorable terms; mining industry and markets in Canada and generally; the ability of Quebec Innovative Materials Corp. to implement its business strategies; competition; and other assumptions, risks and uncertainties.

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. While the Company may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179831
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 6, 2023) - Signature Resources Ltd. (TSXV: SGU) (OTCQB: SGGTF) (FSE: 3S30) ("Signature" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of voting at its annual general and special meeting of the shareholders which was held today (the "Meeting").

All matters submitted to the shareholders, as set out in the Company's Notice of Meeting and Management Information Circular, were approved by the requisite majority of votes cast at the Meeting.

Election of Directors

Shareholders approved the election of the five (5) Directors as set out below:

Paolo Lostritto

Stephen Timms

Lisa Davis

Dan Denbow

John Hayes

Appointment of Auditors

McGovern Hurley LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants was appointed auditors of the Company for the ensuring year at the renumeration to be fixed by the Directors.

Approval of Incentive Stock Option Plan

Shareholders approved the Company's Incentive Stock Option Plan as set out in the Management Information Circular of the Corporation.

Management Change

The Company also would like to announce that effective September 7, 2023 Rebecca Hudson will be appointed as Chief Financial Officer, to replace Donna McLean who has served as the Company's Chief Financial Officer since 2021. The Company wishes to thank Ms. Mclean for her dedicated service and wishes her well in her future endeavours and would like to further extend a warm welcome to Ms. Hudson.

Ms. Hudson has 23 years' experience as a Chartered Professional Accountant having worked as a senior auditor with firms Grant Thornton LLP in Toronto, Canada, and PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Dominican Republic. She is currently the CFO of EV Minerals Corporation, Nova Mentis Life Science Corp., and a private drilling company, Andean Drilling Services Inc. Ms. Hudson also works as a consultant with Grove Corporate Services where she acts as Controller for several clients. She has held managerial positions at mining companies Xstrata, and Falconbridge, completed project-based work for IAMGOLD at its offices in Quito, Ecuador, and was the Controller of Royal Nickel Corporation, and Barkerville Gold Mines Ltd. Ms. Hudson formerly served as the CFO of TerrAscend Corp., Hornby Bay Mineral Exploration Ltd., Wabi Exploration Inc., Lithium One Inc., and Claim Post Resources Inc. Ms. Hudson has both her Bachelor of Arts and Master's Degrees from the School of Accountancy at the University of Waterloo. She is fluent in English and Spanish.

About Signature

The Lingman Lake gold property consists of 1,434 staked claims, four freehold fully patented claims and 14 mineral rights patented claims totaling approximately 27,113 hectares. The property includes what has historically been referred to as the Lingman Lake Gold Mine, an underground substructure consisting of a 126.5-metre shaft, and 3-levels at 46-metres, 84-metres and 122-metres depths. There has been over 28,000 metres (177 drill holes) of historical drilling done on the Property.

To find out more about Signature Resources Ltd., visit our website at www.signatureresources.ca, or contact:

Dan Denbow

Interim CEO & Director

416-840-6345

[email protected]

Cautionary Notes

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This news release contains forward-looking statements which are not statements of historical fact. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions and risks associated with infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to changes in general economic and financial market conditions, failure to identify mineral resources, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, inability to fulfill the duty to accommodate First Nations and other indigenous peoples, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. 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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179774
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Silver Sands Resources Corp. (CSE: SAND) (OTCQB: SSRSF) (the "Company" or "Silver Sands")Further to its news release on August 22, 2023, the Company will proceed to consolidate its common shares 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 changing its name or trading symbol.

The Company's new ISIN and CUSIP will be CA8281222007 and 828122200 respectively. The Record date for the consolidation will be September 11th, 2023 and the Effective date will be September 12th, 2023 subject to CSE approval.

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/179850
Porte Du Mahe, Seychelles--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Swisscheese, a crypto solutions provider, has announced the launch of its Decentralized Exchange (DEX). Now live, the platform offers a solution for trading and swapping tokenized stocks with cryptocurrencies. This launch marks a significant milestone in the evolution of decentralized finance (DeFi), merging the worlds of traditional stock trading and blockchain technology.





Swisscheese DEX Is Live



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8717/179702_figure1.jpg

Swisscheese says that this launch marks a significant milestone in the evolution of decentralized finance (DeFi), bringing traditional stock trading into the blockchain era. A quick background Swisscheese is a DeFi platform that aims to revolutionize the world of stock trading. By tokenizing stocks, Swisscheese allows users to trade shares of popular companies using cryptocurrencies.

This innovative approach combines the best of traditional finance and DeFi, offering a secure, private, and decentralized environment for trading.

Swisscheese goes beyond just trading and swapping. It's a comprehensive DeFi platform where users can also stake their $SWCH tokens, earning rewards over time. The platform also introduces a borrowing feature, providing users with the flexibility to leverage their assets.

But what truly sets Swisscheese apart is its 24/7 stock market trading feature. For the first time in history, traders can buy and sell tokenized stocks round the clock, breaking free from traditional market hours. This is a game-changer in the world of stock trading, and Swisscheese is proud to be at the forefront of this revolution.

In addition to the DEX launch, Swisscheese's native token, $SWCH, has been listed on Uniswap, Sushiswap, and other popular centralized exchanges. This listing provides an excellent opportunity for crypto enthusiasts to participate in the Swisscheese ecosystem and benefit from its innovative features.

Swisscheese is the world's first decentralized exchange that allows tokenized stock trading. It's a place where the boundaries between traditional finance and DeFi blur, creating a unique ecosystem that empowers users like never before.

Following the launch of the Swisscheese DEX, Sinan, the founder of Swisscheese, expressed his enthusiasm and vision for the platform. He said "We are incredibly proud of the secure and private environment we're cultivating. We're proving that finance can be both decentralized and secure, freeing our users from intrusive KYC norms and offering unprecedented security in the DeFi landscape. Swisscheese Finance is not just a platform, it's a revolution in financial sovereignty, echoing the ethos of blockchain technology at its core."

To learn more about Swisscheese and start trading on the new DEX, visit their official website https://swisscheese.finance/. For the latest updates, follow Swisscheese on their socials.

Twitter - https://twitter.com/Swisscheese_fn

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/swisscheese_finance/

Telegram - https://t.me/swisscheesegroup

Media Contact:

Company Name: Swiss Cheese Labs, Inc.

Contact Person: Ramy D

Email: [email protected]

City: Porte Du Mahe

Country: Seychelles

Website: https://swisscheese.finance/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/179702
The data give President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reasons to cheer as he has promised to end deforestation in the region by 2030 after destruction surged under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who slashed environmental protection efforts.

Satellite data from Brazilian space research agency INPE indicated that 563 square kilometers of rainforest were cleared in the month, a 66.1 percent drop from the same period a year ago. In the first eight months of the year, INPE's figures showed, deforestation has fallen a cumulative 48 percent from the same period of 2022.

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon fell 66.1 percent in August to its lowest level for the month since 2018, Environment Minister Marina Silva said on Tuesday, in a significant mark for its environmental policy as destruction often spikes this time of year.

Earlier, Lula celebrated the decline, saying on social media that it is a "result of the great work of the Environment Ministry and the federal government."

Some experts feared the significant drop of more than 40 percent in deforestation seen in the first seven months of Lula's administration could have been put at risk by higher destruction in August and September, when the weather turns drier.

Initial signs, however, are that those concerns did not materialize. Deforestation in the Amazon causes the loss of many species and their habitats, negatively impacts indigenous people and their health, causes fire, an increase in CO2 emission, soil erosion, flooding, desertification, pollution of rivers and lands, and negatively alters water cycle around the world.

Brazil last month hosted a major rainforest summit, where eight Amazon nations agreed to a list of unified environmental policies and measures to bolster regional cooperation but failed to agree on a common goal for ending deforestation.

Lula has staked his international reputation on improving Brazil's environmental standing. On Tuesday, he signed the demarcation of two new Indigenous lands, part of his efforts to reverse some policies put in place by Bolsonaro, who halted land recognition while in office.

The recognition of the two Indigenous reservations grants them legal protection against invasions by illegal loggers, gold miners and cattle ranchers.
Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation.

CellKey Collaborates with Emerald Cloud Lab to Unveil Advanced Glycoprotein Analysis through SpAC9 Pipeline in the U.S. Market



CellKey, a leading provider of cutting-edge bioanalytical solutions, is excited to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Emerald Cloud Lab (ECL), a pioneer in cloud-based laboratory facilities. This collaboration aims to drive the development of an innovative glycoprotein analysis platform, a crucial component in diagnosing and treating cancer and various diseases, as demonstrated by the recent Nobel laureate in Chemistry at Stanford University.

This strategic partnership brings together CellKey's proprietary glycoprotein analysis, facilitated by the SpAC9 Data Foundry platform, and ECL's state-of-the-art cloud-based lab facilities. The integration of these two entities empowers researchers worldwide by providing remote access to the SpAC9 Data Foundry, enabling advanced glycoprotein and protein analysis experiments via the ECL platform, all without the need for physical presence in a laboratory.

Glycoproteins play an essential role in uncovering the intricate mechanisms behind human diseases, making their analysis vital for advancing therapeutic interventions. CellKey's SpAC9 Data Foundry utilizes mass spectrometry instruments to offer a wide range of analytical solutions, including glycan profiling, glycopeptide identification, glycosylation site mapping, and quantification of glycoprotein heterogeneity. Researchers now have the means to gain deep insights into glycoprotein structures and functions, accelerating groundbreaking discoveries and advancements in disease treatment.

The partnership between CellKey and ECL represents a significant leap forward in the field of glycoprotein analysis. By combining CellKey's expertise in glycoproteomics and proteomics with ECL's advanced cloud-based laboratory infrastructure, researchers worldwide gain unparalleled access to cutting-edge technologies, free from the constraints of physical laboratory presence.

Dr. Je Min Yoo, Head of US Research & Business Development at CellKey USA Inc., expressed enthusiasm about the partnership, stating, "We are thrilled about this partnership with Emerald Cloud Lab. The integration of our SpAC9 Data Foundry with ECL's cloud-based lab facilities will empower researchers globally to unravel the complexities of glycoproteins and make strides in understanding and treating currently incurable diseases."

Jennifer Henry-Smith, Senior Vice President of Sales at Emerald Cloud Lab, added, "The collaboration between Emerald Cloud Lab and CellKey will help us provide new research capabilities to our life science customers and reinforces our commitment to offering researchers convenient and affordable access to the most advanced lab facilities and equipment worldwide."

The MOU signing event took place at the Global Business Center-Los Angeles, managed by the Korea SMEs & Startups Agency (KOSME), an organization dedicated to facilitating the global growth of Korean small and medium-sized enterprises. Chulmin Kim, Director of GBC-LA, expressed enthusiasm, stating, "We embrace initiatives like the partnership between CellKey and ECL, fostering international cooperation. GBC-LA remains committed to supporting pioneering Korean enterprises like CellKey as they enter the US market."



Contact Info:

Name: Dr. Je Min Yoo

Email: Send Email

Organization: CellKey

Address: 19700 S. Vermont Ave. Suite #200, Torrance CA 90502

Phone: 213-929-3627

Website: http://cellkey.co.kr



Release ID: 89106810

Should any problems, inaccuracies, or doubts arise from the content contained within this press release, we kindly request that you inform us immediately by contacting [email protected]. Our dedicated team will promptly address your concerns within 8 hours, taking necessary steps to rectify identified issues or assist with the removal process. Providing accurate and dependable information is at the core of our commitment to our readers.
IRVING, Texas , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, CP ALL Laos, a Master Franchisee of 7-Eleven International LLC ("7IN")  a joint-venture of 7-Eleven, Inc. (SEI) and Seven-Eleven Japan (SEJ)  opened its first 7-Eleven store in Laos . The store is located on Souphanouvong Avenue in Vientiane .

The store features 7-Eleven's signature retail environment and serves a variety of internationally-popular products and beverages  including bean-to-cup coffee, Slurpee drinks and Big Gulp drinks. Customers can enjoy hamburgers, toasted sandwiches, and freshly baked bread. CP ALL Laos is looking into opportunities to offer Laotian meals.

CP ALL Laos is excited to serve the community of Vientiane , the capital and largest city of Laos , as it experiences significant economic growth and surge in tourism following the opening of the Laos-China Railway high-speed train.

"With its thriving economy and growing population, Laos offers an excellent environment for 7Eleven's first retail venture in the region," said 7-Eleven International Co-CEO's Shin Abe and Ken Wakabayashi . "Our entrance into the country brings Laotian customers a one-stop-shop solution with quality fresh food and convenience needs, via a store format not currently prevalent in the market. The store opening in Laos marks the 20th country and region for 7-Eleven. We are excited to continue to provide citizens and tourists alike with world-class convenience."

CP ALL Laos Co., Lt. is a subsidiary of CP All Public Company Limited, which operates more than 14,000 7-Eleven stores in Thailand and Cambodia and is one of the largest 7-Eleven licensees. CP ALL Laos plans to expand stores throughout the country, starting with the Vientiane metropolitan area.

About 7-Eleven, Inc.

7-Eleven, Inc. is the premier name in the convenience-retailing industry. Based in Irving, Texas , 7-Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 13,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada. In addition to 7Eleven stores, 7-Eleven, Inc. operates and franchises Speedway, Stripes, Laredo Taco Company and Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits locations. Known for its iconic brands such as Slurpee, Big Bite and Big Gulp, 7-Eleven has expanded into high-quality sandwiches, salads, side dishes, cut fruit and protein boxes, as well as pizza, chicken wings and mini beef tacos. 7-Eleven offer customers industry-leading private brand products under the 7-Select brand including healthy options, decadent treats, and everyday favorites at an outstanding value. Customers can earn and redeem points on various items in stores nationwide through its 7Rewards loyalty program with more than 50 million members, place an order in the 7NOW delivery app in over 2,000 cities, or rely on 7-Eleven for bill payment service, self-service lockers, and other convenient services. Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com.

About Seven-Eleven Japan

In 1973, SEVEN-ELEVEN JAPAN, Co., LTD. (then York Seven Co., Ltd.) was established and opened the first 7-Eleven store in Japan in May of the following year. Currently, the company operates more than 21,000 stores throughout Japan , mainly through franchises.

With "modernization and revitalization of existing small and medium-sized retail stores" and "coexistence and co-prosperity" as its founding principles, Seven-Eleven Japan has continually embraced the challenge of change through its unique franchise system based on trusting relationship with franchisees, excellent product development capabilities in areas such as ready-made side dishes and fast food, and information network. As the company celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, Seven-Eleven Japan will continue to change further in order to "open the door to the next level of convenience."

About 7-Eleven International

With offices in Dallas, Texas , and Tokyo, Japan , 7Eleven International LLC master franchises and/or licenses more than 46,000 stores in 16 countries and regions. Globally, the 7-Eleven trademark is represented in over 84,000 stores, and the iconic brand will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2027. http://www.7-11int.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/7-eleven-opens-first-store-in-laos-301920277.html

SOURCE 7-Eleven, Inc.
DENVER , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AirDNA , the leading provider of short-term rental (STR) data and analytics, today launches the most significant product update in its history. The reimagined interface enables everyone to explore the globe for free and drill down into details to find the best STR investments. With these changes and enhanced access to the sector's most comprehensive data, AirDNA users reinforce their position at the helm of the $169.5 billion industry.

"AirDNA is unlocking the power of STR data for all, with unlimited global access for free," - Demi Horvat , AirDNA CEO

"Our investment in engineering and product development stems from our commitment to empowering our user community," said James Malcolm , Chief Product Officer at AirDNA, "Through in-depth surveys and interviews, we've tailored the new AirDNA to their needs, refining our tool into a user-centric platform that demystifies complex data, turning it into actionable insights and confident decisions. Whether you're an existing member of the AirDNA community or curious about joining, these updates will revolutionize your hosting or investment journey."

Introducing Cutting-Edge STR Investor Tools

The brand-new suite of AirDNA investor tools empowers STR hosts and investors to dissect global markets, compare growth trends, and identify profitable opportunities with precision. Insights into investment strategies and top-performing locations, as well as Market Scores for all cities and neighborhoods, are now freely accessible to all.

AirDNA CEO Demi Horvat emphasized the growth, adding, "This update transcends mere improvement: It's a revolution in market research, opening doors for anyone from complete newcomers to seasoned investors to get the insights they need in seconds. This is a significant step on our journey to make AirDNA the definitive tool that anticipates and answers the needs of the STR industry."

Simplified Subscription Tiers Offer Unmatched Value

Moving away from per-market pricing, users will now get access to the whole world with just one subscription. Ranging from Free to Advanced, new subscription tiers provide tailored tools to cater to diverse business requirements. Starting at just $180 per year, the Basic, Pro, and Advanced tiers provide increasingly detailed insights.

This launch marks the first stage of AirDNA's plans to redefine data intelligence in the STR industry. In the coming months, exciting features such as Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data will connect investors with the most profitable properties currently listed for sale, while pricing automation will streamline operations for busy hosts. These upcoming enhancements underscore AirDNA's dedication to innovating and refining the tools and insights essential for success in the dynamic STR market.

Experience more with AirDNA's fresh interface

About AirDNA

AirDNA is a global authority in short-term rental data, offering comprehensive insights and analytics to empower businesses in the short-term rental industry. AirDNA helps vacation rental hosts, managers, and investors make smarter decisions in any market or economic climate. For every short-term rental question, AirDNA has the answer.

Contact:

[email protected]

(720) 372-2318

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SOURCE AirDNA
NAPA, Calif. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AM Best has affirmed The Doctors Company's financial strength rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and its long-term issuer credit rating (ICR) of "a+". The outlook of these ratings is stable.

The FSR of A (Excellent) and the long-term ICR of "a+" (Excellent) have been affirmed for the following:

The Doctors Company , an Interinsurance Exchange

, an Interinsurance Exchange TDC National Assurance Company

TDC Specialty Insurance Company

TDC Special Risks Insurance Company

The Doctors Company Risk Retention Group , a Reciprocal Exchange

Additionally, AM Best has upgraded the FSR to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the long-term ICR to "a" (Excellent) from "a-" (Excellent) of Hospitals Insurance Company (HIC). HIC is a subsidiary of The Doctors Company.

The FSR of A is assigned only to select companies with excellent ability to meet ongoing insurance obligations. The "a+" ICR is assigned to entities that have an excellent ability to meet their ongoing senior financial obligations.

"These ratings from AM Best reflect the strength and stability of our company and reinforce our vision to build the preeminent organization for service to healthcare," said Richard E. Anderson , MD, FACP, Chairman and CEO of The Doctors Company and TDC Group. "Our financial strength allows us to help healthcare professionals meet the challenges of a constantly shifting landscape and better serve our members."

About The Doctors Company

Founded and led by physicians, The Doctors Company (thedoctors.com), the nation's largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, is relentlessly committed to advancing, protecting, and rewarding the practice of good medicine. The Doctors Company helps physicians manage the complexities of today's healthcare environmentwith expert guidance, resources, and coverage. The Doctors Company is part of TDC Group (tdcg.com), the nation's largest physician-owned provider of insurance, risk management, and healthcare practice improvement solutions. TDC Group serves the full continuum of care, from individual physicians to academic medical systemsover 100,000 healthcare professionals and organizations nationwidewith annual revenue of $1 billion and over $6.9 billion in assets. To learn more about our data-driven insights and to stay up to date on industry trends, follow and subscribe to The Doctors Company on Twitter (@doctorscompany), YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

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SOURCE The Doctors Management Company
Metal additive manufacturing and machining capabilities will support contract with BPMI

DALLAS , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ATI Inc. (NYSE: ATI) has been awarded a contract by Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc. (BPMI) to support development of highly engineered part solutions in support of the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. To support the contract, which calls for advanced manufacturing methods including metal additive manufacturing, ATI will establish a dedicated additive manufacturing facility outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida .

ATI will expand upon its traditional capabilities, bringing expertise as a global producer of high-performance materials and solutions to additive manufacturing for aerospace and defense. ATI Additive Manufacturing Products will include advanced large-format metal additive manufacturing, heat treating, machining, and inspection capabilities within a secure facility. It is designed for expansion as ATI continues to extend its additive manufacturing technologies to the assembly of finished components.

The new operation brings together the expertise of ATI Forged Products, renowned for producing mission-critical finish-machined forgings, with the powder alloy leadership of ATI Specialty Materials. "With this facility, ATI will maximize its ability to deliver advanced additively manufactured materials and components by turning them into parts that further the defense industry," said Kim Fields , President and Chief Operating Officer of ATI. "Our customers increasingly require more robust and versatile materials and components, produced in an ecologically sustainable manner. This facility will deliver both." It is projected to come online in mid-2024.

"Within one facility, we're combining the latest additive and advanced manufacturing technologies and ATI's novel powder alloys. We bring decades of experience delivering solutions that power and protect. We're well-positioned to deliver the next generation of manufactured components," said Fields.

"Additive manufacturing offers tremendous advantages to our Program, including accelerating ship construction, improving operational readiness, reducing costs, and an increase in warfighting capability," said Barb Staniscia , President and General Manager of BPMI. "Metal additive manufacturing is driving necessary improvements in lead time, design, and performance for the US Navy."

"As our customers blaze the trail of what's possible, ATI is honored to partner with BPMI in developing and producing the materials and components that make these extraordinary achievements possible," said Fields. The investment is included in the company's existing capital expenditure guidance.

ATI: Proven to Perform.

ATI (NYSE: ATI) is a global producer of high-performance materials and solutions for the global aerospace and defense markets, and critical applications in electronics, medical and specialty energy. We're solving the world's most difficult challenges through materials science. We partner with our customers to deliver extraordinary materials that enable their greatest achievements: their products fly higher and faster, burn hotter, dive deeper, stand stronger and last longer. Our proprietary process technologies, unique customer partnerships and commitment to innovation deliver materials and solutions for today and the evermore challenging environments of tomorrow. We are proven to perform anywhere. Learn more at ATImaterials.com.

Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc.

Bechtel is a trusted engineering, construction and project management partner to industry and government. Differentiated by the quality of our people and our relentless drive to deliver the most successful outcomes, we align our capabilities to our customers' objectives to create a lasting positive impact. Since 1898, we have helped customers complete more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents that have created jobs, grown economies, improved the resiliency of the world's infrastructure, increased access to energy, resources, and vital services, and made the world a safer, cleaner place.

BPMI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bechtel National Inc., the U.S. government services division of Bechtel Corp . BPMI is a project engineering organization supporting the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. They provide design, manufacturing, and supply chain management of the fabrication, testing, delivery, installation, and field support of nuclear power plant components installed in submarines and aircraft carriers. www.BPMIonline.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ati-to-establish-additive-manufacturing-facility-to-serve-us-navy-301921053.html

SOURCE ATI
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Autel Energy, a global leader in electric vehicle (EV) technology, announced the opening of the Autel Energy Innovation Center, its new research and development campus where original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and strategic commercial partners can test the integration of third-party products with Autel Energy hardware and software to ensure the highest standards of performance and quality before entering the market. The two-story (9,424 sq. ft.) facility in Anaheim, California is the product of years of planning and development at Autel Energy and aims to revolutionize the way new products are brought to market in terms of speed, efficiency and quality control.

Autel Energy aims to revolutionize the way new products are brought to market in terms of speed, efficiency, and quality

"The Autel Energy Innovation Center represents our commitment to our partners' success, as well as to the success of the EV industry in the US and abroad," said Frank Li , Chairman of Autel Intelligent Technology Corp., Ltd., the global leader in automotive intelligent business and the parent company of Autel Energy. "We are extremely proud of the effort our team has made to realize our grand vision, and we look forward to the Innovation Center serving as a prized part of our operations on the West Coast ."

The Innovation Center will launch under the direction of Shane Long , Chief Technology Officer at Autel Energy. Long will shape the vision of the center to meet the burgeoning demands of the renewable energy industry in the US. The center will provide a space for activities including product and vehicle integrations testing, as well as shed light on the performance, viability and scalability of products under development. Plans for the site also include an executive briefing center for showcasing Autel products and technology platforms and a training center for introducing technical support engineers to the latest product features.

"I'm excited to invite our partners to visit us here in Anaheim ," said Long. "In addition to the latest product features, they will be able to learn about Autel Energy hardware and software installations, servicing, security, and preventative maintenance. Our goal is to create a smooth transition from initial onboarding through the lifecycle of our products."

Trainees will be able to earn certifications in the use and servicing of Autel Energy products upon completion of their courses at the center, Long added.

The Autel Energy Innovation Center is located 12 miles from John Wayne Airport and in close proximity to Anaheim Stadium at 1355 S. State College Blvd. , Anaheim, Calif.

About Autel Energy

Autel Energy's vision is to create a seamless customer experience that enables the deployment of technology and smart infrastructure, accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles and energy management solutions worldwide. Autel Energy makes the most advanced products accessible and convenient for residential and commercial users offering hardware, software, apps, and cloud-based solutions to cover almost every use case and application. This includes world-class charging hardware for AC (Level 2) home and commercial, DC Bi-directional V2X power management, and DC (Level 3) fast charging from 40kW to 720kW with innovative configurability and modularity.

Media Contact: Allison Whitney , [email protected]

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SOURCE Autel Energy
CHANGSHA, China , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 7th , ZELENS, a pioneering British skincare brand renowned for its cutting-edge scientific approach, successfully held its first brand ceremony in China . The ceremony took place in Changsha , a city that recognizing as one of China's emerging "internet-famous" cities. Changsha boasts a significant population of emerging consumers who seek higher levels of happiness and a superior quality of life. This vibrant and emblematic New tier-1 city provides ZELENS with an exceptional opportunity to connect China's emerging consumer groups who pursue fashion and quality. Moreover, Changsha's also recognized as "The Capital of Media Arts", combined with its influence across new media, e-commerce live streaming, and short video, has enriched the brand's development by offering abundant resources and opportunities.

The ceremony, with the theme "AS THE SCIENCE EVOLVES, SO DO WE," was a significant milestone for ZELENS as it continues to strengthen its brand identity in China . The event also showcased ZELENS' comprehensive re-branding accomplishments from the previous three years, starting a new chapter for the brand. Just as the brand proudly proclaims, "We never rest on our laurels, constantly reformulating to stay at the forefront of skin science."

Founded by the internationally recognized as a global authority on skin ageing and skin cancer, Dr. Marko Lens , ZELENS has redefined skincare with its innovative approach. Dr. Lens , a Harvard and Oxford-educated medical professional with nearly two decades of clinical experience, established ZELENS with a mission to scientifically care for the skin. The brand embodies the culmination of years of skin science research, merging cutting-edge biotechnology with the power of natural botanicals to achieve truly effective skincare.

At the ceremony, Dr. Lens took the stage to revisit the founding principles and core philosophy of the brand. He emphasized the ZELENS' three core principles which have been followed constantly throughout the brand's research and development: hybrid skincare rooted in biotechnology, carefully engineered, and always transparent with clinically proven results.

Also at the event, ZELENS introduced its latest sunscreen product, the ZELENS Daily Defense Sunscreen SPF 30 / SPF 50, for the first time on the Chinese market. Its extensive improvement in product formulas, which involved a two-year process. These newly enhanced formulas reflect a more advanced and efficient skincare technology, embodying a new era of skincare concepts. This groundbreaking product boasts six-fold sun protection, eight antioxidant essences, and six reparative elixirs - a unique "repairing" sunscreen that addresses hidden light damage. The upgraded formulation signifies a leap in skincare technology, underlining a new era in skincare.

Chinese skincare influencer Kenjijoel, as one of the brand's loyal users, was also invited to the event to share his thoughts on ZELENS' products. Kenjijoel took the spotlight to explain how he includes ZELENS' popular products in his daily skincare routine in various situations. To further amplify the voices of users and provide a third-party perspective, a guest speaker from a leading beauty review platform in China joined the stage. This speaker presented a trend report on the base makeup category, offering valuable insights into the principles of base makeup skincare, market demands, and emerging trends.

ZELENS Enters New Chapter in China with Remarkable Growth

Since the partnership's inception in November 2019 , the collaborative efforts between ZELENS and their Chinese partner, S'Young International, has led to remarkable achievements. For example, the brand's online visibility has surged by 70%, and the operations on major e-commerce platforms, including Tmall International, JD.com and Douyin, have stabilized.

Notably, ZELENS' best-selling products, such as the ZELENS Age Comfort Foundation, saw an impressive 150% growth in market share, successfully reaching over 800 million Chinese consumers. The Age Comfort Foundation has also soared to the top sellers of imported foundation sales charts on various platforms.

The ZELENS brand ceremony not only celebrated its achievements but also solidified its partnership with S'Young International to bolster ZELENS' brand presence, product marketing and sales in the Chinese market. The event reinforced ZELENS' dedication to providing scientifically advanced skincare solutions as it continues to revolutionize skincare solutions and elevate its global presence.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/british-skincare-brand-zelens-hosts-first-brand-ceremony-in-china-setting-the-standards-in-skincare-excellence-301920703.html

SOURCE S'Young International
Maryscott Greenwood Stepping Down; Beth Burke Appointed Chief Executive Officer

WASHINGTON , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - The Board of Directors of the Canadian American Business Council announces that Beth Burke will be leading the organization effective October 1 , replacing Maryscott Greenwood, the long serving Chief Executive Officer.

Maryscott Greenwood led the Canadian American Business Council as CEO since 2001. Since her appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of CABC she has grown the organization to become a leading voice on the opportunities and challenges in the Canada-US relationship. Her recent highlights include innovative advocacy campaigns including "Travel Like Its 2019" on reopening the border, and "Save Nexus" the unique bilateral trusted traveller program.

After twenty-three years at the helm of the organization, Maryscott Greenwood is transitioning to a global leadership role at Manulife Financial Corporation.

Beth Burke has overseen US advocacy at the CABC for over three years and has extensive experience in both the House of Representatives as well as the US Senate. In addition to her legislative background, Beth served as a Presidential appointee at the Export-Import Bank of the United States during the Obama administration. Prior to her government roles, Beth worked in the private sector as a business consultant. Beth's expertise in politics and the private sector will be a driving force in her new role with the CABC as the organization continues to foster dialogue between public and private sectors on both sides of the border.

"I am so grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with such wonderful and diverse public and private sector leaders from Canada and the US for the past two plus decades.," says Maryscott Greenwood . "I'm confident that Beth's leadership and political acumen will help propel the Council forward and I can't wait to see what's next for the CABC as it fosters essential goodwill and understanding in the Canada-US relationship."

"It is such an honor to take on this new portfolio for the CABC. I have loved collaborating with Scotty in recent years and I look forward to this new chapter for both of us as the CABC continues advocating for the issues that matter most to bilateral relations so that Canada and the US can take on the world's challenges together." says Beth Burke , incoming CEO, CABC.

Nancy Ziuzin Schlegel , CABC Board Chair said "The Canadian American Business Council thanks Maryscott Greenwood for twenty-three years of steadfast leadership and growing the organization to be the leading non-profit, non-partisan, issues-oriented organization continually focused on strengthening the Canada-US relationship. We are well positioned for the future thanks to Scotty, and we look forward to working closely with Beth in her new capacity."

"I enjoyed opportunities to work with Beth when I was in Washington as Energy Minister and got a glimpse, firsthand, of her policy knowledge, connections, and ability to bring people together," said Sonya Savage , former Minister of Energy for Alberta . "I believe she will do a great job in her new role."

Fred Hochberg said "I had the pleasure of working alongside Beth during my time as the Chair of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Beth Burke has unique strengths in solving problems and bringing people together, the Canadian American Business Council is lucky to have her at the helm."

About the CABC

Established in 1987, the Council is the leading non-profit, non-partisan, issues-oriented organization dedicated to fostering dialogue between the public and private sectors in Canada and the US. Members are key business leaders and stakeholders from both sides of the border ranging from entrepreneurs to best name brands in the world. Collectively, CABC members employ about two million people and have annual revenues of close to $1.5 trillion . For more information, visit www.cabc.co.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canadian-american-business-council-announces-appointment-of-new-ceo-301920593.html

SOURCE Canadian American Business Council
PHOENIX , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Clear Title Agency of Arizona, the fastest-growing Title and Escrow company in Arizona , announced an agreement to acquire the operating assets of First Arizona Title. First Arizona has been a provider of title and escrow services in the Phoenix metro market for over 21 years. This strategic acquisition is aligned with Clear Title Agency's growth objectives and will further solidify its position as a leader in residential and commercial title and escrow services in Arizona .

Clear Title Agency of Arizona's acquisition of First Arizona Title brings together two well-respected, locally owned title companies. Clear Title is known for its commitment to quality and has built a strong reputation over the years serving a diverse range of real estate customers throughout Arizona .

Bart Patterson , CEO of Clear Title Agency of Arizona, expressed excitement about the acquisition, stating, "I am proud of what Clear Title has accomplished over the years. Adding First Arizona Title to our team is an exciting next step for our company and I am confident that our shared values and commitment to excellence and service to the customer will continue to thrive. I have no doubt that First Arizona Title's talented team of title and escrow professionals will help drive our company to new heights."

The acquisition will expand Clear Title's footprint by four additional branch locations and more than 1,000 customer accounts. The combined companies will hold a market share ranking of 7th out of 219 in the Phoenix metro market.

"Together, we will continue to innovate and to meet the growing needs of the real estate industry," said Jim Clifford , President of Clear Title Agency of Arizona. "Bringing together two industry leaders will further build on many great aspects of the culture we have created and will drive new opportunities to deliver exceptional settlement services to our customers."

Bill McCalmont , CEO of First Arizona Title will retain an active leadership role with Clear Title Agency of Arizona to maintain existing relationships with team members and clients. As the companies work to integrate their organizations there are no planned changes to key customer contacts being handled by First Arizona Title or Clear Title.

"We are excited to become part of the Clear Title family," said Bill McCalmont , CEO of First Arizona Title. "It is important to be joining a team and culture that is the right fit for our people. I am confident that teaming up with Clear Title provides our people the best opportunity for future success."

About Clear Title Agency of Arizona

Locally owned and operated, Clear Title Agency of Arizona provides full-service residential and commercial title and escrow services with multiple locations across the Valley and in Flagstaff . The company has been recognized by Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies and, Top Companies to Work for in Arizona for ten consecutive years and ranks in the top 1% of all 5,000 First American agents nationally. For more information, visit cleartitleaz.com.

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SOURCE Clear Title Agency of Arizona
WOONSOCKET, R.I. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Health Corporation (NYSE: CVS) today announced additional responsibilities for several members of the company's executive leadership team, effective immediately:

Shawn Guertin will continue as our Chief Financial Officer and is now President of Health Services.

will continue as our Chief Financial Officer and is now President of Health Services. Prem Shah will continue as our Chief Pharmacy Officer and is now the sole President of Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness.

will continue as our Chief Pharmacy Officer and is now the sole President of Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness. Michelle Peluso , as our Chief Customer and Experience Officer, will expand her focus to create a superior end-to-end patient experience across all of the company's care delivery and customer service channels.

, as our Chief Customer and Experience Officer, will expand her focus to create a superior end-to-end patient experience across all of the company's care delivery and customer service channels. Brian Kane also joins CVS Health this week as President of Aetna, as previously announced in April.

"At a time when we are accelerating our strategy to deliver superior health experiences for consumers, we are advancing leaders who are driving patient-centric innovation," said CVS Health President and CEO Karen S. Lynch . "Our leaders are deploying the full set of our capabilities to improve overall health, lower costs, and provide broad access to care for the people and communities we serve."

Health Services

As President of Health Services, Guertin will be responsible for unifying the company's care delivery assets, driving innovative strategies while expanding products and services, and delivering results across these growth businesses.

Oak Street Health and Signify Health will continue to be aligned under Health Services. These recently acquired assets bring core capabilities to the company's value-based care platform that drive optimal patient engagement with health services across multiple channels. The company's retail health assets, including MinuteClinic, will also be a part of the Health Services portfolio.

Mike Pykosz and Kyle Armbrester , who lead Oak Street Health and Signify Health, will now report directly to Guertin. Both Pykosz and Armbrester will remain members of the company's executive leadership team.

"This structure simplifies access to our multi-payor capabilities and better aligns the way we serve clients," Guertin said. "By bringing these businesses together, we will be better positioned to more effectively address the total cost of care, implement new care solutions that support healthy communities, and improve the growth rate of the company."

Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness

Pharmacy and Consumer Wellness will be led by Shah, simplifying the leadership structure for the segment (Shah previously served as co-president with Peluso). Shah, PharmD, will continue as the company's Chief Pharmacy Officer, delivering best-in-class service to consumers and patients, while also advocating for and supporting the evolving role of the pharmacist as a health care provider.

"Pharmacists are among the most trusted and accessible providers, representing one of the most frequent interactions in health care, and pharmacies will increasingly serve as a critical customer engagement point to other health services," Shah said. "We have a tremendous opportunity to connect our patients to other care channels, given their deep relationships and trust with their local pharmacists."

Customer and Patient Experience

Peluso's enhanced role will focus on improving the patient experience across the company's care delivery and service channels, key drivers of overall satisfaction with CVS Health.

"Our unique collection of care delivery assets gives us the opportunity to create a more coordinated experience for our customers and patients," Peluso said. "Through this work, our team can help ensure that our customer and patient touchpoints are seamless, connected, and lead to better health."

Brian Kane joins CVS Health

As previously announced in April, Brian Kane also joins CVS Health this week as Executive Vice President and President of Aetna. Kane most recently acted as a strategic consultant to several leading private equity firms focused on health care services, and, prior to that, served as Chief Financial Officer of Humana and oversaw its primary care businesses. Kane has a track record of bringing customer-driven innovations to the market and delivering strong results.

About CVS Health

CVS Health is the leading health solutions company, delivering care like no one else can. We reach more people and improve the health of communities across America through our local presence, digital channels and over 300,000 dedicated colleagues  including more than 40,000 physicians, pharmacists, nurses and nurse practitioners. Wherever and whenever people need us, we help them with their health  whether that's managing chronic diseases, staying compliant with their medications or accessing affordable health and wellness services in the most convenient ways. We help people navigate the health care system  and their personal health care  by improving access, lowering costs and being a trusted partner for every meaningful moment of health. And we do it all with heart, each and every day. Follow @CVSHealth on social media.

Media contact

Ethan Slavin

860-273-6095

[email protected]

Investor contact

Larry McGrath

800-201-0938

[email protected]

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SOURCE CVS Health
The summit meeting will be held at a revamped convention and exhibition center, named Bharat Mandapam, in the heart of New Delhi. Thousands of potted plants and flowers bedeck sidewalks along roads that VIP motorcades will zip by.

During its G20 presidency, India has tried to boost its global stature and authorities want the city of over 20 million to showcase a rising power. Earlier this year, Delhi's Lieutenant Governor, Vinai Kumar Saxena, said the G20 summit was an opportunity to show "the best face of India."

Even as Delhi is dressed up as never before, massive security measures will turn the city into a virtual fortress for the weekend summit with tens of thousands of police, paramilitary and commandos deployed along its streets, borders and at hotels that will house presidents and prime ministers. Anti-drone systems will deter aerial threats.

Bright murals on city walls, freshly paved roads, illuminated monuments and fountains and tall new statues that showcase India's cultural heritage will greet delegates arriving for the Group of 20 summit to the Indian capital New Delhi.

Cutouts of large monkeys called "langurs" have been installed to scare away smaller monkeys, a routine menace in the city. Workers are dowsing mosquito breeding sites with insecticides in a city where dengue cases have been reported in recent months. The "beautification" drive, that carries a price tag of millions of dollars, is not without controversy.

Several demolition drives in recent months have bulldozed shanties, displacing hundreds of low-income workers. Authorities have denied any link between the demolitions and the G-20 summit, and said they were carried out against "illegal encroachers." The government said they will help those who lost their homes.

But rights activists point out that these tenements had existed for decades. "It is an attempt to conceal the poverty that is visible -- that is why there was a frenzy of demolitions," said Harsh Mander, a prominent rights activist. "That is because these shanties are a reminder of the fact that in the midst of India's economic growth, huge levels of poverty persist. It is a sanitized version of the city that is being projected."

The city's homeless who live under bridges and sleep on footpaths have been shifted to shelter homes, according to local media.

Many pavement vendors who plied their trade along major roads have been moved to inner lanes. The opposition Congress Party has demanded financial compensation for street vendors, weekly market traders and others whose livelihoods will be affected by the summit restrictions.

"Since the last two days, I was asked to set up my cart in a lane about 150 meters away from the main road. But customers don't come inside," said Devki Nandan Pant, a street vendor who sells "kulfi," an Indian version of ice cream in a South Delhi neighborhood. "It is creating a lot of hardship for people like us."

Delhi's usually crowded streets will be largely silent around the G20 venue with stringent traffic restrictions making it out of bounds for most citizens. Major markets in the vicinity of the convention center, schools and colleges have also been ordered shut from Friday. Offices have been told to work from home. Many residents are simply leaving the city, choosing to take a break rather than navigate the restrictions.

New Delhi resident Vishaka Talreja took a flight on Wednesday to Kashmir with her family. "Everything will be shut down including food deliveries, so what would we do in the city? We left today itself because I thought it is better to leave before airport security etc. also becomes very stringent or flights get cancelled."

The grand showcasing of the G20 summit is not just meant to underline India's ambitions as a rising power, which wants to emerge as the voice of what it calls the "Global South" or developing countries.

It is also expected to give Prime Minister Narendra Modi a boost domestically ahead of next year's general elections. India's G20 logo features a lotus, the symbol of Mr. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party -- posters have been plastered along roads, not just in Delhi, but in other cities that hosted a series of G20 events in the past year.

Political analyst Rasheed Kidwai pointed out that G20 summits, whose presidency rotates between members, have been held for many years but have never been scaled up to the level as they have been under India's presidency.

"Among Modi's biggest backers are the great Indian middle class and urban India. For them, this grand showcasing and fanfare projects the image that we have arrived on the international high table. So, taking the G20 summit from a somewhat routine event to a high profile one does yield political dividends domestically also," he said.
Key highlights:

R eports record FY2023 revenue of US$64.9 billion , a 14.9% increase in local currency

Workforce expanded to approximately 457,000 globally

NEW YORK , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Deloitte today reported aggregate global revenue of US$64.9 billion for the fiscal year ending 31 May 2023 (FY2023), a 14.9% increase in local currency (and 9.3% increase in USD) from FY2022.

"In an environment of increasing complexity and an accelerated pace of technology-driven change around the globe, Deloitte's unrivaled breadth of expertise within our multidisciplinary model continues to differentiate us in the marketplace," says Joe Ucuzoglu, Deloitte Global CEO. "This is an environment that places increasing value on diversity of thought and interdisciplinary solutions, playing directly to our strengths. Amidst transformative advances in technology and a dynamic economic and geopolitical landscape, our people take great pride in upholding the public's trust and helping clients and communities successfully navigate many of the most complex challenges of our time."

Delivering impact, embedding purpose in all that we do

Deloitte's business success is underpinned by our commitment to embedding our purposeto make an impact that mattersin everything we do. We also draw strength from our multidisciplinary model, which brings together the breadth and depth of experience and capabilities across our global organization to address both the near- and long-term forces reshaping business and society. This integrated approach enables us to bring our purpose to life and deliver significant impact for our stakeholders.

Navigating digital disruption and embracing generative AI: As the pace of digital transformation continues to accelerate, companies across industries and markets should carefully navigate the powerful pull of technological change. In guiding clients through these times of disruption, we draw on our strong ecosystem of alliances with many of the world's leading technology providers. During the past year, Deloitte also established emerging alliances with a number of innovative tech newcomers. From cloud migration to digital transformation, and from AI-driven change to workforce reinvention, the combined power of our alliance relationships helps enable us to deliver solutions that add value at each stage of a company's journey.



Deloitte is actively incorporating generative AI into our own platforms to optimize the way we deliver services, and helping our clients take full advantage of this transformative technology. As one example of our leadership in this area, we recently announced an expansion of our strategic alliance with NVIDIA to use AI technology and expertise to build high-performing generative AI solutions for enterprise software platforms to help unlock significant business value. As we work in this complicated, quickly changing landscape, we are guided by our Ethical Technology Principles, which reflect our commitment to ensuring Deloitte's creation and use of technology are trustworthy.





As the pace of digital transformation continues to accelerate, companies across industries and markets should carefully navigate the powerful pull of technological change. In guiding clients through these times of disruption, we draw on our strong ecosystem of alliances with many of the world's leading technology providers. During the past year, Deloitte also established emerging alliances with a number of innovative tech newcomers. From cloud migration to digital transformation, and from AI-driven change to workforce reinvention, the combined power of our alliance relationships helps enable us to deliver solutions that add value at each stage of a company's journey. Deloitte is actively incorporating generative AI into our own platforms to optimize the way we deliver services, and helping our clients take full advantage of this transformative technology. As one example of our leadership in this area, we recently announced an expansion of our strategic alliance with NVIDIA to use AI technology and expertise to build high-performing generative AI solutions for enterprise software platforms to help unlock significant business value. As we work in this complicated, quickly changing landscape, we are guided by our Ethical Technology Principles, which reflect our commitment to ensuring Deloitte's creation and use of technology are trustworthy. Embedding continuous advantage: Widespread digitization and ever-changing disruptive technologiesalong with evolving regulatory and risk requirements, talent shortages, and the need for increasingly specialized skill setsalso create challenges when it comes to how companies run their operations. Over the past year, we continued to expand our Operate services as an integral piece of our strategy to integrate it with our Advise and Implement services, helping organizations transform and advance critical business functions to increase operational efficiency, add value, and embed continuous advantage into their operations to drive better business outcomes. Our Operate delivery network includes leading professionals, leveraging Deloitte's proprietary digital platforms, working from nearly 60 centers around the world and supporting delivery in approximately 15 languages.



With the right mix of globally available and scalable, hard-to-source domain and industry talent, technology, and transformation experience, Deloitte has helped companies tackle some of their toughest challenges in mission-critical areas of business, such as cybersecurity, tax, and risk. For instance, Operate teams have helped clients respond to ransomware attacks and provide 24/7 cybersecurity monitoring, deliver ongoing efficiencies to streamline regulatory filings using AI-enabled platforms, and continually monitor multi-tier global supplier networks for potential disruptions while driving strategies to proactively mitigate them.





Widespread digitization and ever-changing disruptive technologiesalong with evolving regulatory and risk requirements, talent shortages, and the need for increasingly specialized skill setsalso create challenges when it comes to how companies run their operations. Over the past year, we continued to expand our Operate services as an integral piece of our strategy to integrate it with our Advise and Implement services, helping organizations transform and advance critical business functions to increase operational efficiency, add value, and embed continuous advantage into their operations to drive better business outcomes. Our Operate delivery network includes leading professionals, leveraging Deloitte's proprietary digital platforms, working from nearly 60 centers around the world and supporting delivery in approximately 15 languages. With the right mix of globally available and scalable, hard-to-source domain and industry talent, technology, and transformation experience, Deloitte has helped companies tackle some of their toughest challenges in mission-critical areas of business, such as cybersecurity, tax, and risk. For instance, Operate teams have helped clients respond to ransomware attacks and provide 24/7 cybersecurity monitoring, deliver ongoing efficiencies to streamline regulatory filings using AI-enabled platforms, and continually monitor multi-tier global supplier networks for potential disruptions while driving strategies to proactively mitigate them. Powering meaningful, measurable climate action: Tackling climate change requires sophisticated solutions. Over the past year, Deloitte's Global Sustainability & Climate practice has worked with clients spanning industries and geographies to turn their climate commitments into climate action. Teams from across our businesses helped drive meaningful advances in clients' climate transformationsfrom embedding sustainability into their strategies and operations to measuring and reporting on their progress.



For example, we have guided clients in developing actionable paths to net-zero through Deloitte's GreenLight Solution decarbonization tool and helped them accelerate decarbonization and value creation by bringing together climate technology ecosystems in a systematic, purposeful way through GreenSpace Tech, both launched in 2023. As global business leaders reevaluate their approach to value creation to consider sustainability and a broader set of stakeholders, we also introduced Deloitte's Sustainable Value Map, designed to help expand collective thinking about how an organization's value can be defined and improved in a sustainable world.



Stakeholders are increasingly calling on companies to report transparently on a broad set of financial and non-financial key value drivers. Deloitte is a visible leader in this area, reporting our performance against the World Economic Forum (WEF) stakeholder capitalism metrics (SCM) and aligning with the Global Reporting Initiative . We earned an A- rating from CDP for our FY22 response to its climate change questionnaire. In addition, Deloitte is continuing to make disclosures in line with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures . Together with the coalition of companies supporting the WEF SCM initiative, we have continued to advocate for a comprehensive global baseline for sustainability reporting based on the International Sustainability Standards Board's (ISSB's) standards. We also collaborate with the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) on its mission to build a coordinated global effort within the private sector to accelerate the transition to a sustainable future.

Powering business growth

Among Deloitte's businesses, Consulting revenue grew fastest at 19.1% in local currency, followed by Risk Advisory, which grew 17.5%. Among the regions, the Americas grew the fastest at 17.5%, followed by EMEA at 12.6%.

Consistent with the critical importance to society of the work we do across our practices, we strive to execute with the highest ethics and integrity and set the standard for quality in everything we do.

Audit & Assurance continued its commitment to delivering high-quality audits with integrity and professionalism and upholding Deloitte's vital role in the effective functioning of the capital markets. Our practitioners have supported organizations in navigating the changing landscape of stakeholder needs for more holistic reporting on their business model resilience and broader societal objectives. We delivered a broad range of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) services, including materiality and gap readiness assessment, disclosure preparation, and assurance. We have been recognized for our leading-edge technology and innovative culture, with Deloitte Omnia's ESG capabilities receiving recognition as a data-fueled solution that helps us transform ESG information into insights for clients and deliver with greater quality, effectiveness, efficiency, and perspective. Audit & Assurance revenue grew 13.8% in local currency.





continued its commitment to delivering high-quality audits with integrity and professionalism and upholding Deloitte's vital role in the effective functioning of the capital markets. Our practitioners have supported organizations in navigating the changing landscape of stakeholder needs for more holistic reporting on their business model resilience and broader societal objectives. We delivered a broad range of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) services, including materiality and gap readiness assessment, disclosure preparation, and assurance. We have been recognized for our leading-edge technology and innovative culture, with ESG capabilities receiving recognition as a data-fueled solution that helps us transform ESG information into insights for clients and deliver with greater quality, effectiveness, efficiency, and perspective. Audit & Assurance revenue grew 13.8% in local currency. Consulting made bold investments in digital capabilities over the past year, enabling our practitioners to help clients address the challenges and opportunities raised by disruptive technologies such as generative AI, 5G, quantum computing, and the metaverse. We launched Unlimited Reality to guide clients into the era of spatial computing, creating their own metaverse solutions to simulate the future of business, as well as a Generative AI practice to help them to exponentially enhance productivity and accelerate the pace of business innovation. Additionally, Deloitte has been ranked the number one consulting service provider worldwide by revenue, for the sixth consecutive year, in the Gartner Market Share report. Consulting revenue grew 19.1% in local currency.





made bold investments in digital capabilities over the past year, enabling our practitioners to help clients address the challenges and opportunities raised by disruptive technologies such as generative AI, 5G, quantum computing, and the metaverse. We launched Unlimited Reality to guide clients into the era of spatial computing, creating their own metaverse solutions to simulate the future of business, as well as a Generative AI practice to help them to exponentially enhance productivity and accelerate the pace of business innovation. Additionally, Deloitte has been ranked the number one consulting service provider worldwide by revenue, for the sixth consecutive year, in the Gartner Market Share report. Consulting revenue grew 19.1% in local currency. Financial Advisory practitioners served as trusted advisors to clients, creating and preserving value in a complex and constantly changing environment. Our Mergers and Acquisitions practice continued to grow despite market volatility, and our Turnaround and Restructuring specialists helped companies navigate banking industry turbulence. Our Forensic practice pioneered digital and AI solutions with public and private sector organizations, addressing financial crime and navigating fraud , waste, and abuse. We have advised clients on strategies to drive sustainability and climate solutions, model net-zero transformations, and strengthen stakeholder trust. Financial Advisory revenue grew 4.7% in local currency.





practitioners served as trusted advisors to clients, creating and preserving value in a complex and constantly changing environment. Our Mergers and Acquisitions practice continued to grow despite market volatility, and our Turnaround and Restructuring specialists helped companies navigate banking industry turbulence. Our Forensic practice pioneered digital and AI solutions with public and private sector organizations, addressing financial crime and navigating , waste, and abuse. We have advised clients on strategies to drive sustainability and climate solutions, model net-zero transformations, and strengthen stakeholder trust. Financial Advisory revenue grew 4.7% in local currency. Risk Advisory continued to drive transformative change for clients, focused on solutions to address the ever-evolving global risk and regulatory landscape. Our Cyber business employs leading-edge technology to help clients protect against, and respond to, an array of cyber risks, while also building business strategies that embed cyber and enable businesses to stay ahead of those risks. With our latest Cyber offeringsManaged Extended Detection and Response and Digital Identitywe bring together experienced practitioners, processes, and market-leading technology to embed 24/7 vigilance globally for clients. Our Sustainability & Climate offering gives practitioners access to leading-edge technology and smart business solutions while helping enable organizations to succeed in a low-carbon, climate-resilient world. Risk Advisory revenue grew 17.5% in local currency.





continued to drive transformative change for clients, focused on solutions to address the ever-evolving global risk and regulatory landscape. Our Cyber business employs leading-edge technology to help clients protect against, and respond to, an array of cyber risks, while also building business strategies that embed cyber and enable businesses to stay ahead of those risks. With our latest Cyber offeringsManaged Extended Detection and Response and Digital Identitywe bring together experienced practitioners, processes, and market-leading technology to embed 24/7 vigilance globally for clients. Our Sustainability & Climate offering gives practitioners access to leading-edge technology and smart business solutions while helping enable organizations to succeed in a low-carbon, climate-resilient world. Risk Advisory revenue grew 17.5% in local currency. Tax continued to support clients with their increasingly complex tax compliance obligations, while helping them to understand and navigate the impact of the rapidly shifting regulatory, geopolitical, and economic landscape. Among these complex shifts, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) proposed Pillar Two rules to address the digital economy and the digitalization of tax authorities are driving demand for a range of advisory, compliance, and technology consulting services from multinationals. Our practitioners also supported clients with the transformation of tax operating models, including the need for data quality and access, and helped them anticipate the jurisdictional tax implications of M&A activity, supply chain reconfigurations, and other important business change events.



Legal helped clients navigate the pace of regulatory change, which has resulted in more complex legal issues, along with the pronounced impact of digitization on legal solutions across their organizations. Deloitte's Legal practice also continued to work with clients on workforce policies to accommodate the now permanent reality of remote and hybrid working and to navigate employment laws that could affect employees' rights and well-being.



Tax & Legal revenue grew 9.1% in local currency.

Grounded in our values, supporting our people

From equity in education and health, to inclusion at work, to meeting urgent needs related to humanitarian crises, we actively engage in addressing and creating solutions to the most pressing challenges facing society. These challenges are deeply human, impact billions of people, and require long-term, transformative system solutions. They cannot be solved by any single individual or organization. Deloitte's approach is to help lead the way and inspire powerful collaborations that enable our people to work with clients and communities on shared solutions.

Strengthening society

Over the past year, we have invested our know-how and resources, including our people's time through pro bono work and volunteering, to tackle systemic problems in communities around the world. To further scale and accelerate these efforts, Deloitte also made a worldwide commitment to invest more than $3 billion over the next 10 years in societal impact.

World Climate : Our environmental sustainability ambition, World Climate , consists of a two-pronged approach: actions we take and actions we inspire. Recognizing that collective action is required to effectively tackle the climate crisis, and building on our sustainability and climate practice to serve clients, Deloitte has committed to science-based 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets and to setting long-term targets as part of our journey to net-zero. We are also extending our impact beyond ourselves by empowering our people, influencing our suppliers, and engaging across the broader ecosystem. We are embedding sustainability into policies and practices throughout our organization and measuring performance against our goals. For instance, we are actively working with our supply chain on setting science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets.





Our environmental sustainability ambition, World , consists of a two-pronged approach: actions we take and actions we inspire. Recognizing that collective action is required to effectively tackle the climate crisis, and building on our sustainability and climate practice to serve clients, Deloitte has committed to science-based 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets and to setting long-term targets as part of our journey to net-zero. We are also extending our impact beyond ourselves by empowering our people, influencing our suppliers, and engaging across the broader ecosystem. We are embedding sustainability into policies and practices throughout our organization and measuring performance against our goals. For instance, we are actively working with our supply chain on setting science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets. World Class : Our Worl dClas s ambition is to impact 100 million futures by 2030 through programs and collaborations with leading education and skills building organizations, working with clients, governments, innovators, schools, universities, and nonprofit organizations around the world. We invest our people's time, provide volunteers, and donate funds to support millions of students, teachers, and education leaders worldwide. We are scaling solutions that have helped to propel more than 57 million individuals forward since 2017. For examples of Deloitte's impact, our original documentary series features four young adults from different continents sharing their stories and aspirations for the future.





Our Worl s ambition is to impact 100 million futures by 2030 through programs and collaborations with leading education and skills building organizations, working with clients, governments, innovators, schools, universities, and nonprofit organizations around the world. We invest our people's time, provide volunteers, and donate funds to support millions of students, teachers, and education leaders worldwide. We are scaling solutions that have helped to propel more than 57 million individuals forward since 2017. For examples of Deloitte's impact, our original documentary series features four young adults from different continents sharing their stories and aspirations for the future. Helping those impacted by conflict and humanitarian crises: During the past year, we were reminded of the collective impact we can make when our people around the world come together in common cause, providing help to our colleagues and those impacted by humanitarian crises. As the war in Ukraine continues, Deloitte and our people have demonstrated unwavering solidarity and support for Ukrainians, including providing financial donations, pro bono services, and volunteer work. In response to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria , funding from Deloitte, along with other donors, has helped address critical immediate needs for first aid, shelter, food, and financial assistance.





During the past year, we were reminded of the collective impact we can make when our people around the world come together in common cause, providing help to our colleagues and those impacted by humanitarian crises. As the war in continues, Deloitte and our people have demonstrated unwavering solidarity and support for Ukrainians, including providing financial donations, pro bono services, and volunteer work. In response to the earthquake in and , funding from Deloitte, along with other donors, has helped address critical immediate needs for first aid, shelter, food, and financial assistance. Deloitte Health Equity Institutes (DHEIs): During the past year, we launched DHEIs in Europe and Spanish Latin America to complement our established DHEIs in Africa , India , and the US. Each of the DHEIs advances an array of cross-sector collaborations, philanthropic investments, and research activities. In addition, Deloitte is honored to be a signatory of the Zero Health Gaps Pledge, the first global, multi-sector, CEO-level pledge to help advance health equity, which was launched by the Global Health Equity Network at the 2023 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos .

Supporting our people

Deloitte is also focused on supporting and developing our 457,000 people around the world, including continuing to provide career opportunities, resources, and an inclusive culture to help our people thrive.

Learning & Development (L&D): With market realities and client needs changing rapidly, driven largely by advances in AI and other technologies, L&D is key. We continue to evolve our approach, with a focus on promoting agility, strengthening capabilities around critical challenges facing clients and our global society, and delivering tech-focused upskilling and reskilling that rides the wave of innovation sweeping across so many aspects of life. This includes skills training around AI, cloud, cyber, and ESG, as well as "hiring to train" programs in which future Deloitte professionals earn the credentials and on-the-job experiences they need to succeed in future roles. We have continued to expand our investment in the global footprint of our Deloitte University Leadership Centers around the world. Since opening the Westlake, Texas location in 2011, we've launched five additional facilities around the world: Brussels , Hyderabad , Mexico City , Singapore , and Toronto and have new sites under construction in Beijing and Paris . In 2023 we also broke ground on a significant expansion of the original facility in Texas .





With market realities and client needs changing rapidly, driven largely by advances in AI and other technologies, L&D is key. We continue to evolve our approach, with a focus on promoting agility, strengthening capabilities around critical challenges facing clients and our global society, and delivering tech-focused upskilling and reskilling that rides the wave of innovation sweeping across so many aspects of life. This includes skills training around AI, cloud, cyber, and ESG, as well as "hiring to train" programs in which future Deloitte professionals earn the credentials and on-the-job experiences they need to succeed in future roles. We have continued to expand our investment in the global footprint of our Deloitte University Leadership Centers around the world. Since opening the location in 2011, we've launched five additional facilities around the world: , , , , and and have new sites under construction in and . In 2023 we also broke ground on a significant expansion of the original facility in . Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI): Through our global DEI strategy, we seek to provide a workplace culture founded on respect and characterized by inclusive behaviors and an appreciation for all forms of diversity. Our global strategy is built around core pillars, which were recently expanded to include disability inclusion and neurodiversity. Aligned to these pillars, this year we became a proud signatory of the International Labour Organization's Global Business and Disability Network Charter.





Through our global DEI strategy, we seek to provide a workplace culture founded on respect and characterized by inclusive behaviors and an appreciation for all forms of diversity. Our global strategy is built around core pillars, which were recently expanded to include disability inclusion and neurodiversity. Aligned to these pillars, this year we became a proud signatory of the Global Business and Disability Network Charter. Mental health and well-being: We believe that supporting mental health and well-being is critical to attracting and retaining the best people and helping them be their authentic and productive selves today and into the future. In January 2021 we introduced a mental health baseline that sets clear expectations around mental health at Deloitte in every country in which we operate. As of March 2023 , all Deloitte member firms had successfully met the baseline. We are proud to be a Founding Partner of the Global Business Collaboration for Better Workplace Mental Health , a global business-led initiative designed to advocate for and accelerate positive change for mental health in the workplace.

Note: Deloitte's 2023 Global Impact Report will be released later this year.

About Deloitte

"Deloitte," "us," "we" and "our" refer to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ("DTTL"), its global network of member firms, and their related entities (collectively, the "Deloitte organization"). DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") and each of its member firms and related entities are legally separate and independent entities, which cannot obligate or bind each other in respect of third parties. DTTL and each DTTL member firm and related entity is liable only for its own acts and omissions, and not those of each other. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more.

Deloitte provides industry-leading audit and assurance, tax and legal, consulting, financial advisory, and risk advisory services to nearly 90% of the Fortune Global 500 and thousands of private companies. Our professionals deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in capital markets, enable clients to transform and thrive, and lead the way toward a stronger economy, a more equitable society, and a sustainable world. Building on its 175-plus year history, Deloitte spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte's approximately 457,000 people worldwide make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com.

About Deloitte Legal

Deloitte Legal means the legal practices of DTTL member firms, their affiliates or their related entities that provide legal services. The exact nature of these relationships and provision of legal services differs by jurisdiction, to allow compliance with local laws and professional regulations. For legal, regulatory, and other reasons, not all member firms, their affiliates or their related entities provide legal services or are associated with Deloitte Legal practices.

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SOURCE Deloitte
New USAA survey reveals more than half of U.S. adults do not have life insurance

SAN ANTONIO , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly half of respondents (48%) in a new USAA Life Insurance Company survey said if they could go back 10 years and give themselves advice about life insurance, they would tell their younger self that life insurance is the responsible thing to do for their family. But hindsight is 20/20 as more than half (51%) of surveyed U.S. adults say they do not have life insurance. That number is highest in respondents 18-34 years-old (57%) and lowest in those over 55 years-old (45%).

"This year's study shows that younger generations know that planning for later-in-life expenses is what is best for their family, but something is prohibiting them from actually doing it," said Brandon Carter , president of USAA Life Insurance Company. "Our job at USAA is to educate members about life insurance so they can feel comfortable and confident in establishing plans."

Long-term planning should be important as 53% of respondents said they think they will die of old age. Just 20% believe they will die with more than a month's notice and 27% said they think they will die suddenly.

When asked what they would do if they found out they were going to die soon, two-thirds (66%) of adults said they would spend more time with friends and family. And in this scenario, what they would do with their money varies by age.

Younger adults, ages 18-34, are more likely to spend their money on luxuries (16%).

Younger and middle-aged respondents are more likely to travel (37% ages 18-34 and 31% ages 35-54) or start a bucket list (24% ages 18-34 and 29% ages 35-54).

Middle aged and older adults are more likely to plan their estate (33% ages 35-54 and 34% ages 55+).

On the other end of the spectrum, if they believe they'll live longer, over half (60%) of adults say they will be financially fine in retirement. The other 40% of respondents fear they will never afford to retire without running out of money.

For those that are protecting their family with life insurance, 86% of respondents said their family would not fight over inherited property or money. As far as who is getting that money, 44% said their spouse or significant other is their beneficiary, while 25% said their kids and 10% said their parents.

"We want to help our members take that important step of protecting their families, so they don't have to worry and know they're taken care of no matter what happens," added Carter.

About USAA's Life Insurance Survey

This research was conducted by KRC Research using an online omnibus survey of n=1,114 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. The study fielded between May 26 and May 29, 2023 .

About USAA

Founded in 1922 by a group of military officers, USAA is among the leading providers of insurance, banking and investment and retirement solutions to nearly 13 million members of the U.S. military, veterans who have honorably served and their families. Headquartered in San Antonio, Tex. , USAA has offices in eight U.S. cities and three overseas locations and employs more than 37,000 people worldwide. Each year, the company contributes to national and local nonprofits in support of military families and communities where employees live and work. For more information about USAA, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@USAA), or visit usaa.com.

Life insurance and annuities provided by USAA Life Insurance Company, San Antonio, TX and in New York by USAA Life Insurance Company of New York, Highland Falls, NY . All insurance products are subject to state availability, issue limitations and contractual terms and conditions. Each company has sole financial responsibility for its own products.

Contact: USAA Media Relations

[email protected]

210-498-0940

USAA on Twitter: @usaa

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SOURCE USAA
Milestone marks the completion of the system development phase and the commencement of the toll operations phase.

ETC now manages ORB's customer service centers and back-office system.

ORB's toll system supports economic development, propelled by safer and more efficient travel throughout the area.

New, locally based call center.

TORONTO , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Quarterhill Inc. ("Quarterhill" or the "Company") (TSX: QTRH) (OTCQX: QTRHF), a leading provider of tolling and enforcement solutions in the Intelligent Transportation System ("ITS") industry, announces that the transfer of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges  RiverLink Project' ("RiverLink") back-office toll operations to the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Electronic Transaction Consultants ("ETC"), is now complete. ETC assumed management of RiverLink's customer service centers and back-office system on September 1, 2023 .

The RiverLink toll system, operated by the Kentucky-Indiana Joint Board, consists of three bridges that span the Ohio River , connecting Louisville, Kentucky , and Southern Indiana . In July 2021 , ETC was awarded a 10-year contract with RiverLink that includes three years for system design and implementation and seven years for toll service operations. The contract also includes two optional three-year renewal periods.

ETC is providing RiverLink with riteHorizon, its full-suite of tolling enterprise back-office solutions. riteHorizon capabilities include account management, customer relationship management, an online customer service center, reporting and analytics. Monitoring and maintenance tools are also a key part of riteHorizon to ensure high availability and customer billing accuracy.

ETC has partnered with WSP USA Services Inc. ("WSP USA") on this project, with ETC providing the back-office system, and WSP USA managing contact center interactions for RiverLink customers. This partnership pairs ETC's best-in-class back-office technology with WSP USA 's leading services for highway customer service centers. As part of the contract with RiverLink, a new locally based contact center has been built, which will provide for new jobs in the region.

"This highly anticipated milestone marks the completion of ETC's system development and the commencement of the toll operations phase with RiverLink," said Kevin Holbert, Chief Executive Officer at ETC. "We are proud to support RiverLink's efforts to provide world-class infrastructure to its constituents, to improve mobility and safety in this important river-crossing area and to generate resources that support future infrastructure and economic development. We are confident that our tolling solutions will provide RiverLink and the citizens of Indiana and Kentucky with dependable operations and the highest quality of customer service."

ETC's riteHorizon solution maximizes self-service and customer service representative productivity, reduces turnaround times, and places direct configuration and process control into RiverLink personnel's hands. The new system streamlines billing, improves ease of website and mobile self-service, and facilitates speedy question and issue resolution for RiverLInk's 275,000 registered customers and visitors.

For the first time, riteHorizon is being delivered on Oracle's Cloud Infrastructure. Migrating toll systems to the cloud offers multiple benefits, including reduced time to implement systems vs. on-premises infrastructure, reduced maintenance burden by switching to a model that uses infrastructure-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service, reduced capital expenditures for deployment of IT infrastructure, reduced downtime due to the greater reliability of engineered cloud solutions, and improved reliability enabled by a cloud-based disaster recovery environment that satisfies the agency's business continuity requirements.

About Quarterhill

Quarterhill is a leading provider of tolling and enforcement solutions in the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) industry. Our goal is global leadership in ITS, via organic growth of the Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC (ETC) and International Road Dynamics Inc. (IRD) platforms, and by continuing an acquisition-oriented investment strategy that capitalizes on attractive growth opportunities within ITS and its adjacent markets. Quarterhill is listed on the TSX under the symbol QTRH and on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol QTRHF. For more information, visit www.quarterhill.com.

About Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC

ETC is a leading U.S. intelligent transportation systems provider, developing and delivering best in class solutions for tolling, congestion management, urban mobility, and multimodal transportation needs. ETC's passionate and innovative team has been driving the future of mobility since 1999, with several industry firsts, including all electronic tolling (AET), dynamic pricing, agency interoperability, hosted mobility solutions and machine learning.

For over two decades, ETC has delivered sophisticated solutions to many of the U.S. 's largest toll authorities, including state-wide programs, county networks and tolling-specific authorities. ETC's solutions process over two billion transactions annually totaling over $3 billion in revenues for our customers, incorporating the latest in evergreen open-source and SaaS technologies and Big Data architecture through our innovative riteSuite products.

About the Ohio River Bridges Toll System

The Ohio River Bridges RiverLink toll system in both Kentucky and Indiana spans the Abraham Lincoln Bridge ( I-65 North ), the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge ( I-65 South ) and the Lewis and Clark Bridge (SR 265/KY 841) connecting Prospect, KY and Utica, IN.

The Louisville Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges project is a bi-state collaboration to increase cross-river mobility, improve safety, alleviate traffic congestion, and connect highways. The project includes the construction of the new Abraham Lincoln Bridge to carry northbound I-65 traffic, the rehabilitation of the Kennedy Bridge to carry southbound I-65 traffic, the reconfiguration of Spaghetti Junction in downtown Louisville , and the construction of the Lewis and Clark Bridge eight miles upstream from downtown Louisville to connect the Snyder Freeway and the Lee Hamilton Highway between Prospect Kentucky and Utica Indiana . The I-65 bridges and the Lewis and Clark Bridge were completed in December 2016 .

Forward-looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding Quarterhill, its operating subsidiaries and their respective businesses. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by Quarterhill in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and the expected effects of new business strategies, as well as other factors that Quarterhill believes are appropriate in the circumstances. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed herein may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Quarterhill, which include, without limitation, the risks described in Quarterhill's March 22, 2023 annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the "AIF"). In addition, readers are also urged to review the additional risk factors disclosed in our Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 filed on www.sedarplus.ca. Quarterhill recommends that readers review and consider all of these risk factors and notes that readers should not place undue reliance on any of Quarterhill's forward-looking statements. Quarterhill has no intention, and undertakes no 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.

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SOURCE Quarterhill Inc.
New Software to Help Companies Grow Business with Increased Customer Engagement and Reduce Operational Costs

LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As companies look for innovative ways to engage customers, Epson today announced new software for businesses to easily transform black-and-white shipping labels to colorful shipping labels that will help elevate their brand. New Label Boost software, compatible with most Epson ColorWorks printers,1 allows businesses to easily add full-color coupons, targeted ads, secondary labels, and dynamic content to shipping labels, creating new opportunities for businesses to leverage shipping labels for marketing, reduce material and labor costs and streamline operations, in general.

Epson Announces Label Boost Software for Businesses to Add Colorful Messaging to Shipping Labels

"Retailers and direct-to-consumer manufacturers are always looking for creative and affordable ways to grow revenue and build customer loyalty," said Tessa Kohl , product manager of DX Solutions, Epson America, Inc. "Adding colorful messages in the form of branded content, secondary labels, coupons, and ads to shipping labels is a unique way for businesses to tap into innovative marketing, to help elevate branding, improve shipping accuracy and streamline operations."

Businesses can use Label Boost software to apply secondary labels, such as regulatory or shipping-and-handling labels, or to highlight critical information, such as parcel count or expedited shipping, to promote accuracy and timeliness of delivery.

Label Boost software is designed for hassle-free deployment, so the bulk of the label creation process remains the same, with modification of the existing label only at the very last step before printing. It works alongside existing shipping software so delivery operations can continue to run seamlessly. Label Boost is compatible with ZPL driven software used by many national couriers, as well as labeling solutions such as BarTender and Loftware. Businesses can automatically choose the messaging they want to attach based on a customer's location, delivery date or other key variables.

Label Boost software is compatible with most Epson ColorWorks printers,1 ensuring labels are printed with exceptional image quality that's worthy of the brand. In addition, there are no recurring software fees.

Benefits include:

Elevate branding  help increase customer stickiness and engagement by including promotions, product announcements and cross-promotional opportunities on shipping labels

 help increase customer stickiness and engagement by including promotions, product announcements and cross-promotional opportunities on shipping labels Reduce operational costs  help reduce associated material and labor costs while improving shipping processes for businesses adding secondary labels

 help reduce associated material and labor costs while improving shipping processes for businesses adding secondary labels Improve shipping accuracy  highlight critical information on shipping labels to provide clear instructions for packages that need special or expedited processing

The new software will be demonstrated in Epson's booth (#719) at PARCEL Forum in Nashville, Tenn. from Sept. 11-13 and at PACK EXPO 2023 Las Vegas (#SL-6664) from Sept. 11-13 . As one of the largest color label printer manufacturers in the labeling and packaging industry, Epson will be showcasing how its new Label Boost software can help professionals in the package fulfillment industry improve processes and maneuver increased competition and higher costs.

Available starting in late 2023, Label Boost will be offered through a standalone professional license, as well as with a promotional bundle with the ColorWorks CW-C6000P and a starter 4"x8" roll. For more information, visit www.epson.com/label-boost-color-shipping-label-software.

About Epson

Epson is a global technology leader whose philosophy of efficient, compact and precise innovation enriches lives and helps create a better world. The company is focused on solving societal issues through innovations in home and office printing, commercial and industrial printing, manufacturing, visual and lifestyle. Epson's goal is to become carbon negative and eliminate use of exhaustible underground resources such as oil and metal by 2050.

Led by the Japan -based Seiko Epson Corporation, the worldwide Epson Group generates annual sales of more than JPY 1 trillion. global.epson.com/

Epson America, Inc., based in Los Alamitos, Calif. , is Epson's regional headquarters for the U.S. , Canada , and Latin America . To learn more about Epson, please visit: epson.com. You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (facebook.com/Epson), Twitter (twitter.com/EpsonAmerica), YouTube (youtube.com/epsonamerica), and Instagram (instagram.com/EpsonAmerica).

1 Label Boost is compatible with CW-C4000, CW-C6000, and CW-C6500 series printers.

EPSON and ColorWorks are registered trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation. Label Boost is a trademark of Epson America, Inc. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks. Copyright 2023 Epson America, Inc.

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SOURCE Epson America, Inc.
NAVC HiVE Event to take place in Austin, TX Oct. 16 - 18

AUSTIN, Texas , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) will host Vet Nurse + Tech HiVE, the first and only event of its kind tailored exclusively for the largest professional segment in the veterinary industry. This event is part of NAVC HiVE's new series of events and will feature a roster of headlining presenters and topics ranging from cutting-edge medical techniques to professional, self, and personal development along with advancing customer communication and experience. Members of the media are invited to attend for free .

"NAVC HiVE events are designed to be nimble and get ahead of issues impacting veterinary professionals while shaping the veterinary industry now and into the future." - Gene O'Neill , NAVC CEO

"Supporting veterinary nurses and technicians around the world is a top priority for the NAVC and part of our commitment to helping all veterinary team members thrive. We believe programs like NAVC HiVE will help further empower them and elevate their skills," said NAVC CEO Gene O'Neill . "This is a vital initiative dedicated to advancing veterinary nurses and technicians and addressing industry challenges head-on."

Veterinary nurses and technicians play a critical role in the veterinary industry, providing assistance in emergency and critical care, nutrition, anesthesiology, radiology, oral and dental care, and a wide range of other advanced skill sets. With more than 100,000 veterinary nurses/technicians nationwide, they comprise 40% of the veterinary profession in the U.S.

Ranking first in the nation for registered veterinary nurse/technicians with nearly 14,000 throughout the state, Texas serves as an ideal host for this innovative event.

The event will feature three tracks: Professional and Career Development; Clinical Content; and Personal and Self Development including stress management, mindfulness and financial planning.

Speakers from all over the country will present easy-to-understand sessions that foster professional growth and development for veterinary nurses/technicians. Some big names to look out for include international speaker, author, and media personality Andy Roark , DVM. Dr. Roark will be presenting on topics such as "Getting Heard (And Respected) By Veterinarians;" "Going up the Chain: How To Talk to Management;" "Effective Client Communication Strategies;" and " 'I'm Not Your Boss But '...Holding Peers Accountable."

Other sessions include "Communication Nutrition to Pet Parents of Cancer Patients" with Vicky Ograin , MBA, RVT, VTS (Nutrition); "Round and Round We Go  The Importance of Cage Side Rounds" presented by Melissa Evans , LVT, CVT, VTS (ECC); "Decision Fatigue. It's a Thing and It's Likely Affecting You" taught by Beckie Mossor , MPA RVT and "Blood Transfusions: The Technicians Guide to How and When" by Jordan Porter , RVT (GA), VTS (SAIM). Additional topics to keep an eye out for will focus on personal and professional development, clinical sessions and combating compassion fatigue.

The event, scheduled to take place October 16-18 at the Palmer Events Center in Austin , is designed to bring together veterinary nurses/technicians from all corners of the country. It promises to be a transformative experience, offering attendees networking opportunities and dynamic learning. The unique focus on this essential segment of the veterinary workforce aligns with NAVC's commitment to driving positive change across the veterinary industry.

NAVC HiVE events are designed to be nimble and get ahead of issues impacting veterinary professionals while shaping the veterinary industry now and into the future. This new style of in-person events will bring the industry's brightest thinkers directly to members of the veterinary community across the U.S. Each NAVC HiVE event will consist of four areas of focus: animal health industry trends affecting patient treatment; issues faced by the veterinary industry such as staffing shortages and mental health; specific veterinary team member needs; and the business side of the $104 billion domestic veterinary industry.

For more information about the NAVC HiVE event, including the full program schedule and registration details, please visit navc.com/hive .

About the NAVC



The North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing veterinary professionals worldwide. The world's leading provider of veterinary continuing education, the NAVC delivers essential training, tools and resources for veterinary professionals to stay abreast of advances in animal medicine and provide the best medical care for animals everywhere. Through its commitment to innovation and excellence, the NAVC has developed a diverse portfolio of products and services, including educational events, headlined by VMX, the world's largest, most comprehensive continuing education conference and launchpad for new products and innovations within the veterinary industry; a robust digital platform for virtual learning and engagement; the veterinary industry's largest and award-winning portfolio of trade publications; and an advocacy arm which unites the veterinary community and pet lovers. The NAVC was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL. Since 2017, the NAVC has been recognized annually as one of the Top Workplaces by the Orlando Sentinel. To learn more about NAVC's products and brands, visit https://navc.com/ . To see our schedule of upcoming events, visit https://navc.com/calendar/ .

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SOURCE North American Veterinary Community
FLO's booth showcases reliable charging technology

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - FLO , a leading North American electric vehicle (EV) charging network operator and smart charging solutions provider, will discuss both the EV charging industry and technology at the upcoming MOVE America 2023 show, Sept. 26-27 , Austin Convention Center , Austin, Texas .

MOVE America, which focuses on promoting a more sustainable future in mobility, offers a dynamic selection of keynote talks, interactive panel discussions, workshops, booths, and stages dedicated to all-things mobility. The event will open its doors to 3,800 attendees, 150+ exhibitors, 300 start-ups, and 500 speakers over its two-day course.

Several FLO experts will participate in speaking events at the event including:

EV Charging: From 'for engineers by engineers' to design for all, Sept. 26 at 10:30, in Theatre 12 -- Nathan Yang , FLO Chief Product Officer

What will it take to get electric vehicles to mainstream adoption, Sept. 26 at 2:20 in Theatre 12 -- Nathan Yang , FLO Chief Product Officer

EV Charging networks: equitable access to charging infrastructure, Sept. 26 at 12:10, in Theatre 12 -- Travis Allan , FLO Chief Legal and Public Affairs Officer

EV Charging Design Workshop: charging for everyone, Sept 26 at 12:45, in Keynote theatre -- Nathan Yang , FLO Chief Product Officer, and Vincent Levesque , FLO Senior Experience Design Director

The company will also showcase its CoRe+ MAXTM, FLO HomeTM and SmartTWOTM chargers at MOVE. FLO product experts and leadership will host visitors to the FLO booth, No. 1023, during the show.

Who: FLO will host media and visitors at its booth during the show.

Where: FLO's booth, No. 1023, at MOVE America, Sept. 26-27 , Austin Convention Center , Austin, Texas

When: Sept. 26-27 , product demos and executive interviews also available

Contact: Media interested in attending in speaking to a FLO expert can email: [email protected] .

About FLO

FLO is a leading North American electric vehicle (EV) charging network operator and a smart charging solutions provider. We help to overcome climate change and accelerate EV adoption through a vertically integrated business model and by delivering EV drivers the best charging experience from curbside to countryside. Every month, we enable more than 1 million charging events thanks to over 95,000 fast and level 2 EV charging stations deployed at public, private and residential locations. FLO operates its network across North America and our high-quality charging stations are assembled with care in Michigan and Quebec . To learn more about what "EV charging done right" means to us, visit flo.com .

FLO, CoRe+ MAXTM, FLO HomeTM and SmartTWOTM are registered or unregistered trademarks of Services FLO Inc.

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SOURCE FLO
RICHARDSON, Texas , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FOSSIL is excited to announce the launch of their latest campaign, Made For This . Alongside the campaign unveil, the brand reveals a complete overhaul of their creative expression across all touchpoints, inclusive of a modernized brand image and premium product assortment.

"Made For This is the culmination of extensive efforts across all areas of our business, in all regions, with both internal and external partners. We dug deep into Fossil's nearly 40-year heritage and explored not only the role Fossil has played in so many lives for so long, but how the next generation of consumers is connecting most deeply with brands. The result of this work is our multi-year strategy that will bring our beloved heritage brand into its next era and to a new audience," says Lisa Pillette , Chief Marketing Officer at Fossil Group. "A core element to this journey is a shared value between Fossil and our consumers: the ownership of one's time. They're incredibly thoughtful that time is spent with purpose, intentionality and community. Each way in which Fossil is a part of someone's lifecrafting leather goods that get better with age, the intention behind a watch's intricate details, the methods in which we connect with our audienceis similarly defined by the time and care taken to create lasting products to be alongside them."

The holistic brand work also extends into product, including the identification of refreshed signature design elements, premiumization of materials and a refined design vision with the establishment of iconic platforms across categorieselevating the line to coincide with the revitalized brand ethos.

"As people experience moments, big and small, we want Fossil to be present and an important companion on their journey," says Melissa Lowenkron , Chief Brand Officer. "Fossil has a rich history built on innovation and craftsmanship. Our brand strategy focuses on product elevation across watches, leather goods and jewelry. This includes a deliberate attention to design, incorporation of premium materials and establishing identifiable signature design elements across categories."

The lead spot for the campaigndeveloped by Mekanism , directed by Bradley & Pablo of Prettybird Productions and lensed by Tim Barbercaptures the most candid expression of a moment, illustrated with a modern-nostalgic influence. Inclusive of video and image content alongside new copy and graphics direction, Made For This captures the journey of life and joy in the candid moments, while expressing the brand's sense of wit and optimism.

Roll out across global markets includes:

Global campaign launch events during New York and Paris fashion weeks

and fashion weeks Content series featuring partners that reflect the multi-faceted interests of the Fossil Collectivefashion, music, travel and much moreacross social channels

Robust influencer partnership expansion reaching 1,000+ influencers and millions of customers across social platforms

Refreshed owned brand channels, including website, email, social media and rollout to top retail stores

Robust digital, print and streaming partnerships across 30+ platforms

OOH and DOOH amplification in over 10 cities

Preview Made For This at Fossil.com and follow @Fossil for future updates.

ABOUT FOSSIL

FOSSIL is a leading global lifestyle accessories brand inspired by creativity and ingenuity. We create timeless, well-crafted leather goods, jewelry and watches made to ride alongside you wherever you take life next. In everything we do, we strive to Make Time For Good, working to create positive change for our people and communities.

ABOUT MEKANISM

Mekanism is a fiercely-entrepreneurial agency that blends creativity and performance to build great brands. With employees in San Francisco , New York , Los Angeles , Chicago and Seattle , Mekanism serves as collaborative business partners to some of the world's best brands including Quaker, Jose Cuervo , Alaska Airlines, Whoop, Charles Schwab and OkCupid, among others. Mekanism has been named to Ad Age's A-List and twice to their Best Places to Work. For more information, visit https://mekanism.com.

ABOUT BRADLEY & PABLO

Bradley & Pablo ( Bradley Bell and Pablo Jones-Soler ) are a director duo based in LA who blend youth and pop culture with high-concept storytelling. B&P's strong visual style can be seen throughout their work for top brands including Heineken, Bose, ZenBusiness, and the historic Parisian luxury fashion house Balmain on the campaign "Fracture"  a first-of-its-kind short-form drama series. In the music video space, they have worked with top artists including Lil Nas X , Harry Styles , Dua Lipa , Kanye West , and, most recently, collaborated with BTS's Jung Kook on "Seven" which became the most-watched music video in the world, acquiring over 100 million views in 10 days.

ABOUT TIM BARBER

Tim Barber grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts , lived for a few years in the mountains of Northern Vermont , studied photography in Vancouver B.C. and now lives between New York City and Upstate NY. He is a photographer and curator and the founder of the web projects tinyvices.com, Time & Space and Dream Sequence Editions. Tim is represented globally by Supervision.

Media Contact: [email protected]

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SOURCE Fossil
Eight Los Angeles -based grantees to assist residents in retaining their Medi-Cal membership and to educate others about the benefits of healthcare coverage.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Net, one of California's most experienced Medi-Cal managed care health plans and a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, has awarded $500,000 in grants to eight Los Angeles organizations to increase outreach and education efforts on the rolling Medi-Cal eligibility redetermination process. To assist residents in keeping their health coverage, it is critical that Medi-Cal enrollees are aware of upcoming deadlines and the available resources to guide them through their renewal.

"We know that access to quality healthcare is directly correlated with better health outcomes for vulnerable populations," said Medicare and Medi-Cal President at Health Net, Martha Santana-Chin . "Health Net is working to ensure that all eligible Angelenos maintain their comprehensive health care benefits. These grants will help our longstanding community-based partners engage with residents to provide necessary resources."

Health Net awarded grants to the following organizations:

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Los Angeles

Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights

Garfield Health Center

JWCH Institute, Inc.

Los Angeles LGBT Center

Maternal and Child Health Access

St. John's Well Child and Family Center

White Memorial Community Health Center

Two of the eight grants were awarded in partnership with the California Community Foundation (CCF). CCF provided an additional $50,000 to support Asian Americans Advancing Justice Los Angeles and Garfield Health Center, who are specifically focusing on Language Access and Services for outreach and enrollment.

"The California Community Foundation is proud to partner with Health Net to ensure language barriers do not impact millions of families across Los Angeles County as they renew their eligibility for Medi-Cal," said President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Community Foundation, Antonia Hernandez. "Through our partnership, we are keeping people covered, helping local organizations spread important information and encouraging Angelenos to take action for their health."

"Garfield Health Center extends our gratitude to Health Net and the California Community Foundation for their support in empowering us to assist consumers in the San Gabriel Valley with Medi-Cal enrollment, understanding their benefits and navigating the complexities of the health care system," said Chief Financial Officer at Garfield Health Center, Jamie Thai . "We believe this funding will be instrumental in making a positive impact on countless lives. Together, we are fostering a healthier and more informed community."

Free, Downloadable Materials for Healthcare Providers and Community Organizations

Earlier this year, Health Net launched the Review to Renew campaign to provide Californian residents, healthcare providers and community organizations with resources to help Medi-Cal members navigate the redetermination process and keep their health coverage.

"Ensuring low-income residents maintain access to essential health benefits is critical. I am grateful to all our partners who have helped many residents across the County retain their health coverage, including Health Net," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, First District . "They have been a vital partner during this renewal period, providing information, funding and resources to vulnerable residents. I am committed to the important work of expanding healthcare access and look forward to the continued partnership with Health Net to better meet the needs of County residents."

Healthcare providers and community-based organizations can download free social media posts , flyers, posters and more on Health Net's Review to Renew resource page.

As part of the campaign, Health Net is also educating residents about Medi-Cal redetermination at dozens of cultural and community events across the state. The company has supplemented those grassroots efforts by sending educational mailers, text messages, interactive voice response calls and more to Medi-Cal members.

About Health Net:

At Health Net, we believe every person deserves a safety net for their health, regardless of age, income, employment status or current state of health. Founded in California more than 40 years ago, we're dedicated to transforming the health of our community, one person at a time. Today, 90,000 network providers serve 3 million members. That's nearly 1 in 12 Californians. We provide health plans for individuals, families, businesses of every size and people who qualify for Medi-Cal or Medicare  Coverage for Every Stage of Life. Health Net also offers access to substance abuse programs, behavioral health services, employee assistance programs and managed health care products related to prescription drugs. We offer these health plans and services through Health Net, LLC and its subsidiaries: Health Net of California, Inc., Health Net Life Insurance Company and Health Net Community Solutions, Inc. These entities are wholly owned subsidiaries of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), a Fortune 25 company that offers affordable and high-quality products to nearly 1 in 15 individuals across the nation. For more information, visit www.HealthNet.com.

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SOURCE Health Net
JourneyTEAM is honored by Microsoft for achieving outstanding sales achievement and innovation.

DRAPER, Utah , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- JourneyTEAM, a trusted Microsoft Partner, has achieved the prestigious 2023-2024 Microsoft Business Applications Inner Circle award. Membership in this elite group is based on sales achievements that rank JourneyTEAM in the top echelon of Microsoft's Business Applications global network of partners. Inner Circle members have performed to a high standard of excellence by delivering valuable solutions that help organizations achieve increased success.

2023-2024 Inner Circle members are invited to the Inner Circle Summit in Spring 2024 as well as virtual meetings between July 2023 and June 2024 , where they will have a unique opportunity to discuss strategy with Microsoft senior leaders and fellow Inner Circle partners, while learning more about the company's road maps and future plans, establish strong executive connections, and collaborate on best practices.

"With the Inner Circle distinction, we are recognizing a group of partners who have excelled at accelerating their customer's digital transformation with Dynamics 365 and Power Apps solutions," said Peter Jensen, Microsoft Business Application Partner Strategy Lead. " Inner Circle partners represent some of the best IP, industry expertise, and technical capabilities in Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform. Their dedication to customer success and the Microsoft Cloud have set them apart, and we are honored to recognize JourneyTEAM for their achievement and membership of the 2023-2024 Inner Circle ."

There are not many Business Technology Consultants that offer the depth of experience across Microsoft tools such as Microsoft 365, Azure, and Dynamics 365, within one unified team. By collaborating with the teams at Microsoft, JourneyTEAM maintains a strong expertise of the Microsoft platform to provide innovative solutions, strong services, and unparalleled value to its customers.

JourneyTEAM provides implementation, training, and consultation across the United States for small, midsize, and corporate businesses using business enterprise applications. JourneyTEAM specializes in Dynamics 365, Power BI, and Security Assessments to develop and deploy CRM, ERP, and Business Application solutions that help lead global companies across industries, including Healthcare, Equipment Manufacturing, and Financial Services get to market faster and achieve continued success.

CEO of JourneyTEAM, Brian Tenney , shares: "JourneyTEAM is honored to be a Microsoft Dynamics inner circle partner again this year. Inner Circle is a great way to build stronger relationships with Microsoft, which helps us better serve our customers to drive long-term value by aligning our project roadmap and involving Microsoft when helpful."

About JourneyTEAM

JourneyTEAM is an award-winning, Microsoft Partner with all six solutions partner designations, specializing in all three Microsoft Clouds: Modern Workplace, Microsoft Azure, and Microsoft Business Applications. JourneyTEAM is dedicated to helping customers achieve a competitive advantage by identifying the best solutions and services that accommodate their unique business needs.

For Additional Information:

Shea Drake

[email protected]

Related Links:

https://www.journeyteam.com/techsummit

https://www.journeyteam.com/contact

Moriah Jo Spainhower

Content Manager

JourneyTEAM

[email protected]

"This release was issued through WebWire. For more information, visit http://www.webwire.com."

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SOURCE JourneyTEAM
-Votes determine which fuzzy-faced finalist wins $20,000 for himself and $5,000 for his charity-

(View the Interactive News Release)

STERLING, Ill. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Christopher McNeil from Kansas City, MO , is a former elementary school principal who started his program 'Books and Barbers' to provide haircuts, books, and mentorship to elementary school students within the Kansas City Public School District. His charity, the Kansas City Public School Foundation, supports educational initiatives and impact programs like 'Books and Barbers' that encourage innovation and support student enrichment. Men's grooming leader Wahl is rewarding McNeil's ability to combine good grooming with goodwill, and has chosen him as a finalist in the Wahl 'Benevolent Beards' Contest. Public votes will now decide if McNeil wins the Grand Prize of $20,000 for himself, and $5,000 for his charity. He'll also be crowned the new 'Wahl Man of the Year,' a moniker that boasts a bearded brotherhood spanning 16 years.

To vote for Christopher McNeil as the Most 'Benevolent Beard' in America, visit https://bit.ly/WahlBenevolentBeards.

The other finalists include (in no order):

James Gottry from Colorado Springs, CO, has been supporting UMOM New Day Centers in Phoenix, AZ , for decades. His connection to the charity stems from his late father who served as the organization's chief operating officer for more than 20 years. The purpose of UMOM is to target the cycle of homelessness by providing shelter and housing, as well as job and skills training.



Ben Davis from Dallas, TX , founded Operation Gentleman, a charity that supports three primary causes: collecting suits and business attire for donation to the Fort Cavazos Soldier Recovery Unit, providing monthly pop-up barbershop services to the homeless population in Dallas , and feeding veterans in need.



Yuri Williams from Los Angeles, CA, started his charity A Future Superhero after his mother passed away from cancer. His work with disabled and seriously ill children is a tribute to the positive impact his mother had on his life. His efforts include traveling to all 50 states and organizing events like toy drives, backpack giveaways, and personalized visits  all dressed as different superheroes.



Shawn Standley from Talkeetna, AK , is a professional artist who supports his charity, Denali Arts Council , as treasurer. The organization helps the entire community, but especially kids, in the rural Alaskan village explore opportunities for artistic expression, something they often lack in school due to low funding for art programs.

About the Wahl 'Benevolent Beards' Contest

A wealth of whiskered men from across America submitted videos of themselves either explaining or demonstrating how they support a charity. What kind of charity? As long as it was a 501(c)(3) organization with a goal to impact the world positively, all charities were considered. Five finalists were chosen, and now public votes will help decide who receives the Grand Prize of $20,000 for himself, and a visit from Wahl's Mobile Barbershop for a charity fundraising event. Master barbers will offer the public FREE beard trims, and for every trim Wahl will donate $100 to the winner's charity  up to $5,000 . Voting is open until Oct. 1, 2023 .

For more information about the Wahl 'Benevolent Beards' Contest, or for facial hair tips and tools visit WahlUSA.com or follow @WahlGrooming on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

About Wahl Grooming

Celebrating its 104th anniversary, Wahl continues to help men look and feel their best with innovative products manufactured to define and elevate the men's grooming category. The company set the standard with the first-ever practical electric hair clipper in 1919, and later strengthened its leadership with the world's first battery-powered facial hair trimmer. It's this continued commitment to excellence that has solidified Wahl's place as the world's go-to brand for men's grooming solutions. For more information, visit WahlUSA.com.

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SOURCE Wahl
Some 796 criminals are being held in a government-run hospital for the criminally insane in Korea, and 60 percent of them suffer from schizophrenia.

A staffer at the National Forensic Psychiatric Hospital said, "Among the schizophrenia patients here, most are violent criminals who committed murder, rape and arson. There are criminals here who killed family members who had cared for them."

Criminals are housed in 15 different wards according to the type and severity of their mental illness, be it bipolar disorder, delusional disorder or schizophrenia.

The biggest group or 290 committed murder, 145 assault, 123 rape and 43 arson.
RESTON, Va. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mandiant Inc. , now part of Google Cloud, today unveiled new information on the exciting lineup of keynote speakers and panels for mWISE Conference 2023 , which will take place September 18-20 , at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Washington, D.C. , along with a digital option.

mWISEMandiant Worldwide Information Security Exchangeis a portfolio of vendor-neutral event programming that brings together cybersecurity practitioners, industry leaders and visionaries from around the globe to discuss best practices, identify new and emerging trends and convert knowledge into collective action in the fight against persistent cyber threats. The second annual mWISE Conference will feature an impressive lineup of keynote speakers from both the public and private sectors; more than 80 sessions, over 90 speakers, and a showcase of leading cybersecurity vendor innovations on an expanded expo floor.

mWISE mainstage keynotes

mWISE Conference 2023 will deliver engaging and educational mainstage addresses across three action-packed days, purposefully designed by the security community for the security community. Mainstage speakers include highly regarded cybersecurity experts and industry leaders from both the public and private sectors that were selected by a committee of independent experts.

Mandiant CEO at Google Cloud, Kevin Mandia , will deliver the opening keynote on the nation-state threat landscape, followed by remarks from Federal Bureau of Investigation Director, Christopher Wray , Author and Alternative Reality Game Designer, Dr. Jane McGonigal , PhD, and New York Times Best Selling Author and Journalist, Malcolm Gladwell .

mWISE mainstage: industry panels

Cyber Intelligence in a Rapidly Changing World . CNN Cybersecurity Reporter Sean Lyngaas will moderate a discussion around how major geopolitical events and new technical demands continue to transform the landscape as well as the challenges and the anticipated opportunities with these changes. Participants will include Jackie Burns Koven , Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Chainalysis, John Hultquist , Mandiant Intelligence Chief Analyst at Google Cloud, Selena Larson , Senior Threat Intelligence Analyst at Proofpoint, and Maddie Stone , Security Researcher at Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG). This panel will feature a thought-provoking introduction by Sandra Joyce , Vice President, Mandiant Intelligence at Google Cloud.



CNN Cybersecurity Reporter will moderate a discussion around how major geopolitical events and new technical demands continue to transform the landscape as well as the challenges and the anticipated opportunities with these changes. Participants will include , Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Chainalysis, , Mandiant Intelligence Chief Analyst at Google Cloud, , Senior Threat Intelligence Analyst at Proofpoint, and , Security Researcher at Google's (TAG). This panel will feature a thought-provoking introduction by , Vice President, Mandiant Intelligence at Google Cloud. Defending Against Advanced Adversaries: Lessons Learned . Charles Carmakal, Mandiant Consulting Chief Technology Officer at Google Cloud, will moderate a discussion with Diane Honda , Chief Administrative Officer of Barracuda Networks, Kelly Bissell , Corporate Vice President for Microsoft, and Jeff Lunglhofer , Chief Information Security Officer at Coinbase , to share the lessons learned from overseeing complex cybersecurity attacks by advanced adversaries from the perspective of business leaders who led their company's response.



. Charles Carmakal, Chief Technology Officer at Google Cloud, will moderate a discussion with , Chief Administrative Officer of Barracuda Networks, , Corporate Vice President for Microsoft, and , Chief Information Security Officer at , to share the lessons learned from overseeing complex cybersecurity attacks by advanced adversaries from the perspective of business leaders who led their company's response. AI and Security Standards: Maximizing Innovation while Minimizing Risk. Moderated by POLITICO Cybersecurity Reporter , Maggie Miller , experts will discuss the immense potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the need for governments, industry and academia to ensure that this profoundly helpful technology works for everyone. Panelists will include Dmitri Alperovitch , Executive Chairman at the Silverado Policy Accelerator and member of the US Government's Cyber Safety Review Board , Chris DeRusha , Federal Chief Information Security Officer at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Deputy National Cyber Director (ONCD), Trisha Kothari , Chief Executive Officer at Unit21, and Phil Venables , Chief Information Security Officer at Google Cloud.

"In an evolving threat landscape fraught with challenges, the mWISE Conference equips attendees across the cybersecurity industry with the knowledge and tools to harden their networks against the threats of today and tomorrow," said Sandra Toms , Head of Global Experience Marketing, Mandiant & mWISE. "Our dynamic lineup of keynote speakers and panels has been informed by attendees to ensure the broader community can best come together with new ideas to effect change as we continue to fight back against cyber threats."

Breakout Tracks

On top of dynamic mainstage presentations, mWISE Conference 2023 will feature more than 80 sessions, available both live and on-demand. Each session falls under one of six key tracks curated by an independent program committee: Cloud Security, Intelligence, Security Engineering, Security Operations, Security Threats and Exploits and Third Party and Cyber Risk Management. Sample industry sessions include: " China and Russia's Use of AI: Impacts on Cybersecurity and Geopolitical Shifts," "Intelligence Driven Threat Hunting & Detection," and "Intelligence-led Cyber Resiliency Strategy."

For the latest mWISE 2023 Conference updates, visit mWISE.Mandiant.com/conf23 .

About Mandiant

Mandiant is a recognized leader in dynamic cyber defense, threat intelligence and incident response services. By scaling decades of frontline experience, Mandiant helps organizations to be confident in their readiness to defend against and respond to cyber threats. Mandiant is now part of Google Cloud.

About Google Cloud

Google Cloud accelerates every organization's ability to digitally transform its business. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technologyall on the cleanest cloud in the industry. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.

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SOURCE Google Cloud
Acquisition will drive accelerated global expansion of Serverfarm's data center portfolio and platform innovation

BOSTON and LOS ANGELES, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Manulife Investment Management, on behalf of Manulife Infrastructure Fund II* and its affiliates, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of a controlling interest in Serverfarm, a global innovator in data center development, operation, and management.

This transaction, together with ongoing financial support from Manulife Investment Management and NantCapital, LLC ("NANT"), will enable Serverfarm to accelerate the expansion of its data center portfolio and enhance the market reach of InCommand, its leading cloud based DMaaS (Data Center Management as a Service) platform.

"We are excited to be joining the next chapter of Serverfarm's growth," said Recep Kendircioglu, global head of infrastructure, Manulife Investment Management. "Avner and the Serverfarm team have built a powerful platform and strong customer relationships. With this transaction, Serverfarm is even more well-positioned to serve customers' increasing demands for data center capacity."

"With Manulife Investment Management's support, we will accelerate Serverfarm's growth strategy in existing and new markets," said Avner Papouchado , Founder and CEO of Serverfarm. "It is also an investment in Serverfarm's continuing commitment to customer growth through partnership by meeting their individual data center objectives across CapEx, OpEx, efficiency and sustainability."

"Investment in data centers at Serverfarm and Layer 1 fiber infrastructure is key in meeting NANT's initiatives of funding and building cloud-based infrastructure," said Patrick Soon-Shiong , Founder and Chairman of NANT. "The strategic partnership with Manulife Investment Management adds to the potential of the data centers at Serverfarm to expand its global role in addressing the expanding infrastructure needs of cloud computing and AI in this digital era."

Serverfarm's provision of strategic guidance, technology expertise, alongside bespoke services based on commercial property is unique in the commercial data center market. Serverfarm currently operates a portfolio of eight data centers across North America, Europe and Israel that aggregates more than 1.5 million gross square feet and 125MW of IT capacity, and it has secured additional land for future data center developments. With over 750 sites already managed by InCommand DMaaS, it is the cloud platform of choice for enterprises, cloud services and commercial data center providers to manage their distributed data center assets. As part of the transaction, Avner Papouchado will continue as CEO and both NANT and Mr. Papouchado will retain a significant ownership interest in Serverfarm.

The acquisition closed on September 1, 2023 . For additional background on the acquisition, please read the announcement press release here .

About Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management is the brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation. Our mission is to make decisions easier and lives better by empowering investors for a better tomorrow. Serving more than 17 million individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members, we believe our global reach, complementary businesses, and the strength of our parent company position us to help investors capitalize on today's emerging global trends. We provide our clients access to public and private investment solutions across equities, fixed income, multi-asset, alternative, and sustainability-linked strategies, such as natural capital, to help them make more informed financial decisions and achieve their investment objectives. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulifeim.com .

About Serverfarm LLC

Serverfarm is an established, multi-regional data center provider that offers data center solutions to key hyperscale, web-scale, technology, and network customers. These data center solutions include Colocation, Data Center Design, and IT Infrastructure Management through Serverfarm's InCommand DMaaS technology. For additional information, please visit

https://www.serverfarmllc.com/

About NANT

NANT, LLC applies new innovative approaches and new technologies to solving global problems. NANT is focusing on three pillars: health & life sciences; energy & renewables; and connectivity & communications. Founded by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong , scientist and inventor of the first human albumin nanoparticle cancer drug, Abraxane, the core mission for NANT is convergence: to develop and deliver a diverse range of technologies that accelerate innovation, broaden the scope of scientific discovery, enhance ground-breaking research, and improve healthcare treatment for those in need.

* Manulife Infrastructure Fund II is closed and no longer open for subscription.

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SOURCE Manulife Investment Management
Network of 9,000 physician practices can choose MedHQ for outsourced expert services including HR, benefits, and accounting

CHICAGO and NASHVILLE, Tenn. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MedHQ, a leading provider of technology-enabled expert services to hospitals, outpatient clinics, physician groups, and ambulatory surgery centers, has completed a multi-faceted strategic partnership with Montecito | TruPointe Partners Group Purchasing Organization.

This partnership enables customers of Montecito | TruPointe Partners to access MedHQ's robust suite of outsourced administrative services including human resource management, accounting, credentialing, staffing, and advisory services.

"We are thrilled to partner with Montecito and TruPointe to deliver solutions that enable physicians and their staff to focus on what matters most  delivering exceptional patient care," said MedHQ President Erik Miller . "Our diversified service offerings, in combination with current MedHQ client's ability to access additional GPO options, will offer significant opportunities for providers to save money and increase operational efficiency."

This represents the latest milestone in Montecito | TruPointe Partners' commitment to empowering physicians to prioritize patient needs while simplifying the management of operations and procurement of goods and services.

"Our partnership with MedHQ aligns with our values at Montecito," said Montecito CEO, Chip Conk .

"It is representative of the dedicated work of the Montecito team to take care of physicians, and we are excited to demonstrate this value proposition to our physician partners."

TruPointe Partners joined forces with Montecito Medical in January 2023 to introduce cutting-edge purchasing solutions tailored to serve Montecito's extensive network of 9,000 partner physicians and their affiliated organizations. This strategic alliance has significantly enhanced the financial performance of physicians' businesses, presenting a diverse range of high-value procurement alternatives for products and services essential to their operations.

About MedHQ

Founded in 2003, MedHQ is a leading provider of technology-enabled expert services to hospitals, outpatient clinics, physician groups, and ambulatory surgery centers. MedHQ's business segments and client delivery strategies encompass outsourced HR services, Accounting services, Recruitment and Staffing services, and Advisory services. MedHQ's mission is to streamline administrative and regulatory processes to lower risk, improve efficiencies, and allow healthcare organizations to focus on patient outcomes. For more information, please visit www.medhq.com.

About TruPointe Partners

TruPointe Partners is a strategic Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) dedicated to delivering procurement solutions to its innovative healthcare members. The company holds a portfolio of supplier contracts for various products and services, including medical and surgical supplies, facility and purchased services, indirect spend categories, and more. TruPointe Partners enables organizations to concentrate on their core operations and patients while achieving significant cost savings and enhanced procurement efficiency. Their data-driven approach empowers businesses to evolve from tactical to strategic purchasing, considering multiple value drivers such as cost, quality, customer focus, continuous improvement, risk management, and technology & innovation. For more details, visit www.trupointepartners.com.

About Montecito Medical

Montecito Medical is one of the nation's largest privately held companies specializing in medical real estate acquisitions and partnering with providers and developers to fund development of new properties. The company also supports providers with a suite of solutions that help them increase revenues, reduce costs and build physician wealth. Since 2006, Montecito has completed more than $5 billion in medical and veterinary real estate transactions. Headquartered in Nashville, TN , the company has been named for five consecutive years as a "key influencer in healthcare real estate" by GlobeSt.com and the editors of Real Estate Forum. For more information, please visit www.montecitomac.com.

Media contact:

Kebra Shelhamer

918-260-6552

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SOURCE MedHQ
Expanded Global Reach and Extensive Range of Capabilities Will Serve the Needs of Corporate and Investor Clients of Both Firms

NEW YORK and LONDON , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Okapi Partners LLC, a recognized leader among proxy solicitation and investor response firms, today announced the opening of its London office and a strategic partnership with Investor Update Ltd., a prominent London -based shareholder intelligence and Investor Relations and Advisory firm. These initiatives will provide an expanded presence in global markets and the ability to offer a comprehensive range of strategic services for corporate and investor clients, including expanded market intelligence, surveillance, corporate advisory and proxy solicitation.

Okapi Partners, which has been rated the top proxy solicitation firm for shareholder activism campaigns by Insightia, Bloomberg and others, noted that having a physical presence in Europe will enable the firm to better serve the needs of corporate clients and institutional investors in a rapidly changing global corporate governance landscape. The partnership with Investor Update will expand Okapi Partners' existing strong stockholder identification and market intelligence capabilities and bolster its proxy solicitation resources by providing the ability to offer these services to a global clientele, complemented by Investor Update's ESG and Corporate Advisory offerings.

Patrick McHugh , Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director of Okapi, will lead the firm's London expansion. Tony Quinn , who has headed Investor Update's Proxy Solicitation team since 2020, has transferred to Okapi Partners as Senior Managing Director, and will report to Mr. McHugh . Mr. Quinn is an experienced proxy solicitor and investor response professional with more than 30 years of experience in shareholder activism campaigns, merger and acquisition transactions, and corporate proxy solicitation. In addition to the initial professional staffing in London , Alexandra Higgins , a Managing Director at Okapi Partners, will be joining the London office to spearhead the firm's Governance Consulting practice in EMEA while continuing to serve her current clients.

"The marketplace for proxy solicitation and investor response services evolves in extremely dynamic and complex ways sculpted by forces that include economic volatility, investor activism, ESG policies and practices, changing regulatory imperatives, and an increasingly challenging M&A environment," said Bruce H. Goldfarb , President and Chief Executive Officer of Okapi Partners. "I am delighted that our London initiative is being spearheaded by Pat McHugh , our firm's Co-Founder, which, in concert with our partnership with Investor Update, is indicative of our strong commitment to assist corporations and investors around the globe as they face these challenges."

Patrick McHugh added, "The new London office and our partnership with Investor Update will enhance Okapi Partners' ability to provide a full range of solicitation and investor response services, not only in the UK , but also throughout Europe as well as Japan and other key markets in Asia . I have worked with Tony Quinn on numerous and varied transactions over the past 30 years, ever since we started our careers at Georgeson, and I'm excited that he is joining us as the cornerstone of a growing team with a solid in-market presence and an experienced global perspective."

Patrick Mitchell , Managing Partner of Investor Update, commented, "Our firm has built a reputation for world-class expertise and a commitment to excellence in shareholder intelligence, ESG Analytics, Corporate Advisory and proxy solicitation. Partnering with Okapi will strengthen our collective resources and enhance our ability to deliver actionable insights, solid execution and impactful results for our clientele."

About Okapi Partners LLC

Founded in 2008, Okapi Partners is a leading strategic proxy solicitation and investor response firm that provides a full range of solicitation and information agent services, as well as support for M&A transactions, activist-related strategies, corporate governance and ESG consulting, market intelligence, and advisory services. Okapi represents corporations, institutional investors, investment management companies and their management firms, private equity firms, and hedge funds, and provides them with superior intellectual capital, industry relationships and execution capabilities.

About Investor Update

Investor Update was established in 2017 to provide corporate investor relations teams and their advisors with unparalleled shareholder intelligence and IR services. With the market's most experienced shareholder intelligence teams, built on decades of experience, the firm identifies and tracks key investors with pinpoint accuracy, complemented with innovative solutions such as in-depth investor targeting, ESG benchmarking, ESG and Corporate Advisory, and perception studies.

Media Contact:

Zach Kouwe

Dukas Linden Public Relations

okapi@dlpr.com

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SOURCE Okapi Partners LLC
Investment will support a new health and wellness center, as well as a workforce innovation hub

ATLANTA , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Peach State Health Plan , a care management organization that helps Georgians live healthier lives through innovative healthcare solutions, and the Centene Foundation , the philanthropic arm of Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) focused on investing in economically challenged communities, announced today a $1.5 million commitment to City of Refuge , an Atlanta -based nonprofit that seeks to bring light, hope, and transformation to local individuals and families. The investment will support the development of a community health and wellness center as well as an innovation hub that supports unemployed members seeking employment.

"Peach State Health Plan and the Centene Foundation are proud to partner with City of Refuge to help break down barriers of inequality and provide supportive services to drive critical change and positive impact in one of Atlanta's most at-risk neighborhoods," said Peach State Health Plan President and CEO, Wade Rakes . "City of Refuge has served Atlanta's westside for more than 25 years and, together, we will continue with this vital work of creating the next phase of social transformation where it is needed most."

The commitment from Peach State Health Plan and the Centene Foundation will support two components:

Health and Wellness Center  This partnership seeks to build out a quality health and wellness center at City of Refuge's forthcoming 36,000-square-foot Transformation Center. The Health and Wellness Center , which includes a 24/7 medical and mental health clinic, will serve survivors of trafficking and domestic violence.

 This partnership seeks to build out a quality health and wellness center at City of Refuge's forthcoming 36,000-square-foot Transformation Center. , which includes a 24/7 medical and mental health clinic, will serve survivors of trafficking and domestic violence. Workforce Innovation Hub  The Workforce Innovation Hub prepares unemployed and underemployed individuals to find meaningful employment. The commitment from Peach State Health Plan and the Centene Foundation will increase capacity at the Workforce Innovation Hub to provide more job training and readiness opportunities, including resume writing and interview assistance.

"Together with Peach State Health Plan and the Centene Foundation, City of Refuge is laying the groundwork for expanded health and wellness services to support the wellbeing of all who seek us out for help  from local veterans to those returning from incarceration to women escaping crisis," said City of Refuge founder and CEO, Bruce Deel . "The new clinic at the Transformation Center will be the physical manifestation of our goal to provide 24/7, high-quality care in our 30314 neighborhood for those coming out of domestic violence and trafficking. We look forward to breaking ground on the next phase of our campus with the Transformation Center."

Peach State Health Plan employees also volunteer quarterly with City of Refuge. In March, nearly 50 Peach State Health Plan team members set up the rooms and accommodations in City of Refuge's new affordable housing community that will support unhoused military veterans, citizens returning from incarceration and young men up to age 24. Peach State Health Plan will be on site again in September and December to support on going efforts.

For more information about Peach State Health Plan and the Centene Foundation's commitment to City of Refuge, visit https://www.centene.com/who-we-are/centene-foundation.html.

About Centene Foundation

The Centene Foundation , a private nonprofit focused on investing in economically challenged communities, is the philanthropic arm of Centene Corporation ("Centene"). The Foundation supports projects and initiatives strategically aligned with Centene's purpose-driven culture and enhances the work Centene is doing to remove the barriers to wellness underserved and low-income populations face. The Foundation is committed to addressing social determinants of health and improving health equity in three distinct areas of focus: Healthcare Access, Social Services and Education.

About Peach State Health Plan

Peach State Health Plan is a Care Management Organization that serves the needs of Georgians through a range of health insurance solutions. Peach State Health Plan serves the Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids population in partnership with Georgia Families. The organization also focuses on under-insured and uninsured individuals through its federal insurance marketplace plan, Ambetter, and its Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDP) through Wellcare. Peach State Health Plan is a wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corporation, a leading healthcare enterprise committed to helping people live healthier lives. For more information visit www.pshp.com .

About City of Refuge

City of Refuge was founded in 1997 with the mission to transform the lives of individuals and communities in Atlanta and beyond. Today the organization resides in a warehouse that was graciously donated in the 30314 neighborhood, one of the poorest and most crime-ridden areas in the nation. Since inhabiting the "Where Good Works" center, City of Refuge has helped over 20,000 people across the country and internationally. The organization has created several programs designed to provide an impact in areas such as: housing, youth development, health & wellness, and vocation. City of Refuge is a leader in the business of social transformation and continuously works to empower and equip individuals with the tools to succeed. To learn more about City of Refuge, visit cityofrefugeatl.org or follow the organization on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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SOURCE Peach State Health Plan
An additional $12.7 million of PAHAF funding has been disbursed in the past month

HARRISBURG, Pa. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency today is providing an update on the steady progress being made to assist homeowners whose lives were disrupted by the pandemic.

Pennsylvania was awarded $350 million for the administration of the program and the disbursement of funds as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. That federal legislation was enacted to prevent mortgage delinquencies and defaults, foreclosures, loss of utilities or home energy services, and the displacement of homeowners experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-related impacts.

Monthly data for the program for April through August is shown below. It also is available on the PAHAF dashboard at: www.pahaf.org/program-dashboard/. The dashboard is updated on a regular basis. For more detailed information about the program, the quarterly PAHAF legislature reports are available at: www.pahaf.org/policies-and-reporting/.

During the month of August, the PAHAF program has disbursed an additional $12.7 million of funding to homeowners in need of pandemic-related assistance. The number of homeowners assisted has grown to 12,123 total households. Total funds remaining to be disbursed are $155.6 million .

The biggest challenge remains having applicants to the program re-register in the new software being used by PHFA to automate many of the processing steps for homeowners. When applicants re-register, it allows them to make sure their most current documents are uploaded in the system and then lets them see more accurately where their application is in the review process.

PHFA has used a variety of methods to encourage applicants to re-register, including emails, mailed letters in English and Spanish, outbound phone calls by PAHAF call center representatives, and 14 statewide community events. The agency will continue these efforts and is asking the media to please help us broadly promote this re-registration effort.

Customers can re-register directly through the website by visiting www.PAHAF.org/reregister. They also can phone the PAHAF call center at 1-888-987-2423 for assistance by trained customer service personnel. The process to re-register takes about 30 minutes.

PLEASE NOTE: Homeowners who have applied and re-registered for PAHAF assistance who are facing an adverse action such as foreclosure, sheriff sale, or utility shut off, are advised that they should verify that their application notes that action and notify the PAHAF call center immediately so that the program can prioritize the application, determine eligibility and disburse approved funds that may prevent the action.

"We are committed to the continuous improvement of the Pennsylvania Homeowner Assistance Fund, and our data shared today reflects our ongoing progress," said PHFA Executive Director and CEO Robin Wiessmann .

"We want homeowners to know that the changes we have made this year to the program has all been undertaken to improve our response to their needs, and we continue pressing to speed along our review of their applications and the disbursement of assistance, while keeping in compliance with state and federal program requirements."

The agency frequently receives emails from satisfied homeowners grateful for the assistance they've received through the Pennsylvania Homeowner Assistance Fund, which has helped them save their home from foreclosure.

For instance, Rosalind, a homeowner of 18 years in Philadelphia wrote the PAHAF team in April, "Many thanks to your entire team at PAHAF who all worked very diligently weekly on my behalf to make this [financial assistance] happen. I thank each and every one of you individually, too, who were all patient, professional and answered many of my calls with updated information. The grant will never be forgotten."

Rosalind is receiving more than $22,675 in financial assistance from PAHAF to bring her mortgage current.

A homeowner in Boyertown expressed her appreciation, writing in August: "I was extremely grateful to qualify for five months of assistance. Plus I got another five months from my mortgage company that we moved to the end of my loan on a deferred basis. Getting help from both entities allowed me to pay off an enormous amount of medical bills and bring all my other account to a current/on-time status.

"A massive thank you is also due to everyone who assisted in the process from the beginning to the end. I am sure they worked tirelessly for many other than myself."

This homeowner is receiving more than $4,000 in mortgage assistance from PAHAF.

Messages from other grateful PAHAF customers will be shared in future monthly program updates.

Earlier this spring, PHFA moved the full management of PAHAF from a third-party vendor to its in-house team with the goal of expediting payments to eligible Pennsylvania homeowners. As part of the transition, PHFA strengthened program procedures, hired more employees, trained a dedicated call center staff, and implemented the Neighborly software system to improve how the agency tracks PAHAF applications.

Current PAHAF applicants are homeowners who experienced a reduction of income or increase in living expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic after January 21, 2020 (including a hardship that began before January 21, 2020 , but continued after that date). They also currently own and occupy their home in Pennsylvania as their primary residence.

New applicants are not being accepted into the program until the existing pool of applicants is processed to ensure sufficient funding exists to continue. The program has until September 2025 to disburse all $350 million of PAHAF funding.

PAHAF assistance is being used to provide mortgage reinstatement, forward mortgage payments, property charges and unpaid utility bills. Funds are being distributed directly to mortgage lenders, servicers, utility providers and other authorized third parties, not to homeowners.

Celebrating its 50th year of helping the state's residents with rental housing and homeownership, PHFA remains fully committed to quickly and responsibly disbursing all PAHAF financial assistance to Pennsylvania homeowners, as evidenced by its improvement to the program's management.

About PHFA

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency works to provide affordable homeownership and rental housing options for older adults, low- and moderate-income families, and people with special housing needs. Through its carefully managed mortgage programs and investments in multifamily housing developments, PHFA also promotes economic development across the state. Since its creation by the legislature in 1972, it has generated more than $17.3 billion of funding for more than 193,800 single-family home mortgage loans, helped fund the construction of 103,328 rental units, distributed approximately $239 million to support local housing initiatives, and saved the homes of more than 50,660 families from foreclosure. PHFA programs and operations are funded primarily by the sale of securities and from fees paid by program users, not by public tax dollars. The agency is governed by a 14-member board.

Contact:

Scott Elliott

717-649-6522 (cell)

[email protected]

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SOURCE Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
PuroClean President, COO, and Motivational Force to Celebrate a Decade with the Brand

TAMARAC, Fla. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PuroClean, one of the country's leading property restoration and remediation franchises, is excited to announce that their very own President and Chief Operating Officer, Steve White , will be celebrating his tenth anniversary with the company this September.

As a US Army Veteran and self-proclaimed 'franchise guy,' White brings to PuroClean a process driven mind-set and people first focus. Throughout his tenure, White has cemented himself as a leader within the restoration and home remediation industry, propelling the PuroClean name to new heights and achieving unprecedented growth for the franchise. In this time, he has doubled the number of franchise locations, tripled the average franchise unit sales, and quadrupled profitability and system-wide sales. Most importantly, though, his franchise owners are jubilant. For the fifth year in a row, the brand is in the top 50 franchises for franchisee satisfaction with the annual Franchise Satisfaction Survey facilitated and ranked by Franchise Business Review. With 450 locations operating across 45 states in the United States , Puerto Rico , and Canada , PuroClean is bringing reliable and high-quality service to communities across North America , helping people restore their homes and lives.

" Steve White has been an incredible asset, mentor, and friend to everyone within the PuroClean family," said Mark W. Davis , CEO and Chairman of PuroClean. "The work that he has accomplished in his tenure has been nothing short of extraordinary. Steve has taken this brand to new heights, and I am incredibly proud to be working alongside him to service as many customers as we can. We are all grateful for the work that he has accomplished, and we are excited to see where he will continue to take the company."

White's journey at PuroClean has been intentional, methodical, and steadfast. From the instant he took the reins of the COO position, he knew that he had tremendous work ahead by gaining the trust of the company and its franchisees back from its previous leaders. From the beginning, White has set overarching goals that the team has exceeded, further solidifying the trust he has instilled within the brand. He has become the focal point of leadership within PuroClean, a guiding light where both the support team and franchisees are excited to move the brand forward and positioning themselves as the leader in property water damage remediation, fire and smoke damage mitigation, mold removal, and biohazard clean-up services. White credits his transformational leadership qualities to mentors he has had along the way both in the Army and past franchise brands, instilling a family atmosphere that is radiant throughout the PuroClean culture.

"I am tremendously humble and proud of the work that I have done here at PuroClean," said Steve White . "I was admittedly apprehensive to accept the position of COO when I was first approached, but I would not change my experience for the world. The amazing people that I have met these past ten years are nothing short of incredible, and I am excited to be a part of an exceptional growing brand like PuroClean."

White guides his teams to always ask how they can help franchisees more, so it is rewarding for him to see that year in and year out, the brand is turning a profit and keeping people fulfilled. White is tremendously proud of the work he and the PuroClean family have accomplished and is looking forward to what the future has in store.

" Steve White has been an incredible addition to the PuroClean family," said Frank Torre , Vice Chairman of PuroClean. "From the minute he took over the COO position, there was a change for the better. Both our franchise owners and Home Office team saw the outstanding leadership qualities that he possesses and were able to rally around his ideals and propel the brand to what it is today. We are all so grateful for Steve and the work that he has done for the PuroClean family."

For more than 20 years, PuroClean has helped home and business owners with their restoration and remediation needs, serving communities across the United States , Canada , and Puerto Rico with a network of over 450 offices. The brand is seeking the right individual who may be in construction and looking to add a restoration component to their business.

For more information about PuroClean, call 800-775-7876 or visit www.PuroClean.com. For more information about franchising opportunities, visit www.PuroCleanFranchise.com.

About PuroClean

PuroClean is a leading, world-class service brand for property water damage remediation, fire and smoke damage mitigation, mold removal, and biohazard clean-up services, working with both residential and commercial customers across the US, Canada , and Puerto Rico . Founded in 2001, PuroClean is a diverse, fast-growing network of over 450 North American franchise locations, each independently owned and operated. With a commitment to respond within two hours, the professionals at PuroClean are thoroughly screened, insured, and trained in utilizing the latest cutting-edge mitigation technology to complete the remediation task at hand.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/puroclean-celebrates-president-steve-whites-tenth-anniversary-301921129.html

SOURCE PuroClean
NEW YORK , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Revman today announced that it has entered into a license agreement with Calvin Klein, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PVH Corp. [NYSE:PVH], for the design, manufacturing and distribution of home accessories in the U.S. , Canada , and Mexico . The new Calvin Klein home collections will launch at the New York Home Textiles Market week this month. The agreement's initial term is through 2028.

"We are extremely pleased to be the new licensee for Calvin Klein home fashion products," stated Rich Roman , President and CEO of Revman. "Calvin Klein is one of the world's most recognizable fashion lifestyle brands, with a dedicated consumer following around the globe. We are very excited to collaborate with Calvin Klein's established design team to create quality home products that showcase the brand's modern, minimalist aesthetic. I am confident that the creative collaboration between our two companies will be a winning combination."

"We look forward to partnering with Revman to bring our premium Calvin Klein home essentials to an even broader consumer market," said Karina Spar , Executive Vice President of Licensing for PVH. "Their robust supplier network and proven omnichannel strategy will allow us to strengthen the presence of the Calvin Klein brand in the home category through an expanded offering both online and in store."

Crafted from the highest quality materials, the Calvin Klein home collections will offer essentials for the modern home, including fashion bedding, bath products and window coverings. Across both casual and refined lifestyles, the collections focus on both style and comfort, exploring subtle, sophisticated textures, luxurious fabrics, including some blended with environmentally-preferred materials such as Lyocell, Tencel and REFIBRA fibers, natural dyes and ultra-soft wash techniques. The collections' color palettes are curated and balanced for cohesion across categories, with signature Calvin Klein patterns that capture sensual florals, abstracted patterns with blurred effect and new interpretations of melange.

"For our Spring 2024 collections, we closely partnered with the talented Calvin Klein team to develop elevated home accessories focused on comfort that incorporate more environmentally-preferred materials," said Laurie Sages , VP Creative Services and Product Development. "In order to pay homage to the brand's signature style, it was important that the product have a clean, minimal look and overall soft, serene feel."

The first Calvin Klein home collection will launch in Spring 2024. Calvin Klein home will be distributed through all major levels of retail distribution in the United States as well as retailers in Canada and Mexico .

About Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein is one of the world's leading global fashion lifestyle brands with a history of bold, non-conformist ideals that inform everything we do. Founded in New York in 1968, the brand's minimalist and sensual aesthetic drives our approach to product design and communication, creating a canvas that offers the possibility of limitless self-expression. The Calvin Klein brands  CK Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans , Calvin Klein Underwear, and Calvin Klein Performance  are connected by the intention and purpose of elevating everyday essentials to globally iconic status. Each of the brands has a distinct identity and position in the retail landscape, providing us the opportunity to market a range of universally appealing products to domestic and international consumers with a variety of needs. Our products are underpinned by responsible design, high-quality construction, and the elimination of all unnecessary details. We strive for unique and dimensional pieces that continuously wear well and remain relevant season after season. Global retail sales of Calvin Klein products were approximately $9.3 billion in 2022.

Calvin Klein continues to solidify its position as an innovator of emerging digital platforms and modern marketing campaigns. PVH acquired Calvin Klein in 2003 and continues to oversee a focused approach to growing the brand's worldwide relevance, presence, and long term growth.

About Revman

Revman headquartered in New York , is a leading provider of high-quality lifestyle bed and bath products. Revman maintains unique licensing arrangements with an impressive portfolio of internationally recognized designer brands including Nautica, Vera Wang , Tommy Bahama , Wrangler, Marimekko and Laura Ashley , among many others. Their products are available through all major levels of retail distribution in the United States as well as retailers in Canada , Mexico , and South America . For more information, please visit www.revman.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/revman-announces-home-license-agreement-for-calvin-klein-in-us-canada-and-mexico-301921320.html

SOURCE Revman
ATLANTA , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Schneider Electric announced today it is renewing its long-standing partnership with Habitat for Humanity International. Through the partnership, Schneider Electric will contribute nearly $800,000 in monetary donations along with electrical equipment to help Habitat families reduce their utility costs and make their homes more affordable, sustainable and energy efficient.

This year, Schneider Electric expanded its donation to nearly 200 products, including load centers, electric meters, and circuit breakers in support of Habitat home construction projects. In addition, Schneider Electric will donate Wiser Energy whole home energy system monitors and surge protectors to help Habitat homeowners manage their home energy usage in a safe, efficient, and sustainable way. Donated product from Schneider Electric this year will also support Habitat Strong, Habitat for Humanity's disaster resilient building program that promotes climate- and hazard-resilient construction that is responsive to regional risks and shifting environmental conditions.

"Schneider Electric and Habitat for Humanity, fortified by our history and fueled by our shared purpose, stand ready to continue shaping a future where dreams of homeownership are within reach," said Annette Clayton , CEO, Schneider Electric North America. "I personally have been involved in builds and know that our teams fully embrace the opportunity to transform countless lives and create thriving communities through this meaningful partnership that continues to support families."

As part of the renewal, Schneider Electric employee volunteers will participate in team builds with 30 local Habitat for Humanity affiliates across the U.S. and in Mexico and Canada , including five Women Build projects. Schneider Electric will also support Habitat's Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, which will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina , from Oct. 1-6 .

Since 1992, Schneider Electric has supported Habitat for Humanity by donating Square D by Schneider Electric electrical equipment to homes in the U.S. and Canada . Over the years, thousands of employees have volunteered with Habitat for home building projects as well as various disaster recovery efforts. To date, Schneider Electric has donated more than $51 million worth of electrical equipment and provided $12.5 million in funding to support affordable housing for Habitat families across North America .

"Habitat for Humanity and Schneider Electric have a shared commitment to building energy-efficient and sustainable homes. Schneider Electric has been a dedicated partner for decades, and we are deeply grateful for their continued support as we work together to build stronger and more stable communities," said Tolli Love , chief development officer at Habitat for Humanity International.

About Habitat for Humanity

Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity found its earliest inspirations as a grassroots movement on an interracial community farm in south Georgia . Since its founding in 1976, the Christian housing organization has since grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in more than 70 countries. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.

About Schneider Electric

Schneider's purpose is to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all. We call this Life Is On.

Our mission is to be your digital partner for Sustainability and Efficiency.

We drive digital transformation by integrating world-leading process and energy technologies, end-point to cloud connecting products, controls, software and services, across the entire lifecycle, enabling integrated company management, for homes, buildings, data centers, infrastructure and industries.

We are the most local of global companies. We are advocates of open standards and partnership ecosystems that are passionate about our shared Meaningful Purpose, Inclusive and Empowered values. www.se.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/schneider-electric-to-work-alongside-habitat-for-humanity-to-build-sustainable-and-energy-efficient-homes-301919908.html

SOURCE Habitat for Humanity International
Founded in 1948, the premier frozen shrimp and seafood company marks its

75th anniversary with an updated logo and refreshed packaging.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SeaPak Shrimp & Seafood, maker of America's No. 1 specialty frozen shrimp brand, is proud to celebrate its 75th year of business, bringing irresistible flavors to grocers' freezers and kitchen tables since 1948.

Founded in 1948, SeaPak Shrimp & Seafood marks its 75th anniversary with an updated logo and refreshed packaging.

SeaPak is marking the milestone with new packaging accompanied by an updated logo that pays homage to the nostalgic brand and its roots. The packaging will begin to hit shelves in Q4 and is an evolution of the classic imagery that SeaPak customers know and love. SeaPak is also promoting its anniversary with a social media contest giving away a year of free SeaPak products.

"Celebrating 75 years is a perfect opportunity for us to say thank you to our associates, customers, and industry partners who have supported SeaPak and helped build it into the brand it is today," said Ciera Womack , Director of Marketing, Seafood, for the Consumer Brands Division of Rich Products Corp., parent company of SeaPak.

SeaPak Shrimp & Seafood Co. started as the Sea Island Packing Company off the coast of Georgia in 1948. Within a year, the company had pioneered a process  Individual Quick Freezing (IQF)  to "flash freeze" locally caught shrimp, locking in their original state of freshness. It's a process that has become industry standard to this day.

A few years later, the company had changed its name to the SeaPak Corporation and launched an exciting new product: peeled, deveined, quick-frozen shrimp that it marketed throughout the Southeast. Soon, SeaPak branched into other products like breaded shrimp and fish sticks, and it began utilizing airplanes to deliver its delicious frozen offerings to grocers across the country. SeaPak's founding mission was to make seafood accessible to all, which it proudly upholds today.

Rich Products, one of the nation's top suppliers of high-quality food, acquired SeaPak Shrimp & Seafood Co. in 1976 and helped it grow into the nation's No. 1.-selling retail shrimp brand in the frozen specialty seafood category. SeaPak offers a variety of coastal-inspired seafood favorites, including top sellers like Jumbo Butterfly Shrimp , Popcorn Shrimp , and Shrimp Scampi .

SeaPak is also known for its commitment to responsible sourcing and sustainability ; it hosts regular coastal cleanups; and it partners with nonprofits focused on environmental causes.

To learn more about SeaPak, visit seapak.com .

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/seapak-celebrates-75-shrimp-tastic-years-301918210.html

SOURCE SeaPak
The EU has named six global tech giants as targets of its Digital Markets Act to prevent market dominance. It could impose trillions of dollars in fines for violations on Apple, Google and others, but Samsung has escaped the sanctions.

The European Commission said Wednesday that Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft are subject to the DMA, which designates them as "gatekeepers" who use their market dominance to confine users.

According to the criteria set by EU authorities in July, seven companies were potential targets for regulation, but Samsung was excluded from the final list.

From next year, gatekeepers will not be allowed to engage in exclusive business practices that benefit their services or use data generated from their services for their own exclusive operations.

For Google and Apple, which dominate the app market, that means they will have to open the door for apps that were previously only available in their app stores to competing platforms. If they refuse, they could face fines of up to 10 percent of their annual revenue.

For example, Apple, which raked in global revenues of around $394.3 billion last year, could face fines of around W10 trillion, given that 25 percent of its revenues come from Europe.

The EU also said that it could impose stronger sanctions, such as forcing the sale of some business units, if organized violations are found. In serious cases, this could lead to companies withdrawing from the European market.

Samsung was initially mentioned as a target for sanctions due to its use of user data from the Samsung Internet browser, which comes pre-installed on Galaxy smartphones, in other services. But the EU relented, saying "Although Gmail, Outlook.com and Samsung Internet browser meet the thresholds under the DMA to qualify as a gatekeeper, Alphabet, Microsoft and Samsung provided sufficiently justified arguments showing that these services do not qualify as gateways for the respective core platform services."

An industry insider said, "Even in Korea, the Fair Trade Commission is working on a bill to regulate large platforms based on the DMA, so there is a lot of attention on how this EU decision will impact the situation."
www.sitkagoldcorp.com

VANCOUVER, BC , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Sitka Gold Corp. ("Sitka" or the "Company") (CSE: SIG) (FSE: 1RF) (OTCQB: SITKF) is pleased to announce commencement of the first ever diamond drill testing of the Josephine intrusion located in the northern portion of the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex (CCIC) on the Company's 376 square kilometre, road accessible RC Gold Project ("RC Gold" or the "Project") located in Yukon 's Tombstone Gold Belt ("TGB"), approximately 100 kilometres east of Dawson City . A diamond drilling program of up to 10,000 metres (m) is currently underway at RC Gold where an Initial Mineral Resource Estimate of 1,340,000 ounces of gold beginning at surface and grading 0.68 g/t was announced earlier this year (see news release dated January 19 , 2023).

Josephine Surface Exploration Highlights:

Target A

Sheeted veins in altered metasedimentary rocks adjacent to intrusion returned values of 1.88 and 1.34 g/t gold

and

Visible gold in outcrop

Target B

Sheeted veins in intrusive returned values of 5.45, 3.47 and 1.31 g/t gold

"We are excited to be conducting the first ever diamond drilling of the Josephine intrusion, one of the six intrusions located in the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex (See Figure 1). The discovery of visible gold this summer in the altered rocks adjacent to the intrusion during geological mapping and subsequent prospecting, which identified gold-bearing sheeted veins both within the intrusion and in the adjacent altered rocks, highlights the potential of the Josephine intrusion. The intrusion is not well exposed at surface so we look forward to getting an initial look using the drill bit at the potential of the Josephine to be the third intrusion on the project to host a gold deposit", commented Cor Coe , Director and CEO of Sitka Gold.

Results have been received for 30 of 86 surface rock samples from the Josephine target, with gold values ranging from 0.003 g/t to 5.45 g/t gold. Seven of the rock samples returned results greater than 1.0 g/t Au and 13 returned values greater than 0.10 g/t Au.

Two drill holes are planned to test two targets located approximately 500 metres apart along the southern margin of the Josephine intrusion (See Figure 2). A second diamond drill rig has been mobilized to the RC Gold Project to enable drill testing of these targets.

Target A is the area where geological mapping and prospecting discovered visible gold at surface. Prospecting has identified altered and mineralized metasedimentary rocks that extend approximately 500 m south of the intrusion. This initial drill hole will test the most intensely altered rocks which cover approximately 220 m and contain abundant sheeted veining containing arsenopyrite-pyrite and rare bismuthinite mineralization. The drill hole is also planned to intersect the unexposed intrusive contact at depth (See Figure 3).

Target B is located approximately 500 m northwest of Target A where an exposure of the Josephine intrusion and adjacent altered metasedimentary rocks was discovered in a creek bottom. Both the intrusion and altered metasedimentary rocks were well mineralized with sheeted veins containing arsenopyrite-pyrite +/- bismuthinite. This initial drill hole will test the Josephine intrusion along its southern contact (See Figure 4).

The Company has completed 14 drill holes totalling approximately 6,000 metres as part of its ongoing 2023 diamond drill program at RC Gold where up to 10,000 metres of drilling is planned. Analytical results for remaining 9 drill holes completed to date will be released once they have been received and compiled.

About the RC Gold Project

The RC Gold Project (RC Gold) consists of a 376 square kilometre contiguous district-scale land package located in the newly road accessible Clear Creek , Big Creek , and Sprague Creek districts in the heart of Yukon 's Tombstone Gold Belt. The project is located approximately 100 kilometres east of Dawson City and is accessed via a secondary gravel road from the Klondike Highway an approximate 2 hour drive from Dawson . It is the largest consolidated land package strategically positioned mid-way between Victoria Gold 's Eagle Gold Mine - Yukon 's newest gold mine which reached commercial production in the summer of 2020 - and Sabre Gold Mine 's Brewery Creek Gold Mine . The RC Gold Project land package comprises five underlying properties, namely, the RC, Bee Bop, Mahtin, Clear Creek , and Barney Ridge properties*. The planned 10,000 metre drill program for 2023 is currently underway and is focused on expanding the Blackjack and Eiger gold deposits, both of which remain open in all directions.

On January 19, 2023 Sitka Gold announced an Initial Mineral Resource Estimate prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") guidelines for the RC Gold Property of 1,340,000 ounces of gold(1). The road accessible, pit constrained Mineral Resource is classified as inferred and is contained in two near/on-surface zones: The Blackjack and Eiger deposits. The Mineral Resource estimate is presented in the following table at a base case cut-off grade of 0.25 g/t Au:

Table 2: RC Gold Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate

COG g/t Au Blackjack Zone

Eiger Zone

Combined Tonnes

000's Au g/t 0z Au

000's

Tonnes

000's Au g/t 0z Au

000's

Tonnes

000's Au g/t 0z Au

000's 0.20 35,798 0.80 921

32,523 0.45 471

68,321 0.63 1,391 0.25 33,743 0.83 900

27,362 0.50 440

61,105 0.68 1,340 0.30 31,282 0.88 885

22,253 0.55 393

53,535 0.74 1,279 0.35 29,065 0.92 860

17,817 0.60 344

46,882 0.80 1,203 0.40 26,975 0.96 833

14,506 0.66 308

41,481 0.86 1,140

Notes 1. Mineral resource estimate prepared by Ronald G. Simpson of GeoSim Services Inc. with an effective date of January 19, 2023 . Mineral Resources are classified using the 2014 CIM Definition Standards. 2. The cut-off grade of 0.25 g/t Au is believed to provide a reasonable margin over operating and sustaining costs for open-pit mining and processing 3. Mineral resources are constrained by an optimised pit shell using the following assumptions: US$1800 /oz Au price; a 45 pit slope; assumed metallurgical recovery of 85%; mining costs of US$2.00 per tonne; processing costs of US$8.00 per tonne; G&A of US$1.50 /t. 4. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. 5. Totals may not sum due to rounding.

The Initial Mineral Resource Estimate of 1,340,000 ounces of gold at the RC Gold Project is comprised of two deposits: the Blackjack deposit containing 900,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 0.83 g/t gold and the Eiger deposit containing 440,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 0.50 g/t gold (see news release dated January 19, 2023 ). Both of these deposits are at/near surface, are potentially open pit minable and amenable to heap leaching, with initial bottle roll tests indicating that the gold is not refractory and has high gold recoveries of up to 94% with minimal NaCN consumption (see News Release July 13 , 2022).

The Blackjack and Eiger deposits are in close proximity to highway and power infrastructure, are road accessible year-round, remain open in all directions and are located within the Clear Creek Intrusive Complex . The deposits are located with a large, 500 metre by 5 kilometre intrusion related gold system that was recently discovered on the Property. To date, 52 diamond drill holes have been drilled into this system for a total of approximately 18,275 metres with results of up to 201.0 m of 1.26 g/t gold from surface, including 82.0 m of 2.04 g/t gold and 19.5 m of 4.87 g/t gold at Blackjack (drill hole DDRCCC-22-040; see news release dated January 11, 2023 ) and 72 m of 0.72 g/t gold at Eiger (drill hole DDRCCC-21-09; see news release date August 19 , 2021).

Several high priority intrusion related gold targets exist at RC Gold with nine outcropped intrusions identified to date over the 376 sq km property, however Sitka's main focus at the RC Gold Project has been on the underlying Clear Creek Property where a large 500 metre by 2000 metre corridor hosting an intrusion related gold system covering the area over the Blackjack, Saddle and Eiger zones was identified. Additional surface work has extended the gold corridor an additional 3000 metres east and now encompasses the Josephine intrusion. Prior to the onset of the 2023 winter drilling program, the Company had drilled 38 diamond drill holes into this system for a total of approximately 13,000 metres. This drilling culminated in the discovery of the Blackjack and Eiger deposits with an initial inferred mineral resource estimate of 1,340,000 gold ounces(1).

Sitka Gold inherited a wealth of historical and current data from these properties from work spanning the last 40 years. Recent exploration work and the compilation of historical data have defined several mineralized zones with both bulk tonnage, intrusion-related gold deposit targets and high-grade, vein- and breccia-hosted gold targets. The RC Gold Project also has a common border with Victoria Gold 's Clear Creek property at its western boundary and Florin Resources' Florin Gold property at its northern boundary.

(1) Simpson, R. January 19, 2023 . Clear Creek Property, RC Gold Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report, Dawson Mining District , Yukon Territory .

*For more detailed information on the underlying properties please visit our website at www.sitkagoldcorp.com.

Deposit Model

Exploration on the Property has mainly focused on identifying an intrusion-related gold system ("IRGS"). The property is part of the Tombstone Gold Belt which is the prominent host to IRGS deposits within the Tintina Gold Province in Yukon and Alaska . Notable deposits from the belt include: Fort Knox Mine in Alaska with current Proven and Probable Reserves of 230 million tonnes at 0.3 g/t Au (2.471 million ounces; Sims 2018)(1); Eagle Gold Mine with current Measured and Indicated Resources of 233 million tonnes at a grade of 0.57 g/t Au at the Eagle Main Zone (4.303 million ounces; Harvey et al, 2022)(2); the Brewery Creek deposit with current Indicated Mineral Resource of 22.2 million tonnes at a gold grade of 1.11 g/t (0.789 million ounces; Hulse et al. 2020)(3); the Florin Gold deposit, located adjacent to Sitka's RC Gold project, with a current Inferred Mineral Resource of 170.99 million tonnes grading 0.45 g/t (2.47 million ounces; Simpson 2021)(4) and the AurMac Project with an Inferred Mineral Resource of 312.90 million tonnes grading 0.61 gram per tonne gold (6.18 million ounces; Jutras 2023)(5).

(1) Sims J. Fort Knox Mine Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USA National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report. June 11, 2018 . https://s2.q4cdn.com/496390694/files/doc_downloads/2018/Fort-Knox-June-2018-Technical-Report.pdf (2) Harvey N., Gray P., Winterton J., Jutras M., Levy M.,Technical Report for the Eagle Gold Mine , Yukon Territory, Canada . Victoria Gold Corp. December 31, 2022 . https://vgcx.com/site/assets/files/6534/vgcx_-_2023_eagle_mine_technical_report_final.pdf (3) Hulse D, Emanuel C, Cook C. NI43-101 Technical Report on Mineral Resources. Gustavson Associates. May 31, 2020 .

https://www.goldenpredator.com/_resources/Brewery-Creek_NI-43-101-05OCT2020-File.pdf

(4) Simpson R. Florin Gold Project NI43-101 Technical Report. Geosim Services Inc. April 21, 2021 . https://sedar.com/GetFile.do?lang=EN&docClass=24&issuerNo=00005795&issuerType=03&projectNo=03236138&docI d=4984158 (5) Banyan Gold News Release Dated May 24 ,, 2023 (Technical Report to be filed within 45 days of news release) https://banyangold.com/news-releases/2023/banyan-announces-6.2-million-ounce-gold-resource-estimate-for-the-aurmac-property-yukon-canada/

About Sitka Gold Corp.

Sitka Gold Corp. is a 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 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 ). A diamond drilling program of up to 10,000 metres is currently underway at RC Gold.

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.

(1) Simpson, R. January 19, 2023 . Clear Creek Property, RC Gold Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report, Dawson Mining District , Yukon Territory .

Upcoming Events

Sitka Gold will be attending and/or presenting at the following events:

Precious Metals Summit , Beaver Creek, Colorado : September 12 - 15, 2023

, : Yukon Geoscience Forum, Whitehorse, Yukon : November 19 - 22, 2023

All events are subject to change.

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

Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. Forward-looking statements and information are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "appear", "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "approximate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe", "would" and similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, the expected timing and terms of the private placement, use of proceeds, anticipated work program, required approvals in connection with the work program and the ability to obtain such approvals. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, timelines and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.

The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws or the CSE. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

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. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

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SOURCE Sitka Gold Corp.
Helping to Resolve Power Supply Issues Arising from IoT Device Popularization and Sophistication

ATSUGI, Japan , Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (SSS) today announced that it has developed an energy harvesting*1 module that uses electromagnetic wave noise energy.

The new module applies technology that SSS has cultivated in the tuner development process to generate power from electromagnetic wave noise with a high level of efficiency. For example, this technology can use the constant electromagnetic wave noise generated by robots inside factories, monitors and lighting in offices, monitors and TVs in stores and homes, and the like to provide the stable power supply needed to run low-power consumption IoT sensors and communications equipment.

With attention on the challenge of providing power to the increasing number of IoT devices as they grow in popularity and sophistication, this highly efficient energy harvesting technology shows promise for a wide range of applications. SSS aims to employ the new technology as part of its effort to build a power circulation model, thereby contributing to the development of a sustainable IoT society.

*1: Technology that harvests minute amounts of energy that exist in the environment and living things for conversion into electricity.

Energy harvesting is a technology that is expected to contribute to both the development of IoT and the sustainability of the global environment, with research being carried out mainly in fields such as electrical waves, light, heat, and vibration. SSS's new technology is the energy harvesting technology to generate power utilizing the electromagnetic wave noise that all electrical equipment generates.

Based on antenna technology created during tuner development at SSS, this new module uses the metal parts of electronic devices that serve as the source of electromagnetic wave noise as part of an antenna and employs a rectifier circuit*2 with enhanced electricity conversion efficiency, for a highly original structure. This allows it to convert electromagnetic wave noise in a range of several Hz to 100 MHz into electrical energy and supply power to low-power consumption IoT sensors and communications equipment, or to charge batteries, despite its compact size. This is the industry's first*3 energy harvesting technology based on this method that achieves highly efficient power generation. By efficiently utilizing previously ignored electromagnetic wave noise as a new power source, it enables a stable power supply for equipment.

The minimal number of constituent components used in the module yields a compact design that allows for greater freedom of installation. Also, as long as electronic devices are powered, energy can be harvested even while they are not in active use, making this technology promising in a wide variety of usage situations such as factories, offices, stores, and homes, both indoors and outdoors.

*2: An electrical circuit that converts alternating current to direct current. In general, alternating current is used to transmit electrical energy, so a rectifier circuit is used in power sources of equipment that require direct current.

*3: As an energy harvesting technology. According to SSS research. As of announcement on September 7, 2023 .

Main Features

High level of power generation

Utilizing electronic equipment that generates a significant amount of electromagnetic wave noise such as household appliances, computers, lighting equipment, vending machines, elevators, automobiles, and industrial equipment as an energy source enables this module to harvest from several dozen W to several dozen mW of power. Doing so makes it possible to supply power to low-power consumption IoT sensors and communications equipment.

Utilizing electronic equipment that generates a significant amount of electromagnetic wave noise such as household appliances, computers, lighting equipment, vending machines, elevators, automobiles, and industrial equipment as an energy source enables this module to harvest from several dozen W to several dozen mW of power. Doing so makes it possible to supply power to low-power consumption IoT sensors and communications equipment. Applicable to a wide range of use cases

As long as electronic devices are powered, power can be harvested even when they are not in active use. This method therefore differs from other energy harvesting methods which use sunlight, electrical waves, and temperature differences, all of which are susceptible to environmental factors such as lighting brightness and indoor environments. Thus, the new module enables continuous harvesting.



The minimal number of constituent components used in the module yields a compact design that allows for greater freedom of installation.

Device status can be identified

Because this technology continuously harvests electromagnetic wave noise from electronic devices, it can also identify the internal status of the electronic device by detecting changes in the harvested voltage. This means, for instance, that it can be used for applications such as detecting whether lighting is functioning normally or predicting device failure, for example in robots with built-in motors.

SSS looks forward to working with partners from various industries to develop products based on this technology, which shows promise across a wide variety of applications.

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SOURCE Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation
TAPPAHANNOCK, Va. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- St. Margaret's School is pleased to announce the school has received transformative gifts totaling $2 Million from longtime supporters Roger Sanders and E. Carlton "Buddy" Wilton, Jr. The gifts are the largest in the school's 102-year history and will fund its focus on river-centric 21st-century learning, aptly called "S.T.R.E.A.M.," along with St. Margaret's recommitment to faith-based education. The money will serve as seed funding for a $10 Million fundraising goal.

St. Margaret's School ( Tappahannock, Va. ) Receives Two $1 Million Transformative Gifts from Longtime Supporters

Sanders, a former federal judge and Texas lawyer is the grandfather of a 2023 St. Margaret's graduate. St. Margaret's promise five years ago -- of reassuring safety and strong academics -- lifted it above other American/Canadian schools the family had visited. "Since then, I've witnessed how this boarding school 'Sisterhood' transformed a shy, uncertain girl full of doubt into a confident, compassionate young woman," shared Sanders. "Their insight guided her throughout this beautiful riverside campus environment. How can I not support that for other daughters and granddaughters through St. Margaret's."

In the 1970s, the United States had over 100 independent-styled girls' boarding/day schools, but the number has dwindled to 24, according to Boarding School Review.

Buddy Wilton is a longtime friend and supporter of St. Margaret's and the Diocese of Virginia. He serves as president and chief executive officer of Wilton Capital Management Services. "I believe in the leadership of St. Margaret's and their commitment to the ideals and programs that founded this school  Christian education and learning on the river," explains Wilton. "I hope others will join Roger and me in giving to the school and catapulting St. Margaret's into its next century of success."

"We cannot thank Roger and Buddy enough for their extraordinary support of St. Margaret's," said Elizabeth "Sissy" Hinton Crowther '75, Chair of the Board of Governors. "They believe in the impact of this school and its direction. Their generosity is inspirational to St. Margaret's alumnae worldwide."

"It is a critical time for girls' education in the United States ," said Head of School Colley Bell. "Adolescent girls face issues that are profound in our contemporary times. Boarding schools can be extraordinary enterprises facing such challenges, provided their mission is effectively delivered. At St. Margaret's, we believe in the "gospel of doing," Roger and Buddy's unprecedented gifts allow us to extend that philosophy to further generations."

Situated on the beautiful Rappahannock River in Tappahannock, VA , St. Margaret's School is an Episcopal all-girls boarding and day school for grades 8-12 and postgraduate. Learn more about the St. Margaret's Sisterhood at www.sms.org.

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SOURCE St. Margaret's School
Collection Combines Iconic Western Archives with a Modern Aesthetic Designed to Make a Statement

LOS ANGELES and GREENSBORO, N.C. , Sep. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- STAUD, the Los Angeles -based fashion brand, announces its collaboration with Wrangler , the legendary global jeanswear brand. This partnership marks a union of two American fashion industry leaders, combining STAUD's modern California aesthetic with Wrangler's deep-rooted authority in denim and the authentic western lifestyle.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:

https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/9195951-staud-and-wrangler-new-denim-collaboration/

The STAUD + Wrangler collaboration reimagines traditional denim with a fresh perspective. Drawing inspiration from vintage Wrangler ads and Sarah Staudinger's favorite, well-worn pair of Wrangler jeans, the collection emphasizes classic denim construction with STAUD's feminine designs to deliver a thoughtfully curated collection that effortlessly blends classic Americana-style with contemporary design features and looks.

"We are beyond excited to partner with Wrangler for this collection," said Sarah 'Staud' Staudinger, Co-founder and Creative Director of STAUD. "Wrangler's heritage in denim aligns with our brand ethos of creating pieces that are timeless while feeling fresh. Together, we have created a collection that combines Wrangler's iconic styles and infuses them with our DNA."

With STAUD's classic yet modern appeal and Wrangler's legacy of quality and authentic western and western-inspired denim, the collection brings an array of elevated essentials in two distinct washes to mix and match for endless combinations. The 8-piece collection features silhouettes and finishes that demand attention, from a flared Bikini Jean and its matching Jean Bikini Top to a pencil skirt and a chambray western shirt lengthened into a dress.

"The overall style versatility and uniquely designed pieces within this collaboration represents the best of both brands and presents today's fashion seekers with a powerful blend of classic looks and original fits," says Holly Wheeler , vice president of global brand marketing for Wrangler. "We have co-authored a collection that is well-timed with how denim is currently showing up as a central element in fashion and self-expression."

The limited STAUD + Wrangler collaboration is available for purchase online at staud.clothing and wrangler.com , as well as in STAUD stores. Prices range from 120 - 365 euros .

ABOUT STAUD: In 2015, Sarah 'Staud' Staudinger and George Augusto co-founded the LA-based lifestyle brand STAUD upon the idea that fashion shouldn't just empower women  it should be accessible, too. At the heart of STAUD is design. Crafted at the intersection of timeless classics and perfected novelty, STAUD offers a collection to the modern woman who appreciates both. With an emphasis on originality and joy through the lens of elevated discovery, each season is a detailed narrative speaking to our wardrobe aspirations. If fashion is a never-ending pursuit of style, then STAUD is what happens after you've found it.

ABOUT WRANGLER:

Wrangler, of Kontoor Brands (NYSE: KTB), has been an icon in authentic American style for 75 years. With a rich legacy rooted in the Western lifestyle, Wrangler is committed to offering superior quality and timeless design. Its collections for men, women, and children look and feel great, inspiring all those who wear them to be strong and ready for everyday life. Wrangler is available in retail stores worldwide, including flagship stores in Fort Worth and Greensboro , department stores, mass-market retailers, specialty shops, top western outfitters, and online. For more information, visit wrangler.com.

PRESS CONTACTS:

Alexa Kopel - [email protected]

Ilham Moutaa Lecorche - [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2193440/WRANGLER_X_STAUD.jpg

Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2193446/WRANGLER_X_STAUD.mp4

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2193439/WRANGLER_X_STAUD_Logo.jpg

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SOURCE WRANGLER; STAUD
Last Severe El Nino Event with Excessive Rainfall Doubled Homeowners Claims

LOS ANGELES , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced that a significant El Nino event is expected to occur this year. Forecasters have issued an advisory stating that El Nino conditions are already developing and are expected to strengthen gradually as winter approaches.

El Nino is characterized by abnormally warm ocean temperatures around the equator in the Pacific Ocean . This seemingly small change dramatically influences weather patterns around the world. Typically, El Nino weather trends translate to an increase in rainfall for the southern United States and drier, warmer weather for the northern states. It also often leads to a weaker hurricane season for Gulf and East Coast states, but for West Coast residents the increased rainfall can increase the potential for water damage and flooding.

"Water damage is a huge concern when dealing with these storms, because it can impact the structural integrity of houses and wreak havoc on personal property. It's also one of the most common claims filed by homeowners," said Bonnie Lee, Mercury Insurance's Vice President of Property Claims.

Extra Threat for Wildfire and Drought-Stricken Areas: Excessive Rains That Trigger Mudslides and Flooding

The heavy storms from early 2023 may have replenished water supply in many areas in the West, but it doesn't mean that the threat of drought or wildfire is over. Droughts and fires this summer could lead to dangerous consequences when the rains begin to fall if hillsides are stripped of the vegetation that hold them in place. With these anchors gone, it's very possible heavy rains could weaken hillsides and create severe mudslides. Flash flooding is a very real possibility since hard, dried out soil doesn't absorb as much water. This can lead to sudden, fast-moving water  a combination with the capacity to do a lot of damage.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a mudslide is defined as earth and rock that travels downhill whereas a mudflow is a liquid stream of mud. Flood insurance covers both flood and mudflow damage, but only covers mudslide damage if defined exactly as the Standard Flood Insurance Policy defines mudflow.

Homeowners insurance does not generally cover flood and mudslide damage, so homeowners should do some research to find out if their home is located in a flood plain. If so, you may want to look into purchasing national flood insurance if you feel your home is in a high-risk area.

"Homeowners should regularly review their policies to ensure that their home care needs are met and familiarize themselves with what types of damages will be covered," Lee said. "It's important to do your research on flood zones and potential mudslide areas. Remember to talk to your insurance agent about your protection options.

Knowing that there is a high probability for persistent rainfall, homeowners should take preventative measures to protect themselves against damages that can occur during an El Nino season. Lee suggests the following tips to help minimize water and wind damage to your home and property.

Before a strong storm or weather event:

Register your mobile phone for severe weather notifications.

Hire an inspector to evaluate your home. Homeowners insurance will not cover damages that are a result of pre-existing conditions and negligence, so cover your bases and address these issues before they lead to bigger problems.

Check for cracks or chips in windows and inspect their seals too. Door seals should also be inspected. Strong winds can easily shatter glass, inviting debris and water into your home. Weak seals and small leaks can create bigger issues if the water gets into the walls.

Evaluate your roof. The roof of your home is an important barrier that protects your property from wind and rain. Walk through your home and check your ceilings and walls for any leaks, water rings or mold spots that might indicate possible roof damage and address any issues immediately. Have the exterior of your roof inspected for missing shingles, holes or weak spots by a licensed contractor.

Clear gutters, downspouts and culverts.

Have the foundation inspected for cracks and leaks.

Remove trees and branches that are dead or dying from your yard to minimize the chances of damage to your home from fallen trees or snapped limbs. Remove branches and limbs in close proximity to your home. It may be smart to trim or relocate trees that are too close to your home.

Keep an up-to-date inventory of your personal property in the event you need to make a claim.

Speak with your insurance agent to review and understand the ins and outs of your homeowners insurance policy to ensure there are no surprises down the road.

Determine whether or not your home is located in a flood plain, and consider purchasing federal flood insurance if it is.

Prepare a family disaster plan and assemble emergency supply kits for your family and pets.

After the storm:

If your home sustains damage, contact your insurance carrier or agent immediately and file a homeowners claim.

If your property has sustained damage from a flood or mudflow and you have flood insurance, file a separate claim under your federal flood insurance.

Remember to evaluate and document all damages in the event that rain or wind causes destruction on your property to help the claim process move forward smoothly.

If your home is unsafe, take your family and pets out of the house. Your homeowners insurance may provide for alternative housing costs if you need to evacuate your home.

Save yourself the headache and hassle and make any necessary maintenance and repairs before inclement weather hits. These simple steps can reduce repair costs and may pay off big time in the long run.

About Mercury Insurance

Mercury Insurance (NYSE: MCY) is a multiple-line insurance carrier predominantly offering personal auto, homeowners and renters insurance through a network of independent agents in Arizona , California , Georgia , Illinois , Nevada , New Jersey , New York , Oklahoma , Texas and Virginia , as well as auto insurance in Florida . Mercury writes other lines of insurance in various states, including commercial, business owners and business auto, landlord, home-sharing, ride-hailing and mechanical protection insurance.

Since 1962, Mercury has provided customers with tremendous value for their insurance dollar by pairing ultracompetitive rates with excellent customer service. Mercury has earned "A" ratings from A.M. Best and Fitch, as well as "Best Auto Insurance Company" designations from Forbes and Insure.com. For more information visit www.MercuryInsurance.com or follow the company on Twitter or Facebook.

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SOURCE Mercury Insurance
CHANGSHA, China , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- S'Young International ("S'YOUNG") announced the successful conclusion of its first-ever Luxury Hair Care Brand Ceremony, which brought together a group of business leaders and top-notch beauty brands under the same roof to shed light on the insights and highlight products that lead the current and future trends of "luxury haircare".

This ceremony is held in Changsha , which has been continuously rated as one of the happiest cities in China for fifteen consecutive years. It is also known as the "Capital of Media Arts" in the world. Changsha embraces diverse cultures, providing an excellent environment for world-renowned brands to gather. Additionally, as one of the most representative new Tier 1 cities, Changsha embraces China's youngest, most contemporary, and most diverse consumer groups. Here, global brands can better engage and understand their target audience.

The entire event was woven together as a fusion of industry summit and brand ceremony, kicking off with a play of light and shadow. This was accomplished through cinematic-level computer graphics and holographic screens, presenting the distinct elements of various hair care brands along with the cultural nuances and definitions of beauty from the countries where each brand originates. The first S'Young Luxury Hair Care Brand Ceremony aimed to bring together global brands beyond geographical, cultural, and product limitations. It united research experts, industry leaders, and key opinion leaders to collaborate, all dedicated to bringing global luxury haircare solutions to Chinese consumers and igniting a trend of luxury haircare in China .

The theme of the event cast a spotlight on the three keywords that define the very essence of the modern beauty industry  fashion, innovation, and nature  which are showcased by three pioneers in the hair care industry through the introduction of their brand stories, values, as well as the unique products that deliver luxury hair care experiences to global customers.

Wei Liu , the Chief Physician of Dermatology Physicians Branch of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, was among the featured guests invited to share the latest research on scalp health. In addition, industry experts also presented their reports on the outlook of the hairdressing industry.

Elegant Fashion with Bjorn Axen

Representing the epitome of "Fashionable Hair Care," Bjorn Axen , hailing from Sweden , took the attendees on a journey into the world of hair aesthetics with a presentation that delves into the brand's craftsmanship and high-end hair care solutions. The brand takes pride in the honor of bringing its hair-dressing solutions to Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden , as well as its strong brand heritage which makes it one of the most iconic names in the fashion industry.

Johan Hellstrom , founder of Bjorn Axen , introduced the brand's history, remarkable milestones, market strategy in China , as well as the signature hair repair line-up that is set to debut in the country.

Innovative Vision with DS Laboratories

When the air was filled with electronic beats exuding the energy that matches the futuristic tech aesthetics of DS Laboratories, Dr. Fernando , CEO of the brand, presented a video that transported the audience to the company's lab based in Miami , United States , which spearheads cutting-edge innovation with the aim of offering the best hair care solutions in the world.

At the event, Dr. Fernando Tamez , along with the host, invited the audience to share their concerns about hair loss and other problems related to hair health, followed by a story about genetic hair loss within families, showcasing the brand's sentiment and commitment  evolving from addressing familial genetic hair loss to embracing the mission of tackling hair loss for millions of individuals. On the stage, he demonstrated the product development process at DS Laboratories, explaining innovative ingredients and formulas with which the brand harnesses to address hair loss problems for millions of customers worldwide.

Natural Beauty with oolaboo

As the electrifying excitement subsided, the audience was greeted with the tranquil and awe-inspiring scenery of the Netherlands , where the hair care brand oolaboo was born. Against the backdrop of the pristine beauty of a country known for its picturesque landscapes, the brand showcased its R&D process and production line that embodies its mission to develop organic, nourishing, and effective hair products that "link inner and outer beauty".

Richard Wilmink and Jeroen Wilmink , founders of oolaboo, shared their personal experiences and passion for enhancing the effectiveness of natural hair products, explaining the intrinsic brand philosophy that aligns with its commitment to creating luxury products that redefine natural beauty.

The combined market value of body and hair care products in China has hit RMB 80 billion , making them two of the largest categories in the country's beauty market, according to the latest report of iResearch Consulting Group. Meanwhile, the shift in the attention of Chinese customers from meeting their basic needs to focusing on advanced features and benefits of personal care products has injected new dynamics into the beauty landscape, opening up a new arena for legacy brands to expand their offerings and reach new customers.

As the first global event hosted by S'YOUNG to highlight innovative solutions in the hair care category, the company aims to leverage the platform to tear down the cultural and psychical silos by presenting international offerings tailored to evolving lifestyles of Chinese customers while uniting industry insiders to share their creative ideas and visions that fuel the next growth chapter of the beauty industry.

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SOURCE S'Young International
WORCESTER, Mass. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE: THG) today announced it has appointed Stephanie E. Seibold to president of alternative markets and Arthur J. Barrett to president of programs. In this new role, Seibold will lead The Hanover's specialty property and casualty programs, specialty general liability and specialty brokerage businesses. Barrett will report to Seibold and oversee the company's specialty property and casualty programs business.

Seibold joined The Hanover in 2007 as a middle market underwriter and has taken on a number of critical roles during her tenure with the company, most recently serving as the chief underwriting officer of specialty property and casualty. Prior to that, Seibold held various leadership roles within sales and underwriting at The Hanover.

Barrett came to The Hanover in 2021 and has served as the company's vice president of underwriting for its programs business. Previously, Barrett held various leadership roles at Chubb within the company's programs and brokerage division, as well as at CNA.

"We are very pleased to promote Stephanie and Arthur to these important roles within our specialty business," said Bryan J. Salvatore , executive vice president and president of specialty at The Hanover. "Stephanie brings a wealth of experience and is a strong leader and enterprise integrator for our company. And Arthur is a strong underwriting leader that has played a critical role in positioning our programs business for future success. Under their leadership, we look forward to expanding these important businesses to meet the growing specialty needs of our agents and brokers."

Seibold is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a bachelor's degree in English and women's studies and holds designations as an Associate in Commercial Underwriting (AU) and Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS). Barrett earned a bachelor's degree in business marketing and management from Penn State University and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Holy Family University. Barrett also holds designations as a Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS) and a Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS).

For more information about The Hanover's specialty business, please visit hanover.com.

About The Hanover

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. is the holding company for several property and casualty insurance companies, which together constitute one of the largest insurance businesses in the United States . The company provides exceptional insurance solutions through a select group of independent agents and brokers. Together with its agent partners, The Hanover offers standard and specialized insurance protection for small and mid-sized businesses, as well as for homes, automobiles, and other personal items. For more information, please visit hanover.com.

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SOURCE The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.
Due to popular demand, HI-CHEW is bringing its fun and colorful pop-up candy shop to Dallas , Los Angeles , and Miami

IRVINE, Calif. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the tremendous success of the Bite-Size Candy Shop in New York City this past June, HI-CHEW , the immensely fruity, intensely chewy candy, is bringing its one-of-a-kind pop-up experience to three more cities this fall: Dallas , Los Angeles , and Miami .

From experiencing the brand's fascinating history and colorful packaging to snagging newly released products, exclusive flavors, and brand-new merch, the Bite-Size Candy Shop transports brand fans through a journey of all things HI-CHEW. The Bite-Size Candy Shop weekend tour rollout is as follows:

Dallas: September 15-17 at Galleria Dallas

at Galleria Dallas Address: 13340 Dallas Parkway , Dallas TX 75240

, 75240

Hours of Operation at local time: Friday & Saturday: 10am-8pm ; Sunday: 12pm-6pm

; Sunday: Los Angeles: October 27-29 at The Grove

at The Grove Address: 189 The Grove Dr. , Los Angeles CA 90036

, 90036

Hours of Operation at local time: Friday & Saturday: 10am - 10pm ; Sunday: 11am - 8pm

; Sunday: Miami: November 10-12 in Wynwood

in Wynwood Address: 265 NE 24th Street , Miami FL 33137

, 33137

Hours of Operation at local time: Friday & Saturday: 11am - 7pm ; Sunday: 11am - 6pm

In Dallas , consumers will be able to explore Galleria Dallas and shop to their heart's desire while chewing on their favorite candy. As HI-CHEW treks over to the West Coast , The Grove provides a trendy spot with an open-air environment, making it an ideal place to kick-off Halloween weekend festivities. Lastly, Miami's Wynwood neighborhood provides an artsy atmosphere filled with colorful murals that match HI-CHEW's fun brand vibe.

With inspiration from the brand's whimsical and vibrant packaging, the Bite-Size Candy Shop immediately sparks the same joy that consumers get when they take the first bite of their favorite HI-CHEW flavor. Stepping into the space, customers are immersed in a fruit-forward world that evokes a sense of fun and uniqueness. Each location brings a new element that's specific to the city, combining consumers' hometown flare with their favorite chewy candy. Consumers will also be transported around the world as they explore the brand's history and browse the display of global flavors to get inspired for future travels.

The Bite-Size Candy Shop will feature exclusive fan-favorites such as Yogurt Mix, Pineapple, and Lillikoi, as well as classic HI-CHEW candy flavors including Soda Pop Mix, Banana, and Kiwi. What's more, Morinaga America, Inc., the makers of HI-CHEW, will unveil HI-SOFT, a delectable salted caramel chew that is the latest addition to its product lineup. Exclusive branded merchandise will be available for purchase including brand-new hoodie designs, beanies, brightly colored fanny packs, and limited edition stickers in each city. With a candy dispenser on-site, visitors will be able to enjoy samples of the newest HI-CHEW flavors. Additionally, with every purchase of $50 or more, customers will receive a free HI-CHEW tote bag.

"After the success of our Bite-Size Candy Shop in New York City , our brand fans were eager for more, and we're excited to be able to bring this experience to them in Dallas , Los Angeles , and Miami this fall," said Teruhiro Kawabe (Terry), Chief Representative for the USA & President, CEO of Morinaga America, Inc. "As our loyal Chew Crew continues to grow throughout the country, we're so happy that we can bring the HI-CHEW pop-up to each of these cities."

The larger-than-life photo booth experience from the New York City pop-up has been reimagined and will be a must-visit experience at each location. Visitors will feel bite-size surrounded by life-size HI-CHEW Bites chewlets as if they jumped right into the bag. The photos will be available digitally to share with friends and on social media.

The Bite-Size Candy Shop is inspired by the brand's newest launch, HI-CHEW Bites, a convenient way to enjoy your favorite chews on the go with unwrapped chewlets in three of the most popular flavors: Mango, Green Apple, and Strawberry.

To learn more about HI-CHEW and to see where you can purchase your favorite products, please visit us online at HI-CHEW.com , like us on Facebook , and follow us on Instagram (@HICHEWUSA) and TikTok (@HICHEWUSA) .

About Morinaga America, Inc.:

Established in 2008, Morinaga America, Inc. is the official distributor of HI-CHEW, HI-SOFT, and Chargel in the United States . Morinaga America, Inc. (marketing and sales) and Morinaga America Foods, Inc. (manufacturing) are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Morinaga & Co., Ltd., which began in 1899 as the first, modern candy maker and producer of chocolates in Japan . In 2015, Morinaga America, Inc. opened its first United States manufacturing facility in North Carolina . With over 200 flavors of HI-CHEW having debuted in Japan , Morinaga America, Inc. has introduced the United States market to the best of Japanese confectionery.

About HI-CHEW:

The history of Morinaga stretches back over a century when company founder Taichiro Morinaga brought his candy-making skills to Japan from America in the 1800s. HI-CHEW has long been the best-selling soft candy in Japan and continues to see year-over-year growth throughout other parts of Asia and in the United States . In the United States , HI-CHEW is currently offered in sticks, peg bags, and stand-up pouches. The HI-CHEW sticks come in a variety of flavors including Strawberry, Green Apple, Mango, Grape, Banana, Kiwi, Acai, and Sweet & Sour Watermelon. HI-CHEW also offers peg bags in the following flavors: Original Mix, Tropical Mix, Superfruit Mix, Sweet & Sour Mix, Soda Pop Mix, Berry Mix , Plus Fruit, Fantasy Mix, and new Reduced Sugar. The Stand-Up Pouches are available in Original Mix, Tropical Mix, Sweet and Sour Mix, Fruit Combos, and Infrusions Orchard Mix. The all-new HI-CHEW Bites are unwrapped in bite-size packaging in Mango, Green Apple, and Strawberry flavors. HI-CHEW is made with concentrated fruit juices and is free of gluten, with no colors from synthetic sources. HI-CHEW continues to expand fruity, chewy flavor offerings annually. In 2020, HI-CHEW won a Nielsen Design Impact Award for its new Original Mix packaging update that hit shelves in 2019. For more information, visit HI-CHEW.com.

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SOURCE HI-CHEW
Second issue launches, offering key insights and guidance on law school

HOUSTON , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Houston Law Center has released its second issue of Aspiring Lawyer, an online magazine that offers insights, resources and advice for individuals interested in a legal career. The publication caters to undergraduates and those interested in pursuing the legal profession, featuring articles on topics from law school admissions, legal news and career development to profiles of donors, alumni, faculty and students.

Aspiring Lawyer magazine offers insights, resources and advice for individuals interested in a legal career.

"Aspiring Lawyer magazine is designed to complement UH Law Center's award-winning Pre-Law Pipeline Programs, which is a race-neutral program designed to increase the representation of law students from low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented backgrounds," said Leonard M. Baynes , Dean of the University of Houston Law Center.

The magazine contains essential information pertinent to pursuing and excelling in the legal field. It offers tips such as the importance of networking, strategies in preparation for the LSAT and mentorship opportunities.

"Through this innovative magazine, I am thrilled that the University of Houston Law Center has stepped up again to provide foundational law school preparatory information to those who need it most," said Mariesha Keys , Director of the Pre-Law Pipeline Programs.

Since the launch of the first pipeline program in 2015, 140 scholars have been accepted to law school and have been awarded over $11.1 million in scholarships. Students who participate in the LSAT prep curriculum have seen a median LSAT score increase of 6-14 points with the highest individual LSAT score increase of 27 points.

The award-winning Pre-Law Pipeline Programs has been recognized by the American Bar Association with the 2019 Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Award for Excellence in Pipeline Diversity, honored by the University of Houston Board of Regents with an Academic Excellence Award, cited in the Law Center's INSIGHT Into Diversity's Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award and received a Congressional Recognition from the 18th Congressional District of Texas . The program had received past support from several partner institutions and sponsors, including AccessLex and LSAC.

Aspiring Lawyer expands the Pre-Law Pipeline Programs outreach by ensuring that students from first-generation, low-income or underrepresented backgrounds are provided the information, resources and direction essential for career growth, regardless of their enrollment in the Pipeline Programs.

University of Houston Law Center media contacts: Carrie Anna Criado , UH Law Center Assistant Dean of Communications and Marketing, 713-743-2184, [email protected]; Bonnie Buffaloe , Communications Manager, 713-743-9137, [email protected].

About the University of Houston Law Center

The University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) is a dynamic, top-tier law school located in the nation's 4th largest city. UHLC's Health Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Part-time programs rank in the U.S. News Top 10. It awards Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees, through its academic branch, the College of Law. The Law Center is more than just a law school. It is a powerful hub of intellectual activity with more than 15 centers and institutes which fuel its educational mission and national reputation. UHLC is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter for excellence in undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city and one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions in the country, UH is a federally designated Hispanic- and Asian-American-Serving institution with enrollment of more than 47,000 students.

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SOURCE University of Houston Law Center
The acquisition will bring together companies with complementary technological capabilities, an existing production plant and customer relationships, making Vertimass one of the leading renewable fuels companies in operation for the conversion of alcohols to hydrocarbons.

IRVINE, Calif. , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vertimass EMEA B.V. announced today that it has signed a purchase agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of Ekobenz, a Poland -based company that commercially produces high-quality renewable gasoline, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), and other fuels. The Ekobenz facility will also provide a commercial-scale platform on which to build near-term introduction of the Vertimass Consolidated Alcohol Deoxygenation and Oligomerization (CADO) process for renewable hydrocarbons of which sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production will be a main feature. In addition, this acquisition will facilitate expansion of markets for Vertimass products beyond those in the United States .

"Ekobenz is one of the first advanced biorefineries at a commercial scale in Europe ," explained Vertimass Chairman William A. Shopoff . "By acquiring this company and plant, we will be able to immediately produce fuel commercially and scale the Vertimass technology to ultimately provide significant volumes of sustainable aviation fuel that help meet the 2035 climate change goals of the EU and U.S. "

Ekobenz was founded in 2006 with the goal of creating high-quality synthetic fuel derived from renewable sources and significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that contribute to climate change. The Ekobenz sustainable fuel plant, with a designed annual production capacity of 8 million gallons (22,500 tons), became operational in 2018 and produces sustainable fuel with an average 80% reduction in CO2 emissions. The company is a certified and regulated producer of hydrocarbons, bio-gasoline, and bio-LPG in Europe . The production plant is sited on more than 5.5 hectares that also includes a support building, warehouse, laboratory, and equipment.

Vertimass President and CEO Dr. Charles Wyman noted, "This acquisition is an important step for Vertimass technology and will move Vertimass into a commercial arena. Proof of concept on such a significant scale will allow the technology to expand to additional plants in the forthcoming period, both in the EMEA region and the U.S. "

The parties scheduled the signing of the final sales and purchase agreement for December 31, 2023 .

For more information please visit: https://www.vertimass.com/vertimass-emea/

About Vertimass Technology

Vertimass technology sustainably produces vital jet, gasoline, and diesel fuels and chemicals from ethanol, methanol, and other renewable alcohols with high yields that can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to sourcing these products from petroleum. The simplicity of the Vertimass single reaction system results in low capital and operating costs. The compatibility of Vertimass fuels and chemicals with the existing infrastructure makes possible production of low-cost, low-carbon fuels for everything, everyone, and everywhere. This Consolidated Alcohol Deoxygenation and Oligomerization (CADO) technology originated from Oak Ridge National Laboratories operated by UT-Battelle, with Vertimass obtaining worldwide exclusive rights in 2014 and advancing the technology for commercial applicability.

Through a simple bolt-on of Vertimass technology, existing and future ethanol producers can break through the blend wall that currently limits ethanol use in gasoline. And the low cost Vertimass bolt-on opens up entirely new jet, diesel, and chemical markets. In addition, application of Vertimass technology to produce fuels and chemicals from methanol and other alcohols made through capture of carbon dioxide from ethanol production, electrical power generation, cement manufacture, and other operations can further reduce greenhouse gas footprints. Beyond lowering carbon footprints, jet, diesel, and gasoline fuels and chemicals derived from renewable alcohols can improve strategic security, rural economies, and international competitiveness.

About Vertimass LLC

Vertimass LLC is based in Irvine, California with the mission to develop and widely license breakthrough technologies that substantially expand production of sustainable transportation fuels and chemicals that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy security and domestic economies. Commercialization of proprietary Vertimass technology can overcome the blend wall that currently impedes expansion of ethanol production from multiple sources of biomass and open up large new markets for aircraft and heavy-duty vehicle fuels and for chemicals not currently amenable to ethanol or other alcohols. For more information, visit http://www.vertimass.com/.

This is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Such an offer may only be made by means of an offering document that must accompany or precede this information. There is no assurance that this strategy will succeed to meet its objectives. All investments have risk, including loss of investment; please see the risk factors section of the offering document. Securities offered through Shopoff Securities, Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC.

*Visit the following SEC website for more information on what an accredited investor is: SEC.gov | Accredited Investor

Contact:

Jill Swartz

Spotlight Marketing Communications

949.427.1389

[email protected]

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SOURCE Vertimass EMEA
Statistics are often perceived as cold. But they can also convey emotions and in the process touch hearts and consciences. Between 1940 and 1990, some 300,000 children were stolen in Spain, according to the main victims organizations. Director Victor Iriartes Foremost by Night highlights that fact at the beginning of the film. The film then narrates one such story, that of Egoz and his two mothers. Its a dramatic and unfair tale, as all of them are. The story is fictitious, but it could have been real, much to the astonishment of a wide global audience that is likely unaware of such a catastrophe. Now, viewers can discover that history at the Venice Film Festival, where the feature film will be screened in the Giornate degli autori section.

It is a dark chapter of our recent history, as well as a pending subject of our [collective] memory. But it is not on the [public] agenda. We wanted to give voice to it and respond to it creatively, emphasizes the filmmaker. The director is making his feature film debut at the age of 47, although he has been working in this field for half his life: as a scheduler at Tabakalera, in San Sebastian, Spain; as a film festival worker in the same city and at the Elias Querejeta film school; as an assistant director; and as an interlocutor in talks with many other directors he knows personally. Then, after all that work, he began to ask himself: How would I do it myself?

He did it by telling the story through the eyes of two women, giving the film a very personal touch. Vera (Lola Duenas) searches for answers but finds none. She knows that she could not take care of her baby when he was born. But, of course, she is also aware that she gave birth. So where is the child now? What the hell does it mean that theres no record? On the other hand, Cora (Ana Torrent) was told she could not have children. So, she was given an infant and told a lie about where it came from: the baby was motherless, the mother had died in childbirth. Egoz was left without a past but with what Iriarte describes as cosmic loneliness.

A few decades ago, such events happened thousands of times in Spain. That is what the mothers and children who experienced it firsthand told the director. It was more emotional research than journalistic investigation. Most shared a feeling of helplessness and abandonment by those who should protect them in a democratic state, says Iriarte. In the film Vera describes it as being in two places at once, without the ability to rest.

The film itself moves between several places. Its told in four sections, each with different genres, from noir to melodrama, in pursuit of the best visuals for each moment; the movie is courageously told and full of ideas. The film is unafraid of taking risks, trying new things, surprising, even failing, if necessary. Two heavyweights of Spanish cinemaIsaki Lacuesta and Isa Campohelped in the films production. I can no longer be a young promising [filmmaker], I dont want to prove anything. It wasnt a question of lets see how to tell this in a weird way. It came naturally to me. I understand filmmaking as freedom to experiment, not so much in the abstract, but with [certain] aspects of the story. I dont put the subject matter first: the story is important, and so is the form, Iriarte reflects. The performances, the soundtrack, the direction and the aesthetics: Foremost by Night represents a stupendous blend of elements that move you or make you uncomfortable. The films only flaw is overemphasizing its intelligence or indignation at certain points.

From left to right, actors Lola Duenas, Manuel Egozkue and Ana Torrent in Venice last Saturday. Antonello Nusca (EFE)

In any case, once again Spanish cinema is going to Venice to denounce the countrys darkest moments. Two years ago, Pedro Almodovars Parallel Mothers opened the event, showing wounds that still bleed from mass graves and the nameless dead. In 2022, Juan Diego Botto shined a spotlight on the margins and the evictions that take place there every day. And now Foremost by Night addresses Spains stolen babies. Its an issue that gets swept under the rug. Every four or five months, a case appears in the press as an isolated story, and its always sad, [its] a trauma and [theres] a woman who goes after the system directly. But it is not confronted as a general issue related to the economy, ideology..., Iriarte explains. He goes on to enumerate the many issues: bills that do not become laws, complaints that remain isolated, the request for a National DNA Bank, the documents requested by the victims that never appear.

Perhaps the films cri de coeur will be heard in Venice and, after that, elsewhere. But Spanish cinema almost never enters the official section, except for Almodovars movies and the cinema of J. A. Bayona, who will close this years Mostra with The Society of Snow, a film reconstruction of the 1972 plane crash in the Andes. But virtually every year Spains films occupy parallel sections at the festival. Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Oskar Alegria, Raul Arevalo, Juanjo Gimenez, the aforementioned Botto... and, this year, three other projects. All told, they offer an authentic thesis about memory: the one being lost by Aitana, Maria Teresa Leon and Rafael Albertis daughter, and filmed by her daughter Marina Alberti, in the short film of the same name; Carlos Sauras movie, honored with a restored version of The Hunt; and the one associated with the documentary Frente a Guernica [Facing Guernica], which the Reina Sofia Museum commissioned to Yervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci Lucchi; the film shows the complete footage after going through the art gallery.

Its very naive to think that films belong only to the directors. Today they exist long before they are finished, they have sales agents who have several meetings to promote them. And, in this sense, a festival like this is a great showcase, Iriarte observes. When Foremost by Night premieres, the filmmaker believes that being the Spanish film that was in Venice may help it. When they leave the theater, however, the audience will have another memory: that of a stolen life. One of 300,000.

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HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vietravel Airlines was honored as Asia's Leading Leisure Airline 2023 for Travel Experience at the World Travel Awards 2023 (WTA 2023) Gala Ceremony held in Vietnam .

As the first touring airline in Vietnam , Vietravel Airlines was born with the mission of "Connecting": connecting people with people, connecting people with destinations, connecting cultures, and connecting Vietnam with the world. For more than 2.5 years of flying into Vietnam's horizon and the world, Vietravel Airlines has conquered multiple national tourist cities with passengers: Da Nang , Nha Trang , Quy Nhon , Da Lat , Phu Quoc from 02 central cities of the country: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City . For the international route network, Vietravel Airlines has successfully operated regular flights from Hanoi / Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok ( Thailand ), Nha Trang - Macau , a series of charter flights from Nha Trang to Daegu ( Korea ), Hanoi - Sanya (China) .

In addition to providing passengers with enjoyable experiences on flights, such as having an inflight storyteller who shares information about the next destination, offering water and snacks with local tastes, and entertaining with a travel magazine published by Vietravel Holiday, Vietravel Airlines also collaborates with the Department of Tourism in various regions of the country. The aim is to extend our mission of connecting and enhancing the attractions of each region and to create a comprehensive image of the country's tourism.

Mr. Vu Duc Bien , the General Director of Vietravel Airlines, said: "We are proud to receive the award for Asia's Leading Leisure Airline for Travel Experience 2023 at the World Travel Awards Gala Night for the second year in a row. This award recognizes the hard work and dedication of Vietravel Airlines - The first touring airline in Vietnam that strives to connect people, places, and cultures. We hope this shall become a great motivation for us to continue improving our flight products and services with experiential features. We are grateful for your trust and love for choosing to fly with us."

The 17th Ho Chi Minh City International Tourism Fair (ITE) will be held at Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) from September 7 to September 9, 2023 . The event is organized by the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism with the aim of providing innovative solutions to boost Vietnam tourism, foster sustainable development, and showcase the beauty of the country and people of Vietnam to the world. Vietravel Airlines joins ITE this year with the theme "Experience Identity - Complete Taste on Clouds", offering domestic and foreign partners similar experiences as on flights of The first travel airline in Vietnam with five touch points: Sense The Mood, Witness The Uniqueness, Sip The Local Essence, Savour East  West, Hear The Cultural Talks.

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SOURCE Vietravel Airlines
BEIJING , Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Waterdrop Inc. ("Waterdrop", the "Company" or "we") (NYSE: WDH), a leading technology platform dedicated to insurance and healthcare service with a positive social impact, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023 .

Financial and Operational Highlights for the Second Quarter of 2023

Resilient business performance: For the second quarter of 2023, the first-year premiums ("FYP") generated through our Waterdrop Insurance Marketplace amounted to RMB2,197.0 million ( US$303.0 million ), representing an increase of 29.8% quarter over quarter. Our net operating revenue was RMB678.7 million ( US$93.6 million ), representing an increase of 12.0% quarter over quarter.

amounted to ( ), representing an increase of 29.8% quarter over quarter. Our net operating revenue was ( ), representing an increase of 12.0% quarter over quarter. Positive operating cash flow: As of June 30, 2023 , our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments balance amounted to RMB3,399.2 million ( US$468.8 million ). We continued to generate positive operating cash flow, and have cash outflow of investing and financing activities.

, our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments balance amounted to ( ). We continued to generate positive operating cash flow, and have cash outflow of investing and financing activities. Further expanded product offerings: As of June 30, 2023 , we offered 1,050 insurance products on our platform, as compared with 876 as of March 31, 2023 . In the second quarter of 2023, the FYP generated from critical illness insurance products accounted for 21.8% of overall FYP generated through our Waterdrop Insurance Marketplace .

, we offered 1,050 insurance products on our platform, as compared with 876 as of . In the second quarter of 2023, the FYP generated from critical illness insurance products accounted for 21.8% of overall FYP generated through our . As of June 30, 2023 , around 439 million people cumulatively had donated an aggregate of approximately RMB60.1 billion to over 2.95 million patients through Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding.

Mr. Peng Shen , Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Waterdrop, commented, "In the second quarter, we continued on a high-quality user-centric development trajectory, achieving a net operating revenue of RMB678.7 million and a net profit of RMB21.7 million .

In the second quarter, our insurance business witnessed a sequential growth in the number of new users and maintained a consistently high policy renewal rate. Meanwhile, we continued to innovate on product offerings and unveiled the Blue Ocean Lifetime Health Insurance, a groundbreaking medical insurance policy that facilitates connections to pioneering overseas medical interventions and pharmaceuticals.

As for the medical crowdfunding business, our Operational Transparency Committee continuously monitored the authenticity of fundraising activities, safeguarding the rights of patients and donors. We also further refined our consultant services, as part of the efforts to promote industry best practices and the orderly development of the entire sector.

E-Find Platform maintained a high growth momentum. In the second quarter, we collaborated with 132 pharmaceutical companies and CROs and successfully enrolled more than 900 patients. We also onboarded 80 new clinical trial programs, a testament to our solid performance in digital patient recruiting. It is worth noting that during this quarter our CRO business achieved significant progress by initiating the first full-cycle clinical trial operation project.

Looking forward, we will continue to integrate resources and maximize our advantages in the domestic insurance and healthcare industry."

Financial Results for the Second Quarter of 2023

Operating revenue, net

Net operating revenue for the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 3.2% year over year to RMB678 .7 million ( US$93.6 million ) from RMB701 .4 million for the same period of 2022. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, net operating revenue increased by 12.0%.

Insurance-related income includes insurance brokerage income and technical service income. Insurance brokerage income represents brokerage commissions earned from insurance companies. Technical service income is derived from providing technical services including customer relationship maintenance, customer complaint management, claim review, and user referral services, among other things, to insurance companies, insurance brokers, and agency companies. Our insurance-related income amounted to RMB597.4 million ( US$82.4 million ) in the second quarter of 2023, representing a decrease of 4.6% year over year from RMB625.9 million for the second quarter of 2022, which was mainly due to the decrease in technical service income.

( ) in the second quarter of 2023, representing a decrease of 4.6% year over year from for the second quarter of 2022, which was mainly due to the decrease in technical service income. Crowdfunding service fees represent the service income earned when patients successfully withdraw the proceeds from their crowdfunding campaigns. Our role is to operate the Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding platform to provide crowdfunding related services through the internet, enabling patients with significant medical bills to seek help from caring hearts through technology (the "medical crowdfunding services"). Our medical crowdfunding services generally consist of providing technical and internet support, managing, reviewing and supervising the crowdfunding campaigns, providing comprehensive risk management and anti- fraud measures, and facilitating the collection and transfer of the funds. Since April 7, 2022 , our crowdfunding platform has ceased to fully subsidize the related cost and started to charge a service fee of 3% of the funds raised, up to a maximum amount of RMB5,000 for a single campaign. Considering the specific situation of each case, we may selectively subsidize the service fee for certain patients with special needs. For the second quarter of 2023, we generated RMB44.7 million ( US$6.2 million ) in service fees, representing a decrease of 20.3% year over year from RMB56.1 million for the second quarter of 2022.

measures, and facilitating the collection and transfer of the funds. Since , our crowdfunding platform has ceased to fully subsidize the related cost and started to charge a service fee of 3% of the funds raised, up to a maximum amount of for a single campaign. Considering the specific situation of each case, we may selectively subsidize the service fee for certain patients with special needs. For the second quarter of 2023, we generated ( ) in service fees, representing a decrease of 20.3% year over year from for the second quarter of 2022. Digital clinical trial solution income represents the service income earned from our customers mainly including biopharmaceutical companies and leading biotechnology companies. We match qualified and suitable patients for enrollment in clinical trials for our customers and generate digital clinical trial solution revenue for successful matches and we typically charge our customers a fixed unit price per successful match. For the second quarter of 2023, our clinical trial solution income amounted to RMB29.4 million ( US$4.0 million ), as compared to RMB11.0 million in the same period of 2022.

Operating costs and expenses

Operating costs and expenses increased by 32.1% year over year to RMB720.3 million ( US$99.3 million ) for the second quarter of 2023. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, operating costs and expenses increased by 20.9%.

Operating costs increased by 36.2% year over year to RMB333.1 million ( US$45.9 million ) for the second quarter of 2023, as compared with RMB244.6 million for the second quarter of 2022, which was primarily driven by (i) a RMB74.2 million increase in costs of referral and service fees, and (ii) a RMB8.9 million increase in the costs for patient recruitment consultants team. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, operating costs increased by 34.3% in the second quarter of 2023, primarily due to the RMB60.9 million increase in costs of referral and service fees.

( ) for the second quarter of 2023, as compared with for the second quarter of 2022, which was primarily driven by (i) a increase in costs of referral and service fees, and (ii) a increase in the costs for patient recruitment consultants team. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, operating costs increased by 34.3% in the second quarter of 2023, primarily due to the increase in costs of referral and service fees. Sales and marketing expenses increased by 41.6% year over year to RMB204.5 million ( US$28.2 million ) for the second quarter of 2023, as compared with RMB144.4 million for the same quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily due to an increase of RMB50.7 million in marketing expenses to third-party traffic channels. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, sales and marketing expenses increased by 18.0% in the second quarter of 2023, primarily due to the RMB29.0 million increase in marketing expenses to third-party traffic channels partially offset by RMB8.6 million decrease in share-based compensation expenses.

( ) for the second quarter of 2023, as compared with for the same quarter of 2022. The increase was primarily due to an increase of in marketing expenses to third-party traffic channels. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, sales and marketing expenses increased by 18.0% in the second quarter of 2023, primarily due to the increase in marketing expenses to third-party traffic channels partially offset by decrease in share-based compensation expenses. General and administrative expenses increased by 11.6% year over year to RMB96.0 million ( US$13.2 million ) for the second quarter of 2023, compared with RMB86.1 million for the same quarter of 2022. The year-over-year variance was due to an increase of RMB9.9 million in professional service fees. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, general and administrative expenses remained stable, due to the increase of RMB10.1 million professional service fees, offset by the decrease of RMB8.3 million in share-based compensation expenses.

( ) for the second quarter of 2023, compared with for the same quarter of 2022. The year-over-year variance was due to an increase of in professional service fees. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, general and administrative expenses remained stable, due to the increase of professional service fees, offset by the decrease of in share-based compensation expenses. Research and development expenses increased by 23.1% year over year to RMB86.7 million ( US$12.0 million ) for the second quarter of 2023, compared with RMB70.4 million for the same period of 2022. The increase was primarily due to RMB15.0 million increases in research and development personnel costs and share-based compensation expenses. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, research and development expenses increased by 10.2% from RMB78.7 million , which was mainly due to RMB6.5 million increases in research and development personnel costs and share-based compensation expenses.

Operating loss for the second quarter of 2023 was RMB41 .6 million ( US$5 .7 million), as compared with an operating profit of RMB155.9 million for the second quarter of 2022 and an operating profit of RMB10 .3 million for the first quarter of 2023.

Interest income for the second quarter of 2023 was RMB37.6 million ( US$5.2 million ), as compared with RMB15.2 million for the same period of 2022. The increase was primarily due to the increase in our short-term investments.

Income tax benefit for the second quarter of 2023 was RMB10.5 million ( US$1.4 million ), as compared with RMB19.8 million for the same period of 2022.

Net profit attributable to Waterdrop for the second quarter of 2023 was RMB21.7 million ( US$3.0 million ), as compared with RMB206 .9 million for the same period of 2022, and RMB49 .7 million for the first quarter of 2023.

Adjusted net profit attributable to Waterdrop for the second quarter of 2023 was RMB50.3 million ( US$6.9 million ), as compared with RMB232.5 million for the same period of 2022, and RMB96.4 million for the first quarter of 2023.

Cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments

As of June 30, 2023 , the Company had combined cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of RMB3,399.2 million ( US$468.8 million ), as compared with RMB3,704.5 million as of December 31, 2022 .

Share Repurchase Plans

Pursuant to the share repurchase program launched in September 2021 and amended in September 2022 , as of August 31, 2023 , we cumulatively repurchased approximately 37.5 million ADSs from the open market with cash for a total consideration of approximately US$86.1 million .

On September 6, 2023 , the board of the Company (the "Board") has approved a new share repurchase program. Under the new program, the Company is authorized to repurchase its own ordinary shares in the form of American depository shares with an aggregate value of up to US$50 million in the twelve-month period through September 6, 2024 . The program will be funded by existing cash on the Company's balance sheet. The decision is made based on the management's confidence in both the external environment and the sound development of the Company. The proposed repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, in block trades and/or through other legally permissible means, depending on market conditions and in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. The timing and dollar amount of repurchase transactions will be subject to the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") Rule 10b-18 and/or Rule 10b5-1 requirements. The Board will review the share repurchase program periodically, and may authorize adjustment of its terms and size or suspend or discontinue the program.

Supplemental Information

Prior to this quarter, we operated and managed our business as a single segment. Starting from the second quarter of 2023, our chief operating decision makers start to manage the business by three operating segments and assess the performance and allocate resources under the new operating segment structure.

Therefore, we organize and report our business in three operating segments:

Insurance, which mainly includes Waterdrop Insurance Marketplace and technical support service;

Crowdfunding, which mainly includes Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding; and

Others, which mainly include Digital Clinical Trial Solution and other new initiatives.

As a result, we have updated our segments reporting information to reflect the new operating and reporting structure.

Comparative figures were retrospectively adjusted to conform to this presentation.









































For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended









June 30, 2022

March 31, 2023

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023









RMB

RMB

RMB

USD

RMB

RMB

USD









(All amounts in thousands)





Operating revenue, net

































Insurance

625,927

536,343

597,437

82,390

1,254,162

1,133,780

156,355





Crowdfunding

56,061

42,022

44,677

6,161

56,061

86,699

11,956





Others

19,430

27,800

36,586

5,046

39,883

64,386

8,880





Total consolidated operating revenue, net

701,418

606,165

678,700

93,597

1,350,106

1,284,865

177,191





Operating profit/(loss)

































Insurance

270,843

154,955

99,759

13,757

551,687

254,714

35,127





Crowdfunding

(45,783)

(61,134)

(64,131)

(8,844)

(150,336)

(125,265)

(17,275)





Others

(43,392)

(36,567)

(47,877)

(6,603)

(80,031)

(84,444)

(11,647)





Total segment operating profit/(loss)

181,668

57,254

(12,249)

(1,690)

321,320

45,005

6,205





Unallocated item*

(25,745)

(46,926)

(29,393)

(4,053)

(48,752)

(76,319)

(10,525)





Total consolidated operating profit/(loss)

155,923

10,328

(41,642)

(5,743)

272,568

(31,314)

(4,320)





Total other income

31,264

36,771

52,835

7,287

70,898

89,606

12,357





Profit before income tax

187,187

47,099

11,193

1,544

343,466

58,292

8,037





Income tax benefit/(expense)

19,756

2,626

10,504

1,449

(31,565)

13,130

1,811





Net profit

206,943

49,725

21,697

2,993

311,901

71,422

9,848









































* The share-based compensation represents an unallocated item in the segment information because our management does not consider this as part of the segment operating performance measure.

Recent Development

Status Update of Acquisition of Cunzhen Qiushi

Since the previously announced acquisition plan of Shenzhen Cunzhen Qiushi Technology Co., Ltd. and its subsidiaries (collectively, "Cunzhen Qiushi", also known as "Shenlanbao") on June 9, 2023 , the Company, as planned, firstly acquired 56% of the equity interest of Cunzhen Qiushi on July 4, 2023. The Company will acquire 4% of the equity interest of Cunzhen Qiushi at the second closing, which is expected to take place within six months after the first closing. The remaining 40% equity interest of Cunzhen Qiushi will be acquired in three batches in the following three years, subject to certain closing conditions.

Exchange Rate

This announcement contains translations of certain RMB amounts into U.S. dollars ("USD" or "US$") at specified rates solely for the convenience of the reader. Unless otherwise stated, all translations from RMB to USD were made at the rate of RMB7.2513 to US$1.00 , the noon buying rate in effect on June 30, 2023 in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. The Company makes no representation that the RMB or USD amounts referred could be converted into USD or RMB, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all. For analytical presentation, all percentages are calculated using the numbers presented in the financial statements contained in this earnings release.

Non-GAAP Financial Measure

The Company uses non-GAAP financial measure, adjusted net profit, in evaluating the Company's operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. Adjusted net profit represents net profit excluding share-based compensation expense and foreign currency exchange gain or losses. Such adjustments have no impact on income tax.

The non-GAAP financial measure is not presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP methods of accounting and reporting used by other companies. The non-GAAP financial measure has limitations as analytical tools and when assessing the Company's operating performance, investors should not consider it in isolation, or as a substitute for net loss or other consolidated statements of comprehensive loss data prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The Company encourages investors and others to review its financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure. Investors are encouraged to review the Company's historical non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP measure. Adjusted net profit presented here may not be comparable to similarly titled measure presented by other companies. Other companies may calculate similarly titled measure differently, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure to our data.

The Company mitigates these limitations by reconciling the non-GAAP financial measure to the most comparable U.S. GAAP performance measure, all of which should be considered when evaluating the Company's performance.

For more information on the non-GAAP financial measure, please see the table captioned "Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" set forth at the end of this press release.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements that may constitute "forward-looking" statements pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "aims," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "likely to" and similar statements. Among other things, quotations in this announcement, contain forward-looking statements. Waterdrop may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the SEC, in its annual report 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 Waterdrop'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 statement, including but not limited to the following: Waterdrop's mission, goals and strategies; Waterdrop's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; the expected growth of the insurance, medical crowdfunding and healthcare industry in China ; Waterdrop's expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our products and services; Waterdrop's expectations regarding its relationships with consumers, insurance carriers and other partners; competition in the industry and relevant government policies and regulations relating to insurance, medical crowdfunding and healthcare industry. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Waterdrop's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Waterdrop does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Conference Call Information

Waterdrop's management team will hold a conference call on September 7, 2023 at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time ( 8:00 PM Beijing/Hong Kong Time on the same day) to discuss the financial results. Dial-in details for the earnings conference call are as follows:

International: 1-412-317-6061 United States Toll Free: 1-888-317-6003 Hong Kong Toll Free: 800-963976 Hong Kong : 852-58081995 Mainland China : 4001-206115 Chinese Line (Mandarin) Entry Number: 6407234 English Interpretation Line (Listen-only Mode) Entry Number: 6030724

Participants can choose between the Chinese and the English interpretation lines. Please note that the English interpretation option will be in listen-only mode. Please dial in 15 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin and provide the Elite Entry Number to join the call.

Telephone replays will be accessible two hours after the conclusion of the conference call through September 14, 2023 by dialing the following numbers:

United States Toll Free: 1-877-344-7529 International: 1-412-317-0088 Chinese Line Access Code: 4181965 English Interpretation Line Access Code: 3440853

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available at the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.waterdrop-inc.com/.

About Waterdrop Inc.

Waterdrop Inc. (NYSE: WDH) is a leading technology platform dedicated to insurance and healthcare service with a positive social impact. Founded in 2016, with the comprehensive coverage of Waterdrop Insurance Marketplace and Waterdrop Medical Crowdfunding, Waterdrop aims to bring insurance and healthcare service to billions through technology. For more information, please visit www.waterdrop-inc.com.

For investor inquiries, please contact

Waterdrop Inc.

[email protected]

WATERDROP INC. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (All amounts in thousands, unless otherwise noted)



As of

December 31,2022

June 30,2023

RMB

RMB

USD Assets









Current assets









Cash and cash equivalents 1,574,171

644,340

88,859 Restricted cash 517,364

536,890

74,041 Short-term investments 2,130,377

2,754,859

379,912 Accounts receivable, net 675,796

836,777

115,397 Current contract assets 450,085

471,233

64,986 Amount due from related parties 358

240

33 Prepaid expense and other assets 342,468

255,534

35,241 Total current assets 5,690,619

5,499,873

758,469 Non-current assets









Non-current contract assets 103,591

110,460

15,233 Property, equipment and software, net 31,397

33,898

4,675 Intangible assets, net 56,614

56,571

7,801 Long-term investments 11,969

98,586

13,596 Right of use assets, net 18,447

68,186

9,403 Deferred tax assets 6,166

9,796

1,351 Goodwill 3,420

3,420

472 Total non-current assets 231,604

380,917

52,531 Total assets 5,922,223

5,880,790

811,000











Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity









Current liabilities









Amount due to related parties 11,553

11,734

1,618 Insurance premium payables 516,661

555,903

76,663 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 584,123

627,347

86,515 Current lease liabilities 9,354

30,229

4,169 Total current liabilities 1,121,691

1,225,213

168,965 Non-current liabilities









Non-current lease liabilities 4,701

37,899

5,227 Deferred tax liabilities 29,703

15,700

2,165 Total non-current liabilities 34,404

53,599

7,392 Total liabilities 1,156,095

1,278,812

176,357











Shareholders' equity









Class A ordinary shares 108

111

15 Class B ordinary shares 27

27

4 Treasury stock (3)

(9)

(1) Additional paid-in capital 7,384,670

7,085,097

977,080 Accumulated other comprehensive income 108,245

174,514

24,067 Accumulated deficit (2,726,919)

(2,657,762)

(366,522) Total shareholders' equity 4,766,128

4,601,978

634,643 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity 5,922,223

5,880,790

811,000

WATERDROP INC. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (All amounts in thousands, except for share and per share data, or otherwise noted)

















For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended



June 30, 2022

March 31, 2023

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023



RMB

RMB

RMB

USD

RMB

RMB

USD





























Operating revenue, net

701,418

606,165

678,700

93,597

1,350,106

1,284,865

177,191 Operating costs and expenses(i)



























Operating costs

(244,616)

(247,983)

(333,140)

(45,942)

(399,496)

(581,123)

(80,141) Sales and marketing expenses

(144,423)

(173,401)

(204,548)

(28,208)

(348,766)

(377,949)

(52,122) General and administrative expenses

(86,054)

(95,798)

(95,997)

(13,239)

(188,049)

(191,795)

(26,450) Research and development expenses

(70,402)

(78,655)

(86,657)

(11,951)

(141,227)

(165,312)

(22,798) Total operating costs and expenses

(545,495)

(595,837)

(720,342)

(99,340)

(1,077,538)

(1,316,179)

(181,511) Operating profit/(loss)

155,923

10,328

(41,642)

(5,743)

272,568

(31,314)

(4,320) Other income



























Interest income

15,213

30,876

37,618

5,188

29,705

68,494

9,446 Foreign currency exchange gain

163

282

838

116

816

1,120

154 Others, net

15,888

5,613

14,379

1,983

40,377

19,992

2,757 Profit before income tax

187,187

47,099

11,193

1,544

343,466

58,292

8,037 Income tax benefit/(expense)

19,756

2,626

10,504

1,449

(31,565)

13,130

1,811 Net profit attributable to Waterdrop Inc.

206,943

49,725

21,697

2,993

311,901

71,422

9,848 Net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders

206,943

49,725

21,697

2,993

311,901

71,422

9,848 Net profit

206,943

49,725

21,697

2,993

311,901

71,422

9,848 Other comprehensive income:



























Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of tax

83,901

3,386

64,434

8,886

76,118

67,820

9,353 Unrealized gains/(loss) on available for sale investments, net of tax

3,100

1,957

(3,508)

(484)

4,172

(1,551)

(214) Total Comprehensive income

293,944

55,068

82,623

11,395

392,191

137,691

18,987 Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in computing

net profit per share



























Basic

3,926,602,657

3,866,785,745

3,795,521,186

3,795,521,186

3,932,647,108

3,831,316,817

3,831,316,817 Diluted

4,006,060,346

4,027,428,601

3,949,592,050

3,949,592,050

4,009,442,628

3,988,673,677

3,988,673,677 Net profit per share attributable to ordinary shareholders



























Basic

0.05

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.08

0.02

0.00 Diluted

0.05

0.01

0.01

0.00

0.08

0.02

0.00



























































(i) Share-based compensation expenses are included in the operating costs and expenses as follows.

























































For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended



June 30, 2022

March 31, 2023

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023



RMB

RMB

RMB

USD

RMB

RMB

USD





























Sales and marketing expenses

(1,771)

(16,529)

(7,888)

(1,088)

(4,573)

(24,417)

(3,367) General and administrative expenses

(19,976)

(26,460)

(18,122)

(2,499)

(36,897)

(44,582)

(6,148) Research and development expenses

(3,998)

(3,937)

(3,383)

(466)

(7,282)

(7,320)

(1,010) Total

(25,745)

(46,926)

(29,393)

(4,053)

(48,752)

(76,319)

(10,525)

WATERDROP INC. RECONCILIATIONS OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP RESULTS (All amounts in thousands, unless otherwise noted)

































For the Three Months Ended

For the Six Months Ended



June 30, 2022

March 31, 2023

June 30, 2023

June 30, 2022

June 30, 2023



RMB

RMB

RMB

USD

RMB

RMB

USD





























Net profit

206,943

49,725

21,697

2,993

311,901

71,422

9,848 Add:



























Share-based compensation expense

25,745

46,926

29,393

4,053

48,752

76,319

10,525 Foreign currency exchange gain

(163)

(282)

(838)

(116)

(816)

(1,120)

(154) Adjusted net profit

232,525

96,369

50,252

6,930

359,837

146,621

20,219

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/waterdrop-inc-announces-second-quarter-2023-unaudited-financial-results-301920399.html

SOURCE Waterdrop Inc.
FILE PHOTO: Actor Danny Masterson is arraigned on three rape charges in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003, at Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 18, 2020. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

By Rollo Ross

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -"That '70s Show" actor Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women who on Thursday said that the Church of Scientology sought to protect the actor and intimidate them into silence.

The 47-year-old actor and prominent Scientologist, who starred in the retro TV comedy for eight seasons until 2006, was convicted in May in a second trial. A jury deadlocked on a charge that he raped a third woman.

Judge Charlaine Olmedo of Los Angeles Superior Court imposed the maximum sentence allowed by law. Masterson, who has been in jail since his conviction, will be eligible for parole in 25-1/2 years.

The case drew attention in part because Masterson met the women through the Church of Scientology, and his accusers said the organization discouraged them from contacting law enforcement.

The Church of Scientology denied that claim and said Masterson's religion should not have been an issue in the case, calling it "an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment."

Prosecutors based the case on Scientology and "fabrications about the Church to introduce prejudice and inflame bigotry," the organization said after the sentencing.

The women said Masterson drugged and raped them in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003 at his house in the Hollywood Hills.

With his wife, actor Bijou Phillips, and his brother, "Malcolm in the Middle" actor Christopher Masterson seated nearby, Masterson showed little reaction on Thursday as the women gave victim impact statements. He was offered the chance to speak, but declined.

I forgive you. Your sickness is no longer mine to bear, said one victim, identified as Jane Doe 2 in the case.

The woman, who was a member of the Church of Scientology when she met Masterson, described the religious organization as an enabler and protector for him and said she was terrorized and harassed by the church when she tried to speak out about her rape.

Rape is a theft of the spirit, she said, adding that she developed PTSD and her promising acting career withered.

LEAH REMINI SUPPORTS VICTIM

The other victim, identified as Jane Doe 1, said her mother is a Scientologist who disowned her after she criticized the group during the trial.

I didnt choose to be born in Scientology just like I didnt choose to be raped, she said, accusing the organization of seeking to silence and intimidate her in the rape case.

King of Queens actor Leah Remini, a former Scientologist and vocal critic of the organization, stood with her arms around Jane Doe 1 as she spoke in court.

The victims told the judge that Masterson ruined their lives and asked that he receive a sentence of life in prison.

The victims were "strong, they were committed to making sure that justice gets served and today they got it," said Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller after the sentencing.

Defense attorney Shawn Holley said Masterson planned to appeal based what she described as substantial errors in the case.

Allegations against Masterson hurt his career. When he was first accused of sexually assaulting multiple women in 2017, he was fired from the Netflix series The Ranch.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Cynthia Osterman)
(This Sept. 7 story has been corrected to fix AFC's ownership structure based on updated guidance from the AFC in paragraph 3)

London - The recent coup in Gabon was executed peacefully and appeared to be a "good coup", with society and business operating as usual, a senior executive from the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) said on Thursday.

"We have significant investments in Gabon and so far the coup has been very peaceful, the thinking has been very mature, normal life is going on ... the assets are safe and everything is operating, which probably means it is a good coup," Sanjeev Gupta, executive director of financial services at the AFC, said at the Reuters IMPACT climate conference in London.

The Lagos-based AFC is a pan-African multilateral development institution, with 40 member states. It is 43.1%-owned by Nigerias central bank and 42% by other African financial institutions, according to its website.

In West and Central Africa's eighth coup in three years, army officers led by General Brice Oligui Nguema seized power on Aug. 30, minutes after an announcement that President Ali Bongo had won an election they annulled and said was not credible.

Nguema was sworn in as interim president and cheered by jubilant supporters on Monday in a televised ceremony designed to cast the military as liberators of an oppressed society.

Unlike Niger, Gabon has not seen an outpouring of anti-French, pro-Russian sentiment, and the generals in charge in Libreville have appeared open to dialogue with international organisations.

Gupta said the AFC's staff remained on the ground in Gabon and had reported that financial systems and other public services were operating smoothly.

(Reporting by Jane Wardell; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
FILE PHOTO: A customer talks to sales assistants in an Apple store as Apple Inc's new iPhone 14 models go on sale in Beijing, China, September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

By Aditya Soni and David Shepardson

(Reuters) - Beijing's widening curbs on iPhone use by government staff raised concerns among U.S. lawmakers on Thursday and fanned fears that American tech companies heavily exposed to China could take a hit from rising tensions between the countries.

Apple closed down 2.9% on Thursday and suffered its worst two-day percentage decline since November -- after news that Beijing has told employees at some central government agencies in recent weeks to stop using their Apple phones at work.

Several Wall Street analysts said the curbs show that even a company with a good relationship with the Chinese government and a large presence in the world's second-biggest economy was not immune to rising tensions between the two nations.

Sino-U.S. friction has worsened in recent years as Washington tries to restrict China's access to key technologies including cutting-edge chip technology, and Beijing looks to reduce its reliance on American tech.

China's Huawei last week launched its new Mate 60 Pro smartphone, which is powered by an advanced chip made by Chinese contract chipmaker SMIC and marks an apparent breakthrough for the duo hit by U.S. sanctions.

The U.S. Commerce Department said late Thursday it's working to obtain more information "on the character and composition" of the chip that may violate trade restrictions.

"The restrictions in place since 2019 have knocked Huawei down and forced it to reinvent itself -- at a substantial cost to the (Chinese) government," the department added. "We are continually working to assess and, when appropriate, update our controls based on the dynamic threat environment and we will not hesitate to take appropriate action to protect U.S. national security."

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Air Force One the U.S. government is trying to get more information about the Huawei chip.

"Theres a number of different methods to try to sort of come to an understanding of what exactly it is that were dealing with here," Sullivan said. "I cant give you an exact number of days but this is not going to be months down the road. Were going to want to look at this carefully, consult with our partners, get a clearer sense of what were looking at, and then well make decisions accordingly."

The U.S. sanctions cut Huawei's access to chipmaking tools essential for producing the most advanced handset models, hammering the company's business and allowing Apple to take some market share from the national favorite in China.

"If Huawei has the capability to supply and scale its home-grown Kirin 9000S (chips), we see the Mate series phone as an opportunity for Huawei to increase its shipments and regain its market share," analysts at BofA Global Research said.

Apple supplier Qualcomm, one of the U.S. companies with the largest China presence, tumbled 7.2% to lead losses among major tech firms.

Lawmakers of both major U.S. parties have been vocal in their concerns about national security risks allegedly created by China's products, pressuring the Biden administration to get even more aggressive with Beijing.

The wider ban is not surprising and shows how China is trying to limit a Western company's market access to the nation, said U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher, the chairman of the House panel on China.

"This is textbook Chinese Communist Party behavior - promote PRC (People's Republic of China) national champions in telecommunications, and slowly squeeze Western companies' market access," Gallagher, a Republican, told Reuters.

U.S. Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat and chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also shared similar concerns and said, "as the Chinese economy stalls, we can potentially anticipate more aggressive moves against foreign businesses".

China has curbed shipments from prominent U.S. firms including planemaker Boeing and memory chipmaker Micron.

Other suppliers of the iPhone maker including Broadcom, Skyworks Solutions and Texas Instruments were also lower, falling between 1.8% and 7.4%. The drop in the technology sector weighed on the three main U.S. stock indexes, particularly the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which closed down 0.9%.

In Asia, shares of several Apple suppliers fell on Monday, with TSMC and Tokyo Electron falling 0.7% and 4% respectively.

"This announcement seems to have just refocused investors that the relationship between the U.S. and China is a big risk to current equity prices, particularly in technology," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments.

IPHONE SLOWDOWN

China has been a bright spot for Apple in an otherwise tough period for iPhone sales.

"China is a crucial market for Apple, not just because it's a super-important manufacturing hub, but because the country is an increasingly important source of revenues," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Apple gets nearly a fifth of its revenue from the country.

"Already rivals are closing the gap in high-end smartphone sales, and if the situation were to escalate this could potentially allow competitors to have a greater chance of stealing Apple's crown," Streeter said.

Apple could, however, see a demand boost after an event next week where it is expected to unveil its iPhone 15 line-up, as well as new smartwatches.

(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Jaspreet Singh and Shristi Achar and Diane Bartz; Editing by David Gaffen, Shounak Dasgupta, Devika Syamnath & Shri Navaratnam)
By Byron Kaye

BRISBANE, Australia (Reuters) -At a beachfront park in Brisbane's north, suspended Australian doctor William Bay told a gathering that an upcoming referendum to recognise the country's first inhabitants and enshrine an Indigenous advisory body in the constitution would "open a gateway to unending tyranny and lawlessness".

The proposal was "equivalent to Germany's Enabling Act of 1933, which turned Hitler into the Fuhrer", Bay said in the speech in August, which he posted on Facebook for his 14,000 followers. The advisory body could "control the parliament and the government, thus replacing our system of representative democracy", added Bay, who lost his medical licence in 2022 after protesting against COVID-19 vaccines.

Dozens of campaigners who built substantial audiences during the COVID era by opposing Australia's pandemic response have turned their focus to undermining the Oct. 14 referendum, analysis of social media posts by independent fact-checkers shows.

Many of their claims bear little resemblance to the proposal Australians will vote on: to establish a body called the Voice to Parliament to provide non-binding advice to lawmakers on matters concerning Indigenous Australians.

These influencers are playing an outsized role in the debate, spreading falsehoods that threaten to put the landmark vote at risk of failing, eight political analysts and anti-misinformation experts told Reuters. The direct link between COVID agitators and misinformation about the Voice has not been previously reported in detail.

Polls show support for the Voice has slumped from about two-thirds in April to less than 40% this month. While factors cited by political commentators include lack of bipartisan support, uncertainty about the Voice's scope and a lackluster "Yes" campaign, the experts who spoke to Reuters said some of the decline can be attributed to misinformation.

Facebook owner Meta increased funding for third-party fact-checkers in July, but a month later 40% of posts from accounts flagged for sharing "misinformation or toxic narratives related to the referendum" went viral, according to previously unpublished research by Reset.Tech Australia reported by Reuters for the first time. The internet advocacy group defines "viral" as receiving more than 100 engagements within 24 hours.

Just 4% of posts on Facebook containing independently assessed misinformation about the electoral process were marked or taken down after three weeks, said Reset.Tech, which monitored 99 misleading posts with a combined reach of 486,000 people across Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and TikTok.

Not one X post containing electoral misinformation was marked or taken down in the monitoring period, before or after being reported, Reset.Tech said.

X, which laid off many staff after billionaire Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022, did not respond to a request for comment. The company's civic integrity policy says the use of its services to manipulate or mislead people about elections is a violation of its user agreement.

TikTok labelled or removed one-third of misleading posts, Reset.Tech said, the most proactive in the study.

"Many of the accounts pushing electoral misinformation narratives turned to a style of anti-lockdown politics during the pandemic," said Reset.Tech Australia executive director Alice Dawkins. "Some of these accounts have since attained new levels of virality in the lead up to the referendum, particularly on X."

A Meta spokesperson said the company wanted healthy debate on its platforms but it was "challenging to always strike the right balance" when some users "want to abuse our services during election periods and referendums".

TikTok's Australian public policy director Ella Woods-Joyce said the company was focused on protecting "the integrity of the process and our platform while maintaining a neutral position".

In relation to the referendum, Australia's Electoral Commission has seen "more false commentary about electoral processes spread in the information ecosystem than we've observed for previous electoral events", its media and digital director Evan Ekin-Smyth told Reuters.

Under a giant fig tree, Bay urged his mostly middle-aged audience - and Facebook following - to "scrutineer" polling booths to "make sure it is counted correct", in remarks reminiscent of unsubstantiated vote-rigging claims by former U.S. president Donald Trump over his 2020 loss.

Speaking to Reuters, Bay denied spreading misinformation, saying he considered his claims accurate. He acknowledged his statements "may carry some weight" given his public profile related to the pandemic.

At the same event, local member of parliament Luke Howarth spoke against the Voice, sticking to the conservative opposition's argument that the proposal would be ineffective and divisive because it would extend additional rights to some people based on race.

'POLLUTE YOUR OPINION'

Australia's tough pandemic lockdown and vaccine measures triggered numerous protests, often inspired by social media influencers and anti-vaccine campaigners.

"Covid seemed to awaken in people a complete distrust of authority and lack of confidence in the state," said David Heilpern, dean of the Southern Cross University law school, who studies anti-government movements. "It certainly will have an effect on the vote."

Bay is far from alone in the anti-Voice online ecosystem that has emerged from the pandemic.

A Qantas pilot who quit over the airline's COVID vaccine mandate, Graham Hood, now hosts a webcast that he shares with 142,000 Facebook followers.

His guest on July 10, far-right senator Pauline Hanson, told viewers the Voice would turn Australia's Northern Territory into a breakaway "Aboriginal black state" and add extra seats in parliament "which they can make purely for Aboriginal, Indigenous people".

Tristan Van Rye, an electrician with 22,000 Facebook followers after protesting against COVID vaccines, wrote in a July 10 post that the Indigenous body would "take control of certain beaches, nature reserves, national forests and either totally restrict access to all Australians, or charge them fees to access the land". Hood, Hanson and Van Rye did not respond to Reuters' questions about the spread of misinformation.

The Voice was proposed by Aboriginal leaders in 2017 as a step toward healing a national wound dating back to colonisation. Unlike Canada, the U.S. and New Zealand, Australia has no treaty with its Indigenous people, who make up about 3.2% of its population and lag national averages on socioeconomic measures.

Ed Coper, director of communications agency Populares, said that for voters facing a new issue like the Voice, "it is a lot easier to see misinformation on social media and have that pollute your opinion while you're (still) forming that opinion".

One X account labelled by misinformation researchers as possibly fake due to its high volume of anti-Voice content was ultimately linked to a real person, a retired cleaning-business owner from Melbourne.

"I've only got political within the last two years," the account operator, Rosita Diaz, 75, told Reuters by phone. "99.9% of what I post is 100% correct. I would say 100% but some people would turn around and call me a liar. Sometimes I might get something wrong."

Diaz said she had been suspended by Facebook "seven or eight" times over posts deemed false. She now mostly posts on X, where she has 20,600 followers and pays for a subscription, meaning her posts appear more frequently on users' feeds.

MISINFORMATION BILL

Australia's left-leaning Labor government, which supports the Voice, introduced draft legislation this year that would allow the media regulator to determine what constitutes misinformation and fine social media companies that fail to curb it.

The bill, which is still in public consultation, has been criticised by Voice opponents as government censorship. But it may not become law until after the referendum.

A spokesperson for Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the government wants the bill passed this year but social media platforms are expected to comply with a voluntary code of conduct when it comes to the Voice.

The Yes campaign, meanwhile, has accused the No camp of deliberately spreading misinformation as part of its strategy. A spokesperson for Advance Australia, which is coordinating the No campaign, told Reuters there were "tens of thousands of (No campaign) hats and t-shirts out there and we're not responsible for what people say while they're wearing them".

Elise Thomas, an analyst with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, said a lack of evidence-based research meant Australians may never gain a full picture of how disinformation and misinformation influence the referendum outcome.

"That's a shame, both for us here in the present and for future generations of Australians trying to understand this moment in history," she said.

(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Praveen Menon, Daniel Flynn and David Crawshaw)
VIENNA (Reuters) -Austria's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it was summoning the European Commission's envoy to the country for reportedly criticising the slow pace at which Austria is weaning itself off Russian gas and saying it was paying "blood money" for the fuel.

Martin Selmayr, a German EU official who was the powerful chief of staff to the Commission's then-President Jean-Claude Juncker until 2018, made the comments at an event in Vienna on Wednesday evening, according to Austrian news agency APA.

"Oh my god, 55% of Austrian gas continues to come from Russia," APA quoted Selmayr as saying. He expressed astonishment at the lack of protests over Austria's gas payments helping fund Russia's invasion of Ukraine, adding: "Blood money is being sent daily to Russia."

The European Commission later issued a statement criticising Selmayr.

"The Commission distances itself from the regrettable and inappropriate statements made by the head of the representation office in Austria," it said. "The Commission has asked (him) to report to Brussels immediately on this incident."

According to the latest Austrian government data, in June 60% of Austria's natural gas imports came from Russia, down from around 80% before the war but well above the lowest monthly figure since then, which stood at 21% in September last year.

"Mr Selmayr has been summoned to the Foreign Ministry for a meeting with the (ministry's) secretary-general," the ministry said in a statement, adding that Selmayr was currently out of the country but the meeting would take place on his return.

After decades of heavy reliance on cheap Russian gas sent by pipeline, Austria's coalition government of conservatives and left-wing Greens says it is shifting away from Russia as a gas supplier but that the country faces various obstacles, including the fact it is land-locked.

Other countries, such as neighbouring Germany, are increasing their capacity to import liquefied natural gas from other regions at their ports.

Austria's minister for European Union affairs, Karoline Edtstadler, said in a statement: "We can only overcome the challenges ahead of us by working closely together. Not only do thoughtless comments such as those reportedly made not contribute to that but they are unsound and counterproductive."

(Reporting by Francois MurphyAdditional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta in ParisEditing by Tomasz Janowski and Deepa Babington)
FILE PHOTO: Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, which is country's first nuclear power plant, is seen under construction in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna District, on the bank of the river Padma, west of Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 14, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir H

By Ruma Paul and Manoj Kumar

DHAKA (Reuters) -Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday assured Bangladesh that Moscow was committed to complete a nuclear power project on time, despite obstacles resulting from Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Lavrov, the first Russian foreign minister to visit Bangladesh since its 1971 independence, reached Dhaka late on Thursday for a two-day visit after attending the East Asia summit in Jakarta.

Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Abdul Momen took up the issue of timely completion of the nuclear power project and bilateral trade issues with Lavrov, who also offered export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet Dhaka's energy needs, officials said.

"Our flagship joint project is construction of the Rooppur nuclear power plant on the territory of Bangladesh," Lavrov said.

"The project is progressing smoothly in line with the schedule, and delivery and charging of first nuclear fuel are expected as early as in October," Lavrov said after the meeting.

Bangladesh is building the first of two nuclear power plants in collaboration with Russian state-owned atomic company Rosatom in a $12.65 billion project, 90% of which is financed through a Russian loan repayable within 28 years with a 10-year grace period.

The construction of the plant has been delayed due to two years of restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and war-related sanctions. In December last year, because of U.S. sanctions on Moscow, Bangladesh denied entry to a Russian ship that was carrying equipment for the nuclear power plant.

The first unit of the plant, with a total generation capacity of 2,400 megawatts, was due to start operation in July next year but is facing a setback over loan repayments.

Bangladesh has faced its worst electricity crisis since 2013, a Reuters analysis of government data shows, due to erratic weather and difficulty in paying for fuel imports amid declining forex reserves and a weakened currency.

Bangladesh was Russia's second-largest trade partner in South Asia after India, Lavrov said, adding the bilateral trade was expected to further increase.

The two countries are also collaborating to find solutions for sending essential commodities from Russia to Bangladesh, and alternative currencies to the dollar are being explored for trade settlements, he said.

Both Russia and Western countries are seeking the support of Bangladesh, which has been reluctant to take sides in the Ukraine war even as it struggles with higher fuel and food import costs.

France's President Emmanuel Macron will also visit Dhaka next week after attending the G20 meeting, aiming to deepen relations with a country experiencing rapid economic growth.

Lavrov will call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday before heading to New Delhi for the G20 leaders summit, government official said.

Dhaka has asked Moscow to ensure it uses non-sanctioned ships to deliver equipment for the plant, while urging a resolution of its conflict with its neighbour through dialogue and discussions.

"We don't want war. We want all issues to get resolved through dialogue and discussion," Bangladesh's foreign minister Momen said.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul and Manoj Kumar; Editing by William Maclean)
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden shows off a mask he has been wearing before delivering remarks on International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) finalizing a new contract from the State Dining Room at the Wh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden has tested negative again for COVID-19, the White House said on Thursday, following his wife Jill's positive diagnosis earlier in the week.

Biden is due to travel to India later on Thursday for a summit of the Group of 20 nations, followed by a trip to Vietnam.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; writing by Jasper Ward)
A man investigates a crater that is visible at the presumed crash site of a Russian army drone, near charred tree trunks and a blast area, near Plauru, Tulcea county, Romania, September 7, 2023. Inquam Photos/Ovidiu Micsik via REUTERS

By Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu on Thursday held a call to discuss Romania's investigation into drone debris found in Romania close to its border with Ukraine, the U.S. State Department said.

Parts of what could be a Russian drone fell on Romanian territory, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar said on Wednesday, two days after Ukraine said Russian drones had detonated on the NATO member's land. Romanian officials had earlier denied reports of drones crashing on Romanian soil and said Russian attacks in neighboring Ukraine did not pose a direct threat.

NATO has a collective defense commitment under which the military alliance considers an attack on one ally to be an attack on all allies.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that NATO did not have any information indicating an intentional attack by Russia, while stressing the risks Russian air strikes in such close vicinity to the alliance's territory posed.

Russia has carried out long-range air strikes on targets in Ukraine since it invaded its neighbor last year, and Kyiv has reported suspected Russian weapons flying over or crashing into neighboring countries several times.

In the most serious incident, a missile that fell near the border killed two people in Poland last November; Poland and NATO allies later said it was a misfired Ukrainian air defense missile.

Blinken and Odobescu also discussed additional cooperation to preserve airspace security, including an upcoming rotation of additional U.S. F-16 fighter jets to bolster NATO's air policing mission in Romania, the State Department said.

Romania's defense ministry said on Thursday that the country did not face any direct threat to its territory or territorial waters from Russian strikes on Ukraine on Wednesday night.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Josie Kao)
The Interpol database has information about more than 130,000 terrorists and their accomplices, as well as fingerprint cards and DNA of 665,000 people, whose traces were retrieved from sites of terror attacks, Valery Kalachev, chief of the National Central Bureau of Interpol of the Russian Interior Ministry, Azernews reports, citing TASS.

"As of the end of last year, Interpols data store held data on more than 130,000 people involved in terrorist activities, as well as on persons assisting them. Apart from that, the databases contain identification data (dactocards and DNA) for 665,000 people, whose traces were retrieved from sites of terrorism-related crimes," he said.
The enthusiastic Monkey D. Luffy has a dream: to become the Pirate King. Accompanied by his peculiar crew, he will sail the seas in search of the One Piece, a legendary treasure. With his inseparable straw hat, his rubber-like body and his companions, he will face various dangers, from abominable monsters to other pirates with similar ambitions, as well as the marines who try to enforce the law.

The fantasy and adventure universe of One Piece dates back to 1997, when the first issue of Japanese Eiichiro Odas work was published. Today, this adventure with pirates with superpowers comprises 105 volumes, of which more than 516 million copies have been sold in 61 countries. One Piece is the best-selling manga in history. An anime with more than 1,000 episodes, 15 animated films and several video games are further proof of its enormous popularity. Now, the One Piece universe has broken a new barrier with the premiere of its live-action series adaptation on Netflix.

Getting to this point was not an easy task. As Eiichiro Oda himself explained, this adaptation, created in collaboration with the Shueisha publishing company and produced by Tomorrow Studios and Netflix, was first conceived seven years ago. The eight episodes of its first season took six months to film in South Africa and, once filming was completed, Oda asked to reshoot numerous scenes because he did not think they met expectations. Not everything was worthy of the universe to which the writer has devoted so many years.

The author  also executive producer of the series  warns the followers of his stories that, being a live-action series, many elements had to be adapted and adjusted. What does not change (at his express request) are the background stories of the members of the Straw Hat crew  those plots about their origins are featured prominently in this first season  as well as the powers and abilities that the demon fruit grants whoever eats it, which range from having a rubbery, elastic body, to being able to split into multiple parts and recompose at will.

Inaki Godoy as Monkey D. Luffy, on board the Going Merry from One Piece. COURTESY OF NETFLIX

Netflixs version of One Piece is not only for the fans of the manga and the anime: its intention is also to win over those who did not know about its existence before. The actors who play the crew of the Going Merry ship, an eclectic quintet composed of Mexican Inaki Godoy (Luffy), Japanese Mackenyu (Zoro), Jamaican Jacob Romero (Usopp), American Emily Rudd (Nami) and Spanish-British Taz Skylar (Sanji), spoke about it to EL PAIS; the interview took place in mid-June in Sao Paulo, weeks before the actors strike prevented the series and movies from being promoted by their protagonists.

Its a comforting, feel-good series, said Emily Rudd. Its impossible to watch it and not feel like you can do anything that comes into your head. It is a series about found family, where we all encourage each other to follow our dreams and be the best that we can be, the actress continues. There arent many things on television that give you that aspirational boost. Thats what I hope we bring to people, adds Taz Skylar. But nothing we do can come close to how perfect the One Piece manga and anime already are. We just give it a new flavor, a new color. Lets hope that we bring One Piece to people who had not heard about it before, adds Jacob Romero.

For Inaki Godoy, the optimistic and brave Monkey D. Luffy, the biggest challenge when approaching his character was finding the balance between Luffys energy and the realism that the series demanded. In Mexican culture, we like to celebrate and take care of our family. That influenced my life growing up, and also my role, reflects the 20-year-old actor. For Jacob Romero, dealing with characters that are so well-established in the imagination of millions of people was a great challenge. They have a lot of history, and it would have been easy to try to recreate what we already know. But I think we also had to add to them what we are ourselves.

Inaki Godoy in a scene from the first season of One Piece. CASEY CRAFFORD/NETFLIX

Taz Skylar highlights the physical work. Getting my body to act the way I needed to physically perform everything my character had to do was a physically painful process. And we had to adhere to that painful process for almost a year, for 10 to 12 hours a day, says the actor, getting serious amid the playful atmosphere that prevailed during the interview. Training was also basic in Mackenyus case. His character, Zoro, is an expert swordsman who is capable of wielding up to three swords at a time. I was used to handling up to two swords, explains the actor, who already had martial arts training. But the third one we had to train a lot with specialists; it was fun and challenging at the same time. The stunt coordinator of the series and a master swordsman helped him choreograph his moves for the fight sequences.

Mackenyu plays swordsman Zoro in One Piece. CASEY CRAFFORD/NETFLIX

In addition to the mandatory visual and digital effects, Matt Owens and Steven Maeda, the developers of the series, wanted the world of One Piece to be as tangible and real as possible, for which they set out to reproduce the locations and places that appear in the comics. In the case of the ships, they reused many ships that had been built for the pirate series Black Sails, which ended in 2017 (a large part of the team that worked on that Starz production now works in One Piece). However, two ships were built from scratch: the Going Merry (the first ship of the Straw Hats) and the Baratie, the one with the fish-head figurehead and whose hull is inspired by a Spanish galleon. The actors highlight precisely these two locations and the detail and thoroughness of their recreation. We had incredible locations that helped create a deeply magical world that is very faithful to the original, but at the same time very fresh and real, says Emily Rudd. There were even things that the camera was never going to show, but that we saw. Things behind doors, labels on cans things you would never see, but they were there, adds Taz Skylar.

The day this interview took place, the actors had already had their first big public appearance in front of the fans at Tudum, an event organized by Netflix in Sao Paulo in June where the names of the series and the characters were chanted by thousands of people. Are they prepared for all the good and the bad that comes with the fan phenomenon? I dont really know if we have to think about that. I cant wait for people to watch the series, especially people who arent already fans of One Piece, says Emily Rudd, and Jacob Romero adds: Besides, we know that we have each other. Just like the Straw Hat crew.

Jacob Romero, Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, Inaki Godoy and Taz Skylar, the Straw Hats of One Piece. CASEY CRAFFORD/NETFLIX

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, meets with interim Chadian President Mahamat Idriss Deby at the presidential palace in N'Djamena, Chad, September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Michelle Nichols

By Michelle Nichols

N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chad's interim President Mahamat Idriss Deby spoke with the U.S. envoy to the United Nations about challenges to holding an election, the envoy said on Thursday, more than two years after bypassing the central African country's constitution to install himself as leader.

Military leaders in Chad originally promised an 18-month transition to elections when Deby seized power after his father, President Idriss Deby, was killed on the battlefield during a conflict with insurgents, ending decades of authoritarian rule.

But last year the junta extended the timeline, delaying elections until October 2024, sparking protests in which dozens of civilians were killed, and worrying regional powers and the U.S. who warned against extending military rule.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield - a member of President Joe Biden's cabinet - met with Deby in Chad's capital N'Djamena.

"We did talk about the timeline and the president gave me his commitment to continuing to move forward on the transition. We talked about some of the challenges that exist to that process moving forward," Thomas-Greenfield told reporters.

She said he did not commit to a specific election date.

Deby did not speak to reporters after the meeting and the president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The junta also ruled last year that Deby could run in elections in 2024.

In April, Chad's government ordered the German ambassador to leave the country within 48 hours, which sources say was because he commented on Chad's delayed transition to civilian rule.

Holding elections even in peacetime is a challenge in Chad, an impoverished desert nation twice the size of France.

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 in 2021. His son sought to restore peace, pardoning hundreds of imprisoned rebels and encouraging groups to take part in peace talks.

Thomas-Greenfield had traveled to Chad to meet Sudanese refugees on the border between the two states. War broke out in Sudan on April 15 after tensions between the army (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which jointly staged a coup in 2021, erupted into fighting over a plan to transition to civilian rule.

"We spent quite a bit of time talking about the situation on the Sudan border. I thanked the president for Chad's welcoming environment. I thanked him for their hospitality," she said.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Additional reporting by Ed McAllister; Editing by Josie Kao)
Downtown Manhattan is seen in New York City, New York, U.S., September 5, 2023. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

(Reuters) -Microsoft researchers said on Thursday they found what they believe is a network of fake, Chinese-controlled social media accounts seeking to influence U.S. voters by using artificial intelligence.

A Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington said that accusations of China using AI to create fake social media accounts were "full of prejudice and malicious speculation" and that China advocates for the safe use of AI.

In a new research report, Microsoft said the social media accounts were part of a suspected Chinese information operation. The campaign bore similarities to activity which the U.S. Department of Justice has attributed to "an elite group within (China's) Ministry of Public Security," Microsoft said.

The researchers did not specify which social media platforms were affected, but screenshots in their report showed posts from what appeared to be Facebook and Twitter, now known as X.

The report highlights a fraught social media environment as Americans prepare for the 2024 presidential election.

The U.S. government has accused Russia of meddling in the 2016 election with a covert social media campaign and has warned of subsequent efforts by China, Russia and Iran to influence voters.

The report provided limited examples of the recent activity and did not explain in detail how researchers attributed the posts to China.

A Microsoft spokesperson told Reuters that the company's researcher used a "multifaceted attribution model," which relies on "technical evidence, behavioral evidence and contextual evidence."

The campaign began using generative artificial intelligence technology in about March 2023 to create politically charged content in English and "mimic U.S. voters," Microsoft said.

Generative AI can create images, text and other media from scratch.

The new content is much more "eye-catching than the awkward visuals used in previous campaigns by Chinese nation-state actors, which relied on digital drawings, stock photo collages, and other manual graphic designs," the researchers wrote.

The paper cited an example of one AI-generated image, which Microsoft said came from a Chinese account, that depicts the Statue of Liberty holding an assault rifle with the caption: "Everything is being thrown away. THE GODDESS OF VIOLENCE."

The Microsoft spokesperson said the identified accounts had attempted to appear American by listing their public location as within the United States, posting American political slogans, and sharing hashtags relating to domestic political issues.

(Reporting by Christopher Bing; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Edmund Klamann)
Australia's former trade minister Craig Emerson and China's former foreign minister Li Zhaoxing shake hands at the 7th China-Australia High Level Dialogue at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool

By Joe Cash

BEIJING (Reuters) -China poses no threat to Australia, and will not do so in future, Li Zhaoxing, a former foreign minister, said on Thursday, as the two nations resumed a high-level dialogue track after a break of three years.

The talks do not include government ministers and had been held annually since 2014, but went on hold in 2020 after Beijing put curbs on dozens of Australian imports following Canberra's call for an international inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

"Over the past decades ... China has not posed any threat to Australia, and will not do so in the future. I hope the Australian side will understand this," Li told an Australian delegation led by a former trade minister, Craig Emerson.

"Whether China-Australia relations can improve and develop further depends on whether both sides perceive each other correctly."

Diplomatic exchanges have ramped up since Australia elected a Labor government in May 2022 and China lifted tariffs on its exports of barley.

State media said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met the Australian delegation at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, the capital.

China accounts for nearly a third of Australian trade, while Australia is its eighth-largest trade partner.

But Australia is still pushing for the removal of curbs on its lobster and wine exports, and the release of two of its journalists detained in China on national security charges.

Issues featuring in the Australia-China High-Level Dialogue, as the talks are formally known, include trade, investment, regional and international security, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong's office said.

The dialogue is "another step in stabilising ties", it said in a statement on Saturday.

The Australian delegation also includes former Liberal foreign minister Julie Bishop, in a bid to show bipartisan political support, it added.

"There is more work to do ... the timely and full resumption of normal trade is in the interests of both our countries," said delegation leader Emerson, while acknowledging warming ties.

"We continue to advocate for positive progress on the cases of Australians detained in China."

In the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met Chinese Premier Li Qiang at a summit of Southeast Asian leaders.

"I look forward to visiting China later this year to mark the 50th anniversary of Prime Minister Whitlams historic visit," Albanese said in a statement after meeting Li, making reference to former leader Gough Whitlam.

(Reporting by Joe Cash; Additional reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Clarence Fernandez)
A mining machine is seen at the Bayan Obo mine containing rare earth minerals, in Inner Mongolia, China July 16, 2011. REUTERS/Stringer/File photo

BEIJING/HANOI (Reuters) -Chinese rare earth prices jumped to their highest in 20 months, as mining suspension in major producer Myanmar sparked stockpiling ahead of the peak consumption season, analysts said on Thursday.

Prices of dysprosium oxide leapt to 2,610 yuan ($356) per kilogramme on Wednesday, the highest since May 2022, latest data provided by Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) on LSEG Eikon showed.

Terbium oxide prices rose to 8,600 yuan a kilogramme, a level unseen since July 3.

Mines in Myanmar's Pangwa region in Kachin State, the country's biggest source of rare earth, have been closed from Monday in preparation for inspections during Sept. 6-7, consultancy SMM said in a report on Thursday.

"A local miner said they have not resumed production and are waiting for a notice on the next step from the inspection team," said Yang Jiawen, an analyst at SMM.

Rare earth is a prized group of 17 minerals used in consumer electronics and military equipment.

Myanmar accounted for 38% of rare earth imports into China in January-July, Chinese trade data showed, while the Southeast Asian country was the fourth biggest source of rare earth mining in 2022, data by the U.S. Geological Survey showed.

A local resident in the town of Chipwi told Reuters she saw workers from nearby Pangwa coming to her town as mining activities have been paused.

Chinese processors are expecting one to three weeks of disruption of Myanmar feedstock supply, which is unlikely to impact the supply demand balance for 2023, said analyst David Merriman at Project Blue.

However, Merriman expected short-term upward pricing movements due to uncertainty and suppliers holding back material in anticipation of higher prices.

"Any extended shutdown of mining in Kachin could be quite damaging for Chinese refineries in Southern China which are reliant upon feedstock from Myanmar, though the increase in imports from Laos could relieve this somewhat," Merriman added.

Some rare earth consumers are stockpiling cargoes for use during China's Sept. 29 - Oct. 6 public holiday, fearing higher prices which are also boosted by expectation of better demand in peak consuming months of September and October, SMM's Yang said.

Worry of possible supply disruptions amid environmental inspections in late August in Jiangxi province, one of China's major rare earth production hubs, also added to the price hike, she added.

China's imports of rare earths surged 76% year-on-year to 12,673 metric tons in August, and volumes in the first eight months jumped 54.4% to 118,426 tons, Chinese trade data showed.

($1 = 7.3275 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Amy Lv in Beijing, Reuters staff in Myanmar bureau and Mai Nguyen in Hanoi; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
FILE PHOTO: Smoke rises above buildings after an aerial bombardment during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army, in Khartoum North, Sudan, May 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/File Photo

By Clauda Tanios and Michelle Nichols

DUBAI/N'DJAMENA (Reuters) -The deputy leader of Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said on Thursday that U.S. sanctions imposed on him over human rights abuses were unfair and declared that the RSF has seized enough army weapons to last 20 years.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced the sanctions on Abdelrahim Dagalo - who is also brother of the RSF commander - during a trip to Adre on Chad's border with Sudan to meet with refugees fleeing ethnic and sexual violence.

"The decision for us is an unfair decision and a decision taken from information from one side or from a side that is very opposite to the Rapid Support Forces," Dagalo told Sky News Arabia on Thursday, saying that the U.S. action had been taken without a clear investigation.

Thomas-Greenfield scoffed at Dagalo's response.

"Please. What is unfair, unconscionable are the atrocities that are being committed against the Sudanese people. That's the issue that is unfair," she told Reuters in N'Djamena.

"This is about justice, this is about accountability and that's where we're continuing to focus our attention."

The move to target Dagalo is the highest profile use of sanctions since conflict broke out between the RSF and Sudan's army in mid-April and is an apparent response to the violence in West Darfur, which the RSF is accused of perpetrating along with allied militias.

"The authorities that issued the sanctions did not wait and did not know who creates strife in Darfur or who kills people and who defends people's lives and ... who solves the problems," Dagalo said.

In a statement, the RSF said the move jeopardised the ability of the U.S. to act as a mediator, accused the army of carrying out violations in Darfur, and described the violence there as an "old and recurring tribal conflict".

It also criticised U.S. restrictions against the RSF's West Darfur commander over the killing of the governor of West Darfur in June, saying the move pre-empted other investigations into the incident.

HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

The war in Sudan began four years after a popular uprising ousted President Omar al-Bashir. Tensions between the army and RSF, which jointly staged a coup in 2021, erupted into fighting over a plan to integrate their forces as part of a transition to civilian rule.

Late on Wednesday, Sudan's military ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan issued a constitutional decree ordering the dissolution of the RSF.

Dagalo said that Burhan did not have the legitimacy to do so.

"Now we have stores of weapons and supplies belonging to the armed forces (...) that could last us 20 years," he added.

The United Nations says half Sudan's 49 million people need help and has appealed for $2.6 billion - so far, it has secured only 26% of this amount.

Since April some 380,000 refugees - mostly women and children - have fled to Chad, the U.N. says. Hundreds of thousands more have escaped to Central African Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has appealed for $1 billion to help provide aid and protection to more than 1.8 million people expected to flee Sudan this year. More than 4 million people have been displaced inside the country since the start of the war, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Burhan on Thursday visited Doha, the latest in a series of regional visits to garner support, and discussed Qatari humanitarian aid and investment, the sovereign council said in a statement.

"We thank Qatar's Emir Tamim, its government, and people, for their continued support of the Sudanese people and standing beside them particularly under these circumstances," Burhan said in a statement.

(Reporting by Clauda Tanios and Nafisa Eltahir; editing by Alison Williams, Mark Heinrich, Alexandra Hudson)
FILE PHOTO: Officers from the New York Fire Department (FDNY) look at aerial and street imagery of a building that is on fire while working in the FDNY's Operations Center in New York August 11, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

By Milana Vinn

(Reuters) - The private equity owners of EagleView Technologies are exploring a sale of the provider of aerial imagery and data analytics services that could value it at about $2 billion, including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.

Vista Equity Partners and Clearlake Capital, the owners of EagleView, have hired investment banks William Blair and Rothschild & Co to advise the company on its sale process, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the matter is confidential.

EagleView generates about $300 million in revenue and 12-month earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $165 million, the sources said.

Clearlake and Vista declined to comment. EagleView and Rothschild did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In 2015, Vista took a majority stake in EagleView. In 2018, Clearlake bought a significant stake from Vista, becoming an equal owner in EagleView.

Bellevue, Washington-based EagleView Technologies is a provider of software that can be used to measure rooftops with satellite images from the sky, mainly used by insurance companies to make more accurate decisions.

The company is utilizing a vast library of images and its patented 3-D measurement software to provide software tools to customers in industries such as insurance, construction, government and public utilities.

In the past, the company's tools have been used to help improve police and fire department response times and also to help cities prepare for emergencies and natural disasters.

(Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
By Luc Cohen and Jody Godoy

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX's Bahamian subsidiary and a top lieutenant to the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange's founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, pleaded guilty on Thursday to making tens of millions of dollars in unlawful campaign donations to boost causes supported by his boss.

In court filings on Thursday, prosecutors said Salame, Bankman-Fried and former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh used FTX customer funds to donate to political candidates supporting crypto-friendly legislation.

Salame was the fourth former executive from Bankman-Fried's companies to plead guilty. Bankman-Fried is scheduled to stand trial Oct. 3 on charges of stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer funds to plug losses at Alameda Research, his hedge fund.

Salame, 30, pleaded guilty at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan to one count of conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

There was no indication Salame was cooperating with the prosecution or would testify against Bankman-Fried.

Former Alameda Chief Executive Officer Caroline Ellison, former FTX technology chief Gary Wang and former FTX engineering chief Nishad Singh previously pleaded guilty and are set to testify.

"Ryan looks forward to putting this chapter behind him and moving forward with his life," Salame's lawyer Jason Linder of law firm Mayer Brown said in a statement.

Bankman-Fried, 31, previously pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges stemming from FTX's November 2022 collapse.

Prosecutors said Salame told a confidante that Bankman-Fried hoped political donations would "weed out" anti-crypto Democratic and Republican lawmakers - meaning defeat them in elections. Salame said his boss would likely route money for donations to Republican candidates through Salame.

Salame gave more than $24 million to Republican candidates and causes in the 2022 election cycle, according to Federal Election Commision data, making him one of that year's top donors.

He said in court that the money he used was recorded as loans from Alameda, but he did not intend to pay them back.

"I knew it was prohibited by campaign finance laws to make contributions in my name with money that was not my own," Salame said.

SALAME TO SURRENDER PORSCHE

Salame joined Alameda in 2019, two years after Bankman-Fried founded it, and became co-chief executive of FTX's Bahamian affiliate in late 2021. He worked for Ernst & Young and Circle Internet Financial before joining FTX Digital Markets.

While at Alameda, Salame said he used the fund's bank accounts to help FTX customers transfer fiat currency to the exchange, even though neither company was licensed as a money services business as required by law.

The campaign finance and money transmitting schemes "helped FTX grow faster and larger by operating outside of the law," Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, said in a statement on Thursday.

As part of his plea deal, Salame agreed to forfeit more than $1.5 billion, though prosecutors will accept his turning over of $6 million, two Massachusetts properties, his interest in a company called East Rood Farm, and a 2021 Porsche to satisfy the judgment.

East Rood is the company through which Salame owns a tavern in Lenox, Massachusetts, according to a 2021 report in the Berkshire Eagle.

Salame will also pay $5.6 million in restitution to FTX in its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

Salame was released on $1 million bond and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 6, 2024.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham, Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Mark Porter, David Gregorio and Leslie Adler)
DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said about 8,000 U.S. workers represented by the United Auto Workers union will get an average $4.33 an hour in additional pay under provisions of the current contract agreed in 2019.

Ford announced the pay increases as talks with the UAW for a new contract are headed for a Sept. 14 strike deadline.

The union has rejected Ford's recent wage increase proposals as inadequate. But Ford was the first among the Detroit Three automakers to put forward a detailed economic proposal in this contract round as it campaigns to set the labor pattern for the unionized U.S. automakers.

Under Ford's 2019 contract, permanent hourly manufacturing employees were eligible for a pay increase if they were hired prior to the 2019 contract effective date and were earning at least $24.40 per hour as of Sept. 1, 2023, the company said in a statement.

(Reporting by Joe White; editing by Jason Neely)
Peter Navarro, adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump, returns from a break during his trial on contempt of Congress charges for refusing to cooperate with the House of Representatives committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capit

By Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. President Donald Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro was found guilty on Thursday of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House of Representatives committee that investigated the 2021 attack on the Capitol.

A 12-member jury convicted Navarro on two counts of contempt after he refused to testify or turn over documents to the Democratic-led House panel that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 riot by Trump supporters and broader attempts by Trump, a Republican, to reverse his 2020 election defeat.

Navarro, a hawk on China policy who advised Trump on trade issues during his presidency and also served on the COVID-19 task force, became the second close associate of Trump to be convicted for spurning the committee. Steve Bannon was found guilty last year of contempt of Congress for similarly defying a subpoena and was sentenced to four months in prison. Bannon is now appealing the conviction.

Navarro said ahead of his trial that he did not have to comply with the subpoena because Trump had invoked executive privilege, a legal doctrine that shields some executive branch records and communications from disclosure.

But U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Navarro could not use this as a defense, finding that the defendant had not presented evidence that Trump formally invoked executive privilege in response to the subpoena. Defense lawyer Stanley Woodward was left to argue that Navarro's failure to comply may have been an accident or a mistake.

Navarro, wearing a dark suit and red tie, showed no visible reaction when the verdict was read aloud following about five hours of jury deliberations. His lawyer said he would appeal.

"The day that Judge Mehta ruled that I could not use executive privilege as the defense in this case, the die was cast," Navarro told reporters outside the courthouse.

The charges carry a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year in jail. Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 12.

Navarro said he did not call Trump as a witness because the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination was "fighting four different indictments in three different jurisdictions. We chose not to go there."

The verdict in federal court in Washington followed a trial with just one day of testimony from three prosecution witnesses, former staff members of the House committee. The defense did not call any witnesses or present any evidence.

"The defendant chose allegiance to former President Trump over compliance with the subpoena," federal prosecutor Elizabeth Aloi told the jurors during closing arguments earlier on Thursday. "That is contempt. That is a crime."

'NOT OVER BY A LONG SHOT'

Navarro's lawyers sought a mistrial following the verdict, claiming jurors were allowed outside the courthouse for a break and encountered protesters angry over the Capitol riot. Mehta declined to rule on the request without additional information about what had transpired.

Navarro lawyer John Rowley told reporters the case posed important legal issues that would need to be decided on appeal.

"This case is not over by a long shot," Rowley said.

The verdict represented a victory for the Justice Department and the now-defunct select committee, which moved aggressively to secure testimony from Trump advisers before being disbanded when Republicans took control of the House in January.

Many of the committee's findings were mirrored in a federal indictment obtained by Special Counsel Jack Smith accusing Trump of attempting to subvert the election results.

The panel sought to interview Navarro about a plan devised by him and other Trump allies, dubbed the "Green Bay Sweep," to delay Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. The committee concluded its work last year without interviewing Navarro.

Navarro had said publicly that he was protecting the presidency by not sharing information with Congress.

Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on the day that Congress met to certify Biden's victory, attacking police and sending lawmakers and others fleeing for safety. Trump has made false claims that the election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Scott Malone and Will Dunham)
(Reuters) -Independent proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis & Co and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) have recommended Magellan Midstream Partners' unitholders to vote in favor of the pipeline operator's $18.8 billion planned sale to ONEOK.

"We are inclined to take the view that the proposed merger would put the combined company in a better position, compared to Magellan on a standalone basis," Glass Lewis said in a statement on Wednesday.

Shares of Magellan Midstream rose 1.5% in early afternoon trading.

Energy Income Partners, the fourth-largest unitholder in Magellan with a 3.1% stake, has said it intends to vote against the proposed deal, concerned about the loss of tax benefits.

The voting on the deal is scheduled to take place on Sept. 21.

Magellan is a master limited partnership (MLP), a publicly traded corporate structure that enjoys the benefits of paying no tax at the company level.

Investors in MLPs, known as unitholders, are also shielded from ongoing taxes, but when either the units or the whole company are sold the accumulated taxes become due for payment.

"The premium also stands out among recent precedent transactions in this sector, and appears to compensate most investors for the immediate tax hit," ISS said in a report on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
Jimmy Fallon, the host of NBCs The Tonight Show, says that on the day he interviewed Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, the two were waiting to walk on to the set when Richards lit up a cigarette. You cant smoke, one of the security guards told him. I know, its bad for my health, Richards replied.

Fallon flew from New York to London Wednesday for the presentation of the first studio album the band has recorded in 18 years, Hackney Diamonds. The name comes from cockney slang of the 1960s, referring to glass strewn on the street after a car or shop window has been smashed by thieves. Are you still smoking? Fallon asked Richards. At 79, still behind the ever-present sunglasses, the guitarists hooligan grin is undisguisable. He no longer smokes, but the three surviving members of the band  Mick Jagger (80), Ronnie Wood (76) and Richards  still carry the rebellious and contagious air of artists who refuse to throw in the towel.

The new album, which contains 12 songs and will be released at the end of October, will be the 24th since the Stones started playing together, back in 1962. I dont want to be big headed but we wouldnt have put this album out if we hadnt really liked it. We said we had to make a record we really love ourselves. We are quite pleased with it, we are not big headed about it, but we hope you all like it, Jagger told the audience at the Hackney Empire, consisting of the media and fans of the band who were lucky enough to have access.

The band got together to work on the songs last December and, a couple of months later, the album was ready to be prepared for release. Two of the songs were recorded in 2019 with Charlie Watts, who passed away just over two years ago, on the drums. For the rest of the tracks, the percussion is provided by Steve Jordan, who was anointed as Watts successor by the legendary drummer himself. Ever since Charlies gone, its been different, hes number four. Of course hes missed, Richards said. It would have been a lot harder without Charlies blessing.

Stellar collaborations

The Stones know that they only have to ask for other global music stars to work with them. On Hackney Diamonds, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder and even the bands former bass player, Bill Wyman, contribute. The video for the first single released from the album, Angry, stars Euphoria actress Sydney Sweeney, who rides a red convertible down a Californian boulevard while mobile billboards featuring the young, mature, adult, and provocative Stones flash past. It is a song in the pure Rolling Stones style, with a chorus that immediately sticks in your head and an unmistakable guitar riff.

At the presentation, Jagger recalled his first press conference, in a London pub, more than 60 years earlier, to promote the Stones first album. It was just him and Richards. We gave the album to the two journalists who showed up, and we said goodbye: Youll tell us what you think, he said with a laugh. There were reviews for all tastes, but the album sold well. It was far cry from the hype for the new album, which brought fans from all over the world hoping to catch a glimpse of the band. I saw them for the first time in 82. Since then, Ive been an unconditional fan, said one who had been waiting outside the theater for hours.

The three 'rolling' pose during the presentation of 'Hackney Diamonds'. TOBY MELVILLE (REUTERS)

The launch of the new album has been an ongoing game of hints and secrets. An advertisement published days ago, in the free local Hackney Gazette newspaper, talked about a glass repair store. The play on words in the text included several of the bands most famous song titles, such as Satisfaction and Shattered. The telephone number included in the article led callers to an answering machine that provided clues to the surprise.

The Stones have maintained an intense touring rhythm in the 21st century and they continue to sell out stadiums worldwide. Immediately after the end of the coronavirus pandemic, and despite Watts death, the group resumed its No Filter U.S. tour in the fall of 2021, with Jordan on drums, and last year embarked on multiple performances across Europe with the Sixty tour, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the bands formation.
FILE PHOTO: The new GM logo is seen on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 16, 2021. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook/File Photo

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Motors was ordered by a federal appeals court on Thursday to defend against claims by a Black safety supervisor, who said she endured years of racism and sexism at an upstate New York plant where other workers displayed Confederate flags and nooses.

A three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said a trial judge erred in dismissing Billie Banks' hostile work environment, disparate treatment and retaliation lawsuit against the automaker.

Banks sued over conditions at GM's components plant in Lockport, New York, where she began working in 1996.

She said she and other Black employees were called racial slurs, including one particularly offensive epithet, and that she saw Confederate flags on employees' vehicles and clothing. Three nooses were placed around Black employees' workstations, she said.

Banks said that after she took leave because of work stress and filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in late 2013, GM retaliated by suspending her disability benefits and demoting her upon her return. She sued in November 2014.

In a 74-page decision, Circuit Judge Denny Chin said the evidence suggested "pervasive and long-term sex and race-based animosity" that a reasonable jury could find created a hostile work environment.

Chin said use of the epithet, "probably the most offensive word in English," and even one placement of a noose, "imbued as it is with historical gravity as a symbol and tool of actual violence," supported Banks' hostile environment claim.

The appeals court also found sufficient evidence that bias and an intent to retaliate were factors in Banks' demotion.

It returned the case to U.S. District Judge William Skretny in Buffalo, New York.

GM declined to comment.

The Detroit-based automaker had said many incidents that Banks complained about were too old, and the "totality of the circumstances" did not show a hostile work environment.

Banks' lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Banks took disability leave again in January 2016 and as of last month remained on leave.

The EEOC supported Banks' appeal. In March, the agency sued Exxon Mobil after nooses were reported at the oil company's complex in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The case is Banks v General Motors LLC et al, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 21-2640.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
Locals are evacuated on a boat by volunteers, as storm Daniel hits central Greece, in Farkadona, Greece, September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Kostas Mantziaris

By Angeliki Koutantou and Louisa Gouliamaki

ATHENS (Reuters) -At least six people have died and more than six were still missing on Thursday after storm Daniel swept across central Greece, triggering landslides, destroying roads and bridges and carrying away dozens of cars.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis postponed an annual economic speech scheduled for this weekend and will instead visit areas hit since Monday by torrential rain that has flooded homes and destroyed key infrastructure, including power poles.

"The state mechanism's absolute priority right now is the rescue and evacuation of people from the areas affected," government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told a press briefing.

"Our country is facing for the third day a phenomenon unlike any other we have seen in the past," Marinakis said, before announcing that the recently re-elected leader's main economic policy speech would be held in the middle of next week instead of Saturday.

The mainland port city of Volos, the surrounding mountainous Pelion area and the cities of Karditsa and Trikala were among the worst-hit areas.

Heavy rainfall, which came days after a two-week deadly wildfire died out in the north and authorities said was the most extreme on record, has turned many villages in the low-lying area of Karditsa, in the mainland Thessaly plain, into a lake.

Civil Protection Minister Vassilis Kikilias said during a press briefing on Thursday that six people had been reported missing in the area of Karditsa.

The fire brigade said the bodies of two elderly women were recovered from a house at the community of Astritsa near Karditsa on Thursday. The body of a man had been found in the town of Domokos earlier in the day.

HOUSES SUBMERGED

Reuters footage showed houses submerged in flood water in the Trikala region.

In the town of Palamas, near Karditsa, dozens of people were trapped inside their flooded residences, Mayor Giorgos Sakellariou, told Open television. Residents speaking to local media called for help and for food supplies.

A fire brigade helicopter airlifted people from the village of Agia Triada, where at least 20 people had been trapped, the government said.

Since Tuesday, 820 people have been evacuated across the country, 750 of them in the Thessaly region.

A fire brigade official said that emergency crews assisted by the army and coastguard used lifeboats in an effort to reach the storm-hit villages in Karditsa, where water was 2 metres (6.5 feet) deep.

"Operations are been carried out very carefully as flood debris obstructed the boats, while, in other cases, the power of the water does not allow us to approach," fire brigade spokesperson Vasilios Vathrakogiannis told a briefing.

Crews will continue going from door to foor to rescue people throughout the night, while 3,000 food portions and water will be handed out across Karditsa and Trikala, Kikilias said in a statement late on Thursday.

The European Union has been in contact with Greece to mobilise support, EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said on platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

British travel company Jet2 said on Wednesday it was cancelling all flights and holidays to the Aegean island of Skiathos, the closest to Volos, up to Sept. 12 due to the weather.

Flash floods in Greece in 2017 killed 25 people and left hundreds homeless.

(Additional reporting by Lefteris Papadimas; Writing by Angeliki Koutantou and Renee Maltezou; Editing by Alex Richardson and Aurora Ellis)
PhD student, Nir Livnat, works at the laboratory on models of an early-stage human embryo, created by Israeli scientists without using an egg, sperm or womb, offering a glimpse into the first weeks of embryonic development, in a laboratory at the Weizmann

REHOVOT, Israel (Reuters) - Scientists in Israel have created a model of a human embryo from stem cells in the laboratory, without using sperm, eggs or a womb, offering a unique glimpse into the early stages of embryonic development.

The model resembles an embryo at day 14, when it acquires internal structures but before it lays down the foundations for body organs, according to the team at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science.

The scientists' work was published in the journal Nature on Wednesday after a pre-print came out in June, during the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR)'s annual meeting in Boston.

The Israeli team emphasised that they were a long way from being able to create an embryo from scratch.

"The question is, when does an embryo model become considered an embryo? When that happens, we know the regulations. At the moment we are really, really far off from that point," said team leader Jacob Hanna.

However, they said the work could open the door to new ways to test the effect of drugs on pregnancies, better understand miscarriages and genetic diseases, and perhaps even to grow transplant tissues and organs.

"They are not identical. There are differences from human embryos, but still, this is the first time, if you open an atlas or a textbook, you can say - yeah I can really see the similarity between them," said Hanna.

He said his team took stem cells derived from adult human skin cells, as well as others cultured in the lab, then reverted the cells to an early state with the potential to develop into different cell types.

They then manipulated them to form the basis of something structurally resembling an embryo. It is not an actual or synthetic embryo - a term criticised by the ISSCR and other scientists - rather a model showing how one works.

"In about 1 percent of the aggregates we can see that the cells start differentiating correctly, migrating and sorting themselves into the correct structure, and the farthest we could get is day 14 in human embryo development," he said.

Their next goal, Hanna said, is to advance to day 21 and also reach a threshold of a 50% success rate.

Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, a professor of development and stem cells at the University of Cambridge, said the study joins six other similar human embryo-like models published from teams around the world this year, including from her lab.

"None of these models fully recapitulate natural human development but each adds to ways in which many aspects of human development can now be studied experimentally," she said.

The study raises some ethical questions over the possibility of potential future manipulation in human embryo development, Hanna and others noted. He drew a comparison to nuclear physics, however, arguing that you should not stop all research in that field because somebody might choose to make a nuclear bomb.

It is important to engage and fully inform the public, he said, with "nothing done in the shadows".

(Reporting by Rami Amichay and Ari Rabinovitch; editing by Mark Heinrich)
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prince Charles kisses the hand of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, after she presented him with a Royal Horticultural Society Victoria Medal of Honour, during a visit to the Chelsea Flower Show in London May 18, 2009. REUTERS/Sang Tan/P

By Michael Holden

LONDON(Reuters) - King Charles will on Friday privately mark the first anniversary of the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth and his accession to the throne, spending the day quietly at the Scottish royal home where the late monarch passed away last year.

Elizabeth, Britain's longest-reigning sovereign, died aged 96 on Sept. 8 at Balmoral Castle, her beloved Scottish summer retreat, leading to 10 days of national mourning and condolences and tributes from across the world for her record-breaking 70-year reign.

Charles, who immediately succeeded her as king of the United Kingdom and 14 other countries including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, is not due to attend any ceremonial event, nor will there be any large private family gathering either to mark his 'Accession Day'.

However, as is customary for such royal occasions, there will be gun salutes fired in a London park and at the Tower of London.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the thoughts of the nation would be with Charles and his family on "the solemn anniversary".

"With the perspective of a year, the scale of her late majesty's service only seems greater," Sunak said. "Her devotion to the nations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth only seems deeper. And our gratitude for such an extraordinary life of duty and dedication, only continues to grow."

Charles' low-key approach to the day is in keeping with how Elizabeth used to mark her accession, not regarding the event as something to celebrate as it was a reminder of the unexpected death her father George VI.

The queen's death last year marked an end of an era for Britain and, despite her age, came as a shock to the nation. During her seven decades on the throne, she had become not just Britain's figurehead but also a towering presence on the world stage.

She had worked right up until her passing, appointing Liz Truss as her 15th prime minister just two days before her death.

Charles first year on the throne has been dominated by his coronation, Britain's biggest ceremonial event for generations, full of pomp and pageantry.

Polls suggest most Britons have a favourable view of his reign so far, although younger generations appear much less enthusiastic.

He is also still dealing with issues within his own family, most notably the rift with his younger son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, and what to do with his own younger brother Prince Andrew, who had to quit royal duties over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"The bond between country and monarch is sacred," Sunak said. "It endures. So, while we continue to mourn her late majesty's passing, we should be proud that this remarkable legacy of service  and this remarkable bond  continues to grow today under the reign of his majesty the king."

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
FILE PHOTO: The company's logo is seen at a Nestle plant in Konolfingen, Switzerland September 28, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo

ZURICH (Reuters) - Nestle is buying a majority stake in Brazilian premium chocolate maker Grupo CRM, the Swiss food group said on Thursday.

Grupo CRM operates a direct-to-consumer model, with more than 1,000 chocolate boutiques under the Kopenhagen and Brasil Cacau brands and a strong, growing online presence, Nestle said.

Financial details of the deal, which is expected to close in 2024, would not be disclosed, Nestle said.

Nestle said Renata Moraes Vichi would continue to lead Grupo CRM's operations as CEO and remain a minority shareholder.

The executive has been with the company for 25 years and has built up and significantly expanded Grupo CRM.

"This acquisition further broadens and strengthens our confectionery presence in Brazil, enabling us to enter the high-end segment," said Laurent Freixe, Nestle's CEO for Latin America.

"Kopenhagen and Brasil Cacau offer premium chocolates that are highly appreciated by Brazilian consumers."

(Reporting by John Revill, Editing by Friederike Heine)
FILE PHOTO: The Apple Inc. logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, U.S., October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

By Christopher Bing and Zeba Siddiqui

(Reuters) -Researchers at digital watchdog group Citizen Lab said on Thursday they found spyware they linked to Israeli firm NSO that exploited a newly discovered flaw in Apple devices.

While inspecting the Apple device of an employee of a Washington-based civil society group last week, Citizen Lab said it found the flaw had been used to infect the device with NSO's Pegasus spyware, it said in a statement.

"We attribute the exploit to NSO Group's Pegasus spyware with high confidence, based on forensics we have from the target device," said Bill Marczak, senior researcher at Citizen Lab, which is based at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

He said the attacker likely made a mistake during the installation which is how Citizen Lab found the spyware.

Citizen Lab said Apple confirmed to them that using the high security feature "Lockdown Mode" available on Apple devices blocks this particular attack.

"This shows that civil society is once again serving as the early warning system about really sophisticated attacks," said John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab.

Citizen Lab did not provide further details on the affected individual or the organization.

The flaw allowed compromise of iPhones running the latest version of iOS (16.6) without any interaction from the victim, the digital watchdog said. The new update fixes this vulnerability.

Apple issued new updates on its devices after investigating the flaws reported by Citizen Lab. An Apple spokesperson said it had no further comment, while Citizen Lab urged consumers to update their devices.

NSO said in a statement, "We are unable to respond to any allegations that do not include any supporting research."

The Israeli firm has been blacklisted by the U.S. government since 2021 for alleged abuses, including surveillance of government officials and journalists.

(Reporting by Zeba Siddiqui and Christopher Bing; Editing by Jamie Freed and Daniel Wallis)
FILE PHOTO: A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, South Korea, July 19, 2022. REUTER

By Josh Smith and Soo-hyang Choi

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea has launched its first operational "tactical nuclear attack submarine" and assigned it to the fleet that patrols the waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan, state media said on Friday.

Submarine No. 841 - named Hero Kim Kun Ok after a North Korean historical figure - will be one of the main "underwater offensive means of the naval force" of North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un said at the launch ceremony on Wednesday.

Analysts said the vessel appears to be a modified Soviet-era Romeo-class submarine, which North Korea acquired from China in the 1970s and began producing domestically. Its design, with 10 launch tube hatches, showed it was most likely armed with ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, analysts said.

But such weapons won't add much value to the North's more robust land-based nuclear forces, because the aging submarines used as the core of the new design are relatively noisy, slow and have limited range, meaning they may not survive as long during a war, said Vann Van Diepen, a former U.S. government weapons expert who works with the 38 North project in Washington.

"When this thing is field deployed, it's going to be quite vulnerable to allied anti-submarine warfare," he said. "So I think from a sort of hard-headed military standpoint this doesn't make a lot of sense."

South Korea's military said that the submarine didn't appear ready for normal operations, and that there were signs North Korea was attempting to exaggerate its capabilities.

Shin Seung-ki, research Fellow at Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), cautioned that South Korea and the United States cannot be guaranteed to detect and destroy submerged submarines.

"It is evident that North Korea has significantly expanded and strengthened the operational capabilities of its naval forces compared to before," he said.

At the launch ceremony, Kim said arming the navy with nuclear weapons was an urgent task and promised more underwater and surface vessels equipped with tactical nuclear weapons for the naval forces, news agency KCNA reported.

"The submarine-launching ceremony heralded the beginning of a new chapter for bolstering up the naval force of the DPRK," KCNA said, using the initials of the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

North Korea plans to turn other existing submarines into nuclear armed vessels, and accelerate its push to eventually build nuclear-powered submarines, Kim said.

"Achieving a rapid development of our naval forces ... is a priority that cannot be delayed given ... the enemies' recent aggressive moves and military acts," the North Korean leader said in a speech, apparently referring to the United States and South Korea.

North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs are banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions, and the submarine launch drew condemnation from South Korea and Japan.

"North Korea's military activity is posing graver and more imminent threat to our country's security than before," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a briefing.

NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBMARINE

The designation as a "tactical" submarine suggests it does not carry submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) that can reach the U.S. mainland, but rather smaller, short-range SLBMs or submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM) capable of striking South Korea, Japan, or other regional targets, said Choi Il, a retired South Korean submarine captain.

The rear of the submarine's sail - the tower that juts out of the top of the hull - was expanded and 10 vertical launch tubes, 4 large and 6 small, were installed, likely for SLBMs and SLCMs, he said.

North Korea has test-fired both SLBMs and SLCMs.

Shin said it can take a year or more to evaluate a new vessel at sea, so immediate deployment may be limited.

It is unclear whether North Korea has fully developed the miniaturised nuclear warheads needed for such missiles. Analysts say that perfecting smaller warheads would most likely be a key goal if the North resumes nuclear testing.

North Korea has about 20 Romeo-class submarines, which are powered by diesel-electric engines and are obsolete by modern standards, with most other countries operating them only as training vessels.

Analysts first spotted signs that at least one new submarine was being built in 2016, and in 2019 state media showed Kim inspecting a previously unreported submarine built under "his special attention" that would operate off the east coast.

North Korea has a large submarine fleet but only the experimental ballistic missile submarine 8.24 Yongung (August 24th Hero) is known to have fired a missile.

The launching ceremony comes as North Korea is set to mark the 75th anniversary of its founding day on Saturday and follows reports that Kim plans to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin to discuss weapons supplies to Moscow.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Jakarta, and asked Beijing to do more as a U.N. Security Council member to address North Korea's nuclear threat.

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi and Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Ju-min Park and Hyun Young Yi in Seoul and Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo; Editing by Leslie Adler, Sandra Maler, Jonathan Oatis and Gerry Doyle)
By Abhinav Parmar and Mike Stone

(Reuters) - Defense technology startup Anduril Industries, founded by entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, said on Thursday it acquired autonomous aircraft maker Blue Force Technologies, as it looks to strengthen its autonomous fleet and software capabilities.

The deal, whose terms were not disclosed, comes as aerospace companies ramp up their spending on artificial intelligence and autonomous aircraft amid geopolitical uncertainties.

North Carolina-based Blue Force designs and manufactures composite aircraft and components.

"It has always been part of our journey to climb up the value chain so to speak, to build more complex systems, more mission relevant systems," Chris Brose, chief strategy officer at Anduril told Reuters in an interview.

Fury, the larger size drone with a 17-foot wingspan that Blue Force makes, was attractive because it would be "able to generate deterrence vis-a-vis China: longer range, faster speeds, greater payload carrying capacity, greater survivability," he said.

Anduril, founded in 2017, develops and fields integrated autonomous solutions across a wide variety of sensors, including drones, effectors and assets and has experience automating the operations of robotic systems deployed in tactical environments.

Anduril earlier this year also launched its Lattice for Mission Autonomy, an artificial intelligence-enabled software, used to collaborate teams of autonomous systems during missions under human supervision.

Luckey is credited for founding virtual reality company Oculus VR, which was later acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $2.3 billion.

(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar in Bengaluru and Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Maju Samuel)
Mark Dickey, the U.S. caver who is currently trapped near Morca, poses in Mentone, Alabama, U.S., May 12, 2023. National Cave Rescue Commission (NCRC)/Handout via REUTERS/File photo

MERSIN, Turkey (Reuters) - More than 150 rescuers raced on Thursday to reach an American man who fell ill and became trapped some 1,000 metres (3,280 ft) underground in a cave he was exploring in southern Turkey.

Mark Dickey, 40, was on an international exploration mission in the Morca cave in the Taurus mountains when he began suffering gastrointestinal bleeding, Turkey's TUMAF caving federation said in a statement.

"Several international teams, including Croats and Italians, are aiding in the operations. The guy is some 1,000 metres deep, they are dividing the ascent in seven sections," TUMAF head Bulent Genc told Reuters.

"They expect (rescue operations) to take 10 days, but it may be shorter if the guy's better or longer if his situation worsens," Genc said, adding that Dickey's condition had improved and he was now able to stand on his own.

TUMAF said a phone line to reach a depth of 1,040 metres had been set up and that Croatian rescuers were setting up an additional "CaveLink" communications system as backup.

It said medics at the scene would decide whether it was possible for Dickey to be pulled out without a stretcher.

Footage from the rescue operation showed Turkish and international teams setting up tents and cables outside the sinkhole, Turkey's third-largest, which is at an altitude of 2,140 metres (7,020 ft).

(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Helen Popper)
FILE PHOTO-State flags of Russia and North Korea fly in a street near a railway station during the visit of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un to Vladivostok, Russia April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Maltsev/File Photo

By Cynthia Kim and Josh Smith

SEOUL (Reuters) - For the first time in nearly four years new staff have been allowed at the Russian embassy in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, the delegation said on Thursday, after anti-pandemic measures blocked most travel and lead many embassies to close.

Russia would be only the second embassy known to be allowed new staff, after China's new ambassador entered in March.

The arrival of the new Russia staff comes amid U.S. officials' suggestions that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may visit Russia soon to see President Vladimir Putin, possibly to discuss arms deals.

"On September 7 at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, for the first time since 2019, we met our new colleagues - 20 diplomats and technical employees who arrived at the Embassy on a personnel rotation basis," the embassy said in a Facebook post.

Many embassies closed in Pyongyang because they were unable to rotate staff or ship supplies during the COVID-19 crisis.

Russian diplomats were among those who stayed on, despite complaining over shortages of essentials such as medicine, problems getting healthcare, and pandemic restrictions that they said were unprecedented in severity.

In one episode in February 2021 a group of Russian diplomats and family members used a hand-pushed rail trolley to leave North Korea, as Pyongyangs anti-coronavirus measures blocked most forms of passenger transport across the border.

In a first since before the pandemic, Chinese and Russian government delegations flew to Pyongyang in July and buses carrying North Korean athletes to a taekwondo tournament in Kazakhstan crossed the border into China. The North has also begun allowing its own citizens who were trapped abroad to return on flights and trains.

(Reporting by Cynthia Kim, Josh Smith; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
The Sao Paulo Biennial, the most important event for contemporary art in the Southern Hemisphere  and the second oldest in the world, after the Venice Biennale  has opened its 35th edition, marked by an unprecedented presence of artists from the global south, with an 80% of non-white participants out of a total of 121. The exhibition, titled Choreographies of the impossible, is political and poetic, brave and emphatic, heterogeneous and irregular, discursive but also sensual, a journey that serves as an alternate history of the art of the 20th and 21st centuries, paying less attention to Western hegemony and more to the wisdom of underappreciated traditions, such as the Indigenous cultures and the African diaspora in Latin America, in addition to the Arab world and the Asian continent.

The exhibition aims to overrule the hierarchies that were imposed with the transition to modernity, in light of the capitalist colonial project. The new edition of the biennial, which can be visited until December 10 at Ibirapuera Park  an emblem of rationalist purism projected by architect Oscar Niemeyer  is directed by a diverse team: curator Diane Lima, anthropologist and art researcher Helio Menezes (both Brazilians) and the Portuguese artist and theorist Grada Kilomba, all three of African descent; with them is Spanish Manuel Borja-Villel in his first project since he left the management of the Reina Sofia Museum in January.

This biennial offers a response, from art, to the new fascisms, which are different from those of the 1930s, Borja-Villel stated on Monday. The extreme right still clings to God, family and homeland, but now its not a dictator with a loudspeaker, but entire groups. The voices have multiplied thanks to the new technologies, and that makes it more difficult to respond to their lies. Thats why a large part of the left is disoriented, adds the former director of the Reina Sofia, who in this biennial puts into practice some of the theoretical concepts that he introduced in that institution, such as the question of decolonization and the critical analysis of the Enlightenment principles.

Parliament of Ghosts (2023), by Ghanaian Ibrahim Mahama. Levi Fanan / Fundacao Bienal de Sao Paulo

The result is similar to other recent attempts to establish a counter-narrative of art history, such as the latest Documenta or the 2022 Venice Biennale. Our work does not aspire to create a counter-image, but to abandon the discourses that have been imposed on us as universal narratives, explained Kilomba. A clean slate is not possible, but ignoring that hegemonic model seems desirable when it is time to create other worldviews. For example, the biennial opposes the Western conception of time as a straight line that advances towards a supposedly better future, substituted here by the temporality of native peoples. We have selected artists, collectives and social movements who understand time as a spiral, who believe in recurrences and who break with the idea of the past, present and future as if they were hermetic categories, explains Menezes. The setting itself reflects that idea: it is an immense open space where one can wander, with no defined sections or literal themes, guided by an enigma, in the words of Borja-Villel.

At the beginning of the exhibition there is an installation titled Parliament of Ghosts, by Ghanaian Ibrahim Mahama, that presents an empty brick square next to an abandoned railway, close to another work by Brazilian Ana Pi in which revolving metal blades penetrate some reddish earth; two metaphors of Western extractivism in which the silence of the oppressed seems to reign. Not far from there, a mix between Darth Vader and Mickey Mouse is poised for cutting logs with a chainsaw in a monumental installation that recreates a glade. Its name is Killing us Softly, by Filipino artist Kidlat Tahimik, who is determined to denounce the genocide of the forests and the harmful potential of the American cultural imperialism. We are tired of their stories, their songs and their superheroes, said Tahimik, standing next to his work. At its side, the Guatemalan Marilyn Boror Bor presented the pedestal of an absent sculpture, without a heroic figure crowning the ensemble, which the artist dedicated to the freedom of rivers, lakes, hills, mountains and flowers.

Far from only analyzing the present, as many contemporary biennials do, this one also scours the past in search of some tutelary figures that promoted this vindication of the excluded and defended mutant identities, such as Cuban Wifredo Lam, African-American Charles White or Franco-Antillean filmmaker Sarah Maldoror, a pioneer of Pan-Africanism. Going even further into the past, Borja-Villel obtained the supposedly impossible loan of an invaluable series of 116 Bolivian watercolors from the 19th century, the work of Melchor Maria Mercado, which subvert and satirize the colonial order and even contemplate an upside-down world where an ox uses two men, in a quasi-sodomistic position, to plow a field.

The Cabello/Carceller duo reminds us that gender dissent is not strictly a recent matter through the story of Catalina de Erauso, the lieutenant nun who took part in the Conquest with a papal bull that allowed her to dress as a man. Another duo, Patricia Gomez and Maria Jesus Gonzalez, presents a long series of graffiti that was transferred from the walls of prisons and psychiatric hospitals to the walls of the museum, albeit with no intention to take up the discourses on naive art that used to be so popular in the world of art until not so long ago.

The Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion, by Oscar Niemeyer, where the Sao Paulo Biennial is taking place. Levi Fanan

On the third floor, a series of pagan altars and mutant totems, as if adulterated by colonization, reflect the hybrid nature of contemporary identity in the works of Latin American artists such as Elda Cerrato, Rubem Valentim, Guadalupe Maravilla or Daniel Lind-Ramos. Benvenuto Chavajay stages atavistic rituals in current contexts, as if reaffirming their usefulness and validity in the present, in a fantasy example that ethnography would surely reject as unscientific. A similar role is played by the Yanomami filmmakers, who capture the dreams of the members of this Amazonian people in a series of videos that oscillate between the anthropological document and the poetic license.

The biennial is also committed to rereading the archives, as they tend to condemn the losers to always be losers, says Borja-Villel. A photographic collection about Argentine transgender individuals shows that they were not only victims of violent oppression; they were also beings who desired and were desired. Rosa Gauditanos work documents the lives of lesbians in Sao Paulo, who in addition to being ostracized are also excellent pool players, while Zumvi Arquivo Afro Fotografico shows the lives of the members of the working class in Salvador de Bahia, more complex than what the media shows: the nuns demonstrate, the poor have fun and the carnival is a political celebration.

Outres (2023) by Daniel Lie. Levi Fanan / Fundacao Bienal de Sao Paulo

Between dissident cosmogonies and large-format installations created with natural materials such as textiles, terracotta and turmeric in the work of Daniel Lie, one can find the restaurant of the biennial, run by the Movimento Sem Teto do Centro, which fights for the right to decent housing in the city. It only serves organic and ethically produced food, against the chemicals that slowly poison us, Menezes states. Over the tables, a series of colored banners display slogans such as Domestic is political or Ask the soil and the roots.
By Felix Light

(Reuters) - Russians finish voting on Sunday in tightly controlled regional and local elections that are likely to be interpreted by authorities as a vote of confidence in President Vladimir Putin.

Governors including Moscow's powerful mayor are up for election in 21 of Russia's regions from Siberia to the Black Sea coast.

Russian-installed authorities in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which Moscow unilaterally declared its territory last September, are also holding polls - which Kyiv and its allies have condemned.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "difficult to overstate the importance" of the round of elections.

In 2018, when the 21 regions last voted, an unpopular increase in the state pension age saw the ruling United Russia party lose four governors races, a stinging defeat for a group boosted by the Kremlin's near-monopoly of political news coverage.

But with years of suppression of dissent tightening significantly since Russia's invasion of Ukraine early last year, which it calls a "special military operation", such surprises seem unlikely this time round.

Remaining opposition figures have been cowed, exiled or, like the Kremlin's most potent critic Alexei Navalny, jailed. Electoral rights groups have been disbanded, and critical media shut down or driven abroad.

Although his once-influential political organisation has largely been destroyed, Navalny has tried to revive a strategy of encouraging his supporters to vote for those most likely to defeat United Russia.

All significant legal political forces, including the Kremlin-loyal opposition parties that provide a semblance of competition, are broadly loyal to Putin and support the war in Ukraine.

MOSCOW SEEKS TO AVOID ELECTION UPSETS

Even so, the Kremlin has gone to unusual lengths to avoid upsets. Strong opposition candidates, including sitting members of parliament, have been blocked from running for governor in their home regions.

Only one gubernatorial race - in the tiny Siberian region of Khakassia, where a Communist upset a Kremlin-backed incumbent in 2018 - was seen by observers as remotely competitive.

However, with the Communist governor seemingly heading for re-election, his United Russia opponent - a lawmaker who had fought in Ukraine - unexpectedly announced on Sept. 2 he was quitting the race on health grounds.

Stanislav Andreychuk, co-chair of Golos, a voting rights watchdog that Moscow has declared a "foreign agent", said the Kremlin had probably wanted to avoid an embarrassing defeat with a presidential election due in March.

The Kremlin has also expanded new electoral practices that critics say help in falsifying results.

Some regions are voting over several days, which critics say stretches observers thin. In Russian-controlled Kherson, where voting began on Aug. 31, the governor on Thursday declared Sept. 8 a holiday to encourage those who had not yet voted to do so.

Others will employ an online voting scheme that opposition activists allege was used to illegitimately boost United Russias vote in the 2021 election to the lower house of parliament, the State Duma.

Authorities deny all allegations of vote manipulation. But Andreychuk said he expected turnout in the various elections to be down despite strong pressure, usually from employers in state institutions or large concerns, to cast ballots.

In a report in July, Golos likened the atmosphere surrounding the elections to "martial law" and said authorities had "officially recognised their willingness to ignore their own constitutional standards".

In part of the southwestern region of Belgorod, which has suffered from repeated cross-border shelling blamed on Ukraine, voting for two local assemblies was postponed due to a state of emergency in effect in 15 locations.

(This story has been corrected to remove an erroneous reference the election being the first since the beginning of the war, in the headline and paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Felix Light; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
FILE PHOTO: Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the plenary session of the 2023 BRICS Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa on August 23, 2023. GIANLUIGI GUERCIA/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) -Eschewing face-time with foreign leaders at global summits this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday visited the homes of villagers in a rural part of northeast China battered by floods.

In the village of Longwangmiao in Heilongjiang province, Xi called on local residents to triumph over their difficulties and work towards returning life to a more normal footing, according to state media reports. He also enquired about their losses and supply of daily necessities.

In late July through early August, record rainfall laid waste to vast swathes of northern China, flooding cities and farmlands unused to powerful storms more common in the south, but Xi did not visit any of the disaster-hit areas until this week.

Inspecting rice crops and damaged homes in Longwangmiao battered by remnants of the super typhoon Doksuri, Xi skipped an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Indonesia this week.

He will also miss the chance on Saturday and Sunday to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden at a G20 conclave in India.

But Xi did attend a meeting in late August with leaders of the BRICS group of major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - in South Africa.

Alfred Wu, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said that Xi's speed in visiting disaster-stricken areas in China has usually been much slower than his immediate predecessors Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, a possible consequence of Xi's centralisation of power.

"These delays are common in Xi's regime, it is not a good look for him," Wu said.

"We know that the floods started in July, but he probably got the information late, and then in August he was busy with BRICS, so only now has his agenda cleared."

China has not explained why Xi, who had attended every G20 summit since coming to office over a decade ago, was not leading Beijing's delegation to New Delhi. It has said only that Premier Li Qiang will represent China.

By comparison, Xi left China for five overseas visits in 2022 - when the country's borders were effectively closed due to pandemic controls - and a dozen in pre-COVID 2019.

Reuters, citing foreign diplomats in China, previously reported that Xi's absence at the upcoming G20 could be a sign of Beijing's increasing coolness to the West and its allies.

Instead, some Western leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and senior officials including U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken this year had to come to China to see Xi.

Alfredo Montufar-Helu, head of think tank The Conference Board's China Center, said that from a geopolitical perspective, attending the BRICS summit in South Africa was a higher priority for Xi than the G20.

"There is not only no strategic goal to be achieved at the G20, but there is also a risk that the U.S. and its allies use the meeting to criticize his government," Montufar-Helu said.

"It is more of a priority for him to pay attention to the domestic situation given the impact of the economic slowdown and natural disasters on people's livelihoods."

(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Alexandra Hudson)
An aerial view shows flooded villages in Minhou county after heavy rains brought by typhoon Haikui, in Fuzhou, Fujian province, China September 5, 2023. cnsphoto via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT.

BEIJING (Reuters) -The remnants of Typhoon Haikui drenched southern China for a third day since making landfall, and airports in Guangdong province cancelled hundreds of flights due to stormy weather on Thursday though winds had weakened.

Although storm clouds moved westward towards Guangdong, one of the country's richest provinces, more downpours were still forecast for the southeastern province of Fujian, where state media reported economic losses had reached 5.054 billion yuan ($690.81 million) since the typhoon made landfall on Tuesday.

In Guangdong's capital Guangzhou, Baiyun Airport, one of the busiest in China, cancelled 316 flights and delayed 271, according to flight tracking app Flight Master. Shenzhen's Baoan Airport cancelled 176 flights and delayed half of its flights while Zhuhai's Jinwan Airport cancelled 91 and delayed 74.

Torrential rain reportedly led to rivers overflowing in the Guangdong town Tangxi, and some villages suffered severe waterlogging. Over 350 people, including elderly, women and children were relocated from low-lying areas, according to state media.

The China Meteorological Administration forecast rainstorms in central and eastern Guangdong, the southern part of Jiangxi province, southern areas in Hunan province, the northeastern areas of the Guangxi region, and the central part of the island of Hainan, while northern parts of Guangdong and the southeastern coast of the province were expected to be hit harder.

Later this week, the storms are expected to continue in Guangxi bringing the southwestern region extreme rainfall on Friday and Saturday before potentially dissipating on Sunday. Authorities issued warnings of mountain torrents and geological disasters for the cities of Guilin, Laibin, Guigang and Wuzhou.

Flooding in parts of Fujian province during the past two days forced the evacuation of nearly 300,000 people and damaged more than 2,500 homes.

Almost 10,000 hectares (24, 710 acres) of crops in Fujian were inundated.

Intense rains in the city of Fuzhou shattered 12-year-old rainfall records, surpassing the amount brought by Typhoon Doksuri late July.

($1 = 7.3160 yuan)

(Reporting by Liz Lee and Shanghai newsroom; Additional reporting by Sophie Yu; Editing by Christian Schmollinger & Simon Cameron-Moore)
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol attends the ASEAN-South Korea Summit at the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 6, 2023. Tatan Syuflana/Pool via REUTERS

By Soo-hyang Choi and Cynthia Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol asked Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday if Beijing could do more as a U.N. Security Council member to address North Korea's nuclear threat.

Yoon told Li China should do more to "fulfil its responsibility and role as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council" and stressed that Seoul's ties with Washington and Tokyo would only strengthen to counter North Korea, a statement from South Korea's Presidential office showed.

Yoon met Li on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Jakarta.

Li, for his part, reiterated China's support for both sides on the Korean peninsula to advance reconciliation and cooperation.

"China has always advocated maintaining peace and stability on the peninsula and will continue to promote peace talks," China's foreign ministry quoted Li as saying in his meeting with Yoon.

Since 2006, North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions over its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons tests, but there are aid exemptions.

Hours earlier, Yoon said North Korea's nuclear programme was a threat to all countries participating at the East Asia Summit, and stressed that U.N. member states should follow the Security Council's resolutions.

The East Asia Summit includes the ASEAN bloc, China, Japan, the United States and others.

"The responsibility is heavier for the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council who actually adopted the resolutions," he said.

For the past several years, the U.N. Security Council has been divided over how to deal with North Korea. Russia and China have said more sanctions will not help and want such measures to be eased.

Yoon's remarks come amid reports North Korean leader Kim Jong Un plans to travel to Russia this month to meet President Vladimir Putin and discuss weapons supplies to Moscow.

The United States has said North Korea would pay a price for supplying Russia with weapons to use in Ukraine. South Korea has said the U.N. member states should not violate sanctions, including through arms deals.

Yoon's meeting with Li came after the South Korean leader called for a rules-based maritime order in the South China Sea and as he vowed to enhance cooperation with China and Japan.

In an interview with Indonesia's Kompas newspaper published on Tuesday, Yoon said it was time to put relations among the three Asian countries "back on track".

Yoon said any attempts to change the status quo by force in the South China Sea could not be tolerated.

China claims most of the energy-rich waters but neighbours Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.

"We need to establish a rules-based maritime order in the South China Sea, a key sea lane in the region, for the Indo-Pacific region to continue prospering, with ASEAN playing a pivotal role for growth," Yoon said.

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi and Jack Kim; Additional reporting by Ethan Wang and Bernard Orr in Beijing; Editing by Tom Hogue, Michael Perry and Nick Macfie)
A Boeing 737 MAX-10 lands over the Spirit AeroSystems logo during a flying display at the 54th International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 22, 2023. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/file photo

By Valerie Insinna

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier of parts for jetliners, has asked Boeing and Airbus to absorb more of the financial pain caused by inflation that makes its contracts "not sustainable," Spirit CEO Tom Gentile said on Thursday.

In the first half of the year, Spirit took about $215 million in charges on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A220 and A350 programs, due to wage inflation, parts shortages and greater regulatory scrutiny, he said at an investor conference.

"All of those programs are under pressure," he noted. "And it really is not sustainable for Spirit. So we are having discussions with our customers, with Boeing and Airbus, about these pressures that we're facing and how we address them."

Spirit shares closed down 7.3%.

Spirit executives first alluded to the need to reopen contract negotiations with Boeing and Airbus in August.

Gentile on Thursday pointed to "disappointing" Airbus A220 production rates, noting that only 65 to 70 jets are likely to be made this year instead of the 100 Spirit had expected to build wings and other parts for.

Spirit previously forecast the program would break even or begin to be profitable in 2025 after hitting a monthly production rate of 14 A220s per month.

That timeframe appears to have been delayed "and we need to have that discussion with Airbus," he said, noting similar talks about the A350.

Spirit is also discussing the Dreamliner program with Boeing, Gentile said, as the parts maker has logged $1.4 billion in reach-forward losses and needs relief to ramp up 787 production to Boeing's target of 10 per month by 2026.

"With both Boeing and Airbus, we've been an open book in terms of sharing all of the cost data so they understand and know that we've been working on different opportunities (to cut costs) and have exhausted those," he said.

(Reporting by Valerie Insinna and Pratyush Thakur; Editing by Richard Chang)
FILE PHOTO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, U.S., September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

By David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Treasury will push for a general increase in International Monetary Fund quota resources this year that would maintain the IMF's current voting power allocations for the time being, the department's top economic diplomat said on Thursday.

Jay Shambaugh, the Treasury's undersecretary for international affairs, said ahead of a G20 leaders summit in India that the Treasury is also pressing for ways to shore up the IMF's fund for the world's poorest countries, the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, as it seeks to bolster the IMF's lending resources to deal with continuing economic stress.

"We are making a commitment to reinvest in the IMF," Shambaugh said at a Center for Global Development event. "This year, we will support an increase in quotas  for a broad increase across all members  with the goal of strengthening the IMF as a shareholder institution at the core of the global financial safety net."

His remarks come as President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen attend the G20 summit in India, where they are advocating for reforms and more funding for the IMF and World Bank as sources of high-standard lending that can provide countries an alternative to borrowing from China.

A quota increase would require member countries, particularly its larger, wealthier shareholders, to contribute more funds at a time of slowing growth and tighter fiscal budgets following years of pandemic spending.

Shambaugh, who manages the dominant U.S. shareholding in both institutions, said that for now, the U.S. supports an "equiproportional" increase in IMF quotas -- allocated in proportion to existing shares -- as a way to quickly get the IMF the resources it needs and allow member countries to access larger loans.

But over time, the U.S. would work towards a new quota formula that would recognize the rising economic clout of dynamic emerging markets, he said.

Among the biggest winners of that process would be China, India and Brazil. Without naming them, Shambaugh said an important part of that process would be to ensure that countries "that would see and increase in share, are respecting the rules and norms of the IMF and working to strengthen the international monetary system."

The comment was partly a swipe at China's rampant lending to developing countries and reluctance to engage on debt restructurings.

"Part of the rules of the game are, if you're doing a lot of lending, you need to recognize when that lending has gone bad, and work globally to get a country out of that position," he said.

The IMF is aiming to complete a review of its quota resources -- which form the biggest part of its $1 trillion in total lending firepower -- by Dec. 15, and is seeking "considerable progress" by IMF annual meetings in Morocco in October.

Shambaugh ruled out a new allocation of IMF Special Drawing Rights resources and said the Fund needed to stick to its core activities of strong surveillance, policy advice and reforms required in its lending.

He said the IMF must be willing to "walk away" if a country fails to take needed reform steps to restore economic stability. "A program with insufficient adjustment will just leave the country back in the same or worse economic position, often with more debt. If a program lacks credibility, it cannot bring new private financing along with it."

He did not single out any IMF loans that have gone through multiple revisions, such as the recent easing of targets for Argentina's struggling $44 billion loan program.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Diane Craft)
FILE PHOTO-The South Korean and American flags fly next to each other at Yongin, South Korea, August 23, 2016. Picture taken on August 23, 2016. Courtesy Ken Scar/U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

SEOUL (Reuters) - Defence chiefs from the U.S., South Korea and Japan on Thursday jointly condemned North Korea's recent test of missiles and agreed to accelerate missile tracking cooperation, South Korea's Ministry of National Defence said in a statement.

The ministers from three countries also agreed to hold training in the near future as part of defence measures against Pyongyang's nuclear threats.

(Reporting by Cynthia Kim; Editing by Alex Richardson)
By Andrew MacAskill and Alistair Smout

LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faces another difficult vote to fill a vacant seat in parliament after a lawmaker suspended for groping two men at a London club last year resigned.

Chris Pincher, who sat as an independent for more than a year after being sanctioned by the ruling Conservative Party, quit on Thursday three days after losing an appeal against an eight-week ban from the House of Commons.

"I do not want my constituents to be put to further uncertainty," said Pincher, 53, who was first elected to parliament in 2010 and during his political career served as a minister for housing and Europe.

"I have made arrangements to resign and leave the Commons," he added in a statement.

The accusations of sexual misconduct against Pincher, whose role as deputy chief whip involved enforcing party discipline, contributed to the collapse of Boris Johnson's government after the former prime minister initially played down the allegations.

The prospect of another difficult by-election could intensify pressure on Sunak, whose Conservative Party lost two out of three parliamentary seats contested in July.

He is struggling to re-energise his premiership ahead of a national election expected next year.

Although the Conservatives won Pincher's Tamworth seat with a majority of 19,634 in 2019, the party is trailing heavily behind the opposition Labour Party in opinion polls.

The vote to replace Pincher is likely to be held on the same day as another by-election to replace former culture minister and Sunak critic Nadine Dorries on Oct. 19.

Two men told parliament's standards committee that Pincher touched them inappropriately at a private club last year. The committee said in its June report that the physical contact was "unwanted, upsetting and deeply inappropriate".

A spokesperson for Johnson initially claimed he was not aware of "specific allegations" of previous complaints of sexual misconduct against Pincher before appointing him to a role that involves offering pastoral care in the Conservative Party.

Johnson had been briefed on the allegations but had forgotten, the spokesperson later clarified.

Pincher has apologised for his behaviour and said he had been unable to recall the events.

(Reporting by Muvija M, Alistair Smout and Andrew MacAskill; editing by William James and Andrew Cawthorne)
Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Award Gala in New York City, U.S., December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Five former London police officers on Thursday admitted sending grossly offensive racist messages to each other on WhatsApp, which included references to Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and other members of the royal family.

The five officers, who have all retired, were charged after an investigation by BBC's Newsnight programme which discovered the men had sent the messages between August 2018 and September 2022, a period when they had all left the police.

Three of the messages featured racist comments about Meghan, the wife of King Charles' younger son, Prince Harry. Meghan's mother is Black and her father is white.

One of these messages also included a picture of the late Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, while others referenced Charles' eldest son and heir Prince William and his wife Kate, along with Rishi Sunak, Britain's first prime minister of colour.

The former officers, aged in their 60s, pleaded guilty to sending offensive messages at a hearing at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court.

"The racist and discriminatory content of these messages is absolutely appalling and, given the defendants once served as police officers, we recognise that this case may further damage confidence in policing," said Commander James Harman, who leads the Metropolitan Police's Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command.

The London force has been plagued by scandal in recent years and an independent review in March concluded it was institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic. Its new chief, Mark Rowley, has promised to rid it of unsuitable individuals among its more than 43,000 officers and staff.

The five men had all worked in various departments at the police but had all served in the Diplomatic Protection Group, which in the last year has seen one former member convicted of murder and rape, and another jailed for carrying out 24 rapes and other sex offences over two decades.

(Reporting by Michael Holden and Sam Tobin; Editing by Nick Macfie)
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ukraine is making progress with a counter offensive started in June to reclaim territory seized by Russia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, even though it was slow going due to Russian fortifications and minefields.

"The Ukrainians are gradually gaining ground...They have been able to breach the defensive lines of the Russian forces, and they are moving forward," Stoltenberg told lawmakers in remarks at the European Parliament.

Since launching its offensive, Kyiv has struggled to break through entrenched Russian lines and has faced growing criticism in Western media of concentrating forces in the wrong places.

With Moscow's stretched military resources and dissent in the ranks, however, both sides have measured recent successes by taking control of tiny villages or small pockets of land.

Stoltenberg said it had to be expected that the offensive would be advancing only slowly.

"No one ever said that this was going to be easy," he noted. "Hardly any time in history we have seen more mines on the battlefield than we are seeing in Ukraine today. So it was obvious that this was going to be extremely difficult."

Ukrainian officials have said in the past week that their forces have managed to push past Russia's first line of defences but now confronted further lines in areas where Moscow has had time to build up fortifications and minefields.

"They are making progress. Not perhaps as much as we hoped for but they are gaining ground gradually," said the NATO chief. "Some hundred meters per day, meaning that when the Ukrainians are gaining ground, the Russians are losing ground."

Praising the Ukrainian forces for their achievements on the battlefield, he added: "The starting point is that the Russian army used to be the second strongest in the world. And now the Russian army is the second strongest in Ukraine. That's quite impressive by Ukrainians."

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold and Marine Strauss; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
Every child, sooner or later, faces the question that adults love to ask: what you be when you grow up? It is often followed by another: will you do what your mom or dad does? For Pietro Castellitto, there are two options; an actor and filmmaker, like Sergio, or a writer, like Margaret Mazzantini. Although there is always a third option: something else. I grew up in a family that did everything they could to prevent me from choosing this career. It has the risk of changing your personality. You cant control it, and it depends a lot on being in the right place at the right time. Ive tried not to be a filmmaker, he tells EL PAIS. Clearly, though, he failed, because this Tuesday Castellitto presented Enea, his second film as a director, at the Venice Film Festival.

This year, the Mostra has plenty of well-known last names, enough so to ask whether their families ushered them onto the red carpet. Or was fame a weight on their shoulders, allowing them a more skeptical gaze? Spoiled children or future geniuses, or both, or neither? The answer is in the hands of time. And the audiences.

It has always happened, in the history of art. How many children have become even better painters than their parents? If you are born into a family of directors, or performers, you learn a love for cinema along with your mothers milk. They may reject their parents work. But, if they choose it, it obviously makes it easier for them: they acquire specific skills, but also knowledge and contacts, says Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the festival. Sooner or later, though, the young filmmaker must begin to walk on their own legs. Only then, perhaps, can they see if they can stand alone. Just think of Javier and Carlos Bardem, or the Fondas, the Douglases or the Skarsgards.

Sofia Coppola has turned the issue back on those who question her. Is your father asked about you more than the other way around? She was asked in a talk with a group of international journalists at the Lido, where she presented her film Priscilla. Apart from thanking Francis Ford for his lessons, she talked about Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides  that is, of everything she has created since her beginnings.

Sergio Castellitto presents 'Enea' this Tuesday at the Venice Film Festival. YARA NARDI (REUTERS)

For the other children of the Mostra, however, it still seems impossible for them to avoid their parents long shadows. Perhaps for this reason, many prefer to embrace it. Enea is directed by and stars Pietro, but also includes his brother, Cesare, and his father Sergio. The Mexicans Mariana and Santiago Arriaga, for their first feature, Upon Open Sky, have filmed a script written by their celebrated father, Guillermo. Marina Alberti focuses the short Aitana on her mother, the daughter of Maria Teresa Leon and Rafael Alberti. And the documentary Opus was a family pact: when the pianist Ryuichi Sakamoto learned that his life was coming to an end, he gathered his strength for one last concert. He trusted only one director with the film: his son, Neo Sora.

Upon Open Sky was written by Guillermo in the mid-nineties. Since we were children we knew it existed, but it was only in 2016 that Santiago found the manuscript while he was organizing boxes of documents at home with our mother. He immediately told me that he found what could be our first film. Since then, we wanted to direct it, recalls Mariana Arriaga. The three attest to the pleasures of making movies as a family. And Santiago emphasizes that his responsibility was with the story and with working as best they could: The rest is not in our control. A famous parent can increase the opportunities and give their children a passion for film, but at the same time, the scrutiny increases.

Olmo and Julian Schnabel on Sunday at the Venice Film Festival. YARA NARDI (REUTERS)

Did they get here on their own merits? Was it Olmo Schnabel who managed to sign performers like Willem Dafoe for his debut, Pet Shop Days, or did dad Julian contribute? Is Eneas large budget due only to confidence in the talent of Pietro Castellitto? Does this reflect the hermeticism of cinema as an art that only the bourgeois can afford? It is inevitable for directors without a famous last name to ask themselves such questions. Sofia Coppola herself admits to having wondered about it: I have always considered myself very lucky. And I have thought about how people who come from outside can have more access. Its such a closed world.

Some of the films do not resolve those questions. Both Upon Open Sky and Enea have bright moments, but they also have several problems. The former has received mixed reviews: a gripping revenge road movie to some; a flat and ill-fated story to others. And Castellittos film is as full of ambition as it is lacking in balance. It may be just the hunger to prove his worth, but the director has put so much meat on the grill that none of it can be savored at ease: ideas follow one another to the point of stepping on each other. The feeling of not knowing what will happen next is appreciated, but the viewer ends up saturated, discovering, once the fireworks go off, a not-so-complex background landscape. At least, yes, the creator tries. The rest, perhaps, will come with experience.

Being someones child can help a bit if you dont have talent, if your goal is to appear as an extra in a series. But if you want to do things with commitment and quality, you risk it, maybe even more than the others, argues Castellitto. The filmmaker reports that he works alone on his scripts; his family only sees them at the end. The lessons from artist parents, for him, have more impact in another area: knowing from the start the ups and downs of the trade, the great joys and the tremendous disappointments. You are more prepared and willing to endure, he says.

Those are useful qualities, for life, even far from the cinema. But Guillermo Arriaga celebrates something even more relevant in his children: They learned from their mother and me that they shouldnt be afraid of anything, that life is worth it, especially professionally, because of the ability to take risks and bet. The passion and dedication that they have put into their first feature film are a source of pride. But their greatest virtue is in the people they became, above any professional achievement. Teachers, bakers, cashiers, film directors: what does it matter what each child will be when they grow up? Let them do what they love, suggests Sofia Coppola. Because there is one trade that all parents hopes to pass on: being a good person.
Flowers left by local residents to pay tribute to civilian people killed yesterday by a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, are seen at the strike site in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Vyacheslav

By Vitalii Hnidyi

KOSTIANTYNIVKA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Stunned residents left flowers at a makeshift memorial in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka on Thursday as they mourned the 16 people killed in a Russian attack a day earlier.

Some stopped to stare at the charred remains of shopping kiosks at the central market that were torn apart by a huge explosion which officials said was caused by a Russian missile.

"I personally saw many (wounded) women, 30 years and older," market worker Bohdan Oriekhov, whose hand was bandaged, told Reuters by the market.

"And one man who was brought in on a stretcher  he was hysterical, screamed, and cried: 'Where is my wife? What happened to my wife?'."

A white and pink cuddly toy had been left beside flowers on the pavement, parts of which were still stained with blood.

"Someone with a child came to see the vendor (at a nearby market kiosk). There were three dead bodies: a small child, (the vendor) and her friend," said another market vendor who gave his name only as Volodymyr.

Another witness, Olena Lavryk, lost a friend in the attack and had been nearby at the time of the strike.

"(There was an)...explosion, flames I had no fear at first. The fear came in 10 minutes," she said. "Our good acquaintance died where I'm standing. She was a young woman, she sold groceries. She died right here behind me."

She said a woman who had been selling cosmetics had also been killed, adding: "She was burning, her clothes were on fire. She also was a young woman."

Ukrainian officials revised the death toll on Thursday to 16, with a further 33 wounded. They had initially said 17 had been killed in the attack, carried out as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the capital, Kyiv.

"Just yesterday we saw the bombing of a market.. A market. For what?" Blinken said on Thursday, the second day of his visit to Ukraine. "

"This is what Ukrainians are living with every day?" he asked.

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians although it has repeatedly hit cities and towns across Ukraine since its invasion 18 months ago.

(Reporting by Vitalii Hnidyi, Writing by Timothy Heritage, Editing by Tom Balmforth)
FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko addresses "The Framework for Lasting Recovery" session on the first day of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London, Britain June 21, 2023. Henry Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine has started exporting grain via Croatian seaports, aiming to broaden its export routes while its Black Sea ports are blocked, a senior Ukrainian official said on Thursday.

Ukraine's main grain export route is usually via its deep Black Sea ports, but Kyiv has been looking for alternative routes since Russia invasion last year and Moscow's decision to quit the Black Sea grain export deal in mid-July.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said during a visit to Zagreb in late July that Ukraine and Croatia had agreed on the possibility of using Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for the export of Ukrainian grain.

"Ukrainian grain has already been exported through Croatian ports. We are grateful for this possibility. Although it is a niche trade route, it is already popular," First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said in a written statement.

"We are ready to develop it by expanding the capabilities of the transport corridor," she said. "We believe that this logistics route will play an important role in bilateral trade between our countries even after the war."

Svyrydenko did not say how much Ukrainian grain had already been shipped via Croatian ports.

Since Russia quit the U.N.-brokered deal that had guaranteed safe exports of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, Kyiv has increasingly used its Danube River ports to export grain. Russia has, however, been attacking Ukrainian port infrastructure on the Danube.

Some exports are also sent by rail, but Ukrainian brokers have said rail deliveries to European ports are much more expensive than direct exports via Ukrainian ports.

The Ukrainian traders union UGA said this week the 2023 combined grain and oilseed harvest could reach 80.5 million metric tons, and this means that around 49 million tons could be exported in 2023/24 July-June season.

The agriculture ministry said this month that exports totalled 4.5 million tons as of Sept. 1.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Svitlana Riabtseva hugs her children Angelina, 10, and Oleksandr, 9, after their return from the occupied territory of Ukraine via the Ukraine-Belarus border, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Volyn region, Ukraine September 3, 2023. REUTERS/Andriy Peru

By Tom Balmforth and Stefaniia Bern

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's human rights commissioner has called for more international pressure on Moscow to help Kyiv bring home thousands of Ukrainian children who Kyiv says have been illegally taken to Russia during the war.

Dmytro Lubinets spoke to Reuters in Kyiv days after several minors were reunited with their parents in western Ukraine on Saturday after a journey home from Russia and Russian-held areas.

"When Russia feels international pressure, that's when we can bring more Ukrainian children back," he said.

Matters had got "easier" since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in March.

The ICC has accused Putin and Russia's Children's Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Moscow, which invaded in February 2022, has repeatedly denied its forces have engaged in war crimes or forcibly taken Ukrainian children. It has said it transported Ukrainian children to protect them from fighting on the ground.

Ukraine has repatriated 406 children so far and does not know exactly how many more there are in total because it does not have access to Russia or swathes of occupied territory in the south and east, Lubinets said.

Kyiv has identified and verified almost 20,000 who have been taken, he said.

The children Ukraine seeks to return include ones taken from orphanages, those who had parents but were "kidnapped" and taken away, children who became orphans during the war and those who were separated from their parents during filtration, he added.

'VERY DIFFICULT'

Svitlana Riabtseva, 39, was among a group of parents who were reunited with their children on Saturday night in western Ukraine where they had arrived from Russia via other countries.

She said she had put her children, now 10 and 9, in a state boarding school in Kupiansk, a town in the east occupied by the Russians at that time. She said she returned five days later and found the children had been taken away and bussed deep into Russian-occupied Ukraine.

"I panicked, I was hysterical," she said told Reuters in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Kupiansk was liberated in September in a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Chaos followed and there was no mobile connection. Riabtseva said she was eventually able to appeal for help from Ukrainian authorities who brought back the children to Ukrainian territory last weekend.

"They (the children) still seem frightened and they are scared of everything. They don't talk about it at all."

Reuters could not independently verify the details of her account.

Lubinets described the process of repatriating children as "very difficult". He said he did not want to disclose the mechanism so as not to compromise future missions.

He said Ukraine was partnering with non-governmental groups like Orphans Feeding Foundation, a Dutch NGO that is helping coordinate a programme launched by the president's office under the slogan "Bring Kids Back UA".

Lubinets said nine children were brought back to Ukraine last week. Eleven were returned the week before.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; editing by Angus MacSwan)
FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou at the Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, August 21, 2023. Theodore Manolopoulos/Greek Presidency Press Office/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday discussed ways in which Israel can support Kyiv in its conflict with Russia, the Ukrainian leader's office said.

Zelenskiy has previously urged Israel to provide more open support for Kyiv and criticised its attempts to maintain an even-handed approach in the 18-month-old war.

"The president noted the importance of Israel's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," read the account of the conversation on the Ukrainian presidential website.

"The two sides discussed possible paths of Israeli support for Ukraine in opposing Russia's invasion."

Israel has provided Ukraine with humanitarian and diplomatic assistance but not arms, mindful of the need to coordinate Israeli air strikes against Iranian targets in neighbouring Syria with Moscow given Russia's clout with Damascus.

Netanyahu's office said the two leaders discussed "the continuation of Israeli assistance to Ukraine, including to Ukrainian refugees in Israel, as well as the advancement of development assistance of civilian air defence systems".

Netanyahu also asked Zelenskiy to ensure safe conditions for the annual pilgrimmage this month by Hasidic Jews from around the world to Uman in central Ukraine, burial place of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, who revived the Hasidic movement and died in 1810.

Zelenskiy, who is of Jewish descent, said Ukraine was happy to welcome the pilgrims but noted that there was capacity in air raid shelters for only 11,000 people and Israel estimates up to 50,000 could attend.

"This is a security challenge which will require an emergency joint response," the website quoted him as saying.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Henriette Chacar; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 15, 2023. Jade Gao/Pool via REUTERS

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States and the European Union on Thursday criticised remarks about the World War Two persecution of Jews and antisemitism by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

In a statement, the EU's diplomatic service said the 87-year-old Abbas' remarks, made in late August to a meeting of his Fatah movement's Revolutionary Council, were "false and grossly misleading".

Deborah Lipstadt, U.S. special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, called for an immediate apology for what she called Abbas' "hateful, antisemitic remarks".

It was not clear why the diplomats issued statements on the remarks on Thursday, two weeks after Abbas made them on Aug. 24.

The Middle East Media Research Institute, a Washington-based media-monitoring group considered close to Israel, published an English-language translation of his remarks on its website on Wednesday.

In his remarks, Abbas said Jews were targeted by Nazi Germany because of their "social role" rather than their religion.

"This has been explained by many Jewish authors. When they said that Hitler killed the Jews for being Jews, and that Europe hates the Jews because they were Jews, no. It was clearly explained that they fought (the Jews) because of their social role and not their religion," Abbas said.

Abbas' spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said the president's remarks "were quotes from writings by Jewish and American authors and historians" and not a denial of the Holocaust.

"President Mahmoud Abbas' position on this topic is clear and has been documented, and it is the total condemnation of the Nazi Holocaust and a rejection of antisemitism," said Rudeineh.

Abbas has frequently drawn the anger of the international community with remarks about the Nazi Holocaust, in which around 6 million Jews were murdered, as well as members of groups such as the Roma community, people with disabilities and those from sexual and gender minorities.

In a statement, the foreign affairs spokesman for the EU, one of the major donors to the Palestinian Authority, called the remarks "an insult to the millions of victims of the Holocaust and their families".

"Such historical distortions are inflammatory, deeply offensive, can only serve to exacerbate tensions in the region and serve no one's interests," he said. "They play into the hands of those who do not want a two-state solution, which President Abbas has repeatedly advocated for."

The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in territory occupied by Israel since the 1967 Middle East war and where Palestinians seek to establish an independent state.

Abbas' remarks were also condemned by Germany's ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, who said in a post on the social messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter: "The Palestinians deserve to hear the historical truth from their leader, not such distortions."

During a visit to Berlin last year, Abbas was rebuked by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz after he accused Israel of committing "50 Holocausts" in response to a question about the 50th anniversary of the attack by Palestinian militants on the Israeli team at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Abbas has rebuffed repeated demands from the Palestinian public to step down during his two decades in power.

(This story has been refiled to add the dropped word 'Media' in the organization's name in paragraph 5)

(Reporting by Emily Rose, James Mackenzie and Ali Sawafta; editing by Mark Heinrich and Leslie Adler)
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) leaves a Republican luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinFile photo

By Drazen Jorgic

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -U.S. officials and anti-narcotics agents turned a blind eye to Mexican corruption for decades, according to a report released on Thursday by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley's office and which calls for a re-think of future security cooperation.

Grassley, the Republican co-chair of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, has been a thorn in the side of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), often accusing it of mismanaging resources and failing to conduct oversight of foreign operations despite mounting evidence of problems.

Grassley's efforts to question DEA leaders and seek answers have largely been met with silence, prompting his office to take the unusual step of writing about the perceived failures in joint U.S.-Mexico efforts to fight drug cartels.

Tracing allegations of corruption back to the 1980s, Grassley's report accuses generations of U.S. officials of disregarding graft by their Mexican counterparts in order to get their cooperation in seizing drugs and arresting traffickers. But doing so placed U.S. agents at risk and hurt the long-term fight against the cartels, the report argues.

"For the past 40 years, U.S. officials have overlooked widespread corruption in Mexico in favor of cooperating with and funneling resources to foreign actors," said the report.

"The costs were enormous in terms of human lives and taxpayer resources," according to the report, which called on the U.S. Congress to reevaluate Washington's security cooperation policies in the Western Hemisphere.

The DEA said it follows evidence across the globe, including the investigation and prosecution of public corruption.

"DEA remains relentlessly committed to working in close cooperation with our partners in the United States and our Mexican counterparts to save lives by bringing drug traffickers to justice and disrupting the illicit drug supply chain," a DEA spokesperson said.

Mexico's presidency did not respond to a request for comment.

Privately, many DEA officials in the past have said it is impossible to get results in Mexico without the cooperation of local officials, some of whom they suspect are corrupt.

The report adds to mounting criticism, particularly from Republicans, that the Biden administration has been ineffective in its fight against fentanyl and failed to get Mexico to take stronger action against criminal groups producing and trafficking the synthetic opioid.

"This report paints an ugly picture of U.S. drug enforcement efforts in Mexico and makes clear that we need an improved response and sharper congressional oversight of this issue," Grassley said in a statement sent to Reuters. "We must hold U.S. federal agencies and corrupt Mexican officials accountable and get serious about ending the cartels and protecting our communities."

HIGH-PROFILE CASES

The report points to the case of former Mexican Security Minister Genaro Garcia Luna as one example among many of high-profile Mexican corruption. It alleges that the DEA had credible information in 2010 that Garcia Luna, who was a minister at the time, was working for the Sinaloa Cartel but failed to share the information with the then-U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

A U.S. court earlier this year convicted Garcia Luna of taking millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel.

The report also alleges the DEA had credible information that the commander of one of the Sensitive Investigative Units (SIU), which were elite teams of vetted Mexican police working with American agents, was also working for the Sinaloa Cartel but continued to give him awards, training and sensitive information.

The DEA spokesperson said the agency "led the investigation and prosecution" of both Garcia Luna and the SIU commander, along with U.S. Attorney's Offices in the United States and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The kidnapping, torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 1985 in Mexico is also given prominence in the report. Citing trial testimony, Grassley's office points out there were allegations Manuel Bartlett, Mexico's then-interior minister, was linked to his killing.

Bartlett, who is an influential ally of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and today runs Mexico's state power utility, has always denied involvement in Camarena's murder.

Bartlett's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The report also said oversight of security equipment given to Mexico under the multi-billion Merida Initiative was inadequate. The U.S. military initially gave military aid to Mexico to fight drug cartels under the terms of that deal, which was announced in 2007.

It also said the Bicentennial Framework, a new U.S.-Mexico initiative designed to address production of synthetic drugs, particularly fentanyl, and weapons smuggling, was unworkable due to restrictions Mexico's government placed on its officials.

(Reporting by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Paul Simao and Leslie Adler)
A U.S. Capitol Police Officer walks a K-9 dog in front of the Capitol amid ongoing talks over government funding, as the threat of an October government shutdown looms on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 6, 2023. REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's latest request for Ukraine assistance faced new hurdles in the U.S. Congress on Thursday as factions of Republicans argued over federal spending ahead of a possible October government shutdown.

Last month, Biden asked Congress to approve $40 billion in additional spending, including $24 billion for Ukraine and other international needs and $16 billion in disaster relief, testing the country's willingness to keep supporting Ukraine during its counteroffensive against Russian invaders.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say Ukraine's counteroffensive, which has so far failed to penetrate Russia's main defenses, is going slower than they expected and hoped.

The Senate and House of Representatives are due to consider the request this month, possibly adding it to a short-term spending bill to keep the government open after Sept. 30 while they debate a budget for next year.

The Republican-majority House is divided, with many Republicans backing the aid but some of the party's farthest-right members calling for an end to the Ukraine assistance. Citing Republican sources, CNN and other news outlets reported that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is considering legislation including the disaster aid but leaving out the Ukraine funding.

McCarthy's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate, which is narrowly controlled by Biden's fellow Democrats, repeatedly pushed for the aid this week.

"We must continue to show Putin and the forces of autocracy that the U.S. stands firmly behind Ukraine. The worst thing we could do right now for our own national security, and for our democratic values, is to waver or hesitate in our support," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

"Standing with our allies against (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is directly and measurably strengthening the U.S. military, growing the U.S. industrial base, and supporting thousands of good-paying American jobs," Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new package of wartime assistance worth more than $1 billion during a visit to Kyiv on Wednesday, saying the assistance would help build momentum for the counteroffensive, which began in June.

The Biden administration has pressured Congress to act. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan held a classified briefing on Thursday for Senate leadership and committee leaders from both parties.

The White House issued a statement urging McCarthy to back the supplemental spending request and contrasting him with Senate Republicans.

"Like Senate Republicans, Speaker McCarthy should keep his word about government funding," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.

"And he should do so in a way that acts on these pressing issues  including fentanyl, national security, and disaster response  rather than break his promise and cave to the most extreme members of his conference agitating for a baseless impeachment stunt and shutdown," he said.

McCarthy aides did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the emailed statement.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; editing by Don Durfee and David Gregorio)
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy walks through Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, U.S., July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) -U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy called China's position on the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant "unfair" and "false" during a visit to Tokyo on Thursday.

Japan started its discharges from the wrecked plant last month, provoking strong criticism from China. In retaliation for the release into the ocean, China has placed a blanket ban on all aquatic imports from Japan.

"I just view it as another way of the Communist Party of China putting falsities out there, trying to divide," McCarthy told reporters.

"And it's just an unfair position that they have and a false position that they have from the rest of the world's stance," McCarthy said, adding that he had no concern whatsoever about eating produce from Fukushima.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he explained Japan's position on the matter to Chinese Premier Li Qiang during a brief talk on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Indonesia on Thursday. He declined to say how Li had responded.

The talk marked the first time the two had met in person, and was also the first high-level talk between the two countries since the release of the water.

The water from the Fukushima nuclear plant is treated to remove most radioactive elements except for tritium, a radionuclide difficult to separate from water, and then diluted to internationally accepted levels before being released into the ocean.

(Reporting by Yukiko Toyoda and Sakura Murakami; Editing by Clarence Fernandez & Simon Cameron-Moore)
FILE PHOTO: Cameron Winklevoss speaks at a New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) virtual currency hearing in the Manhattan borough of New York January 28, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/file photo

(Reuters) -U.S. authorities are probing claims of fraud that Cameron Winklevoss, the co-founder of crypto firm Gemini Trust Co, has made against the Digital Currency Group (DCG) and its founder Barry Silbert, according to a source familiar with the inquiry.

Winklevoss has said that DCG and Silbert misrepresented the financial health of DCG's lending arm Genesis, which filed for bankruptcy in January. Gemini was the largest creditor of the bankrupt firm and is suing DCG and Silbert.

DCG has denied any wrongdoing. A spokesperson for DCG declined to comment on the inquiry but said that the firm "always conducted its business lawfully and with the highest ethical standards" and that it assists regulators when asked.

Federal prosecutors in New York and investigators from the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission asked Winklevoss about his claims during an interview in recent months, the source said.

Bloomberg was first to report the authorities' interest in the matter and previously said that federal prosecutors and the SEC were investigating DCG's financial dealings.

A spokesperson for the federal prosecutors declined to comment.

The SEC, FBI and Gemini did not respond immediately to requests for comment. Authorities have not accused DCG or Silbert of any misconduct and investigations do not always lead to charges.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice in New York and Jaiveer Singh Shekhawat in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Cynthia Osterman)
FORM 6-K

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Report of Foreign Issuer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the month of . September , 2023

CANON INC. (Translation of registrants name into English) 30-2, Shimomaruko 3-Chome, Ohta-ku, Tokyo 146-8501, Japan (Address of principal executive offices)

[Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F X Form 40-F

[Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Yes No X
Latin America is suffering the economic effects of the post-pandemic period, but Chilean Rodrigo Valdes, 56, the economist responsible for the Western Hemisphere Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), assures that this slowdown in growth is, to a certain extent, healthy. Countries need a certain deceleration to make the next [phase of] growth sustainable, he said in this interview with EL PAIS from his office in Washington.

Valdes is optimistic. He challenges a couple of notions that permeate the region, such as the idea that all extractive industries are bad, and that inequality has worsened. He also addresses the proposal of the leading candidate in Argentinas upcoming presidential elections, ultra-conservative Javier Milei: dollarizing the indebted country. Valdes warns that such a measure does not replace the need for a sustainable fiscal policy, one that ensures that debts are not too high.

Question. Is it feasible for Argentina, such a large economy, to dollarize?

Answer. More than the [economys] size, the questions that the markets are asking today are about the initial conditions of the amount of reserves that Argentina has. Mr. Milei touched on this issue, and they are still working on a plan, so I dont want to get ahead of myself in the discussion. It is something that takes time. They have talked about the fact that this would not be done [right away] if they win the election. And its also something that will require them to seek out a lot of political support.

Q. The International Monetary Fund recently reached a new agreement with Argentina. What would the implications of dollarization be?

A. Mr. Mileis program implies dollarization, and that does not [necessarily] mean not having a program [with the IMF]. We have one in Ecuador, which is a dollarized country, and the last one was very successful. For us, it is essential to recognize the way a country organizes its monetary policy, its exchange rate policy, issues that are [matters] of sovereignty. We are interested in the macroeconomic bases being in place so that these systems work in the long term, and [in ensuring that], when there are changes, the transition remains stable.

Q. Would the IMF continue to support Argentina, then?

A. We work with 190 countries and all the institutions that exist within them. What we are interested in is whether they work well, depending on their macroeconomic configurations. How does the labor market work? How does the goods market work? For example, dollarized countries require certain conditions to function well. And its very important to us that [it be understood that] what you do in the monetary and exchange-rate worlds are not substitutes for what needs to be done in the fiscal world. This part requires an enormous effort on the countries part, and we always understand that the short term and the long term are in tension [with each other]. But there is no substitute for the fiscal part. All countries require a sustainable fiscal policy in which debts are not too high, and dollarizing (or not dollarizing) is not a substitute for that task.

Q. What is the regions outlook?

A. This year, were seeing the consolidation of a significant slowdown from last years growth. There are some exceptions. The largest countries, Mexico and Brazil, have been unexpectedly resilient and may grow even more than last year. But, in general, were seeing that in many countries this slowdown is healthy because they had a very strong post-Covid performance and required some deceleration to make the next [stage of] growth sustainable. Going forward, theres still work to be done. There is clearly growth, but we must work on elevating that potential growth.

Q. What can the region do to improve productivity?

A. In order to take charge of this issue, you have to have an orderly macroeconomy, and what many countries have achieved in this regard is important. It is very important to keep these macro policy frameworks working well. Once you have that, where can you invest? We have great opportunities in the worlds energy transition. Many countries in the region have crucial inputs like green hydrogen, for example. Another is the geopolitical shift in which value chains are being set up in countries closer to home. This gives the region a highly significant opportunity for investment. There are regulatory, stability and consistency issues that need to be addressed. It is unnecessary to have risk premiums for investors because our regulatory frameworks are not the most suitable [for this purpose]. In addition, the region has a security and crime issue that, from a macroeconomic point of view, must be treated as more important.

Q. Does insecurity impact productivity?

A. It affects economic growth, peoples quality of life, the desire to invest. It is time for the region to attach even more importance to this issue because it has implications in many areas. The Monetary Fund cannot get involved in this issue and say what to do; we are not experts in this, but we can confirm that it has significant effects, and we can suggest that the authorities look at this as more important than they have so far.

Q. The IMF identifies inequality as a problem that remains to be solved, but is there an example of an emerging market that has achieved that?

A. We have to recognize two things. The first is that our region has made progress, contrary to what is perceived in the public discourse, which is very much influenced by what has happened in the Anglo-Saxon world. The truth is that in the last 20 years income distribution has improved a little; it is still very unequal, but it has improved, unlike whats happened in the Anglo-Saxon world, where it has worsened. It is certainly not enough, so we have to continue working on it. And the second thing is that if we compare our region with the developed world of OECD countries, we can clearly see that the OECD countries manage to significantly improve income distribution through what they do with monetary transfers. Through many instruments such as unemployment insurance, larger pension systems that provide more money I believe that the region needs to have more resources to do this, and it must start being more concerned about these transfers as serious insurance against the problems that families sometimes face.

Q. You talk about investments for the energy transition. Is the region trapped in extractive industries?

A. We have to try to remove the positive or negative concept of extracting, because we have known for a long time that countries can be blessed or cursed by their natural resources. Crucially, this depends on how the profits are invested. I would invite those who think that this is an inescapable curse to look at the examples of Australia, New Zealand and Norway, which were rich in natural resources and used those resources to go one step further, for example, by investing in human capital to do other things, and now they are very advanced in the service sector. We should not become pessimistic because we have natural resources. The region would be worse off without them, and what we should be concerned about is using them well.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13A-16 OR 15D-16

UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

September, 2023

Commission File Number 1-15182

DR. REDDYS LABORATORIES LIMITED

(Translation of registrants name into English)

8-2-337, Road No. 3, Banjara Hills

Hyderabad, Telangana 500 034, India

+91-40-49002900

(Address of principal executive office)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F x Form 40-F 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ______

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security holders.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ______

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted to furnish a report or other document that the registrant foreign private issuer must furnish and make public under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the registrant is incorporated, domiciled or legally organized (the registrants home country), or under the rules of the home country exchange on which the registrants securities are traded, as long as the report or other document is not a press release, is not required to be and has not been distributed to the registrants security holders, and, if discussing a material event, has already been the subject of a Form 6-K submission or other Commission filing on EDGAR.

Indicate by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in this Form, the registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Yes  No x

If Yes is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-________.

EXHIBITS

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

DR. REDDYS LABORATORIES LIMITED (Registrant) Date: September 7, 2023 By: /s/ K Randhir Singh Name: K Randhir Singh Title: Company Secretary

ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS

EXHIBIT 99.1
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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):

ROLLINS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware 1-4422 51-0068479 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) (Commission File Number) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

2170 Piedmont Road, N.E., Atlanta , Georgia 30324

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Registrants telephone number, including area code: (404) 888-2000

Not Applicable

(Former name of former address, if changes since last report.)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered Common Stock ROL NYSE

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging Growth Company o

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. o









Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.





On September 7, 2023, Rollins, Inc. (the Company) announced the pricing of the previously announced public offering (the Offering) of 38,724,100 shares of its common stock, par value $1.00 per share (the Common Stock), held by LOR, Inc. (the Selling Stockholder), one of the Companys existing stockholders, at $35.00 per share. The Selling Stockholder has granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 5,785,714 shares of Common Stock. The Company will not issue shares in the Offering and will not receive any proceeds from the Offering. In connection with the Offering, the Selling Stockholder has entered into a lock-up agreement for a period of 365 days from the pricing date of the Offering, during which time the Selling Stockholder will be restricted from engaging in certain transactions with respect to its shares of Common Stock.





Subject to the closing of the Offering, the Company has agreed to repurchase 8,724,100 of the shares of common stock being offered in the Offering for approximately $300 million at the same per share price to be paid by the underwriters to the Selling Stockholder in the Offering (the Share Repurchase). The completion of the Share Repurchase is conditioned on, and is expected to close concurrently with, the closing of the Offering. The closing of the Offering is also conditioned on the completion of the Share Repurchase. A copy of the press release issued by the Company is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.





The information in Item 7.01 of this report (including Exhibit 99.1 hereto) is being furnished and shall not be deemed filed for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is not subject to the liabilities of that section and is not deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.





(d) Exhibits

Exhibit No. Description 99.1 Press Release issued by Rollins, Inc., dated September 7, 2023 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded with the Inline XBRL document)









SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Rollins, Inc. has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

ROLLINS, INC.

Date: September 7, 2023 By: /s/ Kenneth D. Krause Name: Kenneth D. Krause Title: Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer (Principal Financial Officer)





ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 13G

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No. 5*)

RHYTHM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

(Name of Issuer)

COMMON STOCK

(Title of Class of Securities)

76243J105

(CUSIP Number)

August 31, 2023

(Date of Event Which Requires Filing of this Statement)

Check the appropriate box to designate the rule pursuant to which this Schedule is filed:

X Rule 13d-1(b) Rule 13d-1(c) Rule 13d-1(d)

*The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting persons initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter the disclosures provided in a prior cover page.

The information required in the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be filed for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Act) or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes).

Persons who respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB control number.

CUSIP No.: 76243J105

1. Names of Reporting Persons I.R.S. Identification Nos. of above persons (entities only) Federated Hermes, Inc. 2. Check the Appropriate Box if a Member of a Group (See Instructions) (a) (b) 3. SEC Use Only 4. Citizenship or place of Organization: Pennsylvania

Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With: 5. Sole Voting Power: 2,341,335 6. Shared Voting Power 7. Sole Dispositive Power: 2,341,335 8. Shared Dispositive Power

9. Aggregate Amount Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person: 2,341,335 10. Check if the Aggregate Amount in Row (9) Excludes Certain Shares (See Instructions) 11. Percent of Class Represented by Amount in Row (9): 4.11% 12. Type of Reporting Person (See Instructions): HC

1. Names of Reporting Persons I.R.S. Identification Nos. of above persons (entities only) Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust 2. Check the Appropriate Box if a Member of a Group (See Instructions) (a) (b) 3. SEC Use Only 4. Citizenship or place of Organization: Pennsylvania

Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With: 5. Sole Voting Power: 2,341,335 6. Shared Voting Power 7. Sole Dispositive Power: 2,341,335 8. Shared Dispositive Power

9. Aggregate Amount Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person: 2,341,335 10. Check if the Aggregate Amount in Row (9) Excludes Certain Shares (See Instructions) 11. Percent of Class Represented by Amount in Row (9): 4.11% 12. Type of Reporting Person (See Instructions): OO

1. Names of Reporting Persons I.R.S. Identification Nos. of above persons (entities only) Thomas R. Donahue 2. Check the Appropriate Box if a Member of a Group (See Instructions) (a) (b) 3. SEC Use Only 4. Citizenship or place of Organization: United States

Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With: 5. Sole Voting Power: 6. Shared Voting Power: 2,341,335 7. Sole Dispositive Power 8. Shared Dispositive Power: 2,341,335

9. Aggregate Amount Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person: 2,341,335 10. Check if the Aggregate Amount in Row (9) Excludes Certain Shares (See Instructions) 11. Percent of Class Represented by Amount in Row (9): 4.11% 12. Type of Reporting Person (See Instructions): IN

1. Names of Reporting Persons I.R.S. Identification Nos. of above persons (entities only) Ann C. Donahue 2. Check the Appropriate Box if a Member of a Group (See Instructions) (a) (b) 3. SEC Use Only 4. Citizenship or place of Organization: United States

Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With: 5. Sole Voting Power: 6. Shared Voting Power: 2,341,335 7. Sole Dispositive Power 8. Shared Dispositive Power: 2,341,335

9. Aggregate Amount Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person: 2,341,335 10. Check if the Aggregate Amount in Row (9) Excludes Certain Shares (See Instructions) 11. Percent of Class Represented by Amount in Row (9): 4.11% 12. Type of Reporting Person (See Instructions): IN

1. Names of Reporting Persons I.R.S. Identification Nos. of above persons (entities only) J. Christopher Donahue 2. Check the Appropriate Box if a Member of a Group (See Instructions) (a) (b) 3. SEC Use Only 4. Citizenship or place of Organization: United States

Number of Shares Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person With: 5. Sole Voting Power: 6. Shared Voting Power: 2,341,335 7. Sole Dispositive Power 8. Shared Dispositive Power: 2,341,335

9. Aggregate Amount Beneficially Owned by Each Reporting Person: 2,341,335 10. Check if the Aggregate Amount in Row (9) Excludes Certain Shares (See Instructions) 11. Percent of Class Represented by Amount in Row (9): 4.11% 12. Type of Reporting Person (See Instructions): IN

Item 1.

(a) Name of Issuer RHYTHM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (b) Address of Issuers Principal Executive Offices 222 Berkeley Street, 12th Floor Boston, MA 02116

Item 2.

(a) Name of Person Filing: Federated Hermes, Inc. (b) Address Of Principal Business Office or, if none, Residence 1001 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222-3779 (c) Citizenship: Pennsylvania (d) Title of Class of Securities Common Stock (e) CUSIP Number: 76243J105

Item 3. If this statement is filed pursuant to 240.113d-1(b) or 240.13d-2(b) or (c), check whether the person filing is a:

(a) Broker or dealer registered under section 15 of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78o). (b) Bank as defined in section 3(a)(6) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78c). (c) Insurance company as defined in section 3(a)(19) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 78c). (d) Investment company registered under section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-8). (e) An investment adviser in accordance with 204.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(E); (f) An employee benefit plan or endowment fund in accordance with 240.13d-19b)(1)(ii)(F); (g) X A parent holding company or control person in accordance with 240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(G); (h) A savings associations as defined in Section 3(b) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813); (i) A church plan that is excluded from the definition of an investment company under section 3(c)(14) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-3); (j) Group, in accordance with 240.13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J).

Item 4. Ownership

Provide the following information regarding the aggregate number and percentage of the class of securities of the issuer identified in Item 1.

A. Federated Hermes, Inc. (a) Amount beneficially owned: 2,341,335 (b) Percent of class: 4.11% (c) Number of shares to which the person has: (i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 2,341,335 (ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 2,341,335 (iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0

B. Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust (a) Amount beneficially owned: 2,341,335 (b) Percent of class: 4.11% (c) Number of shares to which the person has: (i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 2,341,335 (ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 2,341,335 (iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0

C. Thomas R. Donahue (a) Amount beneficially owned: 2,341,335 (b) Percent of class: 4.11% (c) Number of shares to which the person has: (i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 2,341,335 (iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0 (iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 2,341,335

D. Ann C. Donahue (a) Amount beneficially owned: 2,341,335 (b) Percent of class: 4.11% (c) Number of shares to which the person has: (i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 2,341,335 (iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0 (iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 2,341,335

E. J. Christopher Donahue (a) Amount beneficially owned: 2,341,335 (b) Percent of class: 4.11% (c) Number of shares to which the person has: (i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote: 0 (ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote: 2,341,335 (iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 0 (iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of: 2,341,335

Instruction: Dissolution of a group requires a response to this item.

Item 5. Ownership of Five Percent or Less of a Class

If this statement is being filed to report the fact that as of the date hereof the reporting person has ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of the class of securities, check the following: X

Instruction: Dissolution of a group requires a response to this item.

Item 6. Ownership of More than Five Percent on Behalf of Another Person. NOT APPLICABLE

Item 7. Identification and Classification of the Subsidiary Which Acquired the Security Being Reported on By the Parent Holding Company. See Exhibit 1 Attached

Item 8. Identification and Classification of Members of the Group: NOT APPLICABLE

Item 9. Notice of Dissolution of Group: NOT APPLICABLE

Item 10. Certification

(a) The following certification shall be included if the statement is filed pursuant to 240.13d-1(b); By signing below I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the securities referred to above were acquired and are held in the ordinary course of business and were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer of the securities and were not acquired and are not held in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having the purpose or effect. (b) The following certification shall be included if the statement is filed pursuant to 204.13d-1(c): By signing below I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the securities referred to above were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer of the securities and were not acquired and are not held in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having that purpose or effect.

SIGNATURE

After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.

Date: September 7, 2023 By: /s/J. Christopher Donahue Name/Title: J. Christopher Donahue, as President of Federated Hermes, Inc. Date: September 7, 2023 By: /s/Thomas R. Donahue Name/Title Thomas R. Donahue individually and as Trustee of Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust Date: September 7, 2023 By: /s/Ann C. Donahue Name/Title: Ann C. Donahue individually and as Trustee of Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust Date: September 7, 2023 By: /s/J. Christopher Donahue Name/Title J. Christopher Donahue individually and as Trustee of Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust

The original statement shall be signed by each person on whose behalf the statement is filed or his authorized representative. If the statement is signed on behalf of a person by his authorized representative other than an executive officer or general partner of the filing person, evidence of the representatives authority to sign on behalf of such person shall be filed with the statement, provided, however, that a power of attorney for this purpose which is already on file with the Commission may be incorporated by reference. The name and any title of each person who signs the statement shall be typed or printed beneath his signature.

NOTE: Schedules filed in paper format shall include a signed original and five copies of the schedule, including all exhibits. See 240.13d-7 for other parties for whom copies are to be sent.

Attention: Intentional misstatements or omissions of fact constitute Federal criminal violations (See U.S.C. 1001)

EXHIBIT 1

ITEM 3 CLASSIFICATION OF REPORTING PERSONS

Identity and Classification of Each Reporting Person

IDENTITY CLASSIFICATION UNDER ITEM 3 Federated Hermes Equity Funds (d) Investment company registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-8) Federated Hermes Insurance Series (d) Investment company registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-8) Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania (e) Investment Adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 Federated Global Investment Management Corp. (e) Investment Adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 Federated Hermes, Inc. (g) parent Holding Company or control person, in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G) FII Holdings, Inc. (g) parent Holding Company or control person, in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G) Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust (g) parent Holding Company or control person, in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G) Thomas R. Donahue (g) parent Holding Company or control person, in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G) Ann C. Donahue (g) parent Holding Company or control person, in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G) J. Christopher Donahue (g) parent Holding Company or control person, in accordance with Section 240.13d-1(b)(ii)(G)

Federated Hermes, Inc. (the Parent) is filing this schedule 13G because it is the parent holding company of Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania and Federated Global Investment Management Corp. (the Investment Advisers), which act as investment advisers to registered investment companies and separate accounts that own shares of common stock in RHYTHM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (the Reported Securities). The Investment Advisers are wholly owned subsidiaries of FII Holdings, Inc., which is wholly owned subsidiary of Federated Hermes, Inc., the Parent. All of the Parents outstanding voting stock is held in the Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust (the Trust) for which Thomas R. Donahue, Ann C. Donahue and J. Christopher Donahue act as trustees (collectively, the Trustees). The Trustees have joined in filing this Schedule 13G because of the collective voting control that they exercise over the Parent. In accordance with Rule 13d-4 under the Securities Act of 1934, as amended, the Parent, the Trust, and each of the Trustees declare that this statement should not be construed as an admission that they are the beneficial owners of the Reported Securities, and the Parent, the Trust, and each of the Trustees expressly disclaim beneficial ownership of the Reported Securities.

EXHIBIT 2

AGREEMENT FOR JOINT FILING OF

SCHEDULE 13G

The following parties hereby agree to file jointly the statement on Schedule 13G to which this Agreement is attached and any amendments thereto which may be deemed necessary pursuant to Regulation 13D-G under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934:

1. Federated Hermes, Inc. as parent holding company of the investment advisers to registered investment companies that beneficially own the securities.

Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust, as holder of all the voting shares of Federated Hermes, Inc.

Thomas R. Donahue, individually and as Trustee

Ann C. Donahue, individually and as Trustee

J. Christopher Donahue, individually and as Trustee

It is understood and agreed that each of the parties hereto is responsible for the timely filing of such statement any amendments thereto, and for the completeness and accuracy of the information concerning such party contained therein, but such party is not responsible for the completeness or accuracy of information concerning the other parties unless such party knows or has reason to believe that such information is incomplete or inaccurate.

It is understood and agreed that the joint filing of Schedule 13G shall not be construed as an admission that the reporting persons named herein constitute a group for purposes of Regulation 13D-G of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, nor is a joint venture for purposes of the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Date: September 7, 2023

By: /s/J. Christopher Donahue Name/Title: J. Christopher Donahue, as President of Federated Hermes, Inc. By: /s/Thomas R. Donahue Name/Title Thomas R. Donahue, individually and as Trustee of Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust. By: /s/Ann C. Donahue Name/Title Ann C. Donahue, individually and as Trustee of Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust By: /s/J. Christopher Donahue Name/Title J. Christopher Donahue, individually and as Trustee of Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust

1. The number of shares indicated represent shares beneficially owned by registered investment companies and separate accounts advised by subsidiaries of Federated Hermes, Inc. that have been delegated the power to direct investment and power to vote the securities by the registered investment companies board of trustees or directors and by the separate accounts principals. All of the voting securities of Federated Hermes, Inc. are held in the Voting Shares Irrevocable Trust (Trust), the trustees of which are Thomas R. Donahue, Ann C. Donahue and J. Christopher Donahue (Trustees). In accordance with Rule 13d-4 under the 1934 Act, the Trust, Trustees, and parent holding company declare that the filing of this statement should not be construed as an admission that any of the investment advisers, parent holding company, Trust, and Trustees are beneficial owners (for the purposes of Sections 13(d) and/or 13(g) of the Act) of any securities covered by this statement, and such advisers, parent holding company, Trust, and Trustees expressly disclaim that they are the beneficial owners of such securities.

EXHIBIT 3

EXHIBIT 3
(Tribune News Service)  A Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson soldier died Saturday after he fell while hiking near Rainbow Peak in Chugach State Park, authorities said.

Spc. Kyle Lee Gustafson, 34, of Minnesota fell on "a sheer rock hillside on a trail near Rainbow Peak" around 1 p.m., according to Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the Alaska State Troopers. Rainbow Peak is accessed from a Seward Highway trailhead by a roughly 5-mile round-trip hike that gains nearly 3,400 feet.

The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center responded to the call for help, McDaniel said. Gustafson was airlifted to Providence Alaska Medical Center, where he died Saturday, according to a statement from JBER.

Gustafson joined the Army in December 2020 and arrived in Alaska in May, according to the statement. He previously served in the U.S. Marine Corps. Gustafson was an explosive ordnance disposal specialist with the 716th Ordnance Company, the statement said.

(c)2023 the Alaska Dispatch News (Anchorage, Alaska)

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Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Little Rock underway in the Caribbean Sea. (Marianne Guemo/U.S. Navy)

This story was originally published by ProPublica.

In July 2016, warships from more than two dozen nations gathered off the coasts of Hawaii and Southern California to join the United States in the worlds largest naval exercise. The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea and others sent hundreds of destroyers, aircraft carriers and warplanes. They streamed in long lines across the ocean, symbols of power and prestige.

The USS Freedom had its own special place within the armada. It was one of a new class of vessels known as littoral combat ships. The U.S. Navy had billed them as technical marvels  small, fast and light, able to combat enemies at sea, hunt mines and sink submarines.

In reality, the LCS was well on the way to becoming one of the worst boondoggles in the militarys long history of buying overpriced and underperforming weapons systems. Two of the $500 million ships had suffered embarrassing breakdowns in previous months. The Freedoms performance during the exercise, showing off its ability to destroy underwater mines, was meant to rejuvenate the ships record on the world stage. The ship was historically important too; it was the first LCS built, the first in the water, commissioned just eight years prior.

But like the LCS programs reputation, the Freedom was in bad shape. Dozens of pieces of equipment on board were undergoing repairs. Training crews for the new class of ships had proven more difficult than anticipated. The sailors aboard the Freedom had not passed an exam demonstrating their ability to operate some of the ships most important systems.

As the day to launch approached, the pressure mounted. Top officers visited the ship repeatedly. The Freedoms sailors understood that theirs was a no fail mission with no appetite to remain in port, according to Navy documents obtained by ProPublica.

The Freedoms Capt. Michael Wohnhaas consulted with his officers. Despite crippling problems that had left one of the ships engines inoperable, he and his superiors decided the vessel could rely on its three others for the exercise.

The littoral combat ship USS Freedom undergoes $1.8 million in maintenance while in dry dock at BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair. (Josiah Poppler)

The Freedom completed its mission, but the accomplishment proved hollow. Five days after the ship returned to port, a maintenance check revealed that the faltering engine had suffered galloping corrosion from saltwater during the exercise. A sailor described the engine room as a horror show with rust eating away at the machinery. One of the Navys newest ships would spend the next two years undergoing repairs at a cost of millions.

It took investigators months to unravel the mystery of the engines breakdown. But this much was clear at the outset: The Freedoms collapse was another unmistakable sign that the Navy had spent billions of dollars and more than a decade on warships with rampant and crippling flaws.

The ongoing problems with the LCS have been well documented for years, in news articles, government reports and congressional hearings. Each ship ultimately cost more than twice the original estimate. Worse, they were hobbled by an array of mechanical failures and were never able to carry out the missions envisaged by their champions.

ProPublica set out to trace how ships with such obvious shortcomings received support from Navy leadership for nearly two decades. We reviewed thousands of pages of public records and tracked down naval and shipbuilding insiders involved at every stage of construction.

Our examination revealed new details on why the LCS never delivered on its promises. Top Navy leaders repeatedly dismissed or ignored warnings about the ships flaws. One Navy secretary and his allies in Congress fought to build more of the ships even as they broke down at sea and their weapons systems failed. Staunch advocates in the Navy circumvented checks meant to ensure that ships that cost billions can do what they are supposed to do.

Contractors who stood to profit spent millions lobbying Congress, whose members, in turn, fought to build more ships in their home districts than the Navy wanted. Scores of frustrated sailors recall spending more time fixing the ships than sailing them.

Our findings echo the conclusions of a half-century of internal and external critiques of Americas process for building new weapons systems. The saga of the LCS is a vivid illustration of how Congress, the Pentagon and defense contractors can work in concert  and often against the good of the taxpayers and Americas security  to spawn what President Dwight D. Eisenhower described in his farewell address as the military industrial complex.

There is a lot of money flowing through this vast ecosystem, and somehow the only thing all these people can agree on is more, more, more, said Lyle Goldstein, a former professor at the U.S. Naval War College who is now investigating the costs of war at Brown University. Unfortunately, I just think it might be in the nature of our system.

This year, the Defense Department asked Congress to approve a staggering $842 billion  nearly half of the federal governments discretionary spending  to keep America safe in what the Pentagon says is an ever more perilous world. As House and Senate leaders negotiate the final number, it is unlikely they will spend much time discussing ways to prevent future debacles like the LCS.

Such a conversation would cover hundreds of billions of misspent taxpayer money on projects from nearly every branch of the military: The F-35 fighter jet, deployed by the Navy, Marines and Air Force, is more than a decade late and $183 billion over budget . The Navys newest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, cost $13 billion and has yet to prove it can reliably launch planes. And the Armys Future Combat System was largely abandoned in 2009 after the military had dedicated more than $200 billion on a battlefield intelligence network meant to link troops, tanks and robots.

The LCS program offers another clear lesson, one seen in almost every infamous procurement disaster. Once a massive project gains momentum and defense contractors begin hiring, it is politically easier to throw good money after bad.

The Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Detroit receives regularly scheduled maintenance and upkeep during a scheduled dry-dock maintenance availability phase at BAE Systems shipyard in Jacksonville, Fla., March 29, 2019. (Nathan Beard/U.S. Navy)

Stopping a weapons program in its tracks means people losing work and admitting publicly that enormous sums of taxpayer money have been wasted. In the case of the LCS, it took an array of naval leaders and two consecutive defense secretaries to finally stop the program. Yet even after the Navy said it only needed 32 littoral combat ships, far fewer than the more than 50 originally planned, members of Congress forced the Pentagon to buy three more.

Former Lt. Renaldo Rodgers remembered laboring in San Diego from sunrise to sunset for months to ready the Freedom for a 2012 trial mission to San Francisco, only to have the ship break down during pretrial tests. Rodgers initially thought the futuristic ship looked like something out of Star Trek. But he soon learned it was no Starship Enterprise. It became the laughingstock of the waterfront, with other sailors deriding it as Dry Dock One, because it so rarely left port.

It sucks, he said. The LCS was a missed opportunity.

The Navy has tried to retire many of the littoral combat ships years before they reach their expected lifespan. Ships designed to last 25 years are being mothballed after seeing less than a decade of service.

In response to questions, the Navy acknowledged the LCS was not suitable for fighting peer competitors such as China. The LCS does not provide the lethality or survivability needed in a high-end fight.

The Navy needs a more ready, capable, and lethal fleet more than a bigger fleet thats less ready, less capable, and less lethal, the statement read, saying the money would be better spent on higher-priority alternatives.

The cost of the program has gnawed at John Pendleton, who for years was a top military analyst at the Government Accountability Office and has studied the rise and fall of the LCS as closely as anyone in Washington.

Now retired, but unable to shake what he views as one of the most wasteful projects hed encountered in his nearly 35-year career, Pendleton reviewed budgetary documents and GAO reports for ProPublica going back decades. His conclusion: The lifetime cost of the LCS class may reach $100 billion or more.

In the end, he said, the taxpayers get fewer than 30 limited-survivability, single-mission ships.

Pendleton is hardly alone in his assessment. Many regard the tortured path of the LCS as evidence of a damaging strain of hubris that runs rampant in the world of military innovation.

Its this zombie program phenomenon where everybody knows deep down we are going in the wrong direction, said Dan Grazier, a former Marine Corps captain, who now works on Pentagon reform for the nonprofit Project on Government Oversight. But because so much money is involved and so much political capital is invested, you cant stop the train until the problems are so overwhelming that no one can feign support for it.

The two narratives of the ship  unstoppable in Congress, imperiled at sea  intertwined alarmingly during one 10-month stretch beginning in December 2015. During that period, five of the vessels broke down across the globe, each illuminating a new set of problems and effectively proving the critics right.

The Freedom was the third ship to fail. Captured in a Navy investigation more than 600 pages long, the incident stands out as a particularly devastating and detailed example of the Navys plight.

From left, then-Adm. Michael G. Mullen, then-Adm. Gregory G. Johnson, then-Marine Gen. James Jones and then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vernon Clark pose for a photograph in Bagnoli, Italy, in 2004. (Stars and Stripes)

1. Inside the Pentagon: An admirals vision

In 2002, Adm. Vernon Clark stared down from the deck of a Danish warship at a pier in Denmark and watched a demonstration that would shape the future of the U.S. Navy.

A large deck gun sat below. On the orders of a Danish navy official, a crane hoisted it off the pier and installed it on the ship. Within 40 minutes, sailors were rotating the weapon to prepare it for operation.

No American ship could swap weapons on and off deck like that. But the Danes made reconfiguring a vessel to carry out different missions look easy. Clark, the head of the U.S. Navy at the time, marveled at the technology.

This is it. Of course, this is it, Clark remembered telling himself. I didnt know that they could do that.

For Clark, the Danish demonstration crystalized his idea for a new ship that would be different from anything the Navy had done before. It would be small, relatively lightly armed and operated by about 40 sailors  far less than the average warship crew size. The weapons systems would not be permanently installed.

Instead, he envisioned a sort of Swiss army knife for the Navy. Armed with one set of weaponry, it could hunt and destroy submarines. But if the threat shifted, it could be quickly outfitted to detect and clear underwater mines or to fight other warships.

As Clark envisaged it, the new ships could be deployed in coastal, or littoral, waters, where the Navy needed to expand its presence around the world: in the Persian Gulf to participate in the war in Iraq, in the Caribbean to track down gunrunners and in Southeast Asia to help smaller allied navies. They would be one of the fastest warships in the world  able to fight near shore, outrun larger vessels or hunt down the small ones increasingly popular with foes like Iran. The ships would be built quickly, in large numbers and at low cost.

The first red flags emerged here, at the conception of the LCS. As Clark began sharing his vision, concerns began to brew among Navy shipbuilding experts, who feared it was overly ambitious and technologically infeasible. Clark was unbowed.

He was an unlikely candidate to begin a revolution in shipbuilding. With an undergraduate degree from Evangel College, a small Christian school in Missouri, and an MBA from the University of Arkansas, he hardly fit the mold of a prototypical chief of naval operations who was groomed for leadership from his earliest days at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

A self-professed radical, at times irreverent and impassioned, he wanted to run the Navy like a business, streamlining training, rooting out misspent dollars, retaining sailors who shined and getting rid of those who did not.

He believed the Navy needed a more cost-effective and technologically advanced fleet. Many of the Navys ships had been built during the Cold War. Massive carriers, destroyers, battleships and cruisers were facing retirement, in part because updating them with modern technology was prohibitively expensive, Clark said.

In keeping with his business background, Clark wanted as few people on the new ships as possible. What I really want is an unmanned ship thats got R2-D2 in it, he said, recalling his thinking at the time.

Doubt dogged Clarks dream from the start. Congress agreed to begin developing the ship in 2003  despite a House Appropriations Committee report that warned that there was no road map of how the Navy will achieve the system required.

One former admiral who worked on plans for the ship said Clarks insistence on speed  up to 45 knots, or about 50 miles per hour  created immediate problems. A ship cannot go that fast for very long without running out of gas, which meant it could never stray far from its fuel supply. Its small size  many in the Navy joked that LCS stood for Little Crappy Ship  limited the weapons it could carry.

The former admiral said he raised concerns with his superiors but wished he had been more vocal. As a subordinate naval officer, when your boss tells you, Heres a shovel, go dig the hole, you go dig the hole.

Lockheed Martin headquarters in Bethesda, Md., in April 2014. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg )

The Navy pushed ahead. In May 2004, it awarded contracts to two teams of defense contractors to build up to two prototypes, each of their own design.

Both teams had lobbied heavily to win the contracts. Lockheed Martin, which partnered with the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin, plastered the Washington, D.C., Metro system with advertisements extolling the ability of its proposed ship.

The other team, a joint venture between General Dynamics and Australian shipbuilder Austal, planned to build its version at a shipyard in Alabama.

In response to the Navys goals, the contractors both based their original ship designs partly on high-speed ferries for cars or passengers, an unusual choice for a vessel meant for war not transportation.

With an emphasis on speed and dexterity, the ships were not designed to withstand much damage. Clark saw them fighting under the protection of larger, more lethal ships. To him, investing too much in protecting the ship with extensive armor would make it too heavy to operate near shore.

Show me a ship that can take a direct hit with todays modern weaponry and survive, he said. Why spend all this money pretending?

This argument disquieted lawmakers. Toward the end of Clarks tenure, members of Congress began to ask whether this meant the Navy had deemed LCS sailors expendable.

After Clark left the Navy in July 2005, the Navy responded to the concerns, redrawing the blueprints for the ships as they were being built to better protect sailors.

Costs began to rise dramatically. The ships were originally supposed to cost no more than $220 million dollars each , which had helped sell them to Congress in the first place. But the final price tag rose to about $500 million each.

Robert Work, a former deputy defense secretary who became a key proponent of the ship, said many in the Navy thought the initial estimate was unrealistic. The Navy never believed it, at least the people who had to build the ship, he said.

Despite the rising costs, the LCS soon gained a new champion so devoted to its construction that he led a yearslong campaign to resist efforts by two secretaries of defense to scale back the program.

2. Out to Sea: A foreseeable disaster

On the morning of Nov. 23, 2015, the USS Milwaukee set out across the frigid waters of the Great Lakes for its maiden voyage. The cost overruns had made headlines, but with the fifth ship in the water, Navy officials were hoping the vessels performance would lessen the growing doubts about the project.

The Navy planned to sail the Milwaukee from the shipyard on the shores of Lake Michigan in Marinette, Wisconsin, to its new home port of San Diego. From there, it would eventually join its sister ship, the USS Fort Worth, in helping to counter the Chinese navys expanding presence in the Western Pacific.

In a press tour days before the launch, Cmdr. Kendall Bridgewater evinced confidence, proclaiming that the enemy would be hard pressed to find a vessel that could come up against us.

But the ship wouldnt need a fight to suffer its first defeat. Its worst enemy would be its own engine.

On Dec. 11, about three weeks into the two-month journey, a software failure severely damaged the Milwaukees combining gear  a complex mechanism that connects the ships diesel engines and its gas turbines to the propulsion shafts, producing the power necessary for it to reach top speeds.

Sailors work aboard the USS Milwaukee as it arrives at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay on Dec. 20, 2021. (Danielle Baker/U.S. Navy)

A Navy salvage ship had to tow it some 40 miles for repairs at a base near Norfolk, Va. The ship hadnt made it halfway down the East Coast  let alone to the South China Sea  before breaking down. If the Milwaukee were a brand new car, this would be the equivalent of stalling on its way out of the dealership.

Some former officers look back on the breakdown and those that followed as a clear violation of a cardinal principle in Navy shipbuilding: to buy a few and test a lot. But with the LCS, the Navy was doing the opposite. Commanders were learning about the flaws of the ships as they were being deployed.

This is a totally foreseeable outcome, said Jay Bynum, a former rear admiral who served as an assistant to the vice chief of naval operations as the ships were entering the fleet. Just think about it, Toyota checks out all of this before the car hits the showroom floor. What if the engineering guys there said, Well, we think this is how the engine will work, but lets just start selling them.

3. Inside the Pentagon: Do we want this ship to survive?

On a breezy Friday in March 2011, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus addressed a crowd of sharp-dressed politicians and begrimed workers gathered at a shipyard in Mobile, Alabama.

Mabus, tall and dapper, announced the names for two of the Navys newest littoral combat ships. One would be called the USS Jackson  a reference to the capital of his home state, Mississippi.

As he looked out at the waters of Mobile Bay, Mabus lauded the new class of ships that had emerged from Clarks vision a decade before.

Its a drug runners worst nightmare, its a submarines worst nightmare, he declared, speaking in his soft Southern drawl. Its anybody who wants to do harm to the United States of America or the United States Navy, its their worst nightmare.

In fact, the LCS was on its way to becoming one of the Navys worst nightmares  and Mabus was its biggest cheerleader.

Better known for his political acumen than his military experience, Mabus served three years in the Navy in the early 70s, including time at sea as a lieutenant junior grade on board the USS Little Rock.

Afterward, he rose through Democratic ranks to become governor of Mississippi, an ambassador to Saudi Arabia and eventually the longest-serving Navy secretary since World War I.

During his tenure as the Navys civilian leader, he put his stamp on the service by pursuing a range of progressive policies including gender integration and the use of renewable fuels. He also took advantage of a unique perk: tossing out the ceremonial first pitch at major league stadiums across the country.

His most transformative view on U.S. military strategy was his belief in the need for more ships.

The fleet had shrunk to less than half the 600 it wielded toward the end of the Cold War. China was rapidly expanding its navy and Russia was investing heavily in new submarines.

Mabus, who became secretary in 2009, pursued a plan that would make him one of the Navys most prodigious shipbuilders.

In an interview with ProPublica, he reiterated the sheer importance of numbers for the fleet. He backed the LCS, he said, because it would help meet an array of the Navys needs as fast as possible.

Even as a growing number of senior officers began to criticize the ships, Mabus expanded the program, drawing on his political connections and savvy dealmaking to defend the LCS against powerful opponents on the Hill and in the Pentagon.

Then-Navy Secretary Ray Mabus signs an illustration of the guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner during a naming celebration in Charlestown, Mass., May 22, 2012. (Sam Shavers/U.S. Navy)

Mabus acknowledged that his support of the LCS project put him at odds with some of the Navys top officers and the nations civilian military leadership. He recalled resistance from what he dubbed the Alumni Association, powerful former Navy officers who he said reflexively and unfairly disliked the ship because it was so different from anything else the Navy had built. For Mabus, his key role as civilian leader of a tradition-bound military service was overcoming its hostility to change and innovation.

Chief among the old-school critics, he said, was Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona and decorated Navy veteran whose father and paternal grandfather had both been Navy admirals. He, along with Sen. Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat, had emerged as skeptics of the LCS as leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Both were alarmed by the costs, which had soared to more than $750 million apiece for the initial ships.

In response to such concerns, the Navy lowered the price by pitting the two teams of contractors against each other in a bidding war. Austal and Lockheed Martin turned in two different ship designs with similar price tags. Navy leaders dithered over which to select.

In the fall of 2010, Work, the Navy undersecretary at the time, said Mabus gathered senior naval leaders together to ask a blunt question: Do we want this ship to survive?

When the group answered yes, Mabus proposed a politically adroit solution: The Navy would select both companies to build the new ships in two shipyards, one in Alabama and one in Wisconsin.

Mabus calculated that he would win the support of congressional delegations from both places by delivering thousands of jobs and millions in spending to each, Work recalled. Spreading the wealth would increase the ships chances of survival. But it would also make the program harder to kill when problems arose.

He was looking at the problem in a different way than we were looking at it because he was a professional politician, Work said.

Mabus plan concerned some Navy leaders. The Austal ship, which was the basis for the Independence class, would be an aluminum trimaran  a ship with three hulls. The Lockheed Martin ship, which formed the basis for Freedom class, would be a more conventional monohull forged of steel. The radically different designs meant that the ships could not trade parts or sailors, making them more expensive to maintain and crew. In addition, the contracts called for the contractors to build a total of 20 vessels, a large commitment for a relatively unproven warship.

But Mabus and his team argued that those additional costs would be dwarfed by the savings the Navy would enjoy in the long run  one top official found that the Navy would save $2.9 billion by awarding long-term contracts to both companies.

To Mabus, it was a win-win for all involved: each ship had its own benefits, taxpayers would get a better price, the Navy would get more ships faster and the shipyards would get more jobs.

He told ProPublica that keeping the shipyards active was always a consideration, but it wasnt the main driver behind the decision. The real incentive, he said, was price, not politics.

But the political payoff soon became evident.

McCain held a hearing, where he excoriated the Navy. The story of this ship is one that makes me ashamed and embarrassed as a former Navy person and as a person whos responsible to the taxpayers of my state, he said. (McCain died in 2018.)

But in a last-minute budget bill to keep the government open in late December, Sen. Richard Shelby, the Alabama Republican, inserted language to buy ships from both shipyards.

 He made sure it happened, a Shelby spokesman said at the time .

And Levin, the Michigan Democrat once critical of the ships, now supported them. The Marinette shipyard is just over the Michigan border in Wisconsin. Levin called the plan to build 10 ships there a major boost for the regions economy and applauded the Navy in its efforts to bring costs down. (Levin died in 2021).

As one former vice admiral put it, politics is king in the shipbuilding business.

The littoral combat ship USS Milwaukee steams through the Atlantic Ocean on Dec. 16, 2021. (Aaron Lau/U.S. Navy)

4. Out to sea: We ask for help, but there isnt enough

Just a month after the USS Milwaukee stalled in Virginia, the ship it was supposed to join in the South China Sea suffered its own embarrassing breakdown.

The USS Fort Worth was nearing the end of an otherwise successful deployment. It had helped with a search-and-rescue operation following an Indonesian commercial plane crash and participated in joint exercises with several allied navies.

But the Navy had decided to frequently rotate the small LCS crews in order to reduce burnout and, in November 2015, a new, inexperienced crew took over.

Even the commanding officer, Michael Atwell, had few opportunities to gain valuable at sea experience before his deployment, according to a later Navy investigation.

On Jan. 5, hundreds of gallons of fuel spilled into the ships main machinery room. The sailors had to spray chemical foam on the fuel to prevent it from catching fire. Then, in grueling, filthy shifts, they took turns crawling into the tight compartment to clean it up with rags and pumps.

The day after the spill, the Fort Worth pulled into a port in Singapore for a week of scheduled maintenance.

There it became clear that the ship had been ridden hard, according to officers interviewed in the Navy investigation. Leaks had sprung out of various parts, the engines were in bad shape, the electric generators needed work and the crew was exhausted. There was no break, no reprieve, just increasing daily tasking, one sailor said of their time on board.

The ships executive officer, the second in command, complained of a lack of support from superiors.

We ask for help, but there isnt enough, he said, adding that he was told they dont have the bodies.

The ship was originally supposed to leave by Jan. 12 for a high visibility port visit in Hong Kong. Atwell and his executive officer described a tremendous amount of pressure to make it happen, according to the Navy investigation.

The crew took shortcuts as it scrambled to test the engine. One of the sailors in charge of starting it skipped a routine step, failing to properly lubricate the combining gears.

I messed up everything because I was going too fast, the sailor later explained.

The mistake damaged the ships combining gear, forcing it to sit for seven months while waiting on replacement parts.

Navy leaders deemed Atwell unfit for command and removed him from his position.

Reached by phone, Atwell declined to comment.

The breakdowns on the Milwaukee and Fort Worth formed the beginning of a pattern that came to punctuate the life of the LCS program:

Ships were rushed to sea with faltering equipment. Shorthanded crews and captains without sufficient training or support tried to make them work. Breakdowns ensued. Then, the pressure to perform and restore the reputation of the program intensified anew and the cycle repeated itself.

Soon it would be the USS Freedoms turn.

Sailors man the rails as Freedom-variant littoral combat ship USS Freedom on April, 12, 2001. (Richard Cho/U.S. Navy)

5. Inside the Pentagon: We were essentially telling a lie

In early 2012, sitting beneath the fluorescent glow of a Pentagon briefing room, Rear Adm. Sam Perez received a stern warning.

Weeks earlier, Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert had asked Perez to produce a report that would help him figure out how best to use the dozens of littoral combat ships that would be delivered to the Navy in the coming years.

The results were grim.

Discussing the details around a conference table, one fellow officer raised a finger to his own temple and mimicked a gun going off: Perez, he signaled, was about to risk career suicide.

It was a pattern with the LCS. Officers who criticized the ships faced consequences. An assignment to an undesirable post. Even dismissal.

Perez had found that the crews were too small. Some were stretched so thin that commanding officers had to spend time sweeping the decks, when they could have been studying intelligence reports and focusing on navigating the ship.

Contrary to what Clark observed in Denmark, the various weapons systems would not be easy to swap out. The Navy hadnt factored in the weeks it could take for all the contractors, sailors and others who were needed to fly in from around the world to help outfit the vessels for different missions.

The two versions of the LCS complicated the problems. The designs were vastly different: They could exchange neither parts nor sailors. Perez and his staff worried that the ships would wind up sidelined because they lacked either equipment or trained crew members.

Comparing the LCS to the fleets of potential adversaries, Perez concluded that the vessels were only capable of fighting against lightly armed small, fast attack boats.

A fellow officer warned him that painting this kind of damning portrait for the highest ranking officer in the Navy, the chief naval officer, could hurt his career. At that point, the Navy had already committed to buying at least 20 more ships worth billions of dollars.

Perez had already shared some of his findings with Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mark Ferguson, the second highest ranking official in the Navy.

According to a former senior officer familiar with the events, Ferguson told Perez that he was looking at the vessels the wrong way. The small ships performance should be compared to a patrol boat.

Perez objected. Patrol boats arent supposed to clear mines, fight submarines or attack surface warships. They are far smaller, designed primarily for surveillance and interdiction.

The staffers worked on the comparison for about two weeks before they began tearing each other up because we were essentially telling a lie, according to the former officer who worked on the project. After a vote, they decided to stop comparing the LCS to a patrol boat.

Immediately after Perez delivered the report, he received a call from Bynum, a former rear admiral who at the time worked for Ferguson. Bynum told Perez to classify the report secret.

That was absolutely my recommendation, Bynum said in an interview with ProPublica. The report, he said, included a host of vulnerabilities that didnt need to be shared in the open press.

At a PowerPoint presentation of his findings, Ferguson was curt. The former officer said Ferguson only allowed Perez about two words per slide, instructing him to flip to the next image before he could finish the last one.

In an interview with ProPublica, Ferguson did not recall asking Perez to compare the LCS to a patrol boat, but he acknowledged he was disappointed by key aspects of the report. Known to have a brusque style, he said he may well have sped through his presentation.

I didnt dispute any of the critique, Ferguson said. LCS had serious issues. But I wanted more in the way of recommendations on how to go forward; how to integrate them into the fleet.

Soon after, Perez was assigned to the international relations department of the Navy. About a year after that, he became liaison to the State Department. Neither are regarded as ideal assignments for an admiral who had spent a career carrying out missions at sea.

Perez declined to comment.

Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Oakland sails across the Coral Sea, April 17, 2023. (Sang Kim/U.S. Navy)

For his part, Greenert said the idea that Perez was punished for speaking up was nonsense. On the contrary, he said it helped prompt him to increase the staffing and budget for LCS.

Around the same time, Greenert asked another senior officer, three-star Adm. Tom Copeman, to evaluate the LCS as part of a larger report on the surface fleet.

Copeman, then in charge of the fitness of the Navys vessels for combat, echoed concerns about the ships combat abilities. He thought the LCS was not lethal enough. The Navys contract called for 24 ships, with plans to build more than 50. Copeman recommended that the Navy halt building the ships after fulfilling the contract.

In March 2013, the memo was leaked to the trade press. Copeman immediately received calls from one of Mabus top staffers. He told Copeman that Mabus was extremely disappointed that Copeman had publicly disagreed with him. Copeman told him that the memo was never intended for public consumption and that he didnt know how it got out.

As ProPublica previously reported , Greenert asked Copeman to retire early in mid-2013 after he had publicly expressed concerns over the fitness of the Navys ships for combat.

Greenert said Copeman was not asked to retire early. He said Copeman helped to convince him to ask for more weapons on the LCS.

Copeman declined to comment.

The Navy needed a lot more ships, and the LCS program was going to help provide them.

6. Out to sea: Freedoms troubles

About six months after two of its sister ships were docked for repairs, it was the Freedoms turn in the spotlight.

But on July 7, 2016, the day before the ship was supposed to begin its part in the global Navy exercise, a string of equipment failures forced its captain into a bad spot: Wohnhaas had to submit a fail to sail message to his superiors  an embarrassing signal that the ship was not ready to go.

Working through the night, engineers on the Freedom eventually realized a part called a cannon plug used in the ships complicated propulsion system needed to be replaced. Without it, the ship couldnt go anywhere.

They discovered one in Port Hueneme, about an hour north of Los Angeles. The engineer battled through five hours of Southern California traffic to pick it up and bring it back. The ship departed its port in San Diego a day late, then suffered another setback.

Three miles outside Mexican territorial waters, a loud metallic noise clanged out, startling the crew. Wohnhaas slowed the ship down but it began to drift. The crew dropped anchor to stop the ship and then steamed back to port.

He was sent back out to sea and senior officers later criticized him for holding up the mission.

Then on the evening of July 11, a leak erupted inside the main machinery room, the mechanical heart of the ship, spraying the electrical system with seawater. An inch or two pooled on the floor. If the leak wasnt stopped immediately, it could cause short-circuiting or even a fire.

One sailor searched for the source of the leak by hand, burning his arm on a hot pipe before finding a hole seeping water. The sailors plugged the hole, but the repair backfired. It forced water to burst through a rubber seal that kept seawater out of the ships lubrication oil system. The water mixed with the oil, pumping a kind of emulsified goo through one of the ships four engines.

Two days later, the crew, again, had to return the ship to dock in San Diego. The engineer responsible for the ship while in port determined that a full repair of the engine could take as long as two weeks. Wohnhaas superiors rejected the idea. Time was running out for the ship to participate in the Rim of the Pacific exercise, or RIMPAC.

A Navy diesel engine expert proposed a procedure to block further corrosion of the engine with a special rinse.

A Navy expert in Philadelphia, referred to as the guru in the Navy investigation, approved that approach, which would allow the ship to get back to sea more quickly and complete the mission by using the ships three remaining engines.

Throughout the exercise, a parade of high-ranking Navy officials  including two rear admirals, a Marine Corps general, and a commodore  visited the vessel to turn up the heat on the crew and its captain.

They made clear that the Freedoms participation in RIMPAC was crucially important to the entire LCS program and that there was no appetite for the Freedom to delay its departure. Freedoms performance, they believed, would perhaps modulate some of the programs critics, the investigation said.

Given what happened on the Fort Worth and the Milwaukee months earlier, top Navy leaders felt pressure to deliver a win for the program, according to the investigation, which .

The investigation called the pressure on Wohnhaas severe.

One senior officer invoked the commander of the Pacific Fleet, Adm. Scott Swift, as wanting to use the region as a testing grounds for the Navy.

Reached by phone, Swift said he was a believer in the LCS and acknowledged that he had encouraged the Navy to test new weapons systems in the Pacific. But he emphasized that it was not an order to deploy ships at any cost.

We made it clear if you want to take them off line, take them off line, but I am not surprised that people further down the chain didnt feel they had that option, he said. The offer could have been perceived as an order, or taken advantage of by those that wanted to push harder to get a win out of LCS.

As a four star, if you ask for something too often people think of it as a requirement, he said.

On the morning of July 17, 2016, the ship finally seemed ready to go.

The contractors completed the rinse and were packing up to leave. But when the chief engineer looked at samples taken from inside the engine, he was deeply worried.

Holy shit, he thought, according to an interview in a Navy investigation. Theres still water in the engine.

He sent a message to Wohnhaas that he later acknowledged was misleading because it suggested the ship was ready to go. He blamed the mistake on not proof-reading the text prior to sending it.

Sir, the flush is done, he wrote at 9:50 a.m. I [assess] that we are still on track for tomorrow.

Wohnhaas took this as good news and passed it on to his superiors:

Everything is tracking toward an on-time departure, he said in an email sent to his commodore, Warren Buller, at 11:36 a.m.

In fact, the procedure approved by the Philadelphia guru hadnt solved the problem. Investigators would later determine the procedure could not have worked  it was meant to remove grit, not seawater, from engine oil.

The following morning, as the Freedom was preparing to depart, a senior enlisted engineer ran into a contractor he knew as Joe.

Joe told him that the engine was still contaminated.

Alarmed, the engineer discussed the situation with his supervisor, the chief engineer, who was smoking a cigarette on the front deck of the ship.

If they went to sea, the engine would rust, the engineer said. The chief engineer told him he knew it and he was on his way to tell Wohnhaas.

In an interview with investigators, the chief engineer said he told Wohnhaas something to the effect of we cant get underway like this, we gotta do something.

Wohnhaas declined to comment for this story. In his interview with investigators, he said that when he learned of the contaminated samples from the chief engineer, he understood the engine was inoperable. But he was confident he could avoid further damage and complete the mission by relying on the ships other engines.

There was a strong sense that we couldnt have another LCS not meet mission, Wohnhaas said. He did not tell his superior officers the uncomfortable fact that the engine was still contaminated because of the pressure to get underway, the investigation said.

The Freedom sailed out and detected mines in the water. The mission was a success  at least so everyone thought.

But on Aug. 3, three days after Wohnhaas returned the ship, a routine inspection revealed major damage to the engine, corrosion so extensive that the ship was docked in repairs for two years. The engine needed to be replaced.

The Navy investigation found that one failure led to another on the Freedom: The inexperienced crew used the wrong procedure to stop the leak; the Navys technical community then recommended another incorrect procedure to flush the engine; contractors executed it, providing false hope that it would prevent the corrosion.

Wohnhaas key error, according to the investigation: He failed to tell his superiors that the engine was still contaminated by seawater.

Wohnhaas was removed from command over the incident. Others, whose names and titles are redacted from the Navy report, were also recommended for discipline.

7. Out to sea: It just felt like a big joke

By early 2017, Lt. Jett Watson was beginning to wonder whether he had signed up to squander his naval career.

He was in the middle of training to serve as an LCS officer, spending hours inside virtual reality simulators set up in San Diego to make participants feel as if they were driving the ship.

The digital experience was impressive, but getting a real LCS out to sea was more complicated.

Im sure it was funny to watch us get underway just to have a big cloud of smoke go out because an engine went down and then have the tugboats pull us right back into the pier, which happened very often, he said in an interview with ProPublica. I mean, it was almost a game just to watch.

Becoming a full-fledged surface warfare officer in the Navy requires hundreds of hours at sea. In interviews with current and former officers, the LCS program was described as a place where careers go to die. The ships broke down so frequently that officers spent key years in which they were supposed to gain experience at sea sitting around waiting for repairs to be completed.

Watson felt deceived.

A couple of years earlier, he had come under the spell of the LCS as a student at the Naval Academy.

There, recruiters for the program spread the gospel of its small crew size and purportedly aggressive deployment schedule, convincing him that the ship suited only the most elite sailors and officers.

Watson was so taken by the promise of the ship that he became a kind of LCS evangelist, convincing his friends at the academy to join the program with him.

He remembered sweltering beneath the Maryland sun during his graduation ceremony, where Mabus delivered a kind of a final exhortation to the newly sworn in officers.

We are Americas away team, Mabus said. You didnt come to Annapolis to sit at home when you leave here, and you wont be sitting at home. Sailors and Marines, equally in times of peace and at war, are deployed around the world.

Hailing from Lubbock, Texas, Watson thought the LCS would be his ticket to a meaningful and exciting career in the Navy.

He went on to serve on three littoral combat ships, each belonging to the less problematic Independence class.

I would hesitate to say we ever did a mission, he said.

Instead, he and others had to stomach what one current senior noncommissioned officer described as a big shit sandwich when they first came on board.

General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin considered much of the data and equipment on the LCS proprietary  a problem that the GAO has identified throughout the military. As a result, only their employees were allowed to do certain repairs, former officers said. This sometimes meant that contractors would go overseas to help, adding millions in travel costs and often delaying missions. The Navy recently purchased some of the data. A Navy spokesperson would not disclose the price due to proprietary reasons.

Watson and others spent much of their time escorting contractors while on board because so many areas on the ship were considered classified, reducing their ability to do their own jobs, according to interviews with multiple officers who had served on the LCS.

Cumbersome negotiations meant it could sometimes take weeks to get contractors on board. The delays were especially frustrating when trying to fix the computer network that connected everything from the radars, to the weapons systems, to the ships canteen. That system, another former lieutenant said, frequently shut down because of software glitches.

You cant ask for help from your superior commands on shore, said the former lieutenant, who worked as a communications officer on Independence-class ships. And you cant even go buy yourself a soda.

The ships needed constant repairs. But technical manuals were sometimes written only in the native language of the contractor that built the equipment. One former officer said that a manual for a davit, a type of crane used to lower a search-and-rescue boat, was written in Norwegian. He said the Navy had to spend thousands of dollars to fly in a contractor from Norway to change two fuses.

The Navy has recently increased the amount of maintenance performed by sailors.

It just felt like a big joke, said Watson, who left the Navy in 2021. He said many of the highly qualified sailors he worked with sought mental health assistance because they felt that their time on an LCS was a waste, affording them little opportunity to apply their skills or learn new ones.

An average week would consist of 90 to 100 hours in port doing, honestly, nothing, Watson said. It felt ridiculous. Many times we were there just because we had to be there.

At one point, a senior Navy official addressed a group of more than 50 LCS sailors assembled in an auditorium and asked how many would volunteer to come back. Two former officers familiar with the presentation said only a handful said yes.

8. Inside the Pentagon: A fight over the future

The ships mounting problems drew attention from the highest reaches of the Pentagon, eventually prompting two successive defense secretaries to try to halt their construction.

The first, in 2014, was Chuck Hagel, a former Army infantry squad leader and U.S. senator. The military was fighting wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, but it also needed to save money. Hagels advisers told him he could do that by keeping the LCS fleet to 32 ships, abandoning plans to build 52 of them.

Hed be cutting what was already understood to be a deeply troubled vessel. Studies showed that the ship couldnt continue to fight after a missile strike and that the interchangeable warfighting packages  an idea originally at the heart of the LCS  were failing to perform.

Do we want one-fifth of the future Navy fleet to be a ship that cant take a hit and continue its mission? one adviser recalled thinking at the time.

In February 2014, Hagel pledged to make the cut to 32 and asked the Navy to come up with a design for a new frigate  a larger, tougher type of warship. But Mabus pushed back. A Navy task force suggested that the LCS could be transformed into a frigate. The Pentagons top weapons tester told Hagel that was infeasible. But Hagel agreed with the task force, because the Navy was going to have to live with it, and justify it. And count on it, he said in an interview with ProPublica.

In December 2014, in one of his final acts as secretary of defense, Hagel agreed to allow the Navy to build up to 52 smaller ships : a mix of the littoral combat ships and the new frigates, which would be based on the LCS design, but with more weapons.

In response to critics who said he had capitulated, Hagel characterized his decision as a compromise based on the advice of the governments top experts.

We brought in a lot of different people on both sides of it, he said. Thats the only responsible way you can evaluate these big projects as secretary of defense, because you cant know everything about this. Its just, no one person is that smart.

The Navy later awarded a contract to the shipbuilder Fincantieri Marine Group to build a new line of frigates based on a different design.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who followed Hagel, also took aim at the LCS.

In a sharply worded December 2015 memo to Mabus, Carter said the Navy was guilty of prioritizing quantity over lethality. He told the Navy to limit future purchases to 40 ships, including littoral combat ships and frigates.

Mabus told ProPublica that he was blindsided by the change of course and that it led to heated discussions with Carter in private.

In public, he opposed his boss too: first at a naval symposium, then before Congress, then at a Wisconsin shipyard where he assured LCS builders they were working on the best ship in the world. In March 2016, under questioning from Rep. Bradley Byrne, an Alabama Republican who called the LCS his favorite topic, Mabus told the House Armed Services Committee that the Navy had a  validated need  for the 52 ships.

Even as Mabus testified, the ships were breaking down at sea with increasing frequency.

Mabus downplayed the severity of the incidents.

We took it seriously, he said. But it did not seem, from what we were looking at, that it was a systemic problem.

The contractors who built the ships defended their performance.

Eric Dent, a spokesperson for the Italian-based shipbuilder Fincantieri, which also built the Freedom ships in Marinette, said it did so to a design from Lockheed Martin and the Navy, referring questions to both.

Lockheed Martin spokesperson Patrick McNally said the company is proud of its work with the Navy and is focused on delivering affordable improvements to the platform.

Australian-based shipbuilder Austal, which constructs the Independence class of ships, and General Dynamics, which built the infrastructure for the ships computers , both declined to comment for this story.

The weapons systems were failing as badly as the ships engines.

Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Charleston navigates the South China Sea on Feb. 5, 2023. (Daniel Serianni/U.S. Navy)

Without them, the LCS was only a box floating in the ocean, said former Lt. Cmdr. Mark West, who helped lead the Navys development of the warfighting packages for years in uniform and as a civilian.

To help the LCS find mines, an important mission in 21st-century warfare, the Navy built a remotely operated minisubmarine designed to detect underwater explosives. West and others said it turned out to be too difficult to operate. The Navy is now dependent on an aging fleet of minesweepers that often cannot deploy.

Imagine a 25-year-old sailor trying to remotely control a [minisubmarine] in the water that weighs 20,000 pounds as the ship is going 4 or 5 knots, one current senior enlisted sailor said. Then trying to bring it to the surface as a crane lowers a saddle on top of it to get it out of the water. It was damn near impossible.

After 15 years of development and more than $700 million invested in the remote minehunting system, the Navy canceled it in March 2016.

To hunt submarines , the defense contractors created a sonar device the ship dragged through the water on a long cable from the stern. When the device detected a submarine, it was supposed to send a signal to the ship, which then dispatched a helicopter to hover over the ocean and plunge another sonar device into the water. The helicopter then dropped a torpedo to destroy the sub.

None of these components effectively communicated with one another. And the wake of the LCS made it extremely difficult to launch and recover the sonar, according to one former commodore with direct knowledge of the program.

After pouring hundreds of millions into the module, the Navy shifted the function to its new frigate.

In an interview, West said the Navy never gave the modules the same priority as the ships. They always played second fiddle, West said. Those working on them had to fight and claw to get the time and money necessary to ensure their success.

9. Out to sea: Coronado and Montgomery About a month after the Freedoms engine failed, a fourth LCS, the USS Coronado, broke down on its way to Singapore and had to limp back to Hawaii.

The breakdowns had become routine by this point. First came the fanfare over a newly christened ship, with all the requisite flag waving, handshaking, speechmaking and celebratory Champagne bottle breaking. Later, a perilous journey: a few days or weeks at sea, followed by another busted part and another tow back to port.

This time, on the Coronado, a part called a coupling would be the culprit. The device, which helped connect the water jets to the engine, had failed, hindering the ships complicated propulsion system. The Navy discovered it was a problem on several other littoral combat ships, too.

The GAO, which has produced dozens of reports criticizing the ships, later learned that the Coronado failed to sail six times between 2016 and 2017 because it did not not have correct parts on board to fix simple problems.

Important items like circuit card assemblies, washers, bolts, gaskets, and diaphragms for air conditioning units were not on board. The LCS may not have adequate space onboard to stock these items, the report found.

In August 2016, the Navy ordered a 30-day stand down of all littoral combat ships to retrain the engineering crews and improve the fleets performance.

A month later, a fifth ship, the USS Montgomery, suffered a series of mishaps. Over a two-month stretch, its engine malfunctioned, it collided with a tugboat and it then cracked its hull after striking a lock in the Panama Canal.

10. Inside the Pentagon: The Navy Doesnt Want Them

On May 4, 2017, about three months into the administration of President Donald Trump, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget at the time, Mick Mulvaney, sat for an interview with conservative talk radio show host Hugh Hewitt.

They talked about Game of Thrones, the repeal of Obamacare and a new hire at the OMB before turning to Trumps promise to increase the Navys fleet to 350 ships. How, Hewitt wanted to know, was the president going to achieve that?

Mulvaney said that the day before he had missed a meeting on the Paris Agreement  the international treaty to avert the catastrophic consequences of climate change  in order to discuss whether to buy more littoral combat ships.

 The Navy doesnt want them , Mulvaney said.

With the Navy on its way toward building the more powerful frigate, it appeared that the LCS program was on its last legs. The Navy requested funding for only one LCS that year.

But once again, politics intervened.

Then-Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney speaks during a press briefing about President Donald Trumps 2018 budget proposal that included boosts for military, on May 23, 2017 in Washington. (Olivier Douliery, Abaca Press/TNS )

Tammy Baldwin , the Democratic senator from Wisconsin, fought for more. She wrote to Trump on May 12, casting the LCS as a rare opportunity for her and the president to work together. Both support American workers making American products, she said, but too few of the vessels in the budget would cause her states shipyard to lay off hundreds of workers.

On May 24, in a move that shocked the defense community, the Trump administration inserted one more ship into the budget after it had already been sent to Congress.

The Trump administration had suddenly placed a $500 million order for a new ship that the Navy didnt ask for.

In an email to ProPublica, Baldwin said she takes great pride in representing Wisconsins shipbuilding industry, adding that she supported the LCS because it provided new capabilities and capacity to the Navy.

Over the next year, Congress funded yet more ships, leaving the force with 35, three more than the Navy said it needed. The additions cost taxpayers more than $1.5 billion.

In the years since, both variants of the LCS have continued to grapple with major problems. The Independence version has shown cracks in the hulls of nearly half the class. The Navy determined that a flaw in the combining gear affected the entire Freedom class. The Navy came up with a fix at a reported cost of $8 million to $10 million per ship  an expense split with Lockheed Martin.

Naval experts worry that the failures of the LCS have put the Navy at a greater disadvantage against China, which boasts the largest Navy in the world with some 340 ships and submarines , according to the Pentagons most recent report to Congress on the state of the Chinese military. By comparison, the Navy has roughly 294 ships and submarines .

The Navy has begun to mothball littoral combat ships far before the end of their expected lifespans.

In March 2022, the Navy announced plans to retire nine Freedom-class vessels early because of their inability to hunt submarines.

In a predictable pattern, lawmakers representing states where the ships are based fought to keep more of the ships at sea . They allowed the Navy to decommission only four. The first of those, retired last month, is less than five years old. Three other LCS had already been mothballed.
The Saar Polygon in Ensdorf, Germany, takes on different shapes as the viewer moves around the structure. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

An unusual sight caught my eye atop a hill near the town of Saarlouis recently while I was driving toward the French border: a futuristic and enigmatic structure that stood boldly against the sky.

I had found the Saar Polygon, a memorial to the regions mining industry.

In 2016, a local mining heritage preservation group built the metal structure perched atop the Duhamel spoil tip of the former coal mine in Ensdorf.

This colossal mound, which sprawls across roughly 125 acres and soars about 500 feet above the surrounding Saar valley, tells the story of the regions history of coal mining.

A father and his daughter hike up the Duhamel Tip on Aug. 27, 2023, in Ensdorf, Germany. The manmade hill has been reforested and hosts an array of plant and animal life. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

On a recent Sunday, my wife and I took a closer look.

We followed a snaking path through the woods, and after the short and steep 30-minute hike, we reached the moonscape of the rocky plateau at the top.

Rounding the final bend, we marveled at the structures sleek lines of steel, which intersected with the rugged terrain and evoked a space station.

Visitors enter the Saar Polygon on Aug. 27, 2023, in Ensdorf, Germany. Each staircase is tilted at a 45-degree angle. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes) Visitors look at the Saar Polygon atop the Duhamel coal tip in Ensdorf, Germany, on Aug. 27, 2023. The steel structure has a 360-degree viewing platform. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Despite weighing 275 tons, the all-metal structure appears to be suspended effortlessly. The multi-angled tower felt like it changed shape as we walked around it.

After climbing its 133 steps, we were treated to a spectacular panoramic view from the 100-foot-high platform. Saarlouis stretched below along the banks of the shimmering Saar River, and we could even make out distant France and Luxembourg on the horizon.

Visitors take in the panorama from the viewing platform of the Saar Polygon on Aug. 27, 2023.The almost 100-foot-high tower serves as a modern memorial to Saarland's coal mining heritage. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes) When the weather is right, the view from atop the Saar Polygon in Ensdorf, Germany, extends all the way to France and Luxembourg. The hike to the top of the Duhamel hill takes about 30 minutes. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Reminiscent of the underground support structures used in the coal mines, the Polygons prominent hilltop location also is a reminder of the winding towers that hoisted coal to the surface.

The Ensdorf mine once employed 2,700 people. Its closure in 2012 marked the end of an era in the Saarland, which had been one of the most important coal-producing regions in Europe.

However, every ton of precious coal unearthed left behind more than 800 pounds of slag, slate and other rock debris. For over a century, this waste was piled high, creating hills like the Duhamel Tip.

More than eight such heaps in the Saarland have been reforested and declared natural monuments that bear witness to the work that once created whole communities and drove the states economy.

Saarlands coal industry experienced an unexpected revival recently, amid concerns over Germanys energy supply in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the disruption of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

A miniature diorama shows a winding tower once operational in Bexbach, Germany. The Bexbach mining museum offers insights into Saarland's coal mining history. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes) A decommissioned coal drilling machine in the underground corridor at the Saarland Mining Museum in Bexbach, Germany. The museum displays the tools that shaped Saarland's industrial past. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Bexbachs power station was reactivated to meet anticipated winter power demand. This small community is also home to the Bexbach Mining Museum.

Visitors here can dive deeper into the work that moved mountains and descend into its history underground.

Next to the museum is another coal heap, called Monte Barbara, which offers its own 2.6-mile walking trail featuring family-friendly signs that explain more about the coal industry.

The signs are in German but can be easily translated with an app. Our favorite station invited visitors to explore the hills plentiful supply of small rocks for fossils. My wife and I quickly found inclusions of ferns and grasses in the grey slate sheets.

Perched atop Monte Barbara in Bexbach, Germany, the statue of St. Barbara watches over the Saarland. She is the patron saint of miners, and the state of Saarland was once a major European center of coal mining. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes) Amid the rocks atop Monte Barbara in Bexbach, Germany, fossilized grass offers a glimpse into ancient landscapes. The rocks on the slag heap were once buried along coal lines deep underground. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

We then followed the path to the statue of Saint Barbara, the patron saint of the miners and their families. Also visible from Monte Barbara is Bexbachs coal-fired power plant, which is running again.

As Germany grapples with its energy supply shift, coals role in the mix remains contested. The polygon, with its twisted shape and view on the areas many wind energy turbines, seems a fitting symbol of this difficult transition.

In addition, its a great way to get outside and remember what it takes to keep the lights on at home.

Visitors enjoy the panoramic views from the polygon plateau Aug. 27, 2023, in Ensdorf, Germany. The hilltop offers views of the surrounding Saarland. (Alexander Riedel/Stars and Stripes)

Saar Polygon

Directions: The Saar Polygon is located in 66806 Ensdorf, Germany, and is easily accessible from Kaiserslautern by car via the A6 and A8 highways. Free roadside parking is available along Bei Fussenkreuz road. Monte Barbara is located a short walk from Bexbach Mining Museum at Niederbexbacher Str. 62, 66450 Bexbach.

Times: Official hours for the Polygon are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. The mining museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday though Friday and noon to 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays.

Cost: The Polygon and Monte Barbara are free.

Food: Saarlouis offers a variety of restaurants. A favorite for reliable Italian fare is Donna Mia, located a 10-minute drive from the Polygon at Kleiner Markt 1, 66740 Saarlouis. The restaurant East has Chinese street food rarely found in Germany.

Information: Online: bergbauerbesaar.de/das-polygon
A huge sign in white letters announces Korean BBQ, in English, with words in Korean that translate to handmade jumbo beef, pork galbi, or ribs. (Christopher Green/Stars and Stripes)

Nearly a year had passed on my assignment to South Korea before I tried one of the countrys signature cuisines.

I blame the routine of military life. We wake, exercise, work, sleep and repeat with only a rare interruption. But suddenly my tour was becoming short, and I had yet to sample any Korean barbecue, one of the worlds distinctive meals.

To scratch that itch, I turned to a place just 10 minutes from Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek marked by some straightforward advertising. A huge red sign with white letters announces Korean BBQ, in English, with words in Korean that translate to handmade jumbo beef, pork galbi, or ribs.

Inside the restaurant, six long tables with grills are situated beneath fans that pull away the smoke as you cook your meat. The atmosphere is welcoming, and the staff was attentive.

I ordered marinated steak. Being a bit behind on the learning curve, I needed some help from the wait staff, who were happy to oblige.

The atmosphere at Korean BBQ in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, is welcoming and the staff is attentive. (Christopher Green/Stars and Stripes)

When the food arrived, I knew I was in for a treat. The four flank steaks dripped marinade as they hit the grill. Next came small bowls filled with kimchi, pickled onions, cabbage salad and spicy dipping sauce.

Each dish offered a mix of savory, spicy, sweet, bitter and fermented flavors, hallmarks of Korean cuisine. Everything tasted spectacular.

I regret waiting so long to experience this cuisine. Dont make the same mistake. Go out and get yourself some Korean barbecue. Dont delay.

green.christopher@stripes.com Twitter: @ChrisJGreen8

Korean BBQ

Location: 92 [315] Paengseonbuk-ro, Pyeongtaek, South Korea.

Directions: About an 8-minute drive from the Millett Gate at Camp Humphreys, South Korea.

Hours: Open daily, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Prices: Most entrees cost between 26,000 to 56,000 won, or $20 to $43. Sides start at 12,000 to 7,000 won. Non-alcoholic drinks are 2,000. Alcoholic drinks start at 4,000 won.

Dress: Casual

Information: 031-692-9282
Priests celebrate an open-air mass dedicated to the Pope; Buenos Aires; September 5, 2023. ENRIQUE GARCIA MEDINA

At the end of a street in one of Buenos Aires largest neighborhoods is a church with white walls and Our Lady of the Miracles of Caacupe written in blue cursive letters above the front door. This is where over 70 priests from low-income neighborhoods around Argentina stood up to presidential candidate Javier Milei and defended Pope Francis against his derogatory remarks that at various times called the pontiff an imbecile, a communist and a representative of the evil one. They expressed their love and support for the Pope during an open-air mass, to send a message that the entire Church stands by him.

The streets quickly filled up while Father Lorenzo Toto De Vedia of the Caacupe church directed people and gave out hugs. They congregated in front of a raised altar, as the sound of drums echoed through the unpaved streets lined with modest homes. Wave your flags, everyone! shouted De Vedia. On another street parallel to the church, a large banner proclaimed, Solidarity with the Pope and the poor. The people shouted cheers for the Catholic Church and Pope Francis.

Argentine Catholics celebrate a mass in support of Pope Francis. ENRIQUE GARCIA MEDINA

The three-piece band on stage began a song that everyone knew. Take life as it comes / and to the one without hope / lets give him the strength to live. Waving his uplifted hands, De Vedia sang along. Lets make room / in the big family / take life as it comes. Two icons of the Virgin Mary made their way through the crowd, followed by a long procession of priests. The last one in line was the auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires, Gustavo Carrara, who initiated the mass. Everyone made the sign of the cross and the sound of the drums faded away.

The priests and their parishioners came together to strongly repudiate Mileis offensive attacks on the Pope, and issued a statement signed by 70 Argentine clergy. Days before, the protest organizers acknowledged that it is unusual for the Church to speak out against criticism of the pontiff, but said it was warranted in this case. One wonders if someone who cannot express a different opinion without resorting to shouting and insults can handle the stress of holding a public office, read the statement.

Milei, a libertarian economist and former TV talk-show host who was the top vote-getter in the August primary elections, saw an easy target in the Jesuit Pope, who represents one of the least conservative sectors of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Francis has often spoken critically of political neoliberalism and populism. At various times, Milei called the Pope a disgusting leftist, and an imbecile who promotes communism and defends social justice, a concept that is anathema to the far-right candidates party, which has promised a minimalist government that will eliminate the countrys health, education and labor ministries.

Parishioners carry an icon representing Our Lady of the Miracles of Caacupe, the church where the mass was celebrated. ENRIQUE GARCIA MEDINA

Social justice is part of the Gospel  it is loving your neighbor, Father Jose Maria Di Paola told the crowd. Di Paolo has known Pope Francis since he was Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires. Social justice begins with understanding the meaning of freedom. Its not just about doing whats convenient for ourselves, but also about doing things for others. When the government intelligently engages with and supports communities, we can achieve real and lasting change.

Di Paola, who has worked for over 20 years in the low-income neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, remembers how they endured the political, economic and social crisis of 2001. We had to rely on the parish, the health center and some soup kitchens. We made some progress, but we had very little. Nowadays, we have schools, the child cash transfers and labor cooperatives. However, its clear that these efforts are still not enough. The widespread anger that gave so many votes to Milei in the primaries is the fault of the entire ruling class because they have failed to serve the communitys needs.

People praying during the mass dedicated to Pope Francis in Buenos Aires; September 5, 2023. ENRIQUE GARCIA MEDINA

In the audience was Lujan Pereira, who has worked in a soup kitchen for eight years in the western part of Buenos Aires, providing meals three times a week to 180 families. In 2001, kids were fainting from hunger, he said. Luis Castagno, a recovering drug addict, was also there. He lives in a recovery center that is part of the Hogar de Cristo federation, an organization addressing social vulnerability and substance use that receives some government funding.

Castagno didnt vote because he couldnt leave the recovery center, but on this day he protested Mileis attacks on the Pope carrying the icon of Our Lady of Lujan, Argentinas patron saint. The crowd spilled down the streets surrounding the church. There could be 10,000 people here today, said one of the organizers, his voice scratchy from exhorting the crowd. Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel and other government officials were also there. The mass lasted about 30 minutes and ended with a prayer for the Pope. Lets give Pope Francis a big hand! Loud enough to hear in the Vatican!

Argentine supporters of Pope Francis. ENRIQUE GARCIA MEDINA
Signage for the Group of 20 (G-20) summit illuminated at night outside the Bharat Mandapam, venue for the summit, in New Delhi, India, on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023. The G-20 summit is scheduled to run through Sept. 9 to 10 in New Delhi. (Prakash Singh/Bloomberg)

President Joe Biden aims to seize on the absence of two key adversaries at this weeks Group of 20 leaders meeting in New Delhi to make fresh inroads with countries that China and Russia have previously courted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping both opted to skip this years gathering, giving Biden an opening to reestablish the U.S. as the polestar of the international system. Hell take the U.S. case to nations such as Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia - not to mention the host, India - that are eager for closer ties with China and have declined to take sides after Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Central to that effort is a push to boost the funding and scope of the World Bank and other development banks, in a bid to deepen ties with the worlds emerging economies and offer an alternative to Chinas state-backed lending. The U.S. also plans to push for debt relief for poor countries and announce funding for new infrastructure projects. Biden will then visit Vietnam to announce commercial deals deepening ties with the countrys emerging technology sector.

The White House sees this funding as crucial on multiple fronts: as a form of soft-power diplomacy, to make sure projects maintain high labor standards and consider the climate, and as a counterweight to Chinese and Russian efforts to build influence in countries that will only grow in strategic and economic importance.

If you look at the U.S. economy and you look at Chinas economy, if you look at the U.S.s alliances and the strength that we have built up in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, we feel very good about the strategic position of the United States, in terms of the unfolding competition, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters.

Bidens ability to make that pitch will depend, of course, on his own ability to attend. First lady Jill Biden tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday, and if the infection spreads to the president he will scrap his planned travel. On Wednesday, he said that he was tested and clear across the board.

Bidens effort also hinges on whether other participating powers see the G-20 as a still-relevant gathering to steer the global economy. Tensions over the war in Ukraine are only the latest wedge in the diverse and often chaotic multilateral coalition, while China and Russia have sought other forums to exert their influence.

Putin is set to meet North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un in Russias Far East, in what could further undermine international efforts to isolate Pyongyang. Leaders will likely struggle until the last minute to find compromise on language describing Russias war in Ukraine - risking the first time that the group doesnt put out a joint communique since its 1999 founding.

China, meanwhile, has seen its influence on energy markets grow after inviting three of the worlds biggest oil and gas powers - Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the UAE - into the BRICS forum, giving Beijing an important alternative to the G-20.

Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said the composition of this years summit in New Delhi makes it even harder to prove its relevance.

The absence of Xi Jinping at this years G-20 meeting underscores how this grouping, once the shiny dime among its competitors, now is struggling to produce meaningful outcomes in the midst of geopolitical tensions, she said.

Xi also faces growing challenges at home, where his Communist Party is battling a struggling economy and rising youth unemployment. Biden last month called China a ticking time bomb, citing its economic woes.

But Biden is hoping that the relative stability of the U.S. economy will bolster his pitch for American leadership - and soften skepticism that a Republican Congress or a return of former president Donald Trump could undermine any promises made by American officials. Sullivan said Tuesday that the absence of other leaders wasnt changing the sales pitch from the administration.

Bidens reelection campaign Thursday unveiled a new ad highlighting his foreign policy, centered on his unannounced trip to Ukraine in February. The ad, which will run in battleground states, shows footage of Biden meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv as air raid sirens blared. Bidens dramatic visit to show support for the country followed months of planning and secrecy to take the U.S. president to a war zone and home safely.

Bidens support for Ukraine has become a flash point in the Republican presidential primary race, with the field divided between hawkish candidates and those seeking a less interventionist approach. Candidates including former vice president Mike Pence and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley have urged continued support for Kyiv, while others such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have said Europe must pull their weight. Trump has expressed admiration for Putin and said he would quickly secure a deal to end the war if reelected.

The forum also allows Biden a chance to mend relationships with critical partners. Aides acknowledge hes likely to interact with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, even if they dont hold a formal meeting.

That conversation on the sidelines could prove crucial for Biden, who is eager to see an increase in oil production - and a corresponding expected drop in gasoline prices - ahead of next years presidential election. The White House has also sought to help broker a potential normalization of diplomatic relations between the Saudis and Israelis.

For Biden, the most important outcome may be strengthening his hand before November, when Xi may travel to San Francisco where the U.S. is hosting the annual APEC summit. A parade of U.S. officials have visited Beijing in recent months - prompting positive signals from officials there and speculation that a meeting between the two leaders is in the works.

Obviously there has been a temporary easing of tensions between China and the U.S., said Wang Yiwei, a former Chinese diplomat and director of Renmin Universitys Institute of International Affairs. Even so, it would be difficult for the Chinese elites to restore trust in the U.S. again, he said.

Bloombergs Jing Li contributed to this report.
The Apple App Store app on a smartphone arranged in New York, U.S., on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023. The U.S. Supreme Court let Apple Inc. keep its App Store payment rules in place for the time being, rejecting an Epic Games Inc. request that would have let developers start directing iPhone users to other purchasing options. (Gabby Jones/Bloomberg)

China plans to expand a ban on the use of iPhones in sensitive departments to government-backed agencies and state companies, a sign of growing challenges for Apple in its biggest foreign market and global production base.

Several agencies have begun instructing staff not to bring their iPhones to work, people familiar with the matter said, affirming a previous report from the Wall Street Journal. In addition, Beijing intends to extend that restriction far more broadly to a plethora of state-owned enterprises and other government-controlled organizations, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a sensitive matter.

If Beijing goes ahead, the unprecedented blockade will be the culmination of a years-long effort to root out foreign technology use in sensitive environments, coinciding with Beijings effort to reduce its reliance on American software and circuitry. It threatens to erode Apples position in a market that yields about a fifth of its revenue, and from where it makes the majority of the worlds iPhones through sprawling factories that employ millions of Chinese.

Its unclear how many companies or agencies could eventually adopt restrictions on personal devices, and theres been no formal or written injunction as yet, the people said. State firms or organizations will likely vary in how strictly they enforce such bans, with some forbidding Apple devices from the workplace while others could bar employees from using them entirely.

Chinese state firms like oil giant PetroChina employ millions and control vast swaths of a centrally planned economy. Given Apples relationship with Beijing and its importance to the economy, it has historically been viewed as relatively safe in China from government restrictions, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brandon Nispel said in a report Wednesday. Is the government changing its stance?

A representative for Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple didnt respond to a request for comment. The State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the State Council Information Office didnt respond to faxed requests for comment.

Shares fell 2.8% in premarket trading Thursday, following a 3.6% decline on Wednesday in New York, their biggest single-day drop since Aug. 4. European chipmakers, including Apple supplier STMicroelectronics, also declined on Thursday.

The company enjoys widespread popularity in China, despite rising resentment of American efforts to contain the Asian countrys technology industry. Apples iPhones are among the nations bestsellers and are common in both the government and private sector.

But the blockade on the devices coincides with stepped-up efforts to develop domestic technology that can match or even surpass American innovation. Last week, the release of a Huawei Technologies smartphone that contained an advanced made-in-China processor caused a stir on both sides of the Pacific. State media celebrated an early triumph against harsh U.S. sanctions, while one U.S. lawmaker called for an investigation into possible violations of those curbs.

Foreign devices have long been discouraged in sensitive agencies, particularly as Beijing stepped up a campaign in recent years to reduce a reliance on technology from the U.S., Chinas geopolitical rival.

Employees at some central government regulators received instructions via chat groups and in meetings to stop bringing such gadgets into the office, the Journal reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter. Its not clear how widely the orders were issued, it said.

In 2022, Beijing ordered central government agencies and state-backed corporations to replace foreign-branded personal computers with domestic alternatives within two years, marking one of the most aggressive efforts to eradicate key overseas technology from within its most sensitive organs.

The Biden administration, meanwhile, has sought to limit exports of cutting-edge semiconductor equipment to China. And Chinas top chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International, has come under scrutiny for supplying components to Huawei  a company the U.S. has blacklisted.

Even with U.S.-China ties fraying, Apple remains highly dependent on the Asian country  both as a manufacturing partner and a market for its products. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook celebrated that relationship during a trip to China earlier this year, calling it symbiotic.

China also was one of the highlights of Apples results last quarter, helping offset a generally sluggish period. The company is preparing to unveil its latest iPhones next week, setting the stage for a holiday quarter that is invariably its biggest sales period of the year.

Bloombergs Mark Gurman, Jing Zhao and Jessica Sui contributed to this report.
A China coast guard vessel transits the East China Sea near the Senkaku Islands on Aug. 16, 2019. (Japan Coast Guard)

Beijing brushed aside Tokyos protests this week after publishing an official map that depicts disputed islets claimed by Japan in the East China Sea as Chinese territory.

China on Wednesday also reasserted its claims over the disputed Senkaku Islands, Foreign Ministry Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular news briefing.

The Senkakus, a string of five uninhabited islands and three rocks 280 miles west of Okinawa, are administered by Japan but claimed by both Taiwan and China, which refers to them as Diaoyu Dao.

China released the updated territorial map that referred to the islands by their Chinese name on Aug. 28, prompting Japan to file diplomatic protests. Three other countries protested similar claims.

Diaoyu Dao and its affiliated islands have all along been Chinas territory, Ning said. It is only natural that they are marked as Chinese territory on a map. China does not accept Japans protest.

The Senkakus  about 2  square miles  have been a flashpoint ever since China claimed the islands in 1992 and began sending government ships there 16 years later, according to Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

The islands, said to contain a wealth of natural resources, including fish, oil and natural gas, are the scene of near-daily exchanges between the two nations coast guards. China sends its vessels into waters claimed by Japan to intimidate Japanese fishing boats, which Japans coast guard are on hand to shield.

The most recent row began Aug. 28 when Chinas Ministry of Natural Resources released its 2023 standard map, the state-affiliated China Daily reported that day. The annually updated standard map shows the communist nations shifting territorial claims.

Afterward, Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs complained to the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo and to the Chinese government in Beijing, a ministry spokesman said by phone Thursday. He declined to say when the protests occurred.

Some government officials in Japan are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

The ministry demanded an immediate retraction, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters Tuesday, according to video of his press conference in Tokyo.

We are keeping a concerned eye on this move made by China, he said. The Senkakus are unquestionably an inherent part of Japans territory, in terms of both history and international law.

Matsuno said the ministry would uphold Japanese sovereignty calmly and with a resolute attitude. The Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia also protested Chinas claims, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said Wednesday.

Chinese coast guard vessels have entered the 12-mile territorial limit around the Senkakus 22 times this year, with the last incident occurring Aug. 23, a Japan coast guard spokesman said by phone Thursday.
Crew members of the guided-missile destroyer USS Shiloh man the rails as the ship departs Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, for Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Sept. 5, 2023. (Askia Collins/U.S. Navy)

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan  The guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh steamed out of Tokyo Bay on Tuesday bound for Hawaii, concluding a 17-year stint with the U.S. 7th Fleet.

The Shiloh is headed to its new homeport at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, according to a news release Thursday from 7th Fleet. The ship is relocating to Hawaii as part of a planned rotation of forces in the Pacific.

Its sad to be leaving this place that means so much to us, but we believe USS Shiloh made a difference during her time forward-deployed to Yokosuka, and we are proud of that, the ships skipper, Capt. Adam Cheatham, said in the release. On behalf of the crew, I want to offer my deep gratitude to the people of Japan and this community for their friendship over the years. It will never be forgotten.

The guided-missile destroyer USS John Finn, which left Naval Base San Diego and arrived in Yokosuka on March 4, is the Shilohs replacement, Task Force 70 spokesman Lt. Cmdr. Seth Koenig told Stars and Stripes by email Thursday. He declined to comment on any additional ship exchanges for the planned rotation.

As a matter of operational security, it is U.S. Navy policy not to discuss specific dates regarding future ship movements, he said.

The Shiloh first arrived in Yokosuka in 2006, when it left San Diego and joined the assembly of warships under Task Force 70. The ship arrived to fulfill the obligations of the U.S.-Japanese ballistic missile defense program and support the 7th Fleet in the region, according to the news release.

Since then, the Ticonderoga-class cruiser has patrolled the Indo-Pacific independently and as part of the Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group. It has also deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet  responsible for the western Indian Ocean and Mediterranean  in support of operations such as Allies Refuge and Freedom Sentinel in 2021, 7th Fleet said.

For nearly two decades, USS Shiloh provided our Forward-Deployed Naval Forces the agility and firepower to support our carrier operations, protect sea lanes, deter aggression and reassure allies and partners across the Indo-Pacific, Cheatham said in the release.

In June 2018, a sailor assigned to the Shiloh, Petty Officer 3rd Class Peter Mims, was presumed to be lost at sea for nearly a week. U.S. and Japanese ships and aircraft spent more than 50 hours searching for him.

Mims in fact had been hiding in the ships engine room and was found covered in urine and feces, and had a camelback, a multi-tool, Peeps candy and an empty peanut butter jar with him, according to a December 2017 Navy Times report that drew on Freedom of Information Act requests.

Mims was subjected to non-judicial punishment and scheduled for an administrative discharge, according to the Navy Times.
SpaceX founder Elon Musk celebrates after the launch of NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in 2020. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

SpaceX cut off Starlink satellite internet service to Ukrainian submarine drones last year just as they were launching an attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, according to a new biography of SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

The new details of the previously reported incident underscore how dependent the U.S. government has become on a company that once had to fight in court to become part of the Washington establishment.

The armed submarine drones were poised to attack the Russian fleet, according to a CNN report that cited an excerpt of a forthcoming biography of Musk by Walter Isaacson, a former CNN CEO and Time magazine editor. Instead, according the book, which goes on sale Tuesday, the drones "lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly."

Ukrainian and American officials scrambled to get service restored, according to the report, appealing to Musk directly. Musk eventually agreed.

But the recounting of the incident is a reminder of how SpaceX  and its founder  amassed enormous power and leverage as its competitors proved incapable of keeping up with a dizzying pace of innovation. That influence shows the delicate balance government must navigate when companies innovate faster than their competitors - or the government itself.

"One of the advantages is the huge amount of innovation coming out of the private sector, which the government wants to leverage to stay ahead of China and others," said Brian Weeden, the director of program planning at the Secure World Foundation, a think tank. "The flip side is it gives a lot more power to the private sector and particularly to billionaire individuals who control those companies and technologies."

SpaceX's Dragon capsule is the only way NASA can send its astronauts to and from the International Space Station. It launches sensitive national security satellites for the Pentagon and the National Reconnaissance Office. It launches more rockets than any other company or country  this year it has already surpassed its record last year of 61  and operates more satellites than any other entity on Earth, more than 4,500 in orbit.

SpaceX started providing Starlink internet service to Ukraine after Russia's invasion, creating a lifeline for the country when its communications systems had largely been knocked out. But according to Isaacson's book, Musk grew concerned about Ukraine's military using them for offensive purposes, according to the CNN report.

"How am I in this war? Musk asked," according to Isaacson. "Starlink was not meant to be involved in wars. It was so people can watch Netflix and chill and get online for school and do peaceful things, not drone strikes."

In February, Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president and chief operating officer, told reporters something very similar.

"We were really pleased to be able to provide Ukraine connectivity and help them in their fight for freedom," she said. "It was never intended to be weaponized, but the Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement."

Since reports surfaced of SpaceX shutting off satellite communication in Ukraine last year, the Pentagon has granted SpaceX a contract. The details of the contract are unknown  on Thursday Pentagon spokesman Jeff Jurgenson declined to say more "due to the critical nature of these systems." But Weeden said placing Starlink under contract should allow the Pentagon more control and possibly prevent the service from being suddenly shut off again.

"That is the balance that the Defense Department has to grapple with as it focuses on this commercial technology: is it losing control in some way?" Weeden said. But the government is not helpless and has ways to rein companies in, "You can address a lot of those concerns through contracting mechanism or other legal agreements," he said.

When SpaceX first launched its Starlink constellation, Musk said the chances of success were not guaranteed. Other satellite companies had tried and failed in the past, given the enormous cost to launch and operate hundreds or thousands of satellites. But in large part because SpaceX is vertically integrated, meaning it not only builds the satellites but launches them itself on its reusable Falcon 9 rocket, it has so far been able to be successful.

In addition to being used in Ukraine, the constellation is used to connect remote communities, and has been a key part of hurricane recovery efforts as well as in other natural disasters where connectivity is lost.

When SpaceX started Starlink, others were eyeing the market for satellite internet as well. At the time, Musk said, "it's always good to have competition." But Starlink has since outpaced its competition.

Another satellite provider, OneWeb, went bankrupt and then was resurrected and operates a far smaller network. Amazon plans to launch thousands of satellites but has yet to send up a single one. It is also facing a lawsuit from one of its shareholders, who alleges the company "acted in bad faith" when awarding launch contracts to other commercial companies, including Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin, but not to SpaceX.

"Despite being the launch provider with the most proven track record and the lowest prices in the industry, SpaceX was seemingly not considered by Amazon," the suit alleges. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

SpaceX is also the sole provider to NASA for crew transportation to the space station. But that's not because NASA just awarded one contract. It awarded two specifically so that companies would have to compete against each other, driving down the cost and increasing reliability. But the other company to win a contract, Boeing, has yet to fly any astronauts and may not until next year, leaving SpaceX as the only provider.

"SpaceX has been truly innovative in several key areas, launch large constellation broadband internet  two things people have long dreamed of but have been tried and failed before," Weeden said. "SpaceX has managed to make them a reality. In many other industries soon after there are breakthroughs, that encourages more competition. And the innovative technology proliferates across multiple companies. But in the case of SpaceX, we haven't yet seen competitors who have managed to do what they can do."

That dominant position didn't come easy. SpaceX was initially locked out of Pentagon launch contracts and had to sue the Air Force to be allowed to compete. It also fought to earn NASA as a customer, and now it is one of the space agency's most reliable partners.

A good portion of that success stems from Musk himself, who works relentlessly and pushes his teams to as well, attempting to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds. Building rockets that would fly to space and then land safely so that they could be reused is one example, especially as many had told Musk it was impossible. Building a constellation of thousands of satellites was another. Both were accomplished relatively quickly, which is part of the SpaceX ethos.

"You can always go faster than you think you can. Hands down," Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX's vice president of launch, said during a recent conference presentation. "There's always time to gain. There's always efficiencies to be brought. You think you went fast enough?  You can go faster. Every time my team is like, 'Dude, we can't go faster.' You're like, 'Yes, you can.' Move the goal posts. You'll be surprised what happens when you challenge people."

SpaceX has also thrived operating under what are known as fixed-priced contracts, where the contractor must eat any cost overruns. Traditionally, big Pentagon contracts operated under "cost-plus" contracts, allowing companies to be reimbursed if they went over their bid. That, critics have argued, has stifled innovation and allowed companies to move slowly.

The Space Force is also looking to SpaceX and its Starship, which, once flying, will be able to lift enormous amounts of mass to orbit. And it has praised SpaceX for keeping its Starlink constellation online even while Russian jammers were able to interfere with other networks.

"The quality of the link is excellent," Ukraine's minister for digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, told The Post last year. "We are using thousands  in the area of thousands  of terminals, with new shipments arriving every other day."

Missy Ryan contributed to this report.
A group of cows walk in search of water in what was once the deep part of the Cuitzeo lagoon in Michoacan, Mexico.

The world our grandparents knew bears little or no resemblance to today. If climate change was mentioned then, it was almost in the form of a myth; the monster under the bed. Today it is such a tangible reality that it is truly frightening. In Latin America, one of the regions of the world that emits the fewest greenhouse gases, extreme weather events increased from an average of 28 per year between 1980 and 1999 to 53 per year over the last two decades, affecting almost 3 million more people. Deforestation, biodiversity loss, and rising sea levels highlight two realities: that the world has changed and it is time to adapt to it, and that global commitments are increasingly urgent.

Adapting allows for several measures at once, explains Ricardo Estrada, one of the authors of the latest Economy and Development Report (RED) issued by CAF  Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. An adaptation measure can bring with it impact mitigation and local development tools. For example, the promotion of mangrove barriers against sea level rise is a conservation policy that also fulfills the function of mitigation. It can generate local economic development and, at the same time, provide security to the investor, he adds. In the absence of such precautions, climate change could cause between 2.4 million and 5.8 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean to fall into extreme poverty by 2030. We know that this is a region with many unresolved problems and meager growth, but it is also a region that has many resources to find solutions, adds the reports co-author, Ernesto Schargrodsky.

The RED, presented Thursday in Santa Marta, on Colombias Caribbean coast, scans the continent and takes a snapshot of the region today to predict what the coming years will bring. The study indicates that the average temperature until 2040 will be about 1 C higher than between 1985 and 2014. Less rainfall is also expected in northern Latin America, the Caribbean, Central America, part of the Amazon, northeastern Brazil, central and southern Chile, and southern Argentina. This will result, the report says, in arid climates throughout the continent, with the exception of the coasts of Peru and Ecuador.

The countries need, first of all, better diagnoses of what is happening in their territory, says Pablo Brassiolo, co-author of the study, entitled Global challenges, regional Solutions: Latin America and the Caribbean facing the climate and biodiversity crisis. The figures we saw show the difference in the impact of climate change. It is different depending on where you live and what you do for a living. Public policies have to take these differences into account.

In Colombia, for example, there is high awareness of how climate change affects the population. Nine out of 10 Colombians are demanding stricter climate policies, according to a survey by the European Investment Bank, published Monday. Ninety-four percent of Colombians say they feel the effects of climate change in their daily lives, and 67% say it affects them considerably.

A soy plantation in the Amazon rainforest near Santarem, Brazil. Brazil Photos (LightRocket via Getty Images)

This reality is affecting us all

With this publication we want to highlight that it is necessary to integrate these policies with those that promote economic growth and social inclusion, which can give rise to complementarities and tensions that need to be managed articulately, said Sergio Diaz-Granados, CAFs executive president, at the presentation. The world needs climate, food, and social solutions urgently. This reality is affecting us all.

With a land area representing 16% of the worlds total, the region is home to an enormous variety of the worlds known species: 33% of mammals, 35% of reptiles, 41% of birds and 50% of amphibians. In the worlds most environmentally rich region, experts say, why not look to nature for solutions?

This type of adaptation strategy includes sustainable agricultural practices, which also tend to be cost-effective, and actions as varied as the restoration and conservation of natural cover, the recovery of coastal ecosystems, the development of urban green spaces or the use of natural barriers, such as those mentioned by Estrada. Together with Africa, the region has the highest proportion of nature-based adaptation initiatives.

For these measures to prosper, however, climate finance needs to be rethought. Nearly all current investment is allotted to mitigation projects, with less than 10% devoted to adaptation, despite the fact that around $70 billion a year is needed for 58 countries alone to adapt to global warming. The low investment in this portfolio is due to the fact that financing is subordinated to credits and to the financial profitability of the projects, which do not usually generate adaptation measures in the same way. Developed countries, which usually contribute the most funds, do not bet on adaptation because the greatest benefit is local and stays in the communities, says Brassiolo.

The star example of these alternatives is the carbon market. Experts cite Mexico and Colombia as examples, two countries that apply taxes on the use of some types of fossil fuels, but allow companies to substitute the payment of the tax partially or totally via the purchase of these bonds. What has to be shielded, also with legislation, is that these spaces are truly conserved thanks to this payment, Brassiolo says. If the forest for which certain emissions are being compensated could have been reforested without the financing, it will not be an effective measure.

Another big challenge, according to the three experts, is to eliminate energy price subsidies, which, they estimate, account for 1% of regional GDP. It is probably an unpopular measure, but a necessary one. This is what the energy transition is all about, Brassiolo adds. The key, he asserts, is robust governance that prioritizes the 2030 Agenda.

The RED presentation followed the Finance in Common Summit held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, from September 4-6. The event brought together development banks from around the world, which have played a crucial role in the fight against poverty and climate change. We development banks do not have to compete with each other, but rather create an ecosystem from which Latin Americans benefit, said Carolina Espana, CAFs executive vice president. The roadmap is clear: global challenges, regional solutions, concluded Schargrodsky.
Spouses of U.S. service members serving and living in Italy are now allowed to telework for U.S. companies, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central said in a post to its website on Sept. 8, 2023. (Facebook/Naval Air Station Sigonella)

NAPLES, Italy  Spouses and dependents of U.S. service members stationed in Italy will no longer be forced to give up important treaty protections in order to telework for American employers, military officials announced this week.

The change ends more than a decade of policy that forced thousands of spouses of military personnel, Defense Department civilians and Pentagon contractors to choose between continuing their careers or giving up their rights and protections under the NATO Status of Forces Agreement.

The shift came following an Aug. 30 exchange of letters between the U.S. and Italy. Among other stipulations, the letters assure American employers and military dependents that telework is allowed in Italy, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central said on its website Wednesday.

Similar announcements also were made Wednesday by U.S. Army Garrison Italy and Aviano Air Base. The U.S. Embassy in Rome did not respond Thursday to a request for comment.

This changes everything, said Aurora Venden, a military spouse whose active-duty husband is assigned to USAG Italy in Vicenza. I have so many more opportunities now.

Venden has struggled to find full-time work on base, but now she may have the chance at a job with a U.S. company she wants to work for, she said.

Despite her elation, Venden worries that it may be difficult to convince some companies that telework from Italy is possible. Several would-be employers previously told her that virtual work would be allowed only within the continental U.S., she said.

Over the years, many military spouses quit their jobs or chose not to pursue telework opportunities in the U.S., fearing unintended consequences from giving up their SOFA status to seek or maintain employment.

Spouses of U.S. service members serving and living in Italy are now allowed to telework for U.S. companies, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central said in a post to its website on Sept. 8, 2023. (Nenad Stojkovic/Wikimedia Commons)

But that meant losing income that often substantially contributed to families well-being, pushing some to the brink of poverty, a Stars and Stripes investigation found.

For Bryana Lewis, whose husband is active-duty Army, the possibility of teleworking means her family may no longer have to struggle financially.

Despite putting in dozens of applications for jobs at USAG Italy in Vicenza, Lewis hasnt found full-time employment. She works two days a week as a substitute teacher at the base school.

Now I can feel like I can contribute, said Lewis, who already is searching for telework jobs. Its a relief.

Wednesdays announcement allows families to make informed decisions when they take an overseas assignment, said Beth Conlin, who chairs the board of the Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce and serves as a Blue Star Families adviser.

It also gives hope that similar rules for military spouses and DOD dependents living in other countries, such as Belgium, can be changed, she said.

If Italy can do this, then we need to take this model and demand it for every other country where we have military families assigned, Conlin said. Now is not the time to sit back and think this is done. We have dozens of other countries that we need to approach demanding the same kind of clarity.

Military spouses and other DOD dependents in Germany may telework without giving up their SOFA protections in most cases. Remote work also is allowed in Bahrain, Japan and South Korea.

But the clarity and reliability of information offered to DOD dependents about their options varies greatly between bases.

Under the exchange of letters, telework by U.S. military spouses and dependents will be governed solely by U.S. employment laws. Those workers retain all SOFA benefits, as well as DOD privileges such as shopping at exchanges and the commissary.

U.S. officials cautioned that although the agreement allows telework for military spouses and other dependents who have a mission visa, it does not affect income tax policy, so workers could be liable for both Italian and U.S. taxation.

However, a double-taxation treaty in effect between the two countries could lessen the burden, USAG Italy said in a fact sheet presented with its announcement. Income from federal, state and local government jobs is not taxable in Italy, officials pointed out.

The agreement excludes telework for an Italian employer. It also doesnt cover home-based businesses that sell food, crafts or other items to customers on bases in Italy, according to a fact sheet posted at the USAG Italy website.
A screenshot of a video shows fast-attack boats from Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps navy swarming the Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi in the Strait of Hormuz on May 3, 2023. (U.S. Navy)

The ship that set off a flurry of American naval patrols in the Middle East this summer was carrying nearly a million barrels of smuggled Iranian oil worth an estimated $56 million before it was seized, news reports and recently unsealed court documents said.

The filings, made in federal court in the District of Columbia, shed light on why the U.S. redirected the oil tanker Suez Rajan to Texas in April, prompting threats from Iran, and then seized the oil onboard in August.

Shortly after the U.S. confiscated the Suez Rajan as part of a sanctions enforcement operation, Iranian forces seized two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and harassed others, U.S. officials said. This led to an uptick in U.S. patrols of that key waterway.

The court filings unsealed Aug. 30, first reported by The New York Times, include agreements in which the companies affiliated with the Marshall Islands-flagged Suez Rajan admitted to their part in a scheme to smuggle Iranian oil and evade U.S. sanctions.

Empire Navigation, based in the Marshall Islands and operating out of Greece, cooperated with law enforcement as part of a deferred prosecution agreement in April.

Its subsidiary, Suez Rajan Ltd., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to evade sanctions and agreed to pay $2.5 million, a document filed in April said.

While the U.S. has been seizing Iranian oil since 2019, the Suez Rajan case is unique because at the time of the transfer of oil, the ship was owned by a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, Oaktree Capital Management, which likely gave American prosecutors leverage, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

An unmanned surface vessel sails in front of U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutter USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. and U.S. Navy destroyer USS Paul Hamilton during a Strait of Hormuz transit May 23, 2023. ( Jeffrey Swope II/U.S. Coast Guard)

The scheme began with a ship known as the M/T Virgo turning off its location signals and taking on oil from a facility in Iran, court papers said, adding that the Virgo met up with the Suez Rajan near Singapore on Feb. 13, 2022.

A week earlier, the latter vessel had taken on about 4,000 barrels of legal oil from the ship CS Brilliance.

But the Suez Rajan then took on nearly 1 million barrels of oil from the Virgo, after which the crew falsified paperwork to make it seem as if all the oil had come from the Brilliance, the plea said.

After the nongovernmental organization United Against Nuclear Iran raised concerns of smuggling, the ship sat for months off the coast of Singapore before sailing for the Gulf of Mexico with seemingly no explanation, the AP reported at the time.

The tanker arrived off the coast of Texas on May 30, Reuters reported at the time.

The unsealed court filings revealed that Empire Navigation had made a deal with the U.S. to bring the Suez Rajan to Texas so the oil could be seized, The New York Times report said.

It sat off the Texas coast for several months because the U.S. was having difficulties finding a company willing to risk retaliation from Iran by unloading the oil, The New York Times said.

U.S. lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to offload the oil more quickly in a letter in mid-August that estimated that the cargo was worth $56 million.

The oil was offloaded in late August, The Associated Press reported, which led Irans Revolutionary Guard to warn that those involved in seizing the cargo should expect to be struck back.

Iran and the U.S. have accused each other of being a destabilizing force in the Middle East, which analysts say is locked in a shadow war between Tehran and Washington.

After the Suez Rajan was rerouted, Iran seized the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker Advantage Sweet in late April and the Panama-flagged Niovi in May.

The U.S. confiscated the Suez Rajan approximately five days before Iran took the Advantage Sweet, the maritime security company Ambrey told Reuters in a report on April 28.

The U.S. Navy said that these seizures were part of a pattern of Iranian harassment of civilian ships in the Middle East and that Tehran has harassed, attacked or seized 20 commercial vessels since 2021.

After the seizure of the Advantage Sweet and the Niovi, the U.S. announced an increase in patrols by ships and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran says the oil tankers were taken because of violations or legal disputes.

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Iran for years in what it says is a bid to deny Tehran the funds to sponsor militant proxy groups in the region.

Iran regained the ability to sell its oil as part of a 2015 nuclear deal, but the sanctions returned in 2018, when former President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from that agreement.
U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Bret Lowery, right, senior enlisted leader with 3rd Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, supporting 4th Infantry Division, instructs Estonian Defense Forces soldiers how to properly secure High-Mobility Rocket Artillery System (HIMARS) training-ammunition pods during a sling-load training exercise in Voru, Estonia, Sept. 6, 2023. The Pentagon on Thursday, Sept. 7, announced a new security aid package for Ukraine worth $600 million that includes more ammunition for HIMARS. (Oscar Gollaz/U.S. Army)

WASHINGTON  The Pentagon on Thursday announced a new security aid package for Ukraine worth $600 million that includes more hardware to improve the countrys air defenses and electronic warfare capabilities.

The Defense Department said the new package is intended to support Ukraine's battlefield needs and demonstrate unwavering U.S. support for Kyiv in the war against Russia, now in its 19th month.

The United States will continue to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements, the Pentagon said in a statement.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has committed almost $44 billion worth of aid, which has included weapons, ammunition, artillery and various vehicles. The new aid package is being given through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which procures the equipment at the industry level rather than pulling them from Pentagon shelves.

Included in the latest package is new mine-clearing equipment, electronic warfare and counter-electronic warfare equipment and hardware to sustain and integrate Ukraine's air defense systems, the Pentagon said.

Also included in the new package is more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 105mm artillery rounds, demolition munitions for clearing obstacles and equipment for training, maintenance and sustainment activities.

Most of the U.S. aid to Ukraine so far has been given through presidential drawdown authority, which takes the equipment from Pentagon stocks and is delivered more quickly to Eastern Europe on an emergency basis. When going through USAI, the aid takes longer to deliver because its produced by partners at the industry level.

The M1 Abrams tanks the U.S. pledged to Ukraine in January, for example, went through USAI and arent expected to be delivered to Ukraine until sometime this fall.

The new aid came one day after the Pentagon pledged a different package worth up to $175 million. That aid consisted of ammunition, including depleted uranium tank ammunition for the Abrams tanks once they arrive, and was given through presidential drawdown authority.

Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the United States has contributed a total of $44.4 billion in aid to Ukraine, the Pentagon said.

Ukrainian forces are also expected to receive U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets at some point in the near future. Kyiv has been asking for the jets for months to better fight modern Russian fighters, and the Defense Department said last month Ukrainian pilots will soon begin training to fly the planes at Morris Air National Guard Base in Arizona. Denmark and the Netherlands have pledged to supply Ukraine with some of their F-16s.
An M1A2 Abrams tank gears up for qualification at Rodriguez Live Fire Range, South Korea, Nov. 28, 2017. (Stars and Stripes)

The Army has announced plans for an improved main battle tank it expects will be battlefield-ready by early next decade.

Designing and building the new model  the M1E3 Abrams  will focus on making the capability improvements needed to fight and win against future threats on the battlefield of 2040 and beyond, according to an Army news release Wednesday.

We appreciate that future battlefields pose new challenges to the tank as we study recent and ongoing conflicts, Brig. Gen. Geoffrey Norman, director of the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team, said in the release. We must optimize the Abrams mobility and survivability to allow the tank to continue to close with and destroy the enemy as the apex predator on future battlefields.

The current model is powered by a jet turbine and burns through fuel at a rate of about two gallons per mile, meaning it requires a convoy of fuel trucks. While an Abrams can power through most challenging terrain, fuel trucks sometimes cant.

The war in Ukraine has highlighted a critical need for integrated protections for Soldiers, built from within instead of adding on, Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, program executive officer for Ground Combat Systems, said in the Army statement.

The U.S. is set to deliver 31 refurbished M1A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine this fall to help in the fight against invading Russian forces.

An M1A2 Abrams tank fires its 120mm cannon at Rodriguez Live Fire Range, South Korea, Nov. 28, 2017. (Stars and Stripes)

President Joe Biden initially was unwilling to transfer Abrams tanks to Kyiv; the Pentagon said the roughly $10 million tanks are too complex and expensive for the Ukrainians to operate, maintain and repair.

The Army and manufacturers are planning a more survivable, lighter tank that will be more effective on the battlefield and easier to upgrade, according to Wednesdays release.

This modernization will enhance the efficacy and maneuverability of armored brigade combat teams in conflicts across the globe through a reduced sustainment footprint and increased operational and tactical mobility, the release said.

Years of testing, analysis, soldier feedback and maturing technology culminated in the decision to focus on the M1E3, the Army said.

The service will continue to produce M1A2 tanks at a reduced rate until production transitions to the M1E3, according to the release.

The first new tanks may be ready in the early 2030s.

As longer-range threats increase in both lethality and survivability, the M1E3 Abrams will be able to defeat those threats, the release said. The Abrams Main Battle Tank remains the most lethal, protected tank in the world.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris delivers her remarks during the plenary session of the ASEAN-U.S. Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 6, 2023.

It took more than a day of flying, including two refueling stops, for Vice President Kamala Harris to reach this years summit of Southeast Asian countries. And once she arrived, she had less than eight minutes of public speaking time during two meetings.

But in Jakartas cavernous convention center, adorned with billowing flowers and tropical plants for the occasion, Harris saw an opportunity to shape the future of United States foreign policy.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the vice president said that Washington must pay attention to 10, 20, 30 years down the line, and what we are developing now that will be to the benefit of our country then.

For her, that means working in Southeast Asia. Two-thirds of its population is under 35 years old. Its the fourth-largest market for U.S. exports. One-third of global shipping travels through the South China Sea.

Think about it, Harris said.

This was her third trip to Southeast Asia since taking office  Harris heads back to Washington on Thursday  and shes visited more countries here than any other region. Its a sprawling constellation of nations, many of them eager for the personal touch of an American leader, and Harris has spent the past few years making the rounds.

Although addressing migration from Central America was the original task in Harris foreign policy portfolio, her more recent travels have put her at the center of White House efforts to bolster ties in Asia as a counterbalance to China. Its an international parallel to her more prominent role in domestic politics, where shes been taking the lead on core Democratic issues such as abortion rights in the upcoming election.

At home and abroad, progress can be slow or hard to measure. Harris approval ratings remain underwater, and her announcements in Southeast Asia tend to be counted in the millions of dollars rather than the billions. But she described her work in the region as something that will pay dividends over time as she gets to know its leaders.

The strongest relationships will be based on consistency, on communication, on trust, and the ability to work together and to grow the sense of connection, she said.

Jake Sullivan, President Joe Bidens national security adviser, said many of our best successes in the region were made possible thanks to her diplomacy, crediting Harris with helping to move the ball forward on some of our top priorities.

In our administration, she has been a strong advocate for stepping up our engagement in Southeast Asia  and shes put in the air miles to prove that  in recognition that our work there is critical to our own security and economic growth, Sullivan said.

Some analysts believe China maintains an edge in the region, and the Australia-based Lowy Institute issued a report earlier this year concluding that Beijing was still gaining ground in recent years.

However, Harris delivered a series of messages at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that were intended to demonstrate American commitment despite Bidens absence from the summit.

The American people have a profound stake in the future of the Indo-Pacific, she said during one meeting. We share a historic bond and common values with many of the people and nations here.

Harris also paid tribute to ASEAN as an organization, despite growing doubts about its effectiveness for regional diplomacy.

The fact that so many leaders are convening in this one place at the same time to address some of the biggest challenges facing our world is a sign of strength of both the commitment that each nation has to the coalition and the potential for collaboration, she told the AP.

Others are less hopeful.

Dinna Prapto Raharja, a Jakarta-based analyst and professor on international relations, said ASEAN is being divided by competition between the U.S. and China, with some countries seeking to bolster their economies through closer relations with one or the other.

I dont see solidarity at this moment, given the rivalry, she said. Everybody works their own way.

Harris travel to Southeast Asia began in her first year in office, when she visited Singapore and Vietnam, but the trip almost didnt happen.

Phil Gordon, a national security adviser to Harris, said there was talk of canceling because the administration was in the midst of a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

She personally insisted that we can do more than one thing at a time, Gordon said. She didnt want to pull the plug on our commitment to Southeast Asia.

During the trip, she repeatedly criticized China for trying to control access to the South China Sea, at one point describing the behavior as bullying.

She didnt knock it out of the park. Its clear she was new to the issues. But shes put in the work, said Gregory B. Poling, who directs the Southeast Asia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He described Harris as an effective avatar for the administration, an important position when the president can only be in so many places at once.

David Rothkopf, a foreign policy writer who worked on trade issues under former President Bill Clinton and has met with Harris, said theres always a period of adjustment for an incoming administration.

She was new to the team, he said. And now shes seen as part of the team.

Its a role that shes played frequently. In addition to skipping this years ASEAN summit, Biden didnt attend the 2022 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in Thailand because it conflicted with his granddaughters wedding.

Harris went in his place, and she also stopped in the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally where shes fostered a close relationship with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

During the visit, Harris became the highest-ranking U.S. official to go to Palawan, an island adjacent to the South China Sea. She toured a Philippine coast guard boat and spoke with members of a local fishing community.

Republicans tried to turn it into an unflattering viral moment, clipping a video to portray her as awkwardly as possible as she greeted people with buckets of fish on their head.

But to her office, its an example of how Harris is willing to show up places where others dont. She frequently participates in events outside the hermetic bubble of international summits or government events.

In Vietnam, she met with activists working on gay rights and climate change. In Thailand, she sat down with environmental advocates and clean energy entrepreneurs.

We have to see the future and think about where its going, Harris told the AP, and then measure ourselves against that in terms of what we do today.

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Army veteran Jeremy Thibodeaux launched The Arcane Project, Inc., a nonprofit aimed at providing for Gold Star families, and started a GoFundMe page to create a cabin out of a Chinook fuselage as a memorial and a space for reflection for veterans and families. The project aims to raise $40,000 to transport a CH-47 fuselage from Miami to Eunice, La. So far, it has raised more than $2,000. (GoFundMe)

(Tribune News Service)  It was 3 a.m. in western Afghanistan on Oct. 26, 2009, when Shawn Stewart and seven crew members were flying aboard an Army Chinook helicopter, call sign Arcane 22. They were providing support for a raid on drug operations in Afghanistan to disrupt the distribution of heroin that was funding insurgents.

Following a lead helicopter, Arcane 21, they stopped near the village of Darreh-ye Bum to pick up 36 people, including Special Forces troops, Drug Enforcement agents, Marine Corps raiders, and Afghan soldiers.

"We got everyone on board. Typical, load everyone up. So, we get ready to take off and [the lead helicopter] takes off and they blow dust in our faces," said Stewart, who lives in Gun Barrel City, Texas.

They knew Taliban forces were aware of their position, so despite the blinding dust, Arcane 22 ascended 100 feet before the helicopter's rotor struck the side of a mountain, throwing the aircraft off course.

"I heard blades still going and I was like what the heck is happening," Stewart said. "We were facing down and started to pick up speed. We spike into this building, and that's when we crashed."

Five of Stewart's crewmembers and friends were among the 10 people who died that night. The crash is considered one of the deadlier days of the Afghanistan war.

He and one other person were the only members of his crew to survive. The crash left Stewart with four broken vertebrae, both hips broken, four broken ribs, internal bleeding and a collapsed lung after being thrown around the helicopter fuselage. He faded in and out of consciousness and was surrounded by fire.

Little did Stewart know that night would inspire a fellow soldier to create the Arcane Project, Inc., a nonprofit aimed at providing for Gold Star families, and start a GoFundMe page to create a cabin out of a Chinook fuselage as a memorial and a space for reflection for veterans and families.

Broussard resident Jeremy Thibodeaux, a Silver Star recipient and former staff sergeant, flight engineer and door gunner in the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, worked alongside Stewart to maintain Chinooks like the Arcane 22.

"These aircraft have a lot of sentimental value to the guys that have flown these things, especially overseas in combat," Thibodeaux said. "They were our lifeline."

The project aims to raise $40,000 to transport a CH-47 fuselage from Miami to Eunice, La. So far, it has raised more than $2,000. The project's 501c3 status is currently under review.

The idea came when Thibodeaux and veterans George Davis and Pedro Ramos wondered how much it would cost to buy a fuselage  just out of curiosity. Ramos joined a Chinook Facebook group to see if anyone knew how to purchase one.

A Miami man said they could have his for free if they can pay to move it.

The fuselage will be transported to Thibodeauxs parents property in Eunice so he can work on it. Hed ultimately like to put the cabin at a place like Toledo Bend, but he is not sure where its final home will be. He hopes with the help from the aviation and military community, the project will be completed in under a year.

The goal is to create a safe space of quiet contemplation for families and veterans. The cabin will be free of charge for Gold Star families, families who lost family members in the line of duty. It will also be of low cost to veterans.

"It's been since 2009 since they were killed and I can tell you it still hurts," Thibodeaux said. "I still reflect on it. Unfortunately, as time goes on people are forgotten, names are forgotten. I'm trying to keep their memory going as long as it can."

All profit will go to support Gold Star families, Thibodeaux said. He also hopes, as the nonprofit expands, to provide services and aid to veterans including housing for homeless veterans, assisting with medical bills, and addiction and mental health treatment. He'd like to build more cabins.

"These soldiers left behind small kids, family members, wives and I want to make sure they are taken care of," Thibodeaux said.

Stewart said he already donated to the fundraiser and hopes to see it when it's finished. He believes those who sacrifice themselves for their country deserve to be honored as well as their families that must live with the loss. Stewart's sons are named in honor of two men who died in the crash.

Stewart cannot forget their names or that night.

Jeremy Valdez and nearby Marines helped pull Stewart out of the wreckage and brought him to safety. Eventually, Stewart made it to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where he learned the fate of his crew.

"Just a nightmare, we all have nightmares," Stewart said, "but man it's amazing what those guys did to get me out of there."

He looks forward to visiting the Chinook cabin when it's ready.

"I'm so excited for it, oh my God, I want to go play in it," Stewart said, "Just to sit in the cabin. I want to touch the stuff, touch knobs, remember those nights you had. It going to bring back good memories."

Thibodeaux hopes his cabin can be a place of refuge for men like Stewart.

"This is going to be a nonprofit that is going to benefit veterans for years to come. I hope it takes off because I've been in situations in my life where I could have used helped from a nonprofit such as this," Thibodeaux said.

(c)2023 The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La.

Visit www.theadvocate.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Giving evidence, OBrien said: I was cheating on my girlfriend, I was texting another girl and if my personal data was taken out (of the phone), my girlfriend would find out. I

Darren O Brien, pictured at the Criminal Courts of Justice(CCJ) on Parkgate Street in Dublin after he appeared before the District Court. Pic: IrishPhotoDesk

A FATHER-of-one who smashed his mobile phone to obstruct a garda drugs search told a court he was actually using it to cheat on his girlfriend by sexting another woman.

Darren OBrien (37) said when gardai burst into the apartment, he was on the toilet texting the woman and broke the phone to save his relationship because he was afraid his partner would find out.

Judge Bryan Smyth said he did not believe OBriens evidence, found him guilty and gave him a three-month suspended sentence.

OBrien, of Peadar Kearney House, Railway Street, Dublin 1 had denied obstructing gardai in the incident on June 13 last year.

Dublin District Court heard Garda Kieran Stapleton and Detective Sergeant Vincent Campbell were among a search team of five who arrived with a warrant at an apartment at Brett Court, Foley Street, Dublin 1. It was suspected at the time there was cocaine on the premises.

The registered tenant was shown the warrant and Det Sgt Campbell went to the bathroom where the accused was sitting on the toilet. Det Sgt Campbell identified himself and said he was seizing the phone.

With that he leapt from the toilet and smashed the phone off the side of the sink, Det Sgt Campbell said.

He had believed there was evidence related to drugs activity on the device and this was why gardai wanted to seize it. However, it was not sent for analysis as it was severely destroyed and no drugs were found in the search.

A defence lawyer argued that the gardai had no reasonable grounds for seizing the phone but the judge said the accused had a case to answer.

Giving evidence, OBrien said: I was cheating on my girlfriend, I was texting another girl and if my personal data was taken out (of the phone), my girlfriend would find out. I panicked. It would have been easy for them to bring the phone out and say look at what Darren has been texting.

His lawyer asked OBrien if he was saying he was basically carrying on with another woman,

I was sexting, he said. I damaged the phone to save my relationship, not to disrupt the gardai. I had nothing to hide from the gardai but I was afraid they would show it to my girlfriend.

He also said he broke the phone before the gardai entered the bathroom.

OBrien just wanted to hold onto the privacy of his phone which is not unreasonable, his solicitor said.

I dont accept Mr OBriens evidence, I dont believe its credible, Judge Smyth said.

Separately, the accused was stopped driving without a licence or insurance at Ratoath Road, Cabra on March 7, 2016.

At the time he had just been released from prison, he was subject to a garda GIM warning and his life was in danger.

OBrien, who had 31 prior convictions, had been in and out of prison for most of his adult life, the court heard. He was now drug free and was trying to change his life since the birth of his child.

Judge Smyth suspended the prison sentence for a year. He banned the accused from driving for two years for the motoring offences and fined him 300.
Crumln native McGovern is wanted in Ireland on charges of murder and organised crime related offences

The extradition of gang figure Sean McGovern from his desert bolt hole in Dubai is being seen as a test case ahead of the Irish States moves to bring home Kinahan Cartel leadership.

Earlier this week, Garda Chief Dew Harris and Commander in Chief of the Dubai Police Excellency Lt General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri held a high profile meeting in Dubai to discuss transnational crime,

In a photograph which sure to send chills down the spines of the wanted cartel men in the UAE, both police bosses are seen publicly for the first time shaking hands as they prepare a plan to move against the Irish criminals.

McGovern is a wanted man

Top of their list is McGovern, who is wanted in Ireland on charges of murder and organised crime related offences.

An arrest warrant remains in place for Daniel Kinahans right-hand man in relation to a Hutch/Kinahan feud murder

Gardai suspect he had a role in organising a number of other feud murders including that of Noel 'Duck Egg Kirwan (62) who was shot six times as he sat in his car on December 22, 2016, at St Ronan's Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin 22.

Gardai also want to charge Mr McGovern with gangland offences relating to the murder attempt on Hutch associate James Mago Gately.

Originally from Crumlin, McGovern, who was once a key part of the Byrne Organised Crime Group and for years ran the Kinahan's Irish operation, moved to the Emirates full-time following the murder of Kirwan in December 2016.

He was named during the US sanctions as being wanted for murder and directing and participating in an organised criminal group. Gardai stated on April 12 this year that the High Court had issued a European Arrest Warrant for him.

However, McGovern has yet to be picked up by police.

Last November, McGoverns devoted dad Des passed away but McGovern was forced to watch the service online from his hideaway.

Daniel Kinahan, his brother Christopher Jr and father Christy Sr

McGovern, who became very close to Daniel following the attack at the Regency Hotel and who was injured during the weigh-in shootout, later became Kinahan's most senior and trusted sidekick.

His girlfriend Anita Freeman and children relocated to the Emirates after he fled Ireland in the wake of the Kirwan murder.

McGovern's former home at Kildare Road in Crumlin was later seized as part of CAB's Proceeds of Crime case against the Byrne organisation.

Before the Bureau was handed the keys of the house its fixtures and fittings, including the kitchen and bathrooms, were ripped out.

McGovern has been helping Kinahan with his business ventures while resident in the UAE.

In July of last year, a man described as a "trusted enabler" of the Kinahan Cartel was jailed for over eight years for his role in the murder of Kirwan and the attempted murder of an associate of the rival Hutch gang.

Martin Aylmer was sentenced to 10 years and four months with the final two suspended after pleading guilty for participating in or contributing to the murder of innocent father-of-four Kirwan in 2016.

He had previously pleaded guilty to a similar offence in relation to the attempted murder of James 'Mago' Gately.

Both men were targeted because the Kinahan cartel believed they were associated with people involved in the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in February 2016, the Special Criminal Court heard.

Last month, gardai recommended that Daniel Kinahan is charged with directing a murderous criminal organisation, in a file submitted to state prosecutors.

The file is being examined by the Director of Prosecutions (DPP), who will decide if there is enough evidence to bring formal charges against the cartel leader.

Christy Kinahan Snr

Detectives from the Gardas Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau have been working on the inquiry for several years, with the aim of bringing down both Kinahan and the rest of the gang's hierarchy.

Garda Commissioner Harris revealed this week that a file has been submitted to the DPP for consideration as part of the investigation.

Sundayworld.com understands that recommendations contained within it are that Daniel Kinahan be charged with directing an organised crime gang. The offence, on conviction, carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The submission of the file to the DPP had remained secret until the garda chief stated it had been sent to prosecutors for consideration.

A garda spokesman said: Following a comprehensive and wide-ranging investigation by the Garda Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau into numerous serious offences committed here in Ireland by the Kinahan Organised Crime Gang, An Garda Siochana has recently submitted a file to the DPP.

Mr Harris said gardai would hope to see leadership figures within the Kinahan Organised Crime Group brought to justice here in Ireland.

While Mr Harris previously stated it was more likely that they would be brought to justice abroad, the development gives fresh hope that they could be trailed in Ireland.

Garda chief Drew Harris meets with Dubai Police boss Lt General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri

Gardai said they were continuing to work with law enforcement partners in the US, UK and Europe as part of a combined international effort to disrupt and dismantle the Kinahan Organised Crime Gang.

While the material submitted within the file has not been revealed, it is understood that detectives have gathered a large amount of evidence which they allege connects Daniel Kinahan to the day-to-day running of the gang.

A collective $15 million (13.8m) bounty also remains in place from the US Treasury Department for information leading to the conviction of Daniel Kinahan, his father Christy Sr and brother Christopher Jr, and the dismantling of their crime gang.

Gardai said that to date, more than 70 gang members have been convicted for offences, including murder, drug trafficking, firearms and money laundering.

A spokesperson said that as the file has been submitted to the DPP, they could not comment any further.

It is a further blow to the Kinahan organised crime gang, which in recent years has had senior figures jailed or being sought to face charges by gardai.
700 people could have died had the fire broken out when all exit doors and the main door were locked

The head doorman of the Stardust nightclub admitted to a tribunal that he knew the practice of locking doors while people were inside the complex was illegal.

Tom Kennan also agreed that as many as 700 people could have died had the fire broken out when all exit doors and the main door were locked.

He told the 1981 tribunal of inquiry before Mr Justice Ronan Keane that the reason he did not go to his nephew, Stardust manager Eamon Butterly, and tell him the practice of locking doors was not only illegal but also dangerous was because Mr Butterly was aware of it.

And you knew he was aware of it? he was asked by counsel. Oh yes, Mr Kennan replied.

The evidence given by Mr Kennan to the 1981 tribunal was read to the jury today at the inquests taking place into the fatal Valentines Day blaze by Mark Tottenham BL, a member of the coroners legal team.

When a barrister at the tribunal put it to Mr Kennan that the fire could easily have broken out when not only were all the exit doors locked but exit two [the main door] was also locked, the doorman agreed it could have.

That could easily have happened by virtue of your procedures and your lack of procedures? counsel asked. Yes, Mr Kennan replied. And you agree with that? Yes, Mr Kennan said.

In that situation the conservative estimate of 600 or 700 would have perished? counsel continued. Yes, Mr Kennan confirmed.

The conservative estimate of deaths in that situation could easily have happened as a result of your procedures? the barrister asked.

That is definitely so, Mr Kennan replied.

The head doorman also claimed that, immediately after the fire, he had said to Mr Butterly: Thank God all the exits were open.

In his evidence to the inquiry, Mr Kennan denied he only told gardai he had unlocked the doors because he knew Michael Kavanagh  another doorman at the club who had previously claimed he had unlocked the emergency exits  was going to retract his statement.

Mr Kennan agreed that it wasnt his usual practice to open the exit doors and said that he had only done it once before.

The jury at the inquest heard yesterday that Mr Kennan did not mention opening the doors in his initial garda statement but did reference it in his second statement made a week after the fire.

Mr Kennan was asked why, after news emerged that dozens of people had died and many others were injured, he had not gone to the guards in the meantime to give them this important piece of information.

I suggest you knew by then, questions were being raised as to which doors were open or not, counsel at the tribunal said. Why didnt you tell anyone?

Because the exits were open, it was obvious to see to people the exits were open, Mr Kennan replied.

The doorman said he imagined that he had said it to Mr Butterlys solicitor when he spoke to him the day after the fire. Mr Kennan said doormen from the club had met with the solicitor in the Lantern Room of the Stardust complex on the afternoon of February 14 for the purpose of making statements.

Asked if a decision had been made on that Saturday that he would say as little as he could get away with, Mr Kennan said he did not want to say anything about it on Saturday whatsoever.

Questioned as to why this was the case when he was the one person who could clear up any suggestion that the doors were locked by telling people he had unlocked them, Mr Kennan said he did not know why.

Not alone did you not say it, you did not say it in the context that you knew someone else was telling lies about it. Why? counsel pressed.

I do not know why, Mr Kennan repeated.

It was suggested to him that the reason for this was because it suited very well as long as he was sure that Mr Kavanagh was going to persist in his original lie.

Asked what he would say to the suggestion that the only reason he had to alter that situation was when he discovered that Mr Kavanagh was going to come clean and admit that he did not, in fact, open the doors, Mr Kennan replied: I would say that is completely false."

It was pointed out that Mr Kennans second statement was made a week after his first and up to that point he had allowed the gardai to proceed on the basis that the doors had been opened by Mr Kavanagh.

He said a fireman passed a remark to him that it was dangerous

Mr Kennan said he thought the gardai knew during that week that the doors had not been opened by Mr Kavanagh. He said doorman PJ Murphy had called to his house and said that he and deputy head doorman Leo Doyle had interviewed Michael Kavanagh. He agreed that this could have been before he gave his second statement to gardai.

In response to a question from a barrister, Mr Kennan said he could not identify anyone who had seen him opening the doors on the night.

The head doorman told the tribunal that the system of chaining doors worked very well and a lot of people got out of the premises on the night of the fire.

He said he could not identify any deficiencies in the procedures.

The Stardust nightclub in Artane. Photo: Independent News And Media/Getty Images

Your system of chaining doors and opening doors worked well? he was asked. Youve no criticism to make of that?

Ive not really, no, Mr Kennan replied.

Asked if he believed it was perfectly legitimate that people should have been led to believe that by chains being draped that doors were locked, Mr Kennan said: It was a case of pushing the doors and the doors would open as far as I could see.

You did know it was illegal to lock the doors when people were in? he was asked. That is right, said Mr Kennan.

He confirmed to lawyers at the tribunal that his normal crew of doormen would have been grossly insufficient to maintain security without the use of chains and that there werent enough staff to man the doors without the use of chains.

He agreed that five or six entrance fees would have covered the cost of a bouncer for the night.

The doorman said he and Mr Butterly had had a discussion about security in the hours before the fire broke out and he got the impression that Mr Butterly was thinking of replacing the bouncers inside with a security company.

Asked if this was because Mr Butterly was finding the bouncer system deficient, Mr Kennan said that was probably true.

Evidence was also heard today from Kenneth Fagan who worked as a doorman at the Stardust for one week in January 1981 and said during that time he noticed that exits four, five and six were always locked with chains. He said this would have been between 10pm and 1am and they were never taken off as far as I know.

Mr Fagan told the inquest that he was aware of the practice of chains being draped over doors and said a fireman passed a remark to him that it was dangerous.
Donal Billings (73) pleaded guilty to graffiting a wall with the message: 'No drugs, no drink, no damage'

This is the face of a Longford man who defaced a local authority wall barely seven months after serving just over six years in prison for his role in planting a bomb on a bus during late Queen Elizabeth's visit to Ireland over a decade ago.

Donal Billings (73), of Fee Court, Longford pleaded guilty at a sitting of Longford District Court to graffiting a wall on August 9 this year with the message: 'No drugs, no drink, no damage'.

The court heard Billings left the message on the county council owned wall in "protest" at an apparent rise in drug abuse and anti-social behaviour in a small residential area close to where the pensioner lived.

Donal Billings

Court presenter Sgt Enda Daly said the accused was arrested after gardai came across the Longford man walking away from a wall with a paintbrush and a tub of paint in hand.

Presiding Judge Bernadette Owens was informed that gardai later brought Mr Billings to Longford garda station for questioning and where he was later charged with criminal damage.

Defence solicitor Brid Mimnagh said her client was at his "wits' end" at how a walkway close to his home had succumbed to such unsavoury elements.

"He took it upon himself to write this on the wall believing it would in some way inhibit these people from engaging in such an unsociable manner," she said.

The court was told Billings co-operated with gardai throughout his arrest and subsequent detention.

In delivering her verdict, Judge Owens said while the court was acutely aware of Billings' "very significant" previous convictions, it equally had to decide on the "proportionality" of any penalty it chose to hand down.

In giving Mr Billings credit for his early guilty plea, Judge Owens said the most appropriate sanction in those circumstances was to adjourn the case for a period of time to allow the accused to tender a cash donation of 250 to Longford Tidy Towns.

Billings walked free from Portlaoise Prison in January a little over six years into an eight and a half year sentence handed down by the Special Criminal Court in December 2016.

That came after the Longford pensioner was found guilty the previous month by the three-judge, non-jury Special Criminal Court of the unlawful possession of an explosive substance at Longford railway station car park on May 16th, 2011.

Donal Billings

Billings was further convicted of four offences under the Criminal Law Act of 1976 of knowingly making false reports tending to show that an offence had been committed.

The device, which gardai intercepted following a bomb warning Billings himself called in, would have resulted in the complete destruction of the vehicle", his trial at the time heard.

Billings was identified as the caller through phone records, notes, a SIM Card and a mobile phone.

Two days later he made another call saying that two mortars had been left in Dublin Castle set for 8pm, during the State banquet for the queen.

During that call he told gardai: Im a member of the Republican Brotherhood, Squad A. Two mortars are set for Dublin Castle at 8pm.

This is for the Queen of blood and war of Iraq.

In delivering sentence at the time, Mr Justice Tony Hunt branded Billings' actions in placing a highly dangerous explosive on a public transport vehicle as an outrageous, highly irresponsible and dangerous act.

In July 2020, he lost an appeal against the severity of his eight-and-a-half year sentence.

Court President Justice George Birmingham said there was "no merit" in grounds upon which the appeal was lodged, describing Billings' jail term as "a very lenient sentence".

Billings is due to return before a sitting of Longford District Court on January 2, 2024.
Gardai found Natasha Rice (37) asleep on the grass with her accomplice when they arrived but a search of his phone uncovered graphic pictures he had taken of their sexual activities

A mother-of-four who performed a sex act with a man in view of passers by in a busy Dublin park in broad daylight has been jailed for two months.

Gardai found Natasha Rice (37) asleep on the grass with her accomplice when they arrived but a search of his phone uncovered graphic pictures he had taken of their sexual activities.

The alarm had been raised by a distressed bystander who called 999.

Rice had a previous conviction for indecent exposure in Northern Ireland after she was seen having sex on a Belfast street with a man in 2020.

In the latest incident, the accused, with an address at Parliament Street in central Dublin, pleaded guilty to offensive conduct of a sexual nature on September 22, 2021.

Dublin District Court heard it happened at Our Ladys Park on Botanic Avenue in Drumcondra.

Detective Garda Eoin Morrison said he went to the small park by the river Tolka in response to a 999 call from a member of the public who had witnessed the pair engaged in sexual activity.

Our Lady's Park, Botanic Avenue

On arriving at 7.25pm, he encountered Rice and the man who were lying beside each other asleep on the grass, in a state of some intoxication.

The man, Peter OGorman, was dealt with by the courts previously and sentenced to six months in prison.

On the day, OGorman was arrested for public order offences and his mobile phone was seized. When analysed, it contained images of the pair engaging in sexual activity at that location earlier in the evening, Det Gda Morrison said.

The images were previously described as graphic.

From the time stamp, the incident happened at 4.30pm, when it was still bright out and the area was busy.

She was offered an opportunity to make a statement in relation to the images and did not wish to do so, Det Gda Morrison said.

Rice had 214 previous convictions. As well as indecent exposure in Northern Ireland, she also had prior convictions for offences including assault, trespass and theft.

The accused had been in a "difficult set of circumstances" as she was homeless and had significant struggles with alcohol, her lawyer said.

She was sleeping rough in the park and was intoxicated at the time, he said. This was what led up to the events. She is very apologetic for what she has done and knows its not an acceptable thing to do.

Rice was now engaged to another man. They had a couples room in the hotel she was staying in and risked losing that accommodation if her current one-month prison sentence for theft was extended. She was taking steps to address her alcoholism, the lawyer said, asking the judge not to add to her current sentence.

Judge Smyth noted her previous convictions and the fact that Rice had earlier pleaded not guilty.
The invitation to an official dinner within the framework of the G20 summit in New Delhi has sparked a tense debate in India about the possibility of a change in the countrys name. In the English language version of the letter, the countrys leader, Droupadi Murmu, defines herself as the President of Bharat. The name has broken with the tradition according to which the countrys highest authorities use the place name India in English, while Bharat is used in the Hindi language. Murmu is a politician from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has a Hindu nationalist ideology and whose leader is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She was elected to the largely ceremonial position with votes from her own supporters and those of other parties on the conservative spectrum.

The English language version of the current Constitution refers to the country as India. An eventual formal change of the name would require a constitutional reform, which would require a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament. Eva Borreguero, professor of Political Science at the Complutense University specializing in South Asia, explains that the toponym was coined abroad, through an evolution of the local name of the Indus River, to define the territories beyond the watercourse. Hindu nationalists reject it because they consider it an external concept. And instead, they embrace Bharat because it is the name for Hindu India in mythical texts.

Secular concept vs. mythical past

India is a historical and secular concept, the expert continues. It is how India has related to the world throughout history. It is a concept of dialogue. Bharat is a Hindu mythical concept, it reflects what India was called in ancient Sanskrit texts, but with it the secular dimension is lost and non-Hindus are excluded. Basically, Muslims and Christians, says Borreguero.

The formation of the word India is ancient, but the prominence it acquired in the colonial period has fostered positions in the BJP and similarly oriented formations that suggest that it is a name stained by that period of subjugation.

The BJP has not formally announced initiatives to carry out the change, but the letter from the G20  preceded and accompanied by statements from party leaders who believe that the name India must be removed  has sparked controversy. The episode coincides with the convening of a mysterious special session of Parliament, scheduled for September, whose agenda has not yet been specified.

The move also coincides with the recent formation of a broad alliance of opposition parties led by Rahul Gandhis Congress Party, which has intentionally been baptized as INDIA, an acronym for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. This is a gesture by opponents who are trying to prevent Modi and his party from monopolizing national pride. Several opposition representatives have come out to criticize the invitation letter and reject the prospect of a name change.

We'll see what happens. Of course, this is an old aspiration of Hindu nationalism. There have already been changes in city names in recent times, says Borreguero.

In addition to the name changes, Modi and the BJP also have promoted turning the page with respect to symbolic places, such as the headquarters of the national Parliament, a colonial building in New Delhi, recently replaced by another, large-scale building, whose inauguration included gestures and symbols closely linked to Hindu tradition  and an enormous role for the prime minister.

The controversy over the name of the country has touched the deepest nerve of Indian politics, the struggle between change stemming from the Hindu nationalist inspiration that Modi has promoted with his party and the attachment to the values of the Constitution that came into force in 1950, which the Congress party and its allies are trying to defend. The text consolidates the dominant consensus that existed in the years after independence, and for decades afterward, of an inclusive vision of a society with extraordinary internal diversity. The nationalism advocated by Modi has closed ranks in the majority Hindu segment of society, above the old caste divisions. But, according to the opposition and many international experts, it marginalizes other communities, opening a gap that fuels tensions that are already serious now and could become explosive in the future.

While the country grows at a considerable economic pace and reaps successes such as the achievements of its space agency, multiple international study centers have recorded a sharp deterioration in the quality of Indian democracy in recent years.
Gardai said that the seizures were made as part of Operation Tara in the Beechpark area

Armed gardai have seized thousands of euros worth of drugs including cocaine, amphetamine, Xanax and heroin as well as cash and a firearm and ammunition in Co Clare.

The Western Region ASU (Armed Support Unit) backed up a search operation carried out by members attached to Clare Detective Units and Clare Community in Ennis yesterday.

Gardai said that the seizures were made as part of Operation Tara in the Beechpark area.

As part of the investigation into criminal activity in Ennis, Co Clare, gardai have seized 107,500 of controlled drugs and a firearm with ammunition, following a number of searches in the Beechpark area, yesterday, gardai said.

The searches were carried out by members attached to Clare Detective Units, Clare Community Engagement and the Western Region ASU.

During the course of these searches 87,000 of suspected cocaine, 15,000 of suspected amphetamine, 5,000 of suspected Xanax (2,500 tablets), 500 of suspected heroin and 1,800 cash was seized. A firearm and ammunition was also recovered.

The drugs and firearm are to be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for examination.

Gardai added that no arrests have been made, while investigations are ongoing
Dolan, an only child, told Gardai after his initial arrest; " I killed her because she was a bitch who was always drunk."

A man who killed his mother and father in an act of violent rage is out of jail and back living in society.

John Francis Dolan also known as " Frankie" got a life sentence in February,2001, for murdering his mother Gertrude,56, and five years for the manslaughter of his dad John,71 , in a crime that shocked the nation at the time.

The incident happened at the family home in Dublin's east Wall in June 1999.

The former Irish rail worker who was 26 year old, first stabbed his mother in a frenzied attack after they had an angry row about his career and then he took his father's life when he came down the stairs to find out what the commotion was.

Horrified Gardai found the decomposing bodies of the couple lying under a blanket in the house, ten days after they had been reported missing.

Both parents were retired and his mother was on disability benefit because of ill health.

Dolan, an only child, told Gardai after his initial arrest; " I killed her because she was a bitch who was always drunk."

But he also said he was sorry he took his father's life and that he did not deserve to be stabbed.

He pleaded not guilty to murdering his mum but the jury found him guilty. He was acquitted of murdering his father but found guilty of his manslaughter.

He later publicly expressed remorse and regret to the courts for what he did.

Dolan has served over 21 years behind bars most of it in Mountjoy Prison. The two sentences he received ran concurrently.

He was allowed out on day and weekend releases by the Parole Board over the past few years.

He has now been granted permanent parole with a string of conditions attached which includes signing in from time to time at the local Garda station.

If he puts a step wrong and commits any crime he will be immediately returned to jail to serve the rest of his life sentence.

The authorities don't regard Dolan as a danger to society and believe the killing of his parents was a once off, moment of madness incident which he deeply regrets.

He was also regarded as a model prisoner who kept his nose clean and out of trouble.

It is understood he is now building a new life for himself living in the north-east.

A prison source said;" Frankie Dolan committed a horrendous crime but has paid the price. We don't expect to see him back here again .

" He has to live with what he did killing his mother and father for the rest of his life."

An Irish Prison Service spokesperson said; " The Irish Prison Service does not comment on individual prisoner cases."
A man in his 30s has been questioned and investigations are ongoing

Revenue officers seized almost 25,000 litres of beer and tens of thousands of cigarettes worth more than 142,000 in searches across three counties this week.

On Wednesday, Revenue seized illicit alcohol, branded San Miguel, with a retail value of nearly 99,500, in Co Wexford.

The consignment arrived in an accompanied trailer that had disembarked a ferry from Dunkirk, France. Both the trailer and alcohol were seized and the driver of the load has been questioned. Investigations into the seizure are ongoing.

Separately, yesterday as part of an intelligence-led operation and with the assistance of An Garda Siochana, Revenue officers seized over 38,300 cigarettes following the search of a vehicle in County Louth. In a follow-up operation today, a further 15,400 cigarettes were seized in Dublin.

Cigarettes seized by Revenue this week. Photo: Revenue.

The seized cigarettes, branded Marlboro Gold and L & M, have a retail value of 42,500, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of approximately 33,200.

A man in his 30s has been questioned and investigations are ongoing.

These seizures are part of Revenues ongoing operations targeting smuggling, shadow economy activity and the supply of illegal tobacco products. If businesses, or members of the public, have any information regarding smuggling, they can contact Revenue in confidence on phone number 1800 295 295.
At the end of the meeting, Lieutenant General Al Marri presented Garda Commissioner Drew Harris with a commemorative shield

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris has appeared in a new photo meeting Dubais Commander-in-Chief of Police in high-level talks aimed at taking down the Kinahan Cartel.

The Government of Dubai has published the picture of the Garda boss who is seen sitting down with Lieutenant General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri following a successful visit to the desert kingdom.

The photo on the governments own website shows Lieutenant General Al Marri with Commissioner Harris, along with his accompanying delegation, at the Dubai Police Officers Club.

The high-level meeting concludes the visit by the Garda chief to UAE where both police forces vowed to strengthen cooperation in combating money laundering, cross-border crimes, and cybercrimes and facilitate the exchange of expertise in various fields.

Daniel Kinahan, his brother Christopher Jr and father Christy Sr

Mr Harris travelled to the United Arab Emirates city with the Assistant Commissioner Justin Kelly to organise how Kinahan cartel leaders could be flown back to Ireland.

During the meeting, Lieutenant General Al Marri underscored the Dubai Police's commitment to strengthening its international relations and partnerships and facilitating the exchange of knowledge, expertise, and best practices in security and law enforcement across diverse fields of operation.

Meanwhile, the Garda Commissioner Drew Harris conveyed his admiration for the remarkable progress achieved in the field of policing and security by Dubai Police, praising the exceptional level of professionalism and expertise demonstrated in their work, the Dubai Government said in a statement.

At the end of the meeting, Lieutenant General Al Marri presented Garda Commissioner Drew Harris with a commemorative shield in honour of the successful visit".

It was also revealed how the Irish delegation was given a tour of the Smart Police Station (SPS) at City Walk, where they were given a detailed overview of the station's wide range of services in seven different languages.

They also had the chance to explore various vintage and modern police patrols, as well as the bicycles used by the Dubai Police.

As we have already reported, the extradition of gang figure Sean McGovern from his desert bolt hole in Dubai is being seen as a test case ahead of the Irish States moves to bring home Kinahan Cartel leadership.

Sean McGovern

An arrest warrant remains in place for Daniel Kinahans right-hand man in relation to a Hutch/Kinahan feud murder

Gardai suspect he had a role in organising a number of other feud murders including that of Noel 'Duck Egg Kirwan (62) who was shot six times as he sat in his car on December 22, 2016, at St Ronan's Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin 22.

Gardai also want to charge Mr McGovern with gangland offences relating to the murder attempt on Hutch associate James Mago Gately.

Originally from Crumlin, McGovern, who was once a key part of the Byrne Organised Crime Group and for years ran the Kinahan's Irish operation, moved to the Emirates full-time following the murder of Kirwan in December 2016.

He was named during the US sanctions as being wanted for murder and directing and participating in an organised criminal group. Gardai stated on April 12 this year that the High Court had issued a European Arrest Warrant for him.

However, McGovern has yet to be picked up by police.

McGovern, who became very close to Daniel following the attack at the Regency Hotel and who was injured during the weigh-in shootout, later became Kinahan's most senior and trusted sidekick.

His girlfriend Anita Freeman and children relocated to the Emirates after he fled Ireland in the wake of the Kirwan murder.

Garda chief Drew Harris meets with Dubai Police boss Lt General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri

McGovern's former home at Kildare Road in Crumlin was later seized as part of CAB's Proceeds of Crime case against the Byrne organisation.

Before the Bureau was handed the keys of the house its fixtures and fittings, including the kitchen and bathrooms, were ripped out.

McGovern has been helping Kinahan with his business ventures while resident in the UAE.

In July of last year, a man described as a "trusted enabler" of the Kinahan Cartel was jailed for over eight years for his role in the murder of Kirwan and the attempted murder of an associate of the rival Hutch gang.

Martin Aylmer was sentenced to 10 years and four months with the final two suspended after pleading guilty for participating in or contributing to the murder of innocent father-of-four Kirwan in 2016.

He had previously pleaded guilty to a similar offence in relation to the attempted murder of James 'Mago' Gately.

Both men were targeted because the Kinahan cartel believed they were associated with people involved in the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in February 2016, the Special Criminal Court heard.

Last month, gardai recommended that Daniel Kinahan is charged with directing a murderous criminal organisation, in a file submitted to state prosecutors.

The file is being examined by the Director of Prosecutions (DPP), who will decide if there is enough evidence to bring formal charges against the cartel leader.

Detectives from the Gardas Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau have been working on the inquiry for several years, with the aim of bringing down both Kinahan and the rest of the gang's hierarchy.

Garda Commissioner Harris revealed this week that a file has been submitted to the DPP for consideration as part of the investigation.

Sundayworld.com understands that recommendations contained within it are that Daniel Kinahan be charged with directing an organised crime gang. The offence, on conviction, carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The submission of the file to the DPP had remained secret until the garda chief stated it had been sent to prosecutors for consideration.

A collective $15 million (13.8m) bounty also remains in place from the US Treasury Department for information leading to the conviction of Daniel Kinahan, his father Christy Sr and brother Christopher Jr, and the dismantling of their crime gang.

Gardai said that to date, more than 70 gang members have been convicted for offences, including murder, drug trafficking, firearms and money laundering.

A spokesperson said that as the file has been submitted to the DPP, they could not comment any further.

It is a further blow to the Kinahan organised crime gang, which in recent years has had senior figures jailed or being sought to face charges by gardai.
Shepherd, who had played for Leeds and Luton Town player in the 1990s was a trusted courier for the gang

Lawyers for former Leeds United player Paul Shepherd said he was full of remorse and regret after he was convicted for his role in a major cocaine-trafficking gang.

Shepherd, who had played for Leeds and Luton Town player in the 1990s was a trusted courier for the gang that had been busted when their coded phone messages were cracked by the authorities.

He was one of four underworld members who had been overheard talking about the wholesale buying and selling of massive quantities of high-grade cocaine for 42,000 per kilogramme, and cutting it with agents before selling it on.

However, they had no idea that the secret EncroChat service they were using had been compromised in April 2020, allowing police to monitor conversations.

The gang who were in contact with other criminals in Liverpool, Teesside and Kent, used a flat on Armley Road in Leeds, to cut the drugs before they were bagged up and sold on.

Shepherd, O'Flaherty, Marshall and Blakey

Ringleader Carl OFlaherty was jailed for 17 years and 10 months at Leeds Crown Court this week while Shepherd, who collected cash from around the country for OFlaherty, was jailed for nine years and six months.

The gangs chef Dane Marshall, whose job was to cut the cocaine with diluents before repackaging it to be sold on, was handed down a six years and six months sentence.

Clinton Blakey, who discussed buying kilogrammes of cocaine from OFlaherty was jailed for 12 years, plus three years and six months recall to serve additionally for a previous drugs conviction.

As well as their involvement in drugs, Shepherd and Marshall were charged with money-laundering offences.

Marshall had succeeded in securing a 50,000 Government bounce back Covid-19 business loan for a landscaping company he used as a front as there was no evidence there was ever any legitimate work taking place.

OFlaherty (38) of Leysolme Terrace, Wortley, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine, producing and conspiracy to supply amphetamine, among other offences including dangerous driving after an unrelated road-rage incident.

Shepherd (45) of Wensleydale Court, Chapel Allerton, was found guilty after a trial of conspiracy to supply cocaine, producing and conspiracy to supply amphetamine, money laundering and other offences.

Marshall (42) of Whinbrook Court, Moortown, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and acquiring criminal property.

Blakey (38) was extradited back to the UK in May this year from Marbella in Spain, where he fled after failing to appear at Leeds Magistrates Court three years ago for his first appearance. He admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis.

Saul Brody, mitigating for OFlaherty said he accepted he played a leading role.

While he was ascending the criminal ladder, he had not planted his flag on any summits. He was not quite yet a big-time character, he was maybe on his way but did not reach those heights yet, Mr Brody said, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Mr Brody said OFlaherty been held on remand for three years awaiting sentence, which is the longest he has ever known for a defendant.

Richard Simons, for Shepard, said that despite him being found guilty during a trial, he was full of remorse and regret.

Representing Marshall, Shila Whitehead said he had asked to be put on remand over a year ago because he knew he was expecting a lengthy sentence.

In mitigating for Blakey, Matthew Buckland said he had begun a new life in Spain as a personal trainer but accepted he must face a sentence.
Its understood fire appliances were on standby in Manchester as a precaution.

An easyJet flight carrying passengers from Belfast to Corfu has made an emergency landing at Manchester Airport.

Flight EZY3057 declared an emergency before touching down in the English city shortly after taking off from Belfast International Airport at 3.14pm on Thursday.

Its understood fire appliances were on standby in Manchester as a precaution.

A spokesperson for easyJet confirmed the flight was diverted to Manchester due to a cabin crew member requiring urgent medical attention.

"A replacement crew has been found and the flight is continuing to Corfu, they added.

"We would like to thank passengers for their patience and understanding.

"The safety and wellbeing of our crew and passengers is always easyJet's highest priority."

The original flight was due to arrive in the Greek island just before 9pm this evening.
"Welcome to Belgium! Stop the pollution of your... planes"

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary was hit in the face with two cream pies by enviromental activists in Brussels earlier today.

O'Leary was in the Belgian capital to hand in a petition to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to protect overflights in Europe at the time.

He was being interviewed beside a cardboard cutout of Von der Leyen when he was approached by two women who smashed pies in his face.

"Welcome in Belgium. Stop the pollution of your planes," one of the activists said as her pie landed on OLearys head.

The Ryanair chief ducked his head down but was caught by a second woman, who ran up behind him and smacked him with a second pastry.

Both women then scurried off as OLeary laughed along, shouting Well done! before telling an assistant to take his soiled jacket away to be cleaned.

Speaking to media after the stunt, he said: I have never had such a warm welcome. Unfortunately it was environmentalists and the cream was artificial. I invite passengers to come to Ireland where the cream is better!

Michael OLeary was struck with a cream pie as he stood alongside a cardboard cutout of European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Photo: Oliver Hoslet/EPA

Ryanair later poked fun about the incident on X, formerly Twitter, writing: Warm welcome in Brussels today to celebrate RYRs 7 new routes for Winter 23. Passengers so happy with our routes and petition that theyre celebrating with cake. Weve got tasty low fares!

Instead of buying cream pies, could have bought a flight from Belgium for the same price.

Shame it was soy-based cream, definitely not as tasty as the real stuff, they added.

OLeary had been handing in a petition calling for the European Union to stop preventing airlines from flying over countries during local air traffic control (ATC) strikes.

This rule has caused widespread disruption to flights this year, particularly due to ATC strikes in France.

In May, Ryanair argued that it had been forced to disproportionately cancel thousands of overflights from Ireland, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the UK and slammed European aviation authorities for prioritising short-haul and domestic flights and disregarding international travellers during strikes.

Europe's passengers are sick and tired of suffering unnecessary overflight cancellations during ATC strikes. The European Commission must now act upon the petition of more than 1.1 million EU citizens and insist that all states protect overflights during national ATC strikes as is already done in Greece, Italy and Spain, O'Leary's petition read.
I believe that there will be a united Ireland in my lifetime.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar believes Ireland is on the path to unity and that he will see a united Ireland within his lifetime.

Mr Varadkar said on RTE news today that in a united Ireland there were going to be a million people who are British. He said the success of a country would be judged by how it treats its minorities.

I believe we are on the path to unification. I believe that there will be a united Ireland in my lifetime, he told listeners.

The Fine Gael politician also referenced the singing of certain songs and how that will be perceived as time moves forward.

And in that united Ireland there is going to be a minority. Roughly a million people who are British, he said.

RTE news today

And you judge the success and the quality of a country by the way it treats its minorities and thats something we are going to have to think about.

Because what is a Republican balled a nice song to sing? Easy words to learn for some people. Can be deeply offensive to other people.

Mr Varadkar used an example from across the water to emphasize his point.

Bear in mind in the southern States for example, when people sing about the Confederacy and Robert E Lee, they think its an expression of their culture and so on, thats what they say.

But that is deeply offensive to the minority, the black community in America.

If we are going to unite this country and unite the people of this country- a bit like Patrick Kielty says, we just need to think about our words and how the songs we sing, might be heard by other people, the Taoiseach said.

Referencing the recent drama surrounding the Wolfe Tones at Electric Picnic, Varadkar said: I probably have a more sanguine view of this than maybe other people.

"People like ballads and they like songs that they can sing along to, I think some people maybe read too much into the politics of this.

Mr Varadkar also expressed confidence in the RTE Board after recent controversies.

"I have a lot of confidence in the new Director General. I think he has made a very good start in the past few months in very difficult circumstances," the Taoiseach added.

Mr Varadkar defended his Governments record on housing, pushing back against the claim that thousands of families have been pushed into homelessness by the lifting of the eviction ban earlier this year.

Thousands? No, I dont think so, he said, adding that homelessness didnt fall when the eviction ban was in place and deferred homelessness was realised when it was lifted.

He called homelessness a terrible thing and a real stain on our society", attributing one of the leading factors - as big a factor as notices to quit - to family breakdown in Ireland.

Mr Varadkar said it is impossible to say when the number of people homeless in the country will start to decrease.

The Taoiseach also addressed the use of tents in Stradbally  the site of Electric Picnic  to temporarily house refugees.

Mr Varadkar said he had the pleasurable experience of welcoming a Ukrainian refugee into his home earlier this year and encouraged other members of the public to do the same.

He said they stayed in his home for nine months and it was a very positive experience.

Mr Varadkar said it was an enormous challenge to accommodate the influx of refugees into Ireland and said tents will need to be used from time to time.

We are confidence though that, certainly the ones in Stradbally, will only need to use them for a period of weeks, he said.
Rival dealers have set up in the east which would have been unheard of

SHOW OF STRENGTH: Masked loyalists march through Pitt Park in east Belfast in February 2021

Cracks are appearing in the once-impenetrable organised crime gang as members become increasingly disillusioned with the leadership.

Coupled with a series of successful raids by the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, the mob is on the verge of disintegration.

East Belfast UVF, allegedly lead by Stephen Mackers Matthews  who denies membership of the UVF and involvement in criminal activity  has become one of the most prolific criminal organisations in the country.

But this is a gang which has been run with ruthless efficiency.

Nothing moved in the east of the city without its knowledge.

BAIL: Stephen Mackers Matthews

Any drug dealer trying to move in on the terror factions patch was dealt with in a ruthless fashion.

East Belfast UVF had an iron grip on the drugs trade and, despite fraying at the edges, remains the dominant force in that part of Belfast.

But with Matthews awaiting trial on criminal charges relating to an alleged UVF show of strength in the Pitt Park area in February 2021, his influence and control has waned, according to sources.

An estimated 40 masked men took to the streets as part of an internal feud. Matthews (60), his son David (37) and Derek Lammey (58) were charged with unlawful assembly and harassment.

Charges against David, who was recently married at a lavish ceremony at the Galgorm Spa resort, were withdrawn.

His father Stephen was barred from entering east Belfast as part of his bail conditions for much of the time that he had faced charges.

A source has claimed his absence loosened his influence on the organisation, with a number of one-time close allies going their own way.

The fallout from the murder of prominent loyalist Ian Ogle in 2019 has also contributed to his waning influence.

KILLED: Ian Ogle

Five people  four men and a woman  are facing charges in relation to the killing which saw Ogle beaten to death on the street close to his home.

There was also speculation that Matthews was looking for a way out. He has a holiday home in Benidorm and it was rumoured he was considering retiring to a life in the Spanish sun.

His once close relationship with right-hand man David McConnell and trusted sidekick Mark Sewell  who is facing charges in relation to the Ogle murder  turned sour.

McConnell was stood down after he was found to have been dealing drugs on the side. He was allowed to remain inside the organisation but he was effectively stood down.

Formerly accused of rape  a charge later dropped  and breaking and entering, McConnell is now a peripheral figure and spends much of his time in Scotland where he has a child to his current partner.

East Belfast rakes in a fortune from the drugs trade and with such vast wealth on offer, a number of members have taken advantage of the uncertainty at leadership level and struck out on their own.

There is also the fear that alleged close ties with Matthews marks them out for attention from the Task Force.

A series of high-profile police successes have heaped pressure on East Belfast UVF leadership.

A near 600,000 seizure of herbal cannabis in Belfast docks in August last year lifted the lid on the extent of East Belfasts operations.

The drugs were discovered when cops stopped a flat-bed lorry. Initial searches uncovered a large cache but acting on information received, they returned to the vehicle and uncovered another stash hidden in a concealed compartment.

Not all the drugs were bound for East Belfast but it raised fears that there was an informant within the group.

Police show a huge drugs haul seized at Belfast harbour in February

Only a handful of people knew the details of the shipment which, when seized, left the gang with a huge financial headache.

Mackers has been an absent landlord because of the charges hes facing, said our source. That and the pressure from the peelers has added to the pressure.

An element of trust has disappeared. A number of rival dealers have set up in the east which would have been unheard of only a few years ago.

He said close ties with Dublin-based organised crime gangs including the Kinahan cartel have added to the pressure.

There are those who are not happy dealing with southern gangs, they see it as an added risk and with the pressure the Kinahans are under it can only bring added police attention.

Despite the money theyre still making theres no doubt theyre not the top dogs they once were.
Xochitl Galvez and Claudia Sheinbaum. CUARTOSCURO

On June 2, 2024, two women will fight for the presidency of Mexico. Claudia Sheinbaum, the former mayor of the capital, has won the primaries held by Morena, the left-wing party that is currently in government. Just days earlier, Xochitl Galvez had emerged victorious from a similar process within the opposition Broad Front for Mexico, a political alliance that brings together diverse political groups: the conservative National Action Party (PAN), which has a majority presence in the coalition, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which is going through a deep existential crisis, and the small progressive Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).

And so, even though the elections are almost a year away, the country where folklore extols macho virtues is already thinking that it will be a woman who takes charge of its destiny in the next six-year term.

Outside of these two political blocs, there is only a third group of any relevance, the Citizen Movement, but it lacks the capacity to win on its own and has not yet decided whether to run by itself or join the opposition coalition, and this kind of hesitation has plunged the party into a severe crisis before even getting off the ground. Driven by the popularity of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the most charismatic president in recent decades, Morena has the upper hand in the polls, but the possible departure of Marcelo Ebrard, who served as foreign secretary until June and is unhappy with the process that gave him second spot at the primaries, could subtract votes for the presidency and seats in the legislative branch, which will be voted upon on the same day. Meanwhile, the opposition keeps courting the third party, aware that only the sum of all opposition forces would allow them to win the National Palace.

It is still too early to predict the result, so Mexico is for now concentrating on the upcoming battle between Sheinbaum, 61, and Galvez, 60. The candidates couldnt be more different. The Morena representative is a scientist by trade, and comes across as earnest, measured and reserved. Galvez, a senator for PAN, is a force of nature, a funny, outspoken and daring tech entrepreneur who is so self-confident that she once showed up in the Senate dressed as a dinosaur; at other times she has chained herself to tables and chairs in political protest, and surrounded herself with cameras as she knocked on the door of the National Palace. Galvez is the polar opposite of the former mayor, who does not usually lose her cool and is extremely careful in her public speeches. There was a memorable day during the campaign when Sheinbaum lost her temper with a reporter, a fact that was notable because no one is used to it. Claudia is shy, Xochitl is cheeky. At the polls, the former could profit from her institutional image; the latter has enjoyed unexpected popularity in just a few weeks thanks to her fresh approach. And since both of them like to wear elaborate traditional Mexican outfits, the campaign is set to be a colorful one.

In a country as traditionally patriarchal as Mexico, it is no small achievement to have two women in the running to become president. The polls point to Mexico seating a woman in the powerful presidential chair for the first time in its history, thus joining a club to which many Western countries are far from belonging. When Sheinbaum was first mentioned by political pundits as the person who could succeed Lopez Obrador, the first question from journalists was: Is Mexico ready to have a female president? Mexican history has some renowned heroines to draw upon, including Adelita revolutionaries and Mother Courage types, but positions of power have always fallen to men, or at least that was the case until this political term, during which forward-looking policies introduced gender parity. The cabinets of Lopez Obrador, which are not exactly distinguished by their feminism, have nevertheless had their fair share of women of high professional and political reputation, although these women have not always been able to comfortably express their opinions. Whether the presence of a woman at the top of the chain of command will definitively change things is still one of the many unknowns that are opening up in this new period.

Lopez Obrador, according to a majority of public opinion, has been the chief supporter of Claudia Sheinbaum. The candidate has not veered from the doctrine of the party and its president. Neither have the other candidates to succeed him, but she has been saddled with the image of blind obedience and discipline before the boss. If I were a man, they wouldnt say that about the favorite, she has often protested. The Morena candidate comes from a wealthy and enlightened middle class of Jewish descent. She has a PhD in physics from Mexicos UNAM university, completed her studies in the United States and has a brilliant and extensive resume. In 2007, she participated in the UN Group of Experts on Climate Change, an initiative that received the Nobel Peace Prize. The former mayor already knows what it is to govern a city of nine million people surrounded by a large periphery that is mostly managed from the capital. In this capacity she has shown her educational achievements in mobility and in the management of the Covid pandemic, with greater success than her colleagues in the federal government.

The opposition leader has also had to defend her status as a free and independent woman. No one has nominated me, she replied to Lopez Obrador to combat his accusations that the business community was behind her candidacy. She even took him before the electoral court that settles cases of political gender violence. Despite representing a conservative party, the senator has positioned herself on the side of great feminist causes, such as the right to abortion. She had a violent and abusive father, according to her own account, and one of her sisters is in jail over a kidnapping case. She raised her nieces, now engineers. She spent her childhood in her hometown of Tepatepec, and is very familiar with the working classes. Her path was not free of difficulties, but these days she is an engineer and owner of a technology company for smart buildings. There are those who say that she is more left-wing than right-wing, although her opponent, Sheinbaum, undoubtedly places her on the right. In any case, Galvez strives to show a diverse profile that does not fully align with any of the parties she represents. She needs them as a platform, but knows that both the PAN and the PRI are very damaged by their political past of corruption. Let me be, has been her message to them.

Its easy to guess that in this race both women will have to combat sexist comments and ancestral attitudes, but it will help that they are both women. If everything follows the current script, and that is a lot to expect in politics, it is time for women in Mexico, as Sheinbaum says. Whoever comes to power will have to hold tight to the reins of a country that continues to lead poverty and violence statistics, a combination that results in 100,000 deaths a year. Who wants to be president with that scenario? Galvez once settled the issue: Theres no other way to say it; it takes ovaries.
As a result of the repeated attacks, the boat completely submerged under water

Blood thirsty sharks ripped into the hull of a catamaran off the Australian coast on Wednesday, leading to the sinking of the boat and the emergency rescue of three sailors, officials have announced.

The terrifying incident happened in the Coral Sea off the northern coast of the southern hemispheres large, island nation.

As a result of the repeated attacks, the boat completely submerged under water, the sailors wrote on Instagram.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority coordinated the rescue early Wednesday morning roughly 835km off the coast of Cairns, after receiving an SOS message from the terrified individuals.

The crew involved were on a round-the-world expedition called Russian Ocean Way, which they were documenting online.

The rescue itself

On social media, the men announced they were first attacked by sharks on September 4, leaving the rear left cylinder of their nine-metre inflatable catamaran totally destroyed.

The following day, the catamaran was again attacked by sharks, with the right balloon becoming damaged.

The catamaran  named Tion  then began to sink, which is when the crew sent out a distress beacon.

Authorities responded to the Russian-registered emergency position-indicating radio beacon at 1.30am. Three people were located on board the catamaran, which had departed from Vanuatu and was bound for Cairns.

Both hulls of the vessel have been damaged following several shark attacks, said the Maritime Authority.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority requested the assistance of Panama-flagged vehicle carrier Dugong Ace, and tasked the Cairns-based challenger rescue aircraft to the scene.

Boat involved (Reuters)

The three people  two Russian and one French citizen  were successfully rescued by the Dugong Ace. The vessel, bound for Shanghai, arrived 45 minutes after the distress call was sent, reportedly.

They loaded their possessions onto the rescue ship, while the catamaran was left behind as it faced a watery end.

The crew is due to arrive in Brisbane on Thursday after their terrifying ordeal.

The authority said the sailors, aged between 28 and 64, had planned to sail from the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu to Cairns, a distance of more than 2,000km (1,200 miles).

Theres many reasons why vessels are attacked by sharks. However, the motivations of these sharks are unclear, said Joe Zeller, the acting manager of the AMSA Response Centre. The three sailors were very happy to be rescued and they are all healthy and well and aboard the Dugong Ace, he added.

The Coral Sea where the men were found is teeming with reef sharks apparently.

According to the Australian government, it is home to more sharks than almost any other survey site in the world.
Vogue revealed how she loved Ibiza while getting spanked by Joanne was certainly a highlight

Joanne McNally has described her podcast pal Vogue Williams as frigid in a revealing interview ahead of a brand-new TV show.

The hosts of the popular My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast will be exploring their sexual boundaries in the E4 show Joanne & Vogues Sex Drive.

The pair who travel to the Spanish island of Ibiza on a girls trip will be seen meeting people and communities that are pushing the boundaries of conventional sex.

As they embark on what has been described as an eye opening and empowering journey they will both confront some of their pre-conceived notions of sex and intimacy.

The show promises a raucous, real-talk, funny road trip with heart that approaches the world of sex, spirituality, and wellness in an entirely fresh and riotous way.

From steaming their yonis in a field, to a wild night out at an erotic nightclub in the heart of Ibizas West End, the two will endeavour to reach a higher sexual and spiritual plane and overcome their own inhibitions.

Vogue revealed how she loved Ibiza while getting spanked by Joanne was certainly a highlight.

I feel like we really took our friendship to the next level on this trip, she explains in a promo for the show.

Joanne added that while she had an absolute ball in Ibiza, she cant wait for people to see how liberated I now am and what a frigid Vogue is.

Commissioning Editor, Genna Gibson said the lifelong friends were the perfect match to lead the exploration of female empowerment and sex positivity

Equipped with their unique sense of humour and their shared natural curiosity for the topic, Im really looking forward to finding out whether theyll both be feeling the love by the end, Gibson said.

Programme makers Rumpus Media insist: This isn't a grubby exploration of pampas grass swingers, but a sex and body positive journey, filtered through the lens of best friends who do not hold back.

It's a raucous, real-talk, funny road trip with heart that approaches the world of sex, spirituality, and wellness in an entirely fresh and riotous way. Is the Gwyneth Paltrow approach - wafting around with her washboard stomach, telling us how to steam our nethers, shove a jade egg up "there" and then watch on while a stranger waves the air until they climax - the average British girls experience of a sexy time? Should it be?

A one-off special produced by Rumpus Media, Joanne & Vogues Sex Drive will be available to watch September 21 on E4 or stream on Channel 4.
Kiera is set to release her first album later this year.

Christy Dignams daughter Kiera has revealed that shes signed a record deal just weeks after her dads death.

The Aslan frontman died at his home in June aged 63 after a decade-long battle with cancer.

Kiera, who is set to release her first album later this year, is following in her fathers footsteps and has signed a contract after years of gigging in toilets with her husband Darren Moran.

Sharing a photo of herself signing the deal alongside a photo of her beloved dad and a celebratory bottle of champagne, Kiera told her Instagram followers all about the exciting news.

"After 23 years of singing, 15 years of myself and Darren gigging in toilets to building the band and playing great venues, the album three years in the making with all the delays and hold ups, today I signed with a record label.

"Thank you to everyone who has supported us from day one and up until now."

She added: "I'm so grateful to everyone who has come to gigs over the years and supported us and continue to, thank you. I need a minute."

Fans were delighted by Kieras milestone achievement and rushed to her comments section to send on congratulatory messages.

One person wrote: Congrats on your fantastic achievement.

Another said: Congratulations kiera Im sure ur dad is shining down on u with pride.

Someone else added: Well deserved,your Da would be so proud.

While a fourth chimed in: Aw wow Kiera, thats just amazing! Well done, your Dad is definitely looking down on you and would be so proud like no doubt your Mam and all the family are. This is just fantastic, enjoy every min of your celebrations.

Kiera previously shared how she got to play her upcoming album for her dad before he passed away this summer.

Speaking on Ireland AM in July, she said: "So I have my album ready to go which was a big thing for me, I wanted it ready. I wanted him to be able to listen to it before he passed and he did.

"So I kind of know the tracks that he likes and we never agreed on anything - it was kind of like I liked one thing and he liked another thing.

"But I was like I'm going to win obviously, well I have the say now, he can't really do much about it now, even if it's a song he doesn't like!"
The estimated number of Rotorua adults dying early from the impacts of poor air quality has halved in 13 years  contributing to a social cost saving of more than $100 million, district councillors have been told.

But officials have warned imminent changes to government goalposts for measuring air pollution levels will have a serious impact on Rotorua, which has been trying to improve its poor air quality, particularly in winter, for years.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Rotorua constituency councillor Lyall Thurston spoke to Rotorua Lakes Council elected members on Wednesday at an infrastructure and environment committee meeting, describing the districts slow and steady journey to improve air quality.

Rotorua airshed, as we know, has the worst air quality in the North Island.

An airshed is a geographic area for air quality management.

Wood burners in Rotorua were the main source of the pollution.

These have been targeted in a years-long crackdown that involved incentivising people to switch to cleaner heating options, phasing out some burners and using heat-seeking technology to smoke out rule-breakers.

Toi Te Ora Public Health medical officer of health Dr Gregory Evans told the meeting air pollution impacted people of all ages, but some were more vulnerable.

In the short-term, for example, it could exacerbate asthma. Longer term, accumulated exposure could cause cardiovascular disease and some of the pollutants were known carcinogens.

Particulate matter was of concern  the small particles that can be inhaled. The smaller the particle the easier to breathe in; PM2.5 is smaller than PM10.

Evans referred to a government-commissioned study released in 2022 that found the air pollution generated by humans in 2016 resulted in 3300 premature adult deaths in New Zealand.

He said estimates based on that studys health effects model found there were 40 early adult deaths in the Rotorua airshed in 2009 as a result of domestic fire-produced air pollution.

The estimate for 2022 was 19.

The number of years of lives lost reduced from 596 to 246, while restricted activity days were down from 53,000 to 20,000.

The annual social cost of domestic fires had decreased from an estimated $190.9 million to $78.7m.

Toi Te Ora Public Health medical officer of health Dr Gregory Evans. Photo / Laura Smith.

Those statistics tracked with PM10 measurements in the airshed more than halving in that time, even as the population grew by 7000 people.

He said it was a good news story about how particulate matter had improved over the years.

Regional council senior regulatory project officer Marion Henton described how since 2008 it had moved from a soft voluntary approach to a firm regulatory approach when it came to high-polluting devices such as coal fires.

A carrot and stick method implemented in 2010 that aimed to help people meet regulations through loans and grants, while bylaws and plan changes reduced the number of non-compliant burners.

This winter was the first time fines were issued when conditions of abatement notices for using non-compliant burners were breached.

Were at the pointy end of the stick now.

For the fourth year running, the airshed was on track for PM10 exceedances to be within limits set in the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality. Prior to this run, 2006 was the last time it did not breach the limits.

It moved from 37 exceedances in 2008 to zero this year, to the end of July.

But Henton said changes outside the regional councils control were coming that would move the goalposts.

The national standards were being reviewed and the government proposed to move limits from PM10 to PM2.5. Wood smoke is about 90 per cent the latter.

The shift to PM2.5 will impact places like Rotorua [which] have high levels of wood smoke.

It would have a significant impact on the Rotorua airshed, as going by the last few years of monitoring, it would not be meeting the limits.

She said the council worked with homeowners who were struggling financially to replace their non-compliant burners.

It had been incredibly generous over the years, replacing the heating in hundreds of homes for free, she said.

She worked with vulnerable people, she said, and the goal was to find the best fit for them.

The regional council would adjust targets after the standard amendments were finalised, which was expected to be this year.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.
They look like a medieval torture instrument, but a pair of humble bunion pliers have helped turn a Tauranga cobbler into a social media star (and given his business a boost along the way).

Shoe repairer Shane Barr is an expert in repairing and breathing new life into shoes, boots and bags. While his is a dying art - many cobblers in New Zealand have shut up shop in recent years - there's plenty of life in Barr's business.

He told Kathryn Ryan that he's long been fascinated by fixing things.

"When I was really little, like four, I just loved playing on the old treadle sewing machines. I just thought it was great fun. And my parents actually didn't have thread on it, and I was only allowed to stitch paper, but I still thought it was good because of that little noise it makes when it goes through the paper."

By the time he was at high school, Barr was fixing leather horse gear and thinking about becoming a saddler, but realised the market was tiny. Shoe repair was the next logical step. It didn't take long for him to make the jump from working for a commercial cobbler business to taking over another one.

"But we didn't know too much about branding, and so I painted it my favourite colour, blue, and put massive, big brown boots up on the roof. Funnily enough, we got lots of work boots in [to repair], which are really hard to fix and it's not very cost-effective."

While Barr soon learned all the technical skills - how to grind and glue - he says the key lesson was figuring out how to operate efficiently.

"When you're a one-man band, you're going to have to get the shoe from the customer and get stuck in and fix it like you've got a big pile of work on. Because if you don't take that attitude, you'll soon get behind."

While cobbling is an artform, with an experienced practitioner able to use the bunion pliers to soften and widen parts of a shoe that rub painfully on parts of the feet, Barr says cheap modern shoes are hard to fix.

"Then because it's hard and takes longer, the cost is dearer. So then people just buy another pair instead."

Even some expensive brands are less durable than they used to be, due to manufacturing and materials changes. Much-loved Doc Martens are a prime example, Barr says.

"Now they're making them in Vietnam and China and lots of different random places, not in England anymore. We're getting all sorts of problems, with lots of bad stitching, sharp bits of leather and they always need stretching across the front, which is a bit of a pain.

"We're also getting a few sole joins where it sort of de-laminates and needs to be glued back, but they are very tricky to glue. Quite a few of the shops just don't even want to glue them up."

For his own footwear, Barr favours Danish brand Ecco.

"The problem with Eccos is they generally go rotten, and the soles fall off after about 10 years. I just trash them for those 10 years and get really nice shoes for that time. I think they're about $400, so if you get 10 years out of them it's only $40 a year for really good shoes. That's good value, I think."

Barr dipped a toe into social media during the Covid-19 lockdowns when his business was closed and he was trying to figure out a way to sell shoe polish and other accessories online. When the store reopened, but Tauranga's central city was still quiet, he continued to think about how to "take advantage of the modern ways".

He jumped on TikTok and started making videos in a reasonably haphazard way. Joining MBIE's Digital Skills programme, where he got advice from social media experts, was a huge help. Feedback from social media users also came in handy, with one person telling him off for making a thinly disguised advert and telling him he should be making "helpful" videos instead.

"I was a bit shocked by how harsh it was at the start. I was a bit thin-skinned, but then I thought, 'okay, well, I'll try a couple of helpful ones'. And I put a boot one up I think, where I show people how to superglue the toe of a boot at home, and I got a totally different response. You know, people were like, 'thank you very much' and heaps of pleasant comments. I thought, 'okay, I'll do another few of those'. And then I've just stuck to doing those ones ever since."

Since then, Barr's videos - like ones in which he wields a pair of bunion pliers, or explains how revitalise worn-out Birkenstock sandals - have been viewed more than 5.9 million times. Via his website, people can access his shoe repair services from all around the country, and he's increased his staffing numbers to cope with demand from places where there are no longer any cobblers.

"We try to do stuff in two to three days, and we always try and keep that our goal."

Shoe wisdom

Cobbler Shane Barr responds to some common shoe repair questions.

What makes the footbeds of Birkenstocks so gross - and can they be cleaned?

Apparently the bit that makes it go black is the fat and oil that comes out of your feet. That sinks into that suede layer and it gets pretty nasty looking. We have tried so many different shampoos and cleaners, but what we've found works best is to get in there with some sandpaper first and just get as much of that grunge off there before you move on to the shampoos and things, otherwise you're basically washing the shampoo in further and just moving it around and doesn't really improve it too much."

Help! The buckles on my Birkenstocks are rusting. What should I do?

"Either we replace them and that's a good way of getting new ones, but often you'll have that problem again. Painting them seems to work quite well; give them a light sand with some 200 or 300 grit sandpaper, and then give them a coat of paint. Especially with the black ones, they come up looking real good, real fast.

"Otherwise, replace them with the original Birkenstock copper-looking ones. They seem to resist rust best."

Can I DIY glue the sole back onto a shoe or boot, or should I get an expert to do it?

"We only see the stuffed-up ones that people bring in. If its a builder, its got No More Nails, if its a schoolteacher it's got PVA and staples. The ones that work, we don't see. I think, have a go. A good trick if youre not sure what glue to use is to just glue 2-3cm and then see what it's like the next day, before you go and spread glue everywhere, test that youve got the right glue for the job.

"I reckon for home users, Super Glue is a great idea to try. Once again, just try a small area and see if you can actually get it to glue really well before you go and spread Super Glue everywhere around, because once we get hold of it, we don't really want to grind all that Super Glue off everything first."

How can I use a broomstick and a kettle to stretch my shoes?

"Steam from a kettle softens the leather, a broom handle helps you to stretch out the leather. One or two minutes, youll be surprised how much you can stretch it. Leather will stay stretched, vinyl or any of the other synthetic products will stretch back unfortunately."

Whats the right way to tie shoelaces?

"A lot of people are trying to tie a granny knot. You can tell it's a granny knot once you've tied it that bow sets up and down the chute and often jiggles loose quite quickly. Whereas what you're aiming for as a reef knot or a square knot, which sort of sits nice and tightly across the shoe and stays done up a lot better."

How do I clean my white sneakers?

"Just getting a white or a neutral shoe cream and getting stuck into it often removes a lot of marks. If it doesn't, just get something like Easy Dye, which is like more of a paint. Get the white one of those and give them a real light coat of white paint and theyll be nice and bright-looking again."

For business-y shoes, I just buy Ecco ones. I trash them for 10 years.

How can I help my tramping boots last another season?

"Store them a bit better, so they're clean and dry, and maybe somewhere where it's airy so theyre not going to go mouldy. A lot of them are made of a product called polyurethane foam for the middle of the sole. It's very comfortable and modern and quick and easy to make, but over time it absorbs a bit of moisture and then rots and then they go tramping and the whole sole falls off. You can avoid buying those ones by asking for EVA midsoles which is the same as what a running shoe would have and then you won't have that problem. But otherwise, you just got to accept after about 10 years it'll go rotten and you'll need to resole them."

Ouch, my new Doc Martens are really tight and painful across the top of my foot. What can I do?

"For some reason, the Doc Marten staff apparently tell people to go a size smaller, whereas I would generally say to go a size bigger, with all the problems we see.

"If you can find something that's the right shape and not too sharp, like the bottom of a jam jar or something you could jam in that space that would push that area out, just leave it overnight and you'll find thatll stretch that bit of the shoe out quite nicely."

Can vegan Doc Martens be resoled?

"Yes, because basically the uppers are made of vinyl, not leather. Sometimes it's much harder to stretch if the uppers are too tight because it seems to stretch back. But the soles are still made of PVC, and they can just be resoled.

What should you use to glue the cloth lining back onto the inner sole of a Red Band gumboot?

"I'd suggest using ADOS F2 or something like that. It's a contact adhesive. Just put a light coat on the back of the cloth so it doesnt soak all the way through. Let it dry while it's apart for 10 minutes, then push it back together."

-RNZ.
The two booking agents accused of health and safety failings in the Whakaari / White Island trial are applying to have their charges dismissed.

ID Tours and Tauranga Tourism Services Limited made submissions in the Auckland District Court on Wednesday.

ID Tours' lawyer David Neutze says WorkSafe's case is confusing and conflicting.

"Even after six or seven weeks of evidence and at the end of the prosecution case, my submission is it's still entirely unclear what the 'appropriately detailed and up-to-date health and safety information about tours on Whakaari' ID Tours was legally obliged to provide to Royal Caribbean," Neutze says.

"Nor is it at all clear it was reasonably practical to ensure that this 'appropriately detailed and up-to-date information' was provided to Royal Caribbean's passengers.

"A big hole in the prosecution evidence is that we have no evidence from Royal Caribbean about what their requirements were."

It is the second time ID Tours has made a submission to have the charges dismissed.

TTSL lawyer Sarah Wroe submitted that many of Neutze's comments can be applied to her client too.

Both she and Neutze are critical of the charging document, which alleges they did not work with each other and White Island Tours to get appropriate and up-to-date health and safety information about tours on Whakaari and ensure it's given to Royal Caribbean cruise passengers.

"It is very vague and loose and I highlight that by reference to the 'appropriately detailed and up-to-date health and safety information', whatever that might be," says Neutze.

"It is perverse for WorkSafe to now suggest the duty to somehow ensure that someone else's passengers received information that it did not have, could not be reasonably expected to know and was not expected to ascertain."

He says WorkSafe opened its case saying ID Tours did not have a duty to ensure the tour was safe, conduct risk assessments or ensure controls were implemented.

Neutze says some of the evidence in the trial had been that tours to the volcano should never have been run, which was not ID Tours' responsibility.

"What is it that ID Tours was meant to do? They weren't meant to do risk assessments. They weren't meant to decide whether the tours were safe, but somehow they were to provide appropriate and up-to-date safety information, whatever that is.

"Health and safety of the tourists on the tours ... was simply not part of the ID Tours work activity."

Wroe says WorkSafe was approaching the case with hindsight: "Looking back to see whose actions could have been done differently to have made a difference to these tourists. That's not the appropriate way of doing it."

WorkSafe will make its reply to the submissions later today.

The submissions come a day after the owners of White Island Andrew, Peter and James Buttle, had their charges dismissed.

Their company, Whakaari Management Limited still faces charges.

-Emma Stanford/RNZ.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, at a government meeting on September 7, accused Azerbaijan of aggravating the military-political situation in the region and said that Azerbaijan was allegedly concentrating military forces in the region, which is another false political manipulation by the Armenian side, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, Azernews reports.

The real threat to security in the region is the continuation of military and political provocations by Armenia, the ongoing claims of the Armenian side, as well as political provocations by Pashinyan, against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. Moreover, the Armenian armed forces, which, in violation of their obligations, have not yet been completely withdrawn from the territories of Azerbaijan.

"In order to establish peace and security in the region, the Armenian side must abandon territorial claims against Azerbaijan, end military and political provocations, and stop hindering the successful completion of the negotiation process on a peace treaty," said the statement.
The Ukrainian side of the Danube is pierced by the wail of anti-aircraft sirens, a crackling in the night sky and exploding fireballs. A deadly battle has broken out a few yards from the border with Romania. Since the breakdown of an agreement that allowed Ukraine to export grain across the Black Sea, the Russian army has intensified bombings of grain silos in the Ukrainian ports of Izmail and Reni, near the border with Romania, a NATO member country.

On September 4, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported it had a photo of an Iranian-made Shahed drone that exploded over Romanian territory. The Romanian Ministry of Defense swiftly issued a denial, the second time this year that Bucharest has officially refuted a statement from Kyiv. Ukraines insistence irritated Romanian leaders, who want to avoid being pulled into a propaganda war. There have been verified attacks recorded just 800 meters from our border, meaning they were very close, declared Romanian President Klaus Iohannis on September 5 during a visit to a Romanian military base. No pieces, drones or components from any other device have penetrated our borders  we have complete control over our airspace, said Iohannis, who nevertheless expressed concern over bombings so close to the Romanian border.

However, Iohannis took a firmer stance a day later after Defense Minister Angel Tilva confirmed to Romanian TV network Antena 3 that possible drone components were found in the border area following a Russian attack. A large area was cordoned off, although no one was evacuated since the wreckage was not considered dangerous. Tilva said the pieces were being analyzed to identify their origin, and Iohannis requested an immediate investigation. If elements are confirmed to be from a Russian drone, it would be completely unacceptable and a serious violation of Romanias sovereignty and territorial integrity as a NATO ally, said the president, who reiterated that the country is on high alert.

Armand Gosu, an expert on the former Soviet Union, believes its entirely possible that a Russian drone could stray into Romanian airspace and may have already done so, which would trigger a NATO response. The danger, says the former BBC correspondent in Moscow, is that Russia will continue to test its limits.

NATO Article 4

If an attack were to occur on Romanian soil, the countrys army is prepared to respond accordingly, says the Ministry of Defense. Bucharest is ready to deal with any Russian drone or missile that strays into Romania, but is also wary of escalating tensions. Romania can also invoke Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which calls for joint consultations among member states to safeguard political independence and territorial integrity and security.

Romanias eastern flank has become crucial for Ukraine, since the region has become a bottleneck for exports of Ukrainian crops like corn, rapeseed and millet, as well as inbound shipments of military equipment and supplies. In August, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced his plan to boost the transportation of Ukraines grain through Romania to 60%, following a meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmyhal. To accomplish this goal, Ciolacu has announced plans to double the capacity of the Constanta port on the Black Sea and enhance other routes. These improvements will enable the handling of four million tons per month. Investments are being made in the Sulina Canal, said the Romanian Prime Minister, referring to Romanias main waterway that runs through the Danube Delta.

Bucharest has made enormous efforts to facilitate the export of grain from Ukraine, said Mihai Isac, an international relations expert. This includes the modernization of some train lines with Soviet-model gauges, such as the routes between Reni [Ukraine], Giurgiulesti [Moldova] and Galati [Romania]... Renovation projects on the Sulina canal were expedited, which will enable nighttime navigation starting in October. Additionally, Kyiv will dredge the Bistroe canal, situated in the protected area of the Danube Delta.

Improving the seaworthiness of larger ships on the Danube would reduce Ukraines reliance on grain deposits, minimizing the risk of Russian attacks. However, the flood of grain from Ukraine has raised concerns among Romanian farmers, prompting officials to seek financial aid from the EU as compensation.

Despite some friction over issues like the plight of the Romanian ethnic minority in Ukraine, Bucharest has always showed strong support for its neighbor. Over a million Ukrainian refugees transited through Romania, and several hundred thousand remain in the country. In addition to continued political support, Romania has also supplied Ukraine with Soviet-made weapons, artillery, and ammunition for light weapons, said Isac.

The Romanian government has not made any public statements regarding military aid to Kyiv. However, Ciolacu says its NATO partners are aware that Bucharest provides more than just humanitarian and logistical support, and will also be involved in training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets. I hope to sign the protocols [for the pilots] in the next few days, which is the only obstacle that remains, said the prime minister. Moreover, military supplies from Bulgaria, Turkey and other countries pass through Romanian territory on their way to Ukraine.

Romania will have elections [presidential, European, local, and legislative] next year, which will affect relations between Romania and Ukraine, said Isac. The ultranationalist Alliance for the Union of Romanians [AUR means gold in Romanian] is exploiting the tough economy for votes and wants to limit support for Ukraine. Meanwhile, extremists are flooding social media with fake news and conspiracy theories... Romania is on the front lines of this hybrid war launched by Russia against the European Union and NATO.

There are still unresolved issues between Bucharest and Kyiv. One of them is Ukraines recognition of the Moldovan language, which is spoken in Moldova, a country sharing a border with Ukraine and Romania. However, Romania fully supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. [Romania] also indirectly helps Ukraine through economic and political support provided to Moldova to prevent pro-Russian politicians from coming to power, said Isac.

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Noise in the political sphere, calm in the classroom. The ban on the abaya, the traditional tunic in some Muslim countries, considered an indication of religious or cultural identity, has come into force this week in French schools amid an intense debate on secularism and its application in the education system. The Council of State must decide by September 7 whether the measure is legal and respects fundamental freedoms.

So rare is the wearing of the garment that the law appears to be addressing an issue that is all but anecdotal. Of the 12 million French pupils who returned to school on Monday, 298 arrived wearing the abaya and 67 refused to remove it, and were consequently sent home, according to provisional figures from Frances Ministry of Education which banned the Islamic veil and any other garment or accessory with religious connotations, from the Christian cross to the Jewish skull cap, in 2004.

Outside of the classroom, pupils have the right to dress as they want, says Christine Guimonnet, a history and geography teacher at the Lycee Camille Pissarro in Pontoise, north of Paris. But, when they come to class, they cannot wear clothes that indicate a religious affiliation. At her high school, Guimonnet has not experienced any cases of pupils wearing the abaya this week; last year she had to tell one student to take it off.

Until now, the guidelines on the wearing of the abaya have been vague and decisions on whether the abaya and qamis fell under the 2004 law as a piece of clothing that indicates a religious or cultural identity have been left to the teachers discretion. But the garment  equivalent to the even less common qamis for boys  appears to be gaining popularity among French Muslim girls.

The October 2020 murder of teacher Samuel Paty, who was subjected to a hate campaign after showing caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in class, flagged up what was perceived as an Islamist threat in schools. Now the French governments decision on the abaya relieves school principals from making any decision on the issue themselves and thereby prevents exposure to a potential backlash.

Secular education, a pillar of the Republic

In France, secular and centralized education is considered one of the pillars of the Republic. It is the engine of meritocracy, although it often fails in its democratizing role, and even exacerbates inequalities. This secular sanctuary can, in fact, feel besieged by religion. Just over a century ago, when secularism was introduced into law in 1905, the perceived threat was Catholicism; now it is Islam.

The 2004 law states that the Republic guarantees freedom of conscience and the freedom to exercise any religion; at the same time, the State does not recognize or subsidize any religion. Partly in response to the proliferation of Islamic veils in classrooms, the 2004 law prohibited the wearing of anything by which pupils ostensibly indicate a religious affiliation.

But, according to Muslim representatives, the abaya, which originated in the Persian Gulf region, is more cultural than religious. Besides, there is no simple definition of this long tunic. So, when it is not clear whether it is an abaya or not, the question is whether a decision would be made depending on the students beliefs.

Once again, we know that Muslims are being targeted, says Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of La France Insumee, a left-wing political party. The feminist ecologist Sandrine Rousseau believes that the measure imposes social control over the bodies of women and girls.

Division on the left

But there is another perspective on the left, especially among socialists and communists, who favor the banning of the abaya in the name of secularism, which is historically associated with progressive values. Meanwhile, the right and the extreme right applaud the ban.

In the 2022-2023 school year, the number of reported challenges to secularism in schools increased by 120% compared to the previous school year, according to figures cited by Le Monde. Forty percent of the incidents concerned clothing, but were confined to a very small number of middle and secondary schools  about 150 of the 10,000 in France.

The Minister of Education, Gabriel Attal, considers that by promoting the abaya, Islamists put the Republic to the test. According to Guimonnet, who has extensive hands-on experience in dealing with these issues: It is not a ban to prevent the students from being who they are, but the high school is not a place to display their religion: the student should not disappear behind the belief.

Philosophy professor and secularism specialist Henri Pena-Ruiz agrees: The 2004 law removes all religious proselytism from schools, he says. It also applies to atheist proselytism: a child wearing a T-shirt saying God does not exist or God is dead, as Nietzsche said, would not be allowed. The school has to provide common ground. It is not a place for religious struggle, but of serene study. In France, we are experiencing a significant attack from the Islamists, who try, by any means, to impose their religious customs, he adds.

As a man with communist sympathies, Pena-Ruiz is uncomfortable with the position of others on the left: Many people on the left are condescending, he says. They imagine that Muslims are the new proletariat, and say, What are we doing to the poor Muslims? I always reply that Muslims should not be treated like this as it is, in the end, humiliating; they are human beings like everyone else.

Jean Bauberot, another specialist in secularism with left-leaning politics, disagrees: There has always been a temptation, among certain left-wing sympathizers, to be anti-religious, but it turns out that in France secularism is not anti-religious. The abaya is originally a traditional Bedouin dress, not a religious one. It is strange that, in a secular Republic, it is the minister who says what is religious and what is not. He adds that when the veil was banned in 2004, teenagers sought ways to get around the ban by wearing alternatives: hence the abaya. He believes the same will happen now. Its like a game of cat and mouse, he says. The State is turning generations of people against secularism, because they are presented with a truncated form of it.

But Guimonnet points out that when students question her about the restrictions associated with secularism, she tells them that she, as an employee of the State, also has to respect certain boundaries: for example, she is not allowed to influence them politically. The school is first and foremost a secular breathing space, where students can temporarily set aside their beliefs  a place of emancipation through knowledge, she says.
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Fulton, NY  A former Oswego County youth shelter worker has been arrested and charged with third-degree rape after police said she had sex with a 16-year-old male.

Lauren A. Woods, 31, of Fulton was charged Thursday after an Aug. 21 complaint about a possible sexual abuse incident in the city, Fulton police said.

Police said Woods worked at a youth shelter in Fulton, which is run by Oswego County Opportunities, and met the victim while working there. Police said the victim moved into Woods house, where she had sex with him.

In addition to the felony rape charge, Wood also was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor.

Woods was transported to the Oswego County Jail for centralized arraignment.

Police are asking anyone with more information about this or other incidents involving Woods to call Fulton Police Investigator Joli Marino at (315) 598-4342.

Elizabeth Doran covers education, suburban government and development, breaking news and more. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact her anytime 315-470-3012 or email edoran@syracuse.com
Cazenovia, N.Y. -- An 88-year-old woman was killed and her 91-year-old husband was injured Wednesday when their SUV rolled over several times in the town of Cazenovia.

The Madison County Sheriffs Office said Junelle Weller, of Earlville, was a passenger in a Chevrolet Equinox being driven westbound by Richard Weller on U.S. Highway 20 when the vehicle went off the southern shoulder of the road shortly before 11:50 a.m.

The vehicle entered the median before rolling over several times and coming to rest across both eastbound driving lanes of Route 20 near Stone Quarry Road, the Sheriffs Office said.

Junelle Weller sustained serious injuries in the crash and was transported to Upstate University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to the Sheriffs Office.

Richard Weller sustained minor injuries and was also transported to Upstate University Hospital, deputies said.

Route 20 was closed between the village of Cazenovia and Mosley Road for several hours while the Sheriffs Office investigated the crash. The roadway has since been re-opened.

The Sheriffs Office said late Wednesday afternoon that the cause of the collision was still under investigation. Alcohol and excessive speed do not appear to be factors in the crash, it said.

Deputies were assisted on scene by the New York State Police, the Cazenovia Police Department, the Cazenovia Fire Department, CAVAC Ambulance and NY State Department of Transportation.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | X | Facebook | 315-470-3148
On September 7, 2013, exactly 10 years ago, the President of China, Xi Jinping, approached the microphones in a spacious room at Nazarbayev University, in Astana (now Nur-Sultan), the capital of Kazakhstan. He began his speech by recalling the travels of Zhang Qian, an emissary whom Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent on a journey through Central Asia more than 2,100 years ago. His voyages, Xi said, opened the door to friendly contact between China and the countries of Central Asia, and gave rise to a Silk Road linking East and West, Asia and Europe.

He then outlined a proposal that would mark his next decade as leader of China. It was an idea conceived to expand the Asian economic giant beyond its borders and in line with the new era that he envisioned for his country, with the aim of increasing its weight on the geopolitical board. So that all Eurasian countries can enjoy closer economic ties, deeper cooperation, and greater space for development, we can use an innovative model of cooperation, jointly building an economic belt along the Silk Road, he said.

Thus, a modern Silk Road was born.

The speech given by Xi in Kazakhstan is considered the founding document of the Belt and Road initiative, the official name of the infrastructure mega-program with which China seeks to connect to the world. The strategic plan celebrates its tenth anniversary this Thursday with a controversial report card: for Beijing, which has invested around $1 trillion in more than a hundred countries, it is a high-quality asset, built by the parties involved and shared by the world, said the still-missing former Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, in March at his one and only press conference. For others, however, it is Chinas route to ruin, as defined by researchers Michael Bennon and Francis Fukuyama in a recent article in the journal Foreign Affairs. In it, they assert that Beijings tentacular program endangers numerous developing countries, trapped in a spiral of debt with China and compromises the International Monetary Fund, which will have to step in to rescue them.

In October, the Chinese government plans to hold the 3rd Belt and Road Forum and expects various leaders to visit, including the Russian President Vladimir Putin. It certainly makes you think about how much the world has changed in 10 years. When Xi gave that speech, the planet was emerging from the shock of the Great Recession, and a global pandemic was still the stuff of science fiction movies. Likewise, relations between Beijing and Washington had not gone into a tailspin, the Chinese president had been in office for less than six months and at another conference with the G20 leaders in Saint Petersburg only a few days before: he warned of a wave of protectionism that was beginning to sweep the planet and called for more globalization. The world was so different that the Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the G20 summit in his hometown. He is now banned from the organization and an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court weighs over him. Only a few months later, he decreed the annexation of Crimea, which cast a looming shadow until the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Agreements with 150 countries

Over the next decade, China would invest in all types of logistics, energy, and infrastructure projects around the globe. And this deployment by Beijing would soon send warning signals in Washington and Brussels. Currently, more than 150 countries have signed Belt and Road cooperation agreements (about two-thirds of the worlds states), according to China, including a good number of EU partners. Spain is not among them, nor is Germany or France. But Italy is: it is the only member of the G7 that has signed a memorandum of understanding, although it is unlikely to last long.

Last Monday, Antonio Tajani, the Italian Foreign Minister, was on an official visit to Beijing. In his high-level meetings he omitted the topic, according to the official reading, but just before the trip he stated that the Belt and Road project had not delivered the expected results. The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, already stated during her election campaign that joining the program had been a big mistake. In conclusion: Italy is heading towards a break with the Chinese Belt and Road initiative, according to a memo by Trivium China analysts. But neither side wants to make too much of a fuss. Everyone wants to stay friends.

The proposal has functioned as an umbrella with which Beijing has increased Chinese demand abroad (its companies and workers have often participated in the construction of projects) while attracting enormous energy resources inland. For example, Xi closed substantial agreements on hydrocarbons on his trip to Astana in 2013. Although projects of all kinds fit under the initiative, from security to culture: during the last 10 years, China has started the first major archaeological excavations outside its borders.

A cafe between China and Kazakhstan

Money has also permeated the Asian giant, giving rise to modern caravanserais (roadside inns) in the middle of nowhere. Lucia Hu, a Chinese woman who for years was an immigrant to Italy, prepared an espresso last June that was almost impossible to find for miles around. The place is called The Silk Road Cafe and is located in the Horgos International Cooperation Center, a free trade zone located on the border between China and Kazakhstan, not far from the ancient commercial roads. Technically, it consists of a fenced mini-city, between both countries, where citizens from both sides can enter, take a photo with one foot in each state and buy all kinds of duty-free items from different corners of the globe. Hu is dedicated to importing Italian and European products. At this modern way station, the air is filled with the sound of packing tape.

The site, in the far west of Xinjiang province, was conceived before the Xi era, but the impetus came with the Belt and Road. It reopened not too long after the pandemic. And it has the feeling of a place about to burst into life. The question is whether it will actually happen: there are numerous buildings under construction in the area, although several appear abandoned.

Guo Liang, 33, vice director of the office in charge of managing the Center, defines it as a miniature platform of Beijings mega program to promote common prosperity and trade between different countries, according to what he said in July. Businesses, he added, also benefit from the proximity of the Eurasian railway connections developed in the last decade: just across the border, in Kazakh territory, a gigantic dry port has been built, a node that links China and Europe by rail through Kazakhstan.

Thanks to places like this, Beijing argues that the Belt and Road has helped create 3,000 cooperation projects, 420,000 local jobs and has helped lift almost 40 million people out of poverty.

But critics denounce it as neocolonialism. They also warn that in many countries the growing Chinese presence has been rejected by the locals, and state that numerous initiatives have not given the expected economic results. And because the governments that negotiated these projects often agreed to back the loans, they have found themselves with huge debt hanging over them and are unable to guarantee financing for future projects or even to service the debt they have already accumulated, Bennon and Fukuyama say. Countries such as Sri Lanka, Argentina, Kenya, Malaysia, Montenegro, Pakistan, and Tanzania are in this situation, they continue.

This wave of debt crises could be far worse than previous ones, inflicting lasting economic damage on already vulnerable economies and plunging their governments into protracted and costly negotiations, the authors warn.

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Syracuse, N.Y. -- Lawyers on Wednesday argued whether former doctor Robert Neulander, found guilty last year for a second time of murdering his wife in 2012, should get a new trial.

Neulanders attorney, Alexandra Shapiro, said Neulander deserves a new trial in part because the trial judge told the jury it could consider the lack of testimony from Neulanders daughter as incriminating evidence, according to Newschannel 9.

The hearing was held before the Fourth Appellate Division, in Rochester. The mid-level court could take months to issue a decision, which could be appealed to the states highest court, the Court of Appeals.

Neulander was first convicted in 2015 of murdering his wife, Leslie, in their DeWitt mansion. That conviction was overturned because of one jurors misconduct. He was tried again, and once again found guilty of murder in March 2022.

In March of this year, Shapiro filed an appeal, offering several arguments for overturning the former OB-GYNs conviction and life sentence. Among them was the absence in the second trial of Jenna Neulander, the couples daughter, who defended her father vigorously during his 2015 trial.

Jenna Neulander was the only one home with her parents at the time of her mothers death. Prosecutors didnt call her in the second trial to testify because she would have defended her father to the jury. But the defense didnt call her, either, prompting the judge to tell the jurors that they could infer that her testimony would have incriminated her father.

Bradley Oaster, an Onondaga County assistant attorney, represented the prosecution in Wednesdays appeals hearing.

Neulander is in Elmira Correctional Facility serving a 20-year sentence.
DeWitt, N.Y.  The New York State Attorney Generals Office has opened a special investigation into the deaths of two teens who were shot by an Onondaga County Sheriffs Office deputy Wednesday.

The teenagers were shot Wednesday morning after the stolen car they were in nearly ran over the deputy, according to Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley.

The two killed were 15 and 17 years old, according to two sources.

The AG opens a special, full investigation of an incident if its assessment determines that an officer caused or may have caused the death of an individual.

A spokesperson for the AG has said these announcements do not imply wrongdoing by the officers. The investigation will determine if there was wrongdoing and whether officers should face criminal prosecution.

The AG will either present evidence to a grand jury and seek an indictment or issue a public report explaining why the office chose not to present evidence to the grand jury, according to an annual report issued by the Office of Special Investigations.

The teens were shot near the Midler Meadows mobile home park in DeWitt, Shelley said at an afternoon news conference. That vehicle was suspected of being involved in two overnight burglaries, he said.

The deputy was alone when the driver of the stolen vehicle tried to run over him, Shelley said. The deputy fired three shots, he said.

The sheriff said a witnesss video shows the deputy didnt have time to get out of the way.

The video has not been made public. The deputy, who has not yet been publicly identified, was wearing a body camera but didnt have it turned on at the time of the shooting. Shelley said the deputy didnt have time to turn on the camera.

The deputy had nowhere to flee to. This whole thing happens in seconds. He had no options, Shelley said.

The deputy was not injured, the sheriff said.

The chain of events started around 9 p.m. Tuesday, when two vehicles were stolen from the area around James Street and Hixson Avenue in Syracuse, Shelley said. One was a Kia and one was a Hyundai.

Those stolen vehicles were connected to a 4 a.m. burglary of a smoke shop in Oneida, the sheriff said.

An alarm went off at OQ Smokeline store in the Glenwood Plaza, according to Oneida police. Officers found the side door of the store smashed, police said. Surveillance footage shows two groups arriving in a dark van and white sedan and then entering through the smashed door, police said.

Items were taken from the store and then the two vehicles left, police said. It was the same group involved in similar incidents later in Onondaga County, police said.

Wednesday morning, the same vehicles were seen in a burglary at a smoke shop on East Molloy Road in DeWitt, Shelley said.

The burglary call was at the Prince Smoke Shop on 176 E. Molloy Rd, according to the source, who had been involved in a briefing on the matter.

The deputy involved in the shooting was investigating the East Molloy Road burglary when someone called 911 to report suspicious activity at the mobile home park, Shelley said.

The 6:18 a.m. caller reported three or four males wearing dark clothing moving items between a sedan and a dark-colored minivan at the mobile home park. The deputy responded to the mobile home park, knowing that the vehicles the caller mentioned matched the description of those seen on video from the smoke shop burglary, Shelley said.

Moments after arriving, Shelley said, one of the suspects vehicles tried to run over the deputy. The deputy pulled out his gun and fired three times, the sheriff said.

Both suspect vehicles fled the scene. One of them hasnt been found. The other was located back near the location of the initial car burglaries, when it crashed shortly before 7 a.m. on Mooney Avenue in Eastwood, Shelley said.

There, one occupant was found dead and another was near death, the sheriff said. The second occupant died shortly after a deputy attempted life-saving efforts, Shelley said.

A third person in the vehicle with the deceased has not been found.

Shelley did not provide the ages of the two deceased teens, saying their identities hadnt yet been confirmed.

Nevertheless, Shelley said deputies had been in touch with family members of the deceased.

More Syracuse.com coverage

See sheriffs explanation of why deputy fired shots that killed two teens (Video)

2 teens killed in DeWitt by deputy who fired at vehicle which nearly ran deputy over, sheriff says

Two people killed by police in shooting in DeWitt, authorities say

Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, photo, question or comment? Reach her at 315-396-5961, on Twitter @kirk_rylee, or rkirk@syracuse.com.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Two teens shot and killed by an Onondaga County deputy investigating a burglary have been identified.

They are Lueth Mo, 15, and Dhal Apet, 17, according to Haz Bloodworth, a community activist. Both were Henninger High School students.

The teens were shot Wednesday morning after the stolen car they were in nearly ran over the deputy, according to Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley. The shooting happened near the Midler Meadows mobile home park on North Midler Avenue in DeWitt.

The names were confirmed by several sources familiar with the investigation or in contact with the families. (The sheriffs office at first declined to identify the teens. Thursday afternoon, the sheriffs office confirmed the names.)

That stolen vehicle was suspected of being involved in two overnight burglaries, Shelley said.

The two teens were killed by three shots fired into the vehicle, Shelley said. The sheriff referred to a witnesss video that he said showed that the deputy didnt have time to get out of the way.

The witnesss video has not been made public. The deputy, who has not yet been publicly identified, was wearing a body camera but didnt have it turned on during the shooting. Shelley said the deputy didnt have time to turn on the camera.

The deputy had nowhere to flee to. This whole thing happens in seconds. He had no options, Shelley said.

The deputy was not injured, the sheriff said.

The chain of events started around 9 p.m. Tuesday, when two vehicles were stolen from the area around James Street and Hixson Avenue in Syracuse, Shelley said. One was a Kia and one was a Hyundai.

Those stolen vehicles were connected to a 4 a.m. burglary of a smoke shop in Oneida, the sheriff said.

An alarm went off at OQ Smokeline store in the Glenwood Plaza, according to Oneida police. Officers found the side door of the store smashed, police said. Surveillance footage shows two groups arriving in a dark van and white sedan and then entering through the smashed door, police said.

Items were taken from the store and the two vehicles left, police said.

Wednesday morning, the same vehicles were seen in a burglary at a smoke shop on East Molloy Road in DeWitt, Shelley said.

The burglary call was at the Prince Smoke Shop on 176 E. Molloy Rd, according to the source, who had been involved in a briefing on the matter.

The deputy involved in the shooting was in the middle of investigating the East Molloy Road burglary when someone called 911 to report suspicious activity at the Midler Meadows mobile home park, Shelley said.

The 6:18 a.m. a caller reported three or four males wearing dark clothing moving items between a sedan and a dark-colored minivan at the mobile home park. The deputy responded to the mobile home park, knowing that the vehicles the caller mentioned matched the description of those seen on video from the smoke shop burglary, Shelley said.

Moments after arriving, Shelley said, one of the suspects vehicles tried to run over the deputy. The deputy pulled out his gun and fired three times, the sheriff said.

Both suspect vehicles sped off. One of them hasnt been found. The other was found back near the location of the initial car burglaries when it crashed at about 7 a.m. on Mooney Avenue in Eastwood, Shelley said.

There, one occupant was found dead and another was near death, the sheriff said. The second occupant died shortly after as a deputy tried life-saving efforts, Shelley said.

A third person in the vehicle with the deceased has not been found.

The state Attorney Generals Office, which is tasked with looking into deaths caused by police officers in New York, confirmed it was doing a full, special investigation of the shooting.

More Syracuse.com coverage

State Attorney General opens investigation into teens fatally shot by deputy in DeWitt

See sheriffs explanation of why deputy fired shots that killed two teens (Video)

2 teens killed in DeWitt by deputy who fired at vehicle which nearly ran deputy over, sheriff says

Two people killed by police in shooting in DeWitt, authorities say

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.
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have postponed all their September tour dates due to illness, including Thursday nights concert at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.

Springsteen, 73, is being treated for symptoms of peptic ulcer disease and the decision of his medical advisors is that he should postpone the remainder of his September shows, a Live Nation representative said.

The announcement came Wednesday night, just 24 hours before he was scheduled to perform in front of more than 30,000 people at the former Carrier Dome on the Syracuse University campus. A total of eight concerts, including a Sept. 19 performance at MVP Arena in Albany, were canceled but are expected to be rescheduled.

Over here on E Street, were heartbroken to have to postpone these shows, The Boss said in a statement. First, apologies to our fabulous Philly fans who we missed a few weeks ago. Well be back to pick these shows up and then some. Thank you for your understanding and support. Weve been having a blast at our US shows and were looking forward to more great times. Well be back soon. Love and God bless all, Bruce.

Springsteen had postponed some earlier 2023 tour dates, including an Albany concert originally scheduled in March and two August dates at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, due to Covid and other health issues. Last week, the Philadelphia Phillies announced that the Philly concerts were rescheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, and Friday, Aug. 23, 2024.

Tickets purchased for the original concert dates will be honored for the new dates, which have not yet been announced for Syracuse, Albany and other postponed September concerts.

How to get ticket refunds

According to a Ticketmaster message to ticketholders, refunds are not currently being offered for Bruce Springsteens Syracuse, Albany, and other postponed September concerts because they have not yet been rescheduled. If a concert date is canceled altogether, refunds will be issued automatically.

Event Organizers are constantly assessing the situation and making determinations regarding refunds. You can always check your Ticketmaster Account later, as this status may change. Just go to your order to see if a refund link appears, which would indicate that the Event Organizer has made your order eligible for a refund, Ticketmaster said in an email.

However, refunds are being offered for the Philadelphia concerts because new dates have now been announced. According to the Phillies website, to be eligible for refunds you must have purchased your tickets through the MLB teams website and not transferred, posted or sold them. If the tickets were transferred to you, you will need to transfer them back to the original purchase in order to request a refund.

Refunds must be requested within 30 days of the new date announcement, and will be processed to the original method of payment.

For tickets purchased through a secondary site, customers must contact the site or original purchaser for possible refunds.

If ticketholders made travel arrangements, including flights, hotels and other reservations, they will have to contact them in order to find out if any refunds are offered.

The stage being set up for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's concert at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse. The tour production includes 22 trucks. Geoff Herbert | gherbert@syracuse.com

Postponed Bruce Springsteen tour dates include:

Sept. 7 - Syracuse, NY @ JMA Wireless Dome

Sept. 9 - Baltimore, MD @ Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Sept. 12 - Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena

Sept. 14 - Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena

Sept. 16 - Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena

Sept. 19 - Albany, NY @ MVP Arena

Sept. 21 - Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena

Sept. 29 - Washington, DC @ Nationals Park

Springsteen is currently scheduled to resume touring Nov. 30 in Phoenix. For more information and tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.
Saranac Lake, N.Y.  When autumn magics green-leaved trees into riotously colored bouquets of gold, crimson and fiery orange, its hard not to fall for New York.

And when it comes to leaf peeping, four of the top-rated spots to see brilliant fall foliage in America are  of course  in Upstate.

Two of the best places to leaf peep in the U.S. are in the Adirondacks, according to a ranking by Country Living: Keene, a town that rightfully calls itself Home of the High Peaks, and Saranac Lake, a scenic four-season village.

Country Livings other two New York picks are closer to the Catskill Mountains: New Paltz, home to the stunning Mohonk Mountain House, and the sprawling Hudson Valley.

Fall comes to the Adirondacks near Saranac Lake, N.Y. on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. N. Scott Trimble | strimble@syracuse.com

Of the four Upstate destinations included on Country Livings list, Saranac Lake ranked highest  coming in at No. 3. The magazine lauded the village for offering miles of lakes, mountains and hiking trails to enhance your leaf-peeping experience.

Keene snagged the No. 20 spot on the magazines ranking. Just 30 minutes east of Saranac Lake, the town contains 15 of the Adirondacks 46 High Peaks. That includes Mount Marcy, New Yorks highest mountain, which looks its best when dressed in autumnal colors.

The Hudson Valley came in at No. 53 on Country Livings roundup. The magazine noted the region is full of must-visit places like the Walkway Over the Hudson and Rhinebeck.

New Paltz landed last  but not least  on the list, ranking No. 55. Country Living recommended travelers visit the town in autumn just to stay at or hike around the storied Mohonk Mountain House.

READ MORE

New Adirondack High Peaks train ride to run during fall foliage season from Central NY

New Upstate NY fall foliage, pet-friendly rail bike adventures announced

Adventures in Upstate NY: Explore Adirondack treetops at Wild Center in Tupper Lake (video)

Explore teeny-tiny town named Adirondacks best-kept secret
On September 1, 1950, Marjorie Dey (Carter) made history when she was hired as the very first African American teacher in the Syracuse City School District.

Marjorie knew she wanted to be a teacher as early as the sixth grade. As a young student at the Madison School, she was inspired by the attention and encouragement of her teachers, particularly a Miss Hamlin.

Even decades later, she recalled Miss Hamlin utilizing a host of unorthodox pedagogical tactics that impressed her curious young mind.

The only daughter of Orlando and Hester Dey, Marjorie grew up in a family that valued education.

According to the 1940 census, both Orlando and Hester were high school graduates. Her father, Orlando, was born in Navarino, NY in 1878. He married, Hester, who was born in Charlottesville, VA in 1891, just one generation removed from slavery, in Syracuse.

Marjorie was born in 1927.

- The Delta Kappa Epsilon House, 1011 Walnut Avenue. The house still stands. It is currently the Goldstein Faculty Center for Syracuse University. Onondaga Historical Association Onondaga Historical AssociationOnondaga Historical Association

Education was all around Marjorie as youngster. In fact, she grew up directly across the street from the picturesque campus of Syracuse University in the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity House at 1011 Walnut Avenue, where her father worked as the head custodian for decades until retiring in 1958.

As such, she witnessed firsthand the power of education to shape lives.

With the constant support of her parents, she excelled in her studies and graduated from Central High School, where she was one of only a handful of African American students in the college preparatory program.

Foreshadowing her trailblazing teaching career, she graduated from SUNY Cortland with her teaching certification in elementary education in 1950, where she was the only African American student on campus until her senior year.

Fittingly, Ms. Dey opened her official appointment letter from David Patton, Syracuse Superintendent of Schools, in her familys apartment at 1011 Walnut Ave on April 12, 1950. Three years later, she married her husband, Alonzo Carter, who worked as a draftsman and designer for General Electric, there as well.

Clipping from the Syracuse Herald from April 1950 following the hiring of Marjorie Dey Carter, Syracuse's first Black public school teacher.Onondaga Historical Association

Carter began her storied teaching career at the Charles Andrews School on Salt Springs Road in the fall of 1950. For the next several years, she taught first and second grade.

Carter told reporter Dick Case in 1990 that in those early years, race was not something she nor the parents of the children she was teaching were concerned with.

Remember, she said, this was before the integration plan and busingmy main concern was giving the kids as much as I could, stretching them as much as I could.

The children did not seem to care about the color of her skin.

She told Case that the parents found that out when they came to school to meet me.

The local press, however, did take note and several stories appeared highlighting the historic nature of her appointment.

During her standard district-wide three-year probationary period, she received an annual compensation of $2,200, which did place her in the lowest tier of the pay scale.

- Marjorie Dey Carter in the classroom, 1973. Onondaga Historical Association Onondaga Historical AssociationOnondaga Historical Association

Mrs. Carter proved to be visionary teacher and instructional designer. As her career advanced, she began working on federally funded projects that sought enhance and improve the quality of classroom instruction for inner-city students and at-risk youth in urban areas like Syracuse.

She was an early proponent and advocate for team teaching and she spent years of her career working alongside her fellow teachers, teaching them new methods and techniques to help students get the best education they could, just like she remembered from her youth.

During the tumultuous days of the civil rights movement and the fights over integration and busing, Carter acted as a steady hand and leader in the fight for equity in education.

In 1972, Mrs. Carter made history again.

In recognition of the tremendous respect and esteem in which she was held by her 1,400 colleagues in the district, she was the first Black woman to be elected President of the Syracuse Teachers Association.

That same year, she was awarded the Post-Standard Woman of Achievement in Education Award.

In addition to her work at the local level, Carter was active in both the New York State United Teachers and as a delegate to the National Education Association.

In 1973, Carter was honored with the Pioneer Award by the Black Leadership Congress in Syracuse. Carter retired from teaching in 1990 after an incredible 40-year career.

She continued to be a force for good as a tireless volunteer for a host of charitable causes all across the city. She served in various capacities for her Alma Mater, SUNY Cortland, including a three-year term on the Cortland Foundation Board of Directors. Quite an achievement for a woman who was the only Black student on the campus during nearly all of her academic career.

In 2012, Carter was awarded the Mary Ficchi Lifetime Achievement Award from the Parents for Public Schools.

As students and teachers across Central New York return to their classrooms over the next week or two, let the example of Mrs. Marjorie Day Carter serve as an inspiration and a shining example of the transformative power of service and of education in our community and beyond.
With stories ranging from old legend to modern cooking, Helen Zughaibs Stories My Father Told Me: Memories of a Childhood in Syria and Lebanon is a touching exhibition arriving at Syracuses ArtRage Gallery on Saturday, Sept. 9.

Zughaib, an Arab American artist who works mainly in gouache and ink on board, explores her identity through the stories she grew up hearing from her family. Zughaibs father, Elia Zughaib, grew up in Syria and Lebanon in the 1930s and 40s and would often sit with his children and tell them the stories of his youth. The exhibition features Helen Zughaibs paintings each accompanied by a story written by her father, Elia. Elia Zughaib came to the United States in 1946 to study at Syracuse University. He received his PhD in Political Science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

A viewer can expect the work to be luminous and loving, with subject matter entitled Making Molasses and A Walk to the Water Fountain. Zughaib says she hopes her work will inspire and encourage others to challenge their own perceptions of the Arab world by taking a stroll in someone elses shoes.

The artists statement regarding the exhibition is a follows:

My brother, sisters and I, are fortunate enough to have our own hakawati, a storyteller, whose stories stem from his love for his children and a desire to both educate and entertain. Let me tell you a story. And so it would begin. The noise around the dinner table would quiet down and we would all turn our attention to our father who would then tell us one of his stories. The stories might relate to the general dinner conversation, events of the day, the mention of a relative, or one of us would simply beg our father to tell a beloved story, possibly to amuse a dinner guest, or just for our own pleasure.

The paintings I created correspond to each of his twenty-five stories. These stories are about his childhood in Damascus and young adulthood in Lebanon. They are stories about traditions of village life, morals, and finally stories about the major events in his young life that ultimately lead to him immigrating to America in 1946.

On a personal level, these paintings illustrate my fathers childhood, my childhood, and my Lebanese/Syrian heritage. I look at the paintings and hear my fathers voice. As an artist, however, I hope to reach a larger audience. I want the viewer to recall their own stories, their own childhood, as they experience my fathers stories through my paintings, and share those common experiences which cross all borders and link us together.

Zughaib graduated from Syracuse Universitys College of Visual and Performing Arts with a BFA in 1981 and currently lives and works in Washington D.C. Her work is displayed in the White House, the World Bank, the Library of Congress, and the Arab American National Museum.

Stories My Father Told Me will kick off ArtRages 16th season, with the opening reception happening Saturday, September 9 from 6-8 p.m. There will be a conversation with the artist at ArtRage on October 4 from 7-9 p.m. The gallery, at 505 Hawley Avenue in Syracuse, is open to the public Wednesday-Friday 2-6pm and Saturday 12-4pm. The exhibition will remain on display until Oct. 28

Jeannie Jedlicka is a graduate student in the Goldring Arts Journalism program at Syracuse Universitys Newhouse School of Public Communications.
NY Cannabis Insider is hosting a state of the industry summit at Pearl Street Grill & Brewery in Buffalo, N.Y. on September 21 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Details available here; tickets will sell out.

The conference will host industry professionals for a day of learning, venting and problem-solving. Panels will feature candid discussions about whats happening right now from several key stakeholder perspectives, such as cultivators, processors, retailers, politicians, attorneys, and medical operators.

Lightning-round business consultations will be available for attendees, in addition to networking opportunities, lunch, a happy hour and more. A general admission ticket provides attendees with all-access to sessions, speakers, meals, and resources onsite. Business owners and CAURD license holders/applicants are eligible for half-price tickets by entering the discount code 50PERCENT during registration.

NY Cannabis Insider's next full-day conference is happening Sept. 21 in Buffalo.

The following are crucial industry topics our speakers will discuss candidly:

Grower investment & supply chain issues: With hundreds of millions of dollars worth of last years weed decaying, and growers less than a month away from this years Croptober, where do things stand with licensed cultivators? What will next years harvest look like, and will there be enough (or too much) for dispensaries? What other hurdles are cultivators facing, and what fixes do they recommend for the slate of problems currently plaguing their key part of the industry?

Checking in with CAURD licensees: It has not been an easy road for entrepreneurs who received a CAURD license: injunctions, lawsuits, more injunctions, and a lack of information about next steps. Some have invested tens or hundreds of thousands into a business that depends on a vibrant cannabis ecosystem operating across the state. What is next for CAURD, and what is going to happen to the hundreds of licensees who havent been able to open? Also, what are some of the operating dispensaries seeing as far as customer behavior, trends, and forecasts?

Processor challenges & successes: Processors are the bridge between growers and retailers, but many of the roughly one-third of the 40-licensed AUCPs up and running today are struggling to make ends meet and going deeper into debt every day the marketplace isnt fully operational. This group has their own unique set of challenges in New York, but their situation is often put on the back burner to whats happening with growers and retailers. Hear from three processors about this often neglected but critical part of the supply chain.

Medical marijuana roadblocks & outlook: Two and a half years after cannabis legalization in New York State, medical patients still have limited access to dispensaries and product types, while New Yorks multi-state operators are facing roadblocks that directly affect patients. What is next for the states medical program, and will MSOs and the rest of the marketplace ever find common ground?

A legal perspective of whats happening & when: Lawsuits, injunctions, administrative hearings, crackdowns and more: New Yorks legal rollout has  as expected  resulted in several lawsuits and a flurry of other legal action over the past year. A panel of cannabis attorneys will discuss the past, present and future legal landscape, including details around whats happening in courtrooms across the state regarding unlicensed stores.

The politics of cannabis across NYS: Hear directly from Western NY politicians about what hurdles theyre encountering in their own municipalities; what actions theyve taken to open up the market; their interactions with the OCM and DASNY; and more.

Sponsors and vendors are the businesses shaping the industry locally and regionally. Look for them at the event for advice and help with your business:

 Cannaworkforce Solutions is dedicated to helping organizations in New York State find the best talent for key roles in their companies by assisting new and current job seekers find their place in the Cannabis Industry.

 New York Consortium of Cannabis Accountants promotes financial literacy and empower New Yorks legacy cannabis market leaders and social equity entrepreneurs so that they may make informed business decisions.

Sponsorships and vendor tables are still available. Contact Lindsay Wickham at lwickham@advancemediany.com to learn more about opportunities to reach this audience.

NY Cannabis Insider events are attended by industry professionals, entrepreneurs, and key stakeholders in the states nascent industry, as well as those from cannabis-adjacent businesses such as legal, security, retail, banking, finance, construction, engineering, compliance and medical marijuana advocates. Read a recap of the first annual NYS problems and solutions cannabis summit and conference held in Albany earlier this year along with an overview of the perspectives that emerged during our most recent networking meetup in New York City.

There will also be an additional full-day industry conference in White Plains on November 16 (details here).
One of the most revealing lessons that can be learned from plants in particular and nature in general is to appreciate the uniqueness and charm of each part of the life cycle. This is especially evident in flowering plants: they tend to amaze us in their youth, when they sprout, bloom, and exhibit their maximum lushness. We admire them, give them as gifts and photograph them when they are in their privileged and ephemeral prime, before reaching maturity. And then, what?

A minimum of sensitivity  botanical or simply artistic  is enough to feel moved by the dry sphere of an allium, by the golden skeleton of a hydrangea at the beginning of winter, by the lean and dehydrated structure of a withered reed, or by the parched ears of cereal. And we are not talking about plants that are artificially dried by a florist; we are talking about species that are still alive, rooted in the same soil where they have sprouted and grown: old plants just at the moment before breathing their last.

The Lunaria annua is one of the most poetic examples of plant species that display their most seductive attributes just before dying. Pale dusted like / the Lunas wings / Id like to meet / Octobers chill. / Like the silver moonplant/ Honesty, / that bears toward winter/ its dark seeds. These verses belong to the poem Lunaria written by the American poet and essayist Katha Pollitt. I was inspired by the idea of the lunaria evolving through the different stages of its life until the last, which is also the most striking and unusual. This aging is not only a loss, but a stripping away of the inessential, Pollitt wrote about the emotions that contemplating the life cycle of the Lunaria annua, with its fascinating metamorphoses transmitted to her, and that finally encouraged her to write about it.

And this humble plant with undemanding habits (it grows in areas of rubble, on the verges of roads and paths and on damp, shady slopes, although also in semi-shade) is the ugly duckling of the perennials. Its purple flowers are simple and discreet. But the true rarity of the lunaria, what makes it attractive and special, reveals itself in the plants old age. Once the flowers fall and their fruit has lost its greenness, when the shrub has already taken the path of no return towards the end of its days.

The youth of the lunaria, in spring, is perhaps its most unremarkable stage. Starting in March, this annual or biannual perennial with large toothed leaves blooms with clusters of small, four-petaled flowers. There are different cultivars with white, pink, magenta, and even variegated flowers, although the most common have purple flowers.

'Lunaria annua' flowers in spring. Sergi Escribano (Getty Images)

As an adult plant, around the month of June, the spicules appear  disc-shaped capsules that will contain the seeds. It is these pods that transform the ugly duckling into a swan in the fall. When they mature, the pods dry and the very thin skin that covers the seeds on both sides of the capsule detaches to release them and self-seed. Then a translucent, shiny, pearly-looking central membrane is revealed, which is what gives this plant all its names: money plant, moneywort, penny flower, silver dollar, money-in-both-pockets, Chinese money, or Chinese coins... As Katha Pollitts poem says, it is also called honesty, because the membrane of the lunaria sheath is so translucent it is incapable of hiding anything.

It is in that bright and silvery stage of old age when the Lunaria annua displays all its charms to the full. Not only does it sparkle, it also murmurs. The stiff silvery pods rustle like a tissue paper cradled by the warm wind of late summer.

Dried seed pods of 'Lunaria annua' in late summer. Diane Macdonald (Getty Images)

A lantern in autumn

In the Victorian era, attracted by the romantic and gothic halo of the dried bunches of Lunaria annua, miniaturists painted detailed scenes with Indian ink on the silver membrane of its pods. The artworks were very much in the Anglo-Japanese taste that became fashionable in Europe at the end of the 19th century. Decorative artists were inspired by crafts with washi paper, a delicate but resistant material with a polished finish used for millennia in Japan not only as a material for calligraphy and painting, but also for making votive pendants, umbrellas, courtesy cards, dolls, hand fans, and so on. The traditional shoji are also made with washi, the wooden panels and translucent paper that filter the light towards the interior of homes and that are so loved in Japan because they satisfy that desire to feel the presence of nature indirectly, the Nippon portal explains. And the portable lanterns and torches that illuminate the darkness of the night with soft, diffuse light, they add.

Just like the Lunaria annua, more beautiful than ever in autumn, at the end of its days, according to Katha Pollitt: A paper lantern / lit within / and shining in / the fallen leaves.

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Tokyo  Fukui Seisakusho Co., Ltd. (FUKUI) and ClassNK have signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning a joint study on a safety relief valve for a cargo tank of liquefied hydrogen carriers at the "Gastech2023" held in Singapore.



To combat global warming, attention is growing towards hydrogen as an energy source that does not emit CO2 at the point of use. The realization of a hydrogen-based society necessitates the establishment of a secure and efficient supply chain that distributes hydrogen produced in an environmentally friendly manner to consumption areas. As the measure to transport large volumes of hydrogen over long distances efficiently, carrying liquefied hydrogen via ships are considered promising, spurring ongoing advancements in related technologies.



In order to ensure safety in the transport of liquefied hydrogen, the development of safety relief valves that can handle hydrogen's characteristics including extremely low temperatures, ease of leakage, and hydrogen embrittlement, which leads to a decrease in material strength and toughness, is necessary. Appropriate safety standards are also required. As part of the efforts to establish key technologies for hydrogen transport, FUKUI and ClassNK have agreed to jointly conduct a study for the installation of safety relief valves for cargo tanks of liquefied hydrogen carriers on actual ships.



Yo Fukui, President and CEO, FUKUI said, "FUKUI aims to be a leading company in ensuring the safety of customers' equipment for realization of a decarbonized society worldwide. For the hydrogen supply chain, it is crucial to have the commitment and the ability to execute to overcome various challenges such as extremely low temperatures and hydrogen embrittlement. I'm convinced that the MOU signed today with ClassNK will be a significant step towards achieving a sustainable society."



Hayato Suga, Executive Vice President, ClassNK said, "ClassNK is pleased to launch a new partnership with FUKUI, dedicated to decarbonizing society. Through our extensive experience with liquefied hydrogen carriers, we will apply our expertise to advance the development and standard relevant to the technology, thereby supporting the global adoption of liquified hydrogen carriers."


DNV awards AiP and AOSS for Hanwha Ocean's LCO2 carrier and noise measurement

Singapore, 6 September 2023: At Gastech 2023, DNV awarded Hanwha Ocean an Approval in Principle (AiP) and an Approval of Service Suppliers (AOSS) for two innovations: a large-scale liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carrier tank and an underwater radiated noise (URN) measurement.

DNVs AiP relates to the design of a cargo hold of a 70,000 cbm LCO2 carrier, integrating Hanwha Ocean's patented Bi-Lobe cargo hold, a vertical asymmetric structure that maximizes cargo capacity. The concept specifically incorporates LNG propulsion engines and allows sufficient space for installing shipboard carbon dioxide capture and storage systems, enabling compliance with various environmental regulations. While setting the carrier apart from conventional designs, Hanwha Ocean's design adheres to DNV's rules and the International Maritime Organization's IGC Code. Hanwha Ocean also became the first Korean shipyard to receive an AOSS for an underwater radiated noise (URN) measurement, comprising both near- and far-field URN measurements and analyses. The near-field URN measurement system offers the convenience of self-measurement in an attachable form, boasting enhanced usability and cost-efficiency. JongSeo Kim, COO of Hanwa Ocean, said, "We are delighted to achieve these milestones in partnership with DNV. As countries and ports increasingly offer incentives for ships adhering to underwater noise regulations, we are well-positioned to provide ship owners with innovative low-noise ship design technology, contributing to a more sustainable maritime industry." "DNV is proud to collaborate with Hanwha Ocean in pushing the boundaries of maritime innovation. These accomplishments signify remarkable leaps in the industry's pursuit of heightened safety, sustainability, and operational efficiency. DNV continues to play a pivotal role in shaping environmentally responsible vessels that adhere to rigorous industry standards, and we celebrate these strides toward a more sustainable maritime future," said Vidar Dolonen, Regional Manager of DNV Korea and Japan.




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In 1888, a 36-year-old man named Santiago Ramon y Cajal set up a laboratory in his Barcelona residence. He began to study slices of human brains under his microscope. He was able to obtain the organs from the abundant corpses at the neighboring hospital. While examining the slices in his home, he was able to come across an inextricable forest on the other side of the lens. As he entered this jungle, he was eventually able to show how the brain is organized into individual cells, with neurons being the main protagonists of thought.

The Italian neuroscientist Andrea Volterra has been telling the story of Cajal to his students at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) for years. However, this past Wednesday, it was he who announced the discovery of a new type of cell in the human brain.

The thickness of that cerebral jungle is unimaginable. The 1.5-pound gray organ inside a persons skull is made up of some 86 billion neurons, with trillions of communication points between them. Until Cajal appeared, the scientific community believed that the brain was a diffuse mass of cells physically connected to each other. The Spanish researcher showed that these were independent entities, although they caressed and communicated via what he poetically called kisses. Today, theyre known by a more boring term: synapses.

Neurons are surrounded by another family of cells  the glial cells  which act as supports for brain activity. Glia, in Greek, means glue. Its the glue of ideas. One of these cells is the astrocyte, named for its star shape. A single astrocyte can participate in two million kisses (synapses) between neurons. In those kisses, neurons send messages that contain chemical substances, especially glutamate  a molecule made up of five carbon atoms, nine hydrogen, one nitrogen and four oxygen: CHNO. This process is essential for human abstract thought.

Volterras team has detected a new type of cell that doesnt belong to the canonical categories of neurons or astrocytes. What has been discovered are hybrid cells, according to the Italian. The neuroscientist Liset Menendez de la Prida  who didnt participate in this research  believes that this is a transcendental discovery that will change the way in which we understand the functioning of the brain and its disorders.

Volterra has given these new types of cells the name glutamatergic astrocytes. This subpopulation of astrocytes has part of the molecular machinery of neurons necessary to release glutamate, according to Menendez de la Prida, from the Cajal Institute in Madrid. Information between neurons moves fast  it takes just a few milliseconds, or as much as tens of milliseconds if [the synapses] occur between several neurons in a chain (polysynapses). In contrast, astrocytes can take full seconds to transmit information. This subpopulation showed response times below one second, which is [closer to] polysynaptic responses, Menendez de la Prida notes. The neuroscientist stresses that its a small population of cells and that their true proportion in the brain is unknown, but she stresses that the discovery has been a groundbreaking result.

Italian neuroscientist Andrea Volterra, from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Universidad de Lausana

Andrea Volterra believes that his discovery shakes the foundations of neuroscience because it questions current knowledge about how the brain works and how neurological disorders develop. His teams study  published this past Wednesday in the journal Nature  shows that glutamatergic astrocytes are concentrated in the brain regions involved in memory. One of them  the hippocampus  is one of the most unstable areas at the beginning of Alzheimers disease. Thats why we have well-founded suspicions that our cells could be involved, Volterra explains.

The team has also observed that glutamatergic astrocytes play a role in a circuit that controls movement and is altered by Parkinsons: the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway. We havent yet studied the distribution of these cells in other brain regions. What we discover will guide our future investigations. For example, if we find a high concentration of these cells in the prefrontal cortex (the area of the brain located behind the forehead), we will immediately study its role in decision-making and its alteration in schizophrenia, Volterra affirms. If we find them in the horns of the spinal cord, we can think about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Neuroscientist Marta Navarrete  also from the Cajal Institute  applauds the new study, but believes that glutamatergic astrocytes are more of a subtype of astrocytes, rather than a new type of cell. Weve known of astrocytes since the time of Cajal. It had always been thought that these cells feed neurons and act as their structural support, but now, its being observed that theyre much more important. They intervene in the memory and learning process, in fear, in all the superior emotions that a human being can have, Navarrete points out. Volterras work suggests the existence of nine classes of astrocytes, which would add up to more than a hundred types of neurons.

The researcher who first observed that astrocytes are involved in superior information processes was another Spaniard: Alfonso Araque, who works at the University of Minnesota. In 1999, Araque abandoned the topic of the kiss between two neurons and put forward the concept of a tripartite synapse, in which astrocytes also play a fundamental role.

Navarrete  a disciple of Araque  emphasizes that theres still resistance to this approach. The idea that there are types of astrocytes specialized in certain functions isnt accepted in the scientific community. Its not fully accepted that there may be more cells [besides neurons] that are highly involved in information-processing, she laments. The latest discovery by Andrea Volterras team adds even more complexity to the inconceivable human brain.
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View My Garage





Re: Which Car Manufacturer combo is in your household AND would you change it?



I would not change anything about this garage, since it has one small, old-school and analogue sedan with a naturally aspirated engine and a manual transmission, while the other is a newer, bigger, much more modern and high-tech car with a state of the art turbocharged engine and dual-clutch transmission.



Practicality wise, the Superb edges ahead due to its seemingly infinite little touches that make life easier, along with its cavernous boot, but the Fiesta makes up for it with the sheer simplicity in the way that it aces all the basics and how everything works perfectly even after 17 years.



Two very different cars. Yet, they are very similar in a couple of ways: they are big on the fun to drive factor (for slightly different reasons), and small on the bling factor. They are both extremely competent road trippers and can happily sit at triple digit speeds all day. And of course, they both have the indicator and wiper stalks oriented the wrong way for a RHD market.



Overall, a combo we are very satisfied with. We have one American car, a 2006 Ford Fiesta and one Czech (well, German masquerading as Czech) car, a 2021 Skoda Superb in our garage.I would not change anything about this garage, since it has one small, old-school and analogue sedan with a naturally aspirated engine and a manual transmission, while the other is a newer, bigger, much more modern and high-tech car with a state of the art turbocharged engine and dual-clutch transmission.Practicality wise, the Superb edges ahead due to its seemingly infinite little touches that make life easier, along with its cavernous boot, but the Fiesta makes up for it with the sheer simplicity in the way that it aces all the basics and how everything works perfectly even after 17 years.Two very different cars. Yet, they are very similar in a couple of ways: they are big on the fun to drive factor (for slightly different reasons), and small on the bling factor. They are both extremely competent road trippers and can happily sit at triple digit speeds all day. And of course, they both have the indicator and wiper stalks oriented the wrong way for a RHD market.Overall, a combo we are very satisfied with. Last edited by GForceEnjoyer : 6th September 2023 at 00:14 .
RahulNagaraj Senior - BHPian



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New car launches in India in September 2023



Tata Nexon Facelift







Tata dealerships across India have started accepting bookings for the Nexon facelift. The SUV is available in four trims  Smart, Pure, Creative and Fearless. Customers can place their orders by paying a token amount of Rs 11,000.



The Nexon facelift will be available with a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine producing 118 BHP and 170 Nm. Customers can choose from four transmission options - a 5-speed manual, a 6-speed manual, a 6-speed AMT and a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic with paddle shifters. The SUV retains the 1.5-litre diesel engine. It will be offered with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed AMT.



Related Thread



Hyundai i20 facelift







Hyundai has released a teaser of the upcoming i20 facelift, which suggests that the official launch is just around the corner.



The i20 facelift made its global debut in May this year. The India-spec i20 is likely to be similar to the European version. The teaser shows the car's front grille, featuring a new mesh design. It gets more angular LED headlamps with integrated LED daytime running lights as well as a redesigned front bumper.



Related Thread



Mahindra Bolero Neo+







Mahindra is likely to launch the Bolero Neo Plus by September 2023.



The Bolero Neo Plus is the replacement for the TUV300 Plus. Reports suggest that the car will be offered in seven variants and positioned below the Scorpio Classic in terms of pricing. It will be targeted at customers in Tier-2 cities.



Related Thread



Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV







Mercedes-Benz is all set to launch its third electric SUV in the Indian market. The EQE will go on sale on September 15, 2023.



The Mercedes EQE made its global debut in October last year. It is based on the brand's bespoke EV platform and is taller and wider than the EQE sedan.



Globally, the Mercedes EQE SUV is offered in four variants: EQE 350+ with a rear-wheel-drive system & EQE 350 4Matic, both with 288 BHP, an EQE 500 4Matic with 536 BHP and the range-topping AMG EQE 53. All variants get the same 90 kWh battery pack with fast-charging capability and a maximum range of 550 km.



Related Thread



2nd-generation Lexus LM







Lexus has started accepting bookings for the second-generation LM in India.



The Lexus LM is a luxury MPV that is based on Toyota's GA-K platform, shared with the Toyota Vellfire. The LM measures 5,130mm in length, 1,890mm in width and 1,945mm in height.



In India, Lexus is offering the LM 350h, which is powered by the 2.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol hybrid powertrain that puts out 247 BHP and 239 Nm.



Related Thread



BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe M Performance edition







BMW has introduced the 2 Series Gran Coupe M Performance Edition in India. Pre-bookings are now open and customers can place their orders on the BMW Online Shop by paying a sum of Rs 1.50 lakh.



Powering the 2 Series Gran Coupe M Performance Edition is a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that makes 176 BHP and 280 Nm @ 1,350-4,600 rpm. It is said to enable the car to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 7.1 seconds.



Related Thread



Honda Elevate







Honda has announced its entry into the mid-size SUV segment with the Elevate. The SUV is available in four variants: SV, V, VX and ZX, with prices starting at Rs 11 lakh (ex-showroom).



The Elevate is available with a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine producing 119 BHP @ 6,600 rpm and 145 Nm @ 4,300 rpm. It is mated with either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed CVT.



The Honda Elevate competes with the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq and Maruti Grand Vitara, among others.



Related Thread



Volvo C40 Recharge







Volvo has announced the launch of the C40 Recharge at an introductory price of Rs 61.25 lakh (ex-showroom).



The C40 Recharge is Volvo's second all-electric model for the Indian market. It has been positioned above the XC40 Recharge, which costs Rs 56.90 lakh.



The C40 Recharge shares its dual-motor electric powertrain with the XC40 Recharge. It generates 402 BHP and 660 Nm and uses a 78 kWh battery pack that offers a maximum range of 530 km (WLTP cycle). According to Volvo, the improved range is a result of a new battery management system and the car's low-drag design.



Related Thread



Link to Team-BHP news Here is a look at all the important car launches expected to take place in September 2023.Tata dealerships across India have started accepting bookings for the Nexon facelift. The SUV is available in four trims  Smart, Pure, Creative and Fearless. Customers can place their orders by paying a token amount of Rs 11,000.The Nexon facelift will be available with a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine producing 118 BHP and 170 Nm. Customers can choose from four transmission options - a 5-speed manual, a 6-speed manual, a 6-speed AMT and a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic with paddle shifters. The SUV retains the 1.5-litre diesel engine. It will be offered with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed AMT.Hyundai has released a teaser of the upcoming i20 facelift, which suggests that the official launch is just around the corner.The i20 facelift made its global debut in May this year. The India-spec i20 is likely to be similar to the European version. The teaser shows the car's front grille, featuring a new mesh design. It gets more angular LED headlamps with integrated LED daytime running lights as well as a redesigned front bumper.Mahindra is likely to launch the Bolero Neo Plus by September 2023.The Bolero Neo Plus is the replacement for the TUV300 Plus. Reports suggest that the car will be offered in seven variants and positioned below the Scorpio Classic in terms of pricing. It will be targeted at customers in Tier-2 cities.Mercedes-Benz is all set to launch its third electric SUV in the Indian market. The EQE will go on sale on September 15, 2023.The Mercedes EQE made its global debut in October last year. It is based on the brand's bespoke EV platform and is taller and wider than the EQE sedan.Globally, the Mercedes EQE SUV is offered in four variants: EQE 350+ with a rear-wheel-drive system & EQE 350 4Matic, both with 288 BHP, an EQE 500 4Matic with 536 BHP and the range-topping AMG EQE 53. All variants get the same 90 kWh battery pack with fast-charging capability and a maximum range of 550 km.Lexus has started accepting bookings for the second-generation LM in India.The Lexus LM is a luxury MPV that is based on Toyota's GA-K platform, shared with the Toyota Vellfire. The LM measures 5,130mm in length, 1,890mm in width and 1,945mm in height.In India, Lexus is offering the LM 350h, which is powered by the 2.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol hybrid powertrain that puts out 247 BHP and 239 Nm.BMW has introduced the 2 Series Gran Coupe M Performance Edition in India. Pre-bookings are now open and customers can place their orders on the BMW Online Shop by paying a sum of Rs 1.50 lakh.Powering the 2 Series Gran Coupe M Performance Edition is a 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that makes 176 BHP and 280 Nm @ 1,350-4,600 rpm. It is said to enable the car to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 7.1 seconds.Honda has announced its entry into the mid-size SUV segment with the Elevate. The SUV is available in four variants: SV, V, VX and ZX, with prices starting at Rs 11 lakh (ex-showroom).The Elevate is available with a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine producing 119 BHP @ 6,600 rpm and 145 Nm @ 4,300 rpm. It is mated with either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed CVT.The Honda Elevate competes with the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq and Maruti Grand Vitara, among others.Volvo has announced the launch of the C40 Recharge at an introductory price of Rs 61.25 lakh (ex-showroom).The C40 Recharge is Volvo's second all-electric model for the Indian market. It has been positioned above the XC40 Recharge, which costs Rs 56.90 lakh.The C40 Recharge shares its dual-motor electric powertrain with the XC40 Recharge. It generates 402 BHP and 660 Nm and uses a 78 kWh battery pack that offers a maximum range of 530 km (WLTP cycle). According to Volvo, the improved range is a result of a new battery management system and the car's low-drag design. Last edited by RahulNagaraj : 6th September 2023 at 12:55 .
A hot potato: In more news that suggests car manufacturers might want to slow down on the amount of tech they pack into their vehicles, a study by the Mozilla Foundation has declared that modern cars are a privacy nightmare.

Researchers Jen Caltrider, Misha Rykov, and Zoe MacDonald write that cars are officially the worst product category they have ever reviewed for privacy.

The authors spent 600 hours researching 25 car brands, finding that all of them collect too much personal data and use it for a reason other than to operate your vehicle and manage their relationship with the customer.

Vehicle companies are able to collect a slew of data on users from a variety of sources: the car's connected services, its companion app, and third-party sources like Sirius XM or Google Maps.

The data that is collected ranges from where you drive, how fast you drive, and what songs you play, to intimate details like genetic information and your sex life.

Nissan's privacy policy says it can collect sensitive privacy information such as sexual orientation and sexual activity. It's also one of six companies that say they can collect "genetic information" or "genetic characteristics."

A worrying 84% of the companies in the study share customer data, while 76% say they can sell it. Over half (56%) also say they can share your information with the government or law enforcement in response to a "request."

Only two companies give users the right to have their personal data deleted. These were Renault and Dacia, which are owned by the same parent company and neither of whom sells their cars in the US.

Tesla, whose privacy policy states that it "never sells or rents your data to third-party companies," scored worst out of all the auto manufacturers, receiving demerits in data use, data control, track record, security, and AI. Elon Musk's firm is only the second product the researchers have ever reviewed to receive all five privacy "dings"  the other was an AI Chatbot. Tesla does allow users to opt out of data collection, but warns that doing so "may result in your vehicle suffering from reduced functionality, serious damage, or inoperability."

Mozilla suggests that the only solution to the problem of car manufacturers collecting more data than necessary is to increase awareness in the hope that it will encourage others to hold these companies accountable for their privacy practices. Mozilla is also asking car firm to stop their huge data collection programs and has launched a petition for others to lend their support, which you can sign here.
Why it matters: Recurring security incidents have highlighted the poor state of Toyota's IT operations. Even when an external threat is missing, the Japanese giant is working in self-sabotage mode with potentially significant consequences on its finances and daily operations.

Toyota suffered a recent "production order system malfunction" in its domestic manufacturing plants, an issue that forced the company to put everything offline for a few days. Unlike past incidents, however, this time there was no security attack or unwanted data exposure. Toyota was simply relying on very bad IT practices and was forced to sacrifice a good chunk of its growing domestic output as a consequence.

Apologizing to customers, suppliers and other interested parties, Toyota has now confirmed that the system malfunction happened because "some multiple servers" that process part orders suddenly became unavailable. Routine maintenance work was performed on those servers on August 27, a day before the malfunction event. Toyota says that while the maintenance procedure was deleting and organizing some data that had accumulated in the database, an "insufficient disk space" error occurred.

The system suddenly crashed, and the error was replicated in the "backup function" because both servers were running on the same system. The double error forced Toyota to halt production at all of its 14 manufacturing plants in Japan, the BBC reports. It was just a one-day disruption, but Toyota experienced an output loss of around 13,000 cars.

The part ordering system and the crashed databases were seemingly restored on August 29, after IT managers transferred the data to a server with larger storage capacities. Manufacturing operations were resumed the following day, and countermeasures are now in place to avoid any new issues with database operations. Toyota was eager to reassure the public that the system malfunction wasn't caused by a cyberattack.

According to internal sources quoted by Reuters, Toyota's database blunder will be financially expensive as domestic manufacturing output increased by 29% in the first half of the year. Toyota business was growing for the first time in two years, but the company was seemingly unable (or unwilling) to properly manage its database backups on secondary servers away from production environments.

Going forward, the Japanese carmaker is assuring a complete review of its "maintenance procedures" to prevent a database error like the one experienced this August. The company wants to deliver "as many vehicles as possible" to its customers, but it also should strengthen its IT and security practices a bit. In February 2022, Toyota's Japanese factories were shut down because of a supply chain attack. Hackers compromised the company in 2021 through a US subsidiary, and they did the same at least three more times in 2019.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy greets U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken before a meeting at Bankova in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023

The U.S. on Wednesday announced it was sending depleted uranium anti-tank rounds to Ukraine, following Britains lead in sending the controversial munitions to help Kyiv push through Russian lines in its grueling counteroffensive.

The 120 mm rounds will be used to arm the 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks the U.S. plans to deliver to Ukraine in the fall.

Such armor-piercing rounds were developed by the U.S. during the Cold War to destroy Soviet tanks, including the same T-72 tanks that Ukraine now faces in its counteroffensive.

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the uranium enrichment process needed to create nuclear weapons. The rounds retain some radioactive properties, but they cant generate a nuclear reaction like a nuclear weapon would, RAND nuclear expert and policy researcher Edward Geist said.

When Britain announced in March it was sending Ukraine the depleted uranium rounds, Russia falsely claimed they have nuclear components and warned that their use would open the door to further escalation. In the past, Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested the war could escalate to nuclear weapons use.

A look at depleted uranium ammunition:

What is depleted uranium?

Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the process to create the rarer, enriched uranium used in nuclear fuel and weapons. Although far less powerful than enriched uranium and incapable of generating a nuclear reaction, depleted uranium is extremely dense  more dense than lead  a quality that makes it highly attractive as a projectile.

Its so dense and its got so much momentum that it just keeps going through the armor  and it heats it up so much that it catches on fire, Geist said.

When fired, a depleted uranium munition becomes essentially an exotic metal dart fired at an extraordinarily high speed, RAND senior defense analyst Scott Boston said.

In the 1970s, the U.S. Army began making armor-piercing rounds with depleted uranium and has since added it to composite tank armor to strengthen it. It also has added depleted uranium to the munitions fired by the Air Forces A-10 close air support attack plane, known as the tank killer. The U.S. military is still developing depleted uranium munitions, notably the M829A4 armor-piercing round for the M1A2 Abrams main battle tank, Boston said.

What has Russia said?

In March, Putin warned that Moscow would respond accordingly, given that the collective West is starting to use weapons with a nuclear component. And Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the munitions were a step toward accelerating escalation.

Putin followed up several days later by saying Russia would respond to Britains move by stationing tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. Putin and the Belarusian president said in July that Russia had already shipped some of the weapons.

There was no immediate reaction from the Kremlin to the U.S. announcement, which came late Wednesday during a visit to Kyiv by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The Pentagon has defended the use of the munitions. The U.S. military has procured, stored, and used depleted uranium rounds for several decades, since these are a longstanding element of some conventional munitions, Pentagon spokesman Marine Corps Lt. Col. Garron Garn said in a statement in March in response to a query from The Associated Press.

The rounds have saved the lives of many service members in combat, Garn said, adding that other countries have long possessed depleted uranium rounds as well, including Russia.

Garn would not discuss whether the M1A1 tanks being readied for Ukraine would contain depleted uranium armor modifications, citing operational security.

Not a bomb, but still a risk

While depleted uranium munitions are not considered nuclear weapons, their emission of low levels of radiation has led the U.N. nuclear watchdog to urge caution when handling and warn of the possible dangers of exposure.

The handling of such ammunition should be kept to a minimum and protective apparel (gloves) should be worn, the International Atomic Energy Agency cautions, adding that a public information campaign may, therefore, be required to ensure that people avoid handling the projectiles.

This should form part of any risk assessment and such precautions should depend on the scope and number of ammunitions used in an area.

The IAEA notes that depleted uranium is mainly a toxic chemical, as opposed to a radiation hazard. Particles in aerosols can be inhaled or ingested, and while most would be excreted again, some can enter the blood stream and cause kidney damage.

High concentrations in the kidney can cause damage and, in extreme cases, renal failure, the IAEA says.

The low-level radioactivity of a depleted uranium round is a bug, not a feature of the munition, Geist said, and if the U.S. military could find another material with the same density but without the radioactivity it would likely use that instead.

Depleted uranium munitions, as well as depleted uranium-enhanced armor, were used by U.S. tanks in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraqs T-72 tanks and again in the invasion of Iraq in 2003, as well as in Serbia and in Kosovo.

U.S. troops have questioned whether some of the ailments they now face were caused by inhaling or being exposed to fragments after a munition was fired or their tanks were struck, damaging uranium-enhanced armor.

In a social media post on Telegram, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed the U.S. decision to give Ukraine the munitions, writing, What is this: a lie or stupidity? She said an increase in cancer has been noted in places where ammunition with depleted uranium was used.

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What just happened? China is following Russia's lead in banning iPhones from certain government offices. According to a new report, the country plans to expand the ban on Apple devices beyond sensitive departments to government-backed agencies and state companies. The Cupertino giant's shares were down 9% on the back of the news.

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Beijing had ordered officials at central government agencies not to use iPhones or other foreign-branded devices for work or bring them into the office. The decision is part of the country's move away from its reliance on foreign tech and to enhance its cybersecurity.

Today, Bloomberg writes that the orders are being expanded to state-owned enterprises and other government-controlled organizations. It's unclear how many companies or agencies will adopt the restrictions as there has been no formal or written injunction. It's also likely that the firms and organizations will vary in how strictly they enforce the bans.

While many Western companies struggle in the country, China is a massive market for Apple. CEO Tim Cook praised the firm's relationship with China as "symbiotic" in March and called sales in the country a "highlight" of the most recent quarter. But it appears that the closeness counts for nothing when it comes to Beijing pushing out foreign products in favor of its own tech.

Russia has also banned the use of Apple products by government employees for official business purposes over concerns that the US could be using them for spying purposes.

China's ban comes years after the US heavily sanctioned Huawei and other Chinese firms. Additionally, many US government employees are forbidden from installing TikTok on their work devices, and a recent poll suggested that 50% of people want a nationwide ban on the app.

The US has also been hammering China's chip industry with restrictions on the export of advanced chip-making tools to the country. The latest category to be hit with limitations is advanced AI-focused GPUs from the likes of Nvidia, adding to the Chinese resentment.

Despite all the restrictions and sanctions, Huawei recently released the Mate 60 Pro, a 5G smartphone that uses SMIC's 7nm tech. According to Chinese media, more than 90% of the device comes from local suppliers. It's been alleged that SMIC violated US sanctions in selling the Huawei Kirin 9000s processor to Huawei.
A hot potato: AI technology can offer society much more than just unreliable text generation services and untrustworthy chatbots. European countries and Israel are placing their bets on AI's algorithmic capabilities as a potential solution to more effectively manage and combat the uncontrolled spread of wildfires during the summer.

Greece and Israel are collaborating on a joint AI-based initiative for the early detection of wildfires. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis recently held discussions with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides, confirming that the three countries will unite their efforts to address this common issue.

Wildfires have become an increasingly urgent problem in the Mediterranean region, and Greece has been particularly hard-hit this summer, resulting in the loss of entire forests and 20 lives. AI algorithms have the potential to enhance detection capabilities for authorities and firefighters, ultimately saving lives and preserving forests during the hottest months of the year.

Mitsotakis said Greece could serve as a testing ground for Israel's AI wildfire detection technology. The two countries are actively discussing specific AI solutions for practical deployment. Meanwhile, Netanyahu confirmed that the three leaders are intensifying their collaborative efforts to combat wildfires. Over the past two months, Israel and Cyprus have dispatched firefighting aircraft and crews to Greece to assist in addressing Europe's deadliest wildfire season to date.

Mitsotakis also advocated for Israel's participation in Europe's collective effort against wildfires known as SAFERS, or Structured Approaches for Forest Fire Emergencies in Resilient Societies. SAFERS is an integrated platform that incorporates a "forest fire decision support system." Various data sources, including satellite imagery, fire sensors, weather forecasts, and crowdsourced data, feed into AI algorithms. In return, these AI systems provide valuable information to local authorities, enhancing preparedness for wildfire risks.

The SAFERS project is expected to continue until 2024, with a total budget of 3.25 million. The European countries currently involved in this project include Italy, Greece, Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain. The ultimate aim of the project is to develop an effective AI-based wildfire control system that could potentially be expanded to cover the entire European territory.

In addition to combating wildfires and enhancing the coordination of firefighting efforts, Greece, Israel, and Cyprus have engaged in discussions regarding the potential utilization of recently discovered natural gas reserves beneath the Mediterranean Sea. Netanyahu mentioned that a joint decision is anticipated within the next three to six months. Energy remains a central topic in the ongoing series of conversations among these three Mediterranean leaders.
WTF?! A Japanese city is adding a twist to learning from home by using avatar robots in classrooms that allow children to engage in school life remotely. The move comes as Japan struggles with a skyrocketing student absenteeism rate that was exacerbated by the pandemic.

The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper writes that the education board of Kumamoto, a city in southwest Japan, is launching the initiative as a way to reduce anxiety for absentee children in the hope of coaxing them back into the classroom. They could also make the transition easier for those pupils who are planning to return.

The robots are just over three feet tall and come with an attached tablet complete with a microphone and camera (the top image is for illustration purposes only). They're also self-propelling, able to move freely around the school via the student controlling the robot with their laptop.

The robots mean that unlike just watching a lecturer from a static camera, a remote student can receive the full school experience, such as taking part in class discussions, speaking to friends, and even participating in events.

The board's decision to use the robots comes after the number of absentee students increased for the fourth year in a row in 2022, a problem that worsened after Covid-19.

The board said that 2,760 children of primary and junior high school age in the city were not attending classes in the 2022 academic year, up from the 1,283 students listed as absent in 2018.

Absenteeism is a big problem in Japan. According to the country's education ministry, 244,940 primary and junior high school students refused to go to school for 30 days or more in the 12 months up to the end of March 2022, with mental and physical health problems triggered by the pandemic cited as the main factor.

There have already been experiments with teaching assistants helping to stream virtual classrooms, which students say helped their anxiety about communicating and increased their self-esteem.

The education section is a massive one for companies. In September, we heard that SpaceX was working to bring its Starlink service to school bus routes that are more than 60 minutes each way. The idea is that kids can do their homework on the buses, something that likely works better in theory than in practice.

ChatGPT and other generative AIs have now become an important subject in the field of education, though that usually involves finding ways to stop students from using the tools to cheat at exams. A recent idea is to shift back to pen-and-paper tests, making them account for a higher percentage of a course's overall grade.
Australia is set to embark on a historic lunar mission, with plans to send a robotic rover to the moon as part of NASA's Artemis program. The Australian Space Agency has announced its intention to launch the rover on an Artemis mission, with liftoff potentially taking place as early as 2026.

The rover's primary mission is to collect lunar soil, also known as regolith, from the moon's surface. This collected regolith will play a crucial role in NASA's efforts to extract oxygen from lunar samples, a significant step towards establishing a sustainable human presence on the moon.

While the rover itself has not yet been given a name, the Australian Space Agency has initiated a competition to select a suitable moniker for the rover. This competition is open to Australian residents, providing an opportunity for individuals and schools across the country to participate in this historic endeavor.

"Australia, we're going to the moon. The Australian Space Agency wants to bring the nation on its boldest adventure yet. You have the chance to be part of history, with the opportunity to name Australia's lunar rover," the Department of Industry, Science and Resources announced.

NASA Trailblazer Program

The Australian Space Agency, in collaboration with NASA, is actively working with Australia's space industry to design and construct the rover. This initiative is part of the Trailblazer program, a key component of NASA's Moon to Mars initiative.

Leveraging Australia's expertise in remote operations, the rover's mission to collect lunar regolith aligns with NASA's broader goals for lunar exploration.

The significance of this mission lies in its contribution to NASA's overarching objectives for lunar exploration. Extracting oxygen from lunar regolith is a critical step in establishing a sustainable human presence on the moon.

By harnessing the resources available on the lunar surface, future lunar missions could reduce their reliance on supplies from Earth, making extended missions and even the establishment of lunar bases more feasible.

The competition to name the rover is currently open for submissions, offering Australians the chance to leave their mark on space exploration history. Participants are invited to submit a name for the rover along with a brief explanation of their choice.

The competition will proceed through several stages, with a shortlist of four names selected from the entries. The final name will be chosen through a public vote, with the winner set to be announced in December 2023.

Read Also: NASA Moon Lander Competition: Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman Go Head-to-Head for Crewed Lunar Transportation

Competition Timeline of the Australian Space Agency

The timeline for the competition is as follows:

Tuesday, September 5 - Friday, October 20, 2023: Competition open for entries.

Monday, October 23 - Friday, November 17, 2023: The shortlisting process begins with notification to individuals or schools with shortlisted names.

Monday, November 20 - Friday, December 1, 2023: Public voting period.

Wednesday, December 6, 2023: The winning name for the rover will be announced at the 16th Australian Space Forum in Sydney.

To learn more about the competition, click here.

Related Article: NASA Artemis: Orion's Callisto Tech Demo Shows iPad Use, Alexa Voice Command Possible-Send Messages to the Moon

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The attorneys general from all 50 US states have jointly composed an open letter urging Congress to take action against the exploitation of children through AI, particularly in the creation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

In their letter addressed to Senators Patty Murray, Chuck Schumer, and Mitch McConnell, as well as Representatives Kevin McCarthy, Steve Scalise, and Hakeem Jeffries, the top prosecutors emphasized the need to establish an expert commission to comprehensively study how AI is used to exploit children, specifically in the generation of CSAM.

They also called for proactive solutions to combat such exploitation and safeguard the well-being of American children.

The Understudied Issue of AI

The attorneys general stressed the transformative potential of AI, with its capacity to bring about significant societal advancements. However, they also highlighted the grave risks it poses, particularly in relation to the exploitation of children.

The letter underscored the underreported and understudied issue of child exploitation through AI technology. It acknowledged Congress's commitment to studying AI and developing regulatory frameworks to address its potential harms but emphasized the urgency of focusing on the exploitation of children through AI.

"AI-generated CSAM images do not ultimately resemble actual children, the images support the growth of the child exploitation market by normalizing child abuse and stoking the appetites of those who seek to sexualize children, and just like deepfakes, these unique images are quick and easy to generate using widely available AI tools," the letter said.

The open letter noted that the ease with which AI tools can generate these images is concerning, as it has lowered the bar for their creation, allowing virtually anyone to create deepfake images.

The letter said that even if the children in the source photographs for deepfakes have not been physically abused, the creation and distribution of such sexualized content poses significant risks to the children's physical, psychological, and emotional well-being.

The signatories argued that AI-generated CSAM, whether resembling real children or not, also contributes to the child exploitation market by normalizing child abuse and catering to the desires of individuals who sexualize children.

Read Also: AI Girlfriend Ads Are Reportedly on the Rise on Instagram, TikTok

Attorneys General Proposed Key Steps

In response to these concerns, the attorneys general called for immediate action to protect children from the dangers of AI. They proposed two key steps:

First, Congress should establish an expert commission dedicated to studying how AI can exploit children and propose effective solutions to counteract this exploitation. Given the rapid evolution of AI technology, this commission should operate continuously to stay current with the issue.

Second, after considering the commission's recommendations, Congress should take action to deter and address child exploitation. That includes expanding existing restrictions on CSAM to explicitly encompass AI-generated CSAM, equipping prosecutors with the necessary tools to safeguard children.

The attorneys general conveyed a sense of urgency, emphasizing the need to protect the nation's children from the perils of AI. They called upon Congress to act swiftly, acknowledging that time is of the essence in this endeavor.

"We are engaged in a race against time to protect the children of our country from the dangers of AI. Indeed, the proverbial walls of the city have already been breached. Now is the time to act. We appreciate your consideration," the letter noted.

Related Article: Is AI Becoming Sentient? Here's What 19 Researchers Have to Say

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United Airlines experienced a widespread service disruption on a busy travel day due to a software update glitch, leading to temporary halts in departures.

According to the Associated Press, while some speculated about a potential cybersecurity issue, the airline clarified that it was solely a technology systems problem.

What Caused the United Airlines' Glitch?

According to United Airlines, the disruption resulted from a software update that triggered a slowdown in its technology systems.

This glitch led to difficulties in normal communications between airline crews and dispatchers. However, the airline stressed that the issue did not stem from a cybersecurity breach.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), responsible for managing the nation's airspace, confirmed that United Airlines had requested a nationwide halt in departures.

The FAA noted that the problem was isolated to United Airlines and its affiliated subsidiaries. The ground stop affected departures and did not impact flights already in progress. Fortunately, this halt lasted for just over an hour.

Despite the disruption, United Airlines managed to keep flight cancellations to a minimum, with only seven flights canceled by late afternoon Tuesday on the East Coast.

This figure was significantly lower than the airline's average daily cancellation rate, which typically hovers around 16 flights during the busy Labor Day weekend, as reported by tracking service FlightAware.

However, flight delays were more widespread, affecting over 350 United flights, which accounted for 13% of the airline's schedule. This substantial delay rate surpassed its competitors, including American, Delta, and Southwest. The disruption came at a time when many holiday travelers were returning home.

Read Also: FAA 5G C-Band: US Airlines Protest to the White House About 'Destruction,' Interruption on Operations this Wednesday

Similar Outages

It is worth noting that Southwest Airlines also experienced a similar outage in April, resulting in a temporary halt in departing flights and over 2,000 flight delays.

In the past, the FAA has taken action to halt all US departures briefly due to safety concerns. In January, a system responsible for alerting pilots to safety hazards malfunctioned.

The FAA attributed the incident to a contractor who accidentally deleted files while synchronizing the alert system and its backup, according to the AP.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has previously voiced concerns about airline-related issues, assured the public that the FAA was actively gathering information about the recent disruption's cause and scope.

He emphasized that the Department of Transportation (DOT) would ensure that United Airlines fulfilled its obligations to affected passengers.

Related Article: United Airlines Apple Health Integration Arrives! Flight Agency Explains How Vaccinated Passengers Could Benefit From It

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The US Department of Defense has recently revealed an ambitious plan to develop a vast network of AI-powered technology, drones, and autonomous systems to counter evolving military threats posed by China and other adversaries by 2025, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Kathleen Hicks, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, disclosed the comprehensive strategy during a speech in Arlington, Virginia, highlighting the urgency of keeping pace with China's rapidly expanding military capabilities.

The Pentagon's vision involves investing hundreds of millions of dollars in creating thousands of air-, land-, and sea-based artificial intelligence systems designed to be "small, smart, and cheap."

These autonomous systems, leveraging renewable resources like solar power, will be equipped with advanced sensors to provide real-time information, ensuring swift and efficient responses to emerging threats.

AI-Powered Defense Arsenal

The heart of this initiative lies in deploying autonomous systems using artificial intelligence to detect and engage enemy targets.

These include self-piloting air- and sea-based drones, ground-based logistics systems, space-based assets, and systems designed to defend against incoming missiles.

The Pentagon's plan aims to match and potentially surpass China's growing investment in autonomous and teaming systems.

To illustrate the potential, Hicks painted a picture of "distributed pods of self-propelled [autonomous] systems afloat, powered by the sun and other virtually limitless resources."

This ambitious approach aims to provide new, reliable real-time information sources, enhancing the US's strategic advantage in the modern battlefield.

Read Also: Zoom Generative AI Features Rebranded as Terms of Service States the Company Can Use Customers' Videos to Train Its AI Tools and Models

The Replicator Initiative

Hicks also shed light on the "Replicator" initiative, which was announced by the Pentagon last week. While the specifics were initially scarce, her speech provided essential details about the program's objectives.

The Defense Department intends to deploy thousands of these advanced AI systems, further bolstering the US's military capabilities.

Funding for the Replicator initiative will come from existing sources, with the latest Pentagon budget request earmarking $1.8 billion for artificial intelligence in fiscal year 2024.

According to a report in the Japan Times, instead of deploying a small number of vulnerable US warships and aircraft in high-tension waters near Taiwan and China, the US will be able to deploy a large number of drones.

Countering China's Advancements

The urgency behind the Pentagon's plan is driven, in part, by China's remarkable military developments. China boasts a larger navy than the United States and has actively invested in autonomous systems.

A Pentagon report from 2022 noted China's "growing numbers of autonomous and teaming systems" and their efforts to develop swarming capabilities.

China's Response to the AI Race

On the other side of the globe, China is making strides in artificial intelligence, with a particular focus on generative AI, aiming for the likes of ChatGPT.

Nikkei Asia reports that several tech giants, including ByteDance, Baidu, and SenseTime, have recently launched their chatbots to the public after obtaining regulatory approval.

These efforts reflect China's pursuit of dominance in generative AI, a field that has already seen significant development in the US and Europe.

Compared to their Western counterparts, Chinese companies are currently restricted in offering their generative AI services to a limited number of users until they receive approval for wider public use.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: China's Internet Giant Tencent Set to Unveil Its Own AI Chatbot

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Duolingo, renowned for its language learning app, is making waves with its syllabus.

The company recently unveiled its foray into mathematics education and teased an upcoming music learning feature. With a commitment to bite-sized, engaging lessons, Duolingo is set to redefine learning experiences once again.

Duolingo Dives into the Math Course

Duolingo's math course is already making a mark on the education landscape. According to Engadget, this is currently available for iOS users.

The course offers a comprehensive range of levels, catering to both elementary and advanced learners. Duolingo's secret sauce here is the set of interactive, gamified lessons that transform math into an enjoyable journey.

Gamified Music Lessons

Duolingo's expansion into music education promises to be a game-changer. By offering over 200+ songs for users to explore, the platform aims to make learning notes and playing tunes a breeze. The course is designed with interactive lessons that make it accessible to anyone, anytime.

According to the shared screenshots, there's a delightful blend of musical notation and piano keys, accompanied by engaging games like "fill in the blanks" and "match the pairs." These elements ensure that learning music is not only effective but also enjoyable.

While Duolingo has provided tantalizing glimpses into its upcoming music app, the full reveal is scheduled for October 11th at the Duocon conference. What we do know is that the course will be free so everyone can access it.

Related Article: Duolingo Sees 485% Surge in the Number of Users Learning Ukrainian

Duolingo Max Fuses With AI

Back in March, Duolingo debuted a new subscription tier that features a GPT-4 AI-powered virtual language tutor.

The Duolingo Max subscription is only available in French or Spanish. In the future, the company envisions expanding it to extra languages.

At the time, those who live in the US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Ireland are the only ones who can access the subscription tier.

In August, Infosecurity reported that more than 74 million monthly users of Duolingo have had their data leaked on a hacking forum.

Some of the confidential information shared on the platform include login names, user's real names, email addresses, and more.

Based on Duolingo's investigation, the data breach started with an infected API in March 2023. It came as a surprise that it allowed unauthorized access to the linked Duolingo email addresses of the users.

Jason Kent, a security expert at Cequence, said that the Duolingo hackers were focused on manipulating the features of the APIs and mobile apps like bots.

Approov's VP George McGregor quickly lambasted Duolingo for its negligence in handling the breach. According to him, the company missed out on adding verification measures for added protection of the user accounts.

If you want to get started with Duolingo, just click this link to kickstart your language-learning journey.

Read Also: Need the Best Language Learning App? Check Out Lingvist and Enjoy the 30% Discount

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China has banned central government officials from using Apple's iPhones and other foreign-branded devices for work or bringing them into government offices to decrease reliance on foreign technology and improve cybersecurity, according to reports.



The Chinese government directive, recently disseminated to employees through office chat rooms or meetings, represents a substantial extension of Beijing's drive to reduce reliance on imported technology and protect sensitive data inside Chinese borders, as per a report from the Wall Street Journal.



Employees at a few central government regulatory organizations have received identical instructions; however, it is unclear how widely China's iPhone ban will be implemented.

China's iPhone ban on government employees indicates an increase in prior limitations that restricted the use of iPhones for work-related reasons by government employees at specific agencies. The current order's greater scope underlines Beijing's increased efforts to guarantee strict adherence to its technological rules.

The Impact of China's iPhone Ban

If the restriction were to be implemented extensively, it may significantly affect international companies doing business in China, with Apple serving as a prime example. With China accounting for around 19% of its entire sales, Apple sees the nation as one of its most important markets and has maintained a commanding position there.



Apple's reliance on Greater China for production and sales makes it susceptible to the reported Chinese Government iPhone Ban. The Greater China area, which consists of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, provided over 19% of the company's sales during the three months ended in July, according to Apple's Q3 2023 report.



Apple and the China State Council Information Office have yet to comment on the matter as of present reporting.



The tech giant's performance in China, meanwhile, has declined, according to an investment note from UBS, with the firm delivering 3.1 million devices in July, a 2% year-over-year decline, according to TechCrunch. The memo also states that 23% of iPhone sales units over the previous 12 months came from China.

Read Also: Swedish Criminal Gangs Are Reportedly Using Spotify to Launder Money



The filtering concerns involving the App Store have been a source of tension in Apple's relationship with China. Like many Western technology companies, Apple is forced to reconcile free speech with Beijing's demand to eliminate politically sensitive information.



When it limited AirDrop use under the "Everyone" settings to only 10 minutes in China last year, Apple came under fire. Many people believed Apple had given in to pressure from Beijing because Chinese demonstrators had used the feature to circumvent censorship restrictions.

US-China Tech Tensions Escalate

China's changing rules also affect Tesla, another major US tech firm. According to Engadget, Tesla was the only foreign manufacturer to gain market share in the first half of 2023, and China accounted for a large portion of its sales. Recent reports suggest China restricts military and state-owned enterprise employees from using Tesla cars.



While the Biden administration and some local governments have taken steps to prohibit or discourage the use of TikTok, a popular app owned by the Chinese business ByteDance, the US has countered with penalties intended to hinder China's technological advancement.



In July, China's ambassador to the US warned of reprisals against American escalations and blasted US restriction of microchip sales in China, underscoring escalating tech sector tensions, per The Messenger.

Related Article: Roku Slashes Workforce by 10%, Limits Hiring Amid Cost-Cutting Measures

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A well-known scientist has recently suggested something intriguing that might change our understanding of Mars exploration.

They think NASA's Viking landers may have accidentally found signs of Martian life almost 50 years ago, but they did not realize it and might have destroyed it unintentionally.

Viking's Intriguing Experiments

Back in 1976, NASA's Viking 1 and Viking 2 landers embarked on a mission to uncover the secrets of the Red Planet. Their primary mission? To detect signs of life on Mars.

The Viking landers conducted four vital experiments to achieve this goal, yielding perplexing results.

Two experiments, the labeled release and pyrolytic release, indicated subtle changes in gas concentrations that hinted at possible metabolic activity.

However, the gas exchange experiment, considered the most critical of the four, produced a discouraging negative result.

LiveScience tells us that this mixed bag of outcomes left scientists scratching their heads and, ultimately, led to the consensus that the Viking landers had not detected Martian life.

The Shocking New Hypothesis

Enter Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist at Technical University Berlin, who has recently turned the scientific community's understanding of those puzzling Viking results on its head.

In an article for Big Think, he suggested that the Viking landers might have encountered tiny, resilient Martian life forms concealed within the Red Planet's rocky terrain.

Schulze-Makuch argues that these potential Martian microorganisms could have been inadvertently annihilated by the very experiments designed to detect them.

The experiments, it turns out, may have "overwhelmed these potential microbes" by adding too much water to the soil samples.

Read Also: Astronomers Left Baffled as Atmosphere of Newly Discovered Exoplanet TOI-332b Mysteriously Vanished

Microbial Adaptation to Harsh Conditions

Schulze-Makuch's hypothesis hinges on the idea that Martian life could have adapted to its arid environment by residing within salt rocks and absorbing water directly from the thin Martian atmosphere.

On Earth, similar extremophiles thrive in desolate regions like Chile's Atacama Desert, where they shelter within hygroscopic rocks.

These rocks, incredibly salty and capable of drawing in minuscule amounts of water from the atmosphere, could provide the shelter and moisture needed for Martian microbes to survive.

If these microbes also contained hydrogen peroxide, a chemical compatible with some Earth-based life forms, they might have produced some of the gases detected by the Viking landers.

Support from Previous Studies

Schulze-Makuch's claims find support in a 2018 study published in the journal Scientific Reports. This study revealed that extreme floods in Chile's Atacama Desert had eradicated up to 85% of indigenous microbes that could not adapt to wetter conditions. This research underscores the delicate balance of moisture for extremophiles.

Controversy and Skepticism

Naturally, this provocative hypothesis has sparked controversy. In 2018, another group of researchers proposed that heating soil samples during the Viking experiments could have killed any Martian microbes present.

Moreover, LiveScience reports that some scientists believe that the presence of perchlorate, a chemical found on Mars, and its byproducts can adequately explain the gases detected in the Viking experiments, effectively debunking the need for a new type of Martian life.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: NASA's Asteroid Watch Reveals 5 Massive Asteroids Approaching Earth This Month

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Republican candidate for president former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie stands on stage before the start of the Republican presidential debate at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, 23 August 2023.

Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie says Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had put politics ahead of his job by declining to meet with President Joe Biden during the Democrats weekend visit to survey Hurricane Idalias damage in DeSantis state.

Your job as governor is to be the tour guide for the president, is to make sure the president sees your people, sees the damage, sees the suffering, whats going on and what needs to be done to rebuild it, Christie said about his rival for the 2024 nomination in an interview Tuesday on Fox News Radios The Brian Kilmeade Show.

Youre doing your job. And unfortunately, he put politics ahead of his job, Christie said. That was his choice.

No one knows better than Christie how such a sticky political situation can create an enduring image. Photos of then New Jersey Gov. Christie giving a warm greeting to Democratic President Barack Obama during a visit after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 earned Christie scorn among national Republicans.

Obama placed his hand on Christies shoulder. Some Republicans labeled it a hug and suggested it contributed to GOP nominee Mitt Romneys loss to Obama in that years general election. Christie said he was simply doing his job by meeting with the president.

Idalia made landfall last week along Floridas Big Bend region as a Category 3 storm, causing widespread flooding and damage before moving north to drench Georgia and the Carolinas. Biden, who toured the state on Saturday, had initially said that he would meet with DeSantis during his trip, but the governors office said DeSantis had no plans to see Biden, suggesting that doing so could hinder disaster response related to Idalia.

Biden and DeSantis have met other times when the president toured Florida after Hurricane Ian hit the state last year, and after the Surfside condo collapse in Miami Beach in the summer of 2021. But DeSantis is now running for president and hoping to take on Biden in the 2024 general election.

DeSantis campaign did not comment about Christies critique.

Christie has defended his own response to the presidential visit during Sandy, saying that although he and Obama had fundamentally different views on governing, the two men did what needed to be done for a devastated region.

The hug moment, however, has trailed Christie ever since. It emerged last month during Republicans first 2024 debate, when Vivek Ramaswamy responded to a barb from Christie  who said the biotech entrepreneurs opening line about being a skinny kid with a hard-to-pronounce name reminded him of Obama  by asking if the former governor wanted a hug, a reference to Obamas post-Sandy visit.

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Representative Mike Gallagher, leader of the United States House Committee on China, has demanded an immediate freeze on technology exports to Huawei and Semiconductor International Manufacturing Corp., escalating US-China tech tensions. The motion follows the discovery of new Huawei smartphone semiconductors that experts say may breach trade rules.



An influential Republican legislator, Gallagher has long pushed for tougher restrictions on the sale of American technology to China. According to Reuters, the lawmaker noted that the most recent chip finding raises significant questions regarding the observance of US trade laws.

What is the problem with the new Huawei phone?

The Huawei Mate 60 Pro smartphone was just released, and because of its processor, it has caused some debate. Analysts claim that this chip has a technological innovation that was only possible with American technology and may have come from SMIC. Representative Gallagher voiced worry that this would go against the Foreign Direct Product Rule of the Department of Commerce.



Since May 2019, Huawei has been under fire and was included on a trade blacklist due to concerns about national security. Due to this move, US suppliers needed specific permissions in order to provide the firm with items. When SMIC was added to the entity list in December 2020 due to concerns about technology being diverted for military uses, it too was subject to limitations.



To implement the Foreign Direct Product Rule, which attempts to stop businesses worldwide from using US tools to produce chips for Huawei, trade restrictions were placed on Huawei and SMIC. However, suppliers to both businesses gained billions of dollars in rights to market U.S. technology, with 90% going to SMIC.

Read Also: Apple Vision Pro App Store: iPhone, iPad Compatible Apps to be Available by Default-What to Expect



With regards to its CPU architecture and wireless connection speeds, the Huawei Mate 60 Pro has sparked curiosity. Stocks of Chinese semiconductor companies rose as a result of rumors that smartphones will employ homegrown processors, according to Quartz. The Chinese government voiced optimism that homegrown firms could overcome US sanctions and constraints on chip supply.

A Slap in The US' Face

These developments, according to TechInsights analyst Dan Hutcheson, are a "slap in the face" to the United States, according to a report from The Guardian. SMIC, once recognized for its 14nm chips, apparently succeeded in producing 7nm chips by modifying less complex machinery. However, this strategy is linked to reduced chip yield rates, which could restrict the shipping of smartphones.



Extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV), for example, is still a hot topic in the competition for cutting-edge chip manufacturing technologies. China's attempts to manufacture controlled technologies are being heavily penalized by the US in an effort to keep EUV technology out of Beijing's hands.



China has announced intentions to build a $40 billion state-backed investment fund to support its semiconductor business as part of an aggressive effort to close the technology gap.

Related Article: China Bans Central Government Officials from Using iPhones: Impact on Apple?

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Google's upcoming flagship smartphone will soon grace the tech world with what it has to offer, but current leaks are claiming that a significant price hike is on its way for the new Pixel 8 series. The internet company accidentally leaked its upcoming smartphone to the world, later confirming that it is launching by October without any further details apart from its smartphone and smartwatch.

The prices that were leaked were for France, but it was assumed by reports that it may see almost the same prices as its US release, setting up expectations for the devices.

Google Pixel 8 Leaks: Price Hike is Coming for its Series

(Photo : THOMAS URBAIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Dealabs reported that the Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 pro in the European region, particularly in France, would be more expensive by as much as 150 Euros, now featuring a starting price of 799 for the base version. It is a different conversation for the Pixel 8 Pro, as it would be costlier by as much as 200 Euros compared to Google's 2022 release, now starting at 1,099 for the 128 GB.

HotUKDeals also corroborated this pricing as it reported the same rates for the upcoming Pixel 8 series this October for Europe.

Here are the leaked prices of the Pixel 8 series as follows:

Google Pixel 8 128 GB: 799 256GB: 859

Google Pixel 8 Pro 128GB: 1,099 256GB: 1,159 512GB: 1,299



Read Also: Google 'Pixel Pass' is Gone-All-in-One Premium Subscription Service Removed After 2 Years

More Expensive by $150 Compared to Pixel 7

According to 9to5 Google, assuming that the US price would follow the same as its European pricing, Americans may expect that the Pixel 8 series would also be more expensive by $150 to $200.

This means that the Pixel 8 would be available for as much as $649, and the Pixel 8 Pro starting at $1,000 and more.

Google Pixel 8: What to Expect

One of the most significant expectations from the Google flagship smartphone is how it will be the pinnacle of all Android updates, centering on the Android 14's latest offers for Pixel 8 to enjoy. This centers on the upcoming safety feature of Android 14, particularly with the Advanced Memory Protection that will secure the device's memory from bugs and issues.

However, there is a downside to Pixel 8's upcoming release, but this is debatable. As per earlier reports, the Pixel 8 series rumors claim that there would be no significant changes on its battery sizes and charging rates upon release.

Still, it would feature a 4,485mAh battery and a 4,950mAh for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro respectively.

The Google smartphone is yet to unveil what it has to offer the world, especially as it is a significant rival of its iOS counterpart, the upcoming iPhone 15, as the latest of what the Mountain View giant has to offer. Its price increase is a significant change from its previous pricing with the Pixel 7, and how people would feel about it would vary once the company unveils the device, confirming its specs and price.

Related Article: Marketing Accident Causes Google to Leak New Google Pixel 8

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Google is getting stricter about AI-generated content in political ads for the 2024 Presidential election, starting in November. This is Google's way of stopping fake information in elections.

(Photo : Alexander Koerner/Getty Images)

HANOVER, GERMANY - APRIL 17: The logo of Google is seen at the 2023 Hannover Messe industrial trade fair on April 17, 2023 in Hanover, Germany.

Introducing New AI Restrictions for Elections

AI-generated images and audio are becoming increasingly influential in the lead-up to the 2024 Presidential election.

The Hill reported that this prompted Google to take proactive measures to combat the spread of misinformation, particularly in anticipation of what is expected to be a hotly contested election.

In response to this emerging challenge, Google made a significant announcement. They have decided to enforce stricter regulations for political advertisers, mandating transparent disclosure when their advertisements incorporate AI-altered or AI-generated elements.

This directive encompasses the use of AI tools and is seen as an extension of Google's existing Manipulated Media Policy. These measures are scheduled to be put into action starting in November, well ahead of the election season.

A spokesperson from Google provided further insights into this development, explaining that the decision stems from the increasing prevalence of tools capable of producing synthetic content. In essence, Google wants to ensure that advertisers are forthcoming about the use of digitally altered or generated material in their election-related ads.

It's important to note that Google will continue to allow minor edits such as resizing images, making minor background enhancements, or adjusting colors. These are considered acceptable and won't be subject to the new rules.

However, what Google intends to crack down on are ads that go beyond these minor alterations. Specifically, they will be closely scrutinizing advertisements that depict fabricated actions by individuals or entities or those that significantly manipulate authentic footage.

In other words, any content that creates false or misleading narratives through the use of AI-generated elements will be flagged and subject to review.

This move by Google reflects the growing concern over the potential for AI-generated content to contribute to the dissemination of misinformation, especially in the highly charged atmosphere of a political election.

Maintaining the Integrity of Electoral Process

By requiring transparency in political advertising, Engadget reported that Google aims to maintain the integrity of the electoral process and ensure that voters have access to accurate and reliable information.

Ultimately, the goal is to enhance the transparency and accountability of political messaging, providing a more trustworthy environment for voters to make informed decisions.

Advertisements that incorporate AI elements will be required to clearly and prominently label them as such to ensure transparency, according to Google's policy. This labeling must be easily visible to users.

These ads will undergo a two-step screening process: initial evaluation through Google's automated systems followed by human review as necessary. This stringent process aims to maintain transparency and accuracy in advertising content.

Also Read: AI-Generated Photos Pose a Threat to Democratic Processes, Experts Warn

X, which was previously known as Twitter, is making a complete reversal of its long-standing ban on political advertising. This change comes after the company initially relaxed its rules in January. Twitter has now announced that it will welcome political advertisers from all sides once again.

Related Article: Federal Regulators Eyeing to Create Guidelines for Using AI in Political Ads

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California, home to influential AI firms, is addressing the regulation of generative artificial intelligence (AI). California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order directing state agencies to analyze the technology's risks and uses.

(Photo : Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Families Belong Together LA)

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 30: Gavin Newsom attends 'Families Belong Together - Freedom for Immigrants March Los Angeles' at Los Angeles City Hall on June 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, California.

California Studying Potential Risks and Benefits of Generative AI

The home state of some of the most influential AI companies has a new plan to confront the potential regulation of generative AI.

Engadget reported that Gavin Newsom signed an executive order instructing agencies in the state to study potential risks and use cases for AI technology.

State agencies have been assigned to pinpoint the most notable and advantageous applications of generative AI within the state. Additionally, they are mandated to establish training protocols for state personnel on utilizing officially endorsed generative AI tools.

Furthermore, the directive instructs these agencies to conduct an assessment of potential adverse consequences associated with the technology, encompassing its impact on vulnerable communities and potential threats to the state's critical energy infrastructure.

Additionally, this directive paves the way for establishing collaborative relationships with the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University. These partnerships will facilitate in-depth research on the impact of generative AI on the workforce in California.

Newsom addressed the state's approach to generative AI, saying, "This is a potentially transformative technology - comparable to the advent of the internet - and we're only scratching the surface of understanding what GenAI is capable of."

The governor emphasized the transformative potential of this technology, likening it to the emergence of the internet. He highlighted that the state is just beginning to explore generative AI's capabilities, acknowledging its potential advantages and associated risks.

Bloomberg reported that California's action precedes a forthcoming White House executive order on generative AI, anticipated in the coming months.

In the past few months, executives from leading AI companies have engaged in discussions with White House officials as the administration contemplates potential AI regulations.

In response to these discussions, several companies have already committed to implementing certain safeguards, including increased investments in cybersecurity.

Read Also: California State Regulators to Review Car Manufacturers' Data Protection Policies Amid Privacy Concerns

California's Global Leadership Position

Over the years, California has consistently maintained its global leadership position in various domains, including education, innovation, research, talent, entrepreneurship, and emerging technologies, according to the state's press release.

As these technologies continue to evolve, California has emerged as the epicenter of generative AI innovation, boasting 35 out of the world's top 50 AI companies and contributing a significant share of AI patents, conference papers, and global AI enterprises.

Furthermore, California is proud to host world-renowned generative AI research institutions such as the University of California, Berkeley's College of Computing, Data Science, and Society, and Stanford University's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.

These institutions offer a unique and fertile ground for academic research and collaboration between academia and government agencies.

Related Article: 'California Forever' Unveils Vision for Massive Solar-Powered City in Solano County

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The Biden Administration has made a pivotal move by nullifying seven oil and gas leases. ANWR, celebrated for its expansive and untarnished wildlife environment, houses significant oil reserves, estimated to be in the vicinity of ten billion barrels.

(Photo : US Fish and Wildlife Service/Getty Images)

ARCTIC NATIONAL REFUGE, ALASKA - UNDATED: (FILE PHOTO) This undated photo shows the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The U.S. Senate voted not to allow drilling for oil in the refuge March 19, 2003 by a 52-to-48 vote.

Revoking Oil, Gas Leases with ANWR

The Biden Administration, led by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, has taken a significant step by revoking seven oil and gas leases within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska.

Simultaneously, Electrek reported that they have designated 13 million acres within the National Petroleum Reserve for conservation. ANWR, renowned for its vast and unspoiled wildlife habitat, also holds substantial oil reserves, estimated at around ten billion barrels.

As a result, there has been a longstanding struggle involving Republicans and oil corporations, who have sought to extract oil from this region, despite its ecological importance and its significance to indigenous communities.

As per Reuters, the latest development involves the permanent nullification of these previously halted leases, and the basis for this action is the inadequate scrutiny they underwent as per the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act.

It's important to emphasize that two of the three leaseholders had already initiated the procedure to request the cancellation and reimbursement of their leases, leaving the state of Alaska as the sole remaining leaseholder that hadn't pursued similar measures.

Also Read: Biden's Executive Order Sets New Limits on American Investment in Chinese Tech Firms, Concerning National Security



For years, political figures in Alaska have been advocating for permitting oil and gas exploration on the 1.5 million-acre coastal plain of the refuge.

This region holds immense cultural significance to the Indigenous Gwich'in community as it serves as the migration and birthing ground for the caribou, upon which they depend.

In 2017, Alaska's congressional delegation achieved the inclusion of specific language in a federal tax law, mandating the U.S. government to conduct two lease sales in this area by the end of 2024.

Biden's Efforts

This development follows several months after President Biden's approval of the "Willow project," a substantial oil endeavor situated within the NPRA.

This decision faced opposition from individuals and groups advocating for a sustainable planet, rather than one threatened by the relentless pursuit of oil industry profits. It's essential to note that today's action does not revoke the approval for the Willow project, which will proceed as originally planned.

Upon assuming office, The Guardian reported that President Joe Biden issued an executive order that imposed a temporary pause on any activities linked to the leasing program. This order also tasked the interior secretary, Deb Haaland, with conducting a comprehensive review of the program.

Later in 2021, Secretary Haaland initiated a fresh environmental assessment after determining that the Trump-era leasing program suffered from "several legal shortcomings." During this period of evaluation, activities associated with the leasing program were suspended.

Related Article: SpaceX Wants to Drill a Plot of Land in Texas for Natural Gas, Gets Caught in Legal Battle with Local Oil Company



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Tesla's Gigafactory Shanghai has reached a remarkable milestone by producing its two millionth electric vehicle (EV).

This significant accomplishment solidifies Gigafactory Shanghai's position as the most productive EV factory globally, surpassing even Tesla's Fremont Factory.

A Rapid Ascent to the Top

What makes this milestone even more remarkable is its relatively short period to attain this feat.

The factory began construction in December 2018 and commenced production in December 2019. Electrek notes it surged to become the world's largest and most productive electric vehicle factory within two years, eclipsing competitors by a wide margin.

Gigafactory Shanghai achieves 2 million production milestone  pic.twitter.com/R3UxQ4Xal7  Tesla Asia (@Tesla_Asia) September 6, 2023

The factory's rapid rise owes much to its strategic location in Shanghai's pilot free trade zone.

Song Gang, senior director of manufacturing at Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai, underscored this advantage, stating, "Tesla's production speed is inseparable from the superior business environment in Shanghai, especially the Lin-gang special area of the Shanghai pilot free trade zone."

Tesla's Gigafactory Shanghai made headlines last August when it celebrated the production of its one-millionth vehicle.

A Step Towards 1 Million Annual Production Capacity

With the announcement of the two millionth vehicle, Tesla is edging closer to an astonishing annual production capacity of 1 million. This is unprecedented for a factory exclusively producing full-size battery-electric cars.

Currently, the factory produces the immensely popular Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, which have seen substantial demand in the Chinese market.

We reported in June that a new concept store in China can construct an electric vehicle for the company in 45 seconds, and this astonishing process is replicated at the Giga Shanghai facility.

Read Also: Elon Musk to Bring Tesla, Neuralink, and X's Data for xAI-To Understand the Universe?





Giga Mexico: Potential Delays and Challenges

While Gigafactory Shanghai basks in its success, Tesla faces potential challenges on another front.

Teslarati reports that Tesla's plans for Giga Mexico may be moving slower than expected. Initially eager to support Giga Mexico production, Chinese suppliers have been asked to wait, indicating potential delays.

In June 2023, Chinese suppliers estimated Giga Mexico's start of production in Q1 2025. However, it appears that Tesla may have underestimated the permitting process in Mexico.

The Mexico site might not be ready for construction until 2027, a few years later than initial expectations.

Cybertruck: Delay Speculations and Concerns

Amidst these developments, the much-anticipated Tesla Cybertruck is poised to make its debut.

CEO Elon Musk initially aimed to hand over the first customer trucks in late September. Production kicked off over the summer, and sightings of the truck are becoming more frequent. However, speculations about possible delays loom.

Insider reports of a leaked internal email where Musk demanded that the Cybertruck be "designed and built to sub 10-micron accuracy," a precision challenge that experts argue may not be achievable at the production phase.

This demand has raised questions about potential production setbacks and the size of initial batches.

Furthermore, some Cybertruck order-holders have expressed concerns about the lack of details. With the official launch just weeks away, customers still do not know the pricing or exact dimensions.

Industry standards typically involve releasing pricing and build details well in advance, especially for a highly competitive market like pickup trucks.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Tesla vs. Bingling Technology: Legal Battle in China Ensues Over Tech Secret Infringement

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Beijing and Washington are increasingly at odds, as seen by China's tightening limits on iPhone usage by state officials. These developments also present a growing issue for Apple, a business that is strongly dependent on China for both production and revenue.

(Photo: Getty Images)

The construction worker wearing a mask passes a large outdoor advertisements for the Apple iPhone 13 Pro near Wuhan International Plaza on April 11, 2022 in Wuhan, Hubei province, China.

Prohibiting iPhone Usage

According to unnamed sources, China has ordered employees of at least three major government departments and organizations to stop using iPhones while on the job. Financial markets have been affected by the order, with Apple shares falling by close to 3% in premarket trade.

The State Council Information Office, which responds to media queries on the government's behalf, has not made any remarks in the open about the situation. Since the subject is sensitive, there is no set date by which compliance must be achieved.

Read Also: iPhone Maker Foxconn Diversifies Away From China, Enters Vietnam

Uncertainty of the Matter

Although other sources indicate they have not received any formal notice of the restriction, it is unclear whether Chinese authorities have banned the use of iPhones. Others working for Chinese regulatory agencies have been warned they would be held responsible for any problems brought on by their use of iPhones.

As a result of Apple's stringent privacy policies, which make it hard for anti-corruption agents to access and examine suspects' phones, several government organizations have implemented regulations in 2020 that forbade employees from using iPhones.

Effects on Apple

China intends to broaden its prohibition on state-owned companies and organizations, which might have an effect on Apple and its suppliers. The shares of Apple and those of its suppliers have also fallen as a result of this news. Analysts compare the issue to Tesla's share price collapse in 2021 and argue that the market may have overreacted to it.

With over a quarter of Apple's overall income coming from China, this country is crucial for the company. Despite obstacles, Apple has had strong sales in China, which have been aided in part by Huawei's difficulties as a result of American penalties.

Tom Forte, a D.A. Davidson analyst, voiced worry that these limitations would impede Apple's sales development in China, which has already been adversely impacted by the difficult macroeconomic climate in that nation.

Cellular Migration

Because of worries about national security, China is increasingly favoring locally produced electronic products. Governmental organizations and state-owned businesses want to replace imported goods with domestic equivalents.

The local market is being dominated by Chinese firms like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, which puts Apple in competition. With a locally produced processor, Huawei's Mate 60 Pro smartphone might rekindle rivalry with Apple in the high-end smartphone market.

Related Article: Apple to Manufacture iPhones in India, as China's Plus One? Possible Move On the Way

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Microsoft Corp revealed that North Korean hackers breached a Russian aerospace research institute earlier this year, Reuters reports.

While Microsoft did not disclose the identity of the victims, they did confirm that the hacking incident took place in March, shedding light on the growing cyber espionage activities in East Asia.

This incident comes amidst heightened regional tensions due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The Silent Cyberattack

The breach, detailed in Microsoft's report on cyber espionage in East Asia, highlights the increasing sophistication of North Korean threat actors.

While the exact motive behind the attack remains unclear, the report suggests that North Korean hackers may be capitalizing on the opportunity to gather intelligence on Russian entities.

This raises questions about the dynamics between North Korea and Russia, traditionally considered allies.

A Growing Trend

North Korea's involvement in cyber espionage is not new. The country has been repeatedly accused of deploying hackers against targets in South Korea, the United States, and elsewhere.

However, allegations of North Korea spying on its Russian allies are particularly significant given the current geopolitical climate.

In a separate report, Reuters revealed how North Korean spies had infiltrated a major Russian missile developer for an extended period, allowing them to gather intelligence on Russia's hypersonic missiles and rocket propellant technology.

China's Role in the Cyber Landscape

Microsoft's report also sheds light on China's role in the cyber landscape.

It discusses previous allegations of Chinese hackers targeting US critical infrastructure and highlights new concerns about China's propaganda operations, which have reportedly been "scaled up" using artificial intelligence and influencers.

Cryptocurrency as a Funding Mechanism

In a separate but equally concerning development, CNBC reports that North Korea-linked hackers have increasingly turned to cryptocurrencies to fund their activities, including nuclear weapons programs.

According to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, these hackers have stolen $200 million worth of cryptocurrencies in the first eight months of this year, constituting over 20% of all stolen cryptocurrencies.

Experts believe the stolen cryptocurrencies are funneled into North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, a trend that raises alarm bells in the international community.

Read Also: Australian Clinic TissuPath Reports Data Breach With 10 Years of Pathology Letters Potentially Exposed

The United Nations has previously imposed sanctions on North Korea, including restrictions on financial services, minerals, metals, and arms, to curb the regime's access to funding for its nuclear ambitions.

The FBI recently alerted cryptocurrency companies about a threat from hackers connected to North Korea. They were reportedly scheming to withdraw $40 million worth of cryptocurrency.

"Even if that dollar stolen in crypto doesn't directly go towards the purchase of some component for the nuclear program, it frees up another dollar to support the regime and its programs," said Nick Carlsen, an intelligence analyst at TRM Labs, emphasizing the broader implications of these cyberattacks.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: DogeRAT Malware Threatens Android Users in India with Data Breach, Device Hijacking

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A 44-year-old Florida man, Reza Baluchi, found himself in hot water after attempting to "run to London" across the treacherous waters of the Atlantic Ocean, IFLScience reports.

Baluchi's ambitious expedition, conducted aboard a floatation device resembling a hamster wheel, came to a dramatic halt approximately 70 miles off Tybee Island, Georgia when authorities arrested him.

Florida Man Running to London Arrested

The Florida native's bizarre journey began on August 26, when he set off from the shores of Florida en route to London, England, in a vessel he had ingeniously crafted.

However, Baluchi's audacious undertaking quickly ran aground when the vigilant U.S. Coast Guard intercepted him.

Baluchi's lack of registration for his watercraft raised immediate red flags, with Coast Guard officials expressing grave concerns over the safety of his voyage.

Upon inspection of his makeshift vessel, it was evident that Baluchi's buoyant journey was maintained by a combination of wiring and inflatable buoys, which, according to the Coast Guard's assessment, rendered the voyage "manifestly unsafe."

In a recent post on X, the Coast Guard made it clear that attempting to sail via unsafe means is not only dangerous but also comes with significant legal consequences.

A Bizarre Plan

Determined to press on with his ambitious plan, Baluchi allegedly resorted to threats, claiming he possessed a bomb on board and brandishing a 12-inch knife.

Fox News reports that for three days, the Coast Guard officers engaged in a delicate negotiation with the relentless adventurer before he finally agreed to disembark at the U.S. Coast Guard Base in Miami Beach, Florida.

Baluchi's go at running on water using his peculiar hamster wheel contraption is not the first time the Florida man has attempted a bizarre sea adventure. Records indicate similar incidents in 2014, 2016, and 2021, each concluding with Coast Guard intervention.

The charges levied against him include obstruction of boarding and violation of a Captain of the Port order, underscoring the gravity of his actions.

Additionally, a complaint says that Baluchi could not provide officials with the required registration for his vehicle.

Read Also: Antarctica's Ice Shelves Thickness Revealed: Surprising Result May Alter Sea Level Rise Projections

'I Never Give Up'

In an exclusive interview with FOX 35, Baluchi shed light on the motivations driving his audacious expeditions.

His goal, he claims, is to raise funds for various charitable causes, including aiding the homeless, supporting the U.S. Coast Guard, and contributing to police and fire departments.

His determination to persist despite multiple setbacks is evident in his unwavering statement: "I'll never give up my dream. They stop me four or five times, but I never give up."

Despite his unwavering determination, the charges filed against him are likely to keep him away from the seas for some time.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Is TikTok's 'Boat Jumping Challenge' Fake? Alabama Group Says No Such Viral Trend

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The British Museum gets embroiled in a scandal over the theft of 2,000 precious objects from its collections. The alleged 20-year heist has tarnished the institution's security and control.

The British Museum, keeper of unparalleled artistic and archaeological treasures, admitted last week that several jewelry items from the 15th century BC to the 19th century AD were burgled, according to The Times. This finding goes beyond embarrassment to national humiliation, casting severe doubt on the museum's cultural asset stewardship claims and requiring a complete and public accounting.

Stolen goods were stored rather than shown at the museum. Some of these stolen relics were auctioned on eBay at prices much below their market value, let alone their historical importance. The museum fired a longtime employee accused of stealing, though the police have been investigating for months without making any charges.

Due to the British Museum scandal, public trust has plummeted. Former chancellor George Osborne, now museum trustee chairman, launched an internal security assessment.

Even the world's most famous museums struggle to enforce security. The 1994 theft of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" from Oslo's National Gallery is an example. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston lost numerous precious masterpieces, including one by Johannes Vermeer, which remain unrecovered. These examples show how vulnerable artworks are, with smaller pieces being significantly more susceptible to forgery.

British Museum's Theft Response Blasted

The controversy, which appears to be an inside job at the British Museum, was revealed in mid-August. Only after items thought to be stolen started turning up for sale in 2021 did the institution become aware of the theft.

In 2021, Roman antiquities specialist Ittai Gradel warned the British Museum of probable problems. Dr. Gradel said that some of the museum's collections were being sold online at significant discounts.

Stunningly, the museum just addressed the grave situation early this year.

Read Also: IBM Unveils New Generative AI Models, Features: Here's What to Know About 'Granite'

The British Museum theft scandal has exposed security flaws and renewed demands for cultural heritage repatriation. The Greek cultural minister, Lina Mendoni, has strongly condemned the museum's theft response, citing systematic failings and inadequate records. According to Phys.org, around half of the 8 million items of the British Museum are uncatalogued.

Artnet News reported that Nigeria, China, and Wales have joined Mendoni's case, reigniting the repatriation debate. The safety of these collections, the public's access to their cultural heritage, and countries' capacity to make claims for repatriation are all at risk due to the long-standing problems of inadequate or out-of-date cataloging of items in major museums.

New Interim Director Named

Amid the controversy, the British Museum has named Sir Mark Jones as its interim director.

Jones succeeds German art historian Hartwig Fischer, who resigned last month following British museum theft investigation failures.

The Chair of the Board of Trustees, George Osborne, has announced that Sir Mark Jones has been appointed Interim Director of the British Museum following approval by the Government.



Read our full statement here: https://t.co/kla9j90OKt



Image  National Trust for Scotland pic.twitter.com/VuqWOMuPfL  British Museum (@britishmuseum) September 6, 2023

Sir Mark is a distinguished museum leader who led the National Museums of Scotland and the Victoria & Albert Museum. His hiring is crucial as the organization works to repair its image and improve security after the loss of thousands of precious treasures.

"This is a critical moment for the British Museum, and I cannot think of anyone better placed to help take us forward than Sir Mark Jones," museum chair George Osborne said in a statement, as quoted in a report published by CNN.

Related Article: Biden Administration Takes Bold Action to Protect Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The judge overseeing the Georgia election subversion case involving former president Donald Trump on Wednesday denied requests by two of the 19 defendants to be tried alone, instead saying the pair would be tried together starting next month.

Since lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell have both filed speedy trial demands, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said their trial would begin Oct. 23, but he seemed skeptical of prosecutors arguments that all 19 defendants could be tried together that soon. It just seems a bit unrealistic to think we can handle all 19 in 40 days. Thats my initial reaction, he said.

The hearing provided some insight into how the case could play out, with prosecutors estimating a trial would take four months and that theyd call more than 150 witnesses. It was also broadcast live on television and on the judges YouTube channel, a marked difference from the other three criminal cases against Trump, where cameras have not been allowed in the courtroom during proceedings.

Special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who provided the four-month estimate, said that did not include jury selection and added that whether or not defendants choose to testify could affect timing. But he said he expects a trial to take that long regardless of how many defendants it includes, arguing that because the trial was brought under Georgias anti-racketeering law, prosecutors would seek to prove the entire conspiracy against each defendant.

In announcing the wide-ranging 41-count indictment last month, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she wants to try all 19 defendants together. But the legal maneuvering that has already begun in the three weeks since the indictment was returned underscores the logistical complexity inherent in such a sprawling indictment with so many defendants.

Already some defendants are seeking to speed up the process, some are trying to separate themselves from the others accused in the alleged conspiracy and some are trying to move the charges against them from a state court to federal court. All of them have pleaded not guilty.

The judge said he would try Chesebro and Powell together and adhere to an Oct. 23 trial date already set for Chesebro to comply with their demands for a speedy trial. He gave prosecutors until Tuesday to submit a brief on whether it should be a trial of two defendants or 19.

Lawyers for Chesebro and Powell argued separately that their clients dont know each other and are not accused in the indictment of having participated in the same acts. They said it would be like conducting two distinct trials at the same time, and that the unrelated evidence against one of them could taint the other.

Chesebro attorney Scott Grubman said he understands that the state brought the case under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, which has particular rules, but he argued that should not override Mr. Chesebros right to a fundamentally fair trial.

Chesebro is accused of working on the coordination and execution of a plan to have 16 Georgia Republicans sign a certificate declaring falsely that Trump won and declaring themselves the states duly elected and qualified electors. His other attorney, Manny Arora, called that the intellectual part of the case that had nothing to do with any shenanigans on the ground in Georgia and said his defense would rely on paperwork and legal opinion.

Powell is accused of participating in a breach of elections equipment in rural Coffee County. Specifically, shes alleged to have hired and paid a computer forensics team that copied data and software from the elections equipment without authorization.

Her attorney, Brian Rafferty, said prosecutors have it wrong and that the evidence will show she was not the driving force behind that effort. He said hes afraid the evidence he presents will get washed away by the technical evidence produced by Chesebros defense team if theyre tried together.

Fulton County Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten said he understands the defense concerns and arguments but that, Conspiracy cases, and more specifically RICO conspiracy case, are different.

The problem for them is that it doesnt matter because its all part of the same overarching RICO conspiracy, he said, explaining that any evidence and law that can be used against one defendant can be used against all of them because they are all liable for all of the acts alleged in the indictment.

Several other defendants have also asked to be tried separately or in small groups, and Trump, the early front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has asked to be tried apart from anyone who files a speedy trial demand.

Meanwhile, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was in federal court last week arguing that he was acting in his capacity as a federal official and his case should be heard by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones has yet to rule on that request. Four other defendants who are also seeking to move their cases to federal court have hearings set before Jones later this month.

Whenever and wherever any trial in the case ultimately takes place, jury selection is likely to be a significant challenge. Jury selection in a racketeering and gang case brought last year by Willis began in January and is still ongoing. In another big racketeering case, Willis tried nearly a decade ago against former Atlanta public schools educators, it took six weeks to seat a jury.

Willis team on Tuesday asked McAfee to allow the use of a jury questionnaire that prospective jurors would have filled out before they show up for jury selection, writing in a court filing that it will facilitate and streamline the jury selection process in many respects. Prospective jurors may be more comfortable answering personal questions on paper than in open court and lawyers for both sides could agree that certain jurors arent qualified without additional questioning, prosecutors said.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition




Businesses today retain a lot of data about both internal operations and their customers. This information is one of your strongest assets, but that also makes it one of the most valuable to criminals. As your data grows and cybercrime rises alongside it, a data security audit may be necessary.

Why Do You Need a Data Security Audit?

Your business likely relies on data  and if it doesnt yet, it will in the future. Data helps you respond to changing customer trends, set actionable growth targets, bolster your supply chain and more. You may also hold sensitive customer information that could land you in significant legal trouble if it leaks.

As data becomes more valuable, the cost of a breach rises. Average data breach costs are now higher than $4 million, a figure thats only grown over the past few years.

Despite these risks, most data isnt as secure as it should be. Only 13% of the worlds data has the protections it needs. Part of the issue is that businesses dont know what defenses they lack or how to improve their security posture. A data security audit provides that insight.

How to Conduct a Data Security Audit

A thorough data security audit will reveal your security strengths and weaknesses, letting you know how to protect it more effectively. Heres how you can conduct one to ensure you cover all your vulnerabilities.

Determine the Scope and Criteria

The first step in a data security audit is to decide what the audit should address. There are two parts to this decision  your audits scope and its criteria.

The scope of your audit defines which data sets, systems and processes to analyze. Auditing your entire organization may offer the most thorough results but will be a long, disruptive process. You may want to start with your most sensitive assets or the newest workflows youve implemented instead.

Your audits criteria determine the standards your data security posture should meet. Government contractors should align with the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), which follows NIST 800-171 and 800-172, and other businesses can follow regulations like Europes GDPR or Californias CCPA. Whichever you choose, using a pre-defined standard helps you get specific, actionable results.

Choose Between External and Internal Audits

Your business must also choose between performing an internal audit or hiring an external auditor. One option isnt necessarily better than the other. Rather, the best course of action depends on your needs and goals.

An internal audit may be more affordable and less disruptive, especially if your IT team already has access across the organization. However, many businesses lack the cybersecurity talent or staffing numbers to perform one effectively. Internal audits may also not offer enough trust for some government regulations.

External audits are more expensive and disruptive, but they can offer more reliable results. Future partners and regulatory agencies will appreciate the authority an external audit provides, and these auditors may uncover vulnerabilities your internal team missed.

Maximize Transparency

Its also important to remember that data security audits can be a long, disruptive process. It often takes several weeks, even months, to complete, depending on the organization's size and extent of the audit. You can streamline that timeline by being as transparent as possible beforehand.

Create a formal list of all the software and devices employees use to view or manage data. Ensure you can provide audit tools or third-party auditors with quick access to the data sets in question, and consider creating a data map if you dont already have one. Steps like this will make it easier for auditors to review all the information and processes they need.

You may also need information like your security softwares version, your update schedule and a list of who has access to what systems. Inform all employees about the audit so they know to comply with auditors and prepare for interviews if necessary.

Cover All Vulnerabilities

Once its time for the actual audit to begin, ensure it covers all vulnerability types. Technical defenses are the most obvious targets to analyze, but process-related risks are just as, if not more, impactful.

Human error is a massive security risk in any business, so your audit should address employee factors. That includes workers knowledge about cybersecurity risks and how much they comply with best practices like strong password management. If youre running an internal audit, phishing simulations are a great way to judge their security readiness.

Third-party dependencies and access permissions are another easy-to-miss but important risk group to cover. Shared hosting, for example, is less secure than other hosting options because more parties can access the same servers, so you should review how practices like this impact your data security.

Respond to the Results

What you do after the audit is just as important as the audit process itself. Once the results come in, company leaders should review them with IT to see where and how they must improve.

If your audits criteria align with regulatory standards, address noncompliance issues first. If your standards are not a matter of legality, start with whichever vulnerabilities are the most pressing. Third-party auditors may recommend specific changes to address these risks. Otherwise, you can consult with security experts about overcoming any gaps the audit revealed.

Remember that cybersecurity is an ongoing process. Data security audits should be a regular occurrence to ensure youre as safe as possible amid changing threats.

Modern Businesses Need Data Security Audits

Businesses of all sizes today rely on data. Consequently, even smaller companies can be targets for cybercrime. That risk will only grow as businesses become more tech-centric, so covering all vulnerabilities is crucial.

Data security audits provide the insight you need to remain secure. When you know how to perform one, youll be able to uncover and patch any security gaps as your company grows.

Eleanor Hecks is the managing editor at Designerly. Shes also a mobile app designer with a focus on UI. Connect with her about digital marketing, UX and/or tea on LinkedIn.
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Federal prosecutors plan to ask a grand jury to indict President Joe Bidens son Hunter by the end of the month, according to court documents filed Wednesday. The exact charges the presidents son would face were not immediately clear, but appeared related to a gun possession charge in which he was accused of having a firearm while being a drug user. He has also been under investigation by federal prosecutors for his business dealings.

U.S. Attorney for Delaware David Weiss, newly named a special counsel in the case, referred to a seeking an indictment before Sept. 29 in a status report required by Judge Maryellen Noreika.

Defense attorneys said Hunter Biden has kept to the terms of an agreement sparing him from prosecution on a felony gun charge if he stays clean and out of trouble.

That agreement, which also contains an immunity clause against federal prosecutions for some other potential crimes, was part of a plea deal on misdemeanor tax offenses that fell apart during a court appearance in July. Defense attorneys argue it remains in force.

News of a possible new indictment comes as House Republicans are preparing for a likely impeachment inquiry of President Biden over unsubstantiated claims that he played a role in his sons foreign business affairs during his time as vice president.

If you look at all the information we have been able to gather so far, it is a natural step forward that you would have to go to an impeachment inquiry, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told Fox News recently.

The younger Biden has been the target of congressional investigations since Republicans gained control of the House in January, with lawmakers obtaining thousands of pages of financial records from various members of the Biden family through subpoenas to the Treasury Department and various financial institutions. Three powerful House committees are now pursuing several lines of inquiry related to the president and his son.

And while Republicans have sought to connect Hunter Bidens financial affairs directly to his father, they have failed to produce evidence that the president directly participated in his sons work, though he sometimes had dinner with Hunter Bidens clients or said hello to them on calls.

In recent months, Republicans have also shifted their focus to delving into the Justice Departments investigation of Hunter Biden after whistleblower testimony claimed he has received special treatment throughout the yearslong case.

Hunter Biden was charged in June with two misdemeanor crimes of failure to pay more than $100,000 in taxes from over $1.5 million in income in both 2017 and 2018. He had been expected to plead guilty in July, after he made an agreement with prosecutors, who were planning to recommend two years of probation. The case fell apart during the hearing after Noreika, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, raised multiple concerns about the specifics of the deal and her role in the proceedings.

Attorneys for Hunter Biden did not immediately return messages seeking comment Wednesday. The White House Counsels office referred questions to Hunter Bidens personal attorneys. The Justice Department did not have immediate comment.

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Last April, when I called Donald Trump a gangster in this newspaper, I was making a mere judgment call about his attitude during the famous conversation he had in 2019 with Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Now, months after that column and years after the conversation, a prosecutor from the state of Georgia has accused Trump of conduct that represents criminal behavior at the federal level, and to do so she has relied on a law that Americans know as RICO. The acronym means Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, and the law was drafted in 1970 to fight mafia groups and gangsters. The fact that it now serves to seriously threaten a former president of the United States  showing that it is not a baseless fantasy that a former U.S. president could be considered the leader of a corrupt organization  has to be one of the strangest episodes in recent American history, at least since Nixon looked into the camera and said: I am not a crook.

You will remember the call if you have followed Trumps exciting fall from grace like I have. It is exciting, of course, because it is not a fall from grace at all: the former mobster-like president is today the leader of the Republican party in the race for the next presidential elections, and his followers keep donating huge amounts of money that are going towards his legal fees without them even realizing that he is scamming them, too. Theres no way to fit into an op-ed column the number of reasons why this is disheartening and frustrating, but it is; or perhaps it is simply a regrettable sign of the general path of decay in which not just a political party but an entire democracy has embarked. What would be a mistake is to act too surprised, because U.S. democracy has been bursting at the seams for years. Until now things had not exploded into pieces because there was still a certain respect for form that forced people into hypocrisy. Trump, an excellent reader of his society, discovered that there is no rule that cannot be violated. You just have to do it without apologizing.

Anyway, back to the call. Trump suggested by phone to the Ukrainian president that, in exchange for U.S. military support at a time of need, he should help him look for dirt on Hunter Biden, and anyone who has heard the recording will recognize the classic tone of the movie gangster: I do this for you, but I expect you to do that for me. (To be exact, Trump said, Do us a favor. The plural is almost a parody, as if Trump had just watched an episode of The Sopranos.) The call was so scandalous that it led straight to the presidents first impeachment trial, and it also showed many what Trump was capable of doing to win an election. His only defense was to repeat that the call had been perfect.

Until now things had not exploded into pieces because there was still a certain respect for form that forced people into hypocrisy

Well, months later we began talking about another perfect call: when Trump pressured the Secretary of State of Georgia over the phone to get him the more than 11,000 votes he needed to defeat Joe Biden. There is also a recording of the second perfect conversation; There is no president  again, since Nixon  who has had so many compromising words recorded. There are those who say that this is testimony to Trumps stupidity, but it seems to me that it rather demonstrates his invulnerable conviction of being above the law: even before witnessing his improbable election, we spectators of U.S. politics knew that his idea of causes and consequences is not the same as other peoples. There are the unforgettable and grotesque phrases worthy of a sexual harasser boasting about grabbing women by the vulva and that the women allowed him to do so (I could insert a huge footnote here about recent events, but I wont: some other time I will write a column about the strange idea that certain men have of what women allow and do not allow). In any case, we naive people then thought that his campaign was hopelessly lost. But it wasnt like that.

What I mean is that Donald Trump believes, because the world has shown him that it is so, that the consequences of ones actions are something that happens to others. For those like him, that relationship breaks down or doesnt work at all: remember when he said, suddenly inhabited by the ghost of Tony Soprano, that he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue without anything happening to him? This is how Trump has grown, both in the business world and in the political world: his lawyer and mentor of many years, the famous Roy Cohn, was also the lawyer for gangsters like Gordo Tony Salerno and John Gotti. A fantastic article by the journalist David Corn was recently published in Mother Jones about Trumps historical ties to organized crime, since he started his casino business in Atlantic City by leasing property to two unsavory characters: an FBI informant mobster and a gangster connected to the Philadelphia mafia. Corn recalls that Trump has frequently boasted  when it serves him to impress his interlocutor, for example  about his contacts with gangsters, although later, in front of a judge, he denied them with impunity.

That is why it is such poetic justice, looking at the matter carefully, that it is a law against the mafia that now has Trump in its sights. In the four years of his presidency, his behavior was that of a gangster, and it continues to be so now, as former president, when he uses Twitter to intimidate prosecutors or to threaten  indirectly, like gangsters do  judges or witnesses. One of the first to call out Trumps behavior was James Comey, the FBI director whose reckless statements regarding the Hillary Clinton email case provided candidate Trump with no small amount of help. Comey talks in his memoir about a dinner at the White House that has come to be known as The Loyalty Dinner. Trump invited Comey to a private dinner, and in the middle of it (and in ominous tones) he told him: I need loyalty. I expect loyalty. Comey writes that it felt like Sammy El Toros induction ceremony into Cosa Nostra.

Sammy The Bull Gravano was one of the leaders of the famous Gambino family. The Gambino family is, as anyone who has seen enough Coppola or Scorsese movies knows, one of the big five organized crime families on the East Coast. Ive been thinking about those old gangsters these days, after we all saw the mugshot of a former U.S. president in the press: number PO1135809. The mans look is so overactedthe school bullys pout, the brow furrowed to the point of crampthat it would be laughable if it didnt have the implications it does. I have seen somewhere the photo of John Gotti, arrested in the 1990s, smiling at the camera with his double chin and his real hair. No, Trump doesnt smile. Who knows why not.

Juan Gabriel Vasquez is a writer.
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Former President Donald Trump may not have been present at the second Republican presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, but plenty of the Republican candidates took swipes at the former president as much as they attacked each other on the debate stage.

Despite the sunny disposition of the librarys namesake, the debate often devolved into a slugfest, with the candidates talking over each other with very little that could be heard. Similarly, since the debate moderators could not question Mr Trump, the candidates often attacked each other on their records.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump holds what might be an insurmountable lead in the polls as he held a rally in Detroit instead of joining the other candidates onstage.

Here are our winners and losers:

Winner: Ron DeSantis

Ron DeSantis (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

For the past few months, the Florida governor has been plagued by attacks from the former president, who has taken to calling him DeSanctimonious. But right out the gate, Mr DeSantis took a swipe at his former political benefactor and was able to double-barrel an attack on President Joe Biden as well.

Donald Trump is missing an action, he said. He should be on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record, where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt that set the stage for the inflation that we have.

Similarly, Mr DeSantis was able to tout his record as governor, which was the whole reason that many Republican donors fell in love with him to begin with. He earned large applause lines throughout the debate.

Neutral: Sen Tim Scott

US entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina senator Tim Scott and former Vice President Mike Pence arrive on stage prior to the GOP FOX Business Presidential Debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, USA, 27 September 2023 (EPA)

For the duration of his tenure in politics, the South Carolina Republican has largely been a happy warrior. That has earned him praise from donors, conservative activists and fellow senators, but to improve his station in the polls, he needed to develop some sharper elbows.

But that meant he engaged in a shouting match with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, criticising him for saying that the other candidates were bought and paid for and accusing him of being in league with the Chinese Communist Party and associates of Hunter Biden. That aggressive approach often came off as contrived and his message got muddled.

Their exchange in turn came off as petty and prevented a more substantive discussion that could have elevated Mr Scott. What he hoped would be a knock-out punch turned into a slugfest that knocked out a few of his teeth.

At the same time, he used a question to rebut Mr DeSantiss curriculum in Florida, saying there were no redeeming qualities in slavery. He also discussed his experiences as a Black man who has faced discrimination while reassuring conservatives that America is not a racist country, while also criticising government assistance to the poor in the library of the president who perpetuated the idea of welfare queens in political dialogue. That earned him cheers.

Loser: Chris Christie

Chris Christie (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Debates have often been the former New Jersey governors strong suit. He notoriously sank Senator Marco Rubios bid for the White House in 2016 during one such exchange. While his poll numbers have increased in recent months, he continues to be far behind Mr Trump. In the last debate, he regularly attacked Mr Trumps alleged violations of the rule of law with the most tact.

But his success may have gone to his head this go around. At one point, he directly addressed Mr Trump, saying Donald, I know youre watching. You cant help yourself before mocking him for avoiding the debate. It would have been a pitch-perfect line had it not been for what came next when he said, if you keep doing that, no one up here is going to call you Donald Trump anymore. They will call you Donald Duck. The line was corny, contrived and all too canned for someone who usually delivers wise guy cracks.

But his true below-the-belt moment came when he took an attack on teachers unions, his longtime enemy since he was New Jersey governor, and tried to toggle the attack toward Mr Biden. But instead, he took it to the gutter by attacking Mr Bidens wife, Dr Jill Biden, a professor at a community college, by saying, When you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you could take the stranglehold away.

Winner: Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The former South Carolina governor has surged in the polls in recent months. That has given her the opportunity to earn money from donors and support from activists, even though she still faces a long shot to bear Mr Trump (she still trails him even in her home state).

And indeed, throughout much of the debate, she did not engage in the mudslinging from the men on the stage. Similarly, she took many well-earned swipes against Mr Ramaswamy, whom she seems to have a special level of contempt for. Specifically, she told the political neophyte, Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber.

As Mr DeSantiss poll numbers continue to decline, anti-Trump Republicansor at least Republicans who think he would lose the presidencywill inevitably look for a new hope and this performance will certainly inspire confidence.

Neutral: Vivek Ramaswamy

Last go-around, the businessman-turned-presidential-candidate faced the business end of most attacks from his opponents. That earned him a few weeks of attention before he slowly started to fade into the background.

But  to borrow from the rapper whose songs he likes to cover  Wednesday meant it was back to reality. He faced occasional attacks from former vice president Mike Pence and Ms Haley, which once again highlighted his lack of experience and grasp on policy.

At the same time, he did what he mastered in the last debate: planting himself deeply beneath the skin of his opponents. He got the better of Mr Scott in their exchange when he said Thank you for speaking while Im interrupting.

Still, this performance will likely not raise or decrease his standing.

Loser: Mike Pence

Most Republican primary voters will likely never forgive the former vice president for his refusal to go along with Mr Trumps scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

That being said, throughout the night, he did himself no favours, often coming off as stiff and stilted. In response to Mr Christies nasty quip about Mr Biden and his wife, Mr Pence said, Ive got to admit Ive been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years. Full disclosure. It elicited nervous laughter.

In addition, he likely hoped for soaring applause when he called for an expedited death penalty for mass shooters, but got zero response. Furthermore, when he tried to shift the question from moderator Dana Perino about Obamacare to his preferred topic, she asked bluntly, Does that mean Obamacare is here to stay?

Honorary winners: Ilia Calderon and Dana Perino

Throughout the debate, Ms Perino, a former White House press secretary in the George W Bush White House, not only asked some of the most pointed questions, but also helped wrangle the multi-candidate field back to the main topics. When Gov Doug Burgum wanted to blurt out a response when it wasnt his turn, she said simply No, Gov Haley.

Similarly, fellow moderator Ilia Calderon, a journalist for Univision, asked some of the most incisive questions about Floridas curriculum around slavery, which elicited Mr Scotts best response. She also pointedly that 73 per cent of Latinos think Republicans dont think you care about them, which forced the GOP to reckon with the fact they will need to win over a large swath of these voters should they want to take back the White House.
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Former Vice President Mike Pence cast the 2024 election as a fight for the future of conservatism and called on fellow Republicans to reject the siren song of populism" championed by former President Donald Trump and his followers.

Should the new populism of the right seize and guide our party, the Republican Party weve long known will cease to exist and the fate of American freedom would be in doubt," Pence said in what his campaign plugged as a major speech at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College Wednesday afternoon.

The speech comes at a critical time for Pence, whose campaign has struggled to build momentum since its launch. Four months ahead of Iowa's kickoff caucuses, Trump remains the race's undisputed frontrunner. Pence, who served four years as Trump's loyal second-in-command, has tried to paint himself as the race's most conservative candidate as he champions policies that have fallen out of favor with many Republican voters.

Pence linked the right's populism  promoting a hard focus on ordinary people's complaints about big government and so-called elites  to progressivism on the left as "fellow travelers on the same road to ruin.

The growing faction would substitute our faith in limited government and traditional values with an agenda stitched together by little else than personal grievances and performative outrage," he said.

Pence, who broke with Trump on the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and refused to go along with his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, continued the more aggressive posture he has taken in recent weeks. He went after the former president repeatedly by name.

He quipped that the Republican Party did not begin on a golden escalator in 2015," a reference to Trump's campaign launch in New York. He argued that the former president has abandoned the conservative principles that he ran on when Pence was his running mate in 2016.

When Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, he promised to govern as a conservative. And together we did. But its important for Republicans to know that he and his imitators on this Republican primary make no such promise today," Pence said. The truth is Donald Trump, along with his imitators, often sound like an echo of the progressives they seek to replace."

Trump, responding on his Truth Social site, accused Pence of going to the Dark Side after only speaking well of him for years.

His advisers have led him down a very bad path! Trump said.

Pence accused Trump and his followers of abandoning U.S. allies abroad with isolationist policies and ignoring the national debt.

He also criticized Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump's highest-polling rival, for using the power of the state to punish a corporation for taking a political stand that he disagreed with in his ongoing feud with Disney, one of the largest employers in the state.

Pence accused Trump and his imitators of trying to blatantly erode our constitutional norms, referencing Trumps call last year for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution over his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

You know theres already a party that embraces appeasement abroad. Theres already a party that would ignore our national debt. Theres already a party that wants to marginalize the right to life," Pence said at one point, adding that this is not conservatism. It's Republicanism that prioritizes power over principles.

Instead, Pence repeatedly hailed the example of President Ronald Reagan, arguing the party must return to his model of limited government, strong national defense and traditional values, including staunch opposition to abortion.

Republicans face a time for choosing," he said, referencing a famous Reagan speech. The future of this movement, of this great party, belongs to one or the other  not both. Thats because the fundamental divide between these two factions is unbridgeable.

The speech comes ahead of the second GOP presidential debate, which will be held in California at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Pence has hinged much of his campaign on doing well in Iowa, which will hold the Republicans' first nominating contest next January. But he has also spent significant time campaigning across New Hampshire and South Carolina. Saint Anselm College has long been a popular venue for candidates to deliver major speeches.

___ Colvin reported from New York.
The First Group, one of the regions fastest-growing, end-to-end hospitality solution providers, has announced the completion of The First Collection Waterfront.

Located on the Canal Boardwalk in Business Bay, the new property will be the third in the collection and is scheduled to open its doors in Q4 2023.

This achievement marks a significant milestone in expanding The First Group Hotels portfolio and underscores the continuous growth of its homegrown hotel brand, The First Collection, said a statement.

Within The First Collection brand, there are already two established hotels  The First Collection at Jumeirah Village Circle and The First Collection Business Bay. Together, these hotels welcome approximately 850,000 guests annually, hailing from diverse countries including KSA, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, UK, Russia, France, USA, and Italy.

In 2022, The First Collection hotels achieved a remarkable feat by being the only Dubai establishment to be recognised among the world's finest hotels by Trip Advisor.

Furthermore, The First Collection at Jumeirah Village Circle has secured an impressive position within the coveted 'Top 10 Hotels in Dubai' on Trip Advisor's esteemed list, specifically claiming the noteworthy #5 spot.

"We are thrilled to introduce The First Collection Waterfront, a remarkable addition to our portfolio. This milestone not only signifies our unwavering dedication in providing unparalleled hospitality experiences, but also mirrors our determination to elevate the reach of our brand. At The First Group, our mission is to optimise the performance of each property under our care, seamlessly adapting to changing market trends, and creating exceptional experiences for our guests, said Rob Burns, CEO, The First Group.

The introduction of The First Collection Waterfront further strengthens the presence of our homegrown brand, reaffirming its position as the preferred choice for discerning global travellers in pursuit of excellence, said Karim Abdelhamid, Vice President of Hotel Operations for The First Group.

Capturing the very spirit of urban resort living, The First Collection Waterfront combines convenience, urban, and authentic local experiences for its guests. We are confident that The First Collection Waterfront will become a sought-after destination for both business and leisure travellers.

Nestled in the heart of Business Bay, The First Collection Waterfront will offer guests easy access to the vibrant business scene by day and the lively tourist attractions by night.

The First Collection Waterfront will feature 327 rooms and suites. Its rooftop pool will offer panoramic vistas of Dubai's renowned landmarks, including the iconic Burj Khalifa and the picturesque Dubai Canal.

A spa and a state-of-the-art gym will be available for relaxation and fitness. Culinary experiences will encompass diverse options, such as a local all-day dining establishment, an Asian specialty restaurant, and The First Groups homegrown brand  Risen Cafe & Artisanal Bakery.

The First Collection Waterfront will offer complimentary transfers to The Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates for enhanced convenience. Guests will also be able to enjoy exclusive entry to the tranquil Soluna Beach Club, providing an oasis of serenity amidst the bustling cityscape. - TradeArabia News Service
A family of polar bears on the shore of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Handout . (REUTERS)

The U.S. government took a significant step in the fight against climate change and for the protection of a vast wilderness in northeast Alaska on Wednesday, September 6, as officials announced the cancellation of leases granted by the Donald Trump administration for oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It will also ban drilling on more than 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve, nearly half of its total area in the same Arctic part of the state.

But the announcement highlights the complicated juggling act facing Joe Bidens administration. He must balance his commitment to fighting climate change and respecting the environment with pressures to keep petrol prices down as election year approaches. Hence, the new measures do not apply to the colossal Willow Project in the National Petroleum Reserve, where the Biden Administration granted the oil company Conoco Williams permission to drill earlier this year, despite protests from environmental organizations and criticism from the UN itself. It is estimated that with an expected investment of $8 billion, the project will produce 576 million barrels of oil over the next thirty years.

When the climate crisis warms the Arctic at more than twice the rate of the rest of the world, we have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages, Biden said in a statement. Canceling all remaining oil and gas leases issued under the previous administration in the Arctic Refuge and protecting more than 13 million acres in the western Arctic will help preserve our Arctic lands and wildlife, while honoring the culture, history, and enduring wisdom of Alaska Natives who have lived on these lands since time immemorial.

Home to polar bears, caribou, moose and grizzly bears, the Arctic Refuge was protected by a strict ban on the exploitation of its natural resources for decades. But during Trumps presidency, the Republican-majority Congress overturned that policy. In 2017, it ordered the sale of leases for the exploitation of the area, which covers 7.7 million hectares and is estimated to contain enough oil in its subsoil to fill 11 billion barrels. The law passed at that time allowed for two rounds of auctions before the end of 2024.

The sale of the first leases took place in January 2021, in the last days of the Republican Administrations mandate just before the presidency passed to Democrat Joe Biden whose manifesto included a commitment to protect this natural park. The oil sector showed little interest in the auction of these leases. The highest bidder was a state agency, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. Two other small companies that acquired leases ended up relinquishing them due to uncertainty about the exploitation program.

On his first day in the White House, Biden signed an executive order halting hydrocarbon extraction in the Arctic. He subsequently suspended the leases issued by the previous administration, arguing that environmental reports indicated problems. The State of Alaska, which considers oil drilling necessary for job creation and revenue, filed a lawsuit against the move; the courts ruled in favor of the government last month, finding that it could suspend the leases while it completed new reports.

Now, the Interior Department has stated that these new reports determine that the studies on which the original decision to sell leases was based contained serious legal flaws, allowing the head of the department, Deb Haaland, to cancel the leases.

Haaland has called climate change the crisis of our era, adding, we cannot look the other way in the face of the disproportionate impact being felt in the Arctic.

Oil production in Alaska, the largest state in the US, has been gradually declining over the last 30 years. If, in 1988, more than two million barrels a day were extracted, production is now down to less than a quarter of that.

Alaskas governor, Republican Mike Dunleavy, has vowed to take the decision to court. We will fight for Alaskas right to develop its own resources and we will go to court to correct the Biden Administrations mistake, he said.

Environmental organizations have, by contrast, praised the administrations decision. We commend Secretary Haaland for cancelling unlawfully issued oil-and-gas leases in the Arctic Refuge, said Abigail Dillen of Earthjustice. Looking ahead, we hope to see the strongest possible protections for the Refuge and the Western Arctic in the years to come.

Not all are entirely satisfied, however. Bidens decision to allow the $8 billion Willow oil drilling project has angered environmentalists. Small measures like the ones the Department of Interior put forward wont erase President Bidens incredibly disappointing climate record with respect to oil and gas leasing, said Raena Garcia, a senior campaigner with Friends of the Earth. If the Administration is truly committed to protecting our people and the planet, they will halt climate-destroying projects like Willow altogether.
Adam Johnson speaks at a press conference June 29 where he was officially named the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra's new music director and conductor. His first concert is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14.
Also an associate artistic director of Melbournes Rising Festival, Moulton is the mind behind the festivals stunning Shadow Spirit exhibition, held at Flinders Street Station, which will tour later this year.

Its a big appointment for the 38-year-old, who resigned as senior curator of the First Peoples collection at Melbourne Museum recently and will take up the part-time Tate role next month.

What is valued or recognised as art is a thorny issue. Its a question that curators around the world are constantly grappling with, and slowly long-held ideas, which often centred white experiences and perspectives, are starting to shift.

Moulton is employed to rethink the Tates collections and research through a non-western lens, and advise about acquisitions of Indigenous art. She joins a team of curators working within the Tate Research Centre: Transnational, one from Africa and another from the Caribbean, who will work from their home communities, visiting the gallery in person a few times a year. Integrated within Tate Moderns curatorial team, the centre contributes to exhibitions, displays, acquisitions and events across Tates four galleries and with a wide network of collaborators.

The Tate is one of the worlds leading art galleries and has a huge influence on how we consider art, how we interpret and understand the world through contemporary art. So its really important to have other voices in there, Moulton says.

A still from the film The Umbra, by Hayley Millar Baker, shown at the Shadow Spirit exhibition.

Its about how we look at history really and what is considered to be art or whats considered to be worthy of being in these institutions, and thats often been led by or has its roots in white supremacy or the West being the Imperial power, she says. So its not about ignoring the art histories that we know but reframing and rethinking that through an Indigenous perspective as well and what that looks like.

To her mind, the research centre is leading the space in critically looking at western art histories and rethinking and reframing what that can be. Indigenous artists have been making work about restitution and repatriation for a long time, a key focus for her. The possibilities are expansive in the context of global Indigenous art and Im excited to be going out into the world, as a Yorta Yorta woman from the country town of Shepparton, to hopefully impact our representation in art history.
It was a surprisingly common cry when Oppenheimer opened: three hours is too long to sit in a cinema.

For everyone who was gripped by one of the years best movies, the epic length was well and truly justified. But others will have decided to wait until Christopher Nolans hit movie lands on a streaming service so they can pause it for a break.

The head of Palace Cinemas, Benjamin Zeccola, likes the idea of bringing back intermissions for three-hour movies like the coming Killers of the Flower Moon. Credit: Jason South

The same issue will surely come up when Martin Scorseses Killers of the Flower Moon opens in October. It sounds like a compelling story: a true crime drama about the systematic murder of Native Americans to steal their resources in the 1920s  a top cast headed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. But its almost three-and-a-half hours long, which will test twitchier viewers even more than Avatar: The Way of Water (three hours, 12 minutes) last Christmas.

There is a solution that could attract more viewers to cinemas, however: bring back the intermission.
In theory, the title could also refer to the devout young heroine Sister Irene (Taissa Farmiga), who defeated Valek in the first Nun, set in a Romanian convent in 1952 (these films are nominally prequels to The Conjuring series, although keeping up with the larger mythology takes a degree of devotion).

Glancing back over my notes on The Nun II, my main complaint runs as follows: Not enough nun. In other words, the original concept of a demon masquerading as a nun is oddly marginal to the story, even if Valak (Bonnie Aarons), the demon in question, continues to wreak havoc in one guise or another.

Some years on, Irene is dispatched to France to look into another case of supernatural malfeasance, accompanied by a sceptical American novice (Storm Reid), the Scully to her Mulder. Not far off is Irenes old pal Frenchie (Jonas Bloquet), a jack-of-all-trades now employed as a handyman at a Catholic boarding school.

Loading

In the first Nun, Frenchie was basically comic relief; here hes been upgraded to more of a hunk, scruffy beard and all. Either way, he couldnt be a nicer guy, not lacking in force but very conscious of his status as a male in a largely female world. He has a thing for one of the teachers (Anna Popplewell) but never oversteps the mark  and he knows just how to talk to the young pupil (Katelyn Rose Downey) who has an innocent crush on him.

As viewers of the first Nun already know, this niceness comes with one major drawback: lurking beneath Frenchies good nature is the vengeful spirit of Valak, who entered him in Romania. But Frenchie knows nothing of this, until the last moment. Likewise, it takes forever before Irene shows up at the school, although its clear much earlier where her investigation is headed.

Putting us so far ahead of the characters gives the movie a cosy predictability, which seems to be what director Michael Chaves and his writers have in mind. The shocks are brief and not too grisly, the dingy Gothic look is as youd expect, and the mechanical climax steers clear of the more unsettling possibilities that might have emerged if Frenchies Jekyll and Hyde sides had been meaningfully linked.
For her part, Crombie says there is definitely a weight of attention on the actors in such roles. In the spotlight we dont just represent ourselves  I dont represent myself, she says. Im for my people; Im always for my people. In The Visitors, Crombie will portray a Cameragal elder, Jaky, who is a tradie and a joker. The actor is keen to temper the plays darker subject matter. Where theres space for an ad-lib, Im milking it 100 per cent, she says with a laugh. Crombie is still considering whether to paint her nails powder blue to match her flash costume of blue suit and suspenders. Because Jaky was previously named Jacob, I find myself being really butch too. Im just like that naturally: straight out and not soft, she says. In 2020, when Moogahlin Performing Arts premiered The Visitors at Carriageworks during Sydney Festival, all seven elder roles were male, and played by men.

Harrison says the Northern Territory intervention, during which Aboriginal men were problematised as poor citizens, was her impetus for writing the script with an all-male cast and roles. Loading Now, in the revised version of the play co-produced by Sydney Theatre Company and Moogahlin, two elders have been given new gender-neutral names and will be played by women, in recognition of womens leadership roles in Aboriginal communities. One character, Wallace (Dalara Williams), a Burramattagal elder and anthropologist and philosopher previously known as Walter, will be also be portrayed as visibly five to six months pregnant. The elders all perform barefoot but wear business suits, which Harrison says gives them the status that they would have had at the time as the senators of their age. I was thinking of Paul Keating in his Italian suits, she says.

Likewise, she says the anachronism of having Western rather than traditional Indigenous names is designed to make them more relatable to an audience. After writing her first draft in 2011, Harrison admits she struggled for years to get the play produced, given greater womens representation was being sought in theatre: I dont think people were interested in a play with seven men. Living and working in Ballarat in regional Victoria, the playwright used the years of delay to also write a novel version of The Visitors, which has just been released, as well as the libretto for a separate Victorian Opera production, which will also feature women elders, and is set to open in Melbourne in October. Harrison on the set of The Visitors at Carriageworks in 2020. Credit: Renee Nowytarger Harrison says despite some small changes to the new version of The Visitors play, the tone remains optimistic because she wanted characters to have agency. She is constantly inspired by the generosity inherent in modern Indigenous Welcome to Country speeches.

Rehearsals started in early August with the actors own Welcome to Country, a smoking ceremony performed by Muruwari elder Uncle Matty Doyle. Elaine Crombie says she and fellow actor Luke Carroll, who plays Cadigal man Gordon in The Visitors, shed a tear watching the ceremony: You could hear a pin drop. Crombie and Carroll were in the same Sydney Theatre Company rehearsal room together 22 years ago, starring in a revival of Indigenous playwright Kevin Gilberts The Cherry Pickers, also directed by Enoch. The cast of The Visitors, including Elaine Crombie, check in with each other every morning to make sure theyre OK. Credit: Daniel Boud There was no smoking ceremony then for the fledgling actors: We just got in and got on with it.

Now, the cast check in with each other every morning to make sure they are coping with the weighty subject matter, she says. Crombie sweeps her hand to point across the harbour to the north shore, from which Cameragal elder Jaky would have emerged: in her mind, Jaky is real. Im representing someone who lived around there, she says. They know that Im talking about them, they know, they will probably come over eventually, you know what I mean? She has a sense someone is watching over her in this play? Yeah, otherwise we wouldnt have been allowed to get this far. Thats my own belief. Nothing is by accident.
Anti-China activist and inveterate poo-stirrer Drew Pavlou leaves a trail of mischief wherever he goes.

In 2022, Pavlou was detained and released without charge in London over an alleged bomb hoax involving the Peoples Republics embassy in the British capital. Later that year, he was booted from Parliament House by the federal police.

Anti-CCP activist Drew Pavlou outside court in March after police withdrew a charge of offensive behaviour. Credit: Kate Geraghty

Now Pavlou has been expelled as a member of Amnesty International, whose local branch seems to spend more time on internal fights than human rights.

According to an expulsion letter seen by CBD, Pavlou committed a serious breach of the organisations terms of membership, following a series of complaints against him. But the activist says he wasnt made aware of those complaints until after the board had voted to expel him  depriving him of procedural fairness.
A 38-year-old man charged with the murder of his father in Sydneys north is extremely unsettled and has been referred for mental health treatment in custody, a court has heard, as grieving relatives watched on.

Police were called to a home on Kita Road in Berowra Heights about 4.20pm on Thursday after reports of a domestic violence incident, and found 69-year-old Kenneth Fitzpatrick with serious injuries.

He was treated by paramedics but died at the scene. His son, Jaiken Richard Fitzpatrick, was taken to Hornsby police station and charged with murder.

Jaiken Richard Fitzpatrick has been charged with the murder of his father Kenneth Fitzpatrick

Neighbour Amin Biglari told Nine News on Friday morning that Kenneth Fitzpatrick had been a very kind and quiet man. He said he did not know the son, but would see the older man and his partner taking their dogs out.
KYODO NEWS - Sep 7, 2023 - 14:20 | World, All

A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu Guozhong will visit North Korea to attend events later this week celebrating the 75th anniversary of the country's founding, the two countries said Thursday.

The Chinese group will visit North Korea from Friday at the invitation of the North Korean government and the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, headed by leader Kim Jong Un, for the anniversary on the following day, the official Korean Central News Agency and the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

A military parade will be held to mark the anniversary on Saturday. Russia is also expected to send a delegation to Pyongyang, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora has told Russian media that Moscow will be "significantly involved" in a ceremony commemorating the foundation day, suggesting a high-level delegation will be dispatched to Pyongyang.

Kim plans to visit Vladivostok in Russia's Far East next week to discuss with President Vladimir Putin the possibility of further weapons supplies for Moscow's war in Ukraine as well as other military cooperation, The New York Times reported Monday.

In July, a Chinese group headed by Li Hongzhong, a member of the ruling Communist Party's Political Bureau, and a Russian delegation led by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attended events in Pyongyang celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, watching a military parade with Kim.

Related coverage:

U.S. warns North Korea not to supply weapons to Russia for Ukraine war

North Korea's Kim to meet Putin in Russia to talk weapons supply: NYT

Russia proposed 3-way drill with North Korea, China: South Korea spy agency
A man has died and another man has been arrested after reports of a domestic incident in Sydneys north.

Emergency services responded to the incident on Kita Road in Berowra Heights about 4.20pm on Thursday, with police finding one of the men suffering serious injuries.

He was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics but died at the scene. He is yet to be formally identified.

Another man was arrested at the scene and taken to Hornsby Police Station, where he is assisting with inquiries.
Methylamphetamine worth at least $25 million has been found hidden inside tins of cookies and stew containers after a raid of a drug lab in Sydneys lower north shore, with a Canadian national behind bars over the haul.

Police executed the search warrant at a home in Gladesville on Wednesday morning and found the clandestine lab along with approximately 50 kilograms of crystal meth in metal food tins and lab equipment.

Police found 50 kilograms of crystal meth in metal food tins during the search. Credit: NSW Police

Arash Binesh Pajou, 43, was arrested at his Pymble home about half an hour after the search, with police seizing cash, mobile phones, jewellery and electronic devices at the property.

Two storage sheds in Gladesville and Petersham were also searched about 3pm, with several boxes of imported food products  believed to contain meth  seized.
A little blue pill with the imprint of a skull. An orange tablet branded with a Nike tick. A black powder that turns grey when crushed.

These are among the dangerous new street drugs, sometimes being sold as something theyre not, that have made their way into the Victorian community.

Metonitazene usually appears as a white, off-white or beige powder. It has been mis-sold as cocaine (pictured). Credit: iStock

Were seeing increasing amounts of novel psychoactive substances, which are sometimes much more dangerous than anything we experienced 10 or 15 years ago, said John Ryan, chief executive of the Penington Institute, a leading drug policy group.

Lots of people are talking about strange reactions to a drug that theyve traditionally taken ... suggesting its actually not what they were traditionally taking, but its been adulterated somehow.
School students would progress through levels similar to music lessons or video games, rather than aged-based grades, under an overhaul of education aimed at moving away from the conveyor belt model that can leave many students behind.

Professor Geoff Masters, chief executive officer of the internationally recognised Australian Council for Educational Research, has proposed a revision of schooling, saying the system is stuck in a 19th-century, assembly-line model that pushes students through grades at a fixed pace without considering their individual proficiency.

Professor Geoff Masters in 2020. Credit: Janie Barrett

Masters, who led a review of the NSW curriculum in 2020, said there could be up to six years difference in the levels of knowledge in each class, which was impossible for many teachers to manage.

He said the current system was beholden to an overloaded curriculum that dictated what children would learn according to their age, rather than their readiness, then automatically pushed them to the next stage at the end of each year.
Woodside Energy has vowed to hold off on seismic testing for its $16.5 billion Scarborough gas project after the Environmental Defenders Office mounted an eleventh-hour legal bid to stop it.

On Tuesday, the oil and gas giant notified the law firm of its intention to start testing within 48 hours despite two Federal Court battles, spearheaded by Mardudhunera woman Raelene Cooper and Greenpeace, contesting its approval by the national regulator.

Woodside faces fresh legal headwinds for its Scarborough gas project. Credit: Will Willitts

But Woodside Energys lawyer Steven Penglis told the Federal Court on Thursday the company would give an undertaking not to proceed until the injunction levelled by the EDO could be dealt with.

The EDO lodged an injunction calling on the court to restrain Woodside from pursuing the testing until both cases had been resolved just hours before Thursdays case management hearing.
Jakarta: Anthony Albanese will become the first Australian prime minister to visit China in seven years, accepting an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping in the hope his trip can help convince Beijing to drop all restrictions on Australian imports and release detained Australians in China.

Albanese announced he had taken up Xis offer to visit Beijing this year after meeting Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Beijings second-in-command, on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit in Jakarta on Thursday.

Albanese raised human rights concerns in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong while pleading the case for three Australians facing the death penalty in China, as well as the plight of two other Australians, journalist Cheng Lei and academic Yang Hengjun, who have not yet been sentenced.

Albaneses visit to China represents the governments latest step in its push to stabilise relations with Australias biggest trading partner after formal dialogue with the superpower broke down in 2020 over pandemic border closure and trade issues.
Speculation is mounting that former foreign minister Marise Payne will announce her retirement from politics imminently, opening the door to a hotly contested preselection for her Senate seat.

Three sources, all of whom declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said she had decided to leave politics after a 26-year career and would make an announcement potentially within days.

Marise Payne, then minister for foreign affairs, reacting to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022. Credit: Steven Siewert

However, Payne did not respond to requests for comment and the NSW Liberal Party did not confirm her exit.

Another Liberal source who attended Maria Kovacics maiden Senate speech on Tuesday night said Payne and former NSW minister Andrew Constance openly discussed her quitting politics within a week at a Canberra dinner. The source was not authorised to speak publicly about the dinner.
After hundreds of years, ink signatures on paper are set to go the way of the wax seal.

Commonwealth statutory declarations will officially join the digital age next year when the federal government changes the centuries-old practice so that declarations can be executed through the myGov app, electronic signatures and video-link witnessing.

Commonwealth statutory declarations will officially join the digital age when the federal government changes the centuries-old practice. Credit: iStock

The statutory declaration  created in the 19th century to improve convenience  has now become cumbersome, said Professor Veronica Taylor, a professor of law and regulation at the Australian National University.

Historically, they allowed people to create a statement about a set of facts, assert it was true and have it witnessed without having to swear an oath, so it was more available. But somehow we froze that process, she said.
The news

Queensland police have announced an overdue review of diversity and inclusion in its ranks after a recommendation from last Novembers damning Commission of Inquiry report.

Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll held a joint press conference with Human Rights Commissioner Scott McDougall. Credit: Nine

One of the several dozen calls from the inquiry was for police to, within six months, arrange for the Queensland Human Rights Commission to carry out the work aimed at boosting recruitment and retention of female, First Nations and linguistically diverse officers.

The review will run across four years with consultation to start this month, a report in late 2024, and evaluation of the resulting plans to follow. It will be advised by an independent panel co-chaired by the states police and human rights bosses.
Almost a decade ago, when former New Zealand prime minister John Key won a third term in office, he knew his governments days were numbered.

Theres always a risk with third-term governments that they get arrogant, he warned shortly after the win.

Its believed that Premier Daniel Andrews will step aside as leader before the next state election. Credit: Jason South

Sure enough, by 2017, Key could see the writing on the wall and left. Kiwis werent willing to offer his tired-looking centre-right National Party a fourth term and instead opted for something shiny and new.

Privately, some ministers within the Andrews government are having a similar moment of introspection as signs emerge that their party might be running out of puff.
By Keita Nakamura, KYODO NEWS - Sep 7, 2023 - 21:57 | World, All, Japan

Asia-Pacific major powers revealed deep divisions Thursday, with their leaders exchanging harsh words over Russia's war on Ukraine and the maritime assertiveness of China.

At the 18-member East Asia Summit held in Jakarta, the United States and Japan warned that those developments are threatening the global order, while China and Russia hit back by saying such arguments only sow seeds of confrontation.

"The United States remains committed to what we must do to resolve these issues, and we remain concerned about China's provocative actions in the South China Sea and the East China Sea," U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said.

Harris added Russia's "brutal assault" on Ukraine must be condemned as "an attack on that nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and that Washington will continue to hold Moscow accountable for its "egregious crimes against humanity."

"In the Indo-Pacific and around the world, we also see growing threats to the international rules-based order," she said, adding that the concern is shared with many ASEAN members.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang said the accusations against Beijing are "attempts to create competing structures" and to force countries in the region to "pick sides or get embroiled in meaningless disputes."

"Confrontation produces no winner, rather mutually beneficial cooperation is what people want and where the future lies," Li said, adding that "general stability" has been maintained in the South China Sea.

The annual gathering, held on the final day of three-day summits by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their partners, came as the rift between major democracies led by the Group of Seven nations and the China-Russia camp has been widening.

U.S. President Joe Biden, as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, skipped the talks despite their countries' intense competition for influence in the fast-growing region.

At the gathering, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida voiced opposition to "continued and intensified activities" in the East China Sea and "militarization and coercive activities" in the South China Sea.

Kishida also said the Russian aggression against Ukraine "continues even now, despite many countries condemning it," adding that Moscow's nuclear threat and its potential use of nuclear weapons are "absolutely unacceptable."

"Unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force are unacceptable anywhere in the world, and Japan strongly opposes it," Kishida said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said some EAS members are trying to "Ukrainize" the agendas at the meeting and to discuss other problems that are not in their regional agenda.

He also indirectly rapped the U.S. military's engagement in the region when he said that "out-of-the-region actors" are becoming increasingly active in militarizing the Asia-Pacific space.

At the EAS talks, Kishida also reassured attendees of the safety of treated radioactive water being released into the Pacific from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant that began on Aug. 24, underscoring that the discharge has gone ahead "in accordance with international standards."





China has expressed strong opposition to the discharge and suspended all Japanese seafood imports, citing the possible impact on human health and the marine environment. On Wednesday, Kishida and Li criticized each other at the ASEAN Plus Three gathering, also involving South Korea.

But at Thursday's meeting, Li made no remarks directly referencing the water release, which caused Kishida to avoid referring to China by name as well, according to a Japanese government official, who suggested the matter has started showing signs of calming down.

The official also said no participants brought up the issue related to a map released by China late last month, over which disputes have been recently intensifying in the Indo-Pacific region.

The map depicted the majority of the South China Sea as Chinese territory, leading to protests from several ASEAN members and Japan.

The EAS comprises ASEAN -- which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

Related coverage:

Japan's Kishida urges China premier to end import ban over Fukushima water

Japan, China spar over import ban after Fukushima water release

Japan, ASEAN upgrade ties to boost maritime security amid China clout
His father told Nine News they were maintaining a vigil at his bedside in hospital, where he has been in a coma. Its really sad, we cant sleep, he said. We dont know much about whats going on with his head. A growing list of schools in the south-east of Melbourne have reported violent attacks on their students, including reports from Salesian College that a student was accosted at Chadstone Shopping Centre. Salesian principal Mark Ashmore wrote to parents this week assuring them that while the student wasnt injured when approached on Friday evening, police were investigating. Our boys need to be aware of their surroundings and be alert and seek help if they feel unsafe, Ashmore said.

A female student from Kilbreda College reported being followed by two people into a Coles supermarket on Thursday morning. The Mentone school said that the teenager had sought assistance from supermarket staff and was not confronted or harmed. Police also responded to reports of a teenager with a knife on nearby Brindisi Street in Mentone around the same time. Officers spoke to two teenagers but no knife was located. Parents told The Age on Wednesday that they had changed their routines after the Glen Eira abduction on Monday, driving their children to school or walking with them. Dwyer told reporters on Thursday that the perception robberies were out of control was incorrect, noting such crimes were down 37 per cent on what they were in 2020. My advice to the broader community, including those with school aged children is: be aware of your surroundings, but dont be anxious.

A student from Kilbreda College in Mentone reported being followed by two people on Thursday. Credit: Rebecca Hallas I want the community to know that we are there with them. We are responsive to this and that we take action. You will have seen the increased visible patrols. Parents with children enrolled in several schools in the south-east of Melbourne were being advised by school administrators to take precautions around school pick-up and drop-off, after multiple reports of students being targeted for goods, including phones, headphones and laptops. Loading Premier Daniel Andrews talked down the need for extra police on the streets in response to the attacks. Andrews said he was confident Victoria Police had the resources they needed to investigate violent incidences, including the incredibly distressing events involving Glen Eira students.

Andrews said he expected school communities would be doing what was required this week to keep students safe. That will be different from school to school, but again, theyll be working with Victoria Police and theyll be taking Victoria Police advice, he said. This was a terrible, terrible incident, and for the others in that group, this would be an incredibly distressing thing. After the Monday abduction, two additional students from Glen Eira College reported violent incidences to police. Minutes before the abduction, four teenagers were robbed at knifepoint at nearby Kambrook Road. Police are investigating whether the incidents were linked. Xavier College directors wrote to parents advising them students had been robbed at Glenferrie Oval last Friday. Elwood College, just west of Glen Huntly, said a woman had recently tried to rob a student of her phone. Last month, private schools Sacre Coeur and Scotch College warned that students had been attacked and robbed at Chadstone shopping centre in Malvern East and held at knifepoint on Glenferrie Road in Hawthorn.

Administrators of schools in Melbournes south-east have been quick to respond to the spate of violence, principals issuing letters warning students not to walk to and from school alone. In a letter to parents seen by The Age, Salesian Colleges Ashmore told parents the school had asked police to attend the campus this term to provide further advice to students regarding personal safety. I encourage parents and guardians to have an open conversation with your son

regarding public safety, catching public transport, and walking to and from school, he said. Our boys need to be aware of their surroundings and be alert and seek help if they feel unsafe.

Youth worker Les Twentyman said there was a lack of investment to help young people who had disconnected from society and that there needed to be more funding for youth workers in schools. Failure to act will see that things will only get worse and the solution to this rise in violence is positive intervention at the earliest point of disconnection or the first signs of anti-social behaviour, he said. Australian Principals Federation president Tina King said schools did all they could to prepare students from a safety perspective, including via newsletters, as do psychologists, counsellors, guidance officers and police. Unfortunately its a sad indictment of where we are, she said. Personal safety, particularly students personal safety is at risk. They are targets, and the law has to deal with the perpetrators and the offenders.
Edgewater was built in the 1980s by showbiz entrepreneur Michael Edgley, and redesigned as a duplex in 1985 after it sold for $5 million to Katies co-founders Brender and the late Sam Moss. Each family lived in a separate half of the four-storey property. John Changjin Li pictured at Lake Macquarie. Li exchanged to buy it on protracted settlement terms for $95 million through Sothebys Michael Pallier in September 2020 just weeks before he and Yang married. Multiple sources linked to the deal confirmed settlement on the first half of the trophy home deal this week, and records have been lodged with Land Registry Services. In Yangs account of the purchase, she said Li described it as the best property in Sydney, we only buy the best. But she said she only found out Li had gone through with the purchase after she read about it in this masthead. When complete, the $95 million deal will be the third-most expensive house sale in Australia, as the Sydney house price record is $130 million.

At the time, Edgewater was one of a slew of property investments by Lis corporate interests, of which Yangs affidavit claims Li told her: I want you to be the shareholder in those companies. In the end this money will be for you and our children. I want you to give me three babies. Loading Yang, then aged about 56, added: We had already discussed having children via IVF and using a surrogate mother in the USA. Li, 60, denied that conversation. The couples marriage fell apart in June and July of last year. At this time I also found out John had moved into the Point Piper property, and lived there with Changren Cheng, his ex-wife, Yang stated in her affidavit. The argument prompted her to move to her Zetland apartment, and the couple have not lived together since.

Cheng, who divorced Li in 2015, offers a slightly different perspective on events at that time in an affidavit submitted to the court earlier this year when she sought, and won, a temporary injunction on the resale of Edgewater when Yang was in control of the purchasing company. Cheng, aged 50, said she lent Li the money to buy Edgewater as an investment because as a condition of her business visa she needed to invest in Australia. Cheng states she was told by Li he would be the sole director of the company, but that Yang would be an equal shareholder because, as he was not an Australian citizen a person who was an Australian citizen needed to be a shareholder in the company. And [Li] thought Ms Yang could be a joint shareholder with him because she was his business partner, an Australian citizen and a friend of the family. What Cheng didnt know is Li and Yang were married. It was a detail she didnt discover until early this year when liquidators were appointed to a slew of other property investment companies, also financially backed by Cheng.

Loading I have known Ms Yang for close to 10 years, Cheng said in her affidavit. During the time Mr Li and I resided in Shanghai, China, we would often meet with Ms Yang when she came to Shanghai  and we would usually invite Ms Yang over to our residence and share a meal. Despite Cheng not knowing about Lis marital status, the former couple maintained a close relationship. From time to time my daughter and I would visit Mr Li and stay overnight at Mr Lis home. When my daughter and I stayed with Mr Li, Mr Li and I slept in separate bedrooms, Chengs affidavit states. Notwithstanding our divorce, Mr Li and I have an amicable relationship and a common desire to support our daughter and ensure our separation has a minimal impact on her wellbeing. The former couple had also previously shared the Vaucluse property that sold on Monday. It had been purchased by Cheng in 2010 for $6 million, nine years after she moved to Australia then on a student guardian visa to look after her and Lis daughter, she stated.
The art and fashion circles of 1980s Melbourne would have been very familiar with the erotic glamour of international photographer Helmut Newton. The much imitated, high-end aesthetic of his often monochrome work featuring glamazon muses such as Grace Jones and Claudia Schiffer which appeared on the pages of fashion magazines informed many sartorial and creative choices of the citys stylish youth. But few would have known of his connection to their home.

Fashion forward: Hotel Indigo.

Jewish German Newton arrived in the Victorian capital as a refugee escaping the Nazis in 1940, working as a photographer here before moving to Europe in the 1960s where his star ascended. He died in a 2004 car accident in Los Angeles at the age of 83.

An exhibition at the Jewish Museum of Australia in St Kilda early this year shone remarkable light on his life in Melbourne.

Now a new hotel is a permanent Australian celebration of both Newtons local connection and his overall illustrious (and often controversial) legacy. Inhabiting the building that was the Holiday Inn, Hotel Indigo Melbourne on Flinders is on the corner of Spencer Street and Flinders Lane, home of the citys long-gone Jewish rag trade and not far from the studio in which Newton worked.
Despite indications she would be transferred to house arrest in the capital Naypyidaw last month when six years were shaved off her 33-year jail term, she has remained in solitary confinement in prison. Suu Kyis former economics adviser Sean Turnell, who was imprisoned for 21 months following the military takeover, also expressed concern for her wellbeing. I think I was probably the last person who now is outside to have seen her a little bit less than year ago, the Australian academic said on Thursday. At that point, she was in extraordinarily good spirits, very strong and all that. But, of course physically, she was painfully thin. Obviously, Id worked with her over the last few years. Before [being jailed] she was just elegantly slim, now shes painfully thin. I can only imagine in the year since I saw her, its only more so. The food in the prison is diabolical and unless you get some support from outside youre going to lose weight. Turnell said the conditions in which Suu Kyi was being held were really pretty awful.

The last time I saw her she was in what could be described as a small cabin in the middle of the prison which was about 100 metres away from me. It was incredibly basic ... [it] certainly had no comforts in it at all, he said. It was fully under guard, walled off from the rest of us. I saw it being built. Turnell, who was eventually released last November, was afforded medical care from beyond the prison at the insistence of the Australian embassy in Myanmar but Burmese political prisoners are not in the same position. The whole time I was there, medical care was routinely denied to prisoners, he said. One of my colleagues broke his leg and the [prison] doctor wouldnt come because hed run out of forms to report the incident on, he said. The guy only got medical attention because one of my fellow prisoners was a real doctor who basically shamed this prison doctor into actually helping the guy. Hed broken the leg so badly falling down a drainage ditch that his leg was at right angles below the knee.

Suu Kyis legal team has been unable to see her regularly. She denies the charges, including sedition, election fraud, violation of coronavirus rules and illegal importation of walkie-talkies, which are widely viewed as trumped-up for the purposes of sidelining her from politics. She was convicted of 19 offences and is appealing the 14 that remain in place after five were removed via a pardon in August. Dr Tun-Aung Shwe, the Australian representative for Myanmars shadow National Unity Government, which includes officials from Suu Kyis toppled administration that are now in hiding or in exile, said the alleged blocking of medical care for her was straight out of the juntas playbook. Loading He believes the senior generals running the country want Suu Kyis National League for Democracy party to participate in an election they have designs on holding in a bid to give legitimacy to a poll tipped by resistance and rights groups, as well as analysts, to be a sham. The NLD, which enjoyed landslide victories in Myanmars 2015 and 2020 elections, was dissolved along with 39 other parties in March after they refused to register under a new military-imposed electoral law. This is a tool they use to repress people in Myanmar, Shwe said. I had a similar experience in my family. My father [Tin Shwe] was one of the founding members of the National League for Democracy. He was arrested in 1990 like other opposition leaders. He passed away in 1997, seven years after he was sentenced.
Singapore: Technology companies and financial institutions are being urged to take a tougher stand against child exploitation after an alarming new report found 500,000 children in the Philippines were trafficked in a single year to produce livestreams and other sexually abusive content, with Australian offenders a key driver of demand.

A landmark two-year study by the International Justice Mission and the University of Nottingham Rights Lab lays bare the magnitude of online child abuse for profit in the South-East Asian archipelago.

One of the victims rescued in a record-breaking operation by the Philippine National Police in June that was triggered by intelligence obtained by Australian authorities. Credit: Philippine National Police

It estimates that one in 100 children in the Philippines were victims in 2022 alone, while almost 250,000 adults in the country trafficked children to record new material.

Australia has been identified as the third-highest contributor to payments for such content behind the United States and the United Kingdom, according to the Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council, a government agency in Manila.
By Koga Hirouchi, KYODO NEWS - Sep 7, 2023 - 14:57 | Feature, Japan, All

A project launched in Japan in 2017 by a cancer patient to help dispel the image of those suffering from the disease as incurable victims has been gaining momentum internationally, with beauticians, advertisement professionals and other volunteers getting involved to help change perceptions.

As part of the "Lavender Ring" project, nine cancer patients in late June took part in a "Makeup & Photos with Smiles" event held at the Aichi Cancer Center in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.

One of them was Miho, 21, a third-year university student in Aichi who received a makeup tutorial from a staff member from Shiseido Co., the biggest Japanese cosmetics maker.

Miho, who asked not to be identified by her real name, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in her first year of high school. Despite her treatment having gone smoothly following surgery, she lost her hair and a lot of weight due to her medication.

Donning a wig, Miho carried on attending classes in school but gradually began keeping her distance from others, as she did not want to be labeled as a cancer patient.

In May, however, she applied to take part in the event. "I wanted to change myself before starting my job search," she said.

During a post-makeup photo session set up to resemble a magazine shoot, Miho could not hold back her smile. "You are beautiful like a model," a staff member told her. She wrote "Value myself" on her printed photo as a personal manifesto.

"When I dared to stand in front of a camera, I was able to embrace my illness as a part of my character and strength," Miho said.

Kazuhito Yamamoto, head of the ACC, said, "Cancer patients need opportunities to smile."

It has recently been estimated that 60 percent or more of cancer patients live for five years post-diagnosis.

The figure represents a benchmark because some in the medical community consider surviving five years or more after a cancer diagnosis an indicator that the disease has been cured. Yet among the public in many countries, the perception that cancer patients are all sufferers of a "fatal disease" remains commonplace.

The Lavender Ring project was launched by Yasuaki Misonou, a lung cancer patient. At the time, Misonou was a 40-year-old employee of Dentsu Inc., Japan's largest advertising company, and organized the project in cooperation with his boss Hiroyuki Tsukimura, 55. The color lavender is considered a support symbol for those with the disease.

Receiving support from Shiseido and Cancer Net Japan, a nonprofit organization, Misonou and Tsukimura began taking pictures of smiling cancer patients in a bid to show them being happy and living their lives to the fullest.

The first event, held in Tokyo in the summer of 2017, proved highly successful. Misonou and Tsukimura then started running talk sessions about cancer, and also began publishing photos of smiling cancer patients to diversify the project.

Sadly, Misonou died at age 43 in April 2021. Tsukimura, who has since been leading the project, said, "We pledged to continue at any cost after the first event."

The project has also expanded overseas. In 2022, a Makeup & Photos with Smiles event was held in China, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand, where coronavirus pandemic restrictions have been eased.

In Japan, events have been held in Nagoya, Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka, and there are plans to also hold one in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, on Sept. 23. "We hope to hold it in all 47 prefectures by 2030," Tsukimura said.

Related coverage:

FEATURE: Cancer-suffering doctor helping terminal patients die with dignity

FEATURE: Chemical sensitivity sufferers taking housing needs into own hands
KYODO NEWS - Sep 7, 2023 - 20:43 | All, Japan

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is likely to retain his Liberal Democratic Party's two heavyweights, Toshimitsu Motegi and Taro Aso, at their current posts in a leadership reshuffle expected next week, party sources said Thursday.

Motegi is likely to remain secretary general and Aso vice president of the ruling party as both are leaders of major intraparty groups, and Kishida is aiming to win re-election in the LDP's presidential election next year with their support, the sources said.

Kishida, who also plans to reshuffle the Cabinet as early as Wednesday, will decide after returning from a trip to India, where he is set to attend a Group of 20 summit this weekend, according to the sources.

Kishida may also give LDP policy chief Koichi Hagiuda and industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura key positions within the Cabinet or the party, the sources said.

The reshuffles come as Kishida's administration grapples with waning popularity, and it appears they aim to refresh its image.

Motegi, who heads the third-largest group within the LDP, is widely seen as one of the potential challengers to Kishida in the upcoming party presidential race. However, just this week, at a press conference, he stated that his current role as the party's secretary general requires him to support the administration.

Since assuming his post in 2021, Kishida, who himself leads the LDP's fourth-largest faction, has managed the power balance within the party.

Nishimura and Hagiuda belong to the largest intraparty group once led by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot in 2022. Meanwhile, Aso, another former prime minister, heads the second-biggest group.

Kishida may postpone the reshuffles to late September, the sources also said, in light of his tight schedule. He is scheduled to visit New York later this month to attend the U.N. General Assembly.

Related coverage:

Japan lawmaker arrested in suspected clean energy bribery

Japan ruling parties end spat over election cooperation in Tokyo

Japan's opposition party incumbent head Tamaki re-elected
The Wyoming State Records Committee will meet at 2 p.m., Monday, September 18, via Google Meet.

Meeting ID: meet.google.com/dhp-gidn-ksp

Those wishing to listen in can do so by calling: (US) +1 567-231-5199 PIN: 128 575 217#

The Wyoming State Records Committee reviews, and considers for approval, retention schedules of public records. The State Records Committee is the final authority in determining whether state, county and local government records are retained permanently or disposed of after a designated period. Committee members include representatives from the State Archives, Attorney Generals Office, and the Department of Audit.

The meeting agenda includes retention requests for State and local agencies, and accession and deaccession requests involving a variety of archival materials.

If you require special assistance, please contact the Wyoming State Archives at 307-777-7826.

Monday, September 18, 2023 @ 2:00

1. Convene and Roll Call

2. Approval of State Records Committee Meeting minutes:

a. August 28, 2023

3. Old business:

a. None

4. New/Revised AR-1s for approval

a. Department of Corrections, Request to Create a Restoration of Rights Retention

Schedule

i. Restoration of Rights, PSS-CIM-34, CP12, Archival Review: No

5. Obsolete AR-1s

a. None

6. Request for Approval to Destroy Permanent Records that have been scanned/microfilmed:

a. Public Service Commission, Docket Files - Utilities, Date Range (Date Docket Closed)

8/27/2004 - 1/17/2005

i. MA29577 Box 4, 8

7. Deaccession Requests:

a. WSA Book Collection, Selected books from the Wyoming State Archives reference

collection

8. Other New Business:

a. None

9. Date for next SRC meeting

10. Adjournment
By Keita Nakamura, KYODO NEWS - Sep 7, 2023 - 22:57 | World, All, Japan

Regional summits this week in Indonesia became a missed opportunity for Japanese and Chinese leaders to sit down for full-fledged bilateral talks, with the two sides instead ending up exposing their deep rift over Japan's release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

While Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang had a brief exchange on Wednesday, the water issue may have a lasting impact on the relations between the two Asian powers, presenting challenges to Tokyo's efforts to stabilize relations already strained by Beijing's growing military assertiveness.

Benoit Hardy-Chartrand, an adjunct professor at Temple University Japan Campus, called the absence of an official Kishida-Li meeting a "setback, given both sides' apparent desire to arrange it," prior to the water release.

The series of summits related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta marked the first multilateral event attended by both Japanese and Chinese leaders since the controversial wastewater release from the Fukushima Daiichi plant into the Pacific Ocean commenced on Aug. 24.

According to diplomatic sources, Japan had explored the possibility of an official bilateral meeting between the two until the last minute, secretly dispatching a senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official to China for arrangements. But Beijing's reaction had been negative.

Hardy-Chartrand, who specializes in East Asian geopolitics and security, warned of the "negative consequences on stability" of Japan-China ties stemming from a "diplomatic winter," recalling "a difficult and unstable period" when Junichiro Koizumi was Japan's prime minister for about five years until 2006.

Koizumi angered China through his repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, which many in Asia see as a symbol of Japanese past militarism, leading Beijing to eventually boycott any top-level talks until he was succeeded by Shinzo Abe. Mutual visits between the leaders also did not take place for most of Koizumi's term.

That time serves "as a vivid illustration of the risks of failing to maintain dialogue," Hardy-Chartrand said, noting that such a situation could "make it harder to resolve crises as they arise."

The significance of dialogue between the world's second- and third-largest economies is only increasing as the security environment surrounding Japan is getting more severe.

Repeated intrusions by Chinese ships into Japanese waters around the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims, continue in the East China Sea. Additionally, China's joint military activities with Russia near Japan are increasing in frequency as Beijing and Moscow draw closer amid Russia's war in Ukraine.

Japan has also become more vocal in its concerns over China's growing pressure on Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island that Beijing regards as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary.

As this year marks the 45th anniversary of the signing and enactment of the Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Kishida is aiming for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in November. As part of the preparations, a visit to China by the head of Komeito, the junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, in August had been planned, as well as talks with Li on the fringes of the summits in Indonesia.

Kishida last met with Xi in November in Bangkok on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum gathering, which was the two countries' first summit in three years.

But Kishida's plans to improve ties have apparently hit a snag as a spat over the Fukushima water release quickly escalated, with China introducing a blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports and anti-Japan sentiment growing among the Chinese public. Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi postponed his planned visit to China.

During a meeting involving ASEAN, Japan, China and South Korea on Wednesday, Kishida criticized Beijing's comprehensive seafood ban as "conspicuous," while Li insisted that the disposal of "nuclear-contaminated water" has created concerns about the marine environment and people's health.

The water issue was also a topic of discussion during brief exchanges between Kishida and Li that took place ahead of the "ASEAN Plus Three" summit, with the Japanese prime minister demanding China scrap the import ban, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

A Japanese government official said earlier that a full-fledged summit would be difficult to realize unless China feels "positive things" can be discussed.

Madoka Fukuda, a Hosei University professor with expertise in international politics in East Asia and Chinese diplomacy, was pessimistic about a swift removal of China's import restrictions.

"The import ban will not be easily lifted, given that it is an extension of the Chinese government's criticisms and protests against the water release," she said.

The bilateral confrontation could drag on for an extended period, possibly making it hard for the two countries to hold high-level meetings, the professor also said.

The possibility of Tokyo filing a complaint to the World Trade Organization to counter Beijing's suspension of seafood imports could further complicate the dispute.

Some conservative members of the LDP, led by Kishida as its president, have called for the tough action, but another Japanese government official has cautioned that such a move might provide China with an "excuse" to prolong the dispute.

Meanwhile, Tsuyoshi Kawase, a professor of international economic law at Sophia University, said China may be looking for the right timing to "back down after having held up its fists."

Beijing might be aware that a protracted dispute would risk bringing "unfavorable outcomes," such as by prompting Japanese companies to shy away from doing business with the neighboring economic powerhouse, he said.

Related coverage:

Japan's Kishida urges China premier to end import ban over Fukushima water

Japan, China spar over import ban after Fukushima water release

China rejects Japan's suggestion of joining Fukushima water framework
KYODO NEWS - Sep 7, 2023 - 10:30 | All, World

The United States on Wednesday unveiled additional aid to Ukraine worth more than $1 billion, including supply of depleted-uranium ammunition, with its top diplomat assuring President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Washington's continued support during a visit to Kyiv.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the aid at a press conference following meetings with Zelenskyy and other officials the same day during his fourth visit to the conflict-torn country since the Russian invasion began in February last year.

"We are determined in the United States to continue to walk side by side with you," Blinken told Zelenskyy during an open part of their meeting, according to the U.S. State Department.

Blinken also met with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and visited a graveyard for those who have died in the conflict against Russia.

Ammunition made with depleted uranium, which is extremely dense, offers greater penetration power than other anti-tank weapons, though there are concerns that particles of the material could affect human health and the environment.

The department also said Blinken met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on his way to Ukraine the same day and discussed issues such as Copenhagen's decision to provide its U.S.-produced F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

Related coverage:

U.S. warns North Korea not to supply weapons to Russia for Ukraine war

North Korea's Kim to meet Putin in Russia to talk weapons supply: NYT
BHARAT





THE name Bharat is not new to the nation and its history and its tradition and its culture. It is being used by countless lakhs of people even in everyday communications. So, when President Mrs. Droupadi Murmu sent invitations for a G-20 banquet, she did so as President of Bharat -- which is perfectly in tune with the history, tradition, culture as well as the Constitution of India whose Article 1 states India that is Bharat .... The political controversy, however, was bound to come up menacingly, which it really has done. Those who oppose the name, obviously, are doing so just out of spite and frustration. No matter that, an overwhelming majority of common people will not just appreciate but welcome the nomenclature since it gels well with their mindset -- unmindful unnecessary controversy. Bharat has been the nations name since time immemorial, of course, as all know. That western people started calling it India referring to the physical location of the Indus river and the civilisation that evolved in its proximity for thousands of years, is also common knowledge. Some other foreigners, particularly from the Middle Eastern geographies, started calling it Hindustan. Yet, over and above all that, Bharat has always been the name that even ancient texts have approved of -- since the name was given by the sages with a clear sense of purpose and with a clear idea to describe the place where knowledge was worshipped like nowhere else in the world.

In that comprehension, knowledge was often likened to light -- eternal light! That thought was woven in the name Bha (light) Rat (engaged). The land was considered to have been inhabited by people who were engaged in pursuit of eternal light -- true knowledge, so to say. Hence Bharat. The name, thus, has significance from multiple angles. The people who inhabited this land between the mountains and the seas were considered to be of certain characteristics of fine value and virtue and worth. For thousands of years, the nation that was known as Bharat all over the world was the Considered, a term used habitually now to describe the status the country now aims at. There is little doubt that that status and stage are not too far to be achieved. In the next some decades, India -- that is Bharat -- will assume the global leadership role that it richly deserves. True, India is being used by one and all -- in the country and elsewhere. But the use of Bharat should not invite uncalled for criticism, though. For, the name has a constitutional sanctions besides historical and cultural evidence and support. So, the world will have no issues with Bharat if that is the name the country would love to be called in future.

True, India may linger in public speech and communication as well as memory for long. Yet, Bharat will get accepted by the people in the country and outside without any problem. For, by no stretch of imagination and from any angle can that name be objected to by anybody. The Hitavada has often promoted the thought that the name Bharat indicates in fullness -- beyond politics of any sort. It has run articles on the issue from time to time, and also has stayed away from unnecessary controversies in that regard. As a newspaper whose early Editors spent their lifetimes fighting for nationalism, The Hitavada has always supported what has now come to be called Indic thought, referring to the rich cultural and historical treasure of the nation. In line with that, The Hitavada welcomes the nomenclature Bharat -- though it would not mind mentioning India if somebody wishes to continue using the nomenclature India. We expect a similar openness to be the substratum on which to stand for all people of India that is Bharat.
Attack on Jan Ashirwad Yatra: CM says Cong shocked to see BJP getting public support





INDORE,

A day after the BJPs Jan Ashirwad Yatra was attacked in Neemuch district, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan pointed fingers at the Congress and said it will not succeed with such tactics. State Home Minister Narottam Mishra said seven persons have been booked in connection with incident and claimed the attackers were associated with the opposition Congress. The Congress was shocked to see the public support the BJP was getting during the Jan Ashirwad Yatra, being taken out ahead of the forthcoming state assembly polls, CM Chouhan told reporters at Indore's Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport on Wednesday. Kamal Nath was already talking about stones and his statement raises many doubts, he said, without elaborating on Nath's alleged comments. Chouhan said instructions have been given to investigate the stone-pelting on the Jan Ashirwad Yatra on Tuesday night and action will be taken against those behind the incident.

...But I just want to tell the Congress that it will not succeed with such tactics. Whatever they (Congress leaders) do, the BJP will win the upcoming assembly elections with an overwhelming majority, Chouhan said. He said that the politics in the state has always been dignified and the Congress should not resort to low-level tactics. On the Bharat versus India controversy over the countrys name, Chouhan said the countrys name is already Bharat and it will always remain Bharat. Talking to reporters in Rewa, Home Minister Mishra claimed state Congress chief Kamal Nath had said that stone-pelting like in Manipur could happen in MP too. Also, Congress Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh had given the example of Nuh (Haryana) violence, saying it may repeat in MP, Mishra said. They were inciting people. An FIR has been registered in the Neemuch stone-pelting (incident) against seven persons, including Khema Gurjar, who are associated with the Congress. The Congress will resort to such tactics out of its frustration, Mishra claimed.

The minister further said that the Congress has done this earlier too, but people of the state should understand. The Jan Ashirwad Yatra (March for Peoples Blessings) from Neemuch was launched by Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Monday. Alarmed by the massive public support for the yatra ahead of the assembly polls, Congress supporters attacked the march in Neemuch district and vandalised vehicles, state BJP president V D Sharma alleged on Tuesday night. I strongly criticise this act of the Congress and we will not spare these goons. Strict legal action will be taken against them, he said. Sharma alleged vandals hid behind trees and attacked the yatra and broke the vehicles which were part of the convoy in a systematic manner. The main vehicle (rath) of the yatra along with other vehicles which were part of the convoy were attacked, claimed the BJP leader. The opposition Congress has side-stepped the BJPs allegations and said the attack reflected people's anger against the ruling party and the government headed by CM Chouhan. State Congress Media Department chairman K K Mishra on Tuesday said angry people have started giving their blessings to the Jan Ashirwad Yatra. VD Sharma is venting out his personal frustration on the Congress. Such reaction from members of the public is coming due to the BJP's own sin. The CM recently distributed shoes to people, who are now returning them with love, Mishra quipped. The BJP has launched the mass outreach programme from five different locations in the state to connect with voters ahead of the year-end assembly polls.
Cgarh seeks 3 tigers from Madhya Pradesh





By Ankita Garg

Though neighbouring Chhattisgarh wrote to the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department to release two tigresses and one tiger for Achanakmar Tiger Reserve (ATR) and Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary, but it has not mentioned the fulfilment of safety conditions. The proposal to translocate three big cats to Chhattisgarh is being discussed for past two years. Chief Wildlife Warden of Chhattisgarh Forest Department wrote to the MP Forest Department that National Conservation Authority (NTCA) has approved the translocation of two females and one male. On December 19, 2022, Chhattisgarh State Wildlife Board meeting held under chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel approved to bring two females and one male tiger from Madhya Pradesh.

The committee formed by MP Government on this proposal recommended for approval of proposed translocation of two females and one male on certain conditions. Committee asked Chhattisgarh to place a protection plan, an in-situ enclosure to be constructed for conservation breeding of prey species. On June 20, Chhattisgarh Government wrote to the MP seeking two female and one male tiger but it has not mentioned the preparation of two condition put by the committee for safety of wildlife. MP Forest Department has already identified 2 tigers to be released from Kanha Tiger Reserve.

The proposal of translocation was submitted by Global Tiger Forum (GTF), an inter-governmental international body

working exclusively for conservation of tigers. The tiger augmentation plan aim to release Madhya Pradeshs tiger in ATR in Mungeli district of Chhattisgarh which shares a border with Kanha Tiger Reserve of MP. Concerned team has developed water sources, grassland and also increase the population of herbivore which serve as a prey base in tiger reserves. According to forest official, Achanakmar was recognised as a tiger reserve in the year 2009 with tiger population around 27. Census 2010 reported population of tiger in ATR as 18, marginal drop of 9 tigers. During year 2011, tiger count in ATR was plunged to 12 while Census 2022 reported tigers in ATR are only 5. Concerned over the declining population of tigers in ATR, in-principle consent was given to reintroduce big cats in Barnawapara Sanctuary where they were last sighted in 2010.
Four including2 minors killedas pickup plunges into river







Staff Reporter

Durg,

In a tragic incident, four persons including two minor girls were killed after the pickup they were travelling accidentally fell into Sheonath River from the British era river over-bridge at Pulgaon. The incident occurred at 1 am on Wednesday while the victims were returning to Durg after having food in a roadside Dhaba situated on the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile search for one more minor missing girl who too was present in the vehicle was on till the last reports came in. Meanwhile, the police have pulled out the vehicle with the help of a crane and sent the bodies to mortuary for post-mortem examination. Police have also stopped vehicular movement on the old over bridge in the aftermath of the incident.

The deceased have been identified as Lalit Kumar Sahu (40), a resident of Borsi, Durg; Tameshwari Deshmukh (33), wife of Girish and her two children Yash Lakshmi (13) and Kumud (7), all residents of village Sakrod, Gunderdehi in Balod district. Another minor Garima (11) who was reportedly present in the vehicle was missing and search for her was on. Police informed that at about 1 am on Wednesday, the family together had dinner at KGN Dhaba and they were coming to Durg in the Bolero Pickup truck bearing registration number CG-07 CN-0860. While the vehicle was passing through the old over bridge at Pulgaon, it accidentally fell into the river. It is presumed that the driver might have lost control over the vehicle resulting into the tragic accident.

The locals had alerted the police and the State Disaster Response Force personnel were engaged in the rescue and search operation since early morning hours. The vehicle was finally pulled out from the river with the help of a crane and four bodies were recovered. Search for the missing girl Garima was still in progress. This was second such incident in Pulgaon as some time ago, a car had similarly fell into the river from the old over bridge resulting into a casualty. When contacted, City Superintendent of Police (Durg), Mani Shankar Chandra said that the vehicle and bodies were taken out while search operation for one minor girl missing was in progress. He said that all of them were returning to Durg after having dinner in a Dhaba.
India right country at right time to hold G20 presidency: UK PM Sunak





By Manash Pratim Bhuyan

NEW DELHI

INDIAS diversity and its extraordinary successes means it is the right country at the right time to hold the G20 presidency, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday, as he hailed Narendra Modis leadership over the last year, noting that Indias presidency of the bloc came when the world is facing innumerable challenges. In an exclusive interview to PTI just days ahead of the G20 summit here on September 9-10, Sunak, the first Indian-origin Prime Minister of Britain, said the relationship between the UK and India will define the future of the two countries, even more than it is defining the present.

This countrys scale, diversity and its extraordinary successes means India is the right country at the right time to hold the G20 Presidency. I pay tribute to Prime Minister Modis leadership over the last year and its wonderful to see India showing such global leadership, he said. The Prime Ministers responses to PTIs questions were sent by email. We will also work closely with India through their Presidency of the G20 to address the biggest challenges the world is facing, from stabilising the global economy to dealing with climate change, Sunak said. The British Prime Minister also referred to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and asserted that if Russian President Vladimir Putin is allowed to invade a sovereign neighbour with impunity, then it will have terrible consequences for the entire world.

As two major world democracies, our people define and drive us. That is why the UK is focused on supporting Ukraine to defend itself and defeat this illegal and unprovoked Russian invasion, he said. As a free and democratic country, Ukraine has the right to determine its own future. If Putin is allowed to invade a sovereign neighbour with impunity it will have terrible consequences for the entire world, he said. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians, but it is Putin who has the power to end this war tomorrow by withdrawing his troops, Sunak added.
Multi-level parking plaza at Gokulpeth illegal: NIT





Staff Reporter

Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) has slammed Nagpur Smart and Sustainable City Development Corporation Limited (NSSCDCL) for alleged encroachment on its land at Gokulpeth market in the name of a multi-level parking. Manoj Kumar Suryawanshi, Chairman, NIT, on Wednesday, told the newspersons during a media interaction at his office that NIT would soon issue a notice to NSSCDCL directing it to stop the construction at the site. He claimed that NSSCDCL did not seek NITs consent for the multi-level parking in Gokulpeth. Suryawanshi clarified NITs stand when he was asked about the status of its multi-storeyed business complex planned at Gokulpeth site in collaboration with Nagpur Municipal Corporation. The NIT Chairman claimed that, till now, NIT was not aware about the ongoing construction of multi-level parking at Gokulpeth market on its land.

The statement of NIT boss flies in the face of facts, as the Zonal Office of Executive Engineer, West Region, of the agency is housed in the building at Gokulpeth itself. The multi-level parking site is located behind the NITs office yet the Chairman claimed to be not aware of the NSSCDCLs plan is quite surprising. It exposes slack surveillance on part of the agency or deliberate overlooking of the project. The multi-level parking plaza site is in the prime locality of the city and NIT officials were not aware about its construction. This points the needle of suspicion at them. The Chairman informed the media that he has signed on the notice to be served on NSSCDCL directing the latter to immediately stop the ongoing construction and vacate the site. However, no time frame has been provided for removing the already erected iron pillars at the site, he added.
KYODO NEWS - Sep 7, 2023 - 11:02 | All, Japan

Toyota Motor Corp. unveiled Wednesday a sport utility vehicle type of its most luxurious brand, Century, as part of efforts to expand its line-up of premium cars to cater to the demand from wealthy customers.

The new model of the chauffeur-driven vehicle, only offered as a plug-in hybrid car, is priced from 25 million yen ($169,623) onwards, about 5 million yen higher than the existing sedan model, making it the most expensive domestically mass-produced car at Toyota.

The Century sedans have been used by many VIPs in Japan, such as royal families, top politicians and corporate executives.

The new model has fully reclining rear seats, an improved audio system and rear doors that open 75 degrees to ensure ease of entry and exit, according to Toyota.

The automaker started to take orders on Wednesday and plans to deliver vehicles to customers by the end of the year. The company aims to sell 30 units per month, it said.

The Century was launched in 1967 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sakichi Toyoda, the Toyota group's founder. The company has sold about 42,000 units of the brand since.

The new model, to be produced at its Tahara Plant in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, will be sold in Japan and overseas, the company said.

Its overseas rivals, such as British carmakers Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and Bentley, have also sold luxury SUVs.

Related coverage:

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Subaru to produce EVs in U.S. from 2027 to accelerate shift

Toyota profit doubles to record high as production recovers
Poll panel ready to work as per legal provisions: CEC on One Nation, One Poll





BHOPAL,

The Election Commission of India is ready to act as per constitutional provisions and the Representative of the People (RP) Act, said Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday in the context of one nation, one election. Kumar and other top ECI officials were on a visit to Bhopal to hold meetings with political parties and the administration and enforcement agencies over election preparedness in BJP-governed Madhya Pradesh, where polls are due by November. The final voters list will be published on October 5, he said. The State has nearly 5.5 crore voters, he said. Responding to a question on the concept of one nation, one election, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) said that the poll commission is required to deliver elections before the time as per constitutional provisions and the RP Act. This time, according to legal provisions, is five years from the date of the first sitting of Parliament after a new government is formed. The ECI can announce the general elections six months before the end of this time, Kumar said. The norms are similar for assembly elections. The ECI is mandated and ready to deliver elections as per legal provisions, he said. The Centre last week formed a high-level committee under former president Ram Nath Kovind to explore the feasibility of holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha, state assemblies and local bodies, bringing one nation, one election, under the spotlight.

To a question about e-voting, CEC said it will take time as the process is vulnerable to hacking and also has trust issues. Technology is not an issue and the current process is not connected to a network but discussion on this (e-voting) is going on and it will take time to evolve, he said. The final voters' list for MP polls will be published on October 5, said Kumar and urged new eligible voters to get enrolled and apply for correction if they find any discrepancies in their data. Asked about the possibility of misuse of online transactions in the run-up to polls, the CEC said financial institutions are told to keep a watch on suspicious and bulk transactions and alert authorities concerned. Madhya Pradesh has 5.52 crore voters, including 2.85 crore male and 2.67 female electors. The state also has 1,336 transgender persons, 4.85 lakh people with disabilities, 7.12 lakh voters aged above 80 years, 6,180 people who are more than 100 years old, 18.86 lakh new voters and 75,426 service voters. Kumar said ECI is putting in place a system to enable senior citizens and persons with disabilities to vote from their homes in the upcoming polls if they apply for the same. Such voters can request through an online form to vote from home, he said.
RMC Mayor discusses various issues in review meet





Staff Reporter

RAIPUR,

Raipur Municipal Corporation Mayor Aijaz Dhebar on Wednesday held a meeting of all zonal commissioners, executive engineers and smart city officials and gave necessary instructions to the officials. On the occasion, councilors Gyanesh Sharma, Raipur Smart City Limited COO Ujjwal Porwal, Commissioner Shailendra Patle, Vinod Pandey, Superintending Engineer Rajesh Sharma, AGM of Smart City, BR Agrawal were present. During the review meeting, Mayor Aijaz Dhebar directed Raipur Smart City Limited and Chhattisgarh State Electricity Power Company, issued by Raipur Smart City Limited and Chhattisgarh State Electricity Power Company to expedite the projects including the underground cabling work of various routes, including the work related to the pipeline and expressed displeasure over extremely slow speed at the site of the works.

Expressing displeasure about potholes and the inconveniences being caused to the citizens due to this, the concerned officials of Smart City and Electric Power Company have been asked to do on-the-spot inspection of the works of contracted contractors and continuous monitoring. By getting the work done in a quality manner expeditiously, by September 15, instructions were given to get the roads leveled and repairs should be completed on priority. Mayor Aijaz Dhebar informed all the Zone Commissioners and Executive Engineers of the Municipal Corporation to inspect the progress of works progressing in various routes by the contracted contractors of Smart City and Electric Power Company in their respective zone areas so that the work is completed within the time limit from the point of view of public interest through continuous monitoring.

The Mayor and the Chairman of the Public Works Department gave instructions to ensure that asphalting work is done in all the routes between September 15 and 30, 2023. The Mayor and the Chairman of the Public Works Department gave instructions to the concerned officials to take necessary steps to remove the inconvenience caused to the citizens in walking and driving due to the potholes. He reviewed the progress of various route-wise works from the officials and gave instructions to the officials to speed up the work of all the routes and get them completed within the time limit.
Sonia suggests to PM nine issues for spl Parlt session





Delhi Bureau & Agencies

NEW DELHI

CONGRESS leader Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to point out that no agenda was listed for the special Parliament session and to raise nine issues, including violence in Manipur and price rise, for discussion during it. The issues listed by Gandhi include Centre-State relations, rise in cases of communal tension, border transgressions by China and the demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to investigate the transactions of the Adani business group in light of several revelations. I must point out that this special session has been convened without any consultation with other political parties.

None of us have any idea of its agenda. All we have been communicated is that all five days have been allocated for Government business, Gandhi said in her letter. We most certainly want to participate in the Special Session because it will give us an opportunity to raise matters of public concern and importance. I earnestly hope that time will be allocated under the appropriate Rules for a discussion and debate on these issues, she said. According to her party colleague Jairam Ramesh, this is the first time no agenda has been discussed or listed in the business of the House. Seeking time to hold a discussion on the nine issues raised, Gandhi wrote of the continued agony faced by people of Manipur and breakdown of Constitutional machinery and social harmony in the State.

She also brought up the rise in communal tension in different States such as Haryana. Raising the China issue, she listed the continued occupation of Indian territory by China and challenges to our sovereignty on our borders in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. Gandhi also raised the urgent need for a caste census, a demand which the Congress and some other parties have been raising for quite some time. She listed for discussion the issues of damages inflicted on Centre-State relations and the impact of natural disasters caused by extreme floods in some States and drought in others.
Two youths rape teacher in forest





Our Correspondent

JASHPUR,

A teacher was allegedly raped by two youths in forest near Dangri waterfall under Bagicha Police Station limits. After the victim and her family members filed complaint at Pandrapath police out-post, Bagicha police launched a search operation to trace the accused identified as Saddam Khan and Sonu. According to the information received from police sources, Saddam and Sonu were acquainted with the teacher posted in a private school and even they used to talk to her over phone. They convinced the teacher for an outing to Dangri Waterfall. She agreed and they all went to the spot. Taking advantage of the dense forest, both allegedly sexually exploited the teacher and fled the spot. They threatened her of life if incident was disclosed.

After the incident, the victim along with her family lodged a complaint in Pandara Path outpost and case was registered under Sections 294,506,323 and 376 of Indian Penal Code. Bagicha SHO Abhishek Singh said that the incident took place at Dangri Waterfall. Both the accused had brought the victim to visit the waterfall. On the complaint of the victim, a case has been registered. Police are searching for the accused. Meanwhile, Member of Parliament Gomti Sai and Zila Panchayat President Raimuni Bhagat condemned the incident MP said that the Bhupesh government of Chhattisgarh has proved to be a complete failure in protecting the dignity of women. In Jashpur district, which is called the island of peace, there has been a spate of incidents of violence against women, including rape, during the last five years.

Law and order has completely collapsed but the responsible ministers of the Congress government are sitting silent on this matter. The MP has demanded to arrest the accused as soon as possible. Condemning the incident, Zila Panchayat President Raimuni Bhagat said that it is futile to hope for the safety of women in the Congress government. The government whose responsible officers and ministers who remain silent in the inhuman case of rape of disabled girls, have lost their moral right to remain in power. Now, the people of Chhattisgarh will give a reply to this injustice being done to women and to the Congressmen who have become spectators of this lawlessness. She said that accused Saddam Khan has also been the ex-secretary of Youth Congress and in-charge of social media.
You are trying to politicise Parliament functioning: Joshis response to Sonia





NEW DELHI,

PARLIAMENTARY Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday accused Congress leader Sonia Gandhi of trying to politicise the functioning of Parliament and create unnecessary controversy. Joshis response came after Gandhi wrote to PM Modi to point out that no agenda was listed for the upcoming special session of Parliament. She also proposed that nine issues, including violence in Manipur and price rise, be listed for discussion during the session. It is very unfortunate that you are trying to politicise the functioning of Parliament, our temple of democracy, and create unnecessary controversy, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said in his response to Gandhi.

Joshi said the Parliament session has been convened from September 18 after following all established procedures. Political parties are never consulted before calling a Parliament session, he said in his letter to the Congress leader.

Perhaps, you do not pay attention to traditions. Before calling a Parliament session, neither discussions are held with political parties nor issues are ever discussed, Joshi said.

Gandhis not condemning Stalins Sanatan Dharma remark amounts to endorsement: Pralhad Joshi: UNION Minister Pralhad Joshi said Wednesday the Congress party and the Gandhi family must condemn DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalins remarks on the Sanatan Dharma if they really believe in equal respect for all religions as their silence will amount to endorsing the controversial comments. Speaking to reporters, Joshi said Congress leader and Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge also supported Stalins comments. He demanded condemnation from senior Congress leaders including Sonia and Rahul Gandhi for these remarks.
KYODO NEWS - Sep 7, 2023 - 19:46 | All, Japan





A Japanese lower house lawmaker was arrested Thursday on suspicion of receiving massive bribes from a wind power company, prosecutors said, in a corruption case over the development of green energy the government has sought to promote.

The arrest of Masatoshi Akimoto, who has left the ruling Liberal Democratic Party amid the allegations, is set to deal a blow to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet, for which the approval ratings have remained sluggish.

Akimoto allegedly received 61 million yen ($410,000) in return for asking questions and making interventions in the Diet at the request of Japan Wind Development Co., which was bidding for offshore wind power projects in Aomori Prefecture and elsewhere, prosecutors said.

Masayuki Tsukawaki, 64-year-old former president of the Tokyo-based firm, has admitted the funds were a "reward" to Akimoto, investigative sources said, adding investigators will continue to question him without taking him into custody.

Akimoto, considered an advocate for renewable energy, has made requests in parliament, including for the government to refrain from heavily regulating waters off Aomori Prefecture -- something the company favors.

Prosecutors have decided to charge Akimoto with a crime that carries a possible prison term of seven years, two more than normally imposed in bribery cases.

Akimoto is suspected of receiving 30 million yen as loans without interest or collateral around March 2019, while he was requested to ask questions that would benefit the wind power company between February 2019 and February 2022.

He allegedly received another 31 million yen in connection to a racehorse owners' group between October 2021 and June this year.





Established in 1999, Japan Wind Development has developed 293 turbines within and outside Japan with a combined output of over 570 megawatts, according to its website.

A House of Representatives lawmaker of four terms, Akimoto left the LDP and resigned as parliamentary vice foreign minister after the allegations surfaced in August.

The 48-year-old became the first incumbent lawmaker to be arrested in three years after former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai and his wife, upper house lawmaker Anri, were apprehended in June 2020 on suspicion of buying votes in her election.





Known for sharing a vision with Digital Minister Taro Kono to phase out nuclear power, Akimoto served as the director general of a lawmakers' group advocating for sustainable energy within the LDP. He also maintained close ties with former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Akimoto has pushed for legislation setting uniform rules for offshore renewable energy development to promote wind power, which came into force in April 2019.

At a regular news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno declined to comment on Akimoto's case on the basis that the investigation is ongoing.

Asked about its impact on Japan's energy policies, the top government spokesman said, "Relevant ministries and agencies will continue to make efforts to promote renewable energy with transparency."

The scandal involving the former member of the ruling party and the government comes at a time when Kishida's Cabinet has seen its support rates plummet due partly to numerous errors over the "My Number" national identification card system.

Kenta Izumi, the leader of the leading opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, described Akimoto's act as "unforgivable," demanding his immediate resignation as lawmaker. He also questioned Kishida's responsibility in appointing him as parliamentary vice foreign minister.

Related coverage:

Japan lawmaker embroiled in bribery allegation leaves ruling party

Bribery claims lead Japan parliamentary vice foreign minister to quit
Bahri, a global leader in logistics and transportation, has pledged to reduce 50% of its carbon emissions by 2050 as it concluded its participation in the Sustainable Maritime Industry Conference (SMIC) 2023 as a gold sponsor.

Organised by the Transport General Authority (TGA) under the patronage of His Excellency Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, Minister of Transport and Logistics Services of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the three-day conference was held in Jeddah from September 4-6, 2023.

During the conference, Eng Khalid Alhammad, President of Bahri Ship Management, joined a team of eminent leaders within the maritime time industry as a panelist for one of the sessions under the theme  "New Technologies & Alternate Fuels".

He highlighted the significance of research and development into alternative fuels and underlined Bahri's commitment to promoting sustainability within the international maritime industry. Accomplishments on this front include improved fleet fuel consumption rates and the development of interactive, AI-driven technologies that enhance operational efficiency.

Bahri's participation in the Sustainable Maritime Industry Conference exemplified its unwavering commitment to be a frontrunner for the cause of sustainability within the international shipping industry, said a statement. The company has pledged to reduce 50% of its carbon emissions by 2050 by embracing innovative solutions that enhance the energy efficiency of our fleet.

Taking a major step towards reinforcing its cooperation with IMO and TGA, Bahri signed a strategic MoU with the two entities to develop and implement 'Next Wave of Seafarers', an advanced programme for training cadet seafarers, and the first of its kind initiative in the world.

A pilot initiative, it intends to address the shortage of trained seafarers by working with IMO, its member states, and global shipping companies by developing a cooperative framework. Bahri will participate as a project partner in the programme.

The three-day Sustainable Maritime Industry Conference was organized under the theme "Innovating for a Greener Future" with the aim to showcase Saudi Arabias achievements and initiatives in protecting the marine environment and highlighting its significant role in the maritime sector.  TradeArabia News Service
SHANGHAI, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- The 10th Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Ministers of Justice opened Tuesday in Shanghai.

Chen Wenqing, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, attended the opening ceremony and read President Xi Jinping's congratulatory letter to the meeting before delivering a speech.

Chen said Xi's letter showed that China attaches great importance to its exchanges and cooperation with fellow SCO member states in legal and judicial administration, demonstrated China's determination to exercise law-based governance on all fronts, and pointed out the direction for further exchanges and cooperation among the member states.

China will resolutely improve the socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics, help advance the reform of the global governance system, and build a modern socialist country in all respects under the rule of law, Chen said.

Chen Jining, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, also attended the ceremony and made a speech. 
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA  Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of Hold from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on BBVA shares. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in a research note on Friday, May 26th. They issued an equal weight rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a buy rating on the stock.

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Read Our Latest Research Report on BBVA

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Stock Down 2.0 %

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 165.0% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,373,714 shares of the banks stock worth $19,097,000 after buying an additional 4,590,973 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in the first quarter valued at $26,563,000. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 317.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 4,055,509 shares of the banks stock worth $18,331,000 after buying an additional 3,083,261 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 969.3% in the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,763,567 shares of the banks stock worth $12,433,000 after buying an additional 1,598,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 44.7% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,947,777 shares of the banks stock worth $37,999,000 after buying an additional 1,529,476 shares during the last quarter. 2.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BBVA opened at $7.52 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.27, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a fifty-two week low of $4.32 and a fifty-two week high of $8.18. The companys 50-day moving average is $7.78 and its 200 day moving average is $7.38.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (NYSE:BBVA  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $7.83 billion for the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 26.54% and a return on equity of 14.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.30 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

(Get Free Report

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services. It offers current accounts; and demand, savings, overnight, time, term, and subordinated deposits. The company also provides loan products; deals in securities; leasing, factoring, brokerage, and asset management services; and manages pension and investment funds.

Further Reading

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NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY  Free Report) by 105.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,980 shares of the technology retailers stock after buying an additional 9,743 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLCs holdings in Best Buy were worth $1,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of BBY. Arlington Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BOKF NA acquired a new stake in Best Buy in the first quarter valued at $33,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the technology retailers stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 1st quarter valued at about $90,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.10% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BBY. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. TheStreet upgraded Best Buy from a c rating to a b- rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. Wedbush raised their price target on Best Buy from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 30th. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 25th. Finally, 58.com restated a maintains rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $80.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Best Buy news, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 34,191 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total transaction of $2,779,728.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,039 shares in the company, valued at $5,287,670.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Best Buy news, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 34,191 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total transaction of $2,779,728.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 65,039 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,287,670.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.24, for a total transaction of $8,524,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 349,448 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $29,786,947.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 384,191 shares of company stock valued at $32,028,728. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Best Buy Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BBY opened at $73.74 on Thursday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.78 and a 12-month high of $93.32. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $79.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $16.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.54.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.52 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 49.40%. Best Buys revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.23 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 19th will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 18th. Best Buys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.34%.

About Best Buy

(Free Report)

Best Buy Co, Inc engages in the retail of technology products in the United States and Canada. The company operates in two segments, Domestic and International. Its stores provide computing and mobile phone products, such as desktops, notebooks, and peripherals; mobile phones comprising related mobile network carrier commissions; networking products; tablets covering e-readers; smartwatches; and consumer electronics consisting of digital imaging, health and fitness products, home theater, portable audio comprising headphones and portable speakers, and smart home products.

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Boliden AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:BDNNY  Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on BDNNY. Barclays raised shares of Boliden AB (publ) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 10th. DNB Markets cut shares of Boliden AB (publ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 14th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Boliden AB (publ) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Boliden AB (publ) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Boliden AB (publ) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Boliden AB (publ) currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $368.75.

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Boliden AB (publ) Stock Up 0.7 %

BDNNY opened at $53.90 on Tuesday. Boliden AB has a 52-week low of $51.15 and a 52-week high of $92.60. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $56.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.43.

Boliden AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:BDNNY  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter.

About Boliden AB (publ)

(Get Free Report)

Boliden AB (publ) engages in the exploring, extracting, and processing of base metals and precious metals in Sweden, other Nordic region, Germany, the United Kingdom, the rest of Europe, North America, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Business Area Mines and Business Area Smelters.

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Canadian Western Bank (OTCMKTS:CBWBF  Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by investment analysts at Scotiabank from C$27.00 to C$32.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

CBWBF has been the topic of several other reports. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Canadian Western Bank from C$32.00 to C$33.00 in a research note on Tuesday. CIBC reduced their price objective on Canadian Western Bank from C$30.00 to C$28.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Canadian Western Bank from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Canadian Western Bank from C$29.00 to C$31.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reduced their price objective on Canadian Western Bank from C$26.00 to C$25.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 30th.

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Canadian Western Bank Stock Performance

About Canadian Western Bank

OTCMKTS:CBWBF opened at $21.24 on Tuesday. Canadian Western Bank has a 12 month low of $15.70 and a 12 month high of $21.37. The businesss 50-day moving average is $19.44 and its 200 day moving average is $18.68.

(Get Free Report)

Canadian Western Bank provides personal and business banking products and services primarily in Western Canada. The company offers current, savings, notice, cash management, US dollar, and chequing accounts, as well as organization, business trust, and trust fund investment accounts. It also offers commercial lending and real estate, and equipment financing and leasing products; agriculture lending products; mortgages; lines of credits; registered retirement savings loans; consolidation, and vehicle loans; and credit cards.

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H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) (OTCMKTS:HNNMY  Get Free Report) and Ermenegildo Zegna (NYSE:ZGN  Get Free Report) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) and Ermenegildo Zegnas gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) $22.17 billion 0.94 $357.67 million $0.05 58.21 Ermenegildo Zegna $1.57 billion 2.24 $54.24 million N/A N/A

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) has higher revenue and earnings than Ermenegildo Zegna.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

Profitability

0.0% of H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.9% of Ermenegildo Zegna shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of Ermenegildo Zegna shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

This table compares H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) and Ermenegildo Zegnas net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) 1.52% 7.00% 1.92% Ermenegildo Zegna N/A N/A N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) and Ermenegildo Zegna, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) 4 5 4 0 2.00 Ermenegildo Zegna 0 0 1 0 3.00

Ermenegildo Zegna has a consensus price target of $13.40, indicating a potential downside of 7.71%. Given Ermenegildo Zegnas stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ermenegildo Zegna is more favorable than H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ).

Volatility and Risk

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) has a beta of 1.47, suggesting that its stock price is 47% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ermenegildo Zegna has a beta of 0.44, suggesting that its stock price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) beats Ermenegildo Zegna on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ)

(Get Free Report)

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) provides clothing, accessories, footwear, cosmetics, home textiles, and homeware for women, men, teenagers, children, and babies worldwide. It offers sportswear, shoes, bags, beauty products, and ready-to-wear; and interior products, including bed linens, dinnerware, textiles, furniture, and lighting. The company provides its products under the H&M, H&M HOME, H&M Move, COS, Weekday, Monki, & Other Stories, ARKET, Afound, Singular Society, Creator Studio, and Sellpy brand names. H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

About Ermenegildo Zegna

(Get Free Report)

Ermenegildo Zegna N.V., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, markets, and distributes luxury menswear, footwear, leather goods, and other accessories under the Zegna and the Thom Browne brands. It provides luxury leisurewear for men; formal suits, tuxedos, shirts, blazers, formal overcoats, and accessories; leather accessories comprising shoes, bags, belts, and small leather accessories; and fragrances. The company also offers luxury womenswear and childrenswear under the Thom Browne brand, as well as provides eyewear, cufflinks and jewelry, watches, underwear, and beachwear manufactured by third parties under licenses. It serves customers through its retail stores and online channels in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company was founded in 1910 and is based in Trivero, Italy. Ermenegildo Zegna N.V. is a subsidiary of Monterubello Societa' Semplice.

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Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche (OTCMKTS:DNIYY  Get Free Report) is one of 150 publicly-traded companies in the Specialty Industrial Machinery industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche to similar businesses based on the strength of its dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche 0 0 0 0 N/A Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche Competitors 940 3311 4334 43 2.40

As a group, Specialty Industrial Machinery companies have a potential upside of 18.40%. Given Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniches competitors higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Dividends

Profitability

Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche pays an annual dividend of $0.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche pays out 9.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, Specialty Industrial Machinery companies pay a dividend yield of 3.5% and pay out 28.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

This table compares Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche and its competitors net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche N/A N/A N/A Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche Competitors -10.28% 2.65% 0.70%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.2% of Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.6% of shares of all Specialty Industrial Machinery companies are held by institutional investors. 28.9% of shares of all Specialty Industrial Machinery companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche N/A N/A 7.70 Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche Competitors $4.64 billion $431.39 million 658.91

Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniches competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche. Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche competitors beat Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche on 8 of the 10 factors compared.

About Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche

(Get Free Report)

Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche S.p.A. designs, builds, and sells plants for the iron and steel industry in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, the Americas, and South East Asia. It operates through two segments, Plant Making and Steel Making. The company designs and builds plants for various process areas, including mines; pellet production plants; blast furnaces; direct reduction; scrap shredders; steelworks for production of liquid steel; and continuous casting for blooms and billets, slabs, and thin slabs. It also designs and builds rolling mills for long products and seamless tubes; lines for welded tubes; hot and cold rolling mills for flat products; process lines for flat products; and plants for dimensional checking and for non-destructive quality control, and conditioning plants. In addition, the company offers plants for secondary processing, such as peeling, straightening, 2-roll reeling, and drawing machines; forging presses and manipulators, and forging plants; extrusion presses for ferrous and non-ferrous materials; plants for longitudinal cutting and for transversal cutting; plant automation systems; and cranes and lifting equipment. Further, it is involved in the production and sale of special steel comprising ingots, blooms, billets, and forged and rolled products; and structural steel comprising high carbon steel, as well as case-hardened, hardened and tempered, and surface hardened steel for use in various engineering components. The company was founded in 1914 and is based in Buttrio, Italy.

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BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong will lead a party and government delegation to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to attend the commemorative events for its 75th founding anniversary and visit the country, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning announced on Thursday.

Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, will visit the country at the invitation of the Workers' Party of Korea and the government of the DPRK, Mao said. 
George Risk Industries (OTCMKTS:RSKIA  Get Free Report) is one of 37 public companies in the Communications equipment, not elsewhere classified industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare George Risk Industries to similar companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings, valuation, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for George Risk Industries and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score George Risk Industries 0 0 0 0 N/A George Risk Industries Competitors 110 416 843 39 2.58

As a group, Communications equipment, not elsewhere classified companies have a potential upside of 27.09%. Given George Risk Industries competitors higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe George Risk Industries has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Earnings and Valuation

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio George Risk Industries $19.98 million $4.76 million 11.78 George Risk Industries Competitors $428.97 million -$32.42 million -13.31

This table compares George Risk Industries and its competitors revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

George Risk Industries competitors have higher revenue, but lower earnings than George Risk Industries. George Risk Industries is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Risk and Volatility

George Risk Industries has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, George Risk Industries competitors have a beta of 1.08, suggesting that their average stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.1% of George Risk Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.6% of shares of all Communications equipment, not elsewhere classified companies are held by institutional investors. 59.8% of George Risk Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.7% of shares of all Communications equipment, not elsewhere classified companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares George Risk Industries and its competitors net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets George Risk Industries 23.81% 9.65% 8.71% George Risk Industries Competitors -27.19% -27.35% -8.28%

Dividends

George Risk Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. George Risk Industries pays out 62.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, Communications equipment, not elsewhere classified companies pay a dividend yield of 0.9% and pay out 32.7% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

George Risk Industries beats its competitors on 7 of the 12 factors compared.

George Risk Industries Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

George Risk Industries, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells various electronic components worldwide. The company offers computer keyboards, proximity switches, security alarm components and systems, pool access alarms, EZ Duct wire covers, water sensors, electronic switching devices, security switches, and wire and cable installation tools, as well as door and window contact switches, environmental products, liquid detection sensors, and raceway wire covers. Its products are used for residential, commercial, industrial, and government installations. The company serves security alarm distributors, alarm installers, original equipment manufacturers, and distributors of off-the-shelf keyboards. George Risk Industries, Inc. was founded in 1965 and is based in Kimball, Nebraska.

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Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX  Free Report) by 110.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,816 shares of the business services providers stock after buying an additional 42,859 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.19% of Deluxe worth $1,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DLX. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Deluxe in the 1st quarter worth $209,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,061 shares of the business services providers stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 58.1% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 22,763 shares of the business services providers stock worth $688,000 after purchasing an additional 8,367 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 36,730 shares of the business services providers stock worth $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 4,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its stake in shares of Deluxe by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 38,689 shares of the business services providers stock worth $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares during the last quarter. 84.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DLX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Deluxe from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Deluxe in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a buy rating for the company.

Deluxe Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:DLX opened at $19.74 on Thursday. The businesss 50-day moving average is $19.25 and its 200 day moving average is $17.17. Deluxe Co. has a 1 year low of $13.61 and a 1 year high of $21.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $861.00 million, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Deluxe (NYSE:DLX  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $571.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $548.75 million. Deluxe had a return on equity of 24.46% and a net margin of 2.37%. On average, research analysts predict that Deluxe Co. will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deluxe Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 18th. Deluxes dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 99.17%.

Deluxe Profile

(Free Report)

Deluxe Corporation provides technology-enabled solutions to enterprises, small businesses, and financial institutions in the United States, Canada, Australia, South America, and Europe. It operates through four segments: Payments, Data Solutions, Promotional Solutions, and Checks. The company provides treasury management solutions, including remittance and lockbox processing, remote deposit capture, receivables management, payment processing, and paperless treasury management solutions, as well as payment exchange, and fraud and security services; data-driven marketing solutions and hosted solutions, such as digital engagement, logo design, financial institution profitability reporting, and business incorporation services, as well as web hosting and design services.

See Also

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DLX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Deluxe Co. (NYSE:DLX  Free Report).

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That release could not be found.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang attends the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)

JAKARTA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here on Thursday that China and ASEAN countries are actively promoting consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Li, at the 18th East Asia Summit, also expressed hope that countries outside the region fully respect the efforts made by regional countries to negotiate the rules of the South China Sea and maintain peace and stability in the region. 
Nairobi, Kenya: September 7, 2023  Nairobi-based, pan African housing development financier Shelter Afrique has implored African governments to adopt climate-resilient housing and create incentives for the production of well-located affordable housing that minimizes construction costs, enhances sustainability, and offers better mobility. implore

Speaking on the session themed 'Integrated Liveable African Citiesat the Africa Climate Summit  hosted by the Government of Kenya in collaboration with the African Union Commission, Shelter Afrique Managing Director, Thierno Habib Hann, said it was imperative to enhance climate adaptation mechanisms in climate-resilient affordable housing to minimize the impact of climate change.

It is widely acknowledged that climate change will affect the socio-economic development trajectory of Africa, therefore governments should consider putting in place proper climate-change policies on land use and zoning and provide incentives on developments that are affordable, sustainable and offer better mobility, Mr. Hann said.

He further urged governments to offer tax incentives and subsidies to developers who build affordable housing units; reserve public land for affordable housing projects to make it more accessible for developers focusing on affordable housing; facilitate PPPs between the public and private sectors; and develop legislations, tools, and policies to enhance climate-resilient affordable housing and urban development in the continent.

Climate-change policies

He appealed to stakeholders in the housing delivery and built environment to take advantage of the climate-change policies in their jurisdictions - to introduce technological innovations that can mitigate the impact of climate change in the built industry.

For instance, Kenya considers climate change a cross-cutting theme that is being mainstreamed in the medium-term plans of the County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs), which in turn inform the countrys development blueprint - Vision 2030. Under these plans, the Government has mandated that all affordable housing projects be aligned with Global Green Certification requirements. Recently, Nigeria promulgated the 2021 Climate Change Act, which is the first standalone climate change legislation in West Africa. With such developments, it is pertinent for stakeholders to put in more effort in making housing safe and resilient to climate change related impacts. This in turn can help protect lives and livelihoods from disasters and build sustainable communities, Mr. Hann said.

The Africa Climate Summit, which was held between September 4-6, 2023 at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, under the theme: green growth and climate finance,brought together several African heads of state and government, ministers and United Nations leaders, including the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, and his predecessor Ban Ki-moon.

The Summit was held during The Africa Climate Week 2023 (ACW), which runs from 4 to 8 September 2023 in Nairobi.
President Bola Tinubu, who is currently in India for the G-20 Summit, shared his conviction with Nigerians during an interaction with them on Thursday evening.

The President called on Nigerians to harness the country's rich diversity as a uniquely powerful tool for advancing prosperity and national development for the benefit of all citizens, emphasizing that our diversity must be leveraged to drive economic growth, innovation, and social progress.

"We are here to present a new future to you. A future of a country that is so rich, endowed, and highly populated. Very dynamic, unique in its culture, tradition, and ethnicity. That is what will make our prosperity possible, if only we can make use of our diversity for prosperity," he implored.

President Tinubu also told the meeting that he ran for the highest office in the country because of the fact that, despite the great human and natural resource wealth of the nation, the leadership and public sector management deficit in the country held Nigeria back from manifest destiny.

"We are not poor in knowledge. We are not poor in human resources. We are only poor in management and leadership, and that is why I ran for president, to help all of us mould the soul of our country in the right direction," the President said.

Reflecting on the trajectory of his life, which prepared him for leadership, the President told the meeting that was attended by several Nigerian students studying in India, that with dedication, honesty, determination, and a change of mindset, they can reach for the top in their respective careers.

"Good education brought me here and I am happy to stand before you here as the President of Nigeria. I started small. I was a security guard. I was tutor in school. I was a brilliant student. I joined Deloitte and was trained by one of the biggest accounting firms in the world, because of my education," the President recollected.

"When I joined them, I asked them, do you have branches in Nigeria and they said, 'we have a lot of clients that will take you, if you want to go home.' That's how I got to Exxon Mobil and was a very successful accountant, auditor-general, and treasurer, until I joined politics with a can-do attitude.

"You can also do it; do not be despondent in any way. Nigeria is ready to accommodate all. It does not matter which part of Nigeria you are from," the President exclaimed.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, while addressing the students, explained that President Tinubu's foreign policy thrust included four Ds, with one of them being Diaspora, which focuses on improving the quality of services that Nigerians in the Diaspora receive at Nigerian Missions abroad.

"The issue of passport delays will be a thing of the past. You won't have to wait indefinitely for your passports to be ready. Secondly, you are the first point of contact between Nigerians and other countries. We can't grow beyond what our people project. That is why it is very important for you to project a consistently positive image of Nigeria online and off-line," Nigeria's Chief Diplomat said.

Earlier, Business magnate, Mr. Tony Elumelu, told pressmen that Nigeria was the best place to invest and that a bet on Nigerians is one of the best bets anyone can ever make, citing Nigerian success in all countries of the world.

"We believe in Africa, but especially in Nigeria. An investment in Nigeria promises a return that is scarcely found anywhere in the world and I do business across several continents," the Africapitalist concluded.

Chief Ajuri Ngelale

Special Adviser to the President

(Media & Publicity)

September 7, 2023


Fugitive wanted for raping 12-year-old girl in Phatthalung arrested in Phuket

PHUKET: Officers from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) have arrested a man in Phuket who was wanted for raping a 12-year-old girl in Phatthalung five years ago.

violencesexcrimepolice

By The Phuket News

Thursday 7 September 2023 12:35 PM

Photo: Central Investigation Bureau

Officers from CIB Division 5 had arrived in Phuket to arrest the man, the CIB reported in an official Facebook post yesterday (Sept 6).

The police named the man only as Somkiat. He also went by the name Satit.

The date, time and place of arrest was not reported.

Somkiat was wanted for the rape of a child under 13 years of age, trespass and drug use of Category 1 narcotic (methamphetamine), the CIB report noted.

In early March 2018, Somkiat was ;living in Khuan Khanun District, Phatthalung. At that time he was 24 years old, and had befriended a 12-year-old girl.

He had broken into the girls home and raped her while her parents were outside working, the CIB explained.

Somkiat had been caught, but he was granted bail before trial and had fled Phatthalung. He arrived in Phuket, where he spent the past five years, the CIB report said.

He has now been returned to face Phatthalung Provincial Court and will continue serving his prison sentence, the CIB report concluded.
Graft-busters implicate 15 in Boss hit-and-run case

BANGKOK: The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has found 15 senior police officers and prosecutors guilty of mishandling the notorious 2012 hit-and-run case involving Red Bull scion Vorayuth Boss Yoovidhya.

crimedeathpolicecorruption

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 7 September 2023 08:28 AM

Former police chief Somyot. Photo: Bangkok Post

They include former national police chief Pol Gen Somyot Poompanmoung, and former deputy attorney-general Nate Naksuk, who dropped the remaining charges against Mr Vorayuth, NACC spokesman Niwatchai Kasemmongkol said yesterday (Sept 6).

Also named in the report is Pol Gen Permpoon Chidchob, who was named education minister in the new cabinet this week, reports the Bangkok Post.

Pol Gen Permpoon, then an assistant national police chief with the rank of lieutenant general, officially endorsed the decision by Mr Nate in June 2020. This was considered a disciplinary violation but not a serious one, said Mr Niwatchai.

The anti-graft agency will hold a press conference later to discuss its findings in more detail, said the spokesman.

The accident took place on Sept 3, 2012, when Mr Vorayuth rammed his Ferrari into a motorcycle driven by Pol Snr Sg Maj Wichian Klanprasert of the Thong Lor police station.

Mr Vorayuth, then 27, drove off, dragging the victims body around 200 metres from the scene, without informing the authorities.

Following a protracted investigation, three charges were laid against the heir to the Red Bull fortune. His lawyers managed to secure postponements of court appearances on eight occasions, before their client finally fled the country in 2017.

The decision in 2020 by Mr Nate to drop a charge of reckless driving causing death - based on new evidence that blamed the dead policeman for the crash - ignited public outrage that led Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to establish a committee to investigate the decision.

Led by Vicha Mahakun, a former NACC commissioner, the panel found evidence of intervention by officials, law enforcement agencies, public prosecutors, lawyers and witnesses. Among them reportedly were three prosecutors and several high-ranking police officers.

Some were accused of having a role in changing the cars speed at the time of the fatal crash, and the sudden appearance of new witnesses which resulted in reduced charges against Mr Vorayuth.

The full findings of Mr Vichas report have never been made public.

The statute of limitations has since expired on all but one of the charges in the case. But the charge of reckless driving causing death has been revived and will remain active until 2027.
Pheu Thai payout to give economy B2tn boost

BANGKOK: Pheu Thais B10,000 digital currency handout policy will add at least B2 trillion of money to the economy and contribute to GDP growth of at least 5% in 2024, said Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat.

politicseconomicstechnology

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 7 September 2023 01:44 PM

Srettha Thavisin of the Pheu Thai Party announced the partys B10,000 digital wallet policy at a campaign rally in April. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill

He said the mass deployment of digital wallets will give the economy a shot in the arm, followed by various stimulus measures such as generating income through soft power and raising the price of agricultural products, reports the Bangkok Post.

The main idea of the economic stimulus policy is that GDP can grow by at least 5%, which we expect in 2024, Mr Julapun said.

He said the multiplier effect of the cash handouts will see so much money circulating that it will be equivalent to at least B2trn.

About B30 billion of value-added tax (VAT) is expected to be collected as a result of the goods and services purchased.

The project, which does not require any registration, is tipped to reduce disparities in terms of peoples access to digital money. The user simply needs to download the new national wallet app to get their share.

The project will be driven by high-security blockchain technology so it is completely traceable. Eligibility conditions can be set in terms of age and spending parameters, he said.

The policy is expected to be launched in the first quarter of 2024.

The digital wallet can be used for six months at all local shops and businesses within four kilometres of peoples registered address, in a bid to stimulate local economies and prevent an over-concentration of income in urban areas.

Spending the money on cigarettes and alcohol is prohibited. It also cannot be used to repay debts or transferred into fiat - except for registered merchants under the VAT system.

The funding for the project would come from the state budget, causing a spike in the revenue collected for fiscal 2024, and a decrease in certain welfare programmes, namely the state welfare card. The project will cost an estimated B560bn.

To access the B10,000 of digital money, people will need to download the accompanying app and link it to their ID card.

Those who do not have a smartphone can use their 13-digit ID card number as authentication.
Phuketians invited to honour outgoing Governor

PHUKET: Residents of Phuket have been officially invited to pay their respects to outgoing Governor Narong Woonciew as he embarks on a merit-making walk as a monk on Sunday (Sept 10).

politicsreligionculture

By The Phuket News

Thursday 7 September 2023 02:27 PM

Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew. Photo: PR Phuket

Governor Narong entered a 15-day ordainment as a monk at Wat Pa Phutthaphot Hariphunchai in Lamphun province on Aug 26 to make merit ahead of his official retirement as Governor of Phuket on Sept 30, where he was bestowed with the name Phra Nathaplo.

He will return to the island on Sunday and it has been confirmed that he will walk a 2.5-kilometre route during which peope can offer alms as a way of showing respect and making merit if they wish.

The walk is scheduled to start in front of Wat Phuttha Mongkol Nimit on Rommanee Road in Old Phuket Town at 6am on Sunday and will pass through Luang Phor Chuan Road and Surin Road before concluding at the Governors residence on the corner of Krabi and Satun Road at 8am.

Such a 15-day ordination is a customary practice for Thai men, reflecting their deep-rooted cultural and spiritual values, Sopon Keamkan, Chief of the Phuket office of the Public Relations Department (PR Phuket), told The Phuket News on Aug 28.

Governor Narongs choice to undertake this temporary monkhood showcases his commitment to both his official role as a government representative and his personal dedication to the betterment of the nation. This act reflects a tradition where government officials symbolically offer themselves in service to the country, Mr Sopon said.

During Governor Narongs absence, Phuket Vice Governors Amnuay Pinsuwan, Anuparp Rodkwan Yodrabam and Danai Sunantarod have been fulfilling his duties.

Governor Narong arrived in Phuket in June 2020 to replace Phakaphong Tavipatana, who had come under fierce criticism for his handling and implementation of COVID-19 policies.

According to reports in the Thai media online at the time, some people said Governor Phakaphong did too little too late, while others reported that the measures he rolled out were too harsh.

Mr Phakaphong was assigned to the post of Governor of Phetchaburi.

Before his posting to Phuket, Governor Narong, a native of Phatthalung, had previously served as Governor of Chaiyaphum province.

On Governor Narongs arrival at Phuket Provincial Hall three years ago, the welcoming party was out in force, with many officials present to greet him with flowers.

I will do my best for Phuket, to develop and lead Phuket to move forward, Governor Narong told the press as he entered Provincial Hall.

Governor Narong was immediately aware of the plight many people on the island were suffering without any income amid the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So far, there have been no official announcements detailing who will succeed Mr Narong as Governor of Phuket.
BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's new energy vehicle (NEV) sector has turbocharged growth in recent years, getting a head start in the global race to electrify cars and fostering competitive edges in its domestic auto brands.

In its latest move to boost NEV development, China said it aims to bring this year's NEV sales to 9 million units, an increase of 30 percent year on year, according a work plan unveiled last week.

In the first seven months of this year, China saw its NEV sales surge 41.7 percent from a year ago to 4.53 million units, official data shows. Globally, the country has ranked first in terms of production and sales for eight straight years since 2015.

Zhu Yifang, a researcher with the China Automotive Technology and Research Center Co., Ltd., said that policy support has been an "accelerator" for the development of China's NEV industry over the years.

China rolled out its first NEV development plan in 2008. The country's policymakers, at both central and local levels, have since provided consistent and solid support for the development of the sector.

East China's Anhui Province is a typical example. It was among the first provinces to develop NEVs in China, and has long leveraged policy stimulus to spur the growth of the industry. Anhui is now home to carmakers such as Chery and Nio.

On the consumption front, preferential policies have encouraged people to choose new energy cars over fossil-fueled ones, facilitating the expansion of the NEV market and powering firms along the industrial chain to step up innovation.

The fast-growing market has prompted battery producers to dig deeper into materials and structures, pushing China's power battery sector to the forefront globally, said Wu Kai, chief scientist with Chinese battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd.

With policy support and market-driven innovation, China has put in place a relatively complete NEV industrial chain, covering batteries, motors, electronic controls, and vehicle manufacturing and sales.

In the Yangtze River Delta, where industrial clusters are well-developed, a new energy car manufacturer can basically find all the components it needs within a four-hour drive.

Shanghai supplies chips and software, while the cities of Changzhou and Ningbo, both of which are about 200 kilometers away from Shanghai, provide power batteries and die-casting machines, respectively.

In the past, competition in the sector was mainly about special technologies, but nowadays what matters more is the industrial chain, said Xu Jun, vice president of Chinese car manufacturer Leapmotor.

Official data shows that China's NEV exports totaled 636,000 units in the first seven months of this year, an increase of more than 1.5 fold from the previous year, a sign of the increasing global recognition of made-in-China NEVs.

As China's growing NEV manufacturing has grown stronger, the competition landscape of the global auto industry has also been reshaped, prompting overseas auto behemoths to expand their market presence and roll out more electric fleets.

Tesla was quick in establishing itself within China's NEV market. After building a Gigafactory in Shanghai -- its first outside the United States -- the automaker announced in April that it would build a new mega factory in the metropolis.

Carmakers from other auto manufacturing powerhouses have also jumped on the bandwagon. Japan's Toyota has teamed up with Chinese automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. to develop new energy models, and German car manufacturer Volkswagen Group has set up its global new energy car R&D center in Anhui Province.

Doubling down on NEVs, Volkswagen reached an agreement in July to buy a 4.99-percent stake in the Chinese electric vehicle startup Xpeng and co-develop two NEV models for the Chinese market.

Back in the era of petrol vehicles, cooperation between multinationals and Chinas local automakers was usually made because China traded its vast market for technologies. In the Volkswagen-Xpeng deal, however, the German carmaker's primary purpose is to access Xpeng's technologies, according to industry insiders.

This turnaround in the form of cooperation is evidence that China has become a stronger force in the transformation of the global auto industry, said Cui Dongshu, secretary general of the China Passenger Car Association.

According to Zhu Yifang, if China's new energy carmakers want to benefit from the current momentum, they should consolidate their advantages and catch up with their overseas peers in such areas as brand value, technology R&D and global layout.

Fu Bingfeng, executive vice president of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, called for sustained efforts to improve the development of chips, basic software, key materials and other weak links in the industrial chain.

Amid the global wave of electrification and intelligent transformation, China's carmakers must step up technological innovation and make car manufacturing more digitalized and intelligent, Zhu said. 
Traumatic experiences stemming from Kuki-Meitei bloody clash Death anxiety among displaced inmates in burning Sanaleibak-Kangleipak

|

Chakpram Purnima Devi (UGC Junior Research Fellow Independent)

Background of the study

The current study is aimed at ascertaining traumatic experiences and its effect on death anxiety among inmates who had encountered life-threatening experiences due to violence resulting from a conflict between the Kuki and Meitei that has been simmering in Sanaleibak Kangleipak since May 3, 2023. In this violence, over 160 people have been killed and more than 50 thousand people rendered homeless, taking shelters in the relief camps set up across the State.

Methodology

Methods

The ex-post facto approach under the descriptive method was adopted. Altogether 151 subjects were involved in the study (females 95 and males 56) who hailed from Churachandpur, Torbung, Moreh, Khuga-tampak, Serou, Ekou Dolaithabi, Phougakchao Ikhai, and Awang Sekmai taking shelter in the Relief Camps located at Imphal. They were selected through the convenience sampling from a cross-section of inmates at a single point in time. The study was conducted during 20th June to 2nd July 2023.

Measurement Instrument

Death Anxiety was measured using the Templers Death Anxiety Scale (DAS, Templer, 1970) [1]. The DAS is a self-administered 15-item on 2 point scale as True or False, allocating 1 point to every question answered correctly and then summing up all the items. High scores on this Scale indicate high death anxiety, while low scores indicate low death anxiety. This Scale was found to have good psychometric properties, with a three-week test-retest reliability of 0.83 and internal consistency coefficient of 0.76.

This Scalewas found to be the most popular measure of death attitudes in the literature and it has been used throughout the world, with translation into several languages, as compared to any other attitude instruments.

It may be mentioned that now, researchers could also use the Templers 51-item Death Anxiety ScaleExtended published in September 2006.[2]

PROCEDURE

To begin with, an informed consent was obtained from the organizers of the relief camps and then from the would-be participants as well. After selection of the samples, the questionnaires were distributed to the participants on an appointed day in the camps itself. All questions in the questionnaire were bilingual with English and Native Language, so as to enable them to understand each question easily. The investigator briefed participants on the purpose of the study and due instructions were given before the administration of the questionnaires.

In case of illiterates/mere literate subjects, the researcher read out each question to the respondents and recorded their responses accordingly. Participants were given sufficient time to complete the questionnaires and any questions they had were answered by the researcher.

Literature Review

What is Anxiety?

The term anxiety is described as an uncomfortable emotional state characterized by inner turmoil and dread over anticipated future events, or apprehension of possible failure, misfortune, or danger. [3][4]. Anxiety is closely related and overlap with fear, a response to perceived and actual threats, which often results in nervousness, rumination, pacing, and somatisation.[4] Anxiety becomes pathological when it is so overwhelming that there is persistent distress, a decrease in quality of life, and impairment in regular major life activities.[5]

What is Death Anxiety?

The term death anxiety is described as anxiety about many other aspects of death. For example, people may have fear of how they will die, how significant others will be affected by their death, what will happen after they die, that is, about their afterlife [6] It is conscious and unconscious fear of death and dying.[7]

Death anxiety or fear of death is used synonymously by some researchers.[8] For example, the Collet-Lester Fear of Death Scale is based on 4 aspects:1. Fear of Death of Self, 2. Fear of Dying of Self, 3. Fear of Death of Others, and 4. Fear of Dying of Others.[9]

Death anxiety is a negative and apprehensive feeling that one has when feeling about death and dying.[10] It was also distinguished into: death anxiety and fear of death, in which death anxiety refers to a dread of complete annihilation (abstract concept), while fear of death is a belief that death is frightening (concrete concept).[11]

However, different researchers often use the terms death anxiety or fear of death to mean different aspects of this psychological construct.[12] Death signifies end of life and Death Anxiety connotes feeling of fear of apprehension of death.[13]

Death anxiety is vague uneasy feeling of discomfort or dread generated by perceptions of a real or imagined threat to ones existence.[14]It is also defined as the state in which an individual experiences apprehension, worry, or fear related to death and dying.[15]To sum up, death anxiety is the fear and apprehension of death.

Is there any relationship of death anxiety with age, gender, education, occupation, marital status, and health?

(To be contd)


Discussing how Charlie's absence affected the band, guitarist Keith, 79, said: "Ever since Charlies gone its different, of course, hes number four, hes missing. Of course hes missed, incredibly. But thanks to Charlie Watts we have Steve Jordan  who was Charlie's recommendation should anything happen to him, Steve Jordan is your man.
CHANGSHA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- A 52-tonne shipment of Kenyan anchovies arrived in central China's Hunan Province on Wednesday, marking the start of China's regular, large-scale importation of the small fish from the East African nation.

The dried anchovies were received in the city of Yueyang after a one-month journey across the ocean and on the Yangtze River, said Changsha Customs, which conducted the quarantine and clearance of the fish.

China started to import anchovies from Kenya in June with a 315-kg batch taking a flight to reach Hunan. Kenyan officials have hailed the historic consignment for injecting fresh vitality into the local blue economy.

Jinzai Food Group, a Hunan-based snack company that purchased the anchovies, said the fish will be made into a popular Hunan-flavored snack at its factory. The company has built a factory in Kenya for processing, drying and packaging anchovies before they set off for the Chinese market.

Changsha Customs said it is actively implementing China's initiative of building a "green channel" for agricultural and food imports from Africa and has taken multiple measures to raise customs clearance efficiency.

Hunan is one of the most active provinces in terms of economic and trade ties with Africa and a trailblazer in China-Africa cooperation. The province's trade with Africa reached 34.69 billion yuan (4.82 billion U.S. dollars), a yearly increase of 18 percent, in the first seven months of this year. 
A senior citizen in wheelchair is pictured on a street in Canberra, Australia, Sept. 7, 2023. The wellbeing of Australians has improved after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a government report has found. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on Thursday published the latest edition of its biennial report on the welfare and wellbeing of Australians. (Photo by Chu Chen/Xinhua)

CANBERRA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The wellbeing of Australians has improved after the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a government report has found.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) on Thursday published the latest edition of its biennial report on the welfare and wellbeing of Australians.

It found that levels of life satisfaction and psychological distress have improved since the last report, which was published in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in September 2021, but have not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

"Australia has come a long way since we released the previous edition of Australia's welfare in September 2021," Matthew James, deputy chief executive officer (CEO) of the AIHW, said in a media release on Thursday.

"At that time, many Australians were experiencing lockdowns, only 44.7 percent of people over the age of 16 were fully vaccinated against COVID and most children aged 12-15 weren't yet eligible to receive COVID vaccines. Life is much more 'normal' now for most Australians, however, some things are quite different to before the pandemic."

The AIHW report cited the long-running quarterly ANUPoll survey conducted by Australian National University (ANU) researchers, which found that the proportion of the population that reported feeling lonely at least some of the time has fallen from 46 percent in April 2020 to 37 percent in August 2023.

ANUPoll found that the average life satisfaction of Australians fell from 6.9 out of 10 in January 2020 to 6.5 out of 10 in August 2021. Average life satisfaction increased to 6.8 out of 10 in January 2023 but declined to 6.6 in August 2023.

According to AIHW data, Australian governments spent 212.4 billion Australian dollars (135.5 billion U.S. dollars) on welfare services and payments in the financial year 2021-22, down from 231 billion Australian dollars (147.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the financial year 2020-21 as pandemic support measures were wound down. 
In a few months, commuters at Howrah Maidan would be able to travel till Esplanade enjoying the comforts of Metro rakes in 12 minutes duration. The Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRCL) is aiming to run commercial services from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade passing through the stretch under the Hooghly at an interval of 12 minutes from December.

The countrys first underwater Metro network is having trial runs of rakes frequently. Work of completion and installation of various systems between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade is also being carried out. After completion of the work, the KMRCL authorities are planning to approach the commissioner of railway safety for the necessary inspection in November and start commercial services from December. Initially, the KMRCL authorities are planning to start services at gaps of 12 minutes.

The KMRCL is eying to make the entire stretch between Howrah Maidan and Sealdah operational by June 2024. Once the stretch between Esplanade and Sealdah is operational, the frequency of services between Howrah Maidan and Esplanade would be increased, according to the managing director of KMRCL, VK Srivastava. We will start the commercial services in this part in a truncated manner. It will be sort of limited services.

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It will also give us some indication of the traffic coming in this route so that we can plan the future frequency and other things accordingly, informed Mr Srivastava. In the section near the cave-in zone, the implementing agency is awaiting a nod from Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) for proceeding with the ground freezing work near Subodh Mullick Square. PESO is a nodal agency for regulating safety of hazardous substances such as explosives, compressed gas and petroleum.

The ground freezing work would involve handling of liquid nitrogen that needs to be dealt with great caution. According to the MD, the task of freezing the ground being targeted to start before Durga Puja, would take around six months to be completed. The KMRCL is planning to start the reconstruction of the 26 houses that were damaged during the subsidence, from the month of April 2024. The implementing agency is targeting to complete the reconstruction and rehabilitation work by December 2025.

The authorities of the implementing agency however, are hesitant to start the reconstruction of the affected buildings before the completion of the underground work. The KMRCL is in the process of finalizing the tenders for the reconstructions of the houses. Meanwhile, the Metro corridor between Sector V to Haldiram is facing a hurdle of financing. The KMRCL authorities are said to have approached the state government for sharing half the cost of the project.

The state government however, is said to have expressed its inability citing fund constraints. The KMRCL has re-approached the Railway Board for full funding of the project.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has lodged an FIR against an Assam-based private firm and its two directors for allegedly committing a loan fraud of Rs 65.73 crore.

According to the FIR, Santosh Jaiswal and Padma Nath Deka, the directors of Brahmaputra TMT Bars Pvt. Ltd, availed a Term Loan facility of Rs 9 crore and Fund-Based Working Capital of Rs 6 Crore in March 2006, along with a Non-Fund-Based Limit of Rs 3.50 Crores from SBI for setting up a Billets Plant.

The FIR further stated that in March 2009, another Fresh Term Loan of Rs 9.71 Crore was sanctioned in favor of the company, along with an enhancement of the Cash Credit Limit from Rs 6.00 Crore to 11.65 Crore and a Non-Fund-Based Limit of Letter of Credit from 3.50 Crore to 6.50 Crore.

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Again in November 2009, the CC Limit was enhanced from 11.65 Crores to Rs 24 Crores, and the LC Limit from 6.50 Crore to Rs 12.50 Crore. In April 2010, a Term Loan of Rs. was sanctioned while the CC Limit was renewed at the then-existing level of Rs. 24 Crore, and the Non-Fund-Based Limit was enhanced from 12.50 Crore to 18 Crore.

In November 2010, the Borrower Company had gone for a 10 MW Captive Power Project (CPP) for which a Term Loan Limit of Rs 20 Crore was sanctioned under a Multi-Banking Arrangement (MBA), wherein Allahabad Bank and North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFI) were the other lenders, the FIR read.

The CBI FIR stated that the borrower company and its directors submitted fake financial statements showing fictitious transactions so that the working capital, drawing power, and term loan could be enhanced from time to time by the bank.

Later, Allahabad Bank opted out of the MBA, and Assam Gramin Vikas Bank joined the MBA. In July 2013, the credit limits were finally revisited with a fresh working Capital Term Loan of Rs 10 Crore. The Fund-Based Working Capital Limit was reduced from 24 Crore to Rs 14 Crore.

The borrower Company, after availing the said Credit Facilities, had stopped servicing the interest and also the repayment of principal, violating the sanctioned Terms and Conditions of the loan facilities, which caused the slipping of the loan account to NPA in 2013 with an outstanding balance of Rs 65.73 Crore.

The accused directors of the company colluded among themselves in committing the criminal activities like violating sanctioned terms and conditions, illegally diverting the borrowed fund, and committing illegal activities, including submission of fake financial statements, fabrication of fictitious transactions, diversion of funds, and misappropriation of funds for purposes other than for which the funds were sanctioned by the bank, with an intention to defraud the bank and to gain unlawfully at the cost of the banks funds. The aforesaid complaint was verified, and verification revealed the commission of cognizable offences, so this case is being registered, the FIR reads.

CBI said that further investigation in the case is underway.
ASEAN-India Summit 2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that ASEAN countries are the central pillar of Indias Act East policy and extended his support to the groupings centrality and its outlook on the Indi-pacific. Addressing the ASEAN-India summit in Jakarta, the prime minister reiterated that the 21st century will be Asias century and said that elevating the voice of global south in common interest of all.

ASEAN is the central pillar of Indias Act East Policy. India fully supports ASEAN centrality and ASEANs outlook on the Indo-Pacific. ASEAN holds a prominent place in Indias Indo-Pacific initiative. Last year, we celebrated the India-ASEAN Friendship Year and elevated our relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, he said.

The prime minister said India and ASEAN countries were connected through their history and geography. Along with shared values, regional unity, peace, prosperity, and a shared belief in a multipolar world also bind us together, PM Modi said.

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My remarks at the ASEAN-India Summit. https://t.co/OGpzOIKjIf  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 7, 2023

ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth

PM Modi lauded the theme of ASEAN Summit and said that ASEAN plays a crucial role in global development. This is a testament to the strength and resilience of our relationship. The theme of this years ASEAN Summit is ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. ASEAN matters because here everyones voice is heard, and ASEAN is the epicentre of growth because the ASEAN region plays a crucial role in global development, he said.

Prime Minister Modi also stressed on the need to build a rule-based post-Covid world order for human welfare.The 21st century is Asias century. It is our century. For this, it is necessary to build a rule-based post-Covid world order and efforts by all for human welfare, he said.

PM Modi announces Indian embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste

During the ASEAN-India summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the opening of Indian embassy in Timor-Leste capital city Dilli. The announcement highlighted Indias commitment to its Act East policy, PM said.

Act East in action  Delhi to Dili! At the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta, PM @narendramodi announces decision to open our Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste, posted Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi on X after PM Modis announcement.

India was one of the early countries to establish diplomatic relations with Timor Leste and was represented at its Independence Day celebrations in May 2002 by a high level delegation led by the then Minister of State for External Affairs. An MOU formally establishing diplomatic relations was signed on 24 January 2003.

(With ANI Inputs)
TEHRAN, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Deputy Judiciary Chief Kazem Gharibabadi has urged countries hosting members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) to either expel them or extradite them to Iran, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Thursday.

Gharibabadi made the remarks during an interview with local media published on Wednesday, according to the report.

"We call on those countries that are hosting the MKO members to either expel the terrorists or hand them over to Iran for prosecution, or try them in their own courts," stated Gharibabadi, stressing Iran's readiness to provide substantial evidence and documents regarding the MKO's criminal activities to any nation willing to take legal and judicial action against its members.

Gharibabadi welcomed the recent anti-MKO position taken by the government of Albania, where the MKO primarily operates, but stressed that adopting such stances alone is insufficient.

Iran designates the MKO as a terrorist organization, accusing it of killing "tens of thousands of Iranian citizens." The group is currently based in Albania. 
Congress party held rallies across Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday to celebrate the first anniversary of Bharat Jodo Yatra that was started this day from Kanyakumari to Kashmir by Rahul Gandhi.

Foot march by Congress activists and leaders was held in all district headquarters of Jammu division and Kashmir valley. Rajni Patil, MP and party in-charge of J&K, led the celebrations in Jammu. Manoj Yadav, joint secretary AICC, was also present on the occasion.

CWC members, G A Mir, Tariq Hameed Karra and senior party leader Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed and other leaders led the Padyatras in Srinagar, Anantnag, Kulgam, Ganderbal, Baramulla and other districts in Kashmir.

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CWC Member Ghulam Ahmad Mir led celebrations in the Anantnag district of South Kashmir where an impressive gathering of Congress workers held Padyatra.

Mir also addressed the workers and highlighted the positive impact and the imprints that the Yatra has left in the minds of the people. He said Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi spread energy not only to Congress cadres but to every person who believes in the Constitution and in the Idea of India.

He said the Yatra was a hard-hitting response to hate and religious politics, political exploitation and the misadventures to vitiate the atmosphere in the country.

The Yatra was launched to restore confidence among the people and ensure that Indian democracy is safeguarded from erosions besides the urges of the public are respected, he said.

A large number of Congress activists including women took part in the rally in Srinagar that was taken out from the Pradesh Congress Committee office at Moulana Azad road to Dalgate and was led by senior Congress leader and CWC member Tariq Hameed Karra.

Karra told mediapersons that the aim of the yatra was Judega Bharat, Jeetega India. The rally has been taken out to counter the attempts to spread hatred between communities in India.

Karra said it is only Rahul who can save people of the country, especially Jammu and Kashmir, from economic and other problems. People were being pushed into controversies like India versus Bharat to divert their attention from the real issues and failures of the BJP government.

Why the BJP government should get panicked as the Opposition formed INDIA Alliance, Karra asked.
An eight-year-old girl, daughter of a migrant couple, was abducted and sexually assaulted at Chathanpuram in Aluva near Kochi in the wee hours of Thursday.

The girl, who was sleeping inside her house was abducted and sexually assaulted at around 1 am when the girls parents were deep in sleep.

Locals found the girl in a paddy field in Chathanpuram, near Aluva with injuries on private parts in the morning. They immediately alerted the police. The police arrived at the spot and admitted the girl to the Kalamassery Government Medical College Hospital. Her condition is stated to be stable.

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Hours after the heinous crime was committed, the police arrested the accused, Christil aka Satheesh, 36, a native of Chenkal, Parassala, Thiruvananthapuram, who was hiding beneath a bridge in Aluva.

Upon receiving a clue that a person was found hiding under the bridge in Periyar, near Aluva, the police team reached the spot and arrested him. The police took him in custody for a detailed interrogation, police sources said.

Christil is a history-sheeter having about 15 cases pending against him and was released on bail on 10 August, police said.

This is the second such incident reported from Aluva in recent weeks. It was only on 29 July that a five-year-old migrant girl was found raped and murdered in Aluva. The police have arrested Bihar native Asafak Alam (28) related to this case.

Meanwhile, Kerala health minister Veena George has announced a financial aid of Rs one lakh to the girls family from the Women and child development relief fund.The minister also said that free treatment will be provided to the girl at Kalamassery Government Medical College Hospital

Responding to the incident, BJP state president K Surendran said the present situation in Kerala is deplorable, even young children cannot live in the state Terming the incident as a disgrace to Kerala, Surendran in a statement said the LDF government which promised that the student who was beaten up by a teacher in U.P, will be provided education here, should at first provide protection to the children here.
Delhi G20 Summit: French President Emmanuel Macron, who will arrive in New Delhi on Friday to attend the G20 summit being held in the national capital from September 9 to 10 under Indias presidency, will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the conclusion of the summit.

According to news agency ANI, the meeting between Macron and PM Modi is likely to take place in the form of a lunch on September 10 at the end of the G20 Summit. The two leaders last met in July this year during PM Modis France visit.

During the July visit, the two countries announced an agreement on the construction of three additional submarines and the co-development of fighter jet engines. However, both sides could not finalise the deal of 26 Rafale-M fighter jet planes. Now there are speculations that a decision could be reached on 26 Rafale-M fighter jet deal during the lunch meeting.

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The G20 Summit will be held in Delhis newly constructed Bharat Mandapam auditorium on September 9-10. Head of states from 20 members countries and several special invitees will attend the meeting. US President Joe Biden will arrive on Friday so will UK PM Rishi Sunak.

Follow Delhi G20 Summit Live Updates: India set to roll out red carpet for world leaders, Biden-PM Modi bilateral tomorrow

While it has been confirmed by both India and the US that Biden and PM Modi will hold a bilateral meeting on September 8, Sunak is also likely to hold delegation level-talks with his Indian counterpart. The UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will be in focus during Sunak and PM Modis bilateral.

However, the highly anticipated meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping will not be happening after the latter decided to skip the G20 Summit for the first time. Chinese Premier Li-Qiang will be represent China at the G20 summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin will also not attend the summit and Kremlin will send its foreign minister instead.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav on Thursday announced awards under the Swachh Vayu Sarvekshan 2023 (clean air survey) in Bhopal.

In the 1st category of million-plus population cities, Indore of Madhya Pradesh has ranked first, followed by Agra (Uttar Pradesh) and Thane (Maharashtra).

In the second category of three to 10 lakh population, Amravati of Maharashtra has secured the first rank, followed by Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) and Guntur (Andhra Pradesh).

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Similarly, for third category of cities with less than three lakh population, Parwanoo (Himachal Pradesh) secured first rank followed by Kala Amb (Himachal Pradesh) and Angul (Odisha).

Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan was present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Yadav said this year, the 4th International Day of Clean Air for blue skies (Swachh Vayu Diwas 2023) aims to create stronger partnerships, increase investment, and share responsibility for overcoming air pollution, with the global theme of Together for Clean Air.

The environment minister said on 15th August, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had affirmed the governments commitment to ensure clean air to the country, and announced the intent and plan to improve the air quality in more than 100 cities through holistic approach.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has been implementing a National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) as a national-level strategy, outlining actions for reducing the levels of air pollution at city and regional scales in India since 2019.

He said the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) aims to systemically address air pollution by engaging all stakeholders and ensuring necessary action.

Yadav said 131 cities have been identified for implementation of the city specific action plans under this Programme. NCAP focuses on preparation and implementation of national, State and city level action plans of the targeted 131 cites. The coordinated implementation of these plans would help to achieve improvement in air quality in targeted 131 cities as well as in the entire country, he added.

He said with the coordination, collaboration, participation and sustained efforts of all stakeholders, the objectives of the National Clean Air Programme will be achieved.

The minister said under NCAP, the Ministry has also launched PRANA , a portal for monitoring implementation of NCAP. In this portal, action plans of cities, states and line ministries will be reflected and monitored for their implementation status. In addition, best practices adopted by cities are shared on PRANA portal for adopting these practices by other cities.

He said during the UNFCCC, COP 26 held in Glasgow in 2021, the Prime Minister launched the Mission LiFE which means Lifestyle for Environment. The mission aims to create and nurture a global network of individuals, having a shared commitment to adopt and promote environment friendly lifestyles and make life a mass movement (Jan Andolan).

Yadav highlighted the notification of waste management rules covering solid waste, plastic waste, e-waste, bio-medical waste, battery waste, Construction & Demolition waste and tyre and hazardous wastes. He said Extended Producer Responsibility and Polluter Pays Principles have been incorporated to ensure producers/manufacturers are responsible for management wastes in environmentally sound manner.

The Union Minister said the SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) scheme of the Government aims to set up Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants and make CBG available in the market for use as a green fuel.

Moving forward, he said today we have a statutory Commission for Air Quality Management for Delhi-NCR and adjoining areas working comprehensively, taking the entire airshed as its jurisdiction.
In New Delhi, leaders from the Group of 20 (G20) major economies will gather to try to find solutions to some of the worlds most pressing issues amid a significant geopolitical rift over the conflict in Ukraine that threatens advancement on multiple international fronts.

India, which is leading the group this year, has gone all out, utilising drones to survey the nations capital, murals, and massive langur cutouts to scare away monkeys.

Rishi Sunak, on his first official visit to India as the Prime Minister of Britain, will occupy a room at the Shangri La.

The 43-year-old lauded PM Modis leadership and claimed that India was the right country at the right time before to the summit.

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The Chinese delegation will be led by Premier Li Qiang, clearly signalling that President Xi Jinping wont be there and eliminating the possibility of a meeting with Biden.

Since the first G20 summit, which took place in 2008, this will be the first time a Chinese president has been absent; however, Xi attended virtually in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Taj Hotel in Delhi will serve as the delegations home base.

Joe Biden, the President of the United States, will land in New Delhi and stay at the ITC Maurya. On Friday, he will meet in-person with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the transition to clean energy and climate change.

Before heading to New Delhi for the G20 conference on Saturday and Sunday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will visit Indonesia to take part in the ASEAN conference. Hell be residing there, at The Lalit Hotel.

Anthony Albanese, the prime minister of Australia, will travel to India as part of a three-nation tour that will also take him to Indonesia and the Philippines. He will be residing at the Imperial Hotel during the G20 Summit.
After the crowd gathered in response to a call by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI), a Meitei civil society organization, to remove security barricades at Phougakchao Ikhai village, clashes were reported from Phougakchao Ikhai bazaar, 52 km south of Imphal, along the Imphal-Churachandpur route.

In anticipation of potential law and order infractions, the state government hastily imposed a full curfew in Imphal West, Imphal East, Bishnupur, Kakching, and Thoubal till further orders.

S Ranjan Singh, the states minister of information and public relations, urged COCOMI to abandon their plan on Tuesday night, claiming that the majority of the barriers in the village area had been taken down, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

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However, according to the officials, the crowd, on Wednesday, was obstinate as it attempted to march toward Phougakchao Ikhai to remove the barricades at around 3pm. The officials added that state police forces halted them.

Police used tear gas to try to disperse the gathering as it attempted to break through the barricades. According to the government, about 40 individuals were hurt in the shooting, including a video journalist.

Some of the injured were taken directly to a hospital at the Bishnupur district administrative center, while others were sent to hospitals in Imphal. The authorities reported that their health is stable.

According to a statement made by the police control room, a sizable mob gathered at Kwakta in Bishnupur on September 6, 2013, with the intention of moving toward the Torbung region to demolish a roadblock or bunker. Security personnel, however, interfered and scattered the mob.

Lourembam Nganbi, president of Apunba Manipur Kanba Ima Lup (AMKIL), reportedly told reporters that hundreds of Meiteis who left their houses in Torbung after violence erupted on May 3 are unable to go back due to the barricades. Were simply asking that they be moved so that folks can go home. Since the government had ignored their repeated calls to take down the barricades by August 30, COCOMI had urged the populace to storm the barriers.
New Delhi G20 Summit Updates: Leaders from 18 members countries and special invitees have started arriving in Delhi to attend the G20 Summit being held in Delhis Bharat Mandapam auditorium from September 9 to 10. The G20 Summit 2023 is being held under Indias presidency. The two-day G20 will be attended by several top international leaders including US President Joe Biden, UK PM Rishi Sunak, French President Emanuel Macron, and heads of states of 15 members countries. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have decided to skip the summit for unknown reasons. US President Biden is scheduled to arrive on Friday and will hold a bilateral meeting with PM Modi. Meanwhile, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth has arrived in Delhi on a special invitation to attend the G20 Summit.

Here are the updates on New Delhi G20 Summit 2023:

7:00 PM: On the G20 Summit, Former Deputy NSA and Ambassador Pankaj Saran: Its a very special occasion for India and a very privileged occasion for India to host the G20 Summit. When the G20 Summit began in 2008, we never imagined that one day India would be actually hosting the G20 because the group is large. It consists of the richest countries of the world. It has countries which are major economies, including Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, etc. So its a great honour for India to host and a matter of pride for all of us that all these leaders are going to come to India

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6:40 PM: Prime Minister Modi back in Delhi after attending ASEAN-India Summit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at Delhi airport after concluding his visit to Indonesias Jakarta, where he attended the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and 18th East Asia Summit.

6:30 PM: On G20 Summit, Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth: I think there could not have been a better theme that has been chosen by India  One Earth, One Family and One Future  which is drawn from the Sanskrit phase of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. I think this is pertinent more so when we look at the effect of climate change because what one country does, not only affects that country but also the whole world. That is why, we have to reflect collectively and we have to act collectively. Each one of us has a duty to save the planet and save the whole population. I am happy to see that India has taken this very inclusive approach and to try to get everybody on board

6:00 PM: BREAKING NEWS: French President Emmanuel Macron to have a bilateral meeting with PM Narendra Modi, likely in the form of a lunch on the 10th of September at the end of the G20 Summit. Read Full Story Here

2:30 PM: On Indias G20 presidency, Executive Secretary of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Armida Alisjahbana says, The expectation (from India) is very high, especially in the geopolitical contextThe expectation is very high, especially for the G20 leadership & commitment to the most pressing issues & challengesEveryone is looking at the outcome of this Summit

1:30 pm: IMD to provide round-the-clock weather updates: IMD is functioning round the clock to provide detailed weather forecasts for Delhi till 10th September. A separate webpage has also been created for the same. In this webpage, we have introduced a detailed forecast for 9 locations across Delhi, where the maximum footfall of the delegates is expected during the G20 Summit. On the webpage, there will be information about current weather conditions including humidity, temperature, wind speed and wind direction. Nowcast, valid for 3 hours will also be there on the webpage, says IMD Scientist Soma Sen.

1:00 pm: Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on G20 under Indias presidency: The preparations for G20 have been restricted to only September 8-10 but the entire year has been a year of Indias G20 presidency.

11:55 AM: Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres on Indias pitch to include African Union into G20: The UN has a very solid partnership with the African Union. Africa has a serious problem of representation in todays international institutions. When they were created, the African continent had few independent countries. Most of the countries were still under colonial regimesIm strongly supportive of the presence of an African country, at least as a permanent member of the Security Council, that I consider it is essential to reform Africa to have a stronger participation. I would be very happy to see the African Union as a member of the G20, ANI quoted him as saying.

11:30 AM: Security checks underway in Raj Ghat area: Preparations & security checks underway in Delhi for the upcoming G20 Summit that is scheduled to be held here on September 9-10.

#WATCH | Preparations & security checks underway in Delhi for the upcoming G20 Summit that is scheduled to be held here on September 9-10. (Visuals from Raj Ghat area) pic.twitter.com/p2DjLaiZ80  ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2023

11:05 AM: Where will top world leaders stay in Delhi: US President Joe Biden will arrive on Friday and he will stay at ITC Maurya. Shangri La hotel has been booked for UK PM Rishi Sunak, while Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will stay in The Lalit Hotel. The Chinese delegation-led by Premier Li-Qiang will be staying in the Taj Hotel. READ Full Story HERE

11:00 AM: A special note from Prime Minister Modi: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam  these two words capture a deep philosophy. It means the world is one family. This is an all-embracing outlook that encourages us to progress as one universal family, transcending borders, languages, and ideologies. During Indias G20 Presidency, this has translated into a call for human-centric progress. Read Full Article Here

10:45 AM: Round-the-clock security in Delhi: Massive security arrangements have been made by the Delhi Police in the national capital ahead of the G20 Summit. Foot march and patrolling drills are being carried out by Delhi police personnel. Earlier in the day, Indian Army conducted anti-sabotage mock drill in several areas, including the venues and hotels, where guests will stay during the two-Day summit. READ FULL STORY HERE

10:35 AM: Mauritius PM arrives in Delhi: Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth has arrived in Delhi for the G20 Summit. Mauritius is not part of the G20 but Jugnauth will attend the event as a special invitee.

#WATCH | Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth arrives in Delhi for the G20 Summit that will be held here on September 9-10. pic.twitter.com/y0xbUdhupN  ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2023

10:30 AM: G20 Member Countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States and the European Union are the permanent members of the G20 also know as Group of 20.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a six-day trip to Europe arrived at Belgiums Brussels on Thursday morning and will hold interactions with Indian diaspora and European Union MPs.

His EU tour comes at a time when New Delhi is scheduled to hold a much-anticipated G20 Summit in the national capital between September 9 and 10 where the leaders from the US, UK, Australia, China and others will mark their presence.

His tour also coincides with the first anniversary of Bharat Jodo Yatra.

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According to party sources, the Congress leader will meet MPs of Europe in Brussels on September 7 around 2:30 p.m. and then hold a meeting with civil society at 7:30 p.m., where he will have dinner with non-Indian residents (NRIs) at around 11.30 p.m.

The sources also said he will also address a presser at 8:30 p.m.

On September 8, Rahul Gandhi will have breakfast with the businessmen in Brussels and then hold a meeting with top industrialists at around 9:30 a.m.

After concluding his visit to Brussels, Rahul Gandhi will arrive in Frances Paris on September 8 itself and will hold an interaction programme at Sciences PO University in Paris, and will attend a meeting later. He also has a dinner programme.

He will have a press conference in Paris on September 8 around 9 p.m. and then hold a meeting with Frances MPs and Indian diaspora.

On September 9, Rahul Gandhi will have interactions and meetings with MPs and interaction at Inalco University in Paris.

He will reach the Netherlands on September 10 and visit the famous 400-year-old Leiden University.

On September 11, he will be in Norway and meet the MPs and at the University of Oslo will present his address. He also has an interactive programme with the NRIs there.

This is Rahul Gandhis first trip outside India after his membership was reinstated by the Lok Sabha following the Supreme Courts stay on his conviction in a 2019 Modi surname remarks defamation case on August 4.

Earlier this year, he visited the US for an over six day trip, where he addressed the Indian diaspora, attended a lecture programme at Stanford University and also visited San Francisco, Washington and New York.

In March this year, he visited the UK and attended several programmes there.

His statements in the US and UK drew sharp responses from the ruling BJP.
Besides an AK-47 rifle, a pistol and night vision device, security forces have recovered apples, chapatis, paranthas, dates and fence cutters from the spot where two Pakistani terrorists were shot down in the Poonch district near the Line of Control (LoC), said a defence spokesman on Thursday.

The two terrorists were killed in a joint operation by the Army and police on Wednesday in the Mandi sub-sector in Poonch. Taking advantage of the hostile terrain and thick foliage, the terrorists tried to infiltrate from across the LoC.

A cache of arms, ammunition, Pakistan made medicines and eatables have been recovered from their baggage.

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Winter clothing and gloves recovered from their bag indicates that the terrorists were tasked to stay put in the mountainous region of Pir-Panchal range that divides the Jammu division from the Kashmir valley. Pakistan is attempting to revive terrorism in the area after a lull of about 20 years.

A defence spokesman said among the recoveries was a grenade, binocular, two Jackets, wind Cheater, shawl, inner set, two mufflers, 6 pairs of socks, syringe, 16 batteries, 6 bandage, 1 roll doctor tape, one box of water purifier tablets, one rain trouser, RTE food, salt, biscuits and chutney.
In the ever-evolving landscape of global politics, the prospect of a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin has emerged as a topic of both intrigue and concern. This potential rendezvous between two leaders who have often found themselves at odds with the United States and the international community carries profound implications for regional and global stability. The significance of such a meeting cannot be overstated. Mr Kims last diplomatic engagement with a foreign leader transpired in April 2019.

The focal point of concern centres on reports that Russia is actively seeking to procure ammunition from North Korea to replenish resources depleted by its involvement in the Ukraine conflict. This development raises a series of pivotal questions regarding the extent of military collaboration between these two nations. If North Korea indeed provides ammunition to Russia in exchange for essentials such as food, energy, and advanced weaponry, it could substantially bolster Mr. Kims regime, which remains under strict international sanctions. Moreover, the visit of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to Pyongyang in July and discussions regarding potential joint military exercises add a layer of complexity to the situation.

While the full scope of their military cooperation remains shrouded in ambiguity, any indication of improved relations between these two nations is bound to stir apprehension among their rivals, especially the USA, South Korea and Japan. For Russia, this engagement with North Korea serves as a strategic move to fortify its position in the ongoing Ukraine conflict. Moscow has been an active supporter of separatist forces in eastern Ukraine and seeks to counter Ukrainian efforts to reclaim control of its territory. The acquisition of ammunition from North Korea could offer Russia the necessary means to sustain its involvement in Ukraine, potentially prolonging the conflict and further straining Russias relations with Western powers. Conversely, North Koreas overtures towards Russia stem from its desire to counter US efforts to bolster military alliances with South Korea and Japan.

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North Koreas recent surge in missile testing is seen as a direct response to perceived threats emanating from these alliances. By cultivating closer ties with Russia, North Korea aims to diversify its strategic partnerships and reduce its dependence on China. In this intricate geopolitical dance, the repercussions for regional stability are palpable. The possibility of a North Korea-Russia alliance, even if limited to specific domains, has the potential to disrupt the equilibrium of power in Northeast Asia, especially when seen against the backdrop of ties between the two nations and China. It could embolden North Korea in its pursuit of nuclear capabilities and reinforce its confidence in challenging US interests in the region. South Korea, a key ally of the USA, is closely monitoring these developments with understandable apprehension. The fragile peace on the Korean Peninsula already faces considerable strain due to North Koreas missile tests and nuclear ambitions. A burgeoning North KoreaRussia relationship could further complicate endeavours to achieve lasting stability in the region.
MANILA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The performance of manufacturing production in the Philippines sustained its growth in July, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Thursday.

Based on the preliminary results of a monthly survey, the PSA said the year-on-year value of production index (VaPI) and the volume of production index (VoPI) increased by 5.7 percent and 5.7 percent in July, respectively.

The PSA said the July VaPI was faster than the June annual growth of 4.2 percent. In July 2022, the VaPI yearly growth was 12.1 percent.

The agency attributed the rise in annual VaPI in July to the higher annual increase in the index of the manufacture of beverages industry division, with a 22.6 annual increment in July 2023 from a yearly drop of 2.7 percent in June. The manufacture of beverages contributed 38.3 percent to the annual uptrend of VaPI for the manufacturing section.

Out of the 22 industry divisions for the manufacturing section, the manufacture of beverages was the fourth industry division with the highest weight in the computation of VaPI.

On the other hand, the PSA said the July VoPI was faster than the 3.4 percent annual growth in June. In July 2022, VoPI recorded an annual increase of 3.6 percent.

The agency said the annual growth of VoPI in July was mainly brought about by the annual increases in three industry divisions, namely the manufacture of beverages, which grew 12.6 percent; the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, 36.2 percent; and the manufacture of food products, 1.2 percent.

Of the remaining 19 industry divisions, six registered year-on-year increases in July. In contrast, 13 industry divisions posted annual declines during the period. The manufacture of furniture registered the highest yearly drop at 27.7 percent. 
The year 2026 is likely to become a critical tipping point in Indias democracy. This is because our Constitution provides for a fresh delimitation exercise on the basis of an all-India Census undertaken after that date.

Anticipating the likely expansion of the number of Members of Parliament, the Union government has already constructed a big Parliament building in New Delhi. To increase the number of peoples representatives while our population has touched 140 crores today is indeed desirable for widening and deepening democracy. However, a fresh exercise in delimitation involves reconstitution of electoral constituencies.

This reconstitution is likely to open a raging controversy that cannot easily be resolved. These controversies are likely to emanate from the way the We in the Preamble of the Constitution is constructed. An obvious and self-evident referent of this We are citizens who as atomised individuals are empowered to vote. But as Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud asserted in an address on Ambedkar Jayanti delivered two years ago, our Constitution prioritises the collective rights of persons who are members of deprived castes and minority communities. So, it can be legitimately argued that delimitation should provide for the representation of these persons.

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Those sympathetic to the cause of the LGBTQ+ movement, would also like to include lesbians, homosexuals and trans-genders in this category of persons, needing proper representation. It cannot be convincingly argued that delimitation of constituencies is at best a geographical exercise that has nothing to do with the rights of persons guaranteed by the Constitution.

Delimitation does more than merely fix geographical boundaries of constituencies within which all resident adults have the franchise to elect the government of their choice. As the famous Sachar Committee had articulated more than a decade ago, Muslims in some parts of India feel cheated by existing constituencies that divide their votes and convert their collective voice into mere minoritized aspirations.

Their complaint is that if Muslim-dominated areas of some adjoining constituencies are merged, their voice will be more clearly heard and their needs fulfilled. Several Muslims interlocutors who appeared before the Sachar Committee attributed the ghettoization of Muslims to fragmentation of the Muslim vote.

Dalit activists have a similar complaint; they argue that as the reserved constituencies for the Scheduled Castes invariably have many castes who are not Dalits, the Dalit agenda for dignity and equality get short shrift. As far as the rights of the LGBTQ+ are concerned, the country is only now entertaining the legitimacy of their claims. While same-sex relations and living are legitimised, their claims to the right to inherit property and marital status are likely to get entangled with laws on marriage and family that are governed by religious norms. While the deprived castes and communities raise their demands for just delimitation, the castes that are now dominant will also be concerned.

Recall the days of the late Sharad Yadav making caustic remarks on par kati women (literally, clipped feathers referring to urban, upper-class women who cut their hair) and the late Mulayam Singh Yadav saying that womens representation in Parliament would reduce him to banging the charpoy at his home instead of banging the tables as he does in the Parliament. Will this patriarchy accommodate womens representation even through nomination, leave alone the broader gender rights concerns?

Moreover, castes and communities that now dominate electoral bodies would be anxious to retain their hold and might insist on reservation of seats in elected bodies to the OBCs as well. Another problem that the delimitation exercise would confront is likely regional disparity owing to demographic changes.

There is the widespread fear among the southern States that the balance of power may shift north because some of the states in north India have been indifferent to development goals and have not reduced their fertility rate to match with the achievements of the southern States. There is a legitimate fear that representation in the Parliament and hence the centre of gravity of Indias politics will turn more in favour of the north.

A fresh delimitation exercise in these circumstances is likely to raise a whole host of dormant collective as well as individual cultural grievances that cannot easily be resolved. Moreover, since our political discourse is saturated with caste, community and regional identities, it is not unlikely that the ghosts of separate electorates of the colonial era may once again come to haunt us and shake up the political scene.

(The writer is former Associate Professor, Lady Shriram College for Women, University of Delhi.)
US Vice President Kamala Harris has said, she is ready to take over as the President if Joe Biden is unable to serve out his full term. During a trip abroad, Kamala Harris was questioned about her readiness for the Oval Office. She responded that stepping in as the President if and when necessary was an important aspect of her job.

Harris responded after initially attempting to divert attention from a query regarding the age of the 80-year-old Biden by mentioning his legislative successes.

Questions regarding the presidents age frequently coexist with inquiries about how you would fill in for him in the event of an emergency. Do you believe you are ready for that scenario? Has your experience as a vice president equipped you for this position? Chris Megerian of the Associated Press questioned Harris.

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In Jakarta, Indonesia, where she is representing Biden at the yearly Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting, the 58-year-old vice president responded, Yes.

The reporter questioned, And how would you describe that process?

Well, lets start off by saying that Joe Biden will be OK. Im responding to your scenario. Thus, Harris remarked, that is not going to happen.

But lets also be explicit that each and every vice president is aware that when they take the oath, they must be extremely clear about any potential responsibilities related to succeeding the president. Kamala Harris declared, I am not any different.

The oldest president in history is Joe Biden. He will turn 81 in November and will run for re-election the following year.

He has reportedly been unhappy with Harris despite publicly complimenting her.

Harris has even lower favorability ratings than Biden, according to the RealClearPolitics average of recent polls, which means that 40.7% of the public approves of her performance compared to 41.7% who approve of her boss.

Despite a contentious contest in which she attacked him for opposing federally forced desegregation through student busing, Biden chose Harris, the first female and second non-white Vice President, as his running partner in 2020.

That young lady was me! Biden heard Harris say during a 2019 debate.
Saint-Laurent, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Sunny to partly cloudy. High around 40F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 31F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
John M. Crisp , an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service, lives in Texas and can be reached at jcrispcolumns@gmail.com .
Don't tell me what my child may, or may not, read
People visit the booth of Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) during the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 5, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

A man visits the booth of Chinese carmaker Forthing during the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 6, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

People view an AVATR 12 during the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 5, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

This photo shows an exhibit of the Superfast Charging Battery Shenxing displayed at the booth of Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) during the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 5, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

This photo shows a launching ceremony of Chinese carmaker BYD during the media preview of the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 4, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

A visitor poses for photos with a BYD SEAL U during the media preview of the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 4, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

A visitor takes photos of exhibits from Chinese carmaker BYD during the media preview of the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 4, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

A man visits the booth of DeepRoute, a Chinese company in the field of self-driving vehicles, during the media preview of the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 4, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

This photo shows a launching ceremony of the new vehicle AVATR 12 in Munich, Germany, Sept. 4, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

People visit the booth of Chinese carmaker BYD during the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 5, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

People visit the booth of Chinese carmaker BYD during the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 5, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

People visit the booth of Chinese company Nobo Auto during the media preview of the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 4, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

This photo shows the booth of Chinese company EVE during the media preview of the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 4, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

This photo shows the booth of Chinese carmaker SERES during the media preview of the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 4, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

Visitors try a Denza D9 at a launching ceremony of Chinese carmaker BYD during the media preview of the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 4, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

A man visits the booth of Chinese company EVE during the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 5, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

This photo shows the booth of Chinese carmaker SERES during the media preview of the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 4, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

This photo shows the booth of Chinese carmaker Leapmotor during the media preview of the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 4, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

People visit the booth of SenseTime, a leading Chinese AI software company, during the media preview of the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 4, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Zhang Fan)

People visit the booth of Chinese carmaker Xpeng during the 2023 International Motor Show, officially known as the IAA MOBILITY 2023, in Munich, Germany, Sept. 5, 2023. The IAA MOBILITY 2023, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday.

At the six-day event are some 70 Chinese firms, the second largest number after the German participants. Under the motto Experience Connected Mobility of this year's IAA, Chinese carmakers are rolling out more chances and choices for local partners and customers in Europe. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)
Video: U.S. Department of State announced 1 billion U.S. dollars in new aid for Ukraine on Sept. 6, 2023 while Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to Kiev to show support. (Xinhua)

For the first time, the United States in this aid package transferred 5.4 million dollars it seized from Russian oligarchs "to support veteran reintegration and rehabilitation" in Ukraine.



WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Department of State announced 1 billion U.S. dollars in new aid for Ukraine on Wednesday while Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to Kiev to show support.

The State Department said in a fact sheet that the new package includes an additional drawdown of up to 175 million dollars worth of weapons and equipment from the Department of Defense's inventories.

What's notable among the capabilities in this round of security assistance is the 120mm depleted uranium tank ammunition for Abrams tanks, according to a list issued by the Pentagon. This is the first time Washington sends Kiev this type of ammunition, which is radioactive.

Also in the package are air defense system components, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems for HIMARS, munitions, ammunition, and communications systems, the State Department said.

The United States also committed 100 million dollars through the State Department's Foreign Military Financing program to support Ukraine's longer-term military requirements, the department said.

A Ukrainian soldier rests in Kupyansk district, Ukraine, Aug. 16, 2023. (Photo by Peter Druk/Xinhua)

With regard to humanitarian assistance, a total of 206 million dollars will go toward providing critical support including water, food and shelter for those in Ukraine or fleeing the country due to the conflict with Russia. There will be 90.5 million dollars in humanitarian assistance for the specific purpose of demining, according to the fact sheet.

Following the recent corruption scandals in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry that saw the replacement of the country's defense minister, the United States also provided a 203-million-dollar funding "for support to transparency and accountability of institutions, bolstering key reform efforts related to anti-corruption, rule of law and the justice sector," the State Department said.

For the first time, the United States in this aid package transferred 5.4 million dollars it seized from Russian oligarchs "to support veteran reintegration and rehabilitation" in Ukraine, the department said. The transfer of the assets was authorized by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in May.

The above announcement came on the same day Blinken made an unannounced visit to Kiev in a show of support. It is the most high-profile visit by a U.S. official to Ukraine since President Joe Biden visited in February.

While in Kiev, Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba. 
In the more than four-month-long ethnic strife in Manipur where Meitei plainsmen and Kukis from the hills are pitted in a bloody battle against each other that has claimed more than 160 lives till now, a new use has emerged for the good old trustworthy condom.

Primarily used as a contraceptive to prevent pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases during intercourse, the elastic and water-proof device is now being used to cover the nozzle or the tip of gun barrels to protect the weapon from humidity and rainwater getting in which may cause the weapon to misfire.

The practice of using condoms in such a manner is recorded in the First World War (1914-1918) and also during the protracted Vietnam War (1955-1975).

Manipur has a humid weather and rains are frequent, posing a risk to the licensed single barrel and muskets that are very common among most communities in the beleaguered state.

Moreover, hunting is a way of life especially in the hills, as a result of which almost every household has a single-barreled licensed gun although not of the sophisticated variety.

And not just the rain, the condom prevents dirt or mud from entering the barrel of the gun. Such foreign material inside the barrel may also cause the gun barrel to explode while firing.

A directive purported to be issued by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders Forum (ITLF) on Wednesday has informed the Meitei community not to misinterpret the use of condoms.

It said: Due to shortage of polythene bags in the Churachandpur district, condoms are being used in place of polythene bags to carry food items including rice, vegetables, meat etc

Above all, the condoms also serve as a solution for carrying electronic gadgets like mobile phones and walkie-talkie sets including covering the tip of the licensed gun used by the frontliners.

Since it is a rainy season, to prevent the said items from getting soaked which may result in its malfunctioning, the directive added.

Manipurs social fabric is in tatters because of the ongoing conflict with the divide between the Meiteis and the Kukis almost complete. All Meiteis have all but disappeared from the Kuki-dominated areas and Kukis have fled Meitei-dominated areas.

The two-way exodus began after violent fights, gunfights and arson amid shocking brutalities were sparked off by a scuffle on May 3 in Churachandpur during a protest by tribal students.

With insecurity talking over, a rampaging public indulged in a looting spree of weapons from police armouries both in the valley and in the hills especially on the days of May 3, May 4, May 6, May 28 and May 29 when about 4,537 weapons including at least 174 AK-47s, 551 INSAS rifles and 101 LMGs, 406 carbines, five 51 mm mortars, 503 pistols besides more than 5 lakh rounds of ammunition were looted.

These weapons have only added to a big stash of illegal arsenal that existed across the state that has seen decades of armed insurgencies resulting in an extensively weaponised society.
Amid a raging controversy over the remarks of DMK leaders Udhayanidhi Stalin and A. Raja on Sanatan Dharma, the Congress on Thursday made it clear that the party did not agree with such comments. The grand old party also asserted that it believed in "sarvadharma sambhav" (equal respect to all religions).

Both the Congress and the DMK are members of the INDIA bloc, formed to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

"If you know the history of the Indian National Congress you would know that we have always maintained (this stand) and you will find the same principles in the Constituent Assembly debates and the Constitution of India. There can never be a rethink on the Constitution as far as the Congress is concerned," said Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera.

He said nobody can treat any particular faith as less than another faith and added that his party has always believed in 'sarvadharma sambhav' wherein every religion has its space.

Asked about why the Congress has not yet condemned the DMK leaders remarks, Khare said: "I just said we do not agree with such comments."

Udhayanidhi, Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare Minister and son of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, stirred up a political storm on Saturday when he allegedly likened Sanatan Dharma to coronavirus, malaria and dengue and said such things should not be opposed but eradicated. He was speaking at a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association in Chennai.

"A few things cannot be opposed, that should be abolished only. We can't oppose Dengue, Mosquitoes, Malaria, or Corona, we have to eradicate this. That's how we have to eradicate Sanatana. Rather opposing Sanatana it should be eradicated, he said, eliciting sharp reaction from the ruling BJP.

On Thursday, another senior DMK leader A. Raja further fuelled the controversy after he compared Sanatan Dharma to HIV and leprosy.

While speaking at a protest meeting against Vishwakarma Yojana organised by Dravidar Kazhagam in Chennai, Raja said that "there is neither a sense of disgust associated with malaria and dengue nor were they considered a social disgrace. What is looked upon with disgust was leprosy in the past and HIV in recent times...As far as we are concerned, it should be looked upon as a disease which is a social disgrace like HIV and leprosy."

The BJP and several right wing outfits have launched a frontal attack on the INDIA alliance over the DMK leaders remarks, accusing the opposition bloc of being anti-Hindu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a council of ministers on Wednesday, said Udhayanidhis remarks on Sanatan Dharma need to be responded properly.

Modis intervention, however, has prompted Chief Minister Stalin to come out in defence of his son. In a long statement put out on X (formerly Twitter), Stalin said Udhayanidhi didnt call for a genocide of people following Sanatan Dharma as distorted by the BJP, but only spoke against the discrimination.

Stalin also hit out at the pro-BJP forces for spreading a false narrative on what Udhayanidhi said and accused the Union ministers and BJP chief ministers of sharing the same lie.
Delhi Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Thursday stressed that the city police should safeguard assets created and upgraded for the G20 Summit and ensure these are not stolen or damaged after the key meeting.

In a telephonic interview, the senior AAP leader said that for such events, proper planning has to be done so that people are not inconvenienced.

"It is good that such events are being held in Delhi. But there is a caveat. For the last 10 days, people are facing traffic jams. If you want the support of people for such events, it has to be ensured that they are not inconvenienced. There should be proper planning by Delhi Police and its traffic unit for it," he said.

Bharadwaj said that Delhi Police has to ensure strict action against those who steal or tamper with the assets that have been created in Delhi for the summit.

In the run-up to the summit, there has been a controversy over allocation of funds for the beautification of Delhi.

Union minister Meenakashi Lekhi on Monday claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government did nothing for Delhi's development in its nine-year rule and it was the Centre that bore almost all the expenses for G20 Summit preparations in the city.

Responding to the charge, Bharadwaj claimed, "I can say with responsibility that the Centre did not provide any fund. I have a file in which the chief secretary himself wrote that all departments have to spend their own money. Manish Sisodia (former deputy chief minister) had written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for funds for the summit. There was no response from the Centre."

The senior leader also accused the Centre of "step-motherly" treatment and stressed that it was Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who directed that the work should not be stopped.

Talking about the preparations in case there is heavy rains, Bharadwaj, who also holds the flood and irrigation portfolio, said, "Even if it rains in Delhi for three days, there will be no flooding."

This monsoon, several parts of the national capital witnessed flooding.

Bharadwaj, who also holds the health portfolio, stressed that they are fully prepared for any kind of medical emergency during the G20 Summit.

"There are doctors who will be deployed 24X7 at hotels. Advanced life support ambulances will accompany carcades. Ambulances have also been deployed at strategic locations," he said.

The G20 Summit will be held from September 9 to 10 at the newly built international convention and exhibition centre -- Bharat Mandapam -- at Pragati Maidan. It will be attended by a host of world leaders including US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron.
A day after FIR was lodged against Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge, DMK leader A. Raja fuelled the controversy over 'Sanatan Dharma' by comparing it to HIV and leprosy.

While speaking at a protest meeting against Vishwakarma Yojana organised by Dravidar Kazhagam in Chennai on Thursday, Raja said that "there is neither a sense of disgust associated with malaria and dengue nor were they considered a social disgrace. What is looked upon with disgust was leprosy in the past and HIV in recent times...As far as we are concerned, it should be looked upon as a disease which is a social disgrace like HIV and leprosy," Raja was quoted by Times of India.

Meanwhile, BJP said that Raja's remarks was "outrageous and vitriolic". Union minister and BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan said that Raja's comments reflect the INDIA bloc's "mental bankruptcy" and "deep-rooted Hinduphobia".

He also said that Udhayanidhi Stalin was soft when he compared it to dengue and malaria.

Earlier, Raja had said that he was ready to give answers to all cabinet ministers if the prime minister permits him.

After an FIR was registered, Priyank Kharge on Thursday said that his statement did not intend to hurt the sentiments of any religion.

He also criticised BJP for twisting his statement. "My statement was not against any religion that discriminates between human beings is not a religion. I follow the Constitution. my religion is the Constitution. If they want to file an FIR against me or they want to arrest me, it is up to the individuals, I really don't care," Kharge was quoted by ANI.

All I have said is that the Constitution is my religion...These people do not understand Kannada, Hindi or English. Let them file as many FIRs as they want, they are free to do so, he said.

In the backdrop of the Sanatana Dharma heating up, Udayanidhi Stalin released a statement saying that he will face all cases legally. He said that the BJP is using Sanatana to divert attention from Manipur and other major issues.

An FIR was lodged against Stalin and Kharge under Section 153 A (promoting enmity between different religious groups), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts to outrage religious feelings) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Speaking a seminar in Chennai last week, Udhayanidhi Satlin compared the Sanatana Dharma with diseases like dengue and malaria and had said it should not be merely opposed but "eradicated".

While, Priyank Kharge had said that any religion that does not promote equality is as good as a disease.

"Any religion that does not promote equality or does not ensure that you have the dignity of being human is not a religion, according to me. Any religion that does not give equal rights or treat you like humans is as good as a disease," Kharge had said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked his ministers to strongly refute opposition leaders on their controversial comments on Sanatan Dharma and expose them but told his ministerial colleagues to avoid the political row around the Bharat issue noting that it has been the country's ancient name, sources said.

Modi spoke on the issues during his interaction with the Union Council of Ministers in which he laid down the dos and don'ts to be observed by them during the upcoming G20 summit. He asked them to remain in the national capital during the mega exercise and discharge any duty assigned to them to ensure that visiting dignitaries are not put to any inconvenience.

The ministers have been asked to ditch their official vehicles and use the shuttle service to reach the Bharat Mandapam and other venues of various meetings. They were also told by the prime minister to let designated people speak on various matters pertaining to G20 issues and avoid speaking out of turn, sources said.

Speaking on the political row after DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin blamed Sanatan Dharma for promoting division and discrimination among people and said it should be eradicated, Modi said parties and leaders behind such statements should be exposed and the truth brought before people.

A source said the prime minister spoke positively of Sanatan Dharma's endurance over the millennia and asked ministers to strongly refute the suggestions made by opposition leaders.

With opposition leaders accusing the government of violating the Constitution after Droupadi Murmu was addressed as the "President of Bharat" and Modi as the "Prime Minister of Bharat" in official communications recently, ministers were asked to avoid joining the debate.

Government sources have insisted that the Constitution itself refers to the country as India as well Bharat and accused opposition parties of stoking an unwarranted row over the matter.

At the meeting, Modi asked ministers to download the G20 India mobile app and make best use of its translation and other features while conversing with foreign dignitaries, sources said.

The G20 mobile app has an instant translation feature incorporating all Indian languages and that of G20 nations.

With nearly 40 world leaders, including those from international organisations, set to attend the summit on September 9-10, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra briefed the ministers in detail about the protocol and related matters.

Some of the ministers are expected to be ministers in waiting for the world leaders who have started arriving for the summit.

Union Minister of State for Health S P S Singh Baghel received President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his arrival in Delhi on Tuesday.

During an informal interaction before the meeting of the Union Cabinet which lasted for nearly one hour, the ministers were informed how important the summit was for India and its global image.
On this day a year ago, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi embarked on a 4,000 km-journey Bharat Jodo Yatra to eradicate hatred in India. Joining the celebration of the success, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the yatra will continue till hatred is eradicated and India is united.

"The crores of steps of Bharat Jodo Yatra towards unity and love have become the foundation of a better tomorrow for the country," said Gandhi in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The journey continues  till hatred is eradicated, till India unites. This is my promise!, he added.

Gandhi also shared a video montage on X of his over 4,000 km Kanyakumari to Kashmir yatra.

During the anniversary, the Congress party is planning to organise foot marches across the country with members of the Congress Working Committee, state Congress presidents, and Congress legislature party leaders. Bharat Jodo rally will be held in all 722 districts.

However, Gandhi, who is currently in Brussels, Europe, will not be there to mark the anniversary of the yatra. Gandhi is set to hold a meet with the Members of the European Parliament on Thursday.

Gandhi addressed 12 public meetings, over 100 street corner meetings and 13 press conferences during his yatra.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the yatra is a peoples movement. The Yatra continues to fight the menace of hate and hostility in our society through a conversation...The Bharat Jodo Yatra is not just a physical endeavour, it is a sincere effort to rebuild our broken collective conscience, said Kharge.

#BharatJodoYatra is a Peoples Movement, unequalled in history.



As the Yatra completes one year today, on behalf of the Indian National Congress, I congratulate Shri @RahulGandhi, all Bharat Yatris and the lakhs of our citizens who walked and joined in this historic endeavour. pic.twitter.com/0jCAbvzU2A  Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) September 7, 2023

Hitting out at PM Modi, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that the entire exercise was not a Mann ki Baat for Rahul Gandhi, while it was an opportunity to listen to Janta ki Chinta. The yatra was a transformative event in Indian politics, he said.

Today marks the first anniversary of the launch of the historic Kanyakumari to Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, led by @RahulGandhi.



After paying tributes to his father at Sriperumbudur, he visited the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Thiruvalluvar statue, the Kamaraj Memorial and Gandhi pic.twitter.com/Trgp5PPa5I  Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 7, 2023

The yatra also saw the participation of several known celebrities including Pooja Bhatt, Kamal Haasan, Riya Sen and Swara Bhasker. Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, former Army chief Gen (Retd) Deepak Kapoor, and ex-Navy chief Admiral (Retd) L. Ramdas also took part in the yatra.

According to experts, the yatra was able to transform Gandhis overall image. Even opposition leaders including National Conference's Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah, PDP's Mehbooba Mufti, Shiv Sena's Aaditya Thackeray, Priyanka Chaturvedi and Sanjay Raut and NCP's Supriya Sule joined the yatra.
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is a historical figure whom every politician in Maharashtra likes to invoke. Not a single word criticising Shivaji is tolerated in the state as he is unanimously accepted by people as Jaanta Rajathe wise and just king.

Little wonder then that his weapons and memorabilia are celebrated with much fanfare and there is a race of sorts among rival political parties to bring his weapons back from museums abroad.

Maharashtra culture minister Sudhir Mungatiwar has announced that England has agreed to part with Shivajis Wagh Nakhe, the famous tiger claws weapon which he is said to have used to kill Bijapur general Afzal Khan.

An aide of Mungatiwar informed that a team led by the minister is likely to go soon to England and could return with Wagh Nakhe of Shivaji. The team comprises principal secretary at the department of culture and the director of state archaeology and museums.

The team will also request the British authorities to return the famous Jagadamba sword of Shivaji that is in a royal museum in the UK. The sword was given to the British crown prince in the late 1870s by Shivaji IV, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

If Mungatiwar succeeds in bringing back the tiger claws to Maharashtra, the saffron alliance ruling the state will try to get a major political mileage out of it by claiming to be the real inheritors of the warrior kings legacy.

A fund of Rs 50 lakh has been allocated to bring back the tiger claws and the UK trip is likely to take place at the end of September.

A source informed that the tiger claws were originally found by historian James Grant Duff. They are currently in the Victoria and Albert museum and the museum has shown willingness to return them.

During this England trip, the team led by the minister is likely to sign an agreement for the return of Wagh Nakh and will also visit other museums to see if any memorabilia related to Shivaji is there, said the source.
Vale, a global mining company and a leading producer of Brazilian iron ore and iron ore agglomerates, said one of its key subsidiaries, Vale International, has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the multinational conglomerate Essar Group to supply iron ore agglomerates for its Green Steel Arabia (GSA) project.

To be set up at an investment of $4.5 billion by the Essar Group in Ras Al Khair region of Saudi Arabia, the GSA aims to be the first green steel initiative in the region, aspiring to set a global benchmark for reducing CO2 emissions.

Under this deal, Vale International will be supplying 4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of iron ore agglomerates (DR grade pellets and briquettes) to Essar for the GSA project.

On the contract win, Vales Regional Director Andre Figueiredo said this signifies the group's long-term commitment to meet the growing demand for raw materials by the steel industry, especially in the Middle East.

"Vales portfolio of high-grade iron ore agglomerates will have direct positive impact in terms of added value, price competitivity and potential lower carbon footprint, thus fostering the expansion of the low CO2 emission steel industry. We are immensely excited to associate with Essar Groups pioneering green steel project in Saudi Arabia," stated Figueiredo.

Naushad Ansari, Country Head for Essar Group in Saudi Arabia, said: "Essar is looking at investing about $4.5 billion in setting up an integrated steel plant in Ras Al Khair, Saudi Arabia. Through this LoI with Vale, and the previous one with Bahrain Steel, we will have secured 100% of the raw material supply of iron ore feed for the Saudi steel plant."

The GSA plant will consist of a direct reduced iron (DRI) capacity of 5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), comprising two modules of 2.50 mtpa each.

Furthermore, the project will include a hot strip capacity of 4 mtpa, along with 1 million tonnes of cold rolling capacity, as well as galvanising and tin plate lines, it added.

Ansari said the group plans to start production in 2027. "We are confident of replacing the flat steel imports into Saudi Arabia and the GCC region with our bouquet of products," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

JAKARTA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged here on Thursday to boost bilateral exchanges. They also agreed on the importance of relations between the two countries.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Jakarta, namely the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit. It was also their first meeting.

Last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Albanese in Bali, Indonesia, reaching a series of important consensuses, Li noted.

China-Australia relations, he said, have maintained a positive momentum of improvement thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides over the past year.

Li also said that a sound and stable China-Australia relationship serves the fundamental interests and common aspirations of the two peoples.

China is ready to work with Australia to restart and resume bilateral exchanges in various fields, and continue to promote institutional dialogue and consultation in such fields as diplomacy, economy and trade, education and consular affairs to provide solid support for the improvement and development of bilateral relations, said Li.

Seeking common development through sharing opportunities, China will continue to advance high-level opening-up, providing a bigger market for Australia and other countries in the world, Li said, hoping that the Australian side will adopt an objective and fair attitude towards Chinese enterprises' investment and operation in Australia.

He called on the two sides to properly handle divergences in the spirit of mutual respect, seeking common ground while shelving differences as well as mutual benefit and win-win results, so as to promote the further improvement and development of bilateral relations, Li said.

The Asia-Pacific region is the shared home for China and Australia and the Chinese side is willing to work with Australia to jointly safeguard peace and stability of the region, he added.

For his part, Albanese said Australia-China relations are very important. He also said that the Australian side is encouraged by the progress of bilateral relations.

Australia is willing to advance dialogue and exchanges with China in the spirit of mutual respect, deepen cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and properly manage differences, so as to build a stable and constructive relationship between the two countries to benefit the two peoples, he said.

Australia is willing to strengthen coordination and cooperation with China in international affairs and jointly cope with climate change and other global challenges, said Albanese. 
Ahead of the 40th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (December 2/3), a dozen members of the United States Congress have written to their Department of Justice, seeking immediate action to serve Bhopal district courts summons in the ongoing criminal case upon Dow Chemical Company.

Dow Chemical is the current owner of Union Carbide Company Limited that owned the fertilizer plant in Bhopal from where toxic gas leaked in December 1984 killing hundreds and maiming thousands for life.

The Bhopal court where the criminal case of the gas tragedy is under hearing has sent seven summonses to the Dow Chemical to appear in the court and face trial, but to no avail. Under the seventh summon the company is expected to appear in court on October 4.

With no forward movement by the US government in getting the summonses served to the Dow Chemical, the 12 Congress members have written a hard hitting letter to the deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco of the US Department of Justice.

The Congress members have said that the Departments inaction is creating an indelible stain upon our nations reputation for upholding international legal and moral standards that must be corrected.

Among signatories to the letter are members Rashida Tlaib, Frank Pallone Jr., Pramila Jayapal, James P. McGroven, Raul M. Grijalva, Linda T. Sanchez, David J. Trone, Barbara Lee, Jamie Raskin, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Greg Casar and Cori Bush.

The letter dated September 6 says,

This December marks the 40th commemoration of the chemical disaster in Bhopal, India. Those charged with criminal responsibility for this tragedy have shockingly never been held accountable. Still pending criminal investigations have generated seven summonses for The Dow Chemical Company to appear in an Indian court. We urge you to take immediate actions to address this injustice by serving Indias legal summons upon Dow, as requested under the terms of a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty on Criminal Matters, signed by India and the United States on October 17, 2001.

It mentioned that experts estimate that the Bhopal disaster poisoned more than half a million people with highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and killed more than 7,000 with at least 15,000 additional deaths linked to the disasters impacts. Many survivors continue to suffer with various kidney diseases, cancers, and neurological disorders, while many children are afflicted with birth defects, mental disabilities, and stunted growth.

Police in Bhopal named Union Carbide among the accused within hours of the disaster. A subsequent three- year investigation by Indias Central Bureau of Investigation found that Union Carbide was responsible for inadequate technology, double standards in safety and emergency-preparedness, and reckless cost-cutting of security systems within the pesticides plant from which the poison gas leaked. Several serious charges were brought against Union Carbide including culpable homicide, which is the equivalent to criminally negligent manslaughter under U.S. law, the letter mentions.

In the aftermath of the disaster, Indian law enforcement leveled serious charges against Union Carbide and sent repeated summonses requiring company officials to appear before courts in the country, all of which were ignored. Indian courts declared the company an absconder, or fugitive from justice, leading to an unsuccessful attempt to force Union Carbide to appear in court in India through a judicially ordered seizure of its assets in 1992, the letter says.

It adds that in February 2001, Union Carbide became a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Inc. Dow has perpetuated UCCs non-compliance with Indian law by failing to ensure the appearance of the company in the criminal hearings despite seven notices for appearing in Indian court, starting August 2013.

Of the 31 years, Union Carbide has spent evading Indias criminal justice system, 22 have been under Dows stewardship. As the parent company of Union Carbide, Dow bears the responsibility for Union Carbides liabilities, the letter mentions.

The Indian governments actions relating to Bhopal, including the summons served to UCIL and Dow, are entirely lawful under the terms of a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty on Criminal Matters (MLAT) signed between our countries in 2001. The Departments failure to fulfill Indias requests is a clear breach of American obligations under international law that you are required to uphold, the letter says.

The letter also mentioned that during a Westminster debate last November, British parliamentarians cited the Department of Justices refusal to serve Indias summons to Dow Chemical on six separate occasions and urged the UK government to seek answers from their allies in India and the U.S. on why they continue to block further investigations and further compensation claims, given the scale and impact of the tragedy. This, the Congress members said, was putting a stain on the reputation of the U.S.

We strongly urge the Department of Justice to take immediate steps to serve the Indian governments summons upon Dow Inc. and any other action necessary to uphold its treaty requirements with India. We appreciate your consideration of these requests and look forward to hearing how you plan to address these 40 years-long injustices, the letter said in conclusion.

Survivors organizations express gratitude, urge INDIA alliance to take up issue

Five Bhopal-based gas tragedy survivors organizations thanked the 12 Congressmen for this unprecedented action. It is indeed heartening to find some of the most powerful voices in the US Congress calling for the US DOJ to act as per law and stop their countrys image being sullied as a safe haven for criminal corporations, said president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, Rashida Bee.

Nawab Khan of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha said, We make a special appeal to I.N.D.I.A. (political alliance of opposition parties) to include the provision of justice and a life of dignity to Bhopal survivors and their children and those poisoned through groundwater in their agenda for changing Bharat.

Rachna Dhingra of Bhopal Group for Information & Action said, There is a lesson in this action by the US lawmakers, for our governments departments that are helping the US corporations to remain unpunished. Hopefully it will be emulated by the leading voices of the current opposition in our country.

2024 is also the 40th Anniversary of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal where justice continues to be denied, Balkrishna Namdeo, President of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogee Sangharsh Morcha pointed out.

With this action by the US lawmakers we now look forward to having Dow Chemicals Amy Wilson answering charges of sheltering fugitive killer Union Carbide in the Bhopal District Court, Said Nousheen Khan of Children Against Dow / Carbide.
A raging controversy over Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalins remark on Sanatan Dharma further escalated on Thursday after his father and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin came out in his defence and slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making comments over the issue.

In a long statement put out on X (formerly Twitter), Stalin said Udhayanidhi didnt call for a genocide of people following Sanatan Dharma as distorted by the BJP, but only spoke against the discrimination.

Stalin, who is the president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), said minister Udhayanidhi expressed his views on oppressive Sanatan principles that discriminate against scheduled castes, tribals and women, with no intention to offend any religion or religious beliefs.

Some individuals still denigrate women on spiritual platforms, arguing that women should not work, widowed women should not remarry, and there are no rituals or officiating chants for remarriage, he said.

Stalin hit out at the pro-BJP forces for spreading a false narrative on what Udhayanidhi said and accused the Union ministers and BJP chief ministers of sharing the same lie.

Citing Prime Minister Modis statement that Udhayanidhis comments on Sanatan Dharma needed a proper response, Stalin said: Neither the prime minister nor his his ministers have spoken on issues like Manipur or the Rs 7.50 lakh crore rupees worth irregularities highlighted in the CAG report. But they convened the cabinet on Sanatan.

The chief minister questioned whether the prime minister who has failed to fulfill any of his promises was attempting to divert attention by invoking Sanatan.

Stalin also alleged that the BJP was desperate to create division within the opposition alliance INDIA.

Udhayanidhi, while addressing a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers and Artists Association in Chennai last week, had allegedly likened Sanatan Dharma to coronavirus, malaria and dengue and said such things should not be opposed but eradicated.

"Few things cannot be opposed, that should be abolished only. We can't oppose Dengue, Mosquitoes, Malaria, or Corona, we have to eradicate this. That's how we have to eradicate Sanatana. Rather opposing Sanatana it should be eradicated, he had said, eliciting sharp reaction from the ruling BJP.

Meanwhile, another DMK leader A. Raja fuelled the ongoing controversy on Thursday after he compared Sanatan Dharma to HIV and leprosy.

While speaking at a protest meeting against Vishwakarma Yojana organised by Dravidar Kazhagam in Chennai, Raja said that "there is neither a sense of disgust associated with malaria and dengue nor were they considered a social disgrace. What is looked upon with disgust was leprosy in the past and HIV in recent times...As far as we are concerned, it should be looked upon as a disease which is a social disgrace like HIV and leprosy."

Udhayanidhis remarks have sparked off a political outrage with the BJP accusing the opposition INDIA alliance, of which the DMK is a major partner, of being anti-Hindu.

In a video statement on Thursday, Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai said the coming elections will be fought on 'Sanatan Dharma'.

"...So the coming elections I challenge you, let's fight on 'Sanatan Dharma'. DMK says it's going to abolish 'Sanatan Dharma', we will say that we will protect and preserve 'Sanatan Dharma'. We will see where the people of Tamil Nadu are going to vote," he said.

"We know the DMK drama for many years. After you come to power, the first year you would oppose 'Sanatan Dharma', the second year you say abolishing 'Sanatan Dharma', the third year you want to brutally root out 'Sanatan Dharma', the fourth year you say that 90% of the DMK party men are Hindus. Fifth year you say that you are a Hindu... Come 2024 the DMK as a party is going to get wiped out," said Annamalai.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched the H-IIA rocket carrying its moon lander from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan on Thursday, following three delays caused by weather conditions. This comes just over two weeks after Chandrayaan-3 successfully soft-landed on lunar south pole.



Successful landing of the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM), which is nicknamed 'moon sniper', will make Japan the fifth country to achieve the feat after the US, Russia, China and India.

After the launch, ISRO posted on the X platform, Congratulations @JAXA_en on the successful launch of the SLIM lander to the moon. Best wishes for another successful lunar endeavour by the global space community.

JAXA is hoping to land SLIM within 100 metre from the target spot. By creating the SLIM lander, humans will make a qualitative shift towards being able to land where we want and not just where it is easy to land, Japanese space agency JAXA said before the launch. By achieving this, it will become possible to land on planets even more resource-scarce than the Moon.

There are no previous instances of pinpoint landing on celestial bodies with significant gravity such as the Moon," JAXA said.

The rocket also carried a research satellite, X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission aka XRISM (pronounced 'crism'), that was developed jointly by JAXA, NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA stated that the satellite will study the universes hottest regions and celestial bodies with the strongest gravity by detecting X-rays that have energies ranging between 400 and 12,000 electron volts.

In April, another lander developed by ispace, a Japanese startup, crashed while attempting to land on moon.
Gabon's ousted president Ali Bongo Ondimba has been freed, a junta spokesperson said on Wednesday. Given his state of health, the former President of the Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba is free to move about. He may, if he wishes, travel abroad to receive medical check-ups, junta spokesperson Col. Ulrich Manfoumbi said on state television, CNN reported.



Bongo has reportedly been under house arrest since the coup in late August. He was rarely seen after the coup. State television released images that showed Bongo greeting Abdou Abarry, head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa.

64-year-old Bongo had suffered a massive stroke in 2018 and spent months in Morocco receiving treatment. Post this an unsuccessful coup was attempted after questions regarding his health and capacity to continue as president surfaced.

He had been in power for 14 years since succeeding his father Omar Bongo in 2009. Omar Bongo had been in power for 41 years. He sought another term in last month's elections, in which he was announced winner. But, the junta called it an outrageously biased electoral process.

The coup had been widely condemned by Africa and the West, including France, Gabon's former colonial ruler. Gen Brice Oligui Nguema, who was sworn in as transitional president vowed to return the country to civilian rule after free and fair elections. Oligui is a cousin of Bongo and headed the countrys republican guard, an elite military unit.

Other political prisoners including pro-democracy activist and leader of the most powerful trade union confederation, Jean Remi Yama were released by the junta earlier this week.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Thursday morning to attend the ASEAN-India and the East Asia summits, which saw him hailing India's ties with ASEAN countries.

"PM @narendramodi lands in Jakarta," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi posted on social media platform X. The Prime Minister was received at the airport by Indonesia's Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Protection I. Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati.



The Prime Minister who hailed Indonesian President Joko Widodo for organising the Summit said: "India supports the ASEAN outlook on Indo-Pacific." Modi also called for building a rules-based post-COVID world order and strengthening the voice of the Global South. "ASEAN is the epicentre of growth, it plays a crucial role in global development. The 21st century is Asia's century. It is a century of all of us," he said.

My remarks at the ASEAN-India Summit. https://t.co/OGpzOIKjIf  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 7, 2023

"It will be mutually beneficial for all of us to develop a rules-based post-Covid world order as well as efforts by all (Sabka Prayas) for human welfare," Modi said.

He added that there has been consistent progress in "our mutual cooperation" in spite of the atmosphere of global uncertainty. "ASEAN is the central pillar of India's Act East policy, he added. The prime minister also noted that the ASEAN-India partnership has entered its fourth decade and ASEAN occupies a prominent place in India's Indo-Pacific initiative, he said.

He also posed with ASEAN leaders for a photograph at the summit venue.

Ahead of his departure from New Delhi, Modi said that the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and the ASEAN has injected new dynamism into the group's ties with New Delhi.

Modi gets a rousing welcome

The members of the Indian community were all excited to welcome PM Modi in Jakarta.



On arrival, the Prime Minister greeted the members of the Indian diaspora who gathered at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jakarta to welcome him amid chants of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Modi Modi'. They waved the Tricolour and chanted "Modi Modi" and "Vande Mataram".



"We're very excited to come here at 3 am in the morning, we're eagerly for our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi", said a member of the Indian diaspora in Jakarta.


With a day left for the G20 Summit to begin in New Delhi, the US has said that it was unlikely that a joint declaration will be signed in the G20 Summit this week as "Russia and China are less likely to sign on it."

Though the last G20 meeting had produced a joint statement, no such thing happened after the Ukraine invasion began. Ever since, India has been issuing 'chairs summary and outcome documents' after every ministerial meeting, with Russia and Chinas objections recorded in the footnotes. That said, Sherpas are still trying to reach a consensus over the proposed "Delhi Declaration" to be adopted at the summit.



However, John Kirby, National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for strategic communications, added that the G20 summit may also end without a joint declaration due to the current standoff between Russia and the West. "We certainly hope so. But, I mean, I think you know it's difficult to get 20 clocks to chime at the same time, so we're going to have to  we're going to work on this. We know that the Indians also would like to see a joint communique if you will, so we'll see where it goes," Kirby said, adding that the Ukraine war continues to be an issue.



"Often times the sticking point tends to be the war in Ukraine because countries like Russia and China are less likely to sign on to language that the rest of the international community is more uncomfortable signing on to, so we'll see where it goes. But we'd like to see that, absolutely," he added.



Meanwhile, reports quoting a senior EU official said that the text drafted by India on the Ukraine war did "not go far enough" to be accepted by G7 and EU members.



While acknowledging the talks, the EU official told reporters that "very tough negotiations" are going on, especially on geopolitical issues like Ukraine. "However, the text, as it is presented by India, is not enough. The G7, the EU and its member countries feel it is not going far enough," he said.



Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, who will represent Moscow at the meeting, has already said that Russia would block any summit Declaration that doesn't reflect Moscow's views on Ukraine and other crises.



The US has said that the Ukraine war will continue to be the focal point of the discussions. "The reality is that Russia's war has already had devastating social, and economic consequences, and the poorest countries on the planet are bearing the brunt of that," he said.



Reshaping IMF, World Bank

Kirby added that the US wants the G20 countries to help reshape and scale up multilateral development banks like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.



"One of our main goals heading into the G20 is to help reshape and scale up multilateral development banks like the IMF, like the World Bank," Kirby told foreign reporters at a news conference here on Wednesday.



"We know that these institutions are some of the most effective tools for mobilising transparent and high-quality investment in developing countries. And that's why the United States has championed the major effort that is currently underway to evolve these institutions so that they're up for the challenges of tomorrow, he said.



President Biden will also be calling on G20 members to provide meaningful debt relief so that low and middle-income countries can regain their footing after years of stress on their economies and their people.



"Last but not least and this is certainly important you'll see that the United States will make it clear that we remain committed to the G20 as a critical forum for all the major economies of the world to come together for global problem-solving," he said.
Mexico's Supreme Court has unanimously ruled to decriminalise abortion. The ruling called the existing federal ban on abortion "unconstitutional" and that it violates women's rights.



In 2020, Argentina legalised the procedure and Colombia, a highly conservative country, legalised it in 2022. However, in 12 states in Mexico, abortion is still considered illegal. Wednesdays ruling came two years after the court ordered the northern state of Coahuila to remove sanctions for abortion from its criminal code, The Guardian reported.

GIRE, a Mexico City-based reproductive rights organisation had been campaigning for years for reform in abortion laws. GIRE had brought the test case against the Mexican state as part of the campaign.

Mexican women posted green heart emojis, in a reference to Latin Americas burgeoning feminist movement, on social media to celebrate the ruling. Several others in the largely conservative country decried the ruling. For the ruling to become a law, Mexicos two congressional chambers will need to come together to pass an accompanying law and eliminate abortion from the countrys penal code.

The change in Mexico comes a year after the US Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights, guaranteed by Roe v. Wade. This could give more incentive to women from South of America to travel to Latin American nations like Mexico for healthcare.

The ruling protects women and healthcare givers from criminal charges for seeking or providing abortion care. The ruling is a major victory for feminists in Mexico who have, for decades marched against atrocities like femicide, sexual assault and domestic violence.
US President Joe Biden will arrive in India on Friday evening and will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same day for a bilateral meeting. The President will depart the US on Thursday, after which he will arrive at Ramstein in Germany for a brief stopover before flying to New Delhi.

"He (Biden) leaves tomorrow, and he's very excited about the important initiatives that he will be championing at the G20," White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby told reporters at a news conference organised by Washington Foreign Press Center.



On topics to be covered in the bilateral, the White House said the leaders will discuss the G20 agenda, especially the economic cooperation and multilateral investment opportunities.



However, National Security Council (NSC) coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said it was unlikely that PM Modi and Joe Biden will discuss the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. "Well, without getting too far ahead of the meeting that hasnt happened, its certainly going to be an appropriate follow-on to their very robust bilateral discussions here when we had  when we hosted Prime Minister Modi at the White House not long ago for a very complete and official visit."



"I have little doubt that they will also talk about the shared challenge of climate change and how much we are hoping to have a robust discussion at the G20 about a transition to clean energy technology and to see more countries, more G20 countries, invest in more clean energy technology as well as efforts to curb greenhouse gases, he added.



He added that he was "doubtful that they would discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and the deleterious effect that it's having on low- and middle-income countries. The topics, however, will cover security, economic, and diplomatic challenges throughout the Indo-Pacific.



However, the discussions at the G20 will focus on Russia's illegal and ongoing war in Ukraine. The White House said Biden will call for a "just and durable peace one founded in respect for international law, the principles of the UN Charter, and the precepts of territorial integrity and national sovereignty." "We will also continue to emphasise that the United States will support Ukraine for as long as it takes to redeem these principles," he said.



In G20

Kirby added that one of President Biden's main goals heading into the G20 is to help reshape and scale up multilateral development banks like the IMF and the World Bank. "We know that these institutions are some of the most effective tools for mobilising transparent and high-quality investment in developing countries. And that's why the United States has championed the major effort that is currently underway to evolve these institutions so that they're up for the challenges of tomorrow," he said.



Biden will also be calling on G20 members to provide meaningful debt relief so that low and middle-income countries can regain their footing after years of stress on their economies and their people.



"We'll also be making progress on other key priorities, from climate to health, and as I said at the very top, digital technology. In addition, we'll spotlight the progress that we've been making on the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment that the President calls PGII," he said.


Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced his new defence minister Rustem Umerov on Thursday. Zelenskyy said, Rustom was the right person for the task.

Saying Rustom is capable of fulfilling his tasks, Zelenskyy tweeted, His priority tasks are to strengthen the ministrys strategic and coordination functions for the entire defence sector, prioritize individual warriors and cut red tape, develop international cooperation and ensure Ukraine completes its NATO accession homework, and scale up the successes of specific units for all of our defence forces.

Zelenskyy asked Rustom to ensure transparency and trust. Trust is our main weapon in this war, the Ukrainian president said. Introducing Rustem Umerov to key defence members, and naming his key tasks, Zelenskyy asked the ministry to prioritise soldiers, People are not expendable, he said. Everything that can be digitized should be digitized. Every bureaucratic procedure that can be cancelled should be cancelled. Every item that can save the lives and health of warriors must be found and supplied to the Ukrainian army, Zelenskyy added.

Stressing upon Ukraines integration into NATO, Zelenskyy said, Ukraine is already a de facto member of NATO. And at least on our part, we have to do everything to make sure that we are also a de jure member of NATO. It is not easy, but we must take the appropriate steps."

Asking the new minister to ensure maximum transparency in the ministry, Zelenskyy said, Maximum transparency and maximum trust are the key to the strength of the entire sector. And this will be one of the priorities of the Minister.

Assuming charge, Umerov said, Ukraine will regain what belongs to it, and this time every meter and every centimetre of our land will be under the Ukrainian flag. Umerov added, Our plan is victory. We must do everything to bring it closer as soon as possible."

Oleksii Reznikov, the former defence minister resigned on Monday after Zelenskyy dismissed him from the post reportedly following reports of corruption in the ministry.
New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) Aviation regulator DGCA has given a conditional approval to Air India for simulator training of pilots at the airline's facilities in Hyderabad and Mumbai after certain deficiencies were rectified, according to officials.

Last month, the watchdog had temporarily suspended simulator training activities at the two facilities due to certain lapses.

A senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday said a conditional approval has been given for 30 days after the deficiencies were rectified.

"An internal audit is to be conducted within the 30-day period, and after the review, the findings are to be shared with DGCA," the official said and added that the training had remained suspended for 10 days.

There was no comment from Air India.

An Air India official said training has resumed at the Hyderabad facility and the training at the Mumbai facility will begin once the next batch is ready.

The Hyderabad facility provides simulator training for pilots of narrow-body A320 planes while the Mumbai facility offers the training for pilots of wide-body Boeing aircraft.

Tata Group-owned Air India is expanding its fleet as well as network.

Last week, Air India chief Campbell Wilson said the group's airlines have recruited and onboarded as many as 650 pilots since April this year.

Tata Group has four airlines -- Air India, Air India Express, AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) and Vistara. Vistara is a joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines.
MOSCOW, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The United States should be held accountable for the consequences caused by the delivery of depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

The spokesman made the statement following Washington's decision to supply Ukraine with depleted uranium ammunition for Abrams tanks, as part of a new 175 million U.S. dollar military aid package for the country.

"This is bad ... these shells were actively used against Yugoslavia," and the dangerous consequences of their use are widely known, local media reported, citing the spokesman.

The use of these shells resulted in a massive increase in the number of people suffering from cancer and other diseases, Peskov said, adding that the consequences would be felt for generations to come.

"The responsibility (for this decision) will lie entirely with the leadership of the United States ... everyone should be aware of this," Peskov said. 
Mumbai, Sep 7 (PTI) Hollywood stars Austin Butler, Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy's upcoming movie "The Bikeriders" will be released in India on December 1, 20th Century Studios India announced Thursday.

The studio released the trailer and poster for the upcoming feature film on its social media pages.

The film, directed by filmmaker Jeff Nichols of "Mud" and "Loving" fame, had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival recently.

"The Bikeriders" is described as a "furious drama following the rise of a fictional 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members", according to the official synopsis.

The film also features Michael Shannon, Mike Faist, Boyd Holbrook and Norman Reedus. It is presented by 20th Century Studios and New Regency.
Kathmandu, Sep 5 (PTI) Nepal on Tuesday expressed its readiness to collaborate with India in its campaign to promote the cultivation and consumption of millets.

Speaking at an event here, agriculture and livestock minister Beduram Bhushal extended congratulations to India for taking the lead in the millet campaign, aptly renaming the grains as "Shree Anna" or auspicious grains.

Bhushal emphasised the potential health benefits of promoting millet as a staple food, highlighting its high nutritional value.

Noting that the United Nations has launched a campaign to promote the consumption of millets at India's initiative, the minister underscored Nepal's readiness to join hands with New Delhi in the campaign.

In 2021, India proposed to UN to declare 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYOM). The proposal received support from 72 countries and the United Nation's General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets.

The Embassy of India in Kathmandu, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Nepal, organised the programme to commemorate the International Year of Millet 2023.

During the event, Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Shrivastava, emphasised the importance of India and Nepal's cooperation in the field of agriculture for millet production and exploring its market potential.

Millets can provide solutions to the challenges of climate change and global food security, he said.

Food experts who spoke at the event highlighted the nutritional value of millet and stressed the need to promote its mass production, recognising its immense potential in export markets.

Millets, known as one of the oldest crops cultivated by mankind, are resilient, capable of thriving in adverse weather conditions, and require minimal irrigation facilities.

Various types of millets are available in the market, including kodo, foxtail, barnyard, browntop, little millet, bajra, and porso -- all known for their rich nutritional content.
Singapore, Sep 7 (PTI) An Indian-origin certified forklift operator in Singapore was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment for having caused death by accident at the workplace, the Manpower Ministry said here on Thursday.

Alagappan Ganesan, employed by Asiabuild Construction, was sentenced on August 15 for a July 7, 2022 accident following prosecution under the Workplace Safety and Health (WSH) Act, the Ministry said in an August report on prosecution cases released on Thursday.

On July 7, 2022, Ganesan was operating a forklift in a multi-story car park, where his compatriot Kunjappa Makesh and a co-worker were laying cables. To prevent the cable from being run over by the forklift, Kunjappa and the co-worker attempted to throw the cable over the forklift, which, instead, landed on its rear.

Kunjappa then climbed onto the rear of the forklift. But Ganesan started to reverse the machine resulting in Kunjappa getting caught between the forklifts overhead guard and a beam.

He was taken to the hospital but died from his injuries, according to a Channel News Asia report.

The Ministrys investigations revealed that Ganesan was negligent in performing his duties as a forklift operator.

He did not pay attention to the environment or perform any checks before operating the machine, it said.

The Ministry also said that operators of machinery such as forklifts or quay cranes must be vigilant and mindful of any workers in the vicinity.

In another workplace accident, an Indian-origin worker was killed when a quay crane operator failed to follow safe work procedures at a port site of PSA Corp.

Mohammad Asraf Rosli was given a seven-month jail sentence on August 25 this year for lowering a 20-foot reefer container onto co-worker Varathan Prabu on March 11, 2020.

Varathan and another colleague were securing containers on board a vessel when the incident happened. Varathan was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.

The Ministry said investigations revealed that Asraf committed a reckless act by not ensuring that no one was standing beneath the container before he lowered it.
Karachi, Sep 7 (PTI) Several members of Pakistan's Hindu community and other faiths were injured on Thursday after the police in Sindh province baton charged them as they held a sit-in against the increasing cases of kidnappings of Hindu traders and others from minority communities for ransom.

The members of the minority communities have been staging the protest since September 1 over the abduction of some members of the minority community by bandits in riverine areas in southern Sindh province's Kashmore.

On Thursday, while the protesters continued with their agitation, the police baton charged and injured some of them after they refused to end the protest despite the intervention of an influential leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party that has governed the Sindh province for over a decade.

Ahsan Mazari, a former minister and influential leader of the PPP joined the protesters initially to express solidarity with them and even got two kidnapped Hindu traders released from the grip of these riverine dacoits, Shiva Kacchi told PTI on the telephone.

He said that after the release of the two abductees, Mazari had asked the protesters to disperse and assured them the authorities would now handle the matter and get others released.

"But when those part of the protest flatly refused, insisting they had no confidence in the local police officials Mazari left and after a while the police baton charged the protesters. But despite the injuries they are still there in small numbers at the sit-in," Kacchi said.

Kacchi said the dacoits had also abducted many members of other minority communities for ransom.

Dr Chand Mahar, one of the organisers of the protest, said that a total of 5 Hindus including a nine-year-old boy had been kidnapped by the dacoits in recent days and only a few days back a seven-year-old Hindu girl, Priya Kumari was also abducted from near Sanghar.

He said the spate of incidents where members of the community had been kidnapped by dacoits had spread fear in the community and they were afraid to even send their children to school in many parts of the province where these dacoits operated brazenly.

The protesters had gathered since Sunday evening in Kandhkot town after a 72-year-old Hindu businessman, Mukhi Jagdish was kidnapped.

Dacoits who operate from the riverine areas of Sindh have kidnapped around 40 people including Hindu traders in the last few months.
United Nations, Sep 7 (AP) Central African Republic is facing a humanitarian crisis with 2.4 million people in need of assistance and the UN's USD 534 million appeal only 36 per cent funded, a UN official said on Wednesday.

Mohamed Ag Ayoya, deputy special representative for the UN peacekeeping mission in the country, told a news conference that 10 years of conflict have displaced half a million people within the country while 700,000 have fled to neighbouring countries. Mineral-rich but impoverished CAR has a population of 6 million.

But Ayoya said CAR has also opened its doors to 38,000 returnees and asylum-seekers from Chad, and more recently to 18,000 returnees and asylum seekers from another neighbour, Sudan, where a conflict between rival generals and their supporters is now in its fifth month.

Ayoya stressed that CAR is not just a humanitarian crisis, it's also actually a protection and a gender crisis.

In the first six months of 2023, there have been an extremely high number of cases of gender-based violence  11,000  and the number is probably higher because these cases aren't always reported, he said.

CAR has faced intercommunal fighting since 2013, when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power and forced then-President Francois Bozize from office. Mostly Christian militias later fought back, also targeting civilians in the streets. The United Nations estimates the fighting has killed thousands.

CAR's President Faustin Archange Touadera has developed close ties to Russia and its Wagner mercenary group whose forces have served as his personal bodyguards. Wagner has also protected the capital of Bangui from rebel threats and helped Touadera win the July 30 constitutional referendum that could extend his power indefinitely.

Following the death of Wagner's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash in Russia last month, the Republican Front in the Central African Republic, which is allied with the country's ruling party, reiterated its support for Russia and Wagner, saying they were determined to fight alongside the African people as they struggle for self-determination.

Ayoya said security in the country has improved and humanitarian workers have been able to access areas that they couldn't for the past 10 years. He said there are armed groups and security issues around CAR's borders with Sudan, Chad and South Sudan and minefields and explosives in the west.

He said the widespread presence of the UN peacekeeping force, known as MINUSCA, and its mandate that includes protecting humanitarian convoys has been very, very helpful.

Ayoya urged the international community to keep a spotlight on the humanitarian crisis and the need for more funding for CAR, which he called Africa's overlooked middle child, one that is  landlocked and often forgotten, inside a troubled region becoming even more troubled with the new events that are happening over the past few weeks.

He said UN humanitarian appeals for the country in 2021 and 2022 were around 95% funded  and the current appeal's funding of just 36 per cent at this time of year is very worrying. The UN announced on Tuesday it was giving CAR USD 6.5 million from its emergency relief fund.

Ayoya also stressed that CAR needs longer-term solutions and funds for development. We cannot continue really just doing firefighting, he said. (AP) PY

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Jakarta, Sep 7 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for home on Thursday after wrapping up a short but fruitful and productive visit to Indonesia to attend the ASEAN-India and East Asia summits during which he reaffirmed India's strong ties with the countries in the strategically key region.

The prime minister arrived in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, in the morning.

"PM @narendramodi concludes his visit to Indonesia, forging stronger partnerships with ASEAN and EAS partners," the Ministry of External Affairs posted on X.

"Had a very short but fruitful Indonesia visit, where I met ASEAN and other leaders. I thank President @jokowi, the Indonesian Government and the people for their welcome," Prime Minister Modi posted on X.

"The prime minister has just completed a very short but very productive visit to Jakarta to participate in the ASEAN-India Summit and the East Asia Summit," Secy (East) Saurabh Kumar said.

The prime minister's participation in the summit will give India-ASEAN relations a strategic direction. The prime minister has comprehensive discussions, including in areas such as connectivity, maritime cooperation, digital transformation, trade and the economy, environment, health and traditional medicine, he said.

In each of these, the prime minister made specific proposals which have already been put out in the form of a 12-point proposal. Two joint statements were issued between India and ASEAN. These relate to maritime cooperation and food security, Kumar said.

In maritime cooperation, areas such as safety and security of maritime areas, maritime domain awareness, disaster management etc. have been covered. In the food security minute, millets find a prominent place. It provides food security as well as the environment, he said.

The prime minister announced the formation of an ASEAN-India fund for the digital future. This will provide financial connectivity between ASEAN and India.

Prime Minister Modi also announced support for the area which is called ASEAN think-tank which would be our knowledge partner to further within ASEAN India relations.

The opening of the embassy of India in Timor-Leste has also been announced by the Prime Minister. Timor-Leste is an observer in the ASEAN, Kumar said.

The prime minister during his interactions and discussions called for a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific. He also highlighted the need to amplify the voice of the Global South including in the G20.

Leaders welcomed the prime minister's leadership in the G20 and wished him success, Kumar said.

They also congratulated India for the successful Chandrayaan 3 mission. They said they share India's success and consider it as their own pride, he said.

During his address to the East Asia Summit, the prime minister pitched for everyone's commitment and joint efforts to strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.

"The current global scenario is surrounded by difficult circumstances and uncertainties. Terrorism, extremism, and geo-political conflicts are big challenges for all of us," Modi said.

"To face these, multilateralism and rules-based international order are important. It is necessary to completely follow international laws. And everyone's commitment and joint efforts are also necessary to strengthen the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries," he said.

"As I have said before  today's era is not of war. Dialogue and diplomacy is the only way to the solution," Modi noted.
Jakarta, Sep 7 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced a decision to open an Indian embassy in Timor-Leste.

Modi announced the decision while co-chairing the annual ASEAN-India summit in this Indonesian capital.

At the ASEAN-India summit, the prime minister announced the decision to establish an Indian Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

"The decision is a reflection of the importance India attaches to ASEAN, and its relations with Timor Leste," it said.

The MEA said the decision was warmly welcomed by Timor Leste and ASEAN member nations.

Timor Leste joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2022 as an Observer, before becoming its full member.

ASEAN is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners.
Jakarta, Sep 7 (AP) The United Nations chief renewed an urgent call to the international community Thursday to seek a unified strategy to end the worsening crisis in Myanmar.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said declining financial aid should be boosted to previous levels to enable the world body to respond to an enormous tragedy. He said the situation in Myanmar has further deteriorated since he met with ASEAN leaders in a 2022 summit, and again called on the crisis-wracked country's military-installed government to immediately free all political prisoners and open the door to a return to democratic rule.

Myanmar's army seized power on February 1, 2021, from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, arresting her and top members of her governing National League for Democracy party, which had won a landslide victory for a new term in a November 2020 general election.

Security forces suppressed widespread opposition to the military takeover with lethal force, killing thousands of civilians and arresting thousands of others who engaged in nonviolent protests. The savage crackdown triggered armed resistance in much of the impoverished country.

Guterres made the case for an international response in a news conference Thursday before joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders' summit meetings in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

Guterres also renewed his alarm over other issues being aggravated by nations butting heads. He warned that there is a real risk of fragmentation  of a great fracture in world economic and financial systems with diverging strategies on technology and artificial intelligence and conflicting security frameworks.

"Our world is stretched to the breaking point by a cascade of crises: from the worsening climate emergency and escalating wars and conflicts, to growing poverty, widening inequalities and rising geopolitical tensions, Guterres said.

In August 2017, longstanding discrimination against Rohingya Muslims in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, including denial of citizenship and other rights, boiled over when Myanmar's military launched what it called a clearance campaign in northern Rakhine state in response to attacks on police and border guards by a Rohingya militant group.

More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, where they remain in camps, as Myanmar troops allegedly committed mass rapes and killings and burned thousands of homes.

The International Court of Justice, the UN's top court, ordered Myanmar in January 2020 to do all it could to prevent genocide against the Rohingya.

"I remain deeply concerned about the worsening political, humanitarian, and human rights situation in Myanmar, including Rakhine State and the plight of the massive number of refugees living in desperate conditions, he said.

The UN chief expressed support to a five-point peace plan crafted by ASEAN leaders in 2021. It calls for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar and the start of dialogue among contending parties, including the ruling generals and Suu Kyi's camp.

ASEAN leaders, however, acknowledged in a joint statement that their strategy has failed to make any progress in Myanmar.

Despite such failure, the 10-nation bloc's leaders decided to stick with the plan and continue to prohibit Myanmar's generals and their appointed officials from attending ASEAN's high-level summits.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, who flew to Jakarta to join the summit talks in lieu of President Joe Biden, told the ASEAN leaders Wednesday that Washington supports their peace plan.

"We have a shared commitment to international rules and norms and to our partnership on pressing national and regional issues such as the crisis in Myanmar, Harris said.

The United States will continue to press the regime to end the horrific violence, to release all those unjustly detained and to reestablish Myanmar's inclusive democracy, Harris said. (AP)



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London, Sep 7 (PTI) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday hailed a bespoke new post-Brexit partnership with the European Union (EU) in the field of scientific research that had been one of the casualties of the UKs exit from the 27-member economic bloc four years ago.

As part of the new Horizon Europe arrangement, UK-based scientists and institutions will again be able to apply for money from the 81-billion pounds Horizon Europe scheme.

While the UK's associated membership had been agreed upon as part of the Brexit trade deal in 2020, it remained in limbo until both sides were able to agree on the Northern Ireland Protocol affecting the UK territorys unique requirements as a neighbour of EU member-nation Ireland.

With a wealth of expertise and experience to bring to the global stage, we have delivered a deal that enables UK scientists to confidently take part in the worlds largest research collaboration programme  Horizon Europe, said Sunak.

We have worked with our EU partners to make sure that this is the right deal for the UK, unlocking unparalleled research opportunities, and also the right deal for British taxpayers, he said.

It follows a call between Sunak and EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen on Wednesday, with both leaders agreeing that the UK and EU will work together to boost participation.

Downing Street said UK researchers can apply for grants and bid to take part in projects under the Horizon programme, with certainty that the UK will be participating as a fully associated member for the remaining life of the programme to 2027.

It added that Horizon will give UK companies and research institutions unrivalled opportunities to lead global work to develop new technologies and research projects, in areas from health to AI.

This is a great day for researchers in the UK and across Europe. The Horizon programme is a beacon of international collaboration and UK-based academic and industrial researchers will now be back at the heart of that, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Royal Society said in a joint statement.

Research is vital to tackling the key problems we face, from global challenges such as climate change to driving productivity growth and creating new jobs locally. Our involvement in Horizon Europe will make the UK stronger and is a big win for global research and innovation, they said.

The move is expected to not only open up cooperation with the EU, but also Norway, New Zealand and Israel which are part of the programme  and countries like Korea and Canada which are looking to join too.

Under the agreed terms, UK taxpayers will not pay for the time where its researchers have been excluded since 2021, with costs starting from January 2024.
Colombo, Sep 7 (PTI) Sri Lanka's ousted president Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday refuted the allegations made by a British television channel that the 2019 Easter suicide bombings that killed nearly 270 people were engineered by his loyalists to get him elected as president and called it a "tissue of lies."

UKs Channel 4 television station on Tuesday aired a documentary titled 'Sri Lankas Easter Bombings - Dispatches' alleging the involvement and complicity of certain government officials in orchestrating the 2019 Easter suicide bombings. It called the attacks a "crafted act" aimed at forcing a political change in favour of the Rajapaksa brothers.

In a lengthy statement, the 74-year-old ousted president called the documentary mostly an anti-Rajapaksa tirade aimed at blackening the Rajapaksa legacy from 2005 onwards and is a tissue of lies just like the previous films broadcast by the same Channel."

He said that to claim a group of Islamic extremists launched suicide attacks to make him President is absurd.

Responding to the claims that Major General Suresh Salley, who was accused in the documentary of plotting the 2019 attacks with the Muslim extremists, was a Rajapaksa loyalist, the former president said that Salley was a career military officer who has served under many presidents and all military officers are loyal to the State and not to private individuals.

Rajapaksa claimed that he had no contact with Salley after leaving the position of Defence Secretary in 2015 and until he was elected President in 2019. He added that Salley had informed Channel 4 that he was not in Sri Lanka when the documentary alleged a meeting between the Major General and the suicide bombers.

Hence, this story about Maj Gen Sallay meeting the suicide bombers in February 2018 is clearly a fabrication, Rajapaksa said.

Asserting that the 2015-19 government neglected the rise of Islamic militancy in the island nation, Rajapaksa said, The Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday bombings has stated quite clearly that signs of a Muslim extremist build-up were ignored by the government of 2015-2019.

Rajapaksa said he opted to obtain the assistance of the FBI/CIA in the investigations when he was linked to the attacks.

However, he was informed by top US counter-terrorism officials that it would not make sense for Washington to conduct an additional investigation into the attacks as they had already been cooperating with Sri Lankas investigation.

Rajapaksa claimed he had done everything possible to help the Roman Catholic community in the country when he held the government office.

Nine suicide bombers belonging to the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three Catholic churches and as many luxury hotels on April 21, 2019, killing nearly 270 people, including 11 Indians, and injuring over 500.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment, Manusha Nanayakkara, told Parliament that the Cabinet decided to appoint a special Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to probe into the allegations made by the UK's Channel 4 programme that the attack was "crafted act" to force a political change in favour of the Rajapaksa brothers.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced his candidature three days after the attacks and was elected president seven months later. His elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa was also the country's former president and prime minister. Both Rajapaksa brothers were forced to resign last year amidst the unprecedented economic crisis in the island nation.

Under his presidency, Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy for the first time since 1948 in April last year, at the height of public protests which lasted for months.

The April 2019 Easter attacks led to a significant political change in Sri Lanka. It emerged that the then authorities had ignored prior intelligence on the attack by Indian intelligence agencies.

Then President Maithripala Sirisena and the entire top police brass were ordered to pay compensation by court during a hearing of fundamental rights petitions filed by the victims' relatives.
BEIRUT, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Minister of the Displaced Issam Charafeddine on Thursday called on Syrian authorities to cooperate in managing the common border amid a new wave of illegal immigration from Syria to Lebanon.

Charafeddine made the appeal as the Lebanese army, short of troops, is not capable of controlling the shared border by itself, the National News Agency reported.

He also called on Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi to punish anyone who hosts a newly displaced person illegally entering Lebanon, according to the report.

The minister revealed that the number of unauthorized arrivals in Lebanon reached 8,000 in August and has exceeded 20,000 so far this year.

At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati expressed his concerns about the new wave of Syrian refugees through illegal crossings into Lebanon, saying "it could threaten Lebanon's independence and impose a severe imbalance in the country."

Also on Thursday, the Lebanese army announced that it has prevented the illegal entry of around 1,200 Syrian nationals over the past week.

The country's security forces have been cracking down on human smuggling in areas bordering Syria, as Lebanon is suffering a major financial crisis and the refugees weigh heavily on its already strained economy.

Lebanon, a country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita, is home to about 1.5 million Syrian refugees. 
Kathmandu, Sep 7 (PTI) Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud has said that Nepal was fortunate to have neighbours like India who have contributed to the development of the Himalayan nation and its people.

Foreign minister Saud said this while jointly inaugurating with India's Ambassador Naveen Srivastava a new building of the Himalaya Kiran Public Campus in eastern Nepal, built under the Indian grant assistance of NPR 37 million.

Established in 1949 as Himalaya Middle School, the Himalaya Kiran Public Campus was upgraded in 2005 to conduct Masters Degree courses. It has enrolled over 600 students, of which 60 per cent are girls.

Situated in the Sankhuwasabha district of Koshi province in eastern Nepal, the campus was inaugurated on Wednesday by Foreign Minister Saud and Ambassador Srivastava.

Saud in his remarks noted that it was a matter of pride and Nepal was fortunate to have neighbours like India who have contributed to the development of Nepal and its people. "I looked forward to continued support from India in Nepals development endeavours," he added.

The project was implemented under the Nepal-India Development Cooperation at the cost of NPR 37.40 million, a press release by the Indian Embassy in Nepal said.

The scope of work included the construction of a three-storied campus building with classrooms, a science lab, a computer, library rooms, a meeting hall etc.

Ambassador Srivastava said that the project was an important part of the very robust development partnership between India and Nepal, which has made significant strides in recent years, spanning various priority sectors of the Nepal Government.

He expressed the Indian government's commitment to continue bolstering the development partnership as per the priorities of the Government of Nepal, for the benefit of the peoples of both countries.

At present, this campus offers courses of Bachelor in Management and Education, and Master in Education programmes.
Jakarta, Sep 7 (AP) Indonesia's president issued a stark warning Thursday after wrapping up a summit of Southeast Asian countries that was joined by China, the United States and Russia, saying we will be destroyed unless conflicts are resolved.

The three-day summit by leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations along with Asian and Western counterparts in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta spotlighted major conflicts in Asia with calls for peaceful resolutions and restraint.

Myanmar's bloody civil strife and the South China Sea territorial disputes, which have dragged on without any solution in sight, figured high on the agenda.

Concerns were also raised over the U.S.-China rivalry in the region, although no ne was specifically called out as Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris were in attendance. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also took part.

"I can guarantee you, if we are not able to manage differences, we will be destroyed, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who led the 10-nation ASEAN this year, told a news conference after the summit talks.

"If we join the currents of rivalry, we will be destroyed, he added.

Widodo, who turned over the leadership of the regional group to Laos during the Jakarta meetings, characterized ASEAN as a regional peacemaker  or a safe house  that the world sorely needs.

Founded in 1967 in the Cold War era, the ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Though long derided as a toothless talkshop, AESAN has been credited for its ability to convene rival world powers in closed-door meetings that provide a chance for dialogue and manage to extract public commitments for peaceful resolution of disputes.

In an ASEAN leaders' meeting with China, Japan and South Korea in Jakarta, Li underscored the need to oppose a new Cold War, although Beijing has long been condemned for its increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea and against Taiwan.

"To keep differences under control, what is essential now is to oppose picking sides, bloc confrontation and a new Cold War, and ensure that disagreements and disputes among countries are properly handled, Li said.

The ASEAN leaders renewed their call for the peaceful resolution of long-seething territorial conflicts in the South China Sea in their post-conference communique, which also welcomed progress in long-delayed negotiations by their regional bloc and China to come up with a nonaggression code of conduct to avoid occasional spats from degenerating into a major conflict in the disputed waters.

The contested waters have become a delicate fault line in the U.S.-China rivalry. Washington does not lay any claim to the strategic waterway, a key trade global route, but has deployed its Navy ships and fighter jets to challenge China's expansive claims and uphold what it calls freedom of navigation and overflight in the offshore region.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who also met the ASEAN leaders separately on Thursday, renewed an urgent call to the international community to seek a unified strategy to end the worsening crisis in Myanmar.

Declining financial aid should be boosted to previous levels to enable the world body to respond to an enormous tragedy, he said and added that the situation in Myanmar has further deteriorated since he met with ASEAN leaders in a 2022 summit.

Guterres again called on the crisis-wracked country's military-installed government to immediately free all political prisoners and open the door to a return to democratic rule."

Myanmar army seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, arresting her and top members of her governing National League for Democracy party, which had won a landslide victory for a new term in a November 2020 general election.

Security forces suppressed widespread opposition to the military takeover with lethal force, killing thousands of civilians and arresting thousands of others who engaged in nonviolent protests. The savage crackdown triggered armed resistance in much of the impoverished country.

Guterres also renewed his alarm over other issues being aggravated by rivalries between and among major powers.

"Our world is stretched to the breaking point by a cascade of crises: from the worsening climate emergency and escalating wars and conflicts, to growing poverty, widening inequalities and rising geopolitical tensions, Guterres said.(AP) AMS

AMS
Mumbai, Sep 7 (PTI) A man was arrested from a running train in a joint operation of the Mumbai police and government railway police for allegedly kidnapping a five-and-half-year-old girl after a dispute with her mother, an official said on Thursday.

The 35-year-old accused, identified as Rotin Ghosh, and the child's mother, a resident of Kamathipura in central Mumbai, were in a relationship but then had a fallout, the official said.

"The child's mother filed a kidnapping case at Nagpada police station on Tuesday. Six teams were formed to nab Ghosh as we realised he would try to flee the city with the child," the official said.

Technical surveillance revealed Ghosh was near Igatpuri in Nashik and police assumed he was on some train on its way to Kolkata, the official added.

"We asked the GRP to check Amritsar Express and Howrah Express but they could not find Ghosh or the child. We found the accused's location, near Bodhwad in Buldhana, and that of the Shalimar Express that leaves from Kurla LTT here were matching," he said.

A GRP team boarded Shalimar Express and nabbed Ghosh when the train was near Shegaon, and he has been brought to Mumbai in connection with the kidnapping case registered at Nagpada police station, the official informed.

The girl has been united with her mother, the police official added.
Shivpuri (MP), Sep 7 (PTI) Three persons were killed and 24 others injured when the mini-truck they are travelling in overturned in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh early on Thursday, police said.

The accident took place close to a roadside eatery near Shivpuri, an official said.

"The victims were returning to Gwalior from Betul after taking part in a religious programme," Kotwali police station in-charge Vinay Yadav said.

A truck tried to overtake the mini-truck, which led to the accident. The driver of the mini-truck lost control over the vehicle in the process of preventing a collision, due to which it overturned, he said.

Three men were killed in the accident, which left 24 others injured, he added.

The deceased are identified as Ganga Singh Narvariya (65), Bhanwar Singh (65) and Ram Singh Kushwaha (70), the official said.

The injured were admitted to a government medical college-cum-hospital here, he said, adding that a probe was being conducted.
Patna, Sep 7 (PTI) The Bihar government has directed District Magistrates not to engage school teachers and employees of the state Education department for document verification work of candidates who appeared for the 'School teacher recruitment (2023) examination', recently conducted by the BPSC

This was stated by Chief Secretary Amir Subhani in a letter dated September 6 to all DMs in the state.

"It has come to notice that employees of the Education department and government school teachers are being engaged in document verification work of candidates who appeared for the 'school teacher recruitment (2023) examination'. They (education department employees) are also being engaged in the scanning of the OMR sheets by the district administration at different centres. This practice needs to be immediately stopped by the district administration and employees of the education department should not be engaged in these works," Subhani said in the letter.

He told the DMs that employees of other departments could be engaged in these activities but not teachers and education department officials.

A letter objecting to the engagement of teachers and other employees in these activities has also been received from the state Education department.

Since the Education department has taken several measures to infuse diligence among its teachers and officials and improve the academic atmosphere in government-run schools in the state, they (teachers) should be kept away from such activities. Besides, it is also not appropriate to engage teachers for these works when the examination conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) pertains to the recruitment of teachers, the chief secretary added.

Commenting on the CS letter to all DMs, Raju Singh, convener of the TET Primary Teachers' Association told PTI on Thursday, "We have been demanding right from the beginning that the government should immediately stop engaging school teachers in non-teaching activities, including election-related works or verification of documents.

"Teachers have already started offering their resignations in those areas where they are being engaged in non-teaching activities. As far as the ongoing verification of documents of those who appeared in the BPSC's teachers recruitment exam is concerned, I must say that the exercise is a waste of manpower. The verification of the documents of selected candidates should be done only after the declaration of results. Why is it being done even before the declaration of results?"

The BPSC conducted Bihar's biggest school teacher recruitment examination for 1,70,461 school teacher posts from August 24 to August 26. More than 8 lakh aspirants had appeared in the examination at 870 centres across the state.

The document verification process of the candidates has been going on since September 5 and it will continue till September 12. The list of documents which need to be carried by candidates for document verification includes - Aadhaar card, pan card, driving license, caste certificate, address proof, matriculation certificate and various other documents.

The Bihar Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had approved the proposal to recruit 1.78 lakh teachers for primary, middle, and upper classes in the state in the first week of May this year. The entire recruitment process is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Jamshedpur, Sept 7 (PTI) In a first of its kind in the country's steel sector trainee women firefighters were inducted by Tata Steel here on Thursday.

The batch of 23 women trainees, some of them tribals, will be taught basic fire fighting and rescue operations, the company said in a statement.

Asked a company official said firewomen are employed by state-owned ONGC.

The training will provide theoretical understanding as well as hands-on experience to the women, the statement said.

After it, the candidates will be evaluated and those selected will be inducted in the fire and rescue services team of Tata Steel, it added.

An event 'Flames of Change' was organised to induct the future women firefighters. who will be trained for three months.

Chanakya Chaudhary, vice-president of corporate services of Tata Steel who was the chief guest at the programme, said Tata Steel has been a pioneer in taking such initiatives and creating opportunities for women in various fields in the organisation. These women firefighters inducted today in the fire and rescue services team of Tata Steel will create history and inspire everyone across the nation.

Tata Steel aims at achieving 25% of the workforce comprising of diverse groups by 2025, company official said.
Kolkata, Sep 7 (PTI) Amid the conflict between West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose and the TMC government over the appointment of several interim vice-chancellors in state universities, a pro-Trinamool Congress platform of former VCs and professors Thursday announced to hold a protest gathering before the Raj Bhavan gates here.



A "peaceful and silent protest" will be held on September 8, Educationists' Forum spokesperson and former VC of North Bengal University Om Prakash Mishra said in a statement.

People associated and interested in higher education will hold the protest opposite the north gate of Raj Bhavan and will be led by eminent educationists of Bengal. They will carry placards against the "complete chaos" unleashed by the governor, who is the ex officio chancellor of the state universities, against the higher education system of the state by appointing interim VCs at his own will, he said.





"We will also protest against the inaction of the governor over the bills passed by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on subjects relating to higher education, which is unconstitutional," he said.



The protesters will present a memorandum to the governor.



Mishra termed comments made by Bose about the functioning of the state universities and their management, which were telecast by the electronic media during the day as "blatant lies".

Former VC and senior professor Debnarayan Bandyopadhyay is among key members of the forum.

In a video message on Thursday, Governor Bose claimed that there are allegations against some of the VCs and asserted that he will continue his fight to make the state universities free of corruption and violence.





"There are charges of corruption against some (VCs), charges of harassment of female students by some others, while some others are involved in political game. That is the reason I could not go by the choice of the state government while appointing interim VCs ... I want universities in the state to be free of violence, free of corruption and be the best in India," Bose said.





His response came after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's blistering attack against him during a Teachers' Day programme, where she accused him of interfering in the state's education system and threatened to sit on a dharna outside the Raj Bhavan.

Bose said during the day the chief minister is welcome to hold her protest inside the Raj Bhavan as "honoured guest".

Banerjee said VCs must be picked from among those suggested by the five-member search committee and alleged that Bose was appointing people at his will with no regard to the suggestions of the panel.
Kolkata, Sep 7 (PTI) Amid the conflict between West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose and the state government over the appointment of several interim vice-chancellors in universities, a pro-TMC platform of former VCs and professors said it will stage a demonstration before the gates of the Raj Bhavan on Friday.

A "peaceful and silent protest" will be held, Educationists' Forum spokesperson and former VC of North Bengal University Om Prakash Mishra said in a statement.

People associated and interested in higher education will hold the protest dharna opposite the north gate of Raj Bhavan, and it will be led by eminent educationists of Bengal.

Personalities expected to be present at the demonstration include economist Abhirup Sarkar, poet Subodh Sarkar and educationist Abheek Majumder, among others.

The participants will carry placards against the "complete chaos unleashed by the governor, who is the ex officio chancellor of the state universities, against the higher education system of Bengal by appointing interim VCs at his own will, Mishra said.

"We will also protest against the inaction of the governor over the bills passed by the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on subjects relating to higher education, which is unconstitutional," he said.

The protesters will also present a memorandum to the governor.
Bhubaneswar, Sep 7 (PTI) Firebrand BJP leader and Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi on Thursday picked up a sickle and dug a government irrigation channel of Deras minor irrigation project, which was allegedly blocked by an influential person preventing flow of water to around 300 acres of farmland.

The MP along with farmers of nearby Bhagabatipur and Giringaput villages dug the soil in an attempt to restore the concrete canal channel, which was earlier used to irrigate farmlands in the area.

She has served a three-day ultimatum to the state government to clear the water channel allegedly buried by an influential person.

"We dug State Govt Irrigation Channel near Deras MIP today. Blocking of Canal water to 300 Ac of land is done with support from a 'BIG' official in @CMO_Odisha. Helpless & Voiceless deserve Help, not Harassment. Please follow 'RAJADHARMA'", she wrote on X.

Farmers of nearby villages had expressed their resentment as the canal meant for irrigation had been covered and turned into a personal road.

"I will send a letter to the state irrigation department to remove the encroachment within three days, or else farmers will remove it and restore the canal by themselves," Sarangi told reporters.

"Our aim is to provide water to farmers from Deras dam. An influential woman with the help of some officials has obstructed the irrigation project," Sarangi said, adding as per the map shown by the state irrigation department, 400m of land has been encroached.

Stating that they found concrete channel buried under the earth, Sarangi said it is a sheer injustice to poor farmers of the area. "We strongly protest it. For the benefit of the farmers, we have to remove the obstruction and restore the project," she said.
Srinagar, Sep 7 (PTI) A 'hybrid' militant of The Resistance Front was arrested and a hand grenade recovered from him, police here said on Thursday.

"A hybrid terrorist of TRF (The Resistance Front) namely Mohd Yawar Rangrez, s/o Abdul Rashid Rangeez, r/o Firdousabad, Batmaloo, arrested by Srinagar Police with one hand grenade," the Srinagar Police said in a tweet.

An FIR has been registered, they said.
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- One man was killed and another injured in an explosion in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday, rescue teams said.

The incident happened in the tribal district of Bajaur where some unknown militants blew up an improvised explosive device near a police checkpost, Abdullah Khan, media coordinator of state-run Rescue 1122, told Xinhua.

The killed and injured were passers-by, and all policemen at the checkpost remained safe in the attack, he said.

The injured man got serious injuries and has been shifted to a nearby hospital by the rescue teams.

Police cordoned off the area for an investigation.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. 
Jammu, Sep 7 (PTI) The Congress on Thursday held marches across the Jammu region to mark the first anniversary of the Kanyakumari-to-Kashmir Bharat Jodo Yatra, carrying forward the "message of love, religious harmony and brotherhood".

In Jammu, the main yatra was led by Rajni Patil, the Congress' Jammu and Kashmir in-charge. She was accompanied by the party's Jammu and Kashmir unit chief Vikar Rasool Wani and leader Manoj Yadav.

Last year's cross-country march witnessed Rahul Gandhi and several Congress leaders traverse over 4,000 kilometres and interact with a cross-section of society. Gandhi launched the yatra on September 7, 2022, in Kanyakumari. It ended on January 30 this year as Gandhi capped his ambitious 145-day journey in Srinagar.

The yatra replicated the Bharat Jodo Yatra and began with Patil hoisting the Tricolour. The march moved from Miran Sahib towards Satwari Chowk amid slogans of "Bharat jodo, nafrat chhodo".

Similar yatras were held by all Congress district units, led by senior leaders.

Addressing a gathering, Patil said the day is of great historical importance. The Bharat Jodo Yatra aimed to highlight the economic inequalities and the burning issues confronting the cross-section of the country's pluralistic culture.

"It was a unique and unprecedented yatra in the history of independent India," she said.

The yatra emerged as a turning point against the forces of division and hatred, Patil added.

Jammu and Kashmir has been an abode of religious tolerance and brotherhood for centuries and the people wholeheartedly supported the Bharat Jodo Yatra despite the inclement weather, she said.

According to Patil, the entire nation realises the pain and sufferings the people of Jammu and Kashmir went through during the long spell of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

She also lashed out at the BJP government at the Centre, saying people are facing unprecedented price rise and record unemployment.

Patil also alleged that the people are suffering from the "downgrading" of the state and the snatching away of their democratic rights, land and jobs.

Wani said the Bharat Jodo Yatra made a mark in history as it was a unique initiative during a time when the country was facing great social and economic challenges.

The people of Jammu and Kashmir will remember Gandhi for his tireless efforts to extend a helping hand and give voice to the suffering people, he said.

People want the restoration of democracy and statehood at the earliest, the Congress leader said.
Gurugram, Sep 7 (PTI) Seven people from the Korean Embassy were rescued safely after a fire broke out at a flat of the Haryana Janpratinidhi (MLA) apartment in sector 28 here on Thursday afternoon, officials said.

Two fire engines were pressed into service and the fire was brought under control after about an hour, they said, adding items worth lakhs of rupees were gutted in the fire.

Fire officer Nitish Bhardwaj said the fire may have been caused by an electrical short circuit in the AC.

A platform vehicle was used to rescue seven people from the Korean Embassy, including five women, from the flat. One of the women sustained a minor injury in her hand, he said.

"All seven people were taken out safely in about 15 minutes. Our team faced difficulties in talking to these people due to the translator not being present at the spot," the official said.

"Initial investigation revealed that the fire occurred due to a short circuit in the AC. The case is being investigated," Bhardwaj added.
Chennai, Sep 7 (PTI) The Madras high court has observed politics must be played for the betterment of the common man and the country, instead, playing with the people's lives for securing monetary and personal gains is not only misuse of power, but against the constitutional ideals.

Justice S M Subramaniam made the observations in a recent order on a contempt petition filed by R Girija, who approached the court after her tenant S Ramalingam, an office bearer of the ruling DMK, refused to vacate her house for more than ten years, despite court orders.

The judge said politicians play an influential role in the life of a common man. The words and actions of a politician have an impact on his followers, party men and the public at large. It was imperative that this power was not to be misused for illegal and personal gains.

"The power-wielding politicians have an inherent responsibility in having a positive and healthy impact on the lives of the people and guiding them in the right path, but instead what we are witnessing today in many instances is that the politicians are using their political connections and power to threaten and create nuisance to the public at large. This court cannot sit back and watch that the common man is facing ordeals", the judge added.

The judge said this court was witnessing large scale exploitation of political power by certain politicians especially in land grabbing matters. This will pave the way for an unhealthy democracy.

Using political power and influence to grab land from a powerless common man was nothing short of day-light robbery. A common man may seem powerless in front of society. But every citizen of our Great Nation and his rights were Constitutionally protected.

The Courts will not remain spectators, especially, when his/her right to carry on with a peaceful life under Article 21 was threatened, the judge added.

The judge said political power should be used only for the benefit of the public and not to their detriment.

When politicians were given such power by the common public, it must be used for socially beneficial issues and not for creating problems for self gains, the judge added.

Earlier, when the case came up for hearing, the Deputy Commissioner of Police [Administration], Greater Chennai Police filed a status report stating that the order passed by the Court on this contempt petition, dated September 1, 2023 has been complied with.

The tenant has already been evicted and the vacant possession was handed to the landlady by the Police authorities. The counsel for the petitioner also acknowledged the same.

After it was brought to the notice of the court by the counsel for the petitioner that the arrears of rent for more than 5 years was yet to be settled by Ramalingam, the judge made the above observations.

The judge further said in the case of the present contempt petition, it took 12 years for the elderly woman to vacate the tenant through the Court of Law with the assistance of Police.

Rent has not been paid for many years. The husband of the contempt petitioner was aged about 75 years. Senior citizens at their old age require funds to meet their medical expenditures and to lead a normal life.

The District Collector under the provisions of the Senior Citizen Act was duty bound to protect the security and dignity of the senior citizen living in his/her District. Rules framed under the Senior Citizen Act enumerates the duties and responsibilities of the District Collector to protect the life, security and dignity of the senior citizen, the judge added.

The judge said the lengthy Court proceedings in Rent Control matters were being abused by certain litigants by protracting the case in order to evade eviction by the landlords and to recover arrears of rent.

Even under the new enactment on Rental Law, few tenants were attempting to protract the legal proceedings with the gainful guidance of the legal brains and by taking undue advantage of the frequent adjournments being granted liberally by the Rent Controller /Courts.

Such attempts were to be thwarted. It was the duty of the State and District Collector to ensure the security, dignity and protect the normal life of the senior citizens.

Huge amount of rental arrears was yet to be settled in favour of the present contempt petitioner by the tenant, the judge added and directed Ramalingam to appear in person or through his counsel on September 11 before the court.




President Joe Biden insists he had nothing to do with his son Hunters business dealings, but Americans arent buying it.

According to a CNN poll, 61% of American believe that President Biden played a role in his sons business activities between 2008 and 2016. In contrast, only 38% of those surveyed think he was not involved.

The poll comes amid ongoing investigations by House Republicans, which have unearthed details suggesting that Hunter Biden incurred his fathers displeasure during a conversation with a Chinese business associate. In this exchange, Hunter is quoted as saying, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.

Additionally, it was disclosed that Hunter frequently communicated with his father during business meetings. Hunters close friend and business partner, Devon Archer, testified that Hunter had placed his father on speakerphone on approximately 20 separate occasions.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy appeared Tuesday on a YouTube podcast hosted by social media influencer Albert Faleski, also known as An0maly. The podcast has stirred controversy due to Faleskis history of making anti-Semitic remarks, including accusations of Jews having dual loyalty and alleging that Zionists prioritize Israel over the United States, even willing to compromise American values to serve their agenda.

During the 40-minute interview, Faleski, known for his criticism of the Republican Partys support for Israel and pharmaceutical companies, questioned Ramaswamy about his background in biotechnology, his work in China, and his stance on the COVID vaccine. The conversation did not delve into Faleskis controversial views on Jews or Israel.

Ramaswamys appearance on the podcast has drawn attention in light of his evolving position on aid to Israel. While in June, Ramaswamy expressed support for cutting off military funding to Israel, he later backtracked on this stance following criticism at the first Republican debate in August. He now asserts that he would only terminate aid to Israel at the countrys request.

Faleski has faced criticism himself and was once designated Antisemite of the Week by StopAntisemitism.com. On Twitter, he regularly accuses the Republican Party of catering to Zionists and Jewish donors and alleges that these interests influence the partys policies and actions. His comments also challenge the U.S. governments definition of anti-Semitism.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Members of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is committing genocide in Ukraine. Their comments came a day before they were scheduled to meet with the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

The ICC in March issued an international arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine. However, it has not yet charged him with any other offenses committed by Russian forces since their invasion of Ukraine more than 18 months ago.

The committees chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, told reporters during a visit to The Hague that Putin tried to erase a culture, a people and a religion, and that is the definition of genocide.

Another member of the committee, Ann Wagner, a Missouri Republican, agreed, speaking of the crimes against humanity, the downright genocide that this man has perpetrated.

Gerry Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, said Putin even before the war had denied the existence of Ukraine as a country and a people.

So I think he himself made the case for genocide and his behavior subsequently has filled in blanks, Connolly said.

Their comments Wednesday came as Russian shelling of a market in eastern Ukraine killed at least 16 people and wounded many more. The attack was launched while U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv and was expected to announce more than $1 billion in new American funding.

Members of the committee will meet Thursday with ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and visit the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, or Eurojust, which hosts the International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine. The center aims to support nations already building cases against senior Russian leaders for the crime of aggression. The International Criminal Court can prosecute crimes including genocide but does not have jurisdiction over the crime of aggression.

McCaul said the committee members will be looking at the evidence itself and how we can help The Hague gather more and collect more evidence and intelligence to prove the case against Putin.

The United States is not a member state of the ICC, and during the administration of former President Donald Trump it slapped sanctions on a previous ICC prosecutor and several aides for pursuing investigations into alleged war crimes committed by U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and Israeli servicemembers in the West Bank and Gaza.

But since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, the relationship has shifted. Last month, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the U.S. Justice Department is cooperating with the court and supporting Ukrainian prosecutors carrying out war crime investigation s.

While the arrest warrant against Putin carries significant moral weight, it is unlikely to lead to him appearing in a courtroom in The Hague any time soon because Moscow does not recognize the courts jurisdiction or extradite its nationals.

The visiting congressional delegation also includes Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y.; Madeleine Dean, D-Pa.; Thomas Kean, R-N.J.; and Bill Huizenga, R-Mich. They are also holding meetings in the Netherlands with Dutch government officials and members of parliament, among others.

The delegations Europe visit aims to bolster ties with U.S. strategic allies as well as discuss support for NATO and Ukraine, ways to hold Russia accountable for its actions in Ukraine, and how to confront shared threats from China.

(AP)
BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's proposal of establishing an international mangrove center has been approved by the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention, the country's forestry ministry said Thursday.

The international mangrove center will be set up in southern China's Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA).

China pledged to intensify international cooperation on wetland protection and establish the international mangrove center last year when attending the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

For the next step, the center will put in place an international cooperation mechanism to intensify global efforts in mangrove conservation, restoration, and utilization, the NFGA said.

China has stepped up mangrove conservation in recent years. It has included provisions related to mangroves in the law on wetland protection and implemented a 5-year action plan to conserve and restore mangroves.

Data showed that the area of mangroves in China increased by more than 7,200 hectares compared with the beginning of this century.

The Ramsar Convention, named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the convention was signed in 1971, is an intergovernmental agreement dedicated to the conservation and rational use of wetland ecosystems. 




Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida is encountering obstacles as he attempts to transition financial support from his gubernatorial donors to his 2024 presidential campaign. Of the 50 donors who contributed at least $160,000 leading up to his 2022 reelection campaign, fewer than a third have provided funds to the super PAC Never Back Down, which can accept unlimited contributions, as of the end of June. Eight major donors have given directly to DeSantiss presidential campaign but not to the super PAC.

In addition, some of DeSantiss major past donors have publicly stated that they are holding back on donating to the super PAC. For instance, Robert Bigelow, the largest individual contributor to Never Back Down and DeSantiss 2022 reelection campaign, has expressed that he will not make further donations to the super PAC unless DeSantis adopts more moderate policies. Billionaire investor Ken Griffin, the second-largest donor to DeSantiss 2022 campaign, has also withheld his contributions as he assesses how different candidates policies address the countrys challenges.

DeSantiss decision to sign a six-week abortion ban has alienated some big donors who embrace more moderate positions on social issues. This stance, along with his high-profile dispute with Disney over gender identity and orientation discussions in schools, has raised concerns among certain donors.

Some donors have also expressed reservations about DeSantiss positions on foreign policy, particularly his description of the Ukraine-Russia conflict as a territorial dispute. This has caused friction with major contributors like businessman Chris Reyes and Ken Griffin.

While DeSantis still maintains a well-funded campaign, the challenges underscore his willingness to diverge from the interests of traditional big donors, signaling a departure from the typical influence they wield in political campaigns.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




President Joe Biden has come under fire after hastily exiting a Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House, leaving war hero Larry Taylor alone on stage. During the ceremony, Biden awarded the nations highest military honor to Taylor, an 81-year-old retired Army Captain celebrated for his heroics during the Vietnam War.

As Taylor was visibly moved, shedding a tear as the medal was pinned to his lapel, President Biden began heading towards the exit even before the closing benediction was read, leaving the decorated war hero by himself.

This incident comes on the heels of prior controversies surrounding Bidens interactions with military personnel. Notably, the president faced criticism for repeatedly checking his watch during a ceremony honoring soldiers killed in an ISIS-K suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2021.

Larry Taylors actions during the Vietnam War were nothing short of heroic. On June 18, 1968, he embarked on a daring rescue mission to save four men from a long-range reconnaissance team who were surrounded and in danger of being overrun by enemy troops. Taylor, flying an attack helicopter, carried out a series of maneuvers and used his helicopters Miniguns and aerial rockets to fend off the enemy, even using the helicopters landing lights to distract them.

Taylors innovative thinking and courage saved the lives of the trapped soldiers. He later received numerous combat decorations, including the Silver Star, a Bronze Star, and two Distinguished Flying Crosses. He left Vietnam in August 1968.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Vice President Kamala Harris, during an overseas trip to Jakarta, Indonesia, said she is ready to assume the role of President should the need arise. The topic of presidential succession and her readiness was brought up during a press conference, highlighting concerns about President Joe Bidens age, who will turn 81 in November.

When questioned about her preparedness for the presidency, Harris responded affirmatively, saying, Yes. She went on to acknowledge that every vice president understands their responsibility in potentially taking over the presidency when they take the oath of office.

The question about the vice presidents readiness came after she initially tried to deflect inquiries regarding President Bidens age by pointing to his legislative accomplishments.

Harriss comments come in the context of heightened concerns about Bidens age and potential scenarios of succession, as he is already the oldest-ever president. Historically, eight out of the 45 men who have served as president died in office, either due to assassination or natural causes.

Despite Bidens age, politicians in Washington have typically refrained from discussing hypotheticals about the death or incapacity of elderly figures due to concerns about criticism and insensitivity.

Harris currently faces lower favorability ratings than President Biden, according to recent polls. While Biden seeks a second term in the next years election, he would be 86 years old upon leaving office. Reports have suggested tensions between the President and the Vice President, with Biden viewing her as a work in progress and concerns about her ability to handle significant tasks.

Harris, who made history as the first female and second non-white vice president, was chosen as Bidens running mate in 2020 despite their acrimonious primary battle, during which she criticized him for opposing federally mandated desegregation through busing. These tensions extended to the first lady, Jill Biden, who reportedly expressed her anger about the exchange.

If President Biden does not seek re-election in 2024, it is expected that Harriss vulnerability could lead to a contested Democratic primary, with potential challengers such as California Governor Gavin Newsom. The Republican primary field is currently dominated by former President Donald Trump, who polls show would beat Harris in a hypothetical matchup.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




The White House was forced to apologize after Joe Biden sent condolences to the family of former Gov. Bill Richardson, including a daughter named Heather. The problem? The governor never had a daughter named Heather.

After claiming in a press release that he knew Richardson well, Bidens communications staff wrote that sends his love to his family, including his wife of over 50 years, Barbara, and his daughter, Heather.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre apologized and had to answer a question about who exactly is doing basic fact-checking at the White House.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




A liberal group on Wednesday filed a lawsuit to bar former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot in Colorado, arguing he is ineligible to run for the White House again under a rarely used clause in the U.S. Constitution aimed at candidates who have supported an insurrection.

The lawsuit, citing the 14th Amendment, is likely the initial step in a legal challenge that seems destined for the U.S. Supreme Court. The complaint was filed on behalf of six Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters by the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

It will jolt an already unsettled 2024 primary campaign that features the leading Republican candidate facing four separate criminal cases.

Liberal groups have demanded that states top election officials bar Trump under the clause that prohibits those who engaged in an insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution from holding higher office. None has taken that step, looking for guidance from the courts on how to interpret a clause that has only been used a handful of times since the 1860s.

While a few fringe figures have filed thinly written lawsuits in a few states citing the clause, the litigation Wednesday was the first by an organization with significant legal resources. It may lead to similar challenges in other states, holding out the potential for conflicting rulings that would require the Supreme Court to settle.

Colorados secretary of state, Democrat Jena Griswold, said in a statement that she hoped this case will provide guidance to election officials on Trumps eligibility as a candidate for office.

The lawsuit contends the case is clear, given the attempt by then-President Trump to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden and his support for the assault of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The Republican has said he did nothing wrong in his actions.

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, helped ensure civil rights for freed slaves  and eventually for all people in the United States. But it also was used to prevent former Confederate officials from becoming members of Congress after the Civil War and taking over the government against which they had just rebelled.

The clause cited in the lawsuit allows Congress to lift the ban, which it did in 1872 as the political will to continue to bar former Confederates dwindled. The provision was almost never used after that.

CREW and law professors of both parties contend the amendment is clear and is a qualification for president, just as the Constitutions mandate that a candidate for the White House must be at least 35 years old and a natural born citizen.

But others note there is much unsettled about the provision and that a case involving this issue has not reached the justices in Washington.

The clause cites a wide range of offices under the United States and states that the provision applies to, including presidential electors  but not the presidency itself. There is a debate among some experts about whether Trumps acts constitute an insurrection under the language of the amendment.

In its complaint, CREW asked the court to expedite the matter so it can be resolved before the states primary ballot is set on Jan. 5, 2024. We understand that theres great interest in states across this country about this question, and it needs to be resolved expeditiously so theres clarity, said Donald Sherman, CREWs chief counsel, told reporters in a teleconference.

A Trump spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suit.

Georgias secretary of state, writing in The Wall Street Journal, warned that using the 14th Amendment in this way could take the country down a dark path.

For a secretary of state to remove a candidate would only reinforce the grievances of those who see the system as rigged and corrupt, said Republican Brad Raffensperger, who drew Trumps ire when he refused to declare Trump as the winner of Georgia in 2020. Denying voters the opportunity to choose is fundamentally un-American.

The 14th Amendment was used last year to bar from office a New Mexico county commissioner who entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. That was the first time it was used in 100 years. In 1919, Congress refused to seat a socialist, contending he gave aid and comfort to the countrys enemies during World War I.

Another liberal group, Free Speech For People, unsuccessfully tried to use the provision to prevent Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina from running for reelection last year.

The judge overseeing Greenes case ruled in her favor. Cawthorns case became moot after he was defeated in his primary.

CREW said it expects to file more cases in other states and anticipates that different groups may do so as well. It picked Colorado, its leaders said, because the state allows ballot challenges to go directly to court and it assembled a prominent roster of plaintiffs, including a former Republican leader of both houses of the legislature and a conservative columnist for the Denver Post.

There was another reason, Sherman noted: In 2015, a Guyana-born naturalized citizen lost his lawsuit to be included on the states presidential primary ballot, failing to convince a federal magistrate that the Constitutions requirement that he be a natural-born citizen was unfair.

A federal appeals judge upheld that ruling barring him from the ballot. The judge was Neil Gorsuch, now on the U.S. Supreme Court.

(AP)




A White House adviser to President Donald Trump acted as if he were above the law when he refused to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, prosecutors argued at his trial Wednesday.

Peter Navarro was charged with two counts of contempt of Congress, but his lawyer argued he didnt ignore the House Jan. 6 Committee. Instead, Navarro told members to contact Trump about what might be protected by executive privilege, the attorney said. A judge has found the privilege argument alone isnt a defense against the charges because Navarro couldnt show evidence that the former Republican president had invoked it.

Both sides rested after committee staffers testified about sending the subpoena and Navarros response. Closing arguments and jury deliberations are expected Thursday.

Navarro, a senior trade adviser, was subpoenaed in February 2022 by the House panel investigating how and why a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and interrupted the certification of the presidential vote for Joe Biden, a Democrat. Navarro had promoted Trumps baseless claims of mass voter fraud, and the committee thought he might have more information about any connection those claims had to the attack, prosecutor John Crabb said.

But Navarro didnt hand over any emails, reports or notes. When the date came for him to testify before the committee, he didnt show up, Crabb said. Even if the president had invoked executive privilege, Navarro should have come before the committee, answered what questions he could and cited privilege when he couldnt answer, he said.

It wasnt voluntary. It wasnt an invitation. A subpoena is a legal requirement, Crabb said. We are a nation of laws and our system doesnt work if people believe they are above the law.

Defense attorney Stanley Woodward told the jury that Navarro did get in touch with committee staffers, but asked them to talk to Trump to see what information the president intended to be protected by executive privilege. That never happened, he said.

The evidence in this case will not show that Dr. Navarro was willful in his failure to comply, Woodward said. He pushed back on efforts to link Navarro closely with the Jan. 6 attack and said the prosecutions opening arguments were like a movie trailer that promises more than the show delivers: Its like one of those movies where you get nothing after the preview, he said.

Navarro, a former economics professor, faces up to a year behind bars if convicted. He is the second Trump aide to face criminal charges after refusing to cooperate with the House committee. White House adviser Steve Bannon also made an executive privilege argument but was convicted of two counts of contempt of Congress and sentenced to four months behind bars. He has been free while he appeals the verdict.

(AP)




Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie says Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had put politics ahead of his job by declining to meet with President Joe Biden during the Democrats weekend visit to survey Hurricane Idalias damage in DeSantis state.

Your job as governor is to be the tour guide for the president, is to make sure the president sees your people, sees the damage, sees the suffering, whats going on and what needs to be done to rebuild it, Christie said about his rival for the 2024 nomination in an interview Tuesday on Fox News Radios The Brian Kilmeade Show.

Youre doing your job. And unfortunately, he put politics ahead of his job, Christie said. That was his choice.

No one knows better than Christie how such a sticky political situation can create an enduring image. Photos of then-New Jersey Gov. Christie giving a warm greeting to Democratic President Barack Obama during a visit after Superstorm Sandy in 2012 earned Christie scorn among national Republicans.

Obama placed his hand on Christies shoulder. Some Republicans labeled it a hug and suggested it contributed to GOP nominee Mitt Romneys loss to Obama in that years general election. Christie said he was simply doing his job by meeting with the president.

Idalia made landfall last week along Floridas Big Bend region as a Category 3 storm, causing widespread flooding and damage before moving north to drench Georgia and the Carolinas. Biden, who toured the state on Saturday, had initially said that he would meet with DeSantis during his trip, but the governors office said DeSantis had no plans to see Biden, suggesting that doing so could hinder disaster response related to Idalia.

Biden and DeSantis have met other times when the president toured Florida after Hurricane Ian hit the state last year, and after the Surfside condo collapse in Miami Beach in the summer of 2021. But DeSantis is now running for president and hoping to take on Biden in the 2024 general election.

DeSantis campaign did not comment about Christies critique.

Christie has defended his own response to the presidential visit during Sandy, saying that although he and Obama had fundamentally different views on governing, the two men did what needed to be done for a devastated region.

The hug moment, however, has trailed Christie ever since. It emerged last month during Republicans first 2024 debate, when Vivek Ramaswamy responded to a barb from Christie  who said the biotech entrepreneurs opening line about being a skinny kid with a hard-to-pronounce name reminded him of Obama  by asking if the former governor wanted a hug, a reference to Obamas post-Sandy visit.

(AP)




Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to make a rare public appearance at the White House, attending an arts event next week with first lady Jill Biden.

The White House announced that Clinton is scheduled to appear Tuesday to help honor the 2023 winners of the Praemium Imperiale, a global prize awarded annually by the Japan Art Association for lifetime achievement in the arts.

Praemium Imperiale laureates were first celebrated at the White House by President Bill Clinton and the then-first lady in 1994.

Bill Clinton had lunch with Biden at the White House in May 2022, a month after former President Barack Obama returned to the White House for the first time since the end of his administration for an event celebrating his signature health care law.

Hillary Clinton, a former New York senator who served as Obamas secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, lost her 2016 bid for the presidency to Donald Trump.

The White House announcement means next Tuesdays event is set to go forward despite the first lady testing positive for COVID on Monday. She is recuperating in Delaware, and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that the first lady is doing well.

Jean-Pierre said the president tested negative for COVID on Wednesday morning, following negative tests the previous two days. He is scheduled to leave Thursday for India to attend the Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, and later travel to Vietnam and Alaska.

(AP)




The death toll from severe rainstorms and resulting floods in Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria reached 14 on Wednesday, with the storms expected to continue until at least Thursday afternoon.

The record rainfall in Greece left three people dead near the central city of Volos and in Karditsa. As of Wednesday, thousands of homes in central Greece remained without electricity and running water.

Israels Kan News reporter Itzik Zuarets in Greece reported from Euboea, the second-largest Greek island, which has been hard hit by the storm. He said that hundreds of Israelis are trying to escape the area, encountering many difficulties due to collapsed bridges and roads. The severe conditions have led to shortages of food and water, and most Greeks and Israelis in the area lack electricity.

Israeli Michal Shalem who is on a family vacation in the Pelion region of Greece told Channel 12 News that her family is stuck without electricity in an area where all the roads have been washed away. Theyre also running out of food but local stores are closed. Another Israeli family said that they are stuck in a hotel with no place to buy food.

Israeli Smadar Imor, told Kan: Theres a lot of damage to roads and highways, and its impossible to travel by car. We are currently without electricity and water, so we went to the supermarket to buy some water bottles. But we dont know how long the supply there will last. She added that she and her family have the feeling that everything that could have been destroyed was destroyed.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




A police investigation of the stabbing attack at Shaar Yafo revealed that a major disaster was averted on Wednesday afternoon.

A 17-year-old resident of east Jerusalem got off the bus near Shaar Yafo at 3:20 p.m. and walked up the steps to the promenade, armed with a huge meat cleaver.

He then pulled out the knife and pounced on a middle-aged man, stabbing him over and over. The victim was evacuated to the hospital in serious condition but BChasdei Hashem is now in moderate condition as the stab wounds missed his spinal cord by millimeters. The terrorist stabbed one more victim, a 17-year-old tourist, but only lightly injured him. One witness to the incident was treated for shock.

Civilian security guards and police officers quickly arrested the terrorist and he was transferred for questioning.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
JIUQUAN, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- China sent a new remote sensing satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Thursday, setting a new record for launch efficiency in the process.

The satellite, Yaogan-33 03, was launched by a Long March-4C (LM-4C) carrier rocket at 2:14 a.m. (Beijing Time) and has entered the planned orbit successfully.

It will be used for scientific experiments, land-resource surveys, crop-yield estimation, and disaster prevention and relief.

This was the 486th flight mission of the Long March series carrier rockets.

The launch also marked the 35th anniversary of the maiden flight of the LM-4 series rocket.

On Sept. 7, 1988, an LM-4A carrier rocket placed the Fengyun-1 satellite into space, signalling the country's ability to send satellites into sun-synchronous orbit.

The LM-4 rockets are capable of launching various type of satellites with different orbit requirements and can send one satellite or multiple satellites into orbit on a single launch with a carrying capacity of three tonnes at the sun-synchronous circular orbit.

Thirty-five years on, the launch process of the LM-4 rockets has been significantly shortened, and it set a new record on Thursday with all test and launch work completed within 15 days.

Hong Liang, a designer of the LM-4C carrier rocket control system, said the integration of digitalized management measures and automated tools has boosted the work efficiency and quality management of the series rockets.

In the past, Hong added, it took four people two weeks to complete the design work of attitude control system parameters, while now, with the introduction of the whole process automatic control design platform software, it takes one person one week.

The test team is now applying the digitalized management system in the rocket development and test work, said Zhang Baizheng, a designer of the LM-4C carrier rocket.

Compared with the conventional method, the new digitalized system makes it possible to trace the test data and realize real-time data transmission, thus greatly enhancing the test efficiency and optimizing the test process, according to Zhang. 




In the midst of escalating tensions surrounding the impending arrival of tens of thousands of mispallelim to Ukraine for Rosh Hashanah and Israels relationship with Russia, a telephone conversation transpired between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

During the conversation, as reported by the Prime Ministers Office, the two leaders deliberated on Israeli assistance to Ukraine and the development of a civil alert system that Israel is actively constructing for the benefit of Ukraine.

Additionally, Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized the significance of ensuring the safe passage of Jewish mispallelim traveling to Uman.

Mossad head Dovid Barnea also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week.

The phone call was an attempt to improve relations between Israel and Ukraine following reports that Ukrainian officials are refusing to cooperate with plans to expedite the entry of tens of thousands of Israelis into the country by increasing staff at the border crossings with neighboring countries.

Ukraine is disgruntled with Israel about what it claims is the rejection of Ukrainian citizens into the country as well as with Interior Minister Arbels refusal to meet with the Ukrainian ambassador over the past year.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu held a meeting with Shas chairman Aryeh Deri and Barnea on Wednesday to discuss a solution that would foster cooperation with Ukrainian authorities.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Rishi Sunak could claim an uplifting narrative for the UK economy.

His lauding of the near-2 per cent upgrade of national output, some 50billion, sadly was left to the end of rancid exchanges with Keir Starmer over Raac concrete.

Those in regular contact with the UKs big pharma companies, biotech innovators and AI and software leaders, as well as our research universities, know how important it is to reconnect to the EUs Horizon 82billion science project after three years on the sidelines.

Some will doubtless see this as a weakening of Brexit resolve. But that misunderstands Horizon, which reaches beyond the EU to more than 40 nations.

What the narrative too often misses is that the UK, for all its declinist detractors, is home to four of the worlds top-rated research universities in Oxford, Cambridge, UCL and Imperial.

Global scope: Those who are in regular contact with the UK's big pharma companies know how important it is for the UK to reconnect to the EU's Horizon 82bn science project

Membership of Horizon may cost 2.6billion a year  the UK has obtained a three-year discount  but the payback in attracting European and global research projects to Britain should outweigh that.

It is no accident that buyers from the US, France and private equity have been rushing to snap up UK biotech.

This country has the science others lack but will be stymied if the great research projects, scientists and technicians go elsewhere.

Sunak is right to say that by upping UK science investment Britain could become a technology powerhouse by 2030.

One of the problems encountered post-Brexit has been political predictability. That has stymied business confidence and investment.

Research by the German private bank Berenberg shows that, after a lengthy drought, business investment in Britain is growing at a rapid pace.

It is among the reasons why the UKs economy is proving more resilient in a period when German industry is in the doldrums.

Investment by firms in the UK has surged 35 per cent from a second-quarter low in 2020. By the second quarter of this year it was 6 per cent above its pre-Brexit vote high.

Berenberg economist Kallum Pickering concludes that the UKs growth potential is picking up after years of post-referendum uncertainty.

The catch-up could mean that the much-quoted Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that leaving the EU could damage GDP by as much as 4 per cent might well prove pessimistic.

Horizon is an addition to the positive story. We know from Israel and the US (particularly Silicon Valley) that spending big on research and development pays enormous economic dividends.

Having signed up to Horizon, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt can underpin the business investment recovery by expanding the full tax write-off of corporate capital spending beyond the current three years.

Certainty and permanence are key to unlocking growth, entrepreneurship and prosperity.

Buy, improve and sell

As A UK-listed company deploying private equity methods, Melrose has done a much better job with GKN than this column predicted.

It has demerged GKNs innovative automotive enterprise into Dowlais Group. GKN came close to selling it to a US competitor in a last-ditch effort to be independent.

Melrose is now a stand-alone aerospace concern with strongly recovering profits in a sector where the UK has been sadly denuded by overseas takeovers.

It is not clear whether the new executive team of Peter Dilnot, who takes over as chief executive from Simon Peckham, and finance chief Matthew Gregory are in for the long haul. They could be simply waiting for the right offer from foreign predators.

The leadership team, like Melrose founders Hanson protege Chris (Jock) Miller and Peckham, is dominated by finance specialists.

They are knowledgeable on financial engineering and acquisition accounting rather than purist industrialists.

That looks like back to the future.

Paper tigers

The departure of Irish packaging group Smurfit Kappa to New York, if it pulls off its 15billion merger with Atlanta-based WestRock, will be seen as another setback for the London Stock Exchange.

The blame for the shrinkage of the London market rests firmly with a pension fund system foolishly hooked on gilts and fixed rate investment.

Trustees, advisers and asset managers betray the equity culture on which industrial and commercial Britain was built.
Package holiday provider Jet2 has raised its full-year earnings outlook thanks to solid levels of summer demand.

The group now expects to post a profit before tax and foreign exchange revaluations of between 480million and 520million for the 12 months ending March, compared to average analyst estimates of 466.5million.

It marks the third time this calendar year that the firm has upgraded its annual profit forecast amidst a sustained resurgence in overseas journeys following the end of Covid-related travel restrictions.

Upgrade: Package holiday provider Jet2 has raised its full-year earnings outlook

Jet2 said the 'strong late booking momentum' seen in July and August had continued into September, while the share of departing passengers booking higher-margin package holidays was up nearly five percentage points on summer last year.

Forward bookings for the upcoming winter season are also robust, with airline seat capacity up by approximately a fifth to 4.5 million.

Following the statement, Jet2 shares climbed by 8.7 per cent, or 89p, to 11.15 on early Thursday afternoon, although they remain somewhat below their pre-pandemic levels.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the performance was 'all the more impressive considering the disruption last month from wildfires in prime tourist locations including Greece and air traffic control issues.

The wildfires that recently devastated parts of Rhodes forced the company to axe all flights to the Greek island for a whole week in late July.

As a result of the catastrophe, Jet2's summer holiday capacity declined marginally to 15.26 million air passenger seats.

Thousands of Jet2 airline passengers suffered delays and cancellations a month later when Britain's air traffic control system experienced a technical glitch. Combined, the two events cost the firm around 13million.

Yet, Britons have displayed few signs of cutting back on foreign vacations even amidst the cost-of-living crisis and rising airline and hotel prices.

Mould added: 'Holidays have become a lot more expensive over the past year, so there has been some nervousness that companies like Jet2 would find it harder going. So far, those fears look overblown.'

Jet2's trading update comes two days after it appointed board member Robin Terrell as non-executive chairman to replace Philip Meeson.

A former RAF pilot, Meeson started Jet2 four decades ago after acquiring the aviation business Channel Express, which transported flowers between the UK mainland and the Channel Islands.

By the time he stood down, he had transformed the company into a popular airline and Britain's biggest package holiday operator.

For the last financial year, Jet2 reported turnover surpassed 5billion while profits soared by 151 per cent from pre-pandemic levels to 290.8million.
A crackdown on cryptocurrency has been delayed.

The Financial Conduct Authority said stricter regulation about marketing crypto would come into force next month but firms can apply for more time to comply with rules, such as a 24-hour cooling-off period.

It said companies could be given until January 8. The rules were due to take effect from October 8.

The delay is a blow to campaigners who have argued protections must be brought in imminently to help vulnerable consumers.

The FCA has criticised some firms.

The Financial Conduct Authority said stricter regulation about marketing crypto assets would come into force next month as planned but firms could apply for more time to comply

We are concerned by the failure of many overseas and unregulated crypto firms to engage with us on the rules, said Lucy Castledine, director of consumer investments.

Well be taking action against firms illegally marketing to UK consumers.

Breaches of the rules, which aim to make marketing of crypto assets clearer and more accurate, and ban incentives like refer a friend bonuses, could be punished by an unlimited fine or up to two years in prison.

The watchdog reiterated that crypto assets are high-risk and buyers should be prepared to lose all their money.
The London stock market was dealt a fresh blow as Smurfit Kappa announced plans to merge with an American rival.

The FTSE 100 packaging giant, which has its headquarters in Dublin, is in advanced talks with Georgia-based WestRock about a mega-deal worth 15billion.

The combined company, to be named Smurfit WestRock, would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange  meaning the cancellation of Smurfits London listing, which it has held since 2016.

The move is another setback for London as companies retreat from the City to the US.

CRH, the worlds largest building materials group and another Irish corporate giant, is switching its stock market listing to the US from London this month.

Making waves: Smurfit Kappa is a familiar name at sea, sponsoring Irish sailor Tom Dolan (pictured)

And London missed out on the hottest initial public offering of the year, with chip designer Arm shunning its homeland for New York instead.

Should the deal go through, Smurfit WestRock would retain a secondary listing in London and continue to be led by Tony Smurfit, who has been chief executive since 2015.

Neil Wilson, an analyst at Markets, said: The UK used to be where companies would come to consolidate.

For many years it was the merger capital of the world. That reputation has been lost.

The London stock exchange needs to urgently look at what it can do to stop the rot.

Packaging companies have been in demand since the pandemic as people stayed at home and became used to ordering items such as food and clothes to be delivered to their homes.

The rise of internet giants such as Amazon has also boosted the sector.

Smurfit has its roots in 1930s Dublin, when businessman Jefferson Smurfit was asked to revive a small manufacturing business which was owned by family members.

Jefferson Smurfit grew under the leadership of the founders son, Sir Michael Smurfit, who became chief executive in 1977 and went about undertaking acquisitions in the US, Latin America and Europe.

Smurfit has for decades been a driving force for Irish business long before the domestic economy took off in the 1990s.

It merged with Kappa Packaging in 2005, changing its name to Smurfit Kappa.

WestRock, the second-largest packaging company in the US behind International Paper, was formed in 2015 through the merger of Meadwestvaco and Rocktenn.

International Paper tried to buy Smurfit Kappa in 2018 for 8billion but was rejected.

Smurfit Kappa said the new deal would create the worlds go-to supplier with annual revenue of 27billion and 100,000 employees in 42 markets.

Its headquarters would be in Dublin, with an American base in Georgia. The deal would offer complementary portfolios with unique product diversity and innovative sustainability capabilities, the company.

Smurfit Kappa shares fell 3.8 per cent, or 122p, to 3096p.
Storm clouds are gathering over the global economy amid mounting fears over China and Europe  and in particular Germany.

Official figures published in Beijing yesterday showed exports from China  often seen as the workshop of the world  were 8.8 per cent lower in August than in the same month last year.

It was the fourth month of decline in a row amid weak global demand for Chinese goods as consumers cut back on electronics purchases.

In Germany, another manufacturing powerhouse, industrial output fell 0.8 per cent in July.

Dark clouds continue to hang over industry, said Alexander Krueger, chief economist at Hauck Aushauser Lampe.

Weak demand: Official figures published in Beijing yesterday showed exports from China were 8.8% lower in August than in the same month last year

The weak global economy and high energy prices will keep the outlook gloomy.

Separate data published by official statistics agency Eurostat showed no growth at all across the EU in the second quarter of the year.

That compares with 0.5 per cent expansion in the US and 0.2 per cent in the UK.

The Italian economy shrank by 0.4 per cent in the quarter while output in Germany was flat after two quarters of decline.

Fears are mounting that Germany faces a double-dip recession, returning to contraction in the second half of the year after a winter downturn ended in the spring.

The IFO economic institute in Munich expects the German economy to contract by 0.4 per cent across 2023.

Contrary to previous expectations, the recovery is likely to fail to materialise in the second half of the year, said its head of forecasts Timo Wollmershauser.
Lloyds of London workers should come into the office at least three days a week, the chairman of the insurance market has insisted.

And Bruce Carnegie-Brown said it should not just be a case of people working Tuesday to Thursday and enjoying long weekends  meaning Mondays and Fridays are not properly covered.

It is the latest effort to row back on working from home after HSBC UK and Lloyds Bank said staff must be at their desks three and two days a week respectively.

Happy returns: Lloyd's of London reported a 3.9bn half-year profit, compared with a loss of 1.8bn a year earlier

Carnegie-Brown said workers come into Lloyds of London for an average of two and a half days a week.

Weve got to make sure that we still work across the working week and that we dont impede our ability to serve customers by the bookends of the week, defaulting to being a long weekend for everybody every week, he said.

It came as Lloyds reported a 3.9billion half-year profit, compared with a loss of 1.8billion a year earlier, thanks to rising insurance premiums and better investment returns.
StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of International Tower Hill Mines (NYSEAMERICAN:THM  Free Report) (TSE:ITH) in a research report released on Saturday. The firm issued a sell rating on the mining companys stock.

International Tower Hill Mines Price Performance

Shares of THM opened at $0.42 on Friday. International Tower Hill Mines has a 12 month low of $0.31 and a 12 month high of $0.75. The company has a market cap of $83.23 million, a P/E ratio of -42.49 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $0.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $0.50.

Get International Tower Hill Mines alerts:

International Tower Hill Mines (NYSEAMERICAN:THM  Get Free Report) (TSE:ITH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 7th. The mining company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

International Tower Hill Mines Company Profile

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of THM. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in International Tower Hill Mines by 314.9% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 61,808 shares of the mining companys stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 46,910 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in International Tower Hill Mines by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 161,859 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 32,559 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its stake in International Tower Hill Mines by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 202,713 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 27,713 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 53.78% of the companys stock.

(Get Free Report)

International Tower Hill Mines Ltd., a mineral exploration company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties. It holds or has rights to acquire interests in the Livengood gold project covering an area of approximately 19,546 hectares located to the northwest of Fairbanks, Alaska.

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SHANGHAI, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai has handled a total of 60 China-Europe freight trains this year as of Aug. 24, exceeding last year's annual total, according to Shanghai Customs on Thursday.

By Aug. 24, the freight trains had carried goods totaling approximately 2 billion yuan (around 273 million U.S. dollars), including chemical products, computer parts, clothing and auto parts, to stops along the Belt and Road in Central Asia, Europe and Russia.

Shanghai launched its first China-Europe freight train in September 2021.

In the first seven months of the year, Shanghai's imports from and exports to Kazakhstan totaled 2.17 billion yuan, a 33.7 percent year-on-year increase, and its foreign trade with Uzbekistan doubled year on year to 2.78 billion yuan, according to Shanghai Customs. 
The following companies are subsidiares of TransDigm Group: 17111 Waterview Pkwy LLC, ARA Deutschland GmbH, ARA Holding GmbH, Acme Aerospace, Acme Aerospace Inc., Adams Rite Aerospace GmbH, Adams Rite Aerospace Inc., Advanced Inflatable Products Limited, Aero-Instruments, AeroControlex Group Inc., Aerosonic, Aerosonic LLC, Air-Sea Survival Equipment Trustee Limited, Airborne Acquisition Inc., Airborne Global Inc., Airborne Holdings Inc., Airborne Systems, Airborne Systems Canada Ltd., Airborne Systems Group Limited, Airborne Systems Holdings Limited, Airborne Systems Limited, Airborne Systems NA Inc., Airborne Systems North America Inc., Airborne Systems North America of CA Inc., Airborne Systems North America of NJ Inc., Airborne Systems Pension Trust Limited, Airborne UK Acquisition Limited, Airborne UK Parent Limited, Aircraft Materials Limited, AmSafe, AmSafe Aviation (Chongqing) Ltd., AmSafe Bridport (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., AmSafe Bridport (Private) Ltd., AmSafe Bridport Ltd., AmSafe Global Holdings Inc., AmSafe Global Services (Private) Limited, AmSafe Inc., Angus Electronics Co., Arkwin Industries, Arkwin Industries Inc., Armtec Countermeasures Co., Armtec Countermeasures TNO Co., Armtec Defense Products Co., Auxitrol SAS, Auxitrol Weston Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Auxitrol Weston Services China Ltd., Auxitrol Weston Singapore Pte. Ltd., Auxitrol Weston USA Inc., Aviation Technologies, Aviation Technologies Inc., Avionic Instruments LLC, Avionics Instruments, Avionics Specialties Inc., AvtechTyee Inc., Beta Transformer Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Beta Transformer Technology Corporation, Beta Transformer Technology LLC, Breeze-Eastern Corporation, Breeze-Eastern LLC, Bridport Erie Aviation Inc., Bridport Holdings Inc., Bridport Ltd., Bridport-Air Carrier Inc., Bruce Aerospace Inc., Bruce Industries, CDA InterCorp LLC, CEF Industries LLC, CMC Electronics Aurora LLC, CMC Electronics Inc., CMC Electronics ME Inc., Champion Aerospace LLC, Chelton Avionics Holdings Inc., Chelton Avionics Inc., Chelton Limited, Cobham Aero Connectivity, Cobham CTS Limited, Cobham Defence Communications Limited, Cobham Defense Products Inc., DART Aerospace, DDC Electronics K.K., DDC Electronics Ltd., DDC Electronics Private Limited, DDC Electronique S.A.R.L., DDC Elektronik GmbH, Darchem Engineering Limited, Darchem Holdings Limited, Data Device Corp., Data Device Corporation, Dukes Aerospace Inc., EST Defence Company UK Limited, Edlaw Limited, Electromech Technologies LLC, Elektro-Metall Export GmbH, Elektro-Metall Paks KFT, Esterline, Esterline Acquisition Ltd, Esterline Europe Company LLC, Esterline Foreign Sales Corporation, Esterline International Company, Esterline Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Esterline Technologies Corporation, Esterline Technologies Corporation, Esterline Technologies Europe Limited, Esterline Technologies France Holding SAS, Esterline Technologies French Acquisition Limited, Esterline Technologies Global Limited, Esterline Technologies Holdings Limited, Esterline Technologies SGIP LLC, Esterline Technologies Unlimited, Esterline do Brasil Assessoria e Intermediacao Ltda, European Antennas Limited, Extant Components Group Holdings Inc., Extant Components Group Intermediate Inc., GQ Parachutes Limited, Guizhou Leach-Tianyi Aviation Electrical Company Ltd, Harco, HarcoSemco LLC, Hartwell Corporation, Hytek Finishes Co., ILC Holdings Inc., IRVIN AEROSPACE LIMITED, IrvinGQ France SAS, IrvinGQ Limited, Janco Corporation, Johnson Liverpool LLC, Kirkhill Elastomers, Kirkhill Inc., Korry Electronics Co., Kunshan Shield Restraint Systems Ltd., Leach Holding Corporation, Leach International Asia-Pacific Ltd, Leach International Corporation, Leach International Europe S.A.S., Leach International Germany GmbH, Leach International Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Leach International UK Ltd, Leach Mexico Holding LLC, Leach Technology Group Inc., MarathonNorco Aerospace Inc., Mason Electric Co., Mastsystem Int'l Oy, McKechnie Aerospace, McKechnie Aerospace (Europe) Ltd., McKechnie Aerospace DE Inc., McKechnie Aerospace DE LP, McKechnie Aerospace Holdings Inc., McKechnie Aerospace US LLC, Mecanismos de Matamoros S. de R.L. de C.V., NAT Seattle Inc., NMC Group Inc., Norco, Nordisk Asia Pacific Limited, Nordisk Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Nordisk Aviation Products (Kunshan) Ltd., Nordisk Aviation Products AS, Nordisk Aviation Products LLC, North Hills Signal Processing Corp., North Hills Signal Processing Overseas LLC, Norwich Aero Products Inc., Palomar Products Inc., Pexco Aerospace, Pexco Aerospace Inc., PneuDraulics, PneuDraulics Inc., Pressure Systems International Ltd, Schneller, Schneller Asia Pte. Ltd., Schneller LLC, Schneller S.A.R.L., Schroth Safety Products, Semco Instruments, Semco Instruments Inc., Shield Restraint Systems Inc., Shield Restraint Systems Ltd., Signal Processing Matamoros S.A. de C.V., Skandia, Skandia Inc., Skurka Aerospace, Skurka Aerospace Inc., Symetrics Industries, Symetrics Industries LLC, Symetrics Technology Group LLC, TA Aerospace Co., TA Mfg Limited, TDG Bavaria GmbH, TDG ESL Holdings Inc., TDG France Ultimate Parent SAS, TDG Germany GmbH, TEAC Aerospace Holdings Inc., TEAC Aerospace Technologies Inc., Tactair Fluid Controls Inc., Takata Protection Systems, Telair International, Telair International GmbH, Telair International Services PTE Ltd, Telair US LLC, TransDigm (Barbados) SRL, TransDigm Canada ULC, TransDigm European Holdings Limited, TransDigm Ireland Ltd., TransDigm Receivables LLC, TransDigm Technologies India Private Limited, TransDigm UK Holdings plc, Transicoil (Malaysia) Sendirian Berhad, Transicoil LLC, Wallop Defence UK Limited, Weston Aerospace Ltd, Whippany Actuation Systems, Whippany Actuation Systems LLC, XCEL Power Systems Ltd., Young & Franklin, Young & Franklin Inc., and exas Rotronics Inc..

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The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen France SAS, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Suzhou Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel Ireland Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Brooks Instrument Shanghai Co. Ltd, Buell Industries Inc., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS Australia Pty Limited, CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures Australasia S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Coeur Shanghai Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Denison Mayes Group Limited, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., E2M Production B.V.., E2M Technologies B.V.., E2M Technologies Inc.., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO Holding AG, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, Exhibit 21, FEG Investments L.L.C., Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Filtertek SAS, GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech Taicang Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Belgium B.V., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart International Singapore Pte. Ltd., Hobart Japan K.K., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components Chongqing Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components Langfang Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts Shanghai Co. 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Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW Materials Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. 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De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Illinois Tool Works Chile Limitada, Illinois Tool Works ITW Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, Instron Shanghai Ltd., Instron Thailand Limited, International Leasing Company LLC, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., Itw Spraytec, KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems Canada Inc., Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MTS 2 LLC., MTS 3 LLC., MTS China Holdings LLC, MTS Europe Holdings LLC, MTS Holdings France S.a.r.l., MTS Japan Ltd.., MTS Korea Inc.., MTS Systems China Co. Ltd., MTS Systems Corporation, MTS Systems Danmark ApS., MTS Systems Europe B.V., MTS Systems Finance C.V.., MTS Systems Germany GmbH, MTS Systems Holding B.V.., MTS Systems Hong Kong Incorporated, MTS Systems Limited, MTS Systems Norden Aktiebolag, MTS Systems S.r.l, MTS Systems., MTS Systems.., MTS Sytems Do Brazil, MTS Testing Solutions India Private Limited., MTS Testing Systems Canada Ltd., Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology Suzhou Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited Enping, Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners Shanghai Co. 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President of the Export-Import Bank of China Ren Shengjun (R) addresses the China-Greece Cooperation on Shipping Finance Exchange Conference in Piraeus, Greece, on Sept. 6, 2023. Cooperation between Greece and China on shipping finance is set to receive a boost, after the conference held at the major Greek port of Piraeus on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

ATHENS, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cooperation between Greece and China on shipping finance is set to receive a boost, after a conference held at the major Greek port of Piraeus on Wednesday.

The Export-Import Bank of China (EXIMBANK) and Greek shipowners discussed the issue within the framework of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for global infrastructure development at the conference co-organized by the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of the Hellenic Shipping (ABFEHS) and the Chinese embassy in Greece.

"Greece is a platform of safe investments for the seagoing trade," and "it is open for both financial institutions and private investors," ABFEHS President George Xiradakis said in his welcome address.

Greek shipping offers attractive opportunities for ship financiers, as the Greek-owned fleet is continuously growing, he said.

Chinese leasing finance in shipping has grown from 47 billion U.S. dollars in 2017 to 77 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, and Chinese banks, including EXIMBANK, have established strong ties with Greek shipping, he underlined.

The 10th anniversary of the BRI is an ideal time to strengthen friendship, cooperation and development, EXIMBANK President Ren Shengjun said, adding that the bank strongly supports maritime cooperation and the modern maritime Silk Road, and Greece is already one of its most important markets for shipping finance in Europe.

In a climate of uncertainty due to geopolitical tensions, it is important to build strong economic and political ties between Europe and China, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Greece Theodore Pelagidis said at the conference.

Greece was the first European country to embrace the BRI, and China's COSCO Shipping investment in Piraeus has turned Greece's largest port to a competitive one, Pelagidis said.

The port of Piraeus serves as a model of Greece-China cooperation, said Chinese Ambassador to Greece Xiao Junzheng. China hopes that it will be part of the integrated development of ports, industries and cities, transforming itself from a loading and unloading port to a "logistics park" and even an "industrial park," he added.

The shipping industry is undergoing a huge transition, with the role of finance in supporting and promoting shipping becoming even more significant, the ambassador said.

The focus should be on promoting the transition from shipping finance to supply chains finance, strengthening financial support for the intelligent and green development of shipping, and supporting the exchanges between the Chinese and Greek shipping finance sectors, he underlined.

"We now live in the age of cooperation, and the sooner everybody understands that, the better will be for the world, for people, for prosperity," said Greek shipowner George Prokopiou, president of the Yacht Club of Greece which hosted the conference. 

Chinese Ambassador to Greece Xiao Junzheng (Rear) addresses the China-Greece Cooperation on Shipping Finance Exchange Conference in Piraeus, Greece, on Sept. 6, 2023. Cooperation between Greece and China on shipping finance is set to receive a boost, after the conference held at the major Greek port of Piraeus on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

President of the Association of Banking and Financial Executives of the Hellenic Shipping George Xiradakis addresses the China-Greece Cooperation on Shipping Finance Exchange Conference in Piraeus, Greece, on Sept. 6, 2023. Cooperation between Greece and China on shipping finance is set to receive a boost, after the conference held at the major Greek port of Piraeus on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)
BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, has signed an order, issuing a guideline on the implementation of China's population and family planning law in the armed forces.

The guideline will take effect from Sept. 10.

Service men and women are encouraged to marry and start families at an appropriate age. A couple can have three children and will enjoy parental leaves, according to the guideline.

A serviceman or servicewoman who is the only child in their family can take additional leave to attend to their parents, the guideline stated.

The country will work to improve nursery and education services for children of military personnel and provide better counseling and healthcare services, according to the guideline. 
CAIRO, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday failed to yield a breakthrough in the revival of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to experts.

Following the meeting, Erdogan expressed optimism about the initiative, but concrete evidence of a breakthrough remains elusive. Meanwhile, Putin reiterated accusations against the West for failing to meet its obligations under the agreement.

Analysts are concerned that the absence of the grain deal will threaten food security in low-income nations in the Middle East and Africa, urging the West to offer Russia the necessary guarantees to maintain a crucial food supply chain.

REVIVING GRAIN DEAL UPHILL BATTLE

"Persuading Russia to engage in a second grain deal is an uphill battle ... To secure a deal, Erdogan must redouble his efforts," said Serkan Demirtas, a foreign policy analyst based in Ankara, Turkiye's capital.

The Turkish leader noted that Russia's concerns should be addressed, adding that Turkiye and the United Nations (UN) had collaborated on a new package of suggestions to address Russia's concerns.

Erdogan also called on Ukraine to adopt a more flexible position in negotiations with Russia regarding the revival of the deal and consider exporting more grain to Africa rather than Europe.

However, Putin maintained that the revival of the UN-brokered deal hinges on whether the West can meet Moscow's demands related to agricultural exports and other issues.

Putin also emphasized the importance of keeping the Black Sea corridor free from military activities as a condition for a potential return to the agreement.

Despite acknowledging the deal's significance, Western nations remain hesitant to make concessions to Moscow. The United States and the European Union have dismissed Moscow's complaints as lacking merit, asserting that their sanctions do not target Russian grain or fertilizers.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock criticized on Monday Putin's decision to block the Black Sea grain deal, accusing him of playing "cynical" games.

However, analysts argue that the developed countries failed to recognize the situation's urgency as the developing countries in the Middle East and Africa do.

"The U.S. and NATO economic embargo decisions not only harmed Russia but also caused significant financial losses to many countries worldwide, especially in Africa and the Arab countries," said Kamal Ben Younes, the director of Ibn Rushd Foundation for Arab and African Studies in Tunisia.

"It is in the interest of Tunisia, African countries, and all countries worldwide to exert pressure on the deal talks to control the prices of such essential commodities," added the Tunisian scholar.

While Turkiye and the UN are having difficulty bringing the relevant parties together, recent reports have hinted at a potential new role for Qatar in finding a new way to export both Russian and Ukrainian grains.

"There is no doubt that Qatar, leveraging its soft power and growing regional and international presence, aims to address a global crisis and food dilemma that could threaten the food security of many impoverished and low-income countries, especially in Africa and the Middle East," said Kheir Diabat, a professor from the International Affairs Department of Qatar University.

THREAT FOR LOW-INCOME NATIONS

The failure to resurrect the Black Sea grain deal could have far-reaching consequences on low-income countries in the Middle East and Africa, which heavily rely on Ukrainian and Russian grain exports.

Before its suspension, the original deal facilitated the export of nearly 33 million tonnes of grain from Ukraine to global markets, benefiting developing countries, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.

Russia's withdrawal from the agreement in July had already impacted global grain prices, raising concerns about food security and a potential worldwide food crisis.

Egypt, one of the world's largest wheat importers, felt the repercussions of Russia's departure, with rising prices affecting its food supply.

"Egypt largely relies on grain imports from these warring countries, as 80 percent of its wheat imports come from Russia and Ukraine," said Al-Bahi Heikal, an Egyptian agricultural engineer.

He added that the increase in grain prices has strained Egypt's limited foreign currency reserves, preventing the most populous Arab country from importing fertilizers, seeds, agricultural tools and machinery necessary for expanding its agricultural lands.

Younes also said the Western sanctions on Russia "caused the increase of the trade deficit and the state budget deficit in Tunisia due to soaring global grain and fuel prices."

"The ban does not stop at depriving Tunisia of obtaining Russian and Ukrainian grain at a reasonable price but also suspending tourist income that was provided by Russian tourists to Tunisia every year," Younes added.

While the grain deal doesn't directly impact Gulf countries like Qatar, oil-rich countries in the region heavily rely on grain imports, rendering them susceptible to global price fluctuations, regardless of the Black Sea supply.

"Boosting strategic grain reserves and increasing domestic food production is key to strengthening Qatar and other Middle Eastern nations' long-term food security," said Steven Wright, associate professor of International Relations at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences of Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar. 
An American tourist who shot to national prominence after being attacked on Talbot Street in Dublin has said he wants to move to Mayo following his ordeal.

In an exclusive interview with The Mayo News, Stephen Termini said that Westport was way better than Dublin, where he was hospitalised after being assaulted by a gang of youths earlier this summer.

Mr Termini has been staying in the West Mayo town recently, the home of his great-grandmother, Anne Donnelly, who left the area as a teenager during The Great Famine.

He is due to return to Dublin today before flying home to America, but says he still wants to become an Irish citizen so he can move to the west of Ireland.

The 56-year-old factory worker is trying to obtain proof of his family connection to Ireland to help him obtain Irish citizenship.

Speaking during an interview in The Mayo News offices on The Fairgreen in Westport Mr Termini described Westport as a fantastic little place.

I tell you, all that money that the people donated, I would use that to buy a house here, he said, referring to the money that was crowd-funded for him following his hospitalisation.

Not some spectacular this and that. Even if it needs a little work. Its got a little land where I can grow my own vegetables and give leftovers to people and be able to be close to the water to get my fish, because I dont eat meat anymore, or chicken or any of that; fresh fruits and vegetables and sea food.

Thats all, a little place. Not attached to another property where theres people all around. Because I wouldnt want to disturb them playing bass and drums at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. So yeah, it feels like the place. Its not Dublin, definitely not Dublin.

Im just feeling the desire to be here. Even once I got back to the States, the next chance I come to get out of here Im coming here. Im not even wasting my time in Dublin, he added.

Stephen Termini pictured at The Fairgreen, Westport

The widowed father-of-two said he would not discourage anyone from visiting the capital city but said he thought Westport was way better than Dublin.

This town should know this is way better than Dublin. Its safer, its laid back, its cool, I mean why would you want to go anywhere else? I like what they have here and what Ive seen so far.

An enthusiastic musician, Mr Termini spent the last two evenings frequenting Matt Molloys pub on Bridge Street where he was recognised by many locals.

I like to be around older people that dont go for all that bulls**t that the younger people do. Theyre walking around with the cell phone and the girls all dressing in tight pants. I dont know how they parents let them get away with that. Im not into all of that, said Mr Termini, who is a native of Buffalo, New York.

I just want to play some play some music, let people enjoy themselves. Especially guys that are working. Theyre working hard and they like to listen to some cool music after work and Id like to be able to be part of that somehow.

The food is amazing. Its just a really nice place, a really nice place from what Ive seen, he added.

An extended interview with Stephen Termini is carried in Tuesdays print edition of The Mayo News.
Footage has emerged of Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary being pied in the face during a press conference in Belgium.

The incident occurred on Thursday as the Westmeath native was delivering a petition to the European Commissions headquarters in Brussels when he was approached by climate activists.

He was struck with a number of cream pies in the face but passed it off by saying "well done" before taking off his jacket and carrying on with his press event.

The protesters shouted "stop the pollution" at the airline chief as they targeted him.

Mr O'Leary further brushed off the incident by telling the gathered reporters, "I love cream cakes. They're my favourite."

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary was hit with a pie by environmental activists during a press conference in Brussels.



The activists can be heard shouting "stop the pollution" before throwing the cake at O'Learyhttps://t.co/AYlfWbXGlu pic.twitter.com/s5s4DnU2O6  Sky News (@SkyNews) September 7, 2023

Mr O'Leary's petition, which has 1.5 million signatures, wants the European Union to stop preventing airlines from flying over countries they are not landing in during local air traffic control strikes.

The Ryanair account on X, formerly Twitter, also made light of the incident.
[September 07, 2023]

FLO Experts Discuss Technology and EV Industry at MOVE America

FLO's booth showcases reliable charging technology

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 7, 2023 /CNW/ - FLO , a leading North American electric vehicle (EV) charging network operator and smart charging solutions provider, will discuss both the EV charging industry and technology at the upcoming MOVE America 2023 show, Sept. 26-27, Austin Convention Center, Austin, Texas.

MOVE America, which focuses on promoting a more sustainable future in mobility, offers a dynamic selection of keynote talks, interactive panel discussions, workshops, booths, and stages dedicated to all-things mobility. The event will open its doors to 3,800 attendees, 150+ exhibitors, 300 start-ups, and 500 speakers over its two-day course.

Several FLO experts will participate in speaking events at the event including:

EV Charging: From 'for engineers by engineers' to design for all, Sept. 26 at 10:30, in Theatre 12 -- Nathan Yang, FLO Chief Product Officer

What will it take to get electric vehicles to mainstream adoption, Sept. 26 at 2:20 in Theatre 12 -- Nathan Yang, FLO Chief Product Officer

EV Charging networks: equitable access to charging infrastructure, Sept. 26 at 12:0, in Theatre 12 -- Travis Allan, FLO Chief Legal and Public Affairs Officer







EV Charging Design Workshop: charging for everyone, Sept 26 at 12:45, in Keynote theatre -- Nathan Yang, FLO Chief Product Officer, and Vincent Levesque, FLO Senior Experience Design Director

The company will also showcase its CoRe+ MAXTM, FLO HomeTM and SmartTWOTM chargers at MOVE. FLO product experts and leadership will host visitors to the FLO booth, No. 1023, during the show.

Who: FLO will host media and visitors at its booth during the show.

Where: FLO's booth, No. 1023, at MOVE America, Sept. 26-27, Austin Convention Center, Austin, Texas

When: Sept. 26-27, product demos and executive interviews also available

Contact: Media interested in attending in speaking to a FLO expert can email: [email protected] .

About FLO

FLO is a leading North American electric vehicle (EV) charging network operator and a smart charging solutions provider. We help to overcome climate change and accelerate EV adoption through a vertically integrated business model and by delivering EV drivers the best charging experience from curbside to countryside. Every month, we enable more than 1 million charging events thanks to over 95,000 fast and level 2 EV charging stations deployed at public, private and residential locations. FLO operates its network across North America and our high-quality charging stations are assembled with care in Michigan and Quebec. To learn more about what "EV charging done right" means to us, visit flo.com .

FLO, CoRe+ MAXTM, FLO HomeTM and SmartTWOTM are registered or unregistered trademarks of Services FLO Inc.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/flo-experts-discuss-technology-and-ev-industry-at-move-america-301920983.html

SOURCE FLO
[September 06, 2023] Roboyo Expands Global Footprint and brings Hyperautomation Expertise to Singapore Tweet

NUREMBERG, Germany, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Roboyo, the world's largest hyperautomation professional services company today announces its expansion into Singapore, marking a significant milestone in the company's journey. Roboyo now has a global presence spanning 24 cities, across 15 countries, and 4 continents, and is poised to bring its hyperautomation expertise to the vibrant and thriving business landscape of Singapore. The new office will be led by John Adamek, Director Process Mining and Excellence. John has over 30 years' experience in architecting strategic shifts and operational excellence on a global scale and has pioneered the creation of Digital Twins from data, ushering in profound insights for reshaping businesses. "As we embark on this exciting journey to bring Roboyo's hyperautomation expertise to Singapore, we see Singapore's commitment to innovation as aligning perfectly with Roboyo's mission to revolutionize automation. We are eager to collaborae with local businesses, leveraging our global expertise in driving success and growth for our clients here in Singapore." John says.



The Singapore base ensures Roboyo is well-positioned to serve the entire Asia Pacific (APAC) region. The local team will be supported by the extensive capabilities of the 100-plus-person team in Australia and New Zealand, as well as teams from across the Roboyo network. "Singapore's position as a hub of innovation and digital transformation makes it ideal for Roboyo's hyperautomation solutions. Under John's leadership and with our dedicated team, we look forward to empowering Singaporean businesses to unlock unprecedented efficiencies and drive next level digital transformation. This expansion reaffirms our commitment to providing world-class solutions tailored to the unique needs of each market we serve." - Nicolas Hess  Co-founder and CEO, Roboyo

Seize the opportunity for innovation and efficiency with Roboyo's hyperautomation solutions. Book a meeting today and kickstart your journey towards success. About Roboyo Roboyo helps clients operationalize a full spectrum of AI-powered hyperautomation technologies, creating hybrid Human+digital workforces elevating enterprise performance gains from increments to multiples. This holistic approach to process automation helps businesses re-engineer enterprise operations, performing processes at many times the speed, a fraction of the cost and with zero errors, significantly improving both employee and customer experience. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/roboyo-expands-global-footprint-and-brings-hyperautomation-expertise-to-singapore-301918140.html SOURCE Roboyo

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[September 06, 2023] Space Meets Connectivity: Global Satellite 5G NR Market to 2033, Unleashing the Power of Global Communication Tweet

DUBLIN, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Satellite 5G New Radio (NR) Market - A Global and Regional Analysis: Focus on Frequency Band, Services, End User, Terminal Type, and Country - Analysis and Forecast, 2023-2033" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Global Satellite 5G NR (New Radio) Market is projected to achieve a market value of $14.47 billion by 2033, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.9% over the forecast period. Introduction to Satellite 5G NR The emergence of satellite 5G NR marks a pivotal stage in global connectivity, blending cutting-edge technology with space-based infrastructure. This fusion enables unparalleled levels of communication and data transfer. Satellite 5G NR capitalizes on low Earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary satellites, delivering seamless coverage across urban, rural, and remote regions. This convergence bridges digital divides and transforms various industries including telecommunications, Internet of Things (IoT), and autonomous vehicles. The amalgamation of satellite and 5G technologies has the potential to revolutionize connectivity and shape a more connected future. Market Insight Satellite 5G NR builds upon the growth of mobile communication technology and the evolution of 5G to meet the demands of high-speed and reliable wireless access. Unlike traditional terrestrial networks, satellite 5G NR harnesses the power of satellites to offer universal coverage, especially in remote and underdeveloped areas. Companies like SpaceX, OneWeb, and Telesat are working on satellite constellations to provide 5G coverage worldwide, benefiting sectors such as telecom, IT, education, and healthcare. Industrial Transformation Satellite-enabled 5G NR technology has catalyzed significant changes cross industries, unlocking unprecedented communication possibilities.



Industries experience enhanced efficiency and real-time decision-making in remote and challenging environments. This transformation leads to smarter cities, resilient supply chains, and better resource management, driving sectors towards greater efficiency and sustainability.

Segmentation Insights End User: Telecom and IT, with a 30% share in 2022, leads the satellite 5G NR market. The ability to bridge connectivity gaps in underserved areas drives this growth.

Telecom and IT, with a 30% share in 2022, leads the satellite 5G NR market. The ability to bridge connectivity gaps in underserved areas drives this growth. Services: Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) segment reported a revenue generation of $2.66 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.90% during 2023-2033.

Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) segment reported a revenue generation of in 2022 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.90% during 2023-2033. Frequency Band: The 1 GHz to 6 GHz frequency band is projected to reach $6.37 billion by 2033, driven by the development of technology in this spectrum. Regional Dynamics North America accounted for 23% of the market share in 2022, driven by the presence of key companies like Cisco Systems, Inc., Intel Corporation, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

accounted for 23% of the market share in 2022, driven by the presence of key companies like Cisco Systems, Inc., Intel Corporation, and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. The growth of satellite 5G NR is global, with regions such as Europe , Asia-Pacific , the Middle East and Africa , and Latin America contributing to the expansion. Demand Drivers and Limitations Drivers: Seamless global coverage and the potential to bridge the digital divide are key drivers propelling the adoption of satellite 5G NR technology.

Seamless global coverage and the potential to bridge the digital divide are key drivers propelling the adoption of satellite 5G NR technology. Limitations: High infrastructure investment costs pose financial challenges to companies entering the market. Market Players and Competition Established players dominate the market (80% share), with start-ups capturing 20%. As demand for global connectivity grows, more players are expected to enter the market each year. Market Dynamics Drivers Increasing Adoption of IoT and Cloud-Based Applications

Seamless Global Coverage Challenges High Latency and Network Performance Due to Inappropriate Spectrum Allocation

High Infrastructure Investment Cost Opportunities Communication Satellites Constellation Deployment

Hybrid Satellite Terminals Strategies Partnerships, Collaborations, Agreements, and Contracts

Market Developments Companies Mentioned Cisco Systems, Inc.

Deutsche Telekom AG

Fujitsu

Gatehouse Satcom A/S

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.

Intel Corporation

Nokia

NEC Corporation

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson

ZTE Corporation For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/d5tsbg 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

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For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/space-meets-connectivity-global-satellite-5g-nr-market-to-2033-unleashing-the-power-of-global-communication-301919447.html SOURCE Research and Markets

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[September 06, 2023] UPS ANNOUNCES BOBBY SEO AS MANAGING DIRECTOR IN SOUTH KOREA Tweet

SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UPS (NYSE: UPS) announced that Bobby Seo has been appointed as Managing Director of UPS Korea, effective September 1, 2023. He will be responsible for overseeing the overall express operations of UPS Korea. Bobby brings to this key appointment a unique blend of multi-disciplinary expertise gathered over 27 years within various functions in UPS, including package center operations, customs brokerage and border clearance, industrial engineering, and systems infrastructure. The strength of Bobby's professional network and deep operational expertise were brought to bear particularly during the pandemic, when his ability to mobilize cross-functional teams to deploy contingency plans ensured that UPS Korea maintained stable operations even at the height of global supply chain disruptions. Over the years, Bobby's relentless customer-first focus means he is in constant dialogue with customers and sales teams to enhance customers' experience by improving efficiency, cost effectiveness, and service speed and reliability, regardless of his role. "With demand for cross-border e-commerce and specialized healthcare logistics on the rise, UPS Korea plans to increase operational capacity at our hub at Incheon International Airport, and deepen our cold chain capabilities. I'm looking forward to collaborating more closely with our customers to ensure we can partner with them to fulfil their international growth ambitions," said Bobby. Just last year, UPS Korea expanded its healthcare service offering with the launch of UPS Premier, a 'white glove' shipping service targeted at healthcare customers who require precision logistics for patient-critical, time- and temperature-sensitive products. About UPS UPS (NYSE: UPS) is one of the world's largest companies, with 2022 revenue of $100.3 billon, and provides a broad range of integrated logistics solutions for customers in more than 220 countries and territories. Focused on its purpose statement, "Moving our world forward by delivering what matters," the company's more than 500,000 employees embrace a strategy that is simply stated and powerfully executed: Customer First. People Led. Innovation Driven. UPS is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and supporting the communities we serve around the world. UPS also takes an unwavering stance in support of diversity, equity and inclusion. More information can be found at www.ups.com, about.ups.com and www.investors.ups.com.



Executive Bio

Bobby Seo is the Managing Director for UPS Korea, and is based in Seoul. He is responsible for the strategic management of UPS's express delivery operations in South Korea. A UPS veteran of 27 years, Bobby brings a unique all-roundedness and depth of perspective across multiple areas of expertise from his time in various departments including package center operations, customs brokerage and border clearance, industrial engineering, and systems infrastructure. Bobby most recently oversaw package center operations in Seoul, where he represented UPS Korea in strategic engagements with customs brokerage stakeholders and the local labor union. His efforts have resulted in UPS Korea obtaining Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certification, reliable delivery service, and a working environment where safety and well-being is a top priority. As head of industrial engineering between 2013 and 2020, Bobby was instrumental in the expansion of UPS Korea's hub at Incheon International Airport (ICN), and in the implementation of an asset-light delivery model. The systems he developed and deployed while in the systems infrastructure division between 1996 and 2011 helped accelerate customs clearance for UPS packages. He also played a critical role in ensuring the smooth transition of data management systems during the complex process of relocating UPS Korea's hub and gateway operations from Gimpo International Airport to ICN in 2001. Bobby holds a bachelor's degree in Information and Communications from Gimpo University in South Korea. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/ups-announces-bobby-seo-as-managing-director-in-south-korea-301918643.html SOURCE UPS

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Bahrain is on the path to make use of emerging technologies such as Big Data, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain in government services in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said a top official.

Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) Chief Executive, Mohammed Ali Al Qaed told the World Economic Forum GovTech Network in Geneva, Switzerland the unwavering support for digital transformation by Bahrains senior leadership has led to the development of many services, applications and government systems.

Al Qaed said the Covid-19 pandemic was a key driver in accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in government services to ensure the continuity of operations in both the public and private sectors.

ICT-led growth

Additionally, ICT has contributed to growth that surpasses expectations in vital areas such as e-commerce and distance learning.

He highlighted the kingdoms notable experience in this area demonstrated by the National Suggestion & Complaint system - Tawasul, which allows the public to engage with government entities and submit their complaints, inquiries, and suggestions interactively through digital channels.

Tawasul has fostered the community participation by the active response to the suggestions and complaints while promoting engagement across all segments. This is complemented by enhanced participation through social media, electronic and field surveys, blogs, and more.

The forum's topics also addressed the importance of building a competent workforce capable of harnessing and adapting emerging technologies to improve government systems and services. Al Qaed highlighted the significance of human resource development in this field, particularly the Technical Development Programme, which is carried out in collaboration with concerned government entities, and aims to cultivate a skilled and experienced national ICT workforce.

Cloud computing

During a session on Government Ecosystem, Al Qaed discussed potential and innovative solutions for government operations offered by cloud computing. He highlighted the importance of enhancing collaboration with leading global players, explaining that Bahrain has actively pursued this through its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide the infrastructure for hosting government services on cloud.

This partnership has strengthened the ability of government entities to innovate, improve operational efficiency, and expand their storage capacities. He added that it is important to establish a trusted digital identity via the adoption of technologies like AI, cloud computing, and others in providing government services. He affirmed the iGAs commitment to this endeavour through a partnership with a specialised digital identity company.

He also discussed the significance of data and its role in shaping policies, strategies, and decision-making. He highlighted the iGAs efforts in launching an Open Data Policy to regulate data exchange with the public and enhance transparency in data presentation, all within well-structured governance frameworks.

Open Data Portal

He mentioned a recent collaboration with a leading open data company to establish a national Open Data Portal that covers areas such as healthcare, population, labor, education, land, economy, investment, culture, marriage and divorce, agriculture, trade, tourism, and more.

Al Qaed said that the kingdom is prepared to showcase its initiatives and success stories to the world, along with successful products developed by Bahraini startups that align with the objectives of the event.

GovTech aims to create a community of decision-makers, ICT leaders, international institutions, academia, and global research centers to discuss frameworks for international cooperation in digital transformation among government entities.--TradeArabia News Service
Photo taken on Sept. 5, 2023 shows a drought-affected area of Duden Lake in Ankara, Turkiye. Turkiye is poised to experience above-average temperatures in September this year, following a summer plagued by a series of heat waves attributed to climate change, said scientists. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

By Burak Akinci

ANKARA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkiye is poised to experience above-average temperatures in September this year, following a summer plagued by a series of heat waves attributed to climate change, said scientists.

Levent Kurnaz, director of the Center for Climate Change and Policy Studies at Istanbul's Bogazici University, cautioned that the El Nino effect is expected to elevate temperatures to unprecedented levels this month.

"In Turkiye, the peak of summer heat typically occurs at the end of July and the first week of August, followed by a cooling trend. However, September this year is likely to be notably warmer than usual," Kurnaz told the state-run Anadolu news agency.

El Nino is a climate pattern that occurs every few years in the Pacific Ocean. It is characterized by the warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. This warming causes changes in weather patterns around the world, including changes in rainfalls, temperatures, and storms.

"We anticipate significantly higher temperatures in 2024 compared to this year, with the potential for daily temperature records to be broken regularly," stated the scientist.

The warming weather has also led to severe rainstorms in certain regions of the country, resulting in loss of life and property.

As of Wednesday night, flash floods in Istanbul, Turkiye's largest city, and the neighboring province of Kirklareli had claimed at least seven lives, with more than 30 others injured.

"Hot weather and climate change are to blame for such weather events," said Dilek Caliskan, a meteorological expert with the private NTV news channel.

August witnessed exceptionally high temperatures in Turkiye this year, marked by multiple heat waves that pushed temperatures to 45 degrees Celsius in southern regions and 40 degrees Celsius in the capital Ankara.

The southern province of Hatay reported a temperature of 50 degrees Celsius on Aug. 15, marking the country's highest-ever temperature on record.

Meanwhile, droughts are becoming more frequent and severe in Turkiye, impacting major cities like Istanbul and Ankara, which are grappling with rising temperatures.

Data from the General Directorate of Meteorology shows that Turkiye's average temperature in 2022 was 14.5 degrees Celsius, surpassing the 1991-2020 average of 13.9 degrees Celsius by 0.6 degrees.

Adil Tek, head of Bogazici University Kandilli Observatory Meteorology Laboratory, emphasized that Turkiye, like other nations worldwide, is suffering from the consequences of the climate crisis, including soaring temperatures.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Tek underscored a notable increase in the number of hot days, particularly days with tropical nighttime temperatures above certain thresholds.

The climate crisis is also significantly affecting agricultural production in Turkiye.

Agriculture expert and writer Ali Ekber Yildirim emphasized in a recent video blog that the climate crisis has emerged as a major problem for Turkiye's agriculture.

"Hailstorms, frost, and numerous disasters have led to significant losses in production, efficiency, and quality this year for many crops such as raisins, potatoes, and tomatoes," he noted.

Yildirim also highlighted that the reduced yield contributed to rising prices for fruits and vegetables this summer.

In another worrying development linked to climate change, Turkish scientists have documented the rapid retreat of glacial ice on one of the nation's highest peaks.

A late July research conducted by Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Faculty of Engineering in the glacier of Mount Cilo, located in the southeastern province of Hakkari, revealed alarming levels of ice melt, as reported by private Haberturk news channel.

The glaciers on Mount Cilo are crucial water sources for many cities and irrigation in the surrounding agricultural plains. Continued glacial retreat threatens water supplies for millions downstream in the coming decades, according to researchers. 

This aerial photo taken on Sept. 5, 2023 shows a part of Duden Lake in Ankara, Turkiye. Turkiye is poised to experience above-average temperatures in September this year, following a summer plagued by a series of heat waves attributed to climate change, said scientists. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Photo taken on Sept. 5, 2023 shows a drought-affected area of Duden Lake in Ankara, Turkiye. Turkiye is poised to experience above-average temperatures in September this year, following a summer plagued by a series of heat waves attributed to climate change, said scientists. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Sept. 5, 2023 shows a part of Duden Lake in Ankara, Turkiye. Turkiye is poised to experience above-average temperatures in September this year, following a summer plagued by a series of heat waves attributed to climate change, said scientists. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
[September 06, 2023] Rising Demand for Low Latency Networks Propels 6G Market to $1.29 Trillion by 2035, Transforming Industries Tweet

DUBLIN, Sept. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "6G Market - A Global and Regional Analysis: Focus on Product, Device, Communication Infrastructure, End-Use Application, Consumer Application, Industrial and Enterprise, Material, and Region - Analysis and Forecast, 2029-2035" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The 6G market is poised for significant growth, projected to reach $1.58 billion in 2028 and expanding at a staggering CAGR of 103.35%, reaching $1,293.19 billion by 2035. This growth is attributed to the increasing emphasis on low-latency networks for specific applications, rising adoption of internet services and edge computing devices, and the growth of smart technologies. As the world transitions to the 6G era, here are key insights into the market's introduction, market segments, drivers, challenges, opportunities, and competitive landscape. Introduction of 6G 6G is expected to revolutionize telecommunication systems by optimizing performance and efficiency in industrial and consumer applications. With the rise of IoT, Industry 4.0, and home automation, advanced network solutions have become essential. 6G aims to provide low latency and high data transfer rates, enabling smart technologies, automation, and AI across industries. Market Introduction The 6G market is still in its early stages, with numerous players involved. Telecommunication providers, equipment manufacturers, and government support are driving research and development for advanced 6G solutions. Subsidies and infrastructure development by governments further contribute to market growth. Industrial Impact Factors driving the 6G market include the development of new low-loss materials, satellite communication, growing internet services and edge computig adoption, and smart technology growth.



Market Segmentation The market is segmented into end-use applications, consumer applications, industrial and enterprise applications, product types, material types, and regions.

Consumer Application Segment Mobile

M2M Communication

Computing Industrial and Enterprise Segment Industry 4.0

Smart City and Urban Infrastructure

E-Healthcare

Autonomous Vehicles

Others Product Type Segment Device

Communication Infrastructure Material Type Segment Plastics and Resins

Ceramics and Composites

Glass

Semiconductor Materials

Others Region Segment North America

Europe

U.K.

China

Asia-Pacific and Japan

and South America

Middle East and Africa Demand - Drivers, Challenges, and Opportunities Market Demand Drivers: Low Latency Networks The increasing reliance on technology has made low latency crucial, impacting applications like gaming, autonomous vehicles, and financial trading. Low latency networks ensure seamless user experiences and are vital for various industries. Market Challenges: Transition Challenges The transition to new communication generations can be slow due to infrastructure and device compatibility requirements. Despite 5G's launch, global adoption varies, with some regions still adopting previous generations. Market Opportunities: Advancements in AI, IoT, and Blockchain 6G is expected to enhance AI and IoT technologies, allowing real-time data analysis and enabling faster data transfer rates. This aligns with the growth of smart technologies, IoT, and Industry 4.0. Key Players and Competition Key players in the 6G market include: Apple Inc.

AT&T Inc.

China Unicom ( Hong Kong ) Limited

) Limited Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Intel Corporation

MediaTek Inc.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Nokia Corporation

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

SK Telecom Co., Ltd.

T-Mobile USA , Inc.

, Inc. Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson

Verizon Communications Inc.

ZTE Corporation

Reliance Industries Limited

Keysight Technologies

Solvay

DuPont

DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, Ltd. These companies are actively involved in strategic partnerships, collaborations, and acquisitions to enhance their product offerings and expand their market presence. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/acxnv3 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 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rising-demand-for-low-latency-networks-propels-6g-market-to-1-29-trillion-by-2035--transforming-industries-301919463.html SOURCE Research and Markets

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[September 07, 2023]

Sharmila Sherikar Joins Sonata Software as Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Development

BENGALURU, India, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sonata Software (NSE: SONATSOFTW) (BSE: 532221), the leading Modernization Engineering company, has announced that Sharmila Sherikar has joined the organization as Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Development.

Sharmila joins Sonata with more than three decades of industry experience in change management and corporate development programs. She is adept at managing large organizational restructuring programs and brings in-depth knowledge in anchoring and executing transformation initiatives for strategic corporate goals. She possesses extensive familiarity in leading change management during acquisitions & mergers and building capabilities & talent during high growth phase.

As an Executive Leadership Team member and in her role, Sharmila will drive Sonata's strategic corporate cross-functional change programs.

"We are delighted to have Sharmila join Sonaa to catalyze our hyper-growth by focusing on defining, evolving, and driving strategic change and corporate development programs. We wish her the very best as we continue driving top quartile growth performance in the industry," said Samir Dhir, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Sonata Software.







Last year, the top 100 senior leaders of Sonata participated and defined their three-year goals and corporate strategy to reach $1.5B by the end of FY26. As part of this endeavour, it had recently acquired Quant Systems Inc for $160M. The company has been investing significantly in talent, technologies, markets, and partnership to drive its hyper-growth.

"I am excited to be a part of Sonata Software, a company of great legacy. As the company journeys through its high growth phase, I look forward to working with various internal and external teams to strengthen our stakeholder relations and deliverables, with amplified operational rigor and excellence," said Sharmila.

About Sonata Software

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2202982/Sharmila_Sherikar.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/689012/Sonata_Software_Logo.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/sharmila-sherikar-joins-sonata-software-as-senior-vice-president-and-head-of-corporate-development-301919407.html
[September 07, 2023] China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 kicks off in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province Tweet

SHIJIAZHUANG, China, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from Great Wall New Media: The China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 kicked off on Sept.6 at the Shijiazhuang (Zhengding) International Convention and Exhibition Center in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province. With theme of "Industrial Internet Empowering Various Industries, Digital Economy Leading High-Quality Development", the expo adheres to the unique innovative concept and strives to create a professional, exciting, and fruitful event in the field of digital economy. Focusing on internationalization, specialization and high-end positioning, a series of activities are scheduled to be staged, which include the keynote foums, the match-making events between science and technology and capital, and international exchanges and co-operation.



Compared to previous years, this year's expo introduced a new industrial internet core exhibition area, attracting a large number of key players in the sector and it is to showcase new technologies, products, and applications of industrial internet platforms, identification analysis, edge computing, industrial intelligence, and digital twins. This year's event has not only attracted globally renowned companies such as Tesla, Siemens, Huawei, and Alibaba, but also representatives from Hebei province's digital economy sector who aim to showcase the region's new technologies, products, and applications, demonstrate top-notch technologies and solutions in the Industrial Internet field and highlight the strong vitality of Hebei's industrial internet development.

Cities like Shijiazhuang, Langfang, Handan, and Zhangjiakou in Hebei Province have set up their own exhibition areas showcasing their technological achievements in such fields as artificial intelligence, industrial internet, and intelligent equipment. During the parallel forums, industrial ecology conferences, and achievement matchmaking meetings at the expo, representatives from Hebei research institutes, universities, and companies will engage in discussions with domestic and foreign industry representatives. They will diagnose and support the innovative development of Hebei's industrial internet, and aid in the construction of a data-driven and intelligently integrated digital Hebei. Apart from that, a series of reports and some heavyweight research results related to digital economy technology and innovation are scheduled to be released at the three-day expo. As the first national-level digital economy exhibition in China, the previous three series attracted more than 1,000 exhibitors including Siemens, Tesla, Huawei and Alibaba. They were from the world's top 500 enterprises, China's top 500 enterprises, the industry's top 100 enterprises, unicorns, and new and specialized enterprises. More than 460,000 people visited the events, and the online exhibition halls alone registered more than 7 million visits. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-international-digital-economy-expo-2023-kicks-off-in-shijiazhuang-hebei-province-301920153.html SOURCE Great Wall New Media

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[September 07, 2023] GIP Launched ASEAN Chapter, Vision 2026 and New WG at its 5th Plenary Meeting Tweet

BEIJING, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 5th Plenary Meeting of the Green Investment Principles (GIP) for the Belt and Road was successfully convened in Beijing. More than 100 representatives from over 50 member institutions spanning Asia, Europe, the UK, and Africa attended the meeting. To reflect global trends in sustainable finance, GIP renews its medium-term strategy and announced Vision 2026/2030, which introduces the "Transition" pillar. The updated Vision also raises targets and expectations for actions on risk analysis, disclosure, and green investments. As outlined in the Vision, GIP seeks to enhance engagement with stakeholders along the BRI, aiming to grow green investments, via regional offices in Central Asia, Africa, and Southeast Asia. As the third regional office, GIP ASEAN Chapter was announced and will be co-chaired by Dr. Mari Pangestu, former MD of World Bank, and Rino Donosepoetro (Donny), Vice Chairman, ASEAN and President Commissioner Indonesia at Standard Chartered. Mari warmly welcomes the ASEAN Chapter as a platform for exchanging ideas and experience among policymakers, FIs and corporates. Priorities of the Chapter will include transition finance, to facilitate just and affordable energy transition. Donny hopes the Chapter can serve as a "super connector" for firms, investors and governents, disseminate knowledge on sustainability, and accelerate the flow of green capital.



To facilitate implementation of the Vision and build capacity, a new working group on transition finance, led by BOC and DBS, was announced at the meeting. The WG aims to help members and clients' low-carbon transition by formulating and implementing transition plans and innovating products. GIP members demonstrated strong enthusiasm at the panel discussion. George Wang, Senior Vice President at DBS, said, "transition is the most important part of our future business." Dr. Ma Jun, Co-chair of GIP and Chairman of China Green Finance Committee, noted important global trends in sustainable finance, including the G20 Transition Finance Framework, ISSB standards, and growing investor attention to nature and biodiversity. "GIP will incorporate these trends into capacity building efforts through its WG and chapters," said Ma.

Sir William Russell, co-chair of GIP and former Lord Mayor of the City of London, underlined the importance of EM's transition in achieving net-zero and that capacity is crucial for transition. "GIP demonstrates how capacity building has been done in EMDEs," said Russell. JIN Zhongxia, head of International Department at PBOC, recognized the key role GIP has played as a global platform for action. He expects GIP to work in three areas, including supporting green activities, facilitating transition and enhancing capacities. Rahul Ahluwalia, HM Deputy Trade Commissioner at British Embassy Beijing noted significant actions taken by China to tackle climate change and tremendous potential to deepen China-UK to collaboration on sustainable finance. A GIP casebook was launched to demonstrate good practices in green investments along the Belt and Road and implementation of GIP principles. In recognition of exceptional implementation of GIP principles and product innovation by its members, the Secretariat announced winners of the 2023 GIP Awards. Contact

[email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/gip-launched-asean-chapter-vision-2026-and-new-wg-at-its-5th-plenary-meeting-301920208.html SOURCE Green Investment Principles (GIP) for the Belt and Road

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[September 07, 2023] IndiaCorr Expo & India Folding Carton to host leading global companies in its 10th anniversary edition Tweet

NEW DELHI, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The highly anticipated 10th edition of IndiaCorr Expo & India Folding Carton ( https://www.indiacorrexpo.com ), organised by RX India, a part of RX Global ( www.rxglobal.com ), is set to be India's premier event in the corrugated packaging & folding carton industry. Scheduled to take place from 28th - 30th September 2023 at the India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, Delhi-NCR, this event has consistently been recognized as the most trusted gathering in its field. Over the past decade, this remarkable event has created an influential platform for the corrugated packaging and box making industry. It has brought together key players from the industry, facilitating business opportunities and fostering valuable partnerships among stakeholders. In its landmark 10th edition, IndiaCorr Expo & India Folding Carton will once again host a distinguished array of both global and domestic industry leaders. Notable participants include AGSP Impax, Ample Graphics, BHS Corrugated India, Bobst India, DGM Automation, EMBA Machinery, Fosber, GMS Internationals, Hebei Xinguang, Hubergroup, Keenmatics, Keshenglong, Kongsberg, Li Shenq Machinery, Mosca India, Pidilite Industries, Printpack Engineers, Robus India, Siegwerk India, Suba Solutions, Valco Melton, VIG Graphics, WestRock India, Yueli Machinery, Zhongke India, among many others. Shradha Malik, Project Manager, RX India commented, "Over the last decade, IndiaCorr Expo and India Folding Carton in partnership with the Indian Corrugated Case anufacturers' Association (ICCMA), have consistently provided a vital business platform for packaging professionals. From product launches to unparalleled networking opportunities, IndiaCorr Expo and India Folding Carton stand as India's most trusted B2B platform for the corrugated packaging, box making, and paper packaging industry. In our 10th edition, we anticipate hosting over 250 suppliers, including prominent global players, with an expected turnout of more than 10,000 visitors. We invite you to join us in experiencing yet another phenomenal event from 28th - 30th September 2023 at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, Delhi-NCR."



As part of the event's strategic partnerships, the Indian Corrugated Case Manufacturers' Association (ICCMA) will once again present the ICCMA Congress on 28th and 29th September 2023. The central theme for this networking conference is 'Optimising Capacity Utilisation Strategies.' Eminent thought leaders from across the country will share their insights, views, and expertise on relevant topics. Shri Harish Madan, President, ICCMA stated, "As India accelerates toward its goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy in the coming years, fuelled by government reforms and growth initiatives, this year's conference theme, 'Optimising Capacity Utilisation Strategies,' will focus on evaluating and making capital investment decisions with a keen eye on demand and supply dynamics. Key thought leaders will share their views, ideas and knowledge to empower the industry. We invite you to join us at ICCMA Congress 2023 as we embark on this new era of growth."

Visitors to the event can plan to source from more than 250 suppliers and witness a spectacular showcase of live machinery and cost-effective solutions, including box making solutions, printing solutions, automatic corrugated paper cardboard lamination machines, box stitching machines, testing equipment, folder gluer machines, carton making equipment, rigid box making machinery, inks, adhesives, kraft paper, and much more. About RX: RX is a leading global events business. It combines face-to-face with data and digital tools to help customers learn about markets, source products and complete transactions at over 400 events in almost 30 countries across 43 industry sectors, attracting more than 7 million participants. Our events, organised by 35 global offices, leverage industry expertise, large data sets and technology to enable our customers to generate billions of dollars of revenues for the economic development of local markets and national economies around the world. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. www.reedexhibitions.com About RELX: RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs over 30,000 people, of whom almost half are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. *Note: Current market capitalisation can be found at http://www.relx.com/investors Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204085/IndiaCorr_Expo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/indiacorr-expo--india-folding-carton-to-host-leading-global-companies-in-its-10th-anniversary-edition-301920228.html

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[September 07, 2023] Creator Nations to Host a Global Blockchain and Web3 VIP Networking Event during Token2049 Week Tweet

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

Singapore, September 14, 2023: Creator Nations, a global community of industry leaders in the Web3, AI, Blockchain, and Crypto space, will host the Creator Nations - Token2049 VIP Networking Event during Token2049 Week.

The event aims to discuss and share insights on global web3 adoption enabling more exposure and opportunities in the field of the decentralized digital economy of the future, such as the burgeoning subject of RWAs.

Thursday, September 14th, 2023

7:00 p.m.  10:00 p.m.

Singapore Time

WeWork

5 Temasek Boulevard, Singapore

Tickets start at $175 and may be purchased here . Coinciding with Token2049 Week, the event will showcase unparalleled industry knowledge and unique insights by thought leaders and expertsrepresenting Web3, AI, Crypto, and Blockchain initiatives. Notably, the event is co-sponsored by KB53, a company specializing in the tokenization of Real-World Assets (RWAs) redefining the experience of how people invest. KB53 is excited to align their mission with Creator Nations, recognizing the value of time and the importance of building relationships within the Web3 community. Additional support comes from LunaPR, Popl, and the event serves as an official side event and community partner of Token2049.



Presenters include:

- Alnura Belyalova - Director of Public Relations at Luna PR

- Jay Koh - Founding Board Member at Association Blockchain Asia

- Team of KB53 - speakers yet to be announced

- Nir Kouris - Founder at Creator Nations "Creator Nations, as a community, is rooted in the immense success of Token2049 Singapore Event," said Nir Kouris, Founder, Creator Nations. "The event will offer a new take on the typical conference scenario, including a true matchmaking service powered by Popl. It is one of the many initiatives launched by Creator Nations to support the web3 and blockchain community globally. Stay tuned for updates as we bring you an exciting agenda of hybrid meetups, hackathons, and gatherings across the Globe, including Berlin, Dubai, Amsterdam, Miami, Tel Aviv, New York, Paris, and London."

About Creator Nations:

Creator Nations is supported by influential organizations, including leading Web3 companies and eminent industry dignitaries from regulators to government officials and policymakers. The organization has established partnerships with the top countries and innovation leaders paving the way in web3 and blockchain technology, such as the USA, UK, France, Singapore, and Israel. As a community, Creator Nations is committed to accelerating innovation processes and exchanging best practices at the policy and supervision level to promote the growth of the decentralized digital economy of the future. About KB53 Token:

KB53 Token is all about democratizing investments. They are tokenizing Real World Assets, making them accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial standing. Their 4C Strategy ensures a balanced approach between security and opportunity. What sets us apart is our use of Virtual Reality, bringing investment opportunities right to your living room. We're revolutionizing how people invest, promoting more individual responsibility. For sponsorships and collaborations, please contact:

Nir Kouris, +972-54-6529330

[email protected]

LinkedIn:

( https://www.linkedin.com/in/nirkouris/)

(https://www.linkedin.com/in/nirkouris/)





Alnura Belyalova Director of Public Relations Luna PR [email protected]

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[September 07, 2023] THE BUILDING WORK FOR THE NEW INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY CENTRE IN MBALE IS COMPLETE Tweet

The Centre is the first purpose-built technology training academy in Uganda. LONDON, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Nick Maughan Foundation (NMF) is pleased to announce the completion of the first purpose-built technology training academy in Uganda. NMF and Spotlight on Africa have come together to create the first ICT centre of its kind in Uganda. Not only will it teach IT skills to the 1,000+ children who attend the Spotlight on Africa schools, but it will also have the capacity and capabilities to teach ICT skills to adults in order to help them with their own economic and technological development and empowerment. The centre is set to provide seven different levels of courses - from basic ICT skills up to coding - all of which will be fully accredited with qualifications. The teaching staff will all come from the IT Department at Livingstone University, with whom the project is partnering with, to ensure the teaching delivered is of the highest quality. The centre has purchased high quality computers, all of which have been set-up for a productive and efficient teaching environment. Using the first StarLink in Uganda, a satellite internet service providing internet connection to remote locations, the centre has attained internet speeds that are 30 times faster than the average internet speed in Mbale. The centre has also been created with environmental features in mind. It will be using all energy from its very own solar panels which have been fitted on the roof. This is the first project of this kind in Mbale. The panels will provide a reliable source of energy in a country where power cuts are frequent. Spotlight of Africa Chairman, Hefin Rees KC, says: "Thisis such an exciting new project, which will make a huge transformative difference to the people of Mbale. Not only will the 1,000+ children in our schools learn essential IT skills, but we will also teach the local adult community. This will empower them to get the modern skills they need to compete for good-quality jobs. We are so grateful to the Nick Maughan Foundation for supporting this new project and look forward to building many more of these ICT Centres throughout Uganda over the next few years."



Nick Maughan says: "I am grateful to have the opportunity to support this wonderful community further in its mission to boost the lives of local children and adults. The ICT Centre will provide opportunities to those who have hitherto been unable to develop technology skills. This centre is just the start, I hope that we can build on the success of this project to create further such centres in the years to come as the country evolves to build the capability that it deserves to become an economic force in the global digital economy. I offer my sincere thanks to and admiration for Hefin Rees for his extraordinary leadership in bringing this project to fruition."

Nick Maughan is a British philanthropist, investor, and founder of the Nick Maughan Foundation. He supports a number of charity and business enterprises across sports, environment and technological innovation. The Nick Maughan Foundation was established in 2020 to further a range of philanthropic initiatives in the spheres of education, the environment and community. The Foundation supports community projects both in the United Kingdom and worldwide. Spotlight on Africa is committed to creating links between communities in the UK and Africa through charitable projects relating to education, health, clean water, and economic development. The organisation works closely with an experienced team in Uganda to deliver lasting change to the lives of people in desperate need, many of whom have been displaced by generations of conflict. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204325/The_Nick_Maughan_Foundation.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2204326/The_Nick_Maughan_Foundation_2.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/the-building-work-for-the-new-information-communication-and-technology-centre-in-mbale-is-complete-301920438.html

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[September 07, 2023] OKX to Host McLaren F1 Team-Themed Fanzone at CHIJMES in Singapore Tweet

Free tickets to the 'OKX Race Club' are available here

McLaren F1 Driver Lando Norris will join fans on the official opening day of the OKX Race Club at 19:20 (GMT+8) on September 14 and McLaren CEO Zak Brown will also make a fan appearance on September 15 SINGAPORE, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OKX , a leading Web3 technology company and Primary Partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team, today announced that it will host the OKX Race Club, a McLaren-themed fanzone for the Singapore Grand Prix from September 14-17, 2023. The event will take place at CHIJMES, Singapore and will offer visitors of all ages a way to engage with racing and Web3 in unique and entertaining ways throughout the race weekend. The OKX Race Club will officially open at 14:00 (GMT+8) on September 14 at 'The Lawn,' an open area within CHIJMES, with McLaren F1 Driver Lando Norris joining fans on opening day at 19:20 (GMT+8). The following day, McLaren CEO Zak Brown will also make an appearance for fans, scheduled for 13:00 (GMT+8). OKX Race Club will feature an array of activities and displays, including four racing simulators, a photo podium, a McLaren showcar, exclusive McLaren merchandise and exhibits of racing helmets. It follows the success of theinaugural OKX McLaren fanzone in Manchester for the British Grand Prix.



At the Welcome Desk in front of the McLaren showcar, representatives from the OKX Web3 Team will offer motorsport fans OKX-branded swag items, such as caps and t-shirts, if they create an OKX Wallet and mint an NFT on the OKX NFT Marketplace. OKX Chief Marketing Officer Haider Rafique said: "OKX Race Club will take over CHIJMES just outside the track and will offer everyone - whether they're in town for the race or the TOKEN2049 crypto conference - a way to experience the fast-paced worlds of Formula 1 and Web3 together. We look forward to seeing everyone at CHIJMES for what promises to be an unforgettable weekend."

Those interested in attending the OKX Race Club in Singapore can register here , free of charge. In May of last year, OKX and McLaren Racing announced a multi-year partnership that made OKX a Primary Partner of the McLaren Formula 1 Team and McLaren Shadow esports team. OKX branding is featured on the McLaren cars, the helmets of McLaren F1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as well as the McLaren F1 and McLaren Shadow team kits. For further information, please contact:

[email protected] About OKX OKX is a leading Web3 ecosystem. As a top partner of English Premier League champions Manchester City FC, McLaren Formula 1, Olympian Scotty James, and F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, OKX aims to supercharge the fan experience with new engagement opportunities. OKX is also the top partner of the Tribeca Festival as part of an initiative to bring more creators into web3. OKX Web3 Wallet is the platform's latest offering for people looking to explore the world of NFTs and the metaverse. To learn more about OKX, download our app or visit: okx.com Disclaimer The information displayed is strictly for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute and shall not be considered as an offer, solicitation or recommendation, to deal in any products (including any NFT or otherwise), or as financial or investment advice. Both OKX Web3 Wallet and OKX NFT Marketplace are subject to separate terms of service at www.okx.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/okx-to-host-mclaren-f1-team-themed-fanzone-at-chijmes-in-singapore-301920435.html SOURCE OKX

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[September 07, 2023] Electronic Transaction Consultants Goes Live with its Ohio River Bridges Toll Services Tweet

Milestone marks the completion of the system development phase and the commencement of the toll operations phase.

ETC now manages ORB's customer service centers and back-office system.

ORB's toll system supports economic development, propelled by safer and more efficient travel throughout the area.

New, locally based call center. TORONTO, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Quarterhill Inc. ("Quarterhill" or the "Company") (TSX: QTRH) (OTCQX: QTRHF), a leading provider of tolling and enforcement solutions in the Intelligent Transportation System ("ITS") industry, announces that the transfer of the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges  RiverLink Project' ("RiverLink") back-office toll operations to the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Electronic Transaction Consultants ("ETC"), is now complete. ETC assumed management of RiverLink's customer service centers and back-office system on September 1, 2023. The RiverLink toll system, operated by the Kentucky-Indiana Joint Board, consists of three bridges that span the Ohio River, connecting Louisville, Kentucky, and Southern Indiana. In July 2021, ETC was awarded a 10-year contract with RiverLink that includes three years for system design and implementation and seven years for toll service operations. The contract also includes two optional three-year renewal periods. ETC is providing RiverLink with riteHorizon, its full-suite of tolling enterprise back-office solutions. riteHorizon capabilities include account management, customer relationship management, an online customer service center, reporting and analytics. Monitoring and maintenance tools are also a key part of riteHorizon to ensure high availability and customer billing accuracy. ETC has partnered with WSP USA Services Inc. ("WSP USA") on this project, with ETC providing the back-office system, and WSP USA managing contact center interactions for RiverLink customers. This partnership pairs ETC's best-in-class back-office technology with WSP USA's leading services for highway customer service centers. As part of the contract with RiverLink, a new locally based contact center has been built, which will provide for new jobs in the region. "This highly anticipated milestone marks the completion of ETC's system development and the commencement of the toll operations phase with RiverLink," said Kevin Holbert, Chief Executive Officer at ETC. "We are proud to support RiverLink's efforts to provide world-class infrastructure to its constituents, to improve mobility and safety in this important river-crossing area and to generate resources that support future infrastructure and economic development. We are confident that our tolling solutions will provide RiverLink and the citizens of Indiana and Kentucky with dependable operations and the highest quality of customer service." ETC's riteHorizon solution maximizes self-service and customer service representative productivity, reduces turnaround times, and places direct configuration and process control into RiverLink personnel's hands. The new system streamlines billing, improves ease of website and mobile self-service, and facilitates speedy question and isse resolution for RiverLInk's 275,000 registered customers and visitors.



For the first time, riteHorizon is being delivered on Oracle's Cloud Infrastructure. Migrating toll systems to the cloud offers multiple benefits, including reduced time to implement systems vs. on-premises infrastructure, reduced maintenance burden by switching to a model that uses infrastructure-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service, reduced capital expenditures for deployment of IT infrastructure, reduced downtime due to the greater reliability of engineered cloud solutions, and improved reliability enabled by a cloud-based disaster recovery environment that satisfies the agency's business continuity requirements. About Quarterhill

Quarterhill is a leading provider of tolling and enforcement solutions in the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) industry. Our goal is global leadership in ITS, via organic growth of the Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC (ETC) and International Road Dynamics Inc. (IRD) platforms, and by continuing an acquisition-oriented investment strategy that capitalizes on attractive growth opportunities within ITS and its adjacent markets. Quarterhill is listed on the TSX under the symbol QTRH and on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol QTRHF. For more information, visit www.quarterhill.com. About Electronic Transaction Consultants, LLC ETC is a leading U.S. intelligent transportation systems provider, developing and delivering best in class solutions for tolling, congestion management, urban mobility, and multimodal transportation needs. ETC's passionate and innovative team has been driving the future of mobility since 1999, with several industry firsts, including all electronic tolling (AET), dynamic pricing, agency interoperability, hosted mobility solutions and machine learning. For over two decades, ETC has delivered sophisticated solutions to many of the U.S.'s largest toll authorities, including state-wide programs, county networks and tolling-specific authorities. ETC's solutions process over two billion transactions annually totaling over $3 billion in revenues for our customers, incorporating the latest in evergreen open-source and SaaS technologies and Big Data architecture through our innovative riteSuite products. About the Ohio River Bridges Toll System The Ohio River Bridges RiverLink toll system in both Kentucky and Indiana spans the Abraham Lincoln Bridge (I-65 North), the John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge (I-65 South) and the Lewis and Clark Bridge (SR 265/KY 841) connecting Prospect, KY and Utica, IN. The Louisville Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges project is a bi-state collaboration to increase cross-river mobility, improve safety, alleviate traffic congestion, and connect highways. The project includes the construction of the new Abraham Lincoln Bridge to carry northbound I-65 traffic, the rehabilitation of the Kennedy Bridge to carry southbound I-65 traffic, the reconfiguration of Spaghetti Junction in downtown Louisville, and the construction of the Lewis and Clark Bridge eight miles upstream from downtown Louisville to connect the Snyder Freeway and the Lee Hamilton Highway between Prospect Kentucky and Utica Indiana. The I-65 bridges and the Lewis and Clark Bridge were completed in December 2016. Forward-looking Information This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding Quarterhill, its operating subsidiaries and their respective businesses. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by Quarterhill in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and the expected effects of new business strategies, as well as other factors that Quarterhill believes are appropriate in the circumstances. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed herein may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Quarterhill, which include, without limitation, the risks described in Quarterhill's March 22, 2023 annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the "AIF"). In addition, readers are also urged to review the additional risk factors disclosed in our Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023 filed on www.sedarplus.ca. Quarterhill recommends that readers review and consider all of these risk factors and notes that readers should not place undue reliance on any of Quarterhill's forward-looking statements. Quarterhill has no intention, and undertakes no 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. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electronic-transaction-consultants-goes-live-with-its-ohio-river-bridges-toll-services-301920320.html SOURCE Quarterhill Inc.

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[September 07, 2023] BC Platforms Appoints Dr. Ben Illigens as Chief Medical Officer Tweet

ZURICH, Switzerland, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BC Platforms (BCP), a global leader in healthcare data management and analytics, today announces the appointment of Dr. Ben M. W. Illigens, an experienced clinician and neuroscientist, as the companys Chief Medical Officer.

BCPs CMO will be overseeing the operational work underpinning the companys rapidly expanding global patient data sourcing and data network development, which provides customers with valuable insights across the entire R&D spectrum from target identification through to fulfillment of post-marketing requirements. Dr. Ben M. W. Illigens, newly appointed Chief Medical Officer at BC Platforms, commented on his appointment, I am delighted to join the BC Platforms team. Ive long been fascinated by, and closely involved with, ways to optimize, accelerate, and innovate drug discovery and development using a data-driven, evidence-based, patient-centered approach. Which is exactly what BC Platforms does as it supports a wealth of pharmaceutical and healthcare collaborators on their journey as data partners, whether they are at the drug discovery stage or improving patient care in clinic. Tero Silvola, Chief Executive Officer at BC Platforms, said, Ben is another great addition to our team as he brings high-level medical & data science experience from not only the biotech industry but also from the public sector and academia, including his work during the Corona pandemic as a medical director in Berlins main government vaccination centers, and a lecturer in the US and Europe on clinical research. Data is at the heart of our healthcare solutions. Ben will lead, from Boston, on our data-driven clinical development programs for our customers. This is part of our work to enhance, and complete frameworks for the delivery of personalized medicine using Real World Data and analytics. Dr. Illigens will be based in Boston with global responsibility as Chief Medical Officer, and a focus on the US market for BCPs services. He is a neuroscientist with industry and academic experience, with positions including VP of Medicine US at NOVA Discovery, VP of Data Science at Germanys Odysseus Data Services, CEO of Germanys UniMedIT and Instructor of Neurology at the Beth Israel Lahey Health, Harvard Medical School (HMS). He has also been a long-standing lecturer on clinical research for Dresdens Internatonal University, and for HMS. Dr. Illigens trained in biostatistics and biomedical informatics. He conducted clinical practice and research at HMS, and has over 60 peer-reviewed publications, including editing a core medical textbook on Clinical Research (1). He has received his MD Degree from the Freie Universitat Berlin in Germany, one of Europe's leading research universities, in addition to qualification from HMS including in Applied Biostatistics, Neurology and Neuroscience, Cardiac Surgery, and a Masters Degree in Biomedical Informatics from HMS.



This role will operate in addition to the existing CMO, Dr. Carolin Bender, who will shortly be going on maternity leave. References

(1) Critical Thinking in Clinical Research  Applied Theory and Practice Using Case Studies. Edited by Felipe Fregni, and Ben M. W. Illigens. Available here: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=0199324492

Notes to Editors About BC Platforms BC Platforms is a global leader in building data networks for the life sciences industry and provides versatile technology platforms for personalized medicine, accelerating the translation of innovations into clinical practice. We convert complex biological information collected in the healthcare setting into actionable insights. With our innovative technology we are creating a patient centric infinity loop between the life sciences and healthcare sectors. Data we generate, harmonize, and manage, from diverse biobanks and healthcare institutions, is made accessible for pharmaceutical and biotech companies to enhance their core strengths in research and development. In parallel, we enable stratification of patients towards targeted therapies, delivering on the promise of more personalized healthcare. Our high performing genomic data discovery and analytics platform enables flexible data integration, secure analysis, and interpretation of molecular and clinical information. We have developed a Global Data Partner Network, BCRQUEST.com, which allows access to high-quality real-world data. This rapidly growing network has a footprint across many sites, including networks of major hospitals, covering 20 countries on five continents, providing standard of care data for over 23 million patients. Our platforms seamlessly facilitate access to highly enriched data for pharmaceutical research and development. Founded in 1997 from a MIT Whitehead project spinoff, we have a strong scientific heritage underpinned by over 25 years of working in close collaboration with a network of leading researchers, developers, and industry partners. We have global operations with our headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, R&D in Espoo, Finland, and Singapore, as well as a presence in London, UK, Lund, Sweden, and Boston, USA. For more information, visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn . Media Contacts BC Platforms AG

Tero Silvola, CEO

Tel: + 358 40 590 5733

[email protected] Scius Communications

Katja Stout

Tel: +44 7789 435 990

[email protected] Daniel Gooch

Tel: +44 7747 875 479

[email protected]



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Photo taken on Aug. 31, 2021 shows military vehicles at Kabul airport in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan. The U.S. Central Command on Aug. 30, 2021, announced that the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan has completed. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

"If you want to understand the rise of the United States as a global power, the military issue is key."

BUENOS AIRES, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The military hegemony of the United States is creating conflicts and instability worldwide, according to Gabriel Merino, adjunct professor at the National University of La Plata in Argentina.

"The military hegemony of the United States is a key component of that country's political hegemony. If you want to understand the rise of the United States as a global power, the military issue is key," Merino said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

Xinhua Institute, the think tank of Xinhua News Agency, released a report titled Origins, Facts and Perils of U.S. Military Hegemony on Tuesday, with some experts joining the event in person and virtually, including Merino.

The scholar stated that "throughout the more than 240 years of United States history, there were fewer than 20 years in which that country was not at war. The United States could be considered the most belligerent country in the history of the world."

He pointed out that Washington's military hegemony and war logic are evident from its military bases around the globe and its interventions in the internal political affairs of other countries and regions.

Iraqi protesters take part in a demonstration against the presence of U.S. troops in the country in Baghdad, capital of Iraq, Jan. 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

"The United States has military tentacles around the world and currently has around 750 military bases in at least 80 countries and regions. We can also mention the wars in Iraq, in Afghanistan, the interventions in Libya and Syria, actions that have sought to reinforce their hegemony," Merino said.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, Washington backed "military dictatorships or coups to maintain or recover its continental hegemony. This has been terrible for our history," the expert continued.

"The Monroe Doctrine cannot be ignored in our region. Two hundred years after being made explicit, it is still in force and related to Washington's fundamental interests, including controlling the region's raw materials and markets that the United States continues to consider its 'backyard,'" he said.

But worldwide, "the military power of the United States and other Western powers has been an important element combined with the logic of capitalism."

This photo taken on Aug. 16, 2022 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

He said both factors have been the core of colonialism and Western imperialism in a move to promote capitalism.

Today, the world is witnessing a "hybrid war, a transition of power and the decline of the West, of the United States," something dangerous because, in such a situation, military force may be used to deal with a power shift, he said.

There is a redistribution of power driven by the emergence of a multipolar world and the rise of Asia, said the scholar.

"If the United States plans to prevent that rise through military force, to maintain its military hegemony, there will be systemic chaos. In fact, we already have wars and signs of this situation and these problems, but it could potentially escalate to become a problem for humanity," he warned.

"Global stability is at risk. In fact, I believe we are in (a state of) global instability. The relative decline of the United States and the Western geopolitical world will not be peaceful," Merino concluded.
[September 07, 2023] Polen Capital Launches Inaugural Credit Interval Fund Tweet

Polen Capital, a global asset manager, today announced the launch of the Polen Credit Opportunities Fund ("Fund") (PCOFX), Polen's first interval fund offering. The Fund, a flexible and high-conviction credit product that aims to provide investors with high current income, attractive risk-adjusted returns, and diversified credit exposure, pursues a strategy that has been managed by Polen since 2010. The Fund, which has the flexibility to invest across the capital structure of a credit issuer, focuses on high yield bonds and bank loans issued in both public and private markets. The Fund adheres to Polen's high-conviction approach, will typically hold fewer than 45 issuers, and is designed to enable the manager to capitalize on less liquid opportunities that oftentimes offer a yield premium relative to more liquid investments. Polen believes these factors create the potential to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns while enhancing diversification to a client's overall portfolio. "We are excited to introduce the Fund to a wider group of investors, providing them access to an investment strategy that has served as our 'best ideas' strategy since its inception in 2010," said Benjamin Santonelli, Portfolio Manager of the Fund at Polen Capital. "We utilize our high-conviction approach to construct a portfolio of carefully selected names that offer a liquidity premium relative to the broader leveraged credit markets. We believe that this process has proven successful, as reflected in the stategy's long track record. By launching the interval fund, more investors can gain exposure to what we believe are the most promising opportunities in the space."



With over 25 years of experience, Polen has an extensive history of investing in the leveraged credit markets. In particular, Polen's in-depth research and expertise support the Fund's ability to identify compelling investment opportunities. Polen's high-conviction approach is a core tenet of the Fund's investment philosophy, enabling its investment team to closely engage with management teams, actively anticipate financing needs, and identify attractive refinancing opportunities. "The investment strategy utilized by the Fund has generated an attractive 13-year track record, without the use of leverage, which we believe will stand out in today's marketplace," added David Breazzano, Head of the Credit Team at Polen Capital. "The Fund is purpose-built for long-term investors seeking diversification within credit, and offers access to a market that was once exclusive to institutional investors. We are pleased to offer this strategy to a wider audience as part of Polen's continued effort to meet our clients' demand for our credit offerings."

About Polen Capital Management Polen Capital Management is a global investment management firm advising approximately $64 billion in assets (as of June 30, 2023) and providing growth and income investment strategies to a wide range of institutional and individual clients around the world. Since 1989, Polen Capital has been committed to attracting, developing, and retaining exceptional professionals who are aligned with the firm's mission of preserving and growing clients' assets to protect their present and enable their future. Polen Capital has four autonomous investment teams, including the Large Company Growth Team, Small Company Growth Team, High Yield Team, and Emerging Markets Growth Team, with offices in Boca Raton, Fla., Boston, London, and Hong Kong. The firm has been recognized by Pensions & Investments as one of the industry's "Best Places to Work" for each of the past seven consecutive years. For more information, visit www.polencapital.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter at @PolenCapital. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907446050/en/

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[September 07, 2023] New FAIR Health Study Examines Use of Telehealth in Connecticut from 2020 to 2022 Tweet

Over 90 Percent of Connecticut Patients Used Telehealth to See Healthcare Providers Whom They Also Saw in Person NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study from FAIR Health examines the use of telehealth in Connecticut from 2020 to 2022. The study has been released as a white paper entitled Telehealth in Connecticut: An Analysis of Private Healthcare Claims Focusing on Areas with Greater Minority Populations. Previous research has left unclear the impact of telehealth on patient results such as number of visits, costs, emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations, and how these relate to the racial and ethnic diversity of an area. With generous funding provided by the Connecticut Health Foundation, FAIR Health conducted an observational study, delving into its repository of private healthcare claim recordsthe largest in the nationto analyze the Connecticut population overall as well as seven of the most common and well-known health conditions treated via telehealth in the state. Because FAIR Health does not have data on the race or ethnicity of specific patients, data are reported based on the racial and ethnic makeup of geographic areas, not the race or ethnicity of individual patients. The study examined telehealth use for seven conditions: anxiety and other nonpsychotic mental disorders, mood (affective) disorders, COVID-19, acute upper respiratory infections, hypertensive diseases, diabetes mellitus and substance use disorders. Among the key findings comparing patients who used telehealth to those who received only in-office medical care, using claim dates of service from March 1, 2020, to September 30, 2022: Overall, Connecticut telehealth patients were more likely to have ER visits and hospitalizations than patients who did not use telehealth care, and that likelihood was higher for those who had more ER visits or hospitalizations. It is beyond the scope of this study to determine whether telehealth treatment or differences in the patients who select telehealth care led to the different results.

telehealth patients were more likely to have ER visits and hospitalizations than patients who did not use telehealth care, and that likelihood was higher for those who had more ER visits or hospitalizations. It is beyond the scope of this study to determine whether telehealth treatment or differences in the patients who select telehealth care led to the different results. Connecticut telehealth patients were almost 15 times as likely as those who did not use telehealth to have more total visits 1 than average and over 10 times as likely to have a higher allowed amount 2 sum than average.

telehealth patients were almost 15 times as likely as those who did not use telehealth to have more total visits than average and over 10 times as likely to have a higher allowed amount sum than average. Most patients used telehealth to see healthcare providers whom they also saw in person. Overall, 92.5 percent of Connecticut patients sought telehealth care from a provider whom they saw in person either before or after their telehealth visit. Only 7.5 percent of Connecticut patients used a telehealth provider they never saw in person.

patients sought telehealth care from a provider whom they saw in person either before or after their telehealth visit. Only 7.5 percent of patients used a telehealth provider they never saw in person. Females used telehealth more than males. Of all Connecticut residents receiving medical care included in the data, 52 percent were female and 48 percent were male. Among telehealth users, however, 59 percent were female and 41 percent were male.

residents receiving medical care included in the data, 52 percent were female and 48 percent were male. Among telehealth users, however, 59 percent were female and 41 percent were male. In most of the eight geozips 3 in Connecticut , the share of patients using telehealth was fairly similar to that using all medical services. The two exceptions were geozip 061 ( Hartford ), which had a lower percentage of patients using telehealth, and geozip 068 ( Stamford , Norwalk , Danbury ), which had a higher percentage of patients using telehealth.

in , the share of patients using telehealth was fairly similar to that using all medical services. The two exceptions were geozip 061 ( ), which had a lower percentage of patients using telehealth, and geozip 068 ( , , ), which had a higher percentage of patients using telehealth. For all seven health conditions analyzed in Connecticut , greater racial and ethnic diversity in an area (as measured by a smaller percentage of white people) 4 correlated with higher average numbers of ER visits and hospitalizations for both patients who used telehealth and those who did not use it. For six out of seven conditions, the differences among the three different population groupings (geozips that are 26 to 50 percent white, 51 to 75 percent white and 76 to 100 percent wite) were statistically significant.

, greater racial and ethnic diversity in an area (as measured by a smaller percentage of white people) correlated with higher average numbers of ER visits and hospitalizations for both patients who used telehealth and those who did not use it. For six out of seven conditions, the differences among the three different population groupings (geozips that are 26 to 50 percent white, 51 to 75 percent white and 76 to 100 percent wite) were statistically significant. For two behavioral health conditions, a higher percentage of patients used telehealth rather than using only in-office care, but for the other five conditions studied, more patients were treated without telehealth than with it. The two conditions with higher telehealth use were anxiety and other nonpsychotic mental disorders (71 percent versus 29 percent), and mood (affective) disorders (74 percent versus 26 percent). The other five conditionsCOVID-19, acute upper respiratory infections, hypertensive diseases, diabetes mellitus and substance use disordershad higher percentages of patients associated with in-office care only than with telehealth.

For all seven conditions analyzed, patients who used telehealth had higher average numbers of ER visits and hospitalizations than those who did not. The difference was particularly pronounced among patients with diabetes mellitus and hypertensive diseases; patients who used telehealth for these conditions had approximately double the average number of ER visits and hospitalizations as patients who did not use telehealth.

For two behavioral health conditions, higher average overall costs for treatment were associated with patients who used telehealth, while lower average costs were associated with patients who used telehealth for two infectious conditions. For the behavioral health conditions (anxiety and other nonpsychotic mental disorders, and substance use disorders), average total allowed amount per person was higher for patients who used telehealth than those who used only in-office care across each of the eight geozips in Connecticut and across the state as a whole. For two of the other conditions (acute upper respiratory infections and COVID-19), average total allowed amount per person was lower for patients who used telehealth than those who used only in-office care in all eight geozips and statewide. Telehealth for the remaining three conditions varied by geozip and statewide.

and across the state as a whole. For two of the other conditions (acute upper respiratory infections and COVID-19), average total allowed amount per person was lower for patients who used telehealth than those who used only in-office care in all eight geozips and statewide. Telehealth for the remaining three conditions varied by geozip and statewide. For treatments that included telehealth, substance use disorders were the condition with the highest likelihood of having more visits than the average number of visits. Acute upper respiratory infections were the condition least likely to be associated with more visits than average when treatment included telehealth.

Visits for patients who used telehealth for anxiety and other nonpsychotic mental disorders were the most likely to have higher-than-average total allowed amounts for all treatment received for that condition. Such patients also had more anxiety-related visits than average, which may indicate greater adherence to treatment. Visits for patients who used telehealth for COVID-19 were the least likely to have higher-than-average total allowed amounts.



Connecticut in 2020-2022 were necessary or unnecessary, or whether there was a causal relationship between telehealth and the measured results. For example, with behavioral health conditions, a greater number of visits may indicate greater adherence to recommended treatment for those conditions. Similarly, increased visits noted for patients with diabetes and hypertensionboth conditions that disproportionately affect people of colormay indicate increased remote monitoring. FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd stated: "With the generous support of the Connecticut Health Foundation, FAIR Health's unparalleled data repository has been used to open a window into the utilization of telehealth in Connecticut, particularly as related to differences in treatment in areas with greater minority populations. FAIR Health hopes that this study will be of value to healthcare stakeholders in Connecticut and nationwide, including researchers, payors, providers, policy makers and patients."

Connecticut Health Foundation's Vice President of Program Ellen Carter commented: "The importance of telehealth became clear during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and data from this time period can provide insight to help us understand how telehealth can improve access to care and patient outcomes. Going forward, it will be valuable to understand how telehealth can reduce barriers to care and what barriers exist to using telehealth among patients who could benefit." For the complete study, click here. Follow us on Twitter @FAIRHealth About FAIR Health

FAIR Health is a national, independent nonprofit organization that qualifies as a public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code. It is dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's largest collection of private healthcare claims data, which includes over 42 billion claim records and is growing at a rate of over 2 billion claim records a year. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data productsincluding benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics and market indicesto commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a national Qualified Entity, FAIR Health also receives data representing the experience of all individuals enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D; FAIR Health includes among the private claims data in its database, data on Medicare Advantage enrollees. FAIR Health can produce insightful analytic reports and data products based on combined Medicare and commercial claims data for government, providers, payors and other authorized users. FAIR Health's systems for processing and storing protected health information have earned HITRUST CSF certification and achieved AICPA SOC 2 Type 2 compliance by meeting the rigorous data security requirements of these standards. As a testament to the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish, which enables consumers to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenditures and offers a rich educational platform on health insurance. An English/Spanish mobile app offers the same educational platform in a concise format and links to the cost estimation tools. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Dr. Elisabeth Rosenthal's book An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org. 1 Total visits include telehealth visits, in-person visits, ER visits and hospitalizations.

2 An allowed amount is the total negotiated, in-network fee paid to the provider under an insurance plan. It includes the amount that the health plan pays and the part the patient pays under the plan's in-network cost-sharing provisions (e.g., copay or coinsurance if the patient has met the deductible).

3 A geozip is a geographic region typically corresponding to the first three digits of a zip code.

4 The percentage of white residents in an area includes those identified by census data as white, as distinct from Black, Hispanic, Asian and other. The three geographic groupings included in this study are all geozips that are 26 to 50 percent white, 51 to 75 percent white and 76 to 100 percent white. Because no geozip in Connecticut is less than 26 percent white, the proportion 0 to 25 percent white is not included in this study. Contact:

Rachel Kent

Senior Director of Communications and Marketing

FAIR Health

646-396-0795

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-fair-health-study-examines-use-of-telehealth-in-connecticut-from-2020-to-2022-301903518.html SOURCE FAIR Health

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[September 07, 2023] Bristow and Volocopter to Bring UAM Services to U.S. and U.K. Tweet

Bristow places firm order for two Volocopter VoloCity eVTOL aircraft with an option to purchase an additional 78 aircraft

Bristow and Volocopter will explore eVTOL passenger and cargo transport services in the U.S. and U.K. HOUSTON and BRUCHSAL, Germany, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bristow Group Inc. (NYSE: VTOL), the leading global provider of innovative and sustainable vertical flight solutions, and Volocopter, the pioneer of Urban Air Mobility (UAM), have signed an agreement to explore and develop passenger and cargo services for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in the U.S. and U.K. As part of this collaboration, Bristow has placed a firm order for two VoloCity aircraft to be delivered after certification with an option to purchase a further 78 vehicles in the future. Both parties will begin immediate cooperation to build a UAM ecosystem that includes regulatory discussions, infrastructure exploration, and local partnership building. The joint development agreement covers the exploration of commercial, operational, and eVTOL aircraft maintenance services, including adaptation of the VoloIQ, Volocopter's proprietary digital platform, to ensure Bristow's efficient future operations. This collaboration brings forth a wealth of aviation expertise  Bristow's reliable vertical flight operations and an existing global service network, as well as Volocopter's dedicated development and certification of a safe, quiet, and sustainable eVTOL aircraft. The eVTOL is a rapidly growing segment of electric aviation. With no emissions in flight and an ultra-low noise signature, the addition of the VoloCity to Bristow's operational fleet opens doors to new routes and service opportunities within urban environments. Volocopter expects to receive final certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in 2024, while concurrent certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) could enable the Company to start commercial services in the U.S. shortly thereafter. Dave Stepanek, Executive Vice President, and Chief Transformation Officer for Bristow said: "Launching this collaborative effort with Volocopter marks a major milestone in Bristow's effort to usher in a new era of vertical transportation solutions. Volocopter has taken a pragmatic approach to certification with a simple and elegant initial aircraft design and is leading the pack in its efforts to bring their aircraft to market. We are looking forward to lending our 75+ years of innovation and expertise in bringing new aircraft into service and developing new markets side-by-side Volocopter." Christian Bauer, CFO & CCO of Volocopter, added: "Our partnership with Bristow and the firm VoloCity orders received propels us forward as we unlock new markets. With this collaboration, Volocopter surpassed 500 pre-orders accumulated including nearly 30 fir orders from reputational partners. I am filled with excitement toward the vast potential of the U.S. and U.K. markets and looking forward to working with Bristow's experienced team as we prepare for operations."



Forward-Looking Statements Disclosure

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements represent Bristow Group Inc.'s (the "Company") current expectations or forecasts of future events. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "project," or "continue," or other similar words. These statements are made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, reflect management's current views with respect to future events and therefore are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, such forward-looking statements include statements regarding the capabilities, development, certification, marketing, and future operations of Volocopter's VoloCity eVTOL aircraft, the Company's purchase of aircraft from Volocopter, and the anticipated benefits of the collaboration between the Company and Volocopter. The Company's actual results may vary materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements. The Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of the document in which they are made. The Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to provide any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which the forward-looking statement is based that occur after the date hereof. You should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements because the matters they describe are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond our control. Our forward-looking statements are based on the information currently available to us and speak only as of the date hereof. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for us to predict these matters or how they may affect us. We have included important factors in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Transition Report on Form 10-KT for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the "Transition Report") which we believe over time, could cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to differ from the anticipated results, performance or achievements that are expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. You should consider all risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Transition Report and in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), all of which are accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

About Bristow Group

Bristow Group Inc. is the leading global provider of innovative and sustainable vertical flight solutions. Bristow primarily provides aviation services to a broad base of offshore energy companies and government entities. Bristow's aviation services include personnel transportation, search and rescue ("SAR"), medevac, fixed-wing transportation, uncrewed air systems and ad hoc helicopter services. Bristow currently has customers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the Dutch Caribbean, the Falkland Islands, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Spain, Suriname, Trinidad, the U.K., and the U.S. To learn more, visit our website at www.bristowgroup.com . About Volocopter

Volocopter brings urban air mobility (UAM) to megacities worldwide. We aim to improve the quality of life for people in cities by offering a fantastic new mode of transportation. For that, we create sustainable and scalable UAM ecosystems with partners in infrastructure and operations. Volocopter's family of eVTOL aircraft will offer passengers (VoloCity and VoloRegion) and goods (VoloDrone) swift, secure, and emission-free connections to their destinations, supported by VoloIQ, the UAM ecosystem's software platform that serves as its digital backbone for safe and efficient operations.

As a pioneer in the UAM industry, Volocopter will launch commercial services within the next few years. Founded in 2011, the company employs more than 500 people in Germany and Singapore, has completed over 1,500 successful public and private test flights, and has diverse investors, including Geely, NEOM, Mercedes-Benz Group, Intel Capital, and BlackRock. www.volocopter.com Bristow Contacts Investors

Jennifer Whalen

[email protected] Media

Adam Morgan

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bristow-and-volocopter-to-bring-uam-services-to-us-and-uk-301920419.html SOURCE Bristow Group

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[September 07, 2023] 1606 Corp Engages AR XTLabs to Develop AI Chatbot For CBD Industry Tweet

SEATTLE, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CBDW AI, a brand of 1606 Corp. (OTC: CBDW) and the new prominent provider of enterprise-level artificial intelligence (AI) solutions tailored for the CBD industry, is thrilled to reveal its strategic partnership with AR XTLabs, a leading backend development firm. The collaboration aims to construct an advanced AI Natural Language Processing (NLP) Chatbot, specially designed for the CBD sector. The CBDW AI product is being strategically engineered to elevate customer interactions, deliver an educational resource, facilitate new customer engagement, and offer CBD product recommendations. The primary objective of the CBDW AI is to bolster sales for CBD industry enterprises while ensuring an immensely enjoyable customer journey. CBDW AI's strategic vision includes licensing this technology within the United States to CBD brands and retailers. The innovative AI project in development leverages the power of NLP, integrating computational linguistics (CL), machine learning, and deep learning models to comprehensively analyze human language. It promises to empower CBD consumers by assisting them in making informed product decisions based on their queries concerning CBD usage requirements. Over the years, CBD consumers have often faced uncertainty when navigating the plethora of choices and their perceived lack of knowledge about CBD usage. The CBDW AI solution is poised to address and resolve these long-standing customer choice issues, making the process of buying CBD products significantly more consumer-friendly. "This is a new day for CBDW AI. We're expanding our reach in the CBD industry to include enterprise customer service solutions for the growing number of online CBD consumers and brands. For a long time, choosing products online has always been difficult for CBD consumers and we aim to solve that problem with our new AI Customer experience Chatbot. This bot is a game changer for the entire industry because of the fragmentation of the industry. There are so many product choices that it's daunting for consumers to make a choice. In leu of FDA approval, we aim to provide customers with a high degree of confidence when choosing CBD products," said Greg Lambrecht, CEO of 1606 Corp. About AR XTLabs; AR XTLabs, a new jersey Corporation, is a world leader in developing AI-enabled products and services for enterprise customers. Founded in the cloud era, our solutions are cloud-native and are capable of running on all three major cloud proviers. The solutions we offer have been implemented in Fortune 100 companies across the Financial Services, Digital media, High-tech, Telecom, and Pharma sectors. The AR XTLabs team consists of serial entrepreneurs and experienced professionals who have successfully implemented an AI-Enabled mortgage closing process in partnership with a national title insurance company. AR XTLabs has offices in Seattle, Florida, and India. (https://arxtlabs.com)



About 1606 Corp - Bridging Today and Tomorrow with Innovative Technology At 1606 Corp, we are not just a CBD company; we are a dynamic think tank with innovative technology solutions that are aimed at solving the top online customer service problems in the CBD industry. Established as an acquisition-based company, CBDW AI has developed a vision to redefine the CBD industry through both acquisitions and technology development. 1606 Corp stands at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and visionary collaborations to help you, the CBD consumer. Our mission is clear - to revolutionize the CBD industry by seamlessly integrating technology into the core operations of all CBD companies in the United States. We strive to empower businesses, both large and small, with enterprise solutions that drive efficiency, foster online sales growth, and open doors to unprecedented education and usage by CBD customers.

Industry Information; Rates of cannabidiol (CBD) usage in the United States are projected to surge in 2023, according to Stirling CBD. With recent studies suggesting as high as a 10% year-over-year (YoY) increase in usage, Stirling CBD predicts that 2023 will be a pivotal year for the industry as the widespread adoption of CBD-infused products is set to take place across the health and wellness, beauty, and food and beverage industries. Data from 2022 provides insight into the widespread nature of CBD-infused products. The Center for Advancing Health (CFAH) reported that 26% of Americans used CBD in 2022, and according to ClevelandClinic.org, 42% of people who take CBD use it for sleep-related reasons. It is also often marketed toward individuals struggling with anxiety, depression, quitting smoking, fitness recovery, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 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 1606 Corp (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. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/1606-corp-engages-ar-xtlabs-to-develop-ai-chatbot-for-cbd-industry-301920478.html SOURCE 1606 Corp

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[September 07, 2023] Vehya Achieves GDPR Compliance, Ensuring Data Privacy in Global Markets Tweet

DETROIT, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vehya , the leading marketplace dedicated to driving the transition towards electrification, proudly announces its successful attainment of GDPR compliance in Europe. This accomplishment underlines Vehya's commitment to data privacy, transparency, and global expansion. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a law established within the European Union (EU) with the aim of safeguarding individuals' data rights and imposing stringent data protection criteria on entities. Even though GDPR originates in the EU, it applies to non-EU organizations handling the personal data of EU citizens. Whether email addresses in marketing lists or IP addresses of website visitors, collecting EU personal data mandates GDPR compliance, enforced through international cooperation and mutual assistance treaties. Vehya has successfully attained GDPR compliance as it expands its reach into global markets. Ensuring GDPR compliance is crucial for Vehya due to their array of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging solutions , where they recognize the significant implications for data privacy and security within the EV sector. "As a technology company, it is important we have the highest levels of privacy for our customers, and GDPR has some of the highst standards in the world. We are excited about achieving GDPR compliance and the opportunities for Vehya in Europe," explained William McCoy, Vehya's CEO.



GDPR serves as a foundational framework for data protection and privacy in the EU and has far-reaching implications for companies worldwide. For Vehya, which aims to expand its operations globally, compliance with GDPR is not just a legal requirement but a strategic imperative. It builds trust among European users and potential customers, reassuring them that their personal data will be handled with utmost care and transparency.

"It's a great honor that our users entrust us with their personal information. This trust places upon us an even greater responsibility to focus on data protection at the core of every feature we develop, every line of code we write, and every product update we roll out. Simply put, GDPR isn't just about compliance. It's our commitment to data privacy, and it's woven into the very fabric of our company culture," said Leonidas Panagiotou, Vehya's Chief Technology Officer

Vehya places essential importance on compliance by diligently integrating transparency and robust data protection measures into its system. To ensure transparency, Vehya adopts a clear and accessible data governance framework, providing users with a comprehensive understanding of how their data is collected, used, and shared. Privacy policies and terms of service are easily accessible, and users are informed about any changes in data practices. "As a key part of the growth strategy CEO William McCoy laid out to me for Vehya, accomplishing GDPR compliance is critical to that success. Vehya's goal has never been to be a North American solution but a Global solution. This is another tangible and real step William and his team at Vehya are taking in their mission to support electrification for all," added Jason Bandy, Vehya's Strategic and Compliance Advisor. Vehya's dedication to data privacy, security, and ethical standards in today's tech environment is exemplified by the achievement of GDPR compliance. Through its adoption of GDPR, Vehya is well-prepared to sustain its global growth, encourage sustainable technologies, and protect the rights and privacy of individuals throughout European markets. About Vehya Vehya is a leading marketplace dedicated to facilitating the adoption of sustainable technologies, including EV chargers, solar panels, and battery storage, for individuals and businesses. For more information, please visit www.vehya.com For media inquiries, please contact:

Daniela Garcia

+1 (312) 284-3590

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vehya-achieves-gdpr-compliance-ensuring-data-privacy-in-global-markets-301920314.html SOURCE Vehya Inc.

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[September 07, 2023] New Digital Innovations from McGraw Hill Aim to Meet Shifting Learning Habits of Medical Students and Clinicians Tweet

McGraw Hill's Access mobile app and First Aid Forward platform bolster the company's leadership in the medical education market COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Expanding its leadership in the medical education category, McGraw Hill today announced two new digital platforms to help medical professionals and students easily access trusted content that evolves and updates as medicine changes, as well as study tools that personalize the learning experience to help them succeed. McGraw Hill's new free Access mobile app provides students and professionals at subscribing institutions with access to a comprehensive library of trusted, world-renowned content from AccessMedicine and more than 15 other Access medical products, and a personalized learning experience on the devices they use every day. Additionally, McGraw Hill's First Aid Forward is a new digital study resource that delivers McGraw Hill's trusted First Aid for the USMLE content on an interactive, immersive platform that can be accessed anytime, anywhere and supports student success in the classroom and with clinical experiences. "Medical students and clinicians for decades have trusted McGraw Hill as a provider of authoritative content and up-to-date reference materials that help them treat patients and prepare for exams," said Scott Grillo, President of McGraw Hill's Global Professional group. "Learners have rapidly shifted their study habits in recent years, so we're meeting them where they are with these exciting new digital study solutions designed to offer easy, more personalized access to our wealth of trusted medical content." The Access mobile app and First Aid Forward complement McGraw Hill's suite of digital subscription services and platforms for medical education that includes AccessMedicine, which has a 20-year legacy of serving medical students with trusted content from the best minds in medicine, and Boards & Beyond, a provider of on-demand medical education video libraries and comprehensive online resources acquired by McGraw Hill in 2022, whose new offerings will continue to expand this fall. Access mobile app The new Access app puts a comprehensive library of trusted, world-renowned content into students' hands, providing a personalized learning experience. It includes: Easy access to trusted content . Learners can easily access gold-standard content that their institutions hae subscribed to and search across McGraw Hill's Access products, including AccessMedicine, AccessPharmacy, AccessEmergency Medicine and more, from a single place.

. Learners can easily access gold-standard content that their institutions hae subscribed to and search across McGraw Hill's Access products, including AccessMedicine, AccessPharmacy, AccessEmergency Medicine and more, from a single place. Personalization to help students learn and save time . Through a personal dashboard, learners can quickly find book chapters, videos, images, figures, infographics, podcasts, review questions and other content they need based on their preferences, and curate their own personal library.

. Through a personal dashboard, learners can quickly find book chapters, videos, images, figures, infographics, podcasts, review questions and other content they need based on their preferences, and curate their own personal library. Access to what learners need in whatever situation they're in. With the Access app, learners can save content for offline view later. Learners can also use one profile to access either the app or the web.



App Store and Google Play. First Aid Forward

First Aid Forward is a new digital study resource for medical students, delivering McGraw Hill's trusted First Aid for the USMLE content through an interactive, immersive platform, and positioning students to succeed in their studies and clinical learning, while mastering board exams like USMLE and COMLEX. First Aid Forward can be accessed anytime and from anywhere. Providing a unique digital experience with access to comprehensive content from McGraw Hill's best-selling First Aid book collection, First Aid Forward features: A comprehensive collection of study and reference material that covers an array of foundational pre-clinical, clinical, and clinical-reasoning topics

that covers an array of foundational pre-clinical, clinical, and clinical-reasoning topics Quick-hit practice questions that help students prepare for board exams like USMLE and COMLEX

that help students prepare for board exams like USMLE and COMLEX Features that enable students to organize how they study , like advanced notetaking, highlighting, search and audio reading

, like advanced notetaking, highlighting, search and audio reading Student-to-student guides written and contributed by students For more information about First Aid Forward, visit: https://www.mheducation.com/professional/program/first-aid-forward Watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV64EfBmGps McGraw Hill

McGraw Hill is a leading global education company that partners with millions of educators, learners and professionals around the world. Recognizing their diverse needs, we build trusted content, flexible tools and powerful digital platforms to help them achieve success on their own terms. Through our commitment to equity, accessibility and inclusion, we foster a culture of belonging that respects and reflects the diversity of the communities, learners and educators we serve. McGraw Hill has over 40 offices across North America, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and makes its learning solutions for PreK-12, higher education, professionals and others available in more than 80 languages. Visit us at mheducation.com or find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter. Contact:

Tyler Reed

McGraw Hill

(914) 512-4853

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-digital-innovations-from-mcgraw-hill-aim-to-meet-shifting-learning-habits-of-medical-students-and-clinicians-301919913.html SOURCE McGraw Hill

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[September 07, 2023] Framework Solutions Expands its Suite of Services with the Strategic Acquisition of Govise, Inc. to Advance its Medical Review Capabilities Tweet

DANBURY, Conn. and SANTA ANA, Calif., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Framework Solutions ("Frameworks"), a provider of clinical to commercial solutions to the life sciences industry, announced today the acquisition of Govise, Inc ("Govise"). Govise specializes in the medical review of commercial/promotional and medical materials across pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies. This acquisition serves as a catalyst for both companies to extend their global reach, while also bolstering service capabilities by providing a broader slate of critical services to clients. "This acquisition allows Frameworks to expand its industry leading MLR service capabilities." Joe Walsh , CEO of Frameworks Based in Santa Ana, CA, Govise was founded by Jimmie Overton, PharmD, and Janet Gottlieb, PhD. With a combined experience of over 35 years in medical affairs, they have excelled in leading teams and delivering high quality medical review services. Govise has since elevated this function to become the premier partner for medical review services to the life science industry. Jimmie Overton, Co-Founder of Govise, remarked, "The integration of our medical review capabilities with Frameworks' existing content review services results in an unparalleled suite of solutions tailored for life science companies." Co-Founder, Janet Gottlieb agreed, "Frameworks has distinctively established itself as the industry leader in this space while consistently prioritizing exceptional customer service. We are excited to join forces with the Frameworks team and are enthusiastic about our role in further advancing their capabilities." "We are thrilled to welcome Janet, Jimmie and the Govise team to Frameworks," said Joe Walsh, CEO of Frameworks. "Leveraging their vast experience, Govise provides top-tier medical review support to their customers while maintaining the highest standards, quality, and compliance. Thi acquisition allows Frameworks to expand its industry leading MLR service capabilities to meet the needs of our customers," added Walsh.



Frameworks, headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut, received a growth investment from WestView Capital Partners in 2021 with the goal of building out end-to-end solutions for clinical and commercial-stage organizations across the life sciences industry. WestView is a Boston-based growth equity firm focused on investing in middle-market companies with a longstanding dedication to the life sciences services sector. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Frameworks: Framework Solutions provides clinical to commercial solutions to over 225 biotechnology, pharmaceutical and Medical Device companies. The company offers consulting and operational support services in the areas of Regulatory Affairs, Regulatory Operations, MLR, Medical Affairs, Technology and Global Recruiting. More information can be found here: https://framesol.com/. About Govise, Inc. Govise, Inc. is the premier partner for medical review services and medical affairs consulting for pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Govise offers the flexibility needed by providing both ad-hoc and team integrated services. Govise medical review services deliver high-quality medical reviews that maximize the impact of your science in a complex regulatory environment while maintaining the highest standards, quality, and compliance. Govise partners to drive strategic solutions that are both compelling and compliant. For more information, visit www.govise.com. About WestView Capital: WestView Capital Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm focused exclusively on middle market growth companies, manages approximately $2.7 billion in capital across five funds. WestView partners with existing management teams to sponsor minority and majority recapitalizations, growth, and acquisition transactions in industries such as healthcare technology and outsourcing, software, IT services, business services, and growth industrial. WestView focuses on investing in companies with revenue of at least $10 million and operating profits between $3 and $25 million. For more information, please visit www.wvcapital.com. MEDIA CONTACT

Marc Ioli

Framework Solutions

Direct +1 860-799-7510 Ext: 333

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/framework-solutions-expands-its-suite-of-services-with-the-strategic-acquisition-of-govise-inc-to-advance-its-medical-review-capabilities-301920152.html SOURCE Framework Solutions

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[September 07, 2023] Univ Unveils Exciting Rebranding as "Immergo" - A New Name for a New Era Tweet

TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Univ LTD, a pioneering leader in the OTT industry, is thrilled to announce a significant milestone in its journey with a comprehensive rebranding effort. The company has evolved and grown over the years, and to better reflect its vision, values, and commitment to innovation, it is proud to introduce its new corporate identity, Immergo. Immergo proudly supports hundreds of Media Companies with their streaming and OTT services The rebranding reflects the company's continued dedication to pushing boundaries, fostering creativity, and driving advancements in OTT industry solutions. With Immergo meaning "to immerse" in Latin, the new name perfectly encapsulates the essence of the company's mission: to dive deep into transformative ideas, immerse itself in cutting-edge technologies, and create immersive solutions and experiences for our clients and customers. "We are excited to embark on this new chapter as Immergo. This rebranding isn't just a change in name; it's a reflection of our evolution as a company and our commitment to leading the way in innovation. This rebranding is the visual of an intensive R&D effort that results in our top of line of products," said Ariel Matzkin, CEO of Immergo. "Our team's passion for exploration and innovation drives us to immerse ourselves fully in our projects, and our new identity symbolizes that dedication." Imergo's rebranding encompasses more than just a name change; it includes a revamped logo, website, and visual identity that captures the essence of its forward-thinking approach. The new brand elements incorporate sleek, modern design elements, representing the company's dynamic and agile nature. Immergo's vibrant color palette and bold typography reflect the company's willingness to take risks and stand out in a competitive landscape.



As Immergo, the company remains committed to providing its clients with top-notch OTT solutions that revolutionize the way media businesses operate. The rebranding aligns with Immergo 's ambitious plans for expansion, innovative product development, and strategic partnerships that will drive growth and contribute to its industry leadership. Immergo proudly supports hundreds of Media Companies with their streaming and OTT services. Over 200 streaming platforms, more than 250 Linear Live Channels, 400+ mobile and CTV apps with scores of FAST Channels added monthly, which together are reaching over 7 million Monthly Active Users and generating a supply of more than 1.5 billion monthly ads. Our Immergo Family of Products are:

IMMERGO CMS: Immergo CMS is a powerful platform for all your content needs. With an intuitive interface, this solution is easy to use, even for people with no previous experience. IMMERGO PROCESSING: With Immergo processing, you get the raw power of video processing with the quality that you deserve and saving you time and frustration your clients expect. IMMERGO CREATOR: Innovative service that enables you to create FAST CHANNELS and enhance the content by clipping high-quality video content directly from your linear feeds and share it with your audience in real-time. EMMERGO MULTISCREEN: your ultimate tool to create video centric applications with dynamically generated apps and front end, streamline your apps developing and publications process. IMMERGO PLAYER: Seamlessly present video content from one source across all platforms IMMERGO COMMERCE: innovative service that enables you to create high-quality video content directly from your linear channel and share it with your audience in real-time. IMMERGO DELIVERY: video delivery service that lets you publish and syndicate video content (Live or VOD) at its highest quality and low latency using the world leading infrastructure services. IMMERGO MARKETING: Segmented push notification allows our clients to target their users with personalized messages. IMMERGO BI: data-driven performance intelligence tool that uses AI technology to analyze and visualize critical KPIs. The rebranding process will be completed in the coming weeks, and clients and partners can expect a seamless transition with no disruption to services. Immergo is ready to embrace the future, and the rebranding serves as a testament to its unwavering commitment to shaping the OTT landscape. The company invites clients, partners, and stakeholders to join in this exciting journey as it dives into the world of Immergo. Check us out by visiting our new website: www.immergo.tv View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/univ-unveils-exciting-rebranding-as-immergo--a-new-name-for-a-new-era-301920690.html SOURCE IMMERGO, formerly UNIV LTD

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[September 07, 2023]

Powered by MRP Announces Appointment of Chief Sales Officer

PARK CITY, Utah, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Globally recognized aesthetics device company Powered by MRP announced today that Kate Heath joined the company to serve as the Chief Sales Officer (CSO). The important designation arrives during a crucial juncture for the company, highlighting MRP's continuous progress and industry-wide expansion.

Heath joins with 16+ years of Aesthetic experience, most recently as Sr. Director at Candela Medical, where she oversaw clinical day to day operations, business development, inside sales, and practice management. Throughout her tenure at Candela Medical, Heath's deep involvement in clinical operations demonstrated her ability to navigate the intricate landscape of healthcare settings, ensuring that medical technologies were seamlessly integrated to enhance patient experiences and outcomes.

"I am honored to join Powered by MRP as the Chief Sales Officer and be part of a company that is at the forefront of innovation in the aesthetics device industry," said Heath. "I look forward to contributing to the continued success and growth of this remarkable organization."

Scott Carson, Founder and CEO of Powered by MRP. "Her extensive experience, complemented by her deep understanding of business development, will undoubtedly play a key role in propelling our company's growth within the ever-evolving aesthetics device industry."







For more on the Powered by MRP's leadership team, click here .

About Powered by MRP

MRP is a globally recognized aesthetics device company founded by Scott Carson in 2015. MRP's technology-driven platform provides a vertically-integrated community marketplace that helps Aesthetic Providers lower equipment and supply costs through consultative customer service and GPO-level pricing. Overstock, pre-owned, parts and deals, drive markets, and MRP is the largest reseller of new and pre-owned energy-based aesthetic and surgical devices in the world. MRP-supplied equipment can be seen featured in TLC's first season of their hit television series, DR. MERCY .

Visit www.mrp.io and follow us on LinkedIn , Facebook , Instagram , or YouTube for more information.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/powered-by-mrp-announces-appointment-of-chief-sales-officer-301920733.html

SOURCE Powered by MRP
[September 07, 2023] ProgenyHealth Announces Partnership with Community Health Choice in Houston, Texas Tweet

New partnership will provide Maternity and NICU care management services to improve the lives and health outcomes of women and infants, while supporting local communities PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ProgenyHealth, LLC, a leading, tech-enabled women's healthcare company dedicated to Maternity and NICU Care Management, has announced a new partnership with Community Health Choice, located in Houston, TX. Hundreds of thousands of women each year rely heavily on specialized maternity, NICU and postpartum care. Established in 1997, Community Health Choice is a local, non-profit, managed care organization that is committed to improving the health and well-being of Texas residents. The organization is one of the largest provider networks in southeast Texas. "Our new partnership with Community Health Choice helps pave the way for a lifetime of health and well-being for mothers, infants and their families throughout the greater Houston area," said Susan Torroella, CEO, ProgenyHealth. "It is important that we continue to assist mothers in having healthier, full-term pregnancies and navigating complex NICU and postpartum issues. The actions we are taking today will have a substantial impact in the future." The new partnership began June 28 and initially includes maternity case management, followed by NICU utilization and case management, and then payment validation and assurance services. ProgenyHealth is supporting services as part of several Community Health Choice plans, including Texas STAR and Texas CHIP Perinate Unborn.



"We are a health plan with heart and our mission is to continually open doors of care and wellness to our members," said Lisa Wright, CEO, Community Health Choice. "Healthier communities are stronger communities and our new strategic partnership with ProgenyHealth is having a significant impact on thousands of our plan members and fellow residents." Hundreds of thousands of women each year rely heavily on specialized maternity, NICU and postpartum care. Statewide, the preterm birth rate is 11.4% - which is higher than the national average.

"The maternal mortality and preterm birth rates in Texas are higher than the national average, and this is absolutely unacceptable," said Marylou Buyse, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Community Health Choice. "We must continue to ensure the health and wellness of our state's new mothers and their infants. Our new partnership with ProgenyHealth helps to promote a healthier life for every Texan mother and infant." About ProgenyHealth

ProgenyHealth empowers our health plan and employer partners to change the trajectory of maternal and infant health outcomes across America. Informed by more than 20 years of experience and patient data, our end-to-end maternal and infant care management solution helps ensure the best possible outcomes for every expecting mother we touch. Our wholly integrated, tech-enabled solution builds a network of support for an uninterrupted continuum of care from prenatal health, through any resultant NICU stay, and all the way to one full year of life. From the very beginning, we unite early health risk assessment data with self-directed digital tools and dedicated case managers who work tirelessly to connect at-risk moms-to-be with the resources, care, and support they need for a healthier, full-term delivery. Our industry-leading intelligent platform, Baby Trax, integrates utilization management and case management, while also driving payment validation & assurance activities based on clinical data. By promoting predictable, equitable, and standardized high quality care journeys, we ensure healthier outcomesand lower costsacross an entire at-risk population. In so doing, we help overcome systemic barriers to support healthier pregnancies and healthier starts to life for all moms and babies, one family at a time. To learn more, visit www.progenyhealth.com About Community Health Choice

Community Health Choice is a local, non-profit managed-care organization (MCO), licensed by the Texas Department of Insurance. MarketPlace , DNSP , Medicaid and CHIP are the products provided to give their members access to medical care in Greater Houston area. Their mission is to improve the health and well-being of underserved Texans by opening doors to healthcare and health-related social services. Media Contact:

Linda Smith

VP, Marketing & Communications

[email protected]

Mobile: 609.206.1552 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/progenyhealth-announces-partnership-with-community-health-choice-in-houston-texas-301919909.html SOURCE ProgenyHealth

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SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- A total of 12 items of antiquities found in Faizabad district of Jawzjan province were handed over to the National Museum of Afghanistan by the department of information and culture of Jawzjan, Saifuddin Moatasim, the department's director, said on Thursday.

These items were obtained by local people of Mozian village of Faizabad district through illegal excavation, Moatasim said.

Moatasim said that the items include small and large pieces of pottery, two columns, and some objects related to the Bronze Age. 
[September 07, 2023] Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus, in Partnership With Family Health Centers at NYU Langone, Hosted Back-to-School Family Resource Fair Tweet

Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus continued its partnership with the Family Health Centers at NYU Langone for its Annual Back-to-School Supplies program. The event was held Wednesday, August 30 at Martin Luther Playground, located directly across from NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230906392888/en/ Leadership from Empire and Family Health Centers at NYU Langone joined together to assist children and families in preparing for the upcoming school year. (Photo: Business Wire) After successfully distributing school supplies to more than 2,000 children from underserved neighborhoods across Brooklyn last year, NYU Langone and Empire committed to making this year's event even bigger. Empire, along with other commnity partners, distributed fully stocked backpacks to help children and families prepare for the current school year, which begins this week.



"Empire is more than just a health insurer; we're a part of the community," said Dr. Mark Levy, President, Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus. "We understand our health connects us to each other, and what we all do impacts those around us. That's why we're dedicated to not only providing better care for our members but also contributing to the overall health and wellness of our communities." In addition to providing school supplies, the event served as a comprehensive health and wellness fair. Attendees benefited from free health services, including assistance with health plan renewals and re-enrollments, blood pressure testing, dental screenings, and nutritional guidance.

"By equipping children with the necessary school supplies and promoting health education, we're empowering students and their families to thrive in the upcoming school year and beyond," said Larry K. McReynolds, Executive Director, Family Health Centers at NYU Langone. "Education and health go hand in hand, and we're grateful for our partners who are committed to making a positive impact in the neighborhoods we serve." According to a recent study by the Kids in Need Foundation, quality school supplies play a crucial role in student academic achievement. The report states that having proper school supplies drastically improves class preparedness, participation, student self-esteem, and interest in learning. This significant correlation between school supplies and student performance underscores the importance of initiatives like the Annual Back-to-School Supplies program. By ensuring every child has the necessary tools for learning, Empire and NYU are investing in their future, and in turn, the future of the community. About Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus (Empire) is the trade name of HealthPlus, LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Serving New Yorkers for over 85 years, Empire BlueCross BlueShield is the largest health insurer in New York supporting more than four million members and more than 38,000 business, union, and small employers in New York. Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield is the trade name of Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Inc., and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO is the trade name of Empire HealthChoice HMO, Inc., independent licensees of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, serving residents and businesses in the 28 eastern and southeastern counties of New York State. Additional information about Empire is available at www.empireblue.com. About The Family Health Centers at NYU Langone The Family Health Centers at NYU Langone is a community-based program that provides high-quality primary and preventive outpatient care to adults and children regardless of their ability to pay. Founded in 1967, it has grown to become one of the largest Federally Qualified Health Center networks in the nation and operates the largest school health program in New York. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230906392888/en/

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[September 07, 2023] IoT Insurance Market to reach $686.9 Billion, Globally, by 2032 at 36.4% CAGR: Allied Market Research Tweet

The global IoT insurance market growth is driven by the rise in the adoption of IoT in developed and developing economies, an increase in demand for cloud platforms and other value-added services in the insurance industry, and a surge in investment in IoT by insurance companies. PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "IoT Insurance Market by Component (Solution and Service), Insurance Type (Life and Health Insurance, Property and Casualty Insurance, and Others), Application (Automotive, Transportation, and Logistics, Life and Health, Commercial and Residential Buildings, Business and Enterprise, Agriculture, and Others), and Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2032." According to the report, the global IoT insurance industry generated $31.5 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $686.9 billion by 2032, witnessing a CAGR of 36.4% from 2023 to 2032. Request PDF Sample: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/10149 IoT insurance refers to the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices by insurance companies to collect, transmit, and share essential information about insurers. Insurance service providers also benefit from the use of IoT devices to improve employee and organizational productivity and their knowledge of risk management. In addition, it provides many benefits to end users, including improved claim management services, faster risk management services, and reduced operating costs for the company during the claim settlement management service. With the growing trend of the Internet of Things (IoT) in health insurance and IoT marine insurance, it is being adopted across the world. Prime Determinants of Growth: The global IoT insurance market growth is driven by the rise in the adoption of IoT in developed and developing economies, an increase in demand for cloud platforms and other value-added services in the insurance industry, and a surge in investment in IoT by insurance companies. However, security and privacy issues regarding the personal information of customers and a lack of skills among workers regarding the use of IoT devices restrict the growth of the market. However, an increase in the adoption of advanced technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence in the insurance industry is expected to offer remunerative opportunities for expansion of the global market during the forecast period. Report Coverage & Details:







Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20232032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $31.5 Billion Market Size in 2032 $686.9 Billion CAGR 36.4 % No. of Pages in Report 344 Segments Covered Component, Insurance Type, Application, and Region Drivers Rise in adoption of IoT in developed and developing economies Growth in demand of cloud platform and other value-added services in insurance industry Surge in investment in IoT by insurance companies Opportunities Surge in need of insurance for various IoT enabled applications Restraints Security and privacy issues Lack of knowledge among workers



COVID-19 Scenario: The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the global IoT insurance market. This is due to IoT devices, such as health monitoring wearables (smartwatches, fitness trackers) that gained prominence during the pandemic.

The insurance sector has witnessed a significant surge in demand, especially in health and related segments. Therefore, many industries have increased their investment in IoT solutions, especially healthcare, which further expands the scope of study and market growth. The solution segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period- Based on component, the solution segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for more than two-thirds of the global IoT insurance market revenue, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. Due to the rise in large number of IoT devices and the surge in the need for IoT technology solutions in various organizations to identify, monitor, evaluate, and access different types of risks before their occurrence is anticipated to boost businesses and organizations to adopt policy. However, the service segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 39.1% from 2023 to 2032. This is because it helps insurers provide better policies to the end user throughout the life of the policy with improved risk management, cutting costs by lowering premiums, and improving insurance companies' business processes. Buy this Research Report (344 Pages PDF with 125 Tables, 60+ Charts): https://bit.ly/3ErY1hC The life and health insurance segment to maintain its lead position throughout the forecast period- Based on insurance type, the life and health insurance segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for more than two-thirds of the global IoT insurance market revenue, and is projected to maintain its lead position throughout the forecast period. Owing to the increase in adoption of internet-connected medical devices such as smartwatches, smartphones, and fitness trackers, which constantly collect user data and track their behavior or lifestyle. However, the property and casualty insurance segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 39.5% from 2023 to 2032. This is due to an increase in the adoption of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication products, the implementation of anti-lock brake systems to attain faster communication with vehicle users, and an increase in awareness among policyholders. The automotive, transportation, and logistics segment to rule the roost by 2032- Based on application, the automotive, transportation, and logistics segment held the highest market share in 2022, contributing to nearly two-fifths of the global IoT insurance market revenue, and is projected to rule the roost by 2032. Owing to the integration of IoT technology with telematics devices to monitor all aspects of an automobile, such as general car condition, tire condition, brake condition, and car temperature with just a simple command on a screen. However, the business and enterprise segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 41.4% from 2023 to 2032. Owing to the increase in the adoption of intelligent automation and smart building technologies, it boosts the IoT insurance market. Asia-Pacific region to maintain its dominance by 2032- Based on region, the North America segment held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for more than one-third of the global IoT insurance market. Owing to the presence of many insurance companies across the U.S. and Canada and availability of technologically advanced IoT devices as well as high-speed Internet connection across the region. However, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. The same region would showcase the fastest CAGR of 40.1% from 2023 to 2032. This is due to an increase in the use of IoT devices such as drones, Wi-Fi dongles, wearables devices, and built-in sensors among end-users that provide informative data. Leading Market Players: - International Business Machines Corporation

Cisco Systems, Inc.

Oracle Corporation

SAP SE

Microsoft Corporation

Intel Corporation

Google LLC

Telit

Accenture

Synechron The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the global IoT insurance 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 countries. 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 & Graphs, and Key Players' Strategies: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/iot-insurance-market/purchase-options Trending Reports in BFSI Industry: Decentralized Insurance Market by Type (Life Insurance, Non-life Insurance), by End User (Businesses, Individuals): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 On-Demand Insurance Market by Coverage (Travel Insurance, Event Insurance, Renter's Insurance, Electronic Equipment Insurance, Others), by End User (Individuals, Businesses): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 Car Insurance Aggregators Market by Insurance Type (Third Party Liability Insurance, Comprehensive Car Insurance, Others), by Enterprise Size (Large Enterprises, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), by Application (Personal, Commercial): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2031 Takaful Insurance Market By Distribution Channel (Agents & Brokers, Banks, Direct Response and Others), Type (Family Takaful and General Takaful), and Application (Personal and Commercial): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Internet of Things (IoT) based General Insurance Market by Type (Property Casuality (PC) Insurance, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Others) and by Application (Automotive Transportation, Home Commercial Buildings, Life Health, Consumer Electronics, Agriculture): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa

1209 Orange Street,

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[September 07, 2023] Propelled Brands on Pace for Record-Breaking Year with Network-Wide Growth in First Half of 2023 Tweet

Rapid growth across the umbrella company's roster of leading franchise brands sets the stage for a strong 2023 as search continues for more qualified franchise candidates CARROLLTON, Texas, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Propelled Brands , the multi-brand platform company of FASTSIGNS , SIGNWAVE, NerdsToGo and MY SALON Suite , announced today that it ended the first half of 2023 with more than 40 new deals signed across its combined network, encompassing more than double the amount of deals signed in 2022 for NerdsToGo and putting both FASTSIGNS and MY SALON Suite on track to respectively surpass their 2022 total deals signed. "Propelled Brands kicked off 2023 following our most successful year to date, and now just halfway into the year, we're on track to break records once again," said Mark Jameson, chief development officer at Propelled Brands. "Our tremendous growth this year underscores the strength of our portfolio of brands. With proven concepts and options for a variety of business models from semi-absentee ownership to conversions, I look forward to seeing how FASTSIGNS, NerdsToGo and MY SALON Suite continue to grow throughout the rest of the year." Highlights of thefirst two quarters of 2023 include the following from across the three brands:



42 new franchisee signings, including 25 for MY SALON Suite alone and FASTSIGNS on track for 20+ signings;

36 new store openings;

Continued growth for NerdsToGo with a B2B focus and recurring revenue model;

Continued growth for My Salon Suite for both corporate and franchise locations;

for both corporate and franchise locations; Awards and recognition received including Entrepreneur's Franchise 500 and Franchise Business Review's Best-In-Category, Top Franchises for Women and Top Recession-Proof Franchises lists. Last year, FASTSIGNS experienced its most successful year to date , surpassing the $700 million in network sales for the first time in company history and awarded 20 franchises to expand into markets across the country. MY SALON Suite, known for its semi-absentee model with no on-site employees ideal for portfolio diversification from industries such as food or real estate, opened 42 franchise locations in 2022 to reach a milestone of over 250 locations . NerdsToGo continued to establish itself as a leader in its industry with expansion to multiple new markets in 2022 including Greenbook, NJ; Everett, WA; Lafayette, LA and its soon to open first location in Chicago, IL. Building on its growing momentum, Propelled Brands has its sights set on awarding at least 20 more franchise agreements across its roster by the end of this year.

Across its portfolio, Propelled Brands operates more than 1,055 locations across eight countries. Each brand is seeking qualified franchisees as they continue their aggressive growth trajectories. For more information about Propelled Brands franchise opportunities, visit https://www.propelledbrands.com/franchising-opportunities/ , or contact Mark Jameson at [email protected] or 214-346-5679. About Propelled Brands: Propelled Brands is the multi-brand platform company of FASTSIGNS, SIGNWAVE, NerdsToGo and Suite Management Franchising, LLC, the parent company of MY SALON Suite and Salon Plaza. Propelled Brands advances the strategic path for each brand, offering support, guidance, and a clear vision to fully equip every franchisee, helping them maximize success. Propelled Brands is looking to partner with other service-oriented franchise concepts that align with its forward-thinking growth objectives. For more information or to learn about opportunities with Propelled Brands, visit propelledbrands.com . To learn about franchise opportunities with FASTSIGNS, NerdsToGo, or MY SALON Suite, contact Mark Jameson ([email protected] or call 214.346.5679). View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/propelled-brands-on-pace-for-record-breaking-year-with-network-wide-growth-in-first-half-of-2023-301920869.html SOURCE Propelled Brands

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[September 07, 2023] Madison Taylor Indoor Environmental Launches Comprehensive Website: The Ultimate Resource for Indoor Air Quality Tweet

Madison Taylor Indoor Environmental, a leading indoor environmental firm serving Virginia, Maryland, and DC, has launched a comprehensive website, featuring an extensive range of information and services to inform and assist consumers in improving their indoor environments. WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Madison Taylor Indoor Environmental, the leading certified indoor environmental firm serving the Virginia, Maryland, and DC region, has proudly announced the launch of its state-of-the-art website, https://madisontaylorindoorenvironmental.com/. This new platform is not merely a testament to the company's cutting-edge services but also a beacon of knowledge for consumers interested in indoor air quality. The website features a robust Indoor Air Quality Resources page (https://madisontaylorindoorenvironmental.com/iaq-resources), frequently updated to keep homeowers and building owners informed on a variety of subjects, ranging from allergens, VOCs, and mold, to flood restoration, home inspection, and sick building syndrome. It's a one-stop hub for all those who wish to know more about the air they breathe indoors.



John Taylor, a certified indoor environmentalist and the passionate owner of Madison Taylor Indoor Environmental, expressed his enthusiasm: "This new website is more than just a business platform. It's our pledge for continuous education updates. We want our clients and the general public to be aware, informed, and proactive." While the firm has established a strong foothold in Virginia, Maryland, and DC, providing exceptional indoor air quality inspection and remediation services, Madison Taylor Indoor Environmental's expertise is globally recognized. Special cases have taken the team to multiple countries spanning Africa, Europe, and Central America. "Over our 22-year journey, we've tackled some of the most complex indoor air quality challenges," Taylor remarked, "But every day, our core mission remains clear: to resolve common indoor air quality issues, especially mold-related ones, for our local community."

Taylor's commitment shines through when he shares, "Madison Taylor Indoor Environmental isn't just another business I own; it's the embodiment of my passion. It's what I describe as a 'happy business'. There's immense satisfaction in identifying and solving issues that impact people's health and well-being." As one of the nation's largest indoor environmental firms, Madison Taylor Indoor Environmental's client portfolio boasts hospitals, schools, government buildings, and numerous residential homes. The company takes pride in their accessibility, guaranteeing the best pricing and offering an unmatched industry warranty. Their structured and efficient service model is customer-centric, with free over-the-phone consultations ensuring consumers always make informed decisions. For all your indoor air quality concerns, from mold inspection and remediation to bacteria, allergen, and volatile organic compound testing, Madison Taylor Indoor Environmental is your go-to expert. Get in touch today at **877-932-7177** or on our website at https://madisontaylorindoorenvironmental.com/contact. About Madison Taylor Indoor Environmental: https://madisontaylorindoorenvironmental.com/ With over two decades of experience, Madison Taylor Indoor Environmental stands as a vanguard in indoor air quality solutions. Renowned not only in Virginia, Maryland, and DC, but internationally, the firm's extensive services cater to a diverse range of clients, ensuring cleaner, safer, and healthier indoor environments. CONTACT INFORMATION:

John Taylor

Phone: (877) 932-4652

E-mail: madisontaylorcompany@gmail.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/madison-taylor-indoor-environmental-launches-comprehensive-website-the-ultimate-resource-for-indoor-air-quality-301916863.html SOURCE Madison Taylor Indoor Environmental

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[September 07, 2023] AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Solunion Seguros, Compania Internacional de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A. Tweet

AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a" (Excellent) of Solunion Seguros, Compania Internacional de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A. (Solunion) (Spain). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. Solunion is the operating holding company of the Solunion group of companies, a 50-50 joint venture between the MAPFRE group and Allianz Trade. Allianz SE is the ultimate parent of Allianz Trade. The ratings reflect Solunion's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings also consider the strategic and operational support Solunion receives from its joint shareholders, including significant reinsurance support in the form of quota share arrangements and excess of loss protection. Solunion's balance sheet strength assessment is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, which remained at the strongest level as at year-end 2022, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). The balance sheet strength assessment is supported by Solunion's prudent reserving approach and conservative investment strategy. Solunion is highly dependent on reinsurance, but the associated risk is considered limited, as reinsurance arrangements are solely with the company's shareholders. Solunion has achieved positive net results consistently over recent years, reporting a five-year weighted average combined ratio of 83.4% and return on equity of 7.6% (2018-2022), as calculated by AM Best. In 2022, Solunion reported profit before tax of EUR 16.8 million driven by robust technical profits underpinned by low claims frequency and by service fees tied to the company's trade credit line of business. Solunion has continued to report good results as at the end of June 2023. Anoffsetting factor is the uncertainty around the sustainability of the trade credit results in light of competitive and challenging market and economic conditions. However, AM Best notes the company's ability to take prompt risk-mitigating actions on non-performing business when required.



Solunion has a growing position as a trade credit and surety specialist in its selected operating markets, with gross written premium of EUR 267 million in 2022. Although the portfolio is concentrated in Spain, increasing geographical diversification is provided by Solunion's expansion in Latin America. Positive business profile factors include the company's ability to leverage the trade credit expertise and capabilities of Allianz Trade, whilst accessing MAPFRE's widespread and well-established distribution channels in its target markets. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Performance Assessments, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright  2023 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907537950/en/

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[September 07, 2023] STEMx Awards Challenge Grants to Support STEM Education Advocacy Tweet

Today, the national STEMx network announced funding for four states to launch science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education advocacy programs. These efforts will shine a spotlight on the importance of high-quality STEM education and engage students in the legislative process. The 2023 STEMx Challenge Grants funds projects in Arkansas, Maryland, Minnesota, and New Mexico. All four awards help STEMx member states highlight the need for state-level investments and support for STEM education programs as a workforce and equity imperative. The STEMx network, a coalition of leading STEM education organizations, selected the winners through a competitive process. Each of the four winning proposals will achieve two goals. First, these awards will help organizations develop long-term STEM advocacy plans to mobilize support for STEM. Second, each state will plan, design, and execute a public advocacy event that elevates the role of STEM as a crucial component of economic development and provides students the opportunity to engage in education advocacy. "Advocacy begins at the local level," said Heather Sherman, Director of the STEMx network. "These programs build on a multi-year effort within the network, beginning with our 2022 STEMx on the Hill event, to elevate the voices of states in advocating for high-quality STEM education for all students." Each grantee will share their state advocacy plan and document the process of creating and executing their legislative advocacy day with other members in the national STEM ecosystem, furthering the national dialogue on expanding access to STEM through state investments. Battelle manages the STEMx network and funded these grants as a part of the institution's commitment to inspiring the next generation of innovators.



"The opportunities funded today will help mobilize support for STEM as a priority in each of these states while offering students a window into the legislative process," said Wes Hall, Vice-President of Education and Philanthropy at Battelle. 2023 STEMx Challenge Grant Awards:

Arkansas: The Arkansas STEM Coalition will host AR STEM @ the Capitol, and mini-grants for 100 students to create demonstration projects that feature the value of STEM for students. Maryland: Maryland Business Roundtable will provide youth advocacy training for high-school students from rural and urban schools to prepare students to participate in Youth Congress Day as advocates for STEM education. Minnesota: SciMathMN will lead the state's first ever STEM Day at the Capitol, providing an opportunity for 150 students from rural and tribal schools to meet with state legislators to discuss the importance of STEM. New Mexico: The Northern New Mexico STEAM Coalition will use grant funds to convene organizations to create a cohesive plan for innovation in STEAM education. These regional convenings will feature youth presentations from students who have participated in career technical education and work based learning programs. The funds will also support student participation in STEAM Day at the Legislature. About STEMx Launched in 2012, the STEMx network is a leading nationwide coalition of state STEM networks. Through the STEMx network, organizations can share opportunities and solutions for addressing some of education's greatest obstacles. To learn more, visit www.stemx.us. About Battelle Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries. For more information, visit www.battelle.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907989786/en/

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[September 07, 2023] BondExchange Empowers Agents With Customizable Surety Bond Applications Tweet

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BondExchange ( https://www.bondexchange.com ), the leading wholesale surety underwriter, announced an upgrade to its SuretyPro tool, allowing agents to customize the surety bond application interface, which can be embedded right on their websites. BondExchange recently published an article highlighting their upgraded SuretyPro tool. The article can be accessed here . "Our upgraded SuretyPro tool gives agents the ability to make our technology look like a seamless component of their website," says Jackson Cromer, President of BondExchange. "In an industry first, agents now have complete control over how their embedded applications look, and our easy-to-use creation studio allows them to design custom applications n a matter of minutes."



Earlier this year, BondExchange became the first platform to allow agents to install embedded bond applications on their websites. This upgrade takes SuretyPro to the next level by empowering agents with the ability to customize all aspects of the application's interface. Retail customers can enter their business name on the interface, which will then auto-populate in the embedded application, making for a better user experience for an insurance agent's client. In addition to embedded applications, SuretyPro also allows agents to create shareable links to bond applications that contain their agency's branding.

"Our mission at BondExchange is to make surety bonds profitable for agents," continued Cromer. "Part of that mission involves providing agents with the tools both they and their customers need to easily quote and issue surety bonds. With SuretyPro, agents simply need to direct their customers to their websites, where they can instantly obtain quotes and purchase surety bonds. SuretyPro doesn't open in a new tab under a different URL but integrates within our agent's website. We're proud to be the only platform to offer agents embedded bond applications, and our new customization features will help agents make this tool their own." About BondExchange Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, BondExchange is the technology leader in the surety industry, servicing thousands of insurance agents across the U.S. BondExchange is licensed in all 50 US states and writes all types of surety bonds for all customer profiles. Website: https://www.bondexchange.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bond_exchange LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bond-exchange-inc/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bondexchange Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXZyRNBcehs3mPDMQT6XhLA View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bondexchange-empowers-agents-with-customizable-surety-bond-applications-301920913.html SOURCE BondExchange

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North Central Equity sells Corporate Technologies LLC

North Central Equity LLC, a Minneapolis based holding company, announced that it has sold Corporate Technologies LLC, a company that specializes in managed IT solutions to Tonka Bay Equity Partners.

Corporate Technologies is a provider of managed IT solutions for businesses and institutions in Minnesota, North Dakota, Southern California, West Michigan, and New Jersey. Corporate Technologies was founded in 1981 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. North Central Equity purchased Corporate Technologies in 2005.

"I am excited about the opportunities this sale provides to the dedicated lon-term employees of Corporate Technologies," said Elam Baer, the CEO of North Central Equity. Corporate Technologies, with almost fifty years of history in the industry, specializes in providing managed services solutions to the small and medium-sized business market. Under the 18-year ownership of North Central Equity, Corporate Technologies made the transition from a hardware reseller in Fargo, North Dakota to a Managed Services Company with offices in 5 states.







Baer noted that Tonka Bay's midwestern roots and its plan for Corporate Technologies played a critical role in the sale.

About North Central Equity LLC

North Central Equity LLC is a Minneapolis, Minnesota, based privately-owned holding company, established in 2004.

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[September 07, 2023] Maps Credit Union Selects Ameriprise Financial to Manage its Investment Program Tweet

Ameriprise Financial (NYSE: AMP) today announced Maps Credit Union, a member-owned financial cooperative with more than $1.3 billion in assets, has transitioned its investment program to the Ameriprise Financial Institution Group (AFIG) from CUSO Financial Services. The credit union's investment program operates under the name Maps Investment Services and includes two financial advisors, Kyle King CRPC, APMA, and Wayne Muller, ChFC, who help clients manage over $185 million in brokerage assets across 10 branches in the Willamette Valley Basin of Oregon. "Our new partnership with Ameriprise Financial allows us to offer a more comprehensive suite of wealth management products and powerful digital tools and technology to help our members achieve their goals with more confidence," said Mark Zook, President & CEO of Maps Credit Union. "We're excited to share the many benefits of this partnership with our members, and we are confident we have the best possible expertise and resources behind us with Ameriprise." Through Ameriprise Financial, Maps Credit Union members will have access to a full range of leading services and solutions including: Personalized advice and financial planning capabilities tailored to their individual needs.

and financial planning capabilities tailored to their individual needs. Robust investment products to help them achieve their financial goals with more confidence.

to help them achieve their financial goals with more confidence. Digital capabilities that allow clients to connect with their advisors where and how they want-face-to-face, online, video or phone meetings. "We're thrilled Maps Investment Services has selected Ameriprise Financial to build upon the strong service they provide their members to help them reach their financial goals," said Jay McAnelly, Group Vice President, Ameriprise Financial Institutions Group. "Members across Oregon put their trust in Maps, and we're honored to bring the outstanding wealth management capabilities of Ameriprise Financial to them." Ameriprise formed its Financial Institutions Group after acquiring Investment Professionals, Inc. (IPI) in 2017. Leveraging Ameriprise's strength as a wealth manager and IPI's expertise n serving the financial institutions market, the AFIG channel specializes in the on-site delivery of investment programs to banks and credit unions.



Ameriprise Financial Services has a partnership with this financial institution to provide financial planning services and solutions to clients. The financial institution is not an investment client of Ameriprise but has a revenue sharing relationship with us that creates a conflict of interest. About Maps Credit Union

Maps Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative with 76,000 members and 10 full-service branches serving Oregon's Mid-Willamette Valley region. Maps Credit Union was founded in 1935 as an educators' credit union and believes in lifelong learning. As a community-chartered credit union, residents in the Willamette Valley Basin are eligible for membership. Maps' mission of "Every Member Benefits" drives the focus on giving back to members through affordable loan rates, competitive savings rates, and products and services designed to meet the needs of the membership. Maps is actively involved in Marion and Polk County communities through volunteerism, charitable giving, sponsorships and more. To learn more, visit www.mapscu.com. About Ameriprise Financial At Ameriprise Financial, we have been helping people feel more confident about their financial future for more than 125 years. With extensive investment advice, asset management and insurance capabilities and a nationwide network of approximately 10,000 financial advisors1, we have the strength and expertise to serve the full range of individual and institutional investors' financial needs. For more information, or to find an Ameriprise financial advisor, visit ameriprise.com. 1Ameriprise Financial Q4 2022 Earnings Release. Ameriprise Financial Services partners with financial institutions to provide investment advisory, brokerage and insurance services to their clients. This is a contractual relationship, which earns the financial institution compensation from Ameriprise for successful referrals. In most cases, the financial institution also receives a majority of the commissions and fees generated by Ameriprise financial advisors for the services noted above. This applies as long as the referred client maintains a relationship with Ameriprise. Non-licensed employees of the financial institutions may receive incentives from their employer for referring clients to Ameriprise. These incentives create a conflict of interest. Ameriprise Financial cannot guarantee future financial results. Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Maps investment Services is a financial advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Investment products are not insured by the FDIC, NCUA or any federal agency, are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed by any financial institution, and involve investment risks including possible loss of principal and fluctuation in value. Ameriprise Financial and the financial institution are not affiliated. Investment advisory products and services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC, a registered investment adviser. Securities offered by Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC. Member FINRA and SIPC.  2023 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907307248/en/

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[September 07, 2023] AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company P.J.S.C. Tweet

AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a" (Excellent) of Abu Dhabi National Insurance Company P.J.S.C. (ADNIC) (United Arab Emirates) [UAE]. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings reflect ADNIC's balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. ADNIC's balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), at the strongest level. AM Best expects ADNIC's BCAR scores to remain comfortably at prospectively the strongest level, supported by internal capital generation. The company's balance sheet strength assessment also benefits from its excellent liquidity position and good financial flexibility. An offsetting factor in the balance sheet strength assessment is ADNIC's dependence on reinsurance to write large commercial risks; however, the associated credit risk is mitigated partially by the use of a diversified reinsurance panel of sound financial strength. ADNIC has a track record of strong operating performance, illustrated by a five-year (2018-2022) weighted average return-on-equity ratio of 13.8%. The company's earnings primarily benefit from robust non-life underwriting results, with a five-year average combined ratio of 83.0%, as calculated by AM Best. ADNIC's underwriting performance is further supported by its life insurance portfolio, which contributes positively to the company's technical results. In 2022, despite heightened competition in the UAE insurance market, ADNIC reported a profit after tax of AED 377.9 million, equivalent to a return-on-equity of 137%, as the company maintained a strong underwriting performance.



ADNIC has a market leading position in the UAE, where it ranks as the second-largest insurance company by gross written premium (GWP), among listed insurers. In 2022, the company's GWP increased to AED 5.1 billion (USD 1.3 billion) (2021: AED 4.3 billion), driven by growth in its commercial lines business. ADNIC writes a well-diversified portfolio by line of business, although there is a weighting toward domestic medical business on a net premium basis. Geographic concentration in the UAE is mitigated partially by inward facultative and treaty business from the international market. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Performance Assessments, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright  2023 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907392879/en/

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Chapter II: Acts and Means of the U.S. in Maintaining Military Hegemony

In his 1941 article announcing the advent of the "American" century, Henry Luce, an American publisher and co-founder of Time, said that it is necessary "to exert upon the world the full impact of our influence, for such purposes as we see fit and by such means as we see fit."

Military supremacy depends on enduring control. To maintain military hegemony all over the world, the United States has not only exercised direct control by explicit means such as launching or involving itself in wars and laying out global base networks, but also used implicit means such as alliance systems, rules and mechanisms to exercise indirect control. It has developed a new intervention model, military and concepts for operations in accordance with the new situation, so as to control any potential competitor and prevent it from becoming a power that rivals the United States or challenging the United States' supremacy.

2.1 Explicit control: wars and bases

-- War and military operations are the most direct means for the United States to maintain its military hegemony.

"War has become an integral part of the history of this country. The United States is not so much a long-term participant in war since its founding as a product of war. The wars the United States fought made the country what it is today, and will shape its future," French historian Thomas Rabino said, in describing the "unbreakable" relationship between the United States and war.

It was shaped in war, expands in war, and dominates in war. The rise of the United States to the pinnacle of power over the past 240 years or so can be attributed to the endless wars including the American War of Independence, Indian War, Mexican-American War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Kosovo War, Afghanistan War, Iraq War, etc. The U.S. hegemonic chariot has thundered across the world.

Through wars, the United States has expanded its territory, captured strategic locations, and enlarged its sphere of influence. The territory of the United States has increased more than 10 times from about 800,000 square kilometers at the beginning of its founding to about 9.37 million square kilometers now. By means of military intervention, coups, and proxy wars, the United States treats Latin American and Caribbean countries as its "backyard" and exerts geopolitical control over the Middle East and other Eurasian countries.

With wars, the United States has occupied sea transportation lines and resource-critical areas. The United States has annexed many islands in the Pacific Ocean such as Hawaii and Wake Island, colonized the Philippines, forced the construction of the Panama Canal, divided up interests in China with other imperialist powers, stationed troops in Africa and controls vital resources and materials through military action.

With wars, the United States has united allies and eliminated dissidents. After the September 11 attacks, the United States has launched wars or military operations in 85 countries around the world under the banner of "anti-terrorism." The U.S. National Security Agency, Central Intelligence Agency and other agencies are constantly "creating" enemies, overthrowing other governments through illegal, secret operations, and assassinating foreign leaders that are against the United States.

The endless wars to defend and enhance its supremacy, including short-term wars, long-term wars, world wars, the Cold War, secret wars, proxy wars and anti-terrorism wars, are turning the United States into a Spartan state and dragging it into a perpetual state of war.

-- The military bases all over the world are the strategic anchors for the United States to control the world.

Military bases are the frontiers for the United States to impose deterrence and military intervention. With military bases as anchors, the United States exerts military hegemony throughout the world from the Arctic to the Cape of Good Hope, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The number of U.S. military bases overseas increased significantly during World War II. In September 1940, the United States offered Britain, its ally on the edge of bankruptcy, 50 destroyers from World War I in exchange for its control over sea and air bases in British colonies. It reflects the ambition of the United States to strengthen its military presence around the world. In 1943 and 1944, U.S. military planners drew up plans for building a system of overseas bases that presupposed the U.S. hegemonic power across both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. During World War II, the U.S. military built and occupied about 2,000 bases on all continents, with about 30,000 military installations.

After World War II, its military bases overseas turned into an ever-extending "strategic frontier," and delineated a large area under U.S. "de facto sovereignty." During the Cold War, the United States encircled and contained the Soviet Union with a large number of troops and military bases as close to the country as possible. After the end of the Cold War, American politicians still believed that overseas military bases were crucial to the global security of the United States. They made the military always remain in a state of readiness, and also shaped an offshore defense belt for the United States. For example, the Bush administration claimed that overseas bases "maintained peace," while the Obama administration believed that "moving bases forward and deploying U.S. troops are meaningful and necessary."

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, the United States established a powerful network of military bases in Afghanistan and the entire Middle East and Central Asia in the name of "anti-terrorism," thereby establishing its own military, geostrategic, geopolitical and geoeconomic bridgeheads in the heart of Eurasia.

After ushering in the 21st century, the United States began to adjust its overseas military base deployment strategy, and moved to build smaller and more flexible "forward operating bases," or "lily pads," to reduce the U.S. military's reliance on large Cold War-style bases. These "lily pads" are seen in Colombia, Kenya, Thailand and many other places, generally located in areas where there was little military presence in the past, and thus within easy reach.

Over the years, the United States has built a network around the world by signing bilateral and multilateral documents such as military base agreements, status of forces agreements, and security cooperation treaties with other countries. According to a 2021 study conducted by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, the United States currently has 750 military bases in 80 countries and regions overseas, which is almost three times the number of U.S. embassies, consulates and missions. These bases cost 55 billion U.S. dollars every year. Since 2001 alone, overseas military bases have provided support for the United States in launching wars or military operations in at least 25 countries. Some analysts believe that the establishment of overseas military bases by the United States and the emergence of wars in other countries where the bases are located seem to follow the law of cause and effect. Military bases are more likely to bring about wars, and wars ask for the establishment of more military bases.

2.2 Implicit control: alliances and rules

-- The alliance system is the main pillar for maintaining U.S. military hegemony.

The alliance system indicates a formal or informal security cooperation relationship between two or more countries. Compared with "tangible" wars and military bases, the alliance system established and dominated by the United States can be seen as implicit control to maintain hegemony.

The U.S. hegemony is underpinned by a delicate system of alliances and allies around the globe. The main way for the United States to establish and maintain military hegemony is to form alliances and establish an alliance system with itself at the core. It will thus help the United States achieve its strategic goals.

Marked by the establishment of NATO in 1949, the United States began to establish military alliances. It then established alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the Philippines to form a global alliance network centered on the United States. During the Cold War, its global alliance system played a major role in helping the United States win the Cold War against the Soviet Union. The Cold War turned the United States into the superpower of the Western world, or actually the head of alliances. After the end of the Cold War, these alliances with the United States at the center were not dissolved, but were instead strengthened. For example, through the "new strategic concept of NATO," the United States changed its function from collective defense to global intervention, and turned it into a political and military tool to maintain its hegemony. In the wars that the United States participated in after the Cold War and the global anti-terrorism cooperation after the September 11 attacks, the United States' alliance system played a substantial role and acted as the major pillar for the country to maintain its global military presence and hegemony.

The United States has built the military alliance system based on three considerations: first, to deter opponents by means of garrisons, joint military exercises, and military assistance; second, to gain an overall military advantage through alliances and maintain its own security and interests; third, to keep allies at bay as an incidental goal. Statistics show that in the fiscal year of 2011, the U.S. Pacific Command led a total of 146 military exercises involving the U.S. military and its allies and the U.S.-led NATO conducted 88 military exercises in 2020.

On the whole, the U.S. military alliance system is a hierarchical system among countries. The United States with its leading role sets the agenda and exerts hegemony with others subject to asymmetric and unequal conditions.

In recent years, the United States has taken the lead in promoting the transformation of the bilateral alliance system towards trilateral and multilateral development, from the U.S.-Japan-Australia and the U.S.-Japan-Philippines alliances to the U.S.-Japan-India-Australia "Quadrilateral Security Dialogue," forming the U.S.-UK-Australia trilateral security partnership, in an attempt to strengthen the alliance against potential threats and challenges. With the eastward shift of the U.S. strategic military center, the Indo-Pacific region has become increasingly important. The United States is making great efforts to build the "Indo-Pacific alliance system" in an attempt to utilize the alliance system to integrate regional strategic resources, which will help improve the efficiency of U.S. operations in the region. The U.S. "Indo-Pacific Strategy" truly aims to maintain its hegemonic system.

-- American rules and mechanisms are used to maintain the dominant position of U.S. military hegemony.

First, export control is employed.

Its world-leading military technology is an important basis for the U.S. military to occupy the dominant position. On the one hand, it is attributed to the excellent scientific research capabilities and strong manufacturing industry of the United States. On the other hand, it is related to various export control measures introduced by the United States. The measures are important tools for expanding military superiority and seeking military hegemony. During the Cold War, the export control policies of the West played an auxiliary role in isolating, containing, and ultimately dragging down the Soviet Union.

The U.S. export control policy has a history of more than a century and can be dated back to the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917. It was strengthened during World War II and the Cold War, with the purpose of maintaining a military technological edge over its opponents. Specific practices are as follows: Laws and regulations such as the Export Administration Regulations and the Arms Export Control Act were consulted to build dual-use and military export control systems. Legislation was conducted in specific areas, covering the Atomic Energy Act and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act. Multilateral mechanisms were set up or driven forward such as the "Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls," the "Missile Technology Control Regime," and "The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies."

The existence of these international rules and mechanisms essentially serves the security interests of the United States.

In order to maintain its hegemony, the United States is willing to suppress and sanction its allies, as shown in the Toshiba incident. During the 1980s, Toshiba Machine Co., Ltd. in Japan exported 9-axis CNC machine tools to the Soviet Union, an action seen by the United States as a threat to its military superiority and national security. Consequently, the United States imposed sanctions on Toshiba Machine Co., Ltd. and used this incident to pressure Japan regarding its new-generation fighter jet program, ultimately forcing Japan to make concessions to the United States. The Toshiba incident laid bare the United States' hegemonic mentality and behavior from the start to the end of this incident.

Second is arms control.

According to the traditional view, the arms control agreements between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War were made to increase transparency, reduce the risk of nuclear conflict, and enhance strategic stability, preventing the nuclear arms race from spiraling out of control and ultimately contributing to the peaceful end of the Cold War. However, the U.S. government's core objective in pursuing arms control was to establish and maintain its military technological superiority over the Soviet Union.

Thomas Countryman, former U.S. acting undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, has stated that "(arms control agreements) are a vital tool that can constrain other nations' ability to act against our interests, while still allowing the freedom of action that is necessary to defend U.S. interests and those of our close allies. In other words, arms control agreements are not a concession made by the United States, nor a favor done for another nation; they are an essential component of, and contributor to, our national security."

By utilizing the arms control mechanisms in a flexible manner, the United States can achieve three key benefits. First, it can allocate more funds toward enhancing military capabilities in other areas. For instance, the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty signed with the Soviet Union in 1972 allowed the United States to save billions of dollars; second, another advantage of leveraging arms control agreements, such as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, is the transparency and verification measures they provide. This enables the United States to gather and analyze intelligence on its adversaries' military capabilities, which can help its effective planning and management of nuclear forces; a third advantage of arms control mechanisms is the ability to restrict adversaries' advancements in critical areas, while also forcing them into an unwinnable arms race in areas where the United States holds an advantage. For instance, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed in 1987 by the United States and the Soviet Union was not aimed at sea- or air-based intermediate-range missiles, where the United States had significant advantages in technology, geography, and allies compared with the Soviet Union.

In February 2021, the U.S. government extended the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia, which largely reflects considerations of "playing to one's strengths and avoiding weaknesses." Jon Wolfsthal, who previously served as senior director for Arms Control and Nonproliferation on the National Security Council during the Obama administration, warned in 2020 that Russia was close to completing its strategic nuclear modernization cycle. If the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty were to expire, the United States could fall behind Russia in terms of strategic nuclear forces due to the uncertainty of the U.S. nuclear modernization program. Therefore, extending the treaty would allow the United States to maintain a limit on and monitor Russia's strategic nuclear arsenal while advancing its own nuclear modernization projects.

The third is the misinterpretation and misuse of international law.

The United States has long relied on a strategy of selectively applying international law when it serves its interests while ignoring it when it doesn't, which is a consistent approach of U.S. hegemonism. The most blatant example of this in the military field is the misinterpretation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which it leverages to maintain its naval hegemony through the implementation of "freedom of navigation" actions based on its own standards.

Starting in 1979, the United States has been carrying out what it terms "freedom of navigation" operations, which it claims are meant to "preserve lawful commerce and U.S. military global mobility." However, these actions are designed to ensure that the United States can possess unrestricted and unimpeded power projection capabilities. Several American scholars have said that the United States' persistent "freedom of navigation" operations in the South China Sea are a crucial means by which the U.S. military sustains its presence in the region.

In its "freedom of navigation" operations, the United States recklessly deploys large combat ships to challenge coastal nations' sovereignty and jurisdiction over their territorial waters, exclusive economic zones, archipelagos, and straits. The U.S. refusal to comply with requests from coastal countries for prior notification or permission and its arbitrary entry into foreign territorial waters underscores its military hegemony. The fact that the United States has not yet ratified the UNCLOS but still selectively interprets and utilizes it as a means of maintaining its maritime hegemony reflects the hegemonic logic of "might makes right."

2.3 New models and trends

The world in which the United States exists today is vastly different from the past. The world is currently experiencing a new trend: emerging countries are rising rapidly, the military technology of major powers is gradually becoming more widespread, and the international balance of power is shifting towards a multipolar structure. In the face of profound changes in the international landscape, however, the United States continues to cling to its hegemonic mentality and attempts various methods to maintain and reinforce its military dominance.

-- New model of military intervention

The use of military force has always been a significant means for the United States to maintain its military dominance. However, after several wars that have drained its resources and damaged its reputation, there has been a decline in public support for U.S. military intervention abroad. As a result, the U.S. government and Congress have shown a reduced willingness to use military force outside their borders. Against this backdrop, in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the United States, together with its allies, has relied on providing a large amount of military aid and intelligence support to manipulate the situation without openly deploying personnel to intervene in the conflict. This may indicate a new model for future U.S. military interventions abroad.

This kind of military intervention has three new characteristics.

First, military assistance is highly targeted and can be supplemented and adjusted according to changes on the battlefield. Since the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the United States has pledged to provide Ukraine with over 46 billion U.S. dollars in military aid, and the types of weapons offered have changed according to the situation on the battlefield and the needs of the Ukrainian military.

Second, the United States has used its intelligence advantage to the fullest extent. The intelligence information and battlefield situation awareness provided to the Ukrainian military by the United States have played a crucial role in enhancing Ukraine's combat capabilities. According to reports, such a large amount of intelligence shared with Ukraine, a non-ally, by the United States is almost unprecedented, and U.S. intelligence agencies have even modified 27 intelligence-sharing policies for this purpose.

Thirdly, the United States has employed new hybrid warfare tactics. The United States and its allies have launched a hybrid warfare campaign against Russia, which includes economic warfare, diplomatic warfare, and propaganda warfare. Although the U.S. military did not directly intervene in the conflict, it has been fully involved in the war in substance. Some scholars have pointed out that the U.S. involvement in the conflict has provided rules and models for future U.S. military interventions overseas.

-- Adjustment and upgrading of the alliance system

In light of the weakening of the United States' absolute military superiority and its strategic shift towards great power competition, the United States has been gradually breaking through geographical, structural, and technological limitations in its use of its military alliance system in recent years.

First, the United States has been encouraging its allies outside the region to intervene in Indo-Pacific security affairs. This is exemplified by NATO's inclusion of Indo-Pacific security issues in its strategic vision and its expanded military presence in the region. In 2021, a group of countries including Canada, the UK, France, Germany, and the Netherlands dispatched 21 naval vessels to the South China Sea to take part in joint maritime exercises with the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region.

Second, in the Asia-Pacific region, the United States has shifted its military alliance focus from primarily relying on a bilateral military alliance in a "hub-and-spokes" model to more trilateral and multilateral approaches. Since taking office in 2021, the Biden administration has elevated the importance of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) mechanism among the United States, Japan, India, and Australia and established a trilateral security partnership with the UK and Australia. At the same time, the United States is further deepening its engagement in smaller multilateral security mechanisms such as the U.S.-Japan-Australia and U.S.-Japan-South Korea partnerships while actively encouraging allies to enhance their security cooperation.

Third, the United States is transferring advanced military technology to its regional allies to bolster their military capabilities. For instance, within the framework of the trilateral security partnership among the United States, the UK, and Australia, the United States and the UK have agreed to assist Australia in constructing at least eight nuclear-powered attack submarines. This marks the first time the United States has shared its nuclear propulsion technology with another country since it did so with the UK over 60 years ago. This move may pose a risk of nuclear proliferation as it exploits loopholes in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act and could potentially undermine regional security and stability. The United States is departing from past limitations and conventions by transferring core military technologies and offensive weapons to regional allies, with the fundamental objective of increasing its competitiveness in the military race in the Indo-Pacific region.

-- Application of new technologies and new operational concepts

On the one hand, the U.S. Department of Defense attaches great importance to the strategic significance of new technologies such as AI and automation in future military competition. Given the research and development advantage and experience of U.S. commercial tech companies in related fields, the Pentagon has been making efforts in recent years to foster closer connections with such companies and continuously promote the research and development of new technologies such as AI and automation, as well as their application in weaponry and equipment.

On the other hand, the United States is creating military concepts to adapt to new circumstances. For instance, there is the "Mosaic Warfare" that highlights flexibility, dispersion, and network intelligence, and the concept of "Joint All-Domain Command and Control" that aims to integrate sensors and combat platforms, as well as enable real-time data and information transmission. In the 2022 version of the National Defense Strategy released by the United States, the concept of "Integrated Deterrence" is identified as the core of the country's defense strategy. This requires a high level of integration of new technologies, operational concepts, and capabilities, the removal of boundaries between military branches and operational domains, and cooperation with allies. (More)
[September 07, 2023] Stori, the Mexican Unicorn, obtains approval to acquire the Sofipo MasCaja, a licensed deposit entity, to expand its product offering Tweet

With the Sofipo license, the company will expand its capacity to provide inclusive and accessible financial products and services to the Mexican market.

The acquisition is part of Stori's vision to service over 100 million underbanked population in Latin America . MEXICO CITY, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stori, the Mexican unicorn dedicated to providing financial services to the underbanked population of Mexico, announced that it has received approval from the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) for the change of ownership control and the acquisition of the Sociedad Financiera Popular (Sofipo) Mascaja, a deposit-taking entity. Stori, Mexican Unicorn, obtains approval to acquire Sofipo MasCaja to expand its product offering through deposits This approval marks a significant milestone in Stori's journey to provide financial inclusion to millions of Mexicans. With the acquisition of a Sofipo, the company will now havethe capacity to offer a wide range of new products and services in the Mexican market.



"We are delighted to receive CNBV's approval to acquire a Sofipo. This opportunity will allow us to expand our offering and continue our mission of providing financial inclusion in Mexico. We say 'Yes' to millions of underbanked Mexicans who are traditionally excluded from the banking system," said Marlene Garayzar, co-founder of Stori. "We know that many people in Mexico have been waiting for value-adding and convenient financial services. We are committed to satisfying their unmet needs." Stori has a track record of strong growth and innovation since its inception. Through its technological platform and customer-centric approach, the company has been able to issue credit cards - with a 99% approval rate - to more than 2 million people in Mexico, majority of whom are first time credit card customers. Stori empowers those customers with easy access to quality financial services and opportunities to establish a credit history.

With the Sofipo license, Stori can now offer other loans, deposits and a host of other products in Mexico. In addition, Stori will be able to diversify and improve its funding sources, leading to accelerated growth. This acquisition is part of Stori's vision to serve more than 100 million underbanked population in Latin America with inclusive and value-adding financial products and services, which in turn promotes economic stability and personal growth. "We are very excited to usher in a new era of financial opportunities for millions of Mexicans. We are proud to have obtained CNBV's approval and recognize the professional, transparent, and efficient work of the financial regulator's staff," commented Salo Woldenberg, Director of Public Policy. About Stori Stori is the Mexican unicorn dedicated to building a digital platform of financial services for millions of underbanked people in Latin America. It currently serves more than 2 million customers. For more information, please visit: https://storicard.com/en/about-us View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stori-the-mexican-unicorn-obtains-approval-to-acquire-the-sofipo-mascaja-a-licensed-deposit-entity-to-expand-its-product-offering-301921035.html SOURCE Stori

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[September 07, 2023] FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIAL RELEASES SHORT, ANIMATED VIDEOS TO TEACH STUDENTS ABOUT INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Tweet

Geek Out with Oh My World teaches the basics of international relations and geopolitics in a fun, fast, and easy way, and are meant to inspire students to study and work in these fields NEW YORK, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A former national security official has released a series of educational videos entitled Geek Out with Oh My World to teach students the fundamentals of international affairs and answer major questions in the world of geopolitics. The videos are short (2-3 minutes), digestible, and are almost fully animated. They have been released on YouTube and are free. The goal of these videos is to teach these topics in a fun and easy way, but also to inspire others to learn about them Geek Out with Oh My World explains the range of theories and institutions that high school, college, and graduate tudents study in international relations, government, and political science courses. Ten videos have been released, and more will be regularly added. They cover a range of topics including:



What is Realism?

What is a Security Dilemma?

What is NATO?

Are the World Bank and the IMF the Same? "International affairs is often taught in a way that's difficult to understand, which dissuades students from studying this field and excludes a portion of Americans from even accessing it," explained Hagar Chemali, founder and creator of the Oh My World media brand. "The goal of these videos is to teach these topics in a fun and easy way, but also to inspire others to learn about them because geopolitics matter! What we do here, matters very much abroad; and what happens abroad, matters very much here." Chemali spent the majority of her career working in senior national security and public affairs positions in the U.S. government  at the National Security Council, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. In addition to being the creator and host of Oh My World, she is an adjunct professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Oh My World is a mission-based brand that works to raise awareness of geopolitical issues and world developments and give viewers the tools to act in order to affect global change for the better. It includes a weekly world news and political satire show on YouTube, interviews with global changemakers, and short-form videos across social media platforms. Subscribe to Oh My World here. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/former-us-national-security-official-releases-short-animated-videos-to-teach-students-about-international-affairs-301921045.html SOURCE Oh My World

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[September 07, 2023] Cross River Provides Over $145,000 in Critical Funds to Black Businesses in Honor of National Black Business Month Through Grant Program with the Brooklyn Chamber Tweet

Cross River Bank ("Cross River"), a technology infrastructure provider that offers embedded financial solutions, and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce celebrate National Black Business Month by distributing grants through the organizations' Small Business Grant Program to local Black-owned businesses. "It is truly an honor to partner with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and provide much needed resources to such deserving small businesses that are the lifeblood of this wonderful community," said Joseph N. Garba, Head of External Affairs at Cross River. "Since our inception, Cross River has been committed to opening the doors to modern financial services and access to responsible credit in historically underserved and excluded communities. But more importantly, our work allows us to give back to these same communities in meaningful ways and we're proud that our partnership with the Chamber allows us to demonstrate impactful philanthropy in the Borough of Brooklyn." The program, currently in its second year, has delivered over $145,000 in lifelines to 19 Black-owned businesses in Brooklyn in 2023. At a recent event to present a $5,000 grant from the program to Fafa's Kitchen in East Flatbush, representatives from Cross River and the Brooklyn Chamber were joined by NYS Senator Kevin Parker, Assemblywoman Monique Chandler-Waterman and Brooklyn Regional Representative to Governor Kathy Hochul's Office, Debbie Louis. The Small Business Grant Program, a collaboration between Cross River and the Chamber, provides financial support to minority and women-owned businesses. The program has been instrumental in supporting the revitalization and recovery of local small businesses who have experienced post-pandemic challenges, as 92 percent of Black business owners faced financial hardships during the pandemic, the highest rate of any group. Additionally, Black business owners are more likely than their white counterparts to be denied capital even when identified as a "low credit risk."



"Our partnership with Cross River to provide meaningful support to small businesses of color through grants, is one of the most impactful programs we administer at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce," said Randy Peers, President and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. "Through COVID and beyond, we have helped advance equity and promote Black-owned businesses across every neighborhood in the Borough. We are grateful to Cross River and their team for this partnership." Recipients of the grants have used the funds to expand and purchase inventory, rebuild after a break-in, and ultimately, grow their small businesses.

Cassandre Davilmar, Owner of Lakou Cafe said, "The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce was a huge support to me in May 2023. I woke up the morning of May 19, to find that my business Lakou Cafe had been broken into for the first time in 5 years. Our register was stolen, and our glass door was shattered. Immediately, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce offered to help through their joint grant program with Cross River. With this grant, I was able to repair our shattered glass storefront and install an updated security system. It isn't easy owning and operating a business, but I'm really appreciative of the work that the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and Cross River have done to create a safety net for Brooklyn's most vulnerable businesses." "On July 8, 2023 I received a $5,000 Cross River Small Business Grant," said Fabiola Besson, Owner of Fafa's Kitchen. "I was behind on my rent for the space that I use for my business and with the grant, I was able to pay my rent. Moreover, I was able to purchase inventory, which was a dire need for my business. This grant made a significant impact for my business. I will forever be grateful." "Thank you to the Brooklyn Chamber and Cross River for this grant," said Karlene Robinson, Owner of Golden Seven Music Enterprise. "The grant will help me add a differentiator to my product line that no vendor is selling at the Caton Market, setting myself apart and giving my customers products they want." Images from the check presentations are available here: Cross River BCC Check Presentations. The Small Business Grant program is funded by Cross River and applications are processed through the Chamber's economic development arm, Brooklyn Alliance Capital. To learn more, please visit Cross River Giving Back. About Cross River Cross River provides technology infrastructure powering the future of financial services. Leveraging its proprietary real-time banking core, Cross River delivers innovative and scalable embedded payments, cards, and lending solutions to millions of consumers and businesses. Cross River is backed by leading investors and serves the world's most essential fintech and technology companies. Together with its partners, Cross River is reshaping global finance and financial inclusion. Member FDIC. Find out more at www.crossriver.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907988365/en/

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[September 07, 2023] Survey: Telecom Retailers Adapt to Relentlessly Changing Industry Through Interconnected Commerce Tweet

Retail of all kinds is faced with ever-changing consumer behaviors-and telecom retail has a host of added complexities, making this industry even tougher for players to get ahead. Hit with a global pandemic, the threat of recession, labor shortages, evolving customer demands, increasing competition from all angles, and mind-boggling new technologies, wireless retail operators continue to demonstrate innovation and fortitude. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907092583/en/ Extensive survey by iQmetrix, North America's only provider of Interconnected Commerce solutions for telecom, reveals wireless retail operators' resilience and adaptability in the face of market competition and evolving consumer behaviors. Image: iQmetrix iQmetrix, North America's only provider of Interconnected Commerce solutions for telecom, carried out the second of its bi-annual survey of industry professionals across the US and Canada to glean insights and predictions on these and other wireless retail trends. Respondents came from top-tier telecom carriers, well-known wireless brands, authorized retailers of all sizes, wireless kiosk operators, cable/internet operators moving into wireless, handset manufacturers, and more. The resulting whitepaper-The Future is Interconnected Commerce: 2023 Trends in Telecom Retail-swhic launches today, reveals that wireless retail operators remain optimistic about business outlooks, albeit with a little more caution than two years earlier. The respondents' answers demonstrated their adaptability to meet customers where they are and rise to their new expectations, which is essential if retailers are going to win today's race for customer loyalty. And the results proved that only by interconnecting the many disparate systems and players involved in telecom retail will businesses be able to thrive.



The survey report breaks the results down into six sections, including business outlook, challenges ahead, device activations, the role of the physical store, unified commerce strategies, and the sector's future state. Key findings on business outlook include:

Nearly 59% of respondents predicted growth in device sales over the next three years

of respondents predicted growth in device sales over the next three years Almost 79% said smart home device sales will increase over the next three years

said smart home device sales will increase over the next three years Over 68% said competition today is higher than three years ago

said competition today is higher than three years ago Over 59% cited continued economic uncertainty as their biggest challenge

cited continued economic uncertainty as their biggest challenge Nearly 86% see the business opportunity in eSIM, although a third of those also see a threat

see the business opportunity in eSIM, although a third of those also see a threat Nearly 46% have noticed a decline in smartphone demand over the past three years When it comes to new technologies: Close to 66% of respondents have implemented contactless payments, with most of those having kept them post-pandemic

of respondents have implemented contactless payments, with most of those having kept them post-pandemic More than 63% think it's likely AI analytics of customer behavior will increasingly shape retail strategies

think it's likely AI analytics of customer behavior will increasingly shape retail strategies Over 76% predict a greater focus on customer loyalty and rewards programs Stacy Hamer, Chief Operating Officer at iQmetrix, said, "No matter what problem gets thrown into this industry, they will transform and find new ways to engage with their customers to win that loyalty race. And we will be there, giving them the support and technology they need to do that. It makes me so proud to be a part of this evolution." Trish Sale, Vice President of Product at iQmetrix, added, "Ultimately, it is about the ability to pull together all those carrier and retailer systems seamlessly so that you can have a frictionless experience, you can transact within wireless, you can get that activation to happen without having to swivel between systems-without having that disjointed and disconnected experience. And you can only do that with Interconnected Commerce." View the survey results and download the report here. About iQmetrix iQmetrix is the only provider of Interconnected Commerce software solutions for telecom retail. Interconnected Commerce is a complete set of software and technologies that are modular, flexible, and have telecom-specific capabilities, enabling telecom retailers to provide an uplifting experience for their customers. We empower telecom retailers to transact, activate, and fulfill products, as well as operate their business, and unify the online and in-store experiences. We interconnect the entire industry, bridging carriers, retailers, manufacturers, and a huge ecosystem of vendors and external system integrations. Since 1999, we've been passionate about helping the leading brands in telecom to grow by providing best-in-class software, services, and expertise that enables them to adapt and thrive. Our solutions powered $17BN in sales last year, handling nearly 60 million invoices and 22 million activations, and are used by approximately 320,000 telecom retail professionals across 1,000 clients. iQmetrix is a privately held software-as-a-service (SaaS) company with employees in Canada, the U.S., India, and Europe. For more information, please visit www.iqmetrix.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907092583/en/

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[September 07, 2023] Columbia University Launches New Institute of Global Politics Tweet

Today, Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton launched the Institute of Global Politics (IGP), a new hub to connect the world's leading policymakers, political leaders, practitioners, and scholars. Housed in Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), the Institute will combine cutting-edge research with real-world policymaking to advance innovative, evidence-based solutions to our most pressing global challenges. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907017079/en/ IGP is a new hub for connecting global leaders and scholars, driving policy change, and tackling the world's biggest challenges. Based out of Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). (Graphic: Business Wire) "We are so proud to launch the Institute of Global Politics, which will cement Columbia University as an epicenter of global policymaking," said Keren Yarhi-Milo, dean of SIPA. "To have Secretary Clinton on campus - along with more than a dozen of the world's preeminent global leaders - is a testament to the power of IGP to drive real-world impact and train the next generation." "Our world is facing increasingly complex and urgent challenges, from the global rise of authoritarianism to the rapidly worsening impacts of climate change," said Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, 67th US Secretary of State and current Chair of the IGP Faculty Advisory Board. "I am thrilled to partner with Dean Yarhi-Milo to launch the Institute of Global Politics, which will bring world leaders and practitioners together in New York City to advance evidence-based policy in pursuit of a better world. There is no better time for this Institute, and no better place for it than at Columbia University." IGP will align academics and experts around five global policy challenges: geopolitical stability, democratic resilience, climate and sustainable development, inclusive prosperity and macroeconomic stability, and technology and innovation. SIPA has identified these as key areas that will demand the world's attention and resources in the coming years. As part of its launch, IGP will also host a cohort of Inaugural Carnegie Distinguished Fellows - 14 global leaders who will visit Columbia over the course of the 2023-2024 academic year. These Fellows - including a former ead of state, high-ranking policy officials, diplomats, activists, and other distinguished leaders from across the globe - will partner with SIPA faculty to produce policy papers on urgent and rapidly evolving global issues. The majority of the Inaugural Carnegie Distinguished Fellows hail from outside of the United States. Their expertise spans a wide range of complex global issues, including artificial intelligence, global energy policy, refugee resettlement, and international development. The inaugural class of fellows is supported by a generous grant from the philanthropic foundation Carnegie Corporation of New York.



"I could not be more excited about the launch of this new Institute, nor about what it will mean for our students and community," said Columbia University President Minouche Shafik. "SIPA's Institute of Global Politics will shape the next generation of global citizens through teaching, research, rigorous debate, and real world impact. It is exactly the kind of contribution you would want from a great university like Columbia." IGP is different from other institutes of politics in important ways, and is guided by three pillars of its approach: bridging academia and policy, connecting local and global policy issues, and promoting civil discourse. The Institute is intentionally women-founded and women-led and will serve to elevate diverse voices in the traditionally male-dominated fields of international relations and global politics. IGP will also leverage its home in New York City - and its ability to tap the expertise of Columbia's other world-class research centers - to make its scholarship impactful and policy-relevant on the global stage.

This year's IGP Inaugural Carnegie Distinguished Fellows are: Stacey Abrams , Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics at Howard University, Former Georgia House Minority Leader, Voting Rights Activist

, Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics at Howard University, Former Georgia House Minority Leader, Voting Rights Activist Michelle Bachelet , Former President of Chile and Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

, Former President of Chile and Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Shabana Basij-Rasikh , Cofounder and President of the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA)

, Cofounder and President of the School of Leadership, Afghanistan (SOLA) Henrietta Fore , Former Executive Director of UNICEF

, Former Executive Director of UNICEF Kim Ghattas , Author of Black Wave and contributing writer for The Atlantic magazine

, Author of and contributing writer for magazine Michel Kazatchkine , Former Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

, Former Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Sir Stephen Lovegrove , Former UK National Security Adviser; Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia SIPA

, Former UK National Security Adviser; Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia SIPA David Miliband , President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee; 74th UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee; 74th UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Frank Mugisha , Prominent Ugandan LGBTI Rights Advocate

, Prominent Ugandan LGBTI Rights Advocate Robert O'Brien , Cofounder and Chairman of American Global Strategies LLC; 27th US National Security Advisor

, Cofounder and Chairman of American Global Strategies LLC; 27th US National Security Advisor Maria Ressa , Nobel Peace Prize-Winning Journalist; Cofounder, CEO, and President of Rappler

, Nobel Peace Prize-Winning Journalist; Cofounder, CEO, and President of Eric Schmidt , Cofounder, Schmidt Futures; Former CEO and Chairman, Google

, Cofounder, Schmidt Futures; Former CEO and Chairman, Google John Sullivan , Former Deputy Secretary of State and US Ambassador to the Russian Federation

, Former Deputy Secretary of State and US Ambassador to the Russian Federation Marie Yovanovitch, Former US Ambassador to Ukraine To celebrate the launch of IGP, Secretary Clinton and Dean Yarhi-Milo will bring the IGP Inaugural Carnegie Distinguished Fellows and other global leaders to SIPA's campus for its Inaugural Summit, consisting of a series of topical programs, on October 3, 2023. To learn more about IGP, please see here. To RSVP for the livestream of IGP's official launch on October 3, please see here. About the School of International and Public Affairs: For more than 75 years, SIPA has been educating professionals who work in public, private, and nonprofit organizations to make a difference in the world. Through rigorous social science research and hands-on practice, SIPA's graduates and faculty strive to improve social services, advocate for human rights, strengthen markets, protect the environment, and secure peace, in their home communities and around the world. For more information, please visit sipa.columbia.edu. About Columbia University: A leading academic and research university, Columbia continually seeks to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to foster a campus community deeply engaged in understanding and addressing the complex global issues of our time. Columbia's extensive public service initiatives, cultural collaborations, and community partnerships help define the University's underlying values and mission to educate students to be both leading scholars and informed, engaged citizens. Founded in 1754 as King's College, Columbia University in the City of New York is the fifth oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907017079/en/

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[September 07, 2023] 2023 Financial Regulators Program Presented by The Institutes Griffith Foundation, IREF and Katie School of Insurance and Risk Management Tweet

The Institutes Griffith Foundation, Insurance Regulator Education Foundation (IREF), and the Katie School of Insurance and Risk Management at Illinois State University collaborated this summer to provide a multi-day program for financial regulators. An in-person event took place in June 2023 and covered a variety of topics including surplus lines, catastrophe risk modeling, and more. This yearly, complimentary program is offered to financial insurance examiners, analysts, and actuaries. Attendees are selected via an application process with the intent of keeping seats limited to ensure a workshop, discussion-based environment. "It is a pleasure to collaborate with the good folks at IREF and the Katie School of Insurance on elements of this outstanding educational program for insurance regulators. Our organization has the utmost respect for the work of these organizations, whose missions dovetail nicely with that of The Institutes Griffith Foundation," said Frank Paul Tomasello, Executive Director of The Institutes Griffith Foundation. To accommodate those who could not attend the in-person event, The Insitutes Griffith Foundation produced a series of short-duration video segments featuring conversations with some of the presenters. These segments cover five topics that were discussed at the event.



Speakers in the short video conversations included David L. Ocasek, CEO of Surplus Lines Association of Illinois; Karen Clark, CEO of Karen Clark & Co; Steve Kinion, Captive Insurance Director of Oklahoma Insurance Department; Dennis Burke, Vice President, State Relations, Reinsurance Association of America; and Dr. Martin F. Grace, James Boettner Professor of Risk, Temple University, Fox School of Business. "IREF has a rich history of educating regulators involved with solvency regulation. The Katie School of Insurance at Illinois State University has been part of that tradition since 2005, and we will continue to be moving forward. In recent years, it has been a pleasure to welcome The Institutes Griffith Foundation into the fold of collaborative organizations, coming together to bring this programming to the regulatory community," said Jim Jones, Director of the Katie School of Insurance at Illinois State University.

This supplementary series is titled "2023 Financial Regulators Program: Presenters' Perspectives" and can be found on the Griffith website at griffithfoundation.org. In keeping with the missions of the respective organizations, the content provided both at the in-person program and virtual series was strictly instructional in nature and did not support a position on any issues. About The Institutes Griffith Foundation As the leading resource for objective insurance information, The Institutes Griffith Foundation hosts programs for policymakers at state and federal levels. Presented by leading scholars, these complimentary seminars help policymakers build valuable knowledge about insurance and emerging risk management issues so they can better support their constituents. About the Insurance Regulator Education Foundation (IREF) The Insurance Regulator Education Foundation's program is the world's only university-based educational program exclusively for insurance regulators. About the Katie School of Insurance and Risk Management Established in 1991, the Katie School of Insurance and Risk Management supports Illinois State University's nationally recognized undergraduate insurance and risk management program and actuarial science program. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907501190/en/

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[September 07, 2023] University of Phoenix to Host Leadership Summit Focused on Resilience and Empowerment Tweet

University of Phoenix is proud to partner with the Glenn Llopis Group (GLLG) as host sponsor of the fifth annual Leadership in the Age of Personalization (LAOP) Executive Summit, "Chasing Resilience," on October 17, 2023, at the University campus in Phoenix, Arizona. City of Hope is the premier sponsor. The Summit experience provides leaders with an intensive single day exploration tackling uncertainty, understanding strategies to navigate forward, and create resiliency throughout an organization, from workforce, to team, to individual. "Change is a constant, and building the resilience and skills to adapt, for individuals and organizations, can empower us to move forward fearlessly," states Chris Lynne, president of University of Phoenix. "The Summit establishes a welcoming space for important conversations and inspiration about how industry leaders can nurture resilience at an individual level and support the sustainability and contributions of organizations. We are honored to host the Summit and support this enriching conversation." Glenn Llopis, CEO at GLLG, founded the Summit in 2019 as a movement, bringing together a diverse group of leaders from various industries, including corporate, healthcare, and higher education, with an inclusive approach aiming to shift the traditional mindset of standardization towards personalization, and emphasizing the importance of honoring individuality in leadership practices. "The LAOP Summit was established to address the need for a departure from the traditional command and control leadership model that defined the measures of success for people, then rewarded only those who met those measures," says Llopis. "Fostering resilience and reinvention readiness during times of volatility requires leaders to start discovering the innate capacities of their people, knowing what atters to them as individuals and creating the environment that allows people to unleash it. This 5-year milestone reveals that the only way organizations can truly be agile, adaptable and sustain their growth is by unleashing every individual's unique strength and talent so they can thrive."



University of Phoenix is focused on providing career-relevant, skills-based education and professional development for working adult students, as well as custom designed learning solutions for employer alliances. "We are helping individuals and organizations reinvent themselves through education and workforce solutions," shares John Woods, Ph.D., provost and chief academic officer at the University. "We understand how critical it is for individuals and organizations to foster resilience and take actionable steps toward reinvention."

University of Phoenix established its Career Institute in 2021 to address broad, persistent, and systemic barriers to career advancement through research-based solutions and impactful partnerships that break down barriers Americans face in their careers, beginning with the Institute's annual Career Optimism Index study. The discoveries with this work expanded the Index in 2022 to include perspectives from employers and be able to identify actual and perceived gaps of resources and understanding between workers and employers about career trajectory, skills, training, and support. The University's innovative skills-mapped curriculum, focused on the working adult learner, recently culminated in 100 percent of associate, bachelor's and master's degree programs open for new enrollment now being fully skills-mapped. University of Phoenix has long used flexible, adaptable online learning to support an equitable environment, and its skills-mapped approach to curriculum supports equitable access to progress. When learners obtain skills in weeks, they gain more immediate value from their education and do not have to wait years for a degree before making career decisions that can be built on skills they are already acquiring. "Our work in building the Career Institute, addressing career barriers, and in mapping our curriculum to skills supports our mission to provide career-relevant education for working adult learners and contribute to their communities," states Woods. "So much of our institutional focus is on a deeply personalized and relevant experience for our learners, and so the pursuit and strategy of the Summit is an especially inspiring and natural fit for our engagement." This year's Summit is a natural evolution from prior years which focused on themes such as navigating uncertainty, unleashing individuality, the collapse of standardization, and the inaugural year theme on embracing human dignity in a new age of personalization. While in-person attendance is invitation only, the LAOP summit this year will open to a virtual audience with opportunities to engage. Learn more and register at LAOP Summit Registration. About University of Phoenix University of Phoenix innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelor's and master's degree programs and a Career Services for Life commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907721071/en/

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[September 07, 2023] WEISS TECHNIK NORTH AMERICA, INC. ACQUIRES DYNAVAC Tweet

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Weiss Technik North America, Inc. (WNA) is pleased to announce it acquired all stocks of Vacuum Technology Associates, doing business as Dynavac. Dynavac is an innovative leader in high-performance vacuum systems for space simulation and thin film deposition. Its products are sold primarily to the Aerospace, Defense, and precision optics industries. This acquisition combines state-of-the-art technologiesenvironmental test chambers, thin film deposition, and thermal vacuum chamberspropelling Weiss Technik to the forefront as the largest manufacturer of environmental and space simulation systems worldwide. Customers can now look to WNA for all their product safety and reliability testing needs, simulating environments  from Earth to space. "We welcome Dynavac to the Weiss Technik family," stated Robert Levert, CEO of WNA. "Given Dynavac's impressive 40+ year history and established reputation in the space simulation market, the decision was a clear choice. This partnership further expands our business in the vast Aerospace & Defense industry and offers customers a wider range of products and services to meet their testing requirements." Dynavac will continue business under its current name, as a separate legal entity of WNA. All employees and existing facilities in Hingham and Rockland, Massachusetts will be retained. Mr. Tom Foley, the previous owner of Dynavac, will carry on directing the company's business, continuing to manufacture its products with the same exceptional performance, reliability, and service customers have come to expect. "This acquisition supports our initiatives for significant and sustainable growth of Dynavac and will bring further enhancements and innovation to our space simulation and thin film deposition products. We are ery excited to join the Weiss Technik family and remain dedicated to supporting our customers in the US and US allies abroad with solutions designed to meet and exceed their expectations," said Tom Foley, President of Dynavac.



The addition of Dynavac to the Weiss Technik family allows customers to access the broadest range of solutions and benefit from a one-stop destination for all their environmental and space testing requirements. Industries at the forefront of innovation can rely on WNA to ensure their next-generation products will stand the test of time. About Dynavac

Since 1982 Dynavac has designed, manufactured, installed, and serviced high-complexity vacuum systems for space simulation, thin film deposition, and specialty applications. With over forty years in the Aerospace & Defense industry, Dynavac proudly supports customers engaged in some of the most demanding and exciting and demanding space programs. Dynavac employs about 115 highly skilled and motivated people, who manufacture its systems in its two facilities in Hingham and Rockland, MA, and serve customers around the world.

For more information about Dynavac, please visit: www.dynavac.com. About Weiss Technik

Weiss Technik North America (WNA) is the US market leader for environmental test systems, selling its Weiss Technik and Cincinnati Sub-Zero (CSZ) branded products from state-of-the-art production facilities in Grand Rapids, MI, and Cincinnati, OH. Weiss Technik companies have locations in 15 countries, making Weiss Technik the world's largest manufacturer of environmental test systems. Their test systems simulate virtually any climatic condition around the globe and beyond. Weiss Technik is a member of the Machinery & Equipment division of the Schunk Group which has its headquarters in Heuchelheim, Germany. The Schunk Group was founded in 1913 and consists of a group of globally active technology companies with a broad product and service spectrum in material technology and system engineering. The Schunk Group has over 65 locations in 26 countries, employing over 9,200 people around the world. For more information about the Schunk Group, please visit: www.schunk-group.com.

For more information about Weiss Technik, please visit: www.weiss-technik-na.com and the Weiss Technik group at www.weiss-technik.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/weiss-technik-north-america-inc-acquires-dynavac-301921172.html SOURCE Weiss Technik North America, Inc

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[September 07, 2023] Cowbell expands partnership with Cloudflare and augments its Cyber Insurance Risk Modeling with Cloudflare Security Insights Tweet

Cowbell policyholders can opt into real-time risk insights through new integration PLEASANTON, Calif., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cowbell , the leading provider of cyber insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), today announced a new integration with Cloudflare , the security, performance, and reliability company helping to build a better Internet. With this integration, Cowbell has added security insights from Cloudflare to its risk rating model for cyber insurance. Cowbell is the first cyber insurance provider to incorporate Cloudflare security data into its cyber risk modeling, bringing unprecedented benefits to policyholders using Cloudflare. Millions of websites trust Cloudflare to provide security against Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, malicious bots, and other nefarious intrusions. With this integration, Cowbell policyholders can optimize their insurance premium and coverage and become eligible for a premium credit. Cowbell policyholders who utilize Cloudflare can now gain access to real-time risk insights as a complimentary value-add to their cyber insurance policy, and deepen their visibility into how they compare to their industry peers. "Cloudflare provides security to millions of websites, and we are proud to provide a cyber insurance experience that rewards Cloudflare customers for being vigilant about protecting teir web-facing properties from DDoS attacks and bot attacks," said Rajeev Gupta, co-founder and CPO at Cowbell. "This is Cowbell's latest advancement in our mission to provide a smarter, more innovative, and more effective cyber insurance experience."



"We are thrilled to launch this integration with Cowbell, helping to close the insurability gap for our customers," said Deeksha Lamba, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Cloudflare. "Flexible cyber insurance is critical in today's evolving threat landscape, and integrating with Cowbell will help us serve our SME customers in new and better ways." Policyholders and cyber insurance applicants can activate the Cowbell connector to Cloudflare from the Cowbell platform. Security configuration data is accessed on a read-only basis following all security requirements from publicly available APIs.

Cowbell's integration with Cloudflare follows the successful addition of Cowbell's connectors for Google Workspace and Google Cloud, adding to the portfolio of connectors available to policyholders. This integration underscores Cowbell's continued commitment to helping policyholders mitigate risk throughout the policy lifecycle, and providing coverage uniquely aligned to each customer's technology deployments. Policyholders trust Cowbell as a key partner in their overall strategy for cyber risk management. This announcement adds to the existing Cowbell and Cloudflare partnership that provides Cloudflare customers with easy access to cyber coverage . To learn more about Cowbell cyber policies, visit cowbell.insure , or reach out to your licensed insurance broker. About Cowbell

Cowbell is a pioneer of Adaptive Cyber Insurance, a leader in providing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) coverage adaptable to today's and tomorrow's threats and the advanced warning of cyber risk exposures. In its unique AI-based approach in risk selection and pricing, Cowbell's continuous underwriting platform, powered by Cowbell Factors, compresses the insurance process from submission to issue in less than 5 minutes. Cowbell is backed by 20 prominent leading global (re)insurance partners and serves SMEs in 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and the United Kingdom. Founded in 2019, Cowbell is based in the San Francisco Bay Area with employees across the U.S., Canada, India, and the U.K. For more information, please visit https://cowbell.insure/ . Media Contact

John Kreuzer

Lumina Communications for Cowbell

[email protected]

408-963-6418 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cowbell-expands-partnership-with-cloudflare-and-augments-its-cyber-insurance-risk-modeling-with-cloudflare-security-insights-301921199.html SOURCE Cowbell

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[September 07, 2023] June Announces EBITDA Profitability at $54M Revenue Scale and Appoints New CEO Tweet

June, a proptech company improving the rental experience for both tenants and landlords, today announced that it is among the first venture-backed real estate operators to achieve EBITDA profitability. The company became profitable with annualized revenues surpassing $54 million while sustaining an impressive growth rate of more than 60% year-over-year. The company also announced that Chief Operating Officer Mauricio Zuniga is being promoted to be the new Chief Executive Officer, replacing founder Dan Mishin, who will remain as Chairman of the Board. The company will scale its growth with a new real estate investment platform seeded by June investors, NextStory Capital, that will acquire urban multifamily assets to be operated by June. NextStory Capital is led by co-founder & CEO Daniel Cohen. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907283047/en/ (Photo: Business Wire) "I'm extremely proud of the team's ability to build one of the first large profitable proptech companies. Despite all the volatility of market cycles, this team has stayed laser-focused on what's important - customer experience, asset-light growth, profitable unit economics, and adding long-term value to our owner-partners," said Dan Mishin, Chairman of June. "I'm very excited for the new phase of groth for both June and NextStory and am a huge believer in Mauricio's and Dan's ability to execute the long-term vision for both companies."



"I know I speak for everyone at June in thanking Dan for his leadership and tireless devotion," said Mauricio Zuniga, CEO of June. "I am honored and privileged to lead our extraordinary team of talented, passionate, and high achieving professionals. We will continue to innovate to deliver exceptional experiences to our residents and drive above market returns for our landlord partners. June plans to expand its footprint from 3,000 to 15,000 units in target markets, including New York, Boston, Washington D.C., and Chicago, in the next four years." NextStory Capital will play a significant role in June's strategic growth. The real estate investment platform will act as a PropCo (property-owning company) to June's OpCo (operating company). NextStory Capital will acquire Class B urban residential assets and June will manage those properties, driving significant above-market revenue and NOI. The arrangement will enable NextStory Capital to enhance the value of its real estate portfolio while rapidly growing June's inventory and offerings to its customers. NextStory Capital will make its first acquisitions in New York City this year.

"June and NextStory Capital together as an OpCo/PropCo partnership presents an opportunity to provide unparalleled value to our customers, partners, and investors," said Daniel Cohen, Co-founder and CEO of NextStory Capital. "I am thrilled that we have structured a relationship that maximizes collaboration, aligns incentives and creates significant scaling opportunities for both platforms. NextStory will deliver consistent, valuable inventory, helping June scale quickly, while June can create NOI premiums in NextStory Capital's assets, creating value for NextStory's investors." To date, June has raised over $60M with support from Softbank Ventures Asia, FJ Labs, Quiet Capital, K50, TQ Ventures, Altair Capital, Olive Tree Capital, HR capital, and others. "June sets itself apart from other proptech companies by understanding the importance of staying extremely focused on what's important - customers, profitability, technology-driven competitive advantage, and a truly scalable capital model," said Matt Humphrey, Partner at Quiet Capital. "We are grateful for Dan's leadership as CEO since the day June was founded and we welcome his continued role as Chairman of the Board going forward. Together, we expect both companies will scale effectively and continue to deliver an exceptional experience to both renters and landlords across the country." About June June is a tech platform for a rapidly growing flexible living category. June provides renters with flexible apartment leases (1-18 months) that can be rented furnished or unfurnished at a discount to corporate housing. June does not charge renters massive price premiums for mandatory furnishings, hotel-like services, and all-inclusive community events. While providing incredible value to renters, June also enables mom-and-pop landlords to achieve institutional-like returns from their real estate portfolios by using June's strong flexible living brand, proprietary tech engine, and by eliminating their expenses on various middlemen (brokers, property managers, etc.) June has served tens of thousands of tenants across NYC, DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston. The company has raised $60M in total funding from investors including SoftBank Ventures Asia and Demi Lovato (musician and human rights activist). For more information or to rent with June, please visit https://junehomes.com/. Mauricio Zuniga joined June in 2021. Prior to June, he led strategic operations at Wheels, a micro mobility startup, founded his own e-commerce apparel brand, and led strategic initiatives at IBM. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois, an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and an MPA from Harvard University. Zuniga grew up in Chicago and currently resides in Fairfield, Conn. with his wife and their three children. About NextStory Capital NextStory Capital is a new investment manager with institutional DNA investing in urban multifamily, starting in New York City. Its secret weapon is the PropCo/OpCo relationship with June Homes, NextStory's management partner. With more than 20,000 tenant leases done, June's tech-enabled management platform is the operational backbone of NextStory's investment strategy. As NextStory strategically acquires multifamily assets and June optimizes operations, our PropCo/OpCo platform drives consistent NOI premiums. For more information, please visit https://www.nextstorycapital.com/. NextStory is run by longtime real-estate investor and entrepreneur Daniel Cohen. Previous to NextStory, Cohen started and sold Sentral, one of the largest multifamily opco/propcos in the U.S. He serves as an advisor to several real estate and PropTech firms and has more than 15 years of real estate private equity experience investing pension fund capital in value-add and opportunistic investments throughout the U.S. Cohen has been responsible for more than $2.5 billion of real estate during his career. He has a bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University and an MBA with Distinction from New York University. Cohen lives in Denver with his wife and two children. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907283047/en/

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Italian chef Andrea (L) cooks at the Swiss Grand Nanchang in east China's Jiangxi Province on April 3, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Yihan)

NANCHANG, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Italian chef Andrea has been bustling around the hotel cafeteria lately, as the business is picking up rapidly along with the post-pandemic recovery of the cultural and travel industry.

The executive chef at the Swiss Grand Nanchang in east China's Jiangxi Province said he is very pleased to see the business improving. "Now we receive an average of 120 customers a day."

Italy, a country along the Belt and Road famous for its culinary treasures, has garnered the appreciation of Chinese consumers through its exquisite cheese, pizza, and pasta. This encouraged Andrea to come to China to seek opportunities.

"The Belt and Road Initiative has built a bridge for Sino-Italian cultural exchanges, and food is an important part of cultural exchanges," Andrea said. "I'm happy to be a messenger of cultural communication so that more Chinese people can learn about Italy through food."

Having relocated to China for work, he developed a deep appreciation for Chinese cuisine and married a Chinese girl. In 2020, amidst the pandemic, Andrea and his family decided to settle in Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi.

"At that time, many medical workers were on the frontline of pandemic prevention and control, and they made great efforts to protect us. My team and I decided to support them by offering delicious food, which has the power to soothe people," Andrea recalled.

During that period, Andrea and his colleagues worked from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m., cooking up to 3,000 meals daily.

"Although it was hard work, seeing the surprise when the medical staff received the food made it all worth it," he said.

Andrea was deeply touched by the resilience and unity of the Chinese people during the pandemic. It is also in the process of working with the Chinese people to fight the pandemic that he has forged a stronger and more meaningful bond with the city.

Andrea started to place greater emphasis on engaging with local customers, understanding their preferences and crafting a diverse range of dishes that blend the distinctive elements of both Chinese and Italian cuisines. This approach has successfully drawn numerous customers eager to savor his creations.

His recent hit is a Chinese-style tortellini. "This new tortellini, stuffed with typical Italian ingredients and Nanchang rice noodle sauce, creates a fascinating flavor, and became a sought-after cuisine after its roll-out," Andrea said.

"I hope that the Belt and Road Initiative will bring more Italian ingredients into the Chinese market so that I can make more cuisines with authentic flavor and contribute to building a gastronomic bridge between China and Italy," he added. 

Italian chef Andrea cooks at the Swiss Grand Nanchang in east China's Jiangxi Province on April 3, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhu Yunuo)
[September 07, 2023] Total Market Revenue for the Worldwide Security Appliance Market Grew 7.8% in Q2 2023 Led by Double-Digit Growth in EMEA, According to IDC Tracker Tweet

According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Security Appliance Tracker, total market revenue in the overall security appliance market grew 7.6% year over year in the second quarter of 2023 (2Q23) to more than $4.2 billion. This represents a $298 million increase compared to the same quarter in 2022. In the same period, security appliance shipments grew 22.0% year over year to 1.1 million units. IDC completed an update to its Security Appliances taxonomy and applied these changes during the first quarter of 2023. This resized the market by removing revenues associated with software and services that don't qualify for reporting within the new hardware-focused market view. The 2Q23 Security Appliance Tracker release includes new figures, Vendor Revenue (new hardware revenue), and Renewals/Firmware update revenue, which were introduced during the previous cycle, 1Q23. IDC will use the figure "Total Market Revenue" to calculate market share going forward. The performance of the combined Unified Threat Management (UTM) and Firewall markets drove the growth of the overall market in 2Q23 with revenue growth of 9.7% compared to 2Q22. The Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) market grew 2.3% year over year, while Content Management and Virtual Private Networks (VPN) both experienced single-digit year-over-year decline in the quarter. "Supply chain constraints that have impacted the hardware-based markets continue to improve and IDC expects the Security Appliance market to maintain a healthy rate of growth in the years ahead as hardware-based security platforms remain a key component in a customer's cybersecurity investment strategy," said Carlo Davila, research manager, Enterprise Trackers at IDC. Regional Highlights From a regional perspective, the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region delivered a strong performance in the second quarter of 2023, growing revenues 11.8% compared with the same quarter in 2022. The Americas region grew 10.3% with healthy grow of 8.6% in the United States and very strong results in Canada and Latin America, both showing over 20% growth in the second quarter.







Top 5 Companies, Worldwide Security Appliance Total Market Revenue, Market Share and Growth, Second Quarter of 2023 (revenue in US$ millions) Vendor 2Q23 Revenue 2Q23 Market Share 2Q22 Revenue 2Q22 Market Share 2Q23/2Q22 Growth T1. Fortinet* $897.64 21.3% $745.92 19.1% 20.3% T1. Palo Alto Networks* $883.61 21.0% $795.01 20.3% 11.1% 3. Cisco $535.94 12.7% $504.40 12.9% 6.3% 4. Check Point $315.81 7.5% $313.34 8.0% 0.8% 5. Huawei $144.97 3.4% $132.54 3.4% 9.4% Rest of Market $1,435.25 34.1% $1,424.27 36.4% 0.8% Total $4,213.22 100.0% $3,915.47 100.0% 7.6% Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Security Appliance Tracker Q2 2023, September 7, 2023

* Note: IDC declares a statistical tie in the worldwide security appliances market when there is a difference of 1.0% or less in the share of revenues or shipments among two or more vendors. A graphic illustrating the worldwide market share of the top 5 security appliance companies over the previous five quarters is available by viewing this press release on IDC.com. IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Security Appliance Tracker provides the total market size and vendor share, along with a five-year forecast, for the following technology categories (content management, IDP, traditional firewall, unified threat management, and VPN) and products (messaging security, web security, IDS, IPS, traditional firewall, unified threat management and SSL VPN). Geographic coverage includes nine regions and 48 countries. Measurements for this tracker are in units, vendor revenue, and value. About IDC Trackers IDC Tracker products provide accurate and timely market size, vendor share, and forecasts for hundreds of technology markets from more than 100 countries around the globe. Using proprietary tools and research processes, IDC's Trackers are updated on a semiannual, quarterly, and monthly basis. Tracker results are delivered to clients in user-friendly Excel deliverables and on-line query tools. Click here to learn about IDC's full suite of data products and how you can leverage them to grow your business. About IDC International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. With more than 1,300 analysts worldwide, IDC offers global, regional, and local expertise on technology, IT benchmarking and sourcing, and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries. IDC's analysis and insight helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based technology decisions and to achieve their key business objectives. Founded in 1964, IDC is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading tech media, data, and marketing services company. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com. Follow IDC on Twitter at @IDC and LinkedIn. Subscribe to the IDC Blog for industry news and insights. All product and company names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907628261/en/

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[September 07, 2023]

Inuvo to Present at the H.C. Wainwright 25th Annual Global Investment Conference on September 12th

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inuvo, Inc. (NYSE American: INUV), a leading provider of marketing technology, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that serves brands and agencies, today announced that it will be participating in the H.C. Wainwright 25th Annual Global Investment Conference being held September 11-13, 2023 at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel in New York City.



Management is scheduled to present on Tuesday, September 12, 2023 at 4:30 PM Eastern Time. The presentation will be webcast live on the conference event platform, which can be accessed https://journey.ct.events/view/70fa353c-5022-401b-87dd-7e5f879898dd and on the investor relations section of company website at https://inuvo.com/investor/.







Management will be participating in one-on-one meetings with qualified members of the investor community throughout the conference in New York City. To request a meeting, please contact [email protected].

About Inuvo

Inuvo, Inc. (NYSE American: INUV) is a market leader in Artificial Intelligence built for advertising. Its IntentKey AI solution is a first-of-its-kind proprietary and patented technology capable of identifying and actioning to the reasons why consumers are interested in products, services, or brands, not who those consumers are. To learn more, visit www.inuvo.com .

Inuvo Company Contact:

Wally Ruiz

Chief Financial Officer

Tel (501) 205-8397

[email protected]

Investor Relations:

David Waldman / Natalya Rudman

Crescendo Communications, LLC

Tel: (212) 671-1020

[email protected]
[September 07, 2023] Liberty Announces Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (LIFE) Private Placement of Units Tweet

/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/ VANCOUVER, BC and WILMINGTON, Mass., Sept. 7, 2023 /CNW/ - Liberty Defense Holdings Ltd. ("Liberty" or the "Company") (TSXV: SCAN) (OTCQB: LDDFF) (FRANKFURT: LD2), a leading technology provider of AI-based next generation detection solutions for concealed weapons and threats, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an engagement letter agreement with Canaccord Genuity Corp. (the "Lead Agent") pursuant to which the Lead Agent, on behalf of a syndicate of agents (collectively, the "Agents") will act as lead agent for the Company on a 'commercially reasonable efforts' agency basis in connection with a private placement of a minimum of 10,000,000 up to a maximum of 25,000,000 units (the "Units") of the Company at a price of C$0.20 per Unit (the "Offering Price") for gross proceeds to the Company of a minimum of C$2,000,000 up to a maximum of $5,000,000 (the "Offering"). The Offering has been structured to take advantage of the listed issuer financing exemption whereby securities of the Company issued pursuant to the Offering will be freely tradeable equity securities not subject to any hold period (see below). Each Unit will consist of one common share in the capital of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share of the Company (a "Warrant Share") for a period of 36 months following the closing date of the Offering at an exercise price of C$0.30 per Warrant Share. Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and in accordance with National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"), the Offering is being made to purchasers resident in each of the Provinces of Canada, except Quebec, pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of NI 45-106 (the "Exemption"). The securities offered under the Exemption will not be subject to a hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. There is an offering document (the "Offering Document") related to the Offering that can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at: www.libertydefense.com. Prospective investors should read this Offering Document before making an investment decision. The Agents will also be entitled to offer the Units for sale in the United States pursuant to available exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), and in those other jurisdictions outside of Canada and the United States provided it is understood that no prospectus filing or comparable obligation arises in such other jurisdiction. Upon closing of the Offering, the Company shall pay to the Agents: (i) a cash commission equal to up to 7.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering payable in cash (subject to a reduced fee of 2.0% for President's list purchasers); (ii) non-transferrable warrants of the Company exercisable at any time prior to the date that is 36 months from the Closing Date to acquire that number of Common Shares equal to 7.0% of the number of Units (reduced to 2.0% for President's list purchasers) issued under the Offering, at an exercise price equal to the Offering Price, subject to adjustment in certain events; and (iii) a corporate finance fee payable to the ead Agent, with a portion payable in an amount equal to 1.0% of the gross proceeds of the Offering in cash, and a portion payable in an amount equal to 1.0% of the gross proceeds of the Offering payable in Common Shares issued at the Offering Price.



The Company plans to use the proceeds of this financing to further the production of HEXWAVE technology to support the increase in demand for the product and deliver units in backlog to customers. The Offering is scheduled to close on or about September 28, 2023 (the "Closing Date") and completion of the Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, receiving subscriptions for the minimum amount of C$2,000,000 under the Offering, the entering into of a definitive agency agreement between the Company and the Agents with respect to the Offering and the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV").

It is anticipated that insiders of the Company may participate in the Offering for up to $64,000, and such Units issued to insiders will be subject to a four month hold period pursuant to applicable policies of the TSXV. The issuance of Units to insiders will be considered a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101  Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation requirements of MI 61-101 pursuant to section 5.5(a) and the minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 pursuant to section 5.7(1)(a) in respect of such insider participation as the fair market value of the transaction, insofar as it involves interested parties, does not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. 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. On Behalf of Liberty Bill Frain

CEO & Director About Liberty Liberty (TSXV: SCAN, OTCQB: LDDFF, FRANKFURT: LD2) provides multi-technology security solutions for concealed weapons detection in high volume foot traffic areas and locations requiring enhanced security such as airports, stadiums, schools, and more. Liberty's HEXWAVE product, for which the Company has secured an exclusive license from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as a technology transfer agreement for patents related to active 3D radar imaging technology, provides discrete, modular, and scalable protection to provide layered, stand-off detection capability of metallic and non-metallic weapons. Liberty has also recently licensed the millimeter wave-based, High-Definition Advanced Imaging Technology (HD-AIT) body scanner and shoe scanner technologies as part of its technology portfolio. Liberty is committed to protecting communities and preserving peace of mind through superior security detection solutions. Learn more: LibertyDefense.com FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS When used in this press release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Although Liberty believes, in light of the experience of their respective officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements and information in this press release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them because the parties can give no assurance that such statements will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements and information in this press release include, amongst others, the Company's ability to obtain subscriptions for the minimum amount of C$2,000,000 under the Offering, the Company's ability to complete the Offering on the terms and on the proposed closing timeline announced or at all and the use of proceeds of the Offering. Such statements and information reflect the current view of Liberty. Such statements and information reflect the current view of Liberty. There are risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and information. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Liberty's actual results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by forward-looking statements and information. Such factors include, among others: currency fluctuations; limited business history of the parties; disruptions or changes in the credit or security markets; results of operation activities and development of projects; project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; and general development, market and industry conditions. The parties undertake no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of their securities or their respective financial or operating results (as applicable). Liberty cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on Liberty's forward-looking statements and information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Liberty has assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph 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 forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of Liberty as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Liberty does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable 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 press release. SOURCE Liberty Defense Holdings Ltd.

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[September 07, 2023] Angeles Equity Partners Adds Brandon Gold to Operations Team Tweet

Angeles Equity Partners, LLC ("Angeles"), a private investment firm focused on value creation through operational transformation, has appointed Brandon Gold as vice president, Operations for Angeles Operations Group, LLC. Gold brings deep expertise in due diligence, business strategy, and operational improvement in industrial companies to the role. Angeles is a specialist lower middle-market private equity investment firm with a consistent approach to transforming underperforming industrial businesses. In his role as vice president in Angeles' affiliated operations group, Gold will support the due diligence process, build and execute value creation plans, and aim to drive the Angeles portfolio companies to their full potential. "We are thrilled to welcome Brandon to our operations team. His deep operational ackground in distribution and aerospace companies, combined with his strategy development and commercial diligence experience, make him an exceptional addition to our team," said Tim Meyer, co-founder and managing partner of Angeles Equity Partners.



Gold earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Southern California and his Master of Business Administration (MBA) with honors from the University of California Los Angeles. He began his career in manufacturing and distribution operations with PepsiCo, Inc. before taking process engineering roles with SpaceX. After receiving his MBA, Gold worked as a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group, where he executed multiple diligence, process improvement, and strategy projects for industrial and technology clients. "This is a great opportunity for me to partner with a talented team of investors and operators to deliver exceptional outcomes. I am looking forward to leveraging my strategy and operations experience to create value across the Angeles portfolio," Gold said.

About Angeles Equity Partners, LLC Angeles Equity Partners, LLC is a specialist lower middle-market private equity investment firm with a consistent approach to transforming industrial businesses. In partnership with Angeles Operations Group, LLC, the Angeles skill set drives the firm's investment philosophy and, in its view, can help businesses reach their full potential. Learn more online at www.angelesequity.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907322541/en/

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[September 07, 2023] Stallion Infrastructure Services Expands Their Security Solutions with EyeSite Surveillance Acquisition Tweet

HOUSTON, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stallion Infrastructure Services, Ltd. is proud to announce the completion of the acquisition of EyeSite Surveillance, Inc. and EyeOn Monitoring Services, Inc. (collectively "EyeSite"), on August 31, 2023. This strategic acquisition significantly expands Stallion's current video surveillance product portfolio while providing clients access to a wider array of solar powered video surveillance and monitoring systems. Highly regarded in the commercial and residential construction industry, EyeSite has offices in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, and Tucson. The combination of Stallion and EyeSite's security solutions will be immediately beneficial to both parties as they move to integrate technology and data platforms, and execute a common strategy for growth, efficiency, and cross marketing. "Stallion's mission is to elevate levels of security, connection and comfort on our client sites. EyeSite's excellent 18-year reputation of protecting jobsites completely aligns with this mission. The acquisition of EyeSite could not happen at a better time for Stallion as we continue to grow and expand our infrastructure service offerings across the U.S. in multiple end markets," said Darron Anderson, Stallion's President, and CEO. "We have tremendous respect for the EyeSite leadership and employee teams for their technical expertise and focus on cutting-edge innovation while aways providing best-in-class customer service - traits that Stallion also exemplifies," Anderson added.



"We are extremely excited to be partnering with the strong Stallion brand. Access to their nationwide footprint will accelerate our growth opportunities tremendously. We are also excited to introduce Stallion's vast array of jobsite rentals and services to our existing clients. I sincerely feel that our combined organization is poised to deliver tremendous success to our customers and employee base," said EyeSite CEO, Jason Gratton. The move should be seen as a positive one by industry analysts, as it allows Stallion to quickly integrate EyeSite's leading-edge security solutions within Stallion's existing infrastructure services platform. With this move, both companies are looking to increase their product and service offerings and capitalize on increased efficiencies that will scale quickly to better serve their current and target customers. This acquisition is symbolic of a larger commitment on behalf of Stallion Infrastructure Services towards providing its customers with security, comfort, and connection through innovative solutions, including in the space of mobile security services.

About EyeSite Surveillance

Founded in 2005, EyeSite Surveillance, Inc and EyeOn Monitoring Services, Inc. have Arizona and Texas operations specializing in mobile solar powered electronic site security, as well as a security operations center (or SOC) providing state of the art monitoring and industry leading alert review and response. About Stallion Infrastructure Services

Stallion Infrastructure Services, Ltd. is a multi-industry leader providing security, comfort, and connectivity from a single provider from over 30 US locations. The company provides a streamlined procurement process for temporary infrastructure that includes everything from sustainable power and lighting to communications and satellite networking, as well as workforce housing and temporary office accommodations and sanitation solutions. By leveraging its proficiency in logistics, integrated solutions, and smart technology, Stallion Infrastructure Services can fulfill the role of a sole-source provider for multiple services and multiple types of rental equipment, thus eliminating the need to manage numerous vendors across a customer's various locations. These advantages increase service quality, accountability, and customer satisfaction, while also simplifying the underlying client support network that would otherwise be required to manage multiple vendors' services and invoicing. For more information, visit StallionIS.com, call (713) 258-5544 or email [email protected]. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/stallion-infrastructure-services-expands-their-security-solutions-with-eyesite-surveillance-acquisition-301921402.html SOURCE Stallion Infrastructure Services

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[September 07, 2023] Award-Winning Ohio Author Doug Cooper and Acclaimed Australian Artist CJ the Kid Release Inspirational Children's Book - The Snail and The Butterfly Tweet

LOS ANGELES and CLEVELAND and SYDNEY, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rare Bird Books proudly presents The Snail & The Butterfly, a groundbreaking children's book penned by celebrated author Doug Cooper, known in this release as Dougie Coop, and illustrated by the talented Australian artist CJ the Kid. Scheduled for release on September 12, 2023, this enchanting tale is destined to captivate children and parents alike. With a thirty-year journey from ideation to publication, The Snail & The Butterfly marks Cooper's delightful expansion from literary fiction & thrillers to children's literature. Designed for ages 2-10, the book emphasizes the importance of pursuing dreams, overcoming obstacles, and forming relationships. A Journey of Imagination and Collaboration In creating this heartfelt book, Dougie Coop partnered with CJ the Kid, resulting in whimsical illustrations that perfectly complement the story. Despite geographical distance and opposite time zones, their collaboration blossomed into a magical work that reflects pure imagination, freedom, and playfulness. About Doug Cooper & Rare Bird Books The Snail & The Butterfly is an exciting addition to the storied history of collaboration between Doug Cooper an Rare Bird Books. Cooper's transformation from a writer of gripping psychological literary fiction and thrillers to an author of children's literature is a testament to his versatile storytelling prowess.



About Artist CJ the Kid Sydney-based artist CJ the Kid's artistic journey started in childhood, and his collaboration with Cooper on this project has brought to life emotionally charged illustrations that resonate with all ages. The snail, butterfly, and mushroom characters featured in the picture book have been recurring figures in CJ's work, now immortalized in this touching children's book.

Book Details and Availability Title: The Snail & The Butterfly

The Snail & The Butterfly ISBN: 9781644283653

9781644283653 Price: US $18.00

US Format: 10 x 10 in., 42 pp., Hardcover Juvenile Fiction/Animals

10 x 10 in., 42 pp., Hardcover Juvenile Fiction/Animals Publisher: Rare Bird Books

Rare Bird Books Distribution: Worldwide by Publishers Group West The Snail & The Butterfly is distributed worldwide by PGW and is available for order at local bookstores, online retailers, and wholesalers. Visit the Snail & Butterfly Shop for stickers, T-Shirts, hats, and other fun merchandise. Press Contacts: Alexandra Watts

Publicity, Marketing, and Bulk Sales

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 561.603.9548

Address: 6044 North Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA 90042 Rare Bird Books and the entire team behind The Snail & The Butterfly invite readers to embark on an adventure filled with wisdom, joy, and discovery. Don't miss the chance to add this extraordinary creation to your collection, nurturing a love for books in young readers. Media Contact:

Alexandra Watts

[email protected]

+1561-603-9548 Photos:

https://www.prlog.org/12983063 Press release distributed by PRLog. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/award-winning-ohio-author-doug-cooper-and-acclaimed-australian-artist-cj-the-kid-release-inspirational-childrens-book---the-snail-and-the-butterfly-301921397.html SOURCE Rare Bird Books

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[September 07, 2023]

Governments of Canada and British Columbia invest over $58 million to bring high-speed Internet to over 5,400 households

Rural communities to benefit from increased connectivity to high-speed Internet

OTTAWA, ON, Sept. 7, 2023 /CNW/ - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

All Canadians need reliable and affordable high-speed Internet, no matter where they live. The governments of Canada and British Columbia are bringing high-speed Internet access to underserved communities.

Today, the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, together with the Honourable Lisa Beare, British Columbia's Minister of Citizens' Services, announced over $58 million in federal and provincial funding for Columbia Basin Trust to bring high-speed Internet access to over 5,400 households in 59 rural and remote communities in the Columbia Basin area of British Columbia. Two of these communities are Indigenous.

This funding is part of an existing agreement between the governments of Canada and British Columbia. In March 2022, both governments announced a historic partnership to invest up to $830 million to connect households in all remaining rural, remote and Indigenous communities throughout the province to high-speed Internet.

Today's announcement builds on the Government of Canada's progress toward ensuring that 98% of Canadians have access to high-speed Internet by 2026, and 100% by 2030. The Government of Canada will continue to make investments in infrastructure to build strong communities and a more competitive and resilient Canada for everyone.

Quotes

"Internet is no longer a luxuryit's a necessity. That's why our government made a historic commitment to connect 98% of Canadians to high-speed Internet by 2026. Today's announcement highlights our commitment to Internet connectivity in rural British Columbia. This investment will provide reliable high-speed Internet access, through the Columbia Basin Trust, to over 5,400 underserved homes in 59 British Columbia communities."

 The Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

"Our commitment to connect every Indigenous, rural and remote B.C. community by 2027 ensures that the benefits of high-speed Internet are shared y everyone in the province. This investment makes it possible for people to stay in their own homes and have access to the services, resources, employment and education opportunities they depend on."









British Columbia's

"The Internet is an essential service for all of society, but unfortunately we still have areas of the Columbia Basin that do not have access to the same level of high-speed connectivity and reliability as more populated communities. The Trust is pleased to partner in addressing this gap and in helping bring fibre optic infrastructure to over 5,400 rural households across the Basin."

 Johnny Strilaeff, President and CEO, Columbia Basin Trust

Quick facts

Canada's Connectivity Strategy aims to provide all Canadians with access to Internet speeds of at least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download / 10 Mbps upload.

Connectivity Strategy aims to provide all Canadians with access to Internet speeds of at least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download / 10 Mbps upload. The Universal Broadband Fund is a $3.225 billion investment by the Government of Canada designed to help provide high-speed Internet access to 98% of Canadians by 2026 and achieve the national target of 100% access by 2030.

investment by the Government of designed to help provide high-speed Internet access to 98% of Canadians by 2026 and achieve the national target of 100% access by 2030. Today, 93.5% of Canadian households have access to high-speed Internet, compared to just 79% in 2014.

In March 2022 , Canada and British Columbia announced a broadband partnership. This agreement represents a plan to connect all remaining rural households in British Columbia to high-speed Internet through a total combined investment of up to $830 million .

, and announced a broadband partnership. This agreement represents a plan to connect all remaining rural households in to high-speed Internet through a total combined investment of up to . Since 2015, the Government of Canada has invested nearly $525 million in connectivity projects in British Columbia .

has invested nearly in connectivity projects in . Since 2017, the Government of British Columbia has invested $584 million in connectivity projects in the province.

Associated links

Stay connected

Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.

Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation , Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
The recent strides in AI are massive. Look at what generative AI has accomplished in the past year. In fact, according to McKinsey & Company's projections, generative AI holds the potential to amplify global corporate profits by $4.4 trillion annually.







One illustrative application of this technology lies in catering to underserved consumer segments. A recent comprehensive study by TransUnion, titled "Empowering Credit Inclusion," unveiled a pressing need for financial inclusion across a broad spectrum of economies, encompassing both well-developed and emerging ones. The study illuminated that in mature markets like the U.S., Canada and Hong Kong, a substantial portion of the population, ranging from 15% to 30%, remained underserved in terms of credit accessibility. In emerging markets such as South Africa and India, this underserved demographic soared to as high as 50% of the population.

Eureka AI, a software company that delivers enterprises actionable intelligence at scale by applying AI to telecom and population scale data sets, sees these markets as opportunities for global growth. Therefore, the company entered a partnership with Google (News - Alert) Cloud to enable operators worldwide to deploy Eureka's AI Platform and suite of Analytics products to improve revenues and profitability.

The collaboration with Google Cloud introduces an opportunity for operators to extend Eureka AI's suite of highly scalable and privacy-secured products to their B2B enterprise partners. These offerings are designed to empower digital business growth and foster financial inclusion.

Among the suite of products are Spectrum (News - Alert), a financial inclusion platform that leverages alternative data to assess risk and target credit-underserved populations globally. Another key component is Omni, a market research platform that enables businesses to expand their digital brands by evaluating market size, penetration, brand performance relative to competitors, and emerging market dynamics.

The suite includes Pinpoint, which provides unified location intelligence and population mobility data to equip businesses with detailed insights into locations, traffic trends, the effectiveness of digital out-of-home advertising, competitive business analytics, cross-entity flow, correlations and recommendations.

Explorer, an audience intelligence platform, also facilitates segment analysis, look-alike modeling, app usage understanding, consumer app recommendations, and advanced interest-based marketing. Lastly, DS2 (News - Alert), an AI/ML-ops platform designed for data scientists, offers essential capabilities like data discovery, feature engineering, model lifecycle management, and ongoing monitoring.

This partnership thus opens new horizons for B2B enterprises looking to harness cutting-edge technology to drive growth and inclusivity.

"Our strategic partnership with Google Cloud on joint go-to-market efforts and faster Google Cloud deployments will accelerate growth and adoption of Eureka AI's products globally," said Benjamin Soemartopo, CEO of Eureka AI.

The combined power of Eureka AI and Google Cloud will serve the demand for Telecom Analytics As-A-Service, financial inclusion and digital market intelligence on a global scale.

Edited by Alex Passett
In March, Axios reported on the U.S. having granted Costa Rica $25 million to bolster its cybersecurity efforts. Axios author Sam Sabin wrote, Costa Rica has now faced a series of ransomware attacks that have affected the countrys public health system, as well as its finance ministry, Social Security program and transportation agency  resulting in a delay in government employee paychecks, resident tax filings and more. Sadly, Costa Rica even had to declare a full state of emergency after a cybersecurity attack; sadly, it ended with a $20 million extortion payout, according to NBC News.







To call these troubling events, as many have, is accurate. However, its also a gigantic understatement. Costa Rica requires funding for a new SoC, per a Costa Rican official, inside its Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications. Its very much a must.

Well, weve now got an update on this Costa Rican cyber-reinforcement effort:

Yesterday, the Telecommunications Industry Association, or TIA (News - Alert)  currently hailed as a highly trusted association for the connected world  officially announced its support for Costa Ricas government, signaling a new push to further strengthen its national cybersecurity posture.

During a recent meeting at the White House, U.S. President Joe Biden had the chance to meet with Costa Ricas President Rodrigo Chaves. The two discussed how important bilateral cybersecurity cooperation is, and Chaves emphasized how determined Costa Rica is to lead by example following the slew of disruptive attacks. Protecting critical infrastructure is vital, and now more actions are expected to be taken.

They include:

Firmly committing to partnering with trusted providers

Procuring 5G telco equipment from companies in democratic countries

Issuing security guidance with new mandates for vendors

Hover on that last point, for a moment. In terms of mandates, vendors will become fully certified; this will include the first-ever Supply Chain Security Management standard for the ICT industry  TIA SCS 9001  thus demonstrating Costa Ricas dedication to higher levels of national security.

This strategic approach to securing its critical infrastructure by design reflects Costa Rica's forward-thinking mindset and strengthens the foundation for a technologically advanced future, said Dave Stehlin, CEO, TIA. We commend the Costa Rican and U.S. governments as they each demonstrate leadership in the critical area of cyber and supply chain risk management.

Well continue to keep an eye on this news as it evolves.

Edited by Greg Tavarez
Right now we take a moment to roundup crime reporting, court cases, courtroom action and just a couple of nicer stories.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Kansas City man pleads guilty in 2021 Lawrence fentanyl death A 33-year-old Kansas City, Missouri man pleads guilty to a 2021 fentanyl death in Douglas County, Kansas.

KCK man searched for victim on Facebook before gunning him down at Independence motel, court docs say A Kansas City, Kansas, man is accused of gunning down a victim at an Independence motel on Aug. 8.

Overland Park police respond to stabbing near 75th and Nall A large police presence was seen at 75th and Nall in Overland Park shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night.

With Missouri's backlog of 10,000 child abuse and neglect cases, 'children are not safe' Officials agree that clearing the backlog at Missouri's Children's Division won't be easy or quick. "I think this is a business decision when it comes down to it," says one Lee's Summit lawmaker. "If we value the children of Missouri, we have to do more."

Missouri inmate convicted of killing Clinton police officer says judges shouldn't get to hand down death sentences A jury in June convicted 45-year-old Ian McCarthy of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Clinton Police Officer Gary Lee Michael Jr.

Blue Springs man who aided in Cass County jail escape sentenced as second fugitive remains at large A third person charged with aiding the federal inmates has also been sentenced to prison

Convicted murderer sentenced to life without parole plus 20 years A Jackson County judge sentenced a 41-year-old man to life without parole plus 20 years for his role in a fatal 2017 shooting.

Police in Lawrence giving out repair vouchers instead of tickets for broken headlights A charity organization is helping officers help drivers who might struggle to afford needed car repairs

Shuttered private jail in Leavenworth could become ICE detention center - Kansas Reflector A former CoreCivic detention facility in Leavenworth could house undocumented immigrants for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

Kansas City police still looking for Timothy Blake, who has been missing since May The circumstances surrounding his disappearance are suspicious.

New public safety law increases training hours for police, more money for recruiting Governor Mike Parson put pen to paper Wednesday inside the Missouri State Capitol, signing off on a large public safety package.

One year later: KCPD officer forges bond with baby girl he is credited with saving After she stopped breathing due to RSV nearly one year ago, baby Kamiyah is getting ready to turn one

Developing . . .
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

JAKARTA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here Thursday China is ready to work with Australia to restart and resume bilateral exchanges in various fields.

He made the remarks when meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Jakarta, namely the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit. It was also their first meeting.

China-Australia relations, he noted, have maintained a positive momentum of improvement thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides over the past year.

Li also said that a sound and stable China-Australia relationship serves the fundamental interests and common aspirations of the two peoples. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)
Postscript on the ruling and a significant victory for homeowners hoping to shake up the status quo . . . Check the rundown and more deets on the grassroots effort . . .



A Johnson County judge says two of three resident-led petitions in Prairie Village cannot go on Novembers ballot but ruled a third petition did meet legal muster to appear before voters.



Judge Rhonda Mason decided the Stop Rezoning Prairie Village petition will not be allowed on the November ballot.



The petition called for a city ordinance to limit rezoning that would allow more than one family to live on a lot in a single-family residential zoning district.



Mason also rejected a petition that sought to abandon the citys current form of government.



Mason said a third petition, calling to adopt a mayor-council-manager form of government, does comply with the law.



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

After housing backlash, Prairie Village will vote on petition to adopt a new form of government Fueled by outrage over efforts to expand affordable housing in Prairie Village, the activist group PV United gathered signatures for three petitions to ditch the city's current mayor-council form of government and limit construction of multi-family housing. A judge rejected two of those petitions Wednesday afternoon - only to appear to reverse that decision later in the day.

One of three Prairie Village petitions approved to go on ballot A Johnson County judge ruled one Prairie Village petition can go in front of voters in November. The judge rejected two other petitions.

Judge's oral, written rulings contradict each other in Prairie Village petition battles An oral ruling from Johnson County Judge Rhonda Mason Wednesday morning contradicts a written ruling released later in the day over disputes between Prairie Village residents and city government.

Developing . . .
First off . . . Let's start by noting that TKC doesn't completely agree with every word of this note HOWEVER we appreciate the perspective and wanted to provide some space for an alternative consideration of this case that's still garnering nationwide coverage.

The "Stand Your Ground" & Castle Doctrine defense are legit matters of legal debate no matter your partisan perspective.

Meanwhile . . . Criticism of MSM and activist allegations should always be part of the discourse.



Accordingly, here's an extensive note recently sent our way that merits some consideration from our TKC BLOG COMMUNITY . . .



TKC Reader: What Happened To Journalistic Integrity?



CONSPIRACY OF LIES TO INFLAME THE RACIAL DIVIDE



Attention KCMO and national media: Please pay attention when people initially lie to you, only to change their version of reality when the evidence forces their hand.



What did we learn on August 31 at the preliminary hearing of Andrew Lester, a Northland homeowner accused of shooting a teenager who had purportedly gone to the wrong address after dark to pick up his siblings?



For the first time publicly, Ralph Yarl testified that he DID grab the outer storm door handle and pull on it, expecting to be let into the residence. Why is this confession of paramount importance to Andrew Lester's defense? Because up until this point, Ralph Yarl, the Yarl family, and their legal team had always insisted that Ralph NEVER touched any part of the front doors (storm door or primary door) before being shot. They were adamant that Ralph Yarl had only rang the doorbell and stood on the front porch. So why did they LIE?



Please recall that in the immediate aftermath of the April 13 shooting, the woman identified as Ralph's aunt (Faith Spoonmore, clean-shaven head) served as the family spokesperson and fed the assembled media a racially-charged tale of a completely innocent black teenager purposely fired upon by an elderly racist white man. The true story of an unfortunate series of mistakes by Ralph Yarl, the Yarl family, and Andrew Lester would likely never have become a major news headline, let alone a national sensation, if from the beginning the public was informed that homeowner Lester had been roused from bed by constant doorbell ringing, and when he opened his interior front door, a male whom he'd never seen before was pulling on his outside storm door attempting to enter his residence. The Yarl family knew that this detail would torpedo their false claim of complete innocence, so they made the decision to LIE.



They also likely have learned that the KCPD crime lab was able to recover Ralph Yarl's DNA/fingerprints from Lester's outer storm door. How do you explain away that evidence if you stick to the original LIE that Yarl at no time, never, ever, touched Lester's front doors? They had no choice but to admit the LIE, and hope that the media continues to carry their water.



Now, this gets us to the heart of Andrew Lester's credible defense. Missouri's "Stand Your Ground" law states in part:



2. A person shall not use deadly force upon another person under the circumstances specified in subsection 1 of this section unless:



(1) He or she reasonably believes that such deadly force is necessary to protect himself, or herself or her unborn child, or another against death, serious physical injury, or any forcible felony;



(2) Such force is used against a person who unlawfully enters, remains after unlawfully entering, or attempts to unlawfully enter a dwelling, residence, or vehicle lawfully occupied by such person; or



(3) Such force is used against a person who unlawfully enters, remains after unlawfully entering, or attempts to unlawfully enter private property that is owned or leased by an individual, or is occupied by an individual who has been given specific authority by the property owner to occupy the property, claiming a justification of using protective force under this section.



https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=563.031



Another interesting admission which was revealed at the August 31 preliminary hearing occurred when Ralph Yarl testified that on the night of the shooting, he didn't have a cellphone with him because he'd lost it at school. That is NOT what Yarl family members had said previously when telling their version of events to local and national media. They portrayed Ralph as a typical teenager who somehow absentmindedly went to the wrong house, and frequently didn't carry his phone with him. A teenager who doesn't cling to their cellphone, really? When speaking to CBS Mornings' Gayle King, Ralph's own mother (Cleo Nagbe) actually threw him under the proverbial bus saying that her son had gone to the wrong address. Yet, when Ralph had his first brief interview with detectives in the hospital, before the family quit cooperating with police, he said that he'd been given the wrong address. Did anyone at Ralph's high school find his phone and turn it in? Did Ralph's supposedly lost phone ping in the driveway of Andrew Lester on the night in question? How come absolutely no one in media has investigated these questions?



As Andrew Lester's defense attorney, Steve Salmon, CORRECTLY stated, on the night in question, a series of mistakes were made by all the parties involved, resulting in the shooting. It was an accident. Race did NOT play a part in the shooting. Despite this truth, don't count on the liberal race-baiting corporate media to revise their story. Within minutes of hearing the initial reports from KCMO, they predetermined the complete story-board of characters and outcomes. The truth doesn't matter to them. Someone whose story has remained remarkably consistent, from his first 911 call immediately after the shooting to present day, is the homeowner Andrew Lester. The same Andrew Lester who told 911 that a man just tried to break into his home. The same Andrew Lester who asked KCPD responding officers if the man was going to be ok, he felt bad that he'd been forced to defend himself in a split-second, with the man pulling on the storm door attempting entry.



With the media's prejudicial coverage of this case, almost exclusively presenting the Yarl family's version as fact, in the most lopsided news coverage since "Dewey Defeats Truman", this trial will have to be moved from the KCMO region if impartial jurors can still be located.



INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAWit's what you would seek for yourself and loved ones.

#########



You decide . . .
The city has flowed $50,000 in funding and meal support six weeks after Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles church in Etobicoke began sheltering, feeding and providing medication to 150 African asylum seekers.

A frustrated Nadine Miller, executive director of the church, said she and her small congregation are now $200,000 in personal debt, having maxed out their credit cards and borrowed money from their families to fund the humanitarian assistance.

Nadine Miller, executive director with Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles in Etobicoke, said church members have gone $200,000 into personal debt on their credit cards to support approximately 150 African asylum seekers with shelter, food and other necessities. Miller said they need help from volunteers and government funding. Dan Pearce/Metroland

Were in a state of emergency, Miller said on Aug. 31, a day before the city's support, outside the Etobicoke church and its restaurant, which they closed so they can cook three meals a day for the newcomers.

Ive asked all levels of government what they can do. Ill get back to you, is the response I get. Winters coming. People are not prepared. Are they waiting until somebody dies?

That day, the federal government processed the refugees; the paperwork will take two weeks to process.

City funding will "cover some of our debt so we could keep our doors open" and meal support begun on Sept. 2 will continue for seven days, Miller said.

Beds are set up in the basement of the mens area at 988 Albion Rd. where Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles is supporting 150 African asylum seekers with temporary shelter, food and medications. Dan Pearce/Metroland

Creekbank Liquidation Centre provided $450 bedding packages, including mattresses, bedding and pillows, for 150 people sleeping on mattresses on the floor in basements and a former bank in Thistletown Plaza. The bill hasn't yet been paid.

At the plaza, Grow Fitness allows newcomers to shower, and Dr. Ban Georgese Dentistry provides free dental care.

Our sump pump has backed up because it cant manage 150 people, Miller said. We havent paid any of our bills. All were doing is feeding and getting basic over-the-counter medication for them.

If we as a church with a woman pastor can get a shelter up in one day and were not a government with infrastructure, are (governments) trying to degrade people? We need governments to step up; the finance minister, the housing minister, the immigration minister. Our newly elected mayor needs to declare a state of emergency.

Rev. Chi Opia-Evans, pastor with Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles, right, and Nadine Miller, executive director, Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles, talk about the crisis situation they're in supporting 150 African asylum seekers with temporary housing, food and medications. Dan Pearce/Metroland

Pilgrim Feast Rev. Chi Opia-Evans has taken vacation from her job to help.

Im just overwhelmed, she said. It hurts. Its very painful. The message getting out is, its because theyre Black, that some governments have yet to respond with financial assistance. We need financial support so we can pay our landlord.

Landlords are offering housing in Niagara Falls, the Albion-Islington area, Brampton, Caledon, Mississauga and London.

Premier Doug Ford and Mayor Olivia Chow recently announced more than $13 million through the Canada-Ontario Housing benefit, a rent supplements program, which will move 1,350 people out of church basements and shelters into permanent housing, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing spokesperson Alexandru Cioban said in an email.

Historically, the federal government contributes two-thirds of the cost of this program, and to meet this commitment to help even more people move into permanent housing, the premier and mayor continue to call on the federal government to fund their share. We are once again calling on the federal government to join us in supporting these vulnerable newcomers.

Chow continued to call on the federal government to help as the need to shelter people grows as more arrive.

The city continues to support people seeking refuge, Chow said in an emailed statement. We have been actively working with local refugee-serving organizations, churches, the provincial government, the Red Cross and other agencies to provide much-needed support and shelter where possible. The fact remains, the city can't do this alone. We continue to call on the federal government to help establish a reception centre for new arrivals near the airport, and fully fund the supports needed to shelter and care for refugees and asylum seekers in the city.

An Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson referenced in an email $97 million provided to Toronto through the ministrys Interim Housing Assistance Program. Chow has called the funding insufficient.

There is no simple solution, but we are confident that, with everyone at the table, we can implement long-term, sustainable, and compassionate measures that will ensure that the most vulnerable newcomers have a roof over their heads, IRCCs Mary Rose Sabater wrote.

Pius Adeniyi, 59, an environmental analyst from Nigeria, immigrated to Canada on June 29 and has been living in Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles church for the past week. Dan Pearce/Metroland

At Thistletown Plaza, Pius Adeniyi, 59, an environmental analyst from Nigeria, said he is grateful to have slept on a mattress on the floor in the churchs basement for a week. He has bounced around since he arrived in Canada on June 29.

There was no safety at home. I was in danger, Adeniyi said. I need a place to live and employment. Im always full of hope. Canada is the land of hope. Canada is hope for the hopeless. Canada has quality of life.

A Pilgrim Feast Tabernacles staff member helps a group of asylum seekers Aug. 31 with their immigration paperwork at the church's Albion Road location. Dan Pearce/Metroland

Likewise, Rev. Emmanuel Canon expressed gratitude to Canada, despite waiting on a new work permit until he gets a new SIN card.

Im not working. Im not in school. I have no income, said Canon, who is living in a shelter. Without a SIN card, I cant get OSAP. Its frustrating.

Canon comes to Pilgrim Feast to help.

It gives me joy to assist people new to Canada, he said. I still remain grateful to the government and people of this country that I continue to be alive.
A Scarborough community is stunned after a fatal stabbing Tuesday involving a victim and an alleged perpetrator who were both just 12 years old, tying a grim Toronto record for the youngest child accused of murder and raising urgent questions about what led to the tragedy.

Barely old enough to be criminally charged, a 12-year-old boy appeared in court Wednesday morning on one count of second-degree murder, accused of killing a 12-year-old girl in a supper-hour stabbing that sent screams echoing through a Scarborough highrise.

The girl, who cannot be identified under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is Torontos youngest homicide victim in 2023. The boy, who also cannot be named due to his age, is the youngest person accused in a homicide this year and only the second 12-year-old to be charged in a death in Toronto, according to Star records.

These are young, young people, Michael Thompson, city councillor for the Scarborough ward, said in an interview Wednesday, calling the situation shocking.

How do you prevent something like this from happening? We need to know more, he said.

Tuesdays killing is the latest in a recent list of rare, serious alleged crimes involving youth in their early teens, including Decembers fatal swarming attack on a homeless man by eight girls, ages 13 to 16. Also last year, a 13-year-old boy was charged in the shooting death of a 15-year-old boy in East York. Criminal justice experts stress that crimes involving youth in general are in a long-term decline.

Few details are known about what transpired Tuesday inside an apartment unit near Kennedy Road and Highway 401, though police have said the stabbing was an isolated incident.

According to Toronto police, officers were called to the area at 6:30 p.m. for unknown trouble. Thompson, who spoke to police Wednesday morning, said the young girls mother called the buildings superintendent for help immediately after the incident.

The 12-year-old victim was found injured at the scene, where she was pronounced dead.

The boy charged in her death made a brief appearance in youth court via Zoom on Wednesday, from a video room at 14 Division. Wearing a white jumpsuit, he stared straight ahead, spelled his name in a halting manner and was ordered not to have any contact with three individuals.

The contents of the boys court proceeding are covered by a standard publication ban to protect his fair trial rights. He was remanded in custody and ordered to return to court on Thursday.

On Wednesday morning, police tape remained in place, cordoning off a cul-de-sac driveway and lawn area at the base of the 10-storey yellow brick apartment building on Dundalk Drive near Antrim Crescent. Earlier, police searched the lawn, shaded by tall coniferous trees, on the grounds of the building.

As details about the death began to emerge, local politicians remarked on the sadness of the victims age.

I am heartbroken to hear about this tragic death of a 12-year-old girl in Scarborough, as many of us in the community are still reeling from this loss, said ScarboroughRouge Park MPP Vijay Thanigasalam.

Im deeply saddened by the tragic death and loss of a young girl in Scarborough last night, said Premier Doug Ford in a statement on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

It is exceptionally rare for very young people to be charged with an alleged intentional homicide. Canadas age of criminal responsibility is 12, making that the youngest age at which any person can be charged with a criminal offence.

Ardavan Eizadirad, a professor in the education faculty at Wilfrid Laurier University and executive director of a youth association based in the Jane-Finch area, said a 12-year-old child is at a stage when his brain is still developing. Like other preteens, he wouldnt have the full capacity to make informed decisions, he said.

Speaking generally, Eizadirad said any history of violence and trauma in a childs life definitely impacts their decision making of being more reactive.

Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, the accused can apply for bail in front of a youth court judge. Defence lawyer Daniel Brown, president of the Criminal Lawyers Association, said in general that a very young accused person has a good chance of being granted bail.

If there is a strong plan in place, with very close supervision, he certainly could be released, Brown said.

The maximum sentence for a youth found guilty of second-degree murder is seven years in jail  and no more than four years can be spent in custody. The remaining time would be subject to community supervision. A 12-year-old offender can never be sentenced as an adult, Brown added.

Kim Varma, an associate professor in Toronto Metropolitan Universitys criminology department who researches youth justice, said there has been a huge decline in the last couple of decades in the number of young people criminally charged. She noted recent cases involving youth may seem more shocking because of their rarity.

Varma called this weeks attack a tragedy, but said without key details its difficult to know what, if any, social issues may have contributed.

Thompson said he and others in the community devastated by the loss are eager to understand how the girls death could happen, and whether anything could have been done to prevent it.

Its so hard to explain, he said.

With files from Marissa Birnie and Kieran Leavitt

Jim Rankin is a Star reporter based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @Jleerankin

Betsy Powell is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and courts for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @powellbetsy

Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing for the Star. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis
Escape to Florence

By Kat Devereaux

Harper Paperbacks, 272 pages, $23.99

In 2019, freelance writer-protagonist Tori MacNair leaves her emotionally abusive marriage when she receives a bequest from her grandmother Margaret and decides to spend the money living in Florence, the city her grandmother taught her to love. There, she begins to discover truths about her family history that alter her understanding of the past.

In 1944 Tuscany, teenage siblings Stella and Achille Infuriati, against the wishes of their terrified parents, secretly join the growing partisan movement that includes classmates and priests from their little town. To stand up against Mussolini, they deliver messages, supplies and weapons to resistance fighters in the surrounding hills.

An engrossing dual narrative that shines a light on the brave young women couriers of the Italian Resistance who risked their lives doing indispensable work to stand up against fascism.

Such Good Friends: A Novel of Truman Capote & Lee Radziwill

By Stephen Greco

Kensington Books, 416 pages, $22.99

Framed by the days surrounding the February 2019 death of Lee Radziwill (Jackie Kennedys sister)  and told from the point of view of her fictional housekeeper Marlene  the novel explores with aplomb the luxurious jet-set life of its subjects, and their abiding friendship in the 1960s and 1970s.

At the height of his fame following the 1961 release of Breakfast at Tiffanys, Truman Capote befriends Lee Radziwill, welcoming her into his inner circle as one of his beloved high-society swans. He supports her emotionally through the assassination of her brother-in-law Jack Kennedy and the betrayal of her paramour Aristotle Onassis. And shes one of the glittering guests at his 1966 era-defining Black and White Ball.

Radziwill becomes a pet project for Capote as he tries to launch her acting career first onstage in The Philadelphia Story and then onscreen in Laura, both to disastrous results. However, she is one of the few intimates who stands by him when La Cote Basque, 1965, a short story featuring scathing satiric portraits of his socialite pals, is published. Others, including Babe Paley, never forgive the sting of his betrayal.

With cameos from Leonard Bernstein, Rudolf Nureyev and Andy Warhol, its a crash course in the pop culture of the time. A rollicking ride thats equal parts gossip, tenderness and emotional truth.

Three Fires

By Denise Mina

Pegasus Crime, 144 pages, $22

This foray into historical fiction by crime fiction superstar Mina is a sumptuous, fictionalized account of the life of Dominican friar and fantasist Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498), who railed against the greed and crime of the ruling Medicis in late 15th-century Florence.

His fire-and-brimstone sermons in which he denounced all luxuries that tempted his congregation to sin led to the Bonfire of the Vanities, massive pyres throughout Florence in which books, art and musical instruments were incinerated among other possessions. When Savonarola openly condemned the Catholic Churchs corruption he was excommunicated and then executed.

A wholly satisfying, unnerving tale with eerie connections to our modern world dominated by income inequality, grift and freedom of speech.

Women of the Post

By Joshunda Sanders

Park Row Books, 368 pages, $23.99

Inspired by the Black women who served in the U.S. Womens Army Corps in 1944, the story is told from the alternating perspectives of Judy Washington, Mary Alyce Dixon and Captain Charity Adams.

Their overseas mission: to get two million pieces of mail sorted and moving again where it has been languishing for months in the untended, makeshift Army Post Office in Birmingham, England. Working in eight-hour shifts, 24 hours each day until its all sorted, the women follow the mantra no mail, no morale.

Interspersed with letters between the enlisted women and their friends and relatives this compelling debut illumines a little-known aspect of Second World War history and the 850 Black women of the U.S. Armys 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.

Janet Somerville is the author of Yours, for Probably Always: Martha Gellhorns Letters of Love & War 1930-1949, also available in audio, read by Tony Award-winning Ellen Barkin.
As we get close to the Jewish High Holidays, many of us are prepping to host family and friends.

I love to start my holiday prep with my honey cookies. We have a custom of eating sweet foods on Rosh Hashanah, symbolizing a sweet year ahead. These honey cookies definitely set the tone for just that!

I have changed them up just a little for this year, adding some crunch and a hint of maple flavour with maple sugar flakes. I liked what they added, but the original is just as simple and delicious. These cookies are sweet, soft and chewy.

You dont have to celebrate Rosh Hashanah to enjoy them. If youre looking for a delicious chewy treat, I suggest you give them a try!

AMYS HONEY MAPLE COOKIES

INGREDIENTS

 1 1/3 cups oil

 1 1/3 cups sugar

 2 eggs

 1/2 cup honey

 4 tsp baking soda

 3/4 tsp salt

 4 cups flour

 1/3 cup maple sugar flakes

Confectioners sugar to coat cookies before they bake

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.

2. Combine all ingredients except flour.

3. Add flour to the mixture and mix well.

4. Using a 1 1/2-inch cookie scoop, scoop cookies onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

5. Coat the cookies generously with the confectioner's sugar.

6. Bake for nine minutes.

York Region resident Amy Stopnicki is an award-winning cookbook author, event planner, food blogger and mother of four. You can find her on Instagram at @amystopnicki or email her at amy.stopnicki@gmail.com.
Guests slice a celebration cake during an event titled "China Festival on the TV Screen" in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Sept. 5, 2023. (Xinhua)

DHAKA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- "Today's event has made me deeply feel the charm of China-Bangladesh cultural exchanges, brought me a new cultural experience, and made me love Chinese culture more," Bangladeshi youth Fateha Bhuyain told Xinhua.

The event, mentioned by Fateha Bhuyain, titled "China Festival on the TV Screen," was held in Dhaka on Tuesday, which played clips of Chinese TV dramas co-translated and produced by China and Bangladeshi TV stations and introduced traditional Chinese culture through the documentaries about famous Chinese paintings. In the event, Bangladeshi dubbing actors also demonstrated the dubbing process.

Noting this is a memorable experience, Fateha Bhuyain said that in the future, it is expected that China-Bangladesh film and television cultural exchanges can become the medium of cultural exchanges between the two countries and promote deeper cultural understanding and cooperation between the two sides.

Fahim Ashab Asif, a Bangladeshi student who have been learning Chinese for four months in Confucius Institute at University of Dhaka, said that it was the first time for him to watch Chinese TV series dubbed in Bengali. "It was very interesting, I believe it will become better and better in the future."

Organized by China Media Group (CMG), the program was attended by more than 200 guests, including State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid and Charge d'affaires of the Chinese embassy in Bangladesh Yan Hualong.

When delivering a speech, Khalid said that long before Bangladesh's independence, China had close cultural and commercial contacts with the region. Today, China-Bangladesh relations are thriving with close people-to-people exchanges, and China's development achievements have attracted worldwide attention.

Khalid expressed hope that the two countries will strengthen cultural exchanges so that the Bangladeshi people can learn more about China and Chinese culture through various ways.

For his part, Yan said that for thousands of years, the two countries have enjoyed continuous cultural and commercial exchanges. It is hoped that the younger generations of China and Bangladesh will strengthen exchanges and mutual learning and make new contributions to the development of bilateral strategic cooperative partnership. 
JAKARTA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The following is the full text of the speech by Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the 26th China-ASEAN Summit on Wednesday in Jakarta.

Following is the full text of Li's remarks:

Speech by H.E. Li Qiang

Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

At the 26th China-ASEAN Summit

Jakarta, September 6, 2023

Your Excellency President Joko Widodo,

Colleagues,

It is my great pleasure to gather with you in Jakarta. I wish to thank President Joko Widodo and the Indonesian government for the meticulous preparations and thoughtful arrangements made for the meeting. I welcome Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao of Timor-Leste to the meeting as ASEAN observer, and look forward to in-depth exchanges with friends both old and new.

In 2013, it was also in Indonesia that President Xi Jinping proposed building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future. Over the past ten years, China and ASEAN have forged ahead hand in hand and contributed to each other's successes. Facing great changes unseen in a century, we have embarked on a right path featuring longstanding good-neighborliness and shared progress and prosperity. China has remained the world's second biggest economy, and ASEAN's combined GDP has become the fifth largest in the world. Our joint efforts are fully reflected in the following four areas:

First, we have been committed to treating each other with sincerity, and our political mutual trust has grown deeper. Sincerity is the key that opens the heart, and trust is the bridge that connects the minds. No matter how the international situation evolves, China and ASEAN have maintained close exchanges, respected each other's development paths and accommodated each other's major concerns. China was the first country to establish a strategic partnership with ASEAN, and took the lead to elevate the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2021, a strong testament to the strategic trust between our two sides. China has reached important consensus separately with six ASEAN countries on building a community with a shared future, and hopes to do so with more countries in the future.

Second, we have been committed to mutual assistance, and our good-neighborly friendship has become stronger. China and ASEAN countries enjoy geographical proximity and close affinity. We have adhered to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the purpose of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC). We seek common ground while setting aside differences, properly handle disagreements through dialogue and consultation, and consistently deepen practical cooperation in the traditional and non-traditional security fields. We have preserved peace and tranquility in East Asia in a world fraught with turbulence and change. In particular, we confronted the COVID-19 challenge by coming to each other's aid in those difficult times, a reflection of our brotherly ties in face of adversity with concrete actions.

Third, we have been committed to mutual benefit, and our win-win cooperation has been more productive. China and ASEAN see each other's development as important opportunities, and have kept markets open to each other. Last year, our two-way trade reached over USD 970 billion, more than doubling the volume a decade ago. We have been each other's top trading partners for three years running. In 2021, at the Special Summit to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of China-ASEAN Dialogue Relations, President Xi Jinping said that China will buy up to USD 150 billion worth of agricultural products from ASEAN in the next five years. To date, over USD 55 billion worth of these products have been imported, faster than expected. We have reached full consensus on regional connectivity, delivered a steady stream of signature outcomes in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and made solid progress in building the new International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. All this has brought new development opportunities for both sides.

Fourth, we have been committed to coordination and inclusiveness, and our common development has become more sustainable. Both Chinese and Southeast Asian cultures value harmony between man and nature. Following the philosophy of green, low-carbon and sustainable development, we have fostered new cooperation highlights in climate action, environmental protection, energy transition and poverty reduction. The China-ASEAN Year of Sustainable Development Cooperation was held in the past two consecutive years. China's Global Development Initiative (GDI) and the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 echo and reinforce each other, and the GDI has been widely recognized and welcomed by ASEAN countries.

Our cooperation has come a long way. The key reason is that we both have a keen understanding about hardships, a relentless pursuit of peace, a strong aspiration for development, and take real actions to preserve regional stability. Whatever storm may come, as long as we keep to the right path, China-ASEAN cooperation will be as firm as ever and press ahead against all odds, and we each will achieve greater development and progress in the course of such cooperation.

Colleagues,

The global economic recovery is yet to take hold; global trade and investment remain sluggish; and economic growth in various countries is under considerable pressure. This year's theme "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth" demonstrates a sense of confidence and responsibility. We need to expand consensus for cooperation, enhance the synergy of our development strategies, and pursue a higher level of economic integration and interconnected development. These efforts will provide greater momentum to building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future and bring more certainty and positive energy to the peace, stability and sustained prosperity in the Asia-Pacific. To be specific, I suggest that we work together to:

First, jointly build an epicentrum of growth. Market is a rare resource in today's world. China and ASEAN have a combined population of over two billion. If we could work together to develop and preserve this super-sized market, we would unlock enormous potential for economic growth. We need to enhance connectivity, deepen cooperation on industrial and supply chains, strive to complete in 2024 the negotiations on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) 3.0, and steadily advance regional economic integration. China will promote mutually beneficial cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), and welcome the active participation of ASEAN countries in the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. China supports the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Hainan Free Trade Port in leveraging their unique locations and policy incentives to open new growth areas of cooperation with ASEAN. We will work with ASEAN to make the 20th China-ASEAN Expo a success.

Second, jointly pursue cooperation in emerging industries. A new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is gaining steam, and leading to profound adjustments in the global innovation landscape and economic structure. China will work with ASEAN countries to seize the opportunities of transformation, strengthen cooperation on science, technology and innovation, and accelerate the upgrade of traditional industries and development of emerging industries to release greater dynamism for innovation and foster new growth drivers and competitive edge. China will provide at least USD 10 million by 2025 to support the implementation of the Joint Initiative on Advancing the China-ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Enhancing Program to be released at this summit. China hopes to launch a ministerial dialogue on industry with ASEAN, and step up our cooperation on new energy vehicles and photovoltaics. China will continue to hold the Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Forum and will ensure the success of the first China-ASEAN Clean Energy Week. We welcome the active participation of ASEAN countries in these events.

Third, jointly safeguard regional peace and tranquility. For China and ASEAN to achieve greater development, we need to, first and foremost, safeguard peace in our region and create a favorable environment for development. China hopes to work with ASEAN to facilitate the implementation of the Global Security Initiative (GSI), keep our development and cooperation away from the erosion and impact of a new Cold War or zero-sum mentality, and meet the various traditional and non-traditional security challenges with combined efforts. China remains steadfast in pursuing peaceful development and is ready to work actively with ASEAN countries to advance the text-based COC consultations, to provide institutional safeguard for making the South China Sea a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation. China supports the implementation of the China-ASEAN Work Plan on Cooperation in the Field of Non-Traditional Security Issues (2024-2028) and cooperation in fighting telecom and cyber fraud and illegal online gambling.

Fourth, jointly expand people-to-people exchanges. China hopes to work with ASEAN to further cement the public support for our relations and implement the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI). We can take the China-ASEAN Year of People-to-People Exchanges next year as an opportunity to further increase exchanges in culture, tourism, training and among the youth to deepen our cultural and people-to-people bonds. In the coming three years, China will build 10 China-ASEAN Institutes of Modern Craftsmanship in ASEAN countries, continue to run the "Bridge of the Future" Young Leaders Training Campus, and launch the "Plan of Training for 10,000" to train for ASEAN countries 10,000 professionals in governance, anti-corruption and green development.

As a Chinese saying goes, "One needs good companions to travel with and good neighbors to live with." China and ASEAN are good neighbors, good brothers and good partners, and will remain so no matter what. Upholding unity for strength and the spirit of win-win cooperation, China will work with ASEAN countries to set the pace for modernization in Asia and build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home that we share together.

Thank you. 
The Canadian Armed Forces have shown how they are teaching Ukrainian recruits the skills needed to move and survive on the battlefield.

The relevant statement was made by the Operation UNIFIER on the social media platform X, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Camouflage and concealment are central to military operations. The Operation UNIFIERs training element in the United Kingdom teaches the Armed Forces of Ukraine recruits the skills needed to move and survive on the battlefield, the report states.

A reminder that, since the Operation UNIFIER was launched in 2015, the Canadian Armed Forces have trained over 37,000 Ukrainian military and security personnel in battlefield tactics and advanced military skills. As the Russian invasion started, Canadian instructors left the territory of Ukraine but, in a few months, resumed training in the United Kingdom, Poland and Latvia.

Photo: @FACavecUkraine
Ukraine's defense forces killed about 266,290 Russian invaders between February 24, 2022 and September 6, 2023, including 610 in the past 24 hours.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said this in a post on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

In addition, Ukraine's defense forces destroyed 4,497 (+8) enemy tanks, 8,682 (+12) armored combat vehicles, 5,685 (+36) artillery systems, 748 (+1) multiple rocket launchers, 505 (+1) air defense systems, 315 warplanes, 316 helicopters, 4,519 (+7) tactical unmanned aerial systems, 1,447 cruise missiles, 19 warships/cutters, 8,190 (+15) trucks and fuel tankers, and 852 (+1) pieces of specialized equipment.

Data on enemy losses are being clarified.
In eastern Ukraine, Russian troops are preparing to take revenge and recapture the operational initiative on the front.

The relevant statement was made by Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, an Ukrinform correspondent reports, referring to Military Media Center.

The operational situation in the eastern directions is remaining challenging. Enemy forces do not abandon their plans to reach the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. They are stubbornly preparing to take revenge and recapture the operational initiative, Syrskyi noted.

In the Kupiansk sector, the training of Russian assault units is near completion. Enemy troops are shelling Ukrainian positions with artillery and mortars on a daily basis.

In the Lyman sector, the enemy continues to replace its troops with the units of the 25th army, which were formed and redeployed from the territory of Russia.

In the Bakhmut sector, fierce battles are underway. Russian invaders are making attempts to hold the captured positions, but Ukrainian warriors are gradually pushing them away.

Together with the commanders of the Lyman and Soledar operational tactical groupings and brigades, Syrskyi considered all the enemys potential actions and endorsed the most effective managerial decisions.

In his words, the main task is to ensure a reliable defense, prevent the captured frontiers and positions in the Kupiansk and Lyman sectors from being lost, and successfully advance in the Bakhmut sector. Most importantly, the above should be done with minimum losses among Ukrainian defenders, Syrskyi stressed.
Ukraines special operation within the temporarily occupied Crimea continues, but the Ukrainian intelligence refuses to disclose the details.

The relevant statement was made by Andrii Yusov, the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate at the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, in an interview with Ukrinform.

Currently, this set of measures is ongoing. We will not reveal the details, but all the goals set [during Ukraines landing operation at Crimeas Cape Tarkhankut on August 24  Ed.] were achieved. The enemys personnel and military assets were destroyed. During this operation, four enemy boats were destroyed, Yusov told.

In his words, several dozens of Russian servicemen were eliminated as part of that special operation. At the same time, all Ukrainian defenders who carried out relevant tasks came back home alive.

The very fact of the Ukrainian paratroopers landing on the Crimean peninsula is telling for Ukraine, inspiring for Ukrainians and our partners, demotivating for the enemies, Yusov noted.

He refused to confirm or deny reports on the alleged landing of Ukrainian forces near Crimeas Novoozerne on August 25, which had been mentioned in a Russian call intercept posted by the Ukrainian intelligence.

If the enemy sees the Ukrainian landing party everywhere, it is very good. We will keep that effort going. The operation in Crimea continues, Yusov concluded.

Additionally, Yusov mentioned that the destruction of Russias S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system in the temporarily occupied Crimea will allow Ukrainian forces to conduct further operations within the peninsula.

This [the destruction of Russias S-400 Triumf system  Ed.] is already having effect on the further actions of Ukrainian defenders, namely within the temporarily occupied Crimea, as this system was supposed to cover the occupiers certain actions. Having it neutralized is Ukraines success that will allow for the implementation of further operations, Yusov explained.

In his words, this system cannot be restored quickly, and Russias total stock of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems is rather limited.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown has said she is shattered by Russia's missile strike on a public market in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, stressing that this and other attacks on civilian infrastructure are a war crime.

This is said in a statement by Denise Brown, Ukrinform reports.

I am shattered by the news of a series of attacks that today, once again, have left a path of death and destruction in different parts of Ukraine. The despicable attack that a few hours ago hit a populated market in Kostiantynivka, in the Donetsk Region, brutalized civilians in this war-torn community, killing and injuring dozens of adults and children, she said.

According to her, it is a truly sad day for Ukraine. And the tragic event in Kostiantynivka is just another example of the suffering that Russias invasion inflicts on civilians across the country.

In this context, Russian strikes damaged, also today, schools and homes in Zaporizhizhia, and port and grain infrastructure in Odesa region.

Intentionally directing an attack against civilians or civilian objects or intentionally launching an attack knowing it will cause disproportionate civilian harm is a war crime. International humanitarian law must be respected. The people of Ukraine need this cruel devastation to stop, she underscored.

As reported by Ukrinform, on Wednesday, September 6, Russian invaders hit the central market in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region. According to Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko, 17 people were killed and 32 were injured following the Russian attack. The search and rescue operation ended.

Photo: Donetsk Regional Prosecutors Office
A new $1 billion in security assistance for Ukraine, announced Wednesday by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a visit to Kyiv, includes $5.4 million in forfeited assets from sanctioned Russian oligarchs.

The U.S. Department of State said this in a press release published on its website, Ukrinform reports.

It is noted that security assistance includes $175 million announced by the Pentagon on Wednesday. Capabilities in this security assistance includes air defense system components, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems for HIMARS, munitions, ammunition, and communications systems.

The aid package includes a drawdown of $100 million in Foreign Military Financing to support longer-term military requirements; $90.5 million in humanitarian demining assistance; $300 million to support law enforcement efforts to restore and maintain law and order in liberated areas, including cities and towns facing continuous shelling by Russia; $206 million in humanitarian assistance to provide critical support including food, water, and shelter to those in Ukraine and those forced to flee to neighboring countries; $5.4 million in forfeited oligarch assets to support veteran reintegration and rehabilitation.

Also, $203 million will be provided for support to transparency and accountability of institutions, bolstering key reform efforts related to anti-corruption, rule of law and the justice sector; and to build capacity to investigate and prosecute war crimes committed by Russia.

This assistance will also support digitalization of recovery and reconstruction efforts by improving and ensuring the transparent procurement of infrastructure projects; health-governance to support the restoration of lifesaving services to enable economic recovery in Ukraine, strengthening public financial management practices to meet international standards, the document reads.

It is noted that Blinken visited Kyiv and met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba to underscore unwavering U.S. support for Ukraines defense of its sovereign territory and the people of Ukraine against Russias ongoing aggression.

Secretary Blinken also discussed additional U.S. assistance and encouraged continued progress on Ukraines reform agenda, including combatting corruption and safeguarding the autonomy and integrity of Ukraines anti-corruption authorities and courts, the U.S. Department of State said.

As reported by Ukrinform, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Ukraine on September 6-7.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine eliminated about 266,900 Russian invaders in Ukraine from February 24, 2022 to September 7, 2023, including 610 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 4,506 enemy tanks (+9 in the past day), 8,703 armored combat vehicles (+21), 5,722 artillery systems (+37), 735 multiple launch rocket systems (+5), 506 air defense systems (1), 315 aircraft, 316 helicopters, 4,541 unmanned aerial vehicles (+22), 1,455 cruise missiles (8), 19 warships/cutters, 8,217 motor vehicles (+27), and 859 special equipment units (+7).

The data are being updated.

As reported by Ukrinform, in the past 24 hours, the Air Force of the Defense Forces launched 18 strikes on the areas where enemy personnel, weapons and military equipment were concentrated, as well as the positions of Russias anti-aircraft missile systems.

For their part, missile forces and artillery units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit four enemy ammunition depots, 12 artillery units, two command posts, one anti-aircraft missile system, two personnel, weapons and military equipment clusters, and one e-warfare station.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, walks into the fields to check the impact of the floods on the rice crops in the village of Longwangmiao, Shangzhi City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Sept. 7, 2023. Xi on Thursday visited flood-affected villagers in the city of Shangzhi, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

HARBIN, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Thursday visited flood-affected villagers in the city of Shangzhi, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

In the village of Longwangmiao, Xi walked into the fields to check the impact of the floods on the rice crops. He also inspected the work on the restoration of damaged houses and infrastructure while walking along the streets.

Visiting villagers' homes to learn about their losses and the supply of daily necessities, Xi encouraged them to bolster their confidence to overcome difficulties. He expressed the hope that they will soon be able to resume normal work and life, and that their lives will continue to improve. 

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, walks into the fields to check the impact of the floods on the rice crops in the village of Longwangmiao, Shangzhi City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Sept. 7, 2023. Xi on Thursday visited flood-affected villagers in the city of Shangzhi, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspects the work on the restoration of damaged houses and infrastructure in the village of Longwangmiao, Shangzhi City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Sept. 7, 2023. Xi on Thursday visited flood-affected villagers in the city of Shangzhi, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visits a villager's home to learn about the losses and the supply of daily necessities in the village of Longwangmiao, Shangzhi City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Sept. 7, 2023. Xi on Thursday visited flood-affected villagers in the city of Shangzhi, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee Xi Jinping, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks with villagers and workers in the village of Longwangmiao, Shangzhi City, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Sept. 7, 2023. Xi on Thursday visited flood-affected villagers in the city of Shangzhi, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)
President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Ukrainian military intelligence officers for every result of their work and emphasized that thanks to them, Ukraine is always several steps ahead.

The President said this in his congratulations on the occasion of the Day of Military Intelligence of Ukraine, Ukrinform reported.

"Professional. Courageous. Invisible to the enemy. With you, Ukraine is always a few steps ahead. Thank you for every result! Happy Day of the Military Intelligence of Ukraine!" - the President wrote.

As reported, Ukrainian intelligence officers celebrate their professional holiday on September 7.
Turkey and the EU have signed an agreement to strengthen cooperation in the field of humanitarian aid, including assistance to foreigners.

CNN Turk reported it as saying, according to Ukrinform.

"Migration is a reality of our time. It is a common problem of humanity with its causes and consequences. Migration movements cause a change in some of the habits of society along with the lives of immigrants. Mass migration also affects many political, economic and social indicators around the world," said Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas, Minister of Family and Social Services of Turkey, at the signing ceremony.

On the EU side, the document, which envisages strengthening Turkey's partnership with the EU in the field of humanitarian aid, including assistance to foreigners, was signed by European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi

As reported, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 844,000 Ukrainian citizens have entered Turkey as of the end of May, and 822,000 of them have subsequently left the country.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, Army General Thierry Burkhard have discussed the situation on the front lines.

Zaluzhnyi announced this on his Telegram channel, Ukrinform reports.

"I had a phone call with Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the French Republic, Army General Thierry Burkhard. We discussed the situation in the war zone. I spoke in detail about all sectors where our defensive and offensive operations are ongoing," Zaluzhnyi said.

He noted the steadfastness and heroism of all Ukrainian soldiers who repel Russian attacks and, despite the density of enemy fortifications, air superiority, and a greater number of military personnel, artillery and shells, continue to advance.

"In the conversation with General Burkhard, we separately focused on the needs of the Ukrainian army and on the issue of training our servicemen in France," Zaluzhnyi said.

He also thanked the allies for their support and said that together with the Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, they agreed to stay in touch and make joint efforts for the de-occupation of Ukraine.

Photo: Armed Forces of Ukraine
The United States will provide 190 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles for Ukraines border guards and police.

The relevant statement was made by United States Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget A. Brink on the social media platform X, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Proud to stand with Acting Deputy Secretary Nuland and my colleagues from the Department of State to mark the delivery of the first U.S.-provided Mine Resistant Ambush Protection (MRAP) vehicles to Ukraines border guards and police. The United States will give 190 MRAPs to enable Ukraines brave law enforcement officers to protect civilians  especially those near the frontlines, Brink wrote.

A reminder that, on September 6-7, 2023, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is paying a visit to Ukraine. On Wednesday, Blinken announced that the United States would provide a new assistance package for Ukraine, totaling more than $1 billion. This package includes $300 million to support law enforcement efforts to restore and maintain law and order in the de-occupied areas.
The French government condemned the Russian strikes last night targeting the Ukrainian grain infrastructure in the Izmail district of Odesa.

This is stated in the press release posted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukrinform reports.

"France condemns the Russian strikes which targeted grain infrastructure in the Izmail district this morning. These follow the strikes at the weekend which had already targeted civilian infrastructure in the Odesa region and near Romanian territory. Russia is thereby continuing its blackmail of global food security, marked by the systematic destruction of transit and storage facilities in Ukraine, obstacles to grain exports, and the suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had allowed the shipment of 33 million tonnes of foodstuffs to 45 countries, particularly the most vulnerable countries in Asia and Africa.," the statement emphasizes.

The release recalled that Minister Catherine Colonna has repeatedly emphasized that these actions constitute war crimes and will not go unpunished.

"France is maintaining  and will continue to maintain  its support for Ukraine for as long as it takes to help that country ensure its legitimate defence, strengthen its resilience and combat impunity for atrocities committed by Russia," the statement said.

The French Foreign Ministry emphasized that Paris will continue to take measures to strengthen global food security, which Russia is openly trying to weaken in order to turn it into a political weapon.

As reported, during the latest massive Russian drone attack in the area of the Izmail port in Odesa region, Shahed drones fell and detonated on the territory of Romania.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Oleg Nikolenko, called this another confirmation that Russian terror poses a huge threat not only to the security of Ukraine, but also to that of neighboring countries, including NATO allies.

On the night of September 4, Ukraines defense forces downed 23 Russian attack UAVs in the south and east. In total, overnight Monday, Russia launched 32 drones targeting Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Photo: Shutterstock
Cubas Interior Ministry has revealed a human trafficking network operating from Russia in order to incorporate Cuban citizens into the military forces that participate in military operations in Ukraine.

The relevant statement was published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The Ministry of the Interior has detected and it is working to neutralize and dismantle a human trafficking network that operates from Russia in order to incorporate Cuban citizens living there and even some living in Cuba, into the military forces that participate in military operations in Ukraine. Attempts of this nature have been neutralized and criminal proceedings have been initiated against those involved in these activities, the report states.

According to the ministry, Cubas enemies are promoting distorted information that seeks to tarnish the countrys image and present it as an accomplice to these actions that Cuba firmly rejects.

Cuba has a firm and clear historical position against mercenarism, and it plays an active role in the United Nations in rejection of the aforementioned practice, being the author of several of the initiatives approved in that forum, the ministry noted.

Cubas Foreign Affairs Ministry emphasized that the country is not part of the war in Ukraine.

It is acting and it will firmly act against those who within the national territory participate in any form of human trafficking for mercenarism or recruitment purposes so that Cuban citizens may raise weapons against any country, the ministry added.

A reminder that the Prosecutors Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan reported earlier on the attempts to recruit locals in the countrys northern regions to join Russian forces in the war against Ukraine.
The decisions taken during the NATO Summit in Vilnius have moved Ukraine closer to membership in the Alliance, and Ukraine has the right to decide on its own path.

The relevant statement was made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a joint meeting of the European Parliaments Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE), an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to Stoltenberg, during the Vilnius Summit, NATO Allies were able to make progress on Ukraines path towards the Alliance membership. NATO reiterated that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance and added three elements, which actually moved the country closer to membership.

First, NATO Allies agreed on a substantial package and funding to ensure full interoperability between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and NATO.

Second, the NATO-Ukraine Council was established, which ensures that NATO Allies and Ukraine meet as equals.

Third, the requirement for a membership action plan for Ukraine has been removed, turning a membership process into a one-step procedure.

Stoltenberg emphasized that the aforementioned three things  the interoperability, the NATO-Ukraine Council and the removal of the requirement for a membership action plan for Ukraine  demonstrate that Ukraine has now become closer to membership in NATO.

This reflects the political reality, that nations are sovereign, nations decide themselves, and Ukraine has, of course, the right to decide on its own path, and its up to Ukraine and NATO Allies to decide when Ukraine becomes a member. Russia cannot veto membership for any sovereign independent state in Europe, Stoltenberg stressed.
What did the U.S. Secretary of State visit Kyiv for?

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's next visit to Ukraine on September 6-7 was traditionally unexpected, but also traditionally surprised no one. It was not announced, of course, for security reasons. Although the danger did not escape the American high-ranking official: while he was traveling by train from Poland, Moscow launched a massive missile attack on Kyiv, though unsuccessfully. It also shelled a market in Kostiantynivka, with known tragic consequences. Blinken arrived in Kyiv to "meet again with Ukrainian partners to discuss the counteroffensive, future assistance and recovery efforts, and above all, to reinforce the United States' unwavering support for Ukraine," he said upon arrival in the capital.

Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, summarized the first day of his fourth visit since the full-scale war.

"The first day of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's visit to Kyiv is very full of positive signals and practical agreements," she wrote on Facebook.

Among the key points, she said, were a meeting with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and the Presidential Administration team to discuss the strategy for further strategic political and military support; talks with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal with a focus on protecting energy infrastructure, strengthening economic cooperation and humanitarian support, enhancing cooperation with business, reforming and rebuilding; talks with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, discussing with him key areas of cooperation ahead of important international events; a new defense assistance package from the United States, which, among other things, includes depleted uranium tank shells for Abrams; a powerful speech at the First Ladies and Gentlemen Summit on the power of resilience.

Markarova also emphasized that the visit began with the commemoration of fallen Ukrainian heroes at the Berkovets cemetery.

"And there is much more behind the scenes," she added.

Obviously, the visit of a high-ranking official of the United States, a key partner of Ukraine in countering Russian aggression, is not only an important event from a practical point of view, but also a strong political signal - both for Ukrainian society and for our enemy.

IN THE CONTEXT OF A COUNTEROFFENSIVE

For obvious reasons, defense assistance is the main point for us.

In all analytical reviews, Blinken's visit is linked to the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which has been going on for more than three months.

Contrary to all sorts of voices and complaints in the West, Blinken praised the military actions of the Ukrainian defense forces.

He stated that his primary purpose in being there was to demonstrate long-lasting and resolute support for Ukraine at a time when it is facing this aggression. He mentioned that they observed significant progress in the counteroffensive, acknowledging its complexity. Blinken articulated their desire to ensure that Ukraine possesses everything necessary, not only to conduct a successful counteroffensive but also to have robust defense capabilities in the long term, with the aim of preventing similar aggressions from happening in the future.

He sees military assistance in two ways.

First, it is about meeting the immediate needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the context of counteroffense and air defense.

Blinken, according to the AP, spoke about this with President Zelensky, who recently visited the front line.

The President informed his interlocutor in detail about the situation on the frontline and the urgent defense needs of Ukrainian defenders, particularly in long-range weapons, artillery and armored vehicles.

Given the continuation of Russia's missile terror, they also discussed the need to strengthen Ukraine's air defense.

This topic was also raised during the talks with Kuleba.

"We didn't spend much time discussing air defense needs, because it's obvious that the need is extremely important. I only voiced the number of air defense systems that are needed to protect the grain corridor, our cities, and our people," the minister said at a joint press conference with Blinken, where they almost familiarly called each other Anthony and Dmitry.

Kuleba said that the issue of transferring long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine was also discussed in detail.

"We had a very substantive conversation, and I am glad that this option remains open. We hope that discussions within the US administration will lead to a positive decision. Today, we focused on this separately," he explained, without specifying Blinken's position on the matter, who also did not explain anything on the matter.

On the same day, the Pentagon announced (not coincidentally, of course) that it would provide Ukraine with another $175 million defense aid package.

The package includes additional equipment for air defense, artillery ammunition, missiles for HIMARS, anti-tank weapons, including depleted uranium shells for the previously promised Abrams tanks, and more.

TO DISCOURAGE RUSSIA

Secondly, the United States continues to emphasize its active participation in strengthening the Ukrainian army in the future, so that Russia does not have the desire and ability to repeat its aggression. In this context, they are considering, in particular, providing Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets and training Ukrainian pilots in Western countries.

The assistance announced by Blinken in Kyiv, worth more than $1 billion, is also aimed at strengthening Ukraine in the future.

According to the State Department, it includes, among other things, $100 million for long-term military needs, $90.5 million for demining, and $300 million to support law enforcement efforts to restore and maintain law and order in the liberated territories.

Interestingly, this billion includes $5.4 million for the confiscated assets of oligarchs, which will be used to support and rehabilitate veterans.

Another $203 million is aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability of institutions, strengthening key reforms related to the fight against corruption, the rule of law and justice, and investigating war crimes committed by Russia.

During the visit, it was announced that U.S. arms companies will participate in the first Defense Industries Forum to be held this fall in Kyiv.

"I informed the Secretary of State of our plan to hold the first Defense Industries Forum in Kyiv, where Ukrainian and foreign companies will join forces to jointly produce and maintain weapons. I also emphasized that, in fact, we are talking about the integration of the Ukrainian defense industry into the NATO defense industry. And I thank the Secretary of State for confirming that the United States and American companies will take part in this important event," Kuleba said at the press conference.

GRAIN, ENERGY, MENTAL HEALTH

The second set of issues raised during the visit was economic and humanitarian.

Ukrainian officials apparently discussed with the Secretary of State energy issues related to the expected intensification of Russian shelling of critical infrastructure in the winter.

Experts from both countries will hold consultations on the use of existing or the creation of new international legal instruments to free civilian hostages taken by Russia.

They also discussed the issue of Ukrainian grain exports, which Moscow is blocking in every possible way. Ukraine and the United States consider the Danube corridor to be the most promising in this regard and will work to develop it, Kuleba said.

In addition, the Secretary of State took part in the Third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen: "Mental Health: Resilience and Vulnerability of the Future"

The United States is committed to helping Ukraine with mental health during and after the war, he said in his speech at the summit.

Blinken stated that he was there on behalf of President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to convey a message to the Ukrainian people. He mentioned that they wanted to emphasize that the mental health consequences of the conflict would persist even after the war ends and assured that the United States would continue to assist in addressing these hidden emotional scars. Blinken reiterated the commitment that when they say "America is with you all the way," it is a genuine pledge of support.

ON THE EVE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The foreign ministers apparently also talked about coordinating efforts in the international arena.

As you know, the next session of the UN General Assembly will soon open, and a high-level week with the participation of heads of state and government from around the world will traditionally take place from September 19 to 25.

The President of Ukraine is also expected to come to New York to talk about the Peace Formula, the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression, and a compensation mechanism for losses. A large number of bilateral meetings are expected, including with leaders of the Global South.

REFORMS, FIGHTING CORRUPTION, AND MORE

At the press conference, Blinken briefly noted that the United States will fully support anti-corruption measures in Ukraine.

We can assume that the parties paid a lot of attention to this topic, given how sensitive it is for the American establishment, especially in the context of the upcoming election campaign. It is being actively promoted by representatives of the conservative wing of the Republicans, criticizing Biden for allegedly over-supporting Ukraine.

"Secretary Blinken... called for further progress on reforms in Ukraine, including fighting corruption and ensuring the independence and integrity of Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies and courts," the State Department said in a statement on Wednesday.

Blinken was probably also interested in the prospects for elections in Ukraine and personnel changes in the government, as new government officials, especially the defense minister, will have to deal with international partners on a regular basis.

Obviously, as Markarova noted, some aspects of the visit remain behind the scenes.

Perhaps they will remain so. Or they will "spill out" after a while, citing informed sources in the American media.

Volodymyr Ilchenko, Kyiv - New York
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk, at a meeting with Anthony Rota, the speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, called on the Canadian Parliament to adopt a resolution on the long-term military assistance program for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian speaker said this in a post on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.

"I am glad to meet the Speaker of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Canada, Anthony Rota. First of all, I thanked Canada for political, financial and military assistance to Ukraine," the Ukrainian speaker wrote.

At the same time, Stefanchuk expressed gratitude for Canada's decision to join the F-16 coalition. The Verkhovna Rada chairman emphasized he expects that the relevant programs will be implemented as quickly as possible.

Read also: Stefanchuk arrives in Tokyo on a visit

Ukraine continues its struggle, and the issue of Ukraine's victory still requires joint efforts. During the meeting, I outlined a list of necessary military assistance, Stefanchuk said.

In this context, he emphasized that it is extremely important to adopt a long-term military assistance program for Ukraine.

"That's why I called on the Parliament of Canada to adopt the relevant resolution," Stefanchuk added.

The Verkhovna Rada chairman also noted that the conversation focused on the issue of Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine.

"I thank Canada for its consistent position regarding Ukraine's membership in NATO," he summarized.

As reported by Ukrinform, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk arrived in Tokyo to participate in the G7 Parliamentary Summit.
Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine is the biggest challenge to European security since World War II.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated this in his online speech at the conference "Creating a Better Future in a Turbulent World, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Government portal.

At the same time, he stressed that not only a full-scale war but also Putins Russia is a challenge for the world. Until we defeat this tyranny and expel Russian troops from Ukrainian territory, a lasting and just peace is impossible. And such a peace is crucial for the security and prosperity of our and future generations, said Shmyhal.

According to him, after 18 months of the full-scale war, there is no doubt that Russia will not achieve its goals. Ukraine has withstood  thanks to the heroism of the Ukrainian army, the bravery of the Ukrainian people, international unity and the pro-Ukrainian solidarity coalition.

Ukraine is building a strong army and continuing comprehensive reforms aimed at building a strong and modern economy that will ensure prosperity for Ukrainians, membership in the EU and NATO, and Ukraines ability to be a cornerstone of European security. So when we talk about a better future, our path is quite clear. Victory and liberation of our land. Restoration on the principle of build back better and transformation of our country, the Ukrainian Prime Minister said.

He stressed that the support of Lithuania and other international partners is crucial for achieving Ukraines goals of joining the EU and NATO, as well as for the rapid restoration of critical infrastructure and the economy. Shmyhal also noted the importance of Lithuanian ports for the export of agricultural products in the context of Russias blockade of the Black Sea corridors, adding that Ukraine and Lithuania intended to further develop logistical routes.

The Prime Minister thanked all countries and organizations that stood shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in its struggle for freedom and independence, as well as the Republic of Lithuania, the Lithuanian government and people for their unwavering and principled position of solidarity with

As reported, the conference Creating a Better Future in a Turbulent World is underway in Vilnius, with the participation of Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Simonyte.

Photo: Cabinet of Ministers
SINGAPORE, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The bilateral training exercise between the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the Singapore Armed Forces kicked off at the Jurong Camp here on Wednesday, focusing on urban counter-terrorism operations.

Over 280 elite military personnel from both armies will perform equipment operations, small-arms live firing, real force counter-terrorism drills and command post exercise during the event.

Commanders from both task forces agreed that the joint exercise would improve mutual trust and enhance friendship.

The ongoing bilateral exercise is the fifth edition since its inauguration in 2009. 
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the issue of ensuring the full functioning of visa-free travel for Ukrainians and ways to guarantee the security of Hasidic pilgrims during their annual visit to Uman, Cherkasy region.

That's according to the press service of the head of state, Ukrinform reports.

"Given the upcoming Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, and the expected mass arrival of Hasidic pilgrims to Uman, the participants discussed ways to ensure their security," the report said.

Zelensky said that Ukraine always welcomes pilgrims with warmth and hospitality and is responsible for their security.

The Israeli side estimates that about 50,000 Hasidic pilgrims may arrive in Uman this year.

"It was emphasized that at present, the bomb shelters at the pilgrimage sites in Uman can accommodate only about 11,000 people. At the same time, in the context of Russia's full-scale aggression and the constant threat of attacks by Russian missiles and Iranian drones, this year's pilgrimage will be accompanied by high security risks," the report said.

Zelensky said that this is a security challenge that requires an urgent joint response.

"Urgent joint action is needed to guarantee the security of more people," he said.

The possibility of sending additional Israeli police forces to the pilgrimage sites was also discussed.

The head of state separately raised the issue of an increasing number of denials of entry to Israel to Ukrainian citizens in the context of the visa-free regime between the two countries and emphasized the need to resolve this situation.

Zelensky also emphasized the importance of Israel's support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He expressed gratitude for providing shelter to Ukrainian citizens who fled to Israel as a result of full-scale Russian aggression. The resumption of free health insurance for them in Israel was noted.

Both parties also discussed possible ways for Israel to support Ukraine in countering Russia's invasion and exchanged views on the interaction between Ukraine and Israel on the international stage.

Photo: President's Office
Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has extended the term of detention of the former chairperson of the Supreme Court, Vsevolod Kniaziev, until October 16, with the possibility of posting UAH 55 million bail.

That's according to the HACC, Ukrinform reports.

"On Wednesday, September 6, an investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court granted a NABU detective's request and extended the term of the measure of restraint in the form of detention for the former Supreme Court head within the pre-trial investigation period, i.e. until October 16, 2023. As an alternative to the measure of restraint, the suspect has the option of putting up bail of UAH 55 million," the report said.

If the bail is posted, the suspect will be released from custody. In the future, he will be obliged to wear an electronic tracking bracelet, visit the investigator, prosecutor or court when required, not to leave the locality where he lives without the permission of the investigator (detective), prosecutor or court, inform them about any change in his place of residence or work, refrain from communicating with the persons specified in the court order, and hand over to the main department of the State Migration Service in Kyiv his passport(s) for traveling abroad and other documents giving him the right to leave Ukraine.

On May 15, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said they had exposed a corruption scheme involving the leadership and judges of the Supreme Court of Ukraine. The law enforcement officers detained the head of the Supreme Court, Kniaziev, and seized $2.7 million.

On May 16, 2023, during a plenary session of the Supreme Court, 140 judges supported a motion of no confidence in Kniaziev. The judges also adopted a resolution of the plenary session of the Supreme Court on the termination of Kniaziev's powers as head of Ukraine's Supreme Court.

On May 18, the High Council of Justice supported a motion from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office for permission to keep Kniaziev in custody. The same day, HACC chose a measure of restraint for Kniaziev in the form of detention with the possibility of posting UAH 107.3 million bail. The HACC's Appeals Chamber later reduced the amount of the bail first to UAH 75 million and then to UAH 55 million.
The Ombudsmans Office in Ukraine has information about dozens of places in Belarus, where Ukrainian children are kept.

The relevant statement was made by Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets in a commentary to Ukrinform.

As for the number of places  we are aware of dozens [of such places in Belarus  Ed.], Lubinets said.

Meanwhile, as of now, the Ombudsmans Office in Ukraine has no evidence that Belarusian families started the process of adopting or taking Ukrainian children under provisional custody.

A reminder that, on May 24, 2023, the Ukrainian Prosecutor Generals Office announced that Ukraine was investigating the alleged role of Belarus in the forced transfer of Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied areas.
09/07/2023

UMass Lowell has been named the No. 1 public school in Massachusetts in the 2024 Wall Street Journal Best Colleges in the United States ranking and No. 10 among all Massachusetts schools.

At No. 10 among those ranked in the Bay State, UMass Lowell sits among the Commonwealths top-tier universities according to the findings. Out of 400 universities the Wall Street Journal ranked across the United States based on student outcomes, learning environment and diversity, UMass Lowell is listed at No. 53 among national public universities and No. 137 overall.

The Wall Street Journals metrics  student outcomes, learning environments and diversity  directly measure student success during and after they earn their degree, said UMass Lowell Provost Joe Hartman. A college degree is an investment in your future and for UMass Lowell students and alumni, the Wall Street Journal rankings are one more proof point of what they experience every day.

Among the results, the Wall Street Journal pegs the value of UMass Lowell students return on their investment as more than $35,000 higher compared to the salary impact of a similar college or university.

The ranking also echoes other ROI data demonstrating the value of a UMass Lowell education, including recent rankings by payscale.com:

No. 1 in New England for return on investment among public universities

No. 1 for 20-year return on investment among public universities

No. 1 for mid-career salary among New England public universities

UMass Lowells continued focus on guaranteeing paid career-connected experiences for all students is a key factor in achieving these results.

Its not just the excellent education we provide UMass Lowell students that prepares them for success in their next chapter, said Chancellor Julie Chen, who announced in April that incoming students would be guaranteed a paid career-connected experience. Just as important is helping students apply that classroom knowledge to a professional setting and creating student outcomes that make our alumni highly sought by employers.




The Google News Initiative and Oxford University have agreed on an extension to the current grant for the Reuters Institute Digital News Report and the related Digital News Project, for a further year covering 2024, states Reuters Institute.

With additional support from YouTube for next years research, the extension builds on the existing agreement with Google to support the project that was originally announced in 2015 with previous extensions in 2018 and in 2020.

The new extension to August 2024 will allow the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism to continue the Digital News Report with its global reach, covering the same 46 markets as those included in the 2023 report, which was made possible by support from Google and 17 other sponsors.

The Digital News Report is a unique independent academic study which has been supported by a wide range of partners since its creation in 2012.

It is the worlds largest international comparative survey of the major trends in digital news consumption and is widely used by industry, analysts, and researchers across the world.

The Google News Initiative is the main sponsor of the Digital News Report, and YouTube a new addition to the diverse range of supporters which make the report possible.

The other 17 sponsors of the 2023 report are: the BBC, Centre detudes sur les medias at Universite Laval, Code for Africa, Coimisiun na Mean, the Dutch Media Authority (CVdM), Edelman, Fritt Ord, the Korea Press Foundation, the Leibniz-Institute for Media Research | Hans-Bredow-Institut, the Media Industry Research Foundation of Finland, NHK, Ofcom, Reuters, Roskilde University, the University of Canberra, the University of Navarra, and Fundacion Gabo.

Many of our partners produce their own national reports based on the research conducted for the international report, and the data collected for the Digital News Report is made available to others to enable a wide range of further in-depth analysis by both industry professionals and academic researchers across the world.

The financial value of the Google News Initiatives agreement with Oxford University (including YouTubes contribution) for the extension to August 2024 is $2.07m (1.64m at todays exchange rate).
by Xinhua writer Zheng Bofei

BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Rising consumer demand for Huawei's latest phone and the impressive sales of domestically-produced new energy vehicles (NEVs) showcase Chinese companies' consistent ability to achieve technological advancements, injecting more vigor into the nation's economic landscape.

A case in point is Huawei. In the first half of this year, the company reported revenue of 310.9 billion yuan (around 43 billion U.S. dollars), marking a 3.1 percent year-on-year increase, with a notable 15 percent growth in net profit margins. The consumer segment alone contributed 103.5 billion yuan to its revenue.

Technology is acting as a catalyst for transformations in industrial production. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that between January and July, automobile exports reached 2.53 million units, signifying a year-on-year increase of 67.9 percent.

Particularly noteworthy is the fact that NEV exports during this period surged 1.5 times and reached 636,000 units, while fully electric vehicles saw a 1.6-fold increase.

Chinese companies are at the forefront of technological innovation, particularly in fields like artificial intelligence (AI). Over the past decade, high-tech company Baidu has invested more than 140 billion yuan in research and development. Last week, the company launched its AI chatbot service, ERNIE Bot, catering to hundreds of millions of internet users.

Simultaneously, China is ascending the value chain of international trade, meeting the growing demand of tech-intensive products.

Chinese customs data indicated a 61.6 percent year-on-year increase in the total export value of China's three major tech-intensive green products -- photovoltaic batteries, lithium-ion batteries, and NEVs -- in the first half of 2023, boosting China's export growth by 1.8 percentage points.

According to the 2022 China Service Trade Development Report, exports of digitally deliverable services from China exceeded 210 billion U.S. dollars last year, accounting for over 50 percent of total service exports.

Furthermore, with a diverse array of companies making successful IPOs and a growing number of players in strategic emerging industries, the future growth of China's economy has solid support from its high-tech advancement.

This confluence of technological and industrial advancement is nurturing new growth opportunities for China's economic development, and the Chinese economy is riding the wave of technological progress to achieve sustained prosperity and growth.

The Chinese economy is on track to realize the annual growth target of around 5 percent, said Chinese Premier Li Qiang when addressing the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit on Wednesday. 
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)

JAKARTA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said on Thursday China is ready to work with South Korea to resist interference, meet each other halfway, and advance bilateral relations so as to reflect the changes of the times.

He made the remarks during a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Jakarta, namely the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit.

Li also called on both sides to implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries, uphold the original intention of establishing diplomatic ties, and enhance mutual political trust. 
Kyiv, Ukraine, Sept 6 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Sep, 2023 ) :Top US diplomat Antony Blinken announced over $1 billion of new assistance to Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv Wednesday, in a package he said would help Ukraine's counteroffensive "build momentum".

The United States has provided Ukraine with over $40 billion of security assistance since Russia invaded last year, including weapons that Kyiv says are vital in pushing back Russian forces.

"Today, we're announcing new assistance totalling more than $1 billion in this common effort," Secretary of State Blinken said at a press conference with Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

"That includes $665.5 million in new military and civilian security assistance," he said.

He separately announced the US was working with Ukraine to find alternative routes for its grain shipments after the collapse of the Black Sea grain export deal in July put ships at risk.

Ukraine, which has been asking for more Western help, launched a counteroffensive against Russian forces in June after building up assault battalions and stockpiling Western weapons.

It has hit back at criticism of the apparent slow pace of its offensive, as its troops encounter heavily fortified Russian defensive lines and mines.

"US assistance is not charity," Kuleba told Blinken.

"Today, thanks to our partners, Ukraine is restraining Russia's aggression. And we are not putting any American lives at risk," he said.

In turn, the top US diplomat said the new assistance would help sustain the counteroffensive and "build further momentum".

Kuleba also thanked the United States for allowing other countries to transfer their F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, which Kyiv has requested to protect its skies.

Blinken's unexpected visit to Kyiv, his fourth since Russia's invasion, came hours after a Russian strike on a market in the eastern region of Donetsk killed seventeen people and wounded dozens.
Seoul, Sept 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Sep, 2023 ) :A high-level delegation of Chinese officials will visit North Korea this week to attend celebrations for a key national holiday, both sides said Thursday.

Pyongyang celebrates the 75th anniversary of the country's founding day on September 9 and the nuclear-armed state has previously indicated it will hold a "militia parade" to mark the event.

A delegation headed by China's vice premier Liu Guozhong "will visit the DPRK to participate in the celebrations of the 75th birthday," of the country, the official Korean Central news Agency said, using the North's official acronyms.

The visit came "on the invitation" of North Korea's party and government, it added.

China's foreign ministry confirmed the trip, saying the delegation will visit North Korea "starting from September 8".

Beijing is North Korea's most important ally and economic benefactor, their relationship forged in the bloodshed of the Korean War in the 1950s.

North Korea has been largely closed off from the outside world since early 2020, when it shut its borders in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

But after three years of Covid-induced isolation, there are increasing signs Pyongyang may be becoming more flexible on border controls.

North Korea's first international commercial flight in three years landed in Beijing last month.

Pyongyang also allowed a delegation of athletes to attend a taekwondo competition in Kazakhstan in August.

The latest trip comes less than two months after high-level Chinese and Russian delegations visited Pyongyang.

They attended a military parade in the North Korean capital last month -- the first foreign dignitaries to visit the country in years.

The Chinese delegation was led by politburo member Li Hongzhong. During the parade, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stood between Li and Russia's defence minister Sergei Shoigu, who was also visiting the country.

Kim gave Shoigu a tour of a vast defence expo in Pyongyang, personally walking him through his country's newest and most advanced weaponry.

There has been growing speculation that Kim -- who rarely leaves the North -- will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss arms trade on the sidelines of a key forum in Vladivostok next week.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Thursday he would visit China later this year as Canberra seeks to stabilise its relationship with Beijing

Jakarta, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Sep, 2023 ):Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed Thursday he would visit China later this year as Canberra seeks to stabilise its relationship with Beijing.

The announcement on the sidelines of a Southeast Asia summit in Indonesia came after years of friction over political and economic issues including Chinese sanctions on Australian imports.

"I... confirmed the invitation from President Xi (Jinping). That I would accept an invitation and will visit China later this year at a mutually agreeable time," Albanese told reporters after meeting Chinese Premier Li Qiang for talks.

The trip would be the first visit to China by an Australian prime minister since 2016.

Albanese thanked Xi for the invitation and said his talks with Li were "constructive" and "positive", adding the two countries needed more dialogue to improve relations.

"This was an important meeting. I told Premier Li that we would continue to cooperate where we can, disagree where we must and engage in our national interest," he said.

Last November, Albanese met with Xi on the sidelines of the G20 summit on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

On Thursday, Australia sent a delegation of industry, government, academic, media and arts representatives to Beijing for a dialogue with their Chinese counterparts.

The dialogue was stopped in 2020, and its resumption is the latest sign of a thaw.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said last week the discussions illustrated "another step towards increasing bilateral engagement and stabilising our relationship with China".

China was angered by Australia's legislation against overseas influence operations, its ban on Huawei from 5G contracts, and its call for an independent investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But relations appear to have warmed since the centre-left government in Canberra adopted a less confrontational approach to China following Albanese's election win last year.

But issues remain in the relationship.

Australia expressed "deep concerns" last month about the "ongoing delays" in the case of an Australian academic jailed in China on espionage charges.

Chinese-born Australian Yang Jun has been jailed since 2019 and said last month in a note shared with friends and family that he feared dying in prison if he did not receive medical attention.

Beijing said it was handling his case properly, and that it was "a country ruled by law".
(@FahadShabbir)

Greek rescue services were trying to reach dozens of villagers in central Greece Thursday, after deadly storms that saw more than a year's worth of rain fall there in 24 hours

Vlos, Greece, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Sep, 2023 ) :Greek rescue services were trying to reach dozens of villagers in central Greece Thursday, after deadly storms that saw more than a year's worth of rain fall there in 24 hours.

Emergency services were using divers, lifeboats and at least one helicopter to reach the stranded residents.

And the armed forces had been brought in to help evacuate one area after flooding had damaged a dam, said the minister in charge of civil protection.

Fierce storms have battered Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, following a period of extreme heat and devastating wildfires.

Climate experts say such extreme weather is becoming more frequent and more intense as a result of human-induced climate change.

The downpour, from Monday evening into Tuesday, hit the central region of Thessaly, 300 km (185 miles) to the north of Athens. The flooding affected the port city of Volos, and the towns of Karditsa and Tikala further inland.

Rescue services announced on Thursday that they had found a shepherd washed away by the flood waters, bringing the death toll for Storm Daniel to four. Across Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria, the storms have killed at least 14 people.

The downpour had transformed the plain of Thessaly into "a huge lake" fire services spokesman Yannis Artopios told public broadcaster ERT.

At least 64 people were stranded in several villages near Karditsa, said Civil Protection and Climate Crisis Minister Vassilis Kikilias. Another six people were missing, he added.

Detailing the situation in the Thessaly region, he added: "Operationally, the field is very difficult in the area between Trikala and Karditsa, along a tributary of the flooded Pinios river, which has broken a dam."The army would be helping evacuate the area.
SEPTEMBER 7, 2023  The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is proud to announce a vibrant and culturally enriching lineup of programs in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which is recognized nationally from September 15 to October 15. This annual celebration pays tribute to the rich history, traditions and contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities in the United States. This year UTSA has selected the theme Hispanic Heritage Month: Prosperity, Power and Progress.

UTSAs Hispanic Heritage Month celebration will feature an array of events that showcase the diverse cultural heritage of Hispanic communities, with engaging activities for students, faculty, staff and the public. Lectures, workshops, a game night and festivals hosted by departments from all parts of campus will take place throughout the month and offer students, faculty, staff and the San Antonio community plenty of opportunities to engage through the university.

In San Antonio, the festivities will commence on September 14 with the Jovita Idar quarter celebration. This event, co-hosted by UTSA, the U.S. Mint and the National Womens History Museum, will be held at the UTSA Downtown Campus. Latina journalist Maria Hinojosa will deliver the evenings keynote address.
BEIRUT, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Thursday called on different political parties to come together and accelerate the election of a new president to deal with urgent matters in Lebanon.

"I affirm, in my name and the name of the government, the priority of accelerating the election of a president," Mikati said at a cabinet meeting, according to a statement released by the Council of Ministers.

"We also express support for a parliamentary dialogue and encourage the meeting of political forces for consultation and serious discussions that will lead to accelerating the election of a president," the prime minister added.

Mikati said Lebanon is facing pressing economic and social issues, among which the most pressing one is the fluctuation of prices of goods and services, university and school tuition fees, hospitalization bills, etc.

The Lebanese parliament failed to elect a new president for the republic due to a lack of consensus among the different political parties, plunging Lebanon into further uncertainty, as the country is already suffering from the worst financial crisis in decades.

Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022, when the term of Former President Michel Aoun ended. 
The IME-Becas program is one of the best investments Mexico has made in higher education. I am glad to partner with UTSA, a university that is recognized for its commitment to social mobility, because this has allowed the advancement of our citizens living abroad, said Moctezuma.

UTSA President Taylor Eighmy added, As a university of the future, UTSA is committed to providing students with meaningful international experiences that will prepare them to become global citizens and meet the demands of an increasingly diverse workforce. Global collaboration is critical to creating these opportunities for our students, and we are exceptionally proud of our work and ongoing partnership with Mexico and Ambassador Moctezuma Barragan. Together, were creating even more pathways to success for all of our students.

The delegation led by Ambassador Moctezuma had the opportunity to learn about UTSA student success initiatives, including the experiential learning programs in Mexico that are offered by the UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts. The ambassador also had the opportunity to visit the UTSA Mexican Cookbook Collection, which is part of the UTSA Libraries Special Collections, and to meet with PhD students on a ConTex fellowship. ConTex is a joint initiative between the University of Texas System and Mexicos Council of Science and Technology.
For many small-business owners, having mentors help navigate government contracting and grow their businesses could help them avoid certain pitfalls.

Kanika Perkins, Deb Farris and Aikta Marcoulier will discuss the subject during a joint Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network and U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) virtual workshop titled SBAs Mentor-Protege Program and Joint Venture Virtual Workshop Thursday, Sept. 14, from noon-1 p.m. To register, go here. Registration is free.

The Wyoming SBDC Network offers business expertise to help Wyoming residents think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by the University of Wyoming with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. SBA.

In this workshop, attendees will learn from an experienced government contractor through the U.S. SBA Mentor-Protege Program. Proteges can receive valuable business development help from their mentors in several areas. These include:

-- Guidance on internal business management systems, accounting, marketing, manufacturing and strategic planning.

-- Financial assistance in the form of equity investments, loans and bonding.

-- Assistance navigating federal contract bidding, acquisition and the federal procurement process.

-- Education about international trade, strategic planning and finding markets.

-- Business development, including strategy and identifying contracting and partnership opportunities.

-- General and administrative assistance, such as human resource sharing or security clearance support.

Perkins is deputy director of the SBA Mentor-Protege Program; Farris is deputy district director for the Wyoming SBA; and Marcoulier is an SBA regional administrator.

For more information, call Maureen Johnson, marketing, communication and database manager for the Wyoming SBDC Network, at (307) 343-0925 or email mjohn125@uwyo.edu.
The University of Wyoming welcomed four incoming Tome Scholars to campus this fall. Pictured, from left, are Shayla Babits, Gabriella Paterson, Lilly McGever and Mariela Via-Reque. The four were selected to the prestigious 2027 Tome Scholars cohort. (UW Haub School Photo)

Four incoming undergraduate students to the University of Wyoming who are associated with the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources have been selected for the prestigious Tome Scholars to Fellows Program, which provides transformational experiences for future leaders in the field of environment and natural resources. The program was established at UW in 2021 by a major gift from the Tome Foundation.

Tome Scholars Shayla Babits, of Lander; Gabriella Paterson, of Powell; Lilly McGever, of Phoenix, Ariz.; and Mariela Via-Reque, of Sarasota, Fla., will each receive full-ride scholarships and additional support for one or more unique experiences such as international field courses and community service.

John Koprowski, dean of the UW Haub School, led the process to select a diverse group of students whose major area of educational focus includes a connection to environment or natural resources.

We embolden our students -- through their experiences and broad training -- to take on the grand challenges in the environment that require passion and determination to bring people together to solve complex problems, Koprowski says. Through this generous gift, our Tome Scholars are on a path toward a lifetime of impact.

Tome Scholars bring ambition, intelligence, drive and tenacity to their UW educational experience, which is designed to elevate their career opportunities to impact the world through expertise and leadership, Koprowski says. They also have access to a network of other Tome Scholars across the country and will build a relationship with Carol and Ramon Tome themselves. Following graduation, these exceptional students become Tome Fellows, a community of Tome Scholars.

Over the next four years, Babits plans to study environment and natural resources at UW.

Since I can remember, I have been passionate about conserving our environment and informing others to do the same, she says. There is a profound need for influential scientists with technical skills as well as communication skills for effective world collaboration.

Paterson will study environment and natural resources, and kinesiology and health promotion, along with taking Honors College courses.

Although we must do everything in our power to protect the environment, we also must remember there is no perfect fix, she says. Our modern society will inevitably cause us to leave a harmful impact on the world, but we can minimize the harm with environmentally friendly solutions. The Tome Scholarship allows me to continue to learn about those solutions and strive to implement them not only in Wyoming but also in our nation.

McGever will major in environment and natural resources, along with geology.

Nature, including rocks, is a great relief and asset to human mental health because it connects us to something bigger, slower and more powerful than anything we can imagine, she says. By studying geology and working in geological research, I will not only research more sustainable ways to use the earths resources, but I also will impact the world by helping to create a humanity that is more connected to the earth they walk on; more passionate about conserving the life that surrounds them; and more focused on what really matters in life.

Via-Reque will major in outdoor recreation and tourism management.

There are no words to express how grateful I am, let alone the amount of excitement I feel to arrive on campus, she says. I am positive that, with this scholarship, I will be able to do amazing things. I desire to share the outdoor experience with others; to work in nature alongside my peers; aid in conserving this beautiful Earth; and, most importantly, to make a lasting impact.

These four scholars make up the 2027 Tome Scholars cohort and join two earlier cohorts already on campus. Last year, UW welcomed Paula Medina, of Powell, as well as Megan Yarborough, of Mountain Home, Ark., as the 2026 Tome Scholars. The first group of Tome Scholars to arrive at UW, anticipated to graduate in 2025, is composed of Jennifer Bautz, of Lander; Iris Kurz, of Wylie, Texas; Addison Potts, of Cheyenne; and Benjamin Pina, of Kingwood, Texas.

The Tome Scholars to Fellows Program exists at seven colleges around the nation. The program supports opportunities to bring diverse students to campus whose major area of educational focus is on programs in science, technology, engineering, arts and/or math, including medicine and nursing.

The Tomes are both alumni of UW, and Carol is a Wyoming native. At the time of the gift, the Tomes wanted this program to support a diverse student body and enable underrepresented students to achieve an education that will make a difference in the lives of others.

The Tomes have given generously to UW since 1995. Their previous gifts include establishing the Carol and Ramon Tome Student Admissions Center, located within the Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center. Additionally, they have contributed to the Mick and Susie McMurry High Altitude Performance Center and the UW Alumni Association. Carol is the CEO of UPS.
A monthly look at issues facing Wyoming business owners and entrepreneurs from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.

By Rob Condie, Wyoming SBDC Network reginal director for Lincoln, Sublette, Sweetwater and Uinta counties

There are many things you need to be aware of right away when launching a small business. One of those things you must know to be successful is the difference among the top five financial account subcategories. Having this knowledge will help you understand any reports pulled on the business and, in turn, help you know what they mean to you as the owner of that business.

Many of the business owners I run across say that the biggest headache they have is bookkeeping, and most are new to these five subcategories. So, lets break them down a bit:

-- Revenue: Revenue is money coming into the business.

-- Expenses: Expenses are transactions where money leaves the business.

-- Assets: An asset is anything that has current or future economic value to a business.

-- Liabilities: A liability is something that the business owes to someone else.

-- Equity: Equity in accounting is the remaining value of an owners interest in a company after subtracting all liabilities from total assets.

Knowing the difference between revenues and expenses is pretty clear without much more background information and is critical for business functions. But knowing the difference between an asset and a liability is a little more complex, and that knowledge can go a long way.

The one area that most people typically dont know much about, or even where to find it, would be their equity in a business. Equity is the amount the owner or shareholders would get back if the business paid off all of its debt and liquidated all of its assets.

If you need more guidance on bookkeeping in general, these five subcategories or just need assistance in getting your financial information under control, make an appointment with your Wyoming SBDC Network adviser. All of our advising staff have significant financial expertise and training resources available to share with you at any time.

The Wyoming SBDC Network offers no-cost advising and technical assistance to help Wyoming entrepreneurs think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. In 2022, the Wyoming SBDC Network helped Wyoming entrepreneurs start 68 new businesses; support 2,411 jobs; and bring a capital impact of $5.3 million to the state. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by UW with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write Dept. 3922, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071-3922.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

JAKARTA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged here on Thursday to boost bilateral exchanges. They also agreed on the importance of relations between the two countries.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Jakarta, namely the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit. It was also their first meeting.

China is ready to work with Australia to restart and resume bilateral exchanges in various fields, said Li.

China-Australia relations, he noted, have maintained a positive momentum of improvement thanks to the concerted efforts of both sides over the past year.

Li also said that a sound and stable China-Australia relationship serves the fundamental interests and common aspirations of the two peoples.

Albanese said Australia-China relations are very important. He also said that the Australian side is encouraged by the progress of bilateral relations.

Australia is willing to advance dialogue and exchanges with China in the spirit of mutual respect, deepen cooperation in such field as economy and trade, expand people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and properly manage differences, so as to build a stable and constructive relationship between the two countries, he said. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Bin)
Vietnam Briefing has developed into a premium source for insight on doing business in Vietnam. It publishes business news concerning foreign direct investment into Vietnam, including the most important tax, legal and accounting issues. The Vietnam Briefing Magazine was first published in 2009, and is contributed to by investment professionals based in Vietnam.
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How artificial intelligence might help reduce discrimination against call center workers.

Welcome to VOA Asia Weekly. I'm Chris Casquejo in Washington. That story is just ahead, but first, making headlines:

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Jakarta on Wednesday. ASEAN has struggled to make progress on issues such as the military coup in Myanmar, but Harris said the organization absolutely remains a critical forum.

Around 2,100 U.S. and 1,900 Indonesian troops are taking part in joint military exercises in East Java, Indonesia. It is the biggest iteration of this annual exercise known as Super Garuda Shield and comes amid rising tensions between Southeast Asia and China.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned on Tuesday that North Korea would pay a price for supplying Russia with weapons to use in Ukraine. Sullivan said arms negotiations between Russia and North Korea are actively advancing.

Hong Kongs top court has instructed the citys government to legally recognize same-sex partnerships. The ruling did not grant full marriage rights to same-sex couples, and the government has two years to comply. This ruling represents a partial victory for the activists.

Pope Francis departed Mongolia on Monday after the first-ever papal visit to the country, with Mongolias Foreign Minister holding a farewell ceremony at Ulaanbaatars Chinggis Khaan Airport.

U.S. President Joe Biden is set to depart for India to attend the G20 summit beginning Saturday. On the agenda: the war in Ukraine, climate change, a push to reform multilateral institutions that provide financing to developing nations, and the likely decision to welcome the 55-member African Union into the body. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is not expected to attend.

The Philippines and India are the worlds top call center countries. A California tech startup is using artificial intelligence, or AI, to mask the accents of call center workers to reduce discrimination, but as VOAs Matt Dibble explains, some say diversity is being erased.

In the global economy, a call to a customer service center will likely be answered by someone in a faraway part of the world. Call center workers can train for months to effectively communicate with customers whose native language and culture differ from theirs.

Okay try that: photographer.

Photographer.

Good.

Despite this training, accents often get in the way, says developer Sharath Narayana.

There are at least a few instances every single day of his life or her life that they go through some level of discrimination and sometimes straight up abuse.

Narayana is a co-founder of California-based Sanas AI, whose technology can adjust the way a speaker sounds with the goal of making an accent more relatable. A call center worker from the Philippines demonstrated.

Hi, my name is Iggy, I am from Paranaque.

Hi, my name is Iggy, I am from Paranaque.

The difference can be subtle, but Narayana says it is helping call center workers avoid abuse.

We're not trying to hide the fact that this person is from India, or this person is from the Philippines. But this person would sound so clear, so confident, and so crisp that the other person would like to have a conversation.

Discrimination and abuse by callers are among the factors leading to high turnover among call center workers.

Sociologist Aneesh Aneesh says tools like Sanas can help reduce the burden on call center agents.

Aneesh, however, worries that it also points to what he says are dehumanizing trends in technology, namely erasing diversity.

Most of our communication is mediated through some technology. But when technologies start changing our accent itself, that is transforming you into your own avatar.

Now the driving force is not developing an understanding between human beings, but the driving force is transactional in the sense that things have to get functionally done.

Narayana says that of the workers with the optional Sanas system installed, 97% of them are choosing to use it every day.

I was able to listen to one of my calls using Sanas and wow, it looks like English is my first language, where in fact its not.

For now, the AI seems to be helping people connect.

Matt Dibble, VOA News, Palo Alto, California.

Visit voanews.com for the most up-to-date stories. Im Chris Casquejo.

We leave you now at Shanghai Disneylands Zootopia attraction, which is scheduled to open at the theme park by the end of the year.

Thanks for watching VOA Asia Weekly.
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As delegates gather in Kenya for the inaugural Africa Climate Summit, seeking ways to combat the effects of climate change, activists are screening films illustrating the impacts of global warming in Africa and calling for climate justice for the continent. Juma Majanga reports from Nairobi. Camera  Amos Wangwa
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez, who is here for the 17th meeting of the Mixed Venezuela-China High-Level Committee, in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Jie)

BEIJING, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez, who is here for the 17th meeting of the Mixed Venezuela-China High-Level Committee, on Thursday in Beijing.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China and Venezuela have forged an unbreakable, ironclad friendship, and China firmly supports Venezuela in safeguarding its national independence and national dignity.

China is ready to work with Venezuela to make good preparations for the next stage of high-level exchanges, make the 17th meeting of the high-level committee a success, and push for new progress in China-Venezuela cooperation, which will not only benefit the two peoples but also make new contributions to world peace and stability.

Rodriguez said that Venezuela sincerely thanks China for its firm support for Venezuela's just cause of opposing unilateral sanctions and unreasonable blockades and supporting Venezuela in building an independent and dignified country. She believes that Venezuela-China relations will embrace an even brighter future.

The Venezuelan side highly appreciates the series of significant global initiatives put forward by China and is willing to continue to strengthen international coordination and cooperation with China, Rodriguez said.

It is an inevitable historical trend for developing countries to stride forward into the international arena, Wang said, adding that China will continue to stand firm with other developing countries and be their reliable partner for development and prosperity. 
The U.S. Department of the Interior said Wednesday that it would cancel seven oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and at the same time safeguard more than half of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, both on Alaskas North Slope.

Both the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWAR) are home to a diverse array of fauna threatened by the climate crisis, including caribou, polar bears and shorebirds.

The federally protected NPR-A consists of 93 million hectares set aside to balance oil and gas development with protection of sensitive lands used by some of Alaskas Native population.

Last March, President Joe Biden approved the Willow Project, a multibillion-dollar plan for oil drilling there, which ran counter to his campaign promise of no more drilling on federal lands, period.

Biden said he had no alternative but to unenthusiastically honor the agreement, which had been made years before his presidency began, though his administration did reduce its size.

When Biden announced that the Willow Project would go ahead, he also unveiled unprecedented plans to grant maximum protection to 52 million hectares of the NPR-A. On Wednesday, he made those plans official. About 40 million hectares will be off limits to oil and gas drilling for the foreseeable future. But 7 million hectares can be leased for oil drilling under enhanced oversight.

We must do everything within our control to care for and protect this fragile ecosystem, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a press conference.

One day before Bidens inauguration, the Trump administration brokered a deal with an Alaskan state development agency for drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In 2021, the Biden administration issued a temporary moratorium on those leases, arguing that the sale was legally flawed and needed review from Interior.

Biden authorized Haaland to reverse the sale if she found cause to do so. On Wednesday, she did.

The reversal has frustrated several Alaskan politicians, mostly Republicans, who see Haalands decision as stifling the states economy. In 2017, an Alaskan congressional delegation was able to add language to federal tax legislation requiring the federal government to sell two leases by late 2024. The Biden administration said it would comply with that law.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge holds spiritual significance to the Gwichin, who are indigenous to the region.

Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwichin Steering Committee, praised Biden for canceling the seven outstanding leases but said she worried for her peoples future.

[O]ur sacred land is only temporarily safe from oil and gas development, she said in a statement. We urge the administration and our leaders in Congress to repeal the oil and gas program and permanently protect the Arctic Refuge.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday wrapped up the second day of his visit to Ukraine, saying he was struck by the horrific human cost of Russia's aggression there.

After touring the Yahidne School  a former elementary school whose basement held Ukrainian hostages during Russia's occupation of that village and has since been converted into a museum  Blinken said seeing the small room where people were tortured gave the war's casualty figures a human dimension.

"It all comes down to ... the lives, the stories of men of women and children  who were in prison in the basement of this building next to us, which normally was a school, and were held there for a month  127 people in a room not even fit for one person for human habitation," he said during an interview with NBC News.

Blinken said although what happened in the school, located a 90-minute drive northeast of Kyiv, is just one example of Russian atrocities occurring across Ukraine, he also witnessed the extraordinary resilience of the Ukrainian people, who are quietly rebuilding in Yahidne and wherever else they can.

Blinken told NBC it is Russian President Vladimir Putin who needs to come to terms with the fact that he has lost the war and must come to the negotiating table.

Russia blames the United States and NATO for prolonging the war by supporting Ukraine.

Earlier Thursday, Blinken visited a Ukrainian border guard site on the outskirts of Kyiv, where he presented four mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles that are part of 190 the U.S. will be delivering in coming months. Blinken also visited a hydroelectric dam and met with a Ukrainian team working to clear unexploded Russian ordnance at a farm where corn was grown for export.

"What's hard to get our minds around is that one third of Ukrainian territory has mines or unexploded ordnance on it," Blinken said.

"Your work is having a profound impact on the lives of Ukrainians and on people around the world," he said, noting Ukraine's importance to global food supplies.

New aid package

On Wednesday, Blinken announced $1 billion in new U.S. aid for Ukraine, with $175 million in security aid that includes additional air defense equipment, artillery munitions, anti-tank weapons including depleted uranium rounds for previously committed Abrams tanks, and other equipment.

Asked whether he is concerned about sustaining support for that level of U.S. aid among American citizens and lawmakers, Blinken was optimistic.

"I was last here almost exactly a year ago," he said. "And in that time, in the year since I was last here, Ukraine has taken back more than 50% of the territory that Russia has seized from it since February 2022. In the current counteroffensive, we are seeing real progress over the last few weeks."

Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba said what is being decided in this war is not just about Ukraine, but about what the world is going to look like after the war is over. If Russia wins, other autocrats will be empowered to invade their neighbors, he said, asking, "If the West cannot win this war, what war can they win?"

However, on Capitol Hill, one Republican senator expressed concerns to VOA, saying he would like to see a definitive strategy from the Biden administration for Ukraine to win the war.

"I'd like to see an announcement coming from all the NATO members saying that they are willing to step up.  I just got back from a trip to Europe, and we encouraged our NATO allies to actually step up their game, and I would like to see that happen," said Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

The United States is the largest donor of military aid to Ukraine in total dollars. Other countries, including Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic, are making larger financial contributions to Ukraine relative to the size of their own economies, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany.

Some information in this report was provided by VOA congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson.
The United Kingdom pledged on Thursday to find the former army soldier suspected of terrorism who escaped from prison by hiding under a food delivery van.

Daniel Abed Khalife is believed to have escaped from a medium-security London prison on Wednesday by leaving the prison kitchen where he was working and fastening himself to the bottom of a van.

Daniel Khalife will be found, and he will be made to face justice, U.K. Justice Minister Alex Chalk told parliament on Thursday.

The 21-year-old terrorist suspect is now the subject of a nationwide manhunt, which includes enhanced security checks at ports and airports. But as of Thursday evening in the U.K., police said there had not been any confirmed sightings of Khalife.

Discharged from the British army in May, the former soldier was awaiting trial on offenses related to terrorism and the Official Secrets Act.

Khalife is accused of planting fake bombs at an army base in England and collecting sensitive personal information about soldiers from a U.K. Defense Ministry database. He is also accused of gathering information for Iran, the BBC reported.

Khalife denied all the charges against him.

At parliament on Thursday, Chalk also said there would be an immediate investigation into the prisons protocols and the decision about where Khalife was held. A second independent investigation will take place at a later date, Chalk said.

No stone must be left unturned in getting to the bottom of what happened, Chalk said.

More than 150 investigators and police staff are on the case, according to Metropolitan Police Commander Dominic Murphy, who is the lead investigator.

Some information in this report came from Reuters and The Associated Press.
A record number of children from Latin America and the Caribbean are leaving their homes in search of a better life, risking disease, injury and abuse, a United Nations children's agency report said Wednesday, urging a stronger humanitarian response.

Driven by violence, destitution and severe weather, at least 40,000 children crossed the perilous Darien jungle separating Central and South America last year, compared with 29,000 in 2021 and several times more than in previous years.

In just the first six months of 2023, more than 40,000 children made the dangerous journey, indicating the total number is likely to be much higher at the end of the year.

Six hundred of the children were unaccompanied.

"Gang violence, instability, poverty and climate-related events are, alarmingly, gripping the region and pushing more children from their homes," UNICEF regional director Garry Conille said in a statement.

"When they cross several countries and sometimes the entire region, disease and injury, family separation and abuse may plague their journeys and, even if they make it to their destination, their futures often remain at risk," Conille added.

According to UNICEF, children represent 25% of migrants in the region, a proportion now as high as in sub-Saharan Africa, compared with about 13% worldwide.

And children under 11 make up nearly 91% of the displaced children in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Conille urged the international community to commit to a "stronger humanitarian response as well as the expansion of safe and regular migration pathways for children and families to help protect their rights and their futures, no matter where they are from."

Whether they come from South America, Africa or Asia, a large number of these migrants seek to reach Mexico, the United States and Canada.

The number of children intercepted by the authorities at the southern border of the United States is also on the rise, UNICEF said.
A Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu Guozhong will visit North Korea to participate in celebrations for its 75th founding anniversary, which is Saturday, the North's state media said Thursday.

The report came amid speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is preparing to visit Russia soon for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that could be focused on advancing talks for North Korean arms sales to refill Russian reserves drained by its war on Ukraine.

Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said the visit by Liu's delegation comes at the invitation of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party. It didn't specify the events the Chinese officials would be participating or whether they would be meeting Kim.

A U.S. official said Monday that Washington expects Kim to make a trip to Russia within this month to meet Putin as the Kremlin tries to acquire military equipment for use in its war in Ukraine.

According to some U.S. reports, the meeting could happen as early as next week in the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, where Putin is expected to attend an annual economic forum that runs from Sunday to Wednesday.

In exchange for providing Russian with artillery shells and other ammunition, North Korea could possibly seek badly needed energy and food aid and advanced weapons technologies, analysts say. There are concerns that potential Russian technology transfers would increase the threat posed by Kim's growing arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles that are designed to target the United States and its Asian allies South Korea and Japan.

Amid deepening nuclear tensions with Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, Kim has been trying to boost the visibility of his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing as he seeks to break out of diplomatic isolation and have Pyongyang be a part of a united front against the United States.

Kim in July invited delegations led by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Li Hongzhong to a huge military parade in Pyongyang where he rolled out his most powerful weapons, including intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to target the U.S. mainland.

A day before the parade, Kim took Shoigu on a tour of a domestic arms exhibition, which demonstrated North Korea's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and added to suspicions the North was willing to supply arms to Russia.

Speaking at a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Wednesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol urged all U.N. member states to fulfill their sanctions obligations under existing Security Council resolutions to limit North Korea's nuclear capabilities, which include a ban on arms trade with the country, his office said in a statement. The office did not elaborate whether Yoon specifically called out Russia while expressing those concerns.
Australia Thursday marks its National Threatened Species Day, and conservationists are calling for more efforts to save the endangered Maugean skate. The fish has been around since the dinosaurs but could become the worlds first ray or shark to become extinct in modern times as a direct result of human activity.

The Maugean skate is an ancient fish found in only one place in the world, in Macquarie Harbour on the west coast of Tasmania, Australias southern island state.

Its habitat covers about 100 square kilometers but its numbers have fallen sharply because of low oxygen levels and poor water quality. It is estimated that the Maugean skate population has decreased from around 3,000 to 1,500 in recent years.

Macquarie Harbour has increasingly become industrialized with salmon farming and hydroelectricity generation. It has a narrow, shallow entrance and is not regularly flushed out by water from the open ocean.

Alexia Wellbelove is the threatened species campaign manager at the Australian Marine Conservation Society. She told VOA that waste from salmon farming is causing degradation in the area.

That fish waste is causing oxygen from the harbor to be depleted, and so the Maugean skate has less and less habitat available to it, and when it lays its eggs in the muddy bottom, those eggs just arent getting the oxygen they need to turn into live young. This is reaching a critical point. We need to figure out how we can get oxygen into this harbor, she said.

Skates are flat, rectangular animals that are similar to rays but have a short, thick tail and lay eggs in the mud.

Scientists fear they could become extinct within 10 years or be wiped out by extreme weather.

Wellbelove said Australia needs to do more to protect vulnerable species.

If we are losing species, it means our oceans and our land is not healthy and we need to be learning how we can do better to have the healthiest possible environments in which we live, she said.

While the Maugean skate is currently listed as endangered, its conservation status is being reassessed.

Tanya Plibersek, the federal Minister for the environment and water, said in a statement Thursday that the government had to act fast to bring it back from the brink of extinction.

The skate is one of 110 species prioritized for recovery under Australias Threatened Species Action Plan. Plibersek also said that the government would invest more than $1.3 million to set up a captive breeding program to help save the Maugean skate.

National Threatened Species Day is held every year in Australia on September 7, the anniversary of the death of the last Tasmanian Tiger in 1936.
Three journalists have been arrested in Ethiopia in the month since the government declared a state of emergency in early August.

Ethiopia declared a 6-month state of emergency on August 4 in response to conflict in the northern Amhara state. The countrys House of Peoples Representatives approved the state of emergency on August 14. The state of emergency gives the government the power to arrest people without a court warrant, among other sweeping powers.

Since then, three journalists have been arrested in Ethiopia, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ. The press freedom group said all three reporters published content on the conflict in Amhara and the state of emergency.

These arrests come after Ethiopian security forces arrested eight journalists in April over their coverage related to Amhara and human rights, according to Reporters Without Borders, or RSF.

In a statement Wednesday, CPJ condemned the latest arrests and called on the government to release all journalists detained in the country for their work.

Once again, Ethiopian authorities are targeting journalists precisely when the public needs access to diverse reporting and commentary on an ongoing conflict, CPJ Sub-Saharan Africa Representative Muthoki Mumo said.

Ethiopias Washington embassy did not immediately reply to VOAs email requesting comment.

Ethiopia last declared a state of emergency in November 2021 at the height of the Tigray conflict. The government has a history of arresting journalists during times of conflict.

Most recently, Fekadu Mahtemework, editor-in-chief of the weekly Ghion magazine, was detained by police in Addis Ababa on August 25 under the state of emergency decree. He was then released without charge on September 4, according to CPJ. Fekadu was previously jailed for about five months before being granted amnesty in 2020.

Ethiopian authorities should release all journalists detained for their work and guarantee that the state of emergency in Amhara will not be used to stifle the media, Mumo said.

Yidnekachew Kebede, founder and editor of YouTube-based outlet Negari TV, was arrested on August 17. Several days later at an Addis Ababa court, police accused him of aiding anti-peace elements and producing video contact with the intent of provoking violence. Yidnekachew returned to court on September 1 and was released on bail without charge, according to CPJ.

Meanwhile, Abay Zewdu, chief editor of the YouTube-based broadcaster Amhara Media Center, was arrested in Addis Ababa on August 10 before being transferred to Awash Arba military facility on August 21. He remains in the temporary detention center, according to CPJ. The journalist was previously detained in September 2022 and April 2023 and released on bail.

Out of 180 countries, Ethiopia ranks 130 in terms of press freedom, according to RSF.
Civil society organizations in Ethiopia on Wednesday called for a peaceful resolution to conflicts in the country that have caused thousands of deaths over the past 12 months.

Dan Yirga, executive director at the Ethiopian Human Rights Council, said this request was directed to all stakeholders in the countrys peace-building process.

He said that most of the conflicts were started or aggravated because of a long-standing culture of using force to settle tensions. To create a lasting solution for this problem, a nationwide peace convention that includes all members of society needs to create a road map for solving current conflicts and avoiding new ones.

The call by the organizations highlighted the past year's many clashes, as well as encouraging steps toward peace building.

Over 1,000 political conflicts have been reported over the past year, according to data from the Ethiopian Peace Observatory, a local data collection project run by the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

Meseret Ali, from the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia, said fighting had displaced a lot of people from their homes. Civilians have died. Women and children have been raped. In the Benishangul-Gumuz region, elections were bypassed for a sixth time.

Armed opposition in the countrys Oromia and Amhara regions, referendums held for the creation of new regional states, and protests over a schism in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church were some of the conflicts that took place.

The civil society organizations also addressed the governments common response to these conflicts, such as partial or full internet shutdowns; widespread, unlawful arrests; and restrictions on the rights and freedoms of citizens.

In April, Ethiopian government officials attended peace talks in Tanzania with members of the Oromo Liberation Army, a rebel faction. The talks ended with no agreement reached.
Gabon military leader General Brice Oligui Nguema says former president Ali Bongo, who was toppled in an August 30 coup, has been freed from house arrest.

The junta also announced the creation of a transitional constitutional council.

Colonel Ulrich Manfoumbi Manfoumbi, spokesperson of Gabon's Committee for the Transformation and Restoration of Institutions, declared on Gabon National Television that, for health reasons, Bongo has been released and can seek medical treatment abroad.

Bongo had a stroke in October 2018, which left him physically impaired, with difficulty moving his right leg and arm. He frequently visited foreign hospitals for treatment, according to Gabon's military junta.

The military junta announced Bongo's freedom after Abdou Abarry, head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa, met with the deposed leader in Libreville.

Abarry said Bongo is in good health and wants the preservation of peace and social cohesion in Gabon.

Jean Christophe Nang, a secondary school teacher in Bitam, a commercial town on Gabon's northern border with Cameroon, said military leader Nguema  a first cousin of Bongo who led the ousted president's security team  should have prohibited Bongo from leaving Gabon.

Gabon needs Bongo to provide information on the large fortune his family and friends have amassed from the misuse of public funds and corruption in oil exploitation deals, Nang said. He added that Nguema should watch out because Bongo, whose family has ruled for close to 60 years, and his supporters may have plans to destabilize Gabon.

Bongo came to power in 2009 following the death of his father, Omar, who had led the central African country since 1967.

Gabon's opposition says the family ruled with an iron fist and confiscated most of the oil-producing nation's wealth.

Nang said countries should help Gabon recover ill-gotten wealth hidden by the Bongo family.

New constitutional council

The military junta said a transitional constitutional council has been created, and Dieudonne Aba'A Owono, a civilian magistrate, was appointed as president. Civilians were appointed to govern the nine regions that make up Gabon. The junta also appointed Brigadier General Rapontchombo Judes Ibrahim to manage the Libreville city council during a period of transition.

Nguema said officials of the transitional constitutional council will be officially installed in the days ahead.

Gabon's dissolved constitutional council was created by Omar Bongo, Ali Bongo's father, in 1991.

Marie Madeleine Mborantsuo  the country's top magistrate and the elder Bongo's one-time romantic partner  served as president of the constitutional council from its creation until it was dissolved by the military junta last week.

Mborantsuo said she welcomes the creation of another constitutional council because Gabon has entered a new era and all of its institutions need to be rebuilt. She added that she spoke with Nguema and is ready to hand over power to the president of the newly created transitional constitutional council.

Despite the appointment of civilians and the apparent popularity of Nguema, the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of Central African States, and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community continue to call on Gabon's military junta to hand over power to civilian rule.
Amid sharpened geopolitical rivalry between the United States, China and Russia, Indonesian President Joko Widodo delivered a forceful call for leaders to ease tensions and avoid conflict in the region.

Speaking Thursday in Jakarta at the opening of the East Asia Summit (EAS), which brings together the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its partners  the United States, China, Russia, Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea, Widodo underscored the need for stability for the region to continue its decades-long peace and prosperity.

Everyone in this room has the same responsibility to not create new conflict, to not create new tension, to not create new wars, he said, speaking in Indonesian. At the same time, we have the responsibility to lower heated tensions, to thaw frozen state of affairs, to create room for dialogue, to bridge existing differences.

However, leaders of the three major powers  U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin  chose to skip the summit, sending instead their respective representatives, Vice President Kamala Harris, Premier Li Qiang and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

As the outgoing chair of ASEAN, earlier this week Widodo declared that the bloc has agreed not to become a proxy for any power. He reiterated that Southeast Asia will not become the front lines of a new Cold War  a pledge he made when he took the helm of ASEAN from Cambodia in 2022.

Indonesias approach on great power politics has been consistent, said Aaron Connelly, research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

They view great power rivalry as the primary threat to their interests in the region, he told VOA. And they see rivalry itself as the threat, not one country creating the rivalry.

Leaders push back

Widodos words were echoed by other Southeast Asian leaders who pushed back against the threat of division in the region.

The international environment is fraught with geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He called on Washington and Beijing to show leadership to address global issues.

The pushback is warranted, said Evi Fitriani, professor of international relations at Universitas Indonesia. Its time that we tell those superpowers that what theyre doing in the region is too much already, she told VOA.

EAS emerged in 2005 as a regional dialogue forum of ASEAN and six partners, with the aim of promoting peace, stability and economic prosperity. The U.S. and Russia joined in 2011.

East Timor was invited as a summit observer this year, as well as Bangladesh and the Cook Islands, as chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association and Pacific Islands Forum, respectively.

Summit leaders focused on ASEANs inability to urge the junta in Myanmar to abide by its peace plan, Chinas increasing assertiveness over disputed areas in the South China Sea, the global impact of the war on Ukraine and threat of North Koreas nuclear program.

Harris strongly condemned the war on Ukraine that has exacerbated food insecurity. She condemned North Koreas ballistic missile and nuclear programs, and raised concerns on Chinas grave human rights abuse, according to the White House.

Echoing ASEANs strong language on Myanmar, she condemned the military regimes brutal campaign of violence and urged further action to increase pressure to implement ASEANs peace plan.

EAS ended Harris two-night stay in Jakarta and the vice president left to return home to Washington.

Wednesday night she met with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, where she underscored U.S. opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo in the South China Sea and East China Sea.
LHASA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing called on centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to contribute more to the long-term peace and stability and the high-quality development of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

Zhang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, inspected Nyingchi and Lhasa from Tuesday to Thursday. During the inspection tour, he visited construction sites of major energy and transport projects undertaken by central SOEs, learned about their progress and met with workers in factories and workshops.

More efforts should be made to accelerate the construction of power, telecom and transportation infrastructure, support Tibet in fostering advantageous industries and accelerating its green transformation, and support Tibet in consolidating and expanding the achievements in poverty alleviation, Zhang said.

During the inspection, Zhang also examined workplace safety standards and measures to guard against geological disasters.

As the region is vulnerable to flooding, landslides and debris flows, local authorities should comprehensively screen for hazards on construction sites and at tourist attractions to fend off and contain major disasters and accidents, Zhang said. 
Mexico's Supreme Court threw out all federal criminal penalties for abortion Wednesday, ruling that national laws prohibiting the procedure are unconstitutional and violate women's rights. The sweeping decision extended Latin America's trend of widening abortion access.

The high court ordered that abortion be removed from the federal penal code, and a reproductive rights group said the decision would require the federal public health service and all federal health institutions to offer abortion to anyone who requests it.

"No woman or pregnant person, nor any health worker, will be able to be punished for abortion," the Information Group for Chosen Reproduction, known by its Spanish initials GIRE, said in a statement.

Celebration soon spilled out on social media.

"Today is a day of victory and justice for Mexican women!" Mexico's National Institute for Women wrote in a message on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The government organization noted it was a "big step" toward gender equality.

The court said on X that "the legal system that criminalized abortion" in Mexican federal law was unconstitutional because it "violates the human rights of women and people with the ability to gestate."

State-by-state process

The decision came two years after the court ruled that abortion was not a crime in one northern state. That ruling set off a slow state-by-state process of decriminalizing it.

Last week, the central state of Aguascalientes became the 12th state to drop criminal penalties. Judges in states that still criminalize abortion will have to take account of the top court's ruling.

Abortion-rights activists will have to continue seeking legalization state by state, though Wednesday's decision should make that easier. State legislatures can also act on their own to erase abortion penalties.

Across Latin America, countries have made moves to lift abortion restrictions in recent years, a trend often referred to as a "green wave," in reference to the green bandannas carried by women protesting for abortion rights in the region.

The changes in Latin America stand in sharp contrast to increasing restrictions on abortion in parts of the United States. Some American women were already seeking help from Mexican abortion rights activists to obtain pills used to end pregnancies.

Mexico City was the first Mexican jurisdiction to decriminalize abortion 15 years ago.

After decades of work by activists across the region, the trend picked up speed in Argentina, which in 2020 legalized the procedure. In 2022, Colombia, a highly conservative country, did the same.

The U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that provided a right to abortion nationwide. Since then, most states led by conservative lawmakers and governors have adopted bans or tighter restrictions.

The fact that the U.S. government is politically divided makes a nationwide ban or legalization unlikely, at least in the short term.

Currently, abortion is banned throughout pregnancy  with limited exceptions  in 15 states. Bans in two more states forbid abortion after cardiac activity can be detected, generally around six weeks into pregnancy and often before women know they are pregnant. Judges have put enforcement of restrictions on hold in at least four additional states.

Meanwhile, states with liberal governments have taken steps to try to protect abortion access.
Opposition parties and their supporters in Nigeria are rejecting Wednesday's judgment by Nigeria's presidential election tribunal that upheld President Bola Tinubu's election. Tinubus main political rivals asked the court to invalidate Februarys election, alleging irregularities and fraud.

The main opposition to Bola Tinubu's February election win came from his challengers, Atiku Abubakar, of the People's Democratic Party, or PDP, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.

Both parties, in separate statements, late Wednesday rejected the court ruling indicating Tinubu won. The Labour Party said justice was not served and that the judges manipulated the law to subvert the will of the people.

The PDP criticized the judgment and said it was based on technicalities and failed to take into account facts and provisions of the law.

Atiku and Obi were seeking to invalidate Tinubu's election, citing fraud and deliberate manipulation by the electoral body that swayed the outcome in favor of the ruling party.

But a five-man panel of justices dismissed the petitions on the grounds that the opposition parties lacked evidence to back their claims that irregularities swayed the outcome of the polls and merely engaged in a wild goose chase.

Nigerians, including Abuja resident Buchi Oneal, have been reacting to the ruling.

"I'm highly disappointed and from the feeling around, many people are also highly disappointed, Oneal said. You can see the whole street ... do you see any jubilation? That is to show that people are disappointed.

Atiku and Obi came in second and third place, respectively, during February's election.

The election petition court also dismissed suits on Tinubu's alleged criminal forfeiture of $460,000 to the U.S. government.

The court also stated that the electoral body was not under any obligation by law to transmit polling station results electronically as claimed by the oppositions' petitions.

Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) welcomed the court ruling and praised the judges for their thoroughness, while calling for support.

"It's clear that they brought a very hopeless case to court, said APC national publicity secretary Felix Morka. Anyone who listened to that judgment  will find that the court was meticulous in its review of all of the strands of arguments and facts that were brought before it. But again, we are a democracy and the right to challenge the decision of a court is a constitutional right. So, the parties involved are free to appeal this matter to the highest court of the land."

On Wednesday, supporters of the opposition parties staged rallies near the appeals court warning they'd occupy the streets if the ruling is unfair.

James Mikel was one of the demonstrators.

"We're asking the judiciary to do the right thing, he said. They should not kill this little democracy that we still have in this country. If not at the end of the day, there will be anarchy. I'm ready for anarchy, I'm not afraid to die."

No challenge to the outcome of a presidential election has been successful in Nigeria since 1999.

The opposition says it will appeal the ruling at the Supreme Court, and many will be watching to see if it is successful.
China is turning to artificial intelligence to rile up U.S. voters and stoke divisions ahead of the countrys 2024 presidential elections, according to a new report.

Threat analysts at Microsoft warned in a blog post Thursday that Beijing has developed a new artificial intelligence capability that can produce eye-catching content more likely to go viral compared to previous Chinese influence operations.

According to Microsoft, the six-month-long effort appears to use AI-generators, which are able to both produce visually stunning imagery and also to improve it over time.

We have observed China-affiliated actors leveraging AI-generated visual media in a broad campaign that largely focuses on politically divisive topics, such as gun violence, and denigrating U.S. political figures and symbols, Microsoft said.

We can expect China to continue to hone this technology over time, though it remains to be seen how and when it will deploy it at scale, it added.

China on Thursday dismissed Microsofts findings.

In recent years, some western media and think tanks have accused China of using artificial intelligence to create fake social media accounts to spread so-called pro-China information, Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told VOA in an email. Such remarks are full of prejudice and malicious speculation against China, which China firmly opposes.

According to Microsoft, Chinese government-linked actors appear to be disseminating the AI-generated images on social media while posing as U.S. voters from across the political spectrum. The focus has been on issues related to race, economic issues and ideology.

In one case, the Microsoft researchers pointed to an image of the Statue of Liberty altered to show Lady Liberty holding both her traditional torch and also what appears to be a machine gun.

The image is titled, The Goddess of Violence, with another line of text warning that democracy and freedom is being thrown away.

But the researchers say there are clear signs the image was produced using AI, including the presence of more than five fingers on one of the statues hands.

In any case, the early evidence is that the efforts are working.

This relatively high-quality visual content has already drawn higher levels of engagement from authentic social media users, according to a Microsoft report issued along with the blog post.

Users have more frequently reposted these visuals, despite common indicators of AI-generation, the report added.

Additionally, the Microsoft report says China is having Chinese state media employees masquerade as as independent social media influencers.

These influencers, who appear across most Western social media sites, tend to push out both lifestyle content and also propaganda aimed at localized audiences.

Microsoft reports the influencers have so far built a following of at least 103 million people in 40 languages.
Russia is criticizing a new U.S. aid package for Ukraine that includes depleted uranium tank ammunition, saying the decision to send the rounds is a clear sign of inhumanity.

Russias embassy in Washington said on Telegram Wednesday that the United States is "deliberately transferring weapons with indiscriminate effects" and that it is fully aware of potential health and safety consequences from the ammunition.

The tank rounds could help Ukrainian forces destroy Russian tanks and have previously been provided to Ukraine by Britain.

Pentagon spokesperson Marine Corps Lt. Col. Garron Garn defended the use of the munitions in a statement to The Associated Press in March, saying the U.S. military "has procured, stored, and used depleted uranium rounds for several decades, since these are a longstanding element of some conventional munitions."

Garn said Russia is among the countries that have long possessed depleted uranium rounds.

The U.N. Office for Disarmament Affairs says depleted uranium is the main byproduct of uranium enrichment, and that because of its high density it is used in munitions designed to penetrate armor plating.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said multiple evaluations of areas where depleted uranium munitions have been used "indicated that the existence of depleted uranium residues dispersed in the environment does not pose a radiological hazard to the population of the affected regions."

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
The Ukrainian military said Thursday its air defenses destroyed 25 of 33 drones that Russia used to attack the Sumy and Odesa regions overnight.

Oleh Kiper, the regional governor of Odesa, said the Russian attack hit the Izmail area for the fourth time in five days, injuring one person.

Kiper said the attack also damaged port infrastructure facilities and an administrative building.

Russias Defense Ministry said it destroyed two Ukrainian drones over the Rostov region, as well as one in Bryansk and another on the outskirts of Moscow.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that debris from a downed drone landed in the Ramensky district but did not cause any damage or casualties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced new Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on Thursday, saying transparency and trust are a priority.

Zelenskyy said he wants Umerov to strengthen the ministrys strategic and coordination functions for the entire defense sector, prioritize individual warriors and cut red tape, develop international cooperation and ensure Ukraine completes its NATO accession homework, and scale up the successes of specific units for all of our defense forces.

Zelenskyy picked Umerov to replace Oleksii Reznikov, who helped secure Western military aid in response to Russias full-scale invasion. The leadership shakeup followed allegations of corruption at the Defense Ministry, which Reznikov dismissed as a smear campaign.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the European Parliament on Thursday that Ukrainian forces are gradually gaining ground and breaching Russian defenses in their counteroffensive. He pushed back against critics who say the counteroffensive has not been successful, citing the unpredictable nature of war and the need to stand by Ukraine through both good days and bad.

"To support Ukraine is not an option, it is a necessity to ensure that to preserve peace for our members, for our countries, and to ensure that authoritarian regimes [dont] achieve what they want by violating international law and using military force, Stoltenberg said.

The NATO chief also said he expects Turkeys parliament to ratify Swedens accession to the alliance as soon as possible when lawmakers reconvene in October.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
A wealthy Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison for his role in a nearly $100 million stock market cheating scheme that relied on secret earnings information stolen through the hacking of U.S. computer networks.

Vladislav Klyushin, who ran a Moscow-based information technology company that did work for the highest levels of the Russian government, was convicted in February of charges that include wire fraud and securities fraud after a two-week trial in federal court in Boston.

Authorities say he personally pocketed more than $33 million in the scheme, which involved breaking into computer systems to steal earnings-related filings for hundreds of companies  including Microsoft and Tesla  and then using that insider information to make lucrative trades.

Klyushin, 42, has been jailed in the U.S. since his extradition in 2021, and the more than two years he's been detained will be credited to his prison term. He was arrested in Switzerland after arriving on a private jet and just before he and his party were about to board a helicopter to whisk them to a nearby ski resort. After he completes his sentence, he's expected to be deported to Russia.

Klyushin, who walked into the courtroom in handcuffs, sat at a table with his attorneys and listened to an interpreter through headphones as lawyers argued over the sentence. At the advice of his attorney, he declined to address the judge before she sentenced him.

Four alleged co-conspirators  including a Russian military intelligence officer who's also been charged with meddling in the 2016 presidential election  remain at large, and even though prosecutors allege in a court filing that they're still "likely sitting at their keyboards," they acknowledge that the four will likely never be extradited to the United States to face charges.

Prosecutors had sought 14 years in prison, saying a stiff punishment was crucial to send a message to overseas cybercriminals. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Kosto told the judge that Klyushin has accepted no responsibility for his crimes and that once he serves his sentence, he'll return to Russia, where he is a "powerful person" with "powerful friends in the highest echelons of Russian society."

"Hackers will be watching this sentence to decide whether it's worth engaging in this kind of conduct," Kosto said.

Prosecutors say the hackers stole employees' usernames and passwords for two U.S.-based vendors that publicly traded companies use to make filings through the Securities and Exchange Commission. They then broke into the vendors' computer systems to get filings before they became public, prosecutors said.

Armed with insider information, they were able to cheat the stock market, buying shares of a company that was about to release positive financial results, and selling shares of a company that was about to post poor financial results, according to prosecutors. Many of the earnings reports were downloaded via a computer server in Boston, prosecutors said.

Klyushin denied involvement in the scheme. His attorney told jurors that he was financially successful long before he began trading stocks and that he continued trading in many of the same companies even after access to the alleged insider information was shut off because the hacks were discovered.

Defense attorney Maksim Nemtsev called prosecutors' prison request "draconian," adding that there is "no reason to think that he would risk the well-being of his family again by committing crimes."

His lawyers asked the court for leniency, saying Klyushin had no prior criminal history and has already been seriously punished. He spent months in solitary confinement in Switzerland while awaiting extradition to the U.S., and his company has lost multimillion-dollar contracts, his attorneys wrote.

Klyushin owned a Moscow-based information technology company that purported to provide services to detect vulnerabilities in computer systems. It counted among its clients the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Ministry of Defense, according to prosecutors.

Klyushin's close friend and an alleged co-conspirator in the case is military officer Ivan Ermakov, who was among 12 Russians charged in 2018 with hacking into key Democratic Party email accounts, including those belonging to Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign chairman, John Podesta, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Ermakov, who worked for Klyushin's company, remains at large.

Prosecutors have not alleged that Klyushin was involved in the election interference.
The chaos of war surrounds the women in Sudanese artist Abubakr Moazs paintings.

Shes sitting in here, confused and doesnt know what to do, Moaz said, describing on of them. And there are gunshots around her.  She just left and [is] going nowhere, because shes not able to live in her house anymore.

Its a scene Moaz knows from experience. He fled his home in Khartoum a few months after violence erupted there in April. He says he left everything behind, including his art studio. He first went through Ethiopia before landing in Kenya about a month ago.

It was just tough days, really, really tough days, he told VOA. You needed to sleep outside in the streets for days, waiting for your bus, waiting for visas. Luckily  we had our passports with us.

His work currently is part of an exhibit in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, by a group of Sudanese artists.

Organizers called the pop-up exhibition, Resilient Transitions, an opportunity to create a space where all the Sudanese artists in exile can gather and meet others like themselves, said curator Rahiem Shadad.

One of the main reasons why we did this event was to sort of bring in the Sudanese visual artists who came here due to the war and connect them one way or another to artists who are already in Nairobi, who have already created such a support system that have made this transition quite easy, Shadad told VOA.

Once the director of Downtown Gallery in Khartoum, Shadad said that dealing with the trauma and displacement of war has been difficult.

Most of us have lost a lot, he said. For example, for me, I lost a gallery, which hosted over 450 paintings inside of it.

Its been nearly five months since civil war erupted in Sudan between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and theres no end in sight. The U.N. Refugee Agency estimates that by year's end, 1.8 million people will flee to neighboring countries.

Event co-organizer Mohamed Elhassan is the director of 249 Arts and Culture in Sudan. He said the Nairobi event was a way to introduce artists to the local market and try to connect them to the world.

What it means for us is basically to support these artists who had to flee the war and come here and restart from scratch, Elhassan told VOA. They lost their galleries. They lost their studios, even their  art that was there.

For me, the most significant thing is for these artists to be able to produce again, for them to be able to break out of the trauma they face after the war  and be able to come up with all these great pieces you guys are seeing today, he said.

Elhassan also said that Sudanese people have proven over the years that they are resilient and have always managed to find creativity out of chaos.

Tibian Bahari, a Sudanese artist who works with recycled material and construction waste as well as on canvas, has a painting, Topography of Home, in the exhibition.

She told VOA that the recent war has affected her and others in different ways.

My painting has now significantly changed in terms of strength, in terms of contributing, in terms of I am also here, she said. I feel angry, and I am not really rushing into navigating that emotion of anger. I am actually more into dwelling into the question of what now? What can I do? How can I contribute as a diaspora? What is my responsibility as a diaspora, as an artist?  And most importantly, how am I documenting this time at a time when everything is being erased, everything is being disrupted.

Ibrahim Ahmad, an award-winning Sudanese filmmaker who, like many, was displaced because of the war, said it was important to be at the event to connect with people that he used to know in Sudan, share knowledge with the new ones and together process the new realities.

And like many, he said he hadnt expected the war to drag on for so long. That is one of the reasons that the only thing he took with him when he fled was his phone, he said.

But Ive lost everything, he said, because  everyone thought that it would end soon.

Ahmad said that he has been building his filmmaking and video production business for the past five years, and that while its hard to put a value on everything he lost, the equipment he left behind was worth between $40,000 and $50,000.
The Taliban, facing international sanctions and a dire economic outlook at home, have intensified efforts to leverage Afghanistan's vast natural resources.

From oil to copper, gold and lithium, the Islamist leadership, unrecognized by any nation as Afghanistan's legitimate government, has inked multibillion-dollar mining deals with Chinese and other foreign companies.

The landlocked country has plunged deep into economic trouble since Western donors cut off all development assistance, amounting to several billion dollars annually, after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

Donors have also slashed humanitarian funding for Afghanistan, prompting aid agencies to suspend critical funding for about 10 million Afghans facing acute food insecurity.

Taliban officials contend they are using domestic sources to try to bridge the chasm left by the withdrawal of foreign aid. Critics, however, contend that the Taliban have other intentions.

What the Taliban see in these contracts is both cash and a diplomatic link to the Chinese government, said Arian Sharifi, a lecturer at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs.

Afghanistan's untapped mineral wealth, estimated to be worth trillions of dollars, has historically struggled to attract foreign investment because of security concerns and a lack of infrastructure.

Work under a $3 billion contract signed in 2007 between China Metallurgical Group Corp. and the Afghan government for copper mining has yet to commence, despite a 25-year time frame.

This past January, another Chinese company, Xinjiang Central Asia Petroleum and Gas Company, pledged a $540 million investment until 2026 for oil extraction in northern Afghanistan.

Evading sanctions?

For over three decades, numerous Taliban leaders have remained on the United Nations' terrorism sanctions list, barring them from foreign business and travel.

Several Western countries, including the United States, Canada and various European nations, have also imposed economic, banking and political sanctions on Taliban individuals and entities.

Spokespersons at the U.S. State and Treasury departments did not answer questions on whether the Talibans mining contracts with Chinese companies violated the existing sanctions regime.

U.S. sanctions generally require U.S. persons and some foreign persons to comply, said Alex Zerden, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

A foreign company could be violating U.S. sanctions if the company engages in a transaction or dealing with a designated person and the transaction or dealing has a nexus to the United States, Zerden told VOA.

U.S. sanctions do not necessarily apply to Chinese companies doing business with the Taliban as long as they avoid going through U.S. financial systems, experts say.

When it comes to bilateral sanctions from the U.S. side, it's basically that no U.S. entity, be it a company or an individual, is able to do anything with the Taliban. And that has nothing to do with other countries, because other countries don't abide by bilateral sanctions, said Princetons Sharifi.

China, however, has supported U.N. Security Council Resolution 1988 (2011), which calls on all member states to freeze Taliban assets and economic resources, deny their entry and transit, and prevent the sale, supply and transit of weapons to them.

The U.N. resolution, experts say, needs urgent revisions to respond to the realities in Afghanistan, where the Taliban function as the only governing body.

Like other regimes facing sanctions, the Taliban claim U.N. and U.S. sanctions primarily hurt ordinary people by limiting and weakening the national economy.

Stability

Last year, the U.S. government issued exemptions allowing certain commercial transactions with Afghanistans governing institutions, except those directly benefiting sanctioned Taliban individuals.

Graeme Smith, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said as long as revenue from a business or contract does not go directly into the pockets of sanctioned Taliban officials, fees, taxes or royalties can be paid to the de facto Afghan government.

In early 2022, the U.S. government specifically clarified that such agreements are permitted under American law, Smith said, adding that Washington and its allies have strategic interests in the stability of the region, including in the economic revival.

Smith said the lingering effects of sanctions and other economic pressures have hobbled the Afghan banking system, complicating large-scale investments in mining and other sectors.

Mining requires heavy investment up front, with years of work before profits flow. So, the investors are taking a risk, and making the assumption that the Taliban will guarantee stability and keep their side of the bargain, he told VOA.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington and the foreign ministry in Beijing did not respond to requests for comment.

While pressing the Taliban on womens rights and other governance issues  in addition to terrorism-related sanctions  the U.S. government has refrained from supporting anti-Taliban groups that seek to topple the Taliban.

Weakening the Taliban could risk internal war in Afghanistan, thereby giving terrorist groups opportunities to flourish and target other countries, experts say.

America and its allies have strategic interests in the stability of the region, and that requires economic revival, said Smith.
A judge sentenced "That '70s Show" show star Danny Masterson to 30 years to life in prison Thursday for raping two women, giving them some relief after they spoke in court about the decades of damage he inflicted.

"When you raped me, you stole from me," said one woman who Masterson was convicted of raping in 2003. "That's what rape is, a theft of the spirit.

"You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent," she said. "The world is better off with you in prison."

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo handed down the sentence to the 47-year-old Masterson after hearing statements from the women and pleas for fairness from defense attorneys.

The actor, who has been in custody since May, sat in court wearing a suit. Masterson watched the women without visible reaction as they spoke. He maintains his innocence, and his attorneys plan to appeal.

The other woman Masterson was found guilty of raping said he "has not shown an ounce of remorse for the pain he caused." She told the judge, "I knew he belonged behind bars for the safety of all the women he came into contact with. I am so sorry, and I'm so upset. I wish I'd reported him sooner to the police."

After an initial jury failed to reach verdicts on three counts of rape in December and a mistrial was declared, prosecutors retried Masterson on all three counts earlier this year.

Masterson waived his right to speak before he was sentenced and had no visible reaction after the judge's decision, nor did the many family members sitting beside him. His wife, actor Bijou Phillips, was tearful earlier in the hearing.

At his second trial, the jury found Masterson guilty of two of three rape counts on May 31. Both attacks took place in Masterson's Hollywood-area home in 2003, when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom "That '70s Show."

They could not reach a verdict on the third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.

The judge sentenced the actor after rejecting a defense motion for a new trial that was argued earlier Thursday. The sentence was the maximum allowed by law. It means Masterson will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years but can be held in prison for life.

"I know that you're sitting here steadfast in your claims of innocence, and thus no doubt feeling victimized by a justice system that has failed you," Olmedo told Masterson before handing down the sentence. "But Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another person's voice, and choice. One way or another you will have to come to terms with your prior actions, and their consequences."

After the hearing, Masterson's lawyer Shawn Holley said in a statement that "Mr. Masterson did not commit the crimes for which he was convicted." She said a team of appellate lawyers has identified "a number of significant evidentiary and constitutional issues" with his convictions, which they are confident will be overturned.

Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his prominence in the Church of Scientology  where all three women were also members at the time  to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks, and the women blamed the church for their hesitancy in going to police about Masterson.

At the sentencing hearing, one of the women, who like Masterson was born into the church, said she was shunned and ostracized for going to authorities in 2004.

"I lost everything. I lost my religion. I lost my ability to contact anyone I'd known or loved my entire life," she said. "I didn't exist outside the Scientology world. I had to start my life all over at 29. It seemed the world I knew didn't want me to live."

The church said in a statement after the trial that it has "no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone  Scientologists or not  to law enforcement." It has also denied ever harassing any of the women.

No charges came from the woman's 2004 police report, but she returned to authorities when she learned they were investigating Masterson again in 2016. The other two women had waited more than 15 years before reporting him to anyone other than church officials.
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A recent Wall Street Journal report said the United Arab Emireates was supplying weapons to the paramilitary group allegedly carrying out many of the atrocities in neighboring Sudan. The UAE denies the accusation. Henry Wilkins reports from Adre, Chad.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

JAKARTA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here Thursday that the world should jointly resist the practice of overstretching the concept of security and politicizing economic issues.

Li made the remarks when meeting with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Jakarta, namely the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit.

The current international landscape is marked by change and disorder, and the grimmer the situation is, the more the international community needs to unite and work together to meet the challenges, said the Chinese premier.

Li called on the international community to adopt the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and uphold the philosophy of open and inclusive development.

Li said it is important to step up the reform of the global economic governance system and effectively increase the representation and voice of developing countries in international financial institutions.

The Chinese premier urged the international community to actively yet prudently address the debt issue of developing countries based on the principle of joint action and fair burden-sharing.

The international community should stick to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, and steadily advance international cooperation on climate change in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, said Li.

Li pointed out that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind and the Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In recent years, the Chinese president has successively put forward the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, providing Chinese solutions for global development and governance, Li said.

Li noted that China will continue to firmly support the UN in playing a central role in international affairs, and is ready to work with the UN to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

In the face of various challenges, Guterres said, countries should unite as one, enhance mutual trust, prevent the fragmentation of the world economy, and jointly cope with global challenges.

Noting that China plays an important role in advancing global agenda, the UN secretary-general said the UN is ready to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with China, promote reform of the international economic governance system, help developing countries obtain sufficient resources to meet challenges such as food security, public health and climate change, and contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Wu Zhenglong, among others, was present at the meeting. 

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)
The United States and Britain on Thursday sanctioned 11 people who were part of the Russia-based Trickbot cybercrime hacking group, accusing it of targeting critical government infrastructure and businesses, along with hospitals, during the coronavirus pandemic.

A U.S. Treasury statement said the blacklisted targets included "key actors involved in management and procurement" for Trickbot, which it said had ties to Russian intelligence services although it was taken down in 2022.

Treasury undersecretary Brian Nelson said in a statement, "The United States is resolute in our efforts to combat ransomware and respond to disruptions of our critical infrastructure."

Ransomware refers to the type of malicious software hackers use to lock computers and then extort payments from their users to unblock them.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the sanctions are an attempt to disrupt Trickbot's business model and strip officials of their anonymity.

"We know who they are and what they are doing," he said in a statement.

British officials said the Trickbot group had extorted at least $180 million from people around the world to restore their computer services.

In conjunction with the sanctions, which block any assets the Trickbot officials have in the United States and Britain, the U.S. Justice Department unsealed indictments against nine individuals in the gang.

The Justice Department said that worldwide, more than 900 victims had been affected in about 31 countries and throughout most of the U.S.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the malware attacks in the U.S. had affected local school districts and governments, as well as financial institutions.

The U.S. said that in one instance, the Trickbot group used ransomware against three medical facilities in the midwestern state of Minnesota, "disrupting their computer networks and telephones, and causing a diversion of ambulances."

The U.S. said Trickbot workers "publicly gloated over the ease of targeting the medical facilities and the speed in which ransoms had been paid to the group."



Some material in this report came from Reuters.
Economic woes and depreciation of the yuan in China are affecting the lives of some Chinese immigrants thousands of miles away.

Zhai Li of Pasadena, California, has a consumer goods factory in Chinas Xi'an, Shaanxi province, with her husband. Zhai and her son moved to Beijing so her son could attend elementary school there. She brought him to the U.S. for middle school while her husband stayed in Xi'an to take care of the business.

"Usually, my husband sends us money for living expenses from China. We earn money in China and spend it here. I definitely don't want the yuan to sag because my son's tutoring fees and living expenses cost a lot every month, Zhai said.

The Chinese yuan has slid to 7.3 to the U.S. dollar, a 10-month low and almost at the level of the 2008 global financial crisis, causing worry and uncertainty among some new Chinese immigrants living in the U.S.

"The factory at home can barely operate since the pandemic, which has greatly affected our income. I am really worried," Zhai said.

She said that in the past, if people had a little extra money, they would want to spend it on more expensive things. Since the pandemic, people have run out of money. Many of them buy only whats needed and not necessarily brand-name items, Zhai said.

"As the Chinese economy continues to deteriorate, the rate will likely exceed eight. Then, the yuan will become worthless like a piece of paper," said Chinese immigrant Liu Pingfei, owner of a used-car dealership in Monterey Park, a Chinese enclave in the Los Angeles area.

Vicky Li, a businesswoman in Los Angeles, is more fortunate. She has stores in Los Angeles and Guangzhou specializing in dry goods.

"Usually, if business in China is good, I will exchange the yuan for U.S. dollars. If the business in the U.S. is better, I will exchange U.S. dollars for the yuan and then use it to purchase goods, she said.

The weakness of the yuan has little impact on me because my transactions are not very large, so it is still OK," Li added.

Derek C. Tung has worked as a tax lawyer, accountant and financial planner in Los Angeles for 34 years. He works with many Chinese immigrant clients. He said the weak yuan would affect the middle class the most, and he expected the Chinese currency to continue to depreciate, chipping away at the purchasing power of people who depend on the yuan, such as Chinese students studying in the U.S.

"If you are not in the U.S. to invest but to study, and your parents are only working class, civil servants or ordinary workers in the private sector, with an annual income between 100,000 and 200,000 yuan ($13,666-$27,333), the weakness of the yuan will have a great impact on them," Tung said.

Tung said he expected fewer Chinese to be traveling to the U.S. and buying real estate for investment in the future. However, people will still invest on a smaller scale and purchase primary residences, he said.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
Analysts say that when the G20 summit kicks off in New Dehli Saturday, the absence of Chinas leader Xi Jinping is likely to overshadow efforts to address pressing global issues such as climate change and Russias war in Ukraine.

Beijing has said little about why Xi will be absent. In a one-sentence notice on its website Monday, Chinas Foreign Ministry announced that Premier Li Qiang would attend instead. At a press briefing later that day, ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning had little to add, only that, China has all along attached great importance to and taken an active part in G20 events.

Analysts say that Xis decision to skip the meeting raises questions and highlights the shifting priorities of Beijings foreign policy agenda. For starters, they say, not attending will mean missing out on opportunities to engage with other world leaders at the highest level and improve relations.

China wants to be a leader in global diplomacy, but Xis absence contradicts that image, Moritz Rudolf, a fellow at Yale Law Schools Paul Tsai China Center, told VOA in a phone interview.

Rudolf said the decision also reflects the shifting focus of Chinas foreign policy agenda, which prioritizes engagement with developing countries.

[From] the BRICS Summit and other diplomatic events, including the China-Central Asia Summit in May and Xis trip to the Middle East, we can try to derive the priority for Chinas foreign policy, Rudolf said, adding that the focus is on the Global South.

The priority of Chinas foreign policy is not at the G20 Summit as its not the forum where China could benefit that much from. Its easier for them to prioritize the upcoming Belt and Road Forum, where they will mark the 10th anniversary, he added.

China hosts the 10th anniversary of the forum in Beijing next month.

Close friends first

Since coming to power more than a decade ago, Xi has not missed a single G20 summit. This year, despite China's lifting of tight COVID-19 restrictions and the beginning of his norm-breaking third term in office, his travel overseas has been reduced significantly.

So far, Xi has only left China twice  once to travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in March and more recently to attend the BRICS Summit in South Africa. Both are viewed as countries friendly to China.

For Xi to visit a certain country, even for [attending] a multilateral forum, it still requires a relatively positive bilateral relationship [between China and the host country,] Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center, a think tank based in Washington, told VOA in a phone interview.

Some examples that reflect this tradition include Xis attendance at the G20 Summit in Indonesia and his participation in the APEC Summit in Thailand in 2022.

These are countries that China has relatively good relationships with, so Im not surprised that Xi is skipping the G20 Summit in India, she added.

Sun and other analysts say they think the unresolved tensions between China and India contributed to Xi skipping the G20 Summit.

In the Chinese view, India is not working with China, Sun said. China has been complaining that India is using G20 and its related meetings to assert its claims over disputed territory.

While China and India have held a series of dialogues aimed at resolving the longstanding border disputes, a new map released by Beijing last week that showed Chinas claim to the disputed territories, prompted New Delhi to lodge a diplomatic protest.

Apart from the persistent tension with India, other analysts think the U.S.-led efforts to counter China and Washingtons recent military support for Taiwan may have also contributed to Xis decision to skip the G20 Summit.

Bidens visit to India and Vietnam is viewed as an effort to encircle China in Beijing, and Beijing is alarmed by Washingtons stepped-up military aid for Taiwan, Zhiqun Zhu, an expert on Chinese foreign policy at Bucknell University, told VOA in a emailed response.

APEC next?

Reaction to Xis decision to skip the G20 Summit from world leaders has been mixed, with U.S. President Joe Biden expressing disappointment with the news and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar noting that Xis absence wont affect G20 leaders efforts to produce a communique.

Although some observers say it will be a missed opportunity, others think Chinas decision to not engage with certain countries is part of an effort to get them to change their behavior.

For example, if the goal is to change the U.S. behavior, some would say the fact that Washington has sent four Cabinet members to Beijing since June is a good sign that the Chinese strategy is working, Sun from the Stimson Center told VOA in a phone interview.

Whether or not the approach will also be applied to the APEC Leaders Summit, which Washington is hosting in San Francisco, remains to be seen.

Discussions for a potential meeting on the sidelines of the summit in November are still in the works. Sun said Xis participation may be affected by Washingtons decision on whether to allow Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee to take part in the event.

The Washington Post reported in July that the White House had decided to bar Lee from attending the summit. If John Lee is denied a visa, the Chinese will see this as a major loss of face, Sun said.

With around two months left until the APEC Summit, Sun said an important indicator of Xis pending participation is whether Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi makes a trip to Washington to pave the way for the occasion.

if Wang goes to Washington, thats a strong signal that Xi will attend the APEC Summit, she said.
North Korea's nuclear and missile programs pose "an existential threat" to the Indo-Pacific region and a direct threat to regional peace, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Thursday during the East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.

His remarks came after a New York Times report that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un plans to travel to Russia later this month to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss an arms trade. Moscow is seeking more weapon supplies from Pyongyang to be used in its war on Ukraine.

In return, Kim is interested in Russia providing advanced technology for satellites and nuclear-powered submarines, according to the report.

South Korean officials and analysts say if North Korea is able to receive such advanced technology from Russia, it would elevate the threat level posed to South Korea and its allies.

North Korea's nuclear and missile development is a serious violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions," Yoon said. "It is an existential threat that can target and strike all nations participating in today's meeting.

Yoon is in Indonesia this week attending the East Asia Summit, a premier forum for strategic dialogue in the Indo-Pacific region that includes leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.

North Korea wants high tech military technologies with which they can build satellites, nuclear submarines, miniaturized nuclear warheads, said Jaechun Kim, who is dean of Sogang Universitys Graduate School of International Studies. It also needs intercontinental ballistic missile [ICBM] technologies, such as atmospheric reentry and multiple-warheads technology.

Russia will not give them all, but it can give some. Transfer of such technologies will pose significant threats not just to South Korea but also to the United States, Kim told VOA on Thursday.

Others suggest the Southeast Asian bloc has some leverage over North Korea to dissuade it from providing arms to Russia for it to use against Ukraine.

Nine of the 10 member states of ASEAN maintain diplomatic ties with North Korea, except for Malaysia.

What leverage?

A promise from ASEAN and its members that if North Korea provides Russia with military assistance for its war in Ukraine, North Korea would be sanctioned by ASEAN and its members, with the possibility of being expelled from ASEAN, said former Ambassador Joseph DeTrani, who was the special envoy for Six Party Talks from 2003 to 2006.

On the positive side: If North Korea does not provide military assistance to Russia, ASEAN will work with the U.N. to lift certain sanctions affecting the people of North Korea and, thus, provide more economic development assistance to North Korea, DeTrani told VOA in an email.

Professor Park Won-gon, who teaches North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University, said the United States, South Korea and Japan should put more emphasis on ASEAN to stop North Korea from further provocation.

We all see in the past couple of years that the United Nations Security Council could not simply do anything meaningful to stop North Korea's nuclear development because Russia and China have exercised their veto powers, he told VOA.

North Koreas founding anniversary

Saturday marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, North Koreas official name. Scheduled celebrations include a military parade.

China said a delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong will visit North Korea to participate in related events.

We, the Korean government, are closely monitoring major issues related to the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including exchanges between China and North Korea, said South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lim Soo-suk in a briefing on Thursday. We hope that China-North Korea relations will move toward contributing to peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula.

Some observers, including Park, said the relatively lower level of the Chinese delegation is a reflection that a closer military alignment between Pyongyang and Moscow is bothersome to Beijing.

Comparing to five years ago when DPRK celebrated the 70th anniversary of its establishment, China sent a permanent member of its Politburo  which is a very high position because all of the permanent members of Chinese Communist Partys Politburo are equivalent to the prime ministers level, he said.

In 2018, China dispatched its third-highest ranking official, Li Zhanshu, to North Korea.

Other Seoul-based experts said North Korea seeks separate strategic goals from China and Russia.

From Kim Jong Un's point of view, the idea is to build economic cooperation with China and the military with Russia, as seen from the last Victory Day and the coming September 9 event, Professor Yang Moo-jin from the University of North Korean Studies told VOA.

In July, Kim personally received Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as Pyongyang celebrated its self-proclaimed Victory Day.

Lee Juhyun contributed to this report.
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ACCRA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has approved the provision of 107 million U.S. dollars in loans to China's Sunda International Group to ramp up its production in five African countries.

The IFC said in a statement late Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with the Chinese manufacturing firm to expand its production facilities in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya and Nigeria.

Sunda will invest 48 million dollars to establish a powder detergent production factory in Ghana's capital of Accra and increase the production of diapers and other personal care products.

In Cote d'Ivoire, IFC's 24 million dollars will help the Chinese company build a factory to produce construction materials, including sheet metal and reinforcement bar products. The company will also invest 35 million dollars to enhance the production of personal care products in Nigeria, Guinea and Kenya.

"IFC is committed to strengthening manufacturing in Africa because it builds skills, creates jobs, and helps ensure that essential products are more readily available and affordable on the continent," said Dahlia Khalifa, IFC's regional director for Central Africa, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

In the meantime, the Chinese company said that it values the partnership with the IFC, which will help increase the company's production in five key African markets and promote exchanges between the private sectors in China and African countries to boost local employment and economic growth. 
Photo: Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Images

Update September 27: Bruce Springsteen is under doctors orders to postpone more shows. According to CNN, Springsteens pernicious peptic ulcers have forced the Boss to cancel the rest of his 2023 dates. Springsteen and the E Street Band released a statement on social media, explaining the decision. New dates will be given for 2024. When the new 2024 dates are announced, those unable to attend on the new date who purchased their tickets through official ticketing companies have 30 days to request a refund. All tickets for postponed performances will remain valid for the newly announced dates, the statement read. But there is good news: Springsteen says he is recovering, albeit more slowly than hed like. Thanks to all my friends and fans for your good wishes, encouragement, and support, the statement read. Im on the mend and cant wait to see you all next year.

Original story follows.

Even the Boss has to call in sick sometimes. Bruce Springsteen is postponing eight upcoming shows to treat peptic ulcer disease, a stomach condition, at the decision of his medical advisers. The move comes weeks after Springsteen and the E Street Band postponed two Philadelphia shows for August 16 and 18 due to illness, which were rescheduled to August 2024. The eight newly delayed shows start tonight in Syracuse, New York, and include his entire September tour schedule; new dates have yet to be announced. Were heartbroken to have to postpone these shows, Springsteen said on social media. Well be back to pick these shows up and then some. Thank you for your understanding and support. Springsteen is set to return to the road November 3 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver and continue touring through December. Below, the postponed shows:

September 7  Syracuse, N.Y. @ JMA Wireless Dome

September 9  Baltimore, M.D. @ Oriole Park at Camden Yards

September 12  Pittsburgh, P.A. @ PPG Paints Arena

September 14  Pittsburgh, P.A. @ PPG Paints Arena

September 16  Uncasville, C.T. @ Mohegan Sun Arena

September 19  Albany, N.Y. @ MVP Arena

September 21  Columbus, O.H. @ Nationwide Arena

September 29  Washington, D.C. @ Nationals Park
Far and away the best episode of The Wheel of Time yet, this third and final installment of season twos initial batch of three bears out the wisdom of that release schedule. After watching this teeming hour-plus of television, bursting with big ideas, memorable dialogue, and committed, witty performances, its hard not to want to see where the Wheel turns next.

The episode begins and ends with an affecting, virtually self-contained plotline: the testing of Nynaeve by her Aes Sedai higher-ups to see if shes worthy of joining the sisterhood. This is conducted by stepping through three Arches of ancient design located in White Tower, each of which possesses a mysterious magic that makes the women who walk through them face their worst fears. If you can pass through all three and return, which is harder than it sounds, congratulations, youre an Aes Sedai. If you cant? Nice knowing you.

Like many such contrivances throughout fantastic fiction, the Arches bring Nynaeve visions of things that were (the slaughter of her family by invaders), things that are (a plague sweeping through her hometown at this very moment), and things that yet may be (a life of peace with Lan as her husband and Mat and Perrin as her best buddies). But that last illusion is so convincing that Nynaeve really believes she has chosen to reject the Aes Sedai and return home, so she remains trapped in a sort of pocket dimension, never to be seen in the real world again.

Or so it seems. Eventually, the illusion is pierced when Trollocs sack her home, killing Lan, Mat, and Perrin. Then the Arch that leads back to reality appears, and Nynaeve realizes what the past few years of her life have really been. She makes a heartbreaking effort to drag her daughter back through the Arch and into the real world, only to collapse into Egwenes arms when she emerges to discover her own arms are empty. This wasnt the illusion of domestic tranquility Ishamael tempted Rand with at the end of season one: This was, somehow, real, and now its really gone.

Director Sanaa Hamri lingers on Nynaeves gutting grief for a good long time before the final cut to black, as well she should. From now on, Nynaeve will always remember the family she lost in a world known only to her. Shes not just devastated; shes fundamentally alone with her devastation.

In a way, the episode functions as a sort of relay race between actors Zoe Robins, who plays Nynaeve, and Kate Fleetwood, who portrays her would-be mentor Liandrin. Predictably, she handles Nynaeves apparent death horribly, all sorry but thems the breaks one moment, misplaced rage the next, hidden sorrow the next. She tells Egwene that Nynaeve was a disappointment while scaring the shit out of the young novice. She sets Mat free out of what she refers to as regret that she wasted her time on him when she could have been better training the sister who died that day. She reads him to filth in the process (at one point calling him a coward who mistakes his own moral failings for cunning and wit, yikes), to the point where he barely wants to leave his cell after all.

Now, Liandrin conveniently leaves out that the dead sister in question is Nynaeve, though she encourages Mat to be a friend to Egwene. But shes counting on him not to follow through, to run away instead, and to take his fellow prisoner Min with him. It turns out that Liandrin and Min are in cahoots; its part of some plot to free them both from being under Moraines thumb, though how exactly that happened is deliberately unclear.

At any rate, as strong as Robins is in depicting Nynaeves sense of loss, Fleetwood is just as powerful in conveying the imperious arrogance Linadrin uses as a substitute for actually feeling her loss. Director Hamri, who I assume is responsible for making this episode look noticeably brighter and more thoughtfully composed than its predecessors, films Fleetwoods bright eyes and high-cheekboned face like canvases for light. This is especially apparent in her confrontation with Egwene, staged on a vast balcony against the glowing backdrop of the city sky at sunset. Its the first time a shot on this show had me saying, Wow.

It certainly wasnt the only time I said it in this episode, though. Elsewhere, we get a good look at the Seanchan, the strange invaders from beyond the sea. And friends? Holy shit, they look awesome. Severe makeup, Cenobite headgear, skull-visored helmets, armor like something out of Bram Stokers Dracula, a bejeweled ruler atop a towering littler like a veiled female version of the guy from 300: Its almost as if the show held back its entire bitchin costume budget for this very moment.

Theres more fun stuff to be found in this end of the story. The Seanchan warlord has a unique method for executing her enemies: Slamming them face-first into a spike that tapers to a needle-like point, impaling them through the mouth, and then widening the aperture to a genuinely disgusting degree. All will bow, the Seanchan leader, High Lady Suroth (Karima McAdams), portentously intones, and man, she wasnt kidding.

Shes also got a friend in Ishamael, played by Fares Fares as if hes always chuckling to himself about a private joke at everyone elses expense. His costume isnt the lesson in badassery that are the Seanchan outfits, but putting him in clothes that look more like something someone would wear in a show about the near future rather than the distant, imagined past is extremely shrewd  such an easy way to convey the idea that hes not of this earth and far more advanced than anyone were rooting for. This includes Perrin, whom he taunts with what comes across like real enjoyment (I want to meet the monster, he purrs at him) before the wolfman is freed from captivity by a pack led by his tracker buddy Elyas.

The final storyline follows the increasingly interesting Rand alThor as he attempts to learn how to control the One Power from his new patient at the mental hospital, Logain. The former False Dragon is a wily one, recalling Rand from spotting his aura in a crowd and sussing out his motivations from the start  as well as demanding a rare wine for his troubles.

Rand secures the vintage at a fancy party thats very Dangerous Liaisons. There, a cynical aristocrat tells him the big hunt for the Horn of Valere that the citys queen is organizing is just a way to unload some of the refugees that flooded into the city following its war against the Aiel. (Rand is of Aiel descent, hence the shaved head to conceal the desert races telltale red hair.)

Furious, he abandons his girlfriend Selene at the party to get the information he can from Logain. Actor Alvaro Morte makes the most of his screen time; he and Josha Stradowski turn Logain and Rands interaction into the kind of conversation the Joker might have with Batman in Arkham Asylum. Alas, Logain has no answers Rand wants to hear: The One Power will slowly overwhelm him until it pours out of him uncontrollably.

Which it does. Not during sex, fortunately, though it provides one hell of a light show and a real turn-on for the thrill-seeking Selene. Instead, it flows out of him in the middle of the night and sets Selenes inn ablaze. He can already do this without even trying, so whats he going to be capable of when hes fully trained?

Im looking forward to finding out, even if I worry that itll take the better part of 20 years to tell the full story on television. It took season two until now to finally get it right, but this episode feels like Wheel has activated its potential. Writer John McCutcheons script takes big swings and connects and contains some of the shows most memorable dialogue to boot. Could this series really have passed through the proverbial Arches and emerged again, stronger, wiser, and prepared for the fight to come?
Ken Bell-Garrison leans against the wooden railing of the docks at Viewpoint Landing in Skamokawa. An easy-going man with a wry smile, Bell-Garrison is a veteran kayaker but this is his first time visiting the Lower Columbia.

Behind him, a sandy bank on the north point of Price Island slides elegantly into Steamboat Slough. He likes paddling in sloughs.

"You're just right there and there's wildlife and plants all just right around you, as opposed to just going out across the lake," Bell-Garrison says. "The paddling is nice, but all you see is water 'til you get over there."

A retired social worker from Spokane, Bell-Garrison is embarking on his first adventure in this part of the world as a participant in Road Scholar, a national nonprofit dedicated to curating trips for lifelong learners. Mostly geared toward retirees, Road Scholar offers vacation programs across the country and around the planet that focus on active learning and cultural immersion.

The crisp air at Viewpoint Landing is alive with birds of all kinds, particularly dozens of purple martins that dive in and out of view. They make a lively racket. The air also buzzes with the somewhat nervous energy of fourteen other Road Scholars, some new to kayaking, some more experienced. They are helping one another with their personal flotation devices and stork-walking amongst the brightly colored Necky Looksha kayaks that are packed onto the dock side by side like giant tinned fish.

Lyn Dahlstrom of Eugene is another veteran paddler. She has been kayaking for about 30 years, mostly whitewater, but got into flatwater kayaking during covid with a 12-foot Eddyline Skylark. This is her first longer trip, and the kayaks they are using are a little bit longer than she's used to.

Altogether the group will go on four multi-hour excursions during the week, and a full morning interpretive hike.

"Flatwater and lakes and easy rivers," she says. "I've never launched from the docks so I'm a little bit freaked about that. I'm fat, and my knees are shot."

"I avoid docks, oh, and this one is very far up!" she says, peering over the high deck to the docks below. "My knees don't bend."

Sandra Lee, of McMinnville, Oregon, is traveling with a dear friend, Brian Mandak. Sandra is new to kayaking, but not to Road Scholar.

"I've never kayaked but this is great," Lee says. "I've tried lots of things with Road Scholar: Hiking, dog sledding in Jackson Hole."

This is Madak's fifth Road Scholar excursion. He's been to Arches National Park in Utah, Escalante National Monument, and Death Valley. He too, is new to the Columbia Pacific region.

"That's the unique thing," he says. "Learning about the area. Looking at these islands, you just kind of wonder, what lives here? And just the natural setting of the place. It's kind of hidden. The dynamic times of the canneries and the logging. Now it's changing."

The night before, the participants had attended a talk by Skamokawa resident and historian Irene Martin. Martin specializes in the history of Wahkiakum County, and speaks eloquently about the changes in the fishing and logging industries over the past century.

Another source of local history is guide Andrew Emlen, whose insights into the changing physical and cultural terrain flow as generously and spontaneously as the river itself. He speaks fluently about the landscape, and historical moments, like when Lewis and Clark first emerged into the widening mouth of the Columbia at the Skamokawa Bend, where the river turns for its final flow to the west.

Emlen points to the narrow gray horizon that stretches between the basalt bluffs and islands of the lower Columbia.

"There was an island blocking their view right here," he says.

"Where did the Island go?" asks one participant.

"The river took it away," Emlen says, simply. "Things are always changing. There's an island we're going to go by that, when I first came here, it still had trees on it. Geese nested on it, it had a little wetland you could get out and explore. It's a sandbar that's under water at low tide now."

Later, having hacked through the wake of a huge Pacific Basin container ship, the group rests near a bank of the Lewis and Clark National Wildlife Refuge, waiting for a few stragglers to catch up. Emlen again points toward the mouth of the river in the far distance.

"See that little thumb of rock? Straight across from there is where Lewis and Clark camped the same day they came through Skamokawa," he says.

He points out some distant spots that catch the light like tiny vertical strokes of brilliant white paint on a canvas. They are American white pelicans, recent arrivals from the inland lakes of eastern Oregon.

"They're climate refugees," Emlen says. Droughts in Oregon have exposed the pelicans' nesting grounds to coyotes, among other hardships.

Emlen is passionate about the natural history of the area. From an early age, his first inclination has been to incorporate geology and natural history into learning.

"Place based learning is important to me," he says. "Every aspect of what we do should reflect the place we are."

I ask him if he grew up in the area.

"Same watershed," he says. "I grew up south of Portland."

Though Emlen has found kayaking to be a uniquely effective way to teach local history, he came to the practice in a surprising way.

"I was living in Astoria when I got the cold call asking if I wanted to start the kayak program. [Warren Rovetch] was looking for someone who already knew the natural and cultural heritage of the area."

Rovetch owned the Skamokawa Resort at the time, and brought Road Scholar to the area in 1998. Emlen had led wilderness adventures, but never by kayak.

"I had some intensive rescue training," he says. "I learned what works at different tides at different times of year. I learned how to read the weather."

The participants of Road Scholar consistently praise Emlen's leadership.

"Andrew just does such a great job," Mandak says. "You can sense his passion for it. It's a good thing to see."

"I feel very safe in Andrew's hands," says Jeanne Clark. Clark is a retired school librarian living northwest of San Antonio. She and her sister, Olivia Koenig, a fundraiser for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, are traveling together. Like many of the participants on this excursion, the sisters heard about Road Scholar from their parents, who took 10 trips with the company. They seem to embody the lifelong learner ethos of Road Scholar. They joke that "go get the encyclopedia" was a common utterance in their parents' house whenever one of the girls had a question. While vacationing as a family, they tended toward trips centered around learning and culture.

"We never went to touristy locations," Koenig says.

The attraction of learning while vacationing is echoed by Kelly Fidei from Evanston, Illinois. She likes the combination of sports, proximity to nature, and learning.

"Like about birds," she says.

I ask her if she, like many of the other participants, is an avid birder.

"No," Fidei says sheepishly, but then adds, flashing a radiant smile, "Now I'm interested! Because I've met some people who are, and I realize there's a lot to it."

It is Fidei's first visit to the area.

"I didn't realize how big and deep the Columbia River is," she says. "We had to kayak across the wake of that huge ship, and I didn't know if I was going to go over!"

Fidei is a management consultant specializing in "a values based way of working. The number one value of respect for people, plus courage, collaboration, experimentation, focus," values that she says align with what she's experiencing here.

"It's a nice community feeling here," Fidei said. "When I work on organizational engagement I always assess the culture, like what's the feel, is it warm and friendly? Is it distant? Why is it distant? Is it survival? I work on helping people create communities."

Later that night, the bulk of the participants gathered for a presentation of music by and about the Columbia Pacific region, featuring members of the kayak guide team playing instruments as varied as the mouth harp and the mandocello, a baritone member of the mandolin family. The songs comprised a surprisingly diverse range of genres, from blues, to rousing bluegrass, to the Finnish Sakkijarven polkka, and culminating in a Motown-inspired setting of verbatim transcripts from this newspaper's weekly sheriff's report.

Brandon J. Simmons Columbia River Kayak guide Wren Hendriks and Nancy Koonce of Twin Falls, ID, prepare to launch.

But the heart of the concert is a trio of songs by Washington songwriter Mary Garvey, including "Tie It Up and Let It Rot," a pained anthem mourning the lost fishing industry; the haunting "Oyster Shell Road," commemorating the Nemah, WA, women working the tide flats of Willapa Bay during World War II; and the rowdy and bawdy "Cannery Shed Song."

The concert tied together the threads of community and history, and showcased the not-so-hidden multi-talents of the kayak guides, offering a unique glimpse into the multifaceted cultural life of the region.

"A number of people have commented that they came expecting to kayak and found a community," Emlen told me later. "They didn't necessarily expect all the extras. That's what I want to show them. That we are a community, and a vibrant one."

For more information, visit http://www.roadscholar.org/
Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian and Tanzanian Commissioner General of Immigration Anna Makakala present the signed agreement on the donation of teaching equipment at the Tanzania Immigration Services Department office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Sept. 6, 2023. (Photo by Herman Emmanuel/Xinhua)

DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian immigration authorities on Wednesday thanked the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania for its donation of teaching equipment for the Tanzania Regional Immigration Training Academy, located in Moshi municipality at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain.

The teaching equipment was handed over by the Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian to Commissioner General of Immigration Anna Makakala at the Tanzania Immigration Services Department offices in Dar es Salaam.

Makakala said the teaching equipment will improve the service of the immigration department. She said she was very optimistic that collaboration between the Tanzania Immigration Services Department and the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania will be sustained.

Chen said she appreciated the efforts of the Tanzania Immigration Services Department in helping Chinese enterprises and Chinese people settle in the East African nation.

"Bilateral cooperation has enhanced the economic and social progress in Tanzania and improved the living standards of the Tanzanian people," said the Chinese envoy. 
Mary Hogue, a recent addition to the community and an architect who specializes in remodels, is a sunny subject for this rainy Monday.

Summer was still making a spectacle of itself when I stopped by Hogue's home at Skamokawa Landing, now Viewpoint Landing, a couple weeks ago. It's a pleasant spot even when the wind kicks up a bit. But that is only natural for that particular location, where Steamboat Slough and the Columbia River come together and the breathtaking view far outweighs any negatives.

Certainly on a summer day such as that one.

In hindsight, you too might find yourself wondering why you didn't have the imagination to turn that particular commercial property into a home.

Considering that Hogue is an architect, I was surprised to learn it wasn't her idea.

That's all down to her husband, Jarrod, who works in education. He used to work for one educational company, Pearson, before setting up mathmentors.us, which connects students with math tutors. He's starting another project now, Hogue said.

Prior to their move to Wahkiakum, the couple resided in Portland. Vacations were sometimes spent in their 22 foot fishing boat, traveling down the river and camping along the way. A few summers ago, Jarrod noticed the landing while they pitched their tents at Vista Park.

They returned again and again in the following months to look over the property.

At the time, Hogue's financial advisor simply responded to their idea with, "It's crazy but it's not stupid.

I can live with that, Hogue told him.

Six months later, the couple and their two daughters would move to Skamokawa.

"Jarrod's always been the one with a real job and steady income," Hogue told me. "Without him I don't know that I could have done it because it would have been too volatile or too risky. But that's what we do now."

"We're risk takers," she said proudly. "I'm glad we did it. I love it here."

Hogue grew up in the Chicago area. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in architecture at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and went on to work in Chicago. At 26, she traveled to France and came home determined to embark on a new adventure in a new city, to live a life that was all her own.

She set out with her resume and quickly found employment, but her focused changed after working with a contractor, creating drawings for a remodel.

Hogue realized she could actually take the lead, or even better, work with her own team. So she set out to do that, starting MKM Architecture. She built a network of contractors in Portland, and her business grew.

What Hogue loves about a remodel is that it's never about her. It's about the house. She remembered an old Tudor she worked on in Portland.

"It was a sizable, classic, and regal house," Hogue said. "A nice house. But the kitchen was made up of tiny, funky shapes. A stove pushed over here, and a refrigerator shoved over there. All these other spaces were big and beautiful, and open, and then there was this. We were going to fix that and make the whole house feel like it could have, should have been that way from the beginning."

She believes in keeping all the period details, and keeping them uniform throughout the house.

"If you walked in and just knew it was a beautiful place, but couldn't say, oh, they did that, and they did that, then I feel like I won," Hogue said.

It's the same for the exterior.

"[The people who live in a neighborhood] might know construction is happening, but are not really paying attention. Later they'll think that house looks fresh, different, or new, but they can't name what was really done," she explained.

"I gravitate to the houses that have the charm, but weren't built as well," Hogue said. "They're harder to work on because they need so much extra stuff. And you're like, oh, man, this is all wonky. But I like the old styles of bungalows and that Tudor, that house I mentioned. And Victorians. They knew what they were doing back in the day. And so I like to know I helped keep it and not have someone tear it down or just do something awful to it and lose that charm that was there originally."

"Portland was actually kind of a perfect place for me to turn into the remodel girl because they do have so many nice older homes," she added. "Even the simple, not fancy ones, they're still charming and delicate. I just kind of stuck on that Remodel Avenue and that's what I got pretty good at, I think."

She enjoys working one on one with people, seeing the before and after of their home, and witnessing all the ways she is improving their lives.

"Your house is 100 years old," she supposed. "We're going to give it another 100 years. We're going to make it usable and functional for another hundred years."

Hogue had been quiet about what she does, but realized people were figuring it out. So twenty years into her career she joined the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce and decided to hang out her shingle, to see if she might find projects near her new home.

She was a bit reluctant without any knowledge of local contractors, but after finding Brad Williams of Nordic Enterprises, and Kent McDaniel, she's excited about her team, and a new project on Puget Island.

"They combine together for the two halves of what you need for a contractor," Hogue said of the pair. "Somebody behind the desk who makes calls, organizes things, and orders things and then the guy that's running around in the field all day. And so far they're great and I'm excited."

As for Skamokawa Landing, or Viewpoint Landing, that's a story for another time, but I will say, if you are looking for lodging, there are three beautifully appointed riverfront condos with lovely views that are available for visiting friends and family.

For more information on Hogue's work, go to mkmarchitecture.com. To see pictures of Viewpoint Landing, or make a reservation, go to https://www.viewpointlanding.com/.
Recipes

What do you want to cook today?
LUSAKA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government said on Thursday that it will intensify measures to monitor the operations of mining firms to ensure adherence to mining regulations.

Paul Kabuswe, minister of mines and minerals development, said there had been rampant flouting of mining regulations in the past due to lax supervision of operations.

"One of the mistakes of the past was negligence in checking on the investors. We have declared all minerals as strategic, and the government will have a serious presence," he said in a live interview on Radio Phoenix.

While acknowledging that the government's desire is to create a conducive environment for investment, the minister said a guiding report has been developed to make sure that the investors operate in accordance with stipulated regulations.

According to him, the government will ensure that all key government institutions are on high alert to prevent environmental pollution, tax evasion, and other illegal activities. 
Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes is making new progress on plans to export clean energy from Australia to Singapore through a 4200-kilometre submarine cable after taking control of the stalled project.

Cannon-Brookess Grok Ventures completed the acquisition of SunCable from administration and is advancing talks with authorities in both Singapore and Indonesia, the investment firm said Thursday. Revised plans envisage building a manufacturing plant for high voltage subsea cables to serve both the project and energy transmission developments globally.

Mike Cannon-Brookes investment company, Grok Ventures, has big plans for the mega-solar project. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

The plan has all the component parts to make the next great Australian infrastructure initiative possible, Cannon-Brooks said in a statement. Theres huge upside for both Australia and our neighbours.

Under a first stage, a vast solar farm in Australias Northern Territory  forecast by Grok to become the worlds largest  would deliver at least an initial 900 megawatts of electricity supply to local industry around Darwin and 1.7 gigawatts for export to Singapore.
Politically Horne was no Orwell. Until the 1970s, he was a committed and active cold warrior, a self-styled radical conservative. In the late 1940s, in a torrent of articles and opinion pieces, he relentlessly denounced the totalitarianism of the Chifley governments postwar planning and its mild socialism, and advocated libertarian individualism and laissez-faire economics.

But all of Orwells biographers, as Anna Funder emphasised in Wifedom, denied agency to Orwells first wife. Thankfully, Ryan Cropp does not similarly airbrush the women from Donald Hornes crowded life.

This is an impressive biography, impeccably researched and beautifully crafted. In its scope, detail, and fluency, it is comparable to the best biographies of George Orwell. The comparison is apt: numerous reviewers likened Hornes God is an Englishman (1969) to the plain-speaking prose of Orwell, and the publishers blurb claims this biography positions Horne as an antipodean Orwell.

In the early 1950s he joined the Conservative Party in England and campaigned against the Attlee Labour government, even contemplating becoming a Tory MP. By the mid-1950s he had embraced the fiercely anti-communist Australian Association for Cultural Freedom (AACF), later edited its publication, Quadrant, and became increasingly apocalyptic in his Cold War attitudes.

Credit:

Hired by Frank Packer, Horne became editor of The Bulletin in 1960. He stripped the magazine of its old racist shibboleths, but steered it in a more strident anti-communist direction. Where others discarded their global bipolar spectacles in light of changing geostrategic realities, Horne became more paranoid about the communist threat at home and abroad. Assisted by the AACF and the hyper-conspiratorial Frank Knopfelmacher, he used The Bulletin to mount a crusade against communist treachery in universities.

It was later revealed that ASIO, as part of its spoiling operations, played a hidden role in this campaign. Packer unceremoniously sacked him in 1962. In this period, Horne was regarded by the liberal left, as Cropp notes, as an unapologetic red-baiter, Packer stooge and all-round intellectual gadfly of the political right.

But then came The Lucky Country, published in 1964. It was his first book and became an instant hit. Within two years it sold a remarkable 80,000 copies and, regularly revised by Horne, it has never been out of print.
THEATER CAMP 

(M) 94 minutes

Theater Camp is concentrated on a primal urge: the unquenchable desire to get on a stage and perform. Its set in the Adirondacks, the upstate New York region familiar to filmgoers as the home of the summer camp movie. This camp, however, scorns outdoor pursuits. The regulars ostracise anyone who does so much as look at a football. All their energies are devoted to the musical they produce each year.

Molly Gordon and Ben Platt in Theater Camp play producers at a struggling theatre summer camp.

All meanings of the word camp apply, for the film is highly histrionic, taking its cues from the hyperactive behaviour of the plays producers, Rebecca-Diane (Molly Gordon) and Amos (Ben Platt). They make a song and dance out of everything, including their regular camp announcements, which are invariably delivered as musical numbers.

Co-written and co-directed by Gordon, the film is a comic mockumentary in the spirit of Best in Show, Christopher Guests celebrated tribute to a similarly obsessive group of dog lovers, but it was inspired by the childhood experiences of Gordon and Platt and the summer school where they first met. Their cast, composers and co-writers are all friends and the whole exercise has an exuberance that speaks of many delirious days and nights of rehearsing, refining and improvising around a piano.
Child sexual abuse has recently been filling the headlines: a Queensland childcare worker charged with more than a thousand offences, 19 men charged in an international sexual abuse ring, cover-ups of paedophile teachers within the Victorian education system, the sentencing of paedophile principal Malka Leifer and the winding up of Tasmanias commission of inquiry into institutional child sexual abuse.

As horrific as these stories are, they are also to be expected. Ever since the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse was established, its been impossible to ignore the horrendous scale of child sexual abuse and the level of damage it wreaks on all parts of society.

Predators know that many children are unsupervised when they are online. Credit: Istock

Last year the Australian Child Maltreatment Study released findings revealing more than a quarter of Australians had experienced childhood sexual abuse. The numbers were scarcely different for young adults, meaning that the overall incidence doesnt appear to be decreasing. There are a lot of resources being poured into addressing this issue, but perpetrators keep two steps ahead of policing. In many countries, including Australia, child sexual abuse remains frighteningly common.

Humans are the most sophisticated animal on the planet; they are strategic and opportunistic and can innately calculate risk to benefit ratios. If selfish criminal behaviours are low risk and high yield, there will always be individuals who will choose that selfish criminal path. A famous behavioural ecology study from 2001 set out to tackle the controversial question of whether rape was an evolved behaviour, using mathematical modelling to measure the costs and benefits of rape to the perpetrator, to establish if this behaviour is in our genes. Researchers found that sexual assault was virtually non-existent in one traditionally living society, the Ache people of Paraguay, where offenders would inevitably be caught and either ostracised or put to death. The benefit-to-risk profile didnt lean towards criminal behaviour here, so sexual violence didnt occur, meaning it wasnt an evolved behaviour. The point here is that child sexual abuse is not inevitable. It flourishes in a society only when it is easy to get away with.
The 25-year-old shooter who triggered a lockdown of Western Australias Wheatbelt has been declared dead by police from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a stand-off with police on Thursday afternoon.

Lachlan Bowles is accused of shooting local father Terry Czernowski at the Moylan Grain Silos on Mather Road, Kellerberrin  200 kilometres east of Perth  about 8.40am on Thursday morning before engaging in a stand-off with police about 20 kilometres north of the town.

In a press conference on Thursday afternoon, Commander of Regional WA Rod Wilde confirmed Bowles had turned the weapon on himself after several hours of police negotiations.

Wilde said Bowles, who was not known to police but is understood to have held several licensed firearms, also allegedly shot at a passing car after fleeing the scene. The driver was not injured.
Certainly, for context, this is the only airline that has had something like that happen, and so I cant say that I wasnt aware of it, but certainly it wasnt the only factor  it was a factor, King said at a 7am press conference at Canberra Airport. She then said she had not pointed to the incident as a factor, adding: What I have said is thats a fact, that is context that is there. Later, she confirmed her decision was made in the context of the incident: I cant pretend it doesnt exist, like, it exists, its a context. If you remember, we had multiple ... requests on behalf of the women who had been escorted at gunpoint after a Qatar airlines flight and had then been subject on the tarmac in ambulances to invasive body searches, she said at an event held to launch a green paper on aviation.

But this masthead reported on July 26 that King said the treatment of the women was not a reason for blocking Qatar having greater access to Australias aviation market. Damian Sturzaker of Marque Lawyers, who is representing the women, said on Thursday it was pleasing that the government was looking carefully at the appropriate qualities for an airline carrying passengers to Australia. Loading Our brave clients were treated very poorly by Qatar Airways and their attempts to resolve their complaints against Qatar Airways have been blocked at every turn, he said. King received a letter from the women in June, through Marque Lawyers, telling her Qatar Airways was not fit to carry passengers because of the incident in October 2020.

We were kept hostage at gunpoint and most of us were then examined vaginally without consent. Our human rights were blatantly violated, and yet Qatar Airways has refused to engage with us or offer an apology for how we were treated on that night, the women wrote. When you are considering Qatar Airways bid for extra landing rights, we beg you to consider its insensitive and irresponsible treatment of us and its failure to ensure the safety and dignity of its passengers. We implore you to instead consider an airline that will uphold human rights, adhere to international travel and human rights conventions, and do all things reasonably necessary to safeguard its passengers. King replied to the women on July 10 to tell them of her decision to reject Qatars application for more flights.

Your experience remains in my thoughts, as well as those of my colleagues, she said in her letter. The Australian government is not considering additional bilateral air rights with Qatar. Regarding the letter, on she told the press conference on Thursday: Read what you will into that. Qatar Airways told a Sydney court earlier this month that the invasive searches of the Australian women were the responsibility of police rather than the airline. King said the decision to refuse Qatar was made in the national interest, but added that it did not include the commercial interests of Qantas or any other airline, and said it was absolute nonsense that competition in Australias international aviation market relied solely on Qatar.

I mean, really, that is an absolute nonsense, and somehow seems to be tied up with peoples anger about Qantas, and I get that, I get why people are angry about Qantas, she said of the airline. This week, the Coalition secured the numbers in the Senate to launch an inquiry into the Qatar decision, which Liberal frontbencher James Paterson said would not have been needed if King had provided honest answers when asked. Shes been asked in the parliament, shes been asked in the media and still today  weeks on from the scandal first emerging  she has failed to give a simple, clear explanation for why she made the decision ... to refuse this request from Qatar to have extra flights into Australian airports, he said on Thursday. It is an explanation which just frankly defies credibility. None of the explanations shes given are convincing, none of them are trustworthy. And thats why we have to have this inquiry to get to the bottom of it.
How ancient city on Silk Road attracts global fans

Xinhua) 08:16, September 07, 2023

LANZHOU, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Pronkina Olga, a 37-year-old Russian professor at the Gansu University of Political Science and Law, is a huge fan of Dunhuang and has a strong bond with this ancient city on the Silk Road.

Her connection with Dunhuang began 16 years ago when she watched a performance of Dunhuang dance in her hometown in Russia's Penza. The dance performance drew inspiration from the murals in the Mogao Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province.

The thrilling performance piqued her interest in Dunhuang culture, and so she later travelled to China to study Dunhuang culture. This year, she was invited to an academic symposium on the global significance of Dunhuang Studies in the city.

Tourists visit the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province, May 11, 2023. (Xinhua/Ma Xiping)

"Culture can connect different countries, religions, and nationalities. My life is rich and colorful because it is connected by cultures," she said.

She is not alone.

The study of cultural relics based on the Dunhuang grottoes and related documents has inspired the formation of an internationally distinguished discipline of Dunhuang studies since the cultural treasures of Dunhuang were rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century.

Dunhuang studies and the preservation of Dunhuang's cultural relics have vigorously developed, and the ancient city with more than 2,000 years of history has gradually evolved into a world-renowned cultural and artistic treasure house.

With collaborative efforts of academic circles both at home and abroad, a wealth of outstanding academic achievements and a large number of international academic cooperation projects have emerged.

The protection of cultural relics in Dunhuang is also flourishing, securing the participation of an increasing number of young people and sci-tech professionals. Cultural relics protection technology and standards developed by the Dunhuang Academy are also assisting cultural relics preservation efforts beyond the region.

"Chinese civilization, represented by Dunhuang culture, has flourished for thousands of years, and one important reason is its continuous exchanges with other cultures," said Zhao Shengliang, Party chief of the Dunhuang Academy.

Dunhuang culture is not only a popular academic topic but also a prevalent cultural label. It has an extensive fan base in China and abroad, particularly among young people.

According to statistics, the number of tourists visiting Dunhuang's main scenic spots increased by nearly 30 percent this summer compared to the same period in 2019.

This tourist destination has made several social media headlines this year.

Tourists ride camels at the Mingsha Mountain and Crescent Spring scenic spot in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province, July 15, 2023. (Photo by Zhang Xiaoliang/Xinhua)

For instance, tourists may have to queue for hours to ride camels, and then line up to get across a desert crossroads, while people dressed in traditional costumes playing gods and goddesses from mural images are frequently seen in museums and scenic spots, garnering a lot of attention on social media.

In the meantime, an upgraded version of the Dunhuang dance Olga saw back home and an array of immersive performances based on Dunhuang art are well received in the city, while audiences were considerable during the peak season for tourists.

Local institutions and companies have developed creative cultural products, including brooches, refrigerator magnets, and bookmarks based on Dunhuang cultural elements such as nine-colored deer, flying apsaras, and caisson decorative patterns, which sell well in Dunhuang and online stores.

Dunhuang is also a golden business card for China's fine traditional culture to facilitate international communication and dialogue among civilizations.

Attendees visit an exhibition themed on Dunhuang culture at the sixth Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province, Sept. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Ma Xiping)

This year marks the sixth Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo, which was founded in 2016.

More than 50 countries, regions, and international organizations took part in this year's expo, with more than 1,200 guests from home and abroad attending a series of forums and exhibitions.

Olga is taking part in the expo for the third time.

Different forms and activities of exchange, such as theatrical performances, cultural trade, and cultural tourism experiences, in Olga's opinion, are conducive to promoting people-to-people bonds in countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

As for the charm of Dunhuang, Olga sees her experience as a most eloquent example.

"My life is inextricably linked to Dunhuang culture," she explained.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
ADES Holding Company, a leading oil and gas drilling and production services provider, has updated the expected timeline for its initial public offering (IPO) representing 30% of the companys issued share capital.

As announced on August 28, 2023, the Offer Shares will be put up for subscription to individual investors (Individual Subscribers) and institutional investors (Participating Parties). The bidding period for Participating Parties and book-building process will run from Sunday September 10 2023, until 2:00pm KSA time of Thursday September 14, 2023, a release said.

The subscription period for Individual Subscribers will commence on Tuesday September 26, 2023, and close at 2:00pm KSA time of Thursday September 28, 2023.

Bidding period

Bidding period for Participating Parties and book-building process will be a period of five days, commencing on 10/09/2023 until 2:00pm KSA time of Thursday 14/09/2023.

Subscription period for Individual Subscribers will be a period of three days, commencing on Tuesday 26/09/2023 until 2:00pm KSA time of Thursday 28/09/2023.

Deadline for submission of subscription forms by Participating Parties based on the initial allocation of Offering shares is Tuesday 26/09/2023.

Deadline for submission of subscription forms and payment of subscription amounts for Individual Subscribers is Thursday 28/09/2023.

Deadline for payment

Deadline for payment of the subscription amounts for Participating Parties based on the number of provisionally allocated Offering shares is Wednesday 27/09/2023.

Announcement of the final allocation of the Offering shares will be no later than Wednesday 04/10/2023.

Refund of excess subscription amounts (if any) will beno later than Tuesday 10/10/2023.

Trading of the companys shares on the Saudi Exchange is expected to commence after all relevant regulatory requirements are satisfied. Trading will be announced on the Saudi Exchanges website (www. saudiexchange.sa).-- TradeArabia News Service
LIBREVILLE, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Brice Oligui Nguema, Gabonese transitional president, has appointed Raymond Ndong Sima as interim prime minister and head of the transitional government, announced Ulrich Manfoumbi Manfoumbi, spokesperson for the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), Thursday.

The spokesperson broke the news on national television in a statement signed by Brice Oligui Nguema, who was sworn in Monday as transitional president, without specifying further details.

The CTRI was set up by putschists after the coup a week ago, with the putschists declaring the overthrow of President Ali Bongo.

Raymond Ndong Sima, 68, had been prime minister from 2012 to 2014. He ran for President in the presidential elections both in 2016 and 2023. 
Independent senator David Pocock is calling on the government to split up its second tranche of industrial relations reforms after he and other crossbenchers teamed up with the Coalition to push a vote on the legislation into next year.

The ACT senator  who last year handed Labor its first major industrial relations victory as the crucial vote in multi-employer bargaining laws  voted on Thursday with the Jacqui Lambie Network and the opposition to delay a Senate committee report on the Closing Loopholes Bill until February.

David Pocock wants the government to split up its second tranche of industrial relations reforms. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

I want to see genuine loopholes closed and better protections for workers but I am also mindful of adding further complexity to business, especially small business, as well as ensuring there is time to look at any unintended consequences, Pocock said.

My strong preference is for the government to separate out the more straightforward and less contentious elements of this bill so the parliament can deal with them quickly.
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Four Pakistani soldiers and 12 terrorists were killed in a clash between government security forces and the terrorists in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province Wednesday, a military statement said.

The clash occurred in Chitral district where a group of terrorists equipped with the latest weapons attacked two Pakistani military posts located closer to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in the statement.

The security forces have inflicted heavy casualties on the terrorists, and the area is being combed to eliminate any other terrorists surviving the operation, the statement said. 
WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Department of State announced 1 billion U.S. dollars in new aid for Ukraine on Wednesday while Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise visit to Kiev to show support.

The State Department said in a fact sheet that the new package includes an additional drawdown of up to 175 million dollars worth of weapons and equipment from the Department of Defense's inventories.

What's notable among the capabilities in this round of security assistance is the 120mm depleted uranium tank ammunition for Abrams tanks, according to a list issued by the Pentagon. This is the first time Washington sends Kiev this type of ammunition, which is radioactive.

Also in the package are air defense system components, Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems for HIMARS, munitions, ammunition, and communications systems, the State Department said.

The United States also committed 100 million dollars through the State Department's Foreign Military Financing program to support Ukraine's longer-term military requirements, the department said.

With regard to humanitarian assistance, a total of 206 million dollars will go toward providing critical support including water, food and shelter for those in Ukraine or fleeing the country due to the conflict with Russia. There will be 90.5 million dollars in humanitarian assistance for the specific purpose of demining, according to the fact sheet.

Following the recent corruption scandals in the Ukrainian Defense Ministry that saw the replacement of the country's defense minister, the United States also provided a 203-million-dollar funding "for support to transparency and accountability of institutions, bolstering key reform efforts related to anti-corruption, rule of law and the justice sector," the State Department said.

For the first time, the United States in this aid package transferred 5.4 million dollars it seized from Russian oligarchs "to support veteran reintegration and rehabilitation" in Ukraine, the department said. The transfer of the assets was authorized by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in May.

The above announcement came on the same day Blinken made an unannounced visit to Kiev in a show of support. It is the most high-profile visit by a U.S. official to Ukraine since President Joe Biden visited in February.

While in Kiev, Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba. 
Utahs first Latino federal judge to speak during WSUs Hispanic Heritage Month

September 7, 2023

OGDEN, Utah  Weber State University will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month throughout September and October, and will welcome Samuel Alba, Utah's first Latino federal judge, as a keynote speaker to honor the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans.

Alba served as a federal magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court, District of Utah, and oversaw a range of high-profile cases, including the Olympic bribery scandal and the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart.

It is an absolute honor to welcome Judge Alba to our campus, said Monica Rodriguez, program manager for the Hispanic & Latino Cultural Center, part of WSUs Centers for Belonging & Cultural Engagement. As a first-generation college student and a member of a minority group, his journey to becoming a respected professional in a highly competitive field is truly admirable.

Alba will speak Oct. 10 at 12:30 p.m. at the Wildcat Theater, located on the second floor of the Shepherd Union Building. The event is free and open to the public.

Along with the keynote speaker, Weber State will host various events to amplify its initiative to bring cultural awareness and education to its campuses and community.

Weber State has been working hard to connect more with the Hispanic and Latino community, Rodriguez said. You see more and more Hispanic and Latino students in student-leadership positions and participating in institution decisions through committees.

A full list of activities throughout WSUs Hispanic Heritage Month can be found on the Weber State Equity, Diversity & Inclusion website. Events include interactive workshops, live music, a Hispanic farmers market and fitness activities.
COPENHAGEN, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Danish Health Authority (SST) on Thursday recommended getting vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19 to prevent a "flare up during the autumn and winter" among the elderly and high-risk groups.

In a press release, the SST predicted that both influenza and COVID-19 infections would surge during the autumn and winter, adding that the risk of influenza and COVID-19-related severe illnesses increases with age.

After Oct. 1, senior citizens in Denmark will be offered free vaccination against influenza and COVID-19. Pharmacies and regional immunization sites across the country will administer the shots.

In addition to the elderly, the authority also advises younger individuals who are at higher risk for severe illness to get vaccinated against both diseases.

As in previous years, children aged between two and six are eligible for influenza vaccination, which is administered through a nasal spray.

In August, Denmark's Statens Serum Institut detected a third case of a new Omicron subvariant, BA.2.86, sparking international concern.

Despite the new findings, the recent surge in infections is not attributed to the new subvariant, and vaccines are expected to offer strong protection, according to the institution. 
An appeals court in South Carolina is allowing Alex Murdaugh to ask a judge to throw out his murder convictions and life sentence and get a new trial after his lawyers accused the court clerk in his trial of influencing the jury. The one-paragraph decision Tuesday could open the door for a full hearing where witnesses who would have to testify under oath. Those witnesses could include Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, the jurors and even Judge Clifton Newman. A time or place or the scope of the hearing will be determined later. But even if his conviction is overturned, Murdaugh wont walk out of prison because he pleaded guilty to financial crimes last month.
With all the stir surrounding the resumption of student loan payments this fall, Experian analyzed data going back to when the student loan pause began in March 2020 to determine what's changed and what possibly lies ahead.

Americans have shed more than 10% of total student loan debt since March 2020 Student loan debt has declined since the start of the repayment pause Average student loan balance highest among Generation X borrowers Percent of Gen Z with student loan debt grows; only generation to see increase Majority of borrowers have a total balance above $20,000 Which state has the most student loan borrowers?

Originally published on experian.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
Weather Alert

Bulletin: ...FROST ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM EDT THIS MORNING... ...FREEZE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING... * WHAT...For the Frost Advisory, low temperatures ranging from 33 to 36 degrees will result in frost formation. For the Freeze Watch, sub-freezing temperatures ranging from 26 to 29 degrees possible. * WHERE...In New Jersey, Sussex and Warren. In Pennsylvania, Berks, Lehigh and Northampton. * WHEN...For the Frost Advisory, until 9 AM EDT this morning. For the Freeze Watch, from late Wednesday night through Thursday morning. * IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops and other sensitive vegetation. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold. &&

Info:

Type: Frost Advisory

start_time_local: 2023-10-31T04:00:00-04:00

end_time_local: 2023-10-31T09:00:00-04:00

county_name:

state: NJ

headline: Frost Advisory from TUE 4:00 AM EDT until TUE 9:00 AM EDT

county_fips:

category: Met

url:

urgency: Expected

severity: Minor

certainty: Likely

geographicname: Warren County

state_name: New Jersey
SCRANTON, Pa. - A central Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to the sale of stolen human remains.

Jeremy Pauley entered the plea Thursday. The charges stemmed from the investigation into body parts stolen from Harvard Medical School.

Pauly was among a number of individuals indicted by a federal grand jury that found evidence the group was part of a nationwide network that bought and sold human remains.

The trial for Josh Taylor is set for December. The Spring Township, Berks County man is also accused of being part of the ring.

Sentencing for Pauley will be determined at a later date.

2:07 Berks County man among 6 charged with trafficking in stolen human remains The human remains were allegedly stolen from Harvard Medical School and an Arkansas mortuary.
READING, Pa. - Reading police say they've made a break in the case of a string of fatal drug overdoses last year.

Investigators say between April 9 and April 15, 2022, police responded to 11 drug overdoses where the victims were either found dead or died in the days that followed.

As a result, the Reading Police Department launched an investigation and announced Thursday that arrest warrants were issued for Jesus Martinez-Espinal, Melanie Emerich and Jesus Santiago-Caceres.

Authorities say Emerich and Santiago-Caceres are in custody. Martinez-Espinal has not yet been apprehended.

All three are charged with multiple counts of drug delivery resulting in death, conspiracy and related offenses.

Unidentified man Reading Police are asking assistance in identifying the man in this picture in relation to the case.

In addition to these 3 suspects, Reading police are seeking assistance in identifying another male related to this case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Reading Police Department at 610-655-6116 or anonymously to Crime Alert Berks County at 877-373-9913.

1:21 Reading police chief speaks about latest rash of overdoses Since the weekend Reading police have documented 17 overdoses with 6 fatalities, possibly more, linked to a dangerous drug mixture.
MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- As a pacemaker in the technology sector, China shows what will happen in the next 10 years around the world, which represents for the Volkswagen Group "a big opportunity, especially with our strong connection with our Chinese partners," Oliver Blume, the group's chief executive officer, has said.

Cooperation with China means more opportunity than threats, Blume told Chinese reporters during the 2023 International Motor Show, one of the world's largest mobility trade fairs, which opened in the southern German city of Munich on Tuesday, with German and Chinese exhibitors in the limelight.

Such cooperation helps Volkswagen's business all around the world and makes the company even stronger. "Over the past months, we have developed a China strategy for the Volkswagen Group, which outlines our commitment to develop in China, for China and for the Chinese customers."

China will play a major role for Volkswagen in the future, he said. "We are heavily committed to our investments there. Our commitment is underlined by our own activities, and we are also building close partnerships.

"We will combine our experience and our knowledge with new technologies being developed in China. This combination will make us so special. We have our heritage, and we will integrate these new technologies into our well-known products," the Volkswagen CEO said.

According to Blume, the economic situation, the quality of life of people and families in China have been improving at a fast rate in the past decades and there remains substantial potential for further development in the future.

"The big potential is in the second, third or fourth-tier cities in China," he said, emphasizing his "very positive view that there will be a big punch for consumption, as China is developing."

China's second, third, and fourth-tier cities are typically characterized by their relatively smaller populations and lower levels of economic development compared to megacities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. However, these cities have witnessed substantial growth and urbanization in recent years, with ample room for future growth.

In addition, China's fast development in electromobility, digitalization, connectivity and autonomous driving gives it a new competitive edge, according to Blume. "That was for us the motivation," he added.

China has shown the world how speed works, and that is "what we can learn from China -- to be quicker, to be more pragmatic, to find solutions. And that's very positive," he said. "In the end, everything is about speed."

Blume said that Volkswagen has changed its strategy to focus more on value over volume in China. "We are focusing more on the profitability of our cars, exciting our customers," he said.

Mentioning the partnership with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng, Blume said "it's a good mix, and we can benefit from each other."

Blume considered it a "good opportunity" to exchange engineers between Volkswagen and Xpeng.

"For me, it's always important to have a win-win situation when you make partnerships, and that's what we used to do with our joint venture partners, FAW (First Automobile Works) and SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation), in the past. In the future, with Xpeng or in our joint venture with Horizon Robotics, there will also be positivity in these partnerships," he said. 
BETHLEHEM, Pa.  The Bethlehem Historical Architectural Review Board issued a certificate of appropriateness for the Walnut Street Garage's demolition Wednesday night at city hall. The vote was 4-2.

The garage, located at 33 W. Walnut St. near Main Street and New Street, was built in 1976. It was designed to accommodate 770 vehicles. In its demolition application to HARB, the Bethlehem Parking Authority indicated the building is "past its useful life." Authority Director Steven Fernstrom said it currently is about 40% occupied.

"The current Walnut Street Garage is an unsightly eyesore and an embarrassment to our city," Fernstrom told the board Wednesday night.

The BPA's remedy is to build a 591-space garage and retail space. In its application, it explained why.

"A parking supply-and-demand assessment and site feasibility study shows that the proposed parking garage can be 'right-sized' in design to provide less parking than the existing facility, but still provide adequate parking to support business activity in the area."

The BPA also told HARB the proposed smaller garage offers maximum flexibility for adjacent development.

Renovating the garage is not an option, the BPA said. That "would cost more than demolition of the existing structure and construction of a new structure."

In summary, the BPA expressed an urgency to act.

"The parking facility is in poor to dangerous condition," the authority said. "...The clock is ticking."

The BPA indicated it would award the project to the lowest responsible bidder. It would also provide a logistics and traffic control plan and a protection for neighboring properties along with site surveys of the properties the contractor believes could be impacted by the demolition process.

Fernstrom added Wednesday night they had established two pre-demolition meetings with adjacent property owners. This would allow them to meet with officials from Boyle Construction, the company that has been retained by BPA for the demolition.

The BPA's plan is for displaced drivers to park at the North Street Garage and the Broad Street, Old York Road and Spring Street lots during construction.

Some residents who spoke during a public comment session expressed concerns about what they called BPA's lack of transparency about the new garage and a rush to gain approval for it.

2:41 Nearby businesses concerned about impact of proposed plans to demolish Walnut Street Garage in Bethlehem Plans call for a new garage that would take up about half the footprint of the current garage, coming in at 6 stories tall with around 590 spaces, nearly 200 less spots than the current garage.

"In that presentation, they tell you that 'you have to vote tonight,'" Bethlehem resident James Follweiler said. "...It's supposed to be an open, fair, transparent process. We hear all these words, but I don't see those actions in those words."

"There are a lot of factors (with the proposal) that don't make sense because they are unknown," said Kelly Ronalds, director for Hotel Bethlehem. "...These unknowns make me nervous, and we are very concerned."

"I have spoken to these people, and I have had conversations with them," Fernstrom said in response to those concerns.

A design of the new proposed garage will be available in November, at least two months prior to the earliest demolition would begin, board members said in response to public comments. In addition, the board noted the parking garage has no historical significance.

The board did tell Fernstrom to improve outreach to the community moving forward.

The historic board is an advisory board that can issue certificates of appropriateness based on community standards, but final decisions are under City Council's jurisdiction.

If approved, demolition is slated between January and May 2024, with construction commencement scheduled for June 2024.
OTTAWA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- A port strike at British Columbia marine terminals significantly affected Canada's imports and exports in July, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.

The strike, which activity began on July 1, disrupted regular operations for more than 13 days, the national statistical agency said, adding that Canada's international trade may also be affected by this situation in subsequent months as well, as freight backlogs continue to be cleared.

In July, customs-basis imports that were cleared in British Columbia marine ports were down 18.5 percent compared with June. This represented the strongest decline from June to July since 2005, the agency said.

Widespread declines in overall imports from countries on the Pacific Rim were observed in July on a balance-of-payments basis. Imports of goods that typically arrive through British Columbia marine ports, like consumer goods, electronic products, and industrial machinery and equipment, were down, according to the agency.

Exports leaving British Columbia marine ports also decreased in July, falling 23 percent to their lowest level since February 2020, the agency said.

In July, Canada's merchandise imports decreased 5.4 percent, while exports were up 0.7 percent. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed to 987 million Canadian dollars (721 million U.S. dollars) in July, Statistics Canada said. 
Brazilian Rectors gather at Wits to pave the way for future collaborations

More than 50 distinguished Brazilian university leaders and scholars from various institutions convened at Wits to forge collaborative pathways for the future.

A group of Brazilian academics, representing about 20 universities under the Brazilian Association of Rectors of State and Municipal Universities (ABRUEM) visited Wits with the idea to join forces for academic collaborations. The ABRUEM is an organisation that focuses on higher education while promoting teaching, research, community service, innovation and international collaboration.

The purpose of their visit was to encourage discussions that can lead to the development of common research and academic projects, and in addition, mobilise programmes for staff and students internationally.

Wits Vice-Chancellor and Principal Professor Zeblon Vilakazi welcomed all the esteemed guests and encouraged them to make their academic contributions to the Global South.

Let us seize this opportunity to build bridges of knowledge, strengthen the ties of friendship, and work hand in hand towards a more inclusive, equitable, and prosperous world. Together, we can author a new chapter in the story of academic excellence and innovation, one that will be written by the Global South and cherished by generations to come, said Vilakazi.

Professor Odilon Maximo De Morais, the president of ABRUEM, gave an overview of the universities they have in Brazil, emphasising their offerings to students, and articulating their core mission, with the aspiration to extend this knowledge to South Africa.

Among our main concerns, is to reverse the problems caused by climate change, to diminish social differences and to strengthen and sustain regional development, said De Morais.

In June 2023, the Wits School of Art (WSOA) signed a memorandum with the Federal University of Santa Maria in Brazil (UFSM), solidifying their partnership to help extend the engagement of the exciting work happening at the leading art school from Brazil.

To overcome language barriers, Wits students enrolled at the Portuguese Language Centre joined the event as interpreters. This initiative offered a glimpse of what an integrated academic collaboration could entail.

The last item at the event was a Q&A session where academics from each country posed questions about student funding, research collaboration and possible exchange programmes for staff and students.
Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 company that operates as an independent petroleum refining and marketing company based in San Antonio, Texas. The company was founded in 1980 and has since grown into one of the largest oil refiners in the United States. Valero Energy Corporation operates 15 refineries with a combined refining capacity of approximately 3.2 million barrels daily, making it the largest independent refiner in North America. Additionally, the company has an extensive network of over 7,000 retail and wholesale branded outlets across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.

The leadership team at Valero Energy Corporation is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joseph W. Gorder, who has been with the company since 1981. Gorder has served in several leadership positions at Valero Energy Corporation, including President and Chief Operating Officer, before being appointed to his current role in 2014. The company's Chief Financial Officer is Jason Fraser, who has been with Valero since 1999. Before being appointed CFO, Mr. Fraser served as General Counsel and Senior Vice President, providing oversight of public policy, planning, government affairs, and investor relations.

Over the past few years, Valero Energy Corporation has consistently reported strong financial results. The company struggled in 2020 due to investors' concerns regarding the pandemic. However, the company still reported a net income of $1.1 billion for the year, down from $2.4 billion in 2019. Since then, the company has rebounded and reached all-time highs in its stock price. The company's profit margins have also remained strong, with gross profit margins of around 11% and an operating profit margin of about 5%.

Valero Energy Corporation has managed its debt levels well, with a total debt-to-equity ratio average of 0.36. The company's ownership structure has remained relatively stable, with no significant changes in ownership in recent years.

Valero Energy Corporation's valuation metrics include a price-to-earnings ratio and a price-to-book ratio that aligns with industry peers. The company's market capitalization is approximately $50 billion, making it one of the largest independent refiners in North America.

Valero Energy Corporation operates in a highly competitive industry, with significant competition from other independent refiners, integrated oil companies, and biofuel producers. The petroleum refining industry is subject to extensive regulatory oversight, and changes in regulations and political developments can significantly impact the industry's profitability. Additionally, the industry is subject to significant price volatility due to fluctuations in global oil prices.

Despite the industry's challenges, Valero Energy Corporation has several growth opportunities. The company has invested in renewable fuels and advanced technologies to improve its environmental performance, including developing renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. Additionally, the company has announced plans to acquire several new renewable diesel plants, increasing its capacity to produce low-carbon fuels. Valero Energy Corporation is also expanding its retail and wholesale network, with plans to add new locations in strategic markets in the United States and Canada.

However, the company also faces several risks and challenges. Changes in consumer preferences towards electric vehicles and renewable energy could reduce demand for petroleum products, significantly impacting Valero Energy Corporation's revenue and profitability. Additionally, the company's business is subject to significant regulatory and environmental risks and geopolitical risks, such as the impact of international trade policies and sanctions.

Valero Energy Corporation has focused on improving its operational efficiency, reducing costs, and investing in new technologies to improve its environmental performance to mitigate these risks. The company has also maintained a strong balance sheet, focusing on managing its debt levels and maintaining a healthy cash position.
EOG Resources, Inc. is a leading independent exploration and production company focusing on the oil and gas industry. Based in Houston, Texas, EOG's mission is to provide energy solutions that power the world while adhering to the highest environmental and safety standards. With its robust portfolio of assets, talented management team, and commitment to technological advancements, EOG Resources has emerged as a key player in the energy sector.

EOG Resources operates in multiple locations across the globe, primarily focusing on North America, including the United States, Canada, and Trinidad. The company's primary products and services revolve around the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas. EOG Resources serves a diverse range of customers, including industrial, residential, and commercial sectors, as well as other energy companies.

EOG Resources is committed to minimizing its environmental impact. The company employs advanced drilling techniques and utilizes cutting-edge technologies to maximize production efficiency while reducing emissions and water usage. EOG's sustainability efforts align with its mission to provide reliable energy solutions for a sustainable future.

EOG Resources boasts a highly experienced and accomplished management team led by key executives with industry knowledge and expertise. Ezra Y. Yacob, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, has driven the company's strategic growth initiatives. With a strong background in geoscience and leadership roles, Mr. Yacob has been with EOG Resources since 2005. He has served in various key positions, including President and Executive Vice President of Exploration and Production.

Lloyd W. "Billy" Helms, Jr., President and Chief Operating Officer, joined EOG Resources in 1995 and has held several significant leadership positions within the company. Mr. Helms has been pivotal in overseeing the company's operations, exploration activities, and production strategies.

Timothy K. Driggers, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has been integral to EOG Resources since 1995. Mr. Driggers' financial acumen and expertise have contributed to the company's financial stability and growth.

EOG Resources has consistently demonstrated strong financial performance, with steady revenue growth and healthy profit margins. EOG Resources has successfully navigated market fluctuations and achieved long-term financial stability.

When considering the company's valuation metrics, EOG Resources has been favorably positioned compared to its industry peers. The company's valuation metrics, such as price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, have reflected investor confidence in the company's future prospects and financial strength.

With significant price movements and trading volume, EOG Resources' stock performance has been notable. The company's stock has demonstrated resilience, responding to market conditions and reflecting investor sentiment. Recent news and events, including industry trends, regulatory changes, and geopolitical factors, have influenced EOG's share price.

EOG Resources operates in a dynamic and competitive industry highly influenced by global market conditions, regulatory policies, and technological advancements. The company competes with international and domestic players and strives to maintain a competitive edge through its operational excellence, technological innovation, and strong asset portfolio.

EOG Resources is well-positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities in the energy sector. The company continues to explore and develop new reserves, expand its operations and optimize production techniques. EOG's focus on technological advancements, such as utilizing data analytics and artificial intelligence, enhances its capabilities in identifying and extracting hydrocarbon resources efficiently.

Like any company operating in the energy sector, EOG Resources faces various risks and challenges that can impact its operations and financial performance. Investors and stakeholders must be aware of these factors when evaluating the company's prospects.

EOG Resources' revenue and profitability are closely tied to crude oil and natural gas prices. Fluctuations in commodity prices can significantly impact the company's financial results. Factors such as global supply and demand dynamics, geopolitical tensions, and economic conditions can lead to price volatility, posing a risk to EOG's revenue and profitability.

The energy industry is subject to extensive regulations related to drilling, production, emissions, and environmental impact. Regulation changes, especially those aimed at reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to renewable energy sources, can require significant investments and impact the company's operational costs. Non-compliance with regulations could result in penalties and reputational damage.

EOG Resources relies on advanced technologies and innovations to efficiently explore and produce hydrocarbon reserves. However, technological advancements also bring inherent risks, such as data security threats and potential operational disruptions. Additionally, adopting new technologies may require substantial investments and successful implementation to yield desired results.

The energy sector is highly competitive, with numerous players vying for market share. EOG Resources competes with both established energy companies and emerging players. Intense competition can lead to pricing pressures and reduced margins. Moreover, market conditions, such as supply and demand imbalances, can impact the company's ability to sell its products at favorable prices.

EOG Resources operates in a global industry influenced by geopolitical tensions, trade policies, and macroeconomic conditions. Political instability, conflicts, and economic downturns in key markets can disrupt operations, impact demand for energy products and create uncertainty in the business environment.

EOG Resources has implemented various risk management strategies to mitigate the potential impacts of these risks and challenges:

EOG maintains a diverse portfolio of assets across multiple regions, allowing it to mitigate risks associated with specific geographic areas or regulatory environments. This diversification strategy helps spread risk and minimize the impact of localized disruptions.

The company emphasizes operational efficiency, cost discipline, and continuous improvement. By optimizing its operations, EOG aims to enhance productivity, reduce costs and mitigate the effects of commodity price fluctuations.

EOG Resources is committed to responsible environmental practices and sustainability. By proactively managing ecological risks and adopting environmentally friendly technologies, the company aims to mitigate regulatory and reputational risks.

EOG maintains a solid financial position, enabling it to weather market volatility and fund strategic initiatives. The company's prudent financial management and capital allocation strategies provide a cushion against potential economic downturns and industry challenges.
The following companies are subsidiares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.: 2235158 Alberta Limited, A.J. Amer Agency, AHC Digital LLC, AIX Limited, AJG Coal LLC, AJG Financial Services LLC, AJG Meadows LLC, AJG North America ULC, AJG RCF LLC, AJGRMS of Louisiana LLC, ARM RE Ltda., AVIATION INSURANCE SERVICES, AVRECO, Ace IRM Insurance Broking Group, Acumus Holdings Limited, Acumus Interco Limited, Acumus Ltd, Adams & Associates International, Adaptive Marketing LLC, Adco General Corporation, Advanced Benefit Advisors, Aequus Trade Credit, Affinity Marketing Group, Ahrold Fay Rosenberg, Aires Consulting Group, Alesco Risk Management Services Limited, Alize Limited, Allied Claims Administration Inc., Alternative Market Specialists, Altman & Cronin Benefit Consultants, American Freedom Carriers Inc., American Security Services Corp., American Wholesalers Underwriting Ltd, Andrew-Anthony Insurance Agency, Anthony Hodges Consulting Limited, Antrobus Investments Limited, AquaSurance, Argentis, Argentis Financial Group Limited, Argentis Financial Management Limited, Argus Benefits, Armstrong/Robitaille/Riegle, Artex (SAC) Limited, Artex Cedar Hill, Artex Corporate Services (Malta) Limited, Artex Corporate Services Limited, Artex Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Holdings (Malta) Limited, Artex Insurance (Guernsey) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance (Tennessee) PCCIC Inc., Artex Insurance Brokers (Malta) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance ICC Limited, Artex Intermediaries Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Cayman) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Guernsey) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (International) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Malta) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (UK) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions Inc., Arthur J Gallagher (Norway) Holdings AS, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AUS) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Illinois), Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Insurance Brokers of California Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher (Aus) Pty Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Bermuda) Holding Partnership, Arthur J. Gallagher (Life Solutions) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (U.S.) LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Asesoria S.A.C., Arthur J. Gallagher Australasia Holdings Pty Ltd., Arthur J. Gallagher Brokerage & Risk Management Services LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Broking (NZ) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Financial Services Professionals Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Group Quebec ULC, Arthur J. Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Latin America LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Management (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Real Estate Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services (Hawaii) Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services of Utah Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher School Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Service Company LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Services (UK) Ltd, Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, Atlantic Risk Management Corp., Atrex Insurance (Cayman) SPC Limited, Avantek Pty Ltd, Axe Insurance PCC Limited, BIS Insurance Services, Baker - Tillys employment benefits solutions, Ballard Benefit Works, Bankers Financial Benefits, Barmore Insurance Agency, Behnke & Co. Inc., Bellisle Pty Ltd, Belmont Associates Consultants, Belmont Insurance Holdings Limited, Belmont International, Belmont International Limited, Benefit Development Group, Benefit Management Group, BenefitLink Resource Group, Benefits Planning & Insurance Agency, Benefits Unlimited, Bennett & Shade Co., Bergvall Marine, Bergvall Marine A.S., Besselman & Little Agency, Big Savings Insurance Agency Inc., Blenheim Park Ltd, Blenheim Park Services Limited, Blue Holdings Pty Ltd, Blue Horizon Insurance Services, Blue Water Benefits, BluePeak Advisors, Blueleaf Consulting Pty Ltd., Bluewater Incorporated Cell Insurance Company, Bollinger Inc., Bollinger Insurance Services Inc., Bowen Miclette Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc., Brendis & Brendis, Brim AB, Broker Benefit Services, Brokerage Professionals, Brown Hobbs & McMurray Insurance, Bultman/Bell Associates Inc., Burkwald & Associates, Burns-Fazzi Brock & Associates, Bushong Insurance Associates, C&B Consulting Group, CGM Gallagher Insruance Brokers (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited, CJM Solutions Inc., CMA Solutions LLC, Cairnstone Financial, California Insurance Center, Capital Bauer Insurance Agency, Capitol Benefits Group, Capsicum CRLA LLP, Capsicum Re Brasil Participacoes Ltda, Capsicum Re Latin America Corretora De Resseguros Ltda, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Bermuda Limited, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Miami Inc., Carefree Marketing Inc., Carpenter Cammack & Associates, Cashan & Co., Castle Insurance Associates, Centennial Insurance Agency, Charity First Insurance Services Inc., Charles Allen Agency, Charter Lakes Insurance Agency, Chris Schroeder Insurance, Christie-Phoenix, Cintran Claims Canada Limited, Classic Insurance Services, Cleaveland Insurance Group, Cohen & Lord Insurance Brokers, Cohn Financial Group, Coleman Group Holdings Limited, Coleman Holdings Limited, College and University Scholastic Excess Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Commercial Insurance Brokers, Complete Benefit Alliance, Complete Financial Balance, Complete Financial Balance Pty Ltd, Consolidated Casualty Specialties LLC, Construction Risk Solutions, Contego Underwriting Limited, Contego Underwriting Ltd, Continental Excess & Surplus, Convergence Risk Services Ltd, Copper Mountain Assurance Inc., Cornwall & Stevens Co., Corporate Benefit Advisors, Corporate Life Consultants, Countrywide Accident Assistance Limited, Coverdell & Company Inc., Coverdell Canada Corporation, Cowles and Connell, Craig M. Ferguson & Co., Crist Elliott Machette Insurance Services, Crombie Lockwood (NZ) Limited, Davis-Poston & Associates, Denman Consulting Services, Detlefs Johnson & Partners, DiBrina Group, Dickinson & Associates, Discount Development Services L.L.C., Discovery Benefit Solutions, Dodson-Bateman & Co., Donald P. Pipino Co. Ltd., E. S. Susanin Inc., EHE Holdings LLC, EHS Holdings Limited, Elantis Premium Funding (NZ) Limited, Elantis Premium Funding Limited, Elite Benefits Insurance Marketing Services, Employee Benefits Analysis Corp., Employee Benefits of The Carolinas, Encore Insurance & Bonding, Everett James, Evolution Risk Services Limited, Evolution Technology Services Limited, Evolution Underwriting Group, Evolution Underwriting Group Limited, Evolution Underwriting Limited, Excel Insurance Services, FYI Direct Canada Corporation, FYI Direct LLC, Farallone Pacific Insurance Services, Fenchurch Faris Limited, Fidelity Benefits & Insurance Services, Financial Profiles Inc., Finergy Solutions Pty Ltd, First Agency, First Iowa Insurance Agency, First Premium Inc., First Premium Insurance Group, Fish & Schulkamp, Fishermans Insurance Services, Foley Healthcare Limited, Fortress Financial Solutions Pty Ltd, Fortress Insurance LLC, Foundation Strategies, Fox Lawson & Associates, Franklin-Case Agency LLC, Fraser MacAndrew Ryan Limited, Friary Intermediate Limited, Fuller & O'Brien, G.S. Chapman & Associates Insurance Brokers, G.S. Levine Insurance Services, GBS (Australia) Holdings Pty Ltd, GBS Administrators Inc., GBS Insurance and Financial Services Inc., GBS Retirement Services Inc., GBS Specialty Markets LLC, GGB Finance 1 Limited, GGB Finance 2 Limited, GGB Finance 3 Limited, GGB Finance 4 Limited, GPL Assurance, GPL Assurance Inc., Gabor Insurance Services, Gale Smith & Co. Inc., Gallagher (Bermuda) Insurance Solutions Ltd., Gallagher - Grace/Mayer Insurance Agency, Gallagher Bassett Aires Inc., Gallagher Bassett Canada Inc., Gallagher Bassett Insurance Services Ltd., Gallagher Bassett International Ltd., Gallagher Bassett NZ Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. , Gallagher Bassett Services Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Workers Compensation Victoria Pty Ltd., Gallagher Benefit Services (Canada) Group Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services (Holdings) Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services Management Company Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Pty Ltd, Gallagher Benefits Consulting Limited, Gallagher Bomford Couch Wilson, Gallagher Burgess, Gallagher Canada Acquisition Corporation, Gallagher Caribbean Group Limited, Gallagher Clean Energy LLC, Gallagher Communications Limited, Gallagher Community Clinic RPG LLC, Gallagher Consulting Ltda, Gallagher Corporate Services LLC, Gallagher Coyle, Gallagher CyberRisk, Gallagher Energy Risk Services Inc., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC, Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Bermuda Company Limited, Gallagher Holdings Four (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Three (UK) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (Barbados) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Kitts & Nevis) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Lucia) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Vincent) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers Jamaica Limited, Gallagher International Cash Management s.r.l., Gallagher International Holdings (US) Inc., Gallagher Investment Advisors LLC, Gallagher Inwest Group, Gallagher Koster, Gallagher Lambert Group, Gallagher Madison Risk & Insurance Services, Gallagher Mauritius Holdings, Gallagher Mississippi Brokerage LLC, Gallagher RE Colombia Ltda Corredores de Reaseguros SA, Gallagher Risk & Reward Limited, Gallagher Risk Group LLC, Gallagher Risk Placements Pty Ltd, Gallagher SKS, Gallagher Service Center LLP, Gallagher-Tarantino, Galtney Group, Game Day Insurance Inc., Gardner & White Corp., Gardner Marine Agency, Garza Long Group, Gatehouse Consulting Limited, Gault Armstrong Kemble Pty Ltd, Gault Armstrong SARL, Giles Group, Giles Holdings Limited, Giles Insurance Brokers, Gillis Ellis & Baker Inc., Goodman Insurance Agency, Grandy Pratt Co., Greenseed Alternative Mangaers Platform Ltd, Grossman & Associates, Group Benefits of Arkansas, Group Insurance Associates, Gruppo Marcucci, HLG Holdings Limited, HMG-PCMS Limited, HPF Investments LLC, HR Owen Insurance Services Limited, Hagan Newkirk Financial Services, Hagedorn & Company, Hardman & Howell Benefits, Harlequin Insurance PCC Limited, Hartstein Associates Inc., Healthcare Professionals Purchasing Group LLC, Healthcare Risk Solutions, Heath Lambert Group Ltd., Heath Lambert Limited, Heath Lambert Overseas Limited, Heiser Insurance Agency, Henderson Phillips Fine Arts Insurance, Herbruck Alder & Co., Heritage Insurance Brokers (CI) Limited, Hesse & Partner AG, Hesse Consulting, Hexagon ICC Limited, Hexagon Insurance PCC Limited, Hill Chesson & Woody, Hogan Insurance Services, Home & Travel Limited, Honour Point Limited, Horseshoe Corporate Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services USA Inc., Horseshoe ILS Services UK Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Advisors US LLC, Horseshoe Insurance Advisory Ltd., Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings US Inc., Horseshoe Management (Gibraltar) Limited, Horseshoe Management (Ireland) Ltd, Horseshoe Management Ltd., Horseshoe PCC Limited, Horseshoe Re Limited, Horseshoe Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Services (Pty) Ltd, Horton Insurance Agency, Housing Authorities Services Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Human Resource Management Systems, I-Protect Underwriting Pty Ltd, IBIS Advisors, IBS Reinsurance Singapore Pte Ltd, ILS Fund Services Ltd., ISG International, ITI Solutions, Igloo Insurance PCC Limited, Independent Benefit Services, Independent Fiduciary Services, Ink Underwriting Agencies Limited, InsSync Group Pty Ltd, Inspire Underwriting Limited, Instrat Insurance Brokers, Instrat Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Instrat Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Insurance Acquisitions Holdings Limited, Insurance Associates Inc., Insurance Dialogue Limited, Insurance Dialogue Ltd., Insurance Plans Agency, Insurance Plus Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Insurance Point, Insurance Risk Managers of Missouri Inc., Insure My Villa Limited, Insure Pty Ltd, Integrated Healthcare Strategies, InterNational Insurance Group, InterPacific Underwriting Agencies, Intermountain Financial Benefits, Interstate Insurance Underwriters, JPGAC LLC, James F. Reda & Associates, James R. Weir Insurance Agency, Jenkins and Associates, Joe E. Martin Inc., John P. Woods Co. Inc., Jones Brown, Jones Brown Group Inc., Jones Brown Insurance Solutions Inc., Joseph Distel, Joseph James & Associates Insurance Agency, Just Landlords Insurance Services Ltd, KDC Associates, KRW Insurance Agency, Kahl Insurance Services, Kaler Carney Liffler & Co. Inc., Kane Group - Insurance Management Operations, Kelly Financial, Kent Kent & Tingle and RBS, Keyser Benefits Corp., Kingspark Enterprises Pty Ltd, L&R Benefits, LSG Insurance Partners, Learn About Money Limited, Lewis & Associates Insurance Brokers, Leystone Insurance & Financial, Life Plans Unlimited, Lincoln Financial Management, Longfellow Financial, Lucas Fettes Limited, Lucas Fettes and Partners Limited, Lutgert Insurance, MA Underwriting Pty Ltd, MDM Insurance Associates, MG Advanced Coal Technologies-1 LLC, MGA Insurance Services, MRS Holdings Ltd., Madison Scott & Associates, Managed Healthcare Solutions, Mannequin Insurance PCC Limited, Marchetti Robertson & Brickell Insurance, Marine Insurance Service, Martin Gordon & Jones Inc., McDowall Associates Human Resource Consultants, McIntyre Risk Management, McLean Insurance Agency, McNeary, McPherson Benefits Group, McRory & Co., Mecacem Insurance SPC Ltd, MedInsights Inc., Melton Insurance Associates, Memberworks Canada LLC, Merit Insurance, Metcom Excess, Metzler Bros. Insurance, Meyers-Reynolds & Associates, Mid America Group, Midwest Surety Services, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers Limited, Mike Henry Insurance Funding Limited, Miller Buettner & Parrott, Miller-Harrison Insurance Services, Milne Alexander Pty Ltd, Minvielle & Chastanet Insurance Brokers, Monument Insurance (NZ) Limited, Monument Llc, Monument Premium Funding Limited, Mortgage Insurance Agency, Murphy Consultants, Mutual Insurance Services, NationAir Aviation Insurance, National Administration Co., National Ethics Association, National Transportation Adjusters, Nelson/Monarch Insurance Services, Nicoud Insurance Services, NiiS/Apex Group Holdings, Nonprofit Insurance Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Noraxis Capital Corp, Nordic Forsakring & Riskhantering AB, North Alabama Insurance, Nourse Insurance Brokers, O'Gorman & Young, OAMPS (UK) Limited, OAMPS Gault Armstrong Pty Ltd, OAMPS Limited, OAMPS Special Risks Ltd, Offshore Market Placements Limited, Optimum Talent, Orb Financial Services, Orb Financial Services Limited, Osprey Insurance Brokers Limited, Oval Group, Oval Healthcare Limited, Oval Insurance Broking Limited, Oval Limited, Oval Management Services Limited, Oxygen Insurance Managers, P2 Group, PEN Insurance Management Advisors Ltd, PT IBS Insurance Broking Service, Pacific Insurance Agency, Palmer Atlantic Insurance, Palmer Atlantic Insurance Ltd, Palmer Atlantic Risk Services Ltd., Park Row Associates, Parkstar Enterprises Pty Ltd, Parmia Pty Ltd, PartnerSource, Pastel Holding (NZ) Company, Pastel Holdings Pty Limited, Pastel Purchaser (NZ) Limited, Pastel Purchaser Pty Limited, Pavey Group Holdings (UK) Limited, Pavey Group Holdings Limited, Pavey Group Limited, Pearson Dunn Insurance Inc., Pen Underwriting Canada Limited, Pen Underwriting Group Pty. Ltd., Pen Underwriting Limited, Pen Underwriting Pty Ltd, Persing Dyckman & Toynbee Inc., Personal Advice Services Pty Ltd, Petty Burton Associates, Pointer Insurance Agency, Portmore Insurance Brokers (Wilshire) Limited, Portmore Insurance Brokers Limited, Potter-Holden & Co., Powell Insurance Agency, Premier Insurance Services Inc., Premier Risk Services, Premium Finance Corporation, Preston-Patterson, ProSource Financial, Professional Agents Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Professional Claims Managers, Proinova AB, Proinova Agency AB, Pronto California Agency LLC, Pronto California General Agency LLC, Pronto Florida Claims LLC, Pronto Florida General Agency LLC, Pronto Franchise LLC, Pronto General Agency Ltd, Pronto General Agency Management LLC, Pronto Holdco Inc., Pronto Holding California LLC, Pronto Holding Florida LLC, Pronto Insurance Agency of Laredo Inc., Pronto Premium Finance LLC, Property & Commercial Ltd., Property Insurance Initatives Limited, Property and Commercial Limited, Protected Insurance Company, Protection Plan Association Inc., Protek Group Limited, Providium Consulting Group, Ptarmigan Underwriting Agency Limited, Ptarmigan Underwriting UK Limited, Purple Bridge Claims Management Limited, Purple Bridge Finance Limited, Purple Bridge Group Limited, Purple Bridge Investments Limited, Purple Bridge Online Services Limited, Purple Bridge Publishing Limited, Quantum Underwriting Solutions Limited, Quillco 226 Limited, Quillco 227 Limited, R. L. Youngdahl & Associates, R.G. Speno Inc., R.W. Scobie, RA Rossborough (Guernsey) Ltd., RA Rossborough (Insurance Brokers) Ltd, REGENCY Group inc., RGA Referencing Limited, RGA Underwriting Limited, RIL Administrators (Guernsey) Ltd., RJ Dutton Inc., RSM Insurance Services Limited, Reassurance Holdings Inc., Rebholz Insurance Agency, Reid Manson Ltd., Reimbursement Services, Rentguard Limited, Reward Management Limited, Reynolds & Rodar Insurance Group, Riley & Associates, Rio 587 Limited, Rio 588 Limited, Risk & Reward Group, Risk Management Partners Limited, Risk Placement Services Inc., Risk Planners, Risk Services (NW) Limited, Risk Services (NW) Ltd., Risk Solutions Group Limited, Robert A. Schneider Agency, Robert Keith & Associates, Roberts & Roberts Insurance Service, Robinson-Adams Insurance, Rossborough Healthcare International Ltd, Rossborough Insurance (IOM) Ltd., Rossborough Insurance Services Ltd. (Jersey), S. A. Freerks & Associates, SEG Insurance Ltd, SGB-NIA Insurance Brokers, SHILLING Ltd, SKANCO International, SMERI AB, SRS Underwriting Pty Ltd, Secure Enterprises Pty Ltd, Securitas Re, Sellers Group, Sentinel Indemnity LLC, Septagon Insurance PCC Limited, Shuford Insurance Agency, Sigma II Insurance Agency, Sinclair Billard and Weld Limited, Sobieski & Bradley, Solid Benefit Guidance, Spanjers Insurance Agency, Spataro Insurance Agency, Specialised Broking Associates, Specialty Risk, Stackhouse Poland, Stackhouse Poland Bidco Limited, Stackhouse Poland Group Limited, Stackhouse Poland Holdings Limited, Stackhouse Poland Midco Limited, Stackouse Poland Limited, Stanton Group, Stark Johnson & Stinson Inc., Steel Agency, Strata Solicitors Ltd, Strategic Health Plans Corp., Strathearn Insurance Brokers, Strathearn Insurance Brokers (Qld) Trading Trust, Strathern Insurance Group Pty Ltd, Strathern Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Strathern Unit Trust, Strong Financial Resources, Summit Insurance Group, Sunday and Associates, Sunderland Insurance Services, Super Advice Corporate Services Pty Ltd, Taylor Benefits, Texas Insurance Agency, Texas Insurance Managers, The BeneTex Group, The Buchholz Planning, The Chapman Group, The Commonwealth Consulting Group, The Daniels Group Inc., The EHE Group LLC, The EHE Insurance Agency LLC, The Eagle Insurance Agency LLC, The Eriksen Group, The Forker Company, The Gleason Agency, The Great Lakes Agency, The HR Group, The Hawk Agency, The Human Capital Group, The Lance Group, The Levitt/Kristan Co., The MW Bagnall Company, The Old Greenwich Consulting Group, The Parks Johnson Agency, The Plus Companies Inc., The Presidio Group, The Producers Choice, The Rains Group, The Splinter Group, The Titan Group, The Treiber Group, The Woodsmall Companies Inc., Title & Covenant Brokers Ltd., Title Investments Limited, Tom Sherwin Insurance Agency, Total Reward Group, Total Rewards Group (Holdings) Limited, Towle Agency, Transwestern, Tri-State General Insurance Agency, Triad Insurance Agency, Triad USA, Tribeca Strategic Advisors, Trinder & Norwood, Trip Mate, Trissel Graham & Toole, Tropp & Co., Tudor Risk Services, Tyloma Holdings Limited, Uni-Care Inc., Unison Inc., Universico Group, Unoccupied Direct Limited, V2V Holdings LLC, VEBA Service Group, Vasek Insurance Services Limited, Velo ACU LLC, Velo Holdings Inc., Verbag AG., Vertrue LLC, Victory Insurance Agency, Vincent L. Braband Insurance, Vital Benefits, Voluntary Benefits Solutions, W. E. Kingsley Co. Inc., WM. W. George & Associates, Walker Taylor Agency, Welling Associates, Wesfarmers Insurance - Insurance Brokerage Operations, Western Benefit Solutions, White & Company Insurance, Whitehaven Insurance Group, William Gallagher Associates Insurance Brokers, William H. Connolly & Co., Williams Insurance Agency Inc., Williams-Manny Insurance Group, Winn & Company Insurance Brokers, Wischmeyer Benefit Partners, Woodbrook Underwriting Agencies, Woods & Grooms, WorkCare Northwest, Worksite Communications, Y. S. Liedman & Associates, YOA Capsicum Reinsurance Broker Limited, Zenor Limited, Zuber Insurance Agency, and e3 Financial.

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The following companies are subsidiares of WPP: 24/7 Real Media UK Ltd., 41?29! Media Internet, AD Venture Worldwide Inc, AKQA, AKQA Denmark A/S, AKQA GmbH, AKQA Inc., AKQA Limited, AQuest, Acceleration, Acceleration eMarketing Inc, All Global, Always (Shanghai) Marketing Services Co Ltd, Arctouch LLC, BCW LLC, BWR PR, Beijing Benpao Century Technology Development Co. Ltd., Benenson Strategy Group LLC, Black and Deen, Blast Radius, Blast Radius Inc., Bomtempo Anahory e Ralha, Bottle Rocket, Bottle Rocket LLC, Brindfors Design AB, CB Associes S.A., CMI Media, CMI Media LLC, CONEXANCE MD, CT Finances SA, Catalyst Online LLC, Cavendish Square Holding BV, Center Partners, Cerebra, Cockpit Holdings Limited, Cognifide, Commarco, Commarco GmbH 120274, Cordiant Communications Group Limited, Dawson Integrated Marketing Communications, DeepLocal Inc., Design Bridge, Design Bridge Limited, Dewey Square Group, Ecommera, EffectiveUI, Enduring Organisation, Entreprise de Communications Tank Inc., Essence, Essence Global Group Limited, Essence Global LLC, Eurosem Belgium SA/NV, F.biz, FAST - Financial Administration Solutions & Technologies Srl, Finecast Limited, Finsbury LLC, Forward Limited, GREY Dusseldorf GmbH, GTB Agency LLC, GTB Shanghai Advertising Co. Ltd, GTB Stat LLC, GWE LLC, Geometry Global Japan GK, Geometry Global LLC, Geometry Global Limited, Glendinning Management Consultants, Go Direct Marketing Inc., Gorilla LLC, Grey, Grey Advertising Limited, Grey Global Group LLC, Group M France SAS, Group M Worldwide LLC, Group SJR LLC, GroupM (Shanghai) Advertising Co. Ltd, GroupM Argentina Trading S.A., GroupM B.V., GroupM Chile SAC, GroupM Competence Center GmbH, GroupM Denmark A/S, GroupM Japan KK, GroupM Limited, GroupM Market Advertising Co. Ltd., GroupM Media India Pvt Ltd, GroupM Pakistan (Private) Ltd, GroupM Singapore Pte Ltd, GroupM Srl, GroupM UK Digital Limited, Guangzhou Dawson Marketing Communication Co. Ltd, H-ART, HERING SCHUPPENER Consulting Strategieberatung fur Kommunikation GmbH, HeathWallace, Hill & Knowlton Limited, Hill and Knowlton Strategies LLC, Hirschen Group GmbH, Hogarth California LLC, Hogarth Worldwide Inc., Hogarth Worldwide Limited, Icon Brand Navigation Group, IntelliQuest Information Group Inc, International Meetings & Science LLC, J Walter Thompson Middle East and North Africa E.C., J Walter Thompson Publicidade Ltda, J.Walter Thompson Bridge Advertising Co. Ltd., John Street Inc., KBM Group LLC, KR Media UK Limited, KR Wavemaker SAS, Kantar TNS, Kinetic Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Kinetic Worldwide Limited, LLC GroupM, LLC Wavemaker, Landor LLC, M Media Group Pty Ltd, M2 Digital Inc., Marketeers Vietnam, Marketing Direct LLC, Marketing Perspectives Limited, Mather Direct GmbH, Maxus Communications (UK) Limited, Media Club SpA, Media Insight SNC, MediaCom - Warszawa Sp.z.o.o., MediaCom AS (Norway), MediaCom Agentur fur Media-Beratung GmbH, MediaCom Communications Pvt Ltd, MediaCom Danmark A/S, MediaCom Group Limited, MediaCom Istanbul Medya Hizmetleri A.S., MediaCom TWENTYFIVE GmbH, Mediacom AG, Mediacom Australia Pty Limited, Mediacom Canada, Mediacom Iberia SA, Mediacom Italia Srl, Mediacom LLC, Mediacom Middle East & North Africa Holding W.L.L., Mediacom North Limited, Mediacom Paris SA, Mediacom Worldwide LLC, Mediaedge:CIA Worldwide Limited, Mediaedge:cia India Pvt Ltd, Medialets, Memac Ogilvy & Mather Holding Inc, Mind Share Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., MindShare Canada, MindShare GmbH, MindShare Hong Kong Limited, MindShare Polska Sp. z.o.o., Mindshare Media UK Limited, Mindshare SA, Mindshare South Africa (Gauteng) (Proprietary) Limited, Mindshare SpA, Mindshare Spain SA, Mindshare USA LLC, Mirum LLC, Mirum S.A. de C.V., Motion Content Group Limited, OPR AGENCY PTY LIMITED, Ogilvy & Mather Brasil Comunicacao Ltda, Ogilvy & Mather Group (Holdings) Limited, Ogilvy & Mather Pvt Ltd, Ogilvy & Mather S.A.S, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide LLC, Ogilvy Australia Pty Ltd, Ogilvy Commonhealth Worldwide LLC, Ogilvy Public Relations GmbH, Ogilvy Singapore Pte. Ltd., Ootworld, OpenMindWorld LLC, P Four Consultancy, PTR Comunicacoes Ltda, Penn Schoen & Berland Associates LLC, Penn Schoen Berland, Pep LLC, Plano.Trio Comunicacao, Potato London Ltd, Premiere Group Holdings Limited, Prism Sport + Entertainment, Promotion Execution Partners LLC, Public Strategies Inc., Quasar Media Private, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, Quirk, RLM Finsbury, Rasor Holdings LLC, Ray + Keshavan Design Associates, Real Media, Red Fuse New York LLC, Regional Management Group SAS, Russell Square Holding BV, Salmon Limited, Salmon Ltd, Sandtable, Scangroup, Set Management LLC, Shanghai Easycom Advertising Co. Ltd., Shanghai Linjie Marketing Services Co. Ltd., Shanghai Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Ltd, Shire Hall Group, Spafax Airline Network Limited, Spafax Networks LLC, Stickleback Limited, Sudler & Hennessey LLC, Superunion Limited, Swift + POSSIBLE LLC, Syzygy AG, TMARC, Taxi, Taxi Inc., Team Garage LLC, The Brand Union, The Cocktail Global S.L., The Finsbury Group Limited, The Glover Park Group, The Glover Park Group LLC, The GroupM ESP Clever Company S.R.L. de C.V., The Lacek Group LLC, The Marketing & Communication Agency, The Ogilvy Group LLC, The Performers Group, The Young & Rubicam Group of Companies ULC, Triad Digital Media LLC, Twist Image, Two Circles, VML LLC, VMLY&R, WPP (Thailand) Ltd, WPP 2005 Limited, WPP AMC Holdings, WPP AUNZ, WPP Beans Limited, WPP Brands (UK) Limited, WPP Brands Development Holdings (UK) Limited, WPP Brands Holdings (UK) Limited, WPP Deutschland Holding GmbH & Co. KG, WPP Finance 2013, WPP Finance 2015 Limited, WPP Finance Co. 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Crews of the film "My Father Jiao Yulu" visit the Jiao Yulu Memorial Hall in Lankao County, central China's Henan Province, March 22, 2019. [Xinhua/Xue Dongmei]

BEIJING, Sept. 6 (Xinhua)  Under the silvery moonlight of a summer night in 1990, Xi Jinping, then a municipal official in Fujian Province, felt emotional. An article about a revered grassroots official occupied his mind.

"Who, among the common folks, does not appreciate a good public servant?" Xi then penned a heartfelt poem dedicated to the official. It was carried on a local newspaper the next day.

The official was a household name in China  Jiao Yulu. Jiao was Party chief of Lankao County in central China's Henan Province in the early 1960s. At the time, the county was plagued by sandstorms and battled against saline-alkali land and floods. Its residents struggled to put food on the table.

The first thing Jiao did when landing on this posting was to head directly to the rural communities devastated by sandstorms to conduct research. "Faced with severe natural disasters, we should muster up our revolutionary courage and lead the people to fight a three-to-five-year tough battle to change the fate of Lankao," Jiao wrote in a note intended for his fellow Party cadres. "Unless that is done, we will never rest."

Jiao was a man of action, favoring on-site research and investigation over sitting in the office reading subordinates' reports. "It is tasteless to eat buns chewed by others," he once said.

Jiao worked tirelessly, disregarding self-interest to improve the lot of the people. Visiting the countryside, he often stayed in poor farmers' simple mud huts, eating and working with them. He turned down a plan to refurnish county government office. "Can't we work on broken chairs?" Jiao said. "People are still impoverished. We can't engage in any pomp. Not even think about it."

Jiao led by example, and the county's cadres followed suit. Their efforts eventually helped Lankao bid farewell to chronic food shortages. The forests they planted withstood sandstorms. Floods were curbed. Harvests were reaped from alkali soil.

But Jiao did not live to see this day. He succumbed to liver cancer in 1964.

Xi's respect for Jiao was cultivated at an early age. Back in 1966, as a middle school student, he read a feature story penned by three Xinhua reporters  "Jiao Yulu: A Model County Party Secretary."

"I was deeply touched when I learned that Jiao kept on working even in the late stage of liver cancer, suffering from great pain," Xi recalled.

"It still affects me today," Xi once said after becoming the general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, elaborating that Jiao's spirit, which features people first and tireless and selfless work, was like a lighthouse that steered him from a rural grassroots official toward the country's top leadership.

Like Jiao, Xi is also known to be down-to-earth and interested in conducting on-site research and investigation to solve problems.

Xi vowed to eliminate absolute poverty in China after assuming the Party's top post in late 2012. In this endeavor, he conducted over 50 inspections and research studies on poverty alleviation, which included visits to all 14 regions with the highest concentration of extreme poverty.

This grand vision had been realized in just eight years, with nearly 100 million people lifted out of poverty across China. Today, in a country with 1.4 billion people, absolute poverty is a thing of the past.

This feat would not have been achieved without the work of numerous Jiao-style cadres.

In 2014, Xi visited Lankao. He went to Jiao's memorial and held a meeting to guide a Party-wide education campaign themed on adhering to the Party's mass line. At the meeting, Xi said: "Jiao built a lasting monument in local people's hearts, although he only worked in the county for over a year... A question to be pondered is what we can leave for future generations."

Five other education campaigns followed the mass line campaign over the past decade. All were designed to train better Party cadres.

For the education campaign launched earlier this year, Xi stressed that through the campaign, cadres must consolidate their ideals and convictions, gain wisdom, improve conduct, and be more motivated to work even harder.

All these qualities should be the pursuit of every Party cadre.

In the latter part of the poem Xi penned for Jiao, he wrote: "During the official's term in office, he brought benefits to the people, fulfilling his life-long aspiration."

(Source: Xinhua)
Weather Alert

...FREEZE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM CDT /10 PM EDT/ THIS EVENING TO 9 AM CDT /10 AM EDT/ TUESDAY... * WHAT...Sub-freezing temperatures between 21 and 27 degrees expected. * WHERE...All of southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, western Kentucky and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...From 9 PM CDT this evening to 9 AM CDT Tuesday. * IMPACTS...Frost and freeze conditions will kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...This hard freeze will bring an end to the growing season. 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. &&
Media Rotana, Dubai held a photography workshop to mark Emirati Women's Day, and to celebrate their achievements and their contributions to the UAE's progress.

Teaming up with Nikon, a global leader in imaging and optics, Media Rotana organised the workshop that was aimed at enhancing professional photography skills. The workshop not only commemorated Emirati Women's Day but also symbolised a partnership committed to empowering women in the fields of photography and beyond.

The event was held in collaboration with Nashama UAE and the Dubai Police General Command's Tourist Police Department.

Emirati Women's Day stands as a testament to the remarkable capabilities of Emirati women across diverse domains.

Sherif Madkour, the General Manager of Media Rotana, Dubai, said: "At Media Rotana, our mission encompasses fostering an inclusive environment where individuals thrive. This collaborative photography workshop, in conjunction with Nashama UAE and Nikon, exemplifies our dedication to curating unparalleled experiences that empower and inspire."

Brigadier General Khalfan Obaid Al Jallaf Al Muhairi, Director of the Tourist Police Department, said: "Emirati Women's Day serves as a national platform to proudly acknowledge the achievements of our Emirates' daughters and their instrumental contributions to our country's cultural renaissance and sustainable development."

Participants experienced a unique opportunity to connect and collaborate with fellow Emirati women and share their aspirations. - TradeArabia News Service
The United States armed forces are facing a deepening recruitment crisis, with far-reaching implications for the struggle against imperialist war.

This year, the US Army is expected to fall almost a quarter short of its annual 65,000 recruitment goal. According to an April 20 press release from the Department of Defense, the Navy is expected to be 6,000 enlistees short, and the Air Force 10,000 enlistees short of their 2023 goals.

This is not a fluke or one-time occurrence, but a mounting problem for the armed forces to which considerable attention is now being given and large sums of money allotted.

Last year, the Army tried to bring in 60,000 new recruits, but was only able to enlist 45,000 soldiers.

Members of the Xavier High School Army JROTC march up 5th Avenue during the annual Columbus Day Parade, Monday, October 10, 2022, in New York. [AP Photo/Mary Altaffer]

Thomas Spoehr, director of the Center for National Defense, described the crisis as the worst since the institution of the all-volunteer force in 1973. That is, the worst since widespread social unrest and mass protests against the Vietnam war and the draft forced an end to military conscription.

Spoehr added that the crisis is not abating.

Last month, a new book appeared, authored by Matthew Weiss and titled We Dont Want YOU, Uncle Sam: Examining the Military Recruitment Crisis with Generation Z. The book, written by a younger, well-to-do Marine officer, examines how the military is scrambling to get a grasp on Gen Z. It offers a series of proposals to reform the military so as to better attract the younger generation.

Billions of dollars are now being spent by the military as it scrambles to get hold of new bodies for its operations. In 2018, the Army signed a $4 billion contract with the global marketing company Omnicon to produce a large-scale advertising campaign aimed at young people.

US Army Secretary Christine Wormuth describes the recruitment shortfalls as a serious situation. According to The Week, Wormuth has begun drafting a sweeping overhaul of her branch's recruitment and outreach process.

Numerous plans are being discussed in military circles to offset the manpower shortage. Alongside changes to domestic recruitment, these include plans to expand and deploy AI and autonomous fighting technology, the development of a foreign legion that could fight in return for US citizenship, and the implementation of new rules to force or entice veterans back into the military.

Causes

Numerous reasons have been given for the crisis. The unfit character of potential recruits and the need to lower the bar for admission are the most superficial among them.

Michael OHanlon, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, goes somewhat deeper, blaming the bad news stories about sexual assault, accidents and other things. He adds, Losing a war in Afghanistan doesnt help. Others point to culture wars and wokeness.

Ultimately, the crisis reflects a changed and increasingly hostile attitude of young people to the military.

Just 9 percent of those aged 16-21 said they would even consider joining the military in 2022, down from 13 percent prior to the pandemic. Approval for the military amongst the US population as a whole is at its lowest point in over 25 years.

These statistics should also be considered in the context of earlier polls, which found that half of Gen Z and almost two-thirds of millennials supported socialism over capitalism. Likewise, they should be seen against the backdrop of the so-called great resignation, as millions of young Americans reject the abusive, low-paying jobs that form the bedrock of the economy.

In one of the more honest appraisals of the military recruitment crisis, the Wall Street Journal explained that after the patriotic boost to recruiting that followed 9/11, the US military has endured 20 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan with no decisive victories.

The Journal continues, [T]here have also been scandals over shoddy military housing and healthcare, poor pay for lower ranks that forces many military families to turn to food stamps, and rising rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide.

These comments begin to express what is happening. Put somewhat differently: Young workers do not wish to sacrifice their lives as fodder in a global operation of imperialist war and occupation.

Between 755,000 and 786,000 people, largely civilians, are thought to have died directly from military violence in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen since US-led conflicts began there. However, total estimates of deaths caused by American-led military conflicts over the last quarter-century begin far higher, at 3 million people. In fact, such estimates go as high as 12 million. These numbers are higher than those for people directly killed in combat, taking into account the catastrophic impact of medical, nutritional and infrastructural breakdown caused by US-led military operations.

Millions more people have been left destitute, jobless and homeless due to these wars. According to the UN, more than 110 million people were forcibly displaced as of May 2023, the most on record. Of these, 35.3 million had been displaced across national borders. The home countries of the three biggest refugee populations were Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine, each of which has been devastated by conflicts resulting from the machinations of the United States military and intelligence agencies.

Meanwhile, those who are veterans of these wars have been left to deal with the crippling economic, psychological and physical effects of their service on their own. In 2018, veterans in the United States were 55 percent more likely to kill themselves than people in the broader population. Thirty eight percent of veterans have a diagnosed mental health disorder. Homeless veterans with significant mental health issues are to be found distraught and desperate on the streets of every major city in America.

In this June 19, 2004, file photo, residents of a Fallujah, Iraq neighborhood walk through the wreckage of their homes which were destroyed in a U.S. airstrike. The U.S. launched its invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, unleashing a war that led to over 1 million deaths. [AP Photo/Abdul-Kadr Saadi, File]

In short, over the last 20 years, the US military has been exposed as the deadly instrument of American imperialism by the destruction of whole societies in Iraq and Afghanistan, the death of millions of people, the squandering of trillions of dollars of resources, the total disregard for human life, including its own soldiersall to benefit an elite class of wealthy and powerful families. Thanks in part to the courage and sacrifice of figures such as Julian Assange, these crimes are known.

This is why young people do not want to join the military.

Inflection point

The US military recruitment crisis takes place at a historic inflection point for US imperialism. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States has pursued more than 30 years of unrelenting war. These warsin the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Somalia and Ukrainehave been waged for the purpose of offsetting American capitalisms economic decline and maintaining US global supremacy by means of military violence.

But the intractable and mounting problems of US capitalism, and with it, global capitalism, have not been solved by these wars. On the contrary, the abyss grows. Above all, the ruling class watches in horror as signs mount of a mass movement of the working class against low pay and exploitation.

In this context, the United States armed forces have sought to reshape their entire military, intelligence and political-cultural structure to prepare for war against China.

The Pentagon and the CIA see Chinas economic rise as both an existential threat and an opportunity. For them, The 21st century will be the American century, in the words of President Biden, if, and only if, the competition can be forcibly swept away. Top generals in the US military now predict war with China as early as 2025.

The war in Ukraine is a stepping stone in this larger project. The American and European ruling classes salivate over the prospect of carving up Russia into mini-states. Its vast troves of resources, and massive, sprawling domestic and regional markets would be dominated by American and European capital. Moreover, the subjugation and dismemberment of Russia would remove a major obstacle to mounting a war against China.

Well over 200,000 people have now died in the Ukraine war, whose origins lie in NATOs reckless expansion eastward and the 2014 Maidan coup, which ousted an elected pro-Russian government and replaced it with a far-right pro-NATO regime. Kievs long-touted counteroffensive has failed, and the Ukrainian government, facing the mass death of its soldiers, scours the country for recruits.

The Ukraine war has demonstrated two interconnected things to the American military leadership:

First: The death toll in Ukraine belies notions that future wars could be bloodless or have only limited casualties. A US war against China and Russia, i.e., a Third Word War, would require the enlisting of millions of people into the armed forces and convincing them to fight. According to US military documents leaked in April, the Ukraine war has already led to 354,000 casualties. But there is no end in sight to the conflict. Should a US-China war break out in Taiwan, a far more densely populated region than Ukraine, what kind of death toll would occur there? Moreover, what does this portend for outright conflict between the US and China? As a comprehensive military report from January 2023 on the opening days of a potential war against China states:

The Navy and Air Force will need to reject the notion that the next war will be long distance and push-button, not requiring personnel to face personal danger or operate under conditions of extreme hardship. Although such notions have been attractive since the end of World War II, they do not describe a twenty-first century conflict between great powers Commanders will need to continue operations and move forward despite a high level of casualties not seen in living memory.

Second: War planners are drawing from the Ukraine conflict the fact that the current industrial supply chain would not be able to keep pace with the demands of a direct war with major powers. The Ukrainian military has burned through tens of billions of dollars of American ammunition in just a little more than a year. An Associated Press report found that the Ukrainian military is firing 6,000 to 8,000 155m artillery shells every day. But the US can only produce 14,000 of these shells every month.

The US and European press have nervously fixated on this issue the last few months. CNN was told by NATO that the dwindling supply of artillery ammunition in Ukraine was a wake-up call. Jake Sullivan, Bidens national security adviser, said, We discovered that the ability to mass produce that ammunition [155m artillery shells] would take not days or weeks or months, but years, to get to the level that we need.

Now the US and Europe are scrambling to invest more money into artillery and other armaments production, with the EU passing the Act in Support of Ammunition Production in July to subsidize new armament production to the tune of 500 million euros.

These two points underscore the problems facing the US ruling class and its military leadership. They also point to key vulnerabilities that highlight the convergence of the erupting class struggle with the fight against war.

If the military, not yet engaged in an all-out war with Russia or China, is already failing to fill its recruitment levels, what will happen when such a war begins?

In the second year of the Iraq War, sections of the American ruling class began to call for the return of the draft, which was ended as a result of the mass protests against the Vietnam War. During the Iraq war, the Bush administration instituted rules that prevented members of the military from retiring or resigning, forcing them to serve, in effect, as a partial draft. Today, the implementation of the draft would have explosive, if not revolutionary, implications in the United States.

In regard to the armament shortage, the US military and its European counterparts now seek to develop a national-industrial regime that can produce the quantity of armaments required to sustain an ongoing war between major powers. In addition to draining even more resources away from social programs, this would require the mobilization of a new assembly-line workforce. With major struggles already underway, however, by auto, logistics and other key sections of the American working class, the ruling class risks leaving such production lines in the hands of a combative, youthful working class, hostile to war.

The drive to war on campuses and in high schools

It is in the context of these twin problems of a recruitment and an industrial armament crisis that the aggressive moves of the United States military on college and high school campuses should be understood.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that thousands of high school students are being illegally forced into Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) programs across the country. In an Army recruiter handbook, distributed to over 10,000 recruiters, the Pentagon leadership instructs: If you wait until theyre [high school] seniors, its probably too late. An investigation by the ACLU found that students as young as 11 have been enlisted.

In Georgia, the National Guard is planning to use cell phone nets that collect, en-masse, information on high school students. They will then use this data for aggressive recruitment.

Similar things are afoot in relation to the CIA and other intelligence agencies, which, facing their own recruitment difficulties, are turning to the campuses as a major recruitment base. A recent WSWS exposure of Texas A&Ms ties to the intelligence agencies is just one demonstration of this connection.

There are a staggering 3,725 JROTC programs at almost 2,000 different high schools across the country. The program is funded annually with about half a billion dollars.

In higher education, there are more than 1,700 colleges and universities that have ROTC programs. According to a 2016 report from the US Army, $431 million in awards and scholarships are being used each year to entice young people into the Armys ROTC program, reaching some 23,700 cadets.

Meanwhile, major arms manufacturers are aggressively integrating themselves into the workings of college and university campuses across the country. A report last year from In These Times found that Lockheed Martin had close ties with over 50 universities across the United States. This included partnership universities, universities receiving major research grants from the company, those hosting sponsored Lockheed Martin professors, and those hosting Lockheed Martin Day recruitment events.

The National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), a Department of Defense-sponsored organization, operates at dozens of major universities across the country. The organization states that it is dedicated to the work of bringing together defense, academic and entrepreneurial innovators to solve national security problems in [a] new way.

Billions of dollars are now being funneled from the military budget into the universities to fund research oriented towards the preparation for war against China through programs like the NSIN and the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.

Meanwhile, there are ongoing efforts to whip up anti-Chinese hysteria on the campuses, including campaigns to demonize Chinese students and ban Chinese graduate students in certain fields. Similar moves are being made among the allies of the US. For example, in Australia, Chinese academics are being put under surveillance as part of an anti-China witch hunt.

The fight against war requires a fight against the pseudo-left

At its May Day rally in 2022, the WSWS explained, The contradictions that threaten world war also create conditions for world socialist revolution. The challenge that confronts the working class is this: to strengthen and accelerate the objective tendencies that lead to revolution, while undermining and weakening those that lead to world war.

The persistent inability of the US military to find enough recruits to feed its war machine reflects, in the final analysis, the growth of anti-war sentiment amongst broad layers of the American population, in particular, the working class. It points to the immense potential to build in the American working class, particularly its youth, a mass movement to put an end to US imperialism and fight for socialist principles.

Transforming this sentiment into an actual movement of workers and young people, however, requires ideological clarification. Many young people may be opposed to war, but that does not mean they understand where it comes from, or who, for that matter, is perpetrating it.

Above all, it is critical to expose the unbreakable ties between the Democratic Party as a party of the American ruling class and imperialist war. This includes clarifying the function of pseudo-left organizations in both propping up the Democratic Party and justifying imperialist war.

The role here of the pseudo-left Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is central.

Earlier this year, amidst the deepening military recruitment crisis, Democratic Party Representative and DSA member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sponsored a military recruitment fair at a Bronx high school. That is, while the US war machine desperately strategized to improve its standing with young people, the DSAs leading congressional representative actively helped, encouraging teenagers to join the military.

This is not an exception or one-off event. It testifies to the way in which this entire pseudo-socialist layer positions itself patriotically in support of the state. Just last week, AOC declared in an interview with the New York Times:

I wouldnt necessarily characterize my foreign policy goals as oppositional to the presidents or to the United States I am a member of Congress. I have sworn an oath to this country, and I take that oath very seriously.

AOC and the DSA are, however, by no means alone in advancing these positions. The entire pseudo-left across Europe and the United States has lined up behind NATO, as it previously did in the conflicts in Syria and Libya, during the Obama years.

As the US prepares for a major military conflict with China, and the war in Ukraine grows into an open conflict between the US and Russia, the US military will continue to scramble to reach a new generation of young people, who are moving to the left and are hostile to the military. The Army will seek to aggressively manipulate young people into joining its machine, meanwhile encouraging the closest collaboration between the armaments industry, the state and the universities.

The International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) fights to deepen and politically educate this mass latent anti-war sentiment. Genuine socialism means breaking from all forms of nationalism and opportunism and fighting to unify all sections of the working class internationally in a common struggle against imperialist war.

The IYSSE is building a mass movement against war, and in opposition to the Democratic Party and its various pseudo-left apologists.

* The military, intelligence agencies, and defense contractors must be thrown off college campuses.

* Labor should not be used to make weapons that will kill millions in a Third World War for the rich. Rather, it should be mobilized to build quality and affordable housing, better schools and hospitals, and sustainable energy infrastructure both in the US and internationally.

* Young people must be warned and educated about the far-advanced plans that are being hatched to throw humanity into a Third World War. Xenophobic propaganda against Chinese and Russian people must be opposed, and workers from all backgrounds and nationalities united.

We urge workers and students who agree with this perspective to contact us and make the decision to get involved in the struggle against imperialist war and for socialist internationalism.
Will Lehman, the Mack Trucks worker and a socialist candidate for president of the United Auto Workers last year, filed an amended complaint in federal court Tuesday against the US Department of Labors decision to sanction the disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of UAW members during the unions elections. Lehman filed the legal complaint in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, which is expected to rule later this year on his demand for the rerun of the election so that all UAW members can fully participate.

Will Lehman at GM's Flint Assembly Plant

On June 30, Bidens Department of Labor denied Lehmans challenge over the conduct of the UAW election, in which only 104,000 of the unions 1.1 million active and retired members participated, the lowest turnout by percentage of any union election in US history. Labor Department officials ignored overwhelming evidence presented by Lehman which detailed how the UAW bureaucracy failed to follow court orders to update members mailing addresses or adequately publicize the election. They also ignored evidence of the gross conflict of interests of the two law firms used by the court-appointed UAW Monitor to oversee the election process, including their close connections and ongoing legal work for General Motors and other auto companies with UAW contracts.

Providing no explanation for its decision, the Department of Labors three-sentence ruling ended with, A statement of reasons setting forth the basis for this decision will be mailed to you at a future date.

Lehamn filed a lawsuit against the DOL on July 3, and more than a month later its Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) sent Lehman its statement of reasons. The August 8 letter not only ignored the detailed evidence of voter suppression and the UAW Monitors conflict of interests but added a whole set of spurious and self-contradictory procedural arguments to justify its denial.

This hinged around the claim that Lehmans post-election complaints were untimely filed because they involved allegations of misconduct that occurred before the ballots were due on November 28, 2022. In November, however, Lehman sued the UAW to force it to provide notice to the membership and at that time federal judge David Lawson, the UAW Monitor and the Labor Department all said Lehman could not go to court to protect workers rights until the election was concluded.

In Tuesdays court filing, Lehmans attorney said the DOLs rejection was arbitrary and capricious. The amended complaint refuted the claims that Lehmans challenge of the monitors denial of his protest was untimely, pointing to the election rules requiring that post-election complaints be filed with the UAW Monitor within 15 days of the unofficial announcement of 2022 election results, a deadline Lehmans counsel confirmed with the UAW Monitor.

When the 122-page protest filed by Lehman on December 19, 2022 was rejected by the Monitor three months later on March 19, 2023, Lehman filed a complaint with the Department of Labor just 10 days later. Accordingly, the DOL lacks any plausible ground to reject the central allegations in Lehman's post-election complaint on procedural grounds, the amended complaint states.

The filing then takes apart the ridiculous claims by the DOL that Lehman should have filed his complaint, which centered on the fact that the historically low turnout was the product of deliberate voter suppression by the UAW bureaucracy, before the results of the election were known:

Adopting the positions taken by the Monitor in rejecting Lehman's complaint, the DOL purported to determine that Lehman should have instead made his protest as a 'pre-election' protest--before the votes were cast. But since Lehman could not have proved that the turnout was low before the vote tally, this is a procedural requirement that would have been impossible for Lehman to fulfill without the aid of a time machine.

Lehman's post-election protest featured an audit, surveys, and other evidence gathered after the election, which could not have been presented earlier because it did not exist and could not have been gathered yet. This included an audit of all UAW social media sites and a survey of rank-and-file members, which disclosed conclusive evidence that the UAW bureaucracy did as little as possible to inform members about the election. Although this complaint was filed within the 15-day deadline, the Monitor and the DOL claimed the audit and surveys were merely allegations and not filed on time.

This is absurd on its face. Lehman could not make a protest based on this evidence before the low turnout prompted him to investigate and discover it, the latest filing states.

Lehmans attorney noted that the DOL took the exact opposite position in November 2022 when it argued for the dismissal of Lehmans pre-election lawsuit, which requested an emergency court intervention to extend the ballot counting deadline by one month to ensure broader participation by the rank and file. At that time, when only a preliminary tally of a fraction of the votes cast was available, the DOL demanded the judge toss out Lehmans lawsuit on the grounds that the data presented by Lehman were only estimates and that it was entirely premature to use any participation numbers.

Lehmans amended complaint explains:

In other words, DOL suggested in November 2022 that it would be impossible to evaluate whether an election violation occurred until after the votes were all tallied. But when Lehman promptly protested after the votes were tallied, the DOL switched its position from 'premature' to 'too late.' These inconsistent positions underscore the entirely arbitrary and Alice-in-Wonderland manner that Lehman's protest has been handled.

In addition, Lehmans attorney says, the rank-and-file candidate made numerous pre-election protests that were ignored by the UAW Monitor. This includes protests against the UAW bureaucracys efforts to undermine Lehmans candidacy by denying him access to membership lists and email addresses and engaging in acts of intimidation against campaign supporters. In a November 11, 2022 communication with the UAW Monitor, Lehman demanded immediate action to 'protect the right of workers to vote given the massive problems that appear to exist with workers receiving their ballots' and protested the Monitor's failure to respond to previous protests.

According to the DOL, these were not protests but only generalized grievances, arguing absurdly that they were conveyed in letters that were not captioned protests or complaints. Moreover, the DOL contends that Lehmans pre-election protests were not legitimate protests because the Monitor did not act on them!

The filing concludes by pointing to the motivations behind the DOLs decision to sanction an election that stripped UAW members of the right to vote and installed a long-time union bureaucrat, Shawn Fain, with the votes of only around three percent of the membership.

On July 19, 2023, before the DOL issued its 'statement of reasons,' Shawn Fain met with President Joe Biden in-person at the White House. The substance of the discussion between Biden and Fain has not been publicly disclosed, except that it related to the looming prospect of a strike in September upon the expiration of auto contracts with 170,000 workers at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis in the US and Canada. This conduct taints the DOL's 'statement of reasons' rejecting Lehman's complaint on purported procedural grounds. It suggests that the decision to bury Lehman's complaint had been made long before, and it was just a matter of cobbling together a pseudo-legal justification for a result that the government was already treating as an accomplished fact.

The Biden administrations sanction of this electoral travesty demonstrates its complete contempt for the democratic rights of workers. After outlawing the strike by railway workers and working with the union bureaucracies to impose sellout contracts on dock and UPS workers, the Democratic administration of Joe Biden is seeking to prop up the Fain administration, which it is now using to suppress the opposition of rank-and-file workers and impose the dictates of the auto corporations.

From the beginning of his campaign, Lehman argued that the democratic rights of autoworkers would not be advanced by replacing one union bureaucrat with another but by abolishing the whole UAW bureaucracy and transferring power from the apparatus to the workers on the shop floor through the formation of rank-and-file committees in every factory and work location. With the contract for autoworkers a week away, the fight to expand these committees is more urgent then ever.
The Australian Labor governments October 14 referendum to entrench an indigenous institution, to be called the Voice, in the countrys anti-democratic 1901 Constitution is a political sham.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. [Photo: @LindaBurneyMP]

The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) urges workers and youth to reject both the Yes and No cases presented by the ruling political establishment and calls for an active boycott campaign to oppose the referendum itself.

The entire referendum is anti-democratic. Neither camp represents the interests of the working class. Far from providing the population with a say, as the government and the corporate media proclaim, the referendum seeks to box people into making a binary choice between the perspective of two rival camps of the ruling capitalist class, both of which are committed to the underlying program of war and austerity.

The same Labor government that is pushing the well-funded referendum for the Voice has stepped up its commitment to the US war against Russia in Ukraine and the accelerating US war drive against China that threatens nuclear war. No referendum was held on the AUKUS military pact with the US and Britain. No vote has been taken on the allocation of up to $368 billion for nuclear-powered attack submarines and billions more for other military hardware. Any decision to go to war against China will be made in Washington and rubber stamped in Canberra behind the backs of people in both countries.

Moreover, neither the Yes nor the No campaigns in the Voice referendum has anything to do with improving the squalid conditions suffered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people stemming from the capitalist system brutally implanted by British imperialism beginning in 1788.

Instead, the referendum, backed by big business, seeks to revamp and bolster the capitalist state apparatus, which includes the Constitution, parliament itself and the armed forces. The state is the central mechanism of class rule by which the Australian capitalist class defends its private ownership of the means of production, prosecutes its imperialist interests abroad and suppresses the working class.

Although described as an advisory body, the Voice would have a central role in the government. It will potentially be involved in all the machinations of parliament and the government through its power to make representations on any issue, as proposed in the referendum question.

As such, the Voice would sit at the heart of the very apparatus of rule that has its roots in the British colonial administrations that cleared the land of indigenous tribes through massacres, poisonings, disease and the herding of survivors into squalid reserves. Today, the vast majority of indigenous workers and youth constitute one of the most oppressed sections of the working class.

Neither the Yes nor the No camp can explain whydespite all the promises of reconciliation and consultation made by successive Labor and Liberal-National governments over the past five decadesindigenous people, except for the privileged few, continue to suffer terrible health, housing, education and employment conditions and high incarceration rates.

Young Aboriginal family at Hidden Valley town camp, near Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia, 2008. [Photo: John Hulme/WSWS]

The Voice will no more address the social disaster facing indigenous workers and youth than the previous supposedly progressive measures spearheaded by Labor governments, from the creation of land rights to the parliamentary apologies for the Stolen Generations and the Close the Gap program.

The ideological basis for the Voice is racial identity politics promoted by a tiny privileged layer of indigenous business operators, academics and media personalities fostered by Labor and the Coalition over decades. They blame whites for the dispossession and oppression of the black population, and shamelessly trade on the misery of the people they claim to represent to leverage their own influence and wealth.

The SEP insists that the fundamental division in society, including in the indigenous population, is class, not race. Capitalism, not whites, was responsible for the destruction of tribal society, a form of primitive communism that was incompatible with private ownership of land. The appalling poverty facing many Aboriginal workers and youth is one of the sharpest expressions of the worsening conditions facing the working class as a whole.

The Albanese government confronts a deepening political crisis amid rising anger and discontent over the deepening cost-of-living, a housing and social crisis, huge Stage Three income tax cuts for the rich, and massive spending on war preparations. The Voice project is to weaken and divide the working class along racial lines while elevating the wealthy indigenous elite within the capitalist corridors of power.

The Voice campaign, and in this the Yes and the No camps are united, is to conceal the reactionary agenda of this government and the ruling class for war abroad and class war at home. As the Albanese government integrates Australia ever more closely into the US war machine, it is imposing the burden of this militarism and the worsening global economic crisis on working people through deepening attacks on living and working conditions.

The Socialist Equality Partys advocacy of an active boycott is to expose and oppose the whole referendum throughout the working class. This is not passive abstention but a form of collective action to advance the independent interests of the working class. That is essential to prepare for the momentous class struggles aheadregardless of whether the referendum passes or failsagainst the agenda of war and austerity.

Under conditions of compulsory voting, which makes it a crime to urge a boycott of the vote itself, we call on workers and youth to register their opposition by casting informal ballots and join our active boycott campaign in the lead-up to October 14, that goes well beyond the individual act of voting.

Media polls show support disintegrating for the Voice project, alongside rising disaffection with the Labor government and the whole political establishment. This indicates growing distrust in the Voice plan, not a lack of support for genuine measures to address the plight of indigenous people, nor support for right-wing racists. But this working-class opposition is, as yet, inchoate. It must be transformed into a politically conscious movement against the capitalist order itself.

Decades of false and broken promises have proven that ending the atrocious situation facing the vast majority of indigenous people requires a unified fight by the working class, across racial and ethnic lines, to abolish the socio-economic order that has produced it. That means overturning the capitalist profit system as a whole, and replacing it with a socialist society, based on genuine social equality and democracy.

The Socialist Equality Party will use its campaign for an active boycott of the referendum not only to champion measures to address the social plight of indigenous people, but to fight for a socialist solution to the pressing issues that confront the working class as a wholea catastrophic war, climate change and the relentless attack on social and democratic rights.

Labors big business-backed Yes campaign

Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses Labor government, joined by the Greens and other sections of the capitalist political establishment, including leading figures within the Liberal-National Coalition, is cynically trying to appeal to the widespread popular concern over the plight of indigenous people. It misleadingly claims that the Voice will lead to better outcomes.

Bankrolled by the corporate elite to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, the Yes campaign has nothing to do with addressing the past crimes of Australian capitalism or the appalling conditions of indigenous people. These conditions will continue to deteriorate, along with those of the working class as a whole.

In fact, Albanese has repeatedly declared that the Voice project is about saving money, not spending any extra money on much-needed programs for indigenous people.

Why has the Labor government, which barely scraped into office in May 2022, been so intent on proceeding with the Voice scheme? Why has Albanese, in particular, who heads Labors so-called Left faction, been so central to promoting this proposal?

First, the Labor government is anxious to use the Voice referendum to put a progressive veneer on its pro-business and militarist agenda. It is seeking to exploit the wide public support for redressing the crimes of capitalism against indigenous people, while preparing for war and imposing austerity and real wage cuts on the working class.

Missiles being fired during Talisman Sabre exercises in Australia [Photo: Talisman Sabre]

The Albanese government is transforming Australia into a platform for war against China, with bases being upgraded and opened to US access from Cape York to Darwin, the Pilbara and the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean. That includes many indigenous lands, such as the Tiwi Islands, where large-scale war games were recently held.

Second, the Voice is intended to portray a fake supra-class national unity as it seeks to subordinate the working class to its war agenda and portray a more humane face for Australian capitalism. The Yes pamphlet claims a vote for the Voice will be an act of unity that will bring Australians together, celebrating and sharing 65,000 years of history and sending a powerful message to the world about Australias unity.

Yetand it shares this silence with the official No caseit says nothing about the past two centuries of state violence against the Aboriginal people since British colonisation and the establishment of Australian capitalism! The crimes of the Australian capitalist class against the indigenous population were matched by its predatory imperialist operations in the South Pacific, including the blackbirding or dragooning of South Sea islanders into forced labour in Australian plantations. Little wonder that the Albanese government wants to refashion the tarnished image of Australian imperialism as it tours the region, cajoling and bullying governments into lining up with the US confrontation against China.

Third, Labor is brazenly acting on behalf of the corporate elite, most of which is heavily backing the Voice as a more institutional and reliable vehicle for pursuing mining and other corporate projects, which have often become embroiled in legal disputes with indigenous land claimants.

In the words of the Business Council of Australia, the Voice would provide a formal and authoritative avenue for corporate Australia to work with indigenous communities on business programs and initiatives. Most of big business also has supported the Voice plan for similar political and ideological reasons to that of the Labor government.

The corporate giants endorsing the Yes campaign include Qantas, the big banks, Transurban and mining companies BHP, Rio Tinto and Newcrest. Retail conglomerate Wesfarmers, Rio Tinto and BHP have funded the campaign to the tune of $2 million each. They have been joined by the trade union apparatuseson which they depend to suppress workers struggleschurch leaders and the heads of an array of other corporate interests, including the commercial sporting codes.

Fourth, the Voice is a means of further incorporating into the capitalist class and the state apparatus a wealthy indigenous layer.

According to the blueprint drawn up by indigenous Professors Marcia Langton and Tom Calmaall mention of which the government has buriedthe Voice would be a thoroughly anti-democratic institution. It would be an unelected body chosen by acknowledged leaders and subject to character tests and vetting by an equally unelected ethics council.

Plus, the referendum proposal states explicitly that parliamentthat is, the existing capitalist establishmentwould have the final say on the composition, functions, powers and procedures, as well as the funding, of the Voice.

By its very design, the Voice would substantially exclude the voices of the majority of indigenous people who live in the increasingly impoverished working-class suburbs of major cities and regional towns and squalid remote communities.

Among the many other lies in the Yes case, one of its biggest, is that this idea came directly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. From the start, the Voice plan came from right-wing lawyer and anti-welfare advocate Noel Pearson and other hand-picked indigenous elite figures in 2015, working in partnership with the then Liberal-National government of Tony Abbott.

Together with Labor Party leader Bill Shorten at a gathering in Kirribilli House, the prime ministers official Sydney residence, they sought to put a new face on the pro-capitalist national reconciliation agenda launched in 1991 by the Keating Labor government.

Pearson and other Voice advocates openly present it as a vehicle for pushing indigenous people off welfarewhich they deride as sit-down money and into business ventures in the name of economic empowerment. They represent a layer of emerging indigenous millionaires, profiting off government and corporate deals and contracts at the expense of indigenous workers and youth.

Far from being a movement from below, the Uluru Statement from the Heart process that subsequently adopted the Voice proposal in 2017 involved a series of unelected dialogues with handpicked members who chose delegates to the Uluru event. Just as it started, the Voice plan remains a bid to divert the ongoing anger and disaffection among ordinary indigenous people, and the rest of the working class, amid the greatest cuts to real wages and living conditions since World War II.

The official and progressive No campaigns

The Socialist Equality Party opposes both the official and the supposed progressive No campaigns.

The official No case, supported by the Liberal-National leadership and various business interests and right-wing factions, claims that the Voice presents a real risk to our system of government. It would permanently alter the Constitutionwhich has served the ruling class well since 1901with unknown consequences.

The No pamphlet declares that the Voice would cause official decision-making delays, trigger legal challenges and lead to government dysfunction. This expresses fears that the operations of the Voice, despite strict parliamentary supervision, could cause or complicate constitutional conflicts under conditions of intensifying working-class alienation from, and opposition to, the whole official political setup.

The No document also raises concerns that the Voice would cut across the position of established indigenous bodies in regional and remote areas. That primarily reflects the interests of sections of the corporate elite, including Aboriginal business people, such as No campaign spokesperson Warren Mundine, who rest on existing lucrative mining, pastoral and other local deals with native title landholders.

A prominent No argument is that the Voice will not unite us, it will divide us by race. This is cynically couched in terms of unity. Coming from Coalition leader Peter Dutton and other forces pitching to a right-wing constituency, this is a clear dog whistle to racist elements. It goes along with false claims that the Voice would create special privileges for all indigenous people. In fact, the only beneficiaries would be the narrow elite indigenous layer.

Gary Johns, former Keating Labor government minister, addressing Tamworth meeting on 31 March, 2023, with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (far left) and far-right broadcaster Alan Jones on the platform. [Photo: Recognise a Better Way Facebook]

Some elements, such as Senator Pauline Hansons One Nation party and similar elements, are running rabid scare campaigns, raising the spectre of indigenous secession or domination. Far-right and racialist forces are a small minority in the population but they could gain traction on the Voice only because the proposal itself is based on reactionary identity politics that seeks to define people along racial lines.

The Socialist Equality Party, the Australian section of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), opposes the Voice from a socialist, working-class and internationalist standpoint.

On this basis we stand in complete opposition to the so-called Blak sovereignty or progressive No campaign headed by Senator Lidia Thorpe and others. There is nothing progressive about their agitation. It is exploiting the widespread discontent among ordinary indigenous people with the elitist Voice scheme, which it denounces as toothless, only to channel the alienation in the direction of reactionary black nationalism, which seeks greater political and economic power within the framework of Australian capitalism, via a so-called treaty.

This represents the interests of an even more grasping layer of the indigenous elite that aspires to acquire the kind of wealth accumulated by the Maori business empires in New Zealand. There, the Treaty of Waitangi process had led in recent decades to the creation of multi-billion dollar corporations, while Maori and Pacific Islander households remain the most oppressed layer of that countrys working class.

No support for recognition in the anti-democratic Australian Constitution

The Socialist Equality Party equally opposes all proposals, such as that of Dutton and other establishment figures, past and present, for symbolic recognition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the 1901 Australian Constitution.

The very conception of recognising indigenous people in the constitution, touted by every administration since the Howard Liberal-National government in 2007, is a reactionary fraud, based on reconciliation with Australian capitalism and its entire anti-democratic state structure.

The Australian Constitution upholds capitalist property rights and contains no bill of rights or any other protection of basic social or democratic rights, not even the right to vote. Moreover, it contains potentially dictatorial powers. In 1901, the so-called Founding Fathers of Federation deliberately preserved the prerogative and reserve powers of the Crown, represented by the governor-general, including to dismiss governments, declare war, mobilise the armed forces and take control of the country in periods of political crisis.

They drafted this constitution to legitimise and enforce the establishment of Australian capitalism, at the expense of the emergent working class and its most vulnerable members, the dispossessed and decimated Aboriginal population.

Lawyers, politicians and media pundits claim that constitutional conventions prevent the vice-regal powers from being used dictatorially. Yet in 1975, Governor-General Sir John Kerr ousted the Whitlam Labor government and placed the army on alert after that government failed to contain a movement of the working class amid a global period of immense upheaval and class struggles.

Such is the birth certificate of the nation so hailed by both the Yes and No camps in the Voice referendum.

The pseudo-left backers of Labor and Yes

The more the media polls have indicated that support is falling for both the Voice and the Labor government, the more the pseudo-left groups, such as Socialist Alternative, Socialist Alliance and Solidarity, have swung behind the government and its Yes campaign.

They have shelved their previous criticisms of the Voice proposals, which were along the racialist lines of the black nationalist progressive No stance. They claim it is essential to align with the Labor government in order to defeat far-right elements.

Socialist Alternatives Red Flag, for example, asserts that a defeat for the Yes campaign would be a significant victory for the conservative right and its racist campaign against the Voice.

This is political poison that turns reality on its head. It equates the legitimate working-class distrust in the Voice plan with racism, effectively blaming workers for opposing the Labor governments thoroughly right-wing pro-corporate agenda. It is similar to the position that all the pseudo-left outfits put in elections. They peddle lesser-evilism, the assertion that workers and youth must support Labor and/or the Greens, to stop the Liberal-National Coalition from taking office.

Their Yes campaign seeks to divert workers and youth into the dead-end of parliamentary politics and block an independent political movement of the working class against and the capitalist system that Labor and the Greens defend to the hilt. These fake left formations also insist that workers must support the trade unions that police the big-business program of the Labor government. It is precisely the suppression of workers struggles against Labors regressive social agenda that opens the way for far-right forces to exploit the intensifying discontent over the worsening social crisis.

The alignment of these groups behind the Voice and the Labor government underscores their defence of the capitalist state. They have nothing to do with socialism. Rather, they are based on affluent sections of the upper-middle class, promoting identity politics to suppress the working class, block the fight for socialism and advance their own privileged careers in the political establishment and the union apparatuses.

For an active boycott

The Socialist Equality Party calls on workers, students and youth to take up the fight for an active boycott, as the best means to advance the independent interests of the working class in a referendum that has been designed to suppress and bury those interests. An active boycott does not consist simply of an individual informal vote on October 14, but a campaign throughout the working class and among youth. Within the framework of the anti-democratic referendum, this tactic enables workers to differentiate from the divisive racialist politics advanced by both the Yes and No campaigns.

Above all, the tactic of an active boycott raises the strategic issues confronting the working class. Chief among them is the burning need to develop an independent political movement of the working class against every faction of the political establishment, all of which are committed to the ruling elites program of war, austerity and an escalating assault on democratic rights.

In relation to the concrete issues raised by the referendum, an independent line for the working class must begin with an understanding that the oppression of Aboriginal people is a product of capitalismthe private ownership of societys resources by a tiny financial elite. It cannot be resolved by augmenting, altering or reforming the existing state structures which are dedicated to defending that private ownership. This oppression, moreover, is a class question. For more than a century, the ruling class offensive against Aboriginal workers and youth has served as a spearhead for broader attacks on the working class as a whole.

The struggle to end the oppression of Aborigines, and the struggle for the social rights of the working class, are one and the same. They require a unified movement of the working class, regardless of race, gender and sexuality, against the capitalist profit system itself. This means the fight for socialism, placing societys resources under public ownership and democratic workers control, thereby guaranteeing the right of all to free education, health care and all the fundamental necessities of modern life.

The referendum is unfolding amid a global breakdown of capitalism, which threatens climate catastrophe, vast social regression, dictatorship and a nuclear world war. But the other side of this process is a resurgence of the class struggle on an international scale after decades of its suppression. It is to this global movement that workers must turn, in the fight for an internationalist perspective directed against the outmoded capitalist nation-state system, which has become a barrier to the further development of humanity under conditions of a global economy and society.

What is posed most sharply is the development of a leadership in the working class, rooted in the lessons of history and advancing the revolutionary perspective that workers objectively require. That leadership is the International Committee of the Fourth International, the world party of socialist revolution, of which the SEP is the Australian section. We urge workers and young people looking for a way forward to study our program, discuss these fundamental issues and join the SEP to take up the fight for a socialist future.



Authorised by Cheryl Crisp for the Socialist Equality Party, Suite 906, 185 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000.
On August 25, Sri Lankas Western Province Senior Deputy Inspector General (SDIG) Deshabandu Tennakoon told the Daily Mirror that the police, in collaboration with its Special Task force (STF), had launched a special operation to crack down on organised criminals and associated individuals. The measures, he declared, aimed to wipe out organised crime in the country within the next six months.

Sri Lanka Minister for Public Security Tiran Alles addressing media conference in Colombo. [Photo: Facebook]

Three days later, Minister for Public Security Tiran Alles, held a press conference confirming the SDIGs announcement. The security forces have also been instructed to shoot if necessary during these operations, he declared. This means Sri Lankan police are now allowed to shoot suspects with impunity.

Minister Alles indicated that these special operations were in line with instructions from President Ranil Wickremesinghe. While Alles and SDIG Tennakoon did not say when the operations commenced, the news reports indicate that raids began in June.

In fact, well-prepared police operations are occurring in areas where workers and oppressed people livein Colombo and its suburbs and in other parts of the country. The police, of course, may net a few underworld kingpins and showcase them in official propaganda to justify the crackdowns.

However, we warn that the real targets of the Wickremesinghe governments so-called anti-crime operations are the working class and the poor. Confronting rising mass opposition to its International Monetary Fund (IMF) austerity measures, the government is using extra-judicial measures to try intimidate working people and suppress the rising mass opposition.

To justify its actions, the police have cited a recent increase in gun violence between organised criminal or underworld gangs. According to police reports, 70 shooting incidents have been recorded this year up until August 31, claiming 41 lives and resulting in injuries to 30 others. These crimes, the police claim, have mainly occurred in the western and southern provinces.

Recent police operations include:

On June 12, police and military conducted a special joint operation in Borella, a densely populated working-class area in Colombo. Thirty five people were arrested, accused of possessing various drugs, and 19 others taken in for questioning.

On 26 June, police raided several places in Colombos South Division in a special search operation to apprehend drug traffickers.

On 1 July, Alles deployed 20 special operation teams in Southern Province and 15 in the Western Province to crack down on underworld operations. Several suspects were killed by police and others accused of murder were arrested in other raids.

The most revealing indication of the governments real political concerns was its police-military operation on May 9, at Colombo University, Colombo Fort and Galle Face Green. This involved the mobilisation of thousands of armed soldiers, and STF and riot police personnel equipped with water cannons and the establishment of roadblocks.

As government spokesman Bandula Gunawardena told a media briefing, the mobilisation followed a cabinet discussion on how to respond to a possible eruption of anti-government protests. It was the first anniversary of the violent attacks on May 9 by Rajapakse government thugs on protesters who had been occupying Galle Face Green since April 2022.

Mass anger over these assaults developed into a nationwide mass movement, including two general strikes that ultimately forced President Gotabaya Rajapakse to flee the country on July 13 and then resign.

The movement that brought down Rajapakse was diverted by the trade unions, backed by pseudo-left groups, including Frontline Socialist Party, into supporting opposition capitalist parties, Samagi Jana Balawegaya and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. While this opened the way for the installation of Ranil Wickremesinghe as president, his discredited government and Sri Lankas political establishment are haunted by last years uprising and the widespread popular anger over ongoing social attacks on workers and the poor.

Having negotiated a $US3 billion loan from the IMF, the Wickremesinghe government is imposing job destruction, privatisation, increased taxes, higher costs for essential goods and utilities, and other brutal measures.

On March 1 and 15 this year, half a million workers walked out on strike each day to protest against the governments IMF measures. Although the trade unions limited and contained this action, the government knows it cannot rely indefinitely on these increasingly despised bureaucracies and must strengthen the repressive powers of the state apparatus.

Security forces assembled near Colombo Campus on March 7, 2023, in response to student protest against governments austerity and attacks on democratic rights.

Sri Lankan governments have a long and bloody history of whipping up communalism and extra-judicial measures to divide and terrorise the working class.

In 1983, then United National Party (UNP) government provoked a communalist war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which, after almost 30 years of bloody conflict, ended with the defeat of the separatist organisation and the death of hundreds of thousands, mainly Tamil masses, and massive social devastation.

Colombos war included the development of racialist paramilitary organisations that were used to abduct, torture and simply disappear Tamil youth. Tamil parents and relatives are still campaigning to find out what happened to their loved ones.

Between 1988 and 1990, paramilitaries and death-squads were unleashed by the UNP government and the security establishment to crush rural unrest in the islands south, killing around 60,000 youth.

In August 2009, three months after the military defeat of the LTTE, President Mahinda Rajapakses government declared war on the underworld. Thousands of people were subjected to police harassments and some jailed during these operations.

Similar special operations were launched by President Maithripala Sirisena during his so-called good governance period. In 2018, Sirisena called for an end to Sri Lankas 43-year moratorium on executions, and in January 2019, he made a state visit to the Philippines.

Sirisena hailed President Rodrigo Dutertes so-called war on drugs as an example to the world. As the World Socialist Web Site noted, the death toll was horrendous. Under Duterte, officially 7,080 people were killed2,555 by the police and 4,525 by death squadswith an average 30 deaths per day. The actual death toll was much higher.

President Wickremesinghes calls for special police operations against underworld crime is no accident. He was a minister in UNP governments that provoked the anti-Tamil communal war against the LTTE and 19881990 murderous campaign against rural youth carried out by death squads allied with security forces.

Workers should also recall that Sri Lankan governments have unleashed police and military violence to suppress the class struggle. There are many examples from the past decade alone.

* In May 2011, the government deployed armed police to Katunayake Free Trade Zone against workers protesting the governments attempt to slash their pension fund. Police opened fire, killing one worker and injuring several others.

* In February 2012, police fired on a protest of fishermen in Chilaw killing one fisherman.

* In 2013, President Mahinda Rajapakses government deployed military to suppress a protest by villagers in Rathupaswala, Gampaha. The military opened fire, killing three people and injuring scores of others.



* In April 2022, police killed a 40-year-old father of two after opening fire on protesters demanding affordable fuel at Rambukkana.

Predictably, the establishment media has endorsed the Wickremesinghes special operation against organised crime. There has not been a word of criticism from the parliamentary opposition parties, who are conscious that these actions are aimed at the working class and anyone resisting the governments social attacks.

In line with its police and military raids, the Wickremesinghe regime is maintaining its repressive Essential Public Services Act which is directed against industrial action by workers in key industries, such as electricity, petroleum and health.

Likewise, Wickremesinghe continues to keep all branches of the military on standby in all of the countrys 25 districts and territorial waters. It is also preparing to impose a new counter-terrorism act to give sweeping powers to the police and armed forces.

The police and military operations against organised crime are one more component in the buildup and mobilisation of the capitalist state against the working class and the preparations for dictatorial forms of rule.
The brutal police assault on Eritrean migrants in Tel Aviv last weekend marks a fresh step in the direction of a fascistic, police state in Israel.

It is part of a broader effort by the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to whip up a climate of xenophobia and fear. Refugees, particularly Eritreans, have long faced discrimination at the hands of the authorities. They are now being subject to police violence and a concerted racist campaign based on propaganda and lies by a state that justifies its existence based on the monstrous crimes committed by the Nazi regime in Germany against European Jewry.

Israeli riot police attack Eritrean protesters in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, September 2, 2023 [AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg]

Netanyahus aim is to deflect rising the social discontent against his government among Jewish Israelis.

Fierce clashes broke out on Saturday morning between around 1,000 supporters and opponents of the Eritrean regime near the Eritrean Embassy in downtown Tel Aviv as well as in southern Tel Aviv, home to some of Israels poorest citizens, as well as migrants and refugees.

The Eritrean Embassy had organized a cultural festival to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the state following decades of war against Ethiopia which had ruled the country after Italys defeat in World War II. Since 1993, President Isaias Afewerki has ruled Eritrea with an iron fist, presiding over a regime of arbitrary arrests, imprisonment, torture, persecution, rape and murder by government agencies.

More than 500,000 Eritreans (12 percent of the population) have fled the country and sought asylum elsewhere, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Even when living in exile, Eritreans have reported being harassed and threatened by the Eritrean authorities, while remittances to their families back home that constitute a massive 32 percent of the countrys US$8 billion GDP are often diverted to the Eritrean state.

There are around 18,000 Eritreans who, having entered Israel, mainly before 2013, as asylum seekers of whom only a small number are believed to be Afwerki supporters. In Israel, asylum seekers live without rights or access to healthcare, working in low paid, manual jobs. Just 1,000 requests for asylum have been reviewed and fewer than a couple of dozen applications accepted.

Representatives of Israels Eritrean community had asked for the event to be cancelled after explicit threats against regime opponents were posted on social media. They warned police that violence would likely erupt, citing events in Toronto where nine people were injured; in Sweden where 100 demonstrators were arrested and 50 injured; and Germany where hundreds of police using clubs and tear gas arrested 100 people. This led to Britain cancelling a similar event.

The Israeli authorities refused to cancel the event, apparently due to Tel Avivs close, if secretive, relations with the repressive state. This is despite tensions within the Eritrean community that have spilled over into violence: in 2019, when 20 asylum seekers were arrested in Tel Aviv, and most notably in 2020 when a regime supporter was stabbed to death.

When the expected violence broke out Saturday morning, with demonstrators smashing cars, shop windows and police vans, police responded with unprecedented violence. Wearing full riot gear, they used tear gas, stun and gas grenades and batons and fired live rounds and sponge-tipped bullets at the crowds. At least 170 people were injured, including 49 police officers. Of the protesters, 19 were seriously injured, including 15 from gunshot wounds. Fifty Eritreans were arrested. An investigation has been opened to determine whether the polices use of firearms was lawful.

Netanyahu said he not only wants Eritreans involved in the clashes deported immediately, but all the countrys 27,000 African asylum seekers, mainly from Eritrea and Sudan. We want harsh measures against the rioters, including the immediate deportation of those who took part, he said, ordering plans to be prepared for the removal of all the other illegal infiltrators. He tied this to his campaign to curtail the powers of the judiciary, noting that the Supreme Court had previously struck down some measures meant to force people to leave.

Israel, despite being a signatory to the International Refugee Convention of 1951, refuses to grant refugee status to those who flee persecution, including to African asylum seekers, because it would lead to renewed demands for the right of return for Palestinians and their descendants who were forced from their homes in the wars of 1948-49 and 1967.

Designating the African asylum seekers as infiltrators, Israel says it has no legal obligation to keep them, defying international law that outlaws the forcible return of people to a country where their life or liberty is at risk. After various rulings by the Supreme Court that refugees cannot be forcibly removed, Israel has tried various ways of coercing them to leave. These include sending some to a remote prison in the Negev, later ruled illegal, withholding 20 percent of their wages until after they agree to leave the country, or offering cash inducements to those who agree to move to Rwanda. Together, these measures have resulted in more than 30,000 Africans leaving Israel. Few African asylum seekers have arrived in Israel since 2013, when Netanyahu erected a fence along Israels southern border with Egypt.

Israel allows anyone who can claim Jewish descent to live in Israel and become an Israeli citizen under the Law of Return. It even amended the law in 1970 to widen the definition of a Jew to enable Russian immigration to Israel. But it refused for decades to recognise the right of Jews from Ethiopia to immigrate to Israel. Many to this day experience racist discrimination and poverty, while around 10,000 are still waiting to immigrate to Israel around 7,000 in Gondar and 3,000 in Addis Ababa.

On Sunday, Netanyahu said the government would draft a new immigration law to override the restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court. He described the massive infiltration of illegal workers from Africa as a tangible threat to the character and future of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

As well as extending Israels high-tech fence with Egypt, he announced, Now we will build a fence on our eastern border [with Jordan] and ensure that there will be no infiltration from there either. The purpose of such a fence that would cost hundreds of millions to upgrade can only be to further isolate and blockade the West Bank, illegally occupied by Israel since 1967.

National Security Minister and the fascistic leader of Jewish Power Itamar Ben Gvir is planning to introduce a law that would enable the indefinite detention without trial and/or the mass deportation of people that entered Israel illegally. Overriding Israels 1992 Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty, would intensify Israels constitutional crisis.

The 53 Eritreans arrested were detained in custody on remand, only to be placed in administrative detention in Givon Prison for 60 days, a period that can be renewed repeatedly, apparently on Ben Gvirs orders. He was anxious to avoid pressing criminal charges, both because the police evidence was weak and because this might prejudice their being deported to a third country.

On Wednesday, the first 10 Eritreans appeared before an administrative tribunal that served to expose the polices lack of evidence, and their own criminalitydetaining them on suspicion of holding an illegal gathering that should not result in police detentionand inhumanity. One detainee hobbling on one leg, without crutches, his other leg having been torn apart by a bullet, told the judge as he choked back tears, I was in bed in the hospital. Policemen came, took out my infusion and told me come. Im still hurting and I dont sleep at night, I thought this was a democracy. Were people like you, human beings.

Margalit Cohen, a lawyer for the detainees, read from the transcript in court, The police had nothing, no evidence against any detainee... why did you arrest him? Because hes Eritrean? Because someone had to pay to restore the polices lost honor?

A regime of mass deportations and administrative detentions, long used against the Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, is a threat to workers of all national origins, regardless of immigration status, and will inevitably be used against Israeli workers as well.
Against the backdrop of the debacle of Ukraines summer offensive, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Ukraine Monday to reaffirm US involvement in the Ukraine war for as long as it takes and as many deaths as needed. Perfectly timed for Blinkens arrival, a missile strike in the city of Kostyantynivka which killed 17 people was declared by the Zelensky regime to be a Russian attack. There are reliable reports that the missile was fired from the West, which is entirely controlled by Ukrainian forces.

Blinkens visit was intended to send a message that, no matter the death toll, the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukrainepaid for with the lives of Ukrainians and Russianswill continue.

A soldier of Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade looks on in a trench under the shelling near Bakhmut, the site of fierce battles with the Russian forces in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Libkos) [AP Photo]

Ukraines offensive had been hailed by the US media as the equivalent of the D-Day landings in Normandy during World War II. But amidst a staggering loss of life, Ukraines advances, to the extent that they exist, are measured in mere yards.

No official figures about the death toll from the warnow in its 19th monthhave been published by Kiev or Washington. But according to the Washington Post, 50,000 or more Ukrainians have become amputees. Reliable reports place the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed in action at between 350,000 and 400,000. More deaths are expected by the Ukrainian regime, which, in return for endless amounts of loot, has placed the countrys youth at the service of US imperialism. A military cemetery for up to 600,000 soldiers is now under construction.

In the face of this disaster, the United States has made clear its commitment to continue to fund and inflame the war. Blinkens trip accompanied the announcement by the US of another $1 billion in weapons and well-placed bribes. The Biden administration is currently working to pass a bill in Congress authorizing another $20 billion in funding for the war.

Publicly, neither Blinken nor Biden has made any admission of the scale of the disaster. Last month, however, the Washington Post reported that US intelligence agencies have concluded that the offensive will fail to reach its main objective of driving to the Azov Sea in order to cut off the land bridge to the Crimean Peninsula.

Over the past month, US military and Biden administration officials have made statements to the press attributing the military failures to the Ukrainian leadership being too sparing with the lives of Ukrainian troops.

Comments in the US media, based on statements by US officials and generals, now state that the war will continue for many more years to come.

In an op-ed in the Washington Post last week, columnist Max Boot wrote, Ukraine may have a better chance to win in 2024. Boot cited US Army Brig. Gen. Mark Arnold, who declared that he is very skeptical that a decisive battle will occur this year that makes a material effect toward Ukrainian victory. Arnold added that he is more optimistic about the prospects for decisive operations next year.

Former British Army General Richard Barrons wrote in the Financial Times, Ukraine cannot win against Russia now, but victory by 2025 is possible. He continued, Ukraines current counteroffensive will not throw Russia outnot that anyone expected it to. Nor is it likely to cut the occupation in half before the winter, which might have been one of the more optimistic aims. It has, however, shown how the Russian army can be beaten. Not in 2023, but in 2024 or 2025.

The Economist, for its part, quoted one senior American intelligence official as saying, If you look at the battlefield in five years time, it could look broadly similar.

If the war is allowed to stretch on for that long, the death toll will be in the millions. But for the American ruling class, which is directing the war, this is a matter of complete indifference.

In a speech calling on the Senate to approve Bidens $20 billion military spending bill, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged his colleagues not to go wobbly on Ukraine. McConnell said that funding Ukraine means weakening one of Americas biggest strategic adversaries without firing a shot and deterring another one [i.e., China] in the process.

He continued, It means investing directly in American strength, both military and economic.

McConnells statements reveal nakedly the actual aims driving the war and its relentless escalation. It has nothing to do with democracy in Ukraine, which is rife with corruption and ruled by a criminal oligarchy. Washington deliberately provoked the war and is directing it to advance US strategic interests by undermining and ultimately dismantling Russia, not only because it holds rich deposits of critical minerals and energy resources, but also because it is seen as an impediment to a military assault on China. The war is about increasing the global military and economic sway of American capitalism, purchased with the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, Ukrainian and Russian.

The war is being carried out in alliance with the right-wing regime in Kiev and far-right governments throughout Eastern Europe.

In an article entitled Fears of Peace Talks with Putin Rise Amid US Squabbling, the Hill notes that the governments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are among those most aggressively demanding an escalation of the war. During the Second World War, these countries were aligned with Nazi Germany, with much of their military and intelligence apparatus complicit in the Holocaust. Today, they are ruled by rabidly anti-Russian regimes that, especially in the case of Lithuania, openly glorify their Nazi-collaborating ancestors.

With so much of American imperialisms global credibility hanging on the fate of the conflict, there exists a significant danger that the US, faced with a collapse of its Ukrainian proxy forces, will massively escalate its involvement in the conflict, potentially including the direct involvement of NATO troops or the deployment of nuclear weapons to Ukraine.

American imperialism, driven by a profound domestic crisis and desperate to offset the long-term decline in its global position, has instigated a military conflict whose death toll will be incalculable. Opposition to the war within the United States is mounting, and the Biden administration is increasingly desperate to secure military victory.

For its part, the oligarchic Putin government, having been lured into its desperate and politically bankrupt invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, is engaged in a futile effort to strike a bargain with its imperialist partners, who are committed to the subjugation and ultimate dismantling of Russia as a prelude to conflict with China.

This war must be ended. In opposition to the Biden administration and its NATO allies, the media mouthpieces of the imperialist intelligence agencies, the hysterically pro-war upper middle class, and the pseudo-left apologists of imperialism, the International Committee of the Fourth International and the International Youth and Students for Social Equality call for the building of a mass anti-war movement of workers and young people.
Some legal experts believe that the constitutional amendment disqualifies Trump from holding office again, a theory likely to be tested in court this year

JOED VIERA/AFP via Getty 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks at an Erie, Pennsylvania, campaign rally on July 29, 2023

A growing number of critics of Donald Trump are embracing a long shot legal strategy by arguing that the former president should be barred from holding office again based on a Reconstruction Era amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Advocacy organization CREW  Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington  was the latest to make the argument when it filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Colorado, seeking to block Trump from appearing on the state's ballot based on the 14th Amendment.

Section 3 of the Constitution's 14th Amendment states that anyone who has previously sworn an oath to support the Constitution of the United States, and who has "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof" can be disqualified from holding future federal or state office.

Related: Jan. 6 Committee Recommends Barring Trump from Holding Office Again in Final Report

Trump, who is handily leading the polls among Republicans running for president in 2024, has argued on social media that there is no legal basis for barring him from the presidency.

But some disagree.

In announcing its lawsuit Wednesday, CREW argued that, in January 2017, Trump "stood before the nation and took an oath to 'preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.' After losing the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump violated that oath by recruiting, inciting and encouraging a violent mob that attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 in a futile attempt to remain in office."

Related: The Cases Against Trump: What to Know About the Various Investigations Surrounding the 45th U.S. President

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Members of Congress are supplied with gas masks and escorted out of the Capitol chambers as Donald Trump supporters attempt to stop the Electoral College vote certification on Jan. 6, 2021

Trump has not been convicted of a crime for his role in the attempted insurrection in Jan. 2021, though he was quickly impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives (and later acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate).

In August 2023, he was indicted on four federal felony charges over his striking attempts to overturn the election  which include the events leading up to Jan. 6, 2021. He pleaded not guilty and is currently awaiting trial.

Still, Trump  who lost both the popular vote and the Electoral College vote to Joe Biden in 2020  has continued to publicly insist that he won the election.

Related: Mike Pence Questions Donald Trump's Candidacy After Jan. 6 Indictment

Joe Raedle/Getty Donald Trump announces his third presidential campaign at Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 15, 2022

Legal experts say that the 14th Amendment is vague, noting that it's only been used a handful of times in the country's history (including at least twice to bar Confederates from holding office after the Civil War).

But the organization suing to block Trump from holding office in Colorado  CREW  has used it effectively in the past, and was behind the successful push to get a Jan. 6 rioter removed from his elected position as a county commissioner. In that instance, Trump supporter Couy Griffin (who was convicted of trespassing in the Capitol last year) was removed from office on 14th Amendment grounds.

The ruling was the result of a lawsuit seeking Griffins removal, which alleged that he violated a clause in 14th Amendment of the Constitution by participating in an insurrection against the US government.

Related: First Politician Involved in Jan. 6 Capitol Riots Is Removed from Office Following Judge's Ruling

Brandon Bell/Getty Donald Trump holds a 2024 campaign rally in Waco, Texas, on March 25, 2023

The newest lawsuit is not the first time the 14th Amendment has been brought up in discussions of Trump.

In its 845-page final report released in 2022 , the bipartisan House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots recommended that Congress "consider creating a formal mechanism for evaluating whether to bar those individuals identified in this Report under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment from holding future federal or state office."

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.

As CREW President Noah Bookbinder said in the group's news release Wednesday, it's rare to attempt to block someone's access to the ballot  especially someone who served as president once before.

While it is unprecedented to bring this type of case against a former president, January 6th was an unprecedented attack that is exactly the kind of event the framers of the 14th Amendment wanted to build protections in case of," Bookbinder said. "You dont break the glass unless theres an emergency.



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They were all so compassionate, kind and lovely in every way, read one tribute

Julia DeBry Andersen/GoFundMe Emily and Zach Leavitt with family at their wedding

Four Utah family members died after they were involved in a head-on car crash in Idaho.

The crash occurred on Friday just before 10 p.m. local time at milepost 125 on State Highway 33 in Teton County, according to a news release from Idaho State Police.

A 2022 Tesla, driven by a 46-year-old female from Mantua, Utah, crossed the center line while traveling eastbound on the highway, crashing into a 2007 Kenworth commercial vehicle as a result, state police said.

The Tesla driver and all three passengers died at the scene: a 22-year-old female, a 24-year-old male from Kaysville, and a child.

Family members have identified the victims as Jennifer Blaine, daughters Emily Levitt, 22, and Denali Blaine, 11, and Emilys husband, Zach Leavitt. A family dog named Peaches was also killed in the crash.

Related: 49 Students Taken to Hospital After Head-On Crash Involving School Bus and Truck in Pennsylvania

Jennifer, a mom of five, was driving at the time of the crash, according to a GoFundMe page, which has raised more than $32,000 as of Thursday.

There will never be words to satisfy or dissipate the grief and broken hearts of the Blaine and Leavitt families, read a message on the fundraising page. Our hearts are shattered."

They were all so compassionate, kind and lovely in every way. We feel that they all just left a golden wake here on earth for us to mend our hearts with," the message continued. "All who knew them, had more light in their life because of their goodness.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Nate Blaine, Jennifers husband, said the group killed in Fridays crash was planning to meet up with him and his son Bronco to go backpacking, according to NBC affiliate KSL-TV.

"I knew she gets tired when it gets late and I told her, 'Do you want to get a hotel because it's getting late?' and she said, 'No, I'm sleeping in a hammock tonight, Nate recalled.

"When I found out [about the crash], I immediately fell to the ground just sobbing," he added.

An investigation is ongoing, according to ISP.

Related: 2 Sisters Among Victims of Crash That Killed 5 Teenagers: 'They Didnt Deserve to Go Like This'

Jennifer was the director of the Promontory School of Expeditionary Learning, where Denali attended school, according to KSL-TV.

Emily and Zach tied the knot last August while attending Brigham Young University in Provo, per the outlet. They were remembered as being "madly in love" as well as "diligent, dedicated students," according to a tribute on the family's GoFundMe.

Friends and coworkers of the victims organized a vigil late Saturday night to show their support and respect to the family who lost their four loved ones, according to CBS affiliate KUTV.

A vigil for the crash victims was held Saturday night. Family friend Annette Ash said the family was very outgoing and very active.

They are also active in the community and have been instrumental in a lot of different ways within the community, Ash told the outlet. They have no hesitation in serving others and helping other people.

Related: 'Immobilized' Pickup Truck Driver Rescued 5 Days After Car Found at Bottom of 100-Foot Ravine

There has been such a huge outpouring of love and kindness, that we cant keep us p with everyone trying to help," read a message on the family fundraiser. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of our broken hearts for all the exceptional love and support that has been poured on this deserving family

A funeral for the family members is scheduled for Sept. 16.



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Danny Masterson, the actor best known for playing Steven Hyde on That '70s Show, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison on Sept. 7 for forcibly raping two women after being found guilty in a retrial earlier this year.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo handed down the sentence to the 47-year-old actor after the two women Masterson was convicted of raping addressed the court, per the Associated Press.

The actor's wife, model and actress Bijou Phillips ; brother, Malcolm in the Middle star Chris Masterson; and actress Leah Remini, a former Scientologist-turned-activist, were all in the courtroom for the sentencing.

Masterson was first arrested in June 2020 and charged with raping three women in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003. The actor, who pleaded not guilty and previously denied all of the allegations against him, was later released after he posted bond on his $3.3 million bail.

Musician Danny Masterson poses backstage at the Dylan Fest at Ryman Auditorium on May 24, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee.

John Shearer/Getty Images Danny Masterson

His first rape trial, which began in October 2022, was declared a mistrial that November after its jury was unable to reach a final verdict on the three counts after seven attempts and a week-long break for Thanksgiving. The decision was further complicated by two of its jurors testing positive for COVID-19, requiring them to both be replaced.

A second jury found Masterson guilty of two counts of rape, but remained deadlocked on the third count, in a subsequent retrial in May 2023. Masterson did not testify during the trial, but his wife, actress Bijou Phillips, reportedly let out a cry in the courtroom when the verdict was revealed.

Although not directly involved, the Church of Scientology had a heavy presence in both trials, as Masterson and the women involved were all members of the church when the assaults occurred. In addition to the trial, the women also filed a civil lawsuit against the church and Masterson in August 2019, which alleges that the actor stalked them after they reported his crimes to the police. That case is still ongoing.

Masterson starred on That '70s Show for all eight seasons between 1998 and 2006. He is the only member of the original cast who did not appear on Netflix reboot That '90s Show. His character was never mentioned on the show, which aired earlier this year. He also starred on Netflix's The Ranch, but was fired after rape allegations were first made against him in 2017, and his character was subsequently written off the show.

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Actor and Scientologist Danny Masterson will spend at least the next 30 years behind bars, following a conviction for violently raping two women at his Hollywood Hills home.

A jury of five men and seven women found Masterson, 37, guilty on two rape counts on May 31 after eight days of deliberations. He had faced a third rape count for allegedly assaulting a longtime girlfriend, but the jury deadlocked on that charge. He was given 15 years to life on each conviction, to be served consecutively.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo sentenced him Thursday after hearing victim impact statements from a pair of victims who shared harrowing memories of what they endured.

You relish in hurting women, one of Mastersons victims said, according to a reporter who was in the courtroom. It is your addiction. It is without question your favorite thing to do.

She called him a true coward and a heartless monster, and recommended that Masterson consider making the most of his time behind bars by reading and educating himself. Amid it all, the woman, who said the situation at one point had her considering suicide, told Masterson that she forgave him.

The other woman said the legal ordeal has been filled with attempts [by the Church of Scientology] to silence us all, to intimidate us and even obstruct. I still have to contend with what you did to me that night, she said, adding that she will need therapy for life.

A member of the prosecution team read a victim impact statement from the third woman whose allegations did not result in a guilty verdict. She told the judge that she had been diagnosed with PTSD.

Mastersons attorney told Olmedo that his client did not plan on making a statement.

After the hearing, however, a statement on behalf of Masterson via defense counsel Shawn Holley said that Masterson maintained his innocence and planned to continue his legal battle.

For the past several months, a team of the top appellate lawyers in the country has been reviewing the transcripts of the trial, Holley said in a statement emailed to The Daily Beast.

They have identified a number of significant evidentiary and constitutional issues, which they will address in briefs to both state and federal appellate courts. The errors that occurred in this case are substantial and, unfortunately, led to verdicts that were not supported by the evidence.

And though we have great respect for the jury in this case and for our system of justice overall, sometimes they get it wrong. And thats what happened here. Mr. Masterson did not commit the crimes for which he has been convicted, and we, and the appellate lawyers, the best and brightest in the country, are confident that these convictions will be overturned.

Mastersons family was on hand to support him at sentencing while actress and ex-Scientologist Leah Remini was in court to support the three victims.

Remini, 53, tweeted after the sentencing that she was relieved by the outcome, calling it a surreal experience and reminding her followers that Masterson had allegedly been enabled by Scientologys leadership.

For over two decades, Danny Masterson avoided accountability for his crimes, she wrote. While Danny was the only one sentenced, his conviction and sentence are indictments against Scientology, its operatives, and its criminal leader, David Miscavige.

She alleged that Mastersons crimes had been covered up by Scientologys internal intelligence agency and several of its top officials, as well as an army of church-linked attorneys, private investigators, and agents.

Remini also praised the survivors, saying they fought tirelessly for justice after having gone through a living hell.

Their tenacity, strength, and courage have given hope to all victims of Scientology that justice is possible, she added. For that, we will forever be grateful.

Actor Danny Masterson stands with his lawyers Thomas Mesereau and Sharon Appelbaum as he is arraigned on three rape charges in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003, at Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles, California, U.S., September 18, 2020. Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

The rapes took place in 2003, while Masterson, who is a second-generation Scientologist, was riding high on his celebrity as one of the stars of Foxs That 70s Show. All three of Mastersons accusers were members of the Church of Scientology but have since left, and prosecutors said the organization protected Masterson from consequences for some two decades.

Masterson allegedly dosed his victims drinks with knockout drugs, then had his way with them. They were raped, they were punished for it, and they were retaliated against, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller said in court. Scientology told them theres no justice for them.

Masterson has insisted the encounters were consensual and his legal team told jurors during the trial to consider the possibility that the women had been motivated by hatred, revenge, or money.

Masterson, himself, didnt take the stand in his own defense, and his legal team did not call any witnesses. Defense attorneys, however, tried to discredit the accounts of Mastersons accusers as inconsistent and flawed.

After Masterson was convicted earlier this year, Scientology officials issued a statement calling portions of the trial testimony having to do with the organization uniformly false. In an emailed statement on Thursday, the Church of Scientology pushed back on allegations that it harassed Mastersons accusers and dissuaded them from going to police, saying the organization has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyoneScientologists or notto law enforcement.

There is not a scintilla of evidence supporting the scandalous allegations that the Church harassed the accusers, the statement said. Every single instance of supposed harassment by the Church is FALSE, and has been debunked.

Mastersons lawyers asked that their client be allowed to serve both terms concurrently, for a total of 15 years. They appealed to Olmedo to take into account Mastersons strong work ethic and real-life role as the father of a 9-year-old daughter.

According to the Associated Press, Olmedo instead gave Masterson a piece of her mind, saying, Mr. Masterson, I know that youre sitting here steadfast in your claims of innocence, and thus no doubt feeling victimized by a justice system that has failed you. But Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim here. Your actions 20 years ago took away another persons voice and choice. One way or another you will have to come to terms with your prior actions, and their consequences.

Masterson will be eligible for parole in 2048, at the age of 72.

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The first complete performances from Bob Dylans 1978 tour highlight The Complete Budokan 1978, which will be released Nov. 17 by Columbia Records and Legacy Recordings as a four-CD and digital-only set with 36 previously unreleased songs, as well as a Japan-only eight-LP edition. Another Budokan 1978, a condensed two-LP set with 16 unreleased tracks, is also due the same day.

The Complete Budokan comprises full shows from the famed Tokyo venue on Feb. 28 and March 1, 1978, which were part of Dylans first international performances since 1966 and first tour of any kind since the North American Rolling Thunder Revue tour of 1975-6. Portions of the Budokan shows were previously released as Bob Dylan at Budokan in Nov. 1978 in Japan and April 1979 globally.

More from Spin:

Dylan was backed at Budokan by Billy Cross (lead guitar), Ian Wallace (drums), Alan Pasqua (keyboards), Rob Stoner (bass, vocals), Steven Soles (acoustic rhythm guitar, vocals), David Mansfield (pedal steel, violin, mandolin, guitar, dobro), Steve Douglas (saxophone, flute, recorder), Bobbye Hall (percussion), and vocalists Helena Springs, Jo Ann Harris, and Debi Dye.

The first taste of The Complete Budokan is The Man in Me, which can be sampled below. Pre-orders are available here. We mixed the record with the keyword passion in mind, says engineer Tom Suzuki of the set, which is augmented with facsimile memorabilia such as tickets and flyers. The result is a mix that surpasses the original 1978 release, providing a crisper and clearer sound where each instrument and Bob Dylans voice are distinctly audible.

The Complete Budokan will arrive a month after the Oct. 20 career-spanning compilation Mixing Up the Medicine, which itself is a companion to a 608-page book of the same name delving into Dylans archives. It features nearly 1,000 rare images as well as essays from the likes of Greil Marcus, Clinton Heylin, Richard Hell, and Ed Ruscha.

Dylan, 82, begins a North American tour Oct. 1 in Kansas City, Mo., and has dates scheduled through Oct. 30 in Schenectady, N.Y.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
Buddhist chants sound near a reimagined Jordanian mosaic map. Woodcarving tools sit next to spiritual art with origins that transcend centuries. Immersive videos in a dome theater make visitors feel as if they're standing at famous religious sites.The Children's Museum's newest exhibit is a global village bustling with worship traditions.

"Sacred Places" aims to accomplish a challenging feat: to facilitate understanding among believers from different faiths as well as those who consider themselves non-religious. That means explaining longstanding traditions alongside personal stories of young people that children can relate to.

"The idea of religion is a hard topic," said Monica Ramsey, the museum's vice president of experience development and family learning. "We want to create a space where kids and their adults can have these conversations together."

The museum built Sacred Places with $2.5 million from the Lilly Endowment  one of four Indiana sites to receive a Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative grant in 2020.

The exhibit will open at 4 p.m., in time for the $6-admission First Thursday of September, and run through April 7, 2024, before traveling elsewhere. Inside "Sacred Places," visitors will find more than 30 stories that come to life through personal possessions, young guides' life experiences, videos and more.

Travel to these six sites across the world

The roots of Sacred Places go back more than a decade, when the Lilly Endowment began making grants that led, in part, to the museum's 2015 temporary exhibit about spiritual pilgrimages.

The museum learned "the ways in which to have conversations with faith leaders and others in the community and also what it means to talk about religion in families and with children," said the Rev. Dr. Jessicah Duckworth, religion program director for the Lilly Endowment.

Through these efforts, the museum built relationships with faith communities and CyArk, an organization that digitally records cultural heritage, which helped them identify six major spiritual sites for the current exhibit, museum President and CEO Jennifer Pace Robinson told IndyStar.

They are:

Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue (Willemstad, Curacao, an island north of Venezuela): Oldest synagogue in the Americas that still has weekly services. Founded by Jewish families who traveled from the Netherlands in the 1650s.

The Beheading of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (Madaba, Jordan): Built in the late 1800s upon ruins of the ancient city, which was a popular stop for people as they journeyed to the Holy Land in Jerusalem and other kingdoms.

Great Mosque of Djenne (Djenne, Mali): Largest mud structure in the world where Muslims have worshiped for more than 100 years.

Patan Durbar Square (Lalitpur, Nepal): Keshav Narayan Temple, among the dozens of Hindu temples around the area.

Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island (remote island west of Chile in the Pacific Ocean): Famous for its "moai"  ancient large stone figures that are representations of ancestors and key to the island's spiritual traditions.

Wat Arun (Bangkok, Thailand): Temple with a large Buddha statue where Buddhists pray.

In addition to these six sites, panels throughout the exhibit are dedicated to stories of St. John's Missionary Baptist Church in Indianapolis; the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois; and Shinto's Itsukushima Shrine in Japan, among others.

Fall guide to fun in Indianapolis: Concerts, free shows and date ideas

'Tell us your stories'

Sharing these types of stories with the public first meant building trust with the local spiritual communities, organizers said. One key example is a small moai, or statue, which the museum commissioned Rapa Nui artisan Koro Pablo Hereveri to carve.

"Rather than just going in and saying, 'Oh, here's something we want; we're going to take it,' we allowed them to introduce us to the artisans who are producing today and to say, 'Tell us your stories and then, tell us what's appropriate to do with these things,'" Chris Carron, the museum's director of collections, told IndyStar.

That means displaying the moai's coral eyes beside it in the display case, Carron said. Placing them on the face is reserved for calling on the ancestral spirit's protective power, so doing so at the museum would be disrespectful, he said.

Other items  like a woodcarving of a Hindu god, Jewish prayer book and liturgy book in Arabic from a Catholic Mass  are among new commissions, loaned items or come from the museum's permanent collection, Pace Robinson said.

Just as important as the stories, organizers said, are the people behind them.

Sacred Places Guide Jude Anton Twal shows the display featuring her in the new exhibit, Sacred Places, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023 at The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis. She shares her sacred place, The Beheading of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Madaba, Jordan. The Sacred Places exhibit, which runs Sept. 7, 2023 through April 7, 2024, is about different faiths from around the world hoping to foster better understanding of religious traditions and communities.

Breaking down complex topics for kids

Accompanying each of the six major sites is a friendly guide who actively practices in that belief system. Visiting Wednesday was Jude Anton Twal, who worships at The Beheading of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Jordan.

At a Wednesday panel discussion, she related a story in which she and friends ditched school to eat lunch in the church's steeple and watch people below.

"It's not just sacred because we get to practice our faith. It's because we get to feel free doing it," she said.

7 free fall concerts and more: Visit museums, watch a play and more for $0

Other guides will visit Indianapolis in the coming days, Pace Robinson said. In the museum's interactives, they talk about their daily worship rituals, which can help bridge differences in belief systems.

"This is a person's real life. It's hard to argue or say, 'Oh, that's not true when it's Jude telling her story," Pace Robinson told IndyStar.

More interactive features help break down challenging topics. Visitors, for example, can stand in an immersive dome theater and feel like they're at Japan's Fushimi Inari Shrine, surrounded by people in front of Jerusalem's Wailing Wall or watching a gathering of Indianapolis' Gurdwara Sikh Satsang.

Find more information at childrensmuseum.org/exhibits/sacred-places.

Looking for things to do? Our newsletter has the best concerts, art, shows and more  and the stories behind them

Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: New Children's Museum of Indianapolis exhibit explores world religions
Bijou Phillips reportedly filed for divorce as her husband, former That 70s Show actor Danny Masterson , was jailed for 30 years for raping two women between 2001 and 2003.

According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, the 43-year-old model and actor filed on Monday in a California court, citing irreconcilable differences as the cause and requesting that Masterson pay for her attorney fees.

Speaking to the outlet, her attorney Peter A. Lauzon said: Ms. Phillips has decided to file for divorce from her husband during this unfortunate time. Her priority remains with her daughter.

Her request included a plea to terminate the courts ability to grant support to her husband. Additionally, she asked for full legal and physical custody of their nine-year-old daughter, Fianna, with visitation rights for Masterson.

She did not mention a prenup upon asking the court to divide their assests as separate property.

Phillips had been at the side of her husband of 12 years for the duration of his trial and she was in court as powerful victim impact statements were read out.

When you raped me, you stole from me, said one woman who Masterson, 47, was convicted of raping in 2003. Thats what rape is, a theft of the spirit.

You are pathetic, disturbed and completely violent, she added. The world is better off with you in prison.

The other victim told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo that the actor has not shown an ounce of remorse for the pain he caused.

I knew he belonged behind bars for the safety of all the women he came into contact with. I am so sorry, and Im so upset. I wish Id reported him sooner to the police, she told the court.

Following his sentencing  which means he will not be eligible for parole until he is 77 years old  he blew a kiss to Phillips, who was wearing dark glasses.

Phillips has been at the side of her husband throughout his trial (Invision)

Bijou Phillips, daughter of The Mamas & The Papas musician John Phillips and his third wife Genevieve Waite, was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, on 1 April 1980. Neither of her biological parents raised her. Instead, she was placed in upstate New Yorks foster care system around the age of three because Phillips and Waite were found unfit to take care of her. By age 14, shed officially dropped out of school and emancipated herself. Three years later, when she was 17, she entered rehab.

In a 2018 Instagram post, Phillips explained how her parents continued to fight for custody while she was placed under the care of multiple foster families.

They spent years and years fighting for custody, so I bounced around a lot, she wrote. When I was a kid separated from my parents, I remember my mother coming and wanting to take me and just wanting to go with her so much and screaming and crying and gripping the door, I was dragged inside, it took two adults and the door closed.

Phillips is the daughter of former Mamas and Papas musician John Phillips and his third wife Genevieve Waite (Getty Images)

I didnt see her again for months. Its a pain I still feel and I look at my baby and cant imagine that happening to us. My foster parents were so great... Im still really close with my foster family and love them so much.

Following her emancipation, Phillips moved into her own apartment near Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Per The Guardian, this marked her party girl time in her life, when she reportedly became addicted to heroin, cocaine, and ecstasy. She had kickstarted her modelling career at age 13, landing a Calvin Klein underwear advertisement. With no parental guidance, her own expendable income, and invites to glamorous club events, Phillips said she found it difficult to refrain from the substances being passed around her.

In conversation with The Observer in 2002, Phillips said: I was 14 years old. What was I supposed to do? If you were 14 years old and able to live on your own in an apartment in New York City, and you got invited to all these clubs, and you got a bank account and you had a car service you could call so that you could go wherever you wanted... what would happen?

However, when her friend Davide Sorrenti overdosed on heroin at age 20, Phillips said her father encouraged her to go to rehab.

The Almost Famous actor has two half sisters: Mackenzie, 64, and Chynna, 55. All three daughters have sought treatment inside a rehabilitation centre over the years  Bijou and Mackenzie for drug abuse, and Chynna for anxiety.

In 2009, Mackenzie said she had been the victim of an incestuous relationship with her father since she was 19, beginning with her father allegedly raping her the night before her wedding. She later said she had been forced to have an abortion as she wasnt sure whether the baby would be her fathers child or her husbands at the time.

In 2004, Phillips met Masterson at a poker tournament in Las Vegas.

Five years later, the pair was engaged. They tied the knot in 2011 and welcomed their daughter on Valentines Day in 2014.

Both on-screen artists identify as Scientologists, as do the women Masterson was convicted of raping.
The movie star purchased the home six months before she was found dead inside her bedroom at the age of 36 in 1962

Bettmann/Getty; Mel Bouzad/Getty

The only home Marilyn Monroe ever owned in Los Angeles is reportedly set for demolition by its new owner.

According to the New York Post, which was the first to report the news, the unidentified owner filed permits for demolition, for which the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety approved a plan check on Tuesday. However, the owner has not yet been given the official go-ahead to get started.

The previous owners of the 1929-built Spanish-style hacienda, Emerald Lake hedge fund manager Dan Lukas and his wife Anne Jarmain, sold the property to the new buyer for roughly $8.35 million last month, according to the Post and Robb Report.

Related: Marilyn Monroe's Personal Belongings to Be Auctioned  Including Note from Her Father Stanley Gifford

The four-bedroom, three-bath property sprawled across more than 2,600 square feet still retains its original wood-beamed ceilings, terracotta tile floors and casement windows, evoking the essence of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times via Getty

The gated Brentwood residence also features a lush lawn home to a citrus tree, a large swimming pool surrounded by a brick patio and a two-car garage.

While much of the exterior remains the same, the kitchen and bathroom interiors have been remodeled and the guest house has since merged with the main house. The door to Monroes bedroom was also moved, the Post reported.

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.



However, above the front door of the estate is one of Monroes personal home touches: a coat of arms with a Latin inscription that reads Cursum Perficio, which translates to, My Journey Ends Here.

Monroe purchased the property in February 1962 for $77,500. Six months later, she was found dead inside her home at the age of 36 from an overdose on Aug. 5.

Mel Bouzad/Getty

The blonde bombshell was discovered by her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, after she noticed Monroe's bedroom light was on in the early hours of the morning.

Related: How Jackie Kennedy Discovered She Shared a Therapist with JFKs Rumored Mistress Marilyn Monroe (Exclusive)

When Monroe did not answer Murray's calls and she discovered the bedroom door was locked, Murray alerted Monroe's psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, who later broke into the room through a window.

The movie star was found nude and face down on her bed with a telephone in one hand and empty pill bottles scattered around the room.

Monroe's death was ruled an overdose and "probable suicide, but according to the coroner's toxicology report, the official cause of death was acute barbiturate poisoning.



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Read the original article on People.


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If youre trying to keep up with Donald Trump s four indictments, the classified documents case in Florida has taken a very curious turn. One crucial witness, who just so happens to be a Mar-a-Lago IT employee has flipped on the former president, and now, its not looking so great for his defense team.

More from SheKnows



A new court filing, obtained by CNN, revealed that Yuscil Taveras has officially struck a deal with Special Counsel Jack Smith. His former defense attorney, Stanley Woodward, wrote that his client was facing prosecution and thats when he decided to cooperate with investigators. The terms of the deal require Taveras to testify in the case, and in exchange, he will not be charge with a crime.

Jim Messina, Barack Obama's former campaign manager, sends a strong message to the Democratic Party about Joe Biden . https://t.co/5wSs7WyeYp  SheKnows (@SheKnows) September 6, 2023



Taveras testimony is going to be crucial in the case against Donald Trump because his July testimony in front of grand jury reportedly included allegations that the former president was in cahoots with his Mar-a-Lago valet and property manager to hide evidence. Donald Trump, Walt Nauta, and Carlos de Oliveira worked together to delete incriminating security footage from the club. De Oliveira is alleged to have told Taveras to erase footage of Nauta moving boxes in and out of a storage room, per Donald Trumps orders. While the surveillance video was never erased, it does seem to confirm Taveras story that the classified documents were relocated.

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the Worlds Most Dangerous Man by Mary Trump

Click here to read the full article.

Price: $13.99

Buy On Amazon



While all three men have pleaded not guilty in the classified documents case, this new twist, provided by Taveras flip, could seal the deal for Donald Trumps doom. With three other indictments also in motion, its going to be hard for the former president to keep his head above water while running a 2024 campaign. Buckle up, its going to be an interesting ride.

Before you go, click here to see the biggest presidential scandals in US History.

Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton

Launch Gallery: 21 Celebrities Who Have Gone to Prison

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Want to know where you can watch Egypts Treasure Guardians online? We are here with all the details you need to do so. National Geographics Egypts Treasure Guardians follows a team of passionate archaeologists who seek to bring to light more of Egypts rich history and revive peoples interest in the countrys heritage and culture.

Heres where you can watch Egypts Treasure Guardians online.

Where can you watch and stream Egypts Treasure Guardians?

You can watch and stream Egypts Treasure Guardians on Disney Plus.

Watch Egypts Treasure Guardians Right Here

Egypts Treasure Guardians is directed by Ben Allen and Tom Jenner, and the show is narrated by Dominic Frisby. The show also features a number of eminent personalities from academia.

How to watch Egypts Treasure Guardians and stream online

In order to watch Egypts Treasure Guardians online, viewers are required to sign up for a Disney Plus subscription via the official app or the website. Here are the popular plans and their current prices (some will be increased from October 12, 2023):

$7.99 per month for a Basic Monthly Disney Plus (with ads) $10.99 per month for a Premium Monthly Disney Plus (ad-free) $109.99 per year for a Premium Annual Disney Plus (ad-free) $12.99 per month for a Basic Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus (with ads) $19.99 per month for a Premium Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus (ad-free)

The official synopsis for Egypts Treasure Guardians reads:

Egypt is home to many of the most famous archaeological treasures on Earth, but over the last five years, Egypt has suffered a tumultuous revolution and tourist numbers have plummeted. This program follows a select cast of individuals, determined to bring Egypt back from the brink of disaster: to discover more of Egypts history, to keep its heritage safe and to get tourists to visit the country again.

For more Disney Plus content, check out how you can stream and watch Hubbles Cosmic Journey online.

Disney Plus Schedule September 4-10

Disney Pluss new TV and movie release schedule for September 4-10 includes the fourth episode of Rosario Dawsons Ahsoka, a Guides Abdul Azim Naushad 3 days ago

Max Schedule September 4-10

Maxs new TV and movie release schedule for September 4-10 includes Tiny Toons Looniversity, a reboot of the 90s animated Guides Abdul Azim Naushad 3 days ago

Paramount Plus Schedule September 4-10

Paramount Pluss new TV and movie release schedule for September 4-10 includes the fourth season of the Star Trek: Lower Guides Abdul Azim Naushad 3 days ago

Peacock Schedule September 4-10

Peacocks new TV and movie release schedule for September 4-10 includes all eight episodes of Chucky Season 2 and a Guides Abdul Azim Naushad 4 days ago

The post Egypts Treasure Guardians: Where to Watch & Stream Online appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
After 15 years of rumors, Eli Roth finally has helmed the feature Thanksgiving.

Back in 2007, Roth created a mock trailer for Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguezs Grindhouse with an unhinged holiday slasher set in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Now, Patrick Dempsey and Addison Rae lead the real-life horror movie.

More from IndieWire

Per the official synopsis, the table is set, the festivities have begun, but an uninvited guest has arrived and this year, there will be no leftovers.

The film follows a serial killer who slices and dices the residents of Plymouth one by one over the Thanksgiving holiday. Gina Gershon, Milo Manheim, Rick Hoffman, Tim Dillon, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Nell Verlaque, Gabriel Davenport, Tomaso Sanelli, Karen Cliche, and Jenna Warren also star. Thanksgiving was written by Jeff Rendell. Spyglass produces the film, along with Roth and Roger Birnbaum.

In addition to directing Thanksgiving, Roth recently starred in The Idol and is also co-directing the Borderlands adaptation with The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin. Deadpool helmer Tim Miller stepped in to direct two weeks of reshoots for Borderlands while Roth finished up production on Thanksgiving in January, as Deadline reported.

Roth told Empire magazine previously that he aimed to make Thanksgiving with as many kills as possible.

I just want to go, go, go, Roth said at the time of having a fast shoot. Get as much footage, and as many kills as possible, and not be self-conscious. Because when youre moving at that speed, youre not thinking, youre just feeling and youre going on instinct. And thats where the best stuff comes from. Theres an energy to that Grindhouse trailer for Thanksgiving that, for me caught the spirit of the movie. And I was like, What if I did this for three weeks? No pretensions. Just, Fuck it. Lets make a fifth movie, do it fast, bang it out and make it great. I mean, still take it seriously, as a real movie, but just do it in 18 days and see what the hell happens when I really push myself.

Thanksgiving premieres in theaters November 17 from TriStar Pictures. Check out the teaser below.

Watch the teaser trailer for #ThanksgivingMovie and see it exclusively in movie theaters November 17. pic.twitter.com/QJ4zWl7xIg  Fandango (@Fandango) September 7, 2023

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Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.
Eli Roth s upcoming holiday-themed slasher Thanksgiving is nearly here and the first trailer has been delivered, piping hot from the oven. You can watch it above.

Thanksgiving has had an unusual journey  it began life as a fake trailer that was included as part of Grindhouse, the double-feature from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino that also included interstitial material from Roth, Edgar Wright and Rob Zombie. That trailer had the movie take on the look and feel of one of the plethora of holiday-themed slasher movies that were released in the wake of Halloween in 1978. Most memorably, there was a moment where a girl is jumping on a trampoline and gets the shears to her nether-regions (recreated in the new trailer).

In the earlier version of Thanksgiving, Michael Biehn played the sheriff, with other characters played by Jordan Ladd and Jay Hernandez. This feature-length version of the movie stars Patrick Dempsey as the sheriff, with additional characters played by Addison Rae, Jalen Thomas Brooks, Gina Gershon, Tim Dillon and Rick Hoffman (who delivers the delightfully devilish narration in the trailer). The storyline for the feature follows a serial killer who delivers mutilation and pain to a small Massachusetts town. It seems like the movie, from the trailer, takes place in modern times as opposed to the 1980s. Also Roth has done away with the fake scratches and other Grindhouse-y ephemera.

Roth shot Thanksgiving earlier this year in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario (standing in for Plymouth, Massachusetts) after finishing his tenure on Borderlands, the videogame adaptation that Roth has been working on for the past few years (starring Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart and Jack Black) that currently has an August 9, 2024 release date.

A feature-length Thanksgiving has been talked about since as early as 2010, with various creative teams taking a stab (get it?) at the material, including future Spider-Man kingpin Jon Watts. Its good to see that his (very violent) dream has finally come true.

Thanksgiving hits theaters on November 17.

The post Eli Roths Thanksgiving Trailer Promises Violent Carvings (Video) appeared first on TheWrap.
Sister Wives star Kody Brown has 18 children between his four wives, and while we used to see the older Brown siblings during earlier seasons, over the years, a few have drifted away from the spotlight and started living a much lower profile of life.

None of the patriarchs children have followed in their fathers footsteps to live a polygamous lifestyle, as each has formed their own opinions on the topic. However, with a new season just starting, some familiar faces are popping back up, leading fans to wonder how the OG Brown kids have been doing.

Logan Brown

The 29-year-old was the first born of 18 children and is the first son of Janelle Brown and Kody. Logan Brown was a prominent face in the first two seasons of Sister Wives, as he was often seen as the voice of reason when it came to talking his siblings off a cliff. Since stepping away from the TLC cameras in 2012 to attend college, Logan has kept a distance from his famous family.

Logan stayed behind when the family moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, to attend the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he earned his bachelors degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science. He then completed his Masters in Business Administration from UNLV as well.

According to LinkedIn, Logan worked as a Rebel Recruiter for the university, and in April 2019, he was hired as a business analyst for the Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach. The oldest Brown child now works at StartUpNV as Manager of Corporate Development, which he started in June 2023. Logan also tied the knot with long-time girlfriend, Michelle Petty, in October 2022.

Leon Brown

Leon Brown is the only child of Meri Brown and Kody. The only child attended Westminster College in Salt Lake City and Loyola University in Chicago. They graduated with a degree in social work. Leon once worked as a social justice advocate but now refers to themselves as a writer, according to their Instagram bio.

In June 2020, Leon confirmed they were transgender, and their pronouns were they/them. Shortly after, in January 2023, Leon also confirmed that during the past year, they had undergone gender-affirming top surgery. It was recently revealed that Leon married their partner, Audrey Kriss, in a secret courthouse ceremony in Colorado on October 29, 2022.

Aspyn Brown Thompson

Apsyn Brown is another sibling who has decided to keep a low profile. The 28-year-old is the eldest of Christine Brown and Kodys six children. Just like her older brother, Aspyn also graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in 2019. Apsyn walked away with a degree in human service, marriage, and family therapy.

However, via her LinkedIn, she now works as a store manager at a Kendra Scott store in Salt Lake, Utah. She married Mitch Thompson in 2018, and the couple recently purchased their first home not too far from Christine.

Mykelti Brown Padron

27-year-old Mykelti Brown has her hands full raising her daughter and twin sons. Mykelti was known as the Brown child who loved fashion, though her outfit choices were sometimes questionable. She, too, enrolled in UNLV in 2015 but dropped out in 2016 when she became engaged to Tony Padron. The two married in December 2016. Mykelti now works with her mom upselling Plexus products.

Maddie Brown Brush

Madison Brown is the eldest daughter of Janelle and Kody and a biological sister to Logan. Fun factMaddie was the first Brown child to marry after she said I do to Caleb Brush during Season 11 back in 2016. Maddie jumped straight into being a mother and welcomed her son Axel, who was filmed for the show in 2017. Since she has also had daughters, Evie and Josephine.

Hunter Brown

Hunter Brown has been on and off of Sister Wives, with mostly his trips home from the Air Force Academy being filmed. He earned a degree in biology and went on to get a masters degree from Johns Hopkins University in nursing, graduating in May 2022.

It isnt clear where Hunter currently resides, but his girlfriend of two years, Audrey Hubert, lives in Las Vegas and works as a surgical ICU nurse, so it is safe to say he is settled in Sin City.

TELL US  HOW DO YOU THINK THE BROWN CHILDREN ARE DOING CURRENTLY?

The post Everything to Know About Kody Browns Older Children appeared first on Reality Tea.
It's time for another big, fat Greek adventure.

On Sept. 8, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 hits theaters, sending the Portokalos-Miller family to Greece in search of the best friends of the late Gus ( Michael Constantine ), Toula's father. When traveling for a village reunion, Toula (Nia Vardalos), Ian (John Corbett), Paris (Elena Kampouris), Nick (Louis Mandylor), Theia Voula (Andrea Martin), and more rediscover their Greek roots and uncover long-hidden family secrets.

But it's been seven years since My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 hit theaters (and over two decades since the first premiered). So, what do you need to remember before going on this Grecian vacation? EW has got you covered.

Nia Vardalos in 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' and 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2'

courtesy everett collection (2) Nia Vardalos in 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' and 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2'

Paris does New York

Paris, daughter of Toula and Ian, is a college student now! At the end of the second film, Paris chose to pursue her studies at NYU, in spite of her mother's hopes that she would attend Northwestern and stay close to the family in Chicago. Paris has longed to escape from the smothering, meddling confines of the Portkolas clan, but she can't deny her Greek heritage and the love they all share.

Ian wants Toula to chill out

Though Toula was always irritated by her family's over-involvement in her life, she has grown up to do the same as a mother. Instead of letting things be, she always feels compelled to "fix" her family's problems, particularly issues with her daughter. In the second film, it's gotten to the point where that desire to fix everything has placed a strain on Ian and Toula's marriage. Still, they end up reaffirming their vows, even if this will continue to be a hard lesson for Toula to learn.

Angelo is gay

Beloved cousin Angelo (Joey Fatone) is gay and his business partner, Patrick (Jeff White), is a bit more than a coworker. By the end of the second film, Angelo tells his family the truth about his life.

Nick is married

Toula's brother Nick is married and has four sons  though you wouldn't know it in the third film when he travels to Greece solo with Toula and her family.

Maria and Gus are as much in love as ever

Maria (Lainie Kazan) and Gus reaffirmed their love for each other in the second film. When we open on the third movie, however, Gus has sadly passed away and Maria's health isn't at its best.

Voula is the queen of oversharing

Toula's aunt Voula may be the most gossipy, annoying member of the Portokalos family, and don't worry, that will continue in the third film. No one overshares like Toula. Her daughter, Nikki (Gia Carides), now owns and operates a salon. Toula's children, Nikki and Angelo, are not part of the family traveling to Greece.

Bundt cake is confusing

One of the most iconic moments from the first film is the confusion that Voula and Maria face when confronted with a bundt cake at a house party. Don't worry, there's no hole in the center of the third movie when it comes to referencing this classic bit.

Gus is descended from Alexander the Great. Maybe.

The second movie ends with a letter from an ancestry site verifying Gus's claim that he is descended from Alexander the Great, though we learn that Toula forged it. Still, Gus' family history  and Toula's desire to honor her dad  are central to the plot of the third film.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

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Guitar Sundays return to Portsmouth Music and Arts Center

Guitar Sundays' free September concert at PMAC features classical guitarist Colin Davin on Sept. 10, 2023.

PORTSMOUTH  The free monthly series Guitar Sundays is back starting Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. at Portsmouth Music and Arts Center's Haas Gallery. September's concert features classical guitarist Colin Davin, who has been hailed as "the real thing; a player with a virtuoso's technique, a deeply expressive musicianship, and a probing imagination" (American Record Guide).

Guitar Sundays, a collaboration between PMAC and the Portsmouth Public Library, is a curated free series of live guitar performances. Registration is not required. Please arrive early to secure your seat.

En Plein Air at The Kittery Art Association

KITTERY, Maine  We are lucky to live in an area of immense natural beauty. Whether our artists took part in our Plein Air excursions over the summer or worked independently, The Kittery Art Association presents their annual exhibit of art made and inspired by the great outdoors. Join us for En Plein Air, on view at the Kittery Art Associationfrom now through Oct. 1, with an Opening Reception on Sunday, Sept. 10, from 5 to 7 p.m.

For more information visit www.kitteryartassociation.org, contact KAA at info@kitteryartassociation.org or call 207-451-9384.

3S Artspace presents Boston Dance Theater: The Carol Kaye Project

PORTSMOUTH  3S Artspace presents two performances of The Carol Kaye Project, Boston Dance Theaters newest contemporary dance program celebrating seminal bassist, Carol Kaye, on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29, at 7:30 p.m.

For more information or tickets visit www.eventbrite.com.

Joseph C. A. Wingate: Strathams Link to 19th Century China a presentation by John Wingate Seavey

John Wingate Seavey

STRATHAM  On Monday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. the Stratham Historical Society and Wiggin Memorial Library will jointly host Joseph C. A. Wingate: Strathams Link to 19th Century China, a presentation by his third great nephew John Wingate Seavey at the Town Municipal Center, Meeting Room A, 10 Bunker Hill Avenue, Stratham. John Seavey was born in Exeter, raised in Hampton and educated at Bates College, the University of Arizona and Harvard. He spent over three decades at the University of New Hampshire first as Assistant and finishing as the Everett Sacket Endowed Professor in the College of Health & Human Services. He was the Founding Director of the UNH graduate program in Public Health. He retired in 2012 as Professor Emeritus.

No pre-registration is required. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Jonesing for Theater to present 'The Mad Ones' at the Newmarket Millspace

Jonesing for Theater presents the New Hampshire fringe premiere of the hit musical "The Mad Ones" at The Newmarket Millspace now through Sept. 17, 2023.

NEWMARKET  Jonesing for Theater presents the New Hampshire fringe premiere of the hit musical "The Mad Ones" at The Newmarket Millspace now through Sept. 17. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. General Admission tickets are $25. Tickets can be purchased in advance at portsmouthnhtickets.com.

Samantha Brown balances on the edge of her future, car keys in hand. As she sits in the drivers seat, she faces a choice: will she follow in her mothers footsteps, take the dare of her impetuous best friend and chart a new path? The Mad Ones tells the hilarious and heart wrenching story of best friends Samantha and Kelly as they explore friendship, grief, and the impossibility of knowing what the future will hold. The cult hit has inspired a bestselling cast album, thousands of performance videos, viral fan-art, and over 20 million views.

David Lussier: Alla Prima Painting Demo at the Kittery Art Association

David Lussier joins The Kittery Art Association on Tuesday, Sept. 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. for a demonstration of Alla Prima Painting.

KITTERY, Maine  David Lussier joins The Kittery Art Association on Tuesday, Sept. 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. for a demonstration of Alla Prima Painting. The term Alla Prima means 'At One Go'.

Lussier will demonstrate the Alla Prima method and show how economy of stroke is within every painters grasp if they are willing to approach the painting process with a 'Less Is More' mind set. As he paints, Lussier will explain how to look at the world as shapes of color and value and not as individual objects. He will talk about his palette which consists of five tubed colors and white and how he mixes his chromatic color harmony palette from these five colors and how he simplifies every aspect of the painting process in order to get at the essence of his subject.

Admission is $20/person, pay at the door when you enter the gallery on the night of the demo. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.kitteryartassociation.org, contact KAA at info@kitteryartassociation.org or call 207-451-9384.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exhibits, galleries, theater and more: Seacoast arts and culture news
After shooting his video Wish U Well with Swae Lee last week, French Montana donated 500 canoes to the community of Makoko in Lagos, which served as the primary location for the visual.

Local craftsmen will build approximately six boats a week and reach the goal of 500 canoes by December through a partnership with SALXCO, Gamma and Swae Lee. The community is regularly endangered by floods.

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I witnessed firsthand how water is both a lifeline and an obstacle in Makoko. These boats are essential tools transporting the residents of Makoko and goods and services, said Montana in a statement. As an immigrant from Morocco, giving back to communities in Africa, the place that raised me, is so important. When I was filming, I met local leaders who talked about the daily struggles and aspirations of the wider community. I was moved by their spirit and positivity, which inspired me to get involved and to help impact change.

Montana previously partnered with Mama Hope and Global Citizen to improve one of their hospitals in Uganda after filming the video for Unforgettable.

Last month, French Montana entered a global partnership with gamma, which was announced alongside the release of his single Good Summer.

I have known French for over 10 years, and I am so excited to have him at our company as he is a true multidisciplinary artist in keeping with the gamma multidisciplinary ethos, said gamma.

Co-founder and CEO Larry Jackson in a press release, His new documentary is a 10, and his new music is equally awesome! French Montana, in my opinion, is also the best hip-hop A&R of the past decade. His ability to get the best out of his artists and producers alike is truly second to none. He continually mystifies me with how he continues to A&R and produce diamond single after diamond single. Hes a real deal triple threat talent.

Watch the video for Wish U Well below:

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Click here to read the full article.
Aspen Brown located the golden brown diamond while visiting Crater of Diamonds State Park on Sept. 1, according to Arkansas State Parks

Arkansas State Parks Diamond found by 7-year-old Aspen Brown at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas

A young girl just stumbled upon one of the biggest diamonds found this year at an Arkansas State Park

Aspen Brown, 7, of Paragould, located a 2.95-carat golden brown diamond while visiting Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro on Sept. 1, according to Arkansas State Parks.

The girl was celebrating her birthday at the park with her family when she made the stunning discovery while resting with her father and grandmother, KAIT reported.

She got hot and wanted to sit down for a minute, so she walked over to some big rocks by the fence line, Aspens father Luther Brown told the outlet.

Next thing I know, she was running to me, saying Dad! Dad! I found one,  he added.

Related: Teen Catches Wallet with $2K in Cash While Fishing  and Returns It to Farmer: It Was His Money

At just under three carats, the diamond is second-largest registered by a park guest this year, according to Arkansas State Parks. A 3.29-carat brown diamond was found in March.

The diamond is a complete crystal that is golden-brown in color and has a sparkling luster, assistant park superintendent Waymon Cox said, per KAIT.

Its certainly one of the most beautiful diamonds Ive seen in recent years, he added.

Related: Man Unearths 'Big, Ugly' 3.29-Carat Diamond at Ark. Park  the Latest of Over 400 Finds: 'Amazing Discovery'

Arkansas State Parks Diamond found by 7-year-old Aspen Brown at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The discovery comes shortly after an excavation project was completed at Crater of Diamonds State Park, park superintendent Caleb Howell said, per KAIT.

Howell said its very possible that this diamond and others were uncovered when a company dug a 150-yard trench on the north side of the search area to help manage erosion in August.

Arkansas State Parks did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment.

Related: Scuba Diver Finds Womans Missing $9,500 Wedding Ring After She Lost it in California Lake

On its website, Crater of Diamonds State Park touts itself as one of the only places in the world where the public can search for real diamonds in their original volcanic source.

At the park is a 37-acre field that is the eroded surface of a volcanic crater, where visitors can search for various rocks, minerals, and gemstones, including white, brown and yellow diamonds.

Visitors have located more than 35,000 diamonds at the park since 1972, when Crater of Diamonds became an official state park, according to the website.

The largest diamond ever found in the United States  a 40.23-carat gemstone dubbed Uncle Sam  was found at the state park in 1924.

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Read the original article on People.
The post Hoziers Uniquely Irish Perspective on The Condition of Living appeared first on Consequence.

I love my homeland. Theres no other way of saying it, muses Hozier, who introduces himself as Andrew in the midst of his tour rehearsals in Nashville. You spend time in a place, and the place spends its time in you.

Its a blazing late summer day in Tennessee when our conversation is taking place. The members of Hoziers touring band are rolling in to the East Nashville rehearsal space one by one, and a drummer down the hall working through charts provides a backbeat throughout our time speaking. Many of the folks in the band are based in Music City, and Hozier shouts out the incredible players and incredible instruments the town has to offer.

Were thousands of miles from Ireland, that homeland he loves so dearly, and its not the last time throughout our interview that a line from Butchered Tongue, off his latest LP, comes to mind: So far from home to have a stranger call you darlin/ And have your guarded heart be lifted like a child.

Unreal Unearth, Hoziers 2023 album, is a poetic spiral into Hell. During the pandemic, between a bit of Samuel Beckett and Ovids Metamorphoses, he landed on Dantes Inferno as the cornerstone of his third full-length project. Between Wasteland, Baby! and Unreal Unearth, there is some small continuity; theres an impending end, and then theres what comes after, he explains. Thats what I was anxious about when writing Wasteland, Baby!  an information dark age, or dark age of empathy. And Unreal Unearth starts with what happens after the end.

In this case, what happens after the end is a collection of 16 tracks that covers everything from heartache to memory, wistful longing to redemption. Soft-spoken and incredibly thoughtful in conversation, Hozier says that he toyed with even holding the Inferno inspiration close to his chest, but ultimately decided against it. It wouldnt have matter: Unreal Unearth is lyrical not just in the musical definition of the word, but in that its immediately clear upon listening that it was inspired by poetry; youd hear it even if Hozier hadnt explicitly told you so.

Get Hozier Tickets Here

After spending so much time immersed in such a story, hes hesitant to agree to the word cathartic, which he feels sometimes has too much finality for his liking.

The thing about playing with this idea of the Hell realms is that every one of us is going to descend into our own place and come out of it on the other side, hopefully having learned something about ourselves and the condition of living, Hozier explains. Something Id hoped for was a sense of accepting the difficulty and challenge, and the sorrow and pain, of being alive, but also recognizing whats beautiful about it  what can be cherished.

In To Someone from a Warm Climate (Uiscefhuarithe), for example, he sings: The feel of coolness only water brings/ There are some things that no one teaches you, love/ That God in his awful wisdom first programs in. Its one of many lines that feels timeless, but Hozier says that to him, the stories in his songs definitively take place in the present day, and he credits his own voice for any interpretations to the contrary.

I think perhaps its that the Irish vernacular describes things in ways that are sometimes a little backwards  in Anglo-Irish, that is, its a bit Hibernian  so the syntax is sometimes mixed up, and theres so many sayings that feel a little antiquated, he posits. But I never considered it. Sometimes, theres only one way to say the things you need to say; and if they sound unusual in this time, its not necessarily a bad thing, either.

On Unreal Unearth, he says things in a way he never has before: in that native Irish language. With the upcoming tour in support of the record (secure tickets here), hes hopeful that hell hear fans around the world singing organic Irish words, noting how special of a thing it would be for him to witness, given that its a language that was once illegal.

He is aware of the fact that hes become a bit of an ambassador for the country of Ireland as one of its most successful figures these days: It would be silly of me not to consider it, he says. As any artist, I can represent my experience of growing up in a place and time, but I cant represent everyones experience.

He begins to reference some of the more fun, playful ways the Internet likes to represent him before trailing off. But you can find what hes hinting at with minimal searching: Hoziers music teleports me to a past life in the 17th century where I was a humble woman married to a sheepherder living in a quaint cottage in a woodland area, reads one tweet. Hozier is never beating these bog man cryptid faerie allegations, reads another.

It prompts me to ask if he does, in fact, feel like a woodland creature who emerged from the glen one day to gift us with his poetry. So, no, he laughs kindly, shaking his head. In this modern age, hes perceived by so many people through his work that hes come to terms with the fact that he can only control so much, adding, I think theres a lot of Irish people that are resistant to that representation; Irishness is complicated So I see [fan posts], and its fun, but Im careful about how I engage with it.

Whether he engages with all the reactions the Internet has to offer or not, the album has connected with listeners. Unreal Unearth saw him return to the No. 1 spot on Billboards Folk, Rock, and Alternative Rock album charts, but brought him to the top of the UK charts for the first time ever. This Irishmans journey through Hell is resonating with international fans in ways even his considerable acclaim hadnt yet reached, so hes understandably excited to present it to live audiences.

As he prepares for the upcoming tour  which he confirms will include cuts from across all three of his full-length albums  he illustrates some of the ways the scale has been increased for this trek. There will be more visual elements that he describes as tactile pieces of the show. The songs are a little more sonically complex, he says. We have synth lines and string lines, and having a cello and violin player at the same time creates a miniature string section.

Until then, he doesnt mind rehearsing in the American South, describing it as a place of kindness and grace with a difficult history that can hold, in the same hands, the stunning hospitality and reality of the present. He notes the fantastic optimism in this part of the world, and its all together such a thoughtful and poetic description of this part of the country that any of the great Southern gothic writers would have surely approved of the phrasing.

Even as the outsider, Hoziers thoughtfulness is consistently present in that Irish brogue of his. He, if anyone, understands why being called darling when youre so far from home is that much more special, and he reflects that back as a visitor. Perhaps its something learned from walking through an inferno: Who you are and where you are may not always align, but if you open yourself to looking for it, theres bound to be something worth cherishing.

Get tickets to the Unreal Unearth tour, which kicks off its US leg on September 9th, here.

Hoziers Uniquely Irish Perspective on The Condition of Living

Mary Siroky

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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has separated from Suzanne Malveaux , her partner of more than 10 years.

In a new interview with Vogue published on 7 September, Jean-Pierre, 49, revealed that the two have shared custody of their nine-year-old daughter, Soleil. Im a single mom who is co-parenting this amazing kid, she told Vogue. Our number-one priority is her privacy and to make sure we create an environment thats nurturing.

Jean-Pierre and Malveaux first met at the Democratic National Convention in 2012. Her former partner served as a White House correspondent for CNN for more than 10 years, before leaving the network in January 2023.

They welcomed their daughter, who they named Soleil, in May 2014. According to Vogue, it was Malveaux who initiated the adoption process, not long after she and Jean-Pierre started dating. The White House press secretary revealed that having a child was a thousand per cent not on her to-do list, but she formally adopted Soleil a few years after she was born.

As a public figure, Jean-Pierre admitted that she worries about her daughters safety. People who love me are concerned, she said. But I do not walk around fearful for my life or my security. That is not something I worry about. I worry more for my daughter.

She continued: We talk about her feelings all the time. I ask her all the time: Are you happy? Hows it going? And shell tell me.

Thats the nice part - being the parent that you wish you had, Jean-Pierre added. My parents were amazing, but they were trying to survive.

The former couple met at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. There, Malveaux was covering the convention as a correspondent for CNN, while Jean-Pierre was working for President Barack Obamas re-election campaign. We met at a donor party being held in a nightclub, Jean-Pierre recalled in her 2019 memoir, Moving Forward, according to People. I know its a cliche, but the truth is, I spotted her across a crowded dance floor.

While the two kept in touch over email, they didnt begin dating until two months later, in November 2012. They began a long-distance relationship, as Malveaux lived in Atlanta covering the presidential campaign and Jean-Pierre was based in New York. The two eventually moved in together in Washington, DC, in early 2014.

Suzanne is a beautiful woman with striking cheekbones and a dazzling smile, Jean-Pierre previously wrote. Suzanne is warm, brilliant, grounded, funny - and supportive of me.

According to her memoir, Malveaux expressed her desire to be a mother early on in their relationship. As for Jean-Pierre, she said that kids were never part of my life plan.

However, her relationship with Malveaux changed her perspective on having children. For the first time, I could see myself forming a family of my own with this woman, Jean-Pierre wrote at the time. When it came to naming their now-nine-year-old daughter, Jean-Pierre said that they both knew they wanted something French but waited until we saw her before we decided.

The press secretary was born in Martinique to Haitian parents, and moved with her mother and father to Paris as a baby before settling in New York. Meanwhile, Malveaux was born in Lansing, Michigan, and her parents were both of Louisiana Creole origin.

We instantly agreed that this radiant child should be Soleil, Jean-Pierre wrote of their daughters name, which is French for sun.

My darling Soleil is the light of my life, she added.

When Malveaux announced she was stepping down from her role as CNN correspondent in January, she cited her family as one of the main factors in her decision. Ive made the heartfelt decision to put myself and my family first," the Harvard graduate wrote in a statement at the time.

While Ive thrived on the energy from covering breaking news and politics, the rhythm of my life has shifted to the more personal. I love being a mom, and the time I have with my eight-year-old daughter is priceless, Malveaux said.

She began her career at CNN in 2002 as their White House correspondent, and went on to earn multiple awards and recognition for her work as a reporter. Malveaux has covered national stories such as Bill Clintons impeachment, the Kosovo War, the 2000 Presidential Election, the 9/11 attacks, and the 2001 war in Afghanistan. In 2005, she helped CNN win a Peabody Award for the networks coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

Jean-Pierre made history in May 2021 when she became the first openly gay woman, and the second Black woman, to brief the White House press. The following year, she was named successor to Jen Psaki, making her the first Black woman, the first immigrant woman, and the first openly gay woman to serve as White House press secretary.
Of all the marriage vows, til death us do part is perhaps the most famous, and the most frequently ignored. But for a congregation at a Methodist church in late-1970s Texas, there arent many parts of the wedding ceremony that will survive intramural desecration. This is the backdrop to Love & Death, a lavish HBO true crime series, now making its way to ITV to show that Americas famous Bible Belt gets loosened sometimes

Elizabeth Olsen is Candy Montgomery , a well-coiffed stay-at-home mom in Carter-era America. She puts beef through the mincer to make hamburger patties, sings alto next to her husband in the church choir, and forces a comb through the unruly hair of her unruly children. In short, shes a bored housewife. If you aint searching, she tells her friend Sherry (Krysten Ritter), youre lost. And Candy is lost; a disorientation that leads her into the arms of her friend, and fellow churchgoer, Allan Gore (Jesse Plemons). Candy is the congregational Queen Bee and Allan a slightly lumpen goofball, but somehow the affair ignites. Its nice to be noticed, she confesses, to be adored a little.

But this is a David E Kelley show, and from the opening shot we know where it will end: with a blood-spattered bathroom and an unknown dead body. Kelleys most recent hit, Big Little Lies, pulled the same trick, with disaster constantly foreshadowed (clearly this is the creative tension du jour, as the much-heralded White Lotus series also employed the device). Candy is indiscreet, letting both Sherry and pastor Jackie (Elizabeth Marvel) in on her secret. As the entanglement rumbles on, Candys position becomes more confused. Allan becomes a second husband: she cooks him lunches in seedy motel rooms, leaves cookies on his car at work, and asks after the emotional wellbeing of his wife, Betty (Lily Rabe). But before this seven-episode mini-series is out, one side of this love triangle will be dead and another in the dock for their murder.

Love & Death is based on a true story, which was, bizarrely, already dramatised in a 2022 five-part mini-series, Candy, starring Jessica Biel as Montgomery and Pablo Schreiber and Melanie Lynskey as the Gores. I suppose prestige dramas about historic murders are like London buses, but, all the same, it speaks to a lack of imagination that is present in Love & Death. Kelley is adept at handling the creeping sense of dread and has mastered the repressed violence of American domesticity. Yet Love & Death feels by the numbers. Humanising the adulterous Candy  a task that other representations of the story have skipped on  is a noble addition to the rote true crime story, but the lure of the salacious proves too strong. Before long, the shadow of the axe is, quite literally, looming.

But in a television landscape where standalone mini-series increasingly dominate the prestige end of the scale, Love & Death is another suitably glossy addition. Olsen is an excellent screen actor whose career has been derailed by an oppressive commitment to Marvel Studios (she has starred in six movies and two TV series as Wanda Maximoff). Alongside Plemons  a heavyweight of American TV, from Breaking Bad to Fargo  she has enormous fun demonstrating the brittle psyche behind the buttoned-down dresses and perfect smile. Youre the belle of the ball at church, the pastor tells Candy, who is dogged by persistent thoughts about her close friends husbands perfectly shaped penis. It is a cognitive dissonance that Olsen inhabits flawlessly.

Yet the structure of the show  which, in its first half, builds up to the crime, and then spends the second act resolving that in a Texas courthouse  is simple to the point of unambitious. It lacks the devilish intricacy of The White Lotus, the fastidious detachment of Mindhunter or the emotional messiness of Mare of Easttown. It is a bit, as the teens would say, mid.

But, at present, even the most mid-tier of American crime mini-series is still a league above its British counterparts. For ITV, Love & Death is a savvy acquisition. Anchored by true A-list firepower in its central performance, the plot  stretched thin over the seven-hour duration  survives the protraction. Overlong, imperfect and yet basically enjoyable, Love & Death is, perhaps, the perfect metaphor for marriage itself.
"I hope to share Peanuts message that even if youre rejected or might feel like a misfit, you can still find someone to bond with and have a long, productive life, the hens owner told 'The Washington Post'

Guinness World Records Peanut, the 21-year-old chicken who currently holds the Guinness World Record for oldest living chicken.

Peanut is the worlds oldest chicken.

Marsi Parker Darwin now considers the bird part of her family but if the retired Michigan librarian had not discovered Peanut trapped in a seemingly rotten egg 21 years ago, she would not be alive to claim her title, according to The Washington Post.

Over two decades ago, Darwin, now 71, stumbled upon a rotten, abandoned chicken egg that she believed would not hatch. She was ready to throw the egg into a pond (where it would become turtle food) when she heard a sound from within it.

I heard a second chirp, and I realized that the chick was alive and didnt seem to have an egg tooth to get out of its shell, she told The Post, an observation she made after seeing a tiny, barely visible crack in the eggs exterior.

Related: Friendly Pet Chicken Brings Cheer to Arizona Assisted Living Facility: 'She's so Sweet'

After she gently peeled her out of the egg, she saw the brown, speckled bird that would become her companion for the first time.

There was this wet little mess sitting in my hand, she recalled of the moment.

When Peanuts mother refused to accept her, Darwin decided she would care for her. She put the newborn chick under a heat lamp and taught her to eat and drink.

With a little TLC, the bird grew, but her weight peaked at around a pound, which is only one-third of the size of the farmers other chickens, according to The Post. The misfit bird's small stature is what earned her the name "Peanut" but  clearly  size is not everything.

In January, at age 20, Peanut was crowned the world's oldest living chicken by Guinness World Records. She turned 21 in May.

Related: 30-Year-Old Pup from Portugal Named World's Oldest Dog Days After Last Canine Took the Title

The average chicken lives five to eight years, so its quite the achievement, Darwin said of her plucky hens high honor.

While the bird does not let her newfound fame get to her head, she has always been a bit of a diva.

Peanut is a sassy little chicken  if she doesnt get her blueberry yogurt in the morning, I definitely hear about it, she told The Post, adding that the healthy and spoiled hen also loves grapes and bananas.

Related: What the Cluck? The PEOPLE Pet Vet Talks Responsible Chicken Ownership

But the fowl also has a softer side.

Shes a friendly character and she pretty much gets along with everyone, including our dogs and cats, Darwin told the outlet.

During the winter, she tucks Peanut into her front jacket pocket while she completes her chores  she lives on a no-kill farm with dogs, cats and birds  and even though the hen moves very slowly now, she always comes when Darwin calls her name. She's also a cuddler.

Peanut loves to sit in my lap and watch TV, the farmer said of the bird. I think she just likes the warmth of snuggling up.

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.

Though Peanut now lives with Darwin and her husband Bill  the hen and her 15-year-old daughter Millie have a coop in the living room  she did not always live inside.

After spending her first few years in the living room, Darwin decided it was time for Peanut to move in with the coop.

Guinness World Records Peanut (right) and her daughter Millie (left).

Although she found a ragtag crew to hang out with, the tiny hen fielded a bit of harassment from the other chickens, Darwin told The Post. Over a decade and lots of chicks later, Peanut decided outdoor life was not for her anymore.

On a cold day six years ago, the chicken followed her owner onto the screen porch and refused to go back outside. We had an old parrot cage stored there, so I put some straw and food and water in it, and that was it, Darwin said. She had picked her home for the winter.

Related: Interested in Raising Chickens at Home? Here's Everything You Need to Get Started

For several years, Peanut refused to return to the coop  and even brought pals with her.

One day she approached the screen porch with a little line behind her, according to Darwin. Four other chickens also wanted in.

Chickens dont get a lot of credit  they are really smart, she told The Post. They knew it was warmer there.

As time passed and Peanut got older, she decided that the hen could move inside, and she set up permanent, window-facing quarters for her and Millie in the living room. The mother-daughter hen duo still goes outside when its warm.

Related: Celebrities Who Keep Farm Animals

Peanut's life has inspired Darwin so much that she self-published a childrens book about the hen, titled: My Girl Peanut and Me  On Love and Life From the Worlds Oldest Chicken.

Hopefully, there are a lot of pages left in Peanuts underdog story. Im pretty fond of the old girl and I hope she sees several more birthdays, Darwin told The Post of her feathery companion.

Regardless, the Michigan farmer hopes that fans of Peanut take something away from her life other than its record-breaking longevity.

Darwin hopes to share Peanuts message that even if youre rejected or might feel like a misfit, you can still find someone to bond with and have a long, productive life."



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Read the original article on People.
Now on its ninth feature entry in just a decade, the Conjuring franchise has proved something of a powerhouse in the continued growth of horror as one of the most reliably popular (not to mention cost-effective) mainstream film genres. Their mythologies may be garbled and silly, the scares mostly jump ones, yet these movies provide a kind of creepy comfort food  familiarly formulaic jolts unlikely to trouble any non-child viewers sleep later on  whose satisfactions are amplified by the good actors and superior atmospherics deployed.

Defying the law of diminishing returns, 2018s spinoff The Nun was (and so far remains) the franchises biggest hit to date. Ergo enter The Nun II, a direct sequel. In some respects an improvement on its predecessor, in others not, this is finally one more good-enough if unmemorable entry sure to extend the series life in lucrative fashion.

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Storywise, the prior Nun entry (whose titular figure got introduced in 2016s Conjuring 2) was cluttered and near-nonsensical, little more than a string of boo! incidents sending novitiate Taissa Farmiga and Vatican priest Demian Bichir a-hunting demons in Cold War-era Romania. But Corin Hardys film was a spooky treat in purely visual terms, with rich, ornate old-school Gothic atmospherics (swirling fog, refracted light et al.) as if shot by 1960s Mario Bava, or on the 1940s Universal backlot.

Part Deux is less distinctive in that department. But its got a somewhat stronger narrative framework  even if that structure keeps Farmigas ostensible protagonist somewhat sidelined from the main strand for a ponderously long time. After an opening sequence in which a malevolent spirit frightens an altar boy (Maxime Elias-Menet), we find Sister Irene (Farmiga) a novice no more. Shes now living in an Italian nunnery where everyone has heard of the possession horrors experienced in Romania four years earlier. Still, no one here knows she was a witness and survivor to those events, not even her friend Sister Debra (Storm Reid), an American of uncertain faith whos taken the cloth less out of devotion than family-pressured obligation.

Unfortunately, that anonymity ends when Vatican representatives turn up once more. They require Irenes involvement because a series of baffling deaths amongst clerics suggests the titular demon (originally summoned by necromancy in the Dark Ages) is back, and burning a westward path across Europe. Indeed, it seems to be headed toward her erstwhile helpmate Maurice, aka Frenchie ( Jonas Bloquet ), whos currently employed as a handyman at a girls boarding school near Aix-en-Provence.

That is where the action is in Nun II, even as director Michael Chaves and his writers contrive business to occupy Sisters Irene and Debra on their circuitous journey there. Strapping Quebecois nice guy Maurice has also kept his past supernatural perils to himself, preferring to pitch discreet woo toward resident teacher Kate (Anna Popplewell) and take a fatherly interest in her bullied daughter Sophie (Katelyn Rose Downey).

This school was once a monastery, its chapel boarded up since being hit by a WW2 bomb that claimed the life of the stern headmistress (Suzanne Bertish) son. But that shuttered historic location hides other secrets, ones that evidently attract the dread Demon Nun (Bonnie Aarons). And kind-hearted Maurice may be obliviously carrying a force that will make him a tool in her terrible return, if Irene and the others dont arrive in time to thwart it.

Chaves (whose third series contribution this is, following The Curse of La Llorona and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) doesnt attempt the kind of chiaroscuro lighting and fantastical sets that made the first Nun a trove of retro haunted-house eye candy. But there are still some handsome French locations utilized, and Tristan Nybys widescreen cinematography finds atmosphere enough in the inky black recesses of Stephane Cressends production design, where within every dark corner duly lurks an unpleasant surprise.

Not that those surprises are terribly surprising  just the usual array of ghoulie-faces going Rrrarrrr!! and occasionally killing somebody or hurtling them against a wall by sheer force of evil exhalation. Nor does the dread lady herself offer much mystique beyond sharp teeth and glowing eyes under a cowl.

There are showy interludes that arent worth the CG fuss, like one in which a magazine display racks pages flutter until they comprise a mosaic image of guess-who. On the other hand, a goat demon that materializes to terrorize the schools populace provides welcome scary variety. Once Farmiga finally arrives to find all hell already breaking loose, things reach a suitable boil  before predictably boiling over amid an excess of exaggerated peril and false cease-fires.

In case you were wondering what any of this has to do with the rest of the Conjuring universe, a brief tag featuring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga provides some semblance of connection. You might also ponder what happened to Nun star Bichir, who presumably passed on this chapter  his characters absence is explained with notable dismissiveness as due to a cholera death. In any case, primary emphasis here goes to Bloquet and young Downey, with the junior Farmiga somewhat unexpectedly granted no more attention than Reid at a climax where shes meant to be MIP. All these performers do solid work under the circumstances. The script hardly requires much nuance, though, and a parting slurp of sentimentality doesnt compensate.

Its not the destination that matters in these movies, however, but the chills en route. (Just as well, too, since The Nun II culminates in something reminiscent of the prior films inane apex, in which Sister Irene literally spat the blood of Christ into a demons face.) Ably scored by series newcomer Marco Beltrami, the movie stirs enough pleasurably menacing sound and fury to pass muster  never mind that when the final credits wrap, few will remember just where it leaves the overall Conjuring saga, let alone why.

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The ' Pretty Little Liars ' alum attended a wedding in Italy and made sure she looked chic and stayed comfortable

Shay Mitchell / Instagram Shay Mitchell at a wedding

Shay Mitchell is sharing her wedding style tips!

On Wednesday, the Pretty Little Liars alum revealed how she manages to stay comfortable when attending nuptials  while still looking chic.

Wedding tip: slippers are a must," Mitchell, 36, captioned an Instagram carousel that showed the highlights from a wedding she attended near Rome, Italy.

As well as sharing her sartorial advice with her followers, the actress also congratulated the bride and groom on their union and jokingly thanked them for giving me a place to wear this dress to. Jk

Love you both, she ended her message to the newlyweds.

For the nuptials, Mitchell wore a form-fitting red bandeau dress that featured red feathers from the label The New Arrivals by Ilkyaz Ozel. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek bun, and she kept her accessories simple with a pair of diamond earrings. However, in the first photo in the carousel, the You actress had swapped her heels for a pair of white slippers, in a shot that showed her walking up a set of stairs.

Related: Shay Mitchell Jokes 'Every Sweater Is a Maternity Sweater' if You Have 'Safety Pins'

Other images from the carousel showed her full outfit for her friends' special day, which included a pair of stylish black slingback heels with clear straps. As well as a photo of chairs lined up for the wedding ceremony, a pic of Mitchell dancing with the bride and an adorable image of the newlywed couple dancing outside, the actress also included several shots of her outfit from different vantage points.

And she wasn't the only one stepping into their slippers during the nuptials. One snap in Mitchell's carousel showed a birds eye view of four pairs of feet, all adorned in white slippers monogrammed with the letters "N" and "S."

In the comments section of the post, fellow actress Nina Dobrev shared her support for Mitchell's style choices, writing, "I support slipper lyfe 4 lyfe."



But Mitchell's sensible fashion choices aren't just about swapping heels for comfy footwear. In 2022, she launched the luggage brand Beis with Swedish model Elsa Hosk, and talked about why she created versatile products.

"The inspiration for this collection was [a] non-baby bag. Anything you could use when your baby is grown up, too," Hosk in an interview for the brand's blog at the time. "For example, you can still use the tote, you can still use the clutch as your kids get older. You can transition them throughout your life."

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Shay Mitchell

Mitchell shares two daughters  3-year-old Atlas Noa and Rome, 16 months  with longtime partner Matt Babel. At a Beis event last fall, the Dollface star told PEOPLE she was content with her duo.



"I think two is good for right now," she said with a laugh at the time. "All my friends that have one, I'm always like, 'Just savor this. Savor it! Take it in.'"

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.

While speaking about the products designed with moms in mind, she added, For Beis it was sort of that perfect partnership of fashion meets function. That's always been something that I strive for with Beis: having things that don't look like your typical suitcase, or in this case, your typical diaper bag. I really wanted her input, and I thought we worked well together."

Mitchell often shares elements of the mom life on social media including a cute video of her dancing with Atlas to Beyonces CUFF IT last month in VAN city.

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Read the original article on People.
Natalie Morris

The Blue Dog Inn was the site of the first meal Valery Carnes and Paul Saba ate upon relocating to central Illinois from the St. Louis area.

So naturally, the couple considered the signature Lincoln eatery their place. Now they have the deed to prove it.

The Blue Dog was our go-to place, said Carnes. The first place we ate at in Lincoln and it became a weekly routine.

When it went up for sale . . . and then closed.

Carnes and Saba have purchased the tavern and the 109 Sangamon St. building, and rechristened the business as the Blue Dog Steakery, which reopens Monday.

We wanted to keep what made the Blue Dog, the Blue Dog, she said. Keep the tradition, but add a steakhouse feel in the evenings.

So the foot-long hotdog that appeared on the original 1979 menu is back. Ditto the Blue Dog Inns signature sandwiches like the Chive Turkey, Birds of Paradise and The Affair.

But now, several entree selections join the lineup, ranging from porterhouse steaks to ribeye, salmon to shish kabobs. A full salad bar, complete with baked potato and scratch-made soup selections, also will be available for lunch and dinner.

Carnes and Saba have applied the same philosophy to the Blue Dogs ambiance.

The solid wood bar still grounds the space. But the beadboard and tin ceiling tile lining the walls have been removed to expose the original brick. More lighting has been installed to brighten the space.

We still have our Blue Dogs, Carnes said. But the decor, its more fun, whimsical. Less 90s tchotchke.

Long-term plans include adding a bakery and catering services.

More: Former McDonald's site on way to becoming cafe; juice bar opens in The Gables

Operating hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. The full-service restaurant also offers in-town delivery and online orders. Delivery is available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m. Phone: (217) 651-8022. Website: www.bluedogsteakery.com.

This is the second Logan County eatery Carnes and Saba have breathed into new life. They took over the New Holland Cafe in New Holland in 2022. They also have operated the Lincoln-based Frothy Bottom Mobile Bar since 2019.

The Blue Dog Inn opened in 1970. Founders Lou and Bonnie Hardacre started the business as a stand-up bar serving cold sandwiches. It eventually expanded to a full-service restaurant and bar.

John and Barbara Blackburn purchased the business from Susie Fuhrer, Lous second wife, in 2009. The couple put the tavern up for sale in 2018, but said the business would continue operations as normal until a buyer was located. Last October, the Blackburns shuttered the Blue Dog Inn, calling it a temporary move.

Portillo's celebrates 60 years

Portillo's is celebrating its 60th anniversary by keeping the party going with others who reached the six-decade mark this year.

The new Portillo's restaurant at 3400 Freedom Drive in Springfield, Ill., Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020. The business plans to open Dec. 8, 2020.

The Oak Brook-based chain is covering the catering tab for 10 winners of the Portillos Sweet 60 Sweepstakes. Winners will receive a $500 Portillos catering gift card, as well as limited edition Portillos 60th merchandise.

Anyone celebrating a 60th birthday, wedding or business anniversary or class reunion is eligible. Nominations will be accepted through midnight Oct. 31. Enter online at www.Portillos.com/sweet-60-sweepstakes/ by filling out a short nomination write-up. Entries also can be sent by mail to Portillos Sweet 60 Sweepstakes, Portillos Hot Dogs LLC, 2001 Spring Road Suite 400, Oak Brook, Ill. 60523. Include a printed list of the individual/businesss name, phone number, and email in a No. 10 envelope.

The 10 winners will be selected in a random drawing.

Founder Dick Portillo opened his first stand in 1963, known as The Dog House, in the Chicago suburb of Villa Park. The brand is known for its Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef and chocolate cake.

Today there are more than 70 locations throughout the nation, including the Springfield business at 4300 Freedom Drive in the Parkway Pointe shopping center.

The A La Carte column highlights restaurant openings, closings, renovations, and relocations, as well as personnel changes and business news. Natalie Morris can be reached at (217) 737-7254 or by email at natalie.sjr@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Lincoln's Blue Dog Inn to reopen with new owners, updated menu
The patternless giraffe calf, born at Brights Zoo in July, was recently named Kipekee, which means "unique" in Swahili

Brights Zoo Kipekee the spotless giraffe calf at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, with her mom

The one-of-a-kind spotless baby giraffe born at a private zoo in the east Tennessee mountains recently got her name  Kipekee, which means "unique" in Swahili  and an adoring fanbase.

"There is not another one out there," Brights Zoo's director, David Bright, tells PEOPLE of the giraffe calf born in July.

And animal lovers are eager to see this distinctive baby animal.

A record-breaking number of people visited Brights Zoo over Labor Day Weekend. The zoo is located on 103 acres in Limestone, just past the town of Jonesboro  famous for its storytelling festival. There were 3,000 visitors on Monday alone. Bright estimates there were about 10,000 visitors over the long weekend.

"Everybody wants to see this," said the zoo director, 51. "People from all over the world."

Brights Zoo Kipekee the patternless giraffe calf at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee

The Bright family originally owned an eight-acre quarter-horse farm. As a 25th wedding anniversary present, David's father, Tony Bright, gifted his wife, Connie, a pair of zebras.

In 1989, the couple started importing more exotic animals and buying more land to house them.

"Before you knew it, there were no horses here, and it was a full-blown zoo," Bright says of his parents' creation.

Related: Shock Twist at Columbus Zoo as 'Male' Gorilla Gives Birth to Surprise Baby Girl

In 2007, the family started inviting schoolchildren to visit the animals. "We had so many animals here," he adds. "The right thing to do was to be open to the public." Brights Zoo officially opened a year later, with a focus on promoting conservation efforts, according to Bright.

"That's what's important," he says. "We want to make sure that future generations have the ability to see animals that, if it weren't for zoos and major conservation efforts, we would never get to see."

Brights Zoo Kipekee the patternless giraffe calf at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee

Brights Zoo became home to something almost no one had ever seen on July 31, when Kipekee the patternless giraffe calf was born. Within minutes of her birth, zookeepers saw the baby standing up on the cameras monitoring her mother's labor. They walked out to the barn and discovered the newborn didn't look like the other giraffes.

"We immediately noticed that this baby is totally different than anything we've ever seen," Bright says. "It was definitely a shock."

The zoo's staff called veterinarians at the University of Tennessee and other zoos, asking, "Who's seen this? How rare is this?" he says.

Related: Smithsonian's National Zoo Panda Treated to Sweet 26th Birthday Celebration

"Even the old-old timers that are in their 80s have never heard of this. So we knew it was pretty unique," Bright adds.

The last recorded spotless giraffe was born in 1972 in Tokyo.

"Keep an eye on her," Bright says of Kipekee. "This is the best way for a zoo to get out the word for conservation. We need everybody to get involved to help protect wild giraffes. She has the ability to be the spokesperson for that."

Brights Zoo Kipekee the spotless giraffe calf at Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee, with her mom

The eye-catching baby giraffe currently stands over 6 feet and 6 inches and still has plenty of growing to go. Her mother is 16 feet. Kipekee also has a half-brother, Obi, who is two weeks older than she is. The two are starting to play together, according to Bright.

Kipekee's unique all-brown coat hasn't gotten in the way of her bonding.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

"[The herd] accepted her with open arms as soon as she was born. Her first time outside, all the giraffes came over, and they licked all over her," Bright says.

Along with attracting visitors, Kipekee is also bringing in animal experts. Bright shares that scientists plan to visit the zoo soon to take thermal images of the baby giraffe to learn more about her coat.

"To find out what is behind that brown, is there a pattern?" he says. "I'm really excited about getting to do that."

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Read the original article on People.
The Boy and the Heron, the latest animated film from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, is officially set to release in the US and Canada on December 8, and we've now got the very first trailer for the film.

While The Boy and the Heron was originally released in Japan back in July, it received effectively no marketing beyond a single poster, instead drawing audiences largely on the reputation of Miyazaki and Ghibli. The strategy worked, too, as the film instantly became the studio's biggest opening ever.

That means that the trailer below is the very first look anybody outside of Japan has had at Miyazaki's latest directorial effort. Yet this is still a teaser trailer, so don't expect to get too much of an idea of the plot of the film. Instead, prepare to enjoy a lot of abstract imagery dealing with the collision between humans and nature in classic Miyazaki style.

The official plot description keeps things similarly vague. "A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead," it reads. "There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death, and creation, in tribute to friendship, from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki."

The Boy and the Heron officially opens in theaters across the US and Canada on December 8 courtesy of distributor GKIDS, and will be released in both dubbed and subtitled formats. Expect to hear some more English-language buzz before that, though, as the film will make the festival circuit in the months leading up to release, starting with a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7.

For more upcoming movies or details on all the 2023 movie release dates you know where to click.
Cinemalovers has acquired all rights in Germany and Austria for Mami Wata, which world premiered in the World Cinema  Dramatic section of the Sundance Film Festival, and won the cinematography award.

The film, written and directed by C.J. Fiery Obasi, with cinematography by Lilis Soares, is based on West African mermaid folklore and mythology. The producer is Oge Obasi for Fiery Film Company. International sales rights are being handled by Alief, and CAA handled North American rights.

More from Variety

It is set in the remote West African village of Iyi, where the villagers worship the Mermaid-deity Mami Wata, and look for guidance from their healer Mama Efe, the intermediary between them and Mami Wata, and Mama Efes daughter Zinwe and protege Prisca.

But when children begin to die and disappear, Jabi, a local, begins to sow doubt amongst the people, while Zinwe runs away propelled by her own anguish. Soon, the arrival of a rebel warlord Jasper tilts the odds in Jabis favor.

With Mama Efe murdered and Iyi under new control, Prisca and Zinwe must plot to save their village and restore Mami Watas glory in Iyi.

Cinemalovers has set a theatrical release for Jan. 11. Other theatrical release dates for the film include Sept. 8 in Nigeria with Filmone; Sept. 15 for Switzerland via Trigon; Sept. 29 in North America via Dekanalog; and Nov. 17 in the U.K. through Aya Films.

Jens Geiger-Kiran, managing director in Germany for Cinemalovers, said: For us it was not only love at first sight, but also throughout our second, third and all following screenings of Mami Wata. We are in awe of its breath-taking visuals and C.J. Obasis very confident, truly West African narrative structure. Mami Wata fits perfectly with our mission to bring the most interesting and progressive artistic positions, especially from African cinema cultures to our local audiences.

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Superpowers Paramount+ release date is just around the corner, and viewers are wondering when they can start streaming the documentary.

Superpower is Sean Penns documentary about the Ukraine war, co-directed by Penn and Aaron Kaufman. The trailer documented more details about Russias invasion of Ukraine, documenting Volodymyr Zelenskyys journey from being a comic actor to the countrys president. Heres when the show is coming out on Paramount+.

Watch Billions on Paramount+  Start Your Free Trial Today!

When is the Superpower Paramount+ release date?

The Superpower Paramount+ release date is Monday, September 18, 2023.

The documentary includes dramatic scenes of when the first bombs were dropped in February 2022. The documentary discusses the war more widely, including several perspectives and the unity among the people of Ukraine.

Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman serve as the directors of the film. Sean Penn, Billy Smith, Sergei Bespalov, Danny Gabai, Lauren Terp, Jenia Bilous, Eric Weinrib are the producers, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself serves as the writer.

When is Superpower coming out via streaming?

Superpower is available to watch via streaming on Paramount+ on September 18, 2023. Viewers will be able to stream it at this time.

Current Paramount+ subscribers will be able to watch the series when it airs, and if you havent already subscribed to the service, you can do so below:

How to watch and stream Superpower

Viewers can stream Superpower by way of signing up for a Paramount+ account. Paramount Plus offers two subscription plans  Paramount+ Essential at $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year, and Paramount+ with SHOWTIME at $11.99 a month or $119.99 a year.

Superpowers official synopsis reads:

This onetime actor turned president is leading his country in conflict with a nuclear superpower, becoming a crucible of history. Amid moments of levity, inspiration and on-the-ground storytelling, the film shows that Ukraines superpower lies in the strength of its leader, its people and ultimately its heart.

Disney Plus Schedule September 4-10

Disney Pluss new TV and movie release schedule for September 4-10 includes the fourth episode of Rosario Dawsons Ahsoka, a Guides Abdul Azim Naushad 3 days ago

Max Schedule September 4-10

Maxs new TV and movie release schedule for September 4-10 includes Tiny Toons Looniversity, a reboot of the 90s animated Guides Abdul Azim Naushad 3 days ago

Paramount Plus Schedule September 4-10

Paramount Pluss new TV and movie release schedule for September 4-10 includes the fourth season of the Star Trek: Lower Guides Abdul Azim Naushad 3 days ago

Peacock Schedule September 4-10

Peacocks new TV and movie release schedule for September 4-10 includes all eight episodes of Chucky Season 2 and a Guides Abdul Azim Naushad 4 days ago

The post Superpower Streaming Release Date: When Is It Coming Out on Paramount+? appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
PITTSBURGH  Rising from a platform Wednesday to take a Pittsburgh concert stage for the first time in 14 years  and supposedly the last time  Steven Tyler made the most of the moment.

"I'm baaaack" he screamed triumphantly, as in days of yore, while his Aerosmith bandmates grinded through the muscular and menacing-as-ever "Back in The Saddle." A demonstrative way to start a show that would prove one of America's all-time greatest rock bands still performs at a top-tier level, two nights into its Peace Out tour billed as a farewell excursion.

Steven Tyler rocking hard at PPG Paints Arena on night two of the legendary band's farewell tour.

For two solid hours in an essentially sold-out PPG Paints Arena, Tyler, guitar hero Joe Perry and the rest of the gang sounded strong and motivated.

Aerosmith brought its Peace Out swan song tour to Pittsburgh.

Their song order varied widely from opening night in Philadelphia, including the addition of "Same Old Song and Dance," the band's second selection, embellished with sax, followed by "Rag Doll" with Perry playing pedal steel as Tyler did a lap around the large stage, pausing to smooch a blonde in a VIP area of the fully occupied behind-stage seats.

Joe Perry and Steven Tyler weaving their magic at PPG Paints Arena.

Onward through "Livin' on The Edge" and 1975's "No More No More," Tyler sang as good as ever, and showed nobody looks more at ease lugging and swinging a scarves-adorned microphone stand wherever he roams.

Steven Tyler wielding a mic at PPG Paints Arena.

There'd be a few minor flubs this early on the tour. Tyler and Perry blindly bumped into each other at the A-shaped tip of the stage on the opening number. They'll soon get their timing and stage awareness down pat.

Joe Perry and Steven Tyler at Aerosmith's Sept. 6 Pittsburgh show.

Perry started to talk about how good it felt to be back in Philly, before a smattering of boos reminded him this was a different Pennsylvania city, and he corrected himself.

Musically, there was little to quibble about, though.

Perry unleashed fiery riffs that elevated "Jamie's Got a Gun." Tyler added harmonica seasoning to several songs, beginning with "Cryin'," after which he tossed his night's first harmonica into the crowd. Earlier, he gave away his purply jacket to a super lucky fan.

Aerosmith's other original guitarist, Brad Whitford, got moments to shine, too, like on the bendy notes he plucked on "Love in an Elevator."

Original bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer John Douglas  the band's former drum tech filling Joey Kramer's seat  attained perfect precision on a stop-then-start dramatic part of "Adam's Apple."

Aerosmith at PPG Paints Arena.

Taking a seat near the edge of the A-shaped stage extension, the "Toxic Twins," Tyler and Perry, achieved a stompy, swampy excellence on "Hangman Jury," one of the night's finest selections. Tyler seemed to be peering at one of the stage-view karaoke screens ready to provide help if any lyrics escaped his brain.

Aerosmith's Steven Tyler at PPG Paints Arena.

Perry explained a pearl-colored guitar he was holding had been owned previously by the esteemed Jeff Beck, whose widow bequeathed it to him with the instructions, "Keep playing it." That guitar sounded mighty good on the bluesy rocker "Movin' Out," a deep cut from Aerosmith's debut album.

Fans who discovered Aerosmith in the 1990s cheered loudly for "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing." Those whose Aerosmith memories trace to the 1970s, or any fan appreciative of a bluesy full throttle raveup, savored "Rats in the Cellar."

Hamilton took the spotlight for a nifty psych-rock bass intro segueing into the famed opening notes of the groundbreaking, earth-shaking "Sweet Emotion." Perry stood and faced a stack of Marshall amps, waving his outstretched guitar at them to get more squelchy feedback.

Oversized stuffed animals  an elephant, bear and frog  lowered from the rafters to replicate the cover of 1975's "Toys in The Attic" album. Nearing the end of the show, the band still sounded supercharged ripping through that gem of an album's title track.

Steven Tyler at PPG Paints Arena.

The encore began with Tyler at a piano, sporting a Beatles tie, plunking the notes and hitting the vocal highs for the grandaddy of all power ballads, "Dream On."

You didn't sense a finality; the moment felt more like a thrilling reminder of the enduring grandeur of arena rock, as Aerosmith followed with the bouncy and brazen "Walk This Way," the song that historically bridged the gap between rock and hip-hop. You bet the Baby Boomer/Gen X dominated audience danced and mouthed along to the words.

Are we sure this is the Aerosmith farewell tour? It'll be a shame to see them go.

Sax and rock 'n' roll with Aerosmith.

One of the countless bands Aerosmith inspired, the Black Crowes, handled its role well by warming the audience with an hour of boisterous, bluesy rock.

I thought the mid-range sound was a bit muddy for at least the first half of the band's set, but the Black Crowes' Chris Robinson sang with fervor and the twin guitars, including the fretwork of his brother Rich, held fans' attention.

Chris Robinson was lively fronting the Black Crowes at PPG Paints Arena.

Piano twinkling emerged to juice up the fleet finishing "Thick N' Thin." Chris Robinson hit his ever-so-soulful apex on "Sometimes Salvation." "Thorn in My Pride" turned into a jam that seemed influenced by "Midnight Rambler" by the Rolling Stones  the band that inspired the Black Crowes and Aerosmith, and inspirationally released a new song earlier that same day.

The Black Crowes amped up the party mood with their trusty Otis Redding cover "Hard to Handle," and ended heartily with "She Talks to Angels" and the irresistible chugging-and-churning "Remedy."

Chris Robinson of the Black Crowes at PPG Paints Arena.

More: Didn't move the needle, but Morgan Wallen gives a packed PNC Park crowd what it craved

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@timesonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Aerosmith rocks mightily at Pittsburgh farewell show
Ladj Ly s 2019 debut feature, Les Miserables, took 15 years to make but received kudos in France and scored a 2020 Oscar nomination. Ly received multiple offers to direct Hollywood films, but chose to return to France and make Les Indesirables, which Ly initially called Batiment 5 after the grubby high-rise tenement  now razed  where he grew up outside Paris. The film premieres tomorrow night at the Toronto International Film Festival, but days before, he talked to us via Zoom. I feel the pressure, he said. The bar is quite high.

He neednt worry. From the start, Ly ratchets the tension with the residents tamped-down anger. The films opening, in which six men carry a coffin down six flights of stairs, is torturous to watch and sets up the living conditions the characters endure.

More from IndieWire

Its never easy to take down a coffin from the fifth or sixth floor of a building, said Ly, but its also a mirror and reflection of the living condition of the people that live in those block of buildings. Its a way to say they were born there, they lived there all their lives, and they die there. It makes us think of the living conditions they had to to deal with, considering also all the things that never worked, like the lifts.

The director recreated his Les Miserables filmmaking team and fashioned another fictional screenplay (with Giordano Gederlini) based on true events. Ly himself, much like his radical female protagonist Habi (Jeanne Balibar), once put together a list for a Leftist mayoral candidate  who lost by 150 votes.

Its fictional, but its still very close to reality and to the environment that I grew up with, Ly said. Ive always been very engaged politically and socially. Ive been a militant for 20 years. Habi is a militant like many women that I met in that environment. And it was through these women and their courage that things evolved and changed. There are many militants and I wanted to pay tribute to the engagement that theyve always had.

Les Indesirables

This time, Ly had a bigger budget but his methods didnt change. He wants to keeps the energy going during filming as much as possible. I never stop, he said. Im always pushing the actors and the people working on set. For the major set piece that showed evacuation of the high rise, Ly shot for three weeks with as many as 150-200 extras, three cameras, and a crane amid the narrow spaces of the flats and the stairs.

That was a big, big challenge and Im proud of something Ive not done before, he said. I had the equipment available to be able to to meet my own view of filmmaking and my own technique. This is quite a relief: Youre still able to to take on your own approach and to work with your own people. But you feel more relaxed in a way.

In one sequence, an angry, just-evacuated man attacks the conservative mayors family on Christmas Eve. It was entirely fictional, but turned out to be closer to reality than Ly thought. Recently a few months back after the killing of Nael, said Ly, there have been riots and one mayor was attacked in his own apartment in his own house in France, because people were fed up. Our fictional scene was shot way before, but then as it happens reality is bigger than than fiction.

Indeed, thats Lys target. My aim and my goal is to witness and to talk about the problems, he said. Im hoping to open up a debate that can maybe lead to an exchange and to find a solution altogether. If that happens, Im of course thrilled and happy. But thats the reason why I make films. My films have always been very much politically engaged and they talk about the reality of the difficulties in the life of many individuals. That is my mission as an artist and the hope is to be able to make a difference somehow.

The film will be released in France in December, with the possibility of being submitted for the Best International Feature Oscar by France, again. If we have the chance wed love to live once again the magic experience of the Academy Awards, he said. It was a crazy, bigger-than-life experience.

Next up: Ly is writing. But hes open, he said. Im always listening to what Im offered. For the time being Id rather stay in France and do my own projects. But if someone comes around that somehow interests me, why not? I could take on a project abroad.

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Married to Medicine is all about the wives and their connection to the medical world, whether its working as a doctor, or being married to one.

One Married to Medicine couple has stood the test of time throughout the ups and downs of the past 9 seasons. Toya Bush-Harris and Dr. Eugene Harris are one of the original couples on the show and there's a reason they're still around. Eugene is an emergency room doctor and he is also the co-founder of Nomad MD, a medical concierge service. Toya is a former pharmaceutical sales rep and created her company TBH Entertainment and has her own Boutique Wine Club. She is also working on a skincare line and of course, continues to help her husband with his company. But there's far more between them that makes their partnership so strong.

Heres a look at their relationship.

How did Toya and Eugene Meet?

Toya Bush Harris and her husband Eugene Harris pose for a photo together.

Dr. Eugene Harris and Toya Bush-Harris attends "Night School" Atlanta Red Carpet Screening at Regal Atlantic Station on September 10, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: GEtty Images

Toya met Eugene during a speed dating event in 2008. She was working on her masters degree and working two jobs at the time. He was completing his medical residency, but that didnt stop them from pursuing each other during a busy and hectic time in their lives.

They tied the knot on July 19, 2008 and celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary this year.

How many kids do Toya and Eugene have?

Toya Bush Harris and her husband Eugene Harris pose for a photo together.

Married To Medicine stars Toya Bush-Harris and Eugene Harris attend the "Mary Mary" season three premiere on February 20, 2014 in Atlanta, United States. Photo: Getty Images

They have two boys Ashton and Avery. In Season 7 Toya revealed she had a miscarriage after being pregnant for 6 and a half weeks. She was very candid about her experience and about telling her two sons.

Toya and Eugene have been transparent about their mental health and stress, which isnt easy in a marriage. Eugene wasnt happy in his role at his job, and Toya was also upset about his long hours, but the pair are still together and showing that marriage is hard work even when Married to Medicine.

Catch up on Married to Medicine's previous seasons on Peacock!
The United Kingdom (U.K.) is set to rejoin the European Union's (EU) preeminent science R&D funding program, after a prolonged hiatus resulting from Brexit.

The joint statement, issued by the European Commission (EC) and the U.K., hailed the news as a "landmark moment" for scientific collaboration between the U.K. and EU, with little acknowledgement of their former alliance that stuttered to a halt roughly two years previous.

Horizon Europe, a successor to the previous Horizon 2020 program that the U.K. was part of, is a seven-year initiative designed to fund innovation and foster collaboration across the EU and beyond. Indeed, while Horizon was initially geared toward EU countries only, it has expanded its scope in recent years to include partnerships with nearly a dozen associated member countries, including Ukraine, Armenia, Israel and New Zealand.

While the U.K. exited the EU bloc in January, 2020, it had agreed associate membership status to remain in the Horizon program. The following year, separate trade disagreements related to the U.K. and EU's Northern Ireland Protocol which constituted part of the Brexit withdrawal agreement, meant that the European Commission (EC) effectively blocked the U.K.'s participation in Horizon.

In November 2021, thousands of EU research and academic institutions spanning universities, academies of science and rectors associations issued a joint statement to the EC, calling for the U.K.'s immediate readmission to Horizon Europe.

"We have a long history of close and trusted collaboration and shared success with the U.K.," they wrote. "The strength of those partnerships has provided enormous benefits to excellent research, resulting in countless collaborations to tackle some of the worlds most pressing challenges, boosting competitiveness and growth."

Despite pressure from multiple sides, the impasse will have lasted well over two years by the time the U.K. is formally back on Horizon. Starting from January 1, 2024, the U.K. will rejoin the program -- in addition to the separate Copernicus Earth observation satellite program -- to the cost of 2.6 billion ($2.8 billion) per year. This will run for the remainder of Horizon Europe's timeline, which is through 2027.

Dom Hallas, executive director of the not-for-profit Startup Coalition, acknowledged the importance of Horizon to the U.K.'s startup ecosystem.

"Tech innovation and research crosses borders every day, so its obviously good for British and European policy to do the same," he told TechCrunch.

High-risk

With some 96 billion ($102 billion) in the Horizon pot, 35% of which is earmarked for climate research, any legal entity from member countries can apply for Horizon Europe funding.

At a broad level, the program's intention is to create jobs, boost economic growth and spur "industrial competitiveness." However, it's also about supporting higher-risk R&D that might otherwise never receive funding from the private sphere, with 70% of the fund's SME budget allocated for breakthrough innovations "that may be too risky for private investors."

This could be particularly beneficial for university spinouts working on early-stage R&D, where a working prototype or commercial product might be years away. And for the U.K., which is a major contributor to R&D in fields such as AI, quantum computing and biotech, securing public funding might also give confidence to private investors, creating a snowball effect.

Ekaterina Almasque, general partner at early-stage VC fund OpenOcean, which includes Oxford University as a limited partner, says that today's news stands to benefit the whole tech industry -- both in the U.K. and across Europe.

This renewed commitment to Horizon is not only a positive for the spinout ecosystem, but also bolsters the entire tech sector, making it more attractive to investors to back the next market leader," Almasque said in a statement issued to TechCrunch. "Research and development serves as the backbone of the U.K. tech economy, and prolonged uncertainty would have eroded confidence. In fields like quantum technology, where progress unfolds over decades, having a clear trajectory of funding is paramount to ensure innovation continues unhindered."

It is worth noting that today's announcement amounts to an "agreement in principle," meaning that it's still to be rubberstamped by the relevant EU committees and councils. This is expected to happen before the U.K.'s formal reentry in early 2024.
The University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital recently welcomed its newest team members, a pair of Golden Retriver mixes as part of their Waves and Wags program. Pictured, from left are: Left to right: Handlers of the Child Life Specialist Team Taylor Turben-Fuhrman, Emily Bradley, Racheal Niensteadt (manager), Aly Humphrey, and Kristen Rooney with Nacho (left) and Corrin (right).

The University of Iowa Stead Family Childrens Hospital recently welcomed two new staff members  Nacho and Corrin, two Golden Retriever mixes. The rambunctious duo are the first Wags & Waves Facility Dog Program team members.

The Wag and Waves facility dogs help children cope and heal during hospital visits. Nacho and Corrin also motivate pediatric patients to reach specific clinical goals while promoting healing through animal-assisted interventions. Alongside their primary handlers, Aly Humphrey and Emily Bradley, child life specialists, these gentle canines support patients through motivation, encouragement, and companionship.

Facility dogs Corrin and Nachowill help provide comfort for patients at the University of Iowa Stead Family Childrens Hospital.

Our new facility dogs are very important members of the health care team, said Racheal Niensteadt, CCLS, Manager of the Child Life Program at UI Stead Family Childrens Hospital. We are very excited to offer this transformative care to pediatric patients and their families at our hospital.

Corrin is a Golden Retriever, Chocolate Lab and Poodle mix who enjoys playing fetch and napping. He is named after a Super Smash Brothers character. Nacho is a Golden Retriever and Poodle mix who is playful and calm and also likes to play fetch. He has siblings stationed at other hospitals throughout the country.

The dogs are already acclimating to their new roles by providing support during minor procedures like inserting an IV and removing a cast. However, the dogs will provide support in other ways, including during physical therapy and before procedures. The dogs provide more than emotional support, although they are highly equipped to comfort patients and their families.

Facility dog Nacho with primary handler Emily Bradley at University of Iowa Stead Family Childrens Hospital.

Nacho's handler, Emily Bradley, MA, CCLS, is excited to see what the program's future has in store.

As a Child Life Team, our goal is to reduce fear and anxiety to positively impact the care of our pediatric patients. Nacho and Corrin will help us better meet patients emotional and developmental needs, Bradley said.

Facility dog Corrin is a goofy fun loving Golden Retriever, Chocolate Lab, Poodle mix who loves to play fetch and nap. Corrin is named after a Super Smash Brothers character

Facility dog Nacho is a Golden Retriever and Poodle mix who is calm and playful and loves to play fetch. Nacho has siblings that are also hospital facility dogs at other hospitals in the country.

Nacho and Corrin developed emotional skills through bond-based instruction program through a nonprofit called Canine Assistants. The group employs a bond-based process when the dogs are a few weeks old. Nacho and Corrin then spent more than a year learning how to be facility dogs before arriving at the childrens hospital.

Facility dog Corrin with primary handler Aly Humphrey at University of Iowa Stead Family Childrens Hospital.

Both Bradley and Humphrey went through extensive training to develop a strong relationship with their respective dogs.

The idea is that because were asking these dogs to help our patients lead happier lives, the dogs themselves deserve to be happy, says Aly Humphrey, MS, CCLS, CTRS, handler for Corrin. Its a relationship that benefits all of us.

Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and business reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@presscitizen.com.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: University of Iowa Stead Family Childrens Hospital welcomes therapy dogs
The Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA will rally on Thursday at Amazon Studio in Culver City to highlight their push a bill that would provide unemployment insurance to striking workers in California. Striking writers and actors in New York and New Jersey are already eligible to receive unemployment benefits after 14 days on the picket line, but not in California.

Senate Bill 799, if it makes it through the Legislature and is signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom , would change that. It passed through the Assembly Insurance Committee last week and the Legislature has until September 14 to send it to the governors desk for signature.

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WGA West President Meredith Stiehm and SAG-AFTRA Secretary-Treasurer Joely Fisher, who spoke before the Insurance Committee last week in Sacramento in support of the bill, will be among the speakers at tomorrows picket and rally, which will get underway at 11 am.

Writers have had to rely on strike loans from our union, donations, philanthropy, and second and third jobs to pay for their basic needs since May 2, Stiehm told the committee. Four months without work is emotionally brutal and financially disastrous. Im proud to report that our members have held strong and kept their resolve throughout this long hot labor summer, but they are suffering.

Its time for California to catch up and meet the demands of the time, she added. Writers are the present-day example of workers who could greatly benefit from UI, but were really here for the workers in the future who will need this protection if they make the difficult decision to go on strike.

Fisher, in her remarks before the committee, said that Denying UI to striking workers is another way employers hold an unfair advantage over workers fighting for whats right. CEOs play the waiting game, knowing workers living on the margins have rent to pay and groceries to buy. SB 799 gives workers a chance to fight for whats fair. We are in the fight of our lives  for our jobs, our industry, our future. We cannot wait any longer for UI benefits that will help us survive and will help all workers who stand up to fight for a better future.

Other speakers at tomorrows rally include SAG-AFTRA Executive Vice President Ben Whitehair; WGA West Member Kayla Westergard-Dobson; IATSE International Vice President Thom Davis, and LA County Federation of Labor President Yvonne Wheeler.

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Click here to read the full article.
Whoopi Goldberg missed another day of The View due to her third bout with Covid, but sent a video message to the show to dispel internet rumors about her absence.

Watch the video above.

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In spite of everything youve heard, said a masked and tired-looking Goldberg, I am not at Burning Man, I am not still in Italy, I am not trying to change the outcome of the election, I just have Covid.

Todays episode began just as yesterdays, with co-host Joy Behar in the moderator seat and explaining Goldbergs absence. Whoopi is still under the Cover weather, Behar said before addressing internet comments questioning the vaccinated Goldbergs illness.

People write she got the vaccine so how come she still gets it?, Behar said.  Because shes not dead! Shes just a little under the weather. If you dont get [the vaccine] and you get the disease you might die. She added, This type of irrational talk drives me nuts.

In her video message, Goldberg said she is still testing positive for Covid so might be off the show for the next couple of days. She added that she was thrilled to see the beautiful new desk that was unveiled yesterday for the daytime talk shows 27th season premiere. And Im thrilled to see all the beautiful womenI cant wait to get back and hang out.

As with yesterdays episode, todays installment of The View did not air on ABC stations (including New York Citys affiliate) impacted by the ongoing clash between Disney and Charter/Spectrum.

The shows announcement on Tuesday about Goldbergs illness followed the previous days news that First Lady Jill Biden had tested Covid positive, giving rise to right-wing conspiracy theories that the high-profile announcements were concocted to instigate government crackdowns.

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Another inmate died at Atlanta's notorious Fulton County Jail after being found unresponsive by a jail official, the Fulton County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.

The incident marks the 10th inmate death at the jail this year.

Shawndre Delmore, 24, was found unresponsive in his cell on Aug. 31 and was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital after jail staff attempted "lifesaving measures" to revive him, officials said. He died on Sunday at the hospital.

The Atlanta Police Department arrested Delmore in April for burglary in the second degree and willful obstruction of a law enforcement officer, according to the sheriff's office. He was being held on a $2,500 bond on the burglary charge, officials said.

MORE: Fugitive Pennsylvania killer used previous escapee's 'crab walking' breakout method: Warden

The Fulton County Jail is where former President Donald Trump and 18 other defendants surrendered last month after being charged in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced in July that it launched a civil investigation into the Fulton County, Georgia, jail system following a series of reports of inmate abuse and neglect, including the Sept. 13, 2022, death of LaShawn Thompson, whose family claimed he was "eaten alive by insects and bed bugs" in the jail.

An independent autopsy report, which was obtained by ABC News, lists "dehydration, malnutrition, severe body insect infestation," as well as "untreated decompensated schizophrenia," as the conditions that led to Thompson's death.

PHOTO: In this Aug. 16, 2023, file photo, the sign for the Fulton County Jail is shown in Atlanta. (Megan Varner/Getty Images, FILE)

Several others have died in the jail this year.

Samuel Lawrence, 34, was found unresponsive in his cell on Aug. 26 during dinner rounds at the jail, authorities said. He was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead, officials said.

An Aug. 31 stabbing at the jail resulted in the death of one inmate, the sheriff's office said in a previous press release.

Dayvion Blake, 23, died Thursday after he and three other inmates sustained stab wounds, the sheriff's office said. They were all taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, authorities said.

Christopher Smith, 34, died inside the jail last month after waiting nearly four years for his trial to start. Another inmate in a mental health unit was found dead in October with his wrists and ankles tied, according to Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB.

MORE: Trump to be booked at Georgia's notorious Fulton County Jail at center of DOJ probe

Others have died while incarcerated because they couldn't afford bail.

Alexander Hawkins, 66, was pronounced dead last month after being found unresponsive in a medical unit cell while awaiting trial. He was being held on a $5,000 bond for a shoplifting charge.

ABC News' Deena Zaru and Tesfaye Negussie contributed to this report.

Another inmate dies at Fulton County Jail, 10th inmate death this year originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Gabon's coup leaders say ousted president is 'freed' and can travel on a medical trip

Gabon's ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba has been released from house arrest a week after a group of mutinous soldiers seized power.

The country's new military leaders, who call themselves the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), announced on state television Wednesday evening that, "given his state of health," Bongo "is free to move about" and "travel abroad for medical check-ups."

Bongo's condition was not immediately clear. Video shared on social media by local TV channel Gabon24 on Wednesday showed the 64-year-old deposed president limping as he met with Abdou Barry, head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa.

MORE: Soldiers in Gabon declare coup after president wins reelection for 3rd term

The military junta delcared a coup d'etat on Aug. 30 hours after Bongo won reelection for a third term in a vote that was criticized by international observers. The coup leaders described the election as fraudulent and said the results were "canceled," all borders "closed until further notice" and state institutions "dissolved." They also announced that the president was under house arrest in his residence in the Gabonese capital of Libreville.

Bongo, 64, became president of Gabon in 2009 following the death of his father, who had ruled the oil-rich Central African nation since 1967.

MORE: US expresses 'growing concern' for safety of Niger's president amid apparent coup

The junta has since appointed Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema as chairman of the CTRI and president of the transitional government. Nguema met with local and regional officials earlier this week, pledging to improve infrastructure and shepherd the country through a peaceful transition back to civilian rule.

Gabon's coup marked the eighth to occur in West and Central Africa since 2020. It came about a month after a military junta in Niger ousted the West African nation's democratically elected government.

Gabon, home to more than 2 million people, is located on the western coast of Central Africa, sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. The country is a member of OPEC, with a production of 181,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Gabon's coup leaders say ousted president is 'freed' and can travel on a medical trip originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
This article originally appeared on Outside

Some hikes seem to transport you to another world--and others to an entirely different time. A peaceful place where you pause today may be where another once stood in defense, defeat, or determination.

I love seeking out places that connect me to people who passed through long before. I've hiked the Reef Bay Trail in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Towpath Trail in Ohio--both described below--as well as the Battle Road Trail at Minute Man National Historic Park in Massachusetts. While many national historic trails in the United States retain physical evidence of long-ago travelers, including old foundations, artifacts such as copper kettles used for colonial sugar production, or visible wagon-wheel ruts, sometimes simply feeling the same earth under our feet helps connect us to another person's journey years or centuries ago.

The author, originally from Ohio, always wanted to investigate the states historic Towpath, seen here. (Photo: Aaron McKinney)

See if you feel the spirit or sadness of yore as you trace the footsteps of proud high chiefs or the victims of the Donner Party disaster, while walking these incredible historic trails. They're also in beautiful places.

1. Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, Hawaii Island

Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, the "trail by the sea" (Photo: Courtesy National Park Service)

Traverse past lava fields, ancient petroglyphs, and the landscapes of Kailua-Kona, where ruling chiefs once presided over settlements that held rituals for rain and fertility on this 175-mile corridor. The "trail by the sea" passes through four of Hawaii Island's six regions, connecting prime west-coast beaches while preserving natural and cultural components like caves and anchialine pools (enclosed water bodies with subterranean links to the sea) within lava rocks, where red shrimp and fresh water supported early communities. According to legend, one such pool (in a cave now closed to visitors) sheltered the Hawaiian princess Popoalaea when she fled from her cruel husband.

The main segment of the Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail is Ala Loa, following along or near the coast between Kealakekua and Keauhou. (Photo: Courtesy National Park Service)

The Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail follows the stunning white-sand coastline in the 16,451-acre Kahuku-Pohue parcel, which in July of 2022 became part of Volcanoes National Park ($30 per vehicle). Some parts of the trail cross through private lands, but you can always access it through any of Hawaii's four national parks (entrance fees vary).

Another heavenly beach along Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail (Photo: Courtesy National Park Service)

Three rewarding, fairly flat hikes include the 2.8-mile round-trip Kiholo Bay walk, which takes you near sea turtles, over a black sand beach, and by an anchialine pool; the bumpy 1.8-mile portion from Spencer Beach Park past the white sands of Mau'umae Beach to Waiulaula Beach; and a pleasant 2.7-mile out-and-back path through lava rock and soft sand at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park.

2. Donner Party Trail, Truckee, California

Hikers on beautiful Donner Peak in the Sierra, scene of a tragic chapter in American history (Photo: Paul Hamill Photography)

Revisit a harrowing moment in American history on the moderate 6.2-mile (round trip) Historic Donner Pass Trail, which wends through flat, damp railroad tunnels before ascending an exposed loop path to mountaintop views. During the winter of 1846-47, emigrants en route from Springfield, Illinois, to California were stranded for months here in the Sierra by heavy snowfall. Forty-four of the 91-person Donner Party died, and it is generally accepted that others were forced into cannibalism to survive.

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The disaster occurred in part because the group followed the harsher, less traveled Hastings Cutoff route, rather than the more traditional South Pass.

A hiker on Mount Judah, a mile southeast of Donner Pass in the Tahoe National Forest (Photo: Paul Hamill Photography)

The train tunnels found on the trail today were built by Chinese immigrants in the 1860s, and within them are squeaky bats and gaps overlooking the valley below. Ambitious hikers can continue beyond the last tunnel onto a steep loop trail, which traverses loose, gravelly terrain to reach sweeping views over Donner Lake. This trail is best done in summer to avoid ice and snow, and a headlamp or flashlight will help you navigate the dark tunnels. Park across the road from the first tunnel entrance at Donner Ski Ranch on Donner Pass Road. You can also join the annual Donner Party Hike led by area guides. (Here are other hikes in the area as well.)

3. Nez Perce Trail, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana

A sign describing the forced Snake River crossing during high water (Photo: Courtesy National Park Service)

This 1,170-mile-long route memorializes the bravery of the Nez Perce, forced from their ancestral territory. In 1877, in a reversal of treaties, Chief Joseph was ordered to relocate his people from their homelands in Wallowa Valley, Oregon, to the Lapwai reservation in Idaho. The contingent, which included the elderly as well as children, was forced to cross the Snake River on May 31 during high spring runoff, and many of their livestock were lost.

A commemoration at the Big Hole National Battlefield near Wisdom, Montana, on the Nez Perce National Historic Trail (Photo: Courtesy Roger M. Peterson/U.S. Forest Service)

Hostilities broke out shortly after on the Salmon River, and Chief Joseph, initially seeking the protection of Crow allies to the east, fled with about 750 men, women, and children on a protracted route through Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana from late June to October, with the U.S. Army on their heels.

Camas in bloom in Packer Meadow, Lolo Pass, Idaho, along the Nez Perce National Historic Trail. (Photo: Courtesy Roger M. Peterson/U.S. Forest Service)

The Army caught up to the Nez Perce at Bear Paw, Montana, where the Natives surrendered just 40 miles shy of sanctuary in Canada. Here Chief Joseph is believed to have said the famous words, From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

Along the Nez Perce National Historic Trail, near Florence, Montana (Photo: Courtesy Roger M Peterson/U.S. Forest Service)

The trail passes through 38 sites in four states. Notable hikes include the moderate 1.25-mile loop trail around Bear Paw Battlefield; a paved 0.5-mile loop path past Idaho's Heart of the Monster, the Nez Perce people's sacred creation site; and the moderate five-mile (one-way) Trail 1727 in Oregon's Dug Bar, site of the Snake River crossing. The trailhead is two miles north of Cow Creek bridge on Forest Road 4260.

4. Reef Bay Trail, Virgin Islands National Park, U.S. Virgin Islands

Ruins from the Danish period in the 18th and 19th centuries are seen along the Reef Bay Trail. (Photo: Theresa McKinney)

I never knew how much one valley could encapsulate the history of a place until I hiked the moderate two-mile (one way) Reef Bay Trail on the island of St. John, in Virgin Islands National Park. Beginning at the Centerline Road Trailhead, you'll descend 900 feet on a well-maintained, initially rocky trail through shady Reef Bay Valley, passing kapok trees, pinguin plants, and petroglyphs left behind by the pre-Columbian Taino (1,000-1,300 years ago to the mid 1400s). There are sugar-plantation ruins dating from the Danish occupation (1718 to 1917) and traces of post-emancipation life, such as the Par Force plantation ruins, where from 1848 to the early 1900s, 25 newly freed African Americans continued to grow sugarcane, raise livestock, and tend coconut and lime trees despite a mass population exodus from the island.

The remains of an old sugar factory, Reef Bay Trail (Photo: Theresa McKinney)

If you're hiking on your own, turn onto the quarter-mile petroglyph spur trail on the right, about a half-mile from Reef Bay Beach, to see an ancient site where the Taino communed with their ancestors.

Petroglyphs near the Reef Bay Trail (Photo: Theresa McKinney)

Although I'd made the four-mile round-trip to Reef Bay before, I recently skipped the uphill on the return by joining a seasonal ranger hike ($75 per person) just after a 2022 post-pandemic reboot. The tour bused our group to the trailhead and guided us down the path, at the shore boating us back to our cars on The Sadie Sea, a 37-foot Lindsey Trawler with a smooth ride and a cheerful crew.

5. The Oregon Trail, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington

Sunset on Mount Jefferson, Three Sisters, and Mount Bachelor along the Oregon Trail (Photo: Courtesy U.S. Forest Service/Pacific Northwest Region)

Nostalgic millennials who played The Oregon Trail computer game during the 1990s can experience the real deal by exploring a section of the over 2,000 well-trodden miles of this national historic trail, which spans six states heading west from Missouri. Witness astounding landscapes like Wyoming's Devil's Gate and Nebraska's Chimney Rock, once important landmarks for hopeful emigrants journeying west on covered wagons from the 1830s.

Atim Enyenihi, left, and Cody Kaemmerlen at Idaho's City of Rocks National Reserve. The California Trail, an offshoot of the Oregon Trail from the Raft River, 50 miles away, passed through here. At City of Rocks, as in other locations, settlers wrote their names in axel grease on the rocks. (Photo: Nikki Smith/Pull Photography)

Nebraska's Ash Hollow State Historical Park ($6 for residents; $12 for non-residents) offers views of miles of rugged prairie from atop the paved Windlass Hill Trail's steep 0.5-mile (out-and-back) trek. Here too, you can see ruts created when pioneers' locked wagon wheels scraped the earth while the occupants carefully navigated downhill to Ash Hollow's freshwater spring, which hikers can reach by descending the easy 0.4-mile round-trip Ash Hollow Trail. Additional simple hikes along the Oregon Trail include Wyoming's Register Cliff (0.4 miles round trip) and Independence Rock (a 1.3-mile loop), where you can still see name carvings left by travelers heading west.

6. Towpath Trail, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Valley View, Ohio

A hiker walks along the canal waters past a stone bridge. (Photo: Theresa McKinney)

This 98-mile path transports you to the 19th century, when the Ohio & Erie Canal opened up trade between the East Coast and Midwest, bringing prosperity to northeast Ohio (my home for 29 years), as well as the nation, through accessibility to domestic goods. Having always wondered what became of this "watery highway," I recently wandered down the Towpath Trail, a canal-side path once traversed by mules hauling cargo and people.

The trailhead at Lock 38, by the visitors center in Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Photo: Theresa McKinney)

Starting at the Lock 38 Trailhead (a lock is a chamber that raises and lowers water levels for boats to pass), my husband and I walked the flat dirt path north along the marshy canal for 1.8 miles to reach the overgrown stone-wall remains of Lock 39. The Native American Heritage Walking Tour interpretive signs along the way described the Indigenous groups who once lived here--from the Paleoindians (13,000 to 10,000 years ago) to the Whittlesy People (1,000 to 400 years ago)--hunting big game, fishing, and growing maize and beans in Cuyahoga Valley. You can peruse exhibits at the wheelchair-friendly Canal Exploration Center, which once served as a tavern, store, and residence, and on summer weekends, the center holds lock demonstrations.

7. Chilkoot National Historic Trail, Alaska and British Columbia

The Beaver Ponds section of the Chilkoot National Historic Trail (Photo: Courtesy Sandra Snell-Dobert/National Park Service)

The 33-mile (one way) Chilkoot National Historic Trail, designated as such in 2022, chronicles a former Tlingit trading route that transformed into a busy passage during the 1897-98 Klondike gold rush. The 16.5-mile U.S. portion travels from Dyea, Alaska, to Chilkoot Pass, and continues over the Canadian border to Lake Bennett, British Columbia. En route youll see belongings--including canvas boats, a steam boiler, and a gas-engine winch--of the former gold seekers.

Along the Chilkoot Trail, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (Photo: Courtesy National Park Service)

Flooding in 2022 closed all but the first mile and a half on the U.S. side, but the Canadian segment of the trail remains open. Bring a buddy, pack bear spray, and be prepared for no cell service. The full hike from Dyea to Bennett, which is connected by a hiker-service train to Skagway, Alaska, is expected to recommence in May 2024, so you can start planning now. Permits (see here and here) are required for summer hiking, and in shoulder season you must still register for all campsites.

8. Pueblo Alto Trail, Nageezi, New Mexico

This moderate 5.1-mile backcountry loop in Chaco Culture National Historical Park ($25 per vehicle) transports hikers back a thousand years to a time when the thriving Chacoan civilization dominated Chaco Canyon. Between 850 and 1250 CE, roads emanated from this ceremonial, administrative, and cultural center, leading outward to 150 great houses (multistory buildings that were likely public spaces) in the region.

Chetro Ketl, a Cachoan great house and archeological site, as seen from an overlook on Pueblo Alto National Historic Trail (Photo: Courtesy National Park Service)

This trail, leaving from the Pueblo de Arroyo Parking Area, begins with a steep, exposed scramble before delivering sweeping mesa-top views over the San Juan Basin, and it links archeological sites such as Pueblo Alto, the impressive ninth-century, 600-room Pueblo Bonito great house, and the Chacoan steps. This Unesco World Heritage site remains a spiritual place for Chacoan descendants, including several Navajo clans. Because Chaco Culture National Historical Park is remote, with few amenities, bring plenty of water, dress for varying weather, and expect a bumpy ride in.

9. Unicoi Turnpike on the Trail of Tears, Coker Creek, Tennessee

A section of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail (Photo: Courtesy National Park Service)

This 2.5-mile (one way) trail through Cherokee National Forest traces part of an ancient pass that connected the Cherokee capital of Chota, located in what is now Vonore, Tennessee, to coastal Cherokee settlements before becoming a toll road called the Unicoi Turnpike in the early 19th century. In the 1820s, the discovery of gold near Coker Creek brought an influx of white prospectors to the Cherokee Nation, prompting the U.S. government to establish Fort Armistead in a half-hearted attempt to keep the interlopers from overrunning Cherokee lands. Ironically, this fort, which is currently up for designation as a national historic landmark, became a holding area for the Cherokee in 1838 after the Indian Removal Act of 1830 compelled them to leave their fertile lands on a forced journey west.

When displaced to Oklahoma, Cherokee detachments took the road by this structure (not open to the public, but significant for its history and existing architecture) in what is now Chattanooga. (Photo: Courtesy National Park Service)

Thus the Unicoi Turnpike became part of the Trail of Tears, a network of trails covering 5,000 miles and parts of nine states as Natives from the Southeast were displaced to present-day Oklahoma. Numbers vary, but according to the Park Service, 10,000 died en route or shortly after the relocation; according to this site, a doctor who accompanied the Cherokees estimates that 4,000, or one-fifth of them, were lost.

The free parking area and trailhead for the hikeable portion of this National Millennium Flagship Trail sit 2.9 miles southeast on County Route 40 from the Coker Creek Welcome Center.

10. Wanderer Memory Trail, Jekyll Island, Georgia

Educational panels on the Jekyll Island Wanderer Memory Trail depict historic events through the eyes of a young boy captured from Africa. (Photo: Courtesy Explore Georgia)

At Jekyll Island's St. Andrews Beach Park, take this 0.5-mile family-friendly loop trail down a flat, gravel path (which is wheelchair-accessible) to learn about the history of the Wanderer, one of the last ships to smuggle enslaved Africans into the United States. The Wanderer was carrying about 400 captured people when it ran aground here on November 28, 1858. The trail's eight exhibits take you on the ship's perilous journey through the eyes of Umwalla, a captive African boy. This trail has received a Unesco Slave Route Project "Site of Memory" designation as a Middle Passage arrival site.

Walkers begin the Wanderer Memory Trail amid Spanish moss-covered trees beside the beach. (Photo: Courtesy Jekyll Island Authority)

Linger at the park to enjoy sunset views and dolphin sightings. Jekyll Island provides free beachgoing wheelchair use on a first-come, first-served basis (call 912-635-2368 for reservations and delivery), and a ramp at St. Andrews offers access to hard-packed sand.

All vehicles entering the island must pay a $10 daily parking fee.

Generations explore the Wanderer Memory Trail together. (Photo: Courtesy Jekyll Island Authority)

Theresa McKinney lets her keen interest in history guide her travels, whether it's navigating a new city like Copenhagen, Denmark, or exploring a new trail in Virgin Islands National Park.

The author by a lock on the Towpath Trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park (Photo: Aaron McKinney)

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Trader Joe's may be the go-to neighborhood spot for frozen meals and funky snacks but recently, the lauded grocery chain has been marred with bad luck after it issued its sixth recall in just five weeks. The recent string of food safety alerts spurred a frenzy on Reddit, where some folks launched attacks against TJ's and others came to the California-based retailer's defense.

"My wife and I are very upset with the constant recalls going on," wrote one disappointed user in an August post. "We love TJ's but [are] going to have to start shopping elsewhere until [they] sort out whatever is going on."

"The way people defend TJ's like it's their best friend is very odd; to me, it's a sign people have made shopping at TJ's part of their personality so it feels like a personal attack," wrote another. "It's a corporation, they'll work on it if everyone stops shopping there."

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"Poisoned": The 6 most horrifying revelations from Netflix's food safety documentary

Amid the pandemic, TJ's defied expectations, acquiring both TikTok fame and praise for surviving COVID-19 sans online services. But it still experienced several major setbacks, including conflicts between store managers and employees (notably regarding mask mandates and other safety protocols), workers attempting to unionize amid increasingly stressful  and dangerous  work demands and even an employee death. The recalls are just another addition to the growing list.

That being said, TJ's has been incredibly vigilant about updating its consumers on what foods to avoid for the time being. "We have a close relationship with our vendors. We err on the side of caution and are proactive in addressing issues," the grocery chain wrote on its website. "We voluntarily take action quickly, aggressively investigating potential problems and removing the product from sale if there is any doubt about its safety or quality."

Here are the 9 recent recalls you should be aware of, listed from most recent to latest:

01 Genova Pesto

Bakkavor USA, the maker of Trader Joe's Genova Pesto (SKU# 15759), issued a voluntary recall of the pesto in May 2023 due to undeclared milk and walnuts, which can be life-threatening for those allergic to either or both ingredients. The pesto was mistakenly packaged into tubs marked "Hummus Dip," which do not contain an allergen declaration of milk or walnuts, per a company announcement.

The product in question has a "Use By" date of 05/27/2023 alongside a timestamp between 06:28  07:07 printed on the bottom of the tub. It was distributed to Trader Joe's stores between 4/28/2023 and 4/30/2023 in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

No illnesses or allergic reactions have been reported thus far. All potentially affected product has been removed from sale amid an ongoing investigation into the root cause of the issue. Consumers who have purchased or received any donations of Trader Joe's Genova Pesto and have a milk or walnut allergy are urged not to consume the product and to discard or return it to any nearby store for a full refund.

02 Instant Cold Brew Coffee

Also in May, Trader Joe's voluntarily recalled its Instant Cold Brew Coffee (SKU# 67436) for potential glass in the product. The affected product contains expiration dates 6/13/2024, 11/26/2024, and 12/30/2024.

According to the chain, no injuries have been reported to date, and all potentially affected product has been removed from sale. TJ's advised all consumers who purchased or received donations of any Instant Cold Brew Coffee with the listed date codes to discard the product immediately or return it to their nearby store for a full refund.

03 Almond Windmill Cookies

The following month, TJ's recalled its Almond Windmill Cookies (SKU# 98744), which may contain rocks. The cookies contain "Sell By" dates 10/02/23 and 10/19/23 through 10/21/23.

At this time, all potentially affected product has been removed from sale and destroyed, TJ's said. Those who purchased or received any donations of Almond Windmill Cookies are urged to not eat them and instead, discard the product or return it to their nearby store for a full refund.

04 Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies

TJ's also recalled its Dark Chocolate Chunk and Almond Cookies (SKU# 82752) due to the same exact issue. The cookies contain "Sell By" dates 10/17/23 through 10/21/23.

At this time, all potentially affected product has been removed from sale and destroyed, TJ's said. Those who purchased or received any donations of Almond Windmill Cookies are urged to not eat them and instead, discard the product or return it to their nearby store for a full refund.

05 Organic Tropical Fruit Blend

TJ's third June recall was its Organic Tropical Fruit Blend (SKU# 51191) , which may have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. No illnesses have been reported to date, and all potentially affected product has been removed from sale and destroyed.

If you purchased or received any donations of the packaged fruit, TJ's recommended discarding the product or returning it to any nearby store for a full refund.

06 Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup

On July 27, TJ's recalled its Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup (SKU# 68470) following an alert from their supplier, saying the product may contain insects. The affected soup contains "Use By" dates 07/18/23  09/15/23.

No known adverse health effects have been reported to date, and all potentially affected product has been removed from sale and destroyed. Consumers who purchased or received any donations of Unexpected Broccoli Cheddar Soup should discard the product or return it to their nearby store for a full refund.

07 Fully Cooked Falafel

The following day, TJ's recalled its Fully Cooked Falafel (SKU# 93935), which may contain rocks. The affected product was sold in 35 states along with Washington, D.C.

All potentially affected product has been removed from sale and destroyed. If you purchased or received any donations of Fully Cooked Falafel, TJ's urged discarding the product or returning it to any nearby store for a full refund.

08 Multigrain Crackers with Sunflower and Flax Seeds

In August, TJ's recalled its Multigrain Crackers with Sunflower and Flax Seeds (SKU# 76156) because it may contain metal. The affected crackers have "Best If Used By" dates 03/01/24  03/05/24.

No injuries have been reported at this time, and all potentially affected product has been removed from sale and destroyed. Consumers who purchased or received any donations of Multigrain Crackers with Sunflower and Flax Seeds should discard the product or return it to their nearby store for a full refund.

09 Texas Tamale Company Gourmet Black Bean Tamales

TJ's most recent recall is its Texas Tamale Company Gourmet Black Bean Tamales, which may contain undeclared milk. The affected product contains a "Best Before" date of 06/19/25 and Lot code 17023.

Per the chain, no illnesses have been reported to date, and all potentially affected product has been removed from sale. If you purchased or received any donations of Texas Tamale Company Gourmet Black Bean Tamales, TJ's urged discarding the product or returning it to any nearby store for a full refund.

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about food safety:
At the end of August, Karine Staehle (nee Martins) of 90 Day Fiance shared messages on social media alleging that her husband, Paul Staehle, whom she starred alongside on the reality show, went missing while traveling in Brazil.

Now, Staehle, who is alive and safe, is explaining what really happened during the time that his family thought he was missing, telling TMZ that he faced a small hiccup on a boat ride that ignited the whole situation.

The 40-year-old claimed that he contacted his mother for help while on the boat ride, but then his phone died. He went on to say that he and the person on the boat with himwho was apparently a fan of 90 Day Fiancestayed "a few days" on a floating houseboat in the Amazon but there was no phone charger and bad cell service.

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Staehle's mother was alarmed after their last text exchange, and she shared the messages with 90 Day Fiance blogger John Yates who posted them on his Instagram.

>>> 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 <<<

Around the same time, Karine shared the alarming messages on her own social media, including what appeared to be a memorial of sorts, writing, "Not all of our memories were bad. Our children loved you very much...We will never forgot [sic] you or the good memories we all shared. Karine deleted the post later and made her Instagram private.

While speaking with the publication, Staehle also stated that this wasn't a hoax or publicity stunt, saying, "If that was the case, I would have gone on Instagram Live, or I would have posted things. I never wanted any of this stuff to go public.

While Staehle and Karine have had an on-again, off-again relationship, they share two sons, Pierre and Ethan. The couple appeared on the first season of 90 Day Fiance.

Last July, Staehle and Pierre were reported missing in Louisville, Kentucky, although he soon turned up and claimed that they were just on a long trip. People reported that Child Protective Services took custody of the two boys after.

Since then, the couple's two kids have been living with a family in foster care, though they continue to fight to regain custody, as reported by In Touch Weekly.

The couple has faced further trouble in recent years, with Karine filing a protective order against Staehle in 2021, later dropping it in February 2023. Karine was also reported missing by Staehle once in 2020.

Next: Which 90 Day Fiance Couples Are Still Together In 2023?
While two Alaskan teachers, Elizabeth Wilkins and Tom Schwartz, were on a mountain biking trip in Oregon, they never expected heir new home to be literally washed away. But sure enough, by the time they returned home, there was no home to return to.

Someone caught the moment their home fell into the Mendenhall River on camera, and it went viral on August 5, within hours of the incident. Still, the popular video is no consolation for the couple who lost nearly everything--including their beloved pet cat.



The couple got Leo the tuxedo cat as a rescued kitten during the COVID pandemic, so Elizabeth knew just what a resilient feline he is. Immediately after the house was swept away from the river's glacial outburst flood, their Juneu community came together to keep an eye out for the survivor cat. 26 days later--it paid off!

What a relief! We can only imagine Tom and Elizabeth's joy when they saw Leo for the first time since the disaster. Although some may have been surprised in their situation, the cat's mom had all the confidence in the world.

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"I knew that hes pretty smart, and so I felt pretty confident that he would escape and be OK somewhere, she told WHAS. And she was right! Despite being a bit underweight, Leo was healthy when he was finally reunited with his parents. She believes he survived by catching mice, especially since the black and white kitty had been spotted around the neighborhood. A good samaritan posted a picture of the cat nearly a month after the flood on a neighborhood Facebook page. Naturally, Elizabeth rushed out to meet him!

The community's support made all the difference in the world in helping Leo reunite with his family. The couple weren't the only ones looking for the missing feline.

Its super joyful because everyone in their community was looking for him, and its nice to have some good news," says Elizabeth. It must be so comforting to have Leo back, especially during this trying time for the community and the couple.

Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos.

Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips.

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In August 2019, Robert Ballard, the deep-sea explorer who uncovered the Titanic and John F. Kennedys WWII patrol boat, among other famous wrecks, set out on a mission to find the aircraft at the center of historys most enduring mystery: Amelia Earharts downed Lockheed Model 10-E Electra .

On July 2, 1937, Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan , were en route to Howland Island in the Pacific, about 1,700 miles southwest of Honolulu. They were six weeks and 20,000 miles into their trip around the world. By then, Earhart had already become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic and from Hawaii to the U.S. Mainland; her globetrotting trek would simply be the latest in a line of incredible accomplishments for the aviation pioneer.

Earhart and Noonan, of course, never made it to Howland. Somewhere along the way, the Electra became too heavy and short on fuel, and the pilot and her navigator lost sight of the tiny, two-and-a-half-square-mile island in the middle of the ocean. No one knows exactly what happened next.

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Conventional wisdom holds that the Electra simply ran out of fuel and crash landed somewhere close to Howland, sinking thousands of feet into the ocean. Thats what the U.S. government believes, at least. But others think Earhart and Noonan instead landed about 350 nautical miles southeast of Howland, touching down on the coral reef barrier that surrounded Gardner Islandnow known as Nikumaroro Island. They point to the distress radio calls that came from the island over the next several nights following the purported crash.

Ballard and Allison Fundis of the Ocean Exploration Trust searched the waters off Nikumaroro , while a team of archaeologists from National Geographic combed the island to find traces of the plane.

During the expedition, National Geographic reported on a theory that might explain what happened to Earhart and Noonan if they indeed landed near Nikumaroro: Noonan died, the Electra floated away, and Earhart lived for weeks on the island with no creatures but the indigenous, three-foot-long coconut crabs to keep her company.

Those crabs, the theory goes, ate Earhart after she perished on the island.

Bettmann - Getty Images

In 1940, British settlers found 13 bones, including a skull, on the islandpossibly that of Amelia Earhardt [sic], according to a telegram sent after the discovery. Upon further examination, doctors said the bones belonged to a short, European male, though some anthropologists disagree with the assessment.

But if the 13 bones did belong to Earhart, what happened to the other 193 in a human skeleton that werent found? Credit the crabs: The Brits who uncovered the bones said coconut crabs had scattered many bones, per the National Geographic report.

To test this theory, the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) gave the crabs a pig carcass to feast on. Turns out the crabs swarmed the pigs body, removed most of its flesh, and moved some of the bones as far as 60 feet away. This tells us crabs drag bones, TIGHARs Tom King told National Geographic.

While Ballard and co. left Nikumaroro without the Electra after a visual examination of 100 percent of the island down to 2,400 feet, Ballard couldnt find any evidence of the planethe search may not be over.

National Geographic archaeologist Fredrik Hiebert and his team may have found fragments of the skull from 1940 in the Te Umwanibong Museum and Cultural Centre in Tarawa, Kiribati. And forensic anthropologists say it belonged to an adult female.

We dont know if its [Earhart] or not, the University of South Floridas Erin Kimmerle told National Geographic, but all lines of evidence point to the 1940 bones being in this museum. Kimmerle reconstructed the skull, and the team sent it out for DNA testing. It wasnt until earlier this year that Hiebert told Radio Kiribati the DNA results showed the bones actually belonged to a young Polynesian women who had lived in Kiribati 1,000 years ago, as reported by Radio New Zealand.

Most recently on September 2, 2023, TIGHAR announced that an underwater photo from 2009 might be proof that Earharts plane sits off the coast of Nikumaroro Island. The exact location where the photo was taken is unknown, but it is currently being analyzed by a forensic imaging specialist.

We might never know what truly happened to Amelia Earhart, whether she was eaten by crabs or eventually met up with D.B. Cooper and Jimmy Hoffa to hang on a beach in Mexico. But more than 80 years after her disappearance, Earhart still matters more than ever .



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Video capture from video by Ukrainian military - Wikimedia Commons

The United Kingdom's Challenger 2 main battle tank is heavier, weirder, and slower than its Western stablemates, the M1 Abrams and Leopard 2. But until this September, it retained a notable distinctionunlike the Abrams and Leopard 2, not one of the famously tough British tanks had been lost to enemy fire in combat.

A new video shows this record met its end a few weeks after Ukraines 14 donated Challenger 2s were committed to the Battle of Robotyne, arguably the most lethal battlefield anywhere on the planet at this time.

Footage posted by a Ukrainian ambulance crew negotiating a muddy, cratered road running near Robotyne briefly shows a burning Challenger 2 near the videos beginning with its distinct turret profile and thermal-jacketed L30 gun visible. Later in the video, a disabled Ukrainian T-64BV tank and two knocked-out Humvee-style trucks are also visible.

#Ukraine: A Ukrainian Challenger 2 tank was destroyed near Robotyne, #Zaporizhzhia Oblast. A damaged T-64BV and two destroyed IMVs can be seen too.



This is the first confirmed loss of this tank in Ukraine and is also the first one ever destroyed by enemy action. pic.twitter.com/hFWkYQ8XSV   Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) September 5, 2023

The shaky video gives a sense of the apocalyptic conditions around Robotyne, strewn with trees and abandoned vehicles shredded by shell fire. The town was recently captured by Ukrainian forces after weeks of battle and then defended against vigorous counterattacks by elements of Russias elite 76th Guards Air Assault division. The truck crew are understandably terrified as shellfire explodes close to their vehicle.

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Subsequent statements from Ukrainian sources and drone reconnaissance imagery posted by Russian sources confirm the loss, with the latter showing the Challenger 2 situated across from two destroyed BMP-1 fighting vehicles and an M113 APC.

another angle on the destroyed challenger 2 pic.twitter.com/hY2eUzlAL3  2S7 pion (trost) (@Trotes936897) September 5, 2023

But despite the Challenger 2 having caught fire, its crew apparently successfully abandoned the tank and survived according to a BBC correspondent.

While modern Western armored vehicles tend to be all-around superior (and heavier and more expensive) compared to their Soviet/Russian counterparts, by far their most important advantage in combat in Ukraine has been a dramatically higher survival rate for crews and passengers of vehicles damaged by enemy fire.

That reflects the much lower importance placed on crew survival in Soviet doctrine, an approach Ukraine cant sustain given Russias over-three-times-greater population. The fact that the turret hasnt blown off despite all the ammunition stored within the flaming vehicle is also a good sign.

The Challenger 2 in Ukraine

Back in December 2022, London announced it was transferring 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukrainethe first Western main battle tanks to enter Ukrainian service. The small quantityenough to equip a single Western-style tank companymade the donation mostly symbolic.

WPA Pool - Getty Images

But it was also importantly symbolic because it broke the logjam of reluctance to supply Western-built tanks, leading to the subsequent pledges for at least 165 Leopard 1s, 85 Leopard 2s, and 31 M1 Abrams main battle tanks so far.

Leon Neal - Getty Images

And despite the logistical inefficiencies of operating a microfleet of 14 unique tanks, Ukraines airborne forces eagerly went about training and equipping to operate them, forming them into the tank support company of the newly formed 82nd Air Assault Brigade, which also received American Stryker wheeled APCs, German Marder infantry fighting vehicles, and towed M119 105-millimeter howitzers. The U.K. also supplied tank-busting depleted uranium shells for the Challenger 2s gun, prompting entirely insincere complaints from Moscow, which also deploys depleted uranium ammunition in its tanks.

Though Challenger 2s were first spotted in the field on June 21, the 82nd was held in reserve during the initial phase of the counter offensive before being committed to a roiling battle for Robotyne in mid-August, helping finally break Russian defenses there.

A documentary released by Ukraine late in August implies the Challenger 2s were used in the fighting, presumably from a long distance. Such standoff fire playing a supporting role, rather than leading assaults, is a good way to minimize risks of losing the vehicle.

A crew member with prior combat experience operating the speedy gas-turbine powered T-80 tanks usually attached to Ukrainian Airborne brigades praises the Challenger 2s ability to precisely engage targets at very long range, making it like a sniper rifle compared to the T-80 thanks to its better sight, gun stabilization, and human loader. He also implies the Challenger 2 can be repaired and serviced much easier than Soviet vehicle that take half a day to reach a bolt. To cut up a wrench, weld it and readjust it [The Challenger 2] is made for people.

"A sniper rifle among tanks" - A Ukrainian tanker shares impressions of using a British Challenger 2 tank in battle. - "We could use a few more companies in Ukraine... russian tanks would be too scared to come out." pic.twitter.com/18tcMMIRuj  Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 3, 2023

He further argues the design is better optimized for hunting enemy armored vehicles than Soviet tanks. And its crew is much more likely to survive being hit. If you are [hit in a Soviet tank], you dont stand much of a chance; the ammunition immediately detonates and youre sent flying across the fields. By comparison, he says ammo storage on a Challenger can withstand several hits. In his view, even just a few Challenger 2s deployed at a time can cause death and horror to Russian tankers.



The causes of the Challenger 2 loss near Robotyne remain unclear, but Russian artillery zeroed in on this exposed stretch of the road seems the likeliest culprit given whats seen in the video. Other likely causes could include anti-tank mines, Russian kamikaze drones, or long-range anti-tank missiles fired by helicopter. Attacks from the before-mentioned sources often hit either top or belly armor, which are both much thinner.

Its also possible that the tank was immobilized by a mine or artillery fire, abandoned by the crew, and then set ablaze by subsequent targeted attacks using laser-guided Krasnopol artillery shells, drone or missile strikes, or (less likely) even scuttled by Ukrainian forces.

Origins of the Indestructible Challenger 2

The Challenger 2 emerged as a heavily redesigned successor to the Challenger 1 tank, which in its only combatthe 1991 Gulf War versus Iraqperformed well, destroying around 300 tanks, and executed the longest-range tank kill in history by destroying a T-55 from 3.17 miles way. And none of the 221 Challenger 1s deployed were lost to enemy fire, thanks to its then-advanced Chobham composite armor, also famously girding the American Abrams tank.

The heavier 71-ton Challenger 2 boasted improved Dorchester composite armor and souped up L30 rifled gun optimized for use of squash-head ammunition (HESH), out of step with smoothbore guns optimized for discarding sabot rounds used by virtually everyone else since the 1980s. The beefy Challenger 2 has a crew of four and could tip the scales even more grossly to 83 tons when sporting add-on TES armor.

Daily Mirror Gulf coverage - Getty Images

It carried on the Challenger 1s legacy, when 120 were deployed in the invasion and occupation of Iraq between 2003 and 2007. In one incident, a Challenger 2 ambushed in Basra survived hits from allegedly dozens of rocket propelled grenades without being knocked out. Later on, in two incidents, Challenger 2 crew members were injured by an RPG and a mine blast that struck the belly armorbut virtually no tanks are immune to damage from this quarter.



The only true Challenger 2 kill came from friendly fire from another Challenger 2 tank, which killed two of the crew and set the vehicle ablaze.

But while the Challenger 2 does earn its laurels for enduring years of insurgency in Iraq without total losses to enemy ambushes, truth be told, the best way to ensure a tank never gets destroyed by enemy fire is to build fewer of them and to export them to fewer countries to minimize odds they see combat in additional conflicts. And that was certainly the case for the commercially unsuccessful Challenger 2, only 38 of which were ever exported (to Oman).

ESSAM AL-SUDANI - Getty Images

This meant Challenger 2s didnt see action in subsequent Middle Eastern wars, while Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks used by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey suffered losses to missile-armed insurgents, generally under circumstances reflecting poor deployment in exposed areas (or in the case of Iraq, a total collapse in the morale of Iraqi forces garrisoning the city of Mosul).

While understandably disappointing, the fantasy that invincible super tanks can withstand anything should have been dispelled long ago, when Germanys deployment in World War II of heavily armored Tiger tanks and Jagdtiger tank destroyers (and several other similar 'monster' vehicles) provided abundant evidence to the contrary. Despite front armor nearly impenetrable to most Allied guns when they entered service, such vehicles could still be disabled by mines, air attacks and shots to the thinner top, side or rear armor. Even non-penetrating shots could still disable out guns, sights and tracks, and crews especially could be compelled to abandoned immobilized vehicles.

PA Images - Getty Images

For now, Kyiv is interested in whether the U.K. has the capacity to send additional refurbished Challenger 2s to Ukraine, as London is currently planning to retain only 148 of its 213 remaining Challenger 2s into service. Those 148 will be upgraded to a Challenger 3 configuration 2027-2030 sporting a new turret fitted with a standard Rheinmetall smoothbore 120-millimeter, 55-caliber gun, making it more interoperable with allied Abrams and Leopard 2 units, new sights and digital networking capabilities, and Trophy active-protection systems that can swat down incoming missiles.

Perhaps some of the spare remaining 59 Challenger 2s that wont be upgraded could still be shunted over Ukraine at the cost of reducing availability of spare parts and hulls to substitute for combat losses. It may also be possible to buy back Challenger 2s sold to Oman.

Likely more have not already been donated, however, due to a shortage of spare parts, with only roughly two-thirds of the Challenger 2 fleet being in useable condition last fall. While too few to enter widespread use, additional Challenger 2 donations could allow Ukraine to form an additional Challenger company or two for its airborne brigades, which are usually at the forefront of the fighting.

The loss of one Challenger 2 is a minor misfortune for Ukraine, but shouldnt be seen as remarkable or unexpected in a conflict of such scale and violence, and there's no particular reason to believe it reveals some unforeseen defect with the design.

Tanks, even very tough ones, die all the time in wars, even when they are being used well (and very quickly when they arent). The remaining Challenger 2s in Ukraine's 82nd brigade seem likely to see much intense fighting ahead of them this Fall in which their superior offensive and defensive capabilities will continue to be of value to Kyiv's counteroffensive.

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Nestled at the southern tip of the African continent, Cape Town beckons travelers with its stunning landscapes, rich history and vibrant culture. This iconic city is a tapestry of diverse experiences from the majestic Table Mountain to the pristine beaches along its coastline. As you embark on your journey to Cape Town, several essential aspects must be considered.

Safety in Cape Town

Cape Town is a safe destination, but its wise to remain vigilant. Avoid displaying valuables openly, watch your belongings and use reputable transportation options. When visiting Cape Town, prioritize safety by staying aware of your surroundings, especially in crowded areas. Opt for secure transportation options and research neighborhoods and attractions before you explore. Utilize well-lit and populated areas after dark and keep emergency contacts handy.

Currency and Payment

The South African Rand is the official currency. Credit and debit cards are accepted, but its advisable to carry some cash for smaller purchases. Currency exchange services are available at the airport and various locations around the city.

Load Shedding Awareness

South Africa occasionally experiences load shedding, which is a planned power outage to prevent overloading the electricity grid. Its a good idea to inquire about any scheduled load shedding from your accommodation host during your stay. Be prepared with power banks and flashlights. Travelers also can download the Exom Mobile app to see how load shedding will impact their area.

Best Time to Visit Cape Town

Cape Towns climate is marked by distinct seasons, offering different experiences throughout the year. Peak season is during the summer, which is December to February. With its warm temperatures and long daylight hours, this is the busiest time.

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Shoulder season is from March to May and September to November. Spring and fall offer mild weather, fewer crowds and lower accommodation prices. These shoulder seasons are ideal for outdoor activities and exploring without the summer rush.

Off-Peak is during winter from June to August. Winter brings cooler temperatures and occasional rainfall, but its a fantastic time for budget travelers. The citys natural beauty shines on overcast days, and its an excellent opportunity to enjoy indoor attractions and cultural experiences.

Top Things to Do in Cape Town

There is no shortage of fun while in Cape Town. Travelers can work with local tour operators, such as Afri Centric, to plan and schedule activities, meals and transportation for a smooth and efficient trip. A few must-do adventures, include Table Mountain, Cape Peninsula and Robin Island. Table Mountain is an iconic landmark, offering stunning panoramic views of the city and the surrounding coastline.

Travelers can hike various trails of varying difficulty or take the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway for a breathtaking ride to the summit. Visitors also can enjoy spending the day exploring the Cape Peninsula and attractions, like Chapmans Peak Drive and the Cape of Good Hope. A trip to Cape Town would only be complete with touring Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Guided tours, often led by former inmates, offer a profound perspective on the countrys struggle for freedom.
Originally built in 1913, Elkonin Tel Aviv hotel in Tel Avivs picturesque Neve Tzedek neighbourhood has been meticulously restored, and reimagined as a charming 44-room boutique hotel.

Officially welcoming guests since May 2023, the eclectic architecture-style property is part of the prestigious MGallery Hotel Collection. Franco-Israeli owner Domonic Romano acquired the defunct building in 2004 with the intention to give Elkonin a second life, and re-introduce the art of hospitality to the institution.

Housed in a property that served as Tel Avivs first-ever hotel, it had played host to some of the most prominent figures in art, literature, politics and royalty, including Albert Einstein, King Abdullah of Jordan, and the first prime minister of Israel, David Ben-Gurion.

Elkonin Tel Aviv has been restored with meticulous attention to detail by Tel Aviv-based architecture studio, Bar Orian, and interior design studio, Iconique, hailing from Paris.

Bar Orian restored the 20th-century listed property protecting its original architectural motif, including stone pillars, railings and magnificent extended window sills, and extend the property to add a site-specific glass-ensnared eight-story modern structure that provides access to the rooftop on the seventh floor.

The interiors were envisioned by Adriana Schor of Iconique studio, who created a timeless and sophisticated European-style ambiance with custom-designed furnishings and lighting by Art et Floritude.

The crown jewel of the property can be found on the hotels ground floor, adjacent to the lobby, at the propertys flagship restaurant L'Epoque by Robuchon. Seating up to 70 guests, LEpoque provides an intimate restaurant experience.

The restaurant also offers a private dining space for up to 20 guests offering a library-style ambiance. Alternatively, the restaurant offers a Bar Lounge on its ground floor, adjacent to the main restaurant, and is open from morning to night.

Beyond a traditional hotel, Elkonin Tel Aviv is a testament to the rich art and culture scenes of Tel Aviv. The property showcases Israeli artists in its public spaces, rooms and suites. Hand-selected and curated by Adriana Schor, Elkonin Tel Aviv has acquired original pieces by leading international artists and photographers, including a specially commissioned Love Wall by James Goldcrown.

The hotel also collaborated with photographer Tom Hegen to adorn its walls with a series of aerial photographs of salt fields, creating a symmetry between the interior design and colour scheme of the Mediterranean location of the hotel.

Reviving the buildings artistic heritage, on the second-floor stairwell of the preservation building, adjacent to the entrance of the hotel, is a hand-painted fresco dating back to the early 1920s, which the hotel commissioned expert restoration artists, Shay Farkash and Eli Shaltiel of Israeli preservation studio, Tchelet, to protect and beautify.

The propertys restoration also saw the addition of three basement floors, housing the hotel operations centre, a restaurant kitchen and a spa level with courtesy of French wellness brand Clarins, featuring five treatment rooms, dressed in shades of white and beige, a relaxation lounge and hammam  allowing guests to totally immerse themselves and disconnect from everyday life. - TradeArabia News Service
A stunning video captured the moment a vibrant green fireball streaked across the skies above Turkey.

Taken by Onur Kacmaz in a playground in the Turkish city of Erzurum on Saturday (Sept. 2), the now-viral video shows the sky and surrounding clouds bathed in a deep-sea snot green as the brilliant object hits the upper atmosphere.

A large green meteor was spotted blazing through the sky in Turkey moments ago.Wow. pic.twitter.com/eQEYLG2ihBSeptember 2, 2023

See more

Fireballs are meteors that appear brighter than Venus, according to the American Meteor Society (AMS), meaning they are, in theory, visible in daylight. The blazing space rocks owe their startling brilliance to their large sizes and blistering speeds, which create a significant amount of friction when the rocks hit Earth's atmosphere. As the fireballs enter the atmosphere at speeds far exceeding the sound barrier  between 25,000 and 160,000 mph (about 40,000 to 257,000 km/h)  they can also be accompanied by a tremendous sonic boom.

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Related: What are the largest impact craters on Earth?

Meteors begin to glow as their outer layers are stripped back by contact with Earth's atmosphere, leaving their metallic cores to burn from superheating. The bright-green coloring comes from nickel, which, along with iron, forms the most common component of a meteors core.

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If a fireball explodes overhead, it can cause serious damage. The most explosive meteor event in recent history  which occurred over the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia, in 2013  created a blast roughly equivalent to 400 to 500 kilotons of TNT, or 26 to 33 times the energy released by the Hiroshima bomb. Fireballs rained down over Chelyabinsk and its surroundings, damaging buildings, smashing windows and injuring approximately 1,200 people.

The Chelyabinsk explosion is far from the most apocalyptic event caused by a fireball. Recent archaeological evidence points to a fireball detonating over the ancient Middle Eastern city of Tall el-Hamman around 3,600 years ago. The explosion, which was roughly 1,000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb, set the city instantly ablaze before leveling it with a powerful shock wave, killing all of its inhabitants.
The two-day Best of Bangladesh conference in Westergas, Amsterdam, which came to a close on Tuesday, was an exercise in global communication. The message was clear: lets change the conversation between garment manufacturers and buyers.

The most emphasized point was one that manufacturers from Bangladesh have long stressedbuyers should base their decisions on factors other than the lowest price, especially when sustainability, circularity and traceability are in question.

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Its about the people and the planet, Abdul Hil Rakib, managing director at Team Group, told Sourcing Journal. An exhibitor as well as a speaker at the event, Rakib is also a director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers Exporters Association (BGMEA). The planet discussion comes first, but because buyers want price, price, price, it kills the other part, he said, adding that it was important to find a way to discuss priorities and not just have brands and retailers to tell a manufacturer what to do.

The event was co-hosted by the Bangladesh Apparel Exchange, with support from the Ministry of Commerce and Export Promotion Bureau, the embassy of Bangladesh in the Netherlands and PDS Limited.

It was a first for Bangladesh to take the discussion out of Dhaka, and into the vicinity of many of its buyers. Apparel accounts for more than 80 percent of Bangladesh total exports, and the European Union makes up a large segment of that. Overall, Bangladesh exports were up 10 percent in the last fiscal that ended June 30.

Most powerful, perhaps, was the inaugural session where policy makers from both countries shared their points of view.

Speakers included Shahriar Alam, Bangladesh state Minister for Foreign Affairs, Michiel Sweers, vice minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Kingdom of the Netherlands; Tipu Munshi, commerce Minister, Bangladesh; Siddiqur Rahman, former president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturer and Exporters Association (BGMEA); M Riaz Hamidullah, Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Netherlands; Leslie Johnston, chief executive officer, Laudes Foundation; Pallak Seth, founder and vice chairman, PDS Limited; and Mostafiz Uddin, Founder & CEO, Bangladesh Apparel Exchange.

While Uddin was credited with putting together the forum for more forthright discussions outside the country, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam stole the show.

Alam did not shy away from addressing some of the glaring issues that have been casting a shadow over the industry the last few months: the deadly assault of trade union leader Shahidul Islam, who was the president of the Gazipur unit of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF) and the impending wage board meeting to review the minimum wage.

Shahidul Islam belonged to my own party, Bangladesh Awami League. He was a joint secretary of a union in the Gazipur district, so it is our loss. On the first day after his death, two people out of three were taken into custodya trial is going on. We can assure you that justice will be delivered, he said, adding that for mere political gain some people are saying Shahidul belonged to their partylet him not be a tool.

Labor advocates with the Clean Clothes Campaign protested outside the conference this week. They urged the Bangladeshi government to investigate Islams death and want the buyers sourcing from the factory where he worked to give his family 211,00 euros ($226,000) in compensation. They also outlined ways Bangladesh can protect freedom of association and support calls for a higher minimum wage.

Speaking about the issues related to wages, Alam said, We have agreed with all the labor unions there is a set process for reviewing the minimum wage.

The minister follows the same process every five years: The government reconvenes with labor leaders, who are members of the minimum wage body. Im sure in the Netherlands and in any other countries in the European Union, if you are asked if you are earning enough, everyone would say No, I would be better off if I was earning 20 percent more. But the fact of life is that we have a widely accepted procedure to review wages and by November or December they will announce a minimum wage to which everyone will have to adhere. The objective is to make a better tomorrow.

He also touched on the issues of labor law reform. We attended the last ILO conference and presented a road map. We have agreed on a mechanism for regular reporting in Brussels, but made a time-bound action plan for Bangladesh to implement all those criteria by 2025. We have achieved a lot of these already. We are a responsible nation, and a responsive nationand responsive is where partnership truly flourishes, he said, while adding that the number of apparel factories in Bangladesh have come down substantially.

We have reduced the number of factories from 5,000 to probably 1,500 to 1,700, he said.

Siddiqur Rahman, former president of BGMEA, spoke on the factories, and how many are certified as green buildings. There are 200 certified green factories in Bangladesh, with 500 more waiting in line for Leed certification. The factories are also going through a transformation into the circular economy, he said.

Leslie Johnston, CEO at Laudes Foundation, a philanthropic foundation based in Switzerland shared an insight from a different perspective. Bangladesh is such an important geography for our work, she said. Weve invested about $25 million in grants in Bangladesh and thats very much focused on how we actually improve the worker rights in the factory, how do we accelerate circularity and the sustainability of the industry that needs to happen.

The sessions on the second day included discussions on the importance of finance and impact investing.

Jaap-Jan Verboom, founder and director at Truvalu, a Netherlands-based company that promotes co-entrepreneurship, noted the fact that Impact investing was still in its infancy stage in Bangladesh. It is precisely what convinces us to be active in Bangladesh. As an investor, you can change the [lives] of millions, he said. Bangladesh has showed a strong and steady growth and a comparative advantage is its large workforce, who are very committed, highly motivated, and can drive growth and productivity.

It was a point mirrored by several speakersthe strength and numbers of the workforce in the nation of 170 million people as being the Best of Bangladesh.

There are hurdles too, however, Verboom pointed out. These include the negative image of Bangladesh, and a lot of focus on the garment industry, with other sectors like agriculture [being] underdeveloped.

The business case for investing in gender and equality is clear, he added, as is the growing segment on sustainability. There are enormous challenges and opportunities because of the EU legislation. Impact investors can support export-oriented companies to showcase their environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), labor standards, etc. The costs involved are high though, especially in cases where buyer and supplier relationships are fluctuating.

Both sides agreed more dialogue is needed.

I think there is a lot of miscommunication about us and about the different segments of the agenda. Having an endorsement from the ministry of commerce of Bangladesh, from the embassy of Bangladesh in the Netherlands, the government of the Netherlands all helps. It shows who we are today, BGMEAs Rakib pointed out. It is nothing like the Rana Plaza days. Everyone starts showing those old maps and old discussions, which hurt the status of our industry. So, consistent sessions like these are a way to welcome the stakeholders and buyers to help talk about both responsible sourcing as well as buying practices, and what can be achieved by discussing the business as a whole.

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This article originally appeared on Backpacker

It was the middle of a long Montana winter, and I needed an escape. The landscape was a canvas of snow-covered peaks, beautiful yet isolating, and the relentlessly short, cold days gnawed at my morale. So I started looking south.

In late 2020 I had thru-hiked the Ouachita Trail, and enjoyed the rolling hills, pristine shelters, and deciduous forests. Throughout that trip, hikers and trail angels kpet recommending the Ozark Highlands Trail, a route in the Arkansas mountains. The OHT is more rugged and mountainous, with more waterfalls, lakes, and rivers along the way. It's also a lot more remote: It avoids most towns and roads along its 250-mile routes, which makes resupplying a challenge. Compared to the Ouachita, it would be less forgiving, and a lot tougher to escape if weather rolled in. It sounded perfect. With a two-week window to finish the trip, I thought I might even be able to do it twice, going for an FKT on the return leg. I booked my ticket.

I flew into Fort Smith, Arkansas, and caught a ride from a good friend and incredible hiker, Lo Phong La Kiatoukaysy, aka Lil' Buddha, who drove us to the terminus at Lake Fort Smith to begin the thru-hike. We had last backpacked together in the Sierra when I was a 20-year-old with an external-frame pack and Buddha was out finding himself on the long-distance trails of America. While our lives had run parallel since then--we both built our careers around our passion for foot travel on trails--we hadn't shared miles in too long.

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It may have been winter, but as we hiked around Lake Fort Smith, it felt like spring. Birds were chirping, and armadillos scampered across the trail. The path meandered around the shores of the lake, crossing small streams that spilled into the lake at each inlet. We had eleven years to catch up on, and by the time we finished, we had covered the first 30 miles of the trail. Buddha was as strong a hiker as I remembered: Unlike with other partners, I never had to worry whether he could break camp fast enough or keep pace with me. The trail was peaceful, too. Every night we had a vibrant sunset, soft ground to sleep on, and a nearby stream to have an icy soak in. Before the sun rose every morning, we were back on the trail and heading east.

After two days with a partner and help with a resupply, I was on my own for the rest of the trail. Shortly after Buddha left, things took a turn for the tougher. A brutal, freezing rain began to fall, and soon morphed into snow. The temperature plummeted, putting my three-season gear to the test. For the next two days, I wore every layer I had packed.

The weather kept getting worse. The temperature dropped into the 20s, and winter storm warnings pinged my phone. The streams swelled until they spilled their banks. The trail's sunny start faded into a distant memory. And then, I arrived at Hurricane Creek.

Among the many stream crossings on the Ozark Highlands Trail, Hurricane Creek stands out. Despite the name, it is the size of a river and swells quickly with the weather. The water is swift, and the banks are steep and overgrown. Every inch of the creek is different: At one bend, large boulders may be stacked up haphazardly all the way across the water, and around another, the current may have cut a deep channel into the soil. It is remote, with few alternates or suitable fords. When I arrived, it was near its peak flow and icy cold.

At the first crossing, I found a series of boulders a foot below the raging current and tiptoed my way across. But at the second crossing, there were no rocks. The banks were near vertical and mostly made of soft mud. I slowly side-hilled my way upstream a couple hundred yards, but it took 30 minutes, and I knew I would need to cross it. The water was muddy and nearly 30 feet across; I couldn't tell how deep it was, so I prepared for the worst. With no way around it, I packed everything in watertight bags and waded into the water.

With the first step, I sank up to my waist; the second, up to my chest. I quickly realized I would have to swim. One deep breath, and I sprawled out into the water. It was deceptively fast. Buoyed by my pack, I slowly doggy-paddled, aiming slightly upstream and letting the current correct me. The cold was shocking, but with adrenaline kicking in, I barely felt it. I made slow and deliberate progress, focusing on holding my head up and rhythmically stroking my arms through the muddy water. When my feet finally touched the bottom, I gasped. It was eerily similar to swimming the Kennebec River on the Appalachian Trail--an unwise act I had hoped never to repeat. Once again, I had neglected to plan for changing weather and the impact of torrential rain on water sources, and my thru-hike had included a swim.

Now, I had another problem: I was wet, and the temperature had dropped into the 20s. I quickly started hiking east, hoping exertion would warm my body. Water continued to cascade down the rocks, and then the rain turned to snow. My situation was beginning to feel dangerous. A hotel and a break after the events of the day were much more appealing than huddling for warmth in a damp tent and sleeping bag. I hiked to Highway 7 and thumbed a ride into Clarksville.

The Ozark Highlands trail in fall colors (Photo: Peter Essick via Getty)

A couple with a long history in the area picked me up and spent the ride filling me in on the viewpoints, farms, and the Rotary Club's work maintaining trailheads and outdoor recreation through the remote mountain range. I soaked it in. I had missed this kind of history on the 18-inch-wide footpath. What the remote route offered in nature and ruggedness, it lost in its connection to the communities it passed.

If my ride was an introduction to local culture, I got a full immersion once we arrived in Clarksville. Only one restaurant was open, and it happened to be a dingy-looking buffet. But at $8, I was in. I stuffed myself with crawfish, questionable sushi, barbeque, and pasta. It was a return to my roots: Eat until you can barely walk, and then waddle back to the hotel.

The next day, I returned to the storm. The trail was a muddy mess. It was cold, with few breaks in the downpour. I thought back to my original plan to thru-hike the trail in one direction and then try for an FKT on the return trip. Now, trudging through the rain, the plan seemed foolish. No one sets a record time on a trail that involves swimming. Knowing it wasn't going to happen actually eased my mind: Now, I had the luxury of slowing down and enjoying the views.

The weather had improved overnight. The sky was dotted with fluffy clouds and patches of sunshine. The rolling, forested hills disappeared into the distance, and the trail began to climb more steeply up the mountains. Without the pressure to finish quickly, I felt oddly comfortable on the rough path. Best of all, I had it all to myself.

My next obstacle was the Buffalo River, where the trail's current path ended. I had originally planned on turning around there, but with no FKT in my future, I decided to continue onward along the OHT's proposed route to Matney Knob. First, I had to cross the Buffalo, and there was no way I was swimming this one. I sat on the swollen river's banks, listening to elk bugle in the meadow nearby. The water was swift and thick with mud, carried down by the rain as it flowed off the surrounding hills.

Within an hour, a boat launched from the campground on the other side, and I flagged them down. After I explained that, yes, I truly did intend to keep hiking off into the wilderness, they were kind enough to shuttle me over, and I was back on my way.

It was obvious few hikers had ventured beyond the Buffalo: Over and over again, the trail climbed straight up to the top of a 300-foot rock wall overlooking the river, and then suddenly dropped back down to its banks. Branches and thorns hung across the trail, grabbing at my clothing and cutting up my legs. Sometime after reaching Grinders Ferry, my trail disappeared entirely, and I found myself bushwhacking. Blackberry thorns had long overgrown any potential pathway; the route followed the side of a muddy hill, and casual glimpses of the river were my only assurance that I was on track. I climbed up car-size rocks, down fallen trees, and crawled through brambles to connect back to a more maintained trail 15 miles further on. But it seemed pointless. This section of the trail had seen little love (if any), and I needed to change my plan.

I camped for the night and looked at my maps before falling asleep. Gravel roads crisscrossed the area, and they would be my best chance at completing this entire route on foot. I found one road that I could hike to a more popular trail, which I could then follow east. Another storm was coming in, and this time; the forecast was for rain, ice, and a layer of snow on top. My goal changed again: I decided to push hard in hopes of wrapping up the adventure before the snow arrived.

Aerial of Richland Creek Wilderness at sunrise, Ozark Highlands Trail, Arkansas. (Photo: Peter Essick via Getty Images)

Regaining the trail the next morning was a treat. The terrain was completely different: The woods were old and eerie, with hundred-foot trees and very sparse undergrowth. I hiked through the mist all day. As night came, however, thunder clashed in the distance, and my tent nearly doubled over in the wind. By 4 a.m., the floor of my shelter was a puddle, and the storm showed no sign of letting up. So, I packed up to begin my last 18 miles: My desire to be comfortable had finally surpassed my hunger for adventure. With the early start, I figured my soaked gear and I could hit the finish line by mid-afternoon.

After seven more hours of trudging through the swampy forest and across more creeks and ledges, I finally arrived at Matney Knob Trailhead, the end of my thru-hike. My adventure on the OHT hadn't been what I expected, but it was every bit as invigorating as I had hoped. As the falling flakes built into a snowstorm, I stuck out my thumb and hitched a ride, bound for Fort Smith and then back to snowy Montana for the winter.

The Ozark Highlands Trail: Tips from a Thru-Hiker

Mentally prepare for wet feet: Waterfalls and streams are everywhere and keeping your feet dry is impossible in many of the sections. Pick a quick-draining, easy-draining pair of shoes.

Map out all possible resupply points: Even if you intend to do long carries, having a list of the possible early bailouts and resupplies will make any plan changes much easier. The trail is rugged and remote, which makes the miles slow and tough.

Prepare for quickly changing weather: The trail lacks the exposure of many alpine and high-altitude trails, but the weather can change just as fast.

Both termini are hard to reach from an airport: Set up a ride or have a plan for the start and conclusion of the hike.

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Victoria Falls, situated on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, ranks among the worlds most astounding natural wonders. The waterfalls sheer magnitude and force will leave you breathless. Millions of gallons of water cascade into the Zambezi River below. As you stand at the edge, feeling the mist on your face and hearing the deafening roar, youll be captivated by the power and beauty around you.

This experience is a must for every Black travelers bucket list. Victoria Falls is rich in history and cultural significance, making it a must-visit to connect with Africas heritage. Explore local markets, learn about indigenous tribes or take a thrilling helicopter ride over the falls. It offers a unique, unforgettable experience celebrating the continents natural wonders.

Victoria Falls is Perfect for Adventurous Travelers

In Victoria Falls, you can go white-water rafting in the Zambezi River, bungee jump off the iconic Victoria Falls Bridge and embark on a safari to spot the Big Five in nearby national parks. Indulge in delectable African cuisine, witness traditional dances and relax in luxurious lodgings highlighting the landscapes beauty.

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For more adventure, take a helicopter ride for a breathtaking aerial views or go on a thrilling microlight flight for a close encounter with the cascading waters. If tranquility is what you seek, sunset cruises along the Zambezi River offer stunning views and the chance to spot wildlife on the riverbanks.

Very Instagrammable

PhotoCredit: Its All Bee

Capture Instagram-worthy moments at the renowned Devils Pool, where you can swim right at the edge of the falls. Adrenaline junkies can bungee jump or go white-water rafting for an unforgettable thrill.

How to Get There

The simplest way is to fly into Victoria Falls International Airport. A short drive from the airport takes you to the hub of the falls. Alternatively, road connections from neighboring countries, like Zambia or Botswana are available.

Where to Stay in Victoria Falls

Options range from luxury hotels to budget-friendly guesthouses and campsites in Victoria Falls. The Victoria Falls Hotel offers stunning falls views, while the Elephant Camp provides a unique safari experience. Booking ahead is advisable, especially during peak tourist seasons to secure preferred accommodation.
This winner provides specialized support for adolescents and young adults whove been diagnosed with cancer.

Kike Arnaiz / Stocksy

Fact checked by Melinda Dodd

In this series of hospital award winners, we're celebrating medical institutions that employ fresh and advanced approaches to patient care.

At age 29, Natasha Nathan from Cambridge, Mass., was a typical young woman who enjoyed going out with her friends and teaching yoga. She was looking forward to turning 30 soon, and cancer wasnt anywhere on her radar. But at the end of January 2022, she developed a sore throat that just wouldnt go away. She underwent tests for COVID-19 and strep, and both came up negative. A round of antibiotics didnt help, either.

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Swelling soon emerged on one side of her throat. Nathan consulted five separate healthcare providers, but neither surgery nor further tests could reveal the source of the problem. Over time, the swelling became a serious airway risk. Nathan wound up in the ICU at Massachusetts General Hospital, where a tissue biopsy revealed that she had rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer usually found in children.



Nathans birthday was just two weeks away. Now, a mere 48 hours after being diagnosed, she was starting chemotherapy. The young woman watched as the life she once knew shifted. I had to learn to adapt to this new normal, as my peers got married, got promoted, bought houses, went on vacations, et cetera, she recalled.



Cancer is a big life disruptor for anyone, but it brings special challenges for those under 40, who may not know anyone else with the disease. To better serve their needs, Mass General recently launched the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Program, connecting individuals aged 15 to 39 with its vast network of resources. It uses those to facilitate private counseling and support groups, exercise and nutrition consults, free wellness services (yoga, acupuncture, music therapy), coping and self-care sessions, and clinical visits that aim to preserve sexual health and fertility, among other things.

Going Where the Need Is



The AYA Cancer Program was originally inspired by a Mass General patient in his 20s, according to program director Annah Abrams, MD, a psychiatrist who specializes in the psychological and behavioral impact of cancer. The young man told hospital staff that people in his age group needed better resources to deal with the disease, adding that he often felt out of sync with the pediatric and elderly cancer patients he encountered. When the man passed away, friends of his began fundraising for a program that could help other adolescent and young adult patients.

In June 2022, Mass General Cancer Center launched a pilot version of the AYA Cancer Program using those funds. Its new program manager gathered information from young patients about what they needed, and helped pair them with relevant clinicians, groups, and resources. For example, if someone was struggling to meet the challenges of cancer treatment, they might be referred to the hospitals Mind Body Medicine program for stress management and resilience training. Existing solutions were frequently customized to meet the specific needs of the adolescent and young adult population.

Nathan is among those who have benefited from the program. About a year after her symptoms appeared, she used it to meet other patients who could help her transition from treatment back into regular life. The AYA Sarcoma Support Group connected her with services and ensured that she felt less alone. Hearing what other participants are doing to support themselves [and] what parts of the AYA Cancer Program they are utilizing has helped me find resources I wouldn't have otherwise considered, she said.

Since Mass General has an adult and pediatric program in the same location, its in the unique position of being able to help AYA Cancer Program patients from both ends. As Dr. Abrams pointed out, a 21-year-old may feel like an adult, but their disease might be classified as pediatric. Thanks to the hospitals offerings, that patient could receive medical treatment from a pediatric oncologist but still see a sexual health provider and get a referral to an adult reproductive endocrinologist.



Moving Forward

The AYA Cancer Program has clearly been successful at helping young patients thrive in the wake of their diagnosis. But the program is still relatively new, and will continue to develop around participants feedback. In its first year, it was able to assist at least 100 individualsand Dr. Abrams said she hoped that eventually it will reach the more than 2,000 adolescents and young adults treated for cancer at Mass General every year.

For her part, Nathan said she is feeling much better these days. She has already finished her last round of cancer treatment and is being monitored to make sure an old tumor continues to shrink. She is moving forward, but hasnt left the program yet.

I still utilize the AYA Cancer Program, because when cancer treatment stops, the experience doesnt, she explained. It stays with you forever.

Fact checked by Melinda Dodd.



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Read the original article on Health.com.
Corporate owner Matt Tomamichel got the sneaker world talking in August with his choice of footwear at the retailers fifth annual Cincinnati Sneaker Ball, a fundraising initiative for its Bigger Than Sneakers nonprofit.

The event raised more than $20,000, which will fund the nonprofits industry-focused sneaker academy, a 10-day effort open to high school juniors and seniors in Cincinnati. The funds will be used to expand the academy into Dayton, Ohio, and Indianapolis, the homes of Corporates two other stores.

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Immediately after the event, images of Tomamichels sneakers  a mint green pair of the Jordan Air Ship  circulated on social media, and speculation of an eventual release mounted. Corporate, which celebrated its 15-year anniversary in June, confirmed that it was a collaboration, its first with Jordan Brand.

Less than a month after its debut, Corporate is set to release its coveted Jordan Air Ship on Sept. 8.

The Cincinnati location will be the first to drop the shoe, starting at 6 a.m. ET on a first-come, first-serve basis. The Dayton, Ohio, and Indianapolis stores will release the shoe at 8 a.m. ET, also on a first-come, first-serve basis. An online release will take place via Corporategotem.com at 5 p.m. ET. The sneakers will retail for $150.

A Chosen Few

Corporate x Jordan Air Ship. Courtesy of Kevin Watkins/Corporate

Speaking with FN, Tomamichel said Jordan Brand approached Corporate and several other influential sneaker boutiques in April 2022 to reintroduce the Air Ship, a shoe worn by a young Michael Jordan as a rookie with the Chicago Bulls in 1984. The storeowner was on campus alongside retail peers A Ma Maniere, Undefeated, Concepts and others.

The icing on the cake was [Jordan giving us the opportunity] to do an Air Ship, Tomamichel said.

One month later, Tomamichel said he shared his ideas for the collaboration with Jordan Brand while on Nikes campus in Beaverton, Ore. His initial ideas, Tomamichel admitted, werent exactly worth pursuing.

I go to the table with some wack designs, bro, Tomamichel said with a laugh. They werent exactly wack, they just werent my best ideas.

One of his ideas that still irks him was to dress the Air Ship in red, a color synonymous with Cincinnati.

I hated it, bro, Tomamichel quipped. Theres a guy over at Jordan [NA NBHD marketplace director Aaron Cooper], and I was like, I want a shoe I can wear any day of the week. Lets go with red. He was like, Uh, alright. I mean, I guess yall are known for red. It was comedy, man.

While on campus, Tomamichel said Jordan Brand had his initial idea mocked up, as well as other preconceived ideas created to inspire the storeowner and potentially lead him in the right direction. One look, Tomamichel said, was a nod to Skyline Chili, a food Cincinnati is known for. Another shoe was adorned with denim, which both hinted at Tomamichels hard-working nature and offered the wearer a midwest vibe.

Tomamichel left campus without an idea he felt comfortable pursuing. Months later, struggling to come up with something he would be proud of, he would return to Nike for the NHBD Retailer Summit in July. The trip, however, didnt begin well.

I ruptured my Achilles the day before heading back out to Nike, he explained. I tore my achilles at 6 p.m. on Sunday. My flight was supposed to be at 6 a.m. I call the doctor, I get in at 8 a.m. on Monday. I say, Doc, I dont care about my achilles. Can I fly to Portland? I fly to Portland, I meet all my peers on campus and they are all just pushing me like, Man, you are on your way.'

He continued, Don C was the main one that came up to me. You know how Don talks in that accent? Don goes, Hey G, they say you got it, kid. Youre going to kill it. You just got to keep applying pressure. In my eyes, if youre speaking life into me, youre a superstar. So now, Im charged up.

The Breakthrough Moment

Corporate x Jordan Air Ship. Courtesy of Kevin Watkins/Corporate

With a renewed confidence, Tomamichel said the ideas for a proper representation of both Corporate and Cincinnati started brewing.

I go home, have surgery and I get in a walking boot. Then, I go back out to campus in September [2022] to review the samples. I say, We cant do this,' Tomamichel said.

He continued, I sell Jordan on this story of color. Were going to flood this thing out with a bright color, because nobody has done any color on the shoe. And Im going to elevate it with materials that you dont find on Air Ships.

That color was Light Menta, an eye-catching mint green hue on the Nike palette. To Tomamichel, the color represents royalty. Also, although not immediately familiar, the storeowner believes the hue is already synonymous with Cincinnati.

Cincinnati is called the Queen City, and when I think of the Queen City, I think of royalty. On the paper [inside the shoebox], we paid tribute to the Fountain Square [in downtown Cincinnati], and it has a statue. The colors at night are the teal color, Tomamichel explained. This color, it represents Cincinnati and the direction that Im trying to take the city. In early 2000s, it was always black and red. If were doing a rebrand of Cincinnati, what better color than this? This color feels like weve graduated, like were elevating our community.

There is also a personal connection to the chosen hue.

When I moved to Minneapolis in 2007 [and worked at Footaction in the Tri County Mall], I drove a 2000 [Toyota] Corolla. The color of the car was the same color on the shoe, Tomamichel said. Aint nothing flashy about a Corolla, but the color made it look so good. I had that car for the first five years of my business before I could afford a new one.

Aside from the color, the shoe features details to make the shoe more luxurious. For instance, Tomamichel gave the shoe double-Swoosh treatment, adding a white patent leather version of the famed Nike logo underneath one executed in Light Menta, done to offer a bit of shine. He also opted to deliver the uppers in both leather and suede, which sit atop gray outsoles.

Also, the look includes several nods to both the city and the history of Corporate. The phrase For the City is stitched into the collar in his handwriting, which is a nod to his journey from Cincinnati to Minneapolis, and a reminder that wherever you go, you represent not only yourself but also your city. And the words Got Em appear on the heel, a phrase that has been tied to Corporate since its debut in 2008.

On Thur., June 11, my boy Jeff [McWhorter, whom I worked with at Footaction] hits me up like, Yo, I need you to come in tomorrow. Youre going to do shipment. I was like, I hate to do this but Im quitting today. Im going to open my store tomorrow, Tomamichel recalled. When we opened, we had the Nike Indie account and there were five shoes that nobody else had. After closing, sometimes I would go to the mall and hang out, and I went over and sat on the bench at Footaction. Jeff grabbed the phone and says, Footaction, Jeff speaking. Nah, we aint got them, Corporate got em. I was like, What do you just say?'

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As we discussed recently, the last rye whiskey that Jack Daniels released was not the distillerys best effort due to the toasted oak barrel finish it received but did not deserve. But some good news arrived this week on the Tennessee rye whiskey front, with the launch of the new Jack Daniels Bonded Rye Whiskey, and we have the details to share.

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First of all, a reminder about what the bottled-in-bond designation means: The whiskey is the product of one distiller and one distilling season, at least four years old, and bottled at exactly 100 proof. Jack Daniels released two bonded whiskeys in 2022a Tennessee whiskey that is basically a higher proof version of its Old No. 7, and Triple Mash which is a blend of BIB rye, Tennessee, and malt whiskeys. Rye whiskey, according to U.S. law, must be made from a mash bill of at least 51 percent rye. Jack Daniels first released a rye back in 2017 with a mash bill of 70 percent rye, 18 percent corn, and 12 percent malted barley, which is a higher rye proportion than many Kentucky rye whiskeys but less than the 95 percent rye many brands source from MGP in Indiana.



Bonded rye was the core whiskey in the Triple Mash blend, according to master distiller Chris Fletcher, but this is the first time it has been featured on its own. The Bottled-in-Bond designation on Jack Daniels Bonded Rye is another stamp of quality, assuring consumers that every drop of our whiskey is made right here in Lynchburg at the Jack Daniel Distillery with the highest standards possible, he said in a statement. On a recent Zoom call, he elaborated on that by saying that he believes the BIB designation is perhaps more important now than it has ever been because of that factits an indicator that the whiskey comes from Jack Daniels and Jack Daniels alone.



This inauguaral Bonded Rye release was distilled in spring of 2016, bottled at about seven years old, aged in new charred oak barrels, and filtered through charcoal before maturation (part of the Lincoln County process that defines Tennessee whiskey). The result is a very nice rye with balanced notes of spice, fruit, vanilla, and oak. Still present are the traces of those classic Jack Daniels banana bread and apple cake flavors (the result of the same yeast strain being used for all of the whiskeys), but this is much less sweet than Old No. 7, as you would expect from a rye.



At 100 proof, Bonded Rye would be a great choice for any classic rye whiskey cocktail because it has enough heat to stand up to any other ingredientsand according to Fletcher, that was indeed part of the reason for this release. Also of note, the regular Jack Daniels rye whiskey is being discontinued and will be replaced going forward by this BIB version, so grab a bottle now if you want to compare the two. Fletcher says there could be more expressions added to the BIB lineup in the future, but that remains to be seen. You can currently find the new Bonded Rye available to purchase online from retailers like Total Wine.



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Jeffersons Bourbon is known for its unconventional maturation methods (or gimmicks, depending on your point of view), like sending its Ocean series around the world onboard container ships to explore how the high seas and changing weather affects the whiskey. The brands latest release, Jeffersons Tropics Aged in Humidity, is exactly what it sounds likethese barrels were brought to Singapore for a final finish in a sweltering climate.

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The weather in Singapore is a whole lot hotter and more humid than it is in Kentucky, although there are some summer days in the Bluegrass State that might make you question that. Still, a whiskey exposed to extreme temperatures and humidity levels will interact with wood in a more extreme way, and that is exactly what Jeffersons founder Trey Zoeller was looking for. After taking barrels to many different locations, it was evident that the hot and humid climates had such a positive impact on the bourbon, he said in a statement. Singaporeone of my bucket list travel destinationswas absolutely perfect for this experiment. The result is a remarkable bourbon, one that further reinforces my belief that terroir for whiskey comes from the environment that the bourbon matures in rather than the ground from which the grains are grown.

That assessment is certainly not one everyone will agree withfor example, Bruichladdich and Waterford Whisky are two distilleries that are focused on the effects of the ground from which the grains are grown, as well as the specific grains. But Zoeller is nothing if not effusive and enthusiastic about his whiskey experiments. Don Livermore, the in-house master blender for Pernod Ricard (the company that owns Jeffersons) explains the tropical maturation like this: The reason for the increase in wood and flavor compounds was due to the evaporation losses. Ethanol and water will evaporate at a faster pace than wood and flavor compounds. There was a concentrating effect in a barrel over time, thus the Singapore whiskey will be perceived as woodier and more flavorful.

Tropics kind of started out as an abbreviated Jeffersons Ocean project270 barrels of fully mature Kentucky bourbon (no specific age is given) were loaded onto a container ship in Savannah, Ga. to sail to Singapore in July of 2019. After a two month journey, they arrived and were kept there for 18 months to soak up the heat and intensify in flavor. The barrels then sailed back to Savannah, which took another two months, and finally Zoeller and his team blended the whiskey and chose the proof (104), resulting in a bourbon with notes of bing cherry, toffee, sea salt, and a long, textured, full-bodied finish, according to the official tasting notes.

Jeffersons Tropics Aged in Humidity is available now at select retailers (SRP $100), although it may be hard to find online at the moment. But you can find the brands other whiskeys available to purchase from websites like ReserveBar, including many of the Ocean Aged at Sea expressions, to taste and compare.

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The sale ends on Sept. 13.

Low-cost airline Norse Atlantic Airways is making European getaways affordable with one-way trips starting at just $99.

The sale, which must be booked by 12 a.m. ET on Sept. 13, is available for flights across Norse Atlantics network from New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Orlando, and more, the airline shared with Travel + Leisure. The sale, which is subject to availability, excludes travel from Dec. 14 through Jan. 8, 2024.

Its our desire to make travel affordable for all. We believe everyone should be able to travel in style and comfort at affordable prices, Bard Nordhagen, the commercial director for Norse Atlantic Airways, said in a statement provided to T+L. We are excited to announce our Global Sale, offering travelers an opportunity to get their holidays or business trips booked at amazing prices for a limited time only.

Patrick Pleul/Getty Images

Travelers can fly from either Boston or Washington, D.C. to London starting at just $99 one-way. Travelers can also fly from New York to Oslo, from New York to London, from Miami to London, and from Orlando to London starting at just $129 one-way. Or for a bigger splurge, fly from New York to Berlin starting at just $175 one-way, or from Los Angeles all the way across the pond to London starting at just $179 one-way.

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Eligible travel dates vary by destination.

The sale comes as Norse Atlantic announced a new route between Los Angeles and Paris, which the airline plans to launch next year. That new flight will operate six times each week.

It also comes on the heels of a new route between New York and Rome, which the airline launched in June.

Norse Atlantic was founded in 2021 and now operates a fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The airline offers travelers two cabin options: economy and premium, which features a 43 inch seat pitch.

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Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
It's official: we've finally entered pumpkin spice season! And the craze for all things pumpkin is as strong as ever. Not only are there tons of ways to get your pumpkin fix via our favorite fall recipes, but there are also a bunch of pumpkin spice food products and pumpkin-scented candles that have us running to the store!

And we're not alonepeople across the country are seeking out all different kinds of pumpkin recipes and foods according to the folks at Google. But what might surprise you is the fact that it's so much more than just pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin desserts. That's right, Google recently revealed their data that showed just how varied people's searches for pumpkin spice can be! We're talking pumpkin spice cereal, pumpkin spice candy, and even... wait for it... pumpkin spice spam! 

If that caught your attention, just wait until you see what the rest of the country searched for! Here, you'll find Google's most uniquely searched pumpkin spice foods by state for 2023.

Google Trends

If you're looking for the highlights, here are some of the pumpkin spice foods that stood out to us:

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Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts: We have a special place in our heart for apple cider doughnuts, but pumpkin spice doughnuts are just as tasty! People in five states, including Colorado, New Mexico, South Carolina, Kansas, West Virginia, and Tennessee, all seem to agree! Good thing Krispy Kreme kicked off their pumpkin spice season early!

Pumpkin Spice Cheerios: This popular limited-edition cereal is back for 2023. And it's among the top searched pumpkin spice products in Utah, Missouri, Maine, Massachusetts, and Alaska.

Pumpkin Spice Deer Jerky: Never heard of it? Neither did we! It looks like pumpkin spice jerky is actually a popular meme rather than an actual snack. As the joke goes, "it's not pumpkin spice season, it's deer jerky season."

Pumpkin Spice Spam: This one, however, is no joke! People in Arizona are seeking out Pumpkin Spice Spam which was a limited edition product back in 2019 that no longer appears to be available.

Pumpkin Spice Tamales, Empanadas, and Tacos: These all sound so good! Keeping up with the savory-sweet theme, people in South Dakota searched for pumpkin spice tamales, while tacos were a popular search term in Minnesota and empanadas were sought out in Georgia.

Pumpkin Spice Loaf: As for Ree Drummond's hometown in Oklahoma, it's a classic pumpkin spice loaf that takes the cake!

So, what do you think of your state's pie pick? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Talking about Virgin River ultimately leads to conversations about our favorite characters from the series. While we love each of them for various reasons, Jackplayed by Martin Hendersonhas stolen the show, and our hearts!

On the show, Jack is a charming fella and bar owner with some rugged edges who eventually swoons over the likes of Mel (Alexendra Breckenridge). And for fans of the series, it's easy to see why! In real life, Martin is a seasoned New Zealand-born actor with an impressive movie and television resumeand, with just as pleasant of a persona!

When it comes to the actor's love life, there are a few questions raised. Including the obvious: Are Martin and Alexandra together in real life? Unfortunately, that's not the case. So, who is Martin Henderson dating or is he already married? Read on for everything we know about Martin Henderson's love life!

Is Martin Henderson married?

Netflix

The actor has actually never been married before! Though, that's not to say he hasn't dated. In fact, Martin is said to be in a relationship with Penny Hay, a fellow New Zealand citizen and interior designer. While not very much is known about this alleged relationship (including when it may have sparked), the Virgin River star has subtly posted photos of the two together on his Instagram, including moments he has spent with her kids.

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Before Penny, Martin was linked to model Aisha Mendez, with the two confirming their relationship on Instagram back in 2020, but it is not known why or when the pair broke up.

Typically speaking, Martin is more or less private when it comes to his dating life. While he was previously rumored to have dated famed actress Demi Moore over a decade ago in 2012, there have been other alleged relationships from his past, none having been confirmed by the actor himself.

Does Martin Henderson have kids?

If you count fur babies as children, then yes! Though the actor has no actual children of his own, he is the proud paw-rent of a dog named Sammy, who he regularly posts about on his Instagram account.

Now that you know a little more about Martin Henderson's love life, you can check out his TV relationship on season 5 of Virgin River.

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A spokesperson for Paqui said the company was deeply saddened by the news.

MediaNews Group / The Mercury News via Getty Images

A Massachusetts teenager died suddenly on Friday, and his parents believe his death could be connected to an ultra-spicy tortilla chip he ate earlier in the day.

Harris Wolobah passed out at school shortly after he completed the Paqui One Chip Challenge, by eating a single chip seasoned with Carolina Reaper and Naga Viper peppers. The Doherty High School nurse called his mother, Lois, and she took Harris to their nearby home. However, several hours later, paramedics were called to the Wolobah residence, where they found the teen unresponsive.

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According to The New York Times, he was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy has already been performed on Wolobah, but the manner [of death] is still pending, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, shared with reporters.

Related: You Buy The World's Hottest Chips One At A Time

Regardless of the outcome, Lois Wolobah believes that the One Chip Challenge  a single chip that is sold inside a coffin-shaped carton  contributed to her sons death. She also wants the chips to be removed from stores. I just want there to be an awareness for parents to know that its not safe, she told The Times. It needs to be out of the market completely.



A spokesperson for Paqui said that the company was deeply saddened to learn of Harris passing. [We] express our condolences to the family, the representative said. It would be inappropriate for us to speculate or comment further.

As of this writing, the Paqui One Chip Challenge is no longer listed with the brands other tortilla chips on its website, and it cannot be purchased through the company. The Paqui One Chip Challenge is intended for adults only, with clear and prominent labeling highlighting the chip is not for children or anyone sensitive to spicy foods or who has food allergies, is pregnant, or has underlying health conditions, a warning recently added to Paqui.com read.

We have seen an increase in teens and other individuals not heeding these warnings, the company added. As a result, while the product continues to adhere to food safety standards, out of an abundance of caution, we are actively working with our retailers to remove the products from shelves.

The company still lists FAQs for the One Chip Challenge, noting that it doesnt have an official Scoville rating for the chip itself, before adding that it has been coated with a seasoning that uses two of the hottest peppers currently available. According to Paqui, the Carolina Reaper Peppers used on the chip are an estimated 1.7 million Scoville Units, and Naga Viper Peppers are 1.4 million Scoville Units. (By contrast, the average jalapeno is rated between 2,000 and 8,000 Scoville Units.)

One of the other components of the One Chip Challenge was waiting as long as possible to consume water or milk after eating the chip. An Instagram post on the @paquichips account suggested that drinking something to cool off after one minute was Powerless, while 10 minutes was Powerful and one hour was Invincible.

Paqui is currently offering refunds to customers who have purchased the One Chip Challenge; anyone who bought this product is encouraged to call 1-866-528-6848.



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Read the original article on Food & Wine.
As many of us learned over this sweltering summer, extreme heat can pose serious health risks, including dehydration, heat exhaustion and heatstroke. According to a just-released study, pregnant women have another cause for concern: an increased risk for severe maternal morbidity (SMM). As climate scientists warn that next summer could be even hotter, experts break down the findings and tell us what expectant mothers should know about staying safe in extreme heat.

What is severe maternal morbidity?

The World Health Organization defines maternal morbidity as "any health condition attributed to and/or aggravated by pregnancy and childbirth that has negative outcomes to the woman's well-being." These outcomes could be short- or long-term, with the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control citing 21 indicators, or subconditions, including eclampsia, blood transfusion, hysterectomy, ventilation, cardiac arrest, sepsis and shock.

While research published this June showed an overall decline in maternal mortality rates from 2008 to 2021 among women delivering in U.S. hospitals, the prevalence of SMM increased during that same time period. SMM rates were also higher for patients of a racial or ethnic minority group, while advanced maternal age, racial or ethnic minority group status, comorbidities (such as hypertension or diabetes) and C-sections were associated with an increased risk of maternal mortality and SMM.

What the study says

Published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on Thursday, the study found that long- and short-term extreme heat exposure during pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of SMM. Researchers noted that "these results might have important implications for SMM prevention, particularly in a changing climate."

What are the key findings?

Using data from Kaiser Permanente Southern California as a cohort study, researchers looked at 403,602 pregnancies  3,446 of which involved SMM  taking place between 2008 to 2018. To determine long-term heat exposure, researchers measured the proportion of different heat days  moderate, high or extreme heat  during each pregnancy and by trimester. Short-term exposures, meanwhile, were calculated using heat waves of varying durations during the last week of pregnancy.

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A caveat: While researchers were able to estimate green-space exposure using street-view images of the area surrounding residential addresses at the time of delivery, they did not have available data to factor in individual-level behavior, such as spending time indoors, cooling off in the shower or cranking up the air conditioning. And because the study was limited to pregnancies that occurred in Southern California, its authors recognize the need for "further studies in other regions with various climates and diverse populations."

The findings:

Long-term heat exposure during pregnancy  defined as high exposure to extreme heat days  was associated with a 27% increase in risk of SMM during pregnancy and a 28% increase during the third trimester.

Short-term heat-wave exposure was also "significantly associated" with elevated SMM risks.

There was a significantly higher association between heat exposure and SMM among mothers who did not attend college.

Mothers whose pregnancies began in the cold season (and were therefore further along into their pregnancies during periods of extreme heat) also saw higher associations between heat exposure and SMM.

"In our analysis, we observed associations between extreme heat exposure and adverse cardiovascular, cerebrovascular or hypertensive conditions in SMM (including aneurysm, acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest/ventricular fibrillation, conversion of cardiac rhythm, eclampsia, heart failure/arrest during surgery or procedure, pulmonary edema/acute heart failure, puerperal cerebrovascular disorders and shock)," study author Anqi Jiao of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the University of California, Irvine, tells Yahoo Life. "It suggests that those subconditions of SMM may play a critical role in associations between heat exposure and SMM."

Adds Jiao: "We observed a higher vulnerability among mothers with lower educational attainment. This observation of worse health outcomes among women with lower socioeconomic status may reflect the broader impacts of the persistent and pervasive social injustice issues."

What experts say

Dr. Alison Cowan is an ob-gyn and the head of medical affairs at Mirvie, which develops prediction tools for life-threatening pregnancy complications like eclampsia. She tells Yahoo Life that the study "adds further evidence" of the risks extreme heat can pose to pregnant women.

"We've known before that heat is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes," she says. "It has been associated with having low-birthweight infants and even with stillbirth in some studies. So we've known that there are some risks associated with heat exposure, and I think the current study adds to that body of evidence showing us that heat exposure also increases the risk of having a severe maternal morbidity."

"Extreme heat also affects other aspects of pregnant peoples health and well-being," says Dr. Mary T. Jacobson, ob-gyn and chief medical officer for the women's health resource Hello Alpha. One example of note: "Heat waves are associated with increases in intimate partner violence, which is already a leading cause of death for pregnant people in the U.S." What's more, extreme heat exposure has also been associated with an increased risk of preterm birth and, as Jiao's research team has previously reported, premature rupture of membranes.

Cowan was particularly drawn to the study's emphasis on worsening cardiovascular outcomes in pregnancy, noting that heat exposure has also been associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes in the nonpregnant population. That's significant given the prevalence of cardiovascular-related complications  like high blood pressure disorders such as preeclampsia  in cases of SMM and maternal mortality.

Why it matters

As Jiao and her colleagues note, the study's findings have "important implications" in light of our "changing climate."

"Climate change will continue to impact all facets of health with increasing severity and duration of extreme heat events ... ," Jiao says. "Given the susceptibility of women during the pregnancy period, extreme heat would continue to pose threats and increase the risk of different adverse pregnancy outcomes including but not limited to SMM."

"Climate change is considered an urgent women's health issue because of its known associations with these adverse outcomes," adds Cowan, pointing to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' official position on the topic. There should be a level of urgency with climate change research, she says, which will hopefully pave the way for initiatives that combat its effects. Jacobson adds that this is an opportunity for "health care policymakers and community organizers" to "design and implement targeted interventions" to help pregnant women.

What can pregnant women do?

First things first: Don't panic.

"It's important for pregnant women not to feel afraid," says Cowan, who is optimistic that the warnings about SMM and maternal mortality rates have led to "a lot of systematic changes" and improved outcomes for patients. "And it's not that they have to lock themselves indoors in full air conditioning at all times, but it's really about common sense."

That means taking measures to reduce one's exposure and health risk. "Limiting time in high-risk heat exposure and staying hydrated when you are going to be exposed to heat is really important. Make sure that you have a plan for drinking enough water if you're going to be out and about during the day, but you can still live your life normally.

"It's really about making sure that if you're feeling the heat  if you're starting to feel things any lightheadedness, if you feel extremely hot, if you're feeling like your heart is racing  those are all signs that it's time to get indoors and just take a break," she continues. "So, just listening to your body and those commonsense things, I think, is the most important thing that most people can do."
Princess Mary's floral midi skirt and detailed blouse were a chic yet understated look as the Princess attended an important engagement

Princess Mary's floral midi skirt and detailed blouse were perfect for an outdoor engagement in the warm September sun.

On Tuesday, September 5, 2023, the Crown Princess Mary stepped out for an important royal engagement with her husband Crown Prince Frederick. The royal couple shared images of this engagement on their social media, which showed how they dressed respectfully in black for this memorial event.

In English, the caption read, "Throughout the day, the Crown Prince has been marking the Flag Day for Denmark's delegates. At Copenhagen Castle, Their Royal Highnesses the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess began the day by honoring fallen soldiers by laying a wreath at the Monument of Denmark's International Effort after 1948. Holmens Church later formed the frame of a memorial service in honour of Danish fallen in international service."



"In the afternoon, the Crown Prince Couple parade at Christiansborg Slotsplads, where among other things the Royal Lifeguard Honorary Command paid tribute to Your Royal Highnesses," the post concluded.

A post shared by DET DANSKE KONGEHUS  (@detdanskekongehus) A photo posted by on

For the engagement, the Prince and Princess both wore black as a sign of respect. In the warm sunny September afternoon, the Princess ensured she stayed cool by wearing an Audrey Hepburn-style large sunhat from Susanne Juu which shielded her from the glaring sun. The future Queen also made her black ensemble as weather-friendly as possible and wore delicate shades of pink in her hat and skirt for a warmer end-of-summer look.

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The Princess wore a black blouse from Hugo Boss called the 'Cilja -1'. Paired with this blouse she wore a printed midi skirt from Andiata, a belt from Celine, and a pair of Gianvito Rossi blush patent leather pumps.

The blush colour of the pumps brought out the pink flowers in the floral pattern in the Princess's skirt and in her hat, making this entire ensemble come together perfectly in harmonious colour coordination.

Crown Princess Mary

Although the Princess opted for a number of designer pieces in this look, this ensemble is actually surprisingly easy to replicate with high street brands, and may not cost as much to put together as you might think!

This looks is the perfect summer to autumn transitional look and can be dressed up or down according to the occasion.

Clover Floral Silk Mix Skirt | Whistles

A tiered skirt in a new floral print, with hints of gold detailing. With frill detailing that cascades along the skirt, it is the perfect day-to-night solution. Just add a black polo neck, a leather jacket and heeled boots.

Frill Neck Blouse | Marks & Spencer

A high frilled neckline brings a touch of drama to this sophisticated blouse. Regular fit, with elegant long sleeves. Fastens securely at the back with a button. M&S Collection: easy-to-wear wardrobe staples that combine classic and contemporary styles.

Thin Leather Belt with covered buckle | Massimo Dutti

This Massimo Dutti belt is made in Spain from bovine leather. The belt is thin and features a metal buckle fastening and a leather belt loop.
Ava Phillippe, the daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, brought fans along with her on a trip to Umbria, Italy, where she attended a picturesque brand event that had everyone feeling jealous.

The 23-year-old shared a selfie on Instagram on Sept. 6 of herself in a strapless, sequined white top with her hair styled in soft waves, captioning it, "A wonderful adventure to Italy in celebration of 70 years of @brunellocucinelli @brunellocucinelli_brand ."

She went on to describe the brand event, which she showcased in a video also included in the post: "The evening was a sincere ode to art & fashion, enhanced by the natural beauty of the Italian countryside. The looks were timeless and elegant, and I especially enjoyed learning about the very meaningful values at the heart of the brand."

>>> 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 <<<

"I feel so lucky to have left this gorgeous place with some of the most amazing parting gifts: fond memories & tons of inspiration. Grazie mille! ," concluded Phillippe.

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The new Instagram update also included a sunlit photo of Phillippe showing off her full outfit, which included the sequined top and matching shiny white cargo pants. Black heels and hoop earrings completed the look.

In a final clip of Phillippe wearing another white top and a bunch of gold jewelry, the young woman sipped coffee from a tiny cup in the perfect Italian experience.

Actress Alyssa Milano commented, "So very beautiful."

"I just melted at ur little smile at the end ," complimented one follower, as another wrote, "You are the epitome of elegance my dear ."

"Such a casual globetrotter these days ," noted a third.

Recently, Phillippe has been traveling a lot, sharing memories from France and Spain during a Europe trip in June.

Next: Reese Witherspoon's Daughter Is a Tomato Girl in Radiant Photo
a wild boar standing in a forest looking at the camera with a tree next to it

a wild boar standing in a forest looking at the camera with a tree next to it

After puzzling scientists for decades, researchers have finally figured out what's making Bavaria's wild boars radioactive, even as other animals show few signs of contamination.

Turns out, the animals are still significantly contaminated with radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons detonated over 60 years ago  not just from the Chernobyl disaster, as was previously thought.

And the boars (Sus scrofa) are likely being contaminated by some of their favorite food  truffles.

Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, was hit with radioactive contamination following the Chernobyl nuclear accident in April 1986, when a reactor exploded in Ukraine and deposited contaminants across the Soviet Union and Europe.

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Some radioactive material can persist in the environment for a very long time. Cesium-137  which is associated with nuclear reactors like at Chernobyl  takes around 30 years for its levels to be halved (known as its half-life). In comparison, cesium-135, which is associated with nuclear weapon explosions, has a half life of 2.3 million years.

Related: What is the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone?

Boars in Bavaria have continued to have high radioactivity levels since the Chernobyl disaster, even as contaminants in other forest species declined. It was long theorized that Chernobyl was the source of the radioactivity in boars  but something didn't add up. With cesium-137 having a half-life of 30 years, the boars' radioactivity should be declining, yet it is not.

This is known as the "wild boar paradox."

But now, in a new study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology on Aug. 30, scientists found that fallout from nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War is behind the wild boar paradox, with radioactive material from both Chernobyl and nuclear weapons tests accumulating in fungi, such as deer truffles, that the boars consume.

The researchers analyzed the meat of 48 boars in 11 Bavarian districts between 2019 and 2021. They used the ratio of cesium-135 to cesium-137 in the samples to determine the source.

The specific ratios between these two isotopes are specific to each source of radiation, forming a unique fingerprint that researchers can use in analysis  a high ratio of cesium-135 to cesium-137 indicates nuclear weapon explosions, while a low ratio suggests nuclear reactors.

a mushroom cloud from an atom bomb detonation with red sky in the background and trails of smoke

They compared the isotopic fingerprint of the boar meat samples with soil samples from Fukushima and Chernobyl, as well as from historical human lung tissue collected in Austria. The lung tissue was processed in the 1960s and revealed signs of the isotopic fingerprint left by nuclear weapons testing during the Cold War. While no nuclear weapons were detonated near the study site, fallout from the tests spread in the atmosphere globally.

Findings showed that 88% of samples taken exceeded the German limit for radioactive cesium. Between 10% and 68% of contamination came from nuclear weapons testing. The contaminants from both the weapons test and Chernobyl disaster seeped deep into the earth and were absorbed by underground truffles, explaining the wild boar paradox.

RELATED STORIES

How do you decontaminate objects exposed to radioactivity?

Melting permafrost in the Arctic could release radioactive waste and awaken sleeping viruses

Alcohol made from radioactive Chernobyl apples seized by Ukraine government

Understanding the ecological persistence of radioactive contamination has been a pressing scientific problem since the first atomic bombs were dropped in 1945 over Japan. Fears over food safety following nuclear strikes or disasters at nuclear power plants are still not well understood in specific regional contexts.

"This study illustrates that strategic decisions to conduct atmospheric nuclear tests 60-80 years ago still impact remote natural environments, wildlife, and a human food source today," the authors wrote.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises will now upgrade passengers to first class on dozens of voyages next year to Alaska, Canada, New England, and the Caribbean.

Graham Copeland/Courtesy of Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Regent Seven Seas Cruises offers a luxury experience from the second travelers leave their homes  and now the cruise line is making it even more luxe by upgrading passengers to first class.

The all-inclusive cruise line, which includes business class airfare as part of the cost of a cruise, will now upgrade passengers to first class on dozens of voyages next year to Alaska, Canada, New England, and the Caribbean, the company shared with Travel + Leisure. The upgrade is available for travelers who book by Oct. 31.

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The unrivaled Regent experience offers the best in luxury cruising, from exquisite fine dining in gourmet restaurants to unlimited shore excursions in every port, and with our new First Class In Every Way offer we are giving our guests the chance to enhance their travel experience even further," Andrea DeMarco, the president of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, said in a statement provided to T+L.

This fantastic offer includes the additional element of luxury pre- and post-voyage travel with [free] first-class air tickets, for guests wishing to explore the wonderful, close-to-home destinations of Alaska, Canada and New England and the Caribbean," DeMarco added.

The upgrade offer is available for 27 different voyages in 2024 ranging from 7 nights long to 16 nights long. The eligible trips will sail on board either the Seven Seas Explorer, the Seven Seas Mariner, or the cruise lines newest ship, the Seven Seas Grandeur, which is set to debut this fall and features over-the-top accommodations.

In addition to airfare, all trips with Regent Seven Seas come with perks like free unlimited shore excursions, unlimited internet access, free valet laundry, included gratuities, and more. In addition, guests who stay in a concierge-level suite or above receive a one-night pre-cruise hotel package.

The upgrade promotion comes as Regent Seven Seas plans to add more than 160 new voyages and 29 ports of call for its 2025 and 2026 schedule, including a 154-night world cruise.

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Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Retail Watch |

By Warren Shoulberg

The sudden collapse of Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams came as a shock to many in the industry. But after the surprise wore off, the news kicked off a scramble to see where there might be opportunities to pick up the pieces of the upscale upholstery and furniture supplier and retailerand some business, too.

A few caveats: In an interview with The Business of Home Podcast, co-founder Mitchell Gold expressed hope that a white knight investor could restart the business for $20 million to $30 million. Yesterdays Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing suggests he couldnt find one, but the documentation indicated that the company had secured debtor-in-possession financing and had appointed a chief restructuring officer. At the moment, its not clear whether Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams will be scrapped and sold for parts, or whether an energized buyer will come in to preserve some version of the company.

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In the meantime, the company is not manufacturing at its plant in Taylorsville, North Carolina, nor shipping finished product to customers. Gold told BOH that there were as many as 4,000 customers with orders still in process, their fate on hold given the companys unknown future. A look through the windows of one of the MG+BW stores in Atlanta showed a state of suspended animation, with furniture still arranged in room settings and lighting still turned on waiting for shoppers who may never set foot inside again.

Its the companys distribution strategyone that focused on its own 24 retail stores and assorted outletsthat complicates the question of who might pick up MG+BWs market share. A large percentage of the companys estimated $150 million to $200 million in annual sales was reportedly generated by its own locationsFurniture Today estimated that those stores did about $160 million in sales last year. It is hard to know if that total number included sales in retail dollars versus wholesale, making an accurate breakdown of business difficult to estimate.

But its likely that the opportunities to pick up its business lie more with retailers than manufacturers. Although vendors would supply the actual product to those retailers, revenue would be most noticeable at the store level, meaning competing vendors will have to see which retailers were picking up share.

Candidates for capturing MG+BWs business include RH, Arhaus, Ethan Allen, Crate & Barrel, CB2 and Pottery Barn, as well as its online-only stablemate Williams-Sonoma Home. The MG+BW price points were higher than those of West Elm, Ikea, Rooms To Go and other more moderate banners, largely precluding them from being gainers here.

Interior Define might pick up business too, although it has shut down many of its physical stores after its financial struggles and sale to Havenly. Other contenders include regional furniture chains like Nebraska Furniture Mart in the central part of the country, City Furniture locations throughout Florida, and Jordans Furniture in New England, along with smaller one- and two-unit retail operations around the country.

Another group of winners could be the interior designers whom consumers occasionally bypassed to work directly with in-house MG+BW designersthough designers who did a lot of purchasing through the company are likely currently busy, wondering if theyll be able to recover in-process orders.

MG+BW might be resurrected and could even reopen its stores under new investors. Its happened before. But more often, the returning company fails to capture the essence of the original, and doesnt succeed. Across the furniture industry, as other fallen companies like Klaussner and Lane are seeing their remains divvied up, the MG+BW business will be in play over the next year or so if it isnt revived.

And as the industry struggles with soft business conditions, will there be more?

____________

Warren Shoulberg is the former editor in chief for several leading B2B publications. He has been a guest lecturer at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business; received honors from the International Furnishings and Design Association and the Fashion Institute of Technology; and been cited by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and other media as a leading industry expert. His Retail Watch columns offer deep industry insights on major markets and product categories.

Want to stay informed? Sign up for our newsletter, which recaps the weeks stories, and get in-depth industry news and analysis each quarter by subscribing to our print magazine. Join BOH Insider for discounts, workshops and access to special events such as the Future of Home conference.
Open up a whole brew world by learning some beer basics.

If you're beer-curious, how to get started or learn more? There is a pretty overwhelming ocean of suds to wade into. As of 2022 there were over 9,500 breweries and counting in the United States, according to the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade organization representing American craft breweries. From that multitude of makers, comes a seemingly insurmountable pile of styles. How can a would-be beer drinker navigate the wide world of beer? We asked certified cicerone Anne Becerra of New York's Treadwell Park to guide us.







Meet Our Expert

Anne Becerra is a certified cicerone. She was the first woman in New York City to gain the certification as a tested and recognized beer professional and has worked in the beer world for more than 13 years. She regularly curates and hosts beer classes, dinners, and tasting events across the country, and is a beer judge for multiple state and national competitions.

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"I got into beer because I really love flavorfood, wine, spirits, and cocktails. Everything that's exciting and fun to taste," says Becerra. "When I realized how much there was out there and how little I knew, I thought, How come I don't know this exists? Why don't we talk about beer the way we talk about wine, spirits, food? It's affordable and accessiblethat was my a-ha moment. I was enjoying it and I knew others would, too."

Related: Enjoy a Pint at One of the Best Craft Breweries Around the United States

LeszekCzerwonka / GETTY IMAGES

Why Is Beer So Popular?

More than any other beverage, beer has a rep for being all-embracing. On tap, in can, or from the bottle, it's entirely egalitarian. You can buy it pretty much anywhere, drink it alone or with a multitude of meals, and more often than not, it's affordable. Even the splurges aren't really that splurgy. And it's still the most consumed alcohol beverage in the country, according to a 2022 Gallup survey of Americans, clocking in as the primary pick for 35 percent of the country.

Craft Beer

Beer's reputation as a pop-topper for blue collar Joes has changed drastically as the craft beer movement has morphed and grown over the last 40 or so years, since California-based producers like Sierra Nevada and the resurrected Anchor Brewing sowed the seeds of the craft brewing movement.

Today, the outgrowth of those fledgling dreamers (who are still in business and inarguably very successful) is vast with choices galore. Learning a little bit about how beer is made can help you focus on what may, or may not, appeal to your palate.

What Is Beer?

Generally speaking, beer is made from four ingredients: barley, water, hops, and yeast. Barley is the most common cereal grain used in brewing, and plays an important role in beer, its sugars being the key to get the yeast going, which kicks off fermentation (turning that yeast and sugar into alcohol).

"Malt shapes the color and flavor profile. Hops provide bitterness and balance. Yeast ferments sugars and provides other flavor and aromas that are all their own," Becerra says. "It's up to the brewer to create the flavor profile using those tools. If you want nutty, chocolaty, cinnamon, spicy, lemonanything you can think of can be created from those combos using those ingredients, and that's what brewers get to do."

The Flavor Map

In beer, Becerra says, you find many of the exciting flavors valued in other epicurean areaswine, beer, coffee, and cooking in general. "Beer is a fun way to play with flavor," she says. But where to begin?

"People like to experiment, but in my opinion the amount of choice in beer has gotten a little out of hand. That can be overwhelming," she says. "There are a lot of styles and if you try one and it's not great, you get turned off to that style and never try it again."

How to Start

As the craft beer industry has found its stride, though, more and more producers have turned to creating dependable, often sessionable (that is, easily drinkable and lower in alcohol) flagship brews. These are where Becerra suggests the beer-curious can dip a toe before branching out and trying other styles in a brewery's line-up. "What I'm excited about now is the craft beer industry is coming back to consistent, well-made, flagship affordable styles that people get to know and enjoy," she says. Trying these staple brews is a great way to start and to learn if you like that particular brewery's style in general.



Types of Beer

"All beeror, at least 99.9 percent of itfalls into two categories: ale or lager," says Becerra. What's the difference? If you guessed beer color or alcohol strength, you'd be incorrect. "It's dependent on the yeast and the condition in which it works. Ales are top-fermented and lagers are bottom-fermented, which means they get to work at different times or temperatures."

The shake-out of that: malty, hoppy ales tend to tease out more fruity, nutty, spicy aromatics; lagers lean toward cleaner, brighter, refreshing style brews. To further break it down and help you horn in on brews to branch into, here's a cheat sheet for styles that fall under the category of ales or lagers.

Types of Ale

Under the category of ales, you will find:



India pale ale (IPA)

Porter

Stout

Sours

Barley wine

Saison

Types of Lager

Under the category of lagers, look for:

Pilsner

Bock

Dunkel

Kolsch

Helles

Next Steps

"It's all about knowing what flavors you like and tuning into that. Light and tart? Rich and full bodied? You can find those things in beer," says Becerra. "There are a multitude of styles. From sweet and rich, to a great hop-driven beer with lovely bitterness, zestiness, and herbaceous notes, and every combo in between!" she says.



Read the original article on Martha Stewart.


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I've always been obsessed with Korean skincare products and trends, so when K-Beauty brand Sulwhasoo invited me to Seoul back in June for a sneak-peak at their newest launch, to say I was thrilled was an understatement. I spent four days with Sulwhasoo in their home city learning about the newly reformulated First Care Activating Serum, along with the one key ingredient in the serum that makes it so effective: ginseng.

Ginseng may be an under-the-radar ingredient in the US, but it's super popular in South Korea and used in a ton of skincare products, from face serums and essences to overnight sleeping masks and more. Keep reading for everything you need to know about ginseng and the new Sulwhasoo serum that harnesses the power of star ingredient.

Shop Now Anti-Aging First Care Activating Serum sephora.com $89.00

What is ginseng?

Ginseng is a traditional Korean herb that kinda looks like a white carrot IMO. It grows as a root and has been used for thousands of years in Korean culture. It's commonly found in teas, soups, herbal remedies, and of course, skincare products. When used in topical skincare productslike essences, face serums, and face moisturizersginseng's antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging properties shine. Think of it as a "superfood" for your skin, similar to other popular ingredients like green tea, kale, or mushroom extract.

What does ginseng do for skin?

While on my trip to Seoul, I visited the Amorepacific labs (the parent company of Sulwhasoo that also owns popular K-beauty brands like Laneige and Innisfree) where I learned that ginseng does a whole freaking lot for the skin. Ginseng is packed with antioxidants, so it can help protect skin from free radical damage (from exposure to things like pollution and UV rays) that leads to signs of aging, like dark spots and wrinkles. Ginseng is especially great when paired with sunscreen, since the antioxidants in ginseng help bolster the efficacy of SPF (similar to the way vitamin C does).

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Ginseng is also able to increase skin hydration, improve skin barrier function, increase circulation in the skin, minimize the look of dark spots and dull, uneven skin tone, and even help smooth fine lines and crepey skin texture. Basically, it's the all-natural multitasker your skin needs if you want a dewy glow.

Is ginseng good for anti-aging?



Yes, ginseng is a good for anti-aging thanks to it's anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and collagen-boosting properties. In fact, ginseng is recognized by the Korean FDA for it's anti-aging properties.

That said, it shouldn't replace tried-and-true anti-aging ingredients like retinol or peptides in your routine. IMO, ginseng is a great "supporting cast" ingredient. It's great on its own, but when you combine it with other actives, it's even more effective at smoothing and plumping skin.

Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Cream

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Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Eye Cream

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Concentrated Ginseng Renewing Sheet Masks Set of 5

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White Ginseng Radiance Refining Mask

Shop Now White Ginseng Radiance Refining Mask sephora.com $68.00

Which ginseng products should you use?

Sure, I may be a bit biased, but Sulwhasoo's new First Care Activating Serum is a must-try if you're interested in adding ginseng to your skincare routine. The ginseng used in the serum (and all Sulwhasoo products, FWIW) is grown on farms in Korea and then harvested four years after it's planted, when the root is at its peak freshness. It's then dried and chopped up and put through multiple processes where the valuable components for skincare are extracted. It takes six to seven ginseng roots to make one bottle of the First Care Activating Serum, so the formula is super-concentrated for maximum efficacy.

It's also worth noting that Sulwhasoo's First Care Activating Serum is more of an essenceso you'd use it as a first-step after cleansing and toning and before your other serums and moisturizers to hydrate and prep your skin for whatever you put on top. I love how the texture is incredibly lightweight and fast-absorbing (once you apply it it legit soaks into skin in seconds with zero greasy residue). I've been using it the morning under Alastin's Brightening Serum and my prescription cream from Curology at night and have been loving the results.

Are there any downsides to using ginseng?



In general, there are no downsides to using ginseng in your skincare routine. Unlike retinoids, vitamin C, or AHAs and BHAs that have potentially irritating side effects, ginseng is super gentle and generally well-tolerated by all skin types, including sensitive skin.

The takeaway:

Overall, ginseng is an ingredient that's absolutely worth adding to your skincare routine. It can help improve your skin tone and texture and address a multitude of skin issues, including dryness, discoloration, and fine lines. And unlike many other skincare ingredients, ginseng can be safely used by pretty much anyone, no matter their skin type or tone. So go ahead and try it in Sulwhasoo's reformulated First Care Activating Serum, or one of the top-rated K-Beauty products below.

Ginseng Essence Water

Shop Now Ginseng Essence Water amazon.com $18.00

Clean It Zero Nourishing Cleansing Balm

Shop Now Clean It Zero Nourishing Cleansing Balm amazon.com $21.95

Renewing Rich Beauty Cream

Shop Now Renewing Rich Beauty Cream amazon.com $58.00

Ginseng Essence Water

Shop Now Ginseng Essence Water amazon.com $18.00

Renewing Rich Beauty Cream

Shop Now Renewing Rich Beauty Cream amazon.com $58.00

Ginseng Eye Cream

Shop Now Ginseng Eye Cream amazon.com $19.50

Erborian Online Only BB Creme

Shop Now Erborian Online Only BB Creme ulta.com $39.00

Why trust Cosmopolitan?

Lauren Balsamo is the deputy beauty director at Cosmopolitan with a decade of experience researching, writing, and editing skincare and aesthetics stories that range from the best sunscreens for sensitive skin to the best lasers for acne scars. She regularly works with the industrys top dermatologists and aestheticians to assess new skincare treatments, products, ingredients, and trends.

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After he lost Ohio's 2022 U.S. Senate primary, state Sen. Matt Dolan pledged to put his money where his mouth is.

The Chagrin Falls Republican placed third in the messy race for the GOP nomination behind Sen. J.D. Vance and former state treasurer Josh Mandel. His success surprised the political world. After all, he was the only candidate to distance himself from former President Donald Trump in a primary defined by Trump's influence.

Dolan, who's now running in the 2024 Senate race, took this as a sign that Ohioans are interested in pragmatism and launched a leadership PAC to promote his policy positions and vision for the GOP. Dubbed Ohio Matters PAC, Dolan said the group aimed to support issue-oriented Republicans and ensure the party is executing on its ideas.

"If were going to continue to just focus on the past, were going to fail as Republicans," he said last year. "I would hope others would stand up and say the same thing and just say, its time for the Republicans to move on."

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But more than one year after its launch, Ohio Matters has spent more money on Dolan's campaign consultants than candidates. And Dolan, who's part of the wealthy family that owns the Cleveland Guardians, never made the personal contribution he promised when the PAC kicked off.

The findings come after one of Dolan's primary opponents, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, criticized him for not doing enough to support Issue 1, the failed effort to make it harder to amend Ohio's constitution. LaRose's campaign declined to comment for this story.

"The fact that hes contributed nothing leads me to believe that the PAC was nothing than a public relations gimmick," said David Cohen, a political scientist at the University of Akron.

How Matt Dolan's PAC spent its money

Ohio Matters received over $89,000 in donations after Dolan announced the PAC's formation, including a combined $11,600 from Guardians chairman Paul Dolan and other members of the senator's family. These donors backed Dolan's 2022 Senate campaign and agreed to move their contributions to the PAC account.

Dolan said he would invest an undetermined amount of his own money, but that never happened, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

The group has received occasional contributions since then and had about $85,000 on hand as of July. In total, it's donated to six candidates:

$1,000 to Rep. Nick Santucci, R- Howland Twp.

$300 to Ethan Reynolds, who previously served as New Carlisle councilman and mayor.

$250 to Attorney General Dave Yost's 2022 campaign.

$250 to Treasurer Robert Sprague's 2022 campaign.

$250 to Auditor Keith Faber's 2022 campaign.

$250 to Sen. Michael Rulli, R-Salem.

Ohio Matters also gave $2,000 to the Ohio Republican Party and $2,500 to the Ohio Young Republican PAC. At the same time, it's paid $29,000 to political firms run by Dolan's campaign manager and top political adviser. The consultants helped advise and manage the PAC between Dolan's Senate bids.

Ohio Matters PAC is actively working to support candidates, causes and organizations committed to championing conservative policy and building a stronger Republican Party," said Brad Miller, a spokesman for Dolan's campaign. "While we do not telegraph strategy, during the weeks and months ahead, the PAC will continue its work to support principled leaders dedicated to fostering collaboration and engagement in order to expand economic opportunity and security in Ohio and build a stronger future for America."

Cohen said PACs need to raise millions of dollars and either get behind one key race or several candidates to be influential. Anything short of that isn't serving much of a purpose, he argued.

It just seems to be languishing," Cohen said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Ohio Matters PAC is a leadership PAC, not a super PAC.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

Get more political analysis by listening to the Ohio Politics Explained podcast

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Senate race 2024: Matt Dolan PAC donates little to Republicans
A Fulton County Jail inmate died at an Atlanta hospital earlier this week, marking the sixth death in recent weeks at the same jail where former President Trump surrendered to authorities last month.

The Fulton County Sheriffs Office said Wednesday 24-year-old Shawndre Delmore was discovered unresponsive during a routine check by a detention officer last week. Delmore was taken to a hospital in Atlanta where he later died Sunday.

The death comes after the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in July it was opening a civil investigation into the conditions at the Fulton County Jail, citing violence resulting in death or injuries, filthy conditions and the death of a man last year whose body was found covered in insects.

DOJ said the investigation will examine the jails living conditions, medical and mental health care, use of excessive force and protection from violence.

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According to The Associated Press (AP), Delmore is the sixth person to die in Fulton County custody since the end of July. Delmore was arrested on April 1 and held on bond on a second-degree burglary charge and obstruction of law enforcement officers, the sheriffs office said.

Atlanta Police Department will investigative his death and the Fulton County Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy, the sheriffs office said.

Lawshawn Thompson, 35, died in a bedbug-infested cell in the Fulton County Jails psychiatry wing last September, and an independent autopsy found he died from severe neglect. Thompsons family has since reached a settlement with the county.

Samuel Lawrence, 34, was also found unresponsive in his jail cell and died Aug. 26 at an Atlanta hospital, the AP reported. Devon Blake, 23, was stabbed to death, and four others were stabbed and injured during a fight in the jail on Aug. 31. Meanwhile, three others died in the last month, including 66-year-old Alexander Hawkins, 34-year-old Christopher Smith and 40-year-old Montay Stinson.

The Fulton County Jail made national news last month when Trump surrendered in his election interference case in Georgia. He was booked, becoming the first U.S. president in history, past or present, known to have a mug shot taken. The other 18 co-defendants in the election interference case were also booked at the jail.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD)- Defense attorneys for Alex Murdaugh alleged on Tuesday that the Colleton County Clerk of Court, Rebecca Hill, tampered with the jury that found him guilty of the murder of his wife and son earlier this year and are now asking for a new trial.

In a 65-page motion to the S.C. Court of Appeals and letter to U.S. Attorney Adair Boroughs, Murdaughs lawyers, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, accuse Hill of jury tampering and request a federal investigation.

Defendant Richard Alexander Murdaughhereby moves the Court for a new trial

after discovering that the Clerk of Court tampered with the jury by advising them not to believe

Murdaughs testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a

quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge

in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense, the filing states.

Following the six-week double-murder trial, the jury found Murdaugh guilty of killing his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul after three hours of deliberation.

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Murdaugh, a disbarred attorney from a prominent South Carolina family, took the stand to defend himself in his double-murder trial, delivering lengthy and emotional testimony.

However, defense attorneys claim Hill instructed jurors not be misled by evidence presented in Murdaughs defense and not be fooled by Murdaughs testimony.

The filing also accuses Hill of having frequent private conversations with the jury foreperson and asking jurors for their opinion about Murdaughs guilt or innocence.

Furthermore, attorneys allege that Hill invented a story about a Facebook post to remove a juror she believed might vote not guilty. On the last day of the trial, Judge Clifton Newman removed a juror due to improper conduct and replaced her with an alternate.

FILE  Michael Gunn, principle at Forge Consulting, gives the witness oath by Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, right, during Alex Murdaughs double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse, Feb. 8, 2023, in Walterboro, S.C. On Tuesday, Sept. 5, Murdaughs lawyers filed a request for a new trial, saying Hill influenced jurors by telling them not to be fooled by the defenses evidence during the trial and had private conversations with the jury foreperson. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool, File)

Documents further state that Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame, pointing to media appearances Hill made following the trial and her book, Behind the Doors of Justice, which was released Aug. 1.

In a separate letter to U.S. Attorney Boroughs, defense attorneys request a federal investigation based on the new discovery, asserting Ms. Hills actions deprived Mr. Murduagh of his rights under the Constitution for a fair trial.

During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, attorney Jim Griffin described Alex Murdaughs reaction to what the jurors said in their affidavits.

When I shared with him the affidavits, hes a lawyer, he was astonished. He was shaking. He was in disbelief. He thanked Mr. Hartpootlian and Mr. Barber and myself for spending our weekends on dirt roads in Colleton County, he said.

Attorney Dick Harpootlian said they hope to receive approval for a hearing to look into these allegations. He said Hill, the jurors, and possibly even Judge Newman could testify if that hearing happens.

Hartpootlian said he was told the Attorney General has 10 days to respond to this filing.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson provided the following response after Tuesday afternoons press conference: We are currently reviewing the defenses latest motion and will respond through the legal process at the appropriate time.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
The draft of the 2023 Western North Carolina Passenger Rail Feasibility Study has seen positive responses from local governments and rail corporations, said Jason Orthner, director of the North Carolina Department of Transportation Rail Division.

Released in June, the study considers the construction of a 139-mile rail line to Asheville from Salisbury. The project is currently estimated to cost $665 million.

The study draft was discussed during the Sept. 6 WNC Rail Committee meeting, where Orthner gave feedback on the study.

The WNC Rail Committee is a nonprofit organization with a focus on rail freight, rail excursions and passenger rail access in Western North Carolina, according to its website.

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Orthner said a major railroad company received the plan positively.

We did receive an acknowledgement from Norfolk Southern on the study, and that they are looking forward to participating going forward, Orthner said. That was well received here.

Funding

During the meeting, Dan Gurley, deputy chief of staff for North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, provided legislative funding updates to the committee and emphasized the need for support in the N.C. Senate.

I think you need to double down on your efforts on the Senate side, frankly, Gurley said.

Previous efforts to find state funding for rail projects passed through the state house, but found little support in the state senate, Gurley said.

We are going to have to work harder on them is really bluntly what Im saying, Gurley said.

Ray Rapp, co-chair of the Western North Carolina Rail Committee and Democratic former state legislator, said that both federal and state support is important to the project going forward.

The proposed passenger rail route from Salisbury in the east to Asheville.

Previously, Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards said he was skeptical of the rail line.

We need our federal support as well, as I know Congressman Edwards has reservations on this, Rapp said. I think its a matter of having some conversations with him and him seeing that there is support for this initiative.

The Salisbury to Asheville line was put forward for federal consideration in May as a part of 12 proposed routes. Currently, the project would be eligible for up to 80% federal funding, with the other 20% to be sought out as state funding.

President Joe Bidens 2021 American Jobs Plan included $80 billion for Amtrak to expand to new cities. Amtrak added Asheville to its Connects US plan in 2021, indicating a rail line will come to the area between 2020-2035.

Orthner said first decisions, which could extend the project, could come soon.

Those announcements we are expecting in the fall, probably in the November time frame, Orthner said. Thats the major next element here.

If the Federal Railroad Administration accepted the corridor, the study would be fully funded to continue past the feasibility stage and would demonstrate FRA support for the corridor to advance to construction, and give additional paths forward to continue to the corridor in detail, Orthner said.

The current draft proposal estimated $665 million would be required to build the 139-mile rail project, a $260 million increase from the NCDOTs 2015 long-range state rail plan estimates, which set the initial cost at around $405.3 million.

An option to extend the track to the River Arts District and create an "Asheville train station" has been proposed, but would add $5 million to the cost.

The final feasibility study will be released later this month, Orthner said.

Previous plans

Passenger rail service was discontinued in Asheville in August 1975. Since then, plans to return rail service to the area have been considered multiple times.

In March 2001, the NCDOT adopted a phased plan to extend passenger rail service to Asheville and WNC, which included renovating or building train stations that incorporate other community uses. The 2001 plan had an estimated cost of $135 million.

Other plans like a bus service that transports passengers from Asheville to Salisbury for rail service have been studied, but the bus service plan has not been put into place.

Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him atWHofmann@citizentimes.com.

Plans for Amtrak rail: New plan adds Amtrak rail service from Asheville to Salisbury

Amtrak train line finds support: Asheville Amtrak train line proposal advanced by NC transportation department

Answer Man: What's the latest on Amtrak expanding to Asheville?

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville Amtrak plan to be released this month, needs state funding
(The Hill)  The Biden administration announced on Tuesday that 4 million student loan borrowers have been enrolled in the new Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) income-driven repayment (IDR) plan two weeks after it was officially launched.

The administration has touted SAVE as the most affordable IDR plan ever offered to borrowers, officially launching it right before interest began accruing again on student loan payments after a three-year pandemic-related pause.

Officials said most of the 4 million people SAVE enrollees are those who were automatically transferred from the Revised-Pay-As-You-Earn IDR option.

Millions of borrowers are already benefitting from enrollment in the SAVE plan, and Im thrilled to see so many Americans submitting applications every day so that they, too, can take advantage of the most affordable student loan repayment plan in history, said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.

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The application for the SAVE plan was officially launched on the Federal Student Aid site two weeks ago and takes around 10 minutes to complete.

The Department of Education has launched a nationwide campaign called SAVE on Student Debt to get more borrowers to sign up for the plan.

The plan will be enacted in two parts, with borrowers this year able to see benefits such as income exemption rising from 150 percent to 250 percent above the federal poverty guidelines.

The administration released data showing Texas and California were the top states for the number of borrowers enrolled in the new SAVE plan.

From Day One of this Administration, President Biden has focused on reducing the burden of student loan debt on working families, and we are not stopping now. Enrollment is quick and easy, and we are working relentlessly to get the word out to borrowers about how millions can reduce their monthly student loan bills and save over a thousand dollars a year by enrolling in SAVE, Cardona said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com.
A chance for a new community, good paying local jobs, solar farms, and open space.

Thats what California Forever promises on its lushly illustrated new website, launched last week in order to bring transparency to its previously veiled plans for the southeastern corner of Solano County, California, where its property arm, Flannery Associates, has spent the last six years buying up 140 farms on around 55,000 acres of agricultural land at a cost of $800m  to the consternation of many living locally.

Lying between San Francisco and Sacramento and stretching from Fairfield to Rio Vista, the land has historically been used for grazing livestock and growing staple crops like wheat and barley and was typically handed down within families from one generation to the next.

But California Forever plans to change all that after revealing its vision for the construction of a utopian city deep in the countryside, composed of incredible homes and walkable neighbourhoods that will provide families with an ideal community in which to live and work that will be both environmentally sound and well connected to the states existing urban centres.

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Some believe that proposition is too good to be true, however, and the project has been met with a certain amount of suspicion.

Here is everything we know about the venture.

Mysterious strangers

The established order in sleepy Solano County began to be disrupted in 2017 when a group of mystery investors began making offers to local ranchers, disinclined to take no for an answer and reportedly making repeated approaches if they were rebuffed, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

It was like a hostile takeover, one farmer told the newspaper, preferring to speak anonymously.

It was Shakespearean, a Game of Thrones kind of thing.

The land was acquired gradually, piece by piece, with a survey circulated recently among local residents enquiring how they might feel about a new city with tens of thousands of new homes, a large solar energy farm, orchards with over a million new trees, and over 10,000 acres of new parks and open space being built nearby.

Some were unnerved about the companys apparent reluctance to identify its investors or state its intentions, with Solano County administrator Bill Emlen telling The Chronicle: We approached them a while back and said, Weve noticed you have been making a lot of large acquisitions and wed like to set up a meeting to talk about zoning and the general plan and what your intentions are.

A cow grazes on a parcel of land that was recently purchased by the Silicon Valley investors near Rio Vista, California (Justin Sullivan/Getty)

They said they were investors in family farms and their intention was to continue with grazing and farming and that was their plan.

The Department of Defense also reportedly took a keen interest in what was unfolding because of the lands close proximity to Travis Air Force Base, one of the busiest in use by the US Air Force and known as the Gateway to the Pacific.

The situation grew more tense in May this year when Flannery filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in Sacramento in which it accused several of the ranchers of engaging in an illegal price-fixing conspiracy that had forced it to spend $170m in overpayment for properties, for which it sought $510m in damages.

Silicon Valleys elite unmasked

As interest in the project swelled, understandably given the scale of the investment involved, The New York Times published an article on 25 August in which it unmasked the players as a Silicon Valley Elite amounting to a whos who of the tech industry.

Its participants turned out to include venture capitalists Michael Moritz and Marc Andreessen, LinkedIns co-founder Reid Hoffman, Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison and Emerson Collectives founder Laurene Powell Jobs, with the project being steered by Czech CEO Jan Sramek, just 36, formerly a Goldman Sachs trader and political consultant.

Much hailed as a finance wunderkind and all-round high-achiever during his days at Goldman, Mr Sramek co-authored the motivational book Racing Towards Excellence in 2009, which includes the ominous quote from Ayn Rand: The question isnt who is going to let me; its who is going to stop me.

An aerial view of the farmland surrounding Travis Air Force Base near Rio Vista (Justin Sullivan/Getty)

The group has since formally introduced itself via the California Forever website, expressing regret over the earlier need for secrecy about its activities by explaining: The only way to avoid creating a rush of reckless short-term land speculation was to not share our specific plans until we finished acquiring the properties.

Mr Sramek, the site adds, spent time in Solano County during fishing trips on the California Delta and fell in love with the area, inspiring him to buy his first property there recently to house his growing family.

With increased transparency comes increased scrutiny, however, and the CEO and his investors were criticised by Democratic congressman John Garamendi once their identities became known.

You big wealthy Silicon Valley billionaires, youre party to all of this. This is the kind of people you are? This is how you want to operate? he said.

What theyve managed to do is to totally poison the well.

The group subsequently met with Mr Garamendis fellow representative Mike Thompson, who told The Daily Beast afterwards that he had not been shown any blueprints, schematics or environmental assessments related to the proposed city and remarked: They have a long, long, long, long, long way to go.

A Flannery Associates sign stands near land the company recently purchased in Rio Vista (Justin Sullivan/Getty)

Mr Thompson said of Mr Smarek: He didnt share anything with me. Maybe theyve got a fully written plan with schematics and renderings and hes just keeping that in his back pocket until hes ready to play it Ive been doing public policy for a long time and Ive never seen anything roll out like this.

He added that the collectives initial secrecy had caused a lot of problems, a lot of time, and a lot of expense and said that its plans will ultimately have to clear a whole bunch of hurdles from state, city and county regulators and could face opposition from locals, politicians and environmentalists.

A spokesman for the group said it was grateful to Mr Thompson for his time and added: Our team is working closely with the community and will continue to meet with local leaders to craft a shared vision for Solano Countys future.

Differences of opinion

The congressmans scepticism about the project and its prospects was shared by Christopher Cabaldon, former mayor of West Sacramento who sits on the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, who told the Associated Press that allowing a huge residential development on Flannerys properties would be a radical departure from the laws.

Policies designed to prevent the rapid urbanisation of farmland and habitat dont appear to be working if there is one company that thinks they can overcome all that, Mr Cabaldon said.

Princess Washington, mayor pro tempore of Suisun City, said she is suspicious that the groups real purpose is to create a city for the elite under the guise of answering the regions housing needs, commenting: Economic blight is everywhere. So why do you need to spend upwards of a billion dollars to create a brand new city when you have all these other things that can be achieved throughout the Bay Area?

Catherine Moy, the mayor of Fairfield, was also critical of the project on logistical grounds.

Its an area that is known for its drought conditions, she told ABC7 News.

Wind turbines and grazing cattle in Solano County (Justin Sullivan/Getty)

It makes zero sense. Theres no mass transit. It does not have fresh water. There is some water, but not enough for tens of thousands of homes. Youd have to dig wells or convince Fairfield to give water and that would be a big fat no from us.

She continued: The roads out there are already dangerous. Highway 12 is the highway that goes through there out to Highway 99 and Highway 5. Its called Blood Alley for a reason. Theres no way that tens of thousands of homes could be supported by that.

Rio Vista Mayor Ron Kott was more even-handed, however, saying that older people living in his town were unlikely to welcome additional noise and congestion but might appreciate the improved access to medical care, nightlife and shopping that a new neighbouring city might bring.

If its done correctly, I think theres a lot of opportunities for the county, he said.

Their tax revenue base will increase quite a bit. So theres going to be a big windfall from that. Property values would probably go up around here as well even further. And so I think from those perspectives its good.

But again, I think youre giving up a quality of lifestyle thats kind of unique to this area.

The Independent has reached out to California Forever for further comment.
The mother of former Proud Boys leader Enrique Henry Tarrio on Thursday maintained her sons innocence just days after he was sentenced to more than two decades in prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, insisting that he didnt play a serious part in the attack.

Twenty-two years of sentencing seems, like, extremely excessive, Zuny Duarte Tarrio said at a press conference held in the Miami Lakes law office of her sons attorney.

Speaking alongside defense lawyer Nayib Hassan, Duarte Tarrio called her son a pawn for the government, and the case against him a witch hunt. She said Tarrios family had already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to defend her son against charges that he helped spearhead an effort to violently overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

She also pleaded for supporters to donate to an online legal defense fund to help Tarrio, a Miami native who served as the Proud Boys national chairman at the time of the Capitol riot.

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A federal judge sentenced Tarrio on Tuesday to 22 years in prison following his conviction in May on charges of seditious conspiracy related to the central role he played in the attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob hoping to keep former President Donald Trump in power.

The sentence is the longest prison term handed down to any Jan. 6 defendant.

Hassan said Thursday that Tarrios team expected to appeal the sentence on Monday or Tuesday. He said that there were multiple avenues for the appeal, including issues with the trials D.C. venue, but didnt specifically say which grounds he would pursue.

Henry said a lot of things

Tarrio wasnt actually in Washington, D.C. on the day of the attack on the Capitol  a point his mother raised at the press conference on Thursday. He had been ordered by a judge to stay away after he was detained for burning a Black Lives Matter flag that belonged to a Black church in the District and found at the time of his arrest to be in possession of high-capacity gun magazines.

Prosecutors argued, however, that Tarrio commanded Proud Boy members from afar as a mob of pro-Trump rioters moved on the Capitol in an attack that according to a U.S. Senate report led or contributed to the deaths of seven people. According to his indictment, Tarrio and his colleagues set up a Ministry of Self Defense and exchanged hundreds of encrypted text messages about their 1776 Returns plan to storm the Capitol and ring in the new year with a revolution. As Tarrio was watching from a television in a Baltimore hotel room, prosecutors said he messaged other members that he was enjoying the show.

Make no mistake ... we did this, he wrote.

Hassan acknowledged that while Tarrio could say things that are inappropriate, his rhetoric didnt support the governments argument that he sought to stage an insurrection. Tarrios attorneys have argued that neither Tarrio nor the Proud Boys had a premeditated plan to storm the Capitol.

Henry said a lot of things, Hassan said, using Tarrios nickname. There was a lot of fluff, but there was nothing backing it up.

At multiple points in the press conference, Tarrios mother said she was proud of her son for expressing himself freely and insisted that he did nothing more than speak out in favor of the candidate he believed to be the rightful winner of the presidential election.

She also said that Tarrio had been involved in politics in the best way and had always been supportive of the rule of law and law enforcement.

Twenty-two years is a lot for a patriot, she said.

Zuny Duarte Tarrio, mother of Enrique Barrio, the Proud Boys leader sentenced to 22 years in prison, speaks to the media on Thursday Sept 7, 2023 in Miami Lakes, Florida.

Looking for political help

Tarrio had run-ins with the law well before he became associated with the Proud Boys. He was arrested in South Florida in 2013 on fraud charges related to a scheme to sell stolen diabetic test strips. He was initially sentenced to serve a 30-month prison term for his role in that case, but a judge agreed to reduce that sentence to just 16 months after prosecutors revealed that he had assisted local and federal law enforcement in multiple drug and illegal gambling investigations.

Tarrio took charge of the Proud Boys in 2018 after its founder Gavin McInnes stepped down from the role, overseeing the groups rise within mainstream Republican politics. In addition to his involvement with the Proud Boys, Tarrio also served as the Florida director of the independent group Latinos for Trump during the former presidents 2020 reelection bid.

Tarrios sentence  and those of other Proud Boys members  have been criticized by at least some prominent Republicans, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a leading contender for the GOPs 2024 presidential nomination.

In an interview with the conservative outlet Newsmax on Wednesday, DeSantis said that Jan. 6 defendants, including the Proud Boys members who were prosecuted, had been treated too harshly, and suggested that he might pardon them if elected president next year.

I think we need a single standard of justice, DeSantis said. So well use pardons and commutations as appropriate to make sure everyones treated equally.

Tarrios mother said Thursday that the governors comments were a reason for hope for her family, especially given the long prison sentence her son is currently facing.

It gives us hope that somebodys going to look at everything that went on with a different set of eyes, Duarte Tarrio said. And it does give us hope that somebody  an elected official  is going to look at this.
"Im sure [the King] misses him," a source close to the royal household tells PEOPLE exclusively

DAVID ROSE/POOL/AFP via Getty King Charles and Prince Harry in 2022

King Charles' fractured relationship with his son Prince Harry is certainly on his mind one year after Queen Elizabeths death.

As the late monarch often brought her family together, Prince Harry's rift with the royals seems wider than ever. Fissures within the family came to the fore when King Charles younger son and his wife, Meghan Markle, left the U.K. for the U.S. in 2020, and relations have remained strained since.

Im sure [the King] misses him. Harry is entertaining, warm and very loving as well. And they had a great relationship, a source close to the royal household tells PEOPLE in this week's exclusive cover story.

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King Charles leans toward the compassionate rather than the disciplinarian style of family leadership, adds royal biographer and Queen of Our Times author Robert Hardman, implying hope for the future.

Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage King Charles and Prince Harry in 2019

Related: Royal Family Changes Official Website Again After Prince Harry's 'His Royal Highness' Title Removed

If hes looking for a way forward, the King, 74, could examine the way his mother negotiated public scandals, political upheavals and family drama during her history-making 70-year reign.

[The Queen] managed to navigate these choppy waters, and thats why she was always admired and loved  because she got the family through, says the source close to the royal household. [Charles] will have to show that he can do that.

Queen Elizabeth was especially important [to Harry], a friend tells PEOPLE, and the anniversary of her death will surely be top of mind on Friday. The Queen died at Balmoral Castle at age 96 on Sept. 8, 2022, and King Charles accession sparked a year of change for the royal family.

Although Prince Harry, 38, made plans to stop in London to attend the WellChild charity awards on Sept. 7 before heading to the Invictus Games in Germany, which begin Saturday, sources say that there is no chance of a reunion with his brother or father anytime soon. Prince William feels betrayed by Harrys claims in his memoir, Spare, and the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, but he is dealing with his feelings privately, insiders say. A source who knows both brothers says the public drama has quieted down a bit.

In matters both personal and professional, there is an enormous loss, says a source close to the royal household, as [the Queen] played a very important part in all of their lives. But Im impressed at how smoothly things are moving forward given all the little hiccups that there are in the background.

One Year Later: Life Without the Queen

Related: How King Charles and Queen Camilla Will Mark the First Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's Death Next Month

The biggest hiccup of all, of course, has been the ongoing estrangement of Harry and Meghan from the rest of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth  despite being someone with whom Harry had his own rapport, as Hardman puts it  was tough with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when she felt she had to be, ruling they couldnt be half in, half out of the royal family as theyd hoped.

When it comes to the royal way of doing things, Theres no [hemming] and hawing, Hardman tells PEOPLE. Its like, Here are your options, and can we have an answer by Friday? 

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Queen Elizabeth, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in 2018

On the surface, King Charles has followed the same signposts that have dotted the royal road for decades. Along with continuing the annual Balmoral tradition, the King has hosted Christmas at Sandringham just as his mother did and carried on with royal events like Trooping the Colour and the ancient Order of the Garter ceremony. He and Queen Camilla head to France on Sept. 20 for a state visit  and although it might go undetected beneath the pomp and pageantry, insiders say there is a different mood on royal outings.

Queen Elizabeth, reflecting her generation, greeted the public at a distance and through a gloved hand, while King Charles takes a less formal approach.

His ability to engage with everybody is a real plus. It has proven he is the right man for the right moment, royals author Ingrid Seward exclusively tells PEOPLE. A palace source adds, Hes always very warm with people and is curious about their lives.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.
Director Agnieszka Holland has demanded Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro apologize for comments he made online comparing Hollands new film, The Green Border , to Nazi propaganda.

Ziobro, a leading member of Polands right-wing conservative government, has sharply criticized the film, which explores the humanitarian disaster affecting migrants along the Poland-Belarus border.

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In the Third Reich, the Germans produced propaganda films showing Poles as bandits and murderers. Today they have Agnieszka Holland for that, Ziobro wrote Monday on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.

Holland said Wednesday, via AP, that she planned to bring defamation charges against Ziobro unless she receives an apology within seven days. She also demanded that he make a charitable donation of 50,000 Polish zlotys ($11,600) to an association that helps Holocaust survivors.

Polish directors and the European Film Association have defended Holland following the political attack.

In an open letter, seen by The Hollywood Reporter, Renata Czarnkowska, president of Polands Women in Film Association, said the Polish government and the media subservient to them [have] decided to slander Agnieszka Holland in the name of vulgar propaganda and defamation of distinguished artists unheard of since the restoration of independence in 1989 [they] ruthlessly smeared her and her film, Green Border, which none of those venom-spitting apparatchiks could have seen.

Green Border premiered in competition in Venice on Tuesday, getting rave reviews. THR called it a devastating dramatic triumph.

The film dramatizes the plight of migrants from North Africa and the Middle East who were lured to the Belarusian-Polish border by propaganda promising easy passage into the European Union. Instead, they became pawns in a geopolitical game when the Polish government cracked down, leaving them stranded and starving in the swampy, treacherous forests between the two countries. Green Border is one of several films in Venice that look at the plight of migrants trying to reach Europe.

Comparing Holland and her movie to Nazi propaganda is deeply ironic. The director is best known for her 1990 Holocaust film Europa, Europa and the Oscar-nominated In Darkness (2011), which looks at the plights of Jews hiding in Poland during WW2. Speaking to THR, Holland linked the themes of Green Border to Europa Europa, saying both films explored how Europe, which on one hand is the cradle civilization, culture, democracy and human rights, can become the cradle of totalitarian regimes.

Agnieszka Hollands films are very often about courage, and about fearlessness in the face of injustice, noted Green Border producer Mike Downey, who is also chairman of the European Film Academy. He praised the solidarity of Hollands Polish colleagues in the face of the political condemnation. Agnieszka is coming under huge personal and public attack in Poland, and it is such acts of solidarity which reflect the extraordinary job she does in speaking out against injustice and oppressionWe are all in agreement. Staying silent is not an option.

Green Border is screening at the Toronto Film Festival and will be released in Poland on Sept. 22.

Sept. 7, 8 a.m. This story has been updated to add Hollands statement.

This story was originally published on Sept. 6 at 2:45 a.m.

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Click here to read the full article.
The day after she filed a petition asking the Florida Supreme Court to restore her to elected office, suspended Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell called her ouster by Gov. Ron DeSantis his latest overreach and his latest abuse of power.

Although he proclaims to be a man of law and order, he has only challenged the Constitution and pushed it to its very extremes at every single end, she told reporters at a press conference Thursday. And he has created chaos instead of order.

In asking the justices to reverse DeSantis Aug. 9 executive order, Worrell accused the governor of citing only vague allegations against her in his case for her suspension, rather than any specific policies or practices that would show neglect of duty or incompetence.

DeSantis, Worrell said Thursday, has failed to meet the standards set in Floridas Constitution for removing an elected official from office.

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It cant just be based on a whim, she said, speaking at Conti Moore Law Divorce Lawyers, a firm in downtown Orlando. It cant just be based on the fact that Im a Democrat. It cant be based on the fact that he disagrees with me or my ideology, or who contributes to my campaign.

DeSantis in suspending Worrell said she had been clearly and fundamentally derelict in her duty and policies.

In his executive order, the governor said Worrells office had a pattern or practice to avoid minimum mandatory sentences for gun crimes and drug trafficking offenses and allowed juveniles to avoid serious charges or incarceration altogether.

Prosecutors do have a certain amount of discretion about which cases to bring and which not, but what this state attorney has done is abuse that discretion and has effectively nullified certain laws in the state of Florida, DeSantis said.

But Worrell in her lawsuit argues DeSantis order failed to identify a single, specific policy or practice at odds with Florida law, and instead attempts to infer that she has adopted practices or policies that result in reduced incarceration rates in the Ninth Judicial Circuit.

Lower incarceration rates, Worrell and her attorneys argue, reflect a host of factors unrelated to the practices or policies of the state attorney.

Moreover, because there is no duty for a state attorney to maximize incarceration rates, lower than average incarceration rates are no evidence of neglect of duty or incompetence, it states.

The lack of an identifiable policy to justify her suspension, Worrell argues, sets her case apart from DeSantis earlier suspension of Tampa prosecutor Andrew Warren and then-Gov. Rick Scotts removal of death penalty cases from Worrells predecessor, Aramis Ayala, in 2017.

Warren was removed by the governor after signing a pledge against prosecuting doctors in abortion cases, while Ayala had announced her refusal to pursue the death penalty in any case.

Ayala and Warren both fought their sanctions to the states high court and lost. The Florida Supreme Court rejected Warrens case seeking to be reinstated in June, ruling he waited too long to file it.

Andrew Bain, an Orange County judge who DeSantis appointed to replace Worrell, eliminated several of the offices pre-trial diversion programs upon taking office, though he said he would launch his own version soon. The now-canceled diversion programs, some of which predated Worrell, allowed veterans, juveniles and drug users to avoid conviction for certain nonviolent offenses.

He also said he was eliminating a catch and release policy, though the agency later acknowledged no such specific policy existed.

In a statement Wednesday responding to a recent drive-by shooting that killed a man and child in Orlandos Carver Shores neighborhood, Bain suggested he intends to favor prosecuting juveniles accused of violent offenses as adults.

Early diversion helps juveniles stay off the streets, and we are investing more resources in programs that work, he said. Diversion is twofold, and our office will take a tough stance on violent crime. When we charge teenagers as adults, we are deterring and addressing these acts of violence early to hold individuals accountable.

Worrells suspension from office came after months of escalating tensions, dating at least to a tense July 2022 meeting with Orange County Sheriff John Mina, who Worrell said accused her of failing to properly prosecute repeat offenders.

Scrutiny from Floridas GOP leaders and local law enforcement officials heightened after a shooting spree in February, in which a man with a lengthy juvenile record was accused of killing three people, including a 9-year-old girl and a TV news journalist in Pine Hills.

The juvenile cases against alleged shooter Keith Moses preceded Worrells time in office. But DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott assailed her office anyway, including over a dropped marijuana case against Moses that Worrell said couldnt be prosecuted.

Worrell accused Mina and Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez, who held a press conference to criticize her handling of drug trafficking cases, of working with DeSantis to help justify her suspension, something both sheriffs deny.

-------
A Democratic elected state prosecutor removed from office by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is suing him in a complaint that seeks to reverse her suspension.

Floridas Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell , who was elected in 2020 and took office in 2021, was the second state prosecutor targeted by the governor for removal, after he alleged last month that she was clearly and fundamentally derelict in her duties.

Ms Worrell  the only Black woman serving as a state prosecutor in Florida  had recently announced her intention to run again in 2024.

A 47-page lawsuit filed with Floridas Supreme Court, which is dominated by DeSantis appointees, argues that the governors executive order does not allege a single instance in which Ms Worrells exercise of prosecutorial discretion violated Florida law.

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To the extent the governor disagrees with how Ms Worrell is lawfully exercising her prosecutorial discretion, such a disagreement does not constitute a basis for suspension from elected office, the complaint adds.

Her removal is without basis, frustrating the will of the voters who elected her, according to the complaint.

Last year, Mr DeSantis suspended Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren after he criticised the governors positions on abortion care and gender-affirming care for transgender people.

A federal judge affirmed the suspension but admonished the governor for falsely accusing Mr Warren of relying on a blanket policy to avoid prosecuting certain cases with which he disagreed.

Democratic officials have accused the governor of using politically motivated removals of elected prosecutors to elevate his national profile as he campaigns for the 2024 GOP nomination for president.

Ms Worrell had recently come under fire from Republican officials following a shooting that left three dead in February, with a suspect with an alleged history of criminal offenses on the streets at the time of the shooting; 19-year-old Keith Moses is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty. The suspects juvenile cases predated Ms Worrells time in office.

The governors executive order accuses Ms Worrell of systematically allowing people to avoid jail time, either by dropping charges or declining to allege provable facts. In a press conference announcing her removal, he acknowledged that prosecutors like Ms Worrell do have a certain amount of discretion about which cases to bring and which not but he claimed that she has abused that discretion and effectively nullified certain laws in the state of Florida.

Although he proclaims to be a man of law and order, he has only challenged the Constitution and pushed it to its very extremes at every single end, Ms Worrell said during a press conference on 7 September.

Mr DeSantis has created chaos instead of order, she said.

Her removal cant just be based on a whim or her political affiliation, ideology or campaign contributions, she added.
A former Kansas City-area Proud Boy charged with multiple felonies for conspiring to breach the Capitol on Jan. 6 pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to one count.

Christopher Kuehne, a Marine veteran who lived in Olathe at the time of the riot, entered a guilty plea to obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder. His plea hearing was held before Judge Timothy J. Kelly in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Kuehnes sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 23. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. He also will be required to pay $2,000 in restitution for damage to the Capitol, which the government says totaled about $2.9 million.

Kuehnes guilty plea comes just two days after Kelly  a Trump appointee  sentenced Proud Boys former national chairman Enrique Tarrio, of Miami, to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other charges involving his role in organizing a mob of Trump supporters to attack the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Tarrios sentence is the longest to date in connection with the riot.

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Three other Proud Boys leaders found guilty of seditious conspiracy  Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl  were sentenced last week to prison terms of 15 to 18 years. Another member, Dominic Pezzola  who broke a Capitol window with a stolen police riot shield  was acquitted of the seditious conspiracy charge but sentenced to 10 years for other felonies.

Kuehne is the seventh of the 10 Kansas residents charged in connection with the Capitol riot to plead guilty. Six have been sentenced, and the cases of the other three are ongoing.

The far-right Proud Boys have been key targets of the federal investigation into the Capitol attack. Authorities rounded up dozens from around the country on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to sedition.

No organization put more boots on the ground at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, than the Proud Boys, and they were at the forefront of every major breach of the Capitols defenses, leading the on-the-ground efforts to storm the seat of government, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew M. Graves said Tuesday after Tarrios sentencing.

William Billy Chrestman of Olathe (left to right), Louis Enrique Colon of Blue Springs, Ryan Keith Ashlock of Gardner and Christopher Kuehne, formerly of Olathe, were indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia on conspiracy charges and other offenses.

Kuehne was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2021 along with three other Kansas City-area Proud Boys  William Chrestman, of Olathe; Ryan Ashlock, of Gardner; and Louis Colon, of Blue Springs  and Arizona siblings Cory and Felicia Konold.

Prosecutors said Kuehne brought orange reflective tape to the Capitol for the Kansas City Proud Boys to wear to identify themselves in the crowd. He could be seen in photos and videos from that day with two rolls of tape strapped to a backpack and a strip of tape on the back of the helmet he was wearing.

Once inside the Capitol, the charging documents said, Kuehne and other Proud Boys acted in concert to prevent law enforcement officers from controlling the crowd by obstructing metal barriers that had been deployed to prevent the crowds further advancement into other areas of the Capitol building.

The six were charged with conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds. Chrestman also was charged with threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer and carrying a wooden ax handle while in the Capitol building and on the grounds.

All except Chrestman were released on personal recognizance bonds pending trial. Court records indicate Kuehne has since moved to Arizona. Chrestman, who prosecutors allege was a key player in the insurrection, remains in custody in the D.C. jail without bond. He has a status hearing scheduled for Sept. 18.

Colon pleaded guilty in April 2022 to one count of civil disorder, a felony. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A status report filed with the court last week requested that the court continue to hold off setting a sentencing date because Colons potential cooperation in the case was not yet complete.

Ashlock was sentenced to 70 days in jail and 12 months of supervised release in November 2022 after pleading guilty to one count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, a misdemeanor.

The Konolds are scheduled for change-of-plea hearings on Nov. 1, which would leave Chrestman as the only one of the six who appears to be headed to trial.

A statement of offense signed by Kuehne as part of his plea deal said that at the time of the riot, he was associated with the Kansas City Proud Boys chapter. On Jan. 4, 2021, it said, Kuehne traveled to the Washington, D.C., area with other local Proud Boys.

Several occupants of the vehicle possessed firearms, including the defendant, who traveled with at least one AR-15 style rifle in a case with a lock, the statement said. The defendant did not bring a firearm into Washington, D.C.

On Jan. 6, Kuehne and other Proud Boys entered the Capitol about 12 minutes after the initial breach, the statement said. Once inside, Kuehne and other Proud Boys took steps to ensure that a metal barrier that was being lowered from overhead remained open so others could get through.

In particular, after another Proud Boys member moved a portable lectern toward the door, the defendant and that individual positioned the lectern in the path of the sliding door, where it would block the door from closing, the statement said.

Kuehnes statement noted that while he was inside, the defendant helped pick up trash that was strewn on the floor.

After Jan. 6, the document said, Kuehne deleted messages from his phone, including messages with Chrestman and Colon and a Kansas City Proud Boys Telegram chat.

The defendant also contacted co-defendants Chrestman and Colon and requested that they delete any prior conversations with him, it said.

The Proud Boys, an organization of self-described Western chauvinists known for street-level violence and confrontations with anti-fascists at protests, received national attention in September 2020 when, during the first presidential debate, Trump was asked if he was willing to condemn white supremacists and militia groups. Trump responded that the Proud Boys should stand back and stand by.

During a CNN town hall with Trump in New Hampshire in May, the former president called Jan. 6 a beautiful day and said many of the detainees are just great people. If re-elected, he said, he would be inclined to pardon many of the rioters convicted of federal crimes.
State. Rep. Bob Young, left, and his attorney, John Greven ,listen as Judge Edward OFarrell speaks during his arraignment hearing Aug. 4 in Barberton Municipal Court. Young pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor assault charges involving his family members.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine joined a growing chorus of state Republicans calling for Rep. Bob Young to resign following his arrests on charges of domestic violence, assault and violating a restraining order.

This is a matter, obviously, that is up to the General Assembly. But these are some serious charges," DeWine told reporters Thursday. "Its not a good situation. So I think he should resign.

The governor's remarks came hours after more than half the Republicans in Ohio's House wrote an open letter saying the same.

"While our prayers are with the family of Rep. Bob Young during this difficult period for them, we have serious concerns about his recent conduct, and it is clear that he is unable to provide effective representation for his constituents," his colleagues wrote.

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Young, a Republican from Green, was first arrested in July after an altercation at his house during a party. According to a criminal affidavit released to the Akron Beacon Journal, Young is accused of striking a female relative with an open hand and ramming a male family member through a piece of glass.

The 42-year-old lawmaker pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Young was arrested again in August on first-degree misdemeanor charges that allege he "recklessly" violated the terms of a protection order by calling a relative multiple times. He pleaded not guilty again but was required to wear a GPS monitor as a condition of his release from jail.

Charges against Rep. Bob Young: After second arrest, judge orders Young to wear GPS monitor to leave jail

"I think most people would resign before they wore an ankle monitor on the House floor," said Rep. Brian Stewart, R-Ashville. "And yet, here we are."

House lawmakers are set to return to Columbus in mid-September. Young had chaired a committee before his arrests, but House Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, removed Young from this leadership position earlier this month.

Aaron Mulvey, a spokesman for Stephens, said Wednesday's letter from 34 Republican representatives "echoes the Speaker's call to resign on July 9."

Young hasn't responded directly to requests from media outlets, but his attorney, John Greven, confirmed to the Akron Beacon Journal in July that Young did not plan to resign.

More: Rep. Young won't resign; Police report says child witnessed him slap woman, throw phone

As for what happens next, Stewart wasn't sure anything would happen beyond the letter he and his colleagues wrote.

The House of Representatives can censure its members and even expel them from office. Stewart led the charge to successfully remove former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder before he was convicted on public corruption charges this spring. But Stewart said this situation is different. Householder was accused of using his public office to commit federal crimes.

"I think a lot of people have different opinions on that, but I think, for me, this is the limit of what we can do," Stewart said. "I think he should resign."

Reporter Haley BeMiller contributed reporting to this article.

Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Republicans say GOP representative must resign following arrests
Summers in the South are not for the faint of heart.

With the temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s and the heat index in the triple digits, the heat waves, excessive heat warnings and harsh sunlight just seem to never end.

If you think the outdoor temperature is scorching, just take a second to imagine how hot the inside of your vehicle gets.

We all know how it feels to wait for the AC to cool down the inside of a vehicle or the feeling of burning legs on hot leather seats.

So, how hot does it actually get inside a vehicle in the summer?

According to the National Weather Service: The temperature inside a vehicle will reach 100 degrees in 25 minutes when the outside temperature is only 73F.

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With the hot temperatures weve been seeing lately (in the 90s), vehicles are heating up to an average of 116 degrees inside.

And according to Live Science, dashboards, steering wheels and seats reach unbearably sweltering temperatures:

The cars dashboards got even hotter, reaching 157 degrees on average; the steering wheels climbed to a temperature of 127 degrees on average; and the temperature of the seats hit 123 degrees on average.

What does the law say about animals in hot cars?

Because of this evidence, it is often seen as animal cruelty to leave an animal in a closed hot vehicle. You can get arrested and charged for doing so. However, not every state has specific laws making it illegal to keep an animal in a hot car.

Georgia and Mississippi are states where there arent laws regarding leaving animals in vehicles. Southern states that protect animals in cars include Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The full list of states that have laws protecting animals in hot vehicles can be found online.

Can you smash a window to save an animal in a hot car in GA or MS?

Although it is often seen as a heroic act, breaking a window to save an animal in a hot vehicle does not come without punishment in most cases.

In most cases, using reasonable judgment to save the pet is fine, but you could still be liable for damages. This is also the case for police officers who may break a window in order to save the petthey, too, have to pay for any damages.

Tips for bystanders & pet owners

If you witness an animal in a hot car, heres what to do:

Make sure that the dog is actually unsafe. Many pet owners will take precautions if they have to leave their animal alone for a prolonged period of time. For example, they may leave the car running with the air conditioning on, or Tesla owners will put their car into pet mode. Try every possible way to contact the owner. Look for their phone number on the dog tag (if possible) or anywhere else on the vehicle. If they are in a store parking lot, try paging them at the customer service desk. Call your local law enforcements non-emergency phone number and animal control. Report the cars license plate, along with the make and model, and ask them to help save the dog. Stay with the dog until help arrives. If possible, shade the window that the dog is closest to. If the pup is in imminent danger of heat stroke or heat exhaustion (using reasonable judgment), you may break the car window to rescue the dog. Remember that you may face legal consequences in most states. If you are a pet owner yourself, be responsible. Leave your dog at home as much as possible unless transporting them for an activity specifically related to them. Dont leave them in the shade for an errand, dont stop for groceries, and never leave them in a hot vehicle without air conditioning.

Have any questions? Comment below and let us know
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After completing a historic landing on the lunar surface, putting India in the tiny club of countries that have safely placed a spacecraft on the moon, the Chandrayaan-3 lander is now asleep  resting through the 14-day lunar night before mission controllers attempt to reawaken the spacecraft later this month.

The primary goals of the mission have now been successfully checked off the list, cementing the Chandrayaan-3 landers legacy in exploration history. For nearly two weeks, the lander carried out technology demonstrations and data collection mainly focused on analyzing the composition of the moons soil and super-thin atmosphere.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft landed on the lunar surface on August 23. The safe touchdown made India only the fourth nation in the world to complete such a feat, following the former Soviet Union, the United States and China. So far in the 21st Century, only China and India have landed on the moon.

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It also marked the first mission to explore so close to the lunar south pole, a region of key scientific and strategic importance for global space powers because it is believed to be home to deposits of water ice. The resource could be harvested and converted into drinking water or even rocket fuel for future missions that explore deeper into the cosmos.

In India, the Chandryaan-3 mission has been hailed as a point of national pride. More than 70 million people watched online coverage of the landing, and thousands more packed into auditoriums and viewing parties across the country.

Our tireless scientific efforts will continue in order to develop better understanding of the Universe for the welfare of entire humanity, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on social media September 2, celebrating the Chandrayaan-3 mission and the recent launch of Indias first spacecraft dedicated to studying the sun.

The Chandrayaan-3 lander is captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is currently in orbit around the moon. The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft's dark shadow is visible against a bright halo surrounding the vehicle, which resulted from the rocket plume interacting with the fine-grained regolith (soil). - NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University

The Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, confirmed on Monday, September 4, that the Chandryaan-3 lunar lander had been put into sleep mode, as the spacecraft isnt designed to continue collecting scientific data while its landing spot is in the Earths shadow, or lunar night.

But the space agency hopes that the lander  and a small six-wheeled rover it deployed  will be reawakened later this month, on September 22.

A look back at Chandryaan-3

The Chandrayaan-3 landing in August came mere days after Russia failed in its attempt to put a similar spacecraft, Luna-25, near the moons south pole. Standing in sharp contrast to the tense failures of Luna-25, the Chandryaan-3 vehicle almost immediately began dispatching updates on its successes.

The day after landing, the ISRO confirmed that the Chandryaan-3 lander had successfully deployed the six-wheeled lunar rover that had ridden to the surface tucked inside the spacecrafts body.

It was released by rolling down a small ramp before setting off in pursuit of lunar secrets at the South Pole, the ISRO said on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.

Together, the lander, which weighs about 1,700 kilograms (3,748 pounds), and the 26-kilogram (57.3-pound) rover are packed with nearly a dozen scientific instruments. They include a laser that can analyze the chemical composition of the moons regolith  aiding in the hunt for water ice  and the ultra-thin layer of gases that make up the moons exosphere. The rover is also equipped with a seismometer that attempted to detect quakes within the moons interior.

The ISRO confirmed that all the instruments were performing normally during the mission.

The space agency shared sporadic updates on social media, posting first glimpses at various data points gathered by the lander and rover, which managed to travel a total of more than 100 meters (330 feet) across the lunar surface and was able to snap photos of the lander during its trek.

One experiment measured the temperature of the moons topsoil at various depths, and ISRO scientist BHM Darukesha told a local news outlet, PTI, that the surface was hotter than expected.

We all believed that the temperature could be somewhere around 20 degree centigrade to 30 degrees centigrade (68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit) on the surface but it is 70 degree centigrade (158 degrees Fahrenheit). This is surprisingly higher than what we had expected, he said.

The rover also detected some seismic activity using an instrument designed to measure rumbles and quakes beneath the lunar surface, and the rover used a spectroscope to confirm the presence of sulfur near the moons south pole. Now scientists will aim to investigate how the element got there and whether it exists naturally on the surface or was put there by a meteor strike or volcanic activity, according to the ISRO.

The ISRO put the rover to rest on September 2, though its solar panels were oriented to catch the first sun rays as the moon travels back into daytime later this month.

Hoping for a successful awakening for another set of assignments! Else, it will forever stay there as Indias lunar ambassador, the ISRO posted on X.

But the lander wasnt finished. It completed another stunning feat on September 4, firing up its engines to lift itself about 40 centimeters (16 inches) off the ground and make a small hop to land about 30 to 40 centimeters (12 to 16 inches) away from its original position.

The ISRO emphasized the importance of this technology demonstration, noting that being able to get a lander back off the lunar surface will be essential for future missions that aim to return soil samples  or even astronauts  back home after a lunar mission.

Shortly after, the lander joined the rover, entering its own slumber and awaiting its reawakening when the sunshine returns to its resting place.

Its not yet certain that the lander and rover will, in fact, properly function when mission controllers attempt to turn them back on later this month.

But all of the primary objectives the ISRO set out for the mission have been met.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Hybrid Lifeline Peer Project Coordinator Sarah Mays speaks during the International Overdose Awareness Day fair inside the Westwood Community Center in Jackson, Tennessee on Aug. 31, 2023.

With overarching goals of encouraging hope and providing a sense of community, Westwood Community Center hosted a community awareness fair and remembrance ceremony on Thursday for International Overdose Awareness Day.

Aiming to help those in recovery and educate interested citizens alike, a resource fair and subsequent overdose reversal training were available for attendees before the concluding remembrance ceremony.

More: International Overdose Awareness Day Candelight Vigil

More: Families raise awareness about drug abuse dangers during International Overdose Awareness Day

Through a partnership with the Jackson-Madison Prevention Coalition and the City of Jackson Recreation and Parks Department, event coordinator and Hybrid Coordinator for the Lifeline Peer Project Sarah Mays says she hoped attendees gained a heightened awareness of overdose, addiction, and how they can help end the stigma.

Attendees listen in as overdose prevention specialist Chandler Haynes gives his presentation during the International Overdose Awareness Day fair inside the Westwood Community Center in Jackson, Tennessee on Aug. 31, 2023.

"That was one of my main goals for people that are grieving people that they've lost from an overdose, to be able to come to a safe place and grieve them and remember them because a lot of times it's a stigmatized topic," Mays said.

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City of Jackson Recreation Manager and event coordinator Bridgett Parham explained that those suffering from a drug or alcohol addiction are typically left to the judgment of their community, and encourages people to be more compassionate.

Attendees look at slides detailing the overdose epidemic during the International Overdose Awareness Day fair inside the Westwood Community Center in Jackson, Tennessee on Aug. 31, 2023.

"That's that bias opinion, that bias thought of thinking 'that person may have gotten what they deserved' or 'they knew better.' We have to stop that," she said. "We have to be more empathic and understanding and also, we have got to make sure our community be aware that this is a crisis that we're dealing with. This is something that's causing devastation to families and it's something we have to be honest and talk about."

Though in its third year as an organized event, which was previously held at Unity Park, coordinators agreed that expansion was necessary with the growing number of attendees. The Westwood location allowed organizers to hold the event's first resource fair with entities from across West Tennessee.

"There are resources out there and we just have to make sure people don't give up their hope," Parham said.

Reversal training

Regional Overdose Prevention Specialist Chandler Haynes presented a course, provided through data from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, detailing how extreme the crisis of overdosing has become, particularly in the age of fentanyl.

Overdose Prevention Specialist Chandler Haynes speaks during the International Overdose Awareness Day fair inside the Westwood Community Center in Jackson, Tennessee on Aug. 31, 2023.

Based on 2021 data provided by the department, Haynes shared that 3,814 Tennesseans died of a drug overdose in 2021, 75% of which involved fentanyl.

In Madison County, 24 of the 35 fatal drug overdoses involved fentanyl.

Narcan bags are laid out on the table for attendees to take home during the International Overdose Awareness Day fair inside the Westwood Community Center in Jackson, Tennessee on Aug. 31, 2023.

Courtesy of the department, complimentary packages of naloxone (generic for Narcan), an opioid reversal nasal spray, were available for attendees to take following Haynes' presentation of how to administer it.

Providing support and resources

Attendees could readily access resources and information from booths including Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) through the Madison County Sheriff's Department, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), A Step Ahead - West Tennessee, and the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network (TSPN).

Zach Hall speaks with peer recovery specialist Dianne Sherrod during the International Overdose Awareness Day fair inside the Westwood Community Center in Jackson, Tennessee on Aug. 31, 2023.

CIT Coordinator Deputy Tom Grant, who provided educational pamphlets for parents and children alike at the event, noted that overdosing is an affliction that the sheriff's department sees regularly.

"It's almost daily," Grant said. "Of course, JPD [Jackson Police Department] sees more because they get more calls being in the city, but it's a daily event."

Attendees speak with overdose prevention organizations during the International Overdose Awareness Day fair inside the Westwood Community Center in Jackson, Tennessee on Aug. 31, 2023.

Grant added that he would like to see attendees find recovery and assured them that "people are standing beside them and we're here for them."

TSPN Southwest Regional Director Emily Lunn noted that she aimed to encourage attendees to know that "even if it doesn't feel like it's okay right now, it will be."

Attendees look at the overdose awareness sign during the International Overdose Awareness Day fair inside the Westwood Community Center in Jackson, Tennessee on Aug. 31, 2023.

"For people who might have struggled with addiction or have struggled with other things, maybe it is suicide ideation, they all kind of wrap-around together, or they can at least," she said. "My genuine hope would be that they walk away with hope."

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Education on overdose awareness at the forefront of community event.
The Kremlin is apparently seeing red after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday that Washington will be sending $5.4 million seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs to Ukrainian veterans.

Just a day after Moscows forces killed 16 civilians at a crowded Ukrainian market in the Donetsk region, Vladimir Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was suddenly deeply offended by the lawlessness of Kremlin-connected businessmen losing their money.

We consider all cases tied to the blocking, seizure, or other retention of any funds related to state, private, or mixed property of the Russian Federation abroad to be illegal acts. Of course, any claims that they managed to find justification for the continuation of this lawlessness are absolute legal nonsense, and in any case, they will lead one way or another to litigation in the future, Peskov told reporters Thursday, according to TASS.

Not a single such case of illegal retention will go unanswered, he said, complaining of the egregious fact that Russian businessmen and the Russian government, according to him, have their rights infringed in courts overseas.

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While the U.S. State Department has not disclosed exactly whose confiscated assets are being handed over to Ukrainian vets, the figure cited matches the amount ordered seized from oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev earlier this year. Malofeyev, the founder of the rabidly pro-Kremlin Tsargrad news outlet, was indicted by U.S. prosecutors for evading sanctions and using co-conspirators to surreptitiously acquire and run media outlets across Europe.

Blinken, in announcing the move in Kyiv on Wednesday, noted that its the first time funds confiscated from Kremlin allies are being redirected to Ukraine.

Those who have enabled Putins war of aggression should pay for it, he said.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  A kitchen worker at a prison outside Las Vegas is accused of having a sexual relationship with a convicted murderer and smuggling in phones and drugs, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Wednesday.

Tamika Shelton was charged with furnishing a phone to an inmate, which is a felony, records showed.

Last year, an investigator with the Nevada Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General accused Shelton, a food service worker, of furnishing illegal phones and drugs to inmates at the Southern Desert Correctional Center, documents said. The investigator also accused Shelton of having a relationship with the inmate.

Southern Desert, a mens only prison, is located about 40 miles northwest of Las Vegas in the town of Indian Springs.

Tamika Shelton was charged with furnishing a phone to an inmate, which is a felony, records showed. (LVMPD/KLAS)

The corrections department investigator learned Sheltons phone number had 57 phone calls with Robert Williams, a 36-year-old inmate serving a life sentence for murder, records said. NDOC records show Williams was later moved to the Ely State Prison for behavior issues.

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In a call in January 2022, Williams asked Shelton to buy his daughter a phone, the investigator wrote in court documents. However, prison officials learned Williams has no children.

In this same call, Offender Williams made statements, which included that he was thinking about the time when Ms. Shelton was sucking on his tongue, documents said. He made a statement about him kissing her luscious lips and all about the freaky [expletive] they been onto.

Prison officials in Ely discovered a phone attached to Williams leg during his transfer there, documents said.

Southern Desert, a mens only prison, is located about 40 miles northwest of Las Vegas in the town of Indian Springs. (KLAS)

Prison investigators interviewed Shelton, who admitted to purchasing between five and 10 cellular phones, secreted them into SDCC and furnished them to inmates, documents said. Shelton also admitted that she furnished prewrapped burrito-shaped packages that she received from Offender Williams relative into SDCC.

Prison officials suspect the packages contained either marijuana or methamphetamine, documents said.

Williams also admitted to having sex with Williams while working in the kitchen, documents said.

Prison investigators later found more than 300 messages between Sheltons phone number and Williams phone where they were clearly in a romantic relationship, documents said.

Allegations regarding Tamika Shelton as provided in court documents. (KLAS)

In addition to the phone-related charge, the criminal investigator lists offenses of unauthorized communication with a prison, inhumanity to prisoners and sexual abuse of a prisoner, furnishing a controlled substance to a prisoner. However, Shelton was not charged with any of the added offenses.

A warrant for Sheltons arrest was filed in mid-August, records said. On Tuesday, Aug. 29, security officers at Creech Air Force Base detained Shelton upon her arrival to work. An officer had scanned Sheltons identification card, finding the active warrant, documents said.

Court records noted Shelton was very cooperative during her arrest. Judge Harmony Letizia first set Sheltons bail at $1,000 and later released Shelton on her own recognizance, records showed.

Shelton was due to return to court on Dec. 18.

An inmate photo of Robert Williams as listed from his name and ID number in court documents. (NDOC/KLAS)

In 2016, a jury found Williams guilty of shooting and killing a man in the Clark County Wetlands Park in 2014 and getting into a standoff with police. A judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

It was unclear Wednesday why prosecutors did not seek the additional charges against Shelton as listed in the declaration of probation cause for her arrest.

Officials with NDOC did not immediately return an email asking if Shelton remained employed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Lisa Gordon plays her late son's guitar while singing a tribute to him during the Overdose Awareness Day event Aug. 31 in downtown Granville.

NEWARK  Lisa Gordon reached for her sons acoustic guitar and began to sing:

Son, your work on earth is done, go to heaven a-shoutin.

Shes been sharing Go Rest High on That Mountain by Vince Gill in some fashion since 2009, when her son, Corey, died at age 23 of a heroin overdose. And last week, she was singing it to those who attended the ninth annual Overdose Awareness Day gathering at the Canal Street Market in downtown Newark.

Surrounding Gordon in a semi-circle were others who lost loved ones to overdoses. Tears flowed as some grieving family members interlocked hands and buried their heads in the shoulders of others.

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Gordon, of Heath, performed Aug. 31 during the event organized by a team of volunteers from Newark Homeless Outreach and Ohio CAN (Change Addiction Now) led by Patricia Perry of Newark. The event is held each year to honor the memory of those who have died of an overdose or substance-use-related issue.

Those mourning the loss of loved ones comforted one another with hugs and clasped hands.

The Rev. Dave Pennington opened with prayer and a reading of a proclamation from Newark Mayor Jeff Hall, who was not in attendance.

Twenty-eight organizations participated. They represented a wide range of services, including treatment providers. Various speakers offered creative commentary about their experiences with substance use disorder and overdose. They included poets from a class taught by David Ruderman at the Licking County Day Reporting Program, which provides offenders with a restorative alternative to incarceration. Attendees shared a mix of somber remembrances of lives lost and the resolve to continue the work to address this crisis.

With overdoses in Licking County on the rise during the past decade, Perry, co-founder of the Newark Homeless Outreach and Licking County coordinator for Ohio CAN, said the event is important for raising awareness about overdoses and substance use disorder.

Perry said that while the number of supporters for harm reduction and those who have lost someone to overdose has increased dramatically since she started the rally back in 2014, the purpose has stayed the same.

The noticeable difference between the first rally and now, Perry said, is the number of resources we have available  and unfortunately, the number of pictures that are on the table, referring to a memorial featuring photos of those who died from an overdose.

Patricia Perry, of Newark, who helped organize the Aug. 31 event, offers a hug to one of the event speakers.

According to data from the Licking County Coroner, 256 people in the county died because of an overdose during the past six years. In 2022, 58 members of the Licking County community died of an overdose.

Deb Dingus, executive director of Licking County United Way, said it is clear that since the first overdose awareness event nine years ago, more people in Licking County know someone who died.

Its going to continue to get worse until we do something significant, Dingus said. We continue to battle stigma and continue to battle people who dont know about the disease.

She said Licking County should use all tools available, including harm reduction, which is a public health approach to mitigating the health risks of substance use.

I want to be hopeful that our county will embrace and access every evidence-based program, she said.

Dennis Cauchon, president of Harm Reduction Ohio, said the state is at about the same place it was in 2020  with a pace of about 5,000 overdose deaths a year. Opioid-only overdoses are down, and overdoses that involve both stimulants, like cocaine or methamphetamines, and opioids are up. Overdose deaths of white people continue to decline. While overdose deaths of Black people continue to soar, Cauchon said.

There are some short-term ways to try to reduce death and address harms, naloxone being one of them, Cauchon said. But as long as you have drug prohibition, youre going to have adulterated drugs and youre going to have high overdose levels.

In addition to working to address the overdose crisis through policy change, Granville-based Harm Reduction Ohio is the largest distributor in the state of the overdose-reversal drug naloxone, last year distributing 84,000 doses.

Widespread distribution of naloxone in Ohio started in 2012 with the advent of state-funded Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided With Naloxone), only three years after Lisa Gordons son died.

Music was a central part of his life, Gordon said. As Corey grew up, it was always the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin or Eric Clapton blasting through his speakers.

Corey taught himself how to play the guitar when he was 16. Music quickly became a point of connection between Corey and his mother, who also learned to play around the same time. The two would often play together, and she honors him today by playing her late sons spruce Stafford guitar.

Gordon said that prior to Coreys death on April 28, 2009, he had not used heroin for nearly four years, was close to graduating from college and had just moved into his first apartment.

In an instant, it seemed, one night changed the lives of all those he touched, Gordon said.

When he passed away, it felt like my passion for music did, too. It took me a few years before I picked up his guitar, realizing that hed want me to be playing for him, that his spirit was alive in the music, Gordon said.

Sharing Coreys love of music with the world is Gordons mission.

Nestor Matthews, a volunteer with Newark Homeless Outreach, joins others at an Aug. 31, event in releasing balloons in memory of those who died.

In the cool evening Thursday, attendees moved from under the Canal Market canopy to the lawn beside the old Licking County Jail. They carried purple and white balloons to release in honor of those who died.

Gordon stood with her granddaughter as Eric Claptons Tears in Heaven played from the sound system.

Thats so funny, Gordon said to her granddaughter. Corey always played this song; he loved it.

As they sent their balloon into the sky, it joined a constellation of others, each one punctuating the clear blue sky.

Naloxone is available in Licking County through the Newark Homeless Outreach (10 a.m. to noon Saturdays at Buena Vista and East Main streets), online and in-person from the Licking County Health Department and online through Harm Reduction Ohio.

Jack Wolf and Jack Shuler write for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison Universitys Journalism Program, which is funded in part by the Mellon Foundation. thereportingproject@denison.edu

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Licking County event honors those struggling with addiction, overdoses
France was originally intended to be the destination for King Charless first overseas visit as monarch, but the country was pipped to the post by Germany after a trip to Paris and Bordeaux was postponed back in March. And now, details of the rescheduled tour have been announced, with a slightly tweaked schedule and a new date set for late September.

The King and Queen will undertake a State Visit to France, from Wednesday 20th to Friday 22nd September 2023. The visit will celebrate the United Kingdoms relationship with France, marking our shared histories, culture and values, Buckingham Palace said in a statement today. Highlights of the three-day program include a State Banquet hosted at the iconic Palace of Versailles by President Macron and Mrs. Macron, and a tour of an organic vineyard in Bordeaux. The King will also become the first British royal to address the National Assembly from the French Senate, with his speech expected to include sections in French.

The trip is a chance to exercise the soft power of the royal family when it comes to relationships with European countries in the post-Brexit era. It follows the successful visit to Germany in March, which a Foreign Office source told reporters this week that Britain was still realizing very real benefits from. The source also pointed out that the speed with which the France state visit was rescheduled was testament to the importance of the trip to both countries.

The banquet at the Palace of Versailles, which will take place on the evening of the first day, will see Charles follow in the footsteps of his mother Queen Elizabeth, who visited the Palace in 1957 during her first state visit to France. Received by President Rene Coty, the then young Queen attended lunch in the Hall of Mirrors.

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Other engagements on the agenda for Charles in Paris include a bilateral meeting with President Macron at the Elysee Palace and a sustainability reception to hear more about how business leaders plan to invest to combat climate change. Queen Camilla will join Mrs. Macron launching a new Franco-British literary prize. In Bordeaux, the royals will meet emergency workers and communities affected by 2022 wildfires as well as hearing about how UK and French military personnel are collaborating on defense.

Charles and Camillas original trip was cancelled due to mass protests in France over Macrons unpopular pension reform.

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Four children led the Pledge of Allegiance to open the day's lesson for seven lawmakers attending a Thibodaux school to learn how charter schools operate.

Louisiana State Reps. Jerome Zeringue, Joseph Orgeron, Bryan Fotnenot, Phillip DeVillier, Vincent St. Blanc, Beryl Amadee, and Gregory Miller visited Bayou Community Academy on Sept. 6. The school's chief executive officer, board president, chief financial officer and students gave presentations and speeches to inform the lawmakers about their school and charter schools in general.

The gathering was one of many across the state put on by the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools to educate lawmakers, especially those without a charter school in their district, on how the schools function.

"I think it's highly important to the success of education when we look at children and where they are, and giving parents a choice of where they want to educate their children," Fontenot said. "A lot of people look at charter schools and failing school districts, and in this instance, we've got a vibrant charter school that's in an A-rated public school district. It's giving parents even more choice."

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School choice has been a political topic at least since vouchers were suggested by Milton Friedman around 1955. Vouchers were proposed as a way of giving parents choice of where to spend tax dollars toward their children's education. Recently, Education Savings Accounts, a more expansive version of a voucher, has propelled the school choice argument to the forefront again.

Also known as an ESA, an education savings account is a state-held bank account that holds money dedicated toward funding a student's education. Similar to a voucher, it is promoted as giving parents a choice of how to educate their children. Unlike a voucher, it allows for much wider options: private or religious schools, homeschooling materials, private tutors, charter schools and more.

Louisiana currently does not have a government funded account.

"The state's ranked in the bottom three every year," Bill Crawford, president of the school's board, said. "I want to say thank you, as representatives of our government, that the state of Louisiana has a robust school choice program, and that's a slogan you may use in a campaign, I want you to know for me it is very personal."

Charter schools are independent public schools. They have the freedom to create their own structure for education as long as they follow state guidelines that every other public school also must follow. They are graded in Louisiana like other public schools through the LEAP test.

Lawmakers and school officials recite the pledge of allegiance led by school children, Wednesday, September 6, at Bayou Community Academy.

Crawford said the strength of a charter school is the ability to create its own academic culture, while not being beholden to specific donors.

"In Louisiana, as you well know, there's an element of two systems: there's a private system and a public system," he said. "We are what we hoped our public schools would be. We do deal with choice, and elements of catering to parents needs, but not like a private school. We're not catering to big donors."

More: Six projects slated to begin or complete this year at Nicholls

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Bayou Community Academy has nearly 500 students enrolled and about 200 students on the waiting list. Seventy-nine percent of the currently enrolled students scored mastery or above on the LEAP test. It educates from Pre-K through eighth grade, and students must maintain a 2.4 GPA.

Pre-K is private education at the school, while the rest of the grades are public education.

Enrollment for the school begins with taking in employees' children, siblings of those already enrolled, special needs and free- and reduced-lunch children. According to the school's CEO, Melanie Becnel, the school is currently not meeting its free- and reduced-lunch children numbers, not for lack of trying, but the children are not signing up. She said the aim to step up getting the word out to parents to increase applications.

The school was founded by Sandy Holloway, who was in attendance with the lawmakers as the group toured the halls of the facility. It is at 800 E. Seventh St., the old Thibodaux Lower Elementary School. The school also has classes on the third floor of an adjacent building. Bayou Community Academy rents its space from the Lafourche Parish School Board.

Zeringue said he remembered attending school in the building when he was a child, and while the school has been heavily updated, he was swept with a feeling of nostalgia.

"I came to third and fourth grade here, and it was Thibodaux Elementary," he said. "The smell is still the same, but it was hardwood floors when I came." Asked how it was different from his childhood, he said, "The curriculum has improved, and it seems more conducive to learning."

One of the variations from the curriculum Zeringue grew up with is that Bayou Community Academy does not use textbooks. Becnel said schools have an opportunity cost when teaching students. Teachers only have a set time to educate the child. The typical approach of schools are to expose the child to a wide range of topics, she said, with little time to dive in deep on those topics.

Bayou Community Academy, she said, differs in that it leverages its strength of having the student self-contained for eight years to go much deeper into a topic.

"So they are consistently seeing the same content, just at a deeper understanding," she explained. "So by the time they come to eighth grade, they may have never touched marine biology, but they know enough about their science, they know enough about research, they know enough about discussion and debate and how to find that information, yet now they are educated enough to go find that marine biology information alone."

The 13-year-old school is looking to grow, and is set to break ground in the winter on a new 70,000 square foot building near the Eric Andolsek Park. The cost of the new facility is $23 million, raised through state, federal, local and private dollars. The school's operating expense is $4.6 million a year, according to figures provided by Sara Barrilleaux, the school's CFO.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Louisiana lawmakers get lesson on how charter schools operate
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky., speaks to reporters after a closed-door GOP strategy meeting at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. McConnell did not elaborate on his health status in the wake of two public episodes where he froze while talking to the press. | J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell made his first public appearance Wednesday after freezing up while taking questions from reporters in Kentucky last week.

After he briefly spoke about the work Congress has to do to pass 12 spending bills before Sept. 30, to avoid a government shutdown, and reaffirmed his support for Ukraine, McConnell, 81, took questions.

Reporters repeatedly asked the senator for details about what made him unable to answer questions  and McConnell, without going into any specifics, pointed to the medical report his office released.

I dont have anything to add to it, McConnell, R-Ky., said. I think it should answer any reasonable questions.

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Related

In the report, Dr. Brian Monahan, McConnells physician, stated that he saw no evidence of the senator experiencing a seizure, stroke or a symptom of Parkinsons disease in extended medical testing after the incident.

But it did not answer why McConnell lost his ability to respond for 30 seconds.

News  New health update on Mitch McConnell, released by his office pic.twitter.com/yht2Nio0w8  Manu Raju (@mkraju) September 5, 2023

This is the second time in recent months that McConnell, R-Ky., has frozen while making a public appearance. The senator abruptly stopped speaking for 15 seconds while giving his remarks at a press conference in July, according to the Deseret News.

Should McConnell step down? Heres what GOP lawmakers say

When reporters asked McConnell if he plans to retire soon, he said he has no announcements to make on that subject.

I am going to finish my term as leader, and Im going to finish my Senate term, he added.

McConnells term ends in 2026, while his position as the GOP leader in the Senate ends in 2024. He continues to receive support from his colleagues in the Senate, including Utah Sen. Mitt Romney.

We might lose from Mitch McConnell 20 seconds a day. But the other 86,380 seconds are pretty darn good. So Im supporting him, Romney, a Republican, told a reporter.

Related

The Utah senator told Politico that there is no question about McConnell being able to lead the Republican Conference.

Hes proven hes able to raise money like no one else in our political history at this level, and I think hell continue to have full support, he said.

Others like Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., argued that McConnell was cleared by a physician and given a clean bill of health.

He indicated hes had two of these episodes and both of them happened to be during press conferences, Kennedy added.

Even if GOP lawmakers have doubts about McConnells abilities to lead his party in the coming years, very few have called for his resignation.

Hes got a very small group of people that would even ask the question, said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. Maybe a handful.

Related

During remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, McConnell briefly addressed his inability to respond to reporters questions, before excusing it as the result of a busy month.

Now, one particular moment of my time back home has received its fair share of attention in the press over the past week, but I assure you August was a busy and productive month for me and my staff back in the commonwealth, he said.
Mitch McConnell 's bizarre freezing spells have once again perturbed the nation, but the aging Senator says his brain are clear.

The senator's office has released a letter from Capitol attending physician Brian Monahan, who claims there is "no evidence" that McConnell has had a "stroke, [mini-stroke] or movement disorder such as Parkinsons disease."

Indeed, Monahan said the 81-year-old Kentucky Republican does not appear, per "brain MRI imaging, EEG study and consultations with several neurologists for a comprehensive neurology assessment" to have any "seizure disorder" at all. As CNN reports, a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity said McConnell was evaluated by four neurologists following this latest freeze.

As Monahan notes, the senator did suffer a fall in March of this year, though the letter does not mention that during that incident, McConnell also got a concussion and broke a rib. It took him over a month to recover from that fall, and he returned to Congress in mid-April.

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This latest letter follows another the Capitol physician sent McConnell's office immediately after the senator's second fall last week, which said he was "medically clear" to keep working and that "occasional lightheadedness" is common after a concussion. Monahan also suggested that McConnell could have been dehydrated as well.

McConnell's strange episode last week marked the second time that the octogenarian has appeared to freeze up publicly this summer after a similar situation in late July, rendering him seemingly unable to speak in response to questions at an event.

In the aftermath of both of McConnell's freezing spells, speculation has run rampant about what might be going on there, with unaffiliated neurologists suggesting that the incidents look a lot like focal seizures, which cause electrical surges in the brain but do not necessarily lead to unconsciousness.

In spite of having been evaluated and scanned, medical experts have noted in various press reports that there's still a good chance something bigger is going on with McConnell than his office is letting on  or, perhaps, than the senator even knows himself.

As the Washington Post notes, the senator's March fall was not his first  for roughly four years he's suffered multiple falls, and although the public knows about the resulting concussion from the last one, we still don't know the cause of it.

As for the imaging taken following this latest freeze-up, CNN's chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta notes that some of the scans may not be quite up to snuff to explain what's going on with McConnell because EEGs are really just a "snapshot in time" of what's happening in one's brain at the moment it's taken.

"Someone could have a seizure, then have a normal EEG, and have a seizure later," Gupta said. "They can give you a fair amount of information, although they cant definitely rule out a seizure."

More on health warnings: Scientists Find There's Usually a Telltale Sign the Day Before a Heart Attack
Taylor Ryan, with Change Today, Change Tomorrow, watches food distribution in front of her home on Date Street on Thursday, September 7, 2023

The St. Stephen Family Life Center in Louisville's California neighborhood surprised a local nonprofit with a 129% rent increase, leaving the group searching for a new home.

The 4-year-old nonprofit, named Change Today, Change Tomorrow, and its founder Taylor Ryan distribute free food to more than 12,000 West End families through their #FeedtheWest program.

In June, the organization received notice that the rent for its office would be increasing from $3,500 to $8,000 a month.

St. Stephen Family Life Center Inc., an affiliate of St. Stephen Baptist Church and Simmons College, is the landlord, according to Change Today, Change Tomorrow's one-year lease that ended June. 1.

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On June 25, Ryan received an email from St. Stephen Family Life Center interim executive director Pat Mathison notifying her that the lease automatically renewed, but the rent would increase starting July 1.

"It did not provide a reason," Ryan said. "Even after asking, there wasn't much of an explanation."

Change Today, Change Tomorrow, a west Louisville nonprofit that focuses on public health and food injustice, left this office at the corner of West Breckinridge and S. 15th streets, after the rent more than doubled.

The lease covered Change Today, Change Tomorrow's facility off S. 15th Street, next to Heaven Hill's distillery and across two empty fields from the Family Life Center.

Mathison did not respond to an Aug. 28 email from The Courier Journal or a phone message left at the center on Wednesday seeking comment.

The Rev. Kevin Cosby, who pastors St. Stephen Baptist Church and is the president of Simmons College, referred all questions to Mathison, saying the family life center is a separate entity from the church and college.

According to the Jefferson County Property Valuation Administrator's office, the owner of the 3,187-square-foot property is St. Stephen Baptist Church.

In a June 14 Courier Journal story regarding Mayor Craig Greenberg's city budget, Ryan, along with other California residents, is quoted questioning a proposal to give $5 million to Simmons College/St. Stephen Family Life Center for a recreation center.

The $5 million was originally listed under the parks and recreation portion of the proposed budget, and Ryan said she wanted the money to be used for parks.

"I want to be very clear," Ryan said at the time. "This is not an anti-church campaign or an anti-college campaign. This is more of a campaign for the funds to remain where the funds should be."

More: She saw needs in the Black community. So she formed a nonprofit to help people from within

Taylor Ryan

Two weeks after Ryan declined the new lease and its rent hike, Change Today, Change Tomorrow was temporarily taken in by Catholic Charities, using their refrigerators to store the food in between distributions.

"I went directly into panic mode and started making logistical calls to move out of the building," Ryan said. "We moved our entire operation in that five-day notice.

"I'm not a multi-millionaire church. I'm a poor Black woman. I don't have $8,000 to give you, nor do I have the capacity or resources to take that to court. Therefore, we just moved."

Food is distributed in front of the home of Taylor Rayn with Change Today, Change Tomorrow, on Thursday, September 7, 2023

Now, the group has new rent-free office space at the University of Louisville's Health Innovation Hub, which keeps them in the West End, but Ryan is still doing food distribution from her 22nd Street house to keep close to the people in the California neighborhood who have come to depend on her group.

Since the move from her former location was swift, it took a few weeks for those in the area to know where to find her.

Even St. Stephen Family Life Center inquired, Ryan said.

"They sent us a Facebook message," Ryan said. "Like 'Hey, where are y'all located now? People are coming here for food.'

"I thought that was funny because in my mind, they should have fed those folks. They are a church."

Reporter Stephanie Kuzydym can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com. Follow her for updates on Twitter at @stephkuzy.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: St. Stephen Family Life Center increases rent for louisville nonprofit
Ohio will use this congressional map for another election.

The Ohio Supreme Court dismissed a legal challenge to the state's congressional map that had previously been ruled unconstitutional, clearing the way for it to be used in 2024.

Opponents of the 2022 congressional map dropped a legal challenge this week, and on Thursday, the Ohio Supreme Court officially dismissed the case. The map's opponents worried they could end up with a worse map if Republican mapmakers or the Ohio Supreme Court under new GOP leadership had their way.

Attorney Freda Levenson with the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio wrote that using the 2022 map again gives Ohio voters some "much-needed certainty." Candidates must file to run by December and the primary is in March.

And Republicans don't plan to redraw the congressional map.

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"Following months of rancor from far-left special interests, those same organizations decided it was no longer in their best interest to litigate after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the earlier 4-3 opinion under Ohio's former chief justice," Senate Republican spokesman John Fortney said. Going forward, Fortney urged Democrats to "reject orders" from former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder 's organization and "give the process approved by the voters a chance to work."

In 2022, 10 Republicans and five Democrats won seats in Congress representing Ohio. Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman flipped a seat from Republican incumbent Steve Chabot in a district that included the entirety of Cincinnati.

The Ohio Supreme Court under then-Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor ruled that the congressional map was unconstitutional because it was drawn to favor Republican candidates over Democratic ones. The 1st congressional district, which stretched from Cincinnati to Warren County, and the 15th congressional district, which extended from Columbus nearly to the Indiana border, were not compact and unnecessarily split communities, the majority ruled in a 4-3 decision last year.

But Sharon Kennedy, who won the chief justice job in November 2022, would have approved the map as constitutional. She and two other Republican justices dissented from the decisions striking down map after map in 2022.

Opponents of the 2022 map  including the League of Women Voters of Ohio and Holder's organization  considered that new leadership in their decision to dismiss their legal challenge.

The case was back in the hands of Ohio Supreme Court justices after the U.S. Supreme Court had vacated the prior ruling that the map was unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court directed the Ohio judges to take another look at the case in light of a North Carolina redistricting decision.

Ohio lawmakers would still need to draw a new congressional map for the 2026 elections because the current version was approved by Republicans without Democratic buy-in. And the seven-member Ohio Redistricting Commission is still tasked with redrawing Ohio House and Senate maps for the 2024 elections.

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

Get more political analysis by listening to the Ohio Politics Explained podcast

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio Supreme Court dismisses legal challenge to congressional map
Ruby Jones filed a lawsuit claiming Oklahoma City police officers broker her right arm when they entered her home to arrest her son.

A federal judge this week authorized a settlement between the city and a woman who accused police of entering her home without a proper warrant and breaking her arm during a search for her mentally ill son.

In Oklahoma City federal court on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David L. Russell ordered the $200,000 settlement be paid to the guardian of Ruby Jones, 77, without the city admitting liability.

Named in a lawsuit initially filed in Oklahoma County District court were officers Dan Bradley, Ryan Staggs and James Ray.

A city spokeswoman declined to comment for this story.

What to know about the case, and the lawsuit

The lawsuit came as the nation was on edge over deadly police interactions with Black people after the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota and raised questions about police tactics and training.

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Ruby Jones, who is Black, claimed that on Aug. 24, 2020, the officers, without a proper warrant, forced their way into her house in the 6200 block of N Drexel Boulevard. She alleged they further violated her rights by handcuffing her and breaking her arm during a search for her mentally ill son, Chauncey Jones, who was 43 at the time.

Police said about 2 p.m. that day, officers were dispatched to Red Rock Behavioral Health Center at 4400 N Lincoln Blvd. when a woman reported someone had called in a bomb threat.

Police said caller ID showed Chauncey Jones was the man who issued the threat.

Previously: Grandmother, 74, sues OKC police, saying they broke her arm after illegally entering her home

Jones spoke with the transfer center and stated that he hated President Trump and was going to blow up white people, police said in a report. "Jones also stated that he was going to blow up 4400 N. Lincoln like the Murrah Building. Jones did not give a method, nor did he give any indication on where a device might be inside or outside the building.

Officers then went to Chauncey Jones home.

About 2:30 p.m., an officer said he saw Chauncey Jones at the door yelling at him. Police said Ruby Jones came to the door and asked why they were there.

Police said Ruby Jones allowed an officer into the house, and according to the police report when he entered the home, a kitchen knife was thrown from the other end of the hallway toward him.

Chauncey Jones was found in a bedroom near where the knife was thrown, the report said, and the officer saw him throw the knife. Police said the officer was assaulted during his first contact with Chauncey Jones.

The knife was thrown with such force it sounded like a gunshot had gone off inside of the house, police reported.

Chauncey Jones was taken to the Oklahoma County jail and released a few days later.

In 2008, he previously pleaded guilty to three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and received a 10-year suspended sentence to run concurrently.

Ruby Jones claimed she tried to explain to police that her son was having a mental health crisis.

The lawsuit said Ruby Jones provided no such consent for officers to enter her home, and Chauncey Jones locked himself in a bedroom when police entered the home.

Officers said they had a warrant but provided no evidence of such, according to the lawsuit.

Police body cam footage show OKC police pushing past woman, handcuffing her

When discussing the lawsuit, which was filed seven months after the incident, Damario Solomon-Simmons, the attorney for Ruby Jones, showed reporters edited video from police body cameras that show an officer pushing past his client.

Lemme see your (expletive) hands, was heard in the scene.

Officers were in the house with their weapons drawn as Ruby Jones was seen and heard pleading with them to not harm her son.

Youre fixin to go sit in the car, an officer told her.

Officers pulled her from a bedroom, moved her toward the front door and handcuffed her.

The lawsuit said an officer pulled Ruby Jones right arm upward and at an angle beyond its physical capabilities, and she cried out they were hurting her arm.

Police were heard telling Ruby Jones she resisted.

Handcuffed, Ruby Jones collapsed to the floor, the lawsuit said. Officers pulled her up from the floor and an officer tightened her right handcuff as they led her out the door, according to the lawsuit.

In the video, Ruby Jones complained of heart problems and an officer told her you can walk, as she appeared to struggle in the heat to make it to a patrol car.

An officer told Ruby Jones she didnt have to yell at him.

I know it was God that spared my life, Ruby Jones told reporters when discussing the lawsuit filing. I wont forget this. The pain, the agony.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC settles with 77-year-old grandmother over excessive police force
Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks on Wednesday touted a new initiative designed to create thousands of weapons systems powered by artificial intelligence, saying it will mark a game-changing shift in defense and security as Washington looks to curtail Chinas growing influence across the world.

Hicks said the new initiative, called Replicator, is part of a concentrated push at the Pentagon to accelerate cultural and technological change and gain a military advantage faster over competitors.

Now is the time to scale with systems that are harder to plan for, harder to hit and harder to beat, she said at a Defense News conference in Arlington, Va., adding that autonomous weapons can help a determined defender stop a larger aggressor from achieving its objectives, put fewer people in the line of fire and be made shielded and upgraded at the speed war fighters need without long maintenance.

Hicks first announced Replicator last week at a separate defense conference, saying the Pentagon would work closely with the defense industry to field thousands of autonomous weapons and security systems across all domains in 18-24 months.

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While the U.S. has already deployed some autonomous systems  vehicles, aircraft or drones that operate without a human  Replicator would mark a significant step toward developing many more of them.

According to Hicks, these units would be small, smart, cheap, and many. She tasked the audience to imagine self-operating, AI-powered systems flying at all sorts of altitudes doing a range of missions, with some of them potentially even solar-powered.

Replicator is not a new program and will not seek out additional funding or personnel, Hicks said, but will instead use existing program funding and government employees to accelerate production and delivery.

She explained the Replicator initiative is a major commitment across the entire Defense Department, from military commanders to Pentagon offices.

Make no mistake, Hicks said Wednesday, Replicator signals from the top that we are embarking on audacious change fast, using the means we have to face an urgent challenge  and we intend to meet it with the courage to bet big.

Hicks is overseeing the initiative along with Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Christopher Grady and Doug Beck, director of the Defense Innovation Unit, in a newly formed steering group.

The global development of autonomous weapons systems, which some refer to as killer robots, has drawn scrutiny from human rights groups, which argue they should not be used in combat without a human operator.

The Pentagons guidelines on autonomous systems says there will be appropriate levels of human judgment before any use of force. Hicks said the U.S. will maintain its ethical standards for autonomous weapons and that integrating autonomy into weapons systems is nothing new for the military.

We know how to do it responsibly, she said. Our policy for autonomy and weapons systems is clear and well-established. There is always a human responsible for the use of force, full stop.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. George W. Winger, 25, died in combat on Aug. 1, 1943. His remains were identified using DNA earlier this year. Winger grew up in Columbus and enlisted after the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. His plane was shot down in Romania during Operation Tidal Wave.

A local pilot whose plane was shot down during a bombing mission in World War II has officially had his remains identified 70 years later.

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. George Winger, 25, died Aug. 1, 1943, while fighting in the European arena of World War II.

Winger was assigned to the 66th Bombardment Squadron, 44th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force.

Winger's B-24 Liberator plane, dubbed "Wing Dinger," was one of 177 planes that participated in Operation Tidal Wave, a bombing mission targeting oil fields and refineries in an area north of Bucharest, Romania. The planes involved in the mission dropped their bombs from altitudes of a few hundred feet instead of the traditional several thousand feet, according to the National World War II Museum.

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Winger's plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crashed Aug. 1, 1943, one of 51 planes that was shot down during the mission. Accounts of the plane's final moments indicated it caught fire, but the pilots, including Winger, tried to climb to reach a safe altitude for others on the plane to safely bail out.

Winger's remains were not able to be identified after the war and were buried as unknown at the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan, Ploiesti, Prahova, Romania in the Hero Section.

After the war, remains at that cemetery were disinterred in hopes of being able to identify them. More than 80 people were still unable to be identified, and those remains were reburied at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery. Both of those cemeteries are in Belgium.

Scientists began using forensic anthropological techniques to identify remains starting in 2017 and analyzed mitochondrial DNA to identify Winger's remains earlier this year.

Winger's name was listed at the Tables of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery site in Impruneta, Italy, along with others who remain missing from World War II. A rosette will now be placed by Winger's name to indicate that he has been accounted for and his remains identified.

In 2018, Columbus Academy wrote a profile of Winger, who graduated from the school in 1936. The profile said Winger enrolled at Ohio State University with plans to be an engineer but joined the military in 1941.

Information published at the time showed Winger was married to Harlan Marshall, who lived in Washington. Winger was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal and Purple Heart during his service.

Winger will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery on a date that will be determined later.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Remains of Columbus pilot killed during World War II identified
BEIJING (Reuters) -Eschewing face-time with foreign leaders at global summits this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday visited the homes of villagers in a rural part of northeast China battered by floods.

In the village of Longwangmiao in Heilongjiang province, Xi called on local residents to triumph over their difficulties and work towards returning life to a more normal footing, according to state media reports. He also enquired about their losses and supply of daily necessities.

In late July through early August, record rainfall laid waste to vast swathes of northern China, flooding cities and farmlands unused to powerful storms more common in the south, but Xi did not visit any of the disaster-hit areas until this week.

Inspecting rice crops and damaged homes in Longwangmiao battered by remnants of the super typhoon Doksuri, Xi skipped an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Indonesia this week.

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He will also miss the chance on Saturday and Sunday to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden at a G20 conclave in India.

But Xi did attend a meeting in late August with leaders of the BRICS group of major emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - in South Africa.

Alfred Wu, associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said that Xi's speed in visiting disaster-stricken areas in China has usually been much slower than his immediate predecessors Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, a possible consequence of Xi's centralisation of power.

"These delays are common in Xi's regime, it is not a good look for him," Wu said.

"We know that the floods started in July, but he probably got the information late, and then in August he was busy with BRICS, so only now has his agenda cleared."

China has not explained why Xi, who had attended every G20 summit since coming to office over a decade ago, was not leading Beijing's delegation to New Delhi. It has said only that Premier Li Qiang will represent China.

By comparison, Xi left China for five overseas visits in 2022 - when the country's borders were effectively closed due to pandemic controls - and a dozen in pre-COVID 2019.

Reuters, citing foreign diplomats in China, previously reported that Xi's absence at the upcoming G20 could be a sign of Beijing's increasing coolness to the West and its allies.

Instead, some Western leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron and senior officials including U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken this year had to come to China to see Xi.

Alfredo Montufar-Helu, head of think tank The Conference Board's China Center, said that from a geopolitical perspective, attending the BRICS summit in South Africa was a higher priority for Xi than the G20.

"There is not only no strategic goal to be achieved at the G20, but there is also a risk that the U.S. and its allies use the meeting to criticize his government," Montufar-Helu said.

"It is more of a priority for him to pay attention to the domestic situation given the impact of the economic slowdown and natural disasters on people's livelihoods."

(Reporting by Ryan Woo and Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Alexandra Hudson)
Sen. Jessica Castleberry, R-Rapid City, at the Capitol during the 2022 legislative session.

What does indirect mean?

The question has been at the forefront of political discourse in South Dakota for weeks after former Sen. Jessica Castleberry, R-Rapid City, was found to have accepted over $500,000 in allegedly illegal indirect benefits from state government while serving as a state legislator.

The state constitution prohibits legislators from being interested directly or indirectly in contracts with the state or counties. In the handful of state Supreme Court cases and opinions dealing with the matter over the last 135 years, none has explicitly defined indirect, said Michael Card, associate professor emeritus of political science at the University of South Dakota.

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Castleberry has said she consulted with an attorney and believed her company  a preschool  was eligible for federal pandemic relief funds distributed by the state. Attorney General Marty Jackley explained to the press in a news conference in August that although the funds did not go straight to Castleberry and were therefore not a direct benefit, they were an indirect benefit since they went to her business.

Since the matter was settled in mid-August with Castleberry agreeing to a repayment plan and resigning, its caused lawmakers and the public to question legislators personal and professional relationships.

Sens. Helene Duhamel and Randy Deibert are directly paid by counties  Duhamel as the public information officer for the Pennington County Sheriffs Office, and Deibert as a Lawrence County commissioner. Duhamels employment and Deiberts latest commission term began before they were elected to the Legislature.

At least a half-dozen legislators or their businesses, as highlighted in a Dakota Scout story, are listed as vendors in state finance documents. Some legislators spouses are employed by the state, including House Majority Leader Will Mortenson, R-Pierre; Sen. Jim Mehlhaff, R-Pierre; and Rep. Chris Kassin, R-Vermillion.

Such situations could violate the constitution, said Rich Helsper, an attorney at Helsper, McCarty and Rasmussen Law Firm in Brookings.

A person climbs the stairs of the South Dakota Capitol.

The two words, Helsper said, referencing direct and indirect, can cover virtually anything which may have been appropriate 135 years ago but not now, he said. Women, for example, are more independent than they were when the state was formed and the constitution was written, and are more likely to have their own job or business that could indirectly benefit a spouse whos a legislator. The government has thousands more employees today and is far more involved in business contracts, Helsper said.

Helsper represented Carol Pitts in a conflict of interest lawsuit in front of the state Supreme Court in 2001. Pitts, who was a legislator from Brookings, was also a state employee through South Dakota State University Extension. The court decided in a 3-2 opinion that her SDSU employment contract, which was renewed on a yearly basis and therefore renewed when she was a legislator, was an indirect benefit that violated the constitution and was therefore null and void. The court also found that the state properly refused to pay her for the SDSU job while she was a legislator.

As that case showed, the state Supreme Court could further define direct or indirect benefits if it hears more cases on the subject or is asked to issue an advisory opinion.

Voters could also tackle the issue through a ballot question, and legislators could address the matter with rules or legislation.

Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck, R-Watertown, hopes to proceed with rule changes.

I hope this is an objective, nonpartisan effort to help interpret the constitution so legislative candidates and current legislators can comply with it, Schoenbeck told South Dakota Searchlight.

History of conflict of interest: Its exactly what our constitutional framers wanted

In 2001, Helsper argued the constitutional provision didnt apply to Pitts job at SDSU because she was probably ten levels removed from any authority position, Helsper told South Dakota Searchlight. Therefore, her role as a legislator and votes cast wouldnt affect her SDSU contract, he contended.

Yet the language of the constitution is plain and its meaning cannot be mistaken, the Supreme Court wrote in its majority opinion.

Specifically, this broad prohibition extends to any contract entered into with the State, the Supreme Court decided.

In a 2020 advisory opinion, the Supreme Court said the law is unambiguous and must be applied as it reads.

The provision is intended to prevent any possibility of a legislator monetarily benefiting from their position, Card explained.

This is a wide net, Card said. But I think its also to prevent the appearance that people elected to government positions are in it for themselves. Its exactly what our constitutional framers wanted to prevent from happening.

Helsper believes the provision should be repealed or changed so the Legislature could readdress and redefine conflicts of interest. There should be some restrictions focused on governmental employees in authoritative positions, he said.

In Carols case, the Supreme Court said at least a couple of times that all parties were dealing in good faith and there were no improper motives, Helsper said. That is why I say that thousands of state and county employees should not be shut out of the legislative process.

Repealing the constitutional provision wont be an easy task, he said.

There have been four attempts to revise the constitutional language in the last 53 years. None of them came close to passing, Card said.

Eliminating this provision would truly stand a snowballs chance in Maui, Card said. I dont think the public would vote for it.

The decision to add the conflict of interest provision was made in the aftermath of territorial government corruption, Card said. Territorial Indian Agent Walter Burleigh, for example, hired his wife and two children to teach English to tribal members at the rate of what would today be $70,000 each, he said. And John Albyne Burbank, the fourth governor of Dakota Territory, used his authority to improve his own financial well being.

This is all about public acceptance of governance, Card said. We have to have the trust of the people to make a republic work.

Legislators have limited options when they have a conflict involving legislation. They can be absent or excused from a vote, but they cant abstain from a vote thats called while theyre on the floor of the state House or Senate. And an option to abstain wouldnt keep legislators from violating the constitution anyway, Attorney General Marty Jackley said. The constitution strictly prohibits a legislator from contracts with the state, even if they didnt vote on a bill that concerned such contracts.

Ethical complaints against legislators can go to an ad-hoc legislative ethics committee made up of the Legislatures own members, though it is at the discretion of the Legislature to take on a complaint and form a committee. The State Government Accountability Board doesnt have jurisdiction over the state Legislature.

The entrance to the South Dakota Supreme Court at the state Capitol in Pierre.

Legislative conflict of interest Supreme Court decisions:

Pitts v. Larson (2001): A legislators contract to work for a state university was ruled null and void as a violation of the state constitutions prohibition against conflicts of interest.

Asphalt Surfacing Co. v. SDDOT (1986): Company couldnt be awarded a highway repair contract because the president of the company was a legislator.

Norbeck & Nicholson Co. v. State (1913): Company couldnt contract with the South Dakota Board of Regents because a legislator was a stockholder in the company.

Palmer v. State (1898): Legislator couldnt be paid for his employment on the state railroad commission.

Legislature plans to tackle definition: Indirect doesnt stretch into infinity

In Schoenbecks 14-year tenure in the Legislature, he can recall instances when potential candidates or appointed legislators chose not to run for office because they were major shareholders or officers of companies. Their political aspirations interfered with potential business dealings.

But after the Castleberry situation, Schoenbeck said hes heard concerns about potential candidates second guessing political careers because of more minor business associations or dealings.

Gov. Kristi Noem issued an executive order on the matter in the wake of the Castleberry situation. It requires state offices under her control to include language in contracts requiring signers to acknowledge theyre aware of the law Castleberry allegedly violated.

State Auditor Rich Sattgasts office is also reevaluating how to monitor payments and is writing conflict of interest guidelines for legislators.

Ive been looking at all kinds of different hypotheticals that we could run into with kind of a broad view of how these funds  how any of the state funds  are working with legislators, Sattgast told South Dakota Searchlight.

Sattgast suggested any transaction between a legislators business and the state could be illegal, using a hypothetical situation where a legislator owns a hotel unknowingly booked by a state employee while on official business.

The Bureau of Finance and Management is implementing a new accounting system in a few years that will automatically cross-check financial interests and disclosures from legislators to avoid any such payments, Sattgast said. The upgrade is part of a $70 million investment with one-time funding.

Schoenbeck is working with the Legislative Research Council to draft and introduce policies that could be adopted by the Executive Board later this year, including a disclaimer saying the South Dakota Supreme Court interprets the constitution.

Indirect doesnt stretch into infinity, Schoenbeck said. It has to mean something realistically.

Clearly defining indirect benefits in a policy could help the public, legislators and potential candidates, he added.

This isnt about any individual person. This isnt an executive session matter, Schoenbeck said. This is a discussion the public needs to have. Its all going to be in the public because they need to understand it.

But Card said rule changes could be insufficient, and other efforts could be difficult. If the Legislature were to change the definition of contract in state law, for example, Card said that could have unintended consequences. Such a vote could be subjected to a public referendum, he added. Amendments to the state constitution would require not only a majority vote from each legislative chamber but also a majority vote of the public.

Unless the Supreme Court limits indirect or says indirect doesnt apply to less than a controlling interest in an entity, Card said, then were just going to have trouble.

 South Dakota Searchlights John Hult contributed to this report.

EDITORS NOTE: This article has been updated with a correction to accurately state the process for amending the state constitution.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Legislators conflict of interest puts meaning of indirect under microscope
CAMBRIDGE  A specialty coffee shop is set to open in November at 2149 Southgate Parkway.

The Human Bean drive-thru will offer coffee and tea classics, specialties such as Snowy Mocha and Irish Cream Breve, infused energy drinks like Blue Raspberry and Candied Peppermint and frozen smoothies, as well as hot breakfast items.

Local owners, Chad and Lynn Fix and their daughter Rachel Kinnison, say the staff looks is looking forward to providing exceptional customer service.

Weve got an excited team who have been training and preparing for this grand opening, Chad said. We lived in Colorado for 52 years before relocating to Ohio eight years ago. During our time in Northern Colorado, we were frequent visitors to The Human Bean and fell in love with their coffee and outstanding service. We began searching for a location in Cambridge four years ago, and could not be happier with the spot we found.

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The Daily Jeffersonian previously reported the Cambridge shop is expected to have 25 mostly part-time employees.

The Human Bean coffee company has grown from a single location in southern Oregon to a nationwide brand over the last 25 years. Drive-thru stands throughout the U.S. are primarily owned and operated by individual franchisees like Fix.

Our mission is to inspire authentic human connections with every cup. This new drive-thru opening is another opportunity to do just that  spread kindness and foster connections in the communities where The Human Bean is served, said Dan Hawkins, CEO of The Human Bean Franchise.

Customers can participating in several fundraising events throughout the year, including the brand-wide Coffee for a Cure Day in October and Mochas for Men in June. All of The Human Bean drive-thrus participate in the fundraisers each year and collectively raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for womens and mens cancer prevention and treatment.

All of the money raised by the Cambridge drive-thru location will stay in the community and be given to a local organization of the staffs choosing.

This will be the sixth location to open in the state of Ohio, with the others all in the surrounding Akron area.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: November opening scheduled for The Human Bean
Three Tennessee universities made the cut for the top 100 universities across the country for free speech rights, according to the 2024 College Free Speech Rankings by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, which surveyed over 250 schools.

The organization, known as FIRE, analyzed the schools based on students' First Amendment rights of speech, expression and assembly. It's the group's fourth time producing the list.

The University of Memphis was the top ranked Tennessee school for free speech access, coming in 39th with a score of 56.14 out of 100, while Vanderbilt University came in at 89th with a score of 50.78, and University of Tennessee at 97th with 49.9.

The top university in the country for free speech rights is Michigan Technological University, with a score of 78.01, while the lowest was Harvard University with a score of 0.0.

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We had 55 schools surveyed our first year, and we've increased the number of schools each yearso this year we did 254, said Sean Stevens, director of Polling and Analytics at FIRE. We want to hear from the students themselves about their experiences on campus with expression as well as their general attitudes towards it. You know, how tolerant they are of controversial speakers, how comfortable they feel speaking up on campus, things like that. This helps people understand where they want to go to college.

What is in this study?

This years survey included the responses from 55,102 students across the U.S., from 254 colleges and universities.

Questions on the survey covered five major topics: comfort expressing ideas, tolerance of controversial speakers, disruptive conduct, de-platforming attempts and administrative support.

Additionally, the survey found the top subjects that college students find most difficult  or at times, most harrowing  to discuss on campus.

Benton Chapel at the Vanderbilt University Divinity School Thursday, July 6, 2023.

According to the survey, the topics of abortion, gender inequality, gun control, police misconduct, racial inequality, religion, sexual assault, and transgender rights were all listed by at least one-third of students at schools ranked in the top five, and at least one-third of students at schools in the bottom five, as difficult to have an open and honest conversation about on campus.

Meanwhile, the topics of affirmative action and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were more often identified as difficult to discuss by students at the bottom five schools than by students at the top five schools.

What are the trends?

Overall, the average score for free speech across the nations campuses has fallen slightly.

According to the survey, the average overall score of the top five-ranked schools this year is 72.78, while the average overall score of the bottom five schools is 12.51. Both of these averages are lower than those of last years, when the average at the top was 75.80 and the average at the bottom was 16.96.

Regarding politics, the students surveyed at schools nationwide identified predominantly as liberal, with 48% identifying as such, compared to 19% as conservative and 14% as moderate.

In terms of school identification, 232 of the 254 schools surveyed had a predominantly liberal student body, while only 20 schools had a predominantly conservative one.

The latter group includes four of the six warning schools  or schools that FIRE found to have policies that clearly and consistently state that it prioritizes other values over a commitment to freedom of speech. Those schools include Baylor University, Brigham Young University, Hillsdale College and Liberty University.

Stevens said the topics considered the most difficult to discuss across the schools have changed this year.

Racial equality was identified by over 50% of students in 2021 as a (main topic of difficulty), he said. Especially on the heels of George Floyd. That was peak, and then it went down a little bit these past two years. It's still one of the most identified topics as 'difficult to discuss,' but it seems to be trending a little bit downward, whereas abortion seems to be the top one right now.

The datas reflection of the rising concern speaking on abortion is stark following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, with the subject leading as the top most-difficult topic: 54% of students in the top five schools identified it as a difficult topic, and 49% in the bottom five.

Another trend, Stevens said, is the slight, but growing, acceptance that use of violence or force against speakers is acceptable.

We asked if students think the use of blocking entry to an event  or using violence to stop a campus speech are acceptable, and the percentage we found that said never acceptable has declined, he said. So for blocking entry, it went from 63% last year to 55% this year. And for use of violence, it went from 80% percent to 73%.

The USA Today Network - Tennessee's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.

Have a story to tell? Reach Angele Latham by email at alatham@gannett.com, by phone at 931-623-9485, or follow her on Twitter at @angele_latham

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee universities make top 100 list for free speech rights in new study
One of the worlds rarest giraffes, which was born in July at the Brights Zoo in Tennessee, has been named Kipekee.

The name, meaning unique in Swahili, was revealed Monday morning on the Today show.

According to Brights Zoo, giraffe experts believe Kipekee is the only solid-color reticulated giraffe living anywhere on the planet.

Brights Zoo sees influx of visitors prior to name reveal for rare spotless giraffe

(Photo: WJHL)

Over the past couple of weeks, the giraffes birth has put Brights Zoo in the international spotlight. Zoo director David Bright said he never could have imagined the impact Kipekee would have on his business.

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We expected a small uptick. Nothing like were having, Bright said previously. Visitors have reportedly traveled from as far away as the United Kingdom for a chance to see the rare giraffe.

Brights Zoo is open from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day except Thursdays. The facilitys website is also providing tips for the best times to see Kipekee (and avoid crowds) in the coming week.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Fall Rivers most famous true-crime story, the case of Lizzie Borden, is known the world over. Everyone knows the gist: someone took an axe, and gave Andrew and Abby Borden several whacks, murdering the prominent couple in their home. With Lizzie acquitted and no other suspects, the crime has remained unsolved for 131 years and counting.

But the Fall River area is home to many more spine-tingling true-crime stories throughout its history  some solved, others not. Some are especially shocking for their time and even in ours.

Here, literally ripped from the headlines, are three true terrifying tales from across the SouthCoast.

It's not Lizzie Borden: New book looks at the Fall River axe murder you never knew about

A detail of a cartoon from 1850 by Henry Robinson depicts Sarah Maria Cornell at left, with the Rev. Ephraim Kingsbury Avery being taken away by demons. The cartoon's caption was "A minister extraordinary taking passage & bound on a foreign mission to the court of his satanic majesty!"

Sarah Maria Cornell: Suicide, or murder at the hands of a minister?

The crime: On the morning of Dec. 21, 1832, in what was then Tiverton but is now Fall Rivers Kennedy Park, farmer John Durfee made a horrifying discovery: the frozen body of a woman found hanging by the neck from a stake.

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She wore a bonnet but her hair hung over her face in great disorder, reads testimony from Durfee. Her shoes were off  her toes rested on the ground and her knees were bent forward within six inches of the ground. She was Sarah Maria Cornell, a 29-year-old mill worker originally from Vermont.

A headline from the Fall River Globe of 1893 looks at the death of Sarah Maria Cornell in 1832.

She was also unmarried and four months pregnant. Cornell lived in a boarding house on Spring Street, where among her personal items was found a cryptic note, dated Dec. 20: If I should be missing, enquire of the Rev. Mr. Avery of Bristol, he will know where I am.

This was the Rev. Ephraim Kingsbury Avery, a 33-year-old married Methodist minister who she had known for some time. At first thought a suicide, the case became a criminal investigation with Avery accused of having seduced Cornell and murdered her. Avery insisted he was innocent and fled to New Hampshire  to avoid angry mobs calling for his blood, he said  but was captured and hauled before a court in Newport in 1833.

Bruce Dorsey is the author of "Murder in a Mill Town," a book released in August 2023 about the death of Sarah Maria Cornell in what is now Fall River in 1832.

The trial: Cornells character was put on trial, with the defense noting that shed come from a broken home and had legal troubles in her past, including charges of theft; they called her promiscuous and mentally unstable. The tactic worked, and Avery was acquitted of her killing.

The aftermath: Like in the Lizzie Borden case 60 years later, the public remained convinced Avery was a killer, and suspicion dogged him for the rest of his life. He moved away and became a farmer; Cornell was buried in Oak Grove Cemetery.

Unanswered questions: Was her death a murder or suicide? And why did Cornell write that note? To this day, its unknown.

More info: The case is the subject of Murder in a Mill Town by Bruce Dorsey, published in August. The book dives into the case and its significance as one of the most notorious murder cases of the 19th century.

A story from the Fall River Daily Evening News of 1876 details the crime of Ellen Dunn, a mother who killed her baby by tossing him from a window.

Dennis Dunn: Victim of his unnatural mother

The crime: Horrified screams rang out on July 24, 1876, on what was then known as Six-and-a-half Street in Fall River, today Corneau Street. Hundreds of people looked upon the broken body of Dennis Dunn, a little under a year and a half old  still alive after having fallen from a third-story window.

Neighbors reported his mother, Ellen Dunn, had purposely flung the infant out of the window in a frenzy of drunkenness.

The neighborhood was dense and wretched, according to the Daily Evening News, wedged between the Troy and Union mills, and the Dunn family was poor. Ellen cared for five children under 12 while her husband, John, worked as a miner in Michigan. Neighbors said she was frequently drunk, though not known to be abusive.

Did Lizzie Borden use an alias? 5 facts you never knew about Fall River's infamous murders

But on this day, neighbors said, she had beaten her baby with a strip of wood, taken him by the legs, swung him against the walls and tossed him from the window of their apartment. Police and a neighbor broke into Dunns home and dragged her literally kicking and screaming to the police station. Doctors said Dennis lived several more hours but was beyond their help; among those who conducted his autopsy was Dr. Seabury Bowen, who years later would later examine the bodies of Andrew and Abby Borden.

The trial: There were many witnesses to this shocking crime, including Dunns oldest son Michael, 12, who said his mother was as good as any mother could be when sober, but a terror when drunk. That morning, she had sent him to the store for whiskey, promising to give up drinking afterward. In court, Dunn did not speak but kept her head bowed beneath a black veil. That September, a jury found that Dunn killed her son but could not indict her by reason of insanity.

The aftermath: Shortly after the crime, John Dunn took custody of his children and brought them to Michigan. Ellen Dunn was committed to a state mental hospital. From there, what happened to her is unknown.

Unanswered questions: What made Ellen Dunn attack her infant son? If she ever explained her actions, it has gone unrecorded.

Dead letter office: Lizzie Borden letter delivered 126 years later  to the Fall River Historical Society

A headline from the Fall River Daily Globe from 1909 details the shocking discovery of body parts found in Tiverton.

Amelia St. Jean: A horrifying discovery in Tiverton woods

The crime: In the early afternoon of Oct. 11, 1909, George Potter, delivering mail along Bulgarmarsh Road near Bliss Four Corners in Tiverton, made a gruesome find: two severed human legs stuffed in a canvas bag tossed into the woods. The entire leg was exposed with the foot nearest to Potter, wrote the Daily Evening News at the time. The thigh of the right leg also lay on the ground.

A forensic exam revealed that a hacksaw was used to cut through the bone.

The next day, a mile and a half away along Fish Road, a torso was discovered, revealing the victim to be a young blonde woman. Over the next few days, both arms and the rest of the right leg was found  but no head. An autopsy also discovered the woman had been pregnant and that an abortion had been attempted, but that it was unsuccessful and did not cause her death. She died, according to Dr. Edward P. Stimson, when "the murderer had cut the victims throat and then begun dismembering the body while the girl was still alive.

A photo from the Fall River Herald of 1909 reveals the canvas bag in which were stuffed the severed legs of Amelia St. Jean.

Without a head, identification was difficult. But based on distinctive birthmarks, she was identified as Amelia St. Jean, a 19-year-old who had moved to Fall River weeks earlier and had gone missing Oct. 8. She worked as a servant, and was known to be in a delicate condition.

A name on the canvas bag traced it to Frank L. Hill, a husband and father, and a skin specialist with offices at 138 Bedford St. Though Hill claimed he was innocent, police found torn fragments of St. Jean's clothing in his office. When taken to Superior Court in November, he changed his plea to guilty and confessed.

The trial: Hill testified that St. Jean had visited him on Oct. 8, asking for medicine to terminate her pregnancy. He said he turned her away, but she returned that afternoon with an abortion device of her own  which she inserted into herself. Hill claimed St. Jean suddenly dropped dead, he panicked and, rather than call authorities, dismembered her body and scattered the pieces  including her head, which he told police was off Robeson Street near St. Patricks Cemetery.

Hill's defense argued that St. Jean was largely responsible for her own death; the earlier report that shed been dismembered while alive was not given credit. Hill pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to seven to 10 years in state prison.

Unanswered questions: Was Hills story true, or was he covering up an even worse incident? As the only witness, he took the truth to his grave.

More info: The Dunn and St. Jean cases are both documented in "Parallel Lives" by Michael Martins and Dennis Binette of the Fall River Historical Society.

Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Sarah Cornell's death among Fall River's unsolved true crime mysteries
Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis (D) penned a scathing letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) after he asked her to turn over all documents related to her prosecution of former President Trump and 18 others on charges related to election interference.

The nine-page letter at turns accuses Jordan of offend[ing] Constitutional principals with your attempt to interfere with and obstruction this offices prosecution, suggests he buy a book on racketeering prosecution at the price offered for non-attorneys and casts her response as voluntary as settled constitutional law clearly permits me to ignore your unjustified and illegal intrusion.

Your attempt to invoke congressional authority to intrude upon and interfere with an active criminal case in Georgia is flagrantly at odds with the Constitution, Willis wrote in a letter first reported by the Atlanta JournalConstitution and also obtained by The Hill.

There is absolutely no support for Congress purporting to second guess or somehow supervise an ongoing Georgia criminal investigation and prosecution. That violation of Georgias sovereignty is offensive and will not stand.

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At another point she suggested Jordans letter was a bull[ying] by members of Congress and suggested he push to investigate threats against her.

Williss letter is a response to an August letter from Jordan sent just hours before Trump was set to report to a Fulton County jail.

Jordan, who has sent similar letters to each of the prosecutorial entities investigating Trump, asked Willis to turn over all records related to her work and also asked if she had communicated with special counsel Jack Smith.

In another portion of the letter, Willis tells Jordan he must deal with some basic realities.

A Special Purpose Grand Jury made up of everyday citizens investigated for 10 months and made recommendations to me. A further reality is that a grand jury of completely different Fulton County citizens found probable cause against the defendants named in the indictment for RICO violations and various other felonies, she wrote, using an abbreviation for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute.

Here is another reality you must face: Those who wish to avoid felony charges in Fulton County, Georgia  including violations of Georgia RICO law  should not commit felonies in Fulton County, Georgia. In this jurisdiction, every person is subject to the same laws and the same process.

Willis also takes a series of shots at Jordans knowledge of the law, at one point breaking down the basic obligations of a prosecutor and at another turn writing to provide the Judiciary chairman a brief tutorial on RICO law.

Your letter makes clear that you lack a basic understanding of the law, its practice, and the ethical obligations of attorneys generally and prosecutors specifically, she wrote.

After suggesting Jordan was misinformed about the details included in her indictment, she pointed him to other resources.

For a more thorough understanding of Georgias RICO statute, its application and similar laws in other states, I encourage you to read RICO State-by-State. As a non-member of the bar, you can purchase a copy for two hundred forty-nine dollars [$249].

Willis also pushed back on questions from Jordan into the timing of her investigation, noting she was slowed by resistance to subpoena compliance by current and former members of Congress, and called claims that her prosecution of Trump was politically motivated could not be further from the truth.

Willis capped her correspondence with a suggestion that Jordan should investigate threats to her office

As it seems you have a personal interest in the Fulton County District Attorneys Office, you should consider directing the USDOJ to investigate the racist threats that have come to my staff and me because of this investigation, she said, attaching examples of 10 such incidents.

I am providing these examples to give you a window into what has happened to my staff and me as I keep the promise of my oath to the United States and Georgia Constitutions and do not allow myself to be bullied by members of Congress, local elected officials, or other who believe lady justice should not be blind and that America has different laws for different citizens.

Updated at 1:14 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The woman seen kissing an on-duty Maryland police officer before climbing into the back of his department cruiser in a viral video says she knows it looks bad but shes done nothing wrong, the New York Post reports.

Virginia Pinto stressed that she had been dating Corporal Francesco Marlett for two years and that the incident that was caught on video was not a one night stand.

Thats the main storythat this isnt a little thing, Pinto told the Post. Of course, since hes a police officer, it looks bad. But I just want people to understand that this was not a one night stand. Whats so exciting? Hes a cop. Im a civilian. We got caught. It sucks, but this will pass.

Pinto revealed that she has a 15-year-old child from a previous relationship who is autistic. His father, she said, is white. I guess I have a thing for caucasians, she said.

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In my head, Ive done nothing wrong. Im going to continue living my life, doing what Im doing. In my heart, in his heart, I know that Ive done nothing. He knows. Paula [Marletts wife] knows. Ive done nothing wrong. God is my higher power.

Meanwhile, Paula Marlett texted the Post in reply: Seems like Virginia has a mouthful to give about me when her husband left her dirty ass bc she cant stop cheating and inserting herself into other ppls business, she texted.

My husband used her for sex bc she was easy  He gave her broken promises so she would give him py. Shes easy. I never put our marriage out there bc like all marriages we hit a rough patch . We get thru everything at the end of the day [sic].

Tweets by MoCoPGNews

The video, which was posted on TikTokhas accumulated more than 2 million views since it was uploaded Monday. The witness who filmed the video, identified only as Nelson, told The Baltimore Banner that the couple were in the back of the vehicle for about 40 minutes. He said he took video of the couple because something didnt seem right. It was concerning because theres kids around, he said. A second video appeared soon after which also allegedly shows Pinto jumping into the back of a police car on a separate occasion.

On Tuesday, the Prince Georges County Police Department announced Marlett had been suspended, and on Wednesday, added in a new statement that its Internal Affairs Division (IAD) is actively investigating the actions of a Prince Georges County Police officer that were recorded and posted on social media.

It confirmed the department is aware of two videos involving Corporal Francesco Marlett and an adult female and that as soon as the agency became aware of the first video on Tuesday, IAD opened an investigation and Chief Malik Aziz decisively suspended this officers police powers.

Cops are attempting to interview the parties involved, along with witnesses or citizens with knowledge of the interactions, claiming the information could play a key role in helping investigators determine exactly what happened.

I know the officers actions seen on these videos have sparked a range of emotions in the community and put a negative spotlight on this agency and the many hard-working women and men who wear our uniform, Chief Malik Aziz added.

I expect every officer to conduct themselves in a way that will not dishonor this agency or this county. I assure the residents of Prince Georges County I take this matter extremely seriously.

An Administrative Charging Committee will make a recommendation to Chief Aziz regarding any potential disciplinary actions once the investigation is complete.

Maryland Cop Suspended After Apparent On-Duty Makeout Sesh Goes Viral

Police also gave more details on Marletts history prior to the kissing incident after WJLA reported that this was his second suspension. He was internally disciplined in 2016 on sustained administrative charges of unbecoming conduct/child abuse and unbecoming conduct/assault second degree. He was removed from the next promotional cycle and fined $1500, police said in a statement.

The statement continued: According to Maryland Judiciary Case Search, in 2019, a hearing was held in Calvert County and a judge denied a petition for a peace order after ruling there was no statutory basis and again in 2023, after a hearing in Charles County, a judge denied a petition for a final protective order after ruling there was no statutory basis. In both of those instances, we took these allegations seriously and IAD conducted administrative investigations and ruled the allegations unfounded. In the 2023 case, the ACC concurred with the findings and recommended that the charges were unfounded.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.

Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
Bravo: There are no 'Fools' behind this Warehouse play
"In Full Bloom," by Thandiwe Muriu is one of various artworks by women artists from Africa and the African diaspora on view in the Central District until the end of September as part of the indoor-outdoor exhibit "Femme Noire." (Courtesy Thandiwe Muriu and 193 Gallery)
Get into the back-to-school spirit with these 5 audiobooks
Clean and Prosperous Executive Director Michael Mann called for programs to decrease the cost of transportation on Wednesday in Seattle while surrounded by an electric truck, bus and two vans. (Amanda Zhou / The Seattle Times)
If you are sending a Letter To the Editor, please be sure to follow these rules:

Letters have a firm 200-word limit and will be edited for grammar, clarity and accuracy.

The person who signs the letter must be the author. Anonymous letters will not be considered. Letters must address the editor, not a third party.

We will not print form letters, libelous letters, business promotions or personal disputes, poetry, open letters, letters espousing religious views without reference to a current issue, or letters considered in poor taste.

Letters reflect the opinion of the writer. The Yakima Herald-Republic cannot verify the accuracy of all statements made in letters.

Writers are limited to one published letter per calendar month.
Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business.
Messi a castigat pentru a opta oara in cariera Balonul de Aur

Argentinianul Lionel Messi, in varsta de 36 de ani, a castigat pentru a opta oara in cariera Balonul de Aur. La feminin, castigatoare a fost Aitana Bonmati. Lionel Messi l-a omagiat pe Diego Maradona la gala Balonul de Aur. El a vorbit si despre rivalii sai si despre [citeste mai departe]
Air India Express has unveiled the vision for the organisation that would be formed with the merger and integration with AIX Connect, currently operating as AirAsia India.

The airline, which flies to many routes in the Gulf, also charted the path forward, building on the key milestones already achieved as part of the Air India Groups ongoing five-year transformation journey, Vihaan.AI.

The vision and key differentiators build on the shared brand purpose of Air India and Air India Express, to transform a national institution into national inspiration, said a statement.

Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express and AIX Connect, outlined the airlines vision to inspire new possibilities and make meaningful connections with unmatched warmth in a town hall to employees of both airlines, elaborating on the focus areas of integration, growth and transformation, the inflection point that the airline is on, and the aspirations and ambitions for growth.

Talking about the vision, differentiators and path ahead, Singh said: "Our resolute vision encapsulates our key differentiators - making meaningful connections, delivering unique experiences and providing best-in-class value with Indian warmth. Our ambitions will ride upon our huge fleet and network expansion, in the domestic India market as well as short-haul international region - unlocking synergies with the merger of the two entities, and network integration with Air India; growth and expansion, for a meaningful market presence as well as cost-efficiencies; and achieving excellence in all areas, becoming a preferred brand for a confident new India.

The differentiators detail the airlines business model and brand promise in the run up to the brand launch of Air India Express, expected to be unveiled within the next couple of months. They include:

* Meaningful Connections: Nurture meaningful connections that transcend borders, bringing people, communities, and cultures closer together, to embody the spirit and diversity of India, making every journey a delightful and memorable travel experience.

* Unique Experiences: Curate and deliver unique experiences' with unmatched Indian warmth, leveraging technology to make journeys frictionless and personalised. The product offerings and service experience will embody the warmth of Indian hospitality, with services like Gourmair, the airlines award-winning in-flight dining brand, curated to cater to diverse culinary preferences with a wide range of regional and healthy hot meals and lite bites.

* Best-in-Class Value: The pursuit of best-in-class value goes beyond the fundamentals of cost and business model, offering customisable and relevant services for each guest and journey, based on their preferences and aptitude, while retaining consistent and reliable operational efficiency.

Specific projects have been identified to achieve these aspirations, focussing on enhancing the guest experience, optimising the network for market dominance, streamlining operations with a digital-first approach, fostering talent with an innovative and winning culture, and creating value for all stakeholders through sustainable practices, transparent decision-making, and prudent governance, said the statement.

Earlier this year, AIX Connect and Air India Express launched the unified website, airindiaexpress.com, allowing users to book and manage services from both airlines on domestic and international sectors; common social media handles (airindiax) and support channels; and an integrated passenger service system. Both airlines have also synergised a host of other ancillary add-on services and sub-brands, including Gourmair in-flight dining, Xpress Prime seats, and Xpress Ahead priority services.

The airlines also recently announced the harmonisation of new grades, compensation, and benefits with Air India, enabling a unified structure and streamlining career paths across the Air India group. - TradeArabia News Service
Advocates against the Leominster maternity unit's closure stand at the corner of Electric and South streets holding signs urging officials to stop the unit from shutting down.

FITCHBURG  About a dozen people held signs Wednesday night at the corner of Electric and South streets, protesting a plan by UMass Memorial Health to close its maternity unit in nearby Leominster Sept. 23.

Massachusetts health officials are calling the health system's plan for closing the maternity ward inadequate. Last week, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health pressed UMass Memorial HealthAlliance - Clinton Hospital to provide a more detailed plan and consider delaying the closure beyond Sept. 23.

I think its great that were getting support from a major state agency that deals with health care, Miko Nakagawa, a nurse at the hospital, said. Were hoping that (Gov.) Maura Healy will chime in. I think it would help the situation. And I think she actually has a little bit more control over what can happen.

The neighboring cities of Fitchburg and Leominster each hosted a hospital with a maternity ward until 1995, when the company then known as HealthAlliance consolidated the maternity wards in Leominster. Fitchburg residents were told at the time that it would be easy for them to drive to the Leominster facility.

As a city councilor and a mother who had her two children at Leominster, I am terrified, Fitchburg City Councilor Sally Cragin said. This is the biggest public health crisis since COVID and it will be worse than COVID because it is going to affect infants, mothers and the most vulnerable.

Lisa Yang, a mother who has had all her children at the Leominster birthing unit, said she would have never made it to the hospital if the maternity ward did not exist.

In the Hmong culture, theres certain rituals that were supposed to do postpartum, Yang said. So once you say youre Hmong, the nurses automatically know what to do and its so respectful of our culture.

Yang also mentioned the language barrier that many pregnant people have to encounter. She said there are nurses at Leominster who speak Hmong, which is not widely spoken elsewhere.

Story continues

A lot of people rely on loved ones to translate but if someone has to give birth in the middle of the night, they cant expect their loved ones to drop everything, Yang said. Its also nice to not have to explain your culture every single time you go to the hospital, to every different nurse. We go to Leominster Hospital because theyre Hmong.

Language barriers can lead to requests being misinterpreted and a snowballing of issues, Nakagawa said.

When you know your community well, there is less room for error, she said. But when youre going further to a community or a place that doesnt know your community well, things get misinterpreted.

UMass Memorial Health was given 10 days to respond to the health department's latest comments. Once that step is taken, state law says, the state process is concluded and UMass Memorial Health can legally close the unit.

If the closure goes through, Leominster will be the eleventh birthing unit to close in Massachusetts in 10 years.

We can look at whats happened in the southeast portion of the state. Its been horrible. Theres been babies born in Home Depot parking lots, Nakagawa said. Not every birth is easy and uncomplicated. The increase in closures leads to an increase in neonatal postpartum death.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: In Fitchburg, opponents rally against Leominster maternity closure
Hungary will be the host country of the summit and business forum of the Three Seas Initiative (3SI) in 2025, President Katalin Novak said in Bucharest.

Addressing this years 3SI summit, Novak called the regions economic cooperation important despite the fact that a focus was currently on the war in Ukraine.



She welcomed the adoption of a joint declaration and its provisions concerning Ukraine. Novak noted the two visits she paid to Kyiv in the past twelve months and reiterated Hungarys support for Ukraines territorial integrity.



Hungary condemns the Russian aggression against that country and considers peace the most important goal to be achieved, she said.



Speaking about the 3SI initiative, she noted that it had been launched with the aim to enhance economic relations and promote effective connections within the region it covers.



She welcomed Greeces joining the 3SI while highlighting the importance of promoting the Western Balkan countries through the initiative. She said she would welcome for the initiative to gradually open towards the regions six countries.



The Hungarian president called attention to the importance of population growth which she said was essential to boosting competitiveness. Under the declaration adopted at the summit, Greece has been included in the 3SI.



On the summits sidelines, Novak held bilateral talks with Gitanas Nauseda, the president of Lithuania which will host the 3SI summit in 2024. Novak also held talks with Hunor Kelemen, the head of Romanias ethnic Hungarian party RMDSZ.
Expat numbers are growing in Hungary  perhaps to the surprise of some already living here. According to the latest figures there are over 220,000 here, and more and more expats are settling in Hungary for significant periods of time.

This fact reverses any wrong perceptions on the part of some longer-term foreigners in Hungary about the trend going the other way. Many of those who came here years ago may be socialising less these days, due to a more settled lifestyle, and such expats are perhaps interacting more with local contacts.



Expats on the rise in Hungary

The more recent expat arrivals are seen as high-value foreign nationals who come to Hungary for work reasons, be it business, diplomatic or educational, for a duration on average of 3 to 5 years.



To cite the comprehensive figures presented by the Hungarian Central Statistics Office:



As of 1 January this year, Hungary is officially host to exactly 226,267 foreign residents, over half of whom were from the European Union with the main origin country being Germany.



The recent official figures also show 55,000 Asians live in Hungary, over 17,000 of Chinese descent. Large sized groups of expats from America and Africa are also recorded, around 8,000 in each case.



Regarding the official purpose of their stay here, according to 2023 info 85,311 expats live in Hungary for employment reasons, 33,681 for education and 24,705 came to live here for family reasons.



The bigger picture about how many expat live in Hungary

Looking at longer-term trends, the number of expats has doubled in Hungary over the last two decades or so, again according to official Central Statistical Office (KSH) data.



This community of 200,000+ expatriate foreign nationals  expats for short, defined as a person who lives outside their native country  is twice as many now when compared to at the start of the millennium according to the Hungarian Demographic Research Institute.



Between 2009 and 2019, the number of expats living in Hungary remained stable at around 20-25,000. This number jumped to 55,000 in 2019, then dropped to 44,000 when Covid-19 arrived in 2020.



It is also important to note that there is a variety of reasons why a significant number of expats do not register with the authorities.



In 2016 Hungary passed a law allowing people from neighbouring countries to work here without a special permit if they were looking for a job in sectors experiencing employee shortages. This is a key reason why in 2019, almost half of all foreign nationals living in Hungary came from Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia.



The HDRI also underlined that in the last 20 years, the total number of immigrants coming into Hungary has exceeded the number leaving the country every year.



Where do most expats live in Hungary?

According to the data as of January 2021, Bekes had the lowest share of foreign citizens among its population.



As you may guess, Budapest has the highest number of expats, totaling 50.3 per a thousand population.



This is all according to Statista.com - follow that link to see the most popular places for expats to live in Hungary.





Overall population situation in Hungary, refugees & 'foreign guest workers'

To close it's worth noting that while the number of expats in Hungary is more than ever before, the overall Hungarian population is gradually decreasing. On 1 January 2023 the country' s total population amounted to 9.7 million people, compared to over 10.4 million recorded in 1989, according to offical figures.



The higher number of deaths over births is a key reason behind the shrinking of the population of Hungary. Also of note is that the share of those who are 65 years of age or older is much larger than those who are 14 or younger.



Aiming to address this situation, over the past decade the Hungarian government has introduced measures such as financial incentives and childcare support schemes to encourage women in Hungary to have more children.



Hungarys approach to refugees changed following the increased mixed migration flows of 2015, which left the country fearing a national security and social cohesion crisis, reports PragueProcess.eu:



"Actions and policies to limit immigration have been enacted ever since. Only refugees of Hungarian descent are prioritised, while the overall migration flow in search of international protection has been reduced.
Northern Budapests Punkosdfurdo Park, the winner of Hungarys National Green Cities Europe Award, will represent the country in the Green Cities Europe international contest in Brussels in October, Mayor Gergely Karacsony said on Facebook.

Karacsony said the Punkosdfurdo project, implemented by the city council and municipal park manager FOKERT, was one of the projects launched and completed by Budapests incumbent leadership.







Punkosdfurdo is the citys first rain park with 600 trees, shrubs and wild flowers, Karacsony said.
"Students cannot fell victim to political disputes, Iliana Ivanova, the European Commissions appointee for education, said on Tuesday, and called for a resolution of controversies between the commission and Hungary over the Erasmus and Horizon higher education programmes.

She said it was regrettable that young people were stripped of opportunities, but added that rules will be rules and they need to be observed.



If the Hungarian authorities agree to meet the European Commissions legal requirements, obstacles for Hungarys accessing community funding will be removed, she said. She pledged to be part of the solution and contribute information and goodwill to the process.



The ball is in the Hungarian governments court  it is up to them when they meet the requirements, Ivanova said.



Andrea Bocskor and Andras Gyurk, MEPs of Hungarys ruling Fidesz, called for an urgent resolution in a statement sent to MTI.



Bocskor said the commissions discriminative decision to exclude Hungarian universities run by private foundations from the programmes could impact two thirds of Hungarys universities and a total 180,000 students from next year on.



Time is running out and an urgent solution is needed, she said. Gyurk said his group expected Ivanova to initiate an immediate supervision of the commissions decision, and to restore the rights and opportunities of Hungarian students and researchers.
Hungarys only two-Michelin-star restaurant outside Budapest, Platan will host 26 other renowned restaurants, confectioneries and bakeries at the Pannon Wine Picnic, which brings the countrys provincial culinary big hitters to the fore over two days.

The outdoor event takes place in a historic castle park in Tata, where visitors can enjoy great food and wine at reasonable prices, as well as meet some of Hungarys leading restaurateurs and winemakers.



Wines will be poured by members of the exclusive Pannon Wine Guild from all over Hungary and beyond the countrys borders. These will include: Bock, A. Gere and Gere Tamas & Zsolt from Villany, Duzsi, Eszterbauer, Heimann and Vesztergombi from Szekszard, Pannonhalma Archabbey Winery from Pannonhalma, Gal Tibor and Toth Ferenc Wineries from Eger, Bott Frigyes from Slovakia and Balla Geza from Romania.



Designed by star architect Zoltan Varro of Aria Hotel fame, Platan immediately won two Michelin stars shortly after opening thanks to the inventive cuisine of Istvan Pesti. Also offering rooms to stay, the restaurant and lodging are set beside a beautiful lake with rare birdlife, part of an estate and historic castle that once belonged to the noble Esterhazy dynasty.



It is named after the plane tree still standing here after more than 200 years. This attractive location is only 50 minutes from Budapest by car or InterCity train.



Venue: Esterhazy Castle park, Tata.

Date and time: 9 and 10 September, on Saturday 11am-10pm, and on Sunday 9am-7pm.

Registration required: Register here (Hungarian-only but reasonably easy to follow) for tickets at HUF 2,000, including a HUF 1,000 voucher for the event itself.



List of exhibiting restaurants and wineries (please scroll down).



Contact: info@svet.hu, +36 70 634 5182.



How to get to Tata: By car, 50 minutes north of Budapest on the M1 motorway or by Intercity train from Keleti station.



What is the Pannon Wine Guild?

The Pannon Wine Guild (Pannon Bormives Ceh) is an association of the most significant family wineries in Hungary, founded in 1999 by ten wineries. Now 33 strong, the members of the guild hold sampling events, including an annual Christmas tasting. The guild has overseen the significant development of Hungarys wine industry over the past two decades and more.



SVET

The acronym SVET is an abbreviation for Stilusos Videki Ettermiseg, which loosely translates as Stylish Intellectual Gastronomy from the Countryside. These four letters will be used on all publicity and literature associated with the event.



Words by Peterjon Cresswell for Xpatloop.com

Peterjon has been researching the byways of Budapest for 30 years, extending his expertise across Europe to produce guidebooks for Time Out and his own website liberoguide.com
A York company has advanced to the quarterfinals of NE Manufacturing Alliance's Coolest Thing Made In Nebraska contest.

Collins Aerospace's Ram Air Turbine Hub advanced to the third round (top eight) of the contest. Voting for the final four continues through Sept. 10.

Per the Alliance, Nebraska has a history of manufacturing some of the coolest things that help feed the world, save lives, boost quality of life and even explore Mars. The contest highlights Nebraska's manufacturing industry.

"This competition is a great way to learn about the many products made in Nebraska and its a wonderful opportunity for Nebraska manufacturers to show their best stuff and prove that they have what it takes to be the Coolest Thing Made in Nebraska," the Alliance said in promotional materials.

As Dave Sjuts noted in Tuesday's Business Beat in the News-Times, the RAT Hub is at the heart of an aircrafts emergency power system. RATs have saved over 2,400 lives over the past five decades. If an airplane lost power, the RAT would deploy from the airplanes wing or fuselage and rotate to extract sufficient power from the airstream to control and land the aircraft.

RATs are designed to be small and have a self-governing device that limits the turbines speed. Collins Aerospace designs and manufactures hydraulic, electric and hybrid RATs.

The NE Manufacturing Alliance organized the contest that is powered by the NE Chamber and Nebraska Public Power District. Local public power providers also support the contest, which celebrates Nebraskas manufacturing industry with Nebraska residents, students, educators, community leaders, manufacturers and especially, the more than 100,000 Nebraskans working in manufacturing jobs.

Nebraskans will help decide which of the final eight contenders wins the contest. Go to https://www.nemanufacturingalliance.com/coolest-thing-made-in-ne.html to vote.
SmartAsset: Almost One-Third of Americans Believe Social Security Won't Last.

A 2022 retirement survey shows that almost one in three Americans believe that Social Security could run out of money and stop making payments. And another 31% expect that they will need to get retirement money earlier. Lets break down what the survey from Schroders says, what Americans are looking for in retirement plans and three common ways retirees are getting income outside of Social Security.

A financial advisor could help you create a financial plan to secure streams of income for your retirement.

What the Survey Says About Americans and Social Security

Schroders, a multinational asset management company headquartered in London, says that 32% of Americans are concerned that Social Security could run out of money or stop making payments. Additionally, the 2022 survey shows that 31% of respondents also expect that they will need to get retirement money sooner.

This perspective could drive non-retirees to seek retirement income solutions earlier at the expense of common strategies. One revealing finding: Only 11% of respondents said that they will wait until age 70, which is when you can get the maximum Social Security benefits.

For the majority of workers seeking to get early Social Security benefits, the survey shows that this is a deliberate decision: 86% of non-retired survey respondents are aware they could receive higher Social Security payments by delaying the start of their benefits.

Schroders says that almost half of the respondents plan to take Social Security early, between the ages of 62 and 65. And this means those participants wont be able to get their full benefits.

When asked specifically what part of their life after age 65 non-retired Americans expected to be the most expensive, almost half (49%) believed that their early years (65-74) would cost most. Only 30% said retirement between ages 75 and 84 would cost more, followed by 21% who thought life over age 85 would be the most expensive.

Its worth noting that uncertainty over Social Security overlaps with key findings from another survey in 2022. Principal Financial Groups annual Super Savers survey, released in September, also showed that the younger retirement savers are skeptical about the government agencys solvency.

Story continues

According to Principal, 60% of Gen X (ages 46-57) still counted on Social Security as a source of retirement income, while only 37% of Millennials (ages 27-45) and 23% of Gen Z (ages 18-26) believed the same.

5 Things Americans Are Looking for in a Retirement Plan

SmartAsset: Almost One-Third of Americans Believe Social Security Won't Last.

Roughly half of the survey respondents (48%) who currently participate in workplace retirement plans like 401(k)s, 403(b)s, or 457s said they had access to retirement income products. And of those who did not have income products (19%) or were unsure (33%), 62% wanted them.

Furthermore, of those who have retirement plans with income products, almost nine in 10 (89%) said they would likely use the product when they retire and keep assets in their employer plan.

Here are five features that respondents wanted most for an in-plan retirement income solution:

More than half (52%) want lifetime income Almost half (49%) want consistent monthly paycheck income 42% want low fees or costs 40% prefer liquidity or access to money whenever they want 39% want protection from market corrections or down markets

These expectations are further complicated by the amount of savings that workers believe will be needed for a comfortable retirement.

In 2022, working Americans age 45 and older told Schroders that they will need $1.1 million in savings on average. But many found this goal out of reach.

Almost a quarter (24%) said they expect to have at least $1 million in savings when they retire, followed by another 20% expecting to have between $500,000 and $1 million saved. But more than half (56%) said they would have less than $500,000 saved, and this included 36% with a forecast of less than $250,000 in savings.

3 Common Ways Workers Are Getting Retirement Income

The study says that almost half of all retirees surveyed (49%) dont have any strategies to generate retirement income and instead withdraw money as needed. And this is particularly alarming for retirement experts.

Given increasing life expectancies and widespread concerns about not being able to live comfortably without a paycheck, the advantages of creating a retirement income strategy that maximizes your Social Security benefits cant be overstated, said Joel Schiffman, the head of strategic partnerships at Schroders, in a statement.

The most common types of retirement income streams include Social Security and employer-backed pensions. According to the survey, retirees use these three common strategies to generate income:

Almost one-third (29%) make systematic withdrawals from retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k) plans. Nearly one in five (18%) get income from dividend-producing stocks or mutual funds. Under one in six (15%) rely on annuities as part of their income strategy.

Another popular income stream could include creating a bond or CD ladder. This is a portfolio that is made up of fixed-income securities that have different maturity dates. Retirees commonly use this strategy to generate income with minimal risk.

Bottom Line

SmartAsset: Almost One-Third of Americans Believe Social Security Won't Last.

The Schroders survey shows that 23% of respondents nearing retirement between the ages of 60 and 65 have no idea how much monthly income they will need to generate in retirement to live comfortably. Another 53% are most concerned, or even terrified (33%) by the idea of no more regular employment paychecks.

And the asset management company concludes that Americans need to educate themselves more on creating a retirement income strategy.

More needs to be done to educate participants on the importance of higher income replacement, and that comes from planning for retirement income early in their careers, said Schiffman in the statement.

Tips for Retirement Savers

A financial advisor could help you set up guaranteed sources of retirement income. SmartAssets free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If youre ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

If you need help figuring out how much your retirement savings will grow over time, SmartAssets free 401(k) calculator can help you get an estimate.

Photo credit: iStock/fizkes, iStock/Anna Frank, iStock/Irene Puzankova

The post Almost a Third of Americans Believe Social Security Wont Last: Here Are Three Ways to Get Retirement Income appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.
YORK  John Cannon, executive director of the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO) met with the York County Commissioners this past week, talking about issues impacting local government operations and encouraging their participation in state legislation.

Our job is to provide county officials with the resources to do their jobs, Cannon said, noting the many conventions and informational sessions they offer throughout the state, throughout the year, to provide education about ongoing and upcoming issues facing local government.

One of NACOs main objectives is lobbying the state legislature on behalf of the interests of the states 93 counties.

We want to hear from county board members about their concerns as one third of bills at the state legislature affect county government, Cannon continued. And we want to know what NACO can do for counties, we work for you.

Did you know that 4.2 million votes were cast in Nebraska in races for county board seats? he said further. Thats the number of votes county board candidates received in the last four years, which means county government is the government closest to the people.

We also know we cant just be in Lincoln as our population is distributed fairly evenly throughout the state, Cannon said. We started looking at locations in Ogallala and the board approved a new office there which will be opening up next year. That will allow us to better serve the folks out in the western part of the state, as well as our office in Lincoln to better serve the people in the eastern part of the state.

And being the lobbyist for the counties at the state legislature, consider that 820 bills were introduced this past session and 274 of them pertained to county government, he added. You have an excellent state senator in Jana Hughes and please invite her to your board meetings so she is well aware of what you go through, the issues you face. That engagement is vital. She does a great job, but many state senators dont understand what county board even have to do or even what county government does.

Commissioner Chairman Randy Obermier said he would like to see some sort of work done on the state level pertaining to court appointed attorney payments. We had an attorney here, who held his bills for a single client for years and then sent them all in at once. We got hit hard, it was a budget buster. When that happens, it is devastating. Is there anything that can be done, required, legislatively, to protect us? That would be one issue that needs some attention.

Obermier also asked Cannon how many counties had to send out pink postcards (notifying taxpayers of taxing entities having to have hearings because they were exceeding tax asking by more than 2%), last year. Cannon said last year 30 counties actually had to have hearings and of those, 20 were for the counties themselves. Im not sure about the number this year yet, but my guess is there will be a few more. York County will be one of those.

This budget process has been interesting this year, for us, and has been more challenging, said Commissioner Daniel Grotz. Is there anything youve seen in best practices with getting everyone on the same page with the budget process?

Its good to get everyone together, with an understanding of the preliminary valuation, as Im sure you do, Cannon said. Its a worthwhile start when you say this is what it looks like flat, without any increases, as a starting point. Do that with everyone, together, at once, and it can be very helpful.

Cannon remained at the courthouse after the commissioners meeting, to talk more with county officials about concerns and how NACO can be of assistance.
A couple of weeks ago, that idea came to fruition. Candice organized an amazing event with a detailed agenda and a cohort of impressive businesswomen. It was a great opportunity for me to hear about their work, their successes, the challenges they face, and how I can help them as their Senator.

Each of these women shared her story, including the obstacles shes faced over the years of starting and running a business. The business owners discussed how difficult it can be to apply for loans and the challenge of being awarded loans after applying for them. One of the businesswomen shared that she struggled to find mental health resources tailored to the high-stress environment of running a business. The pandemic especially affected small businesses, placing new strains on their operations and creating new mental health challenges.

Many of the roundtable participants concerns revolved around the existence and accessibility of resources, whether for the health of business owners or the growth of their businesses. One woman commented that the biggest problem facing entrepreneurs is a lack of resources.

At the roundtable, we brainstormed ways to remedy these problems. Earlier this summer, I reintroduced the Achieving Thorough Transparency & Accessibility for Information Navigation (ATTAIN) Mental Health Act with my colleague Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.). This legislation would create a user-friendly online dashboard that would help prospective applicants identify federal grants that support mental health and address substance abuse. A streamlined online dashboard of resources would go a long way in making it easier for people to find the help they need.

The roundtable attendees agreed that a dashboard system similar to this could aid business owners in locating their own resources, ranging from loans to mental health resources. A tool like this would get rid of some of the unnecessary obstacles entrepreneurs and business owners face in Omaha, throughout Nebraska, and across the country. I look forward to keeping in contact with these business-savvy, experienced women and hearing more about what we can do in the Senate to support entrepreneurship. In fact, one of them is visiting me in Washington this fall to continue the conversations we began at the roundtable.

Im confident that this event will produce constructive results that help the women who sacrificed time and effort to visit with me. Each of them cares deeply about the Omaha community and focuses on accomplishing goals that will have ripple effects on others around them. My time with them was inspiring, and I know many more are being inspired by their leadership.

As your Senior Senator, the most important part of my job is meeting and listening to Nebraskans. This roundtable was just one of the great opportunities I had this August to hear local concerns. During my time in the Senate, I will always continue listening to and working for the people of Nebraska, from Omaha to Scottsbluff and everywhere in between.

Thank you for participating in the democratic process. I look forward to visiting with you again next week.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday inaugurated to and fro flight from Hindon to Ludhiana, resuming air traffic from the Ludhiana airport after a gap of more than two years.

He announced that for the initial three months air travel fare from Ludhiana to the National Capital Region (NCR) will be merely Rs 999. The Chief Minister said in this way one-way air travel from Ludhiana to the NCR will be merely Rs 999 that will be even cheaper than bus travel. Mann said the sole motive of the move is to ensure that people of the state have access to safe, cheap, and comfortable air travel.

Also read: G20 Summit: Here's How Delhi Airport Is Getting Ready For International Event

Describing it as a Red letter day, the Chief Minister said due to efforts of the state government the flight from the Ludhiana airport has started after more than two years, giving a huge relief to the people of the industrial city.

He said this flight will be operated by Big Charter Private Ltd under the name Fly Big Airlines. Initially, the flight has been started for five days but it will be operationalised throughout the week from next month. Mann said the air travel time of this flight will be 90 minutes to reach Hindon (Ghaziabad) from Ludhiana and vice-versa.
The Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), spearheaded by the GMR Group, on Wednesday, said that in anticipation of numerous business guests arriving via chartered flights for the G20 Summit, a dedicated general aviation terminal has been established to accommodate them.

Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, the CEO of DIAL, emphasised the collaborative efforts with various government agencies, including the Delhi Police and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, to ensure that all flights coming for the G20 Summit are parked on the air side.

Also read: Flights From Ludhiana's Sahnewal Airport Resume After Two Year Hiatus

We have ensured the availability of the necessary parking slots for these VVIP aircraft. Moreover, within the general aviation terminal (GA terminal), which serves business guests arriving on chartered flights, we have taken measures to decorate and enhance the terminal's ambiance to provide a warm welcome to all our guests, he said.

While many guests will be arriving at the Air Force Station on the Palam side, numerous Heads of States and delegation members will use Terminal-3. Special arrangements have been made for their convenience, said Jaipuriar.

We have established dedicated gates for these guests and created a separate corridor to facilitate their Immigration and Customs clearance seamlessly. Our collaboration with various government agencies, including Immigration and Customs, ensures a smooth process for all, he added.
New Delhi: If you are looking to get into a niche business venture that also promises a steady income, there is one opportunity that might sound appealing to you. You can give a new dimention to your own earning by starting this business that has presence in urban areas  the Track Suit business.

These days, people have become very conscious of their health which has increased the number of gym goers, yoga enthusiasts. Track suits, widely popular among gym goers, are known for their exceptional comfort, making them ideal for workouts, running, and yoga. Experts emphasize the importance of comfortable attire during exercise, driving up the demand for track suits in both large and small cities. These versatile garments are usually crafted from materials such as cotton, nylon, or polyester synthetics.

The process of manufacturing track suits is straightforward and manageable. According to the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) feasibility report, initiating a track suit manufacturing venture requires an investment of Rs 24 lakh.

KVIC has broken the Cost of Project into the following

Term Loan: Rs 16.43 Lakh

KVIC Margin Money: As per Project Eligibility

Own Capital: Rs 2.4 Lakh

Working Capital: Rs 5.18 lakh

Cost Of Project

Land Rented/Owned

Building & Civil Work (2000 Sq ft): Rs 2.50 lakh

Plant & Machinery: Rs 14.80 lakh

Furniture & Fixtures: Rs 0.50 lakh

Pre-operative Expenses: Rs 0.45 lakh

Working Capital Requirement: Rs 5.75 lakh

Total: Rs 24.00 lakh

Particulars Amount Breakup

Own Contribution @10%: Rs 2.40 lakh

Term Loan: Rs 16.43 lakh

Workign Capital Finance: Rs 5.18 lakh

Total: Rs 24.00 lakh

The KVIC feasible report giving a Five Year's Projected Profitability Statement said that in the first year you can see a net profit of Rs 3.35 lakh, Rs 5.76 lakh in the second year, Rs 8.72 in the third year, Rs 11.46 in the fourth year and Rs 13.94 in the fifth year.

Additionally, if you are lacking initial capital, the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana offers a solution by providing loans of up to Rs 10 lakh to kickstart non-corporate small-scale businesses in rural areas.

(Disclaimer: This article is for sole information purpose. The earning calculator is also mostly based on assumptive figures to give an example of certain type. The article does not intend to give any financial advice of any sorts. For initiating any venture, you must do your own due diligence and market research.)
New Delhi: It is the story of an Indian doctor-turned-entrepreneur who stood tall in times of crisis and weathered the storms to become the first woman doctor in the United Arab Emirates and to establish the Zulekha Group, one of UAE's major private healthcare networks. Dr. Zulekha Daud, Zulekha Healthcare Group's founder and chairperson, has committed her life to unceasing community service. She was listed as one of the 100 Indian Leaders in the UAE by Forbes Middle East in recognition of her services to the healthcare sector. The arduous journey of Dr. Zulekha, also known as "Mama Zulekha," is an example of strength and tenacity and acts as an inspiration to all.



Early Life And Education Of Zulekha Daud

Zulekha belonged to a traditional Muslim family in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Despite having little money, her father, a construction worker, placed a high value on education and let her complete her studies.

Zulekha earned her medical and surgical bachelor's degrees from the Government Medical College in Nagpur. After getting married to Dr. Iqbal Daud, the couple started practising medicine in Sharjah.

Struggle Days Of Zulekha Daud

Life was never a bed of roses for Dr. Zulekha. As the first female physician to settle in Sharjah, Dr. Zulekha experienced her fair share of hardships during her medical journey in a new country.

Things were different in UAE when Zulekha first visited it. UAE was a sizable desert region without infrastructure, including roads and electricity. There were no X-ray machines, laboratories, or ultra-sound equipment to diagnose a disease. The doctor's expertise allowed her to make correct diagnoses and administer effective treatments. Additionally, she had to go door-to-door to handle regular deliveries. In spite of the challenging circumstances, Dr Zulekha decided to remain and help the people.

Patients immediately connected with Dr. Zulekha because of her skills and compassionate nature and she was flooded with patients, including some who were heavily pregnant, had burns, and had various illnesses. In the course of her career, Dr. Zulekha delivered over 10,000 babies.



The Birth Of Zulekha Group

When she first arrived in Sharjah, there weren't many medical facilities to be counted. Patients had to go a great distance to receive treatment. There was no female doctor to deliver babies. Seeing this Dr. Zulekha became increasingly aware of the urgent need for a hospital to provide patients with immediate care. Dr Zulekha established her own clinic in the 1980s. However, it was too small to hold a large number of patients. As a result, she founded the Zulekha Hospital, Sharjah's first private hospital, in 1992. Zulekha Hospital Dubai opened its doors in 2004. The Zulekha Group continued to grow by adding hospitals and a chain of pharmacies. 'Mama Zulekha' has not looked back since that time!



Awards And Honours Of Zulekha Daud

Numerous accolades were given to Dr. Zulekha Daud for her contributions to the community. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, presented Dr. Zulekha with the Dubai Quality Award for 2014. In 2019, the Pravasi Samman honour was given to her by the Indian government. In 2013, she was listed among the top 100 Indian leaders in the UAE by Forbes Middle East.
Decorating a Krishna jhoola (swing) at home is a cherished tradition during Krishna Janmashtami, a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna. This year, let's add a personal touch to your Krishna jhoola. The following DIY ideas not only make your Krishna jhoola beautiful but also add a personal touch to your celebrations.

So, go ahead and infuse your home with the spirit of Krishna Janmashtami by creating a stunning jhoola that will be the centerpiece of your festivities. With these 7 easy DIY ideas that will infuse charm and spirituality into your home. Enjoy the joyous occasion with your loved ones as you swing to the melodious tunes of devotion and celebration.

7 Easy DIY Ideas To Decorate Krishna Jhoola At Home

Flower Garland Magic:

Start by draping your jhoola with vibrant flower garlands. Use marigolds, jasmine, and roses for a fragrant and visually appealing decoration. You can also add some fresh mango leaves for an authentic touch. Hang these garlands generously to create a lush floral canopy.

Also read: Krishna Janmashtami 2023: 10 Must-Visit Dahi Handi Celebrations In Delhi

Rustic Elegance with Fabrics:

Wrap the jhoola's frame with vibrant, colorful fabrics. Opt for traditional Indian textiles like silk or cotton. You can drape the fabrics gracefully or even create a beautiful makeshift tent over the swing. This will give your jhoola a rustic and charming appeal.

Luminous Lanterns:

Hang an assortment of lanterns around the jhoola. Choose lanterns with intricate designs or even DIY paper lanterns with Krishna motifs. When lit, they will create a warm and inviting atmosphere, perfect for the festivities.

Peacock Feathers:

Incorporate the peacock, which is closely associated with Lord Krishna, into your jhoola decor. Adorn the swing with peacock feathers, either by attaching them to the garlands or by creating a feathered backdrop. This will add a touch of divine beauty to your setup.

Handcrafted Ornaments:

Get creative with DIY Krishna-themed ornaments. Craft mini flutes, peacock feathers, and little idols of Lord Krishna or Radha to hang on the jhoola. You can use materials like clay, paper, or even recycled items to make these ornaments.

Mystical Bells:

Hang a series of small bells around the jhoola. The tinkling sounds as the jhoola sways will create a serene and magical ambiance. You can paint the bells in vibrant colors or leave them in their natural metallic finish.

Krishna Silhouettes:

Cut out silhouettes of Lord Krishna and Radha in various poses from cardboard or wooden sheets. Paint them in bright and contrasting colors. Attach these silhouettes to the jhoola's frame or suspend them from the canopy. These cutouts will bring the divine presence of Lord Krishna into your home.
The recently rebranded electric car division of Tata Motors called Tata.ev has unveiled their first ever car under the new brand identity - the 2023 Tata Nexon EV Facelift. The updated Tata Nexon electric SUV, called the Tata Nexon.ev gets an updated exterior and interior design, similar to the recently unveiled 2023 Tata Nexon Facelift, added features, enhanced battery range and performance among other things. The launch of the new Tata Nexon and Tata Nexon.ev is scheduled to take place on September 14, 2023.

2023 Tata Nexon.ev: Design

The new Tata Nexon electric SUV gets new signature DRLs with welcome and goodbye sequence and charging indicator at the front and iconic X factor connected tail light with a welcome and goodbye sequence. There's also hidden rear wipers and R16 alloy wheels with aero inserts. Overall, the Tata Nexon.ev borrows its design cues from the ICE version of Tata Nexon, much like the outgoing model.

2023 Tata Nexon.ev: Cabin

The cabin of the new Tata Nexon electric SUV resembles the design of the ICE Tata Nexon with a High-definition fully reconfigurable instrument cluster, free standing cinematic 31.24 cm touchscreen infotainment system with Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, Wireless Charger, Electric Sunroof, Air Purifier, Cooled Glove Box, Ventilated Car Seats among other features.

Safety wise, the Tata Nexon EV gets Auto Headlamps, Rain Sensing Wipers, Electronic Parking Brake, Hill Descent control and Hill Ascent control, 6 Airbags, ESP with iVBAC, Blind Spot View Monitor, 360 Surround View Camera System and more.

2023 Tata Nexon.ev: Performance

The Tata Nexon EV gets a liquid-cooled IP67 battery pack rated at 40.5 kWh with a 465km range in a single charge. The power is rated at 143 PS and 215 Nm, pushing the vehicle from 0-100kmph in 8.9 seconds. It also gets vehicle-to-vehicle charging and vehicle to load charging facility, making your Nexon EV as a battery pack.

2023 Tata Nexon.ev: Charging

The new Tata Nexon Electric SUV gets multiple charging options, similar to the outgoing model:

7.2kW AC Home Wallbox Charger: The charger can be installed at your home or office and can charge the battery from 10% - 100% in 4.3 hours for Medium Range and 6 hours for Long Range version.

AC Home Wallbox Charger: The battery can be charged from 10% - 100% in 10.5 hours for Medium Range and 15 hours for Long Range.

DC Fast Charger: The DC Fast Chargers are installed in partnership of various EV players, including Tata Power and can charge battery from 10% - 100% in 56 min for both, Medium & Long Range.

15A Portable Charger: Provided with the vehicle, the charger can be used in any 15A power socket and can charge the battery from 10%-100% in 10.5 hours for Medium range and 15 hours for Long range.
NEW DELHI: As India prepares to host the G20 Summit on September 9-10, the nation is gearing up to offer a truly special welcome to heads of state and world leaders. Luxury hotels in New Delhi are set to provide a unique dining experience for VVIPs, with meals served on exquisite silver and gold-plated utensils, offering a glimpse of India's rich culture and heritage.

#WATCH | Delhi: Delegates of the G20 Summit to be served in silverware and gold utensils pic.twitter.com/1f2Zm0wGTL  ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2023

Jaipur Firm Creates Opulent Tableware

Jaipur-based metalware firm, IRIS-Jaipur, has been entrusted with the task of supplying gold and silver-plated tableware to luxury hotels in New Delhi, catering to the needs of G20 delegates. The company recently showcased its traditional cutlery designed specifically for serving the distinguished guests attending the G20 Summit in the national capital.

Glittering Culinary Heritage

Various luxury hotels in New Delhi have been selected to provide silver and gold-plated cutlery for serving foreign delegates during their stay in the city. IRIS-Jaipur has been chosen to fulfill bulk orders of these opulent tableware pieces.

A Legacy Of Hospitality

IRIS's legacy extends to some of the world's most renowned names in the hospitality industry, including Leela Palaces, ITC Hotels (which includes the prestigious ITC Maurya), Taj Palaces, Oberoi Hotels, The Lodhi, Hyatt Regency, Shangri-La, Hotel Ashoka, Radisson Blu Plaza, JW Marriott, Sheraton, and The Leela Ambience Convention, among many other esteemed venues.

Reflecting India's Spirit

Rajeev Pabuwal, CEO of IRIS Metalware, expressed, "As the G20 Summit prepares to dazzle world leaders with our rich culinary heritage, each piece of tableware and decor reflects India's culture, art, and hospitality. Our tableware at the G20 Summit isn't just silver; it's a reflection of India's resplendent spirit."

Fusion Elegance And Indian Tradition

To meet the demand from luxury hotels and ITC, IRIS has provided bespoke tableware in bulk for G20 foreign delegates, maintaining the highest standards of Indian tradition and craftsmanship. Their theme, "Fusion Elegance," symbolizes the harmonious blend of premium materials, with a focus on electroplated silver.

Regional Cuisine And Street Food

According to the G20 secretariat, ITC will be responsible for catering at the convention centre, offering a diverse culinary experience featuring regional cuisine, street food, and dishes made with millet.

Culinary Delights For World Leaders

The menu for the G20 Leaders' Summit on September 9-10 will include a variety of street food and innovative dishes incorporating millet, ensuring that world leaders and delegates are treated to a memorable gastronomic experience.

India's G20 Presidency

India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and has since organized approximately 200 meetings related to G20 in 60 cities across the country. The G20 Summit will take place at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has decided to issue Kunbi caste certificates to those Marathas belonging to the Marathwada region. However, the beneficiaries should possess documents from the Nizam era that certify them as Kunbis, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Wednesday.

People from the Maratha community in Marathwada who are recognised as Kunbis in documents from the Nizam era will get Kunbi certificates, the Chief Minister said speaking to reporters following a cabinet meeting.

The Marathwada region which was earlier part of the erstwhile Hyderabad kingdom became part of Maharashtra. The region falls under the Aurangabad division of Maharashtra bordering the states of Karnataka and Telangana.

Eknath Shinde further said that a committee of five people consisting of a retired judge has been formed to that effect. "This committee will investigate everything. It will work to give reservations to these people," he said.

Maratha protester Manoj Jarange has been on hunger strike in Jalna district. Jarange has been demanding for Marathas in Marathwada to be recognized as Kunbis. "Manoj Jarange Patil has been fighting for the Maratha reservation for many years. Devendra Fadnavis had given it during his tenure, then the matter went to the Supreme Court, We will try our best to work on the Maratha reservation. Whatever process has to be done, we will do it," Shinde added.

Earlier on Monday, the Maharashtra government tendered an apology for the lathi charge during a protest over the Maratha reservation in Jalna and appealed for peace. A clash had broken out between police and protesters in Jalna demanding reservation for the Marathas on Friday. Police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the protesters.
Don't buy a house.

That's what a record share of Americans still thought about the housing market in August, with 82% saying it's a bad time to purchase a home, matching the all-time high hit the prior month. Only 18% said it was a good time to buy, also sustaining the low reached in July, according to Fannie Maes gauge of housing sentiment released Thursday.

The reason is simple: high prices and high mortgage rates.

"It's not surprising," Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae's chief economist, told Yahoo Finance after release of the results. Buyers are "so frustrated with the process that there was no real change in their attitude" from last month.

The August survey found that 41% of respondents expect prices to go up over the next 12 months, unchanged from July. And 80% expect mortgage rates will stay the same or go up over the same period.

The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage clocked in above 7% for four straight weeks in August, something that hasn't happened for 21 years.

That's cut out many budget-conscious buyers from the market and dissuaded plenty of homeowners from listing or risking losing their ultra-low mortgage rate. Per Fannie Mae, 34% of survey respondents said it was a bad time to sell.

"If you are a current owner, you're actually in a pretty good spot because you've probably locked in a very low interest rate, you've seen a lot of price appreciation, and you probably have a lot of equity in your home, it's not a bad place to be," Duncan said.

"But if you had to go sell and buy and come out from under that very low mortgage rate and pay the new higher home price, you'd be giving away a lot of that equity to make a move. It's part of the reason people are simply not moving much," he added.

Read more: What the latest Fed rate hike plan means for mortgage rates and loans

A for sale sign in front of a home in Arlington, Virginia, on Aug. 22, 2023. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite the glum outlook on housing, Fannie Mae's full index is up 4.9 points from the previous year, largely because folks still feel pretty optimistic about their financial situation.

Story continues

For instance, 78% of respondents said they are not concerned about losing their job in the next 12 months and the net share of people who said their household income is significantly higher than a year ago increased 1 percentage point from July.

But that confidence isn't bleeding into the housing market, which is an unusual disconnect.

"If people are more worried about their job, they pull back a little bit. They might not be as aggressive in bidding on a house, or they might not go out shopping. And that would be consistent with a weaker housing market," Mark Palim, deputy chief economist for Fannie Mae, told Yahoo Finance.

But "what's happened for the moment is that it's the supply factors that are really driving the market. It's the absence of homes available for sale."

The share of homes listed for sale is down 18% over the same period last year, marking the biggest drop since the start of 2022, according to Redfins August market update. Buyers searching for a home still have fewer options in the resale market, resulting in the lowest sales pace for previously owned homes for July since 2010, the National Association of Realtors reported.

The lack of homes for sale has helped to drive home prices higher. The S&P Case-Shiller national home price index climbed by nearly 1% in June and is now within a hair of its peak a year ago.

Buyers who are still left in the market have been turning to new construction for more choices. Sales of newly built homes increased 4.4% in July from June, and builders ramped up construction that month to meet demand.

"Builders have to keep building," Duncan said. "That's where supply is gonna come from in the short run."

___

Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @daniromerotv.

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Jakarta: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Indonesia on Thursday morning to attend the ASEAN-India and the East Asia summits during which he will discuss the future contours of India's partnership with the countries in the strategically important region. "Landed in Jakarta. Looking forward to the ASEAN related meetings and to working with various leaders for making a better planet," PM Modi posted on social media platform X.

"PM @narendramodi arrives in Jakarta to participate in @ASEAN related Summits. An opportunity to engage with the leaders of ASEAN and EAS on important regional and global issues," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi posted on X.

Rousing Welcome For PM Modi In Indonesia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a grand welcome from the Indian community. Upon reaching, PM Modi greeted the members of the Indian diaspora who gathered at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Jakarta to welcome him amid chants of 'Vande Mataram' and 'Modi Modi'.

The Indian diaspora displayed their enthusiasm by waving the Tricolour and chanting "Modi Modi" and "Vande Mataram", "Humara Neta Kaisa Ho, Narendra Modiji Jaisa Ho..." (What kind of leader should we have? should be like Modiji), and "Har Har Modi, Har Ghar Modi." slogans.

Many children were also present in the diaspora. Prime Minister Modi could be seen interacting with the Indian community members, including kids. He also posed for selfies with them. "He (PM Modi) is such a big leader but he is so down to earth, he shook hands with all of us and gave time to each one of us..." one of the members of the Indian Diaspora said.

Others said that India is getting recognition and that is "all because of PM Modi."

ASEAN-India Summit

Ahead of his departure from New Delhi, PM Modi said that the comprehensive strategic partnership between India and the ASEAN has injected new dynamism into the group's ties with New Delhi. In Jakarta, PM Modi will attend the ASEAN-India Summit and will take part in the East Asia Summit. Immediately after the meetings, he will return to Delhi, where India is hosting the G20 Summit on September 9 and 10.

"Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy," PM Modi said in his departure statement. "I look forward to discussing with ASEAN leaders the future contours of our partnership, which has now entered its fourth decade. Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy. The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership entered into last year has injected new dynamism in our ties," he said.

After the ASEAN-India Summit, the prime minister will attend the 18th East Asia Summit. "This forum provides a useful opportunity to deliberate on issues of importance to the region including food and energy security, environment, health, and digital transformation. I look forward to exchanging views with other EAS Leaders on practical cooperation measures to collectively address these global challenges," he said.
Hong Kong: Amid the escalating rivalry between the US and China, the Xi Jinping government has reportedly barred officials from using Apple iPhones at work, the media reported on Wednesday.

Beijing has instructed some government staff to stop using iPhones through chat groups or meetings, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Apple relies heavily on Greater China region for both manufacturing and sales of its iPhones and has a major chunk of its product manufacturing in the country amid its future plans to make India the next big manufacturing hub.

Restrictions on foreign devices are the latest step in Beijings campaign to reduce reliance on overseas technology and could hurt Apples success in the country, the report noted.

China apparently ordered officials at central government agencies not to use Apples iPhones and other foreign-branded devices for work or bring them into the office.

The move is a blow to Apples public perception in China which is its second-biggest market after the US.

Apple didnt immediately comment on the development.

According to the companys latest quarterly results, the Greater China region -- Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan -- contributed to nearly 19 per cent of the revenue in the June quarter.

According to the the IDC, 65.7 million smartphones shipped in China in the second quarter (Q2) this year, a narrower decline of 2.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.

In the first half of the year, the Chinese market saw 130.9 million shipments, down 7.3 per cent year-on-year (YoY).

Huawei and Apple were the only vendors with a positive YoY growth in the Top 5 ranking, as the price discounts of Apples iPhone 14 series successfully stimulated the demand in the country.
Air India, a Tata Group airline, has entered an interline partnership with Bangkok Airways. The partnership enables Air India passengers to take connections via Air Indias Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Singapore gateways to and from 10 destinations in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia on Bangkok Airways route network. The scope of the agreement between the two airlines includes Inter Airline Through Check-In (IATCI) implementation, which enables travellers to receive their boarding passes at the first point of departure for all the travel sectors on a single ticket, and have their baggage checked-in through to their final destinations.

Air India flyers taking connecting flights on Bangkok Airways will also receive complimentary access to Bangkok Airways Boutique Lounges and Courtesy Corners at available airports, regardless of the cabin class they fly. Air India and Bangkok Airways have also entered a Special Prorate Agreement, which allows both carriers to file through fares on routes covering each others networks.

Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial & Transformation Officer, Air India, said, One of our strategic priorities at Air India is to offer our guests the choice of flying to more places through our own as well as an augmented global network. We are happy to join hands with Bangkok Airways as part of that effort to provide our guests greater connectivity within Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia.

Air India flyers can connect to the following points in Thailand through Bangkok Airways: Chiang Mai, Lampang, Sukhothai, Trat, Koh Samui, Phuket, and Krabi. The points outside of Thailand include Luang Prabang in Laos; and Phnom Penh, Siem Reap in Cambodia.

Chulin Kocharoen, Vice President - Network and Product Development of Bangkok Airways PLC, said, Air India is a leading global airline with a major presence in India and across the world. We are pleased to enter an interline partnership with Air India to strengthen our respective route networks and offer business and leisure travellers with unprecedented and convenient access to new gateways. Moreover, Air India passengers traveling on Bangkok Airways flights will enjoy the boutique airlines unparalleled services such as lounge access at available airports, in-flight meal and much more.

In addition to the Bangkok gateway, Air India guests can also choose to fly to Koh Samui via Singapore and Hong Kong. Air India operates daily flights to Bangkok from Delhi and Mumbai, to Singapore from Delhi (twice daily), Mumbai, and Chennai, and thrice a week to Hong Kong from Delhi.
In one of its biggest test of times, the Delhi International Airport, India's biggest airport is getting ready to welcome the G20 delegates as India will be hosting the G20 Summit in Delhi on September 9 and 10. As per the Delhi Airport operator DIAL, the airport will have dedicated gates and a dedicated corridor to ensure seamless immigration clearance for G20 delegates, and a team of senior officials will monitor the arrival and departure operations related to the summit, reported PTI.

Parking Slots At Delhi Airport

Clearing the rumours on the operational readiness of the India's biggest and busiest airports ahead of the G20 Summit, DIAL CEO on Wednesday said there are a required number of parking slots for VVIP aircraft, and that most of the guests for the summit will be coming by chartered flights or special VIP flights.

Arrangements have been made for parking these flights on the air side in collaboration with different government agencies like Delhi Police as well as with the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, he said and added that the airport has made available the required number of parking slots for the VVIP aircraft.

"While many of the guests will be arriving at Air Force Station on the Palam side, there are many other heads of states as well as other delegation members who are going to come at Terminal-3. We have made special arrangements for them," DIAL CEO Videh Kumar Jaipuriar said in a message. The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), operated by DIAL, in the national capital is the country's largest airport and handles around 1,300 flights daily.

Dedicated Corridor For Delegates

There will be dedicated gates and a dedicated corridor for the G20 delegates so that they can clear the immigration and customs in a seamless manner, he added. He also said there will be no inconvenience for the normal passengers amid the summit.

While noting that it has meticulously organised a range of provisions at the airport for the delegates, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has "formed a team of senior officials who will monitor G20 arrival and departure operations to ensure the best experience for the arriving delegates".

"We have these guests arriving on September 8th and most of the day guests are likely to leave on September 10th." The airport operator is working with different government departments like the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and the Delhi Government to provide necessary support for guest facilities, according to a release.

Heavy Traffic At Airport

"There are going to be some disruptions as far as traffic on the city side is concerned, and that is where our advice to the travellers taking a flight from Delhi or coming to Delhi to make sure that they use the mode of transportation not as a car or a taxi, but they should prefer metro to actually travel to and from the airport," Jaipuriar said.

On August 26, DIAL said it has received requests from airlines for the cancellation of 80 departing and as many arriving domestic flights during three days from September 8 in connection with the summit.
Over 200 passengers travelling from Achmad Yani International Airport, Semarang, Indonesia to King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia had a harrowing experience after getting stuck in India for over 24 hours. As per a report on PTI, 212 passengers travelling on the Lion Air flight -- JT052 -- got stuck at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala, India due to a technical fault in the aircraft. The incident took place on Tuesday, when the flight landed at 3 PM for refuelling.

During refuelling of the aircraft, a technical issue was spotted at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport. The plane was travelling from Indonesia to Saudi Arabia. Following the detection of the technical fault, passengers were deboarded and moved to the airport's security holding area.

The incident that took place at 3 PM on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, lasted for 24 hours, as the passengers were in holding area till Wednesday 4 pm when an alternative aircraft arrived from Indonesia to take them onward to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, the source said.

The passengers were provided food and facilities to rest in the security holding area during this time, the source added. The aircraft with the technical fault underwent temporary repairs and then was flown back empty to Indonesia, he said.
New Delhi: Actor Vicky Kaushal is looking forward to celebrating Dahi Handi this year as he promotes his upcoming film The Great Indian Family (TGIF) during the festival of Janmashtami. Vicky will be participating in one of Mumbais biggest Dahi Handi event and will make thousands of people dance to his latest song Kanhaiya Twitter Pe Aaja from TGIF which is currently climbing the music charts.

Vicky says, Growing up in Mumbai, Dahi Handi was more than just a celebration. It was all about the spirit, unity, and unbreakable bonds of the people. I always felt that the human pyramid formed to break the 'Handi' is a powerful metaphor for resilience and unity. This festival reflects India's spirit.

He adds, I am extremely delighted that this year, I get to be a part of that infectious vibe and celebrate it with such enthusiastic kids. This will definitely take me down my childhood memory lane when I used to go with my family for the local Dahi Handi celebration.

The Great Indian Family, a family entertainer directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, is set to release on September 22nd.
New Delhi: As the much-awaited actioner 'Jawan' releases worldwide today, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is surely going to take the audience for a ride. Moreover, the highly anticipated project marks the Hindi cinema debut of the renowned Tamil filmmaker Atlee. With a sneak peak into the movie with its songs and trailer, Bollywood has high hopes from the young director. Vouching for the talented actor and his team, the popular actress Keerthy Suresh took to her Instagram handle and gave a massive positive shout out.

Dropping a few outdoor pictures, Keerthy wrote, "Tomorrow is a very special day because the world is going to witness your magic machi! @atlee47." She further wrote, "My excitement is at its peak for all you nanbas @anirudhofficial @priyaatlee @dop_gkvishnu It is going to be a treat to watch King Khan @iamsrk in this new avatar! We all are waiting to be blown away by your performance sir! Wishing you guys the best and sending all my love to team #Jawan READY CHIEF!!!! @nayanthara @actorvijaysethupathi @deepikapadukone @redchilliesent."

'Jawan' is helmed by Atlee. The film stars SRK alongside Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi in the lead roles. Apparently, SRK has a double role in the film, which also has a cameo by Deepika Padukone. It will be released in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu languages. As per trade analyst Taran Adarsh, the film has already amassed an impressive Rs 51.17 crore in worldwide advance bookings, and it has managed to surpass the opening day record of Pathaan in India.
NEW DELHI: At the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday highlighted the profound connection between India and ASEAN, emphasizing not only their history and geography but also shared values, regional integration, and a commitment to peace, prosperity, and a multipolar world. PM Modi underscored that ASEAN is the cornerstone of India's Act East Policy, endorsing ASEAN's vision of ASEAN-India centrality and Indo-Pacific cooperation.

In his address to the Summit, PM Modi stated that the India-ASEAN partnership has reached its fourth decade and it is an honour for him to co-chair the Summit. He also congratulated Indonesian President Joko Widodo for organising the Summit.

PM Modi highlighted the shared values, regional integration and shared beliefs in peace that unite India and the ASEAN. "Our history and geography unite India and ASEAN. Along with it, our shared values, regional integration, and our shared belief in peace, prosperity and a multipolar world also unite us. ASEAN is the central pillar of India's Act East Policy. India supports ASEAN's outlook on ASEAN-India centrality and Indo-Pacific," PM Modi said in his address in Hindi.

#WATCH | At the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, "This year's theme is ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. ASEAN matters because here everyone's voice is heard & ASEAN is epicentrum of growth because ASEAN plays an important role in pic.twitter.com/8LGB02Tqea  ANI (@ANI) September 7, 2023

Celebrating ASEAN's Significance

In his opening remarks at the 20th ASEAN Summit, PM Modi said "This year's theme is ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. ASEAN matters because here everyone's voice is heard and ASEAN is the epicentre of growth because ASEAN plays an important role in global growth." He referred to 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - One Earth, One Family, One Future as the theme of the G20 under the Indian presidency.

Strengthening The Partnership

PM Modi acknowledged that the partnership between India and ASEAN has now entered its fourth decade and expressed his gratitude for co-chairing the Summit. He extended his congratulations to Indonesian President Joko Widodo for organizing the event.

Warm Welcome & Vibrant Diaspora

Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a warm welcome upon his arrival at the Jakarta Convention Centre, where Indonesian President Joko Widodo greeted him. The Indian community in Jakarta also extended a grand welcome, chanting 'Vande Mataram' and 'Modi Modi' as they gathered at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

Ceremonial Welcome

PM Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Jakarta International Airport, where he was received by I. Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati, Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Protection.

Commitment To Global Challenges

Before departing for Indonesia, Prime Minister Modi expressed his eagerness to discuss practical cooperation measures with other leaders to collectively address global challenges. He emphasized the importance of engagement with the ASEAN group as a vital component of India's 'Act East Policy.'

Future Of ASEAN-India Relations

PM Modi expressed anticipation for discussions with ASEAN leaders regarding the future direction of their partnership, which has grown stronger in its fourth decade. He emphasized that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, established last year, has invigorated their ties.

East Asia Summit Ahead

Following the ASEAN-India Summit, PM Modi will participate in the 18th East Asia Summit, focusing on critical regional issues such as food and energy security, environment, health, and digital transformation. He looks forward to collaborating with fellow East Asia Summit leaders to address these global challenges through practical cooperation measures.

Upcoming G20 Summit

PM Modi is set to return to New Delhi ahead of the G20 Summit, scheduled for September 9 and 10.
New Delhi: A Delhi court has summoned Sunita Kejriwal, the wife of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, for allegedly violating the law by getting herself enrolled in the voters list of two assembly constituencies. Metropolitan Magistrate Arjinder Kaur summoned Sunita Kejriwal as an accused on November 18 on an application moved by BJP leader Harish Khurana.

The BJP leader has alleged in his complaint that the chief ministers wife has violated the provisions of the Representation of the People (RP) Act.

After considering the testimony of the complainant and other witnesses, this Court is of the considered opinion that prima facie case is made out against accused person namely Sunita Kejriwal, W/o Arvind Kejriwal, for the alleged commission of the offenses punishable under section 31 of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1950.

Hence, the accused be summoned accordingly, the judge said in an order passed on August 29. The offense attracts a maximum punishment of imprisonment of two years.

Khurana claimed Sunita Kejriwal was registered as a voter on the electoral rolls of Sahibabad assembly constituency (parliamentary constituency Ghaziabad), UP, and also Chandni Chowk assembly constituency in Delhi, which was in violation of Section 17 (no person to be registered in more than one constituency) of the RP Act. He claimed she was liable to be punished for the offences under Section 31 of the Act which deals with making false declarations.
Amidst the high-stakes discussions and diplomatic maneuvering that define the G-20 summit, have you ever wondered how the spouses of world leaders spend their time? The answer lies in a unique initiative planned for the upcoming G-20 Summit. The esteemed First Ladies from various guest countries, often called the "First Ladies," will embark on a visit to the renowned IARI Pusa campus in Delhi, India. Here, they will delve into a specially curated exhibition showcasing innovative start-ups focused on superfoods and explore India's rich agricultural heritage.

Now, let's delve into the details of this intriguing and enriching experience for the First Ladies participating in the G-20 Summit.

Discovering India's Agricultural Legacy

A meticulous tour awaits the First Ladies as they visit the sprawling 1,200-acre Pusa-IAIAR campus, a historic site considered the birthplace of India's Green Revolution. The primary aim of this visit is to provide the First Ladies with an in-depth understanding of India's agricultural heritage, its successes, and the innovations that have shaped it.

Confirmed Participation of World Leaders

Several prominent world leaders have already confirmed their participation in the G-20 summit, including President Joe Biden of the United States, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan. Their partners, the First Ladies, have been specially invited for this insightful visit to the agricultural exhibition.

Security Measures for First Ladies

Ensuring the safety and security of the First Ladies and the partners of G-20 leaders is paramount. To this end, a specialized paramilitary force, the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), comprising both male and female commandos, has been entrusted with this responsibility. These specially trained personnel will provide security during their visit to the agricultural exhibition.

Culinary Delights Crafted by Celebrity Chefs

An exceptional culinary experience awaits the First Ladies as they savor a diverse array of dishes prepared by renowned celebrity chefs. The esteemed chefs include Kunal Kapur, Ajay Chopra, and Anahita Dhondy, known for their expertise in creating delectable dishes using cereals and grains, often referred to as "superfoods." Adding to the culinary extravaganza, celebrity chefs from the ITC group, Kusha Mathur and Nikita Mehra, who specialize in Pak-Kala cuisine, will also be part of this gourmet journey.

Exploring Agricultural Innovation and Practices

During their visit, the First Ladies will have the unique opportunity to engage in insightful discussions with farmers and agricultural start-ups. This interaction will provide them with valuable insights into India's dynamic agricultural practices, innovations, and sustainable approaches that have made significant contributions to the country's agricultural sector.

An Immersive Experience

This initiative is designed to offer an immersive and enriching experience for the First Ladies, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of India's thriving agricultural traditions, success stories, and the contributions of innovative start-ups. It serves as a testament to India's commitment to sharing its agricultural heritage with the world and fostering international cooperation on vital global issues.
TALLINN, ESTONIA - (NewMediaWire) - September 7, 2023 - Kryptex announces important news for the company and its clients. Founded in August 2016, this platform revolutionized the way people can mine cryptocurrency. The founder, Maxim Malish has been working with crypto since its appearance and is quite fond of new technologies, especially when applied to innovative solutions.

With Kryptex, any person with a gaming computer can mine cryptocurrencies and put their computing to make money while they sleep.

Now, the company is ready to take the next step. The recent boom of artificial intelligence and machine learning (which we can see reflected in ChatGPT's increasing popularity) has resulted in a deficit of GPUs. After all, these devices are needed to train the above-mentioned AI tools.

As a solution to this problem, Kryptex is building a marketplace of computer power offering advanced GPUs. The innovation is that Kryptex will connect hardware owners with ML/AI businesses, with a similar approach to the one implemented by Uber, which connected drivers and riders through their platform.

For business owners, GPUs will be accessible at much lower costs and computer owners can put their devices to better use. In other words, they will be able to make more money by renting their GPUs for AI training than by mining crypto assets.

Among other things, this approach helps you optimize your video rendering since it speeds up the graphics from the server side. Training AI becomes easier and faster allowing it to reach deeper levels and create further neural networks.

Moreover, companies will be able to develop AI and scale their projects without purchasing equipment that they will never use again. They can also find accessible big data solutions on the Kryptex cloud.

One of the major advantages is that users can access the service at relatively low costs as renting is always cheaper than purchasing equipment. While for 669.6/month you can rent Nvidia K80 video cards, for only 99,99/month you can rent Nvidia GTX 1070

Story continues

How it works

Step 1: The user launches the code in the Kryptex cloud with SSH.

Step 2: User's data will be processed by thousands of GPUs linked into one network.

Step 3: The user receives the results (finished computations).

Advantages

With this GPU network, companies will be able to increase productivity significantly while saving money and time.

Flexibility and speed

Find fast solutions to complex problems while maintaining a fair level of flexibility when it comes to your resources.

Save money

You can avoid buying expensive equipment, that you won't use again, to start or scale up your projects.

Easy accessibility

Users can pay with fiat money since the platform is run by a regular company registered in Europe.

Simplicity

Migrating your data to our server will take as little as 10 minutes.

About Kryptex

Unlike other mining ecosystems, Kryptex is available for the average user. Any person with a CPU having the basic requirements for gaming can start making money in only 5 minutes. Thus, when the computer is not used for other tasks, it can continue to work in the background, generating cryptocurrency and collecting earnings.

Withdrawal methods are also quite practical as users can get their money through popular payment gateways. This includes Union Pay, Visa, and Mastercard. The process is made easier because Kryptex provides a variety of materials like statistics, educational resources, and data access.

A solution that's one of a kind

While setting up a mining team was difficult and expensive, now it's within everyone's reach. Moreover, Kryptex has made mining secure and transparent, qualities that are highly valued by all users and especially by those who are taking their first steps in mining.

Now the next stage of the process seems even more promising, bringing solutions to different parties and covering the needs of hardware owners and AI/ML companies alike.

Contact Info:

Name: Maxim Malysh

Email: m.malysh@kryptex.com

Organization: xBlock Ventures O

Address: Vesivrava tn 50-201, Tallinn, Estonia, 10152

Phone: +372 880 1134

Website: https://xblock.ventures && https://www.kryptex.com
As the eagerly anticipated G20 Summit approaches, an innovative and thought-provoking initiative is set to unfold. World leaders gathering in Delhi on September 9th and 10th will have the unique opportunity to explore the profound wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita, a revered ancient scripture, through the lens of artificial intelligence (AI).

In a fascinating convergence of spirituality and technology, an AI-based Bhagavad Gita kiosk has been prepared to engage with world leaders' inquiries on spiritual philosophy and enigmatic concepts. When posed with questions, this interactive kiosk will provide responses rooted in the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, offering a platform for profound discussions amidst a backdrop of diplomatic deliberations.

Let's delve into the details of this groundbreaking initiative that aims to enrich the G20 Summit experience with spiritual insights, supported by cutting-edge technology.

AI-Enabled Bhagavad Gita Kiosk: Bridging Spirituality and Technology

The centerpiece of this novel endeavor is the AI-powered Bhagavad Gita kiosk, a technological marvel that merges spiritual wisdom with modern AI capabilities. Delegates attending the summit can engage with the kiosk by posing questions related to spirituality, ethics, and profound life matters.

Drawing Wisdom from the Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita, often regarded as a spiritual and philosophical guide, comprises verses that delve into the intricacies of life, purpose, and ethics. When world leaders seek answers to these profound inquiries, the AI-driven kiosk will respond with insights rooted in the teachings of this revered scripture.

Multilingual Support: Fostering Inclusivity

A remarkable feature of this initiative is its commitment to inclusivity. It provides translation services in 24 Indian languages and offers support for the languages of all G20 member nations. This ensures that delegates can access information and engage in meaningful conversations in their preferred languages, facilitating a deeper understanding of the spiritual teachings.

Digital India Experience Pavilion: Showcasing Technological Advancements

Complementing the spiritual exploration, India has set up the Digital India Experience Pavilion within the India Mandapam. This pavilion offers G20 leaders a glimpse into India's remarkable digital growth journey. Delegates can immerse themselves in various digital themes, including Aadhar, UPI, e-Sanjeevani, CoWIN, and Bhashini, through a multi-themed digital experience zone.

Preparations in Halls 4 and 14: Immersive Digital Experiences

Special preparations have been undertaken in Halls 4 and 14 to create an immersive digital experience for G20 leaders. These dedicated spaces will host a range of digital theme experiences, showcasing India's achievements and innovations in areas such as Aadhar, UPI, e-Sanjeevani, CoWIN, and Bhashini.

Enhanced G20 Mobile App: Facilitating Seamless Communication

The G20 mobile app has been thoughtfully designed to enhance communication and collaboration among world leaders. It offers a multitude of features, including real-time translation services, instant updates, and venue navigation. Moreover, the app will provide real-time information on delegates' speeches and declarations during bilateral meetings, fostering effective communication.

This trailblazing initiative not only enriches the G20 Summit with profound spiritual insights but also highlights the synergy between tradition and technology, demonstrating India's commitment to promoting global understanding and cooperation.
Washington: US President Joe Biden is set to arrive in New Delhi on Friday, where he will engage in a series of significant meetings and events during his three-day visit, according to the White House.

Friday Arrival and Bilateral Meeting

Biden's visit kicks off with a stopover in Ramstein, Germany, before his arrival in New Delhi on Friday. He is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same day.

Saturday Engagements

On Saturday, President Biden's schedule includes an official arrival and a handshake with Prime Minister Modi. Following this, he will participate in two crucial sessions of the G20 Leaders Summit: "One Earth" and "One Family." Additionally, Biden will join an event focused on the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. The day will culminate with a dinner and cultural program alongside other G20 Leaders.

Sunday, Visit to Raj Ghat Memorial

On Sunday, the US President will pay a visit to the Raj Ghat Memorial, accompanied by fellow G20 Leaders. Subsequently, Biden is scheduled to depart from New Delhi and travel to Hanoi, Vietnam. In Hanoi, Biden will partake in a welcome ceremony hosted by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong of the Communist Party of Vietnam. A meeting with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong will follow, where both leaders will deliver remarks. Biden will conclude his visit with a press conference, as confirmed by the White House.

Agenda Highlights: Economic Cooperation and Multilateral Investment

During his visit, President Biden is expected to discuss the G20 agenda, with a focus on economic cooperation and multilateral investment opportunities. The American leader is keen on advocating for multilateral development bank reform and reshaping.

Topics of Discussion & Outlook

While climate and the ongoing Ukraine conflict are likely to be discussed, the primary emphasis during the talks between Prime Minister Modi and President Biden will be on economic matters and multilateral cooperation. India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and has since hosted approximately 200 meetings related to the G20 in various cities across the nation. The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit in New Delhi is set to consolidate the outcomes of these meetings, and leaders will adopt a G20 Leaders Declaration that reflects their commitment to the discussed priorities.

This visit by President Joe Biden underscores the importance of the G20 Summit and the global collaboration needed to address pressing issues.
Jakarta: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the opening of Indias embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste while addressing the 20th ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta Act East in action - Delhi to Dili! At the ASEAN-India Summit in Jakarta, PM @narendramodi announces decision to open our Embassy in Dili, Timor-Leste, posted Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi on X after PM Modis announcement.

Dili is the capital city of Timor-Leste, or East Timor, on the country's north coast. The city holds importance as it recalls the nation's struggles for independence from Portugal as well as Indonesia. India was one of the early countries to establish diplomatic relations with Timor Leste and was represented at its Independence Day celebrations in May 2002 by a high-level delegation led by the then Minister of State for External Affairs. An MOU formally establishing diplomatic relations was signed on 24 January 2003.

India's decision to open an embassy in Dili is its commitment to the Act East policy. Earlier in the day, PM Modi said that ASEAN is the central pillar of India's Act East policy and it has an important place in India's Indo-Pacific initiative. He also termed the engagement with the ASEAN group as an important pillar of Indias Act East Policy'.

"Our history and geography unite India and ASEAN. Along with it, our shared values, regional integration, and our shared belief in peace, prosperity and a multipolar world also unite us. ASEAN is the central pillar of India's Act East Policy. India supports ASEAN's outlook on ASEAN-India centrality and Indo-Pacific," PM Modi said in his address in Hindi.

In his departure statement, before leaving for Jakarta on Wednesday, PM Modi noted that engagement with the ASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East Policy, and said he is looking forward to exchanging views with leaders of the grouping on the future contours" of partnership which has now entered its fourth decade.

My first engagement will be the 20th ASEAN-India Summit. I look forward to discussing with ASEAN leaders the future contours of our partnership, which has now entered its fourth decade. Engagement with ASEAN is an important pillar of Indias Act East' policy, PM Modi said. PM Modi, who is in Jakarta, will return to New Delhi on Thursday evening ahead of the G20 Summit, which will be held on September 9 and 10.
Jaipur: The Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) announced on Thursday that it will contest 30 seats across 18 districts in the Assembly elections in Rajasthan scheduled later this year. The announcement was made by Dushyant Chautala, the Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana and founder of JJP, during his visit to Jaipur on Thursday.

Addressing a Kisan-Naujawan Sabha organised by JJP's Jaipur unit at Dastur Mahal, Chautala said that the party workers have become active in Rajasthan where membership drives are being carried out continuously.

If people of Rajasthan support us, 75 per cent reservation in jobs will be given to youth of the state in the private sector, just like in Haryana. Women will get 50 per cent share in Panchayati Raj institutions. Also, an easy system will be implemented for better crop purchase and payment process, good mandi system, proper compensation for crop damage to the farmers etc.," Chautala said.

The JJP leader also said that the situation has turned from bad to worse in Rajasthan under the rule of the Congress government.

"Corruption has smashed all records in every department. Rajasthan has also become number one in the country in terms of atrocities and violence against women. Even the ministers and MLAs of the Congress are leveling allegations of corruption against their own government.

"In such a situation, by becoming the voice of the distressed people of Rajasthan, JJP will not only contest 30 seats in the upcoming Assembly elections, it will also hold the key for any party to enter the state Assembly," Chautala said.

He also said that JJP will organise a big rally in Sikar on September 25 to mark the birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister of India late Chaudhary Devi Lal, in which a large number of party workers from each will participate. In the 1989 Parliamentary elections, Devi Lal was simultaneously elected from Sikar and Rohtak in Haryana.
NEW DELHI: In the wake of a huge "Bharat vs India" political row just ahead of the upcoming G20 Summit in New Delhi scheduled to be held on September 9 and 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reported to have delivered a stern message to his Council of Ministers, instructing them not to comment on the issue event unless authorized. Sources quoted the PM as telling his ministers ''not to comment'' on the controversial topic. This was also possibly the first time that PM Modi is believed to have discussed the subject with his ministers.

During a recent Council of Ministers meeting, Prime Minister Modi emphasized that only authorized individuals should represent the government at the G20 Summit. Additionally, specific instructions were issued regarding transportation to the dinner scheduled for September 9.

Transport Protocols For Chief Ministers

In line with these directives, Chief Ministers invited to the dinner will also adhere to strict transportation protocols, arriving at the Parliament House complex in their own vehicles before boarding buses to the event venue. Ministers and Chief Ministers are expected to arrive at the Parliament House complex for dinner by 5:50 pm, with plans to reach the venue by 6:30 pm.

Bharat vs India Row

PM Modi's directives come amidst a growing controversy surrounding the replacement of "President of India" with "Bharat" on official invitations for the G20 Summit dinner. While the ruling party supports this change, the opposition is critical.

Mixed Reactions & Political Response

Prominent political figures have voiced their opinions on the "Bharat" vs. "India" debate. Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed pride in the change, while AAP MP Raghav Chadha suggested the opposition alliance could consider rebranding. Congress leader Sandeep Dixit emphasized that names are not paramount, and the BJP should focus on core issues. Union Minister Meenakashi Lekhi highlighted that the name "Bharat" is rooted in history and cited references from ancient texts. Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi claimed that the BJP is anxious about the popularity of the INDIA alliance.

BJP's Response To Row

BJP leader Sushil Modi defended the use of "Bharat" and pointed out that both "India" and "Bharat" are mentioned in the Constitution. Opposition leaders raised concerns about the change, speculating about potential implications for the country's name.

Upcoming G20 Summit

The controversy over "Bharat" vs. "India" has raised speculation about the government's intentions, including the possibility of a name change for the country. Meanwhile, India prepares to host the G20 Summit in New Delhi, with world leaders set to attend at the Bharat Mandapam Convention Centre.
J&K: Women in Jammu and Kashmir are becoming politically empowered in order to learn about their basic rights and to benefit from every government scheme. In the upcoming municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the election commission has earmarked more than 358 seats for women.

Reserving 358 wards out of 1119 wards for women in Jammu and Kashmir's 77 Municipal Bodies in the upcoming Municipality and ULB polls means that women in Jammu and Kashmir will now have a women representative to whom they can express themselves freely and benefit from all government schemes at the grass root level.

In the Srinagar area alone, the CEO has suggested that 25 of the 74 wards in the Srinagar Municipal Corporation be reserved for women. The proposal for the Jammu Municipal Corporation includes reservations for 25 wards for women, as well as 10 for Scheduled Castes and two for Scheduled Tribes.

The proposal for the Jammu Municipal Corporation includes reservations for 25 wards for women, as well as 10 for Scheduled Castes and two for Scheduled Tribes. Women across Jammu and Kashmir have applauded the move, saying it will help to improve conditions in the Union Territory.

Hina Bhat, Vice Chairperson of Khadi Village Board said It's not only for women empowerment, but the role women have played in the current politics of Jammu and Kashmir. It was important, that women always think better and with all the faithfulness for society. The quota was demanded for a long time and it's a very beautiful decision for the females. The women in JK have strong convictions and are always in the forefront, The women played a major role in the last elections and I see a better future after this quota being given to females.

According to the notification, citizens and stakeholders have seven days to submit their concerns and comments regarding the idea. The region's major parties applauded the decision to create a large number of wards for women.

It's a great step that women have been given their quota, In the previous governments women never got their reservations and it's the BJP that reservations for ladies have been made. There are so many benefits for women because of this, We will get our rights, and we can work better for the women and society. Ladies always know it better to get the work done and we will make sure to work better said BJP Leader Rashida.

However Political parties like PDP have said that nothing new has been done but it's the old ideas being sold in new bottles. The BJP government has withdrawn the laws that were for the security and empowerment of women, said Mohit Bhan, PDP Spokesperson.

When BJP has no issue at hand, they try to put the old ideas into new bottles, In 2018 there was a reservation for women. It's a good thing, that Mehbooba Mufti was the CM who removed the stamp duty for the women who were acquiring and buying properties, which was taken away by the BJP and they talk of women empowerment. The laws which were for the security of women were withdrawn by this government so this is all a sham. Let the elections happen and they would know their place.

Municipal elections in Jammu and Kashmir are expected to be held in October-November this year, with preparations well underway. The modification of the voter list has been completed throughout the union territory. More than 2.17 lakh new voters have registered.

As per the information, for the 2023 municipal elections, there will be 19,14,383 voters in the whole of Jammu and Kashmir, which means an increase of 2,17,092 voters from the last municipal polls held in 2018.
New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday took a swipe at the government over the heads of state of Russia and China not coming for the G20 Summit, saying their absence raises a lot of questions which External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar should answer. Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera also said that when such events with large expenditure are organised by the prime minister, it is the external affairs minister's responsibility to ensure that all heads of state attend.

Asked about the Congress' views on the G20 Summit that is going to be held in the national capital from September 9-10, Khera said India has had the honour of getting the rotational presidentship of G20.

"Very good events being organised on a large scale but the absence of two very important countries, heads of states, gives rise to a lot of questions and the hope that the Minister of External Affairs will respond to these questions," Khera said. Taking a swipe at Jaishankar, Khera said he likes to comment on a lot of issues and hopefully will also speak about issues of his department.

"We want to advise him, that when the PM organises such big events with such large expenditure, the minister has a responsibility to ensure that all heads of state participate in it and benefit for India comes out of the rotational presidentship," the Congress leader said.

The Chinese foreign ministry had announced earlier this week that President Xi Jinping will not attend the G20 Summit in New Delhi and the delegation will be led by Premier Li Qiang.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi his decision not to attend the G20 Summit in person as he has to focus on the "special military operation" in Ukraine.

The G20 Summit is scheduled to be held in Delhi on September 9 and 10 with US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, among others, expected to attend the meeting of developing and developed countries.
New Delhi: Realme has unveiled the Stellar Green and Nebula Purple versions of Narzo 60x 5G, its newest mid-range smartphone. With a 7.88mm thickness, Realme asserts that this is the thinnest 5G smartphone available in its market.

Realme Narzo 60x: Specifications

The new Realme Narzo 60x has a 6.72-inch full HD+ IPS LCD screen with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz. The new smartphone has a max brightness of 680 nits and a screen-to-body ratio of 91.4 percent.

The Mali-G57 MC2 GPU and an octa-core MediaTek Dimensity 6100+ 5G CPU power the Narzo 60x. Along with 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage, the phone is available with 4GB or 6GB of RAM. Additionally, the smartphone supports up to 2GB of microSD card storage expansion and 6GB of dynamic RAM.

Realme Narzo 60x: Camera Options

The main camera on the Narzo 60x is 50 MP. For selfies and video calls, it has an 8 MP front camera and a 2 MP depth sensor.

Realme Narzo 60x: Battery Power

Realme's most recent smartphone is powered by Android 13 with Realme UI 4.0. With a 5,000 mAh battery and support for 33W SUPERVOOC fast charging, the phone can be charged from zero to fifty percent, according to the manufacturer, in just 29 minutes. For safely unlocking the phone, it also has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and face unlock.

Realme Narzo 60x: Price And Discount Offers

The 4GB/128GB Realme Narzo 60x is available for purchase for Rs 12,999, while the 6GB RAM/128 GB storage variant costs Rs 14,499.
Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) Q2 2024 Earnings Call Transcript September 6, 2023

Argan, Inc. beats earnings expectations. Reported EPS is $0.94, expectations were $0.74.

Operator: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Argan, Inc. [Technical Difficulty] Conference Call for the Second Quarter of Fiscal 2024, which ended July 31, 2023. This call is being recorded. All participants have been placed on a listen-only mode. Following management's remarks, the call will be opened for questions. There is a slide presentation that accompanies today's remarks, which can be accessed via the webcast. It is my pleasure to turn the floor over to your host for today, John Nesbett of IMS, Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

John Nesbett: Good evening, and welcome to our conference call to discuss Argan's results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024 ended July 31, 2023. On the call today, we have David Watson, Chief Executive Officer; and Hank Deily, Chief Financial Officer. I'll take a moment to read the Safe Harbor statement. Statements made during this conference call and presented in the presentation that are not based on historical facts are forward-looking statements. Such statements include but are not limited to projections or statements of future goals and targets regarding the company's revenues and profits. These statements are subject to known and unknown factors and risks. The company's actual results, performance or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements and some of the factors and risks that could cause or contribute to such material differences have been described in this afternoon's press release and in Argan's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

These statements are based on information and understandings that we believe to be accurate as of today and we do not undertake any duty to update such forward-looking statements. Earlier this afternoon, the company issued a press release announcing its second quarter financial results and filed its second quarter Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission. With that out of the way, I'll turn the call over to David Watson, CEO of Argan. Go ahead, David.

Story continues

David Watson: Thanks, Jen, and thank you everyone for joining today. I'll start by reviewing some of the highlights of our operations and activities. And Hank Deily, our CFO will go over our financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 ended July 31, 2023. Then we'll open up the call for a brief Q&A. We made great progress during the second quarter as evidenced by revenue growth of approximately 20% to $141 million with significantly improved bottom line profitability and continued strength in our balance sheet. We're also pleased during the quarter to see consolidated gross margin improved sequentially as compared to the first quarter of 2024 coming in at 16.8%, which is generally in line with our expectations based on a diversified mix of revenues.

Additionally, we marked our third consecutive quarter, maintaining backlog in excess of $0.8 billion. Our current backlog includes the Shannonbridge Power Project in Ireland, which is a power plant that will ensure reliable electricity supply during critical situations and emergencies and also includes the value of the limited notices to proceed that we received for three solar plus battery power facilities in Illinois with Vistra Energy. And our balance sheet remains strong with $346 million of cash and investments and net liquidity of $240 million at July 31, 2023. Lastly , we carry no debt. During the second quarter, we repurchased approximately 77,000 shares of our common stock for a total spend of approximately $3 million or $39.24 per share.

Reviewing our three reportable business segments, power industry services represented 75% of our second quarter revenues and reported pre-tax book income of $16.3 million. Revenues and income both increased for this segment during the second quarter by 15.3% and 12.3% respectively as compared to the amounts reported for the comparable quarter last year. This segment is comprised of our Gemma Power System and Atlantic Projects Company operating units and focuses on the construction of all types of power facilities including efficient gas-fired power plants, solar energy fields, biomass facilities and wind farms. As I just mentioned, following the quarter's close, APC received a full notice to proceed on the Shannonbridge project in Ireland and Gemma received limited notices to proceed on the solar and battery projects for Vistra Energy.

The industrial construction services, which is represented by the Roberts Company, had a strong quarter and contributed 23% of our second quarter revenue. It reported pre-tax book income of $3.2 million. Revenues and income both increased for this segment during the second quarter by 42.3% and 81.1% respectively as compared to the amounts reported for the comparable quarter last year. Roberts provide solutions to mostly industrial and manufacturing clients. They focus on agriculture, petrochemical, pulp and paper, water and power industries, as well as other newer industries adding to or expanding the number of production facilities in the Southeast. The segment focuses on construction projects provides other field services like plant maintenance turnarounds, shutdowns and emergency mobilization, as well as pipe and vessel fabrication.

Lastly, we have our Telecommunications Infrastructure services group, our smallest segment, which contributed 2% of our second quarter revenues. SMC Infrastructure Solutions is our operating brand in this segment, provides outside construction services for the utility and telecommunications sectors, as well as inside the premises wiring services for federal government locations and military installations requiring high level security clearance. We believe Argan is strongly positioned as the energy landscape transitions from coal power to cleaner alternatives like natural gas and renewables. The anticipated future decline in coal fired power generation is significant with coal-fired power generation in the U.S. expected to drop by an additional 70% to represent only 5% of net electricity generation by 2050.

And while the move to more environmentally friendly power resources is important, the ability to provide the liable power generation is paramount. We have the capabilities and a track record of proven success in assisting our power partners as they address and balance increasing levels of power consumption with the demand for cleaner energy supply. Our business is already playing a leadership role in this transition as you'll see on slide six where we've highlighted the details of our recent limited notices to proceed on a project with Vistra Energy. [Indiscernible] will work with Vistra to complete three facilities located in Illinois to provide solar power plus battery storage capability, representing 160 megawatts of power and 22 megawatts of energy storage.

We're excited to work with Vistra to drive the move to cleaner electrical power generation and specifically the growth of our solar power. We look forward to executing another successful project with another new customer in the renewable energy space. On slide seven, we provide the details of the Shannonbridge Power Project in Ireland. APC recently received full notice to proceed on EPC services project for a 264 megawatt power plant. We're excited to have the opportunity to combine the expertise of APC and Gemma for oversight of this project's lifecycle including design, procurement, construction and commissioning. This project, for which we began work earlier this year in a limited capacity, demonstrates our ability to dynamically work with our customers on a compressed schedule as we target completion for early next year.

The Shannonbridge project is expected to strengthen the regions' power infrastructure and enhance reliable electricity supply during times of high utilization or merchant fees. As the industry shifts to new power generation technologies, it's important to note that 83% of our current backlog of over $0.8 billion represents projects that support lower carbon emissions demonstrating our commitment and our leadership role in the transition to cleaner power generation. Now, I'll hand the call over to Hank Deily to go over our financial performance.

concrete, building, work

PI/Shutterstock.com

Hank Deily: Thanks, David, and good afternoon, everyone. On slide nine, we present our consolidated income statement for the second quarter and the first six months of fiscal 2024. Second quarter of fiscal 2024 revenues increased 20% to $141 million, reflecting an increase in revenues from both our Power Services and Industrial Services segments as compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2023. In the second quarter, we achieved a 15% increase in revenues in our Power Industry Services segment, primarily related to projects under construction overseas and the Trumbull Energy Center, partially offset by decreased revenues associated with the Guernsey Power Station and the Maple Hill Solar facility as those projects get closer to final completion.

In our Industrial Construction Services segment, the company achieved revenue growth of 42% driven by a meaningful increase in field services and fabrication work. Gross margin in the second quarter was 16.8%, a decline as compared to 20.6% in the second quarter of fiscal 2023 that related primarily to the changes in our mix of revenues. As many of you know, our margins can fluctuate quarter-to-quarter related to the revenues mix, current project risk profiles, commercial terms and associated margin expectations. For example, time and material contracts are less risky than fixed price and therefore generate a lower margin profile, which is acceptable on a risk adjusted basis. Additionally margins may also be impacted by where we are in the project lifecycle.

While margins were down as compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2023, we did see margins rebound sequentially as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2024, which were 13.7% to generally be more in line with our expectations based on a diversified mix of revenues. Selling, general and administrative expenses of $10.5 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 decreased as compared to SG&A of $11 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2023. Net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 improved significantly to $12.8 million or $0.94 per diluted share as compared to net income of $4.2 million or $0.30 per diluted share in the second quarter of fiscal 2023. These results benefited from an increase in earnings on our invested funds as yields increased meaningfully between periods and from a reduction in income tax expense between the periods due to the unfavorable research and development credits adjustment recorded in the prior year quarter.

EBITDA, which is defined as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, for the second quarter of fiscal 2024 was $17.9 million as compared to $14.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2023. Looking at our year-to-date performance, revenues in the first six months of fiscal 2024 increased by 12% to $245 million as compared to revenues of $218 million in the prior year period. Revenues in our Power Industry Services segment increased by $10.3 million due to the increase for the second quarter. Construction activities have increased in the current year for the Shannonbridge project, the Trumbull Energy Center, the ESB FlexGen peaker plants and the Kilroot Power Station. The increased revenues were partially offset by the effects of decreased activities at the Guernsey Power Station and the Maple Hill Solar energy facility as those EPC projects wind down.

Our consolidated gross profit margin of 15.5% for the first six months of fiscal 2024 decreased, as compared to gross margin of 20.2% in the first six months of fiscal 2023, primarily due to changes in the mix of our revenues and the reduction of profits on the Kilroot project, which has encountered a number of unanticipated challenges, which are meaningfully impacting the contract cost and schedule. Gross margins in our Power Industry Services, our Industrial Services and our Telecommunications Infrastructure Services segments are 16%, 13.4% and 22.5% respectively for the first six months of fiscal 2024 as compared to 21.2%, 16% and 23.9% respectively for the first six months of fiscal 2023. SG&A expenses decreased to $21.1 million for the first half of fiscal 2024, as compared to $21.6 million for the first-half of fiscal 2023.

Net income for the first six months of fiscal 2024 was $14.9 million or $1.10 per diluted share compared to $11.7 million or $0.80 per diluted share for the first six months of last year and EBITDA was $21.6 million compared with EBITDA of $25.6 million in the first six months of fiscal 2023. These results reflect the reduction in consolidated gross profit between periods, offset by an increase in earnings on our invested funds and the reduction in income tax expense between periods due to the aforementioned research and development credits adjustment recorded in the prior year. With that, I'm going to turn the call back to David.

David Watson: Thanks, Hank. Turning to slide 10, our consolidated project backlog of over $0.8 billion as of July 31, 2023, remains consistent with where we stood at year end of fiscal 2023 and reflects the solid pipeline of opportunities we're seeing and the ongoing momentum in our business. Our backlog continues to reflect longer term fully committed projects in both the Power and Industrial Construction Service segments. On slide 11, we present certain major projects currently included in our backlog. We have two projects currently winding down, the Guernsey Power Station which is the largest single phase gas-fired power plant project in the U.S. and the Maple Hill Solar facility. Both are substantially complete and nearing final completion.

The Kilroot Power Station and the ESB FlexGen peaker power plants are projects that are at or near peak activity. New to the list of major projects are the Shannonbridge power plant in Ireland and the Vistra solar plus battery projects in Illinois, both of which we've already talked about in detail above. Finally on this list, you'll see two separate water treatment plant projects that are being performed by The Roberts Company. So our backlog remains strong with a diverse selection of project work, which demonstrates the breadth of our capabilities and the market recognition of our company as a reliable and efficient industry partner here in the US and in Ireland and the U.K. Our balance sheet remains strong. As of July 31, 2023, cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $346 million and net liquidity was $240 million with no debt.

Stockholders' equity was $285 million at July 31, 2023. As you can see from this liquidity bridge, our business model ordinarily requires a very low level of capital expenditures. Our net liquidity was consistent with year-end and remains robust $240 million as of July 31, 2023. Since November 2021, we have returned a total of approximately $95 million to shareholders as we've repurchased approximately 2.6 million shares of our common stock or approximately 16% of shares outstanding at the beginning of the program, which equates to an average price of $37.32 per share. Additionally, since fiscal 2017, we have paid $1 per share annually through quarterly cash dividends. Argan has always been very focused on long-term value creation for shareholders.

While our operating results can vary from quarter to quarter related to the timing of contracts, we remain focused on delivering long-term value to shareholders. Since 2008, we have increased our tangible book value and cumulative dividends per share considerably. During the first-half of fiscal 2024, we've continued to drive momentum in the business and have maintained project backlog at over $0.8 billion for three consecutive quarters. Our project pipeline is robust and diverse contributing to our ability to drive consistency in our revenue performance as certain projects finish up and new projects ramp up. And as I mentioned earlier, our margin profile, while down slightly compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2023, has rebounded sequentially and is generally in line with expectations based on the diverse revenue mix.

We remain focused on driving improved margins. Additionally, we are confident that worldwide demand for reliable energy sources and grid stability will only increase and we believe that our reputation as a reliable partner for construction and project management, plant conversion activities and technology services positions us well to capture the opportunities we're seeing in the marketplace. To close, we remain focused on our long-term growth strategy, leveraging our core competencies to capitalize on existing and emerging market opportunities, maintain disciplined risk management, the goal of improving our project management effectiveness and minimizing costly project overruns, strengthen our position as a partner of choice in the construction of new low and net zero mission power generation facilities as the industry transitions to cleaner energy alternatives while maintaining grid reliability.

And lastly, drive organic growth while also being mindful of acquisition opportunities that make sense for our business through thoughtful capital allocation. I'd like to thank our shareholders for their continued support and our employees for their dedication and hard work in building Argan to a position as a valued power industry partner. With that, operator, let's open it up for questions.

See also 20 Most Underpriced Housing Markets in the U.S. and 10 Great Earnings Reports Jim Cramer is Talking About.

Q&A Session

Operator: Thank you. At this time, we'll be conducting a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] And the first question today is coming from Rob Brown from Lake Street Markets. Rob, your line is live.

Rob Brown: Hi, good afternoon.

David Watson: Good afternoon, Rob.

Rob Brown: Just wanted to kind of get a little bit more detail on the pipeline. I think you've talked about it being strong and it's been strong recently. I just wanted to get your update on sort of the timing of the new project pipeline. Are you starting to see more conversions there, more activity kind of in preparation for awards? What are you seeing in terms of the pipeline activity?

David Watson: Yes, we have seen some conversions as demonstrated by the Shannonbridge job that we announced earlier this month as well as the Vistra solar battery jobs. So we do expect some new larger projects towards the end of the year and into the next based on our current visibility into our pipeline. We may see a reduction in our reported backlog over the next quarter as we convert current backlog into revenue, but ultimately do expect to see our backlog meaningfully exceed where we are today. Keep in mind, the starts of future project wins are controlled by the customer, which makes it difficult to forecast our backlog given the material size of certain projects. Thermal jobs always take longer than we would like to, but given developmental job, it's not an easy job.

And given the PJM auctions have been further delayed till the summer 2024, restructuring of the interconnect process, MISO is generally overloaded. So, there's a lot of things that are at play, but at the end of the day, we are very bullish on seeing new jobs later this year and into next.

Rob Brown: Okay, great. Excellent, thanks for the color there. And then on the Vistra project, that's an interesting kind of project and I think it was limited notice to proceed. What's the timeline or how does that play out in terms of full notice to proceed? And I guess how the mechanics of that work.

David Watson: Sure. I mean, similar to the Shannonbridge project and a bunch of number of projects earlier, given the elongated supply chain timeline today that we face, a lot of projects are going with a limited notice to proceed early so that some of that long lead time materials or equipment can be procured to make sure that the schedule is ultimately made. So Vistra is no different than we had LNTP -- or multiple LNTPs on Shannonbridge. So while thermal has historically been our bread and butter and continues to be to this day, we are committed to building the energy transition and Vistra is kind of an exciting step for us. We're really looking forward to working with that customer.

Rob Brown: Okay. My last question is on Kilroot. There you cited some cost challenges or challenges overall. I guess, how would you kind of describe those at this point, feel like those are under control? Are there sort of areas that you see for the risk, has that?

David Watson: Yes, I mean, we're clearly disappointed with where we are in the project. Just to give a little background on the job, Kilroot is a 660-megawatt gas-fired power plant being built just outside of Belfast in an existing structure built in the early 80's to house coal-fired power generation assets. So once it's completed, it will create a significant new electricity generation asset for the island of Ireland. We started the project in late 2021 and are approximately 80 plus percent complete with completion scheduled for early next year. You think encountered a number of meaningful challenges on the job, including the Omicron variant, COVID-19, the Ukraine war and their impacts on the global supply chains and prices, 50-year rains and building on a Brownfield building site among other factors.

So, that -- those challenges have resulted in us having to reverse certain previously recorded profit on the job and we are working hard to achieve the completion of the project in a way that is reasonably acceptable to all stakeholders.

Rob Brown: Okay, thank you. I'll turn it over.

David Watson: Thanks, Rob.

Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] And the next question is coming from Chris Moore from CJS Securities. Chris, your line is live.

Chris Moore: Good afternoon, guys. Thanks for taking a few questions.

David Watson: Good afternoon, Chris.

Chris Moore: Good afternoon. So, Shannonbridge looks like it's going to be a pretty quick turn. So will that start ramping this quarter or Q4?

David Watson: Yes, good question. We started earlier this year pursuant to the limited notices to proceed. And given that this is an emergency or rush job, activity on the job site pursuant to LNTP has been significant. I mean, the schedule is to finish by early next year, so there is a lot of work being performed in a short period of time. And it's -- yes it is already ramping -- or ramped, Chris. I mean, I walked the job site about a month ago and activity was happening everywhere, so really impressive.

Chris Moore: Got it. I assume the margins associated with this project are little bit lower than the bigger U.S. natural gas projects?

David Watson: It all depends on the contractual terms and the risk -- the commercial risks that we take on. And so it's hard to be able to make that differentiation.

Chris Moore: So there is potential for excess margin at the end like a traditional U.S. natural gas contract?

David Watson: It is our goal to have a successful project for everyone that that we do and to account for it as best we can.

Chris Moore: Fair enough. How about -- just in terms of Trumbull, kind of the timing of when you think it will be at kind of peak quarterly revenue and obviously to the timeframe on your sheet? I'm just trying to get a little better sense for the ramp?

David Watson: So we are right on schedule and very happy with the progress of the Trumbull job, another huge job for us in Ohio. I would expect given the cadence of -- well, this schedule and the cadence of any gas-fired power plant job that the peak activity will be reached during the latter half of fiscal year '25 and on into fiscal year '26.

Chris Moore: Got it. Other income was meaningfully higher than I had modeled. That $4.1 million, is that -- is that sustainable for the balance of fiscal '24?

David Watson: It's -- we're pleased to have the strong balance sheet that we have and we've been purposeful in putting that money to work, not only in short-term money market funds and CDs, but also in longer duration treasury bills and the yields that we're seeing, like you're seeing everywhere is north of on average only around 5% or so. So is the $4.1 million sustainable? There were a couple of other things that run through the other income line item, Chris, but the majority of it is the interest and dividend income from our investments. And so it's something that's meaningful.

Chris Moore: Got it. And maybe just my last. Want to follow-up on one to Rob's on the pipeline. So it sounds like you're looking for new projects hopefully later this fiscal year or early next. I guess, the question is are there -- how many significant natural gas slide decks or potential projects in the U.S.? Are there -- many of these days -- I'm just trying to get a sense in terms of kind of what the overall backdrop looks like.

David Watson: Yes, so there's a number of converging forces some, some that are positive, some that are challenging. Some of the positive data points Chris is the OEMs are getting really busy again. And their production lines are basically full speed ahead. So, if some wants to build a thermal or a gas-fired power plant, they need to get a turbine ordered early in the process. So that should be very telling as to where the interest in and is in gas-fired power plants, not just in the U.S., but internationally. That being said, as I mentioned earlier when I was responding to a question from Rob, there is -- there's the PJM, there is the delays in the capacity auctions. There is the interconnection process that's getting in the middle of restructuring that's been gummed up.

So there's a number of in MISO being overloaded. So there's a number of things that kind of go against that. And then in general, they -- gas power plants, there -- we see a number of them being cited developers trying to set up, not just developers that are private, but also public utilities and we're excited about what we're seeing over the next couple of years and on.

Chris Moore: Got it. That's helpful. I will leave it there. Thanks, David.

David Watson: Thanks, Chris.

Operator: Thank you. There were no other questions in the queue at this time. I would now like to hand the call back to David Watson for closing remarks.

David Watson: Great. Thank you everybody for joining us for our Q2 fiscal '24 earnings call. I appreciate the participation and the interest in our company. I look forward to speaking with each of you next time we have a call. Take care.

Operator: Thank you. This does conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time and have a wonderful day. Thank you for your participation.
One of Beaver Countys few remaining independent pharmacies closed in August after 16 years in business.

Beaver Health Mart along Third Street in downtown Beaver hosted a liquidation sale this week after closing up shop weeks prior. Items for sale included medical equipment like canes and rolling walkers, office supplies, shelving, wound care products and COVID-19 tests and masks.

Customers in August were told their prescriptions would transfer to Walgreens in Rochester; anyone wishing to move to another pharmacy should contact Walgreens.

Owner and pharmacist Adrienne Cervone purchased Beaver Health Mart in 2007. Its not yet clear whats next for the space.

It has been a pleasure being dedicated to a healthy Beaver, staff said on Facebook.

Neighborhood North Museum of Play to launch digital makerspace

Beaver Falls Neighborhood North Museum of Play will develop a makerspace to boost digital comprehension in Beaver County.

The museum secured a $50,000 grant from the Eden Hall Foundation to expand access to digital technologies for Beaver Falls students. The space will be dedicated to vinyl cutting, 3D printing and other tools to integrate digital technology and creative efforts.

Beaver Falls Neighborhood North Museum of Play will develop a digital makerspace to boost digital comprehension in Beaver County.

The first project is slated for October, and the space is expected to open to the public by late September.

Participation in the digital makerspace for children and families will be covered by the cost of admission.

Neighborhood North staff will receive professional development from the Carnegie Science Center through September.

We sought this grant to help make digital technologies more accessible to kids, but part of what makes a digital makerspace exciting is that it creates an accessible entry point for learning about STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and computer science for adult learners too, said Christine Kroger, executive director of Neighborhood North Museum of Play. That helps adults, of course, but it also helps the kids when their parents or grandparents have more comfort around new technologies and can help navigate the tools needed to help with homework, job applications, etc.

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Visit www.neighborhoodnorth.com for more information.

Sisters of St. Joseph unveil new public electric vehicle chargers in Baden

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden in August celebrated the opening to two public-facing ChargePoint electric vehicle charging stations at the congregations 80-acre 1020 W. State St. location in Baden.

The Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden in August celebrated the opening of two public-facing ChargePoint electric vehicle charging stations at the congregations 80-acre 1020 W. State St. location.

The stations, funded with assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Duquesne Light initiatives, can accommodate four vehicles at once, offering drivers 12-25 range per hour capacities.

The stations are among the first publicly available electric vehicle chargers in Beaver County, joining stations at the Beaver County Courthouse parking garage, Raccoon Creek State Park and the Ambridge borough complex. To commemorate the milestone, the congregation held an Aug. 16 grand opening complete with an Electric Slide performance.

EV charging stations at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden grounds.

Our whole purpose in life as religious women is to be what God wants us to be and help the world to be what God wants it to be, said Sister Mary Parks, who drives the Sisters first fully electric vehicle to work and ministry sites. Its not just about having consciousness about whats happening (to our environment), its about having a conscience. We cannot leave this world the way its going for our children."

Investment companies buy Wine Concrete Products in Economy

A pair of Pittsburgh-based real estate investment companies purchased Economys Wine Concrete Products earlier this summer.

Mike Locke, along with Ben and Zach Hoffman, purchased the company from longtime owner Floyd Wine  who operated the business since the early 1990s and will remain on as a consultant with the company during the transition.

The acquisition includes a 16-acre complex along Big Sewickley Creek Road comprising the company's ready-mix concrete plant, a 25,000-square-foot precast manufacturing facility, along with all inventory, equipment and a fleet of mixers and tractor trailers.

Wine Concrete Products Property.

According to Beaver County property records, Sewickley Creek Partners purchased the site at 1000 Big Sewickley Creek Road for $500,000 in July. New owners plan to make significant investments to upgrade and modernize the plant, including updating its fleet of mixers. In addition to the onsite ready-mix concrete plant, Wine Concrete specializes in PennDOT-certified precast stormwater/sewer products and electrical vaults.

New owners will retain the company's 25 full-time employees. They expect to eventually add positions while enhancing Wine Concrete's marketing and business development program.

Steamfitters funding to broaden diversity in building trades

New funding to Steamfitters Local 449 will allow the union to bolster its registered apprenticeship program in the building and construction trades by hiring 25 new apprenticeships with a focus on diversity and inclusion.

The $90,000 state Department of Labor and Industry funding will foster training for women and people of color hoping to enter the building and construction trades, said state Rep. Rob Matzie, D-16, Harmony Township.

The building and construction trades offer good-paying, family-sustaining jobs, but for too long, women, people of color, workers with disabilities and others have lacked access to the apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs that provide the best entry into these careers, Matzie said. The new funding is going to help change that by providing new opportunities for these underrepresented workers."

Steamfitters Local 449 serves workers in Beaver County and 14 others in the region.

Biz in the Valley is a monthly roundup of business happenings in the Beaver Valley and beyond. To submit an item, email csuttles@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Biz in the Valley: Beaver Health Mart closes, Neighborhood North to open digital makerspace & more
Air France-KLM Group and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aiming at enhancing their collaboration across passenger operations, loyalty programmes, talent development, and maintenance.

The signing ceremony took place at the Air France-KLM Groups headquarters in Paris, France in the presence of Angus Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer, Air France-KLM, and Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer, Etihad Airways.

Through this partnership, and subject to any necessary regulatory approvals, Air France-KLM and Etihad contemplate expanding their codeshare and interline agreements initiated in 2012. As a first step, more than 40 new routes covering destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Australia have been made available for booking as of now, for travel as early as the winter 2023 season.

The MoU also proposes the ability for frequent flyers of both Flying Blue and Etihad Guest to earn and redeem miles with Air France, KLM, and Etihad. The airlines will also explore terminal co-location, reciprocal lounge access and ground handling, among other initiatives.

Etihad currently operates daily flights to both Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol from Abu Dhabi international airport.

Air France will start operating daily flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Abu Dhabi International Airport from October 29, 2023.

Angus Clarke, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Air France-KLM, said: "I'm delighted to further develop our partnership with Etihad Airways. This 11-year collaboration is now expanding even further, as we aim to explore opportunities in maintenance and loyalty, in addition to enhancing our route network for the benefit of our customers from all around the world. The attractiveness of Abu Dhabi as a destination and a hub, powered by Etihad's large footprint spanning South and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia, brings significant richness to this partnership. This moment marks our shared commitment to providing seamless, premium, customer-centric travel experiences to our shared global customer base."

Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer at Etihad, said: We are excited to expand our collaboration with Air France-KLM, with this MoU serving as a testament to our shared vision of creating premium journeys for our guests. This MoU builds on our existing partnership by exploring deeper network enhancements as we offer improved connectivity between Abu Dhabi and Paris, and leveraging the extensive AF-KL network to Europe and beyond. It reaffirms Etihads intent to bolster Abu Dhabis cultural and economic growth as we look forward to welcoming more guests to our home enjoying better travel benefits and enhanced customer experiences along the way.

Earlier this year, Air France-KLM announced it had signed a MoU with Abu Dhabis Department of Culture and Tourism with the aim of reinforcing connectivity between Europe and Abu Dhabi.  TradeArabia News Service
The market has staged a remarkable rebound in 2023, with many stocks delivering outsized gains on the back of improved sentiment. And given the strong performance, many have feared valuations have become too expensive.

However, thats not the case for all stocks, including Celestica CLS, StoneCo STNE, and Check Point Software Technologies CHKP. All three sport sound valuation levels and carry solid growth profiles, undoubtedly a positive pairing.

And for the cherry on top, all three have seen their near-term earnings outlooks shift favorably, reflecting optimism among analysts. Lets take a closer look at each.

Celestica

Celestica is one of the world's largest electronics manufacturing services companies, serving the computer and communications sectors. Analysts have taken their earnings expectations higher across the board, landing the stock into a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Zacks Investment Research



Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The companys shares arent valuation stretched given its growth trajectory, currently trading at a 10.4X forward earnings multiple. Celesticas earnings are forecasted to see 20% growth on 9% higher revenues in its current year.

In addition, Celestica has been a consistent earnings performer, exceeding earnings and revenue expectations in back-to-back releases. Just in its latest print, the company delivered a 15% EPS beat and reported revenue 6% ahead of expectations.

As we can see below, the companys top line has recently seen a growth acceleration.

Zacks Investment Research



Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

StoneCo

StoneCo, a current Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), offers an end-to-end cloud-based technology platform to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels. Analysts have taken their earnings expectations higher across all timeframes.

Zacks Investment Research



Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The companys growth profile is hard to ignore, with Zacks Consensus Estimates calling for 130% EPS growth in its current year paired with a 5% revenue uptick. Peeking ahead to FY24, expectations allude to a further 24% uptick in earnings on 10% higher sales.

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STNE shares presently trade at a 16.2X forward earnings multiple, nicely beneath 2022 highs of 66.9X and the respective Zacks Internet  Software industry average.

Zacks Investment Research



Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Check Point Software Technologies

Check Point Software Technologies is a well-known provider of information technology (IT) security solutions across the world. Like those above, the stock has enjoyed positive earnings estimate revisions, landing it into a favorable Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Zacks Investment Research



Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

CHKP shares currently trade at a 16.4X forward earnings multiple, below the 19.8X five-year median and the respective Zacks industry average. Over the last five years, shares have traded as high as 23.9X.

Zacks Investment Research



Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Check Point Software carries a solid growth profile, with earnings expected to expand more than 10% on 4% higher revenues in its current year. The companys revenue has remained highly consistent, as we can see illustrated in the chart below.

Zacks Investment Research



Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Bottom Line

Despite the markets blistering run year-to-date, not all stocks have become expensive.

And for those seeking deals, all three tech stocks above  Celestica CLS, StoneCo STNE, and Check Point Software Technologies CHKP  could be great considerations.

All three sport solid growth projections paired with favorable Zacks Ranks, with the latter reflecting bullishness among analysts.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Celestica, Inc. (CLS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

StoneCo Ltd. (STNE) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research
Long-established in the Utilities - Regulated industry, CenterPoint Energy Inc (NYSE:CNP) has enjoyed a stellar reputation. It has recently witnessed a surge of 2.05%, juxtaposed with a three-month change of -2.92%. However, fresh insights from the GuruFocus Score Rating hint at potential headwinds. Notably, its diminished rankings in financial strength, growth, and valuation suggest that the company might not live up to its historical performance. Join us as we dive deep into these pivotal metrics to unravel the evolving narrative of CenterPoint Energy Inc.

CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Understanding the GF Score

The GF Score is a stock performance ranking system developed by GuruFocus using five aspects of valuation, which has been found to be closely correlated to the long-term performances of stocks by backtesting from 2006 to 2021. The stocks with a higher GF Score generally generate higher returns than those with a lower GF Score. Therefore, when picking stocks, investors should invest in companies with high GF Scores. The GF Score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 as the highest rank.

Based on the above method, GuruFocus assigned CenterPoint Energy Inc the GF Score of 69 out of 100, which signals poor future outperformance potential.

CenterPoint Energy Inc: A Snapshot

CenterPoint Energy Inc, with a market cap of $17.62 billion and sales of $9.27 billion, operates in the Utilities - Regulated industry. The company provides transmission and distribution services to more than 2.5 million customers in the Houston area, southern Indiana, and west central Ohio. It also has natural gas distribution systems in six states serving approximately 4 million customers. The company's operating margin stands at 17.9%.

Story continues

CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Financial Strength Analysis

CenterPoint Energy Inc's financial strength indicators present some concerning insights about the company's balance sheet health. The company's interest coverage ratio of 2.89 positions it worse than 61.74% of 426 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry. This ratio highlights potential challenges the company might face when handling its interest expenses on outstanding debt. The company's Altman Z-Score is just 0.78, which is below the distress zone of 1.81. This suggests that the company may face financial distress over the next few years. Additionally, the company's low cash-to-debt ratio at 0.04 indicates a struggle in handling existing debt levels. Furthermore, the company's debt-to-Ebitda ratio is 5.76, which is above Joel Tillinghast's warning level of 4 and is worse than 69.72% of 436 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry.

Growth Prospects

A lack of significant growth is another area where CenterPoint Energy Inc seems to falter, as evidenced by the company's low Growth rank. The company's revenue has declined by -0.5 per year over the past three years, which underperforms worse than 83.75% of 480 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry. Stagnating revenues may pose concerns in a fast-evolving market. Lastly, CenterPoint Energy Inc predictability rank is just one star out of five, adding to investor uncertainty regarding revenue and earnings consistency.

CenterPoint Energy Inc (CNP): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Conclusion

Given the company's financial strength, profitability, and growth metrics, the GuruFocus Score Rating highlights the firm's unparalleled position for potential underperformance. While CenterPoint Energy Inc has a strong reputation in the Utilities - Regulated industry, its current financial and growth indicators suggest that it may struggle to maintain its historical performance. Therefore, investors should exercise caution when considering this stock.

GuruFocus Premium members can find more companies with strong GF Scores using the following screener link: GF Score Screen

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


The Scene

Little has changed four years after the CEOs of Americas biggest companies promised a more egalitarian approach to business, according to a Semafor analysis of corporate filings.

The splashy 2019 commitment from the Business Roundtable and its 181 CEO signatories redefined the purpose of a corporation as more than just a blind pursuit of profits.

Yet corporate spoils are still shared overwhelmingly with shareholders, not employees. While executive compensation wasnt specifically called out in the pledge, CEO pay has continued to soar, outpacing raises handed out to hourly workers, less out of generosity than a post-pandemic scramble to hire workers.

In 2018, the year before the BRT made its commitments, the average CEO made about 140 times what his or her average worker took home. Last year, that ratio was 186 to 1.

Among the BRTs 20 largest firms, CEO pay has risen from 324 times that of the median worker in 2018 to 441 times in 2022.

Twelve of them spent more of their free cash flow last year buying back stock than they did five years ago. Six, including Exxon, Procter & Gamble, and Coca-Cola, spent less on physical investments and technology in 2022 than in 2018, despite soaring profits. Six now have lower ESG scores from S&P Global than when they signed the BRT statement.

The Business Roundtable meets next week in Washington with a more earthly agenda as corporate bosses worry about rising tensions with China, push for reforming the permitting process for big infrastructure projects, and lobby for retaining expiring tax benefits.

Lizs view

I think CEOs mostly meant it in 2019. Their failure to follow through says a lot about the cold wind thats swept in the past two years through a business community that is desperate to drop the do-gooderism, quit getting yelled at by Vivek Ramaswamy, and get back to business.

Larry Fink has dialed back the ESG talk after becoming a target of conservatives. Salesforce ditched its wellness culture for one of high performance, and CEO Marc Benioff has stopped touting his liberal politics. At Davos this year, executives were largely absent from the conferences virtue-signaling, Ukraine-toasting, turnip-juice-guzzling mainstage, packing their schedules instead with client meetings in cloistered hotel suites.

Story continues

Marc Pritchard, Procter & Gambles chief brand officer, said last year that companies have gone a bit too far into the good at the expense of growth, and entrants at this summers Cannes Lions advertising awards were advised by one juror to dial down the politics and focus on selling shit.

A development that feels closely related: Nearly a third of those who joined companies in diversity-related roles after the 2020 death of George Floyd  which spurred a flood of statements and new goals from big companies  have already left, according to Live Data Technologies, which tracks employment trends.

The corporate softening of the 2010s, when CEOs set diversity goals and shared dog photos on Instagram, feels like a relic. It was hustled along by the #MeToo movement and hit a gauzy peak during 2020, with the pandemic and widespread racial-justice protests. A wave of anti-Asian violence and Russias invasion of Ukraine were also morally unambiguous issues on which to take a stand.

But todays questions are more deeply divisive  see: Bud Light boycott and CEOs are all too happy to stick their heads back below the parapets.

Room for Disagreement

The S&P 500 ESG index, which excludes about a third of the S&P 500 index for one unsavory practice or another, has beaten the market each of the past four years, so theres clearly value in standing for .

And over the past few months, companies have trimmed buybacks in favor of physical investments, suggesting a longer-term view of value.

Notable
YCharts

Novo Nordisk is now the biggest company in Europe with a valuation of more than $425 billion.

The biotech company has taken over luxury goods maker LVMH in market cap size.

Novo Nordisk has seen soaring demand for its weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.

Our Chart of the Day is a comparison between the valuations of two European companies: Novo Nordisk and luxury goods maker LVMH.

Novo Nordisk became the biggest company in Europe this week, edging out LVMH with a market valuation of $425 billion. LVMH had long held the status of Europe's largest company, but its more than 20% decline since a mid-July peak now gives it a current valuation of about $390 billion.

Novo Nordisk manufactures two popular weight-loss drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, and soaring demand has made it difficult to keep supply readily available. The company launched Wegovy in the UK earlier this week, helping boost shares further.

Year to date, shares of Novo Nordisk are up 42%, whereas shares of LVMH are up about 12%. Investors have grown more and more bullish on Novo Nordisk as its weight-loss drugs have also been shown to have a sizable impact in reducing the chance of heart attacks in overweight patients.

On the flip side, as investors grow concerned about a US consumer that is due for a slowdown amid the restart of student loan payments, LVMH has taken a hit, as one of the first items consumers will likely cut back on, if they feel financial pressure, is spending on luxury goods.

Meanwhile, China's faltering economy, which has seen consumers there hold back on discretionary spending, is also weighing on shares of luxury companies.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Renju Jose and Lewis Jackson

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Workers at Chevron's liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Australia went on strike on Friday after talks broke down, potentially disrupting output from facilities that account for over 5% of global supply.

No further talks were scheduled between the unions and the U.S. energy major, according to the website of the Fair Work Commission, Australia's industrial umpire, which had mediated five days of negotiations.

Australia is the world's biggest LNG exporter and its main buyers are in Asia. The dispute over wages and conditions at Chevron's Gorgon and Wheatstone operations has supported British and European gas prices, as traders anticipate lower Australian supplies would intensify competition from other sources.

European gas prices spiked as much as 12% after Friday's strike news.

The work stoppages, designed to escalate in coming weeks, come after domestic producer Woodside Energy averted strikes at its nearby North West Shelf LNG facility last month in a deal with the same unions that raised salaries and made it harder to hire contractors or change rosters.

"Unfortunately, following numerous meetings and conciliation sessions before the Fair Work Commission, we remain apart on key terms," a Chevron spokesperson said. The company said unions were demanding terms "above and beyond" others in the industry, without elaborating.

Brad Gandy, a spokesperson for the Offshore Alliance, said the union coalition had agreed "in good faith" to the mediated talks, "but after five days Chevron has barely budged".

"Chevron are being unreasonable and downright unusual in their behaviour," he said in a statement. "Offshore Alliance members call on them to change tack so this dispute can be settled."

CHEVRON TO MAINTAIN OPERATIONS

The two sides are at odds on issues including pay, job security, rosters and rules around overtime and transfers between Chevron facilities.

Story continues

Work stoppages of up to 11 hours are set to continue through Thursday, ratcheting up to a total strike until Sept. 29 if the dispute remains unresolved.

Chevron said it would continue to take steps to maintain operations if any disruptions occur, without giving details. The unions have warned that the LNG plant would have to be shut down "if there are not competent personnel to undertake handovers during work stoppages".

How the disruption could play out was not immediately clear. China and Japan are the top two buyers of Australian LNG, followed by South Korea and Taiwan.

Energy analyst Saul Kavonic said the strikes appeared to be designed to put more pressure on Chevron to cut a deal rather than substantially affect production.

"A full shutdown of the facilities simply cannot occur for long as it would cause an energy crisis in Western Australia that would see the government intervene to halt any strikes," he said

The strikes had been scheduled to begin on Thursday morning, but unions pushed back the start twice after making progress in the mediated talks.

(Reporting by Renju Jose and Lewis Jackson in Sydney; Editing by Leslie Adler, Jamie Freed, Miral Fahmy and William Mallard)
(Bloomberg) -- China plans to expand a ban on the use of iPhones in sensitive departments to government-backed agencies and state companies, a sign of growing challenges for Apple Inc. in its biggest foreign market and global production base.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Several agencies have begun instructing staff not to bring their iPhones to work, people familiar with the matter said, affirming a previous report from the Wall Street Journal. In addition, Beijing intends to extend that restriction far more broadly to a plethora of state-owned enterprises and other government-controlled organizations, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a sensitive matter.

If Beijing goes ahead, the unprecedented blockade will be the culmination of a yearslong effort to root out foreign technology use in sensitive environments, coinciding with Beijings effort to reduce its reliance on American software and circuitry. It threatens to erode Apples position in a market that yields about a fifth of its revenue, and from where it makes the majority of the worlds iPhones through sprawling factories that employ millions of Chinese.

Its unclear how many companies or agencies could eventually adopt restrictions on personal devices, and theres been no formal or written injunction as yet, the people said. State firms or organizations will likely vary in how strictly they enforce such bans, with some forbidding Apple devices from the workplace while others could bar employees from using them entirely.

Chinese state firms like oil giant PetroChina Co. employ millions and control vast swathes of a centrally planned economy. Given Apples relationship with Beijing and its importance to the economy, it has historically been viewed as relatively safe in China from government restrictions, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brandon Nispel said in a report Wednesday. Is the government changing its stance?

Story continues

A representative for Cupertino, California-based Apple didnt respond to a request for comment. The State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the State Council Information Office didnt respond to faxed requests for comment.

Apple shares fell 2.9% Thursday in New York, following a 3.6% decline on Wednesday  their biggest single-day drop since Aug. 4. European chipmakers, including Apple supplier STMicroelectronics NV, also declined on Thursday.

Read More: Apples 2-Day Slide Nears $200 Billion on China IPhone Curbs

Apple enjoys widespread popularity in China, despite rising resentment of American efforts to contain the Asian countrys technology industry. The companys iPhones are among the nations bestsellers and are common in both the government and private sector.

But the blockade on the devices coincides with stepped-up efforts to develop domestic technology that can match or even surpass American innovation. Last week, the release of a Huawei Technologies Co. smartphone that contained an advanced made-in-China processor caused a stir on both sides of the Pacific. State media celebrated an early triumph against harsh US sanctions, while one US lawmaker called for an investigation into possible violations of those curbs.

Foreign devices have long been discouraged in sensitive agencies, particularly as Beijing escalated a campaign in recent years to reduce a reliance on technology from the US, Chinas geopolitical rival.

Employees at some central government regulators received instructions via chat groups and in meetings to stop bringing such gadgets into the office, the Journal reported earlier, citing people familiar with the matter. Its not clear how widely the orders were issued, it said.

Read More: China Orders Government, State Firms to Dump Foreign PCs

In 2022, Beijing ordered central government agencies and state-backed corporations to replace foreign-branded personal computers with domestic alternatives within two years, marking one of the most aggressive efforts to eradicate key overseas technology from within its most sensitive organs.

The Biden administration, meanwhile, has sought to limit exports of cutting-edge semiconductor equipment to China. And Chinas top chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., has come under scrutiny for supplying components to Huawei  a company the US has blacklisted.

Read More: SMICs Huawei Chip May Violate Sanctions, US Lawmaker Says

Even with US-China ties fraying, Apple remains highly dependent on the Asian country  both as a manufacturing partner and a market for its products. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook celebrated that relationship during a trip to China earlier this year, calling it symbiotic.

China also was one of the highlights of Apples results last quarter, helping offset a generally sluggish period. The company is preparing to unveil its latest iPhones next week, setting the stage for a holiday quarter that is invariably its biggest sales period of the year.

--With assistance from Mark Gurman, Jing Zhao and Jessica Sui.

(Updates share reaction in the seventh paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Clinical Laserthermia Systems Americas, Inc.

Minimally Invasive, Outpatient Treatment Designed for Quick Recovery and Low Risk of Unwanted ED and UI Side Effects

WASHINGTON, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CLS Americas, a leading provider of office-based, focal laser ablation systems in the US urology market, today announced it will exhibit its TRANBERG Thermal Therapy System for focal laser ablation at the Focal Therapy Society Annual Meeting 2023 being held this September 7-9, 2023 in Washington, DC. The TRANBERG system is designed to work with multiple MR/US fusion image guidance systems for precise and accurate tumor ablation in a minimally invasive, outpatient setting in a urology office or clinic. The system is FDA 510(k) cleared for soft tissue ablation in a urology setting.



In the US, over one million prostate biopsies are performed every year leading to a diagnosis of prostate cancer for almost 250,000 men. Compared to other focal therapies, focal laser ablation therapy has demonstrated higher levels of precision and accuracy with lower risk of side effects, such as erectile dysfunction and urinary incontinence.

CLS Americas is pleased to exhibit its latest TRANBERG focal laser ablation system at this years Focal Therapy Society 2023 Conference, stated Michael Magnani, president of CLS Americas. In addition to our various feasibility studies, TRANBERG is now commercially available for purchase or via our Mobile Services Provider (MSP) Agreement, a bundled service offering, with consumable accessories, training, and on-site clinical and technical staff support to physicians and staff during procedures. We are excited to offer this safe, minimally invasive, outpatient treatment to urology offices and clinics.

TRANBERG Thermal Therapy System

The TRANBERG Thermal Therapy System can be configured for MR/US fusion-guided procedures using real-time tissue temperature measurements for precise therapy and ablation control. It includes a desk-top mobile laser unit, innovative non-cooled laser applicators, tissue temperature probes, and procedure-specific accessories. The TRANBERG system can be deployed in either a transperineal or transrectal approach. The TRANBERG system is 510(k) cleared for soft tissue ablation, such as prostate.

Story continues

About CLS Americas

Clinical Laserthermia Systems Americas Inc, based in Irvine, CA, is responsible for the sales, commercial development, operations and clinical support for the TRANBERG Thermal Therapy System and accessories for the US urology market. The powerful system provides minimally invasive, high precision, focal laser ablation using MR or MR US Fusion for image guidance and has received FDA 510 (k) clearance in the US for soft tissue ablation, such as prostate.

CLS Americas is a subsidiary of Clinical Laserthermia Systems AB (publ) headquartered in Lund, Sweden. which has subsidiaries in Germany, the US and Singapore. For more information about CLS, please visit the Company's website: www.clinicallaser.com. CLS Americas Contact: Phone: +1 (949) 504-5440, E-mail: contact-us@clinicallaser.com.

CONTACT: Company Contact: CLS Americas: Michael Magnani, President T: +1 (949) 504-5440 E: michael.magnani@clinicallaser.com Media Contact: CLS Americas TopSpin Communications Joe Waldygo, President P: +1 (480)363-8774 E: joe@topspinpr.com




In this issue

Coinbase ventures into crypto lending NFTs: Losses pile up Singapores president-elect: Whats next for crypto?

From the Editors Desk

Dear Reader,

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The old aphorism sounds better in the original French (plus ca change, plus cest la meme chose) but its true in any language and, as we watch institutional capital mobilize in crypto, its arguably applicable to our industry as much as it is to anything else.

Take, for instance, Coinbases launch of a crypto lending service for institutional investors in the U.S. This is a fairly clear sign that  at least in the eyes of the exchange, Americas biggest  the road to widespread crypto adoption runs through TradFi.

Coinbases involvement with such Wall Street super-heavyweights as BlackRock, for whose planned Bitcoin exchange-traded fund it aims to provide custody services, and Fidelity, which it is seeking to serve as a surveillance partner, does little to counter that impression.

TradFi has long flirted with crypto and digital assets, which is understandable, given the latters multiple points of appeal as an asset class, a potential source of operational efficiencies, a paradigm-changing innovation, and an unapologetic means of making money. Yet the relationship between the two remains unconsummated.

Thats not because theres a lack of va-va-voom, but simply because the ecosystems involved differ so markedly. Combining two types of radically different infrastructure, after all, takes a lot of time and an enormous amount of effort.

Regulators and other finance sector authorities worldwide have been finding that out as theyve tried to get TradFi to consume crypto. Singapores central bank is further along in that process than most, having roped some of the most established names in finance into its digital asset development strategy in a bid to tame the phenomenon. More distracted authorities, such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), seem to be making a meal of the process.

Story continues

But even the gnomes of Singapores Monetary Authority will find out, as they seek to preserve the finance sectors status quo while giving it a powerful dose of innovation, its not just crypto thatll have to change.

Until the next time,

Angie Lau,

Founder and Editor-in-Chief

Forkast.News

1. Strategic offering

Coinbase is not letting legal skirmishes weigh on its plans as seen in the launch of its crypto lending program and Base, an Ethereum layer-2 chain. Image: Coinbase/Canva

Following the vacuum left by collapsed crypto lenders such as Celsius Network, BlockFi and Genesis Global, which saw significant losses in 2022 that drove them into bankruptcies, crypto exchange Coinbase has launched a crypto lending program for institutional investors in the U.S., according to a filing with the U.S. SEC last Friday.

The program will allow institutions to lend digital assets to Coinbase under standardized terms in a product that qualifies for a Regulation D exemption, a Coinbase spokesperson said in a Tuesday statement seen by Bloomberg. The exemption allows companies to offer a limited amount of securities without registering with the SEC.

According to a filing with the SEC on Sept. 1, Coinbase has applied for the exemption through its subsidiary Coinbase Credit. The program saw its first sale on Aug. 28 and had already raised US$57 million from investors.

The move followed a recent crackdown on the crypto exchange in the U.S., with the SEC charging Coinbase on June 6 for alleged securities law violations, saying the companys staking-as-a-service program constitutes unregistered offer and sale of securities, which Coinbase strongly disagreed with.

Coinbase also suspended its crypto staking services in the states of California, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Wisconsin on July 14, after the four states ordered the crypto exchange to ban retail customers from the services.

Forkast.Insights | What does it mean?

Coinbase is strategically positioning itself to dominate the crypto landscape. The recent selection of Coinbase by BlackRock, the worlds largest asset manager, as its custodian for a proposed spot Bitcoin ETF underscores its rising stature in the industry. Moreover, when Cboes BZX Exchange refiled its spot Bitcoin ETF applications, it too named Coinbase as the player for its surveillance-sharing agreement, covering proposals from top-tier institutions like Fidelity.

Adding to its arsenal of offerings, Coinbase recently launched Base, an Ethereum layer-2 chain. Within its initial month, Base has managed to secure over US$400 million in crypto assets locked in the network, making it the eighth-largest blockchain for decentralized finance applications, as per DeFiLlama data.

Diversifying its services, Coinbase has also ventured into the lending domain, targeting institutional clientele. This move appears timely, especially with the vacuum created by the unfortunate bankruptcy of former prominent crypto lenders like BlockFi, Genesis, and Celsius Network.

On the competitive front, while Binance continues to be a significant player, recent regulatory challenges and partnership losses in several regions might create room for competitors like Coinbase to reduce the volume gap. As of the latest figures, Coinbases 24-hour trading volume stands at US$718 million, compared to Binances commanding US$5 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Coinbase is currently engaged in a legal skirmish of its own against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The crux of the conflict stems from the SECs claim that Coinbase functioned as an unregistered broker and exchange for certain cryptocurrencies deemed as securities. Coinbase has retaliated, seeking a dismissal on the grounds of jurisdictional overreach by the SEC. The recent verdict in favor of Ripple Labs, determining that the XRP tokens sale on exchanges like Coinbase didnt infringe upon securities rules, might serve as a precedent and have potential implications for Coinbases ongoing battle.

2. Whats the value of NFTs?

Recent charges against NFT project Impact Theory fuel market uncertainty, leading to heightened selling pressures. Image: AI-generated via Midjourney

Traders are selling once prestigious non-fungible tokens at massive losses, signaling fear that most NFTs may never regain the value that they once held. The SECs charges against NFT project Impact Theory has injected fresh FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) into the markets, possibly leading to an increase in sellers realizing losses.

Total NFT losses for the week of Aug. 28 showed that sellers were on the losing end of trades with over US$11.9 million in losses.

Major losses on trades largely centered on the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection, highlighted in BAYC #8262, BAYC #8614, BAYC #2530, BAYC #9026, BAYC #5228, BAYC #966 that saw losses between US$212,000 and US$379,000.

The Forkast 500 NFT Index declined 4.2% and the ETH NFT Composite lost 1.21% since the SECs charges were filed last week, reflecting a broader loss of value across the NFT markets.



Forkast.Insights | What does it mean?

What is an NFT worth? Thats still the question that everyone is trying to figure out, and theres obviously no real answer. There are different NFTs with different values  even prices of tokens in the same collections vary. What traders have figured out is that theyre definitely not worth what they once were. Across the board, investors are either holding their NFTs or selling them at a loss, and almost universally it has become accepted that the value they once held may never return.

At its peak in April 2022, Bored Apes sold for an average of US$312,000. So far this month, its average price has fallen to US$34,000. We have years of NFT market data reflected on CryptoSlam and on the NFT Indexes to see that between market cycles, NFTs only bleed out. In fact, January is the only time of the year where NFTs increase in value, so outside of a few weeks early in the year, theres rarely a good time to even hold an NFT, let alone buy.

Most NFT collections have also fallen to all-time low prices, but these new lows still leave them priced at many thousands of dollars. Projecting when buyers may find bargains worth shopping for is almost impossible because buyers have all of the time and leverage on their side to drive prices down even further. Until the scope of the SECs NFT agenda comes into view, prices will fall, and savvy buyers who are aware that were approaching tax loss harvesting season will be wisely waiting for NFTs to be sold for literal pennies. If youre not aware, the end of the year finds traders selling NFTs for essentially nothing. In fact, there are multiple platforms created for just this purpose.

Maybe questioning the value of NFTs is the wrong approach and instead we should be asking what the purpose is of the current products offered in NFTs. If the community can solve this question, and begin delivering quality instead of quantity, they may indirectly solve the the value question

3. A new beginning

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, a 22-year veteran of the city states ruling Peoples Action Party (PAP), will be sworn in as president on Sept. 14. Image: GIC/Canva

The former chair of Singapores central bank, who once called the crypto industry purely speculative and slightly crazy, is now the city states president-elect after winning a three-way race on Saturday. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who currently holds several international appointments, including chairman of the G20s Eminent Persons Group on Global Financial Governance and member of the World Economic Forums board of trustees, will be sworn into the largely ceremonial presidential role on Sept. 14.

Tharman has been a veteran in Singapores financial governance, serving as chair of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)  the countrys central bank  from 2011 to 2023. He was the countrys finance minister between 2007 and 2015, deputy prime minister from 2011-2019 and senior minister from 2019-2023.

He said in February 2018 that cryptocurrencies were still an experiment and the MAS saw no strong case to ban cryptocurrency trading.

But as the industry developed  especially after the collapse of Terraform Labs and local crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital in 2022  the MAS began to take a more restrictive approach to the industry, such as mandating crypto firms to segregate customer assets and proposing to block retail investors from crypto staking and lending services.

At the World Economic Forum in January, Tharman said the crypto industry has to be regulated for illicit activities like money laundering. But beyond that, crypto firms should not be regulated in a similar way to banks and insurance firms as that would legitimize an industry that is inherently purely speculative and, in fact, slightly crazy.

He also sees the potential of blockchain technologies, saying in 2021 that there may be a role for crypto in future finance that extends beyond pure speculation and illicit finance, and that regulated stablecoins could play a useful role in the traditional payment system.

Forkast.Insights | What does it mean?

The election of Tharman Shanmugaratnam to the position of Singapores head of state may be regarded as an ascent in terms of pomp and ceremony, but when compared with the power he held as deputy prime minister, in his numerous ministerial posts, and, notably, in his roles first as managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore then as its chairman, it looks a lot like being put out to pasture.

Thats not to say Tharman wont have any input into policy  he will, after all, have some say on how Singapores ample financial reserves are deployed  merely to say that his previous comments on crypto will carry little official weight.

And its even the case that some of those comments, although carefully parsed by industry observers and media outlets, have sometimes been taken out of context. The fact that he once described cryptocurrencies as purely speculative and slightly crazy is not the same thing as cracking down on them China-style.

In fact, in 2021, he said: There may be a role for crypto in future finance that extends beyond pure speculation and illicit finance. Not exactly a wrecking-ball approach, is it?

Indeed, under Tharmans chairmanship, the MAS made its stance on crypto and digital assets very clear, restricting retail investors access, launching a TradFi-heavy initiative aimed at testing asset tokenization and decentralized finance applications, and just after Tharman stepped down as its chair, unveiling a regulatory framework for stablecoins.

All of which should reinforce the importance of listening to what people say, but also watching what they do.

Tharmans replacement as MAS chair is Singapores deputy prime minister, Lawrence Wong, who is being groomed to take over as prime minister, and whose line on crypto shows little sign of deviating from that of his predecessor.

A member of Singapores ruling elite who has arguably been at least equally influential when it comes to Singapores crypto stance is Ravi Menon, the MASs outgoing managing director, who steps down at the end of the year.

Wongs prime all-but-certain anointment as Singapores next leader will likely discourage him from rocking the boat. Menons departure leaves big shoes to fill. And that makes Menons replacement, MAS veteran and current Deputy Managing Director Chia Der Jiun, the man to watch.
Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers has appointed Vera Tsoncheva as Director of Finance. She brings a wealth of experience and a proven record of accomplishment of strategic financial leadership within the hospitality industry.

Tsoncheva is a highly skilled and effective Director of Finance known for her expertise in leading and developing teams to support the areas of finance, business planning, and budgeting. With a commitment to collaborating with leadership in strategic decision-making and operations, Tsoncheva has consistently demonstrated her ability to develop and lead programmes and operations related to the finance function.

She joins Conrad Abu Dhabi Etihad Towers, having held various significant positions in the hospitality sector. Most recently, she served as the Country Director of Finance for Qatar Hilton, overseeing a portfolio of 10 hotels and actively contributing to their success. - TradeArabia News Service
Mitchell Siporin's "Homeless" (1939). (Bram and Sandra Dijkstra Collection)

Three men huddle around a lit fire in an oil drum. An entire community of the dispossessed goes about its day, here hanging laundry or carrying water in buckets, there mending a tattered shirt. A homeless family stands disconsolately before their wrecked home.

"You could see this scene today," Bram Dijkstra says of the family portrait. It's not from today, however. These are paintings from the Depression 1930s, when federally funded arts programs freed artists to depict the underside of American capitalism as they saw it with their own eyes.

These paintings and many other examples of what Dijkstra calls American Expressionism are currently on display at the Oceanside Museum of Art.

Abstraction was supposed to be the great thing of the moment, but one of the nice things about abstraction is that there was no contentyou could look at the picture and see nothing except construction.

Bram Dijkstra

The exhibition, titled "Art for the People: WPA-Era Paintings From the Dijkstra Collection," was launched earlier this year at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. It will run in Oceanside through Nov. 5, then transfer to the Huntington Library in San Marino from Dec. 2 through March 18.

Although Dijkstra is correct to say that the images from the '30s could serve for the America of today, it's doubtful that their creators could be supported with government funds.

The anti-"woke" movement so beloved of conservative Republicans would never accept depictions of an American underclass or questioning of the nobility of American capitalism today. Nor would Democrats beholden to wealthy and corporate donors be inclined to fight for such funding.

Clear-eyed, truthful portrayals of American history and contemporary affairs have long been disfavored as beneficiaries of public funding  though the movement to strip them out of classrooms, textbooks and school libraries has seldom been as ferocious as it is currently.

Story continues

Dijkstra and his wife, Sandra, assembled their collection "literally by haphazardly finding things," Dijkstra, a cultural historian and professor emeritus of comparative literature at UC San Diego  and the author of a 2003 book on American Expressionism and its social relevance  told me.

Hugo Gellert's "Worker and Machine" (1928). (Bram and Sandra Dijkstra Collection)

They stumbled upon one piece  a 1928 social realist portrait by the Hungarian-born artist Hugo Gellert of a burly worker wielding an iron wrench  hanging over the fireplace of a secondhand bookshop in an old Long Beach home. (Disclosure: Sandra has been my literary agent for nearly 20 years.)

Many works are by artists whose heydays were in the 1930s and '40s but who fell into undeserved obscurity as artistic fashion in the U.S. moved away from the humanism of their approach toward depoliticized, deliberately unrealistic abstract modernism.

As the show's subtitle indicates, the key funding source for many of these artists was the Works Progress Administration, a New Deal relief agency that would put more than 8 million jobless Americans to work filling the American landscape with highways, bridges, parks and public buildings such as the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, many of them still in use today.

The WPA was headed by Harry Hopkins, a New Deal aide who worked with the settlement house anti-poverty movement before moving into politics. His background made him profoundly sensitive to the plight of the dispossessed and impervious to criticism of his efforts to assist them.

Read more: Column: Sinclair Lewis' fiery 1935 novel about a fascist coup is disturbingly prophetic

"They are damn good projects  excellent projects," he shot back. "God damn it! Here are a lot of people broke and we are putting them to work. ... As a matter of fact, we have not done enough."

The most culturally significant program of the WPA was the amalgamation of arts programs known as Federal One, encompassing the program for painters and sculptors; the Federal Music Project, which sent orchestras around the heartland to expose millions of Americans to classical music; the Federal Writers' Project, which turned out a prodigious series of guidebooks to every one of the 48 states; and the Federal Theatre Project, which not only supported Black playwrights and productions but launched the career of a precocious theatrical actor and director named Orson Welles.

Harry Sternberg's "Coal Miner and Family" (1938). (Bram and Sandra Dijkstra Collection)

Taken all together, the works in the Dijkstra collection tell an impressionistic narrative about Depression-era suffering that art historian Henry Adams, a co-author of the exhibition catalog, said was neglected, even disdained, by the American artists of the period "generally accepted as artistic giants," such as Grant Wood and Georgia O'Keeffe.

The vacuum was filled, with the help of government programs such as the WPA, by artists outside the cultural mainstream  immigrants and children of immigrants, city dwellers and Jewish artists who journeyed into the heartland and "saw things from a newcomer's standpoint" and "a fresh perspective," Adams writes.

Read more: Column: Here's why the GOP smears everything it doesn't like as 'socialism'

Many Americans did not need to be told about racial discrimination or deep poverty or the hardships of manual or factory labor  they lived those experiences personally. What the WPA artists communicated was that these experiences were shared by Americans across the land.

In "Coal Miner and Family" (1938) by Harry Sternberg, a miner chips away at a coal seam underground while his emaciated wife and children wait on the surface above him amid mining debris and ruined houses. William Ashby McCloy's "Lost Horizon" (1936) could be a gloss on Wood's "American Gothic" (1930), this time with the farming couple crouched in defeat next to a plow and a drained water barrel in a bare Dust Bowl landscape.

The single most striking work has to be Charles White's "Soldier" (1944), the subject standing in solitude under a livid sky, clutching his rifle, existential dread and despair on his face  a deliberate counterpoint by White, who had just been drafted at the age of 26, to the propaganda of America's enthusiasm for saving the world from fascism by entering the war.

Charles White's "Soldier" (1944). (Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens)

Not all the exhibition's works portray a working-class grimness. Several from the California School are uplifting celebrations of the state's natural and urban wonders  such as a view from a window with pink peonies in the foreground, looking up San Francisco's Telegraph Hill at Coit Tower by Miki Hayakawa (a central figure in the city's art community who was forced to relocate to Santa Fe in 1942 during the mass eviction of Japanese residents from California).

"Construction Workers: Solidarity in Action" (1941) by Italian-born Emanuel Romano depicts four workers raising a construction girder in choreographed synchronization, an eerie prefigurement of the photo and monument of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima.

Programs like the WPA became a lightning rod for attacks on the New Deal generally. Republicans and conservatives questioned why the government should pay workers to create culture, as opposed to assembling bricks and mortar  although Federal One accounted for a minuscule half of 1% of the WPA's total budget from its launch in 1935 through its shutdown in 1939.

Their real objection was political. That became clear in 1947, when the State Department assembled an exhibition titled "Advancing American Art" that was to traverse the globe on a five-year journey.

The Republican National Committee and conservative publications such as Henry Luce's Time and Fortune stoked public outrage over the handful of works in the show with a socially conscious theme, depicting the poverty and racial discrimination that America supposedly had transcended.

They raised alarms over the leftist, socialist, even Communist backgrounds of many of the artists. Some of these attacks emitted the acrid odor of antisemitism, as many of their targets were Jewish. The State Department canceled the world tour.

"This was the first national blitz against a specific form of art," Dijkstra says.

Read more: Column: They tried to call FDR and the New Deal 'socialist' too. Here's how he responded

The WPA itself had fallen to philistines after Hopkins moved up to the Cabinet post of Commerce secretary in 1938, and was shut down in 1943. The agency put the entire contents of its warehouse in New York City up for auction, selling a ton of bundled canvases to a junk dealer for 4 cents a pound. Luckily the dealer examined his haul and passed the canvases on to a secondhand book dealer, who sold them on to artists, experts and dealers at fire-sale prices.

Artists and their patrons got the message, Dijkstra says. In the postwar years their interest turned to abstract art. "Abstraction was supposed to be the great thing of the moment, but one of the nice things about abstraction is that there was no content  you could look at the picture and see nothing except construction," Dijkstra told me. That suited corporate arts funders, who didn't have to worry about stepping into a political mire.

Government support of art and artists will never be uncontroversial. Poet W.H. Auden considered the WPA arts programs to be at once noble and absurd: "To consider, in a time of general distress, starving artists as artists and not simply as paupers is unique to the Roosevelt administration," he wrote, warning that "a state can only function bureaucratically and impersonally," without the discretion needed to judge art.

The National Endowment for the Arts, created as part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society in 1965, is a perennial target of partisan bluenoses accusing it of all varieties of offenses against public morals and sensitivities, though efforts to abolish it have consistently failed.

The WPA art of the 1930s aimed to shine a spotlight on all the ways that American reality fell short of the American ideal. The culture warriors of today want to erase that reality entirely  in contemporary as well as historical America.

Today's partisan assault on cultural expression aims to depict the very existence of artistic insight as a danger to society itself. It's a uniquely philistine movement, but its political consequences are its most troubling aspect.

Get the latest from Michael Hiltzik

Commentary on economics and more from a Pulitzer Prize winner.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
As lawmakers face a September 30 deadline to avoid a shutdown and ultraconservative House Republicans set up a likely clash over funding the government, Senate appropriators on Wednesday announced plans to try to pass a package of three 2024 spending bills as soon as next week.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the panel, said in a joint statement that the first 2024 spending bills to be considered by the full Senate will be those covering military construction and Veterans Affairs; the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development; and Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration.

This summer, we worked with our colleagues in a bipartisan way to draft and pass out of Committee all twelve appropriations bills for the first time in yearsand did so with overwhelming bipartisan votes, Murray and Collins said in the statement. This is a critical next step as we continue working collaboratively in the Senate to keep our government funded, find common ground, and deliver for the people back home that we represent.

Why it matters: The bipartisan approach Murray and Collins highlighted stands in contrast to the appropriations process in the House, where Republicans have clashed with Democrats and among themselves about the annual spending bills.

Congress is also considering a $44 billion White House request for supplemental funding, including disaster aid and money for Ukraine. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday urged lawmakers to provide more support for Ukraine, while other Republicans, especially in the House, oppose such additional aid or want to consider the elements of the supplemental funding request separately. Since Putins escalation in Ukraine, President Biden has not been as decisive as many of us would have preferred, McConnell said. But this is no excuse for Congress to compound his administrations failures with failures of our own.

Story continues

The Senate action on government funding will only add to the pressure on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who must contend with a disgruntled group of far-right members demanding spending cuts and policy concessions while threatening to oppose a short-term funding patch needed to avoid a shutdown at the end of the month.

House Republicans are also hoping for floor action this month on their bills to fund the Pentagon, Department of Homeland Security and the State Department, Politico notes. But GOP leaders are certain to struggle, with their conference deeply divided by fiscal issues and conservatives pushing for even steeper spending cuts.

Some GOP House members insist that they wont support any funding bill that doesnt authorize a Biden impeachment inquiry  and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida this week said that Republicans should force votes on a Biden impeachment. If Speaker McCarthy stands in our way, he may not have the job long, Gaetz said.

The bottom line: Any bipartisan deal to fund the government for fiscal year 2024 remains a long way away and a short-term spending patch to avert a shutdown on October 1 also faces challenges. McCarthy is trying to buy more time beyond Sept. 30 to clear unrealistic House GOP-drafted spending measures, Punchbowl News said Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer  along with senators on both sides of the aisle  are looking to keep the spending measures clean, tidy and bipartisan.  After just one day in session following the lengthy 40-day August recess, its clear that McCarthys conference is going to struggle mightily to extract any of its legislative priorities from the Senate or the White House.

That adds up to a potentially ugly battle ahead.

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Convoys new system aims to combat cargo crime. (Photo: Convoy)

Digital freight network Convoy announced Thursday it has built a proprietary real-time transportation fraud detection system using machine learning and carrier behavioral data and cargo theft solutions providers to identify potential transportation deception and crime.

According to the companys cargo theft prevention partner, CargoNet, cargo theft has increased over 57% year over year (y/y) in Q2 2023, trailer theft has increased 17% y/y in Q2 along with an increase in double brokering schemes. There was over $223 million in cargo loss in 2022 alone.

In response, Convoy compliance executives have been working closely since January with development teams and its shipper customers to build a multistep system to combat cargo crime.

In an interview with FreightWaves, Convoys head of performance, compliance and trust, Eric Libby, explained that the company has adopted new technology throughout its freight tendering and execution process to catch the ways carrier and noncarrier scammers commit fraud.

A risk assessment is performed during onboarding, flagging teams to any past fraudulent activity or connection to fraud. Carriers that come back as high-risk are blocked from bidding on loads until legitimacy can be proven.

If a load is assigned to an approved carrier and any anomalies occur throughout transit, the operations teams are notified of that activity. Cargo sensors and GPS tracking can detect anomalies such as unloading at unexpected locations and driving out of the intended lanes.





In regard to double brokering, currently becoming an increasingly attractive scam, Convoys new system uses app behavior data and available fleet data to determine whether it is feasible for the said truck to deliver the load and will alert operations of risk.

Why go the proprietary route?

As fraud continues to gain traction, compliance providers have showcased their efforts to help mitigate these problems for transportation providers.

However, Convoy found it important to take on the responsibility for its carriers and shipper customers alike, as scams become more sophisticated.

Story continues

We elected to build this ourselves. There are plenty of options out there on the market, but we see this as a threat that is changing every day, said Ryan Gist, associate general counsel at Convoy. We need to be in control of all of the levers so if we see a new behavior, we are able to go in and quickly change our model and account for that behavior in seconds. We are not relying on someone else to do that for us.

Libby also spoke on ways that current providers weigh certain data points so heavily that it could potentially exclude reliable carrier partners.

We try to take a carrier-centric approach to observing carrier behavior and data, he said. There are a lot of false positives that come from providers. For example, saying you dont have inspections means youre bad. Inspections arent always in the carriers control. We have also heard some commentary about the Department of Transportation not accommodating carriers anymore. They used to be more open to you showing up to a weigh station and getting inspections, but a carrier shouldnt have to do that either to prove their behavior.

Gist added that those false positives are unsatisfactory for shippers.

This creates a problem for shippers because they are lulled into a false sense of security with a heuristic characteristic and they think that they are safe. Instead, you have banned 1,000 carriers from your network and have only caught one bad actor and missed out on 10 other bad actors, creating a bigger problem, he explained.

The data is working

While Convoy does still utilize data, it has found that its new fraud detection software has become increasingly effective at proactively flagging bad actors before the company even onboards them.

In Q1 there were two carriers, which we will refer to as Carrier A and Carrier B, that were reported to the industry for cargo theft, said Libby. We fed their data into our model and over the next few months, we found 24 carriers that were closely associated with both A and B. One of those new 24 carriers was Carrier C.

Libby went on to explain that in August, a new carrier, Carrier D, was flagged for being closely associated with Carrier C and was blocked from onboarding onto the app. Convoy went on to give Carrier D the opportunity to prove its legitimacy. During that process, Carrier D sent a photo of its truck that was clearly photoshopped onto Carrier Cs truck.

Convoys network graphing example. (Photo: Convoy)

They digitally altered the name and it confirmed to us our system was working correctly to catch these bad actors in real time. We reported this carrier to law enforcement to prevent this fraud from happening again and found out that in the past two weeks, Carrier D had been reported for stealing at least 10 shipments in Southern California into the millions of dollars of lost cargo.

While the system is working to eradicate these carriers from the industry, both leaders acknowledged that criminals will continue to learn new tactics.

We have created a substantial 12-to-18-month road map with additional modeling techniques to prevent these situations from happening, said Libby. We look forward to getting to artificial intelligence and seeing how that can help call out different fraudulent changes as the technology is seeing it happen.

Articles by Grace Sharkey

Read more

Convoy releases Just-In-Time service

Convoy hires bank to advise on strategic interest

Knight-Swift lays off employees after expressing market weakness

The post Convoy releases proprietary fraud detection software appeared first on FreightWaves.
The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today's research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly.

Top Upgrades:

Oppenheimer upgraded TRI Pointe Homes (TPH) to Outperform from Perform with a $36 price target. The firm notes that the stock is down 13% since mid-July, presenting an attractive entry point to own "one of the most compelling growth stories in the sector."

Truist upgraded Vail Resorts (MTN) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $290, up from $263. The stock has had several years of underperformance but now has reached an "attractive level", the firm says.

Goldman Sachs upgraded Owens Corning (OC) to Neutral from Sell with a price target of $150, up from $113. The firm has been "impressed" by the company's ability to drive incremental productivity and balance production across segments as demand moderates.

Wells Fargo upgraded McDonald's (MCD) to Overweight from Equal Weight with an unchanged price target of $310. As broader quick service restaurant trends slow, McDonald's should "stand tall" given its innovation tailwinds, digital initiatives and the consumer "flight to value," the firm says.

Top Downgrades:

Loop Capital downgraded Roku (ROKU) to Hold from Buy with an unchanged price target of $85. The firm commends the cost controls under new CFO Dan Jedda but says Roku's latest restructuring signifies the potential for slower revenue growth in 2024.

Barclays downgraded Seagate (STX) to Equal Weight from Overweight with an unchanged price target of $65. The nearline recovery continues to take longer than expected, with Q1 of 2024 now a "best case scenario for a material unit uptick," the firm says.

Evercore ISI downgraded Verint Systems (VRNT) to In Line from Outperform with a price target of $28, down from $50, following what the firm calls "a lackluster quarter" that saw the company underperform expectations "on all metrics across the board." Oppenheimer also downgraded Verint to Perform from Outperform as growth continues to deteriorate, and reduced guidance is heavily loaded to Q4.

Barclays downgraded Dell Technologies (DELL) to Underweight from Equal Weight with an unchanged price target of $53. The firm cites valuation for the downgrade following the stock's recent run-up.
Athens, Greece - (NewMediaWire) - September 7, 2023 - Christopher Hankins, MD of Premier Plastic Surgery, presented at the annual International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) event in Athens, Greece on Thursday, August 31, 2023 to discuss a surgical technique that he has utilized in the treatment of male pseudogynecomastia. ISAPS is the world's leading professional body for board-certified aesthetic plastic surgeons, with the mission to inspire and nurture aesthetic education across the globe for the safety of patients. Pseudogynecomastia is a condition in which the male breast area contains excess fatty tissue behind, under, and around the nipples. Unlike other pseudogynecomastia treatment techniques previously described in the field, Dr. Hankins' technique can reproduce a normal-appearing male breast that enables patients to take their shirts off or go to the gym without embarrassment. In other papers that Dr. Hankins has read, he was surprised to note that a word search for the word "sensation" did not appear in many documents. His technique can preserve sensation in the nipples. In fact, all patients in whom this procedure has been performed have had intact nipple sensations and have been extremely happy with the results. In addition, many papers previously written on the topic do not include a discussion of ideal male breast aesthetics. This must be the objective of surgical treatment of this condition to have an exceptional outcome. Dr. Hankins is proud to have demonstrated that it is possible to correct male pseudogynecomastia with the restoration of excellent chest aesthetics and intact nipple sensation. About Christopher Hankins, MD: Christopher Hankins, MD is a plastic surgeon who specializes in face, breast, and body aesthetic surgery at Premier Plastic Surgery in Pearland, TX. He also has advanced training in hand surgery, breast reconstruction after cancer, and other reconstructive surgical procedures. Dr. Hankins completed five plastic surgery fellowships as well as a hand surgery fellowship with highly distinguished physician mentors both in the United States and the United Kingdom, including a Plastic and Microsurgery fellowship at the Baylor College of Medicine, and a Hand Surgery fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In addition to his practice in plastic and aesthetic surgery, Dr. Hankins is actively involved in the study and clinical application of anti-aging medicine. He is a Diplomate of the American Association of Anti-Aging Medicine. He has authored 19 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and serves on the editorial boards of four medical journals and as a reviewer on three others. He has also been a presenter on a variety of plastic surgical topics at the regional, national, and international levels. Dr. Hankins has participated in plastic surgery medical missions in Peru, Bolivia, and Pakistan, where he performed a large number of surgical procedures on disadvantaged children and adults. He has served on the Board of Directors of both the Agris-Zindler Children's Foundation and the House of Charity. To learn more about Dr. Hankins and Premier Plastic Surgery, please visit https://www.pearlandpps.com/ Media Contact: Company Name: Premier Plastic Surgery

Contact Person: Jean Tang

Phone: 713-370-4433

Address: 2225 County Rd 90 suite 115

City: Pearland

State: Texas

Postal Code: 77584

Country: United States

Website: https://www.pearlandpps.com/
FILE PHOTO: Dutch health technology company Philips presents the company's financial results for the fourth quarter in Amsterdam

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Philips said on Thursday it has reached a settlement to resolve one category of legal claims against it following a major recall of the Dutch medical equipment maker's sleep apnea and respiratory devices.

The company said it has struck a deal to settle U.S. class action "economic loss" claims. Philips will make an initial payment of $479 million to a fund to cover payments claimants covered by the settlement, which will vary depending on the type of device they had.

The company had taken a 575 million euro ($615.48 million) provision in the first quarter of 2023 against estimated costs for economic loss claims.

"The final costs may vary based on how many patients participate but at the end of the day we believe the 570 million euros will cover the costs of the final settlement," spokesman Steve Klink said.

Philips recalled millions of breathing devices and ventilators used to treat sleep apnea in 2021 because foam used to dampen noise from the devices can degrade and become toxic, carrying potential cancer risks.

The company still faces other legal actions over the recall, including personal injury claims, as well as an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. It is in talks with the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration over a "consent decree" or settlement.

Lawyers from four firms who led the class action suit said the settlement was "an important step toward justice" and participants should take the agreement.

However, the lawyers said in a joint statement they would continue to pursue personal injury and other claims against the company.

"We are confident in these claims and we look forward to holding Philips accountable for the physical harm they caused patients," they said.

($1 = 0.9342 euros)

(Reporting by Toby Sterling and Tassilo Hummel;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta, Susan Fenton and David Evans)
Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Hannover Ruck (ETR:HNR1), which has not only revenues, but also profits. Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide Hannover Ruck with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.

View our latest analysis for Hannover Ruck

How Fast Is Hannover Ruck Growing?

If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. Over the last three years, Hannover Ruck has grown EPS by 15% per year. That's a pretty good rate, if the company can sustain it.

Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it's a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. The music to the ears of Hannover Ruck shareholders is that EBIT margins have grown from 3.5% to 11% in the last 12 months and revenues are on an upwards trend as well. That's great to see, on both counts.

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image.

Of course the knack is to find stocks that have their best days in the future, not in the past. You could base your opinion on past performance, of course, but you may also want to check this interactive graph of professional analyst EPS forecasts for Hannover Ruck.

Are Hannover Ruck Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

As a general rule, it's worth considering how much the CEO is paid, since unreasonably high rates could be considered against the interests of shareholders. For companies with market capitalisations over 7.5b, like Hannover Ruck, the median CEO pay is around 4.2m.

Story continues

Hannover Ruck's CEO took home a total compensation package worth 2.8m in the year leading up to December 2022. That seems pretty reasonable, especially given it's below the median for similar sized companies. While the level of CEO compensation shouldn't be the biggest factor in how the company is viewed, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally.

Should You Add Hannover Ruck To Your Watchlist?

One positive for Hannover Ruck is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. On top of that, our faith in the board of directors is strengthened by the fact of the reasonable CEO pay. So all in all Hannover Ruck is worthy at least considering for your watchlist. While we've looked at the quality of the earnings, we haven't yet done any work to value the stock. So if you like to buy cheap, you may want to check if Hannover Ruck is trading on a high P/E or a low P/E, relative to its industry.

There's always the possibility of doing well buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But for those who consider these important metrics, we encourage you to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Key Insights

Using the Dividend Discount Model, Pharmaniaga Berhad fair value estimate is RM0.40

Pharmaniaga Berhad's RM0.47 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate

Our fair value estimate is 16% higher than Pharmaniaga Berhad's analyst price target of RM0.34

In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Pharmaniaga Berhad (KLSE:PHARMA) by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

We 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.

View our latest analysis for Pharmaniaga Berhad

The Calculation

We have to calculate the value of Pharmaniaga Berhad slightly differently to other stocks because it is a healthcare company. In this approach dividends per share (DPS) are used, as free cash flow is difficult to estimate and often not reported by analysts. This often underestimates the value of a stock, but it can still be good as a comparison to competitors. The 'Gordon Growth Model' is used, which simply assumes that dividend payments will continue to increase at a sustainable growth rate forever. The dividend is expected to grow at an annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 3.6%. We then discount this figure to today's value at a cost of equity of 9.0%. Relative to the current share price of RM0.5, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. 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.

Story continues

Value Per Share = Expected Dividend Per Share / (Discount Rate - Perpetual Growth Rate)

= RM0.02 / (9.0%  3.6%)

= RM0.4

dcf

The Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Pharmaniaga 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 9.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.

SWOT Analysis for Pharmaniaga Berhad

Strength

No major strengths identified for PHARMA.

Weakness

Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.

Opportunity

Expected to breakeven next year.

Has sufficient cash runway for more than 3 years based on current free cash flows.

Good value based on P/S ratio compared to estimated Fair P/S ratio.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Total liabilities exceed total assets, which raises the risk of financial distress.

Moving On:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Pharmaniaga Berhad, we've put together three essential factors you should consider:

Risks: For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Pharmaniaga Berhad (2 are potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here. Future Earnings: How does PHARMA'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.
Long-established in the Utilities - Regulated industry, Exelon Corp (NASDAQ:EXC) has enjoyed a stellar reputation. It has recently witnessed a surge of 2.33%, juxtaposed with a three-month change of 2.01%. However, fresh insights from the GuruFocus Score Rating hint at potential headwinds. Notably, its diminished rankings in financial strength, growth, and valuation suggest that the company might not live up to its historical performance. Join us as we dive deep into these pivotal metrics to unravel the evolving narrative of Exelon Corp.

Exelon Corp (EXC): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Understanding the GF Score

The GF Score is a stock performance ranking system developed by GuruFocus using five aspects of valuation, which has been found to be closely correlated to the long-term performances of stocks by backtesting from 2006 to 2021. The stocks with a higher GF Score generally generate higher returns than those with a lower GF Score. Therefore, when picking stocks, investors should invest in companies with high GF Scores. The GF Score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 as the highest rank.

Based on the above method, GuruFocus assigned Exelon Corp the GF Score of 64 out of 100, which signals poor future outperformance potential.

Exelon Corp: A Snapshot of Its Business

Exelon Corp, with a market cap of $40.59 billion, serves approximately 10 million power and gas customers at its six regulated utilities in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. The company has reported sales of $19.89 billion and an operating margin of 17.75%. Despite its significant presence in the industry, the company's financial strength, profitability, and growth metrics, as indicated by the GuruFocus Score Rating, highlight the firm's potential for underperformance.

Story continues

Exelon Corp (EXC): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Financial Strength Breakdown

Exelon Corp's financial strength indicators present some concerning insights about the company's balance sheet health. The company's interest coverage ratio of 2.22 positions it worse than 75.12% of 426 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry. This ratio highlights potential challenges the company might face when handling its interest expenses on outstanding debt. It's worth noting that the esteemed investor Benjamin Graham typically favored companies with an interest coverage ratio of at least five.

The company's Altman Z-Score is just 0.73, which is below the distress zone of 1.81. This suggests that the company may face financial distress over the next few years. Additionally, the company's low cash-to-debt ratio at 0.01 indicates a struggle in handling existing debt levels. Furthermore, the company's debt-to-Ebitda ratio is 5.34, which is above Joel Tillinghast's warning level of 4 and is worse than 65.14% of 436 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry. Tillinghast said in his book Big Money Think's Small: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing that a high debt-to-Ebitda ratio can be a red flag unless tangible assets cover the debt.

Growth Prospects

A lack of significant growth is another area where Exelon Corp seems to falter, as evidenced by the company's low Growth rank. The company's revenue has declined by -18.2 per year over the past three years, which underperforms worse than 97.08% of 480 companies in the Utilities - Regulated industry. Stagnating revenues may pose concerns in a fast-evolving market.

Over the past five years, Exelon Corp has witnessed a decline in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). The three-year growth rate is recorded at -13.8, while the five-year growth rate is at -5.5. These figures underscore potential challenges in the company's profitability. Lastly, Exelon Corp predictability rank is just one star out of five, adding to investor uncertainty regarding revenue and earnings consistency.

Exelon Corp (EXC): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Conclusion

Despite Exelon Corp's significant presence in the Utilities - Regulated industry, its financial strength, profitability, and growth metrics indicate potential underperformance in the future. The GuruFocus Score Rating, which takes into account these factors, underscores the firm's potential for underperformance. Therefore, investors should exercise caution when considering this stock for their portfolio.

GuruFocus Premium members can find more companies with strong GF Scores using the following screener link: GF Score Screen

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


The child care offer is aimed at supporting families as they ease back into the back-to-school season.

KinderCare is offering a free day of child care to families nationwide through Oct. 6 as part of the early learning centers national open house fall event.

To qualify, children must be between the ages of six weeks and 12 years old and not currently enrolled in a KinderCare Learning Companies program. Availability may vary by location and the childrens ages, said the company, which is one of the nations largest child care providers with more than 2,000 sites nationwide.

The offer is in support of families as they ease into the busy back-to-school season , KinderCare said.

Since the pandemic, the cost of child care has become significantly more expensive. "When it comes to child care, there is no universal standard for what to spend because costs vary greatly depending on the market you are in and your family size," Jesse Mecham, founder of budgeting app YNAB , told Kiplinger earlier this year. Many parents are making significant changes to their daily lives to be able to afford child care costs , as reported.

Strong need for high-quality care

As the number of women returning to the workforce reaches an all-time high in the U.S., we know theres a strong need for high-quality child care across the country, KinderCare President Michael Canavin said in a statement. Whether its full- or part-time-time care, were ready to help support working parents with programs that provide safe and well-rounded environments for children to foster a love of learning while building confidence for life.

Earlier this summer, KinderCare expanded its before- and after-school program Champions to reach a total of 950 programs nationwide. These programs, which include homework help and daily fitness activities, are run in partnership with elementary and middle schools in 28 states and the District of Columbia. Families can go online to enroll their children in a Champions program in their area.

Story continues

In other child care news, Kiplinger recently reported that parents of children with disabilities may be able to claim the child and dependent care credit , even if the child is 13 or older.
Key Insights

The projected fair value for Frontken Corporation Berhad is RM2.45 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Frontken Corporation Berhad is estimated to be 34% overvalued based on current share price of RM3.28

The RM3.58 analyst price target for FRONTKN is 47% more than our estimate of fair value

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Frontken Corporation Berhad (KLSE:FRONTKN) as an investment opportunity 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. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow.

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you.

See our latest analysis for Frontken Corporation Berhad

Is Frontken Corporation Berhad Fairly Valued?

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:

Story continues

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM157.5m RM191.0m RM216.7m RM239.4m RM259.5m RM277.6m RM294.0m RM309.3m RM323.9m RM338.1m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x3 Analyst x3 Est @ 13.45% Est @ 10.48% Est @ 8.40% Est @ 6.95% Est @ 5.93% Est @ 5.21% Est @ 4.72% Est @ 4.37% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 9.6% RM144 RM159 RM165 RM166 RM164 RM160 RM155 RM148 RM142 RM135

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM1.5b

After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (3.6%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 9.6%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2033  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM338m (1 + 3.6%)  (9.6% 3.6%) = RM5.8b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM5.8b ( 1 + 9.6%)10= RM2.3b

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 RM3.8b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM3.3, the company appears potentially overvalued at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

The Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Frontken Corporation 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 9.6%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.889. 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 Frontken Corporation Berhad

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Currently debt free.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Earnings growth over the past year is below its 5-year average.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Commercial Services market.

Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Malaysian market.

Threat

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Looking Ahead:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. Can we work out why the company is trading at a premium to intrinsic value? For Frontken Corporation Berhad, we've compiled three important items you should assess:

Financial Health: Does FRONTKN 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 FRONTKN'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 Malaysian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
'It gave me a big advantage': Warren Buffett and Bill Gates were asked to give the secret to their success in 1 word. They both gave the exact same answer

World-renowned billionaires Warren Buffett and Bill Gates were once asked to share their secret to success in one word  and they both wrote down: focus.

The thing you do obsessively between age 13 and 18, that's the thing you have the most chance of being world-class at, Gates told Charlie Rose in a 2016 television interview.

In his case, the activity Gates was obsessed with was coding  which worked out pretty well. Gates went on to co-found Microsoft and became a millionaire in his 20s. Hes now the seventh wealthiest person on the planet, according to the Forbes real-time billionaires index, with a net worth of around $111 billion.

When Buffett was interviewed shortly after by CNBC, he was asked what he was obsessed with as a teenager.

Well, I was pretty interested in investments, he said.

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36% of millionaires say itll take a miracle to retire amid rising costs and a shaky market  here are the best shock-proof assets to grow your nest egg

Super-rich Americans are snatching up prime real estate abroad as US housing slumps  but here's a sharp way to invest without having to move overseas

When he was just 11 years old in 1942, Buffett says he took $114.75, his life savings at the time, and made his first investment, buying three shares of oil and gas company Cities Service (now called Citgo).

Fortune has since smiled on Buffett, who is now known as one of the most successful investors of all time. Aged 92, he still runs multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, which owns dozens of giant brands, including insurer Geico, battery maker Duracell and restaurant chain Dairy Queen. He ranks fifth on the Forbes real-time billionaires index with a net worth of around $120 billion.

Buffett recounted a story to CNBC about Gatess father gathering a group of men many years ago and asking them to write down on a sheet of paper one word that accounted for their success. The two men wrote down the same thing without either knowing the other ones answer ahead of time.

Story continues

He was focused on software, I was focused on investments, Buffett said. And it gave me a big advantage to start very young  theres no question about it.

If youre keen to follow the billionaires advice but youre long past your teenage years, fear not  here are three ways to focus your investing strategy to emulate some of Buffett and Gatess wealth-building success.

Start early and stay focused

The earlier you can start investing, the better off youll be. Thats probably the most common piece of investing advice  and its something that Buffett and Gates both stand by.

Buffett once described earning compound interest  an interest you earn based on your personal contributions and the interest you've already earned  as the ability to snowball your wealth.

We started building this little snowball on top of a very long hill, he said at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting in 1999. The trick is to have a very long hill, either start very young or live to be very old.

There are many ways to start investing. You can invest in stocks or index funds through a traditional brokerage account, or you can use tax-friendly investment vehicles like a 401(k) account (if your employer offers one) or an individual retirement account (IRA).

Once you start investing, its important to stay focused. It's possible to put your money to work every single day, for example, if you invest your spare change. And remember, the more time you have to earn interest, the bigger the rewards you'll see.

Read more: It makes an enormous difference: Warren Buffett says this simple trick is the key to earning a generous retirement nest egg

Focus on quality and value

Buffett is a well-known proponent of value investing, which is a strategy that involves buying stocks that are trading below their intrinsic value.

Typically, he looks for companies with long-lasting earning potential, consistent earnings, good cash flow and a low amount of debt.

He also likes to hold high-quality stocks for a long time  as shown via long-term investments in blue-chip companies like American Express and Coca-Cola  and famously wrote in his 1996 letter to shareholders: If you arent willing to own a stock for 10 years, dont even think about owning it for 10 minutes.

While the investing juggernaut has been preaching the notion of value investing for many years, he reiterated it in Berkshire Hathaways annual shareholder letter published in February 2023, where he wrote that the companys investing goal was to back businesses with both long-lasting favorable characteristics and trustworthy managers.

Some good examples of value investing in Buffetts portfolio are his stakes in Apple and Coca-Cola. Apple now ranks as Berkshire Hathaways largest stock holding at $177.6 billion as of June 30, 2023, making up over 45% of the conglomerates entire portfolio.

It just happens to be [a] better business than any we own, Buffett said of the technology giant at the 2023 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting  alluding to Apples impressive financial metrics.

Focus on learning and improving

Its likely youll see both gains and losses through the lifetime of your investment portfolio. The question to ask yourself is: How can I turn my investing blunders from the past into successes in the future?

Even investing greats like Buffett have made mistakes over time. At the 1997 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, Buffett admitted to making mistakes of omission, where he had the opportunity to invest in attractive businesses but did not act.

Talking about those mistakes, Charlie Munger  Buffetts long-time business partner and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway  said: Most people get very few, what I call, no-brainer opportunities, where its just so damned obvious that this is going to work.

He added: I think people have to learn to have the courage and the intelligence to step up in a major way when those rare opportunities come by.

But not everyone has the investing knowledge to jump on those opportunities. To gain some advantage, you may want to consider working with a professional financial adviser who can translate the investing world for you  or you can use investing apps and online platforms that will do much of the work for you.

What to read next

Rich young Americans have lost confidence in the stock market  and are betting on these 3 assets instead. Get in now for strong long-term tailwinds

How can I stop the pain and make money in this nightmarish market? Here's 1 simple way you can protect your nest egg

Millions of Americans are in massive debt in the face of rising rates. Here's how to get your head above water ASAP

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Globalstar Inc. (GSAT) provides satellite communication services and products for various industries and applications. The company was founded in 1991 as a joint venture of Loral Corporation and Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM), and it operates a low Earth orbit satellite constellation that consists of 48 satellites. Globalstar offers satellite phones, data modems, asset trackers, embedded solutions, and emergency devices that enable reliable connectivity in remote areas and harsh environments.

Globalstar also develops innovative solutions that leverage artificial intelligence and smart data at the edge, such as the Integrity 150, a solar-powered satellite asset tracker with an integrated applications enablement platform. The company serves customers in government, public safety, transportation, energy, construction, commercial maritime, agriculture, forestry, and other sectors that require dependable communication and tracking capabilities.

Globalstars strategic shift toward connectivity evolution

In a noteworthy move, Globalstar Inc. (GSAT) announced the appointment of Paul E. Jacobs as the new CEO. Mr. Jacobs is renowned for his role as the founder and CEO of XCOM Labs and his past leadership as the CEO and Executive Chairman of Qualcomm. This appointment also marks a pivotal moment as Globalstar enters into a strategic perpetual licensing agreement with XCOM Labs.

The agreement not only solidifies a partnership but also opens the doors to exclusive access to pivotal XCOM technologies and personnel. Among the technologies covered by the license, XCOMP stands out as a groundbreaking innovation. XCOMP, a coordinated multipoint radio system, introduces a new era in wireless spectrum innovations. Designed to thrive in dense and complex wireless environments operating within the sub-7 GHz spectrum, XCOMP offers remarkable capacity enhancements and numerous benefits.

Story continues

Implications of XCOMP and Satellite Procurement Agreement

The implications for seamless and enhanced connectivity across devices are considerable, laying the groundwork for a more integrated and efficient communication landscape. Moreover, the system boasts of low latency and high-quality transmissions, ensuring seamless and reliable communication experiences. In addition, Globalstar secured a satellite procurement agreement with Macdonald, Dettwiler and Associates Corporation to ensure uninterrupted service continuity.

Globalstar will acquire 17 new satellites under this arrangement, which will replenish and extend the life of Globalstar's existing constellation. This strategic move exemplifies the company's commitment to its user base and its anticipation of future needs. The company's global footprint extends beyond technology to encompass terrestrial authority, with secured bandwidth allocations across various countries.

Globalstar's Position in the Growing Satellite Communication Market

These strategic advancements align well with the upward trajectory of the satellite communication market. According to projections by Research & Markets, this industry is set to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 9.7% through 2030 to be valued at $160 billion. The driving force behind this growth is the escalating demand for satellite broadband services, particularly in remote and underserved areas.

As these regions seek robust and reliable communication services, satellite technology is emerging as a key solution, bridging gaps and connecting communities. The increasing integration of satellite communication with cutting-edge technologies such as 5G networks and the Internet of Things will fundamentally reshape the global communication sector.

Globalstar's Strategic Vision and Growth Prospects

Globalstar Inc. (GSAT) is emerging as a leading force in this revolutionary landscape, positioned to capitalize on these trends to secure unprecedented growth. The company's strategic vision revolves around capitalizing on wholesale customer projects, leveraging its existing satellite capacity for strategic initiatives, particularly in IoT. With a retained satellite capacity that can accommodate both current and future clientele, Globalstar aims to grow its subscriber base by 50 times.

Additionally, the rise in 5G applications is on track to usher in a significant increase in mobile data usage. Increasing mid-band licensed spectrum is required to meet network bandwidth needs. In this domain, Globalstars acquired XCOM Labs' technology will bolster its terrestrial wireless business. This strategic integration accelerates the development of commercial applications and opens doors to diverse end markets.

Globalstar's Growth in IoT and 5G Evolution

The company sees more growth with Band 53 opportunities as well. Band 53 is a licensed spectrum resource that has been approved by the 3GPP as a 5G band, known as n53. This band offers versatile and enhanced wireless solutions for carriers, cable companies, and system integrators who want to improve customer wireless connectivity. Band 53 has been successfully deployed in various scenarios, such as at the Port of Seattle with Nokia.

In addition to Nokia, industry giants including Sedna, Pivotal Commware, Airspan, Qualcomm, and Global Telecom are contributing to the advancement of Band 53 toward commercialization, marking Globalstar as a formidable player in the 5G evolution. Within this landscape, commercial IoT applications deserve particular attention with Globalstar developing IoT strategies leveraging both satellite and terrestrial wireless technologies.

Upcoming Launch and Market Opportunities

The upcoming launch of two-way modules and NTN standardization is set to address the burgeoning demand for direct-to-device connectivity across various sectors and applications. Notably, as per GSMA Intelligence, this market encompasses nine sectors of interest, collectively contributing to an expansive addressable base of approximately 1.9 billion devices by 2035.

The growth momentum is also being fueled by diversification into new industries, new product launches, and strategic collaborations. For example, Globalstar's collaboration with renowned global petrochemical producer INEOS Oxide demonstrates its technology's real-world impact.

The improving financial performance

The stellar growth of commercial IoT was a key factor that contributed to Globalstar Inc. (GSAT)'s revenue growth in the second quarter. Growth was driven by a 21% year-over-year increase in the subscriber base which led to 6% growth in commercial IoT revenue. Overall, the company reported a 50% YoY increase in total revenue to $55.1 million, which highlights the strong growth in demand the company is seeing even amid challenging macroeconomic conditions that have prompted many communication companies to curb spending.

Globalstar Is Ready for a New Phase of Growth

This year has marked a remarkable turning point for the company, as its unwavering efforts have resulted in positive operating profits, pushed by strong top-line performance. The 86% increase in adjusted EBITDA in Q2 demonstrates the company's strategic competence. Revenue increased by more than 60% in the first half of 2023, reaching $113 million. EBITDA, on the other hand, skyrocketed, approaching the $60 million milestone on the back of a robust 140% growth.

Globalstar Is Ready for a New Phase of Growth

Takeaway

The recent change in Globalstar Inc. (GSAT)s management has ignited a renewed interest in the company's shares among long-term-oriented investors who are hunting for mispriced bets. The notable financial progress achieved so far this year underscores Globalstars potential, and with the right executives leading the company, Globalstar could soon turn out to be a growth compounder that attracts investors. The company seems well-positioned for sustainable growth aided by favorable macroeconomic conditions, but investing in the company may only be suitable for investors with an above-average risk tolerance due to its rich valuation.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


It was 1963 in Catonsville, Maryland, and a sales director had decided he had enough.

He quit his job and bought a Volkswagen Beetle.

What did he do with that Beetle? The obvious thing: he ripped all of the seats out of it and stuffed it with seven bushels of crabs and several more bushels of seafood.

It doesnt sound like the most typical story, but its the story of how a Hanover staple, the Bay City Restaurant, came to be in 1963.

The man was William Ted Smith. His wife, who sat atop a bushel of crabs in that Volkswagen Beetle without seats, was Georgeanna Smith. What started as selling fresh seafood from the Chesapeake Bay out of a car in Hanover would ultimately turn into an over 60-year legacy that is continued on by their three children, Todd Smith, Christy Colgan and Wesley Smith.

From left, Todd Smith, Christina Colgan, and Wesley Smith pose for a portrait underneath family photos of their parents, Ted Smith, and Georgeanna Smith, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, at Bay City restaurant in Hanover Borough. The Smith family is celebrating the 60th anniversary of opening Bay City, which started in 1963 by Ted Smith.

Smith picked Hanover, as he noticed on his business travels that the area lacked a solid seafood option. After hauling seafood up to the small Pennsylvania town, the Smiths decided to move up to Hanover and purchase a carryout restaurant in a strip mall on Carlisle street.

It wasnt easy at first. Georgeanna, who was a registered nurse, paid the bills for Bay City in the first years of the business venture.He had no idea how to run a restaurant, said Christy, Teds only daughter. But he was very knowledgeable and a common-sense man.

Bigger dreams

After a few years of paying off the start-up costs, the Smiths were in the black, and the business moved to a plaza that stood where the North Hanover Mall stands today.

This was where the business took off as a dine-in restaurant  and as the only seafood in town, business was booming.

Despite the success, Ted had bigger dreams. He bought a large plot of land on a small road that we now know as Eisenhower Drive in 1976, and sat on the land for nearly 25 years.

He knew his dream, Christy remembers of her father buying the land.

In 1991, Ted finally realized those dreams and designed the existing Bay City restaurant from scratch on that land with his son, Wesley.

Story continues

The Bay City Restaurant is seen, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Hanover. The restaurant celebrated 60 years of service in 2023.

We didnt want to build it this big, we argued about that, but he wanted it to be this big, laughs Wesley, Teds oldest.

The current Bay City, as it stands, is a sprawling restaurant capable of holding over 300 patrons at any time, with 100 on its deck, 100 in its lounge and 100 in its dining room. It additionally can hold 300 in its banquet hall alone. Along with dining, the carryout seafood market that the business first got its start as, also remains.

A family affair

Ted passed away in March of 2002, but the business remains in the family to this day, with his three children taking over as co-owners.

The three, who started helping around the restaurant for their father when they were as young as 12 years old, still find themselves helping out in the same kitchen they grew up in, jumping in to wash dishes or bus tables on busy days.

Despite the stresses of jointly running a business together, theyve remained close.

From left, Christina Colgan, Wesley Smith, PA State Rep. Kate Klunk, and Todd Smith pose for a photo as Kate Klunk presents the three co-owners of Bay City with a certificate of recognition for their 60th year of operation, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, at Bay City restaurant in Hanover Borough.

I think our biggest accomplishment is just staying together and working as a family, Christy notes. At the end of the day, we still want to go on vacation together.

Christy credits her mom, who recently passed away in 2022, with keeping her and her siblings close. She was our backbone.

As Bay City hits its 60-year milestone, Teds children see the success story of the restaurant as being the memories made there.

Ive come to the realization that my lifes work is giving people memories, Christy says, smiling.

Those memories include countless 21st birthday parties, to family banquets and celebrations, to even the 50 or so couples that Christy guesses she's seen get together from working at the restaurant.

"I've seen people get married, have kids, seen their children grow up. The customers become your family," she says. "We're just so thankful to the community for their support over the past 60 years," said Christy. "It's been a great community to be in."

Harrison Jones is a reporter for the Evening Sun. Reach him at hjones@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Hanover Evening Sun: Hanover Pa. staple Bay City celebrates 60 years of seafood, family
Cars at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner being charged by Tesla Universal Chargers. Source: Hilton.

Hilton said Thursday that it plans to install at least six electric vehicle chargers per property at 2,000 hotels in North America, and will buy devices from Tesla. Once it fully installs them, Hilton will own more electric vehicle chargers than any other U.S.-based hotel group.

Part of the reason why were doing this is to help travelers get past their range anxiety,' said Matt Schuyler, Hiltons chief brand officer. If I knew I had a place I could stay in charge, Id be much more comfortable planning a long-distance road trip.

Whats new is that Hilton is installing up to 20,000 Tesla Universal Wall Connectors  a product designed to seamlessly charge any North American electric vehicle, not just Tesla-branded ones.

Hilton has been rolling out electric vehicle chargers since 2015, with about 1,148 hotels in the U.S. having at least one  and 1,850 chargers installed globally. However, the devices have only been compatible with specific vehicle models.

Installation begins next year. Hilton hasnt picked the hotels and owners yet. It said its working with the automaker to find mutually agreeable spots. Expect markets with heavy electric vehicle ownership, such as California (where roughly a fourth of new vehicle sales this year were electric), to get priority.

Hilton expected the chargers to be mostly used overnight by its hotel guests, though some properties may allow non-guests to use chargers if available in surface parking lots.

Charging prices may vary but will be in line with other Tesla chargers in the area and are set by Tesla under this deal, a spokesperson said. Once installed, users will need to download the Tesla app to reserve, pay, and charge.

Broader Electric Vehicle Trend

Hilton is reacting to emerging demand, as Americans have bought more than 4 million electric vehicles to date.

This year, Hiltons website saw significant growth in stays for people using the electric vehicle charger filter in its search tool.

Story continues

Competition is slim. Only about one out of every four hotels offers electric vehicle charging, according to a hotel lobby survey of 17,000 properties. For instance, all of Marriotts roughly 80 Element Hotels in the U.S. have at least a couple of charging stations. Hyatt has hundreds of chargers but doesnt make them findable via its website search function. All of Choices Cambria brand plans to add chargers within the next year.

Nationwide, public and private electric vehicle charging stations now number 65,682.

One issue hotels have to manage is too much demand. Some guests may pick a hotel because of the promise of an electric vehicle charger, only to find stations are already in use.

What I Learned About the Future of Electric Cars on My Familys Summer Road Trip

What I Learned About the Future of Electric Cars on My Familys Summer Road Trip

We drove 2,400 miles and juiced up at 14 charging stations in August on a round-trip journey from New Jersey to Florida, and back. Our experience and my diary of that trip hopefully serves as a playbook for the companies that are still innovating for this still-nascent way to travel.

Read More

Hilton Brand Mashups

Hilton sees the Tesla deal as part of a pattern of strategic brand mashups, Schuyler said. These mashups arent confined to any particular brand in Hiltons portfolio.

Examples include Hilton offering Mars Petcare products across many of its properties (many hotels offer branded pet bowls, for example, during stays) and Peloton fitness equipment at thousands of properties.

Guests want to port with them the brands they know and love on their trips, Schuyler said. We want to meet our customers needs before they even know they have them.

Catch Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta at the Skift Global Forum on September 26, 2023, in New York City.

For travel context, read Skifts coverage of how many U.S. destinations and tourism bureaus see an opportunity in electric vehicle chargers, especially since the U.S. government made nearly $5 billion available over five years to states to install such devices. For tech context, see this in-depth series about the U.S. electric vehicle charging network.

Get breaking travel news and exclusive hotel, airline, and tourism research and insights at Skift.com.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 7, 2023) - Iconic Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: ICM) (OTC: BVTEF) (FSE: YQG) ("Company" or "Iconic") is pleased to announce its acquisition of the Grass Valley Lithium Property ("Grass Valley" or "Property") located in Lander County, Nevada.

Grass Valley Project

The Property is located within Grass Valley, Nevada, and is approximately 64 kilometers ("km") (40 miles) long and 29 km (18 miles) wide. The Grass Valley basin has characteristics in common with lithium brines within structural basins worldwide: 1) arid climate, 2) closed basin, 3) associated volcanic or geothermal activity, 4) adequate felsic source rocks, 5) suitable local structural faulting due to regional tectonics, 6) adequate hydrologic system including subsurface aquifers, and 7) sufficient duration of time under arid conditions to concentrate lithium. Geochemical sampling of sediments in Grass Valley returned highly anomalous lithium values up to 510 ppm, which affirms the presence of prospective lithium within the Grass Valley basin. The combined magnetic, gravity, and resistivity data show a well-defined, extensive basin with accumulated alluvium 600 to +1,070 meters (2,000 to +3,500 feet). thick. The current 997 placer claim block covers an area of 80 km2 (31 mi2) with potential for brine systems as well as sediment resources.

To acquire the property, the Company paid the current year's claims fees of US$177,231 to government authorities in Nevada and assumed an NSR of 3%. The property was acquired from a company related to Iconic by a common director.

An NI 43-101 Technical report was completed in January 2022 on the Property and approximately USD $1,086,663 has been spent to date on exploration and development of the Property, which included drilling and Magnetotellurics (MT) Surveys.

Richard Kern, CEO of Iconic, comments: "The Grass Valley Basin has a large area underlain by what our geophysicist calls brine not dissimilar to our Smith Creek Lithium Project. We are very excited to move forward with both of these lithium brine projects on a 100 percent owned and controlled basis. Additional work to further define and rank drill targets is planned before drill testing at Grass Valley and Smith Creek. This work should define high angle faults and permeable horizons capable of hosting lithium-rich fluids or sediments."

Story continues

Smith Creek Project

The Company has terminated the option agreement (the "Option") with Lithium of Nevada Pty Ltd. ("LON") a private Australian company, whereby Iconic's wholly-owned Nevada subsidiary had granted LON the Option to earn up to a 50% interest in Iconic's Smith Creek lithium project ("Smith Creek"). The Company terminated the Option with LON in order to build better value for its shareholders through the retention of owning 100 percent of Smith Creek. It is the Company's desire to continue the exploration and development of both Smith Creek and Grass Valley on a 100 percent owned and controlled basis.

About the Grass Valley Project

The Grass Valley Property is a lithium exploration project consisting of 997 placer claims covering an area of 80 km2 (31 mi2). Located approximately 60 km (36 miles) northeast of Austin, Nevada, the property expresses indicators of a potential lithium brine system. The large, enclosed basin is surrounded by mountains with ample felsic volcanics and intrusives, has active hot spring systems on 3 sides of the valley, and surface salt lithium assays as high as 510 ppm Li.

The Grass Valley Property has near ideal indicators of lithium brine potential. The claims staked on this very long playa are surrounded by the zones of active hot spring activity and the high surface salt lithium values. The basin drains an area of 595 square miles, slightly larger than Clayton Valley.

Exploration to date of this very large basin has been comprised of surface sampling, an MT survey and one drill hole. The MT survey, run by Fritz Geophysics, shows an interpreted major brine zone extending from approximately 500 meters (1,600 feet) to over 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) below the surface. A core hole was drilled in 2022, but was lost before reaching the brine zone. Sediments in the drill hole show evidence of bleaching indicating lithium may have been leached and mobilized in groundwaters.

About the Smith Creek Project

The Smith Creek Project is located within Smith Creek Valley in Nevada, which is approximately 60 km (37 miles) long and 16 km (10 miles) wide. Quartz-rich volcanic tuffs containing anomalous amounts of lithium occur within and adjacent to the valley.

Surface sampling around hot springs on patented ground just off the claim block assayed a maximum of 470 ppm Li. The gravity low within the valley is 16 km (10 miles) long, and the current estimates of depth to basement rocks range from 1,300 to 1,500 meters (4,200 to 5,000 feet). The current claim block covers an area of 67 km2 (26 mi2) with potential for brine systems as well as sediment resources.

Qualified Person

Richard Kern, Certified Professional Geologist, a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Kern is not independent of the Company as he is the Chief Executive Officer of Iconic.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

SIGNED: "Richard Barnett"

Richard Barnett, CFO

Contact: Keturah Nathe, VP Corporate Development (604) 336-8614

For further information on Iconic, please visit our website at www.iconicminerals.com. The Company's public documents may be accessed at www.sedar.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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 Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements with respect to the Option, the Joint Venture, the amount of the Offering, the expected use of proceeds from the Offering and the future business plans and exploration activities of the Company, 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. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "will", "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that investor interest will be sufficient to close the Offering, that market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals required for the Option Agreement and the future development of the Company's projects in a timely manner.

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 information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development activities, actual results of exploration activities, including on the Smith Creek Property, requirements for additional capital, future prices of lithium and gold, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in future financings, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on the business, financial condition and exploration and development activities of the Company, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents, approvals or authorizations, including of the TSX Venture Exchange in respect of the Option Agreement and the Offering, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, and risks related to joint venture operations, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest interim Management's Discussion and Analysis and filed with the Canadian Securities Authorities. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

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 news release 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/179798
Vantage Market Research, The North Star for the Working World

WASHINGTON, Sept. 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As per Vantage Market Research, the Global Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials Market has been steadily growing over the years due to increasing incidence of cancer, advancements in cancer research, the growing demand for personalized medicine, increased research and development activities in the field of immuno-oncology, as well as advancements in technology and supportive regulatory frameworks.



According to Vantage Market Research, the global Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials Market is estimated to be valued at USD 18.1 Billion by 2030 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 15.3% during the forecast period 2023 to 2030. The global Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials Market stood at USD 5.8 Billion in 2022.

The market for clinical trials that concentrate on immuno-oncology, a branch of cancer research and treatment that uses the immune system to combat cancer, is referred to as the "immuno-oncology clinical trials market." Clinical trials in immuno-oncology test and assess various immunotherapies, including adoptive cell therapies, cancer vaccines, and immune checkpoint inhibitors, in patients with various cancers.

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Key Highlights

By Phase segment, the Phase III category dominated the market with 54.2% of the revenue share in 2022.

By Design, the interventional trials dominated the market and accounted for the largest revenue share of 75% in 2022.

Based on the segment Indication, the Solid Tumor category led the market and accounted for more than 54% of the global revenue share in 2022.

North America dominated the market and accounted for the largest revenue share of 48.5% in 2022.

The market for immuno-oncology clinical trials focuses on immunotherapy to treat various cancers. Clinical trials in immuno-oncology seek to improve the immune system's inherent capacity to combat and suppress the growth of cancer cells. These studies examine the efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and other immunotherapeutic modalities. Clinical immuno-oncology trials have applications for various cancers, including lymphoma, breast, melanoma, lung, and melanoma. The market for immuno-oncology clinical trials has significantly expanded due to the rising demand for personalized medicine and the global rise in cancer incidence.

Story continues

Top Companies in The Global Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials Market

ICON PLC (Ireland)

IQVIA Holdings Inc. (U.S.)

Covance (U.S.)

BioNTech (Germany)

IO Biotech Medical (Denmark)

Medpace (U.S.)

Novartis (Switzerland)

Exscientia (UK)

Syneous Health (U.S.)

AstraZeneca (UK)

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Factors Affecting the Growth of the Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials Market

Several factors can affect the growth of the Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials industry. Some of these factors include:

Increasing prevalence of cancer: The growing incidence of cancer globally is a major factor driving the demand for immuno-oncology clinical trials. Immuno-oncology therapies have shown promising results in treating various types of cancer, leading to increased interest in conducting clinical trials in this field.

Rising adoption of immunotherapy: Immunotherapy has gained significant attention recently due to its potential to offer long-lasting and durable responses in cancer patients. As a result, pharmaceutical companies and research organizations are growing interested in conducting clinical trials in immuno-oncology.

Favorable regulatory environment: Regulatory agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have supported the development of immunotherapies and have provided streamlined processes for approving these therapies. This has boosted pharmaceutical companies to invest in immuno-oncology clinical trials.

Advancements in technology: The development of advanced technologies, such as next-generation sequencing and biomarker analysis, has facilitated the identification of potential targets for immunotherapies. This has increased the efficiency and success rate of clinical trials in immuno-oncology.

Availability of funding: Funding from governments, non-profit organizations, and venture capitalists has supported the growth of immuno-oncology clinical trials. Funding is crucial in conducting extensive clinical trials and developing new therapies in this field.

Patient demand: With the increasing awareness and availability of immuno-oncology therapies, patients increasingly demand access to these treatments. This demand has encouraged pharmaceutical companies and researchers to conduct clinical trials and bring new therapies.

Top Trends in the Global Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials Market

Numerous significant trends reshaping the industry are being seen in the market for immuno-oncology clinical trials. First off, there is a growing emphasis on combination therapies, which pair immunotherapies with other medical interventions like chemotherapy or targeted therapies. This strategy seeks to boost the efficiency of immune-based therapies and enhance patient outcomes. Second, biomarkers that can forecast a patient's response to immunotherapies are becoming increasingly popular. Finding these biomarkers can improve treatment selection and help patients receive more individualized care. Novel immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T cell therapies, have also increased, which hold promise in treating various cancers.

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Recent Development of the Global Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials Market

On June 19, 2023, Coherus BioSciences and Surface Oncology signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire the immuno-oncology (I-O) company in a deal worth $65 million.

On June 29, 2023, Immuno-Oncology company Biosyngen opened its newest Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facility in Singapore. This facility targets unmet medical needs in treating solid tumors and lymphomas.

On June 16, 2023, the FDA approved TGI-6, a ground-breaking bispecific antibody developed by TG ImmunoPharma Co., Ltd. (TGI), a leading biotech company with a focus on the creation of novel immuno-oncology therapies. TGI-6 simultaneously targets CD3 molecules and distinct tumor-associated antigens (TAA), enabling powerful anti-tumor responses.

On January 3, 2023, Alligator Bioscience and Orion started the second phase of their license agreement and collaborative immuno-oncology research project. Utilizing the Ruby platform from Alligator, the second program entails the creation of a brand-new bispecific antibody with potential uses in solid tumors.

Market Drivers

One major market driver for the Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials market is the increasing prevalence of cancer worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. The rise in cancer incidence has prompted researchers and pharmaceutical companies to develop innovative immunotherapeutic strategies to treat cancer. For instance, the approval of immune checkpoint inhibitors such as pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and nivolumab (Opdivo) for various cancer indications has led to a surge in clinical trials investigating their efficacy. This market driver highlights the need for immuno-oncology clinical trials in advancing cancer treatment options.

Market Restraints

A significant market restraint for the Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials market is the high cost of clinical trial procedures and drug development. Conducting immuno-oncology trials can be expensive, involving recruiting patients, monitoring their progress, and analyzing the collected data. Additionally, developing novel immunotherapies requires substantial investment in research and development, manufacturing, and regulatory approval processes. For instance, the estimated cost of developing and bringing a single immune checkpoint inhibitor to market is over a billion dollars. These high costs challenge smaller biotech companies, making it difficult for them to compete with larger pharmaceutical companies in this sector.

Market Opportunities

The growing emphasis on personalized medicine presents a significant market opportunity for the Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials market. Utilizing a patient's genetic, environmental, and lifestyle characteristics, personalized medicine aims to create a treatment plan for them. As researchers increasingly concentrate on identifying biomarkers and predictive factors that can help determine patient response to immunotherapies, this strategy has gained traction in immuno-oncology clinical trials. For instance, recent research has revealed that the programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression can be used as a biomarker to predict how the body will react to immune checkpoint inhibitors. By identifying such biomarkers, researchers and pharmaceutical companies can optimize patient selection and treatment strategies, improving clinical outcomes. This market opportunity highlights the potential for precision medicine to revolutionize cancer treatment by offering personalized immunotherapies based on extensively studied patient cohorts.

Browse market data Tables and Figures spread through 150 Pages and in-depth TOC on Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials Market Forecast Report (2023-2030).

Report Segmentation of the Global Immuno-Oncology Clinical Trials Market

Design Analysis

The immuno-oncology clinical trials market appears to be dominated by interventional trials. This is so because interventional studies, which are more relevant to immuno-oncology trials, are more concentrated on testing a single intervention, such as a novel medicine, treatment method, or therapeutic approach. Researchers are actively involved in the trials, searching for the best therapeutic strategies to lessen cancers impact on patients. Interventional studies are more high-risk and resource-intensive than observational trials, which mostly analyze data already collected. Additionally, interventional trials are typically more alluring to pharmaceutical companies attempting to create novel treatments.

Indication Analysis

Solid tumors dominate the immuno-oncology clinical trials market in terms of indications due to their high prevalence and high mortality rates. Solid tumors form in organs or tissues, making them more difficult to treat than liquid tumors like leukemias or lymphomas. In solid tumors, the complex tumor microenvironment poses special difficulties for the immune system's efficient detection and eradication of cancer cells. Due to their potential to overcome the immunosuppressive barriers of solid tumors, immunotherapies like immune checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T cell therapies have attracted significant attention and investment. For patients with few treatment options, PD-1 inhibitors like pembrolizumab have demonstrated promising outcomes in solid tumor types like metastatic melanoma or non-small cell lung cancer.

Phase Analysis

The trial phase segment is vital to establishing the efficacy and security of immunotherapy medications used to treat cancer. Phase III and II trials, the last stage of clinical trials before regulatory approval, are the dominant group in this market. Large patient populations are used in phase III trials to compare an immunotherapy drug's efficacy versus that of placebos or more traditional treatments. These tests evaluate the drug's safety, dose, and side effects. Companies spend a lot of money on Phase III trials because successful outcomes can result in regulatory approval and drug launch.

Read Full Report with TOC @ https://www.vantagemarketresearch.com/industry-report/immunooncology-clinical-trials-market-2267

Market Segmentation

By Design

Interventional Trials

Observational Trials

Expanded Access Trials



By Indication

Solid Tumors

Hematological Cancer

Other Indications



By Phase

Phase I

Phase II

Phase III

Phase IV

By Region

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa



Scope of the Report:

Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2022 USD 5.8 Billion Revenue Forecast by 2030 USD 18.1 Billion CAGR 15.3% from 2023 to 2030 Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2030 Key Players ICON PLC, IQVIA Holdings Inc., Covance, BioNTech, IO Biotech Medical, Medpace, Novartis, Exscientia, Syneous Health, AstraZeneca Customization Options Customized purchase options are available to meet any research needs. Explore customized purchase options https://www.vantagemarketresearch.com/immunooncology-clinical-trials-market-2267/customization-request

Regional Analysis

Creating immune checkpoint inhibitors like pembrolizumab and nivolumab, which have transformed cancer treatment globally, is an impressive illustration of North America dominating the immuno-oncology trials market. These innovative treatments are the result of extensive North American clinical trials, demonstrating the region's dedication to advancing immunotherapies. In essence, North America's dominant position in the market for immuno-oncology clinical trials is a result of a combination of its advanced infrastructure, research capabilities, industry support, and regulatory framework. Due to numerous incidences of cancer and the expanding use of immunotherapy treatments, Europe follows closely. Furthermore, due to expanding healthcare facilities and a rise in initiatives by public and private sector organizations to fight cancer, the Asia Pacific region is predicted to experience significant growth in the immuno-oncology clinical trials market. For stakeholders to make informed decisions and take advantage of new opportunities, it is essential to understand the regional trends and factors affecting the market in various regions.

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SINGAPORE, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fore Coee, the herald of Indonesian coee culture, is proud to announce its highly anticipated entry into the Singaporean coee scene - launching its rst store in Singapore on November 9th, 2023, at Bugis Junction. With a journey spanning over ve years of unwavering commitment to excellence, Fore Coee has risen to prominence as a prominent player in Indonesia's coee landscape, boasting an impressive network of 150 stores across the nation by September 2023.

(Left-Right): Matthew Ardian, CMO, Fore Coee, Cinta Laura Kiehl, Social & Sustainability Ambassador, Fore Coee and Vico Lomar, Co-Founder & CEO, Fore Coee

Fore Coee, as the torchbearer of Indonesian coee culture in Singapore, oers not just a cup of coee, but a gateway to an inspiring everyday life. Founded in 2018, Fore Coee has emerged as a powerhouse in Indonesia's coee industry, marked by its dedication to quality and innovation. The brand's success lies in its adept use of cutting-edge technology, from tools to its mobile app, combined with skillful bean blending techniques.

With a resolute commitment to sourcing highly curated coee beans directly from Indonesian farmers in regions like Aceh Gayo, Toraja, West Java, and Bali, Fore Coee's beans undergo a meticulous roasting and preparation process before being expertly crafted by their baristas. This commitment to authenticity extends to their signature coee blends that promise to redene Singapore's coee culture in the 'Indonesian way.'

Fore Coee's narrative is one of craftsmanship, tradition, and community spirit. With a reverence for Indonesian soil, the brand meticulously curates exceptional coee beans that honour the avours unique to each region. This journey embodies sustainability and supports local farming communities. The brand's skilled baristas harness the potential of Indonesian coee beans to craft avours that are truly unique. Every cup reects a commitment to excellence, sustainability, and elevating the coee experience to an art form.

Fore Coee's business journey has been marked by protability since 2021 in Indonesia, even amidst pandemic challenges. The brand has successfully expanded into tier 2 and tier 3 cities, showcasing resilience and adaptability. Backed by an impressive funding from renowned investors including East Ventures, SMDV, Pavilion Capital, Agaeti Venture Capital, Insignia Ventures Partners, and several angel investors, Fore Coee's growth is fueled by its exceptional performance.

Story continues

Vico Lomar, Co-Founder & CEO, Fore Coee said, "Fore Coee's brand positioning and menu reect its role as an ambassador of Indonesian coee culture in Singapore. The brand's signature coee blends, crafted with a deep understanding of the discerning Singaporean palate, redene the local coee landscape through an Indonesian lens."

The Singaporean coee market presents a compelling opportunity for Fore Coee's entry. According to research conducted in June 2023 in collaboration with Redseer, a strategy consultant, the Singapore coee market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5%, reaching 1,286 USD million by 2027. Singaporeans' strong anity for coee, averaging 6-7 cups per week, aligns perfectly with Fore Coee's mission. The brand recognizes the mature coee market in Singapore, combined with a love for Indonesian beans, particularly Arabica. With an understanding of local preferences and a commitment to innovation, Fore Coee is poised to ourish in Singapore's coee landscape.

Fore Coee's expansion into Singapore is centred around its exceptional signature beverages. From the beloved Gula Aren Latte to the Pandan Latte and innovative Butterscotch Sea-Salt Latte, these creations are meticulously curated to resonate with local preferences.

Drawing insights from Flavor Group Discussions (FGDs), Fore Coee is tailoring a selection of 16 key SKUs to capture the essence of Singaporean coee culture. By adhering to local nutritions preferences, Fore Coee empowers individuals to enjoy their drinks consciously, promoting healthier individual choices with varying sugar levels and diary options. Fore Coee's irresistible coee oerings start at just S$4.50, ensuring aordability and accessibility for coee enthusiasts across Singapore.

Please download press assets here

For further information and PR materials on this campaign, please contact:

Access Communications Pte Ltd

Jasmine Choo Khidhir Faulzi

+65 9009 3591 +65 9479 9768

jasmine.choo@accesscoms.com.sg khidhir.f@accesscoms.com.sg

About Fore Coee

Established in 2018, Fore Coffee is on a mission to craft exceptional coffee experiences for everyone. Our name draws from "forest," symbolising rapid growth and vibrancy towards our surroundings. Through advanced tech, we create perfect blends from 100% high-quality Arabica beans, directly sourced and meticulously roasted locally. Amid life's hustle, Fore Coffee offers solace, inviting you to savour a better cup of coffee and rediscover what truly matters, encapsulated in our 'Grind the Essentials' tagline.

Cision

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SOURCE Fore Coffee
LENIN NOLLY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock / LENIN NOLLY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Famed investor (and Shark Tank star) Kevin OLeary said that while a year ago it was all about the Web3 craze, now, The hot new ticket in venture is AI, but nobodys making any money.

So you have to bet on all kinds of different players. Meanwhile, for the guys that are selling the picks and shovels, thats Nvidia. Ill go there, OLeary said during an appearance on Fox News.

See: ChatGPT Was Given $20K To Invest in Stocks and Crypto  Heres How It Made $2,000 in a Month

See Our List: 100 Most Influential Money Experts

Nvidia, the recently crowned AI darling, released blowout earnings on Aug. 23. Some analysts called the report a drop the mic moment that will have a ripple impact for the tech space for the rest of the year.

The company reported revenue up a whopping 88% from the first quarter, and 101% from a year ago, according to the earnings report.

On Sept. 7, shares of Nvidia were up 229% year-to-date.

Generative AI May Still Have Investment Legs

Yet, some experts noted that the AI craze expands beyond Nvidia, as the industry is only in its nascent stages.

Mr. Wonderful takes a narrow view of where the opportunity lies for investors seeking to tap into the growth of Generative AI, said Peter Cohan, associate professor of management practice at Babson College.

According to Cohan, while Nvidia is an amazing company with tremendous growth potential, it is a hedge fund hotel since May, when Nvidia posted eye-popping revenue guidance adding $250 billion to its market capitalization. Per Cohan, big money is parked in Nvidia and the stock  at 36 times sales  is fully priced.

There are many other companies that will profit from Generative AI  such as Accenture  which is hiring 40,000 people and investing $3 billion to help companies use Gen AI, he added.

Another below-the-radar player is Arista Networks, he said, an extremely well-managed networking software firm helping companies build and operate systems to train large language models.

Story continues

There is a broad generative AI ecosystem of which Nvidia is the tip of the spear. Investors should look beyond Nvidia to find opportunity, Cohan concluded.

Im a Self-Made Millionaire: Here Are 5 Stocks Im Never Selling

AI Craze Distinct From Dot-com Mania

Meanwhile, other experts also underscored the differences between the AI craze and dot-com mania.

According to Peter C. Earle, economist at the American Institute for Economic Research, its important to remember that pure plays are often the bleeding edge of investment sentiment, but that the real application of new technologies tends to have its biggest impact in mundane firms over a very long period of time.

Sure, there were lots of dot-com stocks that went public, saw their valuations explode, and then crashed and burned while the real beneficiaries of internet technology were staid brick and mortar companies over a period of 10 or 15 years, said Earle. He added that while there will be direct AI investments, in the long run the economic impact of those innovations will be most effectively applied by companies we already know and engage with daily.

There are likely to be a handful of AI firms that come out of nowhere and become industry leaders, but consider where the majority of the dot-com stocks are today, he added.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Kevin OLeary Says AI Craze Is Like the Early Internet, So How Should You Invest In It?
Maker of Precision Cutting Tools Relies on Aras Innovator for Visibility and Process Management Across Product Lifecycles

ANDOVER, Mass., Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Aras, which provides the most powerful low-code application platform to design, build and operate complex products, announced today that Kyocera Unimerco is using Aras Innovator to manage data, information, and business processes for product lifecycle management (PLM).

Aras Logo (PRNewsfoto/Aras)

Kyocera Unimerco, headquartered in Denmark, supports global sales with manufacturing facilities in Denmark, the UK, the USA and Lithuania. Full visibility and traceability of product data is essential to managing the manufacturing and supply chain operations supporting their diverse line of precision cutting tools for metalworking, woodworking, and composite materials. As the company moved to modernize manufacturing and software infrastructure, they recognized the need to evaluate new approaches to managing its product lifecycle management program.

Kyocera evaluated new PLM software solutions that would enable easier change management, reduce the amount of time spent on the product review process, and decrease the number of errors in document collaboration and management processes. After reviewing different options, the company selected the Aras Innovator platform to better support version control, traceability and engineering change management and has benefitted from:

Increased efficiency in product-related business processes

Improved access to data, documentation, and product information for all stakeholders

The ability to customize and modify software for easier management

Claus Skallerup, IT director, Kyocera Unimerco, said: "Aras Innovator is more than just an enterprise application. Innovator is open and flexible, enabling companies like ours to configure it to match our needs, which was a key factor in our choice. There is a dedicated community where the culture is welcoming, and everybody is genuinely interested in contributing to making Innovator even better. It was the right choice for us in every way. The best thing about Aras is the ability to create whatever you can imagine. That's the true value of the platform."

Story continues

Roque Martin, CEO, Aras, said: "Companies like Kyocera Unimerco must manage meticulous manufacturing processes for the complex products they provide. Version control problems can lead to expensive errors, so the Aras Innovator was a natural fit to help them streamline processes. Our configurable platform gives manufacturers the visibility they need to deliver error-free products to their customers."

Aras published this case study reviewing the Kyocera Unimerco story, their PLM selection process, and why they chose Aras Innovator.

About Aras

Aras provides the most powerful low-code platform with applications to design, build, and operate complex products. Its technology enables the rapid delivery of flexible, upgradeable solutions that build business resilience. Aras' platform and product lifecycle management applications connect users in all disciplines and functions to critical product data and processes across the lifecycle and throughout the extended supply chain. Airbus, Audi, DENSO, Honda, Kawasaki, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, and Nissan are using the platform to manage complex change and traceability. Visit www.aras.com to learn more and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

 2023 Aras Corporation. All rights reserved. Aras and Aras Innovator are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Aras Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Third party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Cision

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SOURCE Aras
Key Insights

The projected fair value for Texchem Resources Bhd is RM0.77 based on Dividend Discount Model

Current share price of RM0.92 suggests Texchem Resources Bhd is potentially trading close to its fair value

When compared to theindustry average discount of -46%, Texchem Resources Bhd's competitors seem to be trading at a greater premium to fair value

Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of Texchem Resources Bhd (KLSE:TEXCHEM) 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. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example!

Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. If you want to learn more about discounted cash flow, the rationale behind this calculation can be read in detail in the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for Texchem Resources Bhd

The Method

We have to calculate the value of Texchem Resources Bhd slightly differently to other stocks because it is a industrials company. In this approach dividends per share (DPS) are used, as free cash flow is difficult to estimate and often not reported by analysts. Unless a company pays out the majority of its FCF as a dividend, this method will typically underestimate the value of the stock. We use the Gordon Growth Model, which assumes dividend will grow into perpetuity at a rate that can be sustained. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a company's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In this case we used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (3.6%). The expected dividend per share is then discounted to today's value at a cost of equity of 11%. Compared to the current share price of RM0.9, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

Story continues

Value Per Share = Expected Dividend Per Share / (Discount Rate - Perpetual Growth Rate)

= RM0.06 / (11%  3.6%)

= RM0.8

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 Texchem Resources Bhd as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 11%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.116. 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 Texchem Resources Bhd

Strength

Debt is well covered by cash flow.

Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market.

Weakness

Interest payments on debt are not well covered.

Opportunity

Expected to breakeven next year.

Has sufficient cash runway for more than 3 years based on current free cash flows.

Good value based on P/S ratio compared to estimated Fair P/S ratio.

Threat

Paying a dividend but company is unprofitable.

Moving On:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Texchem Resources Bhd, we've compiled three additional factors you should assess:

Risks: Case in point, we've spotted 3 warning signs for Texchem Resources Bhd you should be aware of, and 1 of them is potentially serious. Future Earnings: How does TEXCHEM'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 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.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is reportedly planning to leave out additional Ukraine aid from a stopgap spending bill that Congress must pass this month, a tactic that would threaten the Biden administrations requested money for the war-torn nation and could set up a clash with the White House and Senate.

Congressional leaders are looking to pass a short-term spending bill to prevent a government shutdown after September 30, when current federal funding expires. The Biden administration has asked for $44 billion in emergency supplemental funding, including $24 billion in additional Ukraine aid, $16 billion in emergency disaster relief and $4 billion for border security. McCarthy reportedly may leave out the Ukraine aid from the stopgap bill and instead hold a standalone vote on that funding.

Such a move would allow House GOP members to express their opposition to providing additional aid for Ukraine. It could also allow McCarthy to press for more than the $4 billion in additional border money sought by the White House or other policy demands in exchange for funding the war effort.

"McCarthy wants changes to border policies as well as an increase in overall border security money in return for additional Ukraine aid, Punchbowl News reports, citing sources familiar with House GOP discussions.

But the White House is opposed to splitting off Ukraine aid and doing so would likely complicate passage of the stopgap spending bill and supplemental funding, raising the odds of a government shutdown.

Lives are at stake across a wide range of urgent, bipartisan priorities for the American people that are addressed in President Bidens supplemental funding request  a request that honors the funding commitments he and both parties in both chambers made to the American people, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told CNN. Like Senate Republicans, Speaker McCarthy should keep his word about government funding. And he should do so in a way that acts on these pressing issues  including fentanyl, national security, and disaster response  rather than break his promise and cave to the most extreme members of his conference agitating for a baseless impeachment stunt and shutdown.

Story continues

McCarthys strategy would also highlight divisions over Ukraine within the Republican Party. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday urged Republicans to continue supporting the effort against Russia, which he describes as a vital national security concern. It is certainly not the time to go wobbly, McConnell said.

The bottom line: This could get chaotic, but party leaders still want to avoid a shutdown. The House returns on Tuesday.

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Here's a look at promotions, hirings, movers and newsmakers in the Memphis area business scene:

Raaj Kurapati has been named the new executive vice chancellor and chief operating officer for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He comes to UTHSC after having served since 2018 as the executive vice president and chief operating and financial officer for the University of Memphis. Kurapati fills the position held by Kennard Brown who retired in June and will be responsible for coordinating day-to-day administrative operations and management of the campuss central administration.

Lane

Ma

Hemline Tailored Brand Strategies announced the addition of two new members to its team: Tomia Lane and Lauren Ma. Lane will serve as social media and public relations coordinator, a newly created role. Shewill work with account leads to create strategies and content optimized for clients social platformsto build those brands public image and grow their audiences. Lane brings digital media experience from previous stints as social media communications engagement specialist with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital-ALSAC and digital content producer with Action News 5. She received her MBA from the University of Memphis in 2021. Ma will be an account coordinator. She is a recent graduate of Virginia Tech.

Rushakoff

Wilbanks

Townsend

Hooper

Campfire Collective expanded its team with the addition of four members: Sarah Rushakoff, Abby Wilbanks, Sophie Townsend and Gwen Hooper. Rushakoff, Wilbanks and Townsend will manage all aspects of clients social media campaigns. Campfire coordinator Hooper serves as the marketing assistant, providing administrative support and assisting the team with marketing responsibilities for client campaigns.

Rushakoff has a bachelor's degree in theater from the University of Memphis and a background in marketing and design, as well as experience in writing, editing and photography. As a Campfire Collective Content Kindler, she'll work with clients to make their social media content attractive, concise and easy to navigate.

Wilbanks will represent and promote the citys small businesses and nonprofits. She enjoys engaging with target audiences to spark interest and excitement, as well as finding new ways to involve clients in the Memphis community.

A recent graduate of the University of Memphis with a degree in public relations, Townsend was part of the prestigious Emerging Leaders scholarship program. She has administrative, hospitality and public relations experience.

Hooper has more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit organizations, including communication and project management.

Story continues

Echols

Coussan

Jones

Project coordinator Julian Echols, and engineer interns Marian Coussan and Michael Jones have joined the Tioga Environmental Consultants team.

In his role as a hazardous materials project coordinator, Echols supports the team with assessments to identify various hazardous building materials such as lead and asbestos. His past experience includes being a lead-based paint inspector and environmental agency consultant. Echols received a bachelor's degree in environmental biology from the University of Tennessee at Martin.

Coussan assists manufacturing and industrial facilities by preparing air permits, hazardous waste and EPCRA compliance reports, air, storm water and wastewater permit applications; and performs facility inspections. She also crafts technical reports and plans including Phase I Environmental Site Assessments. Coussan earned a bachelors degree in civil engineering from the University of Memphis.

Jones is primarily assisting the Shelby County Health Department with diagnosing, operating, maintaining and calibrating air quality monitors for compliance with all National Ambient Air Quality Standards. He also collects, analyzes and reports this data in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency's requirements. Jones earned a bachelors degree in environmental engineering from the University of Alabama.

 Compiled by Daniel Ginsburg

Email information and photos in JPEG format, at least 1MB in size, for Memphis People in Business to cabiznews@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis business news: Promotions, hirings, achievers and company news
WACONIA, Minn., September 07, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Metronet today announced that 100% fiber optic internet is now available to residents and businesses in initial construction areas throughout Waconia. As Metronets service becomes available throughout the city, residents will have access to multi-gigabit speeds up to 2 gigabits; and businesses may access speeds up to 10 gigabits.

With access to 100% fiber optic internet, customers will experience ultra-high-speed service that connects directly to their home or business, bringing symmetrical upload and download speeds right to your device, free of buffering. Customers located in Metronets initial construction areas may now sign up for service installation online at metronet.com.

"Metronet is excited to connect our first customers in the City of Waconia, after working quickly to build our network, delivering a new provider option," said Craig Zimmerman, Metronet Government Affairs Manager. "Were thankful for the support we have received from the community, and we look forward to seeing how Waconia will benefit from having access to 100% fiber optic internet that will grow as the need for faster speeds continues to increase."

Waconia residents will continue to see Metronet trucks throughout the area as construction activities expand throughout the community. Residents will receive communication by mail about construction activity in their neighborhood 30 days prior to starting. Additional messaging, such as yard signs, will also be provided to notify residents of when construction is beginning in their neighborhood. Metronet crews are identified by ID tags and branded Metronet vehicles.

Metronet plans to hire local market management positions, sales and customer service professionals and service technicians to support the Waconia area. Those interested in joining the Metronet team can visit metronet.com/careers to search available positions and to submit applications.

Story continues

City officials interested in adding their community to Metronets growing list of "Certified Gigabit Cities Powered by Metronet" may visit metronet.com/gigabit-city or contact Eddie Massengale, Metronet Sr. Director of Business Development & Government Affairs at Eddie.Massengale@metronetinc.com or at 423-280-9031.

About Metronet:

Metronet is a 100% fiber optic company headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, and has quickly grown to become the nations largest independently owned 100% fiber optic provider. The customer-focused company provides cutting-edge fiber optic communication services, including high-speed Fiber Internet and full-featured Fiber Phone. Metronet started in 2005 with one fiber optic network in Greencastle, Indiana. Since then, Metronet and its affiliates have grown to serve and construct networks in more than 250 communities across Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Wisconsin, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Metronet is committed to bringing state-of-the-art telecommunication services to communities  services that are comparable or superior to those offered in large metropolitan areas. By offering XGS PON technology, Metronet can easily carry its communities into the future of multi-gigabit service. Cablefax has named Metronet as the 2023 Fiber Provider of the Year. Metronet has also been recognized by PCMag as the Fastest Major ISP in 2023 and as one of the Top 10 ISPs with Best Gaming Quality Index in 2021. For more information, visit www.Metronet.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230907279431/en/

Contacts

Katie Custer

Katie@RunSwitchPR.com

502.821.6784
Will provide solutions that help achieve carbon neutrality in the manufacturing sector

TOKYO, September 07, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Kei Uruma, "Mitsubishi Electric") and EVERCOMM SINGAPORE PTE. LTD. (Headquarters: Singapore, CEO: Chen Chiu-Hao, "Evercomm") jointly announced today that they have entered into a cooperative agreement to develop and market solutions that support carbon neutrality in the manufacturing sector. As part of the agreement, Mitsubishi Electric will take an equity stake in Evercomm to solidify the ties between the two companies.

In recent years, the global movement toward carbon neutrality as a measure against global warming has accelerated. Companies, particularly in the manufacturing sector, are facing increasing demands from stakeholders such as governments, shareholders, business partners and consumers to implement measures to manage and reduce CO 2 emissions. As a result, there is growing demand from each company for solutions to manage and reduce CO 2 emissions.

Mitsubishi Electric provides solutions that support digital transformation in manufacturing sites by software such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) software. The company also sells inverters, motors, and other energy-saving equipment that help to reduce CO 2 emissions, as well as analysis and diagnosis software that support energy-saving.

Evercomm provides an ISO14064-1 based service for managing data on CO 2 emissions at the corporate level, a system that allows data verification by third-party certification organizations, and ISO14067 based software allowing calculation and management of the carbon footprint of products (CFP) at an individual product level. The company also provides software, primarily in the ASEAN region, that facilitates the development of decarbonization plans by identifying specific potential emission-reduction measures and simulating their potential effects.

Story continues

Through their collaboration, the two companies will contribute to the realization of carbon neutrality for their customers by providing solutions that incorporate Evercomms software and Mitsubishi Electrics products and software. By consolidating manufacturing site data of CO 2 emissions and reductions collected by Mitsubishi Electrics SCADA using Evercomms management software, they will build an environment that enables more precise control of measures designed to achieve carbon-neutrality. Furthermore, based on aggregated data, Evercomm will enhance decarbonization planning support by its decarbonization simulation software, and Mitsubishi Electric will provide optimal energy-saving equipment and energy-saving support software that helps achieve CO 2 reductions and support for ongoing CO 2 reduction activities.

For the full text, please visit: www.MitsubishiElectric.com/news/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230906224611/en/

Contacts

Takeyoshi Komatsu

Public Relations Division

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

prd.gnews@nk.MitsubishiElectric.co.jp
One in four people on the move in Latin America and the Caribbean is a child, the highest proportion globally.

TORONTO, Sept. 6, 2023 /CNW/ - Children are migrating through Latin America and the Caribbean in record numbers and now account for a larger share of the migrant population than other regions in the world, according to a UNICEF child alert issued today.

Esther, an Haitian mother of two children, arrives in pirogue to Lajas Blancas Migrant Temporary Reception Center, after crossing the Darien jungle with her husband. (CNW Group/UNICEF Canada)

Record numbers of children are on the move via three major migration routes in Latin America and the Caribbean: through the Darien jungle between Colombia and Panama, outward migration from South America, and at key transit points in northern Central America and Mexico. The nature of migration in Latin America and the Caribbean Region has changed dramatically in the last decade.

"The Darien Gap is one of the most dangerous migration routes on earth. Less than a generation ago, only solo young males attempted the journey, but this year already more than 60,000 children have crossed the Darien jungle," said Sevaun Palvetzian, President & CEO of UNICEF Canada. "During my recent visit to Panama, I met several of these children; they arrive exhausted, sick and dehydrated, often traumatized by the violence and dangers they've seen. No one should have to embark on this life-risking jungle journey, let alone a child."

At least 29,000 children made the perilous Darien crossing in 2021. An estimated 40,000 children made the crossing in 2022 and more than 60,000 children have crossed the Darien jungle in the first eight months of 2023, half of them below the age of 5, making it the year with the most child crossings on record. Meanwhile, the number of refugee and migrant children apprehended at the southern border of the United States has also been on the rise.

The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded more than 149,000 children crossing in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 and over 155,000 in FY 2022. In the first seven months of FY 2023, more than 83,000 children have entered the country according to the CBP. These trends are echoed in other, smaller migration flows across the region as increasing violence, instability and climate-related disasters result in more displacement and forced migration.

Story continues

The proportion of children moving along major migration routes in Latin America and the Caribbean has also climbed to a record high in the past three years. Around the world, children make up 13 per cent of the migrant population, but in this region, about one in four people on the move (25 per cent) is a child, up from 19 per cent in 2019. This is only rivalled by Sub-Saharan Africa, where children also account for 25 per cent of the migrant population.

Increasingly, it is younger children who are making these perilous journeys, with those under 11 years now accounting for up to 91 per cent of all children on the move at some key transit points. This new reality poses challenges to national migration policies and humanitarian responses in countries of origin, transit and destination.

The physical risks along irregular migration routes are innumerable, especially for children. As well as the dangerous terrain they traverse  from jungles and rivers to railway lines and highways - children may also encounter violence, exploitation, and abuse.

"My favourite part was leaving the jungle because it's a nightmare in there," said Angela*, an 8-year-old girl who walked through the Darien jungle in 2022. During the journey, Angela and her 10-year-old sister were separated from their parents and wandered lost for two days before being reunited. The family traveled for more than 40 days to reach Guatemala before continuing to their destination.

The mixed migration flows in Latin America and the Caribbean are dynamic and often intersect; most countries are simultaneously points of origin, transit, destination, and return. This presents challenges and requires an integrated approach within the region to ensure migrant and refugee children and their families are protected and the root causes of forced migration are addressed.

UNICEF is working with partners and governments along migration routes to provide accurate information to promote safe migration, to offer lifesaving assistance and support children's access to essential services. This includes helping countries prevent, detect and safeguard children from violence and assisting children and families who face hardship and exploitation on their migration journey.

UNICEF is appealing for US$160.5 million to meet the humanitarian needs of refugees and migrant children in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay. As of August 2023, UNICEF has received less than 20 per cent (approximately US$32.5m) of its funding requirements. UNICEF is also appealing for US$142.31 million for children and families on the migration route across Central America and Mexico in 2023. As of August, UNICEF has received just 26 per cent of these much-needed funds.

"The unprecedented scale of the child migration crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean urgently requires a stronger humanitarian response as well as the expansion of safe and regular migration pathways for children and families to help protect their rights and their futures, no matter where they are from," said Garry Conille, UNICEF Latin America and the Caribbean Director.

UNICEF continues to urge United Nations Member States in the region to ensure the rights, safety, and well-being of migrant and refugee children, including by:

Mobilizing a regional approach to international protection and to address the child-specific root causes of migration, to build on the interconnected nature of migration movements and policy responses in the region.

Investing in countries of origin to improve access to services, prevent and respond to violence, and create education and livelihood opportunities for vulnerable children, young people, and families, and support children who continue their residence in the country of origin while their parents have migrated.

Expanding safe and regular migration pathways for children and families, including family reunification mechanisms, while upholding the right to territorial asylum. Children and families should be allowed to enter a state's territory in order to apply for asylum and be able to remain there for the duration of asylum proceedings.

Strengthening child-sensitive border and reception processes that are led by child protection authorities at the earliest possible stage, implement child-specific safeguards, preserve family unity including for children traveling with their non-parental caregivers, and ensure access to legal services.

Investing in strong national child protection systems to safeguard all children, including migrant and refugee children, from exploitation and violence, ensuring compliance with adequate procedures to determine their best interests, and promote safe border crossing.

Notes to editors:

*Name changed

Read and download the Child Alert here: https://www.unicef.org/child-alert/migration-latin-america-caribbean

Photos, b-roll and other multimedia assets, including stories from families impacted, are available here. Angela's story  mentioned in the press release  is included.

About UNICEF

UNICEF is the world's leading humanitarian organization focused on children. We work in the most challenging areas to provide protection, healthcare and immunizations, education, safe water and sanitation and nutrition. As part of the United Nations, our unrivaled reach spans more than 190 countries and territories, ensuring we are on the ground to help the most disadvantaged children. While part of the UN system, UNICEF relies entirely on voluntary donations to finance our life-saving work.

Please visit unicef.ca and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

SOURCE UNICEF Canada

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2023/06/c3519.html
BIELEFELD and WALLDORF, Germany, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following their long-standing partnership, NTT DATA Business Solutions AG acquired a majority stake in the Natuvion Group one year ago. Since then the leading global SAP consulting company for small to midsized enterprises (SMEs) and the recognized SAP Data Transformation Partner have together successfully enabled about 50 customers worldwide to migrate to SAP S/4HANA. The collaboration is based on a seamlessly integrated consulting and transformation service that provides customers with an all-inclusive package solution tailored to their individual needs.

"We want to make digital transformation as effective as possible for our customers, which is what makes Natuvion the perfect partner for us. We work as a team to reduce complexity and make transformation faster and more secure as well as more cost-efficient," said Norbert Rotter, CEO of NTT DATA Business Solutions and EVP of NTT DATA, Inc.

"We want to make digital transformation as effective as possible for our customers, which is what makes Natuvion the perfect partner for us. We work as a team to reduce complexity and make transformation faster and more secure as well as more cost-efficient," said Norbert Rotter, CEO of NTT DATA Business Solutions and EVP of NTT DATA, Inc. "Our service package covers the entire SAP portfolio. We also offer premium solutions that range from selective migration to transformation and data cleansing."

The product portfolio we've developed together can be used in a wide range of customer segments and is commercially scalable. From planning and consulting to the successful go-live, NTT DATA Business Solutions and Natuvion have paved the way to transformation  especially for SMEs, but also for large enterprises. The two companies also offer a standardized migration path to SAP S/4HANA for SAP By Design customers seeking a more robust infrastructure. "Our shared customers include companies from all over the world, ranging from the Danish brewery Carlsberg to the German car manufacturer BMW. Together we are bringing our customers professionally onto the new digital platforms," said Patric Dahse, CEO of Natuvion. Most recently, the "moving experts" from Walldorf have further expanded internationally by acquiring all business operations of the Slovakian SAP consulting firm LL Consulting (LLC), thereby bolstering their central development, training and delivery team for digital data migration.

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The importance of having a professional partner when migrating to SAP S/4HANA is also confirmed by the Transformation Study 2023 published by the two SAP experts. More than 600 department heads from nine countries were surveyed for the study. In the survey, 39 percent said their biggest challenge to transformation was a lack of expertise among their employees and 32 percent said it was a shortage of resources within the company. One in three of the companies responding said early involvement of external consultants was therefore crucial to their transformation success. "We are convinced that companies will not be able to allocate more capacity to an SAP S/4HANA transformation in the foreseeable future. The combination of NTT DATA Business Solutions and Natuvion in the portfolio enables a standardized yet custom-tailored and secured transformation for our customers," said Florian Sackmann, Customer Engagement Director at NTT DATA Business Solutions.

About NTT DATA Business Solutions

NTT DATA Business Solutions drives innovation:  from advisory and implementation, to managed services and beyond, continuously enhances SAP solutions to make them work for companies  and for their people. Aiming to help companies to transform, grow and become more successful, NTT DATA Business Solutions connects with a more than in-depth expertise for SAP solutions its clients business opportunities with the latest technologies  individually and across all business areas. As part of the NTT DATA group and as a global strategic partner of SAP, with close ties to other partners, NTT DATA Business Solutions gives clients and prospects access to innovative solutions and developments and thus makes an important contribution to innovation and long-term business success. NTT DATA Business Solutions employs more than 13,500 people in more than 30 countries.

About NTT DATA

NTT DATA  a part of NTT Group  is a trusted global innovator of IT and business services headquartered in Tokyo. We help clients transform through consulting, industry solutions, business process services, digital & IT modernization and managed services. NTT DATA enables them, as well as society, to move confidently into the digital future. We are committed to our clients' long-term success and combine global reach with local client attention to serve them in over 50 countries around the globe. Visit us at nttdata.com.

About Natuvion

Natuvion is a digital moving company. Natuvion moves business-critical data and processes from one technological platform to another! The Natuvion experts are always required when medium-sized and large companies want to modernize, optimize, separate, merge or rebuild their IT systems! This exclusive technical transformation expertise enables Natuvion customers to always leverage their data and processes on the most advanced and innovative technologies. As Inc. 5000 and FT 1000, Natuvion Group has been one of the most dynamically growing software and IT consulting companies in Europe for 4 years in a row.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.

Press Contact

Jasmin Straeter

Head of Global Communications

NTT DATA Business Solutions AG

Konigsbreede 1, 33605 Bielefeld

T: +49 521 9 14 48 108

Email: Jasmin.Straeter@nttdata.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2203290/Norbert_Rotter_NTT_DATA_CEO.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2203291/Patric_Dahse_CEO_Natuvion.jpg

"Our shared customers include companies from all over the world. Together we are bringing our customers professionally onto the new digital platforms," said Patric Dahse, CEO of Natuvion.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/one-year-majority-stake-acquisition-ntt-data-business-solutions-and-natuvion-offer-all-inclusive-package-solutions-for-digital-transformation-301919736.html

SOURCE NTT DATA Business Solutions AG
Insiders were net buyers of Reedy Lagoon Corporation Limited's (ASX:RLC ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders bought more stock than they sold.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

Check out our latest analysis for Reedy Lagoon

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Reedy Lagoon

In fact, the recent purchase by Leon Serry was the biggest purchase of Reedy Lagoon shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was higher than AU$0.006 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. 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. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. It is encouraging to see an insider paid above the current price for shares, as it suggests they saw value, even at higher levels. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Leon Serry.

You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Reedy Lagoon is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does Reedy Lagoon Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Reedy Lagoon insiders own about AU$1.4m 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.

Story continues

What Might The Insider Transactions At Reedy Lagoon Tell Us?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss during the last year, which makes us a little cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Reedy Lagoon insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. 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 help with this, we've discovered 5 warning signs (4 are a bit unpleasant!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Reedy Lagoon.

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.
From what we can see, insiders were net buyers in A-Smart Holdings Ltd.'s (SGX:BQC ) during the past 12 months. That is, insiders acquired the stock in greater numbers than they sold it.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for A-Smart Holdings

A-Smart Holdings Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when insider Hong Leong Oei bought S$5.4m worth of shares at a price of S$0.18 per share. Even though the purchase was made at a significantly lower price than the recent price (S$0.20), we still think insider buying is a positive. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive.

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!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of A-Smart Holdings

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that A-Smart Holdings insiders own 74% of the company, worth about S$27m. This kind of significant ownership by insiders does generally increase the chance that the company is run in the interest of all shareholders.

So What Do The A-Smart Holdings Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like A-Smart Holdings insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing A-Smart Holdings. To that end, you should learn about the 5 warning signs we've spotted with A-Smart Holdings (including 2 which are significant).

Story continues

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
CMG Clean Tech, the French-based company in negations with Osceola County to build a clean energy park, switched its development location amid opposition from its potential neighbors  but residents say the new site also misses the mark.

Since March, the company was in negotiations with Osceola County to build a renewable energy technology manufacturing park in the over 300-acre Mac Overstreet property on Pleasant Hill Road, east of the intersection with Reaves Road.

Now, the company plans to build on a roughly 63-acre portion of the Poinciana SunRail site, located about 7 miles away from the Mac Overstreet property.

Osceola County issued a notice of its intent to award the sale of the SunRail site to CMG Clean Techs U.S. affiliate Panacea Global Energy in late August.

The move comes after the company faced scrutiny by neighboring residents who asked commissioners to stop the sale of the Mac Overstreet land to CMG Clean Tech over fears about the safety of a proposed hydrogen plant and the potential for increased traffic congestion.

Debbie Rambis, the leader of the residents opposed to the clean energy park, said she is happy the company listened to their concerns about the original site. But she feels it has switched to another inappropriate location.

Company pulls hydrogen portion of Osceola County clean energy park after resident backlash

People wanted to characterize it as a NIMBY, a not in my backyard [issue], but its really more than that. It shouldnt be in anyones back yard, Rambis said. There are appropriate locations that are zoned currently that this would be a great location for and why they insist on going next to residential homes, next to school children, I just dont understand.

Rambis said she and her neighbors are frustrated the company listened to their concerns but the county commissioners did not.

The group plans to speak to commissioners at Mondays public comments meeting and ask that the clean energy park to be placed elsewhere and not near a residential area, Rambis said.

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Its a strategy the group has used before.

Rambis and her neighbors circulated petitions, which gathered thousands of signatures, filled public comments meetings and held rallies for months after CMG Clean Techs project was announced. In May, the company decided to no longer build the planned hydrogen plant in the project, yielding to safety concerns from residents.

Any constituent should be able to contact [commissioners] through email or by phone and express their concerns and those concerns should be taken seriously enough to take action, Rambis said. But we had to go to those extraordinary measures  to put forth the effort in order to get this stopped.

Rambis said CMG Clean Techs decision to no longer build the hydrogen portion and eventually back out of the Mac Overstreet property were signs the company was listening to their concerns but the countys decision to allow the negotiations for the SunRail site showed the county missed their point.

Why do our citizens have to go through those extraordinary means? Rambis said. Our commissioners need to be looking out more for our quality of life.

Osceola County Manager Don Fisher said in an email that CMG Clean Tech was the most responsive applicant to the request for interest in purchasing the SunRail site. Fisher said the project provides opportunities for residents in the nearby homes or those who live farther away to use SunRails mass transit system to get to work at higher wage jobs, which aligns with the countys strategic plans.

Since the site is already properly zoned for a project like this one, we expect the process to finalize the agreement with Panacea will be streamlined, Fisher said in the email. It is our intent to negotiate an Acquisition and Development Agreement for this site with Panacea, which will be presented to the Board for their consideration at a public meeting. Board approval will bring us one step closer to bringing 1,200 high wage jobs to Osceola County.

CMG Clean Tech did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
A bankruptcy judge in Texas approved the Chapter 11 bankruptcy plans Wednesday by Party City, based in Woodcliff Lake, that will help keep the chain afloat.

The plans will see Party City cancel roughly $1 billion in debt for the company and equity shares turned over to the retailers lenders, according to media reports and court records with the U.S Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Judge David Jones approved the plan on Wednesday.

Jones argued that Party City simply had too high a debt load from before the bankruptcy to pay off the debt and still have money for the shareholders, Fox Business reported.

Companies like Party City and Davids Bridal are among the few that have survived bankruptcy this year  others, like Christmas Tree Shops, Bed Bath & Beyond and Tuesday Morning, have not been so lucky.

A shopper leaves a Party City store in Vernon Hills, Ill., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020. Party City Holdco Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023 as the party supply chain confronts inflationary pressures and a pullback in consumer spending. The party supplies chain, which operates more than 800 company-owned and franchise stores throughout North America, has been long struggling with increased competition from the likes of Walmart and Target.

As part of the deal, Party City attorney Ken Zimon said in Houston that the party goods store would have to close just a handful of its 800 stores and would be able to preserve thousands of jobs, according to Reuters.

Party Citys value was estimated to be between $350 million and $750 million, Reuters reported.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January to reduce its nearly $1.7 billion debt load and secured $150 million in debtor-in-possession financing to keep the lights on.

Party City for years has faced growing competition from Walmart and Target and increasingly from occasion-based pop-up stores such as Spirit Halloween. That pressure has intensified in an era of rising prices, including for helium used in party balloons, and slowing consumer demand.

With our debt substantially reduced and Party City store portfolio optimized, we will emerge better positioned to advance our strategic priorities, continue to innovate and elevate the consumer experience, and pursue new growth opportunities, Party City CEO Brad Weston said Wednesday.

In 2021, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority awarded $10 million in tax breaks to entice Party City to move its headquarters to Tice Boulevard in Woodcliff Lake, rather than to White Plains, New York. The move consolidated jobs formerly in New York and Rockaway in Morris County. Party City said it would relocate as many as 700 jobs to Bergen County, a move celebrated by state and local officials.

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Last November, state EDA CEO Tim Sullivan said payment of the tax breaks would be contingent on the company's proving it had created the jobs as promised.

They havent gotten a penny yet, Sullivan said at the time.

The news comes as the company is embroiled in a class-action lawsuit from investors saying Party City hid its financial woes from shareholders ahead of its bankruptcy.

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.

Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter:@danielmunoz100

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Party City bankruptcy: What happens to stores?
Fertility

The privacy watchdog has launched a review into fertility apps amid concerns that they may be misusing womens personal data.

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) said more than half of women had concerns about the security of period-tracking and fertility apps.

Such apps are commonly used by women who are looking to see when they are most likely to conceive.

In a survey, the data watchdog found 54pc of women reported seeing more adverts related to babies or pregnancy after signing up for a fertility app.

It added that 17pc of women said they found seeing the adverts distressing. Tech companies have previously been criticised by women who have received adverts about babies even as they are struggling to conceive or after a miscarriage.

The survey also found 59pc of women were concerned the apps were not upfront about how they were using their personal details.

The data watchdog said it wanted to find out whether consumers were at risk from the information being gathered by fertility apps.

The ICO said the harms could include requesting or storing unnecessary volumes of data or sending upsetting targeted advertising that users did not sign up to.

The watchdog urged more women to come forward to share their experiences of using fertility apps.

In May this year, a popular fertility app in the US was fined $200,000 by regulators for sharing users health information and location data without their permission.

Emily Keaney, deputy commissioner of regulatory policy at the ICO, said: These statistics suggest data security is a significant concern for women when it comes to choosing an app to track their periods or plan or prevent pregnancy. Thats not surprising, given the incredibly sensitive and personal information involved.

This review is intended to establish both the good and bad of how the apps are working currently. Once we have more information, we will explore next steps, but we will not hesitate to take regulatory action to protect the public if necessary.

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.
RANDOM LAKE  A 14-year-old from Random Lake has seen early success with his landscaping business.

Kelvin Mondragon established Kelvins Landscaping, LLC last summer because he wanted to save money for college. He and his dad Mario used a push mower and tractor for small-lawn mowing jobs.

The business grew with more customers, and they were able to get a zero-turn mower and add services, like snow removal, spring and fall clean-ups, and residential and commercial landscaping.

I'm thinking I want to do this for a while, Kelvin said.

In this first business venture, Kelvin said he likes making his own schedule and being his own boss. He said he wanted to establish an LLC to be more professional and show they do quality work.

Landscaper Kelvin Mondrago, 14, slowly cuts around a corner at a clients property, Wednesday, August 30, 2023, in Random Lake, Wis.

Powerboat racing impact: Mercury Racing event brings more than $4.5M in tourist spending, thousands of visitors to Sheboygan

He's young, he's smart. I think he could do any number of things, Cathy Prescher, one of Kelvin's clients in Port Washington and his former Sunday school teacher, said.

Prescher met the Mondragon family, including Kelvin's mom Claudia and sister Valerie, at Christian Life Church-North in Belgium. She needed help mowing the steep hill in her back yard and Kelvin and Mario were able to tackle the challenge.

It worked out well last year, and I'm thankful that they're still doing it, Prescher said, adding the pair work very well together.

Landscaper Kelvin Mondrago, 14, poses by his work truck, Wednesday, August 30, 2023, in Random Lake, Wis. His father, Mario, who is an employee of his, drives him from job to job.

Kelvin said some inquiring clients are hesitant to work with him because of his age. Some question if hes capable and trustworthy of doing the job, but they are put at ease when they see him arrive with his dad.

Initially doubtful clients may consider Kelvin for more jobs because he's shown he can do good work.

Sign up for the Streetwise newsletter Click here to get all the business openings and closings news right in your inbox

The Mondragon family recently opened Lakefront Cafe & Mexican Grill, 417 Second Street, in Random Lake, so theres been some balancing between the restaurant and landscaping business, Kelvin said.

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He said he hopes to expand lawn mowing routes, grow client base and add better equipment.

How to contact Kelvins Landscaping, LLC

Kelvins Landscaping can service areas in Sheboygan and Ozaukee counties.

Contact Kelvins Landscaping at kelvinslandscapingllc@gmail.com or 262-675-4094. Find the business on Facebook, Instagram and online at https://kelvinslandscapingllc.godaddysites.com/.

Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or agarner@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @alexx_garner.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Random Lake teen starts his own business, Kelvin's Landscaping
Question: Doug and Beverly in Cleves: The two of us have been going back and forth about our will. I think we need one, but my wife thinks we dont since were not worth millions. Whos right?

A: Since its never good practice to get in the middle of a marital disagreement by picking sides, well just say this: Everyone  no matter your net worth  should have a will. Yet, according to a Caring.com survey from 2021, only 33 percent of adults have estate planning documents in place.

Theres a general misconception that wills are only for rich people, but in reality, most people own something that can be passed on  this could be investments, a retirement account, a savings account, an insurance policy, a home or other real estate, vehicles, even jewelry. Dont you want a say in how your assets will be divided? Because realize this: If you dont have a will in place, youre basically letting the state decide what happens with your money and belongings.

You can create a pretty basic will through online services such as LegalZoom or through a software program like Quickens Willmaker. However, as with anything concerning your finances, we recommend working with a real, live estate planning attorney. He or she can assess your particular circumstance to figure out the best legal course of action. For instance, maybe a living trust is a better option (unlike a will, it avoids the probate process but is more expensive to set up).

Also, understand that beneficiary designations on accounts supersede whats outlined in a will. Therefore, make sure you have everything in alignment so nothing is contradictory.

While youre at it, its also a good idea to create a durable Power of Attorney and a healthcare proxy. These documents will name the person you want in charge of making decisions about your finances and your health if youre not able to do so.

Heres The Allworth Advice: Have a final say in what happens to your assets; take the time to create a will and update it (along with your beneficiary designations) after any major life event.

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Amy Wagner and Steve Sprovach, Allworth Advice

Q: Gregory in Batavia: My son (who is 22) has about $14,000 in student debt. He said some company told him they can help him discharge the debt if he pays a fee. Does this sound legitimate to you?

A: Student loan scams have always been around, but in the wake of the Supreme Courts decision to strike down President Bidens debt forgiveness plan a few months ago, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) actually warned that scammers would likely ramp up their efforts.

Heres what to remind him: He should ignore anyone pitching any sort of special access to debt forgiveness plans  because it simply doesnt exist. Likewise, theres no such thing as immediate debt forgiveness. Because, keep in mind, even legitimate forgiveness through the government (like for public service workers or via income-driven repayment plans) can take years to achieve.

Additionally, if a company is demanding an up-front fee for any of these so-called services, this is illegal according to the FTC. Even if they offer to simply consolidate his federal loans for a fee, he can actually do that himself for free. And he should never give out his Federal Student Aid ID.

The Allworth Advice is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Your son can report a student loan service that seems a little fishy to the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov. As a side note, he might also want to check out the governments new SAVE program; depending on his financial situation, it could provide him some repayment relief.

Every week, Allworth Financials Amy Wagner and Steve Sprovach answer your questions. If you, a friend, or someone in your family has a money issue or problem, feel free to send those questions to yourmoney@enquirer.com.

Responses are for informational purposes only and individuals should consider whether any general recommendation in these responses is suitable for their particular circumstances based on investment objectives, financial situation and needs. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional adviser of his/her choosing, including a tax adviser and/or attorney. Retirement planning services offered through Allworth Financial, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Securities offered through AW Securities, a Registered Broker/Dealer, member FINRA/SIPC. Visit allworthfinancial.com or call 513-469-7500.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Do I need a will if I'm not rich?
There are a few key trends to look for if we want to identify the next multi-bagger. Typically, we'll want to notice a trend of growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and alongside that, an expanding base of capital employed. Basically this means that a company has profitable initiatives that it can continue to reinvest in, which is a trait of a compounding machine. So while Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) has a high ROCE right now, lets see what we can decipher from how returns are changing.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

Just to clarify if you're unsure, ROCE is a metric for evaluating how much pre-tax income (in percentage terms) a company earns on the capital invested in its business. The formula for this calculation on Best Buy is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.25 = US$1.7b  (US$15b - US$8.4b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to July 2023).

Thus, Best Buy has an ROCE of 25%. In absolute terms that's a great return and it's even better than the Specialty Retail industry average of 13%.

See our latest analysis for Best Buy

roce

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Best Buy compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Best Buy here for free.

What Does the ROCE Trend For Best Buy Tell Us?

On the surface, the trend of ROCE at Best Buy doesn't inspire confidence. Historically returns on capital were even higher at 41%, but they have dropped over the last five years. On the other hand, the company has been employing more capital without a corresponding improvement in sales in the last year, which could suggest these investments are longer term plays. It may take some time before the company starts to see any change in earnings from these investments.

Another thing to note, Best Buy has a high ratio of current liabilities to total assets of 55%. This effectively means that suppliers (or short-term creditors) are funding a large portion of the business, so just be aware that this can introduce some elements of risk. Ideally we'd like to see this reduce as that would mean fewer obligations bearing risks.

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The Bottom Line On Best Buy's ROCE

To conclude, we've found that Best Buy is reinvesting in the business, but returns have been falling. Unsurprisingly, the stock has only gained 10% over the last five years, which potentially indicates that investors are accounting for this going forward. As a result, if you're hunting for a multi-bagger, we think you'd have more luck elsewhere.

One more thing to note, we've identified 1 warning sign with Best Buy and understanding it should be part of your investment process.

If you want to search for more stocks that have been earning high returns, check out this free list of stocks with solid balance sheets that are also earning high returns on equity.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Royal Wine Corp. and Herzog Wine Cellars expand their portfolio of luxury wines with acquisition of boutique legacy winery Sonoma-Loeb, add trio of kosher Sonoma-Loeb wines to the lineup.

Dignitary Pinot Noir

A bottle of the newest Pinot Noir from Sonoma-Loeb, under the Dignitary label, a trio of kosher wines from the classic Sonoma winemaking house.

Dignitary Cabernet Sauvignon

A bottle of the newest Pinot Noir from Sonoma-Loeb, under the Dignitary label, a trio of kosher wines from the classic Sonoma winemaking house.

Oxnard, CA, Sept. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In their continuing efforts to expand their catalog of luxury wines, Royal Wine Corp has acquired Northern Californias legacy winery Sonoma-Loeb, founded in 1981 by Ambassador to Denmark and American business magnate John L. Loeb, Jr. Under the guidance of Chappellet Winery owners Don and Molly Chappellet and winemaker Philip Corralo-Titus, Sonoma-Loeb has risen to become one of the most respected and consistent performers in California wine country. The acquisition positions Royal Wine to expand into new markets while adding an established label to their already extensive lineup of wines.

Sonoma-Loeb is currently overseen by John L. Loeb, Jr.s son Nick, a respected businessman and film producer. Loeb sees the acquisition as an opportunity to take the brand to the next level of exposure and success.

Currently, Sonoma-Loeb is sold through Total Wine and consists of five wines made from grapes grown in some of Sonomas most prestigious locales, from the windswept Pacific coastline to the storied Russian River Valley. In addition to the core offerings, Royal is producing a Kosher version of Sonoma-Loebcalled Dignitary, in honor of John Loeb, Jr. and his storied legacy. Dignitary will launch with three offeringsthe original three varietals that built Sonoma-Loeb into the esteemed label that it isPinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The first wines under Royals management will land in the marketplace this fall.

About Royal Wine/Kedem

Founded in 1848, Royal Wine Corp. has been owned and operated in the United States by the Herzog family, whose winemaking roots go back eight generations to its origin in Czechoslovakia. Today, Royal Wine's portfolio of domestic and international wines range from traditional wine producing regions of France, Italy, and Spain, as well as Israel, New Zealand, Argentina and more.

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The company owns and operates the Kedem Winery in upstate New York, as well as Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard, California, a state-of-the-art-facility featuring guided wine tours, a fully staffed modern tasting room, gift shop and catering facilities. Additionally, the winery houses the award-winning restaurant Tierra Sur, serving the finest, Mediterranean-inspired, contemporary Californian Cuisine. Follow Royal Wine Corp at: @royalwinecorp; https://www.facebook.com/RoyalWineCorp

Attachments

CONTACT: David Whittemore Herzog Wine Cellars 8059831560 dwhittemore@herzogwinecellars.com




Activists throw cream pie on Ryanair CEO Micheal O'Leary as he delivers a petition to Ursula von der Leyen - EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

Michael OLeary has been attacked with a cream pie as he arrived at the European Commissions headquarters to deliver a petition to Ursula von der Leyen.

The Ryanair boss was struck as he stood alongside a cardboard cutout of the European Commission president, who he planned to hand a Ryanair petition signed by 1.5m people.

A video of the incident shows two women shouting welcome in Belgium as both hit him with pies. One hit him in the face, while the other went on the top of his head.

They then shouted stop the pollution of the ******* planes.

Mr OLeary responded well done before composing himself and taking off his jacket.

It is not yet known if the two women were part of an environmental group.

After the incident, Mr OLeary told Belgium newspaper La Derniere Heure: I have never had such a warm welcome. Unfortunately it was environmentalists and the cream was artificial.

I invite passengers to come to Ireland where the cream is better!

The company tweeted: Warm welcome in Brussels today to celebrate RYRs 7 new routes for Winter 23.

Passengers so happy with our routes and petition that theyre celebrating with cake. Weve got tasty low fares!

The Ryanair boss was in Brussel to promote his campaign to protect so-called overflights in Europe during air traffic control disruption.

Current EU rules prevent airlines from flying over countries when local air traffic control staff are on strike, even if the plane does not intend to land there. Ryanair has blamed the rules for hundreds of cancellations and delays this year.

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.
PORTSMOUTH  If youve had entering the 10 To Watch Seacoast young professionals contest on your to-do list, its time to get it done.

Theres just a few days left to throw your hat in the ring of the contest, which is celebrating its 10th year of celebrating the Seacoast's rising stars. Nominations close at the end of the day on Sunday, Sept. 10. You can nominate yourself or a young professional you know through an easy, online application process at seacoastonline.com/10towatch2023.

The 10 To Watch contest Seacoast young professionals contest is presented by LocaliQ and Catapult Seacoast, sponsored by Bank of America, Eversource NH and Heritage Home Services.

The 2023 10 To Watch contest, presented by LocaliQ and Catapult Seacoast, recognizes young professionals ages 21 to 40 who live or work in the Seacoast of New Hampshire and southern Maine. This years contest is sponsored by Bank of America, Eversource NH and Heritage Home Services.

"Being involved in the 10 to Watch contest is about recognizing and elevating the incredible talent we have in our young professional community here in Portsmouth. It's more than just an accolade; it's a catalyst for future innovation, community involvement, and leadership, said Scott Forte, president of Catapult Seacoast and a real estate agent for Century 21 North East. Self-nomination isn't an act of ego; it's an act of community. By stepping into the spotlight, young professionals inspire their peers to strive for excellence and contribute to an atmosphere of mutual growth and success. That's the kind of thriving community we aim to foster through Catapult.

After the nomination period closes on Sunday, Sept. 10, 20 finalists will be announced and the 10 To Watch judges will choose 10 winners from the pool of finalists. The top 20 finalists, along with the 10 winners, will be selected by a panel of judges from young professional organizations from around New Hampshire, curated by Stay Work Play.

We are excited to have another year successfully honoring young professionals in the Seacoast area, said Catapult Seacoast Vice President Kaley Gagne. Its important to our organization to showcase nominees and all their accomplishments.

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Gagne is a branch manager at Kennebunk Savings Bank in Portsmouth and Hampton.

The Seacoast has many opportunities for the young professional network and we want to leverage our community connections to display these accomplishments, she said. We have seen year after year the continued success of all nominees and the contributions they bring to our communities.

The 10 To Watch winners will be named on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at an awards ceremony at the Music Hall Lounge in Portsmouth. Winners receive a donation to make to a local non-profit of their choosing.

"Recognizing and applauding young professionals doing admirable things around us is a great ode to the power of the Seacoast community, said Bryttnie Gillis, a real estate agent with Compass Real Estate in Portsmouth and events co-chair for Catapult Seacoast. Our 10 to Watch event is really a showpiece that ties together the efforts we (Catapult) work on year-round to bring together young professionals and showcase their talents and victories to inspire others. These victories do not need to be over the top. If it made a difference to your life, it will likely provide the same to others. It's not too late to nominate yourself, or someone you know for an opportunity to be recognized through this special event. Just do it!"

During the contest period, Seacoast Media Group is publishing profiles of the winners of last years 10 To Watch contest. Keep an eye on seacoastonline.com and its Facebook page to learn more about past winners.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Seacoast 10 to Watch 2023 nominations near deadline: Enter now
ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah

NEENAH  ThedaCare has named a new chief operating officer ahead of a planned merger with Froedtert Health thats set to begin in 2024.

The Neenah-based health care system announced Matt Wille, FACHE, MHA, MPPA, will assume the COO role Oct. 30 and Mark Thompson, current COO and chief financial officer of ThedaCare, will transition to serve as chief transformation investment officer in the new structure created by Froedtert Health and ThedaCares planned combined organization.

Wille, a news release said, most recently served as president and CEO of Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Michigan. He has also held numerous leadership positions at various health systems in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois.

Matt Wille

The release added he will collaborate with ThedaCares executive leadership team to develop and implement plans for the operational infrastructure of systems that support the growth and population health objectives of the organization.

ThedaCare modernization: ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah unveils Behavioral Health redesign, new Women's Center

Wille has a masters of public policy and administration from Northwestern University, a masters of health care administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota and a bachelors degree in economics from the University of Iowa. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, serves as a member on Regional Policy Board of the American Hospital Association and serves as the vice chairman of the Legislative Policy Panel of the Michigan Hospital Association.

Cathy Jacobson, CEO of Froedtert Health

Froedtert Health and ThedaCare announced Sept. 6 that their respective boards had approved a definitive agreement outlining the terms of the planned combined health system. Following the launch of the combined health system, Froedtert Health President and CEO Cathy Jacobson will initially assume the role of CEO, and ThedaCare President and CEO Imran A. Andrabi, M.D., FAAFM will serve as president. After a six-month transition, Jacobson will retire from the organization and Dr. Andrabi will assume the role of president and CEO of the combined organization.

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As the process moves forward, the health systems said patients can continue seeing their doctor and accessing the services they always have. The community can follow the latest updates on the merger at WIcareWIroots.com.

Froedtert Health is a Milwaukee-based, integrated health care system that includes hospitals and health centers, home care, laboratory, health insurance, employer health services and workplace clinics, and digital health solutions.

ThedaCare upgrades: ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah unveils new helipad, redesigned Trauma Center

ThedaCare delivers care to more than 650,000 residents in 17 counties and employs approximately 7,000 providers and team members. It has 180 points of care, including eight hospitals.

Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @breidHTRNews.

This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: ThedaCare Froedtert merger: Neenah health care system names new COO
This article will shed light on the major vegetable oil-producing countries and their latest production amounts. You can skip our analysis of the vegetable oil industry and read Top 8 Vegetable Oil Producing Countries in the World.

Oils extracted from soybean, palm, canola, sunflower, olive, and coconut plants serve as a cornerstone in the agricultural economies of the top vegetable oil producing countries in the world. Historically, the twin titans of vegetable oil production have been Indonesia and Malaysia due to their dominance in palm oil cultivation. As of the last assessment, Malaysia and Indonesia own 85% of the world's palm oil output. Likewise, China, the US, and Brazil are the leading soybean oil producers.

Currently, Malaysia is the largest exporter of vegetable oils, with the Netherlands and China as its primary importers. According to OEC, Malaysia's vegetable oil exports amounted to $1.63 billion in 2021, and the Netherlands imported vegetable oil valued at $499 million in the same year. Notably, in addition to their obvious culinary uses, vegetable oils are also employed in biodiesel production. According to Precedence Research, the biodiesel market was $36.48 billion in 2022, and 96.4% of its worldwide revenue originated from the vegetable oil feedstock category.

We have previously discussed the 15 Most Consumed Edible Oils in the World; read our article to discover which oils are most in demand.

Companies Focusing on Innovation in the Vegetable Oil Industry

The vegetable oil industry was valued at $212.6 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 4.8% between 2022 and 2027, reaching $268.9 billion by 2027. As market dynamics shift, with an increasing emphasis on sustainability and healthier alternatives, companies are consistently innovating to optimize vegetable oil yield. For instance, Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM), a titan in the vegetable oil industry, specializes in edible oil sourcing, processing, and distribution. The company leads in vegetable oil innovation and has invested in a biodiesel-focused soybean crushing plant. The soybean plant aims to produce 600 million pounds of refined soybean oil, a portion of which will be utilized as renewable diesel feedstock.

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Besides biodiesel, ADM-SIO, a subsidiary of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM), has introduced sustainable personal care solutions derived from hydrogenated vegetable oils. A prevalent texturization agent in personal care products like soaps, lipsticks, and lotions is stearic acid; this agent traditionally comes from the hydrolysis of animal fat. However, a more sustainable method involves using hydrogenated vegetable oils, such as cottonseed, palm, olive, and sunflower oils.

As a result, Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) produces texturization agents from these hydrogenated vegetable oils for use in cosmetics and personal care items, offering a more eco-friendly alternative to those derived from animal fats. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) is also among the vegan stocks billionaires are loading up on; the company currently has 12 billionaire investors and has invested $300 million to increase its production capacity to meet the rising demand for alternative proteins. As the company foresees a $125 billion market for alternative proteins by 2030, it plans to capitalize on it.

Similarly, Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) is refining its strategies for oilseed processing and oil extraction efficiency. Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG)'s venture into high-oleic oils is notable, addressing the increasing demand for healthier vegetable oil alternatives. High-oleic vegetable oils, which have a greater percentage of monounsaturated oleic acid than standard oils, possess an extended shelf life and are more cost-effective. The stability and skin-friendly attributes of high-oleic oils also make them a preferred choice for formulations in creams, lotions, and other cosmetic products.

Bunge Limited (NYSE:BG) and Viterra, a Glencore Plc-backed marketer and handler of grains and oilseeds, have recently entered into an agreement to form a combined global agribusiness solutions company. The agreement is based on a cash and stock transaction, and the merger aims to create an innovative agribusiness company to meet the demands of increasingly complex markets.

As the union will increase both companies' market foothold, they plan to better manage seasonal cycles and supply chains. According to Bunge's announcement, Viterra shareholders will receive 65.6 million shares of Bunge stock, with an aggregate value of approximately $6.2 billion, along with $2.0 billion in cash. The terms represent a consideration mix of around 75% Bunge stock and 25% cash. Moreover, as part of the deal, Bunge Limited will assume $9.8 billion of Viterra's debt, which is associated with approximately $9.0 billion of highly liquid, readily marketable inventories.

We have already done a detailed overview of the 12 Biggest Palm Oil Companies In The World; read this insightful piece to know this sector's central entities.

Lets now move towards the top vegetable oil producing countries.

Top 20 Vegetable Oil Producing Countries In The World

Top 20 Vegetable Oil Producing Countries In The World

Our Methodology

We identified the countries with the highest vegetable oil output using the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) database. After shortlisting the top 20 vegetable oil producing countries, we obtained their oil production data for 2020, 2019, and 2018 from the UN FAO. We then averaged these annual production figures to determine these nations' standard vegetable oil yield.

Based on our findings, here are the leading nations in the vegetable oil industry:

20. The Philippines

Average Annual Vegetable Oil Production: 1.35 million tons

The Philippines has vast coconut plantations; naturally, it's a leading producer of coconut oil. In 2020, the country's largest share of vegetable oil production came from coconut oil (almost 0.96 million tons), followed by maize oil. The country's tropical climate and archipelagic geography provide an ideal environment for coconut cultivation. Beyond mere production, the Philippines has also invested in refining, marketing, and research to cement its position in coconut oil exports.

19. Japan

Average Annual Vegetable Oil Production: 1.61 million tons

While Japan is not traditionally recognized as an agricultural powerhouse, it has a specialized niche in vegetable oil production. Canola (rapeseed) and soybean oils are predominant in the country and are deeply rooted in Japanese culinary traditions. Notably, the country employs advanced oil extraction and refining technologies to ensure consistent quality.

18. Colombia

Average Annual Vegetable Oil Production: 1.84 million tons

Colombia's tropical climate and fertile plains are favorable for palm cultivation, and as a result, the country's annual palm oil production is close to 1 million tons. Other top vegetable oils in Colombia are palm kernel oil and soybean oil.

17. Turkey

Average Annual Vegetable Oil Production: 1.937 million tons

Turkey's dominance in the vegetable oil sector comes from its extensive sunflower and olive plantations. The country's diverse climates, ranging from Mediterranean to temperate, allow for the cultivation of various oil crops. The countrys most important vegetable oil is sunflower oil, with a production of over 1 million tons, followed by olive and cottonseed oils. Turkish producers emphasize tradition, especially in olive oil, and combine ancient practices with modern technology to position the country as a quality-driven producer in the global market.

16. Mexico

Average Annual Vegetable Oil Production: 1.96 million tons

Mexico's vegetable oil industry leans heavily on its rich tradition of cultivating soybeans, coconuts, and safflowers. The country has also benefited from its strategic location and a diversified agricultural landscape that allows producers to experiment with new seed varieties. For instance, Mexican producers began growing canola around 2000 and have had success with its yield. Today, a significant share of Mexicos total vegetable oil output comes from canola.

15. Nigeria

Average Annual Vegetable Oil Production: 2.04 million tons

Nigeria is Africa's top palm oil producer, and the country's palm oil yield currently stands at 1.28 million tons. The Niger Delta region, characterized by its tropical climate, is particularly conducive to oil palm cultivation. Although the vegetable oil industry faced challenges in past decades, recent revitalization efforts by the government and stakeholders are steadily restoring Nigeria's position in the palm oil market. Besides palm oil, the country also boasts a significant yield of groundnut and soybean oil.

14. France

Average Annual Vegetable Oil Production: 2.49 million tons

France's vegetable oil industry thrives on its agricultural landscape; notably, the country's agricultural production value is the highest in the EU. Rapeseed oil production in France amounts to 1.7 million tons, thanks to its vast rapeseed fields. French vegetable oil producers are renowned for maintaining high standards of quality and sustainability. Coupled with strong regulatory frameworks, France has consistently ranked among the top European vegetable oil producers.

13. Spain

Average Annual Vegetable Oil Production: 2.613 million tons

Spain and olive oil are synonymous, as the country ranks first among the countries that produce the best extra virgin olive oil. Also, according to the International Olive Council (IOC), Spain produces 40% of global olive oil. The Iberian Peninsula boasts extensive olive groves and benefits from a Mediterranean climate. Spain's dedication to quality assurance and appellation control guarantees its esteemed position in the global market.

12. Thailand

Average Annual Vegetable Oil Production: 3.61 million tons

Thailand has a strong foothold in the vegetable oil industry because of its vast palm oil and coconut oil production. The country's tropical climate and extensive coastline create an ideal environment for these crops. According to the UN FAO, Thailands palm oil production reaches up to 2.6 million tons annually.

11. Germany

Average Annual Vegetable Oil Production: 4.41 million tons

Germany produces close to 3.7 million tons of rapeseed (canola) oil each year, owing to its temperate climate and fertile soils. Moreover, the nation's agricultural infrastructure and emphasis on quality have helped it carve a niche in the global vegetable oil market.

10. Canada

Average Annual Vegetable Oil Production: 4.71 million tons

Canada is a global leader in canola oil production, and the country's current canola oil production stands at 4.4 million tons. While Canada also produces soybean, maize, and linseed oil, their yields are significantly lower than that of canola oil. The countrys impressive canola oil yield can be attributed to its cooler climate.

9. India

Average Annual Vegetable Oil Production: 6.004 million tons

India's agriculture is among the most diverse in the world, a result of its vast expanse. The nation produces significant amounts of cotton, canola, soybean, mustard, and coconut and naturally capitalizes on the oil from these seeds. According to the UN FAO, Indias primary vegetable oils are canola, soybean, and cottonseed oils. Systematic breeding programs have improved the quality of oils produced in the country, emphasizing purity and nutritional content.

Click to continue reading Top 8 Vegetable Oil Producing Countries In The World.

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Disclosure: None. Top 20 Vegetable Oil Producing Countries in the World was originally published at Insider Monkey.
FILE PHOTO: James Kuffner, CEO of Toyota Research Institute - Advanced Development, Inc. (TRI-AD) speaks at the company's office in Tokyo

By Daniel Leussink

TOKYO (Reuters) - James Kuffner, the chief executive of Toyota Motor's autonomous driving technology unit Woven by Toyota, will step down from his post effective Oct. 1, the subsidiary said in a statement on Thursday.

Kuffner will be appointed a senior fellow at a new unit that Toyota Motor will establish in October to drive software-related business and development, the world's biggest automaker by sales said in a separate statement.

The new organisation, which will be named the Software Development Center, will consolidate existing software-related functions that belong to other Toyota units, including those focused on safety and connected car technology.

Kuffner had joined the Toyota Research Institute in 2016 and later served as the automaker's chief digital officer and as a board member. He left the board in June.

He will be replaced by Hajime Kumabe as chief executive of Woven by Toyota, pending approval by the unit's board, the statement said.

Kumabe is currently serving as top executive of J-QuAD Dynamics, an automated driving-focused firm set up in April 2019 by Denso, Aisin and two other suppliers to Toyota.

Toyota established Woven Planet in 2021 to invest in and develop mobility with artificial intelligence.

The unit is also developing an automotive software platform, Arene, and building a testing site named Woven City for mobility-related systems and services in Shizuoka prefecture, west of Tokyo.

Akihiro Sarada, an engineer who oversaw the development of the company's latest Crown range, will be named president of Toyota's new Software Development Center, the automaker said.

One of the unit's executive vice-presidents will be Denso's Chief Technology Officer Yoshifumi Kato, who will continue in his role at the supplier at the same time.

(Reporting by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Miral Fahmy, Edmund Klamann and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
Toyota Teased a Convertible Version of Its Ultra-Lux, $170,000 Century SUV photo

The Toyota Century has long been the company's luxury halo model, a sedan par excellence for Japanese royalty, government leaders, and the moneyed business set. The company now has a Century SUV on the way, in a sign that Toyota is moving with the times. It also took the opportunity to hint at the vehicle's party side, with a cabriolet version potentially in the works.

The tease of the new drop-top model came during Toyota's world premiere of the Century SUV, as covered by Motor1. While Simon Humphries, Toyota's Chief Branding Officer, explained that the "possibilities are endless" for customization, an image of a convertible Century SUV appeared in the background. It suggests Toyota might be keen to recreate the joys of the much-maligned Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTMrIYWULJE\u0026t=1164s

We know the hardtop Century SUV is set to cost the equivalent of $170,000 when it goes on sale in Japan. While the Century has always been, by and large, a nameplate for Japan and Japan only, that may very well change for this model. The Wall Street Journal paraphrased Toyota Executive Vice President Hiroki Nakajima as saying the SUV "will be offered to customers in all regions of the world," though details on U.S. availability are unknown at this time. In any case, we'd expect a potential convertible version to cost significantly more than regular SUV, especially if it's part of a bespoke customization program akin to what Rolls-Royce offers for its own lineup.

Don't expect to see Century convertibles roaming the streets on your future Japanese holiday, regardless. Toyota only expects to sell about 360 units of the ultra-luxury SUV each year, and that's for the regular hardtop version. A convertible model would be even more exceedingly rare by comparison. The new Century SUV will be built alongside the existing sedan line.

Notably, this isn't the first time that Toyota has built a Century with an eye for top-down fun. The automaker famously revealed a topless version of the Century sedan for Emperor Naruhito's ascension to the Japanese throne in 2019.

Story continues

Cabriolet SUVs have become more of a thing in the past decade or so. Land Rover caught plenty of attention with the Range Rover Evoque convertible, while Volkswagen has similarly flirted with the form with the T-Roc.

If we're honest, though, we kind of want to see what Toyota could achieve with a convertible Century SUV. At the very least, it's unlikely Toyota would disappoint when the ultimate Japanese luxury nameplate is on the line. Here's hoping it gets built.

Got a tip? Let the author know: lewin@thedrive.com
The proposed Twin Metals copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota received another setback Wednesday night when a federal judge tossed a suit from the company that sought to reinstate crucial permissions to mine.

The planned mine near Ely was to be located in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The Biden Administration cancelled Twin Metal's mineral rights in January 2022, and the company filed a suit to have them returned in August of that same year.

But in the latest ruling, U.S. District Judge Christopher R. Cooper dismissed the case, agreeing with federal agencies and several intervenor environmental groups that the court didn't have jurisdiction to hear some of Twin Metals' arguments. For other arguments, he wrote that the company had failed to lay out a claim that could progress in court.

Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness was one of the groups that became an intervenor, arguing against Twin Metals' rights being reinstated.

"Twin Metals was making a Hail Mary pass in its hope to get around the law and facts," the group's executive director, Chris Knopf, wrote in an email. "The court saw through this and in its decision to toss out the case, affirmed science, affirmed the law, and protected some of the cleanest water in the country."

It is unclear if Twin Metals will appeal the ruling or bring another legal action that might fare better. The plaintiffs were Twin Metals, a subsidiary of Chilean mining giant Antofagosta, and Franconia Minerals, a subsidiary of Twin Metals.

In a statement, spokeswoman Kathy Graul wrote that the company was "disappointed" by the decision and was "working to determine next steps."

When the company filed its original suit, Dean DeBeltz, Twin Metals' director of operations, wrote that the company wanted "a fair and consistent environmental review of our proposed mining project."

Like other hardrock mine projects which are still new to Minnesota  Twin Metals argues that it would supply needed metals for the energy transition. But no other hardrock mine proposal is so directly connected to the Boundary Waters, a unique, federally protected wilderness area cherished by generations of Minnesotans.

Story continues

The mine has faced an uphill battle in recent years in part because of the potential that hardrock sulfide mining could release acid drainage into waters that flow to the pristine preserve of more than 1 million acres of streams, lakes and boreal forest.

In 2022, a U.S. Forest Service study found that even with safeguards in place, contamination would still be possible.

Almost exactly a year after the mineral rights cancellation, the Biden Administration also banned mining for 20 years on 225,000 acres of federal forest land  including the site Twin Metals was going to operate on.

Like the Boundary Waters itself, this protected land within the Superior National Forest is ceded by native Ojibwe people, who retain rights to hunt, fish and gather there.
China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 kicks off

Xinhua) 08:21, September 07, 2023

A staff member explains as visitors look at an emergency communication support system at the China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Sept. 6, 2023. The China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 kicked off here on Wednesday, focusing on the development of the industrial internet. (Xinhua/Luo Xuefeng)

A staff member explains as visitors look at a robot made by Tesla at the China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Sept. 6, 2023. The China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 kicked off here on Wednesday, focusing on the development of the industrial internet. (Xinhua/Luo Xuefeng)

Visitors look at a Tesla vehicle at the China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Sept. 6, 2023. The China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 kicked off here on Wednesday, focusing on the development of the industrial internet. (Xinhua/Luo Xuefeng)

A staff member explains as visitors look at a smart factory robot in the China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Sept. 6, 2023. The China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 kicked off here on Wednesday, focusing on the development of the industrial internet. (Xinhua/Luo Xuefeng)

People visit the China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Sept. 6, 2023. The China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 kicked off here on Wednesday, focusing on the development of the industrial internet. (Xinhua/Luo Xuefeng)

A visitor looks at electronic products at Germany's Pavilion of China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Sept. 6, 2023. The China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 kicked off here on Wednesday, focusing on the development of the industrial internet. (Xinhua/Luo Xuefeng)

A staff member explains as visitors look at the smart city command center project in the China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Sept. 6, 2023. The China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 kicked off here on Wednesday, focusing on the development of the industrial internet. (Xinhua/Luo Xuefeng)

A staff member explains as visitors look at smart manufacturing projects in the China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 in Shijiazhuang, north China's Hebei Province, Sept. 6, 2023. The China International Digital Economy Expo 2023 kicked off here on Wednesday, focusing on the development of the industrial internet. (Xinhua/Luo Xuefeng)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Your chicken wings, hot dogs, and breakfast sausage could soon essentially transport themselves with the help of artificial intelligence.

Tyson Foods (TSN) announced Wednesday it teamed up with autonomous vehicle maker Gatik to test out driverless trucks in northwest Arkansas.

The multiyear contract kicked off last week with a four-truck fleet of Class 7 autonomous vehicles created to carry heavier frozen meats, and the next several trucks will be delivered in about a month, Tyson Foods vice president of transportation Patrick Simmons told Yahoo Finance.

Don't expect these self-driving trucks at your local supermarket, though. Right now they are being used to make short deliveries from a production plant to multiple cold storage facilities, which are typically 10 to 15 miles apart.

"Were after what I would call our middle mile," Simmons said. "If everything goes well, which we plan on it being that way at scale, there's really 40 sites that we've identified across the United States at some point in the future that we could roll this out."

Tyson Foods, Inc. and Gatik AI Inc. are testing autonomous trucks to deliver cold food from the plant to the storage facility. (Courtesy: Tyson Foods).

For the time being, drivers will continue to be in the vehicles as the AI software learns the routes. Eventually, the trucks will be completely driverless, which could happen in as soon as six months.

Other companies that Gatik has worked with include Kroger (KR), which in March announced plans to deliver groceries to stores in Dallas, and Tyson's neighbor in northwest Arkansas, Walmart (WMT).

'A better fit'

According to Simmons, now is the right time for innovation around transportation.

"Coming out of the lessons of COVID, there was a lot of supply chain struggles, not just within our industry but within every industry across the globe," he said. "This enables us to become more self-reliant, more agile, mobile, flexible, and better serve the business and ultimately our customers."

Tyson turned to AI technology in part due to the truck driver shortage "that was amplified during the pandemic" and still exists today, Simmons said. He also stressed that the autonomous trucks were not about eliminating jobs but finding a better fit for existing drivers.

Story continues

"Truck drivers don't like to do those short-term runs that are in and out of traffic," he said. "They like to get out on the highway and go 65 miles an hour and go 300, 400, 500 miles at a time."

A Tyson Foods semi-truck on Interstate 80 near North Platte, Nebraska. (Getty Images)

The AI component of the driverless truck also allows the company to use each vehicle longer than a traditional truck driver would be able to based on safety rules from the Department of Transportation. Instead of having drivers operate vehicles for 11 hours at a time, Tyson is planning on running the driverless trucks 18 hours a day.

As the company looks to the future, Simmons also said the efforts could help attract younger generations of workers, who are generally more interested in technology careers and will be able to manage the fleet remotely or by drone.

"That's a productivity gain for us," Simmons said. "Then we're able to repurpose our truck driver. It's a better fit for what that driver would like to be doing anyhow."

Tyson faces 'challenging' year

Tyson has been looking to get back on its feet after a string of disappointing quarterly results. Shares of the mass food producer are down 30% over the past 12 months.

Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King told Yahoo Finance recently in an exclusive interview that there has never been "a more challenging time" in his 40 years in the business. "The macro environment is challenging, and it'll continue to be challenging for a bit," King added.

In the most recent quarter, Tyson's earnings fell short of estimates as weakened consumer demand and a supply glut caused prices to fall for many products.

The company also shared plans to shutter three chicken-processing locations in October of this year, including facilities located in North Little Rock, Ark.; Noel, Mo.; and Dexter, Mo. The fourth location  in Corydon, Ind.  will close on or around March 1, 2024.

Following the results, JPMorgan analyst Ken Goldman wrote that the closures were "helpful to margins but not to an industry that remains arguably over-supplied."

"Either way, its good to see the company lean into what Donnie King sometimes does best  run efficient businesses  and we think its reasonable to model MSD operating margins for this segment as soon as 4Q23," Goldman added.

As part of those plans to streamline operations, Tyson also said it will launch a new supply chain center and announced that Brady Stewart, who previously oversaw the fresh meats business, will become the company's chief supply chain officer.

As far as the outlook for 2023, the company now expects total sales between $53 billion and $54 billion for the full year, with sales growth flat year over year.



Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.

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
Dan Ives has made a name for himself on Wall Street covering the latest and greatest tech companies and trends, but amid the rise of electric vehicles and self-driving technology, hes also begun to focus on the auto sector. While sky-high car prices have led profits to surge at many automakers in 2023, Ives thinks a worker strike could cripple the progress of some of the industrys giants, and hes not mincing words. Lets be clear: This is a potential nightmare situation for GM and Ford, he wrote in a Wednesday note.

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union is pushing for a new contract that includes a 46% pay raise, a 32-hour week, the restoration of traditional pensions, and more. And if its demands arent met, union members plan to strike. In fact, some 97% of the 146,000 UAW union members at Ford, GM, and Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) have voted to walk out if they cant agree to a new contract with their employers by Sept. 14.

Ives said a strike is now very likely because UAW leadership is under pressure to deliver a big win after the Teamsters union reached a lucrative contract agreement with UPS in July that secured wage increases for 340,000 workers, including a highly publicized $170,000 average salary for full-time drivers. And with EV competition rising across the board, the analyst argued, the timing could not be worse.

Ford, GM, and Stellantis are essentially stuck between a rock and a hard place. If they cant reach an agreement with the UAW union and workers strike, there will be production delays and their EV ambitions will be put on hold, according to Ives. But if negotiations take place and the automakers agree to a new contract with the UAW union that includes some or all of their demands, it will lead to billions of incremental annual costs.

If anything close to a 40% wage increase is approved or agreed to, Ives writes, it would be a major headwind on the cost front and ultimately in some way be passed down to the consumer. That will likely force Ford, GM, and Stellantis to raise EV prices, which could lead to demand issues amid rising competition.

Story continues

The UAW unions moves have left automakers with a tough decision: either face a production-killing strike or risk a major increase in costs for the next decade. We spent time in Detroit a few weeks ago and sense a very nervous time across the auto industry as there is a lot riding on these negotiations, Ives wrote of the situation.

Rising profits lead to audacious demands

The UAW unions demands are certainly aggressive. Even president Shawn Fain, newly elected after a series of scandals at union leadership, has called them audacious. But Fain also believes automakers rising profits justify a move to give workers a bigger slice of the pie. Our employers only value one thing, profit; they do not value us. And the only way the working class advances is if we stand together, he said in a fiery Facebook Live Friday morning. Record profits mean record contracts.

To his point, Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis made a combined $21 billion in profits in the first six months of 2023.

Stellantis, the Amsterdam-headquartered global auto giant which sells under brands like Jeep, Fiat, and Peugeot, turned in a record $12.1 billion net profit in the first six months of the year. Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares said the results were due to a very strong focus on profitability on the companys earnings call.

At Ford, net income soared to $3.7 billion in the first half of this year compared with a loss of $2.4 billion in the same period a year ago. And GM also managed to increase its net income 56% to $2.6 billion in the second quarter, even after accounting for a $792 million charge related to a 2021 Chevy Bolt recall.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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Washington is determined to make further improvements in its diplomatic relations with Beijing but is equally concerned at the lack of progress in expanding communication between the two militaries, US defence and security officials said Wednesday.

Recent weeks have seen hints of nascent contact between the People's Liberation Army and the Pentagon, although the administration of US President Joe Biden continues to sound the alarm at the limited interaction.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby expressed concern that while US-China diplomatic meetings have recently been held, not enough has been done to restore military communications. Photo: YNA/dpa alt=US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby expressed concern that while US-China diplomatic meetings have recently been held, not enough has been done to restore military communications. Photo: YNA/dpa>

"There has been intensive diplomacy, determined diplomacy and we are determined to keep that going forward," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday. "Nobody's looking for conflict here. So having these diplomatic exchanges are very valuable."

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.

But Kirby noted that an equally important way to avoid conflict is to ensure that those holding the weapons are in contact, able to talk through mishaps and otherwise build trust.

"And that's really a critical one ... particularly given the tensions in the South China Sea and in and around the Taiwan Strait. So we want to get that channel open."

Kirby declined to say whether Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping would meet on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in San Francisco in November. On Monday, Xi decided to skip this weekend's Group of 20 meeting in India.

Story continues

But Kirby's spirited defence of continuing diplomatic efforts and his reference to recent Beijing visits by the US secretaries of State, Commerce and Treasury - as outlined by Xi and Biden at their last face-to-face meeting, in Indonesia 10 months ago - suggests that a California meeting is on track.

"We're not that far along here to know for sure," Kirby said. "We'll just keep working at it, but it is good that we have had these exchanges in recent months."

Other US defence officials were more forceful in calling out China for its chest-thumping activities in the Indo-Pacific region and for keeping its military leaders apart from their US counterparts.

"We do need a mechanism to be able to talk about this behaviour and communicate from the US side, which we have tried to do as much as possible, that this behaviour is not going to deter us from operating in the region," Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said. "It's dangerous, and the PLA has got to knock it off."

Ratner, formerly with the State Department's office of Chinese and Mongolian affairs, said it should not take a disaster for the People's Republic of China to recognise the importance of open channels.

"The question for the PRC is: do we have to wait to have such a dangerous crisis before they realise the benefits of that kind of engagement?" he said at a defence industry conference in northern Virginia.

"Our hope is not."

Ely Ratner, assistant US secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said the lack of communications was "dangerous, and the PLA has got to knock it off". Photo: Reuters alt=Ely Ratner, assistant US secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said the lack of communications was "dangerous, and the PLA has got to knock it off". Photo: Reuters>

Beijing halted all military dialogue with Washington in August 2022 in retaliation for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan.

"We have been brutally consistent in saying again and again, the United States seeks open lines of communication with the PRC,'' Ratner said, accusing Beijing of turning channels "on and off like a light switch for political reasons".

China has denied being uncooperative and incommunicative. "I want to clarify that China-US military-to-military communication is not stopped," said defence ministry spokesperson Wu Qian at a weekly briefing late last month. Wu added that there remained "many difficulties and obstacles" in the relationship.

Analysts said that Beijing has a strategic interest in being less than cooperative, with the US military patrolling off its shores. In part, this gives the stronger US military less assurance or predictability, which keeps it guessing.

Furthermore, they added, relatively open channels of communication raise the risk during a crisis that disclosures would be spun by the US side or spread before the ruling Communist Party could set the narrative.

General Charles A. Flynn, commanding general of the US Army Pacific, told an audience at the conservative Hudson Institute think tank that the best way to deter the PLA was to communicate closely and work in sync with other armies, allies and partners in the region.

"I think that they are also witnessing irresponsible and aggressive behaviour by the Chinese," and responding by taking part in more multinational exercises, said Flynn. "And they're showing up to do that."

Ratner said some relatively low-level meetings had been held between US and Chinese forces recently. "But we would definitely be looking for more at the ministerial level and to revitalise some of the standard engagements that we've had that have proved important in the past."

Ratner said he has had contacts with Chinese counterparts. And last month, a Chinese delegation met with Admiral John Aquilino, the head of US Indo-Pacific Command, at a conference in Fiji, although neither side released details.

That followed a snub in June when Beijing denied the Pentagon's request for a meeting between US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu on the sidelines of a defence forum in Singapore.

The issue has been complicated by sanctions imposed on Li in 2018 when he was involved in procurement, specifically related to Chinese purchases of Russian Su-35 combat aircraft and S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment.

In May, Biden said that his administration was considering lifting the sanctions on Li, though the next day a State Department spokesperson said this was not under consideration.

Additional reporting by Amber Wang

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.
Key Insights

Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Bristol-Myers Squibb's stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions

49% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders

Recent sales by insiders

Every investor in Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 78% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

As a result, institutional investors endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by US$4.1b. Needless to say, the recent loss which further adds to the one-year loss to shareholders of 11% might not go down well especially with this category of shareholders. Also referred to as "smart money", institutions have a lot of sway over how a stock's price moves. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell Bristol-Myers Squibb which might hurt individual investors.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Bristol-Myers Squibb.

See our latest analysis for Bristol-Myers Squibb

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Bristol-Myers Squibb?

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 Bristol-Myers Squibb does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Bristol-Myers Squibb's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

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Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Bristol-Myers Squibb. The company's largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group, Inc., with ownership of 9.8%. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 8.3% and 4.4%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Bristol-Myers Squibb

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

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.

Our information suggests that Bristol-Myers Squibb Company insiders own under 1% of the company. As it is a large company, we'd only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it's worth noting that they own US$77m worth of shares. In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 22% 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:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Bristol-Myers Squibb , 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.
William Tisdale recently retired as the CEO and President of Milwaukees Fair Housing Council, a non-profit that helps residents fight housing discrimination.

For the past 40 years, William Tisdale led the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council as president and CEO. After dedicating more than half of his life to the fair housing movement, Tisdale, 73, is ready to pass the baton.

Growing up in a working-class family in Rockford, Illinois, Tisdale knew early on that he was passionate about connecting people with resources. With parents who ended their education at a young age to take care of their families, he was determined to pursue his passion in college.

In 1968, he started his first year at Rock Valley College in Illinois. Tisdale helped his peers with writing  an experience that gave him an appetite for more.

My first-year experiences were helping students learn to write, using the right words, putting sentences together, trying to convey their thoughts in natural ways. Nothing fancy. That gave me insight that I could do more than I was doing in junior college.

After a year, he transferred to Northern Illinois University. He spent his sophomore and junior year there and in 1971, left school to become a police officer in his hometown.

At the Rockford Police Department, Tisdale had a fulfilling role in the community.

It was a wonderful job, very good experience. I did all the stuff I thought I was gonna be doing as a police officer  working with the community.

Tisdale spent three years with the department and in the fall of 1974, decided to finish his senior year at NIU.

During his senior year, he joined the university police department and graduated in 1975 with a bachelors degree in political science. Tisdale remained with the department and had risen to the rank of sergeant when he left in 1977.

Awaiting Tisdale was an urban studies program at the University of Wisconsin  Milwaukee  marking the beginning of his journey in the city.

Fair Housing Council started with 5 people in a church basement

The topics discussed at a UWM seminar sparked Tisdales interest in working for a non-profit organization. He applied to multiple groups but was not hired due to his policing experience.

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They were very leery of police officers - that connection that police enforcement had with activism, Tisdale said.

When a position at the fair housing council became available, Tisdale applied for the opportunity. Although Fred Freiberg, co-founder of the group, was leery of police officers, he decided to give Tisdale a chance.

I didnt expect to see a police officer apply, but I met Bill and ultimately gave him a position and began working with him the summer of 1978, Freiberg said.

The MMFHC started with five people who worked from the basement of St. Georges Episcopal Church. Due to limited funding, the Greater Milwaukee Urban League funded the MMFHCs first year.

Tisdale said paying five employees with $62,000 was quite the dance to do and attract people.

Although one of the earlier challenges was funding, Freiberg said the issue itself was difficult to address.

Getting funding from the city of Milwaukee to support the program was an annual event, and it was a very challenging one, and we had to amass support from other organizations to get fundingAnd then of course, there was the struggle of the issue itself. Fair Housing is not a reality now, but it particularly was not a reality in 1978, Freiberg said.

Testing used to uncover housing discrimination

The organization focused on the use of testing to fight against housing discrimination. Testers reply to housing advertisements to uncover evidence of discrimination based on protected classes such as race, religion, national origin, etc.

Freiberg said although Tisdale disliked testing, he (Tisdale) recognizes it as a critical tool for fighting housing discrimination.

Freiberg felt early on that Tisdale was outstanding in the work he did.

Because of this, Freiberg asked Tisdale to accompany him to national events.

As I attended national conferences and meetings with the National Committee against Discrimination and Housing, I would ask Bill to come with me so he could meet other people doing this work nationally.

In 1980, Freiberg stepped down to start a fair housing organization in New York. The following year, Tisdale was appointed as president and CEO.

Tisdale received Edward W. Brooke and Walter F. Mondale Fair Housing Award

Under Tisdales leadership, the MMFHC grew into a statewide organization with satellite offices in Madison and northwestern Wisconsin. The organization offers various programs including fair lending and enforcement programs as well as outreach and education services.

While expanding statewide, Tisdale also expanded the councils reach nationally.

In 1988, Tisdale co-founded the National Fair Housing Alliance and was elected president  serving four two-year terms. The NFHA is made of more than 200 private, non-profit organizations and state and local civil rights agencies.

The goal was to ensure there was a single focus on dealing with various kinds of housing discrimination issues Tisdale said.

The NFHA remains the only national group that focuses on eliminating housing discrimination through various avenues such as education, policy initiatives and community development.

That is a major piece I carry with me; That I was able to get all these groups together. It is something we are proud we were part of, Tisdale said.

Carla Wertheim, executive vice president of the Fair Housing Council and Tisdales wife of nearly 30 years, said Tisdales work at the national level had an enormous impact on the movement.

We are very lucky that he worked at the national level because the strength of the fair housing movement really rests on Bills shoulders, Wertheim said.

Another proud moment for Tisdale is the creation of the Reclaiming Our Neighborhoods program. The program was created and funded by the Fair Housing Council utilizing settlement funds that resulted from the housing discrimination lawsuit that was filed against Wells Fargo Bank by the council and several other fair housing organizations.

At the core of the program is the hope that people can sustain their neighborhoods Tisdale said.

Other highlights including testifying before Congress and an appearance on the Today Show.

On July 17, 2023, Tisdale was awarded the Edward W. Brooke and Walter F. Mondale Fair Housing Award  the most prestigious award for fair housing professionals.

Op-ed written by Tisdale in 2016 took critical view of fair housing

In April 2016, the Journal Sentinel published an op-ed written by Tisdale titled Opening Doors to Communities," where he discussed fair housing in the city, state and nation.

Usually, our reflections can be summarized with a familiar type of statement: Weve made progress, but theres still a whole lot of work left to do," he said.

"This year feels different. I am not satisfied with that assessment, and that is because in the past year, our progress toward a more just Wisconsin has been undermined by a new wave of hateful speech against many members of our communities. Anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, racist and Islamophobic words and behaviors have no place in our communities, especially when they infringe on the legal rights of all people to live free from discrimination, Tisdale wrote.

Seven years later, Tisdale said America has a warped sense of equality.

We have very odd sense of equality as a country  that it is okay until it affects me, he said.

Tisdale said it comes down to political will.

I think we have too few politicians with political will to make change. How they compare what they are doing to equality is beyond my sense of knowledge, he said. Every meeting they say the Pledge of Allegiance and then vote to kick someone out of their neighborhood. How does that work?

Tisdale said it is crucial that the Fair Housing Council and other non-profit organizations persist and have the guts to say  no this is wrong.

Whats Next for the Fair Housing Council?

Tisdale has passed the baton to Erika Sanders, his colleague of 25 years.

Sanders started working for the fair housing council in 1998 at the Madison satellite office. There, she conducted intake on housing discrimination complaints, community education and outreach.

I immediately fell in love with the work and realized that this was work that enabled me to develop both professionally and as a human being.

Sanders said Tisdales mentorship has been life changing.

The opportunity to be mentored by one of the leading fair housing professionals in the nation is an unbelievable opportunity and a gift I do not take for granted. Bill has been an incredibly generous mentor. He allows his staff, and me personally, to take on new tasks and to grow.

The culture Tisdale created is one of constant learning and generous support and mentorship Sanders said.

Moving forward, Sanders said the organization must continue finding ways to be visionaries when it comes to addressing housing discrimination.

To do this, Sanders finds it important to bring awareness to housing discrimination.

Many people believe that housing discrimination and other forms of systemic discrimination are things of the past. It is a continual effort required on our part to raise awareness of this issue and to ensure that everyone is aware of fair housing still being a necessary and urgent part of our community conversations.

Tisdale reflected on what he called a wonderful career.

Just an excellent opportunity for me to do what I wanted to when I started; To make that connection between what is out there with who needed it, Tisdale said. Im glad to leave it in the hands of folks that will continue it.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: William Tisdale spent his career fighting housing discrimination
XIAMEN, China, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Xiamen Airlines recently announced that it will launch regular flights between Beijing Daxing and Doha on October 20th and Xiamen-Doha on October 31st. The opening of two direct flights to the Middle East coincides with the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Qatar. This marks an important initiative by Xiamen Airlines in implementing the "Belt and Road" initiative, further closing the distance between China and Qatar. It establishes an "Air Silk Road", facilitating economic and trade exchanges, cultural interactions, business and tourism between the two regions.

According to the latest plan, the Beijing-Doha route will operate daily, depart from Beijing at 1830 and arrive in Doha at 2245 local time, in return leave Doha at 0200 local time and arrive in Beijing at 1520, while the Xiamen-Doha route will operate two flights per week, depart from Xiamen at 0005 and arrive in Doha at 0500 local time, in return leave Doha at 1930 local time and back to Xiamen at 0755 the next day. Both routes will be operated by Boeing 787 Dreamliner, offering passengers more spacious and comfortable seats. The First-class and Business-class seats can recline to a fully flat position of 180 degrees, providing passengers with an enhanced sleeping experience during long-haul flights.

Doha's Hamad International Airport was named one of the top ten airports globally in 2023. It boasts the most architecturally significant terminal building in the world and is also one of the most luxurious airports, providing world-class transfer facilities and a seamless transfer experience. With the launch of the new routes, Xiamen Airlines will also engage in comprehensive cooperation with Qatar Airways. Both airlines will not only have codeshare cooperation on Beijing Daxing-Doha and Xiamen-Doha, but also extend their cooperation to full network interline, through check-in and lounge access. Leveraging the resources of Qatar Airways, Xiamen Airlines can extend its network to over 160 global destinations, including Dammam, Lagos, Algiers, etc. This offers passengers a wide range of transfer product choices and seamless travel experience. It's worth noting that both Xiamen Airlines and Qatar Airways were honored with the APEX World Class Award, earning a place among the "Top Eight Airlines in the World." In the future, the partnership of these two Five-Star airlines will bring more wonderful flying experience to the customers worldwide.

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Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/xiamen-airlines-to-launch-new-routes-from-beijing-and-xiamen-to-doha-301920791.html

SOURCE Xiamen Airlines
Long-established in the Vehicles & Parts industry, XPeng Inc (NYSE:XPEV) has enjoyed a stellar reputation. However, it has recently witnessed a decline of 8.15%, juxtaposed with a three-month change of 109.39%. Fresh insights from the GuruFocus Score Rating hint at potential headwinds. Notably, its diminished rankings in financial strength, growth, and valuation suggest that the company might not live up to its historical performance. Join us as we dive deep into these pivotal metrics to unravel the evolving narrative of XPeng Inc.

XPeng Inc (XPEV): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Understanding the GF Score

The GF Score is a stock performance ranking system developed by GuruFocus using five aspects of valuation, which has been found to be closely correlated to the long-term performances of stocks by backtesting from 2006 to 2021. The stocks with a higher GF Score generally generate higher returns than those with a lower GF Score. Therefore, when picking stocks, investors should invest in companies with high GF Scores. The GF Score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 as the highest rank.

Based on the above method, GuruFocus assigned XPeng Inc the GF Score of 55 out of 100, which signals poor future outperformance potential.

XPeng Inc: A Snapshot of the Business

Founded in 2015, XPeng Inc is a leading Chinese smart electric vehicle, or EV, company that designs, develops, manufactures, and markets EVs in China. Its products primarily target the growing base of technology-savvy middle-class consumers in the midrange to high-end segment in China's passenger vehicle market. The company sold over 120,000 EVs in 2022, accounting for about 2% of China's passenger new energy vehicle market. It is also a leader in autonomous driving technology. With a market cap of $15.07 billion and sales of $3.00 billion, XPeng Inc operates with a margin of -49.24%.

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XPeng Inc (XPEV): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Financial Strength Analysis

XPeng Inc's financial strength indicators present some concerning insights about the company's balance sheet health. XPeng Inc has an interest coverage ratio of 0, which positions it worse than 0% of 969 companies in the Vehicles & Parts industry. This ratio highlights potential challenges the company might face when handling its interest expenses on outstanding debt. It's worth noting that the esteemed investor Benjamin Graham typically favored companies with an interest coverage ratio of at least five.

The company's Altman Z-Score is just 1.55, which is below the distress zone of 1.81. This suggests that the company may face financial distress over the next few years.

Profitability Analysis

XPeng Inc's low Profitability rank can also raise warning signals. With a Piotroski F-Score of 1, XPeng Inc's financial health appears concerning. This score, rooted in Joseph Piotroski's nine-point scale, evaluates a firm's profitability, liquidity, and operating efficiency. Given its rating, XPeng Inc might be facing challenges in these areas.

Growth Prospects

A lack of significant growth is another area where XPeng Inc seems to falter, as evidenced by the company's low Growth rank.

XPeng Inc (XPEV): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Conclusion

Given XPeng Inc's financial strength, profitability, and growth metrics, the GuruFocus Score Rating highlights the firm's unparalleled position for potential underperformance. While the company has made significant strides in the EV industry, its financial indicators suggest that it may struggle to maintain its momentum. As such, investors should exercise caution when considering this stock.

GuruFocus Premium members can find more companies with strong GF Scores using the following screener link: GF Score Screen

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


(Bloomberg) -- Zoom Video Communications Inc. has met with regulators from the US, European Union and other jurisdictions to outline concerns about allegedly anticompetitive behavior by Microsoft Corp.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The communications software maker has talked with the US Federal Trade Commission, as well as competition enforcers from the EU, UK and Germany over the past year, according to a person familiar with the matter. Zoom expressed concerns about the way Microsoft gives preference to its Teams videoconferencing software through price bundling and product design, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private.

Microsoft has been under scrutiny from the EUs competition watchdog, which is examining whether tying Teams to business products Microsoft 365 and Office 365 breached antitrust rules. The EU probe followed a complaint that Salesforce Inc.s messaging platform Slack made three years ago. Last week, Microsoft, the worlds largest software maker, said it would unbundle Teams in Europe beginning Oct. 1.

Germanys Federal Cartel Office opened a probe into Microsoft in March using new powers that let the authority ban certain practices that hamper competition online. The German investigation is looking into Microsofts bundling of OneDrive and Teams with the companys other productivity software, among other issues.

US and UK authorities have started initial inquiries into cloud services, an area in which Microsofts Azure is a major player. The UKs digital regulator said in April that some practices by Microsoft, as well as cloud rivals Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc., might limit innovation.

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We want to be able to compete and win on the merit of our products, a Zoom spokesperson said in a statement. We support all efforts to promote a fair and healthy competitive environment where customers and consumers are empowered to choose what is best for them.

A spokesperson for Microsoft declined to comment.

Though Teams is its primary competitor, Zoom had avoided the issue until this week, when Chief Executive Officer Eric Yuan said the FTC should look at Microsofts bundling practices. No matter what, youve got to be fair, Yuan said Tuesday during the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology Conference.

The Zoom CEO compared the competition to sports, saying that even if you have a better team, you cant win if the other side gets extra points for each shot.

After experiencing breakneck expansion during the pandemic as entire industries relied on its videoconferencing software, Zoom has struggled to continue sales growth the past two years. The San Jose, California-based company has expanded its suite of services for businesses to include internet-based phones, contact centers, scheduling and artificial intelligence assistants.

(Updates with Zoom statement in the sixth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Stafford Data Center proposals

Stafford County is considering three data center proposals.

Pemberton Tech Center: The site is on 52 acres, zoned B-2, along Centreport Parkway. The applicant wants to build three 65-foot-tall data center facilities totaling 562,000 feet.

Stafford Technology campus: Fairfax-based Stafford Technology LC wants to develop 5.5 million square feet of data centers on 523.94 acres on the east side of U.S. 1 and on both sides of Eskimo Hill Road. There would be several buildings on the site, up to 105 feet tall. Several power sub stations would be required on the site, which would tap into the overhead electric power lines on the property.

Potomac Church Tech Center: This data center site would be built along Old Potomac Church Road, in the vicinity of Brooke Point High School, Stafford Middle School and the Stafford Regional Hospital.

The applicant, Amazon, wants to build two, 65-foot-tall facilities totaling approximately 510,000 square feet on 49.9 acres, zoned B-2 for urban commercial development. The property is on the east side of Old Potomac Church Road, across from the intersection with South Campus Boulevard. A power sub-station would be needed on the site and it would tap into the overhead electric transmission lines.
A Spotsylvania man who showed up at a Walmart parking lot in Stafford County earlier this year for what he thought was a sexual tryst with a 14-year-old boy pleaded guilty to three felony charges Wednesday.

Eric Dane Poorbaugh, 39, was convicted in Stafford Circuit Court of indecent liberties and two counts of using an electronic device to solicit sex from a minor. He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 8.

According to the evidence presented by prosecutor Ryan Frank, all three charges stem from a March 16 online incident involving an undercover police officer. Frank said Poorbaugh was on a website known for pedophilia when he came across the officer, who was posing as a 14-year-old boy as part of an ongoing effort to catch child predators on the internet.

Poorbaugh, who listed his occupation at the time as a school bus aide in Spotsylvania, sent the boy a picture of his private parts and discussed a sexual act he wanted to engage in. He then arranged to meet the boy at a Walmart.

Police were waiting when Poorbaugh arrived, and they took him into custody. He has been in the Rappahannock Regional Jail since his arrest.
Former Dodge County Attorney Oliver J. Glass is no longer an inmate at the U.S. Federal Penitentiary Leavenworth after he was released from the massive prison in Kansas on Aug 22.

Where Glass is being housed while he is still technically in federal custody is not known.

Federal Bureau of Prisons officials said he was either transferred to an undisclosed halfway house or he has been assigned to home confinement at his residence in Fremont pending his full release.

Glass also has had his release from incarceration date changed for the third time, and is now scheduled to be freed from custody on Saturday, Nov. 11, instead of his prior release date of Dec. 16, 2023. His original release date when he was sent to Leavenworth was Dec. 26, but that date was eventually changed to Dec. 16, and now is Nov. 11, 2023.

Where Glass is being housed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons was not revealed despite interviews with multiple officials.

Officials from both the Bureau of Prisons as well as the nonprofit organization  Dismas Charities, Inc.  which operates the only two BOP halfway houses in Nebraska  declined to comment on Glass status citing privacy and safety issues.

Michael Miller, a Bureau of Prisons residential re-entry specialist based in Kansas City, said in a telephone interview that the locations of specific inmates placed into the halfway house network are not disclosed to protect their safety from possible threats.

We dont disclose where an inmate is placed. The facility they are (technically) in custody of is the Kansas City RRM, Miller said, referring to his regional headquarters administrative office.

Randilee Gimausso, a spokesperson with the Office of Public Affairs for the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs and Federal Bureau of Prisons, said no information about inmates placed in the federal network of halfway houses is releasable by the Bureau of Prisons, however the location of an inmate could be requested via the federal Freedom of Information Act process.

Glass transferred on Aug. 22, 2023, from the United States Penitentiary (USP) Leavenworth to community confinement overseen by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) Kansas City Residential Reentry Management (RRM) Office, Gimausso said in an email. Community confinement means the individual is in either home confinement or a Residential Reentry Center, a RRC, or halfway house.

According the Bureau of Prisons website about Residential Re-entry Management facilities, there are 22 RRM field offices spread across the nation which manage a network of halfway houses that are both operated by the federal government, but also third party organizations such as private prison companies like GEO as well as charities, like Dismas Charities, Inc.

In the nationwide network, there are an estimated 14,594 federal offenders currently placed in halfway houses that are managed by BOP officials in RRM field offices.

The former inmate population placed in RRM custody is broken into several categories, including: juveniles; home confinement detainees; those in county jails or short-term incarceration facilities; long-term boarders; and persons in residential re-entry centers.

Some facilities allow inmates to leave on weekends or work jobs, while others have stricter confinement rules. Those confined to home detention can possibly be outfitted with a GPS-locator ankle monitor.

The highest number offenders are housed in residential re-entry centers, with the second most inmates being sent to home confinement. While in the custody of RRM, former inmates are often required to undergo therapy, alcohol or substance abuse counseling, learn job skills via training or take classes on how to readjust to life outside of prison.

Calls by the Tribune to the two Dismas Charities in Nebraska were directed to the charitys Omaha headquarters. Dismas Charities also owns and operates a halfway house in Kearney as well as St. Louis, Missouri.

One official from Dismas Charities Omaha facility did tell the Tribune that Glass was not being housed in the organizations Omaha halfway house.

A second official, Allan Happs, director of Dismas Charities Nebraska, said he could not release any information due to policies regarding privacy and safety of former inmates and staff.

Glass had been incarcerated at USP Leavenworth since March following his plea deal with federal prosecutors resulted in him being sentenced to nine months in federal prison. The now-disgraced former county attorney plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit deprivation of rights under color of law on Nov. 21, 2022, following an almost two-year investigation.

U.S. District Judge Robert F. Rossiter Jr. sentenced Glass on Feb. 17, 2023, to nine months in federal prison with no parole on that charge. Glass was also sentenced to serve a one-year term of supervised release and to pay a $3,000 fine.

Glass was the Dodge County attorney from 2011 until March 2021. He was accused of a litany of allegations in relation to claims he coordinated in 2020 the months-long, multi-faceted harassment of Nathan Schany, the then-boyfriend of Glass estranged wife, Katie Glass.

Prosecutors detailed in the guilty plea by Glass a months-long harassment and cyber-stalking campaign coordinated by Glass which targeted the lover of his now-ex-wife. Glass admitted to coordinating with as many as five local law enforcement officials from both the Fremont Police Department and the Dodge County Sheriffs Office as well as a private investigator the incessant following and harassing of Schany.

During plea deal negotiations, Glass told investigators that he engaged in the criminal activity, because Schany had been convicted in Iowa of child abuse allegations and that he was worried for his own childrens safety.

However, prosecutors disputed those claims and Glass never went to trial on the allegations, instead making a plea deal with the U.S. Department of Justice that resulted in the nine-month prison sentence. No officials from either the FPD or the DCSO were ever charged in the case.
For the past two decades, people diagnosed with Alzheimers disease have faced the prospect of declining memory and cognition with no treatments other than a few that can help with symptoms but not change the course of the disease.

But by later this year or early next, researchers expect to have two therapies fully approved by federal regulators that can fight the disease by targeting its underlying biology, slowing its progression and keeping patients at a mild stage for longer.

The scientific field is excited that we finally have a breakthrough, with no new drugs for about 20 years, and (now) one that might slow the disease, said Dr. Daniel Murman, director of Nebraska Medicines memory disorders and behavioral neurology program. Theres excitement, but the reality is, its just a first step, thats for sure.

First step or not, that doesnt take away from the possible impact and meaningfulness of giving patients more time to participate in  and remember  important events, such as the wedding of a child or birth of a grandchild.

Nationally, some 6.7 million older Americans are living with Alzheimers, according to the association. That includes 36,000 in Nebraska and 66,000 in Iowa.

The first therapy  marketed as Leqembi and known generically as lecanemab  was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in July. Regulators are expected to approve the other, donanemab, later this year. Clinical trial results published this summer indicated that it performed as well as or similarly to Leqembi.

The two follow an earlier drug  Aduhelm, a.k.a. aducanamab  that received a type of approval in 2021 but hasnt been widely adopted. Currently, its use isnt covered by Medicare outside research trials.

The new drugs have been greeted with hope and excitement by patients and their families. The response, however, has been tempered by the fact that the therapies, which target a protein that accumulates as plaques in the brains of older adults, are not cures and are expected to benefit only those in the earliest stages of the disease. Nor do they reverse damage already caused by Alzheimers. Additional therapies, researchers say, will be needed to address other processes involved in the disease.

Questions also remain about the technical side of administering the drugs, which are delivered by infusion once or twice a month, depending on the drug. Physicians who prescribe Leqembi will be required to participate in a patient registry to help Medicare gather more information about their safety and effectiveness. Patients also will need a spinal fluid test or special type of brain scan to confirm they have the plaques and are eligible for treatment.

Medicare, which had limited patients to one scan to confirm plaques, has proposed broadening coverage, but the agency recommended leaving coverage decisions to Medicare contractors. In the case of donanemab, researchers stopped giving the drug after follow-up scans normalized. Patients also will require monitoring for possible side effects, specifically bleeding and swelling in the brain. While most cases in research trials have resolved without serious consequences, several deaths have been reported.

Percy Griffin, director of scientific engagement for the Alzheimers Association, stressed that the treatments are not a cure. But they have slowed cognitive decline between 25% and 35% over 18 months, the length of the clinical trials. They may slow it longer, but researchers dont yet have data over longer periods.

Griffin also noted that the amount of slowing varied among trial participants, and the results apply to large groups, not individuals.

Still, he said, Alzheimers drugs in general are very important, and they are a source of immense hope for people living with the early stages of the disease. And they are a great foundation on which we can build future combination therapies.

Mike Zuendel, a businessman who splits his time between Des Moines and Telluride, Colorado, is among those happy to get what time he can.

He sought testing because he was experiencing some cognitive issues. Both of his parents had Alzheimers disease, and he served as their caregiver. He was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment in 2020 and began receiving Aduhelm outside clinical trials nearly two years ago.

While he still has some issues with finding words and with focus and concentration, the 69-year-old said he doesnt feel his condition has worsened.

If I can function like I am right now, Im a happy camper, said Zuendel, a volunteer with the Alzheimers Association who spoke at a recent event in Omaha. He helps advocate and raise awareness for the importance of early detection and seeks to reduce the stigma around Alzheimers, which he believes keeps people from seeking a diagnosis.

Treatment centers, meanwhile, are gearing up to offer the therapies, starting with Leqembi. But Murman said the rollout likely will be slow. He expects to start with a few patients in October. That number could grow to between 30 and 50 over the first year.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has said it will cover whats expected to be a $26,500 annual tab for the drug itself. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska said in an email that benefits for Leqembi will be available according to medical policy and CMS guidelines for members covered under a Medicare Advantage or Medicare Supplement plan.

But coverage still is expected to leave patients with copays for the therapies as well as for scans, follow-up visits and infusions. While the coinsurance requirement for traditional Medicare is 20%, patients actual out-of-pocket costs will depend on the terms of the supplemental plans they hold.

And at least for now, treatment is likely to be available only through specialists like Murman, also a professor in the University of Nebraska Medical Centers neurological sciences department. He has been involved in eight trials focused on Alzheimers over the past five years, including one for Aduhelm.

CHI Health, which is not currently involved in trials, also is working to be able to give the treatments in the future, officials said. The health system has been referring patients who may be candidates for the treatments to ongoing research studies. But while questions remain, officials said in an email, we are optimistic about the exciting developments in the treatment and diagnosis of Alzheimers disease.

The drugs all work by removing beta-amyloid, although each functions differently and targets the protein at a different stage of accumulation into plaques.

So far, studies suggest that removing amyloid wont help people once they reach a late mild to moderate stage of dementia, Murman said. Eligible candidates for the therapy will fall into two categories: patients with mild cognitive impairment, who have measurable declines in memory and thinking but have no significant changes in everyday function; and those with mild dementia, who are beginning to have difficulty with more complicated everyday activities, such as driving and finances.

Overall, he expects a minority of patients with memory issues to be eligible. Nebraska Medicines memory clinic sees about 1,100 patients a year. About 45% have Alzheimers disease. His clinic already has had calls regarding patients who have progressed too far to benefit.

At the same time, researchers also know amyloid isnt the whole story behind Alzheimers, Murman said. Instead, they think its involved in initiating the degenerative changes that occur in the brain, which may start 15 years before people have memory loss symptoms. But other degenerative changes in the brain are thought to follow.

The plaques form outside nerve cells in the brain and may be toxic to them, he said. As people get closer to experiencing memory symptoms, researchers also start seeing a second abnormality called neurofibrillary tangles. Theyre involved in twisting of the skeleton of the nerve cells, which leaves them unable to transport nutrients and the chemicals the cells use to communicate. The brain starts to lose synapses, the connections between nerve cells. Later, inflammation, an immune response, and vascular issues, or problems affecting blood vessels, also may come into play.

Earlier is better when it comes to removing amyloid, Murman said. The more we can prevent some of these other changes, like the tangles, the loss of synapses, the inflammation, (we think) that patients will do better.

There are also some signs that by removing the amyloid, some of the other changes might not be as bad, he said. As a result, theres some thought that the therapies benefits may grow.

We just dont know exactly how much it will help people over time, Murman said.

Griffin, the Alzheimers Association official, said the organization envisions a time when Alzheimers would be treated with a combination of therapies that would target all of the biological changes that occur with the disease, just as multiple cancer and heart disease therapies target different mechanisms involved in those conditions. The organization has funded dozens of research projects through a $65 million initiative aimed at helping to develop a variety of new therapies.

The future is certainly hopeful and were not taking our foot off the gas, Griffin said. Were going to keep going until we get to that future of combination therapies.

Murman said one area of ongoing research that may soon yield results is the development of blood tests that could confirm the presence of plaques, which is now done by lumbar puncture or PET scans. Such tests also might be used to monitor patients on the drugs to see whether theyve gotten all the benefit theyre going to get from them. Results of studies of two experimental tests are expected in the coming months.

Griffin said an Alzheimers Association working group last month presented a draft proposal with new criteria for diagnosing Alzheimers that includes blood-based biomarkers. The group now is seeking comments on the proposal.

The association also has launched its own voluntary network, called the Alzheimers Network for Treatment and Diagnostics, or ALZ-NET, to track the performance of therapies and diagnostics outside clinical trials, which will be particularly important as they become more widely available.

People have messy lives, Griffin said. We want to know how these medications are doing in the real world.

As the treatments roll out, he said, it will be important for patients and family members to have conversations with their doctors about the risks and benefits of the new therapies.

The most commonly reported side effects of the treatments in studies have been infusion-related reactions, which involves fever or hives during an infusion, and amyloid imaging related abnormalities, or ARIA. Those involve bleeding or swelling that appears on a brain scan. As the drugs remove amyloid, that can make some blood vessels leaky, Murman said.

While those abnormalities typically resolve on their own and usually dont produce symptoms, they can be serious, Murman said.

Because of the increased risk of bleeding, patients cant be taking strong blood thinners such as Coumadin or Eliquis. People with a genetic mutation that increases their risk of Alzheimers disease are at greater risk of these side effects.

Said Griffin, the Alzheimers Association science expert: Its important that people know the risks of taking these medications as well as the benefits of taking these medications.

Top Journal Star photos for August 2023
Heres a reminder that reality television shows are not really reality. I was scrolling through Netflix and saw a series Down for Love was trending. As the mother of an adult daughter with Down syndrome, I immediately cringed and hoped the conclusions I jumped to might be wrong. Unfortunately, I was right from the start.

Down syndrome is a genetic condition caused when abnormal cell division results in extra genetic material. Typically, a baby is born with 46 chromosomes. Babies with Down syndrome have an extra copy of one of chromosome 21. A medical term for having an extra copy of a chromosome is trisomy. For this reason people with Down syndrome are also referred to as Trisomy 21.

This extra copy changes how the babys body and brain develop, which can cause both mental and physical challenges for the baby. This chromosomal abnormality leads to intellectual disabilities as well as other medical conditions. According to the Centers for Disease Control website: Even though people with Down syndrome might act and look similar, each person has different abilities. People with Down syndrome usually have an IQ (a measure of intelligence) in the mildly-to-moderately low range and are slower to speak than other children.

These challenges can make having an adult relationship difficult.

Netflixs official synopsis describes the series as: Down for Love is a heartwarming quest for love that follows several people with Down syndrome as they navigate the trials and triumphs of dating. The feel-good reality show aims to showcase the joys and challenges of finding love while breaking down stereotypes and promoting inclusivity.

Down for Love is a reality show in which six individuals with Down syndrome go on blind dates with other people with Down syndrome. The series is filmed in New Zealand and produced in consultation with the New Zealand Down Syndrome Association.

The reviews of the show have been mixed and most of the criticisms have come from the title, noting the pun in the title as demeaning. Most have praised Netflix for being inclusive and exposing viewers to this community who might otherwise not be represented.

I watched the entirety of season one. Only one minute in and I found myself getting angry.

The narrator asked one couple Do you two want to have children? Do the producers of the show understand that males with Down syndrome are generally infertile? Females with Down syndrome have a 50% chance of having a child with Down syndrome. Is she capable of raising a child like herself? What a slurry of mixed messages given to the Down syndrome community about their possibilities.

Other viewers critiques highlight the overbearing parental involvement and the impression of the infantilization of disabled adults. One of the shows participants, Heidi, said [It] reinforces the idea we cant date. We can, were still people, were still humans. Some disabled people might need a bit more support, for example learning about love and relationships and intimacy. But we can still do all those things.

Heidis feelings are valid here because she is an adult, but she cannot possibly understand the level of support needed and offered by parents or caregivers. I certainly do not want my daughter to feel guilty or in any way diminished. But the truth is, she requires structure from us, her parents, to maintain a relationship. As parents, we too entered a relationship with our daughters boyfriend and his parents. We attend each and every date to support the couple. Since we parents spend a lot of time together, we too need to like each other.

Shows like Down for Love and its predecessor Love on the Spectrum, the docuseries which follows young adults on the autism spectrum in the dating world, feels voyeuristic and a bit exploitive by using disabled individuals to entertain those without disabilities.

That said, I do not begrudge anyone who watches the series and comes away with that feel-good sense. But viewers should understand that these dates and relationships are not realistic.

The desire for love, connection and meaning is universal, and my biggest hope and dream for my daughter is that she will always be surrounded by people who love her. My husband and I will support her any way we can for her to achieve that.

While this may be reality television, it certainly is not the reality of most adults with Down syndrome. That is why I give a thumbs down for Down for Love.
When most people are thinking about Colorado, the term "wine country" probably doesn't come to mind. That being said, results that were recently released by USA Today's "10 Best Readers' Choice" awards imply that these people are missing out on yet another reason to love the Centennial State.

The publication released their "top 10 must-visit American wine regions," and an often-overlooked part of Colorado ranked high on the list.

Earning the third-place spot was Colorado's Grand Valley, which encompasses places like Grand Junction, Fruita and Palisade.

While most incoming tourists tend to set their sights on the central mountain region or the southwest, this part of Colorado is worthy of attention.

Ample outdoor recreation opportunities aside, Grand Valley is known for being a major fruit-producing region. Not only does that mean plenty of orchards, but also plenty of vineyards and more than a dozen wineries.

As noted by the USA Today report, "growing grapes in this terrain isn't the easiest task, which makes for creative solutions and unique yields."

One of the coolest aspects of visiting this part of the state on a wine-tourism adventure is the sheer number of wine-related destinations that can be visited in close proximity. This is the type of spot where a visit can be an annual tradition that still delivers something new every time.

A few of the highest-rated wineries in the Grand Valley area according to Yelp include Varaison Vineyards & Winery (4.6 stars), BookCliff Vineyards (4.8 stars), Restoration Vineyards (4.8 stars), and Colterris Winery (4.6 stars). And that's only a short preview of a long list of highly-rated spots.

The top ranking spot on the USA Today nationwide list was Paso Robles, located in California's Central Coast region.

Find the full ranking here.
The Aurora police officer who shot a 14-year-old boy in June will face no criminal charges, District Attorney John Kellner concluded Wednesday.

The teen died as a result of the shooting.

In his letter to the Aurora police explaining his conclusion, Kellner said he found "no criminal liability on the part of Officer Roch Gruszeczka."

"Applying the law to the facts of this incident, as described in more detail below, the evidence shows that Officer (James) Snapp was legally justified in using physical force during this incident, and that Officer Gruszeczka was legally justified in using deadly physical force," the attorney for the 18th Judicial District added.

Gruszeczka, a member of the Aurora Police Departments gang unit who has worked for the department since 2017, fatally shot JorDell Richardson on June 1 after Snapp tackled the teen.

Authorities did not release Richardson's name because he was a juvenile but his family confirmed his identity.

Police said Richardson ran away from a recently-robbed convenience store near East 8th Avenue and Dayton Street.

Richardson had a gun on him that Aurora's interim police chief said was a pellet gun  not a handgun  but which looked strikingly similar.

That is not a toy, Art Acevedo, the police chief, said at a news conference in June. Whats the purpose of these replicas? What legitimate role do they play? And we have a 14-year-old kid dead.

In a statement on Wednesday, Acevedo offered sympathies to Richardsons family.

"Consistent with my previous statements, our officers had to make split-second decisions based upon the information available to them and their own observations," he said. "I believe the 18th Judicial District Critical Incident Response Team made a fair and just decision today following a comprehensive analysis of all the facts over the last three months. Regardless of this finding, the death of a young man is a tragedy for his family and extended community, and it will continue to weigh heavily on members of our department."

Acevedo said his department is in the final stages of a separate, internal investigation to determine what policy violations, if any, occurred related to this incident. He promised to share that investigation's findings.

The police chief also called for a summit on youth violence.

"Its my hope that our community will come closer together and direct our collective energy toward comprehensive, meaningful and lasting solutions to empower our youth. It is in this spirit that I called for a summit to address the many challenges facing todays youth ranging from high frequency of violence to lack of quality educational and economic opportunities," he said. "This effort will not succeed unless we secure commitments from a wide range of community, business, and government leaders."

Metro Denver, in particular, has seen a string of violence involving children and young individuals in recent months, and the intensity of the crimes and ages of the alleged perpetrators and victims have merely highlighted the tragic complexity of the crisis.

Indeed, while youth crime in general has declined in recent years in Colorado, state statistics showed that violence involving juveniles  as perpetrators, as victims and sometimes as both  has stubbornly persisted, particularly in parts of metro Denver, including most acutely in Adams County.

Arrests for juveniles statewide for nonviolent offenses plunged over the past decade. In contrast, violent crime arrests of juveniles rose to a new 14-year high during the third quarter of 2021, when roughly 15 juveniles in 100,000 Coloradans were arrested for crimes of violence. Though that spike subsided and reversed last year, the rate of juvenile arrests for crimes of violence statewide remained higher than a decade ago.

The Denver Gazette has explored the crisis and proposed solutions in a series of stories over the last several months.

In the case of Richardson, a sergeant on patrol assigned to the city's gang unit had noticed a group of teenagers wearing hoodies and medical masks near a liquor store and asked for backup. Gruszeczka and Snapp responded. The officers radioed the kids may have been "casing" or "scoping" stores in the area.

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The investigation report said the clerk of the store that was robbed told police a group of masked individuals lined up in front of the register and one of them  who police later identified as Richardson  demanded the clerk hand over vape products.

"When the clerk hesitated, the individual displayed what appeared to be a handgun in his waist area and said words to the effect of 'Im not playing,' the report said.

The report said the clerk believed the individual, who was the only one in the group who wore a white sweatshirt, carried a real gun.

When Gruszeczka and Snapp arrived at the scene, they saw the masked individuals running out of the store, "carrying armfuls of merchandise," according to the report. And when another unmarked police car arrived, the individuals "immediately abandoned the merchandise and scattered," the report said, adding that the responding officers viewed the action as "being indicative of a robbery or similar crime having just occurred."

The two officers then chased Richardson and, after a brief struggle on the ground, Gruszeczka shot him.

Body-worn camera footage captured Richardson shouting Stop! You got me! at nearly the same time Officer Gruszecza yelled for him to "let go of the gun."

Its unclear from the video footage where Richardsons hands were at the time of the struggle, though it was under his white hoodie during the chase.

An attorney for his family earlier claimed no evidence shows Richardson touching the gun during the struggle and voiced doubts that the officers had reasonable suspicion to pursue him based on the information they had at the time.

Siddhartha Rathod, a partner at Rathod Mohamedbhai, claimed the officers did not know he had allegedly threatened the convenience store clerk with the pellet gun and robbed the store when they pursued him.

Richardson's family also accused Acevedo, the Aurora police chief, of misleading the public about what happened and called for the police chief's resignation.

Neither Richardson's father, Jameco Richardson, nor Rathod could immediately be reached for comment.

The investigation report described, based on interviews with the officers, how Gruszeczka dove onto Richardson to try and gain control of what turned out to be a pellet gun. The report said Gruszeczka "landed on the individuals midsection, with the individuals gun underneath Officer Gruszeczkas bullet proof vest and pointed at Officer Gruszeczkas stomach."

"Officer Gruszeczka saw and felt the individual reaching his hand in between their bodies to try to get his hand around the grip of the pistol. Although Officer Gruszeczka reported he had a hand on the slide of the gun, he felt the suspects hand at the grip of the gun and could not block the trigger," the report said. "During this struggle, Officer Gruszeczka unholstered his own firearm and loudly ordered the individual to drop the gun. In response, Officer Gruszeczka felt the individuals fingers and knuckles moving along Officer Gruszeczkas belly, re-gripping the pistol-grip of the gun."

That's when he opened fire at Richardson.

In the video of the incident, Richardson can be heard saying, They made me do it ... I didn't know who they were. They made me do it.

Also in the video, Gruszeczka later said, God, please be with that kid.

In his letter to Acevedo, Kellner said he met with Richardson's family members and their representatives, who "described him as an intelligent, motivated young man, with a promising future."

"The family reported the events giving rise to this OIS appeared to be out of character for him," Kellner said.
A Colorado Springs man accused of fatally stabbing 17-year-old Riley Whitelaw in a Walgreens breakroom last year is set to face trial at the end of the month after his attorneys and the prosecution announced Thursday that they were ready for trial.

Joshua Johnson, whose trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 25, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Whitelaw, his co-worker, at the Walgreens on Centennial Boulevard and Flying W Ranch Road on June 11, 2022.

Johnson was scheduled to go to trial May 8, but the case was delayed when the defense requested that Johnson undergo a competency evaluation.

Separate evaluations concluded that Johnson was competent to proceed, and a trial date in September was scheduled.

Whitelaw told her manager that Johnson made her feel uncomfortable and requested different hours so she would no longer have to work with him, according to police. However, when Whitelaw asked for additional hours, her manager told her it would require her to work with Johnson.

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Johnson was arrested a day after Whitelaws death by Colorado State Patrol while walking along Interstate 25 outside Trinidad.

Attorneys said they anticipate Johnson's trial to take around two weeks, with opening statements expected to be given Sept. 26 or 27, depending on how long jury selection takes.

Johnson remains in custody at the El Paso County jail on a $10 million bond.

He and his attorneys will return to court Sept. 22 to discuss which prosecution exhibits of the crime scene can be admitted at trial.
Preliminary performance frameworks released Tuesday suggest positive momentum in schools and districts across the state, with the Colorado Springs area slightly trailing in its improvement. Ratings followed a similar trend to state test scores released earlier this month.

The Colorado Department of Education reports a greater percentage of schools and districts earned higher marks than in 2022. Locally, 10 of the Pikes Peak regions 17 districts received fewer performance points compared to last year, and just seven are satisfactorily accredited.

CDEs annual frameworks serve as an accountability system for schools and districts by gauging student outcomes and assigning points based on three performance indicators: achievement, growth and postsecondary workforce readiness. Using a percentage of those earned points, CDE then assigns ratings to determine which schools require extra support and what level of accreditation districts will receive.

Preliminary ratings are subject to change until the Colorado State Board of Education finalizes them at its November or December meetings.

I am pleased that we continue to see some improvement in our schools and districts after a tough three years, Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Cordova said in a news release. We know that students and staff have been working incredibly hard these past years and the improvements shown on these preliminary results are a reflection of those efforts. Additionally, this information can help us determine where we need to focus our efforts to help schools that are still struggling.

District accreditation and school ratings follow a tiered system. Those receiving a satisfactory percentage of points are rated performance, and those that fall just short are rated improvement. High-performing districts are also eligible for an accreditation with distinction rating.

Especially low-performers in need of more drastic changes are given priority improvement or turnaround ratings and are placed on a so-called accountability watch list. These schools and districts have about five years to demonstrate improvement and escape the watch list or else they could face outside intervention from the Colorado State Board of Education.

Whereas Cripple Creek-Victor School District RE-1 escaped the state watch list with a 13-percentage-point gain and bump to an improvement rating this year, preliminary data show, Ellicott School District 22 and Hanover School District 28 joined the watch list with drops to priority improvement ratings.

D-28 earned the lowest percentage of points with 45.1%, a sharp drop of 17.2 percentage points from its 2019 score, the last year in which D-28 earned points due to insufficient data.

District 49 earned the second-lowest percentage of points with 45.3%, down 4.2 percentage points from 2022. D-49 did, however, improve both of its priority improvement schools to improvement status, shedding them from the states accountability watch list.

Colorado Springs School District 11 also saw positive outcomes for many of its watch-list schools after hosting a predictive data analysis news conference last week. Its celebratory projections proved largely accurate.

The district did shed seven of 15 schools from last years state watch list, but it also added two more: Palmer High School and Roosevelt Charter Academy, which dropped one and two ratings, respectively.

D-11 still saw net-positive movement, cutting its watch list schools down by one-third, to 10.

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That is unprecedented growth and achievement, but the work doesnt stop here, school board President Parth Melpakam said at last weeks news conference. The strategy that we have put in place, this outcome shows that it is working. And its going to take some time to change this district, but we are invested in this and are going to go into this with urgency.

D-11 accounts for nearly half of the regions 21 watch-list schools this year. Harrison School District 2 accounts for the next-largest batch with six.

Four of Harrisons schools joined the watch list this year in place of one that escaped, thereby doubling D-2s watch-list schools from three to six. The district retains its overall performance rating status, however, making it one of just seven in the region not requiring an improvement or priority improvement plan at the district level.

While the Pikes Peak region trended slightly downward in its percentage of points earned, the region is still home to several top-performing districts.

Academy School District 20, Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 and Lewis-Palmer School District 38 each received accreditation with distinction. Only 11 districts, or 6% of districts statewide, received this designation.

Every D-20 and D-12 school with sufficient data received performance ratings. D-20 is also home to five of the states top 10 schools based on percentage of points earned under the performance framework, and D-38 is home to three top 10 schools.

Our work as educators is never-ending, but today, please pause and enjoy this moment. Do a happy dance, or a fist bump, or whatever celebration you choose. Please know that Im cheering alongside you, D-20 Superintendent Jinger Haberer said in a video to staff.

"This is a direct reflection of the extraordinary dedication and hard work of our teachers, principals, parents and students, she continued in a written statement. Its not every day you are honored for 15 consecutive years of achievement!

D-20, D-12 and D-38 are three of four districts in the state to achieve distinction every year since ratings launched in 2008.

Our staff work tirelessly, and their efforts are seen and appreciated. Our entire district is also proud of our students for their hard work, as well as thankful to our families who support our work and bolster the successes of all students, Superintendent KC Somers wrote in a newsletter to district families. ... While we celebrate this win for our district and our students, we intend to focus our efforts now and moving forward on intensely innovating to continue moving the landscape of education forward to benefit our regions students.

Pikes Peak region watch list schools include the following, in descending order of percentage of points earned:
More traffic. More housing. More business.

Colorado Springs is growingfast. But how fast is too fast?

The city has grown by 38% in the last 30 years, and while civic leaders and businesses are embracing it, some residents are concerned the city's growth is not being managed responsibly.

At 5:30 p.m., The Gazette and KOAA will host a panel of local experts in Studio Bee at the Pikes Peak Center to discuss growth in the Pikes Peak region.

Panelists for The Gazette's latest Colorado Conversations town hall include:

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Tatiana Bailey, executive director of Data Driven Economic Strategies

executive director of Data Driven Economic Strategies Lisa Barbato, chief officer of system planning and projects at Colorado Springs Utilities

chief officer of system planning and projects at Colorado Springs Utilities Meggan Herington , El Paso County director of planning and community development

, El Paso County director of planning and community development Theresa Metcalf , VP of economic development at Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC

, VP of economic development at Colorado Springs Chamber and EDC Steve Posey, Colorado Springs chief housing officer

We'll post the discussion online when it's over. Look out for an alert in your inbox and on your phone.

Read the Gazette's special report on growth in Colorado Springs here.
Colorado Springs founder Gen. William Jackson Palmer and his horse were causing too many crashes downtown.

Travelers going both eastbound and westbound on Platte Avenue where it intersects with Nevada Avenue  the site where Palmer and his horse Diablo permanently watch over the city, immortalized in a bronze monument  can no longer turn left onto Nevada, officials said Wednesday.

"The Nevada-Platte intersection is, in itself, a unique intersection because of the statue," said Todd Frisbie, the city's traffic engineering division manager. "So it makes left turns ... awkward and difficult to make safely."

Commuters traveling north or south on Nevada can still make left turns onto Platte, he said.

Colorado Springs officials restricted certain left turns at this junction after a citywide study on intersection safety from 2021-2022 found it was more hazardous than expected.

"The movement that was causing it to be worse than expected was that left turn that we restricted from Platte Avenue onto Nevada. ... That change is intended to improve safety," Frisbie said.

Downtown's grid system makes it easy for drivers to make left turns from Platte elsewhere and still reach their destinations, such as at North Weber or North Tejon streets, one block east and one block west, respectively, from Nevada Avenue, he said.

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"It shouldn't be a major inconvenience for drivers," he said.

Nevada sees about 20,000 vehicles a day and Platte about 14,000.

Some traffic counts suggested the number of left turns from Platte onto Nevada during peak morning and afternoon hours of 7:15-8:15 a.m. and 4:30-5:30 p.m. were lower than expected, he said. Frisbie could not provide exact volumes by time of press Wednesday.

Crash data at the intersection from 2015-2019 showed 65 total crashes happened; 25 of those crashes, or roughly 38%, involved someone making a left turn from anywhere in the crossing. That exceeds the expected 16% crash rate for left-turning vehicles there, he said.

Among those 25 crashes, 21 involved vehicles making left turns from Platte onto Nevada. Seven of those crashes resulted in injuries, with 12 people being hurt, Frisbie said.

"Some of our traffic counts did suggest that the number of left turns is lower than you'd expect ... but that's really telling, right? Because volume is lower, but you also have an elevated crash experience. That tells you drivers have a hard time making that left turn."

The city also removed signs at the intersection Wednesday that said "Yield to pedestrians" and replaced them with signage reading "No right turns when pedestrians are present," he said.
The federal appeals court based in Denver concluded on Tuesday that a pair of trial judges wrongly declined to evaluate the innocence claim of a man convicted in 2006 for the killing of a 21-month-old child.

The refusal was seemingly based on a misunderstanding of when new evidence surfaced in Robert Edward Hill's case.

A Jefferson County jury originally found Hill guilty of murder and child abuse resulting in death. Hill's girlfriend left her daughter in Hill's care, but returned to find the child unresponsive. The girl suffered internal bleeding, and Hill's attorney decided to argue that someone else was responsible for the injuries.

Hill appealed his conviction unsuccessfully, then sought postconviction relief in state court. When he reached the end for his appeals, Hill filed a habeas corpus petition in federal court asserting, among other things, there was evidence of his innocence that would have changed the outcome at trial if jurors had heard it.

Specifically, expert witnesses testified in Hill's postconviction proceedings that the child suffered from a bleeding disorder that would have explained her injuries and mimicked signs of child abuse.

In April 2022, then-U.S. Magistrate Judge Gordon P. Gallagher recommended dismissing Hill's petition.

"Mr. Hill asserts he is actually innocent, but he has not presented any new and reliable evidence to support a claim of actual innocence," wrote Gallagher. Apparently, out of confusion about when the expert witness testimony occurred, Gallagher believed Hill only cited to "trial transcripts" but nothing since then.

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U.S. District Court Senior Judge Lewis T. Babcock upheld the recommendation and dismissed the case.

On appeal, Hill, representing himself from prison, acknowledged Gallagher may have mixed up the timing because Hill's postconviction hearing and his jury trial took place almost exactly 10 years apart.

"Nonetheless, the court is responsible for knowing what it is basing its ruling on, and Mr. Hill asks that this court please be more cautious in its review, and understand that it is the postconviction testimony that clearly establishes" actual innocence, he wrote to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit.

In a Sept. 5 order, a three-judge panel for the 10th Circuit agreed Gallagher and Babcock had wrongly turned aside Hill's innocence claim based on a mistaken belief that the expert testimony occurred at trial, not after it.

"No doubt this was nothing more than an oversight; however, the district courts erroneous finding means that it never considered whether  based on the new evidence and its review of the record as a whole  it is more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," wrote Judge Joel M. Carson III.

The panel returned the case to the trial court for a review of Hill's claim that new evidence would show his innocence.
A man incarcerated at the El Paso County jail was barred from suing over the facilitys allegedly lax COVID-19 protocols because he failed to specifically follow the procedure for reporting a problem, the federal appeals court based in Denver ruled on Tuesday.

Under the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act, people who are incarcerated must exhaust their administrative remedies before bringing a civil rights lawsuit. In the El Paso County jail, that meant raising a problem through informal channels by speaking to staff, then filing a grievance and appealing any action taken.

Heshimo Yaphet Carr filed a grievance in November 2020, which he labeled an emergency, claiming the jail was failing to protect him from COVID-19 and asking the facility to follow public health recommendations in place at the time to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

During the pandemic, the jail became a severe source of COVID-19 outbreaks, to the point where the ACLU of Colorado filed a class action lawsuit to force changes in public health protocols. Last month, the county approved a $3 million settlement over the COVID-19-related death of a detainee.

Carr, who alleged that jail personnel intentionally put him in a cell with a COVID-19-positive inmate, filed a second grievance just over 48 hours after the first, reiterating that he wanted the jail to protect him from COVID-19.

Days later, jail employee Nicole Frahm responded that Carrs grievance was very general and does not identify an emergency situation. She then closed his report.

Case: Carr v. El Paso County Jail Decided: September 5, 2023 Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for Colorado Ruling: 3-0 Judges: Scott M. Matheson Jr. (author) Mary Beck Briscoe Allison H. Eid Background: El Paso County jail fighting new COVID-19 cases as staff face challenges with mitigation

Carr, representing himself, then filed a federal lawsuit. In March 2023, U.S. District Court Senior Judge R. Brooke Jackson dismissed his claims because Carr failed to follow the jails protocols for reporting a problem, as the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires.

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Jackson found the procedures were vague in places, but Carrs grievance lacks the sort of specificity as to date, time, and nexus to Mr. Carrs personal health and welfare that the jails procedures contemplate, he wrote.

Carr appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, arguing the jail was required to read and respond to emergency grievances like his within 48 hours, but it did not. Therefore, the jail effectively ignored his grievance and he was entitled to file suit.

The El Paso County Attorneys Office responded that staff members, not detainees, determine whether something is an emergency. It accused Carr of lying in wait to sue after 48 hours had elapsed, instead of following the proper steps.

In a Sept. 5 order, a three-judge panel for the 10th Circuit agreed with the county.

The jail thus needed only to respond to Mr. Carrs grievances within 10 business days. It did, wrote Judge Scott M. Matheson Jr.

As a result, Carr was barred from challenging the jails alleged indifference to his health.

The case is Carr v. El Paso County Jail et al.
Colorado's second-highest court on Thursday agreed a man who filed suit over media coverage of his protest activity failed to show how his defamation claims had merit.

In April 2021, the Northglenn/Thornton Sentinel reported on Richard Roy Blake's protests outside Masjid Ikhlas  Metropolitan Denver North Islamic Center. For years, Blake had shown up to "open houses" at the mosque, reportedly hoping to find "moderate" Muslims who were receptive to his concerns about the treatment of women and Christians under some Islamic regimes.

At one point, a jury in municipal court convicted him of violating Northglenn's sidewalk obstruction ordinance, after Blake stood outside with a sign that read "Equal Rights for Christians in Islamic Nations" on one side and "Islam Kills" on the other.

Blake sued Colorado Community Media and the article's author, Liam Adams, for defamation and infliction of emotional distress. In addition to disputing how the article characterized Blake, he also accused the defendants of being a "shill for an ideology" that allegedly promotes the abuse of women. Colorado Politics previously collaborated with Colorado Community Media and Adams on multiple articles unrelated to Blake's protests.

Case: Blake v. Marcari-Healey Publishing Company Decided: September 7, 2023 Jurisdiction: Denver Ruling: 3-0 Judges: Stephanie Dunn (author) Jerry N. Jones W. Eric Kuhn Background: 10th Circuit finds no merit to First Amendment claims of Northglenn mosque protestor

The defendants moved to dismiss under Colorado's relatively new "anti-SLAPP" law, which stands for "strategic lawsuits against public participation." The legislature enacted the law in 2019 to provide a mechanism to quickly dispose of litigation that implicates a person's First Amendment rights  specifically, the rights to free speech and to petition the government.

To date, the court has sided with dissatisfied customers sued over negative online reviews of businesses, a woman who spoke out about domestic violence on social media and a Planned Parenthood executive who criticized a series of misleading videos about fetal tissue donation.

In September 2022, then-Denver District Court Judge Ross B.H. Buchanan granted the anti-SLAPP motion and dismissed the case. While the Sentinel article contained some inaccurate language, Buchanan found the substance of the story relied on available sources of information about Blake's behavior at the mosque.

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"Although the court agrees that the article does not paint Plaintiff in the most flattering light," Buchanan wrote, "the statements merely repeat what was stated to police and included in an official report, and therefore, the court finds the statements to be a substantially accurate report."

Blake also challenged the constitutionality of Colorado's anti-SLAPP law, pointing to court decisions in Washington and Minnesota that struck down those states' similar laws for infringing on the right to a civil jury trial. Buchanan noted, however, that Colorado has no universal right to a civil jury trial.

Blake, representing himself, appealed the decision. He continued to dispute the "tone for the article" and its characterization of his actions. The defendants labeled the appeal "completely frivolous."

A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals determined it was unable to meaningfully evaluate Blake's arguments because of the major deficiencies in his filing.

"But even if we were inclined to review the district courts order, the brief contains no argument supported by lucid reasoning demonstrating any legal error," wrote Judge Stephanie Dunn in the Sept. 7 opinion.

Earlier this year, the federal appeals court based in Denver sided against Blake in a related lawsuit where he sought to strike down Northglenn's sidewalk obstruction ordinance as unconstitutional.

The case is Blake v. Marcari-Healey Publishing Company LLC et al.
Current state representative and former Manitou Springs mayor Marc Snyder is looking to move offices once again, planning to run for the state Senate next year.

Snyder aims to replace term-limited Sen. Bob Gardner as the representative for El Paso County's Senate District 12, he announced on Tuesday. Snyder has represented House District 18 for the last five years. Before joining the House, he served as mayor of Manitou Springs from 2010 to 2016 and on the city council since 2004.

Im proud of the work I have done as mayor and in the legislature over the past five years, but there is still more work to be done, Snyder said. El Paso County needs a legislator who will continue to make a resilient place to live.

If elected, Snyder would be the first Democrat to represent SD 12, according to the district's current Republican senator, Gardner.

SD 12 was a strongly conservative district for decades until the redistricting in 2021 shifted the party balance to near neutral. The district now has the fourth most even political split in the state, leaning Republican by only 2.4%, according to a report from the redistricting commission. Active Republican voters outnumber Democrats by more than 3,600, but the district's nearly 52,600 unaffiliated voters mean the election could easily sway in either direction.

Snyder is the only candidate to file for the race so far, but Gardner said there are several Republicans considering running. And while Gardner said he has "a lot of personal respect" for Snyder, he will not endorse Snyder to be his successor.

I wish him well, though I dont wish him success," Gardner said. If he became a Republican and was our candidate, I certainly would. But until that happens, I certainly wont.

Colorado legislators request settlement in illegal meetings lawsuit

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During his time in the House, Snyder has prime-sponsored 70 bills that were signed into law, including policies that sought to invest in behavioral health and support small businesses. Much of his legislation focuses on wildfire mitigation and response, drawing on his experience as Manitou Springs mayor when the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire devastated the city.

Snyder currently chairs the House Finance Committee and sits on the House Judiciary Committee. He recently served on the interim Wildfire Matters Review Committee, House Services Committee and Pension Review Commission.

If elected to the Senate, Snyder said he would continue the work he has begun in the House.

"We need to continue our investments in mitigation, to continue to lower the cost of living, including health care," Snyder said. "To protect our environment and mitigate the effects of wildfires, and to support a fair education system to improve our local economy, like I have done during my time in the House."

Snyder is the sixth House representative planning to run for the other chamber next year.

Reps. Lindsey Daugherty, Cathy Kipp, Judy Amabile, Mike Weissman and Dafna Michaelson Jenet have all also filed to run for open Senate seats in 2024, according to campaign finance reports from the Colorado Secretary of State's Office. Michaelson Jenet was selected to join the Senate by a vacancy committee last week and will be officially sworn in at a later date.

SD 12 includes western Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Security-Widefield, Fountain and Fort Carson.

Q&A with Rep.-elect Tim Hernandez | Activist-turned-legislator on channeling his fire
Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order Thursday to expand apprenticeship programs within state agencies, a move he hopes will help address staffing shortages.

While there are two unemployed Coloradans for every open job in the state, the skills of applicants often don't align with the skills needed for the jobs, Polis said. By offering more apprenticeships, prospective employees can get the necessary training and experience to transition to full-time employment, while being paid during their education period.

"The state as an employer is not exempt from the same trends that are affecting many other employers," Polis said. "We're one of the larger employers in the state and like many companies, organizations, nonprofits and universities in our state, it's difficult to fill all those positions."

The order requires state agencies to increase their number of apprenticeship programs by 50% by June 30, 2024, and directs every department to implement at least two new work-based learning programs by Dec. 30, 2025, such as apprenticeships, internships or fellowships.

Only seven of Colorado's 19 cabinet-level state agencies currently have active apprenticeship programs, state officials said Thursday.

By June 30, 2025, 10 new work-based learning programs must also be created for agencies with high vacancy rates or multi-department positions. Polis named nursing, social work, corrections, transportation, administration and human resources as agencies with the highest need.

Regulatory burdens top concerns of Colorado business leaders: Poll

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"We need everything from snow plow drivers, to prison guards, to people who process taxes, to park rangers, you name it," Polis said. "We need to do a better job recruiting and retaining great people to work for all of the great career opportunities the state offers."

Colorado has over 300 active apprenticeship programs with more than 6,000 participants, including those within state agencies and in the private sector.

Though focused on state workforce needs, the new executive order will also offer technical assistance and support to the private sector to add 100 new private apprenticeship programs by June 30, 2024.

Polis said he hopes this support, in addition to the state's internal focus on work-based learning, will create a ripple effect inspiring the creation of more apprenticeships throughout the state.

"We call upon companies across Colorado to innovate, as well, in this area," Polis said. "We are showing leadership as a state, moving forward and modeling best practices around work-based learning."

Polis was surrounded by dozens of state officials during the signing at the Governors Residence at Boettcher Mansion. Attendees included Sen. James Coleman, Sen. Tom Sullivan, Rep. David Ortiz, Rep. Sheila Lieder, Office of Economic Development Director Eve Lieberman, Department of Labor and Employment Director Joe Barela, and Office of the Future of Work Director Katherine Keegan.

Gov. Jared Polis backs reclassifying marijuana as Schedule III drug: 'It's about time'
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, made her way to North Iowa on Wednesday, making stops at MercyOne North Iowa, Kingland Productions and Renovo Media Group.

Iowa's 2nd Congressional District representative visited Mason City and Clear Lake as part of a 22-county tour.

While visiting MercyOne's oncology and cardiac wings, Hinson said staffing issues are a common concern she hears throughout the state -- especially in rural Iowa.

"A lot of our conversations revolved around workforce," Hinson said. "It's challenging to recruit doctors to Iowa, especially specialists."

Hinson is cosponsoring a bill that would expand immigration waivers. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, the Conrad 30 waiver program "allows 30 J-1 foreign medical graduates to apply for a waiver of the 2-year foreign residence requirement upon completion of the J-1 exchange visitor program each year. The program addresses the shortage of qualified doctors in medically underserved areas."

Hinson's bill would increase the number of doctors eligible for waivers to 100 if passed.

Hinson discussed business issues with company leaders at Kingland Productions and Renovo Media Group, which are housed in the same facility in Clear Lake. The companies produce state-of-the art video and audio projects.

Hinson was impressed with what she saw.

"What an amazing company. Obviously, they're in the data protection and software industry, but they're also helping to be the Hollywood of the Midwest," she said.

She praised the company for investing in new technology and offering its services to musicians, advertisers, TV and movie producers and more in the middle of Iowa.

"The level of technology, the level of production capability, all of the different things they have under one roof here was surprising," Hinson said. "To know that all of that is happening right here in our own back yard, we should be very proud of that."

Congress is returning to Washington this week, and Hinson said she has a few things she be specially focused on.

"My top priority is to pass as many of the most conservative spending bills that we can get across the finish line," she said.

Hinson is also focused on the farm bill and has been listening to the concerns of farmers and other stakeholders in the field of agriculture. She also wants to increase access to precision agriculture technologies.

North Iowa neighbors: Obituaries for September 6 Read through the obituaries published today in Globe Gazette. Obituaries Leid, Tricia Tricia Jo Leid Obituaries Tricia Jo Leid OSAGETricia Jo Leid, 2, of Osage, Iowa, died Thursday, August 17, 2023 at her home from a tragic accident.
A new phase of Summit Carbon Solutions evidentiary hearing for its pipeline permit began Tuesday.

The company plans to call its 15 witnesses to testify over the course of four days, according to the Iowa Utilities Board.

The hearing is a final component of the IUBs process for weighing the companys application for a hazardous liquid pipeline permit. Summit intends to construct more than 2,000 miles of pipe to transport captured carbon dioxide from ethanol plants in five state to North Dakota for underground sequestration. More than 680 miles of the system would be in Iowa.

The hearing began Aug. 22, and its first two weeks featured testimony from some of the landowners who are subject to the companys eminent domain requests to get land easements for the project.

There were a few landowners who had anticipated testifying in the past two weeks but were unable because of schedule conflicts, said Melissa Myers, an IUB spokesperson. They can testify later this month.

Witnesses testify about evidence the board will consider from the company and others as it weighs Summits permit request. They are subject to cross-examination.

The landowners who have already testified object to the project on numerous grounds. They are convinced construction of the pipeline will cause irreparable damage to their farmland. They worry about having to repay money they have received by setting aside the land for federal conservation programs, which require the land to go untouched. They are concerned about the wellbeing of people and livestock should the pipeline break and release carbon dioxide, which under certain circumstances and form a dense plume of gas that can asphyxiate them. Some have future commercial or residential projects that could be impeded by the project.

Most of them decry the use of eminent domain to get the easements, which would allow Summit to construct and operate the pipeline on property it doesnt own. Opponents argue the project doesnt fit an eminent domain requirement that it promotes the public convenience and necessity in the same way of a natural gas pipeline.

There are about 950 parcels of land in Iowa for which Summit seeks the forced easements.

The project hit a roadblock last month in North Dakota, where state regulators rejected its proposed route. The company has retooled its proposal to move the pipeline farther away from Bismarck and asked the North Dakota Public Service Commission to reconsider. A decision on the request is pending.

Summit has argued that its $5.5 billion pipeline system would be a boon to the ethanol industry, ensuring its long-term viability and increasing producers profits. That is also important for the income of farmers because the industry is a major market for them  more than half of Iowas corn is used to produce ethanol.

Ethanol producers who capture and sequester their carbon are eligible for generous federal tax credits, and they also have the ability to earn more money in low-carbon fuel markets. Summit has tentative profit-sharing agreements with 13 ethanol plants in Iowa.

Summit has said the safety concerns about carbon dioxide pipelines are overblown, and that a major pipeline breach is unlikely to happen.

The evidentiary hearing in Fort Dodge could go for weeks or months.
More Airbnbs got approval for special-use permits from the Danville City Council during its meeting Tuesday night.

More requests for permits for short-term rentals are on the way for the city government.

Council approved special-use permits for a half-dozen Airbnbs in the city.

Near the end of the meeting, Councilman Lee Vogler pointed out the large number of short-term rentals approved by council, and how much their numbers have surged throughout Danville in the last few years.

We approved more tonight than even existed in Danville eight years ago, Vogler said.

He also referred to the indication of the citys growth they represent. No one makes those kinds of investments in a city thats not on the comeback trail or on the rise, he said.

The Airbnbs approved Tuesday night included ones at 110 Park Ave., 822 W. Main St., 49 Augusta Ave., 66 Stokesland Ave., 69 Schoolfield Drive and 212 Wood Ave.

City Councilman James Buckner abstained from the vote on the short-term rental at 110 Park Ave. due to a conflict of interest.

All of the rest of the decisions were by an 8-0 vote. Councilman Madison Whittle was absent.

In July, the Danville Planning Commission had seven requests on its monthly meeting agenda for special-use permits for short-term rentals, and had another seven requests in August. There are a half-dozen more scheduled to be heard by the planning commission next week.

The upcoming Caesars Virginia casino project expected to open in late 2024  including the temporary Danville Casino that opened in May  and overall growth in Danville are playing a role in the trend. Large-scale events also attract visitors.

There were 26 Airbnbs registered with the citys commissioner of the revenue office as of late July. There are likely many more that city officials do not know about.

Just like any other business, Airbnbs must get a zoning clearance and register with the commissioner of revenue office for tax-collection purposes. The establishments collect lodging taxes.

The city of Danville recently updated its code to better enable the city to collect those taxes from companies such as Airbnb.

Locations of those Airbnb projects seeking special-use permits are scattered throughout the city.

The Danville City Council ultimately decides whether to approve those special-use permits after the planning commission votes whether to recommend approval.

In another matter, City Council approved a special-use permit for Fortiline Inc. to operate a wholesale pipe supply business at 4780 Riverside Drive. The property was a car lot and has been vacant for many years.
CHATHAM  In a special meeting that lasted a mere four minutes, the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to move Tunstalls precinct back to the high school.

The saga started after redistricting. Once the lines shifted, the voting precinct at Tunstall High School fell more than a mile outside of the boundary line.

That forced the county to make a change.

At a June meeting of the board  following a public hearing  the Tunstall precinct was moved to the fellowship hall of Mount Hermon Baptist Church. The specific action came in the way of a change to the county code.

Then the countys electrical board learned the church was no longer available as a precinct, according to the agenda item.

They need to do this because they could not reach an agreement with the church, among other reasons, Pittsylvania County Attorney Vaden Hunt explained prior to Tuesday nights public hearing on the precinct change.

No other details were provided surrounding the issue with the church.

Shani Shorter, the registrar for Pittsylvania County, submitted a waiver request in July for the State Board of Elections to move the Tunstall precinct back to the high school located at 100 Trojan Circle in Dry Fork.

Commissioner Susan Beals, with the Virginia elections board, approved the request Aug. 2 and granted the county permanent exception for the precinct to be moved back to Tunstall High School, according to the county.

Tuesdays special meeting was needed because the decision had to be made prior to the normal business meeting set for Sept. 19, Hunt explained.

Hunt said he drew the short end of the stick Tuesday evening after Shorter wasnt at the meeting when it started, so he addressed the board briefly on the issue.This is a simple public hearing, he explained.

With no one signed up to speak, the hearing quickly closed and supervisors voted to amend the county code allowing the Tunstall precinct to move back to the high school.

Bob Warren, who represents the Chatham-Blairs district, made the motion. It was seconded by Vic Ingram, Tunstall district supervisor.

After a unanimous vote, the meeting was over.
The states only maximum security psychiatric hospital has seen a significant spike in medical emergencies in the past two years, according to data released by the state agency that oversees the facility.

In 2017, Central State Hospital saw 13 medical emergencies. In 2022, the hospital had nearly 49, the records show, nearly a four-fold increase. And this year, the hospital has already recorded 52 incidents and is on track to break a record in the past six years of data.

The information was released to The Times-Dispatch by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services, which manages Central State Hospital.

A total of 19 patients have died at Central State Hospital in that same time period, with four of those deaths occurring this year, the data shows.

The state tracks the number of instances by the staff dialing a 10-60 code on their radios  a classification that notifies medical staff that a patient needs help.

Meghan Maguire, a spokesperson for the department, said that there are clear reasons for the hospitals frequent medical emergencies.

She said a significant number of the calls stem from only four patients whose conditions have manifested as medical complications. The patients identities are protected by patient confidentiality law.

Calls related to these four individuals comprised 79% of the 10-60 calls in 2022 and 52% of the 10-60 calls in 2023 thus far, Maguire said.

Maguire also said that 10-60 codes dont always indicate a medical emergency. They can also be used when a patient has a minor injury, Maguire said.

The vast majority of calls are not for a life-threatening reason and do not require EMS assistance, Maguire said.

In July, a 19-year-old patient named Tramil Anthony Brown died. The hospital has yet to release information about Browns death.

Brown was a pre-trial detainee accused of first-degree murder. He lived in Henrico County. He died in the hospitals sixth ward, according to a patient, who said the medical staff attempted to resuscitate Brown.

Tonya Brown, Tramils mother, said she was told of her sons death by another patient. Brown said she called the hospital for days, ultimately to hear few details because the death is under investigation.

She said her son was in perfect health, and that she and her husband, Milton Brown, visited Tramil every weekend.

He was found dead on the bed at Central State. Nineteen years old. And had no issues, none, Brown said. Cmon, my baby was good.

Brown said that the hospitals medical director, Brandi Justice, had sent them a letter regarding his death, but that it had yet to arrive. Brown was told that medical staff did everything they could to help her son, she said, including rushing him to a local hospital.

There was a wrongful death that occurred under their watch, said Milton Brown, Tramils father.

A spokesperson for the Virginia State Police has said they have been investigating the death.

His death was preceded by the case of Irvo Otieno, who died in the hospitals admission area. Otieno died while being restrained by Henrico County Sheriffs deputies, as well as three Central State Hospital employees. His death was ruled a homicide, and eight defendants are on track for trials on charges of second-degree murder.

Charges against two of the three hospital employees have since been dismissed. Charges remain for Wavie Lavon Jones, a technician at the hospital.

In May, the news outlet Insider reported on a substantiated report of violence against a patient by Jones. The incident occurred after the patient became violent, repeatedly punching a nurse, a hospital investigator wrote. Jones struck the patients back five times with a closed fist, the report said.

The incident was reviewed on video, and the patient later denied that he was injured during the incident.

Insider reported that Central State Hospital investigators had substantiated a total of 31 complaints of physical abuse against patients, as well as 9 for verbal abuse and 3 for patient exploitation. The complaint numbers were obtained by Insider through a public records request.

Another 230 claims of physical abuse were found by investigators to be unsubstantiated.

Dinwiddie County Sheriff DT Duck Adams said that confrontations between staff and patients have always occurred. Thats always happened for as long as Ive been here, Adams said. And Ive been here forty years.

However, Adams said that the hospital appeared to be under control in recent months, owing to fewer calls to the countys EMTs.

Psychiatric hospital deaths often come under public scrutiny. Mentally ill patients have difficulty advocating for themselves and violence isnt uncommon.

Some states have moved toward more accountability.

Last month, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that state officials could not prevent the release of a report about a patient who choked to death on food while he was in the states only maximum-security hospital: Whiting Forensic Hospital.

Shortly after, another patient settled a $9 million civil suit to the family of a man whose brother was abused numerous times by hospital staff in Connecticut.

An investigation initiated after that death led to the firings of nearly three dozen workers and reforms at Whiting, the AP reported.
NAGS HEAD  A third person in as many days has died on the Outer Banks after swimming in the ocean.

A 36-year-old man from Enfield, Connecticut, died Wednesday evening after being pulled from the Atlantic Ocean in Nags Head, according to a town release sent Thursday around midday.

Nags Head Fire and Ocean Rescue and police responded to a 911 call at 5:50 p.m. Wednesday reporting a man in distress in the ocean about 50 yards north of Nags Head Fishing Pier in the 3300 block of South Virginia Dare Trail, the release said.

An ocean rescue guard arrived first, quickly pulled the man from the water and began CPR, according to the release. Dare County Emergency Medical Services took the man to Outer Banks Health, formerly called the Outer Banks Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Town of Nags Heads thoughts are with the mans family and friends after this tragic event, the release said. It also thanked the good Samaritan on the beach and Dare County EMS for its assistance with the call.

Two visitors died earlier this week after swimming in the ocean south of Nags Head, at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

On Monday, a 28-year-old woman from Washington, D.C., died after a witness said she was overtaken by strong waves, disappeared under the water and was then seen floating face-down.

On Tuesday, a 68-year-old Ohio man died despite the efforts of two bystanders, who swam out and pulled him to shore in response to his calls for help.

Rip current warnings issued by the National Weather Service were in effect earlier this week from New York to North Carolina, and that agency also was urging swimmers to use extra caution and only swim in area where lifeguards were present.

At least three deaths were reported in New Jersey, including a 22-year-old man from the Dominican Republic who began struggling in the water off Beach Haven on Sunday while swimming with two other people, according to the Asbury Park Press. More than a dozen lifeguards formed a human chain as part of an effort to rescue the swimmers. Two of them were safely brought to land, but the third disappeared under the water and his body was found a few hours later.

A 31-year-old Maryland man who was last seen in the ocean off Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, was found dead early Monday, local news outlets reported.

The Nags Head press release cautioned beachgoers to swim near a lifeguard, to never swim alone and to learn about rip current safety before entering the ocean.

Nags Head Ocean Rescue provides water rescue services from April through October. Lifeguard stands are staffed at the Bonnett, Epstein and Gulfstream public beach accesses through Sept. 30. Guards on roving ATVs patrol the beach through Oct. 31, subject to change due to staffing levels, according to the release.

For local information on water and beach safety, visit LovetheBeachRespecttheOcean.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

2023 The Virginian-Pilot. Visit pilotonline.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
During the braderie in Luxembourg City, our agents made controls to ensure that prices were correctly displayed on all stands.

Prices were mostly correctly displayed, and the few irregularities that were found were immediately rectified by the cooperative sellers.

The inspection can therefore be considered a success, as no sanctions were issued by the police officers.

The Ministry for Consumer Protection will continue to protect the rights of consumers in Luxembourg and to raise awareness among professionals of good practice when it comes to displaying prices.

Many thanks to the police for their exemplary cooperation!
Luxembourg and Iceland share close bilateral relations based on longstanding ties between the two governments, economies and peoples. Today's bilateral meeting between Prime minister Bettel and Prime minister Jakobsdottir in Luxembourg allowed them to follow up after an earlier meeting in May this year in Reykjavik at the margins of the Council of Europe Summit.

SIP / Emmanuel Claude (fr. l. to r.) Katrin Jakobsdottir, Prime Minister of Iceland ; Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister, Minister of State SIP / Emmanuel Claude (fr. l. to r.) Katrin Jakobsdottir, Prime Minister of Iceland ; Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister, Minister of State SIP / Emmanuel Claude (fr. l. to r.) Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister, Minister of State ; Katrin Jakobsdottir, Prime Minister of Iceland ; Taina Bofferding, Minister of Equality between Women and Men SIP / Emmanuel Claude Group photo SIP / Emmanuel Claude (fr. l. to r.) Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister, Minister of State; Katrin Jakobsdottir, Prime Minister of Iceland

The Prime ministers had a good exchange regarding the further strengthening of bilateral relations, the close ties within the European Economic Area, international security matters including continued support for Ukraine, and the need for stronger climate action. As natural partners, Luxembourg and Iceland share a common ambition of building a stronger, safer, greener, more competitive and a more prosperous Europe, based on the fundamental values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Prime ministers shared serious concerns because of the backlash on gender equality and minority rights, including those of LGBTI persons around the world and stressed the need to reinforce the implementation of SDG5 to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. During their meeting, which was also attended by Taina Bofferding, Minister of Equality between Women and Men, the ministers also exchanged on combating gender-based violence and eliminating the gender gap.

While several bilateral agreements already structure the relations between the two countries, it was agreed during the meeting to pursue a deeper cooperation particularly in the education and cultural/audiovisual sectors. As such, the exchanges between the universities of Luxembourg and Iceland will be deepened. The Prime ministers welcomed the signing of a Letter of intent between the Center for small state studies of the University of Reykjavik and the University of Luxembourg on 4. September, which encourages the exchange of faculty, staff, students, academic materials and information, as well as the development of joint research activities. Furthermore, there is strong willingness to reinforce bilateral ties in the cultural sector and in the field of creative industries. The Prime ministers appreciated ongoing deliberations to finalize a bilateral audiovisual co-production treaty between the two countries in the coming six months, aimed at strengthening cooperation on audiovisual productions. Finally, they discussed ways to increase people-to-people contact between Iceland and Luxembourg.

Luxembourg and Iceland thus reaffirm their commitment to a continuous strengthening of their bilateral ties.

Press release by the ministry of State
The Greensboro city council has banned its first public speaker under a new policy that aims to stop what Mayor Nancy Vaughan calls consistent disruption at city council meetings.

Luis Medina, a member of the Working Class & Houseless Organizing Alliance (WHOA), will not be allowed to participate in person at council meetings until the first meeting in January  a three-month ban, according to Vaughan. If Medina is again deemed disruptive, he could receive a six-month ban from attending.

The ban comes after an outburst by Medina during the public comment period of a city council meeting on Tuesday.

In his speech, Medina referenced an incident in which the Greensboro police had left trespassing notices near a homeless encampment at an overpass. The notices gave the people seven days before their belongings would be removed.

Attorneys with the ACLU of North Carolina recently sent a letter to the city warning that the alleged seizing and discarding of the property of the homeless is probably unconstitutional.

Why is this happening? Why isnt our city doing something? Medina asked the council. Its very clear that the houseless population is growing because of an economic situation.

Medinas speech later became more animated.

Eventually when theres an army of houseless people, who do you think were going to come after? Have you all figured that out yet? Medina asked the council. Im going to explain this with a metaphor, because I dont want to get arrested after this. If Im being attacked by someone with a big stick ... what am I going to do then?

Medina slammed his fist on the podium. I think you should snatch that stick from them, and hit them back! Thats my suggestion, Medina said, slapping the microphone down.

Mr. Medina, Im going to ask you to leave, because of what you did to the podium, Vaughan responded.

As he was escorted out of the council chambers, Medina asked police officers if they had guns, and repeatedly told them to stop touching him.

We have a meeting to run, Vaughan said. Would you please leave?

History of clashes

Medina, a UNCG graduate who has lived in Greensboro for more than 10 years and attended city council meetings for five, has a long history of contentious appearances before the council.

He had been removed from a June 6 city council meeting after he shouted obscenities at another person speaking in defense of terminated city firefighter Dustin Jones, who was let go because of social media posts viewed as offensive.

Then at an Aug. 2 council meeting, Medina criticized the members during comments about climate change.

I believe we need to organize ourselves as a class, Medina said at that time. With the end goal of seizing everything that is ours. From this podium, to this microphone, to the seats that this city council sits on.

Medina told the News & Record that he had gotten impassioned while speaking Tuesday.

I see people out there struggling weekly. There are more and more of them, and we can barely keep up, Medina said, referencing WHOAs efforts to provide food to the homeless. But Im happy I dont get to see (the city council) anymore.

Vaughan wrote in an email Wednesday to the News & Record that Medina is welcome to participate in future meetings by email, phone or by zoom.

I believe that Luis truly cares about the plight of homeless people, unfortunately sometimes his message gets overshadowed by his behavior, Vaughan wrote. I dont believe he understands, or cares to understand, the roles that the city, county and state play in this complicated issue.
GREENSBORO  Wanted: middle school girls who would enjoy activities like building catapults, cracking codes or talking to a crime-scene investigator.

Greensboros Parks and Recreation Department is now accepting applications for its 2023-24 science and engineering program for girls in Grades 6-8 who live in Guilford County.

The program is just about to start its second year, and is set to meet twice a month, October through August. Applications are due on Sept. 30. Cost is $60, with financial aid available.

Traci Poole, the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics Coordinator, for Greensboro Parks & Recreation, said she just couldnt stop grinning watching last years girls launching the rockets theyd made as a final project at a celebration with their parents.

My cheeks hurt for an hour after I was done, she said.

Athletes often perform amid cheers, she said, but there arent as many opportunities like this for students to hear their parents and others literally cheering them on for being smart and pulling together a cool project.

Last year, Poole said, they started the year with 15 girls and ended with 10, with some dropping out due to scheduling conflicts. Some of the original girls, she said, are planning to help out as mentors to the W.I.S.E. participants this year.

Applicants will need to answer a series of questions and get a recommendation form filled out by a teacher. There are up to 25 slots this time around.

According to the city participants in this years Women in Science and Engineering program will, build, create, and compete as they work together and independently to formulate ideas, record results, analyze outcomes, and present findings.

Poole said the program will also include opportunities for the girls to talk with women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.

Based on feedback from the girls from last year, Poole said they are looking to feature more women who have math-related careers among their guest speakers. Poole said she is also looking to up the ante on some of the challenges they have for the girls, based on how things went the first semester.

Poole explained that each month, one of the meetings is in person and one is virtual, and during the virtual days they often do more in-depth assignments. One of those she said, was having the girls do a code-breaking activity. It was supposed to take them an hour, but they unraveled it in 25 minutes, she said.

The idea that became W.I.S.E. came from her predecessor, Shelli Scott, Poole said.

With help from a grant from the American Association of University Women, Poole said, the Parks and Recreation department is working to help girls who go into their middle school years interested in science keep fostering and pursuing that interest, given that studies suggest middle school is a time some girls set those interests aside.

The whole purpose being, you dont need to stop doing science just because you are about to hit high school, she said.
A working group established to find solutions to Helena's rising unsheltered population crisis presented three options for emergency sheltering in the city come winter that received a mix of support and pushback from local officials Tuesday during a joint work session between the two governing bodies.

United Way of the Lewis and Clark Area Community Impact Coordinator Jeff Buscher told elected officials the three paths forward the working group sees as viable are converting Our Place to an emergency, low-barrier shelter during the winter, using the former nursing home portion of St. John's Hospital to house locals with housing vouchers, and possibly utilizing the Helena Inn as temporary housing.

The city and county are facing the convergence of a number of problems: winter, an unprecedented shortage of housing, runaway rental prices and limited resources. The various problems require different solutions for a range of needs.

While one family may need longer-term housing, a single man may simply need a place to sleep for the night.

"I've never seen it in this condition in my 17 years in Helena," Good Samaritan Executive Director Theresa Ortega said during the meeting's public comment period. "This last month, our street outreach person received 65 calls from people in need who are homeless and in trouble this last month. It's a huge problem right now."

The Helena City Commission approved in August the allocation of $100,000 of savings accrued from the American Rescue Plan Act aid toward funding a viable solution should one be presented.

Buscher said he hopes the working group will soon have "multiple options" to present to the city commissioners for potential funding with that allocation soon.

He said the hope will be to come up with two or more options to meet the variety of immediate needs.

He said the working group has reached out to the owners of St. John's with the proposal, but have yet to receive a response.

"We reached out to current owners of St. John's to see if potentially the Rocky Mountain Care Center part of that facility might be available for folks holding vouchers for transitional housing, like immediately," Buscher said. "I'm thinking the owners might like some income from that place if it is suitable, and we're checking into the legalities of that to see if its suitable for that purpose."

Members of the working group, including Buscher, are set to meet Thursday with the owner of Helena Inn, 2300 Oakes St., "to see what might be available at that facility, whether that might be for sale, whether it might be used for we don't know."

"We haven't yet had conversations with (the Helena Inn owner), but he wants to talk," Buscher said.

The proposals received considerable pushback from Lewis and Clark County Commissioner Candace Payne and Chairman Tom Rolfe.

Payne said she was concerned about the county's legal responsibility should something happen to an individual staying at any potential future shelter.

"My concern is if we accept the responsibility of sheltering these people, don't we also have some responsibility for bad acts that happen in that facility?" she said.

Buscher answered yes and noted that is why policies, rules and procedures would be publicly displayed.

"I think we're going to have to do a serious balancing act before we can take anyone," Payne said.

Rolfe instructed the county administrative officer to pass around hard copies of the county's financial contributions to area nonprofits working in this vein.

"The county has taken what I consider to be more of a treatment-based solution as opposed to a housing-based solution, and I think there's a lot of money needed here to solve these problems, but I think we should be aware of how much the county has dedicated to these sorts of things," Rolfe said. "Our budget is well over $2 million to help in these endeavors. There's only so many dollars that are available."

Lewis and Clark County boasts more than $10 million in its reserves after allocating nearly $9 million on capital improvement projects in the coming fiscal year.

Rolfe said he did not consider the emergency to be an emergency.

"I've lived in Montana for 74 years, and you know what, this time of year, winter has come every single one of those years," he said. "I don't think we should be looking at what we've seen in other places. I think that's what's happened in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco. That's what I consider to be housing-based solutions, and I think they've been abject failures. I think we need to solve these problems with treatment-based solutions, and that's to a large degree what the county is trying to do."

He said more housing is not the solution.

"Are there people out there hurting that need help? Yes. But just providing housing isn't a solution," he said. "We've got to show them, we've gotta help them to a better life through proper treatment, through long-term planning on this stuff."

Helena City Commissioner Emily Dean urged the officials to ensure they are "actually following the data about what works and what works well and where we can get the most bang for our buck."

"Just last winter, we had a week of 40 below, we've been having weeks of 40 below all 30 winters of my life, but we have not had 65 people in Lewis and Clark County living unsheltered in 40 below," Dean said. "This is a public health issue. There will be no silver bullet."

She said time is of the essence as the temperatures drop.

"I don't want us to prematurely stop this conversation or this problem-solving because someone might have some opposition to what could be," she said. "I think we need to find out what are all the options and how do we get there and what are the resources available, and then folks can start saying 'this works for me or this doesn't work for me.'"

Still Payne doubled down, again pointing to the county's subsidizing of local nonprofits.

"I don't want anyone to be thinking the nonprofits are a separate entity from the county. They basically build their budgets on what the taxpayers are already providing. ... It's not a separate grouping," Payne said. "Could we all put $200 into a pot? There's how many people here? That would be money raising."

Helena Mayor Wilmot Collins urged the county commissioners to focus on the "specific need at this time to move forward."

Collins also noted the 65 unsheltered people who reached out to Good Samaritan for help in the past month.

"Not all 65 have mental health issues," he said. "Some of them just need a place to warm up. Some of them need a place to live."
Its pretty tough to figure out whos leading whats left of the Montana Democratic Party these days.

The confusion has only been increased by what appears to be conflicting positions on seeking a special legislative session to deal with Montanans shock and awe when their tax bills arrive based on the new and severely inflated appraisals.

Normally, the highest-ranking elected member of the party would be seen as its leader. That would be Montanas senior Sen. Jon Tester who, as it turns out, is the last man standing Democrat to hold a statewide office after his party lost every single statewide race in the last election.

But it wasnt Jon Tester who came up with the idea to ask Republican Gov. Gianforte to call a one-day special legislative session to reduce the states property tax rate. Nope, that came from former Gov. Brian Schweitzer and several of his administrations insiders in a series of almost identical op-ed columns.

Having had considerably more experience with the vagaries of special legislative sessions than the former governor, this column pointed out that the Democrats, facing a Republican supermajority in both chambers, would have exactly no chance at controlling any of the actions once the session was convened.

While the Schweitzerites continued to press for their very bad idea, apparently those in the Tester camp are considerably more concerned about what might happen. Theyre right to be concerned since the GOP has targeted Testers seat in 2024 and hes repeatedly ranked nationally as one of the top four seats that may flip.

Oddly enough, the apparent confusion and conflicting strategies came to light in an op-ed column by Republican Sen. Brad Molnar. Unlike most of his GOP colleagues, Molnar actually tried three times to get enough signatures to poll fellow legislators on whether or not to convene a special session to deal with the property tax fiasco.

As he wrote: To help marginalized people on July 19, I sent out a call to poll legislators for a special session to: (1) freeze property values at 2021 values, (2) provide domicile security, and (3) reduce Montanas over-dependence on property taxes. Needed 10 signatures; got none. Aug. 4, I sent out a call to freeze property values at 2021 values while allowing decreased values to be captured. Aug. 15, I offered a special session to freeze property and mil values at July 31, 2023, levels while allowing those that have experienced decreased values to capture those. Soup to nuts they all failed.

Interestingly, according to Molnar: Despite Democrats having asked the governor to call a special session to address the (massive) coming tax increases none signed for a polling of the Legislature. I was told, Testers people said not to sign because they fear an expansion of the call to include a renewed effort to implement a top-two-only general election bill.

So you have the Schweitzer arm of the Democrats still calling for a special session and, if Molnars information is correct, Testers people are against it. Its not good for an already beaten down political party to be so leaderless they cant decide whether or how to take on the most critical tax issue facing Montanans.

It also raises the question of whether the Schweitzerites call for a special session was sincere  or whether it was a political charade intended to simply provide a soapbox from which to assail Republicans.

And given that not one Democrat legislator would even support polling for a tax relief session, that it was a less-than-clever political charade seems much more likely.
DECATUR  It may seem odd to reward kids this early in the school year for good behavior and good attendance, but there's a good reason.

This is a good opportunity to get with students early to remind them about the goals we are setting for them, which is good grades, good behavior, good attendance, acts of kindness and also a little volunteering, whether it's in their school or in the community, said Jarmese Sherrod, president of Sherrod's Independent Mentoring Program Inc., also known as SIMP.

SIMP and the Decatur Police Department hosted students from Parsons, American Dreamer STEM Academy and South Shores School on Wednesday at Scovill Zoo. Muffley School will visit on another day. Police officers greeted kids as they got off the buses at the zoo, with wristbands and official police stickers to wear, and spent time with them as they visited the zoo, rode the carousel and train and had lunch.

We've been doing events with SIMP and Dr. Sherrod the last two or three years, said Decatur police Sgt. Ben Massey. Usually, we'll read to the kids at the schools, the Leo the Violence Prevention Lion stuff. We'll read the book and go talk with the kids and mentor them and just kind of hang out. We'll give the kids stickers and talk with them and kind of develop a relationship with them, which is a good thing for us and a good thing for them, where we can start early on having a relationship with the students, and hopefully it'll build over time and continue to build the relationship.

SIMP has an R3 grant from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Sherrod said, and that grant is substantial enough to allow the organization to plan a variety of events and initiatives for small and large groups, all with the goal of steering kids away from violence and toward positive attitudes and actions.

We want to start this behavior at the beginning of the school year and continue to have it, she said.

The original grant, she said, was to go into schools and organize small community events, but when she surveyed students for ideas, a lot of them said there weren't enough activities for young people that didn't cost money. She went back to the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority and asked for a larger grant that would allow funding for events throughout Macon County, which would be hosted in cooperation with the police and the schools, creating incentives for kids who meet the goals of good grades, good behavior and good attendance. The grant total is almost $1 million over the last three years. She wanted to provide transportation, admission fees and food for these events so the youngsters wouldn't have to worry about any costs.

Takaila Bobbitt, a second grader, said school is important to her, but the zoo was a good reward.

For the Scovill Zoo event, Parsons held a contest within the school for the highest attendance, and Stacey Wilson's second-grade classroom won, with 98% attendance for the first two weeks of school, the highest in the building.

I think it's definitely going to motivate them to keep coming, since it's an attendance award, Wilson said. Attendance is super important, because if they're not here every day to get the instruction, they're not going to make progress, so I think it's a good incentive.

Parsons second grader Bas Hagen's mom, Alicia, brought his little sister Kora, almost 3, to make the event a family outing. The family visits the zoo often, Alicia Hagen said, and when she was a child, her mother always went along on field trips, so she does, too.

And everybody needs to see animals, she said.

Boo at the Zoo: Take a look back at past moments in photos  Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo 40 Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo Boo at the Zoo
Europe reeled this summer from heat, wildfires, migrants and worries about Russias war in Ukraine, and too much tourism. I know; I was part of the problem.

Tourism is the quick economic fix for poor nations, but it is also vital to rich ones  until both get too much of it.

The places everyone wants to visit, often places on bucket lists, are choking on their success. Paris, Britains Stonehenge and the Lake District, Irelands Ring of Kerry, and the jewels of Italy  Florence and Venice  all suffer summer overload.

This summer, things were so bad in Venice that cruise ships had to be waived off. The Greek islands of Santorini, Corfu and Mykonos were, likewise, inundated with cruisers and other tourists.

Yet, tourism is vital to many economies. The emerging tourist destinations along Croatias Dalmatian Coast are the latest to feel the benefits and problems of tourism. The sites, the roads and the facilities are stretched, but tourism has meant economic well-being for the region, especially as cruise ships have started calling.

Cruise ships, those big  and becoming gigantic  floating palaces, overwhelm ports when they anchor, burden infrastructure and deposit lots of lovely money.

Greece and many countries along the Adriatic Sea derive about 25 percent of their GDP from tourism, not the least from cruise ships. Cruise ships are very important to any shore community with ancient ruins, historical and scenic cities, and natural wonders  and the Balkan countries have all in abundance.

In early August, my wife and I cruised the Dalmatian Coast and Greek islands. When we booked the cruise, at the last minute, we were fully aware of the tourist pressure on Europe every summer, but we learned that it is getting worse.

Most of the Dalmatian Coast is still visitable in summer and hugely rewarding, except for Dubrovnik, which we skipped. It is, I learned, showing stress from over-tourism. The full effect of the cruise ships hasnt yet begun to wear on the small coastal towns as on the most famous Greek islands.

You cant pick a Greek islands itinerary in the summer that will avoid seeing too many cruise ships carrying 2,500 and up passengers, arriving at the same destination at the same time.

Fira on Santorini is a fabulous cliff town, except when there are too many visitors going ashore from a flotilla of cruise ships anchored in the harbor.

Five cruise ships arrived at Fira simultaneously, ours among them, and untold thousands of tourists went ashore. You must ride a donkey or a cable car to reach the charming town. The crowds waiting hours to board the cable cars were well-behaved: no pushing, no audible outrage, just resigned queuing.

Lest you think cruise ships are filled only with Americans, cruising has become a global passion.

Cruisers see the world from the comfort and security of a huge, well-organized hotel that moves with them. They see so much more and take their selfies in many more places than they could otherwise.

Cruising is big business, and the size of the ship seems not to deter anyone.

But over-tourism degrades the picturesque ports, cherished villages and great structures of the past. When I see a cruise ship towering over a town from where history was born, I think: The barbarians arrive in shorts, clutching cameras and cell phones. I may be one of them, but I shall endeavor to avoid high summer in the future.
Federal spending is hard enough to keep track of at the best of times, but the Biden administration is highly adept at hiding how they fund their open-borders agenda. In a cynical budget negotiation tactic, the White House is now trying to push through a $40 billion supplemental funding bill that holds bailout money for FEMA hostage to sending billions more to Ukraine with insufficient accountability.

It gets worse. If the White House tactic works, and Congress coughs up enough aid to Ukraine that rescue money for FEMA can get through, hundreds of millions of that funding wont go to disaster-afflicted Americans, but to providing housing, food, health care and transportation for illegal immigrants through grants to activist NGOs and sanctuary cities.

Thats right. Even though FEMA grants are meant to help taxpaying Americans prepare for and cope with hurricanes, fires and floods, the Biden administration has used these same funds to pay activist NGOs to settle migrants illegally in the United States. FEMAs major disaster relief and flood insurance programs are already in debt and need to be refilled each year. The White Houses supplemental request uses that as a smokescreen to slip in grant money for their open-border operation.

FEMAs Emergency Food and Shelter Program is already being siphoned for over $332 million to assist communities receiving noncitizens released from custody, which means housing migrants here illegally at the border, then transporting them to places like New York City. Big city mayors gripe about a few buses sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, but the main train delivering migrants to their sidewalks is driven by DHS, using FEMA money.

And the Biden administration is getting even more brazen. FEMA grant money, unlike its Disaster Relief and Flood Insurance programs, doesnt require the president to declare a federal disaster  which would at least highlight the self-defeating results of his policies. So it should come as no surprise that DHS, in its fiscal 2024 budget, already asked for a directly appropriated $83.5 million for FEMA Shelter and Services Program grants to nonprofits and local entities to provide support to noncitizens released from DHS custody.

Furthermore, DHS asked for $800 million  $650 million more than last year  for communities to support migrants who have been released from DHS custody pending the outcome of their immigration proceedings. Bear in mind that with the asylum system backlogged as never before, this outcome would be far in the future in most cases. The money would come from a $4 billion Southwest Border Contingency" fund in DHSs proposed fiscal 2024 budget.

In plain English, this means that having created a giant magnet for illegal immigration, the Biden administration wants to continue to burn your tax dollars to sustain hundreds of thousands of people who entered the U.S. illegally, for an indefinite period. To be clear, not only did these people have no right to enter the country, but they stand little chance of getting asylum even after a due process lasting many years.

Naturally, Biden faces resistance in Congress. Republicans have seen DHS use appropriated money to facilitate mass illegal entry over the past two years, and they are wise to the White Houses attempt to ramp this up in the 2024 budget. Hence the attempt to Trojan-horse the immigration funds in the Ukraine-FEMA bundle. In the supplemental request, DHS is asking not only for $203 million more for Customs and Border Protections industrial migrant processing machine  which includes tent housing, transportation and medical care  but also $600 million more for the FEMA Shelter and Services Program grants.

All this only adds to the reasons that Congress should oppose this corrupt deal. Tying a FEMA top-up to Ukraine aid  in the middle of hurricane season, and shortly after the deadly Maui fires  shows that the Biden administration will maintain open borders at any price.
Tangela Parker will not appear in Catawba County Superior Court on Friday.

Parkers hearing was postponed due to medical reasons, defense attorney Victoria Jayne said.

Parker is charged with felony murder in the shooting death of 51-year-old Michelle Marlow, according to court documents.

Last week, Jayne said it was a possibility the case would be resolved during the court hearing. A new date for the hearing is to be determined.

Marlow was shot twice at the TCS Designs furniture factory in Hickory on Jan. 13, 2021. She died later that day, according to court documents.

Tangela Parkers husband, Eric Parker, is charged with felony accessory after the fact in the case, according to court documents.

The Parkers evaded arrest for six months before being apprehended in Phoenix, Arizona, according to court documents.

The Parkers are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
If you still think Rotary clubs are havens for established white businessmen, meet Liz Henke of the East Chapel Hill Rotary Club.

Liz is a member of the clubs Green Team. She and the team are featured in the September issue of Rotary Magazine, which is sent to 1.4 million Rotarians across the world. An article titled Americas solar energy divide: Rotary and Habitat team up to bring rooftop solar to low-income homeowners describes how several Rotary clubs are partnering with Habitat for Humanity to lower the cost of electricity for low-income families.

The clubs Green Team first attracted Henke to Rotary. The clubs website explains, the Green Team, was organized in 2019 by East Chapel Hill Rotarian Alan Young, joined by Omar Zinn, Greg Bradbury, and Don Heineman. They were committed to environmental stewardship, both globally and locally, through local projects, education, and by encouraging Rotarians everywhere to do the same.

The team was concerned about climate change. But, at first, some club members thought that the Green Teams interest in climate change would be too political.

That worry evaporated when Rotary Internationals magazine in April 2019 devoted an issue to the topic, including a statement from its then president, Barry Rassin: Were people who care about our world. We want our world to be a better place, and its not just about the six specific areas of focus. Its broader than that. We have to look at the world as a whole and how we can make it a better place. If were losing countries due to sea level changes, if stronger storms are disrupting water supplies or destroying peoples livelihoods, thats more people who are going to be disadvantaged. So, caring about the environment goes toward our ultimate mission, and we should give it the importance it deserves. As a humanitarian organization, were obligated to talk about it. We need to have the conversation.

Part of the conversation led the Green Team to working with Habitat for Humanity of Orange County on a nearby project, Weavers Grove in Chapel Hill, to investigate the possibility of installing solar panels on some of the homes. Led by Henke, the team found that by taking advantage of help from suppliers and contractors, a demonstration project of one solar installation could go forward if the Green Team could raise $6,000. The team raised the money among themselves.

The September Rotary Magazine explained what happened next: Theres such a thing as energy poverty, explains Liz Henke, of the Rotary Club of East Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The energy bill is such a high percentage of disposable income for low-income people. If you can help decrease that power bill, you can help interrupt that cycle of poverty. It means families can afford shoes, buy better quality food, and all that goes back into the economy.

The article continues, Since 2020, Henkes club has helped the local Habitat affiliate raise more than $330,000 for solar panels. She recruited a student intern who helped solicit the donation of 100 solar panels from Strata Clean Energy in Durham, North Carolina.

To help share Rotarys and Habitats experience at Weavers Grove, Henke and the Green Team helped develop a guidebook to assist Rotary Clubs and local Habitat organizations make solar a reality for low-income homeowners.

And Henke is just one example of how women are making Rotary even better. Jennifer Player, CEO of Orange County Habitat, is also a member of East Chapel Hill Rotary.
Hill College is celebrating its centennial anniversary with a series of events planned through Saturday, September 9. This week, Hill College remembers the past and looks to the future with fun for students, alumni, employees and the community.

Thursday, September 7, the Texas Heritage Museum opens "100th Year Celebration: Hill College Artifacts from the Texas Heritage Museum Collection." The exhibition features Hill College alumni who served in World War II and showcases artifacts from the early days of the colleges beginnings. Galleries open at 6 p.m.; light refreshments will be served.

Also on September 7 at 7:30 p.m., the Hill College Performing Arts Series kicks off its 30th anniversary with a performance by the popular group Elevation (An Emerald City Band) at the newly renovated Vara Martin Daniel Performing Arts Center. Admission is free, and a reception will follow.

Friday, September 8, the college will host the Centennial Celebration Dinner at the Rusted Chandelier in Hillsboro. The evening will feature a seated dinner, dancing and live music by The Royal Dukes. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $75 and must be purchased prior to the event. There are a limited number of seats available for this once-in-a-lifetime celebration.

Concluding the celebration Saturday, September 9, is Alumni & Friends Day. From 9 a.m. to noon, the college will host a series of events including tours, performances and other activities honoring alumni. Roger Creech and the 1560 AM On-The-Go Radio Show will be on site from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

See The Reporter Newspaper for the complete story.
The tales of Bass Reeves' bravery and cunning are legendary and legion, and Burton chronicled some of his favorites in "Black Gun, Silver Star."

There was the time when Reeves was in pursuit of a band of outlaw brothers laying low at their mother's house in Chickasaw territory. Reeves had a whole posse with him, but he knew they'd be spotted miles away. So, Reeves disguised himself as a tramp with holes in his shoes, a big floppy hat and a cane. He walked 28 miles (45 kilometers) across the parched plains and arrived on the mother's porch begging for some food and water.

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When her sons came home, the mother introduced Reeves like an old friend and the group started scheming up a crime they could all pull together. The outlaw brothers awoke the next day handcuffed to their beds and Reeves marched them all the way back to his camp on foot.

"Momma was hot," laughs Burton. "I think she followed Bass for about 10 miles [16 kilometers] cursing at him."

Then there was the time that Bass was ambushed by the three Brunter brothers, each wanted for multiple counts of horse theft, robbery and unsolved murders. The brothers told Reeves to drop his weapons, but he played it cool and calmly asked the men for the day's date. When asked why, Reeves said so he could mark it down on their arrest warrants when he brought them to court.

The Brunter brothers almost fell over laughing, thinking the outgunned lawman was out of his mind. But Reeves seized the opportunity to whip out his Colt revolver, shoot two of the men dead and grab the muzzle of the third brother's revolver before beating him over the head with it.

One of Burton's favorite Bass Reeves stories was the time that Reeves was called in by his fellow deputy U.S. marshals to help smoke out a stubborn fugitive. After an hourslong shootout, the outlaw made a run for it.

"The rest of the posse started shooting at him as he's running across the field but they were missing," says Burton. "Then Deputy U.S. Marshal Bud Ledbetter hollered, 'Get him, Bass!' And Bass said coolly and calmly, 'I will break his neck.' Bass took his Winchester rifle at a quarter of a mile and broke this man's neck."
Hot dog and dessert sale

New Gilead Reformed Church is holding a hot dog and dessert sale on Saturday, Sept. 9, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Both dine in and carryout is available. The church is located at 2400 Old Salisbury-Concord Road, Concord.

Duke dean coming to Houston Preaching Mission

Central United Methodist Church in Concord will hold the Houston Preaching Mission on Sunday, Sept. 17, with the dean of Duke Divinity.

Dr. Edgardo Colon-Emeric will speak at Central UMC. The church will have joint Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. and one worship service at 10:30 p.m. It will be followed by a congregational meal at 11:30 a.m.

Colon-Emeric is dean of Duke Divinity School, Irene and William McCutchen Professor of Reconciliation and Theology and director of the Center for Reconciliation. His work explores the intersection of Methodist and Catholic theologies and Wesleyan and Latin American experiences.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, he was the first Latino to be ordained as an elder in the N.C. Conference of United Methodist Church and was the founding pastor of Cristo Vive United Methodist Church in Durham.

In 1948, Dr. William Cyrus and Mrs. Nina Houston created a continuing fund to bring exceptional preaching and teaching to Central.

For 75 years, their gift has continued to fund the Houston Preaching Mission. Colon-Emerics visit is the first of two speakers this fiscal year. Dr. Luke Powery, also from Duke Divinity, will preach at Central on Feb. 25.

The Bulb Market: Fresh produce and more

The Bulb Market at Grace Lutheran Church is open every Friday from 3-4 p.m. with fresh produce for the community.

Cabarrus Rowan Community Health Center will be offering primary care and basic health screenings on-site at the church on the second Friday of each month. Grace Lutheran is located at 58 Chestnut Drive, Concord.

A summer of fitness

Revelation Fitness is at Grace Lutheran Church on Mondays this summer from 6-7 p.m.

Led by Revelation Wellness certified instructors Stephanie Flowe and Rebecca Hoover, Revelation Fitness combines tabata, drumstick cardio and circuit work with the word of God to create an atmosphere of acceptance and community, moving our bodies in joy, not perfection.

Ages 10 and older, of all fitness levels, are welcome. Bring water, hand weights, drumsticks and a mat (all are available if needed). There is no cost, but donations to Grace Lutheran Church health ministry are accepted.

For more information, call Rebecca Hoover, faith community nurse, at 980-721-4321. Grace Lutheran is located at 58 Chestnut Drive, Concord.

Griefshare support group

If you need help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member or friend, you are invited to join us for a Griefshare support group at Pitts Baptist Church, 140 Pitts School Road NW, Concord, weekly on Tuesdays, Aug. 1 to Oct. 31, from 9:30-11:30 a.m.

There will be no meeting Tuesday, Sept. 5. For more information, call Linda Bounds at 704-793-8155.

Saint James The Greater BBQ

Saint James The Greater 69th Parish BBQ will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

People may dine in or take out. To order ahead of time on the day of the event, please call 704-720-0600 extension 24.

The church is located at 139 Manor Ave, SW, Concord.
SALISBURY  Rowan-Cabarrus Community College President Carol Spalding has announced the selection of Tara Trexler as the colleges new chief financial officer. Trexler replaces Kelly Kluttz, who was recently named the new CFO for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

Trexler, who most recently served as the CFO for Guilford County Schools, brings a wealth of expertise in educational finance to the college. During her tenure at Guilford County Schools, she was responsible for oversight of all finance functions, including budget, payroll, purchasing, accounts payable, fixed assets, accounts receivable and school accounting.

I am excited to welcome Tara Trexler to Rowan-Cabarrus and as the newest member of the Presidents Cabinet, Spaulding said. Her skills, experience, and knowledge will serve us well as we continue the important work of educating and preparing our students to navigate their futures.

A Certified Public Accountant, Trexler also worked for both the Davie County and Rowan-Salisbury Boards of Education. She began her career as a staff accountant at Dixon Odom PLLC, and she also worked as a CPA at Davis Group, PA, CPA.

I am excited to join Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Tara Trexler said. The college has a stellar reputation and serves such an important role in the community  providing students with educational opportunities to build their futures. Ive witnessed the colleges impact as a lifetime resident of Rowan County; its my honor to be able to see that impact as an employee.

Trexler earned a bachelors degree in business administration and a masters degree in accounting from Appalachian State University. She is a Rowan County native and graduated from West Rowan High School.

She is a member of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
All Peoples Church of Jesus Christ

Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. and worship at 10 a.m. Sunday at American Legion Post 172. Pastor: Prophet Roland Jordan. Sermon: Massaging My Heart inspired by Deacon John Nesbit. Scriptures 1 Corinthians 14:1-18.

Ann Street United Methodist Church

335 Ann St., Concord. Pastor: Rev. Randy L. Wall. In-person and Facebook Live worship at 11 a.m. Sermon: Communion After Worship is Over. Scripture: Acts 4:32-37.

Bethpage United Methodist Church

109 Fellowship Ave. at West C St., Kannapolis. 704-932-5296. Pastor: Rev. McKenzie Sefa. Christian education at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m.

Bogers Chapel United Methodist Church

1775 Flowes Store Road East, Concord. Pastor: Pastor Eric Shaver. Sunday school at 9 a.m. Worship in-person, Facebook, or YouTube, at 10 a.m.

Calvary Lutheran Church

950 Bradley St., Concord. 704-782-6923. Pastor: Rev. Debbie Frye. Outdoor in-person worship at 8:30 a.m. (Outdoor Chapel) and 11 a.m. (traditional worship with Childrens Church). Coffee/Cookie Social 9:30-11 a.m. Sunday school for all ages at 9:45 a.m. Childrens area and nursery available at all times. All services live-streamed and available anytime on the Calvary Lutheran Concord Youtube channel  easy access through our website http://www.clconcord.org or church app Calvary Lutheran Church  NC. All are welcome. Sermon Series: Is Your God Big Enough? Sermon Topic: The Unending Potential of Relationships.

Center United Methodist Church

1119 Union St. S, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Brian Crady. Sunday school for In Betweens and young adults at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m. Nursery is provided during the worship service. Website is www.centerumcconcord.org. Look forward to you joining us for our service! Sermon: Gods Church is Built of Living Stones. Scripture: I Peter 2:4-10; Ephesians 2:19-22.

Cold Springs Global Methodist Church

2550 Cold Springs Road, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Cliff Wall. Worship at 10 a.m. on Sundays. Sermon: The Importance of Knowing God. Scripture: II Kings 17:5-23. Visit online at https://youtube.com/@coldspringschurchconcord.

Crossroads Church

220 George W. Liles Parkway, Concord. Pastor: Lowell McNaney. Live worship streamed on Facebook, Crossroads Concord Church app or mycrossroads.com website at 9:30 a.m. and 11:11 a.m.

Crown Pointe Baptist Church

703 Tennessee St., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Doug Crawley. Sunday school at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m. in the sanctuary, or view online at our Facebook page. Series: Revival: Stronger Than Ever. Sermon: The Plague Was Cut Short (Week One). Scripture: I Chronicles 21:9-28 ESV.

Eastside Missionary Baptist Church

199 Elgin Drive, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Stephen Burrow. In-person services: Sunday school 9:30 a.m. Worship services 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Recorded worship services and other information at EastsideMissionaryBaptist.org. You will be welcomed. Practice social distancing.

Epworth United Methodist Church

1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Dennis Marshall. Sunday school at 9 a.m., followed by worship at 10 a.m. We welcome all to join us in person, or you may livestream or watch the recorded service at our website at www.epworthnc.com.

Forest Hill United Methodist Church

265 Union St. N., Concord. Senior pastor: Rev. Mandy Jones. Associate pastor: Rev. Wes Judy. We are open for in-person worship. Contemporary worship, 9 a.m. Sunday school/small groups  10 a.m. Traditional worship  11 a.m. Both the contemporary and traditional worship services will also be live-streamed at foresthillumc.org or facebook.com/foresthillumc, in case you dont feel like being here in person.

Harmony United Methodist Church

101 White St., NW, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Thad Brown. Sunday school is at 10 a.m. followed by worship service in the sanctuary at 11 a.m. Sermon: Walk as Jesus Did. Scripture: I John 1:10, I John 2:1-7, I John 3:16-21, I John 2:8-10. We welcome you to join us in worship! Service is live on Facebook.com/HarmonyUnitedMethodistChurch and we welcome all who are unable to join us in person to worship with us online. For more information, you can call the pastors phone, 704-791-2883, or the churchs phone 704-782-8237.

Jackson Park United Methodist Church

715 Mable Ave., Kannapolis. Pastor Laurie Knoespel. Adult Sunday school 9:30 a.m. Worship at 10:30 a.m. Nursery will be provided during worship service.

Kirkwood Presbyterian Church

900 Klondale Ave., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Dennis B. Craft. Worship at 11 a.m. in church sanctuary on Sundays. No mask restrictions.

McGill Baptist Church

5300 Poplar Tent Road, Concord, in-person services. Pastor: Rev. Steve Ayers. If you have not taken the COVID-19 vaccine, please wear a mask. McGill will stream a worship service Sunday at 10 a.m. on www.facebook.com/mcgillbaptistchurch/ and on YouTube. The services will be live and also available on recording afterwards. Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Sermon: The Armor of Light. Scripture: Psalm 149; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 18:15-20.

Midway United Methodist Church

108 Bethpage Road, Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Craig Allen. Come join us on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. for Sunday school and 10:30 a.m. for worship. Our service is also livestreamed on the web at midwayunitedmethodistchurch.org or facebook.com/midwayUMC. Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Sermon: Repairing the Community. First Reading: Psalm 119:33-40. Second Reading: Matthew 18:15-20. Suggested Hymns: UMH 131, We Gather Together; TFWS 2223, Theyll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.

Mt. Mitchell United Methodist Church

6001 Old Salisbury-Concord Road, Kannapolis. Pastor: Joel Locklear. Sunday school at 9:45 a.m. (Adult and Children classes.) Worship at 11 a.m. in person or Facebook.

Multiply Church Concord

150 Warren C. Coleman Blvd. N, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Douglas Witherup. 8:30 a.m. service held at 280 Concord Parkway S, Suite 15, Concord. Services at 150 Warren C. Coleman Blvd. N, are worship and sermon at 9:30 a.m. and worship and sermon at 11:15 a.m.

New Gilead Reformed Church, ECO

2400 Old Salisbury-Concord Road. 9:40 a.m., Adult Bible Study. 10 a.m., Sunday school. 11 a.m., worship in the sanctuary, also live on Facebook.

Oak Grove Baptist Church

200 Sims Parkway, Harrisburg. Pastor: Rev. Franklin D. Watkins. 10 a.m. In-Person Worship Service and Facebook Live and YouTube Live.

Second Presbyterian Church

1578 Dale Earnhardt Blvd., Kannapolis. Pastor: Sue Black, minister. Rev. Aaron Price, assistant pastor. Sunday school at 10 a.m. Worship at 11 a.m. Sermon: From Inside the Fish. Scripture: Jonah Chapter 2.

St. Johns Reformed Church

901 N. Main St., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Chris King. Sunday school for all ages, 9:30 a.m. Worship Service, 10:30 a.m. Website: www.ourstjohns.org. Email/Phone: ourstjohns@gmail.com / 704-932-3656. Homecoming guest speaker is the Rev. John T. Brantley.

Trinity United Church of Christ

38 Church St., Concord. Pastor, Rev. Nathan King; Pastor of Evangelism, Rev. Dr. Cathy Cook. Worship at 11 a.m., in person or Facebook live. Website: commachurch.com.
Sony Bravia TVs that are compatible with Bravia Cam are the first to support the Zoom for TV app, according to the company.

As the name suggests, Zoom for TV allows the use of Zoom video communication on a TV.

Using a Bravia Cam improves the experience, as it recognises where the person is in the room and adjusts the sound and picture settings accordingly.

"We are excited to partner with Zoom to bring video conferencing to our Bravia TVs, making Zoom services available on the Android TV platform" said Sony head of Bravia tv product design Shusuke Tomonaga.

"This partnership will make it possible for our customers to enjoy more realistic video communication on a large TV screen in the living room, enabling them to be more connected with the people they care about, whether they are working from home, learning remotely, or just catching up with friends and family."

Zoom head of hardware partnership Eric Yu said "We are thrilled to work with Sony to bring Zoom to their Bravia TVs.

"We are allowing our customers to enjoy the best of both worlds  the convenience of video conferencing on their TV and the power of Zoom's collaboration tools."

Zoom is now available in Australia and New Zealand on select Bravia TVs that are compatible with Bravia Cam, such as the XR series.
China-Cambodia ties rock solid, set example for new type of int'l relations -- Chinese premier

Xinhua) 08:41, September 07, 2023

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

JAKARTA, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met here Wednesday with Cambodia's new Prime Minister Hun Manet, saying that bilateral ties have withstood changes in the international landscape, and remained rock-solid and unbreakable, setting an example for a new type of international relations.

The two heads of government met on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation held in Jakarta, namely the 26th China-ASEAN Summit, the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit. It was also their first meeting.

China has been a trustworthy partner of Cambodia, and will, as always, firmly support Cambodia in pursuing a development path suited to its own national conditions, and in safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and development interests, Li said.

He called on the two sides to strengthen friendly exchanges, further synergize their development strategies and promote common development.

Li also urged the two countries to take the negotiation of the signing of a new action plan to build a China-Cambodia community with a shared future as an opportunity, and make all-round plans for bilateral comprehensive strategic cooperation, so as to contribute to Cambodia's prosperity, development and long-term stability.

Both sides should, Li said, continue to work together to safeguard ASEAN centrality and keep regional cooperation on the right direction.

Hun Manet said since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties 65 years ago, cooperation between the two countries has been fruitful, adding that China has been Cambodia's good friend and trustworthy partner.

The new government of Cambodia, he said, will continue to adhere to the principles and framework of Cambodia-China relations, and work with the Chinese side to push for new development of bilateral cooperation in all fields on the basis of the two countries' friendly ties jointly built by Cambodia's former Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet on the sidelines of the leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept. 6, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Majority of organisations breached over the last year had personally identifiable information (PII) compromised in ANZ, but most have not yet modified their data management policies, according to the findings of Cybersecurity and PII Report, which was commissioned by ManageEngine, the enterprise IT management division of Zoho.

The report explores the cyber readiness of organisations.

The survey respondents who had reported their organisation experienced between one and five data breaches in the past 12 months said PII was involved in 51% of instances.

Despite this, of the respondents who can comment on PII and are aware of major data breaches, the majority (54%) reported either no changes in PII management following the breaches or said they were unaware of any changes.

Further, 42% said they have not been advised of their organisations protocols around PII management.

When it came to data categories, 55% of respondents said they store data on past customers, 41% on past employees, 70% on current customers, 66% on current employees and 37% on potential customers.

ManageEngine country manager for Australia Vinayak Sreedhar was concerned that the findings highlight alarming gaps in Australias cybersecurity preparedness.

One year ago, a string of high-profile breaches saw millions of Australians have their data compromised, with identification points traded on the dark web, he said. This prompted discussions around the legal right to request the erasure of personal information in company databases. The law is yet to change in Australia and, as this survey indicates, local organisations have not changed their practices.

When it came to cyber resilience, 24% of survey participants who were aware of cyber resilience said their organisation either did not have a cyber resilience policy or they were unaware of it.

The majority (63%) were also unfamiliar with the Essential Eight, the cybersecurity framework proposed by the Australian Cyber Security Centre that is mandatory at the Federal Government level, to enhance cyber readiness.

ManageEngine president Rajesh Ganesan said the report underscores the pressing need for stronger cybersecurity measures and more effective PII management strategies among ANZ companies.

Its imperative that businesses adopt the data protection standards specific to their region, stay compliant, and bolster their cyber resilience to protect not only their own operations, but the sensitive information of staff and customers, both past and present. We hope this report drives home the urgency of these requirements.

Other key findings:

- Of the respondents whod experienced a breach, 73% said it took their organisation less than 24 hours after critical systems were taken offline or impacted to recover and restore operations.

- Of the respondents, 74% said their organisation has not paid a ransom to recover data, but 10% indicated they had.

- Of the 78% of respondents aware of major data breaches in other organisations, 17% of Australian respondents werent aware of recent major cybersecurity breaches occurring in Q3 2023, while 47% of those in New Zealand were uninformed.

Conducted by Sydney-based research and insights advisory firm StollzNow, the study commissioned by ManageEngine surveyed 306 senior IT decision-makers from different organisations in ANZ, covering topics such as cyber resilience, PII management, cyber practices under hybrid work models, the Essential Eight, malware and ransomware.

The study identified key dimensions that require immediate attention by decision-makers and highlighted cybersecurity challenges. The report enables key stakeholders to take a focused and holistic approach towards reimagining their organisation to accelerate future growth.
Nearly three months after its Azure cloud was breached, Microsoft says the "probable" cause was the cracking of a staff engineer's corporate account.

The company released a blog post on Wednesday which made the surprising admission that its inability to offer a more definitive verdict on the incident was due to its log-retention policy.

After claiming that the key stolen by the attackers and used to forge certificates was from a snapshot of a crashed process, Microsoft said: "Due to log retention policies, we dont have logs with specific evidence of this exfiltration by this actor, but this was the most probable mechanism by which the actor acquired the key." (emphasis mine).

A number of American mainstream tech media sites have glossed over these details, while publishing reports based on the blog post.

The company did not provide details of its log-retention policy in the blog post.

Azure was breached by attackers who gained access through a vulnerability discovered in June by the State Department, according to anonymous officials quoted in the Washington Post.

I've seen some takes about the Storm actor being "lucky" and the like. Don't kid yourself, there is really good tradecraft happening here:



- Initial compromise (likely not the engineer), at a hard target (if VR angle then more likely the engineer)

- Situational awareness to  b33f | ?? (@FuzzySec) September 6, 2023

At the beginning of August, a spokesperson from software outfit Tenable told iTWire the breach was through use of a stolen consumer signing key to forge authentication tokens.

"The unauthorised access to cross-tenant applications in Microsoft Power Platform was something our research team discovered previously. We don't have any way to validate whether or not there is a connection between the two incidents," the spokesperson added.

Microsoft has denied a detailed technical post about the breach by cloud security firm Wiz, despite having been involved in verifying the post.

The email account of US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was among a slew of accounts breached at both the State and Commerce Departments by the attackers, who are claimed to be from China.

At three points in its Wednesday post, Microsoft has admitted errors in its security structure (highlighted by me below):

"Our investigation found that a consumer signing system crash in April of 2021 resulted in a snapshot of the crashed process (crash dump). The crash dumps, which redact sensitive information, should not include the signing key. In this case, a race condition allowed the key to be present in the crash dump (this issue has been corrected).

"The key materials presence in the crash dump was not detected by our systems (this issue has been corrected).

"We found that this crash dump, believed at the time not to contain key material, was subsequently moved from the isolated production network into our debugging environment on the Internet-connected corporate network.

"This is consistent with our standard debugging processes. Our credential scanning methods did not detect its presence (this issue has been corrected)."

iTWire has contacted Microsoft seeking clarification on its log-retention policy and also the errors that allowed the key to be stolen.

The company said it has nothing to say beyond what was mentioned in the blog post.
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It's fair to say Ukraine's counteroffensive is moving slower than anticipated  but for good reason. We've all heard the saying, Slow and steady wins the race. In this case, Ukraine's strategy is just that  a slow, steady and deliberate race to the Sea of Azov, where Ukrainians can divide Russia's army and pummel the remnants into surrendering territory that has been occupied for months.

In the end, I'm confident this strategy will prove successful against a weakened and demoralized Russian force that is under extraordinary stress.

For those who are disheartened by the slow pace of the Ukrainian offensive so far, it's pertinent to remember historical examples. Immediately after the D-Day landings during World War II, one of the most spectacularly successful military campaigns in history, Allied forces fought desperately to crack entrenched German positions. They advanced only a few miles from their beachheads in several weeks of hard fighting before finally breaking through and advancing rapidly. The Ukrainians' counteroffensive is also facing extraordinary headwinds, but their hard and bloody fighting today is likely setting the conditions for similar breakthroughs in the future.

On paper, the success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive seems destined to fail. The Ukrainians face a deeply entrenched Russian army that has had months to prepare fortified positions along every conceivable axis of advance. The depth of these complex defensive positions extends for several miles with multiple reinforcing belts and are seeded with hundreds of thousands of mines. The Russians also have massive stockpiles of shells on hand to pummel Ukrainians as they attempt to breach those defensive lines. Additionally, even after Ukraine clears lanes through dense minefields, the Russians are capable of reseeding those openings with munitions delivered by artillery and drones.

However, Ukraine is not fighting on paper, and it possesses a number of advantages over the Russians. First, the Russian army is not a healthy organization, and unhealthy armies tend to fracture and disintegrate in the face of sustained pressure. The Wagner Group rebellion led by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in June was simply the tip of the iceberg. Dissatisfaction is endemic throughout the entire Russian army, in which troops at every level know this war is being badly led, badly managed and badly resourced.

As a result, morale among Russian soldiers is at rock bottom. Poorly trained and -led troops risking their lives for reasons they don't entirely understand are ripe for being routed. These miserable conscripts are also joined by tens of thousands of convicts who have been hauled out of prison to serve on the frontlines as expendable cannon fodder in which their focus is on personal survival rather than any sense of duty. Needless to say, none of these conditions helps bolster overall unit cohesion or a will to fight.

On the other hand, Ukraine's will to fight is strong and deeply felt by troops who are fighting to expel invaders from their home and protect the lives of their loved ones. The Ukrainians fight with a ferocity and determination that is borne out of a shared sense of purpose. That fighting spirit manifests itself daily as Ukrainian forces deliberately and painstakingly advance against Russian positions despite the extraordinary obstacles they face.

Another advantage is that while the Ukrainians are achieving success on the front lines, albeit in slow and incremental ways, they are steadily degrading supply depots, logistics commands and major headquarters throughout the depth of Russian defenses thanks to excellent intelligence and precision weaponry. Over time, these strikes on high-value targets are likely to achieve the type of cumulative effects that create gaps and pockets of weakness the Ukrainians can exploit with rapid advances.

Finally, while Russia continues to bleed combat power over time with diminishing means for replacing essential equipment, Ukrainian forces are benefiting from a steady flow of material support extended by dozens of nations  through federally funded aid and nonprofit organizations. I work for Spirit of America, a U.S. nonprofit that is helping provide Ukraine with the support it needs to win, I've seen firsthand how this assistance has changed the trajectory of the war. Every piece of additional support bolsters Ukraine's forces and increases their chances of shortening this war and limiting Ukrainian casualties.

Our friends in Ukraine may not seize all their territory back by the end of this year, or even well into next year, but there is no denying that the Ukrainians are making progress on the battlefield and that they outclass the Russian army in every intangible category essential for eventual victory. Instead of wringing our hands over the pace of their counteroffensive, Ukraine's friends and partners should bear down on providing as much consistent support as possible for as long as it takes for Ukrainians to win.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Retired Army Col. Matt Dimmick is a former National Security Council director for Russia and currently Spirit of America's Europe regional program manager working to provide training and supplies to frontline Ukrainian soldiers.
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WASHINGTONWhile verifying the authenticity of quotes in my new book, "How Do We Get Out of Here? Half a Century of Laughter and Mayhem at The American Spectator  from Bobby Kennedy to Donald J. Trump," I was brought to a standstill by one quote in particular. It is the work of a very fine historian done some 20 years ago, Helene Carrere d'Encausse. The quote reads as though it was a headline from the day's newspaper.

In her book, "The Russian Syndrome: One Thousand Years of Political Murder," she writes "the history of Russia is first and foremost a continuous history of political murder." (My emphasis.) The book is at once one of the most scholarly books that I have ever read and one of the most blood-drenched books that I have ever read. I do not even think a history of Hitler's Germany could match d'Encausse's work, though Cpl. Hitler only had some 15 years in which to work his deviltry. d'Encausse had 1,000 years to work with and with millions of people to slaughter. Stalin alone kicked in millions.

The most recent Russian added to the carnage was Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was numbered amongst the 10 or so casualties who went down on the ill-fated airplane traveling to St. Petersburg from Moscow late last month. The Russian authorities still do not know what brought it down, so they say, though our CIA believes it was a bomb planted aboard the airplane by some of Czar Vladimir Putin's servitors. Well, if Czar Putin's boys did not get Prigozhin, it was only a matter of time until the International Criminal Court at The Hague picked him up. He committed some grisly acts when he was upright and in one piece.

For that matter, Czar Putin is responsible for some grisly deaths that the international court is already interested in and that have barred Putin from leisurely international travel. Doubtless his day will come, though I doubt it will be in the cushy precincts of the Hague. More likely his will be another name on d'Encausse's long list of political murders committed by Putin's countrymen.

Yet now a new voice is being heard adding his two bits to the conversation about hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. His is an unlikely commentary. It comes from Pope Francis, and he is abundant with praise for two 18th-century Russian rulers, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. He calls them rulers of a "great, enlightened empire of great culture and great humanity." That is to say, they were "enlightened" so long as one did not get on the wrong side of them.

It turns out that Putin, too, is a fan of Peter and Catherine. Putin cites Peter the Great for expanding Russian territory and curtailing Ukrainian autonomy. As for Catherine, she aided the Jesuits when they were being persecuted, and she presided over Russia when Russia extended its authority over parts of southern Russia in the second half of the 18th century. Needless to say, all of this made the two monarchs immensely popular with Putin and the present Kremlin hierarchy. The Ukrainians thought otherwise.

Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, dismissed the pope's words as "imperialist propaganda" typical of the propaganda that the Kremlin used to justify its invasion of Ukraine. A leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church responded to the pope's remarks as "the worst example of extreme Russian imperialism and nationalism." And a former Estonian president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, denounced the pope's remarks as "truly revolting." Doubtless the pope's list of critics is lengthening.

Yet those of us who have marveled at the pope's recent remarks, we are wondering why he bothered to talk about eastern European politics or, for that matter, the cultural achievements of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. Why did he not stick with current events? What about Prigozhin? What about Czar Putin? When is Czar Putin going to be added to d'Encausse's list of the political butchered?

Glory to Ukraine!

(COMMENT, BELOW)




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How would the COVID-19 experience have turned out had there been no government-imposed states of emergency, no mask mandates, no orders to shelter in place, and no shutdowns of schools, restaurants, offices, and gyms?

The query isn't hypothetical. While the United States and virtually every advanced nation did turn to lockdowns and compulsory social distancing, Sweden charted a very different course. There, life continued more or less normally. Only public gatherings of more than 50 people were banned. Elementary schools, day-care facilities, shops, and parks stayed open. Health officials emphasized the importance of hand-washing and advised residents older than 70 to stay home. But masking was not mandatory; there were relatively few restrictions on personal mobility; and unlike elsewhere, public messaging by government leaders did not reflect frantic desperation.

We now know the result of Sweden's wager: By every important measure, Scandinavia's most populous country weathered the pandemic with better consequences than other nations. Its economy didn't collapse, its children suffered no learning loss, and it registered no increase in suicides. Most important, Sweden's excess death rate during the three pandemic years  the increase in mortality from 2020 through 2022 compared with the loss of life during the previous three years  was lower than in any other European nation.

The data are summarized in a new study for the Cato Institute by the historian and social researcher Johan Norberg. The policy paper provides convincing evidence that the approach adopted by the United States and other advanced nations  an approach that relied on top-down coercion and sharply curtailed personal freedom  was a mistake.

For a while, the prevailing view was that the mistake was Sweden's. The disease spread quickly through the Swedish population in the early months and by July 2020 Stockholm was reporting COVID-19 deaths at a level of 517 per million  several times the rate in nearby Norway, Denmark, and Finland. "Sweden Has Become the World's Cautionary Tale," reported The New York Times, which blamed the country's "grim result" on its "failure to impose social distancing." Former president Donald Trump agreed, declaring that "Sweden is paying heavily for its decision not to lockdown."

But Swedish voters backed their government and gave its noncoercive policy time to work. The upshot, writes Norberg, is that "based on what we now know, [Sweden's] laissez-faire approach seems to have paid off."

It wasn't entirely laissez-faire. In addition to banning gatherings of more than 50 people, Sweden stopped visits to nursing homes, imposed earlier closing hours on bars and restaurants, and  as required by European Union rules  closed its borders to non-Europeans. But on the whole, Swedes were trusted by their political leaders to use their own judgment.

Measured against the yardstick of reported COVID-19 deaths, Sweden by 2023 was squarely in the middle of the pack: Its death rate was about 40 percent higher than that of the rest of Scandinavia but much lower than that in Southern Europe, Britain, and the United States. Then again, Sweden counted everyone who died and had tested positive for the virus as a COVID death, whereas in other countries, such as Norway, only when an attending physician listed COVID as the cause of a patient's death was it included in the statistics.

For that reason, Norberg spotlights "excess deaths," a category that includes all the additional lives lost to the pandemic, including those not necessarily encompassed by a given country's official COVID data. By that metric, Sweden appears to have outperformed every country in Europe. Its excess-death rate during the pandemic was just 4.4 percent higher than the previous norm. That's less than half of the European average of 11.1 percent and lower even than the 6.77 percent average of its Nordic neighbors.



Sweden's strategy paid off in other ways, too.

While Europe's overall economy shrank by 2.1 percent during the pandemic lockdowns, the Swedish economy expanded slightly. Students in many nations fell behind by as much as a year in one or more subjects, but Swedish children suffered no learning loss. Lockdowns forced tens of millions of kids worldwide to miss out on childhood vaccinations; in Sweden, the juvenile vaccination rate went up. And though a dreadful spike in domestic abuse and suicides was reported in many countries, no such phenomenon was observed in Sweden.

"It was not Sweden that engaged in a reckless, unprecedented pandemic experiment, but the rest of the world," Norberg concludes. It was a serious mistake to drastically limit citizens' liberty and shut down so much of society. The world's elites sneered at Sweden, but Sweden was right.

Jeff Jacoby is a columnist for The Boston Globe, from which this is reprinted with permission."
SPRINGFIELD  Coles County Deputy Chris Cochennour and Mattoon Officer Rolando Monte De Oca are set to be recognized by Mothers Against Drunk Driving on Saturday.

Cochennour, Monte De Oca and other officers will be honored during MADD's 14th annual Law Enforcement Recognition Dinner at 6 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Springfield.

MADD "Hero" awards will be presented to officers and community partners across the state for excellence in their field. The event is made possible, in part, through a partnership with the Illinois Department of Transportation.
DECATUR  The Shelbyville man accused of being the first link in an illegal weapons supply chain that led to the arrest of a Decatur correctional officer and a jail inmate has pleaded guilty to the unlawful sale of firearms.

Shane A. Hecker, 34, took a plea deal that saw him admit to the unlawful sale of a firearm to a felon. He was sentenced to 18 months probation and ordered to pay $250 to have his DNA added to a criminal database maintained by the State Police.

Hecker was accused of purchasing guns on behalf of felon Brandon J. Burwell, 33, who then got former Macon County Jail corrections officer Adam B. Goodbrake to store the weapons for him. Prosecutors say the two had met while Burwell was briefly held at the jail and Burwell wanted the weapons kept away from his Blue Mound home because he feared they might be discovered by law enforcement.

Goodbrake, 25, is then accused of warning Burwell that police had discovered what was going on before helping Burwell load up the weapons so he could drive away with them before Decatur police arrived at Goodbrakes Decatur home to arrest him July 2.

Macon County Sheriffs Office deputies found and arrested Burwell the same day; he was quoted in a sworn affidavit as denying any knowledge of the weapons and said he had only stopped by Goodbrake's home to retrieve several cannabis plants. The firearms  some seven in all, ranging from shotguns, handguns and a rifle with a 100-round drum magazine  were not found at the time. But, answering a question from the Herald & Review Wednesday, Macon County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Scott Flannery said police later not only recovered all of the guns "but in fact they got more than they were initially looking for," he added.

Goodbrake has yet to enter a formal plea on seven counts of the unlawful delivery of firearms and is due to appear in Macon County Circuit Court September 8; he is free on $30,000 bond.

Burwell is pleading not guilty to seven counts of being a felon in possession of weapons and he is due in court for a pretrial hearing October 5. He is free on bail set at $50,000.

Hecker had been held in jail since his arrest July 10, but was ordered released after his sentencing on Aug. 3.
CHARLESTON  Participants in Charleston CAN have been busy in recent months painting light poles around the courthouse square, clearing downed trees from trails and organizing special events.

Those projects are just the beginning of this community planning organization's ideas for helping Charleston continue to develop its cultural and economic resources.

Community members are invited to learn about these ideas and potentially volunteer to help with them when Charleston CAN (Community Action Network) holds a town meeting at 5:45pm. Tuesday, Sep. 12, at the Charleston High School auditorium.

"We can always use the extra hands to make it happen," said Charleston CAN President Adam Fifield of upcoming community development projects.

Fifield said about 100 volunteers have gotten involved since Charleston first sought long-term planning help this spring from the MAPPING the Future of Your Community Program through the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University.

Participants in a subsequent series of public MAPPING sessions developed high priority goals for the future of the community and a plan of action for achieving the goals. They now are set to share those goals and seek additional volunteers during Tuesday's meeting.

Charleston CAN has chosen to pursue goals in six focus areas: shopping and dining, campus and community, parks and recreation, beautification and infrastructure, arts, and history and tourism.

As an example, the campus and community area focuses on enhancing relations with Eastern Illinois University and its students.

Fifield said Charleston CAN volunteers pursued this effort and their beautification goals on Aug. 19 by partnering with EIU students to paint light poles around the square as a community service project marking the start of the fall semester.

"We both need each other. EIU needs Charleston and Charleston needs EIU," Fifield said.

EIU President Jay Gatrell and Charleston Mayor Brandon Combs are set to make short presentations at Tuesday's meeting, along with members of the MAPPING the Future of Your Community Program staff.

Attendees also will hear from representatives of all six of the goal area action teams, who are working on projects specifically designed to achieve the long-term goals.

Fifield said these teams already have been taking action in the community to support the city of Charleston's ongoing efforts.

This has included volunteers partnering with the Charleston Tourism Office to organize an Uncle Abe's BBQ Showdown on Oct. 14 on the square and volunteers clearing downed trees along Lake Charleston following a summer storm.

"There was a group of us there chain sawing probably 30 trees that were crossing the trails," Fifield said of this city woodland.

To conclude the meeting, attendees will be able to browse booths set up by each goal committee and to learn more about their groups projects. The CHS Industries vocational program will provide desserts during this timeframe.

Volunteer Sarah Dowell, who is the administrator of the Charleston CAN group page on Facebook, noted there that this organization can accept donations for its action teams and projects through the Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation.

"(Charleston CAN) wouldn't be possible without our generous donors and supporters," Dowell said.

For more information about Charleston CAN and the town meeting, email adam.m.fifield@gmail.com.

Photos: EIU students paint light poles on courthouse square in Charleston Courthouse background (copy) City Hall backdrop Flower backdrop Jackson Avenue backdrop
CHICAGO  Former House Speaker Mike Madigan, who is set to stand trial on federal racketeering charges next April, is relinquishing his final remaining and longest-held elected office, Democratic committeeman for the 13th ward.

His protege, 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn, confirmed Madigan was not running for the committee position and said that he planned to circulate petitions (for the post) and see how it goes.

Madigan was 27 when he was elected 13th Ward committeeman in 1969, becoming the citys youngest ward boss. His father had been the wards superintendent and Madigan was tight with the late Mayor Richard J. Daley.

In an interview that is part of the Richard J. Daley Oral History Collection at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Madigan said the mayor wanted him to take control of a ward that previously had a strong Republican committeeman.

Madigan pulled together the disparate interests of the wards Polish, Italian, Irish and Lithuanian populations and built an organization that survived multiple changes in demographics over the years, including a more recent heavy influx of Hispanic residents.

The same year he was elected to the party post, Madigan launched his career in state politics when Daley tapped him to run as a delegate to the convention that wrote Illinois 1970 Constitution. Madigan began serving in the Illinois House in 1971 and in 1983 began his record-long tenure as House speaker.

But in more recent years, his vaunted political organization began to crumble amid #MeToo allegations even before Madigan was caught up in a sweeping federal corruption probe that ultimately forced him to step down as head of the states Democratic Party, House Speaker and state representative.

Madigans position within the Cook County Democratic Party was the last political title he held, though he hadnt participated in public events such as endorsement sessions in recent years. His trial is scheduled to begin shortly after the March 19 primary election.

Quinn indicated his conversation with Madigan about the committee office was brief and did not elaborate on the partys direction post-Madigan.

Building consensus around an issue is the direction, in my opinion, that politics is going, Quinn told reporters, saying he hasnt spent much time on county party matters because his attention has been laser-focused on the 13th Ward.

Quinn, however, has served as Madigans proxy multiple times in party meetings in recent years. The position not only allows members to vote on endorsements at election time, but also to pick appointees to fill vacant seats on the County Board and in the state legislature.

Quinn said he was prepared to face any potential challengers that might emerge during petition passing, which started Tuesday and lasts through November.

Ive been at this for a while, so I do take elections very seriously and Im prepared to have an election if thats the case, Quinn told reporters, saying he was already fundraising and spent almost every night going door to door.

Asked how Madigans indictment might affect his chances, Quinn said, I dont know the answer today.

Again, I continue to go door to door every night, continue to work with the residents, my neighbors in the 13th Ward and continue to try to be as responsive as possible. I guess that remains to be seen, but I know what Im going to do.

PHOTOS: The career of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan December 2013 March 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 December 2013 January 2015 January 2015 February 2015 August 2015 October 2015 April 2016 May 2016 November 2016 July 2017 July 2017 August 2017 August 2018 January 2019 January 2019 2019 June 2019 May 2020 January 2021
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been giving interviews of late, serious interviews. The New York representative is clearly maturing. The celebrity-obsessed lefty has turned into a working member of Congress. That's good for all who want the Democratic fringes to stop attacking their moderates and join them -- and moderate Republicans -- in preventing a fascistic Trumpian future.

If you are sensing distaste of both the far left and the far right, your hearing is fine.

Ocasio-Cortez recently described herself as "evolving, learning, challenging myself, but also rooted and grounded in who I am and why I'm here." Sounds promising. As the second-ranking Democrat on the powerful House Oversight Committee, all should welcome this great improvement over her early fundraising hailstorms against "enemy" Joe Biden.

Further down in that New York Times interview, Ocasio-Cortez was asked what changed the most about her since she took office. Her answer was short of satisfactory. "We were in transition between an older party and a newer one, in terms of where we were coming from ideologically."

The Democratic Party of Joe Biden looks a heck of a lot like the older party, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt party that did big things in the face of massive conservative opposition. Biden has overseen a nearly $400 billion investment to curb climate change, the lowest unemployment in 54 years and major cuts in health care costs. Perhaps his greatest feat was the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package to fix bridges, roads and public transportation -- and expand broadband internet.

Ocasio-Cortez voted against it.

And that was a turning point for much of her Queens-Bronx constituency, which was also tiring of the nonstop showing off. As a result, Democrats started launching primary challenges against her. Speaking of which, Ocasio-Cortez reportedly tried to find someone to primary Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a fellow New York Democrat, in 2022. His "sin" was moderation. Jeffries is now the highly polished and capable House minority leader.

Can Ocasio-Cortez win back our love? First she has to win back our respect. Democrats can't get things done unless they win elections. For the longest time, Ocasio-Cortez didn't seem to care whether Democrats won or not. She joined her hero Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in torching Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign for president -- even after Trump was the Republican nominee. You see, winning elections wasn't as important as building the movement.

Clinton, Ocasio-Cortez explained, was "this consummate insider that was bankrolled by corporate money." This led the interviewer to ask why then has Ocasio-Cortez refused to join other Democrats in abandoning Twitter, now X. It is owned by Elon Musk, a consummate insider with, we hear, a lot of corporate money. Though Musk has used Twitter to frustrate the investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Ocasio-Cortez still feeds his social media company her 13 million followers.

By the way, it's fine with me that she has been working with Rep. Matt Gaetz on legislation to ban members of Congress from trading stocks. Gaetz may be an extraordinarily creepy Florida Republican, but the cause is good.

Ocasio-Cortez conceded that this cooperation might make some in the progressive wing "suspicious" of her. Radicals in both parties take this childish view that their champions commit ideological treason when they share an elevator with the other side. Anyhow, she added defensively, the Republican actually leading on that legislation was the moderate Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

That's progress for a Democrat who, in times past, couldn't even work with moderate Democrats. Ocasio-Cortez is growing up, and that's a good thing.

And so do we love Ocasio-Cortez now? Not yet. First we must forgive her. That will be slow in coming.
Wells Fargo & Co. said Thursday that William Daley, its vice chairman of its Public Affairs corporate unit, will retire at the end of this year.

Daley joined Wells Fargo in 2019 from BNY Mellon to lead a new corporate function spanning government relations, corporate communications, corporate branding, community relations, the Wells Fargo Foundation, and other areas.

The company said it would announce leadership plans for its Public Affairs group at a future date.

Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargo's chief executive, said Daley served as "an invaluable asset to the company.

During his time at Wells Fargo, weve strengthened our relationships with the communities we serve; established new programs in housing, small business, and other areas that have had an impact on hundreds of thousands of people; and worked to rebuild our reputation both nationally and locally."

The biggest shadow still hanging over Wells Fargo from the fraudulent customer account scandal is the Feds order, issued Feb. 3, 2018, that prohibits the bank from increasing its total assets beyond the $1.93 trillion it had on Dec. 31. 2017.
WALNUT COVE  Faced with budgetary constraints and a declining enrollment, the Stokes County Board of Education is grappling with some difficult decisions on which of its 19 schools to close.

One plan, unveiled at a meeting on Aug. 21, called for closing three elementary schools  London, Pinnacle and Lawsonville.

News that London was among the schools that may be closed cut particularly deep for Black residents of Walnut Cove.

Theyve been down this road before.

Just as they did in 1968, theyre fighting to save it, a fight that appears to have been successful. At a work session on Tuesday, the Stokes County Schools Board of Education came up with a plan to remove London from the list of schools to be closed, replacing it with Pine Hall Elementary. The plan, which also calls for closing Pinnacle and Lawsonville elementary schools, will come before the public at a hearing tentatively scheduled for Sept. 21 at 6 p.m., at South Stokes High School. It still needs a formal vote from the school board before it is enacted.

This school has a history, Ada Linster said of London. Upon hearing that the school board was considering closing London, she said the county was letting us down.

Linster is a 1966 graduate of what was then London High School, the countys only high school for Black students from 1951 until desegregation in 1968.

Up until London was built, Black children had no school to go to beyond seventh grade.

Located in the historically Black neighborhood of London within Walnut Cove, the school has a storied history, playing a significant role in what was called The Liberation of Walnut Cove by writer Henry Wiencek in his 1999 book The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White.

Under pressure from the federal government to desegregate its schools years after the 1954 Supreme Court ruling that school segregation based on race was unconstitutional, Stokes County school leaders came up with a plan that involved closing London School in 1968.

The students decided they wouldnt have it.

Emboldened no doubt by the wave of peaceful protests sweeping the nation at the height of the civil rights movement and word that Martin Luther King Jr., was set to visit North Carolina in the coming weeks, many students marched down Walnut Coves Main Street one day in the spring of 1968 to demonstrate their love of the school and its principal, John L. Hairston, a legendary figure in the towns history, who was at risk of losing his job.

White folks spilled out of businesses along Main Street to watch; some jeering the students.

The students had been prepped for such insults, Wiencek wrote. An advisor for the NAACP in Winston-Salem talked with the students about what to expect. During a role-playing exercise, he divided them into marchers, hecklers and spectators.

With some difficulty he persuaded hecklers to chant racial slurs as they broke into the line of marchers, pushed a classmate and pretended to spit on him, Wiencek wrote.

Near the conclusion of the march, one student, Vincent Withers, took his displeasure with segregation a step further. He walked through the front door of Vernons Grill to buy a Coke, desegregating a restaurant that had previously only served Blacks from its back door.

The act of defiance on that day is credited with keeping the school open and desegregating the towns restaurants and movie theater.

Now an elementary school, London was once again under threat of closure.

Though not as dramatic as students marching down Main Street, a community meeting in the schools gym that drew about 150 people last week showed that the spirit of 68 remains alive and well.

Former teachers and students talked about the role the school meant to them, the closeness between faculty and students and the role the school played, and still plays, as a community hub.

They braced themselves for a fight, one that appears they may have won.
Before sending a 31-year-old man to prison for decades, a Lancaster County judge called the case involving a kidnapping, torture and rape at a warehouse at the edge of Lincoln "one of the most heinous factual scenarios" she has come across.

First, given a chance to speak, Tanner Danielson, 31, said he couldn't believe what's happened. "The things I've done. The things I had to do."

He said his life was at stake after someone stole 50 pounds of marijuana (worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 to $200,000 according to his attorney) from him after he'd brought it back from Colorado.

"I was scared beyond belief. I had no clue what to do," he said.

Danielson said he's been sober for over a year and now, instead of blaming the victim for putting him in this situation, he realizes it happened as a result of his decisions. He just kept going down the wrong road, he said.

"I beg of you to see me for who I am, not for the things I truly felt I had to do to save myself," Danielson said.

Prosecutors say late July 28, 2022, and over around 12 hours, Danielson  who was a welder  beat, burned with a blowtorch and branded the man he believed had taken the drugs, before leaving him in the country tied to a tree, and raping a woman who had come to the warehouse with Danielson, threatening to kill her if she reported it to police.

Danielson pleaded no contest to attempted kidnapping and first-degree sexual assault and, at his sentencing Wednesday, faced up to 50 years on each charge.

Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Jeff Mathers scoffed at Danielson's suggestion he "had to do it."

"Had to beat, torture, restrain and leave  possibly for dead  an individual? He had to rape a woman? Ridiculous. Come on," Mathers said.

He said Danielson was involved in the drug trade "and all the dirt that goes along with that," had a history of violence toward women and should go to prison for a very long time because he's a danger.

"The facts in this case are as egregious and depraved as anything I've nearly ever seen," the longtime prosecutor said. "Narcissism, antisocial personality disorder, sociopath, psychopath. I'm sure some or all of them fit."

Defense attorney Chad Wythers said Danielson had met some people at a concert in Colorado who ended up being drug dealers. Danielson thought he could make some easy money bringing marijuana back, did it once and thought he could be done. But it wasn't as easy to get out.

After Danielson made another trip and the drugs were stolen from his home, he was told he needed to come up with the money or he and family members would be in danger, Wythers said.

He said Danielson, who was high on cocaine at the time, believed the victim had stolen the drugs.

"And that's how we find ourselves at the welding shop ... on the night in question," Wythers said.

He said Danielson should have gone to law enforcement and asked for help, instead of taking matters into his own hands. Wythers said, according to Danielson, most of what he'd done had been at the cartel's direction.

In the end, the judge said she didn't think it mattered whether Danielson was under the influence, if this person had stolen something from him, or if he was being threatened by somebody.

"Only a sadistic and evil person could do these things to another human being," she said, reading through the victim's detailed account of the torture, which included being force-fed acid tabs, struck in the head with a wrench, handcuffed and raised by a forklift, burnt by a blowtorch, branded, a gun shoved in his mouth.

Finally, the 26-year-old was strapped to a tree, left in the middle of nowhere and told his grandmother and parents would be killed if he wasn't there when he came back. Strong said after hours he was able to get free and, still handcuffed, started walking on a dirt road.

"A car drove by and I realized I was still alive," she said, reading from the victim's account.

A 911 call that followed led deputies to find him walking southeast of Firth.

Strong said it was her duty to protect the public from Danielson, "and giving you a lengthy term of incarceration is the only way I can do that."

After hearing the 70- to 90-year sentence she said next, Danielson appeared stunned, his mouth agape for more than a minute.

His co-defendant, Austin Widhalm of Firth, is set for sentencing next week after pleading no contest to second-degree assault and first-degree false imprisonment.

Most dangerous cities in Nebraska Dangerous Cities in Nebraska 6. South Sioux City 5. Scottsbluff 4. North Platte 3. Lincoln 2. Grand Island 1. Omaha A note about the numbers
Two people were taken to a local hospital after a crash Wednesday evening near the intersection of South 52nd Street and Normal Boulevard, according to the Lincoln Police Department.

The four-vehicle crash occurred just before 6 p.m. and shut down Normal Boulevard from Myrtle Street to South 52nd Street. Two vehicles were seen with heavy damage.

LPD confirmed two people were hospitalized  a female with minor injuries and a man with unknown injures. No one was else was hospitalized.

A cause of the crash was not known Wednesday evening.

These are the highways in Nebraska with the most fatalities. These are the highways in Nebraska with the most fatalities.
The Republican majority has been without a speaker for three weeks and is desperate to end the chaos and get back to work. Ahead of voting Joh
A roast beef sandwich sent Katie Voelker to the hospital in June 2022.

Six hours after dinner, she woke in the middle of the night with hives, an itchy throat, nausea and dizziness.

I had no idea what was happening to me, the Lincoln resident said. So I had my husband rush me to the hospital, worried my throat was going to close up.

Voelkers mind raced, eventually arriving at a memory of an incident from a month earlier while turkey hunting at nearby Pawnee State Recreation Area. She had been bitten by a tick, but it didn't look like Nebraskas most common blood-feeding arthropod, the American dog tick. Instead of a splotchy white band on its back, it had a single white dot.

Voelker identified it as a lone star tick, a carrier of a syndrome that can cause an allergy to red meat.

I mentioned the lone star bite to a hunting buddy and joked about how ironic it would be if I, a hunting enthusiast, ended up with a meat allergy  Voelker said.

She didnt give the bite another thought  until the sandwich incident a month later.

Until this summer, alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) was a relatively obscure disease known by scientists, researchers and a few doctors.

Then in late July, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that a five-year study determined up to 450,000 Americans may have been affected by AGS since 2010  nearly the combined populations of Lincoln, Columbus, Kearney and Grand Island.

If testing trends continue alongside the geographic expansion of the lone star tick, researchers wrote, the number of AGS cases in the U.S. will increase.

The syndrome causes a hypersensitivity to a sugar molecule found in most mammals outside primates. Those affected must avoid beef, pork, lamb, venison, rabbit  basically any meat from a mammal.

Experiences vary. Some peoples reactions may be mild and others life-threatening. There is no cure, but mild reactions can be treated with antihistamines.

The first few months were the hardest, said Voelker, who confirmed her infection with a blood test. My sensitivity was highest at that point, and I not only had to cut out all red meat, but dairy and other foods with mammal-derived ingredients as well.

Central to this emerging illness is one of natures most persistent pests. When ticks hop aboard a new host, they find a patch of skin  often behind the knees, the head or ankles  and cut into it with hooks that are just one part of a mouth adapted to parasitic life.

Their saliva can have anesthetic properties, preventing hosts from realizing theyve been bitten.

Its also the vessel for disease, said Jody Green, an educator with Nebraska Extension. And its getting more difficult to avoid tick spit when spending time outdoors.

Nowadays, everywhere you go thats fun is a tick-infested habitat, Green said.

Lone star ticks appear to be on the move. The arachnids historic range went as far north as extreme southern Iowa and as east as New Jersey.

In recent years, though, the tick has migrated to southeast Nebraska.

Research on the lone star tick and others has led some scientists to believe climate change is among the factors driving ticks into higher latitudes and elevations.

Environmental conditions altered by climate change do indeed influence range expansion, said Nebraska state climatologist Martha Durr. There are other factors at play as well. But this will likely be a concern for us locally.

Joseph Fauver, a professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Centers College of Public Health, said there are other factors likely contributing to the lone star ticks presence in Nebraska.

Increasing populations of host species, such as small mammals, rodents and white tail deer, give ticks more places to feed. Development on the outskirts of towns brings people closer to the habitats ticks call home.

Were encroaching on wild spaces, he said. Surely some part of that is happening here.

The University of Nebraska and public health officials conduct ongoing tick surveillance efforts in order to monitor potential threats to people and pets. One method, tick flagging, involves dragging a piece of white fabric over grass. Ticks latch to the fabric and are identified at a lab.

Fauver and his colleagues are surveying Nebraska health care providers, physicians and agricultural operators to grasp their level of awareness regarding tick-borne illnesses.

In its announcement, the CDC cited a survey of health care professionals that found nearly half of respondents had not heard of AGS.

Were trying to gauge who knows about this, Fauver said. Are they up to speed?

The public is encouraged to report their findings to a UNL citizen scientist surveillance program, Tick Tag Go. If someone encounters a tick, they can take a photo with their phone and upload it to the site, along with location details. The submissions are then identified by local scientists.

American dog ticks lead the pack with 437 observations, but lone star ticks are not far behind at 113.

Its been great to see what ticks are out there, Green said.

Scientists, educators and public health officials dont want people to be afraid of going outside, Green said. Instead they want to empower people through awareness, and that starts with safety measures.

She tells people to wear light-colored clothing when outside, making it easier to spot ticks before they have a chance to attach. Tucking pants into socks, shirts into pants and long hair up into hats adds another barrier to entry. She also encourages carrying tweezers and a lint roller to remove any ticks found while outside.

Full-body tick checks should be done after spending time outside, and clothes worn during those activities should be tossed into a dryer on high for 30 minutes upon returning home. If you have a dog, she recommends frequent checks and applying tick prevention treatments throughout the year.

Applying insect repellents to the skin is important, but those have limitations, Green said. Among the most effective chemical prevention tools is something called permethrin, which can only be applied to clothes.

If you find a tick, Green encourages submitting an entry to Tick Tag Go for identification. If its attached, remove it with tweezers, pulling it straight out to ensure the head is removed.

Experts discourage using heat to force ticks to detach, as it can cause the parasite to vomit any potential pathogens into your bloodstream. Afterward, pay close attention to your health and any odd developments.

If you have something that cannot be explained, then you need to go to a doctor, Green said.

Fauver, an outdoor enthusiast, said vigilance is key in preventing debilitating vector-borne diseases.

If youre going to be in these spaces, just be really diligent, he said. They are here and we need to do our best to prevent them.

Voelker hasnt let AGS prevent her from hunting or spending time outdoors, but she does take more precautions. She read that people with AGS report more severe attacks after multiple bites.

Permethrin has been a game changer. I can't overstate how grateful I am to have such an effective and relatively simple solution to my tick problem  without it I'd be stuck inside six months out of the year, she said.

And though she still avoids red meat, Voelker reported her reactions to dairy have become less intense.

I was scared to eat out, scared to travel, she said. Things have recently taken a turn for the better though  I tolerate dairy pretty well now. I still have the occasional reaction, but it's worth it to have cheese back in my life.

The Flatwater Free Press is Nebraskas first independent, nonprofit newsroom focused on investigations and feature stories that matter.

Top Journal Star photos for August 2023
A Grand Island woman was arrested for felony cruelty to animals Monday for her alleged abuse of a six-month-old puppy.

Megan Klatt, 25, was arrested after her alleged treatment of the animal was witnessed by a passerby.

Police arrived on the 2000 block of North Wheeler Avenue at about 1:55 p.m. Officers contacted the owner of the dog, who was identified as Klatt.

It appears that the dog has a broken leg among other injuries, Grand Island Police Capt. Jim Duering said.

The dog was found to have a large lump on the top of its head.

The witness told police that she observed Klatt "forcefully kick" and punch the dog in the ribs multiple times while outside, says the Tuesday GIPD media report.

The witness also said Klatt picked the animal up and slammed the dog "forcefully to the ground multiple times," the media report says.

The Central Nebraska Humane Society arrived and took custody of the dog.

During that time, Klatt, "who was not free to leave, attempted to run back into her residence to get away from police," the media report says.

Klatt was arrested for felony cruelty to animals and obstruction.

Top Journal Star photos for August 2023
Douglas County sheriffs deputies arrested two white men Tuesday in connection with a northwest Omaha incident late Sunday night during which a Black man was allegedly assaulted and held against his will.

Holden Melia, 38, and Rett Bellamy, 42, are being held at the Douglas County Jail. The alleged assault took place in the area of 154th Street and Curtis Avenue, which is a residential neighborhood. An object made to look like a firearm was also allegedly used to intimidate the victim. The Sheriffs Office said its investigation determined that the incident was racially motivated.

Melia was arrested on suspicion of assault, false imprisonment and terroristic threats. Bellamy was arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment. The counts against both men have a hate crime notation.

Eric Sellers, a captain with the Sheriffs Office, declined to provide more details about the alleged incident since deputies are still interviewing witnesses.

Most dangerous cities in Nebraska Dangerous Cities in Nebraska 6. South Sioux City 5. Scottsbluff 4. North Platte 3. Lincoln 2. Grand Island 1. Omaha A note about the numbers
Starting Tuesday, Nebraska Medicine will begin billing patients  or their insurance carriers  for electronic messages that require more than five minutes of a health care provider's time.

Most messages sent to a patient's health care team will remain free, according to the Omaha-based health system's web page. Those include requests for prescription refills and appointments, messages that lead to an appointment, follow-up care related to surgeries within the past 90 days and messages that take only a few minutes to answer.

But those that require medical expertise and more than five minutes of provider time may be billed to insurance. That list will include messages about new symptoms that require medical assessment or referral; changes to medications; check-ups, changes or flare-ups in chronic conditions and requests to complete medical forms.

Health system officials said they expect the new policy to affect about 1% of patients, based on the experience of other health systems nationwide that have begun billing for electronic messaging through patient portals.

By mid-August, that list numbered 22 health systems, including the Cleveland Clinic, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Mayo Clinic, according to a tally by Fierce Healthcare, a healthcare business publication. Most similarly bill for messages that require added time and expertise.

Nebraska Medicine's webpage indicates that making the change allows the health system to continue to provide patients with "cost-effective care" that "may otherwise have to be done through a more expensive in-person or telehealth appointment."

So far, the health system is the only one in Nebraska set to begin billing for certain messages, officials said. But the move comes as electronic communications, from messaging to telemedicine, are playing a growing role in health care, fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing changes in Medicare billing that broadened coverage for telehealth visits and allowed it for messages through electronic portals.

Such changes are expected to continue, said Jeremy Nordquist, president of the Nebraska Hospital Association.

"As patient care continues to move toward digital platforms, it is important that health care providers are appropriately compensated for their expertise and time," he said in a statement. "Over the next decade, we will certainly see innovation play a bigger role in health care delivery and payment for those services will continue to evolve."

Nebraska Medicine noted on its website that costs for messages may be covered, depending on the insurer. Patients may receive a bill for a copay, coinsurance or deductible. Nebraska Medicine uses the MyChart portal offered by EPIC, its electronic health record provider.

Nebraska Medicaid patients will not be charged out-of-pocket costs. For most Medicare patients, the out-of-pocket costs will be $11 to $21. The average out-of-pocket costs for most patients with private insurance and for those with no insurance will be $24.

Roles in medicine projected to have the greatest shortages by 2035 Roles in medicine projected to have the greatest shortages by 2035 Supply and demand in the medical field workforce Effects of shortages heightened in rural America
When Gov. Jim Pillen last month announced he was convening a group dedicated to examining Nebraskas labor shortage, the list of people included in that group came as no surprise.

Representatives of state employers, business groups, universities  including the University of Nebraska  and chambers of commerce will all have a seat at the table, in addition to three state senators and the Department of Economic Development director.

Indeed, outgoing NU President Ted Carter, who will serve as a representative on the working group, said it will take all partners involved to come up with innovative ideas to grow our states workforce.

If that is the goal  to include all partners  it appears there is one crucial group missing from this equation: The states young people, the very demographic such an endeavor should be looking to attract to Nebraska.

While colleges and universities will be represented  in addition to NU, Concordia University, Metropolitan Community College, the Nebraska State College System and the Nebraska Community College Association are all participating  this task force would do well to draw input directly from the source.

Many hold up soaring property taxes as the No. 1 obstacle to keeping  or attracting  a vibrant workforce, but its wrong to assume that young people feel the same way.

Frankly, taxes are not often at front of mind for many people in their 20s.

To that end, we hope this task force can approach the states labor shortage with an open mind and broad vision and with an honest search for answers. Real solutions involve dialogue, not just meetings between policy-makers and high-level administrators.

What they may find is that more pressing and practical concerns need to be addressed first: Affordable housing, access to a post-secondary education and more.

For some, the worker crisis is tied intrinsically to immigration and the need for reform.

The worker crisis is the border crisis, Christine Scullion, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce executive said at last months Federal Legislative Summit last month in Ashland. Theyre one in the same, in a lot of ways. And there are ways to fix the border and there are things that we should do, but we also need to be addressing the fact that there need to be workers here.

Such issues may be out of the purview of Pillens task force, and Nebraskas congressional delegation in attendance at the summit signaled securing the border must come first.

But taking a broad, big-picture look at one of the states most pressing issues  and asking out-of-the-box questions that truly involve all parties, including young Nebraskans  is the first step to turning the corner.
Racine County

Feast Of St. Robert Bellarmine

Sept. 9-10

UNION GROVE  St. Robert Bellarmine Parish is hosting its Feast of St.

Robert Bellarmine, featuring two days of music from Chicago and Milwaukee bands, along with foods from around the world, at 3320 S. Colony Ave.

Saturday hours are 4-11 p.m.

Blues, Brews & BBQs will feature authentic Kentucky bluegrass by Bourbon Aristocracy from 4-6:30 p.m., a slow-smoked BBQ dinner cooked on-site by pitmasters Dave White and Dave Dill, and a variety of Wisconsin beers on tap. Taking the stage from 7-10:30 pm will be Milwaukees Big Al Dorn & The Blues Howlers. Both shows are appropriate for all ages.

Sunday will feature Ethnic Extravaganza, with Chicago band Keith Stras & Polka Confetti from noon to 3 p.m. and an "anyone can polka" dance contest with $350 in prizes. Authentic scratch-made foods will be available, including Italian beef and sausage, German beer, Mexican street tacos, Lebanese grilled chicken shish-kabobs, Wisconsin cream puffs, and a variety of home-baked cookies, cakes and sweets.

Sundays lineup also will include outdoor mass at 10 a.m. and a pie

auction at 3 p.m.

Both days will include a free Kids Zone activity area with games, petting zoo, magic and balloon show, a silent auction, farmers market and cash prizes.

Admission and parking are free. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/FeastofSRB or contact Jackie Fonk at 262-994-0866.

St. Charles Fall Festival

Sept. 23-24: St. Charles Borromeo Church, 440 Kendall St., Burlington. 6-10:30 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Free. Live music, food, beer tent, raffles, $50 car raffle, virtual silent auction (http://scfallfest.givesmart.com), childrens games, Hispanic food tent. Sunday turkey dinner, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., $14. Go to ourblcc.org/ our-events.
KENOSHA  Carthage College Professor Greg Bergs upcoming performance is a musical celebration showcasing the Great American Songbook.

On Sunday afternoon, Berg celebrates two anniversaries: The 80th anniversary of Rodgers and Hammersteins Oklahoma and the 125th anniversary of the birth of composer George Gershwin.

Fittingly, the recital is titled Oh, What a Beautiful SWonderful Day!  a mashup of Oh, What a Beautiful Morning from Oklahoma and SWonderful by George and Ira Gershwin.

Oklahoma is widely regarded as one of the most groundbreaking and innovative musicals in history, Berg said. It was the first collaboration between composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein, who had already achieved great fame with other partners  Rodgers with Lorenz Hart and Hammerstein with Jerome Kern.

The show, he explained, was another step in the development of the so-called Book Musical, in which the songs are carefully integrated into a well-crafted and theatrically sound story. Before Oklahoma, the typical musical featured a rather flimsy and inconsequential story into which would be inserted songs of a fairly generic quality.

In Oklahoma, the songs were very much conceived with the various characters and their respective personalities in mind.

Berg will be joined in his Oklahoma set by his niece, Lorelai Amborn, a freshman theater major at Carthage.

Shell be singing the entertaining song I Cant Say No, which is sung by the colorful, flirtatious character Ado Annie in the musical, Berg said.

Amborn, he said, has an awareness and interest in Golden Age musicals, which is quite exceptional for someone her age.

Though a lot of young people dont know classic Broadway shows like Oklahoma, Berg finds when they are exposed to the best that these shows have to offer, they love them.

Gershwin tribute

The second part of the program features songs by George Gershwin, who was born 125 years, in 1898, and who died in 1937 at age 38.

The recital will feature several of his greatest songs, Berg said, including SWonderful, Someone to Watch Over Me and They Cant Take That Away From Me.

There will also be at least one excerpt from Gershwins full-length opera, Porgy and Bess, which Gershwin regarded as his finest achievement, Berg said.

The opera has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years, he added. A Tony Award-winning Broadway revival opened in 2012, while the Metropolitan Opera offered up a spectacular new production of the opera in 2019.

This isnt Bergs first Gershwin tribute. He also organized a gala concert in 1998 to celebrate Gershwins centennial.

Several different choral ensembles and many of our instrumentalists participated in what turned out to be an exciting encounter with one of musics greatest geniuses, he said. A quarter of a century later, I am excited to revisit his legacy.

Gershwin left quite a legacy, despite dying before age 40.

Berg admits he wonders sometimes what Gershwin could have accomplished in later years.

I think about this with quite a few great composers who died too young, he said. I suppose its possible that after having created such innovative works, Gershwin might have really spun his wheels creatively in trying to write the next chapter of his career. But its also possible he would have found a way to sustain his brilliance and even build upon it.

Thats one of the great unknowable mysteries of music  what if?

One more anniversary

Before ending the program, Berg will include a brief tribute to Walt Disney in honor of the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney Studios.

There is no shortage of wonderful songs from the world of Disney, he said. The hard part will be in choosing which songs to sing and which ones to leave out.

Overall, Berg said this music continues to be popular, while so many other songs of that era have faded away, because a lot of the other music being created was overly derivative or cautiously created to cater to popular taste.

Its fair to say the music that stands the test of time is almost always music that took us in a new direction or said someting in a way that had never been said before.

And thats SWonderful.
RACINE  A man accused of killing 59-year-old Timmy Oliver in a hit-and-run crash pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Scotty Dow, 45, is charged with hit-and-run resulting in death, and knowingly operating a motor vehicle while revoked and causing the death of another.

Prosecutors allege that Dow hit Oliver while he was crossing the street and drove away from the scene.

Dow appeared in court Wednesday, where he waived his right to a preliminary hearing and entered a not guilty plea during his arraignment.

Dow is free on a $30,000 signature bond under the conditions that he makes all of his court appearances, does not drive a vehicle and does not contact the victims family.

Joe Kremkoski, Dows attorney, asked that the bond be modified so Dow could drive to make his appointments. The prosecution and members of Olivers family objected to the motion.

I dont feel hes responsible to drive, Julia Witherspoon, Olivers older sister, said.

Commissioner Alice Rudebusch denied the bond modification request.

Allegations against Dow

On Sept. 11, 2022, an officer from the Racine Police Department was dispatched to Washington and Phillips Avenues after a report that a pedestrian had been hit by a vehicle.

Oliver was pronounced dead at the scene.

A car with heavy front-end damage could be seen on RPD traffic cameras leaving the area at the time of the crash, according to the criminal complaint filed in this case.

Officers reportedly found a light blue Ford Focus in the 1600 block of Mead Street that had heavy damage. The vehicle was registered to Dow, the complaint said.

On Sept. 14, 2022, an RPD investigator spoke to Dows girlfriend, who allegedly told officers that Dow said he feared for his life because the High Riders, a motorcycle club, were chasing him.

She said Dow told her that he left the vehicle when he heard sirens, and that he hoped the person he allegedly hit wasnt dead because he did not want to get life, the complaint said.

Officers obtained DNA samples from the car that were matched to Dow by the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory on March 1, the complaint said.

Dow reportedly had his license revoked at the time of the crash because of alcohol-related convictions.

Dow was originally scheduled for an initial appearance in court July 28, but he did not show up, so a warrant was issued for his arrest.

He was taken into custody and appeared in court for the first time Aug. 22. Dow was released from custody on bond the same day.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 20 for a status conference.

Racine County neighbors: Obituaries for September 6 Read through the obituaries published today in The Journal Times. Obituaries top story Deaths: September 6, 2023 KRAJCIK, Harvey, 85
TOWN OF NORWAY  Local history and Norwegian culture will be highlighted Saturday during an authors visit and discussion about Civil War hero Hans Christian Heg.

The Racine Heritage Museum is presenting the event at 3 p.m. at Norway Town Hall, 6419 Heg Park Road, followed by a tour of the neighboring Norway Historical Society museum.

Admission is free.

Author Odd Lovoll will give a lecture based on his book, Colonel Hans Christian Heg and the Norwegian American Experience.

Christopher Paulson, executive director of the Racine Heritage Museum, called it the first major biography on Heg, who lived in the area and is honored with a statue in the town.

Lovoll, a Norwegian-American historian who lives in Minnesota, came to Racine County about two years ago while researching the book.

Paulson recalls visiting the Town of Norway with the author, and learning about the communitys Norwegian ancestry.

It was really quite fantastic, he said.

In addition to his lecture, Novoll will be signing books and touring the local historical museum, known as Heg Park Museum. The museum will be open for the public to join the tour.

The Norway Historical Society is assisting with the event.

Paulson said residents with Norwegian backgrounds or with an interest in local history will enjoy Novolls lecture.

Hes got an awful lot to offer, Paulson said.

Heg emigrated from Norway with his family in 1840 and settled in Muskego. He entered local politics and became the state prison commissioner.

When the Civil War broke out, Heg led an infantry of mostly recent immigrants, called the Iron Brigade, in battling Confederate troops. Killed in action at age 33, the young colonel became the highest-ranking Wisconsinite to die in the Civil War.

Heg Park is named after him, and features a bronze statue of him.

Another Heg statue in Madison was defaced during a civil uprising in 2020, generating new interest in Hegs place in Wisconsin history.

In photos: Church members prepare for Racine County church's Norwegian-style dinner Peggy Human arranges meatballs going into the oven for Norway church dinner Dennis Walling and Gus Kossow chop carrots for Norway church dinner Ida Johnson cooks meatballs in a skillet at Norway Lutheran Church for annual dinner Pam Larsen organizes pastry for Norway Lutheran Church lutefisk and meatball dinner Gail Martinko and Kristin Gettelman roll meatballs for church dinner in Norway Gus Kossow chops carrots for Norway Lutheran Church lutefisk and meatball dinner Meatballs fresh from the over for Norway Lutheran Church lutefisk and meatball dinner Assembly line operation for chopping carrots for Norway church dinner Holly Knurr prepares meatballs for Norway Lutheran Church annual lutefisk and meatball dinner
UNION GROVE  St. Robert Bellarmine Parish has a new event: The two-day Feast of St. Robert Bellarmine festival, featuring amazing music from Chicago and Milwaukee bands along with foods from around the world, according to organizers.

The festival is open 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday Sept. 9, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday Sept. 10, on the church grounds at 3320 S. Colony Ave. in Union Grove.

The theme on Saturday is Blues, Brews & BBQs, with Kentucky bluegrass performed by Bourbon Aristocracy, playing from 4 to 6:30 p.m.

Saturdays music continues from 7 to 10:30 p.m. with Milwaukees Big Al Dorn & The Blues Howlers, playing authentic, original smokin hot blues, savage harmonica and stinging guitar. Note: Both shows are appropriate for all ages.

From 4 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, a slow-smoked BBQ dinner  cooked on-site by pitmasters Dave White and Dave Dill  will be served. The meal includes pork and beef, roasted sweet corn, baked beans, coleslaw, a roll, dessert  and a raffle ticket.

Also on tap are a range of Wisconsins favorite beers, organizers said.

From 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, visitors to the festival can enjoy childrens games, a free magic show (at 6 p.m.), a petting zoo (4-8 p.m.), a cornhole tournament, concessions, silent auction items, a farmers market and a Lotsa Lotto raffle drawing at 10:30 p.m.

The theme on Sunday is Polka Party and Ethnic Food.

Sundays lineup will feature an outdoor Mass at 10 a.m. with the Rev. Russ Arnett welcoming the public, and St. Roberts famous pie auction at 3 p.m.

The music Sunday will be performed from noon to 3 p.m. by the Chicago polka band Keith Stras & Polka Confetti. The polka party includes an anyone can polka dance contest at 2:30 p.m. with $350 in cash prizes.

Food, served from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, includes scratch-made foods from around the world: Italian beef and sausage, German beer, Mexican street tacos, Lebanese grilled chicken shish-kabobs and Wisconsins famous cream puffs, along with a huge variety of home baked cookies, cakes and sweets in the Sweet Shoppe.

Also from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, visitors to the festival can enjoy childrens games, a free magic show (at 12:30 p.m.), a petting zoo (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.), a cornhole tournament, concessions, silent auction items, a farmers market and a Grand Raffle drawing at 5 p.m.

For more information, visit facebook.com/FeastofSRB or contact Jackie Fonk at 262-994-0866.
JAKARTA, Indonesia  It took more than a day of flying, including two refueling stops, for Vice President Kamala Harris to reach this year's summit of Southeast Asian countries. Once she arrived, she had less than eight minutes of public speaking time during two meetings.

But in Jakarta's cavernous convention center, adorned with billowing flowers and tropical plants for the occasion, Harris saw an opportunity to shape the future of United States foreign policy.

In an interview with The Associated Press, the vice president said that Washington must "pay attention to 10, 20, 30 years down the line, and what we are developing now that will be to the benefit of our country then."

For her, that means working in Southeast Asia. Two-thirds of its population is under 35 years old. It's the fourth-largest market for U.S. exports. One-third of global shipping travels through the South China Sea.

"Think about it," Harris said.

This was her third trip to Southeast Asia since taking office  Harris headed back to Washington on Thursday  and she visited more countries here than any other region. It's a sprawling constellation of nations, many of them eager for the personal touch of an American leader, and Harris has spent the past few years making the rounds.

Though addressing migration from Central America was the original task in Harris' foreign policy portfolio, her more recent travels put her at the center of White House efforts to bolster ties in Asia as a counterbalance to China. It's an international parallel to her more prominent role in domestic politics, where she took the lead on core Democratic issues such as abortion rights in the upcoming election.

At home and abroad, progress can be slow or hard to measure. Harris' approval ratings remain underwater, and her announcements in Southeast Asia tend to be counted in the millions of dollars rather than the billions. But she described her work in the region as something that will pay dividends over time as she gets to know its leaders.

"The strongest relationships will be based on consistency, on communication, on trust, and the ability to work together and to grow the sense of connection," she said.

Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden's national security adviser, said "many of our best successes in the region were made possible thanks to her diplomacy," crediting Harris with helping to "move the ball forward on some of our top priorities."

"In our administration, she has been a strong advocate for stepping up our engagement in Southeast Asia  and she's put in the air miles to prove that  in recognition that our work there is critical to our own security and economic growth," Sullivan said.

Some analysts believe China maintains an edge in the region, and the Australia-based Lowy Institute issued a report this year concluding that Beijing gained ground in recent years.

However, Harris delivered a series of messages at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that were intended to demonstrate American commitment despite Biden's absence from the summit.

"The American people have a profound stake in the future of the Indo-Pacific," she said during one meeting. "We share a historic bond and common values with many of the people and nations here."

Harris also paid tribute to ASEAN as an organization, despite growing doubts about its effectiveness for regional diplomacy.

"The fact that so many leaders are convening in this one place at the same time to address some of the biggest challenges facing our world is a sign of strength of both the commitment that each nation has to the coalition and the potential for collaboration," she told the AP.

Others are less hopeful.

Dinna Prapto Raharja, a Jakarta-based analyst and professor on international relations, said ASEAN is being divided by competition between the U.S. and China, with some countries seeking to bolster their economies through closer relations with one or the other.

"I don't see solidarity at this moment, given the rivalry," she said. "Everybody works their own way."

Harris' travel to Southeast Asia began in her first year in office, when she visited Singapore and Vietnam, but the trip almost didn't happen.

Phil Gordon, a national security adviser to Harris, said there was talk of canceling because the administration was in the midst of a chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

"She personally insisted that we can do more than one thing at a time," Gordon said. "She didn't want to pull the plug on our commitment to Southeast Asia."

During the trip, she repeatedly criticized China for trying to control access to the South China Sea, at one point describing the behavior as "bullying."

"She didn't knock it out of the park. It's clear she was new to the issues. But she's put in the work," said Gregory B. Poling, who directs the Southeast Asia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

He described Harris as "an effective avatar for the administration," an important position when the president can only be in so many places at once.

David Rothkopf, a foreign policy writer who worked on trade issues under former President Bill Clinton and has met with Harris, said there's "always a period of adjustment" for an incoming administration.

"She was new to the team," he said. "And now she's seen as part of the team."
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

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If you go

What: Kenosha Streetcar Day

When: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9

Where: Joseph McCarthy Transit Center, 724 54th St. in Downtown Kenosha

Admission: Free for the "streetcar barn" tours and other activities. However, the streetcar costs $1 for ages 13 and older (50 cents for ages 5 to 12) to ride one loop. An all-day pass is $3.50 and can be purchased while boarding the streetcar. Rides are free for children ages 4 and younger.

----------------------------------

KENOSHA  The Downtown electric streetcars will be celebrated on Saturday, Sept. 9, during the annual Kenosha Streetcar Day.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., people can tour the streetcar barn (officially known as the Joseph McCarthy Transit Center, 724 54th St.) and take in interactive displays, including a fun city layout crafted by members of the Kenosha Lego Users Group.

For Kenosha Streetcar Day, the Kenosha Area Streetcar Society and Kenosha Area Transit get together every year to celebrate the citys unique attraction.

The big doors of the McCarthy Transit Center on 54th Street are opened up, and everyone is invited inside to see how the streetcars are restored and maintained.

At this year's celebration, Wisconsin authors Tom and Kristi Manus will be on hand to talk about and sign their new book, Secret Wisconsin: A Guide To The Weird, Wonderful And Obscure. Local connection: Theres a photo of a Kenosha electric streetcar on the cover of the book.

In the book, published by Reedy Press, the authors share "stories that discover the states quirkiness and some of its best-kept secrets for visitors and locals alike to seek out."

Displays and activities are at the Kenosha Transit Center (streetcar barn) at 724 54th Street.

Local history

Like many cities, Kenosha had streetcar and interurban lines for decades, but the ascension of the automobile in America sent those conveyances to the scrap heap more than half a century ago.

The current line came into being with the HarborPark development, and streetcars started rolling in June 2000.

The streetcars will be in operation and available for photos. Two cars will be running at a time while the others are on display.

The city has seven streetcars. Each car is painted in the colors and lettering of a North American city that operated the cars in the 1940s and 1950s  Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Toronto, Chicago, Johnstown, Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Six of the cars were operated by the Toronto Transportation Commission from 1951 to 1995. The seventh car operated in Philadelphia from 1948 to 1993.

The city's streetcar No. 2185 was built in 1948 for the Philadelphia Transport Company by the St. Louis Car Company. Rebuilt in the mid-1980s, it saw service for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority until 1992.

The streetcars run on a two-mile loop that provides views of Lake Michigan, HarborPark, downtown and the Metra train station. Stops include the McCarthy Transit Center, Eighth Avenue and 54th Street.

The event is presented by the Kenosha Streetcar Society, Kenosha Area Transit and other organizations.

It costs $1 to ride the streetcar (50 cents for ages 5-12; free for kids age 4 and younger). An all-day pass is $3.50. Exact fare is required. Ironically, streetcars are NOT free to ride on Streetcar Day.
Bud Lights parent company is having a miserable year. But theres at least one prominent investor who believes in Anheuser-Busch: Bill Gates foundation trust.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust last quarter bought 1.7 million shares of Anheuser-Busch, valued at around $95 million, according to a regulatory filing, signaling that Gates has confidence in the beer company that has been dealing with a steep sales slump of one of its biggest beers.

Gates foundation trust bought the stock around the time A-B reported earnings that fully encompassed the fallout from Bud Lights partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Its decision to send a customized can to her sparked a transphobic backlash and alienated some of the companys core customer base. The companys subsequent response then angered members of the LGBTQ community.

But Gates trust has lost money on his investment so far: A-Bs stock is down nearly 2% since the purchase. The stock is down about 7% for the year.

Last month, A-B said that its US revenue fell 10% in the second quarter, hampered by falling Bud Light sales.

The companys sales to US retailers declined by 14%, underperforming the wider beer industry, primarily due to the decline in the volume of Bud Light it sold. Revenue fell $395 million in North America during the period, compared to the same time a year ago. That figure included sales in Canada, where revenue rose, suggesting the slump was isolated to the United States.

A few weeks later, Modelo overtook Bud Light in sales at grocery and beer stores, according to NIQ data, marking the first time Modelo has ever beaten Bud Light on a year-to-date basis. However, the difference is slim with Modelo holding 8.34% share of dollars spent on beer vs. 8.28% for Bud Light through August 12.

In July, A-B also announced layoffs within its corporate ranks, affecting about less than 2% (or about 380 positions) within its US employee population.

Gates, who has previously admitted that hes not a big beer drinker, has bought other beer brands too, through his trust. Earlier this year, the foundation also bought nearly $1 billion worth of shares of Heineken Holding, the parent company of the Dutch beer.

The worst beers in the world, according to Beer Advocate What are the worst beers in the world? #25. Old Milwaukee Beer #24. Heineken Premium Light Lager #23. Corona Extra #22. Desperados #21. Black Label Beer #20. Tecate Light #19. Kirin Light Beer #18. Colt 45 Malt Liquor #17. Labatt Blue Light #16. Beck's Premier Light #15. St. Ides High Gravity Malt Liquor #14. Coors Light #13. Red Dog #12. Corona Light #11. Keystone Lager #10. Bud Light #9. Keystone Premium #8. Busch Ice #7. Natural Ice #6. Keystone Light #5. Milwaukee's Best Light #4. Miller 64 #3. Natural Light #2. Sharp's #1. Budweiser Select 55
The Madison Police Department failed to respond in a timely manner to public records requests related to internal officer investigations and discipline, a government transparency advocate alleges in a lawsuit filed Wednesday against the department.

Bill Lueders, a freelance journalist and president of the nonpartisan Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, filed a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court seeking to compel the department to cease its illegal delays in responding to record requests, according to a statement.

Lueders, who also serves as editor-at-large for The Progressive magazine, filed a public records request with the department on April 4 seeking records of a suspension imposed on a police sergeant for sending an unprofessional email, according to court documents.

Lueders said he was informed later that day from the departments records custodian that it would take as many as 14 months to fulfill the request due to its volume and complexity. Lueders contends in court filings the request was for an extremely small category of records.

Lueders was also informed that two additional requests with the department would likely take as many as 12 months to be fulfilled. He wrote about the delays in a May 1 article in the Isthmus newspaper.

Making requesters wait months, even more than a year, to receive records to which they are entitled, violates the spirit and the letter of the states Open Records Law, Lueders said in a statement. It is especially important that the public have prompt access to records regarding allegations of employee misconduct as is the case here.

State law requires public records to be produced as soon as practicable and without delay. The state Department of Justice recommends that 10 working days is generally a reasonable time for responding to a simple request for a limited number of easily identifiable records.

Tom Kamenick, president and founder of the Wisconsin Transparency Project, which is representing Lueders in the lawsuit, said in a statement that the delay fulfilling his clients request is not an isolated issue.

Dozens of requesters have been told they will have to wait a year to get records, Kamenick said. This is unacceptable. The police department needs to devote more resources to fulfilling this basic function.

Madison police spokesperson Stephanie Fryer said Wednesday the department does not comment on pending litigation.

In the lawsuit, attorneys for Lueders write that the records delays are a product of the departments failure to devote sufficient resources to fulfilling their statutory responsibility to provide records as soon as practicable and without delay.

The Department has such a backlog of record requests that even small requests generating only a handful of records take over a year to fulfill because they are put in a queue and ignored for months, the lawsuit states.

Lueders is seeking to compel the department to produce all requested documents as well as attorney fees and punitive damages.

Lueders, along with Isthmus, the Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times, sued the city in the 1990s over access to records of complaints against Madison police officers. A Dane County Circuit Judge in 1998 ordered the city to release the requested records and pay legal fees and other costs incurred by the three outlets.
This spring, Wisconsin voters elected Justice Janet Protasiewicz. It wasnt a close race; she won overwhelmingly in Vernon and La Crosse counties, and in Wisconsin at large she won by over 200,000 votes.

Wisconsinites can take pride in the high voter turnout and in exercising our constitutional rights as Americans.

Now Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is attempting to impeach her before she has had even a single opportunity to do the job we elected her to do. He wants to strip us of our voice and our right to determine our governance.

Please join me in my outrage by letting our state elected officials know that we see what they are doing. It is true patriotism to abide by the will of the people.

In April, the people of Wisconsin elected Justice Janet. In August she was sworn into office. Now we deserve to see her do her job.

Jessica Voss

Viroqua
With the Aug. 28 start of fall semester classes, its back to school at George Williams College of Aurora University in Williams Bay, but not for much longer.

In a few short months, school will soon be recessed permanently at the historic campus as the clock ticks toward the final bell for storied George Williams College following last years announcement by Aurora, Ill.-based Aurora University that it will no longer offer academic instruction at George Williams Colleges scenic 137-acre Geneva Lake waterfront campus after December 2023.

At the time of the November 2022 announcement, George Williams College enrolled 174 students, 78 of which lived on the Williams Bay campus. At the time, the largest academic program at George Williams University was the 52-student nursing program, followed by the social work and psychology programs. George Williams College of Aurora University enrolled as many as 421 students at its peak in 2009, when the Williams Bay campus offered both undergraduate and graduate programs.

In November 2022 the Aurora University Board of Trustees made the difficult decision to cease academic instruction on the Williams Bay campus at the end of 2023, said Aurora University Senior Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing Deborah L. Maue of last years fateful announcement by then-President Rebecca Sherrick. Once that decision was made, the Universitys top priority was to create the best possible transition for our current students.

Since last Novembers closure announcement, Maue said Aurora University has taken several steps to support George Williams College students.

First, instruction was added over the summer of 2023 to accelerate progress for students further along in their programs, she noted. Students with fewer completed courses were offered a path to completion on the Aurora campus. To remove financial barriers, students transferring to the Aurora campus will not be charged the cost of living on campus. Throughout this transition, the care and keeping of our students has been at the forefront.

Deep roots

Both Aurora University and George Williams College date their founding to the late 1800s.

Founded in 1893 at Mendota, Ill. and relocated to Aurora in McHenry County, Ill. in 1912, Aurora University today is a four-year, private, nonprofit, accredited higher education institution enrolling more than 6,100 students.

Located in Williams Bay at 350 Constance Blvd. off State Hwy. 67 and North Lakeshore Drive, George Williams College offers traditional undergraduate programs.

George Williams College is also home to the popular Music by the Lake summer musical festival series. After an initial 1951-1969 run, Music by the Lake since its 2001 revival has presented 115 events spanning a wide breadth of genres from country to jazz, Broadway to classic rock, operettas, childrens performers, and world-class symphonies.

The history of George Williams College on Geneva Lake dates back to the 1880s, with its roots in the Young Mens Christian Association (YMCA) movement of the 19th century.

In 1884, leaders from Americas burgeoning local YMCAs gathered on the shores of Geneva Lake in Williams Bay to attend a summer training program.

The training camp that would become George Williams College was founded in 1886 by YMCA leaders I. E. Brown, William Lewis and Robert Weidensall to serve as a professional YMCA training school.

The fast-growing YMCA training camp grew quickly, moving to the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago in 1890, with the Williams Bay campus serving as a college camp for retreats.

In its early decades in the late 19th and early 20th centeries, the training camp operated under several names including Training School of the YMCA (18901896), Secretarial Institute and Training School (18961903), Institute and Training School of the YMCA (19031913) and as YMCA College or Association College until 1933, when its name was changed to George Williams College in honor of English philanthropist and businessman Sir George Williams (1821-1905), the 1844 founder of the YMCA to put Christian values into practice by developing a healthy body, mind and spirit.

Today, the Geneva, Switzerland-based worldwide YMCA numbers more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries.

Moved to Downers Grove, Ill. in 1965, George Williams College closed in 1985, with the Williams Bay campus and Aurora University affiliated in 1992 and merged in 2000 in Williams Bay as George Williams College of Aurora University.

Campus future hazy

While Sherrick noted last year that Aurora University would continue to own the George Williams College property, operate it as a conference center and continue its longstanding Music by the Lake series, the future of historic 137-acre campus beyond this December is uncertain, given Auroras current marketing of the campus.

Concerns are rising in the community regarding the future of the George Williams College (GWC) campus after academic instruction ends in December.

Personally, I would hate to see a housing developer buy all that beautiful GWC land along the lakeshore, said one local resident, who commented to the Regional News on the condition on anonymity. Others feel the same way ... Aurora University has kept the community in the dark about its plan to sell GWC ... Given the size, lakefront location, and the history of the George Williams College in our community ... it makes many people in the community nervous that so far it is happening without any public discussion or disclosure. This is a big deal for Williams Bay, especially if a potential buyer is someone without the communitys best interests in mind. That would be horrible given the way that people in the local communities have supported George Williams College for decades.

Maue said Aurora University is currently talking with other nonprofit organizations about possibly acquiring its satellite 137-acre lakefront George Williams College campus.

As we approach the end of instruction on the Williams Bay campus, the university has entered into conversations with other nonprofit organizations to explore interest in acquiring the campus, she noted. Several organizations have expressed interest and we are following up with additional meetings. These conversations have been structured to identify a good steward for the campus and its legacy.

Among those taking a keen interest in the future of the George Williams College campus on several levels is Williams Bay Village President William Bill Duncan, a retired 41-year administrator at George Williams College from 1970-2011, serving as senior vice president.

Its sad, Duncan said. Ive been through two closures of George Williams College ... Its a crucial site for a variety of reasons, environmental in particular because of the amount of lakefront property thats there ... It also buffers Yerkes Observatory ... And it has been an economic engine for the village, too  the people that come and stay there for conferences and the students that are there. Its a loss potentially.

Tucked away in 2,985-resident Williams Bay, the George Williams College campus has a rich legacy in U.S. and global history according to Duncan.

Its the site at which the YMCA in the United State was founded, he noted. The role it played in the national and international YMCA is historic.

Like others in the community, Duncan is also waiting to see what the future holds for George Williams Colleges expansive lakefront campus and its educational and conference facilities.

I have no inside information, he said. Im hoping that they do find and sell to another institution ... Im hoping that the main campus, which is down by the lake and up around Yerkes, remains in institutional hands in some sort of educational use ... I would hate to see the lakefront property be more big property, big houses. That would be unfortunate in my personal opinion, not as board chair. I would hate to see that happen.

Duncan said Aurora University has been a good steward of the George Williams College campus over the years.

Its not an inexpensive property to maintain, he noted. Auroras done a beautiful job ... Its gorgeous ... Hopefully it makes it more attractive to another institution.

In photos: Demolition of George Williams College's dining hall built in the 1890s Lewis Hall demolition front entrance Lewis Hall demolition Lewis Hall demolition workers Demolition starts Demolition starts Demolition starts Demolition starts Demolition starts Demolition starts Lewis Hall side entrance Lewis Hall
This article appears in the September 8, 2023 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

[Print version of this article]

Why Use the Term Ibero-America

The use of the term Ibero-America, in place of Latin America, is the only correct one, comments Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. In the first place, the official languages of the region to the south of the Rio Bravo are dialects of Spanish and Portuguese. In the second place, Spanish and Portuguese derive from Italian, not from Latin. The myth that Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese were dialects of Latin roots, is an invention of the early nineteenth century, political propaganda against the Italian nationalist movement. The fraud that Italian derives from Latin was invented in the first decade of the 1900s, to attack the work of the philologists Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt and their Italian collaborators.

In the third place, Italian is as ancient, at least, as Latin, and much more ancient than the Latin of ancient Latin literature. The Romans, while conquering the other peoples of Latin speech, conquered one by one the other peoples of Italy, the majority of which did not speak Latin but the Italian language, which was as perfected as the former and more broadly diffused. Moreover, the majority of the Roman soldiers, for example, spoke Italian as their native language. As a result of this, approximately 90% of the French population of the fourteenth century spoke Italian and not courtly French, which was introduced as an artificial dialect to the French royal court at the beginning of the seventeenth century.

To use the term Ibero-America is obligatory not only for reasons of philological rigor; the distinction between the terms Latin America and Ibero-America has a profound practical importance in politics and culture. Present-day Ibero-American culture is a product, fundamentally, of three political-cultural elements: a) the Augustinian influence in the peninsula which culminated in the period of Alfonso the Wise; b) the influence of the Italian Golden Renaissance, of the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries; and c) the participation of outstanding forces of Spain, Portugal, and Ibero-America in the Transatlantic movement led by Benjamin Franklin between 1766 and 1789, and later by the Marquis Gilbert de Lafayette. Except for the influence of the American System of political economy and the model of the United States Constitution of 178789 in Ibero-American politics, the dominant cultural traits of the Spanish-speakers and Portuguese-speakers of America are Iberic, Italian, and German influenceslet us say, that of Humboldtopposed to that of the House of Austria.

Finally, if the Augustinian Church of Western Europe did much to transform the Latin of the Roman Empire into an illustrious language, such that the medieval Latin of theology and philosophy was much more capable of expressing profound ideas than ancient Latin, the political movements to create sovereign and republican nation-states, starting from the work of Dante Alighieri (for example: De Monarchia; or the Concordantia Catholica of Cardinal Nicolaus of Cusa) were dedicated to completing the plan of Dante to elevate the quality and the political category of the national vernacular tongues, as is exemplified in the role played by the Commedia of Dante in the elevation of Literary Italian to the profound capacity of conception of Platos classical Greek.

This was the historical basis of the great movements for the founding of republics, which were unleashed in the majority of the Spanish speaking and Portuguese speaking portions of the hemisphere in the era of the Napoleonic war. It is to these historical foundations which all the great political movements of the hemisphere must today return, as well as to the notions of the American Revolution of 177689 and the Ibero-American revolutions, to encounter a common political-cultural basis for their mutual relations and their common actions. [back to text]
This editorial appears in the September 8, 2023 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

EDITORIAL

Kicking the Axioms of the Anglosphere

[Print version of this editorial]

Aug. 30The New York Times ran a cartoon last week characterizingbut not satirizinghow the recent Indian Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Mission triumph was seen by various closed minds of the Anglosphere. It depicts two smug, fat, older, affluent and cultured gents in a drawing room-cum-library setting, called the Elite Space Club. At the door is an Indian man, dressed poorly, in sandals, with his cow, knocking.

Indian journalist Palki Sharma, in her regular broadcast, characterized the cartoon as racist, pointing out, for example, that British politician Nigel Farage was downright apoplectic about Indias triumph. He fulminated:

As they spend their money on space probes, as they spend their money on the military, they spend their money on nuclear weapons, still half of the country lives below the poverty line.

Sharma pointed out:

It may have slipped [Mr. Farages] notice that India is the worlds fifth largest economy. It is, in fact, ahead of his country, the United Kingdom. But it seems he cant get rid of his colonial mindset. How can poor India have aspirations? How can a former colony reach the Moon before the so-called Great Britain? And since hes so keen on discussing priorities, we have a question for him. Why does Britain keep paying for the Royal Family? The citizens cannot afford their electricity bills. Maybe help them, instead of paying for the king and his retinue.

In a larger sense, however, India, and the nations of the BRICS-Plus alliance, are creating, particularly through their joint commitment to the electrification and general industrialization of Africa, an ocean in which the jaded and obsolete neoliberal and neoconservative Anglosphere imperialists cannot swim. The very existence of the BRICS is a challenge, not to capitalism, but to the merchants of total war, including thermonuclear war, plying their bloody trade in Ukraine, and perhaps soon Taiwan, or even the Sahel, as was the case with Libya.

The BRICS-Plus have, alternatively, embraced what will demonstrate itself to be, if it is not betrayed, an inevitably anti-Malthusian, pro-population-growth economic stance, a stance which, as professor Franco Battaglia of Italy has pointed out, equates the optimization of the use of fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and gas, and nuclear power, and the building of full-set, machine-tool-producing economies, with true national liberation.

The International Development Bank (IDB) proposal of the late economist and statesman Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. contains a crucial, unique idea that resolves the cry for justice from the developing sector nations, looted for centuries by the likes of the great Winston Churchill and the East India Company.

In contrast to the imperial predator view regarding the nations of the developing sector, Lyndon LaRouche, writing in 1975, said this:

If, as is necessary for global development, the developing nations exploit their petroleum, natural gas, coal, and mineral raw materials resources to the extent required for industrial expansion in both the industrialized and developing sectors, how shall we determine both the price of those resources and the compensation for the implied depletion of such assets? Without a brute force commitment to development of CTR (Controlled Thermonuclear Reactions) technology, there is no price level or forward depletion compensation which could be considered equitable. The general basis for treaty agreements covering prices, and depleting compensation is fundamentally 1) a commitment to applicable CTR technology installations proliferating from 1985 onwards and 2) a commitment to bring those regions up to the level of employment of CTR-oriented technology by the 1985/1990 period.

Nearly five decades ago, when LaRouche made his IDB proposal, China had yet to begin to recover from the Cultural Revolution. Now, China is the largest productive economy in the world, a space power, and leads the world in several areas of fusion and controlled thermonuclear reaction research. As RT pointed out Aug. 26, the five (BRICS) members account for almost a third of the global economy.

In 1975, LaRouche proposed what amounted to a 1015 year brute force program, similar to the Manhattan Project, to transition national economies worldwide to nuclear/thermonuclear-based power-source economies, with fossil fuels being naturally, decreasingly used over time, because of the much higher energy flux-densities, as well as the higher absolute amounts of energy produced by the higher-order systems.

Instead of having to depend on the whims of the rich, whether corporations or individuals, for the usual, usually dishonest Bwana-style proposals (Why doesnt Elon Musk give $1 billion to the South African government for joint space research with the successful India program?), the BRICS New Development Bank and other such mechanisms are the beginning of the hard work, hard thinking, and hard discussion about the right ways to do what former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, now President of that Bank, has insisted must be done:

Well transform ourselves into an important bank for developing countries and emerging markets. Our focus has to be that: a bank made by developing countries for themselves.

Advanced technology-transfer, in exchange for essential commodities, as the only actually equitable means of repayment by the trans-Atlantic nations for the natural resources patrimony of Africa, Asia, and South America, would not only result in an exponentially increasing energy consumption per capita and per square kilometer essential to Africa, South America, and Asias economic progress, but would, equally importantly, do the same thing in those trans-Atlantic nations themselves, reversing their otherwise-unstoppable economic (and moral) decay. This approach, of course, is the opposite of energy conservation.

In a 1979 speech titled The Myth about Equilibrium Economics, LaRouche observed:

When sections of mankind have, at any point, resorted to energy conservation, societies would have collapsed, biological catastrophes of famine, epidemic and desertification would have plunged such a society back toward savagery. It is to be emphasized that various now-dead societies did choose the Malthusian, energy conservation policy, and did slide into savagery or even oblivion.

There is something more profound than mere calories of energy involved in effecting the successful branches of human cultural development. The source of the new energy is the creative mental potentialities of the human mind. In those courses of development of technologies which we comprehend coherently as progress in scientific knowledge, man increases his knowledgeable, willful mastery of the lawful organization of our universe....

On Sept. 9, the Schiller Institute will, in this newly-changed intellectual environment, hold an international conference, titled Let Us Join Hands with the Global Majority To Create a New Chapter in World History! to discuss the physical-economic, scientific and cultural determinants of a new, just economic order, in which the creative potentialities of the human mind, and not the rank, financial status, number of academic degrees, or hat-size of the individual, matter.

Days before the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther Kings I Have A Dream speech, the nation of India reaffirmed the immortality of Lokmanya Balgangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Rabindranath Tagore; of Indira Gandhi, and of Gandhi follower King himself, through achieving one of the most advanced scientific engineering achievements in human history, at the fraction of the cost of a Hollywood movie. India had paid a debt to not only its founders, but, as Prime Minister Modi noted, to all of humanity. The BRICS-Plus Space Commission proposed by Modi the morning of Chandrayaan-3s landing on the Moon is the knock on the door of a nearly-deceased imperialism.

Through our upcoming conference, we can help open that door.
Indonesias President Informs World, ASEAN Will Not Allow Proxy Wars in Its Region

Sept. 6, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)On Tuesday, Sept. 5, Indonesian President Joko Widodo opened three days of multiple summits in Jakarta, all involving ASEANthe Association of Southeast Asian Nationswith a sharp message to those seeking to divide the world into hostile, geopolitical camps: Do not make our ship, ASEAN, an arena of destructive rivalry, but make the ASEAN ship a space to foster cooperation. This is to create prosperity, stability, and peace, not only for the region but also for the world.

The situation in the world is worsening, and future challenges are increasingly difficult and result in a struggle for influence by big powers, he stated. However, the President continued, ASEAN has agreed not to become a proxy for any power, the official ASEAN 2023 release on his speech reported.

President Widodo urged the ASEAN nations to stand together, so they can grow economically through equality, which strengthens unity and respects diversity. Equality has become a rarity in the world. Many injustices and conflicts occur as a result of inequality. Equality strengthens unity, while unity does not mean there are no differences of opinion. There can be harmony in diversity, as Indonesia itself shows, with its abundance of ethnic groups, cultures, languages and regions. Differences in opinions enrich democracy. It shows that as a family, we have an equal position.

He later reiterated that there are hundreds of millions of people aboard ASEANs ship, and therefore despite having to sail through a storm, we as leaders must ensure that this ship can continue to sail, and we have to be captains of our own ship to achieve peace, to achieve stability, to achieve prosperity together.

As has become customary, a whole slew of ASEAN summits are held around the annual ASEAN Summit itself: (short) individual summits between ASEAN and each of its seven Dialogue Partners (Australia, China, Japan, India, Republic of Korea, United States and Canada), the ASEAN Plus Three (South Korea, Japan and China), the ASEAN-United Nations Summit, and then the broader East Asia Summit of 18 countries (all those named above, plus Russia and the United States).

The East Asia Summit, which President Biden is scheduled to attend, will occur on Thursday, Sept. 7, but any U.S. hopes that it could use that summit to gang up on China as the biggest threat to the region, have already been proven delusional. The Joint Statement on Mutually Beneficial Cooperation on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific issued from the ASEAN-China summit today reaffirms their common commitment to multilateralism, the principles of the UN Charter and international law, mutual benefit and mutual respect in jointly responding to regional and global challenges, and the like. Furthermore, it acknowledges that all ASEAN Member States and China have signed bilateral agreements of cooperation in the Belt and Road Initiative, with its spirit of promoting peace and cooperation.
Several Chinese companies have launched government-approved artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to the public.

The launches included chatbots from major technology companies as well as several smaller organizations. The companies include Baidu and SenseTime, an AI company based in Hong Kong.

The releases are seen as an attempt by the Chinese government to approve homegrown AI offerings in an effort to effectively compete with American-based developers. Unlike other countries, China requires companies to provide security plans and receive clearance before releasing products to the general public.

The Chinese chatbots are similar to the ChatGPT system. ChatGPT was introduced by Microsoft-backed OpenAI late last year. ChatGPT and other so-called chatbots have demonstrated the ability to lead human-like discussions and produce complex writing based on short, written commands. Such tools are also known as generative AI or large language models.

Baidu  Chinas major online search provider  said in a recent statement that its chatbot, called Ernie Bot, was now fully available to the public. SenseTime released a similar statement announcing the launch of its SenseChat chatbot.

Chinese media reported a total of 11 companies had received approvals from the government. These included TikTok owner ByteDance and media company Tencent Holdings. Those companies did not release information about their AI plans.

Baidu's chief executive is Robin Li. Li recently said that, by making Ernie Bot widely available, Baidu will be able to collect large amounts of valuable real-world human feedback" from users. The data, Li said, would be used to further improve the chatbot.

Being the first to market in China is considered important in the country's highly competitive internet industry. Baidu's Ernie Bot rose to the top of the free app group on Apple's App Store in China immediately after the companys announcement.

"I think the ones that got approved have an early mover advantage to be able to fine-tune their product faster than competitors," said Kai Wang, an industry expert at Morningstar, an investing research group.

The approvals were widely expected after China published a set of temporary rules last month aimed at covering chatbot products meant for the public.

In the past, Chinese companies were only permitted to carry out small public tests of AI products. But with the new rules, companies widened their AI offerings and have included more product elements and expanded marketing efforts. Government approval is not needed for Chinese products targeting businesses.

Shawn Yang is with the U.S.-based business advisory company Blue Lotus Capital Advisors. He said the Chinese government's latest move to approve AI products could cause consolidation in the industry.

"Many people were rushing into the large language model business," Yang said. "But the industry may soon consolidate. Only those with data and tech capability will be able to push forward."

Reporters from the French press agency AFP carried out tests on the Ernie Bot. The chatbot easily answered general questions such as "What is the capital of China?" and "Do you have any hobbies?"

But on some sensitive subjects, Ernie Bot did not give such clear answers. For example, AFP asked the chatbot to provide information on China's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters at Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989. Ernie Bot answered, "Let's change the (subject) and start again."

Tiananmen is an especially sensitive subject in China. The government blocks online information and discussion about the event.

When asked about Taiwan, the self-ruling island that China claims as its territory, the Ernie Bot offered a longer answer. "Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the People's Republic of China," it said. The chatbot added, "China's sovereignty and territorial integrity cannot be violated or divided."

Then, the Ernie Bot added, "Let's talk about something else."

Im Bryan Lynn.

Reuters and AFP reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English.

Quiz - Chinese Companies Launch Government-approved Chatbots Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

______________________________________________

Words in This Story

chatbot  n. a computer program designed to interact with a human being, especially over the internet

feedback  n. information or statements of opinion about something

advantage  n. a condition giving a greater chance success

fine-tune  v. to make very small changes to something in order to make it work as well as possible

consolidate  v. to become or cause something to become stronger and more certain

crackdown  n. a situation in which someone starts to deal with bad or illegal behavior in a more severe way

sovereignty  n. the power of a country to control its own government

integrity  n. the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles that you refuse to change
India has changed the look of its capital, New Delhi, substantially in preparation for a meeting of international leaders this week. The two-day meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20) opens Saturday.

The Indian government spent about $120 million on the New Delhi project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a beautification process. But, many of the citys poor say that process destroyed homes and small businesses, leaving them displaced and without a way to make money. They say they feel erased, treated like the many dogs and monkeys removed from neighborhoods in the city.

About 20 million people live in New Delhi. Indias total population is 1.4 billion.

Since January, hundreds of houses and small roadside businesses have been destroyed, displacing thousands of people. Dozens of poor neighborhoods called shantytowns were crushed to the ground. In many cases, residents did not receive timely warnings about the planned destruction.

Officials say they carried out the demolitions against illegal properties. Rights activists and the displaced citizens say the destruction has pushed thousands more into homelessness.

Now, New Delhi roads are newly smooth and paths are brightly lit. The citys buildings have fresh paint and colorful flowers are everywhere.

The G20 includes the worlds 19 wealthiest countries and the European Union. The leaders meeting, or summit, will take place at a new conference center near the famous India Gate monument.

Similar shantytowns were also destroyed in other Indian cities where lower-level G20 meetings are taking place.

In July, a report by a rights activist group found that preparations for the G20 summit resulted in the displacement of nearly 300,000 people. Many were from neighborhoods where diplomats were expected to visit for G20 events.

The report also said the government destroyed at least 25 shantytowns and night shelters to establish parks in their place. And, it said the government offered no shelters for the newly homeless.

Abdul Shakeel is with the activist group Save Colony Forum. He said peoples lives are being destroyed to better the citys appearance.

The money used for G20 is taxpayers money. Everyone pays the tax, he said, including those made homeless by the demolitions.

Rekha Devi lost her home in the project. She appealed to the government to save her house. She offered to provide documents to prove that generations of her family lived in the same house for almost 100 years.

The government refused to consider the papers and destroyed Devis home.

Im Gena Bennett.

Gena Bennett adapted this report for VOA Learning English from the Associated Press and Reuters.

________________________________

Words in This Story

eraseadj. relating to a city

demolitionadj. very, very difficult
For more than 2,000 years, only conqueror Genghis Khan and the Manchus who formed the Qing dynasty had broken through Chinas Great Wall. Now, two building workers are accused of smashing through the wall to make a shortcut.

The Great Wall is a cultural symbol of China and a United Nations-protected heritage area. On Wednesday, Chinese officials arrested two workers for cutting a path through a part of the ancient wall. The area is far from the restored parts of the wall that most Chinese and foreign travelers visit.

The government of Youyu County, hundreds of kilometers west of Beijing, showed a dirt road cut through a part of the wall in a rural area. They identified the two workers as a 38-year-old man named Zheng and a 55-year-old woman named Wang.

The local government said the two wanted a shorter path to some work they were doing in nearby towns. That part of the wall is in Shanxi Province. Parts of the wall there were built 2,000 years ago. It is in good condition and holds important preservation and research value.

Chinas Great Wall is a system of towers and connecting walls that stretch 8,850 kilometers. It was built mainly during the native Ming dynasty, which governed until 1644.

In that year, the Manchus from the north overcame Chinas defenses and took over as the Qing dynasty. The wall was then abandoned, and villagers took away bricks and stones. The Chinese Communist government later revived parts of the wall as a symbol of patriotism, mass mobilization and resistance to outside pressure.

The Youyu County government said the arrests were made after a report of the breach was received on August 24. It said the two suspects were arrested and would face legal action.

In describing the Great Wall, UNESCO said it shows the collision and exchanges between agricultural civilizations and nomadic civilizations in ancient China.

The U.N. agency said the wall provides physical evidence of political and military thinking. It added that the structure is a great example of military architecture, technology and art of ancient China.

Im Mario Ritter, Jr.

Hai Do adapted this report for VOA Learning English from the Associated Press and other sources.

____________________________________________________

Words in This Story

symbol n. an object, sign or event that represents an idea or quality

heritage v. the traditions, beliefs and things that were done that are part of the history of a nation or people

restored adj. returned to its earlier condition

tower n. a tall structure or building

abandoned adj. given up or left without care or maintenance

breach n. a hole in something that is made by force

nomadic adj. related to people who do not farm or settle down but who move from place to place
As a child, she aspired to be an interior designer.

But she would go on to enroll in cosmetology school before eventually receiving a degree in advertising and public relations from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Running a gift store at a nursery wasnt exactly in the plans, but now its the only thing Christy Taylor can see herself doing.

Taylor and her business partner, Mark Charipar, opened the store at the Landmark Nursery in Eagle in 2021 with the mission to create a slice of heaven out in the country.

The store, fittingly named The Refuge, has accomplished that goal, Taylor said.

A mulberry tree with soft lights strung around it and a black cat sleeping underneath sit in one corner of the shop, and plants fill nearly every other space.

A lot of customers from the city come out here and you see the look of relief on their face, Taylor said. Ive heard them say, This is my escape from the city, and thats part of The Refuge.

Taylor said she was likely the first applicant for this years Nebraska Passport Program, which features "hidden gems" around the state, including museums, parks, wineries, retail stores and more. Participants who make it to all 70 destinations from May 1 to Sept. 30 can win a series of prizes.

Then the beginning of this year, we found out we were a destination, Taylor said. I was really ecstatic.

Thanks to the exposure the store has received through being part of the program, Taylor said theyve had a lot of new customers.

Its just been a mixture of people coming to us from passport and word of mouth, which you know, is the best form of advertising, Taylor said.

Charipar handles the nursery side of the business, leaving Taylor complete creative freedom inside the gift shop, which she said she takes full advantage of.

I like to find things that are unique, that maybe you wouldnt see anywhere else, Taylor said. People are drawn into the whole experience.

Taylor typically hosts two festivals a year at The Refuge. Next years spring festival, likely in early June, will include farmers market vendors, live music and food trucks.

Creating a unique customer experience through events is important to Taylor, and so is giving back to other small businesses.

I like to order from small businesses all around the country, Taylor said. Because, you know, thats what its all about  giving back.

As the Passport Program season begins winding down, Taylor said she hopes to continue making The Refuge a place people will want to keep coming back to.

Im just very, very thankful for the experience, Taylor said.

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A man wanted on suspicion of killing a 71-year-old Fort Calhoun woman is in jail in Texas after authorities tracked him down in a Galveston County RV park.

William Paul Collins, 30, was arrested this week in Texas in connection with the Aug. 13 homicide of Linda Childers, Washington County Sheriff Mike Robinson announced Friday.

Robinson said at a press conference Friday that nine deputies had logged more than 1,700 hours investigating the case and that two of his detectives were very instrumental in locating Collins, the Washington County Pilot-Tribune & Enterprise reported.

Collins was being held without bail in the Galveston County Jail on fugitive from justice warrants out of Nebraska and Indiana, according to Galveston County authorities. In Nebraska, hes wanted on suspicion of first-degree murder, two counts of using a weapon to commit a felony, first-degree assault, burglary, possession of a stolen firearm and theft, according to the Galveston County Sheriffs Office. Its unclear what the Indiana fugitive warrant is for.

Childers was found dead Aug. 14 in her home in the 6500 block of County Road P43, north of Fort Calhoun. After a report from a relative of hers at 1:19 a.m. Aug. 14, a paramedic from Fort Calhoun Fire and Rescue responded and pronounced her deceased.

Collins traveled the Midwest and had friends in Omaha, Robinson said. Washington County Attorney Scott Vander Schaaf said Friday that he did not believe there was a connection between Collins and Childers, the Pilot-Tribune & Enterprise reported.

This appears to have been an act motivated by money, and it appears to be something that was done out of haste or necessity by Mr. Collins, the newspaper quoted Vander Schaaf as saying.

The Washington County Sheriffs Office said Friday that Omaha police, the Douglas County and Saunders County Sheriffs Offices, and U.S. Marshal Service have assisted in the investigation.

Galveston County sheriffs deputies arrested Collins Wednesday at an RV park in San Leon, Texas, Sheriff Henry Trochesset said in a phone interview Friday.

We got a tip that he would be in the area, Trochesset said.

He was sitting outside a trailer, he said. We had no issues with his arrest.

Getting away with murder: Nebraska cold cases Ann Marie Kelley Carl Bittner K.K. Kody Christi Nichols Donald Bennett Ernestine Ruschy Eugene McGuire Jay Durnil Mary Heese Gregory Moore Irvin Settje Jason Remsen Jason Vesper Brian Walker Arthur Morley Jay Blockson Jeanne Kassebaum William, Bernice and Barbara Peak Jeffrey Snoddy Joy Blanchard Demetrius Simpson Julie Derrick Leah Rowlands Letha Harley Mary Cabral Mary Cronin Merlin Mosel Mitchell Simon Patrick Vostades Rebecca Williams Richard Chadek Richard Lessley Robert Beaudoin Robert Heelan Rudolfo Flores Russell McKnight Sandy Green Sarah Neal Tyrone Banister Waddell Robinson Charles Hanks
At least 24 people have been killed and 150 injured when soldiers fired on an African National Congress demonstration on the border of Ciskei in South Africa.

The march was organised to demand an end to the Ciskeian military government of Brigadier Joshua Gqozo and the re-absorbtion of the so-called black homeland into South Africa.

The protest  led by ANC secretary-general Cyril Ramaphosa and attended by 50,000 people  began at a stadium in King Williams Town, and then headed towards the Ciskeian capital of Bisho.

Brigadier Gqozo had warned he would meet force with even greater force, and his troops and police were on standby at the border.

When the demonstrators tried to cross into Ciskei, soldiers opened fire and continued firing indiscriminately into the crowd for about five minutes.

After two volleys of machine gun fire, the troops also fired rifle grenades into the gathering, spreading fear and panic among the protestors.

It has been reported that four young men were shot in the back as they attempted to run away from the firing.

A statement from Brigadier Gqozo said that his soldiers had been fired upon first and their action was in self-defence.

But a statement from the ANC denied the claims, saying the first shots were fired by the troops.

At no time were the lives of the Ciskeian troops in danger No warning was issued, and no attempts were made to disperse the crowd using non-lethal means, it said.

The South African foreign minister, Pik Botha, said that the ANC knew the march would end in violence.

They knew people would be shot  they wanted people to be shot, he said in a TV interview.

The massacre seems certain to damage the negotiating process in the development of a new multi-racial and democratic constitution for South Africa.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

Ciskei was one of 10 tribal homelands to which all blacks were to be assigned so they could not claim to be citizens of South Africa.

They were a product of apartheid and only Pretoria recognised them as independent states.

Their removal was one of the ANCs key demands before a new democratic constitution could be created in South Africa.

Negotiations between President de Klerk and the ANC did continue after the massacre, and in April 1994 Nelson Mandela, the head of the ANC, became the first black President of South Africa.
Climate change is relentlessly eating away at Africas economic progress and its time to have a global conversation about a carbon tax on polluters, Kenyas president declared yesterday [Macau time] as the first Africa Climate Summit got underway.

Those who produce the garbage refuse to pay their bills, President William Ruto, a host of the summit, said to an audience that included senior officials from China, the United States and the European Union  some of the worlds largest emitters of greenhouse gases.

The rapidly growing African continent of more than 1.3 billion people is losing 5% to 15% of its gross domestic product growth every year to the widespread impacts of climate change, according to Ruto. Its a source of deep frustration in the resource-rich region that contributes by far the least to global warming.

He and other leaders urged reforms to the global financial structures that have left African nations paying about five times more to borrow money than others, worsening the debt crisis for many. Africa has more than 30 of the worlds most indebted countries, Kenyas Cabinet secretary for the environment, Soipan Tuya, said.
The international fireworks display contest is set to return this Saturday evening after three years of suspension, due to Covid-19 immigration restrictions.

The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) announced that this years contest will be unveiled with Cardile International Fireworks Company from Australia, which will showcase the southern hemisphere countrys floral, animal and natural aesthetics at 9pm. Fireworks will be accompanied by Australian pop, rock and folk music to present an overall experience.

Meanwhile, at 9:40pm the same evening, Switzerlands La Pirotecnica SAGL will offer colorful and delicately choreographed graphics paired with rock music, to intrigue the audience with a night of rock.

Both companies have won acclaimed awards in the past, the MGTO highlighted.

To listen to the music, audiences can tune in to TDM  Chinese Radio Macau on FM100.7, which will broadcast the music live during the shows.

Besides suggesting five key viewing points  Nam Van Lake, ZAPE Promenade, One Central, Macao Science Center and Avenida do Oceano  the MGTO also noted that public broadcaster TDM will air the shows live on two of its channels. Interested viewers can thus enjoy the shows in the comfort of their residences, restaurants or hotel accommodation.

The MGTO emphasized that announcements will be made in due course should a typhoon strike Macau near to or on any show nights.

In addition, in order to facilitate smooth presentations of the display-contest, certain traffic arrangements will be in place. During shows, Governor Nobre de Carvalho Bridge will be blocked for pedestrians. Bus stops and routes will also be adjusted to accommodate additional audience traffic.
Healthcare for workplace mental health is becoming critical in Macau for a variety of reasons, lawmaker Jose Pereira Coutinho has said in his latest written inquiry.

Citing the WHO, Coutinho highlighted that the three pillars of workplace mental health are prevention, intervention and accommodation. He noted that the most frequently seen mental issues are anxiety, depression, breakdowns and eating disorders. Moreover, he underlined that both the WHO and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have called on governments to implement more and better specific measures to combat mental health issues among the working population.

The lawmaker further cited the WHO as noting that risks of workplace mental health issues should be dealt with. These risks include long-term and strenuous workloads, negative acts in the workplace, as well as elements that cause disturbances or worries at work.

In response to these elements, these organizations recommend companies continually train their management staff so that they are better able to ease workplace tension and stress, as well as resolve workplace challenges and problems.

The lawmaker also pointed out that arrangements of work hours, submission to authoritative managements, lack of human interactions in the workplace, expedited timelines and escalated requirements are all elements that affect workplace mental and physical health.

Coutinho also noted that workplace bullying and threatening will harm the mental health of employees. Age and sex discrimination, long work hours, low salary, and lack of balance between work and personal lives will also affect mental wellbeing, the lawmaker said.

As a result, the lawmaker asked if the government is prepared in terms of laws and policies to address increased threats to workplace and societal mental health. He also questioned if the city has enough professionals to cope with changing situations.

Up to this point, the government has been emphasizing that mental health care is provided at various public facilities and social organizations. In addition, with the government frequently underlining its three-pronged mental health response mechanism, the lawmaker asked for data related to the systems effectiveness and efficiency.

As a former civil servant, the lawmaker asked about the number of accredited professionals in the civil service structure who can cope with workplace mental health issues when they occur.

He also called on the government to exert additional efforts in destigmatizing mental health issues.
Major roads in New Delhi are teeming with giant posters and billboards announcing Indias presidency of this weeks summit of the Group of 20 nations. And one leaders picture  smiling benignly from every traffic circle  stands out from the rest: Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi is also on the front page of major newspapers, and Indian TV channels are flashing his picture, accompanied by the Hindi word Vishwaguru  a leader of the world. In public speeches, his ministers are touting him as a steward of a surging India.

It is an unabashed homage to the populist prime minister and staunch Hindu nationalist, who is celebrated by his supporters and by his party as someone who is leading a developing nation of more than 1.4 billion people to a bright new future.

But this advertising blitz also displays the personal ambitions of Modi, who in the past has used the optics of New Delhis growing geopolitical clout and foreign policy triumphs to consolidate power. Experts say while Indias presidency of the summit represents a moment of pride for the country, Modis government has also used it to market the leaders image and elevate his partys prospects ahead of a national vote scheduled for next year.

Modi is positioning himself as a global statesman, a global thought leader  and the voice of a rising India. And all of this, I believe, is designed to feed into the Modi personality cult, which is a very expertly created, very well marketed cult, designed to appeal to a demographic which will be very swayed by these promises of rising India, said Sagarika Ghose, a political analyst.

The Sept. 9-10 summit, which groups the worlds 19 wealthiest countries plus the European Union, is particularly important for Modi ahead of the 2024 election, and a strong show will allow his ruling Hindu nationalist party to project power domestically.

Ahead of the summit, historical monuments, airports and major landmarks are projecting this years G20 logo  an image of a globe inside a lotus, using the colors of the Indian flag. The opposition says it is no coincidence that the lotus is also the election symbol of Modis Bharatiya Janata Party.

Indian officials have also conducted events showcasing Indias contributions to the world, including yoga and a highly successful government-run digital transactions system. Schools have been told to hold quiz competitions regarding the G20. And Modi himself, during his periodic radio talk show called Maan Ki Baat, or Straight from the Heart, said the month of September is going to witness the potential of India.

Meanwhile, his ministers have made it clear that the prime minister is to be credited for the summit.

If G20 has come to the country during his (Modis) time and it is completed with success, then he must get the credit, his powerful home minister, Amit Shah, told a wire service in February.

The rotating presidency of the G20 is mostly symbolic and the summits success often depends on a final communique. This time, however, none of the several meetings held in India has yet produced one, with deadlock persisting over wording on Russias war in Ukraine.

Nonetheless, the Modi government has gone into high gear, promoting India as a bridge to the developing world and arguing it is well-placed to tackle issues of climate change, terrorism and the debt crisis. His administration is also highlighting Indias position as a growing power courted by major Western countries, particularly after U.S. President Joe Bidens state visit in June.

Along the way, Modis government has also presented him as the man responsible for Indias economic successes, including its advancements in solar power, digital payments technology and its recent feat of making a successful uncrewed landing near the south polar region of the moon, which is seen by Indians as a major foreign policy triumph.

Indias foreign policy has seen significant strides under Modi, but he remains a divisive figure at home, with critics calling him an enabler of assaults on Indias democratic and religious freedoms and its independent institutions. And even though his government has managed to finely balance its position on Russias war in Ukraine, the resurgent opposition says it has done very little to counter a belligerent China after a border dispute between the two Asian powers led to deadly clashes in 2020.

Still, Modi enjoys massive popularity among his supporters who see him as a leader taking India to the global stage.

This is the first time the world has come to know that India can take a stand for herself. India will do what is in the interest of India, said Ajay Sahai Jasra, a media professional who is a Modi voter.

Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the transition that Modi is trying to effect is to turn India into a big and important country, marking an important shift  in the nature of domestic politics in India.

I do think there is a general sense among the populace that India is reclaiming an important leading role on the global stage, Vaishnav said.

Globally, though, this sentiment is quite nascent.

A recent Pew Research Centre survey of over 30,000 people across 24 countries, conducted between February and May, showed 40% saying they lacked confidence in Modi to do the right thing in world affairs, while 37% were confident that he would. SHEIKH SAALIQ, NEW DELHI, MDT/AP
In talks with Southeast Asian leaders yesterday in the Indonesian capital, Chinese Premier Li Qiang underscored his countrys importance as the worlds second-biggest economy and as the top trading partner of the region.

Countering renewed alarm over Beijings aggression in the disputed South China Sea, Li cited Chinas long history of friendship with Southeast Asia, including joint efforts to confront the coronavirus pandemic and how both sides have settled differences through dialogue.

As long as we keep to the right path, no matter what storm may come, China-ASEAN cooperation will be as firm as ever and press ahead against all odds, Li said. We have preserved peace and tranquility in East Asia in a world fraught with turbulence and change.

But rival claimant states in the South China Sea, which belong to the 10-nation bloc of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, have protested Chinas aggressive moves to fortify its vast territorial claims in the strategic sea passage. A new Chinese map set off a wave of protests from other countries leaders, who say it shows Beijings expansive claims encroaching into their coastal waters.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has expressed his alarm over recent combativeness in the disputed waters. In early August, a Chinese coast guard ship used a water cannon to try to block a Philippine navy-operated boat that was bringing supplies to Filipino forces in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal.

We do not seek conflict, but it is our duty as citizens and as leaders to always rise to meet any challenge to our sovereignty, to our sovereign rights, and our maritime jurisdictions in the South China Sea, Marcos told fellow leaders in an ASEAN-only meeting Tuesday.

A copy of Marcos remarks during ASEANs hourlong meeting with Qiang yesterday issued to journalists showed the Philippine president fired a veiled critique but did not raise any specific aggressions in the disputed sea.

The Philippines continues to uphold the primacy of the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea as the framework within which all activities in the seas and oceans are conducted, Marcos said in the meeting. We once again reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law and peaceful settlement of disputes.

In 2016, an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, set up under that United Nations convention, ruled that Chinas vast territorial claims in the South China Sea based on historical grounds have no legal basis.

China, a full dialogue partner of ASEAN, did not participate in the arbitration sought in 2013 by the Philippines, rejected the 2016 ruling, and continues to defy it.

China, Taiwan and some ASEAN member states  Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam  have been locked for decades in an increasingly tense territorial standoff in the South China Sea, where a bulk of global trade transits.

Its also become a delicate frontline in the U.S.-China rivalry.

Washington does not lay any claim to the offshore region but has deployed its warships and fighters to undertake what it says are freedom of navigation and overflight patrols. China has warned the U.S. not to meddle in what it says is a purely Asian dispute. MDT/AP

Li urges Japan to handle nuclear-contaminated water responsibly

Chinese Premier Li Qiang clarified here yesterday Chinas position on the issue of the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water from Japans Fukushima nuclear plant, and called on Japan to handle the matter responsibly.

Addressing the 26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit, Li said the disposal of nuclear-contaminated water concerns the global marine ecological environment and peoples health.

He called on Japan to faithfully fulfill its international obligations, fully consult with its neighbors and related stakeholders, and handle the nuclear-contaminated water in a responsible manner. XINHUA
For decades, China has experienced a serious imbalance in its real estate sector. Houses are for living in, not for speculation, said Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2017. However, stagnant national stock markets and bank deposits yielding trifle interest, made savings flow into real estate investments. Only this leadership restructured the real estate sector in 2020.

For decades, banks provided credit generously to real estate development companies and large SOE, often without proper credit risk analysis. Additionally, government directives were often given to facilitate credit as a macroeconomic policy tool. Only in 2016-2017 were harsh instructions issued that there would be consequences for bank credit poor management.

For decades, provincial governments and their agencies financed themselves through land sales and concessions to major real estate developers, becoming entirely dependent on these revenues.

For decades, significant investments were made in critical infrastructure of all kinds that transformed China and laid the foundation for unparalleled economic development.

For decades, corruption was rampant to the point that the fight against corruption became the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) primary battle, especially after Xi, prompted by an article in Bloomberg (June 29, 2012) about his familys wealth, initiated a historic clean-up that continues to this day.

For decades, massive migration from rural areas to cities created problems of family reunification and social issues for hundreds of millions of citizens.

For decades, there was an assumption of an endless industrial reserve army made up of internal migrants. Even after demographers warned of the inevitable population reduction, with low fertility rates due to the one-child policy and social changes that led couples and women to prefer having fewer children, this being exacerbated by the rapid aging of the population and demographic shifts. The limit was changed to two children and later to three, but the change in mentality had already taken place.

For decades, growth was primarily driven by the private sector, responsible for 87% of urban employment, 88% of exports, and 65% of fixed asset investment. The private sector, for various reasons (losses due to COVID-19 restrictions, emphasis on common prosperity, crackdown on digital and education companies), now has less confidence, resulting in increased savings and reduced investment and consumption. Campaigns against the private sector have ended, but the damage to private companies confidence will take time to repair.

For decades, the Chinese government significantly invested in military weaponry and equipment, in line with the national economic growth, and also in response to the perception of the US as a threat (and vice versa). However, the magnitude of military growth and its assertiveness in the South China Sea have alarmed neighboring countries and beyond.

The past decade has seen China openly compete with the US for global supremacy. However, China still heavily relies on foreign investment and technology, resources largely coming from the US and Europe, destinations for more than 50% of Chinese exports.

In the last decade, we have also witnessed a concentration of power within the CCP and the subjugation of everything and everyone to the Party, as well as the consolidation of power in its Secretary-General, with the removal of the two-term limit.

After decades of unprecedented economic growth, a slowdown now seems inevitable. If the slowdown is severe, it could jeopardize the informal social contract between the CCP and the Chinese population  political power monopoly in exchange for continuous prosperity.

Storms and tempestuous seas, as Xi has recently mentioned, seem to be on the horizon. To paraphrase Mao Zedong: There is great disorder under heaven. Let us hope that the Chinese leadership has the ability to turn the situation into an excellent one.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns possible trip to Russia might be like his first one in 2019  a rattling, 20-hour ride aboard a green-and-yellow armored train that is a quirky symbol of his familys dynastic leadership.

In what would be his first foreign travel since the start of the pandemic, United States officials say Kim may visit Russia this month for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, possibly to advance talks on North Korean arms sales to refill Russian reserves drained by its war on Ukraine.

According to U.S. reports, a potential venue for their meeting is the eastern city of Vladivostok, the site of their first meeting in April 2019, where Putin is expected to attend the annual Eastern Economic Forum that takes place on the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University from Sunday to Wednesday.

How Kim, the 39-year-old authoritarian leader, would get there is a focus of media attention.

While Kim has used planes more frequently than his famously flight-averse father, he has also used his familys armored train for his previous meetings with Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and then-U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018 and 2019, reviving an old symbol that has long been part of the Kim dynastys lore.

Putin, for his part, now prefers to avoid airplanes and travel on a special armored train since his decision to invade Ukraine in early 2022, according to Gleb Karakulov, a defector from Putins secretive elite security service.

Kims earlier meeting with Putin required a daylong trip that began at the North Korean capital of Pyongyang and chugged over the countrys aging railways along the eastern coast before crossing a border river into Russia.

Kim went to China four times from 2018 to 2019 to meet Xi  two of them by his train and the other two by his private Russian-made jet. In June 2018, he borrowed a Chinese Boeing 747 plane to fly to Singapore for his first summit with Trump, reportedly because his jet was deemed unsafe. For his second meeting with Trump in February 2019 in Hanoi, Vietnam, Kim took his train for a two-and-half day trip.

Kims meetings with Xi and Putin surrounded his high-stakes diplomacy with Trump, where he attempted to leverage his nukes for badly needed economic benefits. The Kim-Trump diplomacy eventually collapsed after their Hanoi meeting.

Since closing his countrys borders in early 2020 to guard against the COVID-19 pandemic, Kim hasnt met any foreign leader.

Kims possible second trip to Russia could signal a restart of a summit-driven diplomacy and may be followed by a trip to China for a meeting with Xi, said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in South Korea.

Kims father, Kim Jong Il, made about a dozen trips abroad during his 17-year rule, almost all to China and all by train. North Koreas state media said that Kim Jong Il died of a heart attack during a train trip in 2011.

According to an account published in 2002 by Konstantin Pulikovsky, a Russian official who accompanied Kim Jong ll on a three-week trip to Moscow a year earlier, the train carried cases of expensive French wine and passengers could feast on live lobster and pork barbeque.

The trains most important feature, however, would be security. According to South Korean media reports, North Korea has 90 special carriages in total and operates three trains in tandem when a leader is traveling  an advance train to check the rails, the train with the leader and his immediate entourage, and a third train behind for everyone else. High-tech communication equipment and flat-screen TVs are installed so a leader can give orders and receive briefings.

A life-size mock-up of one of the trains carriages is on permanent display at a mausoleum on the outskirts of Pyongyang where Kim Jong Il and his state-founding father, Kim Il Sung, lie in state.

Its not immediately clear whether Kim Jong Un would choose to travel to Russia on a train again when he seems equally comfortable with flying. When Kim jetted off to the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian in May 2018 for his second meeting with Xi, he became the first North Korean leader to fly abroad in 32 years. The last time a North Korean leader had publicly gone abroad by air had been Kim Il Sungs flight to the Soviet Union in 1986.

Schooled for several years in Switzerland, Kim Jong Un is believed to have traveled by air often as a teenager. Since taking office upon his fathers death in December 2011, Kim had also occasionally flown inside North Korea. Kims official plane is a remodeled version of the Soviet-made IL-62. North Korea calls it Chammae-1, named after the goshawk, North Koreas national bird.

South Korean media say the plane can fly at a maximum speed of 900 kilometers per hour and carry about 200 people. Its maximum flight range is about 9,200 kilometers but it has reportedly never flown that far. State media said Kim was aboard Chammae-1 when he reviewed air force planes taking part in combat aeronautics contests and inspected construction work in Pyongyang.

Some analysts are skeptical whether Kims meeting with Putin would happen next week on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum because he and his predecessors have preferred one-on-one summitry when making their rare trips abroad.

KIM TONG-HYUNG & HYUNG-JIN KIM, SEOUL, MDT/AP
For two decades, Victory Homes of Wisconsin has helped homeowners  across Dane, Waukesha, Milwaukee, Washington and Ozaukee counties  make their real estate dreams into reality.

As Victory Homes reaches its 20th anniversary, the companys success can be attributed to a roster of talented designers and architects, relationships forged with real estate agents and developers and an ability to meet deadlines. But one tenet of the business stands above the rest: an unwavering commitment to the client.

We take the time to listen and engage with our clients, making sure we truly understand their aspirations for their dream home, said David Roembke, partner and vice president of sales and marketing at Victory Homes of Wisconsin. We then work closely with them throughout the entire process, offering our expertise and suggestions where necessary, while always respecting their vision. Our reputation for excellence, dedication and attention to detail is a testament to the exceptional service we provide.

A proven track record

Victory Homes was founded in 2003 with aims on making a positive impact on Southeastern Wisconsins home-building industry. The companys goal was to change the way homeowners thought about the building process. Within six months of its existence, Victory was constructing custom homes that met the industrys highest standards.

Since the companys inception, Victory has taken an innovative approach to home building. Each project is done right, with quality materials and experienced contractors. In addition to the exquisite craftsmanship, Victory Homes specializes in meeting the needs of the modern homebuyer. That means constructing homes with extraordinary designs and layouts and exceptional custom features.

To give prospective homeowners an idea of the options, Victory offers walk-in models near Madison and Milwaukee. Rather than simply browsing floor plans or looking at static images, visitors can physically walk through a model home designed to highlight the possibilities and features of each design.

20 years of collaboration

Model homes offer a glimpse of what Victory Homes is capable of, but to the enterprising minds that run the company, imagination is the only limit. Homebuyers can opt to build based on the home plans Victory offers or commission a completely custom product. Either way, the company has two decades of experience putting the homeowners needs first.

Those needs begin with zeroing in on a homeowners desired geography. Having spent a generation in the industry, Victorys team is replete with experienced real estate professionals who have extensive knowledge of the local market and deep familiarity with the different neighborhoods in Dane County.

Once land is secured, the collaboration between Victory and the client is only beginning. From the ownership level down, Victorys entire team engages in the home-building process.

For 20 years, Roembke said, Victory has made the homebuilding process seamless by working with their clients at each stage.

We prioritize communication throughout the entire process, Roembke said. We firmly believe that open, honest and regular communication between our team and clients is crucial for a successful custom home build. We strive to understand our clients' vision, needs and desires, and we keep them informed every step of the way.

Our long-standing history as a company means that we bring a wealth of experience, expertise and creativity to every project, he said. We are passionate about building homes that not only meet but exceed our clients' visions, maintaining the highest standards of quality and customer satisfaction.

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This content was produced by Brand Ave. Studios. The news and editorial departments had no role in its creation or display. Brand Ave. Studios connects advertisers with a targeted audience through compelling content programs, from concept to production and distribution. For more information contact sales@brandavestudios.com.
FAIRFAX, Va.  Diego Fonseca looked at the computer and took a breath. It was his final attempt at the math placement test for his first year of college. His first three tries put him in pre-calculus, a blow for a student who aced honors physics and computer science in high school.

Functions and trigonometry came easily, but the basics gave him trouble. He struggled to understand algebra, a subject he studied only during a year of remote learning in high school.

"I didn't have a hands-on, in-person class, and the information wasn't really there," said Fonseca, 19, of Ashburn, Virginia, a computer science major who hoped to get into calculus. "I really struggled when it came to higher-level algebra because I just didn't know anything."

Fonseca is among 100 students who opted to spend a week of summer break at George Mason University brushing up on math lessons that didn't stick during pandemic schooling. The northern Virginia school started Math Boot Camp because of alarming numbers of students arriving with gaps in their math skills.

Colleges across the country are grappling with the same problem as academic setbacks from the pandemic follow students to campus.

At many universities, engineering and biology majors are struggling to grasp fractions and exponents. More students are being placed into pre-college math, starting a semester or more behind for their majors, even if they get credit for the lower-level classes.

Pandemic impacts

Colleges largely blame the disruptions of the pandemic, which had an outsize impact on math. Reading scores on the national test known as NAEP plummeted, but math scores fell further, by margins not seen in decades of testing. Other studies find that recovery has been slow.

At George Mason, fewer students are getting into calculus  the first college-level course for some majors  and more are failing. Students who fall behind often disengage, disappearing from class.

"This is a huge issue," said Maria Emelianenko, chair of George Mason's math department. "We're talking about college-level pre-calculus and calculus classes, and students cannot even add one-half and one-third."

For Jessica Babcock, a Temple University math professor, the magnitude of the problem hit home last year as she graded quizzes in her intermediate algebra class, the lowest option for STEM majors. The quiz, a softball at the start of the fall semester, asked students to subtract eight from negative six.

"I graded a whole bunch of papers in a row. No two papers had the same answer, and none of them were correct," she said. "It was a striking moment of, like, wow  this is significant and deep."

Hands-on subject

Researchers say math learning suffered for various reasons. An intensely hands-on subject, math was hard to translate to virtual classrooms. When students fell behind in areas like algebra, gaps could go unnoticed for a year or more as they moved to subjects such as geometry or trigonometry. At home, parents are generally more comfortable helping with reading than math.

As with other learning setbacks, math issues are most pronounced among Black, Latino, low-income and other vulnerable students, said Katharine Strunk, who led a study on learning delays in Michigan and is now dean of the graduate school of education at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Those are the students who were most impacted by the pandemic, and they're the ones who are going to suffer the longer-term consequences," she said. "They're not going to have the same access."

Colleges say there's no quick fix. Many are trying to identify gaps sooner, adopting placement tests that delve deeper into math skills. Some are adding summer camps like George Mason's, which helped participants increase placement test scores by 59% on average.

In lieu of traditional remedial classes, which some research finds to be ineffective, more schools are offering "corequisite" classes that help students shore up on the basics while also taking higher courses like calculus.

Penn State tackled the problem by expanding peer tutoring. Professors report that students who participate scored 20% higher on exams, said Tracy Langkilde, dean of Penn State's College of Science.
Shes always worn a lot of vests. Even as things go in and out of style, shes always had a style of her own. Even going back to the time of Sweeney Todd  I dont know if you call it shabby chic, or grunge  that kind of stuff wasnt really a style at the time. But it kind of became a style, in fashion and in theater. I think she kind of broke some ground with that show," she said.

Lee moved to Florida in 2017.
DODGEVILLE  A 30-year-old man was arrested for arson after a fire at a Dodgeville home on Tuesday night, authorities reported.

The Dodgeville Police and Fire departments responded to the fire at the home in the 300 block of East Merrimac Street at about 11:30 p.m., police said in a statement.

The fire was extinguished before emergency personnel arrived and no injuries were reported, police said.

Investigators determined it was arson and a 30-year-old man was booked into the Iowa County Jail on tentative charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, police said.

The Sheriff's Office on Wednesday reported that the man was arrested on three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and tentative charges of domestic disorderly conduct, criminal damage to property and arson, as well as on a probation hold from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

Police ask anyone with additional information about the incident to call Dodgeville police at 608-935-5950, the Sheriff's Office at 608-930-9500 or Iowa County Crime Stoppers at 608319-6703. Crime Stoppers tipsters can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.
VIROQUA  A man who skipped a plea hearing on burglary and theft-related charges in Vernon County in 2022 has been arrested in North Dakota, authorities reported.

The 48-year-old man waived extradition from North Dakota and was transported from Fargo to the Vernon County Detention Center on Aug. 31, and is being held on $10,000 bond, Sheriff Roy Torgerson said in a statement.

An arrest warrant was issued for the man after he failed to appear in Vernon County Circuit Court on Nov. 29 for a plea hearing on nine burglary and theft-related charges. At the time, the man was free on $3,000 bond, Torgerson said.

The man also is facing felony identity theft, felony bail jumping and misdemeanor theft charges that were filed in February, following an investigation by the Viroqua Police Department, Torgerson said.

Torgerson said he will request that District Attorney Angela Palmer-Fisher petition the court to order the previously posted bail be forfeited.
The man charged in a brutal and random rape of a UW-Madison student last weekend told police that he saw red before the attack and remembered hitting the woman repeatedly but could not be sure that he sexually assaulted her, according to a criminal complaint.

Brandon A. Thompson, 26, was ordered held on $1 million bail Thursday on charges of first-degree sexual assault causing great bodily harm, first-degree reckless injury, and strangulation and suffocation in the attack on the woman as she was walking home Sunday sometime after 2:30 a.m. in the 500 block of West Wilson Street. DNA evidence also links him to the victim, according to the complaint.

It was one of the most horrific sexual assaults in recent memory here in Dane County, Dane County Deputy District Attorney William Brown said during Thompsons initial hearing.

The woman, who is in her 20s, was found naked, covered in blood and unconscious after the attack, according to the criminal complaint, and later diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, multiple lacerations and broken teeth, a broken jaw and two swollen eyes.

She is currently on a feeding tube and unable to provide a statement as she shows extreme signs of confusion when awake, the complaint says, and was put into a medically induced coma immediately after the attack.

Brown asked that bail be set at $2 million Thursday, saying that the attack was especially egregious because it was random.

What weve learned in the course of the last 72 hours ... is that this defendant was simply driving down the street and saw the victim, had no prior interaction or contact with the victim, and spontaneously decided to pull his car over, most of this occurring on camera, follow her for some distance around the Downtown area, and then attack her, Brown said.

Thompsons attorney, Emily Bell, noted that her client has no prior criminal record, is a college graduate and resident of Dane County, and that his defense team has uncovered some evidence that is inconsistent with the states narrative. She asked for $10,000 bond.

Thompson appeared for the hearing via video from a cell in the Dane County Jails segregation unit, sometimes lightly shaking his head as Brown laid out the allegations against him.

According to the criminal complaint:

Police interviewed a woman who said the victim arrived at her apartment around 8 p.m. Saturday and left at about 2:15 a.m. Sunday. The woman told police the victim was not the type of person to party or use drugs. She also didnt respond when the woman texted her at about 2:45 a.m. to see if shed made it home OK.

About a half-hour later, police were sent to the crime scene after getting a call from a woman who lives nearby because Thompson had called to her from outside her apartment to say hed been taking a high walk and found the victim in the street and carried her behind a residence.

After the woman saw the victims condition, she called police, which made Thompson antsy, the woman later told police, as he told her he didnt want to be around police while he was high. He left the scene before police arrived.

Videos from private and public surveillance cameras show the victim walking west from the area of Park Street and West Washington Avenue to the CVS store at Bedford Street and then onto West Main Street, where video also captured images of a man matching Thompsons description watching her from the other side of the street after hed parked his car at nearby Brittingham Park.

No video showing the attack was recovered, but there was some showing Thompsons vehicle leaving the Brittingham parking lot just after 3 a.m. Sunday. Fitchburg police also pulled Thompson over at around 1:15 a.m. Sunday morning, before the assault, and police body camera footage from that interaction showed Thompson wearing the same kind of black sweatshirt and gray pants as seen on the man who parked in the Brittingham lot.

Madison police said Wednesday that Thompson was arrested that day at 12:24 a.m. at a hospital where he was seeking medical treatment but declined to describe the nature of the treatment, citing medical privacy laws.

Interviewed later by detectives, Thompson admitted to being angry before the alleged attack and wanting to hit something. He told detectives he encountered a woman and saw red, didnt know what was going on and that she came across as a monster.

I went into a rage, when I came to, she was on the ground, he said, according to the complaint, and while he didnt remember raping the woman, he told police, I could have.

DNA left on the victim and collected from Thompson were consistent with the profile of Brandon Thompson, according to analysis by the State Crime Lab.
A man passed over for the job of Madisons first independent police monitor filed a federal lawsuit against the city Wednesday alleging members of the board responsible for the hiring retaliated against him after he accused them of discriminating against him based on race and other factors.

Eric A. Hill, of Grand Haven, Michigan, claims that members of the Police Civilian Oversight Board went on social media and other modes of communication and referred to Mr. Hills discrimination complaint as an act of white fragility and an attempt to intimidate the selection board.

Such comments, Hill alleges, were in response to a state hiring discrimination complaint he filed in November 2021 that pointed to social media posts by some members of the board that disparaged white people, men and the military. Hill is a white veteran.

The Equal Rights Division of the state Department of Workforce Development in October dismissed that initial complaint and in March dismissed a second complaint he filed in August 2022.

But under a joint state-federal program, people whose complaints are dismissed can seek right to sue letters from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to continue pursuing their claims in court. Hills was issued June 8. It takes no position on the merits of his case.

The only allegedly retaliatory statement Hill quotes in his complaint is the one about white fragility, and appears to refer to a Facebook post from late December 2021 by then-Oversight Board Vice Chair Shadayra Kilfoy-Flores. The actual quote was Your White fragility is not my fault. #PutTHATinthepaper.

Kilfoy-Flores, who remains on the board and did not respond to an email Thursday seeking comment, told the states Equal Rights Division in its investigation of Hills second state complaint that the white fragility statement was directed at something conservative Madison blogger David Blaska had written.

Madison City Attorney Mike Haas said in an email that the city had not yet been served with the lawsuit and the city was cleared of any discrimination or wrongdoing in the recruitment and hiring of the independent police monitor.

Hill is seeking compensatory damages, including, but not limited to, lost wages and benefits, in such amount as will reasonably compensate him for his losses, and damages for emotional distress, his complaint states.

Hill was one of 10 people out of 31 applicants for the police monitor position to make it past two rounds of initial screening before being interviewed in October 2021 by four members of the board, which declined to name him one of two finalists for the position.

Robert Copley, a white attorney, was hired to be the citys first police monitor in October after the Oversight Boards first two choices, both Black men, took themselves out of the running.

He has the ability to investigate police and conduct community outreach on police matters, but neither he nor the Oversight Board has the power to fire or discipline police  tasks reserved under state law for the citys Police and Fire Commission.

The police monitor/civilian oversight board model of police oversight has been adopted in various forms in many large American cities.
Follow the facts, a Dane County prosecutor told a jury Wednesday, and theyll show that Gregg Raether killed Patricia McCollough, his former girlfriend, at her home two years ago and left her body buried under a heap of dresser drawers, shelving and other objects, where it lay undiscovered for eight weeks.

To Raethers attorneys, the discovery of McColloughs body at her home on Madisons Far East Side has only sparked questions that remain unanswered, and they contend it wasnt Raether who killed her.

Youll have zero evidence of what happened in that home that led to this death, attorney Adam Welch told the jury.

Raether, 58, of Madison, is charged with first-degree reckless homicide for McColloughs death, said by prosecutors to have happened on or around July 22, 2021, and not discovered until Sept. 16, 2021. He is also charged with illegally using McColloughs food assistance card after her death. He pleaded guilty on Tuesday to possession of a firearm by a felon, for having a rifle he took from McColloughs home.

The trial for Raether, before Circuit Judge John Hyland, is expected to last through next week.

Speaking to a jury of 12 women and four men, with four alternates among the panel, the attorneys on Wednesday set the scene surrounding McColloughs death. Welch described his client as unrefined, a painter by trade who has been in trouble with the law before. McCollough, he said, abused alcohol and drugs and partied with a revolving cast of people at her Deerwood Drive home.

Welch said Raether had been in a romantic relationship with Sherri Albrecht, who initially was a co-defendant in the case, until 2020 when Raether fell in love with McCollough. Assistant District Attorney John Rice described the relationships involved in the case as a kind of love triangle.

Raether and McCollough, 55, lived together at her home, and when things got bad between them, Raether went back to Albrecht, Rice said.

Body discovered

Rice said the case began when two people called police asking them to check on McCollough  McColloughs out-of-state daughter, who said her mother always called her on her birthday, and a longtime friend who lived in New Orleans, who said McCollough always called him with concern when a big storm approached the city. At the time, it was Hurricane Ida.

Officers who responded on Sept. 16, 2021, could see through a window that the home  owned by McColloughs mother, who was in a nursing home  was in complete disarray, and forced their way inside. McColloughs decomposed body was found under a pile in a bedroom.

An autopsy found she died from mechanical asphyxiation and had some broken ribs.

Rice said police were initially able to narrow McColloughs last known contacts to a period between July 17, 2021, when Agrace hospice last heard from McCollough about her mother, and Aug. 2, 2021, when she didnt show up for a colonoscopy appointment.

Police also found that McCollough called police twice, first on July 21, 2021, to report Raether as an unwanted person at her home, and again on July 22, to report he had taken her car without permission.

Arrest made

Raether was arrested on July 23, 2021, long before McColloughs body was found, because he had a long-outstanding state Department of Corrections warrant. While in jail, Rice said, Raether made incriminating statements to Albrecht on a recorded phone line. In one, he told her of injuries he had that he hadnt told jail staff about. They also talked about using benefit cards that were in McColloughs name.

Rice said Raether mentioned details about the state of McColloughs home that he would not have known unless he had been there.

A shoeprint and footprint on a television that was in the pile atop McColloughs body also matched Raethers foot and footwear, Rice said.

Out of jail

Released from jail on Sept. 4, he and Albrecht rented a truck and removed a number of things from McColloughs home and took them north to sell, Rice said.

But Welch said none of this proves that Raether had anything to do with McColloughs death. He said it cant even be proven that McCollough died before Raether was jailed on July 23. He said the jury will hear testimony from neighbors who claim to have heard or seen McCollough at her home well after July, as late as early September.

The manner of her death is also uncertain. Despite the autopsys findings, Welch said, theres no medical proof she died from asphyxiation. And theres nothing indicating what caused McColloughs rib fractures, he said.

And although prosecutors do not have to prove motive, Welch said, theres no suggestion of any reason Raether wanted McCollough dead, other than the minimal value of her benefits cards.

Who are they? WI children reported missing as of August 26 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).
A Madison man who was arrested after a fatal crash last month at a Downtown intersection was speeding with nearly twice the legal limit of alcohol in his body, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

The complaint charged Alex C. Yeung, 25, with homicide by drunken driving and a companion charge, homicide by driving with a prohibited alcohol concentration. Yeung also was charged with homicide by negligent driving.

The alcohol-related homicide charges each carry up to 25 years of combined prison and extended supervision, while the negligent homicide charge carries up to 10 years.

The charges all relate to the Aug. 9 crash that killed James E. Wojciehowski, 83, who was making a left turn from South Park Street onto Vilas Avenue, which begins at the end of West Washington Avenue, when his car was struck by Yeung's car.

According to the complaint, an analysis of an event data recorder in Yeung's 2015 Toyota Camry indicated that up until 3.55 seconds before the crash, the car was going about 80 mph as it approached the intersection. About a second before impact, Yeung hit the brake, which brought his speed down to 56.5 mph at the time of impact, according to the complaint.

The speed limit there is 30 mph.

Yeung, who was released from jail on a signature bond on Aug. 15 to await charges, appeared in Dane County Circuit Court on Thursday, where Court Commissioner Scott McAndrew ordered that Yeung remain free on a signature bond. He will be back in court on Oct. 6 for a status conference. In the meantime, Yeung is barred from driving and from using or possessing alcohol.

According to the complaint:

DeForest Police Officer Ben Zeindler had just left the emergency room at UnityPoint Health-Meriter and was waiting to make a turn from South Park Street onto West Washington Avenue when he heard screeching tires to his right and saw a white sedan strike a silver sedan in the intersection.

He first ran to the white sedan and saw a person later identified as Yeung, dazed but conscious. In the other car, he found Wojciehowski, who was badly injured and going in and out of consciousness.

Yeung and Wojciehowski were taken to UW Hospital, where Wojciehowski died from what was later determined to be blunt force trauma of his torso.

On the floor of Yeung's car another officer saw an empty bottle of wine, Tassajara Pinot Noir. At the hospital, Yeung told police he didn't remember anything before being at the hospital, other than "being alive."

He was given medications at the hospital that included fentanyl and ketamine.

Yeung told police he hadn't been drinking and did not have any wine from the bottle found in his car. While Yeung, who had a broken ankle, could not do alcohol impairment tests that required him to stand and walk, he was given other tests to perform by police  eye movement, alphabet and counting tests  but had difficulty following the directions he was given.

A blood sample was taken at the hospital and later analyzed by the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, which reported a blood alcohol concentration of 0.146%, well above the 0.08% limit for Wisconsin drivers.

A preliminary breath test taken after the crash had shown a value of just over 0.08%, but that test is only to be used for probable cause purposes and its results are not admissible in court.
Three people are facing charges after a handgun and marijuana were found in a car following a police pursuit that started in Maple Bluff and ended on Madisons East Side early Wednesday, police reported.

The incident began with an attempted traffic stop in Maple Bluff shortly after 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. The pursuit lasted about 11 minutes and reached speeds of about 75 miles per hour before the vehicle was disabled by a tire deflation device, Maple Bluff Police Chief Tanner Nystrom said in a statement.

The male driver was arrested and booked into the Dane County Jail on tentative charges of attempted eluding and reckless endangering safety, Nystrom said.

The two passengers were detained and later released, with charges referred to the Dane County District Attorneys Office that included carrying a concealed weapon and possession with intent to deliver (THC). The investigation is continuing and more charges are possible, Nystrom said.

Madison, Monona and McFarland police, the Wisconsin State Patrol, and Dane County Sheriffs Office assisted with the incident, Nystrom said.
The UW Board of Regents will consider three finalists for UW-Parkside's next chancellor.

The University of Wisconsin System announced finalists Lynn Akey, Phyllis King and Felicia McGinty in a release Wednesday, a week after the Regents met to discuss candidates.

Whoever is selected will succeed Debbie Ford, who left UW-Parkside earlier this year to lead Indiana University Southeast in New Albany, Indiana. Ford, who had led UW-Parkside since 2009, attributed some of the relocation to her and her husband, John, becoming new grandparents this year and the desire to be closer to family.

Scott Manke has been serving in the role of interim chancellor since July.

Akey, who is the vice president for the division of student success, analytics and integrated planning at Minnesota State University, Mankato, was also a finalist in the UW-Whitewater chancellor search last November. Akey spent the early years of her career working in student affairs and the first year experience office before moving to institutional research and planning.

King, who has been with UW-Milwaukee since 1993, is the current associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and vice provost, a title she's held since 2011. She started her career as an occupational therapist and taught in UW-Milwaukee's College of Health Sciences before becoming department chair and an associate dean for the college.

McGinty currently serves as the director of engagement and outreach for Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) in Denver, Colorado, an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for women in higher education. Prior to joining HERS in 2021, McGinty was executive vice chancellor for administration and planning at Rutgers University in New Brunswick and previously worked in student affairs at universities in California, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Including Parkside, seven UW campuses have changed chancellors over the past three years, four of those happening within the last year. UW-La Crosse became the eighth System university to see turnover at the top last week, as Chancellor Joe Gow announced his intentions to step down at the end of the 2023-24 school year.

Whoever takes the helm at UW-Parkside will need to contend with eliminating a $4 million budgetary shortfall at the System's second smallest school. UW-Parkside's enrollment has largely dropped in the last 15 years, a population reduction of 1,337 from the most recent high of 5,300 in 2009. The university saw slight upticks in the years between 2017 and 2020 before shifting again to decreasing enrollment.
Thomas Morse

Oct. 29, 1936 - Aug. 31, 2023

WISCONSIN DELLS - Thomas Morse, age eighty-six of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, was drawn into eternity by his Savior, Jesus Christ, at home on Thursday, August 31, 2023, surrounded by his loving family.

A funeral service for Tom will be held Friday, September 8, 2023, at 11:00 A.M. at Conway-Picha Funeral Home in Lyndon Station, Wisconsin, with Pastor Bob Brandhagen presiding. Visitation will be from 10:00 A.M. until the time of service at 11:00 A.M. at the funeral home.

Tom was born October 29, 1936, in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, the son of Clinton and Lucille (Platt) Morse. He was a life-long enthusiast of building and flying model airplanes, and mentored generations of other enthusiasts. He worked in various occupations in the Dells area, including Duck mechanic, police officer, and eventually small business owner; he was a heating and air conditioning contractor until finally retiring at the age of eighty-three. Tom could repair or build almost anything and was the go-to man for many a project. With the help of his dad and uncle he constructed the house where he lived most of his life, just down the hill from where he was born.

Tom was also a lifelong musician, playing the trombone and even directing the WDHS band as a high school senior when the regular teacher was on leave. He played piano, sang, and directed choirs at numerous area churches over the years.

Tom was known for his kindness. He loved the Lord his God and was a faithful man of prayer and action.

He is survived by his wife of forty-five years, Pam, and children: Tiv Morse, Tory (Victoria) Morse, Tarra Morse, Tom (Janet) Morse, Toni Morse, PJ Churchill (Jamey) Simmons, Colin (Rima) Morse and Morgan Morse. He is also survived by his twenty-two grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren and sister, Shirley Anderson.

Tom is preceded in death by his parents, brother, Eugene Morse and sister, Alice Tucker.

The Picha Funeral Home and Crematory of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, assisted the family with arrangements.
ORGAN PIPE CACTUS NATIONAL MONUMENT, Ariz.  Border Patrol agents ordered the young Senegalese men to wait in the scant shade of desert scrub brush while they loaded a more vulnerable group of migrants  a family with three young children from India  into a white van for the short trip in triple-degree heat to a canopied field intake center.

The migrants were among hundreds who have been trudging this summer in the scorching sun and through open storm gates in the border wall to U.S. soil, following a remote corridor in the sprawling Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument that's among the most desolate and dangerous areas in the Arizona borderlands. Temperatures hit 118 degrees Fahrenheit just as smugglers abruptly began steering migrants from Africa and Asia here to request asylum.

Suddenly, the Border Patrols Tucson Sector, which oversees the area, in July became the busiest sector along the U.S-Mexico border for the first time since 2008. It's seen migrants from faraway countries like Pakistan, China and Mauritania, where social media is drawing young people to the new route to the border that begins in Nicaragua. There are large numbers from Ecuador, Bangladesh and Egypt, as well as more traditional border crossers from Mexico and Central America.

Right now we are encountering people from all over the world, said Border Patrol Deputy Chief Justin De La Torre, of the Tucson Sector. It has been a real emergency here, a real trying situation.

The patrol is calling on other agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Transportation Security Administration, for help in getting migrants "out of the elements and into our processing centers as quickly as possible, De La Torre said.

During a recent visit, Associated Press journalists saw close to 100 migrants arrive in just four hours at the border wall near Lukeville, Arizona, inside Organ Pipe, as temperatures hit 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The next morning, several hundred more migrants lined up along the wall to turn themselves in.

Welcome to America, thats good person, a young Senegalese man said in his limited English, beaming as he crunched across the desert floor after Tom Wingo, a humanitarian aid volunteer, gave him some water and snacks. I am very, very happy for you.

The storm gates in the towering steel wall have been open since mid-June because of rains during the monsoon season. Rushing water from heavy downpours can damage closed gates, the wall, a rocky border road, and flora and fauna. But migrants get in even when the gates are closed, sometimes by breaking locks or slipping through gaps in the wall.

Agents from the Border Patrol's small Ajo Station a half hour's drive north of the border encountered several large groups the first weekend of August, including one of 533 people from 17 countries in the area that includes the national monument, an expanse of rugged desert scattered with cactus, creosote and whip-like ocotillo. The Tucson Sector registered 39,215 arrests in July, up 60% from June. Officials attribute the sudden influx to false advertising by smugglers who tell migrants its easier to cross here and get released into the United States.

Migrants are taken first to the intake center, where agents collect peoples names, countries of origin and other information before they are moved to the Ajo Station some 30 miles up a two-lane state highway.

Arrests for illegally crossing anywhere along the nearly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border soared 33% from June to July, according to U.S. government figures, reversing a plunge after new asylum restrictions were introduced in May. President Joe Bidens administration notes illegal crossings were still down 27% that month from July 2022 and credits the carrot-and-stick approach that expands legal pathways while punishing migrants who enter illegally.

De La Torre said most migrants in the area request asylum, something far from guaranteed with the recent restrictions.

The Ajo Stations area of responsibility is currently the busiest inside the Tucson Sector, De La Torre said. It includes the border areas of Organ Pipe and the Cabeza Prieta Wildlife Refuge, isolated areas with rough roads and scarce water and shade. They include the Devils Highway region, where 14 border crossers in a group of 26 died in 2001 after smugglers abandoned them.

CBP rescues by air and land along the border are soaring this year, with 28,537 counted during the 10-month period ending July 31. That compares with 22,075 for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2022, the agency said. There were 2,776 migrant rescues in July.

The rescues continued in August, including one especially busy day when a Black Hawk helicopter hoisted a 15-year-old Guatemalan boy from a remote southern Arizona mountain to safety. A short time later, the chopper rescued a Guatemalan man who called 911 from the vast Tohono Oodham Nation just east of Organ Pipe.

The influx has also presented challenges for humanitarian groups.

Wingo, a retired schoolteacher working with Samaritanos Sin Fronteras, or Samaritans Without Borders, travels to the border several times a week to fill bright blue plastic barrels at six water stations. He and other volunteers distribute hats, bandanas, snacks and ice-cold bottled water to migrants they encounter.

A lot of these people go out into the desert not knowing the trouble they are getting themselves into, Wingo said.

Many don't survive.

The remains of 43 suspected border crossers were found in southern Arizona in July, about half of them recently dead, according to the nonprofit organization Human Borders.

Photos: Migrants rush across US border in final hours before pandemic rule expires
Rudi, Madison's celebrated pet Juliana miniature pig, is one step closer to being a legal city resident, after the Board of Health for Madison and Dane County voted unanimously to amend a Madison ordinance that prohibits pigs. The change is scheduled to go before the City Council on Sept. 19.

The amendment proposed Wednesday lets Madison residents own one pig as long as the animal is under 24 inches tall at the shoulder, weighs less than 300 pounds, and is up to date with all required shots.

The pet also would need to be microchipped with the name, address and telephone number of the owner and the name of the animal. When off the owners property, the animal would need to be leashed.

Ald. Tag Evers, 13th District, who has been championing Rudi since the pig was called into question in July, described Rudi at the meeting as "kind of the mayor of the Southwest corridor," referring to the Southwest Bike Path.

Even though Rudi's owners, Paula Niedenthal and Markus Brauer, live on Norwood Place on the Near West Side, one district over, Evers said he researched the issue and is responsible for much of the amendment's language. He is one of the amendment's three sponsors.

He is sponsoring the amendment along with the couple's City Council member, Regina Vidaver, 5th District, and Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford, 15th District, on Madison's East Side.

Evers told the board that a lot of his constituents enjoy interacting with Rudi and feeding him apple slices when he's in the couple's backyard, which is next to the bike path.

He said since he's been publicly identified with the cause of keeping Rudi, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. "A very small number, probably two or three people, were saying, 'Are you crazy? Why are you doing this?'"

Niedenthal and Brauer had Rudi for 14 months before a neighbor complained, and an animal services officer from Public Health Madison and Dane County gave them a warning that cited a city ordinance prohibiting pigs.

Rudi, who's fully grown and weighs about 140 pounds, has remained in the couple's home, where he stays mainly in the front porch area, sleeping in a pile of fluffy blankets. He also has his water, a litter box and various toys.

The city has not enforced the ordinance with a citation, Niedenthal said Wednesday.

Niedenthal said she was pleased to hear about the Board of Health's decision and "hopes that the City Council takes the recommendation seriously and amends the ordinance accordingly."

John Hausbeck, the city-county health department's environmental health services supervisor, told the board that at least a dozen Wisconsin cities allow pigs, including Middleton, which allows pigs up to 310 pounds.

Hausbeck said he contacted an animal services official in Seattle, which allows pigs of various sizes. "They're like, 'You are 10 years late. This was a big deal 10 years ago. This is nothing.'"

Evers said he knows of only two people in Madison with pet pigs and one other person who had one for five years. He said he doesn't think pet pigs will become more popular, if they're allowed. When the city began allowing backyard chickens, it didn't also accept roosters, which are a lot louder.

When one board member wondered what other animals the city would need to begin allowing, Evers said he didn't think that allowing pet pigs would open the floodgates.

Donkeys, for instance, wouldn't be allowed, he said. "You wouldn't allow a donkey to bray at all hours of the day."

Evers said he was in favor of requiring pet pigs be spayed or neutered and the board voted to add those criteria to the amendment.

"I must say there's a lot of joy with rooting for the pig," Evers said. "It seems to not be harmful to the goings-on of our city."
Gov. Tony Evers pledged on Wednesday to veto a Republican tax cut proposal that GOP lawmakers expect to pass in the Assembly early next week. His vow came after he rejected a similar proposal when he signed the state budget in July.

Evers rejection of the Republican plan highlights the continuing fight over what to do with Wisconsins $4 billion surplus. Republicans have been calling for large tax cuts while Evers has called for increased spending on schools, health care and child care.

Im not going to sign an irresponsible Republican tax cut that jeopardizes our states financial stability well into the future and the investments we need to be making today to address the real, pressing challenges facing our state, Evers tweeted Wednesday.

I'll veto it. Plain and simple.



Im not going to sign an irresponsible Republican tax cut that jeopardizes our states financial stability well into the future and the investments we need to be making today to address the real, pressing challenges facing our state.  Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) September 6, 2023

The plan he said hed veto would cut the tax rate from 5.3% to 4.4% for people in the states third tax bracket, a broad category covering individuals earning between $27,630 and $304,000 and married filers earning between $36,840 and $405,000.

The proposal, Assembly Bill 386, would also remove taxes on up to $100,000 in retirement income from, for example, 401(k) and pension accounts that people age 67 or older receive. That amount would be up to $150,000 for married couples who are both at least 67.

When Republicans proposed the $2.9 billion tax cut in late August, Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback pointed to a State Budget Office memo stating that tax reductions exceeding $430 million in the next two years could lead the federal government to recoup more than $2 billion that Wisconsin received from it during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Evers on Wednesday said the latest proposal would put Wisconsin on a path to bankruptcy.

Spokespeople for Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

In July, Evers vetoed Republicans proposal to lower the third tax brackets rate from 5.3% to 4.4%. He also rejected reducing the 7.65% tax rate covering individuals earning more than $304,000 or married filers earning more than about $405,500 to 6.5%.

Evers budget included a GOP provision to lower the 3.54% rate covering individuals earning less than $13,810 per year or married filers earning less than about $18,400 to 3.5%. He also signed a measure lowering the 4.65% rate covering individuals making up to $27,630 and joint filers earning $36,840 to 4.4%.

As a result, Republicans proposed $3.5 billion tax cut turned into a $175 million cut.

Under the tax plan Evers modified, those making between $40,000 and $50,000 will receive an average $36 tax cut.

Under the GOP plan Evers said he would veto, taxpayers making between $40,000 and $50,000 would receive an additional $52 cut.

Under the current structure, taxpayers making between $60,000 and $70,000  or near Wisconsins median household income of $67,000  will receive a $44 income tax cut. Under Republicans plan, they would receive an additional $205 cut.

Those making between $90,000 and $100,000 will receive a $48 cut under Evers plan, less than 10% of the $515 cut they would receive under Republicans plan.

Wisconsinites making between $200,000 and $250,000 will receive an average $51 cut per year under the plan Evers signed. Under Republicans tax plan, theyd save an additional $1,650.

Assembly Republicans are likely to pass the tax cut on Tuesday.

Election advantages due to district mapping
The number of convicted felons under investigation for voting in recent Wisconsin elections remains a miniscule proportion of the total ballots cast, according to a new report from the state elections commission.

The report is further evidence that there has been no widespread voter fraud in the state, despite false claims to the contrary that former President Donald Trump and his supporters have been spreading since the 2020 election. President Joe Biden defeated Trump by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin in 2020, an outcome that has withstood two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a conservative law firms review and numerous state and federal lawsuits.

In the 2022 midterm, the Wisconsin Elections Commission referred 23 cases of felons voting to district attorneys, and five other cases remain under review, the commission said in a report prepared for its meeting on Thursday. Thats a smaller percentage of the total vote than in the 2018 midterm, when around 0.0019% of ballots cast were referred to prosecutors.

Convicted felons currently serving any part of their sentence, including probation or parole, may not vote in Wisconsin. The state Department of Corrections, local clerks and the elections commission audit voters in every state or federal election to ensure that felons have not illegally cast ballots.

In an audit of the states most recent election, a special race to fill a vacant Assembly seat, no voters were flagged as matching the Department of Corrections records, the commission said.

Before that, 24 voters were flagged in an April election for state Supreme Court. Of those voters, 21 remain under investigation by the elections commission and none have been referred for prosecution.

The number of cases referred to prosecutors trends higher in presidential races, comprising roughly 0.003% of the total vote in Wisconsin in 2016 and 2020.

[Correction: This story was first published on September 6, 2023. It was updated on September 7, 2023, to correct that 21 voters are still under investigation from the April election for state Supreme Court, not 23.]
A blast of late summer heat caused disruptions Wednesday for schools from Michigan to Virginia, with some districts dismissing students early and others holding classes online just days into the new academic year.

While temperatures weren't as high as last month's triple-digit deadly heat wave, schools in states including Michigan, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey cited inadequate air conditioning in cutting days short. One Massachusetts district canceled two days of classes because of hot classrooms. Temperatures in the mid-90s also led to online learning in Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
Before the Radio Rondevoo building burned in April 2022, many Hispanic community events  weddings, quinceaneras, baptisms, and concerts  were held at the historic building.

In 2021, Radio Rondevoo Event Center headlined the band Eslabon Armado, one of the biggest names in Mexican regional music.

But even though Eslabon Armado was a household name, the band wasn't who caught the attention of the crowd. It was Nueva Generacion 2000  high school students from Caldwell  who surprised the Magic Valley community.

"They performed at Radio Rondevoo before it burned down and opened for Eslabon Armado," Alex Castaneda, CEO of the South Central Idaho Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, told the Times-News. "And I think initially the people were there for Armado but personally, these kids outshined them that night. They had so much energy and knew how to draw in a crowd."

Now, Nueva Generacion 2000 and other Idaho performers around the state will be back to share new music and their culture with the Magic Valley this weekend for Latino Fest.

The Hispanic chamber will host its third annual Latino Fest from 2 to 9 p.m. Sept. 9 in downtown Twin Falls. The chamber's main purpose is to promote and support the Hispanic community and businesses in south-central Idaho and hope to bring in everybody in the community to bridge the gap between languages and cultures.

Castaneda said the event will be an afternoon full of activities and vendors for the event as they've done in the past.

"We want to continue to show the public a little bit of what we're about," Castaneda said. "This won't show it fully but it will show a little bit of the talent that we're bringing in all over Idaho and outside areas."

Nueva Generacion 2000 is one of those talents that Castaneda will bring in on Saturday. Although they are high schoolers and recent high school graduates, they've already traveled all over the Northwest and Mexico for events and concerts.

The chamber will also have Banda Zeta as one of their headliners for the event  a regional group from Mexico, founded in 1993. They have an average of 1.5 million Spotify listeners a month and are known for their "La Nina Fresa" hit.

Los Ex de la Banda will be the main headliner for the night  17 artists formerly part of big-name regional Mexican groups such as La Arolladora Banda El Limon, La Adictiva y El Coyote. Grupo Kanu will also perform Saturday.

"We're definitely expecting a big turnout of this year's event," Castaneda told the Times-News. "In 2019, we had just about 3,000 people in attendance and last year in 2022, we had definitely way more than 3,000 people there. Now, with two full bands performing, I'm sure the turnout will be bigger."

Latino Fest was brought to town in 2019 to help promote the cultural differences of the Magic Valley community and bring together people of all ages.

"This year will be a little bit different because we'll have Nueva Generacion 2000 bringing in kids of their age to the festival. Then we have Banda Zeta, who is more old-school, bringing in the older generation," Castaneda said. "We're pulling in different talents that I think will make it fun for everybody."

Various Magic Valley vendors will be at the event selling tacos, funnel cakes, jewelry and more. Castaneda said there will also be a traditional folkloric dance from Mexico.

"Our sponsors have helped make this happen because a lot of who they represent is the Hispanic community," Castaneda said. "They make this all come out into a great event."

What's the schedule for Latino Fest? Latino Fest will be hosted by Benjamin Reed (El Chupacabras) from 99.1 La Perrona and Dulce Duarte from Voz Latina 91.9 FM. Brittney will sing the national anthem in English and Lucy in Spanish. Below is the schedule for Latino Fest: 2:15 - 2:30 p.m., Lucy Pulido 2:30 - 3 p.m., Crossing Bridges 3 - 3:15 p.m., Patty Villavicencio 3:15 - 4 p.m., Kaishon Hamann 4 - 5 p.m., Nueva Generacion 2000 5 - 5:15 p.m., Break 5:15 - 6:15 p.m., Grupo Kanu 6:15 - 6:30 p.m., Break 6:30 - 7:30 p.m., Banda Zeta 7:30 -7:45 p.m., Break 7:45 p.m., Los Ex de la Banda
A Twin Falls man has been charged with sexually exploiting a child and possessing sexually exploitative material in a case that involved investigators from the Idaho Attorney Generals office.

An Idaho Falls woman who was arrested in early August is charged in connection with sending the photos to Nicholas Glenn Baker, 36, one of which was of a six-month-old child, police say.

Baker faces six felonies after police searched the womans phone and found evidence linking him to sex crimes against minors, police say.

The woman, Rexanna Marie Johnston, 32, sent multiple photos to Baker, police say, and the two discussed sexually assaulting children.

Johnston faces 13 felony counts of crimes including lewd conduct with a minor, sexual exploitation of a child, and possessing child sexually exploitive material.

Investigators from the Idaho Attorney Generals Idaho Internet Crimes Against Child Unit assisted in the case, and Attorney General Raul Labrador called the case against her deeply unsettling.

The case against Johnston started in July when an Idaho Falls detective received a tip from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children that someone had uploaded a video containing sex abuse material, and investigators linked it to her, records say.
Residents in the northern part of the Wood River Valley are reporting numerous sightings of mountain lions and black bear to Fish and Game staff in the Magic Valley Region. The most recent lion reports are primarily coming in from Ketchum and Sun Valley and are typically of a solitary mountain lion, but there have been sightings of a pair of mountain lions in Sun Valley. Fish and Game has continued to receive multiple reports of mountain lions in Hailey and Bellevue throughout the summer months.

The frequency of these reports and the apparent habituation to humans by these lions and black bear is concerning according to Regional Wildlife Manager Mike McDonald. Were hearing from local residents that both the lions and bear are not exhibiting fear towards human activity. Mountain lions and black bears should not feel comfortable living within our communities.

Wildlife biologists attribute the ongoing presence of mountain lions to resident deer and elk that live throughout the Valley year-round.

To keep both residents and pets safe, Fish and Game is urging everyone to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings, especially during early morning and evening hours when mountain lions are typically more active, although sightings of mountain lions and black bears have been occurring throughout the day.

We continue to hear that some in our communities advise against calling Fish and Game when a mountain lion or black bear is seen in a neighborhood or becomes involved in some type of conflict. They assert that calling will always result in animals being euthanized. That statement is not true, said Senior Conservation Officer Brandyn Hurd, we will always encourage people to notify us if they observe a lion or bear in their neighborhood. Early reports from residents allow us to be proactive in our efforts to encourage these animals to move out of local neighborhoods. We have proactive options to deter wildlife, such as hazing. If we are forced to be reactive in response to an aggressive animal, often our only option is to lethally removal the animal that has become a threat to public safety.

Personal safety around mountain lions

Wildlife managers agree that if a person is in close proximity to a lion, meaning they see it, they should:

NEVER run away from a mountain lion. The lions instinct is to chase and ultimately catch what they perceive as a potential prey.

NEVER turn your back on a lion. Always face them while making yourself look as large as you can. Yell loudly, but dont scream. A high-pitched scream may mimic the sound of a wounded animal.

SLOWLY back away while maintaining eye contact with the lion.

Safety equipment you may choose to carry could include bear spray, a noise device, like an air horn, and if you walk in the dark, a very bright flashlight.

If you are attacked, fight back!

Tips to reduce human-wildlife conflicts

Homeowners are asked to check around their homes and reduce the potential for a lion to find refuge around their homes. Areas under decks should be blocked so that lions cannot access the space for a day bed. All doors to barns and backyard sheds should be securely closed so that lions cannot gain access to these spaces.

For bears, household garbage should be securely stored until the day of pick-up and all bird feeders should be taken down. During the fall months, bears are putting a tremendous amount of effort into eating as much as they can in anticipation of going into hibernation.

When walking your dog, keep it on leash. When letting pets outside, especially at night, turn on porch lights and make noise so that any wildlife that might be in close proximity is alerted. Attacks can often be the result of surprise encounters, with both people and pets.

The Wood River Valley Wildlife Smart Communities coalition has developed a website that residents can use to learn more about how to safely live in proximity to wildlife at www.wrvwildlifesmart.org.

Residents should immediately report any wildlife incident or attack by calling 911.

Mountain lion and black bear sightings and encounters should be reported to Fish and Game during regular business hours by calling the Magic Valley Regional Office at 208-324-4359 or your local law enforcement agency.
What are some of the words that you would use to answer the question: What are some of the characteristics of good government? Words like reliable, transparent, honest, civil, responsible, innovative and fiscally conservative are some that might come to mind.

So, what is the City of Twin Falls doing to be thought of as a good government?

To be a responsible and innovative government, we survey and ask our residents how we are doing. Later this month, we will issue our annual citizen survey. Twin Falls residents can share their thoughts, opinions and grade our performance. In November, we will review the responses and use what we learn to start conversations on how we can improve our performance to meet our communitys expectations.

We encourage Twin Falls residents to participate and commit to share the results when they are available, anticipated to be in mid-November.

Local governments across Idaho just completed their annual budgeting processes. Budgeting is the lifeblood of government and is how we transform taxes and fees into tangible public services. To be fiscally conservative and transparent, our budgetary process is series of open discussions that start on the first Monday in July and end on the fourth Monday in August.

Quote Election season is upon us. ... Encourage civility and elect those who are going to lead Twin Falls and continue to be good government.

During this time, the Twin Falls City Council and many of its employees discussed proposed projects and expenditures and their connection to the citys 2030 Strategic Plan. Members of our community are invited to participate in the process. The budget that was approved by the city council is sustainable and sensible. The anticipated tax rate is the lowest issued by the city. It provides the resources needed to keep our community safe, secure and livable. It is available on the citys website. We welcome the communitys thoughts and encourage all become involved in the process next spring.

Election season is upon us. Interested residents have filled their petitions to serve and will soon begin campaigning. To sustain honest and civil government, before going to the November polls, get to know those who are asking for your vote. Ask them why they want to serve. Ask them to share their vision for our community. We have all witnessed an increase in negative attack ads and negative campaigning. Encourage civility and elect those who are going to lead Twin Falls and continue to be good government.
A few years ago, I did an experiment. I had 10 people review different policies about key issues facing our state. There was one condition  they couldnt see who the legislation was written by. Interestingly, most people preferred the same bills.

Quote Real leadership isnt writing a weekly article blaming others. It isnt doxing people behind unnamed social media accounts. It isnt changing rules to force those you disagree with into submission. That is what happens in China and Russia.

Once completed, I shared which legislator wrote them. Participants were surprised they voted for something submitted by that person.

I ran the same experiment but allowed participants to see who drafted the bill. Sadly, almost no one agreed on a single bill.

What the experiment showed me is that people make the best decisions when they are not jaded by their preconceptions.

There is a rising trend in Idaho of people who are unwilling to work together for the betterment of our citizens. Some even make money intentionally trying to cause strife. I once had a county chairman tell me the best way to raise money was to go negative. He said, make them afraid and tell them who to blame. I am sad to say that it has worked for his cause, but Idaho suffers as a result.

The Idaho I know isnt something to be feared. It is a beacon of light  which is why so many relocate here. I recognize that some fear we can become California, but they fail to realize that we ARENT California. We are Idaho. True, we dont want Californias policies, but we dont want their tactics either.

Real leadership isnt writing a weekly article blaming others. It isnt doxing people behind unnamed social media accounts. It isnt changing rules to force those you disagree with into submission. That is what happens in China and Russia.

We may share the same conservative beliefs, but the way those beliefs are pursued varies greatly. If not careful, those intent on purging others will become so full of their own supposed virtue that they alienate many and become insignificant to our fellow Idahoans. They lose elections.

Now to be clear, it is also not compromising your deeply held beliefs.

Changing someones mind is never easy. It takes time to build a relationship. The people we disagree with are not our enemy. They are the mission field of hearts and minds to be won. They are those we should be engaging in hopes of persuading. Remember 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong; do everything in love.

We also need to solve real problems in common-sense ways. And by working together, we find small things we agree on, which opens the possibility to agree on larger things.

Here is a recent example with the so-called library bill. No rational person wants sexually explicit materials in the childrens section of a library. And yet no rational person believes jailing librarians, banning books, and closing libraries is the right solution either. Rather than focus on the extremes, the better question is how do we make these materials hidden from unsuspecting children, while still protecting free speech? Lets put common sense boundaries on materials, but also trust parents to do their job as parents.

I know many are fed up with the tactics of some, but recognize those groups are a vocal minority who hide their real names.

There are still many good people who dont play those childish games. We dont spend time trolling on social media worrying about page views. For us, winning means the betterment of Idaho. We work with whoever and wherever we can to solve problems facing our communities. We dont let the 10% we disagree on stop us from making a 90% improvement. We focus on ensuring as many Idahoans have an opportunity for their voice to be heard. It doesnt matter if it is a local election or voting for President of the United States.

If you want to change culture, you dont give up. You must do it from the inside. Get involved. Run for a precinct committee role, become a candidate for city council. Get out and vote in every election. We should have more than 15% of Idahoans vote in local elections.

Remember, ordinary individuals can make extraordinary impacts if they get involved. Now go make your voice heard.

God Bless Idaho.
Cebu Pacific on Thursday announced the return of its trademark piso sale promo for domestic and international destinations ahead of the holiday season.

The airline unit of the Gokongwei Group said passengers could book their flights to select domestic destinations including Bacolod, Cebu, Iloilo, Kalibo, and Laoag and international destinations such as Ho Chi Minh City, Macau, Seoul, Singapore and Taipei for as low as P1 one-way base fare, exclusive of surcharges and other fees from Sept. 7 to 10, 2023.

The travel period will be from April 1 to Aug. 31, 2024, allowing passengers to book ahead and score value-for-money fares.

Aside from the piso sale, the airline is also offering a special 27-percent discount on CEB yransfers for all routes serving Boracay, making travel to one of the worlds best island resorts much easier and more affordable.

The airline flies to Boracay eight times daily from Manila, twice daily from Cebu and six times weekly from Clark.

CEB pioneered its trademark piso sale in 2004. Since then, many Filipinos have been able to fulfill their travel dreams and explore various local and international destinations through the airlines signature promo.

Passengers may use their existing travel funds to book flights and avail themselves of add-ons. CEB also offers multiple payment options, including payment centers, credit or debit cards and e-wallets, it said.

Cebu Pacific flies to 35 domestic and 24 international destinations, spanning across Asia, Australia and the Middle East.
French defense manufacturer Naval Group on Wednesday announced that it has outfitted anti-torpedo reaction modules to the Philippine Navys (PN) two Jose Rizal-class missile frigates.

The company said on August 31, its Contralto anti-torpedo reaction module was successfully installed into the C-Guard decoy launching system of the PNs two Jose Rizal class frigates.

This important milestone is part of the contract signed in December 2021 to provide an anti-torpedo defense system based on Naval Groups Canto/Contralto solutions, it added in a statement.

Under this contract, Naval Group would supply these defensive systems to the BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) and BRP Antonio Luna (FF-151). The commissioning of the anti-submarine warfare and Contralto anti-torpedo reaction modules completes the armament of the two Jose Rizal-class frigates.

US aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky meanwhile said it has signed an international reseller agreement with Asian Aerospace Corporation for it to become the sole original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-authorized reseller in the Philippines of Sikorsky spare parts and repair services for the Black Hawk helicopter family of products, which is now in service in the country.

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) is currently operating 15 units of the Polish-made S-70i Black Hawk combat utility helicopters with another 32 helicopters expected to be delivered within the next three years.

Built at Lockheed Martins PZL Mielec facility in Poland, the highly sought Black Hawk helicopter has earned its standing as the trusted utility aircraft for operators worldwide, featuring unmatched multi-mission versatility and military-grade airworthiness capable of operating in extreme weather conditions, day or night.

Once the deliveries are completed, the PAF will be the largest operator of the S-70i in the world.

The PAF contract for the additional 32 S-70i units is worth around P32 billion and was signed in February 2022.

This includes an integrated logistics support and training package for pilots and maintenance crew.